"He can't have gone too far, the market is only a couple minutes from where we docked the ship!" Kev shouted as he and Rain dashed through the jungle foliage. The two of them had set off in order to find Sneeze, while Litz, Shambles, and Jojo stayed back with the ship.
"Maybe your friend got eaten by one of the pouncers." Rain questioned.
"The what!?"
"The Pouncers. The big cat that you encountered earlier."
"Ohhh, that? I don't think so. I mean if it was a 1v1, it might cause Sneeze a little trouble."
"But would he lose?"
"Nah, he'd w-"
The two were interrupted as they ran into the city square, bustling with activity. An announcer stood at the center, on a podium gathering the crowd.
"Citizens of the Rivers Crossing Federal Outpost, it is with my pleasure that we announce the live execution of the leader of the notorious band of dirty rebel scum that have been terrorizing us for so long, as well as an outsider pirate trying to leech off our countries goods! Join us as we clean up the filth that litters the streets of our home! Live from Hannatime square as we speak!"
To the horror of our characters, a large projector behind the announcer displayed both Sneeze, and an old man kneeled down on a platform cuffed and beaten. Kev shouted in surprise and horror to Rain. "That's him! That's my crewmate!" Rain said nothing, as he stood in ghastly horror, unmoving as he formed only a word slowly.
"D-dad?"
"Your dad!? That's the leader of the rebellion! Hurry, we can make it to the execution platform if we hurry!" Kev shouted frantically. The platform wasn't too far, considering it was outside of the Main Inferno building at the end of the road. Instantly, they both sprinted towards the platform, all while the loudspeaker around them rang the haunting speech about "justice" and "the right side of history".
As they approached the execution platform, the scene became more clear. The executioner pointed a pistol at the back of the old mans head, only moments away from firing. Time slowed down for Rain as he was mid sprint to save his father, and only for a moment, they made eye contact from across the yard as if a million words were shared in only one second. His father delivered a hearty smile, until the ring of a gunshot pierced the air and his body slumped to the floor.
"NOOOOOO!!!" Rain screamed, devastated as he reached out powerlessly and witnessed the execution of his own father. The past minute or less had gone by faster than lightning, and suddenly, everything Infront of him moved at a slow motion blur. Everything felt normal until this point, until things were just out of reach. In a blurred out trance, the next few events unfolded in stages to Rains eyes. His father rolls off of the execution platform, Kev grabs the gun out of the executioners hand holding Sneeb's barely conscious self, Kev yells something as Rain feels himself get picked up by the waist, then a few faint visions of running through the trees until he passed out.
A few hours later, Rain woke up in a small room made of wood, in a bed he had never seen before. As he sat up he quickly realized that his dizziness was actually the room swaying side to side. "What..." He got up and slowly opened the door. He was... on a boat? On the sea? The scene ahead of him was clear. Kev talking with the boy and girl that he saw only momentarily at the shore before rushing off. and Sneeze was recovering on a stretcher on the side of the ship. "Why am I here?.." Rain uttered. The 3 turned their heads. "You're awake, finally!" Litz smiled. Shambles smirked. "Took you long enough, was that enough time, sleeping beauty?" Kev approached him slowly. "I didn't want to leave you alone there, so I took you with me back here."
"But why... you don't know me. But you chose to save my life even though you'd already saved your friend." Rain replied.
"I guess you striked me as worth saving. If you want, we aren't too far from Rivers Crossing, we can drop you off if you would like to stay there."
"I can't leave my home behind. There's still a rebellion going on and It's my responsibility to take con-"
"Actually, the thing is..." Kev interrupted. "There's not really a rebellion anymore."
"What do you mean?" Rain questioned.
"Well, you don't need a rebellion with no Island of Inferno Corps to rebel against. Sneeze, he-"
...
"He killed the entire outpost. All 56 members of the Inferno Corps were dead when we got to the execution floor, minus the operating commander who served as the executioner. He took over the entire outpost, then passed out from exhaustion and blood loss."
Rain stood there in shock. "He... took them all? at once?"
"Yeah, but he's not looking so good... and of us have any medical experience so-"
Rain rushed over to Sneeze, passed out by the edge of the boat. "I do. I have as much training as a professional doctor, maybe more." He started administering first aid and treating Sneeze's wounds.
"So... what'll it be, mysterious man? You wanna sail with us, or go back to Rivers Crossing?"
Rain turned around from the operating table and chuckled. "Well, by the looks of it I guess you guys need me more, huh?"
All 4 of them smiled, as the 5th member of the greatest band of pirates ever known was officially on board.
2 weeks later, Sneeze opened his eyes, finally waking from his coma. Rain was monitoring by his bedside.
"Rise and shine big guy." Rain encouraged.
Sneeze rubbed his eyes and raised his head slowly. "Is this heaven? Are you an angel?"
"Neither of the above, and it might be due time for a haircut. Nice to meet you too." Rain grunted.
"I need you to get Kev down here." Sneeze requested.
"Why?"
"I-I need to tell him... My devil fruit has finally shown itself."
