Port Royal descended into chaos.
Blood ran in the streets. Homes and shops were set ablaze. The night air rang with screams and stank of gun smoke.
The soldiers of the royal navy were helpless against the invading pirates. For every pirate they cut down, two of theirs were wounded or killed; but where their own casualties were taken out of the fight, the slain pirates got back up again and continued on their war paths.
Norrington was both furious and horrified.
*Shing!**thump*
He cut the head clean off of one of the invaders, then the wretch's body kept coming at him! It even kicked its decapitated head at him, which tried to bite him!
"What is this madness?!" Norrington interrogated the head, after he and a few of his good men managed to tie down the rest of him.
"Harharharharhar!" the head laughed despite having no lungs attached to his mouth. "Wouldn't you like to know, idiot! Best to just give us what we want!"
"And what in the bloody hell do you want?!" Norrington demanded.
"Everything!" the head barked another laugh.
*crack*
"Commodore!" Lieutenant Brittle shouted in alarm.
Norrington didn't understand why he was shouting right next to him for until the first prickles of pain exploded in his arm. He felt the warmth of what must be his own blood soaking down his arm. He'd been shot.
The head was laughing itself off.
"Put this thing into a locked box and sink it into the harbor," Norrington ordered.
That shut the severed head up real quick.
…
"I can't sense them at all," Robin said, using her devil fruit to crunch some spines.
"I can't either," Cherry admitted with a grimace. "Neither with Life Sense or with observation haki. They're worse than Brook."
"They aren't weak, either," Robin observed.
That was true. Every one of them was an annoying pest. That was saying something when Cherry was involved, especially since she could just-
*CRUNCH*
-grab them and crush their skulls to dust. Even when she did that, their bodies kept on moving like they didn't even need the head.
Cherry could possibly incinerate them in one go, but that took more than the few seconds it would normally take for her to kill a guy at their level.
"I'm concerned about their utter lack of self preservation. They don't seem like the fanatical types and there aren't that many of them as far as I can tell. At most a hundred," Cherry voiced her thoughts. "I think we're dealing with pseudo-immortals. Some kind of undead."
"They seem pretty alive to me," Robin said. "Besides the lack of blood, I mean."
"Yeah, but their flesh doesn't feel right," Cherry said, shaking bits of brain matter off of her hands. "See? Brain meat is never that easy to clean off. It's too dry, even accounting for the missing blood."
"Do you think it has anything to do with the coin?" Robin asked, turning her head to look at her with worry in her eyes.
A few pirates smashing up a storefront swiveled their heads in her direction.
"I was pretty sure it did before, but now I'm certain," Cherry muttered.
Robin cringed at her slip up. Fortunately she hadn't said who had the coin in question.
It was also fortunate that they had sent Will off to protect Elizabeth, not that they really needed to tell him to. While these pirates would give him trouble, he was a tough cookie and had a good head on his shoulders. He wouldn't be easily dealt with either.
Less fortunate was that neither of them could go to the Governor's manor now. They couldn't risk being followed and leading these scumbags straight to the coin; or worse, to Elizabeth.
…
"Elizabeth!" Will pounded on the door to the governor's manor.
This would be unthinkable just yesterday. He'd probably have been taken as an accomplice of the pirates if he just showed up here in the middle of an attack like this.
It was good, then, that he had convinced Elizabeth to marry him. As her fiancé, it was hardly strange that he'd be concerned for her safety and come to ensure it.
The butler was the one who opened the door. He did not complain when Will pushed past him and shut the door quickly behind him. Though he did give him an aggrieved look.
"Elizabeth!" Will shouted.
"Will!" Elizabeth shouted back from the top of the stairs.
Will was at the top before he realized it. He needed to feel her in his arms to believe that she was okay.
"I'm alright, nobody has come here," Elizabeth assured him.
"Yes, of course," Will glanced around. "Where is Governor Swann, I mean, your father?"
"He had business to attend to at the fort, do not worry," Elizabeth said, sighing in relief at that fact. Port Royal's fort was among the safest places her father could be right now. She loved her father, but he was the furthest thing from a fighter.
Will nodded in relief as well, "That's good. I-"
*knock knock*
The butler was already standing next to the door, thanks to Will's arrival. He went to answer it on instinct.
""Don't!"" Will and Elizabeth warned as one, but too late.
The door was shoved open and the butler was shot point blank in the head.
Will drew his sword. It wasn't one of his make, but rather one of Cherry's. She had given it to him when he ran off to protect his fiancé. He was glad of it too, since he could rest assured that it would serve him better than any he had ever held in his life.
"Hide," Will hissed at Elizabeth.
She was stubborn and fierce, but she knew her presence here would not do herself or Will any good.
Sadly, both intruders looked up and spotted her. They smiled with their yellowed, crooked teeth.
"Go!" Will started down the stairs at a steady pace.
"Look at the knight in shining petticoat!" the fat one chuckled.
As he had hoped, the two pirates started up the stairs. They were so excited to toy with the "knight" that they didn't even think to shoot him. That was to his advantage, as he was confident that he was their superior with the blade.
He had also been confident against Jack, but there was no way he could be matched all three pirates he'd ever met, right?
Ideally he'd be fighting them on even ground, but he'd have to settle for the high ground. He'd have better targets than they would at least.
The first came within his striking range and he thrust his sword straight into his eye and further into his brain.
He was momentarily stunned about how easy he had done it. That was the worst moment for that, though, as the second pirate took a swing at him.
He leapt back, dodging the attack narrowly, only to let out a cry of pain. The first pirate had just stabbed him in the leg!
"Surprised, Mr. Knight?" the first mocked, uncaring for the wound in his left eye. "Your night's about to get a lot weirder from here!"