Prologue : Advocates
Three men were seen in a bar.
They were not at all similar to each other, two being taller than their companion, a blonde haired grump with a constant glare in his green eyes. He was nursing a mug of ale as he pondered, eyebrows furrowing towards no one in particular.
The other one in the group seemed to be the complete opposite- Green eyes aside, his brown hair appeared to be glowing under the harsh light of the bar. He himself was drinking a bottle of beer, smiling despite not liking the drink he had ordered. The bar has limited options; He could understand that. Between two drinks, he'd rather choose one that wasn't the same as his anyway. He nodded off handedly to the person on his right who was quite literally talking his ears off, gulping down his beverage everytime he felt sleep crawling over him.
"-o I was thinking that maybe, I could just jump right in rather than wait." The last of the three was tall compared to them despite his youthful exuberance. He wasn't at all young though, all of them were old in their own way. His light blonde hair did nothing to lessen his intimidating stature, and the axe strapped to his back only served to heighten the effect. A mug of beer was placed on the counter in front of him, untouched.
The dusty pub came to life when the entrance doors swung open to give path to a motley crew. Their objective was the same though, as any pirate entering a bar. A hush fell over several tables as they sauntered in, their rambunctious attitude following them in volume. The captain, or what seemed to be the captain, stepped up to the bartender and slammed his fist onto the counter separating them. He had a menacing grin on his face and the bartender squeaked in fright.
"Give us the strongest one you've got," he said without any sort of introduction. "Me and the boys got bounties now, y'see, so it's some kind of a congratulations thing. Better hop to it- We're not exactly... patient." The deviant said it with his hand on his gun, clicking off the safety to make it all the more threatening. The bartender gulped, paling significantly but he managed to plaster a wide smile on his lips.
"R-right away, sir!" The man spluttered. He abandoned everything he was doing before and disappeared to the back of the pub.
Satisfied, the captain shifted his attention to the short blonde man sitting at the bar near him. He didn't react at all to the pirates' entrance- Something the captain deemed unacceptable. He wasted no time addressing the man then, a growl in his voice. "You there, with huge eyebrows."
No response. The blonde sat vigil in his seat, continuing to drink his ale without so much as a flinch. The customers in the pub held their breath as they looked on, silently preparing themselves for the oncoming brawl. They were regular witnesses to these kind of bar fights- It was common for the citizens of this town. The two at the blonde's side stopped their inane conversation and spared the pirate a glance.
"Did you not hear me? Hey," the captain closed their distance and brandished his weapon to the man's head. The onlookers around them stared unabashedly when the victim didn't react at all, simply sipping his drink as if he wasn't held at gunpoint. "I'm talking to you, bastard!"
Slowly, the man put down his mug and fixed a glare at the captain. His eyes were a piercing forest green, looking at the captain as if he were a specimen. The pirate felt inferior under his gaze but his gun did not waver. It was reached out by the man however, and before he knew it, his gun was under the hold of the blonde, who was then fully turned towards him. His posture was relaxed. The blonde frowned.
"This is rude," he simply stated, garnering a snort from his two companions. The captain felt his anger rise, and he attempted to pull the gun out of the man's grip. It didn't budge.
"The hell?! Don't you know who I am? I'm the great captain Duran of the Duran Pirates! I'm worth 11 Million Beli, you insolent brat!"
That earned him a twitch from the blonde and the captain relished on it instantly. "What's the matter?" He questioned with confidence, a smirk on his face as if he didn't feel the grip on his gun tightening. "Cat got your tongue, boy? Can't even talk now, can ya-?!"
He was pulled down to the other's height. His sense of inferiority intensified as he met the blonde's eyes, an apathetic mercy under the light.
"11 Million?" The man said in mocked wonder before he glared. "I don't bother myself to check bounties of mere cannon fodder."
The captain held his breath, as if breathing would disrupt the moment and doom him of any chance in living. His cowardice did not rob him of his ability to speak, sadly, and he replied. "C-cannon fodder?! I'll have you dead, you son of a-"
"Cap- Captain! Bad news!"
"HAH?!" The captain turned to his subordinate with a glower, his anger reaching a sense of panic. "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY HERE?!"
"Th- That man, he's a marine! A high ranking one! He's-!"
A shot of a bullet to the pirate's feet made him shriek, and the captain looked back to see his gun twisted to point at his crew. He gulped, slowly looking back towards the now affirmed marine.
"Good god, if you're that desperate to get arrested, you could've just said so." The blonde scowled.
Before he knew it, the captain found himself subdued- both arms held to his back and his own gun to his head. He groaned in pain, his face pressed to the floor. He cursed his crew when he heard screaming, followed by the shut of the doors- Cowards, the lot of them! The marine who had him subdued shared his sentiments then, by snorting haughtily.
"Even your shipmates abandoned you, like the pathetic lot they are. Though I guess it was expected, seeing as his captain's an arrogant prick." The gun was pressed deep into his head, and the captain froze only to flap his mouth.
"I-I-I-I- I was lying! I'm not worth anything- I've no bounty! E-e- 11 Million? There's no way I'm worth th-that much, so please-"
The safety clicked off. The pirate paled. The silence was more prominent in that moment, and the captain just knew that the room was empty except them.
"Let you go? You've caught me in a bad mood so, I don't think I want to. Antonio," the marine addressed his companion.
"Hm?"
"What do you reckon we should do with this bloke?"
"You're the marine, Inglaterra. Arrest him, I guess?"
The marine scoffed and stared down at the captain, who by now felt like he just soiled himself. "Sounds like the lawful thing to do. You know I'm a pirate at heart, Antonio, thats just too far off than what I like to do best."
Antonio shrugged, uncaring. "Kill him then."
"Better," England sighed, his finger already on the trigger. He dragged this farce for too long already. He leaned in close to the captain's ear then, a sneer on his lips. "Listen here, you don't get to call me a brat.
I'm centuries older than you, boy."
The bartender cautiously peered from behind the back door, searching for anyone who stayed after an hour since the first sound of gunshot. He calmed his heart down when he saw no one, and this prompted him to open the door fully. He walked to his rightful place behind the bar and hesitantly took the money on the bar, eyes still wandering around. Two mugs were empty on the counter, one untouched and full of beer.
Pocketing the money into his apron, he stepped out from behind the bar and ruefully readied himself to clean up any mess the scuffle left behind. He sighed, but then his breath hitched when his saw a figure on the floor of his pub, prone and unmoving. His heartbeat calmed.
The bartender rushed to find his den den mushi. Reporting this was also a regular thing after all. As he rushed back to the back of the pub, wanted posters fluttered lightly in its position on the wall. Only two posters were noteworthy though, as they were of two individuals- Two pirate rookies who have recently went seaward.
Antonio and Mathias were their names, both of them of different crews. Antonio was a man with brilliant green eyes, with brown hair that appeared to be glowing under the harsh light of the place the picture was taken. He wasn't smiling at the picture, but to anyone who was there when he declared himself a pirate knew that he enjoyed the rush of fighting.
A battle axe was swung in the photo, mirroring Mathias' picture. He evoked more emotion in his however, as he seemed to be laughing when the picture was taken. His eyes were alight with joy, betraying any kind of malice the label 'pirate' promised him. Despite his youthful exuberance, the axe he held did nothing to lessen the sheer madness the picture portrayed.
A newspaper was placed on the counter near the wanted posters pinned on the wall, it's front headlines flashy and unavoidable to read. ALABASTA IN PERIL? DANCE POWDER FOUND, it read, but what was important was the small article at the corner of the page-
The one that clearly stated the capture of both Antonio and Mathias by the ever elusive Captain Arthur Kirkland.
A/N: I need some ideas to continue this so it would really help me a lot if someone can help me with that. Main objective is the usual thing though- Getting them back to their world.
Anywaysies, this was just a small idea of mine and I have nothing to go on from here. Thoughts? Questions? Hit me up.