The waves rolled gently along as a ship pulled up to the harbor of the town. The place was starting to look a little cleaned up since the new mayor took over. The Gerudic man who'd attempted to publicly execute a pirate. Though Taint was mistaken for a pirate, he held no grudge against the man, and when in port, remained cloaked along with his crew. Sometimes it was necessary to stop in the town, as it was the only one for several miles. While the crew avoided the risk when possible, sometimes food ran out, or water grew scarce. Storms rolled in, and caused them to have to dock. A day like today, particularly.

The skies were gray today, the clouds full with moisture. A wind blew hard over the pier, most ships docking for the evening. Sailing would continue in the morning, and the town's hotels were growing crowded. While the town was known as a thief's town, the new mayor was doing his all to cut down injustice. Turns out his name was Fleidin Gremling, and he was ruling by fear, publicly executing those who stood against him. Mixed emotions filled the street gossip about the new leader. He ruled with an iron fist, but was making the town a safer place. That said, he had a good price on his head by cutthroats and thieves everywhere, pirates included. Fleidin's life has reportedly become a life of watching his back. Despite the fact that the Zora was nearly executed here, he was pulling his ship into the docks.

"Steady... Steady," Quill called from above as he watched the ship pull into port. "There!" He called, the boat coming to a halt. Tank had enough strength to hoist and lower the sail by himself, and was carefully tying up the sail at the bottom as Crowjack hopped down onto the deck, and walked briskly past him. "Good work, Tank." He complimented the Goron and stood at the edge of the boat. He rested his arms on the railing, and bent his knee as he leaned forward. He carefully examined the docks from beneath his Prussian-blue cloak, and found that very few souls populated them. His crew, newly named The Overwatch, had taken one of the last remaining spots in the shipyard. Willow was busy tying the ship up the docks, while Cedar was locking everything up. Crowjack hopped down onto the docks, and felt them quake as Tank hit the docks soon after him. Quill flew from the crow's nest, and landed gently next to the Zora before speaking in a hushed tone,

"Crowjack... We have to be careful here... We aren't exactly welcome."

The Zora nodded before inspecting his crew. They all had their blue cloaks on, and they were all converging on the docks. The Zora pushed forward walking towards land, when a violent lace of natural energy crackled across the sky above them.

"Lightning," Willow commented as she finished tying the ship. "It would seem we got here without a moment to spare." Crowjack nodded as he walked. He felt the docks shaking as Tank hurried to catch up with him. Tank stopped and whispered, "Hey, Captain... How do we know Parapa Village still has rooms?" It was a valid concern. Crowjack nodded, "Aye... We don't know for sure. We'll just have to check everywhere. There are quite a few of us. We might end up sharing a room."

The thunderclap followed the lightning they'd seen moments ago, booming throughout the area. Cedar hopped into Tank's arms, shuddering at the ferocity of nature. Tank held her to his chest as they walked.

"We'll be alright," spoke Hazard for the first time since they'd docked. "It's only a storm." He comforted her as best he could, keeping his cloak from blowing away with the wind. The Overwatch walked ashore in search of an Inn.

* * *

They were lucky to have found a perfect number as far as rooms were concerned. Crowjack and Willow shared a room, Tank and Cedar shared a room, Hazard and Quill shared a room. It worked out alright, and the crew was sleeping soundly, when suddenly...

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

Quill sat up in bed. His head snapped in the direction of the window. It was pouring outside. He stared at the window for several seconds.

"Did you hear that, Darkin?" Hazard spoke, forsaking the codename at the moment. Quill nodded in the darkness, and responded, "Yes. Cannon fire." Hazard sat up and shook his head, which could be seen in the dim light provided from the window. "I think it might have been the storm."

"No," Quill quickly responded. The silence that hung in the air after that sentence was deafening. "I hear screaming." He added. Hazard hurriedly got out of bed and began suiting up for battle.

SLAM SLAM SLAM

Someone was pounding on the door to their room. "QUILL!! HAZARD!! GET UP, THERE'S TROUBLE!!"

It was Captain Crowjack's voice, unmistakably. "Please hurry!" Willow could be heard. "People are hurt! Pirates are attacking!" Quill hurriedly got dressed, eyes ablaze with fury. Damn pirates couldn't even let me sleep. He hurried out the door, Hazard close behind him. Crowjack and Willow could be seen rounding the corner at the end of the hall as Tank and Cedar emerged from their room. Tank slammed the door behind him, and cast Quill a nervous glance before the two nodded at one another. The pirate situation was understood. Quill also had a hunch as to what the thieves were after. Revenge on the new mayor, Fleidin. The crew hurried down the dimly lit hallway, and rounded the corner through the door of the tiny inn. Darkin stopped as he stared at the chaos. He couldn't believe what he was seeing...

Three ships had sunken docked ships with their cannons, and taken their place in port. Pirates were unloading onto the docks by the dozens, each of them hurrying towards Parapa Village. Some of the residents were also stepping out of their homes to see what was happening. Crowjack and his crew stood there in the streets watching as more and more pirates filled the docks.

"Captain!" Quill called out as he conjured a spell in each hand. His cloak began to wave and flutter as the magical energy surrounded him. "Pirates! I've been reading about things like this in the paper. There have been small pirate attacks on Parapa as of late. It's thought to be because of the public pirate execution attempted by Parapa's new mayor. I'm certain they aim to attack the city in search of the mayor. What should we do?" Tank hefted his giant hammer onto his shoulder and grinned wildly. "All due respect, captain..." Tank began. "I think Quill's already got the right idea." Hazard appeared next to Crowjack, "Well, captain? What are your orders?" Crowjack stared at the pirates as they stormed the docks, a mental conflict growing into a mental war within his head. Finally, he smiled, and closed his eyes.

"Alright. Sure... Defend Parapa!" He drew his sword with a cocky smile, and hurried into the fray, his crew not far behind him. "Willow! Cedar! Quill!" The Zora called out as he neared the pirates' front lines. "Knock out the front line! Support Hazard, Tank, and I with spells! We're headed into the thick of it!"

"Got it!" Quill called back. "The both of you cast wind. I have an idea!" Willow and Cedar nodded. "The two of them set the air in motion with their magic, gales of wind headed straight for the pirates. Suddenly the men stopped, seeing the magic headed straight for them. Clearly they hadn't been expecting too much resistance. Quill smiled, "I prefer a moving target... But this is just fine." He conjured a maelstrom of flames which ignited further within the wind conjured by his crew mates, and it swallowed not only the front row, but all the pirates on the docks entirely. Screams filled the air as the night sky was illuminated in flame. Smoldering cinders remained when the inferno died, and still, pirates poured onto the docks from the docked ships.

They didn't aim to just attack Parapa... Taint thought as he watched counted the men in front of him. They wanted to destroy it.

"Tank! Hazard!" He called as he ran.

"Sir!" They responded in unison.

Crowjack held his sword and shield at the ready as the crew closed the gap between themselves and the pirates. "These guys are no good! Aim to kill!"

"AYE AYE!!" They cried out as they dove into battle alongside their captain. Crowjack cut down the first opponent with little to no resistance. He ducked under a blade, and stabbed through the next pirate in line. Hazard was cutting through enemies at a faster rate, and more efficiently. This was to be expected however- he was a trained soldier of Everbreeze, and it was all to easy to forget that. "Duck!" Tank called out, and Crowjack and Hazard quickly obeyed. The air broke apart like the sound of a torpedo ripping past ones ears as a massive hammer sailed overhead. The wind force knocked Crowjack down a little, as he watched the hammer smash through at least six heads. Blood spattered the boardwalk as the decapitated bodies hit the ground. Hazard smiled, "Nice!" Crowjack blocked a sword strike, and struck back. The pirate dodged the attack, and hurried back for another strike, when a lightning bolt rained down from the clouds, and blew him apart. Quill landed next to the Zora. Crowjack smiled, "This is how we DO it!!"

More pirates stormed the docks as more ships pulled up. "Captain!" Willow called out. "More ships! Buckle down!" She floated down next to Tank, and mended a wound he had sustained during combat. Tank thanked her while Hazard and Crowjack continued the fighting. "Captain!" Hazard called out over the battle taking place. "I know!" Crowjack called back as he thought up a strategy. The battle wasn't going in their favor. They were holding their ground, but they wouldn't be able to keep this up long enough to empty the ships on the horizon. They would also be docking in different ports- they had only been able to cover this one. Across the docks, Parapa's soldiers had been dispatched, and they were managing to keep the pirates at bay. Suddenly, Crowjack screamed,

"Tank!! Smash the docks!" Without hesitation, the Goron brought his giant hammer down on the wooden docks, smashing the bridge that led to the village. The pirates stopped in time to avoid falling into the ocean below. "Cedar!! Blow them off!" The little Deku woman heard the command, and set the winds into a furious gale that knocked the men into the water. "Quill!!" Crowjack called out once again. "Shock em'!!" Darkin heard the command, and his eyes widened. What a well thought out plan... Heh... That's our Zora. He brought the lightning down upon the water, frying all its contents. Now these docks wouldn't be a problem anymore. The crew hurried away from the docks, and over to support the soldiers. However, it would appear that a new task would befall them. The pirates weren't being stopped by the Parapa soldiers. Some were still leaking through, and they were already on land. Crowjack called out the order to stop anyone from getting into town, and it was quickly set into motion.

Now it wasn't a concentrated surge of enemies either. It was a free for all, pirates everywhere. Tank rolled around, running over several more pirates than he would be able to stop with his hammer alone. Quill and Cedar were freelancing it, taking down soldiers here and there, while Crojack and Hazard cut down pirates everywhere they could. Willow was wandering around healing the wounded Gerudo soldiers, and dispensing them back into battle. Crowjack kept an eye on the soldiers as he fought. They weren't able to stop the pirates as efficiently as The Overwatch, and they were getting overrun. More and more pirates surged the shore, and now it would appear that their primary goal was to cut down the cloaked heroes. They were starting to gather around Crowjack and his crew, when suddenly, the ground shook heavily. Several pirates went flying in different directions as a figure fell from the sky, fist hitting the ground hard. Hazard lost his footing, and fell to the ground as sand filled the air. When Crowjack pulled his focus on the figure, he inhaled sharply.

Fleidin, the town's mayor was joining the fight. The man looked over at the cloaked captain, and smiled. "Hey there... You were doing some fancy fighting just now. You and your friends have my thanks." Crowjack kept his head low, and remained silent. "But," Fleidin continued. "We're not out of the woods yet. It appears that my army is failing. Can I count on your continued support tonight?" Crowjack gritted his teeth as memories flooded him about the man. He begrudgingly nodded, not wanting the residents to suffer from the pirate attack. "Certainly." Crowjack finally responded before turning his attention back to the pirates that were headed their way. That little explosion had bought them time, but that was all it did. The crew knew the situation was dire. If the mayor realized who he was fighting alongside, he might turn on them. Still, they had their orders. Suddenly, the mayor conjured what could only be described as a hurricane. The wind picked up all the enemies in sight, and hurled them far out over the ocean's horizon. The crew was astonished. The pirates that were headed for shore immediately realized how outgunned they were, and turned tail back to their boats.

The sun suddenly peaked over the horizon, casting a faint glow on the shore. Crowjack threw his fist in the air, and roared a battle-cry that echoed throughout the area. The rest of the crew followed suit, throwing their fists in the air. The mayor and his soldiers raised their fists and howled into the morning light as the pirates tucked tail and sailed away. Crowjack's knees hit the ground as he sighed in relief. It had been a hell of a fight. A shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see the mayor. The man extended a hand down to him. Unsure about it, he took the hand, and was yanked up to his feet. The mayor looked him carefully in the eyes, and smiled.

Busted.

The crew quickly circled the man. Tank was breathing heavily, but his hammer was at the ready. Lilly's hand had formed a polymorphic spell, and her fingers were inches away from the man's head. Hazard already had his sword ready, and Quill and Cedar were shimmering with magical energy. Crowjack's eyes were still he pulled his hood down. The mayor's eyes narrowed.

"You." He stated simply.

The longest silence fell over them a thick blanket. The moment was tense. Then, the mayor closed his eyes, and folded his arms.

"You escaped me once... And I'm glad."

Crowjack was taken aback, but remained on guard. Fleidin continued,

"I almost executed a good man. I would have lost my town if you and your crew hadn't been here. You would have helped the pirates destroy this town if you had a grudge... So why... Why do you defend Parapa from your own kind?"

The Zora smiled. "You attempted to kill me. You hunted me like I was a wild animal. You burned my ship. But I won't hold Parapa responsible for that. These people didn't bring me any harm... Yes, they cheered when my neck was in the noose... But they thought I was a pirate... I'm really just an explorer who helps those in need. My crew does the same."

Another silence.

The Gerudo man nodded. "Very well then... I thank you for everything. I'll make sure that word gets out of your good deed here tonight. I'll see the king about pardoning you and your crew for piracy. Lastly, I'd like to apologize. I was arrogant."

Everyone lowered their weapons. Crowjack looked up at the coming dawn, and smiled. "I think we'd appreciate that, Mr. Mayor."

That morning, a small ceremony was held near the docks to commemorate The Overwatch for their outstanding act of courage in the face of adversity. Fleidin highlighted the fact that Captain Crowjack fought with his all for the city that nearly hanged him. The crew was given the gift of four cannons, and the mayor had the cannons placed on the boat for the crew. Newspapers were published throughout the land telling the tale of Parapa's close encounter with the pirates. The King agreed to pardon the entire crew, allowing them to shed the cloaks they donned when entering towns and cities.

Over the days, the mayor also met with the King, requesting armed forces for night patrol. It is unknown yet whether or not the King agreed to send forces to Parapa, a town which traditionally held ill will towards the royal family. One of the few places thieves could call their home was now being overrun with justice, and light. Welcome to return any time for a free night's stay, The Overwatch was seen off by Fleidin personally. As the ship set sail, stocked with supplies, the residents stood on the docks waving and cheering for the crew. Crowjack turned and walked to the center of the deck where everyone was gathered, save for Quill, who was steering the ship.

"Quill," Crowjack called to the Rito. "Lock the wheel. We're on course, and I want you to be down here for a moment." Quill quickly locked the wheel in its place, and advanced down the stairs to meet with the crew. Crowjack smiled and nodded at him before continuing.

"I want to say that you all performed magnificently. I'm extremely impressed with how quickly orders were obeyed. I'm not so used to commanding things..."

"You were simply amazing, Captain." Tank said smiling.
"Agreed," said Cedar. "Your leadership was stunning."
"Aye-aye to that!" Hazard chimed in.

Quill folded his arms, and smiled at the Zora. "That plan you set into motion... You know, when you asked Tank to destroy the docks..."

Crowjack blushed, and turned his head, "Aww, it was nothin'."

"No." Quill insisted. "It was brilliant. You always manage to surprise me."

The Zora scowled at the aven mage, "Hey! Why is my brilliance a surprise!?" Before Quill could forge a response to that, Lilly sauntered to the Zora's side, and wrapped her arms around him. "You were so brave..." She kissed him gently on the cheek, causing him to forget everything entirely.

"Well, I... I... and you... We..." He picked up his old stammering habit again.

Everyone laughed as the ship disappeared over the horizon.

The mayor stood standing on the docks, everyone else having returned home. He watched the ship vanish out of sight, and closed his eyes.

Even so... Captain Crowjack... Peace can never stay... I hope you stick around...
He turned, his cape fluttering behind him, as he walked back to the village. There was a lot of work to be done.