Chapter Text
Oh, how he loved this.
The smell of everything burning, the cackle of his crewmates echoing through the stone hallways. The jingling of the treasure they stole.
Mako wouldn't give it up for nothing.
Mako Rutledge, that was his name. He was one of the most (if not THE most) feared pirate captain. He was ruthless, merciless when it came to pillaging. Some said that he didn't even need the money, he just liked to steal and keep it for himself. And they were right. He already had more than enough to live on riches his entire life, but so what? He wanted more. Specially if it came from those greedy noblemen hands.
Which is what they were doing that moment, in fact.
The night had started normally enough. Mako and his crew had approached a pub and proceeded to harass the bartender to give them nothing but alcohol. He and his crew were huge men, and they had to drink a lot to get to the state of stupor they were currently in.
Mako couldn't remember who was the one that came up with the idea. It started with one of his men saying how they should storm the King's castle, take everything they could and then leave. His idea had been followed by cheers and hollers, and after two rounds more of alcohol they actually got up and did it.
The alcohol made his head buzz, but it was pleasant. Mako ran his hook over the hallways, leaving deep gashes on the bricks. How he actually managed to get past the guards along with his crew was a mistery to him. Alcohol truly was something magical, he supposed.
Honestly, who cares? They had somehow managed to get inside the actual King's castle, and they were wrecking it. It was glorious, and it made Mako rumble in laughter. They didn't actually found the King, or their actual chambers, but they just went to break and steal whatever wasn't bolted to the floor.
Mako himself? He just kept destroying the expensive paintings, the expensive foreign vases and generally just ruining everything. They needed to leave, however. As strong as they were, Mako knew even drunk that it wasn't a good idea to linger in a castle full of royal guards. He had already butchered a good chunk of people, poor bastards that just happened to be there while he rampaged, but even he knew that they needed to leave.
"Let's go!" He yelled, the windows and walls rumbling due to the power of his voice. He heard cheers and yelling as his men retreated. Mako laughed, running towards the exit they made themselves.
He glanced at his men as they made their way towards their ship, and he saw all of them were carrying chests and bags. He smiled even if he wasn't carrying anything himself- he didn't care. He just liked to destroy things.
Mako could hear the men going after them, but they were far faster. No one would catch up to them. The moonlight shone their way as they finally got into their ship. They immediately sailed, leaving the port behind as the guards screamed for them. He and his crew just laughed into the night, their massive ship, the SeaHog, made her way through the waves and into the ocean.
As soon as they were far away from the coast, Mako turned to face his entire crew. He howled into the night, his crewmates doing the same. They lifted their blood soaked weapons into the sky, waving them and coating each other with the bloods of the victims they just killed for their night out. Mako lifted his hook and sure enough, it had bits of flesh and organs on the tip. At this point, they didn't care who they killed. Specially if those "who" were just nobles or working for them.
To be honest, at the moment he couldn't remember just how many people he killed. They must have been a lot, considering all the blood he had smeared on himself.
"We've had another successful raid!" Mako yelled out, and everybody cheered on. His voice slurred and so did theirs, still buzzed due to all the alcohol. Did they pay the bartender? Probably not. It's not a thing they normally do.
Mako laughed as his crew went nuts, throwing their golden coins and necklaces at the air. It was a good feeling.
They continued to celebrate for no special reason in particular. He adjusted his shark mask, already feeling the need to sleep.
One of Mako's most prominent features apart from his gigantic gut and his freakish height was his shark mask. It was an actual shark hide, a shark he personally punched to death. That had been a good day. The Shark had It's eyes replaced with lenses, and the mouth went over Mako's face. It had filters jammed in it. Not most people knew it, but Mako didn't have good lungs, so the filters were sometimes a necessity. However, it just inspired fear on his opponents. Good.
"Captain!" One of his men called out. "Captain Rutledge!" He called out again, his brown skin red due to all the alcohol.
"What do you want?!" Mako hollered from his position. The crewmate, Davey Craggs made wild motions with his big hands at Mako to come over.
"We got ya a present, Captain!"
He tilted his head, in confusion. Was it more riches? Mako made his way, his gait slightly tilted due to the alcohol. Davey was very drunk, as well. His crooked smile was flashing Mako, his eyes red while he could barely stand up. He was dragging a very, very large duffel bag.
"We stole ya somethin' up real good from tha castle." This piqued Mako's interest. He wondered what the hell his crewmates thought was interesting enough to give him. "We thought ye might like some... entertainment!"
They all proceeded to snicker, and now Mako was slightly furious that they were all in this stupid joke. Davey slammed the duffel bag into the ground, and he must have been really drunk because he could have sworn that it made a sound. It also seemed to move from the inside.
Wait, what?
Mako approached slowly as Davey opened the bag and dumped its contents unto the floor. A person was thrown into the floor, cursing and trying to scramble away. Davey stopped him with his boot, pressing it against the person's back pinning him down. Everybody around them laughed, but Mako tried to pay attention to the person.
"Stand up, clown!" Davey said as he let go the man. The figure scrambled to stand, and Mako could now fully see him.
The man was very tall, maybe even taller than some of his crew. Mako still was taller, but still was an impressive feat. However, as tall as he was he was very, very thin. Malnourished, even, with his hip bones and ribs poking out of his white skin. He wore rings and bells, along with a heavy necklace. His pants were tight and colorful, his coat colorful as well. Strange dyes decorated his hair turning it a shade of blue. His face was decorated with white make up, smeared now.
"...What is this? A jester?" Mako asked, tilting his head further examining the man. He was missing his right arm, replaced by a mechanical one. The man looked on edge, staring at everybody with his amber eyes. He couldn't be too old.
"Is the royal jester!" Davey laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the entire world. "We stole him! He can do tricks for us and the like!"
Mako was far too drunk for this. They don't take hostages- they just kill everybody until there are no hostages to take. But this... this was ridiculous. A gift?
Mako growled, gripping his hook and staring down at Davey. The burley man took notice immediately, sputtering terrified.
"W-we thought it would be funny, Captain! He can-he can make you laugh! Make us laugh! Do those fire tricks or those throwing balls thing jesters do! It- it got nothing to do with-"
He stopped himself before he said anything else. If Mako hadn't been so drunk, he would have gutted him right there.
It was no secret that there were rumors about Mako's Rutledge sexuality. He didn't care, whoever he fucked was no one's business. If they made it important, then Mako would just gut them like the vermin they were. His crew learned the hard way when one of them made a quip about it, and they had to clean his guts off the deck.
"Captain, ya been tense lately- we thought a jester would be a good idea." Another one of the crewmates said. Fair enough. It was a damn stupid idea, but at least it wasn't a joke on him needing a quick fuck.
The Jester was very quiet, completely still staring at them in horror. Mako raised his hook and pointed it at the jester, slightly threatening.
"What is your name?"
The man swallowed hard, just laughing. Mako pressed the tip of the hook on his throat. "I am not in the mood for stupidity."
"No need tha' be so fidgety," the Jester said still laughing. He was squirming. "Tha' name is Jamison Fawkes. Royal Jester at yer service!"
"Why shouldn't I just throw you overboard?"
The Jester bit his lip, staring up at Mako. "I can be entertainin'! I ain't the King's favorite jester just for nothin', Captain!"
God, this was stupid. He should just throw him off the ship and be done with it. His head was starting to hurt and the only thing Mako wanted to was to sleep. But now he had to deal with this.
"Jail him, I'll deal with him tomorrow" he instructed his crewmates. They all kind of stared, without actually doing a thing.
"I thought I gave you an order!" He yelled out, forcefully this time. They all caught on it, taking the man and dragging him away.
"Nice tha' meet ya Captain Rutledge!" Jamison yelled as he was dragged away. "Heard amazin' stories about ye! Will be a pleasure workin with ya!"
Mako huffed, dragging his hand down the mask.
This was going to be a long week.