A/N: CHA! A new chapter down!

I don't own Fairy Tail!

Please enjoy!

Chapter 11: The First Mate and the Sharpshooter

April 7, X792 - Evening

"Ya know, this dinner was only supposed to be for Haruna," Ajax mumbled as he walked through town with the small group behind him. He glanced back at them with an unamused stare, "So why is it that you two have managed to tag along?"

"I can't wait for all the good food," Haruna said, smiling brightly as she walked along the path next to Squall, "Ne Squall?"

The younger girl smiled up at her with a thumbs up.

"I suppose it's good that you're both so easy to please," Mac said, smiling to both girls, "I think most girls your age are into make-up and boys and clothes."

"Ew! What am I supposed to do with all of that? Well…boys might be cute, but it's not like I can eat make-up or clothes. I don't want to waste my money on things like that all the time," Haruna answered, Squall nodding agreement.

"It's not like you're the one even paying for the food this time!" Ajax said, trying to butt his way into the conversation.

"I suppose that's good for the life style we live," Mac said, "It's not like we can always get the current fashion out in the middle of the ocean."

Squall quickly twisted her hair up to look like a turban, looking over at Haruna with a sly smirk.

Haruna laughed loudly in response, "You're right! Unless you're Kasra!"

"That man does have an odd way of always having high end merchandise sent out to him, even when we're in the middle of the ocean," Mac mentioned.

"OI! Are any of you listening to me?!" Ajax shouted.

"What is it?" Mac and Haruna both asked, all three girls looking annoyed that their conversation had been interrupted.

"Don't give me that look," Ajax huffed, "You were the ones ignoring me."

"Well, you've got our attention now, so what do you want?" Mac asked.

Ajax stared at all three of them, still trying to figure out how he ended up going out to dinner with all of them, "I can understand why Haruna brought Squall since they are friends after all, but why did you tag along?" he replied, looking at Mac.

"Why not?" she said with a smirk, "I happened to be passing by the girls when I heard Haruna ask Squall to come with her and I was hungry, so I tagged along. It was an added bonus to find out you were paying too."

"Who said I was paying for your meal?"

"Well, you are paying for the girls, so why not me too?" she asked with a pout.

"That's because I owe Haruna for knocking her out in the fight for the S-Class spot and I don't mind paying for Squall either, but you on the other hand…I don't see the need to pay for you too with my own money."

"So your big brotherly love stops with me?"

"Don't say it like that! That makes it sound weird!"

"Then pay for my food too!"

"Will you stop pouting then?"

"Yes!"

"Fine," Ajax sighed, giving into her.

"Thanks!" Mac grinned widely, knowing he would have given into her eventually. He wouldn't leave her to starve and the brotherly part of him would want to take care of her. That's just how Ajax was, so it was usually pretty easy for her to weasel a free meal out of him.

"Yeah, sure," he said, "Now, where do you want to eat, Haruna?"

"Awww, she gets to pick the restaurant?" Mac pouted again.

"Of course she gets to pick!" Ajax retorted loudly, "She's really the only one that should be going to dinner! And you said you would stop pouting! I do have the ability to not pay for your food!"

Mac only huffed in reply, looking away from him.

"So Haruna," Ajax began again in a calmer tone, "Where would you like to eat?" he asked. Normally he wasn't so flustered, but Mac always had this way of getting under his skin. He wasn't sure if it was because they joined the guild around the same time or what, but she found enjoyment in teasing him constantly. He often found himself at the other end of her pranks, although he had gotten much better at not falling for them over the years on the guild.

"Somewhere with an open patio that way no one will be upset about Sho eating with us," Haruna answered, smiling down at the cat in her arms, "The last time I took him inside a restaurant, some people made complaints about an animal being in there with them."

"I'm not just some animal! I have table manners!" Sho shouted in his defense.

"How about this place then?" he asked, pointing towards a café with an open area outside. Both Haruna and Squall sniffed the air, smiling when they got a waft of good smelling food, "Looks like it works," Ajax smiled at them. Though, his smile quickly fell when he noticed that Mac had disappeared from their group, "Now where did she go?" he mumbled, attempting to look back in the crowd they had just come from. He frowned when he couldn't see her, looking back at the two girls, "You two go grab a table. I'll go find Mac and be right back."

"Sounds good!" Haruna said before running off towards the restaurant with Squall and Sho.

Once he saw that they were safely at a table, Ajax turned back into the crowd they had come from, "How the hell can someone so small cause so many problems?" he grumbled, trying to find the short woman within all the moving people.

"Hey missy, what is a pretty little thing like you doing here? You all by yourself?"

Ajax heard the words before he saw the scene, turning where he heard the deep voice coming from. There he saw two men hovering over Mac, who stood in front of a small pet shop. The two men leered down at her while continuing to inch closer to her. Ajax knew that she could take care of herself if the men tried anything, but he couldn't stand to see the men try to gain up on her like that. It was one of the few things that really pissed him off, no matter who it was getting bullied. Though, they were trying to hit on her rather than bully her, which irked him a bit more since it was obvious she didn't want their attention.

"You two are annoying," Mac said lowly, "Go away."

"A woman with a backbone," one of the men said with a grin, "I like that. I like to break them down."

"Touch me and you'll be wishing you hadn't," she said, her eyes narrowing at them.

"Well, I like a challenge," the other man added as they both moved in towards her.

Before she even had a chance to grab onto the wood staff on her back, Ajax moved in with his brass knuckles on. He punched the first man so hard in the head that he slammed into the second one, knocking them both across the ground. They laid on the ground for a moment longer, blood running down the side of the first man's head, before they stood up to try and take on who had hit them. Though, they both quickly froze when they saw Ajax glaring down at them.

"Care for a second round?" the air mage growled as he cracked his knuckles, "I didn't even get to use my magic yet," he added. The two men quickly ran off at his words, knowing they wouldn't be able to take on the mage, "Tch, wimps," he said, turning to look at Mac, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she huffed at him, "They didn't even touch me…and I could have handled them myself."

"You're welcome," he said with a roll of his eyes, "And don't go disappearing like that. You're so short that it's hard to find you in a crowd. I mean, even Haruna is taller than you and you're almost ten years older than her," he said with a small laugh.

"Are you laughing at my height?!"

"Maybe," he teased, "But seriously, what did you go disappearing for?"

"I remembered that I needed to pick up some food and stuff for Rat when I passed by this store," she answered.

"The mouse named Rat," he said with a flat look.

"You got a problem with that?!"

"No, no, calm down," he said, "But if you really need to pick up some stuff, we can stop by here when we're finished eating."

"Oh right! I'm still hungry!"

Ajax sighed in response to her comment, leading her away from the pet store and towards the restaurant, "Let's go. The girls are waiting for us at a table already."

. : + : .

"Why do you always have to follow me?" Jean asked, looking back at Rin, who was closely following the blonde with a playful smirk.

"It entertains me," Rin answered, fixing his top hat back into its usual tipped position, "Besides, I needed to stretch my legs anyways."

"Then go do it somewhere else!" Jean snapped, "You'll only be a hindrance."

"A hindrance in what?"

"None of your business."

"Then I suppose I'll just have to keep following you until I figure out what you're doing, my friend."

"We're not even friends! Rivals maybe, but not friends!"

"What are rivals but friends who battle each other?"

"We're not friends!" was all Jean could answer with, "Now, if you're quite finished with your teasing, then go away."

"I quite like following you though, so I think I'll stay."

Jean felt his eye twitch, but he said nothing else in reply. He decided to simply ignore the man behind him while he began his 'hunting'. He came to a stop in the middle of the town square and began to look around until something caught his eye. He plastered what he thought was a handsome smile on his face and made his way over to a rather pretty brunette woman. He saddled up next to her on the bench she sat on, the woman looking over at him and waiting for him to speak while Rin watched the scene play out in amusement.

"I believe all the stars must have fallen from the sky and landed in your eyes from the way they sparkle so brightly," he said in a smooth voice.

A sweat drop fell down the woman's head as well as Rin's, the younger man staring at Jean in utter disappointment. The woman made a quick excuse and made a bee line for a street leading away from the square. Laughter started to bubble up through Rin until he was outright laughing in the middle of the square, having to hold onto the bench Jean sat at to keep himself from falling over.

"Would you be quiet," Jean snapped, "It's already embarrassing enough that she left."

"You should feel more embarrassed about that pick up line!" Rin said before roaring in laughter again, "I've never heard anything so bad! And I was supposed to be a hindrance for you?! HA!"

"Yeah, well, I'm sure you're not any better at this."

"Oh, I'm fairly confident that I am."

"Then prove it," Jean stated, pointing over towards a pretty redhead, "Go win her over."

"No problem," Rin said with a smirk before walking over towards the woman. He quickly turned her around in a smooth twirl before kissing the top of her hand, "Care to talk a walk with me, madam?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing with my girl?!" a man shouted from just behind the woman. Rin looked up to see a rather large and fuming man.

"Oh my," was all Rin could say before he was punched back across the square by the large man, skidding to a stop next to a laughing Jean. Rin glanced up at him with an irritated stare, his left eye already turning black, "You knew she had a boyfriend, didn't you?"

"Maybe," Jean answered, "But it looks like I was right. You couldn't win her over."

"Well, it wasn't like you played fair."

"So it's a game you'd like to play?" Jean asked with a sly grin, "How about the first one to pick up a girl wins a week worth of free drinks from the loser?"

"Deal," Rin said, quickly grabbing Jean's outstretched hand and shook it.

The two men then moved around the square from woman to woman, each trying his best to win one over. They tried everything from cliché pick-up lines to grand gestures to even offering to buy the woman something expensive. Though, it appeared that the women in the town were not at all amused by their flirtations, turning them down each time they made an attempt.

"These women are rather stuck up, aren't they?" Rin asked, looking over at Jean.

"Yes, they are a bit hard to break down," Jean agreed, "But I must not give up! I will become victorious! Especially before the likes of you!" he shouted, pointing a rapier dramatically at Rin while light exploded behind him.

"Well," Rin began in a flat tone, "I think I've figured out why the women are turned off by you at least."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Jean Marcus! Rin Noburu!" an overly high pitched voice shouted, causing both men to instantly freeze up. They slowly turned around with pale and horrified faces to see an angry woman walking towards them. From behind, she might have appeared pretty with her curly blonde hair and curved frame, but when she turned around to show off crooked teeth, caked on make-up and a large, black unibrow, it would normally send any man running, especially when paired with her horrible temper.

"Marybeth," the two men managed to squeak out. They exchanged glances with each other, surprised that they both knew the woman.

"You got tricked too?" Rin asked.

"She looked amazing from behind," Jean answered, practically crying, "And I used one of my pick-up lines before she turned around. I was stuck after that until we left port a year ago. You?"

"Same," Rin sighed in shame and defeat.

"How horrible you both are!" Marybeth screeched at them once she had reached them, "Making a girl like myself wait a whole year to come back to town! Do you even know how hard it is for me to be with men at sea?!"

"Um…what?" they both replied.

"Don't you remember? You both poured out your love for me before you left! Vowing to come back for me once you've made a name for yourself on the ocean! And I didn't just have one man pining after me, but two! Oh, how it hurt a poor girl's heart to wait for two men! What if you didn't come back alive at all?! Such romance on the seas!"

Jean and Rin exchanged glances again, remembering things quite differently when they had managed to get away from the woman. They stepped away from her for a moment to discuss their next plan of action.

"What the hell do we do?" Jean whispered harshly, "She's obviously out of her mind!"

"I say we just outright make a run for it."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just tell her the truth?"

"Well, you can do that if you like, but I've already received one black eye for today and I'd rather not have another one."

"I think I'll stick to telling her the truth. I don't want to have to deal with this each time I come to this town."

"Suit yourself," Rin shrugged, "But I'm sticking with the running plan."

Jean cleared his throat as the two men stood back up and turned to face the woman with a serious face, "Marybeth," he began.

"Yes Jean?"

"I must be honest with you. I do not have any feelings towards you whatsoever and I think it's just better that we see other people…not that we were really dating to begin with, you see."

Marybeth stood in silence for a long moment, causing the two men to wonder if she was actually taking the news like a civil person. Though, an aura of fire and anger burst out from behind her, her hair waving outwards like the snakes of Medusa. Jean and Rin both instantly shouted in horror in response before taking off at full speed back towards the guild, Marybeth hot on their heels.

"Make a fool of me will you?!" she shouted.

"We're sorry!" both men shouted in reply, barely managing to keep a step ahead of her.

The running trio quickly made their way past the café that Ajax and the others sat outside of, just finishing up their meal. Jean and Rin we're still screaming as they shot past the group with Marybeth still shouting after them. The mages in the café stared at the running group with wide eyes, unsure of what was going on.

"Um…" Haruna began, "Is that how men get girlfriends?"

"Obviously not!" Sho shouted.

"Ignore them," Ajax sighed, knowing he was going to need to talk to the two men when they returned to the guild about their womanizing, "They're bad influences."

"But isn't Jean S-Class now? Shouldn't I look up to someone like that?" Haruna continued.

"Obviously not!" Sho repeated.

"Just finish your food," Mac intervened, "And if those two ever try to hit on you, just give them a good punch to the gut."

"Really? That sounds kinda painful."

"That's the point," Mac answered with a devilish smile.

"If you say so," Haruna shrugged.

Ajax and Mac sighed in relief when she let the subject go and finished eating her dinner with Squall.

. : + : .

Madmartigan scowled at the black smoke billowing out of the bar he had just been in an hour beforehand, "Tch, damn brats," was all he said as he began making his way into the charred building, pulling his hat down slightly by the point of his silver hook.

"Captain!" one of his men called out, "Are you really going in there? The building is about to fall!"

Madmartigan simply ignored him, already knowing that any reply he were to give would come out nastier than usual. Besides, it would take more than a falling building to stop him or take him out at that point. Blackstroker's map was still up in his room and there was no way he would leave that behind. He was just happy that he had been smart enough to have one of his men put a protective spell around it to keep it from getting damaged by water, fire or any other elements.

The captain pushed the front door open, watching it easily fall to the ground in burnt pieces when he did so. He then made his way inside, ignoring the smoke that instantly covered him when he walked in. He had been through worse things than some old smoke. He saw a plethora of wood pieces still burning away, their smoldering lights creating a path for him through the bar. He could hear glass break under the weight of his boots, but he paid the wasted liquor bottles no mind as he made his way towards the stairs. He stared up at them with another scowl, knowing that they would be fairly weak after the fire.

"Maybe I should have let Domingo get the map instead," he mumbled, thinking about the fact that his first mate was much leaner than himself. He sighed, knowing it was too late to go back out now, and began making his way upstairs. A few of the stairs he stepped on either cracked under his weight or completely broke apart, but he managed to make it to the top of the steps in decent time. He turned left to head back towards his room, finding the area upstairs not as in as bad of shape as the bottom bar area. He quickly made his way to his room and threw open the door. Everything appeared to be the way he left it, aside from the smell of smoke having now taken over the area. He stepped into the room, his boots thumping against the floor until he came to a stop in front of the bed. He was in the middle of reaching for the map when he finally realized that it was no longer on the bed where he had left it, "What the hell?" he mumbled as he began to look around the room for the map. At first his searching was quick but calm, though after a few minutes of rummaging through the room, it became frantic and angry. Objects began flying across the room and even out the window. He ripped the sheets off the bed before completely flipping it over. He dumped the desk over, all of its contents spreading across the floor. Everything was either ripped, broken or completely torn apart by the time he was finished, "Where is it?!" he shouted so loudly that even his men outside of the building had flinched from the anger that filled his voice. Booming footsteps could be heard running down the hallway and stairs of the building until Madmartigan emerged from the smoke, causing a cloud of the black substance to plume out around him from his quick movements. Black smudges were across his face along with another deep and angry scowl. His men backed away from him, too afraid that they might get punched by their captain in his fit of rage, "DOMINGO!" he roared.

"Must be pretty mad for you to use my full name, boss," a man said as he easily moved through the group. This thirty-two year old man was named Domingo Barton, though he was mostly known through the crew as Mingo or even the captain's dog if they wanted to piss him off. The man was much leaner than his captain, though he still had corded muscles, strong arms and a toned chest. His platinum blonde hair was spiky and stuck straight up with a few smaller pieces falling into his golden eyes, his hair giving him just a bit of extra height to his slightly shorter 5'9" height. He wore black cargo pants that were tucked into combat boots with multiple straps and buckles that reached his mid-calf. He wore a pair of specialized fingerless gloves along with a rather long, crimson leather trenchcoat. The coat ended at his ankles and it had a single, brown leather strap that crossed his chest. The rest of his chest was bare, aside from black tribal tattoos that began at his collarbones and traveled down both arms.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with your stupid comments," Madmartigan snapped, becoming red in the face from anger, "The map is gone!"

"What do you mean it's gone?" Mingo asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's exactly what it sounds like! The map is fucking gone!"

"Well obviously it didn't burn up in the fire. It has that enchantment on it. And everyone from the crew and the bar ran out of the building once the fire started."

"The fire!" the captain yelled, "Those little brats! They started all that commotion to get the map! That fucking guild took my map!" he continued shouting, becoming angrier and angrier at the current situation, especially since he had just come back from the sailing guild, "I was just there! God dammit!"

"Looks like waving that map around really wasn't such a good idea, boss," Mingo smirked.

Madmartigan stared him down for a long moment before turning and slamming his fist right into the side of the burnt building. The building instantly cracked and crashed to the ground under the force of his punch. Most of the crew stared at their captain's natural strength with wide eyes while Mingo continued to wear his smirk, completely unfazed by Madmartigan's strength, "I don't know why you think this is such a great time to be making damn jokes!"

"We can always go get the map back, right?" Mingo shrugged, "It's not like a fleet that big can move quickly," he said, having seen the size of Storm's Helm once or twice before, "Although, we're not even sure if they have the map. Could just be a coincidence that their mages were at the bar during that time."

A gunshot suddenly went off, Mingo having to move to the side quickly to dodge the bullet. The blonde turned to see the crew's sharpshooter smirking smugly at him, causing Mingo to glare at him.

"I thought I might have been able to get you this time, mutt," the man smiled widely now, showing off a mouth filled with yellow teeth, Mingo knowing that his breath would smell heavily of liquor if he was standing close enough to him. The twenty-five year old's full name was Daniel Sierra. He stood much taller than Mingo at 6'3" with a runner's build and his skin was much tanner as well. His greasy, black hair reached down to his shoulders and his right eye was a dull gray-blue color while his left eye was covered by a white eye patch with a black skull on it. He wore dark blue jeans held up with a brown belt with a black skull buckle. The jeans were tucked into brown, laced boots and he wore a white button-up shirt that he left completely undone with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Around his waist was a holster belt that held four specialized handguns. Two guns were on either side of his hips while the other two were situated on the front and back of the belt, "Ya know, with you joking and all. Guess your senses are still top notch."

"I wouldn't be the first mate otherwise, Daniel," Mingo said lowly. He had never liked the man since the day the two met and Daniel was always trying to take his position as first mate away from him. Mingo was just glad that their captain had a more level head than the sharpshooter that stood before him. There was a reason that Madmartigan had picked him over Daniel to stand by his side and Daniel was too bitter to let the captain's decision go. Though, instead of griping about it to the captain, Daniel always chose to take his anger out on Mingo.

"Keep talking while you can, mutt," Daniel said, turning to the still fuming captain, "I've confirmed that Storm's Helm does have the map."

"How the hell do you know that?" Madmartigan asked.

"I followed you when you took that girl back to the guild. Ya know, just in case something happened," he answered, smirking over at Mingo, "Something your first mate should have been doing."

"Stop your petty arguments for one damn second and tell me about the map!" Madmartigan shouted, causing the other two men to wear serious faces as they turned to look at their captain again.

"After you left, two of the mages gave that woman in charge the map. It was the real thing too. They read the clue and everything and now they plan to go hunt down the treasure," Daniel explained.

"Dammit!" Madmartigan yelled, "We're going there now to get it!"

"Wait a minute," Mingo called out before the entire crew could go running off for a fight, "Did they figure out the first clue?"

"Seemed like it," Daniel answered, "They figured out enough to know where to go for the first clue."

"Then I propose we let them figure the clues out for us, or at least this first one," Mingo said, "Let them do a bit of the hard work."

Madmartigan thought about the new idea for a moment, "We can't tail them closely or else they'll figure out that we're watching them, but I want someone to be able to keep a close eye on them," he said. He looked to Mingo for a moment, knowing he would be able to trust him above anyone else in his crew, but he wanted him on the boat with himself for now. He inwardly sighed at who he was about to ask to keep close watch on the guild, knowing that the man loved money and the things that money could buy above all else, but he had the necessary skills to keep an eye on the guild, "Daniel. I want you to follow them."

"Really? Not your precious mutt?" Daniel smirked.

"Don't let this go to your head, you idiot," Madmartigan growled, "You just happen to be able to keep a close eye on them from a far distance. But if at all they figure out that you're tailing them, you better get in there, get the map and get out of there. I want to deal with that guild as little as possible, do you hear me?"

"You afraid of them or something?"

"Is that what I said?!" Madmartigan shouted, causing Daniel to go silent, "Don't underestimate them, Daniel. They may not be pirates or the Navy, but if you mess with them, they won't hold back. I know. I've seen it first hand. So don't be going out of your way for a fight, got it?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," Daniel answered.

"Good," the captain said, "We'll be close enough for you to return and relay information once they leave port. Now piss off and lay low until we leave."

Daniel nodded at him and began following many of the other crew members back towards their ship at port. Mingo, though, stayed behind a moment to speak with the captain.

"So," Mingo began when it was just the two of them, "You've battled against Storm's Helm before?"

Madmartigan was quiet for a long moment as he looked down at his silver hook, "Yes. Against a man named Duke Ramirez."

Mingo looked down at his hook with him, a surprised look on his face, "I have to say I'm a little shocked that you didn't try to get revenge on that guild when you took that girl back to them. They took your hand, didn't they?"

"You don't know the whole story," Madmartigan answered, strangely quiet, "I took something from him too."

"What would that be?"

Madmartigan went quiet again, not bothering to answer him this time. He turned from the area, his coat billowing out behind him. He took a few steps before he stopped and glanced back at Mingo from over his shoulder, "Let's just hope that Daniel heads my warning. That woman, the guild master, she had the same look in her eyes as he did all those years ago."

With that, Madmartigan walked away from the area, leaving Mingo even more confused than when their conversation began.

A/N: There we are! Hope you all enjoyed it!

Credits

Domingo 'Mingo' Barton - XLil MEkoX

Daniel Sierra - ThePriceOfLight

So I finally got this finished! I had those first two scenes written for a few days and that last scene was just bugging me since I was having a hard time getting it started. But after talking some things out with my Beta (thanks again!), things finally started rolling again. And I even got to introduce two of the main crew members instead of the one I had planned originally! So a big plus for me! And for you readers as well!

I had also planned for one more scene after that last one. But that one with Madmartigan just ended so nicely! Can you all tell that I was laughing manically at the end there?! Haha! Dangling that small bit of information in front of you and leaving you to wonder about it just like Mingo! It was too perfect not to! Muwhahahahahahaha!

Ahem…

So needless to say, that's where I decided to stop the chapter since I felt like adding something after it would take away from that moment. So some things got switched around while writing this and we'll make our way back to our lovely guild in the next chapter! Probably back out at sea now and heading to Caelum!

On another note, I have openings for the Naval Forces still going on as well. I have the Admiral and all four Vice Admirals spots filled at this time. Though, each Vice Admiral will have two Captains and spots for those are still open. I have one under the Eastern VA and one under the Northern VA filled, so that leave six spots open for them. If you would like to send one in, please PM which spot you would like and if you would like some information on a VA or the Admiral, like personality info and such, to help make your character. I have a counter in my profile again, so please check that out before sending one in and I will let you know there as well which areas have been taken for the Captains, so north, east, south and west. Also as per usual, don't send me in any type of Slayer. I'm even thinking about an assistant position that will work directly for the Admiral, but I'm still up in the air about that one. I'll let you all know if I do that. Now, I will say that I would like the western and southern Captains filled in first as they will be making the first appearances with their VAs in the story before we see the eastern and northern groups. And lastly, I would appreciate it if you all don't send in characters with Water/Ice Magic, Wind/Air Magic or Strengthening Magic (meaning like powering up the body physically) as I have enough of these types between the guild, pirates and Naval Forces.

Phew! I think that should be it!

So onto those lovely reviews!

Thanks to all of you that reviewed the last chapter!

Joshua1277 - ^.^ Glad you liked that scene with Lance and the others! I thought it would be good for him to start yelling at the pirates right in the middle of their bar, lol. Yeah, Madmartigan has to have some skills to be captain. Though, it may take some time before we see everything he can do. And yep! A treasure hunt! And I'll be interested to see if you all can figure out the clues with them during this arc as well, so keep trying! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Momochan77 - Glad you liked the chapter! And that line from Isaak, lol! Seems a lot of people liked it as well. And don't worry! Mia will appear again soon! I was gonna try to sneak her into this chapter with Hagi, but I couldn't think of anything interesting enough and then that ending scene happened with Madmartigan and I just didn't know how to squeeze her in anymore. But you should see her next chapter! Just keep a look out, lol! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

CrazyAnimeForever - Nope! His name isn't a joke. That's legit his name, lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

IdentityCrisis.03 - I did update! And I'm glad you enjoyed the update, lol! I'm also happy to hear that Tazz is turning out well for you too! She's tons of fun to write, especially with those boys! And your feeling about the Black Skulls was right! And Nanami does care for her rival…even if she doesn't want to show it, lol. But she's got a good heart overall, so worrying about Tazz comes with that, lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

reven228 - ^.^ I'm actually really happy to hear that Cordelia is turning out like Luffy! That what I'm aiming for somewhat for her. Not entirely, but certain parts of his personality. But I'm glad you're excited for things to come with this arc and the seven villains! I'm super excited about it too! And we'll see if references pop up from One Piece in this. Sometimes that ends up happening without me actually meaning to, so we might get lucky with something like that eventually, lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

ThePrinceOfLight - Glad you enjoyed that fight scene! I was really happy to be able to write one since I knew this chapter was going to have a bit more character interaction and information going on. But yeah, at least they now have the treasure map and can get things started. And with each clue, it should get more and more action packed! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Dreadburner94 - LOL, yep Nanami does care about her rival in the end! Yeah, they weren't supposed to burn down the building, but well, you know how things get out of hand, lol. Well of course Isaak would have that smooth catch! He is a natural after all! But yep, Cordelia got to have her first stare down with an enemy! And so many more to come! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

DarkHyena - Yeah, I'm sure Tazz will be giving those boys a hard time for leaving her alone in the burning bar like that, lol. I've been wanting to do that barrel surfing scene for a while, just had to find the right time for it. But yeah, because of it, Cordelia ended up in Isaak's arms, lol. But I'm glad you liked that bit at the end with Devin as well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Benthino - LOL! Captain Watson! That really made me laugh when I read that. ^.^ I like it! And for that Naval assistance, as stated in the notes, check out my profile to see what's currently open if you'd like to send a character in! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

XLil MEkoX - ^.^ Glad you enjoyed the chapter so much! And I gotta say that I've secretly been shipping Nanami and Securus since they first interacted, lol. So I'm glad someone is on the same page with me on that one since I wasn't sure how that one would work out. Though, I do suppose it's a bit early to start solidifying relationships since I'm still getting a feel for everything, so we'll see how it all goes! I think Cordelia makes Eli's life just as hard as he makes hers, lol. But yeah, thankfully we've got Seth in the middle of them to keep the peace if they get too out of hand. And I figured you would like that Isaak and Cordelia moment when he caught her, lol. Ace is just so amazing! But now he's gone and I have no idea when he'll be showing back up. And seeing on how I like him, it'll probably be a while before he does. -.- It somehow works out like that a lot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Origm2012 - Glad you liked that opening scene! And we haven't even delved into Securus's magic yet! We're just scratching the surface with him, much like the rest of the guild, lol. But I'm glad I was able to catch you a bit off guard with Tazz's magic since it is different than what her personality leads you to believe she would have. And I enjoyed that Hacky Sack magic myself when I received it for Rio. And yes, it was very much like something from Jackass when Eli got Seth to barrel surf with him, lol. Isaak is such a natural with the flirting, so it makes him that much more suave when he actually tries at it, lol. Yeah, that quote is definitely from life experiences, lol. And you even rhymed in that 'Great…' line! Wasn't sure if you planned it that way or not, but I found it amusing! But I'm happy that you loved the chapter! And I hope you enjoyed this one as well!

LightandDarkHeart - LOL! Well I'm glad you enjoyed that barrel surfing scene! I'm also glad you liked the way the map turned out and how they have to solve the clues and everything. I thought it would make things interesting that way and it seems you all liked it too. Yep! Another Ace fan! Although, now I have to wait for him to show up again. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

That should be it for this chapter!

I'll have the next one up soon!

Please remember to review!

Yours Truly,

MyDearWatson