Chapter Text
The crew stares as Stede approaches in a tiny rowboat. He must look strange, he supposes, dressed all in white and coming out of nowhere. What are they all doing lying around on this tiny island? Maybe they’ve finally embraced the concept of a vacation. At the moment, it does look as if they’re playing tag, Buttons and Roach chasing the Swede around the tiny spit of land. But if so, where’s the Revenge? It must be around here somewhere… As Stede’s dinghy approaches, Buttons stops chasing the Swede, mouth hanging open at the sight. His metal teeth are in, and his expression makes him look a bit like a stunned shark.
Stede stands in the boat, making it wobble. He raises a hand in greeting, and the crew exchange bewildered glances.
“Where did you come from?” Black Pete calls.
“What?” Stede yells.
“I said ‘where did you come from’?”
“I can’t hear you, I’m too far out!”
Buttons appears at Black Pete’s elbow, taking out his horrifying teeth. “Where did ye come from?!” he bellows. “Are ye some kind of demon, or a ghost mebbe?”
The rowboat beaches itself on the shore, and Stede hops out, brushing imaginary dust off his clothes. “All right, all right, no need to shout. And I’m not a ghost. Or a demon. It’s me.”
“We thought you left,” Oluwande says. “What happened to you? Where have you been?”
Stede hesitates. Somewhere he shouldn’t have been, and for far too long. Still, it was good to see Mary and the children are taken care of. Doug will be good for them, and it provided him with the closure he hadn’t even realized he needed.
A confident smile breaks across his face. “I had some things to take care of. But everything’s good now.”
His glance flits amongst his crew, registering for the first time how disheveled they look. Most of them are sunburned, a single palm tree the only shade on the tiny island. Wee John looks lethargic, a makeshift leafy crown resting at an angle on his head. Black Pete has pancake makeup on. They look worse than usual, and some of the crew are missing. Jim, Lucius, Frenchie. Stede frowns.
Before he can ask the obvious, Buttons speaks up. “Ye don’t happen to have any food in that wee dinghy, do ye Cap’n? It’s only that we’ve been here a long time and the boys are gettin’ mighty hungry.”
“It’s only been a day,” Roach says.
“Buttons was going to eat the Swede,” Wee John mutters.
The Swede nods vigorously, panic in his eyes. Stede winces.
“Well, have no fear! I have arrived, and no one will need to eat anyone else.”
“How are we supposed to all fit in that?” Black Pete gestures to Stede’s dinghy. It is really small, and appears to have sprung a leak.
“I understand your concern, Pete, but naturally, we will be transferring to the ship now.” Stede frowns, shading his eyes with one hand and peering around at the horizon. “Where is the Revenge, anyway? It can’t have gotten far.”
“Ah, actually, that’s the thing Captain.” Oluwande glances around at the crew. Roach shrugs. Black Pete blows out a breath between his lips. What is going on here? Anxiety curdles in the pit of Stede’s stomach.
“Yes? What is it, Olu?”
“The thing is… Blackbeard kind of… marooned us here. We were supposed to be putting on a talent show for him, yeah? Then Izzy brought us out here, and then they just… left.”
“Well, that can’t be right,” Stede protests. “Ed would never do that to you guys.”
“Only he did,” Wee John says.
“Well…” Stede sputters. “Izzy must have done something to him. Mutinied! Ed could be in danger right now.”
“Except wouldn’t Izzy have marooned him here, too?” Oluwande asks gently. “Or, at least, wouldn’t he have figured out what happened and come back for us by now?”
Stede is quiet for a long moment. “All good points,” he murmurs. He doesn’t want to believe the Ed he knew—his Ed—would do something like this to the crew. But Stede did leave, and he supposed as far as Ed knew, he was never coming back.
He just couldn’t seem to stop making the wrong choices. He could have been halfway to China now with Ed. Damn it all, why hadn’t he just gone?
Stede clears his throat. From now on, he will only make the right decision. And that starts with being the leader his crew needs. “Right. Well, no matter who’s to blame, we need to catch up with the Revenge. Any ideas?”
“I mean… we’re going to need a bigger boat.” Black Pete gestures to the dinghy, which definitely has a noticeable puddle of water in the bottom now. Bugger.
“I could try to converse with the seabirds around here, to see if they have a queen or summat,” Buttons offers. “One big enough to carry us all, ya know? But I must warn ye, Cap’n: the birds around these parts have a strange dialect I’m no’ quite accustomed to yet.”
“Ah… let’s maybe table that idea for now, Mr. Buttons.”