The cold stone pressed against Captain Onyx's cheek, rough and damp, carrying the smell of mineral deposits and ancient water. Her head throbbed—a dull, persistent ache that pulsed behind her eyes. She opened them slowly, the cavern coming into focus in fragments: the dark ceiling lost in shadow, the faint glow of the submarine's lights reflecting off the water, the huddled figures gathered in a loose circle nearby.
Marya stood at the center of the group, her leather jacket with the Heart Pirates insignia catching creaking, her raven hair flowing down her back. Galit leaned against a rock formation, his long neck curved in that loose S-shape, his emerald eyes tracking the cavern's shadows. Atlas sat on a crate, his rust-red fur bristling, his blue sapphire eyes fixed on the unconscious sailors scattered across the stone floor. Jannali stood with her arms crossed, her hoop earrings swinging, her headscarf wrapped tight around her forehead. Aurélie's silver hair hung loose, her dark eyes fixed on something in the distance. Bianca fidgeted with a gadget from her Problem-Solver Pack, her magnifying goggles pushed up on her forehead. Bō-Zak reclined against the submarine's hull, his pipe smoldering, his gold-flecked eyes half-closed in lazy assessment.
Onyx tried to move.
Ropes bit into her wrists, coarse and tight, wrapped around her arms and secured behind her back. She twisted, testing the knots. No give. No weakness. She looked over her shoulder and saw her team in the same condition—six sailors, bound and unconscious, their heads lolling, their weapons confiscated and stacked in a pile near the submarine's hatch.
She turned back toward the huddled group. Her voice came out raw, scraped by the weight of her situation.
"What are you going to do with us?"
The group stopped talking.
Heads turned. Eyes fixed on her. The silence stretched, thick and heavy, broken only by the drip of water from the stalactites above.
Onyx's gaze found Marya.
Her jaw flexed. Her teeth ground together. The word tore from her throat like a curse.
"YOU!"
Marya raised a single eyebrow. Her golden eyes, hawk-like and unreadable, studied Onyx with the calm curiosity of someone examining an insect that had flown into a window.
Onyx's chest heaved. Emotions built behind her eyes—hot, stinging, impossible to contain. She fought against the tears, but one escaped, tracing a cold line down her cheek.
"I know you!" Her voice cracked. "You are her! You are the one who killed Teivel!"
Marya's brow furrowed. She cocked her head, her raven hair sliding across her shoulder, her expression genuinely puzzled.
"Who?"
Onyx strained against the ropes, her wrists burning, her whole body trembling.
"On Ohara!"
The memory surfaced behind Marya's eyes—a flicker of recognition, cold and distant. Her lips parted.
"Oh, that's right." Her voice carried no emotion, just the flat acknowledgment of a fact long filed away. "The man who murdered Vaughn. That was his name, was it?"
Aurélie's jaw flexed. Her hand tightened on Anathema's hilt. Her dark eyes fixed on Onyx with an intensity that could cut stone.
Onyx swallowed, her throat raw, her tears falling faster now. "He was only following orders. If you—"
Marya cut her off. Her voice sharpened, just slightly, the first crack in that stoic facade.
"If I what?"
She walked toward Onyx, her boots echoing on the stone, each step measured and deliberate. She stopped in front of the bound captain and knelt, bringing her face level with Onyx's. Their eyes met—golden rings meeting dark blue, hawk meeting prey.
"Let's recap what we were doing that day." Marya's voice dropped lower, softer, the tone of someone explaining something to a child. "As I recall, we were at a bar. Having dinner. Minding our own business." She paused, letting the words settle. "When you attacked us. For no reason."
Onyx's jaw worked. Her teeth ground together.
"We had a reason!"
Marya leaned in. The space between them shrank to inches. Onyx could smell the leather of her jacket, the faint trace of something metallic—Nisshoku's blade, maybe, or simply the scent of violence worn like perfume.
"And that would be?"
Onyx swallowed. Her throat clicked.
"You... you..."
Marya nodded, slow and deliberate. "I what?"
Onyx took a breath. The words came out in a rush, as if releasing them might ease the weight on her chest.
"You are the daughter of Dracule Mihawk and Elisabeta Vaccaria. You were studying forbidden knowledge."
Marya's lips curved into a smirk. The expression was devilish, almost playful, but her eyes held no warmth.
"You are right." She straightened, rising to her full height, looming over Onyx like a shadow given form. "And you decided to interfere."
She turned, taking a step away, then glanced back over her shoulder.
"Your boyfriend paid the price."
Onyx lunged against the ropes, her whole body straining, her wrists bleeding where the fibers bit into her skin. The restraints held. She collapsed back against the stone, her chest heaving, her tears falling freely now.
"You are a monster!"
Marya turned to face her fully. The smirk widened. Something dark flickered behind her golden eyes—not anger, not cruelty, just the cold acknowledgment of a truth she had accepted long ago.
"You have no idea how much of a monster I can be."
She turned her back on Onyx and walked toward the huddled group, her boots clicking against the stone, her raven hair swaying with each step.
Behind her, Onyx wept.
---
Marya rejoined the circle. The others shifted, making room for her. Galit spoke first, his emerald eyes tracking the cavern entrance, his long neck extended toward the passage where the sailors had emerged.
"It would be safe to assume there will be reinforcements." His voice carried the weight of tactical calculation. "It is only a matter of time."
Atlas nodded, his rust-red fur bristling. "And we need to find the kids."
Marya's jaw tightened. She looked toward the passages that led deeper into the island, the darkness swallowing the paths where her crew had fled.
"We will need to split up." Her voice carried the authority of command, the certainty of someone who had made these calculations before. "Cover more ground."
Bō-Zak took a long drag from his pipe, blew out a plume of smoke, and watched it curl toward the ceiling. "What about the power holder you are looking for? The one with the Hebi Hebi no Mi?"
Marya sighed. The sound came from deep in her chest, the exhale of someone juggling too many variables.
"Let's find our people first." She glanced toward the passages, toward the darkness where Ember had vanished, where Sanza and Eliane and Jelly had fled. "Then we can shift our focus to the power holder."
Atlas gestured toward the prisoners with a flick of his chin. His blue eyes narrowed.
"What do we do with them?"
Marya glanced over her shoulder at Onyx, still weeping, still bound, still staring at the stone floor. Her dark blue eyes were red-rimmed, her freckled cheeks wet with tears. The oversized sweater—Teivel's sweater—hung loose on her frame, the cream-colored fabric stained with dust and gunpowder.
Galit's voice cut through the silence. "There may be more to follow. We should assume reinforcements are already en route."
Marya turned back to face the group. Her expression hardened.
"I would rather hold them for ransom."
Aurélie's head snapped around. Her silver hair swung, and her dark eyes fixed on Marya with an intensity that demanded an answer.
"Is what you said true?"
Marya glanced over her shoulder at Onyx. The weeping captain did not look up.
"Yeah." Marya's voice softened, just slightly. "She was there. But she is no mastermind."
Aurélie held her gaze for a long moment. Then she nodded, once, and turned back toward the cavern.
---
Marya's attention shifted to Jannali.
The woman stood apart from the group, her hoop earrings swinging, her brown eyes fixed on the passage where Charlie had disappeared. Her headscarf was wrapped tight around her forehead, covering her third eye, but her expression held a distant quality, as if she were listening to something no one else could hear.
"You seem distracted."
Jannali looked over her shoulder, her gaze unfocused, her voice absent.
"Do I?"
She took a step toward Charlie's passage, then another. Her hand drifted toward Gosan, the spear resting at her hip.
"The wind. It whispers here."
Marya raised an eyebrow. Bō-Zak pulled his pipe from his mouth, his gold-flecked eyes narrowing.
"The wind?"
Bianca flicked her wrist, her magnifying goggles catching the light. "Like, yeah, it's a thing. She, like, does that."
Marya sighed. She ran a hand through her raven hair, pushed it back from her face, and straightened her shoulders.
"Okay. This is what we are going to do."
The group fell silent, waiting.
"We are going to split into three groups." Marya pointed toward Aurélie and Bō-Zak. "You two, together. Atlas and I in another group. We will go looking for the missing."
She turned to Galit and Bianca.
"You two stay here. Keep the ship secure. Out of the hands of the Navy."
She gestured toward the Beast Pirates vessel, still moored against the stone jetty, dark and silent.
"Check that thing out. See if there is any relevant information." Her hand swept toward Jannali and the passage where Charlie had vanished. "And make sure those two do not wander into or turn on anything we might regret later."
Bianca flicked her wrist, her expression flat. "Like, cool, I guess. But like, how are you going to like find the rest of the crew?"
Aurélie turned her attention back to the huddle.
A low hum filled the air.
The sound grew louder, a buzzing that vibrated in the teeth and rattled in the chest. A small swarm of locusts poured through the passage, their wings buzzing, their bodies dark against the cavern's shadows. They circled Aurélie's head once, twice, then split into two streams—one flowing toward the passage where Ember had vanished, the other toward the crevice where Sanza, Eliane, and Jelly had fled.
Aurélie nodded, her dark eyes tracking the insects.
"They went this way."
Galit reached into his jacket and produced four small transponder snails, their shells painted with the submarine's insignia. He handed one to Marya, one to Aurélie, one to Bianca, and kept one for himself.
"Keep in touch."
Marya slid the snail into her pocket, checked Nisshoku's position across her back, and nodded.
"Let's move."
The group dispersed.
Marya walked toward the passage where Ember had vanished, Atlas falling into step beside her, his rust-red fur bristling, his blue eyes scanning the darkness. Aurélie and Bō-Zak headed toward the crevice where the children had fled, Aurélie's silver hair swinging, Bō-Zak's pipe trailing smoke.
Jannali stood alone at the mouth of Charlie's passage, her hand on Gosan, her brown eyes distant, listening to a whisper only she could hear.
The cavern settled into silence, broken only by the drip of water and the soft breathing of the bound sailors.
And somewhere in the darkness ahead, Ember's laughter echoed off the stone.
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