No matter how Captain Fry tried to cover up his failures, he could not leave out the most important parts that were related to the overall details of what had happened.
There was a missing ship, casualties and many eye witnesses involved so he had to report about the fact that he had failed to capture the targets he had thought to be connected to the bombing incidents.
No matter how much he valued his own reputation, Captain Fry could not get away with covering up such a failure and losses.
The loss of a Marine ship was something that had to be reported right away so those in other bases did not mistake the missing ship as their allies.
If his actions resulted in criminals causing major damage to the Marines by using their own ship and outfits without reporting it then the punishment for him would be harsh.
It was better to cover all possible outcomes so that the Marines could be on the lookout for the exact characteristics of the ship.
Even if the sail and flags were changed, the rest of the ships overall shape and design would help to identify it when the Marines ran into it by accident or were actively looking for it.
Pixel and others were not aware of the information that was being reported to the higher ups within the Marines since they were already on their way back towards Zou.
If they had known about it then it would not have been at the very top of their list of things to worry about.
As far as they were aware, there had been no photos taken of them during the time of their time on the island so all that others had to identify them was based on the descriptions of the people who had interacted with them.
They did not head straight to Zou during their journey due to their fear of them being followed back so they sailed around in the general direction before turning towards Zou.
Meanwhile back on the island, there was a person who was cleaning up the area close to his stall.
There was a feeling of hopelessness on his face as he looked back towards his closed up store.
Some of the ingredients had been left behind by Pixel but a lot of the original ingredients had been used up as more customers came in.
Whatever Berries that had been earned by Pixel had been kept by her due to her being unable to pay for her time using his stall and equipment at the end of the day.
Pixel had grabbed whatever she could carry away with her during the time of the bombing incident before running off to look for others.
Once the owner of the stall had returned, he felt a little cheated that she had left without paying as promised but he also felt down that the business built up by her had died down without her being there.
He knew that his cooking could not compare to Pixels so even if he tried to make use of the popularity she had gained during that short time, his own cooking would result in the customers being disappointed.
Just as he was thinking about how he would have to go ahead with the deal that had been made by one of the larger store owners so he could get enough Berries to handle his life's difficulties, several Marines dragged him away resulting in him being interrogated.
He was in a cold and dark room sitting opposite an intimidating man with a rounded figure. "Um.. I really know nothing."
Captain Fry knit his brows and pulled out some reports. "You are being suspected of aiding a terrorist in their plot to do harm to our kingdom. It would be wise to tell me everything you know down to the last detail if you do not want to sit in a cell for longer."
He continued. "It seems that your business is struggling.. you have a family member that is reliant on you. Oh.. and you are having difficulties with payments recently. I see… it makes sense that someone in your position would be tempted if someone approached you with an offer tempting enough."
Captain Fry had already put down a scenario where the man was in a desperate enough situation that he was prepared to sell his soul to the devils that tempted him into getting involved with such an event.
The scenario was something that would let the man feel the gravity of the situation he was in.
The pressure applied and the knowledge of there being enough reason to suspect him would make him either hurry to think of a way to save himself or to try to reduce the sentence that would be given to him.
Most usually caved in when enough pressure was applied and confessed to their sins but the man shook his head as he was trying to deny his involvement in the bombing. "No.. no.. she just asked to use my stall for cooking. I think her name was Pixel? Yes Pixel!
Hmm… from what I had heard, Pixel and those with her were just visiting the island for a couple of days. I promise I had no involvement in what happened and I do not think they would be involved too.
I may not have seen it clearly but during the bombing incident near the stall, Pixel had prevented a bomb from going off in the middle of so many people. She saved them so how could she be involved in it!?"
He tried desperately to clear his name and the only way he could do so was by clearing Pixel's name too. "If you do not believe me then try asking anyone who was there at that time. The bomb exploded but it had been thrown up into the air so many lives had been saved."
"Anything else that may be helpful?"
"Um.. a child? Yes! A child was who she held onto during that time. I do not know if that is important?"
"Hm.. continue with any details."
Slowly the investigation was completed as the locations that the young Minks visited provided more information about what they were doing on the island.
Nothing suspicious was found and everything pointed to them being new visitors and tourists to the island.
Some information even provided some verification to the fact that they were not behind the bombings.
Unfortunately the crimes committed afterwards could still not be pardoned so Pixel and others had been reported to the higher ups allowing others to know of Pixel's first name along with some other details about herself and those with her.
There was a further investigation conducted into the bombing but there was little left behind for the culprits to be tracked down.
Even the child that had been saved by Pixel had been found dead in a back alley which showed how merciless the terrorists were that they would not let the child go after they failed just so they could cover up any loose ends.