The Queen of Pirates (might change the title)

From the "Sadistic Cyber Pirates" RP with RollZero, I'm going to write a story out of it. To think that this RP had started 2 years ago on EXEHQ, I almost shudder... I hope the project goes on, with many chapters! This might be the first long story I'll be going to write in english, lol.

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Prologue

Year of 20XX.

The survival of this poor terrestrial planet depends on technology. Big cities and metropolis overwhelmed the natural progress, and as of now, most of the Earth's crust got swallowed by the sea, forming a few big islands, and a series of countless smaller lands, that long time ago were connected by large continents.

The population, dramatically decreased, began their recovery process by using what destroyed them, which was the technology itself. Despite this, for many and many years, human beings kept living on, developing themselves as they depended more and more on technology.

They created a parallel dimension, called Cyber World. A city, simply named as the Internet. And their inhabitants, called Net Navi: humanoid creatures formed by data that were created to enforce security in the network, costantly threatened by viruses. At least each person in the world had their own Navi.

The main islands became independent nations, with Japan being the center and biggest nation of all, followed by Ameroupe, Kingland, Sharo and some few others.

The smaller islands, though, were divided in three categories.

Those depending on the bigger nations, like the Jawaii island.

Those that pretty much hadn't been touched by the higher technology yet, with some exception.

...And the forgotten ones, where wildness and what remained of nature laid. And where some form of magic was born, by the hands of a divine essence called Lord of Nightmares.

Soon enough, a few people, tired of being imprisoned in a lifestyle they wholeheartedly hated, escaped the big nations to travel the big blue sea. Using ships from past times, they seeked freedom, power and wealth. You all can definitely call them Pirates. Simple as that.

Dear ladies and gentlemen, the time to tell a story has come.

The story about a special and tremendous crew of pirates, their countless adventures - made of magic, love and danger, a great woman and her quest to become the terrible and invincible Queen of Pirates.

Wow. Elie that is great start off. I would love to read more.

Thank you.

Chapter 01 - The Sadistic Pirates

It was the start of another day. Calmness in the large blue sea, that foretells a good and peaceful day. But for some person, it equals to boredom as well.

The young woman who now was stepping on the deck of an imposing ship, a lone tall ship, stared at the infinite horizon ahead of her with emerald green eyes. She let her long bloody red hair wave by the flow of the pleasant morning breeze, as well as her clothes: dark red shirt, adorned by golden tribal symbols, partly unbuttoned to show her well developed chest, deep black jeans with a golden belt and a loosened silver string that is inclined to her right thigh; dark red leathered boots, as well as white resistant gloves, and pair of metallic black shoulder pads with red gems in the middle, at which a black cloack was fastened.

Elie Inverse had her arms crossed, and walked up to the ship front to have a better view of the sea. The expression on her face was kind of thoughtful.

"Good morning, captain." A figure landed behind her, having jumped from the mainmast. It was a young man on his 20's, with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a red shirt and a black jacket, with blue jeans and a pair of old brown men’s shoes.

"Bored, hun? Well bad news for you, no island or any ship in the vicinity." He grinned, passing his hand over his hair.

"How many times have I told you not to call me 'hun', Dylan?" The captain turned around, and glared at him. "I'm not your girlfriend."

"Aww come on, Elie-chan! Brighten up some!" Dylan whined. "These days, friends are closer than in the past." And as he spoke, he got closed and tried to touch her butt. Elie sidestepped and kicked him in the shin. "Ow! Easy there!"

"Last time I checked, friends don't grope each other." She huffed.

"Elie-sama, you still take his words seriously?" A female voice came from Dylan's PET. A black and purple Net Navi, which resembled a witch, showed up on the terminal's screen. "You know all he wants is to touch women."

"Hey! That ain't true!" Dylan protested. "You're the one to talk, flirting with whoever Navi of male sex you set your eyes on, Marte."

Marte growled. "At least I don't grope th-"

"Ok ok, you two get a room." Elie snapped, annoyed. "Don't make me regret for taking you with me, because you're good as navigator."

"...And a great detective." He smirked.

"A fail detective." Elie countered, grinning. "You don't even remember what you did yesterday."

"I do remember! I was...uhhh...well..."

"Yeah, right." Marte sighed.

"Why you..." Dylan growled at his PET.

"Owwwwie, fighting in early morning is a big no-no!" A dark blue haired woman stepped in, wearing a red vest with blue jeans and a small rucksack on her back. "Flo-chan is preparing the breakfast, how about welcoming this day with a big smile?"

The captain rolled her eyes. "Not really..."

"Natsu-chan!" Dylan jumped at her and hugged her, groping her butt. "Elie-chan is being mean to me! Tell her to let me hug her at least!"

"Awww, poor hun." Natsumi said. The navigator suddenly retracted and stepped back quickly: he had a butcher knife pointed at his crotch. "Also touching girls is a big no-no." she said with a bright smile.

"I swear you were born not very far from Hinamizawa..." Dylan muttered.

"You mean, that village which got that virus that made people go crazy?" Natsumi's Navi said from her PET, She wore a golden-red outfit and had a heavy make-up on her face. "That's not nice to say."

"Aww Alba, not you too." Natsumi said.

'It's just that she is an excellent actress and can mask her real personality very well.' Elie refrained from saying, but she grinned evilly.

"Uh...whatever. I'm going to eat." Dylan sighed and headed to the kitchen.

"We've been sailing nearly 4 months ago, and he didn't learn yet." A guy was sitting on the parapet, having been seemingly unnoticed the whole time. He had beige messy hair, sapphire blue eyes, tanned skin and wore a red sweater with blue jeans and a black sport jacket, with a grey cowboy hat.

"Good morning, Saburo-san." Natsumi smiled. The cowboy tipped his hat as to greet back.

"Time has flown." Elie said, returning to look at the sea. "It seems like yesterday, when I decided to take my leave from our home island and become a pirate, and you guys followed me."

"Don't tell me you regret it now?" Saburo wondered.

"It's not that." The captain sighed. "It's just, I expected the life of a pirate to be more...exciting."

"Well, it was fun in the island we were a week ago!" Natsumi said. "Those ugly guys made fun of you and half the island was wiped off as payback. You did great!"

"They just ticked me off, no big deal." Elie huffed. "Though I really can't understand why I should be made fun of for not having a Navi."

"Because it's a global trend." Saburo said. "Those who don't have one could be counted on the fingers of your hand."

Elie shrugged. "I don't really need some pile of data to be coo-" She got interrupted by a sudden scream.

"UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!"

"Dylan?!" Natsumi recognized the voice.

"Hey, are you ok?!" Marte cried, concerned. "What the..." She poked out of her PET screen through a hologram to look at her operator's leg, completely covered in ice.

"A goddamn Freeze Arrow..." The brunette navigator groaned, sitting up as he held his freezed leg. "Who the heck did that?!"

Natsumi rushed to his side. "What was that? Are they attacking us?"

"No way, there's nothing around the ship right now..." Dylan muttered.

"Someone must have been intruding inside, then." Saburo wondered.

"Impossible. I can't sense any magic aura other than us." The red haired captain said calmly, her hands on her hips as she looked around.

"...Oh? What is this?" Natsumi noticed a piece of paper stuck in the ice. She carefully picked it. "A letter?"

"There's something written... From the Cyber Pirates.." Alba pointed out.

"Give me." Elie snatched the letter off her companion's hands, and rapidly opened it. Her eyes initially widened, then narrowed and her face turned into a creepy smile.

"Captain? ...What is it?" Natsumi gulped, seeing Elie's sudden change of expression.

"Guys..." The red haired captain looked at the trio, blazing fire in her eyes. The letter itself suddenly began burning in her hand. "A fun time is awaiting us."

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"Captain!" A girl was rushing over the deck of an advanced ship. "Captain Black Spotty!!"

"What the heck are you yelling for, Tron?!" A ragged old man spat. He was sat on one of the barrels that invaded the deck, gulping a bottle of rum down like no end.

The girl named Tron came to a halt and handed him a letter, panting. "One of our men got hit by a Freeze Arrow, and we found this..."

"The hell..." Spotty muttered, looking at the back of the letter. From the Sadistic Pirates...

He opened the paper quickly, and a few seconds later a roar echoed.

"HOW DARE THEY THROW THIS AT ME...I'LL SHOW THEM, GOD DAMN IT!!" He stood up from his "throne" and shouted. "EVERYONE, GET READY! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FUCKING PIRATE BATTLE!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"



To Be Continued...

And so it begins. Elie and Black Spotty.

This fanfic is also at RZ's, if you wanna check

Chapter 02 - The Cyber Pirates

Elie's group moved to the kitchen, having breakfast.

"Oww! Don't press like that, Sara..." Dylan muttered. gripping his frozen leg.

A brown haired girl was tending to the chilblain on his leg, after melting the ice off. She wore a blue shirt with a purple vest and black pants. A pair of black sunglasses covered her violet void eyes, as to mask her blindness.

"It's necessary, the ice didn't melt off wholly yet. I can't cast Heal with your leg in this state." Sara, the medic of the crew, said quietly. "Try to hold on for a while still."

"Okay...just for you, darling." Dylan said sweetly, and stretched one arm out to reach her bottom.

"Reaching hand at 3 o'clock." A female Navi said, her hologram sitting on Sara's shoulder. She wore a colorful nurse outfit with all the colors of the rainbow.

The medic sighed and slapped Dylan's hand off. "Thanks Valiya." she said.

"Ow, damn you..." Dylan glared at the Navi, who giggled.

"I can't let you take advantage of my operator while she's busy, now can I?" Valiya said.

"Knock it off, you." Elie slapped the navigator on the back of his head. "We've got a fight awaiting and we need you too."

"Who were those pirates again?" A girl was cleaning up the kitchen. Pink hair and brown eyes, she wore a violet dress, fancy girl sandals and a pink apron in match with her hair.

"They call themselves Cyber Pirates, Flo-chan." Natsumi was pleasantly savouring a cup of tea. "Never heard of them."

"I did. It seems like their ship can travel through the cyberspace." Elie was gnawing on a chicken leg. "And it makes me wonder if they even have got magic. They way that Freeze Arrow was shot was very odd."

"Spells like that don't have that long range." Saburo said.

"Exactly, that's why it's weird." The red head pondered. "I was thinking that they sent that thing through the cyberworld, like...through dimensions."

"...Wha??" Dylan blinked his eyes.

"I know it doesn't sound right, but it's the most logic theory I can think of." Elie threw the chicken bone off and crossed her arms. "They must have at least a magic user to do that...and since they can travel through the cyber dimension, it doesn't sound that impossible."

"I think it doesn't make much sense..." Alba said. "But then again, what does, in this world?"

"Yep." Elie laughed. "Plus, it doesn't matter how they sent that letter of challenge. All we should care about now is kick their sorry asses for going that far as injuring one of our members."

"Right on~!" Natsumi cheered.

"They don't seem to be opponents to underestimate." Flo said. "If they could pull out something like a spell 'through dimensions'..."

"Once a challenge has been sent, they've got to respect the rules." Elie said. "Meaning that they can't attack us from behind or play dirty tricks whatsoever. If they are intelligent enough, they'll play fair." She showed another creepy smile of hers.

"Uhh...and how will we know when they'll come to us?" Dylan asked. "It's the first time we get a challenge from another crew..."

Elie shrugged. "Let's just wait. Then again, we don't know how to accept their challenge."

"Through E-Mail?" Marte said. "They could have spared us an arrow..."

"Are you kidding? We're suppost to be back in the Pirate Era, technology should be used as least as possible." Elie grinned.

"And because of that, they had to freeze me alive?!" Dylan snapped.

"It wasn't that bad~" Natsumi said with a big smile. "They could have aimed a bit higher!"

Dylan shuddered, covering THAT part with his hands. "...Suddenly I feel better, hee hee..." He sweatdropped.

"Anywa-" The captain spoke, but something interrupted her. She stood up suddenly.

"Could it be them?" Saburo stood up as well.

"I sense a high amount of cyber energy..." Valiya said.

Natsumi looked over a little window. "Ah! There's a ship moving towards us!"

"Let's greet them properly." The tremendous captain of the Sadistic pirates hissed, the creepy smile returning. She, Saburo and Natsumi walked out of the kitchen.

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"Queen of Darkness...It must be them!" Tron said, looking over with binoculars.

"Prepare the laser cannons! NOW!" Spotty ordered.

"W-Wait, we don't even know-"

"I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS!!!"

"...Ok...Laser cannons out!" Tron ordered to her subordinates.

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"The energy is increasing...they're charging something." Alba said, from Natsumi's shoulder.

"I recognize the ship. It's the Black Refractor." Elie grinned. "Fools, attacking first without any introduction."

"Shall I rise the barrier?" Alba asked.

"Go." Elie ordered. "Natsumi, at the cannons."

"Roger~" The young woman ran off.

"Saburo, to the helm. Hard over towards the enemy."

The tanned guy nodded and ran off as well. The captain set out to the left side of their vessel, the direction the enemy ship was coming towards. An orange transparent half circle surrounded them soon after, as protective barrier.

KA-BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!

Right afterwards, a series of large laser beams headed towards them, colliding with the barrier and exploding soundly.

"Is it started yet-WHOA!" Dylan rushed off the kitchen, and had to grip onto the parapet not to fall in the sea. The explosions caused the Queen of Darkness to shake dramatically.

"COUNTER...FIRE!!" Elie roared. And the lasser cannons at her side began firing, as the pirate vessels got closer and closer...

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"HOLY CRAP!" Spotty screamed, falling on his butt as the counter attack hit one side of the Black Refractor. He got back up and screamed over. "HEY! STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY SHIP!!!"

"It was you who attacked first..." Tron pointed out.

"SHUT UP! KEEP ATTACKING!"

Tron forced herself not to facepalm in front of her captain.

"20% damage on the right side!" some guy shouted.

"Snippy! Raise the cyber barrier!" Tron commanded. "We can't afford to take any more damage! FIRE AGAIN!"

A barrier made of electricity was immediately formed around the Black Refractor.

"They...don't seem to take damage at all..." a man said, standing beside Tron.

"They must have a barrier as well, Teisel." She replied, looking worried. "I've got the feeling that their beams are beefed up by magic. Good LoN, we're dealing with magic users..."

"If that's the case, we won't stand a chance." Teisel said. "Unless we use THAT..."

"I hope we won't have to..." Tron muttered.

"The hell are you two confabing about?" Spotty snapped at the two of then, who startled.

"N-Nothing, capt-EEEK!" Tron fell onto the parapet as another shower of laser beams collided onto the barrier.

"DAMN THEM!!" Spotty growled. "GO TO FUCKING HELL!!!"

"SPOTTY!!" A girl rushed over to the group, risking to fall a few times because of the ship shaking. "IT'S TERRIBLE!!"

"What is it now, Lizzie?!" Spotty snarled, turning to her.

"W-We've got a problem...Treble..." Lizzie spoke between pants. "He...he is missing!"

"...WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?"

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"Crap, I'll never reach Elie like this..." Dylan found very difficult to stay in balance with the ship constantly shaking from the attacks. He tried to walk, supporting himself at the parapet.

"...Wait a sec! I'm hearing something..." Marte interrupted.

"Huh? If that's the explosion we're having a bat-"

"No, not that! Shut up and listen..."

"The hell are you..." Dylan snapped, but then paused. "..."

"....me...help me...."

"...!" Dylan stopped right there and looked around, trying to detect the source of the weak voice.

"...h-here..."

"Under us!" Marte's hologram appeared on Dylan's shoulder, and pointed over the parapet. The brunette leant over to look, and widened his eyes: a boy was clinging onto the ship's walls, wholly soaked and nearly slipping off. "...Who in the world are you?!"



To Be Continued...

O_O TREBLE?! Ok that is getting interesting.

Chapter 03 - Helpful Betrayal?

On the top of the Queen of Darkness' left side parapet, Elie looked thoughtful.

'They suddenly stopped shooting...I wonder if we can take advantage of it and attack, or if it's a trap.'

"Any orders, captain?" Natsumi's voice spoke through intercom. "Looks like we got them at hand."

"Wait, it might be a trap." Elie ordered, and was about to get into intensive thinking anew. But...

"Elie!" Dylan called out. The red head turned around to see her subordinate, who was supporting a boy completely soaked in water. "This fella climbed on the ship and told me he's a member of the Cyber Pirates!"

"What?!" Elie snapped. She took a good look at the boy's face: he had orange hair and dark brown eyes. Suddenly, some feeling stroke the mighty captain.

'Where did I see him before...?' She wondered, narrowing her eyes.

"...Something wrong?" Dylan asked.

Elie snapped off her thoughts. "No, nothing. So, what's your name, kid?"

"Treble..." the boy answered, a little frightened by the figure in front of him.

"Did they send you here?" Elie asked again.

Treble shook his head energetically. "Not at all! I left them by myself! I'm here to help you!"

The captain cocked her eyebrow. "Why is that?"

"...I needed an excuse to leave that crew of idiots." Treble looked down. "My foster parents pulled me in it against my will, they are as stupid as the captain. So I planned on jumping off the ship as soon as a chance occured. I also heard about you, Miss Inverse!" He looked back up bravely. "Please, let me join your crew!"

"Your reasons are good enough." Elie crossed her arms. "But I've got a feeling there's more than that."

"W-Wha?!" The orange haired boy suddenly blushed.

"So I was right." Elie smirked.

"She has a good eye for this sort of things." Dylan winked at him. "You can't hide anything from her."

Treble was at loss of words. "W-Well...I...actually..."

"What's going on here? The boat shook so much I fell off the bed..."

The trio turned their head to a girl who was walking towards them. She had light blue hair, blue eyes, and wore a white and pink shirt with blue jeans. Her eyes widened at the sight of Treble.

"Y-You..." she muttered.

"Jane!!" Treble smiled brightly, and ran up to her. He wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Treble...you're here finally!" Jane hugged him back.

"So that was the plan." Elie grinned. "You knew she was with us."

Treble let go of Jane, turned around and blushed madly. "T-That wasn't the only one reason, I swear!"

"Ah, l'amour..." Dylan sighed. "I would do the same thing as you, boy. Don't feel embarassed."

"But the difference is that you won't ever get a girl." Marte snickered from his PET.

"I'm seriously thinking about deleting you." The brunette navigator hissed.

"ANYWAY." Elie hushed the two, turning to the enemy ship. "Looks like they noticed your escape, Treble. They stopped attacking."

"I don't think he'll take it well..." Treble muttered. 'In the worst case, they'll use THAT...'

"You said you'd help us. How?" Elie asked.

"I know about the Black Refractor like my pockets." Treble said. "And its weaknesses too."

"...Do you want to destroy them?" Jane sounded worried. "They raised you, after all..."

"I have no intention to harm them, but just to give them a lesson." Treble assured her, then turned to Elie. "If you shoot at their rudder, they won't be able to escape. There are also points around the ship's armor that are weaker than others. I can indicate you all of them."

"You heard him, gunner?" Elie turned to the intercom.

"Very smoothly~" Natsumi cheered. "I'm ready when you are!"

"Alright, let's kick some ass, shall we?" The terrible captain grinned evilly.

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"GODDAMN IT, GOD FUCKING DAMN IIIIIIIT!!" Spotty was cursing like mad, throwing things around. Tron, Lizzie, Teisel and the rest of his men were having a hard time dodging the random objects.

"C-Calm down, captain!" Teisel shouted. "We mustn't let our guard down! The enemy might shoot at us at any moment!"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!!" Spotty roared, throwing a hammer and hitting the poor guy. "WHERE THE HELL IS TREBLE?!?"

"W-we couldn't find him anywhere..." Lizzie muttered, kneeling down as in begging forgiveness.

"AAAH! Magic beams heading towards us!!" Tron screamed, running over to a safe spot.

KA-BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!

Everyone ducked down to avoid some beams that broke through the magnetic barrier. The explosions' shockwaves sent some men flying into the sea.

"We are in no conditions to counter-attack now!" Tron yelled out, half blinded by the smoke.

"DAMN IIIIT!" Spotty got up and screamed madly. "SOMEONE CHANGE THE COURSE! RETREAT FOR NOW!!"

"The rudder has been shot!!" Teisel shouted, a big bump on his head, barely covered by a large band aid. "The weakest parts of the vessel have been hit as well! We can't move!"

"How could they find out our weak spots?!" Snippy exclaimed.

"...I've got a bad feeling..." Tron grabbed her binoculars and run over to the side facing the Queen of Darkness. "Oh bugger..."

"DON'T STEAL MY LINE, YOU!!" Spotty roared, before getting a coughing fit because of the smoke.

"What did you see?" Snippy walked to her side.

"Look yourself..." Tron handed him the binoculars, half shocked.

Her companion took the device and looked...almost chocking on his own gasp. Treble was on the enemy ship! And the long haired woman with a black cloak who had her back turned must be the captain!

"...EEEH?! Treble's there!!" Snippy shouted. Spotty automatically perked up and powerwalked towards the two.

"He was kidnapped?! How the heck could they get in here and grab him?!"

"I'm sorry to say this, but...He doesn't look like he got kidnapped." Snippy said with all the delicacy he could master.

"He betrayed us..." Tron muttered.

"...That...MONKEY..." The ragged captain hissed, drool coming out from his mouth. "He'll pay...WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT LITTLE BASTARD!!!!" Soon after, he was throwing stuff around again.

"Captain, that won't do any good, please sto-OWWW!" Teisel got hit by a barrel and passed out.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!! IT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER!!!"

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"We got them good!" Natsumi communicated through intercom.

"Good job." Elie smirked, and looked at Treble. "Thank you, it would have been harder without your indications. I can finally say you're one of us."

The orange head wasn't that happy, though. "...Even if I betrayed my family?" He muttered, starting to feel regret.

"Family, huh? If they were a good family, they wouldn't give you a reason to betray them." Dylan nodded to himself. "You made a good choice."

"That's the first wise sentence I hear from you since months..." Marte muttered under her breath.

"...Thank you!" Treble's face turned into a bright smile. It somehow made Elie feel like smiling too, but only a small grin appeared on her face.

"Well, what about the enemy now?" Saburo asked via intercom. "They don't seem to counter attack. Should we consider the battle over?"

Elie nodded. "Looks like we won."

"Wait...I wouldn't feel safe yet." Treble's face darkened again. "They have one last resource, and I'm afraid they'd use it after they discovered my betrayal..."

"But...they know you're here! Would they shoot despite that?!" Jane's voice was full of worry.

"Once Spotty is REALLY pissed...being an ally or foe won't make difference anymore. That's why he's very feared among fellow pirates." Treble muttered. "Me turning around from him might be a special offense, since he kinda took a liking on me...I don't know why..."

"Alba, keep the barrier up." Elie ordered. Natsumi's Navi obeyed. "Is this last resource very powerful?"

Treble nodded gravely. "It can wipe off a small island in no time...I saw it myself..."

"Thank you for warning us." Elie said. "Now all we can do is watch your ex-companions until they'll finally retreat."

-----------------------------------

After a while of playing 'random throw' against his own subordinates, Spotty finally calmed down a bit. He glared at the Queen of Darkness and snarled some.

"All hands to the cannons!! Load the guns!!" He shouted to the few men that survived his outrage.

"Sorry, but...load with what?" Tron muttered.

"...The ammo is GONE?!" Spotty yelled in shock.

"We are trying to get the ship faster, so that we can retreat!" Snippy said. "We don't even have the energy to enter the cyberworld!"

"BUT WHY DID YOU THROW OUT THE AMMO?!?"

"It was that, or the rum..." Tron was almost in tears.

"...Oh." The captain calmed down. He cared about his precious rum more than his men or the ship itself, and they knew it.

"T-Then...load the rum!" Snippy cried, he didn't want to lose that battle yet.

Spotty swiftly pulled his gun out and pointed it at the reckless man. "Load YOURSELF, you fucking idiot! Don't you DARE touch the RUM!"

Snippy knelt down and cried begging forgiveness, while the whole crew sweatdropped...



To Be Continued...

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I wanted to add something to get a cliffhanger, but then I decided to keep it so I can make chap 4 longer. I thought that with just a few scenes before the end of the battle, it would be very short and I don't like too short chapters. XD

It is still great Elie. Lol. I cant wait for more coming.

Chapter 04 - A Man And His Rum

The whole crew of the Sadistic Pirates, having gained a new member, was sitting in the kitchen. Treble was eating with big pleasure, but not as much as the captain who was wiping plates and plates like a bottomless pit.

"Easy there..." Dylan sweatdropped, taking her own food in safe.

"God, this tastes countless times better than the food in my ex-crew!" Treble cheered. "Many compliments to the cook!"

"Thank you." Flo smiled and blushed a little. Jane gave her fiancee a deadly glare.

"Modestly, we are the best of the Seven Seas!" A female Navi was standing on Flo's head. She was resembling a sensual cross between a maid and a cook, with her violet suit, white apron, long blond hair tied in two ponytails, and a large cook hat.

"Yeah, Pasta, modestly..." Alba muttered, a sweatdrop on her head.

"They are, you SHADDAP." Elie violently stuck a knife on the wooden table. She was using to to cut a pretty large turkey. Alba gulped and hid behind Natsumi's hair, everyone else sweatdropped.

A male, orange haired Navi with black armor was sitting on Treble's shoulder. He finally decided to spoke. "Thank you for helping my operator. My name is Axl, by the way." He smiled.

"And mine is Aqua!" a blue Navi with blonde hair said cheerily, sitting on Jane's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you." almost everyone and their Navi said, except Elie who was too busy gulping down the half piece of a pie.

"Gee, why is your fella always hiding?" Natsumi snapped at Saburo, who apparently was the only one who didn't have a Navi next to him, other than the captain. "Can't he show a little education and greet the newbies?"

The tanned guy chuckled. "Isamu doesn't like to talk in general, or show himself up. Call it shyness, fear or just mental closure." A nervous growl came out from his PET. "Whoops, he heard it."

"Well, anyway. Back to business." Elie managed to speak after clearing her throat with a cup of beer. "Treble, you said that this Spotty person's weakness is the rum."

"That's not business, it's just gossip." Marte muttered, unheard.

"Yeah captain, that's it." the orange haired teen said. "He cares about it more than his crew itself, or even the Black Refractor. He said it's a like a life boost for him, and basically I never saw him without a bottle of rum at hand."

"Hmm, it can be an advantage to us. If we take it away from him, he won't do anything but give up and get his ass off here." Elie said.

Treble shook his head. "That's not it, unfortunately...it's quite the contrary. It would make him lose control so much that he would do anything to get his rum back. Even kill his own subordinates."

"From the way it sounds...this person must be a lonely one." Sara spoke up, after finishing her meal silently. "People often take refuge in the alcohol to forget their painful past, or to shield themselves from the rest of the world."

"C'mon, that sounds too emo!" Natsumi whined. "Doesn't he have a crew at his feet?"

"Actually...I think most of his men are with him only for money." Treble said, his face sad. "He formed his crew mostly out of criminal actions. It's because of continue theft that he could build up a high tech ship such as the Black Refractor. And they have never been defeated this terribly."

"Well...I guess that after they got their ass handed to them, all of them will jump on a better crew." Jane sighed. "Such is the tough law of pirates."

"Nah, that doesn't count for everyone." Elie was diving in a large sized bowl of spaghetti. "Who has got a particularly strong bond with the captain, won't leave him alone over a single defeat."

"True. I think my foster parents are good friends with him." Treble said thoughtfully. "I doubt they would leave him. I hope."

"Well, idiots are always stuck together in groups, because they know they can't do anything alone. I gotta give them that." Jane huffed. "So I don't think you should worry about it."

"I-I wasn't worried..." Treble looked away, embarassed.

"Yeah, right...why don't you check on them now?" Jane suggested.

He stood up abruptly. "...I have to go to the bathroom." He then added rapidly, "I'm not going to check on them! No way! I just gotta pee!", and walked out of the kitchen quickly.

"No need to be that explicit...moron..." Jane muttered, blushing in utter embarassment.

"...He doesn't even know where the bathroom is: he never asked." Sara chuckled.

-----------------------------

"Nothing...it won't go." Tron wiped some sweat and dirt off her forehead, looking at the half fried engine. "The ultimate humiliation...now we're forced to use the damn rows to get out of here." She let out a big frustrated sigh.

"Oh crap, crap, crap...." Snippy passed by the engine room, letting out a series of weeping sounds. "We're so gonna die...oh crap...damn it..."

"Oi Snippy, cut that out!" Tron called out, annoyed. "The heck happened again?"

"We're just gonna...fucking die...Spotty won't forgive this..." the guy kept weeping, until he was out of sight.


On the Black Refractor's deck, the crew was working on some exterior reparations. The floor was so full of holes that anyone could fall in them without noticing. Spotty was sitting on top of a pile of empty barrels: he had drunk every single drop of rum that was in the zone, but neither that could bring him up from the extreme depression he felt for losing so horribly against an enemy that surely had less experience than him.

'Maybe I should just retire...I'm sorry, Lina, but I failed...'

He tipped over the empty bottle, to see that no more liquid was inside. He threw the worthless piece of glass behind him (hitting someone's head) and roared towards no one in particular.

"Someone bring me more rum. NOW!"

Snippy walked in just now, and shuddered in fear. "C-C...Captain..."

"What the fuck do you want, you piece of crap?!" Spotty snarled, making the poor man shrink under him. "You better give me good news, or else go get me more rum if you wanna make yourself worthy!"

"I...It's t-the...the r-rum..." Snippy fought hard not to cry. "The...the rum is...gone..."

In less than a second, he found himself with his collar grabbed by his ragged captain and his face a few centimeters close to the scariest glare he ever saw in all his life.

"You...WHY IS THE RUM GONE?!"

Snippy's heart skipped a bit. Little by little, he felt like his life was going to end right there. At this point, all he could do is just spit out the truth, before Spotty would find out by himself.

"T-The rum d-deposit...has been BLASTED OVER!"

----------------------------------

'Jane is right, I'm such a moron...still worrying about them regardless...'

Treble sighed heavily as he gazed over the ship he was on, just a few hours ago, and now full of holes and heavily damaged. In the bottom of his heart, he hoped everyone was alright and would go away as soon as possible. Other than screams and fights coming from that ship, it didn't seem like there was anymore trouble to expect.

...But then, he felt like the floor was going to shake under his feet!

"W-What?! The sea..." He suddenly got a VERY bad feeling, and his eyes turned once again at the Black Refractor. Its center suddenly opened up, revealing a big-ass cannon pointed right where he was standing! "Crap, they're charging!!!"

"Whoaaaa! Is it an earthquake?" Natsumi stepped out of the kitchen.

"Usually earthquakes happen on dry land..." Dylan pointed out.

"...Ah! High energy pressure increasing!" Alba cried all of a sudden. "It's higher than before! They're attacking us again!"

"Calm down and keep the barrier up. Use all the magic energy if necessary." Elie walked past everyone and glared at the enemy ship. "Dumbasses, they're so tired of life..."

"Energy increasing! Oh God!" Alba cried again.

"It's the REFRACTOR BEAM!!" Treble ran over to the group. "Duck down, everyone!!!"

"Treble, wha-?!" Jane was grabbed and thrown down by her fiancee, who protected her with his body. Everyone else did what he said, everyone but Elie herself, who stared at the incoming huge beam shot across the ocean, with emotionless emerald eyes...

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! DIE, YOU RUM WASTERS!!! DIE FOR STEALING MY RUM, FREAKING DIE AND SAY HI TO SATAN FROM HELL!!!"

Spotty was laughing madly, he pulled out two guns from nowhere and began shooting around without aiming, like a moron. Fortunately his crew was already flat down on the door covering their ears because of the large explosion.

"Forgive us, Treble...we couldn't stop him..." Tron whimpered softly.


.....


The next minutes were overwhelmed by silence, broken only by Spotty's wicked screams and laughs, and his random shots. The Cyber Pirates slowly stood up and looked ahead of them...

A tall pile of smoke raised from where the Queen of Darkness was shot. It slowly cleared out, more and more, until they could see the ship figure reappear...and see that aside some damage, it was still intact!

...And Spotty stopped laughing.


"Guys, are you okay?" Saburo asked, getting up.

"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Natsumi wondered, rubbing the back of her head.

"The ship has got a total amount of 32% damage, mainly on the left side." Alba reported, having lost the panicked tone she got before. "Unfortunately it needs deep reparations here and there..."

"Darn, that was close." Dylan stretched his arms out.

"Is anyone injuried?" Sara asked.

"No, we are alright. Just half deaf from the huge noise..." Flo said softly.

The last ones to get up where Treble and Jane. They were both shocked, and he could barely feel his girlfriend shake in his arms.

"No way...we survived..." He muttered, barely heard by the others. "How could it be possible...?"

"B...beats me..." Jane muttered too, clinging onto his arm.

"...Captain?" Dylan called out. Everyone turned to Elie's figure, who had her back turned to them. She had climbed onto the parapet, the wind making her hair and cloak dance about. The outline of her body started glowing in a disturbing blood red color. If they could see her front, they would shudder at the red glow in her eyes. "...Oh crap, she's pissed."

"Everyone, in the kitchen, hurry!" Flo cried, running away first.

"W-Why...?" Treble dared to ask, but Dylan pulled him and Jane away.

"Don't ask, just RUN!"

Both the teens were pulled inside, and were allowed to watch their captain cast a terrible spell, that even made the ship shake under their feet!

"Darkness beyond the twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows..."

Elie generated a blood red orb of energy between her while gloved hands...her body engulfed by black electric sparks, her terrific aura burning down whatever surrounded her feet. The orb grew larger and larger, her arms welcoming it with evil desire of destruction.

"...Buried in the flow of time in thy great name, here I pledge myself to darkness."

His two guns slipped from his sweated hands and soundly dropped at his feet. Spotty looked at that orb with the large eyes of who got paralyzed by fear. And he wasn't the only one.

"C...captain..." Tron shuddered, behind him. "I...think that...an immediate retreat sounds like...a GREAT plan, now..." But she realized soon that she was talking to a wall, that was nearly peeing himself up.

"May all the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"

The Sadistic Pirates captain's face deformed in a scary mask of anger, far from human, as she raised the orb above her head. An evil grin crossed her features for a moment.

And all Spotty managed to say before a huge-ass dark spell crashed upon him, was. "...Oh shi-"

"DRAGON SLAVE!!!"



To Be Continued...

O_O DRAGON SLAVE!!! Spotty you really pissed off Elie big time. That is a no-no!

Chapter 05 - Weird Dreams

The pain was unbearable. She could totally tell that it was the worst pain she had ever experienced in her whole life. Despite the countless fights, how many times she got injuried from spell, poison and swords...No other wound would give her that massive amount of pain she was feeling now, that was almost bringing her to the verge of death.

"Ahhhh...fuck....it hurts...shit, it fucking hurts!!!"

Holding in screams, she was squeezing a big and callous hand in her smaller one, which hold was definitely stronger right in that moment and was nearly going to break some bones. The images were blurry. All she could hear were soft words of encouragement, but couldn't hear them neatly because of her louder groans.

"It hurts...it hurts...SHIT...UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH..."

"Please, hold on for a bit more..." She could barely hear a male, husky voice that was struggling to sound as gentle as possible. The hand she was holding was definitely his. "Honey...it's almost out..."

"One last push, you can do it!" a female voice spoke.

"NO...NOOOO...I FUCKING CAN'T!!! I'M DYING!! DAMN IT!!!!"

Her twitching hand came in contact with something soft, she guessed it was his lips. She couldn't tell at all...the sight was getting more and more blurry.

"Please...one last effort...it's out son, love...I love you."

"...aaaah...I.....I....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

......

And as it arrived, the pain stopped, slowly and gradually. In her stead, now, another cry echoed in her ears. A tiny, strangled cry of a new life.

"Congratulations...it's a fine boy." the female voice spoke again.

She couldn't distinguish the voices anymore, after that. As if her energies completely drained out of her, she could barely feel the gentle pressure of lips against her left temple, and some weight placed in her arms. It was something wrapped in a pink towel, something tiny, dirty in some blood but lively and crying out loud.

The last thing she saw was a pair of warm, newborn reddish eyes, opening and staring up at her...


"...Ah!"

Elie widened her eyes as she quickly sat up. The sun rays hit the small window nearby, being the sole source of light in her dark room. She panted hard, as if she just came out from facing her worst fear, her body sweat almost attached to her red night gown.

"Not again..." she whimpered, going with a hand to massage her left temple and massaging it. It was one of those weird dreams she had very often, and left an uncomfortable sensation of nausea that made those dream seem real. All of them having blurry images, unknown voices and a more or less massive amount of pain. "What the hell was that, anyway...a baby...?"

Her gaze moved to the ray of light nearby. She sighed, feeling the nausea dying off quickly, and her sleepyness already gone as well. Deciding to welcome the new day like she always did everyday, she got up and made the usual preparation - showering and dressing up, before heading over to the kitchen.


"Good morning, captain~" Flo chirped as Elie entered the kitchen room. "You're unusually up earlier today!"

"...'Ning." The red haired sorceress took her usual seat, slowly. An already set up table full of food was in front of her, and the smell was making her feel a little better. "Didn't get any nice sleep."

"Awww, another one of those weird dreams?" The cook asked in concern.

"A fucked up one this time, I tell you." Elie muttered, resting her arms crossed on the table and her head upon them. "I was feeling an even greater pain...and then I saw a baby wrapped in a towel in my arms, all covered in blood..."

"Oooh, you gave birth to someone?" Flo asked, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Looks like that." Elie answered with a grimace. "Yeah, that was fucked up. No way in hell am I gonna spend nine months with a big lump in my belly and vomiting 24/7."

"Naw, it's not always like that!" Flo said, sitting next to her. "Most of women look forward for pregnancy, because of the motherly instinct that awakens in all of us. It's one of the happiest experieces for a woman."

"Bah, I don't even have a mother. Never seen her, at least..and anyway, I'd never wish to have any annoying brat running around the ship and causing trouble." Elie hissed, and her friend knew it meant the end of the discussion. She sighed and grabbed a toast, smeared it in marmalade and gave it to her captain. "Thank you..."

As the time passed, the rest of the crew showed up and sat around, eating cheerfully. Elie regained her appetite and was wiping off plates as her usual.

"So, are we gonna land somewhere anytime soon?" Natsumi asked, pointing her spoon at Dylan. "Did you check, dude?"

"Yea, there's an island half day from here." The navigator answered, yawning.

"You sound tired...you should rest some more." Sara told him, she was sitting next to him.

"Ohh, how cute, always worrying about meEEEEEOWCH!" Dylan was about to reach for the medic's breasts, but Marte's hologram grabbed a fork and threw it at his hand.

"Idiot..." The witch Navi muttered.

"We need to repair the Queen of Darkness as quick as possible." Saburo said. "Most of the exterior damage has been fixed, but there are some delicate spots that could be reached only on dry land, and would take quite a few hours to patch up."

"Damn cyber buggers, and their big-ass beam." Jane muttered. "It was fun watching them flee with only half of their boat left, though."

"Treble told me not to harm them, so I took care of them half-heartedly." Elie said, between munchings. "Hope we won't see them again."

"Same here..." Treble muttered.

"Well then. Let's get ready for later's landfall, people." Elie declared, raising the chicken leg she was holding.

"YEAH!" Everyone else shouted, raising their fists.

------------------------

"Uhhh...uhhhh...uff..."

A man was running across a field surrounded by trees, in a thick forest blessed by nature. He wore an usual adventurerer outfit: yellow shirt with brown leather vest and pants, hiking boots, a red scarf around his neck and an old tattered hat that covered his messy brown hair.

He suddenly came to a halt, resting his hand on a nearby tree, panting hard and turning his head back, looking at the surroundings with his misty blue eyes that showed calmness despite his situation.

"They're still chasing you, man." a male voice spoke from the man's white and gold PET, fastened on his belt. It chuckled some. "No rest for ya yet, Dario."

"Uff...I know...but I need rest still." the man, named Dario, said between pants. "I'm not...used...to running so much..."

"It's your fault for deceiving them, you lazy ass!" the unseen Navi said. "You said you'd pay them for leading you here, where your brother was last seen. And instead there's no trace of him, and plus you have no money to pay them."

"I-I didn't deceive them!" Dario protested. "I had the money before, but a random burglar stole me all of it! If they gave me a work period in their crew I could have paid them well, but they didn't accept..."

"As if PIRATES accept work rather than money from a random idiot." the Navi laughed. "Well, it's not my problem. Keep runnin' or you're screwed, pal."

"Okay okay...thank you for being a great friend." The unlucky adventurerer couldn't hide the sarcasm behind his words. Letting out a groan, he took off and resumed his escape.

------------------------

Meanwhile on the Queen of Darkness, everyone was standing on the deck looking at the incoming small land ahead of them.

"Desert island up ahead, people." Dylan stated, pulling off the binoculars. "It doesn't happen often to see one, man."

"That's good, finally nature and pure air~" Natsumi cheered.

"And a beach to take a perfect suntan~" Flo followed suit.

"We're staying there just for a few hours." Elie admonished them. "Until the repairs will be complete. Someone should also look for food, some more supplies should do well."

"Ewww, I'm not gonna kill poor animals!" Jane shuddered.

"Well, I'm going then." Treble decided. "I used to do that when I was with Spotty and his crew."

"Hey, I see something..." Dylan was looking through the binoculars again. "Another ship...we're not alone."

"Awww, crud..." Natsumi whined.

"Hopefully things will go on without incidents. There might be a chance we won't cross roads." Elie said, climbing on top of the prow. "Everyone, get ready to jump off! We're close!"

------------------------

Dario's face lightened in hope when he foresaw a deep slope ahead of him, which meant an adapt hiding place where the pirates wouldn't find him easily.

"Almost there, yay!" he allowed himself to cheer, finally safe...

...Too bad he didn't notice the random root that was poking out from the ground, and met the unfortunate foot of the adventurerer. He fell forward, rather goofly with his face first.

"...Owwwww..." he groaned painfully, pulling his dirty face up. "...How felicitous..."

"Felicitous my ass, pal. You're screwed." his Navi sighed, as they heard several steps getting closer and closer to them, having noticed the loud thump.

"Looks like I am...hehe..."


To Be Continued...

Oooo.... Mystery person I like mystery person.

Chapter 06 - Respect For Freedom

The Queen of Darkness reached the opposite shore of where the myserious vessel was landed on. It was one of the few desert islands often forgotten by the world: small, tropical and wrapped in nature, formed by a thick forest in its core and outline of sandy shore.

Natsumi was the first one to jump off, she stretched her arms and breathed in the new air.

"Awesome~" she cheered, taking her shoes off and running in circles with her bare feet on the warm sand floor. She was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, orange colored with sunflowers adorning it. A minute later, she was already in front of the captain Elie, begging with big puppy eyes. "Can we stay here for a day or two? Pweeeease?"

"No, it's not as safe as you think." Elie sighed, walking past her. "There might be dangerous animals around, plus that unknown ship is more of a reason to take our leave as fast as possible. I don't want troubles to deal with."

"Uuuu..." The crew gunner groaned, sniffled a bit and gave up, resuming her run around the shore. Flo followed her suit, wearing a violet and white two-pieces bikini, bringing a basket with two towels, a suntan lotion and some fruits.

"Well then, Dylan will help me with the repairing." Saburo was preparing the tools for repairations. "It should take a few hours by then."

"W-Wha? But I wanted..." the navigator whined, as he was about to go after the two girls in swim-suits. "I got to look after the girls! They might encounter danger in the way!"

"They can manage by themselves, if they weren't strong I wouldn't have taken them with me." Elie glared at him. "Besides, I would be more worried if it were YOU going with them."

"C'mon, dude, time to work before it gets dark." Saburo said mercilessly, grabbing a whining Dylan by the collar and dragging him away.

"I'm going to provide some animal game." Treble said. He armed himself with a rifle, a bow with some arrows and a large bag.

"Are you sure you can do it by yourself..?" Jane wondered, looking at his equipment skeptically.

"Yup, don't worry. Axl will help me some, too." Treble smiled. "Like I said before, I used to do it when I was with Spotty. He told me this was useful for a man, so I learnt."

"You really don't have to..." Jane sighed, then paused and shook her head. "Alright...just be careful and come back safe."

"I sure will." Treble smiled, waved at her and ran off. The blue haired girl sighed heavily again.

"Don't worry too much, he has experience, he'll be back for sure." Aqua tried to cheer her up a bit.

"It's not that I'm worried about that..." Jane muttered. "It's just, we see each other again after a long while of saparation and I wanted to spend some time with him...and instead, there he goes again."

"But he went so far as to leave his old crew to see you! Aren't you happy for that?" Aqua asked.

"From how you make it sound, it makes me feel bad for some reason..." Jane sighed.

"But she's right, you know." Elie popped out behind her and made her jump in shock. "Aren't you glad your boyfriend made such a bravery to be with you?"

"A-ah...well..." Jane stuttered as she turned to the captain, then paused and looked down. "..."

"Shall we walk around a little?" Elie asked, putting aside the topic for the moment. "If you're not going to be busy like the others, that is."

"Uhh...I don't mind." the girl muttered.

"Good, I like taking walks when I have free time on dry land." Elie smiled, and began walking along the sandy shore, leaving behind Jane who startled and ran to her side quickly.


There was silence between the two for a while, before the captain broke it. "So, how long has it been since you and Treble got together? I reckon we took you with us a month ago."

"It was...three or four months ago." Jane answered. "I knew him since years, actually. He and the Cyber pirates used to stop by my hometown when they took breaks from their crimes. They were protected by the civilians, for some reason. And truthfully speaking, they never barged in to invade nor gave any problems to us, so I guess that's why they were never reported. They just sent someone to buy food and especially rum everyday, and most of the times, it was Treble who took those chores." She smiled softly. "I met him by chance someday: I was molested by a group of bad looking guys and he defended me. From that day on, we met more often and became friends. It was surprising how we had so many things in common, somehow. Slowly, we fell in love and then got together."

"But then something happened, huh?" Elie asked, getting interested. "That drunkard of his captain didn't know about your relationship, I assume."

"That's right." Jane said, looking forward. "He would have never accepted it...he was quite the possessive one, Treble confided me. We used to send e-mails to each other when he was far away, and he risked to get caught once. It was hard for us, until one day he told me that he planned on leaving that crew. It was one and half month ago."

"So you left your hometown and looked for a crew to reach him?" Elie asked. "And you found us."

"Yeah, at that time you weren't that infamous. Plus, it was a personal dream of mine to break free from my monotone life and travel on the sea." Jane smiled again. "Thank you for taking me with you, although I'm not very skilled at anything except some magic."

Elie waved her hand around. "Nah, we were short of members and I thought another magic user would do."

"But still...I need to thank you." Jane insisted. "I thought you wouldn't have accepted Treble in your crew, and I regret for hiding the truth behind my reasons to join you."

"You said it was also due to your personal dream to be free. That's all I needed to know, really~" the red haired woman said. "I come to respect who seeks for freedom, no matter what."

"...Thank you, Elie. Thank you, thank you!" Jane smiled brightly and went to hug Elie, but the latter pushed her away abruptly.

"Quit it, will ya? I don't like hugs!" she snapped, and the reaction soon made Jane first, then the both of them laugh heartedly.

The stroll continued, as the two women now were chatting about random stuff. When Elie turned ahead of her, she suddenly froze and stopped Jane as well. Something attracted her attention...

"What's wron-!!" Jane was about to ask, but the captain grabbed her arm and began powerwalking, pulling her towards the forest zone. The two of them hid behind a tree. "Hey, what was that abou-"

"Shhhh." Elie glared at her, moving her index finger to her lips. She used the same finger to point ahead and resumed peeking over the tree. Jane couldn't help but shut up and look as well, and blink when she noticed a group of people standing there: one of them was tied to a wooden pole stuck in the sand, while the others, all with a scary appearance, were surrounding him.

---------------------------

"I swear your dumbness strikes me hard..." Dario's Navi muttered from his PET, half covered by the ropes that were holding the poor adventurer to a pole. "Why don't you fight back? You gotta summon me and those morons will sure be done for!"

"No, it's not right." Dario said firmly, looking calm despite the dangerous situation he was in. "I told them a lie, so I'm the one at fault. I'll accept any punishment."

"Even death? We're talking about pirates, dude." the Navi spat. "They'd make you pay for offenses like that with EXECUTION! Haven't you thought about that?"

Dario paused for a bit...and then began sweating as he discovered that he fell into his own naivety once again. "...I really haven't."

"Idiot..." the Navi hissed. "What are you gonna do now? Your hands are tied and you can't summon me now! You have no choice but use your powers."

"No...There must be somethin-" Dario muttered, but he got cut off by a tall, ugly man who suddenly towered over his figure. The most considerable particular was that he had a green thick beard.

"What a nice chat you're having here." he spat, showing his pointed teeth. "I think you still don't realize the position you're in, scum. After the help I, Green Beard, gave you with my good heart, you deceived us without any shame and ran away from us without even showing your gratitude!" His face became a mask of anger the more he was speaking.

"Uhm...with all due respect to you, sir..." Dario spoke up calmly, although he was sweating a lot. "First, a burglar stole all my money and I could swear that I'm not lying. Second, you asked for payment once we got to this island, while at the moment of the contract you promised me that I could pay you AFTER the moment I found my brother." He looked into the bandit's eyes. "And third, I ran away because you and your men pointed your weapons at me with clear murderous intent. I apologize for the rude words, but most of what happened wasn't my fault. And I have NO intention to get executed before finding my brother."

Green Beard had been listening with a blank look, then suddenly snapped and bursted into a loud laugh. "You've got a point here, man. But you forgot a particular: WE DON'T GIVE A SHIT." With that, he threw a punch at his stomach, which connected heavily and left Dario breathless for a bunch of seconds, as his glasses dropped at their feet. As he coughed for air, the treacherous captain stepped back and raised his arm. His men all raised their guns and rifles, aiming at the prisoner and waiting for Green Beard's order to fire.

"What are you waiting for?! USE IT, Dario!" the Navi's voice boomed in Dario's ears.

"...I....I..." he groaned in pain, his eyes tightly closed. "...brother..."

"Ready!" Green Beard shouted, his men loading their guns. "Aim...and...FIRE!!"

"DARIO!!" his Navi cried, and then froze in shock.

.....

Instead of hearing multiple shots, there was a series of loud thump, and a bunch of pained screams. Dario couldn't hear the shots, or feel any bullet piercing in his body, which was weird...but then, he noticed the screams. They weren't coming from his own lungs.

"...What..." He decided to open one of his misty blue eyes, then open the other, and widen them in surprise at the sight of the female figure in front of him, and a bunch of burned men that were rolling in the sand at her feet. "...What is..."

"To tell you the truth, I was getting bored of watching." The red haired captain of the Sadistic Pirates smirked widely and cracked her knuckles, while an exasperated Jane was stepping behind her, kicking the hell out of a pirate who attacked her. "Can we join the party, gentlemen?"



To Be Continued...

Wow. Elie and Jane go kick some butt.

Chapter 07 - Dario

"What the flying FUCK?!" Green Beard stepped back as another of his man fell at his feet, completely turned into a cube of ice. "Who the SHIT are you?!"

"Like I said, we're just watchers who passed by and were bored." Elie made a cat-like smile, one hand grabbing a pirate's head and blasting it with a ball of fire, the other wielding a seemingly normal katana sword. "Thus we're going to join the party. I don't find it fair to play dozens versus one, plus handicapped."

"Speak for yourself! I didn't want to!" Jane growled, getting rid of another pirate using a gun she stole from one of them.

Dario narrowed his blue eyes, trying to focus on the newcomers. His sight without glasses wasn't very bad, but it was was kind of blurry on objects that were longer than 3 meters far. "Two...women?"

"Whoever they are, it looks like they're saving your ass." his Navi commented from his PET. "They're two pieces of cake too...you're a lucky bastard, pal."

"All I can do is...trust them..." the man muttered, breathing slowly as he tried to calm down.

"What party, woman? We had serious business here!" Green Beard spat angrily. "There was an execution in progress, then you pop out and kill some of my men! What should I think of you?!"

"Whatever you want, really." Elie shrugged, and began swinging her sword in circles as if she was warming up. "Think what you like...if you even believe that I care."

"You bitch...don't you look down on me!" the scary green haired man snarled, drawing his larger sword. "Once I'm through with you, I'm going to slice every single piece of you and your friend and throw you in the sea like garbage!"

"Cute. Let's see if you can reach me then." Elie's smile turned creepy, her eyes turning blazing red as they reflected the flames that engulfed her hand, surprisingly not burning her skin and glove fabric at all.

Green Beard mentally gulped. 'She is strong...and a magic user...crap!' he thought, but didn't want to give up. "ALL OF YOU, KILL THEM!!!" he cried, summoning his remaining men, nearly twenty of them, which surrounded the two Sadistic pirates right away.

"So you're not gonna face me by yourself. How sad." Elie was keeping her evil grin still, back to back with Jane. "Shall we compete on who kills the most, kid?"

"Don't joke! I would never beat you..." Jane muttered, casting a spell on the gun which was glowing. "Besides, don't call me kid! I'm 16, for your information!"

"Still a kid, see?" Elie chuckled, and moved forward as her partner growled in frustration...and all the men attacked at the same time! They soon formed a pile who topped onto the two women...

"AHAHAHAHAHA, I knew it! You were fucking weaklings after all! Talk so big and then look at this!" Green Beard laughed madly. "Slice them apart, my men! Reduce them to bloody pulp an-!!"

"Ruby Eye Blade."

A tremendous shockwave threw the enemy pirates away, as few others were shot and sent away as well, while the rest got hit by a series of smaller shockwaves, and they all crashed into the sand floor. Green Beard stared in horror as his opponents stood there, completely unharmed, and the red haired sorceress now was handling a crimson blade of energy in place of her free hand, other than her katana. She turned her head at him, not losing her grin.

"Not bad at all, Jane: you defeated 4 of them." Elie said quietly. "The level of your Astral Vine spell is not maxed, but that was decent damage regardless. Using a gun to shoot magic energy was quite a good idea."

"Of course! I trained a lot back at home." Jane was panting a little, holding the gun tightly. "And I'm not done yet!"

"Then shoot down who gets up, while I take care of the boss." Elie ordered, walking forward. She never moved her eyes off Green Beard who now was nearly pissing himself in fear.

"...uu...uuuuh! D-D-DON'T MOVE!!" he suddenly screamed, rushed to Dario's side and moved the blade of his sword against his throat. He was shivering badly. "If you move any closer, I'm going to cut his head off! Give up on saving your friend and go the hell away!"

Elie stopped, but instead of being any worried, she just tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. "A friend, you say? I actually never saw that face in all my life."

"..." Dario was silent, he ignored the trembling blade making a small cut on his throat. His eyes were still set on Elie's face, her features getting clearer as she was closer to him.

"What?!" Green Beard snapped. "Why did you attack us then?!"

Elie shrugged. "Your stupid 'gang up execution' game was getting bored to watch, and I decided to play."

"Just because of that, you killed my men?! What kind of fucked up mind do you have?!" He felt himself shiver even more.

Elie merely tilted her head by the other side, and said, "I'm just a pirate. And by the way, it's people like YOU who make us pirates look bad, you know."

"S...SHUT UP!!!" Green Beard was losing control of himself. "YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT! IT'S ALL THIS SCUM'S FAULT FOR NOT PAYING US!"

"I would never kill someone who has a debt with me." Elie continued, and slowly inched forward. "I might not be incline on trusting people. But if someone owes me something, I'd wait years and years if necessary. This is part of a pirate's honor, something that you do NOT possess."

"D-DON'T COME HERE!! I'LL KILL HIM!!!!" Green Beard screamed, his legs shaking more and more.

"Judging from what you did to this guy, by now you don't deserve even a cent." Elie ignored his screams, but a certain point she froze in place and narrowed her eyes as they moved to Dario, who lowered his head. His eyes were protected by his fringe. 'This guy...he's spreading a weird aura just now...'

"I don't give a fuck about what you think!!!" the ugly captain spat, and grinned in victory when he saw that Elie stopped anew. "Good lady, you're starting to learn..."

The red haired sorceress grinned instead, and began backing off. "If I were you, I wouldn't feel so happy."

Green Beard blinked, confused. "...Huh? What do you mea-"

"...TK Shockwave."

Before the big pirate could understand, he was suddenly hit by an invisible shockwave and sent flying backwards. The mysterious impact caused the ropes tying Dario to shatter and set him free.

"You made up your goddamn mind, finally." his Navi commented with a sigh.

"W-What was that?!" Jane exclaimed. "You did that, Elie?"

"No." the sorceress just said, watching as Dario picked up his glasses and cleaned them. "So you're some kind of ESP, dude."

"...I...guess so, miss." Dario replied calmly, putting the glasses on. "I...was too naive, and trusted wrong people. I apologize for causing any trouble." He looked at her, and froze in place at the sight of her beauty.

Elie sighed. "It happens. You may go now, I'll take care of the rest." she said, ignoring his stare.

"Ah! Be careful, he got up!!" Jane pointed at the spot where Green Beard landed. By now, rage overwhelmed his reason and now he was charging at the two of them, his sword swung up.

"Be right back." Elie grinned, swinging her katana and the still active magical blade and crossing them in front of herself as she ran to the opponent...and a moment later, she was past him, the blades swung behind her.

"..aa....ack....da...mn...." Green Beard gasped and spat blood as a cross shaped cut showed across his chest, and exploded a split second later. He knelt down and fell face first in the sand.

"...It's over..." Jane fell back on her bottom and panted. "I was so freaking scared..."

A whistle could be heard from Dario's PET. "Whew, that's what I call impressive." his Navi commented, as his owner kept his eyes set on Elie.

She walked back to where she ran from, sheathing her katana as her Ruby Eye Blade faded and she shook her hand some. "Tsk, what a pain. It wasn't that fun in the end."

"Ah..." Dario was about to speak, but words died in his throat. Elie arched her eyebrow.

"Well? What do you want?"

"I...I...thank you..." he managed to say, blushing a little.

"Meh. To tell you the truth, I didn't want to save you." Elie rubbed the back of her head, a bored expression on her face. "But that big guy over there was pissing me off pretty much. I can't stand fellows who make real pirates look bad."

"Regardless...I'm grateful. I owe you a lot." Dario said, gaining confidence and looking at her through his spiral shaped glasses. "Please, if I could do anything to repay you..."

"You already have a debt with those ugly arses that nearly killed you...I swear, you really are too nice." his Navi snapped, this time appearing as hologram and floating between his owner and Elie. He resembled a real angel, having six wings sprouted from his body - three on his back, two on his wrists and one covering his forehead, and wearing nothing more than a series of golden belts that covered his most inappropriate parts for the most parts. He had brown curly hair and electric blue eyes, and his arms were crossed over his chest. "Can't you just ignore and move on with the search?"

"That's one hell of a weird Navi..." Jane commented, walking up to the group after she made sure none of the Green Beard pirates would move anymore.

"This is my Net Navi, SeraphMan." Dario answered, smiling. He brought a hand on his chest. "My name is Dario Scriptoriusz. I was travelling with those pirates in search of my brother who disappeared not long ago...I hired them to accompany me and they promised me I could pay them once I found my sibling, but they tricked me after I received a fake signal of my brother being in this island..."

"I told you not to trust pirates, but noooo, you never listen." SeraphMan groaned.

"I'm sorry..." Dario muttered.

"You just caught the wrong crew. Unfortunately, a good chunk of crews in all oceans are like that, not caring about their honor and just want money and wealth." Elie said. "Anyway, I am Elie Inverse of the Sadistic Pirates crew."

"And I'm Jane Crystal...a newbie of the said crew." the blue haired teen chuckled.

"A crew's name like that doesn't sound as much trustworthy..." SeraphMan commented.

"Hush, Seraph-kun." Dario frowned at his Navi, then bowerd at the two women. "Once again, I'm sorry for causing troubles. If you don't want me to pay my debt, I'll try to move from this island by myself and-"

"Why don't you go with us?" Elie interrupted him. "I doubt any other ship would come here to pick you, plus it seems like you can fight. We need more fighters to protect our ship, and in exchange of that, we'll help you look for your brother." She grinned.

Dario lifted his head, his eyes brighting up. "...I really can? Thank you! I accept with pleasure!"

"More and more troubles...I give up." SeraphMan groaned soundly, and went back into his PET.

"Forgive him...he's a little fed up with me getting into trouble repeatedly." Dario chuckled.

"Alright...well, let's get back. Those guys might wake up sooner or later." Elie said, looking at the bodies laying around them

"...You didn't kill them?" Dario blinked in surprise.

"Nah, I don't kill stuff. It's best to make them feel EXTREME pain." Elie grinned evilly. Dario oddly smiled back, somehow relieved. "Well then, off to the Queen of Darknes-huh?"

Jane watched in surprise as the adventurer took Elie's hand and kissed it softly, and the surprise became amusement when she saw her captain's cheeks turning lightly red.

"W...What was that for?"

"Just showing my gratitude in advance." He smiled softly, even when she pulled her hand away rather roughly.

"I don't like it. Don't do it anymore." she hissed in irritation and resumed walking.

"You appreciate it instead, Miss Inverse...I just know you do." Dario said under his breath, and smiled gently as he watched her walk away, before he followed her suit.



To Be Continued...

Eh? Elie you just save another magic user and who is nice. Please keep him in your crew.

Chapter 08 - Curse



"Thank you, miss." Dario smiled softly as Sara took her hands off his face, smiling back.

"Those were only minimal scratches. Nothing that I can't heal." the medic said. "As for the pair of broken ribs, you just need to rest for a whole day and they'll heal completely."

"I'm glad that I ended up in a crew with such a good doctor." Dario continued. "I'll be looking forward for future visits from now on."

"Oh...you're welcome anytime." Sara blushed a bit.

"Dude, knock it off." SeraphMan was sitting on his shoulder, growling. "You're stealing my job."

"Huh? I just gave a compliment..."

"No, you were flirting. And that is MY job, pal."

"That was never my intention, but whatever..." the adventurer shrugged, and bowed politely at Sara before he left the medic room. He soon had the rest of the crew in front of him, and he and His Navi quickly made their due introductions.

"Tsk...he looks like some sort of homeless four-eyes, but his manners show more for sure." Dylan commented afterwards, sitting on the parapet after he finished his part of repairing work. "And look at him, he's giving compliments left and right...who the hell does he think he is?"

"That's because he is actually kind, unlike you." Saburo remarked, hammering a patched piece of the ship's armor nearby.

"Oh really? I bet I can be kinder than him if I want!" Dylan retorted childishly, and turned to look at his Navi. "Am I right, Marte? ...Marte...?"

The said witch Navi had her amber eyes set on SeraphMan, a dreamy expression on her face. She sighed romantically, causing her owner to let a large sweatdrop appear on his head. And she wasn't the only one...also the other female Navis in the crew grew a certain appreciation for the angelic Navi's appearance.

'Ooooh, this place is not that bad after all.' SeraphMan came to think, smirking to himself as Valiya, Alba, Aqua, Pasta and Marte began approaching him and a while later they were cheerfully joking and laughing together. 'Heh, this reeeeeeeally not bad at all! So many hot girls~'

As Dario headed to the kitchen, he took a look at the screen of his PET and a sweatdrop appeared on his head. "You did it again, Seraph-kun..." he muttered. And as he stepped in, his sweatdrop enlarged greatly at the sight of the gracious captain who was istantly wiping off plates and plates of food, while other members were chatting freely.

"Oh, Dario-kun! Are you hungry?" Flo called out. She was smiling brightly, showing a pretty suntan. "Sit down where you want, I'm gonna give you something."

"T-Thank you..." he said softly, looking at Elie as she gulped down with no care in the world. She finally seemed to calm down and notice him.

"Yo, hungry too? Sorry, but all that fighting made me so hungry dammit." she spoke while chewing on a slice of pizza.

"I see, and I can totally understand." Dario smiled lightly. "Eating after spending a lot of power sure does good."

"Here~" Flo chirped, serving a plate of pasta with tomato sauce. "I thought that you're not used to this atmosphere yet, so here's a simple plate for now."

"I see...thank you." Dario couldn't help but sweatdrop again. 'I have the feeling it'll be kind of hard to accustom myself to this noisy place anytime soon...'


A hour had past, and finally Elie finished her meal. She wiped her mouth with a napkin, and was about to stand up when Saburo poked his head from the door, smiling.

"Repairations 100% completed. Ready when you are."

"Veeeery good." Elie stood up and pointed ahead. "Guys! Pull up the anchor, unfold the canvas, turn the ship at 180° degrees! Heading for new adventures!"

"YES, MA'AM!" Everyone shouted, running to their position.

"Yes, ma'am..." Dario muttered, less convinced. He stood there, clueless on what to do and where to go. "Uhh...excuse me..."

"You can go wherever you want." Elie laughed at his goofy reaction. "It's still early for you to have a role in here. I might show you around later if you want, and get a room for you."

"Thank you so much, captain! I accept wholeheartedly." He smiled brightly now, pleasantly striken by the kindness she showed him just now. With how she acted when they met and after, he guessed that she was rarely nice. But that was way better than not being nice at all, and he was glad about it.

With the Queen of Darkness pointing forward, and its definitely frightening black flag with the classic skull symbol of piracy that wavered on the top of its main mast, the Sadistic pirates carried on their trip, unaware of the danger that was awaiting them very soon...

---------

Four days had past since their stop at the desert island, and Dario's recruitment. It was a little difficult at first, but he managed to befriend everyone and gain their trust. Even Dylan, who was kind of hostile against him at first, had to admit that he was genuinely a kind and caring man that could be an important addition for the crew, specially for their morale.

On the other hand, the neo-pirate discovered some sides of the ship that attracted him, being the library his first favourite room. He loved books, and would spend some hours reading any volume that laid in there. As for his new companions, he had to admit that Elie was right when she said they were definitely better than the pirates he was with, formerly. All friendly and available to help, random and funny most of the times. And their captain, mainly rude but never saying no when it came to ask for help or a simple talk. He had to admit she had her own beauty, too...SeraphMan didn't miss the chance to tease him whenever he caught him staring at her too much.

As for SeraphMan himself, he totally changed opinion about pirates and was more than happy to be surrounded by the female Navi members, even though he was just flirting and sure didn't fall in love with any of them. They all lacked something he considered necessary, something that he would keep for himself and never tell to anyone. Other than that, everyday was fun for both the new entries...


Treble had his back leant against the parapet, his head turned to face the horizon as he heard the calm water splashing nearby.

'So much peace...it usually foresees bad events, I hope this is not the case...'

"Hey Treble!" He felt two arms wrapping around him, and smiled as he turned to see Jane who looked up at him. "So thoughtful...is something wrong?"

"No, no...quite the contrary. This peace is so pleasant, even though kind of boring."

"Yeah, there are periods like this in here." Jane smiled. "There wasn't so much to relax for when you were by Spotty, was there?"

"Indeed...the only times where I could feel peace was when he was sleeping." Treble chuckled. "Everyday, he either shouted and yelled amok or beat up someone when something went wrong, or even danced like a moron all around the ship when he was extremely drunk." He looked down. "I hate to admit it, but...I miss him. And I miss my foster parents too, even though they were as idiotic."

Jane gave a soft peck to his cheek. "It's normal to feel like this. They raised you after all."

"I guess you're right." Treble smiled again, and hugged her back.

"Hmm...I just wonder what they're doing right now." Jane thought out loud.

"I'd like to know too." Treble wondered the same, before an unfamiliar voice echoed around them.


"Oooh, who cares? But I know how to get to them, brats."


"...Huh?! Who's there?" Jane froze in place.

"This voice...!!" Treble muttered.

"Do you know i-KYAH!" She suddenly felt the hold of her fiancee rip off from her, and a big force that pushed her back until she hit the floor violently.

"JANE!! What the?!" Treble found himself in a headlock with a strong arm around his neck.

"Whoops, looks like I hit your girlfriend too hard." A creepy whisper reached his ear. The teen widened his eyes in shock, and shuddered.

"You...you are...CURSE PEARL!"

"What's going on here?" Elie bursted off her room, and frowned at the sight. "What do you think you're doing, you punk? Who are you?"

"Just a friend." the cloaked figure named Curse, turned to the captain, a wide creepy smile on his wrinkled face. It was a man on his 50s, brown hair and darker brown eyes, definitely full of evil. "I heard you had a 'quarrel' with Black Spotty and his Cyber Pirates."

"True. But how would a 'friend' take one of my members as hostage?" Elie narrowed her eyes, anger barely shown on her face. "Let him go, and I'll listen to you."

"No! Don't trust hi-MPHF!" Curse's hand covered Treble's mouth before he could finish speaking. The teen felt more and more lack of breath and struggled to break free.

"Tsk tsk, you're making it difficult." the evil man said. "As a bait, you shouldn't speak. I'll let you go if you and your friends behave well."

"What's going on?!" Natsumi exclaimed, as she and the others ran over. "Who is that guy?"

"Miss Jane!" Dario rushed to the teen's side for aid. "Are you hurt?"

"Ahh...Treble..." She winced, glaring at Curse deadly. "Let him go, you bastard!"

"Calm down and shut up, girl." He hissed, before turning back to Elie. "Miss Inverse, I'm going to let this brat go if you accept to defeat Black Spotty for me. It's a simple task."

The captain kept her eyes narrowed. "I already had a duel with him, and defeated him good. I have no reason to humiliate him any further."

Curse spat, and bursted into a laugh. "There's no way to convince you, huh? Your stubborness is rather infamous." He grinned at her. "Okay, how about this? Find Black Spotty and tell him if he wants his son back alive, he has to meet me at the Devil Seas. You'll probably find the drunkard at Oran Island."

"Tch." Elie gritted her teeth.

"Wait a moment, you asshole! Let him go!! FREEZE ARROW!" Jane held out her hand and managed to shoot a series of magical arrows of ice aimed at Curse. He gracefully leapt onto the parapet, holding the hostage tight as the spell hit the spot underneath them. "Damn you!!!"

"Careful, girl. You could have hit your beloved." Curse sneered. "It's settled then, Miss Inverse. Leave the message and your precious member will be set free, or else..." He paused, but made a clear gesture with his free hand: passing the thumb over his throat, from left to right.

"I'll make you pay right after that." Elie snarled, watching as the man laughed loudly as reply, and leapt off the ship.

"TREBLE!!!" Jane rushed over to where Curse and Treble stood, only to see that there was no trace of the both of them anywhere. "...Treble..."

"Is that some kind of fucking magic trick?" Dylan growled. "The hell did they go...there's nothing around us other than freaking sea!"

"That's not important..." Saburo remarked, frowning. "Captain, how should we move?"

Elie stood silent for a few moments. She stared over at Jane who had fallen on her knees and was whimpering loudly, and Dario went to comfort her. Her fists tightened as her body glowed in a red outline, and her eyes turned blazing red as well.

"We're heading to Oran Island...we'll find Spotty and his crew, head to where that bastard brought Treble, and then I swear on the Lord of Nightmares that NOBODY will be saved from my immense wrath!!!"



To Be Continued...

O_O OMG! Curse is going to get it.

Chapter 09 - Istant Alliance


One day had past since Treble's abduction, and none of the Sadistic pirates spoke ever since. Elie spent most of the day staring at the far horizon, one of the few ways to keep her calm without breaking stuff. Jane was in her room, comforted by Sara and Dario, while Dylan was perching onto the top of the main mast, checking his compass every hour to make sure they were directed to the right destination. The rest kept doing their usual chores, in part to distract themselves from the serious issue.

"Miss Inverse..." Dario spoke up softly, walking up to the captain who was sitting on the ship front. "Jane is recovering."

"That's good...I guess." she muttered, not turning to him. He diverted his eyes from her face, noticing that she was playing with a small red orb of energy between the fingers of one hand.

"...I came here to check on you." he said carefully. "And because something from yesterday come to my mind just now. I talked about it with the others just now, and eventually with Jane herself, too."

"What is it?" Elie asked. "It better be something important, because I don't like to be disturbed."

"Well, during these days Treble told me about his betrayal against this Spotty mister and his crew. He also told me about how he had his foster parents over there." Dario explained. "I didn't pay attention to what I heard from the kidnapper yesterday, at first...but now something hit me. I remember one line of his: If Spotty wants his SON back alive..."

At the word 'son', Elie widened her eyes and turned to look at Dario in disbelief. "Hold the phone...Treble was the one kidnapped!"

"There's a good chance that Treble is Spotty's real son, then." Dario revealed. "Even though I have no idea why his real father hid the truth, and as of this new issue it doesn't matter."

"Wow. That's one big discovery." Elie looked down thoughtfully. "So I guess the kidnapper knows about it, and must hate Spotty's guts for some reason."

"That makes very much sense." Dario said.

"But that's none of my concern." She closed the magic orb in her hand in a tight first, breaking it angrily. "I don't care about their stupid rivalry. All I want is get a member of my crew back, and make that asshole pay for taking him away."

"And it makes very much sense, too." Dario smiled gently. "We'll get Treble back for sure, Miss Inverse. I'll give all my support and contribution."

Elie looked back at him, one eyebrow raised. "Will you stop calling me like that already? I start to feel annoyed...there's no need to act overly polite after you've been here for nearly a week by now." she remarked.

"Ah...you're right." He blushed lightly. "I'm sorry...you wish I called you Elie only, like the others... right?"

"Yeah." she replied, then narrowed her eyes at his direction. Dario blinked a few times, feeling uncomfortable by her odd stare. "...I have something I wanted to ask you, but never dared to, until now. It's something I noticed lately."

"A-ah...really?" Dario stuttered, a small sweat drop falling from his temple.

"Mhm. I guess I'll ask right away." Elie frowned. "I was wonderin-"

"Island finally sighted, 12 o'clock ahead." Dylan's voice suddenly boomed from the intercom nearby. "Judging from how we are down the wind and it's not gonna change anytime soon, we should be there in about 2 or 3 hours."

"Perfect. I'm going to my room, let me know when we arrive." Elie stood up and walked past Dario, who blinked again.

"Wait, Elie!" He called out. "What was your question?"

The captain turned around, and smirked. "Do you think I didn't notice that you were getting uneasy? I'll ask you another time." she waved briefly and left him there.

SeraphMan's hologram appeared on his shoulder, a worried expression on his face. "Hey pal...I've got the feeling she might be like you."

"No, Seraph-kun...I don't think so." Dario muttered. "But I must be careful, from now on."

--------------

Oran Island, otherwise called The Paradise of Criminals.

Hometown of many famous pirates that entered the history, it had no laws. Indeed, it was certainly said to be the main land of those that weren't touched by the World Government in Japan. It was currently used as headquarters for many crews, and refugee for any kind of criminal. And people lived in there at their own risk: riots, violence and murders were daily routine.

"It sure got worse since the last time we came here." Dylan commented, as a group of men were beating each other up nearby, while a sword duel was occuring not far from there. Elie and the others just landed over, and kept some members to guard the Queen of Darkness strictly: there was also ship plundering in the list of Oran's daily routine.

"Jane, are you okay?" Dario put his hand on the teen's shoulder. "You're still upset, and a place like this might not be suitable for your current mood."

Jane shook her head. "No, I'm okay...I surely won't be able to save Treble if I stay sad forever."

"That's right~!" Natsumi patted her back. "Ok then captain, where should we look first? This city is rather large..."

"Heh, where would a smelly and disgusting pirate go in a town like this?" Elie walked ahead, then stopped, turned to her group and pointed her thumb at a local bar nearby. A few shots could be heard, and a man was suddely thrown out of a window. Everyone but Elie looked at the scene with big sweatdrops on their heads.

"A bar, huh..." Dylan muttered.

"Looks like there's a riot in there...should we really enter?" Dario wondered, unsure.

"Who cares! No time to pussy around, now!" Jane snapped, and powerwalked towards the bar. She was about to barge in, when another man was thrown out - through the front door this time, and nearly hit her if it wasn't for Elie who pulled her out of the way. "Wha...the hell is going on in there?!"

"Let's see." Elie opened the doors, and just a moment late, everyone had to struggle not to let their jaws drop: Spotty was there, on a table, dancing like a complete moron with no background music to add it all... Snippy was singing (REAL badly), Tron was sleeping in a corner with bunch of bottles surrounding her, Teisel was puking in a bucket, and Lizzie was sitting on a chair holding her head in despair. "Holy crap..."

"Err...excuse us..." Dario tried to make the first approach, going for Lizzie. "Miss..."

"What?" the girl snapped, looking up. Her face turned from desperate to shocked. "The...Sadistic Pirates?! What are you doing here?"

"Just for a start..." Elie tilted her head, avoiding a void barrel that crashed into the wall. "I need to talk to your captain. Now."

"I don't think it's the right time...watch out!" Lizzie cried, as Dario found himself squeaking from a sword that flew at him and landed at few centimeters from his feet. "...A lot of things fly around in here..."

"Noticed..." Dario gulped, in a cold sweat.

Jane bravely walked ahead, avoiding every sort of object that was thrown around. "SPOTTY! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS OFF THAT TABLE!!!"

The angry growl wasn't even heard by Spotty, because of Snippy's singing and all the noise he was making. He kept dancing and throwing stuff with no care in the world.

"I'm so gonna kill him..." Jane snarled, and went to climb the table. But Dario readily grabbed her arm.

"If you killed him, Treble might not return anymore!" he had to shout to be heard over all the noise. Jane growled in frustration and stopped there.

"Is there any way to stop that buffoon?" Elie glared at Lizzie: she was slowly losing patience.

"...w-well, there is...but someone won't like it." the girl sighed. "Then again, he's too busy singing to even notice."

"Just do it, please!" Natsumi begged, covering her ears.

Lizzie sighed again, and went ahead to jump on the table. It all lasted three seconds: she grabbed Spotty by the filthy jacket, pulled him close and KISSED him.

...

Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor. Snippy istantly stopped singing the moment he saw the scene up there.

...Silence...

"T...That's what she meant, then..." Jane managed to mutter.

"What a way to get attention...great woman!" Natsumi's eyes sparkled.

"There's nothing to be proud of." Elie sighed, and rubbed her temple as she felt headache for the first time in that day.

"That lucky bastard, I swear..." Dylan's eyes were watering in tears instead.

"Well...at least they stopped." Dario tried to be optimist, a sweatdrop on his head.

Spotty had his eyes widened the whole time. When Lizzie broke the kiss, he wrapped her in a tight hug. "Lizzie...oooh sweet! I never knew you cared so much!!"

"There's not enough room in the world, asshole!" Lizzie growled, and with a perfect smack she knocked her captain off the table.

"Lizzie..." Snippy was glaring at his fiancee, deadly.

"What? It was the only way to get his attention!" She protested, starting a quarrel that Elie and the others didn't even care to listen.

Jane walked up to Spotty, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. "You idiot...your son has been kidnapped!!!"

It took less than a second for Spotty to register that sentence, and knock all the drunkness off his head. "...WHAT?! TREBLE?!?"

"Yeah...we know the truth..." Jane muttered, letting him go. "When he got kidnapped, Treble shouted the name of Curse..."

"Curse..." Spotty repeated automatically, eyes still widened. "How...could I let it happen..."

"We're here to ask you to come with us." Elie stepped forward, speaking firmly.

Spotty came in contact with Elie's face for the first time. He froze in place, as if he had just seen a ghost. But the red haired sorceress ignored it and kept speaking.

"Treble is part of my crew by now, but with your help we could reach the location where he is kept prisoned. Curse wants you there, absolutely."

"..." The ragged captain moved his face down, silent, seemingly in shock just for the mere sight of the woman in front of him. A few moments later, he was seen looking back up, nodding slightly and looking at Elie with some regained confidence. "I'll go...Because of me, my beloved son suffered a lot...and still because of me, the worst scenario I ever imagined came true."

"Spotty..." Teisel muttered, holding a still sleeping Tron in his arms.

"I've been a horrible father, I still am, I probably still will be, and probably I won't be able to make up for what I did. I doubt he'll forgive me... but as father, at least for once, I'll do what a father is suppost to do for his son." He held out his hand, reaching for Elie. "So please, Miss. Let's put out our divergences, for the good of Treble."

Elie looked at his hand, then at him again... She smirked, and moved her hand forward too. "Heh, already planned on doing it." she said, going for a handshake with the captain of the Cyber Pirates. It was the start of a strong alliance between two pirate crews, something that was very rare in that period, and hence beautifully precious.

"Very well then. Let's get the hell out of this craphole and save Treble!"



To Be Continued...

I think he suspect that Elie is Lina. If he did he would be in for a serious shock. Great story!

Chapter 10 - To The Devil Seas


Exactly one hour after landing over Oran Island, the Queen of Darkness took its leave just as quickly. Part of the Cyber pirates was accepted on board due to their own ship still out of use because of Elie's treatment. After the due introductions, everyone was standing around the deck to discuss about how to take action.

"First of all..." Elie spoke up. "Before we even think about rescuing Treble, we should find out how to get to where he is held captive."

"Yep. That old geezer said that we have to go to the Devil Seas." Dylan said, then groaned. "Problem is, there is NO place named Devil Seas in any map I have stored."

"Now that sucks very bad..." Natsumi muttered.

"Worry not, people..." Spotty suddenly said. "I've got the easiest way to reach the destination with minimal chances of fail." He delved into the pocked of his trousers, and pulled out something that looked like a very normal compass.

Dylan looked at it skeptically, and arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me...but I have a compass similar to that one, and generally compasses are worthless without finding out the destination on map first."

"But this IS a very different compass, boy." Spotty flashed a grin. "It's a magic compass I bought for cheap somewhere."

"Aka: you stole it." Snippy commented, before getting hit by a random barrel. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Anyway..." Spotty hissed. "This compass has the power to point towards the destination by just thinking about one object or person that stays in that determinate location."

"...Meaning that if I think about Treble, the compass will point towards where he is right now?" Elie asked.

"Exactly so." The captain of the Cyber pirates grinned proudly. "That's why we manage to reach any place with minimal effort. This little thing can also work in the cyberworld."

"Interesting." Elie didn't think twice before snatching the tool from his hands. "Let me try it out. Of course if you tried to fool me, I'll make sure you won't be able reach the Devil Seas in one piece." Her eyes glowed in a death glare, which made Spotty jump back in fear.

"W-What makes you think I'd do that when my son is in danger?!" He snapped, shuddering. "Why would you think I'm that stupid, Miss Inverse?"

'Because I'm SURE you're stupid.', was the reply she had ready in her mind, but which she didn't bother to say out loud. Dario couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Well you answered by yourself, now didn't you?" A Navi's voice laughed from Spotty's PET, a rather old and scratched one.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, BUGGER!!!" the ragged old pirate roared, starting an argument with his own Navi. Elie sighed and shook her head, then looked down at the magic compass: its pointing arrows were moving barely.

"Well...I suppose it's worth a try." Jane spoke after being silent until then. "As we're speaking, who knows what they're doing to Treble..." She shuddered.

"You're right, we can't waste any time." Elie narrowed her eyes, and looked at the compass intensely. Her mind had Treble's image focused above all others, and she stood like that for a few moments. When the arrows were still barely moving uncertainly, she sighed. "I'll try someplace else...too crowded here, can't concentrate."

"As you wish, Miss...take your time." Spotty said softly, and watched as she walked off, followed by Jane, Dario and Dylan. He sighed and walked off, an upset look on his face as he wielded a bottle of rum in his hand and began drinking like a sponge while walking.

"Hey...did you notice there's something wrong with the captain?" Snippy whispered to Lizzie, once he recovered. "Look at how he's staring at her...totally weird."

"Indeed, he's like...gone nuts." she whispered back. "Since when he first set his eyes on her, his pride has gone to hell...he's even looks frightened by her reactions and whenever she looks at him. And not only that, he's strangey polite around her...It's like he has fallen in love like a timid schoolboy!"

"Pshh, love at first sight? That's too far-fetched, in my opinion..." her fiancee muttered.

"...Actually, it's not far from the truth." Tron said quietly, having overheard the couple. "You two joined us later on, so you don't know yet."

"Really?!" The two of them snapped in surprise. "Know what?"

"It's none of your concern." Teisel glared at them. "When the time will come, everything will be clear, like you've just learnt about Treble being his real son. For now, just hush."

"HEY, I HEAR YOU IDIOTS!!" Spotty hollered, and his subordinates froze in fear. "IF I LISTEN TO ANY OTHER WORD REGARDING THAT, I'M GOING TO FUCKING EXECUTE YOU!!" He grumbled to himself. "I swear, how the hell did I surround myself with a bunch of such morons..."

"You say it as if you're not a moron too~" Bugger chuckled from his PET.

"I SAID SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!" Spotty screamed from the top of his lungs, resulting in himself getting hit by a random frying pan.

"Don't come here and shout like a demon possessed you!" Flo snapped from the kitchen entrance.


"So noisy." Saburo muttered, as he was about to take a nap on a soft sack, his hat over his eyes. 'Wonder what he meant by That...'

"Haha, it got more livelier in here, though~" Natsumi said cheerfully like her usual.

"You meant crazier, I hope..." Saburo mumbled. "I'm not sure if we should trust them anymore."

"There's nothing to worry about." Sara said firmly, with a smile.

"Huh? How can you tell?" the beige haired man raised an eyebrow.

"I can't see...but my perceptions never fail." the medic winked at him.

------------------

"Oh! It's moving!" Jane exclaimed, trying to carefully approach Elie as a dark red aura was outlining her body. The compass was spinning slowly and was picking up the pace.

"Whoa, the magic stored inside her is like...infinite." SeraphMan was floating above the group, his arms crossed. "Never sensed this great amount of magic since ever."

"It's...something I have got. Don't ask." Elie glared up, the angelic Navi sensing the annoyance
in her eyes. He preferred to say no more, as she looked back down. "Tch, I didn't know I had to use my inner magic to enhance my senses and make this thing move." she muttered. "Or it is half broken, or it's me who can't use it properly..."

"I think it's neither of them." Dario said quietly. "My guess is that other factors such as the weather, your mood, the negative atmosphere, and even the fact that you don't have a deep bond with Treble yet, could have made it difficult. It's not your fault, Elie."

"Wow, you quite grasped a good point." Jane said, impressed.

"Hehe...it's just that I happen to have got knowledge about some things in general." Dario rubbed the back of his head, blushing.

"Anyway..." Dylan grumbled, somewhat annoyed. "The thing has stopped."

"It's pointing to South-East." Marte's upper body poked out from her PET's screen. "Finally we know where to go, I hope..."

Elie sighed, letting her magic aura vanish. "Off to South-East then, and let's hope we're heading to the right direction...else, that old cyber-punk is dead meat."

Dario sweatdropped. "Please, take it easy..."

--------------------

Another day had past. Despite the troubles that new guests brought in an already crazed ship, the night was kind of tranquil. Except for Spotty's loud snoring and, consequently, Elie's raged attempts to kill him off.

The morning was like the usual, with some randomness and discussions about the plan to save Treble. When the warmer start of afternoon arrived, something attracted the attention of Saburo, who was sitting on top of the main mest like his usual. Black clouds overtopped the sky above the ship, and a cold breeze made him shiver for a moment. He then turned his gaze to where he was looking at before, blinked at the sight of something, and grabbed his binoculars.

'It doesn't look like an island. Could it be...?'

"The weather has gotten bad all of a sudden. And an unknown object is approaching towards us." He communicated via intercom. "The shape looks like a vessel's."

Elie moved her eyes up from a book, she grinned. "So we got to the Devil Seas, finally."

"Could it be...Curse?" Lizzie muttered, and Spotty froze at the mention.

"Let's find out with our own eyes." The captain rose up and darted off the kitchen, followed by others. Spotty stayed sat there, staring down at his bottle of rum, his legs shaking...


"Yep, it's a ship." SeraphMan narrowed his eyes to focus on the dark figure. "Weird, it has got holes in the sails. Don't they have spare ones?"

"There's no more doubt: it's Curse's vessel." Tron frowned. "The Black Medallion."

"Then Treble should be on that ship?" Jane asked, with hope in her eyes.

"Yeah, he should be." Snippy said firmly.

Elie grinned widely. "So, he's here..." She cracked her knuckles and growled, her body glowing in her dark red energy. "Very good. Time to leap over there and pay a nice visit."

"Miss Inverse, Curse is one tricky jerk..." Lizzie warned. "I'd be careful about a full assult if I were you..."

"Like I said, it'll be just a visit." Elie replied with a snarl, frightening the girl. "We'll take Treble back and leave. And they better return him to us quickly and safe, or else..." A dark orb formed in her hand. "...I'm afraid it won't be pretty for them."

"G-Got it..." Teisel gulped.

"Wait a sec, where's Spotty?" Natsumi looked around. "He is suppost to come with us!"

"I'm here..." The ragged pirate showed up, his face gloomy.

"So, are we going or not?" Jane stood by Elie, snapping impatiently.

"And who comes with us?" Elie added, a gust of wind circling her feet. "I could take three people in, other than Spotty."

"Someone should guard this boat, so I'll be staying here." Saburo landed nearby, from the main mast. "I'll look after Flo and Sara, too."

"Count me out as well." Dylan said, gaining a not very gentle comment from his witch Navi said in a whisper. "N-No, I'm not staying to molest the girls, Marte!"

"We'll be staying too..." Snippy said, wrapping Lizzie's shoulders with his arm.

"We're going instead." Tron and Teisel stepped forward, the latter speaking up. "He's not our son in reality, and we weren't good parents either... but we loved him a lot."

"You know my answer, don't cha?" Natsumi cheered.

"...I'll be going, too." Dario put his hand on Elie's shoulder. "I shall do my best not to be a burden to you."

"Sounds good." Elie smiled, then looked forward and her eyes glowed in a green light now. "Whoever can't fly, stand close to me. We're gonna leave."

Dario, Tron, Teisel and Spotty walked close to the red haired sorceress, who muttered something as the wind increased and raised from her feet to around them and eventually above their heads.

"Raywing." Elie said quietly, the name of her spell echoing as the wind got stronger and stronger. Soon after, the group felt their feet leave the wooden floor.

"Levitation!" Jane chanted, her body going up as if it lost gravity.

"Evocation: Sunny Board!" Natsumi cried, a bright orange platform forming underneath her feet and lifting her up.

"Ready? Let's go!" Elie shouted, bringing her and the others up with her strong windy spell, immediately followed by Natsumi and Jane.

"Come back safe! You'll find a delicious meal awaiting for you!" Flo said cheerfully, waving at them.

-------------------

"...Are you sure this is that old man's ship?" Aqua commented, once everyone landed onto the ruined deck. "It has some ghostly feeling in it..."

"It's suppost to be a ghost ship on purpose." Tron said. "That way, it scares other pirates off. This is just a cover."

"..." Spotty stood silent, the gloomy look still on his face.

"Less speaking, more moving." Elie looked around. "We should split up and look for that old bastard and Treble."


"Do you think I would let you?" A female voice boomed suddenly, echoing in their ears.


"Who's there?!" Natsumi cried. Everyone got into their fighting pose, Tron and Teisel grabbing their PETs and ready to summon their Navis out.

A white haired female Navi appeared before the group. She wore a black outfit with four flowing stick-like objects sprouting out from her back, resembling spider legs. Her violet eyes stared at Elie and the others like two stinging spikes.

"Heh...here's the welcome committe." Elie grinned evilly, a red orb in her hand.

"My name is Black Widow." the spider Navi hissed. "And I WON'T let you pass any further."


To Be Continued...

Great Black widow makes her appearance. Good work Elie. Keep it up!

This chapter was a real hassle...had to use many characters in the fight, and I don't think I got the essence of the fight, but oh well... ^^;


Chapter 11 - Spider Lady


"Oh really? I see..." Elie was grinning daringly at the opponent in front of her, named Black Widow. "I guess you got summoned by your owner, that must be around here, right?"

The spider Navi shrugged. "What she is doing and where she is hiding in, is none of my business. I'm just here to hold you down. And take him." She pointed at Spotty, a menacing look on her face.

"You won't be able to fight at your full potential without your operator." Jane pointed out. "And no, we won't give you Spotty without getting Treble back!"

"Do you seriously think Navis should rely on their operators? BIG mistake." Black Widow chuckled. "I'll show you what I am able to do even without battlechips on me! Stingers!"

Soon after speaking, she swung her right arm, and the sticks from her back began growing in length, turning into rods that immediately were swung at Elie! But a quick Defense spell from the sorceress knocked them back.

"Here I come! Evocation: Sunlight Blades!" Natsumi yelled, her hands glowing and forming a pair of golden swords made of magic. "Take this!" She swung her arms quickly, cutting the rods in half. A green liquid squirted from the cuts, and Dario went to pull Natsumi back before it reached her. The contact with the floor made the wood melt.

"It's poison...be careful." He muttered, and watched as the rods closed their wounds by themselves and grew again.

"Auto Heal?! How..." Jane snapped in shock.

"Dark Chip..." SeraphMan spoke up, frowning. "I felt a faint aura of darkness within her at first, but now it got stronger as she healed herself."

"What?! How does she have one?" Alba gasped.

"I don't think that matters, right now..." Elie unsheathed her katana, as their opponent resumed her attack. She sliced the rods off once again and dodged the poison as she prepared a flaming orb in her hand and then launched it. "Fireball!"

Black Widow wasn't quick enough to dodge, and her rods got blasted before they could regenerate anew. "Tch...it's useless! They're not like a Hydra, you know." she muttered, watching as her rods were burning.

"Maybe not, but it'll slow them down quite a bit." Elie grinned, and then shouted. "Everyone, CHARGE!"

"Right on!" Natsumi rapidly charged at Black Widow, and went for a slash at her chest. But the spider Navi blocked it with her hand, damaging it in the process, and plus she was pushed back by the black haired pirate, in order to hold her down. "Go, people!"

Elie charged forward right away, swinging her katana as Black Widow managed to throw a thick web at her. The captain quickly casted an enhancement spell on her sword, and burnt the web off using a light fire spell. Swinging her sword afterwards, she managed to slash the Navi's shoulder and damage her significantly.

"Aqua, get ready...Evoke Chip, Download!" Jane cried, plugging a special white chip into her PET. The screen lit up in a bright light, which shot forward and formed Aqua's silhouette, that became neat in a few seconds.

"Dario, call me in." SeraphMan cracked his knuckles. "The darkness in her is ticking me off. I wanna kick some soft ass."

"Okay, but not too hard." His operator smiled, pulling an identical white chip. "Evoke Chip, Download!"

The angelic Navi made his appearance, flapping his three wings and stepping beside Aqua. Dario was behind, defending Spotty.

"Tron, let's lend a hand, shall we?" Teisel grinned, and his wife nodded. They pulled their white chips and plugged them in, then cried together, "Evoke Chip, Download!"

Their Navis jumped out from their PETs, ready to fight. One of them was a small Navi with a rather large and rectangular yellow head, riding a dark pink larger robot, standing with Tron. The other was an orange floating navi with no legs, two large arms and a menacing face, and stood after Teisel.

"Serverbot, go!" Tron yelled. "Show no mercy!"

"Let's show her that teamwork works better, BonBon!" Teisel shouted with vigor.

Meanwhile, Black Widow managed to knock both Elie and Natsumi off herself. They both landed on their feet and stepped aside, the captain already preparing a new spell.

"I wish to see you TRY." the spider Navi grinned, standing still.

"Finally our turn! Aqua Buster!" Aqua cried, forming a sphere of water between her hands and then hurling it at Black Widow, before she could get back up.

BLAST! The hit connected, knocking the enemy back.

"Freeze Bullets!" Jane shot a series of icy spheres and crashed into the Spider Navi, who groaned in annoyance: her legs got stuck in the ice, and she began hitting it in order to get free.

"Oh no, you don't! Fire!" Tron cried, and her Navi began shooting several bullets. Black Widow shielded her face with her arms as she was seemingly damaged.

"Women like you aren't really my type." SeraphMan commented as he charged forward, his wings boosting his speed up. He smirked, and is right hand glowed brightly. "Please, accept this gift... Heavenly Fist!"

BAMMM! Black Widow felt it badly this time: she groaned in pain as his fist reached her left side. The impact blew her left arm off!

"Damn it..." she muttered, backing away and holding her deleted arm. "Too bad for you, nothing can stop me! Stingers!"

Her four rods, regenerated, headed towards the group all of a sudden. One of them managed to grab Elie's right arm, while the others knocked back Natsumi, Serverbot and SeraphMan, which were the closest, and reached Jane and Aqua soon after. They found themselves paralyzed!

"What do you think you're doing now?" Elie grinned, not worried at all, chanting a spell. "Wind which blows across eternity, gather in my hands and become my strength..." Her hand was engulfing in concentrated wind and formed a large spear. "BRAM GUSH!"

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAST! The wind force destroyed the rod and hit Black Widow badly. She was sent flying and crashed into a wall.

BonBon took the chance and flew above her, dropping a series of bombs that exploded upon contact.

BOOOOOOOM!

For several seconds, the smoke covered the area...

"Did we delete her..?" Natsumi wondered, she managed to move again and so did the others.

"I sense no more darkness." SeraphMan scanned the area with his eyes. "Heh, I would have gone out with her despite all. I regret it a little."

"Will you be serious?" Dario sweatdropped.

"Let's move forward. There must be a passage for the lower deck." Elie ordered, without wasting any time to cheer for victory. She began walking, but SeraphMan grabbed her arm in time and pulled her back: something dropped to where she was standing before, and exploded soundly. "What?!"

"I sense it again!" the angelic Navi exclaimed, he pointed up. "From him!"

Elie looked up, and was shocked at the sight of BonBon, who charged forward and knocked the two of them back violently! SeraphMan took most of the hit, getting damaged badly.

"Ah...Teisel!" Tron was backing away from her husband. He looked like he was hypnotized, and was pointing his sword at her as he darkly walked towards her.

"Hey dude, calm down!" Natsumi tried to knock the sword off his hands, but he kicked her stomach to push her back and went for a slash at her, changing target. She recovered quickly and clashed her magic sword against his weapon. "The hell has gotten into you?!"

"Barrier Chip, Download!" Jane slotted a chip into her PET. Aqua extended her arm, a barrier forming around the group and protecting them for a while.

"There is something about them..." Dario muttered, shielding Spotty still. His eyes widened. "Look at their faces!"

"What's there...oh!" Jane gasped at the sight of a series of small back hearts that covered both the pirate and his Navi's faces. "Where do those come from?!"

"Can't you guess, brat?" Black Widow's voice boomed, and everyone turned to see her. She was struggling to stand up, her left side nearly blown up as whole. Her data was slowly patching itself together, though. With her remaining arm, she was holding a few floating black hearts.

Elie's reaction was a wide grin. "You're a tough one for being a lone Navi, aren't you."

"You can bet. I'm not so weak to rely on an operator." Black Widow said bluntly. "I can manipulate men's minds with my seducing powers. They fall in love with me in a flash, and would do anything for me." She grinned evilly. "It's useless to unsummon your Navis either, my dark love magic is stronger!"

The hearts were hurled and broke through the barrier with ease...but SeraphMan shattered them by swinging his arm, before they could hit any male ally.

"Light nullifies darkness. Always have, always will." He gave the spider Navi an amused glare. "I told you, lass. You're not my type at all. Only those with good hearts are worth my attention."

"Awwww~" Alba and Aqua almost melted in delight at his words. Their operators sweatdropped.

Tron growled. "You bitch, how dare you do it to my husband?! SERVERBOT, KILL HER ASS NOW!!"

Her Navi gasped, he knew there was nothing he could do to oppose her wrath. With a push, he charged at full force towards Black Widow, who stood there grinning.

"Fool." she said, freeing her hearts which floated towards the robotic Navi. "Seduce~"

A moment later, Serverbot was chasing Tron around, the female pirate screaming and begging for help. Everyone sweatdropped, before SeraphMan knocked Serverbot out with a single holy punch. Tron collapsed, passing out.

"We've gotta make them come back to their senses!" Natsumi growled, as she knocked Teisel away and tackled him down.

"She is recovering too." SeraphMan pointed out, watching how Black Widow's arm was re-growing faster. "And we can't move from the barrier, or else that damn bomber would blow us over."

"Leave it to me." Elie sighed, rubbing her temple. "It will take a minute. Stand back." She walked out of the barrier quietly, her body sparkling darkly.

"Miss Elie, what are you..." Spotty reached a hand out to stop her, but Dario blocked him. He was smiling.

"Have faith in her." the ex-adventurer just said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Marching out, miss Inverse? Another BIG mistake!" Black Widow swung her arm, and BonBon threw his bombs towards the sorceress. "That'll teach you not to underestimate me! Ahahahah!"

BOOOOOOOOM! The tremendous impact made the ship shake, and raised an intense smoke.

"Miss Inverse!!!" Spotty cried, but then his eyes widened at the sight of BonBon getting knocked and sent crashing into the barrier, so violently that the robotic Navi passed out.

"Lord of the Darkness and Four Worlds, I beseech thy fragments..."

The smoke cleared quickly, revealing the red haired captain unharmed, and protected by a windy barrier spell that made her cloack and hair dance crazily. The sparks all around her body increased in size and quantity, her eyes were glowing, becoming dark red.

"By all of the power thou possesseth, grant the heavens' wrath to my hand; unleash the sword of dark, freezing nothingness."

A black orb, that formed between her hands, was increasing in size as it changed its form, transforming into a sword made of pure darkness.

"N-No way!" Black Widow cried, and stepped back, not realizing that her legs didn't fully heal yet, and thus falling back on her bottom. Her eyes, previously emotionless, gave their first signs of fear. "Nooo..."

"...By our power, our combined might, let us walk as one along the path of destruction!"

"AAAH...BLACK HEART, YOU DUMBASS!! UNSUMMON ME NOW!!!" the spider Navi shrieked, over and over, but found no response...And eventually, she stared in horror as Elie raised the terrible dark blade. "NO...PLEASE, SPARE ME...I'LL LET YOU GO!!!"

The lips of the red haired woman curved into a sly smile, before whispering. "...Too late, spidey bitch."...and striking down, with all her force!

"NO....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"RAGNA BLADE!!!"



To Be Continued...

O_O Ouch! That is going to hurt. But suspense. It is getting good Elie.

(Chapter split in two posts due to the word limit per post...)

Chapter 12 - Medallion


Elie dusted her hands off, sighing heavily. In front of her, only devastation. A good part of the Black Medallion was completely wiped off by the destructive slash from one of her strongest spells.

"Sheesh, that's what I call overkill." Natsumi muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "I almost feel sorry for that poor spider lady."

"Poor? I don't think so." Aqua remarked, her arms crossed. "She nearly killed us, a few moments ago!"

"Actually, she didn't get deleted." Alba's hologram appeared on Natsumi's shoulder, her worlds attracting the group's attention. "Even though I could say for sure that over 85% of her data got nuked off thanks to the Ragna Blade, the operator managed to pick up their Navi - or what remained of her, before complete deletion."

"That must be one hell of a sadistic operator then." SeraphMan grinned. "They saw that huge-ass dark spell coming and still waited till it stroke down before unsummoning their poor Navi. Intriguing..." He hummed in approving fashion.

"Seraph-kun...I don't think anybody is interested about this right now." Dario muttered, while everyone sweatdropped.

"Right...we're wasting time!" Jane snapped angrily. "Treble is still in danger! Let's move on at once!"

"Haste makes waste." Elie was slowly walking around, tapping the floor under her feet. "There must be a passage to the internal rooms around here."

"..." Spotty kept his silence, looking down.

"Uhh..." Tron groaned, holding her head. "What...the hell..."

"Hello there~" Natsumi crouched down at her side, smiling cheerfully. "You were out cold for a while. Too bad you missed the climax moment!"

"...Huh? What are you talking about?" Tron muttered, sitting up. She then gasped and looked around. "Oh! What about Teisel?!"

"He's over there, sleeping like a baby boy~" The magic weapons user pointed her thumb to a fainted Teisel that was nearby. The black hearts on his face were totally gone, and the sight made Tron sigh in relief.

"...Here." Elie tapped her foot more energetically, from a spot near the destroyed zone. "I hear a different noise from here. There must be a room with people inside, underneath us."

"Then Treble is there?!" Jane gasped.

"Yeah...I feel his aura faintly, but no hopes up." The captain said cautiously. "There might be an army, or just a few people with him. Either way, we must be careful."

"We found a shortcut, anyway." SeraphMan grinned, his wings flapping just once as he warmed up his holy aura. "Let's blow a hole in there and beat someone already."

"Don't worry about my sweetheart." Tron was already on her feet, cracking her knuckles. "I'm going to stay here and take GOOOOOD care of him."

"Fine..." Elie said, a bright red ball forming in her hands. "Everyone, step back. Dam Brass!"

At the contact with the orb, the wooden floor shook lightly at first, then shattered itself until it formed a perfectly circled hole, in which a normal person could pass through.

"Let us go." The sorceress ordered, and was the first one to jump in. Jane followed quickly, then all the others. Spotty was the last one, he turned over to his subordinates one last time...before sighing heavily and diving down: Tron had started to beat the hell out of her husband.

----------------------

A room filled in darkness welcomed the rescuing group.

"I can't see shit...dammit." Jane growled, as she could barely see her own hands. Before she could make another step, somebody bumped her from the side. "Hey, watch your steps!"

"Excuse me, I'd do that if I COULD see my own feet." Spotty growled.

"It's scary..." Aqua shuddered, trying to be close to the group even though there was only darkness around her. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders, and she jumped. "Kyaaa!!"

"Shh, it's me." SeraphMan spoke softly. His wings glowed in a faint and light blue light, turning into the only focus point in the darkness. "Fear not, I'll protect you."

"Awww..." Nobody noticed the hearts that replaced Aqua's eyes, but Alba could be heard hissing angrily from nearby.

Elie sighed. "There you go, children..." she said, cupping her hand and casting a lighting spell to illuminate part the room.

"T-Thank you, Miss Inverse..." Spotty muttered quietly, falling silent again.

"This room looks large enough to have over one hundred people inside." Dario said in an impressed tone. "I wonder how big this ship actually is...and if there's actually someone in here..."

"I can smell the stench of enemies all around us." Elie flashed a grin, although there seemed to be nothing as she was moving her magic torch left and right.

"Seriously, why do pirates NEVER wash themselves?" SeraphMan complained, shielding Aqua with one wing.

"Hey, speak for yourself!" Natsumi snapped. "I take showers everyday!"

"Besides, does it really matter right now?" Dario groaned at his Navi's tactlessness.

"Treble!!" Jane began calling out, her patience quickly running out. "Can you hear me?! Answer me, please! We're here to save you!"

...No response...

"It's no use. Curse might have him tied up and unable to speak, most probably." Elie said quietly, and then raised her tone as she turned to the ceiling. "By the way, Curse! It might as well be about time you stop playing coward and show yourself now!"


"Eh eh eh...You're no fun, Sadistic Pirates." Curse's voice boomed all around the group. "And here I thought you could have been subdued by my illusional darkness. Then again, you managed to beat one of my strongest pawns...Fine, then!"


Suddenly all the lights lit up, as over a hundred pirates were surrounding the group, pointing any sort of weapon at them!

"That's what I'm talking about." Elie grinned even more widely.

"...Over there!" Dario exclaimed, pointing ahead. Curse was standing on top of a staircase, holding Treble with one arm and pointing a gun at his head!

"Treble!!!" Jane cried, about to run towards him, but Curse moved his gun and shot near her feet!

"Tsk tsk...how rude." the evil man chuckled. "You know very well that I can't just let him go, after all the troubles I had to take him, now can I?"

"You asshole..." Jane growled, pointing her fist at him and ready to cast a spell of hers...but Aqua grabbed her arm.

"No, don't!" her Navi pleaded. "What if you hit Treble as well?!"

"...Fuck." Jane cursed under her breath.

"Mwahahahah...looks like your Navi is wiser than you, missy." Curse teased her, pressing the tip of his gun against Treble's temple. " You're here to save the boy, right? Now if you kill me, bye bye boy!"

"You bastard..." Spotty spat, glaring deadly at him.

"Ooooh, there you are!" the cloaked villain smiled pleasantly. "Spotty, my friend...You've come to get your punishment, I guess."

"...I'm just here for my son." the ragged pirate snarled. "No matter the cost, I'll take him back!"

"That, could be arranged." Curse's smile turned into a serious glare, as he turned his gaze to Elie. "Miss Inverse... all I ask is for one thing, and you know what I'm talking about."

"I do remember." Elie glared back, narrowing her eyes. "About the 'deal'."

"...Deal?" Natsumi wondered, then gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh...THAT..."

"Exactly." Curse grinned evilly. "Now, before discussing about that, I have a warning for you all." He grabbed Treble's PET, and showed it to everyone. "In this device, I have installed a very powerful bomb, and my good Navi Medallion will make sure to set it off at any moment. If you do any dirty move, your precious friend will be returned to you IN PIECES!"

"NO!!!" Jane screamed, held back by Aqua with difficulty. "TREBLEEEE!!!"

"I never thought you could fall so low..." Spotty tightened his fists, his nails digging into his own flesh. "Just say it! YOU WANT MY FUCKING HEAD SO MUCH, DON'T YOU?!"

Curse laughed maniacally. "Yeah, I fell so low and I don't regret it!" he spat. "I waited so long to get back at you, asshole! Finally here's my chance...I'll have your head, AND your beloved ship! THEY ARE MINE!!!"


"...Hey pal." Dario almost startled as he heard a voice in his head. "Don't jump, ot they'll find us out."

"Seraph-kun..." the ex-adventurer muttered in his mind: his Navi had started a telephatical communication with him, using their link and Dario's powers themselves.

"Look at that kid's face. Isn't there something weird about him?"

"...Huh? What is there to...Oh! His eyes..."

"Right." SeraphMan frowned, as the both of them stared at Treble's oddly emotionless look. "His eyes are like...lifeless. As if his soul has been sucked out of him."

"Could it be...a fake?" Dario wondered, frowning as well.

"I doubt it. His aura looks authentical, and so does his PET." the angelic Navi looked worried. "Darn, his Navi looks in danger too...he is being held hostage by an ugly monkey in pirate outfit..."

"That must be Curse's Navi." Dario nodded. "How should we move?"

"Heh, this genius right here has got an idea already." SeraphMan grinned. "Let's wait for the right moment. Now I explain you..."


"So." Elie spoke up, interrupting Curse's insane laugh. Her eyes were closed and half covered by her blazing red fringe. "All you want is Spotty's head, and eventually the Black Refractor too."

"I think we can come to an agreement, Miss Inverse..." Curse said, smiling anew. "You can't stand that drunken moron anymore than I can!"

"...Indeed, I don't." she stated, shocking everyone. "He stinks, drinks like a freaking sponge, he screams and yells and does any kind of moronic stuff when he is overly drunk."

"..." Spotty lowered his head, staying silent.

"Now that is melody for my ears..." Curse said, delighted.

"Wait...you've got to be kidding us!" Natsumi stepped in front of Elie and grabbed her shoulders. "I admit he is not the kind of guy anyone would want as companion, but...killing him?! Elie, you just...can't take one life to save another! The captain I know would find a way to save BOTH!"

"Natsumi..." Alba muttered.

"...Elie." Dario said softly, approaching her. "You told me that you'd never kill anyone. I trust you on that, but I also realize that, sometimes, a sacrifice is necessary to save one or many lives." He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, and smiled. "I don't know if this is one of the cases, but I'll follow any decision you'll take. I'd be glad if you disposed of my life as you consider necessary, since you saved it. I owe you that much."

"That sounds sooo sado-maso." SeraphMan muttered under his breath, shuddering.

Elie didn't move or flinch at all, as if she was registering their words in her mind before acting. Natsumi sighed, and let go of her.

"...Do what you believe it's best to do." she said, stepping away. "I believe in you."

"...I...can't..." Jane shuddered in her Navi's hold. "...stand this...can't...wait..."

"Jane...? Are you o-AAH!" Aqua got thrown back by a powerful push from her operator, who rushed over to Spotty, and in a few moments had him under a headlock. She stole his gun too, and pointed it right to his head.

"Jane, no!!" Dario cried, as shocked as everyone else.

"Ah..." Spotty gasped, gritting his teeth but not fighting back.

"CURSE!!!" Jane growled, looking at him with rage in her eyes. "I'LL KILL HIM LIKE YOU WISH, BASTARD! BUT YOU GIVE ME TREBLE BACK!!!"

"Heh, I changed my mind." Curse smiled very videly, showing all his teeth. "You're much wiser than thought, missy. Of course I'll give him back...now, SHOOT HIS HEAD LIKE A DOG!!"

"...I..." Jane hesitated...The gun she was holding felt too heavy for her hand, and her finger trembled too much to find the trigger. She actually had no intention to kill Spotty, but if it was necessary to save Treble, maybe...

"What are you waiting for?! SHOOT HIM!!!" Curse spat impatiently. "You want your boyfriend safe and sound, right?! That lowlife you're holding down never deserved to live!"

"...!!" Jane shut her eyes tight, as the people around her could not move a finger, fearing that she would really shoot. Her finger was so close to the trigger.

"...Shit..." SeraphMan cursed, starting to sweat.

"Little girl..." Spotty spoke quietly, closing his eyes. "Do what you must. That will be my payment for all the pain I gave to my son..."

"MOVE IT, DAMN IT!!!" Curse growled in anger, almost making a hole in Treble's head with his gun as the boy's face stayed emotionless. "SHOOT HIM NOW, YOU BITCH! DON'T MAKE ME WAIT ANY FURTHER!"

"...I...I...am..." Jane muttered, her tears rolling down her cheeks and mixing with her sweat. "I'm...sorry..." The gun shivered more in her hold, it almost fell.


"Heh, you really don't have balls, girl."


Everyone widened their eyes, turning towards Elie. She finally moved, resting her hands upon her hips and looking relaxed. As she lifted her head, everyone could see her wide and vaguely cheerful grin.

"...What?" Curse muttered in shock.

"Yep yep, you have no balls to kill a man." she repeated, turning to Jane and Spotty. Even the ragged man couldn't help but stare in surprise. "Look at yourself. One week ago, you were shooting man after man using your spells and stunning them. Now look at you now, you're almost pissing yourself at the thought of his brains blown out and blood everywhere. I bet that the last thing you ever wish to happen to yourself is to stain your clothes in blood!"

"...w-what the..." Jane stuttered, her jaw dropping.

"Elie...are you okay?" Dario dared to ask.

"Never been better than this!" the captain snapped, almost offended. "What I'm talking about is more simple than you idiots think! Come on!"