"I do not, I'm perfectly rested and healthy now! I just need some air!" Leo then marched himself towards the doors that lead out of his captains coders and to the deck. Only he was stopped after taking two steps. Dr.White having a tight grip on his right arm impeding his progress out of the room. "Unhand me William."
"Not until we talk about what happened to that arm."
He was talking about Leo's left arm. The one where the odd looking plant had pierced his flesh. At the moment it had medical bandages all around it. Earlier in the week when Leo was recuperating from his last bounty Dr.White had been examining and doing experiments on that particular wound. Leo was on heavy painkillers at the time but he remembered the small gash had a blue tint. He prayed to Mell that it had no mold in it.
"Look William, I'm going to take a walk around my ship and let the crew know I'm alright."
White rose up his finger and opened his mouth to object but Leo silenced him by placing his finger over his mouth to shush him.
"I think you need some alone time meanwhile. So I'm going to lock this door behind me!"
Leo said as he stepped back, opened the door and shut it in Dr.Whites face. Dr.Whitle cruised and banged on the door yelling for Leo to let him out.
The door opened, surprising Dr.White that Leo would actually do as he asked for once. Leo only opened it a little. He flashed a smile at Dr.White as he reahced in his breast pocket and snatched his syringe.
"I'm also taking your morphine, should be some fun for later." Leo said with a wink as he shut the door again and locked Dr.White in the room.
Leo walked towards the front of the ship where he saw Nigel figure standing. The man only had trousers and chest bandages wrapped around him so it was not too hard to deduct it was him. His back was to Leo as he was looking off into the sky, lost in thought. Leo placed his hand on Nigel back and he approached him. Nigel turned his head and noticed It was Leo, out of bed in the fist time in two weeks.
"How are you feeling?" Leo asked. "Not to great after taking a knife to the chest I would imagine."
"Yeah, that wasn't much fun." Nigel admitted with a smile.
Nigel was always shy around most people but Leo and Nigel had a good friendship between them. Leo could always get Nigel in a talkative mood if he tired.
"But you look like almost new!"
And he did. The wounded area where Nigel had bandages around had vary little blood stains. It could of just been a fresh bandage, but Nigel was also standing right here in front of him out of bed. It was rather unlikely.
"Yes I'm doing a lot better thanks to Dr.White. Well him and just lying in bed for a week and a half."
"How long?!" Leo asked with suprise.
"Two weeks Captain. Its been Two weeks since the masquerade."
"Two weeks you say? I have been out for two weeks?"
"Yes Leo. Didn't Dr.White tell you that?"
"Wouldn't know, to much lovely morphine."
"Speaking of injury and recuperation, how did I get less rest time then you when I took a Knife to the chest!"
"Well I was thrown into glass shards, beaten around, physically exhausted myself and participated in a ship crash."
"You should be used to that by now."
Leo laughed with Nigel.
"And you should of blocked the knife with your beard! Then he would be dead quicker, and you without a scratch!"
They both Laughed again. When they settled down there was a moment of silence before Nigel flatly asked.
"How did he die? Did he put up a good fight." A true Prussian question. Nigel would of wanted the man that had mortally wounded him to put up a hell of a fight against Leo, But it was far from the truth.
"No. He died like a little bitch."
"I see."
Leo felt that this conversation was over, and he needed to check on the others in his crew.
"Well if you don't mind me I should check on the others. Aletheia and Flint should not be to hard to find."
Nigel turned and spoke urgently. But his speech had somber tone to it.
"Oh! Octavian has something to talk to you about. It's about Flint."
"What about him?" Leo asked.
"I think you should just so see Octavian right now."
Part 3
Octavian was below deck in the engine room. He was hammering away at his work when Leo walked down. He could even here Octavian mumble to himself."God damn traitor *grumble, grumble* him with his face full of idiot *Grumble, Grumble* touching all of my shit!"
"You don't sound like your in high sprits this morning." Leo said as he walked over to him.
Octavian looked up. His face was covered in dirt, greece and sweat. He had a aggravated look on his face and his eyebrows were stuck in a glaring position. He was wearing is usual outfit of his horribly stained white shirt, suspenders and tool belt. And his trusty mono-goggle over his right eye. Octavian lifted it from his face to get a better look. To Leo's amusement the skin underneath was clean as clean could be. A circular peach color surrounded by a gray face.
"No I'm not! And let me give you some good education why!" Octavion started. "One, Our Caption has been nearly dead for two weeks. Leaving us to fly in the air with no direction, drinking up our resources! Two, This ship is still broken to shit! And THREE, we got a god damn rotten ass apple in the bunch! So forgive me if I'm not all happy faces and rainbow shits!
"See this is why I can't introduce you to people." Leo snarked sarcastically, witch only pissed off Octavian even more. "Ok ok well by the looks of me I'm fine, so yay for that. And I promise we will have a gathering later at dinner for the whole crew to discuss what our next move is."
"Good. But we still have another problem."
"And that would be?"
"I think Flint intends to reveal who was the killer's of the technocrat."
"What in the world are you talking about? Flint? He wouldn't do that."
"Damn it Leo I seen it with my own eyes! He has a messenger bird! He had the story all written down on a piece of paper and intended for it to be published by the time we docked and he could run to the Ticking Clock."
"Do you have Proof Octavian? I need Proof!"
"What! My words not good enough for you?!"
"Octavian, you know how you can be when you use Dr.Whit's suplys..." Octavian was getting red in the face.
"You want proof Leo? Here, here is you proof!" Octavian walked over to his desk and moved an old rag to the side. Under the rag lay a dead bird with a messenger anklet.
"Oh." Leo said. The breath was knocked out of him. Mutiny? Not for just Leo but the whole ship would have gotten sent to Pleasantville or executed for this. Leo took the message out of the anklet and read it over. All the information was in there. Leo being hired from Mr.Buford, The poison from Abigail. Even Phinneus staying on the Calum Navis. Flint had the biggest scoop in 3 generations! And only at the cost to all the people that helped him be safe from the evil Barron that was hunting him. "I'm sorry I doubted you Octavian."
"Its fine. So when de we kill the little Chanka shit?"
"No! No more killing. We have our fill for more then a lifetime. Besides, I have a trick up my sleeve that will make sure he never talked or writes about what has happened."
"Ok then, as long as my ass is coverd."
Leo fished the morphine from his pocket that he stole from William. And tossed it to Octavian.
"Thats for looking out for all of us, but please do it after the meeting, I'm going to need you cog brain for it."
"Not a problem." Octavian said as he was looking over the Morphine. "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."
Part 4
Leo had the meeting after dinner. Everyone was there but Flint who was too busy being tied up in a barrel, courtesy of Leo. The meeting was long. Leo and Octavian explained the situation about Flint. Every ones hearts felt heavy every after that talk. ​Aletheia ​seemed pleased that Leo wasent going to kill him but insted send him back home. Leo thretened Flint that if he ever told the story of what happened that night of Button's murder then he will give away his identity to the evil barron that was after him.
Than Leo told everyone what had happened on the ship. The fights with Rose, the North Star saving his butt, Leo crashing the ship on Well Island and how he got enraged and killed Button. After his story was finished Dr.White filled him in with what the world was going threw for the past two weeks. The hole country had gone into lockdown it seems. The more stories he heard about the government oppressing, the more he was understanding what Phinneus wanted him to do with that mask he gave him. Although Leo had to wonder to himself as to why Phinneus would he care so much to fix things. He figured he might as well tell the crew about Phinneu's talk with Leo a few days prior when he was conscious the first time. Leo was still awaiting a message or some sort of contact from Phinneus on what to do next.
Against Leo's will Dr.White told everyone about the odd marks on Leo's left arm. Then to Leo's further anger, Nigel shoved Leo to the table and pined his left arm in place while white removed the bandages. Everyone got a good look at the blue glowing gash on Leo's arm. The oddity of the gash made everyone uneasy but strangely fascinated. Leo managed to wiggled his way out and wrapped up his arm. Dr.White expand his research on it but it was obvious he had no good understanding of what it was.
The meeting progressed and ended with Leo saying that they are going to stop in WhiteHaven to restock on supplies. No one protested this, they were eating rations for a few days now and there water tanks were getting dangerously low. The crew left and went down the steps to the hull of the ship, each to there individual rooms below the ship. Leo decided he needed some air, so he left the meal room and went out to the deck of the ship outside.
It was night now, the sky was dark but the stars were bright. Luckily Leo's way of lighting the ship was working. He got his idea for the ships lighting when he was reminiscing his past. Antifordian fireflies. They always had a bright gold glow to them. So he captured a bunch and placed them in inflated balloons ( not like his airship balloon, these were not inflated with helium but with normal oxygen. ) After placing a few fireflies in 16 balloons he would then placed each balloon in a fruit net and hang them from his helium balloon, the thing that kept his ship in the air. The balloons would hang over the ships deck, bringing a nice gold light all over.
Leo leaned over the railing and took a deep breath. Then he stared into the Antifordian desert. Thinking deeply.
"Your awfully quite tonight." A voice beside him said. Leo sprang back, bug eyed in shock. His heart was beating so fast he felt that it would pop right out of his chest. Leo took a good look at the figure that startled him. Short red hair, slightly smaller height then his own, strong arms and a nice butt. Rose.
"You survived." Leo said.
"Don't sound radiant about it or anything." Rose teased.
Leo could not understand how, but he had a feeling that Rose didn't die in the ship crash. Even though he had knocked her unconscious. This just proved she was a true adventurer; adventurers don't die easy. On the other hand they do revenge when their left to die... Leo took a step back and Rose took a step closer.
"You have vary romantic lighting aboard your ship." She said. Pointing to his balloons filled with fireflies.
"Indeed, It would be a shame to ruin the moment by killing me." Rose cracked a smile.
"Kill you? Why would I want to kill you?"
"I assume for knocking you out and leaving you for dead?" After the words came out of his mouth Leo had to ask himself 'why did I just remind her of that?'
"Well I DID throw you across the bar, and also smashed around twenty glass shards into you. Even?" Leo smiled. "Besides," She said. "Your too fun to kill."
Leo laughed a little. Maybe she wasn't trying to seek revenge after all. She shined a smile back. Leo moved back to where he was standing, previous to his step back. Now he was quite close to Rose. Still might not be the safest choice, but what the hell.
"So how did you even get on my ship?" he asked.
Rose turned around, back facing Leo. She had a big steam powered machine on her back with two cylinder pieces on each side.
"Jetpack." She said. "You out of all people should now that, all bounty hunters have jetpacks don't they?" Rose loved the look on Leo's face. She defiantly struck a nerve. He was slack-jawed and his face was sour. Leo glared at her like this for a moment, then looked as though he was going to blow a gasket.
"Well" Rose started, deciding that changing the subject would be a better idea for her. "I did run out of fuel. Dose a courageous captain like yourself have a bed on this grand ship for me to stay in? Until next town's port of course."
"Why didn't you just buy extra fuel?" Leo question, not that he was feeling unkind but there was something amiss.
"Don't have the money. My good reputation as a bodyguard went down when my last client was murdered." Rose raised an eyebrow at Leo. Leo looked down at his feet feeling too guilty to meet her glance.
"So? That room?" She asked.
"There is no extra room or bed. The ships rooms are at max capacity."
"Will a gentleman captain be willing to share his?" Rose asked moving in close to Leo. She placed her hand on his chest, standing on her toes to make herself a little taller to lightly kiss Leo on his lips. That moment was so tranquil that all the chaos Leo was stressing about stopped and he simply enjoyed the moment. It was sweetly romantic until Rose pressed herself against him a little harder, he could then feel her breasts on him. He had some ungentlemanly thoughts after that. Rose gave him a sardonic look. He must have had a coy look on his face.
"Alright you may stay with me." Leo said, defeated. "Though we have no extra nightwear, you might have to sleep naked love." Rose returned the same coy look, then playfully slapped Leo's face.
"Not tonight dear, I have a headache remember?"