Chapter Text
The first cannon fired before the war drums finished echoing.
A thunderous crack split the air.
The cannonball screamed across the water and slammed into the sea just off the starboard side of The Exodus, exploding upward in a towering wall of spray.
The deck shook.
Men shouted.
Smoke rolled thick and acrid across the wind.
“The Queen fires first!” someone yelled.
Phoenix didn’t flinch.
“Return fire!” she roared.
The Exodus answered immediately. Cannons erupted in synchronized thunder, recoil shuddering through the ship as iron met flame. To their left, the Aurora fired in brutal harmony. To the right, the Miroh unleashed its own barrage.
The sea became chaos.
But Phoenix wasn’t watching the cannon smoke.
She was already running.
She sprinted below deck, boots pounding against the steps as another blast rocked the hull. Splinters rained from above. The battle had begun — and she had one thing to secure before she drew blood.
Her children.
She reached their quarters and pushed the door open.
Four small faces turned toward her — frightened, but trying to be brave.
Outside, another explosion boomed.
“Momma?” Cai whispered.
Phoenix crossed the room in three strides and knelt before them.
“Listen to me carefully,” she said, her voice steady despite the thunder above. “You are to stay in this room. No matter what you hear. No matter what shakes. You do not open this door for anyone but me, your Appa, halabeoji, or zufu. Do you understand?”
Lira frowned. “What’s happening?”
Phoenix hesitated only a fraction of a second.
“The bad woman who hurt me before is here.”
Silence filled the room.
“And it’s too dangerous,” Phoenix continued gently. “She will try to hurt you too if she can. So you stay here. You stay quiet. And you listen to your Appa, your halabeoji, and your zufu if anything happens to me.”
The unspoken possibility hung in the air.
Gaia’s eyes shimmered. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
Phoenix smiled softly — but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“I will always fight to come back to you.”
She pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads in turn.
“Be brave. My little dragons.”
Another cannon blast rocked the hull.
Phoenix stood, stepped outside, and locked the door behind her.
For half a heartbeat, she leaned her forehead against the wood.
Then she straightened.
And returned to war.
The deck of The Exodus was a storm of smoke, fire, and shouting.
And cutting through it all like a blade through silk was the warship approaching fast —
The Pink Venom.
Its sails were black edged in deep rose, rippling like living shadows. The hull was sleek and predatory, slicing through waves unnaturally fast.
At the helm stood the Queen of the Sea herself.
Jennie Kim
Her dark hair whipped violently in the wind, eyes sharp and gleaming with cruel satisfaction.
Phoenix stepped forward to the front rail of The Exodus, sword at her side, coat snapping behind her.
Jennie’s voice carried effortlessly across the water.
“Phoenix!” she called mockingly. “You’ve made this more dramatic than it needed to be.”
Phoenix’s dragon eyes flickered gold.
“Turn back,” Jennie continued smoothly. “Hand over your crown. Kneel. And I promise no blood will be shed.”
Phoenix let out a cold, humorless laugh.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Jennie tilted her head slightly.
“You always were stubborn.”
“And you,” Phoenix shot back, “always lied.”
The space between ships closed.
Jennie’s expression hardened.
“I offered mercy.”
Phoenix’s grip tightened around her sword.
“And I refuse.”
Anger flashed openly across Jennie’s face.
“So be it,” she snapped, turning sharply. “Board them. All three ships. Leave none standing.”
Grappling hooks flew.
Ropes snapped tight.
Enemy pirates swarmed like ants across the gap between ships.
Steel rang.
Gunfire cracked.
The war was no longer distant.
It was here.
Phoenix drew her sword in one smooth motion, the blade singing as it cleared its sheath.
Before she could advance further—
A figure landed gracefully on the deck before her.
Dark hair. Cold, calculating eyes. Twin blades glinting in her hands.
Jennie’s first mate.
Jisoo.
She smiled faintly.
“You should have surrendered.”
Phoenix didn’t hesitate.
Their swords clashed with a violent crack.
The impact sent sparks flying as the two women circled, boots sliding on smoke-damp wood. Around them, battle raged — Hongjoong shouting orders, Junmyeon cutting down an approaching attacker, cannons still roaring in the distance.
Jisoo struck fast.
Phoenix blocked.
Steel scraped against steel.
“You look tired, Pirate Queen,” Jisoo taunted.
Phoenix’s eyes burned brighter.
“I’ve survived worse than you.”
Jisoo lunged.
Phoenix twisted, blade slicing close enough to nick fabric at Jisoo’s shoulder.
Across the deck, the Miroh collided hard against the Pink Venom, pirates leaping between rails in brutal waves of violence.
Smoke choked the sky.
The ocean itself seemed to recoil.
And at the helm of the enemy ship, Jennie watched — patient. Smiling.
Waiting.
Phoenix felt it then.
This wasn’t just an attack.
It was personal.
And somewhere deep inside her, the same cold certainty returned —
Someone she loved would not walk away from this battle.
Jisoo attacked again, faster this time.
Phoenix met her head-on.
The war for the sea had truly begun.