It's finally time for Chapter 4! It's easily the longest one (please dont get scared away) and it was also one of the most fun to write. I hope you enjoy!
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--- Carlos’s POV ---
The night spent on the ship was a rough one. The waves rocked the boat, and King was afraid that something would go wrong during the night. To ease his worries, I got up several times in the dead of the night to check if everything was alright. There were no beds on this ship, but rather hammocks like a true pirate fashion.
The ocean was very calm at night. Nothing stirred, but it was also pitch black. We only had a few lanterns, and all of us were afraid that one would fall during the night and burn the boat to a crisp, so they were kept extinguished. The only light we had was the stars and moon of the night sky, and more obviously, the sun during the day.
By the time morning came, we were all relieved nothing had gone wrong. Although, the ship wasn’t exactly comfortable, so we were all rather grumpy and tired at dawn. While King prepared breakfast, Purple and Gold had checked to make sure the ship was still on course via a compass King had brought while I stayed occupied hoisting the sails. According to said compass, we had drifted east a bit.
I’m still unsure this whole operation is a good idea, but I understand how important it is for Purple to find her dad again. Apparently in the past she had tried previously and failed, and this time she was determined to at any cost. I wasn’t complaining, and nor was Gold, due to the fun and feeling of adventure as a family. King hadn’t complained either because he knew Purple’s past like the back of his hand. I feel bad for her, though. Her father left and then shortly after the only other person who loved her died of illness. I can’t really blame her for her actions to receive her father’s approval. Even after my parents died, I still had people who loved me.
Anyway, King had just finished preparing breakfast. He called us down to the galley, which in ship terms means the crew’s eating quarters. I really liked picking up on nautical language, as did Gold. I quickly learned what the terms starboard side, port side, forward, and aft meant. Apparently King was rather knowledgeable about this sort of lingo.
“What’s the status?” King asked Purple as we arrived at the galley. We weren’t eating in the banquet hall because we wanted to feel more like the crew of the ship. While he never acted like a commander, King served as the captain, though he liked to refer to whoever was steering as the captain, and the rest of us made up the crew of the Concert. Kinda fitting how the name of the vessel is also something the four of us like to take part in.
“We drifted a bit east, according to the compass.” Purple replied, jotting it down in a notebook. We had to document everything so we could find our way back home again. We didn’t want to get stranded. We all had agreed that we would venture out for about a week into the open ocean, and if we didn’t find anything, we’d return home. We had the supplies to last that long, but we could always fish if necessary.
“That’s not bad.” King remarked. “It could be a lot worse.”
I decided to spend the day with Gold. King was busy steering and Purple was away in her quarters, probably sleeping or thinking about the journey. Gold and I took turns on the mast looking around for any land. We didn’t find any.
Eventually, Gold got bored and King suggested that he could try fishing. I told King that I would be happy to teach him how to. That quickly got his attention, and we spent the next while fishing.
“So, first what you want to do,” I said, reaching into a crate for the box of bait. “Is take some bait, and then thrust it into the sea.” I repeated the actions as they left my mouth, and the bobber splashed into the great field of blue.
Gold grabbed a worm out of the bait box. “Hey, little guy.” he greeted the still-living worm. “Bye-bye!” He thrust the line out, landing not too far from mine.
“There you go!” I exclaimed happily, patting him on the back. “You don’t have to sound so aggressive with the bait, though.”
Gold giggled a little. As it turns out, fishing requires a lot of patience and it ended up taking almost half an hour before we caught anything. Gold reminded me of my first time fishing with my parents. I didn’t exactly love it, and I still don’t, but it was fun nonetheless.
“Hey, guys.” King said, startling us. We hadn’t noticed him come up behind us. “How’s it going?”
“We haven’t gotten very far.” Gold replied, motioning to the almost empty bucket. I had caught one fish, but it escaped. The one in the bucket was one of Gold’s catches, which was a struggle to get off the hook, let alone reel in. But with my help, Gold had successfully caught his first fish.
“Ah I see.” King nodded slowly. “Fishing does require you to be patient. Eventually you’ll get used to it. Carlos, do you mind steering for a bit? I’m awfully tired and I need to rest. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
I was shocked at the offer. If someone had told me a week ago that I would be out in the middle of the sea steering a pirate ship, I would have thought they were lying. But here I am, about to do so, and I feel more excited than I ever have before.
“Oh… uh…” I murmured. “I would love to!”
“Great!” King said, patting me on the back. I smiled.
“Go for it, Captain Carlos!” Gold cheered, laughing at his nickname he gave me. I couldn’t help but laugh at it as well.
King led me over to the bow of the ship and informed me of everything I needed to know starting with the compass. I had to make sure that we didn’t drift off in another direction and get lost. If we did, I would have to document that in Purple’s notebook. “And lastly,” King was finishing, “At first, the wheel seems to want to turn you. You have to make sure you have more control of the ship than it does of you.”
“Oh?” I wondered. “How do you know all of this?”
“Oh, Lava and I have been close friends for a long time. This isn’t my first time being on one of his ships. Good luck, mate.” King answered as we parted. I watched as he went over to his son and watched him fish.
Then I turned to the wheel. Upon gripping it, I could see that King was right. It was difficult at first. But I quickly adapted and in no time steering had become an easy task. I was feeling so many things at that time, but the most prominent one was bewilderment. I was still beyond belief that I was steering a pirate ship.
After some time, Purple had returned from below the deck. She was half-blinded from not being used to the light and had to shield her eyes for a bit. Eventually, she began to make her way across the deck.
“Purple!” Gold called after noticing her, then running up to her and thrusting a fish in her face. “Look what I caught!”
“Oh!” Purple yelped, startled at the fish dangling before her eyes. “That’s really co-”
Before she could finish, Gold promptly slapped her with it, lightly though, and then ran back to King. King and Purple laughed, and I joined in from where I was piloting the ship.
“Oh, Gold.” Purple finished. Then, she strolled to where I was at the bow. “Hey, Captain.”
I chuckled at the nickname, slightly curious as to where she picked it up from. “Please don’t tell me that’s gonna be a lasting thing-”
“Too late, it is!” Gold shouted from across the deck. I shook my head, silently laughing.
“Be careful you don’t get sunburnt, staying in the sun for too long.” Purple noted. I wasn’t too worried about that. It was a little cold out at sea, but that doesn’t imply that sunburning is impossible. King had also suggested that I took frequent breaks.
“What’s the weather like?” I asked her. “See any storms or anything?”
“Nope.” she replied. “It’s a little cloudy, but mostly sunny skies. I never realized how quiet it is out here. In the city it’s very noisy and whatnot.”
“True.” I commented. “It’s really nice, you know, being away from society.”
“That sounds like something Victoria would say.” Purple remarked. What she said was totally true. Victoria used to like socialization, but that faded over the years. Meanwhile I’m just outgoing and friendly to everyone.
I gazed out at the open waters, taking in everything that I saw. The waves rocked the boat gently, and the ocean breeze calmly drifted the boat along. The sails flapped against the wind, and in the distance, a fish jumped out of the water only to return back under the sea. It was a sight that I hadn’t fully adjusted to yet. It was truly remarkable that a place like this existed in the Outernet. I had just spent so much time becoming accustomed to life on the mainland that I never imagined another world out here.
Although, it was rather hard to keep the fears away. Even though King had assured us of his seemingly foolproof plan, it only took one violent storm to cause a shipwreck, and what if we ran out of food? I usually just tried to push all those negative thoughts away, but they kept me up at night. And I wonder how this was for Purple? She must be so anxious seeing the person who made her life horrible again.
“So,” I started. “How do you feel about this whole journey?”
Purple stayed silent for a bit. I knew this whole expedition was very personal for her. Then she began, “Well, I’m just very nervous, to say the least. I hope there actually is something out here and we aren’t just sailing into the unknown. But also a part of me hopes I never see him again. My dad, I mean. I don’t know how he’d react. I’m grateful for all of you guys’ presence, but I’m sorry I’m just dragging you along for my moral support.”
“Nah, that’s what families do.” I replied. Purple shot me a look of gratitude. “Or at least, that’s what a true family does. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live with someone that awful. I don’t even know him, but from what I’ve heard, he sounds like a terrible person, for lack of a better word.
“I have to agree with Captain here.” King said out of nowhere. I slightly cringed at the nickname, but I couldn’t help but laugh. “Purple, I understand this is very important for you, but are you still sure you want to do this? Don’t you think it would be better just to forget him?”
“I’ve tried, I can tell you that.” Purple responded. “And every time I just managed to push him away again, he came back. I just need forgiveness, that’s all.”
“But Purple,” I insisted. “Sometimes things we search for aren’t always the best things. It can be hard to understand our emotions at times. Even if we find him, he might not have changed.”
“I understand. But I’ve tried and failed to find him before, and all that’s become of him in my mind is the haunting past of my childhood. He was my dad, but also my aggressor and abuser. Like I’ve said, all I want from him is his forgiveness. Or else I feel that a part of me is missing. My mom died without his forgiveness, and I seek to not end up the same way. I can’t live knowing he might never apologize.”
King and I nodded. While we’ve tried helping Purple, it was hard for us to understand what it was like for her. All the pain that she was going through. All of her trauma and suffering.
But Purple went on, “When I was at my worst, I realized I had become like him. Putting others below me just so I could get ahead. Always fighting, never stopping to realize ‘is this the right thing to do?’ Never treating others the same way I did myself.”
“Then came the Color Gang, and they showed me my evils and what it was like to truly have friends. They saved me from slipping into a being I feared I would become. But that only lasted a little while, as I sought a father figure. And eventually, I found King, and my life’s been better ever since. But even still I think about him, and I can’t just let go. We’ve already come so far, we can’t just turn back.” she pleaded with us.
“She’s right.” said a voice no one was expecting. I turned around and realized the voice belonged to Gold. “Dad, after my… um… unfortunate accident, you were in so much pain, you wanted to get back at what destroyed me, because you never let go of me. Let Purple do the same. She needs him to apologize so that she’ll be satisfied, the way you were after your rampage ended.” he said to King.
“Alright.” King sighed. “I’m sorry Purple, for trying to discourage you. You never had a second thought when I sought my revenge, so I shouldn’t for you, even though the motives and methods are different.”
“We’re here to support you.” I chimed in. “We’ll find him together, so you can receive what you need.”
“Thanks, King and thanks, Captain.” Purple replied. This nickname will still take some time for me to get used to, it seems. I wonder how long it’ll last.
The next couple of hours went by relatively quickly. Gold had retired from fishing and climbed the mast to look out for any land. Purple had shown him how to swing down using the ropes, which King supervised nervously. I had finished my shift of steering after a bit, and King took over after he had gotten some much needed rest. Unfortunately, we never found any land, let alone any birds or anything. Thankfully, no storms either.
Eventually night came. The boat looked rather nice at night, only lit up by a few lanterns. King decided to hold a karaoke competition, but without music, just singing from memory. There was no cell service out at sea, so our phones wouldn’t work. Honestly, I was shocked at Gold’s singing talent. Purple and I were part of the school choir and had plenty of practice, and I guess Gold learned from us.
By the time we were done, King declared that there was no real winner, as we were all great and he couldn’t choose. It’s always difficult for parents to choose their favorite kid. Purple, Gold and I shared a group hug, and Purple expressed how happy she was to have us in her life, including King.
King also shared his gratitude with us, and thus I also did the same. After my parents’ deaths, I had become all alone. But after Purple introduced me to King, I realized how much in common the three of us had. Gold, wanting to join, happily stated that he simply couldn’t imagine a life without us. It warmed my heart to know that everyone in this family felt the same way, that there were the same kinds of eternal bonds between us.
There were also those bonds of family members that were no longer with us, like my parents, Purple’s mom, and King’s wife/Gold’s mom. I liked to imagine that they were watching down on us from the stars, happy that we were all together, that we had moved on successfully.
And then there was that last bond, the one that had collapsed over time and was urgently needed to be repaired. Purple’s bond with her dad. Her mom had died of an illness, Neon had passed due to still unknown causes, and my parents had been brutally killed by the Outernet’s most famous hollowheads, The Chosen One and The Dark Lord.
At last, we extinguished every lantern on the ship and went to bed, unknowing of what might greet us in the morning. Will it be more ocean, or possibly something else?
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Pingys:
Team Friendship:
The other pingys:
