– Bellamy –
The Argent Isle was a beautiful place, covered in lush green forests surrounding a picturesque central mountain range. Or it had been until prospectors discovered what was touted to be the largest deposit of silver this side of the Red Line. And just like that, the fate of the island was sealed. The population doubled within the first three years, then again in the three years after that. Within a generation's turn, what had once been a collection of sleepy villages had turned into a bustling mining town, aptly named Silverstadt.
For the residents, the initial decade was a golden age of ever increasing prosperity, as they grew rich and wealthy from the unending flow of precious metals being extracted underground, before being refined in giant facilities on the outskirts of Silverstadt and turned into exquisite symbols of luxury by the town's many silversmiths. That all this progress came at the cost of the once idyllic environment was of no concern to anybody. Who cared about the environmental impact when there was money to be made?
The island coming into view over the horizon was a barren rock, a far cry from what it once had been, every tree having long since been turned into fuel. The island's main settlement stood out like a sore thumb, the thick smog clearly marking its location. It had also seen better days. Its formerly pristine white walls were covered in dust and soot, the roads overgrown with weeds. You would be hard-pressed to find a single building that didn't have the paint peeling from its walls. The one exception to this was the harbor we sailed into, which itself was fairly well-maintained, though the workers seemed listless as they went about their duties.
The question was why. The island was ostensibly under the direct control and protection of the navy, who took a reasonably small share of the profits in protection fees, but which should not nearly have been enough to beggar the town. Even as we watched, another cart full of silver ore trundled through the gates to be divided and distributed within the town, proof of the mine's continued productivity.
I suppose the obvious suspects would be Byron's old crew. They could have used the window of opportunity afforded to them by the Summit War, to briefly occupy the island once the local garrison was reduced to a skeleton crew. And as they weren't going to be around for very long, they wouldn't have any compunctions about wringing the local residents dry.
But this doesn't fully explain the state of the town. From what Disco told me, Byron's old crew only arrived in the general Sabaody Area three months ago. That was not nearly enough time for a town to degrade this badly. And the buildings, despite their decrepit state, do tell a tale of a people who once valued beauty in their architecture.
So, again. Why?
"Aisa, do you sense anything?" I ask, though I'm not sure what she should be sensing. General ill will? Hostility? Fear?
"There are two strong people on the island." She answers after a brief moment of concentration. "But they aren't in the town."
"Where are they then?"
"Down there." Turning my head to look at where she's pointing, I see the giant entrance to the Mines of Silverstadt. Well, that could be an issue.
– Izou –
"I'd like to mention that I object to this plan." Sarquiss says, holding up a hand. "I'm a hornet. I don't do well underground."
"Didn't you do just fine in that bar on Hannabal?" Mani asks, tilting her head to one side. "If I remember correctly that wasn't a sunny place on a mountainside either. And the actual gathering place for the Dead End Place was literally under a rock."
Izou isn't a stranger to meetings, that was kind of part and parcel with being a division commander of the Whitebeard pirates. Thinking about his Father and his deceased friends always brought a brief pang to his heart, but Izou forcefully squishes those feelings into a small out of the way corner. It wouldn't do to dwell on them now and his Father wouldn't have wanted him to either.
"That was a bar and even then, my carapace was crawling like crazy. Here, we are talking about a warren of tunnels much deeper underground with much less structural integrity. It's a lot worse."
Anyway, the manner in which the meetings are held by the Bellamy Pirates is a little different from what he had expected. Oh sure, they had the same central table around which the important members of the crew were seated, which coincidentally was all of them. Even their haki instructor was present and accounted for, notably without any cuffs. Izou himself isn't quite sure how to feel about the man's situation, as while prisoners weren't unknown to the Whitebeard pirates, forcibly keeping someone around prior to recruitment wasn't something…
...
...
…...wait a moment, that sounds hauntingly familiar. Come to think of it, didn't they do something similar to Ace when he joined up? Bring an unconscious potential recruit on board and sail off into the distance, prevent him from leaving by any means necessary, repeated apply the stick to break his rebellious tendencies and treating him with kindness until he changed his mind? Well, Ace turned out OK, for a loose definition of the word, so Izou supposed it was fine. Also, he really should stop being sidetracked so easily.
"I agree with Sarquiss. What if those tunnels collapse? We'd be trapped who knows how deep underground with no way out."
"Relax a bit, Ross. The locals have been using the mines for decades at this point and that without a single reported accident or cave in."
"The keywords being 'reported accidents', Hewitt." Ross counters. "And statistically, even if there hasn't been one, it just means that it is high time for an accident to happen."
"Since when do you know anything about statistics?"
"You trying to say something, Hewitt?"
"I don't know, you tell me. Is that a functioning head on your shoulders or an empty decoration?"
Even the occasional insults and headbutting was familiar. They were pirates after all, and they were by nature a rambunctious lot.
"Muret, calm them down please?"
"Yes, captain."
"Not the needle! NOT THE NEEDLE!"
"SOMEONE SAVE ME!"
"Come back here and take it like a man!"
What wasn't familiar was how at ease every crew member felt in voicing their opinions. Sure, the Whitebeard Pirates didn't have such a strict hierarchy either, but most of the time, it was only the senior members who had anything to say, if they had got the chance at all. Most of the time, any decisions that had to be made were either made by Whitebeard or during a commander's conference.
One might think that this was a side effect of having a smaller crew (really there was no comparison to be made between a crew 1600 strong and one with less than 20 members), but Izou had seen plenty of smaller pirate crews in his time, and most of them had even stricter hierarchal structures than the Whitebeards did. It was usually inevitable, as the captains didn't have the same amount of gravitas needed to maintain order.
"But according to Aisa, they are all hiding in the mines. How are we going to help Byron get closure if we don't go find them?" Rivers piped up from the sidelines.
"We could smoke them out?"
"That's unrealistic, unfortunately. With how massive the tunnel systems are, we'd need an ungodly amount of firewood for that, green wood preferably for greater amounts of smoke, but Mani, you've seen the island haven't you?" Eddy replies, getting nods from around the table. And two twitches from Muret's patients.
But despite the occasional bit of chaos, the discussion is organized and smooth without people having to raise their voices or shout someone into submission to be heard. And despite the captain having only a minor role in the debate itself, the discussion was obviously being directed by Bellamy, who signaled approval and disapproval via subtle changes to his facial expression. Fascinating really, as Izou was certain the man himself didn't know he was doing so.
"Another problem is that we'd be effectively going in blind. They know those tunnels while we do not. It would be very easy for them to lure us around straight into a trap."
"You mean like leading us into a dead end before collapsing the mine behind us? I suppose that's a more realistic concern than what Ross mentioned earlier."
"Fuck you, Sarquiss."
"Language!"
Combined, this painted the picture of a crew who were very well attuned to each other. Another word would be harmonious, something that just wasn't possible without a solid foundation of trust in each other.
"Wouldn't Aisa be able to tell if someone was sneaking up behind us though? Haki works by sensing hostile intent right? I'd say someone trying to bury us alive has plenty of hostile intent."
"She probably could, but Eddy, why take the risk?"
"But like Rivers said earlier, if we don't go in, how do we get them out?"
"Maybe we could lay a trap?"
"Do you have an idea, Nero? This was your area of speciality, right?"
"Throw a party and visibly get drunk?" the weasel-like man shrugged. "My training was focused more on smashing the door open to secure the target than on setting traps."
Amongst all the qualities that made up a great crew, Izou personally found this sort of unity to be the most important. The fact that this rookie had it already spoke well for them. Izou could only hope that the Whitebeards would keep theirs as well, now that their central unifying pillar was gone.
"Uh, Laki? Do you feel that?"
"Mani, you too?" Oh, they felt that? Not bad. Not bad for a pair novices at all.
"What the fuck are you guys bloody talking about?"
"Lily, language!"
"They are probably talking about this tingling feeling as if someone is coming to stab you in the back." Rivers replies, looking a little stiff. All three of them? My, this crew is more gifted than he'd initially thought. How delightful.
"Wait, so Mani, Laki and Rivers are sensing something? What about Aisa?" At that, every eye turns questioningly to their resident sensor.
"A bunch of people are coming down the mountain towards the ship." The little girl nods. "They aren't nice."
"When did you sense them, Aisa?"
"Ten minutes ago." That...is honestly impressive. It had been six for Izou. Some members of the crew looked like they wanted to protest, thought that desire dies the moment the captain speaks up.
"I told her not to tell us if hostiles approached unless they got really close. You three needed the practice, and you did wonderfully." Bellamy praises, making the faces of the three novice kenbunshoku users light up. "Well, it seems like they came to us. Are you ready, Byron?"
"Always."
"Then, let us prepare our guests a…proper welcome."
– Laki –
It felt odd watching from behind a rock outcropping as a group of twenty shadowy figures approached her second home. Her fingers itched to pull the trigger, to fire at the target she had in her sights before they could do any damage to the Black Pearl, but Bellamy's instructions had been clear. Hold fire until the main battle was under way and prevent any runners from getting away. It wasn't just her who was lying in wait either, as Izou and Rivers were positioned along a circular perimeter as well.
"You figure they're sleeping?"
"Dunno, but I don't hear nothing."
"Quiet, idiots! You'll wake them up!"
To be honest, Laki isn't sure if this level of caution is needed because even at a glance, these guys are nowhere near as strong as her crew. And for a trained warrior and hunter like herself, they may as well have been a marching band for all the noise they were making.
"I think the coast is clear. The fools didn't even set up a night's watch."
"Must be arrogance. Just a little fame and they think themselves invincible."
Though, some of that may be attributed to her newly unlocked haki. She had noticed how all her senses seemed so much sharper as of a few days ago, the colors more vibrant, the sounds so much clearer. Whereas previously she would have had to put in effort to understand their whispers, now she was picking them up without any trouble whatsoever. It's still a bit surreal, that little old Laki had the same power as Enel's priests at her fingertips, even if much of the fear she had once felt for them had disappeared since the War in Heaven.
"You've got the canisters?"
"Right, here sir. Sealed, just like you ordered."
"Good, get ready to open them on my command."
"Open them? But…what about us?"
"Does it look like I care?"
It's obvious that this isn't a homogenous group. Rather, it's one party subservient to another, most likely some of the townsfolk drafted as pack mules. And from the sound of it, they were carrying some sort of gas canisters.
"Ok, I've oiled the hinges. The door should open all smooth like. No noise at all."
"Alright. You lot, get up hear and don't you dare make a sound."
…these guys are morons. If you are that worried about the noise you are making, why not set up some hand signals beforehand? No offense Byron, but you let these guys drug you? On second thought, should she be impressed that he sailed through the first half of the Grand Line while keeping these idiots alive?
"Release the gas on the count of ten. Ten. Nine. Eight."
"Sir, but we could die!"
"You might die if you release the gas. You will die if you don't." Their leader threatens, waving his pistol menacingly. Again, pistols make noise, you morons. But the threat of certain death seems to do the trick as the locals shakily get into position. "Seven. Six. Five."
In the meantime, the pirates are slowly backing away, though they keep their guns trained on their prisoners. "Four. Three. Two."
"One. Good evening, gentlemen."
"On-who the fuck?" And there is the captain, rising like a black shadow. Seriously, compressing yourself into a flat disk and waiting around on the deck to make a proper entrance was ridiculous. But it looked impressive, popping up like that out of nowhere.
"How…vulgar. Please, allow me to revise my previous statement. You clearly are not gentlemen."
Bellamy is having way too much fun right now. Even masked by the darkness as he is, she can make out his trademark grin shining like a beacon.
"Who are you? Show yourself!"
"Yeah, come and face us like a man!"
"You chicken? Bwak bwak bwak!"
"As you wish. Lights!"
At the snap of his fingers, the ship's deck and the immediate surroundings are lit up like it was the height of day, the lighting equipment from the Marineford concert being put to good use. The previous bravado of their guests evaporates as they are suddenly faced with a very much awake welcoming party worth way over two hundred million belli. Aisa looks so cute when she tries to be intimidating.
"…Bellamy…" one gulps.
"The one and only. Might you be per chance, former members of the Musical Pirates?"
"…yeah. And so what?"
"Wonderful." Bellamy sounds very delighted as he claps his hands once together. "I'm so glad you came by for a nice reunion."
When Byron steps into the limelight, the opposing pirates freeze, staring in shock at their former captain whom they had sold into slavery. Then pandemonium breaks loose.
"Open the canisters! Now!"
"…yes!"
"Run!"
A sudden plume of smoke erupts from the deck, as for some reason nobody had neutralized the gas canisters nor their handlers. Using that as a distraction, the twenty or so pirates hightail it out of there, rushing for the mine or at least they tried before Laki and her compatriots dropped three of them to the ground, screaming in pain due to the new holes burned into their legs by her plasma rifle. The shock of being under fire and the screams of their comrades soon bring their escape attempt to a screeching halt.
"Well, that wasn't polite, leaving like that. We didn't even have drinks yet."
Back on the deck, the cloud of smoke disperses, the gas rapidly being sucked into a series of breath dials and revealing the entire crew looking completely fine. To Laki, that part of the plan had seemed needlessly risky, but Bellamy had insisted. He said and she quotes: A good pirate needs…PRESENTATION!
Including the dramatic pause. There's probably an inside joke somewhere she was not getting, but she would admit that it did look cool the way her crew suddenly appeared out of the smoke. Muret isn't looking worried either, so there's probably no danger to their health.
"Here at the Black Pearl, we pride ourselves on our hospitality. As our guests, you will be treated to the full course of experiences our team has to offer, including but not limited to a right and proper ass-kicking." Bellamy says, cracking his knuckles. "You simply must try it."
Gulp.
"I insist."
Author's note:
A news article and a chapter all on the same day? A miracle!
Hope you enjoyed.
As always, do leave a like and a comment. It really helps keep the motivation high.