The fog was thick, and Rebecca wasn't able to see a thing around them. She made a note to inform the captain that it would be wise to lower the sails and just let the current carry them, so that if they hit something it wouldn't be at full speed.

She was sitting on the ledge of the lookout tower, sighing. She didn't see any point in being on lookout duty when there was nothing to lookout for, but still she kept to her post as ordered. She found it unfair that everyone was down in the quarters while she was up here alone, but Captain Chris had said that he had to be a bit harsh on her so she would learn faster.

Rebecca froze, looking out into the fog again. She thought she'd seen something pass by, and it sounded like something was causing a rippling noise on the calm and silent sea, but she couldn't see anything now. She shivered, thinking back to several tales she'd heard along the way. There was one story about a ship that hid in the fog, and could get right against any ship undetected. The captain was a careless thieving pirate known only as Red, and it was said that Red's crew would steal everything onboard the ship right down to the last rope, and disappear without the owner ever noticing a thing. By the time anyone realized they'd been robbed, Red's ship was nowhere in sight, and nobody had ever caught up to it.

Rebecca laughed, realizing how stupid the stories sounded. She stepped off the ledge and blinked, stopping dead on her tracks. Something cold was pressed against her throat, and she could take a random guess saying it was a blade.

"Shh..." whispered someone behind her.

Rebecca turned her head slightly, but before she could see anything she was hit in the back of the head with something heavy, and everything went black after that.


"Oh, that's gonna leave a mark," said the young male.

"Whatever, let's secure the rest of the ship and start packing," said the young girl, grinning as she put her sword in its sheath.

The boy nodded and slid down the rope that linked the lookout tower to the deck. The girl watched him go and did the same on the other side. Once on the deck, she walked with perfect stealth towards the small window. There was a light coming from the other side, and she knew that was where everything was; the quarters, the crew, the treasures, and everything else.

As she neared the window, the door next to it opened and a young woman stepped out. Both of them stopped moving, staring at each other.

"What the hell is this?" asked the woman, reaching for her sword.

The girl turned and ran the other way, sword already in hand. She could hear the chasing footsteps and grinned. That's right, get away from the door and follow me, she thought.

"Hey, stop!" said Jill as she chased the young girl on the deck.

The girl turned and held the sword up, blocking the expected swing from Jill's sword. "Predictable," she said.

Jill jumped back, holding her sword up. "What do you want? And how did you get on the ship without being seen?" she asked.

The girl grinned and nodded up towards the lookout tower. "Your rookie seemed tired, so I put her down for a nap," she said.

Jill looked at the tower nervously. "Rebecca..." she said.

"Look, we could do this the easy way, or the hard way. Whichever you choose, I end up leaving with your treasure," said the girl.
"I'll have the crew alerted before you even step foot off this ship," said Jill.

"That's fine, call your crew. If they're anything like the kid upstairs, I could take them with my eyes closed," responded the girl, smiling.

Jill paused, eyeing the girl carefully. She seemed familiar somehow, but was nothing like anyone she'd ever met. "Who are you?" she asked.

The girl grinned and jumped forward, swinging the sword towards Jill's head. The attack was blocked quickly, and she jumped fast right over the blade from Jill's sword. Both girls spun around and ended up staring the other down once again.

"You're fast," said Jill.

"Giving up?" asked the girl.

Jill smiled and brought her sword forward, and the battle was on.


Not too far away, the young man was examining various objects from a small cabin next to the steering area. He had found a compass, a few maps, and a few bracelets but there didn't seem to be much worth taking. He picked up the compass and spun it around a bit, watching the needle turn and point to the same direction every time. He sighed and put it in his pocket, then turned to leave the cabin. He froze, staring into the tip of a blade.

"Put it back," said Chris.

The boy smiled. "Put what back?" he asked.

"The compass, you fool," Chris warned. "Put it back, and put your hands up. And before you even think of reaching for you sword, I should warn you that you're staring at it as we speak."

The smile faded off the boy's face. He looked down at his empty sheath and blinked. "How did you get it without me noticing?" he asked.

"I'm just that good," said Chris. "Now put the compass back, and start talking!"

The boy did as told, setting the compass back on top of the maps. He thought of ways to get out, but knew they'd all end with his death.


Jill stabbed the sword forward, but the girl jumped back quickly. She tried slashing at both the girl's feet and head, but she was just too fast, almost like she was reading her every move. The insulting part Jill hated the most was that the girl seemed to be enjoying the fight, and used defensive movements that almost seemed like she was dancing.

"I really don't wanna hurt you, I just want the treasures and I'll be out before you know it!" said the girl.

"Not on my watch you won't!" said Jill, swinging the sword forward again.

The girl dove forward, rolling on the deck, and stood back up behind Jill all within a second. She brought a solid kick to Jill's back, sending her smashing into the pillar of the lookout tower. Jill winced and dropped her sword on impact. She turned around but stopped moving when the sword was right at her neck. "How...did you do that so fast?" she asked.

The girl smiled. "I told you, there's the easy way, and the hard way...and you're kind of stuck in the middle right now," she said.

"Drop your sword!" yelled a man's voice behind her.

The girl reacted quickly. She grabbed Jill's arm and pulled her forward, brought her arm up and held the blade right on Jill's neck, so any movement on either of their parts would draw blood. Once she turned, she saw that the ship's captain was holding her friend in the same way. Both of them tightened their grip, waiting for the other to make the first move.

After nearly a minute of the silent face off, the captain, Chris, slightly released his grip on the sword, but held onto the boy. He stared at the young girl in disbelief. "Claire?" he asked. The young girl looked confused, but Chris could see a hint of recognition. He lowered his sword and pushed the boy aside. "Claire, it's me!" he said.

The girl stared at him, and finally lowered the sword. "I haven't heard that name in years..." she said.

Jill turned and brought her knee up into the girl's gut, knocking her to her knees. She quickly picked up the fallen sword and pointed it to the girl's throat. "I got her, Chris!" she said.

Chris started towards them. "Let her go," he told Jill.

"But Chris..."

"Do it, Jill," said Chris.

Jill did as told and the girl stood back up. She stared at Chris blankly. "Chris?" she asked.

"You do remember me, right?" asked Chris.

The girl nodded. "I'm just a little...confused, I guess. This is your ship?" she asked.

Chris frowned. "Yeah...why, planning on stealing it?" he asked.

The girl, Claire, rolled her eyes. "That was three years ago, give it up!" she said.

"Exactly, three years without a word from you! What the hell were you thinking?" asked Chris.

Claire turned and started walking away, but Chris reached forward and grabbed her arm. "No, you're not running off this time. We're going to sit down and talk about what exactly was going through your mind at the time," he said.

Jill stepped forward. "Um, mind if I ask what exactly is going on?" she asked.

They looked at Jill, and Chris nodded. He released Claire's arm and smiled. "Jill, I'd like you to meet Claire, my younger sister," he said.

Claire bowed as if he'd just introduced royalty. Jill looked at her, then back to Chris. "I didn't know you had a sister," she said.

"Well, it's not something I've been going around bragging about..." said Chris. "Three years ago, she stole my ship in the middle of the night and I haven't seen her since."

"I was sick of you bossing me around," said Claire.

"You could've said something! You know how worried I was at first?" he asked.

Jill held her arms up. "Guys, hold on a second!" she said. She turned to look at Claire, a look of confusion on her face. "So, you got sick of being bossed around and stole a ship? How old were you?" she asked.

Claire blinked. "Um..." she thought about it for a few seconds.

"She was sixteen," said Chris.

"Sixteen?" said Jill. "Chris, how the hell did a sixteen year-old steal a ship from YOU?"

Chris sighed. "It's complicated," he said.

"Not really. See, he taught me everything he knows, including stealing ships. One night we were docked in a small town, and I was able to get away without him even waking up," said Claire.

Jill stared at Claire, shocked. "And the crew?" she asked.

Chris shook his head. "No crew, just her," he said, folding his arms over his chest.

"To be honest, I was planning on bringing it back, but after a few days I got completely lost. Then I ran into Leon when I stopped for supplies, and he's been with me ever since," said Claire.

"Leon?" asked Chris, raising a brow. He turned to look at the confused boy behind them. "This guy over here?" he asked.

"No, that's Steve," said Claire.

"Hi, I'm Steve!" said Steve.

"Shut up, Steve," said Chris. Steve frowned, and Chris looked back to Claire. "So, where is this Leon?" he asked.

At that exact moment, a boy swung down with a rope and bumped against Chris, sending him over the side of the boat. Jill, Claire, and Steve all ran to the side and looked over.

"You took longer than usual, so I figured something bad happened," said the boy who'd swung in with the rope.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Chris yelled from the water.

Jill grabbed a rope-ladder and threw it over. "Here, climb up!" she said.

Claire couldn't hold back from laughing. "Hey Chris, how's the water today?" she yelled.

"Shut the hell up, Claire, or you're going down next!" he warned.

The boy walked over to them and blinked. "Claire?" he asked.

Claire's grin disappeared. "Um, yeah..." she said.

"You never told me your name was Claire," said the boy.

"Me neither, actually," said Steve.

"Okay guys, shut up. Yes, that's my name, so deal with it," she said.

Chris reached the top of the ladder and sighed, his clothes soaked. "You've been traveling with people who don't even know your name? Seriously, how irresponsible are you?" he asked.

"Shut up, I went by another name," she said.

"What was it, Moron Redfield?" asked Chris, grinning slightly.

The boy looked at Claire. "Your last name is Redfield?" he asked.

"Is that where the 'Red' comes from?" asked Steve.

The boy hit Steve on the arm. "No, you idiot, that's because she has red hair," he said.

Knowing this would lead to a fight, Jill put her arms up between the two. "Before there's bloodshed, I'd like to know...Is THIS Leon?" she asked.

Everyone looked at her, then to the boy. He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm Leon," he said.

Chris stepped up to him, glaring at him. "And how old are you, Leon?" he asked, speaking the name between gritted teeth.

Leon stood his ground, confused. "I don't see how that's your damn concern," he said.

Claire sighed. "See, this is why I left...you think you have to know and control EVERYTHING. Come on, guys, let's get out of here," she said. She started towards the side of the boat, but Chris caught her arm again. Leon reached for his sword, but Claire held her hand up. "It's fine," she said.

Leon held the sword's hilt, staring at Chris. He'd never seen anyone lay a hand on Claire, and wasn't ready to let things get bad. "Who the hell is that guy anyways?" he asked.

Claire pulled her arm away from Chris. "It doesn't matter, 'cause we're leaving and forgetting all about this happy little reunion," she said.

"No, you're not. You're coming with me and talking things over," said Chris.

"Chris, I ditched you once before, I can do it again...and if you think a fight'll stop me, you're wrong; I'm better than you," said Claire, bringing up her sword. She made the mistake of looking over to Leon and Steve. "Just give me about a minute and we'll be hea-" something hit her on the head, and she dropped to the deck.

Chris was holding his sword up with the hilt facing down. He sighed and looked to Steve and Leon. "Now, I know this looks bad, but I really need to talk to my sister, and I know she won't stay without a fight. You guys can wait here with Jill, and please don't kill each other..." said Chris. He picked Claire up and headed to the lower deck, and through the door to the quarters.

Leon watched him leave then glanced over to Jill. "His sister?" he asked.

Jill sighed and sat down on a step. "You know, I have no freaking clue anymore..." she said.