Grand Voyage- Log 16

Log 16: Harbinger Island Part 9
“Arrest them,” Morris said, waving his hand in the direction of Knave, Coco, Sid, and Art, “put Coco-kun in a different cell. Wouldn’t want him to mix, would we? Uragiririririririririr!”

“Of course not, Morris-sama,” Noir said, leaping into the air, reaching into the folds of his coat and producing a pair of seastone handcuffs, quickly hurling them towards Knave, catching him in the back.

“Grrrhhh!” Knave mumbled as the strength drained from his body, collapsing to the floor.

Vital had moved equally as fast, quickly seizing Sid and Art from their respective positions and tossing them over his back like sacks of bleeding potatoes. Noir grabbed Coco’s arm and dragged him over to Knave, who he quickly picked up as well, using the seastone cuffs as a sort of leash.

“What about the Captain, sir?” one of the Marines asked from the crowd.

“FORMER Captain,” Morris corrected, “and as for him.....” An evil grin appeared once more on the corrupt Marine’s face, “let’s see how long he can last outside when a wicked storm’s upon us.”

At once, most of the Marines in the crowd, having evidently been under Morris’s employ, tore down the ropes binding them off, and rushed over to Falstaff, quickly lifting him up and moving him towards the entrance....

“Ugh...” Knave muttered, his eyes opening slowly. The seastone cuffs were gone, and he was propped on one of the walls of a large concrete cell, placed just across from where Mesh had been imprisoned a few hours ago.

“So you’re finally awake,” Art’s voice rang from a short bit away. Knave’s eyes quickly focused on him. He was sitting right next to Sid in the middle of the room, and between them was.... a tray of food!

“FOOD!” Knave cried happily, lunging across the room, hands outstretched and reaching for the tray.

“No,” D’Artagnan and Sid replied in unison, their feet rising just in time to meet Knave’s face, as it crashed eagerly into them.

“Owwwww,” Knave moaned, sliding back down to the floor, “that’s so mean~...”

“No,” Art replied, “we just know that you’ll eat all of the food in seconds if we let you at it.”

“But if you don’t I’ll die....”

“You won’t die,” Sid scoffed, “suck it up for a little bit, we’re almost done with our share.”

“I wanna go back to the Star....” Knave whined, “at least she has plenty of food.”

“Wait, the Star?!” Sid asked, eyes bulging slightly, “you two are the owners of the pirate ship that was on the shore?”

“How’d you know it was a pirate ship?” Art asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Someone wrote ‘We ARE BEST PIRATES THIS IS OUR SHIP SHOOTING STAR STAY AWAY’ on the main mast,” Sid explained, “and in really bad kanji too...”

“Knave!” D’Artagnan yelled, facepalming, “why’d you have to do that?”

“Well....” Knave mumbled from the floor, “I was having trouble coming up with the jolly roger, so I decided to leave a marking before we left to go exploring...”

“I was more impressed at how bad the writing was,” Sid said, slurping up some more noodles, “did you go to school at all?”

“Wasn’t many schools at Yama...” Knave mumbled.

“Yama? That weird mountain island in the backwaters of South Blue?” Art asked, “that’s where you were born?”

“Where everyone lives on cliff house things?” Sid contributed.

“Yep....” Knave groaned, “....can I please have some food?”

The Majin and the Marine brat stared at each other for several seconds, then pushed the food that was left on the tray towards the marimo boy. “Sure.”

“Beautiful,” Morris said happily, as Falstaff was hoisted up to the top wall of the base, then tied onto it with rough ropes. The storm was on the verge of reaching its peak, winds whipping around horribly, dust and even some of the boulders shaking and flying around, rain pouring down, lightning cackling.

“Sir, what do you want us to do with the new prisoners?” a loyal Marine asked, saluting, his rifle propped over his shoulder.

“We’ll execute them in the morning,” Morris replied, leaning back against the small railing that made up the entrance to the base, watching as Falstaff was soaked, lightning nearly missing him several times, “I want to enjoy this.”

“Yessir,” the Marine replied, returning to the base.

Morris smiled, looking up at the former captain. It’d been a long ten years, but he’d finally done it. The base was his, and now he could do whatever he wanted with it.

It WAS good to be alive.

''A young Coco’s eyes bulged, fear and despair filling his face as his father collapsed to the ground, blood pooling from his chest as he breathed his last breath. “Dad!” the young boy yelled, running up to his father, only to receive a kick from the drunkard who had fired the shot.''

''“Stoopid kid,” the drunk growled, watching as Coco was sent skidding back before putting his gun away and beginning to walk back towards the tavern, “stoopid Marines, too. Thinkin’ they can just go wherever ‘ey want.”''

''“Stop!” came the voice of several of the Marines who had come with Coco’s father to make sure the trade went smoothly. They drew their guns. “You’re under arrest!”''

Even as the drunkard was apprehended, even as Coco’s father was being carried away to the doctor’s, the young albino’s eyes never stopped glaring, fiery hate filling them.

They kept doing it till the present day.

“And that’s what happened,” Sid finished explaining, taking another sip from the lone cup of water the guards had allowed the three prisoners, “at least, as far as I know.”

“And ever since then...” Art mused.

“He’s been convinced that the Marines are the only truly good people on Earth,” Sid finished, “and he’s been spreading that doctrine around ever since.”

The two sat in complete silence, the only noise coming from Knave noisly devouring the food they had given him. His meal now finished, Knave promptly collapsed onto the floor once again. “I’m still tired....” Knave muttered.

“Well, that’s probably because of the powder that Vital guy put in your hair,” Art replied, reaching for his turn on the water bottle, “we’ll need to figure out a way to.... wash...” His eyes moved towards the bottle itself. “....it off....”

Another moment of silence occurred.

“Hey, Knave!” D’Artagnan suddenly spoke up, a bit too loudly. He leaped up and ran clumsily over to Knave. “You want some wa- AH!”

With that incredibly fake sounding scream, the Majin toppled, tripping on something invisible. The water bottle crashed on Knave’s head, quickly soaking his hair. The water that pooled on the bottom was saturated with the dust that had once occupied it.

“YOSHA!” Knave yelled, leaping to his feet, his limbs filled with new strength, “LET’S ROCK!”

“Hey, what are you-?” their guard began, poking his head into the cell.

“NAGA NAGA NO HEAT CANON!” Knave yelled, his enhanced fist smashing through the bars, landing a good punch on the guards’ face. The guard toppled backwards, unconscious, with the bars following shortly behind.

“Well, that’s one way to get us out of here,” Sid remarked, a sweatdrop falling off the back of his head.

“What we gonna do?” Art asked, standing up and quickly unsheathing his knives, “fight our way out and head back to the Star?”

“Of course not!” Knave yelped happily, “we’re gonna help ossan!”

“You’re gonna help my dad?” Sid asked, “why would you-”

“Cause you’re my friend,” Knave replied simply.

“...Huh,” was all Sid could answer, before D’Artagnan clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it,” Art said, “being Knave’s friend is a good thing.” Art quickly walked up next to his captain.

“But we still have to get through those three,” Art commented.

“Right!” Knave replied, “I’ll take Funny-hand! Art, you take Suprise Zombie Marine! Sid, you save your father!”

“Or,” Sid returned, “I can take Noir, Art can take Vital, and you can rescue my dad.”

“Or,” Art chimed in, “Sid can take Noir, I can rescue the dad, and Knave can save Sid’s dad.”

The three of them stood in a triangle, locked in stalemate. Suddenly, their hands flashed out, meeting in the center. “ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!” they quickly cried. While Art cried at being eliminated in the first round, Sid and Knave faced off, ending with Sid winning.

“Alright then!” Sid said briskly, “my plan it is! But first...”

“Yes?” Art asked, his face shining with anticipation.

“Yes?” Knave asked, his face doing the same.

Sid turned around, a manic grin on his face. “We need to check to see if some of the girls are-”

“GROW UP!” Art yelled, delivering a swift punch to Sid’s face, while Knave fell into hysterics at Sid’s behavior.

“What?!” Vital asked, speaking into a Den Den Mushi was he strode through the base, “the prisoners-”

“Escaped, yes,” D’Artagnan said, stepping into the corridor. Vital let the Den Den Mushi hang, staring at the Majin pirate who stood before him.

“You have guts,” the prosthetic Marine remarked, “facing me even after I beat your captain.”

“You won cheaply,” Art shot back, readying his knives, “and I don’t have a Devil Fruit like my captain.”

“Vital?” Noir asked, anger tinging his voice, “VITAL?!”

“He’s not gonna answer,” Sid laughed, dropping from the ceiling in front of his opponent, “Art should be there to take care of him.”

“Back for another round?” Noir asked, his voice a bit mocking, “ready to lose again?”

“Hah, you wish,” Sid replied, shifting into a fighting stance, “I guess I’ll have to demonstrate what a real Rokushiki user fights like.”

“OSSAN!” Knave yelled, charging through the the door, “I’M COMING TO-”

At that moment the full force of the storm hit the island, the winds lifting Knave up and smashing him against the wall of the base. “GMPRH!” Knave yelled, as he dropped, landing in a rapidly forming mud puddle. “Stupid wind!” the young man spat, pulling himself up and kicking the water angrily.

“What have we here?” Morris asked, standing up after watching Knave struggle for a few minutes, “a wannabe pirate here to claim my head?”

“YEAH RIGHT!” Knave yelled, “YOU HURT OSSAN, SO I’M GOING TO KICK YOUR- UWAaAAHH!” Another gust of wind seized our hero, sending him flying into the air. He quickly snatched onto a small space in between the bricks holding the base together, hanging on for dear life, “ASS!”

“This is going to be akward,” Morris remarked, a sweatdrop falling.

~End of Log~

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