Roy patched into the brig, and ambient audio slipped through first, the scrape of bony knuckles tapping bars in a slow, deliberate rhythm, punctuated by Riven's weary singing. Roy's sudden intrusion caused Riven's voice to falter into uncertain muttering.
"Keep singing!" Father Skeleton's voice snapped.
Riven hastily resumed, singing louder and more anxiously than before. Father Skeleton sighed contentedly, long bones shivering.
"Ah," he murmured as he enjoyed the drained and mindless melody. "So beautiful."
"Guys," Roy's voice intruded sharply. "Quiet, I'm gonna speak."
The muttering cut off instantly, and Riven's relief spilled out in a breath. "Oh, thank God," he whispered.
Father Skeleton kept smiling, the sound of bone scraping together soft and dreadful. "Young Roy," he cooed, honey warmth and pushy pride melding. "I have missed you. Will you come home soon? Mother is concerned and would like to see your face."
"But I'm in the dungeon right now, I can't," Roy began.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Skelly Mom's shrill screech tore through the link, flooding the channel with a relentless, piercing wail of displeasure.
Roy closed his eyes, jaw clenching. "I"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
He tried again. "Listen"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Frustration cracked his composure. "Fine," he snapped. "I'm wasting a portal."
Using his ring, Roy opened a portal into the brig. His face appeared, deadpan and exhausted. "Happy?" he asked flatly.
Skelly Mom stared, took one step backward without acknowledging the gesture, and turned her back on him, walking away as if the courtesy never occurred.
Roy exhaled slowly, irritation etched across his features. "You made me waste a portal for nothing," he said.
"It is good to see you, Roy," Father Skeleton said warmly, sincere affection smoothing his expression.
"Fine," Roy muttered with a shrug. "If you're going to ignore everything I say, then I'm ignoring you. It's just business."
His voice sharpened immediately. "I'm calling because I'm offering them a fight."
The bars rattled as Kaelor pushed closer. "I'm in," he cut in immediately, muscles tensing as if he might leap through sound alone.
"You don't even know what I'm asking you to fight," Roy replied, frustrated by the constant interruption.
"I accept anyway," Kaelor said, refusing to cede.
"Okay," Roy sighed. "You can fight. Jeez."
"Yes!" Kaelor crowed triumphantly. "I will not let you down!"
Roy's attention slid across to the other cell. Sorrowclaw sat cross-legged, rocking slightly in place, eyes brightening at the possibility of movement.
"What about you?" Roy asked, eyebrows raised.
"There are some big monsters out there. Super scary. You could die."
She lifted her head as if something clicked behind her eyes. "You mean I can dance again?" she breathed, voice trembling with sudden hunger. "It has been so long."
"Dance your heart out," Roy responded.
"Then you need not ask me again!" Sorrowclaw exclaimed brightly, stretching her body like a waking snake. "Will you be joining me for this dance? Will we unite again, body to body, mind to"
"Enough," Roy said sharply, cutting her off before she could drift further.
Undeterred by the interruption, Sorrowclaw rose fluidly and began dancing on the spot, thin ribbons of illusion already flickering gently around her limbs. Roy chuckled once at the sight before his attention shifted to the third cell. Lady Brinevein lounged there, back against the cold metal, chin up, contempt carved into every line of her face.
Roy's tone turned mocking as he addressed her. "Does purity beyond purity want to stretch her legs? Huh? Does she?" His voice grew more patronizing. "Does she want to go for a walk? I bet she wants to go for a walk. She must want to go for a walk." He paused, feigning consideration. "Or maybe she's hungry. Would she like some gelato?"
Riven's head perked up instantly from across the brig. "Gelato? Can I say yes to that? Can I pretend you're talking to me?"
Roy ignored him completely, still focused on Lady Brinevein.
With a cold stare, Lady Brinevein stated flatly, "I don't even know what that is. And if this is the same offer those two fools gave me, I'll pass."
"Fine," Roy replied with a shrug. "I'm not forcing you."
"Wait, one more thing," Sorrowclaw called out suddenly. "May I have ten minutes to build up some energy? That way, I'll go out there reasonably powered up."
Roy considered briefly, eyes narrowing slightly in calculation. Meanwhile, she continued her dance, thin trails of illusory energy cascading from her movements, pooling around her feet and forming small, ephemeral constructs around the brig.
"Fine," Roy said finally. "Our forces can hold out until then."
He flipped the channel off and switched smoothly to the main comm line.
"Recall everyone to the brig in ten minutes," Roy ordered. "Darken the windows. Tell them leaving the brig is treason from that point on. No questions."
"Understood," Serenity replied immediately, her tone too steady to betray what she felt.
Roy switched back to the brig. "Unlock them in ten minutes," he instructed. "And Skellbro, make sure you mark them."
Skellbro appeared with a surprising bounce in their step, clapping their skeletal hands like an eager monster. A green phantom blade flickered into being between their fingers. Without ceremony, they drew the edge swiftly across Kaelor and Sorrowclaw's wrists, leaving their skin entirely intact, as always.
"Their souls are cursed and ready," Skellbro chirped with grim cheer.
-
Grifftin continued forward, crossing the swarm's backs quickly and methodically, boots gripping between chitin ridges, fingers seeking seams to pry open. Each plate he tore free granted the Nightshatter a better angle, and every opened gap transformed a shell from a mere projectile into a decisive, deadly strike. Seafoam and blood coated his forearms, mixing into a slick film that he ignored as he moved forward without pause.
Another body rose beneath him, larger than any he had encountered yet, more than double the size of the rest, its overlapping armor plates flexing thickly as it emerged. Grifftin set his boots wide and plunged both hands under the edge of one heavy plate, muscles bunching visibly across his arms and shoulders as he strained against its weight. The plate resisted, and for a moment it appeared rooted permanently in place. Veins swelled beneath Grifftin's skin, muscles growing larger, definition sharpening visibly with the force he exerted. Slowly, stubbornly, the plate began to lift, revealing a narrow gap underneath.
Before he could widen it further, the isopod's plating flexed downward, pressing back against him with sudden force. Grifftin gritted his teeth and leaned into the pull, boots sliding a fraction against the slick surface. He released a rough breath, adjusted his grip, and hauled upward again, muscles swelling further, veins pronounced and pulsing as he fought to maintain leverage. The gap stayed small, barely open enough to expose the vulnerable tissue beneath.
Serenity caught it instantly. "Firing solution locked. Shell inbound."
The artillery round landed squarely, detonating inside the narrow opening, but the creature barely shuddered, absorbing the impact without collapsing. Grifftin let out a growl of frustration.
"Serenity," he called sharply into the comm, still straining hard against the plating, "put one of those big explodey-tube thingies right here, right on my mark, I'll jump clear!"
Bridge cameras flickered, Serenity's response came instantly, tightly controlled. "That's too risky. You won't clear the blast radius."
Siren stepped forward before the silence could deepen, voice even and calm. "Fire it somewhere else. I'll handle this one."
"Then do it," Maelara responded.
Siren stepped onto the rail in one smooth motion, drawing his blade cleanly from its sheath, the length already coated in bright, blue-white energy as it cleared the scabbard. He leveled the sword toward the isopod, gathered the energy, and sliced the blade forward, releasing a bright wave that twisted quickly into a curved, rotating disc of refined power.
The disc tore cleanly into the opened gap, slicing effortlessly through the creature's flesh and armor beneath. From inside came a loud, reverberating clang as the energy collided forcefully with the armored interior shell, failing to penetrate fully through the far side, but already cleaving critical damage.
Grifftin let out a yell, part triumph, part pure adrenaline, and jumped clear of the collapsing isopod and towards the Nightshatter's deck a second later. His hands caught the railing of the Nightshatter with a hard clank. Momentum dragged him sideways. A boot scraped along the edge, then found purchase. He hauled himself over and landed in a messy half crouch that he pretended was intentional.
He took a quick breath, forcing a confident sound. "Perfect," he said.
Siren watched Grifftin for another moment as the larger man tore another plate free and shouted for another shell. The pattern worked. It just did not look sustainable.
Maelara's eyes shifted from the screen to Siren. "You should be the one out there," she said.
Siren shifted his weight slightly, eyes briefly sliding toward the railing, then back again. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice neutral. "Well... he's already doing it now. It would seem rude to interrupt."
"No, really, I'm fine here," Grifftin said quickly, lifting both hands in a placating gesture as he glanced between Maelara and Siren. "Feel free. I can handle defense just fine, you know?"
Suspicion settled deeper into Maelara's expression as she studied them both a moment longer, arms folding firmly across her chest. "Well, that settles it," she said, turning fully toward Siren. "He's good here, so now it's your turn."
Siren hesitated, mouth briefly opening without sound. He drew in a short breath, steadied himself, and nodded quickly. "Right. Yes. I'll, I'll get right on it."
Maelara leaned slightly forward, looking from Siren to Grifftin with skeptical amusement. "Wait a second. What's going on here, can you two not swim?"
Both men immediately spoke over each other in an overlapping protest. "Of course I can swim!"
Siren adjusted his collar awkwardly, voice quieter, but firm. "It's simply been a very long time…yes, that."
Before he embarrassed himself further, he jumped off the sip. The leap carried him far beyond the hull before gravity took him. Midair he drew his sword, the blade already coated in pale blue-white energy that flowed along the edge as it cleared the sheath. He snapped the blade forward and sent a slicing wave across the water toward a distant isopod.
The first attack struck the shell with a sharp crack, carving a shallow gouge before ricocheting off the armor and vanishing into the sea. He adjusted swiftly in midair, firing another wave toward a second target with the same frustrating result, the armor held, and his attack deflected harmlessly away. Then his boots finally struck the surface of the first isopod, the impact driving both the energy along his blade and the sword itself down through the creature's weakened seam.
The landing drove the energy along his blade into the creature at the same moment the sword came down. Steel and power struck together, the edge biting through the weakened seam and splitting the shell straight along its spine. The body opened under him and the halves slid apart into the water.
"See?" Maelara's voice came through the comm, smooth and edged with satisfaction. "You're much better for this job."