Hey guys, so sorry for the delay. I'm just putting this side note here to say that I'll be busy with work and my other fan fictions, so I apologize if I haven't been giving this story that much attention like I should be. Just wanted to get that out of the way, until then, onward with the story! And be sure to review!
Steven Universe: Under the Black Flag
Chapter Four: A Rough Awakening
Lapis sat there against the tree, watching Arlyn, as he was standing in the water, as it continually washed to the shore and retreat back into the ocean, as he had a makeshift spear in his hand, watching as the fish circled his feet, as he crouched down, then thrusted his spear forward, impaling the fish with fast accuracy.
"Gotcha!" Arlyn smirked, as he tossed the fish into a makeshift net he had made, which was filled with other fish.
"Satisfied, Arlyn?" Lapis deadpanned.
"For now," Arlyn shrugged, as he removed his shirt, revealing the tattoos on his body, including several scars and bruises "Now the real fun starts."
Lapis felt herself go weak in the knees, as she watched Arlyn stretch his limbs, as she felt a certain warm feeling in her chest.
"Wow." She thought to herself "He looks so muscular. But where did he get those scars and bruises from?"
She watched as he vanished underneath the water, and then a few minutes later, her mouth dropped, as Arlyn emerged from the ocean, carrying a great white shark over his shoulders.
"What in the world?!" Lapis gasped in shock "How did you-?!"
"Hope you like sushi!" Arlyn boasted, as he carried the shark over to the camp.
A few minutes later, Arlyn started a campfire, cooking the shark meat into shark steak.
"Want some?" Arlyn offered a steak.
"No thank you." Lapis refused "I don't need to eat."
"That may be, but you must conserve your energy," Arlyn insisted "At least try it, before you knock it."
Lapis looked at the steak, then sighed, as she took the steak and shoved the whole thing in her mouth. Then suddenly, she spat it back out, coughing.
"I'm sorry." She frowned, wiping her mouth "I just don't know how."
"It's alright." Arlyn laughed "Besides, you were kinda doing it wrong. One small bite at a time, and try not to choke on it."
"Right…" Lapis sighed, turning away awkwardly.
A few minutes of silence has passed, as Lapis looked toward the forest, wondering if Michael would ever return, when she suddenly heard a melodic tone.
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains within the sound of silence
Lapis quickly turned to see Arlyn standing at the beach, as the water washed against his feet, as he looked toward the horizon, as he continued singing.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed
By the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs
That voices never share
And no one dare
Disturb the sound of silence
"Fools, " said I, "you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
And the words that it was forming
And the sign said,
"The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls."
And whispered in the sound of silence
Lapis couldn't believe nor even understand the kind of words that came from Arlyn's mouth, though she sensed a sort of melody from the song.
"You have such a wonderful voice, Arlyn." Lapis admitted, giving a warm smile.
"I used to sing several times, when I was younger." Arlyn smirked "Although I had to give it up to keep up appearance of captain. Nice to see I haven't lost my touch yet."
"Yeah…" Lapis chuckled nervously "What were you, before your… pirate life?"
"Well," Arlyn sighed "I was born in a country far from here, called England, with my mother and father. I have four older brothers, so I'm pretty much the youngest in my family, pretty much the black sheep of the family. But after my mother died, from giving birth to me, my father became a hopeless drunk, even went so far as to inflict pain upon me, even when I was only ten years old. So, when I was old enough, I packed whatever I could carry and the money I saved up, got a ship and crew and left home, and never looked back."
"Wow…" Lapis awed, intrigued by Arlyn's past life "Have you ever thought about going back? About how your father is doing?"
"Nope, not once." Arlyn shrugged "I left that drunken bastard years ago and I haven't once looked back. I do wonder how my brothers are doing though."
"I see…" Lapis mused, feeling sorry for him, somewhat "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be." Arlyn smirked "Besides, I've left my past behind me."
After a few minutes, Michael finally returned.
"Getting along, I hope?" Michael chuckled, as he approached them.
"You can say that, cowboy." Arlyn smirked, before frowning "Care to tell us where you have been?"
"Been lookin' for some materials for some signal flares." Michael declared "That way, Jasper and her crew will know where to find us."
"Is that so?" Arlyn frowned, reaching for his pistol.
"Don't even think about it, pard'." Michael frowned, reaching for his own pistol.
Suddenly, both men drew out their pistols, pointing them at each other.
"Look, pard, I don't want to have to hurt ya." Michael declared, sternly "But I will, if you don't give me a choice."
"Like hell you will!" Arlyn snarled "You cost me my ship and my crew!"
"You're men fired on us first." Michael sneered "We were only defending ourselves."
"Well, now you're gonna pay for it!" Arlyn snarled.
And with that, he fired, sending a bullet flying towards Michael's head, only to bounce off of his metalized head.
"What the?!" Arlyn gasped, as he gazed in shock at Michaels iron head "What the bloody hell are you?!"
"Good question." Michael mused, as his skin returned to normal, then smirked "Why don't we find out?"
And with that, he charged at Arlyn, tackling him into a tree. Despite the pain, Arlyn got to his feet, then charged at Michael, throwing a punch, only for Michael to grapple it and catch Arlyn in a headlock.
"Give it up, pirate." Michael taunted, holding Arlyn with that painful headlock "All you're doing is hurting yourself."
"Muck you, you pile of shite!" Arlyn choked out, struggling to break free, but unable to break the lock.
"Michael, please stop!" Lapis pleaded "You're hurting him!"
"He's hurting himself." Michael shrugged "And besides, he needs to calm himself down."
"Michael, please!" Lapis pleaded "Be easy on him. He's not bad. It's all just a misunderstanding. He doesn't know any better."
Michael gave her a strange look, then looked at Arlyn, who could barely breathe, then Michael sighed.
"Fine." He gave in, before looking at Arlyn "Look, pal. I'm gonna let you go, but first, you need to chill out, alright?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever!" Arlyn choked out "Now, let go!"
Sighing, Michael released Arlyn, as Arlyn heaved a breath of air. Lapis ran to his side, running a hand across Arlyn's back, trying to calm him down.
"Are you alright?" She asked, showing concern.
"I'm fine," Arlyn groaned, clearing his throat "My pride is wounded, but it'll heal."
"Look, I wasn't looking for trouble in the first place." Michael declared "We were only after the beacon that was aboard your ship. Now that it's at the bottom of the ocean, I guess I'll just tell my superiors that we have nothing to worry about. When they get here, we'll be leaving and you won't have to worry about us ever again."
"That might be." Arlyn scowled "But how am I supposed to return to land with civilization? My ship is sunk and my crew is dead!"
"Build a raft or something." Michael shrugged "I'm sure you'll figure something out."
With that being said, Michael pulled out a high powered flare gun, pointed the barrel up to the sky and fired a bright flare into the sky. Minutes later, after Arlyn had put on his clothing and equipment, a large warship landed on the beach, as Tanzanite and Jasper stepped onto the sand.
"Commander." Tanzanite smiled, shaking his hand "Good to see you're still alive, sir."
"Good to see you too, old friend." Michael nodded.
"What about the beacon?" Jasper demanded, impatient.
"Gone, I'm afraid." Michael declared "During the storm, both ships were sunk and the beacon was destroyed."
"Destroyed?!" Jasper growled "You had ONE job and you couldn't even do THAT right!"
"Hey, calm down, will ya?" Tanzanite frowned "Since the beacon's destroyed, we won't have to worry about any other human tracking us."
"I suppose." Jasper sighed "But the Diamond Authority isn't going to like hearing this."
"The Diamond Authority?" Arlyn whispered to Lapis "Are they leaders of some kind?"
"In a way, yes." Lapis whispered back "They are the highest form of respect on Homeworld. Not to mention the most powerful Gems in the known universe."
"Sounds like a big deal." Arlyn mused, before frowning "But if they're so great, why couldn't they come up with a better name for their planet?"
"I don't know." Lapis shrugged.
"Whelp, time for us to head home, I guess." Tanzanite shrugged "The Diamonds might not like it, but we have results regardless."
"Yeah, maybe." Jasper sighed, before turning her gaze to Arlyn "And who's the human? A friend of yours? Or a prisoner?"
"Excuse me?" Arlyn frowned, approaching them, unaware of Michael moving behind him with a metal hand "We aren't even close to 'friends', but I'm certainly not his pri-"
Before he could finish, Michael smacked him hard on the back of the head with his metal hand, knocking him out unconscious.
"He is now." Michael shrugged, his hand returning to normal.
"What're you doing?!" Lapis demanded, angry.
"He already knows too much." Michael shrugged, hoisting Arlyn's unconscious body over his shoulder "We can't risk him telling anyone about us, can we?"
"But nobody knows we exist!" Lapis retorted "And besides, who's gonna believe him?! They'll just think he's crazy!"
"Better safe than sorry." Michael shrugged "And besides, I'm the commander of this mission. You should know better than to question my orders."
And with that, Lapis was quiet, unable to think of anything else to say, as they boarded the ship, Lapis could only hope that nothing bad will happen the pirate.
"I'm sorry, Arlyn." Lapis thought to herself "I'm so sorry."
Finally, the new chapter is here! Once more, I'm sorry it took me this long to bring out this chapter, I've been so busy with so much stuff going on in my personal life, I've also been working on my other fan fics that I need to catch up on. Still, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and be sure to review!
