Falaise

Was He Different?

Buggy spent the first hour in complete silence. The image of the fire replaying in his mind over and over again, paired with the sight of his lovers' backs fading into the night.

Every passing minute was a form of torture, the uncertainty of the situation never once leaving his mind. But he had to keep his focus on the destination. He would have preferred to reach Vire in a different setting, and would have preferred to meet Jinbe with his knights. He knew they had already met, and it would certainly have facilitated the connection.

It was no secret that Jinbe disliked Buggy. From the very start, he had considered him incapable of ruling Normandy, thinking him too incompetent and lacking experience. But, contrary to most of his detractors, Jinbe had made constructive criticisms at the time, which was why Buggy had asked for a meeting.

In the current circumstances, Buggy could not allow himself to have qualms. He'd prove Jinbe his worth and would rally him to the expedition. Buggy had to.

After an hour and fifteen minutes, Galdino seemed to have had enough of the silence. 'You shan't worry about them, my Lord. Sir Crocodile would not yield before such lowly enemies.'

'You're calling him Sir Crocodile?' Buggy asked, eyes still focused on the trail ahead.

'Yes, my Duke. This was his title when I met him. He used a different name in the privacy of his organisation, but everyone in the kingdom called him Sir.' Galdino supplied.

Buggy wanted to ask about the kingdom. Ask about the organisation. But those were things Crocodile, or Mihawk, had not told him, and he did not want to learn anything Crocodile was uncomfortable with sharing. Buggy was curious by nature, but after what had happened with Mihawk and Shanks' letter, he did not want to spark any more quarrel material. He would ask Crocodile in due time.

Instead, he settled for a more vague question. 'Was it a long time ago?'

The other man seemed to think briefly before he answered. 'Not so much, actually. Two or three years, I think.'

Buggy still let his curiosity rule. 'Is he any different from this time, then?'

Once again, Galdino took some time to answer, be it because he looked for proper words, or because he actually needed to think about his answer. 'Still as scary, that's for sure. I did not have the time to see much more, though.'

Buggy found that doing small talk with the former servant was an efficient way of clearing his mind. It allowed him to think about what Crocodile could have looked like a few years back. He wondered if Crocodile already had the scar and the hook, but asking would possibly reveal more than he would want to know. Instead, he settled on simpler ones, always bordering on the edge of personal, but never taking the last step. Galdino wasn't bad company.

______________________

There were more men in the raid than Crocodile and Mihawk had anticipated.

After having burned the bridge, they split in two, Crocodile heading West while Mihawk headed East. Together, they made a pincer attack on the group of men. With the advantage of the night, they charged on unknowing men and easily tore through the first few adversaries.

However, and as they reached each other again, both knights realised that there were as many as twice more men left standing than they'd slaughtered. The darkness they'd used to their advantage was turning into a drawback as the men blended in and melted into the woods.

Mihawk's horse neighed as he reared up. Struggling not to fall, Mihawk decided to dismount before he could get hurt. This did not seem to please Crocodile, as he shouted 'What the fuck are you doing?!'