Link to Voyage

"Are you sure about this? Vizmir asked as he sat back on a chair, watching Gideon real in another net full of fish and bringing it on board the Halal food ship. With this net, it makes three full nets worth, "Ugh" the elder groaned from the stench of fish that waft over the ship.

"Yeah, I have something personal to take care of" Gideon said with determination as he dropped the third net of fish onto the deck of the ship before reaching for the next net.

"I see, something about a seaking that you had a fiasco with" Vizmir lit a cigarette to relief his stress and to escape the strong smell. He began regretting to go along with Gideon to complete a nonsensical task, the only reason he chose to do so was because he thought the giant would be lonely especially after the entire incident involving his friend getting captured by the marines.

In actuality, Gideon had returned to complete this task because this goal he had set was unfinished due to being surprisingly knocked up into the sky by a hidden geyser. He was so close to defeating the seaking, the long, blue serpent that found the outer waters of Jaya it's home, that saw fisherman as a meal and terrorizing the locals of the island as pure sport. Gideon had promised the island locals that he would take care of the beast and make a meal out of it, but time has passed, leaving such business unfinished and a promised in the wind. Gideon tossed the fourth net into the water and waited.

"Are you sure you can handle such a beast?" Vizmir exhaled smoke that risen to the air, escaping the boat and troubles, just as Vizmir wished he could do.

"Doesn't matter if I think I can, I made a promise and I have to finish my task" Gideon didn't even look back, just stared at the water before him. The two then remain quiet for a bit before Gideon hauled up the next batch of fish to which he dumped onto the deck next to the others.

"We done?" Vizmir groaned.

"Yes, now we move to the next phase" Gideon smiled as he began put his hand into a big bag of seasoning. He walked about the ship, tossing all sorts of herbs and spices, here and there, all along the fishes that filled that nets.

"I'm not cleaning that up" Vizmir pointed out.

"Want to help me fight the seaking instead?" Gideon smiled at Vizmir who had just stared at him for a moment before sighing and turning away. The answer was obvious between both of them.

Gideon pointed to the help to which Vizmir went and took hold of the wheel and began sailing the boat towards the island, all the while the giant was slowly pouring out seasoned fishes from the nets over the side of the railing and into the water. The idea is to lead a trail of tasty fish to the jackpot spot where the giant will drop the ton of other fish into the water... the seaking shouldn't resist such a meal, especially prepared by Gideon himself.

Before reaching Skypiea, Gideon had spent three days trying to fish the seaking out of the ocean, which was a waste of time and wasn't well thought out, but now he had a clearer head, he was more creative. The ship sailed closer to the island of Jaya as the giant poured the fish overboard. The first bag had emptied.

"Have you ever killed a seaking before?" Vizmir asked as he continued to man the helm.

"No, but there's a first time for everything" Gideon smiled, but Vizmir's grimace didn't dissipate, "I always wanted to know what a seaking tasted like" he added.True as it is, Gideon primary reason for facing the seaking was to prove to himself that he was strong enough to take it on, strong enough to travel the world and rescue his mother as well as avenge his father. Now after Skypiea, he was sure he could take on the beast.

The second bag emptied. Gideon looked towards Jaya, measuring the distance. "Hold" He told Vizmir. Once the old man stopped the ship by helping Gideon raise the sails, the giant stopped off the ship and sank into the water. His feet touched the floor, the surface of the water was at his waist, "This is good enough" Gideon nodded. The serpent wouldn't want to fight on dry land, but Gideon needed some kind of footing to better his chances in the fight, so long as he didn't have a disadvantage.

"So what exactly would you want to do now?" Vizmir asked as he leaned over the railing.

"Wait until the seaking shows up" Gideon nonchalantly said as he began pouring the rest of the fish in the same spot.

"And then?"

"Then I guess you can sail back to the island" They fell into agreement.

Time passed and there was nothing but silence. Gideon began to feel pruney, so boarded the ship again.

"So what why did you become a pirate?" Vizmir asked randomly.

"I never wanted to be a pirate, I just wanted to get stronger and explore the world" Gideon answered. Although Vizmir could tell it was more than that, but the old man didn't pry, he didn't see much reason to get himself into such problems if it didn't involve him directly.

The afternoon sun shined brightly down upon the sea, Jaya, and the fishing duo in between as they simply waited for any sign of the serpent. Time ticked and the quiet was only broken by the distant sound of birds. Vizmir read through a book he had thankfully brought along with him while Gideon continued to scan the water. With such silence, the giant's mind began to wander. Losing Yuurei had yet to take it's toll on him; it has been about a decade since he has had an actual friend and now that friend has been taken. When Gideon had received the message from Koneko that she and Yuurei needed help, he raced over to the port where he had said he was going to acquire a bounty but what he found was signs of a fight and the last sighting of a marine ship that had sailed off. Koneko had confirmed the rumors of Yuurei's capture, but no one exactly knows what prison currently contains him.

That was now a story of the past and there was nothing for them to do. With no location of Yuurei's whereabouts, and surely the marines had his prison fortified, what could they truly do? Even if they planned on a breakout, where would they start? Then something caught Gideon's eye, a set of ripples on the water's surface just some distance off.

"What is it?" Vizmir looked up from his book the moment the giant rock the boat slightly in his faint movement after a long while of remaining still.

"I think it's here" Gideon whispered, his eyes still fixed on the water, trying to find any other sign. Vizmir slowly closed his book, hesitating on whether or not he should get to the helm. Tension was in the air but the silence remained.

After a moment, there was a stillness, as if a calm before the storm, then soon after, the surface of the water erupted and out shot the body of a the long blue serpent. It roared, angered that the pile of fish that floated in the water was being patrolled by a fishing boat, the beast knew that this was more than likely a trap, but it didn't fear away.

"Remember me!?" Gideon shouted as he hopped off the boat, rocking it. He landed in the water and drew the thirty foot blade -Jormungandr. With another roar, the beast swam towards the giant.

The seaking dove in to strike at Gideon, but the giant deflected the beast by slamming the flat of the blade against the side of it, sending the serpent speeding pass him. But it was quick to get it's 'footing'; Gideon tried to take advantage of and strike but the serpent was quick and slammed it's tail against the giant, but instead of sending him flying as it had done weeks before, Gideon only tumbled back a pace or two. As if the serpent knew who exactly it was fighting, the moment of still quiet told Gideon that the level in strength is different between not only between him and it, but between his present self and his past self.

Gideon quickly exhaled a blast of fire, catching the serpent's tail, forcing it to tumble in the water before swimming towards the giant like a dart. The giant swung his blade over his head and down upon the incoming beast, as it collided he heard the cry of the beast as water erupted from where it and the blade connected.

"Well that's my cue" Vizmir said as he ran over to the mast and released the sails. Once the boat began to move again, he ran to the helm to take control of the wheel and began taking distance.

As the boat began to leave, Gideon ran his blade along the tail of the seaking which caused it to jerk in anger before slamming it's body against the giant, finally able to send him off his feet and falling into the water, the serpent took advantage of this and began to wrap itself around the giant.

"Ugh!" Gideon struggled more in annoyance than fear. The seaking hissed and it's grip tightened, but Gideon was quick to bite down upon the scaly flesh of the beast, causing it to release it's grasp in a roar. The giant quickly wrapped it's arms around part of the body and tossed the beast some yards away. The serpent splashed into the water for a moment before collecting itself. Gideon took a quick moment to look around, trying to find his sword, but now laid beneath the water and he didn't have the time to look for it.

The seaking dipped into the water, slithering along the floor, but due to it's size and the floor level in relation to the water's surface, it's lengthy back was still visible above the surface. Gideon took the chance and attacked; he clicked his teeth and exhaled a breath of fire to scorch the beast, however to the giant's dismay, the fire didn't harm so much as annoy the beast since it's body was not only tough, but wet enough to lessen the fire's damage.

The beast thrashed and tackled Gideon, sending him tumbling through the water. Before he could get up, the beast bit onto Gideon's left arm, keeping it from moving all the while it slithered and thrashed, dragging the giant with it. When Gideon managed to catch his breath in between slams into the water, he used his right hand to slam a couple of punches into the seaking's face, "Let... go... you... snake!" he grunted as he continued to deliver blow after blow.

Soon enough, the seaking released it's grip and sent Gideon flying and dropped into the water, given that this was in deeper water, the giant began to sink and slowly tumble down the slope. Holding his breath, he tried to grab hold of anything, but all he caught was sand. He managed to get his footing but before he could begin to swim to the surface, he spotted the seaking making it's way towards him. The beast was smart, it dragged the giant to it's terrain, a better chance for a victory.

As the beast neared, Gideon swung his fist, but the punch was slowed by the water and the large snake was too fast in his own terrain. He Wrapped itself around Gideon, gripping him tightly. The giant did his best to hold his breath, keeping it from escaping his lips, for he knew the moment he released it by any means while he's still underwater, he'll surely die.

The seaking coiled itself, tightening it's grip while Gideon tightened his own body, making sure it didn't crush him. He stared up to the light of the sun that shown through the water. The only sounds he could hear at this point were the bubbles of escaping air from somewhere nearby, maybe a gas pocket, then there's the sound of the movement of water and the tightening of the coiling snake, and lastly his own heart beating.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see the head of the seaking pulling back, staring at him, readying itself to strike. Though he could see the beast coming better into view, Gideon saw more, he saw his life flash before his eyes. Even though this has happened a number of times since he's reached Sky Island, this situation is different, he wasn't being bested in strength. Every battle he has gotten himself into has been because he was too physically weak, those near-death experiences have had forced him to go pass his limit in strength, to handle anything in his way with brute strength and toughening it out because that was what he was good at. But... what about now?

The situation was different, he wasn't going to die by blunt force or by a sword, or by a gun, this was suffocation and strangulation, something he's never had to face. What could he do with his strength now? The only other things he relied on in battle were his breath of fire and his sword, with his sword being too far from him and the water preventing any fire from being formed, the only thing Gideon had was his strength.

The seaking opened it's mouth.

Yuurei had been defeated and taken. Once again, after so many years, Gideon had blamed himself for losing his parents, his excuse had been always his age, he was too young, he couldn't do anything, now he couldn't use that excuse for losing Yuurei, and now what about the seaking?

"No", Gideon's eyes met the eyes of the serpent, "I'm not weak anymore!" He was determined to fight, to keep fighting for what he wants to protect. If he has lost someone, then he'll use his strength to get them back, if he can't get them back, he'll use his strength to avenge them, if he himself is in a predicament where he cannot win... then he'll die... fighting.

The seaking jolted forward, biting into the shoulder of the giant, or at least trying to. The giant's skin was so tough, it had chipped one of the fangs of the snake, causing it to loosen its grip due to the pain and allowing Gideon to use his full strength to break free, and before the snake could react, Gideon grabbed it's mouth with both hands, forcing it to stay open.

The seaking thrashed here and there, trying to close it's maw and trying to get the giant off, but Gideon held on. He wasn't planning anything, but he figured if he annoyed the snake long enough, then it would give him some kind of advantage.

The seaking, after thrashing about a bit, manages to released itself from Gideon's grip, but the giant had then grabbed onto the serpent's neck, locking his arms around it as tightly as he could. They continued this rodeo for a bit until the seaking couldn't handle the choking, he swam over and tried to collide istelf with the slope, hoping that it would knock the giant off.

* * *

Vizmir looked back every so often to watch the fight, after at one point, they had vanished from sight. After a moment of silence, there was a few ripples that had caused the boat to rock; the old man wondered what could have caused it. Either way, he had figured he had taken enough distance and raised sails. He walked over to the railing, lit a cigarette and watched out to the ocean. Thoughts of returning to see if he could see a body came to his head, but all thoughts of wonder went overboard when he spotted the seaking burst through the surface of the water in the distance; Gideon riding upon it. Vizmir couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Gideon held on tight as the seaking continued to thrash about, trying to slam the giant upon the higher leveled floor, water kicked up every time it tried. After a while, Gideon lost his grip and tumbled through the low water.

"Back to even playing field" Gideon smiled, catching his breath. He gained his footing and stared upon the seaking that now raised it's serpentine body, glaring angrily at the giant.

Though Gideon was a bit bruised up from the trashing, he held his ground and raised his fists in a fighting stance, "You ain't dragging me back down there" He said, determined to make good on his promise to kill it here in this battleground and bring it back to the island as a meal.

The seaking lashed forward, baring it's teeth. It clamped onto Gideon's left arm, but like before, it was solid steel, the giant's arm became black, solid. With no time to wonder what had happened, Gideon took the chance to counter; he swung his right fist into a hook, connecting a black fist into the face of the snake. The connection sounded like thunder, water ripples spread out. The serpent flew back and tumbled in the water.

"Not counting my blessings" Gideon said in between harsh breaths.

The seaking took a moment, catching it's breath as Gideon was doing the same. They stared at one another, their distance no more than twenty meters, which to giants such as them isn't much. The area quieted, the water relaxed to simple small waves coming in from the outer ocean, the seagulls cawed as they flew overhead, Gideon panted, still holding his ground and clenching his fist, the seaking growled, it's eyes piercing and fierce, but no more than Gideon's own eyes.

* * *

Vizmir was more or less relieved now seeing the giant was alright, but given that the seaking was still moving, the fight was still raging, even though there was a moment of peace. He watched the two of them staring at each other.

"Stand-offs are over dramatic" The old man took another pull from his cigarette. He kept reminding himself that once he reaches his destination, he would make his departure from the Charon and say his 'farewells' to the crew; he never wanted to associate himself with pirates, but fate and dealt him an upsetting hand.

A sudden clash between the giant and the serpent surprised him, sounding like thunder and causing more ripples to rock the boat. Vizmir coughed a bit before finding his rhythm again, taking another pull, trying to relax. "I'm getting too old for this".

* * *

The seaking lashed forward, trying to get a quick strike, but Gideon quickly countered and slammed his fist into the beast's nose, slamming it tumbling through the water, he quickly followed up and ran after it, or waded through the water as best as he could, which gave the serpent the edge, giving it enough time to gather itself and lash at the giant. Gideon tried to mimic the same move he had just done, but the serpent was anticipating it this time, it fainted and bite down onto Gideon's shoulder from behind.

"Damn!" Gideon cursed and he tried to pull himself from the beast, but the thing began to wrap it's body around Gideon's lower half, working it's way up. The giant figured the snake would let up and strike to strike again, but no, instead it began to sink it's teeth deeper. Gideon began to yell, loud enough for Vizmir to hear and began to wonder whether or not he should help.

Gideon felt pressure in his legs, his waist, and the pain in his shoulder. Not knowing what to do, he just began slamming his right fist into the snake head while using his left hand to try and pry the head off. His fist flickered into a blackened state, making his blows more solid, allowing him to begin to feel bone with each strike.

Soon enough, the seaking couldn't hold any further, it released grip from the giant and slithered away to gain distance. Blood dripped from it's nose as blood dripped from Gideon's shoulder wound. The breath between the two now more heavy.

The seaking didn't want to try the same trick again, instead it began to slithering across the water, encircling the giant, knowing that it's enemy was too slow in the water. As it did so, Gideon kept his eye on the serpent's head, knowing that it's fangs were the most dangerous, though every so often, he would look behind himself in case the tail attempted to try and wrap around him again.

As this went on for a minute, Gideon began to anxious, but he couldn't do a thing, with the water level being at his waist, he wouldn't be able to catch the beast unless it came to him, so he continued to wait so he could counter it again. The pain in his left shoulder reminded him the last attempt at a counter didn't work, so he would need to be more vigilante.

The tail lashed at Gideon, nearly throwing him to the water, but it wasn't an actual attack but a distraction for the real attack. As Gideon turned to face the tail, the head moved, attempting to go for the giant's head, ending it.

For a split half second, Gideon felt something, knew the tail was a faint, seeing the movement of the tail, he anticipated the attack from behind. He quickly turned about and caught the snake by the maw. His left hand held the upper maw while the right hand held onto the jaw, keeping the snake from going any further. Now the two of them contested a battle of strength. Though they seemed even and Gideon was sure he would have been broken the snake's jaw, his left shoulder was now hindering him and causing him to lose the contest slowly.

As the snake was slowly overtaking him, Gideon stared down the mouth of the snake, seeing this as being so close to the end, an end he wasn't ready to reach yet. Now he was being tested by fate. He was asking himself 'Are you really going to end this here... without seeing mom again?' He kept telling himself 'No', that he wanted to keep fighting, keep sailing, keep searching. He didn't want to lose his mother as he lost his father. Tears began to roll down his face as the fangs came closer, the heat coming from the snake's belly caused him to sweat. His body was weakening, shuttering, panic was beginning to rise. Yuurei wasn't here to save him again.

Then Yuurei's voice came to him, "Will you let Loki win?" That was all that was needed. The strength Gideon found was enough to pull the snake's head to the side, slamming it into the water with enough force, it's whole body flung overhead and slam down, causing a small wave to shoot towards the island. The seaking tried to slither away, but Gideon's left hand held a firm grip on it's upper maw. The snake slammed it's jaw upon the giant's hand, but Gideon didn't flinch, regardless of the pain, he was determined to finish this; he raised a heavy right hand, as it clenched into a fist, it blackened into a solid form once again.

Once the heavy black fist came down upon the snake's head, the water around it exploded, wave after wave sent out. Soon enough came quiet.

* * *

Vizmir did his best to take control of the boat, keeping it from turning over as waves pushed against it, sending it further and further towards the island. Water crashed and splashed upon the deck, wetting everything including himself. After a while, the boat managed to reach the docks just when the waves settled.

"What the hell was that!?" A fisherman asked as he approached the ship. Vizmir noticed a large number of people were looking out into the distance, wondering what was causing the waves. Looking back, he realized Gideon was little more than a spec.

"Ever seen a giant fight a seaking before?" Vizmir asked as he pulled out his lighter. The audience began to awe and whisper as they continued to look out into the distance.

Vizmir lost his joy when came to the realization that his wet cigarette was the last one... his pack was empty.

As the water fell and settled, Gideon stood staring down upon the limp body of the seaking. Finally, he had brought the monster to it's end and kept his promise, or partially, he still intended on bringing the giant snake to the island and make it into a meal.

Gideon grabbed the seaking by the tail and dragged it through the water, making his way back to the island. His breath was still heavy and his left shoulder ached too much to put any strain on it, so he only relied on his right arm in dragging the serpent. He waded through the water, chuckling to himself, admiring the fact that he had come so far since he had last fought the beast. Taking this as a personal win and proof to himself that he can indeed complete tasks, he begins to have faith in himself when it comes to taking on the rescue of his mother and maybe even Yuurei, though it would be an entirely different journey of it's own since he has no idea where either of them are being held.

Thoughts of the future to the side, Gideon began thinking through recipes he could try using seaking as it's main ingredient; this would be his first time ever attempting such a dish. "First time for everything" he said to himself as he continued to wade through the water.

Eventually Gideon made it to land where not only Vizmir waited, but a handful of people who were curious to the situation. At first he was met by gasps and wary eyes, but then a round of applause and cheer erupted soon after, changing the atmosphere. A little embarrassed, Gideon waved to everyone after dragging the entire corpse of the seaking onto land.

* * *

"Have you ever done this before?" Vizmir asked, taking a pull from his cigarette.

"No, though I have a recipe I have been meaning to try" Gideon was separating several spices and other ingredients after adjusting his personal ship, removing lids that were hiding his own personal giant's kitchen below deck. Now with the 'deck' removed, the giant was able to access the oversized equipment.

"I mean have a village help you serve up a beast you defeated for them" Vizmir corrected.

Gideon took a moment to look back and sea a dozen people taking up aprons and their own kitchenware as they approached Gideon's ship. The joyful look on their faces was enough to reward the giant for the hard work, "No, this is a first for me" he simply said as he then began to sharpen his blades.

One of the villagers had patched up Gideon's shoulder after the ingredients and the kitchenware were fully prepared, "Thank you" he gave the nurse a smile to which she returned.

"No, thank you, the beast had been terrorizing our fishermen, making it difficult for our community" Hearing this, Gideon felt he had truly accomplished something and not just for his own sake, but for the sake of other people. Now he looked about, even though he hadn't even begun on the seaking, the citizens who had come to witness the giant were all gleaming with smiles and happiness. There was a violinist and dancers that had arrived to celebrate which made the atmosphere all the more better.

Gideon began.

He oiled the large skillet over the giant oven that laid within the boat. The fire blazed as he dropped the first few slices of the seaking in. As it fried, he lightly coated it with basil and dropped in diced bell peppers and onions. He worked and worked, feeling his hands danced and his heart swelled. Fighting was risky and straining, but cooking was different, he was art that provided, no one was against another, everyone was brought to the table, no matter how angered, they would leave with joy in their hearts as their bellies were filled.

The scent of the frying meat mixing with the spices filled the air, Gideon received positive chatter from the people around him; even Vizmir took a break from smoking, taking in the relaxing smell of the kitchen as he laid back against a far back tree, watching the scene before him. The people were so happy, overjoyed from not only the death of the monster that lurked on their waters, but to also receive a free hefty meal form a visitor.

"These pirates" Vizmir chuckled. He had always known pirates to be spontaneous and unpredictable, but to be able to be so generous without desiring something back was a new one. No matter what a pirate has done, good or not, it was always for their own benefit, it was how pirates worked, how they were paid, but this giant that worked before him, he was different, it only made him wonder if the life of a pirate was right for him, why would he take it on?

Time passed and Gideon managed to prepare at least two dozen dishes and as the plates were being passed out among the people who were already there, more citizens from the nearby village arrived hearing about the giant who defeated the seaking and now was serving it up as a meal for the whole island. Dish after dish, Gideon served more and more, there was enough of the seaking to be served up for the whole island indeed, which is what he did for the remainder of the day, until the sun began to set. Villages from other parts of the island arrived to get their portions and Gideon was happy to help.

When the last of the seaking was given, Gideon closed up his boat and laid upon the deck, staring up at the orange sky, happy with his work.

"You did a good thing" Vizmir boarded the boat watched the giant in his joyful state. Gideon was about to reply, but he fatigue had caught up to him and soon enough, he fell asleep. Vizmir chuckled before he leaned against the railing of the ship, staring at the departing people, most of them waved goodbye to the ship of the giant, their smiles wide and their bellies full. Vizmir began to wonder if his time with the pirates were actually going to be tolerable.

[END]