For The Greater Good-World 1: A Corrupted Cove || World//Zero ||

4. Sailing Away

No one's POV: 

Alec stood side by side with his peers and folded his arms over the side of the boat as it slowly drifted away from the dock, the sea dividing the space between them. He peered back onto the platform where the thousands of them were before. Trying to put the haunting train ride in the back of his mind, for now, he thought of Sean. What if he was just coming up with an excuse to not hang out with him, and that's why he didn't want to ride on the ship with him? He seemed really eager to teleport out of the dock, after all, as he didn't stay long enough to watch it leave. Not only that, but Alec still had strange vibes about the Elementalist. Why was he hanging out with him in the first place, let alone being nice to him? Everyone else was just keeping to themselves, so why couldn't he? What was so interesting about Alec that made Sean talk to him, anyway? 

Perhaps Alec was thinking too hard about this. Why couldn't he just accept the possibility that Sean wanted to be friends with him? 

To Alec, though, it just didn't sit right with him. He never really had friends before, or a real one, at that. Everyone mostly ignored him, and the majority in his class saw him as more of a "teacher's pet," and thought that that was weird. Which didn't make sense, even to him. He was hated because he was good, and not the other way around. 

The boat ride was supposed to take all day, so Sean said. Might as well make himself comfortable. So, not really having anything else to do, rather than watching the scenery change before him, he decided to explore the boat. 

The ship looked like every other pirate ship he recognized, with huge sails that moved ever so slightly in the wind and a spacious deck fit enough for crowds of people. Some were sitting down, taking a break from looking out at the sea, or lying on the floor to try to ease their ill stomachs from the movement, probably instantly regretting their decision to come onto the ship. The majority of the formed groups of alliances were talking amongst themselves, mostly out of excitement. Some of the younger ones were gathering around an older, more experienced person to tell them more about World 1, or the other worlds coming after, sharing their personal stories with their own twist on it to make it more enjoyable for the ones listening.

Discovering that a door was open, probably the captain's chambers or whatever, he decided to step inside and look around. There were people in here, too, mostly sitting around either talking or studying the different artifacts that were in there, like it was some sort of museum. But overall, it didn't look like anyone or anything really "exciting" was happening right now. Alec, feeling a little left out, went back outside and looked out in the ocean again. 

The sun started to set, the sky grew dark purple very quickly, and torches were lit by the crew to bring some light into the darkness. By now, everyone was feeling tired and worn out. Alec was, too, but was too paranoid to sleep. It felt weird to sleep, anyway, in a place he wasn't familiar with without his parents being by his side. 

It was silent on the deck, with nothing but whispering or snoring from his peers. However, in the chamber below, there was shouting, yelling, whistling, and cheering, though mumbled where Alec stood outside. Alec, out of curiosity, turned away from the view of the sunset and tiptoed to the entrance, and poked his head inside to see what was going on. He couldn't believe what he saw. 

Why everyone was acting like animals! Far enough away from the valuable artifacts, there was furniture on its side, with people using them as barriers that formed a ring, where two people dueled in the center of it. Two Tier 1 Classes, in fact. Oddly enough, one of the fighters appeared to be around his age, and he swung a dull-looking axe left and right as he defended himself from his foe's blows. Alec watched in horror. Why wasn't anyone doing something to stop this? They're going to kill each other!

The audience didn't look that worried, though. Most of the crowd were first classes, but a good few of them were older. But even then, they didn't step in and watched with amused expressions as they cheered the two fighters on in the ring. 

Alec didn't know what to do. He couldn't fight them, and if he wanted to, his suitcases with all of his stuff were at the bottom of the ship, just like everyone else's. Speaking of that, how did these two manage to find these weapons? Unless they stole them...oh dear. 

As much as Alec wanted to look away, he couldn't bring himself to. He watched as the brawl continued, worried that someone was going to get hurt. 

Suddenly, the back end of the axe grazing the other fighter's side caused him to trip and fall. Everyone in the crowd clapped and cheered for the Defender's victory, and the boy raised the axe in the air as if it was a trophy he just won.

As a few people were escorting the fallen fighter out of the ring, the twelve-year-old Defender looked around daringly, with a smug look on his face. "Who's next?" he questioned in a shout. 

Alec couldn't keep himself quiet anymore. Taking a step forward, and taking a deep breath, he shouted as loud as he could. "STOP!" 

Immediately, everyone in the room went quiet and turned toward the small boy. Alec held his breath as everybody stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to respond. Some of them were whispering to each other, hiding their lips behind their hands, while others snickered quietly and elbowed their friends. It was like everyone was silently mocking him, judging him, even though he didn't say anything yet. 

"Stop," he repeated, trying to find the right words. "You shouldn't be fighting," he attempted, "you're going to hurt someone." 

"Stop! Stop it!" someone in the crowd said in a whiney voice, causing everyone to burst into laughter. Alec's heart dropped into his stomach. Now he knew that everyone was judging him. 

"I mean it!" Alec tried again, raising his voice, trying his best to sound powerful so they'd take him seriously. 

The boy in the middle of the ring balanced against his axe, leaning against the end of it as he smiled at Alec with fake sweetness. "Fufufu~, come on. We're barely drawing blood here, aren't we?" 

"Yeh!" everyone exclaimed. 

Alec's hands curled into fists. "You will if you keep acting like wild animals!" 

Some people in the crowd gasped, others "ooo"ed. The kid in the middle of the ring frowned, and stood up straight, twirling the axe in his hand until it sat upright. "Who are you calling 'wild', little boy?" 

Alec winced at the name but dismissed it.

"Who do you think you are, calling me that?" the Defender shouted. "Are you trying to insult me? Is that it?" 

"No, but-" 

"Then what? Do you think that you can do any better? You think that you can defeat me?" He suddenly laughed. "I'd like to see you wield a weapon! Someone of your size can't do anything!" 

Alec's nose wrinkled. "That's not true." 

"Fine," the Defender smirked, taking a step towards him. "Prove it." 

Alec froze. "What?" 

"Step into the ring, and fight me," he said, his grasp on his axe tightening. While he was the same age as him, Alec didn't see anything other than a hulking presence closing in on him, and frankly, it made him worried. When he got close enough, the Defender shoved his face into Alec's until their noses touched. 

"Come on, fight me," he dared. "Unless you're too chicken to step into the ring." 

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[Word count: 1345 words]