One Piece: Bounty Seven
Chapter Sixteen: Ghost Ship, Part 1
Siegfried let out a pained grunt as he was forced back against the ship's railing, the wood creaking from the momentum he'd picked up. Grateful for the brace, he took a moment to inhale some air to replace what had been drove from his lungs.
"Too slow, Sieg!"
Bad idea; Siegfried side-stepped to the right, ducking as he did so, and barely avoided the punch that whistled past his face. The one that came in from the side immediately after was another story, however.
Tumbling backward from the blow, Siegfried managed a clumsy roll onto his feet, just in time to face a kick that came toward his chest. He leaped aside of that, too - dodging was out of the question with Adrian, as he'd already proven. You might as well try to stop an oncoming boat.
Unfortunately, as his legs left the deck, Siegfried found that his new sparring partner had done the same when Adrian's fist and foot found their mark in his chest.
Siegfried's back slammed against the deck this time, Adrian getting a softer landing on his chest. He looked up to see a finger stab itself into the wood right next to his face.
"I win, Sieg – again." Adrian said cheerfully, crouching on him. "And you're dead, oh…about six times?"
The bounty hunter frowned, deflating slightly. Turning his head, he frowned at the small audience the two had gained. "I hope you gentlemen are enjoying yourselves?" he asked sardonically.
"Oh, I don't think there's very much that could be better than this." said one of the crewmates.
His friend nodded. "Besides, if we don't get a clear view we might think it's just an illusion later on – miracles are like that, after all." He chuckled.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I can definitely see how your 'make people like you' plan is going along swimmingly."
"It definitely wouldn't be," agreed Siegfried mentally, "if I was trying to do it alone. But having people like you and Asakura around…it'll show that I'm not cold, or invincible. That's what most people think of the Revolutionaries, after all."
The assassin's brow rose further as she flipped off, allowing Siegfried get up. "Yeah, I kind of get your idea there. But c'mon, it's not like you're weak."
Siegfried shrugged nonchalantly. "Compared to most people, no – but up against you two, I'm certainly our weakest member."
"'Sat so?" thought Adrian before grinning, and cracking her knuckles. "Well, we got plenty of time to start fixing that today, don't we?"
"I can't imagine anything will come up." Siegfried replied with a smile. "Isn't that right, Asakura?" he added, casting a glance toward the shinobi. She was currently seated on the opposite railing, calmly watching the ocean's scenery. The crew members and other passengers gave her a wide berth: they were even more uncomfortable around the woman since Gaikan's little scheme.
Asakura didn't answer him for a moment, staring out at the horizon
The bounty hunter blinked. "Asakura?" he called, forgetting his telepathy for the moment. He walked up, Adrian following behind.
"…Siegfried." Asakura said without looking in his direction. "I sense an ill will approaching."
Adrian instantly snorted. "Way to be specific, Birdie. You're real on the ball."
Siegfried shook his head. "Not quite as vague as it seems, Adrian. You see, according to Asakura, shinobi are very in tune with the supernatural…er, the mythical kind, that is."
"Yeah, was gonna say." Adrian said. "So what are we talking here, Birdie, monsters or something? Where are they?"
The other woman shook her head. "I cannot pinpoint it for certain, or determine the source. One moment, it seems very close, another far away. But I am very sure of one thing…
It has noticed this vessel."
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"Seems like it'll be clear weather for the rest of the day, Cap'n." remarked the helmsman, looking appreciably around at the calm, sparkling sea. "Maybe even until our last stop, if we're lucky."
Beside him, Captain Tenille sighed. "I really wish you hadn't said that. After the incidents we've had, even tempting fate a little is probably too much."
The helmsman smiled cheerfully. "Come on, sir, what else is there to worry about with those three on board?"
"It's because we have those three on board that those things happened." Tenille said sharply. "It's like one of those finger traps they sell."
He sighed. "I'll just be glad when they're off this ship, honestly."
"Captain!"
Tenille turned to regard a crew member running up. "I keep telling you all, don't run on the deck. What's wrong?"
In response, the young man extended a telescope toward him. "Collins up in the crow's nest says you need to see something, sir - ahead of the ship."
The captain blinked, taking the telescope and looking out over the ship's bow. Immediately, he gasped sharply. "What on earth!"
Straight ahead of the ship's course, tiny but coming closer by the moment, was a large patch of fog. Not the normal kind, either – this was a far deeper shade, as though it repelled light irself.
"Go get Jacobs in the stern." he said to the crewmember. "Tell him to turn the rudder as far as-"
"Captain!" cried a second messenger as he walked up. "Jacobs has a message for you: the rudder won't turn!"
This statement brought a wave of silence that quickly spread across the bow. No-one said anything for a moment.
Finally the helmsman, his cheery demeanor now with a noticeable crack, spoke up. "What…what's going on, Captain?"
Tenille's face was grim. "I've heard about things like this before…but I never imagined I'd see one for myself. What a 'grand' occasion."
He sighed before continuing. "I'm sure you've all heard the usual sailor rumors? Currents that go straight up to the sky, giant merman sleeping on the bottom of the ocean…and, of course, ghostly ships that cross the seas, seeking to claim sailors for their crew."
Another bout of silence passed. One crewmate coughed politely. "Ghosts, captain, really? I know there are things like Devil Fruits, and other stuff on this sea, but isn't that a little far-fetched?"
In response, Tenille just waved a hand at the approaching fog. "Does that look natural to you, son? Our rudder was fine when we left Battlerock – you're saying it breaking so suddenly is just a coincidence? If so, I'm afraid I can't share your opinion."
"So then what do we do, Captain?" asked the helmsman.
Tenille fixed him with a sardonic stare. "Go get Siegfried, of course."
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"Hehehehehehehe!"
Unbeknownst to all, the ship had gained a stowaway; a small orb of light roughly the size of a soccer ball buzzed back and forth above the deck, moving quite erratically. It flitted in a circle around the mast, dipped below the deck, and moved in-between people – sometimes through them. No-one noticed its presence, however, aside from a few shivers.
"This is great, this is perfect!" it giggled with a feminine voice. "It couldn't possible be better!"
It turned – inasmuch as a perfectly spherical form can turn – toward the ferry aft, bouncing slightly.
"Hehehe, Dagon is performing wonderfully! These idiot fleshbags aren't going anywhere until they're in our grasp!"
The lightball then swiveled toward Siegfried, watching him as he walked to the bow. "And him…he's perfect for the Captain's plans! Positively, completely perfect!"
With that, it veered away, leaving the boat entirely and vanishing under the waves behind it.
"Hey Dagon, great, perfect work! Don't let go of that thing until the Captain has 'em cornered!"
The shadowy bulk, currently latched on to the rudder, turned to regard the little lightball with a pair of large lantern-like eyes. It slowly nodded, once, before focusing back on its work.
"Yeah, nothing helps out labor better than a brilliant compliment, I always say!" chirped the orb happily. "Now, to report to Captain about this awesome news!"
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Inside the mass of dark fog was somehow even darker than viewed from outside. It was quiet within, the air bereft of any color save black and white, and the sea was deathly calm…as if it was devoid of all life.
And, in a sense, it was.
Cutting silently through the black, still waters was a ship. The craft couldn't have looked more appropriate for the scenery; its wood was as dark as the waves that bore it, and was covered in countless wounds – an explanation for that was evident, in the form of a Jolly Roger flying from the mast. Even an amateur shipwright could tell it was no longer seaworthy in the least…and yet, here it was.
The will'o wisp flitted up to the ship, dipping down near the deck as it did. The mysterious pirate ship had only a skeleton crew; quite a literal one, in fact. Decaying cadavers, skin hanging loosely off pale bones, stalked to and fro, performing their duties like moving statues.
They looked up briefly as the lightball landed among them, turning to each skeleton and 'nodding'. "You're doing a positively bang-up job, guys! Keep up the good work!"
As one, they all nodded, and the will'o wisp flew deeper into the ship…toward the captain's room.
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"AAAAAHHH!"
The captain's quarters were quite spacious, and relatively well-kept, at least in comparison to the rest of the ship. A large window was present at the back, giving an excellent view of the endless scenery available to them.
Stretching widely in front of it was a large figure, at least a head taller than any of the other skeletons. It was truly a feat of appearance; you couldn't possibly look at him without thinking 'pirate'. Between his tattered clothes, his tricorn hat, and his fearsome visage, he looked every inch a corsair. It was evident that he was more powerful than his crew, as well – a pale, spectral aura surrounded him, its flames licking the nearby air.
"Ha ha ha!" the Captain let out a booming laugh, throwing his head back as he did so. "There's nothing better than the wind of hell on yer face in the morning!"
The pirate turned round, the leg bone he'd sharpened down into a peg stabbing the floor as he did so. His chinbone had mostly rotted away, leaving a hole filled by the aura, which had formed into a wild beard out of memory. "Don't you agree, Smitty?" He asked, sounding cheerful.
The skinny, milque-toast looking skeleton who'd been the question's target squirmed uncomfortably. He could tell an underlying threat when one was directed at him – especially given how often they came.
"Of course I do, Cap'n. It gets better every day, in fact." Smitty said quietly.
"Aha, good answer." said his Captain. He stroked his beard for a moment before continuing. "How long have ye been on me crew, Smitty, exactly?"
The other skeleton seemed to think about this. "Oh, it can't have been more than ten years, I don't think. That's about how long it's been since you stormed my ship, killed my crew, and recruited me into yours after I got the same treatment. I think, anyway – just off the top of my head."
Frowning, the Captain stalked up to the man, leaning in and scrutinizing him closely. "Are ye trying to say something, Smitty? Ye do like being dead, don't ye?"
Smitty just stared back; coolness and apathy were almost one, for him. "…can't say I'm in a position to complain, Cap'n." he finally said after a moment.
Thankfully, the other skeleton wasn't quite sharp enough to cut away the corners of that statement. He nodded, grinning with the few teeth his mouth had left. "Aye, of course, of course…"
He threw his arms out, laughing as his red eyes glimmered. "After all, how could anyone complain about being on the crew of the great Ripfang Northwind?"
Ripfang Northwind was a legend among pirates, albeit one overshadowed by Gol D. Roger – but then, who wasn't? He had all of the great piracy deeds to his name: pillaging, arson, murder, forcible adultery and more. Of course, any self-respecting pirate had done those things, but Ripfang had before it was 'hip'. At least, that was how he put it.
Hailing from North Blue, he was one of the first pirates to reach the Grand Line, and thus, among the first to terrorize it. For many years, he attacked islands without warning, or mercy. Even the marines were powerless to stop him. And then one day, shortly before Gol D. Roger's execution, Ripfang simply…vanished, without a trace. His disappearance was the subject of some debate among both sides of the nautical community, but soon the infamous pirate's name had faded into history, completely forgotten after the Pirate King's last words.
…this was, evidently, somewhat unwise.
"Captain, Captain!" The Will o' wisp floated in through the door, chirping excitedly. "I have a super report to give, sir! It'll knock your socks clean off!"
For just a moment, the two skeletons winced, in as much as that was possible without skin or muscle. Then Ripfang smiled. "Oh, I don't be doubting that, Elly. Tell me, what do those tourist landlubbers be up to?" His eyes glimmered. "Any strong looking dogs onboard?"
Before replying, the Will'o Wisp dipped closer to the ground, growing and spreading into a humanoid shape. The light died down, revealing a young girl that couldn't have been more than sixteen. In contrast to her two apparent comrades, Elly looked relatively untouched by the decay, possessing only a few bare bones here and there. She had bright blonde hair, tied back with a red bandana, and dark-blue eyes, while her clothes showed off her slim figure, midriff in particular.
"They can't do a thing, Cap'n!" she said, chuckling. "Dagon's got 'em locked down cold, and we're bearing right down!"
Elly then leaned in conspiratorially. "And that's not all: there's a guy onboard that I think will be perfect for your plan!"
"Aye?" Ripfang's eyes glinted. "Show me, then, Elly, if ye will."
The girl took a bow, before her form dissolved into light once more. The orb twisted and rotated for a moment, as though stretching in preparation. Then, Elly slowly grew into a perfect imitation of Siegfried, albeit one that grinned like a cat.
"So, Cap'n? How's he look, huh?"
Rubbing his chin, Ripfang slowly walked around the image, sizing up every bit of him carefully. Finally, he grinned, clenching a fist. "Yes…yes, he's perfect! Good work, Elly, ye've found a real whopper, that ye have!"
Elly-Siegfried bowed. "I aim to please, Cap'n! We'll probably be on 'em in just a few more minutes – should we get ready to board?"
Ripfang's eyes glimmered. Some habits never got old, and if there was one thing (well, several things, but let's not get pedantic) that had become a habit to him over the years, it was wreaking some good, old-fashioned havoc.
He was one of the masters of it, in his humble opinion.
"Get the crew ready, aye." he said, nodding. "And give Dagon some instructions: I've a plan in mind for him."
"Aye aye, Captain!" Elly said with a salute, returning to her proper appearance with a noisy pop and running out of the room.
Smitty coughed politely. "So, ah, what should I do, Captain?"
"…" Ripfang shrugged after a moment. "I don't know. Figure it out for yourself, I'm not yer nanny."
With that, he turned and stalked out. Ripfang's stalk was almost as legendary as the pirate himself.
"…I'm certainly glad to be such a crucial part, Cap'n." Smitty said as soon as the door was shut, and Ripfang was at the other end of the hallway. "Makes getting killed so worth-while."
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"Hm…"
The fog was closer now, enough so some eagle-eyed passengers were able to see them. Already some worried murmurs were drifting up from the main deck.
Siegfried handed the telescope back to the crewman, looking a bit dubious. "So you say this is the work of ghosts, Captain Tenille? I'll have to take your word on that; I'm not exactly an expert on the supernatural, sorry to say."
Tenille shrugged dismissively. "What, you think I've spent moonless nights communing with spirits? I thought it was all just rumors until now, but I can't exactly ignore what's staring me right in the face."
Siegfried nodded. "When a crew has something unique, they can't help but show it off – why should death change old habits?" He cracked his knuckles. "I don't know a thing about ghosts or anything like that, but I do know pirates. If I can fight them, I can defeat them."
Turning, he indicated Adrian and Asakura behind him, both standing in very contrasting levels of attention. "And, naturally, my capable associates are prepared as well. Aren't you two?"
Adrian grinned eagerly. "What Sieg said – 'cept replace pirates with anyone."
Asakura said nothing, but had already drawn a kunai, the intent within it very clear.
"This ship will hold you all to that, then, Siegfried." Tenille said sternly, sounding unimpressed by his boasting.
The bounty hunter smiled confidently. "Have I let it down before, Captain? Nothing will go wrong, trust me."
Tenille snorted. "Not after you've said that, I won't."
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Down below, the massive shadow still gripped the ferry's rudder. The thing hadn't moved a voluntary inch since it had begun: if not for a few drifting...limbs, and the eyes, it might have been mistaken for a large piece of driftwood, or a seaweed clump.
Showing remarkable patience, it didn't even move as Elly in fireball form came zipping up and down quickly between the air and sea, chatting cheerfully all the while.
"Okay, no, they'd still be able to move…no, no, not yet, not yet…hang on, hang on, just a little bit more..."
Finally, she stopped next to the shadow and bounced rapidly. "Okay, do it Dagon, NOW!"
The shadow nodded, once…and moved.
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Up above, at the ferry's stern, the crewman working the rudder smiled as its handle became moveable once more. Turning he said to a co-worker nearby, "Hey, go tell Captain the rudder's working again! Just in time, t-"
He realized that none of his friends were smiling, or paying him much attention. Apparently the sky over his shoulder was infinitely more interesting, in a horrifying sort of way.
Not one to leave terror as nothing (even though, like most sensible people, he knew that knowing what something was always made it worse) , the crewman turned just as the railing was crushed into splinters.
Even in the daylight the thing's appearance was indescribable, as though it deflected all attempts to comprehend it. But the crewmen's honed survival instincts picked out a few key points – one, it was very large. Two, it didn't look terribly pleased with them or life in general. Three, and most importantly, it looked very, very hungry. Quickly assessing this information, their minds decided that the wisest reaction was to run away, very fast. According to their legs, however, no, no it wasn't.
Slowly, the creature turned to regard the humans standing frozen in front of him, sniffing carefully like the predator he was. Put together, all of them might amount to a light snack for him…but, no, he had work to do. The little one became upset when he disobeyed her commands.
So when the crewman tentatively opened their eyes a moment later at the rush of air, they didn't find a rabid monster about to satiate its hunger. Good thing for them, on the whole.
For the people assembled at the bow, however, not so much.
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It was really impossible for something so large to be quiet, especially when it wasn't trying to be. Everyone on deck turned as the massive shadow slammed into the top of the dining hall. For a moment, silence reined, as it looked over them all, motionless save for its eyes. Then, like the aim of a rifle, its eyes locked onto Siegfried's.
Even as the sight of it revolted him, the bounty hunter was reminded of something by the creature. It in fact resembled a merfolk, in the same way a gorilla resembled a human (and, for some people, the same way merfolk resembled humans): underneath the tattered rags it wore, webbed hands and feet could be glimpsed – although perhaps claws was a more apt term – along with the usual exotic skin color. And, of course, there were the large, burning eyes, made all the more striking with the distinction of being the only visible part of its face. It was also, as one might imagine, very big, almost twice the average human's height at ten feet.
These were only numbers two through five on the list of what drew your eye, however. Number one was the tentacles: eight of them, protruding from the thing's backside. They were thick as tree-trunks, and looked powerful enough to smash someone through at least one deck. A squid-type, then, or at least something related to one.
Siegfried only had about one second to process this information, though, because one moment later the thing leapt straight toward him.
But like a bullet, so did Adrian, using Geppou to launch herself into the beast's path. With an almost disinterested snarl, it swung one of its claws down toward the assassin as though swatting a fly.
Adrian just smiled. "Kami-e!"
The creature hit only air as her body flattened, slipping right past the clumsy blow on her way to the thing's face. Grin widening, Adrian pulled back a fist and drove it forward.
As the punch connected into his mouth however, rather than the (eagerly) anticipated crack, she received a noisy squelch in response, her fist sinking forward rapidly.
"W-what the hell!" Adrian exclaimed, as the two fell from the displaced momentum. "Lemme go, you damn sea slug!"
She tugged, but the squid had her caught fast, and was pulling equally hard at her arm. Only Tekkai kept it from being ripped off entirely, and it was backed up by Adrian's particular brand of stubbornness. She often gave good opponents a handicap, but that would be going just a bit too far.
With a mighty, wood-splintering crash the two hit the deck, Adrian fortunate enough to be on top. She was dimly aware that the spell of silence had ended at some point, the passengers quickly making up for it. Adrian shut them out – she had bigger worries.
Some of the squid's rags had fallen away from its mouth, revealing what the assassin had stuck her hand into: an assemblage of smaller tentacles, surrounding the entrance to what could only be described as a funnel with teeth.
Adrian nodded. "Okay, then, the mouth's a no-go. Plenty more targets where that came from."
Balling her free hand, she winded up for another punch, this time to the throat. Just before she could, however, its movement was stopped cold by a sudden vice-grip applied to it. Shifting her gaze, Adrian saw with no real surprise the tentacle wrapped around it.
"Oh…kay," Adrian said aloud, tugging briefly to no real avail, "not bad, I guess, fish-face."
Her grin abruptly returned. "Piece of advice, though – always go for the legs first. Geppou!"
With a screech of pain, the thing was driven further into the deck as Adrian leaped upward, kicking off its chest as she did. Her first trapped arm was released instantly as the squid gagged in reflex, but her second was another story. Before she'd risen more than five feet, the tentacle grew taut and threw itself to the side, slamming Adrian into the deck back-first.
Head rebounding off the wood planks momentarily, Adrian smiled. "Quick thinking – that's what I like to see!"
She attempted to leap back up, but was scattered further as the beast got to its feet. It took a step forward, and-
"Kaze no Ninjitsu; Kaze Taihou."
-and received a wind-propelled kunai to the chest. As the creature stumbled backward a few steps, Adrian watched other people fall over altogether from the air current's force, and let out a low whistle of appreciation for both fighters.
The squid didn't seem to have slowed at all from the blow (even a high-speed toothpick was just a toothpick to it with that kind of body, she imagined), but it was caught off-guard. Quick like the predator she was, Adrian lashed out with a Shigan, this strike piercing through the tentacle's rubbery hide.
The creature let out a cry that was more anger than pain, the appendage tossing her away with a spasm. Landing on her feet easily, Adrian gave Asakura and Siegfried a look of annoyance as they approached.
"Hey, Sieg, I don't remember telling you to butt in – I had that under control!" she said indignantly, and, the bounty hunter imagined, somewhat defensively.
Asakura looked unimpressed. "It was about to have your arm off." she pointed out.
"Completely under control." Adrian repeated.
"Regardless, I don't think we have time to play around today, Kitten." Siegfried said seriously. He pointed at the rapidly approaching fog, then back at the squid. "I'd say it's a safe bet that our new friend is an early boarder, wouldn't you?"
The shinobi nodded in agreement. "Yes, as well as the cause of the rudder's malfunction."
Adrian watched as two crewmates attempting to sidle around the beast were felled with two swipes of its tentacles. She turned back to the fog, the view of which was changing as the ferry began to turn…but not quickly enough.
She frowned. "Pretty damn sneaky." The word came from her mouth with all the vehemence of a curse.
Siegfried shrugged. "I imagine being dead gives you plenty of time to strategize – not that I'd know, of course."
Wordlessly, they assembled in front of the beast.
Despite himself, Dagon was growing annoyed. Aside from a Sea King (and even then, it might have been a toss-up), he was the greatest predator in all the oceans; It shouldn't have been possible for a human to injure him, even so superficially. With an absentminded growl he reached down, plucking the tiny knife out of his chest and tossing it away. A thin line of blood dribbled down Dagon's chest, but he barely noticed.
The humans didn't look frightened at all, and that angered him further. People were meant to cower before him, and they certainly weren't meant to fight him. His mouth tentacles waved in anticipation. The man was one thing, but he'd received no instructions about the females. His stung tentacle still throbbed, the most sensitive part of his body – the one in black would make a satisfying treat.
Letting out a bellow of challenge, Dagon punched the deck – the wood somehow still staying in one piece – his tentacles beginning to writhe. These humans would feel his power now, and quake in primal fear. They were confident now, but would soon see what kind of battle they had wandered into.
Dagon's species worked alone while hunting, their raw power easily overwhelming even entire schools of fish. They were so primal animals would call them animals, and so never quite grasped a concept countless predators, including humans, had adopted: teamwork.
Not that the three's plan of attack was something Sengoku would write about, but good enough for something thought up (literally) on the fly, and it did play to their strengths.
"Watch out for those tentacles, Sieg!" Adrian thought as both of them charged in, her slowing down to let him keep up. "They felt strong enough to rip someone in half, and I'd hate to see you get violated by someone other than me."
Siegfried chuckled. "Your concern is appreciated as always, Kitten."
"Focus, both of you." admonished Asakura. "A predator like this must be taken seriously."
"Whatever."
A pair of tentacles swung out horizontally, aiming for the two's midsections. It seemed Dagon had taken a certain someone's advice to heart. Siegfried rolled while Adrian leaped, both evading the deadly limbs before coming up right next to the squid.
Adrian extended her right pointer finger. "Shigan; Neko…"
Siegfried drew back his left arm, flattening the hand's fingers. "Geist…"
"KIZU!"
"SCHWERT!"
Dagon roared in slightly more genuine pain as the two stabbing techniques cut into his flesh, drawing more blood than the creature was used to seeing. But something was wrong – the cut flesh quickly pooled around theirs, trapping them both.
"That's not gonna work twice!" Adrian declared, grinning widely. Twisting her finger, she tore it viciously out of Dagon's hide, both widening the hole and freeing herself.
Siegfried didn't seem to have such luck, however, no matter how much he pulled. Adrian was about to rush over with Soru and assist him when a pair of the squid's tentacles moved like snakes, locking into place around her closely like a cage.
The Black Cat growled. "Rank-"
Dagon was far faster than his size would indicate. Quickly he brought up his hands, balled them into fists, and – he sniffed, as the wind began to change once more.
"Kaze no Ninjitsu; Tsuiraku-Kaze Kouu!."
In the split second before the missiles hailed down upon him with twice the momentum of the first, Dagon moved his tentacles out of their formation and up above, arranging them defensively.
Not a moment too soon, as the ones after that were drawn out through pain. Even his oily body couldn't deflect blades so numerous and precisely aimed, and the sickly-green skin was quickly stained red. Some even stuck right in him, looking like a deranged reverse-porcupine.
If Dagon had been slightly angry before, he was furious now, the wounds driving him where another species might have fled. The stabbing sensation that came a moment later from the black rodent was a mere afterthought.
Adrian grinned happily as her attack pierced the monster's hide, even as it was received like a punch to a brick wall. This was her favorite kind of opponent; somebody as damn stubborn as she was. Of course there were two others she had to share it with, but that wasn't important at the moment, nor was where it had come from or what it wanted. That kind of thing was Siegfried or Birdie's job on the team, obviously.
"Me?" Adrian thought as they all leapt away from another thrashing. "I know exactly what I'm here for."
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"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"
Hovering several feet above the ship, unnoticed by all three combatants, was the orb of light that was Elly. She was currently bouncing up and down in visible irritation – well, visible if someone could see her, anyway.
"Dagon's supposed to be the strongest of the strong! Perfectly invincible! These guys gotta be totally cheating! They have to be!"
She turned toward the fog, now close to engulfing the small vessel, and giggled, her bad mood forgotten. "But it doesn't really matter. Once they get into our territory, they're good as definitely doomed!"
Elly turned back to the ship just in time to see Dagon raise a hand over Siegfried's head like an oversized meat tenderizer. "Hey, Dagon, stop!" she cried quickly. "Cap'n Ripfang told us not to hurt him, and I think pulping his head might count!"
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Siegfried grunted in disapproval as the monster's focus turned to him, futilely trying to escape its reach with a quick hop. The squid's tentacles could probably stretch across the entire main deck, if it made the effort.
But then, suddenly, it seemed to lose interest completely, turning and swiping in Adrian's direction.
"…well, well." Siegfried thought, the usual smile playing across his lips. "That's quite interesting."
He watched as the squid repelled from another shigan strike, courtesy of Kitten…and then turned to Asakura, snapping up its tentacles. The shinobi clicked her tongue and guarded her face, prepared to take the blow.
She blinked when Siegfried suddenly jumped right in front of her, and the oncoming attack. "Siegfried, what are you-"
Asakura's thought stopped short as the squid did too, its tentacles stopping inches before they impaled the bounty hunter's smirking face. Growling with unrestrained irritation, it quickly withdrew as Adrian cut the air between them.
"I assume you knew that would happen?" Asakura asked, tone laden with formality. You got used to Siegfried doing things like that, she found, or you didn't hang around him for very long. She'd wondered a few times if he had had many friends back at the academy he spoke of so fondly. He had managed to attract the two of them, certainly, but…ah. This was not the time or place – clearly, he was rubbing off on her.
Siegfried smirked, adjusting his glasses. "But of course. Do you think I'd risk a face like mine on anything but unquestionable certainty?"
The ensuing snort from Adrian was loud enough to make him wince. "Yeah, yeah, so what'd you find out, Sieg? Why didn't hit you?"
Whatever answer she expected, a casual shrug wasn't one of them. "I have absolutely no idea. Does it matter? For whatever reason, our friend seems to want to leave me unharmed. Seems rather exploitable, doesn't it?"
Adrian snickered. "Maybe this is all just a mating ritual, and it has good taste."
"Well, maybe…" Siegfried thought pleasantly, not even the thought of inter-species relations involving him phasing his ego, "any thoughts on that, Asakura?"
The green-haired woman's face was stony. "I'm sure I have not the slightest idea."
"Well, that's pretty obvious." was the assassin's view.
Siegfried chuckled. "No need to get snippy, ladies – at least not right now." He advanced, smiling broadly at the squid. "I think it's about time we got rid of our friend, don't you?"
Discreetly, he held up three fingers. "On my signal, I want you two to…"
But whatever assuredly brilliant plan Siegfried had in mind, the women never got to hear what it was. For at that moment, there came a sound at their backs like burning coal being dropped into an ice-cold bucket of water.
They whirled around as one. There they saw that the fog was beginning to creep across the ferry's bow, sliding over it as easily as a funeral shroud. Siegfried watched as two crewmembers, staring at the pitch blackness like they were transfixed, had it sweep over them - they vanished as quickly and utterly as ink being spilled on a page.
When the passengers saw this, they flew into a panic, rushing toward the back of the ferry despite the monster standing between them and it. Adrian and Asakura turned back toward the riot, prepared to spring into action, but thankfully the squid seemed to ignore them. Siegfried, however, didn't move, his gaze trapped by the fog in a way that went far beyond mere sight.
As the fight went on, Siegfried had begun to hear things: soft, shapeless whispers at the edge of his mind, great sounds of battle as filtered through several fathoms of water…and beneath it all, yet somehow louder than anything, terror-filled screams.
Siegfried clenched his fists. Less consciously, he also took a step backward, inhaling sharply.
Asakura didn't fail to notice this. "Siegfried?" she asked quietly. "What is wrong?"
"…hah, I must have been shaking; how unsightly." Siegfried thought to himself, trying to keep his breathing steady.
He smiled at the shinobi. "I'm fine, Asakura. Just a sudden headache, that's all."
"Bull." Adrian said bluntly. "No way you could tell the truth that politely. What's really going on, Sieg?"
Siegfried's mouth hardened to a thin line. He looked away. "Really, it's nothing to worry about. Just-"
The fog swept over them. The trio felt a cold sensation, like being dropped into freezing water, only down to their very essence. This came and went in an instant, to be replaced by a feeling of pins and needles (or in this case, daggers and cutlasses) suddenly appearing underneath their skin. Finally, the temperature was turned the other way, as they all felt blistering, searing heat. Throughout all of this, there was also the sensation of being watched.
Then, Siegfried screamed.
It was such a unique sound coming from the bounty hunter that the two women looked elsewhere at first, refusing to believe their leader could make such a noise from experience. But this fact was proven irrevocably within a moment, as an intense pressure was suddenly applied onto their minds through the link Siegfried had established. Only the two's respective training kept them from collapsing entirely.
Siegfried handled that well enough, the pained scream fading out as he collapsed first to his knees, then face-first into the deck.
Asakura and Adrian stared. Both knew Siegfried was a psychic, of course, but nothing like this had ever happened with either of them. They exchanged a glance that said one thing: "We really don't know how any of this works, do we?"
Then, a fierce bellow rose up from behind them, and they realized one important thing they'd forgotten.
Whirling around, the two raised their respective weapons, but the psychic migraine had slowed them. The squid's tentacles smashed into them hard, scattering them across the deck in opposite directions. Then, without slowing down from its charge, it scooped up the unconscious Siegfried, tensed its legs, and dove overboard.
Groggily, the two women got up. Adrian was a bit faster in this regard, and ran to the railing. What she saw wasn't pleasant, even for an assassin.
While the black fog had seemed large on the outside, the inside seemed multiplied by several times, yawning around them like a miles-long cavern. She looked behind just in time to see the hole the ferry had made disappear, taking any semblance of color with it. But this wasn't important. She turned back to look at the ocean, murky and with the consistency of tar. That didn't matter, either.
What did was the squid monster leaping through the still water like it was a kiddy pool, carrying Siegfried on its back.
Growling, Adrian punched the railing, the feeble wood shattering underneath her first. Reaching up, she began to unbutton her jacket.
"You will not make it, in that water." Asakura's calm voice intruded upon her adrenaline. Stepping forward, she watched the retreating monster dispassionately.
Adrian rounded on her, growl intensifying. "So what, we're just supposed to leave him!" It was true, she knew that, but hearing it put so simply…
"No." The shinobi's mask betrayed not a flicker of emotion. "I did not say that."
With that, she strode away across the deck, followed shortly by Adrian.
She didn't wait to see if the assassin did before continuing. "I am sure someone like you has no knowledge of hostage situations, but this is a simple matter for a shinobi."
Turning back around, Asakura raised a kunai and nodded firmly. "We will have him back before the day is out. This I swear."
To be continued…
Next time, on Bounty Seven…
Ripfang: Ahhh, yes, you'll be doing nicely…
Tenille: You two are probably the only ones who can fight those freaks, so I'd be a fool not to try.
Adrian: Heh, guess you're better than I thought, Birdie.
Ghost Ship, Part 2
Siegfried: I'm afraid you made a grave error by kidnapping me.
LordGambit508 – Well, I'd prefer to think of him as being more L, but it's a pretty malleable meme. My pet peeve is the 'submit your own character', personally. It sort of shows a lack of creativity when you're asking people for characters, even secondary ones. Thanks for your continued reviews, and if any complaints do come up, make sure to relay them.
Teh Drunk – If there's a more perfect story setting for incredibly varied characters than One Piece, I'd like to know it. Thank you for the compliment; I'll be sure to keep that creativity rolling.
Thepirateprophet44 – Indeed it was! I was hoping that someone would catch that.
Attacks
Siegfried
Geist Schwert: German for 'Mind Sword'.Flattening his arm, Siegfried applies telekinesis to the arm to turn it into a makeshift sword. Although primitive, its easily capable of cutting through unarmored opponents, and even some who are.
Asakura
Kaze no Ninjitsu; Kaze Taihou: Japanese for 'Wind Ninjitsu; Wind Cannon.' Building up an excess of wind behind one of her projectiles, Asakura then fires it off, the small missile quickly accelerating to be as deadly as a cannonball, hence the name.
Kaze no Ninjitsu; Tsuiraku-Kaze Kouu: Japanese for 'Wind Ninjitsu; Falling Wind Rain'. Throwing a flurry of projectiles into the air, Asakura summons a downward gust of wind, causing them to rain down over a group or single foe.
Well, until next chapter, see you guys.