The wind blew quietly on the now empty kingdom. Where once pillars of majesty stood tall and proud, now stood only the few small scratches of rubble, small portions of the great buildings that once was.
Markus was sitting on a rooftop, that had fallen into the streets, resting, staring at the destruction around him with a look of pity on his face when Vice Admiral Dalmatian approached him.
" Hey." Dalmatian called out to the man.
Markus looked up from the broken city and to the bleeding Vice Admiral, taking note of the man he was dragging by his foot.
" Hey, Dalmatian-San. Is he?"
" Alive? Yeah, he's alive. We need to take them back to the ship and get information out of them to try and get ahead of these pirates." Dalmatian explained.
" Right." Markus replied.
" What about him?"
" He's alive too. But frankly... I'm questioning what I should do myself. Should I kill him, or bring him in? I've been repeating that question to myself for the past five minutes." Markus told the man. " I look around at this city and think about what they've done, and I can't help but think they both deserve death. What do you think?"
Dalmatian sighed. " It's a natural thought to have. No one ever said Marines were perfect. Actually, I'd be more disappointed if you didn't think about it." Dalmatian told the young man. " You'll get credit for bringing him down regardless of it you kill him or not. So, what does your gut tell you?"
Markus thought long and hard about it and finally, he exhaled a sigh of frustration. " He's got to answer to someone. But I ain't a judge, a jury, and I think there's been enough death here." Markus spoke.
" Then grab him and let's go. We don't have the luxury of resting now. We need to get back to the ship and inform HQ on the status of the Frost Kingdom." Dalmatian spoke.
" Right. Right." Markus muttered. He stood up, brushing the dirt off of his pants. He then grabbed Janten and threw him up over his shoulder. " Come on, there's nothing left here. Let's go." Markus spoke.
It was quite a hefty trip back to the ship while carrying a man over his shoulder, but Markus and Dalmatian made it back in decent shape.
" Welcome back Vice Admiral, Lieutenant!"
The Marines saluted the two men as they boarded the Marine vessel.
" Take these two and place them in a cell." Dalmatian said to the Marines. And make sure to put them in seastone cuffs. They have devil fruits." Dalmatian spoke. He threw Manten down on the floor and left the man to his subordinates to handle.
" Right away sir!" The marines quickly ran over to Manten and picked him up off the ground and carried him down to the hold.
" Sir, we'll take him off your hands." A solider said to Markus.
" Alright, thanks." Markus said to the man. He handed Janten over to the Marine and stepped off to the side. " What about our new guest? Is she stable?"
" We don't know yet, sir. She suffered many lacerations to her back and legs, a fractured collarbone, her right arm was broken in three different places, there were numerous stab wounds on her stomach, and one particular nasty burn mark over her right eye. There were also many other bruises and abrasions across her body. But those were the most lethal ones." The captain of the medical unit explained to the man.
" I see. That is horrible."
" Yes sir, but our doctors are confident they can save her life. They just need more time."
" Tell them to take as much time as they need and don't be afraid to ask if they need something. Whatever happens, we don't let that woman die, do you hear me?"
" Yes sir."
" Good. Go tell them that. Hurry on now." Markus told the man.
" Uh, but sir. What about your injuries?"
" I'm fine. Just focus all of your attention on saving her life. It is more important that we not let another person die." Markus told the man.
The Marine saluted Markus. " Yes sir!" and then he ran back under deck.
Markus grabbed his head and sighed in frustration. " How much does one person need to endure? Poor woman, when she wakes up she's going to be devastated." Markus muttered.
" You are right." Dalmatian's heavy hand plopped down on Markus' shoulder. " Which is why, if she does make it, we should chain her up until we know that she won't accidentally lash out at the crew." Dalmatian told the man.
" No."
" No?"
" That's too much, Dalmatian-San. I can only imagine that waking up like that would only further infuriate the woman and cause her to panic and try to break free. Which, if that does happen, then she'll end up reopening her wounds and could end up dead. And that's not something I want on my mind. Just leave it to me, Dalmatian-San." Markus told the man.
Dalmatian looked at Markus, noticing the look on his face. " Fine, I'll leave it in your capable hands." Dalmatian told the man. " But once you get the chance, let the medics take a look at your wounds and then get some rest. We still got a lot of work ahead of us." Dalmatian explained.
" Yeah, right. What about you? What are you going to do in the meantime?" Markus asked the man.
" I need to go speak with the higher ups and see how they want us to proceed. Which is gonna be a drag, I just know it. But we need to keep them updated at all times on this matter." Dalmatian explained.
" Right. Makes sense." Markus muttered. " Well, I'm going to see if there's anything left from breakfast. I'm starving. And I'd say after all that, I'm gonna lay down for a bit." Markus told the man.
" Alright, then. I'll come find you later if I need you." Dalmatian said to Markus, he then turned and walked away, needing to get a transponder snail to deliver his report to Marineford
" Hey!" Markus shouted. " Someone come wake me, when the princess is out of surgery. I want to be the first person notified. Understand?!"
" Yes Lieutenant!"
" Good." Markus muttered. " I really need a break." Markus walked into the crew quarters and crashed on his small bunk bed. Instantly falling asleep. four long nights of travel without rest, certainly took a lot out of him. But finally, it was over. Now, they were in the waiting stage.
Though that didn't mean it was over for good. The hard part was still yet to come.
But first some rest. For even he would need it for what comes next.
* DOOM!
To Be Continued!
............
Alright folks, that's tonight's chapter. I know it's not as exciting as some others. But sometimes a little rest chapter is what is needed. And Markus still has a very hard job to do before it is all said and done. Let me know what you guys think in the comment section below. Thanks guys!!!