A/N: WELL. I'VE BEEN A HORRIBLE AUTHOR. Sorry guys, just kindda well... I won't make excuses, I have been feeling lazy to write lately, but I guess I've gotten over that at least a bit. MOTIVATIONAL BLOCK DX!

Anyway, this chappy'll be Sea Questing! So yay, we get to see the others' progress!

Also, I just realized; I've been neglecting Chitose, haven't I?

Warning and Disclaimer... *has someone redirect ya'll to chapter 1*

Enjoy~!

Chronicles of the Drowned City

C.26: Tortuga Island, ahoy!

The sea today is surprisingly cool, the Southern Ocean's waters and climate in general normally being warm, sometimes moving just a tad higher.

The scent of salt is still thick in the air, the waves and currents are calm, and no pirate ships or anything else disturbs the waters, aside from they, the Zephyr Guild's sea exploration group, and the occasional yellow sails of the trading ships.

The night sky is as clear as always, the stars shining, decorating the skies like pearls in the sand, as the moon shined down on the world, it's calming, dim light replacing the sun's blaring and intense one for the remainder of the day, though black clouds occasionally waft by, covering the view.

Today was a great day.

Rudollf happily hummed to himself as he steered the ship, navigating through the waters, familiar tunes from his past days of being a pirate coming out of his mouth, a light blush gracing his cheeks, a large bottle of liquor perched on the table next to the steering wheel, while on the other side of the deck, a larger stack of emptied bottles sat, huddled up together in one corner, as if abandoned.

"Yo, Rudollf."

The otherwise half-drunk Buccaneer jumped slightly, quickly turning towards the voice, the surprise on his face soon replaced by a sheepish, drunk looking smile, as he replied, with a jolly tone,

" 'Ey, *hic* 'vita. Up *hic* l'te?" Said-girl sighed.

"How the hell are ya gonna be able tp drive this thing like that? Your practially drunk!" Rudollf merely laughed, waving off the Arbalist's concerns.

"Aw, c'mon! Can't a man have 'is dr'nk?" Rudollf managed to stiffle a hiccup just then.

"No, a man can't have his drink when he's driving what could be our deaths if the guy made a mistake!" Rudollf, again, turned to the Arbalist, a reassuring smile forming on his lips.

Eh... somewhat reassuring.

And from experience, Evita knew she couldn't trust that smile.

"Alright, ya big lug. Lemme take over." Rudollf merely pouted.

"No. Y'er g'nna lead us t' *hic* ou' deat' *hic*" Evita merely shoved him away, not having any of it.

"No way, at least I'm still sober!" She then gripped at the wheel, turning it in a random direction, thus moving the ship. She smiled, finding her way through the controls easily enough, though she still had some trouble.

Then, the winds picked up.

"Wh-Whoa!" Evita began to stuggle with steering the ship. She frantically tried to get the ship under control, to no avail.

As if he had been knocked upside the head, Rudollf suddenly regained his senses, awakened from his drunken sturpor. Hurriedly, he walked over to Evita, who's still struggling with the controls.

"Give me that!" he said, shoving Evita away and gripping onto the steering wheel, shouting orders to the crew all the while, getting the ship back in control, just in time too, because as the Arbalist gazed at the waters, she noticed they nearly ran into a giant hunk of rock protruding from within the waters.

"See? Yer gon' lead us t'our deaths if yer th'one steerin'," Rudollf deadpaned. Evita sighed, pouting.

"Yeah, yeah... like you wouldn't 've done the same thing..."

"What the hell guys?!" The two turned towards the entrance to the deck, only to be greeted by a horrified looking Orion.

"Uh... well, ya see bro..."

"I told ya not to take over drivin' the ship no matter what! Look at what happened!" said Orion, his arms flailing about.

"I gotta admit though," Rudollf began,"yer pretty good fer a first timer. I mean, it didn't take ya any time at all fer ya t'get th'controls right." Evita merely smirked mockingly at her brother.

"See bro? I ain't that bad~."

"Well, if nearly runnin' into a giant boulder and sinking us into oblivion counts as "not bad", then yeah, I agree with you."

Oh, how the Arbalist wished she had her crossbow with her...

Unfortunately no, she doesn't have a crossbow with her. Instead, she settled for punching her brother straight in the face.

"Wh-Whoa there you two, hold up! No need t'be punchin' each other!"

"Stay outta this!" the two shouted. Rudollf sighed in defeat, letting the argument continue.

After a few punches and insults later, the two finally settled down, still sitting in the deck, now glaring daggers at each other.

Rudollf suddenly had the urge let Evita take full control of the ship and enjoy his drink elsewhere...

"Where're we headed to right now, anyway?" asked Orion, pouting all the while.

"Some pirate's island west o'ere."

"Pirate's island? I'd figure you'd know your way there!" Rudollf shook his head.

"Yea, this one island I don't remeber goin' to. Never been t'this part o'th'sea." Evita sighed, thinking of what it would be like if they suddenly lost their map.

Catastrophic, to say the least.

"Anyway, how long until we're there?" Evita asked, rubbing her sore, blackened cheek.

"No clue. Told ya, I've never been t'this island before. Anyway..." A mischevious look suddenly graced Rudollf's face.

"Why don't ya lads take over drivin'? I'll teach ya th'basics!"

"No way! I ain't trustin' my sister with drivin this thing!" Orion immediately objected.

" 'Ey, captain ere's the one that said I ain't bad!" Evita retaliated.

"Well yea, and like I said, if 'ain't bad' means potentialy shipwreckin' us in a stranded island, or better yet, at sea, then yea, I have to agree!" And so the bickering started again. Minus the punches.

'Oh god, why don't ya kids just lemme enjoy my drinks in peace..?' Rudollf again sighed in defeat as he turned towards the steering wheel, navigating the ship again before they really do get

shipwrecked.

A few hours of listening to the two bicker later, Rudollf attention snapped towards small chuncks of land, almost devoid of any trees on it. And, perched on one of those islands...

A gold colored mountain, looking almost like a skull.

Skull...

"That's it! That's the island! ...Right?" The Buccaneer turned towards Orion, startled.

"Uh... yep, that's the one!" Rudollf then steered the ship towards the island, avoiding a whirpool while he's at it.

As they went up to the starnge looking island, Rudollf felt a surge of nostalgia. He sighed a bit, remembering his old days as a pirate. Evita and Orion turned to him.

"What's with the look there, big guy?" Rudollf blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Nothin'. Just some old memories." The ship then arrived at the island's shores. Orion instantly perked up.

"That's a cave, ain't it? Then there's bound to be ores there, right?!" A hard nudge came from Evita.

"Supplies are low, bro. We're headed back now." Orion's shoulders instantly slumpped.

"I'd have to agree with Orion on this one." The three people on deck jumped, hearing the mysterious voice. They turned towards the entrance to the deck, seeing Chitose, clinging upside down from the door's frame.

A smile graced Chitose's features, but suddenly her eyes turned wide, as if realising something.

"Oh, yeah... you know what," she then leapt onto the ground, gracefully landing on the wooden floor, "I'll hold off on that."

Rudollf and the other two blinked, surprised at what Chitose said just now. She'll hold off on gathering animal parts?

The worlds ending.

"Dammit, th'apocalypse's here, isn't it?!" Rudollf exclaimed. The Ninja merely shook her head.

"No, the apocalypse's not here. And we are running low on supplies... I'd end up killing myself if I start gathering animal parts right now anyway." She then leapt off the captain's deck, landing on the lower deck of the ship. Rudollf, still in shock, merely stood there, mouth agape.

"Did... did I just hear th'girl right? She's gonna hold off... ok, I'm done. We're headin' back. NOW." Rudollf immediately started steering the ship, headed back towards Armoroad.

Hey, at least they managed to chart a route to the island!

Morning came, and the ship made it back to Armoroad in one piece. The captain came up the the four, greeting them.

"Morning! So, did you find anything out there?" Rudollf, as usual, handed the captain their updated map. The captain lighted up a bit, as he noticed that the group had charted a new route, but his face darkened slightly as he saw where the route leads to.

"Tortuga Island," the captain began,"an old pirate's cave is said the be in there."

"Knew it. A pirate's den." The captain nodded.

"You seem to know the sea well. It's as if your friends with the waters themselves!" Rudolld chuckled a bit, sheepishly smiling.

"Well, yeah, ya could say that, I am an ex-pirate after all." The captain chuckled as well.

"Well, they did say an old pirate's cave is there. But we can't say for sure if that's fact. You'll have to look into it firsthand." Rudollf nodded.

"Maybe some other time, then!" he said, his mind already set on getting a few drinks (since he isn't satisfied yet). This earned him dirty looks from the Ninja and Gladiator.

"OI!" The four turned towards the voice, Rudollf's shoulders slumping immediately as he saw what's in front of him.

Two people, one a farmer with rag-tag clothing, the other a girl, who looked regal, if only she wasn't so unkempt. Both do have a lively and somewhat brutish air around them though.

Well. Looks like your drink's gonna have to wait, Rudollf.

-TBC-

A/N: WELL. I ENDED UP DOING THIS THIS FOREVER AND A DAY AFTER I MADE THE FIRST SEGMENT TO THIS CHAPTER.

Utterly and completely lost motivation. That. Is. All.

Ya know what? I'mma update multiple chapters at once! Yeah, I'll do that, as compensation for me being gone since FOREVER. FUCK.

And now I shall write the next chapter *creeps into new document*