Chapter 16: Bad Fish Amongst Them

The day passed, and night came swiftly. The crew, under Blackthorn's watchful eye, navigated through the treacherous waters. Thomas sat beside Blackthorn, nervously holding the map.

"We've been at sea for almost three days! When would we finally reach there?!" Blackthorn demanded, his voice filled with impatience.

"Expecting us to reach there by tomorrow. Without any other war or obstacle," Thomas replied, his hands shaking as he held the map. Blackthorn still had his sword out, ready to kill Thomas if he made any mistakes.

"Captain, we decided to celebrate before the war tomorrow in getting the treasure! Would you like to have a jar of beer?" a drunken crew member asked, stretching his hand forth for Blackthorn to take the beer.

"No, and get back to work!" Blackthorn yelled, pushing the drunk man back.

"I-" Thomas began but stopped immediately upon seeing the rage in Captain Blackthorn's face. He wanted a sip of the beer, having not eaten since they got on water. All he had been doing was holding the map and leading them.

"Give the boy a beer. We celebrate tonight," Captain Blackthorn said, suddenly having a change of mind.

"Really? Thanks!" Thomas said, taking the beer from the man's hand.

"Oh no. He's too young to have a beer," Captain James interjected, grabbing the beer and chugging it down his throat.

"I was 18 three years ago!" Thomas yelled, pushing James aside.

....

Ellie sat beside Dr. Isaac, looking up at the stars before she spoke up. "Well, you know... I never thought I'd make it this far. And I'd say you're the main reason we've made it this far," Ellie said, surprising Dr. Isaac with her kindness.

"Tomorrow we set sail and head to where that treasure is. I have faith in us. We'll get that treasure and be outta here," Ellie smiled.

There was a moment of silence before Dr. Isaac replied, "Can't wait." Meanwhile, Fredrick was at a corner, overhearing their conversation. He sighed heavily and walked inside the large ship.

...

Fredrick gasped upon finding Thomas drunk on a bed, talking to himself. Fredrick groaned and sat on the floor, resting his back on the bed. "You sure did drink a lot," Fredrick remarked, having a sip of his beer.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited! I finally get to have the treasure and go and show my family that I'm not completely useless for once! And... do whatever the hell I want," Thomas said in excitement, his whole face red.

"You see, you and I are alike, Thomas," Fredrick said, moving his finger in a circular motion around the mouth of the jar.

"You also have a family to get to, yeah?" Thomas asked.

"...yes," Fredrick replied, holding back the tears about to come.

"They'll be shocked that the both of us, at such a young age—hiccup—we'll be rich," Thomas giggled.

"Yeah..." Fredrick replied, taking a long drink of his beer. "You should sleep because of what's coming tomorrow," Fredrick said, getting up and walking away.

The Next Day~~~

The next day came, and everyone was sober. Thomas woke up much earlier to start the navigation. The compass was tight in his hand as he looked forward and gasped.

"The fog! We're almost there! We're almost there!" The pirates laughed and cheered, dancing. They had finally made it to the treasure point.

As they got closer, the sight of different large ships appeared. They were also heading for the treasure. The yells and cheers from the ships filled the whole sea with noise.

The sound of thunder roared, and the waters became dark blue. The sea grew rough, and the ship began to move up and down with a big wave approaching.

"Get the ropes! Ready them to the rocks! We're about to get some treasure!" Blackthorn smiled, bringing out his sword.

"What are ya waiting for? The war begins now!!" Captain Blackthorn yelled. The other pirates in the other ships ran to the island, battling and killing each other for the treasure.

"What do we do?" Ellie asked.

"We fight!" Captain James said, but Dr. Isaac held him back.

"We what? Are you dumb? We can't fight! We wait for them to finish themselves. In the meantime, let's think about how we get this treasure," he said, spreading the map.

"Okay, we see here that there's a line that traces from where we are to the treasure location," Dr. Isaac said. "Thomas, I will need you for this one." Thomas nodded, awaiting his task. "Since you're the smallest, you can sneak—"

"Are you joking? You're sending him off to die?" Fredrick asked, pushing Isaac.

"He can do it! Besides, what's your business? You are not in our crew," Dr. Isaac said, pushing Fredrick back.

"Guys, come on! There's no time for this! We are about to die. Cane might show up any minute!" Ellie yelled.

"Why is one man killing everyone?" Captain James asked. They all turned and saw a man in a long black hood with a crew behind him. The man killed anyone that came his way. They could only hit him once before he killed them.

"It's him. Victor Cane," Fredrick said.

"Is this the Cane? The Almighty Cane you all have been speaking about? This is it?" James asked, raising a brow, holding in his laughter.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Thomas's throat, squeezing it tight. After Cane had killed every pirate in sight on the island, he reached their ship.

"Oh, so you all think you can come and take my treasure easily?" Cane asked, drawing a long black sword from his side. He was about to stab Thomas when Fredrick rushed in and was stabbed instead, saving Thomas.

"Fredrick!" Thomas yelled, watching as Fredrick still managed to stand, though the blade had gone through his body. Thomas fell to his knees, crying. The whole crew was saddened by the sight.

"Now, who's next?" Cane said, about to stab Thomas, but James came in, stabbing Cane in the leg. Cane groaned, using his sword to slash Captain James's left hand off. The crew watched in horror as the severed hand fell to the floor.

Ellie screamed, trying to reach James before they were all cut off by a loud laugh. The laugh grew louder and louder until they realized it was Fredrick laughing. His head was tilted back, laughing maniacally.

He sighed after the long laugh, slowly removing the sword from his body. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Sir, I did try, didn't I?" Cane spoke up, stepping behind Fredrick.

"Yes, you did. My hood," Fredrick said, ordering some men to put the hood on him.

"What's going on?" Dr. Isaac asked, confused.

"Oh, you don't know already? You idiots have been fools all along... especially you," Fredrick said, pointing at Thomas.

"You are Victor Cane," Ellie said, hurt in her eyes.

"Oh yes, she is the wisest of the fools," Fredrick clapped, chuckling. "I'll give you people an option because of my boy here, Tommy. You guys can go, only if you leave the map boy here with me, or you can choose to die," Fredrick said.

The crew stood there confused. As they did not know what to do.