Prologue

Chasing after the Black Magician for 10 consecutive years had proven to be difficult for the crew of The Nautilus. As beautiful and glorious as it had been on its maiden voyage, no-one could deny that it was beginning to pass it's time. Rot and fungi growing inside and out had assured the loss of a very much needed layer of gloss. Mrs. Reade, the ship's cleaner and 'mother' figure had tried as hard as possible to maintain the original condition, but it was proving too difficult for the slowly ageing Caribbean woman. Even the gloss on her red hair had begun to fade. This was more than could be said for the rest of the crew. Many of them had also begun to age also. Jack, in his regular (however, rotting) pirate attire, was beginning to gain weight; Black Bark's muscle had begun to deteriorate; Tangyoon's cooking skills weren't as good as they used to be. ("This Unagi doesn't taste very good…" Bartol would say. "It's okay, it's fresh; I found it outside dead on the floor today." Tangyoon would reply.) However, two people on the ship stayed strong throughout their travels.

Kyrin, with her long red hair and orange robes, always with a smirk on her face and her grand hat on her head, was captain, instructor and general leader of the boat. She was always near her first mate, Muirhat. Being blind all his life had greatly increased his senses of hearing and smell; it was if he wasn't blind at all. Kyrin admired him for this. Everybody thought there was something going on between them.

"Did hear about Kyrin and Muirhat today?" Mrs. Reade would ask.
"What?" Young Calico would respond, in his posh English accent.
"Well Kyrin summoned Muirhat to her quarters and he didn't come out for two hours!"
"Wow!" Tangyoon would say, serving their dinner. "It's something different everyday with those two!"
"I know!" Mrs. Reade would splutter with excitement. She was the 'gossipy' type. "I can't be long until we hear wedding bells!"
Calico became curious about this, and wanted to find out more.

"When are you getting married?" He would ask always when they were most busy.
"Married?" Muirhat would reply rudely. "We're not getting married!" He would say, chuckling and walking away.
"Hmm…" Kyrin would reply, softly stroking the young boy's head. "I don't know…" She would say trailing off.

Despite all the rumours and misunderstandings, wedding bells were never heard. But this didn't stop anything from happening…

The Nautilus docked in Mu Lung, in order to stock up on food and supplies. Kyrin was nowhere to be seen. She stayed in her quarters for the two weeks they were there, day and night. There was one time she left her quarters, to summon Muirhat. Mrs. Reade caught sight of her.

"Oh my, captain! We've not seen you in days!" The Caribbean woman studied the captain carefully. Kyrin stayed silent. "Oh my, your belly seems to be rather round. Have you gained weight?" A tear could be seen in Kyrin's eye. "Or…" Before Mrs. Reade finished, Kyrin ran back towards her quarters, covering her face and didn't leave her quarters for another while.
Muirhat, on the other hand, was everywhere at once, collecting foods and a variety of items. Whenever he was asked what they were for, he only replied,
"Kyrin wants it," and quickly left again. There was obviously some sort of secret.

It wasn't long until Mrs. Reade had exposed the secret between Kyrin and Muirhat.

"Have you heard?" Mrs. Reade said at yet another meal.
("Seriously Tangyoon, this isn't even Unagi anymore!" Bartol had complained.)
"Heard what?" Calico asked curiously.
"Kyrin is pregnant!"
"What?!" Everybody around the dinner table said in unison. Everybody began to whisper to each other.
"I wouldn't expect that from my brother," Black Bark said to Dondlass.
"I wouldn't have guessed. I haven't been able to see anyone very well since I lost my glasses…" Abel said to Bart. "Have you seen them?" He quickly added.
"And they're not even married! I'd think better of the captain…" Tangyoon said to Bartol.

Months passed and Kyrin's symptoms became obvious. Her belly grew more; she craved many foods, ("Ooh! Can you make me some Unagi, Tangyoon?" She said one day. "What? You would actually eat that stuff?" Bartol squeaked in shock.) She threw up many times and she slept much more. All the crew were beginning to get used to Kyrin being pregnant.

On a visit from Ellinia, Grendel the Really Old, the Magician instructor, stayed on board for a couple of days. All of the class instructors were good friends. Grendel came to see Kyrin, and to help her through the final stages of pregnancy. The Nautilus sailed near Ossyria and Grendel used his superior magic to lift the ship of the surface of the water and into the skies to dock, hovering, in the Orbis port. Nobody left the boat. Normally, Kyrin would address the crew to tell them what was needed. Kyrin wasn't seen. The crew waited for 2 hours. Still, the captain wasn't seen. Then, Muirhat ran from Kyrin's quarters.
"Kyrin is giving birth! Kyrin is giving birth!" He shouted as he ran. He bumped into Grendel. He looked at him. Muirhat stared back. Muirhat opened his mouth, but before he said anything, Grendel clicked his fingers and disappeared. Muirhat's mouth hung open.
Where has he gone when we need him the most…?
A cloud of dust appeared and Grendel re-appeared along with Dr. Franz, the owner of Orbis Plastic Surgery. He didn't usually deliver babies, but he was trained to do it. Muirhat took Grendel and the doctor to Kyrin's quarters…

After 6 hours, Kyrin's screams of pain stopped. All the crew, bar Tangyoon who was busy cooking a celebratory dinner, were standing outside Kyrin's door.

"I can't believe it finally happened!" Little Calico said, with 'stars in his eyes'.
"I'm gonna be an uncle!" Black Bark barked with his deep voice.
"I just hope that baby is not ugly…" Mrs. Reade said, rolling her eyes.

The door opened and there laid Kyrin on a bed in a shabby robe and her long red hair spread on her pillow. Muirhat sat next to her with his arm across her shoulders. Kyrin cradled a baby in her arms.
"Come in! Take a look!" Dr. Franz shouted excitedly at them. Slowly, one by one, each of the crew entered the large room, decorated by medals, certificates and pictures of family, friends and previous captains of the Nautilus. Above the bed was a picture of the crew taken soon before. It caught everybody's eye first and made them smile. They then came closer to the baby to take a look. He was small, dark skinned with a tuft of black curly hair, resembling his father. However, his eyes were a deep green, much like Kyrin. Everybody made fuss over how cute he was.
"Oh my! I knew he would be this cute!" Mrs. Reade said at the front of the crowd.
"Hopefully he will turn out to be as muscular as me!" Black Bark said, laughing and hitting Muirhat on the back who cringed.
"Wow! A baby on the ship!" Calico said, still starry-eyed.

"So what do you want to call him, Kyrin?" Muirhat said, stroking his partner's head.
"Hmm…" She thought. "Any suggestions, crew?"
"Bartol! " Bartol shouted instantly. Everybody laughed.
"How about Bravura? For courage!" Grendel said using his superior knowledge.
"Seems too exotic…" Kyrin replied.
"I still like Bartol," Bartol butted in.
"I know!" Kyrin interrupted. "Fi! For joy! He'll be the most joyous pirate on board!" Muirhat thought about it.
"I love it too," he said smiling at her. She beamed back.
"A very intelligent choice, Ms. Kyrin!" Grendel said, raising his arms.
"What kind of name is Fi?" Bartol shouted rudely. Kyrin scowled at him. "A great name…" He quickly added and then moved to the back of the huddle.
"Fi it is then." She said, kissing her newly named child on his forehead.

*12 years later…*