Slowly, Elez stalked silently down the hallway, looking around at the shaken and traumatised crew as the ship rocked from the dangerous waves that were created by the storm above them. Thankfully, he stayed out of sight, despite his massive wings that were curled up around himself and Jade. After walking unnoticed down many different hallways though, he was finally spotted by an all too familiar face.
"Hey Elez," Haylee smiled, keeping her voice low while she quickly approached the shaken boy.
"Are you alright?" He asked, knowing that she had been taken by Avon's head guard.
"Yeah, I'm doing great," she hummed, peeking over the tops of his feathers in order to glance at the boy who lay asleep in Elez's arms. "Quite the boy charmer, aren't ya?" She giggled, referring to his tendency to hold and protect the other crew members.
"Can we talk about this later? We need to get back to the Shellshock." Elez sighed. "And then we need to talk about what Avon said to you," he added, causing Haylee to freeze up and lose her happy smile.
"Alright…" She nodded softly, turning away and signalling for him to follow. "I'm pretty sure it's this way," she explained, turning around another corner and slamming head-first into the chest of a massive man.
"Watch where you're going," he growled, staring down upon Elez and Haylee, before noticing that Jade was curled up in the Angel boy's arms. "What are you doing with the Captain's son?" He asked, resting his hand on his sword while he spoke.
"He needed some fresh air," Haylee spoke, not knowing the full situation but trusting Elez to back her up.
"His room was starting to reek, so we're having it cleaned." Elez smiled, hiding that deep rage that he felt towards the entire crew. How could a father knowing lock up and torture his own son? Elez didn't know the full story yet, but he already understood that it was cruel and unforgiving.
"His room is always like that." The man growled, reaching down in an attempt to pull Jade away from them, but Elez stepped back and fluffed his wings up in anger.
"Stay back," he hissed, holding the boy close to his chest while he spoke. "Don't you dare even think about laying your hands on him."
"So you are trying to save him?" The man smirked, drawing his sword and holding it out towards the duo. "You will face the same fate as his last accomplice." He growled, attempting to swing his sword towards them both, but he was quickly knocked off balance when the ship rocked with an incredible jolt.
"Run!" Haylee yelled, scrambling to her feet as she too had fallen over from the force. Elez was the only one who hadn't fallen, simply because he had steadied himself against a wall.
"Don't need to tell me twice," Elez groaned, racing after Haylee while the man behind them soon stood tall and made chase.
"We can't escape them!" Haylee screamed, noticing that others had begun to follow as well, until most of the crew was chasing at their heel.
"Just get to the deck!" Elez yelled, grabbing Haylee's arm as he made a break for the stairs. Within a moment he swooped his wing under her legs and picked her up in the support of his arms. It was messy and uncomfortable since he was also supporting Jade and a satchel full of potions, but Haylee held on with her hands wrapped around his neck.
"Get back here!!" The man yelled, slicing his sword towards them in an attempt to catch up, but Elez smiled and snapped open his wings, flying off up the stairs as he emerged from below deck and quickly made a break for the clouded sky above.
"We did it!" Haylee smiled, holding tightly onto Elez and Jade while they flew.
"Yeah, let's get out of-" Elez was cut off as he instinctively gasped for breath, a loud gunshot echoing all around them as feathers fell towards the ground like snowfall.
"Elez?" Haylee muttered, her eyes going wide with realisation as the Angel boy's body grew limp and the trio almost immediately fell from the sky. Blood had seeped through Elez's shirt, and as Haylee screamed and held the boy close, she stared in horror at the harpoon that had sliced through his shoulder and lodged itself in the bone and feathers of his wing.
They hadn't flown too high, so the fall definitely wouldn't kill them, plus they were destined to land directly into the ocean, so at least they would have a few moments to attempt an escape. But Haylee knew that Elez's wings would be weighted down by the heavy ocean water; she wouldn't be able to save him if they landed there.
"I'm sorry, Elez," she cried, holding tightly onto the body of her friend while the boy began to lose all consciousness. But just when things were looking grim, the trio was suddenly jolted upwards by a figure flying beneath them and catching them mid fall. Immediately, Haylee perked up and stared forwards at their saviour, smiling at the shimmering golden scales that stared back at her.
'Are you alright?' Madison asked, flying swiftly away from the battle while Haylee quickly hugged her neck.
"Yes, thank you. Thank you." She cried. "But Elez needs help, we need to leave. We can't take on an armada alone." She panicked, glancing back at the ships that followed swiftly behind them.
'Understood,' Madison sighed, pushing away her thoughts of destruction as she dived deep into the ocean fog and circled back towards the Shellshock. While the Nightshade Pirates fled though, the Avon Rove crew remained calm and collected, looking towards their leader as he slowly walked out from below deck.
Madison believed that she had killed the infamous pirate Captain, but all along he had been nothing more than a perfect magical illusion. A man with such a high bounty was never easily killed, and now that they had taken his only source of healing, Avon was out for blood.