Episode 7 - The Wreck of the Sea Grand
The crew was sad to leave Sabrin Island behind, they'd had a lot of fun on their little stop but their experience just moments ago was a needed realization that things were not going to be easy. The crew needed to get stronger and always be prepared.
"That must have been tough for you Tori" Mason stated. "I know there are a lot of pirates where you are from but still."
"I've seen a few people killed before I'll admit but I've never killed someone myself, it was scary. I'm a pirate now though. I joined your crew with the promise of being a useful pirate so I can't let things like that bother me" Tori replied with a reassuring look on her face.
"You're going to have to train me some more though, it helped so much, I actually don't feel helpless anymore even if I do need help sometimes" Tori continued.
"That's what we're here for sweetie" Maggie joined. "We're all here to protect one another and see our goals through. We helped you just as you helped Mason. None of us could do this alone that's why we're a crew, don't forget that."
"She's right so don't sweat it. Just the four of us is a strong force, we'll be able to handle anything that comes our way" Lucas stated with confidence and a smile.
"Thanks everyone and I promise things will change in the future. So tell us captain where to next?"
"Well now that you asked it will be a while before our next stop. There's only two more island between here and the entrance to the Grand Line. From here we need to go to Clar Island but that's another few days away which is why I wanted us to have a nice rest back at Abba City" Mason informed his crew.
"I guess for now we just need to hold tight and hope the seas are friendly. Lucas you did manage to pick up some stuff while we were on Sabrin right? I guess now is as good a time as any to get tinkering while I teach Tori a bit more on how to use her staff."
Lucas retreated to his workshop while Mason stayed on deck with Tori. Maggie found herself enjoying the down time just lying on the upper deck.
Night grew near and the crew gathered for a meal on deck tonight under the stars. Glasses banged together and laughs were shared by all. Tori was worn out from training and Lucas was absolutely covered in metal dust and shavings. This ship really needed a shower.
Maggie and Mason manned the ship that night. The stars were almost as bright as they were that night Maggie had first sailed away from her hometown with Mason and Lucas.
"They never get old do they Mason" Maggie asked.
"They never do. They are one of the few constants and in this crazy world" Mason replied.
"So tell me captain, we all know why we're sailing. But why are you here. Like why do you sail? You haven't really mentioned any goals of your own, surely there's something you want to do" Maggie questioned.
"Hmmm, you're not wrong Maggie, I have a goal I plan on reaching like everyone else but it's not so easy to explain. I'll get back to you on this one day and maybe you'll see what I mean but for now just focus on your own goals" Mason said, his eyes never leaving the stars.
Early the next morning the whole crew was present on deck getting ready to continue where they left off the previous day. Tori stood at the bow of the ship practicing her stances, Lucas was locked away in his workshop, Mason was at the helm of the ship and Maggie was cleaning her guns.
In the middle of a strike Tori saw something off in the distance, but she couldn't tell what it was yet.
"Mason there's something in the water up ahead. It looks pretty large from this distance" Tori called.
"I see it too" He responded. "It might be a ship but it doesn't look like it is moving."
"Should we go check it out? It could be a navy ship" Maggie questioned.
"I don't think so, it doesn't look like any navy ship I've ever seen plus it doesn't have any navy sails, in fact I don't see any sails at all" Mason said with a now confused expression. "I think it's worth checking out, somebody grab Lucas."
As their boat approached the other ship Mason confirmed what he saw. It was a very large ship, it had no sails and appeared to be some kind of paddle boat. It had beached itself on some kind of sandbar and the hull of the ship had been destroyed nearly separating the ship in half.
"Hey look there on the bow of the ship" Lucas pointed. "It looks like there are still people aboard the ship, I think they may need help."
"Alright guys we're going to head over there and check this out. We don't know who was aboard that ship though so be careful" Mason commanded.
A quick adjustment of the wheel and sails plus a helpful gust and the crew was nearing the ship very quickly. As it grew nearer they realized just how large of a ship it was, it dwarfed their own. A couple people aboard the ship started to call out to the pirates, they needed help.
"Hey! Help! Can you help us? Quick somebody tell Flint a ship is here to save us, hurry" Yelled out one of the men still about the ship.
Mason yelled back to the man "We can help you guys but first we need help tying down the ship. Is there a good spot for us to throw you guys a line?"
"Sail around to the other side of the ship but be careful of the sandbar, Flint will be able to help you guys dock on that side" The man called back.
Following what the man had said Mason pulled the ship back around to the other side avoiding the shallow sands the larger ship had become stuck on.
At the other side they were met by a rather muscular man. He wore an orange cardigan, sleeves rolled up, with a black undershirt and green pants with brown boots. He also wore an apron tied around his waist. He had a shaved head but what little hair left was a light brown colour.
"Welcome" the man said. "Throw me a line and I can tie you down right here. My name is Flint by the way, nice to meet you."
Lucas threw a line to Flint as mason steered the ship n close, Maggie and tori threw out some floats to keep the sides of the two ships from hitting.
"My name is Mason and this is my crew: Lucas, Maggie and Tori, it's nice to meet you, now can you tell us what happened to you guys we want to try and help."
"We really appreciate it. Hmm where to start on how we got here haha. This was a vacation cruise ship called the Sea Grand sailing to Sabrin Island. The ship his this sandbar and it tore our hull apart. After crashing the captain of the ship fled with the only lifeboat. We've been stranded here for six days now."
"You all are the first ship who has sailed by in that time, it seems like nobody knows we are out here or if they do nobody has come looking."
"So you all are just vacationers on your way to Sabrin? We just sailed out of there" Mason said.
"Well not all of us are vacationers. I've worked on this ship for a few months now as a chef. A few of the other crew members are here as well. We have been doing our best to tend to the ships passengers" Flint responded.
"I've kind of taken charge for the time being, preparing meals every day out of the stock of food we had left on the ship that wasn't lost. Also organizing sleeping arrangements for everyone and helping out with the medical bays."
"No wonder they called you out here when we arrived, you seem to have a good grasp on the situation. Have you guys tried to call for help at all" Mason questioned.
"Well currently none of the snail phones on the ship work anymore. The only one we haven't checked was the one in the control room but the ship is too badly mangled to get into it. Besides even if we did manage to get it, we have no clue where we are."
"Hmmm, Tori can you grab me a map from the ship and my Journal, I think we might be able to help these people with that" Mason ordered.
Mason pulled up a chair with Flint at a set of tables and chairs inside the cruise ship. He laid out the map and started to finger through his journal.
"I got a pretty good view of the stars last night, I do most of our navigation through constellations and other star clusters. Now we are somewhere here between Sabrin and Clar Island. We haven't sailed too far between now and when I last took down our position in my journal."
"I'd say we're somewhere around -50 South and -60 West so if I had to guess we're right here." Mason drew a small red circle on the map between the two before mentioned islands. "If we can get a ship out to that spot and sure they will be able to find us."
"That's very impressive Mason" Flint stated. "I have no clue what you just did but man does it look good haha. So you think if we can get a hold of one of the islands then we can get a ship out here to rescue the passengers?"
"If I'm right than that's exactly what that means. Now we just need a way to contact the islands. Our snail phone isn't strong enough to go that kind of distance so we're going to need to break into that control you and hope that snail is still functional."
"Let's do it then but first It's about time for lunch. Please I ask you to join us for some food to thank you for the help. We're low on supplies but I'm sure you will enjoy the food anyways" Flint said confidently.
"That sounds like a great plan Flint. I'm sure my crew is tired of my bad cooking by this point" Mason replied.
All four crew members sat at a table near the front of the dining hall while Flint and a few of the other chefs started passing out plates of food. It looked like a simple curry nothing too extravagant.
The crew dug in once Flint had seated himself with his own food. It was delicious. Such a simple dish contained so much flavor.
"Wow Flint this really is amazing" Lucas exclaimed. "I thought you guys were low on supplies, how is it so flavorful."
"A chef needs to know how to make the most of what he has. Especially a chef on a ship. You can get some incredible flavors from some otherwise ordinary ingredients if you try hard enough" Flint replied.
"It really is great Flint" Maggie said reaching for her glass of water to calm the heat of the curry. "So much better than that soup Mason makes."
"Hey now, I work hard on that soup okay" Mason said defensively. "Just because you can't appreciated the depth of its flavor doesn't make it bad."
The whole crew laughed, even Mason joined in knowing full well he was by no means a chef. This curry was better than anything they had back in Abba city and that was saying something.
"Thank you so much for the meal Flint it was great" Tori said as she finished her plate. "Everyone on the ship seemed to enjoy it too."
"I was one of the head chefs before the ship crashed so I figured I would take on the responsibility of feeding everyone while we were here. Hopefully that won't be for much longer though. Now why don't we work on getting into the control room?"
Flint lead the crew across the ship over to where the hull was broken by the sandbar. The room was partially flooded and full of debris from the ship. Across the way was a mess of mangled steel and railings blocking any further movement into that half of the ship.
"Once we get across to that half of the ship, we need to get through that mess and hopefully the rest of the path to the control room should be clear" Flint stated.
"We'll that shouldn't be a problem" Maggie said looking across the gap. She removed her holsters and handed them to Flint then dove into the water. Maggie swam across the small gap avoiding debris until she pulled herself onto the deck of the other half of the ship.
"See nothing too it" She said. Tori followed Maggie's example and easily swam the gap. Maggie helped her up onto the section of deck where she was standing.
Alright boys your turn. Lucas and Mason looked at each other and then back to Maggie. "Maggie did you forget that we can't swim, we'll have to find another way around to get there" Lucas shouted to the two girls.
"How about you Flint, come on over, no need to wait for those sinkers" Maggie yelled towards the cook.
"Actually I think I'm going to go with Mason and Lucas, make sure they get across okay and all that, don't want them to get lost" Flint said with a strange worried tone in his voice.
"Suit yourself" Tori yelled, "We'll be here waiting for you, and hopefully we can find a way in by the time you get here."
The three men worked their way down a few corridors hoping to find another way to cross to the other half of the ship. Flint led most of the way having several months experience in the halls. Soon they got to a crossing that was a bit more manageable for the swimming challenged pirates.
There was a small broken walkway between sections of the ship that connected the front and back halves. The walkway stood about 30 feet above the ocean and shallow sandbar.
Lucas stepped across first making his way across the thin fragile walkway. Mason followed behind shortly after his brother. Finally it was Flint's turn to cross the beam to the front half of the ship.
Flint was more muscular than the two brothers and put much more strain on the walkway as we passed over it. Flint lost his footing on one section and the force of him catching himself on the beam caused it to give way.
Flint was plunging down to the waters below when he was hit by a great updraft that flung him through the air and onto the floor next to Mason and Lucas.
"What the hell just happened, how did I get up here the bridge just gave out" Flint asked still in a panic.
"I ate a devil fruit and gained control over the winds and gusts. I was able to hit you with a blast of air which flung you up here. You're heavier than you look Flint" Mason explained.
"Well that is certainly fortunate, I guess that explains why you couldn't swim across with the girls. "
"Does that mean you have devil fruit powers too Lucas" Flint questioned.
"I do, although mine are much less useful in that kind of situation" Lucas answered. "Although I think I will be able to show them off right now."
"This door into the other half of the ship is locked and I don't assume you have a key."
"Sadly I do not. Most of those key probably found their way into the ocean or gone with the captain. Either way they aren't available" Flint responded.
"That's okay I think I'll be able to manage this" Lucas said focusing on the metal door. "Here you two stand as far back as you can for now, I'll get this door open."
Lucas reached into a pouchhanging from his side, a pouch Mason hadn't noticed before. He pulled out a black sand looking substance that was oddly thick in viscosity.
"During the last bit of sailing I've been working on a new way to use my powers. I call it M5. It's a moderately explosive sulfur based mixture. It acts a lot like gunpowder but I've added a few thickening agents to give it this clay like texture."
Lucas spread a small amount on both of the large doors hinges as well as some inside of the lock of the door. He drew a small x on the center of the door to help push the door away from them.
"Okay step back, I haven't actually tested this stuff outside of the workshop so I'm hoping it still works. The hinges and lock should break and the door should just fall back into the ship" Lucas explained.
All three men stood back near the edge as Lucas gave a thrust of his palm towards the door. The M5 ignited and blasted the door back into the ship and away from the men with considerable force.
"Ahh see no door is a match for me now" Lucas joked. Mason and Flint both looked at the bag of explosives hanging from Lucas's belt in worry of what will happen if that stuff goes off.
"Oh don't worry you two, you can't ignite this stuff through traditional methods that why it's perfect in combination with my devil fruit powers. Now let's get moving and meet up with the girls. Surely they've already found a way in."
Author's notes: Part one of the Sea Grand section. Part 2 should follow shortly. Very happy with these couple chapters so I hope you all enjoy them as well. Comments would be appreciated.
