“Morning! Your name was Terry, right?” Porco asked as he walked out of Annabelle's aftercastle.

Terry nodded reluctantly. It was the dawn of the day after they left that desert island behind. The villager boy was out on the main deck, watching the waking sun and enjoying the tranquillity of this early hour. Like most villagers, he was used to waking up early. He mostly woke up at dawn during the voyage too, even though he sometimes had to work late, and when he didn't, he met up with Chio and Arabella at night. He made up for his lost sleep with some afternoon snoozes.

“We haven't had the chance to talk much yet,” Porco said. “But I know I was a bit of a dick to you before. Sorry about that.”

The first and last time they interacted was many days ago, when Terry didn't even know yet that Arabella is a succubus. The boy remembered it well: Porco sort of teased him and pushed his limits by telling him about how he too kissed Chio, and suggesting him that he should just forget about those two.

“It's... fine,” Terry said, kind of wishing the guy would just leave him alone. He understood that he is supposed to come with them, that they both want to stay with the same pair of supernatural girls. The thought wasn't too pleasant.

“You know, I don't have the clearest memories of yesterday,” said Porco. “At least of that event. But if I remember correctly, you were there yourself... with Chio? Is that right?”

“Yea.”

“Were you guys having sex while watching us?”

Terry awkwardly scratched his nose. “Uh-um.”

“So I suppose you are fine with them the way they are, after all. You want to live your life with a fallen angel and her succubus girlfriend. Without actually touching Arabella, is that right?”

“Yea. That's what we agreed on, I ain't gonna.”

“Only Chio?”

“Yea.”

“Look, I respect that. If we are gonna stick together for a while, like a 'fellowship of weirdoes' as these gentlemen said, then we should obviously try to get along. So yea, I'm not gonna mess with you anymore, and by that I mean I'm not touching Chio, I promise.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“That being said, I'm not sure what her plans are, if she's ever gonna be with other men in the future. Did she say anything about that?”

“Uhm... no,” the boy swallowed. “But I can forgive her if she did that.”

Porco chuckled. “If you say so. How about Arabella? They will definitely continue making love, those two are really into each other.”

“That's fine, I don't mind that.”

“It's hot, isn't it?” he leaned on the railing and sighed. “So it will be those two, us two, and the fairy Friska, if she really does not change her mind. And as far as sex, I'll stick with Arabella, and you will stick with Chio. That's it. It will be... interesting.”

“Uhum.”

“Touching a succubus is quite insane. And the thing is...”

The aftercastle's door opened, and a tall, pale man stepped through it. He was wearing his signature green hat.

“Captain Carlos,” Porco nodded at him.

“Good morning! You guys had a good time yesterday?”

“Of course.”

The man stepped next to them, and he leaned on the railing too. “Porco, I'm curious how you are feeling in particular.”

“I was just about to tell Terry, I think I should maybe abstain from the demon's spell too, so long as I'm with you. It's only fair to your men, right? I don't want to stir up their jealousy.”

“That's nice of you to think of on your own. I have no authority over you, but I would have politely asked you to abstain, indeed. It's better for everyone.”

Except for me. The thought of sharing a ship with the succubus for several more days without being able to even touch her was already difficult – that's why he was up this early, he woke up so horny he couldn't fall back to sleep. But hopefully, he though, it will get a bit easier with every passing day. He just had to practice solidarity with his fellow demon-fuckers, unfortunately that made too much sense. Just a practice of discipline, Porco. It's not the end of the world.

“Say, how long till we reach the Scorched Lands?” he asked.

“Five more days or so. I agreed with Arabella and Chio to drop you all off as soon as we reach the mainland. As for us, we will sail on to Murky Bay. In my opinion, these two women make a wonderful couple, and they are attempting something truly special with you guys. It's about time they got to be free. I'm glad to be of help to them, but I don't want to inconvenience them more than necessary.”

“Thanks for your support, captain.”

Carlos stepped away from the handrails, and looked both of the young males up and down. “And you shall be their companions. You think you are up to it?”

Terry nodded.

“I sure hope so,” Porco said. “But we will see.”

“Stay strong, guys!” the man winked, and turned around.

“I'm sorry, may I have a question?” asked Porco.

Carlos turned back. “Go ahead!”

“Why did you keep Kraus' son captive?”

“He tried to assassinate me, and he failed.”

“Really? How come?”

“It was a misguided attempt of revenge.”

“What for?”

“It's personal. Both for them, and for me. The matter is settled now, he got reunited with his father, and I got compensated for my trouble,” he spread his arms out, showing that he refers to the ship they were standing on. “I won't concern them and they won't concern me anymore.”

“I see.”

“Enjoy this fresh morning, boys!” and with that, the pirate captain left. There were a few tired looking pirates on the deck doing their things, it was near the end of their night-shift, and the captain walked up to them to exchange a few words.

Then once again, the door of the aftercastle opened. This time, a yawning, tattooed elf walked out. “Oh, what's up, guys?” she noticed Porco and Terry. “Having a bit of boys talk this early?”

“Just a little bit,” said Porco, who was still watching Captain Carlos as he interacted with his men on the other side of the ship.

“You are some lucky dudes,” Iesha patted Terry on his back. “Take good care of Chio and Arabella, will you?”

“Of course!” the boy straightened his back.

“Say, who really is this Carlos Wayne?” Porco asked quietly.

“What you mean? He is our captain.”

“Isn't he a little similar to that Warren Crown guy?”

The elf jerked her head up. “Oh, you think so? In what way?”

“They are both tall and pale, and there is something similar about how they move, even their facial structure... I think.”

“Huh. Right, you travelled with Warren Crown.”

“I even played cards with him.”

“That's kind of wild. I myself never saw him before, just the other day from far away when he stole our ship back. You think he might be related to Carlos, or what?”

“It wouldn't surprise me. But I guess you know noting about them having a family bond.”

“No. But it's an interesting proposition.”

“So they are rivals, right? How do they even know each other? They must have some kind of a history.”

“You really are a nosy guy, aren't you? Just as Chio said.”

“I like to get to the bottom of things. You don't have to tell me anything that would get you in trouble though.”

“I know no such things, really. But it's true that Carlos is definitely kind of secretive about this topic, and that makes me curious too. I've only been here for a few months, but several of our lads were brought over from Warren Crown's original crew from four years ago. I asked many of them about their past, they have some wild stories. And regrets, deep regrets. Otherwise, they wouldn't be still here. Either way, as far as they know, Carlos just showed up unexpectedly one day and took things over. They can only guess who he was to Warren Crown, Carlos simply won't say much about it.”

“How did that takeover happen, exactly?”

“The way the tale goes...”

“Hey, I see smoke!” yelled the dude who was on lookout duty in the crow's nest.

“Smoke? Where?” Carlos looked up at him from the other side of the ship.

“Right up ahead! I think it's a shipwreck!” came the answer.

As Annabelle approached the burning, and as the smoke got visible from the main deck too, Carlos yelled for his men, telling them to all gather up and take arms. Two of his guys ran into the two buildings on the ship, where the crew slept in the freed up passenger cabins.

“Speak of the devil...” Iesha shook her head.

“You think it's him? Warren Crown?” asked Porco.

“Just a hunch. But maybe not.”

“Captain!” Porco called out as Carlos hurried past them. “Shouldn't we get Arabella and Chio too?”

“You might as well. Yes, we better have them ready.”

“Terry, you know where their room is. Go, quick!”

“Uhum,” the boy nodded, and jogged off.

Inside the forecastle, around the middle of the corridor, he stopped by that familiar door. For a moment, he reminisced about his fun times in there, then he shook his head and grabbed the handle. The door was unlocked. He opened it wide.

It took him a second to comprehend what he was seeing: the nude Arabella was standing in the middle of the cabin, holding the nude Chio upside down, hugging her closely. The angel's face pressed against her crotch, while she was licking hers at face level.

All three of them froze for a moment, then Chio wriggled herself out of Arabella's grasp and fell on her bed, blushing. “She was having a nightmare! I just wanted to comfort her, so...”

“Why are you excusing yourself?” the succubus smirked. “Nobody cares here, you silly slut. Terry definitely doesn't mind.”

“Right...” Chio's eyes suddenly widened, and she quickly turned to Arabella, staring at her like she saw a ghost. “Oh, thank god you stayed in your human form! Terry, you really shouldn't just barge in here!”

“Oh yea, that's true,” Arabella conceded. “Seems like we forgot to lock the door.”

The girl lunged at Terry, the way she was, butt naked. “That's horrifying! Seriously, we all should be much more careful, okay? I don't know what I would do if... if...”

The boy hugged the angel back, taking a good sniff of her feminine, wet, turned-on scent. “I-I'm sorry,” he mumbled. “But... uhm... there is danger outside. Something's burning.”

“Oh,” Chio stepped back.

“They told me to get you quickly.”

The girl exchanged a worried look with Arabella, then she materialized her white toga and sandals, not her wings though. Arabella grabbed her green dress, put it on clumsily, then hurried after the other two.

Porco, Carlos, Iesha and a bunch of armed pirates were standing on the left side of the deck, gazing towards the smoke and flames they were passing by. Friska was there too, sitting on the handrails. The captain glanced at Chio, then turned back towards the sea.

“What is that?” yelled the watchman from up the mast, above their heads.

The group below could soon see it too: it looked like a circle of flames with something in the middle, something... unusual. Was it a tree?

Carlos yelled a command to the guy who was standing at the back of the vessel, by the steering wheel. The ship turned slowly, going around the sight, while keeping a safe distance. Finally, they got to an opening on the circle of fire, it was a ten meters wide gap.

“Drop anchor!” Carlos yelled, hurrying backwards on the deck to stick by the gap. The others followed him, until the vessel finally came to a stop.

“What kind of voodoo shit is this?!” the orange cat-pirate blurted.

Surrounded by the flames, there was a wooden construct. A single, wide pole was in the centre, which then branched out towards the top, it really was like a tree, but it was obviously man-made, it looked rickety. From the “branches”, some weird wooden formations hung on strings, sticks woven together in circles with crosses in the middle, and such. Attached to the central pole, around the same level as Annabelle's main deck, there was a woman tied up tightly, like a mummy. She was kind of far from the ship, but Chio could see she was in bad shape. Her eyes were open, but she just stared into nothingness blankly.

“It was him, wasn't it?” asked Iesha.

The one-eyed, black bearded pirate, Owen, cast his gaze down. “I can tell it was him. Fucking sicko...”

“Hey! Are you all right?” the angel yelled.

The bound woman looked up and began to scream.

“We will get you out of there! Don't worry!” Chio promised, about to climb on the handrail.

“Wait!” Carlos put his hand on the girl's shoulder.

“You can't get me out, you can't!” the woman howled like she was pleading for her life.

“Why not?” Iesha asked.

“I-I would die. You can't! Please!”

“What would happen if we tried getting you out?” asked Carlos, stepping to the handrails.

“He said... he said if... oh, it's you!” the woman's eyes widened, and she stared straight at the pirate captain. “I... I need to tell you, I have to!”

“Tell me what?”

“H-he is watching you. Warren Crown. He is watching you, he is watching you...” she started sobbing uncontrollably.

“Let me get her!” Chio grabbed the sleeve of Carlos. “Please!”

“Patience!” the man replied.

“We won't leave you here, no matter what!” Iesha declared. “Just calm down and tell us everything you know! You have time! Breath!”

The woman was now hyperventilating. Everybody just watched her in silence. Chio started to cry, so Arabella comforted her by putting her arm around her hip.

“If these ropes get untied... or cut...” the woman said at last with a shaking voice. “This whole thing will collapse, and I'll be dragged down... The chain, it has an... iron thing on the other end, it's fixed to the wood. It will fall, it will fall... You can't get me out!”

“We can lift an iron thing!” Chio stepped forward. “I can!”

“No, Chio!” Friska blurted. “You should keep that stuff a secret, didn't you say so? Leave it to me! I can get her out of there.”

While everyone waited tensely, the fairy flew back into her cabin, and she returned with a small flask filled with a bright-green fluid. She then flew over to the woman. “This thing dissolves metal, it's a rare mix. It won't hurt you, trust me!”

“Oh god, dear god, please... please let this work,” the woman panted.

Friska poured it on her chain, then she waited a few moments. The chain snapped, falling into the water. “There there. You're almost out. Arabella, come and help!”

Carlos turned to Owen, asking for his battle axe which was the black-bearded pirate's choice of weapon. The captain then handed it over to Arabella, who was naked by then.

“Everyone, close your eyes!”

The males turned away, only Chio and Iesha kept watching. The succubus transformed and flew over, cutting the wood itself beneath the captive's feet. The whole construct collapsed, the woman screamed, but she remained afloat on the water with the piece of wood she was tied to. Arabella and Friska turned her face up, and while they made sure to prevent her from drifting into the circle of fire, they somehow untied her. Finally, the succubus threw her weak body over her shoulder. As she put her down on Annabelle, the woman already passed out.

Chio sat down next to her and put her head on her chest, listening to her breathing. Someone brought a blanket, and the angel covered her up, putting her hands on her like she was healing or comforting her with her angelic energy, except she didn't. She knew she shouldn't.

 

Half an hour later, after Carlos politely asked Chio to let his men carry the woman inside, the angel stepped to the handrails and looked up into the blue sky, sighing. The circle of fire was way behind them now, and the sun was up. There was just a little bit of northern breeze to offset the warmth of the scorching sunrays.

“Hey!” Friska landed on the rails in front of the girl. “Are you okay?”

“Me? Sure. I'm just worried for her.”

“She will be fine. Well, traumatized for sure, but she will survive.”

“That man, Warren Crown, how could he do something like this?”

“Yea, he seems to be quite fucked up in the head. To think we shared a table with him...”

“Anyway,” Chio shook her head. “We still didn't really speak. After yesterday. Are... you okay?”

“Look,” Friska sat down. “I was grumpy. I still was, even today. The thing is, when I saw this woman tied up there, it made me angry at first. Cause I though she was probably tortured and raped by another pirate gang, by Warren's one, and that reminded me of yesterday. Warren even stole a bunch of men from Carlos. His current crew is literally made up by those who got stuck there on Heartbreaker with him, right? So after what happened on that island yesterday, I thought: is this what you want, Chio?”

“That's not...”

“I'm just saying. It was my first impression. But then as I saw you react, and everyone else too, really, I quickly realized how silly I was. Seeing you cry, and then how you caressed her, it made me angry at myself. You and Arabella are very different from this psycho, it's night and day, it would be stupid not to admit that. I still don't agree with everything you guys do, but... yea. I guess... I wanna apologize.”

“Oh. Thank you. It's good to hear you are finally coming around.”

“You are a nice person, Chio. I just don't get why are you... you know.”

“Dedicated to a succubus?”

“Well, yea.”

“You never really heard the full story. The thing is...”

Arabella walked out of the aftercastle. “She woke up.”

The girl walked towards her lover, but she stopped and glanced back at the fairy. “You mind if I...”

“Just go! I wanna check on her too.”

The woman was sitting on a bed in one of the emptied cabins, she was drinking water from a bottle. The room's door was open, and several pirates were standing around in the corridor, as well as the curious Porco. Only Carlos was inside though, they didn't want to overwhelm the poor woman, and so Chio, Arabella and Friska stopped in the passageway too, listening quietly. The fairy landed on the angel's shoulder, like she used to, which made the girl smile faintly – she could feel that things will be fine between them now. But it was time to turn her attention to the still shaky voice of the woman inside.

“We were sailing to Newchance. We are from Lion's Isle, just... fishers. We would have sold fish to that settlement, but... he killed them all. All of them but me. My... my husband... my friend...”

“My condolences,” said Carlos. “He is a horrible, horrible man.”

“He then... he captured me and made his men have me. He riled them all up. And that... tree! I think he made it out of our ship. And the rubble around it which he... he poured something on so it would catch fire when others approached. To make sure they notice me, he said. He wanted people to find me. I don't know how he made all of that, I didn't see, I was being... I couldn't.”

“I understand.”

“And then he just... beat me up. And... cursed me. Whispered into my ears... the whispers!” she shrieked.

“Don't recall his words!” Carlos suggested. “Try not to. That's the best you can do, distract yourself. It will get better with time.”

“But he also told me he will kill me if... if I don't...” she stopped, and it sounded like she blew her nose. “He showed me a drawing. He made it... of you. It was a good drawing. He wanted me to remember your face, to tell you personally that... he is watching you from now on.”

“I see. I apologize for making you recall all of this, but I needed to hear your story. I'm sure you understand he is a very dangerous man, one cannot be careful enough when he is in the picture.”

“Just... who are you to him?”

Carlos was slow to reply. “I'm his biggest enemy.”

After he told the woman to ask if she needs anything, Carlos walked out of the cabin, closing the door behind himself gently. He then faced all the curious folks staring at him.

“What are you gonna do, captain?” asked Porco.

“What I have already done once. I will find a way to defeat Warren Crown again.”