Chapter 1: Excalibur

May 11, 1668 1 PM.

"Captain! Land ho'!" Sucre yelled.

"Turn the ship to starboard and lower the sails!" Lincoln yelled from the steering wheel.

Lincoln guided the ship, Excalibur, to land, to a beach. He landed there five minutes later and he and his mates exited the ship by jumping off the deck using the rope ladder. Everyone scatters and Lincoln stands on the beach, examining the surroundings. There were tall, matured, palm trees surrounding the entrance to the forest as his first mate, Sucre, ran inside. The trees placed behind the palm trees had several branches growing out of them, allowing for an easy climb. He could hear birds chirping. The island appeared deserted.

*---*

May 11, 1666 2 AM.

Two years ago, in a growing town called Regulus, Lincoln Burrows was getting in trouble again as usual. He's poor and there's nothing he can do anymore. His son, LJ, who is now 18, had left him to continue his education. He resented his father's actions ever since and can only depend on Michael Scofield, his uncle and guardian. Michael never did like Lincoln since he became a troublemaker in the town.

The governor of the town, Frank Tancredi, and his daughter, Sara Tancredi has been close to Michael since the beginning of the town. Michael was courting Sara for almost six months. The two of them hated Lincoln for his problems around town, but he didn't want him to be hanged. Frank had begged to differ and wanted him hanged soon.

Then that day came, May 11. Lincoln had shoplifted a bottle of booze and food from the store. He was being chased by the governor's soldiers. He hid in LJ's home and the soldiers had lost track of him and LJ then came home. He popped out.

"Hey LJ."

LJ stood there and then shut his door. "What are you doing here?" He exasperatedly asked.

"Look, I had to get something to eat and-" Lincoln pleaded.

"Get out now before I call the soldiers to come get you!" LJ was still furious. "You have never been a father to me."

Lincoln was left stunned by his words. "I-I'm sorry LJ. I know I should've been a better father. But you have to help me get out of here. I know what I'm going to do."

LJ thought about it for a second. Is it really worth helping the man who never helped me as a child? He thought. Then he remembered Michael's words echoing in his ear. "Remember, LJ. Even if you don't like a person, lend him a hand and maybe in return, he'll help you. Be the better man."

"Alright. I'll help you just this once." He shook his right index finger as he said that. "But just this once. After this, you're not my father. You're just another stranger." LJ walked past him and lead him down to his basement.

Lincoln felt bad almost immediately. But he wasn't about to waste a chance he was given. LJ then opens up a secret passage by pulling a book out of the bookcase. Lincoln started to walk down and then he turned around.

"I really am sorry LJ that I haven't been a good father to you. I promise to you that I'll make it up one day."

"I'm about five seconds from changing my mind." LJ said irritably. "Now go, follow the tunnel and you'll appear somewhere near the pier. Take a boat, a ship. I don't care. Whatever you do, you better not get caught because I'm not going to help you again." He pushes the book back and the door closes behind him.

"I promise to you, LJ, that I'll make it up to you." Lincoln mutters to himself. He runs straight down the tunnel.

*---*

May 11, 1668 1 PM.

"Hello, captain? Yoo-hoo!" Sucre waved his hand in front of Lincoln's face.

Lincoln snapped out of his trance and shook his head. "What?" He grunted.

"Captain, the rest of the crew wants to check out the place some more, see if we can find some treasure."

"Alright. All of you can go except for T-Bag and Bellick. Tell them they have to watch the ship on the deck."

"So I only get Wyatt, Roland, and 10 of the useless crew?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No, Captain. Okay I'll let T-Bag and Bellick know." Sucre dashes off to find T-Bag and Bellick.

Lincoln sighs. "I won't be able to make it up to LJ as a pirate. Two years and I'm the captain of the ship of Excalibur. Good thing we stole the ship from Grewpain City." He mutters to himself.

T-Bag and Bellick run up to Lincoln.

"Captain, why won't you let us go exploring the forest?" T-Bag asked.

"Yeah! I mean the place is completely deserted!" Bellick reinforced.

He grabs Bellick by his shirt and brings him close to his face. "Because I said so and if you don't listen to me, I'll make you walk the plank. Understand?" He said as he gritted his teeth.

Bellick whimpered. "Y-Yes, captain." He said weakly.

"Good. Now get up there and watch from the boat!" Lincoln commanded. T-Bag and Bellick climb back up the rope ladder and land on the deck.

"Son of a bitch. Making me miss my opportunity for treasure." T-Bag said to Bellick.

"Some captain he is, right?" Bellick asked. T-Bag shakes his head.

"You're completely useless without me. I don't even know what I'm going to do with you."

Back down on the beach, Lincoln started walking toward the forest. He followed the track his crew made and made his way about halfway. The ground was muddy and the place was hot and wet. Trees covered him over. It was a perfect, tropical setting; almost good for starting a new home. A new home, one with his son that he wished he made.

Lincoln had kept his past life a secret except to his first mate, Sucre. He trusted Sucre and Sucre trusted him. He told him about everything that happened and ever since, Sucre followed Lincoln in whatever choice he made and listened to his orders. He knows about his son and he knows that it's been a problem on Lincoln ever since he ran away from Regulus.

*---*

May 12, 1666 8 PM.

The two of them first met in a pirate town called Bale. Lincoln had wandered off after escaping in the tunnel LJ had let him use. The soldiers lost all track of him and they stopped searching. Lincoln knew that he wouldn't make it out alive if he stole a boat. So he ran forward, with no sense of direction. He stumbled upon the town by pure dumb luck. Hoping that he would be safe here, Lincoln strolled into town.

He went into a tavern and he was completely flabbergasted. Everyone was fighting, throwing rum bottles. It was complete, utter chaotic scene; a scene that would make a teenager hyper enough to jump in and join the fighting just for the hell of it. On that note, Lincoln carefully made his way to the counter and stole someone's rum to drink. He sat down on the chair.

"Hey, that was my drink you son of a bitch!" A man beside him yelled.

"Oh, sorry. Here." Lincoln passes the glass of rum to the man.

"You're just going to hand it over to me?" He asked.

"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to drink and get past my troubles right now." Lincoln sat down and stared straight down at the counter.

The man was astonished by Lincoln's actions. He takes the chair next to him. Everyone was still fighting and yelling in the background. "You know, for a pirate, you're too nice. Too nice for your own good. And I know you don't belong here."

Lincoln picked his head up and looked to his right. He looked at the man's features. He was brown, had no hair, a dirty shirt that looked like it wasn't washed for months, and saggy pants.

"You're not from here, are you?" He asks.

"No. No I'm not. But I can't go back to where I came from."

"Where did you come from?"

"Regulus." Lincoln answered.

"WHAT?!" He yelled. It was loud, but not loud enough to stop all the fighting in the tavern. "You got banished from a rich town?!"

Lincoln grabbed him and pulled him out of the tavern. He brings him to an alley. He looks around to make sure no one was around, listening.

"Shut up and never yell that out again." Lincoln said.

"Okay, relax. Sorry. I just never met anyone who was bad enough to get kicked out of that town."

"Well I'm the first."

He chuckled. "So… what's your name?"

"Lincoln Burrows."

"Fernando Sucre. But call me Sucre." The two of them shake hands. "Why were you kicked out?"

Lincoln spilled the whole story to him, the story of his life, his son, and what happened before. Sucre was in complete awe, open mouth, wide open eyes.

"Wow. You know, sons usually follow the path of their father. I'm a pirate because my dad was."

"My son doesn't even love me."

"But he did help you escape. That has to count for something, right?"

Lincoln stared out the alley. "I guess it does."

*---*

May 11, 1668 3 PM.

Lincoln continued to follow the footsteps his crew made. It wasn't long until he saw Sucre, Roland, Wyatt, and the rest of his crew running back in this direction. They had a person in their arms.

"Captain! We gotta run! Come on!" Sucre yelled. He quickly runs by Lincoln and he follows him.

"What the hell did you do?" Lincoln asked as he looks at the person his crew was carrying.

"We ran into people on the island and now they're after us!"

"I was just doing the clickity-klack on a tree and someone heard me. He approached me and Wyatt hit him, knocking him out." Roland stammered on a few words as he ran through the forest.

"Roland, you and Wyatt are stupid idiots!"

"Captain, kill us later. We need to escape now." Wyatt said as he runs forward. An arrow flies and one of Lincoln's crew members grunted. He fell to the ground. He was gone.

Lincoln and his crew ran onto the beach an hour later and they got on the ship.

"Raise the sails! We're getting out of here!" Lincoln commanded. His crew got to work and the person they held prisoner was thrown in the dungeon. In almost minutes, the ship was off the shore and they were swiftly getting off the island. Lincoln stared behind him and he saw a man, who was white and barely tanned. He was yelling but he couldn't hear him.

"Casualties!" Lincoln yelled.

"We lost someone on the island captain!" Sucre reported as he tied a rope down.

"Well at least now we have a prisoner, or a slave to trade for some food." Wyatt said as he tied down a rope to a peg on the ship.

"Keep him in the brig. Sucre!"

Sucre runs up the steps and stops at the wheel, in front of Lincoln. "Yes, Captain?"

"Take the wheel. I'm going to talk to the prisoner."

"Yes, Captain!" Sucre obediently said as he took the wheel.

Lincoln walked down the steps from the wheel and then down another set of steps into the brig. He takes look around and finally sees the person, lying on the floor with a brown tunic hood over his head. He knocks on the bars.

"Hey. Wake up. Take your hood off." He said with a straight tone. The person wasn't responding. "I said take your hood off. I'm not going to say it again." He finally gets up and takes the hood off.

"Oh my god." Lincoln said.