It wasn't just one ship, two others slightly smaller in size were trailing behind.

By the looks of it, the enemy was back in seek for revenge for its previous defeat.

"Vastia brought more men with him this time," Natsu spoke the words with hate and anger.

A scowl was on his face.

He turned to look at her.

And in her eyes he saw that she was frightened. He took a quick glance at the sun and found that it wasn't fully submerged yet.

With his wish unbroken, Lucy was still defenseless.

He grabbed her hand pulled her towards the Captain's chamber. He did not mean to do it harshly, but the enemy was advancing, they needed to move quickly.

"What are we going to do?"

She struggled to keep up with his strides, her face in a panic.

He didn't answer.

"Natsu?"

Now her eyes were glistening with tears.

With a forceful push, he opened the door to his quarter, pushing her inside.

The look on her eyes was still the same.

Filled with fright, panic, and moist.

She looked so lost. Trapped in this situation, she didn't know what to do.

Hoping to calm her down, he gently placed his hands on her cheeks.

As if reassuring her that there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Stay here. Wait for me," he said, his voice trying to sound composed.

"What?! No!"

"Lucy-"

"I can help you!" now tears were flowing down her face endlessly, "Let me help you! I can-"

"No!" he unintentionally raised his voice, "You're stripped off of your powers right now."

That's right.

She was powerless.

Only until the sun had set would her power as the ruler of the sea be given back to her.

Till then, she could only cry like a helpless child. This was the moment she cursed herself for being so useless.

"W-What should I do?" Lucy sobbed, "I-I can't let you-"

"Sweetheart," he sighed at her stubbornness, "Let me handle this."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing-"

Even though he understood how she felt, there was no point in arguing with the problem that they both were facing.

"We're running out of time!" he shouted, "The ships will catch up any second now."

She shook her head as tears continued to run down, for she knew that there was no way she could help him.

"No, no, no...take me with you...please..."

She has never begged before. With her reputation and pride, never.

"You have to trust me."

"I do!...but...th-they outnumber you...more than a dozen to one," she kept sobbing. It was getting worse.

Of course they did.

And he knew that.

But as a proud Pirate Captain, he knew better than to run away.

Many things he was, but not a coward.

Moreover, there was no other way out of this...but to fight.

Just knowing that she shed her tears and cried for him was enough to cheer him on. Enough to fuel him for the fight.

Natsu smiled.

A smile that wasn't forced.

It was real.

He smacked his warm lips to kiss her soft ones.

Oh how she didn't want it to end...how she didn't want him to go.

But then he pulled away.

"I will come back for you."

With these words, he shut the door, leaving her safe and sound inside the room.

Lucy reached for the closed wooden material.

She wanted to get out, wanted to follow him.

She needed to see his face again.

But something stopped her from stepping out. A question crossed her terrified thoughts.

Of what use was she to him if she joined him?

What could she possibly do without her powers, without the talent of swinging a sword and firing a pistol?

She would only make it difficult for him.

She can't have him fighting and protecting her at the same time.

Lucy trembled in fear.

"No! No...no..." she murmured, "Natsu!"

Then the sound of sharpened swords started clashing with each other.

Steel against steel.

Heavy boots pounded on the wooden floor.

There were shouts of orders and feet running.

Lucy took steps backwards.

Her eyes went to the windows in the room, she could see the sun halfway down the horizon.

Almost there.

Almost there and she was going to be free.

"Come on, come on...COME ON!" she cried out, her tears drying up on her once wet cheeks.

Lucy felt so useless.

The only thing she badly needed that moment was her power.

If she hadn't agreed to Natsu's wish, then she could have helped him defeat his enemy and let him win the fight no matter how outnumbered he was.

She would have done anything for him.

But now she couldn't.

The fighting still went on.

Screams of pain and advancement went through the door.

Slashing of skins even reached her ears.

Her eyes were in fear and horror as she looked back and forth at the door and the sun beyond the window.

With all the tension building up inside, she couldn't take it anymore.

Her knees were shaking, eventually giving up on her.

Now she knelt on the floor, crying.

Regrets...

That was what clouded her mind.

For the last time, she gazed at the window. In a while, she would have her powers back...and she could finally help him.

Suddenly, the noises beyond the door stopped.

It was unexpectedly silent.

No boots pounding.

No swords clashing.

No shouting.

Nothing.

Lucy slowly stood up.

She was still shaking.

With teary eyes, she went up to the door, her hands trembling as she reached to touch its surface.

She hesitated.

To open, or not to open?

Her emotions were so messed up that she couldn't even make up her mind.

All she knew was that she wanted to see him.

He and his smiling face once more.

With all the courage she had left, she opened the door with all her might.

Lucy jolted out of the chamber, her legs fighting the urge to break as she ran into the ship's deck.

Only to find herself surrounded with scattered dead bodies on the floors of the mighty ship.

Bloodied swords laid everywhere.

The rusty smell of fresh blood filled the air.

Finally, her wide eyes settled on the figure of the man she loved.

He was standing right at the center of the ship, just by the mast.

Slashes wounded him across his arms.

His clothes were torn and his own blood colored them red.

And he had the sharp tip of a sword piercing straight through his heart.

The one who held the handle of the blade was the silver-haired Captain of the Pegasus, Lyon Vastia.

In one merciless pull of his sword, blood gushed out of Natsu's chest.

The wounded Captain stumbled back, hardly falling on his back on the White Pearl's floor.

She saw this.

Her eyes watched in crystal clear as her beloved finally took his fall.

Calling out his name with a cry, she ran to him.

Her body dropped to the floor, kneeling beside Natsu. Her long blonde hair spread all over them. She gently placed his head on her lap, careful not to make all of his pain worse.

"No...no, no, no," she murmured, her tears dropping on his cheeks, "...my love."

He was staring right back at her. There was a trace of blood coming out of his ears.

His onyx eyes were watery from the pain of his wounds...and the pain in his heart.

"Natsu..."

He coughed out blood.

Red liquid ran down his mouth.

It was painful for him, and painful for her to see.

"I...I'm sorry...," he struggled to speak, "I couldn't-"

And he coughed once more.

His visions were getting blurrier and blurrier.

The sight of her crying face wasn't so clear to him anymore.

He could just listen to her sobs. Sobs that he never dreamed of hearing.

"Shhh..." Lucy tried to make herself sound pleasant, as if it could make his pain go away, "Everything will be okay."

She could tell he was doing his best to keep his eyes open for her. To look only at her.

And she also knew that it was only prolonging his agony.

"Lu...cy..."

She didn't want him to suffer any longer, she wanted to end his suffering.

Even if it meant letting him go.

"Hush...Don't speak...it's alright now," she spoke with a smile and tear-filled eyes,

"You can close your eyes...

Go to sleep."

He could feel his own body going numb. He couldn't feel her tears on his face any more.

His own senses were fading.

But he didn't want to go.

No.

Not yet.

Natsu hasn't told her yet.

The words he wanted to say...

Slowly and with every ounce of strength he had, he reached to touch her face. It seemed so far away.

The movement made his wounded heart pump out more blood.

He was bleeding too much;

He was losing too much;

And he was losing his life.

It was now or never.

"I...have to...tell you..." his pale lips forced into a curve.

"What?" she tried to return the smile, but it didn't really look like one.

"I..."

His hand was shaking as he kept reaching for her face. His body was turning colder.

With the last breath he saved, he whispered,

"I...love..."

And his eyes finally closed.

He wasn't able to finish.

His voice was lost with the wind just as his hand dropped...not even letting him touch her soft skin for the last time before he went into eternal sleep.

There was silence.

She was holding back the sadness that built up in her, but now that he was gone, there was no point keeping the pain anymore.

Lucy's hands tightened into fists.

She cried with the loudest scream she could ever make.

It echoed throughout the entire ocean.

Her tears were like waterfalls wetting his face.

Natsu looked so peaceful.

A sound of a pair of boots approached her.

It was Vastia, pointing the tip of his sword at her. His clothes were untorn, neat without a spec of blood.

She didn't regard his presence and only stared at the pale sleeping face on her lap.

"A woman?" he mocked.

"I came here with more men in hopes of facing this dead man's entire crew, only to find an empty ship," he taunted, "And a mere helpless woman aboard!"

The remaining men laughed at his statement. Amused.

They felt proud of their conquest.

"Finally, the mighty White Pearl has reached its end, crushed by the Pegasus!" he beamed with pride, "This victory will spread across the seas...across the lands, and no one will dare be my enemy."

He mocked her with a self-contented smirk,

"Captain Vastia, the 'Pirate Lord'. How does that sound?"

He bragged, looking down at her as he still pointed the tip of his sword.

"How disgraceful..." she murmured.

"What did you say?" his brows jerked at this.

"You let your men wound him before facing him head on...you are no Captain. You are not worthy to sail the sea."

Now Lucy raised her head to look at him.

There were no more tears.

No more shaking.

Her lips were fixed on a thin line.

Only a dark scowl now showed on her face.

"You have no honor," she finished.

This angered him to the core. But what she said was true. Still, he could not take being disrespected like that. Especially by a mere girl.

He cursed as he raised his sword.

"You bitch!"

With full force, he swung it down on her head.

But as soon as it touched her, it instantly broke. Half of the sword dropped on the floor.

And his eyes widened as he watched her body glow.

Of course...

The time was up.

Natsu's wish-spell was finally over.

The sun had already set beyond the sea. It now disappeared into the thin line of the horizon, just in time when he swung the sword on her.

Vastia and his men stared at her in horror.

All of them taking a step back.

"Y-You are..."

Her merciless eyes remained unchanging as she slowly stood up.

The former glory of her beauty came back to her.

Only this time, she didn't look like the sweet angel she used to be...now she looked like an angel whose eyes were blank and shrouded with vengeance.

As if the heavens felt for her, the soft colors of the sunset changed into dull.

Heavy dark clouds hovered above them.

"It can't be..." he murmured in fear.

A thunder sounded across the sky as rain started to pour. It was gentle but it instantly turned heavy.

The pouring rain washed the dead bodies and dried blood off of the White Pearl, leaving Natsu's cold figure by her glowing feet.

The ocean below was mixed with red water coming from the ship as angry waves started clashing with one another.

The ship now rocked madly, the men stumbling back and forth.

Vastia wasn't mistaken when he realized who she was.

"CALYPSOOO!!!"

He roared into the wild wind.

And then there was a sharp deafening cry that called for the obedience of the sea,

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRHHHHH!!!!!!!"

Her voice echoed.

In an instant, a whirlpool formed on the water. Its vortex as cruel as the rain that poured that night.

Lucy's emotions were too much for her to carry alone, so the sea mourned with her.

Even the creature that lived deep down under, heard the call of its creator.

The Kraken.

Giant tentacles emerged out of the water, making the waves even deadlier.

The men screamed as they cowered at the sight of the beast.

They had heard about its tales, but only at that moment did they believe that it was real.

"ABANDON SHIP!!!" one of the men shouted.

They jumped into the water in hopes of escaping the hell that was upon them.

But with the wild tides and the suction of the swirling vortex, there was no escape.

The Kraken clutched its massive tentacles on the enemy's ships, pulling them down into the dark underworld where the creature lived.

Now, only the disgraceful Captain was left.

"Forgive me! Please! HAVE MERCY!"

He begged on all fours. His own eyes flooding with tears.

She just stared at him.

The dark scowl gone.

It was just a face that was blank.

Her orbs looked lifeless as she looked down on him.

Lucy was nothing more than an emotionless vessel standing on her feet.

"I don't owe you forgiveness," she spoke with an empty voice.

With that, she waved her hand dismissively.

Then a giant wave washed over him, forcing him off the White Pearl, drowning him to death.

Moments passed.

Seconds, minutes...

She didn't care how long it had been since she just stood there, staring at nothing.

The ocean ended its restlessness, calming once again.

The rain had stopped.

The thick clouds had dispersed in the night sky.

It was over.

Now countless stars appeared, lighting the heavens one by one. But the beautiful moon was nowhere to be seen.

Deafening silence filled the atmosphere, mixing with the salty breeze.

She slowly turned to lay her eyes on his peaceful face.

He looked like he was just sleeping.

Her orbs when she stared, they were nothing now...they knew nothing of happiness.

She closed them and let out a deep breath.

By her command, the ocean swallowed the White Pearl.

Inch by inch it sank.

Until there was nothing left of where the proud ship once floated.

.

.

.

I have heard that tale for more than a thousand times for over a hundred years now.

They say that the sea was so cruel that night, that every ship afloat the surface of the water sank.

Mortals told rumors that it was because of the wrath of the Goddess of the sea.

They say humans had sinned against her, that's why she was cruel in return.

They say that she was truly a heartless being.

But I don't believe them, for I know her better than anybody else.

The Goddess dotes on me more than the other sea creatures.

I am her favorite.

More often I would visit the ship that she herself sunk into the deepest part of the ocean.

The White Pearl.

Now it is rested where it should be, back in the ocean bed...

Along with its Captain....at the very heart of the sea.

As I sit here upon a rock just by the shore, my golden scales touch the surface of the salt water.

Unlike humans, I have scales as that of a fish instead of a pair of feet.

My long silk hair is a salmon-pink in color.

And I can't help but watch with sad onyx orbs as I look at my mother.

Her feet touching the calm
surface of the ocean where she stands, staring at the moon in the skies.

Her golden hair is the most beautiful in the world.

Her dress of white silk fabric flowing with the cold wind as she glows.

She looks so beautiful...even when she mourns.

Every night of every year, she would cry.

And not even I, the daughter, can do anything to take her grief away. All for the Captain she once loved...and will always love.

Only until her immortal soul dies will her love die as well.

The never ending abyss of emptiness and sadness, I can feel them.

There is nothing I can do but listen to her as she sings with a voice echoing with a painful longing...

"From Tower Hill to Blackwall...

I'll wander, weep, and moan,

All for my jolly sailor,

Until he sails home..."

And I've always known that all her songs are meant for my father. Every word from her lips calls for him...

"My heart is pierced by cupid...

I disdain all glittering gold...

There is nothing that can console me...

But my jolly sailor bold..."

...

...

Edited by yours truly.

END

WHAT DO YOU THINK? HUH? HUH?
Was it worth it?

The title of the chant is 'Jolly Sailor Bold'.
Listen. It's beautiful.