Red didn't know what to do. He had been out of tricks for a while now and wasn't even really sure how he hadn't died yet. Each passing moment that he survived seemed to be out of sheer chance. All it would take was the wrong move, and it would all be over.
The Pirate King paused his slow approach and cocked his head to the side. He seemed to be contemplating something, but Red wasn't sure what.
It was quiet. Utterly quiet despite the tense situation. Silas and Derrin were both pushing themselves back to their feet in the distance. In a few moments, they'd rejoin the fight as well.
Suddenly, the pirate began shaking his head like he was trying to clear it. He looked like a madman as he stood there shaking himself. Red took a step back, trying to understand what he was looking at. Despite the strangeness and the clear wrongness, the Pirate King charged at him.
Only, he immediately stumbled and nearly fell over. Each step he took was way off, and he kept having to adjust his path. All the while, he continued to shake his head like a maniac.
"That bitch," he swore with such revulsion that Red took another step back.
Even with everything that had happened in their fight, he had not heard the Pirate King ever speak with such contempt and hatred before. Red wasn't even sure who the man was talking about, even if he had a guess. At the moment, though, there wasn't time for any more contemplation because the Pirate King leaped at him with his sword outstretched.
Red dove to the side, trying to avoid a strike that should have been both too fast and powerful to avoid. The blow never landed, and as he glanced to the side, he noticed the pirate leader stumble past. His blade had come down in a long arc, which had been meant to cleave him in two from head to torso. However, the blow had not even come close to landing.
Whatever was happening with the crazed pirate, Red didn't care. He raised his shockblaster and fired another shot. The sound of electricity ripping across the momentarily quiet courtyard.
In the past, the Pirate King had no reason to dodge an attack such as this. It had been far more efficient for him to simply block the attacks and conserve his mist. This time, however, he teleported his body to the side, allowing the shot to whizz past.
The man rose, shaking his head again. Red finally was able to get a good look at the Pirate King's face. Everything appeared normal at first glance…well, other than the sheer rage and fury plastered across it; however, upon closer inspection. Red noticed something he had missed earlier.
It was the man's eyes.
His eyes were simply spinning in circles. One moment they were looking downwards, and the next they were off to the side. It was no wonder he had been having so much trouble fighting, let alone walking. It seemed that Zara had been able to help them after all. She had given them one chance to defeat the Pirate King here and now. Red wasn't sure how long her power would last, but they needed to take advantage of it.
It was the perfect time as well. Derrin and Silas were both approaching the enemy from the rear. Neither of them was in good shape, with Silas being the worst off. However, they both were in good enough shape to pose a serious problem to the Pirate King while being so heavily debilitated.
Silas finally reconjured his spear at the same moment Derrin lunged. The two attacked at once, and the Pirate King quickly began retreating to avoid the strikes. Despite his vision impairments, he still had the skills that naturally came with intense combat experience. That also meant he was adjusting to the strange situation and attempting to overcome it.
Before he got the chance to retreat further, Red fired a shot that took him square across the back. Vision was the most important part in combat, and without it, the Pirate King was in a precarious position. He staggered slightly and barely managed to teleport out of the way in time to avoid Derrin.
However, Silas suddenly moved with alarming speed. It was as if he took every ounce of strength in his body and put it in one last desperate attempt. His spear slammed into the Pirate King that moment before the man teleported. When he reappeared a pace from them, blood began oozing down his torn coat.
The Pirate King froze and slowly looked down at where his own blood was now draining. The absolute rage that had overtaken the man a moment before seemed to be gone. Now it was replaced by a cold, ruthless killing intent. His pride had been injured, and if they had been hoping for a peaceful resolution, it was no longer going to happen.
The Pirate King looked up and snarled, "I gave you all a chance. I gave you all many chances. You could have surrendered, and we would have avoided everything that is happening now. Instead, you thought that you could defy me…that you could…"
"Oh, shut the hell up already," Red yelled, "Let's be honest with ourselves, here. Your peace was never peace. Your surrender meant far worse than surrender. You've had this coming for a while now."
"Today, you meet your end, you traitorous scum," Silas snarled, his face twisted in a rictus grin at the blood dripping on the end of his spear.
"After what you have done to this island, it is our duty to see you slain," Derrin finished.
"Do you really think you can kill me? Even with all of these debilitating attacks, do you think that you have the strength left in your bones to even survive my next assault? You are all going to die! Every last one of you is going to…" The Pirate King froze and slowly turned to the sound of approaching boots, his face contorting in rage.
Despite the injury that the man had sustained, the Pirate King seemed to have been learning to counteract Zara's strange attack, or at the very least work around it. His movements were becoming more precise and controlled, even as he used teleportation more. However, none of that mattered now. He was out of time. Vizim and the soldiers had finally arrived.
They all turned to see a group of soldiers rushing towards them with Vizim in tow. They already held glowing weapons or guns as they prepared for the upcoming fight. Red couldn't help but let out a pained laugh that made his ribs ache. It had taken them long enough, but they had arrived just in the nick of time.
The Pirate King did not move from where he stood. The soldiers slowly began moving around him in a wide arc. In a few moments, the man was no longer facing three but instead a dozen. All the while, he remained totally unmoving except for the rapid twitching of his eyes.
They seemed to have slowed down quite a bit and were no longer dancing around his head. Instead, they simply drifted back and forth as if floating in a sea. It would have appeared normal if not for them occasionally drifting too far up or down.
"Surrender yourself," Silas yelled, his anger hot.
The Pirate King remained silent as he attempted to survey his surroundings. Red didn't doubt for a second that if the man was at full power, he would have been able to take everyone present.
However, he was not at full power. He had dispelled a large amount of mist teleporting here and then, even more during the battle with them. There was also the wound on his shoulder, which was still oozing blood, even if more slowly. All in all, the Pirate King was in no position to fight them all off despite his immense strength.
That didn't mean he wasn't still dangerous. Red took a few paces back. There were trained soldiers for this. He didn't need to stand in the front anymore. Not with all of them around at least. All of their weapons remained unflinching on the man between them.
"I said surrender yourself," Silas yelled coldly.
The Pirate King turned his icy glare on Silas as his eyes started drifting away again, "You fools only delay the inevitable by…"
"On your knees!" Silas's voice was like iron, which was ironic considering he was the one on his knees only a few moments earlier.
"You are fools. All of you fools. I give you the way out, the only way out, and this is what you do. Disgraces all of you."
He was rambling. It sounded like ramblings of a madman, and Red wasn't sure why. They were his enemies, so why was he so upset about being forced to fight them? In the end, it would have ended in blood and death, no matter what happened. He should have known that when coming to the fort. It was foolish to try to articulate the reasoning behind the man's actions, Red knew. But it was still strange.
The Pirate King continued, "You know what waits beneath the island as we speak, what lies in the harbor right beyond the island. The true powers have arrived, and they will have this island. It doesn't matter what they have to do. They will take it from you, and when they do, there will not be an option for surrender."
"The gearborn are here, you fools, and they are going to tear you and all of your people apart. They are going to shatter this fort as they will do with the rest of Valencia and beyond. I offered you a chance. A choice. You could have joined me and, by joining me, become part of a new empire. Instead, you rejected me and have henceforth rejected the new coming. You will all pay the price for this foolishness. Every last one of you," he emphasized that last point with a click of the tongue.
An eerie silence seemed to have fallen over everyone present. Of course, they knew that the gearborn had arrived. They also knew the sorts of horrors that they could unleash on the island without breaking a sweat. Humanity had faced those dreaded adversaries once already, and they had survived.
That was why it was so strange to hear a human advocate so strongly for the gearborn. There had been men like him in the previous war, but they were all deemed madmen. That was also before the Gearborn had truly begun attacking. When they began laying waste to isle after isle, even those people began changing their minds.
But this man was not like them. Red could tell from the way he spoke. He had experienced what the gearborn were capable of firsthand, and it didn't change his belief in them. It was possibly the first time a human had taken up arms to help out the wretched robots.
The stillness was broken with Silas taking a step forward, "I will give you to the count of three, traitor. On your knees, now!"
At least someone had maintained their sense of awareness. Had the Pirate King attacked during that momentary stupor, he might have prevailed. As it stood, the soldiers all adjusted their weapons and prepared to fire on the enemy in their midst.
"You are all fools," he said with a sigh and slowly lowered his hand.
Ever so slowly, he began tucking his shockblaster back into his jacket.
"Put it on the ground."
The Pirate King ignored him as his coat fluttered back in place. He looked up at the surrounding crowd and surveyed them quickly. Red realized that the twitching in his eyes had almost completely subsided. He hoped that didn't mean Zara was dead.
With a puff of mist, the man's sword vanished. Silas didn't move. He hadn't been expecting the Pirate King to come peaceably. He hadn't been expecting the man to come at all. It would have made far more sense for them to only have corpses by the time the fight was done.
Suddenly, before any of them could register, the Pirate King began to fade. His very existence seemed to suddenly be permeated with the glow of mist. They all realized what was happening a moment too late.
"Open fire!" Silas screamed, his own spear lancing out towards the disappearing form of the Pirate King.
Red raised his own gun and fired the last shot it was charged for. The Pirate King slowly raised his hand as he bade their group farewell. Then, as all of the blasts converged on his location…
He was gone.
In his place was another pirate. The man was kneeling and had clearly not been expecting to suddenly appear in the midst of the enemy camp. The man startled upwards, and that was the last thing he ever did. Numerous shock blasts collided with him at the same moment Silas drove his spear through the man's chest.
The pirate collapsed unmoving, dead.
No one spoke.
No one was even sure what to say.
Their biggest enemy was gone. Vanishing the same way he had come. Red couldn't help but worry about the future. The Pirate King had said the Gearborn would move against them after his defeat. Those hadn't been his exact words, but they meant the same thing. Would they be able to hold against a Gearborn ship? That was the true question, one that they would soon likely have an answer to.
"At least we killed that one right?" Vizim asked uncertainly.
Red snorted, "Yes, Vizim. It is good that we got that one."
What were they going to do now?