Chapter 13.5 Theo's Discovery
A/N Where Theo went after stomping away from the rebel meeting. It takes place about half an hour before Luffy and the others make it to the throne room.
"Oh, goddamn it!" My hand flew up and rubbed at yet another blooming red mark across my cheek.
For what must be the tenth fucking time, a frond smacked me across the face. I hate this fucking forest. I'd been limping through the brush for almost an hour over mushy stumps and uneven rocky ground, and my hip was fucking killing me by the time my feet hit the beach. The sudden softness of the shifting sands after all the jarring underbrush shocked my system, and I had to rest against the tree to catch my breath and try to keep my feet from sliding out from under me. The tree trunk was rough through my shirt, and I let the rough bark ground me. I closed my eyes and thunked my head back, trying to clear my racing thoughts. After a few moments, I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to see where the woods had spit me out. A short huff of laughter breezed out of me. Of course. It'd have to be here.
This particular beach near the pier, Guller's Beach, held many fond memories. And if I hadn't already been stretched to the limit of my emotional fortitude in the last few hours, I might have been able to keep the memories locked up. Memories of my mother and sister. Instead, they slunk through the cracks and exploded into the front of my mind. For the first time in years, I thought of my mother's soft smile and my sister's wild cackle of a laugh that couldn't have been more unladylike if she had tried. My little sister. Brave and fierce and joyful. I'd always been too cool and too grown up to play with her, but my little sister had always tried to be my shadow. Even when I'd always tried to outrun her or got up to shenanigans that she was obviously too young for, given that there was a seven-year gap between us. I had always made it my mission to run from her because who the heck wanted to hang out with their snot-nose kid sister? But I always made an exception for beach nights.
As kids, Mom would bring us to Guller's Beach whenever Dad had to stay the night at the castle, which was often. We'd set out a large blanket laden with snacks, look up at the sky, and count how many shooting stars we could see. My sister always won, or at least that's what I always told her. She was often too distracted by the nearby docks and other beachgoers to count the stars, but I always told her she'd seen more so that I could see her smile light up her face. Mom would always catch my eye, a knowing gleam in hers as we watched her little girl's infectious joy explode out of her. Mom would often have us compete to see who could find the biggest sea shell, and we'd have foot races and bonfires with way too many s'mores—always trudging home happy, sandy, and exhausted as the sun rose.
A small smile slid across my face as I listened to the waves lap the shore and continued to focus on my breathing. Inhale, hold for ten, exhale for ten, and repeat. I'd give anything to have her nipping at my heels again, begging me to take her frog hunting or play hide and seek. The stitch in my side slowly relaxed, and I'd walked off most of my seething rage at Al, once again, turning the people to his side. That was to be expected because as much as I hated him, he was the prince after all, and it was in his nature to bring people together. But my waning anger at him just made room for the anger over my father once again choosing that pampered little princeling over me. He could never just support me; it was always about the prince. Maybe if he'd spent more time worried about our family instead, they'd still be alive.
I felt my smile wilt, and a single tear ran out of the corner of my eyes. I breathed out bitterly and harshly rubbed my eyes to discourage others from doing the same. I tried hard not to let myself think about them. It always took me on a dark path of hating myself, my father, Al, and anyone who could have prevented this.
Even before the war, Dad spent more time with that brat than his family. As head of the King's Guard, it was his duty to teach Prince Alphonse how to wield a sword, ride a horse, rescue damsels in distress and kittens in trees—all the things I had to learn from lesser knights with less experience and skill. As a kid, I hadn't understood why my dad hadn't wanted to teach me, but as I'd grown, I realized that no matter how hard I worked, I'd never measure up to his perfect prodigy. I'd been bitter long before my supposed death, and it hadn't gotten any better since my resurrection. I was self-aware enough to know that it was unhealthy, but I was so angry over my mom and sister that I could barely bring myself to care.
With my hip finally feeling a little less stiff, I straightened from my half-crouch against the tree and took a few steps out onto the beach, thoughts with the rebellion at the front of my mind. Maybe if any of them live, we can regroup tomorrow. A flare of worry over my dad flared briefly, and I pretended I didn't feel it. No way would King Pin let him and Al live through this debacle, so the rebellion would need a strong leader once all the dust had settled.
My thoughts were racing over the inevitable fallout from tonight's raid, and I'd just reached where the tide was rolling in when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a bright flash. I felt the air slice across my face, followed by a loud flash bang just behind me. The shockwave almost knocked me off my feet, a spray of sand and saltwater misting across my face, and all the deep breaths I had done to handle my hip's pain went straight out the window as my feet slipped in the damp sand. I needed to find cover, but there was nowhere to hide in the middle of the sand. Frustration boiled over, and I yelled, "What the absolute fuck?" at the top of my lungs.
If I couldn't go on defense, aggressive offense was my only option. I slung my pistol out of its holster at my hip and spun to face my attacker. I hadn't realized quite how close I had wandered near the dock. It was now only about fifteen feet away. There was only one ship docked at the pier, a relatively small sailing ship with a sheep's head figurehead, and standing between the sheep horns stood a very skinny man with bushy hair and a long nose. He shook like a leaf, but his hands were steady as he trained his slingshot on me again. A loud whine followed by several hushes and a shuffle erupted from behind him just after the explosion. It almost sounded like dozens of feet pattering across the wooden floorboards.
We stood in a standoff for several seconds, my assailant pausing for several moments till the shuffling died down before he spoke in a quavering voice, "D-on't c-come any cl-closer. I, the great c-captain Usopp and my band of a thousand men, h-have claimed this beach for the Usopp pirates, and intruders w-will be sh-shot. Turn back now or f-face th-the consequences." Bullshit, there are a thousand men on that dingy of a ship.
I stared for several seconds before I muttered another half-frustrated, half-bewildered curse under my breath. My attacker, Usopp apparently, steadily held his sights on me and seemed on a hair trigger, ready to blow me away at a moment's notice. It took great skill to shoot a shot that close to my face and not hit me, but a slingshot was not a gun, and facing down the barrel of a slingshot cradle didn't strike as much fear as I'm betting he was hoping it did. Neither of us moved, eyes locked over our weapons, as we both waited for the other to make their next move. Using my peripherals, I took in more of the ship, clocking one more figure standing against the railing. They appeared no taller than three feet, but it was so dark that I couldn't see more than that. They seemed small enough that I didn't feel too outnumbered. Above the second figure, a flutter caught my attention, and I flicked my eyes up a little higher. There, plain as day, hung a jolly roger. The classic skull was set on a black background and topped with an irritatingly familiar straw hat.
The pieces suddenly clicked in my head. This must be Straw Hat's B-team. I'd been looking for a distraction, and I think one just fell into my lap. And hey, if Luffy was going to die tonight anyway, the rebellion could always use a getaway ship if things went sideways in the future. Most likely, since they'd been left behind on the ship, they were either undertrained, easily flustered, or both, so if I could rile them up enough, I'd have a few precious seconds to get the upper hand on him and attempt to take the ship as he riffled through that massive rucksack at his hip to reload. I needed a distraction, a way to stall them so I could make my move.
Flicking my eyes back to the masthead, I could see the man and his friend whispering frantically. Perfect, already hassling each other. Reholstering my pistol slowly so I didn't spook them, I shouted, "Hey, you! Longnose!" I tried to make my voice as non-threatening and laid back as possible. Not an easy feat when I'd just been shot at and was pissed off.
His head whipped up from his friend, and he released a squawk of indignation, immediately followed by, "My name is Captain Usopp, and I..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. The great Captain Usopp, band of a thousand men, claimed this beach, yada, yada, yada, I heard you the first time. Listen, you know a guy named Luffy by any chance?"
Usopp squawked again and lowered his arm slightly in shock, "How do you know, Luffy?" Moron couldn't even try to pretend he didn't know who I was talking about? Distraction was going to be easier than I thought.
"Heh, yeah, I thought so." I casually put my hands on my hips and tried to give off an air of nonchalance. "You all should probably just sail away now. Your friends just walked right into their own executions. I wouldn't be surprised if they're already dead, actually."
"Whatcha mean?" his eye narrowed further, and he raised the slingshot a fraction. I raise my hands in front of me placatingly.
"Whoa, whoa, buddy, don't shoot the messenger. All I know is that Luffy, the rest of your crew, and the rebel prince just waltzed up to the castle to try and overthrow our shitty king as if dozens of others haven't already tried and failed. So if you know what's good for ya, you will pack up and run before King Pin and his men are done burning their bodies." Fuck, smooth move moron. I'm sure reminding them of their friend's impending deaths is going to make them feel really relaxed.
Before I could say anything else to try or think of a way to smooth over my harsh words, the more petite figure suddenly threw themselves against the railing. "You're wrong. You don't know Luffy! He, Sanji, and Zoro are some of the strongest fighters ever, and Robin's just as fierce. They'll bring Nami back, and we will sail away from this horrible island and leave all you big jerks behind." He was crying, fat tears rolling down his furry cheeks.
What the fuck? Furry!? I stared hard at the tiny person, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. "Is that talking raccoon dog?" I didn't mean to say it out loud, but he clearly heard me as his face contorted with cute, fuzzy anger.
"Hey, I'm a reindeer, you jerk!" He pointed sharply at the side of his head, and I realized antlers were poking out the side of his hat. How the hell did I miss those?
"Oh, I'm sorry, a talking reindeer. Like that makes any more fucking sense." He continued to cry, and it was starting to make me feel a little bad. "Look, don't get all upset. I might not know Luffy or the rest of your crew, but I know the people they are with and who they are up against. We aren't ready. The rebellion shouldn't have gone to the castle, and no pirates will change that." I could feel my anger about the situation returning, and I took a few deep breaths to try and calm down.
The reindeer was clearly not going to calm down as he was already gearing up to say something else when Usopp interrupted, "Chopper, hold on." He cast narrowed eyes on me again. "How do we know this isn't a trap? Maybe more creeps are lurking in the bushes, waiting to pounce when we aren't looking?" Before I could defend myself, some poor creature chose that unfortunate moment to scamper through the brush, and quicker than I could catch, Usopp released another one of the explosives, this time into the bushes back the way I'd come. The following explosion caused multiple chipmunks to squeak aggressively and blast out of the ferns, one of them with a tiny trail of smoke on the tip of his tail.
"Shit man! There's no one in the bushes. I was just taking a walk to burn off steam." Damn. Not quite the helpless B-team as I'd expected. Usopp continued to train his slingshot on me even as he turned to talk with Chopper—more frantic whispering and curiously from more than two people, though whoever else was there was hidden from sight. They were completely engrossed in their hushed argument, and I saw my chance; they were distracted, and I took the opportunity to advance on the ship. I crossed the damp sand as quickly as my bad leg would let me and managed to get just enough momentum to grab the anchor rope and throw myself over the edge onto the deck.
It was quiet as I landed on the deck, my hip screaming on impact. I stifled a pained groan and stayed crouched near the railing for a few seconds, just listening. The fighting at the bow muffled slightly by distance, and I was pretty sure they were too busy arguing and hadn't noticed me yet. Some guards they are. I stepped lightly away from the railing, aware of every wooden plank and possible creak they might make. If I can get up behind them, I should be able to commander this sheep ship, and... *SMACK*. "Holy shit!" All attempts at being quiet flew out the window as pain exploded across my face.
My hand snapped to my nose, suddenly pouring blood down my face. From around my wrist, I made eye contact with an extremely skinny woman with blonde hair and an oversized dress, holding a broomstick. A broomstick that she had just whacked across my face. "I think you just broke my fucking nose!"
She sneered, "Oh boohoo. That's what you get for sneaking around someone else's ship like a fucking creep." Man, that's the second time someone called me that in ten minutes. If Sora lives through the night, I'm going to have to talk with him and see what the hell that is all about. Blondie continued to give me the stink eye, waving the broom menacingly, "I don't know who the fuck you are, but you better hop right the hell back over that railing before I shove this stick somewhere that'll need a doctor to remove." Her voice was grating and shrill.
I knew I could probably take her. She was short and frail-looking. Looking past her nasty expression, I noticed she was malnourished and had deep purple bruising under her eyes from exhaustion. Her arms trembled as she held the broom before me, and I knew she would go down if a stiff breeze blew past her. She was unpleasant, but I didn't want to hurt her, so I tried to sidestep her. She seemed less confident when I actually made a move, her eyes going wide and the broom dropping an inch, and I managed to get about a foot past her before I was smacked upside the head by a damp mop head, "Ow, what the fuck?" My second yell must have reached Usopp at the front because their bickering cut off abruptly, and he let out a choked exclamation, and I heard their feet rapidly approach us.
My cover was officially blown. I sighed heavily as I rubbed the new swelling on my temple and turned the full force of my fury toward a similarly sour-looking woman with an overgrown purple pixie cut. She trembled under my stare but held the mop firm as if she was just waiting for any chance to hit me again. "Goddamn it! Stop hitting me!" She flinched when I screamed at her, but she held her ground like her friend.
Thundering footsteps proceeded Usopp and Chopper down the stairs. They looked more frazzled than they had from the beach. Usopp started at me open-mouthed for a second before bringing his slingshot up to my face; his body no longer trembled as he threw himself into full protector mode. "You've got a lot of nerve coming onto the Merry, you creep." He looked at the girls standing on either side of me and seemed to grow more angry. "What'd you do? Were you trying to take them back?" He trembled with anger, and his knuckles turned white. He was holding his weapon too tight. Chopper had a similar reaction, and he popped what looked like candy into his mouth and grew to three times his normal size, now appearing to be almost seven feet tall, a growl coming from his no much more human-looking mouth. What the fuck is up with this crew? Bunch of freaks.
Usopp pulled the cradle on his slingshot back and prepared to launch. If he hit me with one of those explosives at this distance, I'd be a goner. I threw my hand out in front of me and tried to wave off the attack. "Wait, wait! Hey, you've got me. I'm not a threat! You've got the wrong idea. I'm not trying to take anyone." Except for your ship. "Where would I even take them? There's no need for this!"
Usopp still pulled the sling back. I tried to jump to the left to dodge, but I was surrounded and hampered by my hip, which was starting to ache. Chopper leaned down toward Usopp, his voice still startlingly high, even with his sudden size. "Maybe we should take a step back. He's injured and alone."
To his credit, Usopp did look torn, but he shook his head, tight curls bouncing jerkily with the motion. "No, we promised we would protect them. Even if we let him go, what if he gets caught again and gives something up."
"Hey fuck you, man. I wouldn't..." An explosion near my head went off, and I cringed. A spatter went across my face, and for a terrifying moment, I thought he'd shot me in the head. I waited for the pain and coldness of death to wash over me, but that never came. Instead, my head felt damp and sticky, and a familiar smell reached my nose that I couldn't place. A few spatters had hit my mouth, and involuntarily, I licked it. The taste, combined with the smell, finally clicked. "Is that fucking ketchup?"
Usopp chuckled, "Yeah. But the next one won't be." He reloaded, and I felt adrenaline start pumping through my veins. He raised his arm, and I contemplated throwing myself over the rail into the sea when suddenly a wash of bright blue was between the Strawhats and me.
"Stop!"
Time stood still. Nothing mattered. Not the weapon to my head, the pain from my injuries, or the people surrounding me. I registered nothing except her voice. It was soft and felt like an immediate balm on my soul.
Usopp let out a surprised choking sound that broke through my reverie. He had stepped close to the intruder, and with his hand up by his face, he whisper-yelled, "What are you doing, Wen? This is an enemy. We gotta make sure he's neutralized so he can't hurt anyone."
Wen? I suddenly felt lightheaded, and my fingers had gone numb. I wasn't overly familiar with shock, but I'm willing to bet that was what was happening to me. My feet went out from under me, and I suddenly found myself flat on my ass on the decking. A few light steps followed several gasps of shock. I barely registered the soft touch on my shoulders.
"Teddy, hey, it's going to be ok. Just breathe." It was on the tip of my tongue to yell at the voice. No one was allowed to call me that anymore. Only my sister could ever get away with calling me that, and she was... dead. Right? The hands had moved to my jaw and tilted my face so I could see her face in the dim glow of the ship's lights, and a sob caught in my throat. She had aged, obviously. In my mind, she had always been frozen at ten. Her face was thinner now, the gap front tooth filled in, and she was paler than I had ever seen her, but I'd have known Wendi's face anywhere.
I hadn't cried since the night of the coup. But a sob abruptly forced its way up my throat, and before I could stop myself, I grabbed her by the arm and yanked her into my arms. She gripped me just as tightly, and I felt her tears drip down my neck, making me hold her tighter. The people around us didn't understand what was happening. All they saw was the supposed threat grab a girl and pull her close. I could feel the broom tip poke into the side of my head, and even their voices started rising aggressively. The broom was once again shoved at my head, and I winced when it pressed into the lump the mop had left.
The wince knocked my head against hers. Wendi pulled away from me slightly so she could see around us. From over her shoulder, I saw Chopper had closed in and was about to hack at my head with a closed fist. Usopp was a lot closer, trying to get a good angle so he could shoot me around Wendi, and the girl with purple hair was standing by, clearly waiting to see what everyone else would do before she made any moves. Wendi gripped me tighter, shielding me with her body.
Her brown eyes went firey as she looked up at the sneering blonde. "Get that broom off my brother's head before I throw you overboard." She was vicious, her voice barely a growl, and I felt that threat in my bones. She'd do it with no hesitation. I had only ever heard Wendi's voice take on that tone when she was at her most vicious. Like the one time as a child, she had caught the neighbor boys terrorizing a stray dog. Justice had been swift and brutal. Our father had ensured she knew how to defend herself and others, and she had taught the other little girls on our street. Both those boys had limped home with swollen lips and bruised eyes, and they had never even stepped foot in the same vicinity as Wendi again. Blondie must have thought she'd follow through on her threat, too, as she dropped the broom and stuttered, "B-brother?"
The other girls were frozen, eyes wide with shock. Most likely, they had only ever seen the peacekeeper Wendi, the kind soul with a soft shoulder to cry on.
Wendi met my eyes and smiled, the fierceness from a moment ago still present but no longer as icy. "Yeah. This is my big brother Theo." I offered her a fragile mile in return. It felt odd on my face as if I had forgotten how to smile.
My hands reached up almost of their own volition and brushed a few start blue strands behind her ears. I held her close, not really trusting my senses, even though she was right here in my arms.
"H-how are you here?" She smiled again, and it was our mother's smile, slightly lopsided, and she even had the same slightly crooked front tooth.
"The straw hats. A straw hat named Zoro found us in our cell and saved us. He set us free and told us to find this ship to seek shelter until the danger passed."
Of fucking course. The straw hats save the day again. I pulled her close and looked over her shoulder at Usopp. He'd dropped his arm, but was still very much ready to blow me away if necessary, what Wendi said be damned.
My blood suddenly chilled as I took in the two dozen women that had poured out of the cabin behind me. They watched the spectacle with wide, hollow eyes. All of them were just as skinny and exhausted as the two women who had assaulted me. But it was their clothes that rang a bell. I had helped bury too many bodies that had come back from the castle dressed in very similar fashions. As I realized what precisely this Zoro had saved my sister from, more tears and fresh rage suffused my body, and I may have gripped Wendi just this side of too tight as she soothed her hands down my arms in a similar fashion had our mother had in my youth.
Aggressively wiping the tears away, I shifted my focus to Usop and Chopper. "Hey, Longnose."
I watched his body tense, and his shooting arm slightly jumped at the nickname. "What?"
"We need to move the ship away from the dock."
Suspicion fluttered across his face. "Why's that?" he asked tersely, "To block off my crew's best escape route and leave them stranded? I don't freaking think so."
Rolling my eyes, I say, "No idiot. Eventually, King Pin's men are going to come to the pier to ransack your ship. Kill anyone they find on board. And it'd be better if we are a ways out to sea before that happens."
"Why would they do that?"
"Because that is what happens to the ships of people who stay at this pier overnight. Especially to ones where King Pin has taken one of their people and the others have made themselves a nuisance."
Wendi's body tensed in my arms when I mentioned King Pin, and a protective flare I hadn't felt in years was suddenly a raging inferno. I would die protecting her and these women if that was what it took to keep them safe and kill anyone I have to if necessary.
I watched as Usopp tried and failed to find a fault in my logic. Finally, he sighed with resignation, and his shoulders dropped, and he let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. We can move out past the reef, but no farther. Luffy should still be able to stretch and reach us from that distance if needed, and we can always sail back in and re-dock if necessary." His logic was sound, but god, did I wish we could just flee this island and leave the others to their fates. Sometimes having a conscious was a pain in the ass.
Chopper began hustling the stronger girls toward the rigging, carefully explaining what they needed to do to get the ship moving. The weaker and injured girls bundled themselves back into the cabin. Food and warm blankets were all any of them could talk about. Wendi stood, pulling me to my feet, before situating herself under my arm and firmly grasping my waist.
We began walking toward the masthead. We had so much to catch up on, and there was so much I needed to say to her. As we walked past Usopp, he jerked me to a sudden halt. He was strangely strong for such a gangly guy, and I was surprised his grip was so firm.
"If this is a trick. If you are planning to get us out to sea to try and take the Merry from us, you need to know that I will fight till my last breath to stop you." His voice didn't waiver. No stutters or nervous exclamations. Just a deadly serious tone that didn't sit right on his open and honest-looking face.
I regarded him calmly. I felt more composed at that moment than I had in years. "You and yours saved my sister. You protected these poor women without requiring anything in return. You have my allegiance, Usopp. From now until my dying day." I could tell he still didn't entirely trust me, but some of the chill thawed in his eyes.
He went off to help with the sailing, and I pulled Wendi toward the front of the ship. Usopp was a great teacher, and soon, the girls and straw hats had the ship moving steadily away from the island. I stood with my sister, and together, we watched the shoreline of our home, our prison, shrink in front of us. We held each other and let the silence and cool night air wash over us. Soon, we'd have to talk and discuss the last eleven years, our father, and... Alphonse, but for now, we were content to stay quiet and watch Fallnia shrink into the distance.
Once we had sailed far enough away, Usopp dropped the anchor and hustled the rest of the girls back inside, where it was warm. Wendi and I stood alone at the front of the ship, and I could see for the first time the dome of darkness that had covered the island since the coup, since those bastard brothers had waltzed in with King Pin and stole the stars away. I looked up and, for the first time in years, saw a shooting star.
I looked fondly at my sister and found her gnawing her lip; worry etched into every line of her face as she stared at Fallnia's shores.
Nudging her gently with my shoulder, I was able to break her stare and gain her attention. I pointed up at the sky and watched confusion wash away her tense expression. "Come on, Wennie, humor me and look up."
Slowly, her head tilted back, and her gaze settled on the indigo sky above. It took her a moment, but finally, she caught on because a brilliant smile lit up her face. We watched one shooting star make its way across the sky together. Then her head snapped down with a conspiratory tone she said, "You're on."
Hi friends. I know it's been forever since I posted an update. I've been struck with the worst writer's block I have ever experienced and thought a few filler chapters might help unlock some inspiration. This 5k+ blurb is the product of a lot of caffeine and start and stop writing sessions. Hopefully, soon, I will have a full-fledged chapter for the main story posted, but please bear with me while Itoy and get my mojo back.
Have a happy Halloween. -CL