“Is this really necessary?” complained Kyungsoo, holding out his wrists so that Baekhyun could tie them together with a thick piece of rope. “Or maybe you’re just using this opportunity as an excuse to carry out one of your weird ual fantasies.”

Chanyeol’s eyes bulged out into round balls as he stared down at his own binds. He stole a glance at Baekhyun, who had a smile plastered across his face.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” replied the Black Captain. “I have no intentions of taking advantage of the situation. We have to be completely convincing or else my men will mutiny and we’ll all be forced to walk the plank.”

“Well if that’s the case,” whispered Kyungsoo so that only Baekhyun could hear him, “perhaps you should strip Chanyeol and parade him around the deck like a real prisoner.”

Baekhyun tried so hard to stifle his laughter that his face turned beet red. He began to cough uncontrollably. Chanyeol gave the two of them an exasperated look.

“There,” said Baekhyun, regaining his composure and letting go of the knot he had just tied, “all done.”

“Great,” answered Kyungsoo sarcastically, “now that all the hard stuff is out of the way, we just have to stroll into the Black City and capture the most heavily guarded human being in the entire world. Should be a piece of cake.”

The conversation was interrupted by a loud knock on the door, followed by the urgent voice of one of the sailors. “Captain Byun! A ship is approaching!”

Baekhyun quickly drew his sword and signaled Chanyeol and Kyungsoo to crouch in the corner. He then unlocked the door and wrenched it open.

“An enemy ship?” he demanded, voice booming with authority.

The sailor bowed his head immediately in deference. “No my lord. But it is a very large Black Vessel.”

“Show me,” commanded Baekhyun, pushing his way through the doorway.

The sailor immediately stepped out of the way. “But what about your prisoners, sir? Should I stand guard over them?”

“Stand outside this door. Do not let anyone in or out. Signal the alarm if anything happens. They are not to be harmed. Do I make myself clear?”

The sailor saluted the captain and closed the door at once.

“We’re screwed,” whispered Chanyeol.

“Don’t be such a worrywart. The sailor said it was not an enemy ship.”

Chanyeol shook his head. “You do realize what you’re saying, right? The sailor said it was not their enemy. Last I checked, we’re not exactly on the same side.”

Kyungsoo frowned, although he was secretly pleased that someone was finally speaking to him without the usual formality. “The point is, Baekhyun is still acting as the Black Captain, meaning they have no reason to attack us.”

“Let’s just hope Captain Byun is as good at acting as he is at tying knots because there is no way in hell I can protect you with my wrists tied up like this.”

Before Kyungsoo could respond, there was a loud thud from the deck.

“What the was that?” whispered Kyungsoo, his heart racing up into his throat.

Chanyeol could sense the beads of sweat bursting along his hairline. “They’ve docked with us. They must be coming on board.”

“.”

Before either of them could come up with any sort of escape plan, the door burst open and a group of heavily armore