"We've played a long chess game, you and I, and you've done far better than expected." Kane blustered as Emilee and her crew met him on the chessboard battle field. Kane stood on the opposite end with his elites at his side in a chess-like array. "How about one final match? To be sporting, I'll only use half my pieces- is that not generous?"

"Deacon? Rooke?" El Toro floundered. "But how?"

"They're only machines. It was expensive to replace the children you destroyed, but I managed." Kane explained simply. "Bishop, of course, you already know. Allow me to introduce Queen, greatest of my creations." He waved his gloved hand before a stuffy clockwork clothed in a thick, layered dress of gold and black.

"You flatter me, darling." It cooed in a feminine tone.

"Not at all," Kane said. "Kill them, my children. Kill them all." Thrusting forward quickly, Kane charged Emilee. His power and grace surprised her, but she was able to raise her sword and block his attack. She was forced to cower beneath him as his might overpowered her own.

In an attempt to regain her stance, she pushed his sword aside swiftly and lunged forward, stabbing at him. She missed, however, as he anticipated her move and evaded her blow. He jumped, spinning in air, and landed powerfully with his sword against her shield.

Emilee used all her strength to keep him up, feeling the extent of his power once more. I have to keep fighting, she told herself in exhaustion. I have to keep fighting. Thinking fast, she reached down, grabbed a potion from her belt, and in a single gulp, consumed it. She skirted forward and pushed him back. Kane leaped back gracefully against her shove.

To her surprise, he didn't use the opportunity to attack, but waved his sword and disappeared in a flash of light. Where did he go? She turned to see him reappear beside her. Stunned, she allowed Kane to swipe his sword before her face. He ripped through the seams of her mask, barely missing her skin, and it fell from her mouth, revealing her scarred face.

Kane stood back and erupted with teasing laughter, hollow and mechanical. She grabbed the ripped fabric and tore the rest of it off. Staring down at it, she grabbed the hood and pulled it down, hair falling from it free. It's time I ended this, she thought angrily. I will not be bested, and I will not be made a fool. She glanced up, surveying the area around her. Her companions were sprawled around the room, some still battling while others rested beside their fallen opponents, winded. But they saw her face with expressions of great astonishment.

Kane took advantage of her idleness and sprung into the air in a similar assault as before and swinging his blade in her direction. Emilee lunged out of the way and dodged. In a flash, she came back and swiped her sword, tearing a hole into his fancy overcoat. His odd, metal body was exposed through the hole she carved, leaving his cogs and wires out in the open. He glanced down at what she had done and in an act of frustration, he pulled out a pistol and fired it at her, spark hitting her leg.

Emilee grimaced and stepped back as he steered his sword under her feet, trying to off-balance her. She leaped, turning and twisting her body, and slammed down on top of him with her sword protruding into his mask, slicing through his "face." It dug down deep into his bearings, and she felt it tighten in her hands, complicating and stopping up his systems. She jumped down, watching him twitch and malfunction with distorted groans and pops. The Supreme Commander fell backwards, body moving uncontrollably, and finally whirring and buzzing to an electronic stop. Kane had finally met his end.

Emilee stepped forward, climbing onto his body. She reached down, ripped the sword out, and in a final show of dominance over her fallen enemy, she held the sword at Kane's face then pryed the damaged mask off. She picked it up and held it high. "Today the Spiral has won!" She cheered and stepped back down onto the chessboard. She winced, feeling the sting of her injured leg.

Bonnie Anne, Ratbeard, Catbeard, and El Toro gathered around her, rejoicing even in their own injuries.

"Finally, the Spiral is safe from that tyrant!" Bonnie smiled brightly.

"Kane finally met his match!" El Toro said.

"It's check mate fer ye, ye rusted tin can," Ratbeard spat. Emilee chuckled.

"It's finally the end," She muttered, tiredly. Her ears perked up.

"Daughter hear us!" Called a voice in the distance, catching the pirate and her crew's attention. It came from one of the crystals on the sides of the battle ground. It glowed pink and revealed the silhouettes of two ghostly pirates- her parents. She ignored the painful sting of her leg as she darted the crystal, falling to her knees.

"Hear us!" Called the second voice within the crystal. It was manly unlike the wispy first. Emilee could feel her eyes sting, filling with tears.

"El Dorado- let it go, my child!" The first voice- her mother- warned. "Gold is nothing. The Spiral is everything. You have saved it."

"Mom, Dad," she gasped with a tight throat. It was all she could do to hold back the tears.

"We are so proud of you. Now we shall know peace." Her father promised. Then, as quickly as they had come, they were gone and the crystal returned to the way it was.

Emilee painfully swallowed the sobs rising up in the back of her throat. She staggered to her feet, moaning at the ache in her wounded leg. She turned to face her crew, looking on with compassion. "They've gone on to a better place," Toro consoled. "But you'll never be alone, Captain. You'll always have a family."

"Arr, it's true." Ratbeard added. "Cap'n, ye're the best."

"Captain, are you alright?" Bonnie frowned. "Ye don't look well, and yer leg is bleeding."

"I-" Emilee stammered. The pain in her leg was growing in intensity, and she felt her head lighten. She stumbled back, Bonnie Anne hurrying to steady her. Emilee held onto her foxy companion as the others circled around, helping her up.

"We should get back to the ship," Catbeard suggested. "We need to find a life fountain quick, before she loses too much blood."

"No worries, Captain," El Toro assured her. "We'll have you fixed in no time." Emilee smiled to herself as her crew helped her to the staircase. We can finally go home, now. As a family.