Shivered Timbers
by Kaline Reine

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters/settings. This is just a fanfiction story. I do own Shiori, she is my character. I also own a few other original characters in this story (not affiliated with One Piece), which will be introduced as they are needed.

WARNINGS: This story contains (or may contain) graphic adult content and language, explicit sex scenes, possible violence, gore, cursing, adult themes, etc. I do not censor my writing, but I do my best to warn people about the subject matter and potential subject matter. So if you don't like that kind of thing or can't handle it, then I suggest not reading this story. You have been warned. Also, I know this doesn't follow canon but it doesn't have to, that's why it's a fanfic. xD

EXTRA WARNING in this chapter for mild animal abuse as well! I'm sorry but it's part of the plot. I in no way condone animal abuse of any kind. Please try to remember this is purely fictional. Again, I'm sorry... I don't want to spoil anything for you, but if it upsets you too much, just hang on until the next chapter. ;)

Also... The beautiful cover image for this story is by my friend, EzariaUmiko on DeviantArt. All credit for the image goes to her. c:

Chapter 45: Deep Cerulean Oblivion

It was during the wee hours of the morning when Shiori first stirred from her sleep. It was still pitch black and the comforting light from the lanterns hanging on the walls had long since faded, having snuffed themselves out.

Someone had slipped into the room. Apparently, they hadn't counted on her being there too. All she heard was a feminine chuckle through the haze of her dreams, faint and distant, then something felt different. She was somehow alone... Unable to wake up, she continued to drift in a fitful slumber. Feeling beside her on the bed, Shiori rolled over a bit later to find the other half of it was cold and empty. Thinking perhaps he'd gone to relieve himself or something, she tried to stave off the impending sense of dread that began to hang over her. Something was off.

"Ace-kun? Are you here?"

There was no response.

'Where did he go?' She wondered, getting to her feet and searching along the wall panels for a light switch. When she found none, she reached for an oil lamp that she knew he kept near his bed on a small shelf. 'Vanora-chan? Are you awake?'

'I am...' Although her voice was strained, she was there.

'Did you see what-'

'Yes,' She answered, before Shiori could even get the question fully formed in her mind. 'Someone took him. A she-devil.'

"What?!" She asked out loud.

The kitten seemed to cock her head to one side. 'I do not have any understands...'

It was the first time she had truly noticed it, but Vanora seemed to 'speak' with a strange foreign accent. It sounded so natural and cat-like that she hadn't picked up on it that much. It struck her as being so commonplace that it failed to stand out at all. But such was the subtlety of felines. Her frazzled mind didn't have much time to think about such things or fully process her latest discovery though. She was too worried about the Captain.

'Someone took Ace?! Right from his own bed? That can't happen, it just c-can't! I mean... Just... What?!'

'I've told you everything I know. I saw her come in... She was sneaky. I tried to stop her but got kicked to the side. Then, next thing you know, bam! And he's gone.' The small kitten trembled a bit as she spoke. What had gotten her so shaken up?

'Okay, I'm just...' Shiori paced the room frantically. This couldn't be real. 'Damn! Where did they go? Which way?!'

'Out the door. That is all I saw. I wanted to go after her, but I am small...'

'Thanks, kitty! I owe you one.' She projected her thoughts to her little comrade deliberately. 'I'll be back as soon as I can. Please stay here and let me know if he comes back?'

Vanora nodded, letting out a light mewl as she leapt onto her shoulders. 'I'd love to, but I'm coming with you! Ah, umm...' She stared down the girl for a moment. 'Might you not wish to get dressed first?'

Oh, crud... She was still wearing Ace's shirt, the yellow fabric showing her skin in patches from where it hadn't been buttoned properly. Shiori's face turned a frightening shade of red as she recalled the previous night's events... Her time with Ace had been amazing. She wanted nothing more than to tell him how she felt, but she would have to find him first. To do that, she would first need to change back into her own clothes.

She rushed outside, looking around frantically. No one was around, but she noticed that her clothes had already been washed. If she wasn't mistaken, it was Hiretu's turn to have night watch, so he was most likely the one who had done it. Even if he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, he was loyal and dependable, not to mention hard-working. She found her favorite sweater and several of her dresses and stockings all neatly folded in a little pile on top of a barrel of ale just outside their Captain's door. Sheepishly, she grabbed all of it in her arms and scurried back inside.

In a flurry of pale yellow cotton, she had undressed in a flash. Her black dress was first, followed immediately by her teal green stockings. They were quite worn and full of holes, but it didn't matter. It suited her style anyway.

'Why would he just leave in the middle of the night, and right after we had just shared something so special?' Her thoughts ran away with her while she was getting dressed.

'He didn't leave on purpose,' The cream colored kitten gently reminded her, maneuvering her way over and around the fabric as Shiori put on her favorite sweater. 'He did not want to go. I can assure you of that. He was taken away somewhere.'

"I see..." She muttered aloud, as she laced up her boots quickly, pausing only to pick up her legendary sword on the way.

Moments later, the two were outside on the front deck. She had no idea how to get anyone's attention, so Shiori did the only thing she could... She started screaming.

"EVERYONE!" Heads turned. Eyes opened. Bedsheets fluttered. Boots thumped. People were waking up. "Wake up! We need help! HELP ME PLEASE!"

"What in all of the seven hells is going on? What the fuck, Shiori-chan?!" Artemis was the first to complain about being woken up, albeit indirectly...

"What's with all this noise first thing in the morning?" Rex had also emerged, along with others from the mens' quarters filing out right behind him.

"Explain your damned self! It's too early for this shit!" The shark girl glared at her openly, one hand on her hip. How dare someone interrupt her beauty sleep!

"L-listen, it's not my- It's an emergency!" She was starting to hyperventilate. They weren't letting her talk.

Artemis was the first to realize how unlike Shiori it was to do something like this, now that she'd had a minute to wake up more. The shark girl comforted her with a small pat on the back. "Okay, calm down and just tell us what happened..."

"Ace-kun is missing! Someone kidnapped him!"

"In the middle of the fucking night?!" Artemis shrieked.

"While we were sleeping? Is this a joke?" Mitch side-eyed her warily. "Who's going to be strong enough to take him anywhere against his will? Do you even realize what you're saying?"

"I know it s-sounds crazy, but it's true! Look, I j-just..." Her strangely colored eyes were watering now, the tears just waiting to fall... "I thought you'd want to know. Believe whatever you want, but I h-have to go after him! I'm leaving now!"

"Just a damn minute," Artemis was the only one getting ready to go. She'd hastily put on a pair of boots without changing out of her shorts or the tank top she'd been sleeping in. Uncaring, she'd already made up her mind. "You can't go alone! I'll come with you."

"Me too!" Rex tightened his bandana, already mostly prepared.

Haji yanked a bejeweled dagger from it's sheath and hobbled across the deck, in spite of his injured ankle. "Aye! Count me in!"

Mitch sighed in annoyance and began barking orders at different people. "Fine... Wake the rest of the crew, we'll be needing all of them for this. And make sure things are secure while we're gone! Hiretu-san and Silas-san can stay behind to keep an eye on the ship. That little girl we found will have to stay here too. We don't know what we might run into out there. Everyone else should come with us. If they're strong enough to take the Captain with them, who knows what we might be up against."

"There's no t-time! I have to go!" Shiori was calling over one shoulder in a panic while she ran off. She'd already jumped over the side of the ship onto the island. "Vanora-chan... Can you pick up his scent anywhere?"

She didn't even care that she was asking her out loud where everyone else could hear. The only thing that mattered in the present moment was tracking him down, before it was too late! They were almost out of earshot of the others by now. She knew they should be able to follow her tracks, since it was no longer snowing but there was still some unmelted snow on the ground.

'Hmm... That way!' The little cat pointed toward the far side of the island with one paw. 'It smells like they went along the shoreline.'

'Toward the Eyphah Maura...' Shiori thought, solemnly. 'As I suspected. How many are there?'

'Two of them, I think. One is female, the other is definitely him. I cannot place it, but I have definitely been around them before, the question is-'

"O'Hara!" The Valkyrie growled fiercely. 'When I find her, I swear I'll strangle her with my bare fucking hands!'

'Keep going, you're headed the right way!' Vanora assured her, giving directions as she ran. 'Keep to the right. Watch out for that branch... Don't step in that hole! The scent is getting stronger... This way, through the underbrush. They must have taken a shortcut. Follow that path around. Okay, now back to the shore! That way. Yes, we're almost there...'

Shiori didn't talk much the whole way there. All she was focused on was following their scent and getting to him before they could hurt him. It had taken them a few hours to traverse the entire island, but it helped that she'd run all the way there, without stopping even once. She was short of breath, but none of that mattered as much as finding him and bringing him back safe.

It didn't take much longer before she reached the deep crimson and black ship, with it's blood red sails and telltale black insignia... She paused for a moment to take it all in. It was definitely a Pirate ship, and an impressive one, she had to admit.

With no plan whatsoever, Shiori turned around to find that she was all alone... The others hadn't come with her. Even if they had set out to, she wasn't sure if they'd really be able to follow her tracks or not. But it looked like they wouldn't be there for a while, even in the best case scenario. There was no sign of her crew anywhere. She didn't see Ace either, but she knew she would be in for a fight before she would be able to get him back, if it wasn't already too late.

It was in the midst of her internal panic that she noticed Vanora had run off somewhere too... She was even more worried without her closest friend by her side. She had gotten really good at sneaking around unnoticed. It was probably easy for her to navigate the ship unseen, given her small size.

'Vanora-chan?' She tried reaching her through their shared telepathy. 'Are you okay? Where did you run off to?'

'I found him! And he's okay!' The kitten piped up excitedly, sounding much more cheerful than she had before. 'I'm below deck! They have him tied up down here. Come find me...'

'Be careful down there! You don't want them to get to you before I do. I'm on my way!'

She was already running over to the ship and up their gangplank, which had foolishly been left out to create a direct path to and from the island's shore. They were probably still trying to salvage more of the treasure. Shiori was all too aware that this was clearly an elaborate trap of some kind. Now it was confirmed that they had him, and she'd already fought with them, so she knew... The Scarlet Pirates would not let him go easily.

'Shiori-chan! I've been spotted! She's here...'

'Who's there?' She projected her thoughts to the little cat worriedly.

'H-help, she has me, aaahh!'

'Vanora-chan?' She tried to reach her, only to find that their connection wasn't working like normal. "Vanora?!"

The telltale sound of boots clunking lazily across the wooden deck of the red and black ship left no doubts in her mind as to who she was dealing with. The confident pose her hated enemy had struck within the doorway was enough to make her sick to her stomach. But when she caught sight of that choppy red hair and those brightly stained lips, she knew from her evil grin that this would be no easy task. They had definitely known she would be here. Dozens of other Pirates came from seemingly out of the woodwork, appearing on deck from everywhere all at once.

And there, dangling helplessly from O'Hara's leather-clad hand by the scruff of her neck, was Vanora. The kitten struggled to get free, but the thick gloves prevented her from biting or scratching the redhead at all. Her tiny body swayed in the cold sea breeze.

'Shiori-chan, don't worry about me! Just do what you have to do.' The cat directed her thoughts at her best friend.

"Ah, it's the little albino brat..." O'Hara purred, taking several more slow, deliberate steps across the deck. Her free hand trailed over the railing carelessly. "I've been expecting you. But you're late... You know it's rude to make a lady wait, right?"

"You? A lady? Don't make me laugh!"

"Tsk, tsk... I wouldn't be so hasty to insult me if I were you. After all, it would be such a shame if I were to 'accidentally' drop your precious little kitty into the ocean..." She cackled menacingly. "I wonder if she can swim?"

Shiori gasped, her jaw going slack. "Y-you wouldn't!"

She hadn't considered that as a possibility, but she now realized that Vanora was in very real danger... She might have found Ace, but at what cost? She watched helplessly while O'Hara slapped her around, hitting her on the head and causing her chocolate-tipped ears to go flat, her little blue eyes widening in fear as she was beaten. It was the worst feeling, seeing her being treated so roughly and being unable to help her! It was no secret that Shiori couldn't swim due to her Devil Fruit powers, so it's not like she could just go in after her. Even if she did, with all of the ice melting and the runoff pouring straight into the ocean, the water surrounding the island was bound to be freezing. It was unlikely that any living thing could survive such conditions.

Just knowing that she had no control over what became of her friend left her unsettled and ready for a fight. Her hand went to Arashikari's hilt automatically, without her conscious knowledge. Her fingers twitched, as a flurry of angry white snowflakes formed around her. She was more than ready.

"Let her go!" The Valkyrie growled, charging toward her opponent. "NOW!"

She knew she probably couldn't make it to her in time, but she had to try... Of course if she'd thought for even a second that O'Hara would really do it, she-

"Well... If you insist."

Everything froze. Time seemed to stop in place, as the Captain of the Scarlet Pirates shrugged carelessly, tossing the tiny feline over the side of the massive ship.

"Vanora-chan! NO!" Shiori rushed over to the ship's railing, just in time to glimpse Vanora falling into the frigid water below. She'd fluffed up into a terrified little ball, looking up at her with bright blue eyes, for one last time... Before plunging beneath the waves, covered by whitecaps as she sank into deep cerulean oblivion.

'I can't... I can't believe she's really gone! No no no!' She sobbed quietly, sparing a moment for her fallen friend. 'This isn't how it was meant to be... You were supposed to be with me until the very end!'

The absolute worst part was... There was no answer. Normally Vanora would have responded; she was always ready with a quick reply to everything Shiori thought, even when she forgot anyone was listening. Now there was silence. It all felt so empty, so very hollow somehow, without her... How could she be expected to go on without the adorable kitten she'd had since her time with Alvida? The one who had gotten her through so many dark days, and helped her so much, even fought by her side... Now she was gone. Just like that. A simple flick of the wrist, and she had ceased to be.

When she turned around to face O'Hara again, there was nothing left in her deep mauve eyes except pure malice. Never in her entire life had she been this angry at anyone. She had never consciously wanted to kill someone so badly, craving to see their blood spilled across her blade... It honestly terrified her. But lurking just beyond that terror was a thirst for revenge. And it would be sated.

Before she could gather her thoughts and pick herself up out of all that pain, a sword was already flying at her face. It was what appeared to be an ordinary longsword. The shiny silver colored metal gleamed in the light, and was met immediately with Arashikari's delicately curved blade.

"Do you want us to dispose of her, Captain-sama?" A female Pirate was asking O'Hara.

Their Captain only shook her head, a slow smile creeping across her face until it nearly reached her ears. "No... Stand back. I will handle this. I don't want any of you interfering in this fight, do you understand me? No matter what happens, stay out of it. Just keep out of my way!"

"Yes ma'am..." A few of them said. "We understand, Captain-sama!" The rest soon chimed in. Everyone took several steps back to give them more room. It was clear that they did not respect her, rather they openly feared her... Still, many curious onlookers watched the fight, thirsty for bloodshed.

The two had immediately and effortlessly launched into a swift sword-fight. It appeared that O'Hara was much more willing to fight her now than she had been when they first tangled up on the mountain. And that suited Shiori just fine. She was pissed right now and needed a way to take out the overpowering anger she felt coursing through her. There were only three things on her mind... Avenging Vanora's cruel death, freeing Ace from his imprisonment, and making this redheaded bitch pay dearly for all of it! She knew he was still waiting for her below deck. There was no telling what might have been done to him either. If the Captain of the Scarlet Pirates was coldhearted enough to toss a helpless kitten overboard, then it was probably safe to assume that she was capable of anything.

The clang of sharp metal against metal rang out over the raging seas. It wasn't long before O'Hara drew her second sword. Once she'd noticed that her opponent had the upper hand, she knew she had to put a stop to it. The second one was terrifying to behold. Shiori could only gawk at it, as the blade extended into a segmented whip with a series of smaller razor-sharp blades when she whipped it around.

'That will probably kill me in an instant if I get hit with it...!' Her thoughts raced ahead of her.

The blade her opponent wielded also had bright red edges. Shiori wasn't sure if it was stained with blood from fighting or if it was rust due to lack of use. Either way, it was intimidating. She did the best she could to fend off attacks from both sides at once, but she had more than a few close calls with the red whip blade.

O'Hara was doing her level best to inflict a critical blow. She could see the pain and suffering in the albino girl's eyes, and it fueled her, awakening her own thirst for blood. Her eyes were glazed over, and she continued to close in on her.

Arashikari was howling with rage as well, having apparently been fond of the little feline before she'd fallen to her death. The blade was shielding the blows from the whip-like sword by extending spikes made from solid ice, while Shiori boldly stood her ground. She definitely had no intentions of backing down from this fight, and it was clear that her attacks were aimed for vital spots.

This fight was different. She was trying to kill her opponent.

Yet sadly, she knew that she was fighting a losing battle. There was no way she could stave off the attacks from that awful whip blade forever... It reminded Shiori of the whip she'd been so cruelly lashed with when she'd been a slave on board the Miss Love Duck. It had been one of the worst experiences of her life and the flashbacks to that time that were currently playing through her head were far too vivid and frequent for her liking.

This combination of events was unleashing something sinister within her... Shiori felt a lot like she had as a child, back when she'd first used her powers to kill a Marine. It had been in self-defense, but this was different... She was beyond angry! There wasn't truly a word for what she was.

Realizing that she would most likely be unable to win at direct combat, she did the only thing that she could think of... In a rage from losing so many loved ones in such a short time, the Valkyrie began to dismantle O'Hara's ship. Her sword plunged into the deck, cutting through it with ease. With a slight twisting motion, she began to pry the floor boards up, one by one, while using the sharp columns of ice extending from Arashikari to fend off any attacks. It worked well until one of the them managed to get through her barrier, the serrated edge of the whip sword just barely missing her ankle.

"What are you doing to my ship?!" The redhead was seething once she realized what Shiori was doing. "Better keep your sword focused on the battle, or you'll die!"

"It will take more than that to get rid of me..." Shiori muttered, her rosen eyes intently focused on her next goal.

She took note of the door that led below deck. It was the same one that O'Hara had initially come out of when she'd first confronted her with Vanora, solid black with a red fleur-de-lis painted on the front. It matched the black ones on the red sails that adorned the enormous vessel. She would have to get to that area if she wanted to save her own Captain from whatever plans this rival Pirate crew might have in store for him...

Before their sword-fight could continue, the sound of splintering wood was heard just beyond the sounds of their clashing blades. They both hesitated for a moment, their eyes darting in all directions, trying to locate the source of the sound. It was coming from below deck! Had he broken free?!

"Ace-kun!" She shouted, disengaging from what could have become a monumental battle.

Ceasing everything, Shiori rushed down the stairs that led to where she knew she'd find him. She wasn't certain what else she might find there, but there was no force on earth that could stop her from trying to rescue him. She only knew that's where Ace was being held captive and she still didn't even know the reason for any of it... He was all she cared about. She had to find some way to get him out of this. Freeing him and getting past O'Hara would not be an easy task, but she was ready to do whatever she had to if it would get them both out of here alive.

On her way down, she noticed something shiny sticking up from the hull of the ship. 'It looks like some kind of blade? But how and why? Is it a trap of some kind?'

She bent down to pry the bit of shining metal loose from it's place between the floor boards, but it moved back below the instant she touched it. The ship was leaking in dozens of places! This was bad... She had to get to Ace quickly, before the sea water engulfed him!

The redhead who was right behind her gasped when she noticed there were several other holes that had also been made in the Eyphah Maura's hull. "Shit! We're taking on water!" She called upstairs to her crew.

"That's not good!" A guy's scratchy voice rang out.

"What should we do?!" One of the female Pirates screeched, clinging to another one. Others were running around panicking. "O'Hara-sama?!"

"I don't care, just-" O'Hara shook her head, her frustration showing through as she grit her teeth furiously. "Do something, you idiots! As you can see, I've got other problems to take care of at the moment."

Shooting them a glare that outright said if they didn't fix the problem there would be hell to pay later, their Captain proceeded to try to corner Shiori downstairs before she could get to Ace.

The albino girl knew that she had to find some way to save him... She knew it wouldn't take much sea water for him to drown, due to his Devil Fruit powers. If even a few drops touched him, he would already be weaker than before. And she just couldn't stand the thought of that. It was probably a good thing she knew about his powers, in spite of Mitch not wanting her to know, because otherwise she wouldn't have picked up on that weak spot. At least, not as quickly. She continually brushed her opponent aside on her way through the various cabins of the lower deck. There were so many rooms...

She wasn't sure what was going on or why, or even how, but someone was making holes all over O'Hara's ship. That much was obvious. Whatever the case may be, they were obviously trying to help her, so she would take whatever help she could get. Besides, it was pretty funny watching her crew try to plug all of the holes, all the while watching even more of them pop up! She had to stifle her laughter the entire time.

Taking care to dance around the darting blade as it continued to bore holes in the hull, she rushed from room to room until at last she found him... His ink black hair hung in his face, matted and drenched with sweat. Ace looked up at her, and when their eyes met, all she saw there was pain and what looked a lot like regret...

Had they been torturing him? What was going on?

Shiori's first instinct was to untie him, so she rushed behind him to do just that. The moment she touched the unusual dark blue ropes that held his wrists together behind the back of the chair, she began to feel completely sick to her stomach... Her knees went weak from agony and threatened to give out from under her. Pangs of pain ran through her, emanating from the strange ropes until it filled her entire body, and she was forced to clutch the back of the chair for support. She felt Ace lean against her, exhaling a sigh of relief as she slowly recovered. He grunted something unintelligible from behind the gag that kept him from truly talking. The Valkyrie reached around to remove it from his handsome face.

"The ropes..." He panted, trying to catch his breath. "They're made from sea prism stone! It's a technique used by a lot of bounty hunters in this part of the Grand Line..."

"Now you tell me..." With a roll of her eyes, Shiori wasted no time in using her sword to cut the ropes, effectively freeing his hands. He was still tied to the chair with more ropes going across his chest and around each leg, but she was already fast at work on those as well.

Her Captain looked at her for a moment. "Thanks for the rescue, Angel Eyes."

"You're-"

There was a loud bang. Before she could completely free him, O'Hara had barged into the room. She rushed across it, in close pursuit of Shiori. That didn't deter her from frantically cutting through the rest of the ropes anyway. Her scimitar gleamed in the low light, seeming to want something much more lively to cut. She would dance around the blows from her enemy, while launching an attack or two of her own, and occasionally pausing to cut more of the ropes away from him every time she had an opening. It wasn't easy to maintain a battle that way, but she was doing the best she could, and so far her strange technique was working.

"Nice to see you've fallen for my trap... Hook, line, and sinker!" The redhead sneered at her, slamming the door closed and locking all of them in after becoming frustrated with the status of their fight. "You definitely won't be leaving my ship alive! Ace-kun and I were just having a pleasant little chat about you. Weren't we, my dear?"

She looked to Ace, who was scowling at O'Hara with a look of pure hatred. And then it dawned on her... "Wait... -Kun?"

"You two know each other?!" Both Shiori and Ace sputtered out the words at the same time, their eyes going wide.

"I t-told you I had a brush with the Scarlet Pirates the other day," The Valkyrie managed, while fending off yet another attack from the voluptuous female Captain. She could have probably fought better, but had to be careful not to touch any of the ropes or accidentally cut Ace in the process. She hadn't failed to notice the way the redhead was doing the same, however. It seemed neither of them were willing to physically harm him. "But umm... How do you know her? I always assumed you were enemies, but why would an enemy address you that way?"

And it was true... Shiori couldn't deny that O'Hara was a beautiful woman. At least, when she wasn't trying to kill anyone.

"Yeah well, I... See it's like- Ahh, well umm..." Ace struggled to find anything at all to say. "I didn't know you fought with their Captain!" He was obviously deflecting.

She'd opened her mouth to reply, but the redheaded female Pirate interrupted them. "Oh, Ace-kun... You'd might as well tell her the truth already... Poor girl."

"The truth?" She regarded him with curiosity now, unsure what to make of O'Hara's coy statement. "What exactly do you mean?" She paused in his untying, her hands stilling at her side.

"Yes, stupid girl... Hasn't he told you?" A smirk crawled across her face like a snake.

"There's nothing to tell!" Ace snarled defensively.

O'Hara began to slowly circle them... "He and I have been... entangled with one another for a long time. Years, even! And in more ways than one. Surely you catch my drift by now. Isn't that right, Ace-kun?"

(Simultaneously, with the remaining Spade Pirates, on board the Royal...)

"Huh? Who goes there?"

Hiretu opened his sleepy eyes warily... He didn't hear anyone, but there was something there, some vague movement just in front of them. They focused to see a set of dark hands moving back and forth in a frantic fashion. It took him another minute to realize this was someone trying to get his attention.

"Who-" He then noticed it was Silas, the man they'd taken in from Alvida's ship before. "Oh, that's right... You can't talk. What do you want?"

Silas huffed, which quickly snowballed into a long sigh of irritation. He had been trying to get his crewmate's attention for a long while. Now that he saw their Shipwright was awake, he pointed to the right, around the corner near the stairs that led to the upper deck where the steering column was.

"Your finger? What's wrong with it?"

This made the mute man stop what he was doing to smack himself in the face. Were all Spade Pirates this stupid? He'd ask him, if he could talk properly. Since he couldn't, he did the only thing he could think of in order to get his point across- He grabbed hold of the burly man's jaw and turned his head to the other side.

Hiretu stared out over the ocean for a second or two before it clicked... "Hey, we're moving! ...We're not supposed to be moving! What gives?"

Silas pointed toward the upper deck. This time Hiretu gasped, and tore himself free from the silken cocoon he'd recently made for himself to nap in. It wasn't uncommon to see the silk worm Devil Fruit user doing things like that on a daily basis, so it didn't phase their new recruit at all. He simply waited for him to get down and gestured for Hiretu to follow him. When he did, he noticed that no one else appeared to be on board.

"Where'd everybody go anyway? Did they leave us behind?"

The other man nodded, oblivious to his dull-minded questions. He knew he had to do something to fix the situation, but he was afraid to do it alone. Technically, the girl was a member of the crew, and since he did not even pretend to understand the strange fate he'd found himself bound by, he was unsure whether his vow of fealty would also include her. It was a chance he wasn't willing to take... Not when there was so much at stake. Especially not when she'd commandeered the entire ship to do with as she pleased!

Silas held up a finger to his lips to indicate for the other man to be silent. Thankfully, Hiretu picked up on his cue. The two approached the helm to find a tiny blonde girl there. It was Lena... She was steering the ship and giggling lightly to herself now and then. They were already pretty far away from the island.

"Uhhhh what are you doing?" Hiretu drawled slowly, waiting for her to notice him. Silas was still attempting to get him to shut up, but it was too late, and she'd already turned around to see him. "Does the Captain know you're taking his ship? He doesn't like people touching his steering wheel thingy you know..."

"None of your business! And yes, I have permission to be taking it. We're supposed to meet the rest of the crew on the other side of the island. Isn't that right, Silas-kun?"

Silas stood there, unsure of who he would be able to defy... He'd sworn his allegiance to the Spades, but which side would that be? The side that wanted to take over, or the side that wanted to maintain control? He figured he should probably side with the original crew he'd made that promise to. That way nothing could go wrong.

And so, in an act of sheer defiance, he shook his head.

"Hey! Something's not right here... I think she's trying to steal the ship!" Upon seeing the other man's reaction, it finally clicked for the Shipwright. Even if they were supposed to meet with the rest of the crew, the fact remained that they were facing in the exact opposite direction and headed away from the island.

Knowing that he had to do something about this, Hiretu wrenched her away from the helm. When he tried to grab her, and succeeded in picking her up with ease, Lena kicked him repeatedly in the shin. Too bad it didn't hurt. Easily ignoring the slight pain, he used his Devil Fruit powers to bind her hands behind her back. He then proceeded to lift her up and easily attach her to the mast that was just behind them. The silk he produced wouldn't let her fall and should keep her securely in place.

"Let me go! Don't you touch me! I'll kill you where you stand! Filthy Pirate!" She spat the insult at him like it was something new to them. "Silas-kun, why are you just standing there?! Do something! You... You swore you'd help me..."

Silas only looked at her blankly, his dark eyes cold and uncaring. Even when he saw that she had tears in her eyes. He knew they were fake, mere crocodile tears, only aimed at gaining his sympathy.

"Y-you're so mean!" She sniffled pitifully.

"Looks like he won't help you, hahaha..." Hiretu took a moment to poke some fun at her, in his own simple way. "We can't have you running off with the ship while Ace-sama and the others are away. You just hang around for a bit while I try to figure out how to get the ship back where it was..."

Before he could say anything else, Silas took the helm. The boards creaked under the sudden change in direction. They were headed right back to where they started. Thankfully they hadn't gone too far off shore from the island and he was able to easily steer it back. He decided that maybe her idea wasn't half bad, even if it was a lie, and began diverting their route closer to the far side of the island where the dreaded Eyphah Maura awaited.

"Once I get down from here, you'll pay! Both of you!" The little girl growled menacingly.

A/N: Hi everyone! I'll try my best not to take so long next time. For some reason this chapter was really hard for me to write, it gave me a lot of problems. I really hope this is interesting for you. I'm so sorry about that scene with Vanora and all of that sad business, but I promise if you can hang on until the next chapter, it won't be so bad... ;3 Not saying anything else since I know some people hate spoilers. Uh-oh, now there's girl drama! Do you think O'Hara was telling the truth?

-Kaline