CH - 10 [ what pirates do ] part -2

So the rest of the crew set about their duties. Being that Jory had nothing else to do, he went back to his bunk. He was still the angriest of the crew, being that he was so young, he'd done less traveling with pirates in his life. He had a lot of pent up aggression that he didn't know how to get rid of.

Halcen pulled Grey aside. "So, what would a big shot like Shanks want in Loguetown? Any business partners there he might be visiting?"

"Honestly, I can't fathom. Like I said, it's a major Marine town. I can't imagine what kind of business he would have there. I know that's where Roger died. But I don't know that Shanks would really go there just for that."

"Well… you did say Shanks had a special bond with Roger. He was the golden boy of the Roger Pirates, right? Would that be enough? Nostalgia?"

Grey let out a small laugh, then shook his head. "I can't imagine."

And so they returned to their trip, setting out across ocean as the night sky fell. The Black Tail sailed silently into the dark horizon. With the moon coming up and the sun going down, each crew member's anticipation grew. They were on a journey to find the renowned Yonko "Red-Haired" Shanks. He was a legend among many. The hired crew had never met anyone like him. Grey and Halcen had different stories. They were far more used to dealing with big name powers, and not just Yonko either. They lived the pirate life to perfection.

When the morning sun began to rise, the inhabitants of the Black Tail all came back to their consciousness. The crew woke, little by little. Bailu and Loyola began to maintain the ship's ropes and sails, making sure each little thing was in place still. They dragged Jory into it to be extra muscle. Being that he had little to do when they weren't in danger, they thought he might as well learn how to help run the ship. And then there was Valentina, at the helm, making sure they were still on track.

The way the wind blows in her hair… Halcen had to snap himself back to the moment. He had important things to be doing.

He jumped into action, shouting orders to the rest of the crew, making sure they were doing their jobs right, making sure they still obeyed him as their authority. He needed to keep up his image with them.

And after a few hours, Halcen was back up in his perch, chowing down on another bar of chocolate. He'd already eaten most of his supply. He knew they needed to reach Loguetown soon or he'd begin going through sugar withdrawals. Since he had quit drinking, he needed something to take the edge off.

Over the horizon, way off in the distance, he spotted another ship from up from the north. He could tell it was quite a bit larger than the Black Tail. But it didn't seem to be a Marine ship. It had standard white sails… and a black flag.

Pirates. Halcen shot up from his seat, almost falling out of the crow's nest. He nearly died trying to climb down the ladder fast enough to get to the deck. "Pirates!" He shouted. "Off to the north! Coming our way!"

Grey, Jory, and Loyola rushed to meet him in the middle of the deck, with Bailu trailing behind. He was an old man after all. But the good thing about old men is they have experience.

Halcen was unsure how to act. Valentina was up at the helm waiting for orders. Grey stood, waiting for Halcen to make a move. He took a moment, almost freezing. Then Halcen looked to Grey, and they held eye contact for a moment. Halcen could feel Grey's confidence in him. So he took a deep breath.

"Alright, so we don't know if they're friendly or not. But pirates are pirates. We need to be prepared in case they do turn hostile. We need to ready the cannons, get yourselves some rifles, and take an inventory of anything we can use to fight. We might need to get dirty."

Bailu broke in. "This ship is damn near brand new. It's never been tested in combat. We only have two damned cannons!"

"This is as good a time as any to test it. We don't have a choice."

"Just be careful with the damn thing!"

Halcen rolled his eyes, the nodded. "Valentina!"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Is there anywhere nearby we can go to lose them? We're smaller ship so we'll fit in places they can't. But they'll likely have speed over us!"

Valentina looked about for a while. There was nothing. No islands, no other ships. They were out of luck. "I do see a reef. We could get in there and it should hold them back. It doesn't look very wide, maybe a few hundred feet across. But we can't know how high the reef is going to be, nor how low their ship is!"

"We might as well take the chance. See if you can get us in there!"

"Aye, Captain!"

That 'a girl.

Slowly but surely the other ship came closer. By then, Valentina had positioned their merry little band in the shallower depths where a coral reef was all but protruding the water's surface. She was good, Halcen had to admit.

It's tremendous, Halcen thought, nearly trembling, as he watched the other ship coming toward them.

The other ship was indeed much larger than theirs. It had a much darker brown finish to the majority of the body. It had three gigantic masts. At the very top of the middle mast was a very eerie black flag. It had a skull-and-crossbones with a hazmat symbol over its face and squiggly lines coming up off of it. Halcen was unsure how to interpret it. There were a lot of reasons that these guys might have a symbol like that. Are they radioactive?

The ship began to circle the reef. And up on the deck came a man staring deadly towards their little ship. He was a bit short, but very surly looking. He was seemed to be a bit on the heavier side. He had a thick dark brown beard that stuck out like an ornament on his face. He had skin that was a reddish color that seemed like it as from a rash. He smiled grimily at Halcen. Behind him, a sea of crew members. This was a full pirate crew; at least thirty. Each one of them had a breathing apparatus on over their faces though. Halcen couldn't tell why. They continued to make their way around the sparse of coral. They couldn't get any closer without it tearing into their ship.

At least we have that going for us. But we can't just sit here. We need to take action. They can outwait us. They probably have more firepower than us too. We gotta do something.

"Greetings fellow trav'lers," the captain called in a very old gruff piratey voice. "I be yer morning entertainment! Me name be Capt'n Anosmia! And this be me crew. We're here for yer booty!" Everything he said was said slowly.

"On a first date?" Halcen called. "That's pretty desperate!"

"Alright, ye little twerp! Hand over all yer riches or I'll unleash me power on ya!"

Then Halcen noticed something. It was faint at first, but it grew little by little. It was a rank smell, like none he had ever had the unpleasantness to be run afoul by. "What the hell is that?!"

"Aye! Did'ja finally get a whiff?" Anosmia shouted, then began to laugh deeply and with great enthusiasm. His crew followed suit. Each of the grotesque characters aboard his ship each cackled with their captain. Then Anosmia continued. "That be the power of me Devil Fruit! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

What kind of sick Devil Fruit is that? And why tell us… unless he thinks there's nothing we can do about it. "Oh big deal! You smell bad. Is that supposed to scare us?"

"Not at all! It just be a warning to what I really be capable of! Now bring me all yer treasure or I'll sink dat puny t'ing ye call a ship."

"Robbing other pirates? That's pretty low, don't you think?"

"Pirates? What 'er you babblin' on about, boy? There ain't no flag on yer ship! Ye can't just call yerself a pirate and it be so! To me yer fair game!"

Halcen stared in rage. "Grey?" he said quietly.

"Yes, Halcen," Grey asked, standing right next to him.

"I've got a plan."

"Good."

Halcen raised both his arms into the air. "Alright, Captain Anosmia! I'll get you everything we have! Just, please don't hurt my crew!"

"That be better!" Anosmia laughed snarkily.

Halcen turned his back to the other ship, saying quietly to his crew. "Wait for my signal."