Chapter 11: Twilight Isles, Part Two

This day started out great. We manage to get to our destination safely with no pirates intervening to try and loot us dry. Minus that moment with the Conqueror Haki, the tour with Sen is pretty neat. Not many times I get to learn about a kingdom I didn't know about in the manga.

Not to mention the magnificent dinner we just had!

But then I just has to jinx myself, and now I'm caught up in what I presume is a kidnapping attempt on the kingdom's crown princess.

"Well, well. Looks like we have a bunch of witnesses around." The thug leader noted with a grin, raising his cutlass and pointing it at us, "Sorry, lad. And lass, don't want to be sexist here." I growled at that comment, "If you people would please step away from the princess, that would be wonderful. Don't… well," He licks the blade of his sword, "My sword would be thirsting for blood."

Murphy's Law is… the worst.

I glance behind us, noticing the other thugs has already blocking our other exit route. They have completely box us in with no way out.

"…Luna, explain." Sen asks rather politely, "Why are you being chased by these rascals?"

"Is this really a good time!?" I asked worriedly.

"Rascals, you say!?" One of the underlings shouted angrily, "I'll have you know, we are the notorious Red Cap Mountain Bandits!"

"Never heard of you."

"WHA-!?"

"SHUT IT!" His leader shouted at him, he immediately clams up and took a step back, "It appears you didn't hear me right the first time, so let me repeat myself. Step away from the princess, or die by my blade–"

"Shush, you!" Sen scolded him before turning back to the princess, "You haven't given me an answer, Luna."

"Oh, it's because–"

"That's IT! I've had it!" The thug leader shouted angrily, "I'm done playing the gentleman here! If you're not willing to move, you'll die standing there. Men! Kill those two, but leave the princess 'relatively' unharmed."

The thugs let out a loud battle cry as they all rushes towards us with weapons raised to strike us down.

Luna let out a squeak of fear as she suddenly ducked behind me, which is just plain awkward due to the fact parts of her body, mostly her chest, stuck out from behind my scrawny body. "I'm pretty sure that I'm the last person you would want as a human shield, princess." I point out to her before getting ready to fight.

"Talk about rude." Sen mutters as he turns to them.

A second later, a sudden pressure erupted from him that blasts through the armed thugs with a stray wave hitting me and the princess behind me, I feeling my hairs sticking up from the familiar feeling. Time stopped for a moment as the thugs all slowly rolled their eyes into their skulls before collapsing onto the ground with loud thuds, some of them even starting to foam from their mouths.

Damn… Conqueror Haki sure is terrifying… but is pretty useful if not used against you.

"W-What's this!?" The leader shouted angrily, "Hey, you guys! Stop joking around and get them!"

"They won't be waking up anytime soon, I'm afraid." Sen tells him as he walks up to him and grabs the man by his shirt's collar, pulling him to his face. "Now, you'll going to tell me in great detail why you are chasing the kingdom's crown princess, or…" He grabs the cutlass swung at him, and break its blade with a flick of a wrist, "You're going to worry about more than replacing that sword."

"O-Okay! Okay! I'll talk!" He cries, "Someone paid us up a hefty sum to kidnap the princess and bring her to them! That's all!"

"Who!?"

"I don't know! It was dark when they came, so I didn't get a good look!" Sen growled and he starts blabbering, "I-It's the truth! I swear!"

"…Tch."

My mentor scoffs as he grabs his head and slams him into the wall hard, the bricks cracking around his skull while the man just slumps over either dead or unconscious, "Well, that was a waste of time and energy."

"You only punch ONE guy." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's still a waste."

"Right…"

"That… was incredible…" Luna stated in shock as she walks up to the bunch of unconscious thugs, "My grandfather has said you are capable of incredible things… but I've always assumed they were just exaggerations."

"He does this and more." I tell her, "He once decapitated a Sea King with a single swing of his sword."

"Really…?" She thought for a moment while I heard the words, "If it's him… maybe…" slip out of her mouth.

"Okay, Luna." Sen turns to her with his arms crossed, "I believe you owe me an explanation. Why are you being chased? Heck, why are you even in Port Royalise in the first place? You're supposed to be in the castle."

The princess flinch at his question, she fidgets on the spot before taking a calming breath, "…Master Meron. I need you help in stopping a coup."

"…Huh?"

Well, and I thought this day couldn't get anymore hectic as it can be. Damn you, Murphy's Law!

"So… let me see if I got this right." Silvia said as she points at Sen, "You are strolling around port when all of a sudden, you bumped into the crown princess of the Britt Kingdom."

"Actually, it was Rein–"

"WHO, by your record, is without her guards. And then, a group of thugs shows up and wanted to kidnap her."

"Yup."

"Then, after you've dealt with them, said princess wants your help with stopping a coup. Do I got everything correct?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Okay. Then here's my question." She then points at the princess sitting in the mess hall with most of us and sipping her drink, "WHY ON EARTH DID YOU BRING HER ABOARD THEN!?"

I knew this wasn't such a good idea, but who am I to go against Sen?

After the princess's outrageous request, which came out of left field mind you, Sen decided that us discussing a national crisis out in the open isn't the best idea, and moved to a more private location. And, his words exactly, Silver Fang is most foreign place on Britt's soil currently. As such, no one would have considered the thought that the crown princess would hide in there and will ignore it entirely.

Not sure about his logic there, but he is right about one thing. The Silver Fang is considered a foreign ship not affiliated with the Britt Kingdom, so the idea of royalty boarding such a vessel is probably not even thought about.

And, well, Silvia didn't take that news very well.

"What, you expect me to just leave her in the streets?" He points out, "Besides, from what I tell, those thugs aren't the only ones after her. The whole port could be paid for this, all I know. The Silver Fang is the only place that I could think of to be safe for her."

"Flattery won't do you any good, Sen." Lee stated firmly, "In case you have forgotten, we are traders. The last thing we need is to get involved in the affairs of a foreign kingdom!"

"But still, to kidnap such a young girl…" Gord points out, "What reason would they have for doing so?"

Our captain glares at Sen, who then turns to Luna, "…Well?" He asked, "Any explanations for why you're being targeted?"

Luna sips her cup, putting it down on the table gently before explaining, "It's because I'm the only one that found out about the coup."

"Wait, only one?" Sam voices out, "That can't be right. This is COUP we're talking about here. How can no one know about it?"

"They haven't started yet." Sen theorized, "My guess, they are slowly gathering up forces, preparing arms for an assault. All the while, they infiltrate and replace some of the officials in the capital with their own. But Arthurious would have noticed that and took action. Being so ignorant isn't his way."

"Grandfather has passed a year ago."

Luna's next line must have shocked Sen, as he went completely stiff when he heard that.

"…Arthurious is… dead…?" He said in shock, "I…but the last time I saw him… he was still fit as a fiddle…"

"Old age, Sen." I pointed out, "No matter how strong someone can be, they can never win against Father Time."

"If it's any consolation, grandfather died peacefully in his sleep." Luna tells him, "He has a smile on his face when he passed."

"…And he said he isn't one of them…" My mentor muttered with a tearful smile, before rubbing the tears away and stating, "I guess that's why a coup is happening now. With Arthurious gone, any opposers to his rule would rise up in his absence."

"That still doesn't explain how you found out about it." Gord pointed out.

"To be honest, I've stumbled upon it by coincidence." She explains to us, "By chance, I overheard the father's advisor talking with a hooded man about their plans, their plans of assassinating my father and overthrowing the Britt Kingdom, and re-establishing the Latian Kingdom."

"Old loyalists." Sen concluded, "Probably descendants of those exiled half-a-century ago."

"But before I could tell my father, I was suddenly posted to Port Royalise to overlook the construction of our navy forces by orders of the chancellors. I knew this must be a trap by the advisor to get rid of me for learning about their plans and I escape the fort immediately. Soon after that, I ran into you two." She then walks up to Sen and bowed to him, "Master Meron, please, help me in stomping out this coup before it raises another civil war! With your strength, you could–"

"Okay, hold your horses, your highness." Silvia tells her with a hand raised, "I don't know why you are referring to Sen as 'Master Meron', but you need to understand one thing. Sen is under my employment, not yours. He's not one of your soldiers that you can just ask for help."

"Silvia, maybe we should let Sen handle this one?" Lee tells her, "I mean, it was him who she asks."

"Hey, it's the rules, Lee."

"Even so…"

"She's right." Sen stated before holding her shoulder, "Sorry, Luna. As much as I want to help, I'm currently under employment of the Silver Fang, and by extension, the East Traders as well. I can't just abandon my contract on a whim."

"I-If it's money, I can pay you!" She cried, "I have plenty saved up, so–"

"I'm afraid it's not something money can fix, Luna." He tells her, she lowering her head in despair, "But…"

He then pulls me to him and patted my shoulder, "If it's Rein, I'm sure Silvia could let her go."

"Wait, what!?"

"WHAT!?"

"Sen, what are you–"

"Silvia." He turns to our captain, "When Rein signed the contract, it is as an addition to my own, correct?"

"Uh… yeah, that's how Tio wrote it out." She noted before realising, "Which means that Rein isn't exactly employed by the East Traders. She's working under YOU!"

"Exactly, and by that logic, means that how I deploy her is up to me." He points out, "And I wish to send her to help Princess Luna, here. Is that good enough for you?"

"That's… pretty solid, actually." Lee noted, "But are you sure you want Rein to help her out? I mean…"

"Okay, what does that mean?" I growled. I'm pretty strong myself, you know! I may not be a powerhouse like Sen, but I definitely can hold my own!

"Master Meron, who is this girl?" Luna asked. Oh, good for you to finally notice me!

"Luna, this is Rein, my pupil." He explains to her, "She may not be as strong as your grandfather, but she is still a force not to be trifled with. I can assure you, you'll be in good hands."

"And I don't have a say in this?" I stated angrily, "You can't just dump me on someone else's problems like that!"

"Oh, yes, I can." He grins, "Or are you going to let this poor girl fight the big baddies all by lonesome? I don't think you're THAT cruel."

"Why, you…"

As such, it is settled that I'll be the one to help out Princess Luna, and won't be joining my crew to Goa. That's probably the only good thing that will ever come out of this.

"Remember, we'll be back here in a week." Silvia tells me from the boat as me and Luna are standing by the docks at sunrise.

Now that there's some sunlight, I can finally make out her outfit.

Aside from the brown hooded ropes around her, underneath is a white lacy blouse with a dark brown corset tied around her waist that seems to push up her already impressive chest. Around her hips is also a bluish skirt with reaches to her knees with a pair of knee-high leather boots.

For a princess, she sure doesn't dress like one.

Back to the point, after it was settled that I would assist the princess in stopping the coup, I was to pack up my belongings and bring them off the ship by sunrise with Luna.

The princess's plan is pretty straight forward. According to what she has managed to overheard, in the smaller island of Twilight Isles lies an arms depot that the coup is getting their weapons from, smuggled in from outside the kingdom. Within that depot are possible documents that could point out who the instigators are and act as evidence to arrest the advisor for treason.

With that in mind, her objective is to get to the depot and collect the evidence and get to the current king. Swift and simple.

"Got it, back at the docks in a week." I stated.

"And be safe!" She added on, "Contract or not, you're a part of the crew! And I would like to see all my crew alive and well, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah!" I tell her with a wave, "Relax, I'll be fine. Now hurry along! Wouldn't want the delivery to be late now!"

"Okay, stay safe, you hear!" She calls out before shouting out, "Raise Anchor! We're setting sail!"

"Aye, aye!"

The ship slowly sails away from the docks, I watching the figure of the large ship slowly disappearing into the horizon. This will be the first time I'll be without Sen, or the crew of the Silver Fang. It would be a challenge, but I'll power through it.

"You ready, Rein?" Luna asked.

I nodded, hefting my bag over my shoulder as I thumbed the hilt of my katana hanging off the leather cord tied around my waist, "More than that." I noted with a smile.

Sen, as insurance for my survival, passed me a sword he has kept in that four-dimension bag of his, a plain katana that has no wrapping around its wooden handle as well as a bronze tsuba and kashira with a wooden sheathe. It is as plain as it can get, which is a surprised when he told me its name: Nanashi; No-Name.

I'm honestly shocked that he has a named sword with him. Like, aren't named swords considered top quality swords? To hand that off to an amateur swordsman like me, he sure has guts for it. Even if it's name is ironically means no name…

But considering that this isn't the weapon he stated to have taken back in Loguetown, I'm curious and terrified of what kind of sword that will be.

Luna then lead me into town, she putting her hood up for anonymity sake, as she walks through the town with me by her side.

"So, how are we going to get to the other island?"

"Not from this port." She explains, "There's another port a few miles from here due southeast. That's where people heading for the other island will board the ferry at. If we leave now, we'll make it there by sunset."

"Someone, stop them!"

That stopped us in our tracks we turn to the source of the noise, where two very familiar guys are running away from what I assume is a chef if the hat and apron isn't a fashion choice. I recognise that orange hat anywhere. Guessing he must have dine-and-dash, his usual MO since he was a kid…

Goddamn it, Ace. Why now!? Why can't you wait till we're out of the town before you began you brand of mischief!? Damn it, you fire bastard–

Then a thought hit me. Didn't they have Strider? One of the fastest boats on the East Blue? Sure, the size would be a bit of a squeeze, but…

"I'll pay for them!"

A quick exchange and handing way too many money that I should be paying later…

"Thanks for the help, Rein!" Ace laughed, "The cook nearly got us there!"

"You're the one that just dash out of the restaurant without paying!" Deuce shouted angrily, "If you didn't have any cash, why did you even eat there, anyways!?"

"It's just how I roll!"

"Your friends' petty squabbles aside…" Luna tells me as the four of us huddle around the alleyway away from the public roads with the son of Roger and his first mate arguing in the background, "What reasons do you have for squandering all of our funds like that!?"

"To be fair, I didn't expect him to rack up such a bill." I pointed out with a nervous laugh, "But reassure, there's a good reason for me to do such a thing…"

"And that reason being…"

"Hey, Ace!" I called out to him, he stopping his argument with Deuce for a moment, "Your boat is still docked at the harbour, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Mind giving us a lift?"

"This is the boat?" Luna asked with a confused tone, the bopping Strider floating next to the docks as Ace and Deuce board it, "It doesn't look like a proper boat at all!"

"Look, are you getting on or not?" The freckled face pirate asked.

I patted her on the shoulder, "It'll be fine. Trust me, I'm not a big fan of squeezing on that tiny dingy either, but it is one of the fastest boats you can ever find on this hemisphere. That way, we don't have go all the way to the other port and waste a whole day. Also, there's big chance we'll be ambushed on the road, right?"

She looks at me skeptical, before letting out a sigh and sheepishly getting on Strider. And by getting on, I meant trying circumvent around the two guys and ended up just hugging the mast with all her might. Guess that's one way to board it.

For me, I simply leap onto the top part of the mast and held on tight, rocking the ship and getting a squeak of fear from the princess. Oops…

"You girls ready?" Ace asked. We nodded in reply and he grins, "Good, now hang on tight!"

His legs burst into flames, getting a cry from the princess, before the boat speeds into the open waters like a jet ski, cutting through the water like nothing. Got to admit, I know this thing is fast, but I didn't expect it to be this fast!

"What is this!?" Luna screams, "How can a boat go this fast!? And why are your legs on fire!?"

"Devil Fruit." Deuce explains, "He ate the Flame-Flame Fruit, that turns him into a literal Flame-Human. He can turn any part of his body is flames, whether it is his legs or otherwise."

"Devil Fruits… so they are real…" She muttered in surprise, "I've heard the rumors but… I never thought they really existed."

"You better believe it." I tell her as I transformed my arm into my dragon state, "After all, seeing is believing, right?"

"You've ate one, too!?"

"Yeah, and kind of regretting doing it." I grimace as I recall the awful taste, "Urk, even after a month, I can still taste it. Not a fun time, I tell you."

"True that." Both Ace and Deuce nodded.

"Wait, you too, Deuce?" I asked to my surprise. Deuce has Devil Fruit powers too?

"Nah, not me." He tells me, "It's more of me and Ace shared the fruit and he ended up with the powers." He then places his hand on his mouth to hold back his bile, "But that didn't stop it from being the most awful thing I've ever tasted in my life."

"Okay, can you guys stop reminding me of how awful that stupid fruit tasted!?" Ace groaned.

"Alright then, new topic." His first mate then turns to me, "So, what's the deal? I didn't see your ship back at the docks, so this can't be due to your captain orders. Also, who is she?"

"Oh, I'm Luna." The princess introduces herself, "I'm just… um…"

"She's the crown princess of the kingdom."

"She's the WHAT!?"

"REIN!" She looks at me with a scowl, "That's not something you should be telling people! What if they're…!?"

"They aren't. I can assure you that." I tell her, "If there's one thing I know, is that Ace isn't someone that can be paid off. If anything, he'll probably punch the guy for offering."

"True that." Deuce nodded.

"Hey!"

"Also, he is a pretty good guy if you treat him right, and with that being said…" I looked at the island mass coming closer to us, "I wanted to ask you guys for another favour."

"Another one? What is it?"

"Look, we're be heading into that island over there to infiltrate a weapon depot for evidence of treason. And considering it is just us…girls…" I can feel my brain snapping from me admitting that, "I like to ask if you guys can, well, tag along? We could use some extra firepower, figuratively and literally."

"Rein, wait. Are you sure that is a good idea?" Luna asked worriedly, "Bringing more people might be useful, but these people are strangers. I don't feel right asking them for help save a kingdom that's not theirs."

"It's fine." Ace tells her, "If it's for Rein, sure, I'll help. After all, I still owe her for paying for my meal."

"Agreed." Deuce nodded, "Besides, this could be good material for my novel."

"Are you guys really sure?" She asked, "I mean, it's not even your home…"

"Why not?" The son of Roger stated with a laugh, "It sounds like fun, after all! And we might be the first pirates to help out a kingdom!"

"Wait, you guys are pirates!"

"Not just any pirates!" Ace added with a smirk, "You're looking at the future King of the Pirates!"

"WHAT!?"

Oh boy, maybe this isn't such a good idea after all…

…

To be continued…

Ace is back in the game! Slightly shorter than the previous one, but honestly, for this part I have many ideas that could flow on and on and would not stop so I keep changing the script over and over again, until I got this! First, I want the grandfather to be ill and the princess is on a quest to find a medical plant that is rumoured to cure all diseases, then it became poison and antidote, until it became this!

That aside, what do you guys think of my writing of Ace? Is it good enough, or maybe I swing and a miss with him?

To be honest, I didn't get a good grasp of Ace's character before joining the Whitebeard. I mean, besides his childhood and all that. So I may have accidentally tweak his character behaviour a little to something I feel like what he should be.

A mature Luffy with a sprinkle of swag and smarts. So, tell me what you think.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!