Serious: Horseshoes, Straitjackets & Russian Roulette

[Docile]

4 Days Later . . .


Pulling up out of the mist which had blind sided them, Calico, Johnny & Raife were finally on their way out of the seas and headed towards a big island where they could stock up on the supplies they badly needed. It turned out after they'd been aboard the ship for two days they'd realized there was no food aboard and had to start fishing. Of course this was after they learnt how to fish. Although Calico had spent allot of his time diving in after fish and come back out with either several hook on his anchor or a large one tied up in the ropes.

Raife had been a good boy and behaved himself mostly. Not once attempting to attack Calico nor Johnny even though he seemed like he was plotting something. Nothing came to fruition. In actual fact he'd really been attempting to create a fighting style for himself. It wasn't anything unique or special, but it was something. Something only he knew of and it was all his and would be only his. He had decided to call it Cloud Cutter Combat. Once he was free of these two numb skulls he'd be off on his own and start perfecting it. He had decided on the third day at sea, that he would also let Calico & Johnny keep the ship.

Thanks to the mass spillage of booze in the lower decks it wasn't fairing very well. Raife woke up every morning with a strong smell of booze entering his nostrils and it wasn't something that best pleased him.

Standing at the helm that morning with a smile on his face as the island of Pulcho revealed itself on the other side of the mist Raife was happy to see his journey with these lunatics would soon be over. He couldn't wait to get his hands on more candy too, since he'd just run out a few hours ago and was having withdrawal syndrome.

Sweating a little and shaking as he tied to steer the ship perfectly Raife couldn't help it, he had it bad and needed that sweet sweet sugary goodness and all they had was left over beer from the night before and he wasn't touching that.

Lying in the crow's nest with a hang over Calico was slumped in a mess with his anchor and seagull shit splattered all over him. Seems it was revenge for his attempts to catch them for food the past day. He'd spent his time throwing his anchor at them but usually missed since his rope didn't reach fa enough.

But soon their hunger would come to an end.

Pulcho the island of gambling, overzealous Marine officers, scantily dressed women who'd give you a night in Heaven for the right price and streets littered with everyone trying to make a quick few beli. It was also known as the City of Gold, but if anything it was more like the city of gold wrapping paper. With everyone trying to screw someone over it'd be hard to get out with more than you came with. In the past a safe haven for pirates due to a lack of law, but now the city had been identified as part of a large gold trade, and the Navy weren't letting this get away. Wanting their fair share two Head Quarters were constructed and planted at the harbour to keep an eye on everyone who entered and to keep criminals from escaping with ease whilst the second one stood smack bang in the dead centre of the town overlooking the race track, casinos and the town square where the women plied their trade and shook their booties. All streets conjoining on to it were littered with the conmen and many many more types of people you didn't want to meet unless you knew how to handle yourself.

This was Pulcho Island.

[Colm]

The night before Johnny had been designated as the bartender of the ship, this was the case of course ever since they really started this voyage but it's not like he was complaining. He'd be the first one to get the drinks, and usually the last one. Johnny was annoyed to have to share what little booze they had left with Raife but upon discovering the guy didn't even like alcohol he thanked his lucky stars. Somehow the amount of drink that had survived had managed to outlast the food that had been untouched, a couple of days ago they had run out and were forced to fish. Johnny didn't really know how but he was able to pick up on it rather quickly, Calico was the raining champ though considering he just had to dive in and come out with a crap load of food. Of course he'd probably have been stuck in the water if it wasn't for Johnny pulling him out, but that wasn't important, teamwork got things done after all. Last night was pretty intense though compared to the other nights, Calico and himself had gone pretty heavy on the drinking and they were definitely going to be paying for it.

The ship shifted just enough due to Raife's steering to cause Johnny to slide down the stairs a tad, hitting his face against each step. After sliding for a moment he managed to reach out and grab a hold of the railing that was used to help people go up and down when their balance was a little less than stable. Looking up it was clear that Johnny was in some pain from the alcohol, it wasn't the worst hang over he'd ever had, at least he didn't think it was. If it wasn't for the fact Johnny could hold his liquor pretty well he probably would have succumb to alcohol poisoning, at least that's what he thought. Lifting himself up Johnny rocked back and forth a tad, even with his hand against the railing it was hard to keep standing. Hopefully this would wear off when he was actually awake, rubbing his face with his free hand he could feel some pain. Remembering what happened the night before he had been on his way back up from the lower level with some drinks to continue the party when he tripped and landed face first against the staircase, he'd dropped the bottles and was having some difficulties getting to his feet. Johnny decided to just call it a night there, not his worst idea although there were more ideal sleeping areas. The intense smell of the storage room slapped Johnny across the face, he liked the stench of various types of booze mixed together but this was pushing even him a little back. Even in his dazed state he could tell the room was practically falling apart, all the alcohol had set in over the past few days and the wood was starting to rot. They were going to need a new ship real soon.

Making his way to the deck Johnny shielded his face from the blast of sunlight, it stung more than his face did and he nearly fell back down the staircase. Shit man... After a minute or two his eyes finally adjusted and he was able to actually step from his post, searching around as he walked Johnny was unable to see Calico anywhere. That must have meant he was up on the crow's nest, Johnny laughed at the thought, that was an even worse place to spend the night then his crash landing. In his glancing to and fro Johnny found Raife at the helm of the ship, he seemed to be pretty focused on something. Making his way over there he was able to see it was an island, the nutcase had managed to pull it off and actually get them to land. Walking over next to him Johnny slapped him on the back lightly. Well would you look at that? I was worried you were unable to tell your ass from your elbow considering you tried to take this ship from us. But it looks like you knew what you were doing after all, so good on ya man. Staring out at the island Johnny wondered where they had arrived at exactly, he was getting a vibe from the place that resonated well with him. With a smile creeping across his face Johnny could tell this place was going to have one hell of a time in store for them.

[Docile]

Not noticing Johnny emerging from downstairs Raife was caught slightly off guard when his hand met his back followed by his voice and comment about what he'd originally thought of him. Suffering from the lack of sugar in his system though Raife turned to look at Johnny with a pale slightly moist face.

He looked as if he were turning into a zombie with little to no interest in brains.

"I've been studying navigation so I can head out and accomplish my dreams and I just need a ship to take me to all those places I want to go to since I know half the places I've marked out wanting to head to, no one will want to go to because they'll be too scared to go, just because its too dangerous." Raife spoke in a monotone voice before slowly turning back to see which way he had to steer.

Spinning the wheel left to avoid clashing with the shore, the ship swiftly took on a nice simple detour around the shore. Spinning it back to the right he asked Johnny.

"Hows your head after Lucifer pissed in your mouth and slapped you about?" Raife asked as he tapped Johnny on the head hoping to enrage his hang over.

Turning back to the island he could see it coming into much greater focus and smiled, soon the candy would be all his.

Hearing the squawking of seagulls Calico slowly opened his eyes and sat up. Feeling the dried shit dribbled down his face he quickly started to rub it off the best he could. Realizing it wasn't all coming off he stood up and stumbled a little. Grabbing hold of the side he hoisted his anchor and hooked it on to the side before he abseiled down to the deck.

Tugging the rope his anchor came hurtling after him. Reaching out to catch it Calico managed to grab the end of it and was dragged into the ground by the weight of it. His balance apparently wasn't all that great yet.

Drawing closer to the island Raife had begun to bounce a little, it was clear he was eager to get hit teeth into some sweet sweet sugar, but must've looked strange to Calico & Johnny. But he didn't care.

As the ship reached a safe distance Raife quickly left the steering wheel.

"We're here! We're here! We're here! We're here! We're here! We're here! We're here! We're here!"

Clutching his chest as he ran as quickly as he could manage on such little energy Raife kicked the winch for the anchor which quickly loosened the grip on it dropping it directly into the water below. Crashing into the shore the ship came to a sudden halt and Raife sprinted to the side, diving over the edge he splashed into the water below and started to swim towards the shore.

They were still a good twenty five feet away from the actual island but the anchor was down and Raife was sure eager.

Picking himself up and tying his anchor to his waist Calico held on to the mast as he looked towards Johnny attempting to make out just who it was since the sun kind of blinded him.

[Colm]

Raife started to explain himself to Johnny, it was odd considering he normally wouldn't have cared about anything that came out of the guy's mouth, but he decided to hear him out anyway. The thought of Raife going to dangerous places alone made Johnny laugh, he couldn't picture him handling any kind of difficult situation with any tactic other than running for his life. Of course if he was in a hurry to get himself killed that was totally up to him, it had nothing to do with Calico or himself. The tapping of his forehead left a buzzing sensation in Johnny's ears, it was somewhat painful bust mostly just annoying, nevertheless he was tempted smack him in the back of his head. Returning his attention to the island Johnny could see they would be reaching it within moments, he noticed something from the corner of his eye and focused his attention on it without turning his head. Raife was bouncing, odd but somewhat expected behavior of him. When they were really close he got extremely excited and ran over to drop the anchor, listening for it Johnny could hear it drop and splash into the water. Without waiting Raife jumped over the edge and into the water, he started to make a swim for it to the island. Looked like he'd be long gone. Turning behind him Johnny could see Calico standing there shielding his eyes, he seemed in a worse off shape then Johnny did. Walking over to him Johnny stopped a few feet away and smiled at him. Morning captain. You sure look like shit.

[Docile]

Calico
Johnny

Hearing Johnny's first words Calico realised it was indeed him and not only was it him he was telling him how shit he looked. Great. Just great.

"You can't talk much. Party pooper, where did you vanish to last night?"

Calico's head was still spinning a little and the anchor weighed him down a bit but he wasn't going to let it stop him finding his treasure. He had seen Raife sprint past him and leap over board but now he wanted some answers.

"Right we're going to need to get our hands on supplies possibly a new ship and some more booze, whilst we're here I can also ask about a navigator and the way to where ever Goldbeard's map is has the X on it."


Raife

Reaching the shore drenched and in need of sugar Raife sprinted past the Marine Head Quarters and towards the town, he needed some sugar and fast. Feeling his torso aching and his mouth dry he quickly made his way into town in a mess of sweat. Pushing past people as he made his way into the closest store he dug his teeth into a mango straight through the skin. The juices calmed him a bit.

Relaxing slumped over he picked it up and started peeling the skin off quickly as he could manage and within seconds he'd chomped on all the orange flesh. Leaving just a seed behind the shop owner ran out to shout at him and demand payment to only be met by a hand full of beli and Raife sprinting off with a crate of mangos to satisfy his urge for sweetness till he could find real sweets, proper sweets. Candy!

[Colm]

Johnny just scratched his head and laughed at Calico's comment, he didn't really have much room to talk himself considering he just passed out where he landed last night. On the bright side he wasn't covered in bird shit, so at the moment he had the upper hand in whitty comebacks. Seems like there was quite a lot to do today, gathering supplies would probably be a bit difficult considering Johnny didn't have much cash on him and he doubted Calico was rolling in money. Getting a new ship would be a tremendous pain in the ass, of course if they were going to be making a habit of just stealing one everytime they got to a new island then it wouldn't be so bad. That was a pretty lame thing to do though, real pirates had one good ship and stuck with it, hopefully they'd be able to do the same soon enough. More booze though, that should definitely be at the top of the list considering they were out, at least to the best of Johnny's memory they had already drank everything that hadn't been destroyed. Finding a navigator was also very important, they had lucked out but next time they probably wouldn't be able to make it to an island. Being forced to drift aimlessly through the ocean was beyond freakin stupid and Johnny wanted to have nothing to do with it. It was also about damn time they got their hands on the treasure from the map, hopefully whatever it was would be able to help them with their journey. Taking a look over to the island it seemed they had drifted forward enough to the point where Johnny could actually get off the ship without drowning. Returning his attention to Calico he offered him a thumbs up. Great ideas captain. Lead the way.

[Docile]

Calico
Johnny

As Johnny mentioned these ideas sounded good Calico smiled.

"Alright well tell you what, I'm going to have a quick wash. We should also probably split up to get things done quicker. I'll find us a navigator, talk about the map & see if I can get us a ship. You just worry about getting supplies, booze & see if you can find out anything about the map. We'll meet back here at sun down?"

Removing his top and pants Calico was left standing in only his underwear before Johnny and already heading downstairs to find something to wash himself up with. A good wash was what he needed as did his clothing. Soon he would be out in the town causing trouble for people and getting his crew together.

Gazing up at the large ship which was beached right now and in pretty bad shape due to the slightly reckless driving of Raife thanks to his withdraw syndrome, a young boy stood on the beach gazing up at the ship and mainly Johnny.

"Hey Mister!"

Waving his arms as he tried to get Johnny's attention the boy picked up a rock ready to throw it if he needed to do so.


Raife

Dropping the remains of his mangos to the floor Raife caught sight of a sweet shop. Kicking in the door he arched up to the counter and slammed down a good few beli and ordered 3 bags of sweets. Upon receiving the sweets he begun to stuff his face like an elephant at an all you can eat restaurant.

Finishing the bags he sat on the floor with a smile on his face and a slightly wet mouth from the saliva. Standing back up and slamming down a few more beli he ordered the same thee bags again and a fourth. Placing them in his pockets he grabbed the woman behind the counter and hugged her tightly followed by kissing her on both cheeks and danced out the door.

Never had he been in love so much as with this woman.

Now his job was to find a ship, that and a new map if he could find one. Heading down an alleyway he bumped into a large burly man with a trench coat and fedora. Smiling at him before trying to get round him Raife was blocked by him each step he took.

"'Scuse me mate, but I'm tryin' to get past you."

"Too bad your not going anywhere."

Reaching for his tomahawks Raife was met by a couple of barrels pressed against his chest.

"Your coming with me"

[Colm]

Standing there in his underwear and probably feeling damn proud about it was Calico, Johnny stared at him blankly for a moment, apparently after you survive a near death experience or two you can suddenly do stuff like that with no questions asked. The mystical powers of friendship were quite a wonder. As he walked off Johnny simply nodded his head, accepting the task he had just been given by his captain. Alright, works for me. I'll take care of things, good luck with getting a ship though. I'll see you in a while. Turning and getting ready to head off he heard a voice, looking around for a moment Johnny peeked over the edge and found a boy on the beach trying to desperately get someone's attention. Jumping over the side of the ship and landing on the ground Johnny straightened himself up, thanks to the soft sand he didn't even have to coil up to absorb the impact. Staring down the small boy that stood before him Johnny crossed his arms. Can I help you with something kid?

[Docile]

Calico

Whilst Calico washed himself up he figured getting hold of a ship would be difficult, but he'd still try his hardest to get hold of one. If he could get one then all would be well. But he wouldn't mind if Johnny got hold of one either.

Feeling his body so much nicer now that it was clean he made sure to grab hold of a change of clothing and his anchor. Tying it to his waist and around his limbs and like always he was ready to head off into the town of debauchery.

Leaping over the front of the ship out of sight of Johnny & the little boy, he managed to perform a flip and land on his feet. Grunting a little as he landed, he quickly begun to sprint into the town. It was time he got himself into some trouble.

In a matter of moments he was approached by a woman who placed a hand on his shoulder and attempted to entice him into an alleyway.

"Hello they're big boy, what would a nice guy like you say to a night in heaven with me?"

"I'm bit busy love, I'm searching for someone who knows how to navigate."

"Well I can tell you I'll be heading down South." she said as she ran her hand down. Gripping her wrist, Calico lifted her hand up and shook his head. Pushing her aside he continued forwards further into the town.

That's when his eyes fell upon a sign.

Looking for a rush of adrenaline and a chance to win over 1,000,000?

Before Calico even finished reading the advert, his eyes fell upon the location and was already dashing down the stairs just opposite the sign where the event was taking part.

Pushing the door open his first words were.

"I'm looking for a rush and the chance to win a million beli, where do I go?"

The rush of adrenaline really applied to him, as for the money, it would help get a ship. Spotting two large burly men sat behind a desk the men stood up. One shut the door behind Calico whilst the other gestured for him to come on over.


Johnny

Seeing the tall man approach him the little boy smiled when he asked if there was something he could help him with. In all honesty there was but currently the kid just wanted to be a good citizen.

Looking at Johnny then pointing to the ship he mentioned.

"Your ship looks a bit battered, I think you need a new one."

Smiling back at Johnny he hopped off the bench and approached the edge of the shore to take a closer look at the ship's condition.

"Yep, the hull's gonna snap if you keep sailing in that thing." Looking back up at Johnny he grinned with one of those annoying grins that hinted he knew something, something useful but was putting off telling it.

"Mom taught me all about ships and yours is a text book case of what she calls fucked!" he chuckled to himself as he held his hands behind his back.

"If you like I could take you to see her, she might be able to help you out with a ship. She works as a shipwright at the yard on the other side of the town." waiting for an answer the little boy rocked back and forth on his feet smiling gleefully.


Raife

Having a sack pulled over his head and being led into what seemed to be a warehouse Raife felt his hands tied behind his back and ropes tied around his ankles too.

The next thing he knew the bag slipped from his head and blood was rushing to his face. Suspended upside down tied up he looked at his captors of whose faces were all covered with stupid masks. One of a monkey, one of a hockey player and another of a donkey.

"What do you guys want?" Raife asked a little curious as well as a little annoyed. He had all the candy he needed, but a little more couldn't hurt could it?

"We've got a job for you." the monkey masked guy said.

"Okay great, you guys could've just asked instead of holding me at gunpoint."

"And what, give you a chance to run? No I don't think so, we want this job done or no one else to know about it."

"So if I refuse you'll kill me?"

"Thats the general gist." the donkey masked man replied.

"Then I guess I'm going to have to say yes. I really enjoy living."

"That's just what we like to hear." Chuckling a bit the crew all seemed happy with the way things were going.

"So what's this job?"

[Colm]

Johnny was a little surprised to see this kid knew what he was talking about, knowing about ships wasn't exactly common knowledge among children. He started laughing as the kid tried to do what Johnny figured was show off some of his knowledge, he was right about the hull but there was a lot more to deal with then just that. Whatever you see on the outside is much worse on the inside, trust me on that. Woods gotten rotted over the past couple of days, the whole lower half of the ship is coming about and there sure as hell isn't anything I can do about it. Fixing it is pointless, there's much more sense in just getting a new one. Staring blankly at the child Johnny wasn't sure if he should hit him or something for swearing, then again that was typical language among Johnny and his friends growing up. Deciding to not be a hypocrite and to avoid the trouble of getting turned in for beating a kid that wasn't his he figured he should just hear the kid out. Seems like Johnny would be able to work something out to get a new ship, with any luck the young boy's mother would be able to steer him in the direction of some supplies. Grinning at the kid before him Johnny nodded his head. Sure thing kid, just lead the way.

[Docile]

Calico

Smiling at Calico the men opened a door behind them and showed Calico inside. Following him in they sat him down on a chair in front of a table and opposite another man. Around them stood three other men with their arms crossed and stern faces.

Sitting down and looking around the man who had followed him in placed a revolver down on the table along with his two hands either side.

"Alright guys, we're here to play a little Russian Roulette. Now I'm assuming you both know the rules and if you don't then too bad, I'm gonna teach you and only one of you is gonna leave this room."

Lifting the revolver and dropping 5 of the 6 bullets to the floor he spun the cylinder around before snapping it back in and placing the gun down.

"Heads or tails?" he asked as he placed a coin on his thumb.

"Tails!" Calico called out. Nodding the man flipped the coin.

Looking at the man opposite him whose eyes seemed to be darting back'n'forth he continued.

"Tails never fails!"

Catching the coin and revealing the side which was showing it was heads.

"Looks like you'll be shooting first."

Nodding Calico lifted the revolver and placed the barrel in his mouth, biting down on the barrel he looked into the other man's eyes and smiled.

Calico squeezed the trigger.


Johnny

Listening to Johnny speak about how badly damaged the ship was his eyes widened a little and when he said he may as well get a new one his grin grew wider. Upon mere suggestion of leading the way he was off like a shot speeding to the streets.

Leading to the town then taking a left alongside the harbour passing close by the Marine Head Quarters by the docks, then taking off down a muddy track the little boy proved he didn't like wasting time. It was a long muddy track but by the time they reached the end of the track it was clear why the yard was so far from the town. The yard was huge with a big lake reaching into it which headed out into the large open Blue.

"This is the place. Follow me."

Leading the way in and pushing the door open the boy caught sight of his mother within seconds. Rushing up to greet her he placed his arms around her. Smiling his toothy grin to his burly mother with arms so thick they'd make a man's thighs look small she clocked the man with her son.

"Mom, mom, mom I found a man who needs a new ship. We can sell one to him. We can make some money, I did good right mommy?"

Hugging him to her stomach she smiled back at him and stood up towering over her son.

"Yes, you did good, you did real good."

Heading towards the man she had questions in mind. The main one in her mind being, Pirate or Marine?


Raife

"You'll see what it is soon enough. All you need to know is your going to do as we ask or your going to die."

"Alright well lay it on me, I'm ready!"

Smiling the man in the donkey mask closed in on Raife and cast three blows to his face knocking him out cold. The punches really ached each and every one only making the former pain worse.

During his unconscious state Raife couldn't have ever said what happened to him, but when he woke up, he had a pretty good idea. His clothing was the same, but his torso felt a little unusual. Lifting his shirt up he found an explosive linked via a den den mushi attached to his torso.

"You're going to be our little robber and if you try anything all it takes is just one call and . . . bye bye."

"Alright, so I'll rob banks for you till you've had enough you'll blow me up right?"

"Got it in one."

Nodding Raife agreed to robbing the banks for him. He knew that the longer he did good the longer her would be allowed to live, so all he had to do was keep it cool and do nothing out of the ordinary.

"Right you got it, I'll rob wherever you want me."

"Your on your way to the house track."

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