When the shot was fired from Sanchez's pistol, birds in their nests flew out as a group and out of the tees, due to the loud shot waking it up nature and the creatures inside of it. Animals nearby left their unconsumed prey on the grounds and ran from the loud shot, stampeding past Jason and Moresco, who was both clueless at the moment. Jason pulled out his binoculars and looked around the areas, glancing tree-by-tree. He was looking for a solid clue, and he eventually found one, turning to his left side and watched Sanchez running towards them. Jason studied Sanchez's face impression, seeing the horror all over his face and the eyes were a clear giveaway of stress and exhaustion.
"Heard a gunshot," Jason said, putting up his binoculars, "Please...please tell me it wasn't you!"
Sanchez nodded his head, being that Stannis was the only one who was on his mind which wasn't a good thing.
"Sanchi's father tied us up to the anchor," Sanchez said tiredly, "He's working with the armadas!"
Click! Their conversation suddenly ended after hearing a gun clicking, right behind them. Sanchez looked up at Jason, who was giving Sanchez a looked with his eyebrows going up, signaling for him not to do anything stupid.
"Pirates," The white and scrawny armada said, "You two have broken crimes with results of death! Murder and violating private property!"
Sanchez and Jason both turned around, as Moresco hid behind the nearby tree. They stared at the armada guard, who had a nervous look on his face, shaken aiming his musket at them.
"This be no private property," Jason said rudely, "It's the woods, where we hunt for our meals!"
The armada, who was named Jackson, shrugged his shoulders awkwardly, "If we call it private property then it's private property!"
Jason smiled, slowly breaking down the young man, "You have no control on wildlife. No matter how big you think you and your army are."
Sanchez glanced up at the tree, watched as Moresco slowly walked on a skinny branch, a branch that was right above the young armada. Sanchez started to believe that their lives and the chance of them escaping was all up to Sanchi's companion, Moresco.
"Shut it pirate," Jackson said, walking closer to Jason with his musket raised high, "You don't know anything!"
In reality, the much older man, Jason, knew much more than the young armada. Jason then looked up and smiled as Moresco dropped from the tree. Suddenly the small little creature landed on the armada's shoulders and used his sharp and long claws as a deadly weapon, digging his claws deep in the armada's throat.
"Get the musket!" Sanchez cried
Jason ran up to the armada and grabbed the musket out of the armada's hand, as he dropped on his knees with blood spilling out of his neck. Moresco quickly jumped off the man's shoulder, letting him fall to the ground, completely soundless with no movement.
"Me saved the day," Moresco said proudly, "Now we go!"
But Sanchez stood still, staring at the armada's deceased body. He knew it would be a huge mistake killing one of Deacon's guards, mistake that's in the past that they cannot fix nor prevent. He begin to fear as Deacon would march and destroy everything on this island when they find the murdered body of his own guard.
"Well..."
Suddenly Jason grabbed Sanchez and placed his hand over his mouth, throwing him behind a hidden shelter. Moresco quickly crawled towards them, alarming them that it was indeed another armada roaming nearby. Sanchez shook his head, thinking of a dark and cruel plan.
The much older armada marched around the woods, where Sanchez and the rest were hiding in like a group of endangered animals. Sanchez read and heard every step of the armada, knowing how close he was to them. The three of them stayed hidden near a group of crowd trees and bushes, being one of their best and only option so far.
"Jackson," The older armada yelled as he walked by Sanchez and the rest.
After watching the older man walk by, Sanchez then pulled out his pistol and begin to rise up, not very proud for what he was thinking what he had to do. With the armada keep walking away, it was the perfect time for them to move out and capture the armada from behind.
"Sanchez," Jason whispered to him, "Are you sure about this?"
He really wasn't sure about anything anymore, "Hope so."
Sanchez, Jason, and Moresco was just a few feet away from the armada, who suddenly stopped after hearing a stick breaking. The armada then turned around, seeing a disturbed sight of three who never seen in his life. Sanchez had his weapon aimed at at the armada's head, showing no fear or regret, the armada noticed this as he dropped his weapons with his hands up. Sanchez cleared his throat and lowered his gun lower, waiting for Jason to scoop up the weapon.
"Pirates," The old armada said calmly, "Knew your type would be swarming near Skull island..."
Sanchez gave the old man, who was an armada for over ten years, an uncomfortable look as he approached him. Moresco then followed Sanchez with a bundle of rope in his hands. As Moresco continued to tie up the armada, Sanchez and Jason walked over to discuss a few things, one involving Stannis.
For Sanchez, he felt betrayed by some old man who could of "lied" about being the father of their captain, Sanchi. He also felt stupid and a great huge mistake in his life and mainly in his name, believing that the great name, Dan Sanchez, would look like a joke after hearing the story of letting in a man, with traitor all over his body, in the crew.
"I saw him with the armadas," Sanchez said seriously to Jason, "I mean it too! We told him everything about us and even had that treaty near us, a paper where important agreements are on...that can change the direction of this war!"
Jason wasn't very wise. definitely being the one who couldn't solve Sanchez's issue but he at least had common sense and knowledge on what to do to traitors, believing they should all hang.
"He's the father of your captain, who's in a coma," Jason said, carelessly trying to calm Sanchez down, "And if he's going to turn against us; let him hang!"
He wouldn't mind seeing Stannis hang for all of his "supposed" actions, but the main problem was Sanchi seeing his own father hang. Sanchez feared that it would destroy Sanchi deep down and break up the crew. The crew where Sanchez dreamed that'll become something bigger than any crew, believing that this crew would make history.
"Maybe we should just vote on it," Sanchez said to Jason, looking back at Moresco and the armada.
"Your captain is in a coma," Jason said wisely, "If you're the quartermaster, then you must start acting like one and not let this go without punishment."
Sanchez developed a worried look on his face, "And your thoughts on the punishment?"
Jason got closer to Sanchez, placing his filthy hand on Sanchez's shoulder. Jason's idea of the punishment was quite different from Sanchez's and perhaps the rest of the crew's idea.
"For these actions he must face the punishment," Jason said importantly, "And the punishment is death!"
Sanchez nodded his head, knowing what had to be done. With their captain out, Sanchez knew it was his time to act like a quartermaster and take matters in his own hands, acting as if he was a real captain.
Another long but tedious day went by, and Anthony was still standing on the poop deck, counting every second until they were back home again. With all the hard hits he earned on his face, yet still grateful for the unpredictable death of Captain West, he was lucky that he could even count the time. Although it seemed all he was doing was counting time until they would be back on land, he was also thinking about Amy. He remembered Chun's wise words from yesterday, taking it very serious for a better relationship with someone he actually loves. But due to thinking about returning back on land and his love of his life, he couldn't hear the loud footsteps behind him. A soft little quiet voice soon brought Anthony back, being that it was Amy's voice that could bring him back to reality, he felt.
"You've been in this same exact spot for awhile," Amy said softly, tapping on Anthony's small shoulder.
Anthony turned around fast, suddenly giving Amy a warm and welcome hug. As the words from Chun begin to go threw his young mind, Anthony knew it was time to tell Amy how he truly feels. Before Amy could surprisingly say a single word, Anthony gave her a quick kiss, leaving her completely speechless.
"Maybe our time is short due to the place we're in," Anthony said to Amy, "We're involved with a crew who's wanted by many men, powerful men who once owned me! Every breath we take, every breath I take, isn't taken for granted! When the day grows tired and my eyes close, I don't even know if they'll ever open again!"
Amy's cheerful look soon turned into a confused one, "Anthony...what are you afraid of?"
Anthony then took a deep breath like he was about to enter an arena with death all over it. A deep breath like he was about to face his worst fear...a deep breath like he was about to take a risk with deadly and dreadful consequences.
"Dying a lonely man," Anthony said seriously to Amy, "Living another day without you or our crew. I need you by my side more than every...I fought, my own blood was spilled for you..I even fantasized for you and want to die without you and want to live with you! Amy...I love you."
Amy's pale cheeks soon became red as her eyes became watery. She was overwhelmed from Anthony's lovely words that she cried, falling right into his arms. She felt the same exact way as Anthony, believing both of them were perfect for each other, feeling belong and finally right.
"Where did you get all this courage from?" Amy said softly, kissing Anthony repeatedly.
Anthony looked into Amy's eyes, seeing a potential future for the two, already started to cherish every moment as if it was his last with her. He grabbed Amy by her shoulders and pushed her cheeks into his lips, not wanting to ever let go. The bravery came from the thought of losing her, the thought of them being separated, thinking their love was just as strong as a bullet or sharp objects. While everything was going down, Anthony then looked up and noticed Chun and One-Eyed Jack watching, with big smiles. Anthony couldn't help but smile back, giving a gentle nod towards Chun.
"He's evil," Sanchez said, playing with a handful of rocks while watching their new prisoner, "Stannis...It makes sense now!"
Jason rolled his eyes as he begin to focus on what to do with the armada sitting right in front of him, all tied up to a tree, looking a bit helpless. Moresco was high up into the tree, using his bloody and long claws to climb up just to keep a lookout.
"Armadas...they're everywhere," Jason said, rubbing his chin for answers, "We can't even fire a shot without them finding us...if they haven't already found the dead one!"
After long and long time of thinking of a plan, the silent finally broke as the prisoner begin to speak. His goal was to make the pirates fear and fear but when he started to speak, Jason could easily hear the fear in his tone.
"You're all doomed," Jackson said, looking up into the trees, "There's dozens of us, going against three of you!"
Sanchez laughed at the joke he thought the trapped armada was saying, while Jason and Moresco begin to fret over Jackson's words. But the armada wasn't done trying to make them over exaggerate the situation.
"Find ya daughters, sons, wives," Jackson said, scolding at Jason, "Because today's will be your last day!"
It was Jackson's plan to weaken Jason a little, watching as Jason's angry face soon became a terrified one. Jason soon begin to worry about his two daughters, a nightmare he would never want to encounter. Sanchez looked over at Jason and he even noticed the father becoming weak from a hateful man's words, also seeing the evil smile on Jackson's face. To make everything worse, Jackson continued.
"You must be a father," Jackson said directly to Jason.
He shook his head as he turned around to avoid eye contact with Jackson, also trying to hide his tears. He wanted to get back home to see his daughters and assure their safety. A man he never met in his life already begin to weaken him and he realized it, trying to hide his tears and his soft side from Sanchez and Jackson. Then to make things worse, the words came out of Jackson's words made his own life in jeopardy as if his own goal was to be killed by Jason.
"If I get out of this...I'm gonna kill your daughters or sons," Jackson said calmly
Jason then turned around, giving Jackson an angry look as he brought his sword out. Jason had to kill them, it was the only way out to escape his fear and the thoughts of losing his daughters. Without any thinking, he walked towards Jackson, who was helpless. Sanchez got in front of Jason to stop him but he couldn't, soon getting thrown on the ground.
"Get away!"
Sanchez was facing the ground when Jackson begin to scream horribly, soon hearing the knife going into Jackson's chest, ending his scream of terror and the living armada. That was it. The life of the man, that they hardly knew anything about, was over from strike from an anger father, being over protected over his daughters. He could of had a family, Jason thought as he tried to pull the pinned knife out. Unable to, he threw the body into the tree, quickly turning around to try and forget all about what he did...but it wouldn't escape Jason's mind just like that. He killed a man, who could of had two daughters just like him, just like that.
"You didn't have to!" Sanchez said, pushing Jason lightly, trying to get him to snap back to reality, "You hear me?!"
Jason looked up at Sanchez, noticing the fearless anger on his face but that wasn't the thing that Jason noticed. Jason leaned over Sanchez's short shoulders, eyes becoming wide from be bewildered, seeing what was behind Sanchez. Sanchez then turned around too, noticing a young man, in his mid 20s with armor that grabbed their attentions, it was another armada. The armada pulled out his sword as he begin to panic, while Jason and Sanchez stood there in front of the man, completely surprised and speechless. They knew this could all end badly if the Deacon and the armadas would hear shots being fired or hearing one of his men yelling for his line, causing a nightmare for Jason and his two daughters.
"Now calm down and we can settle this," Sanchez said calmly, slowly tiptoeing towards the armada
The armada stood there, shaking continuously as the fear grew bigger and bigger. As Sanchez approached him and out of the weakness of fear, he punched Sanchez in his face and pushed him down, soon beginning to run. Jason then picked up Sanchez's pistol and aimed it, finger begin to pull down on the trigger...until Sanchez jumped in front of Jason's sight.
"Don't!" Sanchez cried, "They'll hear our guns and will come right for us!"
Jason glanced at the armada, who was getting farther and father away from them. He then threw down Sanchez's pistol and threw the back off his back, preparing for a daring but also dangerous run. Jason then started to chase the prey, leaving Sanchez and Moresco behind. It was the thought of anyone putting his two girls in danger that made him into a fearless man, something Sanchez haven't seen before.
"Enemy is running!" Moresco cried out
Sanchez then got up, taking a few deep breaths and turned towards Moresco before running off, "Moresco, stay here and keep an eye on our stuff!"
The armada took an open path, with no trees or anything in his way. It was also an easy way for the armadas to see one of their own running panicky, and Jason knew this. He didn't take the path as he dove out of the path, still right behind the running armada. Running into thorns and dodging countless fallen trees, Jason remained indestructible, getting closer and closer to the target.
"Jason!" Sanchez yelled, seeing Jason nor the armada around him, "It's not worth it!"
But Jason couldn't hear Sanchez, making his words useless. Sanchez then stopped and looked around the trees in the jungle, looking for a clue on their whereabouts. Then, he noticed a direct clue on their location as he noticed birds flying out of trees near him, from Jason and the armada. Sanchez then grinned like he claimed victory before even seeing it, taking a short cut in the jungles.
The armada was near their campsite, where Deacon and Rooke was located. Jason also knew this too, seeing and hearing armadas nearby. He was close to the runner but his stamina was weak, due to his age, and he started to become tired and grew slower. It seemed impossible for him to reach the armada as the young soldier was getting further and further away from Jason but a string of luck and skills came into use for Sanchez as he dove out like a starving animal hunting his prey, and eventually tackling the armada to the ground. Sanchez then pulled his pistol out and pointed it at the armada's head, "Say a word and I'll pull the trigger and end you!"
The armada remained silent as Jason finally caught up to them, breathing heavily as if he ran for days and days. Jason then fell to the ground to relax, until Sanchez caused him to get up, believing that right now isn't the right time to rest, due to their situation.
"They're going to come in the jungle or the woods, whatever it is, to look for this man and the other two," Sanchez said painfully
The two begin to think as they arrived back to Moresco and their belongings, completely hopeless without a plan. Luckily they knew it would be stupid to drag three bodies in the small town.
"We need to do something," Jason said obviously, "This isn't..."
Suddenly Sanchez raised his hand, immediately causing Jason to be quiet. It was almost like a light bulb became brighter above Sanchez's head, releasing out a chuckle with a determined grin. He knew the perfect plan, all from Moresco.
"I got something," Sanchez said, pointing ahead, where Moresco was at, "It's perfect!"
Jason smiled, soon vanishing as he realized how dark and sick the plan was. Jason looked away from the scene, the scene where Moresco was making one of the deceased armada looking like a suicidal scene.
"We're making it look like they did it to themselves," Sanchez said, "Get the other body, I'll take care of this one."
It was a vile plan, Sanchez thought as he grabbed one of the armada's deceased body, also bringing the rope from his bag. Also, it was a plan that Sanchez, Jason, and Moresco wanted to forget to as if it never happened. It was the only plan as of now.
Few hours later after noticing three of Deacon's men were still missing, Deacon decided to put matters in his own hands. He had a wild feeling that his men were killed by Stannis's son and his crew, looking over and giving him an evil stare.
"If all this was from your son and his crew, I'll make sure Kane handles you," Deacon said to Stannis, purposely bumping into his right shoulder.
Stannis nodded fearfully at Deacon. Soon his normal and unfazed face became a worried and fearful one.
Deacon, Rooke, and several armadas marched into the woods, weapons all out and ready for any danger. They marched quietly, with their ears and eyes wide open to inspect anything coming towards them. Rooke, who had a rough smile on his face as he became thirsty for blood, approached Deacon from behind to talk to him.
"I hope it's the crew with the treaty," Rooke whispered to Deacon, "Imagine our army with a powerful ally like Mooshu."
Deacon nodded his head, liking the idea of finding the treaty and finding the crew that Kane described as "worthy."
"Could be a great thing...or even a terrible thing," Deacon said, leading the group of five armadas
Suddenly they could hear movement, soon stopping instantly with their weapons out and ready. Deacon scanned the area to look for the enemy nearby, but it wasn't in front or behind him. It was above him.
"Above!" An armada cried
Woosh! Suddenly an armada body fell out of a tree from above, but never landed on any of the armadas...or the ground. The rope around the armada's neck stopped the man from hitting the ground. Deacon and the rest then ran towards the body, gracing at the scene as they described as a "coward way out" but that wasn't the only scene they noticed. A couple of feet ahead, as one of the armadas approached with a lantern, was an armada with his throat slit. Deacon then angrily approached the only deceased armada, noticing a knife in the armada's hand. At this moment, Deacon was furious and also wretched, feeling like two of his own men weren't train properly and resulted in two suicides.
"Two of my own men that I chose to come with me," Deacon said, turning away from the bodies, "Took the cowardly way out!"
"Not just two," Rooke said, who mystery disappeared few minutes ago, "Jackson stabbed his self right in the chest."
Deacon couldn't believe what he saw or was hearing, soon having a theory that all of this was staged, "This had of been someone's work!"
"We have no proof," Rooke said sadly, "Best bet is to bury the bodies and not discuss this with Kane or anyone else."
None of them could risk the rumor of three armadas committing suicide get around, thinking it would make their army look weak. It was a bold move for them to cover up, even though it was something far from a suicide.
"Keep this as a secret," Deacon annouced to the armadas around, "Or you'll be hanging."
