Chapter 6

[Antonio Flags]

Antonio took a deep breath.

The deck gently swayed with the rhythm of the current. The chilly morning wind of the open seas washed over his fur and carried the sound of crashing waves against the hull of their vessel to his ears. He could feel the first rays of sunshine reaching him from the east, marking the start of their fifth day of seafaring.

He exhaled and inhaled again. The golden-furred mink sat alone on deck, eyes closed as his hands held his acquired sword. The grip and weight were not quite right, clearly intended for someone… taller than him. The quality left much to be desired too, the weapon was probably mass produced to supply the whole garrison he fought against.

Most of the crew was sleeping, for once, enjoying the moment of reprieve from the long and arduous journey. Only he and Mr. Stansen, whom Antonio now referred to the giant as, were the only ones currently awake. Both needed to man the ship and make sure it wouldn't just change directions with the random convoluted currents that were so common in the Grand Line. It wouldn't do to lose hours of progress just for something as careless as not checking the Eternal Pose after all.

He had decided to take a moment from his duties as navigator to at least further his personal training. Most of the rust of his time inside that foul cage had been taken care of, but he still felt too stiff to fight at his best. So he left the Eternal Pose with Mr. Stansen, assured that the giant would warn him if something came to pass, and took a spot at the front deck to meditate.

'Besides, a Musketeer would never shy away from the path of betterment. It is only right for someone of my station to follow the noble spirit that the ancient vows from my esteemed order had bequeathed upon me-'

Antonio's thoughts were interrupted as a particularly large wave crashed against the front of the vessel. The quick movement made his body briefly become airborne and move forward, face first into the railing. With an annoyed grumble, Antonio rubbed his nose while carefully paying attention to the sea.

It was a nice morning. The wind was perfect and pushed them in the right direction. The currents were relatively calm. The sky, which was slowly being illuminated by the rising sun, was clear of clouds.

Assured that it was just a lone wave and not a coming storm, Antonio went back to his spot. Once there, he started his breathing exercises yet again. It was one of the most critical parts of swordsmanship, after all.

Still, he made sure to keep the occurrence of the wave to memory and not dismiss it like many others would. It was a sign that he should stay on guard, just in case. He doubted the good weather would last for much longer, after all. The Grand Line wasn't so kind.

Even if Paradise was the more benign half of it, any navigator knew to not underestimate these treacherous waters. No matter how many times they had gone through them, or how safe the path looked. The Grand Line didn't take kindly to being underestimated. Those who did would often find themselves as bloated corpses washing ashore on the coasts of distant islands for the disrespect.

Many even believed the sea itself to be alive. That was an old folklore tale made by sailors, pirates, and even some communities. It wasn't uncommon to find settlements on many islands with rituals that ranged from fasting to sacrifices to appease the sea itself.

Antonio believed it to be all just baseless superstitions, however. The Grand Line didn't care about sacrifices or tributes. It would just throw challenge after challenge at you and your crew. It tested you in ways that you would never have imagined before.

The weak and unfit would die. It could be by being eaten by who knew how many creatures that awaited just below the surface or finding their boats destroyed by the storms and massive currents. Regardless of the how, it would happen.

Those who were strong. Those who were creative. Those who were smart. Those were the people who survived and thrived in these waters.

And Antonio was strong. He was sure of that.

Perhaps not the strongest. But one day he would be.

With another exhale, Antonio let go of the stress in his body and charged the innate ability of any mink. He felt the static stored in his fur, aimless and erratic, concentrated just enough for small arcs of electricity to form across his arms. With practiced movements, he tensed and relaxed his arms at different points, creating a carefully planned path for the electricity to course through all the way to his paw, and from there, to the sword.

Electro was an ability any mink could use, even children past their toddlerhood could easily channel it. Usually in its most basic form, but all mink could use it regardless. It was one of the many reasons the world saw his race as natural-born warriors. After all, even kids could take down an adult easily with discharges of static.

It was pretty much instinctual to all of them too. Feeling the static build up in their fur, as it settled down just below the surface, was just part of them. With a few natural movements of their body that Antonio could only imagine was born of long years of evolution, any of them could move their fur in paths. Thus, they let the stored current follow said path of least resistance down to their limbs and extremities and let it out from their paws or feet.

It was strange. He assumed that they had naturally resistant skin and maybe their extremities also evolved to be insulated. Antonio wasn't so sure about that, but he wasn't particularly good during biology classes, he would admit.

Regardless, it was something all minks could easily do. What wasn't as common though was using Electro on something other than basic discharges. Anyone who had tried that, as far as he knew, had only managed to shock themselves despite their innate resistance/immunity.

Antonio could feel the electricity course from his paw into the hilt of the sword, which provided some resistance. A flick in his fur paths was enough to compensate for it. Soon enough, the lightning traveled the blade of the sword all the way to the tip.

The weapon cackled with the sound of blue light arcs moving through it and heating up the air. Small droplets of sea water evaporated rapidly as soon as they flew through the air too close to the sword, vaporized by those same arcs making contact with them.

If releasing Electro through their limbs was the same as opening a naturally ingrained hose on their instinct, and letting it go full blast, then he would say that using it on and channeling to another object that wasn't their body was gaining control over the proverbial hose. It was to control the flow of energy so it went in just the right direction and with the right amount of output to not overheat their tool or lose most of their energy.

It was a skill any Musketeer needed to learn. For one to reach the rank of an officer, one needed to master it to the point that using it during the chaos of battle was second nature for them. It was what separated a civilian from a true warrior.

'Well, one of the things that do that at least,'Antonio mused inside his head as he nodded, satisfied. The sword wasn't particularly good for the technique, lacking the specific materials used by common Musketeer gear, but it was still enough.

Perhaps a regular Musketeer would have trouble channeling to something not made for it. But then again, he wasn't just any Musketeer. He was the one who would one day reach the head of the organization. It was only natural for him to excel in all forms of combat.

Or at least that is what he would like to believe.

With a sigh, Antonio focused on the second part of his training. He looked at his other hand, the one not holding the sword. The paw gained a slow black sheen that rose very slowly up his forearm. However, it didn't matter how he tried it, he couldn't get past it. It wavered and disappeared as if it had a will of its own.

It was frustrating if nothing else. He knew he could do it. Pedro had already told him he had unlocked both of the Haki types just before he left the island, but it didn't matter how much he trained during his brief trip through the New World. No matter how many altercations with that bastard Tamago, or that traitor of Pekoms, most of which he barely managed to escape alive, he just couldn't go past the very basics of it.

He heard once that difficult fights were what pushed one to master this technique. A single life-and-death fight could push one forward in a way not even decades of training could. Yet, even then, he hadn't managed more than scraps of progress.

With a frustrated sigh, Antonio let go of both abilities. He knew that just throwing a tantrum wouldn't help. It wouldn't be proper for a warrior like him. It didn't matter how much it irked him to get stuck at something like this when minks like Carrot – who was years his junior – had already made progress with their natural techniques at a pace that hadn't been seen since their lords.

"I wouldn't be surprised if la niña were already learning Haki by this point," Antonio mumbled before shaking his head and forcibly pushing those thoughts into the deepest parts of his mind. A wave of shame assaulted him at the feeling of envy that grew in him. It was not a proper warrior mentality. One should focus on their own progress and betterment, not others'.

With a nod to himself, reaffirming his virtues and vows as a proud Musketeer, Antonio ignored the small part of his mind that gnawed at him and threatened to drown him in insecurities. Progress would come eventually, as long as one remained diligent in their training, as Pedro used to say.

Antonio looked towards the horizon and the sea around him now that he had finished his little impromptu training session. The currents had picked up speed, and most of the horizon was covered in what looked to be a severe hail storm. He could even spot a big hurricane in the distance to starboard that wasn't there mere minutes ago.

"Parece que el recreo se acabó."

With a sharp turn, he let the small black cloak he found flair dramatically behind him. It was a shame there was no one on the deck to see it, it must have looked really cool, in his humble opinion. The boots on his feet clacked on the wooden floor of the deck as he made his way towards the giant.

"Mr. Stansen! Wake up Caballero and the rest of the crew! We will need all hands on decks. The Grand Line is feeling like playing with us yet again!" he exclaimed.

The giant nodded and stirred from the spot on deck that he had taken as his resting spot. He rose a gargantuan feet and tapped the floor meters away from him, right above the sleeping quarters. Meanwhile, Antonio held onto his large hat, which threatened to be blown away from the harsh winds, with one hand. With the other, he guided the rudder.

At the end of the day, only the strong survive in these waters. And he would be the strongest one day. That much he swore.

[}-o-{]

[Luca]

"Thank you, Luca," William told him and he just nodded, his brain taking a moment to process that he had nodded at a blind person.

"No problem, boss," he replied, forcing a smile on his face. Even if the man himself couldn't see him, the rest of the crew could, so he needed to keep up the act. He couldn't be seen disrespecting the man that the other ex-slaves had chosen – most of them, at least – as their "captain", after all. Luca still didn't understand how that had happened, admittedly, but he wasn't in the business of voicing thoughts that might get him stabbed.

Besides, William had done a decent job at keeping them alive and having a plan to get away, so Luca supposed it was fine. He'd seen weirder stuff than a crew with a blind captain back in the port he'd grown up in. Still, he didn't want to be in such a crew.

He didn't want to be in a crew at all, really.

Which was why he tried to keep himself useful but outside of things. Being on William's good side seemed like the best idea. Sure, the crazy maid and the coward seemed wary of him, and the dancer didn't seem to care much for the man either, but the rest of the crew did seem to. And those were the ones that mattered, since they were ex-pirate captains, for the most part at least.

Call Luca crazy, but he didn't want to be on the side of idiotic civilians that seemed to oppose pirates. Pirates with considerable bounties at that. The maid and the coward weren't the sharpest tools in the shed, evidently. At least the Dancer and the one pirate captain that seemed to have a bad opinion of William knew to keep their opinions to themselves, if only for respect of Antonio and everyone else.

'I can't be off this ship soon enough,' Luca groaned internally as he sat at the table with everyone else. He'd have offered to help William to a chair, but the man seemed to want at least some independence, so he walked slowly towards the table before moving to find a chair. Besides, Mac did that well enough by himself without knowing.

"Sit over here, Captain!" the surviving brother called, almost enthusiastic but not quite. "There's a free seat!"

Luca found that a little funny, honestly. The table was too big for the number of people on the ship at the moment, after all. On top of that, about half of the crew was out on the deck keeping an eye on things. He was grateful for that, because they were the ex-pirate captains, Flags, and the giant, all of which were terrifying in their own way.

At least the dining room was filled with people that Luca stood a chance against, so that was reassuring.

"Thanks, Mac," William replied with a slight smile as he slowly made his way there. It was a little… annoying, Luca thought, to see him move around like that. It was more disquieting than looking at his scarred eyes, for some reason. He could respect the desire to move on his own though. "How's the food today?"

"Pretty good, I'd say," Mac replied as William took the seat by his side. "Pascia and Rufus are getting better, it seems."

"Well, excuse me if I'm not a chef," the dancer said, sending a glare towards Mac, who had the decency to look sheepish.

"We appreciate the effort," William said diplomatically. "God knows I do," he added with a slight smile and a short chuckle. "I'd be starving otherwise, pretty sure."

"Well, at least you admit that," the maid snipped lightly. Luca would have been impressed by her bravery, if he weren't so sure that she was just too idiotic to realize that she was antagonizing most of the crew and all of the ones that could actually fight. It was a suicidal course, the one Karen seemed to be in, and he certainly didn't want anything to do with that.

No, Luca had a plan, after all.

He'd stay with the crew for this trip and make himself as useful as he could be without getting too involved in things. If the Marines found them, he'd just quickly give up and try to make his punishment as light as possible. If they weren't found, then he'd get off the ship at the first port they reached, which as of that moment seemed like it'd be the one where the ship they stole had come from, and he'd disappear and find a new life.

He'd miss his old home, for sure, but Luca was a fan of living, so he'd stay away from there. People there knew of his fate, so if the Marines didn't come looking for him on their own, someone would likely call them. No, Luca needed to find a new place to live.

For the moment though, he was stuck with these people.

'At least they make a half-decent crew, I guess,' Luca thought to himself, looking around. He'd seen worse gatherings of people in ships throughout his life. Sure, the group was kind of divided, but most of them listened to the captain and those that didn't weren't too rebellious. Except the maid, that is.

All in all, having a single problematic member was pretty good, Luca would say.

Whether it'd be good enough to survive the trip to their destination was up in the air, but Luca liked their chances. They had some pretty strong people in the crew, after all. The giant by himself should keep them safe-ish. Hell, the guy was eating any sea king that was dumb enough to attack their vessel for his meals. Short of a pretty strong Marine ship finding them, Luca didn't see how they could get in trouble, really.

And the Marines had bigger fish to fry at the moment in the shape of the Supernovas. They'd gotten the paper that very day and there had been some crazy shit to learn. It had all allowed them to escape, of course, but it was still quite shocking. 'I guess we lucked out,' he thought, starting with his own meal. It was, as Mac said, pretty good, especially considering that none of them were proper cooks… Except the maid, but nobody wanted to risk her food, especially if they didn't agree with her… views.

'We could have been in the middle of that chaos,' Luca thought to himself, remembering the glimpse they'd gotten of Ku- the Pacifista and Uroge. They hadn't even really gotten close or involved at all with that and it had still been entirely too much in Luca's opinion.

"The flag is coming along well," he heard then, snapping him out of his thoughts as he turned to see William talking with Wally, who sat across the table. The latter looked a little tense but he had a slight smile on his face still. "If it needs to be as detailed as you said, then I'll have to take my time."

"And you can," William reassured with a nod, poking at the food on his plate a little. He was probably trying to figure out where things were, Luca supposed. "It doesn't need to be detailed, but the more detailed it is, the safer it'll be for us," he explained and Luca was all for that, even if he didn't understand quite as much as the blind man clearly did. William paused then, tapping at the table with his fingers. "Might need someone with good penmanship."

"What for?" Luca asked, tilting his head.

"It'd be nice if we could forge ourselves some documents for the ship."

"You think we'll need them?" Luca asked, narrowing his eyes. "Screenings aren't normal procedure." He'd know, with how many years he'd worked at the docks himself.

"They aren't, but this is the Grand Line and pirates are going wilder than ever. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we arrived and people were on guard because of some attack," William explained and Luca had to concede the point.

"My writing is shit, but I can help with that if we have someone," he offered before noticing that they had the attention of everyone at the table. So much for not drawing attention to himself… But still, anything that could improve their chances was good. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made. "I know a thing or two about how docks work."

"That'd be great, because I'd only have the real documents to go off of," William admitted, setting down his fork and running his fingers through his hair. It was difficult to read his expression, what with all the scarring over and around his eyes, but Luca guessed he was thinking things through. "If we can have that and-"

"I can help forge those," a voice said, making both Luca and William turn towards Rufus, who looked very uncomfortable with the attention on him. If he was honest, he thought it was a little unnerving that the blind man could do that and so accurately. He wasn't familiar with the condition, so maybe it wasn't that rare, but the fact that he could turn so perfectly as if he could see was a little disturbing… especially when the person that could actually see was confronted with the sight of his scarred eyes. "I can help forge the documents for the ship," Rufus mumbled then, looking like he wanted to shrink and disappear.

"That's great," William said, his lips pulling up into a smile but not quite managing. "Mac-"

"Yes, boss?" the guy with the antenna-like haircut asked immediately. 'Well, someone's eager to receive orders,' Luca thought, a little weirded out by that. Why was he in a rush anyway?

"You think you can make a list with the cargo we have? Everything, weapons, armor, furniture, clothes, food. Everything that's not actually part of the ship," William asked after a second, rolling with the punches in the same way that had probably earned him his current spot in the crew. "You can take someone else with you if you need help."

"I can do that, boss."

"Pascia," William continued, tilting his head slightly but not quite turning to look at the dancer… Probably because he couldn't. Luca was still trying to get used to that.

"... Yes?" the dancer asked, much less eager than Mac. In fact, she looked like she wanted to do anything other than talk with the guy. Unlucky her, Luca supposed. They were all stuck listening to him, at least for as long as the other pirates and fighters had his back.

"Do you think you can check the clothes available? I want to know what we have in terms of variety. Commoner, merchant, noble, male, female, everything. We might need something specific and I'd like to know what we have to work with," William asked, taking a deep breath at the end. "I think you'd have a better idea than the rest of us uncultured men."

"Yeah… Yeah, I can do that," the dancer replied, deflating a little as if letting out a breath that she'd been holding back. "Anything in particular I should look for, or…?"

"Something middle of the way between noble and commoner might come in handy whenever we reach Roschette," William answered, looking down at his plate. "It should be fine regardless. I'm just trying to stack the deck in our favor, but most of these things aren't essential, in case you are worried," he added then, which sure reassured Luca.

He'd just started giving orders without stop and all those jobs sounded pretty important, especially with the way William spoke. It made him feel like they would be screwed if something didn't go well. If nothing else, Luca could appreciate the fact that the man seemed to know what he was-

"Ever going to share your master plan with the rest of us?" Karen, the maid, asked and she barely could contain her attitude from reaching her voice. The same couldn't be said for her expression. Mac noticed that though, Luca saw in the way the man stiffened slightly.

William didn't seem to notice though, chewed before swallowing and turning to face the maid.

"Roschette was in a state of cold civil war last I knew. If it hasn't blown over in the time I was disconnected from the world, then that should be something we can use," he explained calmly, tentatively reaching for the water jug to pour some into his glass. "I hope we can confirm this in a newspaper, but if nothing is mentioned at all, then it should be because things haven't changed," William continued. "My plan is to pass this ship as one allied with one of the sides and go towards a dock that's on that side. Then we can sell everything we carry with us there, maybe even the ship too, so we can get a "cleaner" vessel and supplies before going on our way. We might have to sell at a lower price since we'd be "helping our side" as it were, but it's better than nothing."

The maid didn't reply to that, but Luca saw her scowl and turn to the side silently.

He just rolled his eyes at her.

If she had a better plan, then she could voice it. If not, she should keep her opinions to herself. As for Luca himself, he could get behind that. Maybe he could get a cut of their future profits and just settle in this Roschette Kingdom if it wasn't too screwed up.

A cold civil war didn't sound too promising though.

[} Chapter End {]

Adrian: Don't worry, Luca! What's the worst that can happen when you are headed towards a country in a cold civil war state?

Arc: If you look for the positive side of things, it can't be worse than being sold as a slave. So, hey! Your situation is improving! That being said, the crew itself seems to have found its own pace and cliques on the ship. A routine is already being made, and everyone is finding their own way to keep themselves occupied.

Adrian: Everything's going well…? Which is more than we can say for the future of the story itself, sad to say. Arc and I haven't really been feeling OTaO, not gonna lie. That might have been because there doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm, but I don't know if we can blame it all on that.

Arc: I sort of agree. It is not like we don't like it or anything. Antonio and Will are great to write, but reactions on it have been quite muted for it so we are not sure if people are too interested in the project itself.

Adrian: So, yeah, if you like this story, it'd be nice to have that feedback. Otherwise, well, there's no shortage of plot bunnies in my head, as Arc can tell you.

Arc: It is all there is in there, I can assure you. Either way, to not extend the A/N further. I hope you like the chapter. We still have a few chapters of backlog for OTaO, but we would like to hear if you guys are feeling it or not. It is also to take into account that Fable now comes out once a week, so if we start publishing stuff nobody cares for, it will delay updates for things people actually like.

Adrian: And that's that, see you all in the next update!

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