- POV General -
A few days had passed since the incident on the merchant ship that ended with the Cerberus Captain fainting in front of her crew. The late afternoon had been very intense both physically and psychologically, especially for Hestia who had pushed herself to her limits. The sun was high in the sky and this time there was no trace of a big cloud, only an expanse as blue as the ocean below it.
There, the Hysterics' ship was still making its way westward to its very first destination: Belfort City. On deck, the two brothers were manning the sails under Quartermaster Kali's command, Edward was practicing with his weapons in the bow, Joe was at the helm and Mysie was in the crow's nest. All members of the Cerberus were present except for its Captain and First Mate.
Indeed, Hestia was in her quarters under the poop deck, which was where the helm was held to steer the sloop. It was a very small room considering the size of the ship, but big enough to contain a table and a single bed. There, was lying a young woman with hair as shining as gold and a face of breathtaking beauty although she had a scar on her left eye.
She could have passed for a real fairy tale princess if her body wasn't covered with strips of cloth hiding her body and muscles. Hestia's belly, chest, left shoulder and some areas of her arms were covered with bandages that were lightly tinted red. Only a few tattoos were visible, as well as her medallion and rings, which she never left under any circumstances.
On the pillow next to the Captain's face, Seth the snake with white scales and emerald green eyes slept peacefully, his breaths matching those of his mistress. At the foot of the bed, two medium-sized tigers, white with black stripes and saber teeth, were sleeping peacefully, seeming to watch over her dreams. A little further away, on a chair, Lucas was busy reading Diana Hellfire's precious journal that Hestia always kept.
The room was almost completely quiet with only the sound of rustling pages rising to the relatively low wooden ceiling. A few faint rays of sunlight made their way through the small windows in the stern falling on the sleeping beauty. Then, as if they had sensed their Mistress' awakening, Loki and Azeil suddenly straightened up, staring intently at Hestia before she finally began to move.
"Mmmh..."
She did not even have time to move that already the two tigers of a consequent size put their two front paws on the edge of the bed before licking her face. It didn't take long for the young Captain to wake up completely, under the slobbering kisses of her two companions. Loki and Azeil were purring like big kittens while she put a hand to her head, finally speaking after a few seconds.
"Arg my head..."
"Hestia !"
"Oh~ H-Hi lil brother. Arg ! I feel like I had an endless dream right before a thousand steel bulls stomped on my skull for hours. How long was I asleep ? Three hours ? Five hours ?"
"Well...how can I put this ? Ahem, you slept for three days."
"THREE D...AOUTCH !"
After hearing Lucas's unexpected answer, Hestia had straightened up very quickly without even taking the time to pay attention. Even healed and out of danger, this sudden action had sent a wave of pain throughout her body. Whereas she lowered her head to observe the bandages which covered almost the entirety of her skin, Lucas could not help reacting to this scene.
"Don't scream and especially don't move so much, silly ! You still need to rest and avoid any sudden movements if you want to heal perfectly. Tch, this one I swear !"
"30 seconds"
"Eh ?"
"You barely lasted 30 seconds before you became as annoying as usual hahaha~"
Sighing and rolling his eyes, Lucas picked up Diana's journal that he had dropped in surprise and put it back on the bedside table. He didn't show it but was happy that Hestia had woken up and was able to joke around which showed that she was fine. Shaking his head with finally a slight smile on his face while the young woman resumed her seriousness by looking again at her body almost wrapped.
"Was it that bad ?"
"Don't you remember anything ? When you passed out you had broken ribs, several internal bleeds, a bullet in your left shoulder not to mention the many sword blows you received on your body especially on your stomach, arms and back."
"Wow...well, one thing's for sure...you're pretty damn accurate Doctor. Lucas fufu~"
"OF COURSE I'M ACCURATE, WHO DO YOU THINK SPENT TIME TREATING YOU ? Ahem. Edward would have probably killed you trying to heal you, Joe respects you too much to dare see even your belly and Kali and Mysie would have panicked and burst into tears at the sight of the damage. With my precision and gift, I was the only one who could extract the bullet and stitch up your wounds without feeling too embarrassed in some...ahem way."
"I see...thank you."
"I-It's nothing big sis. However, the craziest thing is that after only three days your wounds that were very serious healed relatively quickly. I don't know what the awakening of your gift is hiding, but your body is far from regenerating like a simple human. Even with your powerful physique and your gift, this is still crazy and almost.... scary."
"..."
Seeing that his Captain did not answer and did not even seem to have heard him so much she was plunged in her thoughts, Lucas remained silent. Without even having to ask, the young man understood at once that she was beginning to remember what had happened because Hestia had suddenly stopped smiling, her face had become serious, her eyes concentrated while Seth wrapped himself around her arm showing his joy.
"So you remember everything huh ?"
"Mmmh...of course..."
After a few minutes of joking around, the memories from before her fainting spell had come flooding back like a sudden flashback. Hestia remembered everything and even all the emotions that had gone through her at that moment against the Navy. But, one thing was unclear, what happened next ? Just as she was about to ask Lucas, a huge noise followed by two familiar voices echoed in the entrance.
"And then what happ…"
*BAM*
"HESTIA !!!"
Two people she knew well had opened the bedroom door with a bang before rushing to the bed where the blonde woman was sitting. The Quartermaster of the Cerberus ship, with her naturally highly developed hearing, had obviously heard the awakening of her Captain. Indeed, Kali and Mysie, who seemed to be doing very well, were not even paying attention to Lucas as they threw themselves at Hestia, asking her a lot of questions.
"H-How are you ? Fine ? Bad ? Y-You don't feel pain anymore ? "
"Are you a-almost healed ? Are you not bleeding anymore ? D-Do you need something ?"
The two young women had almost tears in their eyes, unable not to get emotional after all that had happened in the last few days. All that mattered to them was to see their friend awake, smiling and especially in good health despite her injuries. Hestia was simply happy to see that Kali and Mysie had not changed that much while she was sandwiched by the two young women.
"I'm glad you're fine, both of you. Me ? Well, I'm fine but if you keep squeezing me like this, I might not be that fine in a few seconds"
"OH ! F-Forgive me !"
"Y-YES ! Your wounds !"
"Pfffhahaha~ just kidding, just kidding. You know I'm not that fragile. Also...since when did you become so bold and shameless, girls ? fufu~"
Not understanding what she was talking about, Mysie and Kali raised their heads confused before realizing that they were hugging Hestia who was almost naked in their arms from the beginning. The Captain had only bandages around her body and realizing immediately what position they were in, the two young women turned tomato red before walking away too embarrassed to formulate a complete sentence.
"I...uh...it's..."
"S-Sorry...I...we..."
*GROWL*
While Kali and Mysie were trying to figure out what to say, Hestia's belly had suddenly started to rumble loudly, bringing silence right after. After being asleep for three days recovering from her injuries, her body had been actively acting without ever eating, which explains this growling. Lucas then took the floor having in mind to let his Captain rest a little more without knowing that she had another plan.
"Don't move, we'll bring you back something to eat so you don't burn out or..."
"YOSH~!!!"
"...Or you can also completely ignore me and just do your own thing as usual, it's all good, yeah you can do that."
Without him even finishing or realizing it, the beautiful blonde was already up and about putting on a white shirt that was on the bedside table. Just three days ago she had been seriously injured without even realizing it, continuing to move while any man would have been paralyzed with pain. It was hard to believe that she could already move, but Lucas had already abandoned all logic about her.
"Sigh, why after so many years am I still surprised ? Lucas you should have made up your mind by now...sigh..."
Following the three young women who were heading towards the exit, the young man sighed once again before rising wearily. Putting back the blue night cloak that he always carried on his shoulders, Lucas had no other choice than to give up. As he raised his head, Hestia suddenly turned hers in his direction before giving him a wink making him smile in spite of himself... their Captain was back.
______
On the Cerberus ship, a good hour had passed since Captain Hellfire had returned to her crew in good health, delighted to see her back on her feet. They were now all seated on the deck where they had set up a table and chairs to eat in the cool breeze. The days were hot so sitting in the hold was stifling and not a good idea if they didn't want to end up in a sauna.
The meal was coming to an end and as Joe, Edward, Mysie, Lucas, Kali and even Douggy and Buggy were happily finishing their plates, the Captain was watching them. As usual, although sometimes very talkative and teasing, she was also silent, preferring observation to speech. Loki, Azeil and Seth were eating beside her, Hestia finishing her meal as always with a bottle of rum in her right hand.
So far no one had discussed what had happened on the merchant ship, preferring to enjoy the meal before getting down to business. Hestia, like her companions, had come to realize what it meant to be "willing to do anything to protect those who are dear to you". So it was with a new resolve that the Captain finally silenced her crew with just two sincere words.
"I'm sorry."
No one was unaware of what she was sorry for, and although they were all ready to bear the same burden, they remained surprised and silent to let her speak. In an instant the atmosphere had changed from cheerful to extremely serious in a strangely natural way. Hestia had spoken these words with a voice full of regret, but what followed was spoken in a voice that was cold, resolute, and devoid of any pity or feeling.
"We were six to awaken our gift at the same time but that doesn't mean we are invincible especially in such a large world. Besides, I'm sure the soldiers we faced were only from the weaker branches of the Navy. We managed to get through it together and as I was losing consciousness I realized something and made a decision..."
"..."
"If we are to survive as pirates, we must become more ruthless, stronger and more determined than ever day after day. We have hit a wall but where we are going, it will be a fortress and then a cliff and a mountain. I don't want to relive that fear of losing one of you, that gnawing guilt and regret that keeps us from moving forward."
Not only did they almost die, but their ignorance of the world and the people in it came as a shock and a terrifying realization. Living as a pirate was difficult and far from the tales and legends of the ancestors that had lulled their childhoods. Of course they knew that pirates were not welcomed with open arms, but to be confronted with such hatred, to be humiliated and to see death up close...never again.
"From now on I will be ruthless to anyone who dares to stand in front of me and my goal or even think about hurting you. On the ship, that sweet anger took a long time to come but I will never make the same mistake again and this demon in me will never stay locked up again."
"Captain...you mean..."
"I mean that I am ready to kill, to return a hundredfold every scratch inflicted on those bearing the name Hysterics. That I will stop at nothing for what is important to me, selfish, cruel, monster, heartless, whatever you want to call me. And finally...that I would no longer control my sadistic impulses no matter how intense they are when the smell of blood invade my entire being. He called me Insane Devil ? So be it."
The young Captain had her eyes downcast hiding the intensity and violence of her gaze but the aura she gave off was not deceiving anyone and was quite enough as Loki and Azeil were grumbling as if they shared the same feelings while she smiled. It was not a warm teasing smile but a frightening one as if for a moment the Insane Devil she had spoken of had come out at her words.
Man, woman, old people, civilians, soldiers and even children, at that moment Hestia was ready to kill anyone who deserved it. As her eyes flickered with excitement, everything was clear, she was not a heroine, nor a saint or a good person. She wasn't interested in doing good if it didn't have sentimental implications or something in return. If life was a heartless bitch, then she would be a much worse psychopath.
For the first time in her life, in front of her childhood friends, Hestia had literally declared that she would become a monster so that no one would ever dare to do anything. Calming down and waiting for a protest especially from Lucas, Kali and Mysie she waited but nothing came to her greatest surprise. Raising her eyes slowly, in spite of her speech heavy with meaning, it was the turn of her crew to surprise her.
While the sadistic Captain expected to see the same determined and perhaps slightly worried faces, those who looked at her were very different. Gone were the cheery, slightly goofy smiles, their expressions were almost as cold as hers, and the eyes burned with a blood-curdling glow. For the very first time, Hestia seemed to rediscover those who had grown up beside her, totally speechless.
The blonde needed no words to understand that this resolution she thought she had made alone, as violent as it was, was also that of her crew. Hestia had never thought she would feel such a thrill, but the strength of their determination, the threatening aura they emanated, was enough. She now saw, more than ever, real pirates, maybe not as crazy as her, but enough to follow her even to Hell.
"Let us flow a scarlet sea made of the blood of our enemies. Yes...be the Hysteric Demons of the Insane Devil sailing on the Cerberus !"
Without a word they all nodded seriously, well aware of the weight of these words which were the result of the experience they had lived through and which had marked and changed them all. Even Buggy and Douggy looked serious, even though their help had stopped before the awakening of their superiors' gifts. Even though they had not helped break the situation, the brothers had killed the last two merchants for the first time without hesitation.
After the Captain passed out, Buggy and Douggy had finished the job with the help of Seth who had taken care of strangling the Lieutenant for his mistress. Thus, a new page was turned even as the first week on the ocean came to an end along with their innocence. In just one day the Cerberus crew would arrive in Belfort City, their first destination : the Kokosnuss mansion.
They still had a long way to go to find their missing crew parents from Diana Hellfire, and they certainly weren't done growing along the way. Yet their legends might have been quite different without this traumatic event, but that's how they started. Seven young pirates led by an eighth in search of answers no matter the risk or the cost.
It was not even wrong to say that the real birth of the Hysterics was at that final moment, when everyone knew what it meant to be a pirate. That moment when this crew, still unknown to the world, made the decisions that would give them the title of "Most feared and wanted pirates of the seven seas". Decisions that would one day make their Captain a Legend, a beauty as sadistic as she was cold and beautiful.
But for now, their journey was just beginning and it wouldn't be long before they met new people to protect.
[N/A : Beginning of the second arc : "Belfort City", hope you like so far and don't forget to read the note at the end~]