"Come on men, we aren't gonna shake in fear at that! Blow their hull to pieces!" Jackie shrieked, as the cannons from the enemy ship bore down on the Cape High. The smaller vessel was taking a bad amount of gunfire, the iron cannonballs slamming into the wood with breakneck speed.

As the explosions and burning smoke battled the furious storm and rising waves, Jackie fired his pistol at the bastards on the top deck of the enemy ship.

She was a huge sight, rising like a mountain above the Cape High, with about twelve decks towering above the waves. The top deck was at least three decks above their own, and firing at the crew was no easy task. Dammit...I thought this was supposed to be a merchant's ship, not one belonging to pirates! Jackie thought, furious at his decision to take the ship.

Elma Wattins pushed the troops forward behind him, firing at the opposing ship with one of the lead cannons. She was a well endowed, strong-willed girl about three years his junior, with light brown hair tied in a ponytail and matching brown eyes. And despite her maiden-like appearance, she was a force to be reckoned with.

"It was a stupid idea to take on this ship, Jackie! I'll be damned if I don't cut off your head when we get out of this!" She yelled at him over the crashing waves and cannon fire. Jackie could see her point. At the moment, they were fucked. He brushed his messy blonde hair aside, and shouted orders to his men over the roar of the waves and the thunder.

The Cape High only had twelve cannons, six on each side, while this giant of a ship had at least double the total number on the starboard side they were facing.

"We're gonna need a bigger ship!" Someone yelled from behind Jackie, and the other rascals started laughing. Jackie couldn't help but chuckle as well, despite half the ship now in ruins and the lower decks submerged in the raging waves of the sea. If I'm gonna go down, I'm taking em with me!

The others continued firing at the ship as well, but Jackie could see they were putting in a useless effort. They were as dead as the gold they were after, and there was no escape anywhere.

As the battle neared it's end, a bullet from the opposition crew slammed into Jackie's arm. He cried out in pain, but kept firing. Or at least, tried to. Shit, out of bullets! The others were running dry fast too, and as he looked up, he realized their opponents were even more fearsome than he thought.

There, on the deck of the ship, leaning down towards the Cape High with cold, relentless eyes, was the most famous, and the most notorious pirate in the world. He was dark skinned, and had a huge scar that ran across his muscular chest. Indeed, he was extremely well built, and looked as though he had the strength to tear a ship in half with his massive arms. And of course, his trademark feature was his black, bushy beard tied into six braids, as was traditional for men from his country. Above the beard, another scar ran across his blinded right eye, just below the black bandana he wore. His name was Blackbeard, and there wasn't a soul on neither land nor sea that hadn't heard of him.

"You children are a hundred years too young to fight my crew, I'm afraid!" He called down, pointing his own pistol at them. "My treasures will never belong to you!"

Everything else seemed to go silent as he spoke. His own crew, Jackie's crew, and even the untamed, wild waves of the ocean. Even the weather seemed quieter as he spoke.

BANG.

He saw Ronny, one of the navigators, fall at the shot. Blood poured out from his pierced skull. That precision is-

Jackie couldn't react quickly enough. Another bullet grazed his left leg, and he yelled in pain. As he collapsed to his knees, he saw all twenty four cannons fire at the same time towards the Cape High.

The last thing he saw was an orange explosion, rising to the black thunderclouds as his consciousness faded away...

* * * * * *

As he woke up, the first thing he saw was stars. They were bright, sparkly, and he welcomed the calming effect they had on him. He looked around, out of breath, and saw Elma and Rosa lying near him, both fast asleep.

Another nightmare, huh?

Jackie knew it wasn't a nightmare though. He was merely reliving that moment again and again. He got up, and walked across the sandy coast with a slight limp to his usually long and quick stride. Eddie had done his best to get Jackie back into shape, and he had to commend the doctor for that. His arm and leg had been bandaged with the very last of the ship doctor's supplies.

He only wished for a new coat. His current, dark blue one was torn up and ragged. It definitely looked badass, but it didn't make him look as intimidating as it used to. If anything, he looked like a beggar when he wore it.

He limped towards the rock where Eddie had stationed himself. Despite being the doctor and having no real need to fight, he was more than just a competent fighter, capable of going one on one against Jackie with a sword.

He was sitting on the hand shaped rock, his long blonde hair flowing past his shoulder and the bangs falling into his blue eyes as the wind brushed past him. His white doctor's coat was stained with dirt, seawater and grime, and both his thin, pale arms were bandaged.

"Spot a ship yet, did we?" Jackie asked him. Eddie continued gazing out at the ocean. "Not yet. But I probably will. This island has a lot of untapped resources. I wouldn't be surprised if Blackbeard turns up here by coincidence." Jackie shivered involuntarily. He hoped he never had to see Blackbeard again.

Eddie sighed, and brushed his hair back. "The problem is, I can't cover everywhere on the island. A ship could be behind us or off to a side of the island and I still wouldn't know. We've been here for two days and I'm still not sure about the real size of this place. We lost all our maps in the wreck as well." Jackie sat down and looked out at the horizon together with Eddie. It really was a lovely starlit night.

"At least we're still alive, eh Eddie?" He asked, trying to be positive. The island was full of fruits and wild boar, and they'd managed to survive thanks to the fact that they all managed to keep their swords firmly in their scabbards.

Suddenly, they both heard an explosion to the west of the island. As Jackie looked around, he saw a towering pillar of smoke rising from beyond the forest. He unsheathed his sword, and rushed towards the smoke, forgetting the pain in his leg. Eddie quickly followed.

"Shouldn't we wake up the girls?" He asked, and Jackie shook his head. If they got captured, at least the two of them would survive. He'd lost enough people for one day.

They raced past tall trees and hanging vines, swords at the ready. As they neared the beach where the smoke was coming from, they crouched down and blended into the rocks, and peered at the beach through the low bushes.

Jackie's eyes widened at what he saw. There were at least ten men lying dead on the soft, bloody sand. About twelve others fired on at what seemed like the final three stragglers, and two of them fell. One of the twelve walked towards the last man. Both Jackie and Eddie were terrified to realize that man was Blackbeard.

Jackie saw the source of the smoke was another ship, apparently about the size of the former Cape High. She was on flames, and was rapidly breaking apart and sinking into the reef. Behind it loomed the dark, ghostly shape of the Blackbeard pirates' ship. It almost looked like an island, rather than a ship.

"So you're the last one left, Rabid Jackson! You certainly ran well, didn't you?" The voice of Blackbeard boomed through the trees. The man called Jackson, out of ammo and luck, glared at Blackbeard furiously. He unsheathed his sword and swung at Blackbeard, who drew the two swords at his side.

A double wielder? Jackie thought in awe. He had met plenty of swordsmen, but never a double wielder. It was said that people who used two swords were people who had reached the absolute peak of ability with a blade. But does Blackbeard even need swords? He seems strong enough to kill someone by punching him!

Jackson swung his sword at Blackbeard, who easily parried the blows. He didn't even bother to strike back at Jackson. As if to mock him, he continued blocking Jackson's strikes casually, not moving from where he stood. The other crew members watched on with mild interest, as if they were watching a game of some sort.

As Blackbeard continued blocking, Jackson's swings grew more urgent. He ducked and tried to stab Blackbeard in the stomach, but the gigantic man somehow dodged the blow. Jackson spun on his foot and arced his blade up, only for Blackbeard to sidestep past the swing. As Jackson fell, Blackbeard slammed his foot into his face, and stomped him into the sand.

"You think I need a sword to beat you? I didn't hit you once with the blade, Jackson! Even stepping on you is too much energy wasted on you." He growled, and sunk the two swords he held into the sand. The rest of his crew chuckled and guffawed. But Blackbeard gave them a murderous look.

"Do not ever mock the effort of a man courageous enough to fight me, lads. That honour belongs to Blackbeard and Blackbeard only." He muttered, a hair away from killing every single one of them right there and then. They all looked near tears. One of them fainted, and collapsed onto the sand.

Jackson was clawing at Blackbeard's boot now. He sighed, and pulled one of the swords from the sand.

"You cannot defeat me." He said this almost comfortingly, as he thrust the sword into his heart. Blood spewed out from the wound, and Jackson instantly went limp.

He stood up and sheathed both his swords in the scabbards at his waist. "He isn't the man we want, just as I thought. As if a man like him would have the map I need." He said to the others, who were struggling to pull up the unconscious man.

Having seen enough, Jackie and Eddie silently slipped out of the area and rushed back to the beachside where they were camping out. As they ran, both of them had a feeling of gripping fear in their hearts.

Maps? Weak? Hell if I care about any of that. I want to live! I'd rather drown than die to a monster like that! Jackie thought as he ran.

They collapsed near the two, still sleeping girls. Gasping for breath, they both stared up at the night sky on their backs, completely out of energy. Even Jackie, with his recurring nightmares, wished he could just go to sleep.

But they remained wide awake.