It was a beautiful morning on one of the many islands within North-Blue. Within a small town, one house of many was rather lively this early in the morning, with children shouting at eachother. The front door opened, and a small girl ran out, giggling and screaming. "Hey, get back here! I'll catch ya no matter what!" A young boy shouted, running after her. It was Shane, a young boy. They were playing a game of tag.

Molly stomped through the dirt roads without a care in the world as her big brother chased after her. The day was ripe with opportunity for the young siblings. Where would it lead them? Nobody could tell! One thing was for certain though, and it was that the sunlight would shine on until nightfall without a single cloud in the sky to hamper the mood.

The little girl tripped near the edge of town and rolled onto her back. Dirt smeared across her blue flower-print overalls, adding the the multitude of stains that coated the worn fabric. She leaned forward and turned to Shane, eyes wide. Was this the end? Could it be? Would she finally be it?!

Shane's eyes widened as his sister fell. This was it! His one and only chance!

The boy's muscles tensed up, and his focus seemed to increase. He focused on his sister and her alone, doing his best to tune out anything else. He wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste. A bright smile came across his face. He did not care if he stumbled or fell himself, he was going to succeed!

With a hefty leap, the young boy rushed at her and swiped his hand at her. "Gotcha!!" He cried triumphanticly.

Molly rolled away and flipped onto her feet, evading his swipe with ease. Her brother might've been quick witted, but his reaction speed with comparable to that of a dying otter with a brain tumor. They were only kids, but when it came to athleticism, she had him totally beat.

"Missed me, stupid!" She shouted, running into another clumsy sprint. At the pace she was going, she was bound to lead them towards the beach. It was a wonderful day though. Maybe a little time in the sand wasn't a bad idea.

---

Meanwhile, out at sea, a massive ship with a hull black as coal was approaching the shoreline. At the helm, a large man, at least two meters wide and three meters tall, held the wheel steady against the current. Behind him stood a tall, skinny woman with dark black hair that hung down slick against her skin.

"Keep her steady, Mr. Graves. We'll be at shore soon."

Shane let out an loud, frustrated grunt as Molly evaded his swipe. The young boy lost his balance as his swipe missed, causing him to tumble into the dirt, chest-first. The young boy pushed himself back up with his hands and stood up, rushing after his sister again.

The boy enjoyed a good challenge or two, despite how his attitude appeared which could sometimes be misinterpreted as being irritated.

"I'm not done yet!" The boy cried after Molly.

Molly trudged on, looking back only for a moment to stick her tongue out at her brother. "All talk and no bite! You'll never beat me acting like that, stooge-wagon!" She kicked off down the main trail, flinging a cloud of dust up as she reached critical speed. "Mega Molly Dash!!!"

Kids are pretty stupid, if we're being fair here.

The beach was already in sight. Just a few more minutes and the soft sand would bring Molly's incredibly average speed to a halt. If Shane had any advantage over Molly, it was he ability to maneuver through the sand more effectively. Which, in reality, kinda sucked as something to list as a special skill.

Shane rushed through the sand to chase after Molly, the cloud of dust crashing into his face and clothes. Some of it got stuck in his eyes, and he vaguely happened to spot a large figure getting closer. He was seeing the figure of the boat, but with his eyes clogged with dirt, it was difficult to make out what it was.

Instead, he focused on the fast moving figure before him, which had to be his sister. He refused to stop, despite his limited vision. He moved through the sand, gaining momentumn on Molly as he advanced. The boy made a leap at her, launching himself as his target. "Shane MISSILE!!!"

Molly turned around and braced herself, but Shane's raw damage was too much for her frail little idiot head, and she was shoved to the ground. Most little girls would end up crying, but Molly laughed it off as they tumbled over and spat up a mouth full of sand. "Damn, what was that? Some kind of special attack?"

Shane smiled as he struck his target, but frowned a bit. He expected Molly to cry for a brief moment, but he quickly shrugged it off. He hadn't intended to push her so hard, but he knew that she was tough. He got a cocky smirk on his face.

"Yes, it was! It allows me to move with the speed of a real missile!" The young boy proudly announced. He backed away quickly, and began running away from Molly. "But now, you're IT!" He shouted.

He glanced at the large boat briefly as it approached, with slight interest. Where did the boat come from? Who were they?

Molly pouted and shoved herself onto her feet. She spun around and stared at the oncoming boat, freezing in place as its once small shadow grew larger and larger, until finally, it looked big enough to crush their entire beach.

"Uh... Shane?"

Shane stopped in his tracks, surprised that his sister wasn't following. He began to focus on the boat completely now, the massive sight incredibly difficult to disregard as something insignificant now. His eyes widened, and he rushed back over towards Molly. "Molly! Move!" He shouted, hoping that she'd either move in time, or that he'd be quick enough to pull her out of the way.

The pitch black hull was wider than four town houses side by side, and towered at least four stories overhead like some kind of moving fortress. Its sails were laden with dark green fabric from top to bottom in sets of eight on either side of the mast. From its bow, a giant silver spike shot out with what appeared to be barbed wire lining its shaft.

Molly didn't move. She froze up at the sight of it. If Shane had moved only a moment later, both him and his sister would have been crushed by the oncoming ship as it tore through the sand, destroying half the beach.

When the ship came to a stop, several slots opened all along its frontal hull, and spiked shot into the ground with anchors attached to the end of each one. Far above the eight-fold sails, a black flag waved with a white jolly roger spread across its length. It looked like a skull with thin slits for eyes, and smooth hair-like patterns on either edge wrapping down into a spiral below its jawline. No doubt, it was the sign of a pirate ship.

Shane backed away slowly, but he couldn't quite tell himself to run away. The sheer sight before him struck him with such awe, that he didn't know how to react. The flag made it clear what kind of people they were. Pirates, the worst kind. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? Stay calm and hope they leave him and his sister alone? Run to town as quickly as possible? He'd already expended a ton of his stamina chasing after Molly, and it was doubtful that they would let them escape.

The boy clenched his fists, trying to stay strong and calm in front of Molly. "M...Molly.." He mumbled, trying to comfort his sister, but failing. If anything, him stuttering her name achieved the opposite.

Molly immediately grabbed her brother's shoulder and tried pulling him away, to no avail. "Are you stupid!? We gotta run!" She pulled and pulled, thrashing her body with every tug, but her little arms were not enough to move her elder sibling.

From atop the boat, five people dropped down into the sand as if it were nothing, flinging shards across the beach with each landing.

The first was the helmsman, a giant of a man with glistening black armor that hugged his rounded figure. He wore a pair of high-tech goggles and a gas mask to hide his face, and had swirly black hair, held high in a spiked pompadour. His lanky arms hung low, bare to the wind, with a pair of black gloves covering each hand.

The second man stood just over 6 feet tall and had a giant rifle slung around his shoulder at a 40 degree angle. Its golden nozzle hovered a few inches above the sand. He wore a pair of shorts, a green vest, and a blue neckerchief around his forehead that held his short blonde hair up and away from his eyes. For a sniper, he looked pretty burly, with a bulging upper body. His thin, almost atrophied legs told another story. With such a peculiar build, it was a wonder he could stand up straight at all.

The third person's face attracted the eye faster than the rest. A woman. Possibly in her twenties. Maybe thirties? It was hard to think and look at her without stumbling over your thoughts. Especially since she wasn't wearing any clothes. Thankfully, her slender form was entirely obscured by clouds of pink smoke that stuck to her like cotton candy. She smiled ear to ear with a V-shaped mouth, and stared at the children with malice lacing the thin slits of her eyelids.

The fourth didn't even look like a man at all. He stood at least 7 feet tall. A cloak hid his entire body in segmented strips of green and black fabric. The shape of his face though... It was peculiar. Almost like that of a snake's. The edge of his mouth bore scars that wrapped nearly all the way around to the back of his head, and his pupils were slits in their sockets.

At the center of the crew members, their Captain stood taller than the rest. A beanpole of a woman. Thinner than Molly, and taller than her clunky, extra-wide friend. Her hair clung close to her face and torso, flicking off of her body with tiny curls near the middle of her waist. She wore a black dress with a split down the side of her left leg that clung to her figure.

The five of them looked down at Molly and Shane, but didn't say a word.

Shane stared with fear in his eyes at the 5 people before him. His entire body was trembling, despite the glare in his eyes. He attempted to look tough, to not reveal how frightened he was, but his posture was showing otherwise. The boy grabbed Molly by her arm, and he ran. He ran as fast as he could muster, not even looking back to see if the pirates were following.

He knew one thing, and one thing only. They needed to continue living. He was quick, and so was Molly! They'd been playing tag for as long as he could remember, surely they had a chance to escape! There was still a chance to survive! They had to survive!

Molly tried her best to keep upright as she followed after her brother. "We gotta tell the people at the Marines outpost!" she shouted. Molly didn't even think it over before saying it. At the mention of marines, the gunman stepped out of the lineup and flipped his weapon around his body.

"Calm down," the captain whispered, "They're just children, Chadley."

Chadley frowned and flipped his gun back into position on his back. "I've sure we've done worse, ma'am."

"Children don't need to die over such a trifle. Oh yoo-hoo! Little boy! Little girl!" The extra tall lady captain rose a hand and waved at Molly and Shane.

Shane looked over his shoulder as the female captain called out to them. "Don't stop moving, Molly.." He whispered to his sister, and looked back in front of him. He hadn't seen the gun being drawn since he'd been focusing on running the entire time, but he didn't quite plan on stopping anyway. His parents taught them that nothing good ever came of pirates, and he wasn't about to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"How much further before we reach the outpost?!" He asked Molly. Navigating was never one of Shane's strong suits. He knew where his village and the beach was, and he didn't quite bother to remember where anything else was.

Molly didn't say anything. Her silence was accompanied by a sudden weight in Shane's step. Suddenly, a hand crept underneath his arm and yanked him to a standstill. Molly fainted behind him, and he felt woozy, like he'd just taken a 100 foot tumble down a huge hill.

The lady captain craned over him like a giant skeleton and grabbed his other arm. "No need to be getting those stubborn marines involved, little boy."

Shane looked at the giant woman, his eyes half-open as he desperately tried to stay conscious. He didn't know what was going on. Was he this exhausted from running? He'd been running a lot today, but...had he already reached his limit? The boy grit his teeth, as he glared up at the woman.

"Wh-what....do you..want.." He mumbled, struggling to try to break free from the man's grasp.