Helen touched down on the galleon's largest deck once the ship had fully breached from the sea. The mustached sailor hopped down from the forecastle deck to the main deck and bowed his head again with his hat over his chest. "Ahem... I said: 'Your beauty never ceases to sweep me off my feet, Lady Helen.' Perhaps you didn't hear me over the wind."

  "No, I heard." The golden-haired Captain responded coldly to the sailor's courtesies. "Where's the rest of your crew?"

  "I sent them below deck. I'd hate for them to spoil our reunion. After all, it's been nearly a year since I've had the pleasure of seeing you. I'll pour you a drink. We can catch up and-"

  Helen had no interest in such a proposal. "I need a favor."

  Back in the water, Mira had just broken the surface once more after the waves settled. He panted heavily and paddled over to the boat. When Mira got to the wooden hull, he ran into his first problem; there was no ladder up. He swam along the ship's side until he reached the galleon's nose, fighting again through bothersome currents that sought to steer him away from his timber salvation. When he reached the front, he spotted a mass of steel overhead; an anchor that hung just out of his reach. Mira struggled to kick his legs hard enough to reach the steel, but his short arms just weren't built for such a task. After a few attempts, Mira took a moment to concentrate and pushed his Radiance into his feet. He kicked violently, causing small burst of blue static to emanate through the waters, and finally felt the cold touch of anchor in his fingertips. He grabbed on tight and pulled himself up, swinging back and forth upon the links as if it were a rickety pendulum. At long last, the wet teen managed to position himself atop the ship's anchor and started climbing up its chain toward the ship's deck.

  When Mira reached a flat landing, he squeezed himself between the two guard rails and rolled onto his back. He laid there panting heavily for a few moments, wondering what he did to deserve Helen's tough love. Mira feared nothing, almost to a fault, but the feeling of being trapped underwater was something he hated above all else. It reminded him of the day he left Spring Island. There was a storm that ripped his boat apart that day, leaving him trapped under the waves for far longer than he would have liked.

  To Mira's side, he spied Helen speaking with the fashionable sailor. He couldn't hear them, but they both wore smiles that put him at ease. Mira pushed himself up as swiftly as possible and started walking towards the two of them, still dripping from head to toe.

  Mira managed to make out the last words from the sailor. "Anything for you, Lady Helen."

  Mira looked around the massive vessel and noticed something immediately: there was no food here. He turned to Helen with his arms crossed and gave his new Captain a dirty scowl. "Helen, you told me there would be a feast here. Where is it?"

  Helen looked amused by Mira's hunger. "What do you mean?" She stretched her arms outward with a fat grin. "Look around you, there's a whole banquet waiting for you in this ocean..." The Captain of Division Seven lowered her arms and turned her back on Mira. "Go catch a fish." A bright streak of lightning shot into the sky, and just like that, Mira was alone on a boat with a mustached stranger.

  Mira looked over to his new friend and pointed out to the sky his Kingdom's Hero disappeared into. "Umm... is she coming back? Or...?"

  "Don't worry about it, lad. We've got big things to do—no time to waste. You know how it goes." The sailor extended a grimy hand forward. "Admiral Avery Jones, long-time friend of your Captain."

  Mira noticed the putrid smell of the Admiral's breath immediately, but after last night in the bathroom he hardly flinched at the odor. He gave the man a firm handshake. "Mira Van'Heatah. Cool boat. I used to have my own, but it got wrecked the first time I used it."

  Admiral Jones gave Mira an odd look, but whatever was bothering him went away with a shrug. The Admiral threw a hand on one of Mira's small shoulders and steered him to the far end of the deck where the entrance to his ship's galley stood; a door taller than two Human-sized doors. "Well Mira, it looks like you're our newest cabin boy."

  "What's that?" Mira raised a brow at the statement.

  "We'll be taking care of you from now on, and your job on the ship will be to help keep it clean." The Admiral opened the door into his massive ship and waved a hand for Mira to go in first, but the small teen stood stubbornly in front of him with his arms crossed.

  "I'm not a janitor! I told that to Helen last night."

  "Janitor? Oh, Gods, no. You will have the privilege of preserving the greatest vessel to ever sail these oceans: The Thousand Legends." The Admiral marveled around his boat like Mira was supposed to gasp with joy at the idea of scrubbing such a beast; but there was no doubt it was impressive. "My great-grand-pappy David built this ship over a century ago, but she still sails smoother than any of the new-age ships in these waters."

  A raspy voice called down from the sails. "Those tide-cruisers all end up the same, Admiral—strugglin' to catch our wake!" Up in the crow's nest a man with messy blonde hair smiled down at Mira and Admiral Jones.

  The Admiral's face went white when he spotted his lookout. "W-why were you up there?!"

  "C'mon, Admiral!" The younger man called down. "I couldn't help myself. It's been so dull lately, and we all wanted to know if you were gonna get all kissy-kissy with the ol' blondie."

  "Oi!" snapped the Admiral, "Don't go makin' jokes at her expense. Helen's a lovely woman, and any man would be lucky to be chosen as her husband."

  The lookout leaped from his perch and swung down fifty feet to the deck on a long rope. He landed flat-footed in front of Mira and the Admiral with an audible, "Hupp!" Mira now saw the man much clearer, his skin was a faint blue color, as if he had been sitting in the freezing snow for days. On his forearms the lookout had the same fins as the Inagi from the military exams, looking like scaled blades. He was also missing his left foot, standing unbothered by the injury on a pegleg that had clearly seen a few years of wear-and-tear. The lookout was much taller than he seemed up in the crow's nest, standing at nearly seven feet. He looked at Mira with slightly yellow teeth that had yet to become crooked. "Don't worry kid, the Admiral's just peeved that your Captain won't give him the time of day."

  "We are respected colleagues!" The Admiral's voice shot up in pitch with a jittery quality in it. He fiddled with his coat and went on. "Besides, we're both far too busy with our own responsibilities."

  "Aye, I'm sure that's why she left in such a hurry." Sneered the blonde sailor. He looked back down to Mira and introduced himself. "Welz. Good to have ya on board—our other cabin boy was gettin' lonely." The lookout had a telescope swinging from a braided leather belt. His leather pants were saggy and hung below his waist, but it was hardly noticeable with the oversized patchwork denim jacket that he wore up top. He spoke enthusiastically, a hint of sarcasm lingering in every sentence, leaving Mira confused as to whether or not the greeting was genuine.

  Mira shook his hand but couldn't help saying what was on his mind. "I'm Mira. Cool leg."

  "Thanks! I got it fishin' for Leviathans a few years back." Welz seemed to genuinely enjoy the compliment as he glanced down to his pegleg with a grin. He slipped past Mira and his Admiral to poke his head through the galley's doorway. "She's gone now, boys!" His voice echoed through the cabins. "Jones scared her off again!"

  A thunderous laugh rose up through the ship, Mira even felt the deck shake with the pounding of mugs against tables below. Welz waved for Mira to follow him inside. Mira looked to the Admiral first, who gave him a smirk and nodded to follow the lookout inside.

  Mira stepped through the doors and saw the back of Welz's head disappear down a flight of stairs. The galley could fit at least seventy men on its own, and the ceilings were almost as tall as those in the Royal Palace back in Gilgamere. The room had a few bench-styles tables lined up in its center, but there were far too few for the grand scale of the room. Behind those tables awaited a pair of barn doors that led into a kitchen pumping out the scent of fried fish. Red and white life-preservers lined the walls every couple of yards with various other collectables and trophy-worthy catches the crew had gathered over the years. Between the knick-knacks were round windows of thick glass that let thin beams of sunshine into the dining area. To Mira's left was a flight of stairs leading to the lower deck, to his right a spiraling staircase leading up to the next two levels: the library and the Admiral's quarters. Sitting alone at one of the tables was an Inagi with pale scales and long white hair to match. He sat with a foot on his knee, reading a large book with a leather cover ruined by exposure to moisture.

  The man looked up from his book to stare Mira down. He lowered the book without closing the page, revealing his right hand was missing, replaced with a brass hook.

  "Yo!" Called Mira with a big wave. "Cool hook!"

  Mira didn't get a response. Instead, the scaled man reached down into his coat aggressively with his dexterous hand and started rooting around a pocket. After a second of digging, he whipped out a silver flask and popped open the top with his thumb. Without disengaging eye contact with Mira, the man took a deep swig of rum and recapped the flask.

  Mira gave in and broke eye contact first. He turned to Admiral Jones with a confused look. "Does he talk?"

  "Don't mind him," chuckled the Admiral. "Rish is just bad with new people. He'll ease up to you soon enough." Avery turned his attention towards the white-haired man. "Oi! Rish! Wave hi so the kid doesn't think you'll creep in his bed." Rish waved but his dead-eyed stare didn't waver, making Mira feel even more uncomfortable seeing the gesture. The Admiral sighed and pushed Mira along to the stairs leading to the lower deck.

  Mira noticed the sway of the ship once he started walking down the steps. The Thousand Legends rocked gently, but the large ship's back-and-forth sway upon the waves grew more aggressive as he descended further down the staircase. Mira nearly tripped as he rounded the stair's landing and had to brace himself on the timber wall. The Admiral let out a hearty laugh behind the boy as he watched him struggle on the tide's bobbing.

  "Don't worry, lad. You'll get your sea-legs soon enough. Won't take more than a day or three."

  At the stair's end, Mira was greeted by the squawk of a loud parrot who swooped down from the ceiling and nearly knocked him over. Mira recovered again from the tumble and found himself standing in the Thousand Legends' tavern under the waves. Along the port side wall was a long bar, and behind it, Mira could hear dozens of glass bottles tapping against one another as the ship continued to rock upon the sea. On the starboard side were a few wooden high tables bolted to the floor, where three more sailors sat; heavy lifters guzzling down mugs of dark lager and clear liquors. The men gave Mira a perplexed look for a moment before returning to their drinks.

  Admiral Jones pushed Mira forward again, this time toward the bar where Welz sat on a wooden stool chatting with the crew's bartender.

  "Cabin boy!" Welz called. "Get over here!"

  The parrot flying around the room like it owned the ship came swooping down to the bartender's shoulder. Mira wobbled over to the bar and took a seat next to Welz. He stuck out a hand to the owner of the bird. "I'm Mira. Cool bird. Nice to meet you."

  The thick-necked bartender looked older than Rish. The man was fat and had scales of a richer shade of blue than Welz, but he looked nearly Human apart from that. The man's hair had all disappeared from the top of his head, leaving a shaggy ring of grey and white around the back of it. He shot the boy a grin, and much to Mira's surprise, spat in his own hand before gripping the boy's tightly.

  "Sinda. What're ya drinkin', lad?"

  Mira watched with a twisted face as Sinda jerked their sloppy hands up and down, making sure to coat the whole palm in saliva. "Uhh... I'll take water. Maybe a rag too."

  Welz jabbed Mira in the shoulder and went on, acting as if nothing about the greeting was out of the ordinary. "Sinda here's the doc for our lil' crew." Welz took long swigs of rum with a smirk between every sentence. "He'll fix whatever ails ya, then fix ya a drink after, to make the pain go away—he's good company. You'd be wise to show him respect!"

  The old doctor slapped an ice-cold glass of water in front of Mira. "Do you need pills?"

  Mira tried his best to wipe his hand dry on the underside of his barstool. "Nah. I'm not sick. Can I just have a towel?"

  Stolen story; please report.

  "Hmph." The bartender scoffed. "Whatever."

  Welz spun around on his stool and called out to the rest of the group. "Boys! This is the new kid, little-lad Mira. He's a soldier boy from the Crow Kingdom! Miss Helen just dropped him off, so make him feel welcome!" The sailors lingering around the bar had been listening to whispers from the Admiral but perked up when Welz called over and raised their mugs. Mira raised his water glass back to them with a nervous smile, still confused about why his Captain dropped him off and sped away so quickly.

  "I didn't know the Corvus Kingdom had a navy." Mira said offhandedly, turning back to Welz. "Must be nice to be out here protecting the shores."

  "Oh... we're not soldiers, lad." The lookout said plainly between sips of his drink. "We're pirates."

  "Pirates? Like, sea-bandits?"

  Welz chuckled loudly to himself, "We're the Neptunes." These words meant little to Mira, but he could tell Welz was proud to speak the name of his brotherhood.

  "Okay... Do you know why I'm here?"

  "Fuck if I know." Welz continued laughing to himself and spun his stool to face the bar once more. "I'm sure the Admiral's got a plan for you, just take it easy and he'll fill you in before too long."

  Mira sighed and went back to sipping his water. When the iced drink hit his empty stomach, wails and gurgles of hunger started calling out. He leaned over the bar and groaned over to Welz. "Got any food?"

  Welz finished his drink with a smirk and had Sinda pour him another. He slipped off his stool and led Mira back upstairs to the galley. They walked past the hook-handed bookworm and into a kitchen where Mira was able to eat his fill of overcooked wild rice. The meal was mushy and bland, but the boy was far from picky when it came to food. Sachi and Wilhelm were good home cooks back when they all lived together, but he had spent many years eating slop before coming to the Corvus Kingdom.

  Mira enjoyed Welz's company while he ate. The man's childish attitude and endless energy left Mira in disbelief that the lookout was ten full years older than him. As Mira shoveled down his meal, Welz hummed sea-shanties and poked fun at the silent Rish who was trying to enjoy his book peacefully. Welz clearly had a taste for the liquor, but Mira had no complaints; he'd been a fun drunk thus far.

  After his sixth bowl of rice, the Admiral walked back up to the galley and strolled through the tables. "Cut it out Welz, the kid doesn't need any bad influences here. And Rish! Put the damn book down and say hello."

  Rish took a deep sigh and made sure to place a bookmark down before closing his leather-bound book. He stood and polished off his hook with a handkerchief drawn from another interior coat pocket. Rish approached the table slowly and sat down beside Mira, wiping his eyes and slapping his cheeks a few times to wake himself properly before speaking. He reached out to Mira with his good hand. "Rishtopher Xerkin—I'm the navigator." Rish's smile said that he was happy to meet Mira, but his dead eyes said he would rather be reading his book.

  "You steer the boat?" Mira's eyes lit up at the thought of sailing such a massive ship.

  "No, no, that's the helmsman. Marj does all that. The navigator plots this ship's every movement." Rish positioned himself in a leisurely manner, kicking his foot up on his knee again. "You see, I'm a master cartographer. I've sailed every sea in this world right next to the Admiral." He leaned in close to Mira and covered his mouth so Welz wouldn't hear his next words. "Some of the folks around here even call me the Vice-Admiral, so don't be afraid to call me that." He pulled back and turned back to the lookout. "I can also read the weather like each breeze is a page in one of my novels; a fleeting whisper on stormy seas; or clouded skies to part with the wisdom of my-"

  "He gets it, Rish," interrupted Welz. "You're essential around here—no need to boast for the lad."

  "You guys are funny." Mira giggled to himself. "So, Admiral... uhh..." Mira scratched his head trying to recall the name. "Is it Jack?"

  "It's Jones. Avery Jones." The Admiral removed his fancy hat, seeming more off-put with every passing moment since Helen's departure. "For fuck's sake, I was the first person you met, kid." Jones' blood started to boil as he heard his lookout and navigator trying to hold back fits of laughter.

  "Sorry." Mira shrugged, returning to his rice. "I'm not great with names, I usually have to shorten them or make up new ones."

  "Don't sweat it, lad." Welz finally was able to speak, still holding back his giggles for the Admiral's sake. "You're meeting a lot of new people today, no shame in needing some time to learn all the names. In fact, there's five more people ya gotta meet, including your bunkmate."

  "Bunkmate?"

  "Aye." Rish butted in. "He's a bit cranky whenever we surface. The big lad still hasn't left his room today."

  "Well, that should be fine. My brother's a grump too, and we shared a room for years—but are you sure I'll need a room? I mean, I shouldn't be here too long, right?" The small teen glanced between the pirates. "I could just sleep on the floor for a few nights."

  "Nonsense!" Admiral Jones said swiftly. "As Helen's associate, you'll be given a proper bed—and don't fill up on rice. Our chef's working hard and he won't appreciate it if you've ruined your appetite when he serves supper."

  "Don't worry about that, I never get full." Mira finished his bowl and leaned back in his chair with a warm belly. "So, what's the plan here? Helen said you guys needed my help—something about a big mission."

  "We're hunting." The Admiral smiled grimly to his sea-faring companions. "We got a new lead on-"

  Avery was interrupted by the pounding of footsteps dashing up from the lower deck. "Oi! Are we ready or not? If we don't dive soon, the Gilgamere folk will start tossin' flames our way." An odd-looking fellow popped his head up from the staircase. To say he looked like a fish would be putting it lightly. He was without a spot of hair, bearing a crest atop his head much larger than that of Haltz from the C.R.M. exams. His eyes were small and black without irises, the same eyes as all those fish Sachi would chop back in their Green Edge kitchen.

  "Aye. I think you're right, Marj." Groaned Admiral Jones. "The Vice-Wing Commanders of Crow Country wouldn't want to see us loitering in their bay. Dive as soon as the Legends' prepped." The Admiral rose from his seat and began approaching the stairs leading up to the library. "Come, Rish. We need to chart our next breach. Welz," he turned his attention to the child. "Get the kid settled in his quarters. The dive might make him sick too, so make sure to give him a bucket." With a flap of his floor-length coat, the Admiral took his Vice-Admiral and ascended the stairs.

  "Wait!" Mira interjected. "You still haven't told me why I'm here."

  "I'll tell you what," called down Avery without slowing his pace, "supper is served at six! We can talk all about our mission then!"

  Mira rolled his eyes at the Admiral's stalling. He would have preferred to be in the loop when it came to Helen's mission. But with so many new people to meet, and The Thousand Legends to explore, Mira wouldn't grow bored for quite some time.

  With the Admiral's orders to prep the ship for its dive, the crew transformed from dreary pirates drinking in the early morning, to a highly skilled crew of sea-laborers. Commands from Rish and the big fish at the helm, Marjax, turned the sleepy deck into an assembly-line; with each of the Neptunes hustling to make sure every piece of cargo was still vacuum-sealed and tied down snugly. Mira and Welz weaved their way down to the lower deck past a swarm of sailors eager to finish their preparations and return to drinking. The sway of the boat tried to sweep Mira off his feet again as he descended the staircase, but he was able to recover slightly more gracefully this time around when he slipped.

  At the stern of the lower deck awaited a barrack-like chamber where Welz, Rish, and most of the Neptunes slept. They all had their own beds and side tables tucked against the walls, even though the craftsmanship of each piece was mismatched and varying in quality, leaving the crew to suffer through an endless symphony of creaks every evening along with their own snores and groans. The floors had been mopped recently, but no one had dusted in decades; or perhaps once throughout the century-long history of the Thousand Legends. Every bed had a chest bolted at the foot, as well as a few wall-hooks to hang loose clothing. It was a crowded mess on the morning Mira first saw this room, one that he fortunately would not have to sleep in.

  Instead, Mira's shared quarters were on the bow of the lower deck, a small room that housed the ship's water heater on the other side of the barroom. On the floor, one of the Neptunes had thrown down two mattresses that were appropriate sizes for small children. Mira was small, but even he had a hard time curling up on that bed each night he spent with the Neptunes. His roommate had an even harder time with the undersized bed now that Mira had arrived, for he had been pushing both beds together to make a single decent-sized one to fit his larger stature.

  As Welz pushed open the creaky wood door of Mira's room, his new roommate emerged from the shadows. His scales were silver with fringes of black at the tips of each scale, causing the boy to sparkle as the light of the hall fell upon his silhouette. He couldn't have been much older than Mira, with a youthful face and teeth that hadn't been yellowed yet by long voyages on the sea. The boy sat against the room's furthest wall, looking irritated that someone would disturb him at this hour.

  "I already told you," the cabin boy called out to Welz. "I'll mop the galley after supper—no sense in doing it now if you're all about to make a mess of it again."

  "That's not it." Welz said with a smirk as he forced the door fully open. "Stop being a mope and come meet your new roommate."

  The grouchy boy's face twisted. "No way!" He looked down at Mira with disgust. "Have him sleep with the rest of you manatees."

  "Sorry, Xere," Welz grinned at the boy's frustration. "Admiral's orders. By the way," he looked down at Mira, "how old are you, again?"

  "I'm sixteen."

  Welz raised a brow. "You sure about that?"

  Mira stomped his foot like a child throwing a tantrum. "Yeah. I'm sure."

  Welz chuckled with a grin. "Whatever you say, lad. Xere here's eighteen, so you kids can talk about... I don't know, whatever the fuck teenagers care about these days. Do y'all want some toy guns to play with? I think Rish might have a peashooter to-"

  "Just get out!" Xere cut in rudely. Mira was about to accept the offer, but he could tell his new roommate wouldn't be a very fun partner to play guns with.

  "Aaaah, fine." Welz chuckled. "We're diving in five minutes. Get settled." Before leaving, the Inagi pushed Mira forward by the shoulder and pointed to a bucket in the corner. "Don't get sick on the floor. You'll be the one to clean it." With that kind reminder of the cabin boy's position, Welz slammed the door a little harder than usual to stir Xere fully. Mira would learn the crew often thought it fun to get their grump of a cabin boy riled up.

  Mira studied his new friend for a few silent moments. "Why are you down here all by yourself? Everyone else is working."

  Xere was clearly still in his sleeping attire, bearing no shirt and thick cotton pajama pants. He hardly looked up from his scaly, webbed feet when he spoke. "We won't prep for dives. We just clean up at the end of the night or when one of the morons makes a mess." He glanced up with eyes that surprised Mira, for they bore a single color without white; a shade he recognized as the image of hope when struggling to swim up from the darkness of the sea's depths; blue in its purest shade. In many ways it was beautiful, no matter how unnatural they looked. "So, where'd they fish you out of?"

  "Helen just dropped me off. I think I'm here to help you guys hunt something. I'm Mira." He stepped forward and extended a hand to shake.

  "Hmph, well lucky you..." Xere ignored the gesture of good faith and peered around their bedroom, which looked more like a storage space than a room for children to sleep in. The hardwood floors they stood on had warped from water damage, and rusty metal shelving surrounded them on all sides, hung loosely to support hundreds of pounds of miscellaneous items the Neptunes had refused to toss into the sea. Only a single window on the port side brought light into the glorified closet. "Heads up, the water heater keeps this room hotter than a thermal-vent at night to prep for each morning. I think it's stuck on a timer. Try not to touch it, or it'll burn the shit outta you."

  Seeing how Xere was ignoring his hand, Mira pulled it back awkwardly and decided it was best to move forward. "What's a dive?"

  "What do you think? It's exactly what it sounds like, the ship's goin' under."

  "Woah." Said Mira with a brief pause "That's cool! Do you guys dive a lot?"

  Xere stood up and wiped his mono-colored eyes. "Yeah, I'd say we spend most weeks under the waves."

  "Awesome! Do you know where we're going?"

  "Not sure. Here, check this out." Xere led Mira to their bedroom door and took him out into the hall.

  "What's out here?" chirped Mira as he followed his new roommate through the threshold of their bedroom. "Are you gonna watch the dive with me?"

  With a smirk, Xere slammed the boiler room door shut, making sure to twist the lock quickly afterwards to keep Mira out. The grumpy cabin boy called out from behind the door. "You ask too many questions! This place is for sleep and silence!"

  It took Mira a few seconds to process what had just happened; he'd been kicked out of his own room. He knocked rapidly on the door for Xere to let him back in, promising to be quiet, but he wasn't met with any response. So Mira prepared to do what any rational person would do in his situation; break down the door. He stretched his arms across his chest, loosening his shoulders with loud pops in his joints, but a call from the deck stole his attention.

  "Diving in thirty seconds! If it ain't strapped down now, leave it!" The call was followed by another storm of steps as the Neptunes returned to their drinks in the lower deck. The slurred groans of the Thousand Legends' crew were of little concern to Mira, instead he was drawn toward a window. The circular hole of clear glass stood just out of the boy's eyeline, so he had to stand on his tiptoes to get a good view once he got close enough.

  He watched with wonder as his world disappeared into a dim veil above them, lighting their way into the depths below. Just below the surface awaited an entire world Mira never gave thought to; an open plane where life danced on every current beneath their world's great blue.

  Life bloomed in mysterious ways down in those deeps, giving birth to beings incapable of ever living in the world Mira knew. Fish passed by his peephole into that world in every shade of color on the rainbow, large and small, wide-jawed and bug-eyed; but they all paled in comparison to the stranger creatures that lurked with the ocean's abyss. Predatory beasts with jagged dorsal fins and manes of thick tentacles; half-stallions with dolphin-like tails that shifted in scale shade to camouflage themselves on whatever reef they lurked inside; cephalopods adorned in flowing hoods of translucent flesh that trailed behind them like skirts of fleshy kelp. The creatures ignored the galleon invading their home, rarely swimming close enough for Mira to get a full image of the ocean's natural inhabitants.

  As the Thousand Legends sank deeper into the Corvan Bay, Mira even saw tree-like structures begin to emerge from the bottom of the sea, but they were nothing like any trees he had seen on the world's surface. They looked tough, formed from multi-textured minerals and housed entire communities of the remarkable sea critters. Natural archways and towers formed from the underwater jungle of coarse trees, appearing more like the ruins of some lost civilization than the dirtied sands Mira had expected.

  In the boiler room, Mira's roommate also peered into the bay's depths. He felt somewhat ashamed of how rudely he had treated Mira, but after all the guff the Neptunes had given him in his years-long tenure as their cabin boy, he felt it was only fair the new kid received some share of the same disrespect. Yet still, the guilt nipped at his heels, and he found himself wanting to apologize to the small teen. He cursed at his own conscience, wishing he could be as cruel as his enemies, but he didn't have the heart for it today. He wandered over to the bedroom door to apologize, but a sudden grip of self-doubt held his hand back from the doorknob. There was no point in trying to be friends, not with that boy; not with any of these people. So, he returned to thoughtful stares out at the open ocean, desperate to return home.

  You see, Xere Videl was many things: he was a bashful but talented singer; a grump with a heart of gold; a noble deckhand of the Thousand Legends; but above all things, Xere Videl was an invaluable hostage.

  (To Be Continued...)

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