It wasn't enough it wasn't enough it wasn't enough why wasn't he a skeleton yet, WHY ISN'T IT ENOUGH!? The mighty giant let loose with a massive handful of shrapnel in every direction, seeking to shred everyone like beef in a slaughterhouse. "I AM NOT A COW, COWS GO MOO AND I GO BOOM!" Slick tossed his hands forward and created a large shield of hardened oil, catching most of the shrapnel while the rest gave him minor cuts at best.

"Oh my GOD MILK IS THE BEST!" Suddenly Slick's fire stopped as his head swung towards Bonesword's voice. "Milk is good for your bones Vinedagger, I told you so!" It seemed as if his rage was over, his madness no longer focused on destruction as it had been. A cannon burst out of the ground and Slick already knew what was going to happen. Shrimp man was going to do something dumb and block the cannon shot like a complete dumb head, he needed to be cooked why didn't he understand that and just let himself die?

"Over here dinner, look at my art!" Slick formed a sticky ball of oil in his hands and tossed it at Saban's face, trying to blind him so everyone could attack all at once. But he wasn't content with just blocking his vision, he needed dinner to stop attacking as well. More and more balls of sticky oil were thrown at Saban, each one attempting to pin his arms to his side or keep him stuck in one spot. "I LOVE MY JOB!" Slick yelled with joy as he stopped flinging oil at Saban and let loose with his flamethrower once again.

---

Caesar have a wolfish grin towards the man beside him as they successfully pushed Saban back and delivered strikes on the many legs.

But then Caesar could only watch on in horror as Bone Kid was sent below deck in a mighty crash and Krabbe was nearly crushed to death.

Then the shrapnel started flying,

Caesar fell to the ground, feeling the sharp pain as cuts were carved into his back and pieces for lodged in around his shoulders.

He growled into the deck.

It looked like Slick and Liliana could hold him temporarily, but he knew from feeling that strength that there wasn't good odds that those would hold...

Caesar pushed himself up, taking a glance around just long enough to take in what was going on.

Cannon. Grapple. Strike. Oil. Fire. Overboard. Ship... Holy shit, Boone! Caesar thought in momentary shock.

This would be it. Caesar could feel it in his gut. All or nothing.

Running forward, Caesar slid again. This time he stopped just between the giant's legs, slamming his machete down. If he didn't move, he'd have his foot impaled to the deck.

Immediately after he aimed to latch his claws into the other leg, having already let go of the machete whether or not it connected with the for. If he could sink his claws in, he'd hold on for everything he had. If he could just keep him there long enough....

"For FAMILY!" Caesar growled, creating an almost literal explosion of Electro in his attempt to protect those he cared about.

Debris fired off in a shrapnel volley of absolutely lethal proportions. Most of the Rum Runners had managed to protect themselves fairly well, even if they still took some amount of damage. The same could not be said for the exposed crew of the King Crab. Those who had been knocked out in the previous battle found themselves shredded, a number of them dying in an instant. Those that could still defend themselves dove for cover, but most had still been struck. Some died, some merely lost consciousness from pain and blood loss, but none came out of it unscathed. All the while John Krabbe stared in horror, mouth agape and unable to move. Saban was completely out of control, he had to be defeated! It was pure luck that Krabbe had met Saban at a time he had already been split up back when, so he was able to convince the man to join his ship and never come back together with great ease. Split into so many bodies, Saban was an idiot. But this... This might as well be a horrifying force of nature. What could he do? He had no armor, no weapon, his ship had been totalled, there was nothing he could fight back with! Krabbe closed his eyes and accepted the incoming cloud of death.

"Urk!" Krabbe's eyes jerked open when he felt no pain, yet heard a gasp of pain. One of his men stood directly in front of him, arms outstretched. He took the hit for his captain.

"No!" The sailor fell to the ground, bleeding badly and losing consciousness. What could he do?! His men were dying like flies and everything that made him strong had been taken away from him!

Meanwhile, the Red Rum pirates were already hard at work with their counterattack. Kite had managed to completely avoid the attack altogether, performing a Yoshi maneuver with one of the bounty hunters to leap clear over Saban's thrown shrapnel. The craftsman came spinning down at the behemoth of a man with wrenches extended like some sort of bludgeoning helicopter, and the waru waru man took notice. He laughed a hearty laugh, throwing a single hand out to catch his attacker. He snagged Kite's left wrench with his bare hand, then prepared another fist to end the shipwright's life in one blow.

Splat! Oil from Slick struck Saban's fist before he plowed it into Kite's body. "What the-Ow! That kinda hurt!" In his confusion of the oil, Kite's second wrench arm completed its swing and clocked Saban in the side of the head. It seemed to inconvenience their foe more than anything, but it was enough for him to release Kite altogether and distract him long enough for more oil to cake itself onto his body, hindering his movements.

"Look sir. They're... Fighting back." Krabbe looked down. The man that had taken the attack for him was able to talk, albeit barely.

"They're gonna die. We're all gonna die. Saban is a freak, born and trained in the Grand Line. None of us can stand up to that."

"Yet they're making... A difference."

"Waru waru defense!" The oil Slick had been gooing up Saban with began spreading, multiplying from the use of the man's powers. As the mass of oil increased, its stickiness value diluted until it all completely slid right off of his body. All but one little bit in the palm of his hand, which he flung straight for Slick's flamethrower. "And Recall!" All the excess oil vanished in an instant, reconstituting into the original oil that Slick had used to trap up Saban. The gunk now covered up Slick's flamethrower and rendered it useless, at least for now. Still, he had gotten some fire out and Saban's chest had clear scorch marks.

"No," Krabbe shook his head. "They're only delaying it. He's too strong. Stronger than me, even with my armor and my claw. And he destroyed those."

That's when Lilliana was able to enact her plan. An ingenious little device she had tinkered up, she fired the grappling hooks charged with electricity while simultaneously being able to make her escape. Since Saban was focused on the ground, he failed to notice the aerial attack. The wires hit their marks and coiled on him, but he stood strong. Then the current flowed through, shocking him good. "AAAAAAGH!" The burn Slick put on his chest was worsening, agitated by the flow of electricity. The hair of his arms stood on end and his teeth chattered. "NO!" bellowed the giant. He grabbed hold of the wires, fighting against the current, and with one thunderous yank snapped the coils in twin. He had freed himself of being pinned, and the shock, but couldn't react to what happened next.

As the wires snapped, a cannon burst through from below deck, pointed straight for Saban. Still fatigued from the electrical current, still reeling from his power move, the cannon shot its ammunition directly at him, nearly point blank. Metal struck flesh as the fruit user was shot in the gut. He doubled back, spitting up at least two gallons of blood in the process while the cannonball fell limp to the deck.

"Looks like they're... Doing well."

"... Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

"They still need... Your help."

"There's nothing I can do without my-"

"How did you... Get... That armor?"

"I killed a giant monster crab. You know that, you were there."

"Did you have... Armor then?"

"Kookiookiooki, of course not, I hadn't killed it yet-OhmygodIseeyourpoint."

"YOU WILL ALL BE CRUSHED BENEATH DIVINE JUSTICE!" Saban wrenched the two grappling hooks from his flesh, pulling a nice bit of blood out with them, then began flinging the hooks around by the broken end of wires, striking anything and everything in reach. All the Red Rums, the surviving bounty hunter crew, the trashed infrastructure of the ship, absolutely everything. Caesar cried out in a roar and charged forward beneath the hook-whips, machete drawn. The half-mink was able to reach the giant man's underside, unnoticed, and stab his weapon straight down, pinning the foot in place and causing tremendous pain. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SPLIT! SPLIT!" And on command his foot split into two slightly smaller feet, right around the machete blade. They reformed into a single foot again in a different position, no longer pinned down or stabbed, but still injured. It seemed that injuring any splits didn't affect the whole once they were recalled, injuring the whole itself still carried injuries forward.

Caesar let out a massive burst of electro into the leg he hadn't yet injured, sending the second electrical current of the day into Saban. He let out another scream of agony, coughed up a second helping of blood, then fell to his knees, hanging his head down in front of Caesar. The man wasn't moving, but his breathing couldn't be heavier, more forced. Then just as it looked like they had beaten this nigh unstoppable foe, out of nowhere with surprising speed Saban headbutt Caesar right in the face. The half-mink was sent flying back as Saban rose to on foot and swung both hooked whips at Caesar in middair. They would have connected too, but were intercepted... By John Krabbe.

The bounty hunter stood between Saban and others, grasping both wires in his two hands. "Let go," Saban commanded.

"No." His response was so simple, so short, yet it carried great weight.

"I said LET GO!" With a mighty heave Saban yanked back on his weapons, but neither they nor Krabbe had moved.

"I said 'no.'"

"Impossible! Nobody is stronger than me! I am Shotaro Saban! I am Divine Justice!" He tugged again with all his might, fruitlessly. Krabbe chuckled.

"You are weak. These pirates took a lot more out of you than you'd care to admit. They did the same for me, but I've still got some juice left in my batteries. But you, Saban? You're done for." The bounty hunter's words were punctuated by the sound of a gunshot, along with the words "Explosive shot!" Saban struggled to turn around, to catch sight of Cedric D. Boone, but he couldn't fight back against Krabbe's grip. Fearful, Saban released his makeshift weapons to turn around. That's when four cannons fired at the same time, every one directed straight for him.

"I can dodge that!" Saban tried to jump to the side, but found his feet wouldn't move. Confused he glanced down to find that a large amount of sticky oil had pooled up around his legs, cementing him in place. He hadn't gotten rid of as much of Slick's oil as he originally thought. "No! NO! WARU WARU NO-"

BOOM! Before he could complete his split, all four cannonballs collided with Saban. Teeth flew from his mouth, blood sprayed out, bones cracked and snapped, and all this occurred as his body contorted backward from the force. His legs firmly cemented in place, the floor snapped and flew up with him. Shotaro Saban, as well as a good amount of the upper deck, blasted off into the sky.

"REEEEEEECAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!" And then he was gone. Only oil and wood flew through the sky as the entire man completely disappeared from sight. Did he... Did he have another body split off somewhere, to keep him safe? Well, that didn't matter now. Saban was gone, Krabbe's men had been defeated, and the bounty hunter had given up trying to attack them. The battle was over.

"Whew!" John Krabbe fell over, completely exhausted. He couldn't move an inch even if he wanted to. Even though Saban was so critically injured, it still took every last ounce of strength he had left to keep that monster restrained.

Bonesword landed back on the deck of the King Crab, the sound of him breathing echoing through the area. The breathing was interrupted, however, by a simple quip or two made by the skeleton child.

"Shrimply put, that guy's sleeping with the fishes, cha-cha!"

After the masterful line, the child ran over to the side of Caesar Inu. The Mink was busy being unconscious from a headbutt delivered to Shotaro, and there was no way he was getting up for at least a good few hours. This unconsciousness would simply become a nap and Caesar would wake up feeling as fine as ever, albeit with a few issues at best.

"Kojo-Kojo-Rise." Bonesword said as a series of plants stretched out from Bonesword's hand, bracing themselves on the deck of the ship as Caesar was lifted up on a series of woven leaves and vines. "Um... mom? Can you carry him back to the Runner? I can't really move two people there safely at the same time..."

The plants on Bonesword detached, leaving Caesar on a bed of elevated plants, as Bonesword walked over towards John Krabbe, the plants on his sword retracting as the skeleton put his blade into the deck, leaving it there as he spoke to Krabbe alone. Captain Boone wasn't there, and with Bonesword as first mate, it was more or less a duty for him to address the loser in this fight in place of his captain.

"Krabbe. The Red Rum Pirates are returning to our ship. Shall you keep your word on letting us go in peace?"

---

Letting go of her weapon right before it was pulled from her grip by Saban, Lily mentally willed liquid metal down her body. It encapsulated her legs and waist, then back, reinforcing her spine, hips, and legs significantly, before some of it shot out down below her as she neared the ground. The material slowed her descent, and when she struck it pooled out in small waves that eddied away from her, before pulling back inwards and reconstituting as two arms on her back.

The cannons went off moments later and she grinned as she heard their impact. Turning to face Saban, body sideways, her arms split so she had four clawed metallic appendages, plus the metal claws on her own hands. She stared down the cloud of debris, ready to act if necessary, but as Krabbe acted it became unnecessary. Quickly their adversary fell, finally spent, and she—after several seconds—let herself relax.

Taking stock of the situation she looked at former enemies and her nakama, before nodding to herself. Deftly tiny tendrils of metal reached into her bag and extracted a number of syringes. Glancing at the boney visage of her favorite crewmate, Lily smiled and headed in his direction. The boy, having his priorities well in order, situated Caesar on a bed of flora before addressing her, and then Krabbe.

As he turned to speak to the bounty hunter, Lily's smile shifted, a certain pride coming into her eyes. She was happy to see how her little FJ was turning out. He was such a good kid.

Taking a moment to watch before she turned to Caesar in earnest, Lily considered how damaged Krabbe's ship was, then shrugged to herself slightly as she exhaled. Calming her nerves quickly as she shifted into a more focused state, the world around her began to pale and dull around her. Eyes grazing over Caesar she found the ideal location and then gave him a shot from her Syringe, retrieving bandages and some salve from her pack. She fixed up his various scratches and bruises somewhat, making sure he was taken care of, before she gingerly picked him up with her metallic arms and hopped onto one of the few pieces of intact railing. She glanced back at Bonesword and Krabbe, “Well fought,” she said, a measure of respect in her tone, before she turned her gaze specifically to Bonesword. “I'll be on the Runner, FJ. Don't be long, okay sweetheart?” She beamed at him like only a mother could, winked, and then turned away.

Bending her knees, she then released the tension, jumping up and forwards, landing on the deck of the Rum Runner moments later. Caesar, even if he hadn't been unconscious, would hardly feel the movement as she took special care not to jostle him at all.

Frowning slightly at the oil and other detritus spread about the ship, she shook her head and sighed as she made her way below deck and found a place to lay Caesar down to rest. Once he was situated, with water by his bunk, a pillow under his head, blanket tucked around him neatly, and weapons nearby, but not too near, she headed out of his room.

She headed above deck, going straight for Boone and hugged him without explanation. “I'm glad you're okay,” she said, stepping away and wiping a small tear of happiness, before ruffling Slick's hair a moment later. “You too. Of course you will be helping with the ship's repairs mister. Oh, by the way, where's Feya?” There was a note of worry in her voice and a glimmer of anxiety in her bright eyes.

She hoped their doctor was okay.

---

Falling, flying, rising
Up and down, spinning darkness
The sun, the moon
The highs, the mess
Lost in unknown lands
Falling on hands
Lifted up, up, up...

Caesar sat up in the cot, blinking furiously as he tried to make sense of the divergence from Saban to where he was now.

He couldn't hear any fighting, no sounds of alarm, just the gentle rocking of the Sea. This was definitely the Rum Runner, he recognized that much.

A glance around showed him his machete leaning against the wall nearby. He was covered, comfortably, and there was water. He idly wondered who had returned him here, before the panic over the fight fully set back in.

He needed to make sure everyone was okay.

Rising quickly, he winced. While his injuries were covered, and the effects of one of Lilliana's blends could be felt, it still hurt. Adrenaline was wearing off, which meant he couldn't have been out long.

He took the machete, walking as quickly as felt reasonable back to the top deck. He must've been out maybe ten minutes, for most of the crew was still not on board.

With a sigh, he approached Boone and Liliana, who were standing close by.

"Orders, Captain?" he asked roughly, the physical exhaustion carrying over into his voice. "Also... Thank you, Lil. I assume it was you who texted my injuries, judging by the feeling I have."

Watching Saban get launched far away sent a feeling of triumph through Boone's being. He laughed heartily and slapped Dirk on the back for a job well done, "Bawhahahaha! Well done Mr. Messir! Let's drop anchor and tend to our crew's wounds." He looked down at the hole in his side and focused on the task at hand. Cedric lowered a few anchors then watched as Lilli leaped over with a wounded Caesar in her arms. He looked at him sadly wiping a tear from his eye. He hated to see his crew in pain.

Cedric hugged Lili back as she returned, "I thought Feya was with you all..we need to find her." Then he turned to Caesar to respond, "I'm glad you're up and about Caesar! No freak of nature can keep you down for long. You are one after all. BAWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Their Captain let out a much needed laugh almost falling over. The blood loss was starting to get to him. Then he took out a bottle of rum releasing the cork with a pop. Cedric took a long swig, "Ahh.." a sigh of contentment escaped their captain's mouth. Then he responded to Caesar's question, "Orders? Oh right, I will go over and negotiate with crab man terms. Dirk, come with me. You two stay and tend to each other, but don't overdo it." Then he handed Caesar the bottle and winked, "It'll cure what ails you." Afterward, Boone stumbled for the longboat. But he remembered Lilliana had a grappling hook, saying to her "I'll need your grappling gun for a moment, Lili." Assuming she handed it over he would fire it off and swing over to the King Krabbe. His boots would slam unto the deck with a loud thump.

Once he regained his balance Boone looked at Bonesword and Slick asking, "Where's Feya?" A worried expression came over Cedric's face as he glanced around. The ship was in disarray. One of the masts was completely broken. There was an enormous gaping hole in the ship with a giant vine sticking out. The deck was scorched and slippery. Saban was truly a monster. But Cedric was proud to know that his crew were even better monsters. Cedric continued, "Find her.." His words were an order; strong and bold, but they sounded almost as if Cedric was pleading with them. Despite their relatively short time together, the crew knew the Captain considered them to be his own flesh and blood. And any of his family that was missing was a source of concern for him.

His eyes caught the sight of the now unmasked John Krabbe. He turned toward the defeated captain stating, "We finally meet in person. I was expecting someone with more experience and age," Cedric eyed him up and down continuing, "But this explains how you couldn't control your own crew mate." He sighed, holding his side as the pain came back to him. Cedric wanted to force a surrender on Krabbe, but they were in no shape to actually enforce it. "We have no more of a quarrel with you. Help us find our crew member and we will help tend to your crew's wounds. Then..we will part ways." It was a strange place to be in. Here they were, the pirates, negotiating with their own bounty hunters. It was unfortunate to realize they couldn't turn a profit off of them. Even sadder still that John Krabbe was not a crab at all.. There would be no crab stew tonight.

---

Kite had been caught midair. He thoughts he was dead for sure and yet, somehow he survived. He took a deep breath relishing the sight of a battered Krabbe and a flying shrimp. The crew who'd been battling with Krabbe seemed to be making their way off the ship and onto their own. Most of them anyway. He chuckled at the one liner given by the... child? He wasn't sure. Everything was happening in succession. He just wanted to sleep.

"I can't yet..." He paused and pushed himself to his feet. He grit his teeth. It hurt to move. This was it. Krabbe was on the floor. He made sure to pick up his wrenches. He began his walk toward the downed man as what seemed to be the captain of the pirates did the same. "I have to..." He staggered a bit. He needed to finish Krabbe off; like the wannabe crustacean had done to the shipwright's crew. He stopped moving not far from where Cedric and krabbe were. Kite gave the deck of the ship a slight knock with one of his wrenches. He used it to stay upright, but also to garner the attention of the fellow pirate.

"Excuse me." Kite spoke in a hushed tone. "I know you don't know me. But I'm Wafer D. Kite and I helped fight with your crew." He gave the briefest explanation he could. "That being said... I have unfinished business with the Krusty Krabbe here." He was beaten, bruised, and bloody. Still, he was on his feet, though he looked like he could hardly stay on his feet much longer. It was a wonder how he thought he would be finishing the man off at all. "He took something dear to me and he's gotta pay." He had to force the words out. Things were getting blurry. He fell silent. That was all he had to say. He hoped the Pirate captain wouldn't try to stop him. He didn't have the energy to fight or argue anymore. He just wanted to be done with it and maybe fall in the sea god willing.

You did nothing. You didn't contribute, and you failed to help in any meaningful way. You are a failure.

Leave off, Derek, I did the cannon ship aim firing. And he did a great job, that was really wonderful, and they should be ashaped that it didn't get to go to the chin. Captain Cedar confirms that all. Anyway, looked like Christopher Sabat has finally eaten the punch. Or something or other. Oh also Grabbe wasn't a threat anymore, yaaaaay.

But he could get up Stupid! You should kill him while he is down Dummy! What if he crabbes everyone again Whore?

But he was also wrong. Krong didn't have the guts to follow them. Prob. Probably. Except Kaiser, who was unconscious and being carrier, NOOOOOOOOOOO... wait, he was a strong boye. The strongest, in fact. Well, the strongest except that Dirlk was going to be an even stronker boye. Anyway, Scissors would get up again - and he did, becuse he is the best, and the Divine Purpose for some reason said do that, so Dirk hugged him when he appeared. Soft. Mmmm.

He Is Soft, Isn't He! You Should Hug Him More Often!

I should! I should hug everyone more often. But firts, the Captain needed Dirk to go with him... to the chin? So he COULD go to the chin. Maybe.

And kill Krabbe? Or are you just going to posture about your pathetic strength again?

He doesn't need to get the kill, DEREK. You can't bulley Dork so much, you know. Obviously, Dark just needed to follow Cedric, and he'd be fine. See? He's doing it right now. And all is well with him, since the Divine Purpose had told me that I needed to go to the Cedric who was going to the Krabbe, and I went. And he was is REALLY young. Wow. What.

That Is Intriguing! You Found It Out! Well Done!

Thanks, Big Guy. I always have the best timing. And now they were going to be doing at freedom for no crimes, except for this new friend or enemy, who was apparently the also a D.? Ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

The thing about the people with big D.s is, the Divine Purpose is the knowing of their special. It has them with a large special purpose, and so it says to them "you get to gloe". So they glowed at Dirk, which means Cedric glowed at Dirk and Waifu glows at Dirk. Double glow power. Double special porpoises. Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

And he's going to do the job you're too much of a coward to pull off. You sad sack of crap. If you don't kill Krabbe now, the opportunity will slip away from you.

Uh, YEAH, obviously! What is your pig bucking froblem, Derek? Like a pig bucking a guy off its back into the froblem. I don't NEEEEED to kill anyone! Dirk didn't do things when the Divine Purpose said "no", and right now, it was saying "no". Which meant... maybe Dirk should showed off his great power to fend off this fancy Kite?

But wait, there's more! Because it tranned out Feya was also in the water, where Dirk went to look at her and saw where she was. Why... why did she is in the see? He tilts his mind to look better.

'Feya, why are you in the sea?' Dirk called down to her, but mostly quietly so only loudly enough that she just heard it. 'Did you die? You can't die in the middle of battle. Otherwise, you stop fighting. Why did you die and stop fighting, Freya? That's not good combat ettakit, Flayer. Stop it.' She had to stop dying, otherwise she'd lost and died. And didn't fight. Had to do a fight with the baddies when they were are strill baddies.

The danger had passed. Anybody could sense as much. Most of the King Crab's crew were either dead or completely incapacitated, and John Krabbe himself had not enough fight left in him to chase after the Red Rums anyway. Besides that, he was an honorable man of his word. No, the South Blue was peaceful once more. Or at least peaceful enough. As Bonesword posed his question to the bounty hunter, he gave out a fairly weak laugh. "Kookiooki. Please. Unlike you pirates, I'm the honest and honorable sort. Besides, I've checked your charges. Worst you've done is royally mess with some nobility by jostling the sticks up their collective asses. I'm not too worried about you." That's when he suddenly recalled that one of the pirates, Feya, had fallen overboard. "Oh, right! Hey! Shrimp Brigade Pink! Go pull that woman back aboard-where is Pink?" He looked around, but couldn't see the Shrimp Brigade's sixth member anywhere. "Crud. Must've fallen over himself when Saban went psycho."

With that the man forced himself back to his feet, albeit painfully, and tossed a flotation ring overboard in Feya's direction just in case she had any problems staying afloat. When he turned back around he was being approached by two other pirates. The illustrious Captain Cedric D. Boone, and his prisoner Wafer D. Kite. Were the two possibly related? Eh, didn't matter anymore. As Boone requested that Krabbe help find their missing member, the bounty hunter gestured over the side to where he had tossed the flotation ring. Before he spoke anything back Kite gathered everyone's attention to... Seriously? He was making death threats now? Pfft.

"Don't kid yourself, kookiookiooki! Don't pretend like anybody here is still in fighting condition. Your crew knew the dangers of flying a jolly roger and were willing to pay for it with their lives. They did so proudly, and with more honor than I can attribute to most scallywag pirates. Why don't you honor their memory, eh kid? Go sail again and live for their memory." That seemed rather dismissive, yet his words rang with a twinge of sincerity. Did he really mean it? Regardless, he didn't seem to be paying much attention to Kite anymore. He turned back to address Captain Cedric D. Boone.

"Don't equate my age to my experience, nor my authority. Saban was a monster and I did my best to hold his leash. You all injured him enough that the leash broke and now he's loose somewhere again. Bah!" He waved his hand, and made a pincing motion with the fingers as though he still had his crab claw. "Anyway, like I said, I'm a man of my word. No more fighting, you're all free to go. But since you're heading to Clock Town, I take it you're going to stock up on supplies before heading to the Grand Line? Take this." Krabbe unstrapped from his wrist some kind of glass ball with a compass needle inside of it, then handed it to Boone.

"Consider it a token of thanks. That's called a log pose, something I picked up from Saban after he left the Grand Line. From what he told me, normal compasses don't work there so you've got to use one of these. Honestly I didn't pick up any of the specifics as to how it works, but from what he told me no ship could last ten seconds on those seas without one. Now..." Krabbe cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders before meeting Boone eye to eye once more. He had a look of fierce determination. It was not one of malice, but more one of challenge and excitement. "Get the hell off my ship, criminal." He punctuated with a small wink.

---

Near the horizon, floating on a piece of debris barely large enough for a single man to sit upon, sat a familiar face watching and observing as the Rum Runner left the scene of battle successfully. Though he had run from the whole ordeal, it was not an act of cowardice, no. He had had orders to watch and observe. To gather information. Things got too dicey, so he had to pull out. If he stayed any longer, he'd have to show off his true combat skills, and that would have broken his cover. No, unacceptable. Best to fall back for the time being and report in his findings. The blonde man in pink armor reached into the breastplate and pulled out a small den den mushi. He pressed a small button on the snail's shell, and the creature began to communicate through radio waves.

"I'd like to report in. Code phrase sigma gamma twenty-seven."

"Acknowledged. What is your update?" came a smooth feminine voice from the den den mushi.

"The target has been lost. Former Impel Down jailer Shotaro Saban has eluded me. Turns out he had another body somewhere and recalled himself to it."

"Understood. What is your assessment of the situation?"

"There's no need to pursue further. Saban's much weaker than he used to be and is no longer of any use to the World Government."

"I will advise our superiors of your findings. Report back to base."

"There's one more thing that I'd like to report. To you, off the record."

The woman on the other end paused for a few seconds before responding. "Continue."

"That person you're so interested in. I found him. He's a pirate now, and sails a ship called the Rum Runner."

Another pause. "Excellent news. Keep tailing him, Mizu." Click, the den den mushi shut off, leaving the man to his own thoughts as he floated aimlessly on the sea. Then suddenly it hit him.

"But how am I going to tail him on this piece of driftwood?!?!"

Captain Cedric listened to the injured pirate with a look of sympathy about his face. After Krabbe addressed him directly, Boone turned to meet his gaze. The bounty hunter handed Boone the most valuable navigation tool for the Grand Line. From all his years of sailing the sea, Cedric had never laid eyes on a real one. He didn't even know if they were even real!

Boone took it from Krabbe and studied it in fascination. Being an expert navigator himself; he really took navigation tools seriously...He also was wary of former combatants giving items that could result in the life or death of all members of his crew. Fake log poses were circulated from time to time. But this one was truly something to behold. It glimmered in the sunlight and was hard as any jewel he had ever caressed. This was the real deal.

Cedric pocketed the log pose within his jacket and nodded at Krabbe. In reply to John's challenge, Boone gave a confident grin, "I was just about to leave. The stench of spoiled crab was starting to get to me," As he turned to go, Boone addressed Kite with a empathetic tone, "You don't belong on this ship kid. Come sail with us. Be a part of a family again." With the Captain`s back turned it was hard to tell, but was that a tear in his eye?

After making it back on The Rum Runner, Captain Cedric laid out their orders,"Those who can still function, raise the anchors. Dirk, steer us toward Clock Town. Feya..." The captain paused when he saw the extent of her injuries, "Get some recovery." Cedric had learned that word from her and he knew she preferred it to rest. After the beating she took from Krabbe she would need it. She a put up a hell of a fight. Cedric couldn't hide the pride that showed on his face for her. Sure she lost, but it only meant that she tried. Boone liked it when his crew tried their best.

"Lilli, tend to the crews' injuries including your own. Great job out there. That magic metal of yours is something else. Oh yeah, could you patch this for me?" Cedric revealed his side with the large bullet wound. If it didn't get treated it would become a major problem.

"Bonesword, Caesar, Slick, and Dirk!" He waited until they were nearby and continued, "Fantastic work! We showed those bounty hunters who the real uh..hunters are. Bawhahahahahaha!" After a hearty laugh he slapped them on their backs in a friendly fashion, "That point blank cannon shot with your vine Bonesword? That was brilliant! And those electrical slashes Caesar were shocking." The crew would have to forgive Boone's lame puns, "Those flames made me think I was in an actual oven Slick. Were you trying to cook out there? Bawhahahahaha! Dirk, Dirk, Dirk, Dirk..where did you learn to stab that shrimp so stealthily? Even my keen eyesight was fooled!"

After some patching up and conversing about their recent victory, The Rum Runner would finish their trip for repairs and rest. Clock Town would be a much needed stop for the worn Red Rum Pirates.

---

Caesar glanced at the log pose, frowning. It didn't seem special.

But then again, Slick didn't seem special. And he was magic. Bonekid didn't seem special besides missing skin and stuff, but he was magic. Liliana didn't seem special besides being the momma of the crew, but she was definitely an alien. Caesar was sure on that.

That weird fruit in the ship was special, though he didn't understand why.

So, he shrugged. The log was special for reasons he doesn't understand. It didn't look good to chew on, and he couldn't use a compass anyways. And it kinda looked like a compass.

Speaking of... Why was it called a log? Twig, maybe. But it wasn't a log. Caesar had lifted logs before. He furrowed his brow and he missed the rest of the exchange between the captain and the krabbe. Krabpus? No. Krabbe. Josh. Bah.

The captain was praising everyone, but Caesar couldn't agree entirely. Feta had just stopped after Prime appeared. That was wrong. The family could've been hurt by that thing. Hell, Caesar was hurt by that thing.

Here his frown deepened. He had been hurt. Should he.... Not hold back? Father had always said to hold back. And not look at the Moon, ever. Which was weird. Was Caesar magic?

He shook his head, walking off to tug at the anchor. He'd let Liliana fix everyone else before he got further attention. He could still work. He was strong.

Stronger than everyone. Yeah...

After the anchor he moved towards the sail riggings. A few movements and they could be on their way.

---

Listening as she began glancing between nakama to check for wounds, she had made her way to Boone by the time he started giving orders. As he revealed the gun shot wound she frowned, but nodded and directed him to sit down somewhere. Once situated she glanced up at him, making sure he was ready, before she let a bit of B-MO slip into the wound. It would hurt, but not as much as bullet extraction normally would. She had applied a small amount of numbing agent and antiseptic to the bit of B-MO that had pried the bullets out. Once done she began cleaning the outside of the wound and then wrapping it tightly to help staunch the bleeding and let it heal. When she had finished she checked Boone over and dealt with any minor injuries before moving on to the next crewmate: Feya.

Setting bones, giving her shots with her special healing elixir and tending to anything else, it took her significantly longer for her to finish helping Feya. Any complains would be met with a sharp look and little else. Her elixir helped with the pain significantly, but it was still an unpleasant endeavor. To finish she gave the woman another two shots, though one of them was something to make her sleep—a high dosage given the woman's stubborn nature and incredible constitution. She left her with orders, from one doctor to another, to stay in bed for awhile and rest up. The drug would set in soon enough to make sure she listened.

Despite any fussing, she took care of Caeser next, as Bonesword seemed largely intact and really only needed a hug, some headpats, and a glass of milk. Dirk and Slick were perhaps the easiest to take care of given that neither of them had really come out too roughed up. Though it appeared that Dirk had taken quite the punch to the face.

After tending to everyone she returned to the helm of the ship with Boone and sat down, watching their approach to Clock Town with a small smile. She wondered what wonderful things they might find there.

The slap on the back sent Bonesword's skull flying into his hands before he caught it and picked it back up, his sword stabbed into the Rum Runner's floor. "Thank's Cap. I'm still workin' on my botanical applications, but they worked out here!" Bonesword didn't feel super useful in that battle aside from being something to just act as a distraction, but then again, he was hindered for the majority of the battle by having to steer the ship and keep it from falling apart. If he didn't have to worry about the land... well... it'd be a lot easier of a battle for him, and one where he'd help out a lot more.

Everybody on the ship had their own things to take care of before the crew arrived in Clock Town. Bonesword, feeling pretty good aside from the few tears in his patchwork clothes, was normally in charge of supplying reparation resources. He was gifted with the ability to grow trees wherever he wanted, so naturally that meant a lot of wood to fix things with. As such, a few places of the Rum Runner were designated for Bonesword to grow small trees in so planks could be made and used for said repairs. It was pretty convenient.

Next he had to really just do the minor repairs. With Feya being in recovery for the time being and everyone else needing tending to, Bonesword had to step up. Not that he minded, it was just that he couldn't get near the water of the ocean or he risked... well... Mom had to help him out that one time.

After everything was taken care of for Bonesword, the skeleton kid took his sword up to the front of the ship and put it beside him, his legs hanging outside of the ship as if he was sitting off a pier. He waved over to Mom and Boone before he patted his sword and looked towards Clock Town.

"Do you think we'll get any answers to our past there, bud?"

Silence, aside from the roar of crashing waves.

"It's good to be optimistic..."

Well, in hindsight, she's swimming, so she didn't die. Anyway, Dirk lost interest when Cedric told Crant he was leaving, and then told him to go to the town of clocks. So he did! And to do that, he is going to go to the wheel and turn it. What Krabbe has has learned Dirk knows is how to turn a ship, and he needs to pilot the there ship even better for all the next new times. Otherwise I'll die.

Do you know that you're injured, or are you too stupid to realise that?

...oh yeah, Bleu one punched him in got the stab stomached. Ouch! I mean heck. No it's fine, they're scarface wounds. Sacrepleurgh. The word meaning not bad. Dirk didn't not want not need anybody to heal him, but if Lillana got there anyway, he would be cool for the healing proclamation that would eat the cure woundatives. She looked at his face, even though he had no face hurting juice, but was in the stomach too. Meanheal, Cedric told all the people they were grante. Dirk did a good job apparently. Yeay.

You were bad Loser!

Nuh.

Yes you were Idiot! You sucked and lost a lot Weakling!

No. Shut up.

Weak weak weak weak weakling Failure!

'Shut up Jamewithaniintheexactmiddle.'

He's right. You were an utter mess.

'I ssssssaid shut up. I did good. Captain ssssssaid so, and Divine Purpoise has is the ssssssaid is yes.' Now would be a less not good time to do a breakdancedowndance. They were going to Glock Town, and he needed to dhave get them the captain's orders are important. Shut up brain noises. You're making it woooooRSE.

He did a wheel grab more now. Twitching necks are not rented a lent. SHUT UP BRAIN NOISES.

'...okay good. They did the shut up. Time for Shippidge.' And so they Shippidged.

While Feya, reluctantly, accepted the aid of Krabbe's flotation ring and was pulled back aboard, Wafer D. Kite was in deep contemplation. He hadn't expected the bounty hunter's words to affect him so much, and he hated it. He grit his teeth as he imagined, each in turn, the old members of his crew. The deceased, and the ones that were caught and sent off to be tried and executed. That's when Boone pulled him back to reality. A family. That sounded nice. Families were hard to replace, but he had lost his. What would they have said? Kite didn't have to contemplate it long. They would all want to see him moving on.

"I will join you, captain. I am an able shipwright, so I'll keep your vessel in good shape." With that declaration, Kite began to hobble his way across ships, burdened by a thousand cuts. Individually no threat, but they created a cumulative wound of great potency. As soon as Kite had made it to the deck of the Rum Runner, he collapsed. Partly this was due to his exhaustion, yes, but also this was the first moment of peace, true peace, he had since Krabbe's men had raided his ship. This was nice.

And so the Red Rum Pirates sailed away from the wreck of the King Crab, battered and bruised, but victorious. They were even up a nakama! With Bonesword's ability to create limitless materials, and Kite's skills, the ship would be back in perfect condition in no time flat! Their final battle in the South Blue was now behind them. For now it was time to rest, replenish resources, then head off to Reverse Mountain! The Grand Line beckons, and when adventure calls, the Red Rums follow! What mysteries would await them in that legendary place? They would find out, just as soon as they get to the end of the map!



The Rum Runner made it finally to their last destination before the Grand Line! Clock Town! After sailing another hour and a half once they had left the King Crab behind, the tall clock towers peaked up over the horizon for all to see. A technological marvel of the South Blue, Clock Town had impeccable precision in all their metal work, and the best time pieces throughout the entire world! Plus being so close to Reverse Mountain meant that they had a good trade economy for all the private explorers that stopped by before heading off to the Grand Line, and even gave a decent amount of trade to the nearby marine base, Branch 203. Even though John Krabbe had set sail from Clock Town to intercept the Red Rums, the town didn't seem to be up in arms and ready to defend themselves once the pirates came to port. In fact, they seemed blissfully unaware of the outlaws in their midst. Perhaps the good people of Clock Town had anticipated that there was simply no way The Vice could have failed to protect them? Well, that was no matter. It simply meant that the crew could go about their business however they wanted in order to resupply before heading off.

Clock Town Major Tourist Destinations
Tick's Tavern
Tock's Clocks
Smithy Metalworking
Clock Town Central Library and Bookstore
Marine Base Branch 203
Shelly's Sailing Supplies
Clock Town Marketplace
Central Clock Tower/Festival Plaza
Dolly's Shipyard
Piston's Pistols
World's Largest Natural Sundial

And huzzah, they did it. They were finally at the house that they were come over to. And Dirk had not gone to the land yet either, so this was a planned good side.

Nothing you do is good. I'm surprised you didn't crash the ship.

No time for that, Derek! We need to clocks! There are clocks here, and they need to be do clocks. The best clocks are always sold in the clockest locations, the locations that sell the most clocks, the clockiest of place lands. And food also was importent.

'I will go to the clocks,' Dirk murmured at the Captain Cedric after they stopped the moving and got the purchasing funding. The moving is too far otherwise, they can't move through the solidsea... am I forgetting something? No, there are no- wait, no that thing had a going thing that went for it. 'Also, you get half rations,' he said, and then leaves, and then he has half more than he would have had of berries, which Cedric has half less of. They need to not do alcohol, it has bad effects on your heart and lungs.

It doesn't Fool! You should try some Failure!

Naaa. He's gone to a different place instead, and went off the boat some degree amount of time later. Since he's gone, he decided he could have some other places to be, which are the Metallands Shop on one pointing sign, and the Marketlands Shop in that other sign. So the more clocks will be in the food marketland due to more shop... so the food will also be there... so he's gone there first. It'll be cool when he goes to there and gets his food. And maybe he'd get accompanied too, if he liked that then the money. Which he has, and he'd get the right stuff for the right trip places. Long amounts of food need long healing, so then it will be cool beans. Also, maybe some villans will show up too. Villined.

It's spelt "villains". At least try to sound human next time you try to speak, you waste.

---

Having taken been somewhat busy on their way to the docks of Clocktown, Lilliana had managed to reconstruct her grappling hook, look after the various injuries of their crew--including the poor Kite, their newest member--and last, but not least, taking a nap. It was a good nap.
Rising as they made port, Lilliana stretched and then made her way up onto the deck where she gawked at the crazy clockwork Clocktown. It was faaaantastic, bringing a big ole grin to her lips. Glancing around in the interest of finding Bonesword, Lilliana decided that she’d be accompanying their first mate into town. It just wouldn’t do to leave him unsupervised.

Bonesword, after handing some money off to the various crew members so they could go and have some fun on their lonesomes, walked over to his mother and looked up at her through a covered face and body. He couldn’t give away what he looked like in towns or many people would panic, so he decided long ago that he’d wear more covering attire when he went into towns. Namely a large scarf around his face.

“Do you think Slick’s going to burn down a building this time?” the first mate asked the doctor, semi-jokingly.

Looking down at her sweet adopted baby boy, she smiled and patted him on the head. “Not if I have anything to say about it. Which I do,” she winked at him and then reached over her shoulder. B-MO responded by handing her...a piece of itself? It was a small glob of what appeared to be a liquid metal substance. She crouched down and gave Bonesword a conspiratorial grin.

“I’m gonna put this on Slick and tell him not to burn anything down. If he does this lil B-MO will make his life a liiittle bit harder. One sec,” she finished off, standing up and waltzing over to Slick. Deftly, she slipped the tiny metal blob--which was surprisingly light--into either a pocket or a bag that Slick was clearly going to bring. She then started walking away, calling back to him.

“Slick, make sure you be good. I better not hear about you stealing from someone in town or setting something on fire!” There was a chastising tone in her voice that also revealed a warning. That done she returned to Bonesword before glancing out at the docks and then the town once more. “Want to head to the library? They might have some information on new plants for you...and I’m curious if they have anything science related here.” She met his gaze.

”I think they will, mom. It is a library after all.” Bonesword responded.

”I hope you’re right, anyway. It’s been a while since I added to my notebook.” Bonesword pulled out the Botanical Chronicle and flipped to the last filled page of the notebook and finished sketching in the plant that he remembered was on the page as the two walked.

Keeping an eye out, as well as part of her attention on Bonesword, she guided him towards the library after getting some directions herself. They’d arrive soon and hopefully they’d find what they were looking for without trouble!