Once again, I remind my readers that FFN does not save my formatting (such as italics or bold letters) and I shall not go over the chapter once again to fix it. I suggest you read my chapters on other websites such as Questionable Questing, AO3, or Sufficient Velocity. I post there under the same penname and until FFN fix their shit, I will keep adding this line.

This chapter was edited by Gladiusx.

"And off he goes…"

Rachel gazed at the dust cloud emanating from Percy's dash. A glance at the ground showed surprisingly deep footprints on the grassy hill.

"I take it this Blackjack person ate a devil fruit?"

She turned to the Prince, noticing that he and his Knight were gazing at Percy's distant figure but did not seem surprised by his speed or physical feats. It made Rachel wonder if superhuman abilities were more common here.

"He's a pegasus, actually," Calypso smiled, only for their guests to gape in shock. "Oh? Is the existence of a winged horse that shocking? You did not seem surprised by Percy's speed or your shape-shifting assailants."

"Well, I… vaguely recall Sir Percy arriving on a black stallion with massive wings, but," Gwen fiddled with her thumbs on the table. "I thought I was delusional or suffering from blood loss at the time. And the assassins were devil fruit users. It could be possible that the horse, Blackjack, ate some sort of avian devil fruit and sprouted wings from it."

"Percy explained that Blackjack ate a fruit that made him control sound or something. More importantly, I see you recognize the term Pegasus." Rachel felt even more confused about this new world they arrived in. "You instinctively knew it meant a winged horse."

"Who wouldn't know one of the mythical creatures of ages past."

"And from what myth does a Pegasus come from?" The Titaness asked innocently.

The silence around the table was jarring. Lionel looked lost in thought while Gwen's confused gaze moved back and forth between her Prince and Calypso. The Queen of Ogygia met Rachel's eyes, but her expression betrayed no feelings.

"I have never actually thought about it, to be honest. I've read a lot of fables and tales about them but I don't recall any of the books citing where they originated from." The Prince rubbed his chin as he gazed at them strangely. "There are many mysterious creatures that exist in this vast world. I have seen enough strange beings in my royal father's menagerie and on my own travels to realize how little I really know. I am certain there are a lot more that have yet to be discovered as well, but… a creature straight from myth? I would have to see that to truly believe."

"Something that will happen soon, I'm sure."

Prince Lionel raised his glass to her in acknowledgment before draining it and refilling it. They quickly moved on to the drinks and snacks, which the guests seemed to devour with fervor, despite the earlier hearty breakfast, before another question was raised.

"Incidentally, may I ask what happened to the ship we were on?" Lionel sounded resigned, as if he knew the answer but needed confirmation. "I noticed we are not dressed in the same clothes I recall wearing when we ran for our lives."

Rachel couldn't help but take a closer look at the royal. Despite being in his twenties, his face looked more boy than man - yet he had an athletic body that told he was accustomed to fighting. Percy had brought some clothes from the stranded ship for him and his knight, along with the maps.

The clothes he arrived in were cleaned and mended by Calypso's servants, but they were just a simple shirt and sleeping pants; they must have been taken unawares during the fight. Lionel looked the part of the swashbuckling prince with his white linen shirt, dark green pants, a red scarf that he styled into a tie, and a heavy white coat with golden chains. The most impressive thing her eyes caught were the light brown leather boots. They looked quite sturdy and reached just a few inches below his knees.

Hers were starting to feel tight. About time for a change, she supposed.

Gwendolyn was also dressed smartly. A black and white long-sleeved shirt, green tie, brown corset, red skirt, and very high leather boots. They reached nearly her thigh and were designed to give her excellent knee mobility. The boots even came high-heeled!

Now, Rachel really wanted to know where they got their clothes from.

"The ship is beached close by, but its keel is damaged. I regret to say that none of its crew was found aside from the captain's corpse, which was tied to the prow." Calypso's soothing tone helped deliver the message in the kindest way possible, but their guests still looked distraught. "Percy buried him near where he found him if you would like to pay respects, Prince Lionel."

"That would be lovely, but perhaps at a later time."

The man looked quite morose, and Rachel could guess why. Dead crew aside, he was also on an important mission, and now, Lionel and Gwen probably believed they would be stuck here for a long time without a crew.

"I have some questions I hope you can answer." Rachel pulled out the wanted posters that Percy found and placed them on the table - what those two needed was a distraction, and she could provide plenty while getting some proper answers. "Tell me more about them."

"What more is there to say? They're dead, right?" Rachel hesitantly nodded, still shocked that Percy had killed, and even stored the criminals' heads in a freezer back on the ship, but she did not judge him for it. They were bad men, and from what he told her, they would have killed Lionel and done unthinkable things to Gwen if he let them live. She was more concerned with how Percy was holding up. "I'm sure they were hired by the Chancellor through an intermediary. West Blue is infamous for its assassins and organized crime syndicates."

"I think Rachel meant the less obvious details." Calypso glanced at her, and Rachel shrugged. They could not have hidden it from them for long anyway. "What is West Blue? What is the World Government? The Marines? The currency? We would like to know everything there is to know about this world."

"This world?" The Prince glanced at his Knight in bewilderment before chuckling awkwardly. "You make it sound like you have never left this island."

Calypso merely smiled at them until their eyes widened. "You're joking!"

"I am afraid not. I would rather not bore you with a complicated tale, but please assume that we truly are new around here." Rachel leaned over the table and gazed at them intensely. "Tell us everything you know."

.

.

.

"That's a lot to take in, and we have only discussed your home region, the West Blue, it was called?" At Lionel's nod, Rachel bit the back of her pencil as she reviewed the strange things she had written in her notebook about this new world.

It's been two hours since they started their long talk, and they had moved from the tea table in the garden to a comfortable divan in the veranda. They had questioned the Prince and Gwen over anything and everything about their home, from the social hierarchy, the structure of the nations, the currency (Percy would be disappointed that the prize money on that wanted poster wouldn't be as exorbitant as he hoped), the crime organizations Lionel mentioned, the technological level of the world, and finally the biggest and most important issue plaguing the entire world now.

"And that Pirate King, Goldy Roger, caused the beginning of what you call The Great Pirate Era?"

"It's Gol D. Roger, but these days everyone calls him Gold Roger," the Prince coughed. "And indeed, that was twelve years– or no, we should be in August. Next month would be thirteen years since his execution. His declaration of hiding all his plunder and treasures had sent millions into a frenzy. While I will not deny that the call to adventure was tempting, it had caused great sorrow in my home as pirates and brigands went rabid in their raids. Worse, hostile nations abused the chaos to hire those freebooters as privateers and reignite old conflicts, shamelessly playing innocent when accused of wrongdoing. The Marines could hardly charge all the nations for crimes they were all doing."

So many things about this world were both familiar yet entirely different from their own. They followed Earth's Gregorian calendar down to the month, and even February had 28 days along with a leap year. The year was 1513, but what was year 0 named after? Lionel did not know, aside from the calendar's name: The Sea Circle Calendar. There was no Jesus the messianic figure, yet the name existed for some reason, and there were churches and other places of worship, causing Rachel to theorize a Jesus equivalent might have existed in the past but the Prince did not know about him. Strangely, religion rarely spread outside their island and never beyond an archipelago. Organized religion did not seem to have developed here, but they have not gone into details questioning them about it.

The Roman or Persian Empire or a similar equivalent never existed as far as Lionel was concerned, yet there was Latin-based script and even Arabic numerals along with what looked suspiciously like Kanji, yet Rachel barely knew anything about the Japanese language aside from whatever anime she watched.

Calypso was confident that there were no gods in this world; and if there were, they were in deep hibernation, or experts in hiding their presence. It did not matter asking about them, even if they did get hints of names and places connected to Greek myth, yet Lionel did not know their origins.

It was almost as if any information about it was wiped out from history.

Regardless, that was all thoughts for later. For now, they had much more important matters to discuss. Calypso took point then, speaking softly to one of her servants, much to their guests' confusion, as she seemed to speak to thin air.

"And we are in the Calm Belt, a cursed sea with no wind or waves but plagued with countless massive sea monsters. Makes me wonder what you were thinking sailing through such a place."

"As I mentioned, we were on an important mission and believed we were well-prepared for it. We had a state-of-the-art paddle boat that I spent a fortune purchasing from a not entirely legal auction. Designed and built by Doctor Vegapunk himself and captained by one of my most trusted officers." The Prince's face was set in a stubborn frown, though once again it melted into a morose look. "At least, I thought we were prepared. The Voyager, my ship, was more of a yacht, for it had to be small, as I could not afford to coat a larger ship with seastone to hide us from the sea kings infesting the Calm Belt. I bankrupted myself for this journey, yet it had failed miserably before we could even make it to our first stop."

"My Prince…" Gwen tried to comfort her charge, but the man was inconsolable.

"What was your destination, if I may ask?"

"… Marine Base G-14. It's where my grandfather, Vice Admiral Zephyr, is stationed as its commander."

"And there was no method for you to communicate with him?"

"We had a Transponder Snail, but I can't very well contact a high-ranking member of the Navy like I would order my dinner. I still tried continuously for a whole year, but I never got anywhere. Even trying to send a letter was useless, for the Marines censor everything that could be considered a danger to society or their operations."

The Prince looked to have completely given up, easily providing them with information that, judging by Gwen's alarmed look, should not really be shared. It merely confused Rachel, causing her to check her notebook. Ah, Transponder Snails were a method of communication. How snails can be hooked up to speakers and receivers, then used as a radio, utterly flabbergasted her - probably made by that so-called mad scientist Vegapunk.

She glanced hesitantly at Calypso, only to grimace at the frankly carnivorous grin the immortal witch was trying and failing to hide behind her tea cup. Rachel should have known; unwittingly, the Prince had just given them a reason to help him. Calypso had been imprisoned in Ogygia for thousands of years; there was no way she would pass the opportunity to set sail for adventure and explore this new world they found themselves in.

Percy and the rest already knew to be ready to set sail, and had made sure the ship was fully stocked and ready to go at any time. Calypso even prepared her own things, and moved everything she might need to the ship. They just needed to wait for Tyson to complete his finishing touches and for them to interview their guests.

The Queen of Ogygia placed her tea cup on the table and smiled beatifically at their guests - both shyly looking away from her brilliant smile. "Are you still capable of navigating towards that Marine Base you mentioned?"

"W-Well, we had an Eternal Pose I managed to…acquire for the place." It did not take a genius to understand how the Prince acquired the…whatever that was. "An eternal pose is a compass calibrated to one island's magnetic field. They only work on the Grand Line but are a life-saver if you lose your log pose."

Ugh, even more confusing things. The Prince could see her confusion and proceeded to explain the difference between regular compasses, log poses, and eternal poses. Rachel's notebook quickly filled with a lot more information that she would need to organize later on. She was the only one in the crew who did not suffer from Dyslexia, most likely due to the method she gained her status as a demigoddess, but by her new mother she will force the rest to still try writing and reading.

Didn't Percy mention his dyslexia was getting better?

"Hang on, you said Had an eternal pose?"

"Ah, well, it was on the Voyager. If the ship is intact, it's hopefully still there." Lionel looked at them strangely, "Why do you ask?"

"What if I told you we could take you to your grandfather?"

The Prince and his Knight gawked at Calypso's offer, but Lionel recovered swiftly. "I would ask you with what ship and crew?"

"You need not worry about that. We have a ship, and soon, we shall be capable of sailing it out of this mountain and to the sea."

As soon as she mentioned the word mountain, Gwen suddenly turned towards the distant horizon, and her eyes widened. "I had thought my eyes were tricking me, or maybe it was just the morning fog, but…we are really inside a mountain?"

"A volcano, actually, but yes. When we descended with Ogygia, we had to direct it towards the best spot for landing, and this mountain was the best option."

Rachel giggled as their guests blinked in confusion as the words set in, and Lionel's eyes finally widened with realization. "Descended?! I have wondered why you have been asking so many questions about matters that even the lowest of peasants would know, but…you are not from here, are you?"

"Why, my dear Lionel, whatever do you mean?"

"I-I mean, the clues were all there!" The Prince stood from the divan and started pacing animatedly while the woman knight still looked dazed. "You asked for information about this world and did not know the most basics of things, like the currency, the weather patterns, the seas, or even the size of the world!"

The Prince took a deep breath and stared at the surrounding island, "This is easily the most beautiful island I have seen. Lush forests, colorful birds, strong and healthy animals. Not to mention whomever invisible people you've been speaking to earlier."

Calypso's giggle sounded like the chime of bells in the wind, "Why yes, you are coming very close to the truth. Now, where do you think we are from?"

Gwen seemed to finally understand his point as she silently opened her mouth in shock and pointed first at her then Calypso but could not make a sound. Lionel did not seem to notice her as he continued.

"Obviously, not from this world." He shrugged, "Judging from what you've said, with your island having descended, then you must be Divin–"

"ALIENS!"

It was too much.

Rachel guffawed while Calypso looked strangely at Gwendolyn and mumbled, "What are aliens?" Even Lionel seemed confused, and Gwen squirmed under their gazes, a flush creeping up her neck.

Before they could rib the poor girl, they all turned to the sound of flapping wings and saw Blackjack landing with Percy, Reyna, and Hylla on his back.

How the horse carried all three with relative ease was a testament to his mythical heritage.

"We're back."

"Welcome back, Percy. I am pleased to see Hylla and Reyna have chosen to join us." Calypso smiled at the Latina sisters, but Rachel could tell something was wrong - Reyna looked troubled and shaky, while Hylla would not meet their eyes. "It's good to see you have not drowned, Blackjack."

The pegasus whinnied and looked almost bashful as he lowered his head. Percy dismounted and helped Reyna down while Hylla jumped down on her own. He nodded at the still-standing prince, who stared at the Pegasus in shock, muttering, "It's real!"

"So, what did I miss?"

"How about you tell us what happened on the ship first? Judging from the girls' faces, it was not pretty."

"Ah, yes. Well," Percy glanced at Hylla with annoyance before his eyes softened as he led Reyna to the divan. "It was a fustercluck, to say the least."

P*o*D

A few hours earlier,

"Are you sure I can go, Hylla?"

"Sure you can, Reyna. Go on, then. Blackjack is waiting for you."

"I don't know, Sis. Percy said to keep an eye on those two and wait for Tyson to give us a call. He said he will be done with the elevator any moment now."

"Don't worry about it, and just trust your sister." Hylla patted Reyna's shoulder before gently pushing her to the bored-looking pegasus waiting on the smooth rocks that acted as a pier for the ship. "Both of us have comlinks, and once Tyson gives us the okay, Percy will come to move the ship anyway. This might be your only chance to fly with Blackjack on the island before we set sail."

"If you're sure…just don't hesitate to call me or Percy if you need anything. Blackjack can fly from one end of the island to the other in less than a minute. Isn't that right, boy?"

The winged stallion neighed confidently and nodded his head several times.

"You got it, sweetie. Now, off you go." Hylla kept a pleasant smile as she helped Reyna get on the saddle - the pegasus had grown a bit since they arrived in this world, and his saddle had to be readjusted a few times.

Blackjack flapped his wings and flew to the sky, Hylla smiling wistfully at her sister's joyful laugh. As she returned to the ship, a muffled grunt sounded from the mast, and Hylla glared at the two restrained pirates. Despite this being a warship, it did not have any cells to keep prisoners. Only rooms and perhaps the hold, but Percy did not want the pirates out of sight.

Hylla did not want her innocent sister anywhere close to those two and their constant heckling. Even tied up and gagged, the scumbags stared at her with eyes that promised pain and worse if they got a chance to escape.

A chance that Hylla would bait them with now that her sister was far out of reach, and Percy was away with her mistress.

The Captain had not so subtly warned her to keep them alive, for they might prove useful in getting their bearings in this new world. Hylla knew better. Those two reminded her far too much of the worst pirates in Blackbeard's crew. She had seen what such filth did to the helpless maidens working in Circe's resort, and Hylla had stabbed more than one of them when they tried to get handsy with her or worse - with her sister.

Edward Teach found it all amusing and declared that they had no right to complain if they couldn't take a woman. He said the same thing to her; if the women couldn't protect themselves, then they needed a man's protection.

To this day, Hylla could not understand Blackbeard's thought process, but it did not matter. Those two pirates, Dim and Tim, were what they called themselves… they would get their due.

It was feeding time, and Hylla placed two bowls of stew in front of them and untied one hand each. The pirates immediately pulled off their gags, but instead of eating, heckled her like usual.

"Hey, hey! Don't just leave us hanging, hot stuff. Walking around with that sinful body of yours."

"Yeah, why not give us a piece of that ass. We promise to give you a good time."

"You hungry?" The first pirate fondled his groin. "Come eat with us. We have plenty to give, gyahaha."

This was nothing new. The two scumbags would regurgitate the same drivel since Percy dropped them off seven days ago. Despite not feeding them much, they still seemed to have enough energy to taunt, heckle, throw obscene insults, and try to get on her nerves. She would ignore them until hunger got the better of them, and they would turn to their food.

Usually, she would only untie one of them and provide no utensils; the bowls were good enough to drink directly from. This time, however, Hylla left them a sharp knife that she accidentally forgot on the tray, while a nearby rack had a couple of rusted old blades that Percy dropped off from their dead comrades. She walked up to the helm, pretending to be busy checking the comlink station for Tyson's call, and waited for the inevitable.

The Captain might have ordered to keep them alive, but he would not complain if she killed them in self-defense.

Soon, the sound of slurping soup was followed by hushed whispers. Hylla kept herself busy while adjusting the shield on her back and the revolver in her belt, noting from the edge of her eyes the pirates staring at the knife, then at the weapon rack.

"Hey, girlie, we're still hungry. Don't you know feeding your guests well is common courtesy?"

Trying to distract her while the other cut the ropes? They weren't even subtle about it, the fools. No matter, she could play along.

"That's all pirate scum like you will get. If you're done, shut up, or I'll take away the rest of your soup."

"A-Ah, we're not done yet. Don't be like that. We haven't had a solid meal in days. At least give us a drink."

And so the banter and insults were exchanged for a few minutes until she heard the sound of shuffling feet and then Tim, or was it Dim, shouted in mock shock.

"Ah! Is that a rainbow?"

By the gods, could they be even more dimwitted? Hylla grabbed her shield and gun before jumping over the rails, just in time to see the fools grabbing a sword each and smirking evilly at her.

"Hah, stupid bitch! Did you really think you could keep us–"

The cracking thunder of gunfire resounded in the cove as Hylla fired a bullet into the bare chests of each pirate. Both men staggered backward and looked at their bleeding torsos in shock. Hylla holstered her gun with a smirk. Too eas–

"HOOOOOOHHHHH!"

Suddenly, both pirates charged at her, their faces enraged, even as blood poured from their bullet wounds. For a split second, her mind was frozen in shock.

How were they still standing?!

She frantically put her shield in front of her as she blocked a mighty overhead strike that shattered the pirate's sword in half and made her bones rattle.

"Fucking bitch! Did you think we would so easily drop dead?"

Hylla barely blocked another wild strike, yet knew she could not take another hit like that. Swiftly retreating to the stairs, she barely managed to deflect the other pirate's strike, his sword shattering on her shield.

Both men were breathing raggedly, and their eyes were bloodshot. Hylla instinctively knew they were on their last legs, but their insane vitality was shocking; it was almost as if they had gone berserk. She might have missed their hearts, but there was no way they could survive having holes in their lungs. Even if it were ten minutes later, they would no doubt die from their wounds. Yet, they still had enough strength to try and bring her down with them.

She underestimated them.

The thought felt bitter on her tongue, as her heart was thundering like a war drum. Hylla could do nothing but hide behind her shield as they wailed at her with their shattered swords, using the hilts as clubs. Only the fact that her shield was nigh unbreakable and she kept retreating up the steps had kept her alive. Her arrogance had her leave her dagger by the helm, and she could not reach her gun with both hands holding her shield. Still, she only needed to endure until they–

"Fucking whore!"

One of them jumped on top of her, but the shield kept him away from her as she crashed onto the steps, nearly letting go of her hoplon as she was winded. Only his rabid growls as he tried to claw her eyes out made her hold on to the straps of her final defense. The other pirate grabbed her legs and dumbly tried to drag her, only to realize his friend's weight was too heavy. Hylla frantically kicked his face several times with the steel-tipped boots Rachel lent her, breaking his nose and knocking a tooth out, but the bastard would not let go of her. All the while, the heavy fucker on her shield had managed to grab her hair and pulled!

Hylla grunted as she knocked her head on the shield's rim. Blood dripped from her forehead, and in her dazed moment, she almost thought the shield was drinking her blood. She quickly recovered when the pirate tried to pull her hair again, but before she could struggle, the flapping sounds of powerful wings descended on the deck, followed by a young girl's scream.

"HYLLA!"

Reyna's scream caused the pirates to freeze for a second. A second that had Hylla focus as much of her meager powers as she could to rouse the sleeping spirit of the shield. She tried to remember how the shield felt when her mistress awakened it, when sharp blades had erupted from the rim.

Suddenly, something seemed to connect with her mind. It felt lethargic as if it had slept for a long time. Hylla screamed in her mind for it to do something, and the shield begrudgingly obliged before falling back to sleep.

A clicking sound and the pirate on top of her gurgled as warm blood poured down the shield and to her face. The other pirate had let go of her at some point, and Hylla registered her sister snarling as the sound of something stabbing into flesh reached her. Blackjack whinnied before stomping his hoof on the deck several times. A sinister sound similar to a melon getting squashed multiple times had her push with all of her might to move the dead pirate off her.

Hylla tiredly raised her head to find a blood-drenched Reyna stabbing wildly with her dagger at a headless corpse, all the while screaming incoherently. Where its head was supposed to be, only bits of bone and gore could be seen. Blackjack snorted softly to her sister, trying to calm her down, his front hooves covered in blood and brain matter.

Glancing at her own assailant, she found a spike had erupted from the center of the shield, stabbing so deeply into the pirate's throat that its tip nearly reached the deck. Hylla let go of her shield and tiredly walked down the steps, favoring her left ankle from where the pirate Reyna was still stabbing had grabbed her.

She dropped to her knees and hugged her sister. "Reyna, it's okay, sweetie. It's okay now."

Reyna's eyes were bloodshot, and her face was covered with an ugly mix of tears and snot, yet thankfully, she dropped her dagger and grabbed her in a tight embrace.

"T-They w-were hurting you. I-I t-though they we-were going to k-kill you!"

Hylla could only hug her sister as she wailed into her neck, tears, snot, and blood dirtying her clothes, but it didn't matter. All the while, she felt shame and disappointment in herself.

Because of her, Reyna had to kill…again. And for what? Some harebrained scheme to kill filthy pirates in self-defense? She should have just shot them in the head as they were restrained and be done with it. Regret filled her heart as she realized she had majorly fucked up, and the Captain would be most displeased.

It took Reyna a long time to calm down, and when she did, she gently pushed Hylla away. Blackjack had been pacing around the deck in worry over her, his hooves getting dirtier from the blood and gore.

When Reyna noticed, she sniffled before giving the pegasus a wet smile. "Thanks for the help, Jack. I promise to brush your coat later."

The horse snorted and shook his head before running to the rails and vaulting over, flapping his wings to glide to the distant water before diving with a loud splash. Reyna giggled as the pegasus took an impromptu bath. Hylla retrieved her shield and inspected the spike protruding from its center; with a thought, it returned to the shield, yet she could not bring it out again.

Something to work on later.

"Thank you for saving me, Reyna, but… how come you're here?"

"We heard gunshots." Reyna raised her voice over the sound of Blackjack splashing in the water - the pegasus was louder than usual, but Hylla knew he was a good swimmer. "We were only a minute away, so I didn't think of using the comlink so…"

Hylla smiled at her sister before glaring at the dead pirate she stabbed. Staring at the corpse, she felt a strange sensation gnawing at her guts, and a sudden rush of power creeping to her lips as her hands twitched upwards. It was as if something deep within her was telling her she could do something with it, as if she needed only say–

The sound of frantic splashing, urgent whimpering, and neighing made Hylla frown and hurry to the railings, thoughts forgotten. Her eyes widened as she found the Hippocampi circling Blackjack's dark shape as he floundered in the distant water, wings flapping frantically and eyes wide with terror.

"BLACKJACK!"

Reyna's scream had Hylla sprint to the comlink installed by the helm. She did not think, and immediately called the one person who could help.

"Percy!"

"And then the Captain arrived and pulled Blackjack out of the water. We took a shower and changed our clothes before returning here."

They were on the same terrace overlooking the hill. Percy and Reyna were with the two strangers. Reyna happily showed off Blackjack to the blonde man whose purple eyes were full of wonder, while the woman compared her sword with Percy's - with the challenging look on their faces, there was no doubt that they would spar at any moment.

Thinking about Percy made Hylla grimace inwardly.

The Captain was not amused at all with her stunt, even if he had not reprimanded her. In fact, he did not so much as talked to her when he arrived at the ship. He only glanced once at the dead pirates, then he jumped towards the drowning pegasus and dragged him ashore with the help of the Hippocampi.

Once he was sure Blackjack was well, he returned to the ship and wiped away the corpses with a wave of his hand; the water climbed the ship and dragged them and any sign of blood deep into the depths. Then, he simply gazed at her. Hylla could not meet his eyes; the disappointed look he gave her as he told them to clean themselves was more than enough to show how little he thought of her at the moment.

Even now, Rachel had a strange look on her face, a mix of pity and despondency. Her young friend had patted her shoulder in sympathy, but her eyes peered at Reyna in sadness.

But it was her mistress's eyes that Hylla dreaded meeting. Calypso had remained silent throughout her tale, with an inscrutable face. It was as if her face was made from marble with how emotionless it was.

Finally, Calypso sighed before narrowing her eyes at her. "I am disappointed, Hylla. Do you understand your mistake?"

"I underestimated them. I was cocky and–"

"I do not care about those wretches," Calypso shook her head and gazed at her sister. "While I am saddened that Reyna was forced to bloody her hands, that may be a boon in the long run."

Rachel and Hylla stared at her in shock. "How is Reyna killing that pirate a good thing?"

"We are in a chaotic world infested with rogues, pirates, monsters, and worse. Getting her accustomed to killing in a somewhat controlled environment would be far better than having her freeze if she ever finds herself in a fight." Her mistress turned to Rachel with a sad smile, "You too, my dear. I would not dare ask you to seek death and murder, but you shall need to be prepared for the worst."

Rachel nodded, but the motion was full of reluctance and hesitation.

Calypso turned back to her, "Nevertheless, that is not what I am disappointed with, and I find it disturbing that you do not recognize your mistake. Do you truly not understand your sin?"

Sin? That…was a hefty accusation, especially from a divine entity like Calypso. Hylla was already feeling terrible for disappointing her mistress, but what could possibly…her eyes widened, and she turned to Percy, who was now sparring lightly with that female knight.

"I disobeyed the Captain."

"Worse," Calypso shook her head and gazed at her with heavy eyes, "you disobeyed your King!"

"My what now?" The older Latina girl shared a glance with Rachel, who looked as confused as her before they both turned to Calypso. "King?"

Her mistress frowned, and Hylla had to resist the urge to duck her head like a scolded child. "Did you not swear yourself to me as your mistress? As your Queen?"

Hylla nodded seriously, "And I would gladly swear again, Mistress."

"And you understand that Percy is my beloved, my King?"

Suddenly, it all made sense to her. Hylla stared slack-jawed at her mistress and turned imploringly to Rachel, who was pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. Regardless, Hylla understood her mistress' point, even if she did not like it.

In fact, she chaffed to place herself fully under the command of Percy or any man for that matter. But if it was Calypso's command…

"I understand, Mistress." She said through gritted teeth. "Percy is the king, and I shall follow his commands to the letter."

Calypso sighed sadly, "My dear girl, I'm not asking you to become his slave. I'm asking you to trust in him as you would trust in me."

"Yep, Percy is dependable, but he's still a goofball and does make mistakes." Rachel piped up and gazed evenly at the mistress' glare. "Take it from someone who knows him better, Calypso. I get the feeling you are putting him on a pedestal. I'm telling you now that he would vehemently disagree with your methods."

"Oh, my methods? What's wrong with me ensuring no problems occur in the House?"

"Nothing wrong with that, but Percy is not a king." As Calypso's frown deepened, Rachel slapped her knees as she stood and moved to the edge of the veranda. "In fact, I can prove it to you. HEY PERCY!"

The Captain deflected a strike from his foe and glanced at them, "What's up?"

"Which would you prefer, become the ruler of an entire kingdom or captain of your own ship?"

"Huh? That's a no-brainer. Of course, I'll be Captain." He continued to spar, his sword flashing at incredibly fast speeds and strength as he and his opponent struck and deflected each other's blows, their swords clanging with a song of steel and bronze - Hylla stared in shock at how a girl her age and build could match Percy in sword skills and strength. "Being a king sounds like a drag, no offense to you, Prince."

"None taken," The blonde prince replied distractedly as he tended to the pegasus with Reyna. "Such a beautiful creature…"

"See? I think you need to spend more time with Percy to get a better hold of his character."

Calypso did not seem shocked or sad, but her shoulders sagged with resignation. She smiled wistfully at her lover before nodding to Rachel.

"I suppose you're right, Rachel. Perhaps I allowed my hopes for the future to control me for a moment."

"It's alright. Percy and I are only fifteen. Who knows what he might decide to do in ten or twenty years." Rachel rejoined them on the divan, and Hylla tried to smile at her only to receive a heated gaze that had her gulping. "That still does not mean you're off the hook. Percy is still our Captain, and his orders were reasonable and clear. I had hoped to interview those pirates later, but now we must completely depend on the Prince's and Gwen's testimonies and knowledge."

"I am sorry." Hylla lowered her head in shame. "I promise not to let my personal feelings get the better of me."

"Please, Hylla. For your sister's sake, if not for ours." She nodded to the red-haired girl and was about to apologize to her mistress, but Percy's sudden shout caught her attention.

"Hey guys, Tyson is done."

P*O*D

"So, where are we going?"

Gwen rested her hand over her sheathed sword while she flexed her other fist. Her light spar with Sir Percy had quickly turned into a duel. The young man was strong, easily stronger than her, but it was his skill with the blade that impressed her the most.

Their duel was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from the swordsman's shield. The wristwatch alone was a marvel of engineering; even the method of communication was extraordinary yet believable. However, the way Percy turned the watch into a shield then back again to a watch utterly flabbergasted her.

Regardless, after it beeped, Percy talked to someone on the other end who declared their project was done and then announced it to them. Subsequently, he took his winged stallion, and Gwen almost broke her impassive mask when she first saw it without the excuse of injuries or blood loss, and flew off somewhere. Lady Calypso had gathered them, and they followed her through her beautiful island.

"Percy is preparing our ship and making sure it's seaworthy. Once we are there, we will board and head on to where Tyson has finished the elevator," Rachel explained patiently, adjusting the sack of devil fruits on her shoulder. "You still need a ride to that island to the north. Once we can safely leave this place, we can set sail."

"Ah yes, we were interrupted before you could tell us where you're from."

Her Prince looked at Lady Calypso questioningly as he walked to her left. Gwen's training demanded she always keep her charge to her left so she could protect him with her right. It was a shame she did not have her trusty shield nor her suit of armor, yet hopefully, once they were outside, they could collect all their belongings from the Voyager.

"You guessed correctly, earlier." Gwen nearly cricked her neck as she turned to the beautiful woman, "No, dear. We are not aliens."

"Oh."

The Royal Guard did her best to maintain her impassive mask, but the giggles from the girls caused her cheeks to heat up. Her Prince nudged her shoulder, and she turned to find a wink and a smile, making her embarrassment deepen.

"We are not divine either, Prince." Leo–Her Prince groaned in disappointment, causing more giggles, though Gwen thought the youngest of the girls, Reyna, looked strangely at Lady Calypso before shrugging. "We are from another world, however, and arrived the same day you arrived on this island."

"Huh, what a coincidence." Her Prince grinned at her, and Gwen felt bad that he– "So you really are aliens!"

Even more tittering, Gwen felt a vein bulge before she slapped his shoulder - prince or not, she would not accept such cheek!

They discussed random things that were common between both their worlds, but Gwen did not truly care much aside from their power levels. They had their special powers, with Sir Percy easily being their most powerful member and thus their leader. Yet, Gwen could feel that Lady Calypso had a lot of power hidden behind that beautiful and kind face.

They continued to walk along the beach for a few more minutes until Rachel announced the ship was close, just beyond that cliff, hidden in a cove.

"So, is the rest of the crew by the ship?" Her Prince asked, causing their hosts to glance at each other strangely.

"Uh, yeah. Percy and Blackjack are already there. Tyson should be onboard by now."

"I see, but what about the rest of the crew? Sailors, midshipmen, lieutenants, gunners…nobody at all? How will the ship sail then?!"

With every position of the ship Prince Lionel mentioned, Rachel shook her head and pursed her lips more and more as she stifled a grin. Reyna did not bother hiding hers as she giggled, a sound that Gwen had gotten accustomed to from the rest of the girls, reminding her of those ladies who looked down on everyone in court, if far less annoying.

"You will have to leave it to Percy. There's a reason why he's the Captain, and it's not only because he's the strongest one of us."

Soon, they were walking on a cliff's edge and turned a corner, finding themselves in front of a moored ship. It was a Corvette, though seemingly longer, higher, and wider than usual, with a full gun complement and the figurehead of a beautiful mermaid. Sir Percy seemed to be hammering something on the ship's bow while a large man wearing strange goggles was busy by the transom. Gwen stared at the goggles made of reflective material; it went from ear to ear, hiding his eyes. Percy noticed them and greeted them with arms outstretched after hammering the last letter on the bow.

"Welcome, you took your time coming here."

"I see you have finally decided on a name for the ship." Calypso placed a palm on her cheeks and smiled beatifically. "It's about time."

"Yeah, well, you were right. Yes, and you were right too, Tyson." The large man rumbled a laughter as he approached them. Percy grabbed a bottle of Jerez Beer from a nearby crate she recognized from the Voyager. "I know the norm is to break a champagne over it, but this will have to do. Anyway, I present to you, the Sally Jackson!"

Percy smashed the beer bottle over the ship's bow, causing everyone to applaud. Gwen, however, turned to her Prince in confusion, who placed a finger on his lips for silence, his eyes full of mirth. She shrugged; surely, the girls would correct it if it were a serious problem.

Gwen smiled along as they boarded the Salty Jackson. Rachel seemed to squint at the name momentarily before snorting and shrugging, confirming to Gwen that she must have heard the name wrong the first time.

"Alright, crew! Buckle up, hold onto something, or don't if you want a fun ride. We're about to cast off."

Before she could ask how they would set sail without a crew, Percy raised his hands… and the ship moved! Ropes wiggled like snakes or worms as they detached from the pier, sails unfurled themselves, and within seconds, they were casting off. It was the most magical thing Gwen had ever seen, and the fastest she had seen a ship cast off.

"…I think I understand what they meant with why Percy was the Captain."

And the Ogygia arc is reaching a close! Next chapter would have a short scene as everyone settles in before they cast off to G-14…and the New World!

Bet none of you thought this story would go so deep into dangerous waters so soon.

Hylla has issues…hopefully she would get over them soon.

If you would like to support me, or read five chapters ahead (total of twenty across all of my stories), join me on my Patr(eo)n under the same penname.