One Dream: Voyage 3

Past Voyage

Welcome once again to One Dream! After much consideration, i've decided to reserve the author's notes until a new story arc appears, or in case of special chapters in the story. This also prevents me from running out of things to say on a continual basis, which makes this something of a win-win scenario for both the readers and myself. That also means you can now simply start reading the story without any early interruptions from me.

As for the chapter itself, allow me to give a brief summary of what's to be expected. As you may or may not remember (unless you clicked the link above,) Chris has now 'borrowed' a Marine ship and is on his way to the city of water, Water 7. But what about the Marines? Will they have a hand in how the story progresses? Or will Chris finally get the pirate ship of his dreams? Everything will be explained below. I hope you enjoy the continuation of One Dream.

Voyage 3: I Can't Be Stopped
The morning was finally here, and the sun couldn't have been brighter. Everyone seemed to be busy with their daily lives, with some men seen resting as they read the newspaper, while wives, sisters or daughters greeted one another as they picked out food to shop for. One of the peaceful villagers, a man somewhere in his thirties, seemed rather shocked at what he saw.

Male Villager: "Big Uproar in Pleasure Island. Former king Decaden was overthrown as of late, due to the combined forces of a rowdy pirate crew and one local citizen. Those responsible are considered highly dangerous..."

He trailed off after that. He couldn't seem to understand why anyone would be so daring and bold as to resist one of the government's monarchs. He rubbed his hand through his black hair while staring vacantly at the paper in his hand.

Male Villager: These pirate are coming straight out of the wood-work lately, aren't they? And who would be so stupid enough as to help them?

An elderly gentleman nearby, who had overheard the whole thing, couldn't resist adding his own thoughts into the matter.

Elder Villager: Sounds like a loony to me.

He smiled teasingly as the younger man looked up at him from his seat.

Male Villager: You think so, huh?

Elder Villager: Who else but a crazed and disgruntled citizen would revolt against a king? Young folk nowadays should be happy with what they have. Why, in my day-

The male villager decided to cut off his older neighbor off quickly, or else he'd get an earfull of 'those good ol' days.'

Male Villager: Yeah yeah, I know. People showed respect, and hard work was appreciated. Heh, i've heard 'em all before.

Instead of taking offense, the gentleman simply made the same mocking smile as before.

Elder Villager: Oh, have you?

It seemed this was going to be another blissful, uneventful day. Just as the villagers expected it to be. Down near the shore, a little girl had wandered down on her own. Looking down at the sand beneath her, she began collecting any sea shells that caught her interest. Once at least four were added into her new collection, she thought she heard something off in the distance. Looking up to examine the new sight, the girl appeared almost skeptical at first. But soon, the sketpicism turned to fear, and wasting no time, she returned to the village in a hurry. Once there, the villagers could hear her panicked screams. Something out at sea appeared to have frightened her badly.

Little Girl: EEEEEEEKKK!!! PIRATES!! PIRATES ARE COMING!!

The villagers looked up in alarm. Surely she was joking! Pirates?! Here?! The girl ran to her mother and embraced her waist for protection. The mother, concerned for her child, tried to console her. Doing the best that she could, she hid her own worries and fears, and tried to sound calm and in control.

Mother: Really? Are you sure that's what you saw?

The girl looked up at her mother, with tears being forced back in her eyes.

Little Girl: Mhmm! There were pirates coming here. I think they're gonna destroy the town.

Unconvinced, a villager spoke out in protest.

Male Villager: How can we be sure your kid isn't lying?! We haven't seen pirates here for a while! Why would they just show up now?!

The mother turned back at him and seemed ready to defend the honor of her daughter, but the girl spoke up for herself.

Little Girl: I'm not lying!! I saw bones on the sail and everything!! The pirates...!

She trailed off for a brief moment before summing up her feelings. Her voice, instead of frightened, now sounded melancholic; as if a natural disaster were to occur, or a loved one had died.

Little Girl: The pirates are going to attack us. They're going to ruin everything...

The villagers, now one at a time, began to share the same sense of dread. There really were pirates. The true, razing, pillaging, killing kind of pirates. People who did anything on a whim, and were perfectly content with burning entire towns and cities to the ground if they thought it'd help their cause. These criminals took whatever they wanted, and never left behind a thing, except misery, dread, and anger. The villagers drooped their heads in despair. Not one of them knew how to use advanced forms of martial arts, and they weren't exactly skilled users in handling weapons. They were just sitting ducks, waiting to be used and manipulated by the approaching pirates. Their lives, their destinies, were now in the hands of people they couldn't even trust.

Offshore, aboard a certain speedy Marine vessel, panic seemed to ensue.

Marine Seaman Apprentice (panicking): LOWER THE SAILS!!

Marine Seaman First Class (also panicking): GO AGAINST THE WIND!!

The pirate, Jolly D. Chris, had been running up and down the deck, trying to follow the frightened Marines' orders. However, they only ended up confusing and annoying him.

Chris (upset): STOP SHOUTING AT ME!!

Ensign (amazed): DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING?!!

Chris: I SAID SHUT UP!!

Thanks to the rather strong winds today, the Marine ship was sailing much faster than it normally would have. On its sail, the Marine logo appeared to have been crossed out by large, thick brown streaks, and above the streaks was an equally large, thick, and brown skull. Chris had commandeered the ship as his own, and covered the Marines' symbol with a jolly roger. However, it seemed he was about to have yet another of his ships destroyed, as it appeared to be approaching the island ahead at alarming speeds. The thin Marine from before couldn't help but shout his final regret.

Thin Marine Seaman First Class (tears running down his face): WE WERE SAFER IN THE TRIANGLE~!!

The Ensign, as sharp as ever, quickly hatched up an idea of how he could free himself and save the ship from certain demise.

Ensign: Pirate!! I have an idea of how you can save us all!!

Chris, in need of a way to keep from losing another ship, decided to play along with the Ensign for now.

Chris: Spit it out!! We're gonna crash!!

Ensign: Quickly!! Release me from the mast and I can help you save the ship!!

Chris immediately went to picking his nose with his pinky soon after; unwilling to let the Marines go, for worry that they'd simply cause trouble again.

Chris: I'd rather sink.

Appalled, the Ensign's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged.

Ensign: ARE YOU CRAZY~?!!

Chris: If I let you go, you'd just try to catch me again. There's no sense in that.

Ensign: THERE'S NO SENSE IN DYING EITHER!!

Chris: I still stand by my point. Either way, it doesn't make a bit of sense.

At the end of his rope, and knowing just how close the island was getting, the Ensign made a desperate attempt to save the lives of himself and his men.

Enisng: ALRIGHT!! WE WON'T ARREST YOU!! JUST PLEASE SAVE US!!

Amazed and convinced by the Ensign's plea, Chris finally stood down and agreed to the terms of the deal.

Chris: Good.

Chris then made his way to the mast, and started savagely punching and kicking the solid brown substance that glued the Marines to the wooden structure.

Ensign: What're you doing that for?!! It'll take too long!!

Chris paused momentarily to answer the Marine.

Chris: You see, once this thing becomes solid, there's no changing it back. So I just gotta smash it. And it'd take longer if you didn't interrupt me. I just began to get it to crack too...

Ensign: OK, OK, JUST SMASH!!

Chris promptly returned to attacking the amorphous brown structure. And soon enough, he had managed to break it apart. Now freed from their prison, the Marines scrambled to stop the ship from sailing into the shore.

Ensign: RAISE THE SAILS! DROP ANCHOR! TURN THE RUDDER!

Chris stood there like a statue, simply watching the Marines at work.

Ensign (irritated): YOU HELP TOO, IMBECILE!!

Chris (calmly): Oh, OK.

As everyone did their respective job, and with the ship turning sideways, the ship made a painful, sudden jerk; knocking everyone off their feet. In fact, the sudden stop, just inches away from the shore, sent everyone, Chris included, off the ship and on to the beach. The scene appeared rather silly to say the least, with everyone nearly buried in the sand. The Marines took their time in getting out, with some aiding others in need. Chris however, was stuck head-first, and only his legs could be seen. He flailed them around in the air, with his muffled shouts calling for help from underneath. The Marines, glad to be free and safe, slowly approached the helpless pirate. They stared at him for a while, wondering exactly what to do next.

Marine Petty Officer: Seems to be stuck in there real good. He may not be able to fight back at all.

The Ensign smirked in satisfaction. He knew he had promised not to arrest Chris in order to keep the ship from smashing apart. But this was too good a chance to pass up.

Ensign: Well men, seems lady luck is in our favor today.

The lower ranking officers all chuckled in delight. Not one of them was too worried about the broken promise. All they cared for, was putting the trouble-maker behind bars. Just as the large, burly Seaman First Class was about to pluck Chris out like a vegetable, a loud scream came from down the path.

Petty Officer: The hell was that?

Large Seaman First Class: Sounds like it came from down that way.

Concerned, the Ensign gave out his next set of orders.

Ensign: Forget the pirate for now. He isn't going anywhere. We should investigate what's going on over there.

The Ensign and his men then proceeded down the simple dirt path, leaving Chris to fend for himself under the sand. Back at the village, it seemed the townspeople were grouped together. Looks of fear and worry could be seen amongst them, as they huddled around another for defense and comfort. A sinister laughter filled the air, causing some of the villagers, even the toughest of men, to break out into a cold sweat. The laughter came from a rather ugly, fearsome looking fellow. Clothed in a dark brown jacket and mustard yellow slacks, the man appeared to be the ideal villain. If that wasn't enough, he had some teeth missing in the front, and a saber tucked away at his hip. He grinned a dastardly smile at the people in front of him, as his cronies chuckled ominously.

Fearsome Man: That's exactly what I wanna see. Stay right there and don't cause any trouble, ya hear? For the next few hours, this island is the property of the Slaughter Pirates!

To emphasize the point, his minions cheered in unison.

Slaughter Pirates: BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SPELL SLAUGHTER WITHOUT LAUGHTER!

Slaughter Captain: Splahahahahahaha!!

Bold Male Villager: So why are you here?! We don't have anything of use for a pirate crew!

The Slaughter Pirate captain arched an eyebrow, as if amused by the question.

Slaughter Captain: Why? Why do you think?! We need food, water, and money for our voyages ahead! Plus, my men have been growing rowdy lately, so we could use a little fun here and there.

The villagers felt a sense of dread arise. Surely, the pirates were going to level everything just for their own sick amusement. Their homes, their shops, their livelihood. All their years of hard work would go up in flames in just a few hours, just for kicks. It was more than the villagers could stand.

Angry Female Villager: So you just destroy for the sake of destruction?! You're the lowest of the low!

Slaughter Captain (mockingly): Oh please, don't be that way. You'll hurt our feelings...

His men laughed wildly at what their captain had said. He soon joined in as well.

Slaughter Captain: Splahahahahahahahaha!! Breaking a few backwater houses is just half of it! We want the company of some pretty ladies too! Give us all you've got!

Slaughter Pirates (chanting): FOOD! WATER! MONEY! WOMEN! FOOD! WATER! MONEY! WOMEN!

The villagers tried to hold their disgust for the pirates down as much as they could. There was nothing else they could do. The pirates were armed to the teeth in weaponry, and knew how to use them. Worse, they were unafraid to use them too.

Slaughter Captain: Alright men! It's looting time!

Slaughter Pirates: YEAH~!!

???: HOLD IT!!

Confused, both the Slaughter Pirates and the villagers looked over to where they heard the voice. Standing behind the crowd of villagers, a man dressed in white stood defiantly.

Marine Ensign: Don't you dare lay a finger on these innocent people!

Slaughter Captain (mockingly): Oh dear, woe is us. The big bad Marines have come all this way to stop us in our tracks.

A snap of the fingers was all that was needed for one of the captain's men to fire their rifle into the left shoulder of an older looking man. He fell on to his back, grunting in pain. The shot left his shoulder covered in a mass of blood, staining his clothes.

Male Villager (in pain): NNGH!! NNNNGH!

A woman kneeled beside him, and tried to prop him up in her arms.

Female Villager (scared): NO, MY HUSBAND'S BEEN SHOT!

Slaughter Captain: SPLAHAHAHAHAHAHA! See?!! NO ONE CAN STOP US! THE MARINES ARE USELESS!

Petty Officer (enraged): WHY YOU-!!

The Ensign held his arm out to bloack off the Petty Officer's path.

Ensign: No, don't let them get you riled up. That man can still be saved. The shot wasn't fatal.

Slaughter Captain: Oh, trust me, Mr. Hero. That was merely just an example. If you want us to, we could get even more brutal...

The captain stared down at the same little girl who had warned the village of their arrival. She shivered in terror as her mother tried to hide her as best she could.

Ensign (angry): ENOUGH OF THIS! YOU PIRATES ARE UNDER ARREST, BY ORDER OF THE MARINES! LAY YOUR WEAPONS DOWN AND COME PEACEFULLY, OR WE WILL USE NECESSARY FORCE!

The Slaughter captain only sighed in dissapointment.

Slaughter Captain: I told you that we couldn't be stopped...

New Voyage