The Pyroskulls

    "Hoist the sails!" a solid, deep voice booms.

    Obeying the command, slightly salt-stained, white sheets follow the beat of the wind as they rise up against it. 

    "We're ready for your call, Captain," the source of the voice confirms—Mongo, a tall, brawny, sand-colored man with a head of light-brown curls that seem out of place on this powerhouse. He salutes as he enters the Captain's quarters to report. Despite his size, he gives a slight fidget with anxious eyes; no doubt the Captain is furious, but honestly, this is the best part. 

    "Good," the Captain replies with a sly smile, and takes a new cigar from a box Mongo holds, extinguishing the old one. The two exit the cabin, the Captain walking up deck to address the crew—a huge group of outcasts, troublemakers, the lost, with no where else to go but here, the only place that'll take 'em. But a good heart's all the Captain cares about.

    "Alright, you scoundrels, listen up! The Gales' reign of these seas are over! Those bloodsucking trash have hurt our men for the last time!" The crew shouts in unison, crying out their grief for their lost comrades when the Gales had waited till they were vulnerable, mugging a hard-worked score from them like hyenas. Many lives were lost that day. And it wasn't the first.

    "They're in range! I see them!" a scout shouts from up above.
    
    "Let's get this show on the road!" The Captain lights the new cigar, signaling the start of the battle. "Blow 'em up!"

    Numerous voices, young and old, male and female, all shout in excitement, determined not to let their Captain down. They all get ready into their stations, cannons set to fire all around the battleship, and crew mates standing ready with guns, swords, and ropes to swing onto their enemies' ship.

    "I figure you'll be joining us, Captain?" Mongo asks.

    "I'm gonna blow 'em to smithereens," the brown curled giant gets as a response. "You have her ready?"
   
    "She's waiting for you, Captain."

    "Get ready, Mongo. I'm not gonna go easy on these suckers, and I can't make any promises if any of you get in my way."

    "Of course."

    "Head out!" Mongo leaves to continue leading the crew while the Captain heads to the cannons at the front of the battleship. There she is, waiting for her master. Skullcrusher. A massive hand-held cannon that the Captain uses in battle, along with an interesting twist. The Captain only debated for half a second before ultimately deciding to go all out. It had been a while since the Captain let loose anyways. Looking out into the sea, the Captain eyes the Gales' giant battleship, a massive black metallic ship a little bigger than theirs, with no sails as it ran on an engine.

    "Tch, call themselves the Gales and don't even ride the wind! They're underestimating us, those scum, letting us take the first shot. I'll show 'em a shot." The crew stands at the ready.

    BOOM!

    There it was, the first cannon, shot personally by the Captain. With perfect aim, the shot lands rights into the center of the battleship, scattering the Gales' crew. The black battleship immediately returns fire. The Captain sees them coming.

    "FIRE!"

    They retaliate with their own cannons, a majority of them perfectly aimed to intercept the incoming enemy fire. The Captain trained them for this. Cannons were a personal favorite of the Pyroskulls battleship. Immediately after fire, a second round of cannons are shot straight for the Gales' ship, the two enemies continuously firing until they are close enough for contact.

    "GO! GO! GO!" Mongo's voice roars. The crew shout battle cries, the first group swinging over to the enemy's side, Mongo leading them. A number of them manage to create an opening and mount the planks for their comrades to join them. At the front of the ship, the Captain calmly struts towards the enemy, Skullcrusher in hand.

    "Take down the Captain!" a Gale crew member, most likely of higher ranker, shouts. The Captain merely laughs in amusement, setting up Skullcrusher and shooting straight into the crowd. The crew knows better than to get in their Captain's way, hearing the particular scream of the hand-held cannon's fire and immediately jumping out of the way. Following the source of the cannon, Gale enemies surround the Captain, guns in hand and about to fire.

    "This is the Captain?!" one of them shouts, bewildered. The Captain responds with another rapid fire of the Skullcrusher, taking out all of the shocked, still, enemies in one blast. Taking another long swig of the cigar, the Captain continues taking down any poor Gale mates that find themselves in the way. Really? The Captain may be young, but no need to make such a surprised face. They were a famous enough crew for rumors to go around.

    "Looks like I need to make these idiots work harder after this," the Captain muttered, only the tiniest bit upset that they weren't as famous for the Captain to be known at first sight. The Gale that had shouted earlier, the First Mate, someone had addressed him as in the chaos, finds himself before the Captain, along with some Gale support at the quarterdeck of the Pyroskulls. One naive Gale makes a straight forward attack at the Captain before the First Mate stops him.

    "Stop! This one's a little dangerous." The Captain twitched at the word "little". 

    "But—"

    "Oh? You know me?" the Captain interrupts.

    "I've heard rumors, and it seems they were true," the First Mate replies, eyeing the dangerous Skullcrusher aimed at their group. The Captain chuckles, slightly pleased that someone knows who the Captain of this ship is. 

    "The child of a noble, found to be a prodigy with extremely accurate aim, a dangerous addiction to firearms, and always found with a cigar. Within a year, the prodigy gathered up a crew, took a family battleship, and disappeared into the seas to become a captain of a pirate crew."

    "B-but, sir! This kid—" BOOM! The Gale is cut short when a cannonball is shot straight into him, flying him straight into the fighting crowd below. That word, the Captain hated being called that word.

    "This is no child, this is Captain Lucy of the Pyroskulls." Standing at only half their heights, yet still carrying the Skullcrusher as if it weighed nothing, stood Captain Lucy, her fiery eyes staring them down. She spits out her cigar at them, pulling out a new one from a side pouch and lighting it with a small spark from the end of the screaming cannon.

    "This one tastes bad," she mutters, still upset from being called a kid. "If you know who I am, you do well to step away if you value your lives," she responds with an unfitting sweet smile. "Then again, I don't plan to let any of you escape anyways." She aims the Skullcrusher straight at them.

    "Fire!" the First Mate quickly orders. The Gales open fire at the petite Captain, who takes cover behind her giant cannon. When they run out of ammo, they take their swords and try striking her down. Lucy quickly lays down her beloved cannon and effortlessly dodges their swings, using her small stature to her advantage. She takes out a hidden pistol and takes aim, shooting down her enemies. The Gales clumsily knock into each other with their swords, only to be shot dead. Frustrated from their idiocy, the First Mate enters the fray.

    "You may be the Captain, but you're still just a little girl." The First Mate, obviously better in skill compared to the rest of the Gales, swings his sword at Lucy, while swiftly dodging her bullets. Lucy tumbles around his sword and sees an opening.
    
    Bang!

    A hit, but no good. The First Mate disgustingly smiles and reveals armor underneath his clothing.

    "I told you, I've heard of ya! But I guess you're not all that great after all!" Lucy clicks her tongue in annoyance, half from the armor, and half because that was her last bullet. She takes up her lovely Skullcrusher again and shoots. The First Mate takes a unsuspecting Gale close by who takes the shot for him.

    "You trash!!" Lucy yells. Without responding, the First Mate charges again. Infuriated, Lucy changes plans and heads for her ship's main cannons. The First Mate is hot on her trail. As he catches up, the First Mate sees her...go inside the biggest of the cannons.

    "You scared, little girl? Hiding inside your cannon? Children shouldn't be running around with these kinds of toys," the First Mate mocks while swinging his sword at the metal. Lucy was no coward, but she had something special in store for him.

    "Mongo!" Lucy shouts from inside. Despite the chaos on both ships, Mongo hears her cry. He wasn't chosen as First Mate for nothing. He may be big and strong, but Mongo was chosen because he will always address the call of his Captain. The Pyroskulls' First Mate immediately charges through the fighting crowds, finding the Gales' First Mate laughing and about to stab his sword into the mouth of a main cannon. Mongo quickly grabs his arm and swings away the maniac hyena with monstrous strength. 

    "Fire!" he signals, and shoots the cannon and straight into the enemy's battleship. The First Mate's eyes follow the shot as it makes a deep hole into the ship. He was sure he saw the Captain climb inside it! Suddenly, a figure steps out from the hole. It's Lucy! She mockingly waves at the First Mate, sticking out her tongue and sneering.

    "How?!" the First Mate screams. Mongo decides to answer by throwing him into the sea. The First Mate struggles up to breath when more Gale mates come tumbling down.

    "Her cannon! It turns to armor!" a Gale mate sputters, choking on salt-water. That's the interesting part of the Skullcrusher. A cursed cannon who came into ownership of Lucy during one of their treasure hunts, it only answered her call, interchanging between her favorite cannon, and a full-body armor. And while she could use this ability to protect herself, Lucy decided to spice things up a bit and use it instead for shooting her out of a cannon. 

    In the next few minutes, the Gales were quickly defeated with a cannonball in Captain Gaelstone's mouth, courtesy of Lucy herself. Leftover enemies escaped on lifeboats. After they took all their supplies and the previous precious loot they had lost, Lucy orders Mongo to blow up the battleship.

    "Be at peace." Captain Lucy silently whispers to her lost crew mates, as she watches the black ship explode and sink to the bottom of the ocean. 

    "Captain," Mongo quietly says behind her. Lucy takes a moment before turning to her first mate. She nods and heads for her crew, Mongo following.

    "Today!" she bellows, her voice strong and firm. "We've taken back what's ours! We've avenged our comrades! We! Are! Victorious!!" They celebrated, drinking, singing, dancing, joking around and resting from the day's battle. They were growing stronger and stronger. Lucy could see it now, as she smokes from a fancy cigar package a crew mate had found within the Gales' loot. The Pyroskulls were on their way to become legends, starting it off with a boom.