You're wondering now

What to do, now you know

This is the end

Chapter 7

My feet were clacking against the cobblestone street again. I really was not in a good mood, I was fucking pissed off. I am gonna find that fat pig and cut him into bacon. All I wanted was to buy a book. Why is that so hard? I tugged on my bag ensuring it was safely secured with the extra weight of the sword 'Aji'.

Sure on some level it's my fault, I went into the situation knowing it was a trap. Sure I was using it as an opportunity to test my skills and resolve. Yeah maybe also on a deeper level, I may have some form of death wish, after spending my whole adult life in an alcohol filled depression.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh. Then a little choked sob jumped out of my throat. This is clearly fucked, maybe it's time to call it quits and get out of here. Yeah, that's the plan, I turned the corner, still a few streets from what was now an inferno on the docks, as people were poking heads out of windows and coming out into the streets in sleep attire to stare in awe and fear at what was happening.

I touched my face around my mouth and it hurt a lot, I had split lips, a massive headache and aches and pains all over, and tomorrow I would no doubt be covered in bruises. That being said I came out of that fight remarkably unscathed. The bald man looked to weigh 150kg standing nearly as tall as me but three times as wide. His punches should have nocked my head clean off my shoulders. Yet here I stand, while he lays back there in the yard… ugh I groaned and pinched my nose, blinking away frustrated tears.

I was walking towards the edge of town now, I could see the blaze down at the docks, had spread. Some boats had managed to make it out of port, while others started to burn up. Multiple warehouses were caught in the blaze which was being valiantly tackled by locals. God I feel guilty, I truly have become so selfish since I found that damn fruit. I'm just like that piece of dirt, Virgil, like his son, like my old boss and every other rich and powerful arsehole who thinks it is fine to do as they please and leave good people to suffer the consequences and pick up the pieces.

I turned the corner and saw down the end of the street 4 knights. I had heard of them but had yet to see them, they looked deadly. Dressed in full suits of steel armour, each wielding a spear, one, however, wore a cape and wielded a sword and shield. I stayed concealed and watched. I may need to take an alternate route out of town.

Hold on, I saw they were talking to a short fat man, gesticulating wildly, pointing and waving, even jumping now and then. When he finished his rant, the 4 knights turned and began to jog down the street towards me. I looked up the street and saw nowhere good to hide. I ran down the street quickly and as quietly as I could till I saw an open window on someone's house, and leapt through. Just in time as I heard the clatter of plate armour fast approaching. I looked into the room I was in, to see a woman sitting in a chair, she looked to be knitting, and she was staring at me in horror. Fuck. I held my finger to my lips in a shushing motion, pleading with my eyes that she wouldn't make a sound. She was rigid with terror, then I saw her head jerk and eyes flash wide with understanding as she heard the knights approach, she looked back at me wildly, I could tell she was torn, not knowing what to do and utterly terrified.

I reached behind me and pulled out my bag. She whimpered, fearing for her life. I kept my posture low, and my eyes calm. I put my hand inside my bag, and I could tell she was about to scream. Until I extracted my hand, filled with Beli, she stilled, glad to see I didn't hold a weapon, and maybe a little astonished by the money.

Clack, Clack, clack.

The heavy metal plate was moving past now. We both began to breathe a little easier.

I placed the money on the floor, I wasn't sure how much and got back up. I looked away from her, hearing as she began to sob, dropping her knitting needles to the floor. I peeked out the window, to see the four knights disappear behind another corner. I climbed out the window, not looking back, I just wanted to leave this fucking island now.

I walked back down the street and turned the corner to see Vulding still there. He was stood with his back to me, speaking on a transponder snail. I walked up to him quietly, and when I got within arms reach I pulled my gun and smacked the snail out of his hand

"Wha," Vulding barely managed to begin his outraged tirade, before he saw me, and then the gun, "Ah."

I rubbed my hand wearily against my temple, knelt down and quickly hung up the snail, frantically shouting to Vulding in a woman's voice.

"The book?"

"Ahhh," he sighed out the word, unlike his usual energetic manner "It was in my office in the warehouse the whole time."

I looked at him for a long moment, surprisingly sensing no subterfuge.

"Come on, we are walking to Dorsa Town," I informed him gesturing with my pistol down the road out of town, it was the town I had been in when he had called to arrange the meeting and roughly an hour and a half away.

We started walking down the cobbled road, Vulding a few paces before me, I followed holding my flintlock, he would look back at me with a calculating glance now and then his eyes shining in the night. It was getting really dark now, dark and cold, the sound of our feet crunching against the ground and the leaves of trees the only constant sounds, interspersed by the odd hoot of an owl.

Roughly half an hour had passed now. I looked back to see a faint orange glow behind me, barely visible, a reminder of my crime. A small slightly hysterical laugh burst out of my mouth in disbelief. I had blown up a warehouse, created a fire lord knows how big, and killed three men. I had killed them. I gulped down a solid lump in my throat, praying no more had died in the fire, the only solace being that the thunderous explosion had probably got the whole island's attention and the fact it was after hours in an industrial part of town.

I noticed suddenly that Vulding was looking at me again, I was so lost in thought he had escaped my attention. He looked older now that his pressed suit was creased, his thin hair was dishevelled and his calculating eyes sat on top of large dark bags. It was late, but the moon was out in full force tonight, creating an eerie grey light in the forest.

After some time, Vulding finally broke the silence "Pardon my directness, but seeing as how things have transcended I'm sure you can forgive me, do you truly have a devil fruit?"

I studied him briefly, debating on why I should answer, until impulse or maybe ego won out, "I do."

"Ah," Vulding replied briskly, then turned back to look ahead.

Some time passed again in silence, we were over halfway now, I could tell as I could see the island's outer coast come into view. I had been turning a thought over in my head for some time, what to do with Vulding. I had an idea, I didn't like it one bit, but it was an idea. The only one I have right now too.

"I was being followed earlier, was that to do with you?"

Vulding looked back at me, then looked away. "You should be careful, you have a price on your head now, lots of people will be looking for you no?"

"So he wasn't with you?"

"Ah, not what I said was it," he tittered looking back at me briefly.

If someone had been following me for the whole day, then my escape plan may have been compromised. I heard a crack in the woods and spun quickly pointing my pistol into the hedgerow. It was so dark within the dense shrubbery I couldn't see anything. Another crack from behind me, I spun quickly, breathing in short sharp breaths, I will not die on this island.

As I spann I saw it, Vulding had pulled out a single shot flintlock from inside his jacket. It was a tiny pistol, small enough to fit in a breast pocket and still be concealed. It made a simultaneous clack and pop, as smoke flew out the end. And my arm screamed in sharp pain. I looked down to see a tiny whole leaking dark blood almost black in this light.

I grabbed the wound and gasped in pain. I looked up to see Vulding sprinting down the road, I took off after him. We were close to the town now, I could see an end to the forest in sight, and houses in between. The pain transformed into a wave of mad anger, and my teeth grit in a rictus as I sprinted with all the energy I had left. My long legs swung and launched me. The short fat man hadn't a prayer, his only hope was to kill me with that one shot.

I jumped at him, swinging the butt of my gun into the back of his head, he cried out and fell to the floor, he curled up in a ball holding his head and wailing.

"Get up!" I screamed at him.

He didn't move, so I cocked my gun.

"Wait, WAIT," he cried self preservation overwhelming his fear.

He got up slowly, still holding his head.

"What do you want from me," he implored.

I dont know yet dammit.

"Your my insurance, to make sure I make it off this island in one piece,"

"I'm a hostage," he gaped at me incredulously.

"You are whatever I say you are till I make it onto the sea,"

He gaped at me a second or two longer, closed his mouth, gulped deeply, and then began walking again.

We stopped on the outskirts of town and followed the woods down to the coast, we passed over the train tracks which dont run this late. Until we came to a small cove just outside of town, I lay down at the cliff edge and looked down below, down on the beach, was my boat, a small schooner I brought in town for 10,000 beli. One man could comfortably sail her, or 4 uncomfortably, her name was Anne Marie. I scanned the small beach properly now, no armoured knights, not even the man who had been following me, I sighed in relief. Maybe I would make it out of this in one piece.

I trudged down the steep coat path behind Vulding, my mind a grim tempest of dark thoughts. The sea and sky mirrored my morose meandering mind, the clouds had swept in fast pushed by howling winds, flinging cold sharp knives of sea spray at us, while the sea broiled and crashed wildly. I considered my plan again, it was so vile to me I had avoided thinking about it, it was there, and I knew it existed in my mind, but I dared not think it in words because then it would be my thought, and not some abstract thing bubbling from my subconscious, but here goes.

If this fruit is the Home Home Fruit, it manifested after Virgil Hapner Sr was killed. It manifested into what I can only assume would be the closest suitable vessel… a pineapple, this is why I wanted the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, so I could see if that was the fruit I possessed. It would certainly give greater credence to my theory. Ugh, I internally grimaced, and now for the nasty part. I could test this theory, by forcing Vulding. Or anyone really but Vulding had pissed me off. To eat the fruit… I took a shaky breath. shoot him. Then checked the bag of fruit I had purchased, and stored it on my small boat.

I looked at him now, holding his coat up to shelter his face from the growing storm. He was almost falling down the path, loose rocks and tough roots creating a difficult path to walk this late at night.

We made it onto the beach, jumping the last couple of feet where the path ended onto the soft wet sand. Vulding fell, pitifully into a heap, and looked up at me, sand clinging to his face, he looked scared, not knowing what would become of him. But I did.

"Come on help me get it in the sea," I grumbled.

The sandy beach was cold and inhospitable, the sooner I could get shot of the breakers the better, will probably have to push the boat out till the sea is up to our shoulders. Huh… I wonder.

Ideas are funny, one minute they aren't there, then like lightning shoots across the sky and fills it with light, ideas, shoot across your mind, and change everything. I hadn't even considered it, I could feed the fruit to an animal. I had no reason not to think an animal couldn't possess a fruit, then I could kill and eat it.

I chuckled a bit and looked back at Vulding who was getting up now, looking at me with a sort of submissive fear, that if he went along with what I said I would spare him. Sweet goddess of the sea I was gonna execute that man to test a theory. That would have been difficult to come back from. I let out a long happy breath, no more brooding on that.

I smiled at Vulding "Come on fella, get this boat on the water and you can go home"

He followed me shoulders slumped, as we stood on either side of the small boat and began to drag it into the dark stormy sea. The waves helped lift the boat off the shore, as wave after wave crashed into us, threatening to bowl us over and capsize the boat. We held on till at last we pushed her over the breakers, I climbed onto the boat, soaked completely, and looked back to shore, it was about 30 meters, not too dangerous even for a fatter man, I looked down at him, as he hung onto the side looking up at me desperately, unsure if I would help him up or not. I reached behind my back and pulled out my trusty pistol, levelling it at his head. He cried now, with eyes closed.

"Wait," he whimpered.

Click.

No bang.

I never reloaded it.

he opened his eyes up wide and stared at me, only to see my boot in his face, none too gently forcing him off the boat and into the sea.

"Remember this day, Vulding, as the day Algea Morvah spared your life, all of your days from here on out belong to me" I shouted uncaring if he heard me or not, as he paddled madly to shore as foamy white waves crashed over his head.

I set about the boat, readying it for sailing. Laughing all the while.

BWASHASHASHASHASHASHA.