Nightsea Outlaw

Wen stood with her back to the door, Mari at her side, holding her revolver steady on the woman. In her mind, there was only one thing she could do to stop the woman. She was almost certain that if she could just land a shot on the woman's watery body, she could win. However, the woman simply wouldn't allow it. In fact, the more she watched the woman, the more care the woman seemed to take around Wen's aim.

Freezing cold would be the absolute worst matchup for a person who turned into water. The only problem was landing the hit.

What Wen needed was a distraction. She needed another fighter in the fray to distract the woman and give her the opening she needed. She might be able to use her hands, but that would involve melee combat. There was a reason she didn't run into melee fights. They were just too risky.

"Steam Bullet!"

Hiss.

The woman held up a finger aimed like she had a real gun in her hand. Wen flinched to the side immediately, crashing into Mari and sending them both to the ground. Wen didn't need to guess that the technique was dangerous as the bullet whizzed by above her and clattered against the door.

Ptss.

Water hissed on the bulkhead above her as it spattered. Wen had a moment to look up before she lined up her shot. The woman was already pointing her finger down on the ground where she lay. She needed an edge if she wanted to get past the water woman.

Wen pulled the trigger.

Hiss-bang.

She had one more shot left in her revolver, and she went ahead and lined the last shot even as the woman opened a hole to let the first one through. This time, Wen shot toward her feet, aiming precisely between both of her legs so that the bullet would crack open there.

Hiss-bang. Crack.

The water woman tried to dodge, but it was too late. Wen's bullet cracked open, exposing the area around her legs to a sudden rush of cold. Ice crept up her legs and torso, rising quickly as it turned her watery form white. Wen threw herself onto her feet. She needed distance, and she needed to get the door open. To do that, she needed the water woman disabled.

She kicked forward with her boot right as the ice solidified up the water woman's abdomen. She was trying to break free, but Wen wasn't about to let that happen. With one solid hit, she knocked the woman down the steps, sending her falling into the ship's interior.

"Let's go," she said, turning to the door, spinning the wheel, and slamming it open into the rain.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The torrent was still coming down hard on Dry Turtle, and Wen peered out into the inky blackness of a moonless night. She didn't know how the water would affect the woman's curse, but she needed to get Mari out if she had any hope of winning a fight. She gripped Mari's hand tightly as she ran out into the torrent, heading toward the edge of the deck.

As they ran for the edge, she saw Jean climbing up the ladder on the side. He eyed her, rain spilling off his bald head and soaking into his robes. Behind him, another man climbed the ladder and watched her in his orange jumpsuit. Wen slowed, holding Mari beside her as the rain pummeled across her vision.

"We have an intruder," she said, pointing back to the ship's entrance. "We need to get Mari somewhere safe while we deal with it."

"Gel." Jean turned to the man who had met them earlier that day and waved Mari over. "Can you take Mari while we handle this? We can return to the repairs as soon as this problem is resolved."

"Sure," Gel said, kneeling down and holding out a hand to Mari. "We can keep an eye on her. Come get me once your business is over, and I'll have my guys work on your ship."

"Thank you." Jean smiled before turning back to Wen. "What's the problem?"

"Some woman who can turn into water," Wen said, drawing her second revolver. "I only have six shots left, but she keeps moving herself around, so I can't get a clean shot."

"A water curse." Jean nodded, stretching out his hands. "Perhaps I can help. Spirit Swing."

A purple aura grew around him as he raised his hands into the air. From his feet, a purple spirit rose from the ground. It had a skeletal frame with dark eyes and long white hair stretching behind it. The spirit rose around Jean until it came to rest on his shoulders. It was Eliza, his departed wife, and his primary tool when he fought.

"If we are to dance in the rain, I hope that it does not strengthen our foe." He tore his robes off, revealing a skin-tight black dancer's uniform beneath.

"It's either that or take her inside the ship." Wen shrugged. "I only have six bullets left in this. Unless I get back to my room, I need to make them count."

"Hah." Jean chuckled. "Is your curse bullets? I thought it was to freeze things solid."

He had her there, but again, she didn't know if she could use her curse on the woman at short range. The problem with her cold was that it didn't act quickly enough. She had her premade frozen bullets, but they took minutes to make. While the effects were instant, the buildup wasn't.

That made her curse a lot less useful in combat. It was better at making tools than just instantly freezing her enemies solid. That was why she had the bullets and gun designed in the first place. Without them, she could, at best, focus her cold on a single point over several minutes to see the same effect.

"If you can keep her busy, I think we can beat her," Wen said.

"You haven't been with us for long." Jean smiled. "Though we are a team of sorts, we rarely, if ever, fight together."

Wen raised her eyebrow at him as rain poured over her face. We had no idea what he could possibly mean by that. Surely, the benefit of being in a group of people was working as a team to take down opponents. That was a basic winning tactic, even against a weaker opponent.

"It's alright," Jean said, nodding at her visible confusion. "I'll give you a hand this time, and we'll work on your ability to fight alone before the next."

As he spoke, the water woman reappeared at the door. Her legs were like long sticks as she looked over the deck. When Wen had frozen that part of her body, she must have lost the water associated with it. Wen grimaced. She should have taken her inside the ship, but it was too late. She held her revolver ready as the woman stepped outside.

"I was going to be kind to you, you know," the woman said as she stepped out into the rain. "But you couldn't just play along, now could you, dearie?"

Water cascaded into her form, and her legs instantly filled back into her original figure. However, they stopped when she finished her original long dress. It was like her body had a preset look that she wanted to maintain. She wasn't letting in the additional water that now bounced off her wide black hat.

Wen narrowed her eyes. That was useful information. She just didn't know how she could use it.

"Greetings, my fair lady." Jean stepped forward, arm in arm with Eliza. "I have to ask why you are on our ship. I don't remember any of us inviting you aboard."

"What do we have here?" the woman asked, quirking her head as she looked Jean over. "A gentleman, a skeleton, a combination of both, perhaps?"

"A gentleman, a scholar, and a lover of new experiences." Jean bowed with Eliza before rising again. "You may call me Jean, Jean Baptiste. But again, I must ask, who are you to grace our ship with your presence."

The woman tapped a finger against her chin like she was considering Jean for the first time as something more than an insect. Wen kept her grip tight on her gun. She would have already taken at least three if she wasn't certain that the woman would predict her shot. However, she already knew that it wouldn't be enough. The woman was watching her out of the corner of her eye.

"Such a fine man," the woman said, smiling. "I have received much better treatment from you than what your companion has given me. For that, I will deign to give you at least my name. I am known in the trade as Miss Brooke."

Wen didn't recognize the name, but it reminded her of one of the men who had been with her on Diamond Peak a few days before. His name had been Mister Foley. According to Alex, he had also met a similar man named Mister Deadman. Wen had to wonder if they were all related.

"Well, Miss Brooke." Jean smiled, his purple aura darkening as he put one foot forward. "May I ask you kindly to get off of our ship? As you were not invited, it would be incredibly rude for a lady such as yourself to stay."

"I see your point." Miss Brooke looked at the door behind her before turning on Jean with a smile. "But you see, I had important business here that I have yet to conclude. While I have already gathered much information, I have to repay a favor that your companion has dealt to me."

"Oh, Wen, did you a favor?" Jean asked, looking back at Wen for only a moment.

"Indeed, she did." Miss Brooke nodded. "You see, your companion there managed to strike me with one of her cursed bullets. Very few people can hit someone with a curse like mine, and well, I just can't let such a power stand in the world if it might be used against me in the future."

"That is unfortunate," Jean said. "Wen's only been with us a short time."

Wen's ears perked at that. She didn't think Jean would throw her to the woman's mercy—that wasn't his style. However, what else could those words be leading to? If he turned on her, she would be facing two fighters with only six bullets left. Those odds would leave her dead with no one the wiser.

He was an outlaw. Would he do that to her?

"So you don't care if I take her?" Miss Brooke walked forward, her heels clicking against the metal deck with every step.

She stopped just a meter away from Jean. Jean's smile spread across his face as he looked down at the woman. He didn't even glance Wen's way as he looked deep into her eyes. Wen's finger itched to turn her gun on him and pull the trigger. At least with that, she would only have to fight one of them with only one more bullet down.

"Oh, I would care." Jean chuckled. "It isn't the length of time you spend with a person, but the quality of that time. We already played a great game together, and I also won it. 'Uno' is what Alex called it."

"Then why all of the facade?" Miss Brooke sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "It doesn't change anything for me if I have to kill one of you or both of you."

"Oh, I just wanted to get you closer," Jean said, placing a hand on Eliza's shoulder before taking a step and spinning her forward toward Miss Brooke. "Spirit Battement!"

A furious series of kicks lashed through the air, striking Miss Brooke faster than Wen's eye could see. However, the reaction wasn't what Wen would have expected. Instead of the kicks connecting and beating the woman to a pulp, her form broke off in bursts of water spraying out onto the deck. Her form crumpled as her body fell apart from above the waist.

When the attack was done, only her legs remained standing in the rain, completely still as water streamed down over the deck.

"I suppose I should have expected that," Miss Brooke's voice rose from the deck as her legs collapsed into a puddle on the ground. "Let's get this over with."