AN: Here it is! The next chapter in the series! It is a little shorter than I expected it to be, but it's still very important. I hope you enjoy it cause I certainly love this chapter myself. ;)
Also, I did go back and fix all the height issues in the previous chapters to date. I might have missed one or two spots and if I did, I apologize. If you guys see one I missed, feel free to message me, leave a review, or what have you. I would appreciate the assist. :)
I figured the easiest thing for the moment was to create a height chart for the Chaos Pirate crew members so far. So here we go.
Halcen - 6', Grey - 9'8", Jory - 5'8", Kazuki - 5'11", Bosopp - 6'6", Jin - 5'6", Fein - 5'9", Shira - 3'2", Morkine - 6'9"
When It Comes Down To It
Halcen had begun making his way toward the docks where the Black Tail and his crew awaited. He more limped than walked. He was worn out and dead tired. His body ached from his unexpected fight with Captain Vergo. His Haki battle had been more draining than he hoped it would. He was in pain, but he wasn't seriously injured. He needed to take a quite respite, so he found a solid piece of ground and sat down for just a moment. He took out a piece of caramel filled chocolate and began sucking on it. The sugar kick was exactly what he needed at that moment.
Dawn had already made its approach as the night sky began to fade to pay homage to the rising sun. He knew they had spent too much time already in Loguetown, but he still needed his breather. Halcen began to lose hope of ever catching up to Shanks at this point. There's still so much to do.
He finally stood back up, feeling the ache in his legs as he did so. "Alright, here we go." He continued on toward the docks as quickly as he could.
The pirate Captain arrived at the checkpoint where he had posted Daddy Masterson to alert them of any oncoming enemies to the docks that would try to attack their ship and crew. He looked about to see nothing. He could not find trace of the retired Marine. He whistled, hoping to rouse the sleeping owl, but to no avail. He was not present. Something was wrong. He knew Fein, Shira, Kazuki, Bo, and his family had to have passed by already, but Masters still should have been waiting for Halcen. He used his poorly tuned Sensory Haki to try to feel things out. He was perturbed by what he found. There was danger.
He began running toward the docks. He pushed his already strained body to make it there with all haste. He wasn't too far from the docks, but it was still necessary to get there as quickly as possible. When he arrived he stood still to take a horrified look. There was a mass of Marines that had come after them. They flooded the area where the market met the docks.
They found us… Halcen didn't have time to wait around. There were no civilians in the area, which was odd because this was the time of day fishermen should have been out in mass. They must have evacuated due to the Marines. Halcen tried to count. There were about thirty of them. He knew he didn't have the strength or time to take them all on without serious injury. He needed a plan. They needed to move.
Halcen made out some of his crew out in the crowd, trying to fend off the Marines. Jory, Morkine, and Fein were mixed in in random spots. Grey was trying to hold the entrance to the docks alone. He was doing okay. But Halcen knew he needed to help.
Morkine noticed Halcen.
He twirled himself about to get unclenched from the horde of Marines that had befallen him. He kicked himself up into the air and began jumping from Marine head to Marine head. His body was so light that it came more as an annoyance to the offended soldiers than injury. One of them was swift enough to grab onto his thin leg and began to try to drag him down. Instead Morkine pulled out his blunderbuss and fired upon the man below him, filling the man with ash and steel. Morkine made one final leap to land right in front of Halcen. He took a moment to reload.
"Captain, it is good that you are here. We were overwhelmed by the Marines. They seem to have caught onto our location and come to take us in. Given all our activities across the island, I'm not surprised that they came to take our heads. Though, I am surprised that it took them this long to find us."
"Yeah, well I went through a lot of trouble to ensure that they didn't find us," Halcen responded. "That they showed up just as we were about to set sail is really fucking inconvenient."
"Agreed."
"Where are Shira, Kazuki, Bo, and his family?"
"They're about the ship. Bo and Kazuki are in sniper position in case anybody manages to get past Grey."
"That won't happen. What about Jin? Is everyone accounted for?"
"Yes. Everyone who is not in the field is aboard the ship."
"And Masterson? He was supposed to meet me."
"He waits for you on the ship as well. He came to warn us of the Marine's approach."
"Fucking great."
"So what's the plan?"
"We need to rally everyone together in a single unit and pull back to the ship, taking out as many of them as we can. I need you to advance alone to the ship to get it ready to depart."
"Yes, Captain." And as swiftly as he had come, Morkine was gone. He raced across the Marines' heads to where Grey was posted, leapt over tall old man, and ran along the docks to the Black Tail, to make ready.
"I like that guy," Halcen said to himself. Then Halcen sighed and returned his attention toward the horde of Marines. They were all distracted by his crew and his crew was likewise distracted. Jory and Fein were still out in the sticks being tormented. He had to get them free of their attackers. He pulled out his bag. "Thank you Jin," he said. He pulled out two more smoke grenades. "These really do come in handy." He then threw them into the crowd and waited a few seconds for the effects to kick in. There was a small pop and then two steady streams of smoke started to suffocate the Marine soldiers assaulting the pirates.
Halcen pulled out one of his daggers and jumped into the mess. He slashed a few Marines in random spots on his way to grab Jory, who was the furthest out. Halcen rushed through to catch them before the smoke dissipated.
"Jory," Halcen said, grabbing onto the young swordsman's coat. He was holding off a Marine swordsman and there were three other men waiting to take their turn at the young pirate.
"Halcen! Thank God you're here. The Marines just showed up and-"
"Yeah, yeah. Morkine told me. We gotta go."
Jory didn't ask questions. He dropped his guard, letting the Marine fall forward on his face, and then they both raced off through the crowd. The smoke kept them relatively invisible. They took a few extra seconds to slay a few unaware Marines on their way through. This needed to be quick and bloody.
Finally, Halcen and Jory came to Fein, who was about halfway toward Grey already. They had him surrounded but he kept tearing down soldiers like they were made of butter.
"Fein, let's go!" Halcen shouted.
"About time you showed up! I had to hold these guys off because you wanted to take your sweet ass time."
Halcen was already irritated. "I was trying to keep you guys from getting your ass whooped by the Marine Captain. He was no joke. He would have torn you apart."
"So you say." Fein slashed another oncoming Marine in the throat.
"Are you coming or not? We gotta go!"
"Ugh! Fine!" Fein backed out from his skirmish and joined Halcen and Jory. They pushed away from the Marines heading their way and through the smoke. They arrived at Grey with each one of them fully intact.
"Halcen!" Grey said with enthusiasm. "Glad you made it!"
"We don't have time for pleasantries, Grey," Halcen said, cutting to it.
Grey was taken aback, but he understood. They were being marauded and they needed to act quickly. "What's the plan?"
"We need to get back to the Black Tail with all haste. We need to get out of here before this squad turns into a full on army. Morkine already went ahead to get the ship ready to go. We gotta go now."
Halcen turned back to the crowd of Marines. They were still in a daze from the smoke grenades. The smoke was still thick and would last, but it was only a matter of minutes before it faded and the Marines figured what was going on.
They all turned and headed to the docks; Halcen, Grey, Jory, and Fein. They ran full throttle across the wood toward their goal. When they reached the ship, they jumped up and boarded quickly. "Morkine! We gotta go! Get us out of here!"
"Not so fast!"
Halcen looked back to see Masterson standing off to the side by the ship's mast.
"I thought I told you to keep post," Halcen spat.
"You said to keep watch until you guys got his family back. Bo's family is here now, safe and sound. You didn't say I had to wait for you to finish your vainglorious fight with Vergo."
"Vainglorious? I had to hold him off to make sure Bo's family made it here. What were you doing? Standing around with your dick in your hand!"
"I came to warn your crew that the Marines were on their way!"
"We ought to be thanking him," Grey said, gently.
"Alright, fuck it. Let's get ready to depart. We need to get out of here now!"
And then Masterson pulled a gun on Halcen. He took a pistol off his holster and aimed it at the pirate Captain, in the midst of all his crew. "No, I don't think so."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I'm preventing you from leaving! You've gotten away with enough shit while you had me under your strings, but now it's over. We're gonna talk."
Halcen was tired, but he had to prove a point. His body flashed black and he instantly coated in Armament Haki. "Do you really think a gun is gonna do much good against me? Ask Bo and Kazuki what happened when they used their rifles on me. It's pointless."
Masterson panicked. "Fine! It may not work on you, but…" then he hastily grabbed Jin from the crowd and held a gun to his head, "It'll definitely work on him. You don't know how to use Haki, do you boy?"
Jin shook his head slowly. He wasn't sure what to do. "Halcen…?" He was scared. He tried not to show it, but it was obvious.
Halcen sighed. "Alright, Masterson, what do you want?"
"I want to know where you have my daughter, goddammit! Where is she?!"
Halcen sighed in annoyance. "Seriously? You still haven't figured it out?"
"Figured what out? What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything," Halcen laughed.
"Well then one of your crew, or you paid someone!"
"Halcen, just tell them," Grey said.
"Tell us what?" Kazuki asked.
"Holy fuck! Fine! I don't have time for this! The Marines will be here any minute!" He walked toward Masterson.
Jin flinched.
"Your daughter was never kidnapped."
"But I heard her voice! You had her!"
"It was a voice-altering machine I made," Jin said weakly.
Halcen shrugged and pointed to Jin. "What he said."
"So… then… where is my daughter?"
"I don't fucking know! I've never laid eyes on her. I don't know what she even looks like. My best guess? The last place you left her."
"Didn't you say you had her staying with a friend across town?" Kazuki said.
"I… did..." Masterson said, rubbing his head. But he refused to let go of Jin.
"And you didn't go to double-check?"
"I… I was rushed. I didn't have time to think about it." Masterson looked to Halcen in anger and confusion. "He said that if I didn't come immediately, he would kill her."
"Actually, if you remember, I never actually said I was going to do anything to her. I just kept saying something bad would happen. When I said, 'You'd never see your daughter again,' I was threatening your life, not hers. I never actually threatened your daughter. I just manipulated you into thinking that I was. It's not my fault you weren't paying attention."
"But… that boy…"
"What boy?"
"There was a young Marine. He followed me to your ship the other day. I had to kill him to keep him quiet. He was gonna tell Vergo I was working with you."
"How is that my fault?" Halcen said, shrugging it off. "A former Marine kills another Marine? It doesn't matter to me."
"What the fuck, Halcen?" Bo asked in shock. "This whole time you were just screwing with us?"
"Well I had to have a believable crew. If you guys didn't know my plan, you couldn't blow it."
"That's despicable. You manipulated a good man into killing for you and you just shrug it off?"
"Excuse me?" Halcen laughed. "You're not actually going to try to defend this pathetic piece of shit are you? He abandoned his daughter to go on a drunken tired, because he was beaten in a fair fight by your brother. He had every opportunity to check to see if I was lying. Honestly, you would think he enjoyed it."
"You… bastard!" Masterson said through clinched teeth. "You wanna play word games over my daughter's life? That's how you like to get off? You play games? How's this then? If you don't remove yourself from this ship and turn yourself in, I'm going to kill your crewmate."
Jin shuddered. "Please don't."
Halcen just shook his head. "No, you're not."
"How would you know?"
"Because when it comes down to it, you don't have what it takes. If you kill him, you know that's it for you. I would kill you right here and now, and you know that I could. But if you leave peacefully, you get to go see your daughter."
Masterson's face twitched. He let go of Jin and he ran off to Halcen's protection. Masterson put his arms in the air, "Alright. I'll leave," he spat.
"Too late," Fein said. "They're here!"
Everybody turned their attention to the docks, where the army of Marines had finally made it past Halcen's diversion and surrounded their ship.
"Morkine!" Halcen shouted. "Get us out of here!"
Morkine shouted back "Yes, sir!" And he began to go about his way. Soon, their sail caught air and they moved slowly from their docked position.
Some of the oncoming Marines were able to jump aboard the ship before they managed to break free of the dock. There were about ten of them. One of them recognized Masterson.
"Former Ensign Masterson, what are you doing here in the midst of these traitors?" he said, looking to Bo and Kazuki.
Masterson stuttered. This was it. His biggest fear. The Marines were about to find out that he was working with the pirates. And even now he was going to have a harder time coming up with a legitimate excuse now that he had found out his daughter was never in danger.
Kazuki spoke up. "He came to try to stop us from leaving. The idiot thinks he can actually get us through to us because he trained us." Then he looked Masterson dead in the eyes. "Well sorry to burst your bubble, teach, but there's no way we're coming back with you. You came here for nothing. Now get off our ship before we start firing." He pulled out a pistol and held it up at the Marines.
They halted their advance. That was all the time they needed for Grey and Halcen to jump them. Halcen took the four on the left and Grey took the six on the right. They took only a few moments of struggle to toss the uniformed men into the water.
Halcen turned to Masterson and said "You heard Kazuki. Get the fuck off my ship."
Masterson was astounded. He looked to Kazuki and nodded, then ran off the side and jumped into the water, pretending he had been violently thrown like the others.
"Fuck, they're getting away."
Masterson shouted "Damn you Kazuki! Damn you Bosopp!" Regret filled his heart but he knew it was the only choice. Play the game or be found out.
And then Halcen looked back to Loguetown as they finally sailed away. "Fucking hell. This place really did take a toll. We only came to drop off a couple Marines and get some quick info. We were here for like four days. Jesus. We need to get after Shanks immediately." Then he turned to the bow of the ship and looked upon the horizon. "What the hell?"
And there from ahead of them was a massive Marine ship, about the size of the Moby Dick, heading straight toward Loguetown, straight toward them.
"We've got trouble," Grey said.