Thieves

By Dixxy

Chapter Two

"It's dark!"

"It's cramped!"

"Aw, nasty! Who blew one?"

"Don't look at me!"

"Or me!"

"Hmm, yer right- aye think its fish."

"Ew!"

Dario sighed heavily to himself. They'd been in the crate for a very long time now, and as a result of four boys being cramped in a small space, tensions were running high. Even after managing to sneak onto their crate, they had no idea where they were headed, which only added to the atmosphere they'd been subjected to.

"How much longer do we have to be crammed in here?" asked Glenn.

"Until we reach port, I guess," said Norris. "But we don't know where that'll be."

"Nice," said Karsh. "We could be 'ere fer days before this boat docks."

"DAYS!?"

"SHH!" Dario hushed. "If we get caught we'll get in trouble!"

"Won't we be in trouble when we get out anyways?" Glenn quipped.

"Hmm- lad's got a point, there," said Karsh. "Maybe we should just git out now."

Dario sighed, shaking his head. "If we can sneak out without them seeing us we can avoid that altogether," he said. He turned to Norris. "What do you know about the ports of Medina, Choras, and Truce? The three of us will know exactly what to do if we end up in El Nido, but. . ."

"I do not know, but I know it won't be a very warm reception if this ship is headed to Medina- the Mystics are not very fond of humans, and rumor has it they have a few hundred of our kind and a handful of demi-humans enslaved," said Norris. He grimaced. "In fact, most of them are downright dangerous- some can use magic without the aid of the El Nido elements. They use something called 'magic points' instead, and they're VERY dangerous."

Dario gulped. "I've heard of that," he said. He shook his head. "But there are four places we could end up, right? Medina is only one of them, so we only have a one-in-four shot of ending up there. We have a much better chance of ending up in El Nido, Truce, or Choras, right?"

"Choras isn't much better- they revolted against Porre and won their freedom back. But they weren't able to restore their government and now everyone relies on these horrendous warlords and 'kings' for guidance. Because of the large number of rulers, they don't have any sort of a legal system or the ability to give out things like birth certificates and marriage licenses. Even worse, its plain dangerous there- riots are just about a normal occurrence there," said Norris.

"Okay, you're saying with have even odds to land in a good or a bad place?" Dario asked.

"Well. . . yes."

"Just great. . ." Karsh muttered.

"Well. . . this is better than nothing, at any rate," Dario said. "If we end up in Choras or Medina we just jump another ship until we get to where we want to go. It might take a little while but we'll get there." He leaned against the side of the box. "All we have to do is kick back and relax."

"And keep quiet," Karsh reminded them.

"Well. . . that, too."

Glenn placed his ear up against the side of the box. "I think I hear something," he whispered.

All four boys quieted, not wanting to make a sound. Sure enough, the sounds of boots on wood could be heard outside. Not one of the stowaways even dared to so much as breathe. The eerie calm slowly began to creep up on each of them, a desperate, primal urge to scream being suppressed by every will they had.

And then someone opened the crate.

"AHH!!!"
"AHHH!!!"

"AHHH!"
"WAHH!"

"WHAT IN THE HELL!?"

~

That's it- we're all dead, Norris thought. After their hiding place had been found and a rather brief chase had ensued, the four boys now found themselves face to face with the captain of the boat they had stowed away on. Dario had a protective arm around his brother, who was looking around nervously. Karsh was chewing on his hair, trying to act calm and cool. As for Norris, he felt as if he was back in the prison cell in Porre, awaiting his execution.

The boys had been brought to the captain's quarters, which appeared to be more of an office rather than a room on a boat. Well, the entire back wall had been replaced by a huge window that show the mighty sea before them, but aside from that it didn't seem like something on a boat. Tapestries from all over the world hung on the walls, vases and jeweled armors accenting the mood. A large globe of the world on a tall stand stood in one corner, surrounded by curled up maps and navigational devices that all ships needed. Another corner had a cat bed, where a large, fat tabby slept, lying on its back with its paws stretched out over its head and to the tip of its tail, which twitched every so often as the animal occasionally moved, perhaps having some sort of a dream. Behind the cat was a tall wardrobe that had been decorated with a carving of some sea legend involving a giant sea serpent and a ship of what looked like pirates. A huge, oak desk sat towards the window, and behind the desk sat the captain.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Four stowaways?" the captain said. The man was rather short and stout with a round, red face that would almost appear childish if it weren't for the thick grey beard that surrounded his face like a fuzzy halo. Old, time weary eyes looked at them with a hint of dark intentions that the boys weren't sure that they could trust. Out of the corner of his mouth a large pipe hung, the smell of a fine tobacco filling the room as the captain puffed away. He took the said pipe out, blew smoke in Karsh's face (which caused the purple haired youth to cough uncontrollably) and laughed. "So, what do you little brats think you're doing on my boat?"

Dario cleared his throat. Maybe he could plead for their lives and talk the man into being cabin boys for the remainder of the voyage? "Captain, sir, I apologize for our intrusion, but it's imperative that we get to Truce or El Nido- our lives are in danger and those places are the only safe havens we know of. If you'd like, we will offer ourselves to you as cabin boys to pay for our passage."

The captain scratched his hairy beard, seeming to think this over. He raised a hand, curling one finger at two of his sailors. They huddled together, whispered to each other, and then broke apart. The sailors stood at the captain's sides, acting like they were his bodyguards. "We've decided you four may work as cabin boys and we'll let you off at our destination without penalty."

Karsh, Dario, and Norris all cheered, high-fiving each other in joy. Glenn walked up to the desk, standing on his toes to look over. As his brother and his friends cheered, the smallest boy raised his hand. "Um, Mr. Captain sir? Can I ask you a question?" he asked innocently.

The captain nodded, giving him a large grin and snapping his fingers. "Of course, child- ask anything of me that your heart desires," he said in a sort of mocking kindness. Glenn's eyes widened, not liking the look the captain was giving him. In a way, it seemed almost reminiscent of Curtis, which, naturally, shook the young child endlessly. If the look reminded him of Curtis, and if Curtis was a bad man, then did that mean the captain was a bad man as well? On their cue, the sailors began to escort the boys, Glenn included, out of the room.

"Good bye, children!" the captain said, waving.

"Wait! Mr. Captain Man! Where are we going?!"

~

"You know, I think Glenn had a point," Norris said as he peeled off his shirt. He tossed the sweat and salt-water soaked garment on the floor, then lied back on the sheets of the bunk bed he'd claimed as his own. After they'd been escorted out of the captain's quarters, the boys had been given work right away, whether it be moving cargo or doing random tasks for the crew members. They'd then been assigned a small, cramped cabin with four bunk beds that had thin sheets, hard mattresses, and a thick smell of something rotting in the air. Both Dario and Glenn had been completely drained and were asleep before they hit their respective beds, leaving only Karsh and Norris awake. "It seems kinda weird that the captain just accepted us as cabin boys after we stowed away onto his boat, don't you think? And how he didn't tell us where he planned to bring us."

Karsh shrugged, pulling off his boots. "Aye agree, Nor. Tha man's not giving me an honest impression. Ye think e is up ta somethin'?" His new friend nodded, pulling the thin sheet over his tired and over-worked body. "Hmm, so then the lad and aye aren't alone in our suspicions."

"You think something's up, too?"

"Ay'm na stupid, Nor. Tha man's up ta somethin', all right, and we arena gonna like it."

Norris gulped as he pulled the blankets more tightly around himself. "Think we'll ever get to El Nido as this rate? If that captain's up to something, then we might not get there," he said. He sighed heavily. "Ugh. The past few days have been a bit more than I can bear. One day I was living a perfectly normal life, and the next day I'm a wanted fugitive on a ship bound for some unknown destination."

"Exactly- we dinnae know where we're going," said Karsh.

"So what do we do to make the situation better?"

"You tell me."

Norris bit his bottom lip. "Then I guess there's nothing we can do, huh?"
Karsh nodded. "All we can hope is tha this is just a real nice guy we're dealing with."

The blonde put his hands behind his head and looked upwards at the ceiling, a sad look in his eyes. He closed them slightly as he turned on his side and set his attention on Karsh. The purple haired youth blinked in confusion as Norris gave him a melancholy look. "Somehow I doubt that."

~

Morning came, and the boys had been given the task of peeling potatoes in the hull of the ship. The captain had told the boys that they were not to go on deck unless they were finished or someone came to get them. And with the large amount of potatoes they had to peel (Dario has estimated it to be several hundred), it looked as if the four boys would be down in the hull for a long time.

"How much longer is it gonna take to peel all these potatoes?" Glenn asked innocently.

"Too long," Karsh muttered, tossing another finished potato into the finished potato pile. "This stinks! Aye know that we should be thankful e didn't throw us off the boat or somethin' but come-on! Peeling potatoes? What is with this guy?" He turned to Dario. "Yer brother and ye were asleep when Nor and aye had a lit'l discussion- we think the captain's up to somethin' that we aren't gonna like, because face it- the man's acting weird, even if we DID stowaway."

"No kidding- he isn't telling us where we're heading," said Dario. "For all we know we're heading back to Porre." His two friends and his little brother all froze, staring at him in fear. Dario shook his head. "I'm just saying that we should be cautious. We've been in a bad situation for about three, four days now and it hasn't gotten any better."

"It could be worse," Norris reminded them. "We did get out of that Porre jail cell, didn't we? If we hadn't, the three of you would probably be in some sort of a torture chamber and I'd be dead for committing treason- at least we're alive and out of Curtis' hands, so we should be thankful for that much."

"Yeah, but is the jerk we dinnae know worse then the one we do know?" Karsh added.

Glenn sunk into his corner of the room. "Dario, I'm scared."

Dario put an arm around his little brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, Glenn, we'll get through this. Somehow. And we'll find our way home, one way or another. All right?" The smaller boy nodded, rubbing his eyes with his fist. The older boy hugged his younger rubbing, softly comforting the disturbed child. Norris and Karsh exchanged knowing looks.

This is all Curtis' fault.

A knock sounded, and the boys all looked up. "Captain wants you boys on deck!"

"Well. . . maybe the man has some good news for a change," Norris said as he brushed off his pants. "Who knows? We could even be in port- if the destination was Truce, this is about the right amount of time for a trip between the two." Quietly, the boys stood and began to make their way to the deck, all with hopeful, but somewhat skeptical thoughts running through their heads.

As they emerged on deck, they looked around to see an unfamiliar setting. As opposed to the cheery and homey houses and buildings of Truce, the boys looked out to see thatch roofed houses made of a clay or a mud of some sort. Disgruntled grumbling could be heard in the background as they looked to the captain for an explanation.

"So, these are the boys you're giving us?"

The boys turned to see a tall, thin man with deep blue skin and large, pointed ears standing by the loading dock. Norris held up a gasp, then shot a threatening look towards the captain. That was enough to tip off the other three that the captain had not told them their destination for a reason.

This was Medina.

And that man was a Mystic.

Glenn cried out and hid behind Dario, trying to place as much between him and as the Mystic as he could. The blue Mystic laughed, looking at Glenn with interest. Karsh bit his bottom lip, his eyes darting back and forth with worry as even more Mystics came on board the ship, many holding iron chains in their grasp. Norris looked panic stricken as he tried to come up with a solution to their problem.

They were going to be enslaved.

And then they were jumped.

~

Yeesh, things don't seem to be getting any better, do they?

Miso14: Yeah. This fic takes over a LONG period of time, as I said- you can't cram fifteen years into ten chapters because that's what's known as "rushed". Well, each chapter is between four to five pages in MSWord97 with a 12 point Times New Roman font- that is, as of now, my standard chapter length. Sometimes, depending on the individual chapter, longer is needed. You know, that whole Porre thing is going to turn into a bad running gag eventually (like my whole The Porre Affair thing, only this time it'll actually be in the story). DAMN IT I WANT A PS2!!! But you have to realize it's expensive- you have to buy the system, memory cards, controllers, games, ect. In the end you're probably paying at LEAST $300 (though it should be going down by Christmas- yay!). Still, it's not a cheap thing to just go out and buy- you have to save up and work it into your budget, you know? But that's one of my goals right now- the PS2.

Yukari: Oookkkkaaayy. . . well, for the alliteration thing, I'm wondering why a whole class failed something like that- most tongue twisters ARE alliterations and I know your class much know SOME tongue twisters, right? But it's the first SOUND you hear in a word that counts- so "sock" and "shoe" would not work because "s" is one sound and "sh" is another. Did that help any, or am I just getting annoying?

Alba: Karsh and Nor bickering? Hmm, I dunno about that one. Yeah, maybe a little, though I think under the circumstances they might not be like that all the time as they're depending on each other for survival for so long. Yeah, he is, isn't he? He's a little naïve though, and he grows up to be very cunning and crafty in this story. Yes, I do- for one, I have rough, rough ideas for the two "replacement" Devas and how it affects everyone. Yes, Curtis lives, sadly. He's one of several people(s) out to get our heroes- the Mystics, who I've already brought in, is one of the others. . . . daw crap, I set myself up for that one. Yes, yes, yes, Kid is going to be a part of this story.

Tami: LOL! The way you said that made my day (I had a crummy one at the time of this response). Yes, Nor and his generation a little more on the ball, I guess. But I'm just making a dumb joke out of the Porre security system. I really have nothing to base this on (though one could argue Guardia had a crappy one if A, a prisoner can escape and B, said prisoner's friend can bust in with a ray gun), by the way. Thanks!

Lena: Oh boy, here we go again. Well, you're right- if the point for them is to get to El Nido, then it makes sense that it won't happen until MUCH later in the story, right? Yes, a halfway point is possible if they do something important once they get there (i.e. go fight the bad guy or something), then not so much. However, if there is a "big fight" at the end, it will happen anywhere BUT El Nido as I stand now. The Water Dragon fairies get weird after a while, though Razzly is okay- having her magic skills is an acceptable compensation for not having Glenn and getting stuck with Chicken Hawk. Yup- I used a lot of your advice for his accent, though some words I'm playing it be ear (he = 'e, the, that can sometimes be tha, ect). Heh, that joke has been used all over the place before- TV, books, movie, ect. Eh. . . I don't know about that. Yes, Curtis as a ghost is scary, but you have to realize that while he doesn't have the spectral powers that he had/has in the trilogy, he DOES have a whole army at his disposal. But you are right- option to kill is there. Though in the Chrono Cross world you CAN kill dead stuff- I'm thinking you did Fargo's Ship Round One by now. Personally I'm amused when I cast healing spells on them and it causes them to die. You know, I wanted to do a Bond-type plan, but I couldn't think of anything and I didn't want to have them do it behind the scenes in the form of a cheap joke (Karsh: "Gee Dario, what a brilliant plan! That was so amazing! Blah, blah, blah! Too bad the people reading the fic didn't see this!"). You liked the monster line? *shrugs* Whatever floats your boat I guess- it didn't strike me as anything extraordinary, but it obviously hit you, so cool. Okay, okay, so it wasn't the RIGHT "naval"- don't worry, I talk about navy generals all the time, and Cye gets mad at me for that, too ("It's an ADMIRAL, Dixxy love, an ADMIRAL"). The site revamping isn't so bad- a lot of it is copy and paste. The biggest thing I need to worry about is the fanfic section because it's so huge and I want to put my non-RW works there as well, though that isn't a promise. And once I'm sure I've saved all the MIDI files worth saving, that's going buh-bye, because they're taking up 4 MB of space and with my new Fanart section, I don't have the room for them all until/if I move out of Angelfire.

Suzako: Thanks! Yeah, Memories and Marooned just kind of took on a life of their own. People (seem to) like it! Yup, it is. The prologue shows WHERE times splits and the alternate reality is created- I think I explained it in the last Author's Notes section. Aw, you did? That's so sweet!

Witten's Hand: Thanks. Well, I don't know. The Radical Dreamers thing is a big time MAYBE, though the more I get into the story (not actually written- I have a rough story-outline in a notebook that's just for the purpose of me getting ideas down) the more it seems like it should fit. The only thing I'll promise is that Kid will be in the story.

If you keep reviewing, I'll keep writing and posting.

~Dixxy