Chapter 1

"Hey! Flapjack!"

Flapjack grudgingly opened his eyes. Sitting on his stomach was a 3-year old girl. She grinned happily, bouncing on his stomach.

"Geddup Fwapjack!" she giggled again. Flapjack smiled. He picked up the child and set her down on the floor beside his bed gently.

"I'm awake," he smiled, rubbing his eyes. "You can leave now, May."

"But I wanna see you get ready!" she protested as Flapjack gently pushed her out of his room and returned to his bed. However, the sun was shining much too brightly for him to fall asleep. Giving up, Flapjack drowsily got up and walked to the bathroom.

It had been a year ago that he had left Stormalong Harbor, at age 14. When he was twelve, he had played with the possibility of leaving. However, he had decided not to tell anyone yet. Bubbie would have been devastated and Flapjack didn't know what Captain K'nuckles would think. So Flapjack did the next best thing and didn't bring it up to either of them.

When he was 13, he gathered his nerve and presented the idea to his friends. That night, there was the mother of all arguments between Bubbie, who was completely against letting Flapjack go anywhere, and K'nuckles, who felt that Bubbie was being overprotective. In the end, after an explosive battle, K'nuckles won out, but Flapjack decided he would wait two years until he went anywhere.

Shortly after turning fourteen, Flapjack bid farewell to all that he had known and set off for unknown harbors to fulfill his lifelong dreams of finding adventure.

Flapjack came down the steps of the small, rickety house to meet Elena, Jim's wife. Compared to her husband, she was larger and more formidable, but she was kind enough when you got to know her. In her arms was May, who laughed when she saw Flapjack descending the stairs.

"Your food is ready," Elena smiled, pushing her long, black hair back. "Go and eat."

Flapjack nodded and, kissing May on the cheek, went into the kitchen, where Jim and his other daughter, Eloise, were eating.

Flapjack sat across from the two and began to eat. Elena's pancakes were the most marvelous pancakes he had ever eaten, but it was hard to enjoy them when he noticed Eloise staring at him. She was only a year younger than he was, but she looked much older than her age. Flapjack didn't like her much but was never rude.

Jim was the first to speak.

"Flapjack, you have a letter," he said, holding a bottle up. "It's from a Bubbie the Whale. I'll give it to you when you're done eating, ok?"

Flapjack nodded and took his time finishing his pancakes. Bubbie was just wondering how he was doing. When he finished, Jim gave him the letter and Flapjack popped off the top.

He took one look at the letter and his heart leapt. Something, although he didn't know what, was wrong. Flapjack began to read the letter carefully. His nerves went numb and his stomach churned with fear. His breath suddenly ceased, and he dropped the bottle, shattering it. Eloise and Jim sharply stood up, and Elena rushed inside with May on her hip.

"What happened here!?" Elena asked with shocked expression. Flapjack could only shake his head, still staring in horror at the paper. Jim took Flapjack by the arm and stood him up. Elena gave May to Eloise and started to sweep the glass fragments off the floor.

Jim led Flapjack to his room. Too shocked to do anything else, Flapjack reread the awful letter. It read in Bubbie's smooth script:

Flapjack, darling:

The captain, K'nuckles, has fallen ill. There is no way to save him. Please, come back to the Harbor if you want to make it to the funeral. He only has 3 weeks to live.

Love, Bubbie

Jim and Flapjack now sat facing each other, Flapjack on his bed and Jim in a chair across the room. There was a heavy silence, saturated with the thoughts racing through their mind.

"So," Jim said, breaking the silence. "You're going back, huh?"

Flapjack put his head in his hands. "Yes, but I need a way," he whispered more to himself than to Jim.

Jim thought for a moment, and then said, "My friend has a boat that can take you to Stormalong. He's headed that way anyway. My own boat can't carry you far enough, or I would've done it myself."

Flapjack straightened up. "Will he take me for free?"

Jim shrugged, "He's a noble man, but sailing isn't easy. If it does," he looking up at Flapjack, "I'll handle it. Don't protest," he added just as Flapjack was going to open his mouth to do just that.

"You've already done too much," Flapjack replied, but Jim just shook his head and left the room. "I suppose that settles it," Flapjack muttered to himself. Now he had to get some rest so he could seek out Jim's friend.

The next morning, Flapjack and Jim went down to the harbor to meet Jim's friend. As they waited, Flapjack looked around. The boys and girls were running around, most likely playing tag. He almost smiled at all the childhood memories he remembered with Bubbie and K'nuckles. He did not smile, he couldn't, instead he gave a look of guilt.

"Hey Flap, He's here." Jim said as he withdrew Flapjack out of his thoughts.

In front of him, was a man in about his fifties, white beard, and white moustache that curled around the edges of his mouth. He tipped his hat slightly when he saw Flapjack.

"Why hello there son, my name is Morgan," The man said as he took Flapjack's hand and gave it a shake. "And you must be…"

"Flapjack," He added as he shook his hand. "I was wondering if you would allow me some space in your ship."

"Well we got plenty of space here and because you're Jim's friend, I'll give you an exception." Morgan winked.

Flapjack conveyed his last goodbye to Jim and boarded the ship. Morgan showed him to his room and the blonde dropped his bags on the bed, slowly unpacking. He could not help but wonder: 'What if he didn't make it in time?'

He gripped the picture of himself, Bubbie, and K'nuckles tightly as a tear rolled down his flushed cheeks. He collapsed on his bed with his head in his arms, a headache creeping slowly. Before he knew it, sleep overtook him.

When he finally woke up, the sun was slowly setting and the sky was a pinkish red. He got up, stretched, and made his way to the bathroom.

He bathed mechanically, thinking of the past memories, and wondering if he could take it all back.

After some time, he turned off the shower and wrapped a nearby towel around himself. He changed into some baggy, black sweatpants and sat at the edge of his bed, with his head in his hands. He groaned in frustration and aggravation as he pulled on his blonde hair. He was too deep in his thoughts to hear his bedroom door open and click shut. Flapjack looked up and saw a boy about 2-3 years older than him. He had black hair, and purple eyes. He was also well built but naturally lean.

"It's dinner time," The boy said tiresomely, "Come on."

Times like these, Flapjack would introduce himself right away, but it didn't seem like the boy wanted to talk to him and neither did Flapjack. The boy turned around and left as quietly as he had come.

Flapjack threw on a shirt and made his way out of the room.