Eight makes one crew

A pirates fleet

"Hey Joong!" Yeosang called for the millionth time. Just like they had practiced, Hongjoong stood next to the crow's nest and Yeosang dropped the telescope into his outstretched hand. Seongwha had mentioned how many times he hated when they did that. In his mind, it was too easy for Yeosang to miss and for the heavy metal to hit Hongjoong in the head. Yeosang and Hongjoong knew that would never happen and eventually, they would convince Seongwha of it too.

"What do you see this time, Yeosang?" Hongjoong waited, wanting to know what he was looking for.

"We're surrounded" Yeosang called back down, leaning against the barrel of the nest. He wished that Jongho was up there with him but they hadn't been up there together in a long time. 

"By who?" Hongjoong wondered. 

"Neo" Yeosang knew the name of these pirates. Even though there were too many to count, he knew their collective name. There were several different ships in this little fleet. Last time Yeosang had heard of them, the whole group had four ships: 127, WayV, Dream and Wish. 

"Their friendly" Hongjoong decided. He had heard of these people too; they were okay. Not like some others.

"What do you want us to do? Their asking for boarding, something tells me they don't want to just talk" San pointed out. 

"The captain and two men can come over. No more than that" Hongjoong decided. San nodded and a moment later, three men came onto the Ateez. 

"Hongjoong" The Captain, of all four ships, bowed his head. The other two did the same. 

"Taeyong" Hongjoong returned the gesture, causing Seongwha and Wooyoung to copy him. They were both much closer to Hongjoong than they needed to be but he wasn't complaining. At the first sign that something went wrong, Hongjoong knew they would have his back. Even San, Jongho and Yeosang were ready for a fight from their spots on the ship. 

"We didn't come to fight" Taeyong motioned his two men off. Hongjoong recognized them a little. Johnny and Jaehyun, two of the best fighters. 

"Somehow, that's not very reassuring" Hongjoong scoffed. Taeyong smiled a little, making Hongjoong relax. A smile was always good, most of the time. Hongjoong could usually tell if it was a friendly smile or an 'I'm about to kill you' smile. 

"We lost a few crew members. The younger ones too and well, we've heard the rumors about your navigator. We thought you might be able to help" Taeyong glanced at Yeosang, sending shivers down the younger man's spine. 

"Oh, well then yeah, we can help you. Come on down to my office" Hongjoong led the three other pirates down the stairs. Wooyoung was hesitant to follow, obeying when Seongwha motioned for him to stay and the oldest followed their captain. 

"You should go with them, Yeosang. This involves you" Wooyoung pointed out. Yeosang nodded and went below deck, knocking on the captain's door. It took a moment, but he was let in, and the door closed behind him loudly.

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"So, you want me to track down three kids? Because they got lost at a market and you just...left without them?" Yeosang didn't have to keep the judgement out of his voice. He didn't try to either. Hongjoong swatted him once and Yeosang jumped.

"I'm just saying! That doesn't seem very responsible" Yeosang pointed out, lowering his voice so only Hongjoong would hear. 

"If you keep this up, you and I can go have a conversation elsewhere. Be nice" Hongjoong responded just as quietly. Taeyong turned away, pretending to not hear. Yeosang noticed and felt his face grow hot. 

"Yes Captain" Yeosang nodded. Hongjoong pulled away from him, turning back to the three men.

"He'll do it. I'm assuming this isn't a paying thing?" Hongjoong guessed, crossing his arms. 

"Sorry, we don't have much to give you. But we'll give you what we can if that's what it takes" Taeyong shook his head. Hongjoong stopped him.

"Don't worry about it. I know what it's like to lose a few crew mates, you'd do anything to get them back" Hongjoong said with a pointed look to Yeosang, who looked away. The memory of when him and Mingi snuck off the ship resurfaced instantly, as well as the aftermath. One hand rubbed at his backside gingerly. Hongjoong noticed and chuckled softly, patting Yeosang on the shoulder.

"Well, the sooner we can go and find these troublemakers, the better. Whenever your ready...?" Taeyong stopped, realizing he didn't know the names of anyone here except Hongjoong.

"Yeosang. Nice to meet you. Just give me a minute and I'll have my stuff ready to go" Yeosang let acceptance wash over him. It would be a few weeks before he was back. But it would be kind of nice to get away, see more of the world than he had been able to from where he was. 

"Don't worry, we'll be waiting. Jaehyun, go with him and help him get settled once he's ready" Taeyong turned to the youngest of his guys that were present. Him and Hongjoong shook hands.

"Take care of Yeosang for me. Otherwise, I might have to fight you when you bring him back" Hongjoong joked, only a little. He was being somewhat serious and Taeyong noticed.

"I'll take care of him like he's my own. I promise you that" Taeyong nodded once. He knew what it was like to trust other people with someone who was like family. 

"Where are you taking him?" Wooyoung got up, suspicious of Jaehyun as he walked up with Yeosang.

"Wooyoung, it's okay. I'll be back soon" Yeosang assured him, following Jaehyun onto the board connecting the two ships. As soon as Taeyong and Johnny were back on their own ship, that board would be gone. 

"No, it's not! Your not going anywhere with him" Wooyoung pulled Yeosang away, pushing his friend behind him. San and Jongho had gotten up to join them, forming a protective barrier around Yeosang.

"Wooyoung!" Hongjoong called, getting his kids' attention. Wooyoung turned to him and opened his mouth to say something before he was cut off.

"I gave my permission. Taeyong and his crew need Yeosang's help and Taeyong has agreed to take care of him. I trust these guys. Let Yeosang past" Hongjoong walked over, gently pushing Wooyoung back and letting Yeosang go back to Jaehyun.

"You can't just-" Wooyoung argued again. Hongjoong gave a warning squeeze of his arm.

"Wooyoung. Trust me, I would not put Yeosang in a dangerous position" Hongjoong added, reassuringly. Wooyoung still was not convinced but he gave in, trusting the captain.

"Come back soon. We'll need our navigator" Wooyoung pulled Yeosang into a hug, the others crowding around them within seconds. As soon as they all parted, Yeosang went onto the other ship and waved again from there. 

"I hate you" Wooyoung turned and left, hiding himself in his room. Hongjoong tried not to take that too personally. Of course, Wooyoung, and the others, were having hard feelings. Yunho and Mingi were still out there somewhere and Hongjoong had just let another one of their brothers go, even if it was only temporary. 

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Siren (Ateez)
Hongjoong. 21
Seongwha. 21
Yunho. 20
Yeosang. 20
San. 20
Mingi. 20
Wooyoung. 20
Jongho. 19

Black Swan (BTS)
Jin. 27
Suga. 26
Hoseok. 25
Namjoon. 25
Jimin. 24
Taehyung. 24
Jungkook. 22

Miroh (Stray Kids)
Chan. 22
Minho. 21
Changbin. 20
Hyunjin. 19
Jisung. 19
Felix. 19
Seungmin. 19
Jeongin. 18

Sector 17 (Seventeen)
Seungcheol. 24
Jeonghan. 24
Joshua. 24
Jun. 23
Hoshi. 23
Wonwoo. 23
Woozi. 23
Dokyeom. 22
Mingyu. 22
Minghao. 22
Seungkwan. 21
Vernon. 21
Dino. 20

Todoro (TXT)
Yeonjun. 20
Soobin. 19
Beomgyu. 18
Taehyun. 17
Kai. 17

Sweet Venom (Enhypen)
Heeseung. 17
Jay. 16
Jake. 16
Sunghoon. 16
Sunoo. 15
Jungwon. 14
Niki. 13

Gold Dust ship (NCT 127)
Taeil. 25
Johnny. 24
Taeyong. 24
Yuta. 24
Doyoung. 23
Jaehyun. 22
Jungwoo. 21

Miracle ship (NCT WayV)
Kun. 23
Ten. 23
Winwin. 22
Xiaojun. 20
Hendery. 20
Yangyang. 19

Poison ship (NCT Dream)
Mark. 20
Renjun. 19
Jeno. 19
Haechan. 19
Jaemin. 19
Chenle. 18
Jisung. 17

Songbird ship (NCT Wish)
Sion. 17
Riku. 16
Yushi. 15
Jaehee. 14
Ryo. 12
Sakuya. 12