-
"What do you mean, Fina's missing"
Vyse merely stared at Hans with a calm expression. He took a deep breath before responding. "She was kidnapped at Valua"
"So why didn't you go get her"
"Because we had no leads, nothing to work off of. How do you expect us to find someone like that"
Hans groaned, leaning against the rocky wall of the underground dock. Slowly he sank to the ground, sighing. "Fina's gone... how are we going to find her, Cap'n"
"Domingo's out right now searching for any clues that may be had. All we can do is trust him"
Vyse ran his fingers through his hair. Hans's reaction had been mild compared to some of the other's. Urala had plain started to cry, Belle went into a screaming fit, and Marco, with a quivering lip, had run off and still hadn't been found. Everyone had been busy doing work, so to call them off of work and tell them as a group would have been inefficient. So he had decided to tell each one individually, so they wouldn't be too distracted. He was starting to regret taking the responsibility of telling the crew, and of comforting all of them. Nearly everyone went into tears after hearing the news, even Pow looked a bit depressed.
"Come on, Hans, worrying and moping around won't help Fina to be found. What we can do, though, is to contribute to Fina's finding. Once Domingo gets back with his news, we're heading out, wherever those clues might lead us"
Hans managed a small smile at his elder, his respect and admiration winning over his sadness. "Okay, cap'n. Brabham and I will finish that engine upgrade in record time." Suddenly sparked by this statement, he left, working with the gusto that only youth can have. Vyse smiled, mentally going over all the crew members in his brain. The only one left was... Ilchymis. Vyse cringed. 'Let word of mouth reach him? Or get Aika to do it?' If he choice to let the word pass around, there was a chance that maybe it didn't reach Ilchymis. If it did, then he would be offended, and the last thing Vyse needed was a bad relationship with a few of his crew members. But if he choice the latter... Aika would be confused. She would do it, but it would leave her wondering... unless there was a good excuse. A good bribe, in a way. 'What would I have to pay to get Aika to do it for me?' he mused. Definitely nothing of material value, she would be offended by that. Something really special, that he would never offer to just anyone... he smiled, coming with the perfect idea that would bring both plans together. He walked off in an obvious happier mood, drawing eyes from all that were depressed about Fina's disappearance.
-------
"Oh Aika"
She gasped, feeling the arms wrap around her waist. Vyse chuckled at her surprise. "Aren't we fidgety today"
Aika sighed, smiling shakily. "Oh, it's just you Vyse. What"
"Have I ever told you how beautiful you look when you're worried"
Her heart started to beat furiously. 'He's flirting again,' she thought worriedly. She was in love with Vyse, that much was true, but this sudden affection wasn't what she expected. Especially not when Fina was missing. "Vyse, please"
He chuckled again, moving around in front of her. His arms were still wrapped around her waist, a bit looser though. "Aika, I'll tell you what I've told the others. Fina wouldn't want us worrying about her and messing up our entire lives. She would want us to carry on, especially with what comes naturally"
Disgusted, Aika pulled away. "You make it sound like she's dead!" she hissed. She couldn't believe his nerve. To try to get fresh at a time like this! "Like we won't find her, like she's not coming back"
Vyse looked genuinely sad. "I'm sorry, Aika. It's just that"
"No! I'm tired of your excuses and lies! How you're always keeping things from us now, always telling us only half of the story, I'm sick of it"
Vyse looked down at the ground, enduring the verbal assault with not a complaint. The only thing he regretted was their location. Right outside the meeting room, isolated above everyone wasn't the best place for an argument or anything that Vyse wished to happen that day.
"You come back with all these insane orders, then all these injuries you won't explain, it's almost like you've been replaced by some idiot clone of yourself. What has happened"
He was starting to become annoyed with the words flowing from Aika's mouth. Not only where they just harsh, but it also represented all his flaws in hiding his true nature. He didn't like the fact that others noticed things about him that would be considered odd, or at least different from the Vyse that they knew.
"- And then you just start to act shamelessly! As if you don't have any morals anymore! If I could only"
Vyse, fed up with it, cut her off by pressing his lips against hers in a passionate, yet hard kiss. 'Relax,' he told himself. 'Enjoy it.' He only managed to relax but so much, but hopefully Aika wouldn't notice.
In fact, she didn't notice. She was too lost in the kiss to notice anything else. It wasn't the way she had imagined it to be, but a kiss is, nonetheless, a kiss, and she wanted to relish every single moment of it.
The kiss broke after a few moments, both of them slightly out of breath. Neither of them thought of anything except that last lingering taste of the other on their lips. At the same time they attacked, craving for that taste again, the kiss growing more passionate and savage every moment. Vyse reached one hand behind him and turned the doorknob. Locked. Where was his key? Without thinking, he tapped a finger against the doorknob, causing a brilliant light, a light that could be seen from all parts of the island, if someone actually looked in their direction.
The door popped open, and Vyse, with his arm hooked around Aika's waist, stepped backwards in. Aika followed eagerly, still lost in their kiss. Vyse closed the door, all of his tension gone. He pulled away from Aika, smirking. "Still mad at me"
She shook her head, staring at his lips.
Still smirking, Vyse cupped her chin so that she had no choice but to look directly into his eyes. "Aika, I love you," he whispered as he kissed her lightly. He was lost in his lust, too lost to even consider the words that came out of his mouth. If probed, maybe he would tell the whole thing.
Aika cuddled with him. "I love you too, Vyse, so much... I always have, ever since those days after my parents died, you comforted me so much, I'll never be able to thank you enough, that's why I love you"
Touching. So touching and so heartfelt that it almost brought Vyse back to his senses; it certainly cleared them a bit. He wrapped his arms around her waist, smiling. "That's what I'm here for," he replied. "Too make you feel better"
Aika grinned, wishing she could be even closer to Vyse. She could feel his hand moving around her back, trying to find the laces that kept her shirt tight on her body, but she didn't care. Anything just to get closer to him.
Vyse cast a quick look at the door to make sure it was locked before undoing the final lace on Aika's shirt, letting it fall open. 'This is it,' he thought. 'One of the most important steps in my plan.' He smiled, leaning down to kiss Aika again. 'At least I like it this time'
-
Domingo knocked on Vyse's door, thinking deeply. First Fina had gone missing, then Ilchymis gets wrapped up in an experiment that he claims is too important for him to go anywhere, then a bright flash from the meeting room that he saw while off the island. Somehow, he knew that his captain was involved in all of this. He knocked again, closing his eyes thoughtfully as Vyse opened the door.
"Captain, it took a long time and a lot of probing, but-" he opened his eyes, surprised to see Vyse without a shirt on. Sitting on Vyse's bed was Aika, who sat patiently. Domingo smirked. "Am I interrupting something"
"Very funny, Domingo." Vyse moved back, grabbing a black shirt from a draw. Pulling it over his head, he asked, "So what did you find out? And how much did it cost you? I want all the details"
"It was interesting. The guy I got the info from was wearing a cloak, you know, the cliche type where you can't see his face or anything. And he didn't want any money. All I did was ask him if he knew anything about missing persons and their locations and he demanded this strange price"
"Which was"
"Moonstone thread. Luckily I always carry some with me, the stuff is good for making any type of repairs, really strong. He took my whole spindle, then told me where Fina was rumored to be"
Vyse pulled on his blue coat, buttoning it up in the front. "And that place is"
"Yafutoma area. Whoever the kidnapper was had a lot of good recourses, probably had help, too. How many people can get from Valua to Yafutoma in the span of maybe a week? Besides us and the Valuan army of course"
Vyse leaned against the doorway, thinking. "Yafutoma. It wouldn't be on the main island, people would recognize her and someone would send word. Not to far north or south, once again, someone would have seen her. So either its one of the small islands surrounding the main island or its near the Dark Rift. Our highest bet would be the islands around the main one"
Domingo nodded, proud of his captain. Vyse was young, but he had a good head on his shoulders when necessary. "Should I alert the others"
"Anything else you need to tell me"
"Rumors of activity in the Lands of Ice. It seems a few sailors have noticed a fleet of ghost ships, you could say. One sailor in the crew would notice the ships, no one else, and then the ships would disappear"
Vyse nodded, seeming slightly uneasy. Once again Domingo had the feeling that Vyse knew about all of this before he had said anything. "Our priority," he stated determinedly. "is Fina. A few ghost ships floating above glaciers won't bother us. Tell the others we're moving out tomorrow"
"Aye aye, Captain"
Domingo turned, letting Vyse close the door again. His suspicions were aroused. Aika and Vyse had been in the room with the door closed, and he had his shirt off. No one could doubt that the two were acting more 'friendly' lately. And Vyse took everything all too calmly. He hadn't expected him to bounce off the walls with excitement, but at least a sigh of relief. It was as if Domingo had only been telling him stuff that Vyse already knew.
Domingo shrugged it off, making a bee line to the tavern. He had had a long trip and wanted to get some grog. He'd get that little waitress girl to spread the word, what was her name? Urala. Besides, how often does a pirate get a break from work?
-
And that's it. Do not, I repeat, don't send me freakin flames/reviews about how long that took, I've been busy, that's all I'm gonna say. I understand it took forever, I'm sorry. I'm not going to make excuses.
Please review.