I know, I know, I said no more stories until -Bloodstained Steel- was done... but I had to do it. Please don't kill me, -Bloodstained- readers! ^.^ *sweatdrop*

This is me getting my... feet wet, so to speak, with SoA fiction. It's my very very first attempt, I didn't even proofread it before slapping it up online- so bear with me if it stinks *laugh*. It's a one-shot deal, methinks, and something that I think was begging to be done.

Reviews are nice, reviews are wonderful. Reviews tell me whether or not I should consider writing more in this series! So if you want to see more from me in SoA, do let me know what you think of this story!

So, that's that... enjoy ^.^

~:+:~

"Hey! Captain! We found ourselves a stowaway!"

Vyse blinked, suddenly... irrevocably... -here-.

Here was apparently crouched behind a load of crates, in what he supposed was the storage area of a ship. The amount of swaying indicated it was a small one at that... or else they were in some very high winds with the sails too high.

Odd, though, he didn't usually sit down amongst the boxes...

And then, while busy contemplating the general -oddness- of the general situation, it occurred to him just who the stowaway was. Or, rather, it was driven home to him when a large beefy hand came down (with a solid lack of consideration) and grabbed the back of his shirt- hauling him bodily into the air. What the-

"Hey!"

"What do I do with him?" The man attached to the arm shouted up towards the open hatch the single ladder led to, Vyse tried not to pale once he twisted enough to catch sight of him. He was... -covered- in drawings, the worn leather vest laced across his chest did little to hide the giant green dragon splayed across the skin. It's clawed hand wrapped around the man's neck and it's tail curing down the arm not holding Vyse. He couldn't see any more of it from where he was, but he had the feeling the head of the dragon was etched on the hand currently grasping the brown-haired boy's shirt.

Further more, where that part was strange- the rest of what he took in of the stranger was simply intimidating. Far too tall and way too muscled for the rogue to take in a fist fight!

For that would be it, or so he discovered when he reached for his swords. The man seemed not to notice, peering upwards toward the top of the ladder.

/ Great! Not only do I not know where I am, but I'm unarmed! /

"Bring him up." The voice above spoke... quietly, but the sound carried easily.

"Right."

Vyse was flung unceremoniously toward a rickety-looking ladder. He landed in an undignified heap and gawked further at the nearby man, who scowled at the rogue from a scar-laced face.

"Well? You head the Captain- get your ass up the ladder, I ain't -carrying- you." He pointed with the hand that- did indeed have the dragon's head upon it- the amazingly three dimensional drawing made it seem to be biting the wrist.

"Go on, or I'll throw you through!" He growled, taking a step forward when the boy did not immediately hop to his feet.

"Y-yes sir!" Now Vyse got moving- scrambling for the ladder. It was as much out of an overbearing curiosity for what kind of Captain held sway over -that- fellow as it was to get away from the dragon-painted one himself.

Fingers finally grasping the edge of the opening, Vyse heaved himself up onto the plain wood deck of the ship- getting to his feet and stepping away from the hole before looking around. Several people stood nearby, some watching- most not.

His eyes immediately set on who was either the Captain or at the least the oddest person on board. Bright red hair pulled back into a tail framed a -dark green- face, and bright blue eyes peered at him from beneath matching scarlet eyebrows. The woman- dressed in grey clothing that he really did -not- recognize- smiled.

And what a smile- filled with sharp, unnaturally pointy teeth.

/ Dear Moons! /

"Well he's a useless looking one." The quiet voice remarked, coming not from the green... woman... but from next to her. Vyse tore his attention- with much difficulty- from the first woman and looked at the speaker now. Compared to the other two he'd studied thus far, she was the least strange. Brown hair pulled back into a single braid- of which he could see the end tapping the backs of the stranger's ankles- there was grey starting at the temples but no real sign of age on that ugly face.

And ugly this woman definitely was. Scars pulled this way and that, making one eye slightly too large seeming and turning one corner of her thin-lipped mouth down in a perpetual frown. She looked very foreign herself, despite the brown hair and... chillingly emotionless blue eyes.

Vyse stared, the cold one stared back- seemingly bored with him already.

"What should we do with him then?" The man from before had come up the ladder now, Vyse noted, and he now grabbed his shirt once again. There would be no making a break for it, that was for sure.

"I'm not useless!" He finally stuck up for himself, trying to look a little less like a wimpy little boy- and no doubt failing miserably when in front of the mass of muscle behind him. Vyse hit himself on the chest with one fist, standing up straighter.

"This is a ship, right? I can help! I don't know how I got on here, but-"

"The Broken Arrows can afford no spies." The green one finally spoke, giving Vyse a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The oddly colored one didn't seem unfriendly like the man, nor heartless like the scarred one, but she was apparently mistrusting enough.

"I'm not-"

"Silence." The man growled, tightening his grip.

"You are, kid," The green one said with a somewhat sad smile, "I can tell because you're dreaming."

What?

Vyse blinked, mouth slightly agape- then he reached up and pinched himself on the cheek. Hard.

Nope- not dreaming.

"That's..."

"Not possible?" The redhead finished his sentence, still with that sad smile, "This is no ordinary dream, boy, this is..." She gestured off the side of the boat, Vyse's attention followed- and he about fell off his feet from shock. "...something else."

-Moons!- That was... water! Water as far as he could see! The Blue Rogue boggled, eyes wide as saucers and his jaw hanging open- completely slack.

The ship was -sailing on water!-

The green figure chuckled, apparently his reaction didn't take her by surprise.

"Let him go Rav, I'm sure he'll want to look closer."

"Aye Captain." Vyse felt the grip on his shirt immediately withdraw, and he quickly went to put his hands on the rail, peering over the side. His manners caught up to him after a few more moments, however, and he tore his eyes from the waves being torn up by the sides of the plain wooden ship. Turning around, he found that the green Captain and the other woman had walked over.

"I'm Vyse," He finally introduced himself, "of the Blue Rogues."

"And I am Aro Kay, of the Broken Arrows." the Captain replied, grinning to show those impossibly sharp teeth again, "this is my co-Captain, Alley Ashkeveron, of the Shadow."

Alley gave him a short nod, before turning her cold eyes back to the very... dragonic captain.

"As I said, Vyse, you can't stay. We can't have dream wanderers onboard."

"But-"

Aro Kay nodded to Alley, who immediately stepped forward and -shoved- Vyse boldly in the chest. He wind-milled his arms, startled- but was overbalanced and staggered backwards...

"Sorry kid, but you gotta wake up." The cold voice said, and that was that. His waist hit the rail just as the ship surged over a wave, and over Vyse went into a spray of seawater.

-Splash.-

~:+:~

Vyse wasn't aware he was shouting until he finally opened his eyes. He was tangled in his hammock, and he was sure that the yelling he'd produced would have been drowned out by the loud engine that shared the room with him. The -Little Jack- was not Captained by anyone with green skin and sharp teeth- nor crewed by men with drawings and women with too-cold eyes.

/ A nightmare. /

"Moons." He whispered, running a hand through his disorderly hair as he tried to go back to relaxing. It was morning, time for him to get up anyway- but he didn't need to start the day as one giant bundle of over-taught nerves!

Shutting his eyes for a moment, visions of sparkling blue-green water flooded his sight- stretching into the beyond and turning the horizon into a smooth, rounded line.

His gut suddenly in a knot, Vyse tried to jump out of the hammock. Unfortunately for him, it was difficult to leap out of a net- his feet tangled mid-lurch and then he fell off, straight onto his face.

/ Well at least my goggles aren't on yet. /

"Urghh." Was the less coherent aloud version as he picked his face up- turning his head to survey the knot that was his legs and the hammock.

Getting untangled and then dressed as quickly as he could, the Blue Rogue scrambled out the door of the engine room and up the stairs. He moved into the bridge room (where a grumpy looking Aika was yawning over a map and an even grumpier looking Drachma was at the wheel) and then straight out onto the deck without so much as a nod at his companions.

Slipping on his goggles and trying not to trip as he half-staggered half-ran, Vyse quickly made his way to the rail. He was entirely unaware of the odd looks he was receiving through the bridge windows as he grabbed the splintery wood and leaned over- staring down into the air with...

Disappointment? Relief? He really wasn't sure. Shutting his eyes briefly, the future Captain sighed with a mixture of the two feelings and let the wind play with his hair.

Meanwhile, in the bridge room...

"Vyse is... airsick?" Fina asked, puzzled, as she wandered into the room- staring out at the same sight her redheaded companion was. Her look was of vague concern, hands clasped loosely at her chest- if he was getting sick...

"I didn't think he -could- get airsick!" Aika exclaimed, wide-eyed, "was it something he ate? Oh I hope not- we all had the same stuff!"

"..." Was all Drachma contributed, as per usual.

~:+:~

Mirf, a little cheesy to use three of my past OCs... I know... but I needed some oddball people for the dream/nightmare, and that's when two retired original characters and a near-famous one come in handy. ;)

I owns everything but Vyse, Drachma, Fina, Aika, the Little Jack, and Skies of Arcadia. Those all belong to... Sega, I guess? ...and all the people they've sold the rights to, of course. :D