| Francis Drake vs. Faris Scherwiz | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season | 3 |
| Season Episode | 2 |
| Air date | 5/16/2023 |
| Written by | Koboldy |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Adam Taurus vs. Ramattra |
Next Aki Hayakawa vs. Percival de Rolo |
Francis Drake vs. Faris Scherwiz is Episode 22 in Koboldy’s Death Battles. It features Francis Drake from Type-Moon’s Fate series, and Faris Scheriz from Square-Enix’s JRPG Final Fantasy V.
Description[]
Fate vs. Final Fantasy! Yar-harr, me hearties! In this nautical duel to the death, which of the these captains find their end in the briny depths of Davy Jones’ Locker?
Interlude[]
Wiz: The age of pirates. Terrifying, sea-faring scallywaygs that stole and pillaged all across the seven seas.
Boomstick: It was a time of manliness and machismo!...Which, y’know, made it all the more difficult for the lady pirate captains out there to get their respect!
Wiz: Sir Francis Drake, English pirate and Servant in the Moon Holy Grail War.
Boomstick: And Faris Scherwiz, pirate captain and secret daughter of King Tycoon.
Wiz: And it’s our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills, to find out who would win…a Death Battle.
Francis Drake[]
(Fate/Grand Order - The Blockade Lifted: Okeanos)
Boomstick: Ah, the 1500s! The…well, not really the Golden Age of Piracy. That came later. But it’s when Sir Francis Drake roamed the seas anyway!
Wiz: English explorer and privateer, Sir Francis Drake set the stage for what is largely considered a “pirate” nowadays. Though he was an English naval officer in life, his conquests of the Spanish armada lead his opponents to dub him the pirate “El Draque”.
Boomstick: But this is Fate we’re talking about here, not actual history! And if Fate likes anything more than big boobs, it’s turning historically male figures into women and giving them huge boobs!
Wiz: In the Fate universe, Sir Francis Drake was actually a woman. Though she could knock back with the best of them, her crew didn’t want to admit they serve under a woman, and her opponents didn’t want to admit they lost to one.
Boomstick: Originally appearing in Fate/Extra, Drake was the first opponent that the MCs are forced to fight in the funky tournament arc on the moon. In a computer. I think?
Wiz: Servant of Shinji Matou and a Rider Class Servant, originally, Drake was but a steppingstone in terms of the grand scheme of Fate/Extra’s story. But her design, brash nature, and general personality gave way to her becoming much more prominent within Fate/Grand Order’s storyline.
Boomstick: Protagonist of the Okeanos Singularity, a world covered in water! And before even meeting Ritsuka Fujimaru she took down freakin’ Poseidon and stole his Holy Grail! And her wish upon the grail? Infinite food and booze! Now that’s a woman who knows how to party!
Wiz: Of course, Poseidon was in a heavily weakened state compared to his appearance later within Fate/Grand Order’s story, but, that’s beside the point. Francis Drake became a valuable ally to Ritsuka and Chaldea, serving as their travel across the oceans, an incredible captain, and heavy duty muscle.
Boomstick: Keep in mind, the Drake in Okeanos isn’t a Servant. She’s just the regular ass Francis Drake who’s able to smack heads with other Servants and big-ass bruisers like Asterios the Minotaur and freakin’ Heracles!
Wiz: While Drake is no slouch in melee combat of course, her true strength comes from ranged combat. Her flint lock pistols back an incredible amount of force behind them, and her Noble Phantasm, Golden Wild Hunt, allows her to summon her entire fleet of ships anywhere she wishes to barrage the enemy.
Boomstick: And even though they needed an out-of-the box strategy to take out all of Heracles’ lives, this is still a dude who manages to output 39 megatons with a single strike!
Wiz: Don’t mistake Drake as a “rough and tumble” brainless pirate, however. Not only did she recall back to the Jewish stargazers when told the name of Chaldea, but she was also able to concoct a plan to get Jason of the Argonauts to assist Chaldea in the Atlantis Lostbest.
Boomstick: Yeah, see, when Drake was summoned to Atlantis she picked another fight with Poseidon. Managing to nab one of his cores- oh, uh, yeah, Greek Gods are all mechs in Fate bee tee dubs. And sending him into a bit of a frenzy, cursing Drake so she could never sail the seas. So, she took up residence as a bartender on Heracles Island.
Wiz: Chaldea needed a ship captain. And Drake wasn’t able to do so. Jason, however, was. But between the death of his closest friend and his own lack of self-confidence, Jason was content to just drinking it up and wasting away his days on Heracles Island. So, she came up with a plan to get his butt in gear.
Boomstick: Bringing the eye of the Olympians on top of them! Dangerous as fuck? Yeah. Did it work? Also yeah! Drake got one last bit of assistance in to Chaldea, while flipping a metaphorical middle finger to the gods as Chaldea took their leave of the place with a buncha allies in tow! She may have died there, but she died like a goddamn champ!
Wiz: Of course, being a Servant, it wasn’t like she was, yknow. Dead dead. And of course, her being a Servant means she comes with a whole host of immunities, resistances, and general powerful abilities.
Boomstick: And considering how often we’ve talked about it, we’re gonna get one last bit in. That’s right, baby, we’re talking about lightspeed Servants!
Wiz: And like most Servants, Drake has a number of personal skills attached to her that give her innate benefits. Though not all of them are combat applicable, they can certainly help Drake turn the tide of battle.
Wiz: And Drake’s Noble Phantasm, Golden Wild Hunt, is an A+ ranked Anti-Army type Noble Phantasm. While calculating the exact power that Golden Wild Hunt is able to output is a bit tricky, being an A+ Rank Noble Phantasm that is specifically meant to take out armies means that it is comparable to others in its class. Such as Mordred or Siegfried, both of which were able to contend with Fafnir.
Boomstick: Ah, good ‘ol reliable Fafnir. Nothing beats powerscaling to him!
Wiz: The summoning of Drake’s Noble Phantasm also generally summons a thunderstorm and raging waves in addition to the rest of her fleet. While not necessarily anything related to power, it could still prove useful in some esoteric circumstances.
Boomstick: Plus it’s REALLY cool.
Wiz: It is really cool.
Boomstick: Drake may speak like a stereotypical “yo ho ho and a bottle o’ rum” style pirate, but she’s anything except stereotypical! Servants pack one hell of a punch, and underestimating her could mean your sunset.
Faris Scherwiz[]
(Final Fantasy 5 - Pirates Ahoy!)
Wiz: 1000 years ago, a wizard known as Enuo threatened the world with the power of The Void. However, despite several warriors rising up to stop him, The Void that he summoned could not be contained. Though The Void itself swallowed Enuo, the warriors ended up splitting the power of the Crystals that powered their world into two different sets. Creating a second world, with The Void acting as a dimensional rift in between these two worlds.
Boomstick: Things were pretty hunky-dory up until those aforementioned thousand years passed! Then things started to get a little funky. The same crystals that were powering the world and controlling its elements? Yeah, things were getting a bit out of hand.
Wiz: Bartz, an adventurer, Lenna, the princess of Tycoon, and Galuf, an amnesiac from a meteorite set out for the Wind Shrine to fix the issue. However, they need a mode of transportation. And without wind, there seemingly are no ships that can take them to it…until a ship, seemingly powered by itself, strode into port.
Boomstick: Of course, that ship was a pirate ship powered by a sea dragon, but hey! Can’t be too picky! And rather than simply asking for a ride, the trio opted to do what any right thinking folk would do and try to steal it!
…
It uh.
Didn’t work.
Wiz: In comes pirate captain Faris, who locks the three hijackers in the brig. Even threatening to ransom Lenna to make a tidy profit. But Faris realized something about Lenna. Specifically, that she wore the same pendant that Faris wore on their person. After a short consideration, Faris opted to go with the group.
Boomstick: And as it would later turn out, the manly pirate captain? Not only was he actually she, but she was also Lenna’s long-lost sister! Something that Faris initially vehemently denied and refused to admit, but eventually came to terms with…just as, uh, her papa kicked the bucket.
Wiz: Behind the scenes, a collection of evil spirits had gathered into one entity: a tree in the other world that had been split away. The tree took the name ExDeath, and though Galuf and three other warriors had managed to seal him away, the seal would only last for so long.
Boomstick: In order to claim the power of The Void that had been sealed in the interdimensional rift, ExDeath had to merge the two worlds back together. And destroying the crystals in both worlds was the fastest way to do so, extending his influence and possessing several people within Faris’ world to destroy them.
Wiz: And one such possessed target was King Tycoon, Lenna and Faris’ father. Though he was snapped out of his possession by Galuf’s daughter Krile, the Earth Crystal still shattered due to Tycoon’s actions. Freeing ExDeath from its seal. And not wanting his daughters to lose their lives, Tycoon gave up his life to save them. And while initially Galuf and Krile were going back to their world to stop ExDeath, Faris, Bartz, and Lenna made their decision to come with. Resolved to stop ExDeath from causing any more harm.
Boomstick: And granted, the crystals breaking wasn’t all bad…well, it was mostly bad. But y’know. In response to being put in danger and shattering, the crystals granted the four heroes incredible amounts of power. Each one granting more and more abilities and spells to use in their fight against ExDeath.
Boomstick: Damn, I think that may be more classes than a college student’s yearly schedule.
Wiz: Granted, Faris can’t utilize every single one of these classes at the same time. At least in most canon appearances. However, due to how the class system in Final Fantasy 5 works, Faris does have access to at least two class abilities at the same time. Giving her great versatility in terms of combat. Not only that, but compared to her allies, Faris is generally more of a jack-of-all-trades in terms of stats. Meaning she can utilize both physical and magical combat effectively.
Boomstick: And hoo boy did she need it. Faris has fought beings such as Titan and Ifrit before, whose power levels has been stated to equal out to 2.5 teratons and 1 exaton worth of TNT respectively! And if that wasn’t proof enough, Faris can summon these same beings through usage of the summoner class!
Wiz: The rest of Faris’ story plays out about how you would expect. Faris and her group, now dubbed the Warriors of Light, travel through the other world and eventually into the dimensional rift itself. Defeating beings such as Gilgamesh-
Boomstick: AND WE WILL NOT BE TOUCHING GILGAMESH SCALING!
Wiz: And eventually, through the assistance of the former Warriors of Dawn, ExDeath itself. Who managed to speed across the planet itself at .0109C or 3,252,452 meters per second.
Boomstick: That’s one fast f***ing tree.
Wiz: And of course, once the Warriors of Light did make it into the dimensional rift to confront ExDeath, he had already absorbed part of the power of The Void. Becoming Neo ExDeath, a being that threatened reality itself.
I am Neo Exdeath! All memories...dimensions...existence... All that is shall be returned to nothing. Then I, too, can disappear... ...forever!!!
Boomstick: Honestly it sounds like he just needs a therapist to me.
Wiz: In the end, while Faris would reunite with her sister after sealing ExDeath once more, she couldn’t quite help herself. She simply became too used to her pirate days, and she took back to the seven seas. Though she and the rest of her friends would stay in touch and vow to protect the world should it come under threat once more.
DEATH BATTLE![]
*BOOM*
(Kingdom Hearts 3 - Flags of Fury)
The sound of cannon fire was heard across the night sky as the battle between the two pirate ships started without provocation.
Well, “without provocation” wasn’t entirely true. Any pirate worth their salt would know why these two captains had started battle without a word to one another. The Golden Hind was recognizable to any sea-faring adventurer, helmed by the fearsome Sir Francis Drake. On the opposite end of this conflict was the ship helmed by the infamous Faris Scherwiz. The sight of the sea dragon attached to the helm of his ship is more than enough to ward off any potential scallywags who would dare to challenge him.
Normally, these two would simply see each other and go their separate ways, neither one wanting to incur the wrath of the other. But this was no normal situation. As between the two captains, lay an island. An island that had a massive source of wealth buried on it. The treasure was ripe for the taking.
All it would take is one sunk ship.
“What’s the hold up ye mutts?! Load the cannons!” Drake barked orders, her pink hair blowing in the wind as she stood atop the railing on the side of her ship. Facing down the enemy captain as her crew scurried around The Golden Hind, arming every battle station they could.
*BOOM*
Another cannonball was fired from the side of the warships, this time belonging to the purple-haired pirate captain that also found himself standing atop a railing with confidence.
Although in this particular case, “he” was a “she”.
“Is that the best you got?! Here I thought ‘El Draque’ would bring out more firepower!” Faris bellowed, a smirk on her face as she pointed her blade towards her opponent.
“Hah! Ya got brass if nothin’ else, kid!” Drake responded in turn, smile wide before she motioned to the rest of her crew.
“Alright, lads! We’re movin’ to board! Get in position!” Drake barked her orders to her crew, as the helmsman spun the wheel and shifted the ship’s course. Aiming to board the pirate ship that Faris helmed.
“Pah! Ya must have coral for brains if ya think it’ll be that easy! Men! Intercept them!” Faris, in return, commanded her own crew to prevent Drake’s tactics.
Certain to say, the waves would be rough tonight.
FIGHT!
The Golden Hind maneuvered quickly, far faster than any other ship of its kind, especially despite its large size. Though Faris wouldn’t let herself be overtaken so easily.
“Syldra! Blow ‘em away!” Hopping off the railing, Faris quickly slammed her palm onto the floor of her ship. The sea dragon at the helm coming to life as it roared, the purple beast opening its maw as it moved Faris’ ship. Syldra’s head pointed directly at The Golden Hind, as it blasted wind and lighting from its mouth towards Drake’s ship. Several of Drake’s crew members being knocked off the ship into the briny depths due to the sudden gust. Though Drake held firm, merely laughing in the face of it all. Likewise slamming her palm onto the boards of her ship.
“Is that all!? Let’s see how yer dragon likes the taste of gunpowder!” Drake bellowed, her ship tinged with a slight golden glow as it continued to move against the wind and thunder the dragon blasted from its maw.
*BOOM*
Several cannons fired from The Golden Hind, the cannonballs launching towards Faris’ ship at high speeds. Most of them missing their target due to being blown off course by Syldra’s Thunderstorm spell, landing uselessly in the water.
But one directly hit into the mouth of Syldra, causing the sea dragon to recoil. Shaking its head as the effects of the cannon shot took hold.
“C’mon now, just a bit closer!” Drake shouted as The Golden Hind pushed its way towards Faris’ ship, the waves crashing underneath Drake’s ship as the golden glow pushed its way towards its target.
“Not on yer life!” Faris responded in kind, sheathing her blade as magic began to swell around her. A great mass of flames surrounding her as it was quickly channeled into a great ball of fire, aimed directly towards The Golden Hind.
“FIRAGA!” Faris shouted, the ball of flames descending up The Golden Hind. Exploding into a massive inferno as it consumed Drake and her entire ship with it. A confident smile on Faris’ face as the night sky tinged orange from the flames atop the water.
And yet, from the flames emerged the shadow of a ship. Much to Faris’ surprise, as The Golden Hind burst forward from the flames. The fire had set part of her ship alight, but they were quickly snuffed out as the wind blew against the galleon. Scorch marks, and a few toasty crew members, but hardly anything life threatening.
And as Syldra raised its head once more to try and ignore Drake’s attack, it found itself too slow. The might and speed of The Golden Hind proved to be far too fast for Faris’ comparatively smaller ship to handle. As the sound of wood breaking and crashing waves were heard as The Golden Hind rammed straight into Faris’ ship. Rocking the entire boat as Drake stood at the helm, arms crossed and broad smile on her face.
“You’re not half bad lookin’ now that we’re up close and personal, ya know.” Drake taunted, her eyes narrowing with a newfound cockiness.
“Fine then!” Faris shouted, drawing her blade once more. Drake and her crew boarding Faris’ ship as the calm before the next storm was here. “Let’s settle this like men, shall we?”
Drake responded in kind, pulling out one of her flintlock pistols and firing it into the air like a starting pistol. A wide smile on her face as the two crews ran forward, crashing into each other before their captains did.
“Took the words right out of me mouth!”
Faris took the first initiative, swinging her blade at Drake who deftly dodged the swing. Raising her pistol and firing it at Faris; though the swashbuckler effortlessly parried the bullet. The sheen of the blade flashing against the night sky as Drake’s bullets found themselves rendered useless. Faris taking another swing as she grew close to Drake. But the pink-haired pirate retaliated swiftly, blocking Faris’ blade with her right-handed pistol as the two locked eyes. Faris’ sporting a look of surprise on her face as the simple gun provided a powerful enough defense to parry Faris’ strike.
*BANG*
And before Faris could even process the movement, Drake whipped out her second flintlock and fired it directly at Faris’ stomach. Though the woman didn’t buckle, she certainly hissed in pain as the bullet lodged its way into her skin. Drake took advantage of the situation by raising her right boot and slamming her foot into Faris’ stomach. Knocking the woman backwards as Drake spun her pistols in her hands before firing them rapidly. Each one hitting with the force of a cannonball, yet near faster than the sounds of the guns firing themselves.
“Cripes…” Faris groaned under her breath, dodging, parrying, and getting struck by the seemingly infinite number of bullets aimed directly towards her. Not to mention the bullet that was still currently lodged in her stomach. “Don’t ya ever need to reload those things!?”
Drake couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh at that comment, merely continuing to unload the chambers of her pistols as she watched Faris dance. Dodging and blocking the onslaught of bullets, her grin wide as Faris caught strays every so often. The blood splattered across Faris’ ship as her body found itself full of holes.
“Tsk…” Faris’ blade glowed with a magical energy as she continued to defend against Drake’s barrage. After one more swing of her blade to deflect another bullet, the spell went off.
“STOP!” And suddenly, everything came to a freezing halt. Drake’s skin and clothes turned grey like stone as she froze in place. A sigh leaving Faris’ lips as she cast another spell. A green aura overtaking her as her wounds regenerated. But just as that calm came, it was just as quickly eroded.
*BANG*
Faris narrowly dodged another gunshot from Drake’s pistols, the pink-haired captain now fully moving once more.
“Whew! Felt all tingly there for a moment!” Drake smirked as she fired another bullet aimed directly at Faris’ skull, parried by the pirate’s blade. But even still, faced with this opponent, Faris simply smirked just the same as Drake did. As her blade once more flashed with the magical energy that she wielded, a translucent sheen enveloped her body as she suddenly stopped trying to dodge or parry any of the bullets.
Dashing forward, each bullet landing, but none drawing blood and they found themselves seemingly stuck to Faris’ clothes. Blade in hand, Faris took a swing at the opposing pirate captain. Drake raising her pistol to defend against the strike, though Faris would not relent. Slash after slash as sparks flew off the clashing weapons, Drake finding herself pushed further and further back until her back was at the edge of the ship.
“Off to the briny depths with ye!” Delivering a forward kick to Drake, breaking her defenses as she was shoved off of the ship. The sound of splashing water indicating that Drake fell into the ocean beneath. Faris waited a few moments to see if she would reappear.
And a few more moments.
And just a few more…
…
Silence.
A smile on Faris’ face as she turned to see her crew. Battered, but victorious. As most of Drake’s had either fallen or surrendered. The treasure on the island now ripe for the taking.
“Alright, men! To buried treasure, we go!”
~
As Faris’ ship landed on the sandy beach of, she too disembarked from the boat. Syldra taking a well-earned nap as Faris’ boots stamped across the sand. The map in her hands led her towards where the treasure was buried.
*BANG*
One of the men that accompanied her slumped over, bullet in his skull as his blood dripped onto the sand.
*BANG BANG*
One by one, her chosen crew fell. As Faris’ head whipped around back towards the sea she had just come from. There stood the opponent she thought had drowned in the salty brine of the water. Pistols smoking with a smile on her face.
“I’ve been the victim of more than a few plank-walkins in my time, lass.” Drake stated, pointing her left pistol at her target. Cocky smile on her face just as when they fought on the ship. “Swimmin’ back to shore just came natural to me!”
Faris gripped her sword, but even still, she couldn’t resist the smile that crept up on her face. For a pirate like herself, there was no thrill in finding treasure without a little bit of challenge to it. And Drake felt the same way. Without a bit of blood being spilt, could a scallywag really say that they earned the prize they did? And with a snap of Faris’ fingers, the battle began once more. Syldra snapping back to the waking world as it opened its maw once more, energy surging in its mouth as it prepared to blast Drake with its control over wind and lightning. The sound of tornados and thunder crashing as Syldra bellowed, Drake’s head turning to meet with the eyes of the sea dragon, though her expression was unchanged even in the face of the monster in front of her.
Drake casually dodged out of the way of the blast, though Syldra was not the only opponent she faced. As Faris launched a two-pronged assault, between both her and her closest ally. As Drake dodged both sword swings and lightning bolts with relative ease, firing off shots in between dodges that just barely scraped Faris’ skin. The two swashbucklers not landing any solid blows on the other, though glancing blows certainly added up.
However, it wasn’t long before Drake spotted a weak point. Neither of them were renowned swordsman, and though their fighting styles differed, Drake could still spot a sloppy strike when she saw one. And as she dodged one more slash and delivered another boot to Faris, knocking her off balance, the real hunt began.
“Now to bring out the big guns!” Drake declared as she whipped around, four cannons summoned behind her as they took aim towards Syldra. Beams of light blasting forth from all four weapons as they struck the dragon in its face. The beast letting out one final blood-curdling scream before it slumped back underneath the waves, its eyes lifeless and empty. Faris’ eyes went wide as she recovered from Drake’s strike.
“SYLDRA!!!” Faris screamed, charging Drake with blade in hand. Her left arm stretching wide as she channeled magic within it, her running speed growing faster and faster by every millisecond until she was nothing more than a blur. A look of surprise on Drake’s face as her eyes darted around, struggling to keep up with the moving target. Until she felt Faris’ blade enter her chest from her, a splash of blood splattering across her face as she looked down at the blade that plunged through her.
“Tsk. Missed yer heart. Aren’t you a lucky bastard?” Faris spat out, removing her blade from Drake’s chest as the pink haired pirate stumbled briefly. A hiss of pain leaving Drake’s lips as the sword removed itself from her chest, her wound a bloody bright red as her heart began to beat faster and faster.
(Kingdom Hearts 2 - He's a Pirate)
Before long, however, she started to laugh.
“It’s been a minute since I had a fight like this, y’know!! Gotta give credit where it’s due, you’re somethin’ else!” Drake declared, as Faris too reciprocated Drake’s smile. It had been a while since she had such a splendid battle.
…but even still, as she glanced back at the sea where Syldra returned, there were some crimes that could not be forgiven. As she raised her blade, this time aiming at Drake’s neck. But now, the rush had gotten to Drake. As she quickfired one of her pistols directly at Faris’ sword hand, Faris hissing as the bullet lodged into the side of her hand. Her blade going flying behind her as it landed in the sand.
“Hah! Looks like you’ve been disarmed, lass! What’s yer plan now?” Drake taunted, pistol aimed at Faris. Faris gritted her teeth and clenched her fist, as she launched towards Drake. Dodging her pistol as she swung her right hand, socking Drake in her left cheek. The pink-haired pirate recoiling from the sudden punch, a look of surprise on her face that quickly turned to that same boisterous laughter.
“A scrapper! Knew I was right to like ya!” Faris swung for the head with a well-placed kick, though once more it was dodged by Drake, who retaliated by sweeping at Faris’ legs. Though the purple-haired pirate jumped to evade the strike, a quick, well-aimed bullet lodged its way into Faris’ right shoulder. And with a quick spin, many more bullets went flying. As Drake was practically turned into a tornado of bullets, shredding Faris’ skin as she was pushed backwards by the crazed volley. But with a bit of ducking and weaving through the metallic hailstorm, Faris got up close and personal. Returning all the damage in kind with a sharp right hook to Drake’s face, sending the woman spiraling through the air as she slid across the sand. A smile on her face as she wiped the blood off of her cheek and she readjusted her jaw. Faris casually walking over and retrieving her blade, finally flicking Drake’s blood off of it.
“Alright then…” Drake pulled herself off of the ground, dusting her coat off as she stood tall, spinning her pistols in her hands before pointing them at Faris. “Looks like it’s time to start showin’ off!”
Faris, meanwhile, gave no response to the joyous Drake. Charging her down, blade tightly gripped as Drake started to channel magical energy into herself. Raising her head high as the same four cannons that took out Faris’ beloved dragon blasted Faris, the beams of light that shot forth moving far too fast for Faris to engage with. Merely needing to prevent herself from taking any massive damage as she casted Protect once more. Her body feeling weight of Drake’s attack as she was pushed backwards by the four cannons. Not to mention the light beams that attacked Faris blinded her.
“Remember my name by the death of my passing! Temeroso el Draque!” Though she could certainly still hear Drake speak. Powering through the cannon blasts as she charged her blade with holy light, overpowering Drake’s cannons with light of her own.
“I am the woman who set the sun! You rascals, it’s time! The King of Storms, a swarm of ghosts!” And with one swing, the light was cut through cleanly as if it were a strip of paper. And the cannons disappeared as well, giving Faris ample opportunity to the bullet coming straight towards her as Drake finished her speech.
“This is the beginning of the Wild Hunt!” And with those final words, the bullet lodged itself into Faris’ shoulder, sending the woman down to the ground as she saw what Drake had done. Backflipping onto the pirate ship that had emerged from the sea. The same one that had crashed into her ship not hours ago.
The Golden Hind.
“It’s not just me you’re dealin’ with anymore, lass!” Drake shouted as The Golden Hind took flight, Faris’ hand going to her injured shoulder as she watched this all unfold. A fierce thunderstorm now brewing as The Golden Hind ascended into the sky. And with it, several golden portals appeared behind it. Summoning many other ships, all belonging to the infamous captain herself: El Draque.
“Tsk…” Faris cursed herself as she struggled to pull herself back up on her feet. Though she was loathe to admit it, the fight had taken its course on her. She had grown weakened and tired.
“FIRE!” Drake ordered, as every ship in her battalion opened fire on Faris’ current position. The pirate captain having lost the energy to move.
“Am I strong enough, Syldra?” Faris muttered to herself, as she raised her head towards the incoming attack. A glimmer in her eye and a shine on her body as she took it head on, knowing that there was nowhere to escape to even if she started to move now. A near-nuclear detonation occurring at Faris’ location as she felt her body being annihilated and torn asunder. Her screams near overpowering the booming thunder and heavy rain.
And it was still for a moment. As the dust settled from the sky bombardment, it didn’t take long before it was revealed that Faris yet lived. Battered, bloody, and haggard. But live she did. A smile crept across Drake’s face as her foe still stood. Faris raised her hand, and with a single name called, even the normally unflappable Drake was phased.
“BAHAMUT! I CALL UPON THEE!” In the sky, a black portal appeared. A summoning circle, not unlike the one that was used to summon Drake before she wished for reincarnation upon the Holy Grail. But instead of a person, out came a massive, black dragon. Its maw opened as a blood-curdling roar was heard all across the planet. The ships in Drake’s Wild Hunt fired, but the dragon was completely unperturbed by the cannon blasts. As a dark blue energy gathered in its mouth before it let loose.
Megaflare, as it was known to all those who suffered from the might of the god of the skies. Tearing through Drake’s entire fleet as if it was merely swatting flies. Drake herself quickly abandoned ship lest she be burnt to a crisp by Bahamut’s blue flames. Landing back into the sand as she looked back towards the sky, the black dragon disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. She had to admit one thing: not only was Faris persistent, but she was also extremely unpredictable.
So unpredictable, in fact, that she didn’t even notice Faris charging her down at incredible speeds. Blood staining her face as she was in Drake’s personal business in a blink of the eye.
And within that same blink of an eye.
*SCHWING*
Faris swung her sword. And for Drake, it took a moment to process what had happened. As her right arm was lopped off of her body, Faris’ sword sliced clean through her skin and bone. Her anger towards her fallen comrade delivered in that final swing. A combination of a wizard’s spells, a berserker’s rage, and a samurai’s skill allowing her to get this far in the first place. She had drained nearly all of her magical power to survive though gritted, bloodied teeth and take Drake’s arm. As the bloody limb fell uselessly in the sand, Drake was in shock. As her eyes glanced down to the stump where her arm used to be.
“I guess this is it, huh?” Drake said, a bit of solemness to her voice. As she tossed away the pistol in her left hand. Summoning a sword to it instead as she took a quick swing at Faris, nicking Faris’ cheek with his strike. “Well, let’s just get to it, shall we?!”
With a boisterous laugh, Drake and Faris engaged in one final duel. No magic, no additional summons, just raw power as the two clashed head-to-head. Steel sparks lighting up the night sky, sparks that just as quickly were washed away by the cold rain that had been summoned. Parries, feints, and strikes carved the night sky. As the pair of pirates danced their dance, blades clashing with no end in sight.
But every story had its end. And pirates only lived forever through their legacies.
“Augh!” The sound of blades tearing through flesh was one of the last things this island heard. As the loser stumbled backwards, their wounds had become too much for them to continue.
“Guess that’s the end of this adventure, huh?” The pirate glanced to her bloody stump of an arm before throwing her head back in laughter. It was a shame that she lost, but hey, she had a hell of a time. And there was no greater joy in this world than living a good life.
“Syldra…let’s end this.” Faris spoke, using the last of her magical energy to summon the spirit of her fallen friend. The waves crashed as the sea dragon emerged from the ocean, its maw opened once more as it charged its Thunderstorm. Faris likewise charging a final spell herself. Though she wasn’t quite a “believer” in the gods, she had hoped that a Holy spell such as this would bring a swift end.
“What do you do with a drunken sailor, what do you do with a drunken sailor…” Drake hummed to herself as her fate was imminent. And before long…
*FSHHHHBOOM!!!*
The blast detonated, sending smoke throughout the sky as the aftermath of their combined attacks set in. Drake was no more. Reduced to dust in the rain as Syldra too began to disappear. Faris’ friend had fell, but they were hardly forgotten. The purple-haired pirate pulling out the treasure map once more as she slowly limped towards her destination.
KO!
Conclusion[]
(Final Fantasy 5 – Pirates Ahoy!)
Boomstick: And there goes the manliest woman I know…
Wiz: While Drake certainly had her own advantages in this fight, it was simply too steep of a cliff to climb to defeat Faris, even if the seafarer was known for doing the impossible.
Boomstick: Drake was waaaaaaaaay faster in terms of reaction speed to Faris. And due to the combination of her nature as a Servant and her Personal Skills, she could probably survive against tougher opponents for longer than anyone would expect. Not to mention that a lot of Faris’ offensive magic wouldn’t come into play due to Servant Physiology and Magic Resist.
Wiz: However, that only mattered for Faris’ spells that targeted her specifically. Faris could easily buff herself up via Time Magic or her Mystic Knight abilities. Offsetting or potentially even coming up even in terms of speed, while only further increasing her offensive capabilities.
Boomstick: Yeah, unfortunately for Drake, Faris’ sheer variety in terms of what she’s capable of doing was one of the main factors in her loss. Hard to keep up with someone who can throw out fifty different types of magic while also swinging around a sword like a champ.
Wiz: Of course, even if we went by strict gameplay terms, that would mean that Faris would only have access to two sets of class abilities…which, unfortunately for Drake, is all Faris really needed. Time Magic and White Magic were the main cruxes of Faris’ victory, and while classes like Mystic Knight, Chemist, Summoning, etc. would be useful, they weren’t actively as game changing as these two.
Boomstick: Faris can heal herself with Curaga and Regen, speed herself up with Hastega and Quick, increase her durability with Protect and Blink…it was a stacked hand of cards that Faris had! And while Faris had a limited supply of MP, with her incredible power output compared to Drake, it was hard to say whether or not she would drain all of her MP before the fight was over.
Wiz: Pioneer of the Stars meant that Drake could get pretty lucky and, again, survive far longer than anyone would have thought her too. But that can only get a Servant so far. After all, it didn’t save her during the Olympus Lostbelt, so it clearly has some limits when turning “impossibilities” into “possibilities”.
Boomstick: Remember that at base level, Faris’ power output was comparable to Ifrit, considering she and her group defeated him pretty early in the game. A power output that was equal to 1 exaton worth of TNT. Compared to Drake scaling to Fafnir, Faris just came out way superior. And that’s without even touching Neo ExDeath’s statement that he could destroy all of the multiple realities that exist within the FFV world!
Wiz: Drake had a lot to talk up. Her speed, sheer tenacity, and unwillingness to bow to fate is something to be praised. But against Faris’ variety of powerful spells and raw strength, she simply came up short.
Boomstick: Drake could beat the crap out of anyone who looked at her wrong, but against Faris, she got her Golden Hindquarters kicked.
Wiz: The Winner is Faris Scherwiz.
Trivia[]
- The connections between these two characters is they are both female pirates that are originally thought to be male. Their reasons for being assumed as male being strongly related to their status as head as Pirate Captains. Though this plot point has been dropped by Fate by this point, both are also (possibly) secret royalty. Faris being the lost sister of Lenna, and Drake being Queen Elizabeth in disguise.
- A track name for this fight could be "Dragons of the Sea", referencing both Drake's name and Faris' pet sea dragon Syldra.
- The sprites for Drake in this fight were commissioned from DryMugen on DeviantArt.