I am so sorry for not updating but I was concentrating on another story (the ideas flowed so much easier) but I can't ignore my stories anymore I got a serious whooping from Gabi. It hurts.

Also can anyone tell me the time period of Vampirates, I wanna say that it's in the future but I'm a little confused.

Also a quick shout out to Akihisa Ikeda one of my favorite Manga writers, I kinda borrowed something.

Please read, review and enjoy.

Ch. 3 Cooperation

"Train him, what does that exactly entail?" Cheng-Li asked she was certainly interested, Gabi and her father could smell it on her. Connor sat back he realized that no matter what happened that it was all dependent on his captain's decision.

"Well besides teaching him to use any powers he may acquire, I will also teach him how to use his instinct." Gabi smirked. Cheng-Li looked at them taking in the recent events of the evening.

"You said that you were Vampire hunters," Cheng-Li began. Mr. Gale noticed the change in Cheng-Li interests; she was more interested in learning about vampire hunting than actually helping Connor. His daughter seemed oblivious to the change. "So how exactly do you go about that business?"

"Well we," Gabi began but was silenced by a look from her father.

"Miss Li I understand that there is a pirate ship of vampire hunters, I am wondering does this happen to be your ship?" Mr. Gale asked. The question caught Cheng-Li off guard but she did not show it.

"Yes, that would be my ship." Cheng-Li answered simply.

"Then I propose a deal, if you allow Connor to train with Gabi in exchange I will teach your crew all I know about hunting." Mr. Gale could see the gears turning in her head. There was no way that she would say 'no'. "Gabi, could you show Connor around town while Miss Li and I negotiate?" Gabi looked at her father questioningly but stood from her seat anyway. She stood at the door waiting for Connor. Cheng-Li motioned for Connor to join Gabi. The two walked out of the door onto the street. The sun was setting and the streets were deserted except for a few people traveling in pairs or groups.

"Well this is our town it's not big, pretty small actually but its home. We have a lighthouse, a school, several good shops, and some other stuff." Gabi said matter-o-factly. Looking at the town made Connor miss his old life with Grace and his dad in Crescent Moon Bay. He looked around and noticed a few boys several blocks down they were walking towards Gabi and him but they gave Connor a bad feeling. As the two groups came closer, Connor noticed two of the guys glaring at Gabi, the boy in the middle with blonde hair sized Connor up and waved to Gabi. "Hello Lance," Gabi waved to the blonde boy, than continued on to the other two. "Nicholas, Michael. How are you all this evening?"

"We're good Gabi." Lance smiled, but the other two seemed uncomfortable. "Who's you're friend?" Lance questioned about Connor. Connor could notice a dangerous light in Lance's turquoise eyes.

"This is Connor Tempest." Gabi smiled back. The tension began to rise, Connor could feel it but he had no idea where the tension was coming from. "He and a few of his shipmates will be docked here for a while." The tension began to melt a little.

"Oh. Well what business does he have with you?" Connor noted the possessive sound in his voice as did Gabi.

"That's classified." Gabi smirked, her intention were to get a rise out of Lance; she was playing with him. But instead of Lance it was Nicholas.

"He asked you a question vampire!" Nicholas yelled, he spat the word 'vampire' like it was the dirtiest word a person could ever say. Connor looked at Gabi and saw a small amount of hurt but besides that she showed no emotion.

"Nick!" Lance yelled at Nicholas making him flinch.

"No," Gabi told Lance. Her head was hung and her hair hid her eyes, but behind her posture hid something powerful. "What did you call me?" The air around the five teens became thick, making each breath harder to take in. "I'm sure we've been over this before Nicholas. I. Am. Not. A. Vampire." She said each word with a malice that made every person hearing it cringe. Gabi turned her head to one side; her hair brushed out of the way and exposed her right eye. Her eye was glowing red as though it was alight with fire; its intent on Nicholas. Nicholas went pale, as though his body was trying to hide the blood it held. "And I am not sure how many more of your insults I can take before I snap." Gabi cracked her knuckles on snap. Nicholas legs almost crumpled underneath him. "Know your place*. Now get out of my sight." Nicholas and Michael were eager to comply they ran off down the street.

"You know Gabi, if you keep scaring people like that, it'll only reinforce their perceptions of you." Lance said. He looked into her red eyes and didn't even flinch. She brushed her hair behind her ears and her eyes returned to their normal brown.

"I know, but it pisses me off." Gabi said simply. Gabi looked at the rapidly descending sun. "You know you should probably go catch up to them, it's getting dark."

"Yeah," But Lance stayed put. He looked at Connor. "So Connor, which ship did you come in on?" This was the first time Lance had actually regarded Connor; it caught him by surprise. Connor didn't see the warning look Gabi was sending him.

"The Tiger." Connor answered.

"The pirate ship?" Lance asked. Lance didn't give Connor a chance to answer. "So if you're a member of the vampirate hunting crew than that means you guys are here to get pointers from Mr. Gale." Connor had no idea how he was able to figure that out.

"How'd you?" Connor tried to ask. Gabi stepped in and explained.

"His grandmother is a member of the Pirate Federation." Gabi explained. Lance smiled proudly. "Captain Lisbeth Quivers." That caught Connor by surprise.

"Your grandmother is Captain Quivers?" Connor asked barely believing.

"Yeah, you heard of her?" Lance asked back. He was taking pleasure in having his family ties talked about.

"I took her class at the Pirate Academy." Lance looked surprised as did Gabi.

"Wait a minute Connor Tempest… You're the pirate prodigy." Connor began to feel a little happy about his 'prodigy' position. "What's it like being a pirate?" Lance asked, his curiosity was bubbling over.

Gabi rolled her eyes 'Anything about Pirates turns the Great Lance into a fanboy.' She looked farther down the street to see a red-headed girl walking strangely toward the sea. Connor and Lance didn't see the girl. "Hey Lance, can you take Connor to the smithy. I need to take care of some things." The look on both boys' faces showed confusion. "I'll catch up with you guys in a second." Both boys didn't seem willing. "It's a female thing." Lance and Connor's eyes went wide and their faces burned crimson.

"Yeah, will catch up with you soon, right?" Connor said not looking Gabi in the eye. Lance led Connor away down a different street while Connor went on about his life as a pirate. However Connor noticed all the times he was retelling Lance were from his days on The Diablo.

"So I heard from my grandma that you are basically the best recruit who ever came from the academy, even if you were only there for like two weeks." Lance recapped from a conversation with his Grandma. Connor smiled he was enjoying the praise. But a stray thought struck Connor.

"Hey, if your grandmother is Captain Quivers than why didn't you go to the pirate academy?" Connor asked. It didn't add up that a great Captain, like Captain Quivers wouldn't have her family involved with her pirate life.

"Well mom didn't want that life." Lance explained easily. "When my dad asked my mom to marry him, she told him only on the condition that they leave the pirate world behind." Lance sounded a bit bitter. "So instead dad got involved in a different kind of world; politics. He's the Mayor of the town." His mom must've been really protective. Then another thought struck Connor,Nicholas had called Gabi a vampire. Did they know what Gabi really was?

"Hey Lance what was that whole 'vampire' thing about?" Connor asked.

"Oh…" Lance became uncomfortable, like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. "Well you know that Gabi and her family are vampire hunters right?" Connor nodded. "Well there have been rumors that they aren't exactly human." Lance said. "Course it's not true." Lance smiled, but something in his eyes told Connor that he knew the truth to what Gabi and her family really was. "Anyway here we are at the smithy." Lance gestured to a building that seemed nothing like a smithy. They walked inside there was a wall where all kinds of weapons and tools were hung up, price tags showed that they were exceptionally expensive. Something was different about the weapons though they were new or close to new, the style they were created looked old; ancient.

"Hello is someone there?" a women's voice yelled from another room, it had an accent that Connor couldn't quite place.

"Yes, Mrs. Gale it's Lance and…" He didn't have time to finish before a woman ran through the door from the other room.

"Lance!" The women smiled. She had long red hair, and looked to be in her thirties. She was wearing a burgundy blouse over khaki pants, not something one normally wears in a smithy. Mrs. Gale looked at Connor and smiled. "Hello there. I am Luscinia Gale. How can I help you?"

"So your Gabi's mom?" Connor asked he didn't mean for it to slip out but it did. Something dawned upon Mrs. Gale when she paid more attention to Connor.

"Are you the boy who gave my Gabi that hicky?" "How the hell did she figure that out?" Mrs. Gale looked at Connor through amused eyes, waiting for an answer. But Lance looked at Connor through eyes that reminded him of how Mr. Gale looked at him; angry and barely contained. Then Connor realized how close Lance was to all the very sharp and dangerous weapons.

Meanwhile

Liza Needlemelon; the girl was walking the perimeter of the shore, but the ocean was lazy. Gabi had lived on this island her entire life she knew that the waves at this time of day during this time of year should be much more forceful. Gabi had followed her at first quietly but after trying to get her attention several times, Gabi realized that she was under some trance. So Gabi had walked next to Liza and walked with her.

"Liza? Liiiiza? Liiiiiiiiiiizaaaaaaa?" Gabi tried to annoy the bespectacled girl. "Seriously girl? Come on Needlemelon!" Still Liza walked, her eyes glazed over. 'Okay something is seriously wrong. But what could cause a trance like this?' Gabi was lost in thought until Liza mumbled something.

"Master." Liza said. Her voice shook Gabi down to her bones; that wasn't her voice.

"Liza, come on." Gabi said grabbing on to the girls arm, but she continued to pull as though Gabi wasn't even there. "Liza, something's wrong, snap out of it."

"Master, I am coming." Liza replied to a silenced voice. Liza began to walk into the slow crashing waves of the ocean.

"Crap!" Gabi yelled. 'What the HELL is going on?' She pulled on Liza but the girl continued to pull, Gabi used all of her strength, but still the girl moved forward. 'Crap, if she gets too far into the ocean there is no way I'll be able to get her back to shore.' Gabi thought quickly. "I'm sorry Liza, but I have to do this." Gabi apologized, then brought up her leg and kicked Liza in the back of the head, knocking the girl out. Liza fell into the waves and Gabi quickly fished her out. "I'll get you home." Gabi looked toward the way Liza had been traveling to see Star Fall Island. Every instinct in her body filled her with fear at the site of that island. "Balthazar."

Back at the Smithy

"Connor you look like an epee type." Mrs. Gale observed looking at Connor. The observation caught Connor by surprise. "You use an epee am I correct?"

"Uh, sometimes." Connor answered. Mrs. Gale smiled; there was something unnerving about her smile. Mrs. Gale placed her hand on her chin using her index finger to tap her lips. Connor could tell she was contemplating something.

"Connor," Mrs. Gale eyes lit up as she thought of something. "Please grab a weapon off of the wall I want to test your skills." Mrs. Gale pushed him towards the wall; she was not giving him a chance to say 'no'. Connor looked at the weapons some of them were highly decorated, with engravings and other designs on the blades, but still the weapons looked much older than they could have been. Connor decided on the most simple of the swords, it was a saber. The sword was perfectly balanced; the hilt was a cage of elegant wires that formed into the protection of his hand. The blade had a small design of red colored vines coming from the base and it faded a little before the middle of the blade. The handle was a bit big for his hand but still the sword felt good.

"Are you sure Mrs. Gale?" Connor asked. She was looking at the wall and pulled of a sword that Connor couldn't recognize. The sword had no hilt; it was simply a blade and handle wrapped in black leather. The blade was rectangular with a flat tip. In the reflecting light Connor could see writing in a language he had never seen before.

"Alright Connor, let's see what you can do." Mrs. Gale said taking a stance sword ready. Connor looked over at Lance who was smiling mischievously. 'Well, it looks like I'm not getting out of this.' Connor attacked to have it easily parried by Mrs. Gale. Her eyes became calculating; she was playing the role of an observer over the role of the actual fighter. For some reason that made Connor mad. Mrs. Gale lazily attacked from his right, Connor blocked but the force behind her sword was telling Connor that she was barely serious. She threw another swing but this time from the right. Connor dodged and reestablished his footing to attack. He went for a stab, Mrs. Gale easily side stepped and twisted her sword above Connor's. She move the sword upside down and brought the flat tip down on the blade of saber, The saber fell out of Connor's hands onto the floor; Mrs. Gale pulled her sword up resting the blade close to Connor's throat. "Not bad."

Connor stared at her wide eyed. "Hey the first time Mrs. Gale fought me she knocked the sword out of my hand before I even had a chance to attack." Lance tried to console Connor. Watching Connor lose had reverted Lance to normal.

"A bit rough around the edges but I've had many more years of experience than you." Mrs. Gale giggled. Suddenly the door to the smithy was pushed in by Gabi. She was dressed in a black t-shirt and black Capri's, instead of her original yellow dress. She looked at her mother and the sword on the floor then at Connor.

"Mom did you 'test' Connor?" Gabi's mother smiled and nodded. Gabi rolled her eyes. "You know I would have liked to watch." Gabi smirked at her mother. Mrs. Gale just smiled sheepishly. Cheng-Li walked into the smithy, Mr. Gale walked in after her.

"Connor come on we need to go back to the ship." Cheng-Li ordered Connor. He didn't argue something about his captain told him that she was tense contemplating recent events. Connor walked over to his captain.

"I'll walk with you guys to the ship." Gabi said, leaving with them. The walk to the Ship was quiet and tense every time Connor tried to talk with his captain she waved him off lost in thought. They reached the ship and parted ways. "I hope your ready for training tomorrow. " Gabi told Connor. This comment got Cheng-Li's attention.

"Gabi, no one on my ship besides me knows of Connor's secret. I would appreciate it if…" Cheng-Li began but was cut off by Gabi.

"Don't worry, his secret is safe with me." Gabi smiled. She looked at Connor and winked. "Bye Connor."

Gabi walked back to her house, unlike most of the townsfolk she lived on the outskirts of the town. She looked around as the houses slowly began to disperse as she walked farther into the island. She reached her house; it was big, nothing like the mayors mansion but it certainly wasn't squalor. She looked at the three stories, the third story was the attic but she had turned it into a studio, the view from the top was the best on the island, besides from the lighthouse. But like everything else about her parents, due to their age, the style of the house was older than any other on the island, they had insisted on designing the house themselves. She walked into her house to see her mother and father in deep conversation.

"I'm home!" Gabi called to them.

"Gabi we need to have a serious talk." Her father looked at her seriously, she was in trouble. "Gabi how could you tell someone to come here without telling us?" Mr. Gale asked. His anger was barely controlled.

"Dad, he's a dhampir, I couldn't just let him go on without knowing anything." Gabi defended.

"Yes, Gabi but…" Gabi mother intervined. "You should have warned us."

"I tried but dad, was yelling at me and sent me to my room." She gestured at her father. "Besides we need him." Gabi felt sick as she was thinking the rea reason she had brought Connor to the island.

"What do you mean Gabi?" Mr. Gale asked. He noted the tone of his daughter.

"Balthazar." Gabi whispered. Saying the name felt like a taboo.

"Gabi he is trapped on that island there is no way for him to hurt us." Mrs. Gale tried to console her daughter.

"Mom, I've been having these strange feelings every time I look at that island, I-I can feel his power growing." Her mother put her arms around her; Gabi was shaking from the gravity if what she was about to say.

"That's impossible Gabi, he is suck there and his power cannot grow without blood." Mr. Gale tried to convince his daughter.

"Dad, earlier this evening when I was showing Connor around…" Gabi began to shake more violently. "Liza was in a trance and she tried swimming to that island."

"What!" Gabi's parents cried in unison.

"Liza, she-she was being compelled to go there it's him, I know it's him he was able to reach her from so far away. But it's Balthazar, I know it." Gabi said with more conviction.

"Nathan," Mrs. Gale turned to her husband. "If she's right we will need this boy." Quickly Mrs. Gale turned away from her husband. The anger and memories of Balthazar burn through Nathan's mind awakening the instinct inside of him. His eyes began to glow bright red, and instinctively his head turned toward Star Fall Island. He growled low in his throat; a feral angry, rabid sound.

"Balthazar."

I hoped you guys like this chapter and please forgive me for taking so long to write it. Also if you would please I am debating about whether addressing Gabi's parents as Mr. and Mrs. Gale or by their first names, Nathan and Luscinia. Any suggestions.