Vincent had relieved Tifa of her duty, telling her he felt too useless on the ship and he wanted to be the first to see Lucretia’s magic.

Shera opened her eyes the exact moment of sunset, as the hidden sun was casting shades of cerise and lavender across the sky in it’s dying fire.

She opened her eyes and then opened her lips and smiled. "Is that you?" she asked. She lifted her hand to Vincent’s face. "I can hear you breathing," she said, and chuckled, then her hand touched Vincent’s face and her expression dissolved away into nothing but confusion. "Cid?"

…………………………………………………………………………………………

"Cid!" Yuffie yelled.

"What? Ya better not have the telescope back round backwerds ‘gain, Sharkbait."

"Is ‘nother ship!" Yuffie yelled, pointing, forgetting Cid couldn’t see. "Hope they is got grub. I is damn starved."

"What did I tell ya ‘bout that mouth o’ yers?"

"You’d keep words outta it if you’s put food in’t."

"I’ll put me fist in—"

"I’m with her," Barret said. "Ain’t no way else we can find food, and I’ve been born to the sweet trade."

Cid was angry, but quiet for a long time, considering robbing another ship for food. "If they got whiskey… Hey, Sharkbait! Ain’t Shinra, ‘s’it?"

"Naw," she yelled. "We need is closer to get to talk to ‘em."

"Ahoy!" Nanaki said, mocking them. He led the way and held the door open for Vincent, who was carrying Shera in his arms. "There be… complications…"

"Complications?" Cid asked.

"I can walk!" Shera complained to Vincent. "Who are you again? Can I get down now? I ain’t scuppered, put me down!"

"Lively one," Vincent said, setting Shera down on the deck gingerly. "I should remember that. She might pop my stitches.

"I’ll give ya a bloody lip fer if ya try!" Cid said.

"I thought you said you wanted her only with her apron and pantalets on. Am I mistaken or am I seeing a change of heart?"

"Cid?" Shera asked, breaking the conversation up. "Is that you?" She took a few steps forward.

"I be Barret, bonnie. More to starboard."

"Cid?" she asked again.

Cid waved a hand in front of her face as she walked towards him slowly.

She did not even blink.

"Damned bewitched pendant that be! Gave her back and took her in the same yet. Shera, a few more steps."

"Where is Aeris?" she asked.

No one spoke.

"I failed. Oh, Cid, I tried. I told her to hide in the hold. She be here now if I were not so—"

"Ya stop that!" Cid said. "Ain’t yer fault. I be done beatin’ flesh fer what no one did. Ya were there and ya had me spear. Ya did damn good, Shera. No one be at fault."

"Cid?" she asked. "The ship… it feels… lighter…I remember this from… I cannot remember."

"I got me ship, back Shera. Oh, you should see her, I wish I could give ya me eyes. Damn fine ship. Better’n last."

"Cid, how long be I gone from you? I expected you in mourning over Aeris."

"She be with the sea, Shera. I been there and I still am, but we be lost and cursed, along with blessed. The sea be not a place to sit down, Shera."

"Who else has died?"

"None. All else survived," Cid said, purposely not telling her of her loss of what would be a child. "Ya met the zombie. We took him in after we ran aground on some rock."

"Zombie?" Shera asked.

"Black Valentine, sweet lady," Vincent said.

"Back!" Cid said. "She ain’t been up from ta bed an hour and ya already wan’er back in it."

"Only if I be there as well. If she truly be yours than I wish you both happiness and fealty. I take not women that be not mine."

"Ya been in that box fer too long. I’ll give ya some brass fer Tifa, that should keep ya quiet."

…………………………………………………………………………………..

"Senor?" Reeve asked Erik. "A ship’s approaching. You might wanna see it."

"What exactly would be so interesting about a ship, considering the fact that I’m already on one. Think hard, now," Erik said, not looking up from his book.

"Si, pero… Tu should see it!"

"What would be so special about it?"

"Black, like stars in the sky! And it comin’ fast. Wanna talk!"

"The ship wants to talk?" Erik asked caustically.

"No. People on it."

"Yes, there usually are people on ships."

"They still wanna talk. They’s yellin’ lots to us."

"About?"

"Uh…No se."

"Come again?"

"Si."

Erik sighed and closed the book. "I see this particular path of logic has some cobbles in it." Erik cut Reeve off before the Spaniard could ask about what he had just said. "Now, what are they asking for?"

"... Junk…grub…"

"Ah. That would be… Come…Comi... oh, I don’t have time for you! Go tell ‘em to piss off!"

"Eh?"

"Oh, I’ll do it myself, you useless…" Erik stormed away, swearing in French and Italian.

"Que?" Reeve asked, completely clueless as to what had happened.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Any luck?" Vincent yelled up to Yuffie.

"Naw, he left," she said. "You did not know what he is sayin’ is ya?"

"I have not the faintest. Look, someone else is on deck!"

The other ship, with no name and no flag, was close enough now that they still had to yell but they no longer needed the telescope.

"Blimey!" she yelled, loud enough to attract the other’s attention.

Vincent said nothing as the new person approached. He backed up into the crowd, though considering his height; he was a hard person to hide.

"Go away!" the new person yelled. No one was concerned with what he was yelling, and all but Yuffie had forgotten about food. "It be mine and mine alone! Steal from another! I would not dare to rob me if I be you! I have Shinra on my tail and they be angry as a man threatened to be gelded!"

"He be right!" Yuffie yelled. "He got a Shinra ship on his tail. Whadda we do?"

"I be hungry," Cloud said.

"We need water and I have not a chance to stretch my legs in too long."

"I agree," Nanaki said. "Taking from him would hardly be a sin large enough to measure. Perhaps if the porter is innocent we could use him to bargain or at least leave him with provisions and unscathed."

"I bet we ‘ould steal summat good in time an' git far from Shinra."

"You boys cannot leave me out! Shame on all you!" Tifa scolded. "I can haul food just as good and I even reloaded the pistol."

"I ain’t one for stealing, but I don’t care what any of ya do long as it ain’t on ma ship," Cid said. "I stay here and guard."

"And I take what good finally come from the damned pendant," Vincent said. "This be Lucretia’s parting gift to me, and I wish to accept it with open arms, sword in one and pistol in the other."

"You still ain’t no pirate, but I ‘ould use a good distraction."

"Oh I’ll show you all the a fight so great it belongs in the good book."

"I doubt you know what that book be," Barret said, slapping Vincent on the head. "Ye’re gettin’ ahead of yeself."

"When did I raise a pack o’ highwaymen?" Cid complained.

……………………………………………………………………………….

Erik soon gave up in his attempt to dissuade his future attackers. He noticed them all huddling together and pointing at him.

"That cannot be fair!" he complained. "They did not say they were pirates before. Such rudeness."

Erik ran off to find his porter, but not after noticing a frightening familiarity one of the pirates held.

Reeve was sitting on a sailbeam and suddenly pointed behind himself when Erik approached.

"Shinra still. Que pasa, ahora?"

"What?" Erik asked. "Yes, I know a Shinra ship is still following us. Is it truly impossible for you to be useful? Just once?"

"Que?"

"Malo! Malo!" Erik yelled.

"Si. Si. Quiénes son ellos?"

"Aa!" Erik yelled. "The pirates."

"Pirates come on board, senor."

"Why am I even bothering with you?" Erik yelled, then ran to retrieve his pistol.

"Adios," Reeve said, waving.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

The crew helped each other onto the deck of the ship, ignoring Cid, hand over his eyes and shaking his head. They scattered their own ways in curiosity, clumping and separating as they spread about the ship.

They all kept an eye on Vincent who immediately stalked over to the room where he had seen Erik disappear into. He pulled on the knob of the door, almost taking it off. He kicked and pounded on the door, but it remained steadfastly locked and loyal to the man who hid behind it.

"I will not have my duty as a wronged man be taken from me so easily!" he yelled. The door did not seem to care.

"Locked?" Barret asked, approaching him, confident that despite all of Vincent’s anger, enough to make the whole of the oceans boil, he would hurt no one else but his enemy and perhaps himself in the process.

"Damn the man who invented keys!" Vincent exclaimed.

Barret pulled his heavy arm back and swung it, completely missing Vincent and smashing the door so it fell inward, taking part of the wall with it and nearly broken in half. "Not anymore." Barret left without another word.

Vincent drew his sword as Erik spun around, almost faster than Vincent’s eyes, which were keen enough to see a tiny key fall from Erik’s hand and clatter onto the floor. He also noticed the blood stain and traced it up to the desk drawer before settling his gaze to meet Erik’s, whose hand was still buried in a drawer and fumbling around in it.

"You!" Erik said, pointing at Vincent in terror. "You were to have cast yourself into the sea! You opened the pendant! You opened it! I saw it bleed for three days, then cease immediately, why are you not at the depths of the sea, lurking with your mistress?"

"My mistress is the sea and she wishes me to be on top of her, though never within," Vincent said. "Now, shall we settle this as gentlemen, or as monsters?"

Erik’s withdrew a pistol from the drawer, throwing papers and interments about as he tore it out.

"Back!" Erik yelled, aiming the pistol at the stained drawer. "Back or I will end you now, just before your hand could ever reach my throat."

Vincent backed away.

"You cheat!"

"I win," Erik said. "Order your people off my ship now. They are not to take anything of mine, food or otherwise."

"They are not my people, merely passersby in the same character before I find my own to command. They will not listen to me, and I warn you they can all be very formidable. I believe this would be an impasse."

"I do not think so. Move and I shoot," Erik said, holding the gun towards the deck as he approached. His other hand had sneaked into his pocket, though not unnoticed. Erik grabbed Vincent by the throat, turning him around and bending his back as he pulled Vincent’s ear down to his mouth. "Had you not caught a siren as you obviously have, you would have been called into the sea. If you had not opened the pendant and leapt in, the pressure below would have crushed you and you would yet live. If you had leapt or fallen in before your siren and after your foolish curiosity to open the pendant, you would have survived, following a great wailing made by my belov’d mermaid, and answered whatever call she had for you. Now, though… let us test that theory. Resist and I shall keep another part of you as a souvenir."

Vincent ignored Erik’s threat and grabbed Erik’s arms from behind, twisting enough so that when the pistol went off it merely put a hole in the wall. He flipped Erik over his shoulder, bringing him crashing against the deck, but in doing so lost hold of Erik’s other arm, which brought a small knife against Vincent’s arm, making him flinch in pain and release Erik, who took the opportunity to run.

Vincent turned around and considered the desk, but went after his prey instead.

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