you ain't seen nothin' yet

༒chapter sixteen༒

"Do you want your hat back?" I ask, hanging from some rope.

"Nope," Harry replies, leaning on a pole near me. "You can keep it for a little bit."

After a few more minutes, I jump down and rub my hands together.

"That wasn't even a new record," Harry pouts.

"We have company," I say to him, grabbing his arm.

"Hey guys!" Gil yells from higher up on the ship. "They're here!"

"How long has he been up there?" I ask, pointing up at Gil.

Harry shrugs. "I dunno. Like a few hours. But, that's my que." He walks over to Ben and unties him from the pole before pushing him across the ship. "Welcome!"

"Finally!" Uma shouts before laughing. I adjust Harry's hat before crossing my arms and leaning against the pole that Harry was leaning on.

Please let them not sing—

"Let's get this party started," Uma starts.

Aaand we're singing. Wonderful.

"I swear I'm coldhearted." Harry pushes Ben onto the plank.

"Harper, the plank!" Harry singsongs. I roll my eyes and walk over to him, leaning my forearms on the side of the ship.

"There's no negotiation. I'm not here for debating. You need some motivation? Just look at Ben's face then ask yourself how long you think I'll remain patient. I'll throw him overboard and let him swim with killer sharks. You either hand over to wand or he'll be ripped apart."

Harry holds Ben by the back of his jacket while he stands on the very end of the plank.

"Now let's all just be smart. Although for you that must be hard," Mal says. "You'll get your wand. No one has to come to any harm. Don't try to intimidate. Your bark is much worse than your bite. Who's the baddest of them all? I guess we're finding out tonight."

Well, this is a bit awkward.

"Let's go. Bring it on. Better give us what we want. It's the wand for the crown. If you don't it's going down."

"Let's go. Make your move. Peace or war it's up to you. Give him up and do it now. If you don't it's going down."

"We want the wand. Or else the king is gone. Your time is running out. You should really watch your mouth."

"Let's go. Pound for pound. We're prepared to stand our ground. Put your swords up, put 'em up. It's going down."

More and more verses of this song. Someone throws me a sword, and I stand up to catch it. While they continue to sing, I swing the sword around my finger boredly.

"Okay, look. This is not a conversation, it's a do-or-die situation." Mal walks towards Uma a few feet, glancing at Ben. "If you don't give me back the king, I'll have no hesitation. I'll serve you right here. And I don't need a reservation. That way your whole 'pirate crew' can have a demonstration. Release him now, and we can go our separate ways. Unless you wanna deal with me and the VKs."

Okay, that whole verse was just a whole lot of ego.

Harry winks at me when he passes me to walk over to Uma.

"So that's your big speech, huh? An empty ultimatum."

"All it takes is one swing and I'll humiliate him. Matter of fact, make one wrong move and I'll debilitate him. And if he even starts to slip I'll eliminate him. All it takes is one wrong look and I'll—"