WOAH
I'M NOT DEAD??
Yeah, it's been a minute since I've updated, sorry about that.

Jordan stood at the bow, breathing in the crisp, salty air, alone except for the soft chatter of the sea below.

It was the third day of their journey at sea and already he was noticing the tell tale signs of nearby land. Birds flew over their heads and branches still bearing green washed up against the sides of the vessel as if the island itself was sending out its greetings.

He could overhear Capsize telling the rest just as much, listening to their groans of relief. He chuckled softly at their complaints. They had never seen a real voyage across these waters.

Though, in his opinion, the sea was not so bad once you knew her. With her clear crystal blues and endless possibilities, she was a sight Jordan could never grow tired of. Sure, she had her violent mood swings, but she was just as much at the mercy of nature as they all were.

The floorboards creaked lightly, alerting him to a new presence. However, he didn't move, recognizing those soft and precise steps.

"Nothing like a nice salty spray to dry the skin and burn yer eyes, aye Sparklez?"

Jordan glanced over at the female captain and grinned, and she gave him a small smirk in response.

The captain and he had become quick friends. Normally, one doesn't befriend their former captor, but Jordan made an exception for the girl. She was the first follower of Ianite he had met and she had profusely apologized once she found out who he was. Seeing both Dianite and Mianite confirm him as Ianite's follower had levied any suspicions she had had of him lying about it. He had quickly forgiven her.

After all, they weren't the most trustworthy looking group to begin with.

And facing Dianite had only reminded them what they were really up against. This was more than all of them.

The only questionable alliance was Tom's.

As if reading his mind, Capsize's smirk fell.

"What are ye gonna do about the green one once we land?" She muttered quietly, glancing back as if afraid he may overhear.

"I'm not sure." Jordan murmured truthfully.

"I warned ye not to bring him onto me ship." She growled. "He nearly killed ye, Spark."

Jordan's lip quirked at the new nickname. The captain was growing on him, though he wouldn't say that out loud in fear of the array of knives belted about the woman's waist.

"And you kidnapped me." He pointed out, only causing Capsize's frown to grow.

"Differences in morals." She huffed.

"You just wanted our gold." Jordan poked her arm.

"And he wanted you dead." She poked back, her tone was still serious, but her frown was gone.

"Look we'll deal with it when it happens. He's a good guy, Cap. Just a little..." he searched for the right word.

"Psycho?" Capsize supplied

"I was going to say confused, but I suppose that works too." Jordan chuckled.

The two stood in a comfortable silence like that for several minutes, simply watching the sea rock gently over the horizon. Capsize's hair was undone, allowing her long auburn waves to fly and curl around her flushed face. The sunlight reflecting off the waves made the light in her eyes dance. It was in times like these that Jordan remembered the girl next to him was indeed a girl. Her actions were often so brutish that it was an easy thing to forget. But here in the still calm, she was a completely different person. He would have been content to stay like that for hours, but a sudden curiousity forced its way into his brain.

"What's Ianarea like?" Jordan murmured softly, though he was loathe to break the calming silence.

Capsize looked at him in surprise. Her eyes then took on a wistful glaze as the memory of the island seemed to overwhelm her.

"It's beautiful." She murmured wistfully.

She looked as if she was about to say more, but she was interrupted.

"Land ahead!" Jordan nearly jumped as skull face's cry split the peaceful moment.

Both leaned over the edge of the ship, Jordan's question forgotten for the moment as they peered out carefully with narrowed eyes in search of the island. Capsize grinned as she sighted it, nothing more than a tiny speck on the horizon.

"Home." She grinned.

Jordan watched as she turned and flew over to the crows nest, pulling herself up the rungs as only a seasoned sailor could.

Now that they were no longer enemies, Jordan could allow himself to appreciate the skills of the captain. Despite her slim build, her sword blows had been swift and strong. She was much more talented than most men he had fought. He bet that she was quite a formidable opponent when she wasn't full of rage.

Her fighting had a very formal feel to it, despite her rougish nature. He could tell that she had been classically trained at some point as, despite the occasional dirty play, her fighting was clean.

Jordan wondered where she learned to fight like that. His own skill had been forged out of necessity. First as a sailor due to the constant fear of sea raiders and then as a survivor alone in a forest of monsters and other wild creatures. He had begun his tutelage under a skilled member of his crew but had been forced to learn the rest on his own in order to survive. In consequence, his techniques were often brutish and sly, and he saw a lot of his own style in Capsize.

Perhaps that's what drew him to her, this female captain so similar to himself.

He was startled out of his thoughts as his foot sent a loose nail skittering across the deck. Unconsciously, he had begun walking closer to the base of the observation deck, his eyes still locked onto the small figure several meters above.

As if feeling his gaze, she looked down, the movement sending her dark hair over her face. She was still grinning, and slowly, Jordan felt himself grinning back.

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"This place is a dump."

Tucker shot a warning glare at Tom, though he couldn't deny that his thoughts were going in the same direction.

The air was thick with the smell of char and smoke clogged the throats of the group.

The smoke had become visible once they had gotten closer to the island, sending their pirate crew mates into a frenzy to get to shore.

"I'm going to go look for survivors!" Sonja darted off towards the buildings, Tucker not far behind.

The island had possibly once been as beautiful as Capsize had described with tall, slender white washed buildings always decorated in deep purple streamers and lush gardens of the small protected island. If he looked closely, Jordan could imagine it as it had been, but there was hardly anything left of it anymore.

Now all that remained was the worn cobbled path leading down the middle of the street overshadowed on either side by the ghosts of homes. There was hardly anything left of the houses, their former white-washed exterior drowned out by the fire's blackening. The streamers, once colored a brilliant violet, were still burning along the sides of the building, casting them into a dark, ugly red.

"This.. this ain't possible." Capsize's voice was low, grief thick in her tone.

Jordan turned back to look at her, suddenly seeming so small and frail. Any trace of the grin that had adorned her features had vanished as soon as they'd come close to the destroyed island. It made Jordan's heart ache for her and for the former inhabitants of the island.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here!" Sonja called from across the street, waving her arm.

"Maybe they escaped?" Redbeard murmered hopefully. "Thar were no ships in port."

Capsize perked up at this, though her grief at the sight of the town didn't leave her expression.

"I'm sure they're fine." Jordan murmured.

His first instinct was to lay a hand on her shoulder, but he stayed his hand inches from her back. He knew that his presence wasn't wanted in this situation. Redbeard cast a grateful look his way before wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. Everything familiar to her had just been destroyed, so she needed a familiar presence to comfort her. For her credit, she didn't cry. She simply stared forward bleakly until anger suddenly overtook her features.

"This be the dark one's work." She muttered darkly.

For a moment, Jordan was confused having never heard the name, but as soon as his eyes met Tom's, it clicked.

"Dianite." Jordan's voice was hardly a whisper.

Memories from his last encounter with the god flooded unwanted in to his head. He shuddered as he remembered the nightmarish figure leaning over him, his words echoing in Jordan's head.

"I want you."

Jordan was snapped from the memory, however, as Capsize gave a sudden cry and ran forward.

"What be wrong, cap?" Redbeard called out after his sister.

"The temple!"

Jordan's eyes widened, and he began to race after Capsize as well. The temple of Ianite was the goal of their mission, the first step to saving his goddess. If it was ruined, so were their chances.

They ran for several minutes and Jordan's breaths were now coming out in short gasps. The island had been much larger than he had initially realized. It didn't help that there were several large chunks of buildings and other various rubble covering the streets, making them difficult to navigte. Capsize also seemed to have her own way of getting there and he found himself twisting and turning down several seemingly random alleyways and lawns.

When she finally stopped, Jordan was so exhausted he nearly collapsed, the rasping breaths of the group behind him confirmed that the rest were just as winded. Capsize herself looked exhausted, but her eyes were wide awake.

Once Jordan's heartrate began to settle, he could focus long enough to realize what Capsize was looking at.

They were at the opposite end of the island, once again face to face with the familiar blue ocean.

However, unlike the other side, this one didnt contain a port. Instead, there was a narrow bridge stretching across the spanse of water to a tiny island. The island was nearly completely occupied by a tall, elegant violet tower. The bridge itself was torn apart, the water littered with the remains of the charred wood. Once it got within a certain range of the tower, however, the damage halted, leaving that part of the bridge completely untouched.

"The temple." Jordan whispered reverently.

He didn't need a confirmation to know that this was it. Now that he was no longer running, he could feel it. The overwhelming feeling of tranquility and belonging. The tower tugged at his very being, drawing him forward.

A hand gripped his arm.

"Sparkly boy."

Jordan blinked, reality snapping back into place around him. His right foot ws hovering over empty space, seconds from plunging him into the ocean.

But that wasn't all. There was a figure now, perched on a pole from the destroyed bridge. Though their back was turned to them, Jordan would recognize that creature anywhere.

As if feeling Jordan's attention on him, the creature turned, a wide grin stretching across his blackened skull face.

The air thickened with the smell of acrid smoke and sulfur and suddenly the two were face to face.

Jordan resisted the urge to gag as his vision filled with flames.

"Hello, Jordan."

Jordan couldn't stop the growl that rippled up his throat.

"Furia."

A/N

Happy New Years!
(Whoops meant to post this on New Years and forgooot)

I forgot this existed.

Whoops?

Sorry, life's been.. interesting recently to say the least.

Whoever made the lie about senior year being the easiest was a dirty rotten liar.

That's all I gotta say.

~Turtle