Lord English
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Slowly, the magnificent vessel began to move towards the rushing waters of the reverse mountain. All of the crew braced at their stations, holding onto various implements to keep the ship stable and ready to change the direction on a whim. The admiral looked to his newest member and called out sharply, “Brace yourself!” She may have been new but he didn’t want her falling over the edge if they hit anything. He held firmly onto the guardrail as the ship suddenly would get caught by the current and rushed up over the mountain. He should have just used the diving function but he wanted to give her the thrill of going over the mountain, her and his other few new members. The wind rushed by them as the ship was carried up and over the mountain like a gigantic roller coaster and then as they moved further up, the rains and storms of the reverse mountain began. This made the ship want to falter into the walls of the mountain, the crew holding it steady as best as they could on this winter island.
Rain would pound upon the ship as they headed further up and then the worst of it was near the top, rumbling heard and strikes around them of the lightening. The admiral then turned to his crew and said, “PREPARE TO ENTER THE GRAND LINE!” The boat tapped the edge a bit and he gripped on as the boat felt like it jumped a bit. “STEADY!” As this was shouted, the top could be seen and they’d need to turn it quick. “NOW!” The ship started turning slightly and nearly rubbed between the two walls, the tip getting caught into the down current as lightening struck directly beside the boat. The back end of the boat, still caught in the up currents made them face more downward for a moment before they were sent cascading down the down current.
The crew pulled the things that made them go faster from their positions to attempt to slow down the ship but it refused to move. “BRACE!” He yelled, seemingly calm. They would go down between the twin capes and then the splash would spurt out in front of the ship as they suddenly slowed down. The admiral was thrown into the brace he was gripping onto, getting slightly hurt but dealing with the pain. Other members held on for dear life as they got into the calmer waters at the bottom, moving away from the reverse mountain.
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Some of the marines in the base heard her and those that were required to stay, would stay and perform their duties. Those who had nothing to do slowly made their way to follow her, careful of the tremors. The Sand Devil looked up to her without moving his head, focusing on the dog. “I can,” He spoke out to her. The dog seemed to understand and despite some light growls, didn’t bite at her nor struggle as he was taken. The Sand Devil would wait until the dog was removed and they were safe before pulling his wild card, focusing water from the air into his hand as a sort of brace. He’d suddenly turn under the great weight and thrust his hand against it with all the strength he could muster, causing the wall to seemingly disintegrate into small rocks that rolled off his back once he turned back around. He would refocus and doing it again to the ceiling. He felt the rocks slice into his back but he continued his way of doing it for the heavy wall and the heavy ceiling. He would then pull himself out of the rubble and place himself over the top of the rocks and just lay there to catch his breath.
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The marines were pulled into the door frame and huddled down into the door way, trying to not look up at her out of respect. They heard her words and one of them said, “Alright miss.” Another said, “We understand.” The first one then said, “Just be careful miss.” They sounded hopeful for her and looked to her face with a sense of pride. This was when they’d scatter to different door frames or to the medical ward to be somewhere safe.
The Sand Devil was still holding up the ceilings and walls with his strength. He made sure no matter how fierce the tremors felt, he would not falter from his sturdy stance. He took deep even breaths and kept looking at the dog, its licks upon his face reassuring what he was doing was right despite how he was slowly losing his strength. He started to slowly inch himself around, facing so the dog was on the side of the way out and gently tapped his foot on its butt. It gave him a look of reluctance so he pushed it with his foot. Once it was out of leg’s reach, he took a step, then did it again, his arms beginning to shake as another building dominoed on top. He couldn’t move now to attempt to get the dog out or they would both get crushed from his lost strength. He heard a snap as his dorsal fin was cracked out of place, not reacting to the pain in order to not alert the dog.
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The Sand Devil peered back at her and watched her leave. He had nothing else to say to her. He gently placed the ceiling against his back and held onto the doggy. He waited until he thought she was away to curl completely over the dog to assure its safety. One of the heavier buildings beside it collapsed and slammed down onto the pet store, placing the lighter ceiling, lighter wall, heavier ceiling, and heavier wall all upon him in an instant. He felt the pressure but he pushed himself up, doing everything he could to keep the dog happy and to make it not crushed. He smiled at the dog, exposing his usually menacing teeth and getting the response of the dog licking his nose in thanks.
The marines she asked looked to one another and one of them spoke up, “You are undisciplined… But that doesn’t mean you don’t belong. Yeah you are pretty but… Your abilities are useful to oppress the enemy.” The others nodded in agreement. “You probably just caught him in a bad mood. He had some odd occurrence earlier I heard.”
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When the newly appointed Warrant Officer awoke, the admiral was right outside the door and knocking. “It’s time to leave,” He whispered gently. He wasn’t going to rush her as they had time. They wouldn’t be getting the note to Coby anytime soon but from the news he had just received about him, it was best to not see the Vice Admiral anyways. He fought with himself if he was to tell her about it and his conscious won out as she was possibly readying herself. “We won’t be seeing the Vice Admiral any time soon, he is on a pirate hunt and may be getting relieved from duty. He is going just a little bit overboard.” He kept the concern from his voice and released a relieved breath.
This was when he waited for her to follow and he would escort her to his ship. While they walked, he took out a cigarette and placed it into his mouth. He held it there in his lips and took out the lighter. His finger flicked against it to roll the starter, it not sparking up on the first two flicks. The third time was the charm as the small flame spurt up and he placed it against the tip, sucking in so gently to start the flow until it burned of its own accord and he could cap his lighter to place it back in his inner pocket. He would blow out smoke gently and though it wasn’t right, he felt the compulsion to take out his pack and offer her one as they headed to the ship.
He’d make sure to show her the entire ship, pointing out chamber pots, her room, where all the offices on the ship were, let her meet people she wanted to then prepared to set sail. She would see the one man who had been demoted moved onto the ship as well but he was obviously a lower rank as he was one of the ones preparing and getting the ship to sail.
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The Sand Devil was frustrated from him following him but he tried to ignore what she was saying. He continued to pet the dog while holding the ceiling up. He looked back at her and said, “Since it isn’t formal yet, you should know better than to disobey… I don’t want anyone around me.” He looked back at the dog and scratched it under the chin. He then said, “The only reason this dog would hate someone is if they were to steal from him. He is related to the great Chouchou after all.” He smirked and then chuckled. “I am not being an idiot… I have the strength to be out here.” He felt the land shaking a bit worse and his hand dropped down from the dog and to the ground to keep the ceiling up. “Just so you know,” He sighed, “I only give out my name to those who prove themselves to me.” He then regained himself and placed his hand to resume petting the dog and felt as the attic was caving in on the doggy and scooped the dog to be under him, just in case he couldn’t hold it.
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The Sand Devil shook his head to her and replied in a softer tone, “I have had women in my crew before. All of them obeyed orders when they were given instead of running off like a guilty rodent. I admire humans who have the devil fruits, they give you all powers that can stand up to our natural abilities. As for being human, I hold that not against you, just the malice you showed towards orders and instead of following them, breaking off to bite off more than you can chew.” He cracked his neck and let out a light sigh, “You can stay where you will, and since you’d never asked just like everyone else… I won’t even give you the honor of my name…” He left her to do what she willed then, hoping his men would choose something for her to do. He was frustrated and headed out into the city, it was starting to shake enough that he too was having trouble standing. He clenched his fists and went to the pet shop, deciding to stay there. He caught the roof before it would fall on the dog who owned it. He leaned down while holding it and pet the dog, who wagged its tail.
The marines around her looked at one another and one finally said, “He’s all teeth and no bite, go home and when the tremors stop, perhaps he’ll be calmer.” They gave her a smile and then said, “besides, he didn’t even do the paper work to dismiss you.”
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The Sand Devil sighed, a disobeyed order. He began to go to the other houses and carry as many as he could safely from there to the base across the tremors. He was back and forth from here to there. At the base, the marines she encountered looked her over and nodded, leading her to the personal effects locker and letting her place the items and the list on the table. The Sand Devil would return shortly and finish propagating everything and would come up to the list and think as he placed himself in the doorframe to keep her from leaving. He was a harsh man but he did have a heart. He kept the feeling that she was stealing and more wanted to punish her for not listening to orders. He would wait until she was finished with the items and then he’d say, “Your rank is nullified… You will take only what you have on you and leave. I will grant you a small boat and no more…” He snarled at her, showing his teeth, “Let this be a lesson to never disobey an order…”
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The Sand Devil glared at the marine and bared his teeth to her. He would carefully step forward through the tremors and would speak to her, “I will cover the other houses. First, I will see you back to the marine base. You will return all the items to their owners and take no more. Beli can always be dug up, I have the strength to do so.” He was not going to budge from the house. “Besides, I am more than willing to pay out of my own pocket. I was put in charge here so they are my people. All deaths are on me. You are simply one of my men. If you refused to follow orders, you will be killed for their items if you do not hand them over. If you do, then you may leave once they have assured that they are all of theirs. Choose wisely, I am not a patient man.” He growled through his teeth almost like a menacing tiger, yet he was clearly a large and angry shark with slit pupils and multiple rows of hungry teeth.
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The swordsman took his words and let them fall upon his ears, siphoning every bit of the information. He was unfamiliar with the sun pirates, only knowing that Fishmen and Merfolk visited every now and again to this place. Despite the knowledge now of this man’s piracy, it did not bother him. Anyone who’d act out with a displeasing nature to a marine officer could be marked as a pirate. He spoke of the devil fruits and learning to fight them which intrigued him. Then the barred teeth and he raised his hands to the air in submission as he took a step back. “Please excuse my curiosities,” The male spoke with diction to Axel, “I have never seen a shark of a fish man before and your skin had me curious. I was always told the skin of a shark is like sand. I will assure you I meant no danger to the king of all predators.” He lowered his hands then and thought for a mere moment.
The swordsman lowered his eyes for only a split second before he gazed back to the sharks, blurting out, “Why not stay in town?” He would not wait for the man to respond, “You may stay in my home unless you trust out here more than that of a helpful serf?” He was attempting to appeal to the animalistic side, attempting to show the shark he was dominant. If this was not appealing, he’d leave the shark to his doing. He even turned his back to the shark, showing trust as he took a step away. He would either lead him home or walk alone.
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The admiral let each word place an equal in his head as he was studying this young one. The diverse nature in which she said others reacted to her were so far on the ends of the spectrum, as to be expected of someone who could eventually rise to power. This put to his mind those who had led before and the one currently leading. There had always been those on either end of the spectrum but their current, there was only one end. He was careful to think of the balance, how those who don’t seem to know her are the ones tipping the scale. This would change.
The mention of being related to an infamous pirate, usually would mean the child is tainted as well. Yet he saw before her a pure ambitious girl willing to kill even those who are much stronger than her to proceed in the path of justice. Even if some of her talents with her abilities were not quite lawful, at least it was something the men would enjoy. The other abilities proved to be much of use, bringing him a smile to the contents of how they could possibly grow and assist her later in life. Her lack of comparison much more to another previous was a bit of a statement on her history, she had much to learn.
When she spoke of how her powers affected herself, he knew with growing power she would face less of that issue. He thought in his mind of items that could be forged to alleviate the consequences of her abilities in order to raise more quickly. He also began to list things in his head that she could eat that would help her with her potency. All of this added into where he was deciding upon her promotion to take her. Too high, and she would become a target among her peers. Too low, and she wouldn’t be of use with her talents.
“I have come to a decision,” He rose as she spoke the final words from her mouth. He took a firm breath as his stance spoke of his ready eagerness to tell her. “You will be joining my division as a part of your promotion. You will be a Warrant Officer under me. Now rest, my ship will leave when you are ready and will be headed out to the Grand Line.” He strode from the medical ward and began to head to the offices despite the shaking grounds, preparing his mind for the menial paperwork required for her advancement.
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The admiral was admiring her abilities and the fact she went to an odd angle of training in order to achieve to better herself. It was impressive and though he took her pirate capturing skills as a white lie and smirked. Then as she spoke about Jango, he did smile at her joking. Listening intently, he took in every word despite his off track mind. Then the secondary piece of information was given. He smiled a bit and nodded, as he looked around, waiting for one of the nurses to pass by before he leaned in and whispered to her, “If he was so concerned, we will go to Coby once you are healed.” He then sat with his back straight back up and cracked his spine in several places.
After letting out a groan of how good that felt, he decided to continue their interview for now but spoke in concern first, “Let me know if you wish to sleep, you are injured after all.” He then thought of what to ask next and decided on, “How do your co-workers feel about you as a person? Also do they react negatively to your special abilities?” He would wait for the answer, this time fully focused and after the answer, would ask the next, “In comparison to others that have special abilities, how do you foresee your growth in attaining higher power from your specific type? How else other than your medical training have you been progressing your abilities? Since Jango stood through it, how does it work?”
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“I will not leave my training grounds when there is a stranger in the lands,” He did remove his hand from his blade as a sign of good faith as it seemed he felt the words were true. He stared right into the fishman’s eyes, seeming to connect to something he said and proceeded to comment, “I understand your need for sanctuary to a point. Still, I do not see the full reason.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced upon him. His own experiences led him here once himself, seeking sanctuary for a crime he hadn’t committed and built a new life here dedicated to his swordsmanship. He still spoke on what urked on his mind, “What is your reason for getting past them? You do not look like a pirate.”
He took a step forward and examined the shark further, his mind urging him to be cautious. He thought of him just as another fishman but the thrill of being near a shark was all too enticing. He wanted to touch the magnificent being and see what the flesh of a real predator truly felt like. He wanted to fight, but his urge to keep the peace was stronger. He flicked his eyes around to make sure there was none around before attempting to get closer, this time with no words to hide his movement.
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The admiral took the reports and waited until she was coherent. He didn’t mind the hours of waiting and was impressed by the shock absorbers installed in the medical ward. It was almost as if there wasn’t mass tremors occurring outside. On the second report, he rose to his feet and entered in despite advisory not to. He pulled himself up a seat next to the no longer disoriented woman and gave her an approving smirk. “So, let’s do this,” He spoke as if he was in a tad bit of a rush.
One of the other members ran in and leaned over to the admiral and whispered into his ear, “The Fleet Admiral is fighting a pirate on the Grand Line and that’s where the tremors are from…”
The admiral seemed to tense up and then he flicked his hand at the wrist to usher the lesser to leave. They nodded and headed away. The admiral turned his attention back to the woman in the bed and let out a concerned sigh as he said, “Don’t mind that, apparently the tremors aren’t natural. One of your own who happen to not have control, clearly stated by the world shaking.” He hauned over to place his elbows on his knees as he said, “So, other than killing a highly skilled pirate, what are your other applicable skills?” It was clear he had concern in his eyes, mostly over the fact of her injuries that should have been much worse. He was trying to place together why the Rear Admiral could be taken down so easily. Then the shaking, there should have been more injury due to that as well. He was just happy the medical ward was only slightly rocking, perhaps just his mind adjusting to being still.
He refocused and asked of her once the answer was given and said, “How did Jango treat you?” He was curious but he also wanted to hear whether he was truly a marine or had been a pirate the entire time. He didn’t want to take the word of a document, they could be forged. Words could be forged too but the young are not as well to twisting them, so in her words he would put her faith. He himself did get to see Jango take a bullet for the men behind him where he simply could have dodged and let them be killed. He pondered on each word, taking it in and seeming deep in thought.
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The Sand Devil stood firm until he heard the call of the woman again. He would stride long and move his legs swift as he arrived upon the next house of being called for assistance. He carefully placed his arms around the dying pair of those who resided in the home. He then picked up and placed them upon his shoulders before rushing them back as the tremors began to worsen. He rushed getting there and gently handed them off to two Seamen Apprentices for escorts to the medical room. He turned to return to his thoughts but a Commander walked up to him and spoke swiftly, “Sir, I have news.”
“What kind of news?” The Sand Devil looked to this step lower of a rank with concern in his eyes.
“First,” The Commander spoke to his Captain, “We know the cause of these tremors and that they will cease in a few hours. The pirate that he was so fighting was forced to flee.”
The Sand Devil tensed at the thought of a pirate even being able to escape the Fleet Admiral. He took a deep breath and relaxed, not realizing his pupils were nearly completely slit until he took the notion to relax. “So… Truble lives… Did he not persue?”
“He did,” The Commander attempted to not stutter, continuing before the Captain could reply, “Second, There is a declared pirate. News came from Vice Admiral Coby. He wants some of us sent after the culprit.”
“There are no pirates dumb enough to announce themselves,” The Sand Devil insisted. “We’ll send a fleet anyways, send Lieutenant Commander Kerak.”
“One more thing sir,” The Commander urged before the Sand Devil could leave again, “The people have reported that woman out scouting of robbing them right in their plain sight. I can show you the accusers in the medical wing-…”
“That won’t be necessary,” The Sand Devil left swiftly and made his way using his acute senses to find the woman plundering in one of the houses. He would stand with his arms crossed and would speak firmly and angrily, “What do you think you’re doing?” He would stand strong in the doorway out, his eyes slit like the predator he was.
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The Sand Devil could hear her clearly and his eyes would narrow down again, he turned to where her voice came from and ran there. He made his way quickly and picked up the two injured citizens then took off back towards the base, dropping them off with men that could get them through to the medical wing fast. The sand devil proceeded back outside and went back to the docks. He wanted to keep a watch on the situation, simply punching through and breaking things that would have crushed someone who was untrained. He resumed getting lost in his thoughts, arms crossed in a worried state of being.
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The people seemed relieved in the shaking base but at the least it would hold up better than the houses were. The Sand Devil had worked his ass off to help his injured crew and further his things. Once he was finished with what seemed to be them all, the girl from the doorframe earlier approached him to ask him the most idiotic question he’d ever heard. His eyes narrowed upon her and he began to walk outside, looking at the seas getting worse. He spoke out as he flickered his eyes back to her, “You can search the island but don’t leave it. So help those you can and if there are others out in the sea then they have been claimed.” He walked out nearly steadily despite the fierce shaking. “Searching for survivors of the sea will be better for after the tremors cease… If they are from a fight then they should not last long. As for those on the land, move swiftly.”
He began to walk towards the waters and watch their fury from a closer view. He watched his own ship be taken by the fierce waves and started to think about the smaller boat he’d encountered some time before and hoped the shark didn’t have to face the waters when they were like this. He felt the ground crack beneath his feet and would step to one side of the fissure and then resumed staring and thinking on how terrible this could become.