Chapter 57: Speech and Confession
Back at the Fishman District
Mard Geer went to talk to the other members of Tartaros in a large thorn room that was similar to his old one.
"Fufufu...will Fairy Tail arrive soon, I hope to kick some butt," Lamy giggled while cupping her hands.
Lamy
"We shall unleash the curse powers on our enemies, I do hope to capture one for my experiments,"
Dr. Stylish
Former member of the Jaegers
Demon Gargoyle
Curse: Stone
"Heh...I hope to get a chance to take out that fireball brat and his kitty," Jackal snarled.
Jackal
Demon Jackal
Curse: Bomb
"Gee, I hope we get torture some of those Fairy Tail pests,"
Syka
Demon Scorpion
Curse: Venom
"Rrrr...let's hope it's soon, I'm looking forward to clawing their flesh..." Leon smirked evilly.
Leon
Demon Panther
Curse: Energy Drain
"By the way, what happened to Vander Decken, he was supposed to meet us here for a while." Jackal wondered.
"I think I can answer that..." Aquaius walked into the room.
Hordy Jones surpassed the effects of the drugs and gained new strength.
He eventually arrived at the Concorde Plaza with his Elite officers.
"To think you would get stronger than ever," Zeo said with his arms crossed.
"Ca-ca, the royal family shall fall before us!" Daruma laughed.
"That's right, the royal family shall die...hee..." Ikaros added with a smirk.
"We shall Dosun the royal family and every one of these pathetic soldiers!" Dosun smirked wickedly.
"Hiccup...hiccup...I'll cut anyone that still draws breathe," Hyouzou said while hiccuping and placing his hand on his sword.
All of the citizens arrived there on both sides of the cliffs that surrounded the plaza.
Sharley was there gazing down at the New Fishman Pirates.
Back at the Fishman District
Noah
Vander Decken was on his ship the Flying Dutchman and was despondent at Shirahoshi's rejection.
Two of his men decided to speak.
"C'mon captain quit blubbering."
"Yeah, things will start looking up soon, just get back in the game."
That only made their captain angry. "Like I would ever take advice from a couple of losers like you!" He retorted comically startling the two Fishmen. "You guys don't know what it's like to have your heart broken!"
Lamy was arriving. "Fufufu..."
Vander then hands tightened as he continued to mourn. "Shirahoshi captured my heart ever since she was a kid, sure, she was still one back then, but I knew if I had married her I could fulfill my ancestors' dream..." He took off his hat revealing his haircut. "I thought I could use change for my hair so I cut it!"
His two goons were in awe at their captain's haircut. "Just the top!?"
"Umm...excuse...me captain?" One of the Fishman grunts began to say.
"What!?" The Japanese Bull Shark Fishman yelled angrily.
"Uhh...Lamy along with some of Tartaros members are here to see you." The Fishman pirate grunt replied in a stammering tone.
"Let them on board," Vander Decken replied blowing his nose with a tissue.
"Oh...what's the matter, Mr. Vander Decken," Lumy asked in a cooing tone.
Dr. Stylish then stood by the demon rabbit girl. "Such a shame a guy like you was rejected by the mermaid princess..." He winked at the Fishman.
That caused a shiver to go right up Vander Decken's spine.
"Creepy!" Vander Decken's two right-hand men thought in unison.
"Anyway, now that Shirahoshi has shattered your heart, what is your next move?" Syka asked.
Vander Decken wiped his eyes. "I know that my dream is shattered...the rejection hit me hard like a punch to the stomach!" He wailed as more tears fell out of his eyes.
Jackal scoffed. "Ugh...is this moron going stop his crappy blubbering?" He then noticed the haircut on Vander Decken's head and then he burst out laughing. "Hahahaha...you gave yourself a haircut and a bad one!"
"Anyway, from the look of things, you won't be able to fight well in your heartbroken state," Lamy added with a sad face but was replaced with a faint smile. "However...I might know a way to help your looks and give you more power."
That rather intrigued Vander Decken. "I'm listening..."
Back at Water Wheel Village
Gajeel and Laxus' groups
"This is crap," Gajeel growled.
"To think some Fishmen would stoop so low," Evergreen said with a disgusted look.
Laxus didn't say a word.
"Lucy, Cana, and that mermaid Hiramera are about to become play things," Freed said with a hateful expression.
"At any rate, our friends are trouble, though, I'm pretty sure some of the others are still out there, and they might've seen the broadcast as well," Lily said.
"That's right, we saw the ones that were captured, so, the others must be someone else, question is, where?" Levy wondered.
Laxus had his piece to say. "Guys...I think it's obvious, that Natsu's team must be around somewhere else, no doubt, they're with the other Straw Hat Pirates and with some of our friends too."
"He's right, for now, we think we should find a way to get the ones that are at the palace," Chelsea suggested sucking a lollipop.
"Good idea, the only thing is, the only way to get up there is to fly, Lily is the only one, but, even if we did, there might be the same bubble structure at the palace," Levy said getting her friend's attention. "Think about it, when we arrived on Fishman island, we ramped into a double bubble structure."
"So basically even if we go the same kind of bubble that could be surrounding the palace, we'll be trapped in water," Lily followed.
"Talk about a major bum," Gajeel commented. "So, what do we do now?"
Meanwhile, the taxi bus dropped Yukino's group at the candy factory.
"We arrived here, so, let's find Laxus and Gajeel's group, no doubt, they'll still be around somewhere," Yukino stated.
"Yay!" Wendy, Millianna, and Pango cheered.
"So, let's get our friends and rescue the others at the palace!" Yukino cheered again.
"Yay!"
"Enough with the cheering!" Carla barked comically then she saw some familiar faces. "Hold on, Is that Laxus and Gajeel!"
"It is and the others too!" Wendy summarized.
Flying above was the three princes.
One of the Ammo Knights was uncertain and decided to speak. "Fukaboshi, don't you think going in is too reckless, this is likely ambush."
"I'm aware of that, but, we can't let our father be executed," The giant blue-haired merman replied. "Though, what makes me wonder if the New Fishman Pirates are responsible for human pirates not being able to arrive here."
"I think that is the case, remember what Aquapad said?" Manboshi asked.
"You three know I was there with Luffy along with his friends and members of Fairy Tail, I can be assured they didn't kidnap any mermaids, also, the kidnappings started sometime after we left, on top of that I overheard that some citizens saw some of our friends that were already in the town and that some of the others were seen by Mermaid Cove but they only asked for directions to get shore!"
"Aquapad wasn't the type of guy that would lie, on top of that he's friends with Luffy's brother," Fukaboshi said.
"Yeah, also, he mentioned that Shirahoshi was being taken to our mother's grave and that Straw Hat along with that fire dragon Natsu and Wendy the sky dragon helped protect our sister!" Ryouboshi added.
"Other than that, that Mard Geer character seemed a bit scary, he knows more of the Fairy Tail, therefore we can presume that he's an enemy as well," Manboshi said looking troubled. "Honestly, we might've made a terrible mistake about the Straw Hats and Fairy Tail."
"Either way, we must rescue our father, once we're done with Hordy Jones and his crew, we'll search for our sister!" Fukaboshi stated.
His two brothers nodded with determination in their eyes.
Hordy Jones and his crew met in the center of Concorde Plaza
"To think you would get such a transformation," Zeo said looking impressed.
"How do you feel boss?" Dosun asked.
The Great White Shark Fishman put his hand out and looked at it. "Couldn't be better." He then looked back at his crew. "Anyway, anything from Tartaros?"
"We just got a call that the Fairy Tail wizards are probably on their way to rescue their friends," Daruma answered while hopping up and down.
"Little do they know, that the fight with Tartaros is going to be their last...hee...heh..." Ikaros laughed cruelly.
Crash
The gate to the entrance of the plaza was rammed through by the three princes.
The six sea beasts stood in front of the Fishmen officers and growled ferociously at the three mermen princes.
"Fukaboshi, Manboshi, Ryuuboshi be careful, the Fishmen and the sea beasts are drugged!" Neptune warned.
"There is no way the royal family will be defeated, re-mi-fa-so!" Ryuuboshi stated ending his sentence with a musical tone. "You monsters won't take away our future that our late mother dreamed of!"
"Hordy Jones!" Fukaboshi called. "Despite the relationships, we had with the humans in the past, the heroes that attempted to make peace like Fishertiger and the queen wanted to, they never lost hope, and everyone on the island is willing to move forward!"
"That's right, you dishonor our late mother's dying wishes!" Manboshi added furiously.
"You idiots can say what you want," Hordy Jones said not even phased by the three prince's statements.
The sea beast charged at the royal princes'
"Mermaid Weapon Style: Kouin Ryuusuisou!"
"Shicchinbanpou!"
"Ryuuguroumon!"
The three slashed their way through knocking out a few of the sea beasts while their giant white eel knocked out the sea bear.
The new Fishman Pirates were in awe at the royal family's strength.
The citizens were quite impressed.
"We will defeat anyone that chooses to take away our future of love with humankind!" The three princes declared in sheer determination.
"They're so strong!" The citizens cheered.
"They're strongest of all!" Another rooted.
Hordy Jones wasn't worried though. "Morons...in the end... we'll be the victors."
Megalo along with Jimbei and Shirahoshi were getting close to the plaza.
In the sea
Natsu's team was on the boat.
Aquapad and his friends were guiding the others to the Fishman District.
"To think this kind of boat existed with such an unusual shell," Gray said observing the dial.
"Yes, from what we learned from the letter and Straw Hat's experience with them, this is easy," Miyaka added.
"Juvia likes this...but..." The water mage then clung to her crush's arm. "It would be greater if Gray and I were in this alone!"
Miyaka narrowed her eyes with jealousy. "Arrgh..."
"How far is the Fishman District?" Happy asked.
"Not too far, but, be cautious, there could be some Fishmen lurking nearby," Rena answered.
"Yes, not only that, my senses are blocked by the water, so, I won't be able to sniff out any enemies," Natsu informed.
Miyaka begged to differ. "I can detect them, how...you'll just have to wait and see," Gray knew what his marine partner was talking about, but kept quiet.
Fujika then had her piece to say. "Anyway, once we rescue our friends, how should we get out of this cave that our friends are being held in?"
"Our only option might be to go back to the entrance, wherever that is...however, we'll need Aquapad and his friends to guard the boat while we're looking for Lucy, Cana, and the mermaid Hiramera," Gray answered.
"Let's just rescue our friends and defeat Tartaros once and for all, once we do, we'll help Luffy save Fishman island!" Natsu declared with a serious look on his face.
"Yeah!" The others cheered.
At the Concorde Plaza
Hordy Jones and his men were able to overpower the three princes with ease.
"You three idiots thought you could defeat me, thanks to the energy steroids, we were given more strength," Hordy Jones stated. "Hahahaha...such pathetic weaklings!"
The Fishman pirate grunts began to cheer.
"Hey, captain, we should give these prideless royal idiots a painful execution!"
"Let's put a gallery of their deaths too!"
"Yeah, we'll make sure everyone can hear their screams of torture!"
"Silence!" Hordy Jones ordered with a cold stare in his eyes.
The grunts backed off in fright as their captain continued. "There is still no report of Shirahoshi's death from Vander Decken's crew."
Just then he felt his transponder snail ring.
"Who is this?"
"Hordy Jones, fufufu..." It was Lamy's voice. "I'm Lumy one of the Demons of Tartoros."
"Is that right, what do you need?"
"I have to report that Vander Decken is a bind, he just got rejected badly by Shirahoshi and now he's all weepy-eyed and depressed."
Hordy Jones was not happy to hear that. "Is that the reason that idiot didn't report anything? He placed his hand on his face in frustration.
"What is it Hordy?" Zoe asked.
"It seems Vander Decken can report anything right now, but, no matter, we'll just wait for Shirahoshi to arrive here," Hordy replied.
Hearing that made the three princes angry.
"Hey, don't you lay a finger on our sister Hordy!" Manboshi demanded almost in a threatening tone.
"Yeah, she's not a soldier!" Fukaboshi added.
"You idiots don't think I know, I'm aware of her powers and I need to eliminate her so that she doesn't mess up my plans!"
Shirahoshi, Megalo, and Hordy Jones were then dropped into the center of the plaza.
"Boss, we caught these three from the trap we set up!" A Fishman pirate grunt called out.
"Jahahahaha!" Hordy Jones laughed. "It must be my lucky day!"
"To think the two people that got us worried are in this situation," Zeo mocked cruelly.
Shirahoshi felt terrible for their situation. "Jimbei...I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a trick."
"Don't worry, it's already over," Jimbei whispered though he knew it wasn't.
"So, you final came, after all, Jimbe..." The former warlord saw the newly Hordy Jones.
"What happened to you Hordy, you look a little different from before!"
The citizens were trying to make sense of what was going on.
"It's boss Jimbei, I thought he was supposed to leave the island after he defected from the Severn Warlords!"
"I heard Shirahosh was captured by Straw Hat Luffy along with Fairy Tail!"
"Did Jimbei somehow save her!?"
"Since we're lined up all here, it makes things much easier, first off, Fairy Tail is no doubt going to rescue their friends from Tartaros, while Straw Hat Luffy will be on his way to rescue his friends from the palace!" Hordy Jones stated. "No doubt, they'll be enraged at the sight of their comrades' deaths, but no matter, even if they show up, we made preparations!"
From below from different doorways more Fishman pirate grunts came wielding their weapons.
"All the Fishmen you see are the ones I recruited from the Fishman District, a total of 100,000 outlaws!"
There were some human pirates in chains.
"Also, human slaves we captured that were on their way to the island but we managed to keep them away," Hordy Jones continued. "We gathered more human slaves it's gotten to 100,000, now the doors to their homes are open for the taken...so, which one of you fools will run away, if not, we'll decide for you!"
"Causing such disturbance in the public plaza...you boys are like rowdy children," Sharley was looking down from a nearby cliff. "You shouldn't get carried away, Hordy Jones!"
"Well...well...how nostalgic, what do you want with me?" Hordy asked looking annoyed.
"Since you're here acting like the big man in control...I figured I needed to inform you of something..." Sharley replied. "I once made a prediction 'A man will come and destroy Fishman Island'."
Hearing that intrigued Hordy Jones. "Is that so, I'm guessing that you saw me, was it not?"
"No..." Sharley replied. "The man...no...rather the two men that are likely to cause chaos on Fishman Island are Straw Hat Luffy and Natsu the Fire Dragon!"
The Fishmen officer was a little surprised to hear that.
"Madame Sharley's predictions must be wrong!"
"No, her visions are never wrong!"
"You're right, which means that Hordy Jones isn't destined to rule this island after all!"
Hordy Jones stood up and tossed a water ball right at the fortune teller.
This caused Sharley to fall on her side in pain.
"This bullcrap nonsense, so tells me Sharley, is this your idea of revenge?" Hordy Jones questioned. "I'm different from your older brother Arlong, when I was a kid I admired him but not just me, other Fishmen admired his determination and dream to overrule the humans!"
"That bastard..." A voice inside Megalo's mouth.
"We obtained the power to unite those from the Fishman District, though, the Arlong Pirates' name is nothing more than an empty symbol to untie under, no matter, we have a new symbol that shows we truly want to conqueror the humans! This plan was put into action ten years ago, which started at the death of Queen Otohime!"
The citizens were puzzled about what he meant by that.
Jimbei was a little curious himself. "What do you mean by that?"
"Glad you asked, you all remember the queen that died...however, there's one thing you don't know..." Hordy Jone's face darkened. "WHEN SHE WAS KILLED...THE ONE WHO SHOT HER...WAS MEEEEEEEE!
All of the citizens were horrified at this realization including the royal family and Jimbei.
"That can't be true!" The former warlord said in horror.
The citizens couldn't understand why the former soldier of Neptune's army was confessing like this.
"Oh no..."
"The human pirate...you said that he was..."
"I believe all these years you idiots never figured it out..ca-ca!" Daruma mocked cruelly.
"The day before...I made a deal..." Hordy began.
Hordy Jones disguised himself in a cloak and spoke with the same human pirate that was caught only he was alive before then. "I'll pay you to put the petitions on fire, once you complete I'll pay you the rest,"
The human pirate smirked while a drunken state. "You got yourself a deal as long this keeps me drunk for a week."
The plan was on the move with Otohime trying to save the burning petitions only to be shot while she was distracted.
The human pirate met up with Hordy Jones. "Hey, hurry up and pay me already, I torched all those signatures as you said and-" He abruptly stopped as Hordy Jones turned around aiming his rifle at him.
The human pirate took a few steps back. "What the hell?!"
"Humans are so stupid," Hordy Jones said with a smirk and took a few shots as soon as the pirate tried to flee, and then he makes his announcement like he did framing the human for the death of the queen.
"That's all it took to fool every one of you!" Hordy concluded.
Jimbei was more outraged than he was before.
The citizens were enraged as well.
"Damn you!"
"He was the killer all this time!"
Fukaboshi was even angrier before feeling his vengence boil in his blood. "Bastard..."
Neptune shared his son's reaction. "Hordy Jones...you bastard!" Hearing that made Hordy throw his Shark Arrows which knocked the king over on his side.
"She was such a bother, right Shirahoshi!?" Hordy Jones questioned. The mermaid princess had her eyes hidden by her hair and her bottom lip was curled up as the Fishman pirate continued.
"Saying that taking revenge against the humans was bad, crying all over the island about getting close to them, it was so aggravating seeing her at it all the time!"
"Don't talk to the princess like that!" A Fishman citizen shouted in demand.
Hordy Jones ignored the yelling and continued. "I knew that killing her wasn't going to be enough, however...I knew that if one human-caused even one death to our kind, the citizens would feel angry and betrayed...that they wouldn't able to move on, everyone fell for it, and nobody knew it was me the actual killer of Queen Otohime!"
Shirahoshi was silent for a moment and then she looked down directly into her mother's killer's eyes. "I knew you did it."
Hordy Jones was taken by surprise he wasn't expecting her to say that.
"Shirahoshi?" Neptune wondered in confusion.
"She already knew..." Jimbei thought.
Her older brothers were just as surprised.
Meanwhile, the Natsu's group finally arrived at the Fishman District.
"It seems too quiet around here," Juvia said.
"Perhaps, but, be on your guard," Gray suggested.
"Anyway, where is this cave?" Natsu asked.
"I believe it's on the other side of the Fishman District, it will have to be a large cave with a Tartaros guild mark on it," Thorn answered. "That being said, the cave will have a large broken statue of a Fishman on the top."
"Let's go!"
A Fishman pirate grunt was eavesdropping from one of the old houses. "Looks like those Fairy Tail flies have arrived."
"Yeah, looks like Aquapad and his friends are helping them too," Another pirate grunt added. "Let's report this to Aquaius,"
At the plaza
Hordy Jones was still quite surprised that Shirahoshi knew he was the killer. "You already knew, how can that be, explain yourself,"
Shirahoshi glanced at Megalo. "Back then, Megalo was the pet of my father's army, he witnessed the whole thing."
Megalo remembered the horrible scene, he saw Hordy Jones use his rifle to shoot the queen and eventually reported what he saw to Shirahoshi in private.
"Chaw chaw!" The big shark growled in anger.
Jimbei had a question of his own. "Princess...you knew this and never told a soul?!"
"How could I!" The mermaid princess abruptly said as she whimpered. "I knew that if I shared what I learned, everyone would hold a grudge against Hordy and that's not what my late mother would want."
Her brothers remembered their mother's dying wish. "Please, whoever is my killer, don't become angry on my behalf...live your life to the fullest and open your hearts to humans."
Jimbei was touched by this. "Even though she knew who the killer is she...she kept that to herself knowing the harm it would cause...I don't think I would hold myself if I knew the truth...such a merciful princess."
Hordy Jones laughed mockingly. "Jahahahahaha!"
"Stop laughing you fool!" Jimbei demanded.
"I can't help it this is downright comically, hey Megalo!" This got the big shark's attention as Hordy Jones spoke. "Nothing was stopping you from shouting your mouth and letting everyone know that I was responsible for killing queen Otohime!"
He then pointed at Shirahoshi. "So thanks for choosing to tell this foolish girl the truth and keeping it a secret, if you would've shared this information then our plans would've been ruined, such idiotic beliefs you have like your mother, but, that's what got Fishertiger killed, no matter, you can die with your family with despair!"
"Shirahoshi, don't fret, you didn't do anything wrong!" Jimbei assured though his words didn't seem to comfort her.
"Nothing wrong just something stupid!" Hordy Jones turned around and threw more Shark Arrows at the kind inflicting more damage.
"Neptune!" The citizens cried helplessly.
"Father!" The three princes yelled in anger.
"You three are next!" Hordy Jones threw more Shark Arrows only this time at the three princes knocking them unconscious.
Hordy Jones approached the helpless king. "Time to execute this old fool." He pulled back his arm preparing to use finish off the king.
The citizens wouldn't stand for this anymore.
"If he rampages through the island, then we're dead!"
The three children approached the injured Sharley. "Sharley, will the two that wear the Straw Hat and the fire dragon with the white scarf come and destroy the island?"
"Not sure, it could happen tomorrow or in a year," Arlong's sister replied.
"I want to happen now, even if he does, he'll stop Hordy Jones and his crew!"
"Yeah, if it means defeating Hordy Jones, then let him come here!"
"Fairy Tail should rampage and beat up Hordy Jones!"
The adults heard this and realized the kids were right in a way.
"They're right, the pirates might be able to stop Hordy Jones and his men!"
"Fairy Tail, Straw hat Pirates, come and rampage right now!"
"Yeah!"
"Beat the crap out of Hordy Jones and his men!"
Hordy Jones was astonished at this sight. "I guess this is what it means to grasp for Straws...though I'm sure Sharley's prediction was a lie."
"Meaningless shouting," Zoe added.
Hordy Jones returned his position. "Look closely, the reality here is that the head of Neptune will fly through the air!"
"Your majesty!" A citizen panicked.
"Father!" Fukaboshi exclaimed.
"Luffy, Fairy Tail, help us!" Shirahoshi pleaded.
Out of Megalo's mouth came Luffy who delivered a strong kick right into Hordy's stomach sending him crashing into a wall.
"EHHHH?!" The Fishman pirate grunts exclaimed.
"He came!" A citizen pointed out.
"Yay!"
"He came from the shark's mouth?" Zoe questioned in disgust.
"Talk about gross," Daruma added.
Meanwhile
Natsu's team arrived at the cave, it was so big like a mountain.
"That's a cave?" Miyaka questioned.
"It's bigger than I thought," Gray added.
"Look, the door is right there!"
The door was big and from the look of it, it was a two-way door. "That must be the door and it's a double one at that," Fujika said then she noticed something strange. "Strange, there's the air around the cave including part of the ground."
"She's right, so weird," Juvia said realizing that too.
"Perhaps the ancestors of Fishman Island created a coating for this part of the area, which means the inside has air too," Gray summarized.
"You're right," Everyone looked at Rena, who spoke. "Our ancestor created this coating for the Fishman District, though, it was never used much, only the district that had water was used."
"Yes, as you can there's one of those water tunnels that help us get through the area quickly," Thorn added. "However, I'm surprised those water tunnels are being used again."
"That's right, those water tunnels weren't being used anymore even when Jimbei was still around here," Angel said. "So, why were they being used again."
Gray thought of one reason. "It's obvious that most of Tartaros can't breath underwater either,"
"Alright, our friends are inside, and there's the broken statue on the top, so, let's do this the Fairy Tail way!" Natsu proclaimed as he inhaled his breath.
"No Natsu!" Gray panicked comically.
Too late the pinkette boy unleashed his flame breath and destroyed the two-way door.
"Let's kick some Demon's butt!" Natsu declared.
Gray grinned. "Right."
"Juvia wants to fight and save friends," Juvia said.
"There they are!" Coming in the direction they came from was about a hundred Fishmen pirate grunts.
"Aquapad, you and your friends stay guard and protect the ship, we'll be out as soon as we can," Natsu said.
"You got it!" Aquapad said with a smile.
"We owe you and your friends a lot for saving Aquapad," Rena said.
Thorn took out his trident. "It's time to kick some butt."
Jula giggled taking out spears in her six arms. "Yes, time to kick some ass,"
Angel punched her fist into her hand. "Let's show these outlaws what we're made of."
Luffy makes his appearance along with some of Fairy Tail's friends and allies. After agreeing to another plan to save the island they show teamwork between humans, Fishmen, Minks, and Exceeds. Natsu's group enters deeper into the cave and encounters some Demons of Tartaros. How will things turn, find out next time.
Luffy: in the next chapter: The Dragon's Conquerer Spirit
End of chapter.