"Wealth, Fame, Knowledge and Power! Know that if you want anything of the sort…You will find it in my treasure and if you can find it, it's your's!"
These were the words that was given to the people from the mouth of Gold Roger who stood at the top of the world as King of the Pirates! Roger's execution and his proclamation to the world that anyone who can find his treasure hidden in the endless sea will be allowed to keep it; Whether it was knowledge of the world before them or the mountains of riches that was gathered, Roger had ensured that not only did the flame of rebellion burn in the face of the Marines but that the Age of Pirates would carry on in spite his passing.
Iron Club Alvida was one such pirate who desired everything to be presented to her on a silver platter purely because of her belief that she was the most beautiful woman on the seas, her recent raid on a pleasure cruise ship was more than bountiful and such a haul was enough for her to take it easy for the night. "Coby! Coby, you're on guard duty tonight, you little worm." The woman barked at him from her room since she was more than eager to get her beauty sleep. "Make sure no one disturbs me or I'll make sure your next meal will be dropped in the toilet!"
Coby gulped as he finished his "Dinner" of all the unwanted scraps that his crewmates didn't want, it was something that he had been forced to get used to over time since he was first taken; He was always the first in line to be selected for toilet cleaning, the last to receive his share of treasure and the chosen pick for night guard regardless of if he was a child or not. "One day…All I need is one day to get away from this ship and the stinking pirates that run it!" Coby ranted to himself mentally as he wandered the unusually silent ship with a growing sense of worry. Normally when it came to Alvida's crew following a raid; Her crew were either partying it up on the ship, snoring it up in their bunks or when it did get quiet…They'd mess with Coby while he was guard, however all that the pink haired boy could hear was the creaking of the ship and that was enough to put goosebumps on his goosebumps. "I hate this…It's always so creepy at this time of ni-"
A horrific scream rang out through the wooden halls as Coby made another step closer, the young boy was now on high alert as his heart was now thumping against his chest with the force of a jackhammer; The nighttime was always spooky anywhere but especially when you're stuck on a wooden ship with a dozen people who want to torment you and a gigantic she-beast. "H-Hello? Garbaldi? Kell? Anyone out there?" Coby's timid voice squeaked out as he grabbed a nearby broom to use as a whacking stick while inching forward.
Door after door was slowly creaked open and no one was inside except for a bunch of empty hammocks that Alvida's crew used to sleep in, what looked like puddles on the wooden floor and at the end of it was a sight that Coby could not unsee just like the sting of metal filling his nose.
Standing there in the dark was one of Alvida's men being lifted up with a hand gripping the neck by a figure that Coby had never seen before; Even though it was dark, Coby could see it looked like a man cloaked by the darkness and the dim candle that had toppled over only showed that he was mostly wearing a waiter's uniform from the cruise ship. What was equally as menacing about this was that lingering in the dark was that this figure had no presence or aura about him, it was like he was there yet he wasn't even though he had eyes on him.
Coby was too caught up in the display of someone effortlessly manhandling the pirate that he only just noticed that there was a sharp glint in his mouth emerging from the punctured neck of the pirate before dropping him. "Wh-What is this? Am I dreaming? Please tell me that I'm not awake…"
"You…Another one of the vagabonds who raided our ship…But you ran away and hid like a little rat." The Waiter said with a raspy voice as he turned his attention to Coby who was shaking in fright like a rabbit caught in a wolf's eye; "Not to worry…Your rabble ruined my bounty but this late evening will suffice." The man sneered with a rather predatory glimmer in his eye as he lowered himself to the ground like he was about to pounce.
Coby finally found the air in his lungs as his brain caught up with his reaction and started to run out of the door with a high pitched scream before scrambling for the hallway with the monstrous creature following after him. "Oh god! Oh god! OH GOD! What the hell is that thing?! I thought that those monsters were a myth!" He screeched as he navigated the stairs and tried to find a way further down to get to the armoury, he may not have been big to use a sword like the adults but all he needed was a knife to defend himself from an attacker.
Among both the seas in the Blue Ocean and in the Grand Line were a myriad of myths and legends that extended beyond Gold Roger and his infamous treasure; There were talks of Fruit that could bestow an ability on someone who had the courage to eat one at the cost of their ability to swim, the other was a more…recent discovery from the renowned Doctor known as Dr. Hogback: Stories of cursed individuals who roamed the land and sea in endless night with the cover of dark to feed on the life force of any living person who beat with the blood of the living, these individuals were known as Vampires and when one was seen; There was rumours of their Ghoulish followers soon after who fed on their master's scraps like carrion.
Coby was too scared to imagine the idea of more than one Vampire on the ship and managed to duck around the corner to careen into one of the storage rooms; Thanks to the recent attack on the cruise ship earlier, the Alvida Pirates had a lot of results with food, money and alcohol by the barrel, however something deep in Coby's primordial worry made him think that something like cured meat and alcohol wouldn't fix this guy's appetites.
With the door now barricaded by a chair, the Waiter's pursuit slowed to a crawl as scratching along the walls could be heard. "Come on out, little pirate~" The monstrous creature crooned as he found the door and jiggled the handle; "I promise you that it won't hurt a bit…Just a couple pricks in your neck and I'll be fed for a couple of hours."
Coby backed away from the door, slowly coming to the realisation that no one would help as he tried to look for an escape. Though it looked like luck was on his side when he saw a barrel by the wall that was easy enough for him to move and use as a foothold to a nearby porthole. "Yes! that should be enough…But…Alvida…I know she's a horrible person but…But could I really watch as that thi-"
There was no moment for Coby to have his conscience step in as several crashing blows hit the door as the waiter started to pound on the door; "Open the door! You will only agonise the waiting for yourself, you pink, four eyed little goblin!" The Waiter roared as he slammed his fist on the wood again, causing it to buckle under his strength and gave him a peephole into the room.
Coby felt his body chill as he pressed his body to the barrel and began to push; Though it was surprisingly heavier than he thought it'd be, normally he'd be able to move a barrel if it was just booze or fish but even trying to shuffle it across the floor took all his strength and focus. The only upside to this particular scenario was that this temporarily distracted him while he got closer to the moonlight shining through the porthole, "Just a little more…Just need to climb out and get the rope ladder on the side then I can trap that monster in here." Coby muttered before a loud smash rang out in the room and the Waiter was still hunting him down like a rabid beast.
Once the splinters and dust cleared, the Waiter hunted around as he felt his vampiric urge for blood growing as his hunger returned; The sun would rise eventually and unbeknownst to the Waiter, it was as much a threat to him as the sea was to a Devil Fruit. "Boy…Blood…Need blood.." he snarled to himself as he tried to track Coby among the stored food, the stale smell of meat and alcohol messed with his head even further when the pangs of his hunger banged against the inside of his head like a drum.
Coby covered his mouth and tried to steady his breathing as he hid behind the barrel with the sounds of the waiter's footsteps resounding like a slow drum beat. "Please…Please just go away…I don't…I don't wanna die before I become a Marine…" He mumbled in a silent prayer as the odds of his escape dropped.
The Waiter however picked up on the faintest of whimpers and then suddenly kicked the barrel away from the wall, causing the container to smash against another. Exposing Coby from his hiding spot and showering the Waiter in the moonlight to show the young boy just how far this thing had fallen.
The light showed off the rips and tears in the Waiter's blood splotched suit from both his superhuman exertions and from the victims that struggled from being fed on, his formerly smooth and elegant blonde hair was now violently messy, with tufts of hair slowly growing back and looked more like a patchy rat's nest but the part of this monster that scared Coby the most was his eyes. They were dulled, black and glossed over like a doll's eyes when they were unfocused but when they were focused on him…It was like watching a shark monitoring it's latest meal and waiting for the slightest twitch to make his move. "There you are~"
Coby was paralysed as he saw the Waiter looming over him; Looking for any whimper or reaction to jump at and his options dwindled down to nothing but one option…Accept your fate. "I..." Coby squeaked as a sharp clawed hand grabbed at his neck and slowly inched his throat upward towards the Waiter's ravenous maw.
A low groan was heard from the corner of the room as someone else made themselves known to not just Coby but to the now aggravated Waiter who had his meal interrupted more times than he can count. "You…What floorboard did you crawl out from?" He hissed with a menacing snarl as he held on to Coby.
The man slowly got to his feet; Though even in the dark corner of the room, it was clear that he had been in that barrel for a while as Coby could hear joints creaking and bones cracking as he stretched out. "Where…Am I?" The figure asked from the dark, sounding groggy from the sudden commotion but nowhere near as aware as any normal person would be.
"On second thought…" The Waiter's face coiled into a smirk as his ability to see in the dark noticed that the figure was a vastly more appetising meal just from the size alone. "Ignoring a filet mignon in favour of a bony fish would be exceptionally bad manners." Crooned the ravenous beast as he dropped Coby and quickly rushed at the figure with full speed.
"R-Run! That man's no longer human, you're going to die!" Coby screamed at the figure in the dark as he saw both individuals make contact and clenched his eyes shut as he heard the unforgettable sound of teeth sinking into flesh, with a shaking hand and a slow crawl; He made his was back to the door and crawled through the hole that the Waiter made.
What awaited outside was the shambling bodies of the recently blood-drained Ghouls that were originally Alvida's crew; The trail of The Waiter's "Meal" had followed their new master all the way down and left Coby staring down the unresponding mob. "No….It's impossible…I can't escape…This is it…" Coby mumbled to himself as he slowly accepted that no one would come for him. Not the Marines, certainly not Alvida and the only person who even came close to being a saviour was currently being torn to shreds in the galley.
However in that instance, when Coby blinked away the tears to try facing what would be his demise with some modicum of dignity; The room was darker and the mob was gone, their growls and snaps now absent from the air along with any previous evidence of the Vampire's attack, all of these monsters had vanished in a literal blink of an eye and the only thing that remained was that shadow shrouded figure standing over him.
"Where…Am…I…?" The figure asked him again with a voice that oozed with uncertainty of what he was, let alone where he was.
"Huh?" Coby barely managed to let a word out as he was unsure where on the spectrum that this new face fell under: Friend or Foe. "You're…You're on Miss Love Duck…A ship, one that is commanded by Ca-Captain Alvida." He began to talk, hoping that he'd be spared by keeping things calm and civil with the questioning.
"A ship?" The figure then slowly began to sound more and more sure of themself as they looked around; "On which ocean? I need to find a way to land." They quizzed further as Coby could almost see the figure's eyes through the dark, the attention quickly changed as the sound of bare feet padding on the wooden floor echoed in the ship's hall.
"You're on the East Blue…But I don't think we're gonna stop on land any time soon, Captain Alvida has a bounty on her head and she is dangerous enough on the sea as it…is…" Coby explained but found himself trailing off as the faint candle light gave him brief glimpses of his supposed savior but not enough to see their face.
"Please...Take me to her…I need clothes and a boat, I can't wander outside like I am now." The figure explained as they walked but kept it slow as they followed Coby.
"I…I don't know if that's a good idea." Coby said with a note of hesitance; "Captain Alvida rarely listens to her crew on a good day and a barnacle earns her attention more than me, someone like you would probably get a club to the head at best." He explained as they finally reached Alvida's more extravagant looking door.
"Those ghouls…and that Waiter…were they your allies…Former allies?" The figure asked as they glanced down at Coby before they did this.
"It's…A difficult story, I'm technically a pirate like them but I had started out with a fishing trip and ended up on their vessel by mistake, since then I've been their errand boy and did everything for them." Coby explained, glossing over the countless abuse and forced labour that he did for not just his "Allies" but for Alvida too. "Well…Here goes…"
The first few knocks at the door was greeted with dull silence, Coby flinched a little as he was prepared for her to swing the door open and roar at him for waking her up….But nothing happened.
"An entire horde of Ghouls and a vampire to control them and they can sleep like a rock? I don't know if I should be concerned or envious…" The Figure quietly joked as they decided to cut the sleeping time short but in a way that would avoid a violent encounter.
Whatever it was that Coby saw, it was too weird for him to even register as the door lock clicked and slowly creaked open into the open dark after the figure looked like he had just pulled his finger out of the keyhole. "Did he just…No, he can't have…A keyhole is too small even for my fingers to fit in."
"Whoever's there…You better have a damn good reason for breaking in my room without permission." Alvida's voice growled from the dark as the lights flickered on in her room to show off her gaudy setup; She had a royal looking bed and a heavy looking club next to it by Alvida's hand.
Alvida was sat on her bed and currently dressed in her usual attire but minus her coat and her hat since she was preparing to sleep, though the irritated look on her face showed that she had just nodded off when the door creaked open. "Coby…What have I told you about entering my room without asking my permi-oh…I see you brought a friend." She asked him threateningly but her expression changed to one of surprise and intrigue once she saw the much taller man standing by her cabin boy.
Now that light was covering every part of the room, not only could Alvida see who Coby's saviour was and so could he. "Who..Are you?" Coby's voice slipped out as he could barely believe what he saw.
The figure was a scarcely dressed man with brown, shoulder length hair, he was substantially tall at around 6ft and 8 inches with very little covering his body barring a loincloth that looked liked it was braided around his waist, his body was blemish free and muscular with what looked like iron cuffs around his wrists. Though it was the way he looked that really made him stand out: If someone second glanced at him, he would look like any average man but whether it was the moonlight glistening on his statuesque body or the expression that he wore, it had given his visage an unexplained, almost etherial beauty like something from a fairy tale.
"I don't much care for intruders in the middle of the night…But admittedly…He is a lot better looking than the average night raider~" Alvida thought to herself as she gripped her club in anticipation for the man's intentions; "So…I don't normally entertain in my quarters, so how about you get to the point and explain why you're here? I might just spare your life if you give me a good reason." She threatened him as she stood up from her bed and demonstrated that her large form was still enough to match his eye contact with the desire to turn him into a broken man.
"I woke up here." The man said plainly as he kept his gaze on her; His eyes had a tinge of blue so bright that they almost looked white which seemed to compliment his features while they were framed by his hair. "I don't intend to cause any trouble for you, so if you can please lend me a boat to make land…I'll be out of your hair and you'll never see me again."
"Ohoho~ Don't think that you can charm me into a bargain without offering me something in return." Alvida smirked as she kept her eye on the man; Granted she was monitoring him for any hidden movements or intent to attack but she was also taking stock of his flawless looking body in both a useful sense and a curious one. "Plus you still need to explain to me how someone like you could evade nearly all of my men and break into my room without even making a sound."
The man raised an eyebrow; She had now made it clear that she was either too heavy a sleeper to notice or she was that callous, he had hoped that it was the former. "It looked like your men were attacked by a vampire and he turned them into Ghouls to follow his commands…Neither of them be bothering anyone at this rate." He explained as he noticed Alvida's eye twitch at the mention of the Night Creature's existence.
"A-A Vampire? Do you really think that I'm some superstitious drip that believes in made up stories." Alvida quizzed him with narrowed eyes as she noticed him shrink back a little but then smirked as she believed that he was still a man who's bluff was getting called. "Come now, don't act so surprised…Vampires don't exist in the world and if they did, they would think twice before attempting an attack on Alvida, the Woman Pirate!" She bragged with a sneer.
"Th-There WAS a vampire here! He came over from that cruise ship that we attacked today, he fed on the others and turned them into-" Coby tried to urge Alvida to listen but all he earned was her smacking him on the head.
"Quiet, Coby! Even a snot like you can't really think they exist…But say I believe you, what happened to it?" Alvida asked as she stared down at Coby. "And his supposed Ghouls too, if they're as immortal as people say they are then a little brat like you couldn't stand a chance."
"Oh, I just killed them." The Man stated honestly; "Vampires are simple enough when you keep the fangs away from you."
Alvida was floored; Not only was he adamant that what he said was true but he had no hint of doubt. "He may look like a good piece of meat but he's either dumber than a stump or he's crazy." She thought to herself but then looked to Coby and lifted him up to his feet roughly; "Alright, brat…If you're so adamant that you saw, what happened to them?"
"Hey, take it easy on the kid…I think he's seen enough violence for tonight." The Man remarked with a reasoning and almost empathetic tone; "He's scared enough as it is without you bearing on him."
"I-I don't know…I ran out of the room with the vampire and the Ghouls that were there just…Just…Disappeared in a blink." Coby stammered as he tried his best to not get hit again.
"You ran? Why do I even keep you as a guard for the night?!" Alvida snarled as she dropped him before turning to the Man and stomping over to him; "And you…I'm gonna give you a choice right now, either tell me what really happened or you can end up as a bloody stain on my floor with thi-" She threatened him and was about to push the club into his face but her shock came about when the weight of the weapon in her hand was all gone and she was holding onto nothing.
"You mean with this?" The Man asked as he was holding the club with one hand like he had just picked up a stick. "It's not exactly the best choice to make but I'm not really in the mood to play around…So make with the boat and I'll leave you alone." He reiterated his point with more of an insistent tone, for a brief moment though; Those white-blue eyes hardened to the point that they were like a hawk staring down a rabbit.
"I-How-When did you grab that?!" Alvida sputtered as she drew her hand back, shocked by both his near instant move and almost a little captivated by his assertion. "And as for your request, you won't be leaving my ship…Not after that display! You better be grateful that I'm letting you live." She growled as she reached under her bed and pulled out another club with the full intent of clocking the man in the head. "Because now you're gonna be my slave, willing or not!"
"That's all I needed to hear…" The Man thought as he then dropped the club with a sigh and glared at the charging woman, now fully intent on dropping any modicum of niceties. "I've already spent too long being a plaything for a bloodthirsty psychopath…" He remarked as he then cracked his neck. "And I don't intend on a repeat."
What Coby saw was unclear whether it was the adrenaline from the night or that it was something else but he saw the Man standing where he was for a literal second and the next had him behind Alvida while her swing smashed the floor where he used to be. "Holy…He is fast!"
Alvida herself didn't even have time to react as she saw the man's foot swing upward into her face and kicked her harshly across the room, sending the giant woman through the wall with a solid crack. "H-How….You could've been…my best man…" She wheezed out before falling unconscious.
Coby blinked and then looked at the man with a shocked expression, worried that he was either next or that he was going to be abandoned. "W-What...was that?"
"Oh, that? I've just Skipped behind her." The man explained like it was either a normal thing or that it made sense just from context. "I can basically move so fast that I blip out for a moment…"
"You mean…All this was a Devil Fruit?" Coby asked as he climbed to his shaking feet. "Because there is no one in the world that can move that fast on their own….And those Fruits are really rare on their own."
The man raised an eyebrow as he looked around Alvida's room to find something he could use. "I don't really know what that is but I can assure that's all me doing that." He shrugged as he then opened up a drawer and pulled out an unfurled map with a grin; "Bingo…Now I just need a-Wait…You wouldn't happen to know where I can get some clothes do you? I don't really feel like walking around almost naked."
"R-Right, follow me!" Coby nodded, rushing out of the door with the man following soon after with the map in hand, questions filling his mind more than ever and some of them answered meant more came in; "W-Who are you anyway?"
"Oh, right…My name's Eddy Fleetwood…You can just go ahead and call me Eddy." Eddy mentioned as he walked alongside the scurrying Coby due to having longer legs. "So what was all that about being a slave?"
"Capta-I mean, Alvida has a crew of pirates but sometimes she takes fancy to a man and basically keeps him to herself as a servant." Coby mentioned, "I don't know what exactly it is that she does but most of them either escape while she's away or they die during one of her outbursts."
"Sounds psychologically reasonable." Eddy quipped to himself as he saw a door open up into a giant laundry room. "Man, either that's a big crew or your captain has a wardrobe bigger than her." He mentioned as he walked in to scan the lines of cleaned clothes.
"Y-Yeah…I was on laundry duty today so everything should be cleaned up." Coby mentioned as he kept outside to give the man privacy.
"Hold on, he cleaned all this in a day AND pull a night guard job? I'm not sure if I admire the kid's work ethic or feel bad for him." Eddy admitted to himself as he slowly perused the racks of clothes. "So, now that your boss is out of commission for a little while…What're you going to do now?"
"I…I don't know…" Coby admitted as he looked to the wooden floor that was stained from the remains of the Ghouls' rampage. "I never really meant to be a pirate cabin boy in the first place…I actually wanted to be a Marine Officer, to take on Pirates like Alvida and bring them in to face justice." He said with a small sense of pride and hope that he could do it.
Eddy soon emerged from the laundry room with a new attire and had completely ditched the loincloth; "Okay, well…I'd honestly much rather avoid law enforcement if I can choose to, so since you gave me help with stuff here, I'll take you to the next island and you can sign up for those Marine guys." He offered as he began walking towards the top of the ship and Coby followed soon after while curious about his choice in clothes.
Eddy was currently wearing what looked like a brown long coat over a white shirt, dark gray suit pants and a wide brimmed hat along with black gloves, moving into the armoury so he could better arm himself and handed Coby a knife so he could do the same.
"So what about you? Where are you gonna go after that?" Coby asked as he headed towards one of the rowboats, he was ultimately thankful that Eddy helped him but he still had so many questions regarding the man in general. "I'm guessing if you're a pirate too then you're gonna be going after the One Piece."
"The One Piece?" Eddy asked as he looked to Coby in both curiosity and confusion; "What's that, exactly?"
"You don't know? I'd have thought someone like you would be after it like Alvida was…The One Piece is Gold Roger's greatest treasure; You go to the Grand Line and if you find it, you become the Pirate King…Though most people tend to call it the Pirate's Graveyard for a reason." Coby explained; "I don't think that even someone with your…abilities can handle it."
"Well, I'm not really a Pirate…I'm just looking to get back home to America." Eddy explained as he lifted Coby into the rowboat before getting in and lowering them both down into the sea, leaving Alvida alone on what was now an empty pirate ship.
"What's America?" Coby asked and cemented a piece of doubt in Eddy's mind while the taller man unfurled the map.
That question put more than just a little worry in Eddy's head as his face visibly went pale. "…What?"
"Is it an island in the Grand Line? Because I don't think I've seen it anywhere named that in the Blues…" Coby explained as he adjusted the sail to get them on course, though he was rather confused as to why Eddy was constantly shifting to keep what little of his face that was exposed hidden by the shade of his hat.
"This can't be right…It shouldn't be possible for it to not be he-Wait…That petty, arrogant son of a-He found a way to screw me over one more time!" Eddy thought to himself as he read the map several times over; It clearly wasn't the layout that he was used to but Coby managed to get him on track.
"Y-You know, one of the rumoured things that the One Piece has is knowledge of the whole world…Maybe that can help you?"
"Let's...Let's just get to land first, I need a drink and some food..." Eddy sighed and pocketed the map after setting their course for the nearest Island: Shells Town. "I'll figure it out, I was clever enough to know how to navigate Vampires and Ghouls…I can find a way home…I hope."