Chapter three. Finally. I've had practically no time to write (...type?) this week. But it's out now, I guess, so all's right with the world. BY THE WAY SUPER IMPORTANT I NEED AN ACTUAL NAME FOR WILL BECAUSE HIS NAME RIGHT NOW ISN'T HIS REAL NAME AND THERE'S A REASON BUT ANYWAY I NEED SUGGESTIONS BECAUSE I'VE GOT NO CLUE OK NONE.

DISCLAIMER: I FELT LIKE I NEEDED TO INCLUDE THAT I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE, ANY MUSIC, OR LINKIN PARK. OR DOWNSTAIT.

CHAPTER THREE: Moonlight Sonata

I came to play,

There's a price to pay,

Time for you to get down on your knees and pray,

I came to play,

Say goodbye to the good old days,

They're never coming back,

Watch your future fade,

I came to play,

I came to play to get my dues paid,

I guess you had a dream,

But it cant be saved,

I came to play.


Eri awoke when her shoulder was shook. She didn't know exactly what time it was- only that it was much too early for normal human function. "Two more hours," she mumbled, and turned away from the hand. The owner of the hand sighed loudly, "If you get up now, we might actually be in time to meet Will-san." Eri didn't move. She had no interest in waking up at some absurd hour just to talk with William, of all people.

Suddenly, she was picked up by the collar of her shirt, and plunged into the freezing ocean. She immediately felt her body go slack, vulnerable to whomever was hanging her off the side of her boat. Her jaw unlocked, and a group of large bubbles escaped. She was jerked up before she could ingest the salty water, and resembled a half-drowned cat. Raiden gave her the stink eye as he threw her across the boat and onto the dock.

She sat up and took her hat off her head, shaking it out. "Cold," she complained when she was done, wrapping her arms around herself. Her teeth chattered loudly as Raiden crossed the gap of water with a jump and landed on his feet beside her. He grabbed her, yet again, by the collar of her shirt, and began to drag her calmly down the dock. Eri looked at the sun, and noticed that it was high in the sky. A bit odd, for being early in the morning.

"Hey, Rojin-kun, what time is it?" she asked, twisting in his grip until he dropped her. Eri got to her feet, jamming her hands into her pockets. "One in the afternoon," he grunted. Eri crinkled her nose; had she actually agreed to meet Will that early? "Oh, ok." The two were silent again. At least until Eri found another thing to talk about. "You cut your hair." It was true. His silver waves were gone, cut hastily into a buzz. Raiden ran his hand over his scalp, and made a face.

"I was trying to just give myself a trim. It didn't turn out well. So I cut it all off." Eri bobbed her head methodically. In all actuality, the new style suited him. Or at least, it made him look more menacing than before. Eri didn't think there was any boy out there who could wear shaggy hair and expect people to fear them. Unless it's Will, and Will couldn't give half a crap.

"How did you know Will-san could pull strings with the shipyard?" Raiden asked suddenly, looking at her from the corner of his eye. Eri stroked her imaginary beard. "Because. His daddy used to work there, and his daddy's a friend of Juno-sensei's. He can hook us up with a huge ship if I asked- but I think a medium sized will work for now," she explained. That was one of the main reasons she wanted to stop there- because Will had connections.

And, he was bomb at hand-to-hand combat.

"So we'll actually get to call it a ship without being looked at funny?" Raiden gaped sarcastically. Eri blinked blankly at him. "We got looked at funny?" she asked, eyebrows disappearing into her hat. "What, you didn't notice that stare Will-san gave us when we described it?" Raiden had honestly thought that Will's face had had a seizure- his forehead crinkled, his nose scrunched, his mouth contorted, and his head had popped backwards. "I thought he looked at everyone like that."
Raiden waved it off. His captain was an idiot- or if he were to put it nicely, she had her moronic moments more than she had her normal moments.

The two entered the Hub loudly. They were in the midst of an argument that had started up a few minutes after they'd entered town. "Goddamn it, no, mermaids don't exist!" Raiden ran a hand over his scalp again. At one point, it would've messed up his hair. Now, there was little hair to mess up in the first place. "YES THEY DO~!" Eri sang, skipping up to the bar. Will was having a low conversation with the barkeep, but he'd stopped as soon as the pirates had entered.

"...Mermaids?" he raised an eyebrow. Eri nodded happily, and bounced in her seat. "I remember you. You didn't pay," the barkeeper scowled at Eri. She scratched her head, and when her hand went down, the hair was chuffed up. She made no move to fix it. "I gave you that coin later, just like you said!" she protested, cheeks puffing. Raiden plopped down next to her, crossing his arms on the counter. The barkeep seemed to be intimidated by him, and was casting surreptitious looks at him. Raiden grinned in self satisfaction. "She's right."

"Can we get down to business, now?" Will begged, looking slightly ruffled in a white puffer shirt and green corduroys. He'd obviously been in a hurry that morning. "Now, I talked to Willis, my father,-" he started, but was interrupted by Eri. "Do we call him Will, too?"

"No."

"Will the second, then."

"No. Technically I'd be Will the second."

"How about Will Numero Dos?"

"For God's sake. No. Changing it to Spanish doesn't do anything."

"Willie?"

Raiden snorted at Will's face- it was that scrunched up look again. "Just call him Willis. ANYWAY, he said the ship should be ready tomorrow. He also said that you'd made a sortof on-the-spot offer, so he's given you one he was already working on for someone else. So it may look a bit... funny." Eri's eyes seemed to glitter in their sockets. "Is it blue? No, wait, you said funny. Is the figurehead a clown?" She was practically hyperventilating in her excitement. "Clowns are terrifying, what are you talking about," Raiden muttered.

"How dull can you get? I mean, Juno-san did tell my father that you were a bit odd, but..." Will trailed off. Eri was ignoring him, instead eyeing the bounty of food in front of a man a few seats away. Before the two men knew it, Eri was perched on the stool directly next to the stranger, begging for food. "Juuuust a leeeeeg," she whined, fingers twitching towards one of the steaming dishes. The stranger slapped her hand away bluntly, fixing her with a scowl.

"What, with all the taxes king Lucas the II is putting on us?" The man snorted, as if she'd just proposed turtles could fly. "Who's that." Eri blinked blankly at the man. Will grabbed her around the collar and hauled her over to her original spot, setting her down with an irritated expression. "He's the original king's son. Right fine asshole," Will explained, his expression souring. (think of Lucas like king Louis in the French Revolution) "Well why don't you just go kick his ass, then?" Eri asked, head cocked to the side.

"...Because he's got a bunch of soldiers all over his palace?" "Oh hey, isn't that that one mansion thing we saw coming in here?" Raiden asked, a fleeting memory crossing his brain. The marble pillars, the spire rising up in the center, bricks painted a creamy white. A lavish garden with hedges trimmed in swirling designs visible to his own eye from a mile away. "Yes," Will confirmed, picking up his tankard and taking a long, hearty drink. "Hm. And that's why everyone's moping around?"
Will just nodded.

"How long has this been going on?" Raiden asked curiously. "About three years. It's been hard- for all of us. So many businesses shut down- I think most of the poorer areas are just ghost towns now. Everyone used to be extremely prosperous, happy. There were no bums on the street asking for cash, no malnourished children hiding in the alleyways, no women selling themselves off to pay the bills. The only real places that stayed up are these- where travelers pass, or where people come to drown their worries out with alcohol. And the king doesn't care; he just takes, and takes, and soon enough, this entire kingdom's going to be sucked dry. The old king wouldn't do that; he was as generous as he was cowardly. But his son- he was always impudent, bold, a dictator from birth.

"Everyone dreaded the day when that man took over. They sort of predicted it- we lost a fair amount of our population the moment he took the crown. People even suspect that the current king killed his father- there was little evidence to suggest so, but I can tell you this." He leaned closer to the two, as if sharing a secret, a sad look on his face. "The king was only in his late fifties. He had no medical issues previous to his 'untimely death'. And if there was ever a man who wanted the king dead, it was his own son." Will sucked in a breath and leaned away. It obviously wasn't becoming to talk down the government.

The strange man had disappeared, and they were the only patrons left in the joint. "Well, I agree with Eri. He's an asshole. I don't see why we can't just mosey on over and kick him around a bit," Raiden said. Will stared at him, a horrified expression on his face. "I don't think you know what 'because he's got a bunch of soldiers all over his palace' means. It means, there is an elite on every corner over the entire mansion. With big guns. It means, that if you idiots would be stupid enough to try, you'd die."

Eri swung her feet excitedly, with a childish smile on her face. "Hey, Rojin-kun, it's our first adventure together. Whaddaya think?" Raiden's hand went to knife #1 when he said, "I think that it's a good idea." Will threw his hands in the air. "And what? I just sit here and hope you come back alive?" Eri reached over, and clapped him on the shoulder. "What? You're gonna lie and say you're NOT the best martial artist in Illusia? No, you can come with us, Mr. Dubious."

She jumped onto the ground and began to stroll towards the exit. Raiden fell into step behind her, fingers twitching in anticipation. "Well?" Eri said, turning to look at Will. Will bit his lip hesitantly- was he honestly going to follow a random girl he'd only met once into battle against the king? Just, at the drop of a hat? Because she said so? "... If I die, I'm going to haunt you," he mumbled, but shoved his hands into his pockets and followed the pirates out of the bar.
The bartender blinked. "What?"


The mansion of the king was much more impressive up close. Swirling hedges formed a magnificent maze in front, short enough to view the small islands of vibrant flowers but tall enough for Eri to crouch behind. Will and Raiden, however... "Hey, your ass is in the air," Will pointed out. "Well I can't really help that, can I?" the man snapped.

"You could just lay down," Eri suggested cheerfully, peeking her head upwards as they crawled along. A blue uniform-clad soldier stood not four yards away, a large, intimidating looking gun clasped in his white gloved hands. "I don't want to get my shirt all dirty," Raiden mumbled. "I thought Will was the gay one?" Eri sounded confused. Both men turned a fierce shade of crimson, one from embarrassment and one from anger. "I'M NOT GAY!" they whisper/yelled in unison, then shot eachother furious glares.

"Not much farther now," Eri said, pointing a finger at the grand establishment in front of them. Two men guarded the double doors, and a few more were marching on the second floor wrap around deck. Suddenly, Eri dove for the steps. The guns pointed her way immediately, and the guard they just passed whirled in confusion. Will and Raiden clapped their hands to their heads and followed her.

Raiden jumped in the air to avoid a well-aimed shot at his ankle. "You're a moron, Mizetto," he grumbled loudly, to which she smirked at. A fine, purplish fog was settling over the area, and if Raiden knew this fog, he knew it didn't last all that long. "Go, now, do your super-duper martial arts thing," he said frantically to Will. The men launched themselves at the soldiers.

Raiden smoothly released knife # 6, a small throwing dagger, from its sheath and threw it. It nailed just below the man's throat, and he gurgled, blood bubbling and already beginning to trickle over his uniform as he staggered. Meanwhile, Will ducked under a badly aimed bullet and knocked the feet under the second soldier. He hit the deck hard, and Will raised a booted foot and slammed it into the man's abdomen. "You didn't need to kill the guy, you know," he added to Raiden.

Raiden shrugged and cleaned off knife #6 with the edge of his shirt, fear of getting dirty forgotten. The fog cleared, and the trio threw open the doors, running inside. Six guards that were milling about froze at the sight of them and yelled, aiming their weapons. Eri was already off, sliding between one officer's legs and rolling to her feet. Raiden slugged the man in the throat and he went down, gun discharging. He felt a harsh pain in his shoulder, but paid it no mind, and followed.

Will was practically running backwards, keeping his eye on the army of blue uniforms gathering in the lobby. "Hey, do you know where the guy even is?" Eri asked, craning her neck to stare at Will. "As long as we make it to the top floor in one piece, you've got nothing to worry about," he reassured. "Then... which way to the top floor?" she gestured widely to the fork in the hallway. "Beats me. Split up." Will shrugged. Raiden threw his hands in the air, but Eri was already branching off to the left.

"You're coming with me, Chero*," he said, grabbing Will by the collar and hauling him down the right. "Are you sure it's a good idea to leave her alone like that? I mean, she doesn't look too strong..." Will mumbled. He knew that she'd been trained by Juno, but a girl that small couldn't pack that much of a kick, right? "I think you should have some faith in your captain." Raiden's voice was flat, and Will felt like an idiot. He shrugged the man's hand off and continued on himself, hands jammed in his pockets and shoulders raised to his ears.

"You gonna stop yet." Will blinked. He'd come to a dead end. The corridor they were in was dimly lit, the royal blue paint chipping on the walls. Obviously, they'd went the wrong way. "Well, U-turn, I guess," he said. Raiden was just standing there. "I think it's not gonna be that easy." Will turned, to see the angry faces of ten gun-weilding soldiers. He sighed, sending Raiden a long, piercing look. "First competition ever, Naifu**. Person who gets the most gone wins." Raiden just nodded, knife #4 ready in his hands.

They charged.

Eri stood at another fork. Her hallway had ended in an elevator, and she'd gone to the third floor, just as Will'd said, but now, she was more than lost. She stood in a hallway bare of anything save a few doors with dust on their knobs and the frayed gray carpeting. "For a rich guy, he really sucks at upkeep," she said aloud, taking the right. Eri whistled- juggling, no. Whistling, gladly. One hallway morphed into another, and another.

She stopped whistling when she heard harsh clomping boots on the floor. Two, judging by the unsyncronization of the footsteps. Hoping the darkness of the corridor would shield her, she squished herself against the wall, ignoring the plaster smell that made her want to sneeze. The men passed by, unaware, talking in low tones. "Three idiots. Yeah, I know. He's lucky that he's got that copter on the roof- did you see what happened to those two guys in front? Yeesh. Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those guys."

"What about the chick? Haven't they found her yet?" His companion shook his head. "I don't know if she can really do anything- but I hear that the two guys are gone again, too. Best to keep on your toes." The other guy nodded in ascent, and they continued, unaware that Eri was snickering behind her hand not three yards behind them. She dashed off, glad that she'd forgotten to put sandals on. Bare feet are the best feet.

She went the way the two soldiers had appeared from, and the hallway immediately lightened. "That's good. I thought I'd reach my eighties in there."

"You've got a little blood on your face," Raiden said, pointing at his companion with an amused smirk on his face. His face was pretty much smothered with the stuff. Will reached up a hand and clapped it to his cheek. It came away red. "Not mine. Can you say the same for you?" Will knew Raiden couldn't. Not when he'd seen the man suffer a direct hit to the cranium with the butt of a gun. A trail of scarlet was freely streaming into the man's white shirt, sullying it even further.

"Yeah? Well your fancy-pants shirt is ripped to shreds." That was true as well; one sleeve was ripped away, half the buttons were gone, and a long diagonal slice (courtesy of someone's pocketknife) cut the fabric in half. Thankfully it'd only made a shallow gash in Will's otherwise perfectly spotless white skin. "Shut up," he said. "We need to find Eri." Raiden shrugged and fell into step behind Will. The musician led the two down the hall to the fork they were in before, and they took the left, this time. They rode the elevator in a tense silence, a worried one. Eri was all on her own, was what Will was worried about. Eri would destroy the building and cost them millions of beli; that was Raiden.

And they faced a three-way branch of hallways. "OK let's think reasonably about this-" Will started, but Raiden just strode pass him and took the center. "You can take the left," the man called out over his shoulder, and disappeared into the unlit corridor. "Idiot. Splitting us all up like that," Will muttered, already stomping to the left. He didn't like taking orders, but he'd already been about to take the left anyway. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

His hallway was lighter than Raiden's. He noticed that immediately. The carpet was worn and light at its center, as if it'd been used regularly, and the wallpaper was perfectly done. Will bit his lip- he didn't want to call out to Raiden, for two reasons. The most threatening would be the thought that there were soldiers around every corner. And the other? Well, Will didn't want to seem weak, or needy. He could protect Eri much better than that idiot, with his stupid midget swords.

With more confidence, Will started determinedly down the hallway, and played it by ear. Every branching hallway that looked freshly worn, he'd enter, and follow. Soon enough, he was bound to find the elevator.

Eri'd reached the last possible room. It stood before her grander than the others, artful designs carved into it's dark wood. The doorknob was practically blinding her, and deepset jewels in it's metal gave way to just how rich the man really was. 'How should I approach this?' she wondered, 'Should I sneak in and catch him by surprise?...'

'Nah.'

She twisted the doorknob, and it slid smoothly. She pushed the door open cautiously, ready to duck if someone's dagger 'accidentally' came tomahawking her way. "Suge..." she gaped in awe. The throne room was sparkling- literally. The gold wallpaper, with pale white swirling lines running through it, was shimmering, and the white marble was glittering as if they'd painted the stuff on.

Three large, but simple, steps led up to the throne, which was gilded. Its cushions were red velvet, and obviously meant for a heavier set man, for it was much larger than any chair she'd ever seen. Behind the chair were blood red curtains, as if he moved his chair and watched a play on his off days.

The throne was empty, but still flanked with two guards, that leveled their weapons at her with deadpans. She looked about quickly, but the kind wasn't there. However, the curtains seemed a little shady. She dodged a bullet aimed at her neck, and frowned. "That could've hit me," she said. But the men didn't react, just shot again. She moved aside as the bullet passed, and it skimmed her shoulder, leaving a slight cut.

Eri bolted towards them, ducking and weaving between the bullets just as Juno had taught her. "As long as you move aside and twist your body, the bullet can't hit you," he'd said, demonstrating. It was faster than her eyes could keep up with, even done by a man in his late sixties. And still, her tactics weren't even close to rivaling her teachers. It bothered her, but he'd just pat her on the head and said, "You'll never come across an opponent like me here."

But she wasn't there. He'd alwayd expected her to stick around Dawn Island, if not simply because Eri loved Makino and hated to leave her. Eri smirked and tilted her head to the side. Another shot fired not a hair width's away from her neck. She enjoyed this; playing with death. Eri knew that she wouldn't die, so why not make taunting them a little funner?

She reached them now, and could see their blank expressions turn to ones of restrained fear, anger. Eri played an illusion, what she called the 'Dupe- licate'. It was exactly how it sounded; as in, she put a false her there, and the real her went and downed the enemy. They seemed to fall for it, long enough for her to steal the man on the right's gun and slam it down on his head, hard enough to leave a sizable dent in his head but not hard enough to kill him. He staggered, then fell to the ground. His gun followed, and she ducked behind the curtains before his partner could see her.

Backstage wasn't as glamorous as the front- cold cement walls, boxes of crates that smelt like sawdust and ammonia, a plastic tub of flashy accessories that didn't look at all cheap, and a rack of clothing (ranging from black leather pants to beautiful emerald dresses) that spanned from wall to wall.

And the king was directly in front of her, wielding a large broadsword and a fierce expression. He wasn't a fat man, as she had previously expected, but he was... shapes. A square torso, obviously worked out from the abs that just wanted to burst from his white Frenchman's puffer shirt. A triangular face, thin chinned and eyes too far apart for his head. Circular shoulder muscles that, yet again, were straining from his shirt.

His blue cravat was wrapped around his oddly shaped head like a bandana, except the material was so thin that it hardly held back his yellow blonde hair and made him look like a child playing dress-up. She took a moment to laugh at that, and he shot her a weirded-out expression. "I am the king, and I demand you and your-" he started, in a voice that practically shook the building. Eri held up a 'waaaaaiiiiittttt' finger, and finished her giggles before composing herself.

"Dude, are you trying to emanate Naruto? Cause if you are, that's totally not your look." The king glared at her with his slanted eyes, making him look even funnier. "I'll have you know, this is the latest fashion," he snapped. Then he charged her dramatically, sword raised above his head like he was planning on hacking her straight down the middle. Eri casually sidestepped, but was taken by surprise when the sword flashed out to the side.

She narrowly avoided its blade by twisting backwards. Even then, her shirt was cut clear down the middle, hanging like a jacket. "Oi, I'm not into that kinda stuff, if that's what you're planning on," Eri said hurriedly. The king looked absolutely murderous- his cravat had fallen off, and he'd shrugged off his jacket- now he looked like a real swordsman, like in the Three Musketeers. "You, visitors here, nothing but pirate scum, come here and attack me, with no reasonable excuse. I'll not let you live another day!"

His sword glinted wickedly as he sliced out at her. She hollowed her stomach. Her staff wasn't in her pocket; she'd lost it some time during their period of entry and now. "Misuto Misuto no Shade!" she called quickly. The dense purple fog appeared, and while the king was looking around, confused, Eri darted forward and sent a bone-shattering punch to his solar plexus. The man flew back, sword still gripped in his hand, and through the curtains.

Eri followed, not really knowing what else to do. Once she'd parted the curtains, she saw something she hadn't expected to see. The king had Will and Raiden, sword biting into their necks, a smug grin on his triangle face that made his cheeks stretch farther than his jawline. "Come one step further, and I'll off your friends faster than you can say 'mercy'."

She bit the inside of her cheek. Eri loathed to say so, but she was indeed worried. Will looked greener than the emerald ring that shined on the king's pinkie finger, never a good sign. Distant irritation was the present emotion on Raiden's face, and his fingers were inching clandestinely towards his belt, going unnoticed by the king. His eyes shot to her, and he gave her an almost unintelligible incline of his head.

That was all she needed. "I suppose you wouldn't have a problem with that, would you?" she said, crossing her arms. Raiden's fingers closed around the hilt of knife #1, and she knew he was ready to go. "I mean, you did kill your daddy." Eri stepped closer, deliberately. The king's eyes were frantic, but his jaw was set. He pressed the sword closer to her companions' necks in warning.

"A man who kills his own father is nothing but the scum of the earth, a different scum from pirates. You tell me I have no reasonable excuse, yet it seems like this is more than reasonable. Sucking your peoples' money from them when you've already got more than enough in your account. Murdering, and lying, and covering it up." Another step, and she was at the set of stairs. "It all amounts to nothing in the end. The trillions you have right now... they'll be useless in Hell."

The king's blade went to slash her friends' necks, but Raiden arched, knife #1 gripped in his hands. Scarlet sprayed his face as his knife cut through the king's puffer shirt and left a hefty gash in its wake. The king stumbled a step, and Will ducked under the blade, foot wheeling to knock the king onto the ground. It didn't connect, as the king had jumped at the last moment.

Lucas charged at her, a ferocious roar ripping its way out of his throat. She let him come, patiently, though every muscle was tensed. Once he was within striking distance, he faked to the left and went at her right, air rippling around his sword as it flashed towards her. She reached out an arm to protect her side, having no time for anything else, and the blade bit through her forearm with the speed of a bullet.

Thankfully, though he had speed, he didn't have the strength to cut through her bone. Still, she let out an unearthly shriek, and kicked out a foot reflexively. It nailed him in the stomach, and he backed up a step, his sword dripping her blood onto the ground. Eri lifted her hand distractedly- she could literally see white from the wound she'd sustained. It hurt like a word that Makino would behead her for saying.

Rage colored his voice as he growled, "My father was nothing but a coward, someone undeserving of his title. Nothing but a piece of trash with a crown worth more than his piteous life. I've no doubt he went to Hell and you, you can join him there." Eri was on him before he even finished. She blocked his sword with her hands this time as he slashed. She could actually see his sword now, enough to clap it between her hands before it could reach her shoulder.

Her fingers curled tightly around the blade. "Your father was a better man than you'll ever be. I got no doubt he's chilling with the angels, But your ultimate destination...well, I guess you could say it's the same as mine." She personally had no connection to his father, had no idea how he'd ruled. But he didn't kill his father, he didn't steal from his people, and that was good enough for her. Eri clenched her hands tightly, and the blade bent to one side, though it didn't break.

Shocker, she thought. The monster strength was for Juno, or perhaps Raiden. She was just one big trickster, and Will, well, that remained to be seen.

For a fraction of a second, Eri thought she saw a flash of silver, and then, the king was slumping to the floor, a blade protruding from his gut. Raiden stood behind him, jaw set, but a wry grin on his face. "Personally, I'm an atheist. Your Heaven and Hell talk was getting dull."

He knelt and pulled out his knife, wiping it on the king's sleeve. "I didn't kill him. There was nothing vital in the knife's path. Though, what a pansy, down after one go." There was a loud thump behind them, and the two whirled. Slumped against one of the walls was the soldier she hadn't knocked out, looking at the king in surprise. He showed his palms as he picked his way towards the king.

After assuring that yes, he was alive, but just unconscious, the guard straightened, a smirk on his face. "I do have to thank you for that. We're required by contract to protect any king while we're in service- if I'd known I'd get this brat halfway through my job, I'd have quit. But I've got a family, you know." Suddenly, his face hardened. "I'll give you about ten minutes to evacuate before I call the marines. Though, I do suppose I'm grateful you didn't kill him. This," - he nudged the king with the toe of his boot- "is my only source of income."

Eri grinned like a Cheshire cat, and the trio departed with no words between them. They flew down the hallways that Will led them through, and in under three minutes, they faced the elevator. "I want to press the button," Eri hissed, slapping Raiden's hand away and pressing the 'down' arrow before he could beat her to it. The button glowed orange, and Raiden growled at her, childishly flicking her forehead. To which she flicked back.

"Are we five?" Will asked, exasperated, "What's so great about a stupid button?" Raiden and Eri threw him two icy looks that made him back up a few steps in fear. Then they went back to their banter. "I get button duty. Get your own job, asshole," Eri snapped, reaching out and pinching the knifeman's upper arm. Raiden grunted in pain and pulled the hair that winged out from under her hat in response. "I'm the first mate, I should get some privileges!" he argued vehemently.

"I'm the captain, so... I could really use some meat right now! Ha!" Will nearly facepalmed. She had literally thought of nothing to back up her 'I'm the captain' statement. And had said the first thing that came to her mind. Meat, he thought, appalled, what is it about meat? "Baka Mizetto, that didn't make sense!" Raiden yelled at her, clasping her nose between two of his fingers and tugging.

"Your face doesn't make any sense!" she protested, sounding congested at the same time. The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival, and the two hardly seemed to notice it. Will forcefully pushed the bickering toddlers into the small, suspended tin can, and pressed the close button. He calmly reached to press the 'lobby' button, when he was pushed onto the floor.

"MY BUTTON, GODDAMN IT!" Eri screeched, one hand stretching for the button and the other slapped over Raiden's face in an attempt to hold him back. She finally stabbed the button with a finger, and they dropped to the ground, rolling around and tugging at one another's hair, face, ears. Will scooted to the corner, depression forming an almost visible cloud over his head.

"You've got no redeemable traits!" Raiden was yelling, a fistful of ebony hair clenched in his fists. "DO SO! I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!" She tugged his lips until they stretched far enough to rival a duck's. "That's a load of bullshit if I've ever heard some!" he said around her fingers, and slapped a hand over her wrists, tugging her arm away from him.

"POOP CAN TALK?!" Eri jumped up, battle forgotten, eyes sparkling in amazement. "My poop must be mute. It doesn't talk to me much. But I talk to myself a lot. Does that count?" Raiden sprang to his feet, rolling his eyes. "Crap doesn't talk, dumbass. It was an expression." Eri blinked blankly, and he just waved a dismissive hand. Then, the two seemed to notice the hunkered down Will in the corner.

"Hey, whatcha doin' down there?" Eri questioned curiously, as the elevator rang again. It shuddered to a stop, and the doors slid open. Eri reached out, grabbed Will's wrist, and then the trio of pirates were running again, only sprinting faster as the officers yelled to stop. They burst through the doors into the now fading sunlight, and jumped over the decorative hedges.

"Which way's the shipyard?" Raiden asked frantically, jabbing Will in the spine to get his attention. "Just follow me," Will said, and veered to the left. The pirates followed mutely, and as the treeline came closer to them, so did the bullets whizzing by their heads. The trio ducked into the comfort of the forest, and Will crashed through the underbrush loudly, leaving a trail for the others to follow.

It felt like they were going down a steep hill. Eri was fairly certain she almost cracked an ankle more than once as they raced down like they had wolves snapping at their heels. It left an obvious trail for the soldiers to follow, but none of them were worried about it at the moment. Soldiers were yelling to each other behind them, sounding closer and closer each time, and it was really wearing it their nerves.

"This way now," Will whispered, and knelt. He brushed aside a false bush impatiently, and unearthed a rudimentary grate, with some sort of symbol printed on each bar. He curled his fingers around two bars, and tugged. It gave way with a protesting squeak, and all three jerked their heads up nervously. "Down the hatch," Will said, unaware of his pun, and slipped into the darkness gracefully, as if he did this all the time.

Eri followed, and then, Raiden, who thought to take the time and shimmy the plant back over the grate before fully dropping into the dank darkness. It smelt like sewage rats and bad river water, and was completely dark. He couldn't see a hand in front of his face, and as a consequence, bopped Eri on the back of her head while he was reaching to find out exactly where he was.

Will's gray eyes seemed to glow in the dark, the only light they had. He jingled around in his pocket a moment before unearthing a small pocket flashlight, which he turned on with an audible click. He looked strangely at ease as they made their way to an unknown destination. "Do you make it a habit to sneak in underground tunnels? A bit of an odd hobby," Raiden noted, a sarcastic smile on his face.

"My great uncle made the blueprints of this kingdom's water system. Let me have em before he died. This is small now, but when we go up further, it'll open up. And once that happens... plug your noses. We've got a way to go." He pressed on, not bothering to look behind him. There was a strange sort of confidence in him now. He must've really studied those blueprints.


"When I said that I should get some privileges, I didn't mean these kind of privileges," Raiden called through the door. He got no answer, not that he expected one. Eri was singing so loud that she probably couldn't hear a missile hit the house. He wasn't a peeper, if that's what you're wondering; he'd been given the 'privilege' of holding her towel for her while she showered.

There was a perfectly usable towel rack in that bathroom. She just did it to spite him.

"Cause I'm only a crack, in this castle of glass, hardly anything left for you to see~" Eri finished. Soon after, her shower went silent, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been standing outside her door for the past twenty minutes. The door handle jiggled, and Eri's tan arm shot out of the crack she'd made. Raiden handed her the towel with a terse expression.

"I'm not doing this again," he said as she emerged, towel wrapped around her thin torso. Her hat was on her wet head, the only thing she didn't part with. He averted his eyes casually. "Boo. I always wanted my own towel holder. It's the same as a butler," Eri replied, pouting. Raiden chose to ignore her, and sped faster for the staircase before she could find another thing he could do that she 'always wanted'.

"Yeahbyehavefun."

Eri now stood alone in the dimly lit hall. She turned to face the isle of doors, and scratched her head. "Now... which room has clothes in it?" She opened the first quietly- only barrels upon barrels upon crates. Another was just empty, there was one that had some sort of cat in it, a room with only a bed in it, one with someone sleeping on a hammock.

And then, the guest bedroom. She entered this one, and combed through the tall bureau to her left. There was a measly amount of clothing there, but Eri could deal. She was too flat for a bra, and who needed underwear anyways? Eri pulled out a few items at random, and threw them on.

Now clothed, she left the guest room looking like it'd been ransacked, and skipped down the stairs. "Anyone got some food up in here?" she sang as she reached the main floor landing. It was much more... bright, than the upstairs. The walls were yellow, the carpet was lime green, and the crown molding was peach. At first she thought it was cool, but now, it was just an eyesore.

An old man with a slightly pudgy stomach appeared in the doorway to her left. He held a whisk in one hand and a yellow-paged cookbook in the other. "I just made pancakes," he offered gruffly. This was Will's father, though he didn't look it. Willis did have Will's gray eyes, though they were so dark they looked black. And his balding head's hair was gray, though Will'd told her it'd once been straw blonde.

He was the last thing she'd been expecting. She'd thought she'd find another gaunt man, perhaps a bit bigger, with a few wrinkles and crow's feet by his eyes from smiling. She thought he'd have Will's dark red hair, and stormy gray eyes. And she thought he'd be a bit... less abrupt, impatient. She'd only seen him once, when she was small enough to be held with one hand, and the image had faded.

"Thanks," she said hurriedly, and scooted around him in the doorway. Raiden and Will were at the table, stuffing pancakes ravenously into their mouths. The pile at the center was steadily declining, and she threw herself onto the seat, grabbing a fork. Eri fought tooth and nail for everything that entered her stomach that day. Though, in the end, she ended up fuller than the others.

"Teme***, stomping on my foot was a dick move," Raiden grumbled, shooting Will a glower. "Yeah? And stabbing my hand wasn't?" Will was applying a bandage to the bleeding hand with jerky, annoyed movements. Eri leaned back in her chair, giving her protruding abdomen some room. She sighed happily, resting her hands on her stomach. "Yummy."

Raiden turned his glower on her, along with Will. "YOU! You friggin' took the entire plate and stuffed it down your gullet!" Will screamed at her, tying off his bandage with his teeth. Raiden nodded his head furiously.

"The plate had it coming," she protested thinly. She could practically feel the ceramic down there, floating in her stomach acids along with the rest of the pancakes. "Anyway, we've got better things to argue about. When's that ship gonna be ready to go?" Raiden looked at Will for the answer, who held up his hands innocently. "I don't really know. I mean, it's already built and stuff, but if you want to leave soon, you're gonna have to buy the supplies up stairs off of Dad. And haul it down yourselves."

The two pirates he was blabbing to grabbed his arms cheerfully, and dragged him up the stairs with wide, creepy grins on their faces. "Well surely you won't mind helping us, since you are a member of the crew," Eri sang, grip tightening on his arm. She wasn't giving the man a choice.

He would not let her see him tremble in the corner. He would not.

Will snapped his jaw closed, looking irritated instead of scared. Though she was pretty terrifying, along with Raiden, who was eyeing him like he was his next dessert.


"C'mooooon, get your crap and get aboard!" Eri yelled, hands cupped around her mouth to make her voice fly farther. Will was striding away from his house, two suitcases, a backpack, and an instrument case in tow. His father refused to help him, though he seemed a bit more cheerful. When asked, Willis would probably say it wasn't anyone's business, but walk away with a secretive smile on his face.

Once he was close to the ship, Will set his stuff down, a single drop of sweat rolling down his face. "Can I at least get help hauling it aboard?" he begged. Raiden grumbled something under his breath, but jumped down onto the ground from the ledge to help.

Eri was left aboard the Moonlight Sonata.

It was named for a musician who wanted to order it, and as elegant as it was... not a pirate ship. It was a regular old ship, made of blackwood and though not as big as she'd imagined, it would certainly work. Two masts, for one, with a bird's nest on the main. It needed more than one sail, and the rear one was a royal purple, that matched the wood to a 't'. The main was canvas white, and nothing special. She suspected the musician wanted to paint it.

And its best part, in her opinion, was the headpiece. It was some type of big cat, something Willis had called a 'cheater', with black rings upon its golden head. Nothing that she'd ever seen before, but it would serve as a functional seat, for her at least.

The two men made it aboard, and Raiden set down his load with a flourish. He then went to the ladder by the side, and pulled it up casually, setting it aside.

Eri perched herself onto the figurehead while Raiden leaned against the mast. And Will knelt to unlock his cello, having been wanting to play for a while.

"So wait... where are we going next?" Eri questioned.


Done. Longer than the last, something I'm pleased about. R+R, and PLEASE give me some name suggestions for Will. I want to unveil it in the next chapter.

*Chero- cello

**Naifu- knife

*** Teme- bastard