He sat up straight and got close to Zeke. He looked dead serious. Then smiled cheerily, "I want to talk and relax with you! How about a drink?"
Zeke smiled too, "Ok."
"Better yet, let's got talk with SHANKS." He got up and walked out the door. "Come on!"
Zeke blinked, "Shanks???"
~Z~X~Z~X~Z~X~
Episode 24: "The Cross on the Hill"
~Z~X~Z~X~Z~X~
On Buggy's remote island on a hill you should now know all too well.
"AH! Good sake eh?" With his legs crossed and his large cape hanging off his shoulders he placed his sake cup on the ground and looked at Zeke who sat next to him. He was still healing, no shirt but a bandaged torso. And now he only had TWO swords at his side.
Zeke had only taken a few sips of the sake. He wasn't a big drinker like his dad was, but if you got him going he would be as much as the partier as his old man. "So... you said we were gonna talk to Shanks???"
Buggy chuckled, "Heh, we are.." He pointed at the cross in front of them with his cup. The cross had a sake cup on top of it. "This was his favorite sake. All the way from his home village."
Zeke looked at the cross, then the sake in his hands. With a big smile he gulped it down fast. "Yeah! It's real good! Hahaha!"
Even though he still was smiling, Buggy became very solemn, "You know I use to hate his guts.... right until the moment he died. During the Revenge War I got it in my head, couldn't kill WhiteBeard, then kill Shanks. So I pretended to 'bury the hatch' with him and become a "STRONG" ally of his in the war. We took on Kizaru together..... and if it wasn't for my stupidity....."
He looked like he wanted to cry... but couldn't. Like he had cried about it so many times before it was impossible for him to cry about it now.
"He died in my arms.... Telling me how great it was to see his 'old friend' once more and how I bared no grudge against him. Something in me.... just burst out. Next thing I knew I was waking up from being unconscious for some reason and Kizaru was unconscious on the ground as well. Shanks was barely still alive so I hightailed my ass out of there with his body, praying to the Ghost of Roger to save him for his sake if not mine. That's when he told me about his daughter. That he didn't even know about her till 3 years prior and she was already 9. He asked me, ME someone how he never knew hated his guts, to look after her... because he had ALWAYS thought of me as a brother...... Some shit I am eh?.... I vowed that day to surpass my Baka of a best friend I never had. Not to scorn him, but to honor him. He thought so highly of me, even told me how amazing I was to have 'hiden' my great powers for so long till the Wars started, calling me a genius even. So I vowed to become as strong enough to be so deserving of his praise. That's when I begged Ace-san to secretly make me a Younko without acknowledgement of my name to the pirate world. Then, when Ace committed suicide by blowing himself up in MarineFord. I went to wreak havoc there as well. And when they THOUGHT I was done for, I faked my death and came back as Yonkou Beethoven. Everyone looked to me for power. I went in deep seclusion and trained day and day and day to be as power full as even WhiteBeard was at his peak.... and then to KEEP getting stronger."
"Gwen,"
Buggy looked at Zeke.
"Gweniveir is his daughter right?"
Buggy was kind of unimpressed, "THAT'S what you got from that story??? Geez, your as slow as your father's captain."
Zeke smiled, "Na, I get the rest but it was all self explanatory, you never said the daughters name so I just wanted to clarify it."
Buggy chuckled, "Yeah, she's his kid. How fun is that? After his death she felt so alone and abandoned. That's problem why she became a pirate hunter. To take her anger out of people in the same social class as her dad. She even uses her moms name to distance herself from him."
"Makes sense."
"Zeke! There you are!" Rika came running up the hill with Frank right behind her.
She hugged him, thought it looked more like a tackle. "Oh thank god you're all right!" She kept hugging tighter and tighter, "RIKA RIKA! RIBS RIBS RIBS!!" The look on Zeke's face made Buggy laugh a little.
"Oh! Sorry!" She got off of him, then she hit him in back of the head.
"OH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?!"
"You are NEVER doing something as stupid as fighting a Yonkou again! I don't care WHO threatens our lives."
"Oh, that reminds me."
Zeke and the others looked at Buggy.
He tossed Zeke a cloth with an insignia on it. "What is it?"
"My pirate sign. It'll keep most people from messing with yeah. Even most marines will be a little more hesitant to capture you. I know it didn't work to well for WhiteBeard in the end, but the good thing about have most of your life hidden from the marines, is that they don't know how old you are. Heheheehehe."
"So, you asking me to be part of your crew?"
"Hell no kid, don't need another 2nd generation brat fucking with stuff of mine. Parker is enough. Just ware it as a bandana, like your father or something. It'll just show you're a trusted ally."
"Heh, ok. But as a bandana is the last thing I'm using it as." He tied it on the handle of GinKiba.
"Ah, not following in the Legacy's foot step's? Good for you."
Then Zeke thought of something, "Oh, that's right, I've only got 2 swords now. That's gonna feel weird for a while, but I don't feel like replacing Faasuto and Rasuto. Guess I'm two sword style now."
"Speaking of the 2nd generation, besides Gweny-chan and Parker, you met anyone else's child from the old 'new' era?"
"Nope, not yet."
"Ah, I can't wait for you to meet LUFFY'S kid."
Zeke's eyes widened, "The King has a kid?"
"Oh? You didn't know? Yeah, spry little brat, only 18, plus he's a-"
"BEETOVEN-DONNO!!!!" Parker ran up the hill.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"I don't know how man, I think the marines had been tracking Zeke-san this whole time! But we're being attacked by-"
*BOOOMMM!!!*
One of the ships docked on the island just exploded and sunk. People began screaming and running as from the smoke came 6 people... in black suits.
"Damn, CP 12." Buggy looked at Zeke, "Our time and questions are cut short kid. I had some other stuff to talk to you about but that's not gonna happen. I have an emergency boat RIGHT UNDER this cliff, get on it and get out of here. Parker, go with them."
"BUT CAPTAIN!"
"Don't argue with me punk! I'll hold them off. Besides, it's been awhile since I've had a good fight. I might be getting rusty. Don't need that now do we?" He gave a big smile and then motioned them to leave.
Zeke nodded and Rika and Frank followed him down the cliff to the boat. Parker went with them, "Parker!"
He looked back at Buggy.
"You're wit him now. Make sure he doesn't get him self killed."
Parker smiled, "You got it boss."
~Z~
"AAAHHH!!!!!" Zaven (you remember Zaven right?) fell to the ground from the attack he just reseaved from Bilo. (you know Bilo too)
"Damn it...." He barely got back up.
"ALL WHO CALL YOURSELF A PIRATE!!! LEAVE THIS PLACE NOW!!! I WILL HANDLE THESE BASTARDS!!!!" Buggy landed at Zaven's side. "Master Beethoven." He respectfully bowed.
"Don't worry about this Zaven. Get all my main crew on the ship and sial out of here about 6 miles. I'll signal for you to come pick me up when I'm done."
"Yes sir!!" And he ran off to Buggy's boat.
"When you are done with US!? How stupid you are. And I thought you were the smart and clever Yonkou."
Among the familiar CP 12 faces you already know, Bilo, Chiguria, Mas-bull, and Yungo. There were two new ones in this attack squad. One was in line with the others, short blue hair and a long scare on his right eye. He was the tallest one. Duwabo 7th seat.
Then the man speaking to Buggy, the one leading the pack. He was thin and short with long bronze like blonde hair. Several of the hairs were clumped together and formed lightning bolts.
"And who are you brat?"
"The name is Xiang.... 3rd seat. And I am a lightning manipulator. And no matter how powerfully you think you are Beethoven. NO MAN can survive lighting."
"Really? Is that a fact? Either way I am only asking you once, leave this place, this is hallowed ground." He tilted his head toward Shanks's grave.
Xiang twitched his hand and light came down over the cross.
*KKIIIIRRRRRKKKKK!!!*
But the cross was not destroyed. The blow was blocked by a now charred hand. The hand came back to Buggy's arm and reattached it's self. "Now.... What the fuck did you just say about not surviving lighting?" He even flexed the burned hand to show it was not only still functional.... but that it didn't hurt.
Xiang gritted his teeth. "Grrrrrrr.. KIIIILLLLL HIM!!!!"
*BOOOM!!!*
~Z~
Another lighting flash. Everyone in the small boat was completely worried... except Parker. "Don't worry, it's not the old man I'd be afraid for. Those lighting shocks are nothing." He gave a relieving smile and it seemed to calm down every one.
"So, looks like you guys are stuck with me. I'm part of YOUR crew now Zeke man. So where we going?"
He looked back at the island as another lighting flash went off. He gripped his sword excitedly, "After what Buggy said..... There is someone I want to find and meet...."
To Be Continued.....
A/N: "OH NO!!! IT'S NOW TIME FOR A HIATUS!!! How dare I!! Some good news, the fight with Buggy and the CP WILL be written, but not in this story. Why is that good news you ask? Because it will be written in a story all about Yonkou Buggy and is coming in April at some point. Plus I will be making stories of all 4 Yonkou. Kind of like a mini-series. But the hiatus for this will be at least till June when I get summer break. Now it's time for other stories for a while. Again thank all of those who like this story and read it every time it's up dated."