"Looks like we're finally making progress." Wren said as the island of Jaya came into view.
It's been a while since Wren has been to Jaya. The last time she was here she had just been entering her teenage years.
-FLASHBACK-
Wren walked calmly through the streets of Mock Town as pirates and criminals alike bustled about causing no good as usual. She was to meet a client here to collect the money they owe to the Donquixote Family. She had Gladius with her this time around, and he walked slightly behind her like a bodyguard.
"This place hasn't changed at all." Wren commented looking bored as someone screamed out for help before gunshots followed.
She then had to step back as a person was thrown in her path and stumbled to the ground with a large gash in his stomach.
"Still barbaric as ever." She said while calmly stepping over the dying man as if he wasn't there.
She even ignored him when he had begged for her help. He was the one who decided to come to this town. If you couldn't survive here, you shouldn't dock your ship here in her opinion.
"I think there is a good reason why our client called us here." Gladius said already starting to sound worked up.
"Most definitely." Wren said. "He called us here because he probably knows he can easily pay the men here to try and kill us to get out of his debt. Funny how he can afford to pay people to kill us, but not pay off his debt."
Gladius huffed in reply while already ready to start blowing things up and teaching their client a lesson he'll never forget. If he so much as looks at them wrong, Gladius will use his Devil Fruit abilities on that funny hat the guy seems to like wearing to make his head go splat. Wren then stopped outside the establishment known as the Wild Cherry since this is where they were meant to meet the client.
She just stood there for a second while already feeling the presences of many, many others inside. She wasn't too worried though as she opened up the door. As soon as she poked her head in, a gun was fired with the bullet grazing across Wren's cheek it draw blood. Wren sighed looking more annoyed than scared.
"I suppose this means you've decided not to pay." Wren said as her hand touched the hilt of her sword. "Very well. I was looking for something more exciting to do anyway."
-END OF FLASHBACK-
That day half of Mock Town had been destroyed and left to burn to the ground because of one stupid man's decision. It had also made sure everyone in the town knew not to fuck with the Donquixote Pirates—especially the executives.
"Let's just hope things don't end as they had last time." Wren said to herself.
She then looked down from the crow's nest as Usopp, Chopper and Luffy were getting excited over the town's lush appearance. They'll change their opinions once they realize what this town is really like. Well, Luffy might still be excited, but the others not so much.
"Let's hurry up and dock!" Luffy said patting Merry's head.
He was ready to look around, and see what exciting things this town had to offer.
"It does looking promising." Nami said. "Maybe we can even stay here a while."
"I wouldn't suggest that." Theodosia said as she sat on the railing with Samba on top her head.
The crew looked back at the gypsy as she was looking at the town with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Why not, Theo?" Nami asked. "It's been a while since we've got to relax."
"I know, but you don't want to be relaxing in this town." Theodosia said. "Besides, don't we need to try and leave as soon as possible, so the log pose doesn't change?"
Nami frowned because that was true, but she still didn't understand what was so bad about this town. She then looked to Wren who had jumped down from the crow's nest while seeming to forget she promised Nami to never do that again. Nami frowned silently though said nothing since the older woman knew what her own limitations were.
"It's dangerous here." Wren said as she walked up the steps to meet the others. "Yes, it's a resort like town, but it's full of criminals and pirates. Do you see all those pirate ships just so casually docked and without a marine in sight?"
She pointed to all the ships with intimidating figure heads and flying Jolly Rodgers. They were all docked in the town's actual docks, which was unusual since pirates usually had to dock away from the town or be run out of it. Or have the chance of the marines catching them.
"Yeah," Usopp said. "I had thought that was strange. Are you saying pirates are welcomed here?"
"I am saying that there's no real law here, so pirates take advantage of it and run amuck." Wren said. "People die here, and just get tossed in a ditch to rot with no one even caring who they were or if they had any family waiting for them at home."
As if to prove her point, someone called out for help since someone was trying to kill them. However, after a screech of pain, it all went silent, which had Nami, Usopp, and Chopper freaking out.
"What the heck is going on with this crazy town?!" The three of them demanded.
They haven't even docked, and they were ready to leave as soon as possible. Nami might even forget about having to collect the important information she needed. The ship finally made it to the dock with Wren looking out. There were a lot of people out there, and many of them had pretty loud voices. That means they were dangerous, but none of them seemed to be too dangerous for their crew.
"Yeah, time to go ashore!" Luffy said while jumping past Wren to land on the dock below.
Zoro was right behind him with a big grin on his face while looking forward to look around. Maybe he could find a bar with a lot of booze and get into a few good fights. Luffy wanted to do the same most likely, but with meat rather than booze.
"Now this looks like my kind of town." Luffy said as he and Zoro walked forward.
"We'll have no problem fitting in here." Zoro added.
Wren shook her head knowing those boys would find more trouble than information.
"There's no way." Nami said. "Do you think those two can last an hour and not get into any trouble?"
Wren looked down at the redhead as she, Usopp, and Chopper were crouched around her feet watching the boys go through the safety of the railing.
"Well, by the looks of this place, I'd say fifteen minutes is a generous assumption." Usopp said.
"I'd have to agree with you, Usopp-san." Wren said smiling in slight amusement. "Fifteen minutes really is a generous assumption, so I give them three."
She held up three fingers with Nami frowning as she really wondered if the boys wouldn't be able to control themselves. She wanted to go after them, but at the same time it sounded scary.
"Theodosia." Wren called out to the gypsy.
She appeared at Wren's side in an instant while ready to hear her orders from her mistress.
"Please, go along with Luffy-sama and Zoro-san." Wren said. "Make sure they stay on task and don't cause too much trouble."
"Yes, Wren-sama." Theodosia said nodding.
She then jumped over the railing to land on the dock with her swords at her hips and Samba on her shoulder.
"Zoro, Luffy, please wait!" She called after them.
The two paused while turning to wait for Theodosia to catch up to them. Once the three were together, they continued on into town.
"Ya know, I'm kind of surprised you're not going, Wren." Nami said as she stood up. "You are the queen of information gathering."
"Hmm, thank-you for the compliment." Wren said chuckling. "However, as the queen of information, I know better to go into a town I'd be instantly recognized in because it makes it hard to collect information unnoticed when everyone notices you."
The cowardly trio blinked and tilted their heads curiously as they looked towards Wren. Her smile turned slightly impish as she looked to her crewmates.
"Let's just say that when I was in Mock Town last, half of the town was burning and falling apart." Wren said. "I'm not exactly welcomed here."
Her crewmates' mouths dropped open in shock while forgetting for a second just how dangerous Wren was before she so kindly reminded them. They all crawled back away from her while murmuring "Wren is scary" repeatedly causing her to chuckle.
"Well, that's alright, my dear!" Sanji said as he joined them. "We can enjoy time together after I whip up some tea along with something sweet for you."
"Yes, that does sound lovely." Wren said as she was walking past Sanji. "Thank-you, Sanji-san. Just allow me to freshen up."
She pat his chest as she was saying this in passing, and Sanji nearly turned into goo right then. Wren continued on while going down into the women's quarters where Robin was preparing for departure.
"I see you are going to try and find yourself some clothes." Wren said as Robin was packing some of that money and treasure to take with her. "May I suggest a little clothing store near the far eastside of town?"
Robin looked at Wren curiously while knowing there was a reason the younger woman was suggesting this clothing store.
"It is own by a woman named Ruby." Wren said. "Just tell her that Saturn Wren sent you, and she will let you ask for anything you want. And I do mean anything."
Robin smirked while understanding where Wren was getting. Apparently this Ruby has given Wren viable information before, and Wren is wanting Robin to go there to see what she could pick up if their other party happens to fail. Robin didn't mind especially since buying clothing was also an option. It'd be killing two birds with one stone.
"I see." Robin said. "Thank-you for telling me. I will be sure to check the place out."
Wren nodded then wished Robin safe travels through the town before leaving the older woman alone. As Wren started walking up the steps to get above, she hoped the boys didn't cause too much trouble for Theodosia as she watched over them.
With Luffy and the others, the three pirates walked through Mock Town as the people continued on with their normal day. And a normal day for Mock Town was people openly committing crimes in the streets, which seemed to have Zoro and Luffy excited.
"I got my tough face on!" Luffy said. "So if anybody—!"
"No, Luffy!" Theodosia said lightly pulling on his ear. "We can't start a ruckus."
Samba nodded her head and chittered in agreement causing Luffy to whine a bit. He just wanted to fight a little bit. That wouldn't be too big of a deal, right?
"Promise you won't start fighting, please." Theodosia added.
"Alright, fine, I promise." Luffy said pouting.
Maybe later once they get all the information they needed, Theodosia will let them have a bit of fun.
"You too, Zoro." Theodosia said pointing at him.
"Whatever." The swordsman replied not even looking at her.
Theodosia felt like crying while certain these two would forget all about their promise, and start a fight any second. Then Wren would be upset they couldn't even do one little simple task. It was like Theodosia was assigned to work with newbies who didn't understand failing Wren was a one way ticket to meeting her wrath-and at that point Hell would be more pleasant. Besides, Wren was really scary when she was really mad. She's never harmed any of her informants, but she didn't have to. And her wrath has never been turned towards Theodosia, but she's seen how scary Wren could be against her little flunkies. Just witnessing it was enough to give someone nightmares.
"Listen, just please hold off on the fighting until after we get the information we need." Theodosia asked. "It's kind of hard to get information while you're fighting people we could ask for information. Once we're done and finish reporting to Wren-sama, we'll have time to fight later as she takes the information and forms a plan with it. Then everyone is happy, understand?"
The two boys gave less than encouraging replies again, which had Theodosia hanging her head. She probably should have went off on her own. Too late now though. The group then stopped when a man suddenly fell off his horse into their path. Theodosia frowned getting a bad feeling from this guy even if he looked so sickly that he could die in any second. Still she felt on guard as her hand moved to rest on the hilt of one of her swords. Zoro noticed the movement with his brow quirking. Did she see some kind of danger in this man that he and Luffy didn't?
"Looks like he fell off his horse." Luffy said.
Yeah, his horse that looked taller than the building they were standing next to. Or perhaps Theodosia was mistaken. Either way it was much bigger than a regular horse.
"That's gotta hurt." Zoro added.
He didn't move to help the man though since he didn't care, and because Theodosia's wariness had him a bit on guard as well. The man coughed while looking up at the three.
"Looks like he's in pain too." Luffy said.
"No doubt." Zoro said as the two still didn't move.
If it was some other poor man, Theodosia probably would have chided the two for being so unsympathetic and letting him lie there. But this man was dangerous. She could feel that to her very core.
"Hey, sorry to bother you," The old man began. "But will you help me up?"
"What are you not in the mood to help yourself?" Zoro asked.
He glanced at Theodosia again who narrowed her eyes as her hand gripped the handle of her hook sword even tighter. This man had her on edge. That meant he had to be dangerous. But he was kind of in their way. He sighed guessing that putting him on his horse wasn't going to hurt anything.
"Luffy, give me a hand." Zoro said.
"Sure." Luffy said.
Zoro glanced back at Theodosia with their eyes meeting. A silent message passed between them, and Theodosia nodded. If the man made one wrong move, she'd have him ended before he could hurt any of them. The two men grabbed the fallen old man then unceremoniously threw him back into his horse.
"Oh, look at that, I'm on my horse again." He said. "I was a sickly child growing up, and never got better. Now let's get out of here, Stronger."
The horse didn't look like it was going anywhere since its front legs buckled causing it to fall to the ground along with its head, which it couldn't keep up.
"The horse too?" The boys asked in unison.
Zoro was starting to think this man wasn't a threat at all, but when he glanced back at Theodosia, she was still on edge. What could she tell about this man that he couldn't? Had it something to do with her haki? The horse finally managed to get up right again though looked as if it might keel over at a moment notice's too.
"Thanks again, pal." The old man said. "You know, I don't have enough money for a reward these days, but care for an apple?"
"Do you take us for idiots?" Zoro asked. "We'd never trust food from someone like you."
Zoro seemed to be mistaken though since Luffy happily reached for an apple. However, the second he touched it Theodosia had her hook sword out to hit the apple out of Luffy's hand as Samba jumped off her shoulder onto Zoro's to get out of the way. Luffy whined in complaint as Theodosia caught the apple in the curve of her sword then tossed it as far as she could away.
"Theo, what's the big idea?!" Luffy answered as she then turned her sword on the man.
To answer his question an explosion went off in the direction that the apple had landed. People gasped in shock, and Zoro's eyes widened as he now realized why the man was dangerous. Zoro then turned to glare at the old man as he grabbed the hilt of his Wado Ichimonji.
"You bastard." Zoro growled as Samba held onto his head thinking things might get rough.
The old man just chuckled as the two young pirates glared at him as Luffy was just blinking in the background.
"How lucky to have a friend who could sense my intentions." The old man said. "Very lucky."
He then had his horse hobble away out of sight, and Theodosia didn't stop him. She placed her sword back where it belonged while getting out of her stance.
"We're just going to let him go?" Zoro asked.
"There's no point in going after him." Theodosia said. "As long as he didn't a problem for us, let him be someone else's problem."
Samba then jumped back onto her shoulder, which had her smiling at the monkey and petting her head. She then started walking again with the boys following after her. She had to hurry up and get somewhere with a lot of people more interested in chatting than brawling, which was hard to find in Mock Town. Here everyone wanted to fight. However, a place that could always bring some kind of information is a bar or restaurant and there were plenty of those here. Just which one to choose from?
Wren usually did her business at the Wild Cherry. The owner there always welcomed her no matter how many things were broken during her many transactions there. Of course, Wren tried to take most of the more violent business outside the pub for the owner's sake since he was so kind to let her do business in his establishment. Didn't stop the pub from taking a few beatings though. However, Theodosia was sure the owner didn't feel any ill will towards Wren now. She was sure she could mention her, and he help out in any way that he can. Because he didn't help Wren out just because she was part of Doflamingo's crew back then, so her not being a part of it now shouldn't make a difference.
Theodosia came out of her thoughts as a beaten up body fell in her path as some man was laughing loudly on top of a roof. Her brow quirked at him as she took in his large form and wrestling mask. He didn't seem familiar, so she would guess he wasn't exactly anyone famous. Though can she really be expected to remember all the "big shots" of Mock Town? She decided to keep walking with her two crewmates following along as well.
"Oh, great," A bystander, who also saw the man, said to his companion. "Look who's back."
Well, apparently he was known around here, but he obviously wasn't a crowd favorite.
"How many victims has he racked up now?" His friend asked.
His friend shrugged looking more annoyed than worried at the presence of the man.
"It's not like he's a famous fugitive or anything." The first man said. "Who do you think he is?"
They don't know his name then? Must be some kind of newcomer, but if he continues to cause so much trouble, Theodosia was sure they'd learn his name eventually. She was a bit curious, but her task was to learn about Sky Island not the troublemakers of Mock Town.
"I don't care, and to be honest I don't wanna know." The second man said. "If that meathead wants to be the fighting champion then go ahead and let him."
The second those words left the man's mouth, Luffy and Zoro turned around looking angry and raring to go. Theodosia gave a huff and a pout wondering why the man had to say something like that while they were walking by. Now those two were distracted again.
"Fighting champion?" The asked in unison.
"No, no!" Theodosia said reaching back to grab their arms. "We don't have time to be picking fights with nobodies. Besides, this guy is obviously a self-proclaimed fighting champion, which means defeating him would mean nothing! Do you really want to be known as men who fought for nothing?"
The two frowned and grumbled though let Theodosia pull them away as Samba shook her head as if in disappointment at the two. Theodosia then sighed as she wished Wren was here. She'd know how to get these two to stay focused. The group walked around for a bit longer until they came to the more resort side of town. Theodosia stopped outside the Tropical Resort while narrowing her eyes. She wasn't sure about stepping inside this place, but maybe they'd actually find people who'd sit down and speak with them.
"What about this place?" Zoro asked as they stepped in.
"It might be promising." Theodosia said when a flag hanging on one of the buildings caught her eye.
Zoro looked down at the gypsy girl when she stiffened with her eyes widening. Zoro frowned in confusion before looking at the mark. It appeared to be a Jolly Rodger of some sort. The circular Jolly Rodger was smiling, but across it was a cancelation mark. It wasn't one Zoro's never seen before, but it seemed to mean something to Theodosia. Before he could ask her what was wrong, a voice called out to them.
"Excuse me! Excuse me!"
The group turned seeing a man tiptoeing around the place while ducking behind things as he made his way towards them.
"I'm going to have to ask you all to leave, please." He said as the boys moved to meet them halfway.
Theodosia remained in place while glancing around as if she was expecting an enemy attack at any moment. Samba, who sensed her unease, looked around as well in case Theodosia missed anything.
"You see the entire motel has been rented out by Bellamy-san and his guests, and he's asked that we tell other guests like yourselves to go somewhere else!" The man explained while making ducking motions as if trying to hide. "So you must understand that I have no say in the matter."
The man then gasped when Theodosia marched right over to grab the front of his shirt to jerk him close. She stared at him with hard golden eyes that caused the man to shake in fear. Luffy and Zoro watched on wondering what had suddenly gotten into her.
"Did you just say Bellamy?" Theodosia asked. "As in the Hyena?"
"Y-yes!" The man stuttered. "So please, leave!"
Theodosia let him go as she stared down at the ground. She had thought a main branch of the Doflamingo Pirates was here, but no. It was just Bellamy and his crew. However, this did pose as a threat because if Bellamy was around, and spotted Wren he could tell Doflamingo where to come and find her. Besides, Wren wasn't a big fan of Bellamy, and Bellamy was always itching for an excuse to get her back for the beat down she had given him when he had first came to join Doflamingo and his crew.
"We need to leave." Theodosia said. "Now."
She started leaving at a brisk pace with the two quickly moving to follow before they could be left behind. As they were leaving, they passed some silvery-blue-haired man and his girl.
"But, Theo, we didn't even try to get any information." Luffy said. "Won't Wren be mad?"
Theodosia hushed him quickly causing him to blink in confusion not knowing what he did wrong. They just kept on going while not noticing the man had stopped to watch them.
"Wren?" He asked. "Could they be talking about who I think?"