Author's Note: I'm back! Sorry about the forced absence. Anyway, this chapter is a little longer than usual which might make up for it a little (although the fact that I write short chapters anyway kind of makes that not all too great). Anyway, read on!

CHAPTER 16

ADRIFT

Ship's Log 12: We've got a job to transport some simple food from Seblina to Norg to continue assisting in construction of the port there. We leave tomorrow, making this the last night we have on dry land before venturing out again. I'm planning to grab some real cooked food with the crew before we depart. Suse has been promoted to ship's cook, but (and I pray to Altana she never finds this log) it isn't the best cooking in the world, to say the least, so some real food before we leave should be pleasant.

Should be an easy enough trip. We've done the trip from Seblina to Norg enough times. A nice short trip, and a big payment at the end of it. We certainly need it right now.

Olose walked proudly into the restaurant followed by his crew. They all looked hungrily on at the people scattered about, digging deeply into huge tasty chunks of meat, large juicy pieces of fruit, and sipping delicate wines.

"Something tells me we can't afford to eat here, sir." Nadia observed.

"Good observation." Olose remarked. "Since when did Seblina have places opened like this?"

"It's new." Phabrizoe told his captain, having spent the day looking around the town. "Not that it matters. We can't afford any of this food."

"You're right." Olose sighed. "I've really messed up here." Nobody reacted to this comment, so Olose sighed and tried again. "Nadia, I said I really messed up here."

"You have?" She repeated in confusion, before suddenly remembering the plan this meant Olose was going to put into action. "You have?" She exclaimed. "Oh no, I hate it when you do that."

"What do you mean I have?" Olose suddenly shouted loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear.

"It was your fault! You're the captain!" Nadia screamed back. "Not that you deserve to be!"
"How dare you say that?" Olose yelled at Nadia.

"I think it's time I taught you a lesson!" Nadia drew her sword as Olose did.

"No! Stop!" Suse begged, running towards them but being pulled back by Trevia. Olose and Nadia began to fight, but not in their normal style. Trevia held Suse back silently as Phabrizoe watched with a grin. Olose and Nadia's moves seemed to be bigger, wider than normal, and they weren't striking to harm, but hitting their swords. They were putting on a show.

Nevertheless, the customers at the restaurant moved to the edges of the room as Olose was pushed back over a table and crashed down. He lunged upwards at Nadia, completely missing her but conveniently spearing a large cooked bird. He flipped it off his sword, and Trevia snatched it out of the air, hiding it under the black jacket she was wearing. Nadia countered Olose, lunging, but only managed to catch a piece of fruit on the end of her sword. She flung it off and Phabrizoe caught it, quickly concealing it. Olose turned running over a table, slicing upwards with his sword, missing Nadia but catching a plate. The plate spun through the air, sending its contents flying towards the Destiny crew. They scavenged what they could without looking suspicious. Nadia lunged at Olose, missing widely but spearing another huge piece of meat from what appeared to be a feast. She flung it back, and Trevia caught it. Phabrizoe grabbed a small empty bag designed for carrying coins, and filled it with flour he found piled on a table as the captain and first mate fought. Olose looked to Trevia who nodded. He flashed a smile. Nadia turned to run away. Olose chased her for a bit before stopping, sheathing his sword and turning around with a grin to the shocked owners of the restaurant.

"Sorry about the mess." He said as Phabrizoe passed him the bag full of flour stealthily. "You know how these duels get. Here, for your troubles." He tossed the flour bag to the cook who was angrily stood behind the main counter. He caught it, grinning at what appeared to be a full bag of money. "And now I say goodbye!" Olose disappeared, followed by his crew. The cook opened the bag, finding it full of flour and angrily threw it to the ground.

The Destiny crew ran, laughing, disappearing into the street. They soon found themselves all perched upon the roof of a large stone shop, closed for the night, enjoying their freshly stolen food. Only Suse was without a grin.

"How long have you been planning that?" She asked in shock.

"Planning?" Olose asked surprised.

"We didn't plan anything." Nadia laughed. "Just getting into a mock fight is a great distraction, and Olose's 'I really messed up here' line is the sign we use to start one, always fits nicely."

"And the flicking the food about?" Suse questioned, confused.

"Oh, I improvised that." Olose grinned, biting into a leg of meat. "I thought it worked quite well."

"Nice way to get food." Phabrizoe admitted. "You've got to give me credit though, for the flour moneybag."
"That was a nice touch." Olose admitted, taking another bite from their stolen feast.

"Shame we had to steal, though." Suse said quietly, clearly feeling a little guilty. Olose smiled.

"Anybody who can afford to eat at a place like that can afford to lose a little food." He said warmly, which comforted Suse a little. "Besides, we're robbing from the rich and giving to ourselves, that's not that bad now, is it?"

"Least our next job is legit." Nadia remarked. "I don't like all these illegal jobs. If we get caught with some of our jobs, we could lose the ship, or worse."

"If you're referring to that little act of piracy, I swear I had no idea she was the ambassador's daughter." Olose protested, and Suse giggled slightly, remembering that particular adventure.

"Hey! You!" Came a sudden voice. The five sprang to their feet, finding themselves facing three of the town guards. "That food! You're the thieves!"
"Listen, I can explain." Olose began. "But first you need to look over there."

"Over where?" The guard asked, turning. Olose drew his sword, kicking the guard who had turned. The second swung in in an attack and Olose blocked it.

"Back to the ship!" He ordered, and the crew turned to run. The third guard tried to chase, but Olose stuck out his leg, tripping him up. He turned his attention to the attacking guard, blocking his blows and forcing him back. He threw the guard off of the building, and he crashed down in the streets below. Olose turned around to be face to face with the first guard, now standing. Olose slammed him with the butt of his sword hilt, and turned with a bow and a grin to the sprawled authorities, before running after his crew, stopping to sweep up some food on the way.

Olose sprinted up the deck and onto the Destiny, where Nadia and Trevia were already drawing the anchor and Phabrizoe was untiring the mooring rope. Olose ran onto the ship, grinning.

"You're lucky we already had the cargo loaded!" Nadia cried.

"Luck had nothing to do with it!" Olose ran up to the wheel, spinning it to turn the rudder. Trevia and Nadia had finished with the anchor and hoisted the sail. Olose turned with a wave as the port authorities skidded to a stop, seeing the Destiny depart. "Bye now!" He cried, grinning. He saw one of the authorities throw down his sword in rage. Olose roared with laughter as the ship sailed into the inky darkness of the night.

The Destiny gently sailed across the waters, the wind tearing at it dramatically. Trevia walked up to Olose, who was still at the wheel, her brown ponytail blowing wildly. Her actual tail followed suit, and it was clear Trevia was leaving it relaxed.

"What's up?" Olose asked, on a bit of a high after their adventure in the port.

"Was that entirrrrely necessarrrry?" She asked. "We could have been arrrrrrested."

"Nobody can catch us." Olose laughed. "And a crime like that they'll forget within a few days. What's more, it was fun."

"Indeed." Grumbled Trevia. "I was just afrrrraid that yourrrr actions werrrre becoming foolish, rrrrisking the crrrrew."

"We needed to eat. Nobody wanted the provisions left on the boat unless they have too. It worked, didn't it?" Trevia sighed, knowing she'd have to concede that point.

"I guess so, sirrrrr." She admitted. "It was prrrretty enterrrrrtaining."

"There you are then." Olose smiled. "Simple re-" He stopped as thunder crashed in the sky and lightning flashed. Suse screamed in fear, but Olose paid this no mind. "Hm."

"You know, if we werrrre still in town we could wait until this storrrrm passed." Trevia pointed out smugly.

"Well, I know that now." Olose laughed. "We have no choice. We need to head to Norg. Hopefully it won't get too bad." The thunder crashed again and it began to rain. "Hm. You had better get below deck, and take the others with you. We don't need anybody on deck who shouldn't be here." Trevia nodded, running down and opening the hatchway leading down to the lower decks. She gestured and everybody filed in, quickly.

The storm worsened quickly, but Olose managed to keep the ship sailing successfully. The crew below decks were forced to wait, listening to each thunderclap intently. Suse screamed with each strike, and was curled up in her hammock, shaking with fear. It became quite clear quite quickly that storms frightened her severely. She pulled the sheet she had around her, but continued to shake. Nadia sighed, walking over to her as the ship swayed.

"Are you alright?" She asked. Suse shook her head quietly, continuing to shiver. "We'll be fine. This ship can take a storm or two." Phabrizoe looked on, quite clearly thinking. Suse whimpered as another strike of thunder roared across the ocean, sounding much closer than before. She began to cry, and Nadia looked on sadly, unable to do anything. Phabrizoe sprang to his feet.

"I'm going on deck to relieve the captain." He said. "I can handle the ship as well as he can, and he must need a break." The tarutaru scrambled up onto the wet decks above, the rain lashing down around him.

He ran up the steps to the wheel where Olose was fighting the storm for control.

"How's it going captain?" Phabrizoe called above the storm.

"I can handle it." Olose confirmed.

"Let me take over!" Phabrizoe was forced to yell above the roaring winds. "You need a break, and I think Suse needs to see you."

"Suse? Why?" Olose asked, confused, still shouting above the wind.

"She's really scared. You're the closest thing she has to a father figure. I think you should be there for her now." He explained. Olose paused, sighing.

"Okay, I'll take a look." He said, handing the wheel to the much smaller tarutaru who struggled desperately with it.

Olose ran in, shutting the hatch behind him, looking at the crew gathered in silence. He walked over to Suse, who was still shivering.

"Are you okay?" Olose asked awkwardly, not quite sure what he should do. Suse jumped into his arms, desperately needing a comforting hug. Olose hugged her tightly, trying to comfort her. "It's okay." He said as softly as he could, realising Phabrizoe was right. She did look at him like a father, if her reaction to hugging him was anything to go by. "Listen, why don't you come up and sleep in my cabin. It's warmer there, and I have a big proper bed." Suse nodded silently, liking the idea. Like a young child, she thought the hammocks were fun, but they were nowhere near as comforting as a warm bed. Olose led her up onto deck, keeping her clutched tightly against him to try and prevent any fear she had at the lashing rain. He led her to his cabin and the two ran in.

He lifted her up as he would a child, and placed her down in the bed, tucking her in. She snuggled down, exactly like the child Olose predicted she would behave like. "See? You'll be safe in here." Olose remarked. The thunder struck again and Suse curled up into a tight ball. Olose sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. The boat was beginning to noticeably rock more as the weather outside worsened. "It's just the weather." He shrugged.

"It was storrrrmy that night my village was attacked." Suse said tearfully. "I was scared then too. My mummy held me tightly, but my daddy went outside to get my favourite toy I'd left in the barrrn. He never came back." She paused. "Then they broke into my house and killed my mummy too." She whimpered. Olose sat silently. He couldn't think of anything to say. Nothing would help. He picked her up in his arms again, holding her against him, cradling her like a baby. She looked up to him and smiled. "You'd make a good daddy." She said in a very babyish way. A side result of the trauma she had been through and the fear she was currently in, Olose guessed.

"I can certainly try." He said, slowly stroking Suse's hair to try and comfort her. She cuddled against him for warmth and comfort. It looked as if Olose was succeeding in reducing her fears.

Until a crash came from outside as thunder roared overhead. Suse screamed, but Olose had to turn his attention elsewhere. He ran outside onto the main deck to see the mast in flames, and the sail burning.

"We got hit, cap'n!" Phabrizoe yelled.

"I gathered that!" Olose yelled back. "Stay in there!" He ordered to Suse, who nodded, shutting the door to his cabin. Olose sprinted to the hold, and swung open the hatch, leaning down. "We've been hit by lightning!" He called down. "Sail's on fire! We need to get it down, now!" Trevia and Nadia scrambled out of the hold as quickly as possible. "Phabz! Help them! I'll handle the ship!" Olose ran up the steps, resisting the rain blasting down, and took control as Phabrizoe began to lower the sail along with Nadia. Trevia caught it and began to take it down, watching as it still burnt despite the heavy rain. Flames had spread to the mast, but they weren't getting far. The wind picked up and blew the flaming sail away, out of the grip of the crew. It flew off across the sky, still burning.

"We lost the sail!" Nadia screamed.

"Oh fantastic!" Olose exclaimed sarcastically, realising that the ship was now out of control. "Hang on to something! Things are about to get interesting!" The crew quickly scrambled for what ropes they could find, and Phabrizoe managed to get the hatch open leading below decks. They scrambled into the hold, sealing the door behind them as Olose fought with the wheel.

It was a welcome sight to him when he saw the sun rising the sky, the final clouds parting and the last rain drops falling. The storm was over. The ship had been practically swept clean, and Olose breathed a sigh of relief that all of their food and cargo was safely stored below decks. The sail was gone, however, and without it, there was no way Olose could sail the ship. They had no way of making it move. Soon the crew filtered on to the deck, apart from Suse, who stayed safely tucked away in Olose's cabin. Olose signalled for the crew to gather around and they quickly did so. He sighed, looking around the damaged ship.

"That could have gone better." He sighed. "Okay, listen up! We've got no sail, and no replacement, which means, in short, we aren't going anywhere. Suggestions?"

"We really need to keep a spare sail or two around." Nadia grumbled.

"Sirrrr, could we send some form of a distrrrrress call?" Trevia suggested.

"No linkshells onboard." Olose sighed. "What's the status below decks?"

"It's stable." Phabrizoe reported. "No leaks. Old girl is tougher than she looks, but I can't guarantee that will last."

"Any chance of help finding us?" Olose inquired.

"Very doubtful. I'll blast a fireball into the sky. Any nearby ships should see that as a cry for help and come to assist." Phabrizoe began to cast as soon as he finished speaking, launching a brilliant fireball high into the air.

"I've already checked the supplies while we were below deck." Nadia spoke up, despite the glow from the fireball. "We have plenty of food for at least a month, but no decent repair supplies. Some timber for Norg, but nothing useful to get us sailing again."

"Okay, enough of what we haven't got, it's time to look at what we have got." Olose decided. "And that's one rowing boat. It'll be hard to get far, and take a long time, but with a good map, a decent compass, and some accurate navigating, we may just be able to make dry land."

"Abandon ship, Captain?" Trevia asked in surprise.

"It's our safest bet." Olose confirmed. "However, there's not enough room for all five of us on the boat and enough food to keep us going." The crew exchanged worried glances. "That's why I'll be staying here with the ship."

"What?" Nadia and Trevia cried together.

"You can't go down with the ship!" Nadia protested.
"I'm not going anywhere, and neither is the Destiny." Olose firmly stated. "But without me on board, you guys will have a chance, and if anybody saw Phabrizoe's signal, they'll come here and give us repairs. In turn, I can then find you and pick you up again, provided you stay on a fixed course." The crew remained silent. "We'll get through this." Olose said confidently. "I'll go and wake Suse. The rest of you, prepare what food you can fit into the boat and prepare to depart."

The crew wasted no time loading the supplies as Olose explained the situation to Suse, who looked on in utter awe and shattered disbelief. As soon as he finished the plan, she looked up to him, tearfully.

"Don't stay." She begged. "I've lost one father, I finally have another. Don't make me lose my father again." She sounded strangely mature, considering it was Suse, and it tugged at Olose's heart.

"I'm not abandoning you." Olose told her. "There's every possibility I'll survive and come to meet you." He paused. "If I am to be your father, then I'll do anything for you, including if it means staying behind to give you that extra chance." Suse looked at him tearfully. Olose had never noticed quite how close they were, and quite how much she looked up to him, but now, he stood there talking to her as a parent. She hugged him.

"Goodbye." She wept. Olose forced a smile. He hugged her back and took her out of the cabin. She smiled up at him, her small stature and childish expression contrasting with her older age.

The entire crew of the Destiny stood on the deck, a barrel of food already loaded onto the small rowing boat.

"This is goodbye then." Olose sighed. "Good luck, and with any luck we'll see each other again soon." The others nodded.

"Goodbye, Captain." Trevia said firmly. She paused awkwardly. "I feel I was betterrrr off knowing you. Than I was beforrrre." She struggled to explain, clearly not the sentimental type.

"See ya, Olose." Nadia smiled. "Don't go dieing before me. That would make a mockery of what it means to be immortal." Olose laughed.

"Captain, she was one hell of a ship. Don't let her sink." Phabrizoe warned. Suse just looked sadly at Olose as she walked out of his arms and boarded the tiny boat.

Olose watched as they rowed it away, Trevia at the oars. It faded out onto the horizon and Olose turned around, knowing there was nothing to do now but wait. Wait until either help came or the Destiny met its end, running into rocks or allowing its hull to buckle. He wondered into his cabin and sat on his bed, flicking through the ship's log. Twelve jobs and that was the end. They hadn't made it far. He certainly hadn't made it far in his new life. He knew if he drowned, he would die, despite his ability to regenerate. Arcadia would never see him again. He had vowed to return to her one day, but now knew he had failed. He never could. Unless something came along. Something to save them. Something that sounded like that ship passing outside.

Olose's eyes went wide and he bolted out of the cabin. A large ship cruised past the adrift Destiny, a multi sailed ship, with a painted black hull, worn and old, three cannons along its side (three on each side, Olose guessed) and a proud flag billowing from the top of the mast. Olose's heart sank. That flag was a skull and crossbones. Pirates.

"Yar, prepare to be boarded, ye dogs!" Cried a voice from up on the main ship.

"Just me here!" Olose cried up. "The ship's damaged. Valueless. Can't go anywhere without a sail."

"I have sails." Spat the pirate captain, stood proudly on his vastly more powerful ship.

"Give me one and I'll give you whatever you want from the hold." Olose told him.

"I can take that anyway, and throw ye overboard." The pirate reminded Olose. Olose grinned.

"Many of your men will die if you try that. Maybe they all will." Olose warned.

"What? You cannot stand against me!" Laughed the pirate. The crew joined in chuckling.

"Do you want to find out?" Olose asked. The pirate captain paused. His crew swung down onto the Desriny via ropes. They drew their swords before Olose.

"Kill him." The captain decided.

Olose quickly ducked as an attacker swung out with his sword. Olose drew his own, stabbing the pirate and flinging him into the next attacker. The two stumbled, and Olose ran, ramming them and throwing them off of the ship. Two more pirates came in and Olose blocked both of them, jumping up onto the edge of the Destiny. The two pirates went for him and he jumped off the little hand rail, kicking outwards as he did. He caught one in the face, sending him reeling. He landed, flipping the fallen pirate's sword into his offhand, and attacked the surviving pirate with two swords, making short work of him in a skilful flurry of moves. Olose ran as more pirates landed on the deck of the Destiny and he grabbed one of the boarding ropes, sheathing one sword and clutching the other in his teeth, and quickly scrambled up it, onto the deck of the pirate ship.

Pirates ran at him and he quickly began to dispatch them, swinging his twin swords in skilfully, cutting his way through his attackers and ignoring any blows they landed. He got gashed in the hand, instinctively dropping one sword before continuing to fight with his remaining weapon. He ran up to the ship's wheel, followed by the pirates. He grabbed hold of a rope hanging from the sail and swung across the deck before they could reach him. He landed on the deck and closed in on the pirate captain, a man dressed in a dark blue coat and an impressive black hat (complete with a fancy feather). The pirate captain quickly drew his sword and the two clashed. The pirates watched as the two captains duelled, Olose being forced on the defensive. He blocked the pirate captain's sword downwards, and even though the pirate captain managed to hack Olose's shins, Olose gained the upper hand. His wounds instantly regenerated and he forced the captain back. He spotted a bucket on the ground and kicked it, it hitting the captain in the chest. This distracted him enough for Olose to be able to move in, slicing his hand and stabbing the captain firmly in the shoulder. The captain yelped, and went down. Olose held his sword to him with a grin.

"Give me the sail, and I'll let you live." He said, panting slightly. The other pirates went to move in, but held back, noticing Olose held a sword to their captain.

"It be a fair trade." The pirate captain muttered. "You beat me fair and square lad. You fight as if your immortal, no fear, no injuries. We didn't be standing a chance."

"Funny you should say that." Olose laughed.

"Find him a sail!" Ordered the captain, and his crew quickly got to work. Olose turned to the beaten captain who was still clutching his shoulder and grinned. He felt quite proudly he had proven himself as an able captain.

It had been hours since the rowing boat had departed from the Destiny, and the crew had come to a stop. Trevia had stopped rowing, and they all sat sadly on the boat.

"We shouldn't have left him." Grumbled Nadia. "He was our captain!"
"We did what he wanted us to do." Phabrizoe noted.

"He sacrrrraficed himself for us." Trevia said admirably. "There was no rrrrreward, but he did it."

"You admire that?" Phabrizoe asked, guessing from her tone of voice.

"It is a trait I wish I possessed." Trevia admitted. The crew sat in silence. Suddenly, Suse, who had been silent since they had left, sprang to her feet, rocking the boat.

"Look! Look!" She cried cheerfully. The crew spun, looking around in awe. They all grinned. A ship was approaching, a new bright white sail flying proudly.

It was the Destiny.

Author's Note: Just a point or two. I'd love to know especially what people thought of this chapter because it was my first real attempt at doing very serious drama (or at least it was supposed to be) between characters when they're forced to leave the ship. And, as with all my first attempts, I'd love to know how people thought it turned out. It felt a bit odd to write, not really fitting in, but it suits how I think the crew would react. At least I feel it turned out better than my first attempt at romance! (That single-handedly destroyed the FFXI Chronicles 3!). But I'd love to know what people thought of my attempt at that. It probably feels very amateur and heavy handed, since I'm not used to that kind of thing, so sorry about that.

Can't be as bad as my heavy handed character development this chapter! I've always been bad at that, and I feel Trevia went spectacularly wrong as I tried to show her evolving over the last two chapters, and instead she just seems dammed inconsistent.

One other thing that deserves mention. The crew getting food via a fake fight and flicking it to the others is stolen from a comedy adventure version of the Three Musketeers I saw today. They even used the bag of flour. I thought it was funny, and thought it might help establish the crew as rogues a bit more than just a merchant ship. As well as being the funny contrast to the later drama when everything goes wrong (which is then spectacularly ruined by a swashbuckler style ending, that's shitty writing on my part). But that's a concept I blatantly stole, so thought I had better point it out. Firefly had an episode where the ship was disabled and the crew left the captain behind in a similar fashion to this too, so that's another source of a concept! Although it's not as evident as a blatantly stolen scene.

Hopefully the ending isn't too abrupt either. I didn't feel anything else had to be said, and I was getting tired and felt that the chapter had gone on long enough. I didn't want to leave it on a cliffhanger (which I could have done with the appearance of the pirates) because each 'Destiny chapter' is supposed to be a self contained story to give you an idea of the sort of things that happened to Olose during these years of his life as a rouge.

This author's note is stupid, almost becoming a writer's commentary, so I'll shut up now! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!