"It's quite all right Ensign." The lieutenant commander briefly turns his full body to me and raises a questioning brow. "I don't recognize you. Do you live in this village? We didn't get a report of any ships sailing in."
"I flew in 15 minutes ago on a giant fucking bird if you must know! Now tell me what the fuck happened here!"
Katrina gets even angrier at what she assumes is a joke and only her sister holding her back stops her from attempting to throttle me by the neck. Odenkirk meanwhile takes my claim in stride. "I see. I'm sorry to tell you this son, but while you were away your island was attacked."
"No shit!" I bite back. "That much I put together myself thanks! Tell me who! What dead-man-walking shitstain did this!"
Odenkirk is clearly growing annoyed by my language but he restrains himself from voicing it. He quietly turns around towards a workbench, withdraws two weather-beaten brown papers from it and hands them over to me.
My anger drowns to death before he's even finished letting go. All the rage and rancor building in my system dies and is replaced with emptiness. A hollow vacuum where I can't feel anything.
I don't look at the name at the bottom of the page nor the price listed for his capture. I don't need to.
I'd recognize this man anywhere. After all. I fought his First Mate less than two weeks ago.
The paper crinkles in my hand. Turning the wanted poster into trash just like the man with flaming red hair it displayed.
"We were following them to an island east of here called Baterilla but most unexpectedly... they were somehow repelled." Odenkirk speaks. "As best we can figure it, they landed here next and..." The Lt. Commander sighs morosely. "...worked out their frustrations."
My brain vaguely registers that the Ensigns are talking now. What about I don't know. I can't hear them. I can't hear anything. Nothing other than the words pounding inside my skull. 'I was dicking around in the forest and they came here. I was dicking around in the forest and they came here. I was DICKING ARO-'
A heavy meaty palm clasps my shoulder. "Are you going to be alright son?" Odenkirk asks with concern. "Do you need a moment to sit down?"
"No." I quietly mutter. "No...no...I need..." I stare blankly down at the map that was on the crate I smashed. A red line of the 'Kid Pirates' estimated heading is clearly marked on its face. '8 degrees North, sailing along the Jagran current.' "...I need to go...please excuse me… I apologize for my rudeness." "Don't worry son." Odenkirk booms loudly and moves his hand from my shoulder to pound it against his chest. "I swear on the pride of the Marines that we will bring these monsters to justice!"
"We won't rest until they've answered for their crimes!" Katrina pledges with a pumped fist, an action her sister silently mirrors.
My feet shuffle slowly into an about-face and I move a healthy distance away from the tent. My hand clenches white, and the snuffed out inner fury roars back to life stronger than ever.
"KIWI!" I shout upward, firmly believing that my mount will hear me regardless of where he is.
I mean no disrespect to Odenkirk nor his abilities. With his rank and level It's quite obvious that he can handle himself in a fight. But against Killer or Eustass? Maybe even both at the same time? He and the wonder twins would just be more tally marks on the 'Kid Pirates' body count.
I've been living my life with the idea of staying uninvolved. The story is the story and my life is my life. They are separate and the second should strive to never influence the first.
That's how I've always felt. Even after the fight against Killer I could rationalize away my butterfly effect concerns because...how much could our little encounter really have affected his character arc or the story as a whole? The 'Kid Pirates' should still arrive in Sabaody Archipelago at the same time unless those flunkies I eliminated were far more important than I realize.
As I said, that's how I felt.
But you know what I'm feeling right now?
Fuck canon. My sparrow lands next to me and I waste no time in throwing myself into his saddle. "Come on Kiwi!" I urged, forcing the bird to immediately take flight. "They're headed north and only a few days ahead of us. We can catch that in a couple of hours!"
This shit is personal now.
South Blue, Over the Jagran Current
The twenty-third minute passes by and my impatience is growing. I peak through the spyglass attached to my rifle again and inspect the doors of the ship for what has got to be the tenth time. 'Still nothing. No one going in, no one coming out.'
I count nine men working or lounging about on the main deck. Three by the bow plus the helmsman and the guy he's chatting with gives me a total of 14. That's only the pirates I can see though. I have to assume there's just as many, if not more, hidden away inside.
Average levels for Kid's crew seem to be around the 14-17 range. While I'll readily admit that's a higher quality than the more typical 5-9 I've seen in the past, I'm not overly concerned. Those few extra levels won't be enough to help them withstand a bullet if it's in the right place. I was hoping I'd be able to spot some of Kid's officers but none of those visible really fit the bill. The closest would be the one manning the helm. He's tan-skinned with a cropped tuft of yellow hair on his head and wearing a blue jacket, orange shirt combo. I think I vaguely recognize him from the Sabaody arc but it might just be my mind playing tricks on me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you enjoy reading? Visit my site on Tiendup! There you will find the advanced chapter in PDF format, ready for your convenience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
https://fictiontopia.tiendup.com/