The Fiery Words of a Son Reach His Father! Jameson's Rite of Passage!


Guess who?
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Btella lifted up a fruit and examined it, a bag twice her size already filled with food on her back but it might've been filled with nothing but air by the way she carried herself. She played with her goggles as she walked out of town and into the forest. She hummed happily and walked down the path with a spring in her step.

"Well, then," the inventor popped a berry into her mouth, "time to set sail."

.

Bang!

Jameson watched as the pirate's chest spurted out blood and he began to fall back. A thud and puff of smoke and Ace was lying on the ground, a bullet wound to his chest.

"Pirate!" Jameson exclaimed as he ran forward.

Another round of shots scattered around the ground at his feet and kept him from approaching Ace. Jameson clicked his tongue and snapped his head to meet the glaring light reflected off a sniper gun.

"Harrison-aniki!" he roared.

"No need to shout, ne," said a tired voice. "I'm not deaf, ne."

"Harrison aniki!" Samson said in shock, addressing the man knelt down beside him. "When did you get there?"

"At fifteen hundred and thirty eight hours," he answered, grunting as he got to his feet. "Coincidentally, at the same time, a dandelion was stomped on, a cup of milk was spilled, and somebody was told they had H.I.V.'s."

The newcomer was wearing a vibrant orange suit like his other brothers were clothed in but his frilly collar instead of being done up properly was unbuttoned to reveal his neck and chest. And like all the others, he looked like a clone of Jameson.

A shot rang out and a scratch was painted on Harrison's cheek. His eyes slid over to land on Jameson, his pistol pointed at him and panting heavily.

"What was with that, ototo?" Harrison sighed. "Trying to kill your own family now, ne?" He heaved his long gun and pointed it right back at him. "Do I have to kill you, Jameson?"

"Harrison aniki!" Samson said quickly. "I've already talked to him! I don't think it's a bad idea for him to go with the pirates!"

"This is why you're spineless, Samson," Harrison said without missing a beat. "You know what our family is. Do you want to rip the shell off of our back?"

Jameson threw a sidelong glance at the fallen pirate. Was he still alive? No. He shook his head. He had to be. He couldn't leave him alone in this situation. Whatever the case, he had to perform some sort of emergency medicine on him and soon.

A snore split the silence and all eyes were drawn to Ace. A nose bubble rising and falling according to his breathing and his face relaxed into a stupidly happy expression.

"YOU'RE SLEEPING?!" the three brothers yelled in exasperation causing the nose bubble to pop.

"But the bullet..." Jameson stuttered as Ace sat up drowsily. "And the blood..."

Ace yawned obnoxiously and rubbed at his eyes. "Hmm? Oh..." he looked down at his front and his eyes slowly widened. He jumped to his feet. "The berries Aoi gave me!"

"Berry juice, huh?" Jameson sighed in relief.

"This sucks..." Ace grumbled. "Ah!" he pulled out a gold coin with the bullet wedged in the middle. "It just keeps getting worse and worse doesn't it?"

"I'd say that's nothing compared to being shot in the heart..." Jameson sweatdropped.

"Devil's luck." Harrison shouldered his gun and prepared to shoot again.

Samson ran and pushed the gun away from its target and the shot ringed into the air along with the smoke from the barrel.

"Stop it, Harrison-aniki!" Samson ripped the sniper gun away from him. "You're going to hurt them!"

"Give that here, Samson," Harrison held out a hand. "Now."

Samson gulped and, before Harrison could make a move, threw the gun into the air. It fell and broke in half onto the pavement below.

Harrison stared aghast at his broken weapon then rounded on his brother, roughly grabbing him by the collar. "What the hell, Samson!"

"Just listen!" Samson yelled back. "Jameson—!"

"What's going on?" interrupted a small voice.

"Another one?" Ace huffed. "There's a limit to how many times you should—"

"Jefferson!" Harrison quickly retracted his hands away from Samson's front. "This is... I mean..."

A younger, shy faced Jameson was peeking out of a window, looking scared and shivering.

"Look at what you've gone and done, Harrison-aniki," Samson reproached. "You've scared Jefferson. Anderson will scold you later."

Harrison was suddenly flustered, falling over the words he was trying to say.

"Are you fighting?" Jefferson's bottom lip trembled. "You shouldn't... somebody could get hurt..."

He turned to see Jameson watching on the ground. "Can't you stop them, Jameson-aniki?" he noticed Ace and ducked back into the room. He peeked over the windowsill. "W-w-w-w-w-w-w-ho-o-o-o-o i-i-i-i-s-sss th-th-that?-?-?"

"Jefferson," Jameson smiled kindly, treading carefully. "This is a friend."

"Hi," Ace waved and the window slammed shut. He faced Jameson. "You've got an interesting family. Can't imagine what the dinners might be like."

"You have no idea..."

The three brothers synchronized an exhausted sigh.

"We should hurry," Ace checked his watch. "It's already been half an hour. Btella will be waiting."

Jameson nodded. "Right."

"Oh, that one girl that was with you?" Harrison's lazy voice was back. "She left approximately twenty minutes and 28 seconds ago."

"What?!"

Ace's eyes narrowed darkly.

"I saw the strangely dressed girl sailing out to sea a few moments ago. She's abandoned that juvenile pirate and you here to get arrested by marines."

"I don't think..." the new voice led the congregation of men to snap their heads to the source. "... you have a right to judge my fashion sense. At least not while you're in that suit."

"First mate!" Ace called up to her, smiling cheerily. "Took you long enough!"

The cook was standing tall on the roof with one of her hands on her hips. She peered down at them with an infuriating smirk spread across her face. Her hair was strangely soaked and she had shed off her suspender piece to be left with her bandou to be the only thing to cover her upper body. Btella was also barefoot and the color of her pants seemed darker.

"I was stocking up on supplies," she informed them. "And I had some other business to take care of."

"B-but," Harrison stuttered. "I saw her set sail."

"Ah, that?" Btella's eyes landed on him and she blinked twice. Then she looked over at Jameson then back at Samson then at Harrison. Her eyes were as wide as her best dinner plates. "He can duplicate?"

"No, no, Bell," Ace waved his hand side to side. "Privileged bastard number one," he clapped a snarling Jameson on the shoulder, "is here and his name is Jameson. That guy over there," he gestured to Samson, "is his brother Samson and the other one is Harrison. Respectively Privileged Bastard two and three."

A pause.

Btella tapped her fist onto her palm, appearing to understand. "Oh. I see." She faced Samson. "Nice to meet you, Sam—"

Ace held his breath, his eyes never leaving the girl.

"—musume." (daughter)

Ace and Jameson both anime fell. Samson's jaw dropped open, incredulous. The captain straightened up with a look of resignation on his face. "I should've known..."

"And, you know, Harri-cousin," Btella spoke to the lost for words man, "even if I set sail I can always, I don't know, turn the ship around and come back. It's not like our compact fishing boats are a one way ride."

Tick marks layered onto Harrison's head. "The way she's talking to me pisses me off."

"Why are you so wet?" Ace asked.

"Because I swam." Btella squeezed the extra water out of her hair. "I jumped into the water halfway and swam back to the island."

"So, you just left our stuff out in the middle of the ocean?" Jameson said slowly.

"Of course not," she gave him an affronted look. "I left some of my rabbits to look after it."

Jameson turned to Ace. "...huh?"

Ace just shrugged.

"So, are you guys done?" Btella looked around at the situation. "Or is the family interfering?"

"Somewhat," Ace replied.

"Listen, Harrison," Jameson called up to his second oldest brother. "Trust me on this one."

Harrison pursed his lips. "Fine. If you're going to be so stubborn about it. Let's just see what Greyson and Father say. Never mind Anderson."

Gratitude split Jameson's face. "Thank you."

Just then the huge front doors split open and two people strode out into the courtyard. One was the white suited clone of Jameson who had the gigantic mallet slung over his shoulder, the other...

"Father..." Jameson gulped.

"Middle aged Privileged Bastard," Ace and Btella deadpanned.

Jameson and his brothers looked exactly like their father. Samson and Harrison were looking down upon the front yard with Btella and Jameson was standing with Ace down on the ground. Jefferson even peeped out of the window. The pirates were fed up.

"This is messing with my reality perception," Ace squeezed his eyes shut tight before opening them again.

"Wouldn't this fuck up the time space continuum or something science-y like that?" Btella asked no one in particular.

"What's this I hear about your ridiculous idea about being a pirate, son?" Middle Aged Privileged Bastard ignored the outsiders.

"You were always the rebellious kid, Jameson," Greyson commented exasperatedly.

"It's not only that, father!" Jameson cursed at his voice for breaking. "These lies we're telling the villagers! They need to stop!"

The clones all made noises of shock.

"Shut your mouth right now, Jameson," Greyson hissed, shadows falling onto his face.

Jameson stood his ground. "We're not mercenaries! We're not even marines! We pay the government to take credit for other people's achievements, just so we can keep our status! Just so we can be self-serving nobles!"

"Jameson—!" Harrison tried to silence him.

"What'll happen if pirates actually do come to the island?!" Everything that he's been keeping inside burst out of him. "What if we can't handle them?! The villagers believe in us, father! They think we can protect them!"

"Or are we going to flee when that time does come?" Jameson's eyes were burning. "You have to realize the lives we hold in our hands."

"Jameson," his father said dangerously. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but it's a necessary evil. All we can do is hope that time doesn't come."

"I think he's right, father," came a very eloquent voice.

Their eyes landed on the figure framed by the doorway. The person stepped out and the pirates did a double take. Unexpectedly, the person wasn't another Jameson. A woman? Wait. She's wearing a dark black suit and her curly hair was cut short, not that all woman had long hair but still.

"Anderson," Greyson was wide eyed.

"Anderson..." Jameson breathed.

"The way we're living holds no future," Anderson said firmly, his (her?) eyes blazing defiantly. "You know mother was critical of this as well when she was alive."

"I agree with Jameson-aniki too!" Samson let out.

"Samson!" Harrison said in surprise.

"It's your call," Jameson couldn't handle the suspense. "You have to make a choice, father."

The silence gripped the family to their places as all eyes were glued onto their father. Ace shifted a bit on his feet. "Making the right choice would be superb, by the way."

Jameson gave him an unimpressed look as Ace scooted back to his original place.

"Fine," the man said finally making Jameson's shoulders relax in relief. "I'll do as you say, Jameson."

"Thank you, father. Thank you so much."

"If that's your decision," Btella tossed something at them and Jameson's father caught it.

"A microphone?" Jameson said curiously.

"I knew the whole Noble Gases thing was a front," Btella explained, "and I asked around the village about it. Turns out your people might be more understanding than you might initially believe."

"That microphone is connected with all of the Denden Mushi I set up throughout the island," she smirked. "It's up and ready for your confession, Mr. Villa."

The man narrowed his eyes. "Have we met somewhere before?"

Btella jumped a bit and rubbed her neck nervously. "Uh, nope. Never have, you must be mistaking me for someone else. Ha ha ha ha..."

Jameson's father slowly ripped his eyes away from the weird girl and looked down at the microphone in his hand. He heaved a deep, heavy breath.

Jameson walked over and placed a reassuring hand on the man's shoulders, nodding in encouragement.

Jameson's father spent the next few minutes admitting to all of his lies and telling the story of how he ended up in this situation. The village was quiet as they listened to his voice respectfully. After he was done, he sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.

"Mr. Villa! Sir!"

The family looked over to see the villagers gathered at the front gate. Mr. Villa gawked at their smiling faces. "Everyone..."

"We knew all along!" yelled a shopkeeper. "We just didn't know how to tell you!"

"I mean it wasn't the right thing to do but we understood your predicament."

"You still helped us out with trading and improved our agriculture! At least you paid your side of the deal!"

"You can repay us by holding a party tonight with lots of food and maybe a bit of free cash!"

The people laughed at that and Mr. Villa cracked his first smile. "I'll think about it."

"Abernathy," Btella said slowly with the side of her mouth twitching while looking out into the ocean. "Guess what I'm seeing right now."

Ace quickly looked down at his watch and let out a strangled cry. "We're way over the time limit! Privileged bastard, we need to hustle!"

"Huh?" Jameson was bemused for a second before he realized. "Ah! The Marine ships!"

Btella brought out her grappling hook and fired it at the boys. "Grab on!"

Ace was pulled up onto the rooftop first and just as Jameson was about to join them, Anderson held him back.

"Wait, Jameson ani-ja," his littlest brother, Anderson frowned. "Don't become mother's killers."

Jameson clapped him on the shoulder. "I'd never. I'm a pirate and I'll decide what it means to be one."

"And what's that?"

"Living freely and going on never-ending adventures."

Anderson cracked a smile. "That's a nice definition."

"Take care of them, Anderson," Jameson motioned to the others.

"I will."

"Jameson," Mr. Villa hesitated before he said, "I'm proud of you. Thank you."

Tears welled in Jameson's eyes before he wiped them away and gave his father a tight embrace. "I love you, father. Be well."

After a farewell to the others, Jameson was ripped away from his family as the grappling hook reeled him in.

He joined the pirates as they ran across the rooftop until they were looking out onto a decline that led to the sandy beach. Btella scanned the blue waters before finding what she was looking for and pointing.

"There!"

The boys followed her finger and saw their two fishing boats traveling much faster than boats without a rider should be going.

"I set up a device on the hull of the sailboat so it would circle the island after traveling a certain distance out to sea," Btella said, grinning proudly. "It should've been enough to trick the marines."

"That's brilliant, Bell!" Ace complimented.

Btella jumped off the roof and into the green foliage below and her voice trailed after her as she disappeared into the forest. "But we should probably hurry before it explodes."

Jameson laughed as he and Ace jumped to join her. "She's joking, right?"

When Ace didn't answer him, but instead bolted like a mad man toward the shore, Jameson had a horrible feeling. "She's joking, right?" he asked more urgently, running after the pirates.

Luckily, they got to the boats before they could spontaneously combust and the soaking wet pirates were heaving breaths and lying with their limbs splayed out on the small deck.

"Dammit, Bell," Ace panted.

Btella laughed while coughing out a bit of sea water she'd managed to swallow on their frantic swim for the boats.

"By the way, James-uncle." Jameson was looking worse for wear on his separate fishing boat but made the effort to stand up when Btella called. "Was that last member of your family a girl or a boy?"

"What? Anderson? Can't you tell by the name?"

"Well, just to be sure."

"Anderson's a guy," Jameson dug around in the bags that he'd left in his boat earlier on. "He's the youngest, he takes after my mom more than anything else."

He offered them a picture and Btella reached out to grab it. Ace leaned in to see as well.

Their expressions evolved into a new form of astonishment. In the family photo was Jameson's father sitting in the middle with his sons surrounding him, but next to him was a woman with a child on her lap. The woman looked exactly like an older Anderson.

"It's DNA!" Btella exclaimed. "DNA is some freaky shit!"

"Oi, are you sure you guys aren't clones or something?" Ace asked Jameson seriously. "Like some high tech genetic mutant?"

Jameson sweatdropped at their antics. "I'm pretty sure."

The next morning, the News Coo dropped by to sell them a newspaper. On the front page was the Headline: The Truth Revealed About the Famous Mercenaries! The Noble Gases, A Family Lie?!

Jameson has kept it ever since.

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Oda just announced that 2016 will be the Year of Sanji! Needless to say, that motivated me to finish writing the chapter.

Hope you guys liked it! I had fun writing it ^-^ It's my early Christmas present to you

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