Katrina’s crew swarmed up the side of the captain’s quarters, pulling themselves onto the roof. Maya watched them wearily, her sickle hanging loosely in her hand as blood dripped down her face.

“I suppose it was a pretty good song, wasn’t it?” Maya asked, spitting the blood out of her mouth.

The pirates weren’t amused. They started towards her, cautiously this time, their weapons raised. One of them raised his hands. A ball of fire started to form between them. Maya forced herself to raise her weapon for one last fight.

Humbol slammed into the center of the deck like a bolt of white lightning. Patty leapt off his back. In an instant, she stood beside the capstan. The puppet grabbed the huge contraption and heaved. Wood screamed in protest, but it was to no avail.

With a splintery crunch, the capstan tore free of the deck. The chain connected to it whipped about like a furious snake, slamming into the deck beside it and nearly taking Patty’s head off before vanishing down the hole. The sound of breaking wood followed it down.

“Yes!” Maya yelled, a tiny burst of energy reinvigorating her momentarily.

She took advantage of the pirates’ shock and dove into the crowd. She used the nearest man as a springboard, launching herself off his shoulders and into the air. She barely cleared the back of the group, stumbling as she landed back on the deck.

Darkness threatened to swallow her once again as her wounds screamed in protest, but Maya pushed them to the back of her mind. The edges of her vision dimmed, but it didn’t matter. She only needed to see what was in front of her.

The captain lunged forward, grabbing the ship’s wheel and spinning it to the side as hard as she could. It creaked slowly, resisting her weakened efforts. Her grip started to loosen as she felt the strength leave her body.

A new pair of hands covered in shimmering rings appeared on the wheel. Maya slumped to the ground as Humbol’s muscles tensed and he spun the wheel. The galleon offered no further protest. With the anchor lost to sea, the large boat slowly started to swing in a wide circle.

Humbol helped Maya back to her feet, an inscrutable expression on his face. He slung her arm around his shoulders to keep his captain upright.

“I see you made it back,” Maya said, grinning weakly.

The deck shuddered as Patty engaged what remained of the crew. She didn’t even bother drawing her axe, instead opting to grab the pirates and swing them like wrecking balls. Screams of pain filled the deck once again as the puppet waded through their ranks, demolishing anyone who stood in her path towards Maya and Humbol.

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“And right on time,” Humbol said, glancing behind them, where the Wavedance was rapidly approaching the galleon. There was probably less than a minute until it reached them. A light flashed from several of the other ships in an erratic pattern. Humbol chuckled when he noticed it. “It looks like Katrina has realized something is amiss on her ship.”

“She’s a bit late on the uptake,” Maya replied.

Cannonfire filled the air once again, but many of Katrina’s ships had held their fire to avoid hitting their own vessels. They were clearly waiting for one of the galleons in front of the Wavedance to sink the small ship.

Unfortunately for Katrina, there were only three ships directly in front of Wavedance. The one behind the galleon Maya stood upon fired at the Wavedance. Some of the shots collided with the deck, each one causing the captain to wince. However, the small ship continued on.

As for the galleon in front of Maya, they were unable to fire. A wicked grin crossed Maya’s face as she and Humbol steadied the wheel, setting the galleon straight on course for Katrina’s other ship.

“Get the gunpowder barrels and gather them in the front of the ship,” Maya ordered Humbol. “Patty is distracting them, so hopefully they won’t bother me. There aren’t that many of them left at this point anyways.”

The man nodded, leaning Maya against the railing before vanishing in a burst of white wind. It didn’t take long for the galleon’s crew to realize they were headed on a collision course for their fellow ship.

Patty pushed her way through the crowd, her clothing ruined but her tough body largely undamaged. She dashed to stand before Maya, raising the corpse of the man she had been using as a weapon defensively.

“We’re lucky Katrina’s crew is so weak,” Patty said. “Imagine if they were all even slightly competent. Even twenty copies of Axel would have been enough to stop us.”

Maya shuddered at the thought of more than one of her foe.

“She’s got so many ships that there’s no way she could afford to payroll many strong pirates. I’m sure her strong members are aboard her ship or near it. She’ll regret that, though.”

Patty hurled the man’s corpse, knocking pirates to the ground like bowling pins.

“Maya, look!” Patty yelled. “The Wavedance!”

Maya jerked her head back. Her ship, riddled with holes in the upper deck and sails, sailed past them, breaking free of Katrina’s fleet and hugging the shoreline. Since Katrina’s fleet had all oriented themselves in a semicircle around Greenhill’s Seagate, none of their cannons were able to reach Wavedance.

The galleon before them was quickly growing closer and closer. Maya could dimly see the men on it desperately working to raise their anchor, but it was unlikely they’d make it in time.

Humbol appeared in a burst of white wind. His breath came in ragged gasps and several new wounds had appeared on his body.

“There were still people below deck, but I took care of them. Let’s get out of here,” he said. The man’s eyes lit up as he noticed Wavedance darting away from them.

Maya didn’t have the strength to even nod in agreement. Humbol grabbed her and Patty. They launched off the deck, leaving the galleon behind them as the group ascended into the air. Their movement was wobbly and erratic. Crossbow shots sailed past them harmlessly.