Huge waves collided against the shallow cove, as the Dragon's massive body slammed down into the ocean and created waves much taller than most trees. The impact alone created a shock wave that easily shook the two pirate ships, as Pip wobbled and almost fell from his seat atop Madison's lap.
"What the heck?" Madison mumbled, looking up and holding Pip close while she stood and walked to the edge of the ship. Immediately, she placed Pip down and transformed into her Dragon form, lifting off and darting towards the fallen Dragon.
"Welp, guess we should follow." Elez sighed, standing up and opening his wings as well.
"I can't fly," Jade said, earning nods of agreement from pretty much everyone else.
"Man the ship then," Elez replied, lifting off and flying after Madison, who had already begun her descent towards the crash site. Floating drunkenly in the water, a huge Lightning Dragon had fallen sleepy from the sky, seemingly very intoxicated.
Madison hovered over them and clamped her claws down over their tail, flapping her wings hard and dragging them slowly through the water. Eventually, she reached the approaching Shellshock, which the two crews had successfully sailed out from the cove.
"Pink fluffy… hic! Something- hic! -something," the dragon mumbled between hiccups, his voice clearly distorted by endless amounts of alcohol. Madison ignored his drunken speech though and dragged him to the side of the ship, calling out to the others as they tossed down a few ropes, before tugging him back towards the shore with the ropes tied securely around his chest. After finally pulling him out of the ocean, and laying him atop the sandy beach, Madison stepped over in her human form and prodded this snout.
"Dad! Get up!" She yelled, lifting his eyelid in an attempt to wake him.
"Dad?!" Everyone gasped, looking over at her with shocked expressions.
"Yeah, I would know his dumb face anywhere." Madison said, slapping the side of his head and sending little sparks of lightning down his back. "Get up!!" She yelled, although it was never in a harsh tone.
"Madison? Is that you?" He mumbled, his eyes rolling open to look at them.
"Yeah, get up. It's me." She smiled brightly, hugging his head and holding him tight. "I missed you." She cried, having not seen him for far too long. Quickly, he transformed back into his human form and held his daughter tight. The Alpha Dragon was very tall, much taller than his daughter, with a bushy blonde beard and long golden hair. Madison continued to hug him tight while the others watched from a distance.
"I feel like we're intruding on a family moment," Elez mumbled.
"Should we just leave?" Jade asked.
"Nah, this is nice. My dad's dead, so yeah," Kaizo said, causing the Nightshade Pirates to go silent and awkwardly look anywhere but at him.
"Same," Zero said casually.
"My dad's dead to me, so yeah, same." Zenith shrugged, causing others to feel as though they should talk about their parents.
"Well my dad mentally scarred me for the majority of my life and used me for an endless supply of healing magic." Jade said, tearing up and turning away as the others went quiet. "So yeah," he cried.
"My dad… uh… He gave me treats," Olga mumbled quietly.
"That's my dad," Pip said, pointing up at Zenith.
"Are you dead?" Kaizo gasped, looking towards Zenith as though he was supposed to follow the trend of dead fathers.
"Of course not you idiot!" Zenith yelled.
"Yay! Let's have a feast! Zenith's not dead!" Kaizo cheered, bouncing around happily while Zenith turned to face the Star Pirates.
"So you really chose this guy to be your captain?" Zenith chuckled.
"I dare you to piss him off," Lezlie said.
"I'm good, I'll just silently judge from afar." He said, walking away and approaching Madison and her father, before inviting him to join them for dinner on the ship. Meanwhile, Jade was still wiping his eyes in the background, before he turned and ran away to hide in his room. Altary was the first to notice, and quickly ran after him to make sure that he was okay.
As he approached the door to Jade's room, he heard crying from inside, while the boy was tearfully laying in bed, curled up under his covers and hiding away from the rest of the world. Slowly, Altary took a breath and knocked on the frame.
"Jade?" Altary mumbled, wanting to help but not knowing if he wanted to be alone. He waited patiently for a response, while the pastel-haired boy glanced up from under the covers and stared longingly at the doorway.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything before…" He mumbled. "I'm sorry if I annoyed you… I was just going along with what everyone else was doing." Jade replied, as Altary slowly opened the door and stepped inside.
"Hey, it's okay, my dad wasn't the best either," Altary said.
"Really?" He mumbled, peeking out and sitting upright. "But… you turned out so well… look at you. You're handsome, tall and strong… I'm just an idiot who hasn't seen the sun for fifteen years." He muttered.
"Well, my dad was a jerk noble prick," Altary said, stopping his approach and carefully sitting next to him.
"That sounds pretty bad…" He mumbled, looking up at him before slowly glancing away. "All I've ever wanted to do was to escape and live a normal life. But I don't even know where to start… I'm too awkward to ask for things. And sometimes I really just want a hug, but I don't even know how to ask." He admitted.
"You kinda just did," Altary smiled, reaching over and hugging him tight. Jade leaned deep into his touch, embracing the hug and gently hugging him back. He rested his head on Altary's chest and nuzzled softly into the fabric of his shirt.
"Thank you," he said, tears dripping slowly down his cheeks. "Thank you so much." He said, holding tightly onto Altary's back.
"Hey, it's ok. Please don't cry," Altary said, reaching up and gently running his hand through Jade's hair, admiring the silky texture. This simple action caused Jade to slowly calm down, as he continued resting his head on Altary's chest and slowly relaxing while his eyes drifted close. He fell asleep in Altary's arms, his features soft and adorable while he slept. Altary stared at him happily, before laying down under the covers of his bed and gently falling asleep with Jade huddled tightly in his arms.
Unfortunately, without the insight of Altary's common sense, the others had a huge party with an excessive amount of food and booze. One by one they slowly passed out, as the party lasted all night and caused most of them to end up sleeping on the deck, although Elez and Kaylo were placed in a bed together, as part of a prank that Zenith convinced Kaizo to help him commit. After many hours of drinking and partying though, the two crews passed out atop the Shellshock, only to wake up to a surprising development in the morning.
As the two crews gathered for breakfast in the early morning sun, they soon came to realise that Olga and Madison's dad had disappeared throughout the night. Naturally, this pissed everyone off, and after searching both of the ships, Zenith called on Pip to track them down. The little Fox sniffed around for scents and wiggled around to the places where they were supposed to be. Then, after collecting scents for only a few minutes, he picked up on a brand new scent that almost perfectly matched the one that he sensed on Olga before. With a small yap and a moment more of investigation, he concluded that an intruder had taken them, and now their scent was headed North.
The Nightshade Pirates and the Star pirates immediately rode their gallons North, while both crews prepared for an epic battle with whoever had dared to take their friends. Soon enough, they arrived at an island with a thick forest bordering every side, like a fortress of foliage and trees.
"So, how are we attacking?" Madison asked, looking over at everyone the moment that they had docked.
"Head on," Kaizo said, receiving a nod from everyone else, apart from Jade of course.
"Shouldn't we sneak in and surprise them? Or maybe I should just stay here..." He mumbled.
"Can you fight?" Kaizo asked.
"Um… I can heal people." He muttered. "I never got taught how to fight." He said sadly.
"Then you better stay back," Zero said, allowing Jade to sigh and slowly turn away. Altary caught his arm though, stepping up to his side and smiling sweetly in his direction.
"I'll stay with you," Altary smiled, causing Jade to smile back with a happy glimmer in his eyes.
"Okay guys, have fun, clean up when you're done," Lezlie teased, as Jade instantly blushed to a point where he was almost as red as the Star Pirates flag.
"Lets go raid!" Kaizo yelled, running off into the forest first.
"Wait for us!!" Zero yelled.