Chapter Text
Mid April - Rhiconich - Kutsukku Island
Either his son actually wasn’t involved with the nanny kidnapping Uta or he was a damn good liar.
Whichever one it was, Garling would figure that out and how to punish him later. He had just knocked Shamrock out and locked him in his room in the meantime.
For now, well he had villages to burn and a granddaughter to find. His son thought he didn’t care about Uta, but she would either make a good bargaining chip or a decent knight someday. The deciding factor being which one she was more useful for of course.
But he could mold her to fit his standards in the future, right now he had to focus on getting her back from that worm of a nanny.
~~*~~
After Blair scolded Shanks and Marie for not telling them about the Holy Knights first, she went out onto her front porch to see for herself.
Sure enough, there were lights coming over the mountain. The glow from the Holy Knights’ lanterns made it look like lava was coming over the crest. Which was honestly a preferable thing to have to deal with than these pompous idiots.
“Great, they haven’t hit the village yet.” Blair huffed as she slammed the door shut, “Go out the back and start running West.”
“Okay, do you want me to carry you?” Marie asked.
Blair glared at her and smacked her in the arm.
“First of all, how dare you assume I can’t run.” Blair stated, “Secondly, I’m not coming.”
“What?! But you have to!” Killer demanded.
“Yeah!” Kid agreed, “Come with!”
Blair gave them a sad smile and pulled them close for a hug.
“I’m sorry, boys.” Blair sighed, “But I’ve been lying to you.”
“What?!” Killer and Kid exclaimed, “What do you mean?!”
“I’ve been terminally ill for a while now.” Blair explained.
“What does termy- Termany- Terminally mean?” Kid asked.
“It means Grandma is gonna die.” Killer told him in a sad tone.
“You’re dying?! You’re definitely coming now!” Marie ordered, “We’ll find you a doctor, a good one, and-”
Blair immediately cut her off.
“I’m sorry, Marie, but my answer is no.” Blair firmly told her, “It’s not something that can be fixed… But it’s also not something I’m going to die from.”
Everyone looked at her confused.
“What… What do you mean?” Shanks asked, “If you’re terminally ill, but you aren’t going to die from it- I don’t understand.”
Blair held up her shotgun. An action which caused everyone to have a pit form in their stomachs.
“Look kids, as much as I would love to come with you… I refuse to slowly die from this disease. I will go out on my terms or not at all.” Blair stated, “My mother built this house with her blood, sweat, and tears. So I will defend it with mine so those bastards get one last thing of mine.”
“This is insane!” Estelle cried, “Just come with us! Please!”
Blair ignored her and turned back to her grandsons.
“You two be good for your mother now, you hear?” Blair asked, “I don’t want you two causing trouble for her.”
“She’s not my mother!” Killer yelled, “And I’m not leaving you!”
“Too bad, you’re mine now.” Marie stated as she scooped him up with one arm while holding Kid in the other.
“Goodbye, Marie.” Blair said, “It was an honor meeting you.”
“No it wasn’t.” Marie snorted, “Meeting you however was.”
Blair shook her head and guided them to the back door. The group stepped out into the frigid night air and headed out the gate. She watched them for a couple minutes as a sense of peace filled her.
Then she decided to make a cup of tea before death came to her door.
~~*~~
Shamrock woke up groaning with a throbbing headache and a lot of confusion. He slowly got up from the bed he was lying on and stumbled around for a bit until he found a chair to lean on. Rapidly blinking his eyes so he’d wake up, Shamrock noticed that he was in his bedroom on the ship.
How… How’d I get back here? Shamrock asked himself, Or did I just dream about what’s going to happen tomorrow?
Looking out the window, Shamrock saw that he did not in fact dream about it as the city Edin burned to the ground. It had been a lush, vibrant city just hours ago, but now it was just a blackened waste land of ash. The fires running rampant made the ruins of buildings and homes a harrowing silhouette against them.
Is this what my mother’s island looked like? Shamrock thought, I see now why she asked that marine to get us out. Just like I did with-
Oh… He remembered now.
~~*~~
[Shamrock had been in the process of interrogating some local officials on if they knew anything about the Sing-Sing Fruit and the Magnet-Magnet Fruit when Garling had walked in. His father had looked furious and demanded that Shamrock come with him.
He had complied of course, wanting to stall Garling as much as possible for Estelle and Uta’s safety. However Shamrock quickly became concerned once he realised his father was leading him back to his bedroom.
Once they were inside, Garling had blocked the door, standing there looking furious with his arms crossed. Leaving Shamrock to awkwardly stand in the middle of the room and feel like a child about to be scolded. Which, in the eyes of his father, he was.
“Do you notice anything missing?” Garling asked him.
Shamrock looked around his room and then looked back at him, confused about what he was supposed to notice.
“No?” Shamrock replied.
“Was that a question or an answer?” Garling growled.
“An answer.” Shamrock clarified.
“Good.” Garling nodded, “So you really haven’t noticed that your daughter is missing?”
Shamrock put on his best shocked expression and frantically looked around the room.
“Where is she?!” Shamrock demanded, “What did you do with Uta?! Where’s the nanny?!”
The look of surprise on his father’s face was quickly wiped away, but it did boost Shamrock’s confidence in his ability to lie.
“Hm.. I see.” Garling slowly said before walking closer to him, “I suppose that your reaction could be an indicator of innocence, but I’m not quite sure about that.”
“What are you talking about?!” Shamrock exclaimed, “What happened to Uta?!”
“It would appear that Uta has been kidnapped by that snake of a slave.” Garling huffed, “So I will be going after them while you stay here.”
Shamrock felt his blood turn cold.
“WHAT?!” Shamrock shouted, “No! I’m coming too! You can’t make me st-”
He didn’t get to argue further as his father rolled his eyes and punched him. Everything turned black after that.]
~~*~~
Shamrock let out a roar of rage as he punched the wall closest to him.
“That fucking bastard!” Shamrock hissed, “Estelle won’t make it with him on her trail!”
He needed to find a way out, but he knew that Garling would have put some guards outside his door to watch him. Then again, they couldn’t be that good if his father was willing to leave them behind. Sure enough, Shamrock opened the door and saw a couple of young newbies.
“Master Figarland!” One of them cried, “Are you alright?! Saint Figarland said that you had a nasty fall!”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Shamrock growled, “Where’s my father?”
The trio of trainees looked at each other and then looked back at him. All of them with unsure expressions on their faces.
“Um… We’re not allowed to tell you.” Trainee Number Two quietly replied.
Shamrock glared at him and slowly walked to stand over him.
“I said, where. Is. My. Father.” Shamrock demanded, holding his sword up to the smaller man’s neck.
Trainee Number Two fainted into the first trainee’s arms while Number Three started panicking.
“He headed West!” The trembling woman cried.
“Thank you.” Shamrock said more aggressively than he intended to, making the other two trainees run away without their friend.
He quickly turned around and started speed walking to the top deck. A sense of unease filling him as nobody tried to stop him from jumping off the ship onto the dock.
It shouldn’t be this easy. He would never make it this easy, Shamrock thought, What is Garling planning?!
Shamrock didn’t know if he wanted to find out what his father was up to, but he did know that he needed to get there quickly. So he followed the first path of destruction that headed westward. Following it to find his father and hopefully stop him from harming Estelle or Uta.
~~*~~
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Shanks was running so fast his lungs were burning. He had Marie and Estelle in front of him with the kids so he could keep an eye on them or pick them up if they fell or dropped a bag.
They were currently going through a marshland Marie and he had easily gone through earlier, but it was much harder this time while carrying kids and luggage. Not to mention that Marie had been in her wolf form the first time around. So they had to squirt around the edges of the water and try not to walk on the unsteady or deeper parts.
Easier said than done though.
“We’re about halfway there!” Shanks cheered as he pulled leg from a sinkhole, “I think I can see the ship!”
“Great. We can get the fuck out of here!” Maire huffed, “And we’re all taking showers after this. I don’t wanna hear any complaints!”
“Well you’re not my mother.” Killer stated, “So I don’t have to listen to you.”
Shanks could practically feel the eyeroll Marie made upon hearing that statement.
“Look kid, you can hate me all you want, I don’t blame you.” Marie sighed, taking the blonde boy by surprise, “But I promised Blair I’d take care of you and you’re my son’s brother, so you’re stuck with me until you’re an adult.”
“But-” Killer started before he was cut off.
“No buts.” Marie firmly told him, “Now isn’t the time to argue.”
“Fine.” Killer huffed, reluctantly leaning his head back down on Marie’s shoulder.
Shanks tried not to laugh at the scene, but a chuckle slipped out.
“What are you laughing about, shithead?” Marie asked.
“Nothing.” Shanks laughed, “You were just so worried about being a mother and yet you already have that ‘mom voice’ like Shakky.”
“Oh fuck you!” Marie snarled, “I do not!”
“You kind of do.” Estelle told her, “Albeit it is much kinder than what I’m used to hearing.”
“I- Thank you.” Marie quietly said, not used to receiving compliments from strangers.
The three of them silently ran together for a few silent minutes before Estelle got anxious.
“So… What’s going to happen when we get to the ship?” Estelle awkwardly asked
“Well hopefully my crew is already there, so we’ll just hop on the Midnight Destroyer.” Marie shrugged, “Then Shanks can go back to his crew.”
“I’m going with you?! Oh thank goodness!” Estelle exclaimed, “I mean, no offense Shanks, but your crew doesn’t seem like the most… Proper place to raise a child.”
“It’s okay, I understand.” Shanks sighed before thinking, But sure, give the baby to a woman who gave her niece a book called “How to Kill Your Enemy in Just 5 Steps”. That will work out soooo great.
Deep down Shanks knew that he wasn’t in a position to care for another life let alone his own. That Marie, despite her issues, would be a better option. It just made him a little sad to think his brother trusted him to raise Uta and he couldn’t step up to do it.
At least not entirely. He did make for a pretty fun uncle.
~~*~~
They thankfully made it out of the marshlands in one piece, but they had to take a minute to catch their breaths. Trudging through the water and grass like they did really took a toll on them.
“So, Estelle, what are you going to do after all this?” Marie heaved out, “Any plans?”
“What- What do you mean?” Estelle asked in a confused tone, “I’m going with you am I not?”
“Yes, but what are you going to do after that?” Shanks questioned her, “Continue to sail or lay down roots?”
Estelle looked at them in shock before realising she finally had a say in deciding her future again.
“I… I never really put much thought into it.” Estelle shrugged, “I always thought I’d die a slave. Then Uta came along and I figured I’d spend the rest of my life looking after her.”
“Well whatever you decide, you’ll always be welcome on either of our ships.” Shanks stated, giving her a sincere look.
“Yeah, I’ll be needing all the help I can get.” Marie joked.
“Thank you.” Estelle said, “I’m very grateful to have met the two of you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Both replied.
Then the group got up and started running again. The children having fallen asleep due to the adrenaline crash made the journey quiet.
It also made them oblivious to the sight of Blair’s village in flames.