CAPTAIN KABONNY IN: THE FALSE EMPEROR OF THE SEAS
"XIU---YUUUUNG!" Anne de la Cerda had her hands cupped around her mouth to shout as loudly as possible over the twisting, churning seas. Even the cacophonous storm couldn't overpower the strength of CAPTAIN KABONNY's commanding voice. In between the dark blue waves a silhouette slithered to and fro, its ominous and foreboding shadow slowly but surely approaching THE EMPEROR. The ship's perfectly shiny golden hull served as the only point of contrast in the infinite dark blue and gray of the Bermuda Triangle's seas, and the oceanic terror drew closer and closer to it, as if summoned by KABONNY's call.
"XIUYUUNG! I HEARD WHAT PEOPLE'VE BEEN CALLING YOU, YOU KNOW?! AND I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THE ONLY EMPEROR IN ANY OF THIS WORLD'S SEAS IS THIS BEAUTIFUL BABY I'M STANDIN' ON!" A gigantic sea serpent, scales similar in colour to the water but with a bright red head on top of its massive body, burst through the water's surface. Its head was accented with gold, and long strands of seaweed and other aquatic plants covered its body, slinging around haphazardly with each of its zig-zagging movements as it rose into the air and hung over THE EMPEROR. Man, if only she could fight alongside a beast like that for once instead of against it, KABONNY thought.
"HA! YOU'RE PROBABLY WONDERIN' WHY I KNOW YOUR REAL NAME, RIGHT?! WELL, I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW BRAND'S DONE HIS-" A deafening, almost agonised roar was the only thing the beast let out before lunging at Anne, not even granting her the opportunity to finish her sentence. Immediately, a bubble of rapidly spinning water formed around her. Anne's gaze shot around everywhere, and in that one fell swoop, she took in all available information on her surroundings. The bubble flung itself to the side, carrying her with it, and the serpent's head crashed into the solid aluminium alloy deck of the ship. The sound of metal colliding with metal alerted Anne, and with a cursory look at Xiuyung's body up close, her expression shifted to one that was conflicted, maybe even sad. However, she was given no time whatsoever to think. With another roar, the monster flung its body to the side, slamming into Anne and sending her flying. Another bubble formed, and the thick layer of water slowly stopped her momentum.
"You can probably take a few hits, right?" KABONNY muttered under her breath uncharacteristically, and then got back to shouting. "ALRIGHT! SEVEN SEAS STORMING!" The water making up the bubble began spinning more and more quickly. Then, thin sheets of water detached from the bubble, shooting towards her opponent. These surprisingly sharp, powerful blades of water travelled extremely quickly, so much so that Xiuyung didn't have a chance at dodging them. It let out another scream, and then lifted its upper body up into the air. Its golden accents and the flora hanging onto its body began to glow, and a white sort of pulse seemed to ran through of them, pattern akin to lightning cutting through the air. At the same time, the hairs on CAPTAIN KABONNY's body began to stand upright. She had barely enough time to leap to the side, and a thunderbolt plunged down from the skies, leaving a pitch black mark on the deck.
Immediately, she retaliated by sending more blades of water. The sound of rattling metal was quickly drowned out by more roaring from the beast. Normally, she'd have cracked a joke about the lack of variety in its sounds, but she decided not to this time. Again, she could feel the approaching lightning in every last cell of her body, and she managed to avoid it once more. After another barrage of slicing water, she planted her feet on the ground properly, and raised one of her signature metal throwing axes into the sky. "SHEESH, YOU BLIND OR SOMETHING? THIS'LL MAKE AIMING EASIER, RIGHT?!" In her mouth, CAPTAIN KABONNY tasted metal. She could hear crackling and buzzing in the air, and after a wait of two seconds that was terrifying even to her, she chucked the axe forward as hard as she could. It lodged itself in the sea serpent Tao Xiuyung's body, and the very moment it did so, a bolt of lightning from the skies struck it, electrocuting and stunning the serpent.
"WE'RE DONE HERE, XIUYUNG! CHURNING WATERS, SHAKING SEAS!" The water of her bubble began to spin around in a very specific way - water drew away from the back and focused itself at the very front, where a rotating cone of water accumulated. It shot forward at a ridiculous speed, a turquoise spearhead that seemed, in that moment, like a large bullet. A loud clang rang out as it struck the serpent - not the flesh of its body, but instead it hit the chains that KABONNY had noticed wrapped incredibly tightly around its body underneath the aquatic plants. It struck the point the chains had wrapped around the most, and with the deep cuts she'd made into the shackles before, the spearhead's impact was enough to finally break them. The very ship shook as the massive bonds fell off the beast all at once. Exhausted, the beast fell to the deck, and after that final quake, the seas felt almost calm in comparison.
Carefully, CAPTAIN KABONNY walked up to the serpent, putting her hand to his shaking head. His body had shrunk after he collapsed - from about forty metres long and easily five metres in diameter, to a modest ten metres long and about seventy centimetres in diameter. "LOOKS LIKE THAT BROUGHT YOU TO YOUR SENSES, HUH? HONESTLY, I CAN'T EVEN BLAME YOU FOR BEING SO MAD. IF I GOT CAUGHT UP IN CHAINS LIKE THAT, I'D BE RAMPAGING FOR A FEW YEARS LONGER THAN YOU WITH EASE, HAHAHA!"
Her loud, boisterous laugh only confused Tao further. He couldn't name what he was feeling at all - it felt empty, that was all he could think. All those years of pure, barely conscious rage, ended in a flash. But, intermingled with that feeling, was a flood of relief. The expression of 'taking a weight off one's shoulders' wasn't near strong enough to describe him being freed. "..Alright, bring me in. It's what I deserve, right?" Going to jail was the very last thing he wanted to do, but he knew it was just. "JAIL? HELL NO! YOU'VE GOT BALLS, MAN! GUESS WHY THIS SHIP'S GOT NO ONE ON IT BUT ME: 'CAUSE MY ENTIRE CREW THINKS I'M TOO 'RECKLESS' AND 'HAVE NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE'! YOU, HOWEVER, ALMOST KILLED MY ASS! SO JUST JOIN ME ALREADY! YOU WON'T MIND TAMING THESE SEAS WITH ME, RIGHT?"
Tao Xiuyung had no words. This situation would be overwhelming regardless, but CAPTAIN KABONNY's personality made it.. impossible to bear. In theory, at least. So why was he, in practice, so incredibly elated? Was it simply a mix of confusion and this being his first human contact in nearly a decade? Did he truly want this? He felt as if he needed to ponder those two questions before answering her, but every fibre of his being had already decided. "Y-yes, captain!" "SPEAK UP! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" "YES CAPTAIN! I'LL GLADLY JOIN YOU, CAPTAIN!"