Chapter 4 "I'd like to run away from you, but if you didn't come and find me… I would die." - Shirley Bassey
From far away, it looked like a regular island floating aimlessly; however, when the two Pirate Captains sailed closer, the island that looked so regular was completely bare of trees and wildlife. With a rocky shoreline and a massive darken castle that was constructed too large for the island, Lina and Gourry awkwardly glanced at each other then to the map. There was the face of their comrade, shown floating where the island was placed.
"He's here?" Lina questioned aloud as Gourry motioned Majestic Jellyfish to swim around the island to the back where the island had an empty shipping dock. She stepped off the giant sea-animal first and looked over the tall and dreadful castle. "This doesn't look like the place where a weakling would be hiding."
"Weakling?" Gourry asked and Lina informed him that she will explain later. Leaving Majestic Jellyfish at the docks, they squeezed past the black thorns that blocked their way to the rear entrance of the castle; only to discover that there was no entrance through the back. Lina sighed; so much for being inconspicuous.
"Let's go around-"
"Look, Lina!" Gourry pointed above their heads. There was a lone wooden pole suspended out of the castle wall and hung by their necks were corpses, dried from the overwhelming sun. Lina stared at the bodies for a good while before letting out another deep sigh.
"Fuck." She cursed and before she could react, they were ambushed with familiar heavily armored soldiers with familiar steel weapons and familiar handcuffs. They were on the island that the Anti-Piracy Coalition called 'Pirate Rehabilitation'.
- o -
Lina watched them take Gourry away. They had her hands chained behind her back, preventing her from starting a flame. But she wasn't worried. Gourry was as dumb as a doorknob; they won't be getting any information out of him. However, her on the other hand…
"Tell me the location of your buried treasure, PIRATE!" The hooded undertaker shouted in her ear, a rusty sharp blade pressed against Lina's throat.
"Why is the Anti-Piracy Coalition interested in my treasure?" She challenged, allowing the blade to dig deeper into her neck.
"We're going to return it BACK to the original owners!"
"So, you're going to give my treasure BACK to the Pirates I took it from?" Lina questioned and he immediately stopped. "You DO know that not ALL Pirates steal from villages, right?" He shook his head. "Personally, I take from other Pirates and let them do all the pillaging labor. A beautiful maiden shouldn't be reduced in wasting her precious time and energy causing havoc. It's just not proper." She then rose a coyly eyebrow. "I thought the Anti-Piracy Coalition is not in favor of ANY Piracy and yet, you're going to take MY hard-earned treasure and give it back to those looting savages?"
"If I didn't know any better…" The redhead gave a soft pout. "You're being a Pirate." The half-naked undertaker flinched at her accusation and withdrew his weapon slightly.
"But… I'm not a Pirate…" He whimpered, yet Lina kept her slight glare.
"PIRATE." She said it louder and the muscular man cringed. Letting out a whine, he got the attention of the other undertakers and they walked over.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Am… Am I a Pirate?" The weeping man looked up at his fellow comrades. They glanced at each other in disgust before kicking their hopeless fellow co-worker out of the way and forced Lina to get on her knees with her head pushed low.
"This one is smart, Boss." Lina heard one man say and several smacks of his club playfully hitting his palm. "What should we do to her first?"
"I heard the electric shock treatment to the tongue would make any little lady squeal." Soft chuckles were let out until Lina lifted her eyes to peer at her torturers.
"Why don't you let me go now and MAYBE I'll let you live?"
"You hear her, lads? I think she's THREATENING us!" As they laughed hysterically, Lina blew her bothering bangs out of her eyes and geared up for a painful session. Hopefully, they were caring for Gourry the same way too.
- o -
"Hi." Gourry happily greeted. A starving old woman in a heavy large brown cloak looked up slowly; she was dragging a dirty cloth against the floorboards covered with red fluids. "Can you help me? I lost Lina." He asked with his head between two iron bars. The woman just laughed and continued to wipe the flood of blood. Mistaking the woman's laughter, Gourry was relieved that she was going to aid him and looked back at the other imprisoned men who were strapped to the walls.
"Lina's going to get all of us out. She's scary, you know." He told them but the men were too hungry to reply. Unworried of his impending torture, Gourry calmly looked around his prison. He was amongst many other men with long beards who were chained to the rocky wall by their wrists and ankles. Gourry also noticed that they were weaponless and wearing minimal clothes; he acknowledged that they had been there longer than a few days. Turning his head back and forth, glancing at the faces of every man, he paused to see a man sitting at the far end of the prison. The man was covered from head to toe in a dark cloak and judging from the way the mysterious man's hooded head was turned, he was staring at Gourry. Out of everyone, he was the only one who was watching the new prisoner.
"Hi." Gourry got up to walk over, only to fell back onto his bottom from the sudden tug of his chains. The man under the dark clothes let out a loud scoff and moved his head away.
"Unbelievable..." The man muttered from beneath his hood that covered his entire head.
"Um," Gourry jerked the chains on his wrists. "Did I do something wrong?"
"I should have taken your lives when I had an opportunity and I had many…" The mystery man began to say with his head slightly turning side to side.
"I'm hungry." Gourry rubbed his hands over his growling tummy.
"I had made penitence with my useless life and was looking forward to my passing…"
"Are we going to be fed soon?" He asked the moaning old man next to him.
"Except you meddling demons won't rest until you ruin the ending of my life too… Because of you two, my life has been a living hell-"
"Can I have a drink, old lady? I'm thirsty-"
"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" The covered man screamed and Gourry confusingly looked at him. They stared at each other until Gourry gave an innocent grin.
"My name is Gourry!"
"WHEN I GET OUT OF THESE CHAINS AND MURDER THE RAT BASTARD WHO PUT ME IN THIS HELLHOLE, I WILL MURDER YOU AND YOUR WRETCHED WOMAN."
"I hope Lina is eating. She gets mean when she's hungry…" Feeling lonely, Gourry stared at the sapphire ring on his hand while ignoring the obscene swearing that was coming from across his holding cell.
- o -
The masters of the castle were confused. They thought their torturous devices and tactics were among the best but the little woman withstood it all and did it with a smile.
"That's it?" Though, her arms and legs were being pulled in different directions, Lina raised her head slightly and stuck her tongue out. "I can do this all day!"
"What should we do, Boss? She has already broken 8 of our equipment and there isn't anything else left." One of the masked torturers asked.
"We have no choice." The large man gulped. "We would have to get answers from this filthy scum another way. Get her down!" Releasing Lina from the apparatus, she dropped to her knees and tirelessly stood up to her feet.
"What next?" Her eyebrow lifted in amusement when the Boss of the men held up a loose rope.
"We shall bind you to the fiercest creature that we had ever come across with." He snapped the rope, testing its strength. "And then, we shall throw you into a pit of snakes for 5 hours!"
"Weak." Lina snorted. The Boss winced at her reaction.
"A pit of poisonous snakes for an entire day!"
"Pathetic." She merely yawned at the threat.
"A pit of poisonous snakes and rapid werewolves for 3 days!"
"Child's play." Lina accused and her torturers looked at each other. His hot blood flooding his face, their Boss screamed at the uncaring redhead.
"A PIT OF POISONOUS SNAKES, RAPID WEREWOLVES, AND SLOWLY BEING SUBMERGED IN BOILING TAR FOR A WEEK!"
"Make it boiling lava for a month and MAYBE I'll tell you a secret."
"YOU HEARD HER! GET THE SNAKES, WEREWOLVES, AND LAVA!" The Boss Man ordered his men and they all raced out of the torture room. Rolling her eyes, Lina settled onto the floorboards and crossed her legs. She waited patiently, watching her tormentors dig a hole nearby, while thinking about the man whom she was searching for in this lovely retreat.
- o -
Sapphire told me that he was the best at what he does and since he only recruits the best, Quartz was made our Navigator. Before I met him though, he warned me that Quartz was unlike any other person I came across with and I must be very careful with my words for he was very sensitive. When Sapphire finally introduced me to the Navigator, he looked rather small for his age and I noticed a brand new sword that dangled too loosely around his waist. Sapphire mentioned that he was a swordsman and knew simple magic, but he exaggerated this one. Quartz said nothing but two words to me, 'Hello' and 'Goodbye'. Immediately after meeting him, I was hesitant about his choice.
"You told me that he knew sword fighting and magic but he carries a new sword and does not know how to do a simple wind spell."
"Creating wind is not an easy task."
"But I can do it…"
"You are a rarity, my Precious Gem." Sapphire laughed while I glared. It was frustrating when he compliments me while I am trying to make a point.
"Please, Captain, let's find another Navigator."
"Give me a legitimate reason and I will."
"I find him suspicious."
"You find anybody who refuses to speak to you as a suspicious character. Everybody is not a social butterfly like you." He then reassured me that Quartz was the right addition to his crew and I should trust his judgment. I was unsure of his decision. Whenever I saw Quartz with the other crew members, he made no attempt to socialize with anybody and would become incredibly uneasy whenever he had too.
"You see," Sapphire pointed it out. "It's not that he does not want to speak to you. Rather, he just does not know how too. Practice your patience and he will reveal himself." However, my patience ran out and I pestered him one night when we were assigned to watch the ship together.
"I speak when I want to speak." He told me.
"Is it because of me?"
"No." He merely said.
"I can see, you know." I turned to face him. "I can see that you are uneasy… Are you afraid of me?" He didn't answer so I figured that it was his way to end this awkward conversation.
"Yes." His voice was so soft that I would've missed it if I were facing the other direction.
"Why are you afraid to speak to me?"
"It is not just you." Quartz turned his head to look over his shoulder and I met with the only thing that Quartz allowed people to see; his silver eyes. "It is everyone." I didn't quite understand until Sapphire explained it to me the next morning.
"Do not bother Quartz anymore." Sapphire scolded me by pulling at my cheeks. "He is the best at what he does and I want him to stay that way." I followed Sapphire's orders and did not bother Quartz, except for one last time. I had the displeasure of taking Bloodstone's job when he left and while I was checking the ammunition late one night, I heard a lovely song. I followed down the hallway with my clipboard close to my chest for I had to hold back the loud pounding of my heart. There were no words to this song; it was just a voice calling out in the middle of the night like a harp echoing in a ballroom. In the middle of the deck, Pearl was teasing her vocal cords with Quartz as her audience. He stared at Pearl's face as she let out her loving aria and when she finished, Pearl opened her eyes and took Quartz's face in her hands. She gave him a smile and pulled him closer to her. He would've moved away if I had done the same but when he was around Pearl, Quartz would change into a braver person.
"Sensitivity is not weak." I heard her say with their faces just inches apart. Although I wanted to hear more of their conversation and whether or not they would kiss under the moonlight, Sapphire found me in the hallway and scolded me for being nosy. That was the last time I meddled into other crew members' affairs.
- o -
"This," Lina glared at the wall of the pit that her torturers had dug for her. "Truly is torture." She was placed perfectly in the middle of the slender pit with poisonous snakes getting thrown in. But that wasn't what got her to admit defeat. She was promised by the torturers that she would be bound with the fiercest creature that they had ever encountered with and they were right.
"Poisonous snakes, rapid werewolves, and lava." The creature snorted behind her, their backs and wrists touching. "Anything else you recommended?"
"It's nice to hear your awful voice again, Quartz." Lina grumbled. Although she couldn't see him, she knew his voice. Fumbling her legs to get rid of the snakes that were crawling over, the redhead looked over her shoulder to see more of him only to get the side of her face pinned with his needle-like hair.
"Cut your damn hair!"
"Prisoners are not allowed to groom." Quartz simply said and pulled his legs in when the torturers announced that they were going to throw in the rapid werewolves next.
"You must look worse than the last time I saw you." The redhead chuckled slightly.
"I haven't seen sun light for as long as I can remember." He growled when Lina laughed harder. "It's not fucking funny!" Quartz punted the back of his head into Lina's, making her shout curse words.
"DAMMIT!" She snarled. "STOP MOVING! Your hair is really sharp."
"If it weren't for my pathetic temperament, I would've eradicated you demons when I was recruited to this hellish existence and all this would have been prevented-"
"Speaking of demons," Lina changed the subject. "Have you seen Gourry already?" Quartz let out a loud scoff.
"He didn't remember me. AGAIN." Lina snickered again and Quartz just grumbled a swear word beneath his breath. The first rapid werewolf was thrown in and it immediately ran to Lina's side of the pit after looking at Quartz's horrid features.
"At least the Treasure of Fire gave you what you wanted." The redhead kicked the werewolf unconscious when it raced to bite her neck. "It took away your fragile spirit and made you into a fierce creature. You always said that you wanted to be stronger." Quartz didn't respond for he finally gotten across the ropes tied around his and Lina's wrists by the friction of his rough skin and quickly turned his attention to the tight rope around his ankles. Lina and Quartz stood up at the same time and faced each other for the first time after years of separation.
He was no longer a feeble, useless, or sensitive boy that people remember him as. The legendary Navigator protégé had been transformed into an unafraid and forthright man whose body was a fierce weapon. However, though the Treasure of Fire had changed his entire mental persona to his liking, it came with consequences. There was turquoise-colored skin with rough texture, the metallic rocky pebbles randomly located in various parts of his body, piercing silver needle-like hair that comes in handy when a stitch needs to be done, and his once-kind eyes were made into dull grey spheres that looked blankly into people's souls. In exchange for the separation of the Pirate King, his sensitive soul was taken and he became an inexpressive deadly creature.
"Zelgadiss." Lina said his given name and he snorted loudly, almost displeased that she knew.
"I have forgotten." He walked around the pit, looking up several times to calculate the height of the hole. "I held you and Gourry close for protection and foolish friendship that I had foolishly given you demons my real name." Finding a soft spot against the dirt wall, Zelgadiss stopped walking and scratched the area.
"Zel," Crossing her arms over her chest, Lina stepped to his side and leaned against the wall as he rubbed the soft texture between his fingers. "We need you-"
"I gave up my position."
"Oh yes, I remember! You gave up your position because of her!" She told him and almost instantly, Zelgadiss stopped checking the dirt wall. As various sizes of wolf-men were thrown into the pit, Lina watched the clueless werewolves run around her feet and eat the snakes that were fearfully slithering away while Zelgadiss was staring at his feet.
"She doesn't-"
"Yes, she does." The redhead grabbed Zelgadiss' shoulder and spun him around to look upon his face. They were now face-to-face. "She does. You are just-" She stopped for Zelgadiss was merely staring at her. His eyes looked blank. There was no emotion filling in his dull orbs so she just shook her head and unhanded him. There was no use arguing with nothingness.
"Gourry and I are rebuilding Sapphire's crew." She walked around him.
"Sapphire and Gourry is the same person."
"Just play with me here, you tasteless saliva." Lina growled and Zelgadiss rolled his eyes.
"Now, since Sapphire only got the best of the best, it is an unfortunate disaster that the best Navigator in the Demon Sea is…" She sighed. "Well, unfortunately, it's you."
"Of course I'm the best." Zelgadiss smirked, quite conceitedly. "There is no one who can work among the stars and coordinate islands-"
"Yes, yes, yes." Lina interrupted him, tired of his gloating. "So, you'll join?"
"No." He answered quite quickly and return to the soft wall.
"I knew I had to plead with you." She clasped her palms together. "Will you PLEASE join-"
"Pleading, begging, whining, and threatening will not get you anywhere. I will stay true to my answer." Thrusting his fingers into the soft dirt, Zelgadiss began to climb the long pit.
"Alright," Instead of climbing, Lina levitated from the dirt and was floating next to him as Zelgadiss worked his way up. "I'll give you a daily wage and a percentage of the winnings."
"No."
"How about a daily wage, a percentage of the winnings, a private room on board, AND first dibs to the bathroom every morning?" She gave a hard bargain except Zelgadiss didn't bother to answer. Pouting angrily and nearing the top of the pit, Lina knew that if he gets to the top without him convinced in joining than she and Gourry were without a Navigator. But what can she suggest next? She offered everything a Pirate crew member would want!
"I know." Lina snapped her fingers. She looked at the back of Zelgadiss' head and grinned. "If you don't join, I'll call upon Pearl." He slipped at her sudden offer and glared at her.
"What are you thinking?"
"Here is my proposal, my tasteless saliva," Lina snickered. "I will call upon Pearl to leave her position as Queen of the Barbarians and go back to being a Pirate with us. Then, I'm going to find you again," Zelgadiss didn't like the way this was going. "And we're going to have such a wonderful reunion!"
"She will never leave her position."
"Here's the thing that you don't know," She leaned close. "Pearl hates being the Queen and she's only doing it because of you. So, yes, she will leave everything if it's for her ex-boyfriend."
"You flat-chested, wretched demon woman." He growled. "I despised you less when you were Lina-Chan."
"Those days are long gone, you monster." Placing a finger against his forehead, Lina playfully pushed his head back with a winning grin. "Well, Zel? Do you want to be reunited with the only love of your rotten life or would you like to be my Navigator?"
- o -
"Trespassers will face great consequences-"
"MOVE." Zelgadiss barked and the old woman fell into a comatose state after seeing his dreadful face. Leaving behind a bloody carnage with the masters of the castle, they freed Gourry from his cage and left the Pirate prisoners to starve for they were Pirates too and they weren't planning to share the Demon Sea anymore. Taking his first step outside, Zelgadiss paused to take a deep breath of fresh air and sighed deeply. He preferred being free than in chains, that he knew. Dressed in the clothes that he had been caught in, Zelgadiss had on a long jacket just like Lina's except it was grey with silver designs and unlike Gourry, he showed none of his naked skin and covered everything of the same color. Even his head was covered with a hood attached to his jacket. Looking back at the two Pirate Captains behind him who were making loud plans for food, he glared at the redhead. He was already thinking of ways to get out of the agreement that Lina had forced him into. Reaching into his inner jacket pocket, he took out the face mask that he had carved and slipped it on.
"You never had that when I last saw you." Lina noticed the covering.
"Prison is a boring routine." He answered as Lina and Gourry investigated the pale-white mask with light brown thick strips running down like warrior paint.
"Looks like bone." Gourry remarked.
"A man gave his life for this mask." Zelgadiss said. Lina and Gourry stared at the mask in silence before taking a huge step away. Unaware to his grotesque comment, Zelgadiss just took it as they were done looking at his work-of-art and walked away.
"Where is the ship?" He asked loudly when he got to the bare dock. When the Majestic Jellyfish surfaced, all Zelgadiss could do is sigh louder. "I do not work under these conditions."
"If you want a ship, I'll get you a ship." Lina walked past him with a snicker. She boarded the giant animal and looked back at him, grinning like a shark. "And it'll be the BEST ship that this Demon Sea had ever witnessed."
"Onward to the East!" She loudly laughed with her hands to her hips. Zelgadiss slightly hung his head, a deep sigh leaving behind his mask. He only raised his face when he felt a tight hold around his shoulders. Gourry was standing next to him, a friendly arm on Zelgadiss and with a big stupid smile. "To arms!"
"To arms!" Gourry chanted after Lina and forced Zelgadiss onto the Majestic Jellyfish. Pushing him to sit, Gourry kept an arm around the silent passenger as Lina guided Majestic Jelly away Pirate's Rehabilitation.
"Here." Zelgadiss raised his head. A satin sack was being held out to him. "You know the rules." Lina grinned. Obediently, the grumbling monster took the sack and opened it. He didn't bother to look inside; it was inevitable that he was going to get the same one. However when he retracted, Zelgadiss stared at the gem that was between his fingers. It was a Pearl ring. Lina watched him stare intently at the ring. He said nothing while caressing the cool gem.
"She still does, you know." Lina said and took her satin jewelry bag back. Finding the quartz ring, the Pirate Captain tossed the selected gem to her Navigator. He caught the jewelry and placed it on his middle left finger, yet kept staring at the Pearl.
"Do I?" He muttered softly while closing his fingers around the ring in his palm. Lina smirked when Zelgadiss shoved the Pearl into his inner jacket pocket, mutely refusing to return it to her. She did it and soon enough, Sapphire's crew will be reunited once again.
- 004 -
ALONE