The Fishman smiled as he stood to his feet. Towering over Kirk before speaking "You know. You're right."
"You did bring me what I asked, despite you being practically useless to me now. I might as well keep up my end of the bargain!" he held the small flame up against his cheek.
Walking over to the wall next to Kirk. A noise of metal scraping against metal was heard as quickly the room was flooded with warm pale orange light. He had hung the Lantern on a hook high on the wall.
Then he fully ignited the lantern that was hung on the wall next the once, Red Sash Navigator. Quickly Kirk's eyes would adjust to the sudden flood of light.
Quickly Kirk's eyes would adjust to the sudden flood, Flinching from the bright lighting of the lantern suddenly being lit, but he blinked quickly to adjust. His head tilted back further to be able to glare at Barnum.
His mind was racing with ways of how he could get out of this. He wasn't sure if the giller was possible to get off without a key.. and it would certainly throw a wrench in his plan if he had to put a lot of effort and strength into something.
He already didn't like the tone of Barnum's voice... and soon enough, he would figure out exactly why he was hating it.
To the right of the room. A corpse was chained to the wall in the same configuration as Kirk. It looked to be feminine and shorter than kirk, much shorter. The body had clearly begun to go through decomposition. The Skin and muscle shrinking to a hallow version of the being it once was. Cheeks sunken against the small face with wavy hair thinned against the scalp.
Kirk's eyes shot down to the corpse as his vision was back to normal, somewhat widening in a bit of shock. A corpse? That explained the smell, thinking it was just coming from Barnum or something... but something was wrong.
Kirk made the horrible decision to look closer at the skin, some morbid hope in his mind that he didn't recognize the decaying skin clinging desperately to the bones.
Either it was his sense of dread and paranoia that got the best of him or his terrific memory shot an answer into his mind, but either way, absolute horror swept through his emotions and left him numb and frigid. He already knew who was sitting across from him before Barnum said her name.
"Say hello to Oliko, Kirk!" He stifled a malicious snicker as he bent down next to Olikos Corpse
It was like nothing else existed at the moment. It was just him and his sister. Kirk couldn't describe what he was going through in that moment of shock. That moment of realization.
Years upon years of work.
All that stealing, all of that dirty work.
Everything he had been doing for 10 years now had been reduced to nothing.
Just
... a waste of time.
The ringing in his ears started to fade out and Barnum's disgusting ramblings tuned back in. While he couldn't will himself at all to look away from Oliko's distorted face, everything Barnum was saying was processed fully well.
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"You know. She's been dead a real long time."
"After I had gotten my uses out of her that is. For a while there It seemed that she resented you for ever leaving..." He turned and have a fake pout
More and more disgust built up. Kirks hands started shaking with both rage and misery. He would've stricken Barnum across the face already with all of his might if he wasn't chained up, all because of that comment about the... 'uses'.
Barnum cupped her once warm face and played with it like a sick macabre doll. Pointing her limp head towards the chained fishman before making a mocking high pitched voice, mimicking Oliko's voice as he moved the head around
"Why'd that bastard ever leave! Maybe I shouldn't have tried to rise above my place and the world and tried to attack Lord Barnum!"
Kirk did jerk his head back as Barnum's hand wrapped around his poor sister's face, revoltingly puppeteering the head. That's when the hyperventilating started, his shock dying down just enough for anger and sadness to explode through, clouding his mind.
Tears suddenly filled his eyes as he started to heave some sobs, trying to bite them back. With each heave his chest heaved for another breath, the giller just rocked his whole body with pain yet again. It just caused him to start crying more and more, tears falling down as Barnum mocked and mocked. It was a depressing sight.
Kirk was absolutely crushed.
Dropping the head and letting it go limp, the scrunching sound of the stiff joint sounding-
Barnum stood to his feet as he let out a malicious laugh "BUHAHAHA!" The man couldn't contain it any more.
As Barnum laughed, his deep cackling echoing all around him, Kirk finally moved his eyes to the hybrid Fishman. His gaze was filled with such deep hatred and darkness that it would've made a baby cry.
Barnum began to walk over to the door and opened it, letting out a sentence in between his fit of laughing
"Enjoy some Brother Sister time with Oliko, Kirk! BU-HA-HA-HA!" He then Slammed the cage door behind him.
Kirk screamed at Barnum as he began to leave. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! ACK- ACK- YOU HEAR ME!? YOU'RE GOING STRAIGHT TO H- ACK- ACK-" He started to call into a coughing fit, the pain from both the giller and his heartbreak continuously splintering through him.
Soon, Barnum left him with Oliko, The sound of the second door sounded out as it clicked shut.
And Kirk, the best navigator in the East Blue, was lost.
Kirk caught hold of himself, still unable to stop the tears running down his face and the sobs coming from his mouth as his eyes went back down to Oliko.
Nearly giving up, in utter defeat, the Fishman let his head fall back, hitting the wall behind him roughly.
He just closed his eyes and let himself cry.