Pirate Age: The Golden Era

[Mizos]

​

The Past

"Maka!"
Zilia made her way through the forest, following the path Maka had shown her.
She could walk the route blindfolded at this point, having come down it almost everyday since they had settled here. It had been months and the summer was upon them, it would be too soon before it came to an end, inviting the change and eventual falling of the leaves. Zilia had visited the forest often knowing when winter eventually came her mentor would limit how often she could go their meeting spot.
She stopped in front of a large stump reaching forward to rub her fingers over the rough remnant. She smiled a little thinking back to when she had first met Maka, and how many games they had played together here. For some reason today he left a message at their cabin to meet him here earlier than usual, after finishing her training she ran out the door.

"Maka!"
Zilia called his name again before holding her hands against her chest taking a quick look around. It was fine with someone nearby but she was reminded how scary the forest could be on her own. For all the vibrant green surrounding her there were plenty of blind spots with noises and rustling coming from them.
"Rah!"
The loud noise caused Zilia to jump and scream quickly hiding behind the stump. She peeked over it to see Maka laughing at her.
"Maka!" Zilia said standing up puffing her cheeks at him.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. Thanks for coming Zilia."
Maka held his hands up and laughed as Zilia lightly pounded on him with her first, he continued to apologize between laughter until she stopped.
"I'm surprised your mom let you come," Maka said resting his hands on his hips. "I was going to just meet you in town but that didn't feel right. Serious talks are for here."
"She's not my mom," Zilia said shaking her head. "She said not to call her that. She's too young, beautiful with a fantastic figure, and wonderful personality to be a mom so mentor works."
Maka eyes twitched and he squeezed the bridge of his nose.
"You call that rotten personality wonderful...and my mom's all those things, she's pretty and everything."
"Your mom looks like a sack of dirty potatoes."
"Hey!"
Maka leaned forward a bit causing Zilia to lean away and raise her hands.
"M-mentor told me to say that if you insulted her. I think your mom is pretty too."
Maka blinked and backed away raising a hand as an apology before rubbing the back of his neck.
"I swear that woman...it's like she can predict our conversations."
"She said that's not the case you're just predictable...if you said something like that."
Maka brought a hand to his face deciding to leave the matter alone.
"Anyway I called you here because there's another traveler coming to town. He's just like you guys before you settled here. I think he's a merchant, we should go see if he has any exoctic things!"
Zilia's eyes lit up and she quickly nodded in agreement, Maka grinned and taking her hand the two ran back towards the town.
Zilia smiled a bit as she knew how much Maka wanted to leave town and explore the world so he loved things like this. It made her chest tighten a little as she wanted nothing more than to stay here for the rest of her life, she loved the people of this town. It was something she one day wanted to talk with him about, but seeing the bright smile on his face she decided to save it for another day.

​

The Present

Zilia stood on the main deck of lady luck looking over the map, she had asked the Captain and Kadi over to look over their destination. Luro who was also on the main deck stared over them at the destination circled on it. There was nothing on the map but Zilia was adamant there was something there.
"There's a temple there and as you can see it's not marked on the map. Isari should be safe there for the time being. After that it's just dealing with Maka and Isari."
"You're sure they can't find it?" Luro said tilting his head.
"I only found it because I was brought there. It's impossible to find from the outside, it's hidden especially well. It's a good temporary hiding space for her."

Zilia looked at where they were on the map, she had spoken to the Captain and Kadi about the destination when Isari first boarded the ship but had kept quiet about what it was until now. They were still a fair bit away from the destination as it was basically on the other side of the circle but they were steadily getting closer.
"I apologize for not saying something earlier...I was considering multiple places in that area...but that's the best place so we should head there. I was also worried Yuli was listening...I made sure to triple check the ship just to make sure."
"There's a temple there huh...wait you know the area Z?"
"I do," Zilia said. "The temple is the best hidden place over there. I've traveled this area before...though I didn't realize it was part of this 'circle' back then...anyway Captain what do you think?"
Zilia looked over at Runali at this motioning to the map.
"It's a bit away but once Isari is taken care of we'll be at the edge of the circle. Since Yuli and Maka are after her we may be able to lead them out of the circle which would stop Relias from following us as well...probably. At the very least he won't have his support since I...think they're all in the circle from what Sor told us."

Runali listened to the small group, studying the map a little and looking out at sea. She hadn't said anything during the time, but when Zilia addressed her directly her brow raised. "Oh, I think it's a bad idea." Her hand raised in defense. "Your friends are slippery. I wouldn't put it against them if they did find us. And if the canine knows where this place is, the deer woman will more than likely find out." She rubbed her chin and hummed in thought. "Almost forgot about the other group after us for a moment… The ones that hate powers, right." She shrugged. "If we lead them away, we lead them away. And we get rid of them like we did with the other red themed group." She made a face remembering them. "Nonetheless, leaving a girl on a secluded island for her to live alone and fend for herself isn't a great plan, no matter what way you swing it. Don't get me wrong, I'll still see it through to keep Isa safe and do what it takes. I'm just letting you know, I don't think it's the best idea." She shrugged. "But we're pretty good at getting outta bad ideas."

Zilia blinked a few times at the Captains words but remained silent as she raised her hand, at the very least she wanted to understand her reasoning. She offered a small nod to Runali looking back at the map for a long moment eyeing the other islands as she shared her thoughts on the matter. Her face remained stoic but her voice remained the same showing she at least understood even if she disagreed.
"She wouldn't be by herself I have friends there who can help," Zilia said eyeing the temple. "I understand the risk but I still think it's a safer place then with us, people being chased by a fruit hating group whose numbers we don't know, and those two. We've barely survived a few of our encounters, some by the skin of our own teeth, I would rather not put Isari in that kind of danger if I can help it."

Zilia crossed her arms staring at the paper, the Captain was right on a few things though and they were things that were important.
"Hmm...I'll consider some other options but I would be surprised if they knew that place. At the very least I don't want her with us, we're just going to draw in more trouble, we already got that Guides of the Abyss leader on us, not counting the other mercenaries, the 'red' ones who probably want revenge." Zilia said unfolding her arms and pointing at the island they had encountered them.
"We got three people after our heads, I'd rather she not be in the center of all that. Maybe we should-"
"I want a tavern."
Zilia stopped talking as Luro spoke up, she looked up at him as he pointed to a nearby town.
"Let's see if there's a tavern there."
"...Tower I don't think-"
"We might wanna stop there anyway for supplies as there aren't many other towns on the way."
"...we were in the middle of-"
"I think you could use a drink too Zil."
Zilia stared at Luro blinking a few times before following his eyes, she glanced down at her own hand before noticing she had clenched it into a fist, red dripping on the deck. Her eyes widened and she quickly opened it. She looked back at Luro who offered her a small smile causing her to sigh.
"...We'll discuss it later...if that's all right Miss Patch."

"Oh don't get me wrong, the last place she needs to be is with us. She's got self defense training, not fighting training. She'd be more of-" Runali snapped her fingers. "You ever play the game hot potato? Y'know, holding something hot, toss it around, whoever drops it loses? We'd be doing that with Isari and that is an even worse idea. While she may end up destroying a few ships along the way, I'm not for making people pirates against their will." There was a moment's pause and Runali was almost sure there was supposed to be irony in that statement, but since she couldn't figure it out she left it be.

Hearing Luro interject, she stole a glance between the two but kept her attention on the navigator who had pointed out a few other places on the map she requested. They were mostly inhabited islands, places they could use for a quick hideout if they were followed- all emergency plans to make sure Lady would stay afloat. The mention of supplies made Runali look over at the two again. Luro's perception never came as a shock to her considering he was such a good shot, but how he went about it was always surprising. "Aye, aye doctor. We need you at your best so take a break for now. I'll double check with Alicia to see what specific supplies we need. It can be a quick trip, plus a tavern visit. We haven't been to one in awhile. Could even make it casual and not have Luro start a bar fight."

"Aye."
That was the most Zilia could muster as she turned to head back to her room, Luro remained silent watching her go before looking back at the Captain as she brought up the tavern, Luro grinned only for it fall when she brought up being casual.
"Wha- then what's the point in going Captain!"
Isari lingered nearby around the corner but walked away from the scene not wanting to interrupt.

The town itself seemed like an in-between for travelers, there were more markets and stalls than homes. The port was clearly meant as a resting point for sailors, numerous inns lined the few streets branching in different directions. Though the town was small there were an abundance of stores, from bakery to clothing shops meant to entice anyone needing something for the long venture to the other side of the circle. There were a few shops and cafe's that didn't exist at the previous towns, and the scent of fresh food filled the air, there were even owners advertising their places, some right across from each other. At one point one of the owners started talking bad about the place, only for the other to do the same. Within a few minutes the two were in each other's faces.
There was clearly competition between the places and somewhere advertising lower prices just to spite the stall next to them.
"I like this place," Luro said. "You can feel the violent intent in the air."
"…you mean for selling things right?" Zilia said looking over at him.
"That too."
"…let's just get supplies and move on."

"Only here for supplies and grabbing drinks." Runali clarified again as they stopped at the town. "Ignore the violent intent unless it's specifically at our extra cargo." She was careful about saying Isari's name, unsure of who else could be on the island with them. "The quicker we make the trip, the less the spies have to watch for, and probably the less damage Luro will make. Sound good, doctor?" Runali didn't give her much of a chance to answer as she split the crew in two teams to grab the supplies needed for their trip and then grab a few merry drinks. It was almost disheartening to leave while the fun was still going, but the captain was true to her word and corralled her crew back to the ship.

"Alright. No less than an hour maybe? Record time trip."

Luro didn't seem too happy about the situation but agreed for the sake of Isari, he came back with Zilia who had a bag around her shoulders, and Isari who was carrying a few things in her arms. Luro was carrying a few of the heavier items under his arms. He grinned at Runali when they approached raising his hands to them.
"I don't know we left Hara island pretty quickly, especially after we started getting shot at," Luro said grinning.
Zilia sighed glad there wasn't at least any trouble and started to walk but stopped seeing Isari wasn't following behind her, she stopped turning to look at her only to see Isari's attention focused on the ground.

They didn't have time to stand around so she wasn't sure why she had stopped all of a sudden, Luro paused himself noticing Zilia and Isari weren't coming.
"What's wrong Sari?" Luro asked turning fully around.
"…I don't want to leave."
"Huh?" Luro asked tilting his head.
"I don't want to go to a temple! I want to stay with you all!"
Luro blinked a few times at this and looked over at Runali, his eyelids lowered a bit realizing Isari had picked up on that conversation.
"Isari it's too dangerous to stay with us, even the Captain agrees," Zilia said.
"…so leaving me somewhere while you go into danger is better? I can help too."

Zilia sighed and took Isari's things before handing them all to Luro along with her own, the man shifting a bit to take all of them, walking forward she took Isari's hands in her own.
"I'm not going to needlessly put you in danger. It's just for a little bit then we'll come right back."
Isari averted her gaze from Zilia and pulling her hands free took a small step away from her, Zilia's eyes widened at the response, her hands still hovering in the air for a moment before returning to her sides.
"I could use my Devil Fruit to help. I can-"
"Absolutely not, you shouldn't be using it as much as you have been already."
"I want to help out Zil and I have the power to do so."
"It's not a matter of having the power or not! I'm not letting you throw yourself into trouble!"
"I'm not just going to sit back and let you do everything for me!"
Luro held his arm up slightly glancing back at the others, he didn't think anyone would interrupt but it was clear what was happening here was between the two of them, and Isari clearly had something she needed to say. The people around them seemed curious but made no attempt to approach the two.
"I've been working hard Zil!" Isari yelled. "I'm going to do something. With my power I can help you!"
"I don't want your help if it requires using your power! You need to stop relying on it!"
Isari's eyes widened a bit at this but Zilia didn't stop.
"Your power is dangerous, to you and everyone else. You understand this so why are you being so stubborn! We're trying to help you so stop acting like a child and just let me protect you!"

Zilia hands twitched slightly as she quickly realized the words that had just come from her, she immediately looked back up at Isari, her mouth agape and her body tensing up as the girl stared back at her, tears stinging the edges of her eyes.
"A child….that's really all I am to you Zil…a child in need of an escort."
"Wha-Isa that's-"
Zilia took a step forward reaching towards Isari when crystal quickly burst out of the girl pricking Zilia's finger in the process, she quickly pulled it back holding her now bleeding finger. Both women looked at each other equally shocked over what had just occurred.
"…you distrust me that much Isa…"

Isari opened her mouth to speak further but a bright flash quickly filled the area, Luro's eyes twitched and he reached for his rifle but a strange force exploded from in front of him. Judging by the sound an explosion had been set off directly in front of Stardusk, he was thrown back slightly but managed to place his feet down and catch himself. Zilia crashed into him however knocking him onto his back.
"O-ow…" Zilia muttered only for her eyes to shoot open. "Isa!"
Zilia quickly stood up looking at the crater directly in front of where she was standing, the surrounding buildings had been affected by the strange explosion as well, chunks of brick and stone laying in the road around them. The people seemed to avoid being caught in the destruction but panic had quickly overtaken the area.
"Isa!" Zilia yelled as Luro climbed to his feet. "Isa answer me!"
"Oi Oi stop yelling Zil, people are scared enough as it is. She can't hear you anyway, she's unconscious."
A familiar voice filled the area and Zilia quickly looked around, searching for Yuli whose laughter echoed all around Stardusk.
"Yuli! You! Show yourself!"
"I'm not getting stabbed or shot by you guys. Knives and swords hurt you know. I think Chakram do...they probably do they look sharp. Ah but Zil don't worry I made sure that explosion was closer to you than Isari she is reasonably unharmed. Don't worry I'll take good care of her."
Luro took a good look around but surrounded by the growing fire, smoke and countless people running around it was hard to pick Yuli out of the crowd.
"I mean you guys could chase me…but you might not have a ship for much longer if you don't hurry."
"What?!" Zilia said turning in the direction of Lady Luck.
"I may have told the mercenaries where to find you, which was of course a complete accident, but they're probably already attacking your ship. The Boss is probably already on the ship sailing away as we speak, I'm going to get to my own boat that's enough distracting you. Bye Stardusk! Isa say bye...oh right you're not here, Stardusk Isa says bye too! Just so you know...since I have her now and all that."

When the crew drew closer Lady there were three ships quickly approaching the island from the distance, Red Lions adorning their sails. Shots fired from the ships crashing into the dock causing the people to quickly scatter, the store owners quickly 'closing' their stalls before getting away from the area. One of the shots narrowly missed the ship and Luro looked over at Runali still running as fast as he could towards the ship.
"Lady's a sitting duck Captain! If we don't set sail quickly my rum stash will end up in Davy's possession...again! Oh also getting Sari back probably won't happen anytime soon!"
Another shot narrowly missed their main mast and crashed into a nearby building, the ships unleashed another barrage one of them crashing into Lady Luck, breaking off a part of her figurehead.
"Hey! I put a lot work into that!" Luro yelled. "At least aim for one of the rooms!"

"Alright, new plan it is. Luro, you wouldn't happen to have the ice gloves on you?" In the rush and panic, she grabbed the gloves from him and rushed towards the side of the ship. "Start setting sail! I'll be right behind you guys, I'm going to slow them down!" The end of the dock was getting closer and Runali showed no signs of slowing down. "Hopefully this works..." She dived into the water, swimming out halfway between Lady and the approaching enemy ships. There was a gentle rumble before waves began to dangerously push back and forth and soon after a large wall of ice shot upwards, tall enough to reach the crow's nest of a ship and wide enough to cover Lady. And at the very top, Runali stood staring down at them.

There was a moment's pause from the attacking ships, mostly out of surprise as they were heading straight into a newly made wall and Runali used the opportunity to slam her gloved hand into the ice, sending a barrage of icy spikes in the ships' direction. The damage done was enough to subvert their attention but she knew the ice wasn't going to hold for very long since she wasn't trying to use up all of her haki. "Shoot… didn't plan the getaway part." With nowhere to go but down, Runali stepped off the wall and used the ice as a slide to get closer to the ship. It took some effort, but with another haki filled ice boost, she sent herself crashing into the ship. She landed in between a few stray barrels and dizzily raised a thumbs up. "That's...not gonna last forever. We should hurry up."

Luro happily presented the gloves to the Captain and rushed towards the ship, fixing that figurehead alone was going to take hours, he was really proud of how it turned how this time.
Making it to the ship Luro watched the waters for the Captain but shook his head and decided to focus on getting the ship ready, if the Captain had a plan he'd run with it. His eyes moved over to Zilia who was also getting the ship ready, but her movements were slow and her eyes seemed to stare past the floor she was currently focused on.
"Z."
No response came causing Luro to quickly move over to her.
"Z!"
"Huh what?"
A purple glow formed next to Zilia and she took a step away as it detonated destroying one of the barrels, Luro watched his now broken rum bottles spill onto the deck of the ship but left it alone for the time being.
"Z you gotta focus."
"R-right. Sorry I-I'm focused."
"We'll get her back. I promise."
Zilia looked up at Luro, her eyes watering slightly she grit her teeth, removed her gloves from her hands and quickly slapped both her cheeks. She flinched a bit at the pain, both her cheeks now bright red as she slipped her gloves on.
"I'm okay. Really. Let's just go," Zilia said grabbing one of the ropes.
Luro nodded and went back to his tasks.
"Luro."
"Hm?"
"...thank you."
Luro grinned at Zilia before quickly tying his rope and moving onto the next task, he froze in the middle of it however seeing the Captain's 'plan' in action. His eyes widened as he leaned back to view the large ice wall currently protecting the ship. A dozen thoughts filled his head but he made a quick mental note of them and watched the Captain land back onto the ship. He laughed a little and ran over to help her up.
"That was the great Captain! I might have to make the training a little harsher next time!"

Once the ship was ready to go Luro immediately moved over to the cannons since he was pretty sure the ships weren't going to let them leave without a few extra shots, Zilia doing the same loading one on the other side of the deck. She looked up to see one of the ships turning sideways.
"We got another! It went around!" Zilia yelled. "It's going to fire!"
"Alicia do the thing!" Luro yelled making a chopping motion with his hand. "Kadi! Do the other thing!"
The cannons leveled at Lady Luck and fired a first barrage at the ship, being that close there was little chance of most of the shot's missing. A second barrage was already being prepared the crew on the other deck scrambling not wanting to give Stardusk a chance to respond.
The shots never came.
Dark flames exploded from the ship, blowing it apart and quickly consuming the ship, sails and all until it was little more than a giant black campfire at sea, the wood slowly sinking into the ocean.
"Huh?" Zilia squeezed out.
The ice wall formed long cracks as it was hit with more shots causing it to collapse, Zilia turned towards the other ships. They were moving but the ships were still trying to close in, they could probably get away but not without taking a few hits in the process.
Just as Zilia was preparing to try and return fire, she noticed long traces of silver fall over one of the ships, dancing across its body before vanishing. A moment later the ship fell into multiple pieces, cut cleanly into seperate parts that slowly sunk into the ocean. The last ship stopped firing noticing the other ship had been destroyed, before they could contemplate what caused it something crashed into their own from above, breaking the ship in half as a large force destroyed the ship, another force quickly followed breaking the two pieces into smaller ones.

"...uh…" Zilia said. "What was-"
"Still getting into trouble aren't you Stardusk!"
A voice rang from above and a figure fell landing onto the deck, flashes of white coming from the figure's face from their grin as they raised their body, spreading their legs and pointing towards the sky with one hand, the other on their hip.
"We have arrived!"
Three familiar figures stood on Lady Luck's deck, a smiling man with purplish hair, a woman with a blank expression calmly sheathing two of the six swords on her person, and another woman garbed completely in black, dark flames dancing at the fingertips of her pale skin, a bone mask adorning her face. The middle man was the only one in a strange pose.
"The prophets have come to-"
The middle man stopped realizing he was the only one in a stance.
"Ria! Nina we practiced this! Why aren't you doing the poses!"
Ria reached up and removed the mask from her face, black flames consuming her form before leaving her returning her to her normal simple appearance.
"...Sorry...I forgot...Kaim."
The woman wore the same tired expression and spoke in the same broken sentences as she stared at her cohort.
"What was I again?" Nina said looking over at Kaim.
"Oh for goodness- I point up, you point right, Ria points left… now let's try it aga- and Ria's already next to Jack."
Kaim sighed before noticing Nina was fishing over the side of the Stardust ship, she turned slightly to speak to everyone.
"When are we leaving? We have to chase after them."
"....you guys are no fun!" Kaim yelled at the two before sighing and looking at Runali.
He walked up to her before hanging his head.
"The Prophets have come to fulfill the terms of the contract, blah blah blah let's talk business," Kaim said with significantly less energy than before. "Nice working with you Stardusk."

​

 

[SilentxChaos]

Guest Appearance: @Capt. Blu
​

​

Jack chose to stay behind upon arrival at the island. Zilia's familiarity of the place didn't soothe his paranoia. He kept scanning the harbor, wondering if or when the next attack would come. The perfect place to attack is where you least expect it, after all. He soothed back his dreads while watching them head into the town. He hoped his lack of sleep was the only reason for his uneasy state.

One hour later, Jack was staring at the far and discreet end of the harbor that anchored eight identical ships. He stood on a rooftop at a safe distance away with a twitching eye.

We should have never come to somewhere Zilia knew. One of them is here on one of those ships. And I don't have time to--

An explosion in the center of town shattered his thoughts. He whirled around, trying to locate where it was coming, while simultaneously realizing that he already knew and it didn't matter. Only Stardusk could be involved with it-- and he could guess what it'd mean. He hesitated, glancing back at the ships. Then, reluctantly, he turned away and raced back to the ship.

When the crew made in back to Lady Luck, they found the cook already there, protecting the ship's aft with his haki. One cannonball from the mercenaries ricocheted off and into the town. Jack himself crouched to avoid line of sight. Relief flooded his face when he saw them return-- until he saw Isari missing. The rest happened too fast, as the crew tried cast off, and then in a lightning strike of pure luck, one of the mercenary ships caught on fire. Black fire. Jack stood up warily and blinking several times as three newcomers landed on their ship.

"Ria?"

Grinning brightly, Jack gave the Prophet a one-arm hug as she stood beside him. "I thought that was your fire. How are you? Have you met Ma Lily yet?"

He greeted her like a good friend which, in his mind, they were fast becoming. They'd been exchanging letters on the sparing occasion the last few months. Catching Cedric's eye, Jack smiled wickedly. He took Ria by the shoulders and guided her to the younger man before he could vanish below deck.

"Ria, I want you to meet my brother Cedric. Cedric, this is Ria. She wanted to kill me awhile back but we're friends now. Well-- we're friends. You're still not on about killing me right?"

After introductions were made, the reason for the Prophets' arrival settled, Jack knew he needed to speak up about where he'd been. Reluctantly, he excused himself from Ria and Sid, and went to Runali.

"Captain. Give me two hours with Ria. I found Yuli's ship while you guys were in the town. I'm… sorry, I wasn't able to do anything about Isari's kidnapping," Jack directed this to Zilia. "If there was anything to be done. Anyways, it was a false ship but I think I know where she is. I think I can catch her, maybe get information out of her, but I have to leave now. Do I have your permission?"

He stepped closer and lowered his voice so only Runali and Zilia could hear, "I'm not just asking to go after her. You have rules and I respect them. I'm asking for your leave to bend them."

The captain's attention pulled away from the newcomers and was directed at Jack. "Hm… having a lead on where she ran off to is helpful. Dangerous too." She put her hands on her hips, stealing a glance at Zilia before continuing. "Two hours with Ria. If it gets too dangerous both of you come back and we'll plan it better." Runali patted Jack's arm. "Aye. You have my permission to… do as you see fit." She smiled. "You're good at what you do. Bring back a… souvenir if you can."

Jack bowed to her. Standing straight, he went over to Cedric. "Listen, I need to borrow Jackie and have you stay here. Connect with me if the crew gets in trouble alright? I promise, I'll do the same."

Giving his brother a rough hug, he gestured for Ria to follow him, and the two disappeared.

 

[Fox of Hearts]

The intricate designs of Charlotte's anti-intruder wards sketch themselves in Cedric's mind. With some modifications, not even a rat could sneak on board without him knowing. Some might feel he was too paranoid but he was convinced that this trend hinted at a security lapse that no one took seriously. [i[No one but Alicia, perhaps.[/i] He stole a glance in the woman's direction as he thought about her and regretted it immediately.

That awkward feeling rose again. Feelings, he felt, were too soon to share. He was sure she blamed him for Sara leaving so suddenly. He admitted he was a coward for never asking all this time; he hoped his actions didn't damn him further in her eyes.

As his breathing hitched, Sid clenched his fists as he looked for a distraction. His eyes cautious as they studied the three Prophets. Immediately, his discomfort heightened after he observed Jack greeting Ria like a long lost friend. Cedric braced himself for the inevitable introduction by channelling his ire into the dirtiest glare he could muster.

"Friends, huh? You have the oddest ideas, fére. I worry that Adelaide's influence is starting to stick in the worst of ways."

Cedric's words stank with hypocrisy and the brothers knew it. Picking good friends had never been Sid's forte either. The younger brother shrugged in response to Jack's silqent reproach. Promising to be friendlier didn't mean dialling down his sarcasm. So, his dear brother had no right to chastise him.

"Seeing that Jack told you about his mothers," Sid began. His eyes flicked back to his brother's mid-speech and stayed there. "I guess it's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Ria."

Having shoved the conversational turn back to Ria, he considered his duty done. The tailor proceeded to ignore the woman and turned towards the sea pretending. As he eavesdropped on the ongoing chatter, Cedric replayed his conversation with Yuli.

"I don't see why I can't come along," he protested. The injustice stung. Wasn't he the one to alert Jack in the first place?

Petulance flashed across the handsome face as the younger brother scowled. He really resented being left behind after all they have said and done after Trovale. He crossed his arms quickly to hide his discomfort as he spun around.

Sid pressed his lips together while toying with a different idea. He wanted desperately to insist on following Jack. The appeal was so great that his fists started clenching even tighter. It took every ounce of self-control not to protest.

Jack's reasoning was justified even if Cedric refused to acknowledge it out loud. The summoner knew his familiars haven't bonded as deeply with anyone else onboard so only the two brothers were able to act as the go-between.

"Fine."

Cedric broke eye contact as Jack stepped closer. He shuddered in the embrace; his body rejecting the closeness and sudden warmth. Thankfully, his mind detached itself enough for him to remain cognizant when they broke apart. Sid grabbed the retreating wrist and pressed a metallic object into his brother's hand.

"Take this, I insist. Jackie can't stray too far from her aeter. Don't you dare lose it or I won't forgive you."

He cracked a sincere smile at the end. No matter how precious the aeter was he wouldn't have the heart to hold it against his beloved fére. The man was his brother and more. Sid hesitated then leaned forward and returned Jack's hug. It was a first for him since they reunited on Finnigan Island.

"I slipped a few cards into your pocket. Use them when you need my assistance." He whispered as he pressed that warmer body closer.

He hated how confident he sounded. Casting through a familiar was a hard skill to master. He realized this after attempting the spell casting for the first time last night. The additional distance today would tax him even more, he sensed. The trade-off - Jack's safety - was worth whatever repercussions he may suffer.

"Also, I'll kill Ria myself if you get hurt."

Two furry faces appeared at Jack's feet before the chef could leave. Chaos pawed the older brother's thigh as she demanded for her share of the farewell affection. Chester sniffed in disgust but leaned as well. He willingly suffered the ear scratches before he winked up Jack's head. He tapped lightly on the man's face and yowled naggingly.

Sensing her sister calling for her, Jack's namesake pressed her paws on the pocket lining and peered at Chaos. The two exchanged mews and meows. Their conversation made some sense to the two brothers thanks to the felines' emotions flickering in their mind. Sid sucked in his upper lip and scooped Chaos up.

"Enough, Chaos cherie. Chester, you too. Go find Alicia or Coral Pearl if you want company."

Mentioning the hawk did the trick. Sid's remaining familiars teleported away as the man offered CP a silent apology. He owed the bird all the mouse jerky he could salvage. Not that it would ever compensate for the stress his rascals caused. Perhaps it was time he passed their discipline into firmer hands. After all, l'capitaine had a stake in this matter. He mused.

"Best you get going before you get distracted by my familiars' plans for the poor bird." He warned.

 

[Mizos]

​

Ria seemed to relax very slightly at the simple hug from Jack, her gaze remaining focused forward however. Her eyes moved up to Jack, remaining there as he spoke to her. She blinked slowly before opening her mouth to respond.
"Not yet…..detour…..looking forward…..too," she said with a slow nod. "....good to see…..you tooo...Jack."
She didn't have the energy or intent to resist being moved so she went along with Jack, Kaim didn't want to commit how the woman's boots slid along the wood as if she was floating deciding not to comment on it.
"Greetings….Cedric…." Ria said with a small nod.
At Jack's question she glanced in his direction only to focus forward again.
"First meetings….are fun…."
If she noticed Cedric's rudeness or offhanded behavior it didn't show in her tired expression, when he turned her from her she merely focused her attention elsewhere since their conversation was over.

Zilia stood clearly still tense but her gaze moved over to Jack as he spoke, her eyes widening a little at his information, she seemed to relax a little at the information. She gave a small shake of her head at Jack.
"We couldn't act either...I don't blame anyone Jack," Zilia said with a small nod. "I appreciate what your efforts have unearthed. I feel better knowing we're not completely in the dark."
When Jack moved closer Zilia offered a small nod.
"...hah...it's late to say considering all that's happened but be careful," Zilia said. "I want her dead but I'd prefer you back safe with as minimal injuries as possible."
"I will…..keep….Jack safe…" Ria said causing Zilia to glance in her direction "Only I….get to….kill Jack…."
"...thank you?"
Zilia watched the two leave, though she noticed Ria stare at Cedric for a long moment a jester's mask in her hand, she tilted her head at the woman as she placed it on her face, ignoring the young man's comment about her threatened mortality and followed after Jack.
"Guess we'll wait for them to come back before we head out?" Luro questioned looking over at Runali.

~~

Zilia peered over the side of the Lady noticing there were no ships in distance, her eyes narrowing at the sight when a hand was placed on her shoulder, she turned to see Nina next to her giving a small shake of her head. She motioned towards Kaim who stood in the center of the main deck having called everyone together seeing as both Yuli and Maka were long gone, one especially so.
"So thanks to the efforts of Jack and Ria our jobs just got a whole lot easier. Ria if you'd be so kind as to recount what happened while you two were gone."
Ria dug into the pouch on her side and pulled out the decapitated head of Yuli causing Kaim to bring a hand to his face.
"Ria...I meant a summary not an example," Kaim said.
"....quickest….explanation...also...Nikos….needs proof. Jack...delivered final….blow."
Zilia approached the two, her eyes focusing on the still smiling expression of the woman who haunted her for longer than she cared to admit. They didn't have Isari but somehow knowing Maka had one less ally made the pain sting a little less.
"...thank you both…." Zilia said looking at the two.
She reached over and shook Ria's hand before realizing it was bloody, she looked at Jack then her bloody hands before choosing to just raise it instead.
"Though the reveal is a tad morbid...I feel a bit better knowing Yuli won't stand in the way anymore. Now all we need to do is deal with Maka...who more than likely will be upset at losing one of his pawns."

Runali, outwardly, didn't seem perturbed by the beheaded Yuli Ria was carrying around. "Hm, perfect, one less to worry about. Just make sure my ship doesn't start smelling like death because of it."

The ship was now heading in the presumed direction Maka had gone but there wasn't a single trail to follow, he had somehow managed to vanish into what was thin air in a manner of moments.
"...this makes no sense…" Zilia mumbled. "They were there…there was a ship...I'm positive there was"
"There definitely was a ship but this was Yuli we're talking about," Kaim said rubbing the side of his head. "She-"
"Kaim!"
Kaim turned before a fist slammed into his face causing him to stumble back into the main mast.
Luro stood both his fists up grinning at the man he had just suckered punch. Kaim returned the smile and running forward slammed his fist into Luro's stomach with surprising speed. The carpenter's body leaning forward before he stumbled back coughing.
"Luro it's been too long!"
"Far too long," Luro said immediately elbowing Kaim. "It was hard to hold myself back!"
The two men beat on each other for a moment, eventually settling to headbutt each other until Zilia stepped in pushing them away from each other.
"What are you doing?!"
"Saying hi," Luro said looking at Zilia.
"Yeah just shootin' the breeze Zil," Kaim said looking at Zilia.
Both Luro and Kaim had blood running down the faces causing Zilia's eyes to twitch.
"...while I treat you would you kindly explain why you're here? Now's not a good time…"
"Actually Cap before that can you explain the situation to me. The whole situation of what you guys have been up to while Zil's treating our tiny easily ignorable wounds."
"Yeah! It's just a little blood Z."
"There's two of them, there's two of them and I hate this," Zilia said grabbing her bag.
"We only know bits and pieces," Nina said glancing over at Runali from her fishing spot. "Need full information."
"Then we'll explain why we're here," Kaim said. "Business first though."

"Well aren't you guys a sight for sore eyes." After Luro helped her up, she replaced the ice gloves with the fire ones, attempting some sort of quick dry so she didn't have to leave to change. Coral landed to meet her on a nearby barrel when the familiar faces joined. "Contract? I didn't sign a contract with you guys."

Fortunately, Lady Luck was able to escape and fully sail away towards their new destination. It gave Runali enough time to rest and recoup the armament she lost from the sudden wall of ice. She was squeezing out water from her eyepatch, wet hair covering her blind eye, as she looked between Ria and Nina. "I'd love to think you all came swooping in to save us dear pirates against your captain's wishes," Runali couldn't help but snicker. "But I'm sure he's still on that high horse of his. But, if you're gonna help, I'm not gonna complain. We are allies and all." It was almost a shame Nikos wasn't around to hear it. "Oof, get comfy it's a long story." She placed her eyepatch back on and pet Coral.

Runali began at the very beginning up until the very moment she crashed into the barrels and Luro helped her up, remembering to include details she was given by the rest. "And yeah! That's what happened. That's what's happening… I s'pose it makes… a little sense since you guys were technically a part of that… same group." A lightbulb went off in Runali's head and she looked over at Zilia. She had made the connection that Zilia knew about the Ravens business despite not saying anything but, "Did you know these guys too??" There was a mix of disbelief and genuine curiosity as she asked. "You could- hm, never mind I guess that'd be less fun despite the whole… near death thing." She sighed and waved her hand away to turn her attention back to the prophets. "Alright, your turn, fill us in. You hear to help or are you planning on being yet another thing we gotta worry about?"

Luro took over drying the Captain during her explanation, after both his and Kaim's foreheads had been wrapped with bandages. Kaim had many questions why Luro was acting like a campfire and how but decided to save them for another time.
"Hahaha not this time Cap, we'll be something to worry about next time," Kaim said with a small shrug. "Also yes Nikos is very much still on his majestic stallion."
"He also made sure we make it abundantly clear we're not allies if you mention it," Nina added with a small nod. "He was very adamant expecting it from you."
"Still funny enough we're actually here on his wishes, he did agree to the contract after all."
Kaim grinned at this with a shrug.
"Though I can say he absolutely didn't want to help."

Zilia sighed expecting that much before Kaim spoke up to answer the Captain's question for Zilia.
"We believe Zil ran into the old guard before they left, so no one in the new guard 'should' know her. There's a chance she and Kara know each other, neither of them will reveal it though."
Kaim stood up brushing himself off before bringing a hand to his chin wondering where to start their fantastical story.
"Ria why don't you explain?"
Ria gave a small nod making her way back over to the two, she turned to Stardusk before speaking.
"What you said….matches our….reports….they...coincide with-"
"You know what why don't I just uh...I do it," Kaim said. "I am the temporary leader and all."
"You just….wanted...to say that."
"Of course I did," Kaim said. "All right Cap, to put it simply someone hired us to help you. No point anyone asking me who, looking at you Jacky boy, as they asked to be kept secret. Nikos sent us three to assist you in watching over Isari, naming me leader of our merry group instead of Nina the older member. Guess he recognized my natural talents ya know."
"I don't think that's true...I'm vice leader and I can take over the operation at any point," Nina said looking over at him.
"Shhh shh they don't need to know that," Kaim said waving a hand at Nina.
"You were coming to help get Isari somewhere safe?" Zilia questioned.
"Yeah that was the goal."

Zilia seemed to pause for a moment, clenching her fist to push something back down before speaking again.
"...I'm surprised Nikos allowed that."
"He really fought against it Zil let me tell you. He almost ripped up the contract the moment he got it...but ultimately after a frank discussion, keeping himself as neutral as possible he decided the benefits outweigh the cost….barely. We are hunting Ex-Quills after all, and he did say he'd get them. He's a man of his word and Yuli is…was very good at her job. We've been hunting her for a bit but she's a talented one. Your guy's penchant for trouble thankfully drew her to you, so he sent us here to deal with her….well there were other reasons but that was a big one. We got paid half the price already but...this is a problem. The contract stated that we were only required to assist while Isari was in your care...that's not the case so it's now void."
Kaim brought a hand to his chin at this, Zilia's eyes twitched a bit as Nina shut her eyes.
"What's your take on this Cap?" Kaim said smiling at her. "I mean as leader I already know what I'm doing but this is a precarious situation. A void contract means we're not 'required' to help you. We could try to kill you again...still want us on your ship?"
"Kaim you-"
"Zil I want to hear your boss' response on this…I'm curious."

Runali hummed a 'thanks' to Luro after her explanation and listened to the Prophets' situation. Being told not to ask about their contracter made her curious, but she refrained from asking. Instead she created a potential list in her own head. "Hm… So Nina's in charge, Kaim just says things faster. Got it." She gave him an amused look before shrugging. "Not allies right of course, he prefers the more intimate term of friendship. What a nice leader you have, asking you guys to make sure we're safe and sound. It's such a shame I can't tell him we're okay to his face. But, oh well." Runali couldn't help but laugh at Kaim's suggestions. "I'll admit, you are a more fun leader than Nikos. But, no no you can't try to kill me. Not now at least. Your captain isn't here and he's the one that promised me a fight, I promised you all nothing of the sort. Besides," Runali nudged Coral off her lap and she gestured over to Zilia. "Our paths are the same. Where one target is, the other will be. We don't have Isari, but you don't have what you need either. It's safe to say our plans intertwine and as long as we're clear on this friendship of ours, you guys can hover around the ship until we find what we need."

She stood to her feet. "The way I see it, your contract is still very much active. Isa will be in our 'care' again, you guys just worry about getting the extra… dead weight off our backs. How's that sound to you, Kaim?"

Kaim pouted a bit at the joke of his fantastic leadership ignoring the thumbs up Nina gave in response before he listened to Runali's side of things. His brows arched as his mouth formed into a thin line, though at the end of her explanation Kaim let off a chuckle.
"Haha….as expected from the boss 'most hated' Rival. Still he's very particular about contracts, no Isari no help it was clearly outlined, we have no obligation to help you guys," Kaim said grinning. "…is what we would say if we were horrible people."
Kaim laughed a bit moving his hands onto his hips and Nina just brought a hand to her face shaking her head slightly.
"We're on the same page Captain. No point in not helping you since we're going the same way anyway. It's not like we're going to leave the circle anytime soon. Heck the others are on the way we just got sent ahead."
Kaim said this before motioning backwards.
"We got some values, leaving a young lady kidnapped won't do. I know Nikos would feel the same, especially since you helped us kill her. Nikos can't stand ya Cap but I know he can't stand owing you more so there's no way he'd withdraw us after your help, especially with Jack here delivering the final blow. We'll repay the favor by getting her back."
Zilia's brows arched at this but Kaim left the matter at that looking back at Runali.
"It's just been a while since we last talked wanted to see if you still had that ole Runali edge," Kaim said grinning. "We were specifically sent by Nikos because we won't kill you."

Kaim motioned to the three of them.
"We have no desire to kill anyone on this ship."
"That's incorrect Kaim," Nina said. "I very much want to kill Kadi."
Ria offered a small nod pointing at Jack.
"My feelings…..are the….same…."
Kaim looked at the two girls then back at Stardusk his eyes widening before he immediately turned to fully face the two.
"No no no that's not the case here, the contract forbid us to attack Stardusk unless they acted first. No one else can be on this ship as they won't hold back. Nikos can't stand Runali or Luro."
"Nikos and me get along great."
"Luro we've talked about this," Kaim said pointing back at Luro before putting both his hands on the girl's shoulders.
"Tari can't stand to be in the same area as Alicia so she's a no go. She hates that they're both in the Devil's Circle, imagine if she was on the same ship and of course Kara is triply mad at Zilia."
"Wha-why? I haven't done anything," Zilia said pointing to herself.
"Well our reports revealed you used Devil Fruit Powers. Which were of course shocking to some of us. Kara was especially pissed because she realized you held back during your fight."
"Hey I put my all into that fight, I nearly died to her."
"I believe you but she doesn't and she is seething. I don't doubt she'd attack you the moment she'd saw you. Tari and Kara not happy together is a bad thing, I mean the things they wanted me to call you two when I got here."
"…what did she call me?"
"I refuse to say it. Anyway the three of us are the only options with Aira and Emil off somewhere else. You can't attack them now."
"We don't want to attack them now," Nina said. "We just said we want to kill them."
"…exactly…."
Nina pointed over at Ria.
"Ria's fine waiting as long as need be. Jack can live his life, get married, have a few kids and on his deathbed she'll slit his throat."
Ria gave a firm nod at this.
"I don't think I can wait that long so I'm thinking when Kadi's grandkids are young men I'll stab him through the chest before decapitating him."
Kaim looked at the two women before sighing and turning back to Stardusk, he brought a hand to his head.
"I feel you should have better long term goals….Jack…Kadi don't take them seriously. You've been in their presence you know how eccentric they are. I'm positive they won't try to kill you…probably."
"….guess we'll find out….in forty….years…." Ria said glancing over at Jack.
"Thirty if we're lucky," Nina added looking at Kadi.
"…ignore them. We're not going to attack you now, long as you don't come at us first."
"…Luro punched you Kaim," Zilia said motioning to the redhead currently cracking his knuckles.
"I mean with violent intentions," Kaim said. "I mean I'm all for going a round or two with Luro later like old times."
Luro raised his arm and Kaim did the same before the two brought them together grinning at each other.
Nina walked past the two men staring into each other shining eyes, with a strangely blinding trust.
"For now Captain you are regarded as our boss," Nina said. "Think of us as a self-governing nation in your merry crew. Free to make our own judgements but to a degree your vassals. For the time being we are allies until the contract is fulfilled. Now onto the topic at hand, how much do you understand about the Devil's Circle? Finding Maka will be difficult here. Yuli's techniques will make it difficult."
"Very difficult…we kind of made sure you guys didn't fight them because of how annoying they can be," Kaim said finally breaking eyes with Luro. "Yuli was one of the lower ranked ones so she's not as powerful as the others but she's a very talented trickster. Ravens and especially Quills ensure their plans continue even in death, finding Maka won't be much easier with her gone."
Kaim said this patting his muscle with a grin before it faded into a smaller one.
"You guys know how good we are at hiding, you'll need our help to find him."
"….she did make a whole ship just vanish…" Zilia said crossing her arms.
"That was her speciality. Yuli was an infiltration escapists expert…yes that's a word. There's no place she couldn't get into unseen and unheard. She broke into Kane'Arteum at least four times to check on Maka and left leaving no trace. Not even Observation Haki worked against her. We only know that much cause of Lily's notes. The Quill's did erase a lot of their information after they took over the organization after all."
"Made sure….she didn't….escape this time…" Ria said nodding.
"Hehe...can't trick former Raven's with our own tricks...well most of the time," Kaim said shrugging.

"You say hate, I say oh so fond of, it's fine the feeling is still there. It's mutual. Don't have to try so hard." She waved her hand, shooing all the talk of murder and fighting each other. "Conversations for later. Let's focus on the matter at hand." Hearing that she was the Prophets' de facto boss for the time being made her one eye practically light up. Upon hearing Nina's question, she scratched her cheek. What did they know about the Devil's Circle… "Lots of strong opponents- Worst Gen level… Hates fruit users… dangerous…" She mumbled something else low and in her own language that was something akin to 'getting too much information to remember everything'. But then she gestured to Zil, Jack, and Cedric. "If you want specific details, that's what they're for. Mostly the brothers, but this is Zil's domain so she knows stuff as well."

Runali cleared her throat, drawing their attention away from how 'difficult' one or the other was or had been. "With all things considered, can't be that difficult if those two managed to get rid of one. Plus, we've dealt with this kinda thing before." She shrugged. "And like you said, penchant for trouble means we don't have to search long."

Kaim offered a grin to Runali giving Nina a small pat on the back as she then pat Ria who pulled a map out of their bag and held it up for all Stardusk to see. It seemed to be a large map of the Devil's Circle with multiple lines and 'things' drawn on it.
"Hahaha straight and to the point that's easiest for me too," Kaim said nodding. "Not trying to ruin morale, just wanted to say it in case someone was blaming themselves for what happened. Just a heads up this isn't a normal person you're dealing with so don't feel so bad. That's not the case here though right, so I'll just move on."

Zilia averted her gaze from Kaim causing him to smile before he continued.
"We do need to talk about the Circle though, don't worry I'll keep it short I don't like long explanations either. There are lots of mercenaries and we're going to use them...the end."
Kaim said this and motioned for Ria to put the map away.
"Kaim you need to explain more than that. Zilia can't explain things even though this is her domain," Nina said. "No going in blind here."
"I thought they liked doing that though?"
"Um...this isn't my domain...I have been here but I didn't even realize it was called the Devil's Circle. I'm only familiar with a few areas," Zilia said raising a hand.
"Well fun fact it was only called the Devil's Circle after Relias settled in, the name was much nicer back in the day," Kaim said. "Anyway a somewhat quick explanation it is then."

Kaim cleared his throat before motioning to the map once again.
"Word through the grapevine is the WG and this place went at each other back in the day. Lot's of bodies and ships lost between them. Then Sor comes along, for whatever reason and decides to stop things."
"Sor person…..we know Sor person…I think..." Luro said scratching the back of his head
"You guys met him, the 'town gossip' as he likes to call himself. Same thing he told a Quill way back in the day."
"You guys know him too?" Zilia questioned eyeing the map.
"He was in the Raven's records. He's not a Raven and didn't know of our existence of course but there was a note about him."
"What'd it say?" Zilia said looking back at Kaim.
"Beware of Dog," Nina answered.
"You guys got an interesting ally, he made the WG back off and returned peace to the Circle with some help. Because the WG can't enter this place plenty of criminals came here, a lot of the mercenaries around us are wanted criminals. One of the reasons why towns don't bat an eye at pirate ships, they're used to people on the wrong side of the law passing through here."

Kaim raised a finger.
"There is one Naval Base here though, only one. I won't go into why it's here unless you want me too, it's a bunch of politics and a contingency plan from Sor. I know the Cap doesn't want all that background noise so let's keep going. Relias appears and takes over most of the Circle, leading to the current treaty/stalemate currently going on between the mercenary groups. Relias won't attack them to keep from losing a bunch of his men, he is one of the big reasons the WG won't enter after all and the mercenaries won't fight each other knowing Relias would take them out if the opportunity presented itself."
"An extra note is you can't leave the Circle Stardusk," Nina said looking over at everyone. "Relias has already blockaded it. You'll have to deal with him before leaving. He's on the defensive right now building up defenses in his remaining camps thanks to your recent attack...so you have some time before he makes a move."
"...it's part of the reason we're all you got right now. We got in before he finished the blockade."

Zilia eyed the Devil's Circle, it was a considerably large area, it was hard to imagine the man had enough ships to cover the whole space, Kaim glanced at Zilia before patting the map.
"There's no way out without blasting through and that's risky. That's a problem for later, let's focus on the now," Kaim said. "Anyway Sor and Relias have a sticky relationship. I wouldn't say he thinks of him a necessary evil but he keeps the WG out of everyone's hair so at the moment he can't get rid of him without either losing the Circle or causing a war between the Guilds when the balance of power shifts. He is a supporter of Devil Fruit Users though, so he'll have no qualms going against the guy, so long as it doesn't endanger his assets."
Luro stared at Kaim for a moment tilting his head.
"...I'm not following Kaim. What does this have to do with the plan?"
Kaim grinned at this and motioned to a few of the circled objects on the map.

"It's simple, we used this stalemate to our advantage. We have Sor talk to one of the mercenary guilds, have them send a few ships ahead of our kidnapping friend and stand in his way. We make Maka think we're one step ahead and slow him down."
"...that's not going to stop him ," Zilia said looking at Kaim. "Also what if the trick doesn't work?"
"...Doesn't…..have…..too," Ria said peeking around the map for a moment.
"Indeed, we're not trying to fool him. We're fooling his mercenary friends. The Red Lions. Maka is playing two fields after all."
"....wait…." Zilia said reaching up and touching her bang. "If the Red Lions think another mercenary guild is after them because of Maka….oh."
"You got it," Kaim said grinning. "They'll back off. The guilds are used to fighting for scraps but if a few ships show up they know attacking them will incite anger and possibly retaliation and they can't risk that. The head of the mercenary unit will recall the Lion's forces to avoid starting something. It won't work forever, they'll eventually catch on to our deception but that won't matter."
"...and Relias can't provide troops because he's building his defenses."
"Courtesy of your attack on their camp," Kaim said pointing two fingers at the group. "Maka will have no reinforcements, so what happened a moment ago won't happen again. He'll be alone...we'll have an opening, and we'll exploit that and get Isari back. We 'need' to use that window, so long as he has his troops we won't get close to him without getting torn apart, and the last thing we need are more enemies while trapped in this place. So what do you think Cap?"

"Ah, gotta love Mr. Business." She commented after the explanation was given. She sat in thought for a moment, mulling over the idea. Minimizing the threat was the smartest move. No matter how they spun the thought, there was no way the crew could go up against an army alone- or with the help of the Prophets. She tapped the side of her cheek and let out a sigh. "Hm… yeah alright. Play it smart first. Concentrate an attack on what we can manage and then focus on getting out. We get Isari back, you get the… Quills? Yeah the Quills out of commission. Yeah, alright." Runali nodded, looking through the map. "We can do this." She tilted her head a little before looking at the Prophets. "How much of an issue would it cause if we- y'know, permanently get rid of some of these guys? Are we waging war if leaders die or is this just yet another reason bounty prices hike up? Because," And she glanced over at her crew. "Depending on how much of a fuss they make, we may have to set the 'kill rule' to the side for a bit. Just enough to get us out of there safely- more or less I suppose."

"Taking this Maka down seems like fun but getting Isari back takes priority," Kaim said bringing a hand to chin. "He has a natural advantage with a hostage."
Luro looked over at Runali as she brought up what to do about the mercenaries, at her words about the 'kill rule' being lifted temporarily, Luro's eyes lit up and he quickly moved over to the Captain, taking her hands in his.
"Really Captain! I can finally have some proper almost no limitations fun! Really?!"
"…I'm still concerned that everything up until now was with that limitation," Zilia said looking over at the two.
Kaim chuckled a little seeing Luro's giddiness and raised a hand to the Captain.
"If power is disrupted war will follow, if you become the source of that disruption then the Guilds will have quite the vendetta against you," Kaim said with a small shrug. "Obviously killing them will make them dislike you…unless we make you your own faction."
Kaim grinned a bit at this.
"…we don't want you to be tied to any mercenary groups that will complicate things…but…"
Kaim brought a hand to his chin and chuckled a little at this before turning to Stardusk.
"…how do you guys feel about becoming a company?"

"Yeah that makes-" She was interrupted by Luro's sudden excitement and for a moment it became contagious. But she cleared her throat and laughed. "It's a strong maybe at best." Letting him continue holding her hands she shrugged at Zilia and looked over at Kaim. "Ah, yeah figures as much. Not that we haven't made a bunch of enemies already." Her brow raised and she turned from Luro to face Kaim completely. "A… faction?" She was no stranger to business, considering she spent many days on Jaipur watching her mother handle multiple merchants on a daily basis. The idea of having a guild of followers- a guild of people under her made that excitement from moments before bubble back into her system. "Having one crew under my flag is one thing, but having… multiple…" There was a new light in her eye and she grinned. "Yeah… Actually, I think that sounds like a great idea. But that's something we can discuss later. Hm… maybe I can get Mr. Business to keep an eye on it for me too…"

Waving the thought away so she could focus on one thing at a time, she prodded Luro. "That's not a yes! Not yet at least. It's a… we'll see when we get there, but be ready for anything."

Luro shoulders dropped a little at the strong maybe but he still hopped from foot to foot at the prospect, grinning at being able to really test out everything so far.
Zilia was less than pleased at the prospect, understanding the Captain was essentially telling them not to hold back, that meant things could get serious. She put that matter aside just happy the Captain was preparing against the eventuality at least. Her gaze moved over to Kaim at the mention of a faction, her eyes twitching at the idea a bit, but she could see what Kaim was aiming for.
"It'll make things easier that way," Kaim said grinning. "Though yes we can discuss it later."
Luro pouted a bit realizing they'd have to wait but backed away from the Captain with a nod.
"Okay Captain...I'll wait for your signal should it come," Luro said clapping his hands together. "Until then I'll practice our murder technique, Kadi and Alicia can join me. Then Jack and Cedric, then Zil, then-"

Kaim decided to continue as Luro discussed the possible maiming techniques they could all come up with together.
"All right we're ready to- ah wait actually hold on a sec. You guys know the strengths and weaknesses of Devil Fruit types right? We are in the Circle and it's good to know your enemy." Kaim said looking at everyone.
"Yeah I know the two types," Luro said raising a hand.
Kaim looked over at Luro, before reaching over and patting Ria to put the map away.
"Okay quick review then because one of you might die," Kaim said. "There are three Devil Fruit Types, Zoan, Logia and Paramecia."
Luro rubbed the side of his head but Zilia elbowed him causing him to take his notebook out as Kaim held up a finger.
"Zoan's are Devil Fruits that turn their users into animals, amplifying their strength and speed beyond human limits. They normally have three transformations but they can exceed that if they're strong enough. Their first form is their 'human' form, their second is a half human half beast form and the final form is their full beast form. They get stronger with each transformation so be careful if you meet one. They are really fun to fight though just a heads up."
Kaim held up a second finger.
"Logia users are considered the strongest and most rare, they are generally made of an element of some kind which they can make an almost limitless amount of. Well you guys know about that as you had one on the crew. Ray had the Ice Logia. He could generate ice as much as he wanted, and all that," Kaim said. "The big thing about Logia is they're basically invincible to normal attacks, you can stab em, cut em', beat em over the head, cut pieces of em' off and they'll just reform like it was nothing."
"Oh yeah...Ray got a part of his face blown off and he was just fine," Luro said grinning. "That was funny."
"Exactly and our records show Logia are here so keep that in mind, but we'll come back to dealing with them."
Kaim held up a third finger.
"Finally there's the last type. Paramecia Devil Fruit. Any fruit that's not Logia or Zoan falls into this category."

Kaim pointed at Zilia, then Ria who had moved next to her causing Zilia to jump a little.
"These ones here have a Paramecia fruit, those kinds of Devil Fruit can be incredibly powerful or absolutely useless all depending, it's a fun gamble when you eat one. Their powers vary greatly."
Kaim lowered his fingers giving a small nod at his wonderful explanation.
"Kaim...you didn't explain how to beat them," Nina said.
"Huh? Oh right! Sorry each one has a weakness, it's pretty simple really. All Devil Fruits Users powers are nullified by seastone and none of them can swim, so things to keep in mind but Zoan users are only strong physically, they're very durable but you can beat them with a bit of ingenuity, Armament or both, just try not to die, especially if it's a carnivore type. Logia are very strong and can basically ignore your attacks...unless coated in Haki. You do that you 'solidify' them, if you can figure out their element you can hit them with something that affects their element to also 'solidify' them."
"Life fire with Ray," Luro said looking up from his notebook.
"Exactly," Kaim said with a nod. "Finally Paramecia-"
Kaim cut himself off and looked over at Zilia at this causing her to arch her brows at him.
"They're the hardest to adapt too. Some say Logia is the strongest but Paramecia and Zoan can go toe to toe with them. Paramecia weaknesses are harder to deal with...because you need to understand what the fruit does to counteract it...unlike the others."
"Weaknesses….differ….between users…." Ria said patting Zilia on the shoulder.


Kaim nodded and moved his hands to his hips at this, he believed that covered everything.
"All three types are in this Circle, and you should be ready to fight differently than usual. I'd hate to see you try to do what you usually do and get stabbed because you forgot decapitating Logia doesn't stop them. If you feel you need to know more or specifics just talk to any one of us, I just wanted you guys prepared to fight against them. You guys have already fought some so I don't doubt you got it, but smart Devil Fruit Users don't always reveal what they are until their sword is at your throat, sometimes because they detached their arm and had it fly at you."
"That sounds...bothersome," Zilia said.
"Nah it's fun we got this. Anyway that's enough tactics, I'm tired of all this business. Let's get down to actually doing things."
Kaim slammed his fist into his hand with a grin and Nina glanced at him, she closed her eyes realizing he was missing something and stepped forward.
"We can't take action until we find Maka's trail seeing as we have to pincer him," Nina said.
"Oh...right...yeah we need to find him...so yeah I was getting to that," Kaim said before coughing into his fist. "Does anyone have any new information? Anything at all on those two, honestly Jack telling us what the ship looked like is incredibly useful, but the more information we have the faster we can get their 'exact' location."
Nina noddeed at this and motioned to the sea.
"We'll find Maka eventually even if Yuli hid their trail...but the faster we find him the faster we can cut them off. He'll probably ask for backup once he realizes our trick, finding him tomorrow compared to a few days could be the difference between no reinforcements and some reinforcements."



Elsewhere

Maka stared at the small glass in his hand, the familiar brown liquid sloshing around within as he awaited Yuli's return. For some odd reason she had sent him ahead with Isari to one of their hideouts, going against the original plan. She was a strange one but she'd proven that her judgement and intuition could be trusted. He personally disliked their current base, it was shrouded in darkness, lit only by the small amount of light that came in through a long one way window, Yuli refused to tell him the trick she used, only giggling behind her hand and winking.
He generally took a place on the windowsill, watching the world pass by, though he had extra company today.

Isari slept nearby, sedated by Yuli and left in his care.
Until she returned he had to periodically sedate her to make sure she stayed asleep, if she woke up it would ruin a fair amount of their effort.
"…she's taking longer than usual," Maka said bringing the glass to his lips.
He took a small sip before his head moved slightly to the left, reaching up he pulled his mask down a bit more as footsteps echoed outside the door, a mercenary entered their hands behind their back, and upon approaching brought of their hands forward and pounded their chest.
"Sir."
"What's going on?" Maka said standing up.
"Wel….it's….hmmm."
The mercenary averted their eyes from Maka, even though they couldn't see them and hesitantly brought their other hand forward.
The glass shattered in Mako's grip causing the mercenary to jump as Maka reached forward with his now alcohol covered hand and took the bloody deer mask from the man.
"Yuli was killed."
Maka took the mask in both hands, his mouth twitching slightly as he stared at his companion's mask, splotches of red coating it.
"…who did it?"
"…Stardusk…Sir…Jack Kunal and some other woman. We don't have any information on her but they both attacked Yuli, Jack took her life ultimately."

Maka didn't move for a long moment, his thumbs tracing over the mask before he let out a small sigh and walked back to his makeshift seat. He set the mask on the other side of the window before sitting down once more.
He turned his gaze back out the window, the mercenary remaining at attention but glancing towards the door.
"Stardusk gave their answer it seems," Maka said before looking back at the man. "Gather our forces, Stardusk is now our enemy…ensure the others know."
"Sir."

The Mercenary bowed once more before turning and leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
"What shall I do?"
A voice called out behind Maka, as a pale hand reached out of the darkness holding another glass towards the man. Maka reached over and took it looking towards the source to see a masquerade mask, painted in tragedy staring back at him.
"Continue observing them," Maka said causing the mask to nod before fading back into the shadows.
Maka stared at the glass, his mouth twitching as ice clinked against the glass.
"Yuli at the very least got it right…" Maka said before taking a sip.

​

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Collab by SilentxChaos and Fox of Hearts

This is the story of how the crew went without Jack's cooking for two whole days ….

Chapter I: Of Dogs and Men

"This is our first mission together. Strange, isn't it? We've served under the same bosses for years but it takes l'capitaine to send us as a team."

Cedric allowed Jack to ponder on his statement while they waited for Chester and Chaos to return. The magical cats, as christened by Jack, were currently spying on the patrons entering and exiting the Fat Knight saloon. Based on the information relayed to the summoner, their person of interest was nowhere to be seen. The brothers were in for a longer than expected stakeout.

Sid resumed his sketching, noting the shadows lengthening on the ground. He looked up at the blood red sky and realized that for the first in a very long time the crew needed to fend for themselves. No preparations had been made for dinner and tomorrow's breakfast. The irony amused him; their captain's optimism was misplaced this time round.

He snuck up on Jack and he clapped those broad shoulders. "How much food would be left for dinner, you figure? I think we did a better job of rationing our sandwiches."

Jack yawned. "If you'd been older, Hoshi would have put us together. And we've done jobs together when you were a full-time thief."

Whether Cedric expected more introspection on that subject or not, it didn't come, as Jack sipped his sweetened coffee and gave the tavern another sweep of his gaze. His escapades with Ria the previous night had left the man exhausted and little time to sleep off whatever she'd slipped into his drink. He glared at his cup, eye twitching, still feeling salty by that particular incident.

The cup was back to his lips when his brother came up behind him. Startled, Jack jerked it and sent droplets of staining brown onto his front. He shot daggers through his eyes at Sid.

"I'm sure the crew will be fine. I always keep leftovers stored and hidden-- the captain knows where to find them."

And if someone already ate them, then it's not my problem, Jack added to himself.

Sid leaned forward and snatched a sandwich triangle off the handkerchief. He hummed approvingly as he savored the bite. "Rare to see you in such a mood but if it means peanut butter sandwiches, I don't care."

He opened his mouth for a second bite and froze. Tossing the sandwich aside, he dashed to Jack's side of the rooftop and peered below. He pointed to their mark walking jauntily down the street. The lean man kept his hands tucked behind his head as he strode through the batwing doors.

Cedric wasted no time. He pulled out a shadow card and grabbed Jack's wrist. The card combusted and the darkening shadows swallowed the brothers whole. Their bodies turned to nothingness; there was no air, no light in this endless tunnel. Just the whipping sensation like being caught in a whirlpool - a warm liquid substance washing over you and through you.

Jack's gasp was the loudest as the men were expelled into an alley behind the saloon. The shadows pulling away like tides retreating into the sea. Sid pressed a hand against the wall and rested his head against it. He didn't expect the spell to drain him this much; he felt oddly faint. He inhaled, hoping to the gods above he wasn't completely useless in an emergency.

He slid onto the cleanest barrel lined against the wall and grasped his knees. His vision darting in and out of focus and his pulse sluggish. He kept his head low as he laughed. There was no mirth in it only relief. He was going to be okay; his vision had finally fixed itself. He wasn't going to pass out and jeopardize the mission.

"H-how does it feel, fére? Getting this taste of moving around the battlefield the way Adelaide and I do."

Wretching against a wall, Jack muttered darkly in a native Norjan dialect. He scraped his wrist across his mouth before standing up straight.

"A little warning next time would be appreciated," said Jack.

Eyes caught his brother's bout of sickness and darkened to a serious bronze. "That was reckless. You shouldn't use what drains you; we could have easily jumped over the roofs."

Shaking his head, Jack took Sid's upper arm and helped steady him to his feet. He couldn't help staring-- it felt, ever since Trovale, Sid was getting more reckless with his gifts. More... dangerous. To himself. Jack knew the man possessed power and skill well beyond what he showed, and perhaps more than what he himself believed. Charlotte du Vontiago saw it. His brother could surpass the Spymistress, some day, but not if he continued pushing his limits at every given moment.

Ruefully, it would be a conversation or another day. Jack only hoped their recent and heartful discussions were making a difference. Since his promise to make up to Cedric the sudden and traumatizing absence Jack left in his life, the older brother had kept honest and faithful; even about subjects that caused pain or awkwardness. He just hoped to repay his brother in the end.

Jack released Cedric and turned to the saloon. He noted the backdoor that led into the place's kitchen, propped up to let the heat escape. He jerked his head in that direction. "Ready to head in?"

"Not quite," Sid commented.

He pulled away and caught the sack of clothes hurtling down from the roof. The two fur siblings appeared at his feet with a boot in each mouth. Cedric shoved the sack into Jack's arms with a smirk. "Get dressed. We can't have you walking around in a stained shirt."

Waving aside protests about the puffs and frills, Sid merely stated that this was all the cats could steal from the clothes lines around the island. He held back mentioning that the gaudiest pieces were probably from the nearby brothels. He couldn't help chuckling at the image of his fére dressed like one of these flashy male prostitutes.

"I can help you with the corset if you prefer that taffeta dress. Can't see why you complain about the satin shirts. A certain Julius McLauren would love them."

He grinned even wider when Jack emerged from his makeshift changing room. He guessed the cats knew the man's tastes well. The outfit reminded him of roaming guilders wore in the scorching summer heat. He especially liked the boots with the tiny spurs.

"Hartling won't have trouble guessing your nationality now."

"Brother, you're despicable," Jack griped as he tugged at the corset. "Let this be known this is the last time you get to do this to me. Got it?"

"Disguises are part of the job as l'capitaine's spy master, dear brother. I won't promise what I can't deliver."

Cedric dodged his brother's grasping hand and danced out of reach. His smile faded when a waiter backed into their space for a smoke. The two brothers greeted the man with a curt nod; pushing passed him, they entered the saloon via the staff entrance.

Stopping by the service window, Sid took the tray of drinks meant for the VIP room and passed it onto Jack. "I'm surprised they fulfilled our secret order. Heavens with you, fére. I'll join once I've rigged the exits."

Tugging at the mascot around his neck, Jack walked into the busy saloon. Outside the kitchen's haven, the heavy stank of mead and sweat suffused into his nostrils. It was like being transported back into Norja itself: the large curved bar along one wall, a set of poker tables, a piano player drunkenly diddling a song. It was a classic saloon loved by frontiers. Jack kept his drinks high as he wiggled his way through. He felt eyes of occupants following him in his regrettable getup-- but when they saw him heading for the VIP area, they quickly went back to their own business.

A hulking guard stood in front of the door. His hands were crossed in front, showing off the thick metal rings on them. Even with sunglasses on, his glare met Jack's eyes. Thick eyebrows raised slightly at the sight of the expensive scotch balanced on the tray.

"Sure you have the right room, son?" The voice held a distinct Norjan accent. Most likely a northerner based on his tan skin and sand coloured hair. His verbal ticks became more pronounced as he added. "Boss a'int ordering what he can't a'fford."

"Sir, does it look like I'm new to this position?" Jack drawled. All his annoyance funneled into the persona of an irate waiter. He placed a hand on his hip and glared lightning bolts at the man. "I ain' about to deliver something that wasn't ordered by our VIPs. Boss would have my hide if I upset them-- just like they'll be if you don't let me deliver this."

Beefy shoulders shrugged. "Arite, arite. I hear you. This argy a'int do nothing for us. Let me frisk ya then you can enter."

"Does it look like I can hide a weapon in this?" he snapped, but consented all the same.

Satisfied Jack was unarmed, the guard knocked twice. He gave the harlot waiter a final once over and waved him in. He shut the door firmly behind the cook-in-disguise, blocking the only visible exit.

Plush carpeting padded Jack's steps towards the table. Expensive art pieces from the auction houses in Brass Cape, Leandria and Bonifaas cluttered the walls, showing a distinct lack of taste rather than cash. The same haphazardness was applied to the furniture. Each piece was exquisite on its own but placed together they formed a jarring mess.

None of the poker players - two men and three dogs - cared about the bad fengshui. Their eyes were glued to the cards in their hands or paws. Jack could see a frown tugging at Hartling's lips. The other human, a dog-headed Zoan user, shared the same disdain.

"Arf, arf," the pekinese complained.

The bulldog snorted loudly while the collie threw his cards onto the table with a whine. Jo Hartling followed suit. He slammed his fists violently, making his bound chest jiggle visibly in the fire light. Slumping backwards into his throne-like chair, the mercenary leader propped his feet up and spat into the brass spittoon.

"Fucking cheats! I knew you hadda rig 'em cards. We are playing dice next time we meet."

"Lax boss," the Jaipuran dog-man barked jovially. "Poker is good practice for the mind. You said it yourself."

Jo tilted his head back further to look at the waiter. "Aye, a drink oughta cheer us some."

He waved Jack over and ordered the man to serve the drinks. His caramel eyes watched the hands extra carefully as the glasses were passed to each companion. As Jack leaned over to serve his glass, Hartling grabbed that wrist.

"You're Laz's boy, ain't ya? What are you and that bloody fossil doin' sticking ya nose in my business. Goddamn you bloody thieves."

Jack made a long, slow blink. "I don't know how you know Lazarus, but I am not 'his boy' and I'd prefer you never use that context again. And I'm not here because of thieves-- I have a business proposition. On behalf of my crew."

His hand splayed out in Jo's grip. "So are you going to let me go and pour you a drink, or are we going to have a problem?"

Jack's false smile turned cold, almost as if he'd welcome things to escalate.

Amusement crept into Jo's eyes at that firm denial. He distinctly remembered seeing a younger version of Jack walking by the Master Thief's side in Guildtown. "I've seen you and him walking through town. He keeps calling you his grandson because he's banging your Ma Song. Still gonna deny that, young 'un?"

Hartling ignored the irony of his words. He doubted Jack knew they were less than three years apart. About 32 moons to be precise. He knew Jack this well because they were adopted children of guild leaders. Kinda. Back then his dad introduced him as Josphine or lil' Josie.

"I didn't deny I knew him or that we have a connection. I just don't like the insinuation that I'm part of his bloodline."

He loosened his grip on the Stardusk's wrist and drawled. "Nah, a'int got a problem here. Not if I wanna court your sister. Say, how's pretty Cassidy? Last I heard she writes you often. Put in a good word for me and I'll consider any propos you give me."

Erkbal yapped like a crazed Chihuahua, thumping his fists on the table. His doggy henchman joined in the laughter. The shrillness set the human teeth on edge. Jo knew better than to compete with his raucous bodyguard; he leaned forward and slapped the man across his furry face.

"Shut your yapper. O'cuz I'd seek his approval. He's the oldest man in her family. Gotta do this all proper like. Pa raised me ta be a gent."

Jack poured the drinks, as he said he would, but a clearly defined line pressed into his lips as the man talked. Who the fuck is he? He wracked his brain for answers. The mercenary leader spoke of people he hadn't seen in years and barely talked to. Cassidy… If she really had written him letters, he hadn't received one in a long while.

The thought worried him but he pushed it aside as Jo hit one of the half-dog men, while helping himself to a drink. "Cassi? If you truly know her, then you'd know we're not exactly close. We barely became siblings before I left. I'm not about to speak for her."

"Can try, can't I?"

Jackie shifted uncomfortably inside Jack's pocket when she woke up to the sound of barking. She popped her head out nervously and the collie spotted her immediately. Both animals froze as their instincts stirred. Jackie reacted first. She let loose a panicky meow, scampered up the chef's shoulders and jumped down his shirt.

Immediately the three dogs leaped off their seats and bounded for Jack. Erkbal barely made it in time; his muscular arms straining to keep them away from this cat-lover. The merc bared his own canines.

"Ballsy of you to bring a cat into a dog fight, son. Best you step aside while I get my pack outta here."

Jo shoved Jack behind his seat as Erkbal passed them, losing his grip in the process. He tilted his head up again. "Cat, uh? I thought you had a ratty hog called Beatrice II or some ship name. Never thought you to be a cat person nor a Julius McLauren the second."

Jack dodged Jo's reach, and that of the dogs, as neatly as his captain would have. He plopped down in a now-vacant seat and soothed the quivering mass of fur. "Admittedly, I didn't know what to expect coming here. I was… unceremoniously dropped here, you could say." Thanks a lot, Sid.

Sighing, he rubbed the side of his temple. "As it is I'm not here to talk about… whatever connection you think you have with me… but rather a business deal. Specifically, one that Sor should have already reached out to you about. He is the one who pointed us to you after all.

"Hm? Strange I know ya and you don't know me. Jackie boy, you a'int that old. But I'm listening if it gets me a chance with your sister. Have a drink while you're at it."

Jo dispensed two fresh low balls with a liberal amount of scotch. He pushed one towards his fellow Norjan and drained his own with a single gulp. He poured a second one.

"You mercenaries of the Circle aren't big with outsiders, as far I know. Not the more powerful ones at any rate. We're hoping to recruit a few of the Nomads, such as yourself, to our cause. We're looking to… save a friend. We're willing to do a favor for you in return for your help. We scratch your back and you scratch ours. That's the law here… isn't it?"

"I already said my desire, Jackie. That pretty sister of yours. A date with her." He tapped his chin as he realised Laz's kid left himself wide open. He grinned the same grin he used to have when he pulled a fast one over a much younger Jack. "But, you're right. This calls for something more serious, a way to win my men over."

He watched the Jackal's expression keenly; there seems to be some glimmer of recognition. He tippled more scotch into the kid's not so empty glass. He sensed a watchfulness that came with experience.

"There's this goose terrorizing merchants enroute to the marketplace. She's a sneaky lil' devil, always evading our traps. Help me catch her and turn her into a merry feast for twelve. With food, I'm sure my men and connections will be willing to rally around you."

Jo chuckled, slapping the man on his back. "Simple, eh?"

Jack stared. Arms crossed, one leg propped on the other, his face unreadable as a blank page. His eyes glued onto Jo. He stared some more. And some more. Never blinking. Never wavering.

"A goose. You… want me… to kill a goose." He sucked in a breath. "Is this a joke? Did I offend Sor in some manner? To have him dump me into your lap, the one fucking person who has the audacity to bring my family up out of the blue-- I don't even know you-- and now you want to me to kill a goose!? Sid!"

His sudden shout startled poor Jackie the cat. He put a hand over her quivering mass in his shirt as he stood up and leaned closer to the man.

"Give me one good reason why I should believe a single thing rolling off that tongue. For all I know, you intend my family harm and I should kill you here and now."

"Damn, son. You don't recognize me, do ya?" Jo whistled, absorbing all that anger with relish. Jack had always been fun to provoke. That part never changed. "Does Master Merc, Sir Hartling, ring a bell? How about "play dates" at the Lotus Blossom? Two of us boys sulking in a corner while my Pa and your Mas talked."

Those caramel eyes melted in Jack's; they were searching for a sign of recognition. "How about the day I told ya to ignore those holier-than-thou brats who threw stones at ya?"

"People change, lil Josie," Jack whispered back, "In more ways than one. If you wanted to be genuine in our interactions, you would have introduced yourself properly. Not throw my family in my face and expect a cordial response."

"Name's Joseph, Jack," Jo warned.

The merc leader shrugged irritably and took up his glass again. He noticed a second shadow behind Jack, a slim figure who shifted his weight from foot to foot. Joseph pointed. "That's Sid? I don't know any man under me by that name."

Cedric stepped out reluctantly from his safe spot. He narrowed his eyes at Jo; he was sorely tempted to tell the man off for wasting their time. He might have if it wouldn't jeopardize their mission.

He chewed his lower lip and rested a staying hand on his older brother's shoulder. "Bon, you're the first to piss Jack off so much. Surely the goose was not necessary."

Jo hunched over with a gut rippling laugh. His arms curling around his belly, emphasising his natural body. An effect he might not be aware of. "Not necessary? Ho noooooo. Jackie boy here offered something big in return for our loyalty. And, you being a thief, should know money talks, eh?"

Sid blinked back his surprise. He assumed most people would only think of him as a lowly member of l'capitaine's crew. His old life was merely a consequence and nothing he felt would come back and haunt them. He tilted his head to the side.

"A thief?"

"Bounty hunter, assassin, whatever your preferred job title. I know you helped round up people destined for Kane'Artem. Some of Pa's finest worked with you before on that fossil's recommendation."

A second shrug followed. "You ex-Trov spies never thought people can learn as much about ya? Ha! Info is never selfish. Anyone can get it."

"Your point being?" Sid queried.

"Nothing. Just letting you know I'm serious about that goose. She's even more valuable than one that pops golden eggs. A complete mishap, of course. But I wanna see how you handle this and decide."

Sid waited for Jack to prod more. When his fére remained silent, the younger man was forced to continue. "Valuable how?"

Jo reached into his shirt and yanked at the thing around his neck. He tossed it across the table; letting the sea stone coin stop neatly in front of Jack. "That valuable. I'll let you fill me in on the details after."

Jack's nostrils flared. He gave a curt nod. "Fine. We'll do it. But you'll need to grab that coin, Sid."

"Happy huntin'. Spirits knows you need all the luck you can get. Anyho, I'll be right here waiting for that feast."

------------------------------------------​

Chapter II: We're Going On A Duck Hunt

Sid crossed his arms as he sat beside Farmer Jack on a narrow driver's seat. They were practically shoulder to shoulder; their bones grating against each other with jolt. He leaned away but Jack's sweat remained slicking down his cool skin. Cedric grimaced.

"First, why these clothes? You're sweating like a pig. Second, sugarcane? Really?" he moaned in Trovalian.

The cats were much happier with the arrangement. Chester curled into a fur mound on top of the strapped down sugarcane pile; his sisters were busy playing hide-and-seek. Their happy mews kept Sid's mood afloat. He allowed them to pull him into their little game through the fleeting image in his mind. He leaned over, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Bon, un canard diable. L'folie ne finira-t-elle jamais?" (Gods, why an evil duck of all things? I must be dreaming.)

He spotted the burnt signboard announcing their entry into demon duck territory; a freshly painted plank nailed to the same pole screamed "Beware of Fowl". Images of angry ducks chasing them filled Sid's mind, memories from their apple picking days in Trovale, and he rubbed his bottom. He was suddenly glad they weren't tasked with collecting eggs from nesting ducks.

"Do you think Hartling knew about the Mama Ducks? Or maybe he knows you have the Haki to deal with this devil fruit duck?" the younger brother speculated.

"More like a problem that he doesn't want his men to handle," Jack remarked drily. He called the horses to a halt and looked around.

The duck's "territory" was marked more than by a mere sign; marks of fire and cool lava destroyed the natural green forest. Burnt stumps poked out of black rock, creating a field of dead and dying. Jack noticed puffs of fire still flickering. The heat certainly increased since they left Jo's town.

Jack crossed his arms and surveyed the field as he continued.

"I've been thinking: The Devil's Circle has a known prejudice against fruit users. Anyone who lives or is passing through here -- mercs included -- are at risk if they have any association with users. Whether they are one, or have helped one… or possessed a fruit without destroying it.

"Jo's people are on the fringe, so it stands to reason they can get away with those kinds of associations without attracting Relias' attention. My guess is they had a Mag-Mag fruit that, by sheer carelessness, got too close to their uncooked dinner. Hence… this."

Jack waved a hand at the destruction. He scratched a cheek then shrugged. "Or the man is fucking with me for not giving him what he wants. I don't know. Doesn't matter, as long as we get his men to find Isari. Come on."

Sid blinked in confusion. Honestly, these devil fruits have such inelegant names. Worse yet, not every name was immediately comprehensive. "A what fruit? I'm guessing mag refers to the cooling doom and not magenta or something more pleasant."

Jack's other points were accepted without question. Although, for a brief moment, he sputtered with laughter at the thought of the 'uncooked dinner' eating the Mag-Mag fruit. He imagined identical looks of horror crossing the faces gathered there. Most of the people in that imaginary kitchen looked like Luro clones for some reason.

Hopping out of the wagon, the older brother unharnessed the horses and picketed near a patch of healthy grass beyond the duck's area. He returned to the wagon, pulling off the blanket from their weapons, and grabbed the rifle he'd "borrowed" from Hartling's men. A bag of bullets went on his knife bandolier; which went on his chest and the butterfly knives at his back.

"Do you have the basket of oranges we bought?" Jack asked as he adjusted everything on his person.

"Duck à l'orange? Too fancy for outdoors cooking unless you are Madame Du Vontiago's personal chef. I hear he follows her on missions."

Sid jumped off the wagon and pulled the basket of oranges towards him. His slim arms strained visibly as the summoner waddled towards Jack. He huffed loudly, dropping his cargo at the man's feet. "There better be guns and bullets in here. It weighs as much as the sacks of rice in the kitchen."

Jack chuckled. "They're important, trust me. C'mon." He said as he walked into the duck territory.

Farther into the territory revealed more green, less magma damage-- but there was never a point where it truly vanished. At the heart was a large pond. Their query rested there, drifting peacefully along the still waters while cleaning his feathers. Occasionally, it'd ruffle up, croak, and cough up a glowing orange blob. It hissed as it made contact with the water, then sunk as a cooling rock. The goose watched then returned to it's grooming.

"Forgive me, Jack. I thought Devil Fruit users can't swim. Unless that was only applicable to humans and waterfowl form a special category of their own."

The tailor gestured towards the swimming goose. This anomaly cut their options down since a few of their better plans involved turning said fowl into melting blob in water. Sid crossed his arms and tapped the sides. He tried his best to remember his lessons on duck physiology. Most of the memories revolved carving a dead-and-already-cooked bird. He grimaced lightly, á l'orange or not, he still didn't like duck.

"We need to do something about the feathers. You told me many times that they repel water and keep ducks afloat."

"Don't you remember the time we visited the fresh spring with Adelaide? Salt water affects the users, not fresh—"

Jack suddenly stopped and grabbed Sid. They dove behind a boulder as a spew of lava splashed where they once stood. The goose came flapping from the bank, croaking her fury at the trespassers.

"Ngaaaap, ngaaaaaapiiii!" she threatened each time either brother peeked from behind the boulder.

"Now I know why you like duck. Eating them rids the world of intelligent demons who plot our demise." Sid commented dramatically. "Look at those eyes! They make angry Scorpiox look like a kitten in comparison."

Grunting in response, Jack swung his rifle into his hands and began loading it.

Jackie appeared suddenly on Jack's knee. She dug her tiny claws into the cloth quickly when he almost threw her off. She mewed piteously and stared sadly at him. Her begging resulted in her being scooped into his hands and put into his pocket. Chester faded into existence like a Cheshire Cat. His weight increasing - starting from a gentle press - on top of Jack's head. Chaos was a little less evil. She simply winked into existence on Sid's shoulder, startling the man for less than a second.

"Meow."

"Mao."

The older cats licked their lips as they stared at yet another bird. Their predatory instincts seemed to suppress common sense. Neither realising how much bigger the bird was compared to Chester. Probably neither cared.

Sid facepalmed. "Urgh, no. This bird isn't Coral Pearl. You can't just …. Oh, actually!"

His eyes strayed to Jack's arms. "Can't you Haki punch that duck and be done with this mess? I don't want to linger in this sulphur pit any longer."

He had never been the most attentive student during Scorpiox' lectures. The man had the most boring teacher's voice that lulled even the most enthusiastic trainee into a dazed stupor. Cedric only retained two nuggets of information from the introduction - devil fruit users can't swim and Haki is effective against these people. After that, the man monologued about spells being dicey since you may not know the counter element … or something. He was sure he missed a lot since that three-hour theory lesson took place on a very pleasant summer afternoon.

"Ge' off!" Jack flailed his arms at Chester. The sudden weight on his head was the last thing he wanted as he shouldered the rifle. His glared at his brother.

"You honestly want me to run full-speed at a magma-vomiting demon and punch it in its bill? Are you trying to kill me?"

Before Sid could respond, a thin and distinct shadow loomed over them. The brothers looked up. The goose opened her mouth as if to smile at them, until they saw the telltale glow grow from the back of her throat.

"Move!" Jack yelled.

They dodged in separate directions, their safe haven turning into a lava pit. Mag-mag goose hopped up and down on the boulder, screeching her triumphant with stretched out wings. Sid would have to avoid the long wingspan or risk a concussion from the powerful blows.

Jack shouted at Sid from across the pond. "Distract so I can shoot it! And don't let it melt those oranges!"

White light flashed from Cedric's outstretched palm; the glare shorted the goose's vision and caused her to miss. She retaliated by spewing a jet of liquid fire at the barrier. Waves of cooling slag flowed down the side, leaving Sid sweaty but unharmed underneath. He couldn't budge without shattering the shield, a gambit he was going to have to take soon.

The reason being his brother's orange d'merde. He had no idea why Jack wanted them safe; or rather, he should but he hadn't been paying attention earlier. His brother's sweaty skin against his own annoyed him so much. Sid sucked in his breath and cussed. Jack owed him peanut butter sandwiches for an entire week for this stunt.

Reaching into his pouch with his right hand, Sid crested the edges with his fingers and selected two cards. He clamped onto one with his teeth while slamming its partner into the barrier. A searing beam shattered his protection and fired brilliantly into the sky. The glare was so intense that all vision was lost. Jack's shout of pain made Sid realise his mistake a bit too late.

The summoner didn't waste time apologizing; not when there were oranges to save. He drew his summoning card into his mouth and bit down. Sparks clashed against the enamel of his teeth and Sid spat out the card as it exploded.

A large, tentacled blob of darkness cocooned the canard diable (evil duck) and pinned her wings firmly behind her back. She flew to the ground completely in a tarry heap. Her rage turned volcanic. The feathery body turned into a large flaming mess, spreading in all directions.

Cedric's blindly dashed for and dove into the cool waters in the nick of time. His current refuge started bubbling as the still-dazed thief swam towards the fruit bobbing on the surface. He estimated he had less than fifteen minutes to exit before he turned into Sid á l'orange. In his mind, he could hear the panicked calls of his familiars; their cries egged him to move faster and get their aeters out of harm's way.

Everything turned into an adrenaline blur. Sid grabbed as many oranges as he could keep afloat in his shirt, swam to shore and scrambled out. His milky skin turned a rosy pink with highlights of lobster red; he knew it had to be a bad sign that he couldn't feel any pain. He shoved his worry aside, figuring that Madame Doctor would fix their injuries once they returned to the ship.

He hung around, far from the edge of the lake, and surveyed the destruction. His concern lay with his brother who might have been hurt in that eruption earlier. He was torn between calling out to the man or staying quietly in this spot.

He decided to make a second bet, having noticed the magma pool turning back into the goose. "Fère, est-ce que ça va? (Brother, are you okay?)

The amount of incomprehensible swearing answered Sid. "Cedric! How am I supposed to shoot the thing when you're blinding me?"

The distraction Jack requested hadn't been what he planned, but beside his obvious contention, he wasn't about to argue with the results. Glaring spots stll obstructing his vision, Jack popped up from behind another boulder and took aim at that bounded goose. Haki painted the barrel of his rifle. He fired.

He missed.

The ground next to the goose exploded into a crater. It screamed as it sailed through the air and landed roughly, but alive. Jack cursed. From his shirt, Jackie chittered worriedly.

"Shush! I'm sorry, I'm no Luro," he snapped. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get his vision to rework itself. That only made it worse-- his next shot only pelted the goose with debris and a third bounced it around the pond.

Jack's swearing filled the entire area like the ghost of Hoshi North had possessed him. He tossed the gun aside, not daring to take the time to reload it again, as he saw the goose starting to break free of Sid's spell.

Cedric stemmed his shouting when Jack's plan became obvious. The younger brother realized that his spell was about to break so he'd better keep the monster distracted. Leaping up, Sid grabbed one of the rescued fruit and fished for that sea stone coin. He made the tiniest slit and pushed it in.

He gripped this orange in his left hand and grabbed a new one in his right. He figured one or two sacrifices had to be made regardless of what Jack felt about these round bastards. He couldn't afford missing his precious shot.

"Oi! Look here you ugly shit," he yelled in Trovalian.

The thing threshed harder and, on whim, Sid shattered his spell. Mag-mag fury flew his way but the torrent couldn't reach halfway across the lake. Intelligent duck eyes narrowed and the goose jumped into the lake; she swam towards the summoner with determined fury.

The man chucked the spare orange at her head. She caught the fruit with her beak, crushed it and swallowed most of it. He aimed for her head again with the same result. Confident that she'd snag the next fruit, Sid pulled his hand back and pitched the sea stone orange.

Yellow beak snapped around the edges, slit side towards her mouth, and the goose pulped the orange. After swallowing, she gagged. A strange object, hard and round, had difficulty passing down her gullet. The goose strained her neck in agony until the coin flipped on its short edge and passed safely into her stomach.

She cackled and popped her bill open. Her chest expanded visibly; she tossed her head forward and blew. A turbulent wheeze greeted Sid. Puzzled, the hell's fury snapped her beak shut. She puffed experimentally, releasing more wheezy breaths. Fear crept into her eyes as the goose realized she lost her only weapon.

Cedric crossed his arms with a self-satisfied smirk. His eyes trailing to Jack standing ankle deep in heated water. Luro's strange glove was covering his brother's fist. Sid raised an eyebrow; he wondered if this was the fire or the ice glove. He shrugged and sank down beside the remaining oranges nestled in his shirt.

Chaos and Chester joined their master. Both of them didn't mind sharing his bony lap as long as they got to watch the bird's demise. Anticipatory meows rumbled in their furry throats when they saw Jack floating like a crocodile behind the bird. Sid chuckled while he patted their heads; today, he shared their savage glee.

Jack's hand twisted in the familiar gesture to activate his glove. But after a moment's hesitation, he dipped his fingers into the pool. A soft mist spread out and cooled the water. His other hand grabbed a throwing knife from his bandolier.

With a flick of his wrist, the haki-fused weapon sank into the duck's back, ending its suffering and menace.

Jack waded out of the water, holding the fowl by its neck. "Are those all the oranges you have left? Dump them out." he ordered Sid.

He bent over them, staring intently for several long seconds. Then he grinned and pointed to one near Sid's knee. Before their eyes, the fruit transformed. It grew larger and black, with a bright red pattern to it. A yellow stem curled out of its top.

"When a Fruit User dies, their power tends to transfer to the closest fruit that resembles it. I give you the Magma-Magma fruit."

Picking it up, Jack turned it side to side and grinned at Sid. "One bite is all it takes to gain its power-- though some people insist on eating the whole thing. Adelaide did. I'd say Jo doesn't need to know about this… do you?" He paused then offered the fruit to Sid. "Unless you'd like the power for yourself, baby brother."

Eyes flicked from the dead goose at Jack's feet to the fruit in his hands. Cedric's mind started calculating the amount of profit to be had in the upcoming fight and a hungry smirk danced on his lips. He pushed the fruit back towards his big brother with a shake of his head.

"I like swimming in the ocean and tasting food no matter how plain. This power, with all the drawbacks, is not what I need. Imagine feeling your stomach on fire all the time, non. Fére, please help yourself if you wish. Jo will never know."

He could see Jack tensing up at his look earlier. An exasperated sigh escaped those lips as his sibling tried to figure out his latest money-racking scheme. Sid's smirk widened into a smile. "During Isari's rescue, we should have fruits nearby. Picture the profits flooding in after we start selling them on the black market. It will make the effort worthwhile --- what, Jack?"

*******​

Chapter III: Goose, Goose … Duck?

"-- anyways, we've delivered the duck as promised. Completed our end of the deal. Will you commit your men to us?"

Singed, bruised, and miserable, Jack sat next to Jo Hartling and Sid, nursing a mug of mead and stared intently at the mercenary. From the kitchen, he could smell the cooking duck. They had relayed everything that happened, minus the acquisition of the Magma-Magma Fruit. To Jo's credit, the death of the duck was greeted with high spirits-- they could hear people cheering about the feathered menace's demise.

Lucky for them Relias never heard about them. From what I heard, he'd wipe out the entire town for what they did. Jack mused behind a sip of mead.

"A deal's a deal, Jackie boy. O'cuz we would join you. Never said I wouldn't even 'fore this. You offered so I took."

Jo punched his old acquaintance in the arm and got a sharp hiss in return. He apologized gruffly then turned back to his own drink, a stinking flagon of cheapest beer. The leader greeted his men with jovial shouts and reminded them of the feast.

He turned back to Jack and clinked their drinks. An arm shot around those hunched shoulders and he bent closer. He reached over with his free hand and knuckled that fluff head. "Join us, will ya? A'int your cooking but Jeri can make a mean bird. Says a lot that he is with me all this time. You too, ya?"

The merc leader finger-gunned at Sid. He winked at the young man without getting even the slightest rise. He huffed, realising the brothers were likely to decline. "I did tell ya my connections will be here. They have men under 'em too. I can vouch for both sides. So, waddaya say? Dinner on me?"

Cedric shifted closer to Jack as someone else joined the bar. He gave the older man a resigned look that said he was willing to tolerate this additional if they reaped the benefit. He lifted his cup of tea elegantly and took a measured sip.

He replaced the cup gently onto the chipped saucer then faced Jack's nightmare friend. "Jack decides. I admit you made the offer more tempting than your duck hunt."

"Duck hunt, ha! Yeah we do what we can to lay low cuz we lack the men to put up a fight," Jo commented with a shrug. "Hope Jack learned from his mistake. 'Twas a rookie one when it comes to negotiating."

Sid inclined his head politely. "Oh, he'll remember."

Jack drained the rest of his mug. "We'll stay. Only to get the extra support."

Zilia owes me after this, he added to himself.

"That's settled then. Save for one last thing."

Before Jack could roll his eyes, Joseph slid a letter addressed to Cassidy over. The mercenary winked and pressed a finger to his lips. "S'long as this gets to that fossil it'll reach Cassi. Heard she ran off with him to find adventure. Must say it makes me adore that angel even more."

"You know, I have no idea what she sees in you," Jack said with a sour expression. He took the letter anyways. "So no promises on what will happen though. Have I mentioned it's been 10 years?"

"A couple. N'way let's get to the feast room. I see Jeri a'coming with the gong."

 

[SilentxChaos]

Collab bet'w @Mizos and @SilentxChaos

​

​

Ria sat in a yawl adjusting the sails on the ship before turning and looking in the direction the ship was sailing. A small island rested in the distance and grabbing the map at her feet she double checked their bearings. With a small nod she set the map aside, they would reach their destination before darkness set in, the orange tinted sky above would be black soon but that was for the best, this kind of mission should be done when night was approaching.
If there was one concern Ria had about the time it was the sleeping body behind her.
Ria turned to the slumbering Jack in her boat, currently covered with a cover, she stared at him for a long moment wondering if he would be surprised. To him it was morning when he was awake but it would be evening, Ria brought a hand to her chin wondering if she put too much of the sleep agent in the tea.

Putting the thought aside as Jack had agreed to help before she drugged him, she opened a nearby box slipping a glove over her hand. Reaching inside she pulled out a rather rancid smelling mushroom, leaning away from the scent before tying it to a fishing line. Sitting on the opposite side of the boat she held the mushroom over Jack's face, the stench would hopefully wake him up, if not she had an apology to say to Stardusk later.

There was a snort and a lazy hand that tried to push away the mushroom, but missed. Jack sniffed, turned over, then sputtered and coughed as the stench finally reached his sleeping mind.

"Agh!" Jack roughly pushed it away and sat up roughly, making the boat to rock. The sharp movement caused a spike of pain in his skull. "Wha-- why does my head hurt..."

Jack squinted at Ria. He looked from her face to the mushroom, then around them. Eyebrows shot up when he saw the night sky. They immediately crouched as he glowered back at Ria. "Really?"

The last memories resurfaced through a pounding headache, and he could only presume he'd been drugged by the very person who asked for his help. With disappointment clearly written on his face, dramatized due to Jack's own annoyance, the man reached over for a water flask and gulped deeply from it to quench his parched throat. He took his time between that and nursing the headache and grabbing a piece of jerky from his waistcoat to nibble on. Their eyes didn't meet for several minutes.

"Where are we, exactly?" He asked eventually.

Ria only offered a small nod at Jack's inquiry making no attempt to hide her actions, she always wanted to be honest with Jack, and this was no exception.
"You did….agree…" she said simply. "Nina….has food...handled."
Picking up on his question she pointed to a point on a nearby map, the ship was circled in a spot and they were a fair bit away from it going by their current position. There was an island nearby which was more than likely their destination.

"Almost forgot…I'll…deliver the…message…"
Ria held her hand up a mask forming in it before she brought it to her face, the mask flashed brightly for a moment before black hair burst out of it, forming into the familiar ponytail of their informant.
"All right where to begin here Stardusk," Sor's voice came through the mask as Ria leaned forward a bit.
"Oh this is for Jack especially? Ah he'll appreciate extra information. Well given that we're helping each other I'll give you a discount."

Ria paused for a moment more than likely where she had to hand Sor the money and he took the time to count.
"All right so here's the thing, you guys are not liked here. Your mercenary friends too. You see those who come in the circle only stay if they got nothing on the outside, they make new lives here. Long story short they don't like outsiders, doesn't matter if they know you or not, trust me on this I've seen old friends shoot each other without a second thought. You come in this place you let go…well most do."
Ria offered a small shrug here as Sor had done so.
"They don't like people who aren't denizens of the Circle. Thankfully you have me and I put in a good word for you so they accepted your money…but that's all they accepted. I would advise you do them a favor as well, even better if Stardusk helps. You see in the circle you do people favors. Promises and all that don't matter here…not without trust and you guys are nowhere near earning that trust. One or two jobs won't do it either so don't expect it after this."

Ria paused here and pretended to put a piece of what could only be assumed as cake before continuing.
"Which I'm sure raises the question as to why you're doing this in the first place. Well that's because favors are repaid here, it's an unwritten law. If you scratch their back they'll scratch yours. You guys are clearly getting into trouble and pulling them into it. Doing them a favor now is the difference between them abandoning you when things get bad and sticking around for five more minutes. Keep in mind that your relationship is dictated by how much you give them, they're not going to do you any extra favors…that's now how it works here. You get as much as you give. Never forget that. Jack…your Captain is quite the free spirit…and I think a little too trusting personally. I like that about her but just keep in mind very few here are going to help you out of the goodness of their hearts, they'll watch you bleed out once they fulfill their end of the bargain. I left a lot of information with this one so just talk to her…she asked…so many questions… so slowly…."
Ria offered a shrug and a shake of her head.
"The information for the job is with the creepy one here. She has the papers covering what they need. Best of luck to you both. Oh and thanks for killing Yuli, that's one less thing to deal with. The extra was for that."
Ria reached up and removed the mask the hair seeping back into it, the mask dissipated in her hand as she looked back at Jack.
"That…is the….long and…short of it…"

"For you, it's the long or the longer." Jack sat back in the boat, contemplating what Sor had said, and the map, before rolling it up. Their so-called "help" sounded to be as dangerous as they would be useful. He didn't trust that but at least they had a semblance of what they were getting into. For once.

He handed the map back to Ria.

"It seems we were doing many people a favor by killing her," Jack continued as he turned towards the general direction of the island they were heading for. "Do you think we made the right call?"


Ria tilted her head at Jack not sure what he meant by his comment but she could take a guess what he was thinking considering the information. There was a cautiousness that came with approaching these people, this job would cement their favor, but how much and for how long was a question they'd only find out when everything fell apart. It was not a good situation but it was better than the other option, the best of a worst situation.
She took the map back making a mental note of their location and how close they actually were.

When Jack spoke again however she raised her head to him, her tired eyelids narrowed just a little more at the question. She closed her eyes letting the question hang between them for a moment, folding her hands together a small 'hmm' escaping from her.
Looking back at Jack she held her hand out, Yuli's mask forming in her hand.
"Quills….are dangerous…..able to….recreate….organization….or form….new one…." Ria said staring at the skull. "Yuli…was possibility….not like…that…but…"
The mask shifted into another one, a strange one where a smile adorned one side, a frown on the other.
"In the end….we made…a choice….to protect….right or….wrong…we fought…to keep what….is precious… no shame...in that..."
The mask disappeared from her hand and she glanced back as the island drew closer.
"You did not….draw her….blood needlessly….if it…burdens you…then let me…share it….I helped….too…"

"I know how you want to share my burdens. Thank you, but no thanks." Jack smiled, letting her know he was only half-joking. He leaned back into a more comfortable position. "It's alright. I'm not… I don't actually regret what happened. Good or bad, I guess we'll only have to wait and see."

He looked at the mask in her hands. It brought vivid memories back when they fought and she'd worn his own mask. Him fighting himself. It felt poetic at the time.

"How do you create your masks?" he asked her.

Ria tilted her head slightly at Jack, her expression the same but she seemed a little bit relieved that he was fine. Quills existing in the world was a complicated matter, but she knew firsthand what they could do, and little good would come from allowing one to run rampant. She felt those words were unnecessary however and only offered a nod at observing what would happen. At the very least there was one less obstacle to regaining Isari, that was enough.

Ria went to grab the map only to stop at Jack's question, she stared at him for a moment, blinking a few times as she replayed the question in her mind.
Pulling her hand back she held it palm up, a glow forming before another mask formed within it again.
"…it's hard….to put…into words…"
Ria stared at the mask reaching over and taking it into both hands.
"….it's like….taking a piece….of what….I've taken from…another….and giving it….shape….all the….memories….every….action taken…every dream….lost….every dream…fulfilled….hopes…..despair….happiness and sadness…love….anger….all pulled into…one object…."

Ria ran her fingers over the front of the mask, her eyelids lowering slightly.
"It only…forms properly….if I…remember….but….I always….remember…."
The mask dissipated from her hand and she looked back at Jack.
"…the more…I understand….the better…the mask….the shape….it does…on it's…own…they…can change….I still…don't fully….understand…."
Ria gave a small nod at this.
"Made first one….by accident….and…my own mask…..is…."
Ria went silent at this and gently shook her head.
"Not…important…..masks are….representations….so….I need to….understand…what they…represent…then…I tap into….that understanding…and it forms…"
Ria glanced over her shoulder.
"We will…arrive soon….do you…need to…understand mission…"

Sobriety lined the scars around Jack's eyes as he listened to her. He knew from experience that complete understanding of a person was hard to come by. Perhaps impossible. He wondered if she had any perfected masks… and how far she'd come with his. It did feel off putting to hear what it took to make one of those, and knowing she'd somehow made his before he even met her. The depth of her knowledge made him want to shiver-- but he suppressed it. Their fight revealed much about both of them. And if he ever wanted to accept her presence, he'd have to accept that he could never truly best her stealthy ways.

He sat up, putting a cigarillo in his mouth. "...no. I'll follow your lead. Just-- don't knock me out again. Or make me dress up in ridiculous outfits."

Patting his waistcoat, he glanced around the boat then at Ria. "I don't suppose you grabbed my glasses, did you?"

"Stardusk are supposed….to take….lead….on missions….but I will…..take that…..as an….order...to lead…." Ria said as the boat hit the shore. "No...promises...on outfits…"
It was hard to tell if Ria was joking as she hopped out of the boat and pulled it more onto the beach, at Jack's question she dug in her pocket and handed him a pair of glasses.
"Jack….almost forget….your mask….has slipped…..since we last….met….but...I like….this Jack more…."
Ria stared at Jack and there seemed to be a bit more life in the woman's eyes, past the dark circles under her them but it faded quickly as she turned back towards the forest.
"...need to...rescue person….should hurry."

Ria weaved through the forest stopping as patrols walked by, men dressed in outfits that would look familiar to Jack. Relias people wandered through the forest going on about their most recent escapades. Ria brought a finger to her lips as the men passed, keeping her body low in the bushes, once they were though she made a motion with her hand and continued forward.
After avoiding a few more patrols they finally made it to a small clearing, within it was a camp similar to the one they had found on the island, albeit smaller.

Though in the center of the camp was a large square object made of what looked like glass, some of the men were pouring buckets of water into it, filling it until it was at the top.
The large pool stood out but the young man currently tied over it stood out more, he struggled in his confines his eyes staring down at the water. He grit his teeth and eventually stopped struggling after the water hit a certain level. He was tied to what looked like a pulley, ready at a moments notice to lower him into the water.
The building around them matched the barracks from the previous camps, though there was one larger building past the pool that seemed more like a house than anything else.
There were numerous guards surrounding the area, and archers trained on the top of roofs and the walls surrounding them keeping an eye on the place from a bird's eye view.

"We have...to rescue...him…" Ria said pointing at the captive young man. "....take out...archers...first...they can...shoot rope….Hunter...is rumored...to be here…"
Ria said this looking down at the guards, a man with wavy black hair stood commanding his men.
"Make sure the south exit is covered!" he shouted pointing his spear in the direction. "After that last attack we have to make sure our camps our locked down! We will not disappoint Relias!"
Ria stared down at the commander before looking over at Jack.
"Once archers...are taken...down….I will...support...from...top...while you...approach...pulley…"
Ria said this motioning to one of the archers as the place she'd be lingering.
"Good...luck…"
Ria said before hopping down from their spot into the wall and moving towards the left side of it.


"You too," Jack whispered back. He moved in time, and away from her, keeping an eye to the walls. The guards knew what they were doing. Sentries posted at even paces with arrows notched and ready at the hint of danger. Jack crouched among shadowy foliage and watched for a time. It was hard to say when the next shift change would occur, and he doubted he had time to wait. Not with that man's life literally hanging in the balance.

Using darkness and dense greenery, Jack snuck over with two knives at the ready. He layered the weapons with haki and used them to scale the walls-- picking a spot out of the archers' line of sight. He hauled himself up, one painstaking minute at a time, until he reached the top. He crouched behind an arrow rack while catching his breath and palming knives into his hands. Then-- he got to work.

The first knife sailed and embedded into an archer's throat. He fell to his knees, clutching his throat. Jack ran up behind him with silent footsteps. He ended the man's life with a swift break and tossed his body over the wall too. He prayed that no wandering night patrols would see the corpses of their own men lining the camp, but he didn't want a random soldier finding the ones he took out, and hiding the bodies would take too much time. So he prayed-- and repeated the process.

After the final archer collapsed off a barrack roof top and into convenient shrubbery behind it, Jack positioned himself on the wall and above the pulley. He closed his eyes, made a quick plea that Ria was watching and ready, then made a running jump. He landed on the pulley's wooden structure, causing the thing to wobble and the captive man swaying by his rope.


Ria wrapped her chains around her arms and eyed her destination, her mouth moving as she mentally counted the steps she'd need to take to get over to her position. Giving a small nod she moved into the shadows, and made her approach. The slight jingle of chains echoed in the darkness for a moment, causing one of the arches to glance behind him, he noticed the sickle attached to the top of the wall a moment too late. A hand covered his mouth before a blade moved over his throat.
Ria made sure his moving ceased before throwing him over the back edge of the wall.

The second one was a little easier now that she was in a higher position, she kept her body low, slinking along the ground, her eyes watching the rising and falling of the man's chest. Slowly drawing closer her sickle falling into her hand once she was in range. A jingle echoed from behind the man and the archer turned only for a chain to wrap around his neck from behind, he glanced back only to see Ria kick him over the edge, a snap ringing out before Ria quickly unwrapped him, allowing the body to fall into the darkness below.
"…position…."

Ria upon reaching her destination noticed Jack and gave a nod seeing how close he had gotten, her eyes moved to the patrols and most were moving away from him. She expected no less and returned her sickles to her side.
When he landed on the pulley however she noticed something from behind him.
"How could you leave your bag in the barracks?"
"Look I'm sorry I got distracted."
The voices came from behind Jack as the guards had suddenly changed position.
"Hey you maggots! What are you doing? Get back to the north gate."
The guard Captain's voice echoed from nearby causing the men to quickly jump.
"B-but sir he lef-"
"I don't care what he left! Get back into position!"
"Y-yes sir!"
The guards promptly turned around and Ria removed a mask from her face letting it dissipate before giving a small nod to Jack as she continued to keep an eye out.

The young man above had noticed he was moving and looked over at the pulley expecting his in, he noticed Jack and blinked a few times seeing he wasn't wearing clothing similar to the other man.
He still seemed clearly tense, not sure what Jack was doing but remained still trying to gauge the situation as best he could.

Jack stayed still, expecting a raise of alarm the moment he landed on the pulley. When none came, he gave a cautious glance around and caught the man looking at him. He made a small wave and then started making his way down.

On the ground, he summoned his haki to his hands and pulled the pulley back. He was slow, agonizingly careful, not wanting to call too much attention by the swinging man. Not to mention the structure was heavy. Jack wondered if it was weighed by seastone. Once the man was just pass the edge of the pool, he came back around so the captive could see him. Jack smiled. He took out a knife, waved it, and then took aim at the rope.

One throw would cut it and drop the captive right into Jack's arms.

The wave seemed to offer some comfort to the youth, he tried not to focus on Jack not wanting to draw undue attention to him. The knife easily cut through the rope and the man fell, content that it wasn't into the pool.
Ria however tackled Jack out of the way of the falling man before he could catch him, something crashing into the structure where Jack had been standing.
Upon closer inspection it seemed to be a long spear, the top of which had caught the man who was currently hanging by his shirt on the handle. Muffled screams escaped from him as a woman landed next to the weapon.
"Someone's watching your back it seems."
Ria stared at Jack from her mounted position and pointed back at the woman who spoke.
"My apologies….she came...out of...nowhere…" she said before getting up.
The woman was dressed torso down in armor, almost befitting a knight. A red cloak hung over her shoulders stopping at the middle of her back. She reached up removing the hood off her head, revealing a stern looking young woman with dark grey hair.
Next to the dagger on her waist was an emblem hanging by a chain, of two swords crossed over a piece of fruit.
The woman's appearance had drawn the guards which had now surrounded the two, the woman sighed looking over at the User.
"This is….an issue…" Ria said eying the approaching guards. "Wait for...opening...Jack…"
"Jack?" the woman said her brows arching. "Jack Kunal?"
The woman dug in her pocket and pulled out a wanted poster, her eyes moving from Jack to the poster before a small nod escaped from her.
"Hunter Maria. It is good to see you," the commander said. "We were waiting for your arrival to execute that."
The commander pointed at the young man currently still hanging from her spear.
"...you were waiting for me?" Maria said arching a brow at them.
"Yes ma'am we-"
"There was no point in that."
The woman's interruption caused the man to flinch and fall silent.
"Lord Relias doesn't want shows, he wants results. A dead body would have been fine and far more efficient."
"Forgive me Hunter."
Maria sighed and grabbed the young man off her spear, Ria's sickles falling into her hand as she tossed the young man into the dirt in front of her.
"Do you intend on killing Kunal there?" Maria questioned looking at the man.
"The intruders? That is our intent."
"Good to know."
Maria swung her spear and Ria's eyes widened before she tackled Jack back to the ground, for a moment it appeared the spear had grown exponentially sweeping over the whole base.
Maria straightening herself after her blow before returning the spear to her back.
Every guard in the base stood frozen in place around them, eyes wide in shock as a long cut formed along the lines of the men's necks. Silent screams escaping from each soldier until their heads hit the sand followed by their bodies, leaving only the two intruders, the young man and the Hunter standing.
"Relias has business with you or rather Stardusk," Maria said her eyes moving over to Jack. "This lot had messed up one too many times anyway...they'll be a good example of what not to do. Having intruders get that close to a User will be good for the report so I thank you."
Maria turned away from the two.
"Do what you want with the kid, we'll get him back soon enough," Maria said raising a hand. "We'll see you soon Stardusk."
The woman vanished from sight and Ria eyed the spot she had left, she blinked a few times before moving over to the young man, removing his binds with her sickle.
"....Acted….rashly….ignore that….Jack," Ria said as she cut the ropes off the young man's feet. "Should meet….with mercenaries…report what...happened…"
"It's okay, Ria," replied Jack but he wasn't looking at her. He stared at the spot Maria last stood, thinking. Considering. Ignoring, for the moment, the bodies surrounding them.

She reminds me of Charlotte. The way she held herself and her effortless show of power. It was a small insight into who the Hunters were. They'll be as strong as the Sirens, to say the least. If she could do all this in a single stroke, it begs to wonder what else she can do.

Shaking his head, he bent and offered a hand to the User. He shrunk away, uncertain, until Jack offered a friendly smile. "It's alright. We're here to take you back home."

Warily, he took Jack's hand and was pulled to his feet. He received a clap on the back and was gently shoved towards the smaller, more creepier savior. He staggered forward, then to the side and away from her. Jack watched with some amusement as he pulled something out of his waistcoat. A black glove.

It was habit now. When Luro didn't need them, Jack kept one glove on him, just in case of emergencies. This wasn't one but it didn't deter him. "Are we in any immediate danger?" he started to ask Ria. He changed his mind and waved her answer away. "Go back to the shore with him and wait for me. I won't be long."

Jack triggered the glove and a ball of fire blossomed in his palm. He held it away from his body, and turned his attention back on the camp. "Go, Ria," he ordered.

*******​

Minutes after Ria and the User made it to the boat, the animals of the forest raised a ruckus. There was the smell of smoke and then a bright orange glow alighted the night sky. Following it was Jack, emerging from the woods. He was covered in soot and ash; muttering about tweaks that needed to be made as he peeled off his glove.

A curt nod signaled Ria it was time to cast off.

Their query hugged himself in the boat with eyes glued to the fire lit the sky. "Wh-what did you do?"

Jack paused, as if remembering the man was there. He glanced back at the trees. "There wasn't time to give them a proper burial, so I cremated them. I burned the whole thing down."

 

[Mizos]

​

Sor sat in the village square, his eyes shut and one arm hanging over the top of the bench he had chosen to rest on. It was another peaceful day in town, the singing birds, the bright blue sky above, the children playing nearby. He had just finished playing one of their games with them, but they had far more energy than he did so he left on his own sometime ago. He picked up the steaming tea sitting next to him and brought it to his lips, only to catch it in his mouth and quickly spit it out.
He coughed a bit before setting the cup back on the saucer.
"Yora…"
The moment he spoke her name the woman stepped out of the shadows, taking a place next to him.
"You called Sor?"
"...what is this?" Sor questioned motioning to the cup.
"Boiled mud water."
"...well that explains why it was orange," Sor said picking the cup up again. "I wanted tea."
"I wanted a normal boss, we can't have what we want in this world. Anyway Mills has a report."
Yora handed a paper to Sor, he arched a brow at the paper in his hand and looked it over.
"This soon? He just went out," Sor said.
"One of Relias camps has been destroyed."
Sor eyebrows arched for a moment but remembering where he was put his 'face' back on.

He glanced back at Yora, who stood next to him with the same calmness she always exhibited, though he could see her folded hands in front of her had formed into fists. He smiled a little at this before looking back over the paper, she was bad at hiding her happiness sometimes.
"The report covers what happened?"
"Yes. We have everything in detail."
"Good I'm looking forward to reading it," Sor said taking a sip from the cup.
He immediately spit it back out and shook his head.
"Mud water….right."


Some time ago at one of Relias' Camps

​

Luro released Alicia once they were close to the main camp, most of the Guides running towards the castle. He grinned happy to see there weren't many staying behind, at least enough to cause any real problem. Turning to Alicia he dug in his sleeve and set a key in Alicia's hand.
"I'm not sure if either of us can destroy Seastone...so I talked this key from the guard. He said I could take my pick from the cages to drag one out back to beat so it should work in all of them. They really trust these Hunter people, guess they already got a few kills under their belt."
A grin adorned Luro's face and he held up a finger.
"You're much faster than I am so I'll create a distraction to draw the ones that are still around away. That'll give you time to free them and get them somewhere safe. There's a guide boat near the entrance that they can use, it's hard to miss. It should be enough to hold all of them, I counted them while we walked through and it'll be a tight fit but it'll work."

Luro gave a small nod at this before motioning back towards the camp.
"I'm not good at that whole leading people and planning stuff so I'm leaving it to you. You got a more trustworthy face than me anyway. Once they're on the ship I'd appreciate it if you came back and helped me. The moment they're free and out of range I intend on going a little wild."
Luro turned towards the camp crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at those within the cages.
"...I may know a place they can go to nearby," Luro said as the smile on his face shrunk slightly. "With all I've done I don't have a right to go saying who should and shouldn't die...but there's nothing fun about killing people who can't fight back...I know that firsthand. So I want to make sure they get away safely."
Luro turned back to Alicia slightly and grinned at her.
"That's the general idea but if you have another plan we can go with that."

It was probably surprising that Alicia didn't even think to question what was happening or what Luro was doing when he took her arm and took her away from the others. At this point in their long adventures some things had become instinctual and she knew on some level that whatever his reason, it was important. She settled besides him a few moments after he stopped, her eyes falling upon the cages before turning to look up at the red haired giant as he placed a key in her hand.

She didn't know if she could cut seastone, it was something she'd intended to test herself on but seastone wasn't a common material they could find easily that would let her practice her blade against it. "Sounds like a good plan to me." she replied as her fingers curled around the key, her expression shifting to a determined grin. "Let us be about it then, while the proverbial iron is still hot." she replied, taking a few steps in the direction of the cages before pausing, turning a little to cast her gaze back towards Luro. "Please be careful, Runali would be upset if I didn't bring you back in one piece." she smirked.



A second later the air around her combusted in a small implosion as her image faded, the ground beneath her cracking as she took off towards the cages at a staggering speed. She'd reappear before the captives after waiting for Luro to begin his slaughter to draw away the guards before setting about unlocking each cage, explaining to them her intentions to free them and see them safely away from this place. It was difficult with some of the more malnourished captives struggling to keep pace with those who were younger and in better shape, she did her best to organise those in better health to help those who weren't before leading them away towards the docked ship.

The swordswoman kept her eye out to ensure the large crowd of captives were together, rushing ahead to ensure the ship was clear before standing watch as they climbed aboard. Once the last of them were safely on the ship she turned towards them, "Set sail and head to a safe distance, our ship will meet you in time to escort you away." she said softly before turning only to have her arm once again grabbed, this time by a young man who seemed to be among the healthier of the group. "Please miss, will you come with us?" the man asked prompting a small smile from Alicia. "There is more here that I must take care of, worry not I'll be alright." she reassured before soon putting the ship behind her as her sword gracefully arched to cut the mooring lines to free the ship.

Luro raised a hand with a grin to Alicia at her words glancing over at the camp.
"Back at ya Alicia. Come back safe, if something happens to you the Captain will give me more responsibility."
Luro shuddered a bit at the thought and waited until Alicia was off before heading fully into the camp, he slipped on two pairs of gloves flexing his fingers as he walked up to one of the patrolling men.
"Oh it's you."
The man waved to Luro and he returned it as the man jogged up to him, he recognized him as the one who had escorted them earlier, seeing a familiar face at the very least made it a bit easier. He dug into his sleeve as the man reached him, his eyes wandering past Luro looking for the others.

"Good to have you back, seems you guys took down the castle. Where's that User at?"
"Probably on the ship."
"The what?"
"Can you hold this for me?"
Luro held a glass orb out with a flame bouncing around inside of it wildly, clearing trying to find its way out. The man obliged and took the orb and Luro pat him on the shoulder before holding up a finger and taking a few steps back.
"Don't move just say there," Luro said as he continued to walk backwards.
At a certain point he stopped and looking at the space between them counted the steps before giving a small content nod.
"Hey would you say that's about…twenty feet?"
"Huh…oh yeah it looks like it. Now what about-"
"Perfect stay right there."
Luro took his rifle off his back and aimed it at the man before pulling the trigger, the orb shattered and a loud boom filled the area, fire exploding outwards as screams filled the air, the flames scorching everything within range, save Luro who drew a small line in the sand at his feet. The loud noise drew the attention of others in the area and Luro, expelling one of his bullets, took one out of his pocket and loaded it back into the chamber with a small hum.
"Okay everyone, I'm sure you have plenty of questions. What was that explosion? Why are things on fire, whose burnt corpse is that over there?"
Luro pointed at the charred body twenty feet away in a crater before readying his gun.
"I'm going to answer all your questions right now," Luro said raising his rifle to the group.

Random parts of the camp was aflame with the fire slowly spreading further and further inwards. The buildings in the distance had large chunks taken out of them, black scorch marks offering the only evidence of what destroyed part of them, pieces of the wall had been blown apart and the sand surrounding them was either stained black or covered in ice. Numerous bodies were strewn about the damaged area, bodies burned beyond recognition were the easiest ones to move past, the remainder were impaled by random pillars of ice, either through their backs, or for some unfortunate souls from bottom to the top.

Luro resting his rifle on his shoulder stated at the numerous troops that had managed to surround him, a toothy grin adorning his stained face, his clothes ripped in random places and black marks staining his outfit, matching surprisingly well with the red splatters.
He held a detached skull in his left hand, holding it up by their hair and presenting it to the group.
"Okay so you guys recognize me as a threat now. I had to go pretty far to get your attention you know," Luro said tossing the skull to the side. "You think after the third explosion you'd get the point, but apparently beating someone to death with a severed head is the only way to get people to recognize you as the bad guy."
Armament coated the weapons of the group as they gripped their weapons tighter keeping their eyes locked on the redhead digging in his ear in the center of the armed circle.
"I'm out of bullets and I can't really do much about Armament up close, so I'm at a bit of disadvantage right now," Luro said removing his finger. "Would you guys mind coming at me one at a time to make it easier on me?"
"Rush em!" One of them shouted before they all sprinted at Luro.
"Well that's just mean I'm one person. It's a good thing I have a lucky charm," Luro said taking his rifle off his shoulder. "Who I hope is done by now."

Lines of silver pierced through the air around and between Luro's attackers, moving like serpent-esque wisps that curled in and around them as light darkened to contrast in making them brighter for the brief moment they whipped through them. Pained cries followed as cuts across their bodies opened to dash red across the earth beneath their feet before bodies began to collapse into heaps with dull 'thumps'.

"Please don't gamble like that, you had no idea if I would have made it in time.'' The white haired swordswoman spoke as she appeared a short distance from Luro, the black blade giving a small flick to expel droplets of blood before Alicia slid it away safely into Shusui's saya. "Nevertheless you're still alive, so that's good enough for me." she added, casting her gaze briefly towards the unconscious bodies around them, some of which groaned as they nursed their wounds.

"Now then, shall we make our way towards the others or is there more damage to be done before we go?" she asked, tilting her head back a little to glance up at Luro with one silvery eye, a small smirk resting on her features as she awaited his response.

Luro remained relaxed only grinning as the men around him fell to the ground from Alicia's attacks, he looked over at one nudging them with his foot eliciting a small groan from the man.
"Nah I didn't doubt you'd make it. It's the first mate's job to stop stuff from happening and you're good at your job. You saving the day is as normal as me and my Mistress here."
Luro pat his rifle for a moment before looking forward again as more Guides started to approach the scene, he raised his rifle and pulled the trigger, piercing one through the skull. The gunshot caused the others to quickly duck behind cover.
"I make an effort not to make you save me too many times though."

Some pulled out their own guns and started firing at the two, Luro paid no mind to it however merely loading another bullet back into his rifle, even as the bullets flew past them and threw up the sand around them.
He leaned his head to the side as one almost hit him before speaking again.
"I kinda want to stay and see how the Hunters are but we should get going, before that though."
Luro held up his gloved hand and grinned at Alicia as a flame touched the tip of his glove.
"Two things, firstly...can that blue power stuff surround Shusui...and second...how are you at summoning tornadoes?"

Alicia closed her eyes and returned a short exhale before turning her attention towards the advancing reinforcement, her white hair kicking up in the wake of Luro's shot as it struck down one of their number with ease. "You've certainly gotten better, but far from making me worry less." she finally replied before once again returning her attention towards him as he asked if she could be creative with her abilities.

Her left eye ignited before Shusui once again returned to her side, the flat side of the black blade tilting towards the advancing group. "I'm relying on you for this, don't disappoint me." she replied before a flick of her wrist had her sword envelope with the same blue aura that leaked from her silver iris. Bringing the tip of Shusui towards the ground, she moved her wrist ever so slightly before whipping the blade in four graceful arcs in front of her, the swordswomans other hand raising as if to guide the air caught in the wake of her movements.

The air twisted and in moments broke into four small tornadoes, twisting and sucking in the surrounding air as they steadily built in speed and strength. With her outstretched hand she closed her fingers into her palm to make a fist, the mouths of the tornadoes tilting towards one another as they began to combine into one much larger and much more aggressive. Before long the wind became deafening, inhaling everything around it towards its epicenter from pieces of debris to the fire previously created by Luro's own ingenuity.

"Haha half my job is worrying. Least that's what Z says, gotta do my part ya know," Luro said grinning.
He adjusted his glove as Alicia prepared her attack, a glint in his eyes as the wind was called forth.
"Leave it to me. I've been wanting to see how much we could do together again."
When the four tornadoes came forth Luro blinked a few times looking over at Alicia as she quickly formed them into one, his eyebrows arched and pulling out his notebook he quickly started writing in it.
"Not bad...I didn't consider doing it that way. I've combined them before but-" Luro cut himself off as a crate flew past his head. "Oh right my turn."
Luro's raised his hand and sliding his foot back, grabbed his wrist with the glove and focused the palm towards the tornado.
"Envelop!"
Fire exploded from the glove pushing Luro back slightly as it flew towards the tornado, mixing with the earlier fire it was pulled into the violent winds quickly mixing together forming them into one destructive force. Luro grinned as the flaming tornado drew everything in, throwing embers in every direction as the fire spread, rotating around the tornado like a carousel, burning anything within range. The soldiers still around quickly started falling back at the massive destructive force.
"Gahahahaha! Look at it go!" Luro said moving a hand over his eyes.
The buildings nearby were ripped from their foundations pulled into the winds, Luro clapping his hands a bit at the sight.
"Haha...there won't be anything left of this camp when those hunters make it here," Luro said. "That'll teach them to not fight fair...well not fair but fight at all."
He looked over at Alicia pumping his fist slightly, though his eyes moved to Shusui remembering the blue glow had surrounded it as well.
There was basically nothing left in his glove at this point but since he was here and Alicia's blue glow was still around.
"Well no time like the present," Luro said casually pointing at Shusui with his gloved hand. "Infusion."

It started with a blue spark, a small puff of ice that gently caressed the sword.
In the next moment an explosion of white followed, snow rushed past the the two quickly exploding outwards from them in every direction, it traveled through the whole camp in the span of a few seconds, tracing along the walls of the base, moving along the sand and consuming everything around them as a winter storm erupted from the blade. The very scene reminded Luro of the blizzards in Yakone and he raised his arms instinctively as the cold crashed into him, though perhaps due to being at the center of it, the force wasn't as powerful.

There was barely enough time to witness what the explosion had done, everything the snow had touched had been frozen solid in place. The ground was purely ice and no longer soft sand, the retreating soldiers were little more than ice statues and even the flaming tornado had been turned into an ice sculpture, the 'flames' still dancing off of it. Snowflakes fell from the sky and Luro blinked a few times at the scene in front of them.
"...okay we're doing stuff like this more often. I knew your bluey glow was strong but this is-"
Luro looked over at Alicia but jumped, noticing that something was hovering behind her, a half ring of swords floating at Alicia's back, Shusui's made of ice hovering a few inches from her form, transparent blades waiting for a command from their partner.
"Wow! That's new! I know the gloves could form weapons but these look different," Luro said smiling as he eyed the blades and the blue wisps of wintry wind that circled Shusui currently. "I'm glad Shusui's okay too. I mean I knew it would be as I've done this to my rifle before but a small part of me was worried. Still the bluey glow had this much power within it...very interesting."
Perhaps due to his attention on the blades and other changes Luro hadn't noticed that his once red hair had turned into a shimmery light blue, bits of frost hovering around him, easily missable due to the new place they found themselves in. The silver eyes, similar to her own that met Alicia's however was something Luro wouldn't notice.
"Oh I can use expel to destroy everything now, shall I do that or shall we just leave now and leave their friends to thaw them out. Unless it's an order from the Captain you know I'm not going to show any mercy so I'll leave it to you."

Alicia rose her free arm up in front of her as the icy explosion consumed their surroundings, white hair whipping about behind her wildly in the updraft caused by the exhale of power When the metaphorical dust settled around them she looked up to witness the devastation wrought by whatever Luro had done in interacting with Shusui and the power tempered within it by her soul. It took her a moment to notice the multiple swords replicating Shusui's image around her before one by one they began to twinkle out as if shattering into particles of light. "That was… certainly something… " she replied finally, nimbly twirling the black blade back into her saya with a small 'clink' before tilting her head back in Luro's direction.

"Leave them." she replied, looking back towards their trapped enemies encased in shards of ice before narrowing her eyes a little. "They're trapped and can't presently fight back, killing them like this will make you no better than them. The ice is but another cage in comparison and while the irony is fitting, I won't lower ourselves to their level of cowardice." she folded her arms, tilting her head back to regard Luro before raising her eyebrow. "Unless you disagree?" she asked.

Luro offered a small nod to Alicia still quite proud of their work, his eyes glancing at the floating swords one more time as they faded away before focusing on the frozen 'statues' resting in front of them. He smiled a bit at Alicia's response, a part of him expecting that, it was rather comfortable if he had to put words to it. Having someone always willing to take the high ground in such matters, but he put that aside and looked back in the troops direction as she posed a question on him.

"Not so much disagree I guess. In a weird way I'm worse than them. What they do is cowardly, blinded by fear and judging by that one soldier their past. Even if it's terrible their acting according to their feelings, weird as that is. I can't stand here saying I'm on a higher level given my own actions that were done for fun not out of any fear. So for me killing them doesn't put me anywhere...even if it did I'm fine lowering myself that far if it means the safety of the others."

Luro raised his boot and stomped the ground, as he did his eyes returned to normal and his blue hair faded back to it's vibrant red as the ice started to shatter in front of them. The tornado, and buildings all fell to the pieces but the 'people' and ground were unaffected by Luro's expel.
He turned around with a chuckle making his way back to the ship.
"Thankfully I have someone nearby who likes being nice. Since I sometimes forget to be when I'm having fun. Let's hurry back."

The swordswoman opened her mouth to discourage him from further stepping on his own name, pausing before returning with nothing as she simply followed after him. She didn't yet have the words to aid Luro on this subject, but for all the bad he'd done and will likely do she believed there was far more than the base need to harm and destroy buried in the depths of his being. Anyone could find redemption so long as they were dedicated enough to find it.

Silver eyes watched as his hair colour resumed after having dismissed the ice that'd previously blanketed the area, a small smile forming on her features as she walked beside him. "You know, if you keep that up I may not have to try so hard during our battles." she half-joked, praising his reveal of strength in the process. "Or maybe this was what you meant with your declaration of becoming my rival." Her expression still showed her amusement as she recalled their conversation had back on the ship a long time ago shortly after they picked up Sara.

"Huh you were trying? Could've fooled me," Luro said grinning as he matched pace with Alicia.
He returned his hands to his sleeves his mind almost drifting to the next experiment he'd do with the gloves, the way Alicia brought the wind together gave him a slew of ideas to work from. Stardusk were a fountain of inspiration, he made a mental note to test some things with Alicia when they had time.
His eyes moved over to his current partner in crime as she spoke of his past words, the memory bringing a small smile to his face before his gaze focused ahead once more.
"Hmmm...were those the words of Imposter or myself then….I'm still not sure," Luro said bringing a hand to his chin. "I've admired your strength since Utsukushi so it's possible...but I'm still figuring out my feelings…oh I mean overall by the way not just when you swing your sword."
A bright grin formed on Luro's face at the memory, whether it was his words or Imposter's were a question he'd find the answer to eventually.
"If that is the case than in a weird way I think I just wanted to be closer. A rival always pushes you do better after all...hmmm. Gah I'm not sure! I like the idea but I don't know if they're my true feelings or not."
Luro laughed a little at the thought before giving a small nod.
"Hmm I am sure of one thing though."
Luro pulled his hands out his sleeves and motioned to himself and Alicia as they walked side by side.
"I want this."
Luro gave a small nod.
"I'm positive of that emotion at least. Standing by your side in the highest and lowest moments. That's what I'm aiming towards. I mean I do shoot things so it's kinda better I stay in the back most of the time, but when it's time to step up I wanna be able to fight side by side with everyone."
Luro slammed his hands into his fist.
"I'll pick ya up when you fall just like ya would do for me. I'll keep growing and getting better until then. That's why I work so hard...that's the reason I decided on when I woke up."
Luro made a fist and held it towards Alicia.
"I can't transform into a giant naked lady but I will get strong enough to fight equally alongside you Alicia, cause we're friends. If I became one of your many rivals in the process of that then I'll take it. Sound good?"

Alicia released a small soft chuckle in response, it didn't much matter to her whether or not he truly wished to see himself as her rival or not. Luro appeared to have a strange sense of the world, where things would be up and down for most people to him they would be left and right. So long as he remained in control and a friend to her, she could maintain the trust that'd been rebuilt since the incident with the Ravens. "Sounds good to me." she replied before holding up a finger.

"And for the record, I was 'not' naked. My body changed and with it my corporeal form altered to represent a transcendent being. My skin had become more or less armoured plating, decorated with ornate accessories embedded into my body… it was an unusual feeling, mostly because it felt so natural and not at all uncomfortable." her brow furrowed a little as she recalled the moment she'd discovered the ability alongside Runali during the fight against the mechanical knights.

"If it helps you to understand better. Think of it like a cat or a dog, they don't wear clothes but they aren't naked. It's simply what they are and how they present." she added, regarding him for a moment before turning her attention back to the path ahead. "In any case, I do need to explore that form and its abilities in more detail. It's new, so I'm not yet certain of what else I can do while in that form… or how long I can remain in it." she lightly shrugged. "Things I'll figure out in time I suppose."

Luro stared at his fist at Alicia's response and turning it back towards himself bumped himself before looking back at Alicia. He tilted his head at her explanation, his eyes shutting as she described her new giant form. He brought a hand to his head ruffling his hair trying to understand what he could from her explanation, though at the mention of feeling natural his eyes opened, and his mouth twitched to the side for a bit. Though he ultimately smiled letting the feeling pass.
"...so...you have...invisible fur...when you go all huge," Luro said crossing his arms. "Next time you transform I'm touching your skin to see if it's fluffy," Luro said nodding.

Though when Alicia continued speaking of figuring things out Luro pounded his chest.
"Sounds good! I'll help out if you want Alicia. If you can go all giant you can hold me in your hand, imagine the shots I could make with that kind of birds eye view," Luro said giving a small nod. "Just don't hurt yourself though, you looked really tired last time. If you pass out I'll help carry you back but I'm going to draw on your face first."
Luro grinned at this and picked up his pace a bit as the ship came into view.
"No fair you get to transform and stuff. Maybe I'll learn how to go all giant or get glowy eye things!"

Alicia shook her head slightly. "I don't know what Ru told you but I don't become 'that' much bigger. If anything we're probably the same height when I transform, certainly not big enough to hold you in my hand… not even close. Although I'm sure there will be things we can do that'll give you an advantage" she smiled. "I'll take you up on your offer and you can see for yourself." she added, looking ahead as the ship came into view. "Lets meet with the others and find out what our next move is, come on." she quickened her pace and began to walk ahead of Luro as the two made their way back to the ship.

Yora

 

[Mizos]

​

Voices filled the air in the town, people advertising their stores, children playing in the street, accompanied by a few adults chasing after them.
Lighthearted conversation with the guards and a few transactions that probably shouldn't be happening in broad daylight.
It was a beautiful morning for everything, even clearly illegal back alley deals but no one paid it any mind, everyone was enjoying their day to the best of their ability.

Within the crowd was a young man and woman, a grin adorning the face of the man as he took a look at the people around them.
"This place is pretty lively. It's just screaming for trouble…probably."
The owner of the voice was Kaim who lightly elbowed the woman next to him.
"Thanks for coming along Cap, I know it ain't the most interesting job compared to what the others have been doing."

The mercenaries had their hands full dealing with certain matters and hadn't had time to patrol a few of the towns recently, with Stardusk wishing for their help this concern casually came up in conversation and Sor suggested they help resolve this issue.
"I mean it is basically just going for a walk," Kaim said folding his hands behind his head. "They just want us to stop anyone from getting hurt, but it's been pretty peaceful. Patrol the town for a few hours then head back…well we're getting paid and getting on the mercenaries good side, can't complain…it is weird they told us not to bother with any illegal purchases though…but after passing the last few alley's I kinda get why they said it."

"Yeah, s'pose I can't steal all the fun from my crew." She responded "Besides, a walk- or, uh, patrol, clears the head. Gives me time to make sure I've got all my info in order." She tapped her temple when she said that and casually sidestepped a few kids that ran past. She kept her hands close to her pockets, making sure they weren't trying to pickpocket her, but when they kept going, she carried on. "Though, gotta admit, telling a pirate to stop people from getting into trouble sure makes me think people don't know what a pirate is." She idly waved her hand. "But it's a little late to complain about that."

Runali slipped her hands in her pockets, glancing over at Kaim and then back at the people who were eagerly selling a product. "Can't say I wasn't curious about how the 'prophets' operated. I mean, I know how you all fight. I can't say I've ever witnessed anything other than that- y'know besides you all getting comfy on my ship."

A small laugh escaped from Kaim and he raised a hand in response to the idea of stealing fun, he personally wanted a little fun right now but he didn't disagree with the Captain, sometimes a walk was just what one needed.
"Can't say I disagree there, a walk can help clear the mind," Kaim said nodding. "Haha maybe because they believe you fellow 'criminals' they're worried about something else. Moving in on their territory or something?"
Kaim offered a shrug at this a chuckle escaping from him at the possibility. The man gave a small spin as the kids passed by, dodging someone on his other side before falling back into the step with Runali.

"Ah right…" Kaim said in response to Runali's keen observation. "Right we've only fought with or against you haven't we?"
Kaim flipped a coin to a vendor and grabbed two pieces of baked bread before holding one towards the Captain smiling a little.
"Well Nikos will kill me for sharing too much but I'm open to answering what questions I can if you got any," Kaim said with a small shrug. "We're mercenaries now so we just do odd jobs. Bodyguards, escorting ships, keeping armies busy while reinforcements come, finding lost cats and dogs. I'm really glad Luro helped with that one."
Kaim named a few things off his eyes moving towards the sky as he tried to count a few more thing.
"Boss said he wanted a profession where we could follow our own values and still get paid, so here we are. We started off small but we've gotten much bigger, hehe…we have two couches. Now when Aira goes on her drinking binge and throws up on one…we can switch to the other one…well unless Kara's tears are soaked in it for not being near Emil….we may need to buy a third one."

"Yeah, yeah I s'pose now would be the best time to do it, huh?" It became a passing comment about moving into their territory as she happily took the bread he offered. She listened, more intently than she let on, as she munched on bread. Every now and then, Runali would glance in his direction, finding the truth in his words, before turning her attention back on the town. "Hm." Was all she offered in the moment after he responded. The captain pictured the ragtag group, all seemingly different in their own respects and yet somehow still able to work so well together. The familiarity of it made her smile.

"What are yours? Your values, I mean." It was an innocent question asked, mostly out of genuine curiosity. "Nikos' I know. There was an entire monologue of it before the one fight we had. Grant it, there were multiple monologues… Most about… admiration towards my skill and what have you. Hard to keep up with sometimes. But," And she looked at Kaim this time. "What about you personally? What's keeping you tied with these newly free birds?" She couldn't help the bemused smirk that followed. "I mean, being the most fun of them I'd imagine you'd have a lot of interesting stories and opinions to share, yeah?"

Kaim offered a shrug at the Captain's response to his explanation, if she didn't have any questions then there was little left to do but finish their patrols.
His eyes moved over to one of the shops, just as temptation almost led him to see what was inside he caught the Captain's voice again. He looked back over at her arching his brow slightly as he became a focus. Though a small chuckle did escape from him at the mention of monologues.
"Haha…yeah he uh…he really does enjoy those," Kaim said rubbing the side of his head. "I'm sure he put some other things in there but I kind of tune it out a little myself."

At the question of his lingering a small chuckle escaped from Kaim eventually developing into a small laugh, he raised his hand waving it at the Captain a bit before responding to her.
"You're not the first to ask me that funny enough and thank you. I'm glad someone recognizes how fun I am. Ria almost has me beat though."
Kaim took a large bite out of his bread letting his thoughts wander to a few instances the group had dealt with in the passing days, he could say for certain there was never a dull moment but that wasn't the only reason he stuck around.
"Well I'm a little different. I didn't really care about the Raven's Message after all. I just wanted to fight strong people. I went up against Nikos, had fun and he offered to spar with me whenever I liked if I joined so I did. Thankfully him being the black sheep he could get away with having someone like me around."

Kaim said this with a small shrug.
"I don't like making things complicated if I don't have too. All this reading people, lying and all that junk is too much work, what you see is what you get that's how I feel about things. Sadly it's not that simple for everyone else. Needless to say I didn't really fit the whole 'secret organization thing."
Kaim smiled a little at this before looking back at Runali.
"Oh man I could tell you all kinds of stories about everyone…but the reason I didn't leave…hmmm that's hard to explain… Oh I got it. Why are you still Captain Cap? Our reasons may not be terribly far off from each other."

"I see. Yeah, you know that tracks." She laughed. "Keeping you entertained and in turn helping him when he needs it. At least he's true to his word- his many words I should say." Runali gave a shrug. "And can't say I don't agree there. People make things so, so complicated." She stuck out her tongue in distaste, before shrugging. "But what can you do other than play along. Or not play at all. S'pose finding lost pets can be kind of entertaining." His question made her raise a brow and hum in thought. "Why am I still a captain?" She echoed his question.

"Well… It's done more," Runali paused, carefully deciding her own words, making sure she was sure about it as well. "It's done more good than bad." A satisfied nod followed her answer. "Have a crew- a family. And all of us have gotten stronger over the years, together. Plus, we've explored so many new places. I'm a captain because the others still want me to be, honestly. There's been plenty of times where trust and loyalty could have wavered, but even after all that, they stay. Why would I give up on them if they don't give up on me, y'know?" Runali gave a small shrug and took another bite of bread.

Kaim offered a firm nod at both Nikos' many words and the needless complications that came with some interactions.
"Oh it was great, we ended up taking out a band of slavers in the process, ask Luro later it was great. The bounties on their heads were double what was offered the cat. It's a very fond memory," Kaim said grinning. "I personally like messin' with em so I play along sometimes."
He went silent as Runali went to answer his question, munching on his bread as he listened to the Captain's reasons, merely walking into someone in the process.
When she finished a small chuckle escaped from Kaim.

"Haha...yeah I had a feeling. Those are some good reasons."
Kaim said this with a small nod before pointing at himself.
"Pretty much in the same boat myself. They haven't gotten rid of me so no real reason to leave. Though in my case I guess I'm more like Luro. Don't really got nowhere else to be and I'm comfortable. I've gained more than lost being with everyone...there was only one member of the Kaim family back in the day...but that's much bigger now. I'm thankfully smart enough not to run away from it this time."
A small smile, a little different than his usual one formed on his expression for a moment but he seemed to push past it relatively quickly.
"Still you and Nikos have that in common. He'd be furious if he knew. He says he's only leader because we still want him to be, though he never claims the actual title. Prefers that on equal standing stuff. Haha...oh man I might actually tell him later."
Kaim grinned at this.
"Oh right that reminds me of a funny-"
Kaim cut himself off as a loud noise echoed through the town, an explosion echoing in the distance as fire climbed towards the sky along with black smoke, the crowd of people ran past the two in a panic, some coming from the direction of the explosion, Kaim had to step out of the way of a few to avoid getting knocked over.
Looking up at the smoke Kaim tossed the rest of the bread in his mouth.
"Welf, na lawnger a walf iz if," Kaim said before patting his chest. "Man I gotta hang around you guys more, trouble just finds you. Anyway we should probably go take care of that."

"Hm… you are kinda like Luro." She blew strands of hair out of her face and hummed. "But not quite as," Whatever Runali was about to say was brushed off with a quick wave of her hand and she quickly replaced it with, "...eccentric."

Nikos' annoyance came up again and Runali smirked. "Oh, he's well aware of how alike we are. He's a fool, but he's a smart one… Tell him anyway, just make sure you stay at arms distance." With bread in her mouth, she was suddenly taking steps to dodge out of the way of people in panic. Had she not been used to the dangers the crew put themselves in, she would have been surprised by the sudden explosion. Instead, she turned on her heel towards it. "Ish no- It's not our fault people like to schedule their trouble around our free time." Runali quickened her pace, taking the lead into danger. For a moment, she debated grabbing the gloves she took from Luro, but decided against it. There was no need to waste energy if the danger was minimal. Plus, Kaim was around and he was tough enough to pull his own weight.


"You guys could probably make an actual case on it," Kaim said grinning as he picked up his own pace. "Oh and I definitely will, especially after that compliment. I just feel like me and him got this…invisible bond."
When they made it to the source of explosion men dressed in familiar clothes came forward, Kaim's brows arched noticing the clothes of Relias soldiers, though there was one dressed a little differently. A man with short brown hair stood in front of the many soldiers, a blade with a silver sheath on the waist of his pants. Patches of what looked like leather armor adorned different parts of his outfit. There was a badge hanging off his belt, swinging slightly by its chain. The emblem seemed to be two swords crossed over what looked like a piece of fruit.
The man reached up and adjusted his glasses taking a good look around, one of the men stepped forward at this.
"Uh…Mr. Hunter…Mr. Relias said not to damage homes…"
"I'm just getting the point across," the Hunter said. "No one was caught in it."
The Hunter took a step forward drawing the attention of the people nearby, especially the shopkeeper staring at his now destroyed store.
"Attention everyone! My name is Harris. I'm a hunter for Relias. We caught wind that a Devil Fruit User is in this town. If you surrender them we will leave and that will be the end of it. If you don't…well."
Harris motioned to the destroyed building feeling it provided enough of a warning.

Kaim put a hand on Runali's shoulder and brought a finger to his lips. They didn't want to get into a scuffle with all these people around.
"Bring forth the Devil Fruit User! You know what happens to those who protect them."

Hushed whispers fell over the crowd, Kaim followed the eyes of one of the people in the back and noticed a woman holding her daughter close to her. The young child had a surprisingly serious look on her face as she stared at the ground. Tears stinging the edges of her eyes.
She started to step forward and opened her mouth but the mother quickly covered it and pulled her close, she quickly shook her head and the girl pulled her hand down before they started whispering to each other.
The people were clearly protecting the two, but from the shivering of those around them another large push wouldn't protect them for long.
"…hah….okay I gave you a choice," Harris said pulling out another grenade. "I'll burn this whole town down if I have too."
The girl managed to get away from her mother and took in a deep breath.
"I know where the User is."
The child looked over at Kaim who raised a hand, glancing over at her.
The mother's eyes shot to Kaim, a narrowed gaze staring back at her.
"Sorry but we have to protect the town…it's our job."
The woman opened her mouth but turned her head away, trying to silent the quiet sobs escaping from her.
"Oh good finally someone cooperating," Harris said putting out the lit fuse. "Go get his information."

One of Relias soldiers approached and the crowd dispersed to allow him through, Kaim could feel the glares on him and the people made little effort to hide their disdain for him. The easygoing man paid it no mind however just slipping his gloves on.
"So you wanna take left and I take right," Kaim said glancing over at Runali. "Now that the people are out of the way we got a clean shot. Whoever takes down the least buys first round at the bar."
Kaim grinned at Runali and made a small motion with his head for the girl and woman to move, which they happily obliged.

When Kaim held her back, Runali slipped in with the crowd urging those closest to her to take steps back and start to leave. They all hesitated, afraid of what the soldiers would do if they ran, but the look Runali gave them seemed… oddly reassuring. Most around her started to clear the space, slowly and cautiously. She noticed the child too, debating whether or not she had time to make it over there, but Kaim decided to do something else. So, she abandoned that plan and waltzed back over next to him, with hands behind her back. "Ouch. Giving away secrets now?" There was no malice behind her voice. Runali guessed what he was doing and decided not to press into it with the soldiers eyeing them down.

"Ohhh, I hope you have money because you're gonna regret that."

"What's so funny?" The one soldier walking forward frowned as Runali's smile grew wider.

"Hm? Oh right. Take me away, I'm the one with the powers. I wouldn't want all these people getting hurt because of me." She watched as the soldier looked on confused, reaching out to take Runali's wrists. But, the moment he got close, Runali winked and in one graceful motion, flipped him on his back and knocked him unconscious. To those still standing by, she smirked. "You may wanna steer clear." She laughed as they began to scatter and then looked back as the rest of the soldiers began to charge forward. "Y'know finding trouble isn't always that bad. We get fun out of it." Runali rushed forward, sliding only one of the gloves on even though as the soldiers began to attack, she held back, mostly knocking those that attacked her unconscious and disarming them.

Kaim grinned happy the Captain was following along and cracked his neck a bit, rotating his shoulders as the man drew closer.
"Guess we'll have to see, no cheating though Cap."
Kaim remained still a stifled chuckle escaping from him as the man promptly met the ground, he brought a hand to his shoulder and rotated it as the guards moved towards them.
"Oh I'm going straight into that Cap," Kaim said. "If trouble wants us so bad it's only polite we respond in kind."
Kaim ran forward into the crowd causing confusion to flash across the soldiers for a moment before realizing that they had been tricked.

Harris remained still his eyes narrowing at the two, he sighed and made a motion with his hand for the rest of them to attack the two, his eyes moving to the roofs as rifleman started getting into position.
Kaim slammed his foot down near the rubble of the buildings chunks of it popping up before Armament surrounded his foot, he brought it forward kicking the chunks at the rifleman, the pieces slamming into the men knocking them out.
"Let's keep it all on the level here fellas," Kaim said grinning at the men. "I like getting to know people up close and personal not from a distance."
He moved into the soldiers weaving between their swords, his fists slamming into their bodies as he past them, dodging and countering each strike laughter escaping from him as he continued his violent dance towards the attackers.
He ducked under a sword and slammed his knee into a man's stomach, before grabbing the back of his shirt and hurling him into his friends.
"Keep it coming!"
Turning Kaim raised his foot hitting another guard in the chest, he unleashed a flurry of kicks making the man lift off the ground before spinning and kicking him into his approaching colleagues, the group sliding down the street.
He landed and before hopping from foot to foot waiting for the men to make another move.
"Cap! I hope you're having as much fun as I am right now!"

While in the fray of soldiers, she mentally thanked Kaim's quickness in taking down the gunman. She hated dealing with opposing gunmen. Speaking of, she ended up ducking under a gun thrusted into her face and disarming another soldier in the process. "Whoa, whoa. Be careful waving that thing around, that's dangerous!" For emphasis, she snapped the gun to pieces with a haki covered hand. She stepped through a myriad of sword strikes. Laughing, she exclaimed. "Hey you can poke an eye out with these! Watch where you're swinging!" Most of her 'fighting' had been maneuvering around soldiers so they were attacking themselves, saving her time.

"I mean, now I almost feel bad for these guys." Runali commented, taking a step back to see she was completely surrounded. "It's almost too easy." This piqued her curiosity. Runali's attention went straight towards the one in charge. "I'll kindly have to ask you all to step aside." She raised a brow when they moved closer to attack.

"You're surrounded! If you value your life, you'll stop fighting and stand down!"

Save for the clicks of guns, it fell silent for a moment. A soldier pointed his sword at her throat and Runali stopped in her tracks. There was an almost unnoticeable shift in the air around her when she reached up to move the sword out of her way. She spoke low enough so only the few closest to her could hear. "...That's a real dangerous game you're playing. Do you want to test your luck?" Runali expected them to get intimidated, it was easy to do when she had 'reaper' in her title. However what she wasn't expecting was for the soldier and the four closest to completely collapse unconscious in front of her. "Huh..." The others surrounding her were clearly hesitant, but she chalked it up as shock from what happened… whatever it was that just happened. "Well I did warn them." Attention back on Harris, she yelled, "Well, what are you waiting for? If you're not gonna arrest me, you're wasting my time." Runali gave a cheeky grin and grabbed a stray sword off the ground before rushing at him.

Kaim stepped past another fallen soldier his eyes moving over to Runali to see how many she was taking on. He was still pretty sure he was ahead and started to say as much when he saw the men fall to the ground around her, untouched by the Captain. Kaim stared at the scene for a long moment, before chuckling and bringing a hand to his chin.
"Oh man Nikos is going to be mad at his…"
Kaim put the matter aside as Runali turned her attention toward Harris, there was basically no support for the man anymore so he shook his hands off before joining the Captain.

Harris had been watching the scene his fingers drumming along the lionhead pommel of his sword, his brows arched a bit at being addressed but he only offered a grin and gripped his handle as the Captain and Kaim approached.
Kaim's eyes went to the man's sword before widening, it was very faint but he saw a spark of red.
"Cap!"
Kaim immediately grabbed Runali's arm and pulled her to the side as Harris drew his blade.
The aftermath of the draw met Kaim's expectations.
Fire had erupted the moment he drew his sword, scorching the entire area in front of him, an explosion quickly following that decimated the streets and buildings in a wide radius directly in front of the man.
Harris remained still eyeing the now scorched earth in front of him before his gaze moved over to the two.
"Oh ho...you saw through my trick," he said putting his blade away. "A shame as we don't arrest in the circle so that was a proper response...but you are definitely Runali Lev the Stardusk Captain….Relias had different plans for you...we'll continue this another time."
Harris pat his lion head causing fire to erupt from it, Kaim held his hand up as a wall of flame erupted between the two sides, the fire fading and Harris gone along with it.
"...sorry about that Cap," Kaim said removing his hand from the Runali's shoulder. "I'm sure you had it handled...just acted on instinct. I know someone else who a similar move so I recognized the signs."
Kaim turned and looked at the aftermath of the explosion, most of the block had been destroyed in the process, a few charred bodies as well given that some of the men hadn't moved out of the way in time.
"Hah…" Kaim said scratching the side of his head. "Guess we better report to the mercenaries about this. At the very least the people are safe."
Kaim knelt down and ran his fingers over the scorched earth, allowing armament to coat his fingers as he did so, he could still feel the intense heat even through it.
"Hm...he'll be fun to deal with later. No point in chasing him since that's not our job. That and he apparently has some business with Stardusk so I'm pretty sure he'll be back."
Kaim brushed a bit of the soot off his hands before looking back at Runali.
"That aside…." he said grinning. "34 Cap, what's your number?"

"Oof." Runali looked at the dying wall of flame and huffed in disappointment. "What's with enemies having to be so show-y? Always have to wait for more trouble… Coward's play if you ask me." She waved Kaim's apology away. "It's fine. Less damage the better." Runali looked around their makeshift battlefield and at all the burned bodies and put her hands on her hips. "...Less damage to us anyway. And the people.. But yeah sure, don't really report to anyone so I'll let you handle the specifics." With a snap of her fingers, she added with more excitement. "More importantly, I want his sword!" She wasn't going to use it ever, she was sure, but having it purely because it looked cool worked for her too.

Before she could gush about how cool the sword would look as a display piece, Kaim pulled her attention back ."Huh? Oh right I-" Runali blinked and scratched her cheek. "Hmm," There was a pause and Runali placed her hands behind her back and gave a small chuckle. "Y'know what, I'll buy first round. Least I can do for the quick save." Whether she lost or not was hard to say, especially since she started back on their original path now that their work was done.

"Hehe...I'm pretty amazing at reports so happy to do so," Kaim said.
At the mention of sword Kaim tilted his head slightly before rubbing the side of his head.
"Ehhh...it is pretty cool...but I'm not big on weapons. I guess for collecting and it'd be cool story."
Kaim patiently waited to hear the Captain's number but at her pause he folded his hands behind his head, he hadn't been paying attention so they were going off an honor system. Her response however caused a chuckle to escape from him.
"Fair enough. Second's on me then."

 

[Mizos]

​

Nina stared at the letter in her hand and after speaking with Kaim went to find her possible cohort. Sor offered a bit of advice to Stardusk when it came to acquiring help, and though the Prophets themselves were going to handle the matter, Kaim said there was no harm in enlisting Stardusk's aid, Sor himself had recommended it. There were plenty of Stardusk to accompany her on her new mission but Sor offered a very particular suggestion, and she couldn't deny his wisdom on the matter.
It didn't take long for her to find the woman as she followed a schedule and the nice thing about such things is so long as you knew the schedule it was easy to find the person attached to it.

"Alicia Tashigi."
Nina called out to Alicia, raising a hand to her.
"I would like your aid in a particular matter. Sor mentioned we should do some good for the mercenaries. Kaim mentioned that this job in particular might be of interest to you especially...and given what we need to do said you would be a good fit. Are you open to hearing me out?"
Nina lowered her hand staring at Alicia, Ria was attached to the blank faced woman, her arms wrapped around her neck, acting as a makeshift knapsack but the woman paid it little mind awaiting Alicia's response.

The white haired swordswoman couldn't be sure for what particular reason she disliked this situation more. Had it been anyone else arriving on their ship she might have been less cautious, or disliking to the situation at hand. Of course hearing that the rest might follow meant a certain individual might appear, one that Alicia herself didn't particularly enjoy the presence of. Nevertheless if Ru was content with what appeared to be another temporary alliance then she'd have little choice but to go along with it for the time being, her personal dislike to it aside.

"Very well." she replied as she turned towards the approaching woman, her eyes briefly shifting to the one who hung around her neck before they set back upon the other.

"My appreciation," Nina said with a small nod.
Nina motioned past her as a silent indication to walk and talk before turning and walking herself, Ria still clinging to her as Nina started her explanation.
"One of the mercenary groups have to deal with a very particular problem in one of their areas," Nina said. "Mainly slavers have been coming and taking people from town, selling them outside the circle. They have been trying to stop them for some time but haven't managed to fully put an end to it."

Nina turned towards Alicia at this and dug in her pocket before unfolding the Devil's Circle map, she pointed at the edge of it.
"Relias blockade has been a boon for them however. Thanks to him blocking all ships coming in and out the slavers can't move and thus are wide open. They have asked for assistance in dealing with them."
Nina folded the map up and returned it to her pocket, a small noise escaping from Ria at the sudden movement, but the woman again paid it no mind.
"We are aware those in Yula Fei dislike this kind of thing. Kaim sent me to you because as he put it 'Alicia's gotta let off some stress now and then. So why not do some good while you're at it.' Something along those lines. He also added 'that and we gotta do it anyway so see if she wants to, if not we'll just do it like we always do, by the way don't tell Tari about this, if she finds out I gave you permission to seek Alicia she'll kill me. Also don't do that thing where you quote what I say word for word either, she might think it's weird' something along this lines."
Nina gave small nod at this putting the map away.
"What do you say?"

Alicia's expression remained neutral throughout the exchange as she listened to what Nina had to say, following a short distance next to her and letting her lead as she revealed what it was she wanted. Only once she finished did her brow finally furrow slightly, though not for the reason she might expect as she considered the offer. On one hand, she would definitely like to stop something as abhorrent as slavery to continue unchallenged, but fighting alongside Nina meant that Tari would undoubtedly learn of her increase in strength… meaning she'd lose out on any surprising elements when the time came for them to once again cross swords.

She gave a small sigh, turning away from Nina a little to cast her gaze off into the distance in silent contemplation. The light of the sun brightened her silver irises, the hues of which reflected the cerulean colour of the ocean causing them to fill and mix slightly. "I'll help you." she replied after a moment, turning back towards Nina before her brow furrowed a little more. "But I want to know something from you first."

Alicia paused for a moment to allow Nina a moment before continuing. "With everything you and your friends do, the roles you choose and the parts you play. Roughly how many lives do you think are saved by your actions… annually." The question might have seemed peculiar and if there was a reason for why she was asking she didn't make any attempt to reveal it. "Your answer will have very real consequences for the future, so please answer truthfully."

Nina watched Alicia in silence, an empty stare and the occasional twisting of her own hair was the only thing she offered as she waited for the woman to answer her question. Her eyes glanced in the direction of the boats, a part of her wondering if she should just leave without her when the swordswoman answered, her gaze moved back to her and a few blinks escaped from her at Alicia's answer, if she was surprised it didn't show.
She started to continued towards the boats but stopped as Alicia brought up something else, her head tilted a bit at the woman unsure of what exactly she wanted to know from her.

When the question was asked the woman's expression didn't change, it remained the same as always. No trace of emotion in her eyes, no tightening of her face, she stared at Alicia like she would stare at a wall slowly drying with paint. Complete emptiness was the response at first as she replayed what Alicia had said in her head, and after what may have been a few minutes a bit of light returned to the woman's eyes.
"Ah."
Nina reached into her pocket and pulled out a small notebook, she opened and started flipping through the book.
"It should be in here….ah found it."
Nina spoke and placed her finger on her page, before she spoke once more reading aloud.
"Nina it's Tari. I'm writing this message in your notebook as a just in case. We have to get along with Stardusk while this contract is active and Stardusk, especially Tashigi aren't going to know what you and Ria are like. Make sure to share this information with Ria as well to avoid complications. Here's some advice to help you out, a guide to assist you in not being...well...you."

Nina gave a small nod at this as she was positive this was one of those situations.
"Alicia at some point is going to throw some needless philosophical nonsense at you, or something of that sort. She likes spouting that garbage trying to bestow lessons on people who didn't ask for them. Complications may arise if you try to answer a question you don't understand. Don't fret about this, her inconsideration is just a natural part of her person. If she does that, and she will because she's a creature of habit, direct her to Kaim. He'll put up with her nonsense, her strange need to ruin someone's day with that drivel."
Nina offered a nod paying no mind to the harsh words coming from her mouth before turning the page.
"This guide will help you deal with Alicia in these moments. It should go without saying but don't do that thing you do where you read things out loud. Read this, memorize it and act accordingly, that's an order. You can't be you near Alicia Tashigi, her close-mindnesses won't understand it unfortunately."
Nina shut the book and looked back up at Alicia, she stared at her for a moment before looking back at the book then back at her before putting it properly away.
"That's a question for the current leader Kaim," Nina said simply before turning away from her. "I don't know the answer anyway. The boat's right over there, I'll explain on the way."

Alicia listened throughout the reading with an expressionless attentiveness, showing she was listening as her eyes remained on Nina while she relayed Tari's words. "Disappointing." she replied before she walked passed her towards the direction of the boats. 'There's nothing philosophical about my question, Tari… for the answer will be what decides if I'll kill you, or tolerate you further.' her eyes narrowed slightly as she gave some thought to that inevitable moment before casting it aside in favour of the situation at hand. "Please explain your plan thoroughly, Nina."

She hadn't mentioned that she'd be explaining a plan, so it was a bit of assumption. Nevertheless, "I doubt you'd have invited me only to waste my time, after all." there was something different in Alicia's demeanor throughout their exchange, a side of her that was perhaps uncommonly witnessed. Where she was usually gentle, warm and welcoming instead she was cold and direct. For the swordswoman who fought with emotion as her primary weapon, there was nothing behind those silver eyes save for what she'd already offered.

The woman's eyes focused on Alicia, with eyes that seem to peer past what lied in front of the woman, but for a brief moment it almost seemed like she actually looked at the Swordswoman, though after a moment she merely shut her eyes and followed after her. Approaching the boat she pat herself realizing her blades weren't on her, she continued to pat herself confused what the extra weight was when she touched Ria's arms.
"Ah."
Her gaze moved to the woman attached to her and reaching over she gave her a small poke on the cheek, the sudden touch caused Ria's eyes to open.
The two stared at each other for a short moment before Ria released her.
"How long?" Nina questioned.
"Not…sure…a few….hours?"
Nina nodded and pointed to herself, Ria nodded and walked away causing her to focus back on Alicia, though from her possible cohorts words the woman merely tilted her head at her.
"I thought I had taken the precautions against wasting your time. Feel no obligation to stay if I am complicating your schedule. I invited you expecting you had free time, thus why I asked earlier."


The woman spoke simply, if there was any sincerity or mockery in her words it was hidden by her monotone voice and empty demeanor. She seemed to pay no mind to Alicia's clearly different behavior, merely continuing as she always did.
"Still I will answer your inquiry going off the belief that this is indeed your free time. Inform me if that's not the case," Nina said opening her book once more. "The mercenaries are going to attack one of the slaver camps, however they don't have the men to attack the other camp and they fear by time they reach them they'll have moved or worse."
Nina stopped as Ria returned carrying her seven swords, handing them over Nina offered a small thanks before she starting donning her blades, continuing to speak as she did so.

"They would like us to attack the other camps in the process, once they have word that we are en route they will send a ship to back us up and pick up those freed. They have requested we do a bit of damage as well, a message to the slavers not to do such things, especially in their territory. There are three large camps, with the largest one resting past them. Smaller camps reside within the large camps but we'll encounter them upon passing through."
Nina stopped adjusting the broadsword on her back before drawing one of the blades on her side, eyeing the metal for a moment before flipping it over.
"If you are free then I would advise we both attack the camps separately and meet up at the main camp. By then they will be alarmed by our presence especially if we make noise, we will deal with the final camp as one, and the ship should arrive by then if it hasn't already."
Nina took a cloth to her sword before returning it to its sheath.
"Kaim has deferred that Stardusk act as leaders during any outside missions as per the contract. I am little more than advisor so consider that plan a suggestion. Ah and in the case of attacking, do you prefer lethal or non-lethal force used towards the slavers?"
Nina said this before hopping into the boat.
"That's the general plan, it will take half a day to get there so it will be evening by time we arrive. If you are coming I would bring a book if you do not intend on passing the time conversing."

"That plan will do just fine. Lethal force would be appropriate, however should anyone surrender themselves first I would spare them." she replied as she took her seat, setting Shusui down onto her lap after removing it from her waist so that she'd be able to sit more comfortably. She took a big inhale as she closed her eyes before exhaling a long breath, opening her eyes as she spoke once more. "Forgive my earlier rudeness. The appearance of your group appears to provoke a response from me." she didn't elaborate any further on that. "If you have questions for me or a subject you'd like to discuss by all means feel free to engage with me. Otherwise I'll prepare myself for the mission ahead by means of meditation." she inclined her head respectfully.

"Understood."
It was a simple quick response as she climbed into the boat, setting her broadsword down in the boat along with the rest of her blades so she could sit properly.
While letting it down into the water she looked back at Alicia as she spoke again, she arched a brow at her as the boat hit the water.
"Rudeness?" Nina questioned. "I don't understand but we fought one another, even tried to take your lives, if you felt nothing seeing us that would be strange."
Nina made some adjustments before letting loose the sails sending them on their way.
"Everyone says a day will come when we settle the score...but that day is not today. So I keep my weapons sheathed as promised. Nikos said breaking our word defeats the purpose of speaking it in the first place."
Nina merely repeated the gesture from Alicia before directing them towards where they needed to go.
"I only have one question. Luro has gone into explicit detail about your manliness but I don't understand. Could you explain?"

Nina after asking her one question kept to her word and sat in her seat leaving Alicia to her own musings, though it was clear she was paying attention in case she needed something. In their downtime she inspected each one of her blades, wiping them down with an oil she kept on her only to repeat the process with each one until she went through all of them. After completing this she would reach her hand into the water, catch a fish, rub her fingers along the scales before tossing it back into the water, repeating this process.
As the blue above them shifted to orange they came upon the island, and Nina adjusted the sails as they approached.

The island was almost cleared of forest save the entrance they had chosen, there were two paths that diverged within the tiny forest, each one leading to one of the camps hidden past the brush. That divided path formed back into a singular one which lead to the large camp in the back, even from their position it was easy to see the numerous buildings of the larger camp.
The map had showed that the place had a barracks, a makeshift dock, which for obvious reasons they weren't using, and plenty of buildings and assets to aid in living there.
The place seemed more like a small port town than an inhabited island, but that was the present situation as the slavers had time to build up, enough to live comfortably but not enough to really settle. There were numerous escape routes that Nina had outlined on the map, they cut off six of them by coming in at their current angle.
The ship met the beach and Nina hopped out to pull the boat further in to avoid losing it.
"I take one way, you take the other and we meet up later," Nina said looking over at Alicia as she adjusted her swords.

She didn't respond as Nina accepted her reasons for her behaviour, giving a small nod in response to acknowledge the truth of her words. The Ravens appeared to be a strange group with a peculiar code of ethics she didn't truly understand, each of them additionally possessing a vastly different personality that contrasted against one another. Although she didn't like to admit it, she hoped fighting them would come sooner rather than later, disliking the invisible sword hanging above their heads awaiting the day they would discover which of them was truly stronger.

Alicia's thoughts were soon interrupted by Nina's question and she couldn't help but close her eyes and smile briefly. "I don't fully understand it myself. But I think Luro thinks of strength as a masculine quality, strength both physically and mentally." her brow furrowed as she thought about it a little more. "Given what he's witnessed of me in the past, I think he intends to compliment me by referring to me as manly… implying that I'm strong." she then gave a small sigh. "It's as complicated as it sounds, but that's Luro."

The time after having answered the question was spent just as she'd mentioned, meditating and mentally preparing herself for the inevitable fight ahead. When they arrived she stepped from the boat, nodding in Nina's direction as she mentioned splitting up as she resecured her sword to her waist. "Very well. Happy hunting." she replied before turning and making her way in one of the two directions open to them. She took a few steps before the area around her combusted into a small implosion of air, the swordswoman taking off at speed towards the smaller camps with the intention to pacify them as quickly as possible.

Nina watched Alicia go before turning and making her way towards her own destination, she picked up her pace when she made it to the actual camp, her eyes moving to the iron cages nearby. She gave a small nod at this before one of the guards took notice of her.
"Hey who are you?!"
"An intruder," Nina said pointing at her swords.
The guard whistle drawing the attention of the others who quickly surrounded Nina, the woman keeping her attention focused forward.
"Surrender," she said pointing ahead.
The guards looked at each other before laughing and drawing their blades causing Nina to glance around for a moment.
"I followed orders."
"What order-"
The man was cut off as sand and dust blew everywhere, an immense force slamming into where the men had been standing. The wave of sand rose over the trees and the guards flew through the air blown back by the sudden impact, something broke through the sand cutting through it and the men, their bodies falling back to the ground in pieces, raining red on those who hadn't been sent flying.
The original guard's eyes twitched and he slowly turned his head to left, seeing a long narrow cavity in the earth directly next to him, following it to the building in the distance which had been cleaved in half.

The front of the cages fell apart, causing those inside to quickly crawl out as Nina started walking forward. The guard eyed her and opened his mouth wanting to say something, anything but a piercing pain silenced him and he looked down to his shirt was stained red. Nina passed him as he fell forward into the sand joining his comrades.
"Wait at the beach, help is coming," Nina said to the freed people. "More are coming behind you."
The people nodded adding their thanks as more guards came and raising their rifles fired, sparks filled the air as Nina continued walking, her hands still dangling at her sides.
The guards eyes twitched noticing that neither the slaves or woman had been hit, they started to fire again only for Nina's image to fade, footsteps echoing behind them. The guards turned to Nina who continued her casual pace ignoring the now headless guards on the ground behind her, eyes still open in shock.
"...Alicia is going to get there first….I should probably walk faster," Nina said with a small nod.

At the head base camp, a man and a woman sat on a small platform, spears resting against their bodies as they stared out at their gathered forces.
Both had medium length black hair both tied in low ponytails, and seemed to be siblings. They were dressed in similar attire, both wearing modified banyan with brown trousers and boots. Gold jewelry hung off them and their weapons, whether it was done to be purposefully gaudy was open to interpretation.
The two siblings grinned and knocked their cups together before raising their mugs up.
"Hahaha! We're going to make a killing at our next drop off!" The man exclaimed.
"Thanks to all your hard work! Drink up men! This is our time!" The woman added.
The slavers roared in response and raised their own mugs, though before they could down their drinks loud explosions echoed from the camps, causing all of them to turn towards the other camp.
"What's that noise?" the man said narrowing his eyes.



"The fuck is happening?!" one of the slaver guards yelled as flashes of silver arched through the air around him and the others that'd gathered to engage the intruder. A moment later Alicia appeared behind them in a crouched position, her hand upon the hilt of Shusui as she slid the blade closed into its saya with an audible 'click'. Wounds on their bodies tore open as they cried out in pain, blood spattering across the ground before a series of dull thumps followed as bodies hit the ground. Alicia let a small sigh leave her as she stood up and glanced down at the fallen slavers. "I told you to surrender... " she muttered.

The swordswoman continued to cleave her way through the smaller camps, freeing the slaves and directing them to safety before moving on. She tried to be as thorough as possible, ensuring that she'd clear through the camps to make sure all the slaves were freed and that they wouldn't be followed before moving on. In the distance she could hear Nina's work, although she hadn't much time to give thought to the sounds of her destruction as she focused on the next part of the objective. The final camp would undoubtedly be more fortified and better equipped to deal with an attack, therefore it'd be prudent to rendezvous with Nina.

Alicia broke from the thicket surrounding the main camp, a torrent of wind following in her wake which shook the trees and rustled the leaves as she appeared in front of the two spear wielding siblings. She came to a graceful stop as she slowed her movements, resting a hand upon the hilt of her black blade as she cast her gaze around for signs of Nina before focusing back on the two in front of her. "Shall I assume you also won't be surrendering?" she asked, figuring that a modicum of small talk would at least buy Nina some time to arrive.

The siblings quickly stood up as Alicia appeared, grabbing their spears as the stranger revealed herself. The slavers around her quickly turned at the sudden intruder and the siblings tossed their drinks away, their brows arching as the strange woman spoke.
"Surrender? Ah you were the one causing all that trouble," the man said.
"After you come into our home and tear up the place you expect us to just roll over. Clearly don't know how we are, we're not surrendering to you."
"Damn right cause we're-"
"Is that so?"

The siblings words were cut off as a familiar voice echoed through the area, a few of the slavers had tried to approach Alicia during their conversation when something crashed into them from the sky, five swords impaling the creeping slavers, raining from the sky.
Nina fell along with them landing on the pommel of her broadsword, which was currently impaled in the slaver closest to Alicia. She stared down at the siblings before hopping off her sword.
"Please continue introducing yourself," Nina said pulling her swords out. "My apologies for my tardiness Alicia. I had to carry a few of the older slaves on my back. I hope you don't mind me taking your kills as well."
"W-what-"
"Your names," Nina said putting her last sword away. "I would like to know your names."
"Ah...our names are."
"Milna and Karun," Nina said moving next to Alicia.
"What the- if you knew our names then why did you ask?"
"Out of politeness," Nina responded with a nod. "My name is Alicia."
"...you called her Alicia," Milna said pointing at the true Alicia.
"I did indeed. I'm lying to you right now. I made no effort to hide my intentions, I'll do better next time."
"...I'm...I'm confused why the hell are you two here?" Karun said resting his spear against his shoulder.
"To free the slaves and capture and kill you. Ah that's wrong, to capture you unless you don't surrender which you don't intend on doing so we will now kill you."
"You got some gall threatening the-"
"Iron Twins," Nina said.
"Stop interrupting us!"
"Sorry please continue."
"The Iron-"
"Alicia are you all right? You seem fine," Nina said looking over at the woman.
"Kill them! Kill them now!" Milna yelled causing the surrounding slavers to approach the two.
"We should deal with them first," Nina said flexing her fingers.
Archers started firing from the two from above as well, the siblings putting a bit of distance between them and the strangers, bringing their weapons in front of them.
"We got well over a hundred people working for us. Those two are done," Karun said smirking at the scene.
Milna remained silent her eyes narrowing as she eyed the two.
"I get a….bad feeling from them," she mumbled.

There were few times in her life that she gave thought to such things, but seeing Nina land perfectly on the hilt of her largest sword actually brought an appreciation from her for the rather flashy entrance. No doubt if Ru and Luro had been here they'd be gushing about it right now, fortunately Alicia was more reserved and merely responded with a respectful incline of her head before turning her attention back to the siblings.

The following interaction had her blink a few times in confusion as she shifted between them and Nina, being mindful of the other slavers around them as she paid attention to their movements. She held up a finger to interject before it bent forwards a little when it seemed the back and forth continued, bringing a bewildered expression to her features. She snapped back to the situation at hand when the order came to attack them, her brow furrowing as she reached a hand quickly to the side, placing it firmly on Nina's shoulder.

"Forgive this trespass." she spoke before using her other hand to wield Shusui as she nimbly reversed her grip upon the hilt shortly before bringing the blade down into the ground in front of her. The blue aura of power ignited in her left eye as a violent explosion of wind bloomed outward in a dome around them, fending off the salvo of arrows and knocking back the approaching slavers giving them a bit more room to work with. "It appears they've opted for death over capture. Let us not keep them waiting." she spoke as she released her grip of Nina's shoulder, having used the physical contact as a means of providing her an immunity to the elemental assault.

Nina hands went to her hilt at the order, though as Alicia approached her eyes moved over to her curious what she wanted. When the influx of energy filled the area, for a brief moment the air around the woman warped, but the moment was short and Nina only offered a small nod towards Alicia, her hand moving to her other blade.
"Agreed. It's only polite to respond promptly to others."

The slavers approached Nina the woman's blades cutting through any that drew too close to her person, twin blades in hand she moved through any that crossed her path. Nina walked with a slow gait, raising her sword to knock away any attacks that approached.
"Attack her all at once, don't give her an opening!"
Four slavers jumped the woman and brought their swords down, Nina glanced to the side and blocked two of the strikes, the slavers behind her brought their swords down at the opening for two more blades to stop theirs.
"Wha-"
The extra blades knocked their swords away and Nina's swords glinted as the four slavers fell to the ground, red bursting out of their bodies.
"Attack as one....attack as many," Nina said flicking the blood off her blades. "Feel free to approach me anyway you want...I will respond properly."
Nina continued her stroll through the slavers, moving out of the way of any attacks that drew close and countering any that drew too close to her.

"What the hell is this?!" Karun exclaimed gripping his spear.
"Don't panic! Just focus, we can stop them. The silver haired one is fast...but we might be able to exploit that and the other one is-"
"Casually cutting down our people like she's walking through a flower garden! I can't even see the silver one anymore."
"Do I have to do everything!" Milna said sighing. "Veterans pull the line in! Don't give them an escape route and keep firing from the ramparts!"

Nina blinked a few times as new orders were barked, and she noticed more archers were starting to appear, she looked down at the mass of slavers still around before looking up at the sky.
"Ria won't be able to sleep if she has nothing to cling too," Nina said putting her blades away. "...guess I should try a little."
The area was still filled with slavers on her side, she couldn't allow that to remain if they wanted to get back before it was time for bed.
"She put her blades away! Attack her!" one of the men yelled.
"Minimal effort as Kaim says."
Nina vanished from sight as the slavers attacked, her blades cutting through them before moving forward, traces of her swords movements suddenly filled the area. All seven blades cutting through the air simultaneously, guided by invisible hands as Nina remained out of sight. The trails of her swords offered the only sign the woman was still around, a stream of never ending cuts tore through the troops, the contour of her cuts slowly growing larger, forming a dome of cuts that drew in more and more of the slavers until they were trapped in the circle of ruination, swipes hitting them from all angles. Large gashes formed in the walls as the attack grew wide and wider, the archers on top of the walls tried to move from them but suffered the same fate, pulled in my some invisible force.
The slavers screamed within Nina's harsh domain, her blades cutting through them over and over and over again causing the others to quickly put distance from her side.

With the attention drawn onto Nina, Alicia instead adopted more of a support role as she used her speed to move around the outer perimeter of Nina's dome of blades. She adapted her stance as she maneuvered with increased dexterity and grace, swinging the black blade as she moved to strike the slavers attempting to flee with vollies of wind to knock them back into the path of Nina's onslaught. Pincering the slavers between both of their attacks prevented any hope for escape and soon enough the slavers were cut down as pained cries and screams filled the air.

Once finished Alicia would appear beside Nina once again with the bodies of the fallen slavers littering a perfect circle around the two, although it seemed the slavers attacking at range from the ramparts were still left unharmed. Or at least that was the case till Alicia slid Shusui back into its saya with an audible click causing flashes of light to bloom briefly from various cuts in the ramparts which crumbled away beneath them, the cuts having been made during her departure to force their melee focused opponents into Nina's slaughter. She'd considered making use of her elegance to make shorter work of the situation and in truth she'd have been able to cut apart the entire camp with ease. But she'd be revealing her newfound power to Nina which would undoubtedly be reported back to Tari, an advantage she wasn't ready to lose till she absolutely had to.

The siblings stared at the brutal scene in silence, a few of their people having pulled back before the earlier onslaught. Milna nudged Karun causing the brother to nod, Armament flowed up their blades before running along their arms, the soldiers in front of them followed the same action.
"We'll show you why we're called the Iron Twins!" Karun yelled.
"Yeah we'll-"
"Nice teamwork Alicia," Nina said holding her hand up towards her. "Hand celebration touch time."
"Okay you know what! Fine no words! Just di-"
Karun's were cut off as his body exploded, Milna was thrown away from him and the soldiers in front of him flew over the two swordwoman's heads into the far wall. Nina had dug her feet into the dirt at the explosion, her clothing fluttering wildly until the moment passed.
Nina's eyes moved to the new crater in the earth, what remained of Karun resided in the newly formed hole. Nina's gaze moved up towards the walls as she was positive she caught something approach the man before the explosion.
On top of the wall was a single figure, a hooded garment covering the top of their body, accompanied by black trousers. A chain hung off the person's belt, showing an emblem with two swords going through a piece of fruit.
The newcomer twirled two marbles in their gloved hands, and though their face was concealed it was clear they were eyeing Alicia and Nina.
Milna slowly climbed to her feet, coughing a bit as she looked up towards the walls, her spear slipped out of her hand and her eyes widened as fear overtook what pride she had left upon witnessing the stranger..
"H-Hunter Aril….w-why are you-"
"We heard rumors of Slavers in the area….we don't normally patrol this far but we've been looking for someone….lucky us."
The voice from Aril was cold, detached and somehow full of gentle malice, akin to a child speaking a threat, though from the Hunter's demeanor it seemed they had the ability to properly back it up.
"Those clothes and that sword. Alicia Tashigi of Stardusk….Brother Relias has business with them. You are not to interfere."
"I-I understand. I'll just go and-"
"Go?"
Another explosion echoed causing Nina to raise her hand as this one was clearly larger than the last, it caused her to slide back slightly blowing a few of the bodies threw the air, to the other side of the area. Milna's scream echoed as she suffered the same fate of her brother, the Hunter seemed to have flicked the marble at the woman with surprising speed, leading to her end before returning his gaze to the other two.
"...We'll make sure you're repaid in kind for your actions...for now enjoy the quiet."
Smoke exploded in front of the Hunter, his presence fading before the smoke cleared. Nina shut her eyes for a moment before opening them and turning making her way back to the beach.
"Let's return and give the report. Our job is complete."

Alicia cocked her head to the side in slight confusion when Nina raised her hand towards her, glancing at her own hand as she raised it before placing her palm briefly against Nina's. "I don't fully understand the gesture, but… go team?" she replied before her attention snapped to the new arrival, causing her to instinctively fall into a stance as her hand gripped the hilt of her blade. She hadn't forgotten about the other two, but admittedly she was far less concerned with them than the new arrival… he gave off a much different energy than the others. 'So this is a hunter…' she thought to herself as her eyes narrowed slightly, focusing upon one of those responsible for capturing and keeping those devil fruit users in such poor conditions.

As soon as the smoke billowed out from the bombs, Alicia pulled her sword and swiped it away in one smooth fluid motion. Despite dispelling the smoke the hunter was nowhere to be seen, causing her to feel a modicum of unease given the confrontation hadn't led to a fight, an unexpected result especially given the hunter had taken it upon himself to dispatch the last of their opponents. "Very well." she replied to Nina with a small nod before turning to follow her, sheathing Shusui once again before taking one last glance back towards the explosive craters left behind by the hunters attacks. It was clear now why Devil Fruit users had such a difficult time dealing with such opponents, they certainly weren't weak adversaries that much had been made clear long before his demonstration.

 

[Mizos]

​

"All right let's get this meeting started!"
Kaim had asked Runali to gather Stardusk together on the main deck, a map was laid out on multiple barrels, a large island covering most of the map. Certain parts were circled in red with small markings and writing on it in different places. A few drawings were also there but they didn't seem to add too much to the information.
"Okay so good news. Thanks to all the information shared with us and a bit of searching on our end we managed to find Isari."
"Really?!" Zilia stepped forward, a red glow hovering in front of Kaim's face.
He took a small step back waiting for the energy to fade having nothing to cut before stepping forward again as Zilia apologized.
"Yeah she's definitely on this island. We got witnesses and sent Ria to confirm it."
Luro took a look around and sure enough Ria was nowhere to be seen, though that was normal for her so he instead focused back on Kaim.
"So yeah let's go get her."
"Kaim the bad news," Nina added.
"Oh right bad news normally comes with good news," Kaim said before pointing at the map. "The bad news is we don't have her exact location. However we did confirm that Maka shows up in these spots periodically, these two especially."

Kaim motioned to two of the larger red spots.
"Since he has her we're positive she's hidden somewhere around here, the other marks are also places he's frequented."
Kaim ran a hand through his hair and tapped the edge of the island.
"Thanks to our mercenary 'friends' the Red Lions have backed off which means we won't have to deal with them going in...if we're fast enough we won't have to deal with them leaving either."

Zilia messed with her bangs as she looked at the marks on the map, each one was a fair distance from one another, and the island was relatively large, even covering the two spots was going to be difficult.
"We won't have much time once we're on the island. Once they realize how close we are there's no telling what they'll do."
"They'll?" Luro questioned. "I thought only Maka was there."
"Well...we thought the same but apparently he has someone else working for him. I mean it makes sense it would take more than two people to do everything they did. Ria mentioned seeing someone in a different mask wandering about, saying they had a strange way about them."
"Strange how…" Zilia asked crossing her arms.
"She didn't explain. Just said she got a bad feeling. Some of Relias people are there too, just a heads up. Anyway the plan is simple. We're going to divide into two teams and tackle the most likely places while the mercenaries cover the other areas, then we'll meet up at the middle part after checking."
"That way if we guess wrong on one the other team can retrieve her," Nina added.
"Now there is...one additonal issue," Kaim said. "This island...is the one with the naval base….and there's no quick way to reach the destination without going through it."
"...please tell me you're joking," Zilia said looking at the map.

Kaim pointed at one of the marks and sure enough there was a large naval base directly in front of it. It was a long way around to the other half, he explained that a lot of it hadn't been touched by civilization so they'd not only have to keep from getting lost but make their way through forest, and mountain alike. It would take all day going quickly if they were lucky, just to get halfway to their destination, and that would take far too long.
"Our employer recommended we divide the groups a certain way. The old guard goes the navy base route and the new guard goes to the town."
"By old guard we mean those a part of Stardusk before Kane'Arteum, and the new are those who came after," Nina added.

"Our employer informed us that by utilizing the skills that way it'd be easier to break though."
Luro scratched the side of his head at this, not sure how that was really going to help but shrugged, deciding to leave that kind of thinking to the Captain and First mate.
"Your employer...is oddly well informed," Zilia said looking over at Kaim.
"...haha...I know there's a bit of understandable concern there," Kaim said holding up his hands. "I'll say now that our employer wants you all to get through this safe and sound. That's a guarantee. They also told me to inform Zilia that Mari is at the naval base."
Zilia's eyes widened at the name and she looked back at the map, her eyelids lowered slightly as she brought a hand to her mouth.
"Mari….I see."
"She may be in danger as well," Kaim added. "Well more danger than a navy officer is normally in anyway."
"You know someone in the navy Z?" Luro said looking back at the map.
"Yeah...Mari's a good person though. I can't stand by knowing she might be in danger, she's helped me before. Captain...I know it's a lot to ask...especially considering the circumstances...but I'd feel better knowing Mari was safe. If you mention me...she may help you...maybe."
"Ah right almost forgot," Kaim said. "Someone named Noram was also taken hostage."
"Oh."
Zilia looked over at Kaim, her mouth twitching to the side a bit at the mention of the other person, she didn't seem entirely pleased at hearing the name but seemed to keep whatever she wanted to say inside.
"Our employer truly does believe the old guard are the better choice for going through the naval base. Jack, Cedric and Zilia should check the other area, of course we're going to go with you. Our employer wouldn't put you in that kind of danger without reason. You can check on Mari and if there's time help this Noram guy."
"Feel no obligation too," Zilia said looking at everyone. "If you're able to then help him but don't go out of your way….for your safety."
"...Z uh...that's kind of harsh," Luro said resting his hands on his hips.
"I'm more concerned for your well being than his, there's nothing harsh about it. I would still prefer he not die without someone putting in the effort...but if he does when you try just know I'll hold nothing against you."
"He's closer to the naval base...not sure if we should let Z go that route anyway…" Kaim said.
"I wouldn't leave Norma to die...probably."
"You muttered that last part Z," Luro said.
"There was no last part, anyway Captain what are you thoughts."
"I stand by the plan Cap," Kaim said pounding his chest. "We've looked at it from multiple angles. We can't cover everything but this will give us an opening. All we gotta do is take advantage of it."

"Blegh, splitting up sounds like a bad idea." Runali was propped against Alicia at first only to lean forward on one of the barrels to follow along properly. She heaved a sigh, going over the plan again and again in her head. "So… Maka… Lions… Navy…" Her hand went across the two points on the map before she went back into thought. There were a lot of issue with the plan, most involving death and injury, others involving being captured or found out too soon. Unfortunately, she couldn't harp too much on those details because that was just what pirates had to deal with. Pirates and the Prophets at least.

Her brow furrowed. "Hm… Isari is our main goal, which makes Maka the highest priority here…And there's two more that can't be casualties..." Runali mumbled a few other things to herself, obviously assessing the plan. With a sigh, she straightened up. "Alright, yeah. It's crazy enough to work. We'll take the naval base. A base should be easier than breaking out of a very secure prison. The 'new guard', if that's what we're calling it, can take Coral. She's better fit for nature than a bunch of navy." She tapped the barrel in thought. "Oh right and if we happen upon a Navy officer by the name of Mari or some guy named Noram, we don't kill them. Got it. Alright. We'll go with this." Runali gave an affirmative nod and looked between the Stardusk and the Prophets. "Time to do what we do best."

"Sounds good Captain," Luro said grinning.
"If you have to kill Noram that's fine too, I won't blame you," Zilia said nodding. "Save him only if you have the time, no obligation."
"Please avoid killing Noram," Nina said. "Our employer says it's for the best he lives."
Kaim grinned and gave a small fist pump at the Captain's words, ignoring the 'tch' that escaped from Zilia.
"Agreed Captain. Thanks for your trust on this. Nina will head with you guys, let's do our best."

Upon arriving at the island the two groups went their separate ways, discussing the meeting place and time. Luro, Alicia, Runali and Nina headed towards the naval base. While Cedric, Zilia, Jack and Kaim headed towards the town marked on the map. Kadi was left to watch Lady Luck.
The island itself was one of the larger ones in the area, there were large patches of forest with towns scattered here and there along it. Only parts of the island were actually touched by civilization, mainly where the war had left its mark. Kaim informed them the history of the place led to its current state and the important thing was that they knew that some chunks of it were still a large part of nature and that meant too many places to hide, so it was important they reach and check their places quickly.
Before the groups fully separated instead of naming them the old guard and the new guard Kaim mentioned coming up with new names.
Luro chose the names, the old guard were the 'Noram Hunters' and the new guard were "The Daylight Takers."
Zilia became all too keen on being part of team new guard once the names were chosen.

The Noram Hunters had little trouble finding the Naval base, it wasn't too far from the docks and it's size made it stand out as it easily towered over the trees. Luro looked over the base, focusing the large buildings, he started to ask why they made them so large when he noticed the numerous cannons adorning the top of the structures.
A single shot from one of those would disintegrate Lady Luck, mainly because they were larger than the ship itself.
"...they must need good defenses being surrounded by enemies," Nina said.

The base seemed like a whole town itself, seeing it reminded Luro of Brass Cape a little, buildings running along a paved road, and numerous shops of varying sizes. He could swear he saw houses from where they were as well. The gate was open for any to enter though guards were nearby watching those who approached. They were surprised by the sudden travelers but offered smiles as they approached.
"Hello. Do you need something?"
"We wanna talk to Mari," Luro said. "It's about important stuff that's important."
"The Captain? Sure we can send someone to get her. Come on inside, she never turns away civilians who need help."
The guards motioned for the group to enter before going in themselves, Nina waited until the men were a fair bit ahead before speaking.
"This base doesn't receive much support, and the navy base especially gets very little from outside the circle, and that includes papers" Nina said. "I don't think they recognize who you are."
The general plan Kaim recommended was speaking to the associate of Zilia for help, it was a gamble but the woman was apparently a Captain and the base seemed to be under her command, if anyone had information on the area it'd be Mari.

"If they did, Luro would have been shot on sight." Runali commented right back to Nina. Being surrounded by a clueless group of navy officers didn't have her as on edge as she thought she'd be. In fact, it was a lot easier to navigate than the many scenarios that went through her mind. However, that didn't stop her from tugging Luro's sleeve back so he wasn't leading the charge. "I'll handle the rest, thank you." She patted his arm as they all continued following the soldiers towards the 'captain's den', as Runali decided to call it.

Luro glanced back at the Captain but smiled and offered a nod before taking a few steps back falling in line with Nina. The guards lead the group to the center of the base, down a small slope towards a woman with long black hair. She was dressed differently than the others, her close were a tad bit fancier than those around her, a capelet hanging off her left shoulder. She was young but there was an cold aura that surrounded the woman, and judging by the way she carried herself it was clear from a glance she was the leader.
Two swords adorned her waist, the one on her right seemed like a normal blade, but the one on her left side was tad stranger, it was a strangely shaped sword, with even the sheath a little off. From a simple looked it almost appeared as if the sword had spaced jagged edges from the hilt alone.
"Captain Mari."
When the soldiers approached the woman looked up from her papers to the newcomers.
"Oh who are they?" Mari said handing the papers to one of her people.
Luro was trailing behind looking around and up at the tall buildings around them, lost in wonder. Nina remained at Runali's side, quiet awaiting further orders from the Captain.
"Travellers who wished to speak with you."
"Oh? Well how may I help you?" Mari questioned looking at the strange group. "My hands are a little tied currently but I'll offer what aid I can."
The woman remained stern but that was a gentleness in her address to the others, though she didn't smile there was a sincerity in her eyes as she turned to fully face the group.
Nina looked over at Runali as she had mentioned handling things.

Runali assessed the most immediate dangers while the woman's attention was in paperwork. So far, their only exit was the way they came and even then would be a hassle with all of the soldiers sprawled around. But, the goal was to keep to plan A-convincing a navy officer to help. When Mari finally looked at them, Runali's shoulders slumped and she looked just a little more worried.

"Mari- uh, captain Mari, excuse me. You'll have to forgive us for barging in but," Runali took a deep breath. It looked like she was building up the courage to speak, but really she was just hoping this would work. "Our friend Zilia is in trouble. She was helping a friend of hers and somehow got mixed up with some group. It's too long of a story to sit and explain, but she went off without us and said that a 'Captain Mari' would be able to help- hopefully. And from what I know the fastest way to get to her is through this island."

When she was done, Runali straightened up to seem a little more attentive to what Mari would do. It was easier for Runali to lie when most of what she had said was true… technically speaking.

"Haha Mari is fine but I appreciate the politeness," Mari said smiling a little.
The smile quickly faded off her face as Zilia's name came up, the woman's eyes widening a bit before she brought a hand to her face as Runali finished her explanation.
"Hah…that's just like her. To end up helping someone else, get into trouble, try to solve it herself so she doesn't inconvenience someone and then immediately get in more trouble to where she has to ask."
Mari squeezed the bridge of her nose.
"If she was in the area she should have come see me."

Mari made a motion with her hand causing her men to nod and move out, many moving to grab their things, Mari looked back at the group and gave a small nod to them as Luro made his way back over to them, as his wandering was cut off by the sudden preparation.
"Thank you for bringing me this message. I'm glad that Zil-"
Mari cut herself off as Luro approached and her eyes narrowed before a whistle escaped from her.
In the next moment every weapon was trained on Stardusk by the soldiers that surrounded them on all sides, upper and lower. The sudden organization was surprisingly impressive, Nina wanted to comment on it but decided against it as they were currently being threatened.
Mari raised a gloved hand and pointed at the symbol on Luro's chest.
"Stardusk Pirates."
"P-Pirates! Captain are you certain?"
Mari remained silent at her subordinates words keeping one open hand raised in the air, it appeared the only thing that stopped the soldiers from immediately responding was the Captain's silent order.
"Temporary boss it appears they recognize us as threats," Nina said looking over at Runali.
The cannons above focused on the group, a loud clunk sounding as something was loaded into it.
"Temporary boss it appears they have their cannons pointed at us," Nina said.
One of the cannons turned and focused on something in the distance causing Nina to focus back on Runali.
"Temporary boss it appears they have their cannons focused on Lady Luck."

Mari eyed the group for a moment watching for the smallest trace of movement from any of them, watching for any violent response. Nina glanced at Luro who surprisingly enough had relaxed the moment the guns had been trained on them. Mari eyed the giant before sighing and making two motions with her fingers.
The soldiers in the base immediately stood at attention removing their gun's sights off the pirates, but the cannons remained focused on them.
A few of the naval officers took a few steps back from the group and Mari moved her hands to her hips.
"Zil spoke very highly of you all…I'm glad she was able to find you," Mari said. "She asked me to help locate you while I was a formal part of the organization…I spent a long time staring at that symbol, I certainly wouldn't forget it."
Her eyes moved to the others looking for the Stardusk symbol on them as well.
"Comrade Luro, it appears your exposed chest has exposed us," Nina said looking over at Luro.
"…were we not supposed to tell them we were pirates?"
Mari brought a hand to the side of her head as her men waited for her next order.
"Only three things have stopped me from leveling this entire base killing everything within it. One of which is the high praise Zilia spoke of you all. The Pirates with a conscience or something of that sort."
"No comment," Luro said holding up a hand.
"I know you've done good and I dislike judging based off other assumptions…but at the same time you are the embodiment of chaos….well putting aside that notion for a moment, is Zil really in trouble? That's more important right now."
"You're not going to shoot us?" Luro questioned tilting his head.
"I have no inclination yet minus the orders spoken by men who make little effort to peer at the world properly. I'll judge myself whether it's necessary."
"A-aye Captain," one of the men said. "At you word."

Runali went from a small sigh of relief to taking a small step back towards her group. "Ah, yeah. Forgot our accompanied giant is also part time flag." She chuckled and raised her hands in peace. Her gaze went over to Nina as she continued. "Thank you for your report honorary Stardusk. And well, Luro I was gonna get to that. Y'know after she actually got us where we needed to be." Their casual 'conversation' while surrounded by weapons stopped when they weren't being threatened and Mari was… less threatening than a few minutes ago.

"Hey, hey, pirate through and through but I am true to my word. I didn't technically lie to you. Technically." She shrugged and put her hands down, leaving one out to shake Mari's hand. "Also please don't ask Luro about his conscience. We'll be here all day. I'll take temporary replacement of that- Anyway yeah, Captain Lev of the Stardusk Pirates. Nice to meet you. Zilia's our doctor and she has gotten herself into a bit of an issue, that's not a lie. We just… also happened to be there with her. We weren't the cause though, if that's your concern. And I was very serious about not having time to sit and chat. We do need to get to the other side of this island. Zil's looking for her friend. Someone stole Zil's friend and attacked us. And it's now our… pirate duty to help our doctor and also in the process get rid of the people that tried to threaten us. As pirates do."

Her hands went to her hips and she shrugged again. "The group isn't all that friendly either if that makes you feel better. We're the lesser of two evils. But, hey if you don't want to help us could you at least let us through so we can hurry and help Zil?"

Mari didn't move at first but eventually shook Runali's hand, she didn't seem pleased about the 'technically' part but was listening to what the Captain had to say.
At the mention of Zilia being their doctor a small nod escaped from the woman.
"Aye that makes sense," the woman said. "Both the doctor and the issue."
She seemed relieved that they weren't the source of the problem but that didn't appear to be enough to fully relax her, at the mention of getting to the other side of the island the woman's eyes narrowed a bit, but they softened at the mentioning a friend.
"I don't care about any lesser evil," Mari said shaking her head. "I wouldn't pass a thief next to me to catch a possible burglar ahead. However I do hear what you're saying. Who is this friend? I know only one cohort on this island that is in danger and both Zil and myself are not wholly concerned about his well being, at least enough to put in maximum effort."
"It's Isari, she-" Luro started.
"Isa!"
Mari's voice echoed through the base, the woman's calm face falling for a moment as her eyes widened and panic filled her features, though she seemed to catch herself and clear her throat, putting her 'boss' face back on.
"I see….I don't know why Isa's in the circle…but I know Zilia is probably pulling her hair out. For a moment I thought you meant Noram."
"Oh him too," Luro said.
"Ah…but Isa's more important."
"Very much so," Nina added.
"Then you speak the truth…unfortunately I have a duty not to allow those with ill intentions to pass through here. It is my one job as a navy officer here and I cannot put that aside, not even for a friend of Zil."

Mari grabbed the strange blade and drew it, a soft hum came from the strangely misshapen sword in her grip, it resembled a fang more than a blade, with strange etchings carved into the side. Whether it was made of bone or metal was difficult to ascertain at first glance, and the few jagged edges on it's sharp end spoke that it wasn't a normal blade.
"I will judge your intentions then decide from there," Mari said.
The soldiers hadn't trained their guns back on Stardusk, even though their Captain had drawn her weapon, the group had even taken a few extra steps back.
"That's a weird sword," Nina said eyeing the blade. "It sounds like it's singing."
"It is a blade forged from a monster I slew in the past, but that is not important currently. One of you step forward and duel me. Liars or not words bear little weight here without proper evidence, cross blades with me…I will see your true character that way. You may pick your champion. Take a moment to do so."

Nina turned towards the others Luro doing the same, Mari patiently waited for them to pick as the two looked at each other then the group.
"Breaking through might be a bad idea," Nina said bringing a hand to her chin. "I'm fine if that's your decision but we may not have a ship to leave on afterwards…and I'm positive there are more officers ahead."
"We just gotta fight her right? That seems okay."
"Sor would probably be upset if we destroyed the Naval base as well," Nina added. "Their presence here helps keep the navy away. If we break that balance…you'd probably make substantial more enemies….we may even lose the allies we have currently."
"So we just pick one then. No biggie, anyone wanna go?"

"Guess, we should have led with that huh… I dunno that sword looks pretty cool to me." Runali commented. Though her brow furrowed when Mari decided they'd fight for help. "Hey, not to… uh be rude- And I'm saying this as a pirate," She scratched her head. "But we're kinda in a hurry. We can't be stuck in battle while Zilia's- and the rest of my crew-" She mumbled the addition, "Going head first into danger. Seems kind of irresponsible as a captain. I'm not really interested in a brawl with the navy. Frankly, you're on the… very bottom of the list actually. It's Maka… Lion Group… probably some other people… Then the navy." She stared at Mari for a second before sighing.

"But if you really must prove a point, Alicia can be your opponent." She gestured over to her first mate. "Guess I can't say 'go easy' so we don't have more injury than necessary. So uh, have fun and make it quick?"

"You have your duty as a pirate, I have mine as a navy officer. I'm also a very busy woman Captain Lev and you aren't on the top of my list either. If you are in a hurry then act instead of talking please."
Mari remained silent after saying her peace, her eyes moving to Alicia as she was chosen as her opponent, both Luro and Nina kicked the dirt slightly but took a step back for Alicia to approach the woman.
Luro had noticed the woman's eyes had twitched a bit at the mention of Maka but didn't say anything choosing to just watch the exchange.
The officers around them immediately started cheering forming a circle around the woman
"Make it quick! How dare you insult the-"
Mari raised a hand to the soldier and made a motion with her hand.
"Actions over words commander, do not let such things sway you," Mari said before looking at Alicia. "My name is Mari Noinmore, ex-Commander of the six fleet. Let us have an honorable duel."
She brought both hands to the handle of her blade and spreading her feet slightly raised her hands up, lowering her body as she took a stance.



On the other part of the island Team Daylight Takers were approaching the town outlined on the map. It was a moderately sized town, it was originally larger but after the war had been divided into different sections. There were numerous old structures in the area, including a few temples, a tower and old aqueducts. The objective was to reach the town and gather information, and with any luck locate Maka if he passed through.

When they drew closer to the town Zilia came to a sudden stop causing Kaim to bump into her.
"Oi Zil what's the-"
Kaim's eyes widened as he eyed the town ahead, or rather what remained of it.
The entire town had been coated in purple crystal, sparkling mirrors that consumed the entire area. The buildings and land were completely covered, the cobblestone glinting in the sunlight, even the forest surrounding it was wrapped in crystal. The only trace of nature that remained was where they were standing and Zilia could see the crystal was slowly pushing towards them.
"Isa…no...she wouldn't normally do something like this…" Zilia said taking a few steps forward.
"Not normally no."

Zilia twitched as the sounds of crunching echoed in front of them, a familiar figure stepped out of the shadows of a nearby tree, a young man still adorned in his wolf mask appeared in front of the group, hands behind his back.
"Maka!"
Zilia hurled her rope dart and the crystal rose up blocking the attack, Zilia's eyes widened as she pulled it back before she noticed Maka was standing on the crystal, the very same crystal that regarded anyone that wasn't Isari a threat. Thanks to Zilia's response the crystal had grown a bit more faster towards them causing her to take a step back.
"Let's not resort to violence, the crystal might consume you as it has the people here," Maka motioned back towards the town.

Zilia took a closer look only to notice that there were what looked like man made statues in the distance, she felt her voice catch in her throat, a gasp escaping from her at the sight. It took her a moment to regain her composure before she narrowed her gaze back on Maka.
"Where is she Maka?!"
"In that tower over there," Maka said motioning to the large spiral-like structure past the town.
Zilia's eyes followed his finger before noticing the distant structure was made entirely of crysta,l and she realized very quickly that it looked oddly familiar.
"...the Glass Tower…just like in the book," Zilia mumbled. "Then the town must be…"
"She resides at the very top. You're free to climb and retrieve her."
Kaim grinned at this and got into a fighting stance causing Maka to look in his direction.
" However you're going to stand in our way so we can't do so right?"
"No."
"No?" Zilia and Maka said simultaneously.
"I won't stop you from approaching or even climbing the tower. However I will mention that due to Isari's power spiraling out of control many of the people here have been turned to statues...but they are very much alive. At least for the time being."

Maka motioned to the town once more.
"Isari's golems have been wandering the town looking for threats...and I'd say right about now they'll start to recognize the 'human' shapes and act accordingly. They'll more than likely crush them which will end the lives of those who reside here."
Zilia grit her teeth as Maka turned his attention back to them, her hands closing into fists, red dripping from them as nails dug into skin.
"Isari doesn't want to hurt people with her power...and you-"
"I haven't done anything save make it recognize me as an ally. Her own panic and fear will destroy those people. While I could help them...I figured it was better left in your hands. Though now that I know you're here I may have to move her. I haven't decided yet."
"Okay so some of us should head towards the tower and-"
"That won't work," Maka said cutting Kaim off. "There are four golems in different sections of the town, and they're quite strong, especially being able to reform at will if not destroyed properly. If they're not destroyed soon Isari will have blood on her hands."
"Maka you sick-"
"I didn't want this Zilia." Maka said cutting her off. "We could have worked together and avoided reaching this point...but you chose your side. The blood of my people is on your hands...so it's only fair I put the blood of others on yours….make a choice. I'll make sure the crystal doesn't recognize you as enemies...the non golem's anyway no matter which decision you make."
Maka's visage faded and Zilia stared at the scene ahead, the tower was a fair bit away and climbed far above the town. Running there and back wasn't going to happen, especially reaching the top to get Isari.
"...I know Isari doesn't want to hurt anyone...the very thought of it scares her...made her the way she is...damn it! I bet he planned this!"

Kaim stepped on the crystal and sure enough it made no attempt to attack him, Zilia eyed the town and slowly opened her hands.
"...I'm going to fight the golems...I can't let Isari kill with her power...she'll blame herself I know it. I'll head to the tower afterwards."
"How do you beat the golems?" Kaim questioned.
Zilia blinked at Kaim who calmly cracked his knuckles, words caught in her throat but she ultimately gave a brief explanation on locating the 'brain' crystal and its appearance and to destroy it, making sure to speak loud enough as a reminder for all those nearby.
"Cool I'll help with the golems as well. I really wanna rush the tower but it's on the way anywho."
Zilia turned to Cedric and Jack before looking back towards the tower.
"...I will respect your decision whichever it is...but I'm heading to one of the districts. Either way we'll rendevous at the tower," Zilia said before moving towards the districts.
Kaim gave a small two finger salute to the two before heading towards the other districts.

Zilia leaped back as a large creature slammed it's hand down where she had been, she slid backwards among the crystal narrowing her eyes at the misshapen creature in front of her. Hers had the appearance of what looked like a mix between a plant and a human, hands formed at part of the stems. She recognized the creature as one from the book, it was a creature of the old city, a mutated plant that consumed a human.
"...I regret lending her that book."

Kaim ducked sideways as what looked like a large panther attacked him, though the creature stood on two legs only running on fours when it tried to approach him. He weaved between it's clawed strikes trying to avoid drawing the Golem's attacks towards the still frozen people.
"Man it's hard to fight and protect. This is why I don't like taking escort missions," Kaim mumbled moving away from the man panther's attacks.
"Also what is this thing?"

The Gentle Monster

​

Maka adjusted the gloves on his hands as he made his way through the vibrant town, a Red Lion trailed a few steps behind him trying to avoid bumping into the many people around them. He questioned how Maka made it look so easy to weave through, content when they finally made it past the crowd. Maka had been going out more and more since Yuli had died, and he was positive she wouldn't have been happy with that development, she preferred him hidden and out of sight, it was part of their orders to do things so he wouldn't have to.
"Uh Boss should you really be wandering about. Yuli didn't want-"

He cut himself off as a few children passed by, one tripping and falling. Maka reached over and caught the girl before she hit the ground, helping her to her feet, she looked up at him and smiled before thanking him and chasing after her friends. Maka smiled and waved to the child as they ran off and continued forward.
"It's important to have a reminder on why you're fighting," Maka said folding his hands behind his back. "Remaining cooped up in your castle and not with the people...blinds you to many things."
"I-I suppose that's true."
"I will protect everyone," Maka said before raising his hand. "I will do what is needed to keep them safe."

Maka snapped his fingers and a rumbling noise suddenly echoed in the distance, the ground itself starting to shake causing the people in town to look around in panic. The Red Lion stumbled a bit trying to stand on his feet when his gaze moved to the source of the rumbling ahead.
His eyes widened as crystal quickly rushed towards them, a wave of transparent force flying at them at incredible speed. The Red Lion raised his hands as the crystal reached them casting a shadow over their forms, however the crystal divided, consuming everything around the two, covering the stones at their feet before stopping the people and slowly trapping them in their new makeshift prisons.
The people screamed and tried to claw, punch, escape but the crystal ignored their attempts and completely overtook them, within moments the entire town was covered in Isari's 'gift' and Maka lowered his hands looking back at the Red Lion.
"We will have to play the roles of villian for a bit longer. Let's keep going."
"O-of course Boss," the Red Lion said following him.

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Cedric's hand shot out and he yanked Jack back. He knew instantly the kind of thoughts crossing his fère's mind - it was the same protective instinct that made Jack jump to his aid thirteen years ago. Sid clicked his tongue. Part of him wanted to point out the inefficiencies in Zilia's plan but he'd be wasting his breath. Jack had already made up his mind.

"I've got a better plan."

Whispering in Trovalian, Cedric explained his idea. One, he figured, would save them the greatest amount of time. He didn't want to give Maka the opportunity to sneak Isari away so easily now that they've finally found her. Sid squeezed that broader hand reassuringly when Jack's brows furrowed.

"Croyez-moi, fére." (trust me)

The younger brother slipped five shadow cards into Jack's hand and pressed warm ashes against the man's forehead. Their eyes barely met when Jack's form burst into hundreds of light motes. A strange buzzing filled the air before these tiny stars shot skyward and merged with the surrounding light.

Where he'd reform, Sid didn't know. He intended for his brother to reappear on the tower roof but, given his inexperience, Jack could end up free falling from an undetermined height. He looked down at his hand and realised he crossed his fingers. Pardon, Jack. Try not to panic when you reach the tower.

The thief scaled the roof of the closest house. Wind whipped his face as he traversed the rooftops away from Zilia and Kaim. Vaulting down from the last roof, his feet crunched on crystalline grass. Living statues - if they were still alive - dotted the garden. Cedric's ears caught the glassy tinkling of the yellowing leaves frozen to their branches.

The ground underneath him shook, pulling his attention to the translucent chimera knuckle-walking towards the trapped townsfolk. Sid took in the ape-ish body, focusing longest on those clawed digits curling into the palms. He darted forward and vanished.

Light moulded into a solid body as Sid reappeared. A barrier flashed brightly in the nick of time, saving the people from a horrific doom. Switching cards, he melted into golem's shadows and emerged behind it. The creature barely noticed him as it smashed repeatedly at the cracking barrier.

Cedric pulled his crossbow from behind and fired. His bolt glanced harmlessly off that arch back but he had the golem's attention. He ran teleporting a few yards ahead after every ten steps. His eyes flicked occasionally to the tower in the distance.

Jack, get ready, he conveyed via Jackie. He doubted she would pass his message verbatim but his anxiety should be enough to get Jack's attention.

He shared the images of the golem trailing him and how he barely dodged the earth-shattering punches. Slowly, he focused on specific details - the cracking around the right wrist, the glowing "brain" embedded in the left ankle and its attack pattern. The golem would lunge at him or rear on its legs and swipe with its clawed hands. Very rarely would it attempt to punch him as the motion threw it off balance - a result of having a bulkier torso and short, uneven back limbs.

"Jack!" He yelled as he broke into the tower grounds.

That was all the warning he could give. Sid skidded to a stop a good distance from Jack's vantage point and turned to face his pursuer. He threw his arms out and waited for an attack. The golem reared on legs as predicted and swung its left arm into the air. Sid's heart hammered wildly as he mentally rehearsed his next step. Jack better not let him down.

He eyed the glowing brain, exposed for a clean armament shot, and he stared on the ground. Shadows swoop towards his head; the darkness thickening under his feet. The absence of light only made the red glare even more intense. He gave it one last look then faded away in a rush of light.

×××××××××××​

Wispy clouds were the first thing Sid saw when his senses returned. His body crashed into crisscrossing clotheslines and remained suspended between roof and ground. He gasped, feeling cold sweat trickling down his temples. His hands were trembling from the constant spell casting, a sign he was beginning to fatigue. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

His older familiars showing their current progress, a message also conveyed to Jack. Images of them currently in human form, looking eerily like younger versions of him and Jack, running and dodging as a frilled-neck golem chased them. It was a strange bipedal lizard with a serpentine head. Slim fangs unfurled each time it spat crystal darts at his cats; its frills flaring right before the attack.

It was during the last attack that Chester spotted the "brain". The glowing gem was sitting at the back of the throat. Sid pressed a wrist over his eyes. There was no way around this. They needed to bait the creature into opening its mouth and pray Jack acted fast enough to prevent all of them from being skewered alive. Great! He was already dreading it.

The Stardusk tailor dropped to the ground and pulled out another light card. He guessed he better aid his cats or they might lead the golem further away from the tower. He sacrificed the card and vanished from the area.

 

[SilentxChaos]

​

On Lady Luck

Jack agreed with Runali; he hated the idea of splitting up. Little good comes of it. Just more chaos. He glanced in Zilia's direction as Kaim laid out the plan, and let out a silent sigh of relief. At least we're all going to be in groups... no going off on our own, hopefully....

On the Island

"I should have known better," were the first words out of Jack's mouth when they came across Maka and his sour news. C.P. cawed, seemingly in agreement, and took off from his shoulder.

The town of crystal was as gorgeous as it was terrifying. A capsule of fragile, frozen time with all its inhabitants. Jack gazed upon it and shuddered. It reminded him too much of the ghost town in Norja; a place also frozen in time, but with ash, and the people mere corpses in their coated tombs.

The Daylight Takers, honorably dubbed by Stardusk's moniker maker, gazed upon it mixed reactions. Jack saw one family of three huddling behind a building. The parents held onto each other with their child between them, doing their best to shield it with their bodies, not knowing if they could protect it from their coming fate. His eyes tore away to look at the tower. Isari, what is happening to you?

When Sid pulled him aside, Jack stopped, and waited. He listened to the plan and nodded as Sid handed him the cards. "Alright. As long as we make sure all golems are destroyed. Understand m--"

*******​

One minute, the beautiful crystalline ground was under his feet. In the next disorienting second -- nothing. He caught a glimpse of flying Coral at eye level, looking as surprised as he was, before he dropped. Jack's scream of surprise and outrage caught his throat as he fell like stone. He'd been transported into midair, a good ten feet or higher above the tower's roof. Haki braced his fall; feet cracked against the crystal and he tumbled forward, sliding several meters as he dug against the smooth surface, trying to gain some purchase. He slammed his fingers into it with armament, creating a handhold. His body jerked to stop and pain lanced up in his arm.

He laid there, for a solid minute, biting his tongue against the pain and to catch his breath. Jackie mewed concern from his pocket. "Yes, I'm-- I'm going."

An image of Sid running from their first golem flashed in his mind. Gritting his teeth, Jack hauled himself up. Armament haki blackened his glove-tipped fingers, allowing him to create grips so he could get to a flat part of the spire. Every smash of the crystal lanced fire in his arm. He shoved it into the back of his mind -- pulled muscles would have to wait.

Scrambling onto safer ground, Jack unslung the rifle and pinpointed Sid with Jackie's help. He forced measured breathing, taking careful aim. He was never good at long-distant shooting.

A spike of panic stopped his heart when he saw Sid turn to face the monster. Without missing a beat, he raised the rifle and fired.

The first golem went down with the first shot. The shards of shattered crystal bit at Cedric's skin as he dissipated into shadows. Jack grimaced as his bullet left a fist-sized crater in the ground, too close to a woman who'd been frozen mid-fall.

The second one was trickier. It moved faster, and was nimble and farther. Jack never let his gun stray too far from the creature, but he had to sit and impatiently wait for Sid to lure the thing closer so he could get a better shot. He fidgeted, caught between a state of fighter's calm and brother's fear. When the lizard-like golem got close enough, he signaled all three, summoner and cats, to flee as he fired again. One shot caught the lizard's chest and chipped a man's leg. The second... hit its mark.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Kaim and Zilia. They were taking care of their golems, or already had, and he decided to trust that those threats wouldn't resurface. I hope you know what you're talking about, Vai, he thought to himself as he leveled his gun once more -- this time, at his feet.

With the last shot in the rifle, he broke the spire's roof and fell into the tower; C.P. followed after him through the hole. It was time to find Isari.

 

[Mizos]

and Mari too yay.​

Mari remained in her stance but made no attempt to approach Alicia, she merely watched the woman who would be her opponent apparently waiting for something from the opposing side. She remained unmoving, her form clearly polished, all openings that existed moments before had vanished at the shift of her stance, her feet were planted firmly and her hands wrapped around her blade. She was prepared to give or receive at a moments notice, to lash out the moment the duel commenced, but she remained still only staring at Alicia, if there was something she wanted she didn't speak it, she only allowed the moment to speak for itself.

The men around them cheered before a loud voice echoed from nearby.
"Captain! May the men go on break!"
Mari didn't respond at first but sighed and lowered her sword moving from her stance, it was clear she was still on guard but for some reason she chose not to speak to her men in her battle stance.
"You merely wish to go on break so you can gamble off the clock correct?"
"…N-no ma'am."
"This is an honorable duel, there will be no gambling."
"But Captain-"
A glare from the woman caused the men to shut up and drop the matter.
"…my apologies," Mari said looking back at Alicia. "Forgive the display of my men. We do not maintain as strict an order in this place as usual."

The audience around them was beyond rowdy but they had moved to give the two swordswoman room to fight, the small dip in the base actually serving as the sparring arena for the officers. An abundance of room had been provided for the two, with the guards moving to the top of the walls allowing them the full circle. Mari's look had apparently made it clear she didn't want any other boots on the sand and the men had listened, backing off. There were an abundance of witnesses, many men and women watching from the catwalks above, leaning over the railings and cheering.

Luro and Nina were among the officers each holding up signs with drawings of who they were cheering for with Luro holding one of Alicia and Nina one of Mari. Though the two looked at each other before they exchanged signs.
"Yeah it's only fair I root for the navy lady right," Luro said.
"Yes we can't both root for the same person," Nina responded.
"You're right we both want to root for Alicia but that's not right."
"The easiest solution is for us to root at random intervals for Alicia before handing it to the other to do so."
"That's the best idea Nina! So it's your turn, then it's my turn a few minutes from now."
"That is correct."
"Okay root for Alicia a little extra for me."
"Acknowledged. Make sure to do the same when it's your turn."
"Deal!"
Mari mentally sighed a bit as the two's conversations reached them, she wanted to say something but left the matter alone.

Alicia had been standing casually with her arms folded as the conversation continued, silver eyes moving back and forth between Mari and the others before finally it seemed the first obstacle of many would be presented before them. "If anything at least this isn't an interview for recruitment." she replied, recalling her duel against Sara leading to her invitation to the crew. She paid little mind to the rowdiness around them as an arena formed and the officer took her stance.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she observed her for a moment, not moving right away as she looked upon the blade which was said to be forged from the remnants of a monster. Alicia thought back to the information kept within the envelope given to her by the fortune teller, contemplating the meaning behind the words within as the officer spoke to her subordinates who appeared eager to earn themselves some coin from the imminent bout. "No need to apologise, I can forgive the desire for entertainment where such a commodity is difficult to find." she replied.

Stepping forward a couple steps, her hand moved to the hilt of Shusui before unveiling the black blade from its saya. The deep almost purple hues of the metal captured light, refusing to let it escape it's surface as Alicia raised it out to her side. Mari's words resonated within her mind, her eagerness to learn their intent through the crossing of swords in order to better understand their worth of character. It made this duel far more than it appeared and only those well versed in swordsmanship would really understand the connotations behind Mari's offered words.

"I will present you with everything I am and all I aspire to be. Prepare yourself." she inclined her head respectfully before she inhaled a deep breath, firming her grip upon the hilt of her sword as she steadied herself internally. Her wrist twisted subtly, angling the tip downward to her side with the spine of her blade facing in Mari's direction. Suddenly Alicia's left eye ignited to be consumed by the electrical blue aura which flared out around the side of her head, power from the depths of her soul awakening and summoning forth as she willed it.

Another steadying breath, silver eyes closing briefly as she brought forward the thoughts of everyone who had stood behind them throughout their adventures thus far. Friends, family and those who supported them throughout times both good and bad pushed forward emotion that fed into Alicia's power and strengthened her resolve. The lit flame that'd become her soul bloomed brightly into a furnace, the aura transitioning from blue to white as the iris concealed beyond shone through with a golden ring.



The weight of her power became dense in the bodies of those tuned to receive it and for Mari her aura would grow to eclipse Alicia's side of the arena before it faded back as she channeled it into Shusui which adopted the aura upon itself into a fine white glow. This raw unrelenting power summoned to the blade by the will of its user would carry the heart of everything Alicia was and had become thanks to those who stood in memory, now for Mari to witness for herself.

'Thwoom'

Alicia suddenly burst forwards towards Mari, sand exploding beneath her feet as she accelerated towards her before raising her sword up above her. With two hands held on the hilt she'd bring the blade down, aiming not for Mari but directly to crash against her blade. The ground beneath them would erupt into a column of sand thrown upwards as Alicia brought the memory of everyone she held dear to her into that single strike, allowing the weight of her emotion to bare down upon Mari's blade.

Mari only offered a nod in thanks to Alicia before spreading her feet a little wider again, when the swordsman spoke once again Mari's grip tightened on the hilt of her blade.
"I will take all you are," Mari said getting back into stance. "To do any less would be an insult."
Mari remained silent her eyes only moving to Alicia's blade as she flicked it, there was little time to take the moment in as power suddenly exploded from the woman in front of her.
Mari's eyes narrowed slightly at the display, her grip lighting on her sword just a little bit more, the area fell quiet as Alicia revealed her power, the many officers focusing on the blue that surrounded the woman, some of the men gripped the railing a little tighter at the display and others felt their knees tremble slightly.

Vibrations started to come form Mari's sword, causing her eyes to drift over it for a moment, the sword started shaking slightly in response to Alicia, the sand underneath Mari's feet forming ripples as it responded to the power flowing from the woman.
Mari remained still and planted her feet firmly as Alicia closed the distance between them, and the blow hit her sword. The immense pressure caused the woman to grit her teeth, her other hand moving over her blade to steady it as the force crashed into her, she had felt the weight even before the strike had connected but to actually take it was another matter. The ribbon holding her hair broke causing her long black hair to splay outwards as the force threatened to overtake her entirely.

The Navy Captain didn't allow her feet to move one inch back however even as her clothes and hairs fluttered away from her, she made no effort to redirect the force, she took it as promised and with no outlet the force caused the ground underneath them to cave in slightly, the earth itself breaking apart at the pressure but Mari kept her feet planted firmly.
The sword as if in response to the clash ceased vibrating but the echo's of it flowed out of the sword, a melody suddenly filling the area. A gentle song like the call of a siren echoed outwards, light airy tones filling the area, but there was a strange strength to the foreign words, a clear solidity within the notes. The contrast somehow made the sound all the more beautiful.
"The Captain's sword….has never sung like that before," one of the men said. "It's…it's so familiar."
Mari shifted her feet and stance before she quickly shoved Alicia away with her blade forcing distance between them. The moment Shushui was no longer touching her sword the singing came to an end, the voice fading away as Mari straightened herself.
"I see."
Mari walked forward to climb out of the hole the two had formed, still a relative distance from Alicia as she stood back on level land. She held her gloved hand up, staring at her trembling hand before closing it into a fist.

She eyed her men, tears streaming down some of their faces though they tried to wipe it away at the Captain's gaze. The woman had no intention of judging as she reached up to wipe a tear from her own eyes, staring at the liquid before a small nod came from her.
"Allow me to return the favor," Mari said.

She flipped the blade in her hand, the jagged edges facing away from Alicia before she got back into stance. The air around the woman shifted ever so slightly, a determination creeping into her gaze. The sword spoke again as the atmosphere around the woman suddenly grew heavier spreading out and filling the area as she allowed more of herself to show. A low hum emanated from the sword, the singing forming into whispers that slowly grew, fierce tones flowing out of the blade, quiet but bold.
"It would be rude not to show honesty myself. Here I come."
Mari leaned forward slightly before her visage faded, the ground breaking apart at her steps before ceasing as she drew closer to Alicia, her attack mimicked the swords-woman's own, aiming only for her blade.

A concentrated force met their clash, an invisible pressure blowing past Alicia throwing up a line of sand behind her and flowing up the walls of the arena and base, the soldiers moved to the side as the after effect of the impact formed a long single cut along the length of towering walls.

Pure focused strength concentrated at one point, directed by the hands of Mari.
The strength that met Alicia's own held a solid form, it was not a reckless strength that flowered in all directions, born from needless pursuits. The weight she had pressed down on Alicia was born from a blade in the service of another, a focus that only formed when wielded to protect.
There was something extra in the flow, whatever it was it only added to the flow.
The woman had no means to summon a power to show her will so she had no choice but to hit her with the very fabric of what she stood for, a strike used to protect the ones that surrounded them, and those unseen in the forefront of her thoughts.

Mari moved away herself not wanting to remain locked with Alicia for too long, the woman's power wasn't just for show, she could feel the weight of it at a distance, being that close only amplified it.
The sword's song ceased as Mari raised it back up into her familiar stance.
"…we have properly exchanged words. I understand you are not one who walks a tainted path. Even if I denied it my sword has made it clear. Do we have an understanding of each other?"

Upon being pushed away, Alicia followed the momentum into a nimble backflip before landing neatly into a low crouch with her blade extended out to her side. She wasn't entirely sure what'd happened when their swords connected but she had little time to dwell on it as she readied herself for Mari's return, bracing herself as she held the flat side of the black blade forwards with her palm pressed behind it.

White hair whipped furiously behind her in the wake of Mari's strike, her leg sliding back to further brace against the impact as she bore witness to exactly what it was the officer stood for, a small smile gracing her features during the exchange before the interaction ended as Mari withdrew and fell back into a stance. "I believe so." she replied softly, the white aura flaring from her eye dissipating as she slid Shusui back into its saya, seeing the duel had concluded.

"It is rare to cross swords with another possessing such upstanding qualities displayed through their blades. Thank you for revealing that to me." she added, inclining her head respectfully as the dense feeling within the air brought on by her summoned power eased away. "I would not keep the company of these pirates were they not an exception to that sullied title. I hope you see that now."

Mari offered a small nod and with a small spin returned the strange sword to its sheath.
It was for a brief moment but what could be considered a smile graced the woman's lips, when her men leaned forward to confirm it was already gone causing them to hang their heads. When the air returned to normal most of the men stood up straight again, some wiping a bit of sweat from their foreheads.
"I believe you," Mari said taking her sheath off her side. "I don't believe someone of your caliber would remain near those who pursue what could be considered evil."
Mari looked back at the rest of Stardusk noticing that Nina and Luro now both had signs of Alicia, apparently having come to some manner of agreement.

The woman stared at Alicia for a long moment, before turning to face Stardusk.
"You're not bad people. At the very least one of you aren't. Your representative speaks well of you, and as we have an understanding I have no reason not to believe her. You are now formally considered guests here, and I will let you through. I was intending on heading out anyway so I will accompany you."
Mari turned back to her men and raised a hand causing them to quickly disperse and returned to their duties, she looked at the sword still clutched in her hand, even now it hummed softly in her grip causing her to look back at Alicia.
"Would you mind telling me your full name and occupation," Mari said.
"Her names-" Luro stared to say but Mari held up a hand.
"I need to hear it from her. I know her name, just indulge me for a moment."

"Thank you captain, we appreciate the welcome." Alicia replied courteously, glad to see that the situation was resolved without any increased risk or danger for either side. While it was true that Feian's generally didn't care for the World Government given their previous attempts to extend their jurisdiction into their territories, they still recognised their greater ambitions to enforce peace through the eradication of those who would profit on the suffering of others, a noble enough cause to earn a modicum of respect.

"My name is Ali-" she paused for a moment, her brow furrowing as she cast a glance towards Luro and Ru before looking back towards Mari. "Amaiya Tashigi, Arbiter for the Feian empress and first mate of Stardusk." she briefly brought her attention back towards Luro and Runali, raising her hand a little from her side, "I'll explain later." she reassured, understanding their would likely be some confusion here. It seemed wrong not to give her proper Feian name given the situation, despite the circumstances being less than ideal given she hadn't yet had a chance to discuss the matter first with the crew.

"Feian…ah that explains a few things," Mari mumbled this with a small nod.
Her politeness and skill with her sword, it made sense she hailed from Yula Fei. She had many questions but now wasn't the time for such things. Holding her sword in front of her vertically she took hold of the sheath with both hands before speaking, keeping her attention on Alicia, the men around them all stood at attention seeing their Captain's stance.
"Amaiya Tashigi. I Mari Noinmore admire your character and willpower. You fight with the grace, precision and beauty of a goddess, yet strike with power that match the beasts of the sea. Allow me to see you as a fellow warrior though you hail from another clan."

Mari reached up and took hold of the hilt of her sword.
"Arbiter for the Feian Empress and First mate of Stardusk I draw my sword in respect to you."
Her blade left it's sheath and with a spin she stabbed it into the earth next to her, kneeling down to one knee she set her sheath on the ground in front of her, leaving only two fingers resting on it.
"I the ex-commander of the sixth fleet, Captain of this base….and former Hunter humble myself before you. Though it is not much, please accept my acknowledgment of you, the person I have seen beyond the blade."
Mari lowered her head further at this and remained that way for a brief moment before climbing back to her feet, and returning her sword to its home.

Luro leaned over towards Runali at this bringing a hand to the side of his mouth.
"I think Alicia forget her name…"
"I don't think that's it," Nina said glancing over at him. "She said she'd explain it later to you. I would wait until then."
Mari let out a small sigh and one of her men handed her another ribbon which she used to tie her hair back into a low ponytail.
"Thank you for your honesty. Old habits die hard, and Hunter's acknowledge the strong, it's how it's always been," Mari said. "I owed you that. I apologize for having you speak words meant for later as well."

Alicia blinked at the display but said nothing as she inclined her head respectfully, not looking to disrespect the strange custom which almost bordered on a theatrical performance. Alicia smiled sheepishly, a slight redness in her cheeks as she seemed awkwardly unsure how to respond for a moment. "Ah, I see… no need to apologise captain. But from one swordswoman to another I certainly appreciate the acknowledgement and return it in kind." she replied before glancing back at the others for a moment. "However as we mentioned earlier we're hard pressed for time. If you wouldn't mind, we would depart as soon as you're able."

Mari adjusted the sword at her side her brows arching a bit at the swordsman response, but it elicited a small smile from her. Not long enough for her men to catch as she offered a small bow in response.
"You have my thanks and of course we can head out immediately."

Mari

Respect to Atha

 

[Mizos]

Noram Hunters Assemble!





Also Mari wooo.

​

Mari took a long look at Stardusk before nodding at one of her men who ran ahead, she turned and made a motion with her head to follow her before walking ahead.
"You're in a rush right? Let's walk and talk," Mari said making her way forward. "I'll open the gates for you so you can get through. I'll even lead you to the other side of the island, it'll be faster than wandering yourself."
"Gates?" Luro asked.
"The large hard barriers surrounded by men should someone be silly enough to try and break through," Mari responded.
Walking further along there were large what looked like steel gates that towered above the group blocking their path, a long wall met the gate on both sides that stretched far into the distance. An abundance of guards lingered nearby with eyes on the large gates. Luro noticed that the gates looked strangely familiar as they got closer. Something about the design stood out to him, especially the strange shapes of the arch over the dense barrier.

"...they remind me of the alley," Luro said scratching the side of his head.
"Good eye that's correct. If you're in the circle then you've must've met Sor. These gates were made by the same person who helped with Treya. Without knowing the right path you'd end up lost just like in Treya. Except here there are traps that would kill you in the process...we have to run a drill every now and then so the men don't forget the path."

Runali had fallen in step next to Alicia, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulders of congratulations. She had to admit, Mari's...whole deal was kind of cool, but it was too bad she was a navy captain. "The alley? Oh yeah the place that shouldn't be questioned. That place." Any time she thought about the alley it only got more confusing, so she settled with the idea of it just… existing- just like the Undersea and just like almost every trapdoor Luro put on Lady Luck. Somethings were meant to be left unquestioned.

Mari made a motion with her hand and the men above them on the walls nodded before pulling a lever, the metal gates slowly opened as the mechanisms within roared to life revealing a set of paths leading in alternate directions to adjacent gates, some of the gates ahead remaining shut which seemed to be an indication of which paths were false. Mari continued forward and pointed ahead to indicate where they needed to go.
"Forgive my earlier suspicions...but unfortunately I'm in the middle of a war and I have to be extra cautious. Even for friends of Zil I can't allow easy passage. I had to make sure of your character," Mari said. "Another approached me under the guise of knowing Zil, but they didn't pass the test."
"Did that person wear a deer mask?" Luro asked.
"Indeed she did. It was some time ago and thankfully I haven't seen her since as she was attacking my ships. Seems you crossed paths with her."
"She's dead now thanks to Jack," Nina said.
"Offer my thanks to Jack later then. That woman brought no end of trouble to my men, with her gone things have calmed down...at least a little on this side. You have my appreciation. I probably would have shot first and asked questions later if we were still on high alert. Not many allies approach this place after all."
Nina brought a hand to her chin, reminded that this woman was surrounded on all sides by the 'enemy', she had multiple questions but decided to save them for later.
"Now if you wouldn't mind could you explain everything to me. I get that you're here to help Zil...and if Isa is missing then I know she's besides herself...I'll admit to being bothered myself but I'd feel better knowing the whole story."
Luro looked over at Runali at this as Mari continued forward.
"I'll fill in the blanks," Nina said glancing over at Runali. "What Alicia doesn't fill in anyway."
Mari made it to where a few horses and a cart were waiting for them and hopped in herself, before motioning for the others to enter.
"It's a long way, no need to walk the whole way there. Hop in. I'll answer any questions you have on the way as well. It's only fair."

When eyes turned towards her, she made a small 'ah' sound. "Right… everything? That's going to… take a minute, give me a second." She tapped her head, going as far back as she could remember- accidentally going too far and thinking of when they first met Zil. "Oh wait, I know." She snapped her fingers. "It started when we met the fortune teller. Ve- uhhh, hm. Don't remember their name…" Runali began the explanation at the point of spotting Vai and getting fortunes from them and then she mentioned meeting Sor or "Mr. Business", skipping over the performances and pointing out fights- forgetting names of almost everyone and opting to describe them until one of the others filled in. There were various important parts missing that she remembered only after Alicia or Nina explained them, in which she'd comment with "It's a lot to keep up with."

"But uhh yeah. So, the crystal kid got kidnapped. The man in the dog mask- Maka- has her. And that's why we're split up and why we're trying to get there as fast as possible.Save her, minimize the damage done, put her in some nice and cozy place. Zilia's happy, we're happy, we can go about our merry way."

Mari listened intently to the Captain's explanation, her eyes widened a little at the mention of Vai but aside from that she only offered a nod, her eyes twitching a bit at the Captain's selective memory. She was relieved that the others were there to fill in the blanks. At the end of it all Mari brought a hand to her face a small sigh escaping from her.
"It seems like you've been through a lot…but that's how it is within the circle," Mari said crossing her arms. "When you spoke of a masked man I had hoped it was something else…but it's truly Maka."
"Do you know him navy person?" Luro asked.
"Mari," Mari said to Luro before speaking further. "Only what Zilia has told me and the reports I gathered have shown, I've never personally met him. He was in Kane'Arteum last time I checked so I put the thought of him aside….but I did think it odd. In the report when confronted he made no effort to fight back…as if he wanted to go."
Mari brought a hand to her chin.
"Now he has Isa….this is not good. The Crys-Crys Fruit is incredibly dangerous."
"Is it really that bad?" Nina questioned shifting in her seat slightly.
Mari offered a small nod.

"Isa's a sweetheart so she doesn't use the fruit properly. It only responds when she's panicked or scared. When she does wield the fruit it's only for convenience sake, and even then it's rare. However…previous holders of the fruit have used it to its full potential. You've seen what it can do yourself."
"Yeah the whole castle island thing," Luro said. "That was fun."
"Yes…well that was when Isa was trying to protect herself so it was contained. Someone with the proper intent could take over an island in a matter of minutes, if even that. The soil, forests, towns, people, all covered in crystal ready to bend to the will of the user at a moment's notice."
Mari narrowed her eyes at this.
"Trying to attack the user is near impossible, the very fabric of nature fights against you and even if you make it past that the Golem's stop you. The more crystal the more golems."
"So if an entire island is taken over…" Nina said crossing her arms.
"The user would have an endless army, constantly reforming, growing, and developing against everything that attacks it. No matter how many troops you throw at it the crystal just regenerates, and it learns. Eventually your cuts and bullet's no longer work…and then it's over."
Mari folded her hands together a small sigh escaping from her.
"…I almost took her somewhere myself when I found out what her fruit was but Zilia stopped me…I'm glad she did but…still I feared something like this would happen one day."
Mari closed her eyes and Luro looked over at the others before poking Mari causing her to open her eyes.
"You know a lot about the fruit uniformed person. Did you use to have it?"
"Mari," Mari said before continuing. "Also no the Devil Fruit is only passed on when the user dies."
"Oh right…then did you ask Isa?"
"…I thought my uniform gave it away but I work for the WG, we have a very extensive Devil Fruit Database, we even have records of previous holders. Zil and Isa asked me about their Devil Fruits, I know as much about them as they do."
Luro blinked a few times.
"You know about Zil's Devil Fruit!"
Mari leaned back a little as Luro had leaned a bit too much towards her but nodded as he backed away.
"I do…I informed her it was a Paramecia, revealed how to wield it more efficiently, told her that the Devil Fruit relies on words not just spoken…so eventually her 'writing' will no longer stop the Fruit's power…though I doubt she listened."
"Actually Z won't write now cause she's afraid it'll happen."
"Oh…well I'm glad she listened," Mari said crossing her arms. "Judging by what you shared her power hasn't grown from the last time we met. She makes an extreme effort not to train it past steady control…but like it or not her power is going to grow because she's growing. I've lost track how many martial styles she's learned in proof of it. She trains relentlessly, everyday, without rest to keep form using it…and she either forgot or ignores the fact the fruit will grow with her…right now I'm sure her power is amplified because it's remained locked away for so long…no wonder she's stressed."
"Can you tell us more about it?" Luro asked grinning the woman.
"…Why would you need me-Ah…right it would be considered a secret wouldn't it. If you're interested then I'm happy too. If Zilia has shared that much with you then she's clearly fine with you knowing. By speaking to me she'll also understand it's no longer a secret which will counter her Devil Fruit…but for the time being I'm sure you have other questions. I doubt you have an interest in the Chat-Chat Fruit to such a degree to ignore the current goal…now how can I help you in retrieving Isari?"

"Hm, I still don't see what all the fuss is about. Strong powers are only dangerous if you can't control it so… just learn to control it, yeah?" Runali scratched her cheek and shrugged. "Sounds like the crystal kid wouldn't need our help if she learned how to defend herself properly. And still sounds like Zil could do plenty of… necessary damage if she trained in proper control and not repression." Runali yawned and leaned on the side of the cart. "But what do I know. I don't have them so I don't know the stakes. I don't know many of those powered people either- at least ones that haven't tried to kill me. Well, excluding Zil of course." She thought about the many fruit users that she had come across- most being in Kane'Artem while others were in passing… One of the Court captains had it that was for sure… And while Cedric and Kadi had some weird magic going on, beside him and the doctor, no one else in her crew had any.

Her attention eventually turned to the topic at hand and she gave it some thought. "Ah right, I forget you guys actually help people sometimes. Usually at the barrel end of your guns. Hmmm, you are a navy captain, which means you certainly have a lot of authority… and maybe a lot of firepower too. If you could keep all of that not trained on us and preferably trained on everyone that isn't us that'd be great. Would save us some damage. That or y'know, helping us find the fastest way through here and to Maka. Asking the navy for help wasn't really on my list of possibilities, anyone else have suggestions or requests?"

Mari glanced over in Runali's direction for a moment as she spoke arching a brow at her before her gaze focused forward again. The woman's eyebrows knitted ever so slightly and she let out a small sigh before looking back at Runali as she brought up a valid but rude point.
"Ah forgive us for having a balance of helping and hurting, rather than preferring the latter," Mari said with a small bow.
At the mention of her command Mari brought a hand to her mouth listening to the Captain's requests, she offered a small nod at not training their guns on them, that was easy enough, they had enough problems to deal with.
"Before your requests," Mari said as Luro opened his mouth. "Allow me to be emotional for one moment."

Mari turned and dug into the front of the cart, after moving a few things around she pulled back and sat something in Runali's lap, keeping her hand on it.
Luro looked at the object to see it was a lit grenade of moderate size.
"Oh an explosive," Luro said pointing at it. "That'll probably kill us at this range."
"Yes it will, all of us,' Mari said simply. "I'm going to help you understand the stakes a little."

Nina eyed the woman but made no movements even as the fuse grew a little smaller.
"What Zilia and Isa have are control. It was substantially worse when I met them. This grenade is their power, ready to explode at any time and kill everyone in the general area. There's no way to put out the fuse within them, and with it attached to their very person no way to throw it away. So for them, this is the equivalent of possessing the Devil Fruit, except they have no way of stopping it unlike the rest of us."

Mari brought her other hand forward and put out the fuse as it reached its end.
"No amount of control stops it. All control does is make the fuse just a little bit longer. Telling them to 'control it' is akin to telling a lit grenade to not explode from a distance."
Mari sighed a bit and crossed her arms under her chest.
"I don't know if your attitude is a lack of care or a masking of it, or what have you…but from here it's a rude attitude taken towards my friends who are suffering right now. If you don't understand what they're going through…then don't comment on simple ways they can fix it. I truly hope I'm mistaken about you. If you've ever spoken those words to Zilia in such a way I may not be…because I am aware of the respect she has for you…and that was a horrible attitude to take towards them."

Mari reached up moving a strand of hair behind her ear and letting out another sigh her shoulders relaxing.
"Forgive that display. I've heard those words before spoken to those two and it…bothered me, if Zilia has put her faith in you…then I give you the benefit of the doubt." Mari said. "Now unfortunately you don't have the navy's help, all you have is mine and what lies in front of you…and I am not a Captain I was a Commander. I can promise not to turn my guns on you so long as you don't attack the people, and if what you told me is correct we are taking the fastest route to him."

The sudden danger they were put in with the grenade made Runali raise a brow. She kept her eye on Mari's hand, but it was obvious she was listening the entire time. There was no reason Mari would have decided at a whim to kill herself along with all of them there. It was too much of a self sacrifice and she was much too important to end her life so willingly. 'But then again…', Runali thought as the fuse grew shorter. The navy did have a flare for the dramatics. When Mari stopped the fuse, the captain let out a small huff. She leaned forward, taking the grenade and twirling it in hand. "You're misinformed, Commander. When the Stardusk, as a crew, hurt people, it is with intention. Not desire. Intentions of defense, usually." Runali paused in thought, recounting their misadventures and then nodded. "Yeah, track record's pretty clean. As a crew."

She raised her hand, showing the grenade, and with a dexterous gesture the grenade disappeared into her sleeve. "Shouldn't waste weapons like that. Don't know what enemies will be around the corner." Something about the way she spoke made Runali smirk. There was a weight to her words that felt like a familiar memory. Of course, she could have said many things about what she understood or what she felt, but instead Runali's smirk grew a little wider. "Careful how loud you say something like that Commander. There's some not so nice navy dogs that wouldn't take too kindly to it." Runali chuckled and drew an 'x' over her heart. "I told you, we're here for a pick up. If we're hurting anyone it's mister dog mask and whoever points a weapon at us. Isn't that right, crew?" She looked over at Nina and added, "And of course, temporary crew?"

"I am aware of your track record Captain Lev, there is no 'clean' record there. I'll admit you're more honorable than some pirates, it's the reason why I helped Zilia find you, but I don't point my weapons with desire either," Mari said eyeing the Captain. "I have enemies around every corner Captain Lev, that is my life, one more does not concern me."
Mari shook her head at the strange Captain, she merely stared sideways at her smirk resting her cheek on her hand at her words, she had no interest in playing her games and merely closed her eyes.

"I do not need you telling me who to watch out for Captain Lev, the reason I'm here is because of my own people."
Luro gave a small clap of his hands as the grenade disappeared before looking back over at Mari.
"Yeah only people who want to kill us...mostly but who put you here person with grenade person?" Luro asked.
"Mari," Mari said before looking back at Luro. "That bast….commanding officer Simon Ira put me in this place."
Mari's eyes narrowed as her other hand gripped her uniform a bit tighter, Luro tilted his head a bit at this and crossed his arms.
"Why did Glasses guy do that person with strange sword?"
Mari looked over at Luro wondering if he was doing this on purpose but the sincerity in his gaze seemed genuine making it hard to determine.
"Mari," Mari said before continuing. "It's not important, for the time being we're dealing with Maka."
"I want to know."
Mari looked back at Luro as he spoke again leaning forward and resting his arms on his legs.
"You're Z's friend, navy or not. She didn't know you were here...she's going to be concerned about you. I want to know why you're here so I can tell her."
Mari blinked a few times at the sudden change, the easygoing grin forming into a gentle smile, she glanced over at the the others and looked ahead before sighing.

Mari's story

"...very well," she said leaning forward herself a bit. "I was a commander in the navy, a step away from becoming a Captain due to my years of hard work, and foundations finally coming together. During this time Simon Ira gave me a job to deal with some pirates who was causing trouble on the sea's. I looked into them and they did steal from a few people in town before escaping to their ship. They were fresh pirates so they weren't very good at...being conspicuous."
Mari sighed a bit at this before folding her hands together.
"Catching up to them I caught their First Mate and Doctor, they were beyond scared at actually facing the gallows and were more than willing to give up their friends. They were almost as young as I was...anyway I informed Ira of this and prepared to put them away," Mari said sitting straight again. "We had gotten the items back to the owners and it was their first crime. They had become pirates out of necessity not fun...so I figured instead of throwing them in jail for half a year or more we give them a bit of volunteer service, put them on a navy ship for that time instead, show them there are other options. They needed money and made a mistake, that was no reason to end their lives. Their service ends, I help them find work if they don't wish to stay with us and one less problem on the seas."

Mari offered a small shrug at this
"Ira felt differently. Due to the…'cleaner ocean' initiative he wanted to make an example of them...I think it's because one of the big bosses in the area hated pirates and he wanted to suck up to him. He wanted a harsher punishment for the men, to make a point. The gallows being one such option...I disagreed with him saying that wasn't necessary."
"I imagine he didn't like that," Nina said looking over at her.
"He did not. He reminded me of my position along with his authority and told me to find the rest of them under his authority. I informed him not to wave around what he didn't have. He misunderstood what I meant and I made no effort to clarify."

A small chuckle escaped from Luro and Mari squeezed the bridge of his nose.
"So he sent me here as a punishment. Publicly I'm on 'indefinite leave' but I was thrown into a place where enemies surround me on all sides, I'm aware I'm wanted dead. I feel no remorse 'accidentally' leaving the jail cells open when I was sent away."
Mari lowered her hand and looked back at Lev.
"So unfortunately you only have someone with limited supplies, the most I can offer you is a few men and my own blade to deal with Maka."
"The navy has to provide resources to bases, especially ones away from the center base," Nina added. "You must have some extra supplies.
Mari looked over at Nina a little curious how she had that information but responded putting it aside.
"I get resources. I asked for weapons and he sent me a pointy stick, I put in an order for food and I received rotten fruit, before it was sent of course, and a few crudely drawn pictures of steak. Then when I asked for more uniforms I was given a spool of thread with a note saying 'be creative'. I'm swimming in supplies," Mari said her eyelids drooping slightly. "What you see is what you get. If not for Sor we'd have nothing."

"It's nice to meet a nice navy person," Luro said grinning.
"Mari and I'm not a nice navy person. I'm not formally on duty and I believe in judging a person by their actions not title. It's the reason I didn't let my men fire back there after your…'truth'. Though I recognize the one who caused the South Sea Massacre...though you're older."
Luro laughed a little and scratched his cheek, and Mari looked over at him.
"I would like to discuss a few things with you at a later venture...but for now we're here."

Ahead of the crew was a large slope leading to a town below, farmland expanding along the sides of the path their transport moved down. Numerous homes resting along the farmland, a few guards were wandering the place and the people working their fields looked up and waved at Mari as she passed causing a small smile to form on her face before she returned the wave.
"What you see might be strange."
Ahead gunshots rang out as navy officers shot at people dressed in familiar wear, some Red Lions and a few of Relias soldiers colliding with the navy, the town below was more of a battle ground then a place to visit, but the people continued tilling their fields whistling as they did so.
"Such fights are common here unfortunately. We're assaulted almost every day...so the people are just...used to it. I tell them to go inside but well...they're brave and more stubborn than I am. Most I can do is make sure they're protected. Thankfully we keep the fighting down there."

Mari pointed down at the town before speaking again.
"In the report I was reading before you came the fighting has grown fiercer there, and someone in a strange mask showed up...I'd expect Maka is down there….unfortunately Noram is also being held captive in that town...I've been in no rush to retrieve him. The people trying to ransom him clearly don't understand his worth."

Mari started to speak further but her eyes widened as a wave of crystal sudden crashed into the town, covering it in a matter of seconds, a few of the fighters getting caught in the crystal and formed into statues mid fight. The rest quickly fell back and moved away from the crystal.
"That's Isa's-" Mari started but stopped as loud barking came from nearby.
She turned to see wolves rushing towards the people her eyes widened before she hopped out of the cart, she noticed one approach an old man and she rushed forward hoping with everything she had that'd she'd make it in time. She brought her blade back only for a gunshot rang out and the wolf in mid leap was knocked out of the air, lying motionless on the ground.
She turned around to see Luro lower his smoking gun and hop out of the cart.
"You-"
"Those aren't normal wolves, " Luro said scratching the side of his head.
Mari looked over to see the wolves had bright red fur, and their canines were a bit sharper than normal ones, a bit of foam flowed out of their mouths and Mari's eyes narrowed at the sight.
"They're either rabid or controlled by someone," Luro said loading another shot into his rifle. "Best to put them out of their misery quickly."
"How...but…"
"Seen it before," Luro said smiling a little. "I used to run with wolves when I was a kid. They're coordinated but...this is a bit too coordinated. Reminds me of the other red haired guy and his wolves actually...but they weren't like this. No crazed look in their eyes."
"...I feel like I should be surprised but I'll leave it be for now," Mari said as she he eyed the approaching wolves.
"There's a lot of homes so it'll be hard to help everyone. Luro asked. "It'd be bad if they get hurt though so we'll just have to deal with it."
Luro looked back at Runali and pointed at the town.
"Captain we don't let innocent people die right now right? I mean I'm fine with it if you give the order but we normally avoid that."
Mari eyed the two pirates for a moment before sighing and focusing forward again.
"If you're helping me than...it'd be in our best interest to leave some here to deal with the wolves and send some people ahead so whoever is doing this doesn't get away," Mari said. "The former can catch up with the latter...but if Maka's attacking my people…"
Mari's grip tightened on her sword, as a pair of wolves approached she stepped forward and with a quick slice of her sword, cut through the creatures tossing the blood off her blade as they hit the ground.
"I'll crush him myself," Mari said glaring at the town below.
"It's up to you Captain," Luro said. "I'll do whatever."

The moment trouble started, Runali was leaning out of the cart. "Listen Commander Captain, my clean is someone else's dirty. You learn to compromise. But fun, now we've got two things in common." She followed Mari and Luro out of the cart, letting the two handle the wolves that got near. "We both need to help Zil and we both definitely need to deck Ira in the face." She ducked as a wolf leapt at her, shoving it towards Nina. "Sure your reason is more just, but honestly? That guy is the worst." As more wolves approached, she moved Luro and Mari out of the way. "Alicia, Nina, I need you two to clear these wolves and make a path. By the looks of it, Isa's not too far away and definitely not happy. If we spend all our time here we're definitely gonna be late to the party."

She gave a salute as the two went forward and then gestured to Luro and Mari. "Time to help the masses. Move it or lose it!" Runali grinned and took off in the direction where the crystal came from, dodging wolves that were quickly decimated after thanks to Alicia and Nina. As she ran, she called out. "Luro! Keep an eye out for any of those red guys that are attacking the navy. Commander and I are gonna try and slip past as many as possible so if they come our way, well, stop them."

"Anyone that dislikes Ira can't be all bad," Mari said getting back into stance. "I will relent our discussion in this case due to our mutual dislike of that man."
The wolf that approached Nina fell into two pieces passing each side of her as a small click followed as her hand moved away from one of her swords.
"Consider it done temporary Boss," Nina said before sprinting forward.
She passed a few of the wolves, her hands moving to the hilts of her swords before she cut through the wolves, spinning her body each cut drawing a different blade from it's domain, every slash tearing through the rabid creatures aiding to create a path for the ones behind them.

A few wolves still tried to approach the people but for some reason stopped suddenly, the wolves slowed due to a strange black earth that formed at their feet, stopping their approach and making it easier for the two in front to cut them down.
"Focus on the people!" Mari yelled. "I'll help with the Lions, Captain Lev."
Mari brought her free hand back, her hand shifting into a black mass before she brought it forward the black substance crashing into the Red Lions approaching her men, the stuff coming from the woman quickly covered the men below before Mari released it causing it to trap the men in a black sphere.
"Get clear!" Mari yelled to the men causing them to nod and quickly retreat. "Ash-Ash-Fruit! Detonation!"
Mari scraped her sword along the ground, a spark forming before fire erupted along the ash flowing into the sphere, a bit of air was drawn in before a bright red explosion followed, decimating everything within the sphere and anything within range blowing most of the Red Lions away.
Mari held her hand out the ash flowing back into her before she quickened her pace.
"Let's hurry! I won't let them keep Isa."

"Everyone's so flashy here." Runali commented, mostly to herself as she watched Mari clear out more enemies. It made her question the risk and reward of eating one of those fruits- but then she remembered she was quite fond of swimming and carried on.

Upon making it to the town most of the Lions had either been separated thanks to the groups attacks or lied in the streets from their battle with the officers. Mari looked at one of her men who approached.
"I'm surprised the crystal isn't attacking us," Luro said tapping the crystal. "Maybe it likes us now."
"Yes…that is strange," Mari said before turning towards the officer as he saluted her. "Pull a portion of the forces back and have them protect the people, as many as we can spare. We'll deal with whatever's attacking."
"Of course Captain. Noram is up ahead, some strange person has him as a hostage."
"…is that same person attacking us?"
"Yes."
"Damn it…I guess we should save him then…. As it aligns with our main goal."

Mari continued forward glancing back to see if the rest were following, only to stop as a person in a tragedy mask stood directly in the groups path, an unconscious young man laying behind them.
The person was garbed in a white dress with far too many frills, and stood no taller than Runali but their lanky limbs made them seem taller than they actually were. Their sleeves still managed to rest past their wrists keeping their hands hidden from sight in spite of this. Luro looked at his own sleeves then back at the person as they reached up and removed the mask from their face.

A young woman's gaze met the group, or at the very least that's what it appeared to be. The emptiness in her stare, the thin line of her lips and the paleness of her skin, it wouldn't be surprising to confuse the woman as a walking mannequin.
"Speak your name and purpose," Mari said eyeing the woman. "Know your words will determine how long you live."
The stranger's eyes were of varying color, the right a bright cyan and the right turquoise, her blank stare moved between each member.
"…I'm an intruder sent here to stop you," the girl said. "You can call me Puppeteer….Slayis is busy….so I will be keeping you company."
The girl's voice matched the rest of her demeanor, the only thing missing was a few strings attached to the top of her, guiding her movements.
"Slayis…that's the wolf like thing Jack and Cedric came across," Luro said tilting his his head slightly. "Are you guys friends?"
"We serve the same Master. He wants to test you so we've been permitted to interact with you. Regretfully this means I will be a hindrance to you moving forward."
Walls of crystal rose up behind the woman blocking Stardusk from moving past her, Mari's grip tightening on her sword.
"Isa…"
"We have figured out how to handle her power somewhat…the only reason it does not pierce you as you stand on it, is because we are stopping it. Play with me…and I will let you pass. Decline and I will activate the crystal at your feet….I doubt all of you will survive and the Master would prefer you live past this moment."
Luro looked down at the crystal and the distance to where the Crystal hadn't reached yet, he was positive Alicia and maybe Nina could make it, but even with the L.A.S.S. he wasn't making that distance in one step.
"I can also make the crystal cover the rest of this area…including the people," the Puppeteer said.
She raised her gloved hand as if in response to this and under the sleeve it was easy to see she was going to snap her fingers.
"Stardusk? Naval officer? What would you like to do?"

Runali groaned, mumbling something that was the equivalent of annoyance in her native language.

"Aye, ayeee of course. Not really giving us many options, kid." She stepped forward, with hands on her hips. "Tell me something though. What's in it for you?" Her head tilted a bit. "No, really. Money, family relations… A new pet? What? I can tell you're at least a little tough, but I don't know you enough to say you wouldn't be stupid enough to be someone's doll and do what you're told just because someone told you." Her arms moved behind her back. "Unless it's manipulation. Oof, that would suck. Is he holding something against you and you're not strong enough to fight him?" She sighed and slipped the gloves on her hands.

"Don't worry though. I'm not trying to convince you of anything. More like just trying to figure out why everyone is so interested in getting in our way. Keep Isa at bay, your attention is on us right now."

"My master was correct to think well of you. That is a good choice," the girl said lowering her hand.
At Runali's question Puppetter stared at her, unblinking taking in the words of the Captain, she had enough manners to at least listen to who was in front of her, though it was clear she was paying attention to what the others were doing as well.
When her questions ceased the girl raised her sleeves and brought them together, she allowed herself a single blink before answering.
"The Master did not say. Merely to stand in your way. I believe he's merely curious of how good you are…but I do not know. I act because the Master asked me. The Master's will is my will…there is no other reason. My satisfaction is the job being complete. Nothing more."
"…that's the worst kind of manipulation," Mari said allowing her hand to shift to ash.
"I do so of my own volition. Do you not fight for the happiness of others? Resist to the best of your ability…I'll give you a fighting chance."

Crystal formed under the young lady's feet before it started lifting her up, the material quickly forming into a shape as bits of crystal around the group started rising up, taking human forms until the group was surrounded by the creations.
A large shadow soon loomed over the group as a large golem that towered over the buildings stared down at them, the girl sitting on the creature's shoulder. The giant's arms expanded growing larger muscles before repeating the process on its legs, a pair of eyes forming on the head of the creature that soon lowered to the people below.
"Did Zilia ever explain how to kill Golems to you all?" Mari said glancing back at the group.
"Kill the glowing red thing," Luro responded.
"Okay good have you put it into practice?"
"Nope."
"….okay well quick lesson. That thing isn't going to die no matter what we do to it…because it'll just grow back what we break off. Thankfully every time they regenerate the 'brain' crystal responds letting off a glow revealing where it's at…it'll be easier to see on that guy…and harder to see on the smaller ones."
The human shaped crystals held their hands up before they morphed into sharp blades.
"Thankfully they don't know how to use her ability to its fullest. This isn't enough crystal to maintain something of that size…much less all this. We just gotta keep fighting until they run out…it takes more crystal to rebuild than regenerate and since they'll eventually adapt to whatever you throw at them long fights are bad."
Mari made a fist with her ash and slammed it into the leg of the create a chunk broke off before it quickly reformed. A red glow came from the top of the the creature near the base of its neck.
"The crystal is up there," Mari said. "Some of us should deal with the ones down here…and the rest deal with the big guy while-"
"Excuse me!" Luro yelled up at the girl causing her to look down as Mari twitched.
"Yes?!"
"Can you make the golem's down here look like this!"

Luro held up a wanted poster, a creature grew at this feet before grabbing the paper, it sunk back into the crystal taking the poster with it before reappearing next to the girl. Eyeing the poster she nodded before the creature returned the poster to Luro and sunk back into the crystal.
Moments later all the crystals took on the shape of Rin Goodwin.
"Oh that makes this so much easier," Luro said a wide grin forming on his face. "I've been wanting to smash his face in for some time now."
Luro readied his rifle, joy overtaking the man's features as his crazed eyes wandered from golem to golem, his body shivering in anticipation.
"…I should have asked first," Nina said crossing her arms.
"I'm going to start trying to kill you now!"
The girl exclaimed her intentions before the golem's rushed at the group.
"Choose your targets! Call if you need assistance!" Mari exclaimed rushing forward. "The sooner she's taken down the better!"

Puppeteer

Respect to Osaum.

 

[Mizos]

The Daylight Takers take the...uh...day!



​

Zilia's Golem Fight

Zilia swerved between the creatures repeated attacks, each stem flailing at the ground trying to stop the girl from approaching. When she got within range she slammed her foot into the monster only to kick off it, a chunk of crystal knocked off it as she slid back. She noticed a red glow directly in the forehead of the creature. A moment later however the petals around the misshapen face closed around it.
"Great…one of the smart ones," Zilia said getting back into stance.
Some Golem's recognized their weakness and hid their crystal or protected it from outsiders, they generally hid the glow only allowing it when they had to regenerate, they also adapted faster to attackers.
Thankfully hers was only one with simple intelligence, all she had to do was find a way past the petals.

Zilia's eyes moved to the crystal regenerating and a long sigh escaped from her as she closed the distance once again.
Jumping over a sweep at her legs she kicked the crystal only for nothing to happen, her eyes widened before a stem slammed into her stomach sending her flying back, a small groan escaping from her as she was sent flying away, bouncing along the ground she spun her body before placing her feet down.
She didn't have much time to steady herself as another attack came down on her causing her to back away again.

"…it's already adapted to my strength," Zilia flexing her fingers. "I still have my rope dart…so I have to make sure I get a good hit or it'll adapt…then I'll be out of options."
Zilia waited until the creature opened it's petals to get a good look at her before rushing forward, she brought her hand back and flung the rope dart between the numerous hands, the petal's closed at the last moment causing it to bounce off, a chunk of crystal revealing the face. Zilia quickly spun her body pulling the dart back and hurled it forward again, the crystal quickly regenerated closing the opening and the dart hit it once more, bouncing off harmlessly.
Zilia grit her teeth before a fist slammed into her face from one of the stems, sending her crashing through one of the buildings.

Zilia sucked in a deep breath before coughing, holding her side as she rolled over. She tried to climb to her legs only to fall back down as pain flowed through her, she wasn't sure but she was worried she may have actually broke something. She shut her eyes clutching at the now dirty carpet under her feet. She took another deep breath and doing her best ignored the pain before climbing to her feet.
Her eyes fell on a family sitting at a dinner table, their eyes focused on the window outside, her eyes went to the small child in one of the seats trying to toss his vegetables to the dog while the parents were distracted.
"….those are good for you," she mumbled climbing out of the newly formed hole.
She eyed the approaching plant and opening and closing her hands, lowered her body waiting until the creature threw the first hit before running forward, raising her hands and taking a few of the blows, she got close enough and leapt into the air above the plant.
The creature raised two of it's hands and making fists brought it down to slam the doctor to the ground, hurling her rope dart to the side it stabbed into the crystal and Zilia yanked herself over, the fist crashing into the petal's face shattering the brain crystal in the process.
Zilia hit the ground rolling as the creature's hands waved aimlessly around before it fell apart.
"Just like in the book," Zilia said brushing crystal off her clothes.
Zilia made her way to the tower, only stopping to drop a bit of gold on the family's table for the wall she broke

Kaim's Fight

Kaim slid back feet planted as the creature slammed into him, his arms raised to his face covered in armament. When he stopped sliding he shook his arms off a bit before moving his hands to his hips.
"These things hit pretty hard…Z did say they adapt over time. Judging by the fact this thing is hiding it's crystal it must be one of the smart ones."
Zilia had given the prophets a lesson on how to deal with Golem's as a just in case. The trio had received the expansive lesson so thankfully Kaim knew exactly what he was up against, and thus knew why it was steadily hitting harder.
"If it doesn't kill you the first time it'll try again harder. If your attacks break through they won't the next time," Kaim said grinning. "You're just the kind of opponent I want!"
Kaim had purposefully not killed the creature so it could get stronger, it was getting to a point where he was starting to feel attacks through his hardened Armament.
"I think we're almost there…."
Kaim rushed forward towards the man-cougar as he started raining blows on him once again, Kaim weaved between the creature's strikes slamming his coated fists into the creature's body breaking its form apart with each hit. A few hits crashed into him causing him to lean away before responding.

The two stayed within a few feet of each other, their footwork allowing them to move between strikes, blow after blow crashing into the other, the man-cougar was starting to imitate Kaim, the once sloppy movements becoming more focused, and its strikes finding their marks easier and easier. Kaim meanwhile found his blows weren't blowing off as much Crystal as before, a hard hook caught him in the jaw and he felt the world spin for a moment before the creature slammed a fist into his gut.
His knees buckled slightly as the wind was knocked out of him, his body lurching forward, the creature raised its claws and brought them down towards Kaim.

Weaving to the side Kaim slammed his fist into the creature's side, only for his fist to smack against hard crystal. A grin found its way onto the man's face before an uppercut met his chin sending him flying backwards, flipping through the air Kaim landed on his feet as the creature got back into stance.
"Welp you've hardened to a point where my normal attacks no longer work, not even my armament can break through your crystal," Kaim said looking at his red knuckles. "I have no way of hurting you now…so now I can test this."
The creature returned to all fours and Kaim grinned before spreading his legs shoulder width apart, shutting his eyes he brought one fist to his side before holding his other arm out palm up before forming a fist, slowly bringing it back to his side.
The golem sprinted at Kaim and the man lowered himself ever so slightly, the creature grew faster and Kaim started humming a small song to himself ignoring the approaching footfalls of the golem. The creature leapt forward claws bared and Kaim's body vanished from sight, his form reappearing a few feet behind the creature his fist extended forward.

Kaim ended his humming and straightening his form, raised his hands to his chest and brought them down exhaling a long breath. The creature still in mid pounce crystal body dissipated behind him, every piece of it breaking apart, brain included until no trace of it was left.
Kaim brushed his hands and clothes off before moving towards the tower.
"Got it right in one," Kaim said folding his hands behind his head. "Damn I kind of didn't want it to work. Oh well I'm warmed up now at least. I'll ask Isari to make more golems to fight when we rescue her. Man imagine if there were twelve of those things and I couldn't fight them, I'd have to develop a whole new technique, maybe if I hit all twelve them while-"
Kaim continued his contemplation as he approached the tower.

When Jack broke the roof a large oval room met him, the interior was clearly a living space. Crystal creations surrounding him, bookshelf's all around him lining the walls, each shelf packed to the brim with some lying on the ground. Curtains rested near the window, though solid they were clearly designed for royalty, a large fireplace in the corner of the room, with crystal logs within them.
The only thing not a crystal was a canopy bed on the far side of the room, white cloth swaying in the wind revealing that the bed was empty, the covers thrown to the floor.
"A moment too late Jack Kunal."
A golem formed in front of Jack taking Maka's form, his hands folded behind his back.
"A minute earlier…perhaps you took too long to adapt to your new situation," Golem Maka said bringing a hand to his chin. "Well time is up anyway. I'd use that rope over there to reach the ground faster, Ajynax is probably attacking your friends and brother. If you're fast enough…you may retrieve her."
A solid rope out of place in the room similar to the bed rested near the window, tied tightly to one of the crystal creations, Golem Maka fading back into the floor after sharing his message.

Outside Zilia and Kaim drew closer to the tower, however just as they neared the door, Zilia swearing she caught sight of Cedric for a moment, a large forced crashed into the ground in front of them, Zilia and Kaim thrown back at the strange force.
Zilia held her arms up as Crystal flew past her, before raising her gaze to the source as something flared out from the sudden visitor, a pair of large wings met her eyes, accompanied by a body made entirely of black crystal, with two large ones protruding from the front of it's body. Random spikes ran along the creature's body, accompanied by its sharpened claws gave it the menacing appearance she knew all too well. Zilia's brain slowly came to recognize the creature in front of her, the two horns along the side of its head standing out especially.

"Ajynax the destroyer?!" Zilia said taking a step back.
"Is that a dragon!" Kaim said pointing at it.
A pair of yellow eyes peered down at the group as the crystal dragon observed it's surroundings picking out everything in it's kingdom, even the cook currently in the tower. Unlike the other creation this one was far better sculpted, if not for the fact it was something that couldn't exist it wouldn't be hard to confuse it for an actual one.
"That's a freaking dragon!"
Ajynax reared it's head back and vibrations escaped from its mouth as a roar echoed off the creature, Zilia flinching as the vibrations slammed into her, she could feel its violent murderous intent.
"Ajynax if the guardian of the Tower…why is he outside!" Zilia exclaimed.

From Jack's position he'd have a clear sight of Maka who stood a far distance away pass the town, holding a sleeping Isari in his arms, he turned back towards the group, his mask moving up to look at Jack before down at the dragon, turning around he continued on his way.
Kaim's whole body twitched and he spun around noticing a speck in the distance.
"Hey Maka's getting away!" Kaim pointed.
Zilia spun noticing the man in the far distance, she moved to chase after him but Ajynax slipped into the crystal only to reappear behind them, slamming his tail to the ground a wall of crystal formed behind him blocking the group's path. The crystal grew higher and higher before merging with it self above, a crystal dome surrounding the area cutting off escape from all sides
"Oh come on! Zil is this a rank three?!"
"Yeah…he's smart enough to not only hide his brain crystal but also control the crystal around him. It's the strongest golem Isa can make currently," Zilia said pulling out her rope dart lowering her body slightly as the creature's eyes followed her, she tried to speak softly not wanting to incite the monster's rage too soon.

Smaller dragons started forming around the group, small roars echoing from them as Ajynax growled lowly at those gathered.
"…if we do enough damage to it the crystal will glow…we take it down when that happens," Zilia said. "We're not killing it normally…there's way too much crystal for it to pull from."
Kaim rushed forward and jumping slammed his fist into the dragon, he had no time to follow up at as Ajynax responded immediately forcing him to move away from him.
"Okay he's quick to react that's…going to make this a little harder," Kaim said hopping from foot to foot.
The crystal regenerated and Ajynax shifted his body slightly, Zilia looked but noticed no glow.
"…damn it…he's hiding it, we have to keep him occupied," Zilia said. "He's not going to let us pass…he'll use the crystal if we chase after Maka…"
"I expect if one of us get's past him he'll just impale us quickly and chase after the other huh...like you said in the lecture."
"...I don't know if he's that smart but it's a possibility given his rank. He's sizing us up right now so he hasn't resorted to using Crystal he can't get back. If we take too long and we're recognized as a real threat then he'll use everything at his disposal to kill us, he's on the defensive right now."

Kaim grinned and shook his hands off before slamming his foot down.
"So hurry and take down the dragon then get the girl, got it," Kaim said getting back into stance. "The smaller dragons look like rank ones…I can easily make out their crystals. Some of us should keep those busy while the rest of us take this guy down."
"He should have trouble adapting to our strikes since he's focused on hindering us but he'll eventually pick up on our strength, be careful."
The Dragon's eyes moved to the group below them, his gaze making sure to locate the many strangers that had approached his home, letting out one last roar he sent his minions after the group before flaring his wings out sending shards of crystal at the intruders.

Ajynax the Destroyer

Respect to Michii Yuuki

 

[SilentxChaos]

Collab bet'w Fox and Silent​

​

O Fère, Where Art Thou?

At the sound of Maka's voice, Jack twirled around with a readied blade, but he saved the throw. He knew before seeing Maka that the man wasn't really here. Just like Isari. The state of the room spoke the truth; they'd been played.

Jack took the man's words in silence, his face emotionless, until the beast outside unleashed its mighty roar. Fear drained the color from his face. Sid! He raced passed the melting Maka without a second glance. Stumbling on the window's edge, he gripped the frame to keep from falling out.

Eyes widened and his breath hitched. The dragon -- beautiful and awful -- swiveled its yellow eye onto him. Flashback of the Undersea and that giant eye made his blood run cold. Jack shook his head to dispel the nightmare memories. He instead knelt down and grabbed the rope, ready to help his crew. He paused as, just for a moment, something in the distance caught his eye. He straightened; his and Maka's gaze met. His neck prickled. Marking me as your next target, Maka? Vengeance for Yuli?

The idea left Jack feeling strangely calm. It was just one more enemy to add to the list. And, in truth, an enemy worth precedent only because he held a friend hostage.

"I'm coming for Isari, not you," Jack told the silhouettes.

×_×_×_×_×_×_×_×_×​

There Be Dragons!

A spiked tail had caught Cedric in his stomach and sent him crashing through a half open window. His vision faded to nothing as shock and exhaustion clubbed him. As he laid on his side, he smelled blood coming from the arm twisted under his body. Sid screwed his eyes shut and hissed in pain.

He pushed himself off the ground with his good arm and reached behind the opposite shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his fingers over the edges of crystallized wood and pulled. He tossed it aside, splattering blood across the floor. He clutched his injured shoulder tightly and took stock of his current location.

A small face peeked from behind the door. The little boy's parents stood proactively in front of him. All of them safe enough at that distance from the main door; he guessed he was too judging by the images Chaos and Chester were sharing with him.

The summoner pulled away his bloodied hand and drummed his thigh. Gingerly, he squatted down and pulled out three shadow cards. These he arranged into a triangle. Next, he fished out a spare bottle of sacred ink and drew a summoning circle overlapping the cards. He tossed a match over his creation and focused on his spell.

Tendrils shot up from the shadows under the dragons and ensnared them. Each time they struggled against their bindings, the ropes would tighten and pull their threshing bodies into a ball. Soon the small dragons were buried in goopy cocoons. Their struggles dwarfed by Ajynax's valiant fight. The ancient beast snapped his binding periodically only to have them replaced with thicker and sticker chains.

Sid staggered into the fray with his left arm dangling uselessly at his side. "Madame Doctor, the spell won't hold forever. Go stop Maka!"

A brilliant flash of light was the last thing Zilia would have noticed before her body turned to nothing. Kaim had also been targeted; the man turned to face the doctor seconds before he faded from existence.

Sid exhaled. He had sent them to Maka's location. With his luck, Sid worried they might crash a good distance behind their mark rather than in front of the man as he intended. After all, Chaos informed him that Jack had re-appeared among the clouds and plunged on to the roof.

He clutched his head suddenly and swayed on the spot. His vision blurred as he burned through the last of his magic reserves. Sid could feel his spell weakening; the small dragons were having an easier time to break through their prison. He tried to tighten the restraints but his body surrendered.

Cedric closed his eyes and braced himself for impact. His head came mere inches from the ground when strong arms caught him by the shoulders. Alertness crept into his eyes as they peeled open. Jack.

"I have you." Jack supported him while keeping a watchful eye on the dragon and the shadows restraining him. He knew it was only a matter of time before the crystal adapted, and managed to break free — or Sid's strength would fade too far.

The little brother sighed and closed his eyes for a couple of seconds. He knew what must be done but the fatigue was slowing him down. "Fére, leave soon. I don't want you to … get hurt when … I destroy the crystal." He murmured.

It took a moment for the words to sink. Jack snapped his head around, shock and disbelief warring on his face. "What!? Are you insane? You can't cast another spell, not in your…"

Words caught in his throat as the familiars slammed his mind in an act of desperation. He went to a knee, gritting his teeth as he tried to concentrate through the panicked onslaught of images filling his mind.

"You idiot," Jack gasped. Clarity clicked; the images were Cedric's plan, and the consequences.

Sid's eyes flew open now that his plans had been betrayed by his own familiars. He hadn't realised how destructive his blood spell would have been until Chester relayed the message to Jack. The brothers had seen in their mind's eye the ruins that spell would have left in its wake. A town blown to bits, the surrounding forest completely flattened and the earth scorched beyond redemption.

A chill curled in his stomach with that image burned into his memory. He wished he could say Chester was exaggerating but familiars never lied. They simply shared what they knew based on the knowledge they inherited over several lifetimes. Slowly, Sid's eyes drifted to the face above him.

"Jack?" he implored unnerved by the stony mask on his brother's face. A shaking hand pressed against the bronze cheek and Sid smacked it lightly. He needed Jack to react. Faster! His mind yelled.

Cedric screamed. The chains shattered and the residual energy funneled back into him; intense pain flared throughout his body making him nauseous. Sid rolled off Jack's lap and vomited spectacularly. His fists curled weakly against the crystal floor as his eyes took in the ominous shadow blanketing them. So close, that he knew they didn't have time to escape.

Cedric drew as much energy that he could gather into his blood-caked hand as the dragon roared, and slammed its foot on them.

Jack stepped in front of Sid before his brother could stop him, and raised his arms.

The clawed foot came down on Jack….

…. And shattered.

Crystalline splinters showered the brothers. The dragon shrieked. It stumbled back, its balance momentarily lost, and gave Jack his opening. Whipping around, he hauled Cedric into his arms and ran. No sooner had they stepped out of range when the dragon's crashed down where they had stood, causing the ground to crack.

Out of the dragon's temporary reach, Jack hid with Sid behind a house. He set his brother down and then peaked around the corner. His eyes narrowed as he watched the crystal foot slowly reform, along with the fissures in the ground. Half his body was coated in Armament Haki -- his shield against the crystal. Cedric wouldn't remember it being strong enough to stop a force like that. Jack hadn't budged when the dragon hit him. It was also curious that it remained active, instead of seeping beneath Jack's skin like it always did.

When Jack looked back at him, he looked inhuman.

"Can you do one more spell without killing yourself? No bullshitting me, Cedric," Jack snapped. His brittle anger and fear was masked behind a stony face. There was no time to get into what Cedric's recklessness could have cost, but it was clear he wouldn't be letting it go anytime soon.

Ajynax, roaring it's fury, began smashing at the buildings around them. Roofs gave way as easily as ice. It smashed one, then another, and another. Each time pausing to inspect its area for the two living nuisances. Jack did little more than snap a gaze as it came closer. He knew it'd be only a matter of time before it found them, and he'd have to choose between letting Sid help or taking him out of the fight entirely.

Sid's world narrowed into a drunken haze. He laid propped against the wall with his eyes trained on the skies above. He had so many questions. No, so many things he wanted to say. He simply lacked the strength and the will to say it. His body had reached the same limits it did in Trovale. Thankfully, death wasn't in the cards. Madame Doctor wasn't close enough to save him this time. Sorry, Jack.

He turned reluctantly towards his brother when the anger registered in his consciousness. Cedric stole a few precious minutes to weave an answer together. Slowly, his shaking hand gripped Jack's wrist and the younger brother smiled wanely. "Destin a'décidè … J'ssaie." (Do we have a choice? (Don't worry) I will do my best.)

Using his sibling as an anchor, the summoner peeled away from the wall and dropped to his hands. He felt Jack hovering over him. Those yellow eyes darted anxiously between him and the dragon. Cedric zoned out these distractions; he knew fére was acting as his lookout.

He straightened up and allowed his weight to rest solely on his folded knees. Once he was sure he wasn't going to keel over, Sid pulled out half his deck and scattered them across the floor. He flipped the exposed cards face down on the ground then dipped his fingers into the ink bottle he used earlier.

He aligned the stars and balanced the cardinal elements. To these, he added the gods of the earth and balance. When he ran out of ink, he supplemented with his own blood. It wasn't, strictly speaking, a blood spell but he was out of the sacred ink. He closed his eyes and pressed his palms on opposite ends of the East-West axis; his mind already seeking out sources of energy he could use.

His heart hammered wildly in his chest as his mind latched onto the energy running through the area, the same energy he often felt while exploring a new city. Life energy, Alicia called it. He would borrow just enough without killing them. He hoped. His confidence wavered briefly; this would be the first time he used the Path skills without his mentor watching.

Yellow light concentrated below his palms, spread up his hands and stretched over his body. Sid felt his body protesting the anguish heaped onto it; the raw energy tore at his flesh from the inside in the worst ways imaginable. He gasped as blood dribbled down the sides of his mouth. He coughed violently sending more blood across the ground but his will kept him clinging to this side of consciousness.

Sid transferred the energy along the lines of his spell circle, firing up each symbol in succession. As the last symbol burned, an airless hush blanketed the area. Time appeared to have stopped for a blink of an eye. Shadows turned to liquid and fan out under Ajynax's feet. The dark waters spiralled rapidly as a roaring portal ripped open.

High pitched screeching filled the air as the valor slipped towards the pulsing eye in the heart of the whirlpool. Crystal was pulverised as the smaller dragons hit the center of the whirlpool. Their leader skidded further from the shadowy edge; his claws tearing up coated crystal along the way. Ajynax's body plates cracked and mended in shortening cycles as gravity's pull tightened around him.

Jack stared in a moment of awe, grounded to the Earth as he watched Sid's spell wreak havoc on the golem. His hand tightened on the building's edge.

"Stay here," he ordered Sid.

Then frost built around a gloved fist. Taking a deep breath, Jack charged Ayjnax.

Its mighty yellow swiveled onto the attacker. It fought against the portal's weight to try and attack Jack. He dodged a claw swipe -- the foot that he had shattered nearly reformed -- and slapped a hand on the ground. Ice creaked with spontaneous growth. It shot from the ground, a giant, jagged and sharp stalagmite that pierced the dragon right in its flank, visible for all to see. The dragon screamed and lunged again. Jack ran around it. He was quicker than it, thanks to Sid's spell, and he created one icy javelin after another. The first few went deep and did considerable damage; Just as the crystal coated all it touched, Jack's ice did the same. The crystal weakened around his attack, even cracking and shattering.

Twisting its body, the dragon roared with fury and desperation. Ayjnax stood on its hind legs, folding over, trying to get away from the growing ice spears stabbing its flanks. Crystal shrieked as it pulled against the portal's gravity at its feet.

Jack landed on its opposite side. Punching the ground, he fueled his haki into one giant spear that aimed for the dragon's chest.

It slammed back to the ground and whipped its tail. By now the crystal was adapting; it shattered the ice spear like glass. Jack threw up his arms and put all his haki into them, unable to dodge the tail's trajectory. He must have put more energy into than he realized, because the tip of the tail, like the dragon's foot, broke against his body.

There was an explosion -- Jack's vision covered with crystal and blood as shards bit into his unprotected skin -- and the gasp of Ayjnax's dying breath. He didn't register it at first, not until he felt the weight of Cedric's spell stop, and then an enormous shuddering of the Earth. Slowly, he lowered his arms, and peaked out.

Just like the previous golems, Aynax's body broke, its mind crystal no longer there to sustain it. Jack gasped. He couldn't believe it… they'd won. Through sheer dumb luck, they killed the dragon.

When he could move again, Jack limped back over to his brother's crumpled body. He checked for a pulse and sighed with relief when he found it. He hadn't seen llwhen his brother fainted but he'd anticipated. I'm sorry, little brother. We didn't have a choice… There was no way to defeat it by one's self, but risking Cedric as he did burned a painful fire in Jack's chest, writhing with excuses and dismays.

As he moved around his brother, tending to the younger's wounds, something flashed at the corner of his eyes. Black and skeletal; something demonic birthed from the depth of evil shadows. It's aura was palpable to Jack. He stiffened… fingers brushed a hidden knife. There was a shift, and the looks of a tail slithered out of his vision.

"Hello, Jack," the creature growled inside the chef's mind. Its wicked teeth appeared oddly white and solid against its wispy exterior. A lone clawed hand pressed on his shoulder but not an eye or face was to be seen.

The creature had moved too quickly for Jack to track him. From in front of the brother, it stood behind. A miasmic black fog radiating the same chaotic energy Alicia absorbed into her soul. It pulsed within the elder brother and quickened his pulse.

"What's wrong, little one? We met before. Or rather, your group slammed the door in my face."

Jack moved out of the demon's hold while maintaining his protective posture over Cedric. A knife gleamed, threatening and ready, but he didn't use it. His expression was dangerous. And calculating.

Strange metallic clicks, like sharpened claws, came from the unseen body. Then, a rumbling shook the earth. Slit eyes, fiery yellow, opened in front of Jack's face and a nebulous face pressed against his. Their minds connected again.

"I hear your question. No, I'm not him and he is not me. I come and go as I please linked to your brother, unfortunately, until the shackles are broken ... You know what you must do, yes?"

Jack's teeth bared. "I'll take none of your words for certainty, devil."

Amusement pinged in his mind; those eyes narrowed to slits and the teeth clamped into a visceral grin. "Think what you will, good … bad … it doesn't concern me. You will help me get what I want. No, you will do what needs to be done to keep your brother alive."

Charlotte Vontiago's face slipped like a mask over the skull and it flashed Jack one last grin before melting away. The chill down his spine told Jack the creature lurked close by. Sid's familiars sat at the man's feet completely entranced. Their eyes glowed with that same yellow light as they drank in the energy.

Jackie made her rare appearance out of his pocket to join the feast. Her tiny body curled against Jack's shod feet. Chester inhaled deeply, snapping his eyes shut. Their natural colour returning when they opened again. He yowled loudly, reminding his sisters it was time to leave. Three of them drank enough to replenish what Sid lost earlier. Almost reluctantly, Chaos clamped down on the nape of Jackie's neck and she followed after the ginger cat.

Chester paused a few yards ahead and turned around to check whether Jack was following him. He cocked his head to the side and purred. "Follow me" his imperious voice demanded. He nodded briefly in answer to the unmasked question. Turning back to front, he plodded ahead confident that he knew where they were needed.

Reluctantly, Jack moved. There was no time to stop. Not for him. He needed to find the rest of his crew and he didn't have time to take Sid back to the ship.

So he ignored his emotions, his fears and rage at the demon that had spawned; what his brother could have wrought; at losing Isari again; at not knowing where his crew was or how they fared. He banished his own body's agonies at being spent and bleeding and bruised. Jack tended to Cedric's visible hurts as best he could, then hauled his brother onto his back and set off after Chester.

 

[Mizos]

​

Luro leapt out of the way as the Creature's hand swept over where he had been, he slid back a few feet only for one of the creatures to jump at him. He raised his rifle to block the strike only for another to aim for his side, he managed to dodge the latter but the blade scratched him in the process. He kicked one attacker away only for the other to shatter as a blade pierced its chest.
Mari removed her blade from the creature and nodded at Luro before looking back up at the Giant.
"This is a problem," Mari said flexing her free hand. "The thing is huge and more of these things come up each time they're cut down."

Mari's gazed moved to the edge of the crystal, it had shortened considerably since the fight had started but they were far from finished. It was a game of endurance currently, except their opponents didn't have to worry about exhaustion setting in.
"Hey I have an idea," Luro said. "Can you help me?"
Mari looked over at Luro as the creature raised its arm and making a fist brought it down towards the two.
"I want to get up there."
Mari looked at the creature and offered a nod to Luro before the two quickly moved to the side as the fist slammed into the earth throwing up crystal in the process, the moment it's fist touched the ground Mari extended her arm, ash quickly surrounding the fist before she hardened it and digging her feet in held the creature down.
The creatures tried to exploit the opening to attack Mari causing her to grit her teeth when a blade sliced through the approaching creations, Nina stood behind her offering a small nod keeping the smaller creations off her allowing the two an opening.

The momentary resistance was enough time for Luro to close the distance, a burst of blue exploded from his rifle propelling him upwards before he landed on top of the creature's arm.
The giant moved his fist Mari unable to hold him as her ash broke, she grit her teeth as it flowed back into her, before looking up noticing Luro had achieved his objective.
"All right! Now I just need a clean shot," Luro said before sprinting up the creature's arm.
Puppeteer's gaze moved over to the approaching Luro and she pat the giant's shoulder before pointing at him, the moment the creature noticed him the crystal on itss arm started responding.
Walls of crystal shot up trying to stop Luro from climbing, the crystal behind him sharpening and shooting at him as it tried to catch up. Luro weaved between the walls, and leapt over the small ones, the burst from the L.A.S.S. knocking away the crystal that approached him.
Moving between the obstacles, he laughed as he made his way further and further up the arm. A few piece of crystals stabbed into him but he paid it little mind keeping his pace.

His eyes moved to Puppeteer and he aimed his rifle at her once he got a good angle, just as he was about to pull the trigger a tidal wave of crystal hovered over him, he turned towards it and flipped a switch as it crashed down on him.
A burst of fire exploded from his rifle blowing the crystal away from him, bits of it still stabbing into his torso but he ignored it loading another shot.
Crystal creatures rose out of the monster's arm and immediately grabbed Luro, he knocked a few away and off the arm but more and more started growing and it didn't take long for him to be overrun, a mountain of crystal quickly covering him as the creatures started stabbing him.

A large fiery explosion destroyed the gathered crystal, blowing apart all the creatures and propelling Luro off the arm toward the creature's torso, Luro aimed his rifle towards Puppeteer only to see she had a single hand raised, his eyes moved to another arm which had grown out of the creature's body before she made a downwards motion, the hand slapping Luro sending him plummeting toward the earth.
A wave of ash quickly moved under Luro softening his fall before enveloping him, Mari kept her arm extended and with a sall sigh set Luro on the ground next to her, the carpenter quickly jumping back to his feet.
"Thanks Mari!" He said grinning.
"You're welcome. I'm surprised you didn't just take the shot."
"She was protecting herself, I had to shoot in between her barrier."
Mari arched a brow but looked up, she didn't see anything around the girl but squinting a bit she noticing something gleam near the girl's head.
"…are those…wires?" Mari said. "Ah the armament gives them away, I didn't even see them."
"Yeah…I was trying to get a shot in-between them but she shifted to protect herself. I almost had her. Maybe I should try again!"
"Why are you yelling? Maybe you should leave the arm running to someone else for now…or at least go with someone. For now focus on the enemy in front of you," Mari said bringing another hand to her blade. "I'll look for an opening as well."

A gunshot filled the air and Mari flinched before she looked over at Luro, his smoking gun pointed at Puppeteer, the girl looked at her shoulder, a bit of red staining her outfit. She tugged on the now wet spot but lost interest quickly, her wires enclosing a bit more around her before she focused on the ground below again.
"Got her," Luro said.
"Huh?" Mari asked as Luro loaded another shot.
"She moved her wires so it was easy," Luro responded with a smile.

Mari stared at the redhead in front of her the earlier scene replaying in her head.
Was it possible the attack was a feint to make Puppeteer move her wires?
At the idea of being attacked again she'd clearly focus her defenses on one side exposing the other, he even announced loudly he would do it again.
She was smart enough not to leave her head exposed but a clean shot would make her cautious which they could use to their advantage as well.
"….was that intentional…or was it luck?"
"What were you saying?" Luro asked as the creatures approached them.
"…do what comes natural," Mari said raising her blade.

Daylight Takers

(Can't uh...attach any more files so uh... yeah...Kaiiimmmm)​

Zilia and Kaim crashed against the crystal earth, Kaim managed to regain his footing faster than Zilia and he quickly helped the doctor up. Cedric's spell had been relatively on point as they'd noticed Maka approaching them, and he seemed to notice them as well, before the two could move however the crystal activated under their feet and Kaim grit his teeth. He grabbed Zilia causing her to arch a brow before he flung her in the air towards Maka, the crystal rising up to pierce him, causing Kaim to cover himself in armament. He grit his teeth as the crystal tried to pierce him from all angles, hoping Zilia could deal with the man while he acted as bait.

Zilia had little time to adjust being thrown but realized Kaim's intentions as she closed in on Maka, the crystal in this state would only attack her if she touched it. She was glad Kaim at least remembered that part of the lesson. Her body fell toward Maka who noticed the woman quickly closing the distance, a small smile rested on his face and he leaned towards Isari before whispering something. The girl's face distorted as if in pain before a wall quickly shot up in front of them, Zilia crashing into it instead of the duo.
A low groan escaped from her as she hit the ground, but she ignored the pain and quickly climbed to her feet moving around the wall. She saw no sign of Maka or Isari, her eyes quickly scanning the area for any traces of them and finding nothing.
"Damn it!"
Zilia screamed slamming her fist into the crystal wall next to her. She punched it repeatedly until her knuckles turned red, only stopping when Kaim grabbed her arms.
"I was so close! So close! Damn it!"
"Zil calm down," Kaim said.
"Why?!"
Bits of crystals exploded around them as Zilia power ran rampant decimating anything in the area, a bop on the head from Kaim caused her to stop however making her realize what she was doing.
"…sorry…"
"No I'm sorry…and don't stress too much about it. He showed he had control over the crystal. It only makes sense he'd use it against us. We were at a disadvantage from the beginning. I'm not happy either…I love winning at a disadvantage."

Shortly after Zilia noticed Jack approaching with Cedric, Kaim waved to the two as they neared each other. He didn't say anything knowing that the lack of an Isari near them spoke what needed to be said.
"Let's just head to the meeting spot," Kaim said. "The others might actually catch him as he was heading that way. We can at least cut off his retreat."
Zilia looked over at Cedric her eyes twitching at his current state, her eyes moved to the work Jack had done causing her to sigh and squeeze the bridge of her nose.
"I'm not losing two people today…thank you for treating him…I'll do a full examination of you both when we return…then I'm going to pinch Cedric where it hurts the most for getting that hurt in the first place."

Mercenary Meeting

​

A small room with a simple round table, lit only by the few candles shrouding most of the room in darkness save the center where five people sat. Each one seated in old wooden chairs, their gazes focused on Sor who sat with his hands folded on the old table, a small smile on his face.
Something emerged from the shadows causing one of the people to jump as Yora set tea down in front Sor, doing so for each person at the table, she took her place at the smiling man's side as he picked up his cup.
He took in everyone around him as some picked up their cups, others merely watching him waiting for him to continue. The other four in the room were leaders of the mercenary outfits of the Circle, and the meeting they were about to have was one of their more important ones.

A young man with short hair dressed in what he could only call fancy hunter clothes, a simple cloak hanging around his shoulders, and tassels adorning most of his outfit, even on the earrings he wore. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye, apparently from his first hunt. A bird rested on his arm which he kept up even as the tea was placed in front of him. He was the Leader of the 1st Mercenary Group Raos. First was a debatable title as he had come to the Circle later than the others but it was easiest to remember in Sor's opinion.
Though among the youngest hunters, having what could be considered a baby face he rarely smiled, putting off a serious aura…which only made him seem more childish to Sor.

Next to him was a blonde woman dressed head to toe in armor, her helmet resting on the table, a yellow cape resting on the back of her chair. The armor itself was rather simple, apparently modified at Brass Cap but very durable, it reminded him of the old knights in stories. Long golden locks hung past her shoulders and a small smile rested on her delicate features. Her somewhat youthful appearance hid her real age something only Sor was aware of and he knew not to repeat. The 'young' Milis was the leader of the 2nd Group and one of the kinder mercenaries, she and Sor had a good working relationship, it was always a pleasure to see her.

Next to her was a man dressed in foreign fabric, a glare adorning his features as he observed the others around him, his boots placed upon the table and his arms crossed. His slightly tan skin accompanied his dyed hair, a secret only Sor knew, quite well which had been stylized recently, more than likely due to meeting the others.
His eyes were always narrowed or half-lidded, he apparently couldn't put forth the effort show he was paying full attention or not be angry.
The owner of the ill expressions Vorik, the leader of the 3rd group and a regular troublemaker in the Circle, being the most recent denizen many kept an eye on him, he never really attended these meetings and his harsh demeanor netted him few friends.

Last but not least was an old man with a white beard and slicked back grey hair. He wore a long red cloak over his muscular form, and simple armor underneath his clothes, the lines running along his face spoke of his age, a stoic man and leader of the Fourth Group of Mercenaries. Sor personally thought he was too serious but he attended every meeting same as the other three, he was a good voice of a reason and he always wanted the best for the Circle. He was also one of the oldest denizens, thus Sor knew him relatively well.


"Thank you all for coming," Sor said as his eyes moved around the table.
Content that the regulars and one non-regular had come Sor chuckled a bit before Milis spoke up.
"There's plenty to talk about Sor, there's little reason for us not to come. Though…I'll admit I'm surprised Vorik came," Milis said looking over at the man next to her.
"I wouldn't be here if I could help it…I owe the giant and the short one for helping me…I'm repaying that here."
"Are you upset over your men being hurt Vorik? Perhaps you should have chosen better employers." Raos said feeding a bit of the snacks to his bird.
"Pfft I lent them some of my weakest men, they knew what they were getting into."
"Does that include them getting beaten down by the new pirates?"
"You trying to say something to me kid?"
"I am but you're not catching on. Which is to be expected from you."
Vorik stood up from his seat causing Asius to speak his attention remaining focused on the cup in his hand.
"We can't fault Vorik for doing what we would all do. Ensuring the job is done…even if he did so poorly."

Vorik looked over at the old man, his eyes narrowing at him but dropped back in his seat knowing it would be a losing battle dealing with these people.
"Now now let's all be nice," Sor said holding his hands up. "Vorik thank you for coming I would like to discuss Stardusk and a bit about what's going on in the circle."
"Did the others groups not want to come," Milis said arching a brow at Sor.
"I mainly contacted the ones mostly involved the current affairs. The others are somewhat aware of what's happening but are not as involved, I'll ensure they're informed later."
The leaders all looked at each other and before Milis could speak again Vorik chimed in slamming his fist on the table.
"If we're talking about those pirates, I want to know why those idiots are causing all kinds of problems. Why the hell are they riling up Relias?"
"It's been nice not having to deal with him actually," Milis said folding her hands behind her head.
"Only because he's been shoring up his defenses," Raos added. "He's just about done with that so he'll be on the offensive soon."
"Anyone in his way will become little more than a splatter on the side of his ships," Asius added.
"All because that group couldn't mind their damn business for two minutes," Vorik said throwing his arms up. "Who the hell do you think is going to clean up this mess when they leave?"

Milis shook her head at Vorik before crossing her arms over her chest.
"I dislike agreeing with this one but he's right Sor. They're not part of the circle and I'm sure they intend on leaving. I don't dislike them though, they helped one of my own after all."
"It doesn't change the fact that at the end of it we'll have to pick up the pieces. I doubt they'll stay behind for months…maybe years to fix the amount of damage they've caused with their actions," Raos said petting his bird. "Relias isn't letting this go and is already causing problems."
"They're not part of the Circle but they're spreading mischief making our jobs harder." Vorik said waving his hand at the man in front of him. "While some of that trouble has been useful it doesn't change the fact we're going to lose a bit from their presence here."
"I don't believe it's been completely on purpose guys," Milis said looking at her companions.
"That doesn't change what's occurred Milis, you understand as well as we do," Raos said.
"On top of that," Vorik said standing up. "If Relias finds out we're on good sides with them, soon as he's done with them he'll come for us."
"We're putting way too much on the line Sor," Asius said. "…so I hope you have a good reason for wanting us involved."

Sor dug his fork into his small cake, these were responses he expected from the group. It was completely understandable, being a resident himself he knew their worries all too well. Part of the reason he had them gather here was because he knew those feelings were weighing them down, and leaving them alone would help no one.
"I get it," Sor said holding up a hand. "It's abundantly clear what we're giving is more than what we're getting, especially considering all that's occurred."
Sor stopped to pop the piece in his mouth, the leaders staring at him knowing he had a habit of putting sweets as a priority to conversation.
"I can understand your concern, we work to have the chaos be at least somewhat controlled and having an unknown among that is concerning, but let's not forget one of the crucial rules of the Circle, always repay debts. I'm not asking you to put everything on the line, just pay what you owe and nothing more, I've informed them of this as well. They can't do this alone, and 'most' of us are not cold blooded enough to leave people, especially those who can benefit us to die."

Sor's gaze lingered for a moment on Vorik causing him to tilt his head before he continued.
"We're all here for a reason, we've seen too much blood spilled, and each person here has suffered loss. We've 'earned' our place here, made this our home and I know what you would do to protect it. I know it's hard to see but Stardusk's actions will benefit the Circle in the end, I believe that, and that's why I'm gambling on them…and you know how much I hate chance."
Sor grinned at this before motioning to the group with his fork.
"I won't ask you to throw away everything you've struggled for over a few favors, that's ridiculous, I just ask you to remember they did you a favor of their own volition. I didn't twist their arms into doing it. If they had reasons aside from goodwill then all the better, it's easier to trust someone who wants something back than who does something for nothing."
The leaders looked amongst one another and save for Vorik offered nods in response to Sor, when the three stared at Vorik however he clicked his tongue but waved his hand to show he agreed.
"We trust your judgement Sor," Milis said. "We know you want the best for the Circle as well, just as much as us."
"Glad that's understood, that's all I needed meeting adjourned," Sor said.
The leaders stood and Vorik quickly made his way to the exit.
"I'm not going to pull back my men if I don't have too," Vorik said looking back at the others. "Bad employers or not we finish what we start."
His peace said the men left the room slamming the door behind him.
"…if only he directed that stubbornness towards something productive," Milis said shaking her head.
"His determination is commendable," Asius said. "Regretfully everything else is terrible."

Sor approached the group causing them to turn towards him, patting Milis and Asius on the shoulders he spoke making sure he had the two's attention.
"You two are on really good terms with the Nomad's, a few of the Stardusk have been speaking with them. Make sure to pass this onto them, they have less resources than you guys and way more to lose so they may not be as open to cooperation. Do what you can to fix that please," Sor said.
"Ah that' s easy enough," Milis said Asius nodded in response.

Patting their shoulders one last time Sor smiled before looking over at Raos.
"Raos could I ask you to speak to the other Mercenary units, even if they aren't completely involved they'll probably want to fully know what's going on. It's easiest for you to get messages around."
"I was going to do so anyway," Raos said with a small nod. " Not communicating will affect the whole Circle. There's no 'point' if they don't know."
The three in the room stared at Raos who returned their stares with a blank expression, his bird brought a wing up and covered his face, before a stifle laughed escaped from Yora.
"I'm glad one of you got it," Raos said nodding.
"No no we got it Raos," Milis said rubbing the back of her head.
"Circle's don't have points, it was a play on words," Raos said.
"Please don't explain the joke," Sor said holding up a hand.
"I didn't want to be 'round' about it."
Asius put his hand on Raos back and started leading him out as Yora turned her head and covered her mouth trying to keep her laughter inside.
"His jokes are….still terrible," Sor said squeezing the bridge of his nose.
"Sor…are you really sure about this?"
Milis caused Sor to look over at her, a rare frown adorning her features, it didn't suit her but it had a certain cuteness thanks to the rarity of appearance.
"I wanna see some good come from this too but…"
"Everything will be fine Milis. I've already set things in motion. Now we just wait," Sor said. "Worst case we all die right?"

Milis

Respect to Laughing Declaration

Raos

Respect to kashin-r

Vorik

Respect to Hopo

Asius

Respect to Zennosuke

 

[Mizos]

​

After the large Golem Battle

Luro breathed heavily ignoring the bits of crystal currently poking out of his body as the giant crumbled to the ground. All the crystal around them had been drawn into the creature's body over the fight leaving the land back to what it was.
"That was a good fight. My Master will be pleased by your victory."
Mari quickly looked around for the Puppeteer but the girl had vanished sometime during the fight (if she's not attacked), she could still feel a strange cold weight pressing down on her, a presence that leaked out of the girl halfway through the fight. Paying it little mind she brushed a bit of crystal off her uniform and watched Luro pull chunks out of himself before she looked at the body lying next to the crystal.
A person with long white hair, part of it braided, lied in the destroyed crystal, they were dressed in strange ornate black clothes, Luro tilted his head at the person lying unmoving on the ground. The clothing was fancy reminding him of nobles a bit, but it somehow had a simple charm to it.
"You can have that one back."
With those words Puppeteer's presence faded from the area and Mari relaxed slightly before putting her blade away.

"Who's this lady?" Luro said pointing down at the unconscious person.
Mari walked over to the body and stared down at the delicate features of the young woman at Luro's feet, just as Luro was about to ask another question Mari slammed her boot into the woman's side.
A low hissing escaped from the stranger before they rolled back and forth on the ground holding their kicked side, after a moment they shot up and narrowed their eyes at Mari.
"The hell Mari! What was that for?"
"I got tired of you playing dead Noram."
"How else was I supposed to survive?"
Luro pointed at the woman who continued rubbing her side.
"This is Noram?"
Mari looked over at Luro then back at the others before motioning to the mumbling person next to them.
"This is Noram, a coward but he's an unwanted acquaintance of Zil's, Isa and mine."
"He?" Luro asked looked at Mari.
"He," Mari responded flicking a bit of crystal off her shoulder.
Luro looked over at Noram who was combing out his hair with his fingers and redoing his braid grumbling about Mari's cruelty, walking over Luro grabbed hold of Noram's shirt and started to lift it only for the young man to grab his arm and stop him.
"What are you doing?!"
"Checking something," Luro said reaching for his pants.
"What are you- oi stop!"

While Luro continued to mess with Noram, the man barely winning his fight against him, Mari looked over at the two as one of her men approached, addressing her before handing over a sheet of paper. Mari looked over it, her eyes narrowing slightly before handing it back to the soldier and pointing further down the road.
After saluting her he left with a few of the men following after him as they moved into formation.
"Isa isn't here," Mari said approaching Runali and Alicia. "A man adorned in a wolf mask was seen carrying her towards the harbor, apparently this was a decoy. He's apparently retreating due to your friends actions from what the reports say."
"I think it's about time to meet up with everyone anyway," Luro said releasing Noram. "Kadi's probably lonely waiting at the harbor."
"Can someone explain what's going on here?" Noram asked straightening his clothes.
"I'll explain on the way, we'll take the cart back. I know a shortcut," Mari said. "We should beat your friends back who should already be on their way. If we're lucky we'll pull ahead of Maka and pincer him."
"Wait Maka's here? Why is Maka-"
"Let's hurry," Mari said heading back towards the cart.
"Oi! Anyone wanna….wait for me!"

"I know you guys said the crystal was strong but, oof." Runali stretched out her shoulder. She was more annoyed at the fact that the Puppeteer managed to escape than the few injuries she got punching through crystals. Runali shook out her hands as if she touched something hot, flexed them, and then proceeded to focus on the new addition to their merry band.

"Oh, good!" The captain chirped up, taking a step towards Noram. "Alicia, cross Noram off the checklist." She rubbed her chin, her one eye squinting to examine the newcomer. "Hm… can't say this is a huge step in success but at least a… small one." Mari's call saved Noram from her own barrage of interrogations.

"Aw I knew it!" Exasperation laced her tone as the captain turned heel and followed Mari. "That sneaky dog. Can't trust fighting some mind controlled person and not think it's a trap. It's always a 'test of skills' with people and never an actual fight. Why do we gotta chase everyone down just to prove a point!"

The captain's grumbling stopped and her attention turned as Noram lagged behind. "C'mon slowpoke you're gonna make us miss out!" Seeing the cart not too far, she grinned as an obviously mischievous idea- probably to someone like Alicia or Jack- came to mind. "No worries, I got you covered." She slowed down enough to grab him by the wrist and with enough momentum (plus a slight haki boost) tossed him into a waiting seat. It wasn't long before she hopped in as well and patted Noram's shoulder when he finally was seated upright." There you go, now let's keep it moving. Time for shortcuts!"

Noram wasn't entirely sure what happened in the upcoming moments, but what he could glean was they were now in a wagon currently speeding away from the town. Now that he wasn't being manhandled and ignoring the small pain at being thrown into a wagon he took a moment to take a good look at his rescuers. After blinking a few times he brushed a bit of dirt off his outfit.
Mari's attention was focused on giving the driver orders for when they arrived, putting the horses to work trying to get back as fast as they could that she didn't have the moment to deal with Noram.
"It's delayed but thank you for saving me," Noram said. "Even though one of you treated me like a common wench I appreciate it. For the other two…"
Noram held his hand out before with a small twist of his hand two pristine white roses appeared.
"I didn't expect to be rescued by two pristine beauties such as yourself. It is not much but please take these roses. I know they pale in comparison to your allure but I must offer my thanks. While I would offer my affection I'm afraid my heart belongs to another, however beauty must be acknowledged in all aspects!"

Noram held the roses out towards the two women and that brought Mari back to the conversation. Which was probably a good thing considering a few of the animals in the area were running away from the cart for some unknown reason.
"Noram these are the Stardusk pirates," Mari said motioning to the group.
The color immediately drained from the young man's already somewhat pale complexion, something that caused Luro to tilt his head as the young man looked at him, eyeing the mark on his chest.
"P-P-P-P-Pir-"
"Pirates…yes Noram. They're not bad ones as you already know."
"I-I-I get that. Zil talked about them right. I know they're okay."
"Then why are you shivering…"
Noram was visibly shaking and slid a little bit away from the Captain, he cleared his throat coughing into his hand deciding to ignore Mari's observation. His shaking eventually stopped and he immediately looked back at Mari as a realization hit him.
"Is Zil around?!"

The young man's fear immediately shrunk away and his eyes widened, his hands clenching the cloth of his pants. Mari didn't respond immediately, her eyes narrowed slightly as she seemed to fight with something. Under his expectant stare she averted her gaze and spoke.
"Far as I know she is here. Especially because Isari is apparently also in the circle."
"My fated one!"
Noram jumped to his feet, a hand to his chest as his arm reached out towards nothing. A bright grin adorning his face as a laugh escaped from him. He twirled filled with even more energy before falling back into his seat.
"I expected our paths would cross again but to think it would be so soon! Destiny has drawn us back to- wait Isa?"
Noram was pulled from his monologue as Mari's words finally caught up to him.
"Isa's here? Is she in trouble?"
Mari gave a rough explanation of what was going on, Noram crossing his arms, his eyebrows knitting together as she finished her explanation. All joy from the man seemed to fade as he was made aware of the situation.
"…while growing my love with Zil is important…we need to help Isa."
"Because Isa is the only person nice to you," Mari said glancing over at him.
"That's not true, Zil's kind and you're nice to me. You came to save me."
"Well I was going to get you eventually but I didn't want to go out of my way. Thankfully we were heading that way so it was an easy matter."
"…I was a second thought."
"More third but yes."
"Woohoo! I'm third in line in your thoughts. Don't go falling for me Mari, you of all people know my heart is taken. You'll only get hurt, I can't blame you though."
"…I should have left you to die," Mari said before looking back at the others. "We'll make it to the spot soon. I'll escort you to your ship but after that I have to fall back to get my men together. If you're going after Maka a little bit of extra help couldn't hurt. I can spare a ship to aid you."

"Also Z was fine with you dying," Luro said holding up a hand. "She said not to go out of our way. She told me to inform you that 'if' you're still alive."
"That's just her being shy, she understands the bond between us is unbreak-wait did you just say Z?"
"Yeah Z," Luro said nodding.
"…what's your relationship with Zil? I know for a fact that the shorter the nickname the more intimate the relationship…I had to work hard to call her Zil."
"Actually she doesn't really like you calling her Zil," Mari added.
"Z and I are really close."
"Examples," Noram said folding his hands together. "To be on a first name basis…savior or not I cannot condone a rival in love…though ultimately it's futile. Our hearts are connected, one rugged pirate isn't enough to destroy that."
"I really feel you're misunderstanding the situation," Mari said shaking her head.
"She treats me all the time. She's the only one who's seen all my scars, she knows all the stories."
"Scars…I don't see any scars," Noram said as his eyes wandered around Luro's body.
"Oh they're under my clothes."
"C-Clothes! What have you two done together?!"
"Ignoring them," Mari said looking over at Runali and Alicia. "Thank you for your assistance. Even if this was a wild goose chase, lives were still saved by your actions. On my own I wouldn't have been able to protect the people. I won't' forget what you did today."

Runali was sitting against the wagon with her back turned to the horses. Watching Noram brought some mixture of confusion and curiosity. He was odd to say the least and it made her want to poke at him. Not with questions, but just to physically poke him. But she restrained herself.

"Gee, your welcome. Glad to have saved you from dying." She couldn't let her first mate and her temporary crewmember take all the credit… until he started doling out fairy tale compliments. Then, she leaned back and out of the way.

It didn't take many words from Mari to really get an idea of just why she and Zil weren't so eager to rescue Noram. The more he spoke, the more Runali mentally piled how much she could tease Zilia for… Noram just existing around her. It was almost too easy.

"Huh? Oh, it was nothing, don't think too hard on it. Just another problem cleared out while we're getting to where we need to be." She paused and waved a hand. "Well, unless ya plan on paying us then you can call it as you please." With Noram being dumbfounded near her, she pointed a thumb at him. Realizing he was still going on about Luro, she reached over and gently tugged his braid as if she was ringing a bell. It wasn't enough to hurt, but it was definitely enough to be annoying and get his attention. "Yes, they're betrothed and after this will… what's the word.. Elope? Yeah that. It's what ya get for being gone for so long. Alicia's free though. Anyway!" She looked back at Mari and pointed a thumb at Noram again. "So what's the deal with the royal baby here? And how could he possibly help… unless we need bait. Or a distraction… Hm, maybe he can be useful."

Runali snapped her fingers as she faced forward, waiting for them to finally get where they needed to be. "Wait, you meant an extra ship aid. That's kind of you… but are you sure you want to risk your own at the hands of… well all this going on? I wouldn't judge you if you didn't."

Noram's head jerked at his braid being pulled and he looked over at Runali with a slightly narrowed gaze reaching over to redo what she had undone. He opened his mouth to comment he was in the middle of a conversation when Runali's words hit him. His mouth hung agape and he stared wide eyed at the Captain, hands twitching in place as his mind struggled to accept the new information he had just been given.
Noram looked over at Alicia at Runali's comment, staring at her for a moment longer than needed before he lowered his head and gripped the side of his skull with both hands.
"No no I mustn't be tempted. E-even if that's true…which it can't be! I can't just give up on my love that easily. We are bound by the-"
While Noram muttered to himself Mari looked back at Runali, hearing her comment on the risks she was taking Mari turned and rested her arm on the side of the wagon, turning her attention to the road for a moment. Her eyes narrowed as her face hardened, a small scowl forming on her expression.
"…I'm surrounded on all sides by those that hate us. I can't remember a day anymore we weren't defending ourselves in some fashion…it's just another day for us Captain Lev."
Mari closed her eyes letting out a sigh before looking back at Runali.
"Besides in the Circle, if you hit someone you expect to get hit back. Relias attacked my men as he usually does so he shouldn't be surprised at a response. I can spare a single ship, the men might actually be happy doing a bit of damage to him. Being a User myself I'm not a fan of him and neither are my men, some of which have Devil Fruits. Well…even if I wasn't I don't like his character. It's no trouble. The Circle is chaos but it's our home, I want our regular chaos back and that means helping you deal with Maka and getting you all out of the Circle as quickly as possible so things can return to normal."
"Z will leave too though," Luro said. "You don't wanna do friend stuff?"
"…I would prefer Zil and Isa not stay here any longer than need be either. I miss her but…I wouldn't have her stay longer than need be. Some rules don't apply in this place…and I know she would be uncomfortable if she knew that."

Runali slumped into leaning against her hand, listening to Mari. Despite Noram's blubbering, there was a moment of silence between the two. "Hm… Alright Mari." With a look of genuine honesty, for what could have been the first time since they met, Runali held her hand out to the woman. "To me, it sounds like you've been playing this game for too long and only coming out as a stalemate. And that's no fun at all." Her tongue clicked in disappointment. "But don't worry, we're here to shake things up. Our problems align but lucky for me, my crew has no rule to follow that isn't my own." Her gaze turned to the path ahead and a more determined look fell on her face. "As for your aid… I'll do my best to make sure they get back to you. A captain is only as good as their crew after all."

The moment disappeared when Runali looked over at Luro. "Z's stubborn, she'll have her last words written or talking before we get outta here. No worries, when we're done with this place, Mari and Isa can have tea time with Z as much as they want- don't think that's an offer to board my ship though. You still wave that navy flag as far as I'm concerned. Isa on the other hand, she's welcome any time. Honorary pirate. Noram doesn't have the freedom either, but that's just because Z would stab me with her needles if I let him."

Mari's eyes traced over the Captain's face for a moment but she reached out and shook the woman's hand.
"My hopes are not high but I appreciate the attempt," Mari said. "We adapt Captain, it's all we can do for the time being."
At the notion of Z being stubborn Mari brought a hand to her face and squeezed the bridge of her nose, that was putting it lightly. She only lowered her hand at the Captain's comments.
"Honorary pirate…goodness…what is that girl getting into," Mari said shaking her head. "I'm fine having tea off a pirate ship…it's bad enough I have to write a report on why pirates weren't arrested when passing through the base."
She focused her attention back on the road ahead.
"That's her being nice Captain, it'll be far worse when it comes to him," Mari added.

Just as Mari said the Noram Hunters made it to their destination first, with another ship floating alongside Lady Luck in the distance. Luro wanted to comment at the fact a navy ship was sitting right next to their own but decided to save it for later.
They had been watching the road leading to the meeting place and there hadn't been any sign of Maka, Mari's men had the other areas covered so they'd be informed if he went another direction.
"There's no easy place to moor a ship aside from here. Unless he's in a dingy the closest beach is still miles away through forest…our towers will spot him if he tried to go that way," Mari said eyeing the forest behind them. "Being a Devil Fruit User I doubt he'd expose himself like that though. Doesn't matter how strong you are, the moment you hit the water it's over. He'll need a regular ship."

Rustling of the leaves caused her to place her hand upon her weapon, her eyes narrowed as footsteps quickly approached the group. Luro's hand went to his rifle and Noram casually took five large steps back away from the group, hiding in a nearby bush.
A figure emerged from the brush and Mari leaned down ready to move forward but stopped seeing a familiar face looking back at her.
"Mari…"
Zilia moved a branch out of her way as the remainder of the Takers emerged. The two women stared at each other, mouth's slightly open as each one searched for words left unspoken, hundreds of things each wanted to say to the other.
"Zil…you look…"
"Zil!"
Noram rushed past the group and Zilia's whole body shivered at the man's approach, she immediately turned her foot slamming into the side of his skull, sending him tumbling into a nearby tree.
"Ah Noram! I-I'm sorry. My body acted before my mind could."
Noram gripped the tree and slowly climbed to his feet.
"Ah Zil…your kicks are as loving as ever," Noram said rubbing his cheek. "You hit me much softer than when we first met. It must be proof of our-"
"We don't have time for this Noram," Mari said looking at the Takers.
"Did you see Maka?"
Luro was already over near the others patting Jack and checking on Cedric as Zilia gave a brief explanation on what happened.
"We didn't see him which means we got here too late. He couldn't have gotten far, let's hurry," Mari said heading towards the ships.
"I'm glad you guys are okay," Luro said to the four before heading towards the ship.
"Nice to see you guys too…" Kaim said raising a hand. "No time for reunion hugs."
Nina held her arms out and Kaim stared at her for a moment.
"…Sarcasm Nina."
Nina made no attempt to move and Kaim sighed quickly hugging his companion before moving ahead.
"Always time for hugs Kaim."
"It's hard to hate you Nina I'll give you that."

"Guys! You made it!" Runali completely ignored Zilia's attack and bounded over to the other team. "Let me see, let me see." Her energy didn't falter as she walked a quick circle around the group. "Good, good. No missing limbs. No missing other body parts. Still intact." She looked over at Kaim, inspecting him too. "Ah good, your boss'll be happy you're in one piece also." She fell in step with the rest, but paused suddenly and looked up in the air. "Hey wait where's-" The sudden weight of claws on her shoulder, followed by feathers bombarding her vision made her snicker. "There you are Coral. I see you kept this crew in line."

Zilia walked a bit ahead alongside Mari as the group approached the ships, the two however came to an abrupt stop causing Luro to pause and look past them.
A row of people stood in Stardusk's path, a group with familiar emblems hanging off them, some especially familiar to a few.
"…Relias' hunters," Mari said gripping her sheath. "You guys really do have a penchant for trouble."
The Hunters eyed each member of Stardusk, their eyes resting a bit longer on a few faces, the spear wielder Maria eyed Jack for a long moment and the hooded hunter
Aril seemed fixated on Alicia and Nina. The gazes didn't linger long, their hands resting near their weapons as Maria stepped forward, the only one who kept her hand away from her weapon.
"Oh hey its fire sword guy," Kaim said pointing at one of the hunters.
"My name is-" Harris started to say but stopped as Maria held her hand up.
"Lord Relias would like a word with you. We need you to accompany us."
"Uh…well we're kind of in a hurry," Kaim said pointing past them. "Gotta get to our ship before Maka gets away with-"

Maria drew the spear from her back, and narrowed her eyes at the group, she turned her blade slightly, taking a simple stance as she revealed her clear aggression.
"I wasn't asking you to come. Your bodies are good enough if you don't intend on complying."
"….were we this annoying," Kaim said looking over at Stardusk. "I mean I know we stood in your way for a lot of things but…were we this bad? Cause this is…kinda tedious. I mean we keep getting stopped by all this stuff. Is that what it's like being a Stardusk. Literally everything getting in your way at the worst time."
"Our jobs normally go like this Kaim," Nina said looking at him. "I think our bad luck mixed with Stardusk."
"I mean that makes sense. Really though were we this bad?"
"….just hurry up and give your answer we don't have all day," Maria said. "Are you coming willingly or not?"
"Please choose the latter," Harris said touching the hilt of his sword.

"...I have no idea who these people are." Runali mumbled, scratching her head when their group was approached. She squinted her single eye as if it would help her memory and then blinked a few times. "Oh! It is the fire sword guy!" She looked over at her crew. "That guy has a thing in his sword that makes explosions. It would have been cool if he wasn't trying to kill us…"

The tension rose between the two groups before Runali put hands on her hips and looked over at Kaim. "Yes you guys were. Absolutely. And I can't stress this enough, I hated it. And I also at the moment find them very annoying as well." She adjusted the gloves on her hand. "Because we have a job to do. It could go smooth and easy. This could end with less bloodshed. But everyone wants to be a pet to a man that's upset because he didn't get powers when he wanted them." She flexed her hand a little and grinned with full mischievous intent, staring directly at Harris.

"Tell me, do you sit on command too or is that still a trick you're learning?"

Very gently, she scratched Coral's chest and sent her to the sky. "Like we said. We've got a person to catch up to. Relias can't wait? Maybe like an hour… or several? We can promise if that makes you feel better. I don't typically go back on promises."

"You filthy pirate scum, how dare you insult-"
Maria raised her spear slightly stopping Harris from taking a step forward and saying something else, her glance back at him seeming to be enough to calm him. Clicking his tongue he took a step back.
"We gave you choice with less bloodshed and you didn't choose it, so what happens next is your own fault," Maria said walking towards the group, the hunters following behind her.
"I expected more but filth will be filth…well your crew are more insects drawn to it so I shouldn't have expected much."

Mari's eyes narrowed as she gripped her blade, Luro and Zilia already prepared to fight.
Kaim slipped his gloves on humming a small song to himself and Nina looked the same but Kaim knew she was already picking a target.
Maria leaned down moving to leap forward.
"Stay your blades."
A wave of energy rushed over the group, an immense weight crashing down onto them, as if the sky was threatening to fall. The area around the group suddenly grew dark, the bright blue sky quickly overshadowed with darkness, the world around them dissipating as black surrounded the group on all sides blocking out the island and each other, robbing of all sounds, the nearby waves, the birds, insects all fell silent in the strange void.
Bright orange lights floated around the group illuminating the area, slowly growing brighter before they started taking shapes, slowly the only lights within the darkness shifted into misshapen eyes, their single pupil's flitting about rapidly before focusing on the group, this act continuing until they were being watched on all sides.
The ground underneath those gathered melted away, the sand at their feet dissipating replaced with red water, reflections of themselves forming in the water. Just as the floating eyes did their copies gazes moved to watch them.
"What messed up power is this?" Maria said eyeing the group. "I'll sever the head of whoever's using such tricks."
Black hands burst out of the water quickly grabbing Maria, the woman's eyes widening as she tried to struggle to no avail. The other Hunters who tried to move suffered the same fate. Hands dripping black liquid held onto them tightly stopping them from making any movements.

Luro slid his foot forward a bit only for the hands to rise out of the water, though when he stopped the hands did the same.
His reflection was a tad different from the others, two Luro's stared at him, one wearing a smiling mask, the eyes still clearly visible through it.
Cedric and Alicia's also seemed different, with a shadow hovering behind Cedric's form, and Alicia's was a tad distorted akin to mist as if it couldn't fully form, but the eyes through the distortion still rested on her.
"I would advise not moving, the hands will pull you into the void,"

Harris ignored the bodiless warning and tried to break free, the moment he did the hands quickly grabbed his head and pulled him under into the shallow water, his reflection smiling before dissipating.
"Harris!" Maria screamed. "Show yourself! I'll tear you apa-"
Maria cut herself off as a form materialized in front of her soon looming over her form.
Her eyes widened as Slayis stared down at her, the wolf like creature's heeding her request.
"You desired my head?"
Unlike the rest of the people there was no reflection in the water for him. His low voice mixed between human and beast carried even further in this place, surrounding them on all sides.
Saying it 'spoke' wasn't exactly right, it's snout or rather mouth only opened and words formed.

Due to Maria's frozen form Slayis looked over at Stardusk.
"The False Wolf is long gone, he shifted forms and reached a dingy long before you arrived, he met up with an anchored ship and boarding it left."
"Damn it….which way did he go?" Zilia said almost moving herself.
She pushed her own fear down realizing this was the 'Slayis' that Jack had mentioned.
"My master will answer any questions you have…but if you move I cannot guarantee your survival. My void consumes without hesitation…do you understand?"
"You're the Slayis Jack mentioned," Luro said pointing at the wolf.
The moment he did the hands moved again almost as if tracing his movement.
Slayis' many eyes moved over to Luro and subsequently Jack.
"…ah yes. The Child of Man who didn't hide from me…yes I appeared before Cedric and his brother. I provided the name 'Slayis', my name cannot be spoken by human tongue so it will suffice."
Slayis' eyes moved to the Captain as he had asked her a question, the Hunters seemed to be accepting of the situation as the hands seemed to lose track of them the moment they stood still.

What was almost a fight turned into something… else.

Runali had her fair share of going 'in between' life and death and the unknown. There was never a comfort in it. Not once did she feel good but she tried her best to remain calm. When the red water began to surround them, she quickly back tracked to be with her crew. Life and death could be crossed out, so this was definitely the unknown. And it was safer to be together… at least that's what she thought as she took a deep breath and remained still. Her hands flexed and she noticed her reflection do the same.

"I'll be honest. There's a laundry list of things I thought would happen… this wasn't one of them." When Slayis looked at her, Runali took a steadying breath and stood tall. Her movement was slow but she locked eyes with the wolf creature. "Don't move." The captain ordered her crew. "Not until I say. But you, wolf thing… the false wolf that left… did he have Isari with him?"

Slayis offered a small nod to the Captain to confirm Isari was indeed with her.
The Hunters looked over at each other as Slayis' attention was distracted, a few nods occurring between them.
Damp footsteps soon filled the area and ripples formed in the water echoing from further ahead.
"Ah Master has arrived,"
A figure clad in a bright red cloak approached the gathered group, their face hidden by the darkness of their hood, the large cloak hiding their form.
"Stardusk….yes that is indeed the scent of the Locker on some of you."
The Master's voice seemed an echo filling the air around them, similar to Slayis it seemed a mix of male and female, a distortion brought forth from an unknown source.
"Davy Jones presence still linger near you….especially…."
The Master hooded gaze moved over Runali for a moment but focused back on the group as a whole.
Slayis fell to one knee bowing his head as the master passed him, the moment the 'guard dog' dropped his guard, Maria swung her spear breaking her confines and leaped towards The Master. She didn't make it far as the hands quickly enveloped her, behind The Master Aril appeared projectiles between his fingers. The hands however stopped him from following up his hood falling off in the process, his eyes moved to the third hunter his eyes widening seeing Slayis was holding him up by his skull. When the wolf had moved escaped his sight but at the Master's nod a loud crunch followed and Slayis dropped the man's now limp body to the ground, the hands pulling him under as his reflection faded.
The Master turned around and reaching forward his hand vanished into the chest of Aril, a horrified expression crossed the man's face before the Master pulled out a small wispy orb. Crushing it in his grasp the eyes around them glowed before Aril's eyes lost their color, emptiness filling his once bright gaze before the hands pulled him under as well.
"I'll have to make sure this get's to Jones later or I'll never hear the end of it," The Master said flexing his hand.
"No!"
Maria yelled and struggled in her confines, the Master approached and gripped her chin, she tried to fight back but a red glow surrounded the hooded figure and the girl's body started to change, her hair started shifting into a light grey, her body growing smaller as lines started to run along her arms and faces, her skin wrinkling as well.
The Master released the once young woman, an old lady now in her place before hands pulled her under.
"My apologies for that…Slayis remove the Red Void…."

At his master's word Slayis waved his hand and the darkness faded returning the light to the area, the red water under them faded away returning to sand, all presence of the Hunter's fading away with the place.
"There is no need for the void Slayis, it's not like they're trying to kill us" The master said reaching towards his hood. "Aint that right….Jack."

At the lowed hood a pair of yellow eyes peered past a large pair of spectacles, a grin adoring the woman's face.
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yu-" Zilia said pointing forward only for the woman to speak first.
"Yuli. It's four words Zil, not that hard to say," the woman said. "Puppeteer."
A mist formed next to Yuli before Puppeteer manifested next to her, handing her a map which Yuli took with a small thanks.
"How…you…dead…head," Zilia said trying to find her words.
"Oh come on Zil stop being surprised. You have people who have come back to life standing right next to you. I mean it was pain getting my head back but that's another matter. I mean I can just make another but I like this face."
Yuli place a hand on her cheek at this.
"It's great to see you guys again, you been okay? Doing well. Oh yeah they're scary right one sec. Slayis, Puppeteer, you guys can go I'm fine."

Once you get here

Slayis eyed Jack one last time before blue flames surrounded him and he slipped back into Yuli's body, Puppeteer climbed into the woman's shadow leaving only the bespectacled lady behind.
"There we go, anyway yeah Isari is longggg gone. I can tell you that. I know exactly where she is though. Hear me out and I'll tell you, promise it won't take long."
"Why should be believe you?" Mari questioned narrowing her eyes at the woman.
"I mean you're free to go look for her yourself I don't honestly care but you got any leads?"
Mari's eyes narrowed at the woman but a touch from Zilia seemed to calm her.
"…what do you want?" Zilia questioned.
"Five minutes and you'll have Isari's location, I promise and I don't break my promises just like the Captain here…well you guys know that already. What do you say, wanna end all this without bloodshed, I'm fine with that too."

"Oh chef you'll have to start cleaning your glasses before you aim to kill." Runali adjusted her eye patch and adjusted her stance as water turned back into sand. "Normally should double check those kinds of things…"

The name 'Jones' rattled in her brain for a moment before she placed her hands on her hips. "Oh are you doing deals with the devil too? I see that's working out for you if you're… y'know, still alive and all." The captain ran fingers through her hair and raised a hand to her crew, signalling for them to move closer to the ship. Her other hand went up to Yuli. First it was one finger. A gesture for her to 'wait'. And then it was five.

"This is… five more minutes of time wasted getting what we came for. A risk. But if you're going to give us a lead.. High risk, high reward." She was standing in front of her crew as they shifted towards Lady Luck. Her hands stayed on her hips as she sighed. "It's always so complicated with everyone… Five minutes. What more do you need from a little ol' pirate crew like mine?"

"Oh let me assure you I was quite dead," Yuli said raising her hand. "The other one cut my head off just to be sure. Your cook did a really good job. Hit was lethal so don't be too hard on him."
At the mention of deals with devil's the woman only offered a smile and was more than willing to wait for the Captain to finish her affairs. Zilia made no effort to move however, her eyes were glued to the woman in front of them, Luro only stood around out of curiosity but started to move himself.
"Haha I am the Devil Captain Lev, not the one doing the deals. You guys understand there are things in this world that betray normal expectations, I'm just another among them," Yuli said nodding a few times. "I don't need Jones to bring me back, I can do it on my own thank you very much, very self-sufficient."
Yuli put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest at this, though realizing she was using up the time Yuli moved a hand to her hip.
"Well I need it to be complicated. Boss said it himself. We gotta play the bad guys. Ain't that right Zil?"
Yuli looked over at Zilia causing her eyes to twitch.
"If you'd chosen a different path I wonder how things would have gone…us having the same enemy and everything."
"…I beg your pardon," Zilia said, narrowing her eyes at her.
"Oh now you want to listen," Yuli said sighing and walking up to Runali. "Here."

She handed Runali the map Puppeteer had given her, on it were two marks, one was on the edge of the circle and the other would look familiar to the ones who were at the Isari meeting.
"Isari's there. At that place you were going to hide her."
"Wha-" Zilia said only for Yuli to hold up a finger.
"It was a good spot. If it were just Maka he'd never have found it but I'm the closest thing to a 'god' if I'm using the term right so simple task for me. Anyway she's right there."
"…why are you telling us this?" Mari questioned eyeing the woman.
"Well the Boss gave very specific orders. A last chance so to say."
"What about the other mark," Luro said pointing at her.
"Ah I'm glad you asked uh…well Luro works it's hard to address two people at the same time," Yuli said pointing at the spot. "That is where I'll create an opening from Relias if you leave."
"Leave?"
"Yes leave," Yuli said taking a few steps back. "You guys only want Isari right. Well I'm happy to give her back to you. I'm done anyway."
"The hell does that mean," Mari said stepping towards the woman.

Yuli held her hand up closing it slightly, a crystal apple appeared in her hand, the act causing Zilia and Mari to flinch.
"Obtaining her power…which is all I wanted in the first place," she said sighing. "The boss wouldn't let me explain if Zil didn't want to hear it. So short summary, I wanted Isari to use her power so I could learn it…however due to Zilia's influence she had a fear of it. I mean power's only dangerous if you can't control it right? She should just learn to use it. It's really hard explaining we aren't bad guys when you kidnap someone let me tell ya."
Yuli waved a hand in front of her face at this.
"Anyway right five minutes. All we want is the circle and for some reason the Boss wants it done with crystal rather than with my powers. I got my guesses why but it's slower and less efficient but hey his emotions blind him, makes it easy on me. You guys don't care what happens to this place and you're leaving anyway so do that. That's your last chance."

Yuli pointed at the map.
"I'll give you Isari back soon as you leave and you can be on your way. Zilia's happy and we kill Relias and his people, bring peace to the circle and live here. Simple as that. I mean hell I was going to give her back to you guys anyway…didn't even have to come looking for her."
"Then why-" Zilia stared but Yuli interrupted her
"Because you didn't listen," Yuli said raising a hand. "I gave you a chance remember…could have avoided all this if you just heard what we had to say…but well..why believe someone like me. That and I was bored pretending to be dead and you guys are fun to mess with…I also really liked that shirt Jack got bloody."
Zilia narrowed her eyes at the woman and Yuli pointed back at the map. "I wasn't supposed to tell you where Isari was but honestly I know what you're going to choose," she said grinning at the group. "You guys are going to move towards the chaos so I'm just speeding up the process. I told him you weren't going to heed the warning and I'm tired of waiting honestly."
Yuli offered a small shrug.
"However if you do go that way I can take the gloves off. I'll personally start getting involved and I'm allowed to not hold back anymore. So there ya go."

Yuli turned and raised a hand to everyone before walking away as her time was basically up.
"I'm always around and watching so you can just call me if you have any questions. This entire circle is under my control already anyway. Well you saw for yourself just a moment ago. You got something to say just call me. I'd really consider your options though cause Captain…I promise that I will take a life if you choose to pursue this…and well…I don't like breaking mine either. I'm not sure which life yet…and I know this warning is meaningless but when you have another crew members blood on your hands, like that one girl…who was it? The one who liked the ink. I forget her name but yeah just want you to know you had a choice so you can live with it better. Sometimes it's not worth it…but I hope you choose the fun option. Your souls are quite delectable, especially the ones touched by the Locker. I'll make sure you suffer for a few eternity's before I give you to Jones."
Yuli was covered in blue flames and faded from sight, her laughter echoing around the group.
"…oookay that rumor was true, good to know," Kaim said walking ahead. "Right back to the ship then."

Runali imagined an 'X' being crossed off in her mind near the words 'life and death', hearing Yuli mention being a devil. She didn't have too much reason to believe it, but she wasn't foolish enough to rule against it. The feeling grew a little familiar with that knowledge, but familiarity wasn't always the most welcoming.

The more she spoke, the more something prodded at Runali. It wasn't fear, she didn't think... but there definitely was a budding frustration. Letting Yuli have her five minutes, she stayed quiet listening carefully to their 'options'. The moment Yuli mentioned her old navigator, Runali tensed. Her fists tightened around the edges of her clothes and it wasn't until Yuli had disappeared did she realize the armament that began creeping up her arms. Her hands went to her sides and for a moment, Runali glared at where Yuli once stood. Even though her back was turned to the crew, the sudden crackle of fire surrounding her fists conveyed enough in that moment. But, she took a deep breath and the flames disappeared.

"She's just going to keep toying with us, so might as well stick to what we planned." Runali turned to face her crew and gestured towards the ship. "We came here on a mission. We see it through. Save the kid and get out of here."

Luro placed a hand on Runali's shoulder as he walked up, offering a small smile to her before nodding.
"Of course Captain, no point stopping now. That and I've always wanted to kill a 'god' this is gonna be fun," Luro said before moving towards the ship. "I'm gonna make sure to get a good extra hit in for that comment too."
Luro leaned down and grabbed Noram, who had passed out the moment Slayis appeared, throwing him over his shoulder.
Zilia opened her mouth to speak to the Captain but closed it and only offered a small nod as she headed towards the ship.

Mari ended up accompanying the group with her ship riding alongside theirs, she wanted to be a part of the discussion before departing as Kaim intended on explaining a few extra things since new things had come to light. It was clear to see she was only boarding out of worry for Zilia who chose to sit away from the group, lost in her own thoughts.
"Onward to Isa!" Luro said pointing in a direction.
"The map says that way Luro," Kaim said pointing in the opposite direction.
Luro turned and pointed in the direction Kaim pointed out.
"Onward to Isa...uh again!"
"Starting to understand how you end up stranded on your own all of a sudden."

 

[Mizos]

​

"Would you care to explain the situation?"
Mari looked over at Kaim who stood in front of the laid out map on the main deck, Kaim had asked the Captain to gather everyone, once they set sail and on the way to their destination.
"....I'm not sure where to start," Kaim said rubbing the back of his head.
"The beginning would work Kaim," Nina said looking over at him.
"...thank you Nina."
Kaim crossed his arms and looked up at the faces around him, clapping his hands together he seemed to shake himself out of his funk.
"So...here's the thing. You know how there can be a little truth in rumors...well that turned out to be the case this time."
Kaim said this before pulling a small notebook out of his pocket, flipping it open to a particular page.
"The Trickster Reaper, that was the name given to Yuli. It was rumored that she could come back from death no matter what was done to her. Again rumor but uh...apparently it's quite real," Kaim said. "Nikos wanted us to be careful just in case...not looking forward to the report telling him it's true."

Mari crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing a bit as she contemplated what they could do to stop the woman given the present circumstances; she clearly had every intention of stopping them, or at least bringing them harm, and having a Logia's durability with none of the disadvantages was a problem.
"Were there any weaknesses she had?" Mari questioned. "Something must kill her."
"Nah not really," Kaim said pretty quickly. "She's been drowned, cut open, burned at the stake, you name it. Reports say she always comes right back. If the rumors can be believed...she apparently uses souls to maintain her immortality. Her 'place' is kept by the soul and when she dies she just takes another 'place'. Judging by the fact she took that Hunter's soul there might be some truth to that."
"So…" Mari said looking back at Kaim. "You're not killing her, just the person whose place she's taken over. Thus she just switches places with another."
"Apparently. Again if rumors can be believed. Destroying the body, destroying the soul, matters none to her; she just comes back either way. Probably why she has no fear of Jones or any other. She's got countless 'lives' at her disposal. Plenty of 'second chances' and all that. Also she tends to violently murder anyone who has killed her so...uh…watch your back Jack."

Zilia had remained a bit away from the others, eyes focused on the wooden floor. Her thoughts were only half with the conversation near her, but she was paying enough attention to get a general idea. Mari's hands clenched into fists as Kaim explained there was little they could do to actually stop the woman, at least from what information they had.
Luro stared at Kaim clearly not fully following along but at least paying attention.
"That being said she's not unkillable...I think," Kaim added.
Mari looked up at Kaim at this and he offered a shrug.
"She was still one of the weaker Quills, which means she was beaten, well so long as she wasn't just faking it like before. The woman has said herself she's not immortal either, granted take that with a grain of salt, still there is a way to stop her."
"...well...what is it?" Mari said stepping forward.
"Don't know."
"What?!"
Mari's exclamation caused Kaim to raise his hands.
"The Quills destroyed most of their information when they took over the Ravens. We only know she exists thanks to the former leader's secret notes. How to kill her wasn't listed in there."
"Then how do you know she's killabe?"
"Because she lost to the Top Quill and made no effort to retaliate….which means they knew her weakness."
"The Top Quill...that's-" Luro said before Kaim nodded and responded.
"Lina Makachi. The one and only."

Luro's eyelids lowered slightly and he crossed his arms at the revelation, his smile left his face as his gaze moved back to the map, a part of him wasn't surprised, he'd expect nothing less from her.
"...Lina's not an option though."
"Unfortunately," Kaim said. "...also sorry I didn't mean to..."
Luro shook his head to inform Kaim it was fine and let him continue.
"We can ask Mia though. She was Lina's right hand and more than likely knew all her info. So she'll know how to stop her," Kaim said pounding his chest. "There's still hope."
"So until that point we have to make peace that killing the woman through normal methods won't work," Mari said, eyeing the map once more. "Treat her like a Logia who can swim."
"For the time being that's the case but feel free to try," Nina responded. "I intend on doing so."
"We're sorry for not sharing this with you guys earlier...but I really didn't think saying 'hey there's rumors this woman's basically immortal' would have gone over well without evidence," Kaim said rubbing the back of his head. "Our whole job is also killing the woman so we didn't want to add that to your burdens."

Kaim put his notebook away and looked back at the gathered pirates.
"Quills are annoying to deal with right? This is why we made sure they wouldn't get in the way. It's always more complicated with them," Kaim said offering a few nods. "That being said we should get going."
Luro looked over at Kaim as Nina stood up to move away from the group.
"Where are you guys going?" Luro asked causing the two to stop.
"We gotta meet with the others, we do check's like this after being in the field for a while. Ria should be there too so she may have information," Kaim said.
"Couldn't you just meet here? The more people around the better," Mari said which caused Kaim to chuckle.
"Absolutely not," he said shaking his head. "Nina, Ria and myself can deal with Stardusk. The others however want nothing more than to gut them. I doubt they could stand being in their presence for more than five minutes. Nothing would get done."
"I-I see...I didn't realize you were...um."
"The relationship is hard to define. Right now we're not enemies, that's the easiest explanation," Kaim said holding a hand up to the woman. "Anyway we have to wash ourselves clean first, Tari will be mad if we don't, we gotta clean the 'Alicia' off us to put it simply."
Luro looked over at Alicia then held his arm up causing Kaim to shake his head and put the man's arm down, it wasn't a real thing to normal people.
"We're also going to check a few other things. There's been a lot of movement around us...and if possible we'd like to continue keeping the Lions off you guys as well. Mari you're leaving too right? Can we get a ride?"
"...sure I don't mind. I'm only stepping away for a moment though."
"You're leaving too," Luro said causing Mari to nod.
"For the time being. I had hoped to leave my ship with you...but apparently something has happened so I have to borrow it to deal with a mess."
"Is it bad?" Luro asked causing Mari to nod.
"Yes but it shouldn't take more than an hour, I just have to stop a nearby island. I'll catch up with you all long before you reach your destination. I can't just leave the situation alone though."
"Do what you always do Mari."
Mari looked over at Zilia who spoke up for the first time since the meeting started.
"I know it's hard for you to ignore people in trouble. That's the situation right?"
Mari watched Zilia for a moment before offering a nod, the doctor standing up and taking the woman's hand into her own.
"When this ends I'd like proper time to catch up...all three of us."
Mari's eyes widened a bit but she smiled and laid her hand over Zilia's.
"I'd like that too."

Zilia watched Mari climb aboard her ship with the Prophets joining her, she had thrown the still unconscious Noram onto it as she left, they waved as the ship headed off. Zilia stared at the departed ship for a long moment, keeping her back to the crew as it faded into the distance.
"...is it my fault?"
Luro looked up hearing Zilia's voice, she didn't turn to the others focusing on the sea, the redhead stared at her for a long moment then looked back at the map.
"Probably," he responded, digging in a nearby barrel.
Zilia's shoulders slumped a little, Luro popping the top off the rum bottle.
"Doesn't really matter though."
Zilia turned to look at Luro as he downed a bit of the bottle, a content sigh escaping from him before his attention returned to the doctor.
"Can't really change your previous choices Z...and no point trying to make up for them. I don't really know if you not listening really led to all this. Maybe listening to Maka would have led to us working together, maybe they would have stabbed us in the back, I'm not sure."
Luro offered a small shrug at this.
"What I do know is this rum is delicious, everyone's here and we're getting Isa back. So is worrying about what you could've done going to change that?"
"...No."
"Then don't worry about it. It's been fun and now I get to fight a god again."
Zilia stared at Luro for a long moment, her gaze moving to the others curious of their opinion on the matter. Ultimately she couldn't deny standing here reflecting on what could've happened didn't change what they were doing. She wasn't absolved of her guilt but it made things a little easier to swallow.
"Thanks. Having you all here is...comforting."
"Awww Z loves us," Luro said grinning. "We love you too Z."
"Yep that's the annoying drunk I know," Zilia said squeezing the bridge of his nose.
"...you're not denying it though."
"You've been hanging around the Captain too much," Zilia said, turning her back to the man.
She wanted to say something about how out of character Luro was acting but his 'Z loves us' dance made it hard to do, and the inner working of his mind was a mystery anyway.
"I'm coming Isa…"
"Z tell us about your mentor! I'm bored!"
"If it'll stop you talking then fine...and stop dancing!"
"Z lovvvesss us!"

The Strange Numen

​

"Welcome Back."
Yuli smiled at Maka's words as he flipped through one of the books in the Captain's quarters. They were aboard one of the Red Lions ships, the mercenaires above keeping an eye out for Stardusk or their allies. Yuli had entered the cabin once as she returned, Slays standing next to her staring down at Maka.
The man turned to look at the giant servant and sighed a bit.
"...so this is Slayis. Don't you think it strange Stardusk was introduced to him before me?"
"Well he's actually very shy."
"You didn't permit me to appear in his-" Slayis started to say but Yuli lightly elbowed him in the side.
"Really shy guy."
Maka stared at the two for a long moment but shook his head knowing it wasn't worth the effort to pursue and turned back to his books.
"I need you to check something for me, and put a few more things in motion," Maka said. "I don't mean to put you to work the moment you return but we're low on time and they're closing in."
"No worries boss, it's a simple task for someone like me."
Yuli turned to walk away Slayis slipping back into her form as she made her way towards the door, as her hand touched the handle Maka's voice reached her.
"Yuli...I am aware you can return from death...but don't forget you're an indispensable ally. I don't wish to lose any more than I have too."
Yuli 's hand gripped the handle and she chuckled a little opening the door.
"Aye Boss, I'll help make our dream come true. I promised after all."
Maka only offered a nod in response before the door closed behind him.

Night fell and Yuli stared at the gathered bit of wood she had managed to retrieve from the surrounding forest, she had finished her scouting and setting what was needed in motion. She had to remain until morning to make sure everything flowed as need be.
Staring at the lit flames offering a content nod, she took a look at the grass all around her and arched her brow before snapping her fingers.
A blue flame roared next to her and Slayis materialized, he fell to one knee seeing his Master and Yuli gave him a small nod indicating he could speak.
"You called me Master?"
"Lie on your back."
Slayis stared at Yuli but complied and laid on his back in the grass, his eyes went to the night sky as he awaited his next order or whatever Yuli wanted. Confusion was all that followed however as Yuli climbed on top of him and got comfy on his chest.
"Master what are you doing?"
"What's it look like, trying to sleep. Have Pup put out the fire once I'm fully asleep."
"...why are you using me as a bed?"
"You're fluffy and big."
A simple answer but Slayis understood her intentions, in her current position she didn't take up his whole chest, a world of fluffy softness at her disposal. A content sigh escaped from her as she gripped some of his fur.
"Master...I am pleased to assist you in whatever you wish...but is this not a waste of my talents. I am the Ruler of the Red Void, the Devourer of Souls, though I may be minor I am still a god. Though you rank above me is this not...a waste?"
"You expect your Master to sleep on the cold hard ground," Yuli said looking up at Slayis. "That's cold Slayis, I thought you loved me."
Slayis wasn't sure how to feel about his master giving him the 'puppy dog eyes' but he continued putting it aside.
"You are my Master, I am bound to serve you."
"Yeah you love me I got it."
"...I don't believe my kind can 'love' Master. That is a construct born from-"
"Slayis loves his beautiful and currently 'merciful' Master, enough to let her use him as a makeshift bed."
Slayis stared down at his Master as her eyes narrowed slightly, a low defeated sigh escaped from him and he returned his gaze to the stars.
"I cannot disobey your orders. If this is your wish then I will comply."
"Glad we got that handled," Yuli said laying back down. "Now don't move an inch even after I fall asleep, I'm comfortable like this. If you move it'll ruin it."
Slayis shut his eyes to comply with the demand, even as the hours went by he moved not a single inch awaiting for the soft steady breathing of his Master's slumber.

"...I won't let them take it…."
Slayis opened his eyes, his gaze moving down to Yuli. Her hand gripped his fur tightly, her body tensing and wrinkles formed on her brow.
"...after everything we've worked for…all we had to sacrifice. I won't let those pirates take it away...just this once….just this once don't take it away from me….please…"

Slayis stared at his Master, wet droplets running down her cheeks as she fought an unseen enemy in her slumber. He knew his Master hated showing weakness, she would wear that 'face' until the end….but moments like this...small bits of it got out.
At first he disliked the idea of his Master serving another, but as he came to know Maka and their dream, he could understand why she fought so hard for his sake. It was that and these small moments that caused him to work harder for her, he wouldn't allow her to shoulder the full burden. He'd give everything to ensure she never cried in the dark again.
"...I will as well…"
Slayis eyes moved to Puppeteer as she threw water onto the fire, she glanced at him their common connection to their Master caused many things to resonate between them. The girl showed no emotion but even he could see a small fire in her eyes when it came to Yuli.
"...let us do our best…"
The girl faded back into the shadows and Slayis shut his eyes once more, Yuli's words resonating in his mind.
"...what does a god pray to?"

The Fruit of Liars, the Chat Chat Fruit

​

Mari sat with the crew, arms crossed as they headed out. Kaim seemed to be double-checking information nearby to deal with Yuli. In the meantime, Luro had asked a question and after speaking with Zilia there was a mutual agreement about a needed explanation. Due to that Mari asked all those interested to join her, and those that weren't to at least sit nearby.
"The more people hear this the less of a secret it is...which will allow Zilia to speak freely of it to at least you all. So even if you don't care just be nearby, that's enough."
That was Mari's message though Luro happily sat in front of her willing to hear what the woman had to say, Zilia sat nearby quietly after the agreement.
"The Chat-Chat Fruit or Liar Fruit as some call it, is a strange Devil Fruit. From the naval records, it has a high versatility to it, expected of a Paramecia. Such fruits sometimes play by their own rules though they have their own limitations as well," Mari said from her chair courtesy of Luro. "All the same weaknesses as the other types but the previous owners found strange ways of utilizing it."

Mari gave a small nod at this and motioned to Zilia.
"I checked with Zilia on many points and it seems for the most part she's at the same capability as before. Which means her fruit is still divided into three forms."
Mari raised her glove hand and started counting as she named them.
"Red energy are 'sharp' words, purple energy are 'weighted' words, and blue energy are 'defensive' words. When her power manifests it takes one of these forms. Each one does as you'd expect, red cuts, purple pushes, blue protects."

Mari went into detail how there are other colors but Zilia only learned enough of her power to control it, this has led to her controlling these three. Up until the power is used it doesn't have any real form, once manifested however the color represents what 'type' of word is being used. Until it takes that shape only Zilia, who can see the words beforehand, is aware of what they'll do.
The best option of avoiding Zilia's power is to simply not be in the way when the power activates, however since Zilia can activate more than one word at a time, moving out the way no longer becomes an option if words are everywhere.
"What about stopping her from talking?" Luro asked raising his hand.
"That's a good question. Normally that would be enough...but as I told Zilia and I'm glad she listened, the Chat-Chat Fruit uses 'words' overall not just spoken."
"I'm not at a level where I can use written words willingly...but it's a possibility, especially now with my power flaring," Zilia added. "Even though I don't want it to be."
"You've made an effort to grow stronger so you don't rely on the Devil Fruit...but the Fruit grows with you. Even if you don't use it by getting stronger yourself it can affect the fruit which is a part of you."
Mari went onto explaining that the Chat-Chat Fruit was able to use sounds and such as well, so long as it resonated as a 'word'. There was a trapped User who killed a room full of silent people because a cat 'meowed' nearby, and another who used the sound of his zipper.
"...I haven't heard that one," Zilia said looking over at Mari.
"There are numerous stories, the Fruit has changed a lot of hands."
"Whoa...Z's Devil Fruit is really strong then."
"It is strong...but it has a glaring weakness. Just as I said before the fruit is very versatile and can be powerful...if the rules are followed."

Mari went onto explain what hindered the Devil Fruit's full potential, and that was subjectivity.
"If the Devil Fruit relied on natural laws it'd be nigh unstoppable...but it doesn't. It relies on the User so allow me to ask you a question. What's sharper a knife...or a sword."
"A sword usually," Luro said. "I mean you can still kill with a knife, especially if you get in the eye-socket and really dig in there but a sword just makes it easier."
"...yes...anyway that makes the most sense correct. Well if Zilia were to use a 'sharp' word and cut with a sword and she 'saw' that it didn't hurt the person then in her mind a sword doesn't cut them. Thus...anything that's sharp as or less than a sword also won't cut them. That's the ultimate fault."

Luro wrote all this down in his notebook offering a small nod.
"This applies to 'weighted' words and 'defensive' words as well. If you hit with the force of a whale and it does nothing than anything less than a whale will automatically do nothing. Even if that's not the case, and if something breaks through a barrier made of metal then it'll easily break through something made of wood...even if they wouldn't have in the first place."

Mari went onto explain that many of the old owners didn't take this into consideration and hit them with their strongest attacks, when it did nothing the Chat-Chat Fruit became useless.
"It doesn't matter if you could have cut with the knife, if you skip steps a once effective attack becomes meaningless."
"Thus it's important to build up, start with the knife and work up to sword," Luro said. "Then if sword works you go past it...right?"
"Exactly, never pull out your trump card first, figure out what affects them then amplify it from there. Names and Secret's are the same. A more intimate secret will have more effect than a minor one but follows the 'Subjective' rule. Names are the same, if Zilia uses the name of someone she considers stronger and it has no effect, then anyone she considers weaker won't work."

Luro nodded writing everything down in his notebook, looking over at Zilia who sat with her eyes closed apparently just waiting for the explanation to end.
"So Secrets and Names aren't a big deal."
"No Secrets and Names are the strongest part of the Chat-Chat Fruit," Mari said shaking her head. "The destructive potential of such things are staggering. The more intimate, the more personal, the more Zilia cares about the subject the stronger the effect. You saw what she did to the armada with that secret. It can go beyond that, especially if she doesn't nullify a bit of the power."
"Nullify?"
"When Zil takes hold of her words it nullifies a majority of the energy, I'd say any words formed this way only work at a quarter power."
"So….Z can use that to talk? She just grabs the words."
"Unfortunately no the Chat-Chat Fruit does still respond to emotions so even held it's a risk. Just getting a splinter and letting out a small cry could destroy a portion of the ship. If words aren't nullified in some form they come out at full power, and words filled with emotion, which includes names and secrets are considerably powerful...there would be nothing left if that detonated….not even bones."
Luro looked over at Zilia who sat with her hands folded eyes still shut, that made sense if he thought about it. Zilia grabbed the power back then but it still 'detonated' with that much power.
"...every Chat-Chat User who understands this has to control their emotions. They become very taciturn and firm. Wanting to get their point across with as little words and emotions as possible to avoid hurting the ones they care for."

Mari mentioned that even laughter wasn't permitted, a youth with the fruit killed their friend laughing at a joke they told, happiness, sadness, anger all cause the fruit to resonate with more power and no amount of training can stop it. None of the other users, even those considered masters were able to negate this part, most just changed their ways to avoid using the Devil Fruit. Buried their emotions the best they could to stop the fruit from taking away.
"It'd be akin to asking someone not to breathe," Mari said crossing her arms. "That's the same as asking Zilia to keep her Devil Fruit in that much control….honestly she's come really far from when we met. Back then it'd activate if her emotions flared even a little. Remember that fruit stand you blew up tripping over that rock?"
"...unfortunately," Zilia said shaking her head.
"Anyway that's the gist of it. I've explained all of this to Zilia, so she's well versed at what her fruit can do, and now that you all know it's no longer a secret so the power of the words are greatly reduced, there may be some questions she can't answer but I believe I got everything."
"Thanks Mari, this was handy," Luro said giving a small nod. "So anything we don't know is considered a secret...so if Z told me her favorite color it could blow me in half."
"...I mean it's a color so maybe not half, but you'd more than likely have a hole in your chest."

Luro wrote this down before Mari turned to Zilia.
"Should I explain Isa's power as well?" Mari questioned.
"You can if anyone's curious, but I know at least one person asked her already. I think that's enough for now though," Zilia said standing up. "Thank you for this Mari. I feel better knowing I won't hurt them answering simple questions now."
"Guess we're lucky I was around. The only other person that knows is Isa and Maka right?"
"...yeah…"
"It's good to understand the Fruit as well...I hope that the few who kept asking dozens of questions understand the situation a bit better now."
Luro grinned and rubbed the back of his head.
"I got it Z, just didn't really care. Still don't."
"I'd expect as much, that's just your nature" Zilia said placing her hands on her hips. "Just understands it pains me immensely and that's enough."
"Can do."
"...I worry about your friends Zil," Mari said glancing at Zilia.
"He cares more than it seems….they just do things their own way...it's a pain some days but you get used to it."
"Z does stuff that's heartless too."
"Ensuring you don't bleed out is heartless now?"
Mari watched the two go back and forth a small smile resting on her face as she stood up, she noticed Kaim returning with a map.
"...well if she can act that way around someone other than us then I guess this place isn't so bad."

The Mentor, part 1

Black smoke rose out of the small cabin nestled deep in the woods. Very few laid eyes on the place, which sat a fair bit from the nearest town. Only two from town knew of its existence, the head of the guards curious who lived nearby and the governor who sent him in the first place.
Both men upon meeting visiting it knew one thing at the very least, they had no intention of ever returning there, and squashed all talk of it deciding to allow the place to fade into obscurity.
However there are rumors that on occasion, on some days, the small cabin has a silhouette in the window when smoke rises out of it, but it's little more than superstition.

Light crackling filled the small room, the gentle orange glow of the flames in the fireplace illuminated parts of the cabin as a figure sat half shrouded in the darkness.
Shelves of books filled the room, with some in stacks on the floors and nearby tables.
White smoke hovered in front of the figure and filled the room, leaning forward the the glow revealed the visage of a woman, a panetella hanging out of her mouth as she looked through documents in her hands.
The woman's long black hair was tied in two messy three strand braids hanging over her green coat, multiple accessories adorned her from earrings, rings and bracelets, to her painted nails.

For someone who paid little attention to it, her skin was fair and free of too many imperfections, save a select few she constantly kept hidden, more out of irritation than shame.
She'd be considered beautiful if not for the scowl normally accompanying her expression, a pair of grey eyes stared from behind large spectacles resting on her face.
She was reasonably tall and fit, something she was thankful for as she stretched a bit from her seated position to grab a far off paper.
"...That information has to be here somewhere…"
Just as the woman grabbed one of her books a knock came at her door, her eyes twitched at the sudden noise and she glanced in the direction of the knock. She didn't move immediately but much as she wanted to ignore it she had a visitor, for some reason or another.
Putting out the cigar she stood up and moved to her door.

The few who met her always mentioned there wasn't a hint of kindness in her tone, it was generally harsh and irritable. She was compared to a constantly angry mother, a correlation that pissed her off more than being 'irritable'.
"You know I got a cabin in the woods away from everything because I 'wanted' to deal with people!" the woman yelled grabbing her door. "What the hell do you-"
Throwing open her door she stopped speaking seeing no one around, just as she wondered if some kids found her place she heard noises at her feet, looking down she noticed a baby in a basket, wrapped in a blue blanket on her doorstep.
"...you gotta be shitting me."
The woman raised her head back to the woods and taking in a deep breath yelled to ensure whoever left it could hear her.
"You dropped this brat at the wrong place! The first thing I'm doing is handing them to the nearest orphanage! Which is what you should've done if you didn't want it!"
Leaning down the woman picked up the basket, undoing the cloth a bit to see the baby inside. The child upon seeing the woman's face giggled and reached for her, causing her to lean away, her eyes narrowing at the tiny creature.
"Okay so the nearest orphanage was….west I think. Guess I can head there now, it'll take me half the day to get there though so I'd better grab some-"
The woman cut herself off seeing a letter in the basket addressed to a Dr. Vilimar.
She grabbed the letter apparently addressed to her and flipped it open keeping the kid at arms length as she read the letter, her eyes twitching as she read through it.
"....those sons of…" Vilimar cut herself off looking back into the woods. "...damn it."
She grumbled to herself before going back into her cabin with the baby, setting the basket on her table.
The baby continued to reach for her and Vilimar stared down at the unwelcome new addition to her home. Seeing what the baby was trying to reach towards she looked down at herself then back up at the baby.
"Not happening."
She walked away as the child started crying, after a bit of time away she returned with a bottle and shoved it in the child's mouth, helping the baby hold it up as it happily consumed the liquid inside. She did a quick look inside the basket as the kid fed not noticing anything else inside.
"...well guess I'm taking care of you now. You things need names right-"
Pulling the blanket aside a bit more she gave a nod and put it back.
"Girl baby."
The baby stared at her causing Vilimar to glare back at her, the baby only smiled however causing her to sigh.
"I'm going to personally kill who left you here if we meet again," Vilimar said. "Whatever I'll figure out the name later. For now your 'Nuisance'. Hurry up and eat Nuisance."

Dr. Vilimar

Respect to
Hazuki Natsu

 

[Fox of Hearts]

​

Collab Between Mizos and Fox of Hearts

Zilia leaned down dipping a cloth into a nearby bucket, wringing out the water she turned and placed it on her patient's head. She sat at Cedric's bedside in his room, bloody bandages in a small organized pile next to her. Her eyes moving over to the slumbering young man beside her, a small sigh escaped from her as she looked over at her own medical supplies. She always got extra, and asked Alicia to have more ready but Stardusk always found a way to burn through them.

"I have enough till we reach the next town…hopefully."

Too many people came back injured this time, Cedric was one of the worst, partially due to his own actions, and Luro still had crystal sticking out of him when she treated him.

Stardusk were lucky they were sturdy, lesser people would have succumbed to them long before she had the chance to treat them.

Staring at Cedric's wounds, at anyone's wounds only made her sick to her stomach. The crystals sticking out of Luro, the bruised knuckles, the cuts, all of it was her fault.

Stardusk were only here because of her, she felt dangerous thoughts creep back into her mind every time they got hurt, on how she should have just come alone. She shook them away though, she couldn't allow her thoughts to go in that direction, having work to do kept her mind off it.

That didn't stop her from being upset with them over getting hurt though.

Cedric's body burned from the inside. He jerked violently as his eyes cracked open. Loud panting greeted the world as he clutched the sides of his bed; the tenseness dissipated once he recognized where he was. Cold sweat continued raining down his face with each grimace and he fisted the damp sheets. The waves of spasming pain … merde! He gagged, rolling off to the side. His mind barely noticing the diminutive doctor.

Blood exploded on the floor with each new heave. Cedric screwed his eyes shut; he could feel the fire burrowing outwards and spreading the pain. He felt like he was down with dengue all over again. He was uncomfortable, feverish and barely alive.

"Fever, I need something for it," he sputtered.

His slim fingers reached out and twisted themselves into the fabric of Zilia's shirt. Red streaks dirtied the pristine blue, a telltale sign of his failed attempts to reign in his vomit. His entire body flagged, leaving the man melting into sheets of a similar whiteness. He sucked in his breath and drew his knees closer to his chest. He wished, or rather hoped, this fetal position would lessen the suffering.

Zilia remained still as she watched Cedric, she had been observing his symptoms and this wasn't the first time she had seen such violent responses from her patients. She wasn't pleased she was used to such things, she merely watched in silence regretting not grabbing the bucket as blood hit her floor.

A part of her wondered if leaving them like this for a few extra hours would be a proper reminder to avoid getting into this state in the first place, but that thought was quickly put aside for two reasons.

The first being she wasn't that heartless and knew where the idea came from and the second were they were fighting for her sake.

Zilia reached over grabbing some of the medicine she had pre-prepared adding a little extra something to it before mixing a bit more into it. At Cedric's words she looked back at him offering a small nod to him.

Normally she'd inform him it was pretty clear what he needed as a small jest, but Cedric was a special case, one of the many reasons she told him to be extra careful. She could treat normal ailments easily enough but Cedric suffered backlash from his magic, healing magic without magic was a difficult process, the most she could do was treat the symptoms borne from it and hope for the best. If Cedric ever crossed a serious line, no amount of traditional medicine was going to help him.

A fact she hoped he understood every time he drew one of his cards.

His already sickly nature didn't help things, but she'd be lying if this wasn't the first time she helped with such matters, though once again, Cedric was a special case.

She wasted little time getting the medicine too him, she had a few things nearby. With him vomiting up she was prepared in case the medicine also ended up on the floor. She didn't like the idea of injecting anything into his body, but it was an option. She had to firstly make him lay down properly, changing position sadly wasn't going to do much to stop what was happening.
She grabbed a few of the extra pillows and did what she could to make him comfortable.

"I got a rough explanation from Jack...once you're stable I'll catch you up."

Cedric nodded weakly, struggled into a sitting position and attempted to swallow the first mouthful. He was grateful she had dissolved the foul powder into a thin broth but his stomach wasn't accepting it. He gagged and spat out the concoction as his nausea returned. His arms shook so much that they folded under him; he remained there half hanging off the bed.

Sweat and a fevered haze narrowed his eyes while Zilia pulled him back from over the edge. He gripped her wrist as he slurred over his words. "Ask Alicia," he suggested. "I used … I tried … draining the vital energy in the area … didn't feel right … hurts too much … "

He closed his eyes and let out a vexed sigh. He disliked the idea of Alicia finding out; she had always supervised his exploration of the Path skills because energy weaving was especially volatile. His stomach turned ice cold as he recalled her warnings. She was going to be so upset.

He scrunched his eyes shut. "No … maybe don't ask her. She won't like it."

"Oh I'm definitely going to tell her," Zilia said simply as she gently removed his hand. "Also I hope you don't dislike needles. Cause that's the second option if you can't keep this down...you won't like the third. Most can't look me in the eyes for a few days after I administer it."

Zilia dug in her bag pulling out a small assortment of needles, she personally disliked using them herself. She found more comfort in more natural methods but allowing Cedric to feel this way wasn't an option.

She kept a calm composure in front of Cedric, she was worried about him just as she worried when the others were hurt but a panicking doctor helped nobody. She did like the idea of Alicia knowing but kept it from showing, as she rolled up one of his sleeves.

"Consider it your punishment for ending up like this. I'll at least stand by you when she's told, so you're not alone when she chews you out."

That was only because it was partially her fault this happened but she chose not to add that part as she continued her treatment, feeling parts of his arm as she searched for an entry point.

"I trust you didn't kill in the process of using this energy. Ultimately you should discuss it with her. Learning to control your power will save lives, including your own."
Zilia sighed a bit at this wondering why she was even bringing it up in the first place, she was talking too much.

"Anyway let's get the medicine in you first and go from there."

His fever spiked again. Cedric's free hand fisted the cloth; the warmth needling him from the inside felt distinct from his fever. Almost like an unsevered connection to his surroundings. He chewed his lip, trying to remember Alicia's lesson. Wasn't it supposed to stop when he lost consciousness? He questioned.

He gasped when a sharp prick pierced his arm. Tears lined his lashes as he gritted his teeth; the pain dulled but never disappeared as the syringe emptied into his veins. Sid smiled weakly in thanks. "Madame Doctor, I will accept that as punishment. I've taken an unnecessary risk and caused both of you much distress."

Slowly, he blinked away the tears and sweat. His eyes drifting back to the ceiling. Above it, he could imagine the kitchen and above that the deck. He was oddly comforted by how familiar the ship had become. He no longer wished to leave. Jack was clearly happy here. Maybe, he was too. No, not happy. Contented.

"Alicia needs to help me cut the connection, I think. A lot of the fever isn't … it comes from outside. I don't know why. It should have stopped … "

Cedric tasted fresh blood. He shot up, leaning against the bed, as he pressed a hand over his mouth. Suppressed coughing expelled the fluid from his lungs. His eyes widened in worry as he turned to Zilia. Lowering his hand, he showed her the vivid stain. The colour much brighter than what he vomited earlier.

"Old injury … new or … ?" he trailed off.

His eyes darted warily as he watched the Madame's expression. He suspected that she knew more about his condition than she let on. A lot which Jack may or may not have confirmed on his behalf. His fére had been extra vigilant since his slow recovery following the fight in Trovale. The strain, they noted, brought back a childhood illness that should have disappeared long ago. Sid had been denying that possibility since their grim conversation; always promising Jack he would tell Ms Vilimar about it but never doing so.

Zilia offered a nod to Cedric at the fact of his punishment, she was glad he didn't needlessly whine as Luro tended to do. She only wished they showed this much responsibility in the field, but at the end of it they were still alive and that mattered the most to her.
"So long as you understand that....though I apologize my actions didn't aid in avoiding that risk."

She returned to the treatment only raising her eyes to him as he explained where the fever may be coming from, she offered a nod before a small sigh escaped from her.

"I really need to approach the Captain and charge her more. Sickness brought from magic wasn't in the original contract." The doctor spoke plainly but the small smile showed she was joking...maybe.

The smile faded however as Cedric started coughing, her eyes narrowed a bit seeing the blood on his hand. She had maintained somewhat of a calm demeanor but seeing that clearly brought her a bit of discomfort.

"...we're going to have proper discussion about that sometime," she said looking back at him. "Jack explained it to me...getting to see it firsthand definitely makes a difference."

Sid grimaced. "Trust Jack to be more than a brother. He won't stop worrying since the coughing return."

He sputtered more. Red seeped between his fingers, down his wrist and dripped onto the bed. He gasped raggedy with each new fit looking even more exhausted than ever. He leaned back and allowed the doctor to sponge away the excess blood. He gratefully accepted a damp towel to clean his hand while Zilia applied a warm compress to his chest.

Once done, she set her notebook in her lap to mark down what Cedric was going to tell her, but seeing it her eyelids drooped a little, she shook her head slightly pushing the feeling away.

"Ms Vilimar," the patient called with soft taps on her warm cheek. He figured it would in her best interest to send her to bed. She looked exhausted.

"Oh...right you should know what happened. I'll explain quickly."

"Fine," he huffed, knowing he won't be able to get a word in. She was in one of her excitable moods; this fervour he knew all too well having assisted Madame Doctor with her archeological research on that strange island.

Zilia gave a rough explanation on what happened, basic points: Yuli was alive, apparently was a god and as such killing her was harder. They met Slayis, and some weird girl both serve Yuli.

A little bit of what the woman said, especially about Cedric, what she did to the Hunters and that they were going back into danger. She also apologized for not stopping Maka, the crystal stopped them even though Cedric gave them the opportunity.

"I believe that's it. I'll go get Alicia so we can at least stop the fever," "Zilia said going to stand up.

He snatched her slim wrist before she stepped away. "No," he intoned. "Not yet. I can wait. My questions can't."

He tightened his grip and gestured with his free hand. "First, why do you believe that faux cul? I can't believe no one questioned the sanity of this decision. Second, what makes you think she's immortal? Never call anyone - or anything - a deity unless you know for sure. There are many abilities that can 'fake' death. Kaim should have warned us about this, no? Trois, how do you plan to deal with Ms Isari's crystal?"

He paused to gulp down several shaky breaths. His sweat was starting to wet the woman's sleeve. "I refuse to let Jack or A - anyone get hurt haki or no haki. Please let me help you deal with her powers. I'm willing to fight even with my illness acting up."

"Sanity is in short supply here," Zilia responded with a sigh as she sat back down.

She wanted to take care of him as soon as possible but she understood he had questions, especially considering everything that had happened recently. She remained quiet listening to Cedric, her eyes narrowing a bit as he struggled just to speak his peace.

"I don't think she's immortal," Zilia said. "Nor do I think she's a god...at least that's my hope. We've met the closest things to them on more than one occasion so ignoring their existences is difficult now. Even if she's not a god...what she did wasn't normal."

Zilia shook her head realizing how insane it was to say it out loud.

"What is true is that Jack killed her, if it was Runali, or Kadi or even myself I'd have doubts but Jack killed her and Ria double checked. She has a way to not die from clearly lethal attacks, whatever her method that's an issue."

Zilia brought a hand to her head at the idea of dealing with the crystal, she bit her lip a bit having fought the idea the moment Isari was taken.

"...there's nothing we can do. Isa controls it...so long as they have her...the crystal will always return."

A long sigh escaped from her before she looked back at Cedric, she took his wrist and set his arm back on the bed.

"You count on that list too Cedric. I don't like the idea of anyone getting hurt either. Regretfully you all chose to come with me so I have to bear witness to my friends getting harmed over personal affairs. I wouldn't let Luro go off with daggers still sticking out of his body, I'm not about to permit you to put yourself in a worse state, even with good intentions."

Zilia shook her head at this before folding her hands in her lap.

"We're going to have a meeting soon on how to deal with Yuli, Kaim has ideas and as they warned us I trust their info, and we'll figure out something together. Whatever Yuli is, whatever she can do is still a mystery. What if you use your powers and nothing happens, she walks out the other side perfectly fine and you're in worst shape. What if she wants you to use it, even if we kill Yuli Maka is still out there and who knows what else. Until we understand more there will be no extra risks...and your main job is getting better. After that we can talk about using your powers."

"Getting better is the antithesis of preparing for battle," Sid quoted from memory. His raspy voice turned into another coughing fit. He braced his hands against his legs to keep himself steady as his shoulders shook.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he narrowed his eyes at Zilia. "What do you expect me to do then during our fight with Yuli and … later, Maka? I doubt I will be better in a few days."

"The bare minimum," Zilia said glancing over at Sid. "If you have complaints don't put yourself in situations like this in the first place. If you're weak look strong, if you're strong look weak. If we did that more often instead of the opposite, there'd be less injuries."