May the Father of Understanding Guide Us (Open)

Alone, very few ships could stand their ground against the Queens Night, but like this, it was a different story. The Commodore snarled as he barked commends do those around him and those below deck, ensuring all could hear him or get word of what he was saying.

"Heavy shots main! Focus all attention on the Tiger Shark! Blow that thing down to the depths!"

Men made way to the top deck, guns and swords in hand, ready to fight any pirates that would have the gall to board this ship, or even to go and board the pirates themselves.

Down the line, Captain Daniel Whitehorn could see his commanding officers ship stuck in a poor situation. He was quick to take over, sailing behind the slowly fracturing formation and rallying them back into order.

"Keep focus on the fleet! The Commodore can handle himself!"

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay

Elizabeth took the lift to the top of the main mast, and smiled coldly before she let out yet another bone chilling roar. She grabbed some smoke bombs from their pouch, and threw one onto the deck of the HMS Queen's Night before she leapt onto the ship, and made her way to the Commodore. The lit fuses wrapped around her armour gave her the appearance of a demon sauntering out of hell. She threw down yet another smoke bomb, and swiftly killed off about six men as she continued to advance towards the Commodore.
"Commodore Stodd" Elizabeth growled loudly, her voice carrying satanic tones that would easily scare the living daylights out of any religious person.

"I should thank you, Commodore. When last we met, I was known by all as the 'Demon'. After my last encounter with you, I kissed death, and clawed my way up from hell, and I have arisen as something far more terrifying. Once a Demon, now the Devil. However, you lot once called Thatch the devil, so my men have given me a new name: 'Satan'. I'm sure you will agree, the devil is far more intimidating than any demon." All around her, men of the Tiger Shark and the Raven were fighting the British men. Elizabeth's black armour shimmered in the light, and the blood could easily be seen dripping off of her.

Stodd turned, and didn't need to give it second thought. He held up his gun and fired off a shot right at the figure in the smoke, hearing the bullet hit metal. He didn't know if it had punctured, but he wasn't going to act cocky right now. He drew his blade, holding it tight, as he held his ground and waited for her to be upon him. He snarled softly, and twirled his sword in his hand.

"Abandon hope, ye who enter here."

He looked around him; his men were holding their own. Two brigs worth of pirates and assassins was tough, but the sheer number of British troops on the Queens Night gave them an advantage, enough to survive on for now.

"Your men deem you Satan? I suppose it's fitting, for me to become Michael then, the Archangel who will cast you down, and see you ashamed and broken, as I stand above your body and hew your head open!"

She wasn't exactly a stupid woman, that was obvious. But that she wore this armour could give Stodd a major advantage, if he could get her in the right spot. It would just take a lot of very precise work.

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay

Elizabeth howled with laughter before she emerged from the smoke.
"How cute. You think a measly little bullet could kill me?" Elizabeth tapped her armour with the Demon's Claw; the Bloodseeker glowed brilliantly. "Ninth circle" Elizabeth roared. Her men formed a tight formation around her and the Commodore, effectively preventing any intervention from the Commodore's men. "If you know Maynard, you'll recognise this formation. It was the same formation he utilised when he killed Thatch! I've improved it." Elizabeth chuckled as she pulled out the bullet that Morgana had removed from Elizabeth's chest. The bullet that had sent her to hell. Elizabeth raised her visor slightly, and drank a vial of Fire-water before lowering the visor. "Send me back to hell, you bastard. I'll just claw my way back" Elizabeth growled as she returned the golden flintlock to its holster, and balled her fists.

((OOC: I feel like I'm missing something with these 'Demon's Claw' and 'Bloodseeker' things.))

Stodd stayed still, his sword still held tightly in his hand. He let his eyes dart all around him, and he ensured he was able to see each of the soldiers in whatever time he was allowed. None of them had moved yet, but he was going to wait. Maynard had utilised a good tactic against Blackbeard, but he'd also been on his own ship at the time. This was a different scenario.

Stodd looked up to the quarterdeck quickly, and then back to his foes. He had simply needed confirmation of something, and he'd been given it in that moment. He stayed quiet, watching them around him, waiting to see one try anything, to give him an opening.

---

"Get Pegwell Bay and Huntsville over to the Commodore! Take down those ships holding him in place! And get the Starwort over to me, we're going to try and flank the fleet with all we have!"

His men rushed off, as Daniel was left commanding the ship. Another set of broadsides fired upon the nearest bunch of schooners, as mortar shots pelted them. He was too distracted to keep his attention on the issue at hand, as he consistently looked out to the battle upon the Queens Night.

"Bloody Hell Roger... don't you die fighting some pirates!"

(Ah, sorry. The Bloodseeker is a piece of Eden that drives people into a blood lust, and the Demon's Claw is a weapon designed and made by Elizabeth to harness its power. Think of a combination of Lion-O's claw shield and the Witchblade. Both items were mentioned in Assassin of the Black Flag.)

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay

Elizabeth edged closer to the Commodore, her boarding axes drawn. "If you would claim to be Michael, then allow me to pluck the feathers from your wings" Elizabeth roared as she moved to punch the Commodore's face. "You stole my child from me!" She had thought she wasn't pregnant, but after what happened at Port Royal, she realised that she was with child, and she had lost it. "You bastard!"

(Sweet Christ on a four headed Pterodactyl, I fall asleep for a few hours, wake up at 2:20 and now I have86 Notifications. I'm going to comment when I catch up...)

As the Schooner docked at their destination, Damian barked an order, "Alright, men - Bring any knifes that you have, and conceal them. Pick up a few crates as well - Arabella, stick close to me." The last bit was said in a calmer voice, only to which she replied, "Alright - as long as we live." When all the man have walked off deck, some carrying crates, Damian finally looked up to Ah Tabai [I'm sure that's how it's spelt] and said, "Come on down - we've just landed. I take it you'll be staying out of their sight while we walo on?"

The Commodore let the punch come to him - and he instantly regretted it. It hurt a lot more than he'd ever expected it to. He held back the urge to step back, but as he did so he felt something stir inside him. He wanted to attack her; he was normally quite calm and collected, and now he felt different. He had to act fast if he wanted to fight the urge.

He moved quickly, surprisingly quickly for who and what he was. His cloak came off one arm, and he threw it into the face of the pirate lord, drawing his other arm out with his sword, and quickly turning - jabbing the pirate behind him right in the neck. He slashed out and cut a great slash through the face of the next pirate, and took advantage of the opening, knocking the wounded and the dead out of his way before turning back to face Elizabeth, panting. He felt... overcome.

"Do you need this to take me on then, whore? I had no idea you held me in the same echelon of prowess as dear dead Thatch! I suppose I should be simply honoured, shouldn't I? To think I'd ever be considered equal to the great head on a pike!!"

He stood, but his legs shook as he attempted his best to hold back his growing desire to jump on the closest person to him. He stood on the cathead on the bow of the Queens Night, staring at Elizabeth so near to him. He took the chance to catch his breath as she messed with his cloak. He needed it.

---

"Ram those brigs! Don't let them break your sight!"

A trio of frigates moved in ahead of the Stalwort, and collided hard with the pirate brigs, their fire still maintained on the schooners and sloops that made up the pirate force.

"The Pegwell and Huntsville have made contact with the ships near the Commodore! They rammed them!"

The Captain looked down to his Second and nodded, glad to hear it, as he unleashed another volley of mortar and broadside fire on the pirate brigs near him.

(Behold... the third character I completely forgot about.)
As Jonathon swung from the rope on his frigate, he noticed one thing - three ships rammed the most important ships they had. "Make sure to keep fire steady!" was all he yellee before he landed on another ship - a brig. Luckily, it was an ally. Jonathon said simething along the lines of, "Sink 'em all!" Before he swung on a rope, and could clearly see the three frigates - infact, ot seemed as if he was coming near one... that is because he was. Jonathoh barley gripped on, in order to avoid falling off. He very quickly climbed on, but soon regret it - he was nicely greeted by four sailors, one of which was greeted back with a foot long dagger through the chest. When he was on the back, he thought he saw a name - Pigwill, or something on those lines. Was it an i or an e? Didn't matter - Jonathon had started fighting other men who confronted him.

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay

"You're not even worth shark shit, Commodore." At the mention of Thatch's head still rotting on a pike, Elizabeth almost lost her senses. She took a deep breath, and returned her axes to their holsters. "What's the matter, Commodore? Not the reaction you were hoping fo? " Elizabeth didn't particularly care what happened to the Tiger Shark or the Raven since she had a few tricks up her sleeve. Elizabeth dragged the tip of her finger over the Commodore's cloak, the Demon's Claw sliced through the fabric with ease. She cast the cloak aside, and calmly sauntered over to the Commodore. "I'm going to enjoy every second of this" Elizabeth chuckled. She rushed at the Commodore, with her emotions in check as she had a series of interconnecting plans, and landed yet another punch on the Commodore's face. "Now if only there was something you cared about that I could take from you! I guess I'll have to settle for your heart! And I've ripped out hearts before!"

The Commodore felt his cheek split as he was hit by yet another punch. He held his hand up to it, as he staggered to the tip of the cathead, nearly falling back onto the prow of the ship. The blood ran down his hand, and he nodded. She was certainly more than he'd been giving her credit for; he blamed their earlier encounter for that.

"You wouldn't be the first woman to reach into my chest and tear out my heart, I can assure you that. You may be pleasantly disappointed!"

He moved forward and swung his blade around, aiming straight for Elizabeth's side, intent on knocking her down to his level. He wasn't going to take part in a fight like this.

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay

Elizabeth quickly stepped back, the tip of the Commodore's sword scratched the surface of her armour. Elizabeth reached past the pirates, and pulled a British soldier towards her.
"This is what I meant when I said I'd rip out your heart" Elizabeth roared as she straightened her hand, and plunged it into the soldier's chest. Elizabeth laughed as she looked at the heart resting in her hand, blood dripping off of the Demon's Claw. "One of the many reasons they once called me a Demon! Now and reason for them to call me Satan!" Elizabeth was in a constant battle to keep her emotions under control, especially since she was confronting the man who had sent her to hell, and taken her unborn child from her.

Ah Tabai

Ah Tabai made his way to the prison. He desperately hoped that he would be able to rescue Elizabeth's friends.

Stodd frowned, watching the poor soldier fall back, a gaping hole left in his chest. The Commodore couldn't help but sweat, shocked that this weapon, whatever it was, was able to actually do that - it had broken through the ribcage like it was nothing. He took a moment before smiling, standing straight on the edge of the cathead, looking back and nodding. He looked to the pirate and spoke loud.

"How did it feel, pirate? How did it feel when you realised I'd taken that child from you? What did you think when you realised I'd done that? I could have killed you if I'd wanted. How must it feel, to know I did what I did to take away the only thing you could ever this world in good faith? How did it feel when your child died?"

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay and Morgana O'Reilly

"Like that" Elizabeth roared as she threw the heart to its dead owner. Elizabeth raised the visor of her draconic helmet, revealing not only the wounds left by the Spanish tickler at the hands of both Stodd and O'Reilly, but tears streaming down her face. "I felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest! I As for what I thought... All I could think of was how heartless someone should be for them to kill a child before it draws its first breath! I swore that if I survived, I would kill you with the same bullet that claimed the life of an innocent child!"
"Elizabeth, calm down" Morgana pleaded as she pushed her way to Elizabeth's side.
"No! I will not 'calm down', Morgana!" Elizabeth turned to face the Commodore, the tears streaming from her eyes, and her chest heaving in pain and anger. "I was going to accept the pardon, then everything went tits up because of you!" Elizabeth tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but that only encouraged the tears. "I hope you burn in hell, Commodore. Even if I personally have to escort you to the gates" Elizabeth growled. Her voice was thick with anger, pain, and hatred. She mentally relived the moment she lost the child she never knew she had. It was the first time she had shead tears for the child who never had a chance to live. Morgana saw Elizabeth's weakness, and drew her claymore before she took up an attack stance at Elizabeth's side.
"We've already lost you once, yet you came back. We are not losing you again!" Morgana looked around at the pirates and the British. She could see four ships sailing towards them, but she couldn't make out what they were. "Are those reinforcements?"
"No, Morgan. Those are ghosts."

((OOC: Are those... real ghosts? Or are Morgana and Liz going insane?))

(They're not hallucinating or going insane. You'll see in my next post. It has a little something to do with dead pirates.)

((OOC: Right, so, Stodd and Daniel can see them too?))

(Yes)

The Commodore almost decided to shoot at Morgana now. He had the opportunity, the prime opportunity, to end this entire ordeal. The last of the pirate greats, all could here die by his doing. Even if it took his life, it was the one great thing he had left to offer the world, and this was interrupting it. He readied to pull out his gun, but not before his eyes caught the sudden reinforcements, closing in on... them...

I've never seen ships like that... what in the name of...

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay

"Surprised, Commodore" Elizabeth asked, her voice shaking as the crying calmed.
"Jaysus! Is that - Is that the Adventure Gally, the Benjamin, the Revenge, and the Queen Anne's Revenge?! I thought they were sunk or picked up by the British!"
"Aye... I've been collecting them, and making some improvements." Elizabeth smiled before she pulled out her golden flintlock."The same bullet, as promised. And don't worry about the ghosts, they won't attack, unless certain events come to pass" Elizabeth said coldly as she readied the flintlock, and aimed it at the Commodore's chest. "And I won't kill you just yet. I want to have some fun with you first. A good keelhauling after a well deserved beating. Maybe after a few days, I might let you die."

Stodd had to think fast; he couldn't pull the trigger before she did, and he couldn't move without suffering an accident.

"I'd be surprised of the ships of a traitor of traitors, a cowardly loon who offered to have himself cut apart for his 'freedom', a privateer labelled a grand pirate, and a devil put down by the tools of men? I'd be more surprised to see the sun rise in the morning. They're just rotting carcasses of forgotten bastards, little more."

The Commodore held his blade in Elizabeths direction, and then held his arms out wide, beckoning her. He needed her to run. Now.

"A fleet of ships, led by dead pirates? I'm surprised I don't you have one left for a baby there."

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay

Elizabeth clenched her first tightly, and the Demon's Claw rattled slightly with Elizabeth's trembling. The visor fell, and covered Elizabeth's face once again.
"Lizzie, don't!"
"Yes..." Elizabeth roared violently as she leapt onto the Commodore, sending him flying to the floor. "I have killed men that came between me and children before. Since you stole my child from me, you will suffer more than any I have tortured before!!!"
"You don't want to know her torture" a man said as he stepped forward. He was missing an arm, and his ratty red coat showed his former allegiance to the crown.
"ENOUGH! There is a ship for my child, and I'm taking it from you now!"

Roger had exactly what he wanted. He felt the hard thud of the wood on his back, but he felt even more the small railing of the prow on his back, and the emptiness on his side, that led out to the ocean. He moved his knee up hard to her lower body and pushed hard on her, pushing all of the weight of his body up against her. He'd send her to the bottom of the ocean, even if he went with here.

Elizabeth "Demon" Shay

Elizabeth winced in pain as the Commodore's knee met with the wound in her stomach. She grabbed the Commodore's shirt, and glared at him. Her rage was now easily seen on her face since her helmet flew off at some point. Unfortunately, this meant that her pain was also visible.
"If I'm going down, I'm dragging you down with me" Elizabeth breathed before she dragged the Commodore overboard.