Scaly blue hands rose from the waters, and webbed fingers sunk sharp, claw-like fingernails into the planks of the Gaping Maw's hull. The first of the mermaids hauled herself out of the water, the purple-orange moonlight glistening off the scales of a large fish-like tail which dangled in place of legs. She was joined by two more mermaids on the starboard side as three others began their climb on the port side. The Fish Wizard lingered in the waters some distance away, waiting for his moment.
As the mermaids climbed, the bones in their tails began crack, shift and contort. Scales bulged and undulated as the pieces moved into place, and soon flesh began to rip and tear. The tails split from the end up their length to the mermaid's lower waist, muscles writhing as bones popped into place. Before they reached the first portholes, the transformation was complete, and in place of their tails were powerful scaly legs ending with wide webbed feet which shared the same sharp claws as their hands. The mermaids transitioned their climbing style seamlessly to include their newly formed feet, and their speed nearly doubled. As they reached the upper decks, they slow their pace only slightly as they weaved between the portholes and were careful not to make a sound.
Iris's eyes snapped open. In her nightmare, she had felt something moving behind her head -- but that was impossible, her head was only inches from the inner hull of the ship. She glanced nervously around the deck, but saw only slumbering masses in their hammocks. With a quiet sigh, she lay her head back and closed her eyes to return to sleep. She felt it again -- something was crawling on the outside of the ship.
A blip brought her to the floor, where she hurriedly jammed her feet into boots. Fire shot through her veins and a breath lodged in her throat as a hulking hand gripped her upper arm.
"You're up to something," Dorragth, the orc with an attitude problem who slept on the hammock below her, growled quietly as he clenched tighter on her arm.
"Yeah, usually," Iris admitted in a panic, "but that's not what this is. There's something climbing the ship."
Dorragth paused where he sat in his hammock and glanced towards the nearest porthole. He sniffed the air, and his face contorted into the ugliest snarl Iris had ever seen. He released his grip and swiftly climbed out of his hammock, reaching across to the nearest sleeping pirate and lifting his hammock to drop him onto the floor.
"MERMAIDS!" He spewed spit as he shouted in a booming growl.
Pirates stirred in their hammocks, some toppling out into heaps on the floor while others deftly climbed to their feet and picked up weapons. The alarm was echoed down the length of the deck by other pirates to ensure that it was heard by all, and within seconds the first of the pirates were storming up the stairs.
The first three of the mermaids had crossed over the railing and stepped foot upon the main deck when the shouts rung out from below. The first mermaid aboard and leader of the mission froze in place for only a second before shouting.
"Fall ba--" her command was interrupted by a boom.
There was a shower of splinters as a door exploded outwards, followed by only a flash of pale blue before the Shark Titan was upon her. Her last glimpse of the world was a fleshy throat beyond rows of triangular teeth. Blood squirted and splattered in a jagged halo as the captain's ring of teeth shredded through her abdomen. He grabbed one of the legs that jutted from his mouth and promptly jerked it away, ripping the lower half of the mermaid's body from his jaws and tossing it aside as he swallowed the rest.
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Iris blipped to the main deck in time to see and hear the half-corpse slap onto the deck. She froze in horror, but was quickly jostled and shoved aside by other pirates rushing past with weapons drawn. In her daze, she spotted a monstrous, fish-like woman baring sharp teeth and claws as she charged towards the front line of pirates. Almost casually, each of them pulled the strange, bowless metal crossbows from their waists and leveled them towards the oncoming creature. Her eyes went wide and her weight shifted to abort the attack, and then a discordant chorus of booms echoed through the night. Black smoke drifted in the wind as the bloodied creature convulsed with each boom before lifelessly collapsing to the deck.
Another fish-like woman attempted to flee, but was quickly surrounded by a ring of pirate sabers. First her legs were slashed and she collapsed to her knees, then two swipes severed either of her clawed hands as they lashed out towards her nearest attackers. She hissed upwards in defiance as the final swipe cleaved off her head.
Iris stepped back out of the way of the stairwell and leaned against the front wall of the quarterdeck. She wasn't panicked, her breath and heart were only slightly quickened -- yet she was stunned, unable to process the events as quickly as they happened.
"The rest are fleeing!" someone shouted.
"Cannons down to the waves with explosive shot!" the captain barked, "I want every fish for a mile floating dead!"
Many of the pirates who had just rushed past Iris to the main deck now rushed back, filling the stairwell as they rapidly stomped down to the gun deck. She heard cannons roll as orders were shouted, and less than a minute later the first shots were fired. Almost absent-mindedly, Iris blipped to the railing and leaned over to watch the shots land. As commanded, they were aimed at the lake with the sharpest angles the cannons could accommodate. The cannon balls splashed into the water with little effect, shortly before exploding with muffled booms that briefly flashed brightly and bulged the surface of the water. The pirates fired three rounds from all cannons on either side before the captain called for them to halt.
Iris tore her gaze away from the water and slowly turned her head towards the Shark Titan. He was without his usual coat and occasional hat, and his scarred chest heaved with heavy, angry breathes as he stared out at something in the dark.
"Ship's secure, captain," Meredith spoke as she stepped up beside him.
"You're in command," the captain said with the measured but wavering tone of a man with a barely caged temper.
"Absolutely not," Meredith said flatly.
The Shark Titan was briefly stunned out of his rage by her response, and looked at her with a slightly agape jaw. Blood adorned his face and chest, and was dripping onto the deck at his feet.
"Sorry, but that's not the right call," the first mate shrugged.
"But Meredith-- he's out there! The bastard's working with the mermaids like we feared!"
Meredith turned her head to look at at the darkness, "and let me guess, he's lingering just inside the range at which you can smell him?"
"He's taunting me!" The captain growled, his muscles bulging as his stepped towards Meredith.
"He's baiting you!" she shouted, "you're a damn fool if you don't see that. I guarantee there's a legion beneath us right now just waiting for you to go off chasing the wizard so they can overrun and slaughter us. Fuck the hydra, I guess, 'cause you're trying to give them the whole damn ship!"
Each breath the captain released came out as a growl, but he said nothing.
"You'll feel better if you eat," she said with a sigh, "I'll find the chef and have her bring you something."
The captain shook his head and waved her off, "don't bother. I'll eat the leftovers."
He stomped over to the beheaded corpse, grabbed it by the leg and slowly lifted it to dangle over his open jaw. With a quick bite and jerk of his head, he ripped off the first of the dangling arms and swallowed it. He did the same with the other arm, and then lowered the torso into his gaping mouth and chomped through it. As he had done with his last meal, he ripped the legs free from his teeth and tossed them aside.
The first mate looked past the Shark Titan as he ate and spotted Iris, whose body went tense under her gaze. She flinched when the first mate shouted, "what are you looking at? Get somewhere!"
Iris nodded in a panic and blipped below deck.