See? I wasn't lying! Really!
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"So, are we all ready, here?"
Ryoga nodded to Brandy. "Yes, captain. Helsing can't be allowed to get away with this any longer! He's a disgrace to the Marines!"
Jade nodded. "Well, I wouldn't put it exactly that way, but Ryoga-kun has the right idea. The fact that he's been able to do it for so long is a crime in and of itself."
Brandy nodded. "Alright then." He turned to the Inspector. "Jade-chan, I don't mean to offend you or anything, but you'd better take the guys and head back to our ship. Not because I don't think you can handle this, but because I don't trust Helsing not to try and monkey around with it while we're up here."
The woman looked surprised, as was expected. "But if I take everyone, then that'll leave the two of you on your own, and there's no telling what Helsing has in store. He doesn't strike me as the stupid type. The slimy, smug type, but not stupid."
Brandy nodded. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there." He looked to his second-in-command. "Ryoga, you can head off with her too. I can handle this myself."
Ryoga facefaulted, then quickly leaped up. "I take offense to that, captain! I didn't get to the position I was in for nothing, and certainly not by ducking out of a fight!"
Jade stepped in close to Ryoga, pouting. "Eh? You don't want to protect me, Ryoga?" She looked down. "You're so mean..."
Ryoga stepped back, hands up and shaking his head furiously. "N-no, not at all, Inspector! In fact, given a choice I would gladly do so, but there are certain responsibilities I have as a member of the Marines, as do you, and, it isn't as though I can be in two places at once, s-so..."
Brandy clapped his hands once. "Okay, that's enough of that. You can tease Ryoga later."
Jade immediately straightened up. "Alright." She walked to the door. "Don't get killed, 'kay, Ryoga-kun?"
Ryoga saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"
When the woman had left, Ryoga relaxed, leaning against the wall.
"Thinking about somethin', Ryoga?" Brandy asked.
The second-in-command looked to his captain. "Sir, why do you think Helsing did this? He's a Marine, isn't he?"
Brandy nodded. "Yeah, and he's also doing things that aren't right. If you're asking me why, I dunno. I can't read minds. But as Marines, it's our duty to take down people who commit evil acts, and sad as it might seem, those aren't always pirates, but people in power, who are supposed to protect people. Since Helsing forgot about this, it's our job to do it for him...and to him."
Ryoga smiled, and then saluted. "Yes sir!"
One Piece: The Skull Pirates
Chapter Thirteen: Battle in the Town! The Way is Open!
In the clearing, the boulder covering the cave slowly shifted, and then slowly rolled to one side. Jack and Drake emerged, blinking their eyes in the bright sunlight. They began walking out of the clearing and down the path.
Jack stretched. "Okay, can't say I want to try sleeping in a cave ever again. My bones are aching."
"Is that a pun?" Drake asked.
Jack looked honestly surprised. "What? No, my bones really are aching! I slept against a rock wall, why would I make a pun about that?"
"...no reason."
"So, anyway," Jack folded his arms, "what's the plan, here? Do we just charge in the front door?"
Drake looked aside. "That...didn't work very well last time. Before you arrived, I was hoping to try and catch one of those men you saw yesterday. They seem to be working with Helsing, and if I talked with one of them, I'm sure they'd tell me where he's keeping the villagers." He punctuated this with a crack of his knuckles.
Jack grinned. "I get your meaning, Drake. It shouldn't take too long, either. I know from experience that anyone who dresses like a tough guy usually isn't."
Drake nodded. "But the problem is finding them. They're much faster than they look, and wherever they're hiding, it's somewhere they can disappear to quickly."
"You seem to be pretty popular with them, though." Jack remarked.
"Not exactly. It's been that same group each time. The leader of them - the one with the eyepatch - seems to have it in for me, because of the injury I gave him."
Jack nodded. "I kinda gathered that from his frenzied ranting, yeah."
"I doubt he's the leader of them all, though; I assume that most of them decided to leave me alone after they saw what I was capable of. People like that usually only bother with people weaker than them."
Jack patted the Merman on the back. "Now, now, nobody likes bullies, we've established that. Now, if these guys are after you, then all we have to do is...hey, Drake?"
"Yes?"
"You smell smoke?"
"...no."
"Phew! That's good, 'cause-"
"I see smoke." Drake pointed.
Jack followed Drake's gaze, and sure enough, saw plumes of smoke slowly rising above the tree-line. The pirate gulped. "That can't be-"
But Drake was already several yards away, running as fast as his legs could carry him.
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"Well, well, well...what do we have here, boys?"
Mary sighed. Frank fingered his katana, his eyes darting around, standing slightly in front of the girl.
At morning's light, the two had decided not to wait for Jack any longer, and to go looking for him. They had then run into a group of Road Warrior Pirates, who were currently standing around them in a circle, hands on their weapons and wide grins on their faces. Mary sighed again. "I blamez you for this, Jack...so I'll just pretend that they're all you."
One of the Mohawks stepped forward. "Man, I can't remember how long it's been since I've seen a human woman." He gestured to her. "Come on over here, girly. We'll treat you right, won't we, fellas?"
They all laughed as one. The laugh of people with no reservations against doing terrible things.
"Um..." began Frank, timidly. The pirates hadn't appeared to notice him at all. "I wouldn't really...do-"
Mary cut him off, pushing him away gently. She then slowly turned her gaze to look at the Mohawk who had spoken. As their eyes met, the man shivered. This girl was more than two feet shorter than he was, and wearing a beret...and yet he suddenly felt very afraid.
Mary smiled, like a lady. "You...don't know who I am, do you, monsieur criminel?"
"...no." He answered automatically.
"Oh?" Her smile grew. "That's a shame. Broche Fouetter!"
"Look out, she's got a-" was all one of the pirates was able to get out before the thorn vine that had been Mary's arm slammed into him and several others, including the one who had spoken before, sending them all flying off their feet.
"Get her!" One of the still standing pirates helpfully put in, as the rest ran at the girl.
Frank, who had apparently still not been noticed (granted, he was a ninja, but some recognition might be nice, if not for his occupation, then his self-esteem), non-chalantly retrieved a smoke bomb from his belt, reached out and covered Mary's mouth with his hand, and then dropped it.
The projectile exploded when it hit the ground, and being a smoke bomb, it quickly released a large cloud of the gas when it did so. Sadly, the Road Warrior Pirates were not a group that was particularly savvy about things like tactics and strategy, and so simply blundered headlong into the cloud. The result was them colliding with each-other, in a wild tangle of bodies and weapons, all of them flailing wildly within the smoke that had cast a veil over their senses.
Frank landed outside of this, holding onto Mary's arm. He let go and stepped politely away, bowing slightly. "Please excuse me if I was rough, Mary-san, but I thought it best to act quickly. I apologize if it was not to your satisfaction."
"Not at all, Frank." The girl curtsied. Behind his mask, Frank's cheeks reddened. Mary motioned to the smoke cloud, which was filled with sounds of yelling and bludgeoning. "Will you do the honore, Frank?"
"Ah, of course." A flick of his wrist, and the slip of paper adorned with red symbols appeared in his hand. Mary wisely stepped back. "Tao Scroll; Firestorm Explosion!"
The paper sailed through the air as well as any throwing knife, into the cloud. There was a faint, red glow from within, and then the slip of paper exploded. There was a single, unified scream of pain as the men were hurled across the clearing, fresh burns covering their bare skin.
Mary smiled. "Now then, shall we get back to our business, Frank?"
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"Drake...Drake...wait up, man..."
Jack wasn't unatheletic by any means, but Drake's running speed was far too fast for him to keep up with. He had tried, however, which was why he was now gasping and out of breath, doubled over as he followed behind Drake. Slowly. "Come on, man...slow down..."
Then his head hit something, and he looked up. Drake was standing there, his expression unreadable. "Drake? What's wrong? Why'd you..."
Jack's words trailed off into nothing as he looked around the merman. "Aw, man..." he whispered.
The village was on fire. The dry wood and straw that the buildings were made of were perfect kilding for the flames, which illuminated the scene before them.
Lying prone on the ground were the mermen residents of the village - women, children, and the elderly. Each of them were kept that way by a member of the Road Warrior Pirates holding something sharp next to them. All of them were bruised in some fashion, and while most were conscious, said nothing, keeping their faces close to the dirt.
And standing in the middle of it all was Red. He and the rest of his group were all grinning widely as they looked at Drake. They didn't appear to have noticed Jack yet.
He looked to Drake's face again, and realized his expression wasn't unreadable at all. "He's pissed...really really pissed."
"So," said Drake, staring hard at Red, his voice sounding very cold. "So, you went to all this trouble to draw me out? Well, you succeeded; now let them go."
Red chuckled slightly. "Well, you get to the point quickly, don't ya? Then I guess I will, too."
He jabbed a thumb at his eye patch. "Since you gave me this thing, it's been throbbing like crazy, every damn day. No matter what I do to indulge myself, it won't go away. So, I thought, and I thought..."
Now the thumb pointed at Drake. "And I realized; the only way to make it go away was to off the guy who gave it to me!"
He sneered. "But unfortunately, you haven't been too cooperative with that, have ya?"
"I don't generally cooperate with people who want me dead, no." Drake replied.
One poor sap standing next to Red had the misfortune of letting out a snicker at this. Red promptly spun around and slammed the handle of his spear into his comrade's face. He went down, nose gushing blood. Red turned back to Drake like nothing had happened.
"So, you think giving me this wound was funny, do ya?" He snarled.
"Nowhere near as funny as you seem to think shooting people with that bow of yours is." replied Drake evenly, gesturing to Red's arm-mounted weapon.
Red blinked. "People? You mean you guys?" Then he laughed again. "That's funny! Real funny!"
Drake didn't seem to care. "I'll ask you again to let them go. This isn't about them."
Red smiled smugly and shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. If we do, the instant they're out of the way, you'll start doing that kung-fu crap of yours, and we'll all get laid out in two seconds."
He gestured to the merman. "Now, what I want you to do is, come over here. Slowly. And if I see you twitch even one of your fingers, they get it. All of 'em."
A moment passed, and then Drake slowly walked towards him, coming to a stop in front of Red, the other pirates closing in on him. In the process, they removed their weapons from the mermen; all but one, who remained crouched, a dagger to the throat of an elder. Red smiled widely. "Don't even think about it, fish breath. I'm sure even killing one of these guys would be too much for you, wouldn't it?"
Drake said nothing.
At this, Red snarled. Gripping the handle of his spear hard, he swung it through the air, smashing it into the side of Drake's head. The impact swung the merman's head to the left, but he didn't move.
Red's mood changed instantly. Grinning widely, he motioned to his friends. "Come on, guys, it's open season on mermen! Join in!"
The desire and opportunity to deal pain onto someone that couldn't fight back far outweighed the pirates' hesitance. They quickly surrounded Drake and began hitting him with any weapon they could find. Thankfully, they stuck to blunt weaponry only; apparently so it would last longer.
The butts of spears, clubs, and even bare fists pounded away at the merman, blindly beating away at any spot they could find on him. Bruises quickly formed on the Merman's flesh, and these soon became bloodied. Even so, Drake grit his teeth, bearing through the pain. If it would protect the people he had vowed to defend.
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"Drake! Drake!" In the treeline surrounding the village, Lyn struggled in the arms of her adoptive sister. "L-let me go, Karen! They're hitting him!"
"And they'll hit you if you go out there, and us if they hear you! So be quiet!" Karen whispered in the little girl's ear.
Leaning out from behind a tree next to them, Gerald winced as he watched Drake being pummeled. "My my, they certainly aren't sparing the rod, are they?"
"Yeah, no kidding." said Jack from right beside him.
"Quite, captain, quite." Gerald said, and then blinked. "Where did you come from, incidentally?"
Jack shrugged. "Well, obviously I came from wherever I was before I came here. Duh." He replied, apparently feeling philosophical at the moment.
Gerald nodded. "I see, I see." He gestured to the two merwomen. "This is Karen and Lyn, Jack. Karen, Lyn, this is, sadly, my captain, Jack Bones."
"Uh, hi."
"Hello!"
"Nice to meet ya." said Jack casually. "'Scuse me, now." He turned and began picking his way through the bush, heading toward the village and the sordid scene taking place in it.
"And if I may ask, captain, where are you going now?" Gerald asked.
"To do something heroic, my good first mate." Jack called back without turning around.
"Oh?" said Gerald, raising an eyebrow. "Let me guess: you ran into him, got into a pointless fist fight, and somehow from that, became friends with him."
"Yeah, actually. How'd you know?"
Gerald sighed. "Have you looked at yourself recently? You look like you lost a fight with a brick wall."
Jack blinked and looked down. "Oh. So I do. Anyway, I better go help him before he gets turned into paste. Be back in a minute."
He turned and began making his way toward the houses; not particularly quietly or carefully, it had to be said, but with the racket that the Road Warrior Pirates were making, they wouldn't have noticed if he had set off dynamite at the moment.
"Shouldn't you tell him to be careful?" asked Karen.
Gerald snorted. "Him? Please." He jabbed a thumb toward the pirates. "It's them that need to be careful."
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"...Dammit!" Red suddenly swore, loudly, the word passing from his lips viciously. Stunned at this, his men stopped mid-pummeling, turning to look at him, and then stepping backwards as Red stalked forward, stopping inches from Drake's face, albeit with somewhat of a height difference. His mouth had twisted from the grin it had had to a cross between a snarl and a sneer.
"I wanted to hear you cry out in pain, you know. To hear you beg me for mercy, and then see the fear in your eyes when I didn't give it."
Suddenly letting out a wild scream, he raised his spear and jabbed the point repeatedly into the ground, over and over, as if he had sworn vengeance on the dirt and grass, too. "SO...WHY...WON'T...YOU...DO IT!?"
A moment passed, and then Drake replied. "I'll gladly stand still, and let you hit me to your heart's content, if it will help the people I've vowed to defend. But I can't do things that are impossible for me, and one thing that's impossible for me is being afraid of someone like you. Sorry."
Red looked dumbfounded for a moment. Then, he grit his teeth and drew his spear back. "Then I'll at least get some pleasure from looking at your corpse! DIE!"
He thrust the weapon forward, seeking to plunge it straight through Drake's head.
It didn't move.
"My, my..." Red looked behind him to come face to face with Jack, who was gripping the end of the spear with one hand, stopping it completely. Jack let out a whistle as he looked at the weapon. "Man, if you're not careful with something like this, you could put your eye out."
His gaze travelled upwards, to Red's face. "Oh, wait."
Insults directed at him tended to stir Red into action. "Who the hell are you?" He growled, tugging at the weapon to no avail. "Let go!"
"Okay." said Jack, and promptly did so just as Red pulled again, the momentum sending the handle flying into the man's face with a loud crack.
Red stumbled back, nose bleeding down his face. "My...my nose! You broke my nose!"
"Well, yeah." Jack admitted casually. "But you were going to break his whole head, so it was kinda disproportionate." He suddenly grinned widely. "But, actually, holding senior citizens hostage, a sustained beating to someone who couldn't fight back...no, that might be too disproportionate. C'mere." He cracked his knuckles.
Angling his spear around at the pirate, Red growled. "You're with them, huh? Why the hell should you care!? We humans are superior to them anyway!"
"Don't really care." said Jack, and took a step toward him.
Quickly, Red aimed his bowgun at the nearest merman he could find. "If you care about these freaks at all, don't take another step! I'll do it! Don't think I won't!"
Jack stopped, but shook his head. "Nah, I really don't think you will."
Red grinned, glad to be the one in control again. "And why not?"
Jack grinned back. "Because of where you're standing right now, and who's behind you."
Red blinked at this...and then went pale as he realized that the sounds of Drake getting hit hadn't resumed themselves.
And then he was grabbed by both shoulders, the arm with the bowgun on it forced downwards, and the spear clattering to the ground as it was wrenched from his grip.
Having lost their nerve by Jack's appearance - he could be intimidating when he wanted to be - Red's comrades had retreated, moving away from Drake, who was now holding Red firmly in place.
This particular act of discretion hadn't been lost on Red. "What the hell are you doing, ya pack of cowards!?" he growled, thrashing around in Drake's arm like a rabid dog. "Help me!"
Some of them fidgeted, but none moved any closer.
Jack stepped up in front of the pirate. "Hey, Drake, looks like he's calling out for help."
"Really now? That's funny." said Drake coldly.
Red was still struggling, but his eyes had changed, as though he had realized he was now being held by someone who could punch through rock with his bare hands.
"Let me go, ya fish coward!" The thug yelled, still struggling futilely in Drake's iron grip.
Drake spun him around. Red immediately ceased his struggles, his face going pale as Drake stared into his eyes.
"Let you go? So you can do what? Mock, threaten, and harm these people, just because they look different than you? No, I don't think so."
He pulled back his head. Red resumed his struggles, but far too late. "Lobster..."
"Astillar!"
With a crack that resounded across the town, Drake headbutted him hard, forehead colliding with the pirate's. He then released his hold on Red, allowing him to fall to the ground...and then, remarkably, weakly attempt to rise to his feet.
Letting out a surprised whistle, Jack stepped up. "Man. Some people get good common sense, other people get good skull structure. Funny how the world works, sometimes." His musing finished, Jack then promptly kicked Red in the head. The barbarian finally collapsed, eyes rolling back in his head.
"Okay, then..." Jack dusted off his hands, and then walked around Drake, looking at the rest of the assembled Road Warriors.
He leaned forward at them on his heels. "You guys want to start something too? 'Cause if not," he jabbed a thumb backward at Red's prone body, "then pick your trash up when you go."
This made them shift uncomfortably once more. For a moment, it looked like one or two of them might have ran forward, but another good look at Drake and Jack made them quickly disperse, fleeing back into the trees from wherever they had come from.
"Well, that was easy. You alright there, Drake?" asked Jack casually.
Drake shrugged. "I'm fine. Most of these are from you, anyway."
"Naturally. Anyway, now that we're done here, what do we-"
"Big Brother!"
Both men turned to see Lyn running toward them while waving, her eyes and smile both full of relief.
It was by unfortunate coincidence, however, that she happened to pass by Red's unconscious body. Well, supposedly unconscious.
Jack saw it first; tactics like this were a specialty of his. But before he could shout a warning, Red had jumped to his feet, grabbed the girl and pulled her in close, and shoved his loaded bowgun up against her head.
"Now...let's try this again." Red breathed. "If either of you freaks moves one step closer, she's dead. Understand?"
"Yeah, and then so are you." Jack replied. "Seriously, haven't you been paying attention?"
"Shaddup!" Red barked. "You think I'm gonna go crawling back like a scared little dog? I'm going back with your head in my hand, merman, or not at all! Now, come over here, or I swear I'll put this arrow right through her little head! I'll do it, don't think I won't!"
Jack shook his head, and sighed. "Man, you're so full of crap I can't believe it. Like we're gonna - hey, Drake, where are you going?"
To the pirate's surprise, Drake was walking past him, toward Red.
"No. No, I don't think you will. Because I think you know that whatever you do to her, it won't compare at all to what I'll do to you. And even if you don't admit it, I can tell that you're scared of me. Because I'm someone who's bigger than you, and stronger than you, and you're used to being that person. And you know that I can do to you what you do to people that you're bigger than."
Drake stopped right in front of him. "And I will. Unless you let her go, right now."
Red looked up, into the merman's eyes. At this moment, in what passed for his mind, the man's sense of pride, instinct for self preservation, and plain thirst for blood all engaged themselves in a metaphorical...let's say a fist fight, considering who it was.
Jack shuffled uneasily from his position. He knew he couldn't move fast enough to do anything if Red actually did decide to shoot the girl, and after such an impressive threat, there really wasn't anything for him to say, either. Either way, though, making any sudden movements in this situation would be a bad idea.
Finally, self preservation won out, and Red released his grip on Lyn. Quickly, the girl ran behind Drake, while the merman continued to glare at Red.
He pointed over the Road Warrior's shoulder. "Now, go. I'll let you go this time, but if I see near here, or any of the other villages, then you'll have to get a new eyepatch. And if I find that you've done something like this again...well, I think you can figure it out."
Drake then gave Red a hard shove to the chest. This seemed to jumpstart him, and he promptly turned, even as he stumbled, and ran straight out of the village.
"So..." began Jack, suddenly beside Drake and watching the pirate flee. "I take it threatening people isn't against your code?"
"Master didn't mention it during my training. It's proven effective a number of times throughout my journey. Almost always, actually."
"Gee. Wonder why."
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Red panted as he ran, while inside his head thoughts of vengeance were already forming. You had to admire his enthusiasm, at least.
Stopping, he leant up against a tree, glaring daggers back the way he had come. "You fish freak...just wait...I'll come back, with a hundred guys! I'll cut you to pieces, and, and then I'll devour the remains!" He was clearly running out of things to rant about, at this point.
And then, two words came from very close by that chilled Red to the bone.
"Dead End..."
Even before his mind had fully processed why these words were being said near him, his legs were already in motion, trying to run.
Emphasis on 'trying'.
"Ripper." There was the distinct and familiar sound of a metallic edge piercing into human flesh, and then Red found he wasn't on his feet anymore. He looked down, and saw, in a detached way, that a very familiar iron claw was sticking through the middle of his chest. Blood was already running down his front, and if not for the claw, other aspects of his insides would be on full display.
Behind him, Wez gave a heavy sigh. "You know what your problem is, Red? You just don't listen. You're like a little kid, really. I tell you not to do something I don't know how many times, and then you do it anyway. Really, I could have told you that was going to happen. That merman's no fool, which is something I can't say about you. You know, ever since we took this deal, I felt like you started thinking less of me. Which probably goes a long way toward explaining these numerous rebellious outbursts.
I guess you're just one of those people who can't see a good deal, even when it's right in front of your face. But I can, and I see that we've got a good thing going on. Which is why I'm the leader, and you're the one who's impaled through the chest."
With his other claw, Wez reached up and pried Red off of the other, letting him drop to the ground. "There. I guess you thought that someday you'd be looking down at me in this situation, huh? Which might have come true, if I wasn't smarter, bigger, and generally more competent than you in all respects."
Wez then leaned forward, as he saw Red motioning for him to come closer. "Something you want to say, Red?"
Red then mouthed two words at him.
Wez sighed. "That's what I thought." He pulled back his claw...
Moments later, Wez was walking back to the cavern entrance he had used. He frowned behind his mask. "I kinda figured he'd be a bleeder, but man, it's gonna be a pain to clean these..."
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"Well, well..." Helsing sat back, a pleasant smile on his face. "Even with your reputation, I certainly did not expect you to report back this soon." He adopted a look of anticipation. "So, tell me: what is the identity of my men's assailant? Did you manage to capture them?"
Brandy leaned back as well. "Well, see...no, we didn't. As a matter of fact, we didn't even look."
A beat passed, and then Helsing leaned forward, looking at the two from over steepled fingers. "...and why, may I ask, is that, Captain Brandy? Moreover, why have you called for me, when you have absolutely nothing to report? I don't mean to sound rude, or ungrateful, but I am Captain of this base, and I have certain duties I must attend to. So, if there is nothing pressing here at the moment, may I take my leave?"
Brandy stroked his chin. "Well, there was something...just this one little thing..."
Beside him, Ryoga frowned. This sort of thing wasn't really his style, but then, he wasn't the one in charge.
Helsing raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what might this be, exactly?"
"This." With a flourish, Brandy removed the (severely bent) scroll from his pocket and slapped it down on the desk in front of the other captain, the paper unfurling as it did so.
Helsing reached out with one hand and drew it closer to himself. His eyes quickly skimmed across the writing, recognition already plain on his face. Ryoga wondered how many times he had written down what was on that scroll. He quickly shook the thoughts away; it wasn't a subject you could dwell on for long without feeling sick to your stomach.
The expression on Helsing's face had now changed from a pleasant, amicable one, to the face someone makes when they know they've been caught, but don't want to admit it, neither to themselves or to the person who has just caught them.
Helsing coughed slightly. "Now, I know what this must look like-" he began.
"Really now?" Brandy cut him off. "Well then, why don't you just tell us? I'm quite curious about your opinion on the matter."
Helsing looked taken aback. Brandy's voice had changed from his normal, lethargic tone, to one that could be easily compared to cold steel.
"W-well, I, I..." Helsing stopped himself. "Why is this old drunkard making me stutter?"
"Oh? You don't have one?" interrupted Brandy once more, a calm smile on his face that didn't match his eyes. "Then let me offer mine. What I think this looks like is a marine captain, a person meant to protect people that can't do it for themselves, using his position to do things that disrespect and demean everything that the marines stand for."
Brandy's words were strong, but it was his stare that made Helsing fidget in his chair. It seemed like it was imbued with everything that Helsing wasn't - courage, integrity and dedication were just a few - and as a result it peered through the corrupt captain like he was a pane of glass.
Helsing said nothing, however, and shrunk back in his chair when Brandy pounded on the table, looking him in the face with blazing eyes. "You don't care, do you?" He pointed at the scroll. On it was listed financial records. Ugly ones. "You've enslaved hundreds of mermen, seperated families, probably killed dozens of them through overwork, and to make matters worse, even sold some of them off as slaves to other people like you. And all for oil, and money. You disgust me, Helsing."
Helsing simply stared back at Brandy throughout this tirade, eyes narrowed behind his spectacles. Then, he shrugged. "You nailed it right on the head, Captain Brandy. I don't care one bit about these creatures. And let me tell you something; if you honestly think that the World Government cares at all about these tiny reservations, then you need to face reality. It was obvious to me from the moment I arrived here that this was nothing more than a publicity stunt to distract inquiries concerning their 'supposed' practice of mermen trafficking. The resources this island was given wouldn't have even been enough to support a human population of the same number, let alone suit the needs of such superhuman creatures. A fresh recruit could have seen that."
"So, you saw all that...and then did nothing." said Brandy. "That's not as worse a crime compared to everything else you've done here, but it's close."
Helsing's frown deepened. "So, I should have risked both my position and reputation, requesting help for a race the World Government views as nothing more than talking pack mules? The people who question their treatment of them are in the clear minority, and becoming one of them would not be productive toward living a happy life."
"And you share these views, I take it, Helsing?" asked Brandy evenly. He was still staring straight at the other man.
"Oh, I more or less share their opinion, yes." Helsing said, adjusting his spectacles. "I am of the mind that if the government believes in something, then it can only be in my best interests, as a faithful enforcer of their will, to also believe in it. It makes things easier for everyone. And, as long as we are talking, may I say something?"
Helsing's voice grew bitter. "Exactly how would you feel, Captain Brandy, if after years of training, of clawing your way up the ranks and finally becoming a captain...you were assigned to a backwater island, and stuck with the role of glorified zookeeper? Forced to protect,and serve a race that the World Government has all but condemned as animals - and to do it all with a smile!"
Helsing's fist came down on the desk to punctuate this last word. The blow caused a stack of memos to slip off the desk, scattering to the floor. There finally came a pause in the confrontation then, during which the corrupt captain panted, his hateful words overworking his lungs. Despite the lull in the conversation, the tension did not relax one iota.
"I disagree, sir."
Helsing's gaze first shifted upwards to Brandy, who shrugged, nodding his head to the side. Ryoga had spoken up, the first time since the two had entered the office.
Brandy's subordinate bowed his head. "I apologize for interrupting, sir. But your viewpoint is flawed."
"My...viewpoint?" Helsing growled.
Ryoga nodded. "Yes, Captain Helsing. You've been talking about how you'd feel as a captain. But what you should be thinking about is how you'd feel as a seaman recruit."
"...what?" Helsing said, confused.
"I apologize if I was unclear, sir." The Deputy Captain apologized. "What I meant to say was, how would you feel if, after training hard for months and years to become a marine, you are given a very special assignment, on an island with people that require more protection than perhaps anyone else in the world?"
Ryoga's voice turned sharp. "But then, upon arriving on the island, you found out that your Captain, the person you are meant to follow, is just as much a criminal as the pirates they trained to fight? And how would you feel if you were then ordered to enslave and demean the very people you were sent here to protect? How would you feel, knowing that you were going against everything the marines stood for? How would that make you feel, Captain Helsing!?"
There was a pause, and then came a sound, rising in volume and quickly filling the room. Helsing was laughing. You might not have been surprised to hear that it was not a very pleasant laugh; but rather, the laugh of someone who usually directed it at the misfortunes of others. The laughter continued for about a minute, during which Brandy and Ryoga sat politely.
Finally, Helsing stopped, reaching up to wipe a stray tear out of his eye. He looked back up at them, his smug smile present once more. "Oh, forgive me. I just found that very amusing, coming from you, Deputy Captain."
As he spoke, Helsing slowly eased open a drawer in his desk. With a sudden flourish, he drew something out from within it, slapping it down on the desk.
It was a bounty poster.
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
"Red Dragon" Ryoga
$30,000,000
Ryoga looked at it, saying nothing.
"Now, then..." Helsing said, leaning back in his chair. "I don't mean to make assumptions, Captain Brandy, but wouldn't it be somewhat...unfortunate if headquarters were to learn of this, hm?"
Now it was time for Brandy and Ryoga to pause. After a moment, Brandy looked to his subordinate. "Hey, Ryoga. Now that I look at it again, that's not a very flattering picture of you, is it?"
Ryoga nodded. "Well, I do admit that I look quite a bit scruffier than I do now. But people always find bad things to say about photos of them, don't they? Even if it's one by Attachi-san."
Brandy nodded back. "I don't know how he does it, but any picture he snaps turns out a masterpiece. He'd probably make a fortune if he weren't in the marines."
"Ahem. Pardon me..." Helsing interjected, looking ready to explode. "Were you gentlemen listening to what I just said?"
Brandy blinked twice. "Oh, yeah." He looked over at his subordinate. "Hey, Ryoga, you care about this at all."
Ryoga shook his head. "Well, no, Captain. It's already public knowledge, as far as I'm concerned."
Helsing frowned slightly. Then, he shrugged. "Well, alright then. If you're fine with carting around a known criminal-"
"Better well known than hidden." Brandy put in.
"-then that's none of my concern. Besides," he said, suddenly smiling, "if the easy way becomes closed, I have no problem whatsoever in taking the hard way."
He raised his hands, and clapped twice. From behind Brandy and Ryoga came the sound of the door slamming open, and the sounds of several rifles being cocked.
Looking over their shoulders, the two marines were not at all surprised to see the business ends of at least a half dozen of the firearms being pointed right at them. Alhough the faces of the marines holding them were clearly reluctant, Brandy doubted that that emotion would reach their fingers in time. Behind the marines, Brandy could also see a contingent of the Road Warrior Pirates, all of them holding at least one rusty, bladed weapon.
The two marines looked back to see that Helsing had gotten up, and was standing next to the left wall of the office. Laying a hand on the wood panelling, he pressed down, the spot depressing into the wall. Immediately, that section of the wall slid away, revealing a hidden passage.
Helsing gave the two a small wave before stepping through, the wall closing back up behind him.
Brandy frowned. "A hidden passage, and a pack of armed goons. In my day, marines had originality."
"There are a few things I'd put over that in importance, Captain." Ryoga replied shortly.
"Well, yeah, but either way, he's really racking up the offenses here, isn't he?"
"...yes, Captain." Ryoga sighed.
The marines at the doorway were polite enough not to simply shoot them while they had this conversation, which was about to cost them. Dearly.
Suddenly raising their legs, the two marines kicked out hard at the desk, sending the chairs they were in sailing backward. Caught off-guard, the marines stepped away from the doorway, as the chairs hurtled past them. Flipping up from the seats of the chairs, the two leaped, landing on their hands on the second floor railing. As the marines turned, beginning to point their rifles at the pair once more, they quickly hopped backward, smoothly landing back on their feet in the first floor foyer.
The numerous doors leading out of the room all opened, and more of the Road Warrior Pirates stepped through, the vicious smiles on their faces as sharp as the weapons they carried. The ones on the second floor quickly leapt down to join their comrades, before spreading out and surrounding the duo.
Brandy tilted his head. "These guys look awfully familiar, Ryoga. I don't think we've run into them before, though, have we?"
Ryoga shook his head. "No, Captain. By the look of them, these are the Road Warrior Pirates. They were quite active on this sea for a while...until they disappeared, about a year ago."
"Gee, wonder if there's a coincidence there." Brandy said sarcastically. "How many of them are there?"
"About two hundred. At least, that's how many were reported the last time a headcount was made of them. It wouldn't be a mistake to assume their numbers had grown since then, however."
Brandy nodded. "An expert analysis, as always, Ryoga."
"Well, I am somewhat familiar with this sort of thing, sir."
Brandy nodded. "Well, might as well even the odds a little, I guess."
He stepped forward. Something in the way he did this made the Road Warrior Pirates step back. Raising a hand, he coughed.
"Ahem, ahem." he grunted, clearing his throat. Then, he raised a hand and pointed right at the marines.
"Hey, you guys. Quit being jerks."
Clearly, the marines had expected something a bit more...well, something a bit more. They looked to each-other, caught off-guard by the baffling statement.
Brandy nodded. "Yeah, you heard me. Shame on you guys. You look like smart kids - you must be able to tell a rotten apple when it's right in front of your eyes. I'm sure you know that what's going on here is wrong; probably even more than I do."
As he spoke, the expressions of the men changed from bafflement to shame. But they still did not lower their guns.
"Tell me, what do you write about in your letters to home?" Brandy continued. "Good stuff, right? People you helped, heroic deeds you committed...stuff like that, right?"
The marine captain frowned. "But not this. It really isn't the sort of thing you'd tell your mom and dad about, is it? I suppose Helsing has you thinking that you're as much criminals as he is, so that you're too afraid to tell anyone."
Brandy shook his head. "But that's not true. You're as much victims of this as anyone else. But that doesn't mean you can turn away from something you know is wrong; you're marines, for pete's sake, and it's not too late to start acting like it. It's never too late."
He spread his arms, indicating the room they were all in, the extravagant base, and the entire island. "Come on, guys," he said saidly, "is this what you really wanted to do as a marine?"
This answer to this question seemed to be a unainomous 'no'. Without a moment of hesitation, they swung their rifles over to point at the Road Warrior Pirates, far more morally appropriate targets. The thugs in question were blinking, confused expressions on the faces. Perhaps they were just now realizing that they could have simply ran up and cut Brandy into pieces while he had been talking.
Brandy stepped back, putting his back to Ryoga's, and smiled. "Well, how about that, Ryoga? Pretty good, right?"
Ryoga nodded. "Yes, you're very good at summoning up the guilt within people, sir."
"Yeah, I - HEY!" Brandy shot his subordinate an indignant look.
"Well, that is what you did, isn't it, Captain?" Ryoga said casually. "It's not as though we need the help, either."
"You don't have to say it so literally, though..." Brandy sighed. "And hey, this'll look good for them on that report I'll have to do later." The captain said the word 'report' with the same affection one might direct towards toe fungus, or a particularly tenacious hangnail.
Abruptly, one of the Road Warrior Pirates raised the shaft of his spear and pounded on the floor with the butt end of it.
Ryoga and Brandy looked up. "Oh. Right. Sorry." said the latter.
The pirate in question shrugged. "No problem."
With these pleasantries out of the way, the battle for the Newport Island Marine Base began.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"You know, I'm not sure what you want from me. I saved the town, and everyone in it."
"And why did you have to do that, huh?" Karen stood next to Drake, glaring at the much larger merman. At the moment, it was debatable which of them was more intimidating.
"I'm really not sure what you want from me." said Drake simply, passing her a bucket filled with water. He and the villagers had formed a bucket chain from a nearby lake in order to put out the burning huts. The lake water was muddy, but it was wet, and there were only a few fires still going.
"Because Helsing wants to kill you just as much as you want to kill him, and he and this thugs will tear apart this entire island to get you!" Karen persisted.
"I've told you many times, I don't intend to do that. I couldn't, even if I wanted to." Drake replied, passing back another bucket and taking the one passed up to him.
"Is she always like this?" muttered Jack, who was standing next to Drake in the bucket chain. Drake nodded.
"Don't try to dodge the issue!" Karen snapped, taking the bucket Drake passed her, and passing back her own. "And for that matter," she pointed at Jack, "why are you hanging out with a guy like this? I thought you hated pirates!"
"He's different."
"Yeah, uh," Jack interrupted, glaring at the merwoman from behind Drake, "you're welcome, by the way. For me saving your kid sister's life, I mean."
"Yeah, I was really impressed with the way you hid in the woods until Drake got into trouble." Karen shot back sarcastically.
Gerald, who was standing next to Jack, had no comment.
This seemed to shut Jack up, which was no small feat. The work continued in silence, until at last the final fire was extinguished.
Jack sat back, wiping his bony brow. "Man, I'm beat. I'd rather have a bloodthirsty pack of thugs any day."
"Well, that makes one of us, Jack."
Jack looked up at the voice and smiled. "Yo, Mary. Nice to see you."
"Salutations, Mary." said Gerald, waving.
"Hello Jack, hello Gerald." said Mary briskly. She didn't sound terribly happy. "It's nice to see you two were keeping yourselves busy, while worrying Frank and me."
"Oh yeah. Sorry about that, but - wait, where is Frank?"
"Right behind you, Captain."
Jack jumped forward, and nearly out of his skin. He turned around, looking at the shinobi. "Frank?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Stop doing that."
"Sorry, Captain."
"Anyway..." Jack coughed, trying to regain his composure. "Now that the gang's all here," he jabbed a finger over his shoulder, "meet Drake. He's the big, fishy guy."
"I'm actually not that big, you know." said Drake. He nodded at the two of them. "Hello."
"Hello, Drake-san." said Frank, bowing slightly.
"Hello, Monsieur Drake." said Mary as well, curtsying.
"...what, that's it!?" Jack wanted to scream aloud. But that did seem to be it, neither of the two crew members having any apprehension or fear for merpeople.
"So..." Mary continued, looking around the burnt town. "What happened here? I'll give you two some creditez, and assume you aren't responsible for it."
"Thanks," said Jack, and then shrugged. "Nothing much. Some thugs just torched this place, and I had to save everyone singehandedly. No biggie."
"That's actually true," put in Drake, "if not for him, I would have been in trouble."
"Oh, I believed him." smiled Mary widely. "If there's at least one thing our captain is good at, it's brute force."
"Yes," said Gerald, nodding sagely, "if it's not in commanding, strategy, or negotiation, then at least he has skill in brute force."
"...no respect, no respect at all..." Jack muttered, hanging his head.
"So..." coughed Drake. "You two are the ones who Jack was talking about, aren't you? I hope you're stronger than Gerald is, or we could be in trouble."
Mary's face turned confused for a moment, and then her smile returned. "Jaaaaaaaack..."
"Uh, I think I'll just-" said Jack quickly, getting up.
He let out a sudden choking noise as one of Mary's vines wrapped around his neck. One strong yank and a downward tug later, and Jack found himself face-to-face with her.
"What is Monsieur Drake talking about?" she said, leaning forward. "You wouldn't be trying to drag us into something without telling us, would you?"
"...n-no..." gasped Jack, futilely trying to strain his neck to ease the pressure on it. No good, though; as vines, Mary's limbs were surprisingly strong.
"No? That's what it sounds like to me." mused Mary dangerously. "Don't you agree, Frank?" she added, turning to look at the shinobi.
"W-well, I-I-" Frank stammered, caught off guard. "I mean...I suppose so?" he finally wilted.
"I must admit, that does sound like what you've done here, Jack." chimed in Gerald, smiling much like Mary was. Drake was watching all of this, looking non-plussed.
"Well, it seems like it's unainomous, Captain. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Mary's smile grew larger, and she loosened her hold on Jack's throat.
Realizing that a single misstep would spell his untimely demise in an undoubtedly unpleasant manner, Jack thought fast.
"W-well, see, those thugs I told you about were working for the captain of the marine base here. He's captured all of the men on this island, and is holding their wives and children hostage to force them to dig up oil for him. Drake told me about it, and I figured, hey, why not? I mean, it's not like they have anyone else to help them, right?"
Mary released her hold on her captain, allowing him to fall to the ground. She smiled. "Well, that's fine, Jack. I just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to get us to do anything bad."
Jack got up, rubbing his neck. "Okay then..." He turned and flashed Drake a thumbs-up. "I got my crew ready, Drake. You ready?"
From off to the side, Karen sighed. "You've got to be joking. You're going to storm Helsing's entire base with just four people?"
"Ahem. Five people, thank you."
"Alright, four-and-a-half people. Either way, those aren't very good odds."
"She has a point." Drake pointed out. "Helsing's base is well-guarded at all times, and our chances with a frontal assault aren't good."
"Well, damn, now you tell me." Jack scratched his forehead. "Isn't there some other entrance into it? I mean, how else could those guys have come out of nowhere like that?"
"Um, Captain?"
Drake shot Jack an irritated look. "I have been looking for something like that. It's not like I've spent my time on this island doing nothing. But there are hundreds of places where something like that could be, and searching for hidden passages isn't exactly what I'm suited for."
"Ah, I might-"
"Well this is a fine state of affairs, isn't it?" Jack frowned. "Even with five of us, we can't search this whole island. Are we supposed to just sit here?"
"If you would just-"
"If you have any suggestions, I'd like to hear them." growled the merman slightly.
Finally, Frank sighed. With a flick of his wrist, a smokebomb hit Jack in the head, engulfing the pirate captain in the expelled cloud of gas.
"Captain, may I interrupt?" Frank said politely, after the cloud had disappeared and Jack had stopped coughing.
"You have my...undivided attention, Frank." Jack said, still coughing a little.
"If it's a hidden entrance you're looking for, I saw something like that just yesterday."
Jack looked right at him. "Well, sheesh, Frank, why didn't you say something earlier, then?"
"..."
"Anyway, where did you find this entrance, Frank?"
"Well, yesterday, when you told us to search the island..."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
In the middle of Newport Island's jungle, there was a clearing, seemingly ordinary and not unique in any way. Seemingly, anyway, but as the world continually pointed out, 'seemingly' did not equal 'was'.
Stealthily, or at least what he thought of as stealthily, one of the Road Warrior pirates crept out of the trees and into the clearing. It should be noted that his fly was undone.
Crouching, he rapped his fist on an apparently non-descript part of the jungle floor. A moment passed, and then he repeated the action, hissing, "Come on, open the damn door! I'm not sticking around out here with that damn merman hanging around!"
The stretch of ground lifted upward, revealing itself to be a trapdoor, disguised with fake astroturf. Underneath it was a sloping tunnel, stretching off into darkness.
"Well, hurry up!" growled another member, who was holding up the door. "And zip up your fly, dammit, no-one wants to see that!"
"Oh yeah, sorry." the pirate complied, chuckling a little. He then slipped past his comrade and into the passage, stumbling a little on the steep tunnel.
Shaking his head, the guard lowered the trapdoor back into it's hidden position.
Sitting in a tree nearby, unnoticed by either of them, Frank made a mental note of this. It might be important later on.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"So this is the place, Frank?" Jack asked, indicating the ground in front of him.
"Yes, Captain, I'm sure of it. If there's one thing I'm confident of, it's my memory."
"Alright, then." Jack said crouching. Moving his hands across the stretch of ground, he finally grinned. "Got it!"
A strong tug from the pirate, and the trapdoor revealed itself, swinging upward easily. Assuming you were looking for it, the entrance wasn't that hard to find at all. But then, neither the Road Warrior Pirates nor Helsing knew that much about camoflauge.
The door guard, a different one this time, looked upward, blinking at the sunlight. Then he saw the group of five, and his bewildered expression changed to one of shocked outrage.
"Hey, who the hell are-"
Jack kicked him in the chest mid-sentence, and the unfortunate hurtled backwards, the steepness of the tunnel doing the rest of the work. A few seconds after he disappeared from view, there was a loud thud as he hit the end.
Jack whistled, both in amazement and slight sympathy. He looked behind him, at his crew and Drake. "Well, everybody ready?"
This seemed to be the case. Mary was stretching herself, preparing to use all of her limbs to attack. Frank had unsheathed his katana, and was checking his supply of throwing weaponry. Drake cracked his knuckles. Gerald...well, he looked ready."
"Alright," Jack grinned, moving his hat down over his eyes, "let's go take these guys out."
To be continued...
Next time, on One Piece: The Skull Pirates...
Jack: Damn, it's dark down here!
Gerald: ...my, there certainly are a lot of them.
Mary: I suppose you're their leader, hm?
Frank: I...I know who you are!
Underground Melee! Throw off your chains and Fight!
Helsing: Let them fight. They have no idea what they're in for.
Attacks
Drake
Lobster Astillar: Spanish for 'Lobster Hammer'. Drake uses a fierce headbutt to attack an enemy; as it's name suggests, it can break through even the strongest defenses.
The Dude of Doom: The same way Luffy can sometimes get hurt by people punching him. Jack can still get hurt, even if he's a skeleton. Otherwise, the fights in this story wouldn't be very exciting, would they?
Well, until next time, see ya.