The next day Beth woke up early, like usual, to make breakfast for the others. She slipped out of bed with a tired yawn and shuffled to the door in her same slave uniform. Giving it a curious sniff, she decided that they really needed a wash sooner or later. Probably sooner. Shaking her head, she pushed open the small door.
The hallway was quiet, and Beth took the moment to enjoy the silence. The rest of her days usually ended up being a mix of taking orders from Kid, cooking in the kitchen, and cleaning the ship somewhere.
Stepping into the kitchen in her barefeet, she flipped on the light and went to the fridge. The light inside was a little blinding, but she blinked away the spots in her vision. Grabbing a carton of eggs and a package of bacon, she put them on the counter by the stove.
Beth hummed quietly to herself while she cooked, not really thinking. Once breakfast was done, she dished it out onto plates and poured drinks in glasses. Expertly juggling the plates on her arms, she pushed through the door.
"Breakfast is-" She stopped mid sentence, taking in the empty tables. No matter what, every morning the others would be waiting for her at the table, but not today. It had become a routine and now Beth was thrown off. Listening intently, she couldn't hear any snoring or walking feet in the wooden halls around the kitchen, nor in their private quarters. The whole ship seemed to be silent.
Perplexed, she retreated back into the kitchen and placed the cooked food into the fridge for later. Washing her hands and cleaning up the rest of the mess she had made, she wandered around the halls of the deck.
"Guys?" She called, peering down empty hallways and knocking gingerly on their doors. Still, there was no answer and no sound. At this point, Beth began to worry.
"Is anyone here?" She shouted. Finally, she decided to go above deck and check the outside. Ascending the steps, she pushed open the door and stepped onto the deck. She stopped with a start.
The ship had moved. It was no longer in the tree-surrounded groves on the edge of the island. Rather, they were now docked close to the market. She could just barely see the brightly colored tents and hear the distant noise, but that wasn't what caught her attention first.
Directly in front of her was a massive screen and several den den mushi snails. On the screen was a massive battle in what looked to be like...Marineford? She'd never been there but she'd heard of it. It was supposed to be the most heavily defended Marine post in the world.
"...and the Admirals are all fighting their hardest to combat the Whitebeard Pirates!" A voice shouted overhead. A gasp went through the crowd of people in front of the screen when one of the Whitebeard Pirates dealt a devastating blow to several Marines at once. The crowd was a mix of townspeople, merchants, pirates, and Marines alike.
Down below, Beth spotted Kid's spiky red hair and quickly descended the deck to the ground below.
"What's going on?" She asked him, appearing at his side. He glanced sideways before returning his attention to the screen.
"Whitebeard attacked Marineford." He gave no other explanation and so Beth turned her attention to the battle. The reporter's voice was still blaring overhead.
"The world is paralyzed over the events ongoing right at this moment! Mothers, we advise to take your children out of the room for the duration of this program. The images you are seeing are graphic and disturbing."
On the screen, Beth watches as hundreds upon hundreds of both pirates and Marines fell dead at the other's hands. Several figures, which Beth assumed she should have known who they were but didn't, stood out among those fighting.
Some of the only ones she recognized were Sengoku, who was now in full Buddha mode, Boa Hancock, the most beautiful woman in the world, Mihawk, the greatest swordsman alive, and Whitebeard, the most feared pirate on the seven seas. These names and faces were only known to her because Shalulia had always been envious of Hancock's title and a little bit infatuated with Mihawk's status. Sengoku was a household name, as was Whitebeard, and the slaves of the mansion had always gossiped in the kitchen or laundry room about them.
She shook her head sadly at the huge loss of life hundreds of miles away. It was just another example of why the world was messed up.
"What's this? A ship is falling from the sky down to the battle below!" The announcer cried, and the camera swung upwards to talk in the huge falling mass of wood. It was a Marine battleship, but what had it been doing in the sky in the first place? How did it even get there?
Several dots began to appear around the ship, and then several turned to hundreds. The crowd around Beth muttered, until at last the ship miraculously landed in one of the only parts of the sea that hadn't been frozen.
"Is this ship allied with the Marines? Or are they pirate allies in disguise?" The crowd waited with bated breath, watching as the people emerged from the deck of the ship.
"It appears that the ship brought escapees from Impel Down! Among them are Jinbe the ex-Shichibukai, and Monkey D. Luffy! Look! The Okama Queen is also among their ranks!"
"Damn Strawhat…" Kid cursed beside her, clenching his fists. "I just knew he'd show up."
"He probably came to save his brother." Wire commented. Heat punched him in the arm.
"Well, no shit."
"Enough." Kid said, still staring up at the screen.
The battle raged for hours. Beth's legs began to ache from standing for so long but she gave it no mind. None of the Kid Pirates spoke, attentions raptured on the screen above. She was surprised that Kid didn't give sarcastic comments every so often like he was prone to do with his men. She assumed that was because this battle was such a major event that even he was sobered a little.
She hadn't been looking at the screen for a moment, lost in her own thoughts, but at the uproar of the crowd and the panicked reporter's announcements she quickly looked up.
"Please, ladies and gentlemen, we are working on getting the video feed fixed! We will continue to update the war even with this slight malfunction!" The screen was black and static appeared every few seconds, meaning something had happened to the camera at the battle.
"What's going on?" "Is Ace dead?" "I hope the Marines haven't lost!" "Has Whitebeard died?" The questions were flying around the crowd, creating a mob of angry and confused spectators.
As quickly as the video disappeared, it reappeared but not with the fighting. A man, dressed strangely like a clown with face makeup, stood in front of the camera waving. He was speaking, but the audio must not have been working because no words could be heard.
"Get off the screen, moron!" "Get back to the battle!" "What's happening?" The crowd angrily shouted at the man, shaking their fists and stomping their feet as if the man could actually hear them.
"Who's that?" Beth asked Heat. He shrugged.
"No idea."
"Oh. I thought he was someone important." She shook her head. This day had definitely started off strange.
Right after that, the camera cut off again and back to the fighting, where Whitebeard fought against the Marines finally.
Things after that were fuzzy to Beth. It seemed to all fade into a single moment, it all happened at once. Fire Fist Ace was dead, Whitebeard was dead, the boy named Luffy was devastated, and suddenly a man had taken Whitebeard's devil fruit. The crowd was cheering, gasping, crying out. There was confusion and relief. No one really knew what to feel.
And then, another man with red hair, he seemed to have effectively stopped the fighting entirely. His appearance caused quite a stir in the people but Beth wasn't sure who he was. A pang of frustration went through her from her ignorance of the things going on.
On the edge of the screen, out in the ocean, there was a yellow vessel bobbing in the water. Apparently Kid recognized this, as he narrowed his eyes and scoffed.
"What the hell is that bastard doing there?" Beth glanced between the two, wondering what exactly it was.
Jinbe and the clown guy were trying to take the Straw Hat kid towards the yellow...submarine? Yeah, that's what it was. They were sailing through the air, and landed on the deck of the little submarine. Soon afterwards, they sank underneath the water and disappeared.
"He's helping the guy? Doesn't he know he's his rival?" Shaking his head, Kid turned and started walking away. "Come on, there's nothing else to see."
Behind them, the announcer made one last comment. "People of the world, the Battle of Marineford is a Marine victory! Whitebeard has been defeated!" Cheers erupted behind them, causing Kid to shake his head in disgust.
Beth and the others followed their captain back to the ship where Beth suddenly remembered the breakfast she had cooked.
"Um...I made food earlier but you guys were gone. I could heat it up if you wanted." She mumbled. She dug her toe into the wood and lowered her gaze. She wasn't really sure what to say after watching the battle.
"I'm starving." Wire said, heading downstairs to the kitchen. Heat nodded and followed. Killer was silent, remaining by Kid's side until he said otherwise. Eyeing Beth strangely, he nodded.
"Fine, we might as well eat. All that's left to do is set sail." With this, he headed downstairs with Beth and Killer.
ns 15.158.61.17da2
