33 The oncoming storm

"I wonder if the others have found a telescope among the trash yet? I know they were looking for one." I thought idly while leaving my hideout and climbing out of the water and up onto the shoreline. Even though I left the ocean my body remained completely drenched from head to toe. Yet not a single drop could be seen falling from body.

If someone paid close attention they would see a thin layer of water coursing along and flowing over every inch of my skin, almost like a layer of liquid armour. I've trained hard over the last six months to be able to do this. Keeping water soaked into my clothes and hair is one thing, but having access to water constantly flowing over my body will allow me to heal minor wounds right after receiving them.

Though the downside is that I'm always soaking wet. It's a small price to pay for being able to constantly heal myself. Plus, I no longer drip anymore. So no more leaving small puddles everywhere I go.

A large part of my training over the last six and a half months has been underwater. Swimming deeper and deeper, practicing my aquatic abilities and sparring with sharks and other large aquatic creatures, even the Lord of the Coast joined in a few times. Being able to breath underwater and see clearly in perfect darkness is really convenient. Especially since the ocean floor is so beautiful.

Jogging through the forest I slowly picked up speed until I was sprinting full tilt beneath the dense canopy. When I arrived back at the Grey Terminal It didn't take long for me to find the others.

The bright coloured bird not belonging to this world flying high over head really gives it away. Morph has taken it upon himself to take the form of Fawkes the phoenix from the Harry Potter movies. But it's not like he can emit flames or heal people with his tears. He is also much smaller.

Shaking my head of those thoughts I turned my focus back on the task at hand. The storm last night had been rather intense. It damaged our hideout pretty badly despite my intervention. Sabo, Ace and Luffy are out gathering supplies for me to use when repairing it since I'm the most experienced with a hammer.

The Grey terminal really is the best possible place for someone who loves to tinker like I do. Reaching into my pocket I pulled out a dense metallic cylinder and spun it between my fingers.

"Hey Caspian, over here." Sabo's voice woke me from my thoughts as Morph changed from the bright coloured bird into a small dragonfly before landing on my shoulder.

The beautiful form of the Phoenix, even though small, draws too much attention. So I had him change into something less conspicuous. Using Faux's form just makes it easier for me to locate him at a distance. Heading over to where Sabo is I took the large wooden planks he was carrying and slung them over my shoulder with ease.

Over the last few months my body hasn't grown at all, but I am still 5'5. Quite tall for a twelve year old.

"I think this is enough to fix the last of the damage to our fort." Sabo said as I nodded in agreement while looking over the materials he collected.

"Oh? I can't believe you actually found a telescope. Luffy's gonna be thrilled." I exclaimed when I noticed the small metal tube held firmly in his hands.

"I know right. I didn't think we'd find one either. He was just talking about it this morning."

"Heheheh."

As Sabo spoke several men began to surround us on all sides, I could hear them coming even before we heard them laughing. Each of them approached with sinister looks in their eyes and weapons hand. This has been happening almost everyday recently.

I knew they were lurking around, but I figured it was better to let them come to us than to go to them since they were so scattered. At least now they are all together.

While I was summing up our opponents, a man standing around two and a half meters tall,(8'7") stepped forward, his eyes alight with greed. He has slicked back braided hair that's as dark as it is greasy, and a poorly groomed beard beneath a smile that showed all his missing the teeth. He held a gun dangling by his side in his right hand with another tucked into his waistband. His left hand rested casually on the hilt of his cutlass, a weapon that looked more like a decoration than instrument of death.

He towered over us, leering down through his greasy eyebrows.

'So this is Bluejam.' I remarked interplay. Mentally noting the positioning of his men as well as the number and state of their weapons, I suppressed a smile. alone could take most of them without too much trouble, and I can handle Bluejam. But… that's not what needs to happen here. I couldn't help but grit my teeth in shame and rage at the thought of what I need to do.

"How ya doing boys?" Bluejam asked with a voice that oozed confidence as sounded even greasier than he looked. He stepped forward, his gait calm and full of misplaced pride.

His glacier blue captains coat was the only thing about him that wasn't marred by blood or dirt, but it was torn and ragged near the bottom. It rested casually atop his shoulders as he looked down on us from where he stood. The golden lapels shifting slightly every time he moved.

"I had no idea that one of the four infamous brats that have been screwing with my operation was from such a noble family." Bluejam remarked as he bowed sarcastically towards Sabo in a false show of respect.

'He's right on schedule.' I thought while clenching my fists. 'This is the only reason your still alive you fat pig.' I thought while trying to suppress my building hatred towards everything that's about to transpire.

"Bluejam! Who told you?" Sabo asked somewhat fearfully. His hands clenching tightly around the metal pole in his hands. He seemed to have come to the same conclusion as I had. If we fight we can win.

"Alright guys take them. You can kill the tall purple haired one, but don't leave a mark on the blonde kid in the top hat! You hear me?" Bluejam stated maliciously.

"Ha, I'd like to see you try." I retorted angrily before hurling the planks of wood in my arms at the group in front of me. Hitting the two at Bluejam's right, catching them off guard and pinning them beneath our bases building materials.

Sabo took care of the two behind me by jumping up and tackling one before striking the second across the face. The others rushed in while I gathered the water from within the hollow of my trident and spun it mid air.

"Duck!" I yelled in warning, causing Sabo to take a knee, bending over just in time to avoid the piercing jet of water I released from tip of my trident. With an audible snap I flicked the water in the air forming a rotating high speed whip, striking everyone around me all at once.

The sudden spray of water knocked all the men backwards, sending them tumbling into the dirt. All except for Bluejam that is. He held his hands up in front of his face, forming a cross to guard against my attack. His legs dug shallow trenches in the ground. He was pushed back, but he didn't fall.

"Tch." Bluejam lowered his arms after blocking the blow, a clear look of annoyance written on his smug face.

"Bastards!" At that moment several more of his men came in from around us to replace the ones we knocked down. But they aren't the only one with reinforcements.

"You alright?" Ace asked as he jumped into the fray, kicking a man in the face as he struck another with the pole in his hands. Luffy followed right behind him, taking out another of Bluejam's henchmen as the two of them helped turn the tide of battle even more in out favour.

"Yeah we're good." Sabo replied standing back to back with Ace as I stood back to back with Luffy. More than two dozen pirate surrounded us on all sides.

"If the four of us fight together we can easily beat these fools." I stated proudly, but throughout the entire fight there was a knot in my stomach that just wouldn't go away. I know what comes next and I'm not gonna like it.

"That's right! We defeated the giant tiger on Mt. Corvo! These guys are nothing compared to that." Luffy boasted.

"You little shits!" - "You think this is a game?" - "We'll kill you!"

The Pirates sneered. Each of them carrying legitimate weapons, from cutlass' and axes, to hammers and knives. And not a single one had a spec of rust, or a single crack along their blades, unlike the best weapons found in the majority of the Grey terminal.

"Let's finish things here by killing their captain." Ace stated coldly.

"Right!" The three of us replied, our resolve strengthening as we had each others backs.