"Captain!" Elez gasped, rushing to Madison's side as soon as he saw her. The Dragon girl had been shopping around the many liquor stores within the town, and hadn't been paying much attention to anything at all. "You didn't respond to Pip's emergency signal, we thought you were hurt."
"Pip's in trouble!?" She panicked, almost dropping the bags that were hanging from her shoulders.
"He was!" Elez groaned. "Did you seriously not see your stone flash?" He asked, watching as Madison pat down her own scruffy clothes, before laughing and looking back up.
"I lost it." She said, smiling up at him with a wide and innocent grin, one which Elez found hard to get mad at. Instead, he sighed and stepped away, waving for Madison to follow.
"Come on, let's group up with the others." He explained, hesitating to mention their fallen ship. The thought alone caused him to sigh and glare at the floor in anger, confused how he had been so blind to the pirate infested island.
"But Elez," she whined. "I haven't stopped by the sweet shop yet."
"Seriously?" He groaned, looking back at her with an unimpressed stare. "Madison, this island is overrun by a pirate crew. They're taken over the town, stolen the lady who lives in the mansion, and killed dozens of pirates who have come here before us." He explained, pleading for her to listen to him, but in response to his words, her smile only grew.
"Well then," she said, tapping the sword hilt at her side. "Guess we're going to have to take them out."
"Cap-" Elez tried to argue, but he stopped at the sight of her determined stare. She may have smiled on the surface, but deep down Elez could feel the anger that burned behind within. Madison knew all about their fallen vessel, she had known ever since it began burning. The only reason she didn't run to help was because she trusted her crew. But now, she wanted her revenge. "Let's go." Elez nodded, following his Captain's lead as she ran instinctively in the direction of Zenith, who had only just stepped out of the map shop with the crystal haired woman at his side.
"Who's your lady friend?" Elez teased the moment he saw them together, earning a disgruntled growl from Zenith as a response.
"Stop being insensitive. This woman was being held captive in this shop." Zenith snapped back, causing Elez to instantly back down and feel bad for his comment towards her.
"My name is Haylee Park," she replied, peeking out at Elez and marvelling at his wings. "I make maps for Captain Arko." She muttered, completely distracted by the mismatched crew that surrounded her.
"Captain Arko? I assume he's the Pirate who's taken over this island?" Elez questioned, allowing Haylee to nod softly in response. "Do you know where he stays?" He asked.
"Yes, he took over my father's mansion up on the hill." She replied, pointing up at the pristine white building that overlooked the entire town. "He's been tearing it down in search of my father's treasure." She cried, tearing up at the thought of her home being crumbled and looted into nothingness.
"We'll stop him," Zenith assured her, patting her silky head of hair before turning towards the others.
"It's party time." Madison hummed, punching her right fist into the palm of her left hand, before cracking her knuckles and turning towards the direction of the mansion. Just before she began walking though, Madison turned back towards Haylee with a smile. "And after we save your town, I want to ask you to join my crew." She grinned, turning away before Haylee could reply and running off in the direction of the manor, followed immediately at the heels by Zenith and Elez.
Haylee stayed behind and stood in complete silence, watching as the three fearless warriors ran straight into the jaws of battle. Ever since Haylee gave her out her name, Madison knew that she was the lady of the house, left behind by her pirate father while he set out on a grand adventure with his crew. Many years had passed and he never returned, until finally Haylee received news of his death, and inherited everything that once belonged to him, including the rights to his hidden treasure of one-hundred million gold pieces.
Naturally, other pirates had heard about her father's treasure, and set out on their own adventures to find it, but Arko was the first to discover that Haylee was his daughter. After searching many islands all across New World, he eventually found her and began his invasion into her island home, a place which she had once considered a sanctuary.
Over the many years that Haylee had waited for her father to return, she had begun drawing sea charts and maps in her free time, soon discovering her natural love and talent for the profession. The day that Arko discovered this though, was the day that Haylee sealed her fate. For the past week, she had been locked away drawing charts and maps via his instructions, while also experiencing daily torment as they questioned her about her father's treasure. In the end, she always gave the same response.
Haylee knew nothing about her father's treasure, absolutely nothing at all.
"Miss Haylee?" A woman gasped, spotting the white haired woman standing dizzily on the street nearby. "Are you alright, miss?" She asked, rushing to Haylee's side as the town's people began to gather and run to her aid.
"I am," she cried, tears streaming down her face. "I'm alright now." She said, reaching out to embrace the closest person who was willing to hold her, as the town's folk soon carried her off to an inn nearby, giving her food, water and anything else she may have needed. All while Madison and her crew were left to fight alone at the mansion atop the hill.
But while most would see that as an impossible task, the Nightshade Pirates were not even fazed by their chances of death.
"Oh Arko!!" Madison yelled, kicking down the door to the mansion as she stepped inside with her crew close at her heels. "I'm here for a duel!" She grinned, drawing her sword as she held it up to the room.
"You wish to duel me?" A shallow voice laughed, causing the trio to glance up at a man who sat on a makeshift throne of artefacts and rubble. "You are just a scrawny child." He chuckled, before bellowing out a thunderous boom of hollow laughter, a noise which caused even the thick stone walls to shake in horror. Dark black hair fell messily over Arko's eyes, while his huge eight foot tall body rose from his throne and slowly stepped towards them. Rich, stolen clothes covered his entire body, while two great longswords were sheathed in a holder attached to his back. Both of which were made from the finest steel any normal man could buy.
"How dare yo-" Zenith growled, preparing to draw his sword, only for Madison to stop him by holding out her hand.
"I've got this one," she smiled, turning back toward Arko while Elez and Zenith stepped away and allowed her to duel. "You two should clear the mansion, take out any pirates inside and free any captives." Madison ordered, as her crew nodded in understanding and rushed off to clear the building.
"You stupid brats!" Arko began to growl, drawing his sword to attack Elez and Zenith before they could leave, only to have a powerful force slice across his chest while his guard was down. Arko groaned and stepped back, holding his chest in pain as thick crimson blood coated the palm of his hand.
"Leave my crew alone." Madison hissed, readying her blood covered blade for another fatal attack, before she could raise her sword though, it suddenly filled with a cursed weight that dragged her arms down towards the floor, causing her to drop the sword entirely. Arko watched her in curiosity before laughing loudly at her failed attempts to wield the cursed blade.
"Pathetic!" He yelled, drawing his swords as his wound began to close over with sparks of magical light replacing his injury with nothing more than a scar. "I am the unkillable pirate Captain Arko! I've trained for years to control the most potent healing magic on this corner of the planet, your petty sword strikes can never cut me down!" He growled, slashing his right handed sword in Madison's direction, only to barely cut her cheek as she leaped back with cat-like reflexes.
"Healing magic, huh?" Madison grinned, sliding under Arko's second slash before she jumped behind him and leaped up atop his back, grasping tightly onto his sword sheath and staying far out of his range of attack. "Taser!" She yelled, just as her body surrounded itself with lightning and electricity, zapping straight through Arko's body and down into the cold stone floor below.
The giant man screamed and groaned in pain, as the powerful bolts zapped through his entire body and slowly took him to his knees. Madison moved her hands up towards his head, gripping either side as she prepared to deliver the final blow, only for Arko to drop his swords and flail his arms up towards her. Instinctively, she hopped back and skidded a few paces away, allowing Arko to stand and recover from his burns.
"You are weak, little girl." He chuckled, standing tall and picking up his swords, before spotting Madison's blade nearby. Arko smirked and stepped over towards it, sheathing his right blade before placing his hand around the hilt. "You can't even lift your own sword." He laughed, raising her blade above his head and preparing to shatter it against the ground. Just as it hovered over the top of his head though, the blade became heavy and cursed once more, heavier than Arko could handle. This sudden weight caused his arm to drop with the blade as the handle of the sword smashed him comedically atop the head, allowing Madison to stand in shock before bursting into laughter.
"Like you can do any better! That sword is mine and mine alone, and whether I can wield it or not, I plan to protect it with my life." She said, rushing towards Arko as he dropped the heavy sword from his hand, allowing Madison to leap up and gasp onto it mid air, pleased by its sudden lightness. With a quick flash of quick movement, she filled her arms and sword with lightning, before slashing down through his entire body. "Boltstrike!" She grinned, watching as his corpse fell back with a satisfying puff of smoke, leaving a pristine lightning bolt slash all the way down and into the floor.
"Did you get him?" Zenith asked, rushing back into the room with his sword drawn as well. "We just finished clearing up." He explained, looking down at the burnt body of Madison's opponent.
"Yeah, I got him." She smiled, sheathing her sword after wiping the blood from its blade, before stepping up to Zenith and grinning wider at the appearance of Pip from within his satchel.
"Let's go clear out the town." He chuckled, calling Elez back into the room before the trio left to spread the good word of their triumphs.