Buggy returned to the ship to find Devlin sleeping in one of the rooms. He sighed as looked at her. 'Idiot. What if someone had come back? Mm. She won't last long on the sea if she's not careful.' He was tempted to wake her but thought better of it. The peace and quiet of the night were too valuable to give up.

'And I've heard kids are usually cranky after a nap.' He chuckled as he walked away from the open door and into one of the rooms across from it. He laid the woman on the floor and the Fishman on the bed. Whoever stayed in that room, most likely a noble, just so happened to be large enough to need a bed that could hold and support the size and weight of a grown Fishman.

He picked the woman back up and walked into a room just down the hall. He wanted to keep the two of his 'patients' close to each other on the off chance they happened to wake up at the same time. A small chance of it happening, but still an unwanted problem in Buggy's eyes.

He grabbed a chair from the room, walked back onto the deck, and sat down. As he took in the sight of his new ship he smiled. Everything was just right. The gentle breeze making its way from one side of the ship to the other, the smell of salt rising from the sea, and the soft groan of the rocking ship's wood. It was perfect.

After a few minutes of appreciation, he began to think about what he had and what he needed. This would be no simple task, either. What he chose to do from this point forward would directly affect where he would find himself in his later years.

He had a ship, three potential crewmates, and... no way of getting out of the ship yard. Buggy felt his heart sink. 'How could I have overlooked this? How the hell am I supposed to get this ship out of here with only me to operate it!?' He stood up and began to pace back and forth.

He ruffled his hair and growled in frustration before finally thinking of his out. 'When I think about it I count for, like, three people, right? So I'd really only need one more person to get out of here.' Rubbing his chin in further contemplation he wondered if the girl would be up to it.

'She did want to go to sea... and it wouldn't be such a bad thing if she happened to set sail with me. I am experienced...It would be mutually beneficial.' He stopped walking as he reached Devlin's door. 'I guess there's no other choice. But how do I go about doing it?'

After a few minutes of internal deliberation, he made a decision. It went against his policy of never purposely antagonizing the World Government, with the exception of stealing a Noble's ship, but there are times when sacrifices must be made. No matter how reluctant Buggy was to do so.

Buggy went back to the deck and took off towards the town once more. This time he was heading to his room at the hotel. It was easy enough for him to get in through the window without making himself known. If he didn't have to pay for the room, he gladly wouldn't.

He didn't stay here long enough to get comfortable, but enough to make a mess. He sighed as he went around the room and gathered the dirty clothes that were strewn about. After he put away his last pair of socks, he got to work on carefully putting away the assortment of chemicals and metals that he'd been working with.

His research into developing the Buggy Balls was coming along nicely. He'd managed to decrease the amount of materials needed to make a single one. All it took was for him to drop the notion that bigger was better. This allowed him to make multiple Buggy Balls and even gave him an idea of making a smaller version of them if the current versions limitations are what he thinks they are.

Hefting his bags over his shoulder, he hightailed it back to the ship. He didn't want to waste too much time flying back and forth. 'I really should give her a new name. I refuse to call her The Immortalite. That name is just oozing elitist bullshit.'

'A ship's name should have character. It should define the ship and the people on it. Maybe something like The Rising Sun. No no no that's not it...The Running Clown? Ehh. I'm not with the whole clown thing anymore. I'd be a laughing stock to the entire world if I made a name for myself with that kind of title hovering over me.' Unbeknownst to Buggy, his body had descended a few feet while he was lost in his thoughts.

As he moved underneath the clouds he could see the moonlight shimmering on the dancing waves. Suddenly it all fell into place. 'The Morning Star.' He smiled at the name he'd thought of and hoped anyone with some sense would understand what it implied.

On his way back to the Morning Star he stopped by the fishing boat from before. It didn't look like anyone had gone anywhere near it. He grabbed hold of Devlin's bags and his feet and took off towards the sky, once more hiding in the clouds as he made his way back to the ship.

As he flew, Buggy couldn't help but feel smug about what he'd achieved. After years of being able to not fly without having his feet connected to the ground, he'd figured it out. It was about a month before he came to Loguetown that he finally found the loophole that came with every devil fruit's power.

Buggy reasoned that while his feet did need to be connected to the ground, the ground didn't necessarily have to be as well. He tested this possibility by ripping off a plank of wood from the ship he was on, holding it up with his hand in midair, and placing his feet on it. It worked. He made several attempts with several different types of platforms.

Dirt, wood, metal, stone, and so many others allowed him to achieve the same result. To fly without needing to leave his feet vulnerable in one location. Instead of doing so, he could simply put them in a box and carry them with him as he took flight. From the moment he realized he had to leave his feet behind in order to fly, he'd always feared it would be his undoing. How thankful he felt when he proved himself wrong.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Of course, there was still the way he wanted to improve the whole problem with his feet, as well as the other shortcomings that come with his particular devil fruit. But for now, he would continue to enjoy his small victory as he had been.

Soon he was back on the Morning Star and placing his belongings in the Captain's room and Devlin's in hers. Judging by the look of the horizon, Buggy estimated that the Sun would rise in less than two hours. It was just enough time to pull off his plan. He'd need to hurry if he wanted it to work.

Buggy was soon on the decks of other ships, tampering with the cannons that were there. There weren't too many ships in the yard so he only needed two or three Buggy Balls to achieve the desired effect. He altered one cannon on each ship to have a longer fuse before loading it with a Buggy Ball.

The great thing about Buggy Balls, in Buggy's opinion, was that they left the cannon and the section of the ship that they were fired from blown to hell and damaged beyond repair. There would be no reverse engineering his invention if there isn't enough left of it to work with. That was the true power behind the Buggy Ball.

He loathed the scientific capabilities of World Government and Marine scientists. They're the reason he bothered to make his work truly his own. The last thing he needed was the assholes of the world coming down on him with his own creation.

After he lit the fuses on each of the cannons he hauled ass back to the Morning Star and lowered the sails. There wouldn't be much time before the ship next to the Star would be pushed back by the rigged cannon on its deck and crush Buggy, as well as his new ship and its passengers. After the main sail had been set, he swung around to the back of the ship and pushed with every ounce of strength he had trying to get every bit closer to the closed gate as he could.

In her room, Devlin was enjoying her much needed rest until an ear-splitting blast cut through the quiet of the night. Terrified she jumped up and fell to the floor. It took a fierce struggle to untangle herself from the sheets that wrapped around her.

Within seconds of freeing herself, she's up and running down the hall, up the staircase, and out onto the deck. What she sees stops her dead in her tracks. All around her is destruction, devastation, and demolition.

The docks are now simple splinters floating in the water, the ships that once surrounded the one she was stood on were gone. Now nothing but floating debris remained in place of the ships that once towered over her. And almost a quarter of the private dock's warehouses are either destroyed or heavily damaged.

Devlin stood on the deck scared and confused as to what had happened. She didn't even notice that the ship was moving towards the now demolished gate.

"…y…ey!….HEY!" Snapping out of her shock she turned to look at the source of the shout. It was Buggy. More precisely it was Buggy's floating head. Knowing he was here and that she was not alone brought Devlin some comfort. Still flustered, she stumbled to get her words out. "I- w-wh-what's happening!? I don't...!"

"There's no time! I need you to climb up there and unfurl the rest of those sails! We need to hurry!" His head nodded in the direction of the sails. Devlin ran to do as ordered, too disoriented to do anything else.

As the Morning Star crossed the gate's remains and into the open waters Buggy felt as though an immense weight was just lifted off of him. He had made it out of the yard and away from the marines. He had a new ship, a possible crew, and he'd finally gotten to test his Buggy Balls against actual naval ships. All in all, it was a productive night.

Buggy checked the compass and adjusted the ship to head southeast. They would not be returning to Loguetown anytime soon. Buggy looked back and saw what looked like hundreds of marines piling into the remains of the private docks. 'Yeah, definitely not.'

As Buggy watched the chaos in unhidden glee, he could feel a set of eyes boring into him. Turning around, he faced a now clear minded Devlin. "Hey, Buggy…was- I-...did you destroy all those ships?" He nodded his head, proud of what his creation could do. Proud that something that strong could come from him.

He had spent the last year working tirelessly to improve upon his original designs. To see it in action with almost twice the fire power as the original model was nothing short of ecstasy. And now that he'd seen a glimpse of what he might one day accomplish, he felt a burning desire to know what his future had in store for both him and those who followed him.

"Why did you save those people?" He was brought out of his prideful wonder by another question. "The slaves, I mean. You're a pirate, aren't you? A scourge of the sea. Ruthless and uncaring. People who don't think twice…about…the- W-why are you laughing!?" She stopped ranting in confusion and began yelling in outrage as she noticed his visible efforts to suppress his laughter.

Not able to stand it, he doubled over in uncontrollable laughter. Every time he tried to reclaim his calm, one look at the pouting girl was enough to make him lose control. He wasn't being cruel or making fun of her in any way, he just felt her view on pirates was funny. If he could, he would have explained that he was one of a handful of pirates that wasn't like that.

To the average person, mainly those who listen and buy into the World Government's propaganda, a pirate was a menace. Someone who would tear down your home, take your wife, kill your family, and bleed you dry of everything you hold dear without even batting an eye. And they would be mostly right. Mostly. He just didn't expect someone eager to go out to sea to be one of them.

After a few minutes of continuously fading laughter, Buggy finally managed to calm himself down. But rather than try and explain his thoughts to Devlin, he chose to turn around and head below deck.

It took a few minutes to find the kitchen. It was impressive, to say the least. With the large counters, fully stocked fridges and pantries, and several dozen drawers and cabinets filled with various cooking instruments and utensils, it looked like it was designed to cater to a certain Noble's never ending need to eat.

'I bet this was necessary for the guy who slept in that large bed from earlier.' At that thought, his mind wondered about the two people that needed to be cared for. 'Well, better get started.'

After searching the place from top to bottom and getting all the ingredients and kitchen tools he needed Buggy began to cook what looked to be a large meal.

Buggy had scoured the oversized kitchen for the ingredients he needed. He was planning on making a feast as a good way to start their adventure together. As Buggy was setting up the cannons earlier, he realized that there was a good chance that they'd choose to stay with him.

Realistically, the first place you look for slaves that have escaped the noble that owned them is the same place they were picked up. So even if they do want to go home, they'd have to wait for the search for them to end. Not to mention the distance from where they are right now to where their home might be. So in Buggy's mind, they were already part of his crew; regardless of what state they were in now.

Devlin had walked into the kitchen during Buggy's scavenge for ingredients and sat down at one of the tables. He waited several minutes for her to say something before trying to make small talk himself. Judging by the way she shuffled in her seat, the silence was too uncomfortable for her.

"You know," Her head perked up as he spoke. "Back when you tried to steal my boat, you never told me your name. We only got as far as mine." She stared at him for a moment before giving him a bright smile. "My name is Devlin. Marcy D. Devlin."