Archive of Our Own

The sea is calling. 

Jaden hears its call–rolling waves crashing into the golden shore–as the war reaches its conclusion. Parrot leads what’s left of their battered soldiers deeper into the Northern Council castle with Lettuce falling two steps behind the march. Some may think it’s on purpose, a desperate effort to turn around and escape. But how does one escape a forest fire? Because tailing behind him is the Immortal Demon himself. 

Even with sheathed sword and shattered armor, Flame is still a goddamn menace to society. His sharp gaze tracks each movement of the disgraced leader of the Law, as minuscule as they are–a shiver, a flinch, a stumble–Flame catalogues them all and stores it to memory, might be of use for hunting said prey if the shackles ever get loose. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year. But Jaden knows Flame is always ready to collect a debt paid by a life. After all, that is what the pirate owed to the demon–that is what their brotherhood has become. The debtor and the collector. One betrayal answered by another, until it towered high with no end in sight. When will it stop? 

The sea calls once more, faint and faraway, Jaden stops to listen closely, separating himself from the moving crowd entering the castle wing. 

Jaden hears a distant caw of a seagull, flying over the glittering blue of the Great Sea. The bird’s reflection paints over the water’s surface as the wind guides it to an abandoned port on a secluded island, filled with secrets and treasures. Such freedom, Jaden somberly thinks, comparing the suffocating stone-walled hallway he’s in to the boundless summer by the beach; gentle sand caressing his feet instead of jagged crater left from orbital destruction.

Raise the sail, then. It’s time to go.

-

“Hey, Eggchan.”

The said person turns around, one curious blue eye peeking out of white disheveled hair. “Yeah, what’s up, bro?” 

Similar to Jaden, Egg also doesn’t participate in the temporary confinement process of the Law leader, choosing to stay behind and loiter around the main gate of the ruined castle. The man is probably waiting for his purple-armored friend to finish his business. 

Jaden summons a particular weapon out of thin air before thrusting it at Egg, forcing the latter to secure it inside his arms.

“Yo, a mace, bro? Really?”

Jaden nods, a bitter smile forming behind his mask. “Can you give this to Flame?”

“Wait… Is this his? Or is this contraband? I want no trouble, bro.”

“A little bit of both,” Jaden shrugs. “Just, hold on to it until he comes back, alright?”

Judging by the suspicious look Egg’s been shooting at the pirate, it seems the former has many questions regarding the weapon of mass destruction. “Why don’t you just give it back yourself, man?” he asks.

Suddenly something aches inside Jaden’s chest. Under the battle-chipped armor poking bruises all over his body, under layers of skin and blood and somewhere between his ribs, Jaden feels a different kind of pain, the kind no golden apple or regeneration potion can heal; the kind that is rooted in a broken heart.

“Uh, I gotta dip,” Jaden lies. “My pirate civilization is waiting for me, so.”

“Bro, your civilization is a ghost town. I mean, no offense, but, like, everyone’s dead.”

He got me there, Jaden gives a tight smile, somberly recalling the last time he saw his people before Lettuce trapped him inside an obsidian prison. Damn the Law, for shattering the realized dream of a Pirate King. Once a bustling civilization, now it’s forsaken. Can it ever recover to its glory?

“Yeah, I know no one’s there anymore. But still… Maybe there’s something I can still do. Who knows,” the pirate murmurs, unsure yet hopeful, looking up into the setting sun and dreaming of a dead city coming alive once more.

“You can take the pirate out of the sea, but can’t take the sea out of the pirate.”

Jaden blinks, turning to see that Egg has stood on his side, lost in deep reverie. Whatever could the man be thinking? 

“Alright, bro, I got you,” Egg says after a minute of silent contemplation, looking strangely determined for some reason, but no matter. Jaden’s just glad the man agreed. 

“Thanks,” the pirate smiles, throwing one last look at the mace inside Egg’s arms. Jaden’s chest aches once again, but he ignores it, like so many times before, and so will many lonely nights after. But it doesn’t matter; nothing is. Because to Flame, the only thing that matters is the mace. Not the ache and definitely not Jaden. So the pirate leaves the land that does not care and hopes the sea still does.

-

It feels eerie standing in the middle of the city, devoid of all sound and soul. Jaden puts away his trident and looks around, drinking in the familiar view of Pirate City amidst the heavy rain. He ushers deeper into the market street, passing rows of empty stalls with rotten fishes and spoiled vegetables, haunted by the chatter of merchants trading, mothers gossiping, kids playing. Jaden swallows down the sorrow and walks faster, ignoring the ghost of his people.

His feet bring him to the center of the city, a massive tower home to the city council. The azure dragon circling it stands majestic and intact, untouched by the Law’s destruction. Jaden counts his blessings and enters the building, shrugging off his busted chestplate and iron gloves at the entrance. The pirate then lowers his mask to finally breathe in the fresh salty air, a welcome upgrade from the dusty air of the battlefield.

Jaden follows the stairway until it reaches the building’s roof. Outside, the rain pours without mercy. A flash of thunder shines on a lone figure of a pirate king standing on the edge of the roof, overlooking what’s left of his kingdom; a shell of a civilization ready to be swept away by tsunami and rebirth into sailor’s song. Is this how his dream ends?

The thunder strikes once more, leaving a trail of light across the angry grey clouds. His answer is nowhere to be found.

-

The same thunder also struck down an oak tree years ago, a few days after Jaden joined Zam’s Empire army. 

It happened on a scouting mission after sundown. 

Back then, the would-be pirate was alone and naive, burdened with the impossible task of searching new land for the growing empire without potions or food or one freaking shield to defend from the deadly creatures lurking in the dark. The rain that followed made the whole situation from bad to worse. The dirt quickly hardened into mud, and Jaden failed to notice the steep slope leading into a valley when he was too focused on the mobs on his tail. So he slipped, rolling down the hill and catching bruises here and there, one even left a nasty cut over his mouth all the way to the chin. When he finally hit the ground below, it took a long while for the wounded man to get his bearings. 

Everything felt awful; ringing in his ears, rain and blood clouding his eyes, the world was spinning and in a blur, he might’ve mistaken the shadow of trees surrounding him as monsters. Jaden shook away his fear and took a deep breath, shaky hands clawed over soggy soil as the wounded soldier tried to crawl his way out of the forest. 

It was then that the thunder struck; heaven’s fury split down an oak tree in front of him. Rattled on the ground, Jaden could only watch as a spark of fire turned ablaze, spreading through the branch, the leaves, then devouring it whole before moving on to the next. Jaden knew the fire’s hunger was bottomless. Soon, it burned the whole forest down, reducing everything into soot and ash, including him. 

Shit, Jaden bit his broken lips and pushed through the pain, forcing his weakened legs to stand up and work, please. He failed the first try, tumbling chest-first on the ground. Cursing out loud, the poor soldier tried standing once more before noticing the change in the air; smokes. It was too late. When Jaden looked up, the fire had cornered him like a prey. It had conspired with the wind to speed up the purge. What was left between them was a short distance, but even from where he was kneeling, Jaden could feel the burn, tickling his skin like a promise. He was never fond of fire and look where it got him? 

But just as all hopes were lost, it was then that he caught a silhouette beyond the smoke. Followed by slashing sounds and trees being cut down. Jaden’s heart pounded in nervous anticipation as the silhouette grew bigger, closer, and like a fever’s dream, Jaden watched a stranger walk through the wall of fire unscathed, unfazed, unafraid–and just like that, the wildfire was tamed. 

Jaden gave the mysterious man a once-over; a sharp jaw framed by wild dreadlock hair that curtained the blindfold covering the eyes. “Yo,” the man greeted, flicking his netherite sword like one does with a pen, a splatter of mud reached the soldier’s knee. “You’re Jaden, right? Zam asked me to come and get you.”

Now that he mentioned it, Jaden barely noticed the empire’s insignia stitched on the stranger’s leather vest.

“Yo, you’re okay, bro?” the stranger asked again when Jaden was too stunned to speak, too in disbelief whether he was truly saved or the demon of hell had come personally to collect his soul.

Jaden cleared his throat, finding it as dry as the desert sea. “Sorry, I, uh–”

“Yeah, okay, let’s just leave, bro.” It seemed the stranger's patience was thinning by the second as he sheathed his sword and turned around, mapping a safe path out of the fire. “You’re good to walk?” he asked.

For the third time that night, Jaden’s legs failed him, crashing butt-first on the ground this time. The stranger grumbled a ‘guess not under his breath before looping Jaden’s arm around his shoulders. As his right hand gripped Jaden’s waist, the stranger hoisted the wounded man upward and started walking while carrying half of the other man’s weight. 

It was a silent trek home. Jaden had to bite his tongue just to not whimper like a child for every step they took. So he endured and endured until after a while, the scenery changed. The rain stopped. The dense forest made its way into an open field; pretty wildflowers crushed under the soldier’s boots caked with mud. With enough distance, the raging blaze looked like a bonfire; clouds of smoke built high above but not thick enough to obscure a map of stars twinkling like jewels. Some near-death experience did come with a view.

“Thank you, uh…”

“The name’s Flame,” the stranger smirked, a sharp fang peeked out glinting in the dark and Jaden should’ve realized by then how dangerous it was playing with fire.

-

The next morning after he arrives at Pirate City, Jaden wakes up feeling a bit refreshed, clear of a muddled mind stained by politics and war, so the pirate decides to stay around. His kingdom might be hollow, the street might be haunted, but nevertheless, Pirate City is his, and his only. And if any bandit wants to take over, they’ll have to wrench it out of his cold, dead hands. 

So Jaden puts on his favorite blue frock coat and gets to work. He spends the whole afternoon circling around the city, inspecting for any damage to the infrastructure resulting from the Law’s aggression while he was imprisoned. But to his surprise, there’s none. Not even a hole in the wall. Jaden kicks himself for not thanking a certain purple-haired man and his one-eyed friend enough. I’ll send them some fresh catches later, he notes mentally before moving on. 

The overall infrastructure might be preserved, but after fishing for late lunch, as Jaden strolls around the market, he catches something’s off  on one of the dories, docked by the east port. There are cracks along its chine and through closer inspection, Jaden spots the rot layered under. Calloused hand glides over the scarred wood as he starts by carefully cleaning out the rotted material. By the time step one of the repair process is done, the moon is already high in the sky. He’ll have to continue tomorrow. 

Before long, this becomes the pirate king’s new routine; wake up, patrol the city, fix stuff, eat dinner, sleep, before doing it all over again the next day. If the dory is done, then he’ll notice a leaking roof. After that’s patched, next he’ll switch some weathered planks. It’s a nice routine that takes Jaden’s mind off of fractured visions of warm fire under a starry sky or sunflower blooming in the dark; it helps Jaden sleep at night knowing the hand that broke so many innocent lives can still mend some things in this cruel world.

So days turn into nights, one week into two. The pirate has started to get used to the self-isolation when the first day of the third week, right before lunch time, an unfamiliar boat rows out of the city entrance’s water lift. Jaden’s mental alarm instantly rings wildly inside his head; a bandit must have come to claim his floating land. In one swift notion, Jaden summons a trident to glide over the waterway, readying himself for a fight to the death. 

But when he arrives at the north port, the last person Jaden expects to see ever again is also the person who steps out of the docked boat. 

It’s Flame.  

The same Flame who betrayed him just because he was annoyed with the men Jaden assembled. The same Flame who acted so high and mighty, blaming Jaden for his own decision to leave the team, to choose anyone–literally anyone in this godforsaken earth–over Jaden, over years of friendship, of comradery, of sleepless nights and hearts poured open to see each other’s fear and weakness and longing to not ever be alone in this world, and all of that just to end up standing on the opposite of the line as enemies, always at odds, like fire and water.

The trident is the only welcome the Immortal Demon deserved. 

With a swing of the weapon, Jaden goes airborne; concentrating every bit of his power into a charge attack. Bitter rage coursing through his veins, impatient for a kill to suppress the familiar ache inside his chest. And for a second there, the pirate thinks he’s won. How he manages to gain the upper hand by catching the Immortal Demon by surprise–oh, if only that easy. Flame flashes a cocky grin and in a split second, he counters the attack from above at lightning speed. The power difference alone knocks Jaden back until he crashes into one of the market stalls. When did he even unsheathe his sword? Jaden hisses in pain, feeling broken woods poking his back.

“Yo, Jaden. Long time no see.”

The greeting sounds so nonchalant as if the fight hadn’t happened at all. It sickens Jaden to the core, vomiting saliva on an empty stomach. 

“Yo, you’re good, bro?” Flame’s snickering amused, closing in on the pirate like a nightmare manifested in daylight. 

Jaden glares in defiance. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Sightseeing,” Flame shrugs. “Heard about this stupid pirate civilization somewhere on the Great Sea so might as well see what it’s all about.”

After patting away the dust, Jade rises up to his feet, white-knuckled grip on the trident to press down the urge to throw it at the other’s face. “So? Now you’ve seen it, you can leave.”

“Why is it so quiet?” Flame ignores the pirate, head whipping left and right. “Where’s everybody, bro?” 

Jaden groans out loud. 

“No, for real, why is nobody here, bro? Isn’t this a pirate city or somethin’? Did someone kill ‘em? Did you–?”

“Just leave!”

“Couldn’t make me.” Flame nods at the collapsed merchant stall; Jaden’s failed attempt to shoo away the intruder. He smirks, “I go where I wanna go, bro.”

Jaden gawks dumbly like the other man grows another head because does Flame really think the pirate is an idiot who believes that this afternoon visit was driven by Flame’s spirit of exploration? Hello? 

On the back of his head, a headache starts settling in. Jaden sighs. “Okay, just what are you doing here, man? Like, you wanna fight? I already gave you back the mace–”

“You mean Lomedy’s mace? It was Eggchan who found it.”

Sudden silence. Jaden gapes wide-eyed at the grinning bastard.

“...Are you serious?”

“Yeah, bro.”

“We’re doing this right now?”

“Doing what, bro? I don’t know what you’re on about.”

“Oh my god.”

Droplets of water materialise around the pirate, Jaden thrusts the trident upward and glides back toward the city center, too tired to deal with his life's biggest problem while a growing headache pounds his skull. If Jaden can’t make Flame leave, here’s hoping boredom can. 

-

Fast forward three days later, the boredom has left the room first.

Jaden rests his head in defeat on one of the tavern’s tables, cursing to gods above what his life has become; playing host to the most annoying person alive who happens to be sitting across him at the moment, sipping a tankard of ale–that he fetched out on his own after ransacking the tavern basement without Jaden’s permission, mind you–with no fault in the world. It’s been three goddamn days, isn’t he bored?

“Nah, bro, I’m fine.”

A muffled groan slips out of the pirate, earning a snicker out of the giddy warrior. 

“You ain’t kicking me out, bro–”

“I get that, yeah–”

“–So might as well tell me what the freak is going on about this place. Aren’t you, like, the king of the pirates or somethin’?”

Come to think of it, something has been bugging Jaden since the Immortal Demon’s arrival. To the mainstream public, Pirate City is supposed to be a rumor; a hidden place only whispered among the fishermen and sailors and outcasts with nowhere to go. Sure, it was discovered by the Law, but the faction died the second their notorious leader was captured. So how did Flame know of its existence, exact location, and most of all, Jaden’s presence in it?

“Eggchan,” Flame says easily. “Bro just couldn’t stop yapping. Told me all about this place after handing me the mace.”

Scratch that fresh delivery, Jaden is going to send that one-eyed clown an army of barracudas. 

Jaden sighs. “Clearly Egg forgot to mention the part where the city is abandoned.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?”

“The Law came. Threatened to nuke the city with an orbital cannon. Everybody evacuated, while the rest of the pirates and me fought–”

“And lost?”

The asshole just had to pour salt over the wound. 

“Oooh, so, that’s why they broke you out,” Flame takes another sip, ignoring the stinky eye from across the table.

“And now, you know. The end. Please leave.”

“Bro, I’m just chillin’!”

“Why are you here? Seriously, why are you here? Don’t you have, like, a farm to tend? With that farmer friend of yours?” Jaden spits out the word like venom he refused to swallow. 

(Unfortunately for Jaden, the time Flame spends living in the mesa, he’s used to dealing with the biome cobra. So the warrior hears it loud and clear, head tilting curiously at the rage-flushed pirate.)

“Leave Lomedy out, bro. He’s chill.”

Something inside of Jaden snaps; his eyes feel warm, his throat’s claws dry, the pain inside his chest magnifies like an earthquake that tears the pangea apart, it tears down what’s left of Jaden’s mental wall too. He pushes the chair back and storms out of the tavern, rushing back to his small house and locking the bedroom, putting as much distance as he can between himself and Flame so the man can’t hear how Jaden’s heart shatters like glass on the floor.

-

The next morning, Jaden tries to fall back into his routine. Doing mind-numbing work might be the only way to be sane for anyone in his shoes. So after tending the only farm in the city, the pirate starts checking and re-checking every building from outdoor to indoor. In the afternoon, he finds a rusty door hinge on his neighbor's house. With deft hands, he unscrews the old and replaces it with the new. 

Afterward, he passes by a broken flower vase sitting on the windowsill. One side of the ceramic is cracked while the dandelion is withered. After running back to his house, Jaden fills the crack with glue, waits it out, and plants a new dandelion. He doesn’t forget to water it too before exiting the vacant house. 

Eventually, the path brings him to the north port by late afternoon. The first thing that catches his eye is the other presence; Flame is here, perched by the pier, whistling a tune carefreely while reeling in the catch of the day. The bucket placed by his boots already holds a couple of fish. 

It’s impossible for the Immortal Demon not to sense another human in close distance, even with his back facing Jaden, so the fact he doesn’t acknowledge the pirate can only mean that the warrior isn’t in the friendliest mood. Good, because so does Jaden. Yesterday’s scene is still fresh on his mind and the last thing he wants is to ruin another day. 

So Jaden turns to the second thing that catches his eye, which is the wrecked merchant stall; a collateral damage from underestimating the infamous man who took down a thousand Law soldiers. What was I thinking, dragging a hand over his face, Jaden heaves a breath before turning around toward the carpenter workshop. 

As expected, there’s still some lumber and planks left. After putting on goggles, Jaden begins cutting the lumber to be used as a stall post. Halfway through, the sky outside has gone dark. He needs a couple more until he can start assembling and drilling them into a post, but his stomach has been rumbling for a while so Jaden decides to finish the rest tomorrow. 

What’s shocking is that by tomorrow morning, when Jaden goes back to the workshop, lying on the ground are four stall posts, each drilled perfectly and cleaned. The pirate stands agape for a few minutes, mind’s blown in disbelief as to why the sneering arrogant nuisance that ruins Jaden’s tranquil, remote life suddenly decides to help him. 

Is this a trap? Is the ground under the posts rigged with dozens of TNT?

“You’re welcome, bro.”

Jaden turns around to see Flame, leaning against the workshop entrance. The morning light encompasses his figure from behind.

“But, why?” Jaden asks. “Why did you do—”

Flame lets out a yawn, cutting the conversation abruptly by walking out of the building. Faintly, Jaden can hear the creaky sound of a door being closed somewhere near the area. 

Truthfully, Jaden can’t make head or tail of what just happened, but he isn’t going to waste any wood–being rare as they were offshore–so the pirate tucks away his pride and begins constructing the stall. 

It takes a whole day for Jaden to plant the four posts, assemble and drill the planks together, before scouring the storage port for any unused tarpaulin. When the sun sets, the construction is done. One brand new merchant stall is ready for sale. Well, not really, no one’s here, after all. 

Taking off his hat, Jaden wipes off the sweat and grime of today’s work. The stall looks sturdy and good, but with a shiny new coat of paint over the wood, it will be better. Something to look forward to tomorrow. That night, Jaden sleeps dreaming of the color of endless blue. 

Lo and behold, it’s a red paint can that’s waiting for him the next morning.

Jaden blinks owlishly at the scene before him, in fear he’s still deep in slumber because there’s just no way that the unwanted tourist is about to drench the property of Pirate City in blood red. And to top it all off, the ignorant man has the audacity to look straight into Jaden’s face and say, “Red is cooler, bro.”

The high-pitched scream Jaden lets out might be an overreaction, but who cares, nobody’s here, just one stupid Immortal Demon rolling laughing on the ground.

“Dude, this is–this is my city. Our flag is literally blue!” as Jaden points at the obvious row of pirate flags hanging from the giant ass wall.

“So, every stall, every wall, they all gotta be blue?”

“Uh, yes??”

“Can’t anyone have a favorite color here?”

“This isn’t your stall, you don’t even live here!”

Flame bursts out another hyena laugh, though scooting a little to the right to make room for Jaden and his blue can of paint in his hand. “Whatever, bro,” the snickering man says. “You can have the left, I guess. I’ll stick to this side. I mean, I did some of the work too, bro.”

Jaden is left speechless by the sheer amount of tomfoolery the man in front of him does.

“Come on, bro, or I’ll paint the whole thing red.” 

Flame cracks a smug grin and oh, how Jaden wishes he could punch it off clean. He can’t, sadly. So the pirate reluctantly agrees, dropping down to his knees and dipping his own brush with blue paint.

For a while, there’s a truce between the men. Each focuses on filling the front plank of the stall with their own color on their respective side, never crossing the middle line to respect the other and maintain harmony; blue and red. 

Yeah, right, Jaden grimly thinks, might as well change the name into Clown City with these colors. It’s so tacky.

“Yo, stay on your side, bro.”

Jaden ignores the complaint and keeps sweeping his brush up and down, slowly breaching the edge of the red block. Of course, the act doesn’t go unnoticed. Flame shoves Jaden lightly by the shoulder before quickly layering the blue with the red. But the pirate isn’t going to back down, not when his city’s aesthetic is on the line. This is a fight he’s going to win. 

For the next attack, Jaden swiftly draws a straight line over the whole block of red. For end to end, and the damage is fatal. Flame instantly crashes out, yelling at Jaden for not being a ‘good sport’ and following the rules, and watching how the infamous warrior–feared by nations and criminals–actually loses his mind over some goddamn paint is just so ridiculous, Jaden can’t help but giggle, drawing more random blue lines just to test how high Flame’s blood pressure can go. 

And it’s… fun. 

When is the last time Jaden can laugh so freely? And Jaden is so lost in the good time, he doesn’t realize that the moment Flame stopped reacting. 

At some point, Flame goes quiet, watching Jaden closely like one reads a book. Because of the blindfold, his expression is unreadable, as most times, but over the years, Jaden has learned to read his emotion through the tone of his voice, the words of his choice, though the blind spot has always been when the warrior is silent. A blank stoic face peering into his soul, and for Jaden, it’s like face to face with the abyss before the jump.

Any laugh inside Jaden is quickly forgotten, replaced by static charge and uneasy stillness between them. Then, in slow motion, Flame raises his hand and flicks the brush across Jaden’s right cheek. 

A thin line of red marked the skin under Jaden’s stormy blue eyes.

“Red is much better for you, y’know.”

Before Jaden can grasp the meaning of the words, Flame puts down his brush and stands up. “Gonna fish us some lunch,” he murmurs. “Later.”

Jaden can only watch how Flame slowly disappears from his peripheral view, leaving the pirate alone with his thoughts and questions and most dangerously, hope, that he might have gotten his friend back.

-

There’s some adjustment to the routine of the pirate king. While the list of activities is somewhat the same, now he doesn’t have to do it alone. Well, most of the time. 

When Jaden finds another leaking roof, Flame is there to fetch the new tile. When Jaden is in the middle of culling the weeds, Flame catches a couple of crabs for dinner. When the moon’s out and the day’s labor is done, Jaden climbs up the main tower and sits by the edge of the roof, melancholic eyes sweeping over his beautiful city that holds no life but one.

Far down below, a warrior leans against the lamp post by the pier. His strong build is shadowed by the light but even in the darkest of night, Jaden can still see Flame, for he is bright, a fire in the cold. Too close, and you’ll burn. But too far, and you’ll miss the warmth.

(Far high above, a pirate sits by the edge of the tower roof. This is where he thinks he belongs, aimlessly floating in the oceanic cold embrace. Flame knows the sea has taken Jaden’s heart. Steal it back, and you’ll drown. But leave him be, and he’ll sink.)

-

Another week passes peacefully. Jaden’s almost out of things to fix, so he spends his time more on tending the modest farm, watering the garden, and mopping the floors of every level of the main tower like a good housekeeper. In fact, the pirate has a mind to clean every house in the city, but ultimately, he decides that’s a two man job. So he brings up the topic over dinner. Another grilled fish, delicious. 

“Hell no.”

Jaden frowns. “You don’t like the fish?”

“No, bro, not the fish,” Flame glares at Jaden, sitting across him as they eat over a makeshift bonfire in the tower courtyard. “The fish is fine, bro. It’s cleaning up the whole freaking settlement that is not fine. Think about how many days it’ll take to finish everything, oh my god, bro–” Flame groans exasperatedly, palming his face. 

But Jaden’s attention shifts elsewhere. Because the wind seems to carry a scent of neither salt nor burning wood. It’s almost like the scent of body odor; a human, an intruder. The pirates tenses on his seat, his mind turning and questioning whether he’s right or just being paranoid.

“Yo, Jaden.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something, bro?” 

Jaden nods.

“But, like, promise me you won’t crash out.”

“Okay, shoot.”

There’s a minute of silence, filled only with the crackle of fire, before Flame asks, “Why do you insist on keeping this city alive?”

It’s like a cold splash of water on Jaden’s face, erasing any other thoughts to focus on Flame and his downturned smile and strained voice and stiff shoulders; the man is uncomfortable with his own questions.

“And, like, why–why are you out here, bro?” Flame continues pressing. “Doing all of this, all by yourself?”

“Because the city is mine,” Jaden answers like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “So if not me, then who?”

For some reason, Flame’s face hardens, jaw tight like the warrior is gritting his teeth, caging words he’ll regret saying later. 

“Like, imagine if I’m not here. The city will be vacant and soon collapse, and someone will see it as an opportunity to take over and make it their base, their home, or worst, destroy it like how the Law almost did and–”

“Jaden, bro, I think–” 

Flame abruptly stops talking and stands up, looking straight in the direction of the city entrance. A beat of silence. Before he reaches for his sword on the ground.

“Jaden, we got company.”

-

Five rowboats sail in through the water lift entrance. Each holds two to three rowdy bandits with swords and axes raised high, eager to grief an abandoned pirate civilization in open waters and loot the treasures. There’s no honor among thieves, after all. 

But the Pirate King isn’t going down without a fight. Not when the Immortal Demon is there by his side. 

Twelve against two; Jaden has no choice but to take the odds. 

Above, the sky is grumbling, bundles of clouds swirl surrounding the perimeter. Jaden hopes the rain will soon chip in on the battle. 

Three boats are docked, while the two are on their way. An opportunity’s revealed. With the trident in his hand, Jaden closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and dives into the sea, targeting the two boats on the back. 

As for the rest, well, he’ll leave them to the Immortal Demon guarding the port. 

Muffled conversation reaches Jaden’s ears as he glides past one of the boats. The bandits are unaware of the danger under their feet. Jaden focuses and charges his attack, and in the next second, the trident strikes from below, destroying the boat and toppling the bandits into the water. The pirate wastes no time finishing them off with a quick jab of the trident. 

Blood mixes with water. One boat’s left, but after the ambush, the three bandits are prepared, drawing out their weapons to defend from any assault from below. Three strikes of arrow puncture through the water, Jaden barely swims out of the way in time. Another three quickly follow, one manages to cut a hole out of his coat. If he wants to survive, he needs a new strategy. 

The pirate thrusts the trident upward, propelling himself out of the water and into the open sky, high enough that the arrows can’t reach. Time stretches slowly as he floats in midair. But as gravity starts pulling him down, a drop of water falls against his cheek. 

Heaven has blessed him with rain. 

From that moment onwards, Jaden feels unstoppable. The trident hums with the ancient power of the sea. It courses through his body, electrifying the nerves and opening up the mind to endless hidden potential. 

The man becomes one with the weapon.

Like a strike of lightning, Jaden smites down the bandits in one go. Bone’s crushed, blood’s splattered, the wreckage of the boat is the evidence of what it's like to face the wrath of the Pirate King.

-

Back on the port, the battle has long been concluded. 

As Jaden lands on his feet, a chilling scene greets the pirate back; the Immortal Demon waiting in the rain, sitting on a mountain full of cold bodies. The downpour washes the blood pooled on the ground, branching into rivers of red that spill out into the sea below. Flame, once again, lives up to his name. And to think two weeks ago Jaden thought he could defeat the warrior in a fair fight. A chuckle slips out of his lips.

“Hey, it’s done. Finally,” as Jaden walks toward the other man. “Uh, thanks for–”

“You’re so stupid, bro.”

Jaden pauses on his feet, taken aback by the change of attitude. Flame, on the other hand, isn’t finished, face stone-cold as he maintains a rigid posture and tight grip on his sword.

“I get it now why you choose to stay here. After, like, weeks of living here, sure, I get it, bro. You built a nice place here. A nice kingdom for you and your merry band of pirates. And you don’t want this to go away. Okay, fair, I guess.” 

Flame rises to his feet, putting away his sword before looking back at Jaden. He’s scowling, and the forgotten ache inside Jaden’s chest appears once more. 

“But that time is gone, bro. Your pirates are gone.”

Even with the drumming sound of the rain dampening his hearing, Flame’s hurtful (honest) words (facts) still manage to puncture a hole inside Jaden’s soul deadlier than any trident or sword can ever make.

“I can’t believe you actually choose to stay here and risk your life over—over what? Some stupid base in the middle of freaking nowhere? That’s stupid, bro!” Flame shakes his head in utter disbelief. “Like, you got me now, bro, but what happens if I wasn’t here when there’s another attack? You’re cooked, bro, just for something that nobody cares about because nobody lives here. Nobody but you!”

Jaden is left speechless in the face of Flame’s outburst.

What follows is silence, stretching long enough for the cold to freeze the skin.

There is no more than six feet distance between them, but it feels like they’re back to the beginning, to the time before Flame wandered into Pirate City, the time before the war, filled with betrayal and ego and gluttony for power, filled with long days and nights counting his steps, thinking where the hell went wrong that lead Jaden had to fight his own best friend. But the answer is always simple. Of course, he didn’t know back then, but now, the answer’s as clear as day.

They just refuse to understand each other's circumstances. Too stubborn for their own good, too caught up with their own pride. And the worst part is, even now, none of them is going to yield. 

“Leave,” Jaden murmurs, breaking the silence.

Flame scoffs back in response. “Have you not been listening, bro? If I leave–”

“I’m cooked, yeah, I heard you the first time, but just leave, anyway. Clearly, you don’t understand anything.”

“What–? I understand perfectly, bro, that’s why I said this is stupid, bro!” 

Flame flails his hand in frustration but Jaden’s unbudged, holding his ground while shooting daggers at the warrior. Inside his grip, the trident thrums impatiently. 

“Look, bro, this city is a lost cause and there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t protect it forever–!”

Without warning, Jaden charges the trident forward, boosted by the power of the rain. But even then, Flame’s sword manages to successfully block the attack. The warrior must have mastered the art of drawing out his sword at the speed of light, it irks the pirate even more. A clang of metal splits the air, as the men find themselves in a standstill by the clash of their weapons, close enough to feel the other’s breath.

“Get out.”

“Bro–”

“Get the hell out, I don’t wanna see you anymore.”

“And what? Leave you here to die, bro?”

“That’s rich coming from you as if you didn’t try to kill me over the past year.”

“It’s your fault for stealing my friend’s mace, bro!”

“And am I not your friend too?!”

Flame suddenly clamps up; any retort dies on his tongue. Why, Jaden doesn’t know, but it resulted in a split-second falter in the warrior’s stance, a drop of pressure against the pirate’s trident. In haste, Jaden shoves the other back, creating a brief opening for him to leap high and slip away into the night, taking the rain and anger with him.

-

A trail of dark smoke can be seen from Jaden’s porch, building high through the clouds, exuding a burning stench so strong that it cuts through the pirate’s mask. The smoke comes in the direction of the north port, the place where last night’s battle took place. Jaden has some idea what causes the smoke, but to be sure, he checks it out himself. Even if it risks seeing a certain warrior in the process. 

But when he gets there, aside from the makeshift funeral pyre engulfed by blazing inferno, the port is empty. Not a single human alive aside from Jaden. But what did he expect, honestly, when he’s the one who told Flame to leave? Over and over and over again. Even people have limits to their patience. 

The realization crushes Jaden like violent waves against a helpless shore where his heart is already as brittle as it’s made of sand. It hurts. Something inside his chest hurts so bad, Jaden can’t breathe. The pirate tears off his mask and gasps for air; chest heaving, lungs contracting. He discards the rest of his hat and blue coat carelessly on the ground before rushing to the pier. 

One dory is absent from the rest that are docked.

Flame is really gone. 

The day passes by as normal as the other, for the universe does not care for a weeping pirate sitting by the pier, whispering regrets to the deaf sea.

-

It’s funny how Jaden wasn’t bothered with the isolated life in the deserted city until Flame came and showed him how lonely it actually was. 

How lonely it is to walk the street at sunrise and not have someone grumble a good morning back. To switch a broken window pane and not have someone handing you the new glass. To starve in the evening and not have someone grill a fish even if that said someone is so sick of all the seafood, goddamnit–how come it wasn’t lonely back then? 

Maybe Flame’s the one who brings life into this place. Not Jaden or his routine of patching broken things around the city, because the city, at its core, is already dead. 

It died the second its people left. Pirates, merchants, sailors; they are what made Pirate City what it was, a glorious, bustling place for people and their dreams. Jaden shouldn’t have ignored the ghost wandering the streets or the chatter echoing in the market, for they serve as an example of what it's like to be a prisoner of a memory. The Pirate King shouldn’t befall the same fate, not when the title implies otherwise.

A great pirate once said: the Pirate King is the freest man on the sea. Hence why it’s Jaden’s lifelong dream. 

But life has a way of twisting dreams into nightmares. After all, being tied to the past doesn’t sound very free, does it? 

So after a couple of sleepless nights spent sitting under the stars, Jaden comes to a decision.

Tomorrow he’ll pack his bag and leave Pirate City. 

Maybe one day he'll be lucky enough to build a city as grand as this one, a prosperous civilization for the new generation of pirates. The future is limitless, full of adventures. And maybe one day, he’ll cross paths with a certain warrior and finally be able to deliver his apology. 

One day, Jaden smiles wistfully, hugging his knees against the cold night air, secretly missing the warmth of the fire. 

-

But the universe, once again, does not care for a wistful prayer of one pirate. Because tomorrow does not come with peace, it comes with a raging storm, the worst of its kind. The morning sun has been stolen, in its place are thundering clouds, expanding as far as the eyes can see, dark and furious, they sweep the earth with strong wind and heavy rain, dragging any poor souls in their way.

Jaden feels the trident thrums in hunger on the back of his mind, aching for violence. But the weather outside is too chaotic. Jaden doesn’t even think he can see a thing with a wind so strong it rattles the windows of the main tower of the city. The landscape outside is a blur of blue and grey. The pirate might have to postpone his plan to leave the city.

Yet the trident sings louder until it becomes a ringing in Jaden’s ears. Clueless as to why, the pirate summons out the weapon. A familiar weight upon his grip. But just as he’s about to inspect closer, a sharp body odor catches his nose. Unlike nights before, this time the scent is much more intense, and closer. 

Right away, Jaden barrels-rolls to the left, just in time to dodge a throwing axe coming for his head. The pirate is saved by his battle-honed instinct. Looking up, Jaden’s barely able to spot an invisible figure creeping by the tower entrance, when another axe materializes in their hand. 

So that’s why the trident is excited, it senses its future victims nearby.

Before the second axe is thrown, Jaden rushes forward, erasing the distance with the trident's long reach, its prong skewers the invisible figure easily. Blood spurts out as the body drops limp to the floor and becomes visible to the eye. 

Jaden heaves quick breaths, heart pounding inside his chest. That was too close. He looks around for other invisible threats to find something much worse. The storm outside has limited his vision but there’s no mistaking the silhouettes of men emerging from the waterfall, all coming for the Pirate King and his city.

-

It must have been ten minutes, or maybe twenty? Jaden lost count. Time is slippery when you’re being hunted. The pirate has been running non-stop, slipping into one alley to the next, trying to lose the twenty men on his tail. But Jaden knows it’s a fool’s errand. The city itself is a cage, and the clever bandits know this and use it to their advantage, deploying as many crew as they can to cover more ground and barge any exit.

“He’s here!”

One of the bandits manages to find his hiding spot in the back of the storage building in the east port. Jaden whips his head around, catching a blurry figure under the violent rain. The bandit is alone, this is his chance. Thrusting the trident upward, Jaden slings high above the ground, before striking down at the bandit, shattering the cobblestone underneath in the process. It’s a clean execution, if only the bandit hadn’t called out his friends. 

Jaden runs fast around the storage building and finds the rest of the bandits are present, cornering the pirate like a pack of vultures. There are still too many for Jaden to take them all at once, he’s only gotten a couple of them with the weather clouding his view and movement. But like hell he’s going to stop trying.

Like before, the power of the trident flings Jaden into the air. The pirate has only seconds to spare before gravity drags him down. So he charges an attack, hopefully strong enough to take more than two enemies.

When all of a sudden, an arrow punctures through his stomach. Jaden feels time stop, as his mind processes the pain, then the blood, then the numbing feeling crawling from the hole the arrow left, spreading throughout his whole body, fast. 

In his last desperate swing, the trident hurls Jaden back on the ground, crashing body first on the pier as his legs have been paralyzed. It’s the arrow. Jaden curses out loud, of course, the bandits are far more prepared than the last. 

This is it, then. Panting his breath, Jaden watches in watery haze the silhouettes of men running along the east port, soon closing in to finish him. And to think, he thought he had a chance to leave and start a new life, free from the shackles of the past. When in reality, Pirate City is always going to be his tomb.

The pirate closes his eyes and surrenders to fate. 

-

(Jaden!)

-

The sound of an explosion pierces through the raging storm. 

Jaden shoots his eyes open, watching the second barrel of explosion set off along the east port, followed by the third and the fourth. Clouds of dark smoke cover the area before being swept away by the gale, revealing the destruction of the port. Multiple craters carved deep into the ground, opening a hole to the sea. The explosions are strong enough to flatten buildings, what of the bandits? They probably didn’t have time to scream. 

The remains of the wreckage are fire, spreading through woods, gas and oil. As the chemistry clashes, a train of smaller explosions sets off, turning a spark into hellfire. With the help of the wind, the fire will reduce what’s left of the port–and maybe the rest of the city–into soot and ash, including the wooden pier he’s on.

Jaden has been here before. 

Because just when all hope is lost, Jaden catches a silhouette of a man; stranger turned comrade, friend turned brother, before finally, enemy. It’s complicated, but life always is. The silhouette moves fast beyond the wall of fires, and like a fever’s dream, Flame leaps through it unscathed but fazed and afraid, searching around in frantic for:

“Jaden!”

The sight is liberating, freeing Jaden from the tension and threat of danger. He’s safe now, because Flame is here. He’s back for him. The thought brings a smile to Jaden’s face as the man gives in to fatigue.

-

The next time Jaden opens his eyes, he’s back in his bedroom, staring at the wooden ceiling of his house. He feels weary and sluggish, like his whole body weighs two tons, it takes a lot of effort to just move his arm. The action pulls the attention of the other presence in the room. 

Flame, the Immortal Demon himself, is sitting by the foot of the bed. Upon realizing the bedridden man is awake, he scoots higher, his back touching Jaden’s hip.

“Hey, bro,” he says.

Flashbacks of storms and bandits and explosions suddenly assault Jaden’s head. It takes a few minutes for the man to overcome the headache and put the pieces back in order.

“So, you’re... here.” 

“Yeah, I’m here. Don’t you remember, bro?”

“No, I mean, yeah, I do. I remember…” Jaden trails off, recalling the last of his scattered memories. The puzzle finally reveals the truth: Flame saved him from the bandits who wanted the city for themselves.

“Hey, thanks, man,” Jaden smiles. A wave of relief washes over him.

Flame grumbles a whatever under his breath, turning his head away. 

Jaden feels his smile grow wider, his chest feels a lot lighter. Even his body isn’t as heavy as before, as if someone had broken the chain tying him to the two tons weight. Jaden feels… grateful.

“Seriously, dude. Thanks for saving me.”

“And for exploding half of the city?”

Jaden blurts out a laugh, surprising Flame in return. Confident that he’s feeling better already, the pirate slowly sits up, resting his back against the headboard. This way, they’re eye to eye, and can have a proper conversation. 

After all, the apology is way overdue. 

“Uh, so, Flame, I’m–”

“Sorry, I’m late.”

Flame suddenly took the words out of Jaden’s mouth, freezing the latter on the spot. The former keeps his head turned away, hiding the expression he’s wearing. 

“I, uh, left to get some TNT,” Flame continues. “I was looking for some here but bro, you’re so broke, bro. How are we supposed to fend off another attack, bro?”

Flame’s back looks dejected and Jaden hates it. 

“Thought the bandits wouldn't come again this soon. But yeah, whatever. It's over, bro, they're dead. Your stupid Pirate City is safe again, I guess,” murmurs Flame, looking at the floor instead of his friend who’s bedridden and grateful and sad and Jaden can’t believe they’re friends again, even if it’s only in his mind but the word doesn’t feel wrong, it feels right, it feels earned. Tears prick Jaden’s eyes, whimpers' bottled in his throat, but he clenches the blanket tight and keeps quiet, so damn scared he ruins the fragile peace between them.

“So, like, I guess we need to repair the port first, huh. You, uh, know a good builder, bro? ‘Cause I ain’t a builder, bro, you know that. I mean, I can build a stall for you but not like, a building, that’s hard, and–”

A weight rests against Flame’s back. 

Jaden hides his face against Flame’s back so this way, Flame can’t see the moment Jaden’s wall crashes down, emotions overload, spilling tears against the fabric and hoping they don’t seep into the skin underneath. The Immortal Demon goes rigid at first (not used to any human contact outside of a fight) before slowly relaxing, letting the pirate have his moment. 

No one speaks for a long while. 

The tears soon run dry, the lips stop trembling, and Jaden breathes in fresh air and breathes out years-old anger and sorrow so they can be buried here along with the city. 

A smile forms once again across his tears-stained face as Jaden feels freer than ever. 

“You’re done crying, bro?”

A beat of silence.

“Oh my god… Shut up, dude,” Jaden splutters, blood rising to his cheeks because he’s embarrassed as hell, praying to gods above that a goddamn tsunami comes and swallows him and one giggling Flame now. 

-

Standing on the pier, Jaden drinks in the view of the ruined Pirate City, half of it face has burned down to the ground. This was an act of the infamous Immortal Demon, leaving craters and bodies in his wake. 

At least, that is probably how the rumors will be told if anyone asks what happened to Pirate City. A dramatic horror story sells better than your average, realistic one. Jaden doesn't mind, though. No one needs to know the part where the Immortal Demon saved his friend. After all, Flame does have a reputation to uphold. 

“We can always come back, bro.”

Speak of the devil. Jaden turns around, seeing Flame at ease, lying on a small sailing boat with both arms under his head, basking in the warm sunrise.

“I mean, if the city is still here or isn’t grief to high hell,” Flame adds. 

Oh. Flame must have thought Jaden had gotten lost in melancholy; memorizing the sprawling city, or what’s left of it, from street to street, house to house, to the majestic azure dragon, watching in silence. When in reality, Jaden already finds closure and is ready to move on. 

For Jaden has realized that you can lose a city today and build it all back the next day. But once you lose a friend, it’ll take years and a miracle to have them back. And Jaden isn’t one to waste it.

“Hey, uh, Flame?”

The owner of the name tilts his head, responding to the call.

“I’m sorry.”

For everything that happened to us, the words continue etched across his heart, for not listening to you when you’re upset, for betraying you when anger clouded me, for fighting you and letting you go, for stealing your friend’s mace when I wanted power so you could look at me again, for every sad and angry things I ever said and did, I’m sorry.

There’s no immediate response from the man on the boat. Flame continues to lie still, relaxed and content, enjoying the breeze and the company. After a while, he sighs and sits, grumbling a whatever under his breath while massaging the back of his neck. 

He must be sore from the position. Jaden chuckles before glancing back at the city for the last time. A realized dream of a Pirate King. But dreams can end. It can also begin again. Thank you and rest well, Pirate City.

There’s a hand waiting for Jaden after the man said his goodbye.

“Come on, bro, we’re chasing daylight,” Flame says, demanding that Jaden hurry up and get on the boat already. But despite the hurried demands, the hand hangs patiently, as if giving as much time as he can for Jaden to sort out his feelings. 

But Flame’s right. No more dillydallying, it’s time to go. 

So Jaden takes his hand and never looks back. 

-

Underneath, the water is calm, the boat sails steadily. High above a small flock of terns passes by, flying straight into the horizon. The wind caresses Jaden’s face, a peck for good luck as exciting adventures are waiting just ahead for the freest man on the sea.