Devil's Luck Pirates

It's hot. So hot… Flames everywhere. Consuming everything around me…

It all happened so quickly… Dad came back talking about something bad he discovered. And then… He told me to hide because that man was coming. And after that… I saw that man smiling at me. Right before… The fire started… I can feel it enveloping me…

-Verona!

After hearing a familiar voice, Verona opens his eyes. He sees his Captain and Ragnar looking at him.

He sits up, clutching his now bandaged torso, and looks around. The fire seems to have ceased while he was unconscious.

-You ok, buddy? – William asks putting a hand on his navigator's shoulder.

-Ugh… Yeah. It only hurts when I laugh. – He responds standing up with some difficulty.

-CHAHAHA! Nothing more than a flesh wound, eh? – Ragnar responds. He seems to be in a good mood for someone who was engulfed by fire moments ago.

-I patched him and Duros first because they seemed to be at death's door. – William comments as he adjusts the bandages on his burnt arm.

-Where is he? – Verona asks.

-He's still unconscious. But he'll be ok.

-And what about Pearl?

-She's laying there, unconscious as well. She doesn't seem to be injured though. Juts unconscious. And naked.

Verona goes to where Pearl is lying. Some parts of her body are still covered in scales. And her claws and horns are still there as well. Verona takes off his purple jacket and covers her with it. What a gentleman.

They suddenly hear Duros' voice and go to where he is.

He sits up and lies against the wall. William took off his armor (with a bit of difficulty) so he could take care of his wounds.

-You're awake. Good. – William says whit more relief in his voice than ever before. It's not every day that your first mate is almost cooked alive inside his armor.

Duros seems to still be recovering from the whole event. But the first thing he utters after almost burning to death wasn't a surprise to anyone.

-Pearl... Is she all right?

Before the group could respond, Duros spots her in the distance.

He quickly gets up and goes to towards her ignoring his companions telling him to take it easy.

-Oh Pearl… You poor thing. I bet you were suffering while going through all that… Is she going to be ok? – Duros asks as he picks her up in his arms.

-Hm, yeah. She'll be fine – William says in a very scornful way while holding his burnt arm.

Duros stares at Pearl for a few seconds. Someone looking at them now might think he's madly in love with her. However, knowing Duros, and upon closer inspection, his gaze has more of a parental feeling to it. As if they were father and daughter.

Pearl slowly open her eyes. Duros moves aside a bit of hair that covered her face.

-D-Duros… – She says with a weak voice – W-what happened?...

-Oh. Well, we had a bit of an altercation with Atom. Until he… Hit you with one of his bombs and-

Before he could continue, Pearl manages to remember bits of what she did on her dragon form. With a horrified look on her face, she looks around and sees all the destruction and harm she did to the underground village and the rest of the crew.

-I'm sorry… – Tears start to run down her face – I'm so sorry… – She clings onto Duros' shirt and buries her face on his chest.

-Don't worry. – Duros says as he pats her head between her horns - We all make mistakes. Just look at our Captain.

Duros' comment manages to alleviate the situation. Making the rest of the crew chuckle. Except for William, of course. He just flips him off.

-As long as we're all together and alive, you have nothing to worry about. - Duros complements.

His words seem to have an effect on Pearl. She wipes the tears with her hand as she moves to stand up. Duros notices this and puts her down carefully. She adjusts her jacked to cover herself better. Making Duros a little bit uncomfortable considering how he held her in his arms.

Pearl looks down at her body. Several spots are covered in patches of scales and her hands still look more like the claws of a monster ready to rip people apart.

-This is my curse. – She says – My father told me I've been like this since I was a baby. And now... I put you all in danger because of this…

Tears build up in her eyes once again. Duros put his hand on her shoulder and she looks back at him.

-Don't worry. If you did not transform into a dragon, we would have had a much fiercer enemy on our hands! – He says giving her his most reassuring smile – In fact, you can say in a way, you saved us.

-Umm… Yeah! Yeah, you could say that. – William says while internally weighing between fighting a guy with some explosives, or a dragon. He already knows the answer but stays silent since it seems to make Pearl feel a bit better.

-I don't know you guys, but I'm quite exhausted. Even though I spent most of the time unconscious CHAHAHA. – Ragnar says after a big yawn.

The whole group agrees with Ragnar and decide to spend the night in one of the few houses that stayed relatively intact.

William remembers the Devil Fruit he still has in his pocket. But decides to discuss the matter tomorrow morning. This day was already full of unexpected things.