Challenge Accepted

There were twenty-three crews that stayed to inquire about helping with the expedition. The amount of them, while welcome, infuriated her. They had enough interest to fill all 15 originally proposed positions and allow them all to get paid but Fletching had to be a saboteur and switch the number of votes needed. Theo managed to figure out a way to capitalize on the amount of interest though and helped come up with an incentive plan.

They filled all five paid slots but there was still significant interest and Theo would not be able to stop thinking about the information that could have been uncovered if she turned them away. So after speaking with her present officers, and the others involved in the proposal drafting, they agreed to start an additional fund with their own money to compensate for any leads that might have been brought in at the conclusion of the three-cycle excursion.

An additional pot of 5,000 gold was agreed upon, the Scorned Woman agreeing to pay half and the other Captains in her group agreeing to pay the other. Each piece of information brought forward by a pirate that had not been already uncovered by the fully paid crews would be eligible to receive up to 100 gold in compensation. It might have not been worth the effort of devising that branch of their new plan but only time would tell if their approach would yield results. This way, when crews traveled along the continents on regular business they were inclined to go slightly out of their way to try and find information. It seemed to be a good motivator at face value because the Captain's seemed excited to share the opportunity with their crew, some even considered it a competition.

Once they had agreed upon an alternate plan to bring in more crews, most of the pirates left, and only the ones that were committed solely to the discovery of how to defeat the Center stayed. Among the five other crews were Captain Owl and Captain Blue, one other member from their small coalition, and two crews that were up in coming in the pirate ranks. Theo stepped back, her work having been complete, and let the others in charge of the proposal take the lead. Captain Tack, who was the one behind the logistics of it all, could manage the rest. They discussed expectations, strategies, and modes of communication. Each of the paid pirate crews was given a continent and set to scour its coasts for information. Theo was given the freedom to choose where they wanted to go. She still had to think about it but she had narrowed down their options to Aeliz, the west coast of Efriti which they didn't visit, and Elox.

As the supplementary meeting was drawing to an end, Theo excused herself and her officers from it. They were discussing money and coordinating that effort but Theo had no longer wanted to stay. Captain Tack had already been told that he could send anyone to get Theo's portion of the gold within the next few suns as they were planning on staying for a bit. It would have been more professional if she were to stay but it had been a long few suns and she would see most everyone at the festivities later. It wasn't a pirate meeting unless it ended in an island-wide clusterfuck of celebration. The sun was already down and the night of partying was set to start soon. It would be only a few hours between then and when everything actually kicked into gear and she wanted a bit of rest before then. She would grace everyone with her presence after letting them hang for a bit.

As she walked out, Cooker came up next to her and draped an arm over her shoulder, "I cannot believe you pulled that shit off."

"You are but of little faith," Theo chuckled and put her arm across Cooker's back. Xyra and Ava silently walked behind them as they exited the large stone structure. The hallways were empty but when their walk ended in the foyer, it was bustling with bodies. At the sight of her, some of the pirates cheered and she gave a joking bow. There were more than just pirates and top officers there, crew members had hiked up from the city to get news. Theo shot a few waves and greetings around as she walked past groups, promises of meeting up later in the night were exchanged, but she kept walking. Theo was dead set on her mission to get to the inn for a few hours of sleep or just peace.

Cooker was jabbering in her ear about all of the information she had prepared that she didn't even get to use and how she did so much needless preparation for the meeting. Theo was about to tell Cooker how she was always overpreparing when she heard Firinz speak followed by a group of laughter that caught her ear. To her right, she was just passing Firinz, Fletching, and a few other captains. The conversation was most definitely about her and she wanted to let it go so bad but she also didn't want her name to continue to be dragged through the mud. She stopped in her tracks and spun around to face the group.

"Care to share what's so funny, Captains?" Theo asked, her hands folded in front of her.

The men all stared at Theo and then at each other, slightly stepping back. Their movement pushed Fletching to the forefront of the group as they cowered behind him, shifting their gaze in an attempt to not lock eyes with an aggrieved Theo. Fletching looked back at his comrades who had begun their attempts to flee the scene blameless then fixed his stare back at Theo.

"We were just commenting about how it smelled like a rat in here," Fletching taunted and tilted his chin slightly to the side to project his voice a bit louder to the crowd around him, "why'd you need your resolution to pass so bad, Captain Theo? Perhaps it was because your treachery hinged on it."

They had gathered the attention of most of the room by that point and now more than just captains and officers had heard the accusations. Corinpse was a mass consumer of gossip and the accusation in the hands of regular crew would spread like wildfire. A challenge to a fight was her only option, Theo had a reputation to uphold and she wouldn't have minded beating the living shit out of Fletching. Theo had already said at the next mention of being a traitor, she would have no choice but to fight and Theo wasn't a liar. Theo began stepping forward with a sly smile and full intentions of challenging him to a fight when her arm was gripped tightly by Cooker, holding her back. Theo looked back at Cooker with a glare and tugged her arm free but in the small moment of distraction, Xyra had pushed herself in between Theo and Fletching.

"The accusations towards my Captain cannot go unanswered, Fletching," Xyra stood taller than Fletching and for a second, his confidence seemed to waver, "I challenge you to an unarmed fight."

Theo felt the world stop for a second. She shoved Cooker out of the way and tried to do the same with Xyra, "No! Xyra retract-"

"I accept," Fletching said and Theo looked past Xyra to see a smug look on his face. He wasn't looking at Xyra though, he was staring straight back at Theo.

The rules were that as long as the challenge had not been accepted, it could be retracted by the person who issued it. Fletching hadn't allowed for any breathing room before he accepted it, leaving them stuck with a challenge. He was a sick fuck and his ready acceptance of the challenge meant one thing if he won Xyra would be dead.

Challenges didn't necessarily have to end in death if the seconds managed to strike some sort of deal, but most of the time it did. And while captains were known to show restraint when challenged and usually avoided killing, Fletching had never had an interest in sparing life. The challenger being Xyra changed things too. Not only had Fletching been dying to get his hands on all of them for lengths, taking down Xyra meant hurting Theo and that was his overall goal. Killing Theo was a good goal, killing her best friend and right hand in front of her while Theo could do nothing was an even better one.

At the acceptance of the challenge, the room shifted into action. Pirates sprinted out of the building to run back into town and spread the news. Others began to clear out the room to give the groups privacy. Fletching was whisked away by his own crew and supporters outside to prepare. As this was happening, Theo attempted to grip Xyra's shirt and pull her close in order to yell at her for her stupidity. As she reached out, her movement was restricted as arms came around her from behind and gripped tightly. Theo thrashed against the grip but it was relentless.

"Theo, don't blow your top," Cooker tried to ration, "think about it. This was the only way."

Theo dug deep and managed to break away from Cooker's grip and she barreled towards Xyra who had now turned around to face them. The room had cleared out and the doors to the foyer had been closed. She gripped Xyra's shirt tightly and shook Xyra.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Theo yelled and Xyra's large hands came over Theo's wrist and held her tightly in place.

"Theo, don't be angry," Xyra said and Theo broke free from her grasp. She flattened her hands and shoved her palms at Xyra's chest in frustration.

Theo wasn't angry, she was anything but angry. Theo was panicked. Theo was terrified. Theo had no time to be mad.

"What were you thinking?" Theo said softer this time, trying to choke back tears. They were supposed to be going back to the inn. They were supposed to be sleeping and enjoying the rest of their night. She didn't mean to let the heightened emotions get the best of her but she had taken down the crisis wall too early and she felt a few hot tears rolling down her cheeks, "Xy, I can't lose you."

"You won't," Xyra whispered, trying to get Theo to match her calm.

"He's going for the kill," Theo pressed on.

"He's not going to get the opportunity, Theo. Xyra decided to challenge him hand to hand for a reason," Cooker explained.

"You and Cooker are evenly matched with him when it comes to weapons but I outmatch him in hand to hand. This is the most likely chance for us to have a victory," Xyra rationed, trying to get Theo to think clearly.

"Xyra has an advantage and he knows it but he couldn't say no or it would make him look weak," Cooker tried, "this is the best case for everyone, Theo."

Theo was being bombarded with information. This was a deliberate strategy that had been planned out in advance, well planned out. Xyra and Cooker had assumed Theo would make good on her promise of a challenge and instead of trying to convince her otherwise, they hatched a plan behind her back.

"You planned this," Theo scoffed.

"If you would've fought, it wouldn't have ended well Theo," Xyra said.

"I could have beat him," Theo said, anger now building in her chest. This had been a coordinated effort. From Cooker holding her back to Xyra stepping in to Ava hiding the plan from her, they were all complicit

"Aye and kill the man that accused you of treason? Subtle," Xyra shot back, "there was no scenario in which you fought that would have ended well. If he won, he'd kill you and if you won, you'd kill him. Both of those would be bad."

"I would exhibit restraint," Theo bit back.

"You would not, Theo. I have seen you angry and in a fight before. If you saw an opportunity to kill Fletching I'm afraid you wouldn't have the willpower to stop yourself," Xyra confessed.

Maybe Xyra was right about that. Maybe she wouldn't have but that was distracting them from the main point. Fletching "Xyra, if he wins he will not wait for you to yield before delivering a killing blow."

"You're my second. You wouldn't let that happen," Xyra said confidently and flashed Theo a smile which Theo scoffed at.

She should have just swallowed her pride and not put them in this situation. Had she known Xyra was going to sacrifice herself, her intentions of a challenge would never have even been brought up in the first place. The loyalty of those she kept around her was something she failed to factor into decisions sometimes. There was a commotion and yelling from the other side of the door indicating a waiting crowd. Theo grabbed Xyra's hands and whispered a quick prayer to Riva under her breath then pulled her in for a hug.

"You can't leave me," Theo said with her face half pressed against Xyra, "not like this."

Xyra wrapped her arms around Theo and held her close. Her hand came to hold the back of Theo's head.

"I won't," Xyra pressed her lips to the top of Theo's head, "now go be my second."

With that, Xyra let go of her. Theo had to go talk to Fletching's second for the fight. Theo turned on her heel and jogged towards the door, listening to Cooker launch into strategy. They had all fought Fletching dozens of times, they had trained on the vanguard together and fought by his side for lengths. Xyra and Cooker were right, he wasn't skilled at combat when up against a hand-to-hand master like Xy but they all knew he played dirty so they couldn't get their hopes up. Theo pushed the doors open and was met with near darkness in the sky and hundreds of people. The crowd in front of her parted to reveal Seal, Fletching's quartermaster and his second in command. It was time to negotiate the terms of engagement.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Xyra had stripped down to a binding across her chest and had slipped into Cooker's pants, a more flowy material. There was a large circle that had formed around an empty patch of ground, the news having gathered a crowd. Xyra's back was to Theo, standing in her place towards the middle of the circle. Fletching was in his position across from Xyra and Theo could see Xyra curl and uncurl her hands in preparation.

Seal, Fletching's quartermaster and second, had refused to negotiate with Theo. Theo had tried to stress the importance of keeping the tradition of challenges between high-ranking officers not resulting in death but Seal was not budging, Fletching would not allow anyone to yield. Her blood was boiling but there was nothing she could do. She had informed Xyra of what had been said right before she went into the circle but Xyra didn't waver in her confidence. Theo didn't know if she was actually devoid of nerves or if it was a front to not worry Theo. Cooker was to her right, biting her thumbnail and Ava was next to her staring intently ahead.

The ringmaster, in charge of starting and calling the fight, was in between both of the fighters. Theo saw a shuffle in the crowd and Navi popped into view, pushing her way to the front. Xyra turned her head in that direction and locked eyes with Navi. The look in Navi's eyes reflected what Theo was feeling on the inside, dread. Theo saw Morgana come up behind Navi just as the ringmaster stepped away and called the beginning of the fight.

Xyra turned her attention back to Fletching, who had a somewhat crazed look in his eyes. His pupils were large and Theo could tell he had been given something before the fight to enhance his performance. They circled around each other for a few seconds before Fletching lunged, making the first move. Xyra easily blocked his punches and kicked his ribs. He took a few steps back to regroup. Xyra was a defensive fighter, she wouldn't engage and Fletching knew that. Theo could tell he was devising his strategy.

Once again, he went to attack but this time managed to land a punch. Xyra had dodged his swings to her face but he managed to connect a few punches to her stomach before Xyra could retaliate. That was all the motivation Xyra needed to kick it into gear and she absorbed the punches to her midsection but used Fletching's proximity to connect her elbow with his jaw and then knock the air out of his chest with her free hand. The fight escalated quickly from there, it was fast-paced and their constant moving around the circle sometimes blocked Theo's point of view. After a few minutes of fighting, blood was staining the gravel and dirt underneath them and their movements were getting more aggressive, more desperate, more tired.

Theo saw Xyra deliver a particularly stunning blow, her fist connected with the side of his jaw and he stumbled back. Theo had been hit like that plenty of times and she knew the panic and the disorientation that came along with it. It was the type of hit that could mean the end of the fight if he didn't recover in time. But before Xyra could follow through, Fletching ran forward and Theo would be lying if she said she could describe what had happened next. There was a shuffle, some hits thrown, and all of a sudden Xyra was on the floor, Fletching over her.

He did not hesitate before he lifted his foot and brought it crashing down on Xyra's shin. Xyra yelled out in pain and a nasty crack was heard all around the circle. Theo's stomach dropped. He had gone for her leg and broken it, things were not looking good for Xyra. No sooner did he step on her leg, Xyra grabbed the ankle that was planted on the ground and pulled as hard as she could. Fletching lost balance and came crashing down on his back.

Xyra, as if she didn't just have her bone snapped, moved into action and crawled over and stumbled on top of Fletching before he could move. She brought her elbow down hard on his temple to disorient him further before she began to lay into him with punches. Fletching attempted to stop the hits to his face but it was no use, Xyra seemed to be in a blind rage. Fletching used the energy he had left to push Xyra off of him and tried to get to his feet. It was anyone's match. Fletching was in worse shape but Xyra's leg was broken. Theo closed her eyes, took a deep breath, attempted to tune out the noise, and sent a silent request to Riva to keep Xyra alive. When Theo opened her eyes, not even ten seconds later, the tides of the challenge had definitely shifted.

Xyra was sitting on the ground, her eye already swelling and her nose bleeding profusely. Locked in her arms was Fletching, looking far worse than Xyra was. Both of them were panting, their ragged breaths could be heard by those watching. Xyra had Fletching in a chokehold, applying enough pressure to make Fletching kick out his legs in protest but not enough for it to be lethal, just restricting his airflow enough to where he was weaker and unable to fight back. Some struggling coughs were coming from Fletching and blood was leaking from his mouth.

Fletching used the last bit of his energy to dig his heels into the ground and push back against Xyra's chest. Xyra sat strong as he struggled against her and eventually the fight was at an impasse. Xyra was the clear winner but nothing had been declared, she either had to kill him or someone had to yield. Seconds were the one that declared the fight to be over. They were the ones that communicated if their fighter was going to yield. Once fighters entered the ring, their seconds were the representative of their wishes. That is why having a trusted and loyal person as a second was important, they could fuck someone if they had bad intentions.

Seal was under strict instructions that he was not to yield. Fletching had made a point to tell him very loudly, in front of everyone, in an attempt to look tough. He had overestimated his ability, perhaps the time apart had made his memory of Xyra's skill with combat hazy. Xyra tightened her grip on the chokehold. There was pain on her face and she looked over to the ringmaster and shook her head, indicating that she wasn't planning on killing him. The ringmaster hesitated to ask if there was going to be a yield, having heard Fletching's earlier display.

"Ask the question," Xyra gritted out.

Seal looked panicked like he genuinely didn't think they would be in that situation. He was facing a difficult choice, if he saved Fletching it would be a disaster and if he didn't it would be too. Fletching would be ridiculed if he survived, not only did he yield when he said he wouldn't but also he would have yielded to someone who wasn't a captain. But if Seal didn't yield then Fletching would die and the crew wouldn't exactly promote Seal to Captain, he would be looking at a mutiny. The ringmaster was looking between a stunned Seal and the fighting duo.

"Ask the fucking question!" Xyra yelled.

"Does he yield?" the ringmaster asked, startled into asking.

Seal couldn't answer. His mouth dropped open but nothing came out. He would have been facing a big decision but Fletching reached his arm up and tapped on Xyra's arm. He was tapping out. Seal let out a loud sigh of relief, "Captain Fletching yields."

The ringmaster looked over at Theo, "Does she accept this?"

Theo hesitated, she licked her lips and considered her options for a moment. Xyra would kill Fletching if Theo wanted. She was sure he was the rat, not sure enough to warrant an execution but if she did kill him for personal reasons, getting rid of the rat would be a silver lining. If Theo refused to accept the yield, Xyra would have to finish the fight. Theo looked from the ringmaster to Xyra, who was already looking at her. Theo watched as Xyra slowly moved the arm supporting Fletching in a chokehold to a different position, one that would allow her to snap his neck if she wanted. It was her way of showing Theo she would go through with it if that is what she truly wished, despite her previous aversion to killing him.

"Theo, call the fight. Accept it," Cooker said in her ear, voice laden with urgency. When Theo didn't react Cooker grabbed her arm and shook her, "do not do this, Theo."

"Does she accept this?" the ringmaster repeated.

At the hesitation displayed by Theo, who everyone had assumed would accept without question, Seal rushed through the middle of the circle and straight to Theo, "Captain Theo, let's keep with tradition. As you were saying earlier."

Theo couldn't help but let out a laugh at the audacity. She didn't even dignify his comment with a response. Theo instead, crossed her arms in front of her chest. Cooker returned to her ear.

"Theo if you kill him, you won't recover from this. Not only would you have ordered his execution, but you would also be making your first mate do it. The optics are not good. We'll kill him one day, I promise," Cooker tried to get to the raw facts of what they were up against.

Cooker was right and as tempting as it was to get rid of Fletching, the timing wasn't right. She meant it when she had said it before, his final breath would be taken as her dagger was piercing his heart, Xyra killing him wouldn't be right. But Seal was panicking and she was going to milk it.

"What do you want, Theo?" Seal took a step forward and asked in a low voice.

"One of your ships," Theo replied with lightning speed, it didn't need to be thought about.

The symbolism was not lost on Seal and she knew Fletching would get it too. On top of symbolism, she would get a ship out of it. Seal looked back at the fight and Fletching had now stopped all fighting against the pressure on his neck, Theo was pretty sure he was losing consciousness.

"Can't wait too long on that decision, Seal," Theo pointed at the scene in front of them, "he looks like he could use a healer sooner rather than later."

"Fine," he said, then spit on the floor in front of Theo and began to walk away but not before Theo shoved him roughly in retaliation

"She yields," Theo conceded, looking over at the ringmaster.

At the acceptance of Fletching's yield, Xyra let go of the grip on his neck and he slumped forward, barely able to keep his head up and eyes open.

"Get him the fuck off of me!" Xyra yelled in pain as she tried to push him off, his arm was draped over her broken leg and the pressure was enough to hurt.

Some of Fletching's men that had a front-row view of the fight rushed in and dragged him away. His crew formed a circle around him to shield him from prying eyes as they rushed him down the path and towards town. Theo rushed to Xyra's side once Fletching was taken away and took Xyra's hand into her own. Xyra squeezed it tightly, not letting the death grip go; she was in pain and breaking Theo's hand was the only way to keep the yelling at bay. Tuni appeared next to Xyra from the crowd and she used a knife to rip open her pant leg. There were no bones protruding from her skin but upon touching her shin, Xyra screamed out.

"It's broken," Tuni said.

"No shit," Xyra spat and her voice was strained, trying to keep the pain from manifesting itself into screams.

Morgana, Navi and Cooker had been hovering behind them and at Tuni's instruction, they crowded around Xyra and picked her up. Between them and Theo, it was fairly easy to pick her up and carry her but it wouldn't be that easy to go down a steep gravel road and through the city. They would either have to choose speed or caution but Xyra needed both. They began to walk, Xyra biting hard on her lip and trying to keep her composure together, even then. Theo pushed all emotions out of her head, worry and guilt could wait.

"Tuni, where are we taking her?" Theo asked

"The ship, it has more stuff than Jon's," Tuni said and Theo heard Xyra almost whimper at the thought. The ship was twice as far away from the island's infirmary run by the healer, Jon.

"It's farther, I don't think she can wait that long," Theo advocated for Xyra.

"We'll go to Jon's then" Tuni changed plans, "Ava, I'm going to need you to run to the ship and pick up supplies for me. Do you have something to write on?"

Ava scrambled to look inside her coat pockets and she found the small charcoal she had left in her pocket and a blank page among the notes she had tucked away. Tuni began to list some things off and once Ava had them all written down, she began to run.

"Do you know where the infirmary is?!" Morgana called as Ava got further and further away.

Ava turned around briefly as she ran forward, "I will figure it out!"

Soon, Ava was out of sight, running at a much faster pace than they could achieve carrying Xyra. One of them stumbled which caused Xyra to jostle in their arms, hurting her further.

"Baknia meo dosso!" Xyra cursed out in Nefritian and her grip on Theo's shoulder tightened.

There was no common translation but it roughly meant go crawl back into the monster that birthed you. Morgana laughed at the outburst, it being one of the only Nefritian phrases she knew and Tuni fixed her with a scolding look, it was not the time to laugh. Theo instructed them to all slow down for the next part of their journey to avoid another mishap.

"Cook," Xyra said through clenched teeth, "do you have anything for the pain? You're a drug dealer for fuck's sake."

"Aye! Aye! I forgot," Cooker confirmed, probably scolding herself about not remembering.

Cooker thought on it for a moment before instructing Tuni to dig through her pockets and pull out a bag with a green ribbon holding it together. Tuni pulled out a handful of satchels and bags and found the one she was looking for. She opened it and pulled out a few small leaves, they were a deep green color. Tuni didn't bother to ask what it was, Cooker would have not given anything harmful to Xyra. Tuni fed the leaves to Xyra and Cooker instructed her to chew, not swallow.

There was silence on the trek after that but Xyra eventually relaxed, She could no longer keep her head up and it began to loll back and hang. Cooker had given her a type of sedative which was exactly what was needed. It wasn't long until they crashed through the infirmary doors and Jon led them to a private room without hesitation. He immediately began to try and help but Tuni was practically about to bite him and he quickly learned to take a back seat; no one touched Tuni's girls unless allowed to by the healer herself. The rest of them were kicked out of the room and made to stand in the general intake room.

No one spoke but there was not a lot to say. There would be no telling if Xyra was okay until a few suns had passed. There were a lot of unknowns, including whether she would even be able to keep her leg or not, a bad break would mean amputation. Even if her leg was okay, there were other factors. They had all known people that were fine after fights just to drop dead suns later. Tuni would know more soon.

Ava busted through the door with a bag of supplies in hand and everyone immediately pointed to the room Xyra had been taken into. Ava disappeared for a bit then reemerged from the room, still catching her breath from before.

"How is she?" Cooker and Theo's voice mixed, both having jumped to ask the second they saw Ava.

"Passed out," Ava informed, "Tuni said that besides the leg and bruised ribs, she should be feeling better within a few suns."

"And her leg?"

Ava scrunched her face in disgust, "Tuni said that when they checked, it was broken but not bad. Best case scenario, she said Xyra had good bones."

"How do they check?" Cooker asked.

"They move her leg and see if they hear scraping," Ava was frowning and had paled a bit.

Morgana gagged a bit and Navi shoved Morgana before gagging too.

"Can we change the subject, please?" Theo pleaded.

"You got back fast, Ava" Morgana pointed out, "the ship is pretty far."

"Red," Ava corrected, "and I've been running laps, guess it has come in handy"

Ava glanced over to Theo and Theo rolled her eyes but the secret poke at Theo made her chest feel a bit lighter than it had in a long while. Theo watched Navi nudge Morgana and Morgana nudge back. Navi leaned in to whisper something and Morgana shook her head and nudged her again. Whatever they were attempting to do was not subtle.

"Care to share?" Theo asked.

Navi reached behind Morgana and shoved her forward before Morgana could react. Morgana looked between Navi and Theo and then sighed, resigning to the fact that it was on her to say what needed to be said.

"What the fuck happened?"

Theo pushed herself off the wall she was leaning against and walked to one of the empty beds for patients and sat down, "To understand tonight we have to go back to last night..."