[IC] One Piece: The Blackfin Chronicles

[alexfangtalon]

Eadgar smiled as he heard the commotion coming from the ship. Looks like the plan was under way. It was an interesting one, to say the least, but it would definitely get the job done. As he sat perched in the window sill so as to not be spotted he heard the men inside talking about the loud noises. He knew there were about fifteen pirates and when one said, "Roku, keep an eye on the civs while we check it out." he adjusted his position to be ready to drop on the fools. At that moment the pirates began filing out of the church. Eadgar waited until it seemed they were all outside to drop from his position. On his way down he heard the pirates speaking about their confusion on what was happening. However, they didn't have long to contemplate as Eadgar hit the ground nigh instantly unsheathing his blade. Before the pirates could even fully turn around it was over as they heard Eadgar say, "Silver Fang Slash." As they fell one saw him standing in front of them with the devilish smirk that many unfortunate to face him got to see.

He walked to the door and simply knocked and, covering his mouth, said, "Roku, get out here." He heard movement from inside as the final pirate opened the door to meet face to face with his defeat. Before the man could react Eadgar slashed the man across the chest causing him to instantly pass out. Eadgar walked inside to the crowd of locals and said, "Me and two others are doing everything we can to save your friends and family. But you need to get out of the way so that you don't get hurt. Find someplace to hide. Quick!" Eadgar held the door open as the crowd quickly bu quietly left the church in search of shelter. He was about to leave for the ship when he noticed a little girl crying in the corner and her mother consoling her.

[Zapdos]

Siobhan’s prowess once again impressed the doctor as he watched her distract Bluewell and his men with her “actual-fucking-whirlpool.” So far there hadn’t been any real reason for him to reveal himself from his hiding spot near the ocean; he could watch the chaos ensue while ensuring that he could actually be of use once people were in danger.

In the meantime, Jones decided to make good use of his time and quietly got to work on crafting some poison, just in case. Due to the limited time he had and the circumstances requiring stealth, he wouldn’t be able to make much of it, but a small vial of it would be enough for killing one person. The doctor cared about helping any citizens that needed it, but if Siobhan was in danger from Ragnvald, he hoped he could help her as well.

[Blackstripe]

"Damn it all, the Blue Lynx is finished!" Ragnvald spat in anger, turning to watch his ship as it slowly slipped from the beach where it had been marooned. Pirate and civilian alike had fled the sinking vessel like rats, swarming past the towering captain as he grasped his head in frustration.

Now what was he supposed to tell Blackwell? He was going to have to have somebody come pick him up now, a humiliation he would never live down. "First the storm and now this? It's like I've been cursed or something--"

A wisp of air cut his sentence short, a chill having been drawn across the right side of his face by some unseen force. Turning his head, he saw one of his men lying on the ground in a small pool of blood. "W-what?! A gunshot? From where?!"

Grauwulf didn't use guns, did he? Not that he knew of, at least. Maybe he had improvised. His men were still lost in a state of confusion at the moment and hadn't even noticed one of their own falling. "Goddamnit, stop panicking about the ship and grab those hostages!!"

At least some listened, but many of those were quickly felled by the same invisible attacker. Drawing his own flintlock pistol, Ragnvald put a bullet in the head of one of the fleeing women from the town. "You see that?! Stop this attack right now or-ARGH!"

A sharp pain in his chest caused him to stumble back, a bleeding wound now marking him...but it felt different than a normal bullet. As he clutched at the wound, he realized there wasn't any projectile lodged inside of him. Raising his head in the direction where he had felt it impact him, he quickly unfurled his infamous "whip-fang", a weapon know as an Urumi. "...There!"

With a flick of his wrist, the pirate captain deflected the oncoming attacks with clean precision. Feeling a light speckling of liquid hit his face, his eyes grew wide. "What the--water?!"

"Water Shot, more exactly," a feminine voice corrected him, a lone figure slowly emerging from the surf. "Water droplets thrown with such force that they're akin to bullets."

This...was most certainly not Grauwulf. He couldn't make out much in the way of details due to the dark of night, but from her voice and shapely silhouette, it was clearly a woman. "Who the hell are you? Why have you attacked me?!"

"I'm Grace D. Siobhan," she answered, "the pirate who's gonna destroy the world!"

He nearly fell over without even being shot this time. Of all the things he could have predicted, none of the past five minutes were within his realm of speculation. His ship was gone, a solid number of his crew were dead...and now this woman. "What, are you some kind of mermaid from hell come to punish me?!"

---

"Don't be so conceited, ya gobshite," Siobhan's teeth gleamed beneath the moonlight, "you're just a bump in my road to One Piece!"

She launched herself at him in a burst of speed he seemed unable to follow. While Bluewell attempted to raise his whip in defense, it was ultimately futile. Plunging her fist into the side of his face, his head twisted to one side and his body went spiraling deep into the town like a rifled bullet, several distant structures being cleaved in two by the oversized pirate.

Exhaling following her attack, Siobhan glanced at her gloved hand with a slight frown. "I might not've put enough effort into that one. That guy's stronger than Redwell was."

He would probably survive, and regain consciousness in a short while.

[alexfangtalon]

Eadgar walked to the pair and said, "You need to get out of here. The first place they will come is here." The girl continued crying as the mother looked up and said, "It's all your fault. My husband is dead because of you. He -"

"Save your words. They mean nothing. Either get her to safety or take out your revenge." Eadgar knew the words were harsh, but he had to make sure everyone got to safety. He reached down to take the hand of the woman. She took his hand but as she stood punched Eadgar in the jaw. "You're a monster. Do you even care that he died because of you!"

"Look, you need to get your anger out then get her to safety. Don't focus on the dead. Focus on the living." At that Eadgar turned and began walking away. As he reached the door he heard something crash through the wall. Moments later he heard the woman scream and he bolted back into the sanctuary. That's when he saw Ragnvald grabbing the little girl by the hair. "Grauwulf! When will this horrid day END! Don't take another step forward or else I'll snap her neck. You are so weak you couldn't even beat me yourself. You pathet-"

"LIGHTNING HOWL!" Before anyone knew it blood shot from Ragnvald's face in a slash pattern. He fell to the floor dead as the girl ran to her mother. "Stay here if you like. But I think that bufoon was proof you need to hide. Now, I need to make sure that everything else went according to plan." Eadgar then left running in the direction of the rest of the fight.

[Zapdos]

After Siobhan’s speech earlier, Jones was relieved and surprised by how well this went. As far as Jones could tell, only one woman by the beach had been killed, and that has been done by Bluewell himself. As for the rest of them, the doctor had rushed out and started treating people as soon as they started getting injured. A bandage here, cleaning a wound there, and so on. While Ragnvald was a good fighter, his henchmen were not as skilled, which helped things immensely. It also helped that his captain had been able to attack Bluewell in her usual fashion.

When Jones was sure that everyone was okay, he ran to the church to see if anyone else needed treatment. In retrospect, it would’ve been smart to see if Ragnvald was actually defeated first before doing that, but it turned out that Eadgar had actually done a good job of finishing what Siobhan started. Smiling about something that the swordsman did for what was probably the first time ever, Jones started treating anyone around the church that had been injured with his usual skill. If there were any casualties around there, the doctor didn’t see them, which was a relief. Overall, it looked like this plan was a success.

[Blackstripe]

Well, things at the ship had been wrapped up nicely by this point. After seeing their Captain go flying, the remaining pirates had completely lost their stomach for battle. Surrendering to the understandably angry townsfolk, they were quickly bound in rope and brought to the town square by the battered citizens.

Siobhan, seeing that things were now under control, finally turned towards the church only to see Eadgar already running in her direction. Offering him a wave, she smirked. "Oh, done already? Just what I'd expect from my swordsman!"

She had knocked Ragnvald in his direction, and since all was quiet there and Eadgar was here, Siobhan assumed everything was taken care of. "All things considered, the people of this town got off pretty easy."

[alexfangtalon]

When Eadgar got to the second fight location he was surprised that they were already done but disappointed that these pirates would willingly give away their freedom. He turned to Siobhan once she finished talking. "You can cut it with the 'my swordsman' thing. I ain't joining no pirate crew. I'm a bounty hunter for Pete's sake. I hunt down pirates. And before you say that bounty hunters have become pirates before I have an obligation to complete. Bluewell here worked for someone and before I can do anything else I need to track him down and deal with him. Whether it be with words or swords. It was a pleasure working with you though."

[Blackstripe]

"Oh, ya mean Blackwell?" Siobhan quirked a brow. "I'm goin' to kick his arse before I head back to the Grand Line. Just go ahead and join my crew, and you'll get to see your man soon enough!"

After all, Jones too had a history with that guy, and she couldn't rightly just leave him with a knife at his back. Besides, she hated starting something and not finishing it properly. That wasn't how she was raised to do things.

[Zapdos]

Jones finished up treating the citizens that were injured by the church, then went back to where the ship was to find his captain. When he arrived, he saw Siobhan having a conversation with Eadgar. As he thought, she still wanted him to join. “Eh, he seems kind of rash, but he did finish Bluewell, so I guess I can give him a chance,” Jones thought.

“Trust me Eadgar, I know she’ll defeat Blackwell,” the doctor added, acting like he knew that was the plan the entire time. Siobhan never said she would do that before, but it felt like the natural thing for her to do. “Also, she’s not going to give up until you say yes, so you might as well just join up,” Jones said with a grin directed at his captain.

[alexfangtalon]

Eadgar raised his hand to his face and sighed. These two were an interesting bunch, but going to the gGrand Line. The odds of that were annoying. His father had just left days ago because they had gotten intel on his uncle being somewhere in that dreaded place. Eadgar had stayed behind to finish up loose ends and was gonna then go join him. Eadgar wanted to refuse on the principle that they were pirates. But they helped him save these people and they were already going to the same place. Eadgar groaned and then said, "Look, I'm not saying yes or no. We happen to be going to the same place so I will travel with you. I'll decide later though."

[Blackstripe]

"Deadly," Siobhan replied, her smile matching the light of dying star. "It's fate that we met here the way we did."

By this point, the populace of the town had began approaching them. Several dozen people were now crowding the beach to get a look at the individuals who had defeated Bluewell and his pirates. Some could be heard muttering the name of Grauwulf, while none seemed to recognize Siobhan...which was understandable, given that she hadn't been in West Blue since she was seven.

Gently pushing aside the throng of citizens, an elderly man with greying hair in the shape of an ice-cream swirl quickly bowed to them in greetings. "Mr. Grauwulf, young sir and madam...our town is in your debt for defeating those vile brigands. In the name of the people of Coverie, I, Mayor Softscoop, would like to offer you our sincerest gratitude. Please, if there is anything we might do for you..."

"Food!" Siobhan excitedly jabbed her hand into the sky. "Lots of it. Havin' a break from fish will do me well, like."

---

And so, with their small ship loaded with every non-perishable the town could fit onto it, the unnamed crew of three departed from the island, sure on their way to yet another adventure...

[Zapdos]

While the members of the Blackfin Pirates (and one guy who is tagging along with them for now) sail on to their next destination, we take a brief look at what has happened to Redwell's first mate since Siobhan punched him.

Carl Side Story

Part One:

-----

In the town of Boaduor, the local citizens were placing conscious and unconscious pirates in a wooden cart to be taken to the county jail. Even though one man in particular took a dozen men to get onto the cart, they were still successful in finding all but two of the Redwell Pirates, and nobody was in a rush to find the doctor or the captain anyway. They had to admit, the guy with the fedora had done a good job of treating the butcher’s arm and the townsfolk didn’t think they had a cell big enough for Redwell.

As the cart was moving along the Boaduor River, it hit a pothole along the old road. Fortunately, the vehicle (if it could be called that) was fine, but one unconscious fat man was not. Carl fell into the river and looked like he sunk to the bottom.

“Should we do something about that?” one man asked.

“Nah, that fatass probably drowned. We can just say that Claire’s dead. The mayor’ll be happy we don’t have to go over budget feeding him while we wait for the Marines,” another guy responded.

“Sounds good to me.”

-----

[Blackstripe]

"That's two down, two to go!" Siobhan chirped, scratching Eadgar's name off her list. Having changed into a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top, she looked ready for bed as their trawler floated into the distant sea.

Despite this, however, she was instead standing over a table with a nautical chart spread across it. Idly chewing on the side of her lip, she used her divider to estimate how long it would be to the next island. "Hmmn...about a week, huh? It's pretty far away. I guess we'll be eating fish again by that point."

Still, it would be worth it. There was a certain person said to live on this island, if the rumors were correct. Unlike the previous two people (whose general location she could only guess), this person offered her a clear destination to aim for. "My third crew member is waiting for me there..."

[Zapdos]

Jones had changed into more casual clothing as well; pajama pants and a t-shirt. He had been reading Gangster Gastino’s Medical Encyclopedia to learn how to make more poisons when his captain spoke.

"Hmmn...about a week, huh? It's pretty far away. I guess we'll be eating fish again by that point. My third crew member is waiting for me there..."

The doctor smiled, wondering who the third person would be. At this point, he trusted Siobhan, so as long as they got along it would be fine. Even the swordsman had become more tolerable as time went on, although Jones still had to get him back for being insulting on the island.

What Jones asked his captain was a fairly predictable, but important question. “Where are we going, Siobhan? And who are we trying to find?”

[Blackstripe]

"Well," Siobhan glanced up from her map to meet her doctor's eyes, "the main island is called Cathymnia. For sure, we'll stop there for supplies and information, but our destination is a smaller island nearby."

Returning her focus to the chart, she frowned. "It's not on any nautical chart I could find, but all the rumors say she lives on a small island near that larger one. I'm sure the locals will know how to get there, like."

There was no doubt about it, in fact. They would know better than anyone. "Her name is Taimi Taitale. She's become sort of a legend recently. Her father was pretty famous too."

[Zapdos]

Jones had heard of Cathymnia, but only vaguely. Taimi Taitale, however, was not a name he had heard from anyone besides his captain. The doctor supposed that he wasn’t the most informed person about pirates. At least he could heal them better than many others, at least.

“A legend? For what?” Jones asked. He wasn’t surprised at all by this, the doctor just wanted to know what his new crewmember could do.

[Blackstripe]

"Science and engineering," Siobhan replied, grinning without bothering to look up at him a second time. "She's going to become my shipwright. We can't keep sailin' on this little trawler forever, you know. Not on the Grand Line; the weather is far too wild there."

She knew that first hand. It would eat this little boat alive in a heartbeat.

[Zapdos]

“That’ll be a useful person to have, for sure.” Jones said, “and you’re right. This ship would be too small for a big crew anyway.” Already, the back of his mind was thinking about how someone with Taimi’s skillset could use his knowledge to help the crew. Perhaps to make cannons that launched poison bombs or something.

He then joked “I would’ve sworn you were going to get a chef next though, with your appetite.”

[Blackstripe]

"Kahuhu, you'd think," Siobhan admitted. "In fairness, a chef would be grand, but we aren't in danger of goin' hungry. What we need is someone that knows how to maintain a ship more properly than I do."

She could patch small leaks up when she needed to, but she was by no means a shipwright. Any significant damage to their vessel would be beyond her ability to repair. "I'm hopin' to have a big crew once I have a ship that can support em'."

[Zapdos]

“I did think, that’s why I said it,” Jones joked again, “but really, I agree. With both having a good ship and a large crew. I can imagine you aren’t the only one trying to be the next Pirate King.” It was true; the sea was a big place and their crew was just one of many. The doctor was glad he was with this one though, and for more reasons than the one he was about to say.

“However,” Jones said with a smile, “you’ll be the only one who succeeds.”