[Arc] Shadows of the Past: Part 1 - Demon's Revolt

Quest:

Ever since the inspection Minion Island had been a hive of constant activity. Construction efforts were still ongoing around the island, building up not only the base itself but the town around it. Now, after formal permission from marine HQ greenlit Anton's Pirate Rehabilitation Program had arrived, incorporating the former pirates into the Guardian Knights had caused the workload to grow exponentially. While the loyalty they had shown Anton during that day certainly helped ease the process, there was still much to be done. Paperwork, training, making sure everything was in order. This was a new undertaking, and the Guardian Knights had a lot of eyes on them.

Celia strode down the halls of the manor turned marine base. Unlike most of the others in the crew, she actually felt at home handling the paperwork and bureaucratic responsibilities. However, right now there was something weighing on her mind. She stopped in front of the door that led to Anton's office. Without a word, she reached up and knocked.

"Come in," came the voice on the other side. A part of Celia had hoped that he wouldn't be in. But ever since the inspection Anton had rarely left his office. While Celia had been happy to see Anton's work ethic, she was also growing very concerned.

She opened the door and stepped inside, seeing Anton bent over his desk, his eyes scanning over numerous papers scattered across it. He didn't even look up at her. Celia quietly cleared her throat. "Anton-" "Ah, Celia! Good to see you. Have the new uniforms for our new crewmates arrived yet?" Celia paused, "Oh, erm, yes they have. But-" "Good, good. And I assume the training exercises have been going well? I haven't been hearing any reports as of late." "Yes, everything's been going fine. But Anton-" "Excellent! Oh, do you happen to have the newest construction estimates as well? I just want to see if everything's in or-" "ANTON!"

Anton finally looked up from his desk, blinking in surprise. "Celia? What's wrong?" Celia gave a small sigh. "Look, Anton, I appreciate all the hard work you're doing. We all do. But you're working yourself to death! When was the last time you ate? Or slept? You've taken it upon yourself to shoulder all the work. It's not healthy!" Anton's expression hardened. Indeed the Rear Admiral had the tell-tale eye bags of one who had gotten very little sleep this past week. Celia even noticed numerous empty coffee cups along his desk. "Celia, it is important that we get this going as smoothly as possible," Anton replied, looking down at the paperwork, "You know everyone's watching us. I can't afford to let anything go wrong. I can't let all this effort go to waste."

Celia strode over to the desk, slapping a hand down on the paperwork Anton was trying to look at to get his attention again. "Anton, you have an entire crew willing to help you. It doesn't just have to fall on you to handle all of this by yourself!" Celia's expression softened slightly, "Look, I know Ryoichi and Yumiko's departure hurt you. But that doesn't mean you have to burn yourself out making sure everything goes right."

Anton looked like he was about to argue the point, but paused as he opened his mouth, before his expression sagged. With a small sigh, Anton flopped back into his chair, showing just how tired he was. "I just...I just want to make sure this all works out. I know this will be a good thing overall. I don't want everyone to think this is just some naive ideal. This program can work. I know it can." Indeed, Ryoichi and Yumiko's resignation from the Guardian Knights cut Anton deep. While he had managed to convince Ryoichi to remain in the marines, Yumiko had simply vanished. The fact that both were willing to walk out over this stung. If he lost them because of this, then he wanted it to be at least worth it.

"We know you do Anton," Celia replied gently, "I'll admit, I was a little skeptical at first, but the new recruits really do seem to be integrating into the crew quite smoothly. Sure, there are a couple of hiccups here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary, considering how we were before." Indeed, the Guardian Knights weren't exactly perfect before all of this anyway. "But please, just let us help you. That's what we're here for after all."

Anton took a deep breath before a small smile crept across his face, followed by a small chuckle. "Still making sure I do things right, huh Celia?" Celia returned the smile, shrugged, "Well, that is why I was assigned to you initially, wasn't I?" Despite how things had changed since back then, it was reassuring to know that some things always remained the same. "Now, go get yourself something to eat and get some rest. We can take over things for a while."

"Oh dear, did I come at a bad time?"


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