The pirates ran desperately from the source of the battle, fleeing as quickly as their legs could carry them, and headed towards the center of the island in search of safety. But as they reached what seemed like a village settlement, they felt an unsettling sensation that something was deeply wrong with this place.
They looked around cautiously, examining their surroundings, but the homes and houses all looked like something specifically made for children, scaled down and decorated in bright colors. But not only that, there was a lot of children running around the area, playing and moving about freely without any apparent supervision.
"Captain this feels like a trap," Gibbs whispered nervously to his captain.
They gulped nervously, their throats dry with fear. After what they had experienced with the dragons, this was not what they were expecting to find. Then suddenly one of the kids noticed their presence and stopped in his tracks. The child froze completely still and turned to face them, his expression cold and unwelcoming, devoid of the playfulness they might have expected.
He pointed directly at them with an outstretched finger. The pirates were utterly confused by this gesture when suddenly a sigil started to glow brightly on the child's hand as a creature materialized and appeared from it in a flash of light.
A creature made of pure armor that gleamed in the sunlight. It held a long spear firmly in its grasp, its crest being an intricate dragon design. Erik had personally made this protective summon to protect the children from any harm that might come to them.
The pirates' eyes widened in shock and disbelief at the sight.
"Holy shit, witchcraft," Jack Sparrow said with a mixture of fear and amazement in his voice.
The armored summon ran towards them with surprising speed and began to confront them in fierce battle. The summon itself only had the strength of rank two in terms of raw power, but every single one of the children had one of them at their disposal for protection.
There were over a thousand children living on this island, all capable of summoning these creatures. This would easily overwhelm any threats that wanted to invade the island and cause harm. Especially when combined with the thousands of dragons that Erik had strategically placed here as guardians.
The other children gathered around to watch everything unfold before them. As the pirates fought desperately against the summon, struggling to land effective blows, the kids began to laugh with amusement at the spectacle.
They were all struggling terribly against the creature.
"Damn it, why isn't this thing dying?" Hector shouted in frustration, his voice strained with effort.
He looked around desperately and seeing the kids laughing at their predicament, he growled with anger and humiliation.
"God damnit, these kids aren't normal," he shouted loudly the crew could hear.
He pulled out his gun with shaking hands and aimed it directly at one of the children, specifically the child that had summoned the creature, in a desperate attempt to stop it by targeting its source.
Some of the crew members noticed his intentions and shouted in alarm.
"What are you doing? That's a child!!!?" Some shouted in horror and disbelief.
"Shut up," he shouted back angrily, dismissing their concerns.
This was the only option they had left available to them. They couldn't leave without Davy's heart, which was their ultimate goal, and they couldn't run away because behind them were the fearsome dragons blocking their escape.
The sounds of the intense battle between the two massive dragons could still be heard echoing across the island, and he didn't want to face that huge red dragon in combat.
Boom
He shot straight at the child without hesitation. Just as the bullet was about to reach him and strike, a barrier made of pure white light suddenly appeared around him and blocked the shot completely, causing it to ricochet harmlessly away.
The place went completely silent at the new situation that had developed. All the children had gone silent, their laughter stopping immediately. They all turned to face the pirates in unison and extended each of their hands forward in a synchronized motion.
One by one, more and more armored summons appeared in flashes of light and ran towards the pirates with determined aggression.
"Shit you idiot, look what you did!!!" Jack roared furiously as they turned and ran back towards where the dragons were. The thousands of armored creatures ran at them in a relentless tide, an unstoppable wave of magical guardians.
"Captain I want to go home," two of the pirates said desperately as they ran behind Jack, their voices filled with fear and exhaustion.
They breathed heavily as they ran with all their might, their lungs burning.
"We'll go home after getting on that ship," he said in heavy breaths, trying to maintain hope and determination.
Once they reached the area where the dragons had been fighting, they paused abruptly when they noticed the battle had been finished and concluded.
The huge red dragon had one massive foot planted firmly on the other giant but comparatively smaller dragon, asserting dominance. Igneel turned to face them and seeing the thousands of summons behind the pirates pursuing them, his eyes narrowed with understanding and displeasure.
His bones began falling to crack audibly as he began to shrink and turn back into his human form, the transformation causing his body to reshape.
Peter walked up to him quickly and he grabbed the coat that was waiting for him before putting it on to cover himself.
"What did you fools do?" He asked the pirates directly, his voice demanding an explanation.
They all pointed accusingly at Hector, singling him out as the culprit.
"You traitors!!!??" He roared in outrage at being singled out by his own crew members.
Igneel walked up to him deliberately, his aura menacing and intimidating. Not to mention he was a tall individual whose physical presence was imposing and frightening.
"What did you do?" He asked again, this time directing the question to one person specifically.
The man gulped nervously but he grit his teeth with determination.
"I shot a flintlock at a child," he said, admitting his actions plainly.
Igneel paused at his words, processing what he had just heard, as the dragons around them began to growl menacingly in response to this revelation.
"Was the child hurt in any way?" He asked, his voice filled with deep anger and frustration, barely controlled rage simmering beneath the surface.
They all shook their heads negatively in response.
"A barrier appeared around the child and protected him," he said, explaining what had happened.
He let out a loud sigh of relief, his tension visibly releasing.
"You, you're lucky," Igneel said with emphasis on just how fortunate they were. He turned around and began to walk away from them slowly.
"Peter, I will send someone to judge them in a day or two," he said, making arrangements for their fate.
Peter Pan nodded in acknowledgment and signaled the dragons to surround them, ensuring they could not escape.
On a random island, far from the main territories, Crystal could be seen walking around aimlessly, her expression thoughtful and somewhat troubled. It had been well over a month since she had initially started her search for a suitable man for herself, a quest that had proven far more challenging than she had anticipated.
All of the men she had encountered and met during her travels weren't satisfactory in the slightest, failing to meet even her most basic expectations. She had never felt so deeply distraught and frustrated in her entire life before this moment. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would ever find herself doing something like this, actively searching for a potential partner, but all her other siblings were doing it as well, engaging in similar pursuits, so she had decided to follow their example and do the same.
As she continued walking around the island, exploring its various paths and locations, she let out a heavy sigh of disappointment.
"Why won't a good man come my way? What am I doing wrong?" She grumbled to herself in frustration, her voice carrying a tone of genuine confusion and dismay.
Then suddenly her eyes brightened a little with a spark of realization and hope. She concentrated her energy and teleported instantly, disappearing from where she stood and arriving moments later in Neverland, the magical island she had visited before. She had suddenly remembered a person named Peter Pan, someone she had heard about and briefly met in the past.
Perhaps he would be suited for her needs and expectations, she thought to herself with renewed optimism. She began running around the island, actively sensing and searching for the strongest magical signature she could detect, but then unexpectedly she sensed a bunch of large and powerful magic signatures all clumped together closely as if they were surrounding something or someone in particular.
She made her way to the location where these signatures were emanating from and eventually arrived at the scene. Seeing the hundreds of massive dragons surrounding and encircling a group of what appeared to be pirates, she quickly assumed and concluded that they probably did something stupid or dangerous to warrant such a response from the island's guardians.
She grew curious about the situation and walked forward deliberately to get a closer look. The pirates immediately noticed her presence and approaching figure, and they froze completely in awe at the sight of her.
"That has got to be the most beautiful woman I have ever had the chance to lay my eyes on in all my years of sailing," Jack Sparrow muttered under his breath, clearly stunned by her appearance.
The other men in the group nodded in agreement, and even Elizabeth found herself acknowledging Crystal's striking beauty. She walked towards them with confident strides, her curiosity evident.
"What are you doing in Neverland? This island is not typically accessible to outsiders," She asked them directly, her tone inquisitive but not unfriendly.
They blinked a few times in surprise at the question, processing what she had said. They honestly didn't think this island was actually named Neverland, having arrived here somewhat by accident. And this felt like the umpteenth time someone had asked them that exact same question since their arrival.
"Cough, beautiful lady, we are here for something very important and urgent to us. Our mission is critical," Hector said, attempting to sound dignified and serious despite their current predicament.
She shifted her head slightly in confusion, trying to understand their purpose.
"This island is a safe haven specifically created for children, a sanctuary where they can live without fear. What could you possibly be here for that would bring you to such a place?" She asked, her confusion growing deeper.
They paused noticeably at her words, exchanging glances with one another. A safe haven for children? This was new and concerning information to them.
"I think we're at the wrong place entirely. Can you possibly let us go? We mean no harm," Elizabeth said hopefully, trying to appeal to Crystal's sense of reason and mercy.
Crystal turned her attention to Elizabeth, considering her request carefully.
"Well, given your current situation right now and the circumstances surrounding your capture, I don't think I can simply release you without authorization. But who was it that caught you in the first place?" She asked, wanting to understand the full picture.
Their mood dropped significantly at her response, their hopes deflating. Their now probably only realistic chance to be freed and escape was completely gone. The dragons seemed to obey and respond to her commands as well, which made their situation even more hopeless.
"Sigh, we are here to look for something specific, an object of great importance. And when we first arrived on the island, we were immediately caught and apprehended by a man dressed in green clothing. Just a few hours ago, a large and imposing man appeared on the scene, and the dragons seemed to obey him completely and without question—"
Hearing this description, Crystal's thoughts immediately went to her father, wondering if he had been involved in their capture.
"The man had red, long, flowing flame-like hair that seemed almost alive—"
She then realized with sudden clarity that the person they were talking about was none other than Igneel, her older brother and one of the most powerful individuals in their family.
"I think I know exactly who you're talking about," she said with growing understanding, piecing together the situation.
"You do? You know him?" He asked with a mixture of hope and apprehension in his voice.
She nodded affirmatively in response.
"You must be talking about my brother Igneel. He's the one who oversees this island's protection," she said, confirming their suspicions.
"B-brother? Did you say brother?" Pintel and Ragetti stuttered in shock and disbelief, their voices trembling.
She nodded again, confirming what she had said.
"You're actually quite lucky in this situation, believe it or not. I thought initially you were talking about my father when you described the man, and he doesn't take well to pirates at all. The last group of pirates that appeared here and caused trouble never left this island alive. I think their bones are probably still lying around somewhere here as a warning to others," She explained matter-of-factly, her tone casual despite the grim subject matter.
Their eyes widened dramatically in fear and horror at this revelation.
"Ah, please, we beg you, let us go miss. We promise we won't cause any more trouble," the two pleaded desperately, their voices filled with genuine terror.
She scratched her head thoughtfully, considering their plea but ultimately shaking her head.
"I can't really do that on my own authority. My brother is the emperor of our realm and the overseer of this island, and I have to follow his orders and respect his decisions," she told them honestly, explaining her limitations.
The new information almost made their eyes roll back into their heads from the shock of it all, the revelation hitting them like a physical blow.
"T-then that means you're a princess? A member of royalty?" Elizabeth asked, her voice filled with amazement and a hint of fear, finally understanding who they were dealing with.
Crystal nodded proudly, straightening her posture.
"I am indeed the second princess of Novus, daughter of the emperor and sister to the current acting emperor," she announced with unmistakable pride in her voice and bearing.
"What's happening here?"