Capture 5: Rescued
"Hello there yoi?" Marco called from his perch on the railing.
"Uh Hello." Corny greeted more sweat then usual pouring down his body.
"Just wondering what you've got here on this ship of yours yoi?" Marco said.
"Nothing out of the ordinary." Corny responded.
"Really, nothing I'd be interested in yoi?"
"Nope, nothing." He said.
"You know you're a terrible liar yoi." Marco said before knocking him and his crew out. When he finished the last of them Ace and Sabo hopped on board with a pout.
"Awe man." Ace whined. "No fair."
"Yeah I wanted some action to." The top hat wearing blonde added.
"Yeah yeah don't forget why we're here yoi."
"So you're not with the kidnappers then?" Asked a childish voice.
"Who's there?!" Ace demanded.
"Woah there buddy. I'm not an enemy." The voice reassured.
"Then show yourself." Sabo demanded and a second latter an orange cat like thing flew out on to the deck with a pair of white wings.
"What the Hell?!" Ace yelled.
"Well nice to meet you too. What are you doing here?" The Cat-like thing asked visibly annoyed.
"We're here to rescue any soon to be slaves yoi." Marco answered.
"Good. My friend was kidnapped along with her friends." The cat answered.
"Alright then let's go get them out of here." Ace replied. "Where are they?"
"I don't know I just hatched to day." The cat-like thing explained.
"Hatched?" Sabo asked.
"Yeah I'm an Exceed where born from eggs."
"Exceed?" the three echoed before they started mumbling things like 'We're in the Grandline, in the New World, I've seen stranger things than talking flying cats.'
"Right let's start looking they would probably be in the lower levels of the ship." Sabo suggested. "Be careful with them alright we don't know how long they've been here." Sabo said looking right at Ace.
"Hey don't look at me I'm nice."
"Yeah right, just remember don't yell at them for being weak okay, I still remember how you treated Luffy when he got captured." Sabo said.
"Hey I've changed." Ace said and Marco chuckled at the two brothers before heading into the halls of the ship.
"It's not funny." Ace grumbled. The trio and the cat walked through the steel corridors looking around for any door, and more smugglers when finally they reached a door. Marco walked up to it and knocked it down earning a yelp of surprise from the room's occupant. She had long wavy crimson red hair which looked oily indicating how long she's been there, but surprisingly enough she had all her clothes on which was usually a good sign. She looked up at the pirates with a glare and let out an animalistic growl.
"Don't worry we're here to help yoi." Marco said gently causing confusion to flash in her eyes before the distrustful look reappeared.
"Don't worry Rachel I can vouch for them. They're good guys." The cat said.
"What are you?" Rachel choked.
"I'm an Exceed."
"Okay. I've been in here to long. I think I finally cracked." She mumbled casing the men to chuckle.
"Don't worry it's real." Ace reassured while Marco slowly walked over to her and kneeled down beside her as Ace and Sabo watched on. "I'm going to free you okay yoi?" He asked getting a slow hesitant nod from the girl. "It may get a little hot but bare with it for a while okay yoi?"
"Okay." She responded her voice dry and raspy. The pirates winced when they heard her voice and made a mental note to get her some water later. Marco began to melt the cuffs off.
"Alright can you stand yoi?"
"Probably." She responded flinching at how scratchy her throat felt. She slowly rose to her feet collapsing on Marco when her legs gave out and her vision became blurry. 'Damn, I'm so hungry.' She thought. "Sorry." She apologized weakly.
"Don't worry. Is it alright if I carry you yoi?" Marco asked.
"N-no." She stuttered. "I'm way to heavy." She explained.
"I doubt that, but even so I'm pretty strong you know yoi."
"Yeah don't worry about it." Ace said trying to encourage her while Sabo was studying her behavior.
"Are you sure I'm really fat, and I weigh a lot?" Rachel asked.
"Are you okay?" Ace asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah why?"
"Because you're really skinny you don't look fat at all?" Ace answered.
"That's because of all the clothes I'm wearing." She said as Marco put her on his back.
"I doubt that, you're pretty light yoi. Probably too light in fact." Marco said with some concern.
"No need to be polite." The girl responded.
"It doesn't matter. Heavy or Light this guy's so strong he can punch a boulder and turn it into pebbles. He can even carry animals three times his size!" The cat explained happily.
"How'd you know that yoi? Weren't you born today?"
"Yeah but my friend knows all about you guys."
"Okaaay do you know if there are others?" Sabo asked.
"Yeah my three friends are probably in here to." Rachel said.
"So there's four of you." Ace acknowledged sharing a look with Sabo.
"Yep there's four of them, now let's go." The cat urged.
"Alright then come on let's look for them." Sabo said and walked to the next door opening it the normal way. His eyes searched the room and landed on a raven haired girl. Her long oily locks framing her pretty pale face perfectly.
"Hello there, my name is Sabo. Don't be alarmed we're here to help."
"Hello my name is Zena it's a pleasure to meet you." The pirates were a bit taken aback by the greeting.
"Zena!" Rachel said softly trying not to strain her voice.
"Rachel." Zena said a small smile gracing her face as Ace set her free.
"Are you alright?" Sabo asked.
"Yes sir." Zena responded.
"Can you stand?" Sabo asked.
"I was ordered not to move and cause trouble." Zena emotionlessly responded with a blank expression on her pale face.
"Zena that man kidnapped you and wants to sell you, do you really want to obey a guy like that." Rachel asked, while the pirates gave confused glances at each other trying to understand why the girl was obeying her captor's orders.
"I…I" she started looking distressed making Sabo narrow his eyes.
"Stand up. You're coming with us." Sabo ordered in a stern voice.
"Sabo? What happened to being nice?" Ace asked he'd never scene Sabo act like that towards anyone not an enemy, but the girl listened to what Sabo said with out complaint only to collapse into the blonds arms.
"Oh no I'm sorry, let me try again." She said flinching out of his grasp collapsing again.
"Hey don't force yourself now." Sabo said holding her up.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to. I don't know what's wrong with me." Zena began fear in her eyes.
"Hey don't worry about it, its alright I'll carry you." Sabo reassured studying her actions a look of concern growing on his face. By now Marco was starting to see it too.
"Oh no I couldn't possibly allow that." Zena said.
"It's fine really." Sabo said.
"Yeah Zena relax." Rachel said. "You're too weak to stand because you haven't eaten in a while.
"But…"
"Zena Let him carry you." Rachel ordered knowing that would get the girl to comply.
"Okay, I'm sorry for going against you're orders and talking back to you." She said as she was put on Sabo's back. Shock crossed the pirate's eyes.
"What?" Sabo voiced.
"You told me to stand up and I didn't then you said not to push my self but I did." She said. "I'm sorry."
"Hey don't worry about it." Ace said. "You don't have to follow our orders you can do what you want."
"What I want?" She asked head tilled to the side.
"Alright come on two more left boys, the cat's already gone." Rachel said interrupting the worried pirates from questioning the confused Zena.
"Yeah right." Ace said slowly as he left to go to the next door knocking it down his eyes landing on a girl covered in dirt and grim. Her cloths tattered and worn not leaving anything to the imagination, but what scarred the group more was the dead look in her eyes.
"Lexi?" Rachel called out in concern but failed to get a response.
"Lexi!" She called louder as Ace walked up to her releasing her from the chains.
"Hey are you okay?" He asked.
"I can't believe this is happening." She whispered.
"What what's happening?" Ace asked just as softly snapping the girl back to reality.
The girl smiled when her eyes landed on Rachel and Zena.
"Rachel Zena!" She exclaimed the light coming back to her eyes. "
"Lexi! Are you okay he didn't do anything to you right? He told me he wouldn't but…"
"Hey relax he didn't do anything I wasn't already used to." She said giving a small smile. And by now even Ace started to notice there was something seriously wrong with these girls. "What's that?"
"I'm an exceed. I remember you picked one up to. It'll hatch soon."
"Wait I'm going to get a talking cat too. That's so cool!" She said stars shining in her eyes before her vision worsen and she slumped over.
"Lexi! Oh right what did you do about food?!" Rachel asked in concern.
"Wait. Are you saying he didn't feed you yoi?" Marco asked feeling enraged.
"Well they gave us enough to keep us alive." Rachel answered. "But Lexi can't eat food."
"What? Then what does she eat?" Sabo asked.
"Fire." Lexi answered. "I don't think I can last much longer, my vision became blurry when he force feed me a few weeks ago."
"What?! Fire!" Ace said completely shocked.
"That's right fire dude, best be careful around this one huh?" The cat smirked, while Sabo grinned watching the situation play out.
"Hey you smell really good." Lexi complimented licked her lips. "So do you pineapple dude."
"It's Marco." Lexi chose to ignore him in favor of getting up, of course she collapsed and out of reflex Ace caught her.
"Thanks." She said resting her head on the crock of his neck, "I'm sorry but I don't know why I have this urge to…" she said as she licked his bare skin trailing her tongue up his muscular neck, causing Ace to shiver and blush.
"Hey what are you doing don't eat me!" Ace yelled as Sabo burst into laugher.
"Oh please you know you liked it." The cat purred.
"Shut-up." Ace yelled face turning crimson red.
"Hmm you taste just like fire." She moaned happily trying to get another taste.
"Well he is a Fire man." Sabo informed when his laughter died down.
"Fireman?" Rachel and Lexi asked before Rachel burst out laughing at the irony.
"Can you make a fireball, a big one?" Lexi asked.
"Yes?" Ace said as he held out his hand to do just that Lexi smiled before sucking it up. "Thank you." She said.
"She ate it!" Ace said.
"Incredible." Sabo said in Awe.
"Can I have more?" She asked.
"Here yoi." Marco said throwing her a blue fireball.
"Umm delicious." She said. "Okay I'm good for now, anymore food and I'd get sick."
"Right alright there is one more room so lets go yoi." Marco said.
"Oh right Valerie, I hope she's okay." Rachel worried.
'Don't worry Val. We're coming for you now.'
"Don't worry she's mute not weak." Lexi reassured.
"Mute?" Sabo asked.
"She wasn't always, she used to be the kind of girl who would bounce off the walls. We couldn't get her to stop talking when we were kids." Rachel informed. "But then something happened when she turned 13, and she just stopped talking and distanced her self."
"Why?" Ace asked.
"I…I don't know all the details but, I did hear she lost her family and was put into foster care for a while." She sighed.
"Foster care huh? I hope she wasn't put into any bad homes." Lexi said.
"That was the least of her worries." The cat said.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.
"It's not my place to say, but she's been through a lot. She only just recently started refusing to speak. She blames her self for something that happened, and she believed she caused it by speaking so she locked away her words." The cat explained.
"How do you know all this?" Lexi asked.
"I've seen her memories. It's part of the special bond we exceeds share with the one who finds us."
"Um Exceed, this thing she regrets does it have to do with losing her recently adoptive family?" Rachel asked sadly.
"Yes." He answered as Sabo opened the door revealing a blonde girl covered in dried blood.
"Valerie!" Lexi and Rachel called.
"Why me, why them, why." She mumbled.
"Thought you said she was mute yoi?" Marco asked but concerned all the same.
"Hey Val Val, snap out of it." The Cat called softly as Lexi placed a hand on her shoulder causing Valerie to flinch away from the touch and let out a whimper.
"Please stop. Please." She begged her eyes were glazed over lost in her memories.
"Valerie it's me Lexi!" this caused said girl to come back to reality. Her eyes snapped back into focus and she looked at Lexi with a relieved smile on her face.
"That's right it's just me, your okay now we're free, Corny won't hurt you anymore." Lexi calmed as Valerie's eyes scanned the room after Ace freed her. She gasped when she looked at Ace and her eyes looked like they were about to tear up.
"Whats wrong!" Rachel asked.
"Ace what did you do?" Sabo asked. "I told you to be careful." He continued to reprimand.
'Is this really happening? They're the same ones from my dreams.' She thought.
"I didn't do anything." Ace defended and Valerie started to laugh actually laugh, she gave them both a big grin before she stood up and face the orange cat.
"And so we finally meet Val." Said girl smiled brightly as she spread her arms out inviting the cat in for a hug, which he did without question. She pulled him close to her chest. 'I've got it. I'll name you Sherbet.'
"Sherbet? I like it. Thank you." Sherbet responded with a smile.
"Huh?"
"We can communicate telepathically." Sherbet explained.
"Well that's good at least you know what she's saying." Rachel said.
"Yeah until she's ready or has to speak again. I'll be her mouth." He beamed proudly as Valerie ran off on to the deck.
"Okay?" Ace and Sabo said completely confused.
"She wants to see the Ocean." Sherbet answered before joining her.
"Ace follow after them we don't know if the crew is up or not yoi."
"Alright." Ace said running off with the others walking behind him.
"Ah Oh No That bastard stole my egg!" Lexi yelled. "I have to find it!" She continued as she ran out of the room.
"Her egg yoi."
"She found an exceed egg in the mountains we were on. It looks like she wants to protect it." Rachel explained.
"Ah ha." Sabo said slowly. "You guys go ahead, we'll go after her."