Gamer4 in. An upside to writing these kinds of stories is the new perspective it offers on the original work- for instance, realizing just how important the character we'll be introducing today really is. After so much doom and gloom, it's time for a little ray of sunshine

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem Three Houses, which reminds me that I need to get back to that over in YAM.

Chapter V

The Sand Pirates

The Mohaine Desert that made up the bulk of the Kingdom of Vale sometimes went by another name- the Sea of Sand, so called for the myriad ships that travelled across the sands as though it was water. Possibly the most feared ship on the sand sea was the Nidhogg, a pirate vessel commanded by the Dread Pirate Xiao Long, the red-eyed demon who took no prisoners. Where stories of her came from, then, was a question that never seemed to cross the kingdom's mind.

The bridge of the Nidhogg consisted of a large platform in the center of a circular room, various crew members attending to their functions in the circle around it. On the platform was the captain's seat where the legendary pirate herself sat, her long tangles of blond hair falling down her back. She wore a brown leather jacket and a pair of matching pants, and a dark patch over a ruined right eye, but aside from this, was hardly the image that came to most people's minds when they thought of the Terror of the Sands. Her good eye was a bright azure, and she was tapping her foot to some melody only she could hear. "We be pirates who love to sail the seven seas, just a bunch of scallywags who are as free as free can be... We swim through storms and waves all because you see, grand treasure and adventure's waiting just for me!"

The chief navigator, a dolphin faunus with a specially-designed chair to accomodate the dorsal fin protruding from his back, turned to face her. "We've got a ship coming up on starboard, captain!"

"Lower the periscope! I'll have a look!"

A metal rod descended from the ceiling, a large pair of binoculars at the end. Captain Xiao Long looked eagerly into them, scanning the vast landscape. "Let's see, let's see... aha!" she snapped her fingers as the ship appeared at the edge of her vision. "Valean markings, and they're carrying a... a black... gear..."

She leapt back from the periscope, and quickly began issuing orders. "Ecco, set a course for that ship! Tukson, increase speed!"

Finally, the first mate spoke up- a man at least a foot taller than the captain, with dark skin and a single gold-ringed eye- the left was hidden beneath a patch identical to the captain's. "Alright, Yang, what is it?"

"We've got a Gebler ship on our hands, Sage."

"How do you figure?"

"News from Atlas is, they're going totally berserk over Gebler snagging an experimental black gear. Look through the magical glasses, Number 1, and tell me what you see."

Sage gave a long-suffering sigh and did as he was asked. "A ship carrying a black gear," he agreed. "On the other hand-"

"No other hands!" Yang interrupted. "You think I'm gonna let Gebler drag that nice-lookin' gear back to Hill? Imagine the look on her face when they turn up in front of her, saying, 'Yeah, we had that super special gear Atlas was working on, but we lost it to the Dread Pirate Xiao Long!'"

Sage, seeing there was no dissuading her, sighed again. "Very well. Ecco, set the course. Tukson, prepare for combat."

XXXX

In the brig of the ship in question sat Jaune and Ren. They only had one bed between them- they were both currently sitting on it, Ren staring out their barred window as the sands moved past, Jaune staring emptily into space.

"Judging by the arc of the sun," Ren said, looking to strike up any sort of conversation, "it would seem they're carrying us to Gilead- Vale's capital. We're rather fortunate we weren't captured by Gebler, though I'd certainly rather we didn't get caught at all."

Jaune did not respond, staring at the floor without seeing it.

In his mind, he was back in that dark, stormy plain, the wind whipping around him as the man in black faced off against his father- for who else could the lion-maned man be? Aura was flowing off of both of them- a deep blue from his father, a bright gold from Bane.

Bane turned to gaze at Jaune. "Let us join together, you and I..."

"I'll not permit it," Jaune's father interrupted, glaring coldly into the shining crimson pinpricks that were Bane's eyes. "After fate finally deigned to bring us back together... even if it costs me my life, I'll not let you have him!"

"F... Father..."

Ren immediately looked to him. "Jaune? Are you feeling better?"

"...A little."

Ren nodded understandingly. "I feel I must apologize- it's my own carelessness that got us into this situation. I was so fixated with evading Atlas that it didn't occur to me that Vale may have a stake in obtaining Weltall as well."

Jaune nodded to show he'd heard, but once again, didn't speak.

"You look pale. Is it that man in black's words? I know he said some things about your father..."

"Yeah, that's... that's part of it. But... it's mostly the other stuff he said. He caused everything that happened at Ansel... just to get me into Weltall's cockpit... if he'd do all that, what... what else would he...?"

He gulped. "Ren, I... the last three years, I had no reason to doubt myself. So much has changed in just the past couple days... I don't know who I am, or what I'm supposed to do... I never minded my missing memories before, but now..."

Ren nodded in understanding. "Well... unfortunately, there's not much we can do locked up in this cell." He glanced at the door. "Perhaps we'd be best served to rest for now."

Jaune looked him in the eye. "Ren... do you know anything about my father?"

Ren shrugged. "No more than you do, I was awoken one night by a banging on my door. I opened it to find a hooded, masked man delivering an unconscious young man to my doorstep. You were delirious, calling out for your father. He spoke very little, but asked me to care for you." Ren's lip quirked upward a bit. "Of course, even if I'd had misgivings, Nora would have beaten me to a pulp if I'd decided to abandon you."

Jaune's lips twitched upwards as well. "Yeah... she probably would." He looked up, meeting Ren's gaze. "I... I can't remember him, I can't say I miss him, but..."

He looked down. "It never weighed on me so much... those missing years... until now."

Ren had very little to say- he had his own reasons for fearing the things that were happening around him.

"'The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Empty Child followed.' These events are said to be those that will bring about the time of Human Instrumentality."

Ren stood in a hidden chamber, the world wheeling around him as he stood before a great throne upon which sat a woman in flowing black robes., long, flowing gold hair at odds with her scarlet eyes. "...Instrumentality?" he repeated.

"Aeons ago, we were cast down from the heavens to live on the cold earth below. There are those that believe the Time of Instrumentaility to be our reuinification with God. The time that we will return to paradise and enjoy life everlasting."

"What do you think Instrumentality is?"

"What I think is unimportant. The Time is at hand regardless. SEELE will see to it. Even now, they seek out God's resting place, preparing the rites that will ressurect her, and by so doing, fulfill the fate decreed for us at our genesis."

Ren pulled himself out of his memories, looking at Jaune. Empty child... perhaps, empty of memories? Could this be the beginning of the end? Of... Instrumentality?

Before either of them could think much deeper, the world exploded around them.

XXXX

"YEAH-HA!" Captain Xiao Long whooped and pumped a fist in the air. "Direct hit!"

The door slid open behind her, and a plump man rushed in. He was mostly bald, except for a semi-ring of red hair around the back of his head, matching his moustache. "Young Mistress, what is all this?"

"Don't try to stop me, Klein!" Yang threw out a hand. "We hit on a Gebler ship, and we're sending it back to Hell where it belongs!"

Klein produced a handkerchief and dabbed at his sweaty forehead. "Young Mistress, I can't help but feel-"

"FIRE AGAIN!"

"Young Mistress, how do you expect to gather information on Gebler if everyone on the ship dies?!"

Yang froze.

Sage pressed the advantage. "What if they have people in their brig?"

The look on Yang's face told him she'd honestly not considered the idea at all. He sighed. "Hold fire, bring us adjacent! Prepare to board!"

"Lean right!" Yang interjected herself. "Wind's kicking up a storm, we don't wanna be knocked off balance!" She turned towards the door. "I'm heading for Bumblebee!"

XXXX

When Jaune finally recovered from the jolt they'd experienced, he immediately took in the sand flowing freely throughout the ship. He looked to Ren. "Don't tell me..."

"I'm afraid so," Ren nodded. "Lightning sand."

Jaune rushed to the bars. "Hey, let us out! We're stuck down here!"

"I doubt releasing their captives is high on their list of priorities," Ren fretted.

Out of desperation, Jaune summoned forth his aura, surrounding his hands with golden light as he forced the bars apart. Perhaps they had been weakened by the blast, or perhaps Jaune had more strength than he thought, but not only did the bars bend, but the entire door fell out of its frame.

Jaune stepped back, looking at his hands in surprise. "I..."

"We can worry later," Ren interjected. "Come, we must go to Weltall. Some gears come equipped with the ability to fly- or at least hover."

"Including Weltall?" Jaune asked as he took off after Ren.

"I'm not certain, but I can hardly think of a better time to find out."

The sand was just as Ren had described- every step Jaune took was a struggle, quickly being buried, only pulled back out through a great deal of force. The halls were flooding with the stuff just as fast as it would be were the ship sinking out on the ocean, causing the ship to tilt at an increasingly dangerous angle. Ren managed to leap into a new hallway with a great deal of effort before reaching back and grabbing Jaune as he was forced to leap forward- he pulled him into the new hallway and quickly slammed the door shut in an effort to stem the flow of lightning sand.

At last, they emerged onto the roof of the ship, which was in severe danger of capsizing. Their progress was reduced to a crawl as they crept across a series of beams and girders towards Weltall- for once, Jaune breathed a sigh of relief as he was able to climb into the cockpit. "It seems you and I really do share our destinies..."

He looked out. "Ren, there's not enough room in here!"

"Don't worry about me- I'll take the shoulder again!"

Jaune wanted to argue, but they hardly had the time. He closed up the cockpit, and Weltall effortlessly broke free of its bounds. Jaune forced the gear to its feet as slowly as he dared, struggling to maintain balance and ensure he didn't lose Ren. When he'd attained his feet, he crouched down and kicked off of the ship, aiming to get as far away from this patch of sand as possible.

The leap carried the two of them far, but Jaune hadn't given as much thought to the landing- Weltall sprawled out on the desert sands, Ren flying off its shoulder and landing in a heap on the ground. At the very least, though, they seemed to have escaped the immediate danger.

"Ren, are you okay?"

"Yes... yes, I'm fi-"

CRASH!

Jaune spun around to find another gear landing not far away, as brightly yellow as the sun above. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" the voice of the pilot emerged- a young woman, from the sounds of things. "A couple of Gebler rats abandoning their friends to die? There are two things I hate in this world- cowards and traitors, and you look to be both!"

"Wait!" Jaune called. "We're not with Gebler!"

"Sure, sure, that explains why you came jumping out of a Gebler ship, now, doesn't it?"

Jaune blinked, struggling to wrap his head around what he was hearing. "But... that wasn't a-"

"ENOUGH TALK!" the woman interrupted. "You want out of this so bad? Put up your fists! Come on, put 'em up! Tell ya what, I'll give you a handicap! I'll fight you with one hand behind my back! I'll fight you standing on one foot! I'll fight you with my eyes closed!"

Jaune watched, baffled, as the pilot performed each handicap she described- except for the closed eyes, of course.

"I don't want to fight you!" he persisted.

"Oh? Then let's make this simple- drop that gear and walk away."

Jaune would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted for a moment... but no. "I... I can't do that."

"Y'know, I was kinda hoping you'd say that."

Jaune imagined a wide, battle-hungry grin as the other gear brandished its arm- a second later, he felt a solid impact to Weltall's arms. Taking further stock of the situation, Jaune realized the yellow gear had chains wrapped around its arms- chains it was using as whips. He immediately went on the defensive, watching as she slowly approached, spinning the chains around, beating the ground threateningly.

"Any time you wanna throw in the towel, I'm listening!" she taunted.

Forced into a corner, Jaune managed to duck under her next whip swing- only to get handily whacked by the other.

Ren stepped back, not eager to get embroiled in a fight between two gears. Abruptly, something occurred to him- he looked to the sand beneath his feet, then back to the gears. "Wait, stop! You mustn't fight here!"

"Yeah, you'd like me to stop beating down your friend, wouldn't you?" the yellow gear taunted.

Out of desperation, Jaune attempted a new maneuver- using what grip he could get on the sand, he forced himself up into the air and brought the full weight of his gear down on his opponent.

"Oh, no you don't!" she called, reaching up and managing to catch him, her gear falling to its knees to help cushion the blow... and putting more weight on the ground as well.

The ground began to rumble- all Ren could do was scrabble backwards across the sand as it all began to sink into a great hole beneath the two gears.

"Oh, goddammit, why would you go picking fights right on top of a sinkhole?!" the yellow gear cried as they were pulled in, leaving Ren alone on the surface.

He stood there for a long moment, before slowly turning to the ship that had started the whole mess in the first place- no doubt the very ship that the yellow gear had come from. It seemed he had little choice now...

XXXX

"Oh, oh, oh dear!" Klein Sieben fretted, repeatedly wiping his face with his handkerchief. "Dear Young Mistress, what has become of you now?!"

"Calm yourself, Klein," Sage lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. "This is Yang we're talking about, and she was in her gear. She's fought her way out of worse binds than this."

"Oh, but still..."

"It's going to be fine," Sage persisted, a note of sternness entering his voice. "Now, excuse me- I have some prisoners to scare."

XXXX

"Hey... kid... hey, kid!"

Jaune blinked as he steadily returned to consciousness. He immediately took in Weltall's cockpit, and in a groggy second, recalled everything that had led to the gear lying on its back in what looked to be the center of a dark cave.

He quickly ejected himself, hopping out onto his gear's chest, looking around for whoever had been calling for him.

"Ah, good, you are alive. That's something, at least."

Jaune finally located the speaker, and his heart almost stopped- for the briefest of moments, he could swear that Saphron Arc had returned from the dead.

"Hey, you doin' alright there, kid? You still look a little out of it."

"No, I'm... I'm sorry."

No, it was clearly not Saphron. Her hair was far longer and less well-kept, she wore a brown jacket and half-skirt that Saphron wouldn't have been caught dead in, and there was a patch over her right eye indicating that it had been lost long ago.

Around her forearms were several looping leather straps, and the ensemble was concluded with a pair of brown boots.

"Hey..." she said, placing her hands on her hips and looking rather severe. "You're not with Gebler!"

Sheer exasperation finally pulled Jaune out of his momentary daze. "No... no, I'm not! If only someone had tried to tell you!"

"Hey, you can't blame me too much!" the woman raised her hands. "You come jumpin' out of a Gebler ship, in a gear that Gebler's been chasing-"

"That wasn't a Gebler ship, either!" Jaune exclaimed. "It was owned by the Vale military!"

"...It was?"

"Yes! They captured my friend and I because we have this gear!" Jaune aimed a frustrated kick at Weltall, only earning a natural bruised toe for his troubles.

The woman crossed her arms, tilting her head in thought. "So... you do own that gear, but you're not with Gebler?"

Jaune didn't feel like explaining the exact circumstances right now. "It's a long story," he said brusquely. "Maybe Ren would be up to telling it, but- wait, Ren!" His head snapped up, and he began to panic. "Ren, where are you?!"

"If you're talking about the guy who came out of the ship with you, I think he's still topside," the woman interjected, pointing up to a large hole in the ceiling of the cavern. "My crew's probably picking him up as we speak."

Jaune's blood went cold. "Your crew... the same crew that just nearly killed us?!"

"Oh, relax," the woman shook her head. "They're not gonna eat the man. That whole 'take-no-prisoners' thing is just good PR."

"Take no... take no prisoners?" Jaune repeated, nonplussed.

The woman smirked. "Listen up, kid, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once... you're standing in the presence of the one, the only Dread Pirate Xiao Long!"

This bold proclamation didn't seem to have quite the effect she'd been looking for. "...So, a pirate then. Great... just my luck..."

"Hey, heyheyhey! Not just any pirate, the Dread Pirate Xiao Long! Accept no substitutes!"

She struck a proud pose... which slowly turned more agitated as she realized Jaune didn't seem nearly as impressed as he should be. "Terror of the Sands? Nightmare of Vale?"

"Well, strictly speaking, I'm not really from Vale," Jaune admitted. "My... my home village was right on the border between Vale and Atlas."

The woman narrowed her eye, but seemed to accept this as a valid excuse. "Well... alright. Just remember the name from now on- Dread Pirate Xiao Long. Yang to my friends. Butter me up enough, and I might even let you call me that one day!"

Jaune stared, gobsmacked at this woman's audacity. "...Right."

"Anyways, looks like we're pretty much stranded down here together," Yang observed, glancing around the cave. "Seems to me it'd be best to team up, at least until we get out of here again. Two heads are better than one, and all that."

"Do we need to bother at all?" Jaune asked, crossing his own arms. "You're the captain of a pirate crew... they'll be coming for you, won't they?"

Yang barked a laugh. "No, no, no, we're a little more... libertarian than that. I gave them specific instructions on what to do if something like this happened- wait until nightfall, then head back to the hideout. They'll assume I can get myself out of this situation just fine. To be fair, I probably can, but I'm trying to be nice here, kid."

"Any time you want to stop calling me 'kid,'" Jaune objected, furrowing his brow. "You don't look much older than me, ma'am."

She narrowed her eyes at the slight... then broke into laughter. "Okay, okay, fair enough!" She stepped closer, extending a hand to help him off of Weltall. "So, what do you want me to call you?"

Jaune slowly uncurled his arms and accepted the hand. "Jaune. Just... just Jaune."

"Alright, 'Just Jaune,'" Yang giggled. "C'mon, let's get moving!"

XXXX

The soldiers who'd been taken in from the Valean ship were lined up on the Nidhogg's upper deck, where Sage marched in front of them, glaring at each in turn. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, aboard the Nidhogg, home ship of the Dread Pirate Xiao Long, who takes no prisoners!"

He was satisfied to hear a gasp or two of terror, but didn't allow it to show on his face. "Now, the lead pirate herself is out at the moment, and I happen to be in a good mood. Cooperate, and you may just get out of this alive and unspoiled. Now-"

"Sage?"

Sage blinked, looking down the line to one man who stood out from the others- he was taller, dressed not in any uniform, but an eastern-style regalia, his dark hair pulled into a ponytail behind him much longer than was regulation for Vale's army. Furthermore...

"Lie Ren... well, well, well, I never thought I'd see the day."

"Sage Ayana," Ren greeted curtly.

Sage glanced around. "Tukson, I want to deal with this one personally. Take him away."

The massive puma faunus nodded his agreement, grabbing Ren and marching him off the deck, leaving Sage to deal with the remainder of the rabble.

XXXX

Okay, maybe she's not quite a ray of sunshine yet. Ending this chapter a little earlier than I expected for pacing reasons- sorry if it seems a little short.

One.

Until next time, don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out.