BlueRyuu- This chapter counts as confusing, no? Or will it count as the opposite? You decide, in our next episode of In Case of Pirates!

-Del ra sh'jel nor'tim-

The cloud of dust settled, revealing my dark form rising up from the three females at my feet, my overcoat billowing sinisterly over the three and concealing them, most particularly Shasta, from the crowd, my hands tucked into the pockets midway down the coat to hold it somewhat closed as I gazed out at the devastation I had wrought and the bodies of my opponents. The referee, emerging from behind the iron wall he had been hiding behind, raised a shaking hand.

"Th-The Wrathbone Pirates h-have b-b-been defeated! I declare the P-Pirates of Doom the victors of the tournament!"

The crowd burst into cheers as the announcer whooped. "YEE-HEAAAH! HE DID IT! THE MYSTERIOUS GUNMAN DID IT! HE BEAT THE ENTIRE TEAM SINGLE-HANDEDLY! WHAT A GUY! WHAT A HUNK!"

I felt a drop of sweat form on the back of my head, then I turned to the referee.

"I believe we have earned a ship. Where is it?"

He pointed a quivering finger at a well-rounded man who was just emerging from a small audience box. "M-Mister Wellingtoes w-will show you to th-the docks..."

"NOT SO FAST!"

The crowd stilled as a huge man emerged from the far hall, a massive cannon strapped to one arm and three swords on the other, while his entire body was layered with armor plating. Beside him, a long, slender man with the look of a killer strode beside him, an annoyed look on his face, while a massive crew of men with cat-ears on their heads swarmed from behind them and surrounded the arena, more pouring out from behind the crowd and keeping the suddenly-fearful masses from fleeing.

The big man raised his cannon at me and grinned wickedly. "I, Don Krieg, have need of those four ships! AND I WILL HAVE THEM!"

The man beside him raised one hand and adjusted his glasses with the palm of his hand, an annoyed look on his face as he continued walking toward me. "Idiot! That isn't the only reason we're here, remember?" Looking up at us, he smiled thinly. "After all, we wouldn't want to injure possible partners, would we?"

Aliza popped up in front of me, her arms crossed. "What's that supposed to mean, four-eyes?"

The man's forehead vein bulged, but he still managed to keep his cool. "I would not make me angry, little girl. I simply wish to make an offer to the captain of your crew."

"You're talkin' to her. Talk already!" Her arms still folded, she turned to the side, closing her eyes in annoyance. "'Cause so far, you're just keepin' us from making Nicky better."

I said nothing, my simple silence acknowledging my agreement with her statement.

The thin man had looked a little thrown-off by Aliza's statement that she was captain, but he adjusted quickly and pushed his glasses up on his nose with his palm again, a strange movement that I found vaguely familiar. I couldn't place it, however.

"Right. I wish to offer you a place in a partnership with myself and my fellow pirate captain, Admiral Don Krieg."

"Why're ya workin' together?" Aliza turned to look at the man, curiosity in her voice. "Pirates don't work together."

"They do when they've been beaten by a snot-nosed straw hat punk and his crew of misfits!" Don Krieg spat to the side. The thin man nodded and sighed.

"We've both been bested by this Straw Hat crew and have been lying low for a while." He smiled toothily, a wicked expression. "Now, however, we've discovered that this has opened new opportunities for us."

"Such as...?" Aliza prompted impatiently; his grin grew even more wicked.

"We are creating a coalition of powerful pirate crews with the ultimate goal of conquering and dominating the East Blue completely, driving out the Navy wherever we find them and making a utopia for ourselves from which we can plot our assault on the Grand Line, where treasures untold lie!"

He was about to go on, but moaning caused him to stop and look down at Aliza, who was spread-eagled on the ground, her eyes spinning in a daze and drool trickling down her mouth.

"Biiiig... Woooorrrds... Arrrgyyy... Heeellllppp..."

I smirked. "He wants us to join him and his buddy to make a bunch of pirate ships that will take over the East Blue. He wants to destroy the Navy around here and make a base so that they can try to get into the Grand Line and take all its treasure."

She popped to her feet, her eyes shining. "TREASURE? IN THE GRAND LINE!" She spun around and pointed at the sun, which was beginning to set. "THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GOING NEXT! FOR TREASURE, PIRATES OF DOOM!"

I smirked and pulled down my hat. "For the treasure!"

She pumped her fist in the air happily and spun around, moving toward our hall. "Welp, let's get going! We gotta load up our new ship with the treasure we got here and set sail for..." She paused and looked back at me, embarrassment on her face. "Um, where're we goin'?"

"The Grand Line." Shasta stood up next to me, her expression troubled but her voice firm. "It is a place of many dangers and many treasures. Or so they say."

Aliza smiled happily. "Well, once Nicky and Licky are better, we'll set sail! Okay, First Mate Argy? Second Mate Sassy?"

A drop of sweat formed on the back of Shasta's head. "Um, my name's Shasta..."

"Yeah! That's what I said! Sassy!"

I nudged Shasta in the ribs. "She's the captain, so she's always right."

Shasta got the hint and nodded somberly. "Very well, Captain."

"I dislike being ignored."

There was the sound of swords scraping together behind us and I smirked. "You did not just draw your weapons on me. I know for a fact that you didn't, because if you did, I'd have to turn you and your pathetic group of weaklings into so much compost."

"Kuro! Krieg! Are you trying to lose a prospective partner?!" The new voice was high and nasally; turning my head to the side, I looked over my shoulder and spotted the slender man wearing black-furred gloves with long swords attached to the fingers, Krieg resting his cannon on his shoulder and both men looking in annoyance at Wellingtoes, who had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot impatiently. "Here we are, attempting to gather allies and you two are trying to kill them!"

"My brilliant strategy does not rest on us gaining this one measly crew, Mayor." The slender man, who I suddenly remembered seeing once before during a nighttime scouting mission on a small island, raised his right hand and fixed his glasses with his palm before glaring at the shorter man. "No matter how strong they are."

"You didn't just see the gunman fight, idiot." Kuro, the slender man, stiffened as if slapped, then Krieg spoke up.

"Grah. All I see is a pathetic group of pirates. There's only four of them, so it shouldn't take more than four minutes."

He brought his cannon off his shoulder, then froze as he found Ras'cal's muzzle just in front of his nose, aimed right between his eyes. Looking down at Wellingtoes, I smiled thinly from behind my blindfold.

"You are a smart man, Wellingtoes. I suggest you attempt to fix the situation before these two make me angry."

Krieg bellowed angrily and swung his sword-bearing arm down at me. "WHY YOU-"

I nonchalantly turned my back to him and caught his other arm as it descended with my left hand, scooting up next to his chest as I kept Ras'cal pointed at his chin and held his other arm helplessly in my grip. "Better hurry, little man. This guy's coming dangerously close to dying."

Wellingtoes shrugged. "If it'll get you to join us, then go ahead and kill him. The power of our group will still be higher than it is now."

Krieg stammered something furious-sounding, then I smirked. "You'll have to speak with my captain; I am simply the first mate."

He looked up at me carefully, his shrewd little eyes boring into my amused expression intensely before he turned to face Aliza. "Very well. You! Captain! What is your answer? Will you join us?"

Beyond Kuro, who was watching me with a calculating look, Aliza put one finger on her chin thoughtfully as she sat down cross-legged next to Licone, who was still unconscious but was somehow looking better than before. Scratching her head, she smiled and shook her head.

"Nah, we're goin' to the Grand Line to get treasure!"

Wellingtoes smiled affably. "But if you join us and help us with our plan, we'll help you get even more treasure!"

She smiled smugly and folded her arms. "That's not how it works, Toby. Lemme tell ya how it works; one crew finds treasure, they keep it for themselves. They don't share with anybody, or else somebody will steal it all. Besides," she smiled toothily, "My crew's way stronger than yours. We'll work way better by ourselves."

Wellingtoes sighed. "Is there nothing I can say to convince you otherwise?"

She shook her head firmly. "Nope."

"Then I have no choice." Raising his hand, he snapped his fingers; as one, the pirates in the stands above cocked their rifles. "Not only will I have to slaughter everyone here, but now I'll also be taking my daughter back." Raising his voice, he looked toward where Licone was lying. "Licone! These creatures want to hurt Nicole!"

Nothing happened and Aliza laughed. "Stupid Toby, she's a member of my crew! Licky and Nicky know we won't hurt them!"

His smile was evil. No other word describes it. "But she is asleep; she won't know the difference!"

I felt my eyes widen slightly. "When we sleep, Captain, our subconscious minds, the ones that govern reflexes and the like, are no longer protected from outside influence by the conscious mind. It's how hypnosis works; wake Licone up now!"

"LICONE! THEY'RE ATTACKING NICOLE!"

Aliza looked at me with a startled expression on her face, but she reached a hand over to shake Licone's shoulder nevertheless. I tried to warn her as Licone's eyes flew open, but it was too late; with a predatory howl, the older girl leaped up, spinning around and slamming a foot into the ground just in front of Aliza, shattering it and blowing my captain back several feet. Shasta whipped out two of her swords, catching the next seventy-two kicks in the next fourteen seconds on her swords as she defended herself against a blinding volley of furious strength.

I sank my heels into the ground and flashed forward, but then Kuro appeared in front of me, his blades raised in front of him and a smirk on his face. Skidding to a halt, I stared him in the eye.

"This can get ugly or brutal; your choice."

He smiled thinly. "Oh, I think I'll let my crew decide." Looking up at the stands, he shouted, "Shiam! Bucci! Get down here!"

A pair of men dressed like cats leaped from the stands, yowling as they shot toward us; behind them, I saw the pirates already butchering the townspeople.

Just like him.

My world turned red as I turned to look at Wellingtoes, who was smugly watching Licone attack Shasta.

"WELLINGTOES!"

He started and turned to look at me, his face paling slightly as he saw my expression. Above me, the two men, one fat and the other skinny, descended toward me, their clawed hands ready to rip me to shreds.

"WELLINGTOES! CALL OFF THIS SLAUGHTER BEFORE I RIP YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC GANG A NEW ONE!"

His smile returned and he brought out a strange helmet-like device from his coat. "You want to know something interesting about Licone, my friend?" Putting the helmet on, he flipped a strange switch on the side and smiled wickedly. "She's not nearly as resistant to mental attack as Nicole."

I felt my eyes widen slightly, then I snarled and flashed toward him, my weapons raising as I took aim at him. Before I could pull the triggers, however, Licone blurred into existence in front of me, her eyes blank as she aimed a kick at my head that I was barely able to pull back from. Before I could recover fully, she was on me, her feet flying at me as she drove me away from the scumbag controlling her. I found myself hard-pressed not to get kicked, not because she would hurt me but because I didn't want a reflexive attack being triggered by her hitting an old wound or ripping my blindfold off.

As I backed away, I hastily reviewed my slim bag of options. Run away and come back for her later; best chance for success but I wasn't sure what I could do short of killing Wellingtoes that could save her from his newfound grip on her head; besides, the longer we left her with him, the longer he'd have to cement his grip on her mind. Stay and fight, hoping to get the chance to wipe him out; the chances of success weren't that great, because I wasn't sure how I could get to him short of unleashing my special abilities and/or weaponry, which could either break the connection between her mind and her body completely or, on the other hand, could shatter the entire island if I got too carried away. Or I could just punch her and hope to knock her out only, not crush her skull completely.

"ARGY! HELP!"

Turning my head slightly, I spotted Aliza and Shasta fighting back-to-back against Kuro's wicked-fast movements and Krieg's powerful weaponry, the two of them slowly losing out to the mightier pair; gritting my teeth, I looked back at Licone and felt my heart slowly sink. The familiar feeling came back; the knowledge that I couldn't save everyone by fighting, but would have to leave something to another person's abilities. I could only pray Licone and Nicole could hold out long enough for us to save them.

"We'll be back, Licone. We'll save you and Nicole from them, I promise."

With that, I dug my heels in and flashed back to where my captain and second mate were fighting, appearing with a roundhouse kick to Don Krieg's armored head that sent him flying across the arena into a wall, while Kuro was knocked back by one of my punches to his gut. I felt Licone's presence approaching and flashed to Aliza and Shasta's side, my voice as grim as I felt.

"Captain, we have to retreat for now."

"NO! WE'RE NOT LEAVING LICKY AND NICKY BEHIND!"

"CAPTAIN!" She jerked and looked up at me wide-eyed, while I continued sadly, "If we keep fighting her, either we will be eventually defeated and killed or she will be. We need to retreat for now; but I promise we will come back for her. We will not leave without her."

Shasta nodded and looked at the pirates swarming at us from all directions, spinning her twin swords around expertly as Kuro slowly got to his feet and Krieg began barreling toward us. "I advise moving now, Captain. Whether fight or flight, we must decide now."

Aliza looked up at me, tears forming in her eyes, then she looked over to where Licone was striding toward us, her expression still blank; inhaling deeply, she poured her grief and determination into a scream.

"WE WILL COME BACK, LICKY 'N NICKY! WE WON'T LEAVE WITHOUT YOU!"

Grunting, I knelt down. "Get on my back, both of you."

Aliza sadly walked around behind me and hopped on, squirming around the shaft of Yamakaze as she muttered something about 'bumby back', then Shasta sheathed her swords and leaped on my back, the girls clutching on to my shoulders before the swordswoman shouted, "LET'S GO!"

Holstering my pistols, I reached back and wrapped my arms around their legs. As the pirate swarm came close enough for them to begin drawing their weapons back for slashes at us, I leaped straight up, flying two hundred feet in the air before I spun around and braced my feet against the air. As we slowed, I applied pressure with my heels and we flashed across the island through the sky, blurring into view again over the town. Hordes of pirates swarmed over the docks and streets of the town, looking for any treasure Reza and Aliza hadn't already grabbed. I felt my heart darken as I spotted them grabbing the pair's treasure from the Doom, but logic slapped my fury across the face and aimed me at a small bay on the far side of the island that had a small island in it.

My heels flexed again and I flashed over to the island, settling on the sand and crouching down to let the girls off my back. Aliza sobbed as she flopped on the ground, her tears streaming down her face as she bawled.

"F-F-First Rezzy, th-then L-Licky 'n N-N-Nicky! I'm a horrible captaaaaaaaiiin!"

Shasta stood beside me and eyed me strangely, but I ignored her as I sat down next to Aliza, carefully moving Yamakaze's head to the side, and gently picked her up and set her in my lap, hugging her to my chest as I ran my hand through her hair in an attempt to soothe her. As her sobs grew quieter, I took her shoulders in my hands and levered her far enough away that I could look down into her eyes, my tone somber.

"Captain, there was nothing you could have done. Reza chose to die taking revenge on that man for killing his clan; he made his decision to fight that man to restore his clan's honor. Not even I, his partner, could have or would have stopped him."

She hiccuped and wiped at her eyes with one hand. "B-But what about Licky an'-an' Nicky?"

"We are going to get them back." I let some of the iron in my soul seep into my words. "We will get them back if we have to tear this entire island in two and destroy every single person here. They are our crew mates; Nicole is our navigator, Licone her bodyguard. Both of them are our friends, too, so that means we will get them back. Besides," I quirked a grin, "I promised to bring them back."

She looked down, then flopped forward and hugged my chest, whimpering quietly. "I still don' wanna be Captain anymore."

I looked down at her head in surprise, then smiled softly. "But you're such a good captain! You're the only captain I will serve under and that is that!"

She looked up at me in surprise, then smiled happily through her tears and cuddled back up against my chest. "Thank you, First Mate Argy."

We stayed like that for a few moments, then I felt her fall asleep and smiled softly, looking up at Shasta, who had been standing silently over us the entire time.

"Well, life is so very interesting."

She looked down at me suspiciously. "Yes. Interesting. That is the word. It's interesting, for example, how you've gone to all this trouble to get me to join your crew, sparing me of all the opponents your crew has fought. Interesting how you pretended to build up an attack capable of leveling the entire field just to save me from it a second later. Interesting how you, who are obviously the most powerful man in this area, are blithely obedient to a little girl hardly worth spitting on. Interesting how you're planning to fight against all that," she gestured back at the island and the swarms of pirates that were still plundering the island, "just to get back a schizophrenic girl who's more trouble than she's worth." Her eyes went steely. "So interesting, in fact, that I find myself curious as to why."

Chuckling, I gestured for her to sit in front of me. "Sit down, swordswoman, and I shall lay your questions to rest." When she hesitated, a suspicious glint in her eyes, I smirked amusedly. "Oh, c'mon; if I wanted something from you, don't you think I would've just ripped it from your lifeless corpse instead of going to all this trouble?"

She nodded once and, moving to stand in front of me, sat down cross-legged on the ground, her swords still strapped to her back. "All right, explain."

"Well," I began, "the root of the matter seems to be why I am doing what I am doing, so I will explain that first." I shrugged. "To be honest, it's because I've fought all my life for somebody else's cause. I've fought for so long and for so hard that I believe I have lost the ability to have my own cause; instead, I now must choose the people I fight for carefully." Looking down at Aliza as she slept peacefully in my lap, I smiled softly. "This girl stormed into my life with the declaration that she was a pirate; what's more, she was proud of it. Looking back, I think what drew me to her was the fact that she had a more innocent belief in what a pirate was. She kills, yes; she's far too mature in that direction than any child her age has a right to be."

Raising my eyes back up to meet Shasta's penetrating gaze, I smiled from behind my blindfold. "But she's not a killer. She doesn't take pleasure in it at all, I don't think; if she did, I would have already killed her myself. Instead, she obsesses over treasure and fighting, taking a distinct pleasure in defeating any Navy personnel she sees. I think I serve her cause because I see a purity in her desire to become the greatest pirate, a purity that none of my previous causes have had in them."

She eyed me for a moment when I finished, then nodded warily. "I cannot see your eyes, Argyle Finch, but everything else about your body says that you speak the truth. I believe you." Relaxing slightly, she raised one eyebrow at me. "Now, what about the rest?"

"Why I have done what I did and what I plan to do?" I shrugged and smiled at her. "It is because it furthers my captain's cause." Nodding at Shasta, I continued, "You are a swordfighter of great skill; I can see it in the way you move. Beyond that, however, you have honor, something rare and valuable among pirates here in the East Blue. As I fought you, I decided that I had to have you; this same honor that I desired for my captain's crew, however, also meant that you, who had resigned yourself to die, would not easily go along with me if I simply asked you to. I had to prove to you that you had been thoroughly defeated along with the rest of your crew, which meant you were essentially dead. Once that was done, it meant you had just been handed a clean slate, the original swordfighter having been killed with her crew during the fight."

Her eyes widened slightly, then she bowed her head to me. "I am surprised; not many pirates think of such things in battle."

"It's like you said," I said smugly, "the Blind Gunfighter is a sagely, powerful man of incredible good looks and yet a humility of-ow!"

I rubbed my head, giving her a fake-hurt look as she picked up another small pebble from the sand and smiled cheekily at me. "I don't recall ever saying those things about you, First Mate Argyle. Next lie gets you one on the nose!"

Chuckling, I returned to my explanation. "And for what I plan to do, it is simple; that girl furthers my captain's cause and, beyond that, has gained a small piece of my heart." Smiling thinly, I petted Aliza's head gently. "I am a man who has spent too many years alone and friendless, apart from normal human emotions. I take my friendships incredibly serious; for this reason and this reason alone would I gladly take on ten thousand foes." Raising my head, I stared straight at Shasta.

"That girl has become a friend. I, Argyle Finch of Nevermore, will fight to the death and beyond for my friends." Adding a taste of steel to my voice, I continued, "if I have to, I will take over Hell and return with a legion of demons to rescue them. This have I sworn, on the many, many graves of my comrades, to always accomplish."