Terminus Part II: The Sea Itself (Draft)

Chapter 77: 42nd Century

 It was nine p.m. on Farewell Island, but that did not mean the new century had yet to dawn. For the East half of the world, it was twelve p.m. or later. In detail, the half that included the eastern part of the North, Hephaestus, Atlas, and South Seas, and the western part of the Dry Half, as well as the continent of Theminos and the Hermes Sea, were all experiencing the first of January. The eastern part of the Dry Half, Pallanos, the Phobos and Terminus Seas, and the western part of the North, Hephaestus, Atlas, and South Seas were still in the thirty-first of December. Though different countries had different names for their specific time zone, such as Burundi Standard Time only being used on Burundi, despite being the same time as several islands in the Terminus.

Farewell Entertainment was hosting a New Year's Eve special program, and at nine p.m. the hour was dedicated to an interview with the most notorious pirate known to be on the island: Gate Fredericks.

"So, you went from a seventy-five million onit bounty to seven hundred and twenty-five million?" asked the interviewer.

Gate answered the question with a simple yes, prompting a further question about how he achieved such an increase.

"I facilitated a breakout of Snyke's Penitentiary," he began. "Though I was far from the only one involved, my particular role was considered significant. I also believe that my previous exploits might have contributed to my number. For whatever reason the government did not want to acknowledge the threat that I posed to them."

"Great answer," the interviewer paused to put some distance between this answer and her next question. "Do you think that you are the biggest threat to the government right now?"

"Far from it," he adjusted his posture, opting to lean forward slightly. "It's up to the world to decide, I'm just one of many going out there and making my mark. Obviously the big, long-standing organisations pose a bigger threat than any single pirate crew could. In addition, I would recognise the power of my rivals, though I know not of where they are now."

The interviewer took this sentence as an opportunity to ask about the pirates Gate might consider rivals.

"There are a number of choices as far as I can tell. Though to any pirates who think highly of themselves, do not take it personally if I haven't heard of you."

The two stopped to have a laugh about what Gate had said before he continued on.

"I consider several candidates. Thirty-Five Fist is perhaps the most formidable fighter amongst pirates without any parasite powers. The colour-beards all have high level parasites."

The interviewer was confused by the moniker, and asked for clarification on the meaning of it. Gate clarified that colour-beard was a category he gave to the three pirate captains with epithets based on their beard colour. This included Redbeard, Bluebeard, and Yellowbeard. The interviewer almost decided to have Gate elaborate on the names given so far, but after the two discussed it, she agreed to let him finish.

"There's the Detective I worked with in Snyke's Penitentiary. He has some heavy-hitters on his crew. Apart from that, there are many pirates I'm sure who will surprise everyone."

The interviewer now asked about each of the names that Gate had mentioned, and they talked about them all for about twenty minutes. The Detective Pirate crew, who had been watching the whole thing, liked to hear that Gate respected them, and was aware of their potential. They also found his opinion of the other crews he mentioned to be interesting.

The next subject that they talked about was Gate's parasite and how it worked. That took up another twenty minutes, and then they moved right along to Gate's goals for the New Year and what he thought might happen this century.