Part 7.3

As I followed Rear Admiral Vice to that Office he was talking about earlier the rain began to pick up. Before it was just normal rain, then it began to decide to escalate drastically. Like some of my crew playing strip-chess. It got very intense very quickly.

Vice was walking me and Chow down the dark streets of Marineford. We were heading torwards a large mansion like building far away from all the abandoned residences and the Marine headquarters. It was on top of a lonely hill far away from the port itself, which I was thankful for. The rain was so bad that there were practically small rivers flowing off of the empty house's roofs and onto the street. They had some drainage grates, but it was quickly being overtaken.

This wasn't just a bit of rain. It was a full blown storm. I knew it was a storm because of the lighting flashing above and around us.

"Is it metal boots or magic hats that attract lightning?" I ask Midnight Chow. He's walking directly behind me doing his damn best to keep me between him and Vice. He really shouldn't be that scared. If Vice hurts him, and by association my endless omelettes, I'll hurt the Rear Admiral a hundred fold more... See what I did there?

"Sorry boss. I'm no weather expert, but I'm pretty sure that metal anything tends tah attract lightning."

"Crap." I say blandly. I like my metal boots, but I don't want them to be the cause of me being struck by lightning. I've been hit by lightning before. It was when I was sleeping in the crow's nest of the ship I was in while we were sailing to Diz-Harmony.

It was raining a little bit at the time but I wasn't too bothered cause I was in a comfortable spot while taking a nap. Being in the rain reminds me of some of the prison cells back in Impel Down that were in a state of disrepair. They would have a leaky roof and I would be cold and freezing all the time, so eventually I got used to it.

I was taking my nap in the rain, when this bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and it me. It hit me hard... I ended up pissing myself and all of the hair was burnt off of my arms. Good thing no one was around to see that because I'm pretty sure I had a few tears squeeze out of my eyes when that happened. I also had to find a change of shorts.

Back to the present.

"Does my stone mask at least resist lightning?" I asked Chow.

Vice answered instead. He snorted before saying, "Fool. Everyone knows that Stone type doesn't resist Electric type. It does regular damage. It's a common, but foolish, misconception. Ground type is completely immune to Electric attacks however."

I laughed. Then I replied to him saying, "Sorry. If you had said with just a bit less conceit I would take you seriously. Then again, you also sounded like a nerd just then." I smiled behind my mask. "Heh. Nerrrd."

Vice stopped and looked at me again. Well, it wasn't so much if a 'look' as much as it was an intense blood boiling stare. Personally, I've seen things that were much more intense. Warden had a poison he could use that literally boils someone's blood and kills them. That wasn't the worst best part a of the poison however. They'd turn into a pile of bloody mush on the ground and then some prisoners would would be forced by the guards to dispose of what's left of the body by waffle stomping their corpse goo down a one inch by one inch drain.

Once you waffle stomp the bloody mush of a man down a drain people trying to stare you down doesn't really matter that much. Also taking a shit wherever you please loses it's severity. It puts things in to perspective.

Vice gave up trying to stare me down and continued walking to the mansion up the hill. I made to follow him but I stopped when I noticed something. More specifically I noticed the lack of something. Chow wasn't following me.

I turned around d and there he was face down on the street. Which was a hug problem because the street was flooding slightly. That meant there was the very real possibility of Chow drowning in an inch of water. The ultimate embarrassing and stupid death.

I sighed because I was starting to get tired of this kind of shit. Why can't people not drown in less than an inch of water? This has happened far too happen too often amongst my crew.

I then walked over to my downed cook and threw his unconscious body over my shoulder. I continued to follow Vice up the barren hill to the mansion doing my best not to act too wary of the lightning striking around us. Vice didn't have any reservations about his disdain and he said to me, "This weather is shit. Our meteorologists have predicted this is going to keep up for two or three days. You arrived at the worst possible time pirate."

"You're saying I should've arrived earlier or later? Cause I came as soon as I finished literally demolishing Diz-Harmony. There's not a trace of civilization left on that island besides the gangs of roving children and a few shanty towns I left standing just for the heck of it."

"You disgust me." Vice said. His voice carried of tone of severe simplicity and honesty that lead me to believe that there was no wiggle room in what he said. He hated me, and there was no way I was going g to be able to change his mind.

After a few moments more of walking we came to the top of the hill where the mansion was. The Office of Extracurricular Activity... Wait. That's not right. The Office of Efficient Stockbrokering. The Office with Extraordinary Gentlemen? Crud. I don't actually remember what the place is called. I've been so distracted by the weather and looking around the abandoned streets of Marineford I forgot to think about what this place was called.

Wait. Why is Marineford abandoned? Isn't this place supposed to be the headquarters of all the Marines in the entire world or something? There should be a lot more people here if that was the case. There should at least be a few of those people who take your vehicle for you and park it elsewhere so you can immediately do your business. Valets. That's what this place should have. Marineford needs some valets.

Vice pushes the double doors of the mansion open and I follow him inside to get myself and the still unconscious Chow out of the storm. Inside is a small crowd of people sitting in comfortable looking chairs and standing inside a lobby around a crackling fireplace. Twelve people total. Men, women, and two people dressed in clothes so fancy they must be nobles. There's also a man with a unlit cigarette in his mouth wearing a dark tan trenchcoat in the shadows by the base of the main staircase. The others appear to be looking at him however so I decided to go with the cores and ignore him too.

"Is there anyone who will take my chef?" I ask aloud. When no one answers I shrug. Then I just drop Chow to the floor with an audible 'thump'. I bet that would've really hurt if Chow was concious.

I notice my iron boots are a bit muddy from my walk here and look around for a rug to wipe my feet. I don't see one so I'm about to resign myself to taking them off when a fancy tapestry catches my attention. It's right by the door and a tapestry is pretty much just a rug for your walls.

I lift up my right leg and wipe the mud caking to bottom of them on the tapestry. I ignore the gasping sound of the fat noble woman behind me and do the same thing with my left foot. Only when both of my boots are clean do I turn around and ask Vice, "So. Where do I go to sign these papers?"