Chapter 22: Addressing the Rat Problem! All Aboard the Gentle Winds!

  "Alright, you all have your assignments," I told the crew as we docked late in the afternoon. The sun was just hovering above the ocean's line. "Felix, you know what to do. Give it about twenty minutes and initiate the plan."

  "Wait, what plan? Sorry, I think I missed a meeting," River asked, scratching the back of his head.

  "Don't worry, you didn't miss anything," I reassured. "Felix will fill you all in while I'm gone. Although, Wynter and Lyric, you're with me. We have something else we need to do."

  "Aye, aye, Captain," Wynter acknowledged as he lowered the boarding plank down onto the dock.

  Once everyone was reminded of what their tasks were, we all dispersed. Lyric, Wynter and I all  walked down the main market street as we headed for the most west side of the island. It was not as busy as most market places, with only a couple of people at various scattered shops. According to some various passing gossip, most of the population was still in the mines and wouldn't be able to shop until after the evening shift change. 

  As we walked down the street, I noticed the wanted posters bulletin board. Curious, I walked over to it to see if there were any updates. There were various wanted criminals for various other crimes, but then I spotted my face among them. Taking it down and looking closely, I noticed mine was different. There was no bounty on it anymore, and instead of saying "Wanted," the header now said "Rescinded." Underneath the image of me, it went on to explain how there was a mix up and I was proven innocent of the crimes I was accused of, that the assault on the Celestial Dragon was done by another culprit who had used my identity to sneak into the Marines. Looked like Gramps was able to pull some strings after all. So, this is the power of nepotism, huh? 

  "Well, would you look at that," Wynter motioned towards my poster as I started to put it into my bag. "Looks like someone's been pardoned."

  "I don't get it," Lyric stated, holding her chin. "Assaulting a Celestial Dragon is a serious offence. No one has ever been let off the hook like that. Whomever the Celestial Dragon says did it is usually law. How did you manage that, Anne?"

  I gave a shrug. "Don't know, maybe I just got lucky."

  Not too far off from the shopping district was a small park with walking paths, toys in sand boxes, and benches lining the paths. I led us over to a bench that overlooked the sea and sat down. I patted the spot next to me on the bench as I looked towards Lyric. She obliged and sat on the opposite side of the bench, while Wynter stood behind me as if he were a bodyguard. I looked towards some of the park's toys and downcastly said, "It's a shame that the park is so empty. Parents should be watching their children playing here with toys, not watching them be forced to crawl into small, dangerous caverns with mining tools underground..."

  "No kidding," Lyric said in her usual sing-song voice. "I was kind of hoping to see some street performers to get a taste of the island's music, but it looks like music is a luxury here. Do you plan to help these people, like you did with Wynter's island?"

  Giving a deep sigh, I slouched into the bench as I leaned my head back as I told her, "As much as I want to, we can't. This time is different. Wynter's island operation was orchestrated by a revolutionary group, who planning it out for probably a couple months. Not to mention, unlike his island, the World Government has this island closely involved, sticking their hands into the honey pot here. I also just got my bounty rescinded, so I can't be reckless anymore if I want to explore without the Government breathing down my neck."

  "You've decided to let the people continue to suffer," Lyric asked. "I thought you would have already been trying to plan something by now."

  "I don't see you trying to do anything, neither," I retorted. "We are a small group brand new to the Grand Line. At this point in time, there is nothing we can do. Best we can do is relay a message to the group that helped Wynter's island. But we won't be able to do that any time soon, since the Marines will hear about this."

  Wynter raised a curious eyebrow as Lyric asked, "What do you mean? How would they know if you literally just came up with the idea?"

  I gave Lyric a glare as I said, "I don't know, you tell me. So, how long have you been with the Marines, Lyric?"

  Wynter and Lyric both turned to me as I propped my chin with my fist. "I'm sorry, I think we both might have misheard," Lyric stated.

  Even now, I was impressed with her acting. It was quite convincing. Her expression was one of pure confusion, her voice wavered only slightly enough to give off a sense of fear, and her posture was not one of over-defensiveness nor aggression.

  "I believe you heard me correctly," I told her as I looked her in the eye. "I asked how long you've been affiliated with the Marines."

  "Why would you think such a thing," Lyric defended. "Do you know how crazy you sound right now?"

  Wynter moved his hand to rest it on his many knives under his jacket, as he growled towards her, "Careful with your words. Choose them wisely."

  "Acting until the very end, huh," I asked, not surprised. "Well, I'll spell it out for you. We'll start with the first day we met. It'd been bugging me, but you had made a strange comment as though you knew I had just arrived to the island. There's the offhanded chance that you could have just seen us arrive at the port that day, but you made it sound as though you were expecting me. There is also the way that you speak to your 'father'. I know some parents are strict and demand respect, however, the way you spoke was that of a soldier to their commander. Not to mention, Delta's squad seemed to start predicting where we were going as soon as you joined. And, once I stopped sharing the details with you, they miraculously seemed to arrive after we did. Strange, no? True, the mole could have been Wynter, since he joined the same time you did. However, he hardly ever left my side. You, on the other hand, had ample opportunities to step away and relay the information."

  "Anne, come on, it me, your musician," Lyric pleaded as though she were about to cry. "Those were all just coincidences! The Marines just happened to be there when we got there!"

  "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence. However, three times is a pattern, and we are far beyond three," I corrected. Lyric continued to try and defend herself with tears running down her face, pleaded she had nowhere to go if we kicked her out of the crew. I put my hand up to stop her rambling. "I will not be allowing you back onto my ship, and that is final. You are no longer a part of this crew."

  Lyric was stunned, then lowered her head. Instead of hearing her sob, she started to giggle, which turned into a maniacal laugh as she threw back her head. She reached behind her, grabbed a hold of her lute, and proceeded to swing it towards me. I was ready to deflect it with my abilities, but Wynter jumped over the bench in an instant and caught the lute with his bare hands. The force of the impact caused a large force wave to be sent out, blowing objects away.

  A normal lute would have splinted to piece from the force, yet hers remained intact. "I get it now," I stated as I stood up from the bench behind Wynter. "You must be a part of Delta's new task force. He's teaching you all haki now? But, I don't get it. You saw the rescinded poster, so why are you attacking?"

  "Kyahahaha, damn took ya long enough to figure everything out," Lyric exclaimed as she pressed a hidden trigger on her lute. Metal spikes dripping an unknown substance appeared out of the lute, causing Wynter to readjust his grip before his hand got pierced by one.

  Her voice no longer carried a honey-sweet melody, but was now filled with wild tones and noise. She started to apply more pressure to her lute, pushing it closer towards Wynter. With his free hand, he reached into his jacket and pulled out one of his knives. He attempted to slash at her as she continued to laugh, though she simply jumped back out of the path of his blade. "Kai said to be careful and that you might find me out, but man, were you a letdown! He said you are usually soooo cautious and it might take some convincing to get me into your crew. Yet, you let me, a total stranger, onto your boat the day we met! You even let me sail with you for months! You didn't even-."

  I rolled my eyes and spat, "Geez, spare us the monologue. You sound like a cheap villain when you drone on and on."

  Lyric looked unamused as she leaned to one side with a hand on her hip. "Fine, whatever," she groaned. "Then we'll keep it simple. We know you aren't planning on leaving without a new ship, so just come along and turn yourself in. Or don't! I like a good struggle."

  Wynter pulled out more of his knives, holding multiple in each hand. Truthfully, it seemed excessive to have more than one weapon in each hand, but at least he didn't have one in his mouth. Lyric and Wynter stared each other down with bloodlust. The tension and energy in the air was palpable. "Leave this to me," Wynter growled, pure murder in his eyes.

  I looked toward the horizon. The sun was just starting to sink under the ocean's line, meaning Felix and them were bound to just be moving towards the opposite side of the island right now. Wynter and I would need to buy them some time to get the ship into hiding, whether it be by knocking her out or distracting her long enough before getting away. I leaned over towards Wynter and whispered, "How good are you at stalling?"

  Wynter gave a shrug and replied, "Hit or miss, but torture is a great time killer."

  My eyes rolled at his usual jest. I looked back to Lyric and asked, "Why are you still trying to take me in, anyway? You saw the poster and how my wanted status was rescinded. I'm no longer wanted by the World government, so there's no reason for me to meet with Delta. He gains nothing from this."

  "How should I know why he wants ya," Lyric spat. "All I know is that he wants ya in custody, and we were trained to bring people like you in. We were also trained not to question orders and to execute Absolute Justice. Now, let's get to it!"

  Lyric charged at us with her lute wielded back. Wynter charged forward with his knives at the ready. Their weapons of choice clashed. Handfuls of knives against reinforced spiked lute. Lyric would raise her lute above her head or wind it back before swinging it towards Wynter, though he would simply sidestep out of the way. Wynter would try to slash at Lyric or throw his knives, but she would block the knives with her lute.

  Wynter noticed me gauging the time off of the sunset after a bit. He jumped over near me and asked, "We good yet, or should I keep playing?"

  I gave a nod. "Go as wild as you want."

  An eerie grin crept onto his face. He crouched down and sprinted at Lyric at full force. They continued to exchange blows, now starting to scratch and beat each other up. Something wasn't right. Even though Wynter had started getting somewhat more serious, Lyric seemed to, as well. If she were serious about bringing us in, why was she not serious in the beginning? She was just keeping pace with Wynter...

  "Shit," I cursed under my breath. I quickly scanned the surroundings as I shouted to Wynter, "She was stalling for time, too!"

  As I had just gotten the sentence out, a chakram ring had been hurled in my direction. I rolled out of the way as it bounced off of a nearby pole and returned to its owner. "Well, long time, no see, Kai," I greeted as I dusted myself off. "What's it been, two weeks? Gotta say, it got kinda lonely without you constantly on our heels."

  Kai rubbed the bridge between his eyes as he groaned, "Anne, do you have to say it like that every time we meet?"

  "Yes," I bluntly replied. "What else am I suppose to say? Hey, nice to see you again?"

  "Who the fuck is this," Wynter spat as he glared towards Kai, as he still clashed with Lyric.

  "An old squad member from the Marine days," I informed Wynter, before turning back to Kai. "Anyway, what can I do for you with this lovely encounter?"

  Kai gave an exhausted sigh, clearly tired of my bullshit. "My father wants to have a word with you," Kai began to explain. "You, Felix and River all deserted the Marines. You may have been legally let off the hook, but not Felix and River. I'm sure if we all go back without any struggle, everyone will just get a little slap on the wrist. I don't want anyone to get hurt more than they have to. We can fix this, together."

  "Wow, you are still in denial," I told him in disbelief. "You should know your father better than anyone. He's not going to let us, especially me, off with a slap on the wrist. Your mole even said that Delta wanted to see me in custody. Sorry, Kai. I refuse to a murderer for the World Government any longer. As for Felix and River, it is up to them if they want to return. Though, you've seen the corruption, Kai. Get out before you regret it. It's never too late to join us, if you want."

  I had turned to move closer to Wynter, but as I was walking away, Kai tried to reach out as he called, "Wait, Anne. Please, just-"

  Wynter was immediately between the two of us, pointing one of his knives at Kai. "You heard the lady," Wynter hissed. "She's not going. So, leave or loose a finger."

  "Oooor," I interjected as I grabbed Wynter under the arms, "We can be the ones to leave."

  Before Kai or Lyric could react, I lifted Wynter and I into the air above them. "Heeeey, get back down here and face us," Lyric yelled, pointing her spiked lute towards us.

  "Oi, usually I wouldn't protest against feeling your touch," Wynter started to protest. "But I wasn't done with them yet. The bitch should have at least lost a hand for betraying your trust."

  "Hush now," I scolded. "You did your job well at stalling, now it's time for a tactful withdrawal."

  "You mean running away," Wynter groaned.

  "Yes, we are retreating," I sighed as I flipped Kai and Lyric off before flying out of sight.

  I started to head towards the designated meeting spot when Wynter asked, "Wait, are we not meeting back up with the others at the docks?"

  I gestured towards the direction of the docks, where a large Marine vessel was now docked where our ship had once been. "Felix and I discussed what we were going to do once we got to the island," I explained as I flew lower once we reached a forested area to stay out of sight of Marines stationed on the island. "You and I were to deal with the spy issue and Felix would get the boat and crew to safety. We couldn't explain anything until Lyric was away from the boat, so thank you for trusting me with this blind plan."

  "No, thank  you for trusting me to back you up," Wynter said with pride.

  After about half an hour of flying through thickets, we reached the bluffs on the other side of the island. When we got to the entrance of the cave system Felix mentioned before, where he was waiting for us there. We descended next to him and he gestured to the entrance as he said, "Welcome to the hideaway, where non-natives will be lost to the caves. If you'll follow me, we shall make our way to the boat. I even got you a little surprise, Cap'."

  "Why does that make me nervous," I teased as Felix began to lead the way.

  Felix led Wynter and I through many twists and turns along the canals and forks. After awhile, we managed to make it to the ships... but why was that last word plural? I slapped my forehead as I groaned, "Felix, please tell me you didn't steal a ship..."

  Felix looked offended as he looked towards the our small little sloop next to the decorated caravel. He argued that it was the surprise he had custom made for us. He sent the plans to the royal shipwright he trusted so that it would be ready by the time we got here.

  The wood was painted a deep, forest green, the masts here angled in a way where the sails were rectangular and supported on the sides, giving easy access to the sails. There were layered portholes, indicating that there were at least two floors, plus the cabin on top of the deck. The figurehead was of an alluring siren, beckoning those to come closer. There was a weird contraption on the back and sides of the ship that I couldn't figure out though. Felix saw me staring and a grin grew across his face. "That, my dear Cap', would be the aeration maneuvering equipment, a system I requested that will amplify the usage of your abilities by tenfold! So, the slight puff of breeze from you will equal a gale once it goes through the equipment! This means you don't have to push yourself so hard! The shipwright even said he threw in a stand near where you blast air that can hold a thing called a dial, which can hold air so you won't have to be the only power source! The shipwright even supplied us with a blank dial to test out."

  I stared in amazement at this beauty, and I do mean the ship. "Felix, I really don't know what to say," I said in awe, dragging my hand across the wood. "You're telling me that this is really our new ship? Our new member?"

  "New member," Wynter repeated as a question. "It's a boat, isn't it?"

  "A ship can be so much more than a boat," I corrected. "Yes, the sloop we used was 'just a boat', as it only acted as transportation. However, this beauty is going to be so much more. We were here for its birth, its first voyage. It was custom made to fit our needs, and I plan to treat it as another member. After all, it goes wherever you go. If you don't care for it, it'll fall to ruin."

  "Well put," Felix stated as Chef, Doc and River came down off of the old boat with boxes. They had started moving everything to the new ship already. "So, does our new member have a name?"

  Looking up at the ship, I took it in for a moment. "Air Zephyr," I responded. "The greatest airship around."

  "Speaking of members, where's Lyric," River asked as he came over with a box of ropes.

  Wynter, Felix, and I exchanged looks. "I'll address that once we've gotten everything settled with the new ship," I told him before using my power to lift the box out of his hands and lifting it onto the deck of Zephyr. "For now, let's get unloading."

  We used the rest of the daylight to move everything onto the deck of Zephyr. It didn't take long since we tended to travel light to the sloops small size, so the caravel seemed pretty empty.

  The cabin consisted of the captain and navigation quarters. It had a large desk with a chair near a windowed wall that overlooked the ocean, or for now, the cave walls. In front of the captain's desk was a large table to splay a giant map. Right now, a map of this portion of the Grand Line was lied out. A world globe rested near the table to help with navigation. There wasn't much else in the room, but we would end up changing that.

  Above the cabin was an area of soil that could be used to grow crops. Although, to be honest, I think Doc was the only one with a green thumb among us.

  The first floor under the deck consisted of a kitchen/dining area, a lounge area, a room for supplies, a room to act as a vault, and a small room to use if people want to work out or practice whatever they want. Again, most of these rooms were empty. The kitchen was stocked with the old utensils, cooking equipment, and food we had on the sloop. The lounge was just a sack filled it spare sails to act as seating. The supply room was where we kept the extra cloth, sails, cannon balls, and everything else a sailor or pirate may need. The vault was set up to where we would keep our group stash of Berry and treasure, though everyone was allowed to keep their own stashes that only they were allowed to use if they wanted. The workout room had weights and a punching bag against the wall and a mat or two for those who wanted to practice their flexibility.

  The second floor under consisted of the large dormitories. It was split into three sections.. The ladies shared a dorm that could hold 20 people on the left, the gentlemen shared a dorm that could hold 20 people on the right, and anyone in between or nonconforming would share one that could hold ten in the middle. The dorms consisted of stacked hammocks, as they helped prevent sea sickness and allowed for a more peaceful sleep since one did not rock with the boat. Each person would have their own chest to store whatever they wanted.

  This was finally happening. We had a legit ship, custom made and everything, and not some tiny sloop. Ace and Luffy were going to be so jealous when I went to to see them off on their 17th birthdays.

  As everyone had finished organizing everything, we all sat on the large deck. Zephyr was easily twice the size of the tiny boat next to it. Once everyone had huddled, I cleared my throat to begin the meeting. "Okay, friends," I started out. "As you have all noticed by now, we are missing someone. It is unfortunate that I have to share this, but Lyric had been an undercover agent for a special ops group in the Marines."

  Those of the crew that had not known were surprised and a couple looked hurt. I continued to explain when Felix and I found out there was a mole, how we shared it with River, and the events that took place on the island. "I apologize for not sharing this with everyone sooner and for having to keep it in the dark for so long," I told them with a quick bow. "You all did brilliantly on moving everything over here. Now that everything is set, we'll leave at midnight. We will set the old sloop loose into the sea with the dial attached to it, so it looks like we are leaving early. Once the Marines take the bait, we'll sail the opposite way and, hopefully, we shouldn't see them for awhile."

  "What about the log post," Doc asked, gesturing to the log post Felix had on his wrist.

  "We can't trust it at the moment," Felix answered. "If we followed it's path once it calibrates, the Marines would know where we were going, which defeats the purpose of trying to lose them. So, we'll use the log post as a reverse compass."

  "How does that work," River asked, trying to get a better look at the post. 

  "The island is at the north part of the Grand Line," Felix continued. "There are a few islands near by on different log paths that we can jump over to if we sail away from the direction of the log post. They are close enough that we shouldn't encounter anything that would throw us off course, but will still end up with a different calibration than we would here."

  "Perfect," I praised as I grabbed some rope and the dial from Felix.

  Felix had explained how to use a dial to me earlier, so I began loading up the spiral dial with a large blast of air. It's a shame we are having to throw away such a useful tool, but we had to do what we had to. Once I felt like I had loaded it up enough, I went and secured it to the post behind the main mast of the sloop. Once the sloop was brought to the entrance of the cave system, I activated the dial from afar and the ship launched forward and into the horizon. It really did appear as though I was on it, using my powers, with how fast it was going. And, just as planned, the Marine vessel was following after it shortly. After about half an hour, the Zephyr was brought out and setting sail on its first voyage.