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Dreadnought

by Xenny Diemes

A tremendous sound of thunder explodes across the island and knocks down even the strongest who stood their ground around the impact site. Darquebane lies on the ground in a deep crater barely breathing. Standing over her is the figure who slammed the pirate into the ground grabbing her by the throat and picking her body up to her face. With an angry snarl he pulls back his arm and throws a powerful punch, throwing her into a rock face with great speed and her body crashing into the close rock causes it to explode to pieces. Lying there in the rubble the protests of her crew grew louder but the tribe holds them back. It is the chief's decision to put a stop to this. The warrior then leaps and lands again over her, this time to whale on her with rapid-fire fist blows all over her body, stops stomps hard into her stomach and finally grabbed by the shirt and thrown over himself to driver her into the ground head first.

The crew can only watch in horror that their leader would be given this horrific thrashing. Broken and bloodied, the warrior is about to give his final death blow until the chief finally gives his call to stop the fight. She has had enough. The warrior drops Darquebane and she falls the ground coughing up blood that burns on the ground like lava looking up to see the chief walking up to her to make his declaration.

"You are defeated dark one." says the chief. "Never again you will subject my people to your terror and you have met the wrath of its protector Chakari. As of such you are hereby banished from this land, never to return again, unless you have a death wish even a demon such as yourself wants to have."

"What makes you think I will keep my promise to stay away?" Says Darquebane

"Chakari, show her" Says the chief and Chakari walks up to Darquebane, forcibly grabs her right arm and with his own power burns a symbol onto her wrist which hurts like nothing else.

"That demon is the symbol of Korun, the god of our people and the sign of protection from beings such as yourself. If you are stupid enough to come back to our land with more of your terror it will make you hurt like anything else. Not even turning back will lift that."

"And they say I'm the monster"

"How dare you, you..."

"CHAKARI!" Angrily says the chief and quickly the giant warrior submits to his command.

"Demons of the night splinter, take your queen and never return to this land. Should you do, death will follow" That arrogant line still echos in her mind to this very day. It was the first and only time she has been defeated and this was by someone who also sported supernatural powers. Sailing across the ocean Timothy gives his captain the latest updates on the crew and their course. Darquebane just looks out into the sea as she is not in a good mood but keeps her decorum stable in front of her first mate. She then turns around and begins to talk until Darquebane kneels down in pain clutching onto her wrist.

"Captain what's wrong?" says Timothy.

"It's nothing Timothy, nothing at... AUGH!" She can't bear it much longer as the pain from her wrist is too great and she has to pull her sleeve to see the symbol burning red. She is too far from that accursed island to have any effect on her. However instead of cursing her with intolerable pain, it was actually burning itself off. The pain weakens her body and Timothy gets the crew to help her up and as Timothy wants more answers, he is interrupted by Toruga, one of the ships elder members and sits Timothy down while the others care for their master.

"What is going on Toruga?"

"It's something that's been around with the crew long before you joined us matey. Many years ago we set sail to the island of Isa Makalu. Home to the Poruna tribe in search of a legendary idol treasure and being what we are, we made sure we get it by any means necessary as long the tribe does not get too much in our way."

"And this had to do with now because?"

"I was getting to that. What we didn't expect that their people had a mighty protector among them. His name is Chakari, built like our captain but much stronger and she fought against him. It was an incredible battle but in the end, she lost and is sworn to never return to the island again. Under the chief's orders Chakari burned that symbol onto her wrist, a curse that will endow her with incredible pain if she ever gets close to the island again. It was a defeat that stings to her to this very day."

"Does that mean we are close to the island then?"

"No, we're too far, but I can feel it. Lifted curses upon demons are usually rare but happens when the demon finds redemption. I'm already beyond that."

"So you're free on a technicality, how can that be a problem?"

"When a curse is lifted on its own, it can only mean one thing, its caster has fallen by an ever stronger force and that is something to fear. Timothy, get all hands ready, we are going to Isa Malaku. If it is like this, then we have problem on our hands"

The Night Splinter sets a new course for Isa Malaku, the voyage taking days and guided on the orders of the captain alone, not on any charts or maps. Meanwhile, Timothy has never seen Darquebane so serious like this and only worries him to suspicions to an attack or something worse. On the fifth day of the voyage, Darquebane can feel that she is getting close to the island and looks at her wrist where the symbol used to be, it had no effect. This is no longer a trick and her suspicions only grew more true that its guardian has fallen after all. Then suddenly a thick could of smoke wafts up to the ship blinding them to find the island, its smell is rich of wood and ember. With her powers, the captain summoned the winds the blow the thick clouds of smoke away revealing a horrific sight.

The once peaceful island of Isa Malaku is brutally set ablaze! Its long dead volcano sprung to life, consuming everything around it. The Night Splinter at a safe distance and gets a group ready to reach the shore where the village is located. Upon arrival, the devastation is worse. Bodies strewn across the ground, some bitten apart, others mutilated or consumed by the flames. Huts and temples that once stood proud and tall are now destroyed. Darquebane stands firm and opens her mouth to inhale the flames around the village smothering all the flames. She has enough power however to put the entire island out, but it was already a lost cause. She orders the crew to find anyone who can give her answers. The short-lived protests of the crew were cut by the cold stare of their master and they immediately scramble.

Timothy stayed with the captain to see what can be found of who did this. But a twig snap gains Timothy's attention and follows it but found nothing there. The moment he turned his back, he hears the battle yell of a woman who leaps at her with a knife. Struggling and fighting, Timothy gets the knife off of her and kicks her off. Darquebane immediately grabs the woman before she can attack again. Growling and roaring hysterically Timothy tries to stop her.

"Stop!" Says Timothy "We're not here to hurt you"

"Lies! You just came back to take what is left of my people, haven't your kind done enough"

"That's not what we're here for? We're just here know what's going on. Captain's orders"

"What orders?"

"Hers." and the woman turns around to see tha gigantic dark lioness looming over her or at least the bottom of her great bosom. But the clothing and sheer size alone is enough to recognize who she is.

"No, it can't be! Get away from me demon!" she screams and breaks free from her grip and runs with Timothy chasing after her, the woman trips in front of an exhausted tree that is about to fall on her. Timothy saves her on time, only to faint from all the stress of her peril. Leaving Timothy frustrated over this whole ordeal. Waking up, the stranger is surrounded by the new walls of her quarters and Timothy is standing in the doorway with arms crossed. Walking up carefully to her he calmly explains where she is and her injuries have been taken care off as indicated by her sudden glance at her bandages. She was hesitant but gives him her thanks and apologies for being aggressive earlier. She introduces herself as Noelani and she is the daughter of the now dead chief of the Poruna tribe.

She went into details to answer Timothy's questions. It was a normal day when a large storm front came into the island. It was unusual but then from out of the dark clouds, demons erupted and started attacking everyone on the island. Then out from those clouds, came a large metal ship, bigger than the vessel the last pirate raiders came in on many years ago. The Porunas' best warriors were no match against the dark hordes and when Chakari arrived, he was overwhelmed and eventually brought down. She was told earlier by her father to hide and not come out but he had to see what is going on only to witness her father being killed by the hands of a monster. The situation made worse that Chakari with all his power can't make himself stronger because they now have the Idol of Korun. Their leader took Chakari in and the rest of her tribe into the ship to do who knows what. She can still remember their leader and in her description. Darquebane's memories are stirred up and a deep, dark chapter in her past is reopened.

After her soul has been dragged to hell, she was thrown in with thousands of others in that same metal ship. Led by a captain who brutally abused, maim and torture the souls before the denizens of hell could get their hands on them. A tall brooding character, very muscular, with wide war-battered wings, long spiky tail and distinguishing draconic features. The lioness remembers the name but does not believe he would be in the mortal world: Bareaus. The dragon captain of the soul-gathering vessel Dreadnought. The ship for when death's vessel isn't big enough for hell. Darquebane breaks her hiding away from Noelani's view, Timothy can already see the fear in her eyes and realizes that she's a prisoner too but Timothy assures her that she or him will hurt her. Darquebane needs to know if that is what she really saw. Noelani has been really descriptive even to ask for a pen and paper to draw the symbols that were on the side of the ship. They do match the ancient language of the underworld and it does say what she feared. "Dreadnought".

Plans are drawn out on what do with when they find the vessel. Darquebane herself will deal with Bareaus while Timothy and a small team will search the ship for the survivors and Chakari they could use the muscle. They would expect the usual distractions to keep them far away and Timothy needs some extra power. That's where her enchanted armaments come in. A cache of swords and guns made for the killing of lesser demons that will try to get in their way. The plan is simple: Get in, get the surviving Porunas, vanquish Bareaus and get out with the destruction ofo the vessel a side bonus. Noelani however asks.

"Why? Why do you want to help save us after everything you've done?"

"Selflessly selfish reasons my dear. The last time I came to your island it was all about taking the wealth and the idol not because of power but because of the thrill of it. I have no intent of vanquishing anyone except fools who go too far in getting in my way. That's the selfish reason. The selfless part? No one, not even your people and the guardian who defeated me deserve the fate I once went through. Most importantly a vessel from hell that has gone un-noticed can spell trouble for the mortal world in the long run. We're going to save them."

"I... don't know what to say."

"Thank you would be nice. I may be a monster, but I'm not and never will be_that_ kind of monster. Timothy, set course for the Dreadnought. I'll lead the way. It would be great to see and kill my former escort."

With a new course set, the Night Splinter is on course for the dark vessel and as expected, they encountered obstacles and anomalies made to drive them off course and the salvos of demon swarms coming at them which most, if not all were vanquished by Darquebane and the crew with their enchanted armaments. Finally after days of searching and setbacks, the crew is within close distance of the ship. In Timothy's eyes, it was way bigger than he thought it would be, many times bigger than their own ship. This is the soul-gathering vessel, the Dreadnought.

"You remember the plan, Timothy?" Says Darquebane.

"Yes captain, it's basically in and out hoping that this Bareaus hasn't done anything to them."

"He won't, he likes to play with his prey." That sounds troubling to Noelani fearing for the fate of the remaining people.

"Sorry Noelani, she doesn't mean it like that, I'm sure that they'll be fine. For now stay on the ship."

"Thank you Timothy." And she kisses him on the cheek before they left to the outer deck.

Coming up close, the Night Splinter arrives withing leap-boarding distance of the great ship and from the looks of it, appears completely silent. Timothy asks if this is a set up for a surprise attack. Feeling the strong presence of demons along the edge of the boat they already made a mistake of who they're dealing with. Cocking her huge pistol back as her first mate asks of what to do.

"If for a moment they're anticipating a sneak attack. They're mistaken. All hands. ATTACK!" Shouts Darquebane as she leaps off the deck flying high into the air firing her gun at the first sign of demons on the edge of the deck just as she thought they were. The blast killed twenty of them with each shot clearing the way for the crew to come in. An all out battle ensues throughout the ship and the clash of supernatural forces rides high. "Timothy, GO!" Shouts the captain and he rushes in down to the lower depths of the ship with the crew to find the survivors. Meanwhile in another part of the ship a panicky demon gives the news to

"Sir, the night splinter has arrived but we are severely overwhelmed!"

"How is that possible" says the dragon as his muscles bulged and flexed out hard in anger.

"It's Darquebane with some new weapons that are cutting down our forces, what should we do now sir?"

"Nothing"

"Nothing?!"

"Nothing. Let her come to me, I can't wait to see the look on her face when she gets a load of the new me. It will be over before she even gets here." Says the captain as he gets up and walks past the small demon shaking with each footsteps on his way to the upper deck.

Timothy and the crew trek carefully through the lower decks of the ship and as expected, more demons are in their way, this is as good of time as any to use their new weapons as they glow with the spiritual energy to kill them all as they fight on. Back on the deck, Darquebane goes wild as she cuts her way with tooth, fang, claw, gun and muscle until she reaches the part of the ship where the captain is.

"BAREAUS!" Shouts the lioness. "Where are you?!" But there was no answer instead deck-shaking footsteps suffice, shaking the demons and with its looming shadow over her, its deeper booming voice answers her call."

"It is nice to see you again, Jacqueline."

"You think a chance in your voice will stop me from killing you, after everything you've done to me?"Turning around her anger turn to shock.

"No, but it's going to be much worse for you now."

After clearing their way through, Timothy is exhausted from the fighting and the crew cheers, then he hears the faint sounds of cries for help come from a distance. "Quiet!, Do you hear that? It sounds like cries for help. It has to be the Porunas, let's go!" Running up close, the crew finds a set of double doors where the cries are even louder and he breaks the locks. Inside there are hundreds of tribespeople kept in cages some being left in their torture devices and in the center is a very skinny jaguar tied in chains and shackles made more for giants and breaks him free.

"Thank you, young one." says the chained jaguar.

"Yeah, save it for when we get you out of here. Speaking of which, where's Chakari?" with a look of shame and defeat the chained jaguar tells him.

"I am Chakari"

"You can't be, from what Darquebane told me, I expected you to be... bigger."

"Darquebane?! You're a member with that monster?!"

"Hey what you call monster, I call someone whose willing to save you and your people's asses"

"I doubt she will be able to do that now that dragon has the Idol of Korun."

"What makes that idol so special?"

"It is the source of my strength and powers. It acts as conduit between me and Korun, the god of my people to grant me incredible size and strength. When I was captured, he has the idol and wears it around his neck instantly taking my powers away and putting into himself. As you can guess what that means for her."

"She's in trouble. For now we get to get you and your people off this ship. We have Noelani."

"The chiefs captain, thank the gods."

"Again save it for when we get out of here. Men get this people out of here!" And the undead crew follows his orders. "If there's a way in how that Idol works, better tell me. Now!"

Darquebane faces the new, even bulkier Bareaus, appearing before her as if he is about to pop with all that grotesque amounts of muscle.

"Since when did hell had a gym?"

"Very amusing child, but from where you stand, you're in no position to think you can stop me."

"Any position is a good one to kill you for even setting foot in the mortal world. Why are you here in the first place"

"I wish I can tell you the details but I thought you would do something stupid, like stopping me or preventing of what is to come"

"You know that if you're here even for a second, your master will come for you."

"I don't think he or the guy upstairs is going to be calling the shots now, been here for months before I took my first strike on the Porunas and it was a great strike with their idol. And as the master plan is complete, it's going to be a true hell on earth!"

"Not when I'm around Bareaus, you're going back!"

"In case you have not noticed Jacqueline. I now possess the power of Korun as it flows into every fiber through me, making me far stronger than what my soon to be former master can ever give me. I'm going to make all the mortals fall by my feet."

"Over my dead body" and Darquebane leaps hard and high into the air, to make her first strike but Bareaus grabs her ankle and throws her down into the deck. She recovers and goes in for the second attack. She has a lot more to work with now that he is stronger, making the challenge to stop him tougher. The shocks of the bashing rock the great ship and in the lower decks, Timothy and the survivors are knocked off their feet as they make their way to the far side of the ship. One demon ambushes Timothy and Chakari attacks it subduing it with impressive moves that didn't need use of an idol before tearing its neck open killing it and reducing itself to dust.

"Thanks for saving me back there Chakari, You seem pretty good at handling this without the idol."

"I am as capable of a warrior before becoming the island guardian, it's not a title given to the weak." Chakari's words were cut by another shock and rocking of the boat "I don't think your captain is going to hold out much longer as long he has the idol on him. Try as she might, he will call upon it to make himself stronger"

"There has to be a way to reverse this. Wait

"Is there a way for that power to go back into the idol."

"No it doesn't work that way. The power of Korun can only flow two and from the idol into another person when in contact, it can't completely go all back in. That's why when your captain wanted the idol, I was protecting my own power from becoming hers if she touches it."

"Then now's the time to tell her that or else we're done for. Crew, get the rest of the tribe to the end of the ship and the hell out of here, Chakari you're coming with me."

Back on the deck, the brutal dragon smashes Darquebane around like a rag doll into the metal and her tough body can only take so much. Her strength can only muster so much before Bareaus can just summon more power through the idol, pumping himself up more and overcoming her. Where muscle fails, power begins as the dark lioness summons spheres of dark energy and throws it at the beast backing him off and calls forth a rain of brimstone upon him hoping the heat and shock would take him down. Out from the thick black smoke and fire emerges Bareaus more ripped than ever. Clothes explode under the stress of all that muscle and he runs in like a bullet train, smashing the lioness down in a fit of rage, her quick-healing body gives her the time to move out-of-the-way before he lands on top of her. Grabbing her torso, Bareaus squeeze her hard until she screams.

"Yes! Scream for me, scream louder like the good little soul you truly are. I guess that heart of demons can't make good demons like they used to. I'm going to enjoy breaking your bones and when I'm done, I'll be the new great terror of the seas" Says Bareaus as his grip grows tighter. Darquebane looks around for something to throw at him and finds barrels of black tar powder a very thick explosive goop. Pulling out her arm she levitates a barrel and smashes it into his face. As the goo runs, Darquebane breathes hellfire into the gunk and explodes. Timothy and Chakari arrive through the thick smoke after seeing that explosion in hopes that the captain survive the blast.

"Captain?" Says Timothy but hears no response. But then a black hand reached out of the hole and up comes Darquebane with tattered clothes and holding her torso tight in pain, looking up to see her first mate and a really skinny stranger.

"Timothy..." Says the captain in a weakened tone. "I think I got him" Then the hole explodes and out from it, Bareaus with arms raised and bellowing out an inhuman roar. Partially blinded by the burnt explosive tar in his eyes and completely blind with pure rage, he faintly sees Darquebane and grabs her.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!" Screams Bareaus as he smashes and devastates her toughened body.

"NO!" Screams Timothy before looking to Chakari

"Captain! It's the idol. You need to take it from him and pull its power into yourself, it's the only way to stop him!" Bareaus looks at Timothy and shouts that he should not interfere and throws his fist at him, Darquebane throws a fire ball that distracts his aim and misses him. Struggling to get up, she gains a bit of power to leap up to the dragon's neck and grabs the idol. Mustering up her strength, she breaks the idol free off of him and lands hard on her back tumbling back.

"My idol! No!" Screams Bareaus in a panic as he rushes to get it back.

"It's mine now scaly, it's my turn!" Grabbing the idol tight, its power explodes and bolts shoot out and enter into her eyes and body at the same time Bareaus drops in pain of the power being ripped out of his body, flowing violently through the idol and surging into her own body. The transfer builds a blinding light, forcing Timothy and Chakari to shield themselves from the light and the people on board the Night Splinter. As the light dies Bareaus feels dizzy and lighter, worse even weaker. His body is reduced down to a skeleton with scales but not compared to what Darquebane is now.

Every muscle in her own body is bulged out to the extreme, towering over him like a giant on steroids, Thick veins throb and pulse under her reformed clothing, stretched out to the limit. She never felt such great physical power like this since her "birth" in hell. Looking down at the now puny dragon, she cracked her fists and flexed her new monstrous arms and begins to deliver the smashing of a lifetime. Bareaus tries to fire his powers out but the blasts just bounce off or dissipate against that wall of muscle about to thunder down on him. He calls out his demon forces taking her down but she is too big now for any of the demon's bits and claws to have any effect. With an amplified blast from out of her body all the demons have been reduced to dust. One downward punch sends both Darquebane and Bareaus down the six levels before crashing into the bottommost area of the ship. There she delivered rapid-fire punches before grabbing his body and smashing it side to side against the support columns. Throwing him down to the ground the dragon thought the worst is over until the last image he can see is of an overbulked lioness delivering a finally flying elbow drop that blows the ship out.

Coughing and bleeding black blood Bareaus is still arrogant to the end as the titanic lion looms over him.

"You may have beaten me, Jacqueline but my fall won't stop what is to come. Consider everything, my existence here in this mortal world a preview. When the real fun comes, you'll be begging for death at his feet."

"You are beaten" says Darquebane in a way too thick and deep voice. "Whoever it is, I will be waiting. Until then..." As she grabs the dragon and holds him by both hands. "...Give the devil my regards" And violently rips him in half, disintegrating him into dust. The Pirate Empress has won. Carefully picking up her first mate and Chakari in her hands. The lioness makes a bold leap and clearly overestimates her new power as they flew up so high they can see the top of the highest clouds before coming down fast. Darquebane quickly slows herself down but not fast enough to accidently crash through the first deck of her own ship. Timothy and Chakari survives but Darquebane clumsy tries to pull herself out of the hole she's made with the help of her crew and accidently knocks one off with her finger and he crashes through the wall. An easy show of the downsides of having a wooden ship take on the stress of a walking hulk for a captain.

"Captain, is that you?" Says Toruga

"Yes, I'm just having a bit of trouble being this... big, But what's important is the tribe, are they on the ship?" Says her as she finally pulls herself out of the hole.

"All accounted for ma'am, the matter now is finding them a new home since Isa Makalu is uninhabitable now as long that volcano is still active."

"We can deal with that later, but now there's the matter of the Dreadnought, without its master it's just now a wandering heap of metal."

"We just can't leave it here in the sea." Says Timohty

"I got that covered, the only fate that accursed vessel is fit is at the bottom of the sea. Time to call forth my pet." Carefully walking on the deck to ledge, she lets out a powerful roar to summon her pet and silent warrior. The mighty sea dragon Leviathan to destroy the Dreadnought and send it beneath the waves, closing a chapter in her tragic past in hell. The sight of its destruction is incredible and horrifying in the eyes of the crew and the tribe. Especially Noelani who Chakari comforts her in her small, skinny arms. Knowing that they'll survive wherever they will take them. Days later, the Poruna arrived on a new, much lusher and resourceful island. One under her uncharted list of islands, she is willing to give to them to rebuild a new life here.

"Darquebane, the idol of Korun. Where did you put it?" Looking up at the still hulking lioness.

"In the safest place one can imagine." And she reaches deep into her tremendous cleavage and pulls out the idol from out. "It's time to give the power back to its rightful owner, because I don't think the crew and my ship can't handle much of me for long." Imagining the various injuries and bandaged crew, sleeping outside and crushing every weapon in her hand even with a gentil squeeze. Chakari holds the idol in her hands and the idol glows again bathing them in lightning and blinding light, Darquebane's huge muscles begin to quickly deflate as Chakari's rapidly inflate, restoring him back ot his mighty glorly but just as he is back to full strength Darquebane pulls the idol away from him and the process stops. Darquebane is still overly huge but so is Chakari.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Now that you're back to normal, I don't see you be needing this anymore." With the help of her own powers, she forcibly pushes the remaining bulk back into the idol. Without someone to transfer the power through it, the idol overloads and violently explodes to pieces.

"NO!" Screams Chakari "You fool!"

"I did you a big favor Chakari!" says Darquebane "An mystical object that gives users incredible strength with such loose prerequisites are a recipe for disaster. If I knew then, what I knew now. If I had defeated you, I would have destroyed that idol sooner. What is to stop the next horde from coming in or rival trible from taking the idol and turning themselves into an unstoppable beast. At least I know it is in capable hands."

"Without that idol, my purpose is meaningless" That line earned him a surprise hard punch to the face from a now restored captain with enough strength to bring him down. Noelani runs to his side and angrily talks down to Chakari's revelation.

"Are you really the man who defeated me? Never once you endowed yourself, to gain an advantage and now you dare stand before me and tell me you're meaningless without that stupid trinket?!" She furiously points to Noelani.

"That's your purpose, stupid! Her, and your people. I'm beginning to think the reason you failed protecting them because you were more concerned about protecting the idol than your own people"

"How dare you!"

"For what, telling the truth? I did you a great favor by destroying the idol, now you can focus more on what's really important as their protector, a protector of your people. And if your god has any problem with that, then you seriously want to rethink your purpose and consider him not worthy of your respect." Chakari wanted to say something but the revelation hits him hard there was no way for him to fault her for it. But Noelani comforts him more, hugging around his big thick neck.

"Don't worry Chakari, I'll be with you, consider me your purpose." He smiles and wraps his now mighty arms around her small body.

"I guess I'll take my leave now unless you want to give me another 'parting gift'." Says Darquebane.

"No, I'll let you go, and you're right. I'm going to concentrate more on rebuilding and be the protector I should have been."

"Thats' good because consider this a promise, when you're ready. I want a rematch"

"What?"

"Just to see if you really do have what it takes to take me down without the motivation of an idol. Don't worry I won't leave anything to stake. What's a little scuffle between us titans?"

"I'll be ready for you when that time comes"

"That's the guardian I know." and she takes her leave "See you soon big boy!"

As they leave, on the way to the boats, Noelani runs up to Timothy and surprisingly kisses him on the cheek thanking him for freeing everyone out of that ship. Darquebane sees this and smiles telling him that sometimes the smallest reward is always the good ones. Then she picks him up by his shirt and kisses him deeply for a job well done. Sunset approaches and the captain walks around seeing the crew working at full strength to repair the damages caused by her when she was huge. She tries to apologize especially to the one he accidently sent through a wall. She then turns to Toruga and asks for a report.

"How are the repairs coming?"

"Doing well captain, we should be at full strength in a couple of hours before we set sail back to the hideout."

"Very good, yawn I'll be in my quarters happy to be able to fit again. Good night Toruga"

"Good night captain" Watching the woman walk off with a happy stride in her step but one of the crew walks up to ask of something strange.

"Toruga sir?"

"What is it?"

"I don't know about you but doesn't the captain look a bit... bigger than usual?" Toruga looks at the captain letting her hair loose as she walks downstairs, but can't see what the sailor means.

"No I don't see it."

"It must be my imagination then."

"I think so too, lets get back to work."

In her quarters, she takes a moment to appreciate being able to fit again and magically switched out of her clothes and into a long gown. She stops for a moment to remember the last words Bareaus told her of what is to come. If this has anything to do with the devil, even he wouldn't be stupid to try his plans. Which leaves the possibility of an even more dangerous being who will cause serious trouble. But for now she wants to get some sleep but stops to take a moment to look at herself in the full-length mirror and flexes her body. All of her muscles bulked up nearly twice their size and it rips her gown up. She laughs and poses more seeing the full wonder of the idol. Back at the beach when she forced all the power back into the idol to overload it, she purposely kept a small bit of the power to herself but not enough for anyone to notice.

As she lies on her bed, she maintains her motivation for doing the things she does. "Selflessly selfish reasons" are her last words before flicking off the candlelights and dozing off to sleep. Somewhere in the deepest parts of the earth, in a dark realm, sitting in a dark chair drinking wine, a small minion cautiously walks up and nervously builds confidence to give him the bad news.

"Uh sir?"

"Report!"

"Uh... Bareaus of the Dreadnought has fallen"

"What?! I thought I told that fool to remain inconspicuous until I give the signal"

"Well he was, until he raided and island and gained the attention of another demon"

"Another demon?"

"Darquebane sir."

"Darquebane, I have heard of her, has she caught on to our plans?"

"Not from the looks of it."

"What about Bareaus, where is he now? As if I care to know."

"Serving out his punishment, for leaving the mortal realm and activities leading to the destruction of the Dreadnought. It's going to be a large backup of taking in new souls that could last for years."

"Maybe that will serve us some time, if the devil or my people find out about that little 'anomaly', my plan for dominion over the mortal world will be for naught. I think its time to do a little speed up with some of our friends from below."

"And what about Darquebane?"

"Oh yes her, she from what I heard, is an unshattered soul forged from that Heart of Demons right?"

"Yes sir, she was ejected from hell because she as too powerful and nearly killed the devil"

"I thought it wasn't possible to kill him"

"Darquebane almost did, she was too powerful and had to weaken her down before rejecting her back to the mortal world."

"That's... interesting. I might make a note to see this Heart of Demons to know what makes it work but for now. You're dismissed"

"Yes sir" As the minion leaves another figure walks by greet him

"Having trouble love, I thought hell's demons were a bit smarter to stay out of trouble,"

"Apparently this one didn't and it's causing a real pain in our plans but then I'm introduced to this character" And he shows the image of Darquebane in her bed with the ripped gown.

"My heavens's she's a beast"

"That's an odd way coming from you but yes, but a very interesting beast indeed, and if I can get to its source, our chance at dominion will come soon enough love. The days of our masters will come to an end and we will rule." Laughing as he spreads his feathered wings out the sides of his chair.

The end.