SDGF Pirate Isles - 14

"That was the easiest passage I've ever made," Falcon said brightly, trotting down the stairs to the main deck.  He ignored the battered condition of the others, particularly Song, to offer a hand to Zero. "Thanks t'you, Royal Knight."

Instead of taking the offered hand, Zero used the railing to untangle himself and Bakunetsumaru from where they had landed in a loose pile of rigging.  Not one to be rude, he nodded to Falcon but crossed to where Song was only now picking herself up off the deck, kneeling beside her.  "Are you all right?" He asked quietly, offering his hand.

"I ac--" Song glanced around at the others and let the words die.  Not able to take her hand from Zero's without making it obvious she accepted his help up, looking away.  "I'm fine."

"Hey, there are boats coming!" Shute called from his perch in the rigging, climbing down to stand with them.

"Best put'cher helmet on, lad," Falcon said calmly, "'less you be wantin' a greetin' like the one I gave ya.  Best keep it on, while we're in company, until I've had a chance t'explain things."

"Good idea," Captain agreed. "We don't know how these others will react to your being human, Shute."

"Oh man," the boy said, eyes wide, "I never even thought of that!" He disappeared below decks to emerge a few minutes later in his armor, just as the boats were coming alongside.

"Falcon, you young rascal!  Help an old gundam aboard, there's a good lad."

Zero stopped mid-word and turned, expression disbelieving.

"What?" Song asked, worried.  "Zero, what is it?"

"I...remember that voice," Zero said softly, watching the gundam Falcon was helping on board with a gentleness none had seen from the Pirate before.  "I don't know from where, but it is familiar."

"You shouldn't be here," Falcon was telling the old mech, his cross tones not matching his gentle movements.  "Uncle Owl, you should be at'cher home."

"Nonsense," the gundam Falcon called Owl scoffed.  "Stay at home during a time like this, don't be silly.  I wanted--" he stopped short the moment his eyes fell on Zero and Song.

Owl had cheerful brown eyes, the corners of which were creased with great age. His armor had obviously been kept as pristine but even so some of the cracks and dents of age caught the light every now and again. He moved with care, but his steps were lively even so. Like Falcon he had the brown boots and black pant pattern on his armor but his belt was broad and brown with a black buckle like structure in the front. He wore no weapons, his coat didn't go past his thighs and his fingers, long and dexterous, were adorned with several ring-like decorations. His helm was covered in a hat which was wide and round with what looked like, to Shute, a metal feather coming out of the brim.  After a few startled seconds he threw back his head in laughter and strode over to them, hands outstretched.  Song couldn't seem to help retreating, her free hand flying to the handle of her sword, but Owl didn't look to have noticed.  "Why it's little Zero!  Crow's Beak, lad, the last time I saw you you were fresh in out of the country side, just beginning your training!"

"You know him?" Bakunetsumaru asked incredulously.

"Of course I do," Owl chuckled.  "Zero was the little knight who scowled at me so for making Princess Rele cry, last time I was at Lacroa Castle with Alba, just before the Storm.  And look at you now, lad, a Royal Knight!  I knew you'd amount to greatness.  But where is Deed?  You two were joined at the hip."

At the mention of his former best friend, Zero's friendly, if puzzled and a bit embarrassed, demeanor turned distinctly dark.  He shifted his head until his visor hid his eyes and didn't answer.

"Oh," Owl said softly, "oh, I'm sorry, lad.  Fall in battle, did he?"

"No."

"Let's get ashore," Falcon said, his voice sounding almost offensively loud in the silence.

"Come, my boy," Owl agreed finally, "your companions need rest and you and I need to speak at length. You've been gone not but a fortnight but a lot has changed."

"I was afraid of that," Falcon sighed, crossing the deck with a swift step to the ladder leading down to the boats. "Captain, Shute, you're with me. Bakunetsumaru, Song, Zero, in the second boat. It'll follow this one, no need to guide it."

**

Though Zero had just about collapsed asleep when they had been shown to their rooms, Song was having more trouble resting. The ground seemed to roll beneath her, to the point that laying down was making her feel rather sick.  Silently, using the skills she had learned sneaking around Lacroa Castle, she eased from her and Zero's room and set to exploring.

"...Royal Knight Gundam, Falcon, you've..."

The faint words caught her attention instantly. She ghosted toward a door which had a light flickering from beneath it, shadows crossing the light as if someone were pacing inside.

"Don't think I don't know what I know, Owl," Falcon was saying, voice resigned. "I know. I do. But this could be the time. They could be the ones. We may be able t'survive this."

"Crow's Beak, lad. Think of what you're saying.  They're gundams, not gods."

Song pressed closer, unable to hear the next few words because of the shifting of some furniture in the room. It sounded like a chair being dragged across the floor. "Zero's got a godly control o' the wind, Uncle. He brought us through the Naze of Dead with the Rest shorthanded. Even with her help, never woulda made it without some kinda damage if he'd not been helpin'."

"It's not your decision t'make, lad. It's theirs." There was a creak, like Owl had sat back in his chair. Song could now faintly smell a smell she was half-familiar with and she leaned forward, now resting completely against the door, to try to get a better whiff.

Which was her mistake, as the door sprang open and she tumbled to the ground inside. Instantly she sprang to her feet, posture defiant and expression just as. The two sailor gundams gazed at her, Falcon with irritation and Owl with amusement. "You have been keeping secrets, like Baku said," Song accused Falcon, crossing her arms over her chest. "Zero and I have a right to know what you have planned for us!"

**

The first thing Zero was aware of when he woke was Fenn's voice in his ear. The feather dragon was perched on his forehead, gazing down at him curiously. The second thing he was aware of was the fact that despite the heavy work with the wind he had done before going to sleep, something that should have left him depleted for at least another day, he felt better than he had since Lacroa's devastation. The third thing he was aware of were the voices.

Two voices, one rough, one bright, pressed against each other in solid harmony. The song they were singing wasn't immediately clear, muffled by at least one wall and one door. "I need to sit up," he told Fenn, "and I don't want you to fall. Will you move?"

Fenn made a chuckling noise and did as he was told, floating in front of Zero with only a slight touch to the magical currents about them. Zero stood and stretched, closing his eyes and breathing deep to center himself. The exercise was almost as easy here as it had been in Lacroa-- the only distraction here was how much magic there was. Like it had been over the ocean, it was so thick he almost felt like he was still drowning and had to exert careful control over each use of his own magic that he tried if he didn't want his spells spiraling out of control.

With that thought, he absently glanced at the bed Song had been given. This led to the fourth and final thing he noticed, the one that sent him rushing from his room. Song's bed was empty and looked as though it had not been slept in. Two steps out of his room he came face to face with Bakunetsumaru and instantly tossed himself back to avoid a collision with the Musha gundam. "I wonder who is singing with Song?" Was the samurai's only comment.

Zero blinked and returned his attention to his hearing. It was Song who was singing and the other voice seemed to be... "Falcon?" Zero guessed, turning in the direction the music was coming from. "What in the world...?"

"Oh, hi derry, hey derry, ho derry down,
Give sailors their grog and there's nothing goes wrong,
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No matter who's laughing at sailors at sea," the two voices sang before Falcon's voice continued the verse:

"U is the ugliest old Captain of all,
V are the vapours that come with the squall,
W is the windlass on which we do wind, and
X, Y, and Z, well, I can't put in rhyme!"

Laughter from three voices echoed in the hall from the partly-open door at the end. "At least I know she is unharmed," Zero sighed, drifting in that direction. He heard Bakunetsumaru's footsteps behind him and knew the Musha was just as curious as he was about this new turn of events. They both stopped, Zero falling stock still to his feet when Song's voice came again, this time in a different song, one Zero had heard before in Lacroa.

"I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls
With vassals and serfs at my side,
And of all who assembled within those walls
That I was the hope and the pride.
I had riches all too great to count
And a high ancestral name.

But I also dreamt which pleased me most
That you loved me still the same,
That you loved me
You loved me still the same,
That you loved me
You loved me still the same.

I dreamt that suitors sought my hand,
That knights upon bended knee
And with vows no maiden's heart could withstand,
They pledged their faith to me.
And I dreamt that one of that noble host
Came forth my hand to claim.

But I also dreamt which charmed me most
That you loved me still the same
That you loved me
You loved me still the same,
That you loved me
You loved me still the same."

"Lovely," sighed a voice both Zero and Bakunetsumaru identified as Owl. So that was the third voice. Without waiting for any kind of opinion from anyone else, Zero pushed the door open, walking forward instead of gliding. Owl, Song and Falcon looked over, Falcon and Owl only slightly surprised and Song taking a couple of steps back.

"Ah--" she stopped when Owl's hand landed on her shoulder, glancing up at him. He nodded to her in reassurance, then smiled at the Knight and samurai.

"My most humble apologies if the impromptu concert woke you from your well-earned rest, lads." He gestured to the lanky, steadfast Falcon and shuffling smaller Song. "I love music and when Song mentioned a slight talent for singing, I insisted she show us."

"More'n a slight talent," Falcon said, looking down at the embarrassed Song. "You'd rival many a lass singin' for profit in ports across th' Isles. Don't let these gundams-o'-war keep you t'swordplay an' sorcery, poppit.  You've other talents they don't seem t'value."

"What happened to your face?" Bakunetsumaru wanted to know, when Zero couldn't seem to do more than sputter. Falcon raised a hand to trace the slight scratch on his mask and abruptly grinned.

"Your Song's what happened. Taught me a right lesson, she did, on how t'handle strange ladies." The sailor bowed to Song, whisking his hat from his head. Owl did the same, though far more stiffly. The sash covering the older gundam's head was a faded brown, though painted with the same swirls and patterns. Song growled an incoherent noise, a sound at sharp contrast to the notes she had just uttered, and walked out from between them to stand at Zero's side.

"Keep that up and I will hit you again," she said crossly, crossing her arms over her chest. "And this time it will not be with the flat of my blade."

Baukunatsumaru chortled. "Why so grumpy, Song?"

The smaller gundam instantly turned her scowl on him but instead of saying anything she simply stomped from the room without another word.