I do not own Fairy Tail or One Piece. They belong to Hiro Mashima and Eichiro Oda.
The train lumbered through the forests of western Fiore. Coby stared out the window as the train steamed on, remarking facts about the area they were passing through. As they progressed the topsoil became increasingly muddy, and after a certain point puddles started to appear, growing larger and larger. Coby eventually noticed that the train tracks were actually built on a ridge of land raised above the rest, elevating them above the ground that continued becoming increasingly swamp-like.
"How much longer?" he asked. Gildarts looked up from his copy of Weekly Sorcerer.
"Half hour, an hour tops," he responded nonchalantly. Coby nodded and looked down at the napping Mirajane, still leaning on him. Gildarts smiled a bit.
"It's funny how someone like her can fall for a guy like you," mused the auburn haired man. Coby quirked an eyebrow.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your personalities. They're on completely different ends of the spectrum. You're the kind, somewhat shy kind, and you can't hold your liquor worth squat."
"Gee, thanks." The marine rolled his eyes.
"On the other hand, Mirajane is hot-blooded and rude. She's not afraid to say what she wants, and can really hold it down well despite her age."
"Well in my world the drinking age is like 17. Excuse me but I'm technically still a minor and so is she."
"Oh, so what? Someone a year or two under the prescribed age drinks a bit. Lighten up. Youngsters do what they're told not to because it's an adventure for them."
"We have those laws in place to protect them, not encourage them."
"You don't object to Lisanna taking a shot every now and then." The strongest mage got a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Or do you like her?" Coby rolled his eyes again.
"As a friend, and I suppose you can say as a sister. I never had one back in my world." He continued to stare out the window, thinking back on the memories of his old world, his friends and his family. Coby started looking as downcast as the dreary sky, which did not go undetected by the older mage.
"Miss your old world? Ours not good enough for ya?" he joked.
"Don't get me wrong. The magic I've seen here and at the guild is amazing, and this world is so peaceful compared to mine, it's like a utopia."
"Piracy was that bad, huh?"
"Oh yeah. That's the downside of having most of the world covered by the ocean. You got one central landmass and a crapton of islands. It's almost impossible to control."
"What's the continent?"
"It's called the Red Line, a long continent that stretches across the entire world, from North to South, along the Prime Meridian. It's the one central land mass that separates all the other blues."
"Explain more," groaned Mirajane, stretching as she woke but not budging from Coby's side.
"Well…our world is like a grid. Going down the middle top-to-bottom is the Red Line, our only continent. Going right-to-left would be the Grand Line. This separates the North, South, East, and West Blue seas."
"So the Grand Line is another continent?" asked Gildarts.
"No. The Grand Line is another section of the ocean. What separates the Grand Line from the Blues other than the Red Line would be the Calm Belts on the north and south ends , which are home to giant Sea Kings due the lack of currents."
"Thus, perfect to lay eggs and become a breeding a ground. How big are these Sea Kings?"
Coby looked outside the train, gazing at some of the hills. The ground was now submerged by shallow water, about a foot deep. They were getting close. Coby couldn't find a reasonable size comparison so he guessed.
"You know the guild hall? About two to three times its size, maybe bigger."
Mirajane's eyes went up and Gidlarts smiled.
"Territorial and aggressive too?"
"That's an understatement."
"Man, I wish we had Sea Kings here in Earthland. Business for people wanting them dead would be booming," chuckled the auburn haired man. He looked out the window, seeing the change in scenery. The landscape was that of a swamp now; the water was higher and murkier, and the marine could see an alligator swimming through the water. But he'd taken on scarier foes.
And there was an even more dangerous predator out there besides some water lizard.
The trio walked out of the station and into the town of Pickerel. Unlike Magnolia, Pickerel had an ominous feeling floating over the town, and the people hurried to and from their business and errands. One could almost sense that some sort of guillotine was hanging over the entire town.
"Wow, these people are worried. Not nearly like the residents back at Zakuro," murmured Coby.
"More than likely, if the dam isn't complete or if the squad of Murklurkers isn't exterminated, they'll be expecting some full coffins any day now. For who, they don't know. That is what's frightening for them." Gildarts pulled out the job flyer. "We are to meet up at City Hall to get briefed. After that, we can go fishing. Does that sound good?"
Coby and Mirajane nodded and led the way for the auburn haired man to follow.
Over the next few hours the mages (plus one martial artist) were briefed by the Mayor and Police commissioner. The Murklurkers only attacked those in the water, either swimming or in a boat. A dozen were already dead, and several more were in the hospital being treated for poison contracted from the barbells, the whisker-like organs near the fish's mouth. They were covered in needles that were in turn covered in a paralyzing poison. After getting briefed, the mages placed their belongings at the hotel and went towards the edge of town, where a makeshift dock stood. Coby could see past the trees to what seemed to be a dam under construction in the distance.
"So, we know they will lurk around people's boats, so technically, we are the fisherman and the bait," mused the goth as they got onto the boat and Coby started rowing. Gildarts sat close by, while Mirajane stood.
"Yep. They jump up to tackle their prey into the water, and during the struggle, the barbs on the whiskers will deliver their payload," explained Gildarts. "Even if the water is only three to four feet deep, we won't stand a chance if we try to fight them in the water, so we have to catch one when it jumps out at us. If we can get one and kill it, we can deliver the poison to the hospital and they can produce an anti-venom."
"First one is always the hardest," added Coby as he rowed. Gildarts stood up and started looking around in the water.
"You should be careful Gildarts, standing on a boat is bad and you can make us capsize," said the marine worryingly. Gildarts gave him a smile.
"Trust me, I'm fine. I've been on jobs more dangerous. Besides, I'm not going to get killed by some fi-" There was a massive splash, and Gildarts whipped around to deliver a punch to the face of the fish trying to jump him from behind. The massive fish soared until it slammed into a tree. It gave a kind of guttural roar of pain before it splashed back into the water. Coby and Mirajane's mouths were agape in shock and awe.
"Mangy catfish," spat Gildarts, his smile gone. The two teenagers sprang up and the three arranged themselves in a circle so as to watch all sides for attack. Mirajane looked worried.
"Was that the-"
"Murklurker? Yes, and judging by its size and boldness a juvenile."
"Juvenile? That big?" said Mirajane incredulously.
"The adults would go for a more subtle approach. That one was a juvenile, no doubt about it."
The goth turned towards the marine, whose eyes scanned the water for any movement.
"You don't seem too worried about this," she said dryly.
"I've been on warships battling the likes of Sea Kings. Some catfish isn't gonna scare me," he said with confidence.
"Once we see the mother, you'll be worried Coby, I can assure you of that," said the cloaked man. The boat's occupants stood back-to-back-to-back, scanning the dirty moss-covered water for any sort of movement.
Coby's scalp tingled. He couldn't place it exactly, but he was getting a mysterious feeling...as if...he were looking into eyes filled with hatred...
Hatred? Killing intent?
His eyes were looking at one spot, and he saw a small bubble rise up from the moss.
He saw it in his mind, a dark fish leaping out of the water, mouth open, right where he was…
"Rankyaku!"
And he jumped and kicked, the blue air blade slicing into the water, shocking the other occupants. At that time, another large splash occurred. Another of the large juvenile Murklurkers jumped up, mouth open to reveal its small, razor-sharp teeth the size of fingernails. It was greenish brown in color, making it blend in with the swamp water, and its two long whiskers bristled with spines.
Poison spines.
Mirajane already transformed into Satan Soul and had her claws glowing with dark energy. She fired a dark energy ball at the incoming fish and it sent the fish flying, once again hitting a tree and falling back into the water. The boat rocked for a moment due to the sudden movement, but slowly came back to a standstill. There was no sound save for the occasional frog croaking and flies buzzing and their breathing. Coby kept his eye on the spot he fired a Rankyaku at.
His vigilance was rewarded when something massive rose to the surface.
It was a dead Murklurker Catfish, a massive cut on its face as if something slashed the face with a sword. It lay belly up on the water's surface. The marine felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned and saw Gildarts smiling down on him.
"Atta kid." Coby smiled as Mirajane returned to normal.
"So, we gonna drag this overgrown goldfish carcass back to town right?" asked the goth.
"Yep. The barbells are still intact, so if we can get the carcass to the Hospital, the doctors can make anti-venom for the afflicted and for us as well."
"In case one of us gets struck by the nails right?" Coby rowed the boat closer to the dead fish.
"Correct," answered the older man as he and the marine grabbed the massive fish, avoiding its long barbells, and hoisting it onto the boat.
"What if they come back though? The flyer said they have a good deal of intelligence so they may want payback for the death of their sibling," said Mirajane.
"They may be juveniles and bold, but they are not stupid. They'll stay away; the blood in the water has already let them know they've lost one of their own. The smart choice is to stay away. Let's just row back to town." Gildarts grabbed the oars while the other two squished back, the enormous fish taking up their space. Gildarts was at one end of the boat rowing, the fish's tail right in front, and the couple at the other, with the head dangling past them at the head of the boat.
"Three minutes dead and it already smells," groaned Mirajane as she clamped her nose. Even Gildarts seemed a bit disgusted with the odor. However, Coby didn't seem affected by the smell at all. Mirajane turned towards him.
"How can you stand that smell? It's decaying fish brains," said the goth nasally.
"In the Marines, one of the jobs tasked to grunts like me is to hoist up nets full of fish, cut off their heads, and deliver them to the kitchen. Just another step in the process of creating enough food for a hundred sailors."
"You say you're a grunt?"
Coby nodded to his girlfriend's question.
"Yep. There's at least a dozen, maybe two dozen, more ranks above me, and the people who are at those ranks are much stronger than me by decades, maybe centuries."
"Who are these people? Admirals or something?" asked Gildarts.
"Yeah. There's the Vice-Admirals, one of them my teacher, who can command an armada on their own and can fight on par with New World pirates, and then there's the Greatest Military Powers, the strongest fighting force within the Marines. The 3 Admirals." Coby said this with pride as he discussed his former dream.
"Greatest Military Powers huh? They sound strong," acknowledged Gildarts.
"Strong is an understatement. From what I heard, they can make New World pirates tremble in fear, and they alone can defeat whole armies on their own! It wouldn't be surprised if they were the most powerful men in the world, outside of the most terrifying of New World pirates and the Yonkou. My world that is."
"Amazing. Do you know their powers?" asked the older man. Coby turned his head and saw the town coming into view amongst the bog. He shook his head.
"I only know one of the Admiral's powers, and I've only been in the Marines for about six months or so. But I do know that their nicknames have to do with their powers. The Admiral I know of is Admiral Aokiji, whose extremely lazy and uses an Ice Akuma no Mi, and then there's Admiral Kizaru, and Admiral Akainu."
Gildarts nodded with a smile. "Man, it would be great to visit your world one day, Coby. It sounds re-"
"Okay we're here, history lesson's over, let's just turn in the friggin' carcass before my sense of smell is killed forever, okay!" snarled Mirajane. Coby jumped while Gildarts chuckled. The dock was in site…
"Yeah yeah, of course. Coby, once this job is done can you tell me more about-" He was interrupted by a large splash. One of the catfish, one with a red bruise on its face, tackled Gildarts off the boat and into the water, its mouth clamped onto his side, dragging him down into the water. Mirajane and Coby jumped to their feet in shock.
"Gildarts!"
"Old man!"
The water splashed as Gildarts wrestled with the predatory fish. Gildarts grunted, while the fish roared gutturally. The two rolled back and forth in the water, Gildarts trying to avoid the barbed whiskers that flailed everywhere.
Coby struggled with his desire to help his friend. If he jumped in, he would likely get hit by the whiskers and become a liability. He could fire a Rankyaku, but he could hit this comrade by mistake. He ground his teeth angrily in his inability to help. Judging by the look on Mirajane's face, she was having similar thoughts. Suddenly, Gildarts flung the creature into the air and he stood up straight. He turned towards Mirajane and Coby.
"Kill that sonuvabitch!" he yelled. Mirajane transformed into her She-Devil form and her clawed hands glowed blackish purple. Coby braced both of his legs. Both Fairy Tail members glared down the airborne catfish. If it was able to casually withstand a punch from the strongest mage in Fairy Tail…
"Darkness Stream!"
"Rankyaku: Hakurai!"
A flurry of dark hands and the larger and whiter air blade soared to and collided with the catfish. Its remains fell into the water, its blood and organs tainting the muddy swamp red.
Without turning his head, Coby was able to tell from the cheering that they'd drawn quite a bit of attention. They were cheering the death of one of the beasts that had plagued the village. He turned again towards Gildarts as he waded in the water and climbed aboard the boat, being careful neither to capsize it nor lose their prize. Gildarts was breathing faintly for some reason and he looked a bit pale.
The marine knew why instantly.
"He got you!" Coby gasped. He grabbed the oars and starting rowing as fast as he could for shore. The auburn haired man gave a small smile as he reached around his back and picked out what appeared to be small spines, the poison spines of the catfish's whiskers, and threw them into the swamp.
"It's nothing. I've been poisoned several times in the past. It will take more than this to-"
He coughed, lifting his hand to his mouth as he gagged. Both teenagers paled when they noticed spurts of red liquid in his right hand. Mirajane stood up and waved towards the now-silent crowd on the docks.
"We need a doctor! Our friend's been poisoned! Someone help us!"
And that's chapter 10. I wanted it to be longer but I didn't want to force myself, mainly because I had to do finals over the last week during the time I was writing (May 16-May 21) and playing some WoW.
I based the Murklurker Catfish off of the Wels Catfish in case some people have not noticed. I hope the description and the small fights I've instilled in have met your liking Artful. I made the one who attacked Gildarts the one that was punched out so it came back for payback (they are juvenile after all, but it was still able to make out Gildarts' face in the water).
And recent FT chapters may make Cana a likely contender for Coby's heart in the future. But like I said, "likely".
Next chapter will be longer, as it will/may contain the conclusion of the Pickerel job.
In case some of you readers happen to be fans of TTGL, Naruto, Pokemon, or Shiki feel free to read my other fics.
Beta'ed by Juubi-K and 1 over 0.