The sky was still dark when Lumir woke up.
His body was sore, every joint felt like he'd fallen from the sky,because he had. His mind buzzed with strange dreams: a glowing woman with warm eyes, flickers of forgotten memories, shadows whispering in a language he didn't understand. A name echoed in his head, but it vanished as quickly as it came.
His stomach roared.
A deep, furious, monstrous hunger.
His eyes snapped open. A beat of silence. Then...
"I'M HUNGRYYYYYY!"
The sound exploded through the ship like a cannon blast.
Metal clanged.
A toolbox hit the floor.
"W-What in the abyss was that?!"
"Was that a sea dragon?!"
"We're under attack?!"
Footsteps scrambled above. Curses, thuds, muffled voices. Then a trapdoor flew open overhead. A girl with oil-slicked gloves and a massive wrench glared down at him.
"Are you trying to wake the ocean gods, or just kill us with your lungs?"
Lumir blinked at her, eyes wide and innocent. "Food?"
A few minutes later, Lumir sat cross-legged on the deck of the ship, wrapped in a mismatched blanket, scarfing down warm soup, fish skewers, and spicy rice. The salty sea breeze mixed with the savory aroma of Redda's cooking. A group of curious faces surrounded him in a half-circle, arms folded, eyes sharp but not unkind.
First to speak was a huge woman with braided hair and golden teeth. Her sleeveless arms were thick with muscle, and a massive iron cooking spoon slung on her back like a weapon.
"Name's Redda. Cook and morale keeper. Don't waste food, don't waste feelings."
Next was a tall, giant man with a bandage around one bicep. His voice was soft, but his arms looked like they could bend a cannon.
"Jore. I patch the holes. Boats and bones alike."
Two smaller figures leaned in,one boy, one girl.
"Talo! I fix things. Mostly."
"Demi," said the girl with a slingshot in hand. "I break the things he fixes."
"Twins?" Lumir grinned.
"Unfortunately," they said in sync, exchanging an exaggerated groan.
Last was the girl from the trapdoor. She still held the wrench like she was deciding whether to fix the deck or knock Lumir unconscious.
"Kammy. Engineer. Also, disciplinary officer."
Lumir looked around at them, still chewing. "So... is this the part where you ask my name? Or do I have to shout it again?"
Kammy rolled her eyes. "Spare us."
He grinned, voice muffled by food. "Lumir. Just Lumir."
Redda chuckled. "You fell from the sky, Lumir. That's a new one."
"Didn't even scream," Talo said. "That's suspicious."
"Maybe he liked it," Demi offered.
"Maybe he's cursed," Kammy muttered.
The ship's deck creaked again as someone stepped up from the lower levels.
He was tall, lean, brown-skinned with white dreads falling down his neck. His green Hawaiian shirt fluttered in the breeze, and a slice of pineapple hung from his mouth like a toothpick.
"He awake yet?"
Redda nodded. "He's eating like you."
"Then he's healthy."
The man walked over and dropped into a squat next to Lumir.
"I'm Ogun."
"Captain?"
"Sorta. I lead this crew. We're not a navy, not pirates. We're Gun."
Lumir tilted his head. "Gun? That your crew name?"
Ogun nodded. "One of many. Crews like ours scattered across the globe. Each one with its own mission."
Lumir squinted. "Never heard of you."
Ogun smirked. "Then we're doing our job right."
He extended a fist.
Lumir fist-bumped without hesitation.
"So... freedom fighters?"
"Yeah. Real ones. We don't negotiate. We fight."
"Do I get a pineapple slice now?"
"Earn it."
They both laughed.
Kammy walked over and smacked them both on the head with her wrench.
"That's for the noise. And for waking me up."
"Ow," Lumir winced, rubbing his head. "So violence is the language here. Got it."
Kammy crossed her arms. "Violence is the discipline."
He rubbed the lump forming on his head and grinned again. "I already like this ship."
Ogun leaned closer. "You've got something strange about you, Lumir. Not bad. Just... something unusual."
"I get that a lot. Usually from prophets and people who wear too many necklaces."
The crew stared.
"...That was a joke," Lumir added.
They laughed. Kammy less so.
Redda handed him another bowl of food.
"You eat like you haven't seen a kitchen in years."
"I haven't," Lumir mumbled with his mouth full. "Sky has no kitchens."
"He's joking again, right?" Talo asked.
"I don't think he is," Jore said, narrowing his eyes.
Far out on the water, the first rays of dawn touched the sea, and the Mermaid Princess sailed on.
Gun had a new guest. Whether he was a blessing or a disaster was yet to be seen.
But at least he brought energy. And appetite.The sun dipped beneath the waves, staining the sky with violet and ember. The deck of the Mermaid Princess came alive. Lanterns were hung along the mast ropes. A crate was flipped into a makeshift table. Redda's stew filled the air with warm spice and herbs, and someone strummed an old guitar near the bow.
Lumir sat on the railing, legs swinging. In one hand he held a plate stacked with rice and grilled meat, in the other, a wooden cup of pineapple juice. The breeze tousled his hair.
"This is the best shipwreck I've ever had," he said through a mouthful.
Ogun chuckled from where he leaned on a barrel beside him."You know most people scream when they fall from the sky."
"Screaming takes energy. I needed to save mine for this meal."
"Logical. Reckless, but logical."
They clinked their cups together.
Across the deck, the crew danced. Talo was attempting to moonwalk, while Demi chased him with a slingshot loaded with roasted beans. Jore was drinking with some villagers who'd come to trade earlier that week, showing them how to patch fishing nets faster. Kammy sat cross-legged on a beam above, watching everyone with an unreadable expression.
Lumir took a long sip. "So, Gun. What's the deal? You guys always pick up falling passengers?"
Ogun raised a brow. "Only if they don't explode on impact."
"Lucky me."
Ogun turned serious.
"Gun is a group of Freedom fighters who hate Nero and the World Government. We are a small ship from a Grand fleet. Small crews like us scattered everywhere across the globe. Kingdoms, islands, villages. We're not an army. We don't hold land. We don't collect taxes. We liberate people and vanish."
Lumir stared at the stars above.
" Nero? Who are they."
Ogun's tone shifted.
"Nero is the disease we cut out. Five people. They run the World Government's dark operations,slavery, experimentation on kids, mass drug trade and production, kingdoms and villages destruction.Villages like the one we're headed to tomorrow. They're dumping grounds."
"And nobody stops them?"
"People who try disappear,they either kill or enslave them,used as a puppets for mass drug production. Gun doesn't disappear. We make them bleed."
A long silence followed. The guitar strummed gently in the background.
"Apple Village," Ogun continued, "was once a paradise with stunning landscape. Richest fish lake in the region. Now the lake shines golden from the toxins from Nero's production. Poison. Children can't swim. Crops don't grow. People live in fear."
"What's the mission?"
"Simple. Cut Nero's grip. Destroy their plant. Burn the records. Save who we can. Fight who we must."
Lumir leaned back and grinned. "You had me at burn the records."
Ogun grinned too.
Redda yelled from the deck, "OI! Anyone hungry for second dinner?!"
Talo and Demi charged.
Lumir,with all his voice
HEY! Anyone got more pineapple and meat?!"
Kammy threw a toolbox at his head.
Strong laugh echoed through the sun and wind
The party continued into the night, voices rising and falling with music. Even Kammy cracked a smile once when Lumir tried to juggle coconuts,they cracked in half on his head,water spilling down on his face and failed spectacularly. Ogun and Lumir stayed up long after the others slept, talking not just about missions, but about dreams, food, mistakes, freedom.
By midnight, the sea was calm. The Mermaid Princess sailed steady.
And tomorrow, they would make cut into Nero's rotten empire.
The next morning, the Mermaid Princess floated near the edge of Apple Village.
From the ship's deck, a putrid shimmer clung to the lake's surface,bright gold, unnaturally thick. The once-clear water now pulsed like liquid metal under the sun. Tall smokestacks pierced the sky beyond the hills, vomiting black clouds. The stench of chemicals stung the crew's noses.
Talo grumbled, peering through binoculars. "If that's gold, I'm an insect."
Kammy snorted. "Gold doesn't kill insects."
Redda handed out masks soaked in mint oil. "Put these on. And don't breathe deep."
Ogun stepped forward, gripping the rail, eyes dark. His usual smirk was gone.
"This is Nero's doing. They turned a lake into a grave."
Lumir joined him, now wearing an oversized black button up and beige shorts . He sniffed once and gagged. "This place smells like a toilet full of paint."
"It used to be a paradise," Ogun said. "Now they dump waste here. Manufacture poison. Test it on locals."
The crew lowered the landing ramp.
Villagers stared from cracked windows and broken fences. Their faces were sunken, eyes hollow. No one waved. Mothers clutched children. Men stood with rusted tools in hand,not weapons, but symbols of survival.
"They think we're Nero," Kammy muttered.
"Let me handle this!"
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY, I HATE POLLUTION"
Lumir grinned, already sprinting ahead.
"Wait..."
But Lumir was already mid-air.
He soared over the road and dropped a fist into a large pipe jutting from the ground, connected to the factory overhead. One punch.
-BOOM
The pipe shattered like brittle glass, and a thick gush of gold-black sludge sprayed into the sky, hissing as it splashed across the dirt.
Villagers screamed.
"What have you done?!"
"You'll get us killed!"
"They'll punish us now!"
Children cried. Elders trembled. A little girl began to sob, curling behind a wooden cart.
Kammy rushed forward, crouched, and held the girl.
"We're not here to hurt you. We're here to protect you. I promise."
The old man pointed his stick at Lumir.
"You reckless idiot! You think destroying a pipe makes you a hero?! That's just going to bring the storm faster!"
He waddled up and whacked Lumir on the head.
"Ow?! What did I do?!"
"You don't think. That's what you did.Stupid sparkplug"
With innocent eyes Lumir muttered.
"I'm sorry"
Talo whispered, "He might actually be a sparkplug."
Ogun stepped between them, raising his voice.
"Everyone, listen! We are Gun!
We've come to free your village. Not to bring punishment but to
bring justice."
A woman stepped forward, tearfully. "You're not with Nero?"
"No," Ogun said. "We're against them."Against all the crimes they've done to you"
"Then... you're really here to help?"
"Yes.Thats our job."
From the far road, a dark caravan arrived. Nero's crest was burned into its steel.
Ogun cracked his neck. "Here they come."
Redda stretched. "Time to cook."
Kammy handed her wrench to the little girl. "Hold this for me. I'll be right back."
Talo and Demi high-fived.
"Let's wreck their machines."
The village echoed with footsteps, yelling, and then....
Chaos.The first shot came fast.
But Lumir was faster.
He spun on instinct, ducking under a bullet that whistled past his ear. A quick hop, a twist mid air, and he kicked a soldier square in the chest. The impact sent the man flying into a wooden shack with a crunch.
"That's for ruining the lake!"
Ogun leapt from the roof of the village hall, fists glowing with energy. He slammed into the ground, and the dirt cracked in a circle around him, sending soldiers flying.
Redda moved like a thunderstorm, her iron cooking ladle spinning like a club. She blocked a bayonet with her pot lid, spun, and knocked three men off their feet.
Kammy, with twin daggers made from sharpened gear teeth, danced through the enemy lines, slicing straps, cutting cords, toppling rifles. One soldier tried to grab her.
She kneed him in the groin, then headbutted him. "Touch me again and I'll turn you into scrap."
Talo and Demi were chaos incarnate. Talo had rigged a spinning gear contraption with smoke pellets that blinded the enemy line, while Demi pelted them with metal balls from her slingshot,each one exploding in bursts of paint and pepper powder.
"Tag!"
"You're it!"
Villagers, inspired, picked up tools, sticks, even shattered bricks.
An old woman threw a pan.
It knocked a soldier out cold.
"That's for my garden, you toxin-spitting pigs!"
Lumir vaulted over a fence, grabbed a steel rod, and spun it like a staff. He slammed it into the ground, sending a mini shockwave forward.
"Whew! I should've done this sooner!"
Three more soldiers ran at him,he side stepped one, tripped the second, and caught the third by the collar.
He grinned, then launched the soldier with a shoulder throw over the edge of a wooden fence.
Meanwhile, Ogun stood face to face with a Nero captain,taller, broader, wearing black costume
,,You're gonna wish you stayed under your little rock."
Ogun smiled.
"Nah. I like sunshine."
The captain lunged.
Ogun sidestepped, punched him in the gut, and with a twist, sent the man flying backward into the toxic lake with a mighty splash.
The rest of the enemy forces began to retreat.
It's over...for now.Evening melted into night like honey over bread. Apple Village had never known joy like this in years. Fires were lit in clean pits, drums beat out ancient rhythms, and laughter filled the golden-lit air. Children chased each other barefoot, girls sang songs their mothers taught them,Jore was drinking with the old people,and for the first time in forever, no one looked over their shoulder.
Gun's crew mingled with the villagers like old friends. Demi raced two kids up and down the dock while Talo climbed onto the rooftops to launch bottle rockets. Redda served grilled corn, and Kammy kept everyone from accidentally setting the lake on fire.
Lumir, Ogun, Talo, and Demi were gathered near the empty square at the center of the village, and something in their eyes spelled one thing ,chaos.
"Bet I can break more barrels than you in ten seconds," Demi said, hands on hips.
"Bet I can flip a cart," Lumir added, already squatting.
"Bet I can launch that fish into the bell tower," said Talo, holding a poor confused trout.
"Bet I can out-yell all three of you," Ogun grinned, cracking his knuckles.
"BET!"
What followed was pure madness.
Crates went flying. Tools launched into the air. A wheelbarrow rolled by on fire. One of the buildings had its door removed and turned into a makeshift surfboard down the muddy slope.
All four were laughing like wild spirits, tears in their eyes, chasing each other with buckets of water and shouting nonsense. The villagers watched with a mix of awe and terror.
Until...
SMACK!!!
The old man from before marched up with his cane and began smacking all four on the heads, one after the other.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY VILLAGE?!"
"We were"Talo said.
SMACK!!!
"I JUST FIXED THAT ROOF LAST YEAR!"
"Technically it's stronger without the"Lumir said.
SMACK!!!
They bolted.
"SPLIT UP!"
"YOU MADE IT WORSE!"
"IT WASN'T ME!"
"TOTALLY YOU!"
They darted through the crowd, laughing and shrieking. Villagers joined in the chase, laughing themselves now. It was a mess of footsteps and flying sandals.
And then....
"INTO THE LAKE!"
"WAIT, IT'S STILL TOXIC.."
"TOO LATE!"
SPLOOSH! SPLASH!
All four dove into the glowing waters of the Golden Lake.
They popped up moments later, coughing and sputtering.
"It tastes like melted coins!"
"My eyes are burning!"
"I think I'm glowing!"
"WORTH IT!"
Kammy arrived at the edge of the dock, arms crossed and eyes full of judgment. She didn't say anything. She just slowly raised her wrench..
BONK! BONK! BONK! BONK!
"Ow!"
"Stop!"
"We're sorry!"
"I regret nothing!"
BONK!!!!
Later that night, the music picked back up. The party danced on. Villagers clapped hands, sang old songs, and danced with the crew. Food was shared, stories were told. No fear. Just warmth.
The night stretched longer, like the stars themselves didn't want to sleep. Talo juggled firecrackers while Demi rode on Jore's shoulders, trying to catch them midair. Kammy played a tune on an old stringed instrument she found, surprisingly skilled, while Redda started a contest on who could eat the most grilled corn in a minute.
Ogun and Lumir, their clothes still damp from the lake, sat on overturned crates, faces lit by the dancing flames. They were dripping wet and grinning like fools.
Kids dragged Kammy into a clumsy dance. She resisted at first, then gave in, spinning awkwardly while still scolding them for bad footwork.
Old villagers started stomping rhythm on the wood, beating spoons on pots. Talo and Demi joined the music by slamming two planks like drums.
One kid climbed onto the top of a hut and shouted, "WE'RE FREE!"
Everyone cheered.
And for a moment, with fire in their hearts and laughter in the wind, the people of Apple Village forgot they were ever afraid.
By dawn, the Mermaid Princess was ready.
The villagers gathered on the docks, waving goodbye with baskets, scarves, even frying pans. The crew stood waving back Talo and Demi tossing small firecrackers into the air like confetti.
The old man gave one last shout.
"DON'T COME BACK UNLESS YOU PLAN TO FIX THE MESS YOU MADE!"
"We will! Maybe! Probably!" Lumir shouted back.
And with the wind on their side, the Mermaid Princess pulled away.
High on a distant cliff, a woman in light green seafoam robe and a shining silver hair watched them.
Her eyes glowed faintly, silver as the moon.
She said nothing.
And vanished with the breeze.