"Holy shit! Look at that thing!" Chester suddenly came up over to the bow, seeing Calliope and the ship right away. Then seeing the woman that had been taken from the City…
"By God…" Winslow began, eyes shifting focus to Raven, whose face was scratched up, dust covering it. "They actually did it. Didn't they?"
"Ngh–" Leroy grunted as he stood from where he was laid out on the deck, Dezzi giving him a cold glare "Hey! Don't get up yet!"
Leroy held his ribs, the wood of the ship creaking as his footsteps echoed against the stairs, he held a somber look in his eyes. An emotional pang in his heart echoing as his gaze shifted up to Winslow.
"How'd she make it out here?" Winslow had a similar look on his face as he answered the Captains question.
"I had gone back to where you all had Docked her, near Calliopes warehouse. I meant to go and check up on the other Orphans there to see who else survived. They were fine– but as I was leaving, a voice rang out in my ears." He closed his eyes, thinking back to the cool brisk air of midnight when he heard it
"As mayor, I'm usually able to recognize the voice of a stranger or a one of my citizens. But that voice- Her voice" He pointed to the figure head.
"It was like nothing else I'd ever heard. It was as if it was coming from all around and from a specific place all at once."
"Like a voice in your head." Leroy stated. "I figured she'd speak to you too. Klabautermann are said to be a myth. I only mentioned them because of the stories I've heard…"
"But when I reached the apex of the voice. I could see it- See her. On the railing of the ship like a friend waiting for someone to come."
"Her words-..."
"Please. Please I need you to help me" The Feminine words rang out around Winslow as he gazed up to the Hazy figure.
"I know- I can't go much further. But allow me the chance to have one final voyage." The voice pleaded with emotion like their heart was being ripped from their chest in disappointment at themselves
"They need me- I can feel it. I want to do something right for them again. Carry them again and lead them to one last Horizon…!"
"And so I did. I fixed her up as best I could. I did it all by hand. Until my hands bled. It's been decades since I worked that hard- and that fast. Hearing those words…"
"Thank you-" Spoke the ship as Winslow pushed her to launch into the Sea. Watching as it sailed by itself into the Horizon. With not a soul on board.
Leroy's eyes were glued to the figurehead mere meters away from him. Thinking about the pain that the ship had felt in being unable to move. To carry them again. But a noise broke him and the others out of watching the conversation
Behind them, the Main deck began to split! Shearing apart like a fissure through the earth! The cracks went from the middle all the way to the waterline! Thankfully the waters were calm, and prevented leaks from entering into the quarters…
Leroys eyes pursed in a look of distress as he watched the crew frantically look around. But the words he spoke caused them all to stop and turn to the Captain
"I've made my decision. This place. Here is where we will part ways with the Horizons Palm." His words were adamant and resolved. But clearly a pain wracked his breath as he made the decision.
"She's too far gone now. She has been since we reached Water 9. We shouldn't let her suffer." Leroy began to walk around the palm, hand running across the trim. Looking at how the paint was wearing thin and chipping. The splintered and rough wood.
"We'll lay her to rest, and allow her to sink to the Seas through a proper burial at sea. And light her a blaze in glory one last time…"
The Crew wasn't shocked by this declaration. They had all come to terms with leaving behind their home. All they knew was that Leroy hadn't yet reached that moment. No matter how much they tried to make him realize. He was just stubborn that way.
But a part of being stubborn, and something Leroy learned from this very moment. Was knowing when to give in for the better of something.
Turning around to face Winslow, the Captain asked a simple question.
"Will you help us?" Winslow gave a curt smile. "Of course."
With the help of the Nuff Wright shipping company, the crew began to unload everything from the palm that they would need to continue their journey.
But it wasn't just the crew that was hurting. There was another among them that needed to speak his own words.
Amidst the rubble and splinters that plastered the entire ship in a small layer of dust and debris, chest approached Calliope and confessed his sins to his leader.
"It was me…I was the one that caused you to be taken…They had promised me so much…So much more than anything this island could give…" His eyes began to water, fist clenching tight.
"It's my fault that the others are dead!" His voice hitched with a sob as he began to break down, falling to his knees in front of the woman carrying a box. She had a look of shock on her face, mixed with disgust as her gaze was locked onto the man at her feet. The others stopping to watch what was happening unfold
"I'm sorry that I did it! I'll do anythi-" He was abruptly cut off. "Shut up." The words came from Calliope. But they were not harsh, rather they came from a smile.
"You can make it up to me by taking care of the rest while I'm gone. Isn't that right-" Calliope looked to Leroy. "Captain?"
Through it all. Calliope knew that Winslow was right. These pirates– They were the ones right for her to be able to achieve her dream…She'd made that decision the moment she laid eyes on Leroy and the others helping Raven on the Train. Only to be reinforced by the events at the Citadel…
An hour later, the Ship was cleared out of everything. Left practically gutted with only things such as the beds and furniture left behind and anything that could reasonably should be replaced with something new.
The Crew looked the the Ship from the side, as all of them stood on a small raft as a platform to watch the Funeral.
Leroy stood on a small raft with a torch in hand, tossing the canister of liquid into the large fissure. His face was somber as he tossed the torch onto the ship, watching as the Orange flames began to spread. Letting his raft gently be pushed away.
But-
As he came to a stop a distance from the Ship, watching it begin to be engulfed by the blaze- A Voice rang out in all of their heads. The Voice of The Horizons Palm
"I'm sorry…" She began. "I'm that I failed you- That I couldn't carry any further…"
"The Palm…" Kirk said beneath his breath as the Ship continued to speak
"I had hoped that we'd all be able to have a few more Voyages- That I would be able to carry you to the very end!" Her voice was pleading in a tone of sorrow.
Jeanne was the First to begin to Tear up as she remembered how the Ship sat in the Docks…How she had looked at it from time to time. And then to the moments on board- at the top of the Crows Nest where she scribbled manic notes for her inventions
"But I'm happy that I was able to take you all this far!" Kirk and Dezzi were next in line, Kirk remembering how he would listen to the rain and feel safe below deck as he charted and drew new maps. Or new sketches.
Dezzi looking back to how they had felt truly safe on the ship, even in the first weeks of being with the crew before the others knew that they were a mink.
"I just hope that you'll never forget me. Because I know that I'll never forget you!" The Ship declared as the palm began to be engulfed.
Leroy Finally began to Cry. Tears streamed down his face as he fell to his knees, gripping at the edge of the boat. "We'll never forget you!" He sobbed out. As even Calliope and Raven Shed a few tears.
"I loved our time together…" The Ships mast began to fall into the ocean, embers flying through the air.
"So Thank You. Thank you for choosing me!"
As Leroy and the others continued to cry, others sobbing while Noir and Kale stood stoically and watched.
They could see her now. Standing on the railing of the ship! A short woman with translucent icy white hair in a small bob, a slim round face with a slim figure and a skirt on her waist with ten furls embedded into the phantasmic fabric. A simple blouse along the rest.
She smiled as she waved above her head before dispersing into a spray of mist…