It was getting dark during the funeral. The deck was busy and full of people, but only Thalia and Logan were mourning their loss. Venom was gone, Jack was gone, and Kevin was dead. Or so it seemed.
The two sat side by side leaning against the mast, remembering times with their friends. "How'd you meet him?" Thalia asked. "Kevin, I mean."
Logan smiled sadly to himself. "I'd just gotten to the base. I was sixteen, too young to be a real recruit, so I trained with the Star Cadets, to be a diplomat, just to stay in the army. My first mission was with him. We didn't get along too well at first, but then we were able to connect over things like animals and books and we were friends ever since." He looked at Thalia. "What about you?"
"Met him in the woods on the night of the attack a couple weeks ago." Thalia replied. "Venom likely would have shot me if it weren't for him." She sighed. "I didn't know him for long, but... He was always so cheerful about everything. He never let anything spoil his mood." She smiled sadly. "What sort of things did he like, anyway?"
"Well... He liked super heroes and Princess stories. And he loved Drake Columnade books." He hesitated. "It's so weird thinking that... He's just... Gone..." His voice cracked at the end. Thalia looked at him sympathetically, then rested her head on her knees curled up against her chest.
"Not dead yet, friend."
Logan's eyes flew open. Thalia's head shot up. She looked at the stairs leading down below deck and she couldn't quite believe her eyes. She'd seen the blood, she'd taken his pulse, she had watched him get stabbed. And yet, there he was. Kevin Murphey, leaning in the doorway with that elfish grin of his on his face.
Logan and Thalia both stood up. "Kevin...?!" Logan asked.
Kevin raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Yeah?" He replied.
Logan's eyes widened in shock. "Y-You were dead!"
"Yeah, I was." Kevin replied. He opened his fist, revealing a green orb. "Thacker Root. Temporarily stops the pulse. Technically, I was dead. For about five minutes." He crossed his arms and stood up straight. "So." He said. "What did I miss?"
Thalia just stared at him in awe, then looked at Jack as he ran up beside him. Logan couldn't help but smile. "Well, where's Venom hiding then?"
Kevin's expression grew stony. "She's not." He said quietly. "Venom is gone."
"Wait, wait!" Thalia said. "I saw you get stabbed! How did..." Thalia's voice trailed off as Kevin pulled his trick knife out of his sheath and showed her again how it retracted into itself. Thalia leaned back on her heels and stared at Kevin in shock, a mystified smiled on her face.
"But what about Venom?" Logan asked. "Why would she do that?"
"That, I don't know. However..." Kevin eyed the trick knife curiously and pulled the note off from around the hilt. He raised an eyebrow as he read it. Then he grinned. He let out a loud shout and jumped up and down on the deck in excitement. "Oh this is genius!"
"What is it?" Jack asked.
"I never should have put it past her!" Kevin cried. "Venom, you're a genius!"
"What does it say?" Thalia asked.
He looked at her, a wide smile on his face. "It says, 'The Illyrian Deception'!" Kevin replied excitedly.
Thalia and Jack exchanged confused glances, but Logan's eyes widened.
"What's the-"
"On our first mission, Venom and I went to Roma for reasons that would take too long to explain." Kevin interrupted Jack. "But anyways, while we were there, the king was threatened that unless he committed suicide in front of his entire kingdom, Roma would invade. So Venom and I came up with this plan. We used a trick knife and a Thacker Root and basically pulled what I just pulled. We ended up saving the King's life. So, Venom is telling me with this note that she had to do this because someone forced her to against her own will." He said. "Where is she, anyways, we gotta figure out what's going on."
Thalia shook her head sadly. "Venom is gone."
Kevin's smile faded and he grew considerably less excited. "Gone?" He asked.
"With the pirates." Thalia replied. "Right after she stabbed you she went with them and they withdrew."
Kevin's face fell. "So that's it." He said quietly. "She sacrificed her own freedom and went with them so they wouldn't kill the crew of the Raymond." He looked away. "Well... I suppose we won't be seeing her for a long time..."

Jack sat alone on the mast of the Raymond, looking down at the calm sea far below. He stared down at it, eyes locked on the waves, no display of emotion on his face whatsoever. He had lost track of how long he'd been there by the time a voice spoke beside him.
"Pretty."
He didn't look up as Kevin sat on the mast beside him. The two sat in silence for several minutes before Jack spoke up, his voice low. "I thought I killed you, Murphey." He muttered.
"No, actually, you weren't even close." Kevin replied.
"Yes I was." Jack replied. "If I had stopped myself one second later, you would have been dead for real."
"I trust you." Kevin said with a smile. Jack neither responded, nor smiled back. Kevin sighed and looked out at the ocean and once again fell into silence for several minutes. "I understand, you know."
    "Understand?" Jack looked at Kevin, sadness evident in his eyes. "How could you possibly understand what it's like?"
     "Well, I had to watch my uncle die right in front of me when I was ten."
"Did you kill him?"
Kevin looked up in surprise. "What?! No! Why would you think I killed my own father?" When Jack didn't respond, Kevin started to get concerned. "Jack, do we need to have a talk? Because-"
"I killed her." Jack interrupted.
Kevin expression softened. "Her?" He asked quietly.
Jack sighed. "Her name was Eleanor... She meant everything to me. She was the only one in the world who would bat an eyelash if I were killed. My family never cared about me. I was the strange one. My dad was full Enderman, my mom was full human, my half brother was full human... And then me. I was the freak of the family." He laughed coldly. "And none of the other kids wanted to play with the freak... Because of my gift. I lost control like I did the other day . It was no big deal at first. I only broke a pot the first time. I figured that was it and it was gone, but my Ender-half took over again. And when it did, I couldn't stop it. I killed Elli. I killed her. And when I finally came to grips with my surroundings, I found her dead with my knife in her heart." His voice broke and he hid his head in his hands. "There was nothing I could do... She was dead. And it was all my fault. She meant the world to me and I lost control and I killed her. It took me a long time to recover, but I did. I realized I was a danger to everyone, so I left. I went out on my own so I wouldn't hurt anyone, and I didn't. After that, I thought I'd locked up my Ender-side. I thought I'd rid of it. But then I went berserk on the mast and I almost killed you too." Jack shook his head. "That's why I don't have friends. That's why I can't fall in love. That's why I'm a rogue."
Kevin hesitated uncertainly before replying. "I'm your friend." He said.
Jack glanced at him sidelong. "Yeah, we'll see how long you survive... Maybe you could set a new record." He said sarcastically.
"Jack, you hurt me." Kevin said.
Jack sighed. "I know..." He said. "Look, I'll just go before I kill someone."
"No, that's not what I mean!" Kevin grabbed his arm before he could teleport off. He sighed and let go. "What I mean is that you hurt me too, but I'm not scared of you. None of us are. Me, Thalia, Venom, Logan - we all consider you family. You're our friend and nothing will ever change that. Even though you're not around as much as the rest of us, and you're sarcastic, and slightly annoying, we all care about you."
There was quiet. Then, for the first time, Kevin saw Jack genuinely smile, though it was small and tired. "Thanks Kenny." He leaned back. "So... What about you? What was your family like?"
Kevin breathed a heavy sigh. "Well... I have a sister. Her name is Kathy and she works at a bakery over in Grimsdale with my mom. And I have an older brother named Aaron. He's really cool; he's all about astronomy. He and I keep in touch and the bakery is apparently going well. My mom is always kind, and gets shit done. I'm not even kidding. If you don't do something in two seconds of being asked, she'll do it herself and she won't even care. She just wants it done."
Jack smiled knowingly. "What about your uncle?"
Kevin's face fell a bit and he looked down at the ocean. "He's the reason I became associated with the Sky Army in the first place. He and I left Grimsdale to go to Port Macindaw to get some supplies for the bakery. It was a long trip, but it wasn't supposed to be dangerous. On the way there, we were attacked by the squids. I had to watch my uncle get murdered right in front of me. I was nine. Nine years old. With his dying breath, he told me to run." He shook his head sadly. "I ran. I was scared out of my wits, but I ran. Seconds after I broke out of the clearing. A bunch of humans showed up and warded off the squids. They got it done rather quickly, too, because they had Seto and General Ellis with them. They tried to save my uncle, but he was already dying. He pointed them in the direction I'd run off to, and then he died."
He hesitated for a moment. "You see, my uncle was a former Sky Army recruit. He fell in love with my aunt when he was protecting her from a squid attack in Grimsdale. Then they got married, and not much later, he discovered she was pregnant with my cousin. So he resigned his duty and settled down in Grimsdale to take care of her and him. And my aunt is still there."
Jack smiled. "That's cute."
Kevin smiled sadly. "Isn't it though?" He asked. "Well anyways, General Ellis ran after me to get me from running off. I was so terrified, I thought he was another one of the squids. So when he outran me and stepped out in front of me, I cowered. But he just promised me everything would be okay. He and Seto took me back to the base and then I was taken home.
"I stayed at home till I was fifteen. I was put before the leaders to figure out where I would best be suited for training. You see, my dream was to be in the Sky Army. Because of my dad. I wanted to honor his name. But when I asked, I was denied. I was too small. Too weak. I wasn't Sky Army material." Kevin hesitated for a moment. "However, to my surprise, I was recruited to the elite Dead Army. There weren't too many others there - just the truly gifted. General Ellis told me I was fast, and agile, and smart. He told me I was just right for his army. He told me if I worked hard enough, I could become one of his greatest students." He smiled a bit. "So I worked my ass off. At first, I was worse at parkour than Logan is now. But I practiced. I practiced and practiced and practiced. I would skip meals, forget to sleep; a few times, I even fell asleep on the course. But eventually, I got good at it. I became one of the best. I became what I am today. And along the way, I mastered the axe, and I always keep a dagger in my boot just in case."
Jack smiled knowingly. "So after all that training, you hardly ever cry over your uncle's death anymore."
Kevin nodded. "I grew up." He said.
"No, you got used to killing." Jack smirked and looked away. "But I wouldn't expect any less from an assassin."
Kevin looked at Jack. "An assassin?" He asked. "I'm no assassin, Jack. Assassins kill without remorse, and they kill for money. With every person I kill, I regret it. And when I do, I do it only for the well being of Prime."
Jack smiled at him sidelong. "You say you got into the Dead Army for your skill." He said. "But I think what you just said is why this Ellis guy picked you. He liked your ego. And honestly, I do too."
Kevin smirked back. "Thanks." He said. "But I still think you're a crazy Ilex jerk."
"And you're still an uptight, military stick in the mud." Jack retorted.
Kevin opened his mouth to reply, but forgot what he was going to say when a drop of water landed on his head. He looked up to see heavy storm clouds brewing up ahead. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Jack visibly tensed up, his nerves immediately put on edge.
Kevin felt another raindrop on his nose before it started to drizzle. Jack cried out in pain and disappeared, leaving Kevin alone on the mast as the drizzle slowly turned into a torrential downpour. He groaned and started to climb down the mast. "Great, thanks Jackie..." He muttered.