Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.

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Chapter Four: Admiral Thompson vs. Captain Natalia

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"I'm bored." Natalia whined, probably for the fourth time in this half hour.

"I'm sorry." Jonathan replied. Both were laid out on the deck, side to side, on their stomachs, peeking out of the railing and watching the sea rush past.

Natalia's red hair was tied up normally in it a way that made it fan out behind her like a peacock's tail. Instead of wearing it, Natalia decided that in the heat of the day, it was best to use her blue jean jacket as a pillow, rather than an article of clothing. Her red shirt hugged her thin frame tightly and her blue jeans were only making the day hotter.

Beside her, Jonathan's brown hair was flying about in the wind. His loose green shirt was flapping about too, making a tad bit of an obnoxious noise. Unlike his captain, the swordsman had some sense and was wearing blue jean shorts. Both crewmates had ditched their shoes and socks somewhere next to the cabins.

It was a quiet day, and thanks to Silhouette's Kaze Kaze no Mi, the navigator was able to create an artificial wind and push Adeline's Pride forward. Elaine informed them it'd be about three weeks before they'd be able to reach the next island, and when that happened, there was a worse danger at hand.

Their little nameless pirate crew was barreling towards a marine headquarters. Natalia had reassured everyone that regardless of the danger, there were more important things at hand.

"More important than impending doom?" Silhouette said. "Do explain."

"We have yet to name our crew." Natalia said. "And we need a pirate flag."

"You're kidding me." Jonathan said. "You think naming our crew is more important than saving our lives from marines?"

"We'll jump that hurdle when we come to it." Natalia replied simply. "But I was thing something… electric-y."

"That's not a word." Silhouette said. "You could've said 'shocking.' Then you wouldn't have sounded stupid. It's too late now, though."

"I don't care." Natalia replied, sticking her tongue out. "Any suggestions?"

Jonathan leaned forward thoughtfully. "This isn't something we can change, so it has to be good. Maybe we should wait until we get bounties and bounty names."

Natalia blinked in reply. "No. No we can't wait. We need a flag and a name now. It has to be cool, and it has to be awesome, and I want it to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who sees it!" Natalia struck a warrior pose, pointing to the far left corner and using her chair as a footrest.

"Natalia, sit down." Silhouette replied.

Elaine cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. "I think maybe we should wait for the bounties and bounty names. You know, a lot of pirates name their crew after their captain's bounty name."

"Well, we're not a lot of pirates. There are just four of us. And I don't want to do what everyone else does. If anything, my bounty name will be determined by our crew name." Natalia said. "Come on, there's got to be something…!"

"Electric Devil Pirates." Jonathan suggested. "It's 'shocking'. It kind of has a ring to it."

Natalia pulled a piece of paper out of nowhere and scribbled down Jonathan's suggestion. "Now we're getting somewhere! Any more?"

"Well, let's think. At this rate, we'll probably have a small crew…" Elaine said.

Silhouette nodded. "With a large variety of people."

"Wide Range Pirates!" Jonathan suggested. "The Jolly Roger could have a target around it."

Natalia nodded and scribbled it down without commenting. Truthfully, she liked the first one better.

"I've got nothing." Silhouette sighed. "Natalia? You?"

"Electric Eel Pirates!" Natalia announced, grinning widely. She scribbled it down, then frowned at the paper. "No… eel looks weird capitalized."

Silhouette peeked over her shoulder and made a face. "You're right."

"So?" Jonathan asked. "Which do you like?"

"I like the Electric Devil Pirates. We could be the Electric Devils!" Natalia said.

Elaine nodded. "It does have a nice ring to it."

"Then, it's decided?" Silhouette asked. "The Electric Devils… I think this deserves a toast."

Elaine went to the pantry and pulled out a bottle of well-aged sake and four wine glasses. She poured the drinks and handed each crewmate a glass. "Well then, to the Electric Devils!"

"Yosh!"

Glasses clinked together and laughter and merriment filled the kitchen.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Sir? We've spotted a vessel." A young man said, peeking his head into Admiral Thompson's room.

"What's on the sail? Or the flag?" The admiral asked, looking up, depressed.

"Well sir, there's nothing there. It's all blank." The young government dog replied.

The admiral let out a grunt. "It's probably just a fishing ship, or smugglers or something. I'll go talk to them. Secure the ship to theirs."

"Yes sir. Right away, sir."

Slowly the admiral stood and took the picture of his young daughter. Natalia… why did she have to be corrupted by her witch of a mother?

The tired man walked aboard to see the very image of a ghost ship in front of him. His jaw dropped, and Adeline came aboard. No, not Adeline. Natalia.

Soon, a shorter, white-haired girl appeared next to his daughter. Then a blond. Then a man. Admiral Thompson couldn't believe his eyes. His baby girl ordered for the man- Jonathan, she called him- to draw his sword and break the ties of their ships.

The admiral shook off his shock and ordered his officers, "Now men! Climb aboard! Don't let them get away!

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia sat icily in her chair. Her hands and feet were tied to it, so she really had no option but to sit. Behind her, Silhouette, Jonathan and Elaine were tied up and squirming.

"Nice to see you too." Natalia murmured, looking away from her father.

"Natalia, don't be this way. Why did you run away? We found your note, but it was too blurred to read and fell in some water." Admiral Thompson looked over his daughter's crew. "You can't honestly tell me you became a pirate."

"I did." Natalia replied. "And you won't stop me, either. I'm going to go find One Piece and become the Pirate Queen."

"How many times have I told you? Natalia, you can't-"

"I can." Natalia replied. "And I'm sick of you telling me 'you can't, you can't, you can't.' I'm going to prove you wrong."

"Um, excuse me, but Natalia, how do you know him?" Silhouette asked.

Natalia growled, "This pigheaded man is my father. Or at least he was."

"Natalia, don't be like that."

"I'll be however I want."

"Would you just stop?"

"No!"

"Why? You're exactly like your mother."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

Natalia looked at Jonathan. His feet were untied… all of her crew's feet were untied. With one shock, her father would be out like a light, and Jonathan could find someway to get his sword to cut the crew and herself out.

"Dad?" She asked.

Admiral Thompson gave his daughter an impatient look. "Yeah?"

"Night."

"What?"

"Shokku Shokku no Nami!" A large shock wave built up in her system and shot out towards her father. The man stood still for a moment, his skin tinged a toasty brown color, and he fell with a loud thud onto his back. Natalia hobbled around to face her crew, who were all staring at her with disbelief.

"You're horrible!" Silhouette said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Natalia said. "Jonathan, get your sword. We need to get out of here."

"Natalia!" Silhouette said, exasperated. "You just killed your own-"

"Killed?" Natalia repeated. She burst into laughter as Jonathan cut his own ropes and then his captain's. "No, no, no. I just knocked him out. I don't get along with him, but I wouldn't kill him."

Natalia leaned against her father's desk and watched Jonathan move on from Silhouette's ropes to Elaine's.

"He'll wake up soon, we need to get moving." Natalia said. Then she looked down, thoughtfully. "Silhouette, make sure they get to the ship. I want to look for something."

Without questioning her captain, Silhouette nodded.

Natalia, once her crewmates were out the door, started rummaging through her father's belongings.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The crew waited, and waited… and waited.

Silhouette sat restlessly at the kitchen table, running her fingers through her long golden hair. Before she pulled too much of that out, she took to restlessly straightening her red shirt with black and red striped sleeves. Once she realized that was a lost cause, she attempted rearranging her position in many different ways that wouldn't expose too much through her black mini-skirt.

Even the normally calm Elaine found herself drumming restlessly against her chopping board. Unlike Silhouette, the only article of clothing she found herself rearranging was her black beret. Each time her snow-white hair fell over her shoulders, as she took the hat off, and each time, she'd tuck it back into the hat, only leaving two or three strands out by her face.

Almost an hour passed, and yet their captain did not return from the marine vessel. It got to the point where Jonathan had to literally restrain Silhouette from marching on board and stealing back their captain. Then, only ten minutes later, Elaine was restraining both Silhouette and Jonathan from marching aboard.

Then, when Elaine was just about to give in, Natalia came back with a white bag with the word 'marine' in large blue letters. The bag was bulky and well-filled.

Silhouette glared at the redhead. "What did you think you were doing in there? I mean, seriously! We were worried sick!"

"I waited for dad to wake up." Natalia replied. It was in that moment Silhouette saw the trails from tears down her captain's face.

"What happened?" Jonathan, Elaine and Silhouette chorused.

"Natalia smiled. "I was going to leave a note and steal some things-"

"Very nice." Jonathan commented.

"-but before I could leave, dad woke up and stopped me. We talked. For… a while. He let us go, but warned us he would send someone after us, because he didn't think he could do it himself. Not that he's physically weak, it's just-"

"We understand." Silhouette said.

"And he gave me the things I wanted to take." Natalia replied. "…I'm sorry I worried you."

Silhouette gave Natalia a reassuring hug. "It's alright as long as they're gone now."

"They are." Natalia replied. "I'm going to go to bed, okay?"

Silhouette nodded, and watched the redhead walk out, lagging. She seemed tired, depressed. Silhouette couldn't help but wonder if their captain had been discouraged.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The Pride was big enough to room fifteen people separately. At this rate, she'd have the ship filled in no time! It was an exciting thought. Natalia's room had a writing desk, a bed, a few pictures and decorations hanging on the wall, but was otherwise empty. Her closet was almost empty, but she didn't mind. She never had cared for clothes.

Natalia sat in her desk and pulled the Eternal Pose out of the drawer and rolled it around in her hand, thinking over what her father had said.

"Natalia, you know, the reason everyone told your mother… the reason I tell you that you can't be a pirate… that you're incapable, and too weak… is because I… is because everyone knows you can. I was too late to realize you were taking it so badly. I told you that because I never wanted to lose you."

Natalia sighed, thinking back over her response.

"That's exactly why mom left! You're never home! You're not observant to anyone or anything around you! You know, when I was little, mom used to tell me about the handsome, brave warrior she married. A man of principal who believed heavily in right and wrong, but I've never been able to see that in you. You've been corrupted by power and wealth."

Natalia shook her head and replaced the Eternal Pose. "I can go back…" She whispered. "but I won't. Not until I've proven that statement wrong. If I go back now, I'll only prove him right."

She shook her head and opened the bag she'd stolen. The first thing that greeted her was a picture of her, her father and her mother. They'd been happy. What had happened?

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette watched Natalia emerge from the captains quarters carefully. The young captain seemed to be in a good mood, but who could tell with Natalia's mood swings and backwards way of thinking.

"Silhouette! Good morning! How close are we to that marine headquarters island?" Natalia asked brightly.

Silhouette smiled. "We've got another two weeks and four days of travel."

"Ugh." Natalia stuck her tongue out to express her dislike of the idea. "Do you have any good news?"

"Elaine's done with breakfast and Jonathan just finished the flag." Silhouette replied.

"Jonathan finished the flag?" Natalia repeated. She grabbed her first mate's wrist and pulled her out on deck, where Jonathan was standing proudly behind a huge black flag with an awesome Jolly Roger on it.

A red skull and crossbones with little electric streaks all around it and a crack in the upper right of the skull. Natalia's eyes brightened, if possible. The girl's eyes had already been pretty bright. "It's awesome, Jonathan!"

"I know, right?" He laughed, "If you like it, I can paint it on the sail too."

"Yes! I love it! Do it!" Natalia said, grinning like a maniac.

Jonathan grinned and gathered his supplies, ready to get to work.

"Natalia?" Silhouette asked.

The redhead turned to face her first mate. "So, what was wrong yesterday? …If you want to go back…"

"No." Natalia replied, suddenly sobered up. "No, I've started this, and I plan on finishing it. Besides! I've already got reliable nakama behind me!"

Silhouette smiled, "Well, if anything's bothering you… I am the first mate. I'll try to help… okay?"

Natalia nodded, and ran off to watch Jonathan start drawing their Jolly Roger on the sail. "Don't screw up, Jonathan!"

"Not funny, Natalia! You'll jinx me!" Jonathan yelled. Almost immediately, the can of black paint fell into the ocean, luckily not getting any on the sail. At least not anything noticeable.

Natalia fell into a fit of laughter, and Jonathan started fuming.

Silhouette watched quietly, happy her captain seemed to be back to normal. She returned to examine a map as Elaine came out and officially announced that breakfast was ready. The day had gotten off to a good start, and Silhouette found herself looking forward to a new adventure on a heavily populated marine headquarters.

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Thank you for reading! This was a really fast cut-scene chapter. Why? Because I didn't want three hundred straight chapters of 'and thus they added a new nakama.' I'm not saying thats how it's going to be, I just don't want it to look like that's how it's going to be. Plus a while back I said something about Admiral Thompson getting a ship and following Natalia and I forgot about it for the duration of the whole... two chapters in between? I don't remember.

I added in a few conspicuous descriptions somewhere or other. I'll try and remember to add more of those later on... yeah, whoops. XD And they're not all that conspicuous anymore. XD Anyways! Hope you enjoyed! ...I'll just go then... but I won't come back unless you review :P (XD) Bye!