Author;s Note: Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter! I have not had as much time as I would have liked to work on anything writing related, so this kinda just fell away. I really hope that you like this chapter, however, even if it is a short one!

Chapter Six – Voices In Your Head

Reaver had instructed the boy to go give the horse to the stable hands, then telling him to occupy himself for a few hours. Richard had agreed, walking off without much protest as he headed for a clothing shop that seemed to pique his interest. Reaver had immediately walked off, closing himself into an alleyway without as much as a thought.

The boy had heard the voices. That meant he wasn't insane! Didn't it?

Reaver's hand twitched back to his hip, landing on the familiar metal he could always count on finding there. The danger of the weapon pricked his fingertips, taunting him to do more.

We will show you true power.

No. Please, not now.

Let us in, Reaver.

And suddenly Reaver was denying reality with everything he had. He was fighting against what he knew to be true and going with what whispered to him as fake. He was falling for them again, even after 200 years.

Let us in, let us in. We only want to help.

We could make you so much better than you are, Reaver.

He could feel the promise they spoke of itching at the back of his mind, begging him to lose his control and let them take a moment to show him. They wanted to show him how to use his power – how to kill more people. All of his life, they had done most of the killing. He had slowly simply begun to stop listening to them and tune them out.

Reality comes with a price, dear boy.

His breath hitched in his chest and his hands snapped away from the metal. The gun hissed at him in protest, but he quickly ignored it. He took one shaking step at a time out of the alley, quickly winding his way to a weapons shop. He needed to think of something else – something other than the damned voices.

"Welcome to the shop, mister," A cheery voice greeted his ears as he entered the small, unimpressive shack. He sighed heavily and bowed his head in acknowledgement, getting an offended look out of the salesman.

"Have you got anything of any quality here, sir?" Reaver asked, jabbed one gun with his cane in a manner that suggested he was afraid to touch it. The salesman laughed at first, taking a few steps around the counter to come and stand in front of Reaver.

"If you knew anything about guns, you would see that this," the man picked up a gun that looked somewhat promising for a child of Richard's beginning talent, "Is a decent enough gun for any adventurer."

"Hmm, would I now?" Reaver smirked, casually taking his Dragonstomper off of his hip. The man's eyes widened and his grip on the gun he was holding went slightly slack. "Would I also, presumably, know how to fire this," Reaver aimed his gun at the man's head without so much as blinking, "through your skull?"

The man blinked a few times in what Reaver assumed was astonishment second and fear first. Then, finally, he seemed to snap back to life and respond to the pirate's words.

"R-right, sir. I did not mean to offend you, I just –"

"Yes, yes. Whatever your reason was, it was poor. So, I suggest you show me something better than that child's toy, hmm?"

Reaver tightened his grip on the gun, his face tightening with unreadable emotion as he kept his eyes on the man before him. He ignored the voices prodding at his head, tingling at his fingertips. He could feel them again when he had no intention of allowing them to stay.

We want to help you. We can show you how to be more powerful, Reaver.

Don't say my name.

But why not? All those years ago, you let us practically scream it into every skull we shattered.

"Let's shoot for a pistol, shall we?" Reaver suggested, every pun that came with his words purely intended. The man nodded at a speed that almost threatened to send his head rolling off his shoulders. Reaver sighed and put the gun away, the metal hissing loudly in his head in protest. He ignored it with a slight wince and followed the man around the store.

Let us show you how it's done, Reaver.

Richard was bored.

He had thought that maybe Brightwall would have had more to offer than the same old Bowerstone Market did, but he was sorely mistaken. He had spent a good amount of time simply walking around to all the stalls, but soon they became boring. He'd dared to try and set foot into a tavern, only to have a soldier, who coincidentally knew what he looked like, pull him out. He'd received a stern lecture after that – which he had completely tuned out.

Now, he was sitting on the edge of the fountain, swinging his legs back and forth in a lazy fashion as he let one of his hands reach down and barely touch the water. He sighed heavily and let his eyes wander around the small town square, wishing silently that he had been able to bring River with him. Or, that Reaver would have allowed him to go into the weapons shop with him.

"Hey, kid!"

Richard turned his head in the direction of the loud voice, his bored blue eyes landing on a group of guards walking his way. He immediately leapt up with a curious glint finding his eyes. Something told him that they were not here to tell him anything good.

"Kid, you ain't allowed to be here," The main speaker snarled the words as he readjusted his black, soot covered hat over his dirty brown hair. Richard looked to him curiously, wondering what he could mean by his words.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just –"

"We don't take kindly to no strangers like you. Or that cocky bastard you came into town with."

"Excuse me?" Richard took a step forward, his hand resting on his sword that he was for once grateful he knew how to use. The leader eyed it carefully, each of the three guards behind him doing the same.

"Your fellow stranger in there is causin' quite the ruckus – we guards ain't good enough to contain 'em."

Richard began to open his mouth to ask the guard another question, only for a gunshot to ring out into the air behind him. He flinched, watching as the guard in front of him fell to the ground. He twisted to look over his shoulder, his eyes landing on Reaver standing on the steps of the weapons shop.

"Reaver! What are you –"

"We're done here. Let's go."

Richard watched in shock as Reaver calmly walked over to him and grabbed him by the elbow, towing him along the path and back to the entrance. The guards watched for a second in shock before reacting, quickly pulling out their guns. Reaver sighed in an annoyed way, aiming his gun over his shoulder and shooting the remaining three.

"Reaver!"

"Shut up boy! Next time you want to go shopping," Reaver leapt up onto the horse, practically pulling Richard on after him. Richard gasped sharply and tightened his grip around the pirate's waist. "We are going to Bowerstone."

Reaver ignored any further protest the boy had to offer, kicking the horse into a sharp gallop and taking off down the path.