Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece
I would like to thank TheUprisingDrifts for helping me edit this chapter. He or she is awesome; didn't ask. This chapter starts with the end of the flashback, just to let you know. I hope you like it, wrote most of it in my passenger seat.
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Elsha still remembered that obscenity to this day. Although there were some asinine decisions made by her captain cohered from her being smarter but the "captain's" always face rival pirates or big bad marine's while the crew has the option to scramble so being the first mate was a blessing to her...except now that Eric was unconscious she was technically the captain now.
She roiled wine in a beer mug because glasses on a boat were just asking to fall and break while Cain was putting their dirty dishes in a plastic tray to clean the next time they reached land.
"As much as I don't agree with Eric, he was right in his decision." She said.
"What decision?" Cain asked, still putting the dirty dishes in the tray.
"When we first sailed in that quaint dinghy of a ship I thought we were going to trade it for something bigger so we could gather more crew to help sail across the sea—and I still believe when it comes to a crew, it's quantity that masses over quality. However, seeing how much of a hard worker you are and tasting how good you cook...I think it's a good thing things didn't work the way I planned."
Hearing her give him a compliment after weeks of her yelling at him to help row their dinghy made his stomach lurch, seize, and slowly relax.
Suddenly, just when he was feeling clemency from her, there was a large shake causing vibrations in their giant golem interior. The quake almost caused a plate to fall and break but Cain caught it sliding flat on his back so it landed on his soft tummy.
And then—Elsha immediately got up and walked gingerly over Cain before running as fast as she could to see what caused the earthquake...outside...while they were floating on the sea.
Elsha and Cain dashed out of the kitchen on top of Royo. They discovered where that rumbling was coming from, another boat firing their cannons at their golem. She could hear him whimpering from the projectiles hitting him.
There was no way they could fight back-there were no cannons on Royo and they were too far out of range—so they tried to make an escape. What's worse...Elsha had to make the decisions of what to do at this moment.
She was strong physically, not strong mentally. She just wasn't as strategic as Eric was.
Another volley of cannonballs was fired at Royo, and all she could do in the face of them was fidget.
"Cain..." She could see their cannonballs, their horrendous onslaught on a sentient being, and even though she wasn't sure how to make a judicious command...she shut her eyes and yelled "Lead Royo to cover! I'll try to fend off these cannonballs.
In that instant, she changed from her human form to her pointy-eared form and leaped in the air to catch one cannonball while her feet extended to hit two more.
With one hand she pulled back the cannonball, then chucked it back at the wooden vessel. The cannonball moved at a velocity so fast it caught on fire. As if life didn't want this cannonfire to end too early, a playing card—just a simple playing card—was thrown like a baseball towards the cannonball.
It caught on fire and smoldered away into a dozen pieces. And then—an onslaught of cards went flying off the ship in a linear line; all catching fire and burning.
Elisa should be surprised by this sudden use of cards, but another thought came to her mind, 'why is my cannonball moving so slow?'
From the sea, an eerie purple miasma raised up and enveloped the cannonball. The cannonball was motionless in the cloud and deteriorated into a muddy clay substance.
As Elisa looked at it with a dry-looking face and mouth open losing the control to clench her gums together, three more cannonballs in a row were fired from the cannons.
This time, the cannonballs had a purple sheen and were on fire; catching them was out of the question.
"Cain...can Ryoya submerge in the water?"
Cain scoffed, "Sure, if you want Yukine to drown or get eaten by the predators under Ryoko."
Without time to second-guess another idea, Elisa ran lopping her feet before leaping off Ryoko's shoulder, catching the gap in his rocky body, following by kicking her rocky friend with both her feet.
He stumbled and fell, his right hand submerged while his left held up high, and his middle-the place they made little homes on his nape—were still above water. The cannonballs flying right over his head.
A thundering sound traveled across the water. It was the sound of the round at the bottom of cannons being moved.
Wouldn't be long until they would fire lower. At that time Elisa had to think of a way to get back at these assassins.
"We need to get them with a tidal wave. Can Ryoko make one, Cain?"
He looked at her before flitting his eyes to the ocean. With great haste he dashed from where he was standing back to the kitchen. When he came out, he had a bandolier of spice shakers, a frying pan, and a weird combination of four burners split from each other to look like a clover.
He held the burners in his right hand, stuffed his frying pan in his right armpit, then clawed all over his own clothes pulling out everything from receipts to wrappers to a more important-looking gold locket with a chain that looked like a book.
"The sea washes away everything in your pockets, but the only way this plan is going to work is by me getting my ass in there. Put my junk in one of Ryoko's wet and damp gaps if I don't make it back."
Before she could stop him or question him about what would make the shakers safe in his bandolier, he sprinted with the frying pan and burners hugged close to his chest. Despite his heavy burden, he dived in that predator-laden sea gracefully like a seagull.
He was now underwater, still alive and not eaten because spices from his shakers spread all over the sea distracted them. He began his plan by burning the burners. Elisa watched a seething froth emerge on the surface of the water from above. Even with all that froth blinding the water, she could see a flash of black swung over and over-each time a streak of blue flames roared through the water.
Elisa felt guilty not figuring out how suicidal this plan of his would be. She was so busy keeping her eyes in the water trying to find Cain, she forgot the other side could fire cannons until another volley was launched towards Ryoko.
Elisa didn't know if she should jump in the water or stay perched on Ryoko.
Then—something underneath the water rumbled causing her to fall, the cannonballs flying over her and went through a tent, Yukine's tent.
What happened was Cain used the burners to fire his frying pan at the stern of the boat. That boat was now sinking into the water.
Cain rose from the water. He spat out a mouthful of water. Once his mouth was clear enough to speak, he called to Ryoko.
"I'm down here! Come and pick me up, Ryoko!"
The golem, although a little mutilated after the cannons, reached down and picked Cain up.
The first thing Cain saw was Elisa shuddering in anguish. She felt guilty but mostly it was guilt—a feeling the next generation in the bloodline feels when they reenact their parents' mistakes.
Cain stepped off the golems' hand glancing at his sleeve torn and needed to be coheshed. He worried more about Elisa's guilt and humored her pulling his golem friend's hand towards her.
"Why don't you two have a nice chat with one another," he said leaving the same way as a snake towards the cabin.
She stood on the golem's hand, then she procrastinated her words with a tear.
"I didn't mean for you...your pain is completely my...I promise next time I'll...I'm sorry but I don't know what to say."
She broods, leaning slightly on her toes while touching the moist rock for his body. All the tension was relieved by Eric moving up to her. Right away he could see how distraught she was.
"Don't be sad, Elisa...you were given little time and minimal help at the time they bombarded us."
Hearing Eric sound so sympathetic brought a sniffle to her nose.
"I love you, Eric, but trying to commend me isn't going to help me feel any better about almost causing the boat to sink with us along with it."
Eric pattered her on the shoulder.
"Get some rest, then by tomorrow we can think about something else...Yukine's idea."