"Hey, Heat?" Beth paused in her scrubbing the outside deck and looked to the man leaning against the railing. He turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. She took that as a sign to continue. "I don't know much about everything that's going on...do you think you could just...teach me? Or bring me up to date?"
He sighed and wandered over to her. "That's asking a lot more than I think you know." She cocked her head in confusion.
"What do you mean?" He dragged a barrel over by her and took a seat.
"There's a lot that you probably don't know, right?" She nodded. "Well, everything's basically connected together. I'd have to explain every little connection to you."
She lowered her eyes. "Oh. I see." Grabbing the scrubber once more, she continued her work. A moment later, she heard him sigh.
"I guess I can try…" He muttered. She looked back up. "Just start with the people first. You can ask who's who."
"Who was Fire Fist Ace?"
"He's a member of Whitebeard's crew. I'm sure you know who that is, right?" She nodded. "Well, he was also that Strawhat kid's brother. You remember him?" Again, she nodded.
"He was at the war."
"Yeah, that's Strawhat Luffy. He's one of the Supernovas."
"What's a-"
"I'll get to that later."
"Ok." She said with a smile. Heat must have noticed her cheery mood, and gestured down at the scrubber.
"You should probably work while you listen. Kid expects it to be done in an hour or two."
She looked surprised a moment. "Oh! Right."
As she worked, Heat explained many of the things that had confused her while watching the war. He was very patient, going over things twice if necessary, and made it easy to understand such an intricate world. As a slave, Beth never heard the World Nobles talk much about the 'commoners' around them, instead choosing to focus on things more towards their status, such as slaves and jewels.
The two were talking for almost an hour and a half, with Beth having finished the cleaning and the sun beginning it's downward path.
"So, the Supernovas are called the rookies?" Heat nodded. "They call you guys the worst generation?"
"Yeah, but it's not that bad a title. The fame is pretty nice sometimes."
Beth laughed a little. "Why is that?"
Heat stood from the barrel and stretched out his back. He'd been sitting for over an hour and his muscles and joints were now paying the price. Beth heard several loud pops and winced at the noise. "Annoyances, usually the crews that aren't famous, get out of our way."
He walked down below deck and Beth was left to absorb all the information he'd given her.
"So, what's the plan for the new world?" Heat asked Kid later that night. The men were waiting at one of the tables in the dining room, taking swigs of sake.
Kid shook his head. "There is no plan. We just go there and take whatever the hell we want, just like we've always done."
Wire looked towards him. "Our chances of making it far through the New World without a plan are small."
Even Killer spoke up. "We could get into some trouble pretty quick unless we know what we're doing."
Looking at each one of his crew in turn, Kid finished off the bottle and set it on the table. He narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Then what would you say we do?" He asked. Heat leaned back in his chair with crossed arms. "I say we challenge one of the Yonko."
"Our chances of surviving the New World with that plan-" Wire began, but Heat interrupted him.
"I don't want to know the chances."
"They're very low-"
"I think I would know that!"
"Quiet!" Kid yelled, slamming his palm on the counter. The two men quieted instantly. The silence was thick. "I know what you two think about it." He turned to Killer. "What say you?"
The first mate sipped at his sake through a long straw, pondering his answer before saying it.
"I say we go for a Yonko. If you want to survive, you've either got to be close to a Yonko or constantly opposing them. In our case, since we can't befriend them, we have to be bold."
Kid was nodding slowly, seriously thinking over the suggestion. The others looked to him, wondering what their captain would do.
"So, we go for a Yonko. Question is, which one?"
"There's Blackbeard."
Kid shook his head. "He's erratic. We'd be lucky just to hear about where that guy was going. Besides, we'll need more power if we're gonna take down the guy who took down Whitebeard."
"We don't know a lot about Shanks." Wire stated, sipping at his sake.
"Kaido is pretty much completely under the radar." Killer added.
"All that leaves if Big Mom." Heat belched, waiting for Kid to make a decision.
"So, Big Mom is the one. What do we know about her?"
"Supposedly she's obsessed with candy." Heat said. "They say she makes islands under her control make as much candy as they can in exchange for protection. If they don't meet their quotas, she destroys the island."
"Anything else?" Kid asked, looking between his crewmates. They shook their heads. "No other information?" He sighed. "We'll just have to figure it out in the new world."
"Going after Big Mom isn't the only thing we're gonna do, right?" Wire asked. Kid grinned then.
"Hell no. The first island we come to is annihilated. I haven't killed someone in a long time. I'm done waiting."
The men cheered, clinking their glasses together.
Beth remained frozen in her spot behind the kitchen door, the plates of food balanced precariously on her arms. Silently, she retreated back into the kitchen and placed the plates down. She slid down the counter and sat on the floor. Her limbs shook.
'They're killers.' She thought with dread. 'They kill for fun. Just like the Celestial Dragons.'
Beth wasn't sure why the idea hadn't come to mind earlier. Why hadn't she connected the title of Supernova to the fact that they were killers? Putting her face in her hands, she held back the tears threatening to fall.
'You're such an idiot. You can't be friends with them. They'll probably just kill you too. All you are is a slave! A maid and nothing else.'
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