A Pirate's Life For Me! We Need A Musician!!
Part 2 of a 4 Part Saga
by Aoikami Sarah
Chapter Three – Escape From Largo
In the private chambers of the G Clef, its owner Kerodo Clef paced back and forth. The dozen or so large frog-man bouncers in the room with him were covered in bandages.
"Explain to me how you managed to let a thirteen year old human girl escape!" he shouted, a vein bulging on his green forehead.
"She yelled at us," one explained in an impossibly low baritone.
Clef stopped pacing. "She yelled? You mean, she spoke?!" he shouted. He tapped his wingtip shoes nervously. "She's gone? For sure?"
"Yeah, Boss."
He let out a sigh. "Well! I guess it's for the best, hahaha!" he said and turned to leave the room. The door swung open before he could get to it and a sort of jelly-fish-hybrid woman of about six feet tall blocked his hasty exit.
"Who's gone, Clef? Nothing better have happened to my precious Harmony-chan while I was away." She was curvaceous, dressed in a red sequined tuxedo jacket and exuded power and grace. Her skin was ghostly white. Her legs were long and perched delicately in a pair of open-toe heels. Her lips were blue. Her eyes were gold and her hair, or rather, her tentacles were purple and sort of translucent.
"Lilly Marlene-sama!" Clef exclaimed in what could be described as delight, but was more accurately shock and despair.
She snapped her fingers and held her elbow, perching her hand in waiting. Behind her, two humans appeared in the doorway with slinky red dresses and severe black wedge haircuts. One produced a briefcase. The other opened it. They took out something thin and black and assembled it together. Clef and his sizable body guards looked more than a little worried. One woman put a cigarette in the end of the long, thin pipe and the other put it in Lilly's outstretched hand. Lilly put the cigarette holder to her lips and one of them lit it for her. She took a few measured puffs and looked down on the minute frog-man before her. "Where did she go?" she asked seriously.
"I… I don't know… hehehe," Clef laughed nervously. "You know these kids. They get all worked up and take off. She'll be back!"
Lilly cast her eyes toward the bodyguards and took a deep breath. "After what she did to these lummoxes, I doubt this was so simple." She walked over to one of them who had more abrasions that the others. "You," she said, her voice steely. "Who did this to you?"
"The… the one that was all stretchy!" he replied.
"Stretchy?" Lilly breathed smoke into his face and turned to Clef.
"Oh! Right! Them. Forgot about them. Pirates, I think."
"You think?" The woman narrowed her eyes. "Think harder, Clef. Our Harmony's welfare is at stake."
.X.
Zoro hoisted the box up and over the side of the Going Merry.
"Set it down gently, Zoro! It's really important to Miss Sairen!" Usopp urged. The pink-haired girl looked intensely nervous as the swordsman strained to lift it over his head. "Eh?" he wondered. "Who's the kid?"
"Zoro, this is Harmony Sairen," Nami introduced her as they set foot on deck. "She's a famous musician and we're taking care of her, apparently."
"Whose bright idea was this?" he grumbled, setting the box down as instructed.
"Take a wild guess," she grumbled. Harmony hung her head. "Ah! I mean… It's not you, Miss Sairen. Our captain is a bit… capricious."
"Nice save, Nami," Usopp commented. "Say, where is he and Chopper? They haven't made it back yet. I hope they're ok! Those goons were scary!"
"Pfff," Sanji scoffed blowing smoke. "Those grenouilles were nothing. They're probably just lost."
"What the hell did you morons get yourselves into now?" Zoro asked. "Does this mean I don't get to go to a tavern?"
Harmony inched away and leaned against the huge box. She watched the strangers with wide eyes. The young man who invited her to come along was nowhere in sight. She closed her eyes and squatted down.
A hand slapped onto the lip of the deck.
"Look out!" Sanji called and grabbed Nami to get her out of the way before Luffy caught up with his hand.
"Incoming!" Usopp called and dove out of the way as Luffy with Chopper tucked under his other arm flew towards them. Zoro stuck out his own arm and caught them, jerking them to a halt.
"Ah! Thanks Zoro!" Luffy chimed. Harmony looked up.
"Don't tell me. We have to run away from whatever trouble you got yourself into?" Zoro groaned.
He laughed. "Something like that!"
"Ah! Miss Sairen, Usopp!" Chopper piped. "You made it!"
The young woman looked up at the crew and swallowed. She stood and bowed deeply. Luffy strode up to her, took her by the shoulder and introduced her. "Hey guys! This is Harmony. She's gonna be our musician! Harmony, this is my first mate, Zoro, navigator, Nami, liar, Usopp…"
"I'm the gunner!" he shouted.
"Cook, Sanji."
"I'm a five star gourmet chef…" he grumbled.
"And doctor, Chopper!"
The seventh crewmember strode down the stairs from the upper deck. "Ara, what's this? We've got a newcomer?"
"And that's our… um… archalologist, Robin!"
"It's archaeologist, dumbass," Sanji spat.
"What he said." Luffy looked down at the scared girl. "It's ok. Those jerks won't wreck your equipment. I won't let 'em." This seemed to significantly relax her. "Oh yeah! And there's me! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who'll become the pirate king!"
"Oi, Luffy, don't you think we oughta set sail, like, soon? Like, before those goons that are after her catch up with us?!" Usopp panicked.
"Alright Let's go!" he shouted in agreement and the crew went to work on a well practiced hasty retreat.
.X.
Lilly Marlene rested on a plush divan in her suite at the G-Clef. Her two assistants were busy painting her toenails bright red. Night had settled into Largo and the room was dimly lit except for the lamp by which the women painted. Someone knocked on the door.
"Willkommen, Bienvenue, Come on in," she called.
"Oh, Lilly Marlene-sama, don't you look radiant tonight!" Clef gushed. Three large frogmen behind him carried several bunches of red roses.
"Save it. Where is Harmony-chan?"
"We're working on it…"
"You're useless. I gave you a chance, Clef. I suppose I'll just have to book my next engagement elsewhere…"
"N… No! Please! Now that we don't have Harmony, if we don't have you as a headliner, the G-Clef will be doomed!"
Lilly's red lips curled into a vicious smile. "It certainly will." Her diaphanous body didn't seem to move at all as she puffed on a cigarette in its long holder. "Well? What are you doing standing there about to pee your pants, go find her!"
"Ye… yes ma'am!" he stuttered and ran past the slower thinking goons in a flurry of red rose petals. When he had gone she rolled her eyes.
"If you want something done right, send your own henchmen…" She clapped her hands. A figure appeared in the shadows.
"Yes, Lilly Marlene-sama?"
"Our Harmony has flown the coop, supposedly with a pirate named Luffy." The shadow straightened at the mention of the name. "If you don't want to visit Davy Jones, bring her back to me."
"Understood."
"Olivia, Vivian," she said and the two women painting her toes looked up. "When you're done with that, dears, burn this casino to the ground."
"Understood!" they echoed each other.
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To be continued...