Into the Dark, part 9 (after battle)

Um... So what's that on the board over there?

The number of gold coins assigned to... each crewman and woman.

We can collect 'em by fish...ing up useful stuff or by hunting Mermaids.

Hm... And who's the one paying you?

The Captain, ob...viously?

Are you saying that there is economic activity within the Whale's stomach?

What need of gold coins could you have in here? Let alone the means of procuring them?

Told ya. We'll be outta here in just... a little bit.

And once we're off this Whale, I'll get pa...id 63 gold coins.

With that much dough... I just might be able to snag myself a half...way decent ship. Unless the inflation's gone... nuts, that is.

Oh, by the way, ever be...en to the Marlin portship lately? Any chance you saw the sting...ray flattop grill place? I wonder if it's still... open.

Ohh... That sounds delish! Where is it?

Looks like Ahab's giving out gold coins to her crew for their labor.

The promise of a reward for services rendered... I'm sure that's a strong motivator.

Hey, Ishmael. You really caught me off... guard earlier.

Seriously, I didn't... think I'd find... you here, of all places.

When we're outta here, we should go cr...ash at a bar and drink rum straight from a bar...rel! We'll make it a competition, just like the good ol...d days!

Right, so did you get a chance to say hello to every...one? A little chat?

And oh m...an, you sure did grow your ha...ir out! Whatever happened to 'long hair is annoying'?

... That's a lot of questions at once.

I don't think any of them want to chat with me. I can tell from the looks they're giving me...

Sometimes, peo...ple from other... ships would join us in the village...

... But none of 'em lasted more than a d...ay. We're the only ones who's made it this long.

And it's all thanks to a solu...tion our Captain ca...me up with.

... A solution?

A way to stop our bodies and minds from turning pal...lid.

<What is it?>

As you can see... with...out our Captain, we would've long been turn...ed into Mermaids. Without the Captain, this village wouldn't exist.

So anyone that dares to anta...gonize the Captain... is our... enemy.

Because to stand against the Cap...tain is to stand against our very survival.

You've changed, Starbuck.

I remember you butting heads with the Captain all the time.

... Did I?

... Don't forget who trapped all of you here in the first place. Led us to our deaths.

Ishmael coldly walks past Starbuck before entering the office.

<I thought he was an old mate of yours?>

Starbuck... first mate of the Pequod.

He wanted to be a good person to everyone. And he was the closest of the crew to the Captain's ear.

Which meant that they also squabbled pretty often, but... it didn't matter in the end.

Ahab was equally indifferent to everyone anyway.

Please, excuse the state of my office.

A bottle of rum and this would have gone down much smoother. Yet, after all the time we've spent stuck in here... I've not seen a single bottle of it float its way in.

Executive Manager, allow me to take charge of this negotiation.

Ishmael... cannot be trusted to make a rational decision. And you, Executive Manager, cannot properly communicate with this woman. She will only hear your ticking sounds.

<Sure...>

Captain Ahab, is it? We...

Allow me to hazard a guess. You rowed in here, voluntarily, in search of something that the Pallid Whale devoured.

This means that you and your present company have also found a way to keep yourselves from turning into Mermaids.

... Well, I don't suppose there's any point hiding it when we've already come this far.

We are in search... of a certain object. Its appearance is as thus...

Don Quixote started explaining, looking around excitedly as though she expected the Captain to suddenly produce the Golden Bough from her pockets.

Wait, are we really going to just tell her everything? Why don't we talk about this between us first, and -

I know what you seek. A golden stick of sorts, I presume.

Am I wrong?

Wh-what?

We couldn't even deny her accusations thanks to Gregor's extremely telling reaction.

I know where to find it.

I can even bring you to it.

Hmph, how do we know that you aren't bluffing?

Yeah. W-what if you just overheard while we were talking...?

I shall prove it to you, then. From that branch emanates a very far-reaching golden light. Its glow is warm and bright, yet not bright enough to be blinding.

... It appears that she at least knows of a Golden Bough.

What she has just told us is more than what an unrelated individual should be able to know.

Hm... Still, I don't believe she's really about to tell us where the Bough is.

You presume that I would not part with this information? I have nothing to hide!

Ahab slammed the desk and leaned aggressively toward us.

She wore a knowing grin, as though she knew exactly what we wanted and what we were about to say to get it.

Let us speak plainly here. I have naught to hide from you. In fact, I daresay that it is you who are withholding things from me.

You called that stick the 'Golden Bough' did you? Well, then. That 'Golden Bough' is at the dead center of this accursed whale.

At the dead center...

The epicenter of this deep, resonant thumping. The spring of life that fuels this beast.

The heart. The heart that seeps with all that is evil in the world.

<…!>

But... You are in luck.

It just so happens to be that the Pequod has set course for that very same destination. And we plan to set sail in the very near future.

Because the only way out of the Whale is by destroying its heart.

That's interesting. I wonder if this is just a coincidence?

What's so interesting about it?

Isn't it interesting that, after all those years they spent preparing for their journey to the heart, we just happened to arrive as they were about to set sail~?

I have naught else to say but merely refer to the nature of fate. The threads of fate itself is weaved so that I, Ahab, shall be the one to pierce the heart of the Pallid Whale.

I have set more sails in the belly of this beast than the number of your gritted teeth combined. I have been to every nook and cranny of this place, all of which I clearly recall.

There is no method upon this earth that I have not attempted to pierce this beast's hide.

So allow me to preclude a few options for you. This beast's hide is as thick and impenetrable as R Corp.'s fortress. All the weapons in the world will not be able to pierce it.

Tried to stab it. With my Harpoon.

Wound it, yes. Puncture a hole, no.

Well, If you find my words so difficult to believe, then feel free to give it a try with your own weapons.

Mine attempts hardly left a mark...

If she's right, then... It won't matter what the Indigo Elder does, and it won't matter what LCA does...

It won't matter how hard they'll try, they can't get us out of here...

I... we know better than anyone.

The crushing pain of surviving at a place such as this with no hope of rescue. No sane mind survives such torment for long.

Behold my pitiful crew! They hold on, tooth and nail, to their sense of self as the pallid membrane tries to devour them whole!

Nothing here. Nothing. None.

We can do naught here but scavenge the flotsam that washes up to its stomach. Mermaid corpses Queequeg brings back from her hunts are our only source of subsistence.

Fins. Soft.

... How the heck did you guys even survive here...?

Faith. The faith that, as long as we foll...ow our Captain, she'll eventually lead us... out of here.

That's the hope we hold onto.

…….

Now, give my offer a listen.

I, Captain Ahab of the Pequod, the leader of the Pequod Town, have a responsibility to bring every single one of my crew home. Thus I make this offer to you.

I will destroy this bastard's heart. For long have I prepared; now, all that remains to be done is to set the plan in motion.

Our goals are the same, yet we each seek different treasures.

Assist me in my plan. We will hunt this Whale and escape, and the Golden Bough shall be yours.

... We must discuss this amongst ourselves first.

Take as much time as you want.

Ahab nodded with a generous smile. We huddled in one corner of her office to discuss this.

The boat that carried us here is beyond salvaging.

Thus, it follows that we require a new boat for us to escape the Whale.

Moreover, moving across the bodily fluids of this Whale is necessary if we are to conduct an investigation of its interiors. For that, we require a new boat.

Hmph, then commandeering their vessel is also one of our options -

Guys, they can hear us! Pipe down!

Our ship. Hard to sail. Complex.

Only Pequod crew can handle Pequod boats.

What'd I say...?

... How much time would it take if we were to build a boat from scratch?

Considering that we possess no necessary materials, considering that we must reinforce it to be resistant to the Whale's acid... The estimated time of completion is...

<No, no. Let's... not even think about that.>

Let's not.

Ha, so that's your offer? I could smell your bullshit coming from a mile away.

She's not changed one bit. Driving people to their deaths with bullshit that, at a glance, seems plausible.

... Nothing's changed.

Yeah... there's something off about her. Maybe we should just do this ourselves...

Right. Never trust something that requires too much explainin'.

I think they've spent a long time building a plan to destroy the heart and escape this place... Can we really do it on our own, from scratch?

I... also don't know how long we could hold out in here.

Yeah... That Captain probably knows this place better than anyone...

So our other options are... either turn into Mermaids and kill each other, or remain trapped in here forever. Are they really the only alternatives we've got?

The Red Gaze shall not abandon us...! Bwaah hah haaah...

We're having trouble coming to an agreement. I will mediate. Let's battle to the last person standing, and have them decide.

The Sinners were all expressing their opinions... which were all very diametrically opposed to one another with little hope of meeting somewhere in the middle.

And I...

... was unnerved by how easily Ahab managed to see right through us.