Chapter 27. Sunset Part 2

C/N: Tuesday's Post

Chapter 27. Sunset Part 2

From the deck of my ship, barely afloat and trembling under the fury of the shockwaves, I stared in utter disbelief. The scene unfolding before my eyes was beyond anything I had ever imagined, a vision of apocalyptic devastation. Ice Island was now a crumbling ruin.

The demon bear, at the center of this annihilation, towered above the island's remains like a vengeful deity. With its fierce roars, it asserted that its trident wouldn't be pulled out of the island until Ice Island was completely obliterated from existence.

Every movement of the bear sent more tremors through the earth, fracturing the ground and shattering mountains as the trident caused more destruction. Massive cracks spread like dark veins across the island's surface, swallowing mountains and splitting the land even further.

As Ice Island collapsed, the sea itself reacted violently. Gigantic waves surged and crashed against each other, the churning water tossing my ship like a toy in a tempest. The ship groaned and creaked, its timbers straining against the overbearing, turbulent sea.

My crew got thrown around. Some were falling, others were swinging from the ropes of the sails, and a few unfortunate souls were tossed overboard. My mind, however, was fixated on Ice Island and its apocalyptic demon. The atmosphere had grown darker, and heavy rain began to fall. I cursed myself for ignoring Moscato's advice.

The ship tumbled as a wave violently crashed into it, and I was thrown to the deck, rolling on all sides as the turbulence became overwhelming. The sea water was both salty and sweet in my mouth, but the overwhelming sensation was the bone-chilling cold, as if it was at a freezing temperature. In that moment, my mind drifted to the wonderful chocolate baths I could be having now, but the cries of my crew begging for orders from their commander brought me back to reality. Some were shouting in panic, others lamenting that I might have been swallowed by the sea, and still others were tied by ropes, clinging for their lives as the ship hurled violently.

A report came in that the keel had been damaged and the ship had lost it's sentience (homie nature). As a result, the crew didn't know what to do, with some tossing themselves into the sea from desperation. I had to take charge and give orders while straining against my own injuries and the turbulence of the sea.

"Secure the sails!" I shouted, pulling myself up with painful effort. "All hands on deck! Get those lines secured, now!"

I barked orders, feeling like my throat would rip and rupture from the intensity.

The crew scrambled to follow my commands. I moved to the helm, gripping it tightly as I barked more orders. "You there! Take the strongest men below deck and prevent any leaks. Take the shipwright with you and stabilize the bilge!"

"Aye, Commander!"

The rain lashed against my face, and the wind howled in my ears. "Keep those lines tight! If we lose that mast, we're done for!"

Staring at the mast, I noticed something that made me grit my teeth and curse the navigator silently.

"What are those sails still doing up in these waves!? Are you trying to sink my ship!?" I barked at the navigator. "Furl the sails and at my command, unfurl the mizzen sail."

The ship rocked violently, but the helm gave me some footing. I gripped the wheel harder and rotated it quickly and violently, managing to turn the ship by nearly 60 degrees to port.

"Now!!" I ordered for the mizzen sail to be unfurled.

Once it was unfurled, a violent wave crashed into the ship, hitting it harder than a barrage of cannonballs and spinning us around several times. Before I could get my hands back on the helm, I noticed the ship was now facing Ice Island. Just as quickly, the crew reported that the keel had suffered complete damage and water was gushing into the ship violently.

"Blast it to the depths!" I cursed, the words rolling off my tongue like a true pirate. Another thing Totto Land wasn't famous for was its shipwright skills.

If the keel was as damaged as they said, then Jake's Sunset might never sail again and would one day wash up on some island as wreckage. Everyone would just have to swim to the closest island - if they were lucky. But just as I was about to order to abandon ship, Galette shouted over the noise.

"I'll handle the leakage!" she cried. "I'll use my ability to keep the keel together."

"Sister!?" I said with awe as I watched her being supported by two men from my crew. She had suffered a lot of injuries back on Ice Island because of me. She was in no condition to be moving around, let alone helping with the ship.

"Don't worry about me," she asserted. "I'm also Mama's child."

Moscato then appeared and commandeered the sails, rallying the navigator and his men around him. His state was not too good either, but he was asserting the same thing as Galette.

Feeling guilty for being overconfident, I managed to smile with pride. I sprang the helm around to steer the ship away from Ice Island.

"Make sure those sails hold, brother," I whispered, reminding myself to be a considerate little brother next time.

"There should not be a next time," I asserted.

---

With the three siblings taking charge, the ship looked like it was about to finally survive the destruction. Moscato rallied the crew, barking orders to secure the sails and stabilize the vessel. Galette, with her abilities, worked tirelessly to keep the keel together, despite her injuries. And the commander struggled to steer the ship, navigating it away from the collapsing Ice Island.

But just when it seemed like Jake's Sunset might make it, the demon bear let out a deafening roar. The sound reverberated through the air, and an immense wave of Haki spread out from the beast, crashing over the ship like an unseen tsunami. The force of it was overwhelming, a tangible pressure that struck with the intensity of a physical blow.

The crew's shouts of resolve and bravado quickly turned into gasps of shock and then silence. One by one, they dropped, unconscious, their bodies hitting the deck with dull thuds. Moscato, his strength faltering, collapsed next to the mast. Galette, in the midst of reinforcing the keel, slumped to the ground, her hands falling limply at her sides as the sea water weakening her further.

Keki fought to stay conscious, gripping the helm with all his might, but the power of the Haki was relentless. It bore down on him, a crushing force that made it hard to breathe, let alone think. His vision blurred, and he felt himself swaying, the world tilting dangerously.

"Get up people!" Keki forced himself to stay awake as he watched his crew go down, leaving only him struggling against the surge. But even he felt the oppressive effect of the haki, and how quickly it was subduing him.

"Come on, damn it!" he cursed, straining against the helm.

"We can't go down like this!" he muttered through gritted teeth, trying to hold on. But it was futile. The darkness closed in, and he felt his knees buckle. His last thought before everything went black was a desperate hope that the ship would somehow survive.

Silence and darkness took over as everyone aboard Jake's Sunset succumbed to the overwhelming Haki. The ship, now unmanned, was left at the mercy of the demon bear's wrath and the unforgiving sea. The sails flapped wildly, the helm spun aimlessly, and the vessel was tossed about like a toy in the storm, with no one conscious to guide or save it from its perilous fate.

---

I drifted in a dreamless void, a haze of nothingness where time seemed to stand still. Slowly, an awareness crept in, a faint sense of something amiss. The dream gave way to an overwhelming sensation, and I awoke to the crushing realization of water filling my lungs, a cold, suffocating grip that seemed to squeeze the life out of me. Panic surged through my veins as I realized I was drowning, disoriented in the murky depths. My arms flailed uselessly against the oppressive weight of the sea, and my vision blurred with the saltwater stinging my eyes.

Instinct kicked in, and I began to kick my legs, trying to propel myself upwards. Every stroke felt sluggish, like moving through molasses, and the pressure around me was almost unbearable. My lungs burned for air, a desperate ache that pushed me to claw my way toward the surface.

Seconds felt like hours as I struggled, my body screaming for oxygen. My mind whirled in fear as the surface seemed an impossible distance away.

Suddenly, my stroke cut through a less dense medium, and I found myself gasping for air as I broke to the surface. I coughed and sputtered, expelling some of the seawater that had invaded my throat while replacing it with the sweet relief of oxygen flooding my lungs.

Treading water, I took deep, shuddering breaths in the cool night air that contrasted with the suffocating depths. I scanned my surroundings, spotting a plank floating nearby. With a weary body, I swam toward it, laboriously reaching it and clinging to it with trembling arms, my body exhausted and shivering from the cold.

As I lay supported by the piece of debris, I looked around, hoping to spot my ship. Jake's Sunset was nowhere in sight, and in its place were numerous pieces of debris, some on fire, floating lazily in the gentle, tranquil waters.

It didn't take a genius to know that these were what remained of my elegant ship. The demon bear had done a number on us, but now as the peace on the water dictated, Ice Island must have finally been obliterated. I scanned the air above me, hoping to see if there was any land nearby, only to spot the anomalous behavior of the cotton candy supposed to be falling from the skies.

While a lot of it was still falling, it was unusual to see some white balls rising to the skies from the water's surface. These balls were thicker than the cotton candy, and for some reason, they reminded me of the souls that Incarnations collected. On that note, thinking about the souls, I came to the realization that I was the only one afloat.

"Galette, Moscato..." I looked around desperately, confirming that I was indeed the only person afloat on the debris. No response came either, and that led me to the gruelling conclusion that they might be still deep in the water, if not worse.

Desperation surged through me, and I took a deep breath before diving into the cold depths, hoping to find at least Galette. Being a Devil Fruit user, I knew she couldn't survive this unless someone helped her out. The water was darker and colder below, the pressure increasing as I pushed past debris.

I held my breath as long as I could, my lungs burning and my heart pounding in my chest. I knew I had to find her. Losing Galette, my sister, a remarkably beautiful woman, was not an option. My mind raced with guilt and desperation as I dove deeper and deeper, pushing myself to the limit.

Finally, the need for air forced me back to the surface. I broke through, gasping and coughing, and took a moment to catch my breath. I knew I couldn't give up. Determined, I took another deep breath and dove again, deeper this time, scanning the murky depths for any sign of her.

I came across so many bodies, my heart sinking with each lifeless face, but my priority was finding Galette. As I pushed through the wreckage, my eyes caught sight of Moscato's unconscious body. I grabbed him and struggled to the surface, my lungs burning for air.

My lung capacity was already limited by the water I hadn't expelled yet.

Once at the top, I heaved Moscato onto a plank, ensuring he was stable but not helping him further. I had to find Galette.

Diving again, I pushed myself even harder, the pressure in my ears and the cold seeping into my bones. The deeper I went, the more desperate I became, my mind filled with the thought of losing her. She was such a comfortable person to be around. Who on earth could replace her?

I kept going, my body aching and my lungs screaming for air, refusing to give up until I found her.

However, I didn't.

Instead, deeper in the water, near the bottom where most of the debris had sunk, I noticed something glimmering inside an old, worn-out treasure box. My fondness for Galette told me to ignore it, but my pirate instinct urged me to investigate. Reluctantly, I swam to it and opened the box, revealing a shimmering treasure emitting a faint, golden glow.

Inside lay a fruit shaped like the digit one, its surface covered in patterned swirls, intricate in design. The glow seemed almost ethereal, illuminating the water around it. Despite its unusual appearance, it was unmistakable to me what this fruit was.

Pushing aside questions of why something hated by the sea existed in the sea, I closed the box, pocketed it, and swam to the surface. Feeling hopeless and sad for not being able to find Galette, I clung to the faint, fleeting hope that she might still be out there, somewhere, waiting to be saved.

Once I reached the surface, I quickly turned my attention to Moscato. His body lay motionless on the plank, water dripping from his clothes and hair. I took a deep breath and began to push the water out of his lungs, pressing on his chest and breathing air into his mouth. For a few agonizing moments, nothing happened, and fear gripped my heart.

"Come on, Moscato," I muttered desperately. "Breathe, damn it."

Finally, he coughed and sputtered, water gushing from his mouth as he gasped for air. Relief washed over me as I saw his eyes flutter open.

"Keki?" he rasped weakly, confusion and pain evident in his voice.

"You're going to be okay," I assured him with a steady voice, despite the turmoil inside me. "Just hang on."

With Moscato stabilized, I turned my attention back to the sea, scanning the horizon for any sign of Galette or any of the surviving crew. The devastation around me was overwhelming, but I couldn't afford to lose hope.

"I'll find you, Galette," I vowed quietly, as I watched the white balls rising to the sky and projecting to a singular point. "I won't leave until I do."

---

Hours turned into days, and after many deep dives, countless bodies that had suffered the demon's wrath were fished to the surface. Thanks to the Tarte that had come to respond to the cataclysmic event, sea creatures were kept at bay, barred from entering the scene of the crime and gobbling up the bodies.

Among the lifeless bodies was one that made me feel the saddest I had ever felt in all my life. Galette's body was cold and lifeless, her eyes closed as if in a peaceful slumber. The sight of her brought a crushing weight of sorrow upon my heart.

She had been closest to the keel when the ship went down, and thus, the farthest to sink. The keel had sunk the deepest, making it incredibly difficult to find her. If not for the fishmen in the Tarte, she would have likely been lost to the sea forever. The damage from the demon bear's attack was evident, and it was clear that she had endured immense suffering before the end.

I held her close, overwhelmed with equal measures of grief and guilt.

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