SEA OF REMNANTS FANFIC

Falling overboard

Ranbo had just finished plundering an island town and performing a concert when Gale found himself sprinting up a steep hill, a large sack of gold and jewels slung over his shoulder.

The last echoes of their music still seemed to hang over the town below. Smoke from overturned stalls and abandoned lanterns curled through the streets, mixing with the salty ocean air and the lingering scent of gunpowder.

Gale's boots pounded against the dry dirt as he ran.

He looked absolutely ridiculous for someone being chased by an entire squad of soldiers.

His red coat whipped violently behind him with every step, the long golden feathers hanging from his sleeves flashing whenever the sunlight caught it. A pale, half-unbuttoned shirt clung to his sweat-dampened skin beneath it, while belts crisscrossed his waist, holding his weapons securely against his hips. His white trousers were tucked into worn leather boots, and a few strands of his hair had fallen loose around his face from the concert.

Behind him, a group of soldiers chased after him, their boots pounding against the dirt as they shouted and cursed.

The sharp smell of gunpowder drifted through the air as several of them fired after him.

BANG!

A bullet tore through the dirt beside his boot.

"Fucking hell!"

Gale glanced over his shoulder, a smug grin spreading across his face.

Then he ran straight off a cliff.

"Shit!"

His stomach dropped as the ground disappeared beneath his feet.

For one glorious second, Gale was weightless.

Then gravity remembered he existed.

Far below, their ship waited near the docks, its sails snapping in the warm ocean breeze. Sunlight glittered across the water like thousands of tiny pieces of glass.

Before his body could hit the water, Gale twisted in midair and hurled the sack toward the ship.

The sack landed hard on the dock.

Gale followed a second later.

SPLASH!

The icy seawater swallowed him whole.

The shock of the cold stole the breath from his lungs.

His coat dragged heavily behind him as he sank beneath the surface, the fabric billowing around his legs. Saltwater filled his ears and nose before he kicked desperately upward.

He surfaced moments later, desperately sucking in air as he coughed and sputtered, seawater burning the back of his throat.

His wet hair clung to his forehead.

His coat felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.

" fuck..."

He looked up toward the cliff he had just fallen from and saw his crew jumping down after him.

Molly landed gracefully on the deck of the ship, barely making a sound.

Haig and Cook followed suit.

Gale began swimming toward them, but before he could get much closer—

BANG!

The smell of fresh gunpowder immediately flooded the air.

A bullet tore through his shoulder.