So this is a new one for me, I have to say I was never really interested in One Piece, at least not since the days, man I miss Saturday morning cartoons. Ahem, well I got into it about a year ago after stumbling onto Rustage's One Piece DnD and a fun fanfic called A Gamer In The South Blue. Anyways I'm interested and decided to give this a shot. Note I am far from an expert and if something doesn't match with the setting let me know okay? Thanks and enjoy the fic.
Chapter 1: The Dread Shadow
Pain wasn't fun.
I know it's pretty obvious but still, ow! I grabbed at the gaping wound in my chest, as if I could somehow will the blood to get back inside. I let out a horribly wet cough as the blood escaped my lips, probably because of the collapsed lung. The books got it wrong, I wasn't numb and fading in and out of unconsciousness. No, I was far too aware of everything, the hard boards under my body, the rocking of the waves against the ship hull, the frigid air in my one working lung and even the warm sunlight that managed to pierce through the old windows. What I was most aware of was the thunderous beat of my heart as it pumped even more blood out of my chest.
And today had started out so well.
…
That Morning
I slammed into the deck of the ship with a mighty thunk, face first of course.
I could hear the chuckles of laughter from the crew of the Yellow Dodger. And just like that I couldn't tell what was hurt more, my nose or my pride.
I sat up with a grunt and found myself looking at an open hand. Glancing up I saw the youthful smiling face of Silver Jim, the cabin boy. He was a fresh-faced boy of sixteen with bright green eyes, a face full of freckles and his short orange hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. His look was complete with a dirty white shirt, tan pants with obvious patches and black shoes that were almost worn through. I took the offered hand with a small smile as he pulled me to my feet with strength that most wouldn't suspect from such a young man.
"Still having trouble with the hammock Mr. Franklin?"
"I told you Jim, you can call me Crozier. And yeah I know it's stupid but I've always had problems getting out of those stupid things." Turning away from Jim, I grabbed my own mostly new calf high black boots and put them on over my dark brown pants before grabbing a royal blue suit vest and put that over my white dress shirt. After buttoning it up I grabbed my last item, a worn black tricorn with a single blue feather sticking out of the left side. I ran my thumb along the somewhat frail and faded shaft, the same shade of blue as my and my mother's eyes.
"Todays the day dad. Wish me luck." I said in a whisper before placing it on my head and flattening my short black hair. Turning back to the cabin boy, I nodded towards the stairs to the upper deck. "So, what's for breakfast?"
It turns out that the ship's cook had decided to be lazy and we had leftover potato stew from last night's dinner. So, there I was on the top deck sitting with Jim on some empty barrels. We were just chatting away and telling the occasional joke. Despite Jim being eight years my junior, he seemed to know more raunchy jokes than most old seadogs.
"So one day, a sailor met a pirate. The pirate has a peg leg, a hook, and an eyepatch. The sailor asked the pirate, "How did you get your peg leg?" The pirate said, "Aargh, a sea king bit my leg off." Next, the sailor asked, "How did you get your hook?" The pirate replied, "My crew was in a battle with an marine ship when me arm was chopped off." Finally, the sailor asked, "How did you get your eyepatch?" The pirate said, "Aye, a seagull crapped in me eye."
The sailor asked, "You lost your eye to bird crap?" Then the pirate replied, "It was my first day with the hook."" Jim said, struggling to not laugh even as I let out a bark of laughter that got the attention of a few of the nearby crew who quickly lost interest and went back to doing what they had been doing.
"Where the hell do you hear these jokes kid? I know it's not like anyone around here has a sense of humor." I asked before eating another spoonful of stew.
"My brother, he used to work at the docks back home. He overheard a lot of stuff from the sailors that were coming and going. He always used to tell me them whenever he heard a new one." He said with a small smile.
"Oh, what's he doing now?" I asked. I knew I had asked a bad question the moment I saw his face fall.
"He's…not around anymore." He said in a small voice.
"I understand."
He just shrugged at that. "It was years ago, and I'm mostly fine now. It just hurts every now and then when I think of him." He took the last bite of stew before setting aside his bowl. "So now that you're up and fed, I'm supposed to tell you that the captain wants to see you immediately. I know you are the one sponsoring this trip and all, but since we're so close to wherever it is you want to go, I think his patience is wearing thin with all the secrecy."
"Yeah, that's what I thought." I said with a sigh as I put down my own bowl. Getting off the barrel I stretched my back and turned to Jim. "If you could do me a favor, can you go fetch me my bag? There are a few items that I will need to explain things to your captain."
He gave me a nod before rushing off to do as I asked. I watched him go before turning away and heading towards the captain's cabin. I approached with only a small bit of apprehension before knocking twice and getting a gruff "Enter."
Stepping through the door I stepped into a world of mess. Clothes were scattered all across various chests, several bookcases filled with yellowed pages that had collected dust an inch thick, empty tankards on the floor and a half-made cot in the right hand corner. There were matching moth eaten red curtains and carpet along the rear windows and on the floor, on that carpet was once a grand desk, now faded and chipped with age and use. There were a couple of simple wooden chairs in front of the desk and a larger more elaborate chair behind it, one that was currently occupied by the captain of the Yellow Dodger.
Captain Hawkins John was a large man. I was on the taller side of average, yet he had at least two heads on me, with wide shoulders and long powerful looking arms. The one thing that detracted from his intimidating image was the large gut that he had gained from more than a few too many ales. He wore dark pants, a too small white shirt, a red coat and a green bandana on his head that hid his bald spot. As I approached, he leaned forward in his chair and never wavered in his intense gaze.
"Mr. Franklin Crozier," he said with a small slur to his voice. "I have tolerated your need to keep your business to yourself since you're the one funding this trip. But now that you have dragged us aways out to the edge of the South Blue, I advise you to loosen your lips and explain to me exactly why you brought us so close to the calm belt."
I gave a small nod and sat myself in the chair across from him, forcing me to look up at the captain. I knew I was giving him the power in this meeting, but the last thing I wanted was to piss off the man and have him turn tail before I could do what I had sacrificed so much for.
"I understand your worry captain, but I assure you and your crew are in no true danger. In fact once your cabin boy returns with my-" I was cut off by knocking on the captains door.
With a shouted "enter", Jim came in with a sloppy salute and handed me my bag. He was about to walk back out when the captain stopped the boy and told him to pour us some drinks from a nearby table. The captain had what smelled like cheap grog, while I went with a glass of water and a slice of lemon.
"Ah that's good. Now where was I?" I said putting my drink down. "Ah yes, why we are here. You see captain, my father was once a part of the South Blue Explorers Association, a group of men and women dedicated to the exploration of uncharted waters or undocumented islands."
"So what? Daddy sending you off to do his job for him?" Hawkins asked.
"No." I said shaking my head with a frown. "My father passed when I was a boy, no I am here on my own. You see the Association does not care for nepotism so despite my father having been a member, in order to prove my worth to them, I need prove that I have investigated and documented the unknown without their backing. This is easier said than done of course, but thankfully my father left much of his research to me after his…departure."
I let that information settle in for a moment while I took another drink of my lemon water.
"You see my father and a few of his fellows' interest lay in more than just the unmapped Blue or deserted islands. They were interested in the true mysteries of the world. They hunted for the hidden treasure of a forgotten pirate lord, sought out creatures from myth, looking for a lost meito from legend or in this case… a ship with no crew that still sails the seas."
I watched the two men as the realization set in. The captain's expression never changed, but Jim's eyes widened and audibly gulped in fear.
"You aim to find a ghost ship." Captain Hawkins said in a low voice.
"No, I aim to find the ghost ship. Tell me, what do you know about the legend of the Dread Shadow?"
This time the captain's mask cracked, and he narrowed his eyes at me while he tightened his grip on his tankard. The cabin boy was not so composed as he started shaking and the flagon he was holding started to rattle in his hands.
"I'll take that as a yes. Tell me Jim, what have you heard about the Shadow?" I asked the boy, feeling somewhat bad about him now being the center of attention.
"T-T-Th Dread Shadow is a devil ship. Its is hull charred black and its sails are dyed red with blood and it's followed by the screams of its victims. My brother used to tell me stories about it, how it's sailed the South Blue for hundreds of years and any who see it dies." He said only stuttering the once.
"Hah! If that were true than there wouldn't be stories to tell boy." The captain scoffed, now looking at me again. "I've heard a great many stories about the Dread Shadow on cold lonely nights. Some say her sails are red as blood, others say they're as pale as a waterlogged corpse, some even say she hides in a fog bank until she decides you'll make a mighty fine meal. However, regardless of the tale, they always mention the screams that follow in its wake. Then there is her infernal captain.
A man known as Captain Scourge, a devil in human skin they say. The stories go that he's a giant of a man dressed all in black with eyes glowing red with hellfire. A man with no loyalty or remorse, he and his crew of the damned attack anyone and everyone indiscriminately. Marine, Pirate, or simple merchant ship, he raided everyone and stole from them both their fortune and their crew. Legends say that anyone he took alive would be shackled to the masts of the Dread Shadow and forced to look into Scourge's eyes. Supposedly some men were driven into madness right then and there, while others were said to become lifeless husk, as if their very souls had been taken from them. Other tales said it wasn't what they would see, but what the Captain in black saw as he actually let some of the captured men go back to their ship unharmed, while others had their throats torn out. Whether it was by his sword, his hook hand or his own teeth depends on the one telling the story."
I nodded along with the captain as he explained the legend and I noticed that Jim had gone a rather unhealthy shade of white.
"That's about right, plenty of changes here and there depending on the version of the story. One version said that Scourge didn't limit his cruelty to his enemies, but also his own crew as well. I've heard several of the stories end with a mutiny against the dread captain that ended with him killing his entire crew, only to die later from his wounds. Supposedly he still haunts the seas, looking for his next victim."
"Oh, t-that's t-terrifying!"
"It's fish shit is what it is." The captain said to his cabin boy. "Lad, I don't know what made you think there's anything to those stories because there just that, stories to frighten the kiddies. Oh you better behave or Captain Scourge will come and drag you away. You know the first story about the Shadow I ever heard was when my pa told me it, back when I didn't even come up to his knees, and he heard it from his own pa. It's nothing tall talk and everybody knows it."
I stared into his eyes and I knew he genuinely believed it. It was not that unexpected, the tale of the Dread Shadow had been around for a long time, and yet I knew it was real. It had been the last thing my father had ever seen.
Reaching into my bag, I pulled out several books of red, light and dark brown, and green. Each one had an illustration of a dilapidated black ship in the middle of a storm, though with subtle differences such as the number of masts or shape of the hull. Yet each one had the words "The Dread Shadow" somewhere on the cover.
"This," I said putting my hand on the green book, "Is a collection of various stories about the Shadow along with lists of it's supposed sightings from all over the South Blue. Complete with dates and locations. The first recorded story of the Dread Shadow and her captain date back to nearly six hundred years ago."
"Like I said, it's an old story." The large man said unimpressed.
I didn't answer him, instead I moved my hand to the dark brown book. "This Is a collection of various stories about the Shadow and list of its supposed sightings, only this was made in the West Blue. This one," the light brown, "was made in the North and this" the red "was made in the East. Every single one of them have stories that date back to five or six hundred years ago. That doesn't just happen, not across all the Blues. The only ones with that kind of far-reaching sharing of information is the World Government and we both know that they are not going to do something like that for a ghost story."
Again, the captain didn't change his expression, though I could see a gleam of interest in his eyes.
"The earliest stories mention Scourge and his ship, but never go into the specifics of the man, only calling him the "Scourge of the Blues", and stories of his attacks lasted for decades. After that the man is never seen again, only his ship was sighted and from the eyewitness accounts the Dread Shadow never did anything to them but give them a fright. The Ship sightings started in the East and continued for several months before they stopped and then started up again in the South. Then somehow it moved to the West, then North and back to the East where the pattern starts all over again. It went on for about ninety years before the sightings became erratic and the attacks started happening again, only this time Scourge was now said to be a tiger mink and that went on for forty odd years before he disappeared, and the pattern resumed. Then another eighty years and Scourge is back only now as a human woman who lasted thirty years before she disappeared as well, and another seventy years pass. Now he's a fishman for twenty-five and gone for seventy before showing up again as the massive man we know today. I suspect he may have been a buccaneer but that's merely speculation, but what matters is that that version of Scourge is what has been told ever since."
I could feel myself smiling as I went on, talking about what my father and I had discovered just got me so excited. I apparently wasn't the only one as Jim's mouth dropped open and Hawkin actually showed emotion with raised eyebrows.
"And the pattern?" he almost whispered.
"It's held for over a century." I confirmed. "This is pure speculation of course but from what I can gather is that the original Scourge was a pirate of great power, and somehow after his death his ship became a ghost ship. One that could somehow travel all across the Blues while managing to not only travers the calm belts but bypass the Red Line. Whenever it does enter one of the seas, it immediately goes from one end to another in a zig zag pattern, like it's trying to cover as much water as possible. I think…"
I stopped myself as I felt my body start to shake with excitement and forced it to calm down with a few deep breaths.
"I think she is looking for a new captain, the next Scourge."
I could tell that the captain was thinking hard, soaking in the information, and putting the pieces together in his mind. Then he blinked several times as he glared at me.
"This is where the Dread Shadow is going to enter the South from the Grand Line, and you want us to be in its way."
I held up my hand in a surrendering gesture. "Look I know it sounds bad, but I assure you that we are in no true danger. Right now, the Shadow has neither captain nor crew and without them it is merely an empty shell. Now I understand if you are still hesitant so think of it this way, I have already paid you half of the fee and you will get the other half upon our return to Crip Kingdom, regardless of what happens out here. Now we are going to stay out here for about a day because according to my calculations the ship should crossover sometime between two in the afternoon and six in the morning.
If it doesn't show up, you can think me a fool all you want and you'll still get your money. If it does show up, let me point out that the last Scourge was a very successful pirate until his probable death and most likely never had a chance to spend all his ill-gotten goods."
For a moment I could swear that that his pupils changed into beli signs while his lips transformed into a large toothy grin.
"So, you up for making the discovery of the century?" I asked with a smile.
…
I was out on the deck of the ship trying to ignore the stares of the sailors as I double checked my cameko, my cam-snail. He was a small thing that fit in my palm with a green body and a white shell. I had told Hawkins that I had to be the first one to enter every room on board the Dread Shadow, because I needed pictures of everything before they were disturbed by the boarding crew. So the captain had held a meeting with the crew while I collected my gear and ever since then the crew had been a mix of excitement and trepidation. Yet only one of them seemed to be willing to approach me.
"Why are you so sure it exists?" the young man said as he handed me a grappling hook.
"How do you know dry land exists? I mean here we are in the middle of the ocean so how do you know there are islands out there?" I replied.
"Because they do? That's a stupid question, everyone lives on islands, unless you're a weirdo who never leaves your ship."
"So, you know they exist because you have had personal experience with it."
Jim shot me a quizzical look before realization dawned and his eyes widened. "You've seen the Shadow?!"
"Once, years ago. I had still been a child at the time, but I can still remember it." I said with a sad smile.
"What did it actually look like?" the boy asked with wonder in his eyes.
"It was…memorable. My father and I both saw it at the same time when the stillness of the Calm Belt suddenly gave way to rolling waves and let me tell you, its name doesn't do it justice. The first thing I noticed was its size, nothing but a massive multideck ship that had dwarfed our little schooner with sails the color of pitch, making the whole thing nothing but a massive silhouette on the rough seas. The next thing I noticed was its speed because no ship that large should be that swift and agile, and the worst part was that it was coming right at us."
I watched with some amusement as his eyes widened, and he asked me what we did to escape.
"That's just it, there was nothing we could do. We had no cannons and despite the schooner being fast and nimble, the ghost ship had us beat on both. So there I was just staring as the Dread Shadow came barreling through the waves towards us and I held in my breath just waiting for it to hit and…nothing. I watched, shaking in my boots the entire while, as the Shadow passed right on by as if it had never even noticed us. Yet as it passed I was almost knocked off my feet by what felt like hurricane winds, and that's when I heard the screaming and the rattling and clanking of chains. Then just like that, it was gone, sailing off into the South Blue without any hope of us catching her."
"Wait, if that's true that how are we going to catch it?" Jim asked.
I answered by holding up the grappling hook he had handed me. His eyes saw the hook and his eyes went to the rope it was attached to and followed it's length across the deck and towards the masts. There we saw close to half a dozen similar ropes tied around each mast.
"Oh."
"Yep, now keep your eyes peeled." I said as I turned away from him and back to the sea. "We don't want the Shadow to catch us by surprise."
…
"So a greenhorn gets horny during his first week on a pirate ship…
So he goes up to the captain and asks, "What do you guys use when you get horny?" The captain says "There's a barrel over there with a hole in it; we use that." The greenhorn says "Great, when can I use it?" and the captain replies "You can use it any day of the week except Tuesday." Of course the new guy is confused and asks "Why not Tuesday?" The captain grinned and said "Cause that's your day in the barrel. Hahahah!"
Jim's joke elicited a round of laughter from the crew nearby, though I barely heard him. I was focusing most of my attention out at the water. It had been a few hours now and some of the crew were starting to get lax, telling stories or in the case of the cabin boy, telling his jokes. I could understand, standing here for hours on end was far from pleasant but I couldn't bring myself to join in on the merriment. I had spent years saving up enough money and going through my dad's old research, I wouldn't miss my chance just because I stumbled at the finish line.
Then something caught my attention as I felt a cold breeze blow over me. I looked out towards the north, watching as the sky started to be dominated by dark rain clouds that quickly made their way towards us. Reaching into my bag I pulled out a small brass spyglass, extended it and brought it to my eye. I swept my gaze back and forth along the cloud bank, barely managing to pierce the curtain of rain. Then suddenly there was a flash of lightning, I felt my body tense and become as still as a statue.
There behind the rain was a large ship, perfectly silhouetted by the lightning. It was gone in an instant but all the hairs on my body stood on end and I had to remind myself to breathe. It was a struggle, but I forced myself to put down the spyglass and shouted, "Ship sighted, in the storm!"
Immediately everyone stopped talking and stared at the wall of rain that was swiftly approaching. I heard the thud of footfalls as the captain made his way towards me.
"You sure Mr. Franklin?"
I nodded at him. "Yes, you and I both know storms like that can't cross the calm belt. Somehow the Shadow is dragging it along, you still willing to give chase?"
He didn't answer me, instead he turned away and bellowed out "ALL HANDS TO STATIONS! TOWARDS THE STORM MR. REECE!"
"AYE AYE CAPTAIN!" the helmsman and the crew shouted as one.
With that command the crew burst into action, releasing the sails, securing the loose equipment and several of them grabbed grappling hooks while placing themselves near the railings. The boat jerked under my feet as I grabbed my own hook and took my place beside them. Then with a billowing of the sails we were off to meet the storm.
It didn't take us long to reach the stormfront, and as soon as we met it we were all soaked to the bone. This wasn't my first storm at sea and I was able to quickly find my footing as well as the more experienced crew. Jim on the other hand was clinging to the rail for dear life and his teeth were chattering either from fear or the cold rain, maybe both.
"Come on Mr. Silver! You'll never be a true sailor if a little rain has you quaking!" I shouted at him.
His response was raising his hand and a single finger. That actually got me to chuckle.
The next ten minutes were spent keeping a look out for the ghost ship while we were battered by the rain and waves. Then just like before, a flash of lightning revealed our quarry as one of the crew shouted "Ship off the port side!" and we swung towards the center of the storm.
As we approached the rest of the world faded away. There crashing through a massive wave was the Dread Shadow. Even from this distance I could make out the black hull and dark sails, and I swear I could hear the screaming. As we grew closer, I could feel my heart kick into overdrive. Here it was, a figure from a legend that spans across centuries, and I was going to catch it if it was the last thing I did.
We were approaching from the Dread Shadow's starboard side and had placed ourselves where it was going to be, and I knew we would only have one shot as I watched the black ship fly across the rough waters. The Yellow Dodger was faster than any schooner, but the cursed man-of-war was still leagues faster.
"Prepare to throw!" the captain shouted and several other crew lifted their hooks and made their way to the railing.
I loosened my grip on my hook and instead grabbed the rope while starting to swing it in circles. I started slowly at first before speeding up and it quickly became a blur.
"Ready!"
We were closer now and I could distinctly make out the sounds of screaming and chains, it was almost like I was a child again.
"Aim!"
Except I wasn't some small useless child standing next to his dying father, powerless to save him or catch the Shadow.
"Throw!"
I was a man grown, and the Dread Shadow was merely the first step on my journey. I wasn't going to be content with just this ghost ship, no I was going uncover all the great mysteries of the world and no ancient hunk of wood was going to stop me!
I let the hook go and I watched it, and a dozen hooks flew high into the air. Then with a scream the Dread Shadow passed by and hit the hooks head on. Several of the hooks merely bounced off the hull and into the water below, most of them however made it up and over the rails where they found purchase with loud thunks.
I let out a shout of joy as the ropes were dragged along and soon to be pulled taught. The plan was working even if it was simple. The Dread Shadow would be made to stop as it was forced to not just carry its own weight, but that of the three hundred and fifty ton Yellow Dodger. Along with however many tons of items and crew.
I watched as the ropes ran out and pulled tight against the masts, and the good mood was wiped away when the Yellow Dodger jerked forward with so much force that most of the crew were knocked to the deck. Then with a cry of fear, I watched as Jim the cabin boy lost his grip on the rail and plummeted towards the stormy waters below. With my heart pounding in my ears, I threw myself against the railing and desperately reached for the terrified boy. With more luck than skill, I managed to grab hold of a flailing hand that latched onto mine for dear life. Then with a grunt of effort I pulled the boy back onboard and we collapsed to the deck, breathing hard with both fear and exhaustion.
"T-T-Thank you Mr. F-Franklin." He wheezed out.
"Don't mention it kid, and I told you could call me Crozier." I responded as we got up and were almost knocked back down as the ship shuddered under our feet.
I looked around in confusion and found that we were still moving, not only that but I watched as the waves seemed to go at a much faster pace than they had originally. Glancing ahead I immediately knew why. I had made a mistake, a massive error in judgment. My plan had been based around basic physics, that an object in motion would stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. In this case the Shadow was the object and the Dodger being the outside force and had they both been normal ships the process would have held true. Except the Dread Shadow was a ghost ship, one so old and with a past with so much violence that it was in a league of its own. Whatever rules it played by didn't fit with reality as rather than slowing down even a little bit, the Shadow was dragging us along at a speed that the Dodger was never meant to handle.
The ship shook again as another wave slammed into our hull and I grit my teeth as I heard the terrifying sound of wood creaking under the force of the ocean. We couldn't take this for long and the only thing I could see saving us was cutting the lines, except I would lose the Shadow. No, there had to be another way, how does one stop a ship? The answer came to me in an instant.
Drop the anchor.
Of course that was easier said than done as that would require actually getting on the ship. I had heard tales of how powerful pirates and marines could leap massive distances or even shatter stone like it was nothing, but that wasn't me. I wasn't powerful or strong and as far I could tell we were too far away to even attempt swinging to it. No the only way to get to the man-of-war was by crawling along the ropes that were dragging us, in the middle of a storm, while moving at breakneck speeds. No that would crazy.
…
…
"Maybe crazy enough to work?"
"What was that Mr. Franklin!?"
I nodded to myself, reached up and took off my hat before shoving it into the arms of the stunned cabin boy.
"Take care of that, I'm going to want it back." Then I turned around, sprinted towards the railing, and leapt.
In the moments that I was midair I took in all of my surroundings, the painted wood of the Yellow Dodger, the dark hull of the Dread Shadow, the rain soaking my clothes and the crashing waves below. Falling in the water in this storm was almost certain death and I should have been terrified, yet in that moment I had never felt more alive.
Then the moment was over and I came down, latching on to the rough and water logged rope that shifted in my grip. With a grunt of effort, I wrapped my legs around the rope and began inching my way along its length as the storm continued on. It was slow going at first, but I eventually found a rhythm of reaching out with my hands and pulling myself forward. Reach, pull, reach, pull and on it went for what felt like an hour though I knew it had probably only been a few minutes. I was about two thirds of the way across when I heard a roar come from my left and I could only watch as a twenty five foot wave descended upon me.
I pulled my body tight against the rope and gripped as tightly as I could when I was struck by what felt like a battering ram. My legs were ripped from the rope with a force that bordered on painful and it took all my might to hang on and not fall into the drink. As the wave passed, I was left hanging over the ocean by just my hands, muscles tense and aching from the cold. I was holding on so tightly that my knuckles were turning white and I could feel the fibers cutting into my palm.
With gritted teeth I did the only thing I could do, I continued on. Hand over hand I moved along the rope despite the wind and the rain. Left, right, left, right I got closer to the Shadow and as I approached I noticed something that made me break out into a smile. The wind around the ship was even more intense this close and the screaming was amplified, and that's when it clicked. The screaming wasn't from damned souls but the screaming of the wind, wind that the Dread Shadow created itself. No wonder it was able to easily pass through the calm belts and by generating its own gale, it could move faster than just about any ship sailing the Blues.
Shoving that piece of information to the back of my mind I continued on with the climb. I struggled against to the incline of the rope and the increasingly vicious wind, but I refused to let the Shadow slip away when I was so close.
It was only after a minute of non-stop hand over hand that I felt my body bang against the side of the Shadow. With my hands trembling and heart beating in my chest I let go of the rope with my right hand and grabbed on to the railing of the ghost ship. It surprised me just how normal it felt underneath my fingers. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe something slimy and noncorporeal, not the feeling of old yet sturdy wood. I supposed it didn't matter what it felt like, only that it held my weight as I now grabbed it with both hands. Then with a heave with protesting muscles I flung myself onto the deck of the Dread Shadow.
As soon as my feet landed, the world around me changed. The sound of my impact seemed to echo throughout the ship, almost as if I had struck some sort of massive drum. I was almost thrown from my feet when the ship beneath me lurched and came to a sudden stop. Then as if a switch had been flipped, the world had lost almost all sound. The screaming of the winds, the thundering of the storm and the rain impacting wood were all silenced, leaving only the sound of small waves lapping against the side of the boat.
As I gazed overhead, I watched as the storm clouds began to lose their power and were released from the Shadow's grasp. Soon the winds on high began to scatter the clouds and I was bathed in sunlight that sent warmth flooding into my cold and exhausted body. I just stood there standing in the light, closed my eyes and smiled.
…
"I can't tell if you are mighty brave or jaw droppingly stupid." Captain Hawkins said as I pulled him up onto the Dread Shadow's deck.
"Depends on if I succeeded, because if I had died I would be the first to agree with you on how stupid that was."
It hadn't taken long for the crew of the Yellow Dodger to recompose themselves from their impromptu nautical rodeo and pulled themselves alongside our prize. The captain was followed by several dozen of his men, including the cabin boy. Jim wasn't shy about showing his awe as he took in the sight of the Shadow.
The Shadow looked to be in quite a fine condition despite being a ghost ship that had gone well over a century without any one to maintain her. As it turned out the Dread Shadow was not actually all black, the deck floor, cannon hatches and its various accents were all a smokey gray that blended in to the black if you weren't paying attention. One peculiarity that was immediately obvious was the ship's rigging. There was not a single strand of rope in sight, instead there was only vast lengths of steel chains that swayed and clanked in the sea breeze, no doubt meant to rattle loudly with the Shadow's gale.
Jim made his way over to me and handed me my hat. I accepted it with a nod and placed it back on my head. I then pulled out my cam-snail and took several pictures of the deck, trying to capture as much of the ship as possible. Wanting to get a high shot I climbed up the stairs to the helm and froze in my tracks.
There sprawled out on the top deck was a large skeleton, so large that whoever it was must have stood about twenty feet tall when he was alive. The skeleton's left arm was extended with his hand resting just underneath the helm and his skull was resting in a way that I was staring into its empty sockets.
I almost jumped as someone let out a whistle from behind me. "Is that who I think it is?"
I looked at Hawkins and gave him a nod. "Captain Scourge the fifth. Titan of a man was right. Let's wait till we're finished with everything else before we move him."
The captain gave me a nod before walking off and I took a quick picture of the body before joining him. We headed towards the door to the lower deck and just like I asked, I was allowed to go down first. Stepping down into the dark of the ship I was anxious about just what I would find below. As it turns out, not much.
The below decks were surprisingly normal. There just behind the stairs leading to the back of the ship were several doors that led into individual rooms, each with windows looking out the aft and having desks with papers that had long rotted into nothing. Each had its own sign of habitation ranging from bookcases full of old hardbacks, scattered weapon parts that were thrown all over the room, and there was one that contained dozens of dirt filled pots. No doubt they had once contained living plants but after so many years there was nothing left but dust.
Heading towards the front of the ship I passed cannon after cannon, each one a tarnished steel instead of the normal black. There were several cannonballs rolling around the gun deck and I ran my fingers on one of the old hammocks that were still strung up. Then up past the cannons was the galley. It was fairly large, with several stoves and a couple of ovens along with everything a cook would need to make a meal for a large crew. Several pictures later and I made my way back to the stairs and found that the Dodger's crew were beginning to make their way down.
The next two decks were nothing but more of those odd cannons and the ship's capstan and little else but the occasional rack of weapons. I noticed that every time the crew followed me down, they did so with swords drawn, as if some long dead pirate was going to jump out from the shadows. It wasn't until we made it down into the hold that we found something of interest.
I stepped down into the darkened hold with a splash. Looking down I found the bottom of the ship was covered in about a foot of water from the storm. Thankfully my boots were of good quality and kept the water out. The men behind me couldn't say the same.
"Oh fuck me!" A rotund man said eliciting chuckles from the ones behind him. I gave my own grin but decided not to embarrass him further and carried on.
The hold had quite a lot of boxes and barrels down here, though I noticed their lower halves were mostly rotted. I squinted in what light managed to slip through the multiple decks of hatch grates and saw that the labels on the crates were long faded, nothing left but flecks of paint. I approached one of the barrels and motioned to one of the men to join me. He came over with a crowbar in hand and with a bit of effort the top popped off.
"What is that? Gunpowder?" he asked as he peered inside.
I joined him and understood the confusion. The barrel was filled with a fine powder, but rather than the typical black of gunpowder, it was a pale white. I grabbed a handful of the stuff and let it fall through my fingers. "I honestly have no idea what it is."
"Alright men, get this blasted thing open. Fortune awaits!" I heard the captain shout from somewhere.
Following the sounds, I came upon Hawkins and several of his men in front of a large crate that almost touched the ceiling. I joined them just in time to watch as two men used their own crowbars to rip the front off while the captain and his men watched with excited grins. Those grins immediately fell as the crate opened and the corpses started spilling out.
The men cried out in terror as the two who opened the crate were buried in bodies. The cadavers themselves were mostly just piles of bone, the ones near the middle and bottom having been long stripped of any tissue with no true defining features. The same couldn't be said for the ones near the top as most of those were less skeletal and more mummified. Not only that but most of them were wearing sleeveless black and red shirts with minor modifications here and there, almost as if they were copying the marines. Or insulting them with such an obvious palette swap. A few of them were wearing fairly normal clothes such as the remains of a long blonde-haired woman with a white sundress, now stained with dried blood. There were others, such as a man in oil-stained coveralls and another dressed in chef's clothes but dyed green. Every single one of them had died by rather violent means based on the wounds I was seeing.
"Looks like we found the crew." I said squatting down to get a better angle before taking another picture.
"W-What happened to them?!" I heard someone ask.
"According to the stories, Scourge had a nasty streak a mile wide, and it didn't take much to get him angry. It's not unreasonable that he might turn on the crew or vice versa. Whatever happened between them, it ended badly for both sides considering we found his body. Though why did he take the time to stuff their bodies down here?"
I got up and eyed the bodies before looking back towards the barrel and my eyes widened. They had turned the skeletons into powder. But again, why? What was the point of that? Yet another mystery it would seem.
I was broken out of my thoughts by a large hand grabbing me by the shoulder, spinning me around and shoving me against the wall. I softly swore as my head banged against the side and I looked up into the angry face of the captain.
"Where's the treasure Crozier? You promised me the Shadow was full of gold. So where is it!"
I scowled up at him while swatting his hand away. "First of all, I never promised anything. I merely suggested that there might be treasure on board. Secondly, I am actually surprised we haven't found anything. I mean from all the reports, Captain Scourge was extremely successful and it's not like he could spend it willy nilly since he was one of the governments most wanted."
I explained myself to the irate man, though I noticed the crew had gotten over the pile of bodies pretty quickly and were now tearing into all the nearby crates. Inside were similar corpse piles, though nowhere near as large and only skeletons. Others held cans of long spoiled food and others held more steel cannon balls. The men had to dodge several of them to avoid a broken foot as they rolled around in the water.
"I mean he might have stashed it on some remote island somewhere, but surly he would have kept a small fortune on hand? He would have kept something that could easily be transported like gold ingots, gems and jewelry or even…"
I stopped talking as a thought occurred to me. The ship was mostly normal save for the chains instead of ropes, the corpse piles and finally, the armaments.
Reaching down, I grabbed one of the balls and hefted it up into my arms. The captain asked me what I was doing but I ignored him. Instead, I reached into my bag and took out a lemon that I was saving for later. I brought it to my mouth where I took a bite out of it and swallowed, peel and all. Then I held it over the ammunition and squeezed it, letting its juices fall onto its tarnished surface. Once the lemon was used up, I tossed it back into my bag and began scrubbing the ball with my shirt sleeve. After about a minute of constant work, I looked down at the now tarnish free surface as it glinted even in the dim light of the hold and held it up for the crew to see.
"Captain Hawkins, may I present to you the treasure of the Dread Shadow."
He stared at me as if I had lost my mind before he took a closer look. His eyes narrowed and then they bulged, his jaw dropping open.
"Silver." He said as if he couldn't believe what he was saying.
"About thirty pounds of the stuff," I said grinning at him "per cannonball."
We both glanced back at the crates filled with cannonballs, each a large orb of silver. The crew nearby who had been watching us quickly began to spread the information and suddenly everyone stared in shock as they came to the same realization. There were about two dozen crates down here and if even half of them had cannonballs, then that could number in the hundreds. Then there was the ammunition we had seen on the above decks along with the one hundred and twenty-four guns, each waying thousands of pounds. It didn't take an expert at math to do the calculations and come up with "a lot of belis."
The shocked silence quickly gave way to screams and shouts of joy, even from the captain. I even saw several of the crew fight the urge to pull out their pistols and fire them into the air. I stumbled forward as the captain slapped my back as he laughed.
"HAHAHA I never doubted you for a minute lad!"
"Sure you didn't. So, are you going to leave the men to deal with our new fortune? Because we still have one room left." I said with a wide grin.
…
Standing outside the captain's quarters I couldn't stop myself from shaking with excitement. Here was the place where the where Captain Scourge and all who had taken up his name had commanded the Dread Shadow. I almost didn't want to open the door in fear that it didn't live up to my expectations.
The captain had no such reservations.
He stepped forward, grabbed the handle and gave it a twist, only for nothing to happen. He twisted again and despite the mechanism seemingly in working order, the door stayed closed. After a few more attempts, the large man then began ramming his shoulder into the doorframe with all his might.
"Woah woah woah, what are you doing?!" I screamed as I put myself between him and the door.
"Getting the blasted door open, what does it look like?!"
"It looks like," I said in a calm tone, "you were about to damage one of the greatest finds of the century, a literal ship of legends. Look, I understand the eagerness, but brute force isn't always the answer."
I turned towards the door, reached into my bag and pulled out some lockpicks. I was about to see where the jam was by pulling on the handle and was surprised when it opened with a click. "Huh, guess you loosened it." I put the lockpicks away, pulled out my snail and stepped inside.
The room was vastly different from the rest of the ship. For starters there was not a speck of dust to be seen and the furniture looked well maintained, as if it hadn't been abandoned for more than a century. It was also more ornate, with an iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling, royal blue curtains over the windows and a deep purple carpet on the floor. The wood in here wasn't painted black but left a warm brown that felt cozy with the sunlight shining through the windows. Off to the right was a large bed with crimson covers tucked away in a nook, with a bookshelf full of books and nicknacks on the right, and a massive wardrobe on the left. The left of the room was more sparse, but it contained a chest in one corner, a full body mirror in the other and in the middle were several shelves full of things I had only heard of. I was awestruck when I saw them because there on those shelves were several log poses of both the single and triple style, along with dozens of eternal poses, each one worth a small fortune.
Then there was the center piece of the room, a large desk made of a red wood only rather than being an actual desk, it looked as if someone had cut down a tree, cut off a slab, covered it in resin and stood it on legs. The true attention getter was an odd-looking axe with its tip buried into the surface. I took another picture as I approached and got a better look at it. The axe was about four feet long made of what looked like a yellowish white material that was unmistakably bone, hopefully from an animal. The blade was a foot and a half long broad axe blade that extended about six inches past the handle, and like the cannons was made of silver. What made the axe truly unique however was the fact that it was also a gun. A black octagonal barrel ran along the top of the handle with the trigger and hammer near the middle, also black steel. Carved on the top of the barrel in elegant cursive was the weapon's name, Old Scratch.
I took another picture, this time of the axe and I noticed captain Hawkins slip in along with Jim, surprisingly. I put the other two out of my mind and moved on to the chair behind the desk, a large wooden thing of simple design. It was obviously built for someone tall, taller than Hawkins but still much smaller than the skeleton on the deck above us. The chair itself wasn't what caught my interest, but the coat hanging off the back. Like the uniformed bodies in the hold, it seemed to be based off the marine's officers coat, though with the Dread Shadows color scheme. The snow white was instead a pitch black, and the golden accents and epaulets were replaced with silver thread that gleamed in the light. Moving around to the back, I saw that unlike marine coats, it didn't have the old kanjis for justice or "Justice" in this case.
"I wonder if it was just a repurposed marine coat that had been looted from one of Scourge's victims or made from scratch as a form of mockery. Considering He was known as the "Scourge of the Seas" he must have had a massive grudge against the World Government back then."
I lifted up the snail and was about to take another picture when a large hand reached over and snatched it away.
"Hey what the hell!" I said whirling on the captain, who was looking down at me with a smirk that made me want to punch him. "Give it back Hawkins, I need that for documentation."
"You know lad, when you first brought up the story of the Shadow, I thought you had a few screws loose. Then you went on about the ship wanting a new captain and I really thought you had lost it. Really the only reason I had humored you was because of the treasure, but here we are, standing in the heart of the Shadow. I can gladly say I was wrong."
"I accept your apology. Now the cam-snail if you please." I said holding out my hand, though I was beginning to worry about where this was going.
"You know I've only had the Yellow Dodger for a few months. It was just supposed to be a temporary ship, so I could earn some money to repair my previous ship, the Bird of Prey. A marine ship decided to blow a few holes in her and killed a few of me crew for no good reason you see."
My breath hitched a little. The Bird of Prey had been the ship of the Hawk Pirates, a crew that had earned a reputation in the South Blue for quick raids on merchant ships. Not particularly strong but plenty vicious. And I was alone with their captain. I made sure not to eye the axe to my left in order to not give myself away, but I did however flex my fingers.
"But I'm thinking I don't need to fix up that old gal when it's like you said, the Shadow wants a captain." He said grinning, before crushing the snail. "Now I know how this sounds, but I truly am glad you came along and if you play your cards right you just might get out of here in one piece. You see, if you managed to find the Dread fuckin' Shadow on your own, I can only imagine what other treasures you might be able to sniff out with the help of a backer like say, a new pirate lord. So, one time offer only, are you willing to join up?"
I didn't answer him. I stepped forward, gave him a reassuring smile and lunged for the axe. I didn't even make it a foot before pain exploded in my chest and glancing down, I expected to find a blade entering my chest. Instead, I was surprised to see the tip of a sword protruding from under my right pectoral. Then it was ripped back through and caused me to fall to my knees as the pain increased tenfold.
"Oh, sorry about that, I was aiming for your heart." My eyes widened as I stared up at the one person I had completely dismissed. Silver Jim the cabin boy stood behind me, holding a bloody sword and a calm expression on his young face.
The captain looked down with a sigh. "Disappointing, but not unexpected. Some people just don't know what's good for them, right Jim?"
"Right sir."
"Well Crozier, you managed to make the find of the century. It's just too bad you won't be able to tell anybody. When you pass, please give my regards to Captain Scourge, and tell him not to worry. I'll take good care of his ship." Then captain Hawkins turned around and left, even now I could hear him barking orders to his men.
I heard footsteps to my right and suddenly Jim was standing in front of me. If he felt even an ounce of remorse for what he had done, it certainly didn't show. I tried to say something, anything whether it be a question of why or to curse him, instead I coughed up a dangerous amount of blood. I took some satisfaction in getting it all over his white shirt. He shot me an annoyed look my way before calmly reaching towards me, lifting my hat off my head and placing it on his own. He shot me smirk before kicking me in the wound, sending me sprawling to the floor with a new wave of pain flooding through my body and my vision going white for a few seconds.
As I lay there, I heard footsteps walking away from me. "Goodbye Mr. Franklin." Was the last thing he said before there was the sound of a door closing and I was alone.
Pain wasn't fun.
I know it's pretty obvious but still, ow! I grabbed at the gaping wound in my chest, as if I could somehow will the blood to get back inside. I let out a horribly wet cough as the blood escaped my lips, probably because of the collapsed lung. The books got it wrong, I wasn't numb and fading in and out of unconsciousness. No, I was far too aware of everything, the hard boards under my body, the rocking of the waves against the ship hull, the frigid air in my one working lung and even the warm sunlight that managed to pierce through the old windows. What I was most aware of was the thunderous beat of my heart as it pumped even more blood out of my chest.
And today had started out so well.
Actually no, I had smacked my face into the floor. Probably should have taken that as a sign. Damn it, this just wasn't right. I should be celebrating my discovery and honoring dad's memory with a pint, not bleeding out in a no longer abandoned ship. I knew the world wasn't fair, you had to be blind to not notice the injustices that went on but damn it all I refuse to let this be how my story ended, before it could even truly begin.
With righteous indignation flowing through my veins, I pushed with all my might and thankfully my limbs complied. It was slow painful going but I eventually made it to my feet. Then with great effort reached out to the gun axe… and collapsed back to the floor, limbs like lead and not an ounce of strength left in them.
Well, it was worth a shot.
"So close yet so far."
The voice caught me off guard. It was a deep commanding voice, the kind that when spoken you couldn't help but do as it said, though there had been something…off about it. It had an echo to it, as if whoever it belonged to was speaking from inside a deep well. It took all my remaining strength to turn my head, and when I did, I thought the blood loss had finally gotten to me.
Sitting in the chair was something that looked like a man. It was hard to tell because his entire body was different shades of light blue and his form flickered in and out at random, almost like he was a living flame in the wind. He was taller than Hawkins with a frame that told that he was all muscle. He wore what had once been a fine suit that now sported several singes and bullet holes. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, exposing his muscular forearms as well as dozens of scars while his necktie was ragged and untucked. He had dark blue hair that was pulled back into a long braid that reached just past his shoulders, with a few loose strands hanging over the left side of his face. He had a nasty looking smirk that wasn't helped by his thin goatee, which combined with his sharp cheek bones, pointed chin and thin sunken eyes gave him the look of a predator. Then there were his eyes, two pits of bright blue fire so intense they were almost white.
The man studied me with those baleful pits and all the righteous anger and fury left me, replaced with an all-consuming fear. I knew I was dying, but this…this thing made me feel as if it could do worse than kill me. I wanted to scream but all that came up was more blood. Man, how much blood did I have left to lose?
I think the blue man knew that I was terrified because his smirk grew, now showing teeth. Then within the time it took to blink, he went from sitting in the chair to towering over me. He regarded me with a curious eye, as if looking for something before giving a nod and crouching down to look me in the face.
"Today's your lucky day runt because you've done something few people have ever done. Gotten me interested."
Despite my rather pathetic state, I still managed to find the strength to raise an eyebrow.
"Don't get it? Well let me spell it out for you. You're pathetic, obviously not a real fighter because you let that young rat sneak up on you. You're an idiot, because a child could see the pirate on that man from a mile away. Yet you were somehow clever enough to find the Dread Shadow despite the government wanting her to remain a ghost story. Then once you found her, you decided to drag yourself along a rope from a ship being dragged onto a ghost ship, while in the middle of a storm. You could have accepted that vulture's deal and become his good little slave, but you didn't. You went for a weapon despite knowing you would be outgunned and outnumbered. Then just now, rather than just laying down to die you got up and went for a weapon again. You failed of course but at least you've got guts runt. Guts…and potential."
The man's face changed then. His smirk changed into a manic grin, his eyes brightened until it was almost painful to look at and he practically radiated bloodlust.
"I'm going to do you a favor runt. I'm going to give you a chance to live. What you do with that second chance is your choice, but just so you know I'll be watching. Oh, and do take care of my ship, I will be mighty angry at you if you wreck her." He said, voice dripping with malice.
He then pulled back his hand and plunged it through my chest and into my heart. Then everything was agony.
…
"Oh god…did, did I drink last night?" I asked as I sat up. I could barely open my eyes, the light hurt so much. I was cold for some reason, maybe I had fallen asleep outside? No that didn't make sense, I never drank more than enough to get me tipsy. Still, I must have done something last night because my head was killing me.
Rubbing my eyes relieved a bit of the pain but not enough to make this next part any easier. So with gritted teeth I opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar room. I was sitting in a chair in front of an odd desk. Looking around I saw I was in a captain's room, though it seemed far too nice to belong to Hawkins, unless he had it renovated overnight. Then my eyes landed on a spot in front of the desk, a large puddle of mostly dried blood.
Then the memories came flooding back. The storm, the Dread Shadow, the betrayal and finally the blue man.
My confusion was replaced by shock, and I tore open my shirt in a panic. I ran my hands all over my chest, looking myself over and discovered something both amazing and concerning. My wound was gone. Not healed because that would have resulted in a scar. No, it was gone, nothing but unblemished flesh as though the impalement had never happened.
I let out a sigh of relief at that and sank back into the chair. I wasn't hurt or dying, I was alive and I had never been more glad to feel the air fill both of my lungs. The relief and good mood unfortunately didn't last long. No, I was still on a my ship that was now filled with disgusting pirates with no way to escape. Yet for some reason I wasn't worried. In fact, a part of me felt positively excited about this whole situation, which was worrying because I'm pretty sure that wasn't me. I had been in fights before, even forced to kill before yet I had never felt happy about it. Then again that was a problem for future Crozier, because right now I needed ever advantage I could get.
So with a deep breath, I steeled my nerves and yanked the axe Old Scratch out of the desk with barely any effort, stood up from the chair and turned to leave the room. Then I caught sight of myself in the mirror and froze.
I had been wearing the black and silver coat the entire time and somehow not even noticed it, and I could have sworn that it had been too large for me, yet somehow it now fit me perfectly. Almost as if it was tailor made specifically for me. My skin had gone a shade paler, nothing out of the ordinary but certainly a surprise. My hair on the other hand had lost more than a shade, now a bleached white rather than the black it had been all my life. Finally, were my eyes. They were still the same bright blue they had always been, though now they had a slight glow to them that I knew was unnatural. I wanted to breakdown and panic over it all, but the situation simply wouldn't allow that. I could solve the pirate problem first and have a mental breakdown later.
So, I moved on from the mirror, made my way over and put my ear to the door. I could hear laughter and cheers on the other side, making me wonder why the pirates were celebrating when they should still be working. A glance at the windows revealed that it was now nighttime, which meant I had been…out for several hours. With the days work done the crew would be celebrating the capture of the Dread Shadow, which meant they were all out there. Getting drunk over my achievements.
That last thought had my blood boiling and I started to agree with that happy violent urge, if only a little. Quietly as I could, I opened the door and slipped out of the captains my quarters.
The deck was lit up with various torches and candles, bathing the pirates' savages in their light. There were private conversations going on, but most of their attention was directed towards captain Hawkins, who was giving a speech at the front of the ship. I could hear him clearly even from back here.
"…Know that we've had a string of bad luck this past year. Lost many a good man, but that is the thing about luck, it can change in an instant. The Dread Shadow is ours my boys, and with this ship we'll bring those old stories come alive and no one would dare take arms against Captain Scourge and his crew of the damned, less they be dragged to hell." He said, motioning towards himself and then his crew, getting rounds of laughter as a response.
"Still, I can't take all the credit. You see we have that idiot to thank for handing us this beautiful piece of wood. So in memory of our dear departed sponsor and our future success, I raise a toast." He said with obviously fake sympathy as he raised his tankard. "To Crozier and the Dread Shadow!"
"TO CROZIER AND THE DREAD SHADOW!" They all shouted as one.
I smirked at the toast. Sometimes the universe just handed you exactly what you needed.
"I appreciate the toast captain!" I yelled and everyone turned to me. There were several gasps and a few choked on their drinks in surprise. It gave me no small amount of satisfaction as Hawkins spilled his alcohol all over himself.
"Mr. Franklin?" I heard a young voice ask in confusion from somewhere in the crowd.
"As much as I enjoy being the center of a toast, I can't help but feel like I should be giving back to you all." I lifted Old Scratch where everyone could see and gave it a twirl. "Allow me to show you my gratitude."
Then with a speed I had never had before, I ran towards the captain and brought my axe down on the pirate.
I had meant to bring it down on his neck, but the captain panicked and fell backwards, inadvertently saving himself from dying. Instead, the blade sliced through his chest and only left a flesh wound. The crew were quick to react, and I heard the sound of dozens of blades being unsheathed and guns being cocked. I spun on my heel and sprinted into the crowd where their guns would be less useful.
A blonde man swung a sword at me and for some reason it just seemed so slow. I easily ducked the strike and retaliated with a slash that sent the sword and the hand holding it spinning into the air. Another man tried to shoot me in the face at point blank range, but I slapped it away and he ended up shooting one of his friends instead, allowing me to bury the axe in his chest. Another man tried to grab me from behind, but a kick to the chest sent him flying into several other men who were knocked to the ground. a large bald man screamed in fury as he brought his club down at me.
I jumped up and over his weapon as he slammed it into the deck. When I came back down, I aimed for his head and struck him with both feet. Then with more strength than I should have had, I springboarded off him and I high into the air. I wasn't sure what it was I was doing, but some instinct was telling me that this would solve my being outnumbered problem. So, as I reached the apex of my leap, I held Old Scratch up and felt a cold wind wash over me as the silver blade burst into blue flames. The flames didn't give off any heat, in fact it felt as if it was stealing the warmth from the air around it. Then I began to fall, and the blue flames grew brighter as it stole more and more heat as I plummeted towards the pirates below.
I landed feet first and brought the axe down onto the Shadow's deck with all my might. The wood didn't give way like I expected. Instead as the flaming silver struck, the fire intensified and flooded out of the blade into a circle of cold blue flames that washed over most of the Hawk Pirates. There were screams and cries, but those were quickly silenced. Glancing up at the men, I found myself surrounded by statues. The men around me were frozen in place, literally. Their skin had taken on a hard texture and several of the ones closer to the blast were even covered in frost. It looked as if all the heat had been stolen from the pirates, leaving them nothing but frozen bodies.
I was broken out of my musings as I heard the explosion of a gunshot. I moved my head to the right on instinct and I heard the musket ball pass close by my ear. I whipped around and saw a tall shirtless man holding a rifle, eyes now wide as he realized I had dodged his shot. In response I raised Old Scratch, aimed, and fired. When I pulled the trigger, there wasn't an explosion of gunpowder or a flash of smoke like I had been expecting. Instead, there was what sounded like a scream of terror and a bolt of dark blue shot out of the muzzle. The man didn't have time to react as the bolt struck him and he was thrown over the side of the ship, now with a dinner plate sized hole in his chest.
"Holy crap." I said while staring down at the weapon.
I spun around as I heard someone charging me from behind and raised the axe up in time to stop an overhead strike from a large cutlass. Captain Hawkins didn't look to good; his chest wound was bleeding profusely; his eyes were bloodshot and I swear he was foaming at the mouth.
"How?" he said with a snarl. "How are you still breathing!?"
He pushed down with all his might, yet I held his blade back without much effort. "You know, I'm not really sure, but you won't have to worry about that for much longer. Goodbye captain Hawkins."
After saying my piece, I lifted my right foot and sent it crashing into his left knee. The captain collapsed with a cry of pain and only stopped himself from slamming his face into the floorboards by dropping his sword and putting his hands down. Unfortunately for him he was both vulnerable and couldn't run. So without any hesitation, I brought the axe down. His head rolled across the deck for a few seconds, stopping at the feet of a terrified Jim.
I stared at the cabin boy as well as the few men cowering in fear behind him. They hunched down and tried to make themselves look as small as possible as though they could hide behind the boy's thin frame. I stood straight and slowly walked towards the survivors and suddenly I wasn't sure what to do. The battle was over and none of the men were carrying any weapons, having dropped them as a sign of surrender. All except Jim of course, who had a sword hanging off his belt, still covered in my blood. He stood there shaking in his worn shoes and looked absolutely pitiful, while still wearing my father's hat.
I was of two minds regarding the cabin boy. He had killed me. there was no sugar coating it, I had died and was only breathing because of whatever the blue man had done tome. Jim had ran his blade through my chest and let me drown in my own blood, all without a hint of remorse. I had saved his life and he had repaid me by taking mine. Yet looking at the scared boy, I could see just how young he really was and who knew how old he had been before he was most likely conscripted by the pirates. Who knows the things he had seen and been forced to do under the pirates? I had chatted with Jim, listening to his jokes, and laughed alongside him. Wait, he had had a brother, had the Hawk pirates killed him when they took Jim? Maybe he had seen it, maybe he could-
You idiot. He killed you, stole the last memento of your father and was planning to pillage the seas with Hawkins and you want to spare him? How naïve. He's a killer through and through. Don't believe me? Just look into his eyes, I'll take care of the rest.
My eyes widened at that thought that was most certainly not mine. Yet I did as it wanted, looking into his terrified green eyes that were on the brink of tears. Yet as I stared, I felt a tingle wash over my body and…suddenly I wasn't myself.
The small dirty shack I was in was barely standing and was only held up by ropes and makeshift pillars. I was shouting at my older brother, Thomas, yet he refused to shout back. His own orange hair was close to the scalp and his green eyes were a shade darker than mine, and he had betrayed me, betrayed mom.
I told him that I hated him for wanting to join the marines. They had taken everything from us when they murdered mom for only trying to take care of us. Now we were forced to claw and scrape to survive and now he wanted to become a murderer too.
Thomas was angry, but he still did not shout. He said that mom hadn't cared for us and that I was too young to remember when she hit him, hit me. I called him a liar but he just went on talking. He said that she left us, abandoned us because she thought she could play pirate, that she had murdered people before the marines had caught the crew she had joined. They were all hanged. Then he said he was doing this for us, that the marines paid better than the dock work and that he would send money back to me. Said we could have an actual home to live in and that the decision was final. Then he did the worst thing he could ever have done. He turned his back to me.
I hated him, hated his lies and hated that he was leaving me too. He was bigger than me, but that didn't matter when I grabbed a kitchen knife and buried it in the back of his knee. Thamos screamed and fell to the floor. He looked up at me with anger, fear and hurt in his eyes. I felt sorry for a second, until I remembered what he said about mom. After that there was nothing but red.
I left the shack the next day, leaving Thomas where on the now mostly red floor. I left the island and met captain Hawkins two months later. There was a lot more red after I joined his crew.
I gasped as I returned to myself and had to bite back the urge to empty my stomach. I didn't know what that was, but I knew what I had seen. Jim the young cabin boy, Jim the young man who loved telling jokes, Jim the pirate had murdered his brother before he had even met Hawkins. He killed people for merely protecting their ships from the Hawk Pirates. He killed me and would continue to kill if he wasn't stopped.
With my mind set and a cold hatred that I knew was all me, I approached the young pirate and the men who cowered behind him. Once I was in reach of the boy I stopped and held out my free hand. The boy just stared at it in both fear and confusion.
"My hat Mr. Silver." I said icily.
The boy scrambled to grab the hat off his he, almost dropping it in the process. Then with a shaking hand he gave me back what was stolen. I checked it over and thankfully found it undamaged. I put it back on top of my head before glaring back down at the group of sniveling pirates.
"Crozier, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"Shut up." I whispered, but the venom in it made him instantly close his mouth. "You don't get to call me that. Now goodbye Mr. Silver and say hello to your mother for me."
Then as if I knew what I was doing, lifted my hand and snapped my fingers.
The moment that happened, I heard the clanking and rattling of chains and suddenly the pirates were screaming. The rigging moved on its own and struck like vipers, wrapping themselves around their throats before lifting them high into the air. I didn't watch, instead choosing to stare straight ahead and out at the dark sea. There was the sound of choked gasps and strangled cries but those were quickly silenced with a few audible cracks. Some struggled against the chains based on the rattle, but soon even those went quiet. As I stood there on the deck listening, I realized I was now all alone.
I suddenly felt very tired as the ship swayed underneath my feet. Then in the time it took me to blink, the blue man was standing in front of me, and I most certainly did not jump back and scream like a little girl. It didn't happen and there was no one left alive to prove otherwise. The blue man just stood there staring at me before glancing up at the bodies and gave me a nod of approval.
"Not bad, but that could have gone better. You still have much to learn runt, but for a first fight it went well. At least the new captain has enough of spine to do what must be done." He said looking up at a body with patched pants and worn shoes.
"Captain?" I asked.
The man shot me a raised eyebrow before looking me up and down and flashing me a smirk. Then he just disappeared like smoke in the wind.
Glancing down at myself in confusion, my body went stiff as I came to a horrible realization. I was wielding Captain Scourge's axe, wearing Captain Scourge's coat and being able to look into someone's eyes and see why they should die, something Captain Scourge was infamous for. And with a snap of my fingers the Dread Shadow, the ghost ship from legend obeyed my commands. I had risen from the dead and now had abilities I had never had before.
I was the new Scourge.
"Ah crap."
…
So, what do you think? I know it's a bit dark but hey One Piece is a horrible Grimdark world hiding behind colorful and whimsical art along with a super positive protagonist. Now a few things, this I set about year and a half before the beginning of One Piece and our main character is not just some murder-hobo so there won't be anything overly cruel unless there's a plot reason for it. As for Crozier, I based him loosely of the captains of the horribly named HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, who went on an expedition to find the Northwest Passage and disappeared with all hands lost. It seemed appropriate. The Dread Shadow on the other hand was based the new shanty called The Tale of The Shadow by Sail North, I highly recommend giving it a listen. I also tried to post this on Halloween, but you know how it goes.
Anyways thanks for giving this a read and please leave a review. Have a nice day!
