A Vast Sea

•● Chapter 9 ●•

"My dad has brothers?!" Gregory asked incredulously.

Bon chuckled and continued adjusting his makeup. "You have aunts, uncles, cousins, everywhere... We're a big family!"

The boy was too stunned to speak. Bon turned towards the curtains suddenly as the announcer spoke. He got up and adjusted one last time before walking away.

"W-wait!" The boy stopped him. Bon lifted his paws up to reassure him.

"That's my cue to be on stage... just wait back here, I'll be right back." He whispered and left again.

"Do you kids need some water?" The bird offered. Cassie shook her head politely and sat down while Gregory watched the bunny go on stage and began singing.

...

After the performance, Bon sat down at the vanity again to speak to the boy while the woman sat nearby with Cassie.

"So... you grew up with my dad?" Gregory asked. Bon scratched the back of his neck.

"Ehh... not exactly. It's a long story -" He brushed it off.

"Nono, I want to hear it, please!" Gregory asked. The bunny leaned back against the antique chair.

"Why did Freddy never tell me about you...? Does he know you?" The boy asked. Bon nodded.

"We've met. Maybe he just thinks I'm a bad influence..." He leaned forward and pulled the hookah on his desk towards him to smoke.

The boy nodded awkwardly. "So... can you tell me anything about Bonnie?" He asked again.

"Did he abandon us...?" He muttered the last part.

Bon scoffed and shook his head. "No. He wouldn't have... who told you that?"

"M-my family -"

Bon shook his head. "Your dad was one of the sweetest, most loyal guys I've ever known. He would never do something like that... he wrote so fondly of you and your dad in his letters. He loved you two.

Gregory thought for a moment.

"Do you know what really happened to him, then?"

Bon shook his head. "That I do not know for sure... he stopped writing back to us years ago..."

The boy dipped his head in disappointment.

"But. If I had to guess," Bon continued, catching his attention again.

"Your dad had a lot of enemies. He was one of the most revered pirates of his time. I wouldn't be surprised if he was found, and... 'disposed of'..." He tried to soften the blow as much as possible for the kid.

"Or he was arrested. And if that is the case, he would have been hung, drowned, or stoned already..." The lady added solemnly.

Gregory's ears dropped, and he felt a chill run up his spine. He had speculated that perhaps Bonnie was dead already, but hearing his own brother say it made it seem so real.

"Not to mention that debt he had to pay." Bon added.

This caught the boy's attention again. "What debt?"

Bon took a second to breathe out the smoke he sucked in before continuing.

"Your dad had signed a contract when he was very young. Younger than you. And in the contract, he... practically signed his soul away..."

"He regretted it when he grew older. He tried everything to destroy the contract, but nothing worked. In a last ditch effort, he sealed it in a bottle and sent it adrift at sea. Once he thought he was freed, he ran away with your dad and had you."