"Shima?" Sutcliffe exclaimed.

That's when hell broke loose.

I believe that Shima dove at Sutcliffe, who dove for me at the same time Eric did. They knocked heads and fell to the side, all tangled limbs and loud, angry swearing. Shima grabbed my hand and jerked me to my feet, stepping forward -- and suddenly we stood at the helm of the Shinigami, gazing down at the mess that we had accidentally created.

My chest swelled with pride at the sight of my crew breaking free and fighting, using anything nearby to charge the Shinigami plaguing my vessel.

"Jacqueline, you're the smart one," Shima declared, "What the hell do we do?"

I gave him a look. "Who said I was intelligent -- oh, you know what, I am, you're right. Um, maybe we..." I glanced around. "I need a sword. You have your Scythe, don't you?"

He raised a hand and twirled his fingers, the Sickle manifesting in his hand. "As always. But..." His grin fell. "I don't want to kill anyone."

I nodded. "You won't. Aim to injure -- the ankles, arms, bash 'em on the head." I glanced back to the battle unfolding on the deck below, and clenched my jaw. "I'll take care of Sutcliffe."

And, remembering my mother doing something similar before diving into a mess like this, I snatched Shima's Scythe and took it to my hair, just above my shoulders.

"Good luck," Shima said, jerking his weapon out of my hands with a miffed expression. With a grin, he turned on his heel and promptly disappeared.

"I shall need it, thank you," I said to thin air.

Recalling the mission, I vaulted over the railing, landing on someone's head and knocking both of us to the ground. I luckily landed on him, rather than the other way around, and winced as his temple thudded against the floor.

"Sorry, love!" I chirped, jumping up and taking his sword. I looked the blade over with a wince. It wasn't what I was used to -- long and thin, reflecting the sunlight.

But it would do, as demonstrated when I spun around and parried a blow from a man I recognized as Yoshio.

"Captain!" He gasped, drawing back, guilt reflected in his angular eyes. "Gommen!"

"At ease, soldier!" I declared, pushing past him and aiming for the man in red. Then, I remembered: "Yoshio, they're killable."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Take their heads," I called, "It's gross but effective." When he didn't move, I barked at him, eyes flashing. "Do you doubt your captain? Go fucking defend yourself!"

He leapt to attention, grinning. "Aye!" With renewed vigor, he turned to jump back into the fray.

I didn't stick around. Muttering death threats in Siren, I pushing ducked under cutlasses and dodged bullets, keeping an eye on the red coat easily distinguishable among the browns and grays.

"Taylor!" I snapped, nearly tripping as I maneuvered around a Shinigami. "Eric!"

They were, rather comically, going at each other with fists and knives, despite the swords slung into their baldrics. Sutcliffe's eyes flashed and glinted as he jabbed at my first mate, who narrowly lost his arm as I made an appearance beside him.

"You idiot!" I shrieked at him, jerking the dao from his belt and blocking Sutcliffe before handing it to him. "I love you but you're an idiot!"

"So are you!" He shot back, clean, upper class accent thickening as he glared at Sutcliffe, who retrieved his own twin swords. "Get away!"

"He killed my parents!" I growled, sure my eyes were my own shade of brilliant green. "I will have his head!"

Sutcliffe laughed. "So you are smarter than you look?" I noticed his moves were fluid and calculated, like Eric's -- the movements of someone who had received training. "You know, I killed your father first --"

I yelled something intelligible and pushed Eric away, deciding that I needed to do this without his help.

"I'm not a child!" I repeated to him as he followed me. I punctuated my words by ducking under a swipe from Sutcliffe while hooking my foot around Eric's ankle, flooring him so I could advance on the man in red.

Sutcliffe's twin blades were like mine. Thin, bendy, and well cared for. They reminded me of the Navy's weapons, which couldn't slice from the side like a cutlass.

"Where were you taught?" I asked in a cool tone, kneeling and fetching another sword from a corpse while dodging his downward blow.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you!" He replied with a deadly grin. I'd forgotten his teeth -- filed into points, like a shark's. "But First did assist me."

"So you two were friends?" I drew a sharp breath -- a second too slow, he had managed to draw blood from my left hand. Focus, Jacqueline, while also distracting the opponent.

"Yes!" I rolled out the way and came up as he delivered yet another downward hit. He liked those, I made note. "Until I broke the rules, of course, but those rules are so silly, don't you think?"

"No, if it means the death of my parents," I retorted, going for his left side, again. Strategy. "Who else have you murdered, Taylor?"

He came from the bottom this time. "Mm, who, whom?" He chuckled and twirled, his long locks of red following his movements. "Shima, I believe? Not to mention the lovely Esmeralda Maria Consuela Anna de Sevilla, but I doubt you know of her."

I did.

"Esmeralda?" A five year-old me asked, tying a piece of yarn into knots while Jack marked up his charts, a bottle of rum unsurprisingly at his side.

"Esmeralda," A fond look washed over his face, before he glanced around, as if he shouldn't have been speaking of her. "She was a lovely woman, saved my ass a few times. She was the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean before I was," He added.

I frowned. "So she's dead, then?"

He considered that. "I don't really know. She disappeared -- her crew told me she wanted to give her Piece of Eight to me."

I slowly grinned. "Does mom know about Esmeralda, Jack?"

He glared at me. "No, she does not, and if you tell her I will personally tie you to the bow of the ship and sail through a maelstrom."

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" I stabbed at his left side once more. A few more times. A few more. I was sweating, panting, and he had hardly broken a sweat. Adrenaline and anger kept me going, deft enough to stay on my toes and out of the way of his blades.

"A few things, I guess." He grinned. "But aren't I a fantastic actress?"

I grit my teeth and lunged, once again for his left.

I cursed; I'd missed. Instead, a huge chunk of his fiery hair went flying.

He watched it fall with wide eyes, jaw slack. Then he turned back to me, eyes lit in fury. "How dare you?" His voice raised an octave and cracked.

"How dare you?" I countered with a smirk, pressing forward.

He bared his teeth. "I just want --"

I never learned what he wanted, because when I lunged for his right side, he had expected a blow to his left.

He cried out and fell, both swords clattering to the deck as crimson poured from the gash above his hips. I stepped over him, kicking his blades aside so there was no chance of him retrieving them.

"How does it feel, huh?" I dropped and straddled his waist, hissing through my teeth and pressing the flat of my second sword to his throat. "To be defenseless? To have nowhere to go?"

He didn't answer, laying still and growling low in his throat.

"Because this is how Adeena felt, how Jack felt," I hissed, "How all of your victims felt. None of them deserved it, but you know?" I leaned down, so only he could hear me -- the battle had ceased around us. "You deserve it. Every bit of what you're getting."

He grinned, letting out a shaky breath; I was pressing on his windpipe. "Except I'm not."

He turned his head to the side, searching the crowd for his crew, no doubt. "Ronald!"

Ronald, running a hand through his sandy hair, stepped forward and smiled. "Yeah, Tay?"

"Don't call me that," He commanded, glaring. I sat back, curious. "What are you doing?"

"Tay, honey." He shrugged, still wearing that cynical smile. "You've lost."

"I have not!" Sutcliffe wriggled beneath me. A trickle of blood stained his throat as he slid against my blade. "Help me!"

"I was with you before, but I'm actually kinda bored," Ronald continued, "Aren't you, William?"

William joined him, adjusting his glasses. "Yes, although I was polite enough to wait until he died to say it."

Ronald looked back to us. "Jacqueline, she's exciting. You kinda burned out, Tay."

Sutcliffe's eyes widened. "I...I thought..."

"What a scary concept, you thinking," I murmured, standing but keeping the tip of my sword on his clavicle.

Why are you hesitating? I wondered. Why, Jacqueline?

Sutcliffe sneered, eyes regaining their venomous glow. "Your parents deserved what they --"

He didn't finish his sentence. I'd severed his head. 

***

The graphic shit ends there. I'm glad, tbh -- I don't really like writing it but it was kinda necessary.

Btw, I've written the last chapters, epilogue, and AN. It's done! A shocker to me, I'm usually such a lazy writer. 

I'll probably publish something from another fandom, maybe. That'll get me more follows and soon I'll dominate the world *evil laugh*

Is there anything you'd like to see? Options below:

Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji (no. It isn't Sebaciel. I barely ship them tbh)

Harry Potter (next generation Harry Potter)

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin (LEVI~~~~~)

Diabolik Lovers (Ore-sama is life)

Henry Danger (frick yes I watch this show)

Death Note (L, my baby)

Ouran High School Host Club (Kyoya is my bae)

YouTube (Ft. Markiplier, Pewds, Jack, and OC)

...or an original. I have one started that I actually like. I'm bisexual, in case you didn't know, and it's a love story between two girls. I've never written like that before, so it's very interesting. 

I also have a yaoi started~ It's a Black Butler fic and I don't even know where to go with it lol. 

I never know where to go tbh, so it's nothing new! Heh

I'll leave you all to it, then. I have shit to do. 

See ya~ *blows kisses*