Ram watched on in awe as the small and gentle looking woman wreaked havoc on the pirate ship's command. Her first shot had removed their captain in seconds, and at such a range that it was difficult to believe.

"Someone stepped up." Oliver smirked, his eyes glued to the binoculars he held. "Probably the First Mate-"

A single shot cut off his words, and the Devil that had just began to shout orders collapsed to the deck with a scream of pain. While not instantly fatal, the high caliber bullet tore through his shoulder with ease, leaving a bloody ruin behind- the pirate First Mate likely only had minutes left.

An annoyed grunt slipped from Poli, and she shook her head. "Yeah, the lurch and sway is throwing me off..."

"You're doing fine, hon." Oliver consoled her easily. "Better than I would be, anyway... And it looks like someone got smart over there. Whoever is barking orders now is keeping his head down and hiding behind-"

His words cut off with a growl. The binoculars in his hands creaked under the strain of his grip, and Oliver barely restrained himself from crushing them. "The bastard is hiding behind a kid!"

Ram winced sympathetically; while not all Devils were quite as cruel, these pirates were definitely the worst of the worst. "Unfortunately, that isn't surprising; We've seen these Devil pirates use similar tactics in the past, relying on our mercy to give themselves a chance..."

"I see him, but I can't get a clean shot." Poli grimaced.

"Start working your way through anyone else that looks important, or that has a visible weapon. I'll deal with the asshole when it's time..." Oliver growled, the binoculars disappearing from his hand- replaced by his baby: The FAL...

At Polina's suggestion, he had upgraded the gun just a bit- namely in the form of an Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, or an ACOG scope for short. Oliver was instantly in love with the new scope; the increase to his accuracy over his old sight was certainly worth the cost...

The enraged squeak of a squirrel warcry rang out, just before the familiar weight of Henrietta landed on Oliver's shoulder.

"What the hell is that!?" Ram shouted, stumbling back from the odd, brightly colored creature.

"She's with us." Oliver uttered, dismissing the question as he glanced at the squirrel busily chattering away on his shoulder- while she had been staying out of sight on the ship, his suddenly spiking emotions seemed to have bled through their connection. "Yeah, you can get in on this too. Just be careful, ok? Those assholes have guns of their own- shittier guns, but still dangerous."

Looking through his spyglass, Ram could see the mounting panic as it ran through the pirate ship. Being unable to target whomever had taken command, Polina had proceeded to rain hell on any other officers she could find... and, when the officers began to hide, or removed any evidence to distinguish themselves from the regular crew...

She turned her sights on any of the crew holding weapons, and any that looked to be trying to change their heading or adjust their sails.

The chaos rose to crescendo as, with a signal from Poli, Oliver opened fire as well- and, worse for the pirates, the man's tightly controlled fury seemed to lend accuracy to his every shot.

Pirates dropped, one after the other, as the pair of humans tore through them like the personification of death itself- and, before long, the pirates appeared afraid to even look at the helm or sails for too long... likely because they had shot anyone that even looked like they were going to change the heading...

And, as the ship drew closer, the rate of fire only increased, Polina having switched from her 'baby' to her M16...

Several of the pirate crew fled below decks to escape the withering storm, and those that remained above hunkered down- possibly waiting for the ship to close enough for boarding, with some vague hope that they engaging in close combat would grant them some ability to fight back.

Ram was beginning to doubt the efficacy of such a plan.

"I'm going." Oliver said suddenly, eyeing the drastically reduced gap between the ships. "Covering fire on three."

"Going?" Ram reeled in confusion- there was at least thirty feet between the ships! There was no way-

"One." Oliver grunted, backing away from the rail a good bit. The gun in his hand disappeared- to where, Ram still didn't know. Flexing his hands, a vicious smile spread across Oliver's face. "Two."

Polina rose to her knees, giving herself a better angle as she prepared to cover her boyfriend. She wasn't a fan of this plan, though she could understand his reasoning- he wanted to completely eliminate the first ship to come after them.

It made sense, in a twisted way. He wanted to make a statement: attack us and we'll end you... that, and he wanted to make it clear to Captain Sterling and Ram that they got more than their money's worth... and as a subtle warning for them to continue to play it straight with them.

Stolen story; please report.

Sure, most of the pirate ships that would be after them would never even hear about what happened here... But some would, and it may be enough to make them reconsider. And any of them that turned away rather than attack was basically a win for them, as it meant fewer chances for things to go wrong...

"Three!" Oliver yelled as he lunged forward in a full sprint. His foot came up onto the railing, the wiry muscles of his legs flexed powerfully as he leapt. A laugh of maniacal glee escaped his lips as he sailed through the air, and Polina fired rapidly over anyone that even looked his way.

The instant his feet touched the deck of the pirate ship, Henrietta was off. Leaping from his shoulder, she threw herself at the nearest Devil, viciously biting and scratching at his face before bounding off- leaving the poor bastard blind and bleeding.

A pistol appeared in each of Oliver's hands as he marched forward inexorably. He barely glanced at the Devil's he passed, only looking at them long enough to raise a gun a quickly double tap their chest.

But the pirates weren't planning to just lay down and die, regardless of how terrified they were after so many of them had already been killed. With a collective shout, the remaining pirates rose from their hiding places and charged.

Before they made it two steps, the guns in his hands disappeared again... and a ball of fire formed, which he launched in their midst. The violent explosion rocked the ship, and his pistols appeared once more- he was tempted to switch to his sword, as it would be much more satisfying to cut them down... but he knew better; he had the advantage of firepower, and playing around with his sword was an unnecessary risk.

"Stay back!" The Devil in charge shouted, the barrel of his pistol pressed to the head of his young companion. A hint of panic had crept into his voice as the strange looking person went through the men like they barely existed- and where the hell had that explosion come from? He hadn't seen any cannons pointed their way, and, even if there were, it shouldn't have caused such an explosion. And there wasn't any powder on the top deck anyway!

Resorting to their oldest trick, the Devil didn't hesitate to threaten them with the cabin boy's life- the Demon's were known to be soft, especially towards children... and it's not like he cared what happened to the brat! Hell, having a convenient hostage was half the reason they would take one on... and, if the brat survived, it could one day become a useful crew member. "I'm warning you- whatever you are! Stay back or-"

"You know what the problem with taking a hostage is?" Oliver spoke calmly, though the furious glare he directed at the Devil made it flinch. "It's like a gun with only one bullet: you've only got one shot... and, once it's spent, you're fucked."

"Of course, you've got a another problem to worry about first." A mocking grin spread across his face. "Well, make that two problems..."

"First: Henrietta."

A blue-green blur appeared before the Devil's eyes, already latched on to the hand holding the gun and viciously tearing at its wrist. The pain was instant, and his hand spasmed in response... and the flintlock pistol clattered to the deck even as his finger twitched for the trigger.

"Second: Polina."

The crack of a rifle rang out across the deck, and the Devil crumple lifelessly into a pool of its own blood- Oliver didn't bother to look at the whole in its head, his focus already shifted to the shaking child before him.

"Hey, kid." He spoke gently, dropping to a knee in front of them. He didn't know enough about these Devils to know their age, but, at a guess, he would say they were around twelve or thirteen. "You're all right, ok? But I still have some stuff to clean up, so I need you to stay here and behave until I come back. Just don't cause any problems, and we'll get you sorted and taken care of."

"Y-you're..." The kids voice trembled as he stared at the deck below his cloven hooves- an oddity that Oliver just noticed, as most of the Demons and Devils had feet more like his own, that he had seen. "are you... going to kill me, too?"

"Nope." Oliver answered easily, suppressing the fury in his heart- no child should ever have to ask a question like that, as far as he was concerned... and the fact that this kids life had already been bad enough that he thought that- "As long as you behave, you'll be fine. Just don't touch any weapons and stay here... Henrietta, keep an eye on the kid, yeah?"

The tiny squeak of acknowledgment was all he needed to hear.

Jal'gudal had only just joined the ship; there weren't a lot of opportunities for an orphan and a street urchin, so it wasn't really a difficult choice to make when offered- not that Jal particularly wanted to be a pirate, but beggars can't be choosers and all that...

Plus, it meant a place to sleep that wasn't a cold stone floor, and food to eat, even if it wasn't much- a blanket in the corner and a few scraps were still more than could be regularly found living on the streets...

As the strange man- clearly not a Demon or a Devil, though Jal had no way to know what it was- headed for the stairs leading below deck, he was quickly joined by another of the oddly colored and hornless people.

"Ok, Oli, we clear this like we practiced." The new one said, it's voice higher- though no less harsh than the other's. "Ram already has a few guys coming to secure the deck and deal with shit up here, so let's get this done."

"I've got point." The man said, smiling brightly despite the grim scenario. "Stay behind me and watch my ass- actually, hold up a sec."

"Hey, kid!" He shouted back at Jal, who twitched in surprise- heart starting to race, wondering what the person who had almost effortlessly swept the deck could possibly want now. Had he changed his mind about killing- "How many are down below?"

Jal hesitated for a second before shrugging. "Umm... twenty? Maybe a few more, since some ran down earlier..."

"Cool. Thanks, kid." The man said, turning his grin to the other. "We've got a rough count... and yes, I remember your warnings. I'll keep my eyes open and assume there are more until we're sure we cleared everything."

"Reign it in, Oli." The long haired one- Jal thought it was a woman, but these people were different enough to make it difficult to be sure- said sternly. "I know you're having fun, but let's keep it tight until we're through. It's close quarters down there, so pistol and sword. Now, let's get it done."

Jal gasped in shock as the weapons the man- Oli, apparently- held just disappeared, replaced by an odd looking pistol and a gleaming sword... Where the hell were they keeping those weapons? And how did they just appear like that?

But Jal's questions would have to wait- assuming they ever asked them- as the two headed below decks, apparently intent on killing the entire crew...

And a more pressing question arose in the young Devil's mind: If these strange people wouldn't hesitate to execute the entire crew, what would they do to a single young Devil like them?

But, for some reason, Jal didn't feel any fear at the question- if anything, it put them at ease.

This Oli... when Castrum had a pistol pressed to Jal's head, Oli's voice sounded like death itself... But, once that bastard was dead, his voice softened again- like he was trying to reassure Jal that they were safe, maybe?

Jal couldn't be sure, but... maybe being taken by these odd people would be better than being a pirate, at least...

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