"Why I'm not in love with you?" I sigh and drop my head in my hand.

He comes closer. So close that I can feel the air he's exhaling.

"Because", He whispers in my ear."If you were in love with me, It would have been perfect. And this life can't bear perfect things."

He pulls himself away from me. I look up into his eyes his eyes are shining in love. Glowing and telling me that he's the only one who'll love me always. Like the moon always orbits the earth. But here I am, even after knowing

everything, feeling every bit of love he has for me, I couldn't make myself fall in love with him. I didn't choose him. I just couldn't. My love is so stubborn that it makes me do everything it wants. It made me fall for a person for whom I'm too much. The person who only loves a version of me who isn't alive anymore. Who only loves daytime when I only exist in dark? And even though I've a person who loves me unconditionally, loves every version of me whether it's the happy one or the dead one... Who can turn the whole world around just for me, I can't love him. Love didn't allow me to choose him. Love made me wait for the person who's going further and further without turning to me once. Look at me I'm the dumb girl who's controlled by love. I'm too intoxicated with the sweet poison. My sweet poison Nyle.

Read the full story by availing your copy of 'Sweet Poison : https://a.co/d/akqNyy3

A sweet love turning into poison.

This "fan fiction" story takes place after the events of the "Training World Arc" from the ongoing book "New Adventurers: Enter The Pirate & Crew!"

Links for the chapters from the "Training World Arc" are available here: https://theprose.com/post/614864/the-next-missions

*****

"Mitch, how much further to Aplonica?"

"The GPS says another 4 hours Rick." Mitch replied as he drove the rental car. Rick sat beside Essie in the back, while Cerissa was up front.

"We'll save the townspeople there, and maybe learn about Glicko as well." Cerissa smiled hopefully.

"Yeah." Essie added with a sweet smile of her own, which made Rick blush just like it always did. "We will be one step closer to getting Rick's parents home safely, Cerissa and my memories back, and Petunia cured as well."

"All thanks to the best crew I could hope for!" Mitch said enthusiastically. "I've got all of your backs, always."

"We'll see if that's true, my pathetic ex-husband!"

Mitch slammed on the brakes once he noticed a zombified woman in a red dress ahead of them on the road, who smirked maliciously at them. She had two long red diamonds for arms, and she ran towards them with the intention of hacking them to bits. She was none other than the mutated form of Mitch's ex-wife, Petunia.

"Looks like we won't need to travel to Aplonica to gather information on our enemies after all!" Mitch said heatedly as he lept out of the car and transformed into his Pirate form. He drew his two swords and raced towards Petunia. Rick made a dark helmet appear in his hand by thought, and he put it on his head to give him access to the full body armor and weapons that those employed with Hugh's hero network gained through the company's standard issuance of the helmets. Cerissa and Essie each waved a hand over their civilian outfits to replace them with their mage robes. The three rushed out of the car, preparing to face another foe that they assumed wasn't far from Petunia.

"So I see you have time for a road trip, but not time to work on a cure for my curse." Petunia said in a condescending tone as she clashed her diamond arms with the Pirate's swords.

"Are you kidding me?" The Pirate retorted as they continued to clash with words and blades. "We were traveling to help a town that is being terrorized by someone that could have also been infected by Glicko. And last I remember, you decided to embrace this very curse, and you do whatever you want now."

"I just wanted to see if you were still committed to saving me, even though you don't want to ever be together again. But since I can't count on you to accomplish anything, I might as well embrace what this mutation offers me."

"You do know this curse would lift if you chose to do the right thing, right? Although I think the choice should be up to you, not made in fear of being mutated. But still, you passed it on to me in the jungle, and I have not been cursed. You can free yourself anytime Petunia!"

"No thanks, I will just use these gifts to take what I deserve, and kill you and your pathetic new friends for trying to stop me. The sooner you are nothing more than a bad relationship memory, the better!"

A man obscured by a cloak then appeared a few feet from the Pirate and Petunia.

"Bickering and clashing weapons with no result. This fight is as boring as the one on the beach. Step aside Petunia, I will take it from here."

Petunia pouted, but then complied and flipped away from the Pirate. The Pirate then glared at the cloaked warlock who was none other than Glicko, the source of all their troubles.

"So you thought you might learn something about me in Aplonica, eh?" Glicko said coldly. "How about I give you a lesson right now instead? Your final lesson on what happens when you interfere with my plans of purifying the world from evil."

"Don't make us laugh!" Cerissa shot back, who was now by the Pirate's side, along with Rick and Essie. "Cursing those who do wrong with mutations is not the answer. You are taking away their free will."

"So sending them to Hugh's prison dimension, where they can only leave if they vow to change is any different? The Reflection Dimension is what you call it, right?"

"That place is for keeping the most dangerous of characters in a peaceful setting, and giving them the chance to rehabilitate and return here for a better life." Rick replied, Essie nodding in agreement. "It is the perfect place for you to go Glicko.... maybe you can come back as a better person that actually helps the world get better."

"No thanks, I'll stick to my superior plan. I will weed out evil with my mutation curse, and eliminate anyone that gets in my way. Let's see if your work in that Training World your captain created made you any less worthless in combat!"

The Pirate charged at Glicko with his two swords, lighting his newest one up into a laser sword. He swung and missed, watching as his swords vanished from sight. Glicko swatted the air, and an invisible force caused the Pirate to fall onto his back. Four swords flew out of the sky, and each one flew into the Pirate's limbs, pinning him onto the road.

"Seriously Pirate? You are beaten by the exact same trick I used in the jungle? How pathetic can you be?"

"I'm sorry guys." The Pirate said weakly, tears running down his face.

"We'll get you out of there Mitch, just hang on!" Essie cried out as she did her best to hold back her own tears.

"Oh no you won't!" Glicko laughed as he pointed at Essie and Cerissa. The two mages floated into the air, and two separate bubbles encased them both.

"Essie! Cerissa!" Rick screamed. "Hang on, I'll free you both!"

"Don't you get it child, you and your crew are out of your league." Glicko said in a tone that sounded sympathetic, yet cruel. "Petunia, you may play again. Take Mitch's little puppy down."

Petunia charged at Rick and swung her diamond arms at him. Rick defended against her attacks with his sword the best he could, but one of Petunia's strikes nicked his helmet. The helmet shattered, and Rick's armor reverted back to his civilian clothes. Despite his lack of protection, he still faced Petunia bravely with his sword drawn.

"You have bark little dog, but it won't be enough." Petunia giggled.

"You no longer have access to enhanced strength or your other weapons now that your helmet is shattered. And those mages in the bubbles can't help you either."

Water began filling up the bubble that Essie was trapped in. She struck at the bubble frantically in an effort to pop it, to no avail.

"They can't use magic in those bubbles." Petunia explained. "Looks like Glicko is going to drown the one closer to your age first. You like that one, don't you Rick?"

"Essie!" Rick screamed as tears filled his eyes. He sprinted towards her, only to be pushed down by Petunia from behind. Rick lifted his head up helplessly, feeling one of Petunia's diamonds lightly touching the back of his neck.

"There's no way out for you boy." Petunia jeered. "But before I take you out, I'll let you watch your mage girlfriend drown."

"Petunia, please don't." Rick sobbed. "You can do whatever you want with me, but spare them, please...."

"Nah, I think I'll just enjoy all of your demises. Then I'll go shopping. Well, if you consider taking things by force shopping."

The water in Essie's bubble was now up to her neck, and Cerissa's bubble had begun filling up with water.

"You can also watch your comrade drown before you share the same fate Cerissa." Glicko laughed. "Hey Mitch, are you enjoying the show from over there? You'll get your turn after you witness the deaths of your crew! You should have known that you didn't have what it took to save the world, so I will do so in your place!"

"Glicko..... Petunia..... please stop...." The Pirate said weakly as he kept his head up to watch the horrors unfolding before him.

You know they won't Mitch. They're enjoying every moment of this.

Mitch looked around to see where the voice came from, but he saw no one else besides his comrades and enemies.

You won't be able to see me. I exist within you.

Within me? Who are you?

I'm you of course. Well, the curse within you that Petunia put here by biting you. I am the dormant powers that you have held back by being "good."

What is your game here? You were silent before, why reach out now?

Because your crew is about to die. You took on Petunia and Glicko with noble intentions, but they don't care. They have no qualms about murdering these people you love, not to mention you as well.

Well, what am I supposed to do? If you haven't noticed already, my body is pinned down thanks to these swords in my arms and legs.

If you tap into my power, I can free you. But it only works if you ditch the goody two shoes act.

So I have to become evil? Sorry pal, you're wasting your breath.

No, you just need to think outside the box. You want to save Petunia from this curse, and let her make decisions on her own. Yet here she is, laughing at the heartbreak of the young man you took in, relishing his despair before she releases him from it by slaughtering him. Why are you so intent on saving someone like her, someone that also broke your heart and only cares about herself?

So if I intend to kill her instead, I get the powers of the curse that she put within me to begin with?

Yeah, kinda poetic justice if you ask me. So these are your choices. You can watch your people all die horrible deaths, then die a horrible one yourself. Or you can kill that heartless monster that has no intention of changing, save your loved ones, and even have enough power left over to end Glicko's tyranny. So what will it be, Mitch? Is this the death of the Pirate and his crew, or a new beginning?

Alright curse within me, I won't hold you back anymore. Give me your power, and I will save the ones I love in exchange for the life of the one I used to love.

The Pirate screamed as his body began mutating into the form of a troll. Petunia turned towards the Pirate's cries of pain and watched in horror as the swords that once held him down shattered. The Pirate then rose to his feet and walked towards Petunia with a sinister grin on his face.

"Mitch?" Petunia asked fearfully. "What's happened to you?"

"I am just utilizing the curse you gave me from your bite in the jungle my dear." The Pirate replied in a booming, much more gruff voice than the original version he had from the human form of his Pirate transformation. "You are the idiot that infected me, now you are going to pay for your stupidity."

"Yeah right, I have mutated powers too you fool!" Petunia laughed, ditching Rick to attack the Pirate. She slashed the Pirate's neck with one of her diamond arms, and watched in horror as her diamond completely shattered upon impact.

"Who's the fool now?" The Pirate laughed. "Let's not waste your other arm there by trying to cut me with it, I am actually in need of a new blade at the moment."

The Pirate grabbed Petunia's other diamond arm and ripped it off of her body. She screamed in agony, and had no time to process what had happened before the Pirate plunged the diamond arm into her heart. Petunia reverted back to her human form, and looked up at the Pirate's sneer with tearful eyes before her life faded from them. The Pirate then pulled the blade out of her body and laughed as Petunia's remains dropped to the ground.

"Well, you make beautiful roadkill at least darling." The Pirate snickered. He then walked past his shocked comrade and faced Glicko once again.

"It's over Glicko. Release Cerissa and Essie from these water bubbles now."

"So you turned to darkness in the end. What a plot twist!" Glicko bellowed triumphantly.

"Unfortunately for you, the only way you could get the mages out of their watery graves is by killing me. And if you do that, they will never get their memories back."

"Well, if they die, they wouldn't get them back anyway now, would they?" The Pirate said thoughtfully. "Well, you had your chance pal."

The Pirate plunged the diamond arm into Glicko's heart, killing him instantly. The Pirate let go of the diamond arm and grinned as Glicko's still cloaked body dropped to the ground. The two water bubbles disappeared, and Cerissa and Essie floated safely down. Rick sprinted over to check on the two mages, as well as his very different captain.

"Essie, Cerissa, are you ok? And Mitch, are you still in there?"

"I'm fine Rick." Essie said, embracing him. "I'm not sure what is going on with Mitch, but he made major sacrifices to save us all."

"She's right." Cerissa sobbed as she let the tears fall. "Mitch, you gave up your ideals and your dream of saving Petunia to keep us alive. Even with Essie and my memories being gone forever, and the location of Rick's parents remaining unknown, I can't imagine how you feel right now. Please Mitch, talk to us. How can we help you?"

"I will never be the same again." The Pirate said quietly. "I went against everything that Hugh and I stood for, and I murdered our foes. But in all honesty, I feel great! It must be this power that surges through my veins! The old me was too weak and could never have saved the world. But this new me? I can save this world and bring peace, and all I have to do is kill anyone that is in opposition!"

"Mitch, you can't possibly mean that!" Rick protested. "This isn't you at all! Please, transform back into yourself and promise not to kill again. Then your troll mutation will go away!"

"I won't my friend, I'm sorry." The Pirate replied. "I am going to build a ship and sail the seas like a true Pirate, and I will murder all evildoers that I find! What do you say my crew? Will you join me on this voyage?"

"We absolutely won't." Cerissa said firmly, wiping away the last of her tears. "Like Rick said, this isn't you. The curse is destroying your mind, and we won't let you lose yourself any more than you already have."

"If you won't join me, then you leave me no choice. You stand in the way of my path of bringing peace, and for that you will also have to die!"

Cerissa quickly generated a shield over herself, Rick, and Essie with her magic. The Pirate violently pounded at the shield with his fists, but couldn't break through it.... yet.

"This will only hold for so long." Cerissa said quickly and calmly. "Essie, we should merge some magic together to fight off Mitch."

"I can buy you a little time for that." Rick added. "Essie, remember that spell you used on me the last time we visited the Training World together? Now is as good a time as any to use it for real!"

"Sounds good Rick, glad we got that last minute training in before we left for Aplonica. Also, it means I get to do this again."

Essie embraced Rick before kissing him. Rick returned the kiss as the shield around the trio shattered.

"Young love, yuck!" The Pirate jeered. "At least you got to enjoy one more smooch before you die!"

"I will always appreciate a kiss from Essie, but it isn't just a sign of how we feel about each other!" Rick yelled as he gripped the Pirate's fist. "Essie used a spell called mage's kiss, and it temporarily powers me up. Which means I can stand up to you now!"

Still holding the Pirate's fist, Rick pulled the troll behind him and threw him like he was pitching a baseball. The Pirate landed on his back several yards away. Rick raced over to him and balled up a fist to deck the Pirate and knock him out. The Pirate grabbed Rick's fist before it reached its target, and squeezed the fist as Rick screamed.

"That was quite the temporary power up Rick, but it looks like Essie's spell needs more work. Too bad you won't get a chance at another date to improve it, or enjoy another kissy kiss."

"That's what you think." Rick smirked despite the pain of his likely broken knuckles. "Besides powering me up, Essie's kiss also allows her to summon me back to her side. So catch you later Mitch!"

Rick disappeared and reappeared next to Essie, whose left hand was facing Cerissa's right hand. Between their hands was a brilliant ball of white energy that the two mages had created while Rick had been challenging Mitch.

"A diversion, huh?" The Pirate said with a smile on his face. "Kind of like what you did in our training battle against Tate and Wasila, but the kiss was able to pull Rick back, and prevent him from being sacrificed for the sake of your coming attack. It would seem you learned from my Training World after all."

"I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that we do appreciate all that we learned from you Mitch." Essie said sweetly. "This blast will send you to the Reflection Dimension, where that curse will be removed. Then you can come back to us again as the real you!"

Cerissa and Essie flung the energy ball at the Pirate. Before the attack could reach it's target, the ball stopped and caused a black hole to rip into the air. The Pirate was sucked into the hole, and the rest of the crew began flying towards it as well. Before Rick, Essie and Cerissa could get pulled in, the hole shrunk rapidly, disappearing from sight.

"He's gone...." Rick said sadly as he stared at the spot where the hole had appeared and disappeared. "Where could he have gone?"

"I don't know hon." Essie said in an effort to be comforting, despite needing to be comforted as well.

"I have a feeling that we still have a lot to learn, and that Mitch will return at some point." Cerissa commented. "But we will have to also accept the possibility that we have lost our leader, and..... our friend, forever."

"We'll hope for the best." Rick said with confidence, despite grimacing from the pain of his busted knuckle.

"I'm sorry Rick, let me heal you." Cerissa said, pausing from her sadness as she held a glowing hand over Rick's hand, repairing the broken bones within. "And I agree, we will assume that Mitch will resurface. But even if he doesn't, we will carry on with his original goals, the ones he had before he lost himself to the curse."

"Right, there are still others out there that are mutated from Glicko's curse!" Essie chimed in. "We'll save them all, in honor of Mitch. And we still need to find your parents too Rick!"

"Yeah, we'll save my parents for sure, along with anyone Glicko has infected." Rick smiled. "Glicko may be gone, but if there is a way to do it, I will also do all that I can to help you two restore your memories."

"Thank you so much Rick." Essie beamed as she embraced him once again. "You know what this means, right guys?"

"Sure do." Cerissa said happily. "Even after all that has happened, we are still a crew."

*****

- The canon story of the Pirate and his crew can be read at the following link, and a new arc will be coming soon: https://theprose.com/book/3137/new-adventurers-enter-the-pirate-crew

- The crew from this fan fiction story will also return....