A/N: It's Sunday again! So welcome to another chapter of Storm's Helm!
I don't own Fairy Tail!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 23: The Drunk
April 13, X792 – Late Morning
Days had passed since the guild's time at Nebula and it seemed as if things had calmed down for a while. Since Cordelia had to wait for Jack to figure out how to deal with the Dark Water, she had told Matilda to just keep the guild moving around in the ocean in between Nebula and the next set of three islands belonging to Caelum. This allowed the guild time to laze around and recuperate from their recent fights with the Black Skulls and the sirens. And it helped that Bern and his Captains had seemed to back off for the time being as well as Madmartigan making no further movements since their stand off. So the past couple of days were ones that Cordelia had used to catch up on some much needed sleep, which she was still currently doing at the moment on the middle vessel.
A few hammocks had been hung up on the deck, some in the sun while others were hidden away under canopies for shade. Cordelia was currently sprawled out on her back on top of Seth, who sat in one of the hammocks in the sun to keep warm. Both mages were completely dead to the world, Cordelia seeming to have picked up on Seth's habit of napping since he had joined the guild, and she found him to be quite useful in the pillow department. Eli hung next to them, his own head dipping down every now and then as he struggled to stay awake. The only thing keeping him awake at the moment was the wooden guitar he was lazily strumming. Most people left the trio alone, keeping themselves busy with their own plans of relaxation. Though, there seemed to be a few people with their eyes on the small group.
Isaak was the first to approach them, finding the scene rather amusing. He looked over at Eli to make sure the fire mage hadn't noticed him. It wouldn't do for his rival to start rampaging on such a peaceful day. Once he was sure that Eli wasn't paying attention to him, he started in on his plan of messing with the guild master. First he started by tickling her nose lightly, causing her to swipe a hand lazily upwards and turn her head away from him. He then began to playfully poke her in the arm and her side which caused her to completely roll over and even for Seth to unconsciously move an arm around her waist to keep her from falling. He stood thinking of what to do next to bother her when Mac and Zinnia made their way over to him.
"If you're trying to mess with her, you're going about it all wrong," Mac said, pushing Isaak out of the way, "Let an expert show you how it's really done. Care to help me, Zinnia?"
"Of course!"
The two women stepped up to either end of the hammock that Cordelia and Seth laid in, grabbing onto the loose ends of it. Once they felt they had a tight enough grip, Mac counted to three and the two spun the hammock as hard as they could. The pair laying in it instantly woke up when they felt themselves spinning and becoming stuck in the cloth. Mac and Zinnia took that moment to run from the area, leaving behind Isaak to fend for himself. Once the hammock stopped spinning, only a leg from Seth and an arm from Cordelia could be seen sticking out of it, the rest of their bodies being stuck inside of it. Isaak could only laugh at the sight before him, Cordelia easily picking up on the laughter and who it belonged to.
"Isaak! What the hell did you do?!" she shouted, but it was muffled due to her current position.
"What are you talking about, angel?" he asked, still laughing lightly.
"Don't you try acting all innocent! Get me out of here so I can punch you!"
Eli's head popped back up from hearing the shouting, the fire mage looking over to see Cordelia and Seth stuck in the hammock while Isaak stood beside it laughing.
"Marzell!" Eli shouted as he jumped out of his own hammock and set down his guitar, "What did you do?!"
Isaak slammed a hand in his face when he came running around towards him to keep him at bay, "Chill out, flame brain. I didn't do anything."
"Yeah right! Because the hammock just spun itself! You gotta come up with something better than that, Isaak!" Cordelia shouted.
"It would be appreciated if you unwound us," Seth said, "It's pretty cramped in here and Cordelia is only going to get more angry. I'd rather not be right next to her when she finally explodes."
"You heard them, Marzell! Undo your dirty work, you card playing loser!"
"Ah, with demands like that, I really have no reason to do what you say," Isaak said with a smirk aimed at Eli, "Besides, I caught myself an angel. Why would I let her go?"
"ISAAK!"
"MARZELL!"
"Isaak, please," Seth pleaded when Cordelia started thrashing about.
"What will I get in return?"
"What?!" Cordelia said, "You were the one that did this! There's no way I'm giving you anything in return!"
"But you can't really prove that I did it, can you?"
"You better hope I don't catch you when I get out of here! Disturbing a girl while she's sleeping! What a horrible thing to do!"
It was at that moment that Jay came running up onto the deck where the group was with Ace close on his heels, the sword mage having been dragged along by Jay. The younger man was about to shout his reasoning for breaking onto the scene when he was stopped short by the sight of the two mages being stuck in a hammock while Isaak was laughing and holding back an angry Eli.
"What…uh…what's going on?" Jay asked.
"Jay! Thank God!" Cordelia said, "Get me out of this damn hammock!"
"Yes ma'am!" he said, running up to the twisted cloth. He struggled at first, mostly due to the weight Seth's body put into the hammock, but eventually with Ace's help, the two men spun the hammock back around. Cordelia was flung right on top of Jay in her freedom while Ace got the short end of the stick as Seth was thrown onto him, the large man slamming Ace down on the deck in their tumble.
"Haha, sorry about that," Seth said, laughing lightly as he stood up and helped a smashed Ace back to his feet.
"Yeah, no biggie," Ace wheezed out.
Jay was flat on his back staring right up into the face of his guild master, her green hair spilling all around her face while her blue eyes looked back at him with a thankful stare in them. Jay instantly felt the blush rise up through his entire face at their close proximity, no longer being able to remember why he came onto the deck to begin with.
"Thanks Jay!" Cordelia smiled brightly, giving him a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. This caused Jay to blush harder to the point of passing out.
"I think you killed the poor boy," Isaak said once Cordelia was standing on her feet again. Cordelia set her sights on the rune mage when she heard him speak, stomping up to him and squarely punching him in the shoulder, "You still hit as hard as ever, angel," he said, reaching up to rub the shoulder she hit.
"Consider yourself lucky for getting off easy," she huffed, "You ever get me stuck like that again, I'll make sure Rozenolf has you serving her tea for two hours."
Isaak could only laugh nervously at the fact that his Light Elemental had a weird habit of making him serve her tea even though she didn't actually drink it. She had done that to him yesterday to make up for the fact that she had to save him again against the sirens.
"Now then," Cordelia said, turning to look at Ace, "What did Jay come running up here for?"
"I don't know," he answered, "He told me to follow him and then you overheated him!"
"Well someone fan him awake."
"Shouldn't you do that since you were the one to put him in that condition?" Ace said.
"Don't give me your attitude!"
"I'm not! I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking! You're really annoying sometimes!"
"You're the poster boy for annoying! Now wake him up!"
"Why me?!"
"Because I said so!"
"Guys! I'm awake now!"
The Murdock siblings stopped their argument to see Jay in a sitting position now, though he still had a hint of a blush across his cheeks, "Don't keep us waiting like that!" they both shouted, causing Jay to flinch back away from them while the three other men in the background sighed in response.
"So what did you come running up here for?" Cordelia asked.
"Oh right!" Jay said, pulling out some flyers from his back pocket, "I got the morning newspaper from the traveling news gull today and I found something in it that I thought you needed to see," he explained, handing over the rolled up scrolls to Cordelia.
She took the papers from him and unrolled them. A shocked expression covered her face as she read over the scroll over and over again. She then flipped through the others that were with it, her eyes becoming wider every time she flipped to the next paper, "OI! What is this?!"
Isaak quickly yanked the papers from Cordelia's hands, "Well now, this is unexpected," he said, flipping through the four different flyers.
"What is it?" Eli asked.
"Looks like you all got bounties on your heads," Isaak said, "By order of the Western Vice Admiral, Bern Eversaw."
"WHAT?!" Eli shouted, grabbing the papers from Isaak. He flipped through them, naming off the people as he went, "Cordelia Murdock, Seth Ornison, Ace Murdock and Eli Winchester! What the hell?! We didn't even do anything!"
"How much is mine?" Seth asked, trying to peer over Eli's shoulder at them.
"That's your reaction?!" Eli shouted, turning to look up at him, "You should be more worried about your reputation and the guild's reputation! We're supposed to be a legal guild! Not a place filled with wanted men!"
"Are you mad because Cordi and Seth have larger bounties than you?" Ace asked, pulling out his own bounty sheet that showed he was worth 2,000,000 jewels.
"I should be higher than you at least!" Eli shouted over at the younger man after looking at his own 2,000,000 jewel bounty sheet. His outburst only caused Ace to smirk at him, "But that's not the point! This is a lame way for that Vice Admiral to pick a fight!"
"At least the pictures are decent," Seth said after reading over his own sheet and the 2,500,000 jewel reward that was on it, "I wonder when they took them."
"And of course I look the best and have the biggest bounty," Cordelia smirked, looking down at her own smiling face and the 3,000,000 jewel reward on it, "It's like Bern is trying to woo me, haha!"
"As the guild master, you should really be more worried about this!" Eli said, "What happens if bounty hunters show up here?!"
"Then I guess we'll have to show them why we got bounties on our heads in the first place," she answered, "Besides, if Bern wants a fight, then he's more than welcome to one. I still have a bone to pick with him after what he did to my Tsar Cannon. He's just lucky that I have a crafter on the ship that can fix her."
Eli sighed heavily at her response, "Cor, shouldn't you at least try to contact the Admiral to get this fixed?"
"You worry too much," she said as she bopped his nose with a finger, "Besides, it's pretty badass, right? I think I'll frame it."
"Plus, if Bern did this just so he can get a fight out of us, then I'm sure word will eventually reach the Admiral and they'll do something about it then. No use freaking out about it now," Ace said with a shrug before looking over at Cordelia, "We might have some extra frames in storage. I'll check it out since I want one too."
"I'll come help you," Seth smiled, "We should feel proud that we impressed the Vice Admiral so much."
Eli could only stare at the other three in shock, "You're all crazy!"
"Come on," Isaak said, patting him on the back, "You know you want a frame too."
"Can it, Marzell!"
. : + : .
Mingo made his way across the deck to head towards Madmartigan's office. He had finished checking up on Micky for the morning and had received the morning newspapers, finding some interesting flyers in them. He smiled to himself as he maneuvered around the rest of the crew. It seemed that the newest guild master for Storm's Helm was proving herself to be a force to be reckoned with, at least it seemed that way according to the flyers he had in his hands. She would be an interesting person to have a conversation with…if he wasn't stuck on board the Black Skulls that was. He sighed at that last thought as he finally had made his way down to the office. He knocked on the door to hear a grumble of 'come in' in response.
"Morning Captain," he said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.
"Heard anything on the guild figuring out the third clue yet?" Madmartigan asked, standing over near a window. He stared out into the bright sun, keeping his back to Mingo.
"You really have a way of greeting people, sir," Mingo said, "But to answer your question, no. The guild hasn't made a move to a new island or any specific destination. They're just resting out in the middle of the ocean for the moment."
"Hmm, seems they've hit a bump in the road when it comes to the clues then."
"Are you wanting to try and raid them while they're waiting?"
"No," he answered, a ghost of a smirk appearing on his lips, "The little girl has peaked my interest."
"I thought you didn't want anything to do with that guild?"
"I don't, but she's…she's so much like him. I can't help but to want to see what she can do."
"Do you really think that's a good idea, sir?"
"It doesn't matter if it's a good idea or not any longer," he answered, finally turning to look at Mingo, "I'll keep sending out men to keep her on her toes and when the final battle finally comes about, that's where I'll be waiting for her."
"So you'll purposefully send your men out knowing that they'll be beaten just to get her riled up?"
"My men might get a few scrapes and bruises, but not without making their own blows to her own crew along the way. That's what bothers her the most, Domingo," he said, a dark look coming over him, "Seeing her mages being hurt, it drives her crazy. I'll keep doing that over and over again until she can't take it anymore. That's the only way to get a real fight out of her. We got to see a glimpse of that cold nature she buries underneath her soul when she took out that siren. She may call herself the master of a legal guild, but she's no different than me. What a wonderful fight I can see in the future. I can already taste the intensity building up."
Mingo didn't know what to say or how to react to his Captain's words. It felt like Madmartigan was losing himself in this chase of cat and mouse. While they were pirates, if he kept sending out crew members to a potential death against the guild, he may not have a crew to order around one day. Mingo had to wonder what it was that was driving his Captain so far over the edge. Was his history with Duke and the guild that deep? What had he done to Duke that made him loose all common sense? Whatever it was, it kept Duke from showing the four bounties shoved away in his coat. He felt that if his Captain had seen them, it would only fuel his drive against Cordelia. While Madmartigan might feel an epic fight in the air, Mingo could only feel their demise hanging in the air if they continued with things. He would have to be much more cautious going forward. He was a pirate, but he sure as hell didn't feel like dying over something so stupid as a treasure map or an old rivalry that had nothing to do with him. His freedom was more important than that.
. : + : .
Zhuue made her way across the guild, attempting to find her guild master per Jack's request. She bounced around through each ship in hopes of finding her, eventually finding her on the ship that held the storage rooms. She jumped up and down quickly and waved her arms wildly to get Cordelia's attention. The gun mage laughed as she approached the blonde woman.
"Calm down. I see you," Cordelia said, reaching up to pull Zhuue's hands down from the air, "What can I help you with?"
Zhuue straightened up her back and tried to look at professional as she could while pretending to hold a clipboard and writing on it.
"Jack?"
Zhuue smiled as she bopped Cordelia on the nose.
"He wants to see me then?" she asked, earning a nod from the blonde, "All right then. You boys keep looking for those frames. I'll be back in a bit."
"Where are you going?" Eli asked, popping his head up from the pile of supplies he was mulling through.
"I just need to see Jack about something. Nothing major, so I'll be back soon," she answered as she left the storage area with Zhuue. This left the men in the room exchanging curious glances before they dove back into searching for the frames. Eli, though, couldn't help but want to follow the pair of women. He felt that there was something else going on that Cordelia wasn't telling them.
"Don't go doing something stupid," Isaak called after him when he saw the fire mage moving to follow Cordelia, "She'll get mad at you again and I don't believe that throwing another party will fix it this time. Just trust that there's a reason she didn't ask you to follow her."
"Tch, I don't need advice from someone like you," Eli mumbled as he walked out of the storage room.
Isaak sighed, knowing that this was only bound to cause trouble, so he decided to follow along as well. Better that his idiot rival have some back up if Cordelia really did get mad.
Cordelia quickly made her way to the front ship first to grab the map just in case she would need it. She then smiled at Zhuue again when she made her way back to the top deck before the pair made their way back towards the infirmary where Jack would be. Zhuue spoke to Cordelia in her animated fashion, Cordelia seeming to be able to understand everything that the mute woman told her. They soon found themselves at the infirmary, Jack waiting for them in the now empty room. Cordelia was glad to see the infirmary empty though after what they had been through back on Nebula.
"Jack," Cordelia greeted, "You called for me?"
"I did," he said, smiling over at his blonde assistant, "Thank you for being so quick with my request, Zhuue."
Zhuue smiled brightly in return, giving the man a quick hug before she stepped behind him.
"I believe I have figured out a way to get what you need for the map. Just one drop will do, correct?"
"I think so," Cordelia said as she pulled out the map and laid it on one of his work tables, "It only took one drop of Van's blood to show the next clue, so my guess is that it'll only take one drop of that…water to reveal the third clue."
"You're probably right," Jack said as he pulled out the jar of Dark Water she had given him along with a specialized syringe that he had made for this specific job, "I created a heated syringe. What it should do is allow the needle to melt through the metal lid to reach the water. Once I have what I need and pull the needle back out, it should be hot enough to close the metal behind it and keep the water inside the jar."
"Do you have a back up plan in case that doesn't work?"
"Not really," Jack said, "But most of my plans work the first time I implement them, so there's a ninety percent chance that it'll work."
"I still don't like that there's a ten percent chance of failure. You do realize what will happen if this stuff gets out, right?"
"I understand that, but if you wish to continue with this hunt, then you'll have to take that risk," Jack said, "Unless you want to just break the bottle open."
Cordelia stood in thought for a moment, biting at her bottom lip as she thought about the consequences if Jack's plan didn't work. She finally sighed as she gave into his plan, "All right, let's do it. But I want all of us to be on guard in case something does go wrong."
"Of course," Jack said, nodding back at Zhuue for the woman to be ready in case things did go wrong.
"Make sure that there's no space between the map and the water when you drop it onto it," Cordelia said, "I don't want there to be any chance of even a drop of it escaping."
"Aye, I know," Jack answered as he turned on the heated option on the syringe. He only had to wait a few moments before it was ready. He then picked up the needle and was about to sink it through the lid when the door was thrown open.
Cordelia swiped the jar out of his hands before he could drop it or sink the syringe in the wrong way. The trio looked up to see who had interrupted them. Cordelia's eyes went wide when she saw Eli standing there along with Isaak right behind him. Eli stared down at the bottle in her hands, his own eyes wide as he instantly recognized the substance in the jar. The Dark Water was moving around in a chaotic fashion as soon as the fire mage had entered the room, as if it was desperately trying to reach out for him.
"Dark Water," Eli said lowly as he looked up from it to Cordelia, "Why…why is it on the guild?"
Cordelia couldn't answer him for a long moment, afraid of how he would react to her answer. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, the woman looking up to see Jack beside her.
"It is for the treasure hunt," Jack answered for her, "Blackstroker put this in the statue that she had to look for. The map needs a drop of it to reveal the third clue."
"Cordelia," Eli said, his tone growing harsh, "You know what that water is. Why would you bring it on the ship?"
"I…I didn't want to. I wanted to stop the hunt when I saw it."
"Then why didn't you? You know what that shit can do!"
"Oi, don't shout at her," Isaak said, moving in closer in case Eli did something stupid.
"It's okay Isaak," Cordelia said. She understood why Eli was becoming so angry at the sight of the Dark Water, so she felt he had a right to be angry and shout at the moment. She turned her attention back to Eli, "I had to think of the well being of the guild too. We're not getting that treasure just to have it. We're getting the treasure in order to keep everyone taken care of on the guild."
"There are other ways for us to get money. You need to throw that water out into the ocean. Right now!"
"That's not really your decision, is it?" Jack asked, stepping up to stand in between Cordelia and Eli.
"When there is Dark Water on this guild, it has everything to do with me," he said lowly, trying his best to keep his anger in check, "I don't want it on the ship!"
"Well it's not like I want it on here either!" Cordelia snapped, "But we need it to continue. We just need a drop and then we can get rid of it. I promise!"
Eli was about to say something in reply when Isaak grabbed onto his shoulder tightly, "She's just as bothered by it as you, you moron," he said, motioning over to Cordelia. It was then that Eli realized how much she was shaking by simply holding the jar and the fearful look that filled her eyes despite her trying to argue with him, "We just need one drop. Let Jack do his job and then we can get rid of the stuff."
Eli gritted his teeth together as he thought about what the right thing to do was. They really did need the treasure for the guild, but if something went wrong with the extraction of the Dark Water, it could be much more disastrous for the guild. He then looked back to Cordelia to see a pleading look in her eyes mixed in with her fear. He knew that it must have taken a lot for her to bring the jar on board, knowing what it was and what it could do. And he was sure that Finn knew that the water was on board the guild too. She would have gone to him about it, or at least someone must have told him about the water for him to go and see her about it. If Finn had decided to keep the water on board the guild until they could extract what they needed, then Eli knew that he would have to trust Cordelia on this one.
"Fine, but I'm staying here while you do it," he said in a finalizing tone as he took a seat.
Cordelia nodded at him as she finally handed the jar back over to Jack. She couldn't stop her hands from shaking and had shoved them into her coat pockets to keep them hidden for the time being. She hated showing such a weakness in front of people, but she was glad of the people in the room. They wouldn't give her grief for it later.
"Are we ready now?" Jack asked, looking out at the group. When he received nods from them, he continued with his earlier actions. Everyone seemed to hold their breaths as the needle melted right through the lid and made contact with the dark water. Jack pulled back on the needle ever so slightly to take the smallest amount of the liquid. There was a high pitched screech as he did this, the water seeming to scream out in pain in response to what was being done to it. Eli's entire body tensed up while Cordelia moved her shaking hands over her ears. Jack tried to make his work quick, but he also didn't want to take the chance of messing up. So he smoothly pulled back the needle at a steady pace, the lid closing up behind the needle when it was free like he thought it would. The dark water stayed in the jar, everyone letting out a small sigh of relief. Jack then moved the syringe over the map and placed it as close as possible to the paper. He eased out a single drop of the Dark Water, the black liquid landing on the paper before it had a chance to move anywhere else. Once the paper had soaked up the water, a new piece of the map was revealed along with the next clue. Jack set aside the jar and syringe for the moment, knowing he would have to get rid of them both later, and handed the map over to Cordelia, "It worked."
Cordelia took a moment to calm herself, taking in a deep breath in hopes of resetting her emotions for the moment. Once she felt calm enough and her hands were no longer shaking, she took the map from him to see new, white writing across the black area of it, "Congrats on figuring out how to get the Dark Water onto the map. I'm sure that was a puzzle in itself. I would say I'm sorry for putting you through that, but I am a pirate and I don't apologize for anything," she read aloud, knowing that if she were to ever met Blackstroker in person that she really would punch him in the face, "Now then, I'm sure you want the next clue. It won't be as lethal as the Dark Water, but trust me when I say it won't be easy to find. So good luck and happy hunting! William Blackstroker," she continued as her eyes shifted down to the third clue, "On shores of glass, you will find a mirror among mirrors. Find the right one and it shall lead you to a relic of water which will cleanse the map and lead you to a spirit of wishes," she finished, looking up at the rest of the mages in the room with her, "These clues keep getting weirder and weirder."
"Hmm, shores of glass," Isaak said, thinking for a moment before it dawned on him what Blackstroker was talking about, "I've heard that Caelum's island of lightning, Fulgur, constantly has lightning raining down and hitting its beaches. When lightning hits sand, it creates glass. I think our best bet is to head to Fulgur then."
"We'll head there then," Cordelia said, rolling up the map and shoving it back inside her coat. She looked back over at Jack, "Thank you for all your help. Just make sure to dispose of the water properly."
"You don't need to worry, I'll get rid of it," Jack answered, nodding to her before she moved out to head up to the navigation cabin to let Matilda know where they were heading.
Eli quickly followed her, Isaak keeping a close eye on him from his spot in the infirmary to make sure he didn't start another argument with her, "Cor, wait," he said as he grabbed onto her arm. Cordelia stopped, allowing the man to pull her back to face him, "I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just…that Dark Water…"
"I know, Eli," she answered, "I really am sorry that I brought it onto the guild."
"Don't bring anymore onto the guild…at least not without telling me first, all right?" he said, "I was just surprised to see it. You know how I feel about the stuff."
"I'm sorry," she said quietly as she moved in to hug him tightly, hiding her face away against his chest, "I'm still scared of it. How am I supposed to keep my promise to you when I can't even handle a jar of it? I don't want it to take you away."
Eli didn't have an answer for her. He was just as fearful of the Dark Water as she was, maybe even more so since he always seemed to be a target for it when it was around. He felt horrible that he had yelled at her for what she had done while she was already scared and he felt eve more horrible over the fact that he couldn't find anything to say to comfort her. The only thing that he could think to do was to hug her in return, hoping that would be enough to transfer his own feelings over to her.
. : + : .
Upon seeing the movement of the guild and that more than likely it was headed for Fulgur, Madmartigan made his way across the deck towards a man that he knew could handle the lighting island well. The Captain sighed though when he saw the large bottle of rum sitting next to the man. He hoped that he still had enough sense about him despite the rum he had running through his system now.
"Swabbie!" Madmartigan barked out, causing the man to jump a little as he turned to face him in his chair. The surprised look on the twenty-four year old's face quickly turned into a stupid grin.
"Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaptaaaaaaiiiiiiiin…Cap-Cap-Captain," he slurred out.
"It's the middle of the day and you're already like this?" Madmartigan grumbled, "Though, I really shouldn't be surprised."
The younger man stared up at him with small, half-lidded onyx eyes. He had thick, spiky shoulder length red hair that was slicked back in a wild and spiky style. He normally stood tall at 5'11" with light mocha tan skin and he had three black hoop earrings pierced above both eyes to act as eyebrows. He wore a shabby, sleeveless brown tunic that had faded gold trimmings on it with a large brown leather belt wrapped around the tunic at the waist to hold it closed. He also wore a pair of baggy, black pants that were tied shut by small ropes at the ends of the pant legs while he also had on a pair of simple sandals. The man was known through the crew simply as Swabbie; and while Madmartigan had figured out his real name of Niall Gerald from his time on his ship, the Captain had adopted the nickname for the man as well from his early days on the ship.
"I have a job for you, Swabbie," Madmartigan began, "Do you think you can handle it without getting drunk?"
"Ya know…I'm sad that hydras can't wear sweaters…"
Madmartigan sighed heavily has he ran a hand down his face. He gritted his teeth to keep his anger under control, "Niall!" he snapped, figuring it would be the easiest way to get the man's attention.
Swabbie's lopsided grin quickly disappeared as it was replaced with small frown he usually wore, "I'm listening," the man grunted.
"Glad to see I've got your attention now," the Captain said, "I need you to go onto Fulgur and track the guild, Storm's Helm. They have a map that I want. Get it for me."
Swabbie simply grunted in reply as he was normally a silent man when the rum was put aside.
"But while you're there, make sure you rile the guild up a bit. Their master doesn't seem to appreciate when her mages get hurt. I'm sure that's something you and your Rock Armor Magic can handle."
Swabbie only grunted again, but it was enough for Madmartigan to know the man would follow his orders. The Captain turned away from the redhead, his black coat flowing out behind him, "I'm coming for you, little girl. I wonder how angry you will be when next we meet," he said as he began laughing over the mere thought of the look on Cordelia's face when he saw her again.
. : + : .
A middle-aged man sat in a corner of a lively bar. The corner kept most of his face shadowed, though one could see the scruff of a dark beard across his face. He rubbed the beard with a calloused hand, figuring he needed to stop being lazy soon and shave it. Though, that wasn't his number one priority as he stared down at the bounty sheets before him that the town had just received that morning.
"What troublemakers my kids have become," he mumbled, but there was a proud grin across his face nonetheless.
"You've been lookin' at those an awful long time now," a woman, the owner of the bar, said as she slammed down an extra large beer next to the man, "Somethin' must have caught yer interest with 'em."
"You might say that," he said as he took a gulp out of the glass, drinking down half of it in that one gulp. He then pulled out a cigar and cut the end of it off before pulling out a lighter and lighting it up. He blew out a stream of smoke in the opposite direction of the woman, "They've been a thorn in my side since the day they were born, especially these two," he said, pointing to the bounties with the titles of Cordelia Murdock and Ace Murdock.
"So these are the infamous siblin's you've talked up so much," the woman said as she peered over them. She then watched how the man's dark green eyes stared down at the pictures with pride and what she believed was love, "A'rite! Yer cut off!"
"What? Till when?"
"Till ferever," she answered, "It's time fer ya ta go home."
"I thought you said this could be my home now, old woman," he growled out, now blowing a stream of smoke into her face, "Don't be making decisions for me."
"My word is law 'ere, boy," she said, "Ya did what ya came 'ere ta do. Now it's time fer ya ta go home. Yer real home. I appreciate what ya did fer us…fer Cheyenne," she said, looking sad for a moment before the determined look returned to her face, "But ya still have people that need ya. We don't need ya anymore. So go home. Three years is a long time ta be gone. Ya gonna make those siblin's cry if yer gone too much longer. Ya willing to make such a pertty face cry?" she asked, tapping Cordelia's picture with her index finger.
The man stayed quiet as he looked back down at the pictures. She knew the woman in front of him was right. It had been three long years since he had been home, but he didn't know what was holding him back. There was nothing to be done in the country he was currently in…not anymore anyways. He had made sure of that, "I do miss my kids," he said before sucking down the rest of the cigar and blowing out a large stream of smoke.
"Then finish yer beer and get outta of my bar," she said.
He quickly finished off the second half of his beer in one gulp before rolling up the bounty sheets and shoving them away in his tattered brown cloak. He threw up the hood of the cloak to cover his face as he stood from the table, his 6'6" height causing him to be an opposing figure along with the broad and muscled frame his body had, "Thanks for all the beer," was all he said as he began walking out of the bar, his heavy steps echoing through the place.
"Oi! Take this," she said, throwing out a large case at him. He clicked it open to see it packed full of his favorite cigars.
"You really know how to steal a man's heart."
"There's also a boat at the docks. Just tell 'em that I told ya ta take The Sea Witch with ya," she called out as he continued his trek out the door, smirking under the hood when he heard once last shout from the old woman, "Just make sure yer dumbass goes straight home, Duke Ramirez!"
Storm's Helm Question Corner!
Today's question comes from Cat the Alien for Cordelia:
You're trapped in an elevator for six hours with Ingrid and Kasra. What will you do?
Cordelia: What?! What kind of question is that?! Are they trying to torture me?!
Watson: It's just a question. It's not like it's really gonna happen.
Ingrid: We could make it happen though, my lovely Cordelia. *runs hands across Cordelia's shoulders*
Cordelia: SHE TOUCHED ME! *looks at Watson* You said there would be no physical contact in this interview!
Watson: I'm not their keeper! Besides, where are your usual bodyguards?
Cordelia: They didn't come today because of…him.
Kasra: You really shouldn't get so worked up. We simply came to hear your answer.
Ingrid: Yes, my lovely Cordelia, won't you answer the question?
Cordelia: *stares suspiciously at Ingrid and Kasra* Well first off, that situation would never happen. I won't go anywhere alone with you creeps!
Ingrid & Kasra: How hurtful!
Cordelia: But if it did happen, I would make sure to stand as far back away from them as I could with a spray bottle.
Watson: They're not cats…
Cordelia: I'm pretty sure they both were in a past life! But if they touched me, I'd probably blow the elevator open!
Watson: We can't afford those types of damages right now…
Ingrid & Kasra: *exchanges glances and smirks before grabbing onto Cordelia and running off set*
Watson: Uhhh…I feel like I'm about to get into a lot of trouble with my producers…*giant explosion goes off in the distance…starts to cry* I might be fired over this…I hope to see you all again soon *cries harder as another explosion goes off with Cordelia shouting in the background*
A/N: And there we are! Hope you all enjoyed it!
Credits
Niall 'Swabbie' Gerald - Dreadburner94
Duke Ramirez - MyDearWatson
Uh…so…YAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS! Duke's first appearance! OMG! I'm freaking out about it, haha! I've been just as antsy as the rest of you for even a glimpse of him, so when I found an opportunity, I sure as hell took it! GAH! So I hope you all enjoyed his bit!
And another YAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSS for the next Black Skull member to be introduced and for the third clue to be revealed! So many things going on! And now we get to head into the third clue and all the awesome stuff that happens with that! So I hope you're all ready for that!
Phew! Okay, I got some of that out of my system!
Now then, if you read Thunder Stone, then you're well aware of challenges that happen from time to time with that story. Meaning, my Beta, Dreadburner94, and I challenge each other, usually over special occasions, for one person to write as many chapters as they can in a week's time span and then the other person will match that number of chapters in the following week for their own story. Well, we got to talking the other night and somehow we decided on a new challenge happening. No reason really other than just because and since it had been a while since we've had one. So! I will be going first in this challenge! So between today and the 26th, I will be writing as many chapters as I can between both stories, so I'm hoping to at least update both Storm's Helm and Thunder Stone twice during this challenge, but we'll see how things go. So don't be surprised if you see another chapter for Storm's Helm earlier than usual, not that any of you would probably mind, lol. So just sit back an enjoy the ride while the challenge is going on, especially if you read both stories!
I don't think I have much else, so I'll jump right into those awesome reviews next!
Thanks to those of you that reviewed last chapter!
PlaguedAmbition - Glad I've peaked your interest with that Dark Water and its connection to Eli! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Origm2012 - I liked Rhouth myself! I was like, well, there's gotta be at least one decent siren and then Rhouth was made! Haha! I'm glad you liked that statue! One of my friends actually gave me the idea, so I'm glad it worked out really well. And no telling on how he got that statue on the island until we meet him! (Whoops! Was that another teaser?! That's what you get for that harbringer comment in your response to my questions in the forum, fufufu!) Yep, that Dark Water definitely has to do with the promise that Cordelia made to Eli. And yeah, I figured Cordelia would be selfish enough to keep the title of Queen of the Sirens. Glad you're still liking Finn's character too! Haha, Madmartigan is slowly going…uh…crazy? Is that the right word…well it is now! But yeah, I'm not sure what he was thinking either other than him not really thinking at all when it came to getting that map back. But we'll see he descent into madness slowly coming along…guess with a past like his, it would make sense though. That's what you get for screwing with a storm! *cue cheesy but still badass music* Haha! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Joshua1277 - Yep, that land sickness cure definitely comes in handy! The length of time it lasts will progress throughout the story though. But yeah, why not have a statue of yourself?! Yeah, Lance and Chris got pretty lucky there. And more to come on that Dark Water and how it all works even in small amounts! Yeah, Mingo was able to stop a battle from breaking out, but will he be able to stop Madmartigan in the future?! It's not looking so good for him right now…But anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Momochan77 - I think a lot of you are now curious on the Dark Water, so more to come on that. And Duke! We got to see a glimpse of him finally! So I hope you enjoyed that and the chapter as a whole!
reven228 - YAS! I'm so glad that someone got the Dark Water reference! I used to watch that show as a kid and I thought that so much more could be done with the Dark Water, so ta-daa! The Dark Water made an appearance in the story! Haha, well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
XLil MEkoX - Haha, well you'll be getting some quick updates this week thanks to the challenge! And now I can only picture Securus and Gordon carrying the girls back to the infirmary like that. Haha! Questions, questions, questions! So many questions! And no instant answers! Muwhahahahaha! But yep! A new Black Skulls member introduced this chapter! Hope you liked him from what you got to see! Haha, she did shoot down her own ship, like instantly too! Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
DarkHyena - Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! And Jack got the Dark Water figured out! But if Devin hadn't talked to her that way, then they never would have gotten the third clue! So it's okay! Nope, not even one siren, lol. Too many chances of them eating someone, haha! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Dreadburner94 - ^.^ Well you know how I felt about your review response a while ago, but still, one of the best review responses ever! I keep cracking up over it still! I'm glad you really got into that the way you did! But Euclid! He's jumping worlds! What the heck?! And I had to give him information for sending Nanami your way! Super shady business deals are super shady! You keep him out of my guilds! But Madmartigan is, uh, kinda losing it, haha! So we'll see how his plans go. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Benthino - Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I had fun with that showdown between the Captains and it's only bound to get more intense! And I'm glad you're liking that concept of Dark Water. And I hope you liked how Jack figured things out with getting that drop of water too! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
That should be it for now!
See you all again when the next update comes around!
Yours Truly,
MyDearWatson