The engine room of the Dreadnought Thalassa glows crimson under the emergency lights. Wires hang from open panels like exposed veins. Sparks flicker from damaged conduits.
Bianca is elbows-deep in the main junction box, her fingers tracing circuits that refuse to cooperate. She lets out a frustrated growl. "Like, dammit!"
Galit looks up from his tablet, his long neck craning to see her. She pulls herself upright, spins, and leans against the open panel, her grease-stained hands waving in exasperation.
"We are like totally dead in the water." She gestures at the dead systems around them. "I like tried to reroute emergency power and stuff, but, like, the safety protocols won't like let me." She waves a hand dismissively. "I would like have to like rewire the like whole damn thing."
Galit sighs, his emerald eyes scanning his tablet's readings. "We need a plan to get out of here."
Bianca nods emphatically. "Like, for real!"
---
Above deck, the air carries the metallic tang of rust and salt. Aurélie circles Sanza, her silver hair catching the dim emergency glow. She observes his stance—feet too close together, grip too tight on the bamboo practice sword.
"Wider stance," she instructs. "Your weight should be distributed evenly. A narrow base makes you vulnerable to sweeps."
Sanza adjusts his feet, his small face scrunching with concentration. "Like this?"
Aurélie nods. "Better. Now show me your forward thrust."
He lunges. The practice sword extends in a straight line. It's not perfect, but it's an improvement.
Aurélie's head snaps up. Her hand goes to Anathema's hilt.
Sanza notices her tension immediately. His eyes follow her gaze. "What is it?"
The deck below them is filling with cyborgs. Dozens of them. Red eyes flicker in the gloom, their metal frames grinding with each step. At their head, a massive figure—half man, half beast, half machine. The anteater head on his shoulder flicks its tongue, searching. The anteater tail extending from his hip, swaying.
Juuhakai Kurosu.
Aurélie reaches into her pocket, pulling out a transponder snail. "Galit."
Galit's voice crackles through the device. "Go ahead."
"I need you up here. We have company."
"Understood."
Aurélie glances at Sanza, her expression unchanged. "Ready for some practice?"
Sanza's grip tightens on his bamboo sword. He nods, watching the cyborgs file onto the deck.
---
The hatch bursts open. Galit emerges first, his long neck swiveling to assess the battlefield. Bianca follows, a wrench tapping against her palm as she surveys the approaching horde.
"Like, really." She watches Aurélie and Sanza walking toward the mass of cyborgs, their silhouettes dark against the emergency glow.
Galit's jaw tightens. "This is quite tedious."
They move toward the growing horde together.
---
The battle erupts like a storm.
Bianca dives into the fray, her wrench finding joints and seams with practiced precision. She disables a cyborg's knee, then its elbow, then its neck—each strike calculated, economical. "Like, this is so not how I wanted to spend my day!"
Galit's body ripples. His skin shifts, hardening into scales. His jaw extends, teeth lengthening into razor-sharp fangs. He sinks into the deck as if it were water, the metal rippling around him. He surfaces behind a cluster of cyborgs, his crocodile form lunging with primal fury. Jaws snap around a metal arm. Teeth crunch through reinforced steel.
Aurélie flows through the chaos, Anathema tracing arcs of absolute destruction. Each stroke finds the gap between armor plates, the junction where flesh meets metal. She doesn't waste energy. She doesn't make a sound. She just moves.
Sanza stays close to her, his bamboo sword flashing. He's not killing—he can't. But he's learning. Each parry, each dodge, each clumsy counterattack builds the foundation of something greater. "How did you—" parry "—get so good at—" dodge "—this?!"
Aurélie cuts down a cyborg without breaking stride. "Practice. And survival."
A cyborg charges at Sanza. He ducks, stumbles, rolls—and comes up with his sword in the perfect thrust position. He drives it into the creature's chest. It doesn't penetrate, but the force staggers the cyborg long enough for Aurélie to finish it.
"Good instincts," she says.
Sanza beams.
Juuhakai Kurosu lumbers toward Aurélie, his cannon-hand already humming. The anteater head on his shoulder hisses, its tongue flicking toward her. "You're the one they call the Silent Swarm," he growls, his metal jaw creaking with each word. "I've been looking forward to this."
Aurélie says nothing. She simply raises Anathema.
He fires.
She moves, the blast tearing through empty air where she stood. She closes the distance in three steps, her blade aimed at his throat—
But the anteater head lunges, its tongue wrapping around her wrist, yanking her off-balance. Kurosu's cannon-hand swings toward her face.
She disengages, rolling, coming up with her blade ready.
Then the shadows move.
Six figures emerge from the gloom—tall, skeletal, draped in tattered robes. Three with gold masks and starlight scythes. Three with half-rotted bodies and floating scales. They descend on the cyborgs like judgment itself.
The battle shifts.
The Reapers move through the horde with impossible speed, each one claiming a dozen victims. Scythes flash. Chains rattle. Scales dissolve.
Law's voice cuts through the chaos. "ROOM!"
The blue dome expands. Every cyborg within its radius freezes. Then they come apart—limbs separating from torsos, heads falling from shoulders, components scattering across the deck in a shower of sparks.
Silence falls.
Bianca, Galit, Aurélie, and Sanza stand panting in the center of the carnage.
---
They watch as figures emerge from the corridors. Ember bounces out first, her mismatched eyes scanning the deck. Vesta follows, Mikasi still humming. Eliane and Jelly tumble out together. Jean Bart and Ikkaku bring up the rear, their expressions weary but relieved.
From the other direction, Law emerges with Penguin, Shachi, and Uni. Atlas, Jannali, Bō-Zak, Kaburo, and Charlie follow close behind.
The Grim Reapers begin to fade, their forms dissolving into mist.
Eliane spots Jannali and races toward her, her Lunarian wings fluttering with excitement. "Jannali! Jannali! I want to show you something!"
Before Jannali can respond, Eliane spins, thrusting her hand forward as if to shoot fire—
A tiny flame flickers from her palm. Then dies.
Eliane pouts. "It worked earlier!"
Jannali pats her on the head, a rare smile crossing her features. "Yeah, nah, fair dinkum, mate. You just gotta keep having a crack at it."
Eliane whines. "But I really wanted to show you!"
Jelly bounces between them. "Bloop! Snack time!"
Eliane's focus shifts instantly. "Oh, right! The food!"
---
Law scans the assembled crowd, his eyes moving from face to face. His voice is low, barely audible over the chatter. "Where's Bepo and..."
Aurélie sheathes Anathema. Galit surfaces from the deck, his crocodile form melting back into human flesh.
Atlas walks past, his Electro crackling with residual energy. "Looks like you stayed busy."
Galit's neck curves toward him. "Looks like you found the wrong group!"
Atlas whips around, his blue eyes flashing. "What did you just say?"
Jannali closes the distance, her hands raised. "Bloody hell, mates, give it a rest. We've got bigger problems than your egos."
Sanza looks up at the assembled group. "Where is big sis?" He points at the Heart Pirates gathering around Law. "And who are they?"
Law's eyes narrow as they land on Sanza.
Vesta skips past, her rainbow hair bouncing. "You know Marya. She'll show up eventually."
Eliane announces, "I will go make lunch!" She rushes toward the Dreadnought Thalassa—
Bianca's voice stops her in her tracks. "Like, you know we don't, like, have power and stuff."
Eliane turns slowly, her eyes widening with dawning horror. "That means all of our..."
Her lip begins to quiver.
Bianca's brow furrows. "It's like not like that bad. We will like just have to get more supplies and stuff."
Eliane sniffles. "But the sea king meat! That took a long time because I had to do it all by myself!"
Bianca's head flops forward in defeat.
Jannali steps in. "Let's chuck it on the barbie right now."
Bō-Zak's eyes light up. "A barbeque sounds good to me!"
Eliane sniffles. "But—"
Jelly bounces. "Barbeque! Barbeque!"
Atlas rubs his belly. "I can go for some of that. I'll get the grill."
Galit's voice cuts through the enthusiasm. "We need to come up with a plan!"
Atlas waves him off. "Yeah, yeah, noodle neck. We can plan while we eat."
Charlie clears his throat, raising a finger. "If I may—"
Aurélie places a hand on his shoulder. "Later, professor. We really need to find Marya too."
---
Penguin perks up. "Did someone say barbeque?"
Law's eye twitches. "We can't barbeque at a time like this!"
His crew turns to him with pleading faces. Shachi's voice is soft, almost a whimper. "Come on, Captain. We haven't eaten anything since we got here."
Law groans, his hand covering his face. "Fine!"
The Heart Pirates cheer. Penguin, Shachi, and Uni volunteer immediately, racing toward the Pluton to grab supplies.
---
Aurélie, Galit, Sanza, and Bianca approach Law as he settles onto an abandoned rock.
Aurélie's voice is measured. "You're their captain?"
Law looks up, his hat still pulled low. "Yeah. I am."
Galit steps forward. "We need a plan to get out of here. Were you able to learn anything?"
Law nods. "Yeah. We did."
Bianca's voice carries a note of hope. "So like, is your submarine as dead as ours?"
Law's jaw tightens. "Everything went dead when we were pulled in—"
Their heads snap around at the sound of Bepo's voice.
"Captain!"
The white-furred Mink races across the deck, his paws pounding against the metal. Behind him, Clione and Hakugan follow at a more measured pace.
Marya walks behind them, shaking her head. "Some things will never change."
Clione chuckles. "You got that right."
The Heart Pirates, mid-barbeque setup, look up. The moment they spot Marya, they abandon everything. They charge past Bepo, their voices rising in a chorus.
"MARYA!"
Marya braces herself as they engulf her in a group hug, their arms wrapping around her from every angle.
---
Bō-Zak blows out a plume of smoke, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "Aw, look. It's a reunion."
He turns his head, chuckling at the scene unfolding near the grill. Eliane and Atlas stand guard over the precious sea king meat, their expressions fierce. Ember and Jelly circle them like predators.
Ember whines. "But Josiah—"
Eliane points a fork at her. "Josiah will have to wait!"
Atlas holds a wiggling Jelly by the throat, his Electro crackling at his fingertips. "Don't make me skewer you. Mutant jellyfish may be a new delicacy I have to try."
Jelly's voice is cheerful despite the threat. "Bloop! You can't cook Jelly!"
---
Law stands, moving past Aurélie, Galit, Sanza, and Bianca. Bepo falls into step beside him as they approach Marya and the group hug.
Marya's voice is muffled by bodies and fabric. "I missed you too!"
The Heart Pirates finally release her, pulling back with grins and wet eyes. Law stands before her, his hat pulled low.
Marya smirks, cocking a hip. "Long time no see."
Law's hand finds his hat, tugging it lower. "Same to you."
Marya walks toward him, glancing over his shoulder at the Pluton. "Where's the Tang?"
Law's gaze follows hers. "Oh, that. It was—"
He pauses. His eyes land on the Dreadnought Thalassa. They narrow.
He turns back to Marya. "Where did you..."
Marya chuckles, her voice warm. "It's a long story."
Law nods slowly. "Same."
---
Bō-Zak pulls on his pipe, his eyes narrowing with interest. "Well, well. Isn't this interesting..."
He trails off, watching the two captains with undisguised curiosity.
---
Bianca's voice cuts through the moment. "Like, this is cool and all, but, like, can we like figure out how we are going to like get out of here?"
Marya smirks, glancing at Law. "Catch up later?"
Law nods. "Yeah."
He pauses. "Your eyes?"
Marya waves as she walks away. "Later!"
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