Twelve – Foxy Appears! Trials of the Davy Back Fight!

Captain Kiba sports his sinister, trademark grin and pulls a flintlock pistol from his coat. "I accept!" he shouts, and fires the pistol up into the air.

I'm in the dark, so I turn to Joey. "What's this Davy Bat Fight about?"

"Davy Back. And ye don't know?" Joey says, surprised.

"I'm still a little new to this piratin' business, gimme a break."

"It be an ancient game, played by pirates for centuries." He explains "In it, you bet not gold, but something far more precious."

"What's more precious to a pirate than gold?" I joke. Joey's expression turns deadly serious however.

"Your crew." My eyes widen. You bet people? "And if there be nobody the winning captain wants, he can up and take your Jolly Roger."

"Seriously?" I protest, but Captain Kiba interrupts everyone's murmuring.

"Listen up! Per tradition, I gots t' relay the rules o' the Davy Back Fight. First," he begins, "Anything lost durin' a Davy Back Fight can only be retrieved during a Davy Back Fight. Second, selected crew members must immediately swear loyalty t' their opponent's captain. And third, if the Jolly Roger be taken, it can never be raised again." He pauses, and breaks into a grin. "But don't be worryin' too much about that, as there be not a chance we'll lose to these scallywags!" The crew cheers at this. I wouldn't mind leavin', though. Not one bit.

"So, Mr. Kiba?" the other ship's captain, Foxy, shouts. "How many coins are we playing for? One, two, or three?"

Captain Kiba grins. "Why so little? A real pirate bets big! We be playin' for four, ye split-headed pig!

Foxy's face turns stunned, and he drops to his knees. "S-Split-headed?" He gasps, his spirit broken.

"Boss, it's okay! Don't listen to him!" I hear a womanly voice console.

Foxy stands back up, clears his throat and then laughs his ridiculous laugh. "Excellent! Four it is then!" He takes four Berries from his pocket and tosses them into the ocean. "Davy Jones acknowledges the challenge!"

I turn to Joey again. "So what do we do? Is it a brawl?"

"Nay. We be playing games," Joey explains, "one for each coin. The captains pick the crewmates to be participating in each game beforehand, and the captain who issues the challenge chooses the games to be played."

I turn to Captain Kiba. He looks busy in thought. Most likely plannin' the teams. So it's all up to the enemy captain whether or not I'll leave the crew? I contemplate how I might make myself more presentable as a choice should we lose, as leaving the Fang Frogs sounds like a better idea every second I think about it. For a moment I flirt with the idea of removing my disguise, thinking perhaps a fishwoman would be a more desirable spoil than her male counterpart. I throw the idea aside, however. Any woman who's a 'prize' don't got a pleasant future in store for her.

Captain Kiba announces he's decided the teams. "Aki! Ye be in the first and third games." He tells me. I'm surprised he didn't put me in every one just to work me harder. Foxy has decided his players also, as well as the games to be played. The first one will take place on their ship, since ours does not have enough room. They toss down some rope ladders for the participants as well as anyone who wants to watch to use.

When I climb aboard the deck of Foxy's ship, I'm stunned. It's so spacious up here! They make this ship for giants or somethin'? The deck is multi-leveled, with the lowest tier being the largest. Foxy has quite a large crew as well. Hundreds of men and women have come out to watch the Davy Back Fight, all of them wearing the same silly mask the fishman had on. I then notice that Foxy's ship is perfectly constructed for large games – the bottom tier can be a playing field, while the upper levels serve as a sort of bleachers for the crowd to watch. So I'll be in the first game, huh? So much for gettin' to see what all the ruckus is about beforehand. Maybe I oughta lose on purpose? ...Second thought, no. I'd regret it if I ended up remainin' with the Fang Frogs.

The first match is a game of dodgeball. A square playing field is drawn with chalk, which the participants are not allowed to leave. A line is drawn, splitting the square in half. Both teams contain a dozen members, who are to stay within their half of the square. Leaving results in immediate removal from the game, as does getting hit with a ball. "The face is safe however." The judge, who is coincidentally a member of Foxy's crew, remarks. That's silly. Probably just pirates wantin' to see people's faces get smashed in. "Catching the ball is also safe, obviously." The judge adds in. "Also, no weapons are allowed." Still, This oughta be a cakewalk.

I and the other twenty-three participants take our places on the field. I look among the eleven others with me. I stand out. I bet I'll be singled out 'cause of that. The Foxy Pirates' team is rather jumbled: big guys, small guys, a couple girls, and that fishman I encountered earlier. One ball is tossed at each side and the first game of the Davy Back Fight begins.

One of the Foxy team's larger guys catches the ball and in one fluid movement, throws the ball at the guy who caught ours. Not thinking fast enough, the ball flies into his gut and sends him to the ground. It wasn't that powerful a throw… how heavy are those balls? I pick up the ball our side originally caught, and there's no weight to it at all, but perhaps to a human they are rather heavy. "Hey! These heavy to you?" I ask the one who picked up the second ball.

"A piece, yeah. What, they ain't to ye?"

"Light as a feather." I respond, giving mine a small toss into the air and catching it with the other hand. "Hey, toss it with me on the count of three, alright?" The members of the other team brace themselves. "One… two… three!" My teammate tosses his, and it is dodged, but I wait just a second after I say three, then toss mine, and manage to get someone who fell for my bluff. The second ball bounces out of bounds. One of my crewmembers picks it up and tosses it to our side. I catch it with a pair of tentacles, high up in the air.

"Oi!" one of the Foxy Pirates exclaims. "Judge! Ain't he out for that?" The judge, a wrinkly old man, rubs his stubble for a moment before responding. "Rule 495 states for octopus and squid-type fishmen, catching with tentacles is safe as well." Hm. And here I was afeared he'd be biased.

"Heh, I thought you were a squid-type, too." The fishman says. "This oughta be an interesting fight." He's gonna be a difficult one to down, having so many arms. I throw the ball at him, using a whip-like motion of the tentacle to give it tremendous speed, but still the fishman catches it easily.

The game of dodgeball rages on, both sides on equal footing the entire time, until only the fishman and I are left. We take a moment once we're alone in the game to stare each other down. "You can't beat me, you know! I can cover my entire body so there's nowhere to hit that'll get me out!" He taunts.

"You ain't the only one who's so special." I taunt back, and move my tentacles into a defensive formation. The fight resumes, the two of us throwing the dodgeballs back and forth with incredible swiftness, never giving the other a chance to breathe. The only way I'm going to win this is with speed, and he knows the same goes for him. We gotta get the game goin' so fast one of us messes up. The pace of the game quickens even more, until we're practically throwing punches at each other from across the field.

"This is getting nowhere, Boss." I hear a woman's voice comment. "Can't you do something to finish this?"

Foxy laughs, slowly and menacingly. "Of course I can. I was just thinking the same thing." I see him give the fishman a signal of some sort. The fishman stops, so that he now has both dodge balls. Then, he does something odd – he tosses the balls out of bounds to some of his crewmates watching the game from outside. What's he up to?

"Not sure if this'll work on him, boss, but here goes." Slowly, he drops all of his arms towards the ground. When they reach the floorboards of the deck, to my surprise, they begin to extend! They creep and slither along the floorboards like a mass of worms. I see it! He's usin' my own game against me; he's fixin' to constrict me! When his arms near me, they raise into the air like snakes, ready to strike. Ain't gonna happen! I lash out at each of them with a tentacle, until all are tightly held.

"Not like you planned, huh? My tentacles may be tied up, but I still got two arms!" I jeer.

The fishman simply smirks, and directs my attention to the edge of the playing field. I glance at my peripherals to see that every one of Foxy's crewmates has in hand a ball just like the ones being used in the game. "You may be able to catch the two legal ones, but can you do the same with a hundred?"

The dodgeballs pelt me like rain.

"Out!" The judge exclaims. "The Foxy Pirates win the round!" A grand cheer erupts from the majority of the crowd.

"Aki, what the devil's the matter with ye!? Ye just cost me a damned crewmember!" Captain Kiba screams, anger pouring from his mouth.

"Now now, Mr. Kiba!" Foxy says, boastful. "It's not really his fault his he lost. There's not much one can do when faced with such overwhelming numbers!" He laughs, and his crew follows. "Now then, I believe I have a crew member to obtain from you." He pauses, and someone in his crew starts a drum roll to build dramatic tension. "I choose… Dr. Malkov!" The doctor? He wants the doctor? I look around. He's not even here. "Hold on a second, where'd he go?" Foxy asks.

"He went back to the ship." Captain Kiba grumbles.

"Well, someone had better go tell him to pack his things!"

Captain Kiba grins. "Not so fast, fox. We've still four more games to play, remember?"

"Oh? You think you have a chance after seeing what I can do? You've got some gall, Mr. Kiba! Regardless, the rules of the Davy Back Fight dictate that the crew member won must swear allegiance to their new captain immediately. In the impossible chance you actually win a game, you can have him back, of course."

Someone goes to fetch the doctor. When he learns the news, he seems very apathetic about the transfer. "So I'm vith you all now, then? As long as I have an office to vork in, I don't really care." From the way he speaks, I figure he's been on quite a number of crews. One of Foxy's crew hands him a mask like all the rest of the crew wore. Dr. Malkov calls it ridiculous, but obliges and put it on.

The second game in the Davy Back Fight was something they called "Musical Stools". I'd never heard of it before, but it was apparently a pirate's version of a children's game that originated in South Blue. A circle of stools is made, one for each person in the game, minus one. Music is played, during which every participant walks around the circle. When the music stops, everyone scrambles to find a stool to sit in. Whoever is left without a stool is out, and the process repeats until only one team is left. The pirate's version is different in that it allows the players to beat the hell out of each other once the music stops. Once someone's found a stool though, they can't be touched, nor can they get up. I lean up along the deck's railing and watch the game.

His team is decimating ours. The only who puts up a bit of a fight is Larson, but once his teammates' number begins to dwindle, it becomes harder and harder to manage to nab a stool. Eventually he is the only one left, and the Foxy crew simply jumps him the instant the music stops. I won't deny I didn't enjoy watching him get beat up.

"Fehhh feh feh feh!" Foxy laughs. "That's another win under my belt, Mr. Kiba! So then, who shall I pick this time?" He stops for a moment, thinks, then turns to some of his crew members and whispers something to them. He ain't even figured out who he wants yet? They whisper something back, and Foxy turns back towards us. "Right then! I have chosen…" the dramatic pause and drumroll yet again "…the fishman, Aki!"

I gasp. "Me? Y-You want me?" Foxy replies with a nod. It takes every ounce of willpower in me to stay my emotions and not childishly jump for joy. Though he can't see it, I flash a grin at Captain Kiba. He turns his head to the side and growls. I wonder if he's happy to be rid of me or mad he can't pester me no more.

A beautiful blue-haired woman from Foxy's crew approaches me with a mask in hand. "The mask is the vow of your allegiance, Mr. Fishman." Her voice has all the spunk of a school girl. She's so cute! "Put it on, and you're a member of the Foxy Pirates."

"For you Madam," I say, dazzled, "I will put it on in an instant!" I take the mask from her, looking at it for a second. It's silly-lookin'... but I ain't one to speak about lookin' silly. "Be right back, Madam!" I say, and dash to the ship's stern, finding a place where no one can see me. I rest my goggles around my neck, take off my hat, and slip the mask on. It's actually not that uncomfortable. Putting my hat back on, I return to the field, where the third game is already being set up for, and the rules explained. Aw, where'd the blue-haired angel go? It's some sort of traditional board game played with crew members instead of pieces, with the captains moving them around the board. Everyone here seems to know the game it's based off of, but I've never heard of it. Such is life when you grew up in the country, I guess. I notice Kiba's team is one person short since I'm missing, and have a quick laugh at that.

"Oi, Aki!" A voice calls to me from the sidelines. I look to see who it is and find the fishman from before waving two of his arms at me. I wave back and walk his way. "Oh, good! That is your name!" he exclaims once I've reached him. "Mine's Jube by the way." He shakes my hand enthusiastically.

"You seem… happy to see me." I say, after wrestling out of his grip.

"Well sure! We just hit 500 crew members with that last game, and still only four fishdudes? Having another one around'll be great! Ah, now if only we could score a fishchick, or even a mermaid, I would have no complaints whatsoever!"

I laugh awkwardly. Ain't even gonna go there. Though a mermaid would be great. I've only heard tales of the other people of the sea, the opposite side of the coin from fishfolk. Human above the torso, and fish below. More importantly, I've heard the girls are drop-dead gorgeous. "I'm kinda surprised he picked me at all."

"Probably all strategy. He saw how well you did in the first game and didn't want you making things harder in the third."

Makes sense. I ain't complainin', though. "So… did I get drafted into a good crew?"

Jube takes a moment to pretend thinking it over. "Yeah, yeah you did." He scoots in close to me, puts a hand to the side of his mouth and whispers. "The cap'n may be a lying, deceitful, underhanded bastard when it comes to his enemies, but his mateys he treats well."

"That so? Well I ain't sayin' the same for Kiba over there. Grade-A asshole that fella is. Here's hopin' you guys- err… we win the rest of the matches then, huh buddy?"

"Hah! You needn't worry 'bout that!" He gives me a comrade pat on the shoulder. It feels weird, being at eye level with someone. And a fishman at that. For a moment, I feel a strange sort of bond forming with Jube. Like perhaps this is someone I can trust. Maybe I can afford to not maintain that healthy distance from him like I do with everyone else. Just as quickly as the feeling appeared however, it vanishes, and he's just another crewmate, albeit a nice one.

"Oi, Aki." Jube says. I notice he's been staring at me for a bit. "Without those goggles covering 'em up… you've got some creepy pretty eyes, you know that?"

"The hell's that s'pposed to mean, boy!?" I yell, and leave a fist in his face.

The match ends. Foxy wins again. He chooses the navigator this time, the dreary, stuttering man who always seemed rather emotionless towards everything. Hah! If this keeps up, Kiba's gonna be in a sticky situation. No doctor, no navigator… no fishwoman punchin' bag… I wonder who's next? The shipwright maybe? Did we even have a shipwright? You can keep Larson, though.

"What's he like?" Jube asks.

"Emotionless little freak." I tell him.

"Ah… oh well. I'm in the next game, so I'll talk with you later. Don't let me forget to introduce you to the other two, alright?"

"I thought you said there was five altogether?"

"Well… yeah… one's kind of... slow in the head. Spends most of his time asleep anyway." Jube then walks towards the edge of the deck.

The final match is some kind of naval race, which explains why Jube was chosen to be a participant. I mosey on over to the edge of the deck to watch. Far below, in the waters of the Grand Line, are a number of tiny boats and rafts, three for each team, each with a pair of contestants riding them. I listen to the announcer detail the rules of this game, and it's interestingly simple compared to the other three. It's a race of five laps around both captains' ships. The only rule is that neither ship can be damaged; if someone so much as chips a splinter off either, they are disqualified.

The edges all around Foxy's ship become packed with pirates from both crews coming to watch. A number of pirates crowd around me, but all it takes is a little wiggle of the tentacles and they back off a bit. I look over the boats racing. They make these just now? Some of them look… incredibly bad, especially the ones on Kiba's side. Jube is helping to propel a boat of average make. One however, is of excellent quality. And riding atop it is none of than the blue-haired beauty who gave me my mask! "Hey!" I shout, but quickly realize I don't know her name. I turn to the nearest masked pirate, grab him with a tentacle and bring him in close to me. "You there! Who's the girl on the yellow boat?"

The man looks a little frightened, so I let go of him. "Y-You mean Porche? She's-"

I've already stopped listening. "Madam Porche!" I shout. "I'm rootin' for you a hundred and ten percent!"

"Ah, my adoring fans!" She smiles. "Don't worry! There's no way your lovely Porche will lose!"

"Contestants ready?" The voice of the announcer echoes throughout the ship. "On your marks, get set, go!"

Porche's and Jube's pair both have a fishman in them, so it's no surprise that they fly on ahead while the others lag behind. Foxy's third boat is the largest in the bunch, and its occupants seem to be focused entirely on disabling all of Kiba's contestants. They manage to down one, but Larson is on another, and he takes them out in response. Kiba's third boat was able to get away from the melee and begin the race proper, though dreadfully behind Foxy's other, fishman-propelled pairs. Was that Joey I saw in there? The boat's already past what I can view, so I wait until it comes back around Foxy's ship to get a better look at it.

Except it never comes. Word comes from the announcer that Jube and his partner stopped to wait in ambush, and that Kiba was now down to only one boat. I can tell Larson's trying his hardest, but there's just no hope left. The Foxy Pirates must do these games regularly, 'cause they got everythin' entirely under control. In fact, I bet that's why they got such a large crew.

"And the winner is… Porche and Capote!" The crowd bursts into cheer, me included. Porche stands up in her boat and soaks up the applause like a sponge. Kiba's crew looks devastated. Shouldn'ta been so greedy and just stuck with three. But what do I care? I never gotta see that bastard again!

Foxy laughs at this victory, and I begin to wonder if he laughs like that silly on purpose, or if he really can't help it.

"Who're you going to pick this time, Boss?" Porche shouts from down below, on her boat.

Foxy's grin turns truly malicious, and I almost think that may have been what he chose to steal from our captain. "Why, I choose none other than Captain Kiba himself!"