~Tavvy~

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Tavvy shouted furiously. "WHY WOULD I HAVE THE SAME NAME AS A DAMN PIRATE?"

The stranger took a step back, slightly surprised by the sudden outburst. Judging from his appearance, he looked to be about ten years older than Tavvy was, perhaps a bit younger. He had wavy locks of chocolate brown hair that barely brushed his upper eyelids. Interestingly, the tips of his hair were a fair, golden color that deeply contrasted with the rest of his hair. His eyes were a piercing hazel that seemed to shift every now and then within the irises.

"I'm not lying," said the stranger, who did not wear the standard Marine uniform. His attire consisted of an un-tucked, white button-down shirt with a black, pinstripe vest, and matching black pants. He wore a pair of white gloves and in one hand, held a black, flat-rimmed hat accented by a strip of vibrant orange cloth.

Tavvy's rage didn't subside. "What? And you think I'm a pirate?" He crossed his arms. "Just 'cause we have the same name, doesn't mean we're the same person!"

The stranger sighed exasperatedly. "I never said you were a pirate! I just thought you were using a pirate's name to make fun of the Marines." His eyes widened for some reason and he began to breathe heavily. He whipped out the white handkerchief that had been tucked into the pocket of his vest and sneezed.

Tavvy blinked as the stranger continued to sneeze in rapid succession.

"I can't do this, Nautilus! My allergies *ACHOO* are out of *ACHOO* control!" shouted the stranger between loud sneezes. He fell to the ground, still sneezing.

The voice over the speaker sighed. "Honestly, Tantalus. I told you to go see a doctor! Now look at you!"

Tantalus sneezed again before speaking. "You so did not tell me to go see a doctor! *ACHOO* You told me to act tough *ACHOO* and brave it out! You filthy liar!" he spat. He then proceeded to sneezing some more.

The owner of the voice, Nautilus, howled in rage. "I am not a liar! You're the liar! You said that Genesis had already broken up with Gloria! THEY'RE FREAKING ENGAGED NOW!"

"I never said *ACHOO* anything of the sort! Oya probably said that! If it wasn't him, then it was *ACHOO* definitely Kokie! She's been dying to get back at you for the whole moldy *ACHOO* cheese prank!"

"Liar! It was you!"

"EXCUSE ME!" Tavvy yelled, even more enraged.

Tantalus, who was now sitting upright on the ground, turned his hazel eyes to the teen. "Ah, sorry about that." He rose to his feet, stuffing the handkerchief back into his vest pocket. "My name is Tantalus. *ACHOO* Lieutenant Junior Grade Tantalus, that is."

"And I am Lieutenant Nautilus, Tantalus's immediate superior," said Nautilus with a sneering tone.

Tantalus huffed. "Not for long, Lieutenant. We'll be *ACHOO* equals in a week, remember?"

"Yeah, but until then, you're still my underling."

"Don't you get cocky, Naut *ACHOO*!"

"You're the—" began Nautilus.

"EXCUSE ME!" Tavvy's eyes flickered with internal flames. "How about I beat up T-person, then go to where N-person is and beat him up, and then get both to get me some FOOD!"

An awkward silence persisted from both Tantalus and Nautilus's voice. Finally, Tantalus smiled, revealing eerily long canines. "Tavvy, huh? You resemble the pirate in more than *ACHOO* just your physical appearance."

The real voice of Nautilus traveled to Tavvy's ears. Strange. This too didn't have anything besides sound. "No kidding. The guys at the Grand Line have been trying to hunt down that pirate for a long time. White hair, blue eyes, freaky temper…" Captain Nautilus appeared in the archway behind Tantalus.

Nautilus was about the same age as Tantalus. He had hair that highly resembled greenish-blue seaweed. It hung low over his eyes, partially obscuring eyes that looked to be the same hazel as Tantalus's eyes. Tavvy stared.

"Maybe you would like to *ACHOO* face the two of us at the same time?" suggested Tantalus, still smiling his pointy smile. "Though I should warn *ACHOO* you: my brother and I are not very coordinated, even though we are considered twins. We might accidentally chop off your head."

Nautilus chuckled. He twirled some of his seaweed hair around his finger. "That's why we have different ranks. My level is far greater than Tant's." He wore the exact opposite color scheme of his twin. Black dress shirt, white vest and pants, and black gloves. His white hat fit snugly on top of his hair and the blue cloth glittered in the light like deep ocean water.

"You must have forgotten yet *ACHOO* again, brother," Tantalus growled, swiping the hat off his brother's head, much to Nautilus's dismay. "You were just extremely lucky *ACHOO*."

Nautilus retrieved his hat from the ground and dusted it off. "Do I have to remind you that I'm being promoted within a month?" he snarled.

Tantalus stuck out his longer-than-ordinary tongue. "*ACHOO* I'm the one who has a better reputation with Rear Admiral Marie! We'll just *ACHOO* see who gets the last laugh."

"EXCUSE ME!" Tavvy yelled, and not for the first time that day. The bickering brothers stopped arguing and both turned to face Tavvy.

"How long do you suppose, Tant?" Nautilus asked with a bored expression. He carefully peeled his gloves from his hands. Next to him, Tantalus was doing the same.

"Oh, about ten minutes," was Tantalus's reply. He sneezed. "On second thought, let's make it *ACHOO* quick and do five."

"Finally something we can agree on. Afterwards, I'll be nice and take you to the doctor's. I hear he's giving out free brownies today."

Tavvy braced himself for an attack as his mouth began to water. There was no telling how powerful these two blockheads were. He didn't even stop to consider how many people would think he was the true blockhead out of all three. In actuality, he cared more about the free brownies.

Nautilus moved first. He held up a drooping hand, rushing at Tavvy with a frightening speed. Tavvy barely had time to notice the water droplet dangling from the Captain's fingertips before he was struck by said water droplet in the shoulder. It broke through his skin and caught Tavvy thoroughly off guard.

"Inexperienced rookies," Tavvy heard someone mutter from behind him. He whirled around just in time to see Tantalus slam his palm into his chest. It wasn't a hard push and yet, Tavvy was blown backwards by some huge force. He smacked into a wall.

"That wasn't even five minutes!" exclaimed Nautilus. "You can't even follow your own guidelines!"

"Manchou!" Tavvy yelled, jumping into the air while pressing down hard with the palm of his hand. A large amount of pressure began to build under his hand. Tantalus took a step back, while Nautilus took a step forwards.

"Yarinami!" shouted Nautilus. He seemed to grab the actual air in his hand. The pressure that had descended on the room dissolved and the only real power could be felt coming from Nautilus' hand. He looked like he was holding a spear of sorts.

Tavvy felt like someone had just stabbed him in the gut. Nautilus had just thrown whatever he had been holding and Tavvy, still in the air and unable to see what exactly the Lieutenant had thrown, couldn't dodge.

"Ow," Tavvy said plainly, landing unsteadily on his feet. Whatever Nautilus had thrown, it had felt suspiciously like water. But then, where was the water?

Tavvy felt his stomach. Looking at his hand, he realized it was covered in blood. And he felt angry. Oh so angry. Not even Sammy could injure him that badly. He was being completely humiliated on his entrance into the Marines. They'd pay for this.

Nautilus and Tantalus watched as Tavvy curled his hand into a tight fist. Then, he suddenly relaxed and swayed to the side, grinning. He crouched low, his knuckles scraping the cold tiles of the floor. "Gekido no Tsunami!" he shouted, punching the ground hard with both his fists.

"What?" exclaimed Nautilus, almost falling backwards. The ground was shaking violently. Rumble rained down from the tall ceiling. A huge surge of power was building from the epicenter: Tavvy.

"It's an *ACHOO* earthquake!" yelled Tantalus, losing his balance and falling down on his butt. He looked up dumbly and for a split second, thought he saw a huge wave of water about to crash down upon him. He closed his eyes, knowing that his brother would cover for him, yet still dreading the feeling of cold water.

Someone stepped in front of Tantalus. Tavvy blinked with recognition.

"Oh, it's Mr. Tun…Tun…aw, Tun-something," he said, straightening. He seemed to have forgotten that he had been in the middle of a battle.

Tundra scratched his head with a puzzled expression. He ignored Tavvy and looked down at Tantalus. "Hey, Tant. I forgot where the coffee room is."

Tantalus still had his eyes closed, but then opened them sharply. "The coffee room?" he said, staring blankly at the fellow Marine.

Tundra sighed. "Dumbass," he muttered. "Fine. I'll just find it myself." He took out a map and began turning it this way and that.

"WE DON'T HAVE A COFFEE ROOM!" Nautilus shouted from a fighting stance, his face going red. "I thought we cleared that up yesterday!"

"No coffee room?" Tundra sounded disappointed. "That's too bad." Then he strode off, still scratching his head as if he were trying to remember something.

Tavvy realized the brothers were arguing again.

"What do you mean, you don't like decaf?"

"Decaf is nasty!"

"You're nasty!"

"Your face is nasty!"

"Well, your mom is—" Nautilus broke off, realizing what he had been about to say. "Uh…really awesome because she's also my mom!"

"Well, your…wait. What?"

"I said—"

"EXCUSE ME."

Tavvy was sick of these two. He was sore. He was tired. Most of all, he was hungry.

"EXCUSE YOU!" Tavvy wasn't expecting the reply. He almost fell down from the anger in the words.

Tantalus sneezed, then rubbed his nose. "We are having a brotherly conversation here! Don't interrupt us!"

Nautilus nodded in agreement. "Honestly, show a little more respect to your elders!" He glared at his brother.

The two continued to argue:

"Don't just stop in the middle of your sentences!"

"Don't criticize me! I'm your twin!"

"I don't care if you're my twin or my mom! Just don't stop in the middle of your sentences!"

"You're stupid!"

"You're dumb!"

"Your face is dumb!"

"Your mom is…damn, this again?"

Tavvy crossed his arms, waiting impatiently. Maria had told him to never interrupt anybody while they were speaking. It was good manners, but these two were taking way too long. He began to tap his toe on the tiled floor.

"You just changed the subject in the middle of your sentence!"

"I had to!"

"Why?"

"Because then I would have insulted my mother!"

"How dare you insult your mother?"

"I didn't actually say anything!"

"And plus, your mother is my mother, so…HOW COULD YOU INSULT MY MOTHER?"

"I DIDN'T!"

Tavvy wandered off through the arch. Stupid people. They could argue forever for all he cared. He looked down at the stomach wound. It didn't look too bad, but Tavvy decided to go find a doctor, just in case. And there were those free brownies to consider…

Tavvy whistled quietly. The halls of the Marine Base were startlingly white and seemed to glitter from the light cast by the many chandeliers that hung from the ceiling at regular intervals. Gold-plated doors lined each wall. Some potted plants were unevenly spaced out between the doors. The carpet was a rich, dark red and very thick. Every time Tavvy took a step, he felt like he was sinking. The place was very beautiful.

At the end of the corridor, there were two doors of marble, one white and one black. A golden plaque labeled each. The plate on the white-marble door read: ENTER IF YOU DARE and the one on the black-marble door said: ENTER IF YOU HAVE ISSUES.

Tavvy couldn't decide on which one to open. He certainly dared to go through the white-marble door, but then again, he did have some issues, so should he go through the black-marble door instead? This was far too confusing.

"I'll pick it randomly," he reasoned, closing his eyes and waving his hand around wildly. His arm stopped moving and he pointed with his index finger. Slowly, Tavvy opened his eyes. He was pointing to the door that said: ENTER IF YOU HAVE ISSUES.

Tavvy grasped the bronze handle of the door and slowly pushed. The slab of stone sung inwards easily. Tavvy stared.

"Hey, Tavvy! Want a brownie?" said Bailey, holding up a large brownie with chocolate icing. He shoved another into his mouth, closing his eyes with pleasure. "Aw, man! These are delicious!"

The brownie was down Tavvy's throat faster than Bailey could say, "Don't bite my hand!"

Bailey was sitting at a large, round table made of an almost black wood. Silvery markings were engraved into the polished and gleaming surface. A huge, platinum platter sat in the center, heaped with brownies.

Tavvy looked at the plate. He sat down in a nearby chair. "Alright!" he announced to no one in particular, leaning back onto the back legs of the chair. "This is my first decree as a Marine! I own this room and the brownies and whatever makes the brownies!"

Bailey choked on his brownie. "Decree?" he shouted. "You know what a decree is?"

Tavvy just smiled a chocolaty smile, which left Bailey deeply troubled.

"Oya makes the brownies," came a small voice from under the table. Both Bailey and Tavvy fell back in their chairs.

"There's a little kid trapped under the table!" Tavvy exclaimed, peering into the darkness under said table. There was a little squeak from the boy hiding under there. Tavvy found himself staring into neon blue eyes.

"Ah! I don't want to be eaten!" cried the boy, shrinking back from the two unfamiliar and upside-down faces. A pair of square-rimmed glasses with orange tinted lenses rested on the bridge of his nose.

"Who would want to eat you? You'll need to get fatter if I'm going to eat you," said Tavvy, causing the boy to shriek in fright.

Bailey's jaw dropped as best a jaw could drop while hanging upside down. "You can't eat people, Tavvy! Urgh, that's disgusting!" he shouted.

Tavvy gave a small pout. "Geez, can't you take a joke? And what's a little kid doing inside of this place anyways?"

The small boy murmured something incomprehensible.

"What was that?"

The boy spoke a bit louder. "I…I work here."

Bailey turned to Tavvy. "That's child labor! If I had known the Marines were like this, I wouldn't have joined!"

Again, the boy mumbled something.

"Talk louder!"

The boy cringed. "I…I'm fifteen."

Awkward silence. Tavvy blinked, not sure of how to react. Bailey blinked, also not sure of how to react. The two sat up straight in their chairs and both brought a brownie to their mouth.

"I get how little kids like to think they're a lot older, but this guy is a really horrible liar," said Bailey, licking the chocolate off his lips.

"Yeah," agreed Tavvy. "I mean, I always pretended that I was twenty something when I was really little. Then, I saw a real twenty-year-old person and realized that I didn't look anywhere near twenty. This guy probably hasn't even seen a fifteen-year-old person."

"I'm fifteen!" cried the boy from under the table. Neither Tavvy nor Bailey paid any heed.

Bailey shook his head. "Poor kid. Someone needs to give him a reality check. Then, someone has to get him out of here. Child labor should be against the law."

"I'm fifteen!"

"They're thinking of actually passing that as law. A lot of people are in favor of it."

"I'm fifteen!"

"But there are still some people who think they can make children work without paying them."

"I'm fifteen!"

Just then, the door opened again and someone said, "Damnit. And I thought for sure this was the coffee room…"

Chapter number ten... so I'm already in the double digits. And no more mysterious strangers! Tantalus and Nautilus are my creations. They're meant to model the relationship between my brother and I. As you can probably tell, the 17th Branch is not your ordinary Marine Base. It's actually a rather special place, as I will reveal later on.

Also, I'd like to apologize to those people who like reading fight scenes (if there are any who read this story). All the fights have been short and interrupted. As I get more into the story, they'll be longer and more serious.

Finally, I'd like to thank those of you who review each chapter! You're comments make me smile! Thanks for reading, peoples! And why is it getting so cold? Brrr...