Leaving Home Ain't Easy [Queen Pirates 6]

[Blaka]

"You want in." Basilio Salado repeated what the girl in front of him had just proposed. A ridiculous proposal, at least in the tone it had been presented in. If one wanted to join his crew, they were usually supposed to respect him a bit more.

They were sitting in the back of a dark and crowded bar on Bliss Island. Quite the colourful crowd, Salado's people. Since they were wanted men and women and the Marines were out and about, they were all dressed in totally inconspicuous golden coloured cloaks. Thus, you couldn't see their faces, but their different sizes were weird enough. One of them was round as a giant balloon, another one had a head shape that resembled more an animal with a long snout than anything human, a third one was thin and small, yet another one huge and angular. And one of them was clearly a cat. Even Captain Salado himself, despite his generally average build, had a hand as big as a basketball 'hidden' inside his sleeve.

Despite the lack of respect from the girl, it wasn't like the self proclaimed "Pincer Prince" wasn't interested. He very much enjoyed the fact that someone was willing to pledge herself to him. The relationship would just have to be made very clear. With a sharp undertone in his voice, he leaned forward, revealing the smirk under his golden hood.
"And what do you have to offer? I'm in a hurry you know. The queenless pirates just left."

---

A few days later

Queen B. Melosa had locked herself in her cabin again. Since the incident with Sparkles Evershine, she rarely left her quarters. Being with other people was hard, you had to look up straight, smile, behave. In here, on her bed, she could lay on her stomach in her pajamas, throw little chocolates into her mouth all day while staring at the wall in silence. Faintly, she could hear the young Bendan in the crow's nest yelling something about an approaching ship. Groaning, the Pirate Princess stayed put for a bit. This sounded like trouble. She didn't want trouble, that could wait until they were on the Grand Line! Mel had set out for a simple journey, but even her vacation time on Bliss Island had turned into a horrible incident! The lazy half of her was trusting her crew to be have dealt with any potential problems before she would even get out on deck...


Up on deck, Bendan Koga-Ryu didn't think so at all. What he saw approaching just didn't sit right. In front of them, in the distance, the humongous Red Line. Behind them, through the telescope, he could see a Jolly Roger flutter in wind: Instead of bones, two golden lobsters crossed behind the skull. Zooming out, he could catch a good look at the full ship again. It was of similar size to La Colmena, but long instead of fat. Just like the Jolly Roger, it too was lobster themed. Calling it just a figurehead wouldn't have done it justice. The entire ship seemed to be shaped like one giant wooden lobster, head and pincers in the front included. Something caused it to approach rapidly, way quicker than La Colmena was moving forwards, despite it having to use the same wind. On top of the wooden lobster head stood a man. A man he had seen in the papers just a few days ago. The stuff he had read about him didn't make him likeable whatsoever.

Straight blonde hair was growing down over his ears. Blunt bangs were cut off right above the eyes. His smooth shaven face ended in a weirdly pointed chin. On his person, he wore an orange button up shirt, a black tie and long gray pants. So far, a relatively normal looking person - if not for his right arm. It was rather unclear if there even was a human arm. All one could see was the arm of a giant crab seemingly growing where a human arm should have been.

"Pirate ship approaching!" the young Shinobi yelled down. As his crewmates came running out of the living room, he tossed the telescope down for First Mate Shingetsu Asada to catch. When the eyepatched shipwright took one look through, a dark shadow moved over his face. "The King Pirates." he muttered.

"What, this Basilicum Sombrero dude?" mermaid doctor Nadikia Kind was a little worried as well. She had overheard Bendan's and Shin's talk about these guys the other day. Her comment earned her a one-eyed eyeroll.

"How did you even.." The mermaid's talent to confuse names still amazed Shin. "Salado. Basilio Salado. His bounty is almost as high as Mel's... for good reason... Where is she anyway?"

Before anyone could answer, the approaching pirate's voice shouted over to them:
"Queenless ones! I am the great and notorious 'Pincher Prince' Basilio Salado, Captain of the famous King Pirates, worth a full 24 Million and 750 Thousand Beri! I am sorry for your loss!"

"W-what is he talking about?"

"Death at the hands of Sparkles Evershine is truly a terrible fate!"

"Ooooh..."

"So I ask you: Do you really want to travel the Grand Line without a strong Captain to lead you!? I don't know who you picked among you to replace your queen. But let me assure you, they cannot be as strong a leader as my royal self! So I offer you: Join me on your own free will - or be assimilated!"

[Kami-Gaz]

“So because the captain of the Queens pirates has recently been dethroned I thought I would come and find the next best thing, their biggest enemy. You! I want in.” Ellie explained, sat in a seat, on the edge of the flickering light of the bar. In front of her was a group of many shapes and sizes, all covered in cloaks of gold. The pale skinned young woman sat there, her ashen hair glimmering in the candle light, her face hidden in the same darkness, though her pale grey eyes seemed to glow dimly in the darkness, giving her an ominous presence that was unsettling one of the smaller figures that was sat on the table.

“I can offer you masterful swordswoman ship from Zarzara, the brush of a great artist and the loyalty of a girl looking to get revenge on her brother. What do you say?” She asked, her voice, whilst sounding sweet and soft had hints of a serious tone that kept her from sounding too innocent. The smirk of the pirate in front of her was not unsettling at all, it was the perfect tell that he was interested. Shifting back and into a more comfortable position on her stool the woman in a more exotic wano garb looked over the crew ‘This is going to be too easy.’

---

Ba-dum Ba-dum Ba-dum “Why does my head hurt so much?” The fair skinned silver haired young woman asked herself as she slowly awoke to the throbbing in her head. Ba-dum Ba-dum Ba-dum. Whatever caused it must have been a heavy hit, it knocked her out in one shot, but why? That was a question that would have to be answered later… someone was shouting, loudly and looking at across to a ship with markings her eyes were failing to make out as they adjusted to the light of the sun beating down on her.

Ellie was tied up… Why? She was strapped to the mast, sat on the floor and positioned to look out over to the ship that they were approaching. They looked just as confused as the tied up damsel was, at least they saw this coming from miles away… unlike the bound swordswoman who was still coming to terms with her current predicament, this was not the first time she had been tied up, and probably would not be the last either.

"Death at the hands of Sparkles Evershine is truly a terrible fate!"

The man who was meant to be her captain shouted out… he was serious about coming to snap up the rest of the Princess Pirates’ crew? He clearly had not done as much home work as Ellie had… and that was not much, the less she knew about the crew she was joining the better… knowing too much would just make her seem weird. His shouting continued and carried on, ultimatums were made and the young woman was starting to get sick of it… she could use this chance to get away, clearly this was a bad spot to be in.

“And why was I hit on the head? I am just as confused as those guys…” Ellie croaked out making the arrogant man shift his attention down to her where he smirked and pointed down to her. This generally made the Wano styled swordswoman feel uneasy… this was a look she had seen before, and it was one she was not liking.

“You annoyed one of my crew, Master Sargent Paul Tree. You are to be an example to those who resist assimilation into this clearly superior crew.” The salad man, hair straight and boring… kind of unnerving actually now that Ellie got a decent look at it. As he stood there and looked at her with a rather menacing grin he would let his eyes shift towards one of the smaller figures on his crew, still covered in its golden cloak. The small thing was barely as tall as Ellie’s shins were long.

“Bawk!” A high pitch sound escaped its form, piercing and straight to the point. “You cyborg! Cyborgs bad! Cyborg Die! CaBAAAWK!!” As it spoke the golden cloak slipped free from its clippings and fell to the wooden decking below, standing there was a chicken… well to be precise it was a fledgling chick, but was rather large and wearing a green helmet with scratchings on it, a scar on it’s right eye and a crack in its little beak. “No good Cyborg.”

Sat there in a state of bewilderment at the fact that this chicken was talking and the fact it had a grudge against her cyborg nature and the captain was listening to this over a human was just baffling… this was too much at once, and this was the young woman who was kidnapped, tortured and had to get her limbs replaced because of it… this was a new level of shit she had to deal with. “I… I can’t help being a cyborg….” She murmured in response, looking away, this was the first time her robotic parts had garnered such a negative response… ever… This entire situation was just too weird to deal with whilst under the influence of a fist induced headache.

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC + Clothing Reference}
Master Sargent Paul Tree has stumped the poor girl at the first hurdle

[Vio]

¹

---

Stood upon the deck of La Colmena, her eyes coloured like the sea staring at the vessel’s wake, the Piktish piper recalled the events that had transpired upon Bliss Island. After the defeat of El Roble’s officers and apparent destruction of the terrorist’s forces, the Queen Pirates had intended to enjoy some peace and quiet – plenty of time to lick their wounds – before setting out for the Grand Line. For Queen B. Melosa, however, her hope of enjoying such things had been dashed when a chance encounter with pop sensation Sparkles Evershine had resulted in an altercation unlike any other. But, Lou knew little about what had transpired, save for an honest apology from the spectacle that was Sparkles in the form of musical demonstration.

Ever since that fateful day, Mel had been recovering, though none could say what from, exactly. For Miss McLeod, recovery was simple enough – a few pulled muscles and state of shock was nothing compared to what others had received for their efforts. At worst, the powerful punches of Caoba had managed to split a few bones, but some firm bandages from Kia Kind had secured her health. As the age old adage went; what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

“I am sorry for your loss,” called the ‘Pincher Prince’.

^{“W– What is he talking about?”}

^{“Oooooh…”}

“Sounds like this guy’s bonnie far out ay th’ loop,” Louisa shrugged, not caring much for volume as she looked to Shin. The shipwright nodded, giving a soft grunt of confirmation. Between the mermaid’s constant failure at getting names right and the musician’s oft awkward accent, there was no denying that Mister Asada had had to take the time to study linguistics a little more than he’d probably ever intended. At least the redhead’s message was clear to him.

^{“Join me on your own free will,” Salado said:
“Or be assimilated!”}

^{… … …}

“Arrogant b@$+@^>, aren’t ye, ye cocky git!?” the feisty female retorted, directing angst at the bizarre blond who seemed to think so highly and mightily of himself. There was no denying he was a strange character. While he did not compare to the mountain of muscle that was Caoba, nor to the petit and airy form of the elusive Fresno, the Captain of the King Pirates was certainly an oddball. It was hard to tell from this distance, even as the ornate crustacean vessel cruised towards them, but there was a distinct lobster claw in place of a normal human arm. That, she knew for a fact, was not natural. Nor was it practical, as far as she was concerned.

^Meanwhile…

“Bawk! Ca– Baaawk!” squawked the strange chicken, harassing the enigma that had been bound to the ship’s mast. Somewhat bemused by the antics of the armed avian, the eyes of a feline – an amber left and bright blue right – looked down upon the strange scene from his perch. Upon the cat’s head stood a hat, an appropriately sized yet unusually tall topper, which he adjusted with his ears to compensate for his angle of vision. It had forgone the golden robes of its company, but loomed in the shadow of the mast, out of sight and – hopefully – out of mind until something intriguing piqued his curiosity.

^{“Oh, dear,” the cat muttered to himself:
“That woman’s diction is purr-actically nyan-existent…”}

The shorthair blinked, twice.

“Well, s#!+,” he cursed under his breath, realising his own linguistic blunder. Fortunately, like an imaginary tree falling in some hypothetical forest, there was nobody around to hear it. To that, the cat breathed a sigh of relief, resuming a rested but ready stance upon the mast’s arm and keeping his ears trained upon the two craft. If Captain Salado’s plans went without a hitch, then surely this would be an amusing situation. Perhaps almost as amusing as the state he had left one of Mister Basilio’s crewmates in. O, how amusing that one’s reactions were to behold…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

calls out to Salado, letting him know just what she thinks of him so far. Meanwhile, Lumiere observes with partial interest.

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Starring…

_{Louisa McLeod (d8b000)
Queen B. Melosa (ff55ff)
Shingetsu Asada (22c22c)
Bendan Koga-Ryu (00ff99)
Kia Kind (790069)
Basilio Salado (642300)
Chicken (e03f00)
Lumiere (374c5f)}

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