Oh wow, first off I must apologize for taking so long with this chapter. You all have been so anxious to see Cayenne again and I take almost a year before posting again. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter, I ran into a lot of writer's block when coming up with an arc for Cayenne. I have most of the kinks out now, hopefully.
Plus, I was still waiting for the manga to progress enough to learn more about the new world but since the SHP are still in Fishman Island I figure I might as well get on with it, hence why we're still using a log pose. It will be rectified the moment we learn the new way of navigation.
All you recognize from One Piece belongs to Oda, all you don't belongs to me.
Enjoy chapter eleven!
As of 6/28/13 this chapter has been edited.
-x-
It had taken nearly two days for the log pose to reset and lock onto the next island and Cayenne couldn't be any happier when they finally set sail. For those two days she merely sulked (she tried hard not to think about it in that way) while shooting Kid dark looks whenever they were in the same room together. She didn't speak much to the crew as well and whenever someone did try and talk to her she looked at them so murderously that they would scurry away, muttering about something else to do and they wouldn't bother her again.
To make matters worse, Kid didn't do anything about the bodies that were still crucified just outside of the ship. And after two days… well, most people were using sheets, scarves, and whatever they could tie around their mouths and noses to dampen to stench that would assault their nostrils every time they went outside. The last time Cayenne was outside, she noticed that the poor men had attracted the wild life, meaning the scavengers. She was thankful that she had a stronger stomach than most people when she witnessed a crow feasting on the flesh of the corpse closest to her.
But even after they left that Godforsaken island behind, she couldn't help but notice the faint smell of death and rotting corpses. Perhaps, Kidd wanted the ship to smell like that, to let enemies know that he wasn't to be taken lightly, and to let others know that he wasn't afraid to kill, in fact, he enjoyed it.
He had serious mental issues.
And that was saying a lot because she had seen the worst of Sabaody's Underworld such as a man she met (after meeting him she felt the overwhelming need to take a long, hot shower) called Caribou who had a habit of killing marines or burying people alive. He wasn't there long, he left shortly before the war started, saying something about making a name for himself in the Grand Line.
Now they were continuing on in the New World, headed for the next island where a new adventure awaited them (hopefully, because God forbid Kidd get bored again).
"This one doesn't seem to far from the last island," Heat was saying to Kidd. "But the only way to tell is when we actually get there."
"I hope it's soon." Kid said darkly. "That last island put me in a bad mood. I want to kill something again."
Put you in a bad mood? Cayenne snorted at that remark. And here she was, glaring at every single man who tried to approach her for anything. She wondered who would be scarier when completely pissed off: her or Kid.
At the moment, it didn't sound like a bad idea. Or maybe that was because she was angry. Or maybe she was starting to get cabin fever, she didn't know.
"Hey, what's that?" Someone near her asked and pointed at something churning in the water.
Cayenne looked, bubbles were beginning to froth and the water was churning faster. Then something broke the surface and for a moment she thought it was an underwater volcano erupting but what was coming out of the water was green, a sea king?
Whatever it was, it was right underneath the ship!
It was dark green in color and it looked like a tentacle and was steadily rising. Cayenne could hear Kidd in the background barking orders. But it was too late. The ship was in the air, carried by the mysterious green thing.
"What the hell is that?" Cayenne wondered out loud as she bent over the railing of the ship in order to get a closer look. It wasn't scaly like the skin of a sea king but instead, it was smooth and shiny. And judging by that, it probably was slippery too.
And sure enough, as soon as the green thing was high up in the air, the ship started sliding downwards. Cayenne latched onto the railing and held on for dear life as the ship picked up speed. Many of the other men let out shouts of surprise before scrambling to find something to hold onto. The wind whipped through her hair as the ship kept gaining speed. If we don't do something soon, we're going to crash! Cayenne thought as she dug her nails into the wood even more to prevent her from flying off.
The ship jerked backwards, nearly sending all of the crew backwards. Cayenne's head snapped back painfully from the whiplash. She turned her gaze, wincing as she did so, to the prow of the ship to see Kid hanging onto one of the prongs that adorned the skull. He was holding out his right hand at the ship and she understood. He's using his ability to repel the ship and slow it down. The ship must be enforced with metal in some places.
They were slowing down but weren't coming to a stop. The green thing they were on was too slippery for them to come to a complete stop. Still hanging onto the railing, she squinted ahead of them and saw something big and black coming up. And it was coming up fast.
"KID!" Cayenne bellowed and when she had his attention (he sent her an irritated glare as he was still trying to stop the ship) she pointed at the big black mass that was in front of them. Kid twisted around and then whipped around and held his hand out towards the bottom of the ship. The ship gave a loud groan as it tried to slow down but the slippery material was getting the best of it.
Something whizzed by Cayenne's head. "Lower your sail!" She heard something squeak. She searched for the source of the voice and she heard it again. "Lower your sail!" Then she found it. Flying alongside the ship was a small bug-like thing. Its wings were a blur as it kept up with the ship and it had huge, bulbous, black eyes. "LOWER YOUR SAIL!" It shouted again.
She turned to look for Killer. "Killer!" She shouted when she found him, a twitch of his head told her he heard her. "We need to lower the sail! It'll help slow us down." She knew he heard her but he didn't move. Cayenne frowned, why wouldn't he lower the sails?
She turned back to the insect flying by them. "I'm sorry, we can't!"
The insect flew away from the ship and the black mass was coming closer. We're going to die! Barely a week in the New World and I'm going to die! She held on even tighter and cursed her helplessness, she couldn't move from her spot or she'd be blown off the ship and therefore couldn't help Kid with slowing the ship down.
"Launch!" She heard vaguely over the wind and several thin ropes erupted from the black mass and headed for the ship. They were close enough for her to notice that the black rock (as she identified it) was not in their path, merely next to it. Most of the ropes landed on the deck and quickly flew back and latched onto the railing or other parts of the ship that were secure enough. Within seconds, the ropes tightened and the ship lurched. This time, Cayenne did let go of the railing and she tumbled to the deck. But they were slowing down even more, and another black mass was looming in front of them but it was much bigger and they really were heading straight for it.
There was a loud bang and the ship shuddered before coming to a slow stop, they lurched once but settled quickly.
"Quick stop complete." Cayenne heard from above, she dazedly looked up to see the bug buzzing around above them. Except it wasn't a bug, it was a boy. "Sit tight for a while!" He called. "We'll have you in a port in no time."
Many of the crew members were slowly unlatching themselves or getting off the floor of the deck, lest they go down the slippery slope again. Cayenne unsteadily rose up, her legs and arms were slightly shaking from holding on for dear life and the adrenaline rush. Kid hopped back onto the deck, a cross look on his features. "What the hell was that?" He spat. "We nearly died!"
"I don't know, Master Kid." Heat said. Both he and Killer looked unfazed by their ordeal.
Cayenne scowled in Killer's direction. "You could have listened to me." Killer didn't say anything, he merely turned his head slightly towards her.
"Okay!" The bug-boy was back. "We're going to pull you in nice and slow!" More ropes emerged and hooked on the bow of the ship while the rest from the big rock were released. "Reel her in!"
They lurched again but thankfully the ship was going at a slow pace. "You there, boy!" Kid barked. "Where are we?"
The boy didn't answer, instead he merely buzzed along. As they got nearer and nearer the large mass (which had to be an island) it came into clearer view. Cayenne let out a gasp but she wasn't the only one, many others let their jaws drop and pointed.
It was a large plant. The island was a plant. All they could see was its towering green leaves that went straight up and curved outward, like a blossom. Where are we going to weigh anchor? Cayenne thought numbly as she stared at it awe. Her unasked question was answered when some of the leaves parted and they saw a small pool with a dock.
"Loading dock four!" She heard someone shout from the pool. Another man was behind a machine that was pulling the ship in. The came to a halt and the leaves behind them fell back into place, cutting them off from the sea and locking them in. "Alright, we're secure!" The man called out cheerfully. "You can dock now!"
They didn't need to be told twice, the ramp was lowered and most of the crew spilled onto the ground. Actual ground, Cayenne noted.
"Where is this?" Kid demanded again. The buzzing was heard and the young boy landed next to them man and removed his goggles. He was no older than twelve with sandy brown hair peeking out from underneath a cap. He looked like a miniature version of the older man next to him.
The boy flashed them a grin, showing a missing tooth. "Welcome to Hydrilla Island!"
If he was expecting a cheerier reaction, he was wrong. "The fuck kinda island is this?" Kid nearly snarled. "My ship was almost destroyed!" Cayenne winced slightly at his choice of words in front of a kid.
"But you were lucky." The man explained. "Some ships are actually on top of the plant when it rises and they go plummeting down, you got on a floater leaf. A floater leaf just floats around waiting for prey and when it gets it it lifts, sending the prey down to the main plant." He explained when he caught sight of their confused faces (although Kid's was turning slightly murderous). "We've managed to engineer the leaves to send ships to a loading dock, we help slow you down into the loading dock and presto! You've safely landed on the island!" He beamed, ignorant that he was playing host to a very bloodthirsty and murderous pirate crew.
"Did you say this island is a plant?" Cayenne spoke up, hoping to disperse the murderous intent from Kid. Honestly, he should be grateful they were still alive.
The boy nodded. "I can explain while I lead you to town, Dad can stay and take care of the ship."
Kid stepped forward. "Stay with the ship," He snarled at the crew and gestured for Killer to follow him down a path leading into the forest of leaves.
The older man looked around nervously as Kid and Killer followed his son. Cayenne darted forward and followed the three. If there was going to be a killing spree, she could at least save the boy. "So what kind of island is this?" She asked again, ignoring Kid's disapproving look.
"A plant." he responded. "There was an actual island here until the plant showed up. It's an aquatic plant and it kind of swallowed the island. Now we follow the plants schedule, for three days it's blooming on top of the water before closing and sinking into the sea for four days."
"Sinking?"
"Yep, the plant closes and goes down into the ocean, taking the island with it."
"You spend four days under the water?" Cayenne asked, incredulous. All the while, Killer was walking along silently (as usual) and Kid was staring around, disinterested. "How do you breathe and get light?"
"We have artificial lights when it goes dark and we get oxygen from the plant's photosynthesis. The plant's also a barrier from the elements too." Wow, the plant sustained them perfectly and even gave them protection from sea kings, water pressure, and floods.
"When is the next time the plant goes under?" Kid interrupted.
The boy looked behind at them. "Tomorrow."
Cayenne bit her lip. They could only be here for at the most twelve hours before sailing but could only move if Kid gave the order and judging by the look on his face, he wasn't going to move just yet. He was planning something…
"What's your name?" Cayenne asked the boy.
"Mushi." he flashed another smile at her but looked forward as they came to a bend in the path. "Welcome to the town."
It was a fairly large town, Cayenne could tell that it used to be on a field before it was swallowed by the plant, there were no trees, just grass that had been mowed down to make room for the buildings, tall posts had lights strung around the town—probably for when they sunk—and Cayenne could make out more paths leading into the forest of leaves at the other end. They probably lead to more docks or other places on the island. She looked skywards to see tall leaves pointing straight up and could barely make out the bend where they curved. From here, it looked like they went on forever. It was a truly remarkable island but they were in the New World, things like this were to be expected.
"The inn's over there." Mushi pointed a larger building. "You can get more directions and such from the innkeeper, her name's Maki. I have to go home now, it's almost lunch time." His funny little wings emerged from the backpack on his back and he buzzed off.
Cayenne watched him for a little bit before returning to Kidd. "Shall we go to the inn?" She asked.
Kidd didn't say anything, a pensive look was on his face. "This island sinks every three days." He repeated Mushi's words. "It's impenetrable and provides excellent defense and judging by the looks of the town, there aren't any marines here. They think they're safe here." Cayenne could see the cogs turning in his heads and a horrible feeling swelled in her stomach. Kidd grinned. "Think of the possibilities, if I'm going to conquer the world, what better place than to do it here?"
His grin turned feral. "In four days, this island will belong to me."
-x-
Dun, dun, duuun! And now we have the intro for Cayenne's arc. You have no idea how difficult it is to come up with an island to fit in with OPverse.
But see you next time for Kidd's dastard plan to be set in motion!
Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated, flames are not.