10-02-2017, 09:57 PM
Zack stretched his arms at the sound of battle. The ill-trained and barely armed scientists scrambled while Gary began powering up some more of his hocus pocus or whatever. To Zack, things were a bit more relaxed. He knew not to panic and let the moment overwhelm him. He was no good that way. So he took the time to warm himself up just a tad before leaping back over to the enemy vessel.
With another jump, he traversed through the air and descended upon the skeletal ship once again. He slammed down with such force that splinters were hurled in all directions, but the decaying occupants of the ship appeared to be ready for him this time.
Weapons swung at Zack from all sides, but the warrior remained amazingly agile despite his gigantic sword strapped to his back. He deflected each blow as it came from empty hands, while gracefully dodging or redirecting rusted swords into their allies. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Zack would swing a careful, calculated strike with one empty hand to neutralize that attacker. In short order, he was standing alone among a pile of bones and swords.
His moment of pride was cut short as several rounds from the crew’s guns soared over his head, causing him to duck and move behind the mast. He crouched low and pulled the Bolt and Ice Materia from his belt, holding one in each hand. Wood peeled from the ship with each impact the rounds had on his cover, and Zack knew he wasn’t even the main target. The crew of Gary’s submarine would be much worse off against the volley of gunfire. Zack’s job was to get in the middle of all this and worry about the big threats, and those snipers sure fit the bill.
Zack emerged from his cover, blasting the skeletal gunmen from their perches with bolts of lightning and flying icicles. Their fire turned on him, and he responded by stowing his magical rocks and instead drawing his massive sword. Zack jumped up and landed amongst the snipers, and expertly dismantled them into piles of bones and deteriorated flesh.
Things were going well, it seemed. Zack knew better than to fall into a false sense of security, but the fact that the scientists were storming the pirate ship instead of the other way around spoke volumes. The battle was brutal and bloody, so Zack only spent a second looking for the next threat. It had to be a big, important target.
Something like that didn’t take long to locate. A skeleton decked out in full pirate clothing with a massive cutlass was making his was through the ranks. His skull seemed to be warped into a twisted, demented smile as he raised his weapon, clearly pleased that his victims had come to him. Before Zack could do anything, the skeletal warrior struck down three of the living scientists without a fight. Zack was already in motion as the captain approached Gary.
Gary saw the menacing corpse approach, and two orbs of sheer dark energy left his palms towards the captain. The captain merely swatted both attacks aside with his sword, and broke into a sprint at the older man. His approach was suddenly stopped by Zack’s timely arrival, as the young super soldier slammed down between his ally and new foe. The captain stopped, but held his sword ready to deal with the new foe.
“We’ll deal with him together, laddy!” Gary said as he began to step up beside Zack, but the ex-SOLDIER held up a hand to stop him.
“You deal with the grunts, that’s what you’re equipped for,” Zack ordered.
“And leave you to this thing?” Gary said with a hint of condescension in his voice. “Can you handle it?”
“Maybe?” Zack admitted, but returned his own sass to his teammate. “You won’t make a difference, either way. Go keep our people alive.”
That last point was enough for Gary, and he left to rejoin the fray without further comment. Zack looked to the skeletal captain, and returned his own smile. There was nothing quite like a straight fight against a unique foe. He calmed his excitement only by reminding himself of the death around him. This had to be quick.
The skeleton approached and stabbed at Zack with its sword, and the young warrior easily sidestepped it while brushing the thrust aside with his own massive blade. Zack was quick to throw an elbow into the captain’s jaw, but the decayed man didn’t flinch. Instead, it merely swung its free hand to catch Zack on the back of the head, which sent the prime stumbling forward.
Zack had the sense to bring his sword around his back as he was stumbling, and felt the captain’s sword connect with his. A close call. He turned and swung the Buster Sword with both hands for all the power he could muster, but the skeleton leaped backwards from the attack. Zack’s tremendous blow reduced a railing to splinters, but the fragments of wood hurled into the air didn’t phase him. He kept his grip tight and moved in for the next attack, bringing the sword back around. The captain remained in retreat, and all Zack succeeded in doing was tearing through more of the ship.
With Zack in recovery, the captain approached again, swinging its sword at Zack’s skull from above. Unable to bring his sword around in time to block, Zack merely pushed forward with his legs and tackled the corpse warrior. The two of them fell from a balcony onto the lower level, landing amidst the brawl.
A sick, demented, and unnatural sneer remained on the skeleton’s face as it stood back up, and held its large cutlass up. Zack looked more annoyed than anything, but he rolled to his feet with resilience, just the same. The super soldier performed a wide swing with his massive Buster Sword, and the pirate captain’s attempt to deflect the heavy sword sent him reeling away. Zack steadied his weapon and moved in for another strike, but this time the captain was ready.
The skeleton moved in close, and put its own weight behind the parry. Zack was surprised when they locked blades and he was unable to knock the skeleton back from the initial blow. He just gritted his teeth, unintimidated as he glared into the captain’s soulless eyes. Both of them shoved with their swords, and neither kept their balance.
Zack stumbled backwards, and stopped as he backed into a railing. The skeleton thrashed its arms wildly as it struggled to keep its balance, and barely managed to do so. It looked at Zack with the same horrid look it maintained the entire fight, and approached once more.
In a flash, the lead astronomer tackled the captain from the side. The impact from the blow was so strong that as the skeleton hit the ground its head popped off of its weak neck and flew through the air, landing a bit away from its body and attacker. Zack stared in awe. Where had that come from?
Clowney looked up as he stood up and distanced himself from the body. “Is it… dead?”
Zack ran at the skull and kicked it as hard as he could, sending it sailing into the sea. It was all he could think of.
“I guess!?” Zack shouted over to the astronomer.
“We need you back in the fight!” Clowney said, pointing to the brawl on the upper level.
Zack looked up. The skeletal crew was getting the upper hand. He could turn the tide, as could Caira, if she were able to fight. That wasn’t an option, so it was on him.
Without a word, he jumped back into the fray, and quickly got to work dismantling more of the undead attackers.
With another jump, he traversed through the air and descended upon the skeletal ship once again. He slammed down with such force that splinters were hurled in all directions, but the decaying occupants of the ship appeared to be ready for him this time.
Weapons swung at Zack from all sides, but the warrior remained amazingly agile despite his gigantic sword strapped to his back. He deflected each blow as it came from empty hands, while gracefully dodging or redirecting rusted swords into their allies. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Zack would swing a careful, calculated strike with one empty hand to neutralize that attacker. In short order, he was standing alone among a pile of bones and swords.
His moment of pride was cut short as several rounds from the crew’s guns soared over his head, causing him to duck and move behind the mast. He crouched low and pulled the Bolt and Ice Materia from his belt, holding one in each hand. Wood peeled from the ship with each impact the rounds had on his cover, and Zack knew he wasn’t even the main target. The crew of Gary’s submarine would be much worse off against the volley of gunfire. Zack’s job was to get in the middle of all this and worry about the big threats, and those snipers sure fit the bill.
Zack emerged from his cover, blasting the skeletal gunmen from their perches with bolts of lightning and flying icicles. Their fire turned on him, and he responded by stowing his magical rocks and instead drawing his massive sword. Zack jumped up and landed amongst the snipers, and expertly dismantled them into piles of bones and deteriorated flesh.
Things were going well, it seemed. Zack knew better than to fall into a false sense of security, but the fact that the scientists were storming the pirate ship instead of the other way around spoke volumes. The battle was brutal and bloody, so Zack only spent a second looking for the next threat. It had to be a big, important target.
Something like that didn’t take long to locate. A skeleton decked out in full pirate clothing with a massive cutlass was making his was through the ranks. His skull seemed to be warped into a twisted, demented smile as he raised his weapon, clearly pleased that his victims had come to him. Before Zack could do anything, the skeletal warrior struck down three of the living scientists without a fight. Zack was already in motion as the captain approached Gary.
Gary saw the menacing corpse approach, and two orbs of sheer dark energy left his palms towards the captain. The captain merely swatted both attacks aside with his sword, and broke into a sprint at the older man. His approach was suddenly stopped by Zack’s timely arrival, as the young super soldier slammed down between his ally and new foe. The captain stopped, but held his sword ready to deal with the new foe.
“We’ll deal with him together, laddy!” Gary said as he began to step up beside Zack, but the ex-SOLDIER held up a hand to stop him.
“You deal with the grunts, that’s what you’re equipped for,” Zack ordered.
“And leave you to this thing?” Gary said with a hint of condescension in his voice. “Can you handle it?”
“Maybe?” Zack admitted, but returned his own sass to his teammate. “You won’t make a difference, either way. Go keep our people alive.”
That last point was enough for Gary, and he left to rejoin the fray without further comment. Zack looked to the skeletal captain, and returned his own smile. There was nothing quite like a straight fight against a unique foe. He calmed his excitement only by reminding himself of the death around him. This had to be quick.
The skeleton approached and stabbed at Zack with its sword, and the young warrior easily sidestepped it while brushing the thrust aside with his own massive blade. Zack was quick to throw an elbow into the captain’s jaw, but the decayed man didn’t flinch. Instead, it merely swung its free hand to catch Zack on the back of the head, which sent the prime stumbling forward.
Zack had the sense to bring his sword around his back as he was stumbling, and felt the captain’s sword connect with his. A close call. He turned and swung the Buster Sword with both hands for all the power he could muster, but the skeleton leaped backwards from the attack. Zack’s tremendous blow reduced a railing to splinters, but the fragments of wood hurled into the air didn’t phase him. He kept his grip tight and moved in for the next attack, bringing the sword back around. The captain remained in retreat, and all Zack succeeded in doing was tearing through more of the ship.
With Zack in recovery, the captain approached again, swinging its sword at Zack’s skull from above. Unable to bring his sword around in time to block, Zack merely pushed forward with his legs and tackled the corpse warrior. The two of them fell from a balcony onto the lower level, landing amidst the brawl.
A sick, demented, and unnatural sneer remained on the skeleton’s face as it stood back up, and held its large cutlass up. Zack looked more annoyed than anything, but he rolled to his feet with resilience, just the same. The super soldier performed a wide swing with his massive Buster Sword, and the pirate captain’s attempt to deflect the heavy sword sent him reeling away. Zack steadied his weapon and moved in for another strike, but this time the captain was ready.
The skeleton moved in close, and put its own weight behind the parry. Zack was surprised when they locked blades and he was unable to knock the skeleton back from the initial blow. He just gritted his teeth, unintimidated as he glared into the captain’s soulless eyes. Both of them shoved with their swords, and neither kept their balance.
Zack stumbled backwards, and stopped as he backed into a railing. The skeleton thrashed its arms wildly as it struggled to keep its balance, and barely managed to do so. It looked at Zack with the same horrid look it maintained the entire fight, and approached once more.
In a flash, the lead astronomer tackled the captain from the side. The impact from the blow was so strong that as the skeleton hit the ground its head popped off of its weak neck and flew through the air, landing a bit away from its body and attacker. Zack stared in awe. Where had that come from?
Clowney looked up as he stood up and distanced himself from the body. “Is it… dead?”
Zack ran at the skull and kicked it as hard as he could, sending it sailing into the sea. It was all he could think of.
“I guess!?” Zack shouted over to the astronomer.
“We need you back in the fight!” Clowney said, pointing to the brawl on the upper level.
Zack looked up. The skeletal crew was getting the upper hand. He could turn the tide, as could Caira, if she were able to fight. That wasn’t an option, so it was on him.
Without a word, he jumped back into the fray, and quickly got to work dismantling more of the undead attackers.