(Lily POV)
“How’s Eddy doing?” Lily asked as she stepped through the doorway.
“You should knock. It’s polite.” Muret chided her but Lily ignored it with supreme skill, honed by years of practice.
“And I’m hot. Next.” Lily didn't know why their doctor was complaining. Muret should have been happy that Lily was holding herself back and using polite language in the sick bay. Jeez, you gave a girl an inch and she immediately demanded a mile…
“He’ll live.” Lily had to suppress a wince at how out of it Muret sounded.
“Is that bad news?”
“No, it’s good news actually, considering the state he was in.” Muret admitted, looking up at the ceiling.
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty." A cauterised hole in one's chest rarely was.
“Like I said, he’ll live. Eddy still has all his limbs, in fact he even woke up earlier and was coherent.” Muret sighed. “But he’ll need a long time to fully recover unless something greatly changes.”
“Years? Can’t you sew him back together or something?" Lily asked. "That’s what you did when Ross damn near took his arm off that one time.”
“Clean cut, axe dial, surgery within the hour. That I can do. As for Eddy…” Lily followed Muret’s gaze to where Eddy was sleeping. He looked peaceful like that, though his chest barely rose at all whenever he took a breath. “He lost a lung. I can’t fix that.”
“No way, the hole wasn’t that big!” Lily denied, her head snapping back to their doctor, but Muret just despondently shook her head.
“I had to cut his lung out to stem the bleeding. And even then, it was only thanks to his wound being mostly cauterized that he didn’t bleed out on his way here.” Shit, that sounded really bad. “He’ll still be able to live a normal life and past records say that he may be able to recover up to seventy percent of his previous lung capacity. But as a pirate? I just don’t know.”
“…” Mayday, mayday! Brain, you must think of something appropriate to say, now! Mayday! Muret looked like she was going to cry. “He’ll pull through, he’s a tough bastard.”
Really brain? That was the fucking best you could come up with? That Eddy was a tough bastard? Come on, couldn't you have thought of something else?
“His parents are happily married.” Muret gave her a faint smile. At least, it wasn’t a complete disaster. Fuck, something, anything to distract Muret…there!
“What about shrinking violet over there? How’s she doing?”
“You mean Marie? Same as yesterday, I’m afraid. I don’t think she’s slept a single wink since coming aboard.” The girl just sat there on her little stool, crouched over her sleeping fiancé. “She refuses to talk or move from her vigil, so I’m just leaving her there.”
“What happened to them anyway? I’d recognize a bullet wound anywhere, but the main shootings didn’t start until after we met her.”
“Who knows? We won’t know for certain until she talks. It was a challenge to get her to drink some water and we only managed that thanks to Laki.” Reaching over to a small cabinet, Muret pulled out a deformed bullet. “This isn’t the standard issue for the marines or for any gun fit for combat. If I’m not mistaken, this model is reserved for those seeking a last ditch defence and don’t have the arm strength to handle the recoil of anything more powerful, which is part of the reason the guy is alive.”
“It would fit. Shrinking violet was in the presence of one of the World Noble's guards and those aren’t known for carrying good guns…world nobles…” Wait. A. Goddamn. Second. Looking into Muret’s eyes, Lily could see the same realization rising within them as well as the accompanying horror.
“You don’t think…”
“We did. We bloody fucking did!” Lily could feel herself going slightly hysterical. However, she didn't have the mental capacity right now to give two fucks about it. “We robbed a Celestial Dragon.”
No wonder there had only been a single guard. Who would be suicidal enough to commit armed robbery of a World Noble’s property? The Bellamy Pirates apparently.
At the time, the gravity of the situation hadn’t actually sunk in properly. The captain had started listing off orders and then they’d met the Silvers Rayleigh. Could you blame her for forgetting a small case of larceny?
“Oh fuck! Think they’ll come looking for her? I heard there was this one celestial dragon who went all the way to Fishman Island to recover some runaway slaves…”
“I’M NOT A SLAVE!!” Both Muret and Lily jumped when the other girl in the room abruptly stood up to scream those words at them. There were unshed tears pooling at the corners of her bloodshot eyes and her body was trembling in rage and exhaustion, but it was her face that grabbed most of their attention.
That was the face of a woman out for blood.
----------------------------------------
(Muret POV)
It had taken them a lot of effort and patience to talk the girl down, but they eventually managed it, helped by her old and presumably gentle personality shining through once the initial adrenalin rush ran out. That and the fact her boyfriend slash fiancé had received the needed medical treatment and was just waiting to wake up. Thank god the girl was a nurse and understood the medical situation.
The commotion had drawn the attention of most of the crew, Laki being the first to arrive and leading the seething girl out of her sick bay and likely to her room. In the face of her savior, Marie had turned into a meek little lamb and offered only a token resistance before allowing herself to be taken away.
The rest of the onlookers had skedaddled once Lily had begun rolling up her sleeves and chased them out.
Shutting the door behind them, Muret closed her eyes to take in the peace and quiet of her domain. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed this. Funkfreed, bless his gentle heart, was helpful and a balm on the soul, but quiet he was not. Though, at the moment, he should be with Hewitt making a fruit salad for lunch.
“Muret?” a voice croaked, interrupting her internal reflection. Pirate Muret took one more breath and Doctor Muret opened her eyes.
“Eddy? How are you feeling?”
“Ugh…been better.” He rasped out, his hand feebly scrabbling for his glasses before Muret placed them on his nose. “Thanks.”
“Do you have any pain?” No fever, eyes were focused, neurological complications unlikely.
“A bit. I’m feeling really sore.” Eddy groaned out, a hand reflexively heading for his wounded chest, before Muret gently but firmly grabbed his wrist short of its destination.
“Don’t touch, just speak.”
Over the next hour, Muret gave Eddy a full medical examination from his head down to his toes. Thankfully, the laser had mostly missed his ribs and once the cut she had made fused back together, she expected that the stability of his thorax would return. Neither did he have any severe complications from his surgery, though his left lung was working overtime to supply his body with oxygen.
“I almost died.” Eddy whispered, the words deafening in the stillness.
“You did.” Muret replied as she thought back to his initial state. A punctured lung with a resulting hemothorax, internal bleeding, systemic shock.
“But you saved me.” But at what price? Maybe if she’d been a better doctor, she might have been able to save his lung. “Thank you.”
“It’s what I’m here for.” Muret told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, but Muret wasn't certain who she was hoping her words would comfort. Him or her?
“This wasn’t even the first time.” Eddy continued to whisper, his loose hair casting a shadow over his face. “It was like this with Ohm too. Two times in only a few months.”
“But you made it. We all did.” And for that Muret was very grateful. “Heard you were amazing, cutting through a building like that.”
For once in all the time she’d known him, Eddy didn't respond directly to her compliment.
“You know what went through my head just before it shot me?” Eddy let out a shuddering breath, raising his eyes to meet hers. "Unlike the stories, it wasn’t anything like my life flashing in front of me. Nothing complicated like that.”
Had his eyes always been this intense?
“…it wasn’t?”
“No, instead it was a single question. Why did I not confess?” Eddy threw out the question and Muret’s breath hitched. “I like you. I like you a lot.”
“Eddy…”
“I like the way you smile. I like the way you laugh at Mani’s bad jokes. I like the way your face lights up when discussing a good book. I like how fierce you can be to your opponents and how gentle you are to Funkfreed.” He continued undeterred.
Like all of them, Muret had known of his feelings for her. Feelings she didn’t necessarily reciprocate. Back on Jaya, she’d been pining after Bellamy, or at least she had been, until he rebuffed her advances that one evening. Afterwards, life had just been so busy, so many things happening one after another.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Eddy, I’m flattered but…”
“I know you used to like the captain. It’s why you quit your job and came with us.” Eddy said, cutting her off. “Just like how obvious I was probably being, so were you.”
“…”
“You don’t have to answer me, not now and not even in the future. But I just wanted to have it said, get it out there as it were. Muret, I like you.” Then seemingly exhausted, Eddy sank back into his bed.
The following silence between them stretched out far past the awkward stage into the uncomfortable, before one of them ended it.
“I think I want to sleep now.” Eddy said, letting out an exaggerated yawn. “Mind turning the lights off for me?”
“Sure thing. Sleep well, Eddy.” And as she flicked the light switch off, Muret could see Eddy covering his eyes with his left arm.
----------------------------------------
(Laki POV)
Nobody was blaming her. Not the captain, not Muret, not Byron who's room they had invaded…not even Sarquiss who had been the least enthusiastic about having her aboard. Nobody was blaming her for starting that clusterfuck on Sabaody and that made it worse.
If she hadn’t intervened to save the girl, currently crying on her shoulder, the crew wouldn’t have had to split up and they may have gotten out of that fight unscathed. Maybe, if she’d been there, she could have done something. Or if Rivers had been there, Eddy could have received surgery earlier and maybe he wouldn’t have had to lose a lung.
Laki didn't regret helping Marie regain her freedom and if she went back in time, she would choose to do it again…but perhaps with a bit more tact and finesse.
In some way, that didn’t involve painting a giant target on their backs for annoying one of the ‘gods’ these Blue Sea dwellers had. Perhaps, that was one more thing they all had in common…the gods were cruel and tyrannical.
She still didn't really understand why these gods were in power, but Sarquiss had made it clear that any threat to these celestial dragons would be met with the full might of the marines, whose commanders apparently made Enel seem like an ant in comparison.
Bellamy had confirmed this, though he had done his best to assure them of the low likelihood of an admiral coming after them, at least not in the near future.
Maybe in a year or two, by which time they would have to be ready.
Marie's trembling started to calm down as Byron continued to play a soothing tune in the corner, the serene melody washing over them both.
And as she murmured words of comfort into Marie’s hair, Laki repeated her own vow to fix things. She killed Enel which solved a problem then. Their current problems should disappear when she got strong enough to kill an admiral, right? How hard could it be?
Laki steadfastly ignored the little voice pointing out that very special circumstances were involved in Enel’s demise, tuning out the little annoyance that called itself her conscience. Bellamy had repeatedly told them how reasonable limits didn’t matter if they trained hard enough.
As for Eddy…she would have to do something extra special in recompense. Glancing over to her open box of knickknacks, her eyes locked onto the bulbous hilt of a katana.
----------------------------------------
(Bellamy POV)
With Eddy out of commission for the foreseeable future, it fell to me to chart our course, something which I was woefully unqualified for. Thankfully, I could delegate the task to someone who did have more experience.
Meeting Byron was likely the one silver lining right now, purely because my crew had no one else who could navigate. And no, it wasn’t as simple as looking at the log pose and moving the rudder accordingly.
You had to find the right currents so you didn’t keep getting pushed around in circles, needed to adjust the masts so as to not capsize the ship and notice storms well enough in advance to secure all loose cargo. And a thousand and one other small but no less vital bits of knowledge key to your survival.
Byron did seem very interested in our jet dial propulsion systems, though he wilted after finding out that we didn’t have enough to outfit a second ship. And I was not prepared to rip out a few to give to Byron.
No, I rather liked having the fastest ship in the world, especially as the marines and every bounty hunter in the world would soon have a reason to come hunt me down. Though…maybe?
The people of Sabaody hated the world nobles, the guard was dead and Morgan liked news. And while Morgan was the primary source of intelligence for the marines, regardless of what the CP services would tell you, it was ultimately up to him whether or not he was going to rat me out. On the one hand it was instant headline material. “Jealous Pirate Absconds With World Noble’s Wife” or something similar would fit.
Or, he could decide to…age the source a.k.a me a little more, so I could make a bigger splash later and hence sell more papers. Judging by the attempted and botched assassination after the Whole Cake Island arc, Morgan wasn't fully in cahoots with the World Government.
A third possibility was that the World Government already knew, but wasn't going to make it public, like how they gave Doffy the Warlord position to hide the fact he had stolen the celestial tribute when he threatened to go public. While this was much lesser in scale, it would still be highly embarrassing for the Marines and the World Nobles.
I guess I would find out in the coming weeks if not days. So far, there was no mention of me in the papers, which gave me hope this would all blow over. To be honest, with Whitebeard nearby, they really couldn't be sparing me any attention.
Plus, if you were St. Charloss and St. Rosswald, would you be more mad at the pirate who had dared to hit you or at the pirate who kidnapped replaceable wife number 13? I would bet you my left kidney that it was going to be the former. And if they didn’t do anything about Luffy, despite knowing he was alive, maybe they wouldn't actively come after me?
If worst came to worst, I did have one option in mind for temporary sanctuary.
“We’re almost there, captain Bellamy.” Byron told me, pointing towards a green landmass in the distance. “You said you were meeting Urouge of the Mad Monk Pirates?”
“Yep. I’ve got a letter to deliver.”
Everything was going to be fine.
----------------------------------------
Radical Ideas
Welcome to Marineford Daily, your best and only source of accurate and unbiased truth.
Today the government speaker had the following statement:
The celestial dragons play a pivotal role in maintaining the stability and prosperity of the world, bringing about all that is good in the world by their mere existence. They are the living legacy of the last 800 years and their lineages will continue to watch over all mortal lives for centuries to come.
They tirelessly commit their time and their effort to ensure the next generation, grooming them to perfection and sparing no expense in removing all sources of contamination. (We thank our scientists for the effective isolation suits).
Furthermore, the celestial dragons take valuable time out of their day to inspect the lives of our normal citizens and granting a select and lucky few the opportunity of a lifetime to serve a greater purpose. It is an honor to die for.
Latest scientific findings suggest that it is only by their blessing that the sun continues to rise each day, though sadly further investigation was... indefinitely delayed by the head scientist Ms. Croomy being convinced by St. Rosswald to change careers.
In short, it is their immutable and irreplaceable presence which prevents the end of the world as we know it.
As to other news, the marines have let it be known that the notorious revolutionary Sprengkamp is wanted for sedition and spreading of radical ideology. Rumor has it that the criminal suggested on a public forum that celestial dragons should have...I shudder to say it...jobs. Yes, that's right folks. Jobs.
To make it even worse, witness reports say that unspeakable insults were uttered of which only one phrase is being released to the public: Celestial Dragons are evil for the sake of being evil.
*This news agency reiterates its commitment to law and order and our unwavering loyalty and servitude to the celestial dragons. All potentially offensive words within this report are the words of radicals and extremists and have nothing to do with the values purported by this news agency.*
We wish our brave boys and girls in the Marines the best of success in tracking down Sprengkamp and bringing the criminal to justice.
This was Marineford Daily reporting.
And as always, please follow us to never miss an update on the best news reports this side of the Red Line.