Ikal stared out from his hiding spot into the ruins, his jaw slack as James lost. He couldn''t believe it. James may have been hateable, and James may have stolen Ikal''s mother from him, but James was strong. James had single-handedly fended off the invaders that had come to their island in the Dark Meridian. Every time they were threatened, James had easily beaten their enemies.


    But to be beaten, thrown to the ground because his back hurt—it was unsightly.


    Ikal gripped the corner of the entrance, glaring out into the night as he licked his lips. His bow was strapped around his chest, unneeded. He couldn''t do anything when two strong opponents fought like this. It was James who needed to stand, fight, and pull himself back together.


    "Get it together, old man," Ikal whispered.


    "Is that it?" The man looked down on James, casting his shadow over the old man as he bent forward in pain. "Are you going to be alright, old guy?"


    "Shut it," James whispered, his forehead lined with pain as he closed his eyes. "You try doing this when you''re as old as I am."


    "At my rate, I don''t know if I''ll live that long." The man paused, looking out over the ruins. "Well, since we have this pause to the fight, do you want to tell me why you''re fighting me over this ruin? I get it''s made out of gold, but you don''t seem the prospecting type."


    "You noticed?" James said, lowering himself to the ground with a groan and laying flat on his back.


    "Rubbed the walls of a building a little, but the first tip was that everything here''s made out of metal." The man gestured at himself. "My curse is all about magnetism."


    "That explains the metal you conjured." James smiled through gritted teeth. "If you''re not here for the gold, why come to this island?"


    "We got attacked by pirates." The man sat across from James, putting his hands on his knees and sighing. "Needed to stop to check on the damage when we spotted this flickering island out in the middle of the nightsea. Then we got a sense we were being watched and went out to check."


    "That would be the Zoan." James nodded. "They''re the natives of this island, and these ruins are their sacred grounds. I spotted you while I was chasing down my son. I wanted to get you out as quickly as possible."


    Ikal bristled at the words. He wasn''t James''s son. His father was brave and had defended their home until his death. His spirit was interred within the great pyramid. Like all great warriors, he had earned his place in a temple of gold.


    "You didn''t shoot the arrow at me then?"


    "My son did," James said with a chuckle. "You spooked him. He''s probably listening right now, just getting angry at me calling him my son."


    "So, what, you''re the great defender of these people?" the man asked.


    "From the constant chaos of the Dark Meridian, yes," James said, and the man froze.


    "The Dark Meridian? Not the nightsea?"


    "If what you''re saying is right, it looks like I''m finally back home, though I never wanted to come back." James sighed. "If we''re on Erth, the Military Police and the nobility will find this place someday. Though the Meridian is chaos, the order of Erth won''t be better for them."


    Ikal didn''t understand at all. He knew what the Dark Meridian was. It was the world his island existed in. James had told those stories often enough. However, this Erth, this nobility—he had never heard of them at all. He leaned forward to listen better, his long ears twitching.


    "Every once in a while, new islands are brought into the Erth," James said. "The Dark Meridian was always explained as a birthing ground for islands that would come to Erth someday, according to my lessons in the Academy. Not all the islands there make it, but they are formed out in the Fringes when they do. At some point, if an island is useful enough, the Scions take it into the core under the dominion of one of the Twelve Kingdoms."


    "I''ve seen August," the man said. "I know what it looks like."


    "Oh, you''re well-traveled." James laughed. "Sad what happened to August."


    "Yeah," the man said. "I do get around, but not as much as a member of the Military Police."


    "I''m that obvious, am I?" James said. "So, what are you?"


    "Outlaw," the man said. "Call me Alex."


    "You''re lucky I left my career behind a year ago," James said. "Though they''d probably recomission me if I brought in ''Tin Man'' Ortega."You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "Oof," Alex said. "I''m lucky you''re out with a bad back then."


    Crack.


    "Very lucky." James pushed himself up, and his back loudly complained. "My official title before I left was Commander James Hewett. I won''t be fighting anymore today, though. You have my word. My back will put me out for a while."


    Ikal knew these things already, though he had little context to put it together. The Military Police were warriors for a distant group of islands, like a Constellation, but in a different world. According to James, they had come to the Dark Meridian to explore and make peace, though he had given up his tribe to help out Ikal''s people and protect them. Beyond that, Ikal knew little because James would often be too far into his drink to speak coherently.


    "Hard to believe that when I just saw you fighting." Alex sighed. "But that''s one of the oddities of the Erth, I guess."


    Ikal had to agree. He had seen what James was capable of, and it was hard to believe that he couldn''t still fight. He could move so swiftly and hit with such powerful blows, but a simple pain in his back supposedly disabled him. Ikal didn''t believe it for a moment.


    "If you''ll help an old man to your ship, we can find Ikal and meet up with your friends," James said. "I told them not to hurt you all until I had a chance to sort it out. So long as they didn''t go starting a fight, the hunting party should just be observing."


    "Hah." Alex laughed, standing up before reaching out a hand to James. "You haven''t met my crew. I just hope they didn''t go overboard, or else we may end up enemies."


    Alex helped James stand. As he did so, movement blurred on Ikal''s left. Ikal turned, and two other figures appeared from behind the building. One was a man with silvery hair dressed in metal-ringed armor and carrying a sword and shield. The other was a small pale woman wearing a green cloak with a hood over her head.


    "We''re here too, Alex," the woman said, waving.


    "A glorious fight on this night," the man said, sheathing his blade before he spread his arms wide. "A test of might to show who is right!"


    Ikal fell forward, losing his grip on the side of the door at the sight of the odd people. He hit the ground on his shoulder and winced in pain but was otherwise okay. When he blinked and looked up, they all towered over him.


    "That would be my son," James said, resting one arm over Alex''s shoulder. "Come on, Ikal. We need to get these nice people back to their ship before someone causes a misunderstanding."


    Ikal threw himself on his feet with a single jump, landing on all fours before pushing himself to his full height. He, at best, came to the waist of the four people around him, but he held himself tall as a proud Zoan warrior nonetheless.


    "Yes, James," he said, averting his eyes for a moment.


    "I''m not going to ask." Alex shook his head before turning with James and starting to walk away. "I don''t want to ask, and I don''t want to know."


    Ikal didn''t know what the man was so concerned about, but the other people with him smiled and shook their heads as they looked down on him. They quickly turned and followed after their leader, leaving Ikal in the dark in the ruins, still not knowing what was funny.


    "Outsiders." Ikal shook his head before looking at the ruins behind him.


    His father lay sleeping in those ruins, his spirit permanently interred inside the temple at its center. While Ikal had run off here to take a peek, despite the elders'' warnings, he didn''t see the dangers of the ruins now. The elders'' stories of a disease that infected those who entered the ruins, not on a sacred journey, seemed foolish now. He had gone in and was perfectly fine.


    He shook his head as he turned and darted toward the others, leaving the ruins behind.


    ***


    Pop.


    Benbeck leaned forward in his seat as The Gilded One burst through the bubble and into the flickering island. He held a coin between his fingers as he looked out through the windows in front of him. A large circular island with high cliffs on almost all sides rose in front of them as they sailed through the sky. Benbeck started flipping the coin between each finger, turning it repeatedly as he ran it through each one.


    "I know they''re here," he said. "I can feel my luck burning bright."


    "Aye, captain." Jeff''s mustache twitched as he adjusted their course toward a southern beach that wasn''t completely blocked off by cliffs.


    "It is the most likely course if they''re going to check for damage," Athena stepped away from her console, her curves dancing in Benbeck''s peripheral vision in her black jumpsuit. "However, the problem is our ship''s also been hit."


    "How expensive is it?" Benbeck asked, snapping his coin from mid-air with a grimace.


    "We won''t know until we find a repair yard." Athena sighed, holding up both hands and shaking her head. "I don''t think we should keep the ship in the air longer than we need to, though. The longer we''re up, the more damage we might cause."


    "So we''ll have to search on foot," Benbeck said, leaning back in his chair and thrumming his fingers across the armrests. "We''ll need the entire crew then. Get on the comms and tell them we''ll find Ortega and his crew before anything else. The second we land, I want everyone out on the beach and ready to search."


    "Aye." Athena gave him a faux salute before returning to her station and relaying his orders through the communication tubes.


    Benbeck brought up his fingers and formed them into a bridge in front of his face. He had five main members of his crew, including himself—people who would be strong enough to take on the likes of ''Tin Man'' Ortega. Siegfried was an excellent swordsman who carried a massive sword. Athena was an excellent scout and navigator with excellent bow skills. Jeff''s fists could break through a ship''s hull with one punch. Manfried''s fiery techniques were useful for more than just the kitchen. Finally, Benbeck''s Robismo was the ultimate trump card against anything Ortega could hit them with.


    If Benbeck had left a few of his minions to guard the ship, and they had gone out and found Ortega with his crew, they could have wrapped up the entire operation before sundown. While the island was large, there was no way that Ortega could keep his slipship hidden while it was being repaired.


    "Bringing it in for a landing," Jeff said, spinning the wheel as he brought the ship down.


    Thump. Hrrm. Thud.


    The Gilded One shook hard as it crashed into the water, sending waves splashing out onto the beach as it slammed down. In the wake of the waves, and with the force of their landing disappearing, the ship slowed. Its lodestones hummed lower as it powered down. With a soft impact, it came to a stop against the beach.


    "Alright," Benbeck stood. "Everyone get out onto the beach, and I''ll give out my orders. We''ll have the entire operation wrapped up by morning!"