Steven and the others slowed to a stop before the Captain Cook.

The Captain Cook was one of the fanciest hotels in Anchorage, stretching up into the skyline as one of the tallest buildings in downtown.

It was made up of 3 towers that were longer than wide. It was all rich browns and blacks, giving the building a sleek appearance.

They ran up to the nearest entrance, a tall set of glass doors rimmed in black wood engraved with Native art. Steven used shields to open both sets of doors, and they rushed past the arctic room without slowing.

The Cook had several shops on this floor, selling touristy knick knacks, as well as one shop displaying Native art, ivory tusks adorned the glass display cases, along with dolls and carvings of polar bears and salmon.

To his left, a painting of native Hawaiians hung on the wall detailing some of Cook's voyages.

Considering how that ended, it was a little odd to Steven to show them off, but he wasn’t an interior decorator, so what did he know?

While most of the building was how Steven remembered it, now there was netting strewn across the walls and the old barrel and…cannonballs. Steven blinked at that before turning his focus back to the hallway.

Crashes sounded in the distance, followed by screams.

They took off, the newly buffed Buford taking the lead.

The scent of salt and booze filled Steven’s nose, drowning out everything else.

Straight ahead was another set of doors leading outside. To the left was a wide, square staircase leading down, and a little past that was a short hallway that led to Fletcher’s bar.

More netting debris filled the hall, and Steven nearly tripped as the smooth floor suddenly turned to wooden boards, stained with salt and time.

His eyes snapped up as Vanessa came barreling out of the bar, a pirate tucked against her shoulder like he’d been strapped there. He slammed into the far wall with a crunch, and Steven winced.

Three more pirates chased the woman, and he quickly threw a shield into the doorway. The lead pirate slammed into it chest first and came up short, causing the other two to pile into him. But with the shield blocking the doorway, there wasn’t enough space to slip around.

Vanessa saw him and pivoted while choking back on her hammer. She started swinging before she even finished looking over her shoulder to see the three pirates lined up.

There was a crack, and Steven looked away.

“There’s a lot inside.“ She panted. “But some of you need to go downstairs. Vern is holding off the captain by himself, but he can’t beat him alone.”

Steven considered that before turning to Markus. “You and me help Vern. Everybody else sticks together?“

Markus nodded. “I think the two of us should make a good strike team. Is that alright with everyone?“ Micheal gave them a thumbs-up while Margie nodded. Del was already jogging towards the bar.

Vanessa flicked her hammer clean of gore, gave them a smile, then charged back into the bar.

Steven felt a pang of uneasiness at leaving the others to their own devices. If they could die here, he doubted he would have. But that safety net gave him enough peace of mind to turn and charge down the steps with Markus.

~<>~<>~

Markus vaulted the flight of stairs, activating Titan’s Advance just before his feet left the ground.

He landed in a crouch, not even a jolt traveling through him as he touched down.

Despite how far he’d just moved, his Meter didn’t fill as much as he felt it should’ve. Did jumping not count as advancing?

He shook the thought off as he pounded down the hall, briefly waited for Steven to catch up, and then took a corner.

He could hear the sounds of violence in the distance. Shouts, growls, loud crashes, and clicking? He wasn’t sure about that last one, but he doubted it would be pleasant.

He passed by cracked walls and puddles of water that were slowly dispersing. The boss was strong enough to crack the walls like this, and they had only cleared two bars. What would he be capable of if he hit full strength?

“Water-based Skill, and a strong one,” Steven huffed as they ran. “Can’t judge much else from this.”

Markus nodded. He appreciated Steven and Micheal’s senses for the new parts of their world. Always planning and strategizing around the Skills people had and how best to use their own.

Markus was still catching up in that regard. We all have our roles he thought with a grin.

They rounded the last corner, and the hallway opened up, a set of signs pointing out bathrooms on the right while a set of brown double doors were on their left.

At the far end of the hall before it split again was Vern and, unless the System had decided to dress up a random pirate, the captain.

A heartbeat later, the System confirmed it with a prompt.

The Dread Pirate, Bob, captain of the Dread Pirates.

Well, there you go.

Captain Bob was tall and broad, with an intimidating build covered in a large brown coat. He wore a belt strewn with so many pistols it was a miracle it held up his leather pants, and his whole outfit looked worn and tattered as if he hadn’t washed it for weeks.

Markus took that in at a glance before focusing on the captain's hat. Or, more specifically, the red octopus clinging to it for dear life.

The captain was growling and pushing down on Vern with a cutlass grasped in both hands. Vern raised his hands, purple light shedding from him and bright pulses. The sword barely moved, crawling through the air like it was mud.

Markus sprinted for the captain.

The man was too focused on Vern to notice him. Unfortunately, the octopus wasn’t. Its yellow eyes widened till they were comically large, and it slapped at the captain's head with his arms while chirping and chittering frantically. The captain begrudgingly tore his eyes from Vern and focused on the two of them.

He snarled, showing off a mouth full of yellow teeth. “You think your friends can save you?! I’ll drown the lot of you.“ He stopped trying to bisect Vern in slow motion and pointed a thick finger at Markus.

The air shimmered with blue, and then a torrent of water blasted towards them.

The System could have given me an Augment after the Captain Cook Statue! Maybe one dealing with water!

Steven threw a shield up, and well, some of the water blasted around it most kept on coming straight for Markus. Cracks began to spiderweb through the shield, and Steven dismissed it.

Markus was forced to throw himself against the wall to avoid the torrent.

The smell of the sea filled Markus‘s nose, shoving images of dark water and cold nights into his mind.

He shook it off and kept after the man.

Captain Bob narrowed his eyes and turned fully to face Markus.

Another shimmer filled the air, but then a shield slammed into the captain's gut, and it vanished.

He growled, but before he could do more, Markus was on him.

He swept his fist up, catching the pirate in the ribs.

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The man’s feet left the ground, but even as he gasped in pain, he brought his fist around on Markus, trailing water behind him in a wave.

Markus slipped around the punch but couldn’t avoid the accompanying torrent.

It slammed into him, ripping him from his feet and causing his Meter to plummet.

His Meter bottomed out, and The Titan’s Advance dropped. Markus tried to orient himself but failed as the weight of exhaustion slammed into him.

Just before he thought he should’ve hit a wall by now, a shield crashed into his side, flinging him from the torrent. It smarted, and his ribs pulsed in protest, but it was better than crashing into a wall.

Markus shook himself out as the captain switched his focus to Vern.

The man had put space between them and was now under assault by sprays of water and slashes of steel. Steven was fending off the cutlass, but he could only do so much for the waves.

They were just barely small enough that you could technically get around them, but it wasn’t easy.

Exhaustion started to creep in on Markus. He’d used The Titans Advance several times already, and while the Skill didn’t take any energy while using it, the cost of dropping it was steep.

If they were fighting for several more hours, he couldn’t afford to drop it too many more times. And now we’re fighting someone who can blast me from my feet.

Stop thinking like you’re in a fistfight. It wasn’t just about blocking a punch or a kick. He had to prioritize his purpose. He needed to advance.

Markus started to run and then activated his Skill. Amber light enveloped him, strengthening him down to his bones.

Even the chill from his now-soaked clothes retreated as his Meter began to fill. He broke into a full sprint as he neared the captain. The pirate spun as the octopus chirped, slashing out with his cutlass.

Markus ducked under it and tackled the man to the ground.

He seized the man's sword arm and slammed it to the ground, then punched his chin. The impact rattled up his arm, and the pirate grunted. Blue began to shimmer in the corner of Markus’s vision, and he threw himself forward off the captain. His meter, which he dipped for a moment after the tackle, started to fill.

Water thundered, and Markus felt a splash on his calves, but he avoided the worst of it.

He spun around once he put some distance between them and started running back in.

Steven was peppering the man with shields, but Captain Bob was durable. That punch Markus landed would’ve killed a normal human. And while the captain wasn’t happy, he was far from done.

Shields slammed into his shoulders, face, and gut, but while he grunted and cursed, Steven couldn’t stop him from regaining his feet.

He glared at Markus before cracking his knuckles. “Okay, you wretch. I’ll show you what I got!”

~<>~<>~

Micheal came to the somewhat worrying conclusion that he needed to try and get himself killed.

Well, that wasn't technically true. He needed to get himself almost killed. The goal was to be rescued, not to commit suicide by sailor.

His friends already had his buff. Their new allies, on the other hand, didn’t. A pirate flew past him as Buford charged through Fletcher’s like a tank.

Vanessa ran alongside the dog, crushing pirates with her hammer left and right.

Micheal hadn’t actually seen her use any Skills, but the strength she was showing wasn’t human. Maybe her Class focused on passives?

Vince was fighting somewhere else. One of the crewmates was a mini-boss and chased him out of the bar, which left Carla.

The woman didn’t appear to be doing anything. She did take a swing at the odd pirate that drew too close, but otherwise, she just stood around.

From what Micheal had seen of them, they worked well together as a team, and they weren’t weak. So Carla must have some reason to be acting like she was.

Either way, it was critical to buff Vanessa so they could finish up here and help the others.

With his goal in mind, Micheal charged towards the woman. “Vanessa, get ready to save me.“

“What?“ She barely had time to get the question out before Micheal blitzed past her and into the way of a swinging cutlass.

Since he was in the path of danger, his Skill activated, blue light infusing his limbs with speed and grace. He held himself back, slowing down just enough for the sword to hit him. In reality, Micheal would only let the blade get so close before he flung himself into a dive. But that didn’t matter when a hammer took the offending pirate off his feet.

Micheal’s Skill didn’t care if he could have saved himself. It only cared if someone else rescued him from danger.

“Oh, thank you, my hero!“

Vanessa stared at him. “What the hell are you –“ she cut off as blue light surged up around her. She gasped and then cackled as she flexed a fist. “Damn straight, I’m a hero!” She laughed louder before hurling herself back into the fight.

~<>~<>~

Vince leaned around the corner with his bow drawn and his Skills primed.

Nothing, not even a net or some other sign that this event had crept over the Captain Cook hotel. It was just him and the long corridor. The fluorescent lights shimmered overhead, giving him a clear view of the hallway, illuminating it like the throat of some great beast, convulsing and twisting towards the abyss-

Focus Vince, there’s a pirate somewhere in that beast's throat.

Vince narrowed his eyes, trying to catch any sight of his adversity instead of getting lost in his own verbosity.

As he scanned back and forth, he realized one of those shadows wasn’t supposed to be there. It wasn’t obvious. The shadow poked out just a little too far, its dark edges shifting more than the lights could account for.

Vince snapped his aim down and released.

Green bore

Uncommon

Effect: create a green arrow imbued with penetrative force. The shot can be strengthened with more energy investment up to a point.

Cooldown: three seconds

Energy Cost: variable

Vince wasn’t sure if the shot would penetrate a shadow, but it was worth a try.

The arrow slammed into the ground and pierced through the shadow with a wet sucking noise. The pirate who’d been giving him hell for the last 10 minutes flung themselves out of the shadow like an eel, an arrow sticking from his shoulder.

Alright, so he could penetrate a shadow. Good to know.

The pirate had weathered features and a stout build that moved with shocking speed. He had a dagger in one hand and a pistol in the other. A tight black bandanna hid his hair, and his brown eyes stared out at Vince above a mouth set with half a dozen gold teeth.

First Mate Charles, first mate of the Dread Pirates

Charles leveled his pistol and fired. Vince threw himself to the ground, and the doorway above him splintered.

He tried to keep his eyes on Charles and barely managed to track him as he slipped into a shadow on the opposite doorway.

He readied another arrow and fired.

Charles didn’t wait for Vince to land a shot this time. As soon as the first arrow struck wood instead of shadow, the pirate burst out and charged for him. He slipped in and out of shadows as he went, dodging arrows by inches.

Vince started to backpedal, but the pirate was faster than he was.

The pirates dashed through shadows like they were doors of…something-dammit Vince!

Vince switched to his second Skill with a growl.

Blue bolts

Rare

Effect: fire an arrow that shocks and entangles targets. Careful though, it doesn’t discriminate.

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Energy cost: medium/variable

Vince pulled his bowstring back to his cheek before activating the Skill. He fought down a grunt as a wave of energy rushed out of him and into the Skill. Blue lit up along the string before condensing into the arrow, its point sparking and buzzing with barely constrained power.

Vince didn’t aim at the pirate. He aimed at the ground in front of him before activating one of his Augments.

Hunters snare.

Uncommon.

Effect: turn arrow Skill into a trap. When triggered, it will produce the effect of the full power of the arrow.

Cooldown: 15 minutes

Energy Cost: variable

Vince shoved enough energy into the trap to make him a little dizzy. The more he put into it, the longer it would stay and the more potent its effect would be. He didn’t need this thing to stick around, but he needed it to pack a punch.

The arrow slammed into the ground, but instead of punching through, it warped, stretching out into a line that covered the hallway.

Vince kept backpedaling as he readied a green arrow.

First Mate Charles leaped from a shadow and crossed the blue line without pausing. Webs of blue light exploded upward, wrapping the man in tendrils of indigo that pulsed and zapped.

He yelled and thrashed as Vince readied his arrow.

A sudden, violent shaking nearly threw him from his feet. It was a miracle he kept his grip on his bow without accidentally losing into the wall.

The shaking grew worse until Vince thought the hotel was going to come down around him.“What the fuc–“The ground in front of him, including the pirate, was ripped away as a torrent of water punched through the floor, heading straight for the ceiling before breaking that, too. More torrents punched out all around him, spearing through the building seemingly at random.

He was caught in a hurricane, a delicate leaf that could be squished at-

The storm faded, leaving Vince staring at half a dozen holes in the ground.

Holes and the scattered remains of a pirate.

He stared for a few seconds, then shrugged and headed for the stairs. He hadn’t gotten a notification that the event was over, so there was still work to be done.