Serious: To Drive the Storm

The King's Memory was steadily sailing towards Sabaody Archipelago. Somehow, the wind was always at their backs, and they were making good time without much effort. They had quite a way to go, but their method of travel was much more efficient than that of most vessels. They could control weather, giving them perpetual tailwind.

This, combined with easy avoidance of the hazards of the grand line, allowed them much more time for other pursuits than other crews, despite their small size as a pirate crew. However, standing at the bow of the ship, Archon noticed something odd. "A storm is approaching. And there's someone there." He referred to the open expanse of sea. "That little boat wouldn't last one second in this storm."

The King's Memory neared as Archon drew his blade, directing it to stall the storm. "It's a woman. How the hell has she survived here?" Archon questioned as the storm clouds slowly began to withdraw. The storm flanked the ship quite a distance away, but didn't come close enough to actually affect it. It was as if the King's Memory split the perilous weather ahead of it. As they got within shouting distance, Archon hailed the lady in the boat. "Who are you?"

Midori was exhausted.

Understatement of the year.

Midori was exhausted. Not only that, she was starving. She must've lost half her weight since the time she had been stranded here. She was surprised she wasn't a living skeleton by now. She had sailed through ten thunderstorms, a blizzard and a freakin' hurricane, without food for the past two months (I hate you Frog). Two months, she had been stranded in the Grand Line on a rowboat. And she had survived an encounter with a Sea King.

If Midori wasn't so horrendously hungry as she was, she might have felt satisfied with herself right now.

And then it happened.

An epiphany!

Insert dramatic music here.

"SAAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEE~!!!" Midori yelled, getting energy from God knows where as she stood up and began jumping all over the rowboat, completely ignoring whatever the man was saying. It was a boat. Boats had food. Food had life. Midori needed to... LIVE~~!!!

Two. Damn. Months.

((hello...))

(Glances murderously at Nikz.)

Julian was cooking in the kitchen. He had enjoyed small times to himself. He moved the pan with skill and grace, making sure the food didnt overcook. Todays dishes would be fish and chips. Luckily he had purchased potatoes earlier on in the week. Julian then heard something from upstairs. It was a shout, someone asking to be resuced. He carried his double sided scimitar upstairs. "Hmm... whats all the racket... the food will be ready soon.... huh? A woman?..... interesting...... what should we do?"

"We should pick her up." Archon replied before taking a rope, tying it to the bow and jumping down to the rowboat. The girl looked malnourished. She was in bad shape. He grabbed her behind her back, at the shoulder, while the other hand went to her waist. Then, he jumped up, leaping back up on the ship while keeping the girl steady. She was surprisingly energetic for someone that had apparently been starving for quite a while, but she'd probably lose that energy soon.

"I think she might want some too." Archon noted dryly, knowing that Julian had been cooking.

Julian admired the girl for a bit and then noticed Archon was talking to him "Oh? Right , fish and chips..." He went down and got a plate, with freshly made chips and a fillet of hot, tasty fish. He squeezed lemon all over the fish and chips. He walked up and held the plate down for the girl "Here you go... you must be starving... dont worry.. ill look after you..." Julian smiled charmingly to the girl.

The moment she was lifted up on deck and smelt food, Midori leapt onto eat like a wild animal, completely ignoring the cook's advances in favor of quenching her hunger. Son Goku, Naruto and Luffy's eating speeds combined could not match hers as she finished up the whole meal in 1.27 seconds, gobbling everything up. She then fell onto the deck on her back, staring up at the wide blue sky. She finally had something in her stomach...

God bless the digestive system.

A few moments later she finally came out her animalistic reverie, yawning as she rubbed her eyes with her fists before sitting up. She looked up at the two people that had saved her. One of them was obviously a cook, the other one, who had carried her, was most probably the Captain with the way she scarcely recalled him giving out orders.

... And they were pirates, she realized. Great, now she was probably going to be forced to join the crew or taken prisoner.

"Erm, hello," she said, looking up at the two people from her position on the ground. "I'm Midori..."

Julian grinned and then chuckled "She is a heavy eater... do you want seconds? there are more in the kitchen... i can cook some up for you..... unless you object captain?" Julian liked people with big appetites, it made his job all the more worth it

"Of course I don't!" Archon responded. They'd saved the girl from the ocean so they might as well save her from the hunger as well. It wasn't like their stock was in any danger of running out. Archon held an outstretched hand to Midori to shake her hand. "And I'm Archon Jon." He smiled warmly at the girl sitting on the deck. He was going to just let this go at its own pace. No sense in rushing a girl who was probably going to be quite shaken for a while. He'd ask her any questions he had later.

Julian then got up and headed for the kitchen. He immediately turned on the stove and began cutting up some meat and fish along with some veggies. He moved his knife gracefully with speed and dilligence, he set the spices into the pans and set the veggies to boil. He was sweating but smiling at the same time. He had also fried some tortilla chips with dip. The dip was in ra pot which he was already making from the past hour. He set all this on a plate except the fish, that was for the crew. He brought up the plate to the deck where Midori and Archon was "Lamb cutlets with some paprika seasoning , and some tortilla chips and avocado, chili and guacamole dip freshly made... enjoy....."

Staring dismally out at the vast sea, Oceana S. Edwards the Captain of the Midnight Marauders was feeling quite disheartened. The crew was suffering. It wasn’t from illness or starvation. Those were things that they could handle. Instead, it was just a lack of manpower. Since Adrienne’s death at the hand of the shichibukai, the crew had dwindled down bit by bit. For a while, there was hope of restoring it to it’s former glory, but newfound friends and crewmates seemed to be dropping like flies.

Balancing on the bowsprit just above the grand, angelic figurehead, she squinted at the approaching horizon. To be honest she wasn’t exactly sure of where they were. Sabaody Archipelago was their set course currently, but with Hani at the helm, she wasn’t sure if they were even on course anymore. Nova was trying to teach the scrawny cabin boy more about sailing and so far the boy had proved to be the biggest screw-up she had ever seen.

Yet that didn’t seem to matter too much to her anymore. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to wander just for once and not to worry about the crew so much. Running a hand through her white-blonde hair, she sighed and carefully made her way back onto the deck. She didn’t have a plan and it was going to bother her, but it might just be what she needed to unwind.

Too quiet.

Way too quiet for Avarill "Property Damage" Jackson. He was getting antsy. Currently, he was trying to fleetingly amuse himself by reading a newspaper dropped by a passing News Coo. However, words would rarely do for a man of action, and such was the case this time as well. He wanted something to happen. Bounty lists, dull recounts of ineffectual rebellions somewhere in West Blue. Avarill didn't really care.

He lowered the newspaper, glancing at what lied in front of the ship. Though expecting to see another expanse of open sea to the horizon, that wasn't quite the case. An island, soaked in mists. He could only make out an outline, but he was already sure nothing like this should be present in their route. Just how much did their new navigator suck?

Just then, he watched Oceana walk back onto the deck. "Cap'n!" He called. "Land ahoy."

Houraieso was swimming through the grand line looking for a ship. He needed to get away from the marines and he was getting tired of trying to swim to an island by himself. Eventually he caught the shadow of a ship sailing over his head. "Finally, a chance for some rest."

Looking around Houraiseo spotted a large fish which he could use as an offering for passage on the ship. He quickly dispatched it and began dragging it up to the surface. "Maybe these people will know where those pirates that followed the Pirate King's memory are." Little did he know that he was swimming up to the very pirates he was looking for.

He surfaced well ahead and off the port side. "Hello, may I come aboard? I could use a ride to whatever island you are going to. And, I bring food to cover my passage."

After hungrily devouring everything that came in her plate, the orange-haired Weather manipulator leaned back against the ship and then let out a loud, ship rattling burp. How did she manage to muster up a burp that size?

Well, this was Gol D. Midori you were talking about.

It was then, when she found the Lamb cutlets empty from the plate did she realize that the Captain of this ship had his hand towards her. She blinked a bit, before raising her hand as well. This time, she was intent on introducing herself fully.

"Gol D. Midori, at your service Archon!"

"Gol D.?" Archon was immediately intrigued. Few people carried the name of the late pirate king. "How did you get that name?" Roger's bloodline had been hunted down and killed. How was it then that this Midori had the name of "Gol D."? Maybe it wasn't her original name? He was just about to ask when a splash alerted him to yet another visitor.

Turning to the source of the splash, Archon found himself addressed by yet another person, this time a fishman. "Before you enter, who are you? I'm Archon Jon." Archon made the second introduction within the span of a minute. He was meeting a lot of new people

(OOC: If Houraieso is searching for the Sons of the King, he should know Archon's name.)

Houraieso couldn't believe his luck. What were the odds that the pirates he was looking for would be the first ship he found. "Archon Jon of the Sons of the King. My name is Houraieso. I have been looking for you guys almost as soon as I got to the surface. I heard tales of the Pirate King and how great he was and I heard that you followed in his footsteps. I hadn't heard of anyone nice on the surface until I heard of the Pirate King. I was hoping to find something to belong to. Do you think I could join your crew?

Whirling around and squinting, she looked at the horizon again. Sure enough there was something there this time. It was quite easy to miss with all of that fog and the great distance that stood between them. Yanking her boots back onto her feet, she stared just a little while longer before turning to shout back at Avarill.

“Good eye Mr. Jackson!” She called back, “I almost missed that a moment earlier!” Oceana gave him a quick grin before turning on her heels to face the horizon once more. Pulling on her earrings, she chewed on her bottom lip. What was she going to do? She could simply send Hani back to his chores and have Nova correct course, or they could go check it out. There was no harm in a brief adventure.

“Avarill, would you mind coming here a moment?” She called over her shoulder. Perhaps this was a decision to be made with the crew.

Archon smiled. It was rare to see a like-minded soul in the cold seas. He and Julian would have at least one more companion. Perhaps this "Gol D." Midori might join as well. "Certainly. Come on up. We need all the help we can get." He said, motioning the fishman to get up on the King's Memory. Then he glanced at the sea in front of him.

He saw something most peculiar. There was an island, soaked in mist, radiating bright light visible quite a distance away. Archon had never heard of human life out here. He stood there for a moment before speaking, curiosity having gotten ahold of him. "We are landing."

Jackson rose up from his seat, suddenly seeming much bigger. Only, when he rose up, the island became painfully obvious, sending out a bright light in all directions. "Now I am curious." Jackson noted. He didn't know much about sea maps, but he was quite sure this place wasn't supposed to be inhabited.

Houraieso was thrilled. Finally he found a place for him to belong. He leapt aboard the ship carrying the fish he caught. "Where is the galley? I brought some food."

Midori grinned wide. "Yep! Gol D. Midori!" she declared, giving Archon a thumbs-up. "Hope you're not a hater!" she added, before breaking into laughter. Oh yeah, she liked to believe that she was the pirate king's daughter.

"Yeah, I sorta saw the Gold Roger just before he was executed. Fell in love with him. He's my Dad now," she explained, before the Fishman popped up. She watched the exchange and she realized she was on a very...

Likeminded...?

Crew.

Oh.

Well, this was awkward. Her previous crew was... dead, or in Impel Down. She had learned to move on weeks ago, while in the ocean. But what do you know, after almost starving to death, she finds a crew that shares her passion for the pirate king. "You know, you might get one sexy chick on your crew just for trying to take after my Pops," she spoke up, tapping Archon on the shoulder. She looked at him with a smirk, crossing her arms over chest. "Whaddaya say?"

Julian laughed at Midoris reply, this one was a funny one, she seemed for some like a very open and fiery girl. Julian then sat down on the ships railing and then looked to Archon "She is a weird one though... especially her name..... your call captain....." Julian hoped she woman wouldnt get violent, mainly because firstly he didnt hit girls and secondly his weapon was in the kitchen.

Houraieso was confused by Midori's reply. "How could she just make herself his daughter. Was she his daughter or wasn't she?" He continued to sit there with a confused look on his face waiting for what the captain had to say.

That was precisely what was driving her towards the mysterious land mass. Simple curiosity. It had been a while since she had done anything spur of the moment. Now was the perfect time. Bounding up to the bridge, she took hold of the helm and bumped the gangly cabin boy out of the way, setting their course straight for the island.

"Gentlemen! What say you to a little adventure before we head to our planned destination?" she said with a grin.

Archon laughed heartily. The girl sure had attitude. He offhandedly pointed at a section belowdeck. "Galley's over there, take the door to the right." Then he turned back to Midori. "Pops? You sure take it literally." He smiled. "Welcome aboard. Though I suppose you are aboard already..."

"Excellent." Jackson rubbed his hands together. "Too little activity, too much time." He mused. This should be a welcome change to the boredom he had endured on the ship. Ordinary diversions could only take him so far. The ship approached, the crew having made their decision.

Both crews hit the sands, having penetrated the concealing mists and noting that the mists were mostly dominating a ring around the island, leaving the island itself only slightly shady. Archon jumped down to the beach, looking around. It was very quiet. Not much in sight, other than trees. Even the insects were missing. "Julian! Throw me a rope!" He shouted, intending to tie the ship to a nearby tree.

Jackson on the other side of the island had similar ideas. He had also jumped down, grabbing a rope with him and tying it to a tree. No sign of whatever had created the light. In fact, there wasn't much sign of anything other than the typical tropical island vegetation. Not even the insects seemed to populate the place. He stood around, indicating that the place was safe to land in.