One Tragedy After Another

"TREVOR-SAMA! I'LL REVENGE YOUUUUUU!" screeched Duncan as he slowly began reeling the ship in. The force of the wind against the sails wasn't enough to keep it going against the pulling of a madman. The crew gathered atop the ship and viewed the last obstacle standing in-between them and freedom. Rosa twisted the cannon on over and took aim, but when she motioned for another cannon ball, Lily came up empty. They were out of cannon balls.

Mikoto was currently passed out on deck, apparently as soon as Ichi stepped foot on the deck he broke down over the death of Sanada and Nito joined him. Zesiro stepped for and tried to unsheathe his blade, but almost immediately the pain in his shoulder stopped him. He froze in his spot and looked over at the rest of the crew, all of which had similar injuries. Even Maria the person who took him down was looking so hot.

Here they were! Champions of the URA! Soon to be conquerors of the Buster Call! And they were being stopped by a madman with an unhealthy interest in a mass murderer. They needed one last bit of luck to break through this final obstacle. Hiro-Shu remained fixed at the helm, trying to break free of Duncan with the rudder. Rosa looked at the crew and nodded. They were the ones that needed to get out of here. She realized she had the utmost faith in the cocky little coyote becoming Pirate King. She decided that she was going to help him. She may have been a bounty hunter during her life, but she figured she was helping possibly the greatest story to get written.

There was a soft thud to the back of her head and sent her sprawling to the floor. Rosa's vision blurred for a brief second as she saw the culprit, it was a young girl…well, younger than she was dressed in tiger-print shirt and shorts. It's funny, but it kind of reminded Rosa of her younger sister, Lily. She smiled as she thought about that…Lily was back at home with the rest of her family. Wasn't she?

The young girl started moving forward with significant speed, slowly increasing. She bent down and her entire body transformed into a hulking tiger. The new tiger form of the girl sped forward and pushed the rest of the crew aside. It seemed to have paused for just a split second, its entire body lurking at the edge of the ship as it prepped for what came next. Suddenly the massive beast sprang forward like a missile, cutting through the air and on top of Duncan.

Duncan was in to drastic a state in both mind and body to transform into tar and negate the attack. He was propelled backwards, his tar vines that were attached to the ship snapped with a hideous noise echoing. The ship lurched forward, finally free of its black chains and sailed forward towards the horizon. Another barrel of gas exploded upon impact with the URA giving off one final explosion that the pirates could see.

(-Later-)

Rosa finally recovered from the thud to the back of her head. She was sitting straight up in the infirmary with the rest of the Infinity Pirates around her, even Sage who had finally come out from the spell of her Seasonal Affective Disorder and was extremely upset at missing all the actions…and being useless during it. Rosa guessed it just bugged her that she had to sit this one out while everyone else was literally fighting with their lives on the line…even Ridley.

Mikoto struggled to sit up in his bed, but was immediately pushed back down by Sage. There was an audible grunt of pain as Mikoto hit the bed. His entire body must be aching from the fight with Trevor. Sage could only say, "Enma told you, you need bed rest, so get bed rest!" This was probably the extent of what Sage could do to help the crew right now. Enma had his hands busy basically taking care of EVERYONE.

"We need to go back," said Rosa as she fidgeted in her seat, propping herself up. "We need to go back and get Lily!" The crew froze for a second as they noticed Rosa was stirring. "She's my sister, right?" She looked around at everyone. They had all been filled in by Enma while Rosa was knocked out, despite this they remained somber and solemn. "We need to go back! That was my sister back there! That was my sister! We can't just keep on sailing! She's back there!"

"It is over," said Zesiro, handing Ichi the newspaper. Ichi walked quietly over to Rosa and handed her the newspaper. "The island was under siege, remember? The Buster Call ended." Zesiro didn't feel like bringing up the part about that a Buster Call only ends when all inhabitants of an island have been killed. He was sure Rosa knew that already.

"They must've arrested her!" shouted Rosa, springing up from her bed and onto her feet. "She's in Impel Down now, right? She wasn't a pirate, they couldn't just kill her! She's alive, she's just locked away! We go to Impel!" Zesiro stopped talking and looked away. Buster Calls don't usually end in people being taken prisoner. Rosa still had a look of desperation on her face. No one else seemed to be jumping up to support her. "We'll storm Impel Down!" she declared pumping her arm into the air, hoping to energize them. She wanted her sister back. "We'll rescue her right?" The crew remained silent. No one wanted to say anything. Rosa was wrong, they knew that, she knew that…but pointing it out…was wrong. Lily was a victim of a Buster Call not a Marine stealing someone.

"There is another option," said Ridley stretching back in his bed. Sage had taken Ridley's guitar away from him, so he didn't interrupt everyone else's sleeping pattern. As a result, he was mindless slapping his own hands on the metal pole of his bed. "It is an old story from the time of the old pirate king. Jinbe had one string attached to become a Shichibukai. One thing the Marines had to accept before he took the position. They had to release his crew from Impel Down." He didn't particularly care to risk his life going to Impel Down. Moreover though he wanted some entertainment and this seemed like a decent distraction from both his lack of music and lack of alcohol.

"That…that's right!" shouted Rosa as she half-ran and half-limped over to Mikoto's bed. "They offered you a position! You could state that in your list of demands! The release of Scarlet Lily!" Mikoto looked dumb-founded. Despite the offer being extended to him and only to him…he had no idea it even existed. He thought he was still just some run-of- the-mill pirate. Rosa paused for a second. "Come on! For Lily! For my sister! We got to do something! You can't just turn your back on her! She saved us!"

"Hey!" shouted Mikoto, finally seeming to grasp the news of him being offered a position as Shichibukai, "what do you guys think my bounty is now?" He pumped his arms up and imagined that with the news of him taking down the one and only Trevor it must be like…500,000,000 by now. He smiled as he mindlessly thought of that good news. For the most part, he ignored Rosa's rambling. Of course, he wanted to help her. She helped them, they help her it was natural. The only problem was…he preferred the thought of his bounty rising than him risking his life.

"So we got two options," said Zesiro leaning back and surveying the scene once more. "We either risk our necks to save Lily from Impel Down. Or we sell our pride as pirates and negotiate Lily's freedom for Mikoto becoming a Shichibukai." Zesiro moaned as he laid back down, giving up. "Horrible options right after a horrible fight." He wasn't too particularly keen on becoming a Shichibukai, but it was Mikoto's crew, it was his decision. Honestly, though the thought was horrifying he couldn't help but get a rise of excitement from fighting their way through Impel Down. Just like Jinbe did, a hero to Fishman everywhere.

Enma shrugged. He didn't particularly care. One way or another they would become famous. Either they'd become a Shichibukai and pull some strings with their new status and dump it eventually or…or they'll just claw their way up to the top the other way. Honestly, though, he'd rather become a Shichibukai than a corpse. And that was what going to Impel Down meant. He looked over at Rosa, on top of that becoming a Shichibukai meant saving her sister quicker rather than later. He heard of the 'Five Stages of Dying'…the first one was denial which was what Rosa was going through right now. She needed to face it and the sooner, the better. Before she had them risk life and limb climbing down to the lowest levels of hell to save someone who might not even be alive.

"There is a third option," offered Ridley. He definitely didn't want to become a Shichibukai, he hated it enough that Mikoto was higher up than him, but becoming a Shichibukai meant that you had other Shichibukais higher than you, the Marines, it was all downhill from there. But! Going to Impel Down was another option he'd rather leave alone…forever if possible. Most pirates spend their entire lives avoiding that place. "We'll just ignore Lily and continue on our path." There was a screeching sound as Rosa brought her blade down and pointed it at Ridley's neck.

"There is no third option!" she declared. Ridley backed off, nearly falling out of his bed and wrapping his hand around his neck. He felt a light trickle of blood. Zesiro had to practically grab and pry Rosa away from Ridely, it is entirely possible she would've killed him for simply suggesting such a thing. Zesiro's thoughts were still on Sanada right now. So he felt for Rosa, but killing Ridley was not the answer.

Rosa's actions propelled the rest of the crew to thinking about the choices. Sage personally liked the idea of becoming a Shichibukai, it meant funding, so they wouldn't be broke. It meant more allies, so they wouldn't be attacked everywhere they go. However, she also didn't know anything about the restrictions imposed on Shichibukais. She never knew a Shichibukai to ask them, she knew they were pirates and that was it.

Maria was against it. As pirates aiming to become pirate kings, it seemed like a cheat. They wanted to be pirates, not government dogs. Besides this way it meant more pirates would be coming after them along with the Marines. And she would knock them all down! The news of pirates taking down Impel Down was great news, it would be a great booster to their reputations and everybody would be chasing after them. People would love to be known as the ones who took the pirates who took down Impel Down…only Maria would be taking them down instead.

Hiro-Shu was fine with the idea of being a Shichibukai, but he preferred it if they didn't. It seemed like an unnecessary risk since eventually when they betrayed the World Government and were no longer Shichibukai status, the Marines definitely wouldn't take that politely. However, weighing the options…he just sighed and kept his opinions to himself. It was Mikoto's decision, an impossible one at that.

"We're leaving," said Nito and Ichi walking in on this important conversation. The pirates turned their heads to watch the duo walk in and apologize for having to leave. "We're sorry, but…with Sanada's death we're starting to think that we're not really suited for the jobs of pirates." Nito said that with an unhappy smile. "We enjoyed being with you, but I'm afraid we would just be holding you guys up."

Zesiro paused for a second trying to process it. It took him a few moments, but he nodded silently. Just like this Shichibukai matter was Mikoto's decision, Zesiro had to accept that this was their decision. It was obvious that they had thought about it. He needed to respect their decision. He nodded again and looked away from them. He liked them, they helped him, found him a temporary replacement for his sword. He would miss them.

"Be careful," said Zesiro. He wasn't in the mood to handle all these things. He would push this problem off to the side for now. Rosa's sister, Mikoto becoming a Shichibukai, recovering from his fight with Makada. Those three things took precedence. He would love to keep them around, but it was their decision. He just kept telling himself that. It was not his decision. He had no ability to stop them. It was their decision. He would still have his crew.

Nito and Ichi turned away to leave, but Zesiro stopped them with a single word, "wait." They paused, but the truth was plastered over their faces. They were ready to leave. "What happened with Shigoro?"

(-Meanwhile on Sazkach's ship-)

"You're lucky I'm nicer than my peers," said Sazkach behind his hairy mug, looking up and down their newest visitor, Melanie D. Stars, the Shichibukai, behind her stood the famous Simon Dew, millionaire of mining. "Why did you have to bring him though?" He knew he was going to receive a lot of heat from the higher-ups just for saving her, but she brought along a visitor? This wasn't going to bode with any future promotions of his.

"Relax," she said, as her hand glided through her hair, pulling it out and away from her face. "Be happy that the headlines for tomorrow won't be 'Marines Murder Mining Millionaire'. Not to mention two of your best Shichibukai that were betrayed by you in a blink of an eye, because that's what would've happened if you left…ME….THERE!" Melanie proudly pressed herself up against Sazkach, who was by now cowering in fear of the infamous pirate. Melanie turned away from him with mild grunt of distaste. "Any news on the Infinity Pirates? I want to get their heads on a silver platter, by myself, no interference understand?"

Sazkach grunted. The girl was obviously overstepping the line, ordering the Marines around like that, like she was the boss. He frowned, "No. It was their lucky day. They disappeared from sight. We were too caught up in the Buster Call to track them down. We were going to send a ship after them, but with Docket Jr.'s defeat we needed all hands on deck to handle 'Air Sword' Burakku." Who got away in the end, but Sazkach didn't want to admit another defeat to this lady.

"Perfect," Melanie said with a tone of disgust. "My crew gets butchered by your oh-so-specially selected Shichibukai, Trevor! I almost get killed in crossfire of your big guns only! It is amazing that you Marines can still dress yourselves!" She knew that it hurt Sazkach immensely to hear that, the Marines were definitely in a tough spot nowadays. The recent Pirate King's reign as well as declaration of One Piece, didn't make the pirate life seem any uglier. As a matter of fact it made Pirates look good and Marines look bad. A lack of applications to become Marines have recently become a growing problem. A problem Melanie need not to concern herself with. She simply waved Simon forward, who followed her like a dog, down into her chambers. "Oh, by the way! I need a nice, soft bed, so I'll be taking over the captain's quarters for the rest of my stay, bye!"

Sazkach ground his teeth as he looked over at her. He was in for the talking to of a lifetime when he got back Marines HQ and in the meantime he was stuck listening to this young lady! He pounded his fists onto the railing of the ship, breaking it into splinters with his inhuman and beast-like strength. His luck was at an all time low. He grumbled something beneath his breath, before turning around and faced his crew. The worthless maggots. He took deep breaths trying to calm down; they didn't need to see that primal side of him. He twisted his lips in dissatisfaction before heading back to the prisoner's bay.

He picked up the small pack of all the pirates who were supposedly on the island. The Infinity Pirates and the 'Dark Knight' Pirates both got away along with Burakku. However, wouldn't say it was a waste. He walked over to the prisoner's cells and looked in at Trevor, who was still knocked unconscious. Sazkach smiled and let loose a light growl of pleasure. The Reaper has fallen. But! He was not the only one they captured.

He moved over across the room and found, possibly the more intriguing of the two prisoners. "Armani Dove, is it?" He asked looking over at the young man who had a bright, dazzling smile on his face as if he wasn't aware of where he was. "You know where you are going?"

Armani Dove chuckled to himself, "I believe you should be asking yourself that question." Sazkach looked around for a second, mystified at the young man's strange attitude towards being a prisoner. "Since I'm a nice guy, I'll tell you," continued Armani Dove. "We're heading into the belly of the beast, the last ring of Hell, the final card in anyone's deck…we're heading to both a start and a beginning. We're heading to…the new Era!"

Disastrous Split

Yeah, I know...I got to stop killing off people. I promise you Lily is still alive for now.

This chapter marks a couple of important points for Saga, right now. 1) The end of 50 chapter long arc. That's right the URA is officially over. I'll be jumping right into the next arc, no filler chapters for now (although this one kind of was), the next arc will only be nine chapters long. Goodie for you, not as long as this monster. 2) Saga will be increasing its page length to 3000 words for awhile. The strain isn't too much for me, so I may keep it up. 3) 1000 reviews (I know I hit this mark awhile back), but if you go to my Deviantart page (CSpacian412 . deviantart . com) (Take out the spaces) I have three works of art in it. (One is my avatar, one is two panels for my manga in working, and the third one (in my scrapbook is something strictly for Saga of the Infinity Pirate fans. Go check these things out). this is my first time using Deviantart so if anything is not working...I apologize. and 4) 150 chapters! We have reached 150 chapters of this story...amazing, isn't it?

Expect bonus updates for awhile (I've already written everything up to Chapter 165!)