xxxx
The clouds are scarce on this hot summer day, and the East Blue seas were pleasantly calm. As the skies cleared, the sun beamed upon Pokomo village,
located on Coral Island. It is unknown as to why the island is named after Coral, there isn't exactly an abundance of it nearby. The inhabitants have all forgotten the meaning
behind the name. It was far into the afternoon, the time of day when the sun's radiant light encroached the modest cabin on the Laundry hung outside billowing in the
wind, as the breeze led the flowers' dance. The light shone through the cabin window, towards the boy laying in bed.
As the light penetrated his eyelids, the owner of the humble abode slowly awoke. Rising to sit upwards in bed, he gazed out towards
the window to the pure blue sky. The boy's serene afternoon was interrupted as the cabin door was slammed open as another boy entered.
"Rock! Are you awake yet?!" bellowed the loud trespasser, as he stomped his feet in an attempt to quickly awake the owner of the cabin.
Giving a surprised yelp, Rock slipped off of the bed. "Hey! What's the big idea?!" Rock's widened eyes lowered as he recognized the boy who brought such
a racket into his tranquil day. "Oh, it's you Licoal. What's up?" Before him was a boy standing 6 feet tall, just a bit taller than Rock. Slim, yet it seemed like he
could handle himself in a brawl or two. He was sporting a periwinkle dress shirt, worn-out black jeans, and ebony dress shoes. Licoal's long, straight
peanut-colored hair was messy, yet styled. It went well with the boy's fair skin, as well as his most prominent feature, his eyes. The green eyes shined with a
determined glint, which also revealed a novice's inexperience. However, at this moment they were expressing a mixture of excitement and uneasiness.
"They're finally back... After all this time!"
Rock dashed forward and shook Licoal by the shoulders. "Hey, hey are you serious? It's been over a decade! I haven't even packed yet!"
"Oh come on Rock! I've been prepared for months! It's 12 years by my count anyways. Here, I'll help you out! Hurry up!"
The two boys begin frantically running around the cabin, stuffing any items they judge of value of a voyage, into a couple of knapsacks.
"Heads up!" Licoal hollered, tossing a fancy vase that looked far too extravagant for a voyage, let alone Rock's modest cabin.
Catching the vase, Rock sent a questioning glance over towards Licoal. "Just pack the essentials please!" Rock tossed the vase over towards the bed
hoping that the vase would comfortably cradle in the sheets, only to wince as the vase bounces off and smashes onto the hardwood floor.
Laughing hard, Licoal packs some toiletries into a smaller compartment of a knapsack. "Hey, are you going to bring this penguin stuffed animal with you?
What was its name again, Sulu?"
Rock's face became stained with a flushed red hue, as he snatched the penguin out of Licoal's hands trying to prevent any further embarrassment. "Don't
tease me about Sulu! I've had him since I was 6, man."
"Of course, of course! I remember! I gave him to you, y'know?"
"Yeah, I know. Those were good times. And then..."
"Hey, we've moved past that. We couldn't have done anything back then. I mean, I wasn't even awake... But we just weren't strong enough."
"Mmm." nodded Rock, he couldn't help but recall what had happened 12 years ago.
xxxx
"Hurry up! I want a turn!" whined Licoal, tugging Rock's sleeve.
"Gimme a sec, geez!" replied Rock, as he looked closer through the peephole.
The two mischievous kids were staring through a peephole on the outside of Pokomo village's tavern, which happened to be full of pirates. These weren't
any simple pirates, they were the infamous Double Pirates! Everyone in the village knew them and their stories, as they made quite the name for
themselves, which was discovered through the newspapers. Nearly all of the adults in Pokomo were inside the tavern heartily drinking and having a merry
time listening to the pirates share their brave tales of valor and adventure. Unfortunately, Rock and Licoal were just children, unable to partake in
the jamboree that took place in the tavern.
Seemingly out of nowhere, another child appears from behind the two. "What are you guys doing?"
Hearts nearly leaping out of their chests, the two boys scramble to cover up the peephole, running headfirst into each other and rolling backwards.
The newcomer laughs a little too excessively to be considered polite. "You guys are pretty funny! I'm Xaroz, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Picking themselves up and dusting their clothes, Rock and Licoal exchange suspicious looks before glancing towards Xaroz.
"Hey, Licoal. Doesn't this kid seem a little too mature?" whispered Rock. Xaroz tilted his head questioningly as the two boys privately conversed.
"Yeah, it's a little strange. What do you thi-" Licoal replied in a hushed voice before his eyes widened in disbelief, staring towards Xaroz's
sheathed blade. "He's got a sword...!" Rock's jaw dropped as his eyes locked onto the weapon.
Xaroz couldn't help but chuckle as their whispers gradually became louder.
Rock pointed towards Xaroz and gave a incredulous glare. "Hey you... Is that sword even real?"
As the child gave a gleeful smirk, he reached for his katana to reveal he truly had a real weapon. Before he could unsheathe the blade, a hand was placed
on his shoulder. Rock and Licoal gasped as they stared in awe at the man who had just appeared.
The man ruffles Xaroz's hair. "It sure is real! I was the one who gave it to him."
Xaroz glanced behind and gave a beaming smile. "Double! Weren't you socializing in the tavern just now?"
"Yeah, I was. I figured I could use some fresh air, and I happened to run into you boys. I'm Double, nice to meet you both."
At a loss for words, Rock stood and chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. Licoal took the responsibility of introducing them both. "H..Hello!
I'm Licoal, and that's Rock. You're the captain of the Double Pirates, right? What are you doing in a boring old island like this? Don'tcha
have better adventures waiting for you?"
Double and Xaroz both sit down next to the two boys outside of the tavern. "Well, I suppose every once in awhile everyone needs a little break, right?
Even pirates need to take it easy. Besides, we need to resupply and whatnot. Isn't that right, Xaroz?"
Rock and Licoal's jaws hit the floor. "You mean this little kid is a pirate like you?!"
Xaroz irritably growled, and curtly replied. "Hey, you guys are kids just like me!"
The sun had begun to set, leaving an intense tangerine hue to highlight the world.
Double cackled and began to clap his hands. "You kids are hilarious! But yes, this little swordsman is one of my crewmates. Didn't you notice that we
were all bandaged up? There was quite a tough battle we had, but we're alive! We taught them a lesson! It called for some celebration."
Rock analyzed the man's condition. "Now that you mention it...You're covered in bandages and scratches!"
Licoal eyed Xaroz curiously. "This kid doesn't seem to be injured at all. There's not a scratch on him!"
Xaroz averted his head to hide his embarrassment. "W...well... My crewmates took care of the enemies in a flash, so there was nothing left for me when
I arrived to the fight."
Double offered a wide grin. "In any case, we've been here for quite a while. Isn't it around time we depart, Xaroz?"
"Now that you mention it, I suppose it is getting rather late. We've been on this island for a whole day anyways."
The pirate captain stood up and dusted off his clothes, giving a small yawn. The gentle breeze raised his straight, long garnet-colored hair. Rock and
Licoal gazed upwards in amazement as Double stood at a tall 7 and 1/2 feet. His bronze skin was riddled with small scars, the most prominent
being a small splitting of his lower lip on the far right side. Donning a dark blue overcoat, a white dress shirt with the top two buttons undone,
and black trousers with swashbuckler boots. The bandaging which covered his recent wounds chafed his neck and chest.
Extending a hand to his crewmate still sitting, Double gave a gentle smile. Xaroz accepted the captain's hand and pulled himself to his feet.
The tavern doors bust open as several pirates pour out of the building. "Come on Double, we can't leave now! Parties are always better spent at night!"
Double smiled and let out a small sigh, shaking his head. "Well alright. Can't argue with that, now can we? Half of you lot are already drunk after
all! Let's stay a little longer everyone, our wounds still need time to heal anyways."
The captain's decision spurred an exceedingly loud cheer from pirates and villagers alike. As the festivities commenced, the entire village was
enthralled in the Double Pirate's celebration. Rock, Licoal and Xaroz joined the partying, although prohibited from any adult drugs or alcohol. Pokomo
partied under the tangerine sky that day, painfully unaware of the tragedy that was about to take place. Off on the horizon, a severely damaged galleon
was nearing Coral Island.
The whistle of a cannonball cutting through the wind was unable to be heard due to the exceptionally loud merriment.
The cannonball soared directly towards the tavern.
No one could have known.
At the moment of impact, the entirety of the tavern of the small village had been decimated. A large explosion engulfed the area, crumbled rock, wood
and broken glass were shot out in all directions, along with several villagers and pirates.
Double's eyes widened as the peaceful village had begun to be destroyed. "No! This couldn't have... They followed us here?!" Several more cannonballs
bombarded Pokomo village, destroying numerous houses and injuring innocent civilians. "Everyone! We've got to stop them! Come with me!" The Double
Pirates roared as their captain declared an attack on the assailants, and charged valiantly toward the shore of Coral Island.
Rock wasn't very close to the initial explosion, but had been several feet away from the second explosion trying to find shelter in a house. He was
launched backwards and landed roughly, scraping his head against the dirt. Aside from bleeding, his hearing had been damaged through the explosion. The
ringing in his head was excruciatingly disorienting, making him unable to locate his friend Licoal. Rock continued to search as he limped around Pokomo.
Licoal was the closest to the initial explosion, being struck with several bits of flying debris, and being launched towards a house. The collision
was enough to crack the right wall of the house. He was in critical condition, blood came not only from his wounds but from his ears as well. Unable to move,
he laid face down in the dirt.
No longer able to limp through his injuries, Rock collapsed several feet away from Licoal.
Time seemingly froze as the boy laid eyes on his dying friend.
"He's going to die".
Rock began to slowly crawl towards Licoal in a desperate attempt to save his life.
"I've got to save him".
Under the beautiful tangerine sky, the serene village had been torn apart. As Rock inched towards Licoal, debris and earth soared through the air.
Explosions in the distance rumbled, as the crawling child gazed upon villagers defending their home, and fleeing in terror.
Before the distance could be completely closed, an ominous shadow appears before the young child trying to rescue his friend. An unfamiliar man lifted
his leg backwards and unleashed a heavy kick into Rock's face, sending him rolling backwards. With blurry vision and impaired hearing crippling his
senses, Rock could barely manage to keep conscious. The unfamiliar man had become a dark blur, walking towards Rock to finish the job. The young child's
eyesight sharpened for a brief moment, just long enough to spot another young child wielding a blade on the roof of a nearby house.
Xaroz's entire body shivered in fear as he readied his katana for combat. To save his new friends, he must muster all his courage to defeat the enemy in front of
him.
"If I don't move now... Rock is finished...He's going to die..!"
Xaroz bellowed as he leapt from the roof of the house and aimed his katana for a deep lunge into the man's back.
The man merely turned around and grabbed the swordsman by the neck, enraged by the child's attempted strike. Xaroz was thrown against a house wall, and
savagely beaten with heavy strikes. The boy had lost consciousness, and slumped against the wall. With sunken eyes filled with desperation and an urge
for destruction, the man did not allow Xaroz to fall. After getting a small sense of satisfaction, it was not enough to quench his bloodthirst.
Rock slowly rose, wiping the blood off of his lower face with his arm. Unable to see properly, he strained his eyes towards Xaroz's direction. An unconscious,
bruised and bloodied child leaned against the house. With sluggish movement, Rock frantically scanned around to locate the man who had vanished.
A vicious silhouette appeared behind Rock emitting a malicious aura so vile, it sent chills down his spine. The figure lifted the katana it had stolen
from Xaroz, and swung downwards with wicked intent.
The katana had collided with the blade of a cutlass. It sounded as if a bolt of lightning had struck down from the heavens.
Rock jolted forward and fell onto his face. Quickly turning around, a familiar face appeared.
Double crouched holding the cutlass up against the katana that the man had stolen. "I'm sorry I was so late...We'd just finished fighting our way
through what was left of these pirates, and sinking their ship." His face twisted in regret as he saw what had happened to the three young children.
Double's eyes narrowed as his feelings grew and his focus sharpened. The man was slowly pushed back as the captain rose to his feet.
"You'll never sail on my sea ever again."
Sparks flew as Double knocked the stolen katana backwards, causing the man to stumble. Double quickly pulled back his cutlass and held it to his hip,
concentrating on his target. With a monstrous swing, the cutlass sliced vertically like a flash of light, severing the katana in half and slicing the
man's chest.
As the man fell, the fighting in Pokomo village had finally come to an end. With a sigh of relief, Double collapsed as old and new wounds brought him
to his limit. Villagers arrived along with the Double pirates crew in order to assist anyone in need. Glancing briefly, Rock had analyzed the
injuries Double had endured, and come to the conclusion that the man had given his all in order to save Pokomo Village and its inhabitants. Rock had
reached his limit too, and fell next to Double.
With the captain's orders, the crew gathered the enemy pirates and tied them up, and the villagers tended to the wounds of the injured. As a villager
crouched next to Rock to inspect his condition, Rock weakly gripped the villager's arm and implored them to assist his friends.
"Go...They're gonna die...Help them now..!"
The villager shook their head and replied to the distressed youth. "It's alright. They're already being tended to. I'm sorry you all had to get
involved in this conflict, hopefully we can all recover and move past this."
"Thank..you...thank you so much...!"
Double smiled and turned his head over to the young child. "Y'know... The sea is a dangerous place. I mean, just look at what we all just went through."
Rock looked upwards to the sky, the orange hues had left, leaving a dark, vast blackness. Several stars began to populate the world above. "It was the
scariest thing I've ever gone through... I thought everyone was going to die. But you... You saved us. You were amazing. Thank you, for rescuing us all."
The captain looked towards the cyan illuminated night sky, stars twinkling. "I'm just glad it's over. People got hurt, because of our mistake. We should
have made sure they wouldn't come after us." Double brushed his garnet-colored hair out of his face. "I'm sorry you all were brought into such a
dangerous situation. Especially you kids."
"I've never seen anything so amazing. The way you fought that pirate."
"Oh that? That was nothing. That guy wasn't even the boss." chuckled the captain.
Rock looked away, and then began to look upwards as he became determined.
"Can I...come with you?"
After a brief pause, Double replied "What?"
"Can I join your crew and sail with you all? You, and your crew... It sounds like a dream..."
Double's eyes widened from the sudden request, and lowered as he composed himself. "It was a mistake. Taking Xaroz out to sea with us, that is. It's
simply too early for him to be on the seas. You saw yourself how dangerous it can be, it's no place for a kid. I can't take you with us."
"But...You've given me a debt that's too huge to repay so soon! I want to be like you... I want to have stories I can share and amaze people with, and
I want to be strong enough to protect the things important to me...! Tonight, tonight I wasn't-"
Rock was cut off as Double sternly declared his decision.
"I'm going to leave Xaroz here on this island."
"Wh...What?! Isn't he your crewmate?"
"I can't put him in danger like this again."
"But...The pirates came here! You were fine before they attacked us here!"
"Be that as it may, the pirates came here because of us. This area of East Blue is generally peaceful, that's why I must take responsibility for what
happened here tonight."
"So you're just going to leave him behind? That's the end?"
Double slowly closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. After a few moments, he looked towards Rock once again. "We'll come back for him. Not just Xaroz, but
you and Licoal as well. When you're older, we'll all set sail together." The captain extended his fist and held it towards the boy. "That's a promise, okay?"
Rock stared at the man holding his fist out, with determined eyes. The boy tapped his fist against the man's fist. "...Okay! It's a promise Double!"
Double gave a beaming grin, and then groaned as his wounds ached in pain. "How are you still awake anyways? I'm about to pass out here."
"I've always been good at being beat up." replied the young child as he gazed upon the bright, starry night sky.
xxxx
Deep in thought, Rock held his chin with his pointer finger and thumb as he reminisced the past. Knocking could be heard on the open door of the cabin.
"Hello? The door's open... Are you guys ready yet?" muttered a boy before peeking through the doorway.
"Xaroz! I've BEEN ready, I'm just helping Rock finally finish his packing. I mean, he only started about 10 minutes ago!"
Entering the cabin was a boy of 5 feet and 7 inches, the shortest of Rock and Licoal. He was built with more muscle than Licoal, yet still maintaining a lean,
almost skinny physique. His snow white skin unfortunately made his blemishes more apparent, such as the mole on the left side of his face, just beneath his
gunmetal eyes that gave him a warm look, although he had a constant case of slight baggage under the eyes. Xaroz was wearing a shabby, faded black hoodie,
a discolored pair of blue jeans, old straw flip-flops, and a gray bandana which held his spiky coal-black hair smoothly swept backwards. A rope belt held a katana
snug against his waist. Seeing his best friends gave Xaroz a warm expression, although he was shaking his head at Rock's classic irresponsibility.
"Really Rock? Although it's short notice because they've just arrived, it's been 12 years. You should've had at least SOME things packed." chuckled the swordsman.
"Okay, can we stop judge Rock time? Let's finish packing and get a move on to the docks!" Rock impatiently replied.
After packing all of the necessities, the three take a quick breather and look around the cabin for what may be the final time.
Licoal gazes towards the walls, finding the lines engraved into the wall with a knife indicating the records of the three boys' growth.
Xaroz studies the ceiling, reimagining the amount of times they've slept over and shared aspirations whilst staring above.
Rock fixes his stare to the mirror, and analyzes how he's changed over the years.
Looking back towards his reflection was a boy standing at 5 feet and 10 inches. Unlike Licoal and Xaroz, Rock was the most built out of the trio, as
well as the one who looked the most like a child, and the three freckles on his right cheek and two freckles on his left didn't help his case either.
His caramel skin accentuated the deep mahogany hue of his eyes. The boy's spiky, voluminous fluffy hair flowed freely yet maintained its shape. Rock
was wearing a navy blue tank top, old olive green jeans that hugged his legs, and soft brown boot-like shoes with a red stripe down the middle.
Licoal placed a hand on Rock's shoulder. "Are you still thinking of back then? Things are different now, we've defended the village over 20 times now."
Rock's eyelids gently lowered as he exhaled, with a warm smile. "Yeah. We haven't been just lazing around these years, I think we've gotten pretty
formidable."
The three boys had spent their time on Coral Island aiming to better themselves, in order to move past the worst attack the island has ever had, and
prevent any further disasters from transpiring. Not only spending time training and improving their combat ability, Licoal had undergone culinary
training from the local village restaurant, Xaroz had spent his free time in the library gathering vast amounts of knowledge. Rock only had his sights
on being strong in order to protect what matters to him, so he had focused on bolstering his strength and agility through additional training and
exercises, and assisting in the reconstruction of what was destroyed in the pirate raid 12 years ago, and the expansion of the village by working a
construction job.
Xaroz hooked a knapsack strap over his shoulder and adjusted his bandana. "Alright guys, are you ready? This is the start of our journey. The beginning of our
life of romance and adventure. All of our fights up to now have prepared us for this exact moment! Now it's time for us to grab hold of our new path, and head
out into the open sea."
Licoal and Rock stared blankly at Xaroz and exchanged an annoyed look.
Licoal pointed to Xaroz and insensitively stated "That was pretty out of character, Xaroz."
x x x x
Basically, Rock, Licoal and Xaroz are about to join the Double Pirates.
Next chapter we'll delve a little further into the backstories of each character, and perhaps get a tangible idea on their personal goals and aspirations.
Prologue Part (1/3)