(So after three drama packed chapters, information released, how about we have a filler chapter just for my brain to take a breather? Yeah, let's do that. Also, due to recent...events...I might be taking a two-three day hiatus due to me needing to get my head straight. I apologize in advance if my content is not as good as usual for these few days, but please bear with me.
I only own myself, everything else belongs to their respected owners. Now let's go. Because I can feel pain near my neck after the episode...)
Episode 9.5: Anna and the Not-Pirates
"So Alicia." Flash began as they went on to Hoshido.
"Yeah, bae?" Alicia wrapped an arm around his waist.
"Um, I can probably hear Nan screaming 'WHAT THE F*CK!?' over that guild mark...you being a part of them was just temporary, right?" Flash spoke. Felicia was with them as Corrin, Azura, and Gunter were in front.
"...I might...need a minute to answer that." Alicia responded.
"Alright, Flashy not gonna rush you." The sky pirate obliged with her request.
"Hey, I hate to ask, but what's so special about that?" Felicia inquired.
"It's something I won't be a part of, that's for sure." Flash frowned.
"Huh? Why?" Felicia was curious.
"I'm a murderous pirate." Was Flash's answer. "There's no way that Fairy Tail would want anything to do with me." He told her about their no killing clause.
"I see...but that's no reason to beat yourself up." The maid made it clear how she stood about this. "Do you look at other people...and grow jealous of them?"
"Why do you ask that?" Flash turned to her.
"Well...it's nothing conclusive, but it's just my theory. You look at other people and think 'Wow, they're so much better than me', when you're special in your own right." Felicia explained her theory.
"Ayuh. You're not wrong, Felicia. I mean, I know that much. I guess I felt overshadowed." Flash responded.
"Overshadowed by...the heroes you were with, right?" Felicia guessed.
"Nailed it right on the head." Flash sighed.
"If I may say something about that?" Felicia requested. "From what I've seen and heard, you've got skills that those guys could only envision. You don't need forms to fight, it seems. You don't need to have your Keyblades be as powerful. I think the thing you need the most in a fight- a thing you have- is skill."
"Clothes don't make the man, after all." Corrin agreed, having heard their whole conversation.
"I was thinking the same thing!" Flash exclaimed with a smile. "The man makes the clothes!"
"...I don't think that's how the saying goes." Corrin responded.
Elsewhere, this was happening!
Two burly dudes were looking around their hideout for someone.
"Urrrrr! Did Anna turn up anywhere, Llewellyn?" One man asked the other.
"Ablast, Lloyd, she has not. I've seen neither hide nore hair of her." The other man, Llewellyn, answered.
"Mow me down, Llewelyn, obviously if she'd hiding you won't see her hair. Quit being so harebrained, or I'll give you a hiding, silver me flinders." Lloyd threatened.
"Sorry, Lloyd. I only took my eyes off her for a second, I swear." Llewelyn apologized.
"How does she keep hornswiggling us? It's like she's in several places at once…" Lloyd just had to wonder.
"A gal like that would make a good addition to the crew, I bet." Llewelyn suggested.
"You've got that right, my brother." Lloyd agreed. "If only we could get her to sit still for a parlor…" It was at this time the woman of the hour, the one they were just talking about, emerged from a stairwell near them. And she didn't look too pleased.
"Give up now, boys, and save yourself the trouble. I can run rings around the two of you, and you know it." She sighed before saying that, an unamused look on her face.
"Urrrrr! She's right, my brother. We'd need a whole pirate crew to pin her down." Llewelyn exclaimed.
"Lucky for us, my brother, that we happen to have one on call. She'll go on recount before the day's through- I swear on Jaunty Skeet!" Lloyd laughed in agreement. The Anna sister rolled her eyes in annoyance.
""Urrr"? "Go on recount"? You're the saddest excuse for pirates I've ever heard. Why, you can't don't even know Shanty Pete's true name!" Anna taunted. As if on cue, a large group of burly men, looking startlingly similar to Lloyd and Llewelyn, came out to play.
"Meet Llars, Llucas, Llincoln, Llogan, Lleland, and Llamar." Lloyd introduced.
"While not forgetting Llouis, Llyle, Lliam, Lluther, Llester, and Tom." Llewelyn finished. Anna shuddered at this a little, but then frowned.
"It's unsettling how much you all look alike. Not that I'm one to talk." She deadpanned.
"Ablast, miss, you're outgunned. Surrender, and you can be the first sister in the fam." Llewelyn informed her, axe ready to swing.
"Yoo hoo hoo! It's a pirate's life for you, little lady!" Lloyd laughed.
Anna facepalmed at this notion. "Ugh...it's "yo ho ho", you buffoon." She was done with these clowns, her steel bow ready to shoot down her attackers. "And I'm sorry, but my services don't come cheap. If you can't pay the price, stop window-shopping and get out of here!"
Back with the group!
The group rushed to the scene, a distance far away where the 'pirates' couldn't see them.
"There's trouble brewing, Lord Corrin! A band of thieves has someone cornered nearby!" Felicia exclaimed.
"Here?! Gods, is nowhere safe for the common folk?" Corrin responded with that.
"Erm, actually...it seems we've stumbled into the thieves' territory. This looks to be a storehouse where they keep their pilfered wealth before selling it." Felicia explained. "I must warn you in advance that this isn't your usual band of thieves. They're landlocked, but they've gotten it into their heads that they're pirates...even stranger, they say that the whole "crew" are dead ringers for one another."
Corrin got a better look thanks to a spyglass that Flash handed him. "Hmm...my goodness, you weren't exaggerating."
"It takes all kinds to make the world go round, I suppose." Felicia guessed.
"While I would like to talk about this further, my lovely girlfriend over here is about to say her famous line about the cold weather." Flash pointed out. Right on cue, Alicia exclaimed,
"F*CK THIS COLD!" She was moving close to Flash because of this. Felicia however, wasn't bothered by the cold at all.
"Um, Alicia?" Felicia tilted her head to the side slightly in confusion. "What's so bad about this weather?"
"I was expecting that kind of answer from someone with ice powers." Flash chuckled.
"Regardless, we have to help!" Corrin had the Yato blade ready for action. Everyone else in the group got ready as well.
"Bae. Felicia said they're pirates?" Alicia wanted to confirm this. When Flash answered 'yes', Alicia was more than ready.
"We're actual pirates! And you two bit chumps will learn this the hard way!" Flash exclaimed.
BGM: Pirates of the Caribbean 'He's a Pirate'
It was then the 'pirates' noticed the group. Anna used this opportunity to slip away from Lloyd and Llewellyn. Flash and Alicia had their keyblades at the ready- Nohrian Conquest and Alicia's Wrath, respectively- and charged ahead with Gunter and Corrin, the other two right behind them. Flash took one side, Alicia took the other.
The pirates didn't have much time to react when Flash began his assault. "Here's how real pirates fight, you chumps!" He exclaimed, wombo comboing the closest one to him. Gunter and Corrin tag teamed on their foes while Flash did his thing. As for Alicia?
Well, she was going and cutting fools. In other words, doing her own thing.
The merchant watched this fight from a stairwell, the heat very well off her. Flash, who wasn't fighting much as Alicia was now with Azura, went over to speak with her.
"Hey there!" He called. "How're you holding up?"
"Oh, doing just lovely." Anna responded, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Just trying to get back some stolen merchandise from these two buffoons who tried to recruit me into their band of pirates."
"They don't seem like pirates to me." Flash deadpanned. "I would know, because I'm a REAL pirate. Captain Flash Dove, head of the Lightning Shadow Vagabonds."
"I'm one of the many Anna sisters." Anna introduced. "It's a long story an- did you just say you're a real pirate?"
"One I don't have time to hear." Flash shrugged. "And yes, I am a real pirate, unlike these second rate chumps."
"I'm afraid I'm just a simple merchant. Sales are where I really shine." Anna admitted. "Not thievery, unlike these 'chumps' as you call them." It was then Felicia came over.
"Flash, I see you've found the woman Corrin wanted to help." She smiled.
"That's right." Flash nodded. "This is Anna...one of the many Annas."
"Ain't too proud to beg." She shrugged her shoulders.
"Urr! There you are, Anna!" A voice called. It was Lloyd! And he brought Llewellyn with him as well! The merchant facepalmed.
"You have got to be kidding me…" She frowned. "Look, I just want my stuff back, alright? Is that too much to ask?" Flash couldn't help but ask something.
"Hey Anna, are these the two buffoons you told me about?" He jerked his thumb in their direction.
"That's them, no doubt." The merchant confirmed. Flash cracked his knuckles.
"And who might yoo be, boy?" Llewellyn asked.
"...Who am I?" Flash tilted his head to the left.
*End BGM*
"Yoo hoo hoo! He asked you a question!" Lloyd exclaimed. "Answer him!"
"Oh, I was." Flash calmly responded. "I'm the guy who's about to kick your asses, that's what." He looked over at Felicia. Seeing as how both the pirates were looking to prove him wrong, and how she wanted to help, he added, "Alright, Felicia. Just follow my lead." With that, Flash squared up.
"You got it!" Felicia tried squaring up like Flash, only taking four tries to get the stance right.
BGM: The Offspring 'Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)'
Anna got to safety quickly as Lloyd and Llewellyn rushed the sky pirate and maid quite fast. Flash wasted no time grabbing onto Lloyd to try and wrestle the axe out of his hands. Felicia, after dodging an axe swing, went for the same thing, except twisting Llewellyn's arm in an armbar during the process. He grunted in pain from that.
"Slam your elbow down on his shoulder!" Flash called out to her, kneeing Lloyd in the midsection hard.
"Right!" Felicia went along with it, doing just that. Llewllyn yelped out in pain from that.
"Now you're ready to start something." Flash grinned, tossing their axes to the side. "You take Llewellyn, I'll take the other fool." Felicia agreed with that plan, grabbing onto Llewellyn and attacking with a few knee strikes of her own.
Flash had a different idea, running at Lloyd first, then jumping up and kneeing him in the jaw. Dazed, Lloyd was then grabbed, and shoved down to the ground hard after Flash ran a couple steps to pick up force.
Once the other pirates had been defeated, the other party members all turned out to this fight. Corrin aimed to get involved, but Gunter stopped him.
"Sheathe your sword, Lord Corrin." He said. "I think these two can handle it."
"Understood." Corrin sheathed the Yato blade, looking over at Alicia, who was grinning at this fight.
Back with the fighters, Llewellyn threw Felicia off of him, and just as he about jumped on her, she rolled out of the way in time. She quickly glanced over at how Flash was doing, which was him kneeing Lloyd, then kicking him a few feet away from him. Focusing on her part of the fight, she grabbed Llewellyn by the arm, kicking him in the face with the heel of her foot first.
After a few more attacks, Flash let out a yell. "Conducting the PAIN TRAIN!" He bellowed.
"Alicia...what is Flash doing?" Azura asked.
"Oh, man…" Alicia laughed. "Bae is going for his Blazin'."
"His what?" Corrin looked at her.
"Just watch." She responded.
Flash whittled away at Lloyd with various other attacks before deciding on going in for the finishing blow. He grabbed onto Lloyd, starting his finisher. He started off with vertically suplexing Lloyd, then spinning him around like a top. Flash then punched Lloyd hard enough, and in a certain way, so that he spun around in a circle, still going like a top. Flash spun around to kick him, Lloyd now on his back. Turning around, he backflipped and finished off with a spinning axe kick. Lloyd was out of it now.
"You just got busted!" Flash cheered.
"DAMN!" Alicia exclaimed. "Bae went all savage on me!"
"Indeed. That was quite a devastating maneuver." Gunter agreed. Corrin stared at Flash as if he was crazy, but Azura took this all in, seemingly with a grain of salt.
"Azura...how did he…" Corrin stammered.
"Hmm?" Azura looked over. "Oh, it's quite simple, actually. Obviously Flash isn't from Hoshido or Nohr, so what he's using right now is clearly from wherever he originates."
"Wow!" Felicia exclaimed. "I knew there was something special about you, Flash!"
"That's right! Now let's finish this fight, how about it?" The sky pirate dropkicked Llewellyn from behind. Felicia kicked Llewellyn while he was down, who got up and punched Felicia hard, knocking the wind out of her and onto the ground. Flash didn't take too kindly to that. When he went to hit the not-pirate in the back, he got a backhand for it.
"Urr! You'll pay for hurting Lloyd!" Llewellyn focused his rage on Flash, hitting him a couple times. Corrin happened to spot a loose stone, rolling it over to Felicia.
"Felicia! Use this!" He called.
"Uh, got it!" She picked up the stone, striking Llewellyn on the flat of his back. His assault on Flash was stopped thanks to that, to which Flash proclaimed,
"Time to go to work!" It was time to put this fight to rest, he thought. Felicia kept hitting Llewellyn with the stone, giving Flash the opportunity to get a couple more shots in on the not-pirate, knocking him down to the ground.
"How're we going to finish him?" Felicia asked.
"Like I said. Follow my lead." Flash answered, picking Llewelyn up. Priming him for a powerbomb, he instructed Felicia, "Now, all you have to do is shove him down while I do this thing, okay? On my go."
Felicia got ready, nodding at Flash. "Ready and waiting."
"Go!" With that, the two executed the finishing move, winning the match.
"We did it!" Felicia cheered.
"Yeah, you didn't do half bad." Flash and Felicia exchanged a fistbump. "Looks like you've seen a few scraps in your time."
*End BGM*
"Thanks." The merchant thanked. "Your team really got me out of a jam back there. I'm not sure how I could even begin to repay a debt like that."
"It's payment enough to see you through unharmed, I assure you." Corrin informed.
"That won't cut it. You saved my life. I owe you SOMETHING... Huh. Now that I see your clothes up close, they're pretty fancy. Like something royalty would wear... Am I warm?" Anna mused.
"Royalty? Well... yes, in fact." Corrin humbly said.
"No kidding! You're actually a blueblood?" Anna exclaimed in shock. It was then she smirked, making up her mind. "Then that settles it! The payment for your services... is my services!"
"What?" Was the only word that Corrin would be able to respond with.
"My name's Anna. I'm posing as a thief for the moment... But my real job is in sales! It was so rude of those losers to treat me like one of them. The only reason I was here was to steal back what they took from me!" She told Corrin.
"Yeah, Anna told me something like that." Flash answered. Felicia nodded in agreement.
"The situation sounds more complicated than we realized." Corrin responded.
"Tell me about it. I didn't expect those dimwits to find me out, though." Anna rolled her eyes, kicking the unconscious Lloyd for no reason other than to do it. "I'm better off sticking with you, I think. Then I can focus on what matters: sales. Trust me, I've got a lot to offer. And for you, my services will be free! How could you refuse?"
"Hey, free companion. I'm not complaining!" Flash was happy about this.
"Exactly! You can't! So I'm on your team now, Mr. Blueblood!" Anna smirked sweetly.
"Ahahaha...Thank you, Anna." Corrin sweatdropped.
"Alright party people, let's keep heading on to our destination!" Flash called. "Azura, lead the way!" Without skipping a beat, the merry band of seven headed on for Hoshido in their search for allies.
(And this update took me long enough. XD Anyway, please be sure to read, follow, favorite, and REVIEW! If anyone is wondering what the name of my Blazin' move is that I used this chapter, it's dubbed 'Spin Me Right Round'. Very vicious, I know. -Flash)