- Heaven's Last Breath -

Conviction

"Eh? How the fuck did you get here before me?"

Ariel landed gently on the ship's stern. She let out a short sigh as I only smiled in response. The rose haired girl looked away before turning back to me, sticking her tongue out playfully.

I stood up from the railing I was leaning against, shoving both hands into my pockets as I stepped forward. Ariel joined me at my side as the two of us surveyed the ship below.

"So will this ship get us across the lake?"

A soft voice called out to us and as I turned around, Jade and Death had both joined us on the ship's stern. Fortunately, everything was quiet and there didn't seem to be any signs of recent activity. Still, the ship needed a crew so some passengers were bound to be aboard.

My eyes glanced from place to place on the deck and after a moment, I was sure that the coast was clear. As the four of us jumped down to the wooden deck, there seemed to be a commotion from behind where we were facing.

I nodded to the other three, signalling that now would be a good time to split up. Without hesitating, Death turned away, leaving for the bow of the ship. Ariel didn't waste any time either, leaping through a large glowing white circle she had made in front of one of the ship's locked doors.

Jade stepped forward, a few feet away from the room under the stern. From the outside, we could both see that oil lanterns had been lit inside. Furthermore, there was a constant echoeing sound, as if a group of people were all singing and chanting. It took me a moment to realise what was happening but as I looked up to the sail across the ship's mast, I understood.

We hadn't boarded any old ship. In fact, the four of us had somehow managed to climb aboard a pirate ship. But for now, that only asked more questions than it answered. The sail was decorated with an ocean blue coloured skull and crossbones. I looked closer, seeing that the skeletal mouth wasn't a human's. Rather, the fangs were sharp and the teeth uneven, depicting some sort of monster.

"Jade, uh- this isn't-"

"Show yourselves, pirates!"

The moment I spun on my heels, I knew it was too late. My jaw dropped to the floor as the noirette approached the front doors of the main room.

As Jade spoke up, the cheerful singing stopped immediately and the lanterns were blown out. An eerie silence settled in the air as the two of us waited for something to happen.

Then at once, the two doors were blasted away. The heavy wooden doors smashed into some crates that had been scattered around the deck. Jade was still stood directly in front of the entrance, unfazed by what had just happened.

I felt a half smile creep onto my lips as I watched this crazy turn of events unfold. Not wanting to be discovered so quickly, I looked up, seeing that the crow's nest was the perfect spot for me. Now was a perfect chance to see what the noirette was made of.

"Who dares disturb us pirates? On our own ship? Show yourself!"

From above, I watched on as a group of very tall, misshapen figures stepped out onto the deck. I looked closer, seeing that their skins were coloured an ocean blue, their bodies injured and scarred from the countless battles that they faced.

Each of the trolls looked somewhat menacing, some wielding barbaric clubs, some swords and the odd axe. Nevertheless, the midnight haired girl stood tall unfazed by the horde of trolls. To say Jade was outnumbered would be an understatement. It was only her against the ship's crew, each troll standing around ten foot tall.

"Bring me your captain."

As Jade spoke out, I felt a huge smile spread across my face. Though, none of the trolls reacted the same way. They were all taken back by her confidence but it was clear they were looking for a fight now.