Chapter Four: First Encounter
As day broke upon the goliath galleon, Neo slowly but surely got herself dressed into her new uniform. All they gave her was a pair of leather sandals, black trousers, and a simple cotton shirt. Wincing at each button, she fumbled as she finished up dreadfully. Her hands were patched up by the ship's doctor, if only just covered in bandages and cleaned via the use of alcohol. Truth be told from what she's heard, she's lucky they didn't cut them off, as per the stories. She didn't want to be known as Neo Two Hooks, thank you very much.
Slowly walking out on deck, trying not to itch from the cotton and linens of her new uniform, she noticed everyone was gathering upon the deck. Roman, dressed up in full regalia and swagger stood atop the bridge. He even had a parrot on his shoulder, munching away at an avocado. Legends told if you tried to give it a cracker, it would take your finger for your trouble. It turned its head to look at her as soon as she was on deck.
"RWACK! Neo on deck! Neo on deck!" The green and blue macaw screeched.
"Thank you Polly! Another avocado for your troubles!" Roman yelled, handing the bird another of the thick rinded fruit.
"Give me a cracker again, your hand comes off." It mumbled like a demon as it held the fruit in its foot.
"I thought we agreed after the unfortunate incident with Bob you'd curb your bloodlust?" Roman asked the bird.
"Never." Was all Polly answered before eating the new fruit.
"Right. HR nightmares aside… Come forward, young one! I have excellent news to tell the crew!" Roman yelled as Neo entered the crowd.
'When he gets cheery, I get concerned. What is that red haired dum dum got cooking in that pot he calls a head?' Neo thought to herself as Roman began to pace across the bridge.
"Crew, I know we have only been together for roughly 6 months, and you all wanted to throw me overboard once each of those months. But these past two that we have been through have changed our lives! We struggled, toiled against an unfair system of shipping, strangled by giant shipping companies preventing the honest, hard working criminals from getting ahead! But no more!!" Roman yelled, only to have Neo raise a hand.
From a thought bubble above her head she broadcasted, 'Sorry to inform you all, but my family owns probably all the ships we are going to rob… including the one we are on now…'
"Then, my fairest of little fluffy maidens, our hour of fate is at hand! You, cast from the lofty heights of luxury, now have the honor and privilege of joining us in retaking the cargo of the seas for the common criminal man and woman! And stealing from mommy and daddy, apparently. BUT NO MATTER!! For today, from the ashes of a phoenix, arises our new sea dog! Arise Neopolitan, officer of this glorious vessel, to the rank of Sea Dog of the Top Hat Pirates!!!!" Roman yelled.
"I thought we were workshopping that name!!" Mercury yelled from the crowd, raising an eyebrow above his eyepatch.
"Shut your wench mouth Mercury, it is a fantastic name! Because I came up with it!! Anyways, Neo please ascend the stairs." Roman yelled, before turning on his heels and completely changing into a sweet tone looking directly at the pink crusader.
'Neo you are so dumb, why did you think running away from home was a good idea!? The one pirate crew you got stuck with are absolute goobers!!!' Neo thought, unfortunately broadcasting that through her thought bubble.
"What's a goober?" One of the crew asked.
"I think it's a kind of snack." Another answered.
"I heard it was a kind of peanut." A third said.
"Wait, how are we anything like peanuts?" A fourth said.
"Peanuts are hard on the outside and soft on the inside. I think it's a compliment." A fifth finally said.
"Thank you, Sea Dog Neo!" The bulk of the crew yelled.
'I am surrounded by illiterate ignoramuses!!!' Neo thought, with this bubble showing words, confusing everyone this time.
"Come, Neo. What's with all those random squiggles above your cute little head? Those aren't gonna receive your promotion for you." Roman said.
Rolling her eyes at the level of nonsense, ascending the staircase again for the second time in two days. She grit her teeth however as despite the polished wood, her bandaged hands still stung like she had dipped them in honey and let the hive of bee's assail her. When she arrived, Roman began to grab some things. Wrapping around her waist a long red sash, a large red cape, and a wide brim black hat with a feather in it, Roman turned her around to face the crew. He then pushes her up to the railing for all to see. Truth be told it was quite comical. The sash covered her entire stomach up to her ribs, the cape was so long it touched the floor, and she couldn't see through the hat. She figured that the captain may have had them fitted for someone a wee bit bigger than her, but never bothered to get them refitted.
"Three cheers for the new Sea Dog!" Roman yelled, lifting her hand to the sky by her elbow. At least she thought, she still couldn't see out from the hat.
"Hell no! I've been robbed!" Emerald yelled.
"Emerald, you all voted on this. You know the rules, majority rules. It's not my fault you're the only one that voted against her." Roman explained.
"Sour puss." Mercury mumbled.
"Say that to my face!" Emerald yelled.
"I just did." Mercury answered simply.
"All hail the Neo! She's a rising from the deep! With tattered sails and incredible tales, she saved us from endless seas!" The rest of the crew sang in a shanty.
'What did I do in a previous life to get this crew?' Neo asked herself.
Meanwhile, upon the captain's quarters of the HMS Tiger's Roar
Aboard the fifth rate frigate, the crew handled rigging, prepped the vessel's 32 guns for any action, and kept a lookout for their quarry. The sea was mercifully calm, not for the prowling hunter, but its red sailed and far less intimidating counterpart. To call HMS Swiftwind a failed prototype that was lamer than a duck with a gammy leg, then that would be insulting the duck. Designed to speed through Neptune's throth with an impressive 30 knots, it's lucky to get a third of that on a good day. With planking as sound as a limp noodle, able to keep out water like a colander, and with not even a single pistol to her name, it was a miracle even first mate Weiss Schnee kept the crew from mutinying over this floating coffin. Ruby, meanwhile, was happily having tea with her fellow captain upon a more structurally sound vessel.
"Where did you get this tea, Azura? It's so smooth and rich tasting." Ruby said happily after taking a small sip.
"The lady Vanille gave it to us for good luck in our attempts to find their daughter." Azura replied, taking a sad sip at being stuck with such a job with the tea and company as his only solace.
"Well that was nice of her. Also, your tea sandwiches are delightful." Ruby said before stuffing one down her pie hole very unlady like.
"Again, thank the lady Vanille for the gift. Also, please don't just stuff the whole thing in your mouth Ruby. It's so uncivilized." Azura replied, politely nibbling on a sandwich of his own.
"But it's so good!" Ruby moaned.
"Ruby… does the whole situation with this bounty strike you as… odd?" Azura asked, stopping his nibbling as a thought struck him.
"I mean it kinda is… wait a minute. Why would they make it so high? Don't they have other family?" Ruby asked.
"I don't believe they do. Wait… Trivia is the sole heir of the company. If she dies and her parents can't produce another heir, then…" Azura began as Ruby finished his thought.
"It goes to the crown? Wait, why would the crown want Miss Vanille? Well aside from the giant bounty, of course." Ruby asked, confused.
"Her parents made the bounty so high to ensure she'd be brought back alive and safe. If they hadn't made the bounty so ludicrously high, then it'd be more worthwhile to just kill her, make it seem like an accident, and then wait for the Vanilles to die without an heir so that they can nationalize the company." Azura explained the politics behind the endeavor.
"We can't kill a child!" Ruby yelled, only for Azura to cover her mouth and try to calm her.
"We're not going to! But that would've been the order if the bounty wasn't so high!" Azura told her in a hushed tone, trying to shush her to keep her quiet.
"Sorry…" Ruby sheepishly said through his hand.
Azura let out a sigh as he uncovered his fellow captain's mouth. "This is exactly why I got into the navy instead of politics. It's more of a sea of sharks than the high seas we sail on." He said in frustration.
"Well, on the bright side, this should be a piece of cake. If anything, that girls gonna be in more trouble with her parents when she gets home than what she's putting us through." Ruby said with a smile.
"I wouldn't be so sure, Ruby. After all, a lot can happen on the high seas…" Azura sighed, knowing that things were never that simple.
Later that night: Neo's officer quarters
Neo awoke with a small snort from her large, comfy bed. She did enjoy some of the new perks of being… *sigh*… a Sea Dog. Having your own quarters and a comfy bed was the one she liked the most. If she could enjoy it! Get up and throwing on a makeshift cloak she made from resizing her cape, she opened the door onto the deck, ready to give these knuckle skulls a taste of her well educated mind… only to be greeted by the thunderous roar of a cannon salvo raking across the bow.
"Stand firm, men! The king's lap dogs wouldn't take this ship alive! Not while we have our arms, legs and cockerels!!" Roman roared, or attempted, to above the volleys of cannon and gun fire.
'This just isn't my week…' Neo thought with a sigh as she tried to find her pistol on her new belt.
Dressed and ready for battle, Neo rushed out into the fray. The thunder of guns tore the air asunder like a blade through flesh, forcing the crew to take cover as the cannonballs ripped into the side of the ship. Firing back, they tried to keep from being sunk.
"Neo, Cinder! Rally the men! The dogs of the king are trying to get in closer to board!" Roman called out over the boom of cannonfire.
"Little late for that, isn't it? They're right about to use the gang planks." Cinder answered simply.
'How did they sneak up on us!?' Neo yelled through her thought bubbles.
"It's the middle of the night, kid. We aren't bats." Cinder dryly answered.
"They're boarding, lads and lasses! Ready your weapons!" Roman called out to the crew.
With a roar, the crew of less than well educated pirates gathered their weapons and prepared for battle. As they did, the navy men made their way across the gang planks as several others swung onto the ship on ropes. Dropping onto the deck, the navy dogs drew their blades and guns with the two captains at the head, preparing for battle.
"Well, well, well! If it ain't Red and Blue! Long time no see!" Roman called out to the two captains, drawing his blade.
"Roman, of course when I'm trying to track down a lost child, you're always the first suspect!" Ruby yelled indignantly, drawing her red bladed saber to face him.
"Aw, I'm hurt Red! Do you really think so little of me to assume I'd kidnap a child?" Roman shot back in a mock hurt tone.
"Yes." Ruby answered in a deadpan tone.
"Would you believe she joined us of her own free will?" Roman asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not for a second." Ruby answered.
"Hand over the girl, Roman. Do that and we'll let you all go." Azura told the pirate captain as he drew his blade, trying to negotiate.
"We did that last time, and not a week later he tried to steal a sugar ship!!" Ruby yelled at her fellow captain.
"Wait, there was a last time!?" Azura asked in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me, this is a regular occurrence with him. This keeps up, I'm going to put in for a transfer to the Tethys Sea to get away from this nonsense!" Ruby groaned.
To everyone's surprise, Neo plug walked up to the squabbling mass of captains, with a look of tired rage on her face. Hoisting an enlarged blunderbuss normally designed to be put on a swivel emplacement, she cocked back her wheellock mechanism, and tried to take aim. She didn't get very far as her arms had the strength of but the wings of a chicken. Buckling quick, the barrel dipped down to the side as she fired. From the immense muzzle flash and bang came not the hail of buckshot many would expect, but a single large stone scraped from the ballast. Screaming through the night's air, what happened next no one, except great King Neptune, no one could have expected.
Flying through a hole in the railings, it not only missed the mass of crew in front of her, the railings, scattered barrels, and even the great hull of HMS Tiger's Roar. Instead the ballistic geoform found its purchase upon the mast of the HMS Swiftwind. Now a normal ship would have a single great beam for its mast from a single tree. However, in its construction, in an asinine way to save weight, some drunk pilack decided to make the mast like a whiskey barrel. Punching into the hastily fastened boards, the small hole it punched into its side was enough to weaken the rivets and fastening irons, causing the whole mast to topple like a tree. Forever the mast sank into the deep blue sea.
"MY SHIP!!!" Ruby screamed.
'Apologizes madam, but it appears I am an abominably poor aim. For you see, I was aiming at you. Fear not, put the bill on my tab.' Neo explained simply through her thought bubble.
"Oh, you are so going to be in time out when we get you!!!" Ruby yelled, pointing her finger at her.
"Save that for later, Captain Rose. Men! Attack!" Azura called out as the crews charged into the fray, beginning the battle on the deck.
"Time to see if Tigers and Roses can swim!" Roman yelled, doing a mock flurry with his sword, before clashing blades with Ruby.
Thus, the battle began. Ruby attempted to slash and stab at Roman, attempting to break the pirate captain's guard. However, for all of his faults as a leader, the captain of the Top Hat Pirates was a surprisingly good dualist. For every slash and stab Ruby sent his way, he blocked, parried, and retaliated, forcing Ruby to do the same.
Meanwhile, within Roman and Neo's line of sight, Azura was dueling with Cinder and two others. His blade was a flash of movement, barely visible in the darkness of the storm. Back shuffling and advancing, the scar faced captain forced the pirates on the defensive. Bit by bit, he pushed them back. Showing his great skill as a swordsman.
Back with Roman, Ruby was slowly pushing him back. Bit by bit, he was being forced to back up as the red clad captain advanced. Her blows were getting closer and closer to hitting him as his defenses strained. A bit of sweat, or rain it was hard to tell from the buffering storm, dripped from his brow as he forced himself to pick up the pace.
Meanwhile, with Cinder and Azura, the azure clad captain had disarmed one of the crew members and caught his blade out of the air. Dual wielding blades, the blue tiger began pushing back Cinder and the other combatant from Roman's crew. Even as two more lined up to assist them with blades in hand, the dual wielding navy captain refused to let up and continued his advance. His twin blades were flashes of blue and silver in the lightning of the storm as he clashed blades with the four pirates.
Finally, the blue clad captain disarmed three of the four pirates and forced them back, leaving only himself and Cinder. The young woman was forced on the defensive from the speed of the navy man's blades, blocking as best she could. However, eventually, her sword was knocked from her hand as the force stuck the blade into the mast of their ship. Defenseless, the woman found herself held at dual sword point by the young captain.
Back with Ruby and Roman, the pirate captain caught sight of his first mate being disarmed and left helpless by the azure navy captain. This distraction would prove a grave mistake for him, as he would soon realize. Taking advantage of Roman's temporarily unfocused state, RUby forced him further on the defensive before knocking his sword from his hand, the blade sticking deep into the nearby wall. Ruby then held the Top Hat captain at sword point as she backed him up to the wall.
"It's over, Roman!" Ruby told him.
All of this however stopped as everyone heard the cocking sound of a wheellock hammer. Everyone turned to look to see Neo, her hand trembling, lips quivering, and the hints of tears forming in her eyes as she held a pistol to her head. Everyone, be they navy or pirate, was shocked and stunned to silence at such a thing. Seeing her hand quake like a leaf in the breeze and her facial expression, no one knew exactly what was going on with her.
Neo finally through turmoil in her heart formed a thought bubble for all to see, 'If… If you don't get off this ship and leave… then there wouldn't be a Trivia Vanille to return home.'
"Don't you do it." Ruby warned, keeping the blade against Roman.
Neo gingerly and shakily put her lithe finger to the trigger before replying with, 'Try me.'
This stunned Ruby, as in the moment she didn't know what to do. However it wasn't Ruby's voice who broke the gridlock, but the booming confidence of Azura's.
"Very well! We'll leave you all in peace this time! But I'm keeping the new sword!" Azura called out, sheathing his azure blade as he snatched up a sheath for his new second blade before putting the new sword away.
As the minutes dragged on before the frigate and the dead sloop sailed away, the crew's eyes turned to Neo. She stood there frozen, hand quaking and shivering as if she was somehow in the dead of winter. Her eyes staring off into the distance in a blank stare before finally dropping the gun. Her knees trembled before buckling as the girl dropped to her hands and knees. Beginning to cry over what she almost did. She didn't want to die. Not now. Not ever.