Back to John

John stood leaning against the wheel feeling the wind in his face. The muffled sounds of the bound and gagged Mary sitting in the corner all that disturbed the sound of the water lapping against the side of the boat. It was a night very much like this one, when John's world was turned upside down.

Six years Earlier

John stood with his parents on the dock in London. They had been called there by the Port Authority in regards to the fate of the ship Alex had been sailing on. John watched the burly Lord walk onto a raised platform so that the gathered crowd could see him. "I am sorry to say that after our investigation, we have come to the decision that the ship that your family members were sailing on was sunk by what we believe to be pirates. I understand that this news may make some of you distraught, and we have the resources available for you to use if you want. The King has decided to award all families of the deceased with a small severance in their honor. Please report to the Navy office at your convenience to collect your money. Thank you." He said as he stepped off the platform and was immediately surrounded by his guards as he made his way back to his office. John just stood there in shock, he had assumed that nothing good had come of Alex, he was supposed to have been back three months earlier, but hearing the confirmation was something entirely different. John didn't know how long he stood there for, but eventually he felt the strong grip of his father's hand on his shoulder.

"Son, your mother and I are heading back to the house now, I understand if you'd like to stay her a bit longer. We'll be waiting for you at home." He said gently. John rubbed the tars out of his eyes as he said.

"Thank you dad." John sat on the edge of the wharf just staring out to sea. He and Alex had agreed that when John came of age they would both sail on a ship together under the employ of the Royal Navy. Now, that dream was over. John felt a figure sit down beside him, and as he looked over to see who it was, he saw someone dressed in a black robe whose face was covered in a hood. "Can I help you?" John asked.

"That depends. Are you John Kidd brother of the recently deceased Alex Kidd?" The figure said in a melodious voice.

"Yes? Who's asking?"

"A man who can provide you with answers, if you'd like to hear them." The man said as he removed his hood to reveal a man's face with a full beard and head of hair. He had black hair that was starting to grey, but that contrasted with his young face.

"Answers huh?" John scoffed.

"Yes. If they're anything like the questions your brother asked, you probably don't want the answers. Here, I'll give you an answer for free. Your brother is alive, but not as you remember him to be."

"He's alive? You're telling me this after I just had someone tell me that he was dead."

"There is a evil power unleashed on the sea. The dead rule the sea, those who were known to be dead have been seen to be alive and quite well sailing the seas. There are many questions we don't have the answers to, but we could use someone of your abilities."

"And what abilities are those?"

"The ability to deceive. Yes, I know what you and Alex were doing when no one was watching. I've had my eye on you two for a while now as potential recruits. I know how the French have been getting reports of our Navy's strength, yes I know John. I won't hold it over your head _if _you join us."

"Doesn't look like I have much choice. Who is that I'm joining anyways?"

"We are a branch of assassins, we believe in freedom and we fight for it, we also find answers to the world's mysteries."

"I can get behind that." John smiled.

"Did you know that Sophie Waterton is dead John?"

"Dead?! I just saw her this morning!"

"I know. Haven't you realized that she is acting different lately? Perhaps her new found interest in the sea?"

"How do you know of that? I thought that maybe she was growing out of that phase of her life."

"No John, I have done a lot of studying, and what my brothers and I have found, is that when you die, and are brought back to life, a piece of your soul disappears. It's as if a piece of you is ripped out, they never act the same again after."

"How are they revived?"

"It has something to do with the water. The water brings them back to life. Our research says that the cause of the curse lies somewhere in pirate waters. After your training, you will be sent there, to those waters and you will find the cause of this curse. Maybe we can find a way to control it for our own means, or maybe we will just have to find a way to get rid of it entirely."

Back to the present

Six years later, after all that hard work and training with the assassins, he was no closer to his goal. Sophie continued to die and be reborn with less and less of herself each time, so that now John no longer recognized the girl he once loved. He had betrayed the assassins, and now had betrayed the pirates as he sailed in what was to him no man's land. He looked over at the bound and gagged form of Mary. She had stopped making sounds through her gag, but her eyes continued to bore holes in his back. There was a reason he brought her along he told himself, maybe it was time to question the prisoner.