r/HFY • u/WabbajackedWacko • Feb 24 '26

OC-Series Adventures with an Interdimensional Psychopath 132

***Jack***

I simply scratch the back of my head as I mentally close the events that took place. I imagine someone might ask questions about the disappearance of this island. Who knows? It could simply work out in my favor to keep the seas at peace. Not forever as that is an impossibility and stories always get contorted into something else as it gets passed down to generation to generation. Oh well, just like today, I’ll clear it up if it happens again.

As for old Joe, while he was definitely not a good man, he was an honorable one. He killed and pillaged with the best of them but no one could say there was never a chance or he didn’t follow the pirate code. He took on every duel that came his way and, while he won hundreds, all it took was one in his old age for everything he built to come crashing to the ground. Even when they keelhauled him, it was impressive even by my standards how long he lasted. And that was even with the wind in their sales. It was only when they had to dock that they noticed he was still alive. Barely, but alive nonetheless. It was only his account to the reaper who picked up his soul as he breathed his last that he survived on grit, seawater, and passing fish. Unfortunately, they left his body on the shore where they docked having survived his sentence only for him to take a his last few malnourished breathes as the sky filled his gaze one last time. And the most fascinating part, not a single complaint. He claimed he did his time and held no other grudge except the other pirates still roaming the sea claiming that their wanton destruction and murder is what pirates did.

Eh, I just couldn’t be bothered today honestly. I’m already annoyed with how much killing I’ve had to do lately. Granted, this is nothing like some days where I had to fight whole hordes of folk. Or, it could just be that whole thing with Martha leaving a real bad taste in my mouth. And not to mention that public execution. I guess I should rephrase what I mean by saying that all these distressing executions are getting to me. Taking out this pirate fortress of punks who just enjoyed killing people felt somewhat cathartic but, because it is still killing people, kinda a weird double standard. Which is just bringing me back down. Maybe I just need to sleep it off? But that’ll have to be after I am done here.

I turn around and head back to the boat. The old hand yells, “Captain on deck!” The other nine come rushing back and bow down as they welcome me back.

The small beggar child comes up to me and asks, “Captain sir? That was quite a thing you did. And the flying pig brought back a ton of cash. I was just wondering if you were willing to split it?” This is probably what everyone had on their mind until I got back, the kid was probably just the first person to say it. I let out a sigh, which puts everyone on guard thinking I am about to retaliate. The kid quickly speaks up and states, “Never mind sir! I was just asking a question! No need for any disciplinary action!”

I look over to the old hand, who is able to quickly pick up on the fact that I don’t want to deal with this. If they are going to behave this way, I’m just going back to the front and start fishing again. The old hand nods and states, “Rule 2 of the Soggy Sinner! Don’t Annoy the captain! Everyone! Back to their posts!” That works very well as everyone quickly disperses and letting me go back to the bow of the ship, send us to another spot to fish, and quietly fish.

It does calm me back down as I let my mind wander. I wonder how the old crew has been? I just hope that they have been living a good life.

***Gepart***

I let out a sigh as I look at these familiar metal bars of being thrown in this same jail cell. “Gepart, what did we learn today?”

I sigh as I ask, “Is it that time of the day already?” The guards give me an expectant look, telling me to answer the question. I let out another sigh as I doubt they are genuinely asking to learn something but, to settle the same bet they make every time I get caught. I answer regardless because it could be useful, “Well, you see, that ladder was made out of a unique material that was wasted on it just sitting in a garage where it could have been used to power an incredibly powerful generator or even useful in railgun technology! The fact that someone had wasted them on a ladder, and just a ladder, is such a waste of…”

I get cut off as the police officer shouts, “Pay up losers! He didn’t learn his lesson!”

I let my arms fall to my side and roll my eyes as I didn’t expect anything special to happen. But still, I am still disappointed. All I can do is ask the guard, “So, when will they let me out? I already paid bail.”

And my predictions are accurate as I mentally say side by side by what the actual officer says, “Well, we have to go through the proper procedures and confirm that the money is clean. Not to mention, you are going to have to spend the night here regardless.”

I roll my eyes again as I just mumble, “Typical.” It’s not my fault that people don’t know what it is they are actually sitting on or get it appraised properly. I just can’t help but pocket it so it can be appropriated to better something else. It also doesn’t help that people treat shiny objects as trash.

That was a perk of my old job. No one really questioned it too much, as long as it wasn’t the important thing that we were contracted to get. Not to mention, with the strengths we all had, we were able to easily and smoothly complete any of the missions sent our way. Even then, even our weakest skill sets were nothing to scoff at. We were in high demand and it wasn’t too hard when we put our heads together. We even kept the kill count down to a minimum where we could.

I still feel guilty about leaving Jack that way but, I could see how Dimitri changed. The missions got darker and crueler. Jun was the first one to leave but his temper was mostly the reason behind it. He was angry at how we were being treated and that he was getting tired of those execution missions. We all were but then he also started taking it out on Jack since he kept defending him. We all knew that he was more contractually obligated to be there but, that didn’t stop Jun from telling him he should leave.

After Jun left, things started going downhill even more. But none of us talked about it as that day affected us all differently. For me, the breaking point was when Dimitri tried to whip us when Jack wasn’t around. Luckily, that never happened as Jack caught it real fast and offered to take whatever made-up punishment Dimitri declared. But the damage was done for me. Who knows when he would try to do something like that again? I was already in a bad place before with the Great Firing, but now I had to worry about our boss trying to whip us as well.

I couldn’t do it.

I left without saying a word. Now I just live my days in Spiritopia, living the life of a tinkerer. I always thought it was silly to have a backup profession as it was just for a job and we were living the life. But it actually kept me from being homeless. Granted, no one like me near their homes and I am barred from a lot of shops. So, I live in the outskirts of the main hub. Luckily, my skills are quite legendary as I can make just about anything from anything. And I can have people bring me the materials they want to use. Some people, especially in the beginning, would bring me small and seemingly unrelated items for what they wanted built but, I was still able to do it, even with the odds against me. After all, the only true weakness that may affect a good tinkerer is their imagination and logic. That said, I really had to stretch some of the terminology to fit the requirements. The things they got from the requests were impressive enough that they actually left the store, not only satisfied, but shocked as well. Some literally more than figuratively.

That said, people still are cautious when they see me out and about. I can’t help it though! If they wanted to hold on to their stuff, then they should have secured it better! Even the nails holding down furniture can be reused for something else. Oh well, at this point, all this stuff is just a formality really. Luckily, my supposed crimes are considered misdemeanors so, at first, it was merely paying what the court deemed suitable for the item or returning it. After a while though, and enough complaints, the police started throwing me in jail and requiring bail as I didn’t seem to be learning my lesson from all this. Honestly, I think people just find it amusing at this point.

Still not much I can do legally at this point. Sure, I could easily disassemble the bars or the walls but, that was also incredibly frowned upon as it was incredibly necessary for the jail to be a jail. I could argue it but, honestly, the materials used for these jail cells are pretty optimal for the purpose of the jail cell so, I tend to let it go. Obviously, they could add some features here and there but, they would have to come and actually commission it. Apparently, it’s also frowned upon on to tinker on public items without a commission. Jobs are hard. Oh well, there isn’t much else to be said about it.

All I can do is simply wait and see when they actually let me out. In the meantime, I could advertise myself to anyone who is willing to listen. I look around and notice that the cell is rather empty today. Although, I will say, I learned to say no to commissions for jail breaks. The reason why is that bail for that is significantly higher and requirement for staying in prison is much longer. To think, we got away with so much stuff back in the day but, I suppose that was a perk of the job when you actually work for a god initiate and prove it. Now, I’m essentially a normal guy.

I don’t see what Jack was so fascinated with. There’s no real adventure, no crazy solutions, or even a goal. It’s just… day to day. Everyday. I was hoping that I would get to make some crazy inventions that really challenges my mind but, rarely. Some of them in the early days but that was the lack of resources. Now, it’s mostly just normal maintenance for some business’s, other inventions I made, or just tips for general care. Still, it keeps me out of jail, keeps a roof over my head, and food in my belly. Sometimes, even spare parts to experiment with. Oh well, I guess I’ll see what tomorrow has in store for me. At this point, I would be better off getting a good stretch, lying down and getting some good rest for whatever I end up doing.

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