[Episode] Strange Waters house Stranger Pirates

The salty sea breeze gently tussled Volo’s spikey teal hair as the pi(rate)lot leaned over the railing of Emilia as she gently floated through the air. The smoke from his cigarette wafting behind him like the trails of gray smoke billowing out behind the balloon behemoth. “Ahhhh” He sighed happily, closing his eyes as he took a deep drag, the embers on the cigarettes paper quickly devouring what was left leaving only ash behind. Ash that was quickly taken by the wind.

“Ain’t nothing like this, I tell ya, hehehe.” Snickering as he leaned back onto the ships deck, his eyes drifting upwards towards the clouds as the smoke from his cigarette wafted upwards into the breeze. Like sheep, the passing clouds had his eyelids growing heavier and heavy until he couldn’t bear to hold them open any longer.

A few minutes felt like hours as Volo sprawled out on the deck, a snot bubble changing size with every breath, until he joked awake by a violent wrenching sound. A sound that was quickly followed by a deafening bang and then again by an ominous silence as Emilia slowly began to lose altitude. With a deep inhale “Ahh fuck me.” He groaned, slowly rising to his feet as he popped a cigarette into his mouth. “This is not what I wanted too do today....” Patting his pockets down he glanced around, “Great, first the engine and now this.... Why couldn’t that old bastard have given me a fire fruit...”

Volo continued to complain all the while Emilia’s descent began to hasten as the remaining hot air escaped from the balloon without the engines constant feeding. Dragging himself to the engine room, he was greeted by a wave of flames spewing from the engine, the orange and yellow tendrils dancing with the shadows they created on the walls.

Cigarette in hand, Volo reached out to the flames before following with his lips as he inhaled deeply, igniting the paper. “Guess we should get started then..” Sighing before filling the room with smoke and ridding it of oxygen for the fire too eat, smothering it as the engine was left broken and bare. “Any minute minute now...” Mumbling as the the entire vessel shook as it made contact with the water, tossing and bobbing as it settled itself with the waves. “Perfect... Now, lets see what we got here.”

Elsewhere in South Blue | Marine Vessel

“Captain Marion!” A marine shouted as he scrambled down a hallway before taking a hard right down a corridor, “C-Captain Marion! Captain Marion..! Sir..!!” Continuing to shout before bursting through an office door. “Captain....*huff*...*huff*...Captain Marion, Sir!” Panting as the fatigue had caught up with him before snapping to attention to greet his superior officer.

“Hmmm.... mmmm..... hmmm... mmm...”  With every breathe Captain Marion moaned and snored from behind his desk, all the while scribbling on the various papers scattered in front of him.

“Uhh... C-captain Marion..? Sir..?” The Marine spoke up sheepishly, nervously wagging his finger in a futile attempt to get a sleeping mans attention.

“What are you doing..?” A feminine voice called about from behind, snapping his attention to the doorway at his back. “O-Oh! Lt. Noda..!” Startled he hastily addressed her with the proper salute as the swords wielding woman barged past the lower ranked officer and slammed her fist on the desk.

“Captain!!” She shouted angrily, “Wake up!”

“Wahh wahh wohh!” Captain Marion’s eyes snapped open as the snot bubble popped almost simultaneously, “ Oh woah, Y-Yes! Yes.... I’m here....hmmmm....hmmm.. ahhh Ms. Noda... what is it now, hmm? Speak up.”

“There ya go.” Lt Noda smirked as she patted the marine on the shoulder before exiting the room. “Try and stay awake this time would ya old man, yah?” She snickered to the Captain before disappearing around the corner.

“Captain Marion, sir!” Addressed the Captain officially now that he was awake. “ I have urgent news!”

“Hmm..? Is that so... Yes, well.... on with it then....mmmm”

“We have received more reports from traders and merchants regarding those attacks, the ones led by the pirate captain Dyson Hoover.”

“Eh...Hoover..? Hmmm... Now is that the fellow who poisoned the boy Bacon...?”

“N..No sir, that was the pirate Karl Friedreich. Hoover is the captain of the Dirty Devil pirates, sir.”

“Ah mmmm, yes, yes....quite right...hmmmmm....quite right...” Mumbling as he shuffled through a stack of bounties on his desk, pulling out one marked for 17,000,500 beli. “Here we go.... Yes.....hmmmm... Murder, Theft, Kidnapping, Animal Trafficking, and Slaver connections to boot.... Ohohohohoh and what’s this... A devil fruit user to eh..? Hmmm... Yes...This should be interesting...”

“Our reports have indicated that he has an unknown client on or near Black Drum Island, however with the recent incident regarding the Bird’s Nest it might not be possible for them to spare the man power to assist us.”

Marion glanced over the bounty posters on the desk intently, seemingly deep in thought as his breathing became more rhythmic and his head nodded down slowly.

“C-Captain Marion...?”  

Dirty Devil Pirate Crew Vessel | Sea Boo | South Blue

“Vavavavava!” A large pale skinned man covered in scars laughed as he gripped a young woman by the neck. His forearms were unnaturally large compared to the rest of his long gangly body and wrapped in chains. “You’ll make a pretty bird in a dragons cage, Vavavavava” His long pink tongue stretching out as he licked the tears from the woman’s cheek, holding her in place as he desperately struggled to get away. “Put her below with the rest!” He shouted as he tossed the woman to the hard wooden floor as several men scurried to her like roaches and disappeared with her below deck.

“Captain Dyson!” A man shouted from the helm, “Where too next?!”

“Sail for Black Drum, I’m sure our favorite marine client would like to see our newest wares, after all, he does love a beautiful woman with pretty skin. Vavavavavava!”

Stranded on the Water | South Blue | Emilia

“Ahhhhhh!” Volo shouted from the engine room, the ringing off metal echoing out almost simultaneously as he launched a wrench across the room in frustration. “Fuck me.” Sighing as he tussled his hair with greasy black hands, staining it black as he stepped back out onto the deck to get some air. “Just my luck.” Mumbling as he plucked a cancer stick from the box with his lips and fumbled into his pocket for a light. “Huh..?!” To his own surprise he pulled out his lighter and flicked it open, lighting the paper before slamming it shut once more, “Well woulda look at that, maybe lucks changing after all. Hehe.”

1,114/5,000

”Stranded” on the Water | “Innocent Bystanders” | Wooden Raft

“Aww c’mon, cheer up! It ain’t that bad.” Leo laughed as he splashed his feet in the water gleefully.

“Tch..” Lt. Noda sucked her teeth angrily as she glared at the petty officer, “ I can’t believe I was forced to come on this stupid mission!” She shouted angrily, baring her teeth like a rabid dog. “It’s all because you can’t wake up the captain on your own when he dozes off!”

“W-well you had just happened to come back by and wake him... heheh.” He stammered nervously as the thundered samurai loomed over him menacingly. “H-huh..?! What’s that?!” Leo shouted as he stared between the thinly built young women’s legs at the strange vessel floating towards them.

Snapping her neck around, Rial’s eyes were met with a hideous abomination of wood and metal drifting in the waves. Like a wooden sailing ship topped with a strange, hulking metal skeleton lacking any dressings. “Whaa.... Nevermind, look alive! Remember Captain Marion tasked us with finding out more information on the Dirty Devil Pirates, this could be our first big lead!”

“Uhhh.. yeah” Leo mumbled back as the nervous tapping of his feet became so vicious it became to rock the raft they were on.

“Hey! Cut it ou-..!!” Rial shouted as the pair went tumbling into the ocean as the makeshift raft cap sized.

“H-help!! I... I can’t swim!!...Gur...rrrggg.....” Leo splashed around screaming frantically before sinking beneath the waves like stone.

“How useless..?! Ughhhh!” Rial grunted as she quickly went under after the petty officer, How did a schmuck like this get into the marines? the thought ran through her a hundred times in the few seconds it took her too secure the young man under her arms and return to the surface. “Ahhhh!” She gasped as the pair breached the water, with Leo quickly echoing her sentiment as he hacked up saltwater.

“T-thank... thank you so much.... Lieute-...?!” His words cut off by a life raft to the face.

“My bad!” Volo shouted down from Emilia’s deck, “Grab on! I’ll pull ya up!”

“What luck!” Leo shouted innocently as he clung to the donut shaped life preserver for dear life.

“Yeah... Luck...” Rial, ever the skeptic mumbled to herself, “Remember, shipwrecked civs, no ranks and keep on your toes...”

With a wave, they signaled their would be savior to reel them in like freshly caught fish. “Sheesh! You two sure are heavy! Wahahaha!” Volo laughed as he finished pulled the pair onto the deck.

“The hell is that supposed to mean?!” Rial snapped as she reached for a katana that wasn’t there.

“Now now, Lieu-... Rial, we owe this fella for helping us outta of that spot we got ourselves into.. hehehe...” Leo pleaded as he calmed the girl down before addressing the black haired, goggle and scarf less man in front of them. “Thank you so much.. hehehe.. Now what did you say your name wa-... *BLAM*” His question cut off by the exploding sound of the broken engine.

“Ah shit..! Sorry, but I gotta run! You guys make yourselves at home, ya?!” Disappearing before answering the question.

“I don’t like him.” Rial mumbled as she looked in disgust at the amount of cigarette butts that littered the vessel.

“C’mon, Lieutenant give the guy a shot, after all, he did just save us from drowning, Hehehe.”

“Saved us for what is the real question....” She mumbled suspiciously as she began to snoop, being careful to avoid the the piles of old cigarettes.

Dirty Devil Pirate Crew Vessel | Sea Boo | South Blue

“Vavavavava!” Dyson cackled as he devoured can after can of spinach, glaring at the various ‘wares’ he had acquired. “Quite the haul...” The words spat out like the chewed up leaves that accompanied them in between each ravenous chomp. His eyes drifting along the cages lined up in his room, ranging from tiny too large and housing all manner of creatures inside.

The skeletal man leaned closer to a particularly large cage, moving so close his sharp nose poked in long before his forehead felt the cold touch of the steel. “Here kitty, kitty....” He mumbled with a tone that felt toxic too the ears. “Don’t be shy now...”

“C-Captain..!!” A voice called out from above as he swung open the door, “There’s something in the waters! We think it might be a ship!!”

“You think..?” He questioned curiously, quickly moving to investigate on the deck above. “Give me that..” Snatching the scope from one of the crewman as he zoomed in on the abomination of wood and metal that was Emilia. “What’s this...?” He mumbled as saliva dripped down his chin at the site of Rial Noda bathed in the sunlight as she stood on the deck seemingly alone. “Well, well, well, hello pretty birdie...~”

1,925/5,000