Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Scurvy, Jolly Rogers and a Whole Lotta Booty ❯ The Preparation ( Chapter 11 )

* * *Authors note* * *

gomen nasai!!! I had midterms last week so I had to study all last weekend and didn't get anything written until now. But, on the plus side, next week is Spring Break. . . .

The Preparation

Quatre slowly rowed himself out to the pirate ship docked next to The Zero Star. It was even larger than Captain Heero's ship and surrounded in a perpetual green fog. To be honest he was quite frightened of being alone on a ship full of ghost pirates but his father had assured him that he would come to no harm.

When he reached the ship he finally noticed the name on the port side, The Epyon. For some reason the name made him shudder. As Quatre got closer he noticed a rope ladder hanging down and rowed underneath it. He rowed over to it and began his ascent.

It was slow going swinging back and forth above the angry sea, but he finally made his way to the top and fell over the edge onto the deck of the ship. Slowly, Quatre began to rise and he noticed a pair of feet standing fairly close by. They were clad in a pair of very shiny black boots and lead up to a pair of legs wearing what looked like white stretch pants. Quatre ignored the fashion faux pas and continued to look up at the blue jacket with extraordinarily long tails. Then he saw the man's face. He had a straight nose with dark blonde wavy hair and wore an expression of slight interest as he looked down at the young man by his feet. It was the ghost pirate Treize.

Quatre slowly got to his feet but still Treize said nothing. Quatre looked around and noticed other ghost pirates floating about in the fog, but he wasn't interested in them.

"My father will be here shortly," Quatre said and the look of Treize's face changed from mild interest into a definite frown. And Quatre noticed something else, a bone necklace was hanging around the ghost pirates neck and emitting the same green glow as the fog. But the color was fading.

* * *

Heero had been still and pensive for what seemed like a very long time but still no brilliant plans of escape had occurred to him. He hoped the hag would untie him before she tried to have her way with him. But then, even though she was horribly ugly he couldn't convince himself of her stupidity. She had caught him and his crew, after all.

The entire time he spent trying to devise escape plans, the Voodoo Priestess Relena worked on her bone necklace. It looked about as intricate as one could make a bone necklace and she seemed to be putting the finishing touches on it. Then there came a knock at the hut's door.

Relena looked up and smiled, "come in."

At the invitation a tall middle aged man entered the hut. He had to bend down in order to avoid hitting his head and he looked, with barely disguised disgust, at the voodoo priestess before him. He didn't even glance at Heero.

"Is it ready?" he asked, his voice slightly anxious.

"Yes, the necklace is complete," Relena said. "We only have to perform the ceremony and then it will be ready."

The man nodded. "And do we have everything for the ceremony?"

Relena looked up at the man with her toothless grin. "Maybe. You don't want to give us your son? He may be useful."

The man seemed to weigh the option for a moment. "No, he is all ready too far away. Who do you have?" he asked and looked at the tied up captain.

Relena followed his gaze but wagged her long, crooked finger in his face. "No, no, no. He is not for the ceremony. He is mine." Then she threw Heero another of her toothless smiles. He was only happy he could barely smell her for that distance.

"Is it the rest of his crew then?" the man asked and smiled.

"Yes, all three of them."

"Three!" the man said and definitely sounded annoyed. "Well, at least I'm killing two birds with one stone. And as for you, Captain Yuy," the man said as he looked at Heero again, "I'll give Treize you're regards."

* * *

The crazy man in the hut forced the remaining members of Captain Heero's crew to take off their skirts. "It's for the ceremony," he demanded and pointed out of the door. "You don't want me to call a zombie to do it for you, do you?"

"No," Duo said as he began to remove his black vest and white piratey shirt, "but I don't see what this has to do with the ceremony. Maybe that freak wants to see if she made the right choice with Heero."

"Ha," Wu Fei huffed as he removed his shirt. "She would obviously not choose anyone as pathetic as you. She would want a man with upper body strength. And both Captain Heero and I possess that."

Duo was about to laugh but then he looked at Wu Fei. To his utter dismay the Chinese pirate was right. He was quite fit with a very nicely built chest. "I've just got a swimmers body," Duo mumbled.

"More like a twelve-year-old girl's body," Wu Fei said laughing.

Duo glared at him and prepared to take a punch but Trowa held him back. "This is no time to fight you two. We have more important issues to think about."

"Yeah, like trying to get out of this mess," Duo said and glared at Wu Fei.

"And rescuing the Captain," Wu Fei returned the glare.

Trowa nodded, "and finding out what they are going to do with our clothes. Crazy man, I don't want any zombies touching this. It's H&M and was very expensive."

"Don't worry about your clothes. You won't be needing them," the man said and pointed at the door. "Now get moving!"

Trowa reluctantly put down his designer shirt and followed his fellow pirates out of the hut.

* * *

Quatre watched the green light around the necklace waver for a few seconds. There was something very odd about this whole situation, not that being on the ship of a ghost pirate wasn't odd enough. But there was something about the Ghost Pirate Treize that was sad, almost lonely.

"Do you like working for my father?" Quatre finally ventured.

Treize's frown only increased.

"I guess you can't talk anymore since you are a ghost and everything."

Treize said nothing but slowly moved his transparent hand to hover above the necklace.

"You and my father have been very profitable business partners, that must be nice." Quatre didn't know why he kept talking to a silent ghost, but he felt too nervous to just remain quiet.

Treize's eyes narrowed and he glared at the boy in front of him. His hand still floating above the necklace.

"I wonder what they are going to do to Trowa and the others. I hope it is nothing bad. . . ." Quatre trailed off. He looked at Treize and Treize's hand. "That's an interesting necklace. It looks a lot like the one the voodoo priestess was making."

Treize's eyes went from being narrow to wide and his hand grasped at the piece of jewelry around his neck, but his hand just went through it.

Noticing the ghost pirates frantic fit, Quatre decided to do him a favor and reached for the necklace himself. "What does this thing do anyway?" he asked as he pulled it through the ghost pirates transparent neck.

"It binds me to your father's bidding. And I'm very glad you removed me from it. Quatre Raberba Winner."

* * *

Heero only glared at the man. He didn't have time for mindless banter. He had a crew to rescue.

Just then a old, ugly man entered the tent. "They are ready for the ceremony, Relena."

The voodoo priestess smiled and looked up at Mr. Winner. "Shall we go watch then? This should be fun."

"Of course," the man said and made a face.

"What about him?" the old man asked and pointed at Heero.

Relena considered it for a moment. "I guess he should be allowed to watch. Will it turn you on, Heero?"

"You horrible hag!!!" Heero yelled. "Of course it doesn't turn me on to watch my crew get killed!"

Relena only smiled. "Well, I know what will turn you on."

Heero couldn't help himself and let out a small laugh. "You don't have anything that would turn me on."

Relena glared at him, "well, you're going to watch anyway. Bring him out and tie him up." She commanded the old man, who rushed to obey.

He began to untie Heero and then smiled. "That Chinese fellow was right, you have a very nice chest."

And Captain Heero was deeply disturbed.