The iron lung is the name of the massive metal structure poking out of the sea,
A long time ago there used to be a large island here called the Britain Kingdom,
Overtime the sea levels began to rise due to rampantly changing climate, and the island slowly began to get swallowed up by the great ocean,
In a last-ditch effort to save the country the royal family came up with the incredibly stupid idea of building a pipe as huge a skyscraper and then flitter the flood waters off the island,
The pipes construction was never completed by the time Britain sank, the only thing left of the kingdom the massive pipe, that pirates now inhabit.
…..
“We really have ta build a elevator in this thing soon” sighs Harry as we as the long narrow stairs again
“I ought to get that MF thrown off the top of this,”
“Nngg” I shrug much more focused on the surroundings,
I hadn’t noticed how lived in this place actually feels,
Most of the cold grey walls of the pipe are covered in graffiti and obscene language,
The iron lung remains constantly noisy from the ships coming too and fro and the pirates speaking loudly, laughing, drinking and arguing,
“Oi Dirty Harry,” a man intercepts us on the stairway
“Get outta the way ya bloke I’m busy”
“I been looking for you mate, some of my crew went to Oceania and I haven’t heard from them since, ya think I could see the footage from their ships cameras,”
“They definitely got caught by the government if that’s what ya wanted to know now move fore I push ya off!”
….
“Why do they call you Dirty Harry?” I ask, as we squeeze past the disappointed pirate
“I got that name when I first became the leader of all pirates, it’s also how I lost this hand,” Harry flashes her gun hand
“Nobody would respect me or acknowledge my authority, I told em if they keel testing me I shove a gun up their arse, and blow their brains from the inside out,
Sure enough nobody took me own,
So I found me the pirate everyone did respect some pirate named Ruffy, they wanted him to be the leader, so I beat him down in front everyone,
Then I took me gun and shoved it up his arse sure enough stretched him like a rubber man, then boop!
Shot him from the inside,
I didn’t want my hand back after that so I cut it off.”
….
“You’re joking right?”
“Nope, true story,”
“That’s disgusting,”
“Don’t act like some kind of saint Kage, you’re more murderous than me,”
“Am I?”
“Do I need ta go over all the people you and trench pirates have killed?” Harry points her gun and at me, her green eyes glistening playfully at me
“I have no recollection of ever being a pirate or knowing you for that matter” I push it away
“What about the Davey Pirate’s ya just killed and stole their ship,
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Ya lucky I was taking a wank in the surveillance room or I wouldn’t have noticed ya”
“………”
Whack!
“That one was a joke ha-ha” Harry slaps my so hard I almost fall off the stairs
“I needed that ship and there was negotiating with those 'Davey' pirates,” I explain
(So, I killed them all with no remorse)
“Their lives meant nothing to me…”
(Their lives meant nothing to me?)
“See, that’s the Kage I know,
When I first met ya, it was because ya, killed a member of the trench pirates and they were contemplating killing ya or letting ya join
You were confident that ya could kill the entire crew singlehandedly
Only difference to ya now is that ya used to act all haughty and superior, like ya knew everything,
Now ya just seem–I dunno ya weird”
“A lot happened,” I mutter awkwardly
(……)
“That reminds me Kage,
How did ya get out of prison?”
“By snitching,” I lie
(Maybe I should not let the pirate now of my connection to the UCA chairman)
“And ya just as slimly as before,
Even without memory ya still the same Kage,”
“…….
So how did you become the leader of pirates anyway?” I change the subject as we finally step of the bottom step
“I found the first pirate’s treasure”
“What was it?”
“An eyeball,”
“Eyeball?”
“He wore an eye patch so, he didn’t need the other one, he probably hid it for a joke,”
“…
Are all you pirates just weird?”
“Aye sir, it comes with the profession,”
“Is that the purpose of all you pirates?”
“Nah, we are protectors of the sea ya know?” she smiles grandiosely, flashing those gold teeth,
“Protectors?”
“That’s how all this started, all land on this ring is under the control of greedy governments,
We run the seas so that the UCA or any other government tries claiming the sea,”
“No offense Harry but that sounds silly, you can’t actually run the sea,”
“Yes, but ya can be free on the seas not so?
The first pirate was actually a member of the royal Second Family, he turned away from them and gave birth to organized piracy,”
“And what happened to this person after?” I ask becoming intrigued by the woman’s tale
“There’s a lot of rumors of what happened to the man, some say he was last seen with two eyes again,
Some say he went crazy and offed himself,
The biggest theory is that he built ship and used it to travel to the third ring,”
“Considering how difficult it is to travel across rings, that would probably be the most unlikely,” I comment
“Aye, it’s just a rumor after all, but I think it got some truth to it,”
“How so?”
“The third ring supposedly is a place that has real magic, on it given what the first pirate was know for I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did try to reach there,
They used to call him Blackmagic dealer ya know