"Fuel?!" Joy Boy's eyes went wide.
The siblings huddled together in fear.
"Yes. Fuel," Rhett repeated, his voice colder. "In other words, sacrifice. But without any reward. No freedom. No self. Not even the right to die. From birth to death, everything was decided for them. This one here..."
He glanced at the girl, a flicker of lingering anger in his crimson eyes. "When I found her, she was barely a hollow shell. She could barely remember who she was. Just kept muttering about duty and sacrifice. That really pissed me off."
His fingers moved instinctively, poking her head repeatedly. "What were you thinking back then, huh?"
The girl covered her head, but her eyes were smiling. It didn't hurt at all.
"You're still laughing. If it weren't for me, you'd be gone. And you're still laughing." He kept poking. "Next time something like that happens, just kill them. Got it?"
She nodded, still covering her head.
Rhett spoke lightly, but the brutal truth behind his words sent chills through the others.
Joy Boy's massive fists clenched. "That's awful! How could they treat a person like... like..."
He couldn't even finish the sentence.
A-Yang and A-Xing, two children who had grown up in hardship yet still held onto their kindness, couldn't accept this raw evil. They tried to imagine the girl's past — the darkness, the loneliness, the despair. Then they looked at her now, standing quietly among them, comforting them.
"Waaah..." A-Xing broke down first. "That's so cruel... how could they do that to her..."
A-Yang's eyes reddened too. He tried to wipe them, but the tears kept coming. The two siblings embraced, crying openly for the pain their "big sister" had suffered.
"Those bastards! Evil! They're so evil!"
The girl watched them, a little unsure of what to do. She hesitated, then stepped forward, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. Her movements were still stiff — she had learned this from watching Rhett — but her voice carried an uncharacteristic warmth.
"It's okay... that's all in the past."
She paused, looking at the two little ones crying for her, and added, "Now... things are good."
She had a captain now. She had a silly rubber friend. And she had little ones who would weep for her. Yes. Things were good.
Joy Boy sniffled, then pounded his chest with a loud "Duang" sound, his voice booming with promise. "Don't worry, Vice Captain! If anyone ever tries to take you again, I'll punch them into the sky! Way, way into the sky! Raaah!"
Rhett: "???" Trying to steal my crew again, you bastard?!
But watching the two crying children, the yelling rubber giant, and the quiet girl awkwardly comforting them, a rare smile tugged at Rhett's lips. This kind of pirate crew was certainly a rare sight.
He lay back down on the deck, all laziness again. "Alright, alright. Quit your bawling. It's done now. She's the Vice Captain of my Blood Pirates. I've got her back. Anyone else wants to try, they're welcome to find out."
He hadn't even fully settled into his lounge before his blood mist sense picked up something new. He tilted his head, crimson eyes scanning the distant horizon.
He knew it.
"Hey, rubber idiot." He jerked his chin toward the rear. "Looks like your 'happy adventure' has some fans too. Those ships flying World Government flags back there? Pretty sure they're here for you."
Joy Boy was still comforting the sniffling siblings. He paused, then his neck stretched out like a snake to peer behind them.
Rhett wanted to just chop it off. Who the hell stretches their head out like that in the middle of a normal conversation? He was starting to understand how Shanks's crew must have felt.
Sure enough, several dark dots were growing on the horizon. The distinctive flags were easy enough to recognize — they'd been chased enough times.
"Ahahaha..." Joy Boy scratched the back of his head with that signature goofy laugh. "Looks like it! They sure are persistent!"
A-Yang immediately forgot his tears. His eyes lit up with excitement. "Does that mean... does that mean, Captain! You're gonna fight them too?! Like Rhett did! Just — WHOOSH! — and they're all gone!" He swung his arms in an exaggerated motion.
A-Xing sniffled and nodded eagerly. "Yeah... Captain Joy Boy fighting..."
In the simple minds of the two kids, if their powerful Rhett was with them, then Captain Joy Boy must also possess incredible power. He just didn't show it often.
But Joy Boy looked at the approaching pursuers. The goofy smile remained. But there was no fighting intent. No battle fury.
He was quiet for a moment. Then he slapped his thigh with a loud "DUANG!" that made both kids jump.
"Alright, I've decided!" Joy Boy threw his hand forward, pointing toward the open sea. "We're running away!!"
A-Yang blinked. "...Huh?"
A-Xing stared. "...What?"
Both kids were completely lost. The stars in their eyes turned into question marks. Running away? Just like that? Where was the epic showdown?
Joy Boy didn't see anything wrong with this at all. "Full speed ahead! Let's go! Wahahaha! Let them try and catch us! This is what true freedom looks like!"
The rubber ship began bouncing across the sea in exaggerated leaps, "Duang Duang" as it rocketed forward at incredible speed.
Rhett watched this unfold. A vein twitched on his forehead. Then he let out a short laugh and shook his head. This was exactly the kind of thing that idiot would do. He wasn't surprised.
"Tch. That's why I call you an idiot." Rhett's lazy voice drifted across the sea.
"Hahaha! No need to fight, Rhett! Isn't this fun?" Joy Boy shouted back, his face full of simple, honest joy.
A-Yang and A-Xing, after their initial shock, watched their captain running away with such enthusiasm. They looked back at the government ships falling further and further behind. And somehow... it was kind of fun?
"Go, Captain! Faster!" A-Yang shouted.
"Lose them!" A-Xing added quietly.
The girl stood beside Rhett, her small hand in his. She watched the bouncing rubber ship and the jumping kids on board. She still thought her own captain was the coolest.