Chapter 1- Three Years?! The Crew Comes Back!

"Phew! That was a lot of work for just this piece of junk," a boy speaks out. He sways back and forth as he is looking up at the sky laying on his back. A spray of water sprinkles his face while birds in a flock fly over. The crash of waves is heard and continues to shake his little boat. The boy sits up looking around and then back at the deck of his dinghy. He quizzically looks at the map on the deck and quickly a look of annoyance spreads to his face. The sea that he is in the middle of tosses him to and fro. The boy jumps up and the whole boat shakes as he is turning around trying to get a landscape that he could associate himself with. To no avail, the only landscape he could see was the ocean itself.

The sun beat down on the sea which was a rare occurrence for this sea as it was usually cold and sometimes even frozen. The boy rolled up the sleeves on his black hoodie as the heat started to build up in his body. He now started to search his pockets to see if he could find some type of compass was still in pocket. However, the unfruitful attempt further annoyed the boy. Well, boy wasn't a fair term as he was about the age of seventeen and was already gaining a goatee on his face. His skin started to burn as there was little shade on his dinghy. The dark pigmentation of the boy was unusual for a person on the cold seas of the North Blue. He ran his hand through the curly black hair that was tangled up giving it an unruly look to him.

"Ugh… why did the idiot who I stole this from not have a compass on this?" the adolescent griped. His shining copper eyes looked out onto the vast ocean and was hoping to see another ship. It was Sea Beast hunting season, so there had to be some type of boat on the seas. His search was cut off as he saw another dinghy start to quickly approach.

"I know I forgot something. The oars, duh," the boy thought to himself.

"Punk! Come back here with that dinghy!" a man yelled at him. The boy pulled his hood over his head and a shadow cast over his eyes and only his wicked wide smile was seen. The man started to close in and his face started to become more vivid. This man was covered with wounds that were closed with stitches, which earned him his name of Stitches. He was shirtless and from his pants, which were torn up, it seemed like he had gotten into a scuffle. His emerald green pants had fabric missing from all over and the pants barely qualified as pants.

"Oh, it's the idiot I was just talking about!" the boy yelled back. Stitches sneezed and the boy laughed.

"It seems that the universe and me knows that you're an idiot." The boy waited until the man was nearly close to him to start taunting by sticking his tongue out. The man enraged threw one of the oars at the boy who easily caught it with a hand.

"Now, now. Didn't your mother tell you throwing wasn't nice? Or was her mouth stitched shut?" The boy smiled as he twirled the oar in his hand chuckling to himself.

"Just give the boat back! It has the treasure I've stashed for years in it!" Stitches yelled at the end of his stick. The boats finally bumped into each other and a cloud started to eclipse the sun. The boy stood in the sunlight as a shadow started to make its way over Stitches body. The two men looked at each other in the eyes, the same height. Stitches pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the boy. The waves started to pick up making the seas rough. The boats continued to bang against each other and the boy sighed.

"It seems the sea has made its judgment." The boy's smile faded and the oar was dropped in the water.

"Judgment?" Stitches asked a little uneasy.

"Judgment. I got a job to do and you seem to want to end my life, right?"

"No. I just want my boat back."

"However, these goods weren't yours in the first place. You're a pirate, no pirate doesn't have treasure that was stolen. Now you can let me go and let go off the treasure or try to win a bout with me and keep the boat and dinghy," the boy explained. The boy's face was serious as the waves started to calm a bit.

"I just have to win, right?" The boy nodded and Stitches smiled. The pistol was pointed at the boy and it fired. The bullet shot out of its barrel and travelled out into the sea until it stopped in the water meters away. Stitches' eyes widened as the boy was gone and then he felt a foot slam into his right cheek. As Stitches flew into the water he saw the boy stand staring at him as he made contact with the dinghy he brought. The sea completely stopped and returned to normal.

"He lost. I won. By the ordinance of Sea, I, Powell C. Sim have won the dinghy and the content thereof," Sim said his palm up as if he was making an oath. Sim took his hood off and his wide smile came back as Stitches broke the surface of the water.

"Sorry, Stitches. I won and I get the boat. So excuse me as I have to meet some friends a couple islands over. Bye!" Sim waved as he grabbed both oars which floated in the water.

"Don't give me that! Give back my boat!" Stiches yelled as his hand rose as he started to fire shots repeatedly. Sim watched as the bullets came, but saw they weren't aimed for him. The dinghy started to sink and it broke apart as Sim submerged under the water. Sim started to sink and Stitches watched with a triumphant smile. Stitches swam over and climbed in the other dinghy. The treasure he spoke of was floating in the water. Golden coins floated on the surface of the water and Stitches started to grab for them, but his hand was stopped by Sim's hand.

"I just saved your life! Didn't you hear? I won the treasure fair and square! If you would've touched that you could've died!" Sim yelled at Stitches as his head bobbed in the water.

"Are you serious? Stop playing around, kid! It's my treasure and I'm taking it back," Stitches growled. Sim let go of Stitches' hand and submerged once more and this time he shot up into the air. Stitches, now shocked, watched as Sim came back down toward him and landed behind him. Stitches quickly turned around quickly his fist ready to Sim who easily dodged, ducking under the punch. Sim now crouched down pulled on Stitches' legs who fell down hitting his head on the corner of the boat. Sim quickly stood grabbing Stitches while he was discombobulated and slung him out of the boat.

"Sorry to hit and run, but I'm late as I am and there's some ladies waiting for me. And one's particularly gonna be mad at me so again. Bye!" Sim said as he grabbed the oars and started to paddle away. Stitches went to grab for the boat, but ended up touching one of the golden coins. Stitches screamed in agony and then disappeared.

"Oh no. Sea is not gonna like that. Maybe Stitches gets to be pardoned or… he dies," Sim spoke to himself. Sim, now wanting to get going, hurriedly dug into the water and grabbed the coins in the water and put them in the boat. When his job was finished he grabbed the oars yet again and started to paddle off. Looked down on the boat and his map was missing and then he remembered 'his' dinghy got destroyed along with the map. A loud groan echoed out into the seas causing some fish to run away from his location. Suddenly, Sim realized that it would take a couple weeks, maybe a month, to get back to his crew. Another groan echoed in the air as the boy fell backward looking up at the sky thinking very hard. His face was scrunched up as he was using every fiber of his being concentrated on how he was going to get to his crew. Then, he sat up and he smacked his fist into his palm.

"I'll just call on Sea!" Sim said triumphantly, an imaginary ding going off. Sim stood up and raised hand, the same way he did when he made that contract earlier.

"I hereby make a petition for transportation. Allow me passage to the island of Jadora Republic," Sim said. Nothing happened immediately and Sim started to look around confused. Suddenly the water started to rise around the boat and Sim struggled for balance as the water washed off the big mass. Its voice echoed a singing sound and Sim looked over the edge of the boat to see a whale.

"Whoa! Sea has outdone itself! C'mon…. Song. Let's go to Jadora!" The whale sung out again and submerged until the dinghy was barely touching the water. Sim laughed as the whale sped up and his hood flew like a flag in the wind. Sim was impressed by the speed of the whale as it sped through the water. Soon after a while the whale started to slow and Sim could see in the distance a mass of island. Sim's smile started to fade as the journey started to end.

"Awwww…. I have to paddle all the way over," Sim said. Song heard this and started to raise its head and the dinghy started to fall back. Sim held on tightly and Song waited till the boat was above its tail. Sim looked around confused and then Song's tail smacked the back of the ship and sent it flying. The dinghy skipped as if it was a skipping stone, speeding toward the island. Sim smiled widely and looked back at the whale who did a small backflip into the water with a wail.

"Thank you! I'll remember you, Song!" Sim skipped and skipped along until the momentum from the hit was gone as the boat started to flow with minimal speed. Sim looked on as the island's shore was not too far as he saw island with a complete view. Jadora Republic was an island with a raised main land that was about as high as a small mountain with a shore below it. It would be a straight drop if one jumped off the edge of the Upper Republic as the islanders called it. The Upper City was littered with tall buildings that were used for all sorts of trade, monetary, and government businesses. It was a cesspool of all types of activities, legal or not. The Lower Republic was rundown with shacks and other houses that were poorly built. This was the poorer part of town where pirates and other underground activity would take place.

"Jadora Republic… I'm back… and I got a score to settle," Sim said with a serious tone, but his smile was still ever shining. Sim started to paddle till he got to the sandy shore. A shadow ran on the east side of the island giving the east side of the Lower Republic an eerie feel. The salty white sand crunched under his foot as he walked onto the beach. His black sandals left a grooved footprint in the sand as he walked towards the nearest house. His mind wandered off as he started to remember what caused the three year separation. His smile soon dissolved as he started to think about the subject. An image flashed into his head and then disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Another image appeared and then mushed in his head to leave him with a confused sensation in his head. He slowly came to his senses and he shook his head.

"Run! C'mon they're going to get us!" Sim fell to one knee, his head throbbing now.

"Help! Sim! Please… they're going to kill us!" Sim's head fell to his chest and he could barely shake the thoughts off.

"No! No! Guys! Get away from them! Ahhhhhhh! No, no, no, no!" Sim growled verbally grabbing the grains of sand from the beach leaving five marks in the sand. He threw the sand forward, a cloud of sand in its wake. Sim was sweating with a single drop leaving his brow and it dissolving in the sand. Sim slowly stood, first his hands pushing him up and his feet rooting themselves in the ground. Sim unzipped his jacket revealing a white tee shirt which stuck to his body due to his sweating.

"Ya always wear dat dere jacket no matter sun shine or rain fall," a voice behind him said. Sim quickly smiled and turned around to meet a man about his age. Covering his head was a red bandana that emptied out towards the back that released his dark black hair that were tied together in dreads. His shining brown skin was covered in sweat making him look like a bright copper statue. His brown overalls had no shirt under them showing his chest and his defined muscles looked like someone etched them into his arms. Around his waist was a belt with two holsters with a gun in each. The man put a hand on them and rubbed them with his thumbs. The wooden handles to his flintlocks shined like it was new, but in reality they were ten years old. The barrels were dug into the holsters so one could not see them. The flints were different and the whole gun itself was barely a traditional flintlock. Strapped to his back was a rifle with a long thin cylinder for a barrel and a wooden handle with a golden patch box and butt plate. The man smiled and stroked his already grown in goatee.

"Rakadam! What's up?" Sim said as they grab each other's hand did their regular hand shake, grabbing each other hands with their thumbs keeping them together. They let go and grinned at each other.

"How'd you find me?" Sim asked eyes dancing with curiosity. Rakadam flashed his smile that would break a woman under gaze and his green eyes did not help his prey either.

"Me saw a flying boat coming in and me t'ought that only de captain coulda come in like that 'ere," Rakadam explained his smile never fading.

"You wouldn't have run into the others?"

"Only me captain know how to make an entrance like dat dere." The two boys laughed with each other and started to walk down the beach.

"So what happened after I left?"

"Not a t'ing… well, Okaya and Gaurant left with da ship. The rest had to find a way to get off de island. Me hadda catch a ferry and then me wa' chillin' for a while, but I started to work on me guns. Den you sent that message about meeting in t'ree years. So 'ere we is."

"They took the ship? So you hadn't heard from Nashi and the others?"

"Not a word. After we 'ad separate we just did what we all did." Sim's face fell at that, hoping that his crew could've stayed together for the three years. The two walked the edge of the beach as Sim regaled tales to Rakadam about what he had been doing for the last three years. The ocean sparkled as the sun hit it with its ray and gave the Lower City a proper look even if it was a rundown place. As the two spoke, they passed shacks that looked uninhabited with doors missing right off the hinges with rusted metal that held said missing door. The cement building had a rough look to them due to years and years of weathering and erosion. Some even had broken windows and the frames were even gone. They would pass a few that were once considered to be classy houses now trash living. One particular shack was different than all the rest, they had passed and they stopped to look at it.

A wooden house which was considered a hazard to the Lower City members being the brunt of winds and any type of sea storm hit them the most. A cement structure had less of a chance to fall over due to rapid winds and high tide. This house however was the oldest and sturdiest of all houses on the Republic. On the center of the beach stood the wooden mansion that must've stood for hundreds of years. The mansion was about three stories tall and had at two dozen windows that went across the width. The roof was completely gone and the top floor must have been flooded from the rain and other things. The frame of the house was just about visible as bent wood everywhere on the house. The front porch's awning was still intact with one gaping hole in the center as if someone fell or broke through it. The porch itself had little decorations except for the marram grass that grew on the porch. The steps had decomposed somewhat with fallen wood on them. Behind the door that hung on by the bottom hinge that sent the door on an angle was dark and empty from where they were at.

"Remember this?" For some reason the house felt familiar to him. Sim started to inch closer to the house until Rakadam grabbed his shoulder with a firmer grip.

"Sim… no. Me no t'ink ya should go in dat one. It get me off me rockers." Rakadam gave the house one suspicious the light in his eyes gone. Sim looked at the house again, something tugging him to the house. Sim felt Rakadam squeeze his shoulder and looked away from the house completely.

"Alright, let's go…. We need to find Nashi and the others."

They passed the house and finally got to an inhabited part of the island. The usual cement houses were built in a circle to resemble a cul-de-sac, but the cul-de-sac had no exit of entrance except for the spaces between houses. They walked closer to them and started to see little children in rag dresses running around playing. One child yelled out that he was the infamous pirate, the Black Hood with a stick out to make the effect of a sword. He chased the other kids and he dangerously got close to a girl almost cutting her. Sim saw this and a dust cloud was where he used to be as he appeared a couple meters to where the kids were holding the girl in his arms. The children were shocked at Sim, their faces showing the shock within.

"Cooooooool!" they chorused and started swarming around him. The girl was put down and his ears nearly busted with all the noise the kids were making.

"How'd you get here so fast?

"Teach me how to do that!"

"Are you a Marine?"

"Are you a robot?"

"How fast can you run?" Sim was about to hush them up when a mother ran over and smacked the boy with the stick in his hand over the head. The boy looked at his mother and pouted holding the back of his head. The boy has sandy blonde hair and matching blue eyes that looked almost too innocent. The rags he wore were nearly faded with a dark shade of brown which was about the same shade as everyone else, but his seemed extra dirty.

"Tony! You could've take Mary's eyes out with that stick!" the woman who ran over exclaimed. She was obviously his mother as they had exactly matching features. Except her face was littered with freckles on her tanned skin. She had one streak of grey hair that one could barely see and her face was the epitome of beauty. Sim could tell when she was younger she was neck breaker, made men nearly break their necks to look at her. Her apparel was very different from the kids wearing an old t-shirt that was a faded yellow and a brown skirt that came down to her mid-calf. Sim noticed that none of the people wore any shoes at all.

"Thank you so much, sir. It's much appreciated," the mother said holding out a bony hand. With another look at everyone he did notice that they all looked hollow and barely alive. He grabbed her hand and shook it.

"My name is Palm and as you see this is Tony," the woman said grabbing her son around the shoulder. The boy smiled and a flash of mischief flew through his eyes and then disappeared. Sim smiled and nodded towards Tony. Rakadam walked up seeing that most of the drama was over. Palm flinched when she saw he was armed with guns and most of the kids retreated behind her. Tony and the girl Sim saved stood almost daring Rakadam to move.

"Guys, it's okay. This is my friend, Rakadam." Rakadam waved. He just carries those for show." The kids calmed and the four behind Palm stepped back out from behind her.

"I'm Mary and this is my brother Johnny," the biggest out of the four. The two had to be twins as they were almost identical. Mary had short brown hair that looked frizzy with strands all out of her hair. She wore rags like everyone else, but she was so big that she had extra rags sewn around the bottom to keep them long enough. She had smudges on her face that seemed permanent or were from lack of soap. Johnny had the same brown hair, but his was in some type of order. It was brushed to the side and came up into a curl. He seemed to be about the same age as his sister who looked like she was 6.

"This is Phineas," Palm said pointing to a young boy," He's very quiet in front of new people, so you won't hear too much out of him." The boy had black hair that was very thin and stuck to his head. He had owlish eyes that were a gray tint and features that exuded a thirst for knowledge.

"I'm Narissa. I thwee year old." The final child spoke up and stood with three fingers up. Sim smiled and crouched.

"Hi, Narissa. You're three years old? You are sure a big girl," Sim laughed. The girl's eyes widened at the compliment and she puffed up her chest in pride. Sim rose his hand for a high five and instead she jumped into his arms. Her black tangled hair wrapped around his face and she let go and stared at him happily with her dark brown eyes.

"Looks like she has taken a liking to you," Palm smiled. Sim stood up and Rakadam nodded to Sim.

"Come play us, Swim." Narissa started pulling on his arm trying to pull him along.

"We're trying to find some people, though. They're our friends and we decided to meet them here on Jadora. We need to find them," Sim said feeling guilty as Narissa's eyes drooped.

"Are there eight of them? Three girls and five guys?" Palm asked.

"Yeah, why? Wait. Are they here?"

"They've been here for a while saying they were waiting on their friend who should have arrived already," Palm said. Out of the circle of houses stood eight individuals and Sim smiled broadly. The first one to approach was a female brunette who wore mainly black who didn't look to happy. Her shirt was black and came to her middle stomach revealing her toned midsection. Her shirt was form fitting showing off her curves and chest. Her sleeves came to about just below her deltoid, her muscles lacking. Her pants, just as her shirt was tight, hugged her legs and came down to her ankle. She wore black sandals that showed that her toe nails were painted blue to match her hooped earrings. She had a distinguished face with high cheekbones and naturally cute facial features. However that cuteness was quickly gone with the scowl that was on her face as she approached Sim.

Sim smiled with sweat running down in fear of her next action. Rakadam backed away grinning very hard wanting to see of the girl's next move. Palm had enough sense to grab the children and put them behind her who were already afraid. The girl stopped in front of him.

"Sim! How dare you make me and the others wait so long?" the girl yelled. Her left foot rose and imbedded itself into the sand. Her right fist balled up and her arm was drawn back. She twisted her body with the ball of her right foot and followed through with the punch. The punch connected with Sim's stomach as he tried to dodge. Nashi twisted her fist and stood up normally taking her foot out of the sand. The punch sent a blast of force from out of Sim's back making his eyes roll into the back of his head. Sim barely could stand because he was so nauseous from the hit. It wasn't the strongest hit he had received, but it still hurt. Rakadam started to laugh as everyone else was wincing.

"Hahaha… yeah captain. Why ya 'ad to make us wait so long, hm?" Rakadam laughed. Suddenly the girl came out of nowhere as she appeared in front of him. She punched him in the stomach as well, but not as hard as she did Sim. Still, Rakadam had the same reaction as he fell to his knees one single tear coming from his eye.

"You're no better." The girl's demeanor changed as she grabbed Rakadam giving him a big hug. She let go of him and grabbed Sim as he was still stumbling his face showing his current pain. She tightly hugged him and squealed.

"Welcome back, Sim!"

"Thanks, Nashi." Sim recovered and stood, looking at the rest of his crew. The other six were nearly bawling out laughing trying to keep a straight face. Nashi stepped away from Sim leaving the hug, while Palm and the kids were horrified from Nashi's act of violence against Sim and Rakadam. One of the six saw this and addressed them.

"It's fine. They both have been in worse situations than a punch in the stomach," one of the boys said. The boy in question stood tall and had a very calm look on his face despite a vein in his head popping out from trying to keep in his laughter in. He had messy black that seemed to have its own gravitational pull as it was on an angle that made it look he had multiple ramps in his hair that ended over his forehead. He had on a white Kung Fu pants with a black Kung Fu shirt that had the symbol of a cloud on his left pectoral. The V in his jacket showed his chest which was tanned like his body like he was a faithful beach goer. He wore a pair of black Kung Fu slippers as he turned towards the family with a smile. His stormy grey eyes looked at them softly as if he was giving them a condolence.

Narissa was the first to jump out from behind Palm running towards Sim. She had tears in her eyes and her cries echoed on the beach. Her mouth was wide open that allowed spit to flow out of her mouth like a waterfall. Just as she was about to get to Sim she dove into his chest. Sim grabbed her so she wouldn't fall as she tightly squeezed his body. Everyone was shocked at this display, even Sim.

"Swim, wahhh! I tought you was dwead! The mean woman pwunched Swim! I wanna play with Swim and I cwouldn't do that if the mean woman kwilled Swim!" Narissa bawled into Sim's chest and Sim's shock turned to sympathy to happiness to curious to smug. Sim turned towards Nashi and gave her the smuggest look he could produce with a smirk.

"It's okay, Narissa. The mean woman won't kill me, I'm too strong for that," Sim smiled as he looked Nashi. Nashi felt a little guilty for making the girl cry and annoyed at Sim for turning the tables on her.

"Weally?"

"Really. See?" Sim threw Narissa into the air as she started to laugh. She fell back down and Sim caught her in a fit of laughter. He set her down as she grabbed his arm, still laughing.

"C'mon, wet's play." Narissa pulled on Sim's arm to come on.

"Narissa, let's let Sim catch up with his friends," Palm said trying to get them to calm down. Narissa wanted to say something, but the stern look in Palm's eyes discouraged her. She let go of Sim's arm and trudged on towards Palm who led them to the circle of houses.

The sun was near setting as the beach was illuminated with orange and yellow, making the sandy beach seem more vibrant and lively. The ocean sparkled like a sea of emeralds giving a peaceful vibe. The once dirty and grimy beach now was a little better in looks.

"Everyone!" Sim yelled running forward and grabbing the six of his crewmates. He managed to grab all of them into his arms.

"Hey!" one of the girls with the brown bandana on yelped.

"We missed you, too!" the other girl said with glasses and a loose sweater on said.

"Put us down now!" all of the guys yelled. Sim let them go and they all dropped in the sand. The girl with the bandana on jumped up a vein in her head was dangerously throbbing. Her skin was an even tone of chocolate that had a nice shine on it from the sun that was just about near sunset. Her hair came out of the bandana in a ponytail that reached her lower neck. She wore a white beater that was grease stained like she worked in a mechanics shop. She had denim jump suit to match; it was unbuttoned to her waist and the back fell behind her. The girl wore a tool belt with a hammer and other compartments for things like bolts and nails. A wrench was on her other side of the belt with screwdrivers on both sides of them. Her golden eyes furiously stared a hole in Sim. She stomped her brown boots into the sand making a tiny sandstorm for ants.

"Don't grab me like that! Not only did you pick me up you, dropped me in the sand! C'mon Sim that's not cool!" the girl yelled.

"Okaya, don't be like that. I haven't seen you guys for three years!" Sim smiled widely nearly laughing.

"Yeah, I understand the girls, but bro. A simple handshake coulda done the job," one of the guys said. The guy with a cooks outfit on spoke up. The white jacket was buttoned to the collar and the collar had a rectangular cut that exposed his Adams apple. A part of his jacket was tucked in while the other was out. His white pants were tucked into his black shoes as he was dusting off the sand off his jacket.

"Rendasi, to be fair, a handshake does not express three years' worth of feelings. He is very justified in what he did," the girl with blue hair spoke. She had on glasses that were rectangular in shape that took covered all of her eye. She had a soft look on her like she was going to either read or study. A stethoscope around her neck swayed as her hand dusted herself off. She had a green loose jacket on and her sleeves covered her hands as she dusted her shoulder. She had a sunflower yellow shirt on with brown shorts that came up to her mid thighs. She had on green sandals on as well to match her light brown eyes.

"Suika does have a point. I think," the final guy said. He had tanned skin, but wasn't like Sim or Okaya's skin. He wore a backwards cap which had red trimmings and a majority of white. He had a red shirt on that matched his hat almost exactly. With red short sleeves and a red collars and white torso and navy blue shorts. His shoes were red with white toes. He looked like a regular teen, but his full grown beard was the thing that changed that. He had a bushy black beard that looked like it needed shaving real soon or else he would look like a dirty traveler.

"As long as I'm clean I'm fine," Nashi said scanning her outfit. Rakadam gained a mischievous smile slowly backing away to do something.

"As always you gotta stay looking good," Rendasi smiled poking fun at Nashi. She smiled doing a little pose comically while Okaya rolled her eyes chuckling. Rakadam reappeared with his hands cupped and he threw it towards Nashi. Sim saw this and gasped giving Nashi time to turn around. She dropped with speed on all fours into a catlike pose. Everyone was shocked at Nashi's display of agility and reaction time.

"Whoa! Nashi! You've been training!" Sim exclaimed. Nashi stood slightly blushing fixing her shirt. She quickly turned around to eye Rakadam who was already gone. The sun was ready to submerge into the sea as the sky turn to violet and orange fire. Stars started to wake up ready to help illuminate sky when the sun left.

"This gets me excited! Tomorrow…" Sim started.

"Oh no."

"He can't be serious."

"No, not this."

"Tomorrow we fight! One on one! Against me!" Sim yelled in anticipation. Palm and the kids looked out of one the houses to see the commotion. Rakadam appeared walking out of a clump of marram grass an upset frown on his face. The rest of the crew groaned, upset.

"C'mon, Sim. Not that. We always end up hurting each other," Harain spoke putting his hands through his 'ramp' hair.

"Don't care. Captain's order supersedes all!" Sim laughed as he jogged in place. His hood bounced up and down as he was trying to keep his excitement from completely losing control.

"Swim! Can we play now?" Narissa said running out into the beach.

"Of course! My friends will play with you, too." The others couldn't protest his statement as all the kids came out screaming to play. Narissa led the charge to them and the crew ran to them as well. Narissa tagged Sim laughing.

"Tag you're it!"

Jadora filled with echoes of laughter as they played in the Lower City. The sun seemed like it shone brighter on them as it continued to go down as a final burst of light. The stars and moon shone in the sky giving life in the night. The sky was clear, no life in the air as peace set in. The light from the Upper City roared to life as multiple people were having a night out on the town. The Upper City from afar seemed to be more fun filled and happier, but if one got close enough they would see right now the Lower City was the main attraction. Sim laughed as he got Rakadam who then jumped for Nashi. She then got Okaya who tagged Gaurant. Gaurant tagged Harain who instantly got Rendasi who grabbed Suika. Suika tagged Phineas and everyone laughed as they continued.

The Hooded Pirates had returned. And nothing were going to stop them.