Chapter 1: Sins of the Past, Part 1
I do not own One Piece! That will always belong to Eiichiro Oda! I only own my OCs. So welcome to the sequel of Children of the Saw. What new adventures will Riptide and crew find now?
"Watch your backs," Riptide shouted to his crew over the angry roar of a sea king.
The captain of the Saw Pirates jumped back, avoiding the snapping jaws of another sea king. He glared at the beast, Growling the sea king reared its head back, preparing to strike again when Momoo burst forward, his horned head slamming into the beast with such force that it was sent backward, crashing in the sea.
"That a boy Momoo!" Riptide called out to the sea cow.
Momoo grunted a response as he smacked a small sea king in the face with his flipper and headbutted another. Wavecutter rocked on the turmoil waves as the nest of sea kings surrounded the ancient warship, with their territory had been invaded. The entire crew was fighting off one sea king after another, all of them soaked from seawater. Jimbei was doing an impressive job at keeping the ship from capsizing in the chaos. Finally, Nami struck a sea king with the end of her Sorcery Clima -Tact forcing it to retreat with a howl of pain.
"How the hell did we manage to run into a nest of sea kings?" Nami yelled.
"Much I would love to know," Riptide said. "I don't think we should worry about it now!"
Neeta took noticed that the sea kings suddenly looked afraid, and suddenly they all dove. "They're retreating," she said. "Why?"
"Retreating?" Blade said as he, Longtooth, and Ryder all gathered at starboard rail. "Ye think he is here?"
The three older pirates watched the sea searching for the answer. "If he is, I'll be damn surprised that he is still alive after the encounter we had with him," Ryder said.
"Who?" Riptide asked in curiosity.
"Goliath," the snag tooth mako said.
Kaiuleale, a young tiger shark Fishman and Ryder's son, pointed ahead. "Off the starboard bow!" he shouted.
Ahead of the warship, the sea churned angrily, and a mountain of water began to rise.
"Cap'n! Ye best get them ready!" Blade shouted to his young captain.
Everyone gasped at the sea king that had surfaced and was glaring down at them. It was the granddaddy of all sea kings with a mix of black and grey stripes that ran over his scarred scaled covered body. A red frill ran from the tip of his snout down his entire back. The left eye was glowing red, while his other eye was a milky white. The sea king opened his mouth, revealing his triple row toothed maw, and unleashed an ear-splitting roar.
"Sonofabitch! He really did survive," Ryder said.
"You know that sea king?" Marcus asked.
Longtooth chuckled as he nodded to the harpoon that was deeply embedded in the right of Goliath. "Who do you think did that?"
Marcus looked at him. "YOU DID THAT?! ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID?!"
"DON'T YOU START WITH ME, MARCUS!" Longtooth shouted back at the musician.
There was no doubt the two would have continued their argument if Goliath had not thrown his head back roaring in a rage, having caught the familiar scents of Longtooth, Blade, and Ryder. Instead, Riptide boldly stepped up to the railing motioning for his crew to get back.
"GOLIATH!" he shouted at the sea king.
Hearing Riptide, the sea king leaned down, snarling at the being who yelled at him. Eyes narrowed as drool dripped from the tooth-filled mouth. Riptide glared at him in return, showing no fear.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR WAY!"
Slashback, a five-gilled saw tooth, was shocked. "Did Rip just…."
Gaff, the hybrid Kuda blinked in surprise. "Dude, he did," he said. "Rip just told a freaking sea king to damn move…."
Even the scarred sea king seemed surprised as he raised his head and cocked his head. Goliath shook his head and snarled in anger. Riptide looked pissed as well as he separated his kiribachi as the six emblems of the Guardian sharks started to pulse, which steadily grew stronger as ghostly mist flowed from the shark tooth blades over the railing and down the Wavecutter's hull into the sea.
Seeing Goliath's snarl, Riptide guessed what the sea king's answer was. "I take that is a no then," he said. "Well, it seems we are going to do this the hard way, aren't we?"
Goliath roared as he lunged.
"Riptide!" Skie screamed.
I think not! Hammer, the hammerhead Guardian shark, burst forth, slamming headfirst into the sea king with enough force to topple him back into the sea.
Goliath surface with a roar of rage and froze at the sight that now greeted him. Hovering near the warship were the six Guardian sharks, every one of them looking beyond pissed. Thrash, the thresher shark, whipped his body around his long tail fin, striking Goliath in his blind eye, causing the rusted harpoon to be knocked free. The sea king howled in agony as blood sprayed forth, allowing Kaiju the megalodon and Mate the great white Guardian sharks to hit him head-on with more force than Hammer did send him farther back. Goliath barely had time to recover before Growler the leopard Guardian shark plowed into the back of the injured sea king. The Guardian shark and sea king disappeared beneath the waves and were followed by the other five Guardian sharks. Minutes passed as Riptide and the others watched and waited. Suddenly there was a geyser of water. Again, Goliath surfaced, but this time he was in far bigger trouble. The sea king was struggling to free himself from the sharp claws of Guardian, the merged form of the six Guardian sharks, who had the scarred sea king by his tail.
Guardian growled as he spun his opponent around and around above his head until Goliath was a blur of black and grey, then he released the sea king. Goliath went soaring till he was a mere speck in the sky. Guardian roared his victory as he glowed brightly and more became sic separate Guardian sharks.
"Well done," Riptide said, praising his Guardians.
Saw the white sawtooth took the form of a little Fish girl and landed in Riptide's arms. I do good, Daifu?
Of course, you did, my little one, Riptide said.
Saw happily snuggled into Riptide, more enjoying the love he gave her. The hybrid treated her more like a daughter than his Guardian something Saw how come to love dearly and saw Riptide as her father, even calling him that.
Little sister, Kaiju, rumbled deeply to Saw, who looked at her older brother. We have a duty to do. You may play later.
Yes, brother, Saw said with a sigh.
Riptide gave her one more loving hug before the young sawtooth Guardian rejoined her brothers as they dove into the sea where they took their physical forms. Five massive dorsal fins and one very towering one broke the surface surrounding Wavecutter. Gaff and Slashback hurried to the port and gawked at the sheer size of Kaiju.
"Look at the size of him," Slashback said.
Kaiju teasingly leaped out of the water, twisting and hitting the water with such force that Slashback and Gaff were soaked to the bone. Longtooth was laughing so hard that his ribs hurt at the sight of the two.
"Bet you lads will think twice on that one, eh?"
Gaff was coughing and snorting seawater as he shook his head, water flying. Slashback, on the other hand, was grinning like an idiot. "Now that was really cool," he said.
"Oh, shut the hell up," Gaff said, which caused their Nakama to all laugh at them.
With the Guardian swimming alongside their warship, the Saw crew had no more sea king issues. Dinner was usually a lively hearty one, but tonight it was different. That evening Marcus took his meal in his room, wanting to be alone. Since they entered the Grand Line, the old mako started acting odd, and he was butting heads with Longtooth way more than usual. Riptide started to worry over his sofu greatly, as did the entire crew. Their musician would not play any music even when asked. The crew all shared the same thought; What was wrong with Marcus suddenly?
Marcus laid on his bed; his dinner plate remained untouched from where it sat on the small corner table. Since they entered the Grand Line, Marcus started to have nightmares from an incident when he was only fifteen years old back on Fishman Island. Staring at the ceiling, his mind drifted back to when he was fifteen, living happily with his parents and his six siblings.
~~Flashback~~
"Mom! Dad!" Marcus called out as he entered his family's home.
He froze at the sight that greeted him. His parents lay dead on the floor in a pool of their own blood, beaten beyond recognition. Suddenly his thoughts went to his siblings, and he hurried to their rooms. His four sisters, who ranged from age one to seventeen years old all were dead. Their bloody and torn remains were more than enough for Marcus to vomit. Sadly, his twelve-year-old brother shared the same fate as his sisters; only Genghis, his older brother, was nowhere in sight.
"Genghis!" Marcus shouted as he looked for his brother. "Genghis! Where are you?!"
Marcus found his brother at the Sea Forest sitting on a large rock covered in blood. It was as if Genghis was bathed in it. The sight made Marcus sick to his stomach. He approached his brother slowly and carefully, unsure what to expect.
"Genghis," he said gently. "Brother, are you alright?"
Genghis made no sign that he had heard him. Finally, he slowly turned his head, and the way he looked at Marcus unnerved the young Fishman, especially with his purple eyes. Genghis had a way to peer into another soul, and Marcus felt like that is what his brother was doing.
"Genghis," Marcus said, swallowing the fear he was suddenly feeling. "Mother, father, our brother, and sisters…. they're all dead."
"Of course, they are," Genghis said, showing no emotion at all. "I killed them."
"You did what?!" Marcus was horrified by his brother's calm demeanor and response.
"I killed them," his brother repeated before he smiled, showing sharp blood-stained teeth. "I killed them because they were weak."
"How…how could you?" Marcus said, tears streaming down his face. "How could you commit such a heinous crime?"
Genghis jumped down from his perch, causing Marcus to back away. His brother cracked his neck before he stared at his only surviving sibling. "As easily as I did when I feasted upon the flesh of our siblings," he said smiling.
Marcus clamped a hand to his mouth, fighting the urge to vomit again. His brother…. His brother confessed to not only killing but to actually feeding on the body of their own siblings. What madness processed Genghis to do such a thing? Why would he murder their family? Their parents loved them; equally, there was not favoring one child over the other. It made no sense to the young mako for Genghis to do what he did.
"Do you know what makes us special, little brother?" Genghis asked Marcus, who did not answer. "Our eyes. Do you never noticed that our eyes were different from our so call family?"
"So, what," Marcus said. "So, what if you and I have different colors than our family. I don't see what this has to do with you murdering our entire family."
His brother spread his arms out. "It does, Marcus," he said. "It certainly does if you know how to read and understand the signs."
"Signs? What signs? Genghis, you are making no sense!"
"We are of the mako shark species. We are known for our speed and fighting spirit," Genghis said, his smile becoming more insane. "Unlike the weaklings of our family, you and I are the true makos."
Marcus looked at his brother in disbelief. Where on earth did Genghis come up with something so insane? How could he just assume that their strange eye color made them superior to their family? So, what if their parents had a gentle, loving nature. Just because they were of the mako shark species of the Fishmen race did not mean that they had to act or think in such a barbarian manner.
"You're insane," Marcus said. "You need help, Genghis. You are sick and need help. Let me get you the proper help, brother."
Genghis glared at him, his smile becoming a savage snarl. "You are weak, just like them! I surely thought you, my orange eye brother, would have understood," he said. "You refuse to embrace the very spirit of the mako!"
"Genghis! Do you not hear yourself? Are you not listening to the words you are saying?" Marcus said. "You are sick, mentally! You need help!"
Genghis snarled, lunging for Marcus, who rolled to the side, avoiding his brother's snapping teeth. The young mako realized that his brother planned on killing him since he disagreed with his ideas. He needed to get away before his insane brother succeeded in killing him. Marcus looked around and realized that his brother was nowhere in sight.
Crap! Where did he go?! He thought as he moved in a slow circle, eyes searching, listening for the slightest sound.
It did not help that countless shipwrecks littering the Sea Forest and Genghis could be hiding among or even inside their ancient rotting hulls. Marcus cried for fear as his brother burst from the inside of the wreck, his blood-stained teeth snapping wildly as his younger brother keep avoiding his attacks. Genghis seized Marcus by the throat and, with the strength born to their race, hurled him right a wreck with enough force that sent him through one wrecked hull after another. Marcus's whole body was wracked with pain as he finally landed inside one.
"Shit," he coughed as he pushed himself up on his hands and knees. "Got to find a weapon, or I'm fucking dead."
He felt around, and his fingers brushed a heavy wooden handle that had hand grooves. The mako pulled, freeing a spiked mace that was over twenty-three inches in length with a total of twenty-one sharp metal spikes with metal reinforcing bands. Orange eyes stared at the old weapon with blood-stained spikes that were almost the color of rust.
"Marcus! Where are you, Lil brother?!"
Marcus was no fighter, and like his parents, he had a very gentle nature until that moment. He heard the creaking of wood as his mad brother descended the wooden steps that lead to the lower part of the ship, and he moved back, hiding behind the remains of the cargo. His eyes followed Genghis as he moved past. He was torn by the emotions he was feeling at that moment. This was his brother, brother he loved, but then the images bloody images of his dead parents and siblings flashed through his mind. Dead, all of them dead! Killed by his older brother, who now wanted to kill him. Those images still flashing through his mind, Marcus raised the mace and, with a scream, attacked Genghis.
He did not remember hitting Genghis in the side of his face with surprising strength nor the attacks that followed after that. When Marcus finally stopped letting the mace fall from his trembling fingers, Genghis was a bloody mess, and he did not even check to see if his brother was alive. His heart heavy with sorrow, Marcus returned home only to gather clothes and a few things into a travel bag. He set the home he had been born in on fire watching it burn before he turned, walking away and becoming a wander.
~~End of Flashback~~
He had to be dead, Marcus thought, sitting up. There is no possible way that he lived after what I did. And yet…the moment we entered the Grand Line, I have felt uneasy and afraid. Why? Why am I feeling like this?
~~On an Island just a few days from the Wavecutter~~
"Get him!" shouted a Fish-man.
Running ahead of them with incredible speed was a lycanthrope or werewolf. The creature had a powerful muscular build and thick black hair, and he resembled a wolf with long pointed ears and sharp canine teeth. He was easily running on all fours since he carried a young girl who clung to his long silk hair.
"Van, they've stopped," she said as she behind them. "Why?"
"That's why," Van snarled as he skidded to a halt on the cobber stone road.
Standing ahead of them illuminated by the moonlight was a 10ft. tall Fishman wearing an armored jerkin and a metal dragon-like mask. The mako Fishman's head drooped to the right side of his body, and with each deep breath, he took there was a wheezing gasping sound. Purple eyes narrowed as he looked at the pair before him.
"Did you honestly think you could get away from me?" he asked.
"To be honest, yeah," Van said as he rose to his full height of 10 feet.
The shark man gave a rough hash laugh as the rest of his men surround them. "You are such foolish creatures to believe you would ever escape me," he said.
"Then we're fools, Genghis!" Van roared as he lunged at him.
Genghis barely batted an eye as he caught the wolfman by the throat with one hand and began to choke him. Van's eyes widen as he struggled, trying to break free of the mako's incredible grip.
"Stop it please!" the girl screamed as tears spilled down her face.
"Surrender, and I will."
"Don't listen to this bastard," Van said, finding it hard to breathe.
"We surrender," the girl said. "Now, please let him go, Genghis!"
Genghis smiled behind his mask, "Of course." He hurled the semi conscience werewolf into a nearby tree.
"Van," the girl rushed to him, dropping to her knees.
The mako turned to the jelly Fishman at his side. "I want them locked up, and then I want you to search for that other one, Jellicoe," he said.
Jellicoe nodded. "We won't rest till we found their friend, sir!"
Genghis nodded and watched as the Fishman turned to go. "Oh, and Jellicoe," he said, making the other Fishman stop to look at him. "Fail, and I will kill you very slowly. Am I clear?"
Jellicoe swallowed fearfully as his eyes widened with fear. "Y-yes, Genghis! I won't fail you!"
Satisfied, Genghis turned to the rest of his men. "Let's go!"
Hidden in the shadows of the night was another shark Fishman and he sighed as he watched his friends being taken away. He looked up at the star-filled sky and prayed.
Honorable ancestors, he prayed. Please send one who can defeat Genghis and free those poor souls that he has enslaved.
One star flashed brightly, and he took that as a sign that the Fishman prayed would soon be answered. But, for now, he would keep hidden and wait for the arrival of their chosen savior.
Well, what a way to start a new adventure! Not much to say except to Read and Review!