Exploring the All Towns Market, the four quickly split upon finding differing interests.
Shin and Victor got lost in the weapon shop, whilst Ruby and Davy J. explored everything else.
Davy:(sniff, sniff)
Davy: The food smells amazing...
Ruby: This is the one place in the world where you could probably find every cuisine in the book.
Ruby: Here, try this.
Buying two cups of meat from an assortment of different animals, Ruby educates Davy on the caliber of All Town food.
Davy:(munch)
Davy: Mmm~
Davy: Each meat has its own flavor... Yet they equally have this glaze and they melt in your mouth at the same rate...
Ruby:(munch)
Ruby: Despite being a pirate town, its standards are higher than anywhere else.
Davy: You know a lot about this place.
Ruby: My Grandfather was the head architect. So of course I have a bit of pride.
Ruby: Not to mention I used to spend a lot of my time here before...
Davy: Before what?
Ruby: Nevermind. Do you see that over there?
She points out a small stage further down the shopping district where people gathered. Finding it interesting, Davy and Ruby head towards it to discover it was an auction.
The cause of the bidding war was a Devil Fruit.
Auctioneer: Pirates and other Pirates. Today, I present to you the Woosh-Woosh Fruit!
Auctioneer: This Bana from hell shall give whoever bites into it the power to control and become air.
Auctioneer: A logia-type fruit, you best bet that the starting price is Eight billion!
Several people raise their hands, raising the price.
Davy: Would you want that fruit?
Ruby: Hell no.
Ruby: Eating one of those who means I could never swim again.
Davy: Maybe for a Merfolk, swimming is important...
Ruby: Why'd you eat a Devil Fruit?
Davy: I ate it because it forced me to live my life purely based on what I truly wanted.
Davy: Not based on what was easy but I didn't care for.
Ruby: Huh...
Shin: Ohhhhhh!!
Shin: They have Dial tech weapons!!
Victor: Uh huh...
Shin: The models are from last year... But the selection is vast.
In a weapon store, the Afro-boy and Whilstling Anarchist looked through the selection, each interested in finding a particular item.
Shin: You know... I could probably use the weapons here to upgrade your gun.
Shin: Maybe even make a better gun.
Victor: Zody is perfect as is.
Shin: Well... I can tell by looking at it, Zody there is an overheating problem if you overuse fire dials.
Shin: And is the Dial Chamber fully optimized with the most up-to-date techniques?
Victor:.....
Shin:(rubs nose) It's a fine iron. But it could be even better...
Victor: That afro must be the living embodiment of your ego.
Victor: You want me to let you touch my Zody? You've gotta prove yourself.
Shin: How?
Victor: Build me a weapon.
Shin: Hah! Easy. What weapon do you want?
Victor: A guitar.
Shin:.... Uhhhhh....
Victor: With a gun.
Shin: O-Okay... I can work with that.
Victor: And not some low-caliber hidden gun. I want the guitar to be both a fully functional instrument of song and Bang.
Shin: Hmmm... Challenge accepted!
Victor: You're funding it.
Shin: Come on!!
Victor, in the ammunition section, finds the extra special thing he was looking for.
Sea stone bullets.
Managing to argue for three with the money he had, Victor was satisfied.
Davy and Ruby continued exploring together until they came across a different type of auction. One where people were being auctioned off.
Auctioneer: Here we have a beautiful Mink perfect for those in need of a cook!
Davy: The hell is this?
Ruby: This is an auction where crews can find themselves a specifically skilled member that they're lacking.
Ruby: Doctors, cooks, Navigators, and musicians are the main categories that get auctioned off.
Ruby: It helps people who want adventure and crew missing someone.
Davy: These people are doing so of their own free will?
Ruby: Yeah. But this system is flawed...
Ruby: If you're unlucky, you might just get yourself in a mess....
Davy: Hmph. I don't know how to feel about this... Let's move on.
Davy: Like to that shop over there. It looks interesting.
Davy drags Ruby into a strange shop filled with books, antiques, and everything in between.
Ruby: It reeks of the old...
Old man: Why hello there!
Ruby: That explains it...
Davy: What the hell do you sell here?
Ruby: Maybe be a bit polite?
Davy: I think "polite" went out the window when you said he stank.
Ruby: One of us has to be polite!
Old man: Can I help you?
Davy: I dunno. Do you have anything to take me to the next level of power?
Old man: Hmmm...
Walking around the shop, the old man returns with a book.
Old man: "The Complete explanation of the Golden Ratio".
Old man: A bit wordy, but should spark some ideas.
Davy: Okay....?
Davy: How much?
He slams Davy's Wanted poster onto the table with a pen.
Old man: It's either 50 or an autograph.
Davy: So free? I can live with that...
He signs his Wanted poster.
Davy: Say, why do you want my autograph?
Old man: There are three ways to pay in this town, kid. With real money...
Old man: Or if your bounty is high enough and you're famous enough, an autograph.
Old man: Third is the Deadpool. People will wager when you die, and when you don't, the money is yours.
Davy: Huh... So I might actually be able to buy more than I think...
Davy: I got a pretty high bounty, Ruby. Want me to treat you to something?
Ruby:...
Davy: Ruby?
She had a distressed expression as she held her head down low.
Davy: Everything alright, Rub-
Ruby: Yeah, yeah. L-let's go...
She drags Davy out of the shop, as the old man tosses the book to him on their way out.
Davy: Hey, what's got your tail in a twist?
???: Hm?
(Above the water....)
The Wicked Wench slowly rocked with the waves. Tiga trained in her martial arts, Jade painted her nails, and Azriel kept an eye on the Kraken Pirate ship as a man on board did the same to them.
Azriel: Hmmmm...
Jade: Glaring is going to give you wrinkles when you're thirty darling, why don't you make yourself some tea?
Jade: And make me some while you are at it...
Azriel: This guy keeps watching us...
Jade: A man goggling at a bunch of attractive women?
Jade:(sarcastically) Oh how strange...
Tiga: Attractive women? Where?
Jade: I was talking about us, kitten.
Tiga: I'm attractive?
Jade: Awww, kitten, of course you are. A bit grizzly, but you're downright precious.
Jade: Given the right dress, you might have to beat the men off of you.
Tiga: "Beat the man off of me," you say...?
Tiga: Are these men strong?
Jade: Perhaps some are...
Tiga: Alright! I'm in! Dress me up!
Jade: Qha-ha-ha! Alright, kitten, I'll have Ruby look out for the perfect one for you.
Jade: She has an eye for that sort of thing like I do-
Azriel: Can we focus on the man?
Jade:(sigh)
Jade:(looks over her couch) What's the big deal? Is he hot or-
Jade:?
Jade: Ched?
Ched:(in the distance) I knew it!
The man watching the ship leaped across onboard the Wicked Wench, who purred with a little excitement.
This man had dyed black hair on top of his head, and gray hair on his buzzcut sides. Covered in rats, and in worn-out clothing, he sat on Jade's couch armrest.
(Kraken crew "Advisor"/ Helllord; Cheddar "Ched" Ratatuie)
Jade: Fancy meeting you here-
Jade: And there fades the nostalgia... YOU STILL SMELL LIKE RAT SHIT!!
Jade: Get your dirty ass off my couch! It's brand new, I don't want to smell you on it, and I swear to on your future grave...
Jade: If I find one of your damn rats on her... Let alone spying, I'll send it back crucified!
Ched: I missed you too, broccoli locks.
Azriel: Wait is that...
Ched: Helllord, Ched. At your service.
He playfully bows.
Ched: So you found the Wicked Wench... And a "deserving" crew?
Jade: Hmph! I found the crew of Davy Jones...
Ched: Jones....? Oh! His son?
Jade: Has the pink hair of the bastard. But baby cheeks. He's adorable.
Ched: Hah! Really?
Azriel: Why is a Helllord on the Kraken crew's ship...?
Ched:(shrugs) Why is a Helllord on this ship?
Jade: Quiet you...
Ched: How about we move this conversation somewhere private?
Jade: Oh god, I have to be in an enclosed space with you?
Jade: Give me a moment to mentally prepare myself...
The floor they stood on lowered into a room below Deck.
Jade: No Wicky! I was being serious! (GAAAASP)
Tiga:.....(continues training)
Azriel:......
Ruby drags Davy into a restaurant.
Davy: What was that about?
Ruby: I... I'm just really thirsty and didn't we have to meet-
Scales:(whistles) A-hoy!
Ruby: Perfect...
Davy: Alright....?
Dropping the subject for now, Davy walked over to Scales's booth in the restaurant's bar area where he had a table full of food and drinks, and an arm over Gin's shoulders.
Taking his arm off of Gin, caused her to leave and head to the bathroom where Ruby followed.
Scales: Come on. Let's chat, buddy.
Taking a seat, Davy gets comfortable. Looking across the bar, he saw the Shagster talking to a few ladies, whilst everyone else was staring at him.
Scales: So... Are the rumors true?
Davy: What rumors?
Scales: The ones about your locker... You know? "Davy Jones's Locker".
Davy:....
(Flashback)
Arnold: Heh... "Davy Jones's locker".
Arnold: To guarantee a high bounty on you... And to get as many people to target you as possible...
Arnold: I told everyone I could possibly tell...
Arnold: That you stole the Marines' most valuable and most dangerous treasure...
Arnold: The Forbidden Fruit you saw...
Arnold: And you placed it in a hidden locker. Davy Jones's locker...
Arnold: Every door back there... Opening them would have given you something humane.
Armold: Life in prison... If you were useful, a pet for the Marines.
Arnold: But opening this door. Entering THIS room. Seeing THAT devil fruit.
Arnold: You must die.
(Flashback end)
Davy:(mind) If I spread the truth... Everyone is going to get wanted Dead...
Davy:(mind) They'll HAVE TO run... Like me... Shit, did he plan THAT too?
Davy: Perhaps... Perhaps not.
Davy: What's it to you?
Scales: Just curious as to what turned a nobody into an "Oncoming Storm" overnight.
Davy: "Oncoming Storm"?
Scales: Don't you read the news? It's what they call people like us.
Davy: My grandfather once told me..." To be an adult is to read the news".
Davy: I refused to conform to those ideals of an adult so I have refused to read the news.
Davy: If a news bird shows up, I kick it away.
Scales:.....
Scales: Fair. Enough.
Scales: Okay... So... An "Oncoming Storm"Â is a title for young high bounty pirates, "predicted" to be the cause of the future...
Scales: Well, take your pick... War, Dark Ages, Poverty, Tyranny, Crime...
Scales: You especially have pissed the Marines off.
Scales: And I hear some Pirates saying you're trying to start off the next Great Pirate Age with your equivalent to the "One Piece".
Davy: Pfft!
Davy: That's far from what I'm doing... I'm just a guy, interested in being free.
Scales: I can respect that...
Davy: Who are the other "Oncoming Storms"?
Scales: Well... Not counting the Helllords, who are more like "Honorable Mentions".
Scales: There's this one other guy. Leo. He's an asshole. If you meet him, kick him in the balls.
Scales: He'll know what that means...(holds in laughter)
Davy:....?
Azriel, suspicious of the two Helllords reunion, heads below deck to eavesdrop.
Azriel:(mind) Two Helllords... Troublemakers of the sea since before I was born so happen to meet here?
Azriel:(mind) I'm probably just paranoid, but I have to make sure this doesn't get in the way of my mission...
Finding the room they were talking in, Azriel tried to listen in but was having difficulty. She focused immensely.
This caused her power to react, and thus her ears transformed, sprouting into wings that allowed her to hear much more than the conversation behind the walls.
Azriel:!?
Her immense fixation however allowed her to quickly pinpoint the one conversation, as her two larger wings began to act like a satellite dish.
Ched: You think this crew will do...?
Jade:(holds nose) They're rough around the edges... But when John gives the signal...
Jade: They'll be a great asset.
Ched: You know... I'm surprised you found a crew to begin with...
Jade: It just happened.
Jade: Now, can we please get back up into fresh air!?
Ched: It's not that bad...
Jade: THAT'S BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF SMELL!!
Azriel:(mind) A great asset? What does that mean....?
TO BE CONTINUED....