Author's Notes; Pirates AU. One of my first art ideas for ZeroX was them as pirates, but didn't think I could do that at the time. I had no intention of writing a pirate au back then, but here we are now..and since I do my own promo images, I guess I have to do pirate ZeroX drawing too..Please enjoy.
A line of young boys restrained in chains was walked into a local harbor. A man clad in black walked behind them, watching for any sneaky sudden moves. A more aggressive man led in the front, yanking the boy in front along with him towards a line of docked ships. The boy in front was a short brunette with green eyes and blue clothes. The boy behind him was a redhead with a large scar on his face, also with green eyes and blue clothes. He was friends with the boy in front and protested. "Hey, quit the yanking, pal!" The man in front hissed. "Pipe down, maggot!" The man in the back snorted. "Vile! The captain wants able-bodied boys! Harming them now is a gamble. There's to be no harm until the captain sorts them. Is that clear?" Vile snorted. "Suck up!"
The boys were taken onto a ship with a black rose design with long vines on it. The man clad in black unlocked the restraints as an elderly man picked up the dock ramp. "You are all to remain here until our captain is awake. He will decide what to do with you." The brunette and the redhead looked at each other, exchanging concerned looks. "We're going to spend our lives here?" The redhead asked. "That's what it seems." The brunette nodded. The redhead smirked. "You're not scared, are you, X? This captain is probably just a pushover." X looked at Axl and then at the wooden floor of the ship. "Well...I..." Axl chuckled. "Chill, X. They're just bozos. We'll get out of this." X sighed. "Did you forget the guy called Vile? I doubt they're joking about this at all. We're literally being taken away from the town we grew up in." Axl giggled. "We'll get out of this somehow, X. I know we will."
When evening fell, the ship was already sailing away from the harbor on black sails. The harbor was in the distance. A figure came out from a door on the stern of the ship. The man in black saw the figure and called. "All new hands on deck." The elderly man was lighting torches around the ship carefully as the figure walked onto the deck. With more light around the ship, X and Axl managed to catch a glimpse of the figure. The figure didn't look like a ship captain, but in X's mind, some kind of man in a high position, perhaps royalty. All the boys lined up in fear as the figure approached. The captain had glowing blue eyes, a bare chest with a long scar where his heart should be, a black cape and a black pair of trousers. His arms were tucked behind his back and atop his cape was a thick red ponytail reaching to the floor just barely. X noticed that one of the captain's eyes had a fainter glow than the other. The man in black from before also joined in. "The young deck hands as you requested." The captain nodded. "Well done. Now, let me see what I am dealing with." All the young deck hands eyed the captain anxiously. The captain finally stopped in front of them all. "You are all free to go." To X and Axl, his words sounded suspicious. Many of the other boys on the other hand, rushed and jumped off the ship, hurriedly swimming to the harbor.
The captain chuckled. "Well, well. Now I know who the intelligent ones are." There were only three boys left from the original lot of seven. In the slight confusion, X found himself staring into the glowing eyes of the captain. The captain looked X in the eyes attentively. "You...You shall come with me to my quarters." X and Axl were puzzled. "Hey, what are you trying to do? Why did you trick us? And just what are you planning to do with X?" Axl barked. The captain looked to Axl. "That is none of your concern. If this boy is your friend, fret not. I have no intention of hurting him. I do not intend harm unless I find someone intending harm upon me." The captain looked then to the man in black. "Signas, escort these two to their cabin. I want to have a word with this one."
Signas nodded. "As you wish. The two of you, follow me." Axl gently waved as he and the other remaining boy were lead to the cabin. X waved back before the captain began escorting him to the captain's quarters. The brunette dared not to speak a word as he followed the mysterious captain to his chamber.