All eyes were fixed on the two men who had locked their swords together; they seemed to be waiting for an invisible timer before launching themselves forward and striking. At the tip of the giant tentacle clamping down on the ship, a drop of water hung; and shortly afterwards—Drop—that drop of water signalled the start of the battle.
Their blades had been locked together for some time before they raised their swords again and sidestepped just before their blades collided. Jones did not use his 'bad ending' ability because, had he done so, Captain Hook would undoubtedly have been scorched. Neither of them said a word, as this battle was more important than exchanging small talk or taunts.
The blade swung towards Captain Hook's feet, and fortunately he was able to jump out of the way just in time; mid-air, Captain Hook thrust the tip of his sword straight at Jones's face, who barely managed to dodge it—red blood began to drip from a gash on his pale, bluish cheek.
Jones quickly thrust the blade into the floor, and its tip embedded itself in the ship's deck—THWACK—a powerful kick landed right beside Jones's face, sending him flying off to the side at great speed and causing his head to slam against the wooden wall with a loud thud.
"CAPTAIN HOOK!" We cheered, shouting his name; I was truly in awe of his swordsmanship—no wonder he'd so quickly earned the respect of his entire crew. "YOU'RE BRILLIANT!" It wasn't an empty compliment, for Captain Hook's exceptionally agile movements truly demonstrated his skill, despite being close to middle age.
"Sorry, Captain, but my crew are watching." Captain Hook tried to catch his breath whilst he could, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly and wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I can't bring them down just for this."
Jones lifted his head and wiped the blood from his cheek with his thumb, his eyes locked on the man in front of him. "I understand; I've felt it too," he said as he sprinted forward again, narrowly missing his target.
Their blades clashed—CLING!—striking one another without giving either man a moment to catch their breath. Captain Hook was knocked back and lay sprawled on the wooden floor; the sword's blade sliced towards his face, but fortunately he managed to turn his head just in time, causing the blade to lodge itself in the floor.
Captain Hook rolled over immediately and got to his feet again, but Jones's blade had already sliced open his chest—blood began to spurt and soak the wooden floor, yet he did not retreat to catch his breath; instead, his blade clashed once more.
The clang of swords echoed throughout the ship, and their injuries were clearly becoming more severe, evident from the deep gashes and blood splattered across the deck. Jones stood on the quarterdeck and looked down—at Captain Hook, who was breathing heavily. "This is the end for you, Hook," he said, trying to intimidate him, but it did not faze his opponent in the slightest.
"This is the end for both of us," Captain Hook retorted, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword even tighter—he gathered strength in his legs, his eyes ablaze with a fire of rage and determination to protect his crew. "Prepare to fall into hell, Captain Jones!"
Hearing this, the pale, bluish-hued man grinned. "What a pity—we've actually climbed our way out of hell," he said, and then leapt, followed by Captain Hook as he soared into the air—mid-air, their two blades clashed and they both growled like ravenous predators.
At last, one of the swords snapped, and the other slashed deeply into one of their bodies—I couldn't see clearly, as the sun was blinding me. Yet I could see the result when they both fell back to the ground—their backs facing each other, and for a moment neither of them said a word.
My heart began to pound, even though I wasn't the one fighting—SPLASH—a torrent of blood spurted from Jones's chest, flooding the deck, and before long his body collapsed to the floor, immediately making it clear who had won this fight.
"CAPTAIN! YOU DID IT!" We all cheered and rushed over. Liz climbed down from the Kraken's head, which had lifted the ship out of the sea and lowered it back into the water—as we drew nearer, we could see Captain Hook's severe injuries. "Are you all right, Captain?" Liz asked, looking around frantically for something to stop the bleeding.
"I'm all right," Captain Hook tried to reassure them, but his groans of pain betrayed him—SHNK—without warning, from behind, a hand with pale, bluish skin pierced his chest, leaving it covered in blood. "What the hell...?!"
I turned round and saw Jones standing right behind me, his hand thrust into Captain Hook's back—without my even having to give the order, the arrow had already flown and landed squarely on Jones's head, causing his body to collapse straight onto the floor.
Robin's breath was ragged; his adrenaline was surging, but I caught Captain Hook's body, his eyes already lifeless—I saw the man's skin turning a pale bluish colour. "Captain!" I shouted, and Liz had already torn off her trousers and used them as a makeshift bandage to cover the wound on Captain Hook's chest. "Hang in there, we'll save you—I promise!"
I pulled out my card and conjured up some first-aid supplies, handing some of them to Liz. "Don't go dying on us here yet, you bloody idiot," I said, dabbing at the blood on his wound with sterile gauze. Meanwhile, Robin fired arrow after arrow into Jones's body to ensure that the hideous creature was truly dead.
"This should serve as a lesson to me and to you all: always check your enemy's body before celebrating victory," Captain Hook whispered; he was unable to speak loud enough for us to hear properly—his hands were trembling and the skin on his face was turning an increasingly pale, bluish colour.
"Don't say anything yet, you fool," I replied whilst continuing to tend to his wounds; the captain seemed unable to feel the injuries all over his body. "Your wounds will get worse if you talk too much!" I scolded him, my vision already beginning to blur.
Without warning, Captain Hook's body began to convulse as if struck by a high-voltage electric shock, and suddenly he sprang to his feet, leaving us bewildered. "Captain?" Robin called out, but he did not respond at all; Captain Hook approached one of the mermen crew members, who did not immediately attack him as usual.
Captain Hook then swiftly stabbed the fish-man, who was a former member of his crew; blood spurted out and his body fell straight to the floor. We couldn't believe what he had done, as he had previously said that Juliet could heal them and turn them back into humans.
"What are you doing, Captain?" asked Liz, and she fell to her knees at the sight of the captain she had admired murdering his crew without the slightest mercy.
"The curse is too powerful to be broken; Juliet is merely a potions-maker, not a curse-healer," Captain Hook replied, without so much as a glance in our direction—his sword continued to slice through their flesh, causing the deck to be flooded with the blood of his crew.
Liz watched it all in horror as everyone who had shared their adventures was executed right before her very eyes, right down to the very last crew member—I only realised something when Captain Hook's skin had turned completely pale and bluish, just like Jones's had before.
"Help me get rid of all their bodies," Captain Hook's voice sounded different now, more hoarse and deep, just like Jones's—the body of that hideous man had already been thrown into the sea, and Captain Hook watched it drift away for quite some time.
The Captain then turned and walked over to Liz before holding out his hand. "Give me the heart of the sea," he said. It wasn't a request—it was more like an order; for some reason, the way he said it made me realise there was something strange about him.
Liz was startled and reached into her pocket, producing a heart-shaped pearl—the sunlight glinted off it and Captain Hook's hand reached out to take it before being stopped by my voice. "You're not Captain Hook, are you?" That question startled everyone who heard it, and Liz immediately pulled her hand back.
"Do you trust him more than your own captain?" Captain Hook began to sound insistent; his voice became more terrifying and unpleasant to hear than before—Liz showed no sign of wavering; instead, her eyes were full of determination to stop herself from giving him the heart of the sea.
"Captain Hook would never say anything like that—because Captain Hook knows that the entire crew trusts him so completely that there's no need to question it," replied Liz; amongst the four of us, it was the creature possessing Captain Hook's body that understood him the least. "So, let me repeat Alice's question"
"You aren't Captain Hook, are you?"
The Kraken, which had been watching all this time, decided to release all its tentacles from the ship and swim back into the sea, as its task was complete—leaving four humans still breathing on board the ship.