Part 1
Time: A year and a half prior to the events of TRD
Location: Aboard the Golden Marmoset, port of Darwin Island, New World
For a place that was known as "the Island of Abnormality", Vaughan had to admit Darwin Island looked kind of boring, at least from the ship. The little port and the town that came with it resembled any other port and town one would find in the Blues.
Did that mean he was going to underestimate what the island could throw at him? Hell no. That was a rookie mistake, and one did not survive three months in the New World by making rookie mistakes. Vaughan wasn't nearly that stupid.
"Vaughan. There you are."
Vaughan groaned internally. Speaking of stupid...
He turned and plastered a realistic smile on his face. "Boss Carrion! Just the man I wanted to see!"
Ex-Rear Admiral Savage Carrion (yes, his name was that unfortunate) and his personal assistant, Saffron, stood before the younger man. Saffron looked as deadpan as ever, and Carrion had a vaguely amused smirk displayed.
"Is that so? I was about to say the same thing," Carrion said, lighting a cigar. He took a couple puffs before continuing. "What do you need?"
"Not that I don't appreciate visiting new islands, but may I inquire why we're stopping at this one?" Vaughan asked. "I was led to believe we were heading straight to the island of Rose Quartz."
"We were, until one of my contacts called me on my personal Den Den," the boss replied. "Apparently a rather prominent pirate crew has taken residence here, and their captain has quite the bounty. I figured you could track him down while the rest of the crew focuses on restocking some of our supplies. The extra cash could come in handy."
"Must be a big bounty if you're willing to go off course. How much is it?"
"370 million berris."
Vaughan whistled. "Nice. I'll look into it. So, why did you want to see me?"
Carrion's smirk vanished and he crossed his arms. "It's about why we want to go Rose Quartz. You said you knew the owner of the shipwright company there, right?"
Vaughan dimly remembered saying that. With the crew expanding the way it was, Carrion had decided they were going to need a bigger ship to replace the Golden Marmoset. Since they had been in the New World at the time, going all the way back to Water 7 wasn't practical. That meant they had to go to Rose Quartz, which held one of- if not thee- best shipyards in the New World. When Saffron had brought it up, Vaughan had mentioned he knew the owner, Hilde.
He only hoped Hilde wasn't still mad at him, because that would make getting the ship a tad difficult.
"Yeah, I said that. What of it?"
"I called the number you gave me to tell Ms. Hilde we were coming, but when I mentioned your name... she... um..."
"She referred to you with a startling number of expletives and told us to start collecting bounties like crazy, because she was going to bleed us dry for this," Saffron supplied in her usual boring voice. "She also told us to remind you that you still owe her a favor and that she will collect when you least expect it."
Vaughan winced. O-kay, she was still mad. Dang it.
Carrion raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain?"
The red-eyed man rubbed the back of his neck. "I should've have warned you. That extra cash is going to come in handy- Hilde's a shark."
"I can tell, considering how much she's planning to charge us," Carrion agreed.
Vaughan shook his head. "No, no, I mean she's an actual shark. To be specific, she's an ill-tempered tiger shark fishwoman." He looked away in embarrassment. "An ill-tempered tiger shark fishwoman who is extremely overprotective of her youngest sister, who just happens to be a red snapper mermaid, who I just happened to use to date."
Carrion and Saffron stared at him as the implications of this revelation sunk in.
"And that is why I can never, ever return to Fishman Island," Vaughan sighed. He turned and jumped onto the railing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have filthy pirates to hunt down and ex-girlfriends' homicidal sisters to not think about. See you later."
Vaughan jumped off the railing and onto the dock, pulling up his hood and taking off running as soon as he landed. Carrion and Saffron watched this in silence for a few seconds.
"... That would explain why he refused to leave the ship when we made a pit-stop there three months ago," Saffron noted.
"Vaughan has no idea how to make women happy. I could give him pointers- I know exactly what it takes to satisfy the fairer sex," Carrion said sagely. He frowned. "Although I have been divorced six times..."
Saffron adjusted her glasses. "You contradicted yourself again, sir."
"... How long do you think it will be before Vaughan realizes we never told him what pirate crew to be on the look out for?"
"There is is a 90% chance it will be soon."
"That doesn't tell me anything!"
If you wanted to be on Vaughan's good side, there were three things (formerly four things) you were never to bring up with him:
1.) The scar on his face.
2.) What training under Garp was like.
3.) The island of Kāla (this one was no longer on the list for obvious reasons).
4.) ANY OF HIS PAST GIRLFRIENDS.
Vaughan groaned to himself, pulling his hood a little farther over his face as he strode through the small town. There was a reason he had sworn off women altogether- the first being they distracted him from his mission, and the second being he was simply no good with them. No matter how hard he tried, every relationship he'd ever had ended up crashing and burning. And his exes' families never let him forget it. Hilde was one of the more extreme cases, but the rest were all still pretty bad. Shakky hadn't been wrong- he was pretty sure he owed "favors" to over half the fathers and older siblings in Paradise.
... Dear lord, he missed having Shakky to complain to. She had always been easy to talk to, even about tough subjects. He really couldn't do that with the lackeys, Saffron, or (ew) Carrion. Sure, Shakky didn't always listen, but she pretended to and that was more than anyone else had done since Bhanu. Not that Bhanu did much listening either. He mostly just told Vaughan to shut up and practice his forms until he didn't have enough moisture in his body to sweat anymore.
... Why did he look up to that guy again? And now that he thought about it, Bhanu hadn't been all that great with women either. Maybe it was the whole not-listening thing. That must have rubbed off on Vaughan.
... Shakky would have found that hilarious.
... Wow, I am lonely, Vaughan thought. He shook his head violently. This is pathetic! I didn't put myself on this path to make friends or find love! I did it to find Kāla and finally, finally put an end to all... this! Now I have a job to do and I don't have time to reminisce. Enough thinking about the past! No more thinking about my ex-girlfriends, about Shakky, about Bhanu! I need to focus on finding-
Vaughan stopped striding, paused, then slapped his forehead.
"I forgot to ask Carrion what pirate crew I'm supposed to be looking for, didn't I?" he asked aloud.
Well, there was no way he was going to call Carrion on his baby den den and ask. The man would undoubtedly rub in his air-headed moment. Vaughan took a quick scan of his surroundings, then caught sight of a tavern. He smiled. Taverns were always great places to glean information from.
As he approached it, he took notice of the bar's front doors. They looked like they had been kicked down, and several employees were trying to fix them. He also noticed the wall of the building across the street had a huge crater in it and red stains that he could detect were blood.
I don't want to know, he thought, sweatdropping.
Vaughan approached the men trying to fix the tavern entrance, lowering his hood. "Good morning, gentleman. Can you spare a moment of your time?"
They gave him puzzled glances, but one stopped working to talk to him. "I guess so. What can we do for you?"
"If you can't tell, I am a bounty hunter by trade," Vaughan began to explain. "I heard from my boss that there was a prominent pirate crew in port here, but he neglected to tell me which one. If one of you could tell me, it would be greatly appreciated."
The man gave Vaughan a long look before sighing tiredly. "That's the second time today. Why is that crew so popular lately?"
Vaughan raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"
"You aren't the first person who's wanted to know about that pirate crew today," one of the other employees piped up. "About an hour ago some blonde lady hunter asked the barkeeper here where she could the find the crew. Then that crew's first mate, who happened to be buying drinks, came up behind her and copped a feel."
"I've never seen a woman kick a grown man through a door before," the third employee said with wonder. "It was something else."
"Trust me, they're more common than you think," Vaughan said, thinking back to all the strong women he knew. That explains the crater and the blood. If this was an hour ago, then this lady isn't from my crew. It sounds like I may have some competition, if she was able to handle a first mate that easily. I'd better catch up. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for her. Now, which crew is it that has gathered such rapt attention?"
The first man crossed his arms. "I'm surprised you don't know- they're pretty active in these parts. Everyone knows to be on the look out for the White Rose Pirates."
Upon hearing the name of the crew, Vaughan could have sworn his heart stopped.
-his house was burning, burning-
-it hurt, the pain was unbearable-
"- No! Stop it! Leave him alone!-'"
- blood, blood was everywhere, why was there so much of it-
-blood, always blood, why wouldn't it go away-
"Hey, buddy, snap out of it!"
Vaughan shook himself out of... whatever that had been. The bar employees were studying him with concern in their eyes.
"Are you okay? You looked like you were about to have a seizure," the second man asked worriedly.
Vaughan smiled uneasily. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. The White Rose Pirates, right? Do you know where they are, because I didn't see any jolly rogers back at the port."
"Uh, sure," the first man said. "If we go by what we overheard that blonde lady beat out of Black Orchid Presley, they've docked their ship on the other side of the island. The only way to get there from here is either by ship or through the forest."
Vaughan closed his eyes and reached out with his Haki- sure enough, he could detect some human 'voices' on the opposite end of Darwin Island. He was too far away though to get anything specific.
Given who he was trying to 'hear,' this was probably for the best.
"Well, I know for a fact my boss isn't going to want to move the ship, so the forest it is," Vaughan decided. He pulled up his hood and began to walk away. "Thank you for your information. Goodbye."
"Careful out there!" the tavern men called after him. "That forest is the reason the island is called 'the Island of Abnormality!'"
Vaughan stopped to give them a reassuring smirk, waving at them in acknowledgement. But as soon as he looked away and resumed his strode, the red-eyed man's expression became as hard as stone.
The White Rose Pirates, eh? he thought. So much for not thinking about the past.
The stoniness melted away into determination.
Still, I was never one to shy away from opportunity. Let's see if I can make this work in my favor.
Location: Forest of Darwin Island
For a forest that had supposedly given Darwin Island its title as "the Island of Abnormality", Erity had to admit, so far she was kind of disappointed. In the hour she had been traveling through it there had been nothing to indicate it was anything more than a normal woodland area. Only trees, rocks, more trees, and the occasional bush. She was currently standing next to a small lake with a medium-sized waterfall pouring into it. It was the perfect picture of serenity.
Did that mean she was going to let her guard down? Hell no. People didn't give islands titles for no reason in the New World. (Except for Styxus, the Island of Perpetual Suffering. She'd been there once and it was actually really nice. She had no idea how it got that name.) If this island was known for being abnormal, she was fully prepared for an armageddon of weirdness to break out.
But for now, she had other concerns. The waterfall, for instance. While pretty, this was the third time she had come across it.
"Oh wow, the forest waterfall!" she said with mock wonder. "I haven't been here in over- I don't know- fifteen minutes! Glad to see the old place hasn't changed!"
"Sarcasm is really unbecoming of a lady, I hope you realize," Black Orchid Presley sniffed.
Erity smiled sweetly. "While I'm flattered you referred to me as a lady, let's not forget who's wearing the pants in this relationship."
"It would have been me," Presley ground out. "If you hadn't TAKEN MINE OFF AND USED THEM TO TIE ME UP!"
Erity rolled her eyes, dropping him unceremoniously on the ground. What did he want her to do? His pants and his jacket had been made out of Herculean Silkworm silk. That stuff was notoriously tough fabric, and way stronger than any stupid ropes. He should've been more appreciative that she had taken the time to turn them into bonds. Not to mention he had some humiliation coming, what with how he felt her up.
Besides, it wasn't as if he was the only one suffering. She was the one who had to see him in his underwear (the man wore briefs- what a dork).
"Nobody likes a whiner," Erity scolded with no hint of irony. "The only reason I didn't beat you unconscious was so you could lead me to your ship and captain, since I obviously don't trust the instructions you gave me. Continue to lead me in circles, and I may rectify that. Do you want that?"
Presley flinched but remained firm. "You must be new at this if you think I'm going to betray Captain Eriks that easily. Pirates would rather die than do that."
"Which pirate crews have you been hanging out with?" Erity deadpanned. "I can literally think of only five crews that would actually do that, and one of them broke up six months ago."
"Well, now it is six crews," Presley said smugly. "I would rather be a festering corpse than willingly aid a bounty hunter."
Erity shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The pirate blinked. "Wait, what- ARGHHH!"
Presley's own self-interruption was a result of Erity kicking him in the stomach and into a nearby tree. She walked up to him and lifted him by the shirt.
"Little known fact about me- I used to be in a profession that required me to know torture tactics. I haven't had any need to use them in recent years, nor do I actually want to use them. However, if you continue to act so difficult, I might be inclined to change my mind."
"You're bluffing," Presley declared, sweating heavily.
Erity raised her free gauntlet-covered hand, the claws of the armor glinting in the sunlight. "Am I? You willing to bet your life on that?"
Presley gulped heavily.
"Oi, oi, no need to get so serious. I know the World Government doesn't care what condition they're in, but the bounty does drop if you kill him. Death tends to be a side effect of torture."
Erity and Presley looked up to see a cloaked figure sitting in the branches above. The figure jumped down the tree, landing at the edge of the little lake. He removed his hood.
"You wouldn't happen to be the scary blonde bounty hunter I've heard about, would you?" Vaughan asked.
Erity stared at him for a long time before she dropped Presley and took a fighting stance. "A cute vampire cornering me in the woods? Those smarmy teen vampire romance novels were right!"
"One- I'm not a vampire. That's you being prejudiced about my appearance," Vaughan corrected. "Two- I'm not cute. Three- you actually read those?"
Erity blushed and crossed her arms, looking away. "That's beside the point. Who the heck are you?"
"Ah, where are my manners," Vaughan said. "My name is Enoch Vaughan, bounty hunter. And you are?"
"Erity," she replied plainly. "Also a bounty hunter. What do you want?"
"The same thing as you, apparently. Word around the island is you're after the White Rose Pirates, and it just so happens that I'm after them as well."
"You don't say. And you came all the way out here to tell me that?"
"Hardly. You're welcome to Black Orchid, since you took him down yourself, but I'm going to have to insist that you leave the captain to me."
"Oh? And why would I do that? Just because I'm new at this doesn't mean I can't handle it."
"I'm sure you can. Not just anyone can't take down a man worth 160 million with only one kick. But since you're just starting out, here's some advice- don't go after the big guns right off the bat. Unless you have prior experience with pirate scum, it's better to work your way up it to the higher tier."
"Gosh, I had no idea the infamous Bloodbath Vaughan was so condescending," Erity taunted. "Disappointment abounds."
Vaughan raised an eyebrow. "'Bloodbath', huh? Haven't been called that in awhile. You do know who I am then?"
"Your reputation precedes you, Enoch Vaughan," Erity admitted flippantly. "I've never met someone with so many different epithets. Bloodbath, Blood King..." She smirked. "... the Crimson Heartbreaker."
To Vaughan's credit, he didn't react to that beyond a vein pulsing on his forehead. "... Where did you hear that?"
"From this lovely mermaid I met on Fishman island named Mika," Erity answered. "We both griped about ex-boyfriends for awhile. She ranted for an hour about how you dumped her-"
"Hey, that was a mutual break-up," Vaughan argued forcefully.
"Sure it was. Men," Erity scoffed, strolling up to him. "So freaking clueless. It makes me glad I'm not one."
"Shut up. We're not here to discuss my incredibly dismal love life, we're here to call dibs on a pirate's bounty," Vaughan growled. He smirked and raised one hand. "Here's me doing it; I call dibs on White Rose Eriks!"
"You can't call dibs, I didn't even know we were doing that!" Erity argued. She jabbed her thumb at her chest. "I was here first, so if anyone should have dibs it's me!"
The argument was becoming quite childish. The two bounty hunters were glaring at each other and were practically nose to nose.
"Too late. I already called it."
"Only because I didn't know we were officially calling dibs! I want a do-over!"
"You can't do-over dibs. It doesn't work like that."
"Says who? I don't recall the Five Elder Stars crowning you King of the Dibs."
"Says me for starters, and even if that were a thing, it would probably be a Celestial Dragon. They have dibs on everything at birth."
"True. That being said, I still say we have a do-over."
"No way! You already have Black Orchid, stop being so greedy!"
"I didn't know he was Black Orchid when I kicked his ass, so- where's Black Orchid?"
Erity had looked over her shoulder while speaking, only to see that the man in question was gone. The makeshift bonds he had been wrapped in laid in a heap at the bottom of the tree.
"Crap, he's loose!" Erity shouted.
"You let your capture escape?" Vaughan asked incredulously. "You are new at this."
"Shut up, Enoch! You distracted me!"
"Don't snap at me just because you goofed."
"YES! I GOOFED!" Erity shouted shrilly. "Since you're the big-shot experienced bounty hunter, hows about you help me find him?!"
"Fine." Vaughan gave the area a customary glance, then pointed up. "He's up there."
Erity looked to where he was pointing, and sure enough, there stood Presley at the top of the waterfall.
"Speedy son of a bitch, isn't he?" Vaughan commented, looking up as well and shielding his eyes from the sun.
"GET BACK HERE, PRESLEY!" Erity shrieked.
"Never! I escaped fair and square, you harlot!" Presley shouted back. "You were so busy with your petty squabble that you did not notice me wriggling out of my bonds! What did you expect me to do?"
"For one thing, put your pants back on after you got free!" Vaughan called up. "Why didn't you?"
Presley pursed his lips, then shook his head. "Never mind that! I am free and I will take immense pleasure in telling my captain that two bounty hunters are coming after his head! But first, Ms. Erity, allow me to show you why I kept taking you back to this lake!"
With a wide grin, Presley kicked a large rock into the lake below.
Erity crouched down. "Shows what he knows- heights aren't a problem for me. I'll be up there in no-"
"We need to run," Vaughan said suddenly, grabbing her arm and making her stand.
"Huh? Why?"
"Because of that."
On the word that, out of the lake rose a legion of what only could be described as floating piranhas- floating, with no wings or anything to keep them up.
Erity's eye twitched. "What. The. Hell."
"Not gonna lie- that's pretty abnormal," Vaughan noted.
The piranhas all hissed, showing off their teeth.
"RUN!" Erity hollered, turning tail and doing just that.
"Excellent idea! Why didn't I think of that?!" Vaughan agreed, joining her.
The pair ran back into the forest, the floating piranhas at their heels (they were surprisingly fast). They ran past a series of bushes, and the piranhas were joined by floating rabbits. They then passed a small river with otters. The otters saw the chase, rose into the air, and joined in with ferocious growls.
Now that they were thinking about it, they were pretty sure some of those bushes were floating and coming after them too.
And the chipmunks.
Also those seals. Where did the seals come from?!
"You have got to be kidding me," Vaughan muttered when he looked back to see the veritable army of floating animals gunning for them.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS ISLAND?!" Erity demanded to know.
Thus the two bounty hunters continued their mad dash through the woods. It would not end for some time and all the while they both thought the same thing:
When I get out of this, this moron and I are going to have words.
Read and Review, please!
Ex-Rear Admiral Savage Carrion (yes, his name was that unfortunate) and his personal assistant, Saffron, stood before the younger man.
Carrion's surname comes from Thomas S. Savage, the man who discovered gorillas. Carrion's ship in the main story is The Silverback (silverback gorilla) and it's figurehead is a snarling gorilla.
Vaughan shook his head. "No, no, I mean she's an actual shark. To be specific, she's an ill-tempered tiger shark fishwoman." He looked away in embarrassment. "An ill-tempered tiger shark fishwoman who is extremely overprotective of her youngest sister, who just happens to be a red snapper mermaid, who I just happened to use to date."
This part may seem random, but it's not. This actually will come up in the fic I have planned called "No Strings." That angry tiger shark fishwoman will be a character in it.
If this island was known for being abnormal, she was fully prepared for an armageddon of weirdness to break out.
So... a Weirdmageddon?
"Oh wow, the forest waterfall!" she said with mock wonder. "I haven't been here in over- I don't know- fifteen minutes! Glad to see the old place hasn't changed!"
If the style of this joke is familiar, I based it off one I heard in Sword Art Online Abridged.
"Which pirate crews have you been hanging out with?" Erity deadpanned. "I can literally think of only five crews that would actually do that, and one of them broke up six months ago."
The crew she's thinking of are the Whitebeard Pirates, the Straw Hat Pirates, the Donquixote Pirates, the Red Haired Pirates, and the Big Mom Pirates.
"A cute vampire cornering me in the woods? Those smarmy teen vampire romance novels were right!"
Given Vaughan's appearance, this joke had to be made.
