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| - “They’re in sight, dumbass!” Canis Minor barked into a short-range Den Den Mushi that she had clipped to a small watch around her wrist, “alert the boss right away!” “Don’t call me a dumbass!” Canis Major snarled back, “and I’m on it already. Jeeze.” “No need!” Sirius’s voice boomed through both of their snail phones, “I smelled ‘em WAY ahead of you guys! Zazazazazazazazazazazazaza!” “...I blame Canis Major, sir,” Minor said quickly. “YOU’RE THROWING ME UNDER THE BUS?!” Major gasped. “Shut up, both of you,” Sirius growled, “I’m gonna get the little princess and then we’ll start up our little hunting game. You guys up and ready for it?” “Sir, yes sir!” both Canis Major and Minor said. The temporary base of the Sirius Bounty Hunters was one of the stranger creations that sailed the seas every day, at least in Paradise. It consist of a large house on a platform that actually performed the sailing. The structure on top of it was generally circular/tubular in shape, with three levels, each level being slightly smaller than the last. A series of windows dotted each side of the structure, as well as a group of balconies connecting the floors. The entire structure was a dulled-white color with a dark teal trim. Inside one of the rooms that made up the third floor, Mercuia sat in... a surprising amount of comfort, honestly. While it still filled its function as a de-facto prison cell, it was padded with rich, comfortable velvet and had a small couch and bed, both richy furnished with pillows and blankets. Mercuia herself, of course, was head over heels for the simple new-ness of the place. “WOW!” she said, darting all over the room, touching everything she could and feeling all the various surfaces, “I’VE NEVER BEEN IN A CELL THIS FANCY BEFORE!” She stopped suddenly, realization striking her. “This... probably isn’t the most functional prison cell ever constructed, is it?” “It does the job,” Sirius said, seemingly appearing from nowhere outside the cell, fumbling with a key as he tried to unlock the door without touching it. “I could probably escape from here whenever I wanted, you know,” Mercuia pouted at him. “Unlikely,” Sirius answered simply, “the entire cell’s lined with seastone, and even the bars are made of the stuff. Makes it a damn pain to open up though, for Devil Fruit users like myself. Even if you hadn’t eaten a fruit, the hardness of the stuff would keep you from cutting through it.” “Then why all the luxury?” “You’re an important piece, missy,” said Sirius, “if this whole mission goes down as planned than me and the crew won’t have to worry about eating for a good few years. Zazazazazazazazazazazazazaza!” “COOOL! I HAVEN’T HEARD A LAUGH THAT RIDICULOUS BEFORE!” “Shut it! I was born with this laugh! It’s rude to make fun of it!” “It was still funny though...” Sirius sighed, as he finally unlocked the door and swung it open. “Enough talk. It’s time to get started.” “Get started?” Mercuia asked, raising an eyebrow. Sirius grinned devilishly. “How do you feel about being a gambling piece?” “THAT IS NOT A BOAT!” D’Artagnan growled, pointing at the base, “I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THAT COULD BE A BOAT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!” “Please be quiet for a minute,” Stormy said with an exasperated expression, “we still need to figure out how we’ll be getting in there, right?” “It’ll be easy!” Knave said, stepping up to the railing and swinging his arm around, preparing for combat, “we just land and bust in there!” “It shouldn't be that simple,” Pura observed, “I don’t see any doors or entrances of any kind.” “Well, there ARE windows,” Sid pointed out, “we can just bust through them right?” “Of course!” Knave said, “let’s go guy-” At that moment, there was a loud, mechanical noise. On the very top floor, a small circle on the roof appeared, then slid to the side. A small platform rose up, with Sirius standing on it. “There’s the bastard!” Art growled, the muscles on his legs clenching. “Wait, look!” Stormy said, pointing. As the platform came to a rest, taking the place of the missing bit of ceiling, Sirius lifted up Mercuia, a pair of handcuffs around her wrists, up by the back of her shirt. The Marimos gaped. “MERCUIA!” Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
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