Seko pushed aside the wooden grate and saw a sky of crimson above him. As he stepped onto the deck, he could see the portal ahead, only now it revealed the normal hughes of their real world. Or, it showed them between large arcing sparks and lines of energy spilling off.

"Took you long enough." Nakyan said

The whipping, whirling screams of the portal's arcing energy filled the air as the world around Seko and the crew that slowly filed out of the lower decks came into focus. From below the noise was unintelligible, but on the surface it was easy to hear the horror around them.

Some of the remaining crew, just roughly a handful of men and women, stood at the base of the stairs leading up to the Quarterdeck and Helm. Yan stood beside a crewman at the wheel, waving a shining, gilded cutlass in the air with glee.

"Longer than I expected anyway," Yan said sneering, "I see you found the gifts I left you." He motioned to the crew and Eado. "I figured that we should have an audience willing to remember."

"Remember what, brother?" Seko took a step forward but was halted by an arc round smashing into the ground before him. Some of the men behind him readied their weapons, but Seko waved them off and adopted an old rest position.

"Remember the first kill that I make as the Legendary Pirate Lord Nakyan of the Pasongunan." he took a confident pose and shouted a cheer, echoed by the other crew below him, "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"I'm not sure about the hat," Seko said, "All good captains have a good hat." He pointed to the trifold on his head, then to himself. "See?"

Nakyans smiled dropped and he lowered the weapon. "I think I truly hate you, Seko."

"Why would that be?"

"Because of you," He said, "I've been stuck in this lowly life. You and our damned father."

"I'll agree about dad, but what have I done that's so bad?"

"You're no pirate. You never were. You were always the noble one, you've been holding me back for so long."

"I've always tried to help you," Seko said

"Give him a blade." Nakyan shouted. One of the crewman walked forward and stabbed a sword into the ground before him. "I'll use this one," He pulled the strange infused and bejeweled sword from behind the railing and showed it off with a coy grin. Cria boiled behind him, but she held her position.

"You don't have to do this."

"OH SHUT UP!" Nakyan jumped over the rail and landed with a thud onto the ground. He tapped the dimly glowing shield gewel on his belt, and seko was forced to watch the bubble slowly merge around him. "ALL YOU EVER DO IS TALK! YOU AVOID MORE CONFLICTS!"

Seko pulled the blade from the deck and looked it over before adopting his stance. Nakyan followed suite with a low guard, laughing as he struck the pose.

"Yes, this is what I always wanted. I just never knew. I guess I've always wanted to find out which of us is better."

"Vel, Reeves, Sunte, get us in the air and out of that portal." The three nodded their understanding and dashed back down the stairs.

"Kill them," Nakyan said, "But leave Seko for me."

The handful of Nakyans loyal crewman readied their weapons and started towards the lower decks, only for the rest of the crew to step between them.

"I think you heard the Captain's orders," Eado said, "We're leaving."

"Seko ain't the Captain no more." Fruea said, "You'd best move big guy."

"I would rather die."

"Fine by me." She tried to plunge the blade into Eados chest in one quick motion.

Seko turned to block the strike, but found the blade of Nakyan coming in to close the distance. He leapt back to create space and pressed himself against the side rail of the ship. Nakyan wasted no time in his follow-up, swinging once more and nearly striking Seko in the arm. They danced around each other as the one parried and the other attacked.

Behind him, the twin crews were exchanging blows as well. Eado had managed to stop the blade, but only just, and they were now baring down on the handful of the ship's the bloodiest warriors. Seko parried a strike low and struck Nakyan in the face with an elbow, sending the man backpedaling. He pressed the attack and tried for his feet, instead he found only steel and a grinning Nakyan.

"Not too bad." He said. "Could use some work."

"That's a shame," Seko said, "I just lost a great teacher."

Seko swung again, wide from the right, and Nakyan parried the blow easily. He readjusted the blade in his following swing and brought it down onto Sekos unarmored left shoulder. Seko managed to pull away just before it could dig into his flesh deeply, but not before it had made contact. He felt the tear in his warmth, part of him draining away.

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Moving as fast as he could, Seko dipped low and spun the blade into an upwards stroke. It bounced off the shield harmlessly, giving Nakyan enough to land a punch to Sekos gut. He fell to a knee and gasped for air, managing to see the shimmer of silver out of the corner of his eye in time to roll away.

"You're a slimy one. I always knew you were good at running away."

"You brought a shield to a duel!" Seko parried a blow and struck the shield again

"Use every advantage."

A dull hum vibrated out into the air as the Arc-lifters received their first doses of power. The ship jostled and parts of the two crews held their ears as the noise grew in volume. Seko took the chance to try for Nakyan weapon hand, but the shield rebuffed the attack again.

"Can't you do anything other than run?"

"I don't want to kill you,"

"Cute that you think you could." Nakyan swung for his neck, but Seko met the blade and locked them in a distant hold.

"What about the treasure?" Seko asked

"Loaded in the hold, and the other decks." Nakyan laughed. "As well as the orb, took that off you when you finally shut up. "

"Look at that portal Yan," he pointed to the beams and arcing energy striking around them, "It's too much. If that portal closes, we're all trapped here."

"We have the gewels still!" Nakyan said, "We'll be fine, but it shouldn't concern you."

The ship rocked hard left and threw most of the occupants about, Seko and Nakyan slammed their blades into the deck to keep themselves upright. As the ship leveled, Seko dove towards Nakyan without a blade, intending to tackle him to the ground. He only managed to knock the man a few feet back, but that was enough for Seko to grab the infused sword and dart back. The humming was continuing to grow until it had reached a low whine that filled everything with its presence.

"Give up," Seko said, "I'm giving you one last chance." The blade felt too heavy, as if he'd drop it at any moment, but he held himself in stance. Waiting for the burst.

"Why do you always insist on being the hero?" Nakyan asked, walking calmly over to retrieve the blade Seko had been using. "It doesn't matter the weapon, it doesn't matter the time. You will never be the legend here."

"I'm not trying to be the legend." Seko cried, "I'm trying to be your friend and brother!"

"Then you failed at both,"

Nakyan lunged to close the distance, blade tip aimed for Sekos heart. Just as he was about to land the strike, the ship lurched upward, and the humming turned to a loud pop. Seko flung into action as the energy reached its peak, knocking Nakyans blade from his surprised hands and stabbing into his chest. The blade pierced through the bubble as if it weren't tangible, and Seko felt the blow land. He ripped the blade out and watched as his brother fell gasping, hand clutching over the wound.

The rest of the fight had concluded, and Aithur slowly hobbled towards the helm, the crewman at its position stepping away in awe from the spectacle.

"I'm sorry." Seko whispered, "I really am."

"I know...you are..." Nakyan panted "Bas..tard...Let me die...in...peace..."

"No, I won't." Seko placed a finger to the red Gewel and pressed as much of his natural energy into it as possible. The adrenaline of the fight had cleared his mind enough to pull the threads without him realizing it, and he found that the healing gewel began its work almost instantly. "I'll stop you from dying, no more than that."

"Captain!" Aithur called from the helm, "The portal!"

It was closing, slowly. Its edges were melding back into the ethereal world. Seko cursed and rushed to the helm, shouting orders for sails and trying to pull together a plan.

"Eado," He called, "Make sure that Yan is tied and bound."

Eado nodded and gripped the man by his lapel before dragging him below deck.

"Vel," Seko gripped the pipe like a dying man, "Is there anything you can do to speed us up."

"Maybe," came her voice, "but we wouldn't have much after that again."

"The doors closing."

"Shit. Alright, Reeves..." Her voice trailed off.

A strange splashing sound on the opposite end of the portal caught his eye, and seko watched as three volleys of cannons collided into the tar like water, sinking into it and disappearing. Then another volley, and another. Then he heard the sounds of firing and noticed a chunk of the upper section vanish in a burst of crumbling stone.

Sails dropped and ship moving, the Pasongunan slowly labored its way out of the air above the bay and towards the gate. Their prow cleared as another section above collapsed, sending debris down atop them. As they exited the portal fully, Seko could see a fleet of three Imperial Craft laying into the split mountain, shattering the objects within.

"Get us up as high as we can go!" He shouted.

They were above the bay of the Crescent island now, only a few dozen feet from its waters. Cannonballs blasted the nearby stone and continued showering them in its results.

Suddenly a movement on the deck caught his eye, and Seko could see Nakyan struggling to wrench free a knife Eados grip. Seko rushed down just as he managed to pull it free, then turned to stab into Seko again. A blast of hot flame licked his face and sent him trailing off into the waters below. Cria, face flushed and eyes wide, ran to watch as the man fell and crashed into the waves.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezed lightly, then turned back to the crew and shouted for the ship to sail. Vels order to Reeves had just started in action, because their forward and upward momentum began to rise faster than he would have thought possible.

Seko rushed to the side of the deck, trying to catch a glimpse of his brother, but only managed to see the disappearing of the island, the destruction of the mountain, and the fire blasts of cannons aimed their way. He lowered his head in a strange sense of shame, wishing At that moment to have traded places, then looked ahead to the glowing horizon. It felt a bit less hopeful now, something in him seemed to be missing.

"Heading Captain?" Aithur called

Seko turned to Cria, face still pale with shock, and breathed deep. This is my path now.

"Anriuku." Seko said. "Take us back to Anriuku,"

"Aye captain."

The ship turned away from the wind, letting it slip into their sails and speed them further forward. Seko walked slowly back up to the helm and took his place beside Aithur. There would be more funerals, probably not that night, though. He wanted to let the crew rest and recover slightly before he would dredge this back up.

Still, of all the days to die. Nakyan had always wanted to go beneath a sky of red.

"Beneath that most beautiful Crimson sky," Seko whispered, "Smelling the sea breeze."