The Voyage

Chapter 22

It took the marines another month of searching but they finally managed to arrest Black Smoke and a few members of his crew. Cliff, Stephen, Rogue, Tiger, and Paxton stood at the bars as they watched their father pass their cells. He had a smirk on his lips, humming a tune. Lux met his eyes. He expected to see blame, but instead he had a sparkle of mischief in his eyes. What does he have planned? 

"Now that we have them all, it's only a matter of days before we send them all straight to hell," one of the Marines said with a laugh as he slammed the door of the cell shut. The others then joined in as they made their way out. "That's it for us," Brian said while sagging against the wall. "It was a good life while it lasted." 

It was only hours when they learned they would be executed in three days. It felt like those days blurred into one another until a large group of Marines began to escort all of the pirates out to the special large execution yard. Once all the pirates were in the yard they sealed off the exits and started the broadcast. Lux looked up at the sky. He found it completely unfair that the sun was shining brightly on a day like today. A feather floated past his eyes and he grabbed it. He looked at it and saw it was red in color. He turned it over and his heart stopped when he saw the Shadow Pirate jolly roger drawn on it. He turned the feather to show the others. Lance squinted, but he couldn't make it out. "It's our symbol on the feather," Muris whispered to him. His eyes widened and his eye brows shot up. "Does this mean...," he trailed off, not wanting to let that sliver of hope to expand within his heart. "I don't know," Muris confessed softly. 

Lux held the feather between his fingers, looking around with his eyes, trying to find where it came from. His eyes fell on her father, who was smirking at him. "No matter what happens, stick as close as possible," Lux told them. They all shared looks with each other before nodding. Muris laced his fingers with Lance's out of sight from anyone else. 

The broadcast then began, the Fleet Admiral standing at the podium. "It took some months, but finally we have managed to capture every pirate who thought to sail the seas," he announced. Many of the Marines began to cheer happily. When the cheering died down he continued, "Let today be a day to go down in history as the day the great pirate era was finally put to rest." 

It was as if on cue a great wave of power sliced through the Marine ships docked in the marina. The explosions caused a chain reaction and the marina itself was sent up in flames. 

"Sorry to interrupt this day of history," A woman said, causing all eyes and cameras to turn to a woman with crimson wings, swords at the ready. Lux couldn't help the smile on his face as he looked at the future Queen of the Pirates. 

She then leaped into the air as the marines began to open fire. She flew straight to the prison that was built like a tower. A couple of powerful slashes sent the tower crashing down. "Kill them all," The Fleet Admiral yelled. A black smoke filled the yard, blinding the Marines. Black Smoke was out of his chains and freeing the others as quickly as possible. As soon they were all freed, it became an all out war between marines and pirates. Pince turned to a black mist and made his way to the sniper tower as Rogue made his way to the other one. They took them over easily and began to shoot down the marines. Pince kept Lance in his sights, ensuring their blurry eyed doctor had as much back up in this chaos as possible. 

A large explosion shook the yard and everyone turned to see where the Fleet Admiral and Scarlet were fighting. They each possessed swords with special abilities, pouring everything they could into their blades. Waves of power were being sent out in every direction. 

"We need to get the civilians out of here," Dio said to Lux. Lux saw them all crowded in a corner, trying to stay out of the fight. They were the ones the Marines wrongfully arrested for selling to pirates. Lux nodded and they began to gather them all up. Muris covered his fist in his armor and slammed it into the stone wall, making an exit for them. They ushered them out of the yard and many pirates began to go with them. Seven crews stayed in the execution yard, watching the fight. Scarlet took a step forward, her power pushing him back. 

She then gave him a smirk, "Devil's roar." The power from her swords turned into a massive explosion, blowing the Fleet Admiral back. His left shoulder was severely injured but he was still standing, sword in hand. He then launched his own powerful attacks at her. She blocked them with attacks of her own. They attacked with the intent to kill, neither backing off. It was becoming clear to all of them, that they were reaching  their limits. They were both injured and exhausted. 

They then prepared for their final attacks. Scarlet positioned her swords, readying herself for his attack. He sent a flurry of swipes, nearly impossible to avoid. She sent her own attack to meet it. The collision created a massive explosion that sent everyone flying. Scarlet got up and brushed off the dirt. She looked at the destruction. All of the walls were crumbled, the sniper towers destroyed from the final blast of power.  She picked her hat up and brushed off the dirt. She gave a smirk over her shoulder at the Fleet Admiral as she put it on, "Better luck next time." 

She then leaped into the air and gave her family a smile as she flew off to make sure the civilians were all boarded on the right ship. "Now let's get going. We've got a long trip ahead of us," Black Smoke said with a smile. He lead them over to the submarines that he and his crew had been traveling in to avoid the marines. A member of Black Smoke's crew lead them to their cabin. "This is where you'll be staying till we get to where we're going," they told them. They went in and saw many of their personal items from their ship in the room. One of the beds looked slept in and it was the one closest to the door. The beds were bunk styled on either side of the wall, making it two sets on each side. 

Lance went rummaging through the things she had grabbed for him and smiled when he saw his spare pair of glasses. He slipped them on with a sigh of happiness. He looked at the others and saw they looked much better without his glasses. They were covered in dirt, dried blood, and who knew what else.

Soon someone came and showed them where they could wash up and toss their clothes. When they walked back into the room they found Scarlet standing in the room unbraiding her hair. Brian, Pince, and Dio were quick to pull her into a tight hug. "Can't....breathe," she chocked out. They let her go just for Lance and Muris to pull her into another hug. When they pulled away Lux pulled her to him, crashing his lips on to hers. She returned the passion he put into it. 

When he pulled away he flicked her forehead. She yelped and rubbed the spot, "What was that for?" "For making us think you died!" He yelled. She pouted, "Not like it was my fault." She grumbled and sat on her bed. "What happened anyways," Brian asked. "The Marines looked for you for hours." 

"After I was shot into the water, I was grabbed by a current and sent well out into sea. Due to the blast to the chest from the canon ball, I was too weak to fight it," she told them. "Eventually I was out of the current, floating on drift wood. I barely remember gaining consciousness long enough to hit the distress beacon that was hanging from my hip. Eventually my dad found me on the brink of death. I'm only alive because dad's doctor has the special ability to heal any injury when he touches them. When I came too, my dad had this insane plan to give the government the middle finger and free every pirate. His crew had offered to storm the prison to save Slicer and his sons, but his problem was that he didn't possess the right kind of fire power they needed in order to be successful in a mission like that. Until he saved me. It took us the month you guys were in the prison to come up with a plan. Which involved him getting arrested and me making a comeback from the dead. And you guys know the rest." 

"We're glad to have you back and kickin'," Dio told her and she smiled. 

"So where are we going now," Lux asked her. "Back to the island we had the pirate festival," she said. "It's the only place that has enough space for each pirate crew to rebuild their ships and set sail. Plus that's where the rest of our stuff is. During the last week I kept sneaking into the Marine vaults to steal back the treasures and weapons they took from each pirate crew. It was because of the Marines' precise documentation that I knew how much they took from who. However, due to the blast to the chest, and nearly dying, I decided to clean out the vault the Marines had filled with gold and money that wasn't stolen from pirates. Now Brian can build the best ship the world has ever seen." 

"With sound proof walls," Muris and Lux said in unison with smirks. Scarlet's face took on a light blush while Lance's face became much brighter while the other three rolled their eyes. "I saw it's time we get something to eat and get some much needed rest. It's been one hell of a month, and we need it," Lux told them and they all agreed. As they left the room Lux wrapped an arm around her waist. "I love you," he whispered to her. She gave him a heart stopping smile, "I love you too." He returned her smile, feeling whole once more.