The flames behind the blonde boy roar with ferocity. The heat was so over whelming Roxas couldn't help but run. Everyone around him was screaming in agony, but he didn't stop to help, he just kept on running. When his heart was close to bursting from his chest, he slid to a stop because the streets were slick from the rain that began just before the fires started. There was one thing the blonde hated more than rain: Pirates.

Around the time that the sun was setting, Roxas was bidding his older brother, Sora, a fond farewell as he skipped down the cobble stone street to the loading dock where everyone was gathering to leave Traverse City. Sora was going to Destiny Islands to visit a friend who had fallen ill from pneumonia just a short time ago. When the ship was nearly full of all its passengers, a loud explosion was heard from a distance.

Roxas ran out of his small town home to see what the commotion was. People were running from the loading docks, and passengers were falling from the sides of the ship. The blonde ran from his home down the street, only to find a ghastly and totally unexpected scene. Dozens of men with swords and bombs surrounded innocent people, stabbing them mercilessly, and taking away their belongings. They laughed as they left the people helpless and screaming, begging for mercy.

Most of them carried swords at their sides and headed up the street, chasing and teasing the people of Traverse City. When Roxas saw a blonde man hand a torch off to another man, his stomach filled with rage and panic. However, when he saw the blonde man lift his brother off the ground and hold a knife to his throat, his heart stopped.

Roxas had no time to save his brother, and when he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye, he realized more Pirates were coming after him as well. He had no time to think, just run. Then, the rain began.

When he slid to a halt, he tried looking for something to defend himself with. Unfortunately, he only had a moment before a really tall silver haired man came up to him with his sword drawn. Roxas looked up with a bit of shock, but grabbed the closest thing to him, which unluckily for him happened to be a mere pitchfork.

The man's smile was taunting, and his eyes held him in place while he charged for him. Roxas was able to duck in time and run under his arm, and lifted his own arms in front of his face with the pitchfork tightly held in his hands. The man laughed at him viciously.

"You're pathetic." With only a flick of the wrist, he dislodged the pitchfork from the blonde's grip and threw it away from him; the last thing Roxas saw was a giant fist colliding with his face.

-page break-

"Get your hands off me!" Sora squirmed in the strong man's grip, causing the man to squeeze even tighter. The struggling only made it all the more fun for the older pirate. The height and strength of the man didn't intimidate Sora nearly as much as the giant scar that traced down the left side of his face. The brunette didn't notice the other pirates slowly approach.

"Seifer, we're getting tired, can we head out of this shit town? There's nothing left here, we've burned it all to the ground," said a beautiful, silver haired teal-eyed man. He was so captivating, so much that Sora almost forgot he was being held hostage.

Seifer, the man in question and Sora's captor, pulled a long golden whistle out of his right side jacket pocket and held it to his lips. When the man blew on it, Sora struggled to cover his ears at the loud screech. He felt momentarily amazed when he saw that the silver haired man didn't even flinch; he must have been used to it.

"Hey Riku, tie him up will ya? I'm tired of him squirming." The silver haired man, who Sora assumed to be Riku, nodded in response.

The trek back to the ship was a short one, but Riku made sure to tie the knots nice and tight so Sora would only hurt himself if he struggled against them. He stared at the floor of the rowboat as they paddled their way back to the giant ship, because he didn't dare look at any of the men sharing the same boat. He attempted to look at the sky, but when he saw that it was only filled with rain and smoke, he decided the floor was a much better option.

It didn't take long to row back to the ship, and Riku had to carry Sora on his back while he climbed up the side of the ship. Sora realized that they must have snuck up from the docks and the sides of the ship he was going to sail on. 'Dirty nasty stinking pirates, always trying to be sneaky and stab people from behind', Sora thought to himself. He huffed, cowards.

When they got to the top, Sora was thrown onto the dock of the ship like a rag doll, and Riku casually walked over him as if he was just a piece of dirt.

"Where we headed to now Seifer?" Riku asked the Captain who now wore a fancy hat with a feather on the side. Those made Sora stop and think; these pirates were the typical stereotype kind – the kind that wore bandanas, baggy white shirts, fancy vests and hats- and all of it made him chuckle.

"Something funny?" Riku asked him while Seifer looked over his map.

"You guys look like pirates." The pirates rolled their eyes at his stupid comment and continued studying the map. They began talking quietly, which allowed Sora to hear only their voices, but not the words.

Sora didn't even realize how long he spent lying on the floor with his hands tied tightly behind his back, he just paid attention to the stars that were now shining brightly in the sky. The rain had stopped and the breeze was very pleasant.

"Are the skies clear?" Seifer shouted to the man up on the tops of the ship.

"Yes sir, has been for a quite some time now, sir."

"Alright everyone, we're taking off."

Just as the ship began to vibrate, Sora shot straight up looking off into the distance. The ship rose out of the water, and slowly lifted into the sky; they were flying! The brunette just couldn't believe it. He felt someone grab his hands from behind and cut the knots, setting his hands free and allowing his blood to circulate throughout his wrists. Sora looked behind and saw Riku nod his head to let him know it was alright to wander about, seeing as how they were in the sky he knew the brunette wasn't stupid enough to jump.

Sora stood at the railing and grasped at it tightly, too afraid to look down.

"Hey captain, his face is green!" one of the pirates pointed at Sora, laughing hysterically. A split second later, Sora lost all of the contents in his stomach over the edge of the ship.

THANK YOU!

Just wanted to say thank you so much for anyone who is reading and enjoying the story so far. There is much is store for this adventure. ((:

Also, just another thank you to a good friend Renolover455, who is helping me write and edit this story. She's given me the inspiration to get back into writing and I couldn't be happier. ^.^

R&R! MUCH LOVE! ((: