Devil's Luck Pirates

Atom springs up from his comfortable position while cursing behind his teeth.

Duros, after noticing Atom, instantly throws one of his newly acquired hand axes at him. The weapon flies through the air and grazes Atom's shoulder before hitting the wall behind him.

The other customers notice the commotion and promptly stand up. At this point, the rest of the crew has entered the saloon and has a grasp of the situation.

-Whoa there, partner! – The barmaid says with the same accent that Atom has – There's no need for violence in this establishment!

Ragnar seems ready to pounce at Atom. Verona simply takes out Little Timmy and loads it.

-Now, now don't you worry, lady. – William says as he puts his hands up – We only want to have a word with this fine gentleman right here. But even so, I recommend everyone to leave.

As soon as he finishes his sentence, the other customers quickly run out of the saloon in a hurry, leaving the barmaid considerably irritated by this.

-I hope yall have a good reason for all this. Yall made me lose a lot of customers! – She says annoyed.

-Oh, we do have a very good reason… – Verona says taking a step forward. The rest of the crew follows suit.

-L-listen here, partner! I-I understand! Yall are upset, I get it. – Atom says, panicking as William and his crew slowly walk towards him – Now, t-there's no need for a fight. J-just let me explain myself!

-No worries, friend... – Duros says with a very menacing smile on his face – I'm in a very talkative mood!

-Hehe… R-right. I can explain everything. J-just keep that THING away from me. – Atom says while pointing at Pearl.

Whilst the rest of the crew huddles around Atom, Pearl has just been standing in front of the entrance next to Gravy. She's angry at him, but instead of ripping his spine off, she decides to wait and hear what he has to say.

Meanwhile, Gravy again decides to stay out of the conversation. He's just a hired cook, after all.

Duros is about to snap at this guy. However, William stops him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

-Listen here, man… – he says while taking out his flintlock – You better watch your tongue, now. Because that young lady right there is a member of my crew. So, if you're disrespecting her, you're disrespecting me.

-Y-your crewmate is a freak! – Atom responds.

-You haven't seen anything yet, friend. – Ragnar retorts before taking Atom's drink and downing it in one go.

-R-right… Look, here's the deal. I only did what I did 'cuz I need money. – Atom explains.

-Money… – William ponders – You know that doesn't help your case, partner.

-Captain, just say the word, and I'll blow his brains off. – Verona says calmly.

-Whoa, whoa, hang on! T-there is no need for that! – Atom begins to panic once more – You guys said she wasn't a part of your crew! so I thought yall wouldn't care about her!

-Well, she is now! – William exclaims. Pearl starts to blush slightly. No one ever cared this much about her since she was born. Other than her brother, of course.

-Now, I'm going to give you one last chance to be useful. – William declares, pulling the hammer of his gun – The pirates that told you about the underground village, do you know who they are?

-T-the pirates… Y-yeah, they were part of the Steam Pipe Pirates-

Before he could finish, Ragnar cuts him off – Do you know where they are?! – He exclaims, punching the wall next to Atom's ear, almost breaking it.

-N-no! T-those bastards were just messin' with me when they mentioned that place! – Atom responds. His anger almost overcame his panic after remembering them.

-Tsk. As useless as ever. – Ragnar comments with disgust – William, can I kill him now?!

Atom's face goes pale white. His heart almost stops right then and there.

-Hey! – The barmaid exclaims from behind the counter – If yall gonna "do him", do it outside! – She then returns to her drink with an expression of mild annoyance.

-Wait! – Atom screams. He didn't want to do this, but at this point, he's got no other choice – Listen, you fellas might don't care about this, but I'm gonna say it anyway; I have a little sister.

-Oh shit… – William annoyingly says behind his teeth.

-She's been sick for almost a year… – Atom continues – That's why I so desperately need money. I'm the only person she has left

The fear he had in his voice has completely vanished by now. Sorrow and helplessness now paint his face. Atom keeps his gaze glued to the floor in front of him, ashamed for having to reveal such personal information.

The room goes silent for a moment. Apart from the barmaid making some witty remark on the back.

He didn't sign up for this, William thought. Well, technically he did. As a Captain of a pirate crew, the lives of many people fall upon his hands. But we are talking about the fate of a sick, little girl here. He did leave Little Timmy to be hanged back at Gallows Island, but that was different.

William takes a deep breath and addresses his crew.

-Ragnar, hold our good friend in place so he doesn't get any ideas. I want to have a word with the crew first.

So, as requested, Ragnar puts his arm over Atom's shoulders in a friendly/nonfriendly manner and orders a drink.

-So what's the move, Captain? – Verona asks. They have gathered close to the saloon's entrance.

-Sigh… Look, we could straight up kill him. – William responds with indifference.

Duros lets out a big sigh of disapproval. They all know Duros is very much against manslaughter. And with the fate of an innocent little girl on the line, even more so.

-OR! – William continues before any more complaints come his way – We could let him go… But honestly, I going to leave this one to you, Pearl. He hurt you the most out of all of us, honestly.

-O-oh… Well, after hearing what he said, I don't think killing him will be the best option. After all, we'll be also killing his sister, in a way. – Pearl responds, conflicted. She was never put in a position where she had to decide someone's fate in this manner before.

-I stand with Pearl on this one. – Duros declares – We cannot kill a person who only did what he did just to save a loved one. Haven't we all done the same? Or at least pretend to do.

With a logic as infallible as this, the argument is as good as over.

-I'd like to punch him, though... – Pearl says. Almost as an afterthought.

And thus, William has made his choice.

The crew walks back to where Ragnar and Atom are.

-Congratulation, dear Atom! – William announces – We are not going to kill you!

Atom thanks the gods for the mercy of these fools.

-However, we're all going to punch you in the face. – William adds, almost as an afterthought.

-Ugh, fine. I can take a punch. – Atom says, accepting his fate – However, since yall looking for the Steam Pipe Pirates, I know someone who might know where to find them. So, if yall are ok with it, I'd like to settle the score with those bastards as well.

-How can we be sure you won't turn on us once we find them? – Verona inquires.

-Believe me, those bastards did me dirtier than you, fellas. – Atom says having regained some of the confidence he had when the crew first met him – And I might also score some Bellies from their bounties.

William thinks about Atom's offer for a second –The more, the merrier; as they say… – He contemplates – Alright, let's just get this over with. Duros, you go first.

Duros steps in while cracking his knuckles. He decided to take off his gauntlet just to avoid breaking too many teeth.

After Duros had his fair share of retribution, Ragnar; followed by Verona and Gravy, also landed a solid one each.

Well, Gravy's punch looked more like a light tap. And Ragnar had to be reminded of not sending Atom flying through the wall.

And to cap it all off with style, Pearl gave him a flying spin-kick that almost put him out of commission; impressing everyone in the room. Even the barmaid let out an audible "damn" out of awe.

-You know what, Pearl; I've been thinking about what your official position on the crew should be. – William says – You will be our Martial Artist Dragon Girl. That's not a standard position on a pirate crew, but fuck it; I'm the Captain.

Pearl lets out an embarrassed chuckle, her cheeks getting a bit rosy in the process – That's a bit long, don't you think? But I like it.

-What about an acronym? Like MAD.G – Verona suggests.

-Oh, That's perfect! – William approves.

As the crew appreciates Pearl's awesomeness; Atom slowly picks himself up, cleaning his bloodied face – Are we done? – This guy wasn't lying when he said he could take a punch… Or several.

-Yeah, pretty much. And since you're coming with us, I'll save mine for later. Just to remind you we're not even yet. – William says with a cocky face.

-Ugh, fair enough… – Atom grunts – Let's go then. She must be at the Casino right now.