All to Zero || Ep. 1 of the Treasure Series || ATEEZ Pirate AU

Chapter 3: Smokey Island

It was a rocky little crag of an island, a dry and barren strip of land that was clearly volcanic. Mingi lowered his spyglass and looked at his captain. "What do you think, hyung?" He asked quietly.

"It looks suspicious to me." Hongjoong glanced at him before returning his gaze to the island. Wisps of smoke curled off of it but it was otherwise still and silent. "The wind is against us and we likely won't reach it till evening. Let's anchor there for the night and send out longboats in the morning. This area is uncharted and we ought to explore it while we have the chance. If Eden was headed east, he most certainly passed through here."

Mingi sighed and nodded, turning to summon Yeosang. He had to scan the deck for a moment before he spotted him leaning on the starboard railing and chatting with the new powder monkey.

They had been joined by San, and seemed to be whispering amongst themselves, probably trying to figure out what the captain had been saying. Mingi shook his head and walked over. Just as he suspected, all three of them sat up instantly and acted alert.

"We're going to explore it in the morning. Captain said it's uncharted," Mingi announced, directing his last comment towards Yeosang, who nodded in response.

"Yes, it is! Even my most up to date maps don't have anything marked east of Coral Harbour."

Wooyoung glanced at San for clarification. "Our most recent stop," he whispered back. Yeosang continued on excitedly.

"I hope Captain decides to bring me along! I've never seen an island smoking like that- I wonder if it's volcanic! There's probably so much new information to record—"

"But what about the risks?" San interjected. "It looks dark and quiet to me. Who knows what kind of wild creatures could be lurking."

Yeosang answered quickly. "Wild creatures on a volcanic island? I highly doubt it. You're just scared because of what happened last time Captain picked you to go with him—"

"That's easy for you to say!" San snapped back before explaining to Wooyoung. "He's never been on a landing party."

"I'd like to see you try to be a navigator. The ocean itself is a wild creature!"

Yeosang and San continued to fire back and forth while Wooyoung turned to Mingi, who looked like he was about to make his exit. "Is there any chance of me being selected for a landing party?"

Mingi smirked at him. "You're our best powder monkey. We need you on deck with the cannons in case something goes wrong."

Wooyoung winced at the mention of his "best powder monkey" status, reminded of the incident earlier that morning. "I, uh, don't want to give you the wrong impression. I didn't just volunteer to save my brother, I really was the most experienced on Si-Hyuk's ship."

Mingi laughed outright. "Drop the act, there's no way that kid is your brother. Captain wasn't fooled by anyone, but just so you know, he didn't take you because you're the best, he took you because you volunteered in that boy's place. He liked that. If you do happen to be awful at your job we'll drop you off at the next stop."

Mingi walked off to give the rest of the crew their orders and Wooyoung turned back to the others. It looked like the next stop was an uninhabited volcanic island, so he figured he'd stick with these pirates for now.

"Whine to me next time you have to plot a course through a typhoon!" Yeosang was saying before Wooyoung cleared his throat. "Ah right," Yeosang suddenly stood up. "I'll go check the wind speed then."

The rest of the day passed at an agonisingly slow pace. The crew went about their menial tasks as they fought against the wind and arrived at the shores of the island just before sunset. Mingi knocked on the captain's door to inform him with a sigh. He had a feeling in his gut about this island. "It's taken us the better part of a day to get here. The winds have been pushing us away, don't you think we should heed them?" He argued with Hongjoong one last time.