43 Departure

Not long later, Luffy and Ace stood on the shores of the Pirates Cove near the Grey Terminal, waving and smiling as they sent me off.

"Just you wait! I'll be even stronger then you are when I set sail!" Luffy yelled as he looked up at me, making me smile even wider.

"I look forward to it! But remember I'll be even stronger by then." I stated proudly before I flicked him in the forehead and laughed.

"Ow! That hurt!" Luffy moaned as he gripped the protruding lump that emerged from his forehead. "Why do yours and Granpa's fists hurt so much more than everyone else?" He complained while glaring up at me.

"Even if you both get stronger it won't matter. Since I'll be even stronger than either of you! And Caspian, you better make sure to look out for Sabo." Ace added with his fists clenched and eyes sparkling as if he couldn't wait to start his own journey.

"Ha, will do. When I see him I'll send him both your regards." I replied knowingly while thinking about the Revolutionary army.

Luffy took the news better than I expected, though it was Ace that really surprised me. Both of them received a letter from Sabo explaining that he was planning to leave, and both of them watched his ship go up in flames in the port of the Goa Kingdom. When I told them he was alive and well, they both broke into tears, though Ace did his best to hide it. It was the first time I had ever seen Ace cry like that.

Telling them I was leaving was much harder. They'll look after each other and I know they'll continue to improve without me, but I was only just starting to feel like we were a family. I'll miss the two of them, but this isn't really good bye, just good bye for now.

"No matter how far I go, or what happens in the future, we'll always be bothers." I said looking them both in the eye before turning and leaping into the sky. Flying off into the horizon.

"I should move to catch up with Sabo and Dragon." I thought once my goodbyes had been said

I spoke to to Makino and everyone else even remotely important, including Dadaan, earlier.

Flicking open my compass, I watched as the ever spinning needle that hadn't stopped for the entire time I've been in this world, sat stone still pointing in a single direction.

It would seem I finally know what I want most. I want to find my brother and my best friend. Sabo can handle himself, but I'm sure that little blob of space goo has missed me. He doesn't do too well on his own.

It honestly sucks that I won't be able to bring all the treasure I stole with me, but robbing them was more of a statement than anything. I can take the cash with me and wear some of the rings and jewelry, but most of it will have to be left behind. It's the same for the bounty on Bluejam. I could collect it, but I just don't have enough room to carry it.

Of course I could just leave it for Luffy and Ace for their pirate savings, but both of them are going to get caught in a whirlpool and crash after they set sail, so any treasure sent their way will only be wasted. But I did pay back Makino and cover Luffy and Ace's tab's for the next few years.

Everything I own I'm carrying with me. Porchemy's scimitar. Bluejam's flintlock's, a few black leather pouches alongside a small rectangular chest, all of which is wrapped in a blue towel, tied around my waist, but that's pretty much it. The box holds the pieces of my latest project along with some tools and some of the more salvageable materials from within the Grey Terminal. It's also where I keep my journal and the books I took from the Palace Library.

The towel itself is also more than it seems. Since it's just about the most useful thing in the universe, I plan to keep it with me at all times.

I happen to be big fan of Douglas Adams novel; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In it he states that a towel is about the most massively useful thing in the universe.

His theory also applies when talking about the sea. A towel is something no sailor should leave home without, partly because of it's great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth, lie on it on under the sun on a sandy beach, you can sleep under it beneath the stars, use it to sail a miniraft, wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat, or wave it in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if you've kept it clean enough.

Anyone who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where their towel is, is clearly a force to be reckoned with.

Consequently, a person who can quickly adapt to virtually any new situation is said to know where their towel is.

As someone who has made a new life for himself in a new world, I think it's safe to say I know where my towel is.

All I own in this world is on my person at this moment. Anything more would just slow me down.

With a tremendous leap I left the Goa Kingdom and rose high into the skyline. With a flap of my wings I kicked off the air itself, shooting towards the clouds at record pace. When I reached a dizzying height, I stopped and let myself fall. Dropping from the air like a diving falcon, I pierced the waves with hardly a splash. Unfurling my dorsal fin along side the webbing between my fingers and toes, I 'gripped' the waters around me, feeling the strength coursing through my veins, before vanishing. My speed was too fast for the human eye to properly follow.

I moved through the waters to a tremendous speed, becoming nothing more than a blur. A long tail of purple hair followed in my wake, creating a strange and unique image as I swam beneath the crystal clear surface of the pristine ocean waters.

My legs moved without reprieve, letting me feel the cool waters coursing between my toes. Miniature bubbles formed on every hair across my body, reducing the drag around me, further increasing my speed. Breaching the surface like a dolphin I rose into the air with a flap of my vestigial wings.

Checking the compass I shifted direction ever so slightly before diving back into the sea with the grace of an Olympic medalist. Though technically I actually was an Olympic medalist in the triathalon at the Paralympic Games.