Chapter Text
Acho wishes more than anything that he could go home. He used to think star didn't have a home anymore but they'd give anything to be back in his brother's arms at this moment. You might be wondering what was happening that made him want to return to the place star had been avoiding for almost a year now. Simply spoken, he was dying.
Now, Acho was known to be a bit dramatic but this was no exaggerating. It was hard to pinpoint exactly when everything had gone wrong. Maybe it was when he first left home or maybe it was when they first woke up this morning. Acho knew star had made many mistakes along that path from them to now but has always managed to get out of it before; he didn't think they'd make it out of this.
Time was running out, Acho realized darkly. None of the crew above had tried to drop a lifesaver for them. Never trust rogue pirates, Mother always said, and look where that got him. Drowning in the Ecclesia seas alone and desperate to live. Please, Acho thinks to himself, please someone save me…
The battle that had thrown him overboard was still waging above him as Acho lost the fight with himself to keep swimming to try and get back to the surface. Star was giving up hope of being rescued as the pressure grew in his head. His lungs screamed for air the would not be found as their body floated down below the waves. The pressure in his head finally released as Acho gave a desperate gasp for air only to feel water fill every corner of his airways. Acho sends one longing look towards the stars as he finally sees the crew looking overboard at their descending body but it's far too late. At least star will die to a beautiful song. The alarm that should have come to him at the sound of a siren's song did not occur to Acho as his vision blurred. The song got closer and he could see a flash of pale pink in the water before lips touched his own and the world around him faded away.
Today was the day, Scott thought to himself. The anxiety that had came out of nowhere waking him from a terrible dream seemed to disappear as Scott got ready for the day. It was the Factioning today! More pirates to join the Heron faction, simply the best one of the four. Grabbing his father's rapier, Scott headed for town. Of course, as almost every important day, Scott stopped by Cleo's house to find the woman gathering their alcohol.
"Are you seriously going to try and get the newbies drunk again?" Scott scoffed
"It's a good way to make friends!" Cleo defends as she heads for the door
"By getting them drunk?" Scott laughs
"Of course. Brings out people's true colors, ya know,"
Scott just shakes his head as they walk past the orange tent Soup lives in. There's no sound in the tent so Soup must have already gone into town with Water. Cleo and Scott make easy conversation about recent adventures along the path to town. Their aimless talk migrates to the topic of the other factions when they finally reach the docks.
"I'm just saying, kites are-," Cleo starts before spotting a new face "oh hello stranger! Would you like some beer?"
"Cleo! You can't just immediately offer someone alcohol," Scott scolds
The day continues on from there. Scott meets the new influx of pirates, attends some Factionings and stops Cleo from getting a little bit too wasted. They even got two new faction members! Owen and Olive joined their ranks of discovery! Water and Soup had even sung a fancy song for the Herons! The day was shaping up to be quite amazing over all. There's a brief thought in Scotts head that he wishes his brother was there… maybe some day Acho will come home and they can explore together again. Scott is broken by his thoughts but a shove from Cleo.
"C'mon, don't think about star. Think about our new recruits! And the fun night awaiting us at the tavern!" Cleo laughs
"Yeah, he'll come home eventually," Scott tries to be happy
He can tell Cleo thinks Acho is dead. Most people that still remembered Acho thought the same but Scott had to hold hope. That was his little brother, he couldn't just think them gone like that. Shaking himself from his thoughts, Scott spots a latecomer walking alone from the recruitment office with a Kite badge. Scott forces a smile on his face as he approaches.
"Hello! I'm Scott and this is Cleo," Scott greets
"Oh hey, sorry I'll be outta the way soon. Just came to join and then head off," the man says
"Why the rush?" Cleo asks "join us for a drink!"
"I'm good. Names Knoll,"
"What made you want to join the Kites?" Scott tries to make conversation
"Nothing much. Not a fan of the other options and they gave me an offer so I took it," Knoll says simply
"Kites are quite the choice," Cleo hums
"I did it mostly for star," Knoll murmurs before shaking his head. "I was part of a rogue crew but one of the crew got thrown overboard and drowned… he always talked about the factions so I did this for them,"
"That's horrible," Cleo sympathizes
"Maybe the other kites will let you make a grave for them?" Scott offers
"Yeah, maybe under the stars. Acho always loved those," Knoll says as he stares up at the twilight sky
Ice runs down Scotts veins. No. It can't be. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe it's just another person with the same name as his lost brother. Cleo is giving Scott concerned looks as his head leaps into his throat. He needs to know, he needs to know if its really him.
"What was his last name?" Scott rushes out
"Oh, I don't know. I don't think he ever mentioned it," Knoll answers
"Scott. Scott don't do this to yourself," Cleo tries as more pirates gather around at the commotion
"What did he look like? Please I need to know," Scott begs
"Scott? You good, mate?" Martyn asks as he joins the group
"Gray hair, gray eyes, real tall. Why?" Knoll questions
Tears come quickly to Scott as Cleo reaches for him. Hands cover his mouth as Scott turns tail and rushes past the group of pirates. Cleo calls after him but doesn't give chase while Scott runs through the town. Scott doesn't stop. He doesn't stop until he reaches his childhood home. He doesn't even stop until he runs into Acho's old room and promptly collapses onto Acho's bed. Scott is practically sobbing now as he reaches for the small family portrait Scott had framed that Acho had drawn when the two of them were still young and innocent. Scott cradles the picture close as he screams into the empty house. He screams and cries his voice hoarse until his energy is gone and so are the tears leaving him a limp, emotional mess on the blue bed sheets.