Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Grian had always been drawn to the sea. The sound of the waves crashing at the shore was a sound that has lulled him to sleep ever since his mother had passed. He didn’t have much freedom, being stuck in the small seaside town all day, but on the ocean, he could dream. He’d been on small fishing boats a few times, but whenever his guardian, found out, he’d go mad. “If anyone finds you, Grian, they’ll take your wings, you hear me?”

So when one day he spotted the dreaded ship in the background, he didn’t scream or cry like the rest of the city. He felt a pang of fear in his stomach, that was only natural, but he felt excited too. As the ships came into view, the black flags became clearer and clearer. He knew a pirate ship could be a ticket out of there, but more likely a death sentence.

As he looked outside he saw the smaller fishing boats set to sea, carrying important possessions and the richest of the mass. To his surprise he noticed his guardian there; He’d expected him to at least say something to him before leaving, but apparently not.

When the pirates came to the city, he quickly realised that he wasn’t safe at all. He had to hide if he wanted to live.

He found a cardboard box just big enough for him to hide in if he squeezed his wings together. He covered himself in the rope so no one’d suspect someone was hiding there. For once, being smaller worked in Grian’s favour. It wasn’t comfortable, but he’d survive for a few hours. If only it had been that short.

It didn’t take long before pirates came to the tower. Someone started opening the boxes and Grian held his breath. The figure paused when he reached Grian’s box. He could see the light from the surroundings as it was opened, and he prayed to whatever Gods were out there that the rope covered him completely, not making him visible to the pirate. Why was he just standing there, what took him so long?!

“Mumbo needed rope, right?” The person yelled out to what Grian assumed had to be another pirate, and to his MODSAT RELIEF the other pirate yelled “yeah!”. The box, that Grian was in was lifted off the ground, and he’d never felt so terrified.

“Gods, this is heavy,” the pirate breathed out, but kept walking.

Grian took a deep breath. This couldn’t be happening. There was absolutely no way he was being taken to the pirate ship. Something would come up to stop it, right? It had to. Maybe his guardian would come back. But soon enough Grian could hear the creaks from the wooden plank as he was carried to the ship, the ground suddenly becoming unsteady and swaying under his box.

At last, he was put down, and he let out a sigh of relief as he let himself relax a bit

He didn’t dare go out. Maybe, once they were in the next town, he could sneak out. He was getting increasingly uncomfortable, and his wings needed to stretch. He needed to fly, it had been so long since his guardian allowed him to feel the wind under his feathers, but he knew that wouldn’t be possible.

After what felt like forever, but was probably more like a few hours, Grian decided to come out. He was getting extremely thirsty, and he hadn’t heard anyone come by in a while.

So he opened the box, wincing at the sound it made, hopefully not enough to wake any of the pirates. He looked around; maybe they hadn’t left his town yet, so he could just sneak back now.

As he snuck out on the deck, the first thing he noticed was the sky. Stars were never too clear in his town, the constant lights blocking any sight of it. But here he could see everything. He stared for a few moments before his gaze wandered down. It landed on the sea.

“Shit,” he whispered as he looked around him. There was absolutely no land in sight anywhere. That’s when he noticed another person staring at him.

A man, with dark hair and a huge, old scar across his face, just over the nose, stood staring at him with a raised sabel.

“Uh, who are you?” The man asked, his eyes wandering to Grian’s wings. Grian lifted them, trying to appear bigger. For a moment he wished he’d have scarier wings; the parrot palette wasn’t very threatening compared to batwings.

“None of your business,” Grian said as politely as possible, starting to walk backwards until he hit the railing.

“Nuh-uh, that is pretty much my business, since you’re, you know, on my ship.” Grian’s heart skipped a beat.

“You’re the captain?” He asked, shocked.

“Hey- don’t look so surprised! I could totally be the captain,” the man said, and Grian rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, totally,” Grian replied sarcastically.

“I’m Scar,” the man introduced himself, shuffling his sable back in place, which Grian had to admit looked pretty cool.

“I’m Grian,” he replied with a small smile, walking towards Scar while holding out his hand. Scar just stared at it with a raised eyebrow but eventually shook it.

“And uh, what’re you doing here?” Grian hesitated.

“You kidnapped me!” He accused, pointing at Scar. Now, it was Scar’s turn to look shocked.

“Me?!” He asked, the absurdity of the situation causing Grian to burst out laughing.

Footsteps sounded from behind him, and Grian instantly spun around. The man behind him was way too tall. He seemed ten times bigger than Grian, though he knew it was impossible. Maybe it was his appearance that made him seem even taller. He was wearing a gas mask, with red glass covering his eyes. Now that was what a captain looked like.

Grian backed away quickly, ultimately bumping into Scar who let out a surprised yelp.

“Scar, who’s this?” The man’s voice sounded amused, and Scar stepped out in front of Grian.

“He’s uh, a guest, Xi,” Scar said, shrugging as if it was normal for a stranger to appear in the middle of the ocean.

“Really?”

“Oh my Gods, he’s scary,” Grian whispered, just loud enough for Scar to hear. To his horror, Xi chuckled at this. Did he hear?!

“I’m Xisuma. And you are?” Grian stood still for a few moments, just blinking at the man, until Scar nudged him in the side.

“I’m uh, my name is Grian, sir, I’m uh, just passing through, it’s a beautiful ship you have here, very pretty flags, nice quality of wood and all that,” Grian rambled.

“Alright, not dealing with this at four am,” Scar said, yawning and stretching. “My shift ended five minutes ago,” he complained.

“Find somewhere for Grian to sleep, and then go,” Xisuma said. “We’ll deal with this in the morning.” Grian did not want to know what ‘dealing with it’ contained, but for now, he’d go with Scar.

“Right, follow me,” Scar said, leading the way to a cabin. It was big, with tons of hammocks. Grian guessed all the pirates slept in here - except the captain of course.

Scar tiptoed across the room, gesturing for Grian to follow him.

“You can sleep here, I’ll be in a hammock across the room,” he whispered, leaving Grian to himself. Even through his thirst, he was exhausted, so he got comfortable. Just like always, the waves could lull him asleep, but this time he could feel them too, his entire body moving alongside him. He drifted off to another world within minutes.

Grian had always been a heavy sleeper. Sometimes it’d take his guardian a whole bucket of cold water to wake him up. So when Grian finally woke up, there was a lot of chatter around him. His brows furrowed. Why would he be surrounded by so many people? His house was always empty. He shifted a bit, changing his position, and someone's voice sounded clearer than the others.

“He’s awake,” a voice said. A voice Grian didn’t recognize. He opened his eyes, meeting the eyes of at least a dozen men. His heart skipped more than a few beats.

Chapter Text

Grian darted up, his wings shuffling as he sat up in the hammock. Everyone was staring, waiting for him to say something, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Who the hell are you?” Someone finally asked, but before Grian could respond, someone pushed their way through the crowd.

“C’mon, give him some space,” Scar said, and Grian could almost cry at the sight of such a familiar face.

“What, you know this guy?” A hoarse voice said, coming from a woman with orange hair and slightly greenish skin.

“Listen, Xi will explain everything, okay guys?” Scar tried, scratching his ear.

“Just tell us!” Someone from the crew yelled. “Yeah, who is he? And what’s with the wings?” Another sufficed, and Grian stiffened. Oh Gods, they were going to cut off his wings, just like his guardian had always said. They were going to sell them, or experiment on him, or-

His thoughts were cut off by Xisuma’s voice.

“What on Earth is going on in here? Why’s everyone just standing there? Come on, the ship doesn’t run itself!” Then he seemed to notice Grian, eying the not-quite-human, then looking back at his crew.

“Alright, how about you explain now?” He asked Grian. Grian froze. He hadn’t expected to be put on the spot, forced to explain an unexplainable situation.

“Uhm,” Grian started, looking at Scar for support, but the man looked as clueless as Grian.

“I’m Grian, I’m just passing through,” he said, as if that explained nearly enough.

“Passing through?” The ginger girl from earlier asked. “On a pirate ship?”

“Well, yeah,” he said, biting his lip. “I kinda got stuck here, and I’ll just wait it out until we get to the next town.” He was tempted to add 'if you don’t kill me first', but that seemed too forward, even with pirates.

Xisuma seemed to take that as an answer because he clapped a couple of times and everyone started to get to work.

“Mumbo, keep an eye on him for me? He can help with your machines,” Xisuma said. A man with pitch-black hair and a matching moustache stepped forward.

“Sure, man,” he said and gestured for Grian to follow him.

“Have you eaten yet?” He asked, and Grian shook his head.

“I’ll pick some up on the way.” He grabbed an unclear bag from a table and started climbing down, under the deck, down a ladder. Was he leading Grian to a torture chamber? How could he be so stupid… But when Mumbo lit a candle it revealed something that definitely didn’t look like a torture chamber. It looked more like a… Like a lab. Grian’s heart skipped a beat, but Mumbo made no advances towards him, didn’t try to grab his wings.

“I build stuff here, with redstone. Just kind of experiment, if you get it?” Mumbo explained, handing Grian the bag. He opened it, and as soon as he saw the bottle of water he emptied it in a couple of swigs. Mumbo raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment.

The food took a little longer, but Grian pretty much devoured it in less than a minute. It was plain bread, but bread seems like cake to a starving man.

“Gods, when was the last time you ate?” Mumbo asked in a concerned tone. Grian shrugged.

“Well, I’ll try and show you some of my machines, alright?” The first thing he showed Grian was a sort of small cannon, able to shoot tiny things very far, according to Mumbo. Next up was a type of growing sword Grian didn't even try to understand. The last thing was a newly developed miniature firework shooter.

“Look, you just press this and there it goes,” he said, showing Grian how it worked, the small firework lighting up the room and Grian’s eyes. They widened, and he let out a small “woah”.

“Here, you try it,” Mumbo encouraged, smiling as he pushed the machine towards Grian. His hand went towards the machine, but as soon as the button was pushed, the machine blew up.

The explosion wasn’t big, but it was enough to make Grian fall to the ground. Mumbo coughed and looked at it, waving the smoke away with his hand.

“How on earth did you manage that?” He asked, looking down at where Grian was positioned on the ground.

“I’m sorry!” He burst out. Mumbo hesitated.

“It’s fine, just… Why don’t you go upstairs and help Iskall for a bit? He’s the one with an artificial eye. He should be tidying up the ropes on the ship.” Grian had to admit the rejection stung, but he just nodded and did as the man said.

Iskall wasn’t hard to find. Apparently, he was a Boatswain, repairing stuff around the ship with another man called Doc. It didn’t take long for Grian to mess it up this time, either.

“So we just tighten the rope like this,” he said, showing Grian how it was done, “so we make sure the whole ship doesn’t fall apart, eh?” Grian attempted to do the exact same as Iskall. He didn’t want to get eaten alive by him and the other pirates. But when he pulled the rope it all came crashing down and Iskall was left with his mouth open as Grian was sent on to help someone called Iskall. He was the navigator, and basically, he just had to know where they were, which wasn’t too challenging unless the weather was bad. And of course, a storm just had to be coming up.

The entire crew was preparing for the panic the storm would bring. The captain was trying to keep everyone in line, but if Grian was being honest, it all seemed a little unprofessional. And Scar, Grian had no idea what was doing - he had climbed up the top of the mast and was leaning over the railing. His robes were flapping in the wind.

It started out slowly. The waves got a little bigger, the clouds got darker. Then, suddenly, a raindrop landed on Grians wing. He looked to the sky, and within minutes, it was pouring down. Everyone was soaked way too quickly while Grian tried to hide under an overhang. The waves made Grian fall to the deck as the ship swayed, and he was sure the crew would’ve laughed if they hadn’t been so busy checking the ship for damage. Grian prayed to whatever gods were out there that the ropes were all secured.

At some point, the ship was so lopsided Grian slid down the deck until he hit the end up the shit. Luckily, it didn’t take long for it to rise to its normal position, and Grian swore he could cry from happiness.

That was until a yell made him turn around, and he saw Scar falling over the side of the ship with a scream. Without thinking, he jumped over the railing, going straight towards the death of the deep sea.

Chapter Text

Grian was quick to jump in, diving straight after the Scar. Just as he hit the water, Grian grabbed Scar's shirt and spread his wings.

As he fought for his life, flapping his wings like crazy with Scar clinging onto him and his own grip tightening. He knew that if he hit the water, he’d be as good as dead - his wet wings would only drag him down.

By some miracle, he managed to make his way to the railing where the hermits were yelling and reaching down for them. Someone grabbed him as soon as he came close enough, and he and Scar were lifted upwards, the man still clinging to him as if his life depended on it - which was fair enough, considering it pretty much did.

Grian collapsed as soon as they were on the deck. Scar got to his feet quickly, holding out a hand to Grian.

“So,” he said, “you can fly.”

***
Everything was different after that. The crew didn't look at him like a stranger who didn't belong anymore. He realised now that they were a family, and even though he wasn't a part of it, he was a welcomed guest. And the most different of all - Scar wouldn't leave him alone.

Scar's job was most important during the raids, so on normal days on the ship he helped wherever possible. He checked the cannons and guns daily, which he made Grian come along for more often than not.

"So, what was life like in your town?" Scar has grown up on a ship, and Grian supposed he was so interested because he'd never known the safety of being stuck in one place.

Grian shrugged. "Boring," he replied, not knowing much else to say.

"Well, there had to be something. Did you go to school? Do stuff with your parents?"

"I never knew my parents," Grian admitted. "I grew up pretty far away from everything. My Guardian said it wasn't safe."

"So like, he just made you stay there?" Scar's voice was sceptical, and Grian felt a strange urge to defend his guardian.

"It's dangerous, people would've like, kidnapped me and stuff!" He gestured to the side with his hands, his wings shifting slightly as if to prove his point.

"He should've at least let you make some friends, what he did was wrong," Scar insisted.

"I'm done," Grian said, shaking his head. "you just don't get it." He walked away, feeling bad for leaving Scar to himself but mad nonetheless.

***

It didn’t take long for Scar to apologise. Actually, it only took about ten minutes before the man came running to Grian, out of breath while explaining just how sorry he was.

“Gods, relax, I swear it’s not that big of a deal,” Grian told him with an awkward laugh.

“Oh thank the stars, I was kinda panicking over here,” Scar replied with a grin, and Grian gave him a small smile.

“Everyone, please gather ‘round,” Xisuma’s voice sounded and Grian instantly straightened his back. The crew quickly left their posts to listen to the captain, chatting quietly amongst each other. Once everyone was there, the captain spoke again.

“Iskall has just notified me that we’ve got land in sight,” he started, earning a few cheers from the crew. “We’ll be docking in a few days, so get ready for the raid. And Grian; You’re free to go as soon as we get there,” he said while sending a small nod in his direction. Grian gulped, not too comfortable with all the attention.

“That’s all. Back to work!” He clapped a few times and everything resumed as normal. Grian had a weird feeling in his stomach. He was looking forward to being able to stand without swaying from side to side, but he’d miss the sea.

“It’s been way too long since we had a battle at sea,” someone complained behind him, and he turned around, recognising the voice as Iskall.

“You’re right about that,” Scar joined in from behind him, sighing dramatically.

“Hopefully we’ll find someone soon,” Iskall said, his hand resting on his sword as if he was already preparing. Grian still wasn’t completely used to them talking about being pirates so casually, but he supposed it was just an
everyday activitiy for them.

***
It didn’t take more than a day before Grian was able to see a tiny bit of land in the distance. He told Scar, who immediately screamed “land in sight!” even though no one besides Grian and Iskall could see it. He supposed Iskall was the navigator for a reason.

“You know, parrots do belong on pirate ships,” Scar thought aloud a little later, and Grian turned around with a tilted head.

“What?” He asked, and Scar just looked thoughtful.

“Well, you’re like half parrot, aren’t you?” Grian burst out laughing at that.

“I’m not half parrot, I just have parrot wings,” he tried to explain once he’d calmed down a bit. Scar looked a bit embarrassed, scratching his head with one hand and blushing slightly while Grian was still wheezing with laughter.

“Oh, yeah, of course, that makes sense.” Though it was funny laughing at Scar’s confusedness, Grian hesitated.

“I can do this, though,” he said, mimicking Scar’s voice perfectly. The man jumped back, eyes wide, and for a moment Grian thought he’d made a mistake.

“Woah,” Scar said, full of wonder, and Grian smiled.

“Can you do that with everyone?”

“Only people I’ve heard talking enough,” Grian said, and added (for good measure): “And the Gods know you talk enough.”

“Hey,” the man replied, shoving Grian playfully.

“Grian,” a voice came from behind them, and Grian flinched slightly as he turned.

“Hey Xi,” Scar said, but Xisuma kept his attention on Grian.

“I’d advise you to fly ahead, I don’t think you’d want to get associated with us,” he explained, and Grian nodded.

“Oh, sure,” he said - after all, it sounded reasonable. He just hadn’t expected to have to leave so soon.

“You should take this,” he said, handing Grian a small bag. He opened it, revealing more gold coins than he’d ever owned.

“I can’t take this,” he said, looking at Xisuma with wide eyes. But he just pushed the bag into Grian’s hands and closed his hands around it.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for. Just know that you’re always welcome here.” Grian nodded.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it.”

He looked into the horizon. There was no reason for pushing it any further; saying goodbye would only hurt more the longer he waited. He smiled at Scar and the other pirates who had gathered around him. He took a deep breath, before spreading his wings and taking a leap into the unknown.

Chapter Text

Grian landed in the forest near the town. The path he walked on was simple, reminding him of the ones in his hometown. The birds around him were singing, and he spotted a fox not too far from the town.

It didn’t take long to reach the town square since it was very close to the trees' edge, and the town itself was smaller than Grian originally thought. People were staring as he was walking through the streets, but it’s not like it was something he wasn’t used to. His wings made him stand out from the crowd. Sure, he wasn’t the only one with magic abilities, but they were very clearly displayed.

He bought himself a new set of clothes as the first thing. He was getting tired of wearing the same shirt every day on the pirate ship, and the lady in the shop was more than happy to have a customer.

The town was cosy. There were a lot of people around him. It had a small market set up in the town square, though most people walking around just looked at them with a sceptic eye - he didn’t know why this town attracted so many wealthy people, but based on the looks of it, it clearly did. He noticed a lot of beggars too, unfortunately - the town could do with some help sharing the riches.

Grian was ready when he heard the alarm bells ring around the town. The church was ringing like crazy, and it resulted in immense panic around the town. It was exactly like last time, except of course that he knew the pirates now. Honestly, he didn’t see why people were so scared of them now. Their ship was one of the most feared ones - rumor said they’d never lost a battle, which Grian just couldn’t get to make sense; The pirates seemed oddly nice and way too hospitable when he was there. He shook his head a little; he should stop thinking about them, he was going home soon anyway.

As soon as the pirates reached the shore, everyone was yelling and screaming. The pirates went off, yelling happily was they did. He spotted Impulse, who winked at him before going off to rob some random guy.

Grian went a bit further up the town where the pirates were more spread out. He sat down on a bench while eating some bread he’d bought earlier. That’s when he heard a familiar voice yelling, and he turned around towards the sound.

“Listen, ma’am, please calm down,” said Mumbo, his hands raised in a position Grian was unsure whether was to calm down the lady in front of him or protect himself.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! You’re stealing stuff, that isn’t legal! Where’s the police?!” Mumbo didn’t bother trying to explain to her that the police were long gone, escaping while they had the chance. The lady was clearly old, which made the whole situation even more comical. She raised her bag, reaching out to hit Mumbo who was trying desperately to avoid her.

“I’m not trying to steal your stuff, I just want to get past you!” Yelled Mumbo, which didn't seem to be the right choice, because the elderly lady seemed even more in distress, hitting him with a force Grian had no idea such an old person could possess.

That’s when Mumbo seemed to spot Grian, basically begging the man for help with his eyes. Grian forced himself not to laugh and walked over to the strange pair.

“Ma’am, is this man bothering you?” He asked with the most authoritative voice he could muster, and the lady eyed him sceptically.

“He is indeed, you should shoot him,” the lady complained, crossing her arms. Grian almost got a small heart attack - she seemed extremely... Something. She was something, alright.

“I’ll make sure to teach him a lesson. You should get to safety,” he said instead, and she nodded while walking away, still eying the two.

To prove his point, Grian grabbed Mumbo’s right arm dramatically, dragging him in the other direction. As soon as they came around the corner, Grian burst out laughing.

“You should’ve seen your face,” he managed to get out, still laughing like a madman.

“I don’t know what I could’ve done! I thought I was shark bait,” He complained, raising his arms despairingly.

“I dunno either, but you’re a pirate!” Grian replied, and Mumbo crossed his arms.

“I don’t do the whole raid thing, people are scary,” he said, which just made Grian smile, trying to contain his laughter.

“I can see that,” he pointed out, resulting in a sigh from Mumbo. They ended up walking together up the street.

“I can’t come back emptyhanded,” Mumbo said, and Grian shifted the weight from one foot to another, wondering what could be done.

“I mean, you could just break into a house,” he said, and Mumbo nodded thoughtfully.

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Mumbo said, making Grian side-eye him.

“Hey, I got tons of good ideas,” he said, and Mumbo nodded. “Sure you do,” he said, and Grian rolled his eyes.

They found a large, vine-covered house, and Grian knocked on the door. He looked at Mumbo seriously.

“We should make sure no old ladies are home,” he said, and Mumbo looked at him like he just said the stupidest thing ever. Grian sent him an innocent smile before Mumbo started to pick the lock. It took surprisingly little time, and Grian understood why he was a pirate.

The first room was a hallway with a ceiling so high that Grian could probably fly around in there. There were huge chandeliers at the top, and Grian instantly ran into the nearest room. It was quite beautiful, with large paintings showing places far away. He didn’t hear Mumbo enter and jumped slightly as the man spoke.

“I think we’ve actually been there,” he said, pointing at a painting of a beach with palm trees and pitch-black sand. “It’s not as impressive in real life,” he said with a shrug and walked away.

“I’d sacrifice my firstborn to see that place,” Grian said thoughtfully. Mumbo laughed.

“Would you really?” He asked, and Grian shrugged.

“It was something my guardian always said,” he replied with a shrug, and Mumbo frowned but didn’t say anything.

They managed to find a box of old jewellery and Mumbo grabbed a large bag of gold coins. Grian asked if they didn’t have enough of those on the ship already.

“Oh, these aren’t for us - we normally just give them out to the homeless,” he said with a shrug. Grian could laugh at the absurdity - they were pirates, they weren’t supposed to act like Robin Hood wanna-bees.

But they left the house, and Mumbo had to head back to the ship. Grian initially went to help him carry some of the stuff, but when they reached the shore, he couldn’t bear to get too close to the pirate ship. In reality, he’d only been on it for a few days, he shouldn't be so attached.

Once Mumbo was gone, he decided to climb a nearby mountain. It wasn’t much of a mountain, more like a big hill, but it was nice to have something to do.

The view of the village was perfect from up there. The wind was exceptionally strong, blowing down towards the village and the ship. Grian sat down to avoid being pushed around by the wind, and he watched as the last pirates boarded the ship. It was hard to see who the figures were on the ship, even with his enhanced vision, but he was pretty sure he spotted Scar boarding last as the pirates began to prepare for departure.

Grian felt a sudden urge to take off, to go back to the ship, and he took a deep breath to stop himself from running down the hill he’d just climbed. But the ship looked like an invitation. The deck felt more familiar than ever, and he’d do anything to grip the mast one more time like the way Scar always did.

He’d do anything to see them one more time, goddamnit.

Why had he left in the first place? He wasn’t quite sure. Xisuma had made it clear that he was welcome there, so why had he run away? He suddenly stood up, the wind picking up again as he did.

He had to go. The ship was already starting to leave, he probably wouldn't even have time to reach it - but he had to try. So he did the only thing he was sure how to: 

He flew.

Chapter Text

Grian was completely out of breath when he reached the shore, unable to move any longer. He fell to the ground, using his last powers on a “wait!” 

Iskall was the first person to turn around, nudging Impulse whose eyes widened at the sight of Grian. He immediately turned around, yelling something at the crew. It didn’t take long for the sails to be taken back in again, making the ship slow down significantly.

Scar was the first to grab one of the rowboats and throw it into the water. He rowed towards shore, where he quickly pulled Grian aboard.

“I knew you’d come back,” Scar said, his smile stretching so wide Grian was sure his face would break.

“I couldn't let you get all the spoils to yourself,” he replied with a smile, and Scar started rowing back towards the ship.

As Grain looked behind them at the town, he noticed more than a few people staring, frowning at them - but for the first time, Grian just didn't care. With Scar’s smile practically lighting up the world next to him, it was pretty hard to care about them at all.

“Okay, I’m back, you can stop the gloating now,” Grian said.

“Wha- I’m not gloating! I’m just thinking about how many pranks we’re gonna make.”

“Pranks?” Grian asked, and Scar laughed.

“Oh, you’re in for a real treat.”

The pirates took them in with open arms as soon as they reached the ship. Xisuma patted his back so hard Grian almost fell. He just smirked at the sight.

“Good to have you back, Grian,” he said.

“Aye aye, captain,” Grian replied, mock-saluting.

“I feel like he’s insulting us,” Impulse said, and a couple of the pirates laughed.

“Alright, let’s get back to getting out of here, Savvy?” Xisuma said, and most of the crew went on with the work.

“I can’t say I’m surprised you’re back,” Mumbo said with a raised eyebrow.

“Was it really that obvious?” Grian asked, and several pirates around them muttered in agreement with Mumbo. Grian couldn’t help but smile.

“Alright, we’ve got plans to do, places to see,” Scar said, grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the crew.

“Where are we going?” Grian asked, letting the other man lead him to what would probably lead to certain death.

“Well, we’ve got to get planning! We’ve got tons of plans to pull,” he said, gesturing for Grian to sit down on a barrel next to him. A mischievous look crept onto Grian's face.

“Here I thought you were just happy to have me back when in reality you just want me for your pranks,” he joked dramatically.

“Come on, I need my partner in crime. I’ve got tons of ideas.” Grian smiled slightly.

“Well, let me hear them.” He waited in suspense. Scar looked like he’d been cooking up ideas for years, and he was just waiting to get to put them into use.

“Okay, so how far does your mimicking ability work? Could you impressionate, let’s say… Xisuma?” He said it as if the captain was a spontaneous choice of person, though Grian knew better - he’d probably been planning it for a while.

“I’m not sure, Scar - it seems a bit risky, innit?” Scar shook his head.

“Bilge! I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He said it with such certainty it almost convinced Grian.

“I just don’t want to have to walk the plank on my first day back,” he tried to explain to Scar, but just laughed at his misfortune.

“Come on, that’s just a rumour. We don’t actually do that here,” he claimed, but Grian wasn’t sure he believed him. But he sighed; There probably wasn’t much he could do.

“Alright. What’re you planning?” Scar’s eyes lit up.

***

They crept up behind a crewmate. Grian hadn’t learned his name yet, but he was pretty sure he was the doctor. He was cleaning up some bottles when Scar quietly gestured for Grian to begin. He cleared his throat and mimicked Xisuma’s voice.

“You’ll need to go take over steering the ship in a minute, uh…” Scar leaned over, whispering ‘Cub’ in his ear, and Grian repeated the word.

“What? But I don’t know how to do that,” Cub replied, obviously confused.

“No questions!” Grian said, and Scar pulled him away towards the steering wheel.

“That was so good, we’re literally geniuses,” he said as they went on to the next person.

After a few minutes, they’d made everyone shift roles. Cub was steering the ship, the navigator was cooking and the cook was building Mumbo’s machines. The whole ship was in chaos, but no one was more confused than the captain himself.

“Alright, what the hell is going on?” He asked, and a few of the pirates gathered around.

“You told me to steer the ship!” Cub yelled in a high-pitched voice, attempting to steer the ship in the right direction. Some of the other pirates exclaimed complaints, and Xisuma raised his hands in a futile attempt at getting them to calm down.

“Hold up, I didn’t tell anyone those things,” he said, and that’s when Grian made eye contact with Scar. He’d been holding it in, and they both burst out laughing as if on cue. Everyone’s attention turned towards them, and Xisuma eyed them sceptically.

“Why do I get the feeling you two are somehow to blame for this?” He asked with a sigh, pinching his eyebrows.

“I’m sorry, we just couldn’t help it,” Scar said. Once they both calmed down, Grian made eye contact with the captain. He didn’t look as amused as the rest of them.

“You’re both banished to floor scrubbing for tomorrow,” he said, and Scar fell to his knees.

“No, have mercy!” He begged. Grian was just happy to be of some use to the crew finally. Xisuma eyed him.

“I know you two are gonna cause more problems than help,” he complained. “Why do I even bother?” 

Grian and Scar were still smiling at each other, and once Xisuma was gone, Scar leaned over to whisper into Grian’s ear:

“That was so worth it.”

Chapter Text

It took some time getting used to. The pirates were pretty nice, and for the most time, nothing unordinary was happening. He'd try to help with different jobs most of the time and plan pranks with Scar whenever he was free. But today was out of the ordinary because Iskall was yelling like a madman.

“Ship in sight! Ship in sight!” Within five seconds, the ship was in total chaos. Organised chaos, though - no one was running without a goal, except for himself. He had no idea what to do with himself, but luckily, Iskall grabbed his arm, dragging him to the side of the ship.

“You have, like, insane eyes, right? Can you tell me what you can see on that ship?” Iskall asked, passing him his spyglass.

Grian didn’t hesitate. He instantly pulled it up to his right eye, squinting it slightly to get a better view of the other ship.

“I don’t think they’ve seen us,” Grian told Iskall, who tilted his head.

“They’re not panicking or moving around,” Grian elaborated. “And - I think they have a prisoner. Someone’s tied to the mast.” Grian tried to look at him more closely, but he couldn't see him.

“Thanks!” Iskall yelled, running towards Xisuma.

“Wait! What should I do?” Grian asked, to which Iskall just shrugged, turning around while running.

“Figure it out!” He exclaimed cheerfully, to which Grian just groaned. He climbed the mast, looking out towards the other ship. They were getting closer and closer, and he could see Scar loading the cannons.

The first one hit the water beside the ship, warning the entire crew of the other ship. Scar fumbled, reloading it, and the next one hit the deck. But now the other ship was loading its cannons too.

The enemy ship fired a cannonball, and for a moment everything stood still before it made a loud splash in the water next to them. Grian didn’t know how, but he just knew the next one would hit. Grian took a deep breath before leaping for the other ship. 

It was pretty close now - it was only a question of time before the pirates would get to it, taking it over.

He didn’t look back while flying towards the enemy, but he could hear someone yelling after him.

It didn’t take long for the enemies to notice his figure flying towards them, and he landed atop their mast. The entire ship was in panic, and the cannon-shooting men quickly left their posts to try and shoot him down.

Okay, so maybe Grian didn’t think this through. He couldn’t exactly dodge bullets, and the tall mast was his only protection.

That’s when another cannonball hit the ship, right in the middle of the deck. The entire ship shook like crazy, and for a minute, Grian was sure it was an earthquake.

The pirates were right next to the ship now, throwing over planks between the ships and charging it. The original crew of the ship were in total panic. They were fighting, but they didn’t stand a chance against the pirates.

Grian glided down from the mast, avoiding the blade of an enemy soldier just for him to be hit in the head from behind. The falling man revealed Iskall, looking at Grian with a raised eyebrow.

“When I said you should figure out a way to help, I didn’t mean charging into enemy territory on a solo suicide mission,” Iskall said, and Grian smirked.

“You can’t say it didn’t work,” he replied.

“Tie this man up, will ya?” The man asked, throwing Grian a rope and leaving. It wasn’t hard to bind the unconscious man’s hands, and when he was done, all the pirates were too. The enemy crew was loudly complaining, all tied up to one another while the pirates were raiding the ship.

“You’re insane.” Grian slowly turned around to face Scar who was standing with his arms crossed in front of Grian.

“C’mon, you would’ve done the same,” Grian said, and Scar just shook his head.

“You’re actually insane,” Scar said, and that’s when someone was coughing behind them. Grian quickly realised he’d completely forgotten the tied-up man who was a prisoner on the enemy ship.

“Oh, excuse me! I didn’t mean to disturb. I just want to say this fake raid was really cool.” A couple of the pirates had gathered around, assessing the man. When he noticed everyone staring, he seemed to decide to elaborate.

“Well, like, you guys look so much like real pirates, so realistic costumes, I almost thought I was actually getting kidnapped by pirates for a moment! I’m Joel, by the way. I would shake your hand, but I’m afraid I can’t,” the man said while shaking his head politely, gesturing to the ropes around him. Grian made eye contact with Scar. That’s when a third person’s voice joined in.

“Please take him, I don’t want him anymore,” the enemy captain said from behind them. Xisuma walked up to him, his face inches from the other man’s. Grian shivered. He was very pleased not to be Xisuma’s enemy right now.

“Who is he?” The other captain did seem intimidated, though he did his best to hide it.

“He’s the governor’s son. We were supposed to take him to Saline Island, but I really can’t deal with him anymore.”

“Don’t worry, this is all a prank made by my cousin at home!” Joel said. The pirates exchanged glances.

“Can we keep him?” Scar whispered excitedly to Xisuma who’d walked up beside them.

“I guess we could take him with us,” Xisuma replied, eying the man suspiciously. “We can just drop him off at the next town. Scar, cut the ropes, will ya?”

Joel didn’t seem threatened at all when Scar came towards him with a knife. He didn’t do anything but cut the ropes, of course, but Grian would’ve been scared out of his mind in that situation. Joel stretched as soon as he was free.

“So, we boarding the other ship?” He asked, not waiting for the pirates as he jumped over at the pirate ship, barely looking down.

Grian exchanged a glance with Mumbo. This was going to be some ride. 

Chapter Text

The raid had gotten all the pirates in an almost ecstatic mood. Even the new guy, Joel, seemed to fit in perfectly at first .

The pirates had gotten a lot of fresh food from the ship, but Scar insisted they should start fishing to bring the cook some new possibilities. So they were sitting alongside each other on the deck, trying to see what fish the waters had to offer.

The temperature of the waters was rapidly dropping, and Grian had to assume they were going further north. He hoped they would see snow at some point - nothing had ever covered the land of the town he grew up in.

“I swear, if I catch one more cod, I’m quitting fishing forever,” Scar complained loudly. Grian sighed. He was tired of the cods and haddocks, and he too wanted to catch something cooler, like a Kraken.

“Hey, Grian!” Grian got a small heart attack as he turned around, facing the guy who snuck up on him.

“Joel,” he greeted, and the man smirked at him; he might act innocent, but Grian was pretty sure he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Joel, please help us catch a squid,” Scar said, passing his fishing rod to the other man.

“Oh, I’ve found many squids throughout my long and incredible life,” Joel said wisely.

“If you catch a cod, you’re banished forever,” Grian told him seriously, and Scar nodded along.

“Yeah, you’ll have to walk the plank,” Scar said, pointing at the small, decorative plank Doc had set up at some point - he was unsure whether it was a joke or not.

“That’s a lotta pressure,” Joel replied, casting the rod. It didn’t take long for him to pull in something. He seemed to have quite a struggle with it, yelling out as he pulled in the line, but he eventually got it to the side of the ship. He pulled it the last way up, revealing a long, slim creature.

“Is that an eel?” Grian asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

“Oh gosh, it looks disgusting,” Scar exclaimed.

“Smells too,” Joel replied, pinching his nose. “They never caught any of this stuff on the other ship.”

“Why were you there, anyway?” Scar asked, using it as a not-too-smooth excuse to find out gossip. Grian was as interested as him; Joel’s story just seemed too weird to be true.

“Well, there’s always been some drama in my family, since I’m inheriting my father and uncle’s factories and my cousin is mad about it. We’ve always been good friends though. So he organised this fun group trip for us,” he explained happily. “I think he got sick or something because he didn’t show up. And like, these guys were saying I was their prisoner and they’d drop me off at some faraway land.”

“That must’ve been hard,” Grian said - after all, he knew what it was like to be unwanted.

“Well, obviously it’s all part of the trip. Though I’m not sure how y’all fit into this,” he wondered aloud. Grian looked at Scar, who seemed more confused than he was himself.

“I have a great idea”, Scar suddenly said. 

It didn't take more than five minutes for Grian to find out that the idea was indeed not great.

“Listen, Joel clearly needs some cheering up,” he whispered to Grian.

“No way. It’s only been a week since our last prank,” he said, crossing his arms. “Xisuma will make us do the gallows dance.”

“Relax, it’ll just be something small.” They both looked at Joel, who was still standing with the eel, clearly considering throwing it overboard.

“Fine,” Grian agreed, and Scar cheered. Grian was pretty sure it was just an excuse to do something fun, but he couldn’t complain - he was longing for some action.

“Alright, so Joel, you go up and distract Impulse while me and Grian steal his spyglass,” Scar explained, and Grian nodded along beside him.

“Perfect, I’ll do that!” Without another word, the eel was overboard and Joel was off. Grian quickly snuck behind him, trusting Scar was with him.

“Hi, Impulse!” Joel yelled, making him jump as much as Grian had earlier. It felt good not to be the victim of Joel’s crimes for once.

“Joel, you scared the life out of me,” Impulse said, not sounding too happy with the situation. He put his spyglass away in the bag that was tied around his back. Grian exchanged a glance with Scar, both of them sneaking up behind them.

“Sorry ‘bout that, I was just wondering how you’re doing!” Impulse looked at him like he was insane, which was probably pretty accurate, considering the two probably hadn’t even talked before.

“Uh… I’ve been okay, thanks,” he said, and Joel jumped up on the railing next to him, not fearing the fact that he could easily fall in.

“That’s great, man, and how’re the kids?” With Impulse more confused than ever, Grian decided it was time to move, slowly creeping up behind the other, Scar right beside him. He reached out for the spyglass, which was pretty easy to reach from where they stood - but Impulse was so close, so Grian was holding his breath.

He grabbed the spyglass, and for a moment he saw Impulse was about to turn around. Luckily, Joel saw this too, because he leaned back, almost falling in the water, and Impulse dashed forward.

“Are you addled?!” He asked, gripping his arm and dragging him down from the railing. Joel made eye contact with Grian, smiling in the process. Grian snuck away with Scar, finally relaxing once they were safely behind a cabin. 

“I thought we were done for,” Grian said, breathing heavily, and Scar just nodded in agreement. In the background, he could hear Joel make up some bad excuse and come walking towards them.

It was silent for a moment before Scar spoke.

“Wait, what do we do now?”

“I dunno, I thought you said you had a plan!” Grian replied.

“Ask Joel!” As soon as he’d said that, both their attention turned towards said man.

“I mean, it’s called a spyglass for a reason, right? We could just climb up the mast and spy on people.”

So that’s exactly what they did. They passed the spyglass around, but eventually got bored since the most interesting thing happening was Impulse panicking over his missing spyglass.

“I feel like we’re kinda creepy just stalking everyone,” Scar said after a while.

“Yeah, this didn’t really have the effect I thought it would,” Joel replied, putting down the spyglass with a sigh.

“Boy, Impulse is gonna hate us,” Scar said with a sigh.

“What if we get someone else to give it back?” Grian suggested.

“Now that’s what we call a great idea,” Scar said, standing up in an instant.

That’s when Xisuma decided to look up, squinting his eyes and holding up his right hand to protect himself from the sun while scowling at them in annoyance. Grian gulped.

Chapter Text

Luckily, Grian managed to convince Xisuma that their little stunt was simply to get Joel more of a part of the crew, more included. He was pretty sure Xisuma saw past the excuse, but he let it slide, seemingly not knowing what to do about the whole Joel situation anyway.

It had been a few days since the last raid, and Scar expected it to be a long time until the next one. That’s why Xisuma decided it was time for some action.

“It’s time for the Olympics,” he announced, making the entire crew cheer, Joel louder than all the pirates. He leaned closer to Grian, whispering “What’s the Olympics?” To which Grian couldn’t reply anything but “no idea”. Xisuma seemed to notice their visible confusion because he turned towards them.

“We hold the Olympics here occasionally, where we compete in numeral challenges prepared by the crew themselves.” Grian felt a ping of excitement in his stomach. He could be a bit competitive at times, and he expected nothing less from the pirates.

“You’ll be in groups of two as usual, and obviously can’t compete in your own challenge. We’ll hold it in a couple of days. Alright, back to work now,” he finished explaining, and the pirates muttered excitedly around each other.

Grian spotted Mumbo who instantly went back to his lab. He speed-walked towards him, setting his foot in the way of the closing door.

“Grian,” Mumbo greeted awkwardly. Grian grinned.

“Missed me?” He asked, and Mumbo just blinked dumbly a couple of times. “Need any help with the machines?”

“Uh, if I’m honest, I think I’m good,” Mumbo replied politely with a slight grimace, probably recalling the last time Grian attempted to help. Grian took it as an invitation to come in.

“So, I’m just here to ask who you’re pairing up with for the Olympics?” Grian asked innocently.

“Not you,” Mumbo replied, cautiously turning to one of his fancy machines. Grian put a hand to his heart.

“You hurt me, Mr Mumbo,” he said, dramatically letting himself fall on a nearby chair. Mumbo just raised an eyebrow at the nickname.

“Listen, I have tons of good ideas, and you have insane redstone skills,” Grian said enthusiastically, trying to win the guy over.

“Redstone?” Mumbo repeated, seemingly confused.

“Y’know, the stones are shining red,” he replied, pointing at a nearby machine. Mumbo’s eyes widened and he instantly rushed to it.

“Oh dear,” he said, fidgeting with the machine. Grian stretched his wings and started swinging his legs back and forth - the chair was clearly made for tall people because he couldn’t reach the ground.

“This is why we make such a good team. Imagine if I hadn’t seen that with my incredible eyesight,” Grian explained thoughtfully.

“Imagine if you hadn’t distracted me in the first place,” he mumbled dryly as a reply.

“I know you love me,” Grian replied happily, yawning slightly. Mumbo seemed to have gotten the situation under control, because the red lights had switched off, replaced by the usual grey rock colours.

“Alright, then let me hear your great ideas.” As soon as Mumbo had said that, Grian immediately jumped down from the chair, his eyes lighting up.

“So, we’re a team,” he concluded happily. 

“Woah, calm down, I just said I wanted to hear what you've got planned,” Mumbo said.

“I can’t believe I’m on Mumbo’s team.” Mumbo just sighed. Grian grinned.

 ***

“So, normally people do stuff like rope swinging, swimming, stuff like that,” Mumbo explained to Grian once the pair had settled down.

“What about treasure hunts?” Grian asked curiously. Mumbo turned around. “That might work,” he said. “Creative, for sure.” Grian smiled.

“It needs to be incredible. We’ll make people go ‘wow’.” Mumbo nodded seriously as Grian spoke.

The planning was pretty simple. Time-consuming, sure - leading the whole crew on a wild goose chase in such a small space felt close to impossible, but they managed when they found some secret hiding spots. 

As they were planning, Grian got more and more disappointed that he couldn't do the treasure hunt himself. Of course, placing the clues was much more challenging. They had to hide some in the captain’s cabin, under secret trapdoors or under the ship, where Grian had to dive to put it. It took his wings hours to dry.

Between planning the hunt and fishing with Scar, Grian found himself helping Mumbo with his weird machines. Grian did not find it easy, and he mostly broke the machines. But it was fun, and Mumbo seemed to enjoy the company.

The night before the Olympics, he was sitting beside Xisuma on the deck. Most of the pirates had gone to rest, but Grian couldn’t sleep, and he was pretty sure Xisuma never went to bed.

“Where are we even going? We keep going further north. Are you just waiting until the ship freezes in place?” He asked, resulting in a small chuckle from the captain.

“Just going where the wind blows, but just a little further north and then we’ll turn around no matter what. Then we’ll decide what to do,” he replied, and Grian nodded. It seemed valid.

“Why’re you always out here alone?” Grian asked the older. He wasn’t sure why. He didn’t usually try to pry into others’ lives, but maybe the late-night talks got through to him. Xisuma seemed tired too. He hesitated a bit.

“I’m not a lot of people’s favourite person,” he admitted after a while. Grian was instantly a bit shocked by the honesty. He frowned a little.

“You’re one of the most loved captains out there,” Grian replied. He’d never heard anyone complain about the captain.

“The most feared ones, too,” Xisuma added, and Grian couldn’t say anything to that. After they’d sat a while in silence, Xisuma continued. “Everyone on the ship has someone. That’s how it’s supposed to be. But it can be hard, being the captain. It means a life of solidarity.” Grian’s frown grew.

“It shouldn’t have to be that way.” He bit his lip. He knew what it was like to feel alone, though Xisuma didn’t seem as unhappy as he’d felt back in the village.

“Maybe not. But I’m fine with this - it’s the way I want it to be. Just me, the sea and my crew.” Grian leaned back. He couldn’t say he understood the other, but he respected it. And that was that.

Chapter Text

The whole ship was practically buzzing on the day of the Olympics. Everyone was running around, adding the finishing touches to their activities. Someone had hung a paper up with all the possible activities you could compete in - all you had to do was add your name to it. Grian felt a ping of pride at the amount of people who’d signed up for their treasure hunt.

The first activity was, like Mumbo had predicted, rope swinging. All the pirates were cheering along as their crewmates swung as far as possible, landing on the furthest end of the ship. When Grian attempted, he didn’t manage to get more than a few metres. He blamed the wings - they weren’t of any use when he wasn’t allowed to fly.

Climbing the mast went better. Almost all the pirates managed to climb to the crows’ nest and reach the flag, which resulted in a small fight between Scar and Joel, who’d teamed up to make the climbing competition.

“You said that no one would be able to reach it!” Scar complained, to which Joel just returned a “You agreed!”. The two bickered for a while, and the rest of the pirates continued to the next activity.

Iskall and Impulse had planned a diving competition, so Xisuma had thrown in the anchor. Luckily, the weather couldn’t have been any better. Even though they were pretty far north, the warmth of the sun could still be felt on their skin. Grian looked upwards, squinting his eyes, enjoying the heat.

“We’ve thrown in twenty bottles around here, all with straps of string on them. Y’all will need to get as many pieces of string as possible and bring them to the surface. The one with the most wins, obviously. Begin!” Grian didn’t hesitate jumping over the railing, and diving into the water. It was ice-cold. Even with the warmth above them, it didn’t do anything for the ocean. He shivered as soon as he broke underneath the surface.

At first, it was impossible to see anything. The water was pretty clear, but Grians eyes weren’t accustomed to it at all. He was used to being free in the air, with stuff visible all around.

He instantly went under the ship, where he spotted a couple of other pirates. They were all swimming around, searching for bottles. Grian spun around, using his wings to help him. He spotted a small glint of a different surface and instantly swum towards it. The bottle was small, and he was satisfied to see that no one else had gotten string there yet. He grabbed it and tied it around his wrist, reaching back for the surface.

He took a few deep breaths of air before going down again, this time reaching for the bottom of the sea. If he squinted his eyes enough, he could just barely spot it. He wasn’t sure how deep down he was, but the constant pressure from the water above him was easy to feel in his ears. He wasn’t sure how it wasn’t deeper - maybe they were close to land, or maybe there was just a patch of not-so-deep sea.

The sea floor was covered in metre-tall seaweed, something he’d guess was kelp. He instantly dove into it, moving through it in search of bottles. He quickly found one, and another one not too far away. He was desperate for air though, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay down there. But that’s when he spotted a small entrance to a cave, and not too deep into it, he saw the glint of a bottle. He dove into it, reaching for it instantly. When he was about to turn around, he spotted another one, just a bit further down. He couldn’t help but dive a little further, and then he was almost at the end of it.

As he dove further down, he was getting more and more desperate for air. At some point, he couldn’t hold his breath anymore, and breathed out, seeing the bottles around him. The relief was short-lived though, because the need to breathe only got stronger.

That’s when he spotted something. A small otter was swimming right by him - he knew it had to get air somehow. In a last, desperate attempt, he followed it, and after only a few seconds, it led him to safety. There was a small opening, and he reached for it, squeezing his wings through, basically jumping above the surface.

He stayed for what felt like minutes, breathing heavily. That’s when he looked around.

The room was filled with shining lights above him, flowers in all the colours of the rainbows. He was mesmerised by the lights - he’d never even heard of a place like this. The flowers had different shapes, not one looked like the others. Some of them were moving slightly, opening and closing again. Somehow, the water wasn’t freezing anymore, it felt warmer in there than it did earlier. He noticed a bottle next to him - it was even smaller than the ones the pirates hid and had a longer shape. He tied it to his belt.

After he’d been there a while, he heard rustling beneath him. He looked down while fumbling with the knife he’d hidden in his shoe. But before he could get it out, the surface broke next to him.

Iskall breathed out hard, barely even noticing Grian and instead looking up around them.

“What… Is this place?” He asked, looking around them.

“No idea,” Grian replied. It was some sort of magic place, he could feel it in the air - the same way he could feel it when he mimicked someone else perfectly or when he spread his wings to fly. “Wait, what’re you doing here?” He asked Iskall, who finally turned around to face Grian.

“Oh, everyone’s looking for you. You’ve been gone for like, 20 minutes. Xi thinks you’re dead.”

“What?!” Grian exclaimed, quickly turning to face the other completely. Iskall sighed, looking around the place again. “Alright, we’re going,” Grian said, grabbing his hand and taking a deep breath.

“But-” Iskall started, but Grian cut him off with a “too late!” and the two dove down in the water.

He could feel it getting colder and colder, and by the time they reached the ship, he was shaking like crazy. When he was finally with air around him, he breathed heavily, and a few pirates came rushing towards him.

“Are you okay?!” Scar asked, closely followed by a “What happened?” from Mumbo. Iskall came up only a second later.

“You found him,” Xisuma noted. “Now let’s get everyone out of the water before anyone freezes to death.”

Once everyone had settled down, Xisuma started the ship again. The Olympics continued, though Grian didn’t participate in any more games - instead, he settled down with the mysterious bottle he’d found, while the others were busy with the treasure hunt. He opened it, revealing a piece of paper. It was pretty wet, and when Grian folded it out, most parts of it were indistinguishable. The only thing he could see was a set of coordinates.

59,42    -9,44 

It was signed too, but Grian couldn’t tell the name, since it’d been erased by however long the note had been in the water. It might be decades old - whoever wrote it could be long gone. Sometimes it was easy to forget the pirates weren’t the only people in the world - being isolated like this made them closer, but also further away from others.

When Grian showed it to Xisuma, the man just smiled; but not just any smile. A smile that said he was planning something. Grian smiled back.

Chapter Text

As soon as the next day came around, Xisuma revealed that they were going even further north than they planned, chasing the coordinates from the bottle Grian had found. 

“This is incredible,” Scar said, clearly the most excited out of all of them. “Do you think it’s a hidden treasure? I bet he is,” he said, to which Grian just shrugged.

“I’m not so sure, we don’t even know if it still exists,” Grian replied. Mumbo nodded beside them.

“We should be careful. For all we know, it could be a trap,” he joined in, and Scar shook his head.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure he’s just some random cool treasure on an island somewhere,” he said, and with a yawn, he went to check the cannons.

“Need any help with your machines?” Grian teased Mumbo.

“Please, no,” the other responded, passing Grian a scared look. Grian grinned while the other ran away for his lab. Grian settled with his trusted rod on a stool next to the railing. He put a bucket next to him, putting the stuff he’d eventually fish out directly in it. It had a couple of holes in it, but it wasn’t like he was catching shrimps. Xisuma had cancelled the treasure hunt, saving it for a later date - right now their priority was the mystery island.

Scar was still checking the guns, still practically shining with happiness at the thought of a hidden treasure. He heard a couple of footsteps behind him, seeing False settle down next to him. She had a rod of her own, instantly casting it in. Grian was still watching Scar behind them.

“He’s so excited for this,” he noted with a smile, and False nodded.

“It makes sense. Has anyone told you how he got on the ship?” She asked, and grian shook his head, feeling his curiosity grow.

“It was kinda like this. He was one of the first, very young, maybe fourteen. He’d found a bottle like that. We were raiding his village, and he came running toward us, bottle raised, with three or four men chasing after him.” She chuckled. “Apparently he’d found the bottle and wanted to take his father’s fishing boat to explore it, which his family wasn’t too happy about. When he saw us arriving, he noticed the opportunity and grabbed it.”

“So he charged a fully loaded pirate ship?” Grian asked with a raised eyebrow. It sounded like an impossible situation, but it did also sound like something Scar’d do.

“Yeah,” False said with a smile. “His brothers were mad at him, all trying to stop him, but only Scar managed to get on the ship. I’ll be honest, he took some time getting used to - but he isn’t nearly as crazy as Joel,” she said, pointing in his direction, where he was stuck upside down in a barrel .

“That’s true,” Grian replied with a snort.

Fishing was really all there was to do for the next few days. The air was getting colder and colder, but Xisuma assured him that they would soon reach the location. That became clear when Iskall yelled “Land in sight!” Part of the crew was cheering, and most stopped in their tracks to prepare. Even Mumbo came up from his hiding. Grian went over to Iskall.

“Lemme see,” he said as he grabbed the spyglass from the pirate.

The island seemed pretty deserted. There were barely any trees, and most of the area was completely bare. Although… There did seem to be a camp set up close to the shore.

“Does anyone live here?” He asked Iskall, who shrugged.

“Hell if I know. This isn’t even on the map.” Grian’s eyes lit up. So, this was a mystery island?

“Everyone goes in pairs of at least two, and five of y’all need to stay back on the ship,” he said, causing the pirates to murmur alongside each other - no one wanted to be the ones keeping guard on the ship.

Grian walked to the front of the ship, leaning against the figurehead with his shoulder . It was a siren, holding a trident in her right hand, protecting the ship.

“Grian, do you want to stay back?” The voice nearly made him flinch, and he turned around, seeing their captain.

“No thanks,” he said, but the look on Xisuma’s face clearly said he didn’t want any bullshit. Grian got an idea, smiling widely at the man as he planned it out.

“Actually, I’ll fly ahead, just to see that it’s safe,” he said, leaning backwards with a smirk and a salute. His wings caught him, and he let himself glide in front of the ship. There was barely any wind today, so he didn’t have any trouble going faster.

“No, Grian!” Xisuma yelled with an exasperated sigh, but Grian just laughed while continuing flying. It felt good to feel the free air around him, and he landed safely on the beach.

The small camp he’d seen from a distance seemed a lot bigger seen from where he was now. It was basically a hole in the ground, with a few planks to hold it upwards and grass covering it from the top. There clearly wasn’t much wood here to work with, but whoever built this seemed to manage quite alright. It wasn’t any palace, but it was a home. Grian entered, looking around him.

There was a single newspaper, but the letters were barely even readable. He saw a piece of it was ripped off; it seemed like the same paper that the note he found was made out of.

There wasn’t much else in the cave, but there clearly wasn’t much on the entire island. It all seemed pretty old, but whoever lived there might still be there. He should be cautious.

He walked out of the house, looking to see the pirate ship in the distance. It wasn’t too far away now; it’d only be a few minutes before the pirates arrived. Grian stretched his wings again but ultimately decided he’d rather walk around the island. It was nice to have solid ground under your feet again.

Once he reached the farthest side of the island he settled down with a view of the ocean. That’s when he heard a slight rustle near him. He turned around, but couldn’t see anyone. He instantly stood up; the pirates were way too far away from him to have reached him already. He got a few goosebumps, suddenly re-noticing just how cold the air surrounding him was.

In a flash, a figure turned up beside him. Grian drew his knife.

Chapter Text

The man in front of him had a ripped suit, sleeves completely ripped off, revealing a bit too strong arms - In other words, the man looked terrifying to fight.

“Hello there!” The man said cheerfully. The man took a step towards Grian, who instantly took a step backwards.

“It’s so nice to finally have company, I’ve been waiting forever. Did you get my note? You must’ve. I haven’t seen anyone for so long, you wouldn’t even believe me,” the man rambled. His voice was deep and a bit hoarse, probably because he hadn’t had anyone to talk to for so long.

He looked at Grian with a terrifying smile. “I can't believe someone's actually here. Did you get my note?” He asked, taking a step toward Grian. Grian took a step back, hand still clinging to his knife.

“We found coordinates in a bottle.” Groan hesitated shortly. “Why’re you here?” The man sighed.

“Come on, let me show you inside - I'll explain everything, I promise.” Grian did not like the idea of following that man inside a small room. 

“I'm fine right here, thank you,” Grain replied, and the man gave him a sad smile.

“I know how it looks, alright? Some crazy man on a deserted island.” He settled down on the ground, sitting with his legs crossed. “It was a long time ago. My crew dropped me off here five years ago. I think. Alright, I’ve lost count, seasons come and go.” Though Grian did not trust the man, he did feel compassion. He settled down on the ground a couple of metres from him, hiding his knife away again.

“I’m Skizz, by the way. Who are you?” He asked.

“My name is Grian.”

***

Impulse was the first one to find them. He must’ve noticed how relaxed Grian was, because he barely even questioned Skizz. The two seemed to get along just fine, and Skizz was even enthusiastic when they told him they were pirates. A bit strange, if you asked Grian, but he couldn’t think of anyone on the crew who wasn’t a bit strange, so he supposed it was fair enough.

“Where do you wanna go?” Impulse asked Skizz, who just shrugged.

“Doesn’t really matter. Just away from here,” he said. “I think I’ll try to find my old crew,” he said. Grian frowned. “Why do you want that? They left you here!” He exclaimed.

“I know. But they must’ve had a reason, right?” Grian exchanged a hidden glance with Impulse, who just shrugged. Apparently, he didn’t know what to do about it either.

“Well, let’s get you back to the ship, we can get your stuff on the way,” he said, and Skizz nodded, instantly forgetting the melancholy of his old crew. “Sweet! I’ll show the way,” he said, walking quickly towards the small home Grian had found earlier.

“This newspaper kept me alive, I know every story by heart,” he said fondly, taking him up in his hands. Impulse looked pitiful.

“Tell you what, we’ll get you as many newspapers when we drop you off at the next town,” he said, and Skizz shook his head. “This one’s special,” he said, but Impulse just frowned. Grian understood it, to some extent - he’d cherished every new item he got back in his old village.

A few more pirates showed up along the way, and Skizz happily introduced himself to them all.

“This is great, now I’m not the newest pirate,” Joel said, resulting in chuckles from a few pirates.

“Joel, mate, you just got here,” someone said, but Joel seemed oblivious. “I know,” he said, and Grian smiled. If Joel was a pirate, then he certainly was as well.

Xisuma welcomed him but did seem more reluctant than the rest of the crew. Which made sense, considering none of them knew anything about their new guest.

“I want ‘im,” Impulse’s voice came loudly. “He’ll be a great lookout,” he explained, and Grian turned towards them. He was pulling at Skizz, while Gem was pulling the other side. It looked way too comical, and Grian had to fight himself to not burst out laughing.

“But he’ll be an even better cook!” Gem shouted back. Meanwhile, Skizz himself was just standing in the middle, looking completely clueless.

“Calm down girls, you’re both pretty,” Scar’s voice joined in, putting a hand on both their shoulders and nodding knowingly.

“Shut up Scar,” Impulse and Gem said at the same time.

“Alright, I think I know how to settle this,” Grian said, finally stepping into the situation, sharing a look with Scar. Said man smiled, knowing Grian was up to something.

“You’re going fishing!” He said, grabbing Skizz’s other arm and dragging him away from the couple who protested loudly.

“It’s for your own good!” Scar yelled as he followed Grian and Skizz.

“Whew, that was bad,” Skizz said, wiping his forehead. “Haven’t had a social situation in forever, and now I get into stuff like that,” he said, pointing toward the arguing pair.

“It was pretty harsh,” Scar agreed, throwing a fishing rod at Skizz who happily took it. He threw in the line, accidentally dropping the whole rod into the water. Grian just managed to grab it, leaning over the railing. He spread his wings, trying to balance himself as Scar pulled him back up.

“Dude!” He said, and Skizz raised both his hands in defeat. “I’m sorry! I haven’t fished properly, I forgot how to do it,” he said sheepishly. Grian just sighed.

“It’s a good thing you’re keeping us all on our toes, we could learn from that,” Scar said with a grin, casting the rod himself. “Look; Like this,” he said, waiting with the rod in the water. Skizz grabbed another one, taking a deep breath.

“Alright,” he said, “I can do this.” Grian stood ready, his hand already in the position to grab another falling rod. Skizz cast it in the water, and… The end landed right in the water, resulting in cheers from both Grian and Scar.

“Knew you had it in ya,” Scar said, and Grian nodded. “You’re a true fisherman,” he joined in.

“Am I being demoted?” Joel joined in from behind, his arms crossed. He looked genuinely upset. Grian made eye contact with Scar, who seemed to be panicking as much as himself.

“I… Uh, we’re sorry, of course not! I promise-” Grian fumbled with his words, but cut himself off once Joel started laughing.

“Man, you should’ve seen yourselves!” He said, still laughing loudly, coming up to Skizz’ side.

“Nice to finally get another member,” he said, and Skizz visibly relaxed. “Thanks, man,” he replied with a small smile.

“I swear to the gods, he’ll be the end of us all.” Grian groaned, and Scar could do nothing but nod.

Chapter Text

“A’ight, we’re running low on food supplies,” Xisuma told the crew one morning , and Grian tilted his head slightly.

“Then let’s go raid someone,” Doc said, most of the pirates agreeing with yells or whistles. Joel looked more excited than he had in ages, and Skizz seemed more nervous.

“Impulse, have you spotted any ships around here?” He asked, turning around to their navigator, looking uninterested - he clearly already knew the answer.

“No, captain,” he said. Grian knew for a fact that they’d found smaller ships and fishing boats, but the pirates had made it their ideal to only steal from the richer men. Fishing boats didn’t have much anyway.

 “We’ll go south,” Xisuma said, putting his hands in his trench coat pockets and walking back and forth. “Spain, maybe. Wherever the money is, we’ll follow it,” Xisuma explained, and the crew nodded.

“Until then, we’ll ration. We need more fishing,” he said, nodding toward Grian and his team, and Grian felt an ounce of pride.

“There is just one problem,” Xisuma said, stopping to look around at his crew.

“There are two roads south from here. There’s the long one, that we took up. Or there’s the shortcut,” he said, smiling slightly as he spoke.

“The Greymist Peaks?” a couple of pirates whispered around them, and Xisuma smiled. It didn't look kind.

“Exactly. We’ll take a vote on which way to go.” Grian leaned in toward Scar, looking questioning at the man. For once in his life, Scar looked serious as he leaned over to whisper in Grian’s ear.

“No one’s made it through it alive. From what the rumours say, as soon as the mist shows up, it’s your last chance to turn around. People hear voices, the ships crash… It’s no man’s land.”

“And why exactly does Xisuma want to take that route?” Grian asked suspiciously. Scar loosened up, a smile appearing on his face. “It might be true that no one’s made it through the past yet, but we’ve never been the ones to try,” he said, looking smug. That’s a lot of confidence , Grian thought.

“All those against, raise your hands,” he said. A few of the pirates raised their hands.

“All those in favour of passing through the pass,” Xisuma said. Almost every single pirate raised their hands, including Joel. Grian stayed down.

“Then it’s settled,” Xisuma said, and the pirates went back to work. Grian was about to return to his fishing spot when XIsuma caught up with him.

“You know you’re included in the votes too, right?” Xisuma said, and Grian bit his lip. “You’ve earned your spot here,” he said, patting Grian’s shoulder before he left. Grian frowned. He wasn’t sure what to make of it all. He felt like he shouldn’t be as comfortable as he was, but he was sure of one thing: He’d come to see the pirates as home.

***

Grian was pretty sure they’d all grown addicted to fishing, though no one seemed content with what they caught.

“Man, I’m tired of cod,” Scar said.

“You’ve said that already,” Grian complained, though the taste of cod was killing him slowly too. But he’d grown up in a fishing village, so he wasn’t as upset as Scar apparently was.

The entire crew was bored out of their minds. No one knew what to do. Impulse was looking out for ships, but none would come this close to the pass. Scar had checked the cannons at least a thousand times and Mumbo had run out of materials to build with, instead starting to fish with the others. The cook was doing the best to make varying meals, which was pretty impossible - they’d even run out of salt.

So when they finally reached the pass, everyone was excited. At first, no one knew they were there. It was hard to navigate when there were no islands, but they were going as far south as possible.

But finally, Impulse spotted a rock. It was barely breaking the surface, almost impossible to see, but Impulse yelled as soon as he spotted the slightly uneven water around it.

“Go left!” He yelled, and Xisuma, who was at the wheel, turned it all the way left, barely dodging the rock.

“That was way too close,” Grian muttered. How would they spot the next one? Would it end up destroying the ship from below?

Grian set off from the front of the ship, flying ahead. He looked around them, not seeing anything other than the endless waves in all directions.

“There!” He yelled as soon as he spotted a cliff going out of the ocean. He stopped in his tracks, turning around while in the air and staying in the same spot while pointing. Impulse saw him, instantly shouting to Xisuma. More started showing up, with Grian warning them and Impulse carrying along the messages.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a thick, grey mist turned up. The cold of it hit Grian hard, and he was unable to see a thing. He stopped where he was, flapping his wings, though the movements got harder and harder.

In a flash, something hard hit him from behind and he fell. He heard Scar’s voice shouting his name in panic, and he landed hard on the deck. I must’ve hit the mast , he thought.

Scar was with him in a flash, along with multiple other crewmates. But the ship was in panic; They were unable to see a thing. Grian slowly sat up, rubbing his head with a hand.

“You’re bleeding,” Scar said softly, sounding almost horrified. Grian was about to respond, but that’s when something hit the ship from the side, making the entire ship out of balance.

“Shit! We’re hit!” Someone shouted, and Grian instantly got up. At the side of the ship, he could see where the spike had hit. The wood of the ship was splintered and part of the railing was gone. But they had been lucky not to have a giant hole in the middle of the ship.

It didn't take long for the ship to be hit again. Everyone fell down, and Grian grabbed the mast.

“This was a terrible idea,” Scar said while gritting his teeth.

“We’ll make it,” Grian said after a while, and to his own surprise he realised that he meant it.

Grian squinted his eyes, looking into the distance. The air in front of them was darker, though Grian was unsure why. As they moved forward, it got darker and seemed to grow larger as well. It took Grian a tad too long to realise that it was an enormous cliff, right in front of their ship.

Chapter Text

Grian was about to shout back at Xisuma that they were heading in the direction of their certain death, but Joel beat him to it. Grian couldn’t see him due to the mist, but the sound of his voice was clear.

“Steer left!” Xisuma instantly turned the wheel, and the Ship moved slightly in that direction. Grian staggered toward the captain as well as he could from the fall earlier, walking up to see if he could help the man.

“A bit right,” Joel yelled out, and Xisuma hesitantly followed his instructions.

“I’m not sure I trust the lad. You know who his father was,” Xisuma said, sounding stressed.

“I mean, do we really have a choice?” Mumbo said from behind them. Xi just gritted his teeth, ignoring the others.

Grian turned around, trying to see if he could spot anything in the distance; It was literally impossible. But Joel’s voice was still clear, shouting instructions from somewhere.

It continued like that, at and at some point Grian settled down on the deck next to Mumbo who’d brought a bandage, wrapping it gently around his head.

“Ow,” Grian said, trying to rub his head again, but the other pushed his hand away.

“No touching it for at least a week. Are your wings okay?” He asked, and Grian hesitated, moving them slightly.

“They’ll be fine. I can’t fly for at least a couple days, though,” Grian said, grimacing as soon as he’d said it.

“If Joel doesn’t suddenly lose his magical powers,” Mumbo said, looking out into the distance. Most of the pirates had settled down by then, trying to avoid thinking about how close they’d been to that cliff, and so many others.

At some point, the mist started clearing. Impulse instantly started cheering, the rest of the pirates following soon after. In front of them were open waters, but he could already feel how much warmer the air around them was. They had travelled so long in such little time; There must’ve been some kind of dark magic around that pass. Grian didn’t even bother trying to figure out what it was.

“I wonder what kinda fish are here,” Scar said, offering Grian a hand. Grian took it, letting his friend pull him up.

“We barely got out of that alive, mate. You’re already talking about fishing?” Mumbo asked disbelievingly.

“What can I say, I’m a simple man,” Scar said with a huge grin, resting his hands at his side.

Beside them, Xisuma climbed up on the forecast deck. “I think this all could use some celebration,” he announced. Everyone seemed to agree, coming up to around him.

“And Joel, follow me, will ya?” He said, gesturing for him to follow. Joel looked a bit pale, but did as the other said. Grian made eye contact with Scar. The man nodded to him.

“No, no you’re not,” Mumbo said, catching onto them. Grian sent him an apologetic glance before moving to follow their captain.

“I can’t believe you two,” Mumbo said, shaking his head at them. Scar smiled mischievously, following Grian. The door to the captain’s cabin closed right in front of them, and Grian leaned against the door, trying to listen in. The voices were muffled, but he could make out most of what they were saying.

“Look, I know it’s crazy, I just kinda knew where we had to go, like magic abilities and shit,” Joel said, trying to sound convincing.

“No offence, kid, but you’ll have to try harder than that.” Grian exchanged a look with Scar, who looked at him with an oh gosh expression. 

“I dunno what you’re talking about,” Joel replied, laughing awkwardly. “It’s totally true, how else would I know? Not like I have a map or anythin’.” It was quiet for a bit before Xisuma spoke.

“I’ll figure it out at some point. But since you helped us out I’ll let ya go,” he said.

“Appreciate it, man! See ya!” Joel yelled while Grian and Scar scrambled away from the door. Grian inspected the planks of the deck while Scar was very busy looking at the cloud formations when Joel exited. As soon as the door had closed, the duo followed him.

“Y’know you can trust us, right?” Scar said as soon as they caught up with Joel, slinging his arm around his shoulder with a friendly smile.

Joel squinted his eyes. “Uhuh…” He replied slowly.

“You can tell us anything,” Grian added, nodding wisely.

“Like how you navigate through the pass, for example,” Scar said casually. “Promise we won’t tell anyone,” Grian whispered, leaning in toward Joel.

“It was like magic, dude,” Joel said, lifting his hands in defeat. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try us,” Scar said, but Joel shook his head. “Sorry, can’t!” He yelled, walking away toward supply room under the deck. Grian sighed. There was no way they’d figure it out.

***

The celebration feast started out slowly. As soon as the dark fell, two whole boxes of rum bottles were taken out along with the last ration of meat. Some were playing cards, some were betting and some were just talking; but everyone was yelling while doing so. Grian walked over to Impulse and Skizz, settling down next to them.

“I haven’t had rum in years, hearties,” Skizz said, a half-empty bottle in his hands. Impulse started a long explanation of something with sailors' rum addiction but was luckily cut off by someone starting to sing a sea shanty.

“Come all ye young fellows who follow the sea,” Bdubs started singing, and a couple more joined in.

“To me! Wey hey, blow the man down, and pray pay attention and listen to me,” the pirates sang along. With the very off-tune music in the background, Grian walked down to the storeroom to get some more food.

Grian had to force himself not to scream as soon as he’d climbed down the ladder. In front of him was Joel, sitting next to a literal merman.

Chapter Text

“Joel,” Grian said slowly. Joel blinked a couple of times.

“Grian, uh, great to see you man! I can explain, I promise,” Joel said, laughing awkwardly.

“You better,” Grian replied, crossing his arms. His eyes landed on the merman - which made sense, he wasn’t exactly something you saw every day. He was sitting on a barrel, his tail spread out on it. It was completely black and white and a few fins were sticking out of it. His ears also appeared to be something alike, not looking quite human. His hair was completely white, but he didn’t look much older than the others.

“Well, y’know how I navigated in a super cool way? Well, you see, I found Etho here, trying to climb onto the ship,” he said, then pointing at his tail. Grian noticed a trail of blood running down from an open wound. He looked at it, horrified.

“Dude, why didn’t you cover that up?!” He asked, and Joel mostly looked confused.

“Well, nothing really sticks onto the tail,” he tried explaining. “And well, I offered to save him, and he helped us navigate out of the good of his heart,” Joel said, putting a hand to his own heart as if the situation was very touching to him.

“It was an exchange,” Etho said, crossing his arms. Grian hesitated.

“Alright, I don’t care, I’m getting Mumbo,” he said, walking away.

“Wait! You can’t tell anyone! Etho, no, put that away!” Grian turned around, spotting a small knife in Etho’s hand.

“What? You didn’t want him to leave,” Etho said with a shrug, letting Joel take the knife.

“That doesn’t mean you can kill him! Where’d you even get this?” He asked, turning the knife over. Grian eyed Etho. “My bad,” Etho said, not sounding sorry at all.

“Alright, I need someone to bandage that wound, and Mumbo probably won’t tell anyone.” Grian left before he had any other knives thrown at him, looking for his friend.

He found him sitting next to a couple of others playing what seemed to be poker. It was a fairly new game; his guardian had introduced it to him, but lost his patience after less than ten minutes, giving up teaching Grian how to play.

“Mumbo, my man, can I borrow ye for a second?” Grian asked innocently.

“Sorry Gri, gotta win this,” he said, putting down a card in front of the others. Grian sighed. He’d have to bring in the big guns.

“Please?” He asked with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster. Mumbo looked like he wanted to kill him as he got up.

“This better be important,” he grunted, to which Grian nodded.

“It is, I promise. Can you get the medical supplies?” He asked, and Mumbo instantly went to his side.

“Did the bandage go up? Are you okay?” Grian brushed his hand off.

“I’m fine, trust me,” he said, following Mumbo to get the medkit. Grian then led him down the ladder to where Joel was still sitting next to Etho who was looking warrily at Mumbo.

As soon as they entered, the medkit dropped out of Mumbo’s hands, landing on the floor with a loud bang . “Joel, get behind us,” Mumbo said slowly, holding up his hands warily. Grian furrowed his brows.

“Mumbo? What’re you talking about? He’s hurt, he needs help,” Grian said, and Mumbo looked at Grian with a puzzled look.

“I know you’ve been isolated for a while, but merpeople are dangerous. A lot, Grian,” he whispered. Grian’s look got harder, and he stepped between Mumbo and Etho.

“Mumbo, you’re acting crazy,” he said, picking up the bandages which had fallen out of the box. Mumbo tried grabbing his arm, but he moved it out of his reach, glaring at him. He went over to Etho, crouching beside him. He tried wrapping the bandages around him, but just like Joel said, it was impossible to get them to stick. They kept slipping off his tail.

Mumbo began walking toward them carefully, resulting in a small hiss from Etho.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Mumbo said, sitting down next to Grian. He gently took the bandages, wrapping them around the tail. The tension cut between them like a knife, and as soon as Mumbo was done, he stepped away, letting out a deep breath.

“Etho was the one who helped Joel navigate through the pass,” Grian said, hoping it would ease the other. Mumbo looked a bit shocked.

“Alright,” he said after a few seconds of silence. “I’ve uh, I’ve gotta go,” he said, pointing apologetically behind him. He stood still for a few seconds before leaving.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Grian said, shuffling his wings slightly. Etho stared at them, but not in the way people usually did; maybe because he was used to the same.

“So, how long are you staying here for?” Grian asked, settling down on a barrel next to them.

“I’ll go back as soon as I can swim again,” he said dryly.

“Alright, I’ll leave you two alone. But Joel, you gotta tell Xi at some point.” Joel nodded. “I know,” he replied softly, glancing shortly at Etho.

***

It didn’t take long before Xisuma told the crew. Someone would’ve probably stumbled upon them as Grian did, so it was a good thing Xisuma told them when he did.

Etho had come up to the deck, looking hesitantly at the crew. Joel was practically shining next to him.

“Y'know, I think Etho just really wanted to meet me, he’s kinda obsessed with me,” he told Grian with a smirk later. Etho groaned beside him.

“I swear, you’re gonna be the end of me,” Etho replied with a sigh.

“Aw, I love you too,” Joel replied before stretching.

“It is getting late,” Grian replied. “We should rest before we reach the coastline, we’ll meet some other ships in no time,” he told the other two.

“At least the ship I ended up on was a pirate ship. You know how to get stuff done,” Etho said with a satisfied smile before letting Joel and Grian carry him down under the deck again, to which he’d grown accustomed.

Grian just hoped that things would calm down for a while.

Chapter Text

Everyone was relieved to see that they’d made their way to the coastline when Impulse spotted a lighthouse. According to Scar, they were close to one of the main trade routes. They were hoping to find a large trading ship with a ton of supplies. The whole ship was almost buzzing with excitement.

The only one who didn’t seem too excited was Scar. Whenever Grian asked him, he just came up with a half-hearted excuse. One time he said the sun was too sharp, another that he was longing for land. Which was clearly a lie; For one, Scar was a terrible liar, and secondly, he hated being on land.

Impulse yelled out “ship! ” suddenly, causing everyone to leave the posts they were at, running around in organised chaos.

Grian instantly went to Impulse's side, and he passed the spyglass to him. “One day you’ll take my job,” he said with a sigh as passed over the object to Grian. Though Grian might have the better eyesight of the two, he’d never have the patience for staring into the ocean all day.

“There are fourteen… No, fifteen people. A lotta boxes. Not a big ship though. I think they’re the king’s men,” he said when he noticed the uniforms and tightly held postures. Grian turned over the spyglass a little, landing on another man who seemed to be their navigator. The spyglass turned around until it landed on Grian. “Uh oh…” Grian said. They’d definitely spotted them. Within seconds, the enemy crew was alerted - they had transformed the ship into an organism, everyone working their post.

“I don’t think there are any cannons,” Grian told Impulse. The only weapons visible were the guns the crew was carrying around.

Grian went under the deck to check on Etho. Though before he could go down, he realised Etho himself was on his way up. Which didn’t seem easy when you didn't have legs.

“Need any help?” Grian asked, slightly amused. Etho scowled back at him.

“I’m going back home now.” He said it shortly and simply. Grian hesitated.

“...You have told Joel, right?” He asked. The other would be devastated when Etho left.

“Of course,” Etho replied. Grian nodded, lending him a hand. Etho hesitantly took it. As soon as he was up, he jumped over the railing. Grian wanted to go and ask Joel, but they were kind of in the middle of a naval battle right now - the other ship was getting closer and closer, and Grian went in the air.

He flew up high, confusing a lot of the other crew before the ships' sides almost crashed into each other, creating a clear path between them. Their own ship was already in bad shape - after the deadly pass, the railing was gone in multiple places, resulting in the whole deck being a death trap.

He landed next to Scar, who was the first to board the enemy ship. He’d gone full feral mode, trying to hit all the people surrounding him with a long staff.

“Heya!” Scar yelled out excitedly when he saw Grian. He decided to stay a bit behind Scar, not really in the mood (or with the training) for fighting.

“Have you talked to Joel?” Grian asked, getting a “yeah, why?” in return.

“Did he seem upset?” Scar looked thoughtful while he hit some older dude on the head.

“Nah, just excited for his first raid,” he replied. Shit , Grian thought. That meant Etho hadn’t told him. He bit his lip.

Grian grabbed a large box, opening it in a swift movement. Cleo came up behind him, leaning over his shoulder to see what it contained.

“Fresh fruit?” She asked, gasping as she saw the goods. “I can’t wait to get literally anything else than the damned cod,” Scar agreed happily.

Most of the enemy crew had been tied up alongside each other, some complaining loudly while others seemed satisfied just glaring at the pirates.

“Who here is the captain?” Xisuma asked, scanning the crew to find him. It eventually landed on a man whose uniform had golden strikes in it, as well as a few medals hanging on it. It was clear he was of higher rank than the rest.

Xisuma let out a deep sigh. “With how badly you fought, I thought you were the naval captain for a moment. But it seems he’s still not showing his face. How long has it been? Ten years? Fifteen?”

“That’s his long-time enemy,” Mumbo whispered, joining Grian at his side.

The enemy captain gritted his teeth. “You have no business here. I demand you leave at once!” He said. Grian wanted to laugh at the absurdity. It wasn’t really like he was in a position to make demands.

“Listen, here’s how this is gonna go: We’ll take your cargo, and you’ll get to live.” The enemy captain was silent for a bit, clearly considering it. At last, he nodded, looking defeated.

“I’ll take this,” Xisuma said, ripping the medals off from his uniform. The navy captain attempted to dart forward, but the ropes held him back.

“You have no right-” he cut himself off when he saw Xisuma gripping the hood of one of his crew members.

“Let’s play a game. This or that,” he said, holding his sword to the side of the crew member with one hand and the medals in the other. The enemy captain looked away.

“Do it,” he said regretfully. Grian stiffened. Was he really going to choose an item over a man's life? Xisuma didn’t seem as shocked as he was. But he let the man go, laughing as he threw the medals over the ship's side. Scar stepped forward, eyeing the enemy captain.

“Wow, you really are a horrible person. For a moment there, I almost felt bad for you,” Scar said, tilting his head slightly. The captain looked revoked, with his brows furrowed staring angrily at Scar.

As the enemy captain’s eyes turned, they landed on Grian.

“Hold on a minute,” he said, his eyes wandering to his wings. Grian took a step back, the sudden attention catching up with him.

“You’re the one they’re all looking for.”

Chapter Text

Grian was unable to speak, so Xisuma spoke for him. “What do you mean he’s the one everyone’s looking for?” He confronted the other. The enemy captain blinked a couple of times, snapping out of his trance.

“I misspoke. My apologies.” Grian hesitated. It was clear the other man had recognised him, no matter what he said. But who could be looking for him? Almost no one knew of his existence.

Xisuma kneeled down beside the other captain. He wasn’t talking loudly enough for Grian to hear what he was saying, but he saw the enemy’s face grow paler and paler for every word Xisuma uttered.

“C’mon. Let’s get this stuff on the ship,” Impulse said gently, resting his hand on Grian’s shoulder.

Though the only thing Grian wanted to know was the truth, he let Impulse lead him trough the enemy crew members. Everyone’s eyes were on him, on his wings, everything was just like back in his old village.

Impulse sat down next to him on the deck once they were back on their own ship, bringing him a cup of tea while the rest of the pirates were carrying the cargo to their ship. It didn’t take long for Mumbo to sit down beside him.

“Hey Grian,” he said, and Grian mumbled something in return. Mumbo hesitated, furrowing his brows.

“Everyone has different stories of joining. I, for one, wanted to become a famous engineer, but no one would let someone from the lower class in. Except Xi.” When Grian didn’t respond, Mumbo’s frown grew deeper.

“Everyone has a story. That’s not what’s important. What is important, is the story that you make. The enemies and allies. You’re with us now,” he said, and Grian nodded.

“I know that, but… What if I’m putting the whole crew in danger?” A loud laugh came from behind him, and Scar kneeled in front of them, getting comfortable on the deck.

“You do know you’re on the most famous pirate ship, right? Known for having the whole fleet after them? Joel over there is the son of some famous dude a bunch of people are hunting. You’re definitely not the one putting us in the most danger, Gri.” Though Scar mainly seemed amused, there was a more serious undertone. Grian finally looked up.

“Why have you been acting so strange, though? Ever since we came to this coast you’ve been so weird,” Grian confronted the other. Scar seemed taken aback at first, before he looked away.

“I guess it’s only fair for you to know. It’s just… My family doesn’t live far from here. It’s… weird, being back.”

“Do you want to visit them?” Grian asked, and Scar instantly yelled “no!”. That’s when Grian remembered the whole reason for Scar being on the ship. His family wanted him to be something he could not, so he ran away and boarded the nearest pirate ship.

“I’m done with them,” Scar said, his eyes darkening. Soon after that he was gone, leaving Mumbo and Grian alone. Grian couldn’t handle more stuff right now - he just wanted some peace and quiet, not to ruin another friendship. So when Joel came up behind them, Grian considered jumping over the side of the ship and living like a fish with Etho. Wherever the man was.

“Have you guys seen Etho? I can’t find him anywhere,” Joel said, looking around them as he spoke. Grian exchanged a helpless glance with Mumbo before he turned to Joel with a grimace.

“He’s uh. Taking a break. In the water.” Grian crossed his fingers, hoping Joel would just quietly accept it and go be with Skizz or someone. But the universe clearly didn’t want him to, so instead he sat down next to the others, staring out into the open ocean.

“Man, I can’t believe this,” he said, the break in his voice breaking Grian’s heart. 

“When’s he coming back?” Joel asked, voice still slightly hopeful.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Joel looked away for a bit, and Grian decided it was time to leave him alone.

He went to the top of the mast; the crow’s nest. He settled down on top of it, waiting for the night to fall. The stars appeared one by one. Grian counted them until there were too many, making him lose track.

He heard the ladder under him squeak. He didn’t bother looking who it was.

“What’re you doing, sitting up here all alone? You’re acting emo,” Scar said. Grian didn’t bother asking what emo was.

“I’m really sorry, Scar,” Grian said, still watching the stars above them. He did move over slightly, allowing Scar to lay down next to him. He was almost falling off, the place clearly wasn’t made for that purpose.

“I think I might try to visit them,” Scar said hesitantly. Grian finally turned to face him.

“Really?” He asked, and Scar nodded.

“It’s been so many years. I never though I’d be gone for this long,” he said, and Grian nodded.

“Do you wanna come with me?” Scar asked, and Grian was taken aback.

“Really? Me?” He asked, not bothering to hide his confusement.

“I want someone I know, someone I trust,” Scar said like it was the easiest thing in the world. It would’ve taken Grian years to muster the courage to say those words.

“I’ll be there,” Grian promised. Scar smiled. “I knew I could count on you,” he replied.

He might not have had the perfect day, messing up a few friendships and finding out the royal fleet was looking for him - but at the end of the day, that didn’t matter. He knew he’d always have his friends.

“Did Xisuma ever get anything out of the other captain?” Grian asked Scar. The grim look on his face said everything Grian needed to know, and he let out a deep sigh.

“Believe me, he would’ve if he could’ve. They couldn’t get anything out of ‘im. But I have a feeling this won’t be the last time we hear about this,” Scar said. Grian knew deep down that he

was right. It seemed like they both had things waiting for them.

Chapter Text

Finding Scar’s hometown village was a longer process than they first expected. No one remembered exactly where it was, and there weren’t many people around at the open ocean to ask. None who’d speak with pirates, anyway.

All Scar remembered was the harbour. Apparently, there was a huge wooden tower, stretching all the way over the treetops. But the village itself was nothing but a small fishing village - it was a mistake that the pirates had ever gone there in the first place.

That’s when Grian remembered someone who knew the ocean better than anyone: Etho. The only problem was the fact that he was gone. Though Grian had a feeling he wasn’t too far away.

Joel sat all day on the deck, staring into the ocean. Whenever he saw a slight movement in the water, whether it was a fish or a dolphin, he excitedly jumped up, before realising it wasn’t Etho and settling back down again.

A lot of the crew members were helping with the ongoing reparations after the dangers of the pass. The figurehead had been destroyed too, so one of the pirates was carving a new one. It was a long process - Grian doubted it’d be done anytime soon. But the man refused to let anyone see what it was.

Looking back at Joel, Grian got an idea. It wasn’t really a great one, but it might just work. He instantly went to find Scar, who had dumped his job, instead going to repair the ship with the others.

“Etho’s the only one who can find it,” Grian told the other when he didn’t seem convinced by his plan.

“I know, but it just seems wrong,” Scar said, looking at Joel.

“Look at ‘im. He’s devastated. Etho’s the only one who can fix that too,” Grian said, glancing at Joel.

“A’right, fine. Let’s do it,” Scar said with a sigh, though he didn’t manage to hide the glint in his eyes.

“Joel won’t be scared, he’s way too naive for that,” Grian told Scar, praying to the stars that he was right.

They snuck up behind him, a fake spear pointed to Joel. Truth be told, it was harmless - the tip of it wasn’t even made of steel, and even though you couldn’t see it, it couldn’t even stab a fish. But no one could see that. Including Etho. Hopefully. Who knew what those fishman eyes could see.

“Trust us,” Grian whispered, and Joel didn’t have time to turn around before the spear was pointed at his side.

“Guys, c’mon, what’re you up to now,” he asked, rolling his eyes dramatically. Scar was holding the spear, making a slight movement toward Joel. The next thing happened in less than a second. Grian blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he was on the ground, a spear pointed toward him and Scar. Above them was Etho, looking furious. Grian looked at Scar and grinned.

“It worked!” He exclaimed, leaning back and getting comfortable on the deck.

“Tell me one good reason why I shouldn’t put this spear through your heart right now,” Etho hissed.

“Well, for one, it doesn’t really work,” Scar said with a small shrug. Etho’s brows furrowed and he struggled to keep himself up.

“What do you mean it doesn’t work?” He asked, but Grian didn’t have time to respond before Etho was attacked from behind.

Joel had his arms wrapped tightly around Etho, pulling him into a warm embrace. Etho froze. “I knew you’d come back,” Joel said happily.

“Joel, I’m kinda in the middle of something,” Etho said, still pointing the tip of the sword threateningly at Grian and Scar.

Grian lifted one of his hands. “Try stabbing me,” he said, and Etho looked shocked. “Trust me,” he said, and Etho hesitantly brought the spear toward his hand, letting it hit Grian gently. It didn’t hurt at all, and Grian drew back his hand.

“Then why?” Etho asked, lowering the spear, still with a Joel attached to him.

“We kinda need your help with a couple of things,” Grian replied. Etho narrowed his eyes.

“For one, that,” he said, pointing at Joel. “And secondly… Well, do you know a village around here with a really tall wooden tower?”

“Yes,” Etho replied. The spear wasn’t pointing in their direction anymore , so Grian assessed that it was safe enough to get back up.

“Could you maybe tell us?” Grian suggested. Etho didn’t reply. Grian made eye contact with Scar, who didn’t seem to have any better ideas.

“Please,” Scar said. “I just wanna see my family.” Etho’s eyes softened at this.

“It’s a bit south from here, just a few hours if the wind is right,” he said. Grian smiled.

“Thank you so much,” he said and decided it was best to leave him to catch up with Joel.

The first one they told was Xisuma. He was happy for Scar, of course, instantly setting the course for the village. It took a little longer to reach the village than Etho had said, and they stayed in the distance so the villagers wouldn’t see the pirates. He and Scar went in a smaller boat, heading for the town.

“Hey, just to be prepared, there aren’t any of the fleet here, right?” Grian asked as Scar paddled.

“No, why?” Scar asked. Grian looked in the distance, trying to see the village more clearly.

“They were everywhere in my old town. Kinda freaks me out,” he said with a shrug. His guardian had been some huge general; honestly, he had no idea why he lived with him. He wasn’t really in the position to raise kids, but when he’d saved him all those years ago he probably just felt sorry for Grian, making a quick decision to do something good for once.

“I get it,” Scar replied, and they spent the rest of the way in silence. Grian hoped with all of his heart that Scar’s family would be well.

Chapter Text

The village seemed cosy to Grian. Where he was from, it was always busy, but here people actually greeted each other on the streets. It seemed nice.

It was late when they arrived, and most of the shops were closing up. Because of that, Scar insisted that they hurried up to reach his family’s shop before it was too late and they’d have to wait for dawn.

“Right there,” Scar said, biting his lip.

“How are you feeling?” Grian asked.

“I’m not sure. Excited. Nervous.” Scar took a deep breath, resting his hand on the door handle. The light inside was still on, even though the sign on the door claimed they were closed.

As soon as Scar opened the door, the sound of a small bell rang. At the counter stood a man who seemed about their age, standing with his back turned to them. When the door opened, he took a quick glance back at them before turning back, uttering a polite “sorry, we’re closed.”

“Dave. It’s me, Scar.” The man turned around slowly, looking at Scar. His brows furrowed and his mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. His eyes narrowed and he took a step forward.

“Scar?” He asked, his voice breaking . “No, you’re supposed to be gone, you left , you can’t be back-” he cut himself off and Scar took a few steps forward.

“I’m so sorry. You know I had to get out,” he said, and Dave took another step back. “And I didn’t?” He asked. Scar froze.

That’s when someone else joined in. The door behind the counter opened and an older woman came out.

“David, what’s taking you so long?” She asked and her eyes landed on Scar. Unlike Dave, it didn’t take her a second to recognise him.

“You,” she said, taking a few steps toward Scar. Though she was small, she seemed incredibly threatening. Grian stayed at the back of the shop.

“How dare you come back here, after all those years?” Scar visibly shrinked at the woman Grian presumed was his mother’s words.

Scar didn’t apologise. He didn’t say anything. He stood as if his feet were bound to the ground.

“The food is gonna be burned. David, set the table for them too, we’ll talk things over during dinner.” The mother said, and Grian furrowed his brows. Grian went to Scar’s side as soon as they were gone.

“Are you okay?” He asked the other, concerned. Scar shook his head. “Let’s just go inside,” he replied, voice small.

It was the most awkward moment Grian had ever experienced. Everyone was staring at them with everything ranging from surprise to disgust to rage.

There were eight others around the table. The parents, of course. There were five who seemed to be older than Scar, all boys. The only other was his younger brother, Dave, sitting at the end of the table.

“I thought you were dead,” were the first words the oldest brother said to him. A sister asked where he’d been.

“I’ve travelled with the… ship. I should’ve come back sooner,” he said.

“You shouldn’t have come back at all,” his mother said, pursing her lips. Grian clenched his fists under the table. How dared she?

It was when the food was served that Grian noticed the biggest difference in Scar’s behaviour. Back on the ship, he’d always sit in some strange position, eating his food like a caveman. But here, he sat perfectly straight, keeping his elbows off the table. He held the cutlery in the same way Grian’s guardian had taught him and cut the food into small bites.

“Where have you been to?” The older brother asked, clearly being the only one who wanted a civil conversation.

“We’ve been most places. Went south to Africa at first, then Asia, and then the Americas. Though we usually stick to Europe,” Scar explained carefully.  “How have things been here?” he added carefully.

“Business is good. We’re selling a lotta fish, to larger companies too.” Scar smiled.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said with a small smile. The mother’s eyes suddenly turned to Grian and she pursed her lips again.

“Even bringing a hybrid into our home, have you no shame?” Grian froze. No one had addressed his presence until then. She got up, taking the plates to the sink even though no one was done eating. The rest of the kids (who were pretty grown up) got up, already heading out.

The eldest brother walked to the door, signalling for the other two unwelcomed guests to follow.

“I think you should leave,” he started. “Come back in a few months, alright? She’ll have calmed down by then. I promise she does want to see you.”

“Wait, take this address. Write me, please,” Scar practically begged. He’d told Grian that they had a few places they visited to check for mail every once in a while.

They didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone else, but when they snuck out the back door, Dave was standing outside. Very in the mood, it was pouring down, and they were soaked within minutes.

“Dave, I’m so sorry. I’ll come back soon, I swear,” Scar said. It sounded like he was crying, but the rain made it impossible to see.

“Fuck you,” Dave said, clenching his fists . Grian wondered if this was what Scar would've been like if he'd still been there.

“Come with us! You can stay with us, I’m sure you’ll like it," Scar pleaded desperately. 

“Just go. Leave, just like you did last time.”

“I’m sorry,” Scar said, and Grian gently grabbed his arm, leading him home.

Chapter Text

It took a while for Scar to get back to his old self. He was so down for weeks that he refused to do anything. Everyone was worried, so Grian and Joel tried to find some way to cheer him up. There was nothing like a good mystery, but Joel wasn’t too keen on Grian's newest idea.

It was late at night when Joel dropped his facade for a second. They were sitting on the deck, again brainstorming for stuff to do when Grian suggested they try to find Joel’s family. 

“Look, I know my cousin set me up. It’s just too much right now. I can be someone else here. Just let me have this.” Grian was shocked when Joel said that. Though he had been suspicious of Joel at first, he’d pushed it off as just a part of his personality. But it seemed it wasn’t entirely the case.

“But don’t you wanna find them?” Grian asked. If he had any clue where his family was, he’d do anything to find them. (At least, that’s what he told himself - he’d done nothing to find his Guardian yet.)

“Not yet. Just a little more time,” Joel said. So they turned to the only person who knew the waters around them better than anyone: Etho.

“I dunno. Salem does live around here,” he said with a shrug. They’d set up a small station to call him, though Joel was the only one allowed to use it. And he did. A lot.

“Who’s that? Another mermaid?” Joel asked, leaning forward.

“Nah, she’s a sea monster,” Etho replied with a grin. “Lives not too far from here. No ships have been able to get past her.” Grian turned to Joel, who was facing him with wide eyes. Grian smiled. Salem sounded perfect.

***

Surprisingly, Xisuma didn’t immediately love the idea.

“The ship can only take so much damage. She’s had it tough after the pass,” he replied.

“But look at Scar,” Grian said, pointing at the sad man. He was currently staring into the ocean, not too different from the way Joel did when Etho had disappeared.

“And you think a sea monster will cure him?” Xisuma asked with a raised eyebrow. Grian wondered for a moment. 

“Yes,” he eventually concluded.

“Alright. It’s your funeral,” Xisuma said, muttering a small “ oh shit, it’s mine too ,” once they started walking. Grian snickered on the way out, waiting for Xisuma to tell the crew. There was no way this could go wrong.

***

It turned out that Salem wasn’t too hard to find. She had the face of a woman, with seaweed for hair. According to the legends, touching the hair would make you feel enough pain to kill a thousand horses, leaving you nothing but an empty shell of what you once were.

She was bound to the ground by chains no one knew where had come from. Had someone been brave enough to chain her a thousand years ago? Today, no one even dared to come closer to her, so Grian highly doubted it.

She wasn’t too far from land - a smaller imperial station was close to her, monitoring her at all times. At least that’s what Xisuma had said. The empire didn’t like not being in control. That’s why so many traitors were executed every day, and probably also the reason why they’d wanted Xisuma’s head for so many years now; the reason wanted posters with his face plastered across them hung in every city.

“Are you excited?” Grian asked Scar, who was watching the creature in the distance. Scar nodded. “Of course,” he replied, but it sounded strained. Grian bit his lip. It would probably change once they started the fight.

Salem welcomed them with open arms. Well, her arms were spread out in a grand gesture, but it did look more like she wanted to squish the ship than give them a hug.

As soon as the pirates came closer to her, she swung her arm at them, but they were just out of reach. Someone quickly threw a sword, landing it right in her index finger. She screamed out in pain, and within seconds, the water was turned into a whirlwind of waves, causing a lot of the pirates to scream with her.

But when Grian looked up, he didn't see some wild animal in pain; he saw himself. Chained to a life she never wished for, and Grian could understand her. So instead of preparing for the attack like the others, he dove into the water.

Salem was like an iceberg; underneath the surface, her body, which was a tangled mess of kelp and other seaweed, stretched down even further. 

Grian was about to swim carelessly in between them when he remembered the stories of how it would burn you to death or something. But the fish around him didn't seem to care, swimming happily between the plants - she must know they wouldn’t harm her. But Grian would have to be careful.

He'd gotten pretty good at holding his breath, but there was a long way down to the bottom of the sea. The water around him was completely dark - he couldn’t even see the surface from where he was. But he didn’t care, he had to get down. What he would do when he was, he wasn’t too sure of, but he’d figure it out. He always did.

Once he reached the end, he noticed how large metal chains bound her. They were tied around the seaweed, pulling her down.

Something touched him from behind and he spun around in an instant. Behind him was Etho. He looked much more at home here, in the water, than Grian had ever seen him before, but he didn’t have time to think about it. Instead, he gestured widely at the chains. For a moment, Etho looked at him like he was crazy, but after a few seconds another emotion flashed over his face and his eyes softened. He swam toward the chains, and together they grabbed them and pulled.

At first, nothing happened. The chains didn’t move, which made sense - if a person taller than the water couldn’t pull them free, two tiny hybrids couldn’t either. But then something dark came down above them. Something big. Salem was coming down to them, and there was nowhere to run.

Chapter Text

Salem was facing them when she came down. Her eyes were wide open and her hair was spread out around them. It was pure luck that she didn’t kill them instantly. Grian felt goosebumps all the way down his back, knowing he was solely at the mercy of a sea monster.

Grian pointed desperately at the chains. She seemed to understand, though she was hesitant. Grian had a feeling that if they had been human, they’d be killed in an instant.

“ We can help you, ” Etho sang. His voice sounded enchanting under the water, and Grian paused. He felt almost hypnotised, unable to move. He suddenly noticed just how incredible Etho was, with scales longer than his fingernails and those piercing blue eyes. Etho seemed to notice, and he pushed him, making Grian snap out of the trance.

The creature didn’t reply; She probably wasn’t able to speak. Not all were gifted with that ability.

It didn’t take too long before she agreed. She gave them a nod, pointing to where the chains were bound to her. It seemed like it might be possible to take them out, at least with human hands. Grian and Etho swam toward it, but both hesitated when they noticed the poisonous kelp. She nodded at them when she saw their hesitation, and Grian slowly lifted his hand, placing it gently on the seaweed. Nothing happened. No pain shot through him, no last memories were played inside his mind.

Instead, Grian pulled, flapping his wings to get more movement away from the chains. Etho followed his movements, and after a while, they managed to get the first part free. Unfortunately, there were a lot more, and Grian was already feeling desperate due to the lack of oxygen. But it was working - bit by bit they got her free. 

When they got the last part of Salem free, it was silent for a moment. It's always silent under the sea, of course, but this was different. It was as if everything was quiet, just waiting for Salem's next move. The fish stopped swimming, the currents stopped moving. And then she disappeared, moving faster than Grian could count to one.

On her way, she made a hand movement that resulted in Grian being pushed upwards by a current. It was fast; at first, he had no idea what was happening. He didn't have time to think, too dizzy to understand it. But once he broke the surface and continued until he was further up into the air. He just managed to spread his wings, avoiding crashing against the water again, taking a desperate breath of air he'd been holding in for so long.

He crashed against the deck of the ship, breathing heavily. He had no energy to get back up, and the pirates gathered around him.

“What did you do?” Scar asked slowly above him. Grian didn't respond. How could he? He let out a sea monster, with no clue what would happen. She could destroy cities if she wanted to. Fortunately, someone spoke for him. 

“He did what was right,” Etho said and the rest turned toward him. Grian was relieved to have the attention away from him. “She won't bother anyone,” he explained, but not all of the pirates seemed convinced. They'd just have to wait and see.

Skizz came up then to Grian’s surprise. “My old ship tried to defeat her once. We lost half the crew. But when I came back, alone, to mourn our lost crew, I didn’t try to hurt her. She didn't do a thing to me then. I don't think she means anything bad. I get it, we're all mad, but maybe she isn’t like that, y’know.” It was rare for Skizz to talk about his old crew. Apparently, they were some imperial elite force. But he said they weren't all bad.

Joel said earlier that he was ready to look for his cousin. The crew was fully ready to avenge him, and he was sure Joel knew that too. They'd stand behind him no matter what.

“Alright, What’s done is done,” said Xisuma. “We should focus on fixing this mess of a ship,” he said, and if there was one thing that the pirates did agree on, it was that.

Fixing it wasn’t an easy task. They might have the materials, but there wasn’t exactly a tutorial on how to fix a ship. Many of the people aboard were good builders, but ships weren’t an easy goal.

The nights were more fun. While the days only seemed to go by with chores after chores and endless fixing that seemed to lead nowhere, the nights were filled with card games and late-night talks on the deck. They’d even tried to light a campfire one night. Who cares if the ship was made out of wood, which was pretty much the most flammable material? Well, apparently Xisuma did because he put an end to the shenanigans. But they’d still have their fun.

Xisuma rarely agreed to tell stories, but whenever he did everyone ended up amazed. He’d been in the imperial force before turning to join a pirate crew of lower rank before he had the chance to get his hands on his own ship.

“Have you ever gone on a treasure hunt?” Joel asked him one day. He once said that he’d always read the pirate books when he was a kid, though there weren’t many - people didn’t think highly enough of the pirates to write books about them. But whenever there were pirates, there were treasures.

“Well, there was one,” Xisuma said reluctantly. “The crew was exhausted from endlessly hunting ships for days. Our captain ,” he said the word captain with so much venom, “decided that was the time for finding the lost heart of the sea.”

Joel looked at him with wide eyes. “Did you find it?” He asked. Xisuma closed his eyes for a few seconds.

“We went on for days. We arrived at the lost mansion - the farthest anyone’s ever gotten, apparently. It’s where they said it was hidden. It was filled with these horrible creatures. We called them Vexes. They took too many of us.”

Nobody said anything; everyone had gone quiet to listen to Xi’s story. He was the one with the most experience, but that came with a cost.

“We were only four that made it to the final room. I urged our captain to turn around - we’d lost so many already, but his appetite had been whetted.” Grian sat still, waiting for Xisuma to continue. It all explained so much of the way Xisuma acted, why he was so reluctant to do stuff that endangered the crew too much, while still being a goddamn pirate - they longed for the excitement.

“We saw a pile of gold taller than the mast,” he said, pointing toward the ship's mast. “But that wasn’t what we were after. We continued through a whole maze of gold and gemstones, but when we made it to the end, all there was was an empty table. The heart was gone; or perhaps, it was never there,” Xisuma said.

“That can’t be the end,” Joel said. “Didn’t you continue searching?” He asked, and Xisuma nodded.

“Of course we did. Didn’t wanna think that my friends died in vain. But alas, there was nothin’ else to do,” he concluded. “There is no way to find the heart,” he said with a sigh. The story felt strangely familiar to Grian. But he was tired, and he wanted to go to bed. He went to bed without saying goodnight to anyone, just to find that Scar was already there. Grian didn’t know for how long he’d been laying there. He hoped with all of his heart that something would magically happen to make Scar his old, happy self again.

Chapter Text

“Grian! Grian, look!” Grian turned around, spotting Scar speed-walking toward him, waving an opened letter above his head. They’d found a town just yesterday, deciding to enter it peacefully. Their ship was about half a day’s walk away, so they were sure that no one would find it, and most the pirates had gone to explore the various streets of the town.

“What is it?” Grian asked, putting away the bag of dried fruit he’d been eating.

“I got a letter, it’s from my brother,” Scar said happily. Grian’s eyes lit up. “Can I see it?” He asked, and Scar passed it to him.

Dear Scar,

I hope this letter finds you in good health.

Our family has been a mess since you left. So, nothing new. Mother still refuses to talk about you, but she doesn’t yell anymore when someone brings up your name, which is progress. Father barely talks, and Dave is distraught for a reason none of us understand completely. But the rest of our siblings have spoken. They miss you, and some are asking when you’ll return. I’ll tell them you’re busy for now, but when mother allows you to return, I’ll let you know.

Best regards,

Your eldest brother

“Scar, this is great news,” Grian said softly. Scar just smiled. The wild sea monster chase hadn’t cheered him up a bit, so Grian was relieved to finally see a smile on his face.

“I already sent a reply. I can’t wait to hear from him again,” he said, starting to walk alongside the shore. Grian followed him.

“I’m so excited for you.” Scar deserved the world, and Grian was willing to give it.

“I know. And guess what, I talked to Joel - we’ll start making our way to the Central as soon as we’re done here,” said Scar. The Central was a city designed to be in the middle of all that’s important, though it never did quite live up to those expectations. But the emperor placed a lot of stations there, so it was a rather famous city.

“I’m so ready for a new adventure,” Grian said with a sigh, looking out over the ocean.

“We literally fought a sea monster a few days ago.” Scar’s voice sounded unimpressed.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t count,” Grian replied. Scar chuckled. “Sure thing mate.”

The trip back to the ship felt longer than it had on the way out. The forest had grown darker, and the rain seemed to fall harder. It only took Grian and Scar a few minutes to get lost.

They decided to take a break against a tree stump. The forest around them was filled with whispers, and Grian lost all sense of what was left or right.

“I think we need to get out of here,” said Scar, with no clear intention to move. “Let’s do that, then.” Grain barely even heard his own reply.

“Come dance with us, humans ,” a strange voice said. It sounded welcoming, more so than any voice Grian had heard before. Except for Etho’s, maybe.

The voice led them longer into the forest, and Grian followed them blindly. Once they reached a large clearing, the voice stopped. The voice started to take form, and it seemed to be an elder woman. She looked at them, hesitating slightly. She looked only at Grian.

“You’re not human,” she said, not unkindly, but with a certain voice change Grian couldn't quite describe.

“I’m not,” Grian confirmed, hesitating too. He was used to hostility because of it, so he had to be prepared for anything. But instead, she broke into a smile, holding out her arms, open and inviting.

“Welcome,” she said, shooting a glance at Scar. “Come on, tell me your name and your purpose. What do you seek here?” She grabbed his arm, walking toward the clearing.

“I’m just passing by with my friend,” he said, and her eyes softened.

“Kid, I’m sorry, but he ain't your friend. Those people want us nothing good.” Grian frowned slightly.

“That’s not fair; They aren’t all like that,” he said, but she just patted him gently on the back.

“I’m sorry kid, but they all are. They’ll ruin you.” Grian took his arm back.

“If you think that, you’re no better than them - assuming they’re all bad ‘cause of bad individuals,” Grian responded, turning away to try and find Scar. But when he turned around, he realised the other was already gone. Had he left him that quickly?

“I really am sorry, kid,” the woman said. “But I’m sure you’ll find a home here,” she said. Grian was tired, you couldn’t blame him; a welcoming smile and the promise of home sounded like a dream after a long day. So he let her lead him into the village.

She crawled into the stub of an ancient oak tree, and he followed her hesitantly. Inside of it, a tall ladder with lanterns to the side led toward the top. He followed her, his legs getting tired almost instantly from a long day. She must’ve noticed it because she led him straight to a bed. Grian didn’t remember falling asleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning was beautiful and sunny. He was in the treetops, alone in a small treehouse. He went out, seeing a lot of people. Not humans; hybrids. All of them. And they looked happy.

They all smiled at him. She was accepting him instantly, not writing him off because of his appearance. Even the pirates had glanced his way, all eyes lingered slightly longer at his wings, judging or not. He didn’t feel that way there.

“You must be the new guy,” a girl said with a wry smile.

“I’m just passing through,” Grian said with a smile.

“Sure thing,” the girl said, clearly not believing him at all. “I’m Pearl. And you are?” Grian smiled. “My name is Grian.”

Pearl’s smile reached her eyes, but she seemed like she knew more than she was letting on. The battle scars all up her arms told a different story from her innocent eyes, but Grian knew better than to judge someone based on what they’d been through.

She showed him around the treetop village, showing him all there was to see. He was introduced to more people than he could remember.

“I was told to pass on the message that there’s an event tonight,” she said, hesitating like she was picking out her words carefully.

“What’s it about?” He asked.

“You’ll see,” she said, voice strained. This time her smile didn’t reach her eyes. But it only lasted a couple of seconds before she dragged him onward to show him a new place someone called home.

When evening came around, he’d forgotten all about the strange encounter. Everyone still seemed happy, but a more serious tone started appearing as the night grew darker.

“As you’ve noticed, we have a new neighbour with us today,” the voice of the woman who’d introduced him to everything said while approaching a small stage. She smiled at the villagers.

“Unfortunately, it hasn’t been all sunshine for us lately; a few days ago, a group of navy sailors attacked us. But we fought them off, didn’t we?” She said, gaining a few cheers from the people around them.

“It’s tragic, but we’ve got to understand that the people came here to hurt us,” she said, her eyes directly at Grian as the people were dragged out toward the middle of the clearing. They were in huge chains, all snarling like caged animals. That’s when Grian looked around at the people around them. Almost all looked pained by the situation. That’s when Grian noticed something in the shadows. It’s like they were moving, and Grian stood up trying to see them better. That’s when one of them became clear for just a second, but that was all it took; Grian would recognise Mumbo anywhere. The rest of the pirates had to be nearby.

“There will always be casualties in war. And if we let these go, they’ll tell everyone where we are,” she said. “As will he; though he has done little wrong yet, releasing him will mean jeopardising all our safety.” Grian’s heart skipped a beat. Scar was down there, in the middle, all alone.

“What is this?” Grian demanded, standing up instantly. “Are you seriously going to kill an innocent man over this?” His voice was loud as thunder, reaching everyone around them. 

“Human,” the elder corrected gently. Grian saw red . But they must've predicted this, because just as he was ready to fly down and grab Scar, he felt his hands being tied to a nearby pole.

“I'm sorry,” Pearl mumbled, and though she looked genuinely pained, Grian felt no empathy as he kicked toward her. He missed.

“Pearl, please, you can leave with us, you can get a better life,” he pleaded, but Pearl shook her head.

“My life is here. I'm sorry, Grian,” she said.

Grian turned his attention toward the crowd of people, trying to spot his pirates around them.

It didn't take long until they acted. They must've understood the immediate danger that Scar was in because, within minutes, all hell broke loose. As soon as the first pirate appeared, Pearl cut the ropes that tied his hands.

“Go,” she said harshly.

“Come with us,” Groan tried again, but she shook her head, and Grian's priorities were elsewhere. He didn't send Pearl another glance before he dove straight down for Scar.

Grian knew they didn't have time for explanations, but he couldn't help but apologise over and over again as he broke the other loose. A couple hybrids attempted to reach them, but pirates pushed them away.

“It's not your fault,” Scar said with a soft smile to stop his flood of apologies.

Then came a while when no one seemed to know what to do. Those of the pirates who had come to the rescue (Mumbo, Skizz and around five others) were stuck in the middle, surrounded by the hybrids.

“Grian, you're still welcome with us,” said the elder, but Grian just glared angrily at her. That's when Skizz tugged his sleeve. Just as he was about to speak, one of the sailors who had attacked the hybrids stood up.

“Holy shit, Skizz, is that you?” Skizz paled.

Chapter Text

Skizz looked slightly uncomfortable but stepped forward anyway.

“You… you're still alive,” Skizz replied, eyeing the other man. A couple others stood up as well, grinning madly as they spotted the other.

“Fucking hell, I never thought you could make it this far,” said one man with a cruel laugh.

“Is that your old crew?” Asked Grian, his voice still ice cold. Skizz smiled ghostly.

“Just one question: what happened? Why'd you never come back for me?” It took the sailors a couple seconds before they burst out laughing at the same time, as if on cue.

“Holy shit, you actually thought we'd come back for you?” One asked, another one adding “that's hilarious”.

Grian took a step forward. “I think you should be a bit more careful with your words considering who's in charge here,” he said, pointing at the cage they were locked in.

“Please, as if he'd have any real power here,” a sailor said. Skizz visibly shrunk. Grain turned fully toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It's up to you what happens now,” he said softly to the others. The sailors gaped at them in surprise. Skizz stood completely still.

“you have always been rude to me,” Skizz started out, speaking slowly, as if every word was a pain. Grain thought the sailors would have laughed if they didn't realise the danger they were in.

“You told me I was nothing, no one, and I believed you. And I agreed, for all the years I was stuck on that island, I agreed more with you every second. For that I'll never forgive you,” he said.

“And now it's up to me to choose between you, people who have never done anything but harm, and the innocent people who live here.” Grian spared a glance at the elder hybrid, who looked incredibly shocked; probably could've never imagined a non-hybrid sticking up for hybrids.

Skizz' voice was cold as he spoke his next words.

“You don't deserve to live.”

***

It didn't take long before the pirates took their leave. They seemed to have a silent agreement with the elder, who allowed them to leave with a promise that they'd never tell a living soul what they saw.

“We got lost,” Grian told the remaining pirates with a shrug. Joel, who had stayed back at the ship, bombarded them with questions, but when he realised they had no answers for him, he eventually stopped.

They were on the ocean for about a week in which absolutely nothing happened. There were no ships at all, though Grian sometimes thought he could see something if he squinted his eyes behind it . It was probably just his mind making things up.

Grian felt restless. He didn’t like not having anything to do, but the rest of the pirates seemed content with a moment of peace. Grian just wished there was something to do - he’d spent his whole life trapped inside, but now he could explore the open sea.

He spent most of his time playing minor pranks with Scar or gazing at the stars with Mumbo. He realised that, boredom or not, he felt happy. But unfortunately, it did not last very long.

After a few more days with the constant silhouette far behind them, Grian decided to ask Impulse about it. The other agreed that no, Grian wasn’t crazy, there was something. He lent Grian the spyglass, and he could just about make out that there was a ship tailing them. Not many ships could keep up with them - in fact, when they came to Xisuma, who paled visibly (which made Grian scared like no other; he’d never seen Xisuma show any sign of fear), he told them that he’d only met one other with such speed. The enemy captain, who Grian had been told about a month prior, was the leader of the king's men. The king himself was an old man with no real power left, but the king's men, the navy, those were the one with the real power, the pirates had told him once.

And those were the same people who had been looking for Grian .

So now his boredom was replaced by a deep, dark feeling in the pit of his stomach. But the pirates would make it, he knew they would - they’d defeated sea monsters and countless other challenges, and there was no way a navy ship would be the end for them.

When nighttime came around, the pirates took a vote to decide that they’d slow down the ship, not being one to run from a challenge. Joel and Etho took the first watch, watching to see when the enemy ship would get closer.

Grian grew more and more restless. Scar, who's changed to a hammock next to him, put a hand gently on his shoulder.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he said gently. “I know you haven’t been here for long, but we’ve faced worse people. No matter what they’re like, we have. We’ll make it,” he said and got comfortable close to Grian. Grian tried to send the other a convincing smile, but he was pretty sure it was more like a grimace.

“I know,” he said with a sigh. “I just have a bad feeling.”

***

 Grian was awoken by the sound of something crashing. The whole ship shook. Grian instantly got up, looking around the other pirates in panic. Nobody seemed to know what was going on. A shutter went through him.

“They can’t have caught up on us already, can they?” He asked. And surely someone would have spotted them.

Grian ran out, not even bothering to grab anything but the dagger he had hidden in his boots and a sabre in his hands.

What met Grian was more terrifying than anything he could’ve ever imagined. The enemy ship had crashed into theirs. Grian covered his mouth with his free hand, scanning the crowd of pirates to find Xisuma. Finally, there he stood, amid the ship. In front of him, on the enemy ship, stood another man.

He was exactly as the pirates had described Xisuma’s enemy captain. He was tall, with a navy blue outfit and a cruel look on his face. But that wasn’t what truly scared Grian.

Stood in front of them was his guardian.

Chapter Text

His guardian didn’t spare him a glance. He was purely focused on Xisuma.

“You know, all this time trying to fight you, I’d expected more from you and that crew of yours.” Xisuma must’ve known that the pirates were just waiting for his word and they’d stand ready to attack. But he didn’t say a thing.

“Alas, you didn’t seem to be doing much damage lately. And then, rumour goes around that you’ve taken in new crew members. Including one, parrot-looking hybrid.” Grian can do nothing but hold his breath. “My own ward,” he says, and Grian’s world comes crashing down. He takes a staggering couple of steps back. All this time exploring, all this time avoiding his past life, just for it to come sneaking back to him.

“Is that true?” Scar asked, and Grian turned around to face his friend. It didn’t take him long to realise it had been a mistake. Grian opened his mouth but had no words to respond. Scar’s face was filled with disbelief and betrayal.

“I’m so sorry,” Grian finally muttered.

“Come here,” his guardian said in an authoritative voice. Grian took a few steps forward but managed to stop himself.

“I’ve found a real family here. They’re nothing like you,” Grian said, facing his guardian, who just let out a deep sigh.

“Pirates are bad, Grian. They kill people.” He talked as if explaining something to an ill-mannered child.

“We don’t just kill anyone without a reason!” Grian yells back. He’d been there a long time, and they’d never done anything too morally bad. They didn’t even take what wasn't needed.

“C’mon, I raised you better than that.” His voice was harsh, and Grian shrunk visibly under his gaze. It was as if the whole world had paused, every single pirate and navy crew member standing still, just waiting to see what happens next.

“You’ve read the stories, Grian. You really think they’ve never killed innocents?” His guardian continues once he realises Grian isn’t going to respond. His breath hitches. They were pirates, after all.

“It’s time to put this foolish teenage rebellion behind you and come home,” he said. But what would happen to the pirates if he did? So Grian shook his head.

“I can’t,” he replied between breaths. All the pirates were looking at them as if in shock. He couldn’t, he just couldn’t leave them, no matter what they’d done. Grian’s guardian stared at him for a long moment before opening his mouth to speak again.

“I  really didn’t want to tell you this yet, but you leave me no choice,” he said, pinching his brows. “Don’t you realise why they actually kept you around?” He asked, his gaze burning holes in Grian’s heart. But he kept his courage. He clenched his fists and spoke up.

“They care for me, they see me for who I am.”  His guardian let out a short, cruel laugh, his smile not even reaching his eyes.

“You’re really that naive? Very well… This all started a long time ago. Your parents were explorers. Not really impressing ones of the kind, there was only ever one discovery that mattered. The heart of the sea.” He pauses as gasps come from everyone around them. Even his own crew seemed shocked, though they were better at hiding it.

“The heart of the sea went missing years ago,” Grian spoke hesitantly.

“You were dying. Sick. Your hybrid abilities were taking the life out of you. Have you never thought there’s a reason why you’ve never seen another parrot hybrid?” Grian flinched at the way he spit out the word ‘hybrid’.

“They sacrificed it. They sacrificed the heart of the sea to save a hybrid.” He shook his head. “They were dead when we got there, sacrificing themselves in the process. We were too late.”

“It was all written in a document, which Xisuma stole years ago. That is why he kept you.” Grian turned his head to Xisuma.

“Did you know?” Grian asked, turning his head to Xisuma.

“I suspected,” Xisuma admitted. “But we never kept you just because of that.” Xisuma’s eyes said he was telling the truth, but his guardian’s all too familiar laugh promised safety and familiarity.

“You don’t actually believe that, do you? It’s time you learn: You have no friends in this life. Only allies.”

“Just… don’t hurt them,” he said, blinking a couple of times to stop the tears from falling. Who knew exactly how his guardian would react to that.

“Surrender peacefully,” his guardian demanded at the pirates, who only growled in response.

“There’s no way in hell,” he heard Mumbo mutter, his gaze filled with a darkness Grian had never seen before.

As the fight broke out, Grian wanted nothing but to fight side by side with the pirates like he’d done countless times before. But he stood frozen to the ground, his sabre raised, but not able to actually use it. He wished he could just pass out and refrain from seeing the bloodbath.

His eyes desperately tried to follow everything at once, checking on all the pirates and making sure no one was hurt. But so many were cornered, and Grian’s world came crumbling down again.

His guardian and Xisuma were fighting, a fight the universe had been waiting to watch for decades.

While his guardian fought like a controlled soldier, Xisuma fought like a wild cat, teeth and claws showing at every possible moment, moving faster than Grian could even see. Somehow though, his guardian still managed to block all the hits, still with that cruel smile displaying on his lips.

But his guardian never played fair. That just wasn’t something he did . So of course, he signalled for a crew member to come up behind Xi.

“No!” Grian shouted, making his way there, but it was too late. A small dagger was placed at Xi’s side, and Grian finally broke his trance, making his way over there before his guardian could do anything else. He crouched at his side, desperately covering his wounded side with his hands.

His guardian went on to other fights, and Grian was left alone with Xisuma.

“No, no, no!” He cried out, his hands shaking as he ripped off his shirt, tying it around Xi’s side, in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding which just didn't seem to stop.

“You’re gonna be alright, you’ll be okay,” Grian pleaded, meeting Xi’s eyes. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

“Please,” he begged. Xisuma closed his eyes.

Chapter Text

The pirates lost. That was a surprise to no one. After Xisuma was down, everyone lost their spirit. They were now all tied up to different places on the ship. Everyone except Grian.

Grian avoided the pirates. Many tried to call him over, but he didn’t want to hear their snarking remarks on how he’d betrayed them.

Xisuma was out of it. Miraculously, he was still alive, but barely. And without medicine, Grian wasn’t sure how long he’d last. And his guardian had just left him to rot.

Grian was free to walk around, but his guardian’s gaze was always resting on him. Right now he was busy with commanding and getting the ships to a harbour, but soon enough his attention would turn back to Grian.

It was a funny thing; he’d never been much home when Grian was little, but when he was, Grian had been so happy. The short moments he had with his guardian, the person who acted as his parent, was everything to him. Now it was what he feared the most.

Grian slowly explored the enemy ship. He was careful not to go anywhere he wasn’t allowed to - he was certain his guardian wouldn't trust him.

After a while, he’d grown restless once again. Seeing all the pirates tied up, he tried to ignore the pit in his stomach. Ignoring their pleas, them calling his name, he made his way to where he knew Xisuma was tied up.

Grian let out a gasp when he saw his condition. It was even worse than he’d remembered. Xisuma was covered in sweat and blood, laying on the ground with his eyes closed. Grian fell to his knees besides the other man, lightly touching his forehead but instantly drawing his hand back from the heat. He was burning up.

While the rest of the pirates were obviously feeling better than Xisuma, none had had any water or food since they left. Grian wished he could just tell his guardian to give them some damn food, but he knew the other man wouldn’t listen to him.

Nothing was going well. Xisuma was dying and soon the rest of the pirates weren’t too far behind him.

One problem at a time.

The first thing he did was talk to the enemy crew, trying to get on speaking terms with some of them.

“Those pirates will be dead of hunger before we reach any harbour,” he said at some point with a scuff. He slowly spread the idea amongst the enemy crew until it reached his guardian. When he ordered to get them food and water (though just barely enough), Grian was more than relieved. Hopefully they’d get enough. They’d make it out of there before standing trial before the king, they had to, because no one made it out of there alive.

He visited Xisuma again the next day, horrified when he spotted the froth in the side of his mouth. In a desperate attempt, Grian opened some of the boxes on the enemy ship, but none contained medicine. All they had was weapons and other war supplies. Grian wanted to cry. But that was the moment he realised; his guardian had to have some in his private cabin.

It was midday when he first attempted. While his guardian was distracted by yelling at some poor crew member of his, Grian reached out and grabbed the key from his belt, praying desperately that it was the right one.

He fumbled with it, trying desperately to get it into the padlock. The sound of footsteps grew louder, and Grian realised one of the patrolling guards had to be close. He didn’t even dare breathe as he struggled with the lock, but he eventually got it open. He hurried up behind the door, breathing heavily as he looked around.

He opened the top drawer, then the next, desperately trying to find any sort of medicine that might help.

Finally, he spotted a large box labelled ‘medic kit’. He ripped it open, finding something for stab wounds and some pain killers. He closed the drawer again, making sure everything looked like before, and was about to leave before his attention changed. There was a small candlelight which was almost burned down next to a folder labelled the heart of the sea. Grian hesitated. But he didn’t have time, and he shouldn't betray his guardian’s trust. He was already risking so much by getting the medicine.

He hurried out, relieved to see no guards were closing in on him.

Xisuma was where he’d been for so long, and Grian made sure there was no one near as he made the other swallow the pain killers. To his surprise, Xisuma trusted him and swallowed them willingly.

There’d also been some sort of ointment which he spread out over the wound. He was afraid it’d get infected, but hopefully the medicine would help.

Just as he was about to leave, Xisuma grabbed his hand. Grian froze, awaiting some sort of lecture.

“I know you’ll make the right choice,” was all he said. Grian stood frozen as Xisuma fell out of consciousness again.

***

When things settled down, and the enemy crew got more comfortable (especially since there was only a weeks sailing to the king, if the winds were with them), his guardian’s attention finally turned toward him.

“Why don’t you join me for dinner?” He asked, ignoring Grian’s flinch as he squeezed his shoulder. Grian hesitated. His guardian always ate dinner alone, not with the rest of the crew. As if he read Grian’s mind, he smiled. “We’re family,” he told him, and though his heart told him this wasn’t his family, he listened to his mind that he was legally family to this man.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come to rescue you earlier,” his guardian said as they sat down at each end of the table. Grian wanted to tell him that he didn’t need rescuing, that he was with the pirates at his own will, but he stayed quiet.

“I tried so many times to find you and bring you back to safety, but those damned pirates always stayed one step ahead,” he continued. Once Grian realised he waited for him to reply, he bit his lip.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” he asked, and his guardian shook his head.

“Of course not. Xisuma and his crew manipulated you. Every time they made you fight with them against the king, against order, you took a piece of our kingdom with you. The soo

ner you realise that, the better.” Grian didn't reply. 

Chapter Text

A couple evenings later, Grian waited for his guardian as he’d grown used to the other nights. But ten minutes passed, then twenty, and he still hadn’t shown up. Grian felt restless.

He stood up, mainly to stretch his back, but curiosity got the better of him when he spotted a folder which stood out slightly. It was labelled Letters with Xisuma. Curious, he opened it. There were only a couple inside. The first read:

I have kidnapped your son and demand a dozen tons of gold to give him back. If you fail to meet my order, I will have him thrown overboard and leave him to the sharks.

Your humble opponent,

Xisuma

Grian frowned. Would Xisuma really have done that? He went on to the next.

Thank you for your reply, but he’s no longer for sale. I realise how much the heart of the sea is worth. He will be forever under my command.

Your humble opponent,

Xisuma

Grian kept going through them, more letters alike with no real input. The door behind him opened, and Grian turned, looking at his guardian like a deer in shiplights.

“What did I say about snooping through my stuff?” His guardian asked, with something to his voice Grian couldn't quite place. It wasn’t anger or disappointment, he sounded almost… pleased. But no, that wouldn’t make sense.

“I’m sorry,” Grian mumbled, looking down at the letters. His guardian sighed and crouched to where Grian was sitting on the floor.

“I know it hurts to have those you thought you could trust betray you. I know it’s hard for you to trust me right now, but you know I’ve always had your best interests at heart.” Grian nodded, but they both knew his guardian never had a heart. If he had, he’d never have been able to be so ruthless.

When Grian left his guardian that night, a memory of another folder came to his mind. The heart of the sea, had been it's name. Surely that would have something in it, something Grian’s gut didn’t tell him not to trust.

So the next day, when his guardian was busy at work, he snuck in with the extra key he’d been given. Because of this, his guardian had clearly made some adjustments, many of the folders being missing. But Grian could find them, he knew he could, he just had to be smart.

He looked around, but there was nowhere obvious to hide. No creaking floorboards, no locked drawers - he even checked that none of the books opened a secret passage. After what felt like forever in searching, he gave up and leaned against the map on the wall. Only, it didn’t feel solid. Just where he placed his elbow, the wall had an odd shape. It could just be a coincidence - maybe he’d hung the map to cover the hole. But Grian knew his guardian - he tolerated no mistakes, refusing to cover them rather than fixing them.

So he slowly lifted up the map, wincing at the loud sounds it made. And sure enough, there was a small hole, just big enough for Grian to fit his three fingers into. He felt around with his fingers, looking for something to grab onto, until he felt a handle he could hold. He turned it, and sure enough, there were a few folders and documents that Grian could see. Most of them looked unimportant, but not long after, the heart of the sea stuck out. He opened it immediately, sparing no time. 

The first was a map on how to find the heart of the sea, with a small note reading empty next to the cave it was supposed to be hidden in.

The next thing he found was a letter from a “concerned citizen”, saying that a Mr and Mrs Batchelor had found the heart of the sea, followed by the king’s order to collect it. Grian was terrified by the next letter.

May it please your majesty to know that I have now succeeded and elimited the targets, Mr and Mrs Batchelor. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it in time to save the heart of the sea. They have consumed its magic to save a hybrid baby. I have retrieved the hybrid, planning to take it under my ward to see what prospects it might hold in the future.

Grian clasped a hand over his mouth. Those were his parents. And the stemple signing the letter was made by… His guardian. Grian nearly choked. He was the one who had killed his parents all those years ago. They never died in the process of draining the heart of the sea.

He might’ve sat there forever if he hadn’t been interrupted by a loud knock on the door. “Who’s in there?” The harsh voice of a guard sounded. Grian’s eyes widened. What could he do? What would he say when he was caught?

Then, as if by some miracle, an idea came to him.

“Leave me be. I’m doing some research,” Grian said, mimicking his guardian’s voice perfectly. He held his breath, afraid he was gonna be called out on his bluff, but a small “sorry, sir,” was all the guard replied before his footsteps told Grian he was leaving.

Grian desperately scrolled through the folder. There were countless updates on Grian, how much his wings had grown, how much his wish to go to the ocean escalated and how his guardian had found him in the shallow water when he was merely five, swimming perfectly. Every word was written as if Grian was some kind of animal, and he covered his head. Gods, he’d let his guardian manipulate him, just like he always had, and missed what was right in front of him: His real family. And oh, they might never forgive him, but he had to try.

He had to make things right.

Chapter Text

Grian's guardian was busy. That was probably very much to his luck - it meant less attention, luckily for Grian. But it also meant everyone aboard was stressed.

He went back to Xisuma. He was on the ground, presumably sleeping. Grian rested against the wall behind him, making sure there were no enemy guards around.

When Grian was sure, he crouched next to the other. Due to his condition, no one had even bothered to tie his hands.

He touched the other gently. “Xi,” he whispered softly, but flinched away when the other moved. 

“Grain?” He groaned, opening his eyes slowly.

“Yes, I'm so sorry, I'll make everything right, just tell me how,” Grian pleaded, hoping Xisuma didn't just want to kill him now.

“I can't, Gri, other captain knows me too well. But you have to get them out of here.” Grian nodded. He knew that. He'd do anything.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps approached and Grian stood up, pushing Xisuma softly with his foot.

“Still out cold, eh?” He concluded, trying to appear bored by the situation. 

“Sure is,” the guard replied hesitantly. None of then fully trusted Grian.

When he found an opportunity to leave, he slid out to the more hidden side of the ship where some of the pirates deemed less dangerous were placed. He found Mumbo first. Grain could almost laugh at the absurdity. If Mumbo had a hand free, he probably could've designed anything with just a piece of paper or a scar of metal. But that wasn't the case.

He kneeled next to the other. “Grian? I-” Mumbo started, but Grian cut him off.

“I'm so sorry, but please don't speak. Imma cut your ropes, but don't move until the signal comes. I need to get the others free, too,” he explained. Though it was all a bit rushed, Mumbo seemed to understand. 

“What will the signal be?” He asked, but Grian knew he only had seconds before the patrolling guards would return. Which wasn't too bad timing, since he hadn't really figured out a signal yet.

Getting the pirates free took longer time than he'd expected. One wrong move and he'd be caught, endangering the whole operation.

It took multiple days. Multiple days with awkward dinners with his guardian, trying desperately not to fall for his lies.

During one dinner, it started raining. That itself wasn't really unusual. It was raining softly, pounding slightly against the wood of the ship. But then it got worse. It was only a question of time before it'd turn into a storm.

There was complete panic on the ships, and no one noticed when Grian slipped away.

“Etho!” He shouted desperately into the ocean, but there was no response. He swore loudly. If this had to work they'd need more of a distraction. This all depended on him.

“Etho, please,” he yelled, but the sound of thunder cut off his every word.

The ocean beneath him was a wild mess. Waves were slicking up agsind the ships, threatening to turn them both over every other second. But the ships were steadying each other.

Grian tied a rope to the railing, hoping desperately he could hold onto it once he was in the water. He threw himself over the railing, rappelling down the side of the ship. Waves threatened to take him under way too many times, but he held fast until an unusually big one approached. He knew it only from the shouts aboard, and he barely had time to turn around to see the monster of a wave.

A sense of dread filled his stomach as he had no time to prepare for the wave. He let go of the rope, crashing into the ocean just in time for the wave to hit.

If he'd let go a second later, the wave would've crashed him into the side of the ship, breaking every bone in his body. But Grian didn't have time to dwell on that thought right now.

He was sinking, and fast. He tried to fight it, but he couldn't. But then it stopped. Not just the dragging, but the whole storm. Right then, it was just him and the ocean, wrapping it's arms around him in a way that felt somehow soothing.

And then, there he was. There was Etho. Grian met his eyes, silently pleading for help. Etho grabbed his arms, dragging him to the surface.

“Please, I need your help saving Joel,” Grian said as soon as they broke the surface, still trying to gasp for air.

“What do you need me to do?” Etho asked, tone serious. He knew this wasn't the usual silly pirate shenanigans as Grian did. This was the real world.

Grian knew Etho had been through a lot. It wasn't something he spoke about, but as merpeople, they weren't exactly welcomed by the world.

And he'd seen the scars on his backs. Those weren't just any scars. Most of them, he didn't recognise, but he'd seen enough scars to know what some of them were from. Thrown daggers, harpoons, swords. Groan was sorry for all that he'd been trough.

But right now they needed to make sure nothing happened to the people they cared about. They had that in common.

“I need you to distract them,” Grian said. “Just a few minutes. The pirates will take them out.” Etho seemed to understand and quickly led Grian back to the ship. He barely managed to drag himself up from the rope on the side, slamming into the side multiple times, wincing at the bruises that would form later.

As soon as he was on the ship, he began climbing up the mast. The rain made it almost impossible to see, but a light lit up the world every time lightning struck from the sky.

The next time it hit, Grian screamed. It wasn't human in any way, but then, neither was Grian. It was an awful sound, getting everyone's attention. He could only imagine how terrifying it must've looked - an inhumane figure at the top of the mast. Then, Etho took out a guard from the side of the ship.

“Mermaids!!” Someone screamed, and all hell broke loose.

The pirates were up and about within seconds, and before they knew it, the enemy crew got attacked from both their ship, the sea and the sky. Grian fought with everything he had, the fight passing by in a blur as he took down guards from all sides.

He tried to get around to help everyone, and eventually he faced his guardian. He clenched his fists. He wouldn't repeat the mistakes of the past.

“Grian? Why are you doing this?” He asked, that fake mask of his false personality still up.

“I know everything,” Grian said, wiping blood from his lips as he spoke. His guardian’s eyes hardened.

“Very well then,” his guardian said, raising his sword and taking a step toward him. Grian raised his own. He knew there wasn't any way he could logically win this fight; his guardian had trained for decades, and Grian for mere months. But he'd sure as hell die fighting.

That's when Xisuma stepped in front of him. “How about you pick someone your own size,” he told his guardian, his smirk matching his guardians hideous smile.

“This fight is long overdue.” Grian held his breath as they fought. This time, there was noone to interrupt, Grian made sure of that. This fight would be fair.

The rest of the pirates took out the navy members one by one, until it was just Xisuma and his guardian. When Xisuma attacked, the other responded in moves just as stealthy and violent.

When his guardian's sword was right at Xi’s throat, Grian was sure he was gonna push trough, but nothing happened. Finally, his guardian fell to his knees, a dagger in his stomach. Xisuma dragged it out.

“Now that that's done,” Xi said, looking toward the gaping parts of both crews as his guardian bled out on the ground.

“How about we get out of here?”

Chapter Text

Grian knelt next to his guardian.

“Help,” he whispered, but Grian had no compassion left for him.

“Was that what my parents said as you slit their throats?” He asked coldly as he stood up.

“Goodbye,” was the last words he said as he returned to the pirates. He stopped in front of them, an invisible wall between them. The navy crew had retreated to their own ship, trying desperately to separate it from the pirates’.

Grian bowed his head at the pirates. A final act of respect and regret. 

“I'm so sorry. I'll leave. I'll go back with them. I know you'll never forgive me, but I’m not gonna be a burden anymore. I understand that you'll go on without me.”

Scar took a step toward him. Grian braced himself for the impact of the harsh words that would surely come from him.

“There's no way in hell we're leaving you here with that monster,” he said with a harsh smile. Xisuma walked past them, ruffling Grian's hair on the way out. “Proud of you, kid,” he said.

Grian stared at them all. He couldn't believe it - after all he'd done?

“He manipulated you, just like me old crew,” Skizz said. “we ain't mad at you.”

“But - I -” Grian's breath hitched, bu then Scar was there, wrapping his arms around him, and everything was okay again.

“It wasn't your fault,” he said, as if it was as simple as that, though he must've known it wasn't. Grian could've done anything, he could've stopped his guardian. It was selfish to go with them. He didn't deserve them.

But with scars arm wrapping around him in a tight embrace, it was enough for now, Grian supposed. He was enough. 

***

The ship needed a lot of repairs, but luckily all the pirates were ready to help.

In the middle of fixing it all, Scar had gotten another letter for his family, and Grian’s heart filled with hope as Scar's eyes lit up with joy.

“They say I can come back and visit!” He said. Grian grinned in reply.

“That's amazing, Scar,” he said, and the other smiled.

“Do you want to come with me?” Grian blinked a couple of times, dumbfounded.

“Me?” He asked dumbly, and Scar laughed at that. “Who else would I be talking to, silly?” He asked. Grian thought it was a wonder how he could trust him like that after everything he'd done. But Grian wanted to go. He wanted to be there for Scar.

“Alright,” Grian said with a faint smile.

As they settled down next to each other with a fishing rod each, staring into the ocean with the familiar sound of chatter and laughter in the background, Grian smiled. It was amazing how somewhere so ever-changing could become a home in mere months. And if home was this good, Grian didn't think he'd ever had a real home before.