Categories > Anime/Manga > Gundam Wing > Captains
TITLE: CAPTAINS
FANDOM: Gundam Wing
PAIRING: 1x2 and some het pairings in the background
RATING: R/NC-17
GENRE: AU, Adventure, Historical, Romance
WARNING: yaoi, crossdressing, swearing
DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything save for the story, so please don't sue poor little me
SUMMARY: The Caribbean in the time of pirates. Duo Maxwell is an infamous captain pirate bored with easy lays. His life will get much more interesting when he meets the dark Navy Captain Heero Yuy in the most unusual circumstances.
Chapter 5: The Fearsome Crew
At first glance the band of sailors strolling on the docks didn't appear any different than all the others. They walked with the swaying gait every person living on a ship fatally ended up adopting. They were dressed in various but equally practical outfits, some cleaner than others. A few had headscarves on greasy hair while others had decided upon more eccentric hats. Some went barefoot, but most wore rough sandals or worn boots. Their skins had various shades, their voices many accents and their bones ran from freshly calcified to weary. They spoke loud and laughed louder. They were a colourful bunch but not that unusual and yet, for all they looked like any other crew, they weren't your usual sailors but the most fearsome pirates to ever sail the Seas...
The infamous crew of the dreadful Captain Shinigami was in the habit of going incognito and they had mastered the art of fitting in. They walked amongst the unsuspecting, never afraid of being singled out. There were so many rumours about Shinigami and his frigate Deathscythe that most people expected him to be otherworldly and wouldn't have known him would have they seen him in the flesh. The mythology surrounding him was so widely spread it extended even to his entire crew rumoured to be composed of demons, ghosts and other evil sprites.
The Deathscythe alone could have betrayed their real identity when it was anchored in a well travelled port for repairs or supplies but the crew and their ingenious Captain had come up with a way to solve this problem. When in port, Deathscythe was no more. It became the innocent Sandrock, legally registered in the name of Quatre Winner, some rich foreign brat of good reputation and flew the flag of a small country no one had ever heard of but which had no known enemies. It couldn't be any more inconspicuous and nobody ever asked them anything more than the generic paperwork every captain was required to present to be granted port --those were laughingly easy to falsify.
It was fortunate that the authorities were that naive because would anyone have taken a closer look at the ship they would have uncovered the best kept secret ever in all the History of Piracy. Shinigami himself, aided in his efforts by a retired engineer who went simply by the name of Howard and accused a nebulous past when he might have served in an army somewhere, had designed this frigate and made it a wonder of technology for its time. By a complicated but brilliant system of pulleys, pistons and other mechanical devices, you could entirely modify its shape. By simply activating an innocuous lever, you could put Sandrock in the death throes, have him shed his skin, burst open his innards and spew the dark Deathscythe in the most morbid and painful-looking birth ever as if the pirate ship came crawling from Hell itself.
Deathscythe, unlike his gentler alter ego, was almost entirely painted in black, sails included. His hull was built with a revolutionary design that allowed him to split open the most furious of waves and to go faster than any other ship. He was armed to the teeth with the most murderous of weapons and sported armour of the toughest steel in strategic places. In others, strange mirrors were cleverly displayed reflecting sky, sun or water depending on the time of day, thus adding to Deathscythe's natural camouflage. The transformation from the harmless Sandrock to this formidable leviathan always occurred in deep sea and far away from any witness so nobody could suspect the deception.
Unlucky sailors who had seen Deathscythe and lived to tell the tale always brought back to port stories of a ghostly vessel appearing out of nowhere in the dead of night. The attacks always happened so fast that nobody could ever describe the ship in details, at least none that made sense. The traumatized souls only ever recalled the infamous bow which accused the twisted shape of a horned demon with bat-like wings, a vicious fang-full mouth and armed with a wicked-looking scythe instead of the obligatory naked woman most pirates preferred. All these tales contributed to the anonymity of the Sandrock and its crew because no one would ever expect to meet the hellish creatures of the Deathscythe under the traits of regular, breathing people. Even when sailors met them for who they really were and tried to reveal the deception, it never worked because the Myth had now a life of its own and the truth invariably got lost amidst the more popular exaggerations.
The only ones who were resolved to see a regular human being under the formidable Shinigami Persona were the men serving in the Navy and that's why they had stuck up an amazingly accurate rendering of Duo Maxwell's face on every walls of the Caribbean. Sadly, indifferent to the trials of the brave lieutenant responsible for such a detailed description, nobody ever gave any attention to said portraits. Every citizen needed a scare once in a while and the incredibly romantic and gruesome tales starring Captain Shinigami had become part of the folklore, so much that people stayed resolutely blind to any kind of truth in regard to their dreaded yet beloved legend.
Said legend was now walking some distance behind his crew. Usually, he would be in their midst joking and laughing louder than anyone. Today however he was brooding. Of course his frown was looking dangerously like a pout but being a legend could grow tiresome after a while and even Duo Maxwell occasionally needed a break from his own myth. It should also be said that the pout was pretty fearsome in itself. It had been honed by years living in an orphanage and tried and tested on the stern Sisters who used to run the place. Many a time it had granted him the biggest piece of pie. Those brave nuns had only grown impervious to the pout after years of exposure. In the beginnings, even Deathscythe's crew had been suckers for that lethal weapon but they too had learned to resist to their Captain's antics. "The Pout" was thus ineffective that afternoon. Even more so when it wasn't at its most sincere. The long bath had done wonders in soothing Duo's frayed temper. He felt refreshed and his mood had sweetened from murderous to simply bad. Even better than the good soak, Wufei's indignation was his all time favourite remedy against depression and the Chinese man had looked plenty indignant while bringing him his bath-water. Duo Maxwell had made it his mission in life to aid his stuck-up friend in letting his metaphoric hair down and ruffling his feathers any chance he got was his weapons of choice in this endeavour.
The crew finally reached their disguised frigate and boarded enthusiastically impatient to sail after having spent a few days too many on the ground. They were welcomed by a mountain of a man. He had dark skin and a weird hairdo that gave him an almost satanic look. Rashid Kurama had stayed behind to keep an eye on the ship. The impressive Arab had joined the team seven years ago and if he respected their Captain to whom he was devoted, his loyalty went first and foremost to his young Master Quatre. A long time ago he had been a Palace guard in the kingdom of Sandrock almost a world away and had been in charge of the Prince's security. When said Prince had fled his country to escape a destiny as a ruler, Rashid and a few other guards had faithfully followed. They had supported him in many an adventure since the beginning of their self-imposed exile and their unfailing loyalty had yet to be shaken. The worried look with which he surveyed their return had thus a mother-hen quality at odds with his ominous presence. Once assured Quatre was as safe and sound as anyone can be while keeping such a company of ruffians, he offered a benevolent smile to the rest of the crew who were now behaving like naughty children eager to go out and play.
The giant nodded affably to Howard who sped past him with the energy of a man half his age mumbling something about new devices he was probably hurrying to discuss about with his usual accomplice. Gene was an old and ugly scientist some believed half mad. He had been with the crew almost from the beginning and had come up with many improvements in the frigate's design since Duo had snubbed the task once the original schematics had been implemented. Gene never left the ship for any reason and the crew speculated it was because he was asocial when in reality; it was above all because his paranoia wouldn't let him take his eyes off of his most precious creation. Anyone coveting Deathscythe's secrets would have to go over his dead body and they better be prepared for a dirty fight no matter if he wasn't anymore in the prime of youth nor as strong an opponent as he used to be. He still had a mean streak a mile wide and wouldn't hesitate to draw from it if someone threatened his dark child.
Rashid was still dutifully counting heads when he noticed someone had gone missing. They couldn't decently depart without their Captain. They had forgotten him behind once several years ago in Jamaica while leaving the premises of their latest larceny in quite the panic. Those had been confusing times and stayed their most humiliating mishap to date but that was a story for another day. Suffice to say that although voodoo priestesses and vengeful ghosts weren't oddities in their line of work, the barbarians, the diva and the elephant had been a little too much even for them. Still, regardless of the circumstances, Shinigami had been none too pleased by their defection and had been insufferable for weeks. Come to think of it, it was probably the only time Rashid had seen him quite that furious and it wasn't something he was eager to see repeat. The Captain sure hadn't usurped his name, his wrath was worthy of that of the God of Death himself.
Thus, upon noticing Duo's absence, Rashid was prompt to localize the only rational being among the bunch of brats whom had just swarmed the deck. Wufei was standing a little aside from the others observing their enthusiasm with the detached calm of one resigned to accept the most horrendous fate with dignity. His usual frown was well in place, that same frown in which his exotic features would get stuck, one of these days, if Duo was to be believed. Rashid was fond of this serious young man who had taken upon himself the herculean task of being the voice of reason for the entire crew. Such determination was to be admired when one knew how many members of the crew were certifiably insane... and as a bonus, his regular fits of temper were quite entertaining.
"Master Wufei! I don't see the Captain, wasn't he with you lot?"
The Chinese man accused surprise and stared at the crew, encompassing them all with dark eyes not missing much. Confirming the absence of Duo, he turned his attention back from where they had come from.
"Of all things, His Awesomeness appears to be sulking right now so he's lagging behind. Don't worry, he didn't run into any troubles... Not for lack of trying. He'll be here shortly."
The two men stood side by side, looking over the guardrail to the port below growing more restless with each minute that passed without them seeing neither hide nor hair of the brash pirate. They soon came to the same conclusion: they had managed to lose their Captain along the mile or so between the tavern and the ship. Wufei looked first exasperated enough to begin raving in one of his infamous rants, but instead he gulped audibly then gritted his teeth. Finally deflating by willpower alone, he shrugged dejectedly and went back on his way to the docks. Rashid could have sworn he heard him grumble something about Shinigami being en route to his date at the Opera with the Governor, which was odd seeing that Master Duo didn't much like to dress up.
Meiran who had caught the tail end of the conversation followed at Wufei's heels and grabbed a bewildered Quatre on her way. That of course convinced Auda and Abdul that their presence was required to look after the one who would stay their Prince till his dying day. In no time the rest of the crew grew curious and that was an entire procession that went down the gangway they had just ascended. Rashid observed the phenomenon with resignation and sighing quietly marched to the scientists' hideout to inquire about the next tide in case they'd miss this one, as he knew they would...
FANDOM: Gundam Wing
PAIRING: 1x2 and some het pairings in the background
RATING: R/NC-17
GENRE: AU, Adventure, Historical, Romance
WARNING: yaoi, crossdressing, swearing
DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything save for the story, so please don't sue poor little me
SUMMARY: The Caribbean in the time of pirates. Duo Maxwell is an infamous captain pirate bored with easy lays. His life will get much more interesting when he meets the dark Navy Captain Heero Yuy in the most unusual circumstances.
Chapter 5: The Fearsome Crew
At first glance the band of sailors strolling on the docks didn't appear any different than all the others. They walked with the swaying gait every person living on a ship fatally ended up adopting. They were dressed in various but equally practical outfits, some cleaner than others. A few had headscarves on greasy hair while others had decided upon more eccentric hats. Some went barefoot, but most wore rough sandals or worn boots. Their skins had various shades, their voices many accents and their bones ran from freshly calcified to weary. They spoke loud and laughed louder. They were a colourful bunch but not that unusual and yet, for all they looked like any other crew, they weren't your usual sailors but the most fearsome pirates to ever sail the Seas...
The infamous crew of the dreadful Captain Shinigami was in the habit of going incognito and they had mastered the art of fitting in. They walked amongst the unsuspecting, never afraid of being singled out. There were so many rumours about Shinigami and his frigate Deathscythe that most people expected him to be otherworldly and wouldn't have known him would have they seen him in the flesh. The mythology surrounding him was so widely spread it extended even to his entire crew rumoured to be composed of demons, ghosts and other evil sprites.
The Deathscythe alone could have betrayed their real identity when it was anchored in a well travelled port for repairs or supplies but the crew and their ingenious Captain had come up with a way to solve this problem. When in port, Deathscythe was no more. It became the innocent Sandrock, legally registered in the name of Quatre Winner, some rich foreign brat of good reputation and flew the flag of a small country no one had ever heard of but which had no known enemies. It couldn't be any more inconspicuous and nobody ever asked them anything more than the generic paperwork every captain was required to present to be granted port --those were laughingly easy to falsify.
It was fortunate that the authorities were that naive because would anyone have taken a closer look at the ship they would have uncovered the best kept secret ever in all the History of Piracy. Shinigami himself, aided in his efforts by a retired engineer who went simply by the name of Howard and accused a nebulous past when he might have served in an army somewhere, had designed this frigate and made it a wonder of technology for its time. By a complicated but brilliant system of pulleys, pistons and other mechanical devices, you could entirely modify its shape. By simply activating an innocuous lever, you could put Sandrock in the death throes, have him shed his skin, burst open his innards and spew the dark Deathscythe in the most morbid and painful-looking birth ever as if the pirate ship came crawling from Hell itself.
Deathscythe, unlike his gentler alter ego, was almost entirely painted in black, sails included. His hull was built with a revolutionary design that allowed him to split open the most furious of waves and to go faster than any other ship. He was armed to the teeth with the most murderous of weapons and sported armour of the toughest steel in strategic places. In others, strange mirrors were cleverly displayed reflecting sky, sun or water depending on the time of day, thus adding to Deathscythe's natural camouflage. The transformation from the harmless Sandrock to this formidable leviathan always occurred in deep sea and far away from any witness so nobody could suspect the deception.
Unlucky sailors who had seen Deathscythe and lived to tell the tale always brought back to port stories of a ghostly vessel appearing out of nowhere in the dead of night. The attacks always happened so fast that nobody could ever describe the ship in details, at least none that made sense. The traumatized souls only ever recalled the infamous bow which accused the twisted shape of a horned demon with bat-like wings, a vicious fang-full mouth and armed with a wicked-looking scythe instead of the obligatory naked woman most pirates preferred. All these tales contributed to the anonymity of the Sandrock and its crew because no one would ever expect to meet the hellish creatures of the Deathscythe under the traits of regular, breathing people. Even when sailors met them for who they really were and tried to reveal the deception, it never worked because the Myth had now a life of its own and the truth invariably got lost amidst the more popular exaggerations.
The only ones who were resolved to see a regular human being under the formidable Shinigami Persona were the men serving in the Navy and that's why they had stuck up an amazingly accurate rendering of Duo Maxwell's face on every walls of the Caribbean. Sadly, indifferent to the trials of the brave lieutenant responsible for such a detailed description, nobody ever gave any attention to said portraits. Every citizen needed a scare once in a while and the incredibly romantic and gruesome tales starring Captain Shinigami had become part of the folklore, so much that people stayed resolutely blind to any kind of truth in regard to their dreaded yet beloved legend.
Said legend was now walking some distance behind his crew. Usually, he would be in their midst joking and laughing louder than anyone. Today however he was brooding. Of course his frown was looking dangerously like a pout but being a legend could grow tiresome after a while and even Duo Maxwell occasionally needed a break from his own myth. It should also be said that the pout was pretty fearsome in itself. It had been honed by years living in an orphanage and tried and tested on the stern Sisters who used to run the place. Many a time it had granted him the biggest piece of pie. Those brave nuns had only grown impervious to the pout after years of exposure. In the beginnings, even Deathscythe's crew had been suckers for that lethal weapon but they too had learned to resist to their Captain's antics. "The Pout" was thus ineffective that afternoon. Even more so when it wasn't at its most sincere. The long bath had done wonders in soothing Duo's frayed temper. He felt refreshed and his mood had sweetened from murderous to simply bad. Even better than the good soak, Wufei's indignation was his all time favourite remedy against depression and the Chinese man had looked plenty indignant while bringing him his bath-water. Duo Maxwell had made it his mission in life to aid his stuck-up friend in letting his metaphoric hair down and ruffling his feathers any chance he got was his weapons of choice in this endeavour.
The crew finally reached their disguised frigate and boarded enthusiastically impatient to sail after having spent a few days too many on the ground. They were welcomed by a mountain of a man. He had dark skin and a weird hairdo that gave him an almost satanic look. Rashid Kurama had stayed behind to keep an eye on the ship. The impressive Arab had joined the team seven years ago and if he respected their Captain to whom he was devoted, his loyalty went first and foremost to his young Master Quatre. A long time ago he had been a Palace guard in the kingdom of Sandrock almost a world away and had been in charge of the Prince's security. When said Prince had fled his country to escape a destiny as a ruler, Rashid and a few other guards had faithfully followed. They had supported him in many an adventure since the beginning of their self-imposed exile and their unfailing loyalty had yet to be shaken. The worried look with which he surveyed their return had thus a mother-hen quality at odds with his ominous presence. Once assured Quatre was as safe and sound as anyone can be while keeping such a company of ruffians, he offered a benevolent smile to the rest of the crew who were now behaving like naughty children eager to go out and play.
The giant nodded affably to Howard who sped past him with the energy of a man half his age mumbling something about new devices he was probably hurrying to discuss about with his usual accomplice. Gene was an old and ugly scientist some believed half mad. He had been with the crew almost from the beginning and had come up with many improvements in the frigate's design since Duo had snubbed the task once the original schematics had been implemented. Gene never left the ship for any reason and the crew speculated it was because he was asocial when in reality; it was above all because his paranoia wouldn't let him take his eyes off of his most precious creation. Anyone coveting Deathscythe's secrets would have to go over his dead body and they better be prepared for a dirty fight no matter if he wasn't anymore in the prime of youth nor as strong an opponent as he used to be. He still had a mean streak a mile wide and wouldn't hesitate to draw from it if someone threatened his dark child.
Rashid was still dutifully counting heads when he noticed someone had gone missing. They couldn't decently depart without their Captain. They had forgotten him behind once several years ago in Jamaica while leaving the premises of their latest larceny in quite the panic. Those had been confusing times and stayed their most humiliating mishap to date but that was a story for another day. Suffice to say that although voodoo priestesses and vengeful ghosts weren't oddities in their line of work, the barbarians, the diva and the elephant had been a little too much even for them. Still, regardless of the circumstances, Shinigami had been none too pleased by their defection and had been insufferable for weeks. Come to think of it, it was probably the only time Rashid had seen him quite that furious and it wasn't something he was eager to see repeat. The Captain sure hadn't usurped his name, his wrath was worthy of that of the God of Death himself.
Thus, upon noticing Duo's absence, Rashid was prompt to localize the only rational being among the bunch of brats whom had just swarmed the deck. Wufei was standing a little aside from the others observing their enthusiasm with the detached calm of one resigned to accept the most horrendous fate with dignity. His usual frown was well in place, that same frown in which his exotic features would get stuck, one of these days, if Duo was to be believed. Rashid was fond of this serious young man who had taken upon himself the herculean task of being the voice of reason for the entire crew. Such determination was to be admired when one knew how many members of the crew were certifiably insane... and as a bonus, his regular fits of temper were quite entertaining.
"Master Wufei! I don't see the Captain, wasn't he with you lot?"
The Chinese man accused surprise and stared at the crew, encompassing them all with dark eyes not missing much. Confirming the absence of Duo, he turned his attention back from where they had come from.
"Of all things, His Awesomeness appears to be sulking right now so he's lagging behind. Don't worry, he didn't run into any troubles... Not for lack of trying. He'll be here shortly."
The two men stood side by side, looking over the guardrail to the port below growing more restless with each minute that passed without them seeing neither hide nor hair of the brash pirate. They soon came to the same conclusion: they had managed to lose their Captain along the mile or so between the tavern and the ship. Wufei looked first exasperated enough to begin raving in one of his infamous rants, but instead he gulped audibly then gritted his teeth. Finally deflating by willpower alone, he shrugged dejectedly and went back on his way to the docks. Rashid could have sworn he heard him grumble something about Shinigami being en route to his date at the Opera with the Governor, which was odd seeing that Master Duo didn't much like to dress up.
Meiran who had caught the tail end of the conversation followed at Wufei's heels and grabbed a bewildered Quatre on her way. That of course convinced Auda and Abdul that their presence was required to look after the one who would stay their Prince till his dying day. In no time the rest of the crew grew curious and that was an entire procession that went down the gangway they had just ascended. Rashid observed the phenomenon with resignation and sighing quietly marched to the scientists' hideout to inquire about the next tide in case they'd miss this one, as he knew they would...
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