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This article, One Dream: Voyage 6, is property of Wyvern 0m3g4. |
Voyage 6: Spike's Soldiers[]
A multitude of soap bubbles floated carelessly throughout the air. Each one popping at a different time, it created a continuous popping sound that seemed to fill the silence as people went about their daily lives. Among the crowd was a familiar young man, with hair as black as that of crow's feathers, and a cheery smile that could light up a room. He gazed in awe at the sights around him, but most of his reverance for the location was directed at its bubbles.
Chris (excited, with eyes shining like stars): This place is so cool!!
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The islanders paid him no mind, as the citizens got tourists nearly all the time anyway. As this place was a common stopping ground for sailors before departing for the sea again, it seemed only natural there'd be some newbie pirate who was unfamiliar with the island's features. Chris, being the playful type he is, hatched an idea almost right away. He grinned enthusiastically as his arms became clay and were outstretched by a fair distance. The citizens were at least surprised by this. Not only was he a Devil Fruit user, but he appeared to be an odd one as well. They watched him as he continued with his course of action. His wet clay hands had now grasped on to a bubble, preventing it from rising any further.
Chris: Clay Clay~!!
Chris then pulled himself up towards the bubble, causing him to fly through the air up above. The islanders merely gawked by this point. What was he intending to do? Chris' next action made it pretty obvious. He landed on the bubble, causing it to cease its ascent altogether, thanks to Chris' weight. He didn't seem to be finished though, and was already moving on over to the next bubble nearby.
Chris: BOUNCE!
Chris hopped happily to and fro on the bubbles, leaving only the locals to watch on from below.
Male Islander: What a weirdo. It's like he's never seen a bubble before.
Female Islander: I guess boys will be boys.
With that considered, the citizens began to slowly return to their previous activities. Chris was busy bubble hopping and laughing his head off in amusement.
Chris: Tootootootootoo! This place is so fun! I gotta remember to come back here one day!
Chris' game was cut short however, as the bubble he just landed on had bursted. Chris was clearly shocked as he looked down at the ground waiting to collide into him below.
Chris: Oh crap!!
Nothing more could be said by that point, as Chris was already falling straight down to the ground underneath him.
Chris: WAAAAAAAAA~!!!
He desperately motioned his arms and legs frantically, as if he were trying to swim in water. Needless to say, it was pointless. Although he did manage to create some upward lift temporarily-
Chris: Phew! Thank goodness...
-Before plummeting back down once again.
Chris: No no no no NOOOO!!
Down below, the streets seemed less crowded than before. Only a few people were out and about. One in particular, chose to stand on the edge of a roof with a megaphone in hand, and shout out to the people nearby.
Male with Megaphone: THIS IS IT, FOLKS!! GROVE 22 OF THE SABAODY ARCHIPELAGO!! CURRENT TERRITORY OF THE FEARED AND FAMED SPIKE'S SOLDIERS!! WE'RE 8,000 STRONG AND GROWING!
He was quickly interrupted by a lovely young woman with long brown hair and a mug in her hand. After taking a swig from it, she looked up to the announcer.
Spike's Soldiers Female Member: We're 800 strong, ya moron. Don't go spreading lies that could get us in deep trouble. Things are bad enough as it is.
The young man turned his attention to her, looking somewhat confused.
Male Announcer: But boss went and did something huge! That'll definately get us some much needed attention! Maybe then, we really will have 8,000 followers.
The young woman gave him an equally puzzled look.
SS Female Member: You like to think big, don't you?
She returned to her mug and stared at the alchohol within it for a few seconds, before taking a satisfying gulp. The announcer shrugged his shoulders, only slightly, and also returned to his previous activity. But before he could raise his megaphone, a noise from above distracted him. Looking up with his free hand blocking the sun from his eyes, he could see an odd object falling towards him; growing louder with each passing second.
???: -aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAH~!!!
Before he could even react, the object, now looking more like a humanoid figure, crashed into him and the ceiling below. The impact left behind quite a bit of dust in the air, which the young woman nearby was quick to fan away. She looked at whatever it was that seemed to crash into her companion. With the dust settling, the young man was sprawled along the rooftop, with Chris of all people on top of him.
Chris (sounding ill): Ugh, good thing I can't get hurt...
Not the least bit interested in what he was moaning about, the woman immediately began asking questions. Well, more like shouting questions.
SS Female Member: JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA CRASHING INTO US?!!
Chris slowly looked up to see who was addressing him. He grinned sheepishly as the man underneath him managed to push him off.
Male Announcer: Get off'a me!
Chris stumbled to his feet in a clumsy backward stroll. Once he regained his balance, he was given even more questions from the two.
SS Female Member: Seriously!! Just who goes around falling from the sky and slamming into people?!
Male Announcer (distracted): Wait, "us?"
Chris responded the only way he knew how; honestly.
Chris: I'm Jolly D. Chris, a pirate.
He grinned happily after he introduced himself.
Chris: I love your bubbles.
SS Female Member: Don't go around changing the subject! If you're a pirate, then you should know better than to mess with Spike's Soldiers!
Chris stared at the two "Spike's Soldiers" members blankly.
Chris: Who with the what now?
It didn't take much for the woman to lose her cool and attempt lunging at Chris in her fury. It took her comrade holding her back from behind to keep her from doing anything reckless.
SS Female Member: Lemme at 'em!!
Male Announcer: No way, Maya. I'm as upset as you are, but we can't go picking fights when the boss is gone.
Chris: "Boss?"
With the woman known as Maya starting to cool off, the young man agreed to answer Chris' question.
Male Announcer: Yeah, you see, we're Spike's Soldiers. And our boss is known as the Street Punk around here. You see this whole grove around us?
The young man motioned with his head to look around. Chris did exactly that, and saw the various buildings nearby, as well as the trees and ever common bubbles floating around.
Male Announcer: This is all our territory now, our home if you will. Everything here is our property.
Chris then gave the announcer a sharp glare once the words "our property" were brought up.
Chris: Is that so?
Male Announcer: Woah woah woah, what're you getting angry about? This is our line of work, OK? We don't bother anyone unless we're forced to.
Maya became free of the announcer's hold as Chris began talking.
Chris: What about the people?
Maya: Don't freak out, newcomer. Boss said we can't own people here. Just buildings, weapons, food and drinks. Other than that, we usually take money off of idiots who deserve to be stolen from to get by.
Perhaps it was the mug in her hand or her flustered expression, but Maya's response triggered a thought somewhere in Chris' mind.
Chris (grinning jokingly): Seems like you take advantage of that a lot.
The young man nearby tried to cover his mouth with his hand to keep Maya from seeing him laugh. Maya scowled at Chris.
Maya: First you assault our group, and now you're mocking me? Do I need to gather our guys together and have 'em beat you to a bloody pulp?
Chris: Nah, you don't need to. Besides, I can't get hurt anyway.
Maya was then restrained once more by her friend.
Maya: WHY YOU LITTLE-!!
Male Announcer: I suggest not getting her worked up too much, pal. Short fuse, this one.
With that said, the three began making their way back down to ground level. They semed to have started a chat during their stroll together.
Male Announcer: Oh, sorry, I almost forgot. You gave us your name but we never returned the favor. I'm Quetzal. The woman next to me is Maya. We're both members of Spike's Soldiers, so we do whatever the boss says.
Chris: Oh, nice to meet'cha.
Maya: If you're a pirate, then where's your crew? Don't tell me you came all this way by yourself.
Chris: I didn't.
Quetzal: You know that's just an expression.
Chris: Yeah, i'm serious. I just became a pirate a few days ago. See?
Chris turned his back to Quetzal and Maya, and pointed to the image of a cheery jolly roger with a pencil and paintbrush for its crossbones on the back.
Chris: That's my jolly roger, proof that i'm a pirate.
Quetzal: That seems kinda stupid. Why do you want people to know you're a pirate if it's just gonna get you unwanted attention?
Chris folded his arms indignantly. He held his chin up a little, as if to appear that his reasons were more important than any sense of logic would argue against.
Chris: Because I do what I want.
Quetzal and Maya: ...
Quetzal: You're reminding me a little of the boss right now.
Maya: Please, i've been around longer, and he's nothing like boss. Just a stubborn idiot who'll go and die a meaningless death in the end.
Instead of arguing or getting offended, Chris seemed to choose picking his nose as a fitting way to compliment his reply.
Chris: Says you.
Maya: TAKE ME SERIOUSLY, DAMN IT!
Quetzal: Well, as you're in our territory without permission, that means you're trespassing on private ground. If you'd please, come with us back to our home and wait for our boss to return. He should be back from his errand soon.
Reasonably so, Maya seemed shocked at this rather hasty decision.
Maya: Wait, WHAT?! The moron breaks into our grove and so you're just gonna let him come in further?! I say we get the boys and rough him up!
Maya coupled her suggestion with a fist slammed horizontally into her palm. Quetzal appeared less amused with the idea however.
Quetzal: No, we can't make any decisions without the boss. He knows what's best.
Maya scowled once again in protest. It was short-lived though, as she couldn't seem to fight Quetzal's reasoning.
Maya: Mmgh...! Fine, but I don't like it!
Quetzal: Right...
Quetzal nodded his head slightly as he continued.
Quetzal: Now, if you'll follow us, we'll bring you to our base of operations.
Chris, not one to suspect people of foul play until it was too late, had no hesitation in agreeing to Quetzal's invitation. He nodded his head and smiled as he followed the two to their base.
Chris: So, this Street Punk guy sounds strong if he's able to take a whole place as his own. I bet he's really amazing.
Quetzal (smiling): He definately is. If it wasn't for boss, i'd still be struggling in the streets with nothing else to turn to. I'm sure Maya feels the same way.
Maya: We all owe him in one way or another. He pulled together a group of no-good delinquets around these parts and gave them meaning in their lives. Some say he's a menace and a nuisance, but to us, he's our boss, and we treat him with complete trust and respect.
Chris' eyes sparkled, as if they were two big stars once he had heard of the Street Punk's characteristics.
Chris: I so gotta meet this guy! He sounds way awesome! When's he coming back?!
Both Quetzal and Maya smirked a bit when they heard Chris' enthusiasm. He may not have been the pain in the butt as they had suspected all along.
Quetzal: Sometime soon, I promise. He left about 30 minutes ago, so it should take him another few to return. Until then, our casa es su casa.
Chris: Your what's in the what now?
Quetzal (chuckling): I'm just saying you can make yourself at home.
Maya: Not too much though. I'll be keeping a close eye on you.
Chris (pleased): Alright...
As Chris trailed off, he began to imagine what the Street Punk must have been like. He looked up at the sky as the thoughts swirled around in his head.
Chris (thoughts): The Street Punk... Can't wait to see him!
Not too far off from their location however, a blonde young man in a coat casually walked down the street with barely anyone else around. Those nearby who were there weren't around for long; as one look at the man was enough to scare them off. Riding an odd vehicle made out of a bubble was a red-haired mermaid with a green tail. Apparently, she was unafraid of the man and felt comfortable enough to ride up alongside him.
Young Man: Sorry I made you wait outside. I was thirsty and wanted a drink.
Mermaid: No problem boss. I'm just glad you came to get me when you did.
'Boss': Of course I did. You think a yankee like me cares about the Nobles and their stupid status? Screw that. When you're in my gang, or in my territory, we're all equals. But when you mess with my underlings, you're garbage.
The mermaid giggled in amusement.
Mermaid: Boss, you're so cool.
Boss: I said we're equals damn it. I'm no cooler than you are.
Mermaid: Fine fine. I just can't wait to get back home and see the guys.
Boss: Yeah, let's get back there. I'm itching to relax after dealing with that scum.