Author's Note:
Woo! Sorry for the delay.
March 31, XX99, 11:00 A.M, North Blue Seas, Uncharted Island
"Anyone… Please!" whined Cain. For the better part of a day, the blue-haired man had been begging the others for a duel. They had stopped on a tiny island, uninhabited island in hopes of collecting supplies. With Zak cooking, Amber and Auron collecting supplies, and Lullaby drinking no one seemed to have time for him.
"If you're that bored you could help Auron," Amber snapped.
"But that doesn't sound like a lot of fun," he threw back.
"It isn't," said Auron. "But I wouldn't mind assistance."
By this point, he'd already moved away from them to avoid getting dragged into anything that might seem even remotely boring. Sailing was fun, but there'd been nothing for a few days. Not a storm or pirate. Not even a marine. How was he to keep sane with absolutely nothing to do? He was almost certain that Auron seemed to be manufacturing work for himself to do in an effort to make up for mistakes from earlier and that was fine. But for Cain, that just sounded like a waste of time.
"Well," began Lullaby. "You still haven't given me my rematch."
"Ahah! Works for me, let's roll all the barrels of rum out here and get to it!"
"No!" shouted Amber's voice. "If the last match is any indicator, there's not enough for you two to waste on a tie."
"She's right. Last I checked there were only 4 barrels left," said Zak as he emerged from the kitchen.
"2 barrels," added Lullaby, raising her flask to no one.
"Damn it! Well, is the food ready yet?" asked Cain.
"Nope, you've got another 30 or so minutes."
"There's nothing to do," Cain whined again.
"Ugh, this is too depressing to even watch. Fine, I'll fight you," said Lullaby.
He jumped to his feet as if her words had given him new life. "Really!?"
"Sure," she added with a shrug and with a slight hop, she'd descended down onto the island.
The pair squared up across from each other on the beach awaiting the signal to begin.
"Fight!" called Jabari.
Cain took off, each step pushing him closer and closer to the woman who seemed a little less than half interested in the blue haired fighter charging her way.
He stepped in with a right hook which she pivoted around, spinning to drive her elbow in his left side. Cain dropped his guard, allowing him to grab hold of Lullaby, only for her to keep the momentum going and swing her legs around to the back of his neck. The rotation freed her arms and the moment they touched down on the sand, she flipped out of the spin, hurling Cain several feet away. He regained his composure in the air and came to a dragging stop in the sand.
A great grin crossed both of their faces and Lullaby took the pause as an opportunity to steal a quick swig from her flask, giving a slight nod to let him know she was ready for more.
"Soru."
In an instant, he was behind her, immediately following through with a punch aimed at his opponent. But she was fluid. His punch missed entirely as she whirled around on him.
"I knew it! You can keep up with me!" he yelled.
Her movements were quick, before his feet could touch the ground and allow him to use Soru again, she planted three quick jabs in his side forcing him to leap away as soon as he touched down.
"It's not really a matter of seeing you, it's just that you're pretty easy to read," Lullaby teased. "Use that technique to get into a blind spot and then attack with your Light Punch. It's pretty straight forward. The only catch is that you can't use Soru again until you touch the ground. So if I know both, it's an easy window to strike at."
"Wow," said Amber. "She read him like a book. Maybe I was wr-"
Burrrrrrp. "Whew, I was waiting on that one for a while," laughed Lullaby.
"You could at least say excuse me," added Zak.
"Well. You were right," said Cain after he'd stifled his laughter. "I was hoping for a good fight, but I wasn't expecting to get reminded of the basics."
"The basics?" asked Lullaby.
"See, back home, we were taught that Soru is only to be used by those who have mastered another technique. But to be honest, I was never one for following the rules."
He was behind her in a flash once more forcing her to spin on him again, but long before his feet touched the ground he kicked his shoe off creating a foothold for him to move again. He moved to her new blind spot instantly and spun into a kick which sent her skidding across the ground.
She got up immediately with a smile of her own, adjusted her glasses and walked over to her flask in the sand. After taking a sip, she said, "Was that the technique?"
"Nope," laughed Cain. "I never really mastered it, it's called Geppo."
"Well you've only got one more shoe and I won't get caught twice."
"I'm sure I can trip you up again."
"And I'm sure that that's enough for now," said Amber as the boat raised anchor. "I hate to break up all the fun, but we're done packing and we're gonna leave you two if you don't hurry up!"
Lullaby and Cain gave each other a quick glance and took off for the boat immediately.
March 31, XX99, 3:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Just outside of the Grandline
An Asuachi ship had just exited the Grandline and atop its deck, stood a man whose intensity could be felt by the entirety of his crew. No mistakes. Not ever. Follow his way to the letter and things would go well. And if they didn't go well, then his directions must not have been followed. That was the way of Cardinal Descen.
"The absurdity of it all. A Cardinal going to the Blues. Just what is Saint Jones thinking?!" he shouted. He paused to take a puff from his pipe before walking the deck of his shipping.
Each subordinate he passed by seemed to double in efficiency as he neared them until one subordinate lost hold of the ropes for the sails causing Descen to stop in his tracks.
"What was that?!" he yelled before almost immediately dropping to a whisper. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Sir, I apologize. It was an accident. I'll try even harder. I swear it," cried the Initiate.
"You'll try harder?" began Descen. "That almost seems to imply you weren't trying your hardest to begin with. Is that what you're telling me."
"No sir! I didn't mean it that way!"
Descen seemed to tower over the Initiate. His Cardinal robes decorated with more than enough medals to make clear the gap between him and most other Asuachi. He brushed a hand through his neatly kept black hair, keeping the loose grey strands in order, before walking even closer to the subordinate.
"And that seems to imply that you'll never be good enough to hold onto a god damn rope!" Without hesitation, Descen drew a blade from within his robes and pierced it through the Initiate's heart with ease.
"Get him off my ship and I want you all to redouble your efforts. We'll be taking off shortly."
He walked to the back of the ship and as his crew threw over the body of their now dead peer, his sword began to exude a ghastly wind. With one quick strike, it created a wind that propelled his ship at an insane speed.
"Be prepared for landfall," said Descen. "We'll reach Tulvise within a day's time!"
March 31, XX99, 11:00 A.M, Grandline
Captain had succeeded in bringing together the 4 Commanders he thought would be the most useful in cutting off the trade route to the Blues.
His four commanders stood before him awaiting orders. Next to Nia Pecron and Kisaro stood an obnoxiously tall man named Vico Masin and beside him was a fishman named Royce Eline.
One look at Commander Masin, made it clear that he was a member of the long arm tribe as the overbearing, hulking man's arms nearly touched the ground as they hung out of his marine coat. His blue dress pants and boots were scuffed and torn and it seemed that he'd given up wearing a shirt a long time ago.
Commander Royce seemed to hold true to the Marine code through and through. Every aspect of his outfit was done to the letter of the handbook. The dark green hammerhead fishman wore a rank appropriate assortment of marine clothing, even down to a perfect tied blue ascot.
Looking at them, didn't inspire much confidence in their ability to work together to achieve a common goal, but Sewell didn't need perfection. He just needed them to work. That was all.
"Our mission, is straightforward," he began. "The slave trade had extended to the island of Tulvise in North Blue. Until recently, it was untouchable via the accords between the Asuachi and the Marines. However, it would seem that connection was cut off and by these same accords we are in our rights to prevent a trade route's establishment again."
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Kisaro asked with his eyes fixed on his new teammates.
"Who cares!," shouted Vico. "This sounds like we're fighting Asuachi."
"If it comes to it, then yes," said Sewell.
A devilish grin crossed the long arm man's face. "That's all I need to know," said Vico before taking his leave from the office.
"What a terrible disposition," added Royce. "Please. Do continue sir."
"Right," sighed Sewell. "Obviously, slaves coming into the Grandline can come from anywhere, but almost every ship happens to touch down on one island before they make their way to their destinations."
"Red Garden," added Nia. "It's infamous for all types of backroom deals and activities, but for the most part. Its slave trade is protected by the Asuachi."
"Exactly," said Sewell. "It's protected. The accords state that no new slave islands can be created in the Blues. If Tulvise has become free, but we manage to track down slaves from there here in the Grandline, then we can collect proof and our mission is complete."
"But why not head to Tulvise first?" asked Kisaro. "It would be easiest to catch any lingering ships sneaking into the Grandline that way."
"That might be true," added Royce. "But I believe it's fair to assume that our organization would prefer to eliminate slavery wherever possible and by setting a principle for Tulvise, we may be able to rid slavery within the other blues, all within the accords."
"Bingo! We'll be heading out shortly," said Sewell. "Make sure to have everything you need, because our search for slaves may take us on quite a long journey."
April 1, XX99, 3:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Tulvise Beach
They had been sailing for several days, but now Tulvise was in reach. Just on the edge of the horizon, an island was coming into view.
"There it is!" yelled Amber. "We're here."
"Yes!" shouted Cain.
The redhead called for the sails to be dropped and the ship pulled even closer to its destination, but without warning, it rocked heavily to the side, throwing everyone to the rails.
"What the hell was that Amber?" yelled Auron.
Not use to Auron snapping like that, she yelled back. "I-It wasn't me. Something hit the ship."
There wasn't much time to react before the boat was rocked again.
"Everyone grab onto something!" yelled Amber. "I'm gonna try and pull away from it."
She jerked the boat left and right, trying to maneuver away from whatever was pursuing them from below.
It pulled away from them and then took off at them at full speed, this time its speed cut the water revealing what was attacking them.
"It's a Sea King!" cheered Cain.
"A Sea King?!" asked Zak.
"What's that doing here?" added Lullaby.
"And why do you sound happy?" Amber added as she tugged at the steering wheel.
"Auron, strike the water beside the ship!" yelled Cain as he jumped onto the railing.
"Draw Sword Style: Void Strike"
Auron fired off at the water, just as the fish closed in. The force split the water beside them for a moment, revealing the Sea King below. But that was enough. Before the group knew it, Cain had jumped in with his fist cocked back.
"Wako's Light Punch!"
The force of the punch shook the Sea King and seemed to frustrate it, sending it swimming off towards the island.
The group had managed to finally reach the shores of Tulvise. The island was lush with greenery, but despite that it was clear that it had developed areas and even from the ship, people could be seen. Once they laid eyes on the ship they took off into the bush.
"What's wrong with them?" asked Amber.
Cain at this point, was more hyperactive than ever. He was hopping up and down on the head of the ship, just waiting to be close enough to make it to the island.
"Can you relax?" asked Zak.
"We're finally here," said Cain. "Aren't you excited?"
"Have you forgotten why we're here Cain?" asked Amber.
"No. But look around, there's no Asuachi ships. On the way here, I was thinking the worst had happened and the Asuachi had taken all the people and left this place deserted, but there's no ships and we just saw people."
He wasn't wrong, there were definitely people on the island and there were no Asuachi ships present. That had to be a good sign.
It wasn't long after they set foot on the island that they found Asuachi flags and symbols broken and torched on the ground.
"What happened here?" Lullaby asked between sips.
"It seems like the Asuachi got attacked," said Auron.
"That seems correct, but by who?" asked Zak.
There wasn't much time to put thought into that pivotal question though, because before they knew it, they were surrounded by people brandishing a combination of spears and rifles. Neither Marine nor Asuachi. They seemed to be regular people.
April 1, XX99, 6:00 P.M, North Blue Seas, Tulvise Beach
It was clear that the people who had surrounded them earlier were slaves or at least former slaves. From the way they were still malnourished and dressed in rags, they had to be. Add in the Asuachi decals strewn about and damaged and it was clear, that somehow the slaves managed to overthrow the Asuachi here.
With all that considered, Jabari suggested they not resort to violence here and since then they had been brought to the center of Tulvise and placed in a cell.
"Great idea," cheered Lullaby. "Now we're imprisoned by the people we were supposed to be helping."
"What were we supposed to do? Beat up slaves?" asked Amber.
"Relax," said Cain. "If they're gonna imprison us, then it means that someone will come to speak with us soon."
"I don't like this at all," said Zak as he eyed the bars holding them. "We could just break out of here now."
"But then we run the risk of them attacking us and getting hurt," added Auron.
It didn't take long, but soon enough a young woman came before their cell. She was dressed in rags just like the rest of the slaves, but it did little to diminish her beauty. Her jet black hair hung down to her waist and despite the situation, it was clear from eyes that she meant them little harm.
"How did you manage to reach the island?" she demanded.
"On a boat," said Lullaby, making sure to shoot her a look of disgust before returning to her drink.
"Hey," began Amber. "We don't mean you any har-"
"I can't take any chances," she said. "We've only just managed to free ourselves from the Asuachi and you all are the first people to make it to the island in some time."
"What do you mean?" asked Auron. "Surely the Asuachi would have had people deployed to this island and what happened to your masters?"
Her warm brown eyes held a look of contempt in them, not for Auron, but for that word. "There are no more masters," she said coldly.
From their cell, the group could see some of the slaves outside watching the young woman speaking to them. They were waiting to hear whether or not they were a threat.
"So what? You're in charge now?" growled Zak. "How is that any different?"
"No one person is in charge anymore?" said the woman. "We all share our opinions on matters and work together to a solution. No one knows better than us that Tulvise can be self-sufficient and that's all we want."
"Earlier you said that we were the first to make it here in a long time. What did you mean?" asked Cain.
"I doubt you can see it because the waters around Tulvise go deep, but there's a graveyard of ships down there. All thanks to the guardian of this island."
"The Seaking?!" shouted the group.
"So you did meet it? Then I'm curious why it let you pass."
"Animals know better than humans when danger is approaching. It we were serious, we would have killed it and because we didn't, it let us pass," said Cain.
She was silent for a bit. It seemed like she was debating whether or not to trust them. "If the guardian trusts you, then I suppose I can as well." She let them free and gestured for them to follow her into the city.
"My name is Selise," she said. "I'm sorry for being so hostile to you all."
"How did you all get free?" asked Auron.
"A while back, the guardian washed up near our island. I was certain that it didn't belong here, but it had no way of getting back to its home. So I would sneak it food from our harvest. I can't say for certain, but eventually it grew attached to us and like you said, Animals sense danger better than we do. Over time, it grew to hate seeing ships coming to the island because it meant we were being sold or sometimes worse."
She had led them back to the shore by this point and after waiting a moment, the Seaking could be seen jumping in and out of the water.
"One day, he started attacking the ships coming here. Eventually, the Asuachi on the island were undermanned and starving. It cost a lot of us our lives, but we managed to fight for our freedom."
"That's amazing!" laughed Cain. "We were on our way to see what happened to you guys. The slave trade stopping here, really shook things up in the rest of North Blue."
"Here to help us?" asked Selise. "How were you going to do that?"
"We were gonna beat up the people holding you here and take you back to Camilla with us."
"It never occurred to any of us, that someone might come to help us. We always figured we'd have to make our own way. So what now?"
"What do you mean?" asked Auron.
"We don't need help," she said simply. "And I'm sure most of us would prefer to live here then start over again."
"Geez, I didn't even have to come," said Lullaby.
"Hehe. Sorry about that Lullaby. Well, I guess you can ask if any of the people here would like to go to Camilla and then we'll take anyone who wants to go."
There was a crackling sound in the distance though. Something which jarred them from the present conversation end drew their attention to sea. A ship in the distance, moving unnervingly fast. The guardian of the island had stopped jumping and was clearly heading straight for it.
"Actually, Selise. I think you may want us to stick around a bit longer. Something is coming straight for you."
Author's Note:
Thanks to everyone who's been supporting me. I'm doing a challenge with MyDearWatson. For everyone chapter she writes for her One Piece story called, Dawn of an Old Age, I'll respond with one.
Also, I know there wasn't much action in this chapter, but I'd love feedback on what you thought of whatever action there was. I really want to get into the habit of choreographing longer winded segments itself.
OCs: If I'm using anyone's OCs incorrectly, feel free to message me and we'll correct the issue. Thanks again for all of the submissions. Another note, as of right now submissions are closed unless you had previously mentioned getting a submission to me.
Review Responses:
1) Outcast001 - Pfft. A wako pun... Haha. Uncalled for. But yeah. He's a bit unhinged.
2) Elegant Soul - Thanks for the support
3) The Gator - Yup. There's a lot of people who don't much care for the group at this point. And I think some undercover work would be a good touch.
4) MyDearWatson - Pfft. Kisaro = Lazarus! Hahaha. Maybe. I can see it. Zak's a good voice of reason until a switch gets flipped for him and then... You never know. Lullaby fighting just seems to yell. "Do anything unconventional" She sounds like drunken master meets Captain Jack Sparrow to me.
Thanks again for the support.