Artis continued to run around the cruise, looking for his sister until he heard his phone ringing.
It was his sister, Alice calling!
"Hello?"
-Hey, uh? Did you just call me right now?
"Nah, sis. It was my ghost! Of course, I called you! What kind of stupid question is that?" replied Artis in frustration.
From the other end of the phone, Artis could hear Alice grumble in annoyance like, 'This brat is asking for it' as she replied,
-Well, sorry to burst your bubble but unlike you, I am actually busy with my work. Why did you call me?
Artis took a deep breath calming himself down, "Where are you right now? There's something important I've to discuss with you!"
-Where am I right now? Uh...I think...Yeah, I am currently at the poolside. Why, what happened?
"Just met with your old friend. Don't worry about it," replied Artis.
"Anyways, I'm coming. Stay there only!"
As Artis cut the call, he hurriedly made his way towards the poolside avoiding all the passengers and the crewmates swiftly.
...
10th Floor, BlackHearts Casino,
The air was thick with cigarette smoke and the murmur of gamblers locked in their high-stakes games. Inside the casino, a lady wearing a beautiful red dress and classy brown hair was playing a game of Blackjack that she managed to win again.
"Blackjack," she said smoothly, her voice dripping with confidence.
The dealer nodded grimly, pushing a pile of chips toward her. She scooped them up, her grin widening. "Better luck next time," she teased before turning to the woman seated nearby.
"So what do you think about this, Vaneria? Pretty great wasn't it?" the lady with brown hair turned around to face another lady with short purple hair, her eyes covered with sunglasses who was sitting on a chair, legs crossed, using her laptop.
"Don't disturb me now, Ponia!" warned Vaneria as she continued to type on her laptop, "If I mess this code up, everything we worked for will go to waste. So please, for the love of God, don't disturb me and let me do my work. Everything depends on this."
Ponia groaned theatrically, flopping onto the couch beside her. "You're always working," she complained. "Live a little! This is St. Annie's Cruise! The most luxurious ship in the continent! There's no ship like this...You and Robcael are always so serious you know! Learn to have some fun once in a while!"
Vaneria didn't miss a beat, "Hard for me to have fun when this place is going to blow up soon."
Ponia's smile completely froze on her face as she listened to such a blunt reply.
"Anyways, leaving that depressing thought aside....care to remind me why we are doing this again and not focusing on our remaining projects that are just as important as this one?"
Ponia stood from her seat as she slowly began leaning towards Vaneria.
"Sigh...It's only because this will be the first time over the decades we're leaving a mark on this world and second!
Her voice turned serious, "It's "Madame" orders! And following her orders is absolutely important for us! You know as well as I do that failure isn't an option."
Ponia remained silent for a while, absorbing the information Vaneria just given, sweat forming on her forehead.
"Go contact Robcael now, and make sure to tell our grunts to take their position. Tonight is the night we strike at the heart of Aurosia."
"Understood!"
As Ponia rose and walked away, the clamor of the casino seemed louder than ever.
...
Captain Fervier sat in his cabin, reading a few reports kept on his table frowning as he read one report after another.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
There was a sudden knock at his door.
"Come in!"
The door creaked opened and in front of Captain Fervier stood a tall man who had bronze skin wearing a black bandana, a deep scar on his left eye as he wore a blue overcoat jacket carrying a basket filled with wine.
"Can I help you?" asked Captain Fervier confused by this person's sudden appearance.
The man chuckled softly, his lips curling into a faint smirk. "You don't recognize me, do you? Have I really changed that much?"
Captain Fervier, now was even more confused after hearing that as he stood up seizing the man in front of him as he fell into a deep thought.
"It seems you still don't remember me. Well let me jog up your memory, remember your battle at the Juju Island where you almost got your hand chopped off and it was a girl with red hair who had to save your pirate ass?"
Suddenly, Captain Fervier felt a jolt of memories flooding inside his brain as he exclaimed happily and excitedly.
"Michael is that you? By the seas! How have ya been? And what's with that scar on ya left eye? Don't tell me you lost a fight?"
The man named Michael, no, Robcael, chuckled as he replied softly, "Yeah, it's me, but I don't go by that name anymore. I'm called Robcael now."
"Robcael? That's a weird name if you ask me. What made you choose that?"
"Ha Ha! Circumstances. You see, I lost my eye for this reason only. So, how about it? Wanna share a cup? Let us old friends, reminisce about the past a little bit. "
...
Artis raced through the hallways of the cruise, dodging passengers and crew with practiced agility. The phone call with his sister still echoed in his mind. She was avoiding him...again. And this time, he wasn't letting it slide.
Finally, he spotted Alice sitting by the poolside, her gaze fixed on the rippling water. Her usually sharp demeanor was dulled by something heavy. For a moment, Artis hesitated. She looked...tired. But his frustration won out.
"Alice!" he called, storming over.
She glanced at him briefly, then turned her attention back to the pool as if he wasn't even there.
"Alice, is there something important you want to tell me? Why have you avoided me after my show?"
Alice remained silent, not responding to Artis which made him irritate even further.
"Big Sis! I'm talking to you, ya kno-"
Alice let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. "We need to leave the cruise tomorrow," she said flatly, interrupting him.
"-w. Wait, what?"
"I've been thinking about it," she continued, her tone carefully neutral. "We're already in Aurosia, and if we leave now, we can reach our destination faster by train. It's safer this way."
"Come again? Wouldn't it cost more? Boarding a train and all?"
"Yeah, it would! But the cost is not that bad and we can manage it. C'mon, let's pack up and get out of here."
Artis was even more confused, "But...But why? Is it because of your friend's cryptic warning that I'm in danger?"
"That's one of the reasons, yes." Alice didn't deny it, "Right now, my only concern is your safety. We've talked about this before, If something happens to you, then I won't be able to forgive myself. This place isn't safe anymore, we have to leave soon!"
"How can you even say that? What about Captain? What about the other people here? Don't they consider you your family too?" countered Artis, not understanding what his sister was saying.
Alice sighed, "Listen, Artis, sometimes in life, you have to make choices that you don't want to make but the world will force you to. The crew is my family and I love them too, but you will always be my first preference no matter what! You understand? This is one of those moments where I've had to make such a choice."
Artis softened for a moment, but the lingering confusion still burned. "You're running scared because of a maybe. Do you even realize how paranoid you sound?"
Alice suddenly stood, her chair scraping loudly against the deck. Her eyes burned with an intensity that made Artis take a step back.
"Paranoid?" she hissed. "Do you think I want to make this choice? That it's easy for me to leave people I care about behind? I'm doing this because I have to, not because I want to! You don't get to judge me for trying to keep you alive!"
Artis took a step back, seeing his sister's anger as she trembled, and walked away from there hastily.
"Tonight!" she began as she face his back, "We're going to join the farewell dinner and say our goodbyes! I won't take any no or unnecessary arguments anymore after this understand? End of discussion."
Without waiting for a response, Alice turned and walked away, her fists clenched tightly at her sides.
Artis stood frozen, the weight of her words settling over him like a storm cloud.
Seeing that, Alice clicked her tongue and walked away leaving Artis behind not allowing him to answer at all.