The man in blue cloak punched the man with X marked on his face in the right side of his abdomen.
THWACK!
The impact drove the air from his lungs, doubling him over, sending pain exploding through his body. Then the man in blue cloak grabbed a hold of his arm, targeting the joint in his leg, and delivered a blow to the knee joint, making him forcefully kneel down.
CRACK!
The man marked with X used his head, giving him a headbutt.
CRACK!
The impact connected with the blue-cloaked man's nose, snapping his head back, forcing him to release his grip. The man with X broke free, breathing heavily, coughing out more blood with his spit.
He looked at his opponent at the man in blue cloak who stood there, his nose bleeding, his eyes calm, his presence overwhelming. He got his gun and fired some shots at some rocks he had thrown earlier, shooting the rocks, turning them into dust on the face of the man with the blue cloak.
Then he grabbed the end side of the blue cloak and tied it down.
He removed all the bullets from his revolver as he tried to wrap the man in blue cloak with his own cloak. Pressing and pinning the bullet into his cloak, he then used his blade to stab him multiple times.
As he stabbed, he discovered that the mass in the cloak continued to reduce until the cloak became flat. Then it was just a piece of cloth.
The man with X on his face was shocked.
He threw the cloak to the ground and stepped on it, cursing it.
"This bastard!" His voice was raw, frustrated. "What kind of trick is this, for crying out loud?!"
Then all of a sudden, a hand rose from the cloak and grabbed a hold of his leg.
The man in X said, his voice sharp.
"Oh, so that's how you want to play?"
He grabbed the cloak, put his blade into it, and ripped the cloak into three. He threw it to the monster form of Davina Jones as she breathed fire, burning it to ashes.
As they burned it, Davina Jones could no longer maintain her monster form.
She transformed back into a human and fell to the ground, holding her head with her hand, shaking. She said to the man marked with X as he was a far distance away from them her voice cracking.
"What what is this? What have I done? What did I do to them?"
She shook her head.
"No, no, this can't be possible. I can't"
She paused.
"I gave them the ability to think. They eat us all."
The man in X immediately rushed to her side, holding her up.
"What?" His voice was sharp. "What did you say?"
She said to him, her voice weak, trembling.
"While I was in my monster form, I connected minds with all the monsters within the Infinite Sea. Not just this area in particular my mind was spread thin. It was like spreading my consciousness across multiple continents. It's something I haven't been able to do ever."
She paused.
"And once I did it, it changed something in them. Like there was something placed in their minds like a limiter."
She looked at him.
"I removed something fundamental. Important. From them."
Before he could ask her any question, the both of them were stabbed through their chest.
SHLIK!
The golden sword passed through both of them piercing their bodies, their hearts, their lives. But strangely enough, they felt no pain.
Then the man in the blue cloak was finally revealed.
One of the three brothers who were sent to lead and fight for the Royal Navy. They had a very high ranking posting in the Royal Navy.
His name was Frank Hannam Henderson.
He sat down on the floor and cracked his neck, looking at the both of them.
"Aren't they unreliable?" His voice was calm, almost conversational. "Tools. Tools aren't reliable. Built for a particular purpose, yet they cannot simply achieve that purpose."
He smiled.
"For the record, I'm not talking about the both of you. I'm simply talking about my cloak."
He paused.
"It failed me."
The man with the X marked on his face was confused, hearing what he was saying. He opened his mouth, about to say something.
Then Frank said, his voice sharp.
"Yes. I am calling you both tools."
He leaned forward.
"Let's stop fighting. I have a really interesting topic to discuss with you."
He paused.
"I'll borrow a bit of your time, if you don't mind." He smiled. "Though not that you can do anything about it."
He looked at the man marked with X.
"George Washington."
As the man marked with X heard it, he felt a great sense of shame being called that name. Thinking all would be forgotten, he closed his eyes.
in the space between the revelation and the response, between the name that had been spoken and the shame that it carried.
George Washington closed his eyes.
Frank Hannam Henderson smiled.
And the sea waited.