A gigantic ship was sailing, not across the sea but through the air; on board were a dozen or so merfolk—creatures I had never seen before and only now realised existed. One of the crew members was walking on patrol when suddenly his legs stopped moving and his mouth was tightly gagged with a card. That crew member immediately fell unconscious, followed by another crew member who was also on patrol—their bodies were then dragged away before any witnesses could see.
One by one, the crew members fell and vanished; as they were no longer entirely human, they could not make sounds that ordinary humans could understand, meaning the captain, who was standing at the bow staring out at the horizon, received not the slightest report that his crew were being abducted. Behind the captain, a man in a long red jacket stood with a dejected expression, though he was trying hard to remain steadfast.
"The fact that you are completely unaware of my identity as the Flying Dutchman is deeply concerning," said Jones, and Captain Hook could only remain silent, choosing his words carefully—for even the slightest mistake would have dire consequences for his future.
"I'm sorry, Captain… However, as you know, the two of us have sailed the seas far too often and have hardly ever interacted," replied Captain Hook, his left hand—which he had been hiding behind his back—now sweating; more so than when fighting the sirens and Monstro, he was utterly terrified, making us realise that Jones was no ordinary opponent.
"That does sound reasonable." Then there was a long silence all around them and, unbeknownst to both of them, the entire crew on board had vanished and been locked in their cells—Liz said that the reason Captain Hook hadn't flown into a rage yet was surely because he knew how to restore his crew to normal.
"Well, well, well, the boss and his men rarely have a chat, do they? That's a sign that your organisation is about to collapse." My voice immediately caught their attention; Captain Hook's eyes widened and Jones furrowed his brow, as if he'd already foreseen this happening—yet there was one thing he didn't know: Captain Hook was smiling slightly as he watched me, Liz and Robin standing in mid-air, surrounded by golden dust. "Shall we bring this ship back down to the sea, eh, ugly?"
"Oh? It seems I've underestimated you all—that's exactly what one would expect from someone with limitless potential," Jones turned fully towards me, his gaze fixed on me—that was a new nickname I'd heard, yet it felt more like a compliment than the taunt I'd thrown at him. "However, taking me on is the first mistake you'll come to regret, lad."
But no sooner had the words left his mouth than the edge of the blade had come to rest right against Jones's neck, causing him—for the first time since we'd boarded the ship—to flinch. "You've betrayed the man who took you in?" he asked, trying to intimidate me, but it did nothing to unsettle Captain Hook.
"You've cursed my crew into mermen; that's reason enough for me to do this to you," replied Captain Hook. The three of us cheered at the sight of our captain standing up to protect his crew. "And Captain Jones… If I may be honest, you really are hideously ugly."
Jones let out a long sigh and, without anyone expecting it, his hand reached for the blade of Captain Hook's sword, which instantly began to grow rust that spread at an alarming rate. "However, you do remember that I am a member of the same organisation as the people who destroyed your bodies, don't you?" His dark blue eyes fixed on me.
"Oh, we certainly haven't forgotten that!" Robin shouted, and a vine shot out, gripping Captain Hook firmly and pulling him over to our side. The vine, which had emerged from my card, then lowered him onto the deck, and Tinkie deftly sprinkled him with Pixie dust. "But we won't make the same mistake as before."
The vine vanished into shards of blue light, followed by my card, which also disappeared. My hand clenched tightly again, and the memory I so desperately wanted to dismiss as a nightmare flashed rapidly through my mind. "I… won't lose anyone else now!" I declared. Four against one—it might seem unfair, but believe me, it's only fair.
"Captain, take this sword!" Liz said before hurling it towards the captain, who immediately seized the hilt firmly. Robin had already drawn his bow and arrows, whilst Liz had drawn her sword and was pointing it at Jones. "The captain has been kind enough to give you the heart of the sea so that I wouldn't be turned into a human fish like the others… This is my way of repaying him!" she shouted, which left Robin and me stunned to hear such new information.
Meanwhile, Captain Hook smiled with pride; he stroked his thick eyebrows before speaking. "That's simply what a captain must do for his crew!" he replied, and Jones didn't flinch in the slightest; he flicked Captain Hook's sword aside before placing both hands on his hips.
"So what about the rest of your crew? The ones I've turned into fish-people?"
"Heh, one of my crew members has a remarkable talent for potions—I'm sure she'll be able to cure my crew!"
"Juliet Aliegheri, is it?"
"Exactly."
Hearing that name, I was immediately intrigued—Juliet has a talent for potions? Come to think of it, she did display her skills on a few occasions, but I never imagined they'd be so advanced that even Captain Hook believed she could cure the curse of the 'Bad Ending' ability.
"Captain, this might be a bit late, but are you completely unaware of his abilities?" I glanced over, and Captain Hook was still smiling with confidence and pride.
"Didn't I tell you that we hardly ever speak?" he replied casually, as if that would put our minds at ease, even though a lack of information when facing an opponent is a very serious weakness. "…I'll take him on; the three of you try to grab the heart of the sea from the pocket of his jacket," he whispered.
"…And how do we do that?" I asked.
"Isn't thinking on your feet your speciality?" Captain Hook replied, casually shifting the responsibility onto me.
"Captain, may I say something a bit crude?"
"By all means."
"You bloody bastard."
Captain Hook merely smiled and didn't seem the slightest bit offended. "That's what pirates are like, lad! Full of bastards!" He declared before darting forwards towards his boss, the hilt of his sword gripped tightly in his hand—he lunged and tried to slash, but was immediately parried by Jones's blade.
"How about a sword duel, Captain?" Captain Hook suggested with a mischievous smile on his face; it was clear that he'd be looking for ways to gain the upper hand, given that he could fly whilst Jones could not.
"You're bound to pull some underhand tricks, aren't you?"
"Don't act as if you've never done it yourself, Captain!"
The two of them continued to shove each other until—Captain Hook was pushed backwards and Jones immediately tilted his head as an arrow whizzed towards him. "You'll have to be quicker than that, lad," he replied, and beneath him, his legs were completely immobilised—he glanced down and saw that both his legs were bound by thorny roots.
"That quick, eh?" I replied before lifting his body and flipping him over, his head resting on the deck whilst his legs were raised in the air—and because of that, the heart-shaped pearl fell, and before Jones's hand could grab it, a figure swiftly snatched the pearl away. "Well done, Liz!"
The girl's purple eyes sparkled as she realised she'd finally been able to be of use. "Captain, catch!" Liz shouted before hurling the heart from the sea towards Captain Hook, who caught it without a hint of difficulty—at that moment, we felt we'd won, but it all changed when the root suddenly withered away very quickly upon being touched by Jones's pale, bluish hand.
He was quick enough to turn round and land on both feet; my eyes darted to the side and spotted Robin firing her arrows at the fish-men crew, who were breaking free. "How is that possible?!" I shouted, flying backwards alongside Liz.
Captain Hook, who was in the air, thought for a moment before giving us a bewildered answer. "Alice, I've just remembered something from a meeting I once attended! The withering curse also affects things of the same origin, even if he's not touched them!" Hearing that made me even more annoyed; I do respect him, but sometimes he really is a complete idiot.
"YOU SHOULD'VE SAID SO FROM THE START, YOU STUPID CAPTAIN!" I protested. That meant that when he placed his hand on the root I'd pulled from my card—all the roots originating from the same card would wither too. However, the fact that these merfolk had managed to break through the cell and rush over here so quickly meant I'd have to change a lot of my plans.
I looked to the right and left, torn between helping Captain Hook, who was locked in a sword-fight with Jones, and helping Robin, who was battling a dozen merpeople crew members. "Alice, Liz! Help Robin—I'll be fine," Captain Hook ordered. I paused for a moment before nodding and signalling to Liz to help Robin. "And make sure you don't kill them!"
Meanwhile, Captain Hook swung his sword but was immediately blocked by the back of Jones's blade—after the blades clashed, they both leapt back. Captain Hook darted forward, launching thrusts from various angles, but Jones managed to dodge and parry them all.
When a slash was directed at the side of his neck, Jones parried it and their eyes locked before—THUMP—Jones's thick black boot landed squarely on Captain Hook's stomach, sending him flying backwards and cracking his spine as he crashed into the wooden gunwale.
His breathing was ragged and blood began to drip onto the wooden floor; before his head could even lift, the collar of his jacket was grabbed and he was hoisted into the air. Their black and dark blue eyes met once again, for the umpteenth time; for a moment neither of them said a word, before Jones broke the silence. "Do you regret what you've done, Hook?" Jones asked, still reeling from Captain Hook's act of betrayal.
"N-No… Because as long as my crew are safe, I have nothing to regret!" he replied, his voice full of determination—the hook on his right hand pierced Jones's wrist and blood spurted, soaking the iron hook.
Jones was utterly baffled by Captain Hook's foolish act; his brow remained furrowed, yet he did not seem inclined to demand any further explanation. "How naive—you're not even worthy of being turned into a merman," he retorted, whilst Captain Hook's legs still dangled above the floor. "Now hand back the heart from the sea."
But before his hand could reach it, Captain Hook's hand pushed it away—a broad smile still on his face—and the pixie dust vanished, sending the captain plummeting towards the sea, dozens of feet below. "CAPTAIN!" I shouted, and I saw Tinkie lying limp behind a barrel, her bright light beginning to fade.
A blow landed squarely on my face, and before I knew it, the merpeople had surrounded the three of us—leaving no chance at all for us to get away and save Captain Hook.