It has been fifty-seven years since the execution of the Second Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy, and he has left a legacy in his wake so great that some say he was more legendary than the First King, Gol D. Rogers. But like the last Pirate King, at his execution, he told the world that he had again hidden the One Piece for the world to find. Many saying it was the start of the next Age of Piracy, but then, war broke out among two families: the Monkey family and the Cobra family. After four decades of bloodshed, the war finally subsided. And nineteen years later, a member of the Cobra family set out on a quest to obtain the One Piece, his name is Cobra D. Red. P.S. I wonder how many people actually read this every time.
Chapter 16: Wrecked! A House on the Cliff
As the winds buffeted about them, many thoughts and emotions crossed through the trios' minds. One of the first emotions and thoughts was of excitement! This was one of the biggest storms they had ever been through. The next few thoughts were of growing anxiousness, hoping the storm wouldn't get much worse. At the storms peak, their brains turned to thoughts of fear and their imminent deaths.
Shouting over the storm, Red called out, "Take down the sail!" but his voice was lost to the wind. Confused Miles called back, "What?" but his voice too was lost to the whipping winds. Waves crashed around them, with lightning striking the water around them, and the three prayed to any god that would listen to save them. And as if the angels themselves answered, they caught a glimpse of a light that was neither moon nor flash of electricity. Joy coursed through them as they began to row towards, what they assumed to be, the lighthouse.
Suddenly, a stray wind caught the sail in full force and ripped it, along with the mast, from its makeshift hold on the boat. Now, in another life, that would have been a good thing, had it not been for the massive wave in front of them. As the three were turned sideways by the wave, the only thought in their minds was, 'Help', as the wave crashed down upon them.
The following morning
As Red slowly began to grow conscious, he grew to recognize the sound of voices. "Hey gramps, what should we do with them?" said the voice of someone around his age. "I don't know junior, it looks like the sea had their way with them," replied another voice, this one sounding like an older man, "It's a miracle they weren't torn apart." Hearing this, Red's eyes flew open from shock, causing him to immediately close them again from the brightness of the sun. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes, hoping they would be okay. Blinking them open, he saw that getting up caused them to fall over in surprise.
The boy around his age was the first to respond, "HOLY SHIT YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!" Turning to face him, Red got a good look at him. The thing that caught his eye first was that his left arm was a stub, with his jacket sleeve tied so that it wouldn't flap around. Other than that, though, he looked normal. He had blonde hair, nearly bleached white from days out in the sun, an upturned nose, and gray eyes to along with the white hair. He wore a gray unbuttoned jacket over a black tank top, with a green bandanna folded western style.
Looking up at him, Red gave a quizzical look, which caused the boy to shift his body so his half arm was out of view. Walking up to him, the old man helped him to his feet. He too wore a gray jacket, but he wore a brown sweater underneath it. Smiling, Red let his arms lay at his sides, but for the second time that day, his eyes went wide with shock. Looking down at his side, he confirmed that he had lost his gun. Running up and down the beach, Red began to search for it. Amazingly, he managed to find his hat, which still had the plume in it, which he immediately put on his head. After an hour of searching and ignoring the confused look of the two strangers, Red finally found it. After making sure it wasn't broken, he breathed a sigh of relief, holstering it in his belt.
Walking back to the two strangers, the old man asked, "What about your friends?" Scratching his chin, Red thought about it for a moment, but then a smile spread across his face. Without explanation, Red grabbed Bede and Miles by the collars and began dragging them down the beach. As he put the two in place, Red crossed his arms as he waited. About a minute later, a wave came and smacked the two in the face. Sputtering, the two floundered to their feet as Red laughed at their predicament. Glaring at their captain, the two came to a sort of silent agreement, planning in their heads how to get back at Red.
Turning back to the two strangers, Red smiled, "You wouldn't happen to have any food, would you?"
An hour later
As they group finally passed the final crest, the three crew members fell, panting. For the best part of the hour, they had hiked all the way up the mountainside until at last they had reached the top. The two strangers, who had introduced themselves as Henry and Thomas Foreman, had had no troubles walking the long and winding path up the mountain. Henry didn't speak much during the walk up the mountain, but Thomas, the one who said he was Henry's grandfather, chattered about the island. "You see, this island is merely a satellite island, most of it is made up by the mountain we are on. We came out here years ago because we like our privacy," explained Thomas, staring off into the distance, at what they assumed to be the far off island, "We sometimes travel to the island to exchange our services and get supplies. I'm a shipwright so I'm pretty good with my hands." The old man explained more and more about the island and its businesses, but the three hardly payed attention. All they wanted was to relax.
As they neared the house, Thomas turned around and stopped them. "You might want to change clothes. You're still pretty wet," seeing their confused looks, he smiled, explaining, "Don't worry, I have spares." Out back, clothes were laid out for the three, and they hung their wet clothes out to dry. Walking in, they got a cozy feeling from the house, decorated with stuff like anchors, steering wheels, and paintings and photographs of famous ships. A couple of news articles were hung up about certain ships being destroyed. One article that looked extremely old had a picture of what looked to be a large ship carved to resemble a giant whale. The place certainly made itself known to be the house of a shipwright.
Sitting down to eat, the three dug into their meal as if they hadn't had one in years, their plates cleared in minutes while the other two were only a quarter done. Sitting up, Red looked around the room, trying to see any ships he recognized. It was only after a few minutes of looking that he saw a ship with a flag he despised. Pulling out his gun, Red took aim, but his hand was smacked down as Miles used the flat of his sword to knock his gun out of his hand. Getting out of his seat, Miles yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you!" Instead of answering, all Red did was point to the picture. It, like the article with the whale ship, was old, but the picture was still recognizable. It was the Thousand Sunny.
Scratching his beard, Thomas thought for a moment, then turned to Red, "What's your name, may I ask?" Answering back, Red replied, "Cobra D. Red, why?" Nodding, the old man responded back, "I thought so. Your folks had a knack for using Carracks," seeing the confused look on his face, he explained, "A type of ship with two sails. In fact, I have a photo of one of the Cobra's ships over there," he said, pointing to a photograph of a ship.
Unexpectedly, Henry got up from his place at the table, having not reacted to having dined with a Cobra. Without a word, he walked to what they assumed was his part of the house, where he closed the door behind him. Confused, the three looked to the old man for an explanation, but all he did was sigh. "He's just not one to take kindly to guests, especially ones that are pirates." Even more confused than before, the three wanted to ask more, but were interrupted by the loud pounding on the door.
Shocked and somewhat fearful looking, the old man, looked at a clock hanging on the wall. Hitting his forehead, he cried out, "Shit! I forgot what time it was!" Looking at the three, he shooed them into a closet, whispering, "Don't come out until I tell you to." On a whole level of confused they hadn't even thought possible to get to, they just sat their obeying, probably with a look of utter confusion on their face.
Leaning with their ears pressed against the door, they listened as someone with a gruff voice yelled at the old man. "You said it would be done by now old man!" In a quivering voice, the old man responded back, "I-I know, I j-just n-need more time-" They could hear the man with the gruff voice yelling, but it was lost as something metal crashed to the floor. "…Your plan is to stall and wait for the Marines, isn't it?" there was no response back, but the man kept on talking anyways, "Well News Flash for you, you old piece of shit! The Marines don't give two craps about people like you!" This time, something wooden was smashed, probably a chair. "Fine then, if we don't have what we want in three days…" the sound of glass shattering resounded, even through the door, "That's what will happen to your life." Soon afterwards the sound of a door slamming, with silence following. They sat there in silence for a few minutes more, until finally the closet door was opened.
Standing there, the old man looked gaunt from what had happened to him. Behind him, there was no sign anything had been smashed, aside from the missing window frame and chair. Sighing, the old man said, I guess you'd like to know what's happening.
Sitting back down, Thomas made himself a cup of coffee before speaking. "They arrived here a little over a month ago, almost same as you three. Their ship was damaged and made unseaworthy by the storm, and they asked us to repair it. I happily complied, seeing as how I hadn't worked on a ship for years. I let Henry rest, seeing as how he needed to recover, so it was just me working on the ship," said Thomas, "It wasn't a large ship, just a cog, so I could easily repair it by myself, it would just take some time. Almost two weeks in, the threats began, they would come down to where I was working, saying that I needed to get it done, and quick. I told them that if I rushed, then it wouldn't be as good of a job, but they just kept saying make it quicker. Pretty soon afterwards, they started coming to my door, demanding I get the boat done faster, setting deadlines that I couldn't possibly meet, which prompted them to steal from me."
Seeing the concerned looks on the three's faces, the old man let a smile show through, "I've already told you plenty, you don't have to worry about the troubles of a complete stranger," still seeing the look on their faces, he continued, "Listen, I appreciate your concern, but its fine. I'll build you a raft and you can sail to the main island, where you might be able to buy a new boat." Still unsure of what to do, they decided to go along with what the old man was saying. After laying out some bedrolls, the three lied down to get some sleep. Only Red stayed up, though, thinking about what was going on and what he should do. After nearly an hour of thinking, Red finally rolled over and slept.
The next morning, neither Red, nor Henry, were to be found.
