Needless Carnage - Strangers

[Gildarts]

The looming darkness in the captain's character didn't seem to bother the impassive Gildarts, who seemed almost completely aware that the man was ready to pounce on him as prey. The Prime sat on the upper deck of the ship allowing his slightly weaker body to be susceptible to the deadly tempest, with his sole purpose set on finding Tenrou Island. In order for it to be found, a Fairy Tail wizard’s eyes must be seeking it.

Still, after hours of saline water splashing and spraying against his ever endeavoring eyes, there was no outline of the illustrious Tenrou Tree to be seen. The shipmen menaced toward the lucky landlubber as mal de mar had struck most humans, who by this time, would be hurling their breakfast over the brig. There would be no point in Gildarts sharing his time centered concerns with this raggedy looking crew; they had been working for hours to shift, sway, and steer the heavy mast with the concurrent winds. It would diminish their purpose to fight against the storm for his sake, even if their denigrating expressions openly disparaged and condemned his presence. After all, to them, he had just leased their lives.

They began to load things that didn’t appear to be cannonballs up to their mounted guns. Red, the only pirate to treat Gildarts as someone other than just another “welcome” guest, responded to the imposing question, “What are those?”

Red looked down to the black orb in his hands as he stacked and loaded the ship’s main defense, “What? You've never seen a banishment circle before?”

Gildarts studied the weapon and attached a name to the flickering spell clasped tangibly in the pirate's hands, “Not at all, what is it used for?” In this side of the planet, the cannonballs aboard ships were swapped out for this?

“Banishment circles send even Primes to the depths o’ the Underverse! They’re called black gold by anyone who wants to survive in these seas! We get em’ and use them against-” Red stopped himself, “Well, ya can never be too careful, especially in these waters. If an Empire ship were to attack us, we’d scuttle em’ with these. They work kind o’ like a black hole.”

“RED! GET BACK TO THEM MONKEYS!” an angry crewman shouted as he collaborated with the enemy.

“Scary.” Gildarts chuckled a bit, walked off, and then glanced toward the direction they were sailing in. There were no ships along the coast of the island they were nearing, so what was the cannon being loaded for?

Why doesn’t a Prime know his mortal enemy? Red thought, there was something very suspicious about the captain’s plan, yet some storms were destined to rain.

...

“Land Ho’!” The sentinel stationed in the crow’s nest shouted down as his inflamed holler was caught in the rabid winds.

Gildarts opened his eyes in response to the illusory call that beckoned him from his restless slumber. He looked around but the many ship hands had already flocked to their posts. There must have been some mistake because the Fairy Tail wizard did not feel the tingling return of magic flooding in his veins. Meanwhile, the ship skidded to a halt under the tonnage cast by a grappling anchor.

The great Tenrou Tree was nowhere to be seen, instead, his eyes fell on a small island. To its credit it was around the same size as Tenrou, however this insular place was devoid of any naturally inhabiting magic. In its place, creatures growled from the shadows created by the thick canopy of trees. In the distance, the violent stride of a large beast could be heard rumbling over the sound of the hissing waves.

The wizard felt an unspoken challenge weigh in the surrounding air. His grave gaze fractured the fierce tension of freshly altered circumstances as he scrutinized the backstabbing Barbarossa. Gildarts clenched his teeth together and he uttered under his breath, “Tch.”

No explanation was offered to him as the ace was prodded off the boat by a lovely looking saber. He let them. But still had to remind himself, One bad thought, that’s all it would take. At least this way I won’t have to sink the ship... The small boat grated against the jagged, dagger-like shells on the shore as they tore into the softened malleable wood of the dinghy. The sandy land creased into his boots and left dented imprints on the beach as his muscles effortlessly tensed, patiently awaiting the fight to be brought to him.

The question remained, who would bell the cat?

“Alright boys, what’re ye waitin’ fer? Tie him up, then cleave ’im to the brisket!” he commanded his men, who shuddered reluctantly at the thought of disobeying their godlike captain or challenging an undying Prime. Gildarts had acted so completely sound in the face of his death it horrified the three other pirates to the point of senselessness. He even appeared to be relishing the precarious situation as his stance endured unwaveringly.

“Boss, why ain’t he panicking? Ye’ said he was weak!” a fellow crew member gibbered with fear.

So far, the Prime's scruffy chin had tilted to the side as he eyed the closest shivering marauder, Red. Gildarts felt a darkness loom over him, his menace remained silent and his challenging eyes flashed to Barbarossa. “I’m a man of many qualities, but that’s the one thing I’m not. Only worthy men know better than to misjudge their enemies. And here I thought you would have better judgement than that, pirate.”

The words cut sharper than any sword but the prideful man responded to his men, “Just because the Prime ain’t afraid of death doesn’t mean he’s anything more than a bilge-sucking weakling! What are ye waitin’ fer? Blow the man down!” the captain met the Prime’s opposition with a grimace and the crew did not follow the command. In the moment their eyes held, time hung as a distant outlier. Beating waves crashed into rock and the distant rumblings of thunder echoed through the storm darkened skies.

The breeze gently gusted against Gildarts and flowed into his cape; the flicker of his cloak in the casting wind had no effect on what would come. Simply the solace in his conviction remained as he faced his adversary.

A sound crackled and sputtered originating from the ocean, wood splintered into the sky from Barbarossa’s vessel. The captain couldn’t release his eyes from his enemy despite how his head itched to look over his shoulder to check the status of his attacked ship. The pirate continued to hear the bombarding force colliding into his barque, every inch of his being prompted him to break the heated eye contact. During the struggle eyepatch began to choke on the air entering his lungs.

The standoff of power ended with a crash as a crippling sensation crept into Barbarossa’s fearfully dubious expression. The captain looked away first and it all happened in a startling flash, his eye was late and only caught a glimpse of what was to come. A huge forceful silhouette collided with his ship (that had aimed their cannons at the shoreline) and then the beast submerged itself once again under the veil of rolling waves.

A creaking clamor erupted with the splash of imploding water and the sinking of the ship. Barbarossa shouted, “NOOOO!” and his three crewmen that had brought Gildarts to the island, gaped at the utter destruction.

The small boatful of men that had made port on the shore with Gildarts were now the only men to survive the tremendous shudder in the ocean. Before Barbarossa, Red, or the other crew members could react-it swelled from the water once more. This time, conquering the entire horizon with its gait as it soared above their heads.

“A dragon?!” Gildarts prepared for the threat with a single folded fist.

“No you fool! That’s the serpent Cetus! The colossal monster of the ’Deep! No one can stop him! He’s worse than Godzilla!” Red shouted at the Prime who knew nothing of their world. The spray of saltwater dribbled from the scales of the mighty green beast and poured down on the crew who stuttered beneath the might of its step.

About eight times, Gildarts reasoned, the green beast was about eight times the size of the captain’s ship when it stood above water with its slimy fins protruding from its back. It looked like a dragon mixed with a shark, for it had four webbed feet that stomped into the shore and set it’s blood-thirsty crimson eyes onto Captain Barbarossa.

“Looks like he remembers us!” a toothless pirate shouted.

Barbarossa growled and wielded a banishment circle, for they worked against beasts too. “O’ course he does! He never forgets a face! FULL TO THE GUNWALES MEN!” he shouted a battle cry, it didn’t matter if they weren’t actually on a ship for even on land war followed the peg-legged man. The crewman with the pistol filled it with black chalk and Red’s cutlass raised, each ready to fight to the death.

Oh? So they had seen this beast before? Gildarts grew intrigued as he watched it all pan out with his fist still extended and growing with power. There was a prolonged pause like that of an honorable duel as both monster and man awaited each other’s attack.

The pirates readied banishment circle, sword, and pistol alike as they surrounded the immortal's combat primed war stance. It’s snakelike face grew closer to them as the dinosaur nearly touched Gildarts with its nose and sniffed him. Gildarts felt his hair ruffled by the inhale yet wouldn’t break his own trouncing stance.

Suddenly, the captain and the two men around him were swatted away like flies, crashing through the air and landing into the forest’s many trees which left Gildarts and Red in awe of the beast’s sheer power. Gildarts heard the cracking of his enemy’s bones as they fell against wood and this prompted the quaking release of his magic to blast forth from his fist. To his surprise the spell never formed into a move and the familiar attack he had preformed numerous times dissipated into Omniverse air. It grew evident that Cretus was used to the taste of flesh as the beast garnished its tree-sized jagged teeth which he utilized only to crush his enemies. Now the monster was ready to have a snack after he had exterminated his lifelong rival, Captain Barbarossa.

“Now he’s hungry! He’ll take out the entire village!” shouted a pipsqueak kid who emerged from the bushes. The boy and his little sister had originally intended to watch the pirate brawl from the cover of a bush but now had bitten off more than they could chew; in the beast’s burst of rage their bush had rolled away leaving the revealed pair to quake with fear. Despite being just kids, their shoes remained shivering in one spot and their terror had disabled any movement so the frozen few had no choice but to face their death. Their rigged shoulders tightened as they began to witness their island’s destruction. The pair stared at the cloaked man who now challenged the sea beast with a single fist.

Both warriors- one of land the other of sea- jousted their eyes through the air in menace. Gildarts, the protector of man, allowed hostility to exude from his strong shielding position to guard the kids. His focus creased the air and created a force so powerful that it could be physically felt. There were villagers on this island, he could taste the smoke of their fires, and held a stance that could have extended his power to the far edges of the island. The Prime didn’t know that he was glaring for his life but he felt a familiar taste of intensity that reminded him of his brawl with Acnologia, however this beast chose to bat him away with a single paw.

Blood and adrenaline riveted through his veins as he parried the creature just as easily as he had Natsu. Gildarts, a man not even the full size of the beast’s paw had flung Cretus just as Cretus had flung the pirates, over his shoulder and into the trees that speared into his flesh. He had deflected the momentum, but to the kids whom watched, this appeared to be the ultimate handshake: The webbed claw met with a metal hand. The kids were struck with awe as the tawny-haired pirate had displayed the power of kings.

The beast howled in agony and stood as its body thrashed and bulldozed into the stabbing rows of forestry. “You’ll need to use a lot more than your paw to take me down, creature.” the warrior said to his rivaled foe as it steadied back on its feet and flung the trees from its back haunches as though they were mere splinters in its side. The creature stared at him as purple and blue blood trickled from its punctured scales. The pair of children were impressed by Gildarts for flipping the colossal creature so easily and stood closer behind him, certain of his power to cast a net of safety over them. His masculinity became the embodiment of parental safeguarding. The red-eyed monster revered Gildarts as a foe, yet saw the two cowering cubs beneath his extended posture.

“Don’t stand so close,” Gildarts warned without taking his eyes from Cretus. The children ran off behind a boulder imposing on the oceanic terrain and Red whom had stared in astonishment of the Prime’s capabilities accompanied the two.

For a moment, Cretus deemed the children’s vanishing presence as a call to battle, yet the combatant’s gripping glare of daggers plunged into the beast with a threat that was greater than the Prime’s power. Cretus bowed his head in more acknowledgement than defeat and awaited the man to step on.

The kids said a little, “Hooray!” and cheered on the mysterious Prime who had saved their village. To them, the pirate-man had conquered the beast with his mere gaze, so it was only customary for him to gain the ultimate throne.

Gildarts took a look over his shoulder at the kids, who now brimmed with euphoric smiles, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure this monster never comes to this island again.” They’re strong kids, no matter how scared they thought they were, the two even held their ground be sure the monster wouldn’t attack their village. Gildarts saw the fleeting faces of Lisanna and Natsu in them and offered a fateful smile. He now faced the creature's head that bowed before him in submission.

The beast tamer put his silver leg on the fearsome beast and took up command at the beckon of his hand. Gildarts had every intention of taking the beast as far away from the island as possible, especially since his power would not allow him to pummel the creature. Red and the two kids watched with relief as the unknown man stood on the humbled head of Cretus. Each onlooker’s eyes gazed at the last shadowy remnant of the two monsters before they plunged into the ocean’s horizon.