Lord English
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Mihawk spoke words to Axel after he said about the jacket, “Make certain they are never truly lost. Communications silent for now. Only direct contact lines until Axel assures his end is safe.”
The communication was silent for a while and when Axel was eating, he got a direct communication. It was the voice from before that was one of the undead. “Axel,” The voice spoke, “Those had better be hidden well. You’d also better remember how to find it. You will be assured a bloody death if you don’t make sure you can retrace your steps.” He took a breath and said, “You getting stronger will be very important and I think you should train with Mihawk, Mako, Truble, Darcel, Buggy, Brook, Crocodile if you can find him, Tanakami, and then maybe I will have a drink with you. We can train after that. I would suggest you find Crocodile first. All we know is that he is in Alabasta. If you can’t then go to Buggy first, he shouldn’t be too far into the grand line. Once you train with one, then go to the other. Then get back in contact with me.” The direct line was cut off before there was a response.Someone was moving out into the open area, presumably from the town nearby. The male saw the shark in what he typically used as a training ground and called out, “You, state your reason for being here.” He had a sword at his side and one of his hands were firmly on it. He seemed close to drawing his blade at any second should the shark advance or speak ill. His mind was racing on what he was doing and didn’t know if this was friend or foe. Though he was just eating, it seemed but he would not take a chance.
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The admiral placed his arm on the other side of her to let her lean on him once he felt her weight shift to him. He made sure to keep her steady and even when she explained that she had a poison fruit that allowed her to make all kinds of poisons, he didn’t even budge from helping her. He just kept keeping her along and smirked a bit. He spoke to her honestly as they neared the medical ward, “I understand that fruit powers can be turned on and off. I personally think from experience with other users that you and other fruit users have more discipline than normal people.” He chuckled a bit. “If you all wanted to, you all could show no restraint and use your powers nearly all the time to train them and eventually wipe out everyone… But instead, you train when necessary and keep it pent up from hurting comrades.”
He led her into the medical ward and looked at a nurse and she came right over. He then directed his full attention on the nurse as he said, “Make sure she is well soon. I would like to speak with her about her deeds in great detail in order to promote her properly.” He then handed her over as he said, “I have a dead body to dispose of.” He backed away as the nurse reached out to help her to a bed to begin diagnostics and emergency first aide.
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The other end of the snails went silent for a couple of hours. Sometime, when Axel was in the middle of the storm. He would hear an unfamiliar male voice sound through the snail. “Sometimes, the young are the ones who destroy what is in the future. Other times, they are the ones that save it. Without the marines, a pirate’s life is menial. Without pirates, no one needs marines for protection say for the common bandits and petty thieves.” The voice paused and then said, “We all hide, because we are needed. Soon, we will not need to. Your challenge is accepted.”
There was silence for ten minutes before Mihawk spoke up, “The undead have spoken.”
The next message over the snails was from a very weak sounding Mako, “That… was a first…” A cough came through next and the sounds of people trying to keep her down but it seemed she was struggling. “BACK THE FUCK,” She coughed in the middle of her statement, “OFF!” It was clear that she was irritated. She then spoke again, “Axel… We’re proud of you… And Heiwa… We know you took off… Thanks for saving Truble… And for volunteering… to help Axel…” She took a deep gargled breath and said, “Mihawk… Stats on the Fleet Admiral… He’s fucking powerful… He’s taken the Yami Yami No Mi to a level beyond its previous user… He also has two other powers… The one… I don’t exactly understand… When Truble saw me go down… Before I blacked out… I could have sworn… He got stronger…” She took a stop to breath, “And he has a zoan… I… Have no clue what… The hell… It is… It’s like… A wolf with the… claws of a reptile… And wings… Teeth sharper than a shark’s and the jaw strength… Of an angry crocodile… Even with Haki… He snapped my arm in half…” She stopped talking and from the lack of breathing sounds, it was clear she had muted.
“That’s because you’re worthless,” It was Kid again, putting in his input. His voice was more sour, as if he himself was blaming the newer generation for the abomination in the marines. “Why didn’t you use that karate?”
“I did… asshole,” She spoke back and said, “And…”
“And what?!” Kid sounded like he was yelling at her, “If it almost got you killed, then it’s no good.”
“It did… Some damage…” Mako sounded like she was growling through but was then coughing up a storm.
The snail was taken from her and Truble’s doctor spoke, his voice could haunt and chill to the very core of any being’s bones, “Kid, you are stressing out an emergency care patient… I cannot allow this. Mute your snail and sulk on your own. This information is vital so allow the adults to talk.”
“I’m older than you,” Kid sounded back.
“Kid, shut the fuck up,” Tanakami sounded pissed, “You’re ruining the good mood. You also ruined round nine with your whiney ass voice.”
“Tanakami,” Mihawk didn’t need to say more for her to back out of the conversation. “Kid, back down.”
The garbled voice of the undead came through, “You will be removed from us if you dare keep talking back.”
“Am I late?” The voice of Buggy sounded through, it was distraught and seemed like he had been through hell and back as well.
“You’re finally connected,” Mihawk almost sounded relieved. “How are your marine connections?”
“Not good,” He admitted. “From the news I have received, Jango is dead. They know what I look like currently at the Reverse Mountain so I am stuck in the Grand Line until I change appearance and alibies. I called Helmeppo, he cannot speak to me until I change alibies. I recently called Coby and he seemed really… Not himself. He threatened to track me down and eliminate me. I believe something made him snap. He is no longer a safe contact. In his rantings, I heard him say something about wanting to be killing a shark?” He was silent a moment, “Said he was sending a couple fleets after someone and said I would be next. I left that snail out in open waters. He can’t track us. Mako’s, um… Doctor gave me this snail. For a fish, she’s very cute.”
There was giggling heard from another part of the connection that could only have been assumed to be the doctor. Then the undead spoke again, “Glad you made it, Buggy. But all of this information is highly distressing and will put a lot of strain on what we stand for.” The lines went silent again. -
Coby felt Axel’s strength and was able to hold back at a matching strength with seemingly no problem. He listened to what Axel had to say and he lost his warm smile, a deep wave of regret releasing from its pent up dam. When Axel released his hand, he released as well and his eyes were dark as they filled with his self-hate. His very being seemed to turn from that of a proud Vice Admiral to a man scorned by his own vices. Before Axel could run, when he felt the sting of being accused of breaking what he meant to Garp, he spoke out, “I could have never been but I tried my hardest… I shouldn’t have done what I did…” When the shark began to run, Coby called out to him in an angered tone, “You don’t understand the choice that had to be made. I had to choose between two that I considered family. One brought life and a chance for change where the other would have brought death to millions more. I don’t kill pirates here. I offer them reprieve where other marines would follow the kill on sight. The sun pirates are nearly always protected because of the mark’s history but others have no chance and I give them one.” He watched as the shark got closer to the water and his voice rose, “I KNOW THE KING STILL LIVES! HE LIVES AS LONG AS A SINGLE PIECE OF HIM REMAINS!” He then returned inside to continue running the grouping as he whispered to himself, “I didn’t want to kill him…” He should have killed Axel or at least went after him, but he was tired of injury and bloodshed. He was also tired of hospitality being spat upon. He was not going to kill another pirate, despite the laws, ever again.
Axel would hear Mihawk over his snail and say, “Axel, you’re as bad as Mako when it comes to muting your snail.”
“KISHI~! DO IT AGAIN~!” Tanakami was squealing with excitement on her end. “Crap! Brook, get off my wing, that hurts~!” [size size=8]”Sorry!”[/size]
“Heiwa, status,” Mihawk asked.
“Shut it right n-“ She appeared to have muted her snail before finishing her sentence though the sound of water rushing around her and splashing could be heard.
“I think she’s drowning them,” Kid put in his input.
A very angry voice of Mako’s gunner chimed up, “Go fuck yourself.”
“Shut up, sushi,” was the rebuttal.
“Both of you calm down,” Darcel spoke.
“You can shut up too, rabbit stew.”
“Act your ages,” Mihawk spoke again, “If you can’t at least do that then the best you can do is leave and cower on your own.”
Mako’s snail was unmuted but a smooth male voice came through of Truble’s gunner, “Since Heiwa can’t give you the fyi since she ain’t here, Mako’s doing alright. Heiwa went after our captain. I think I can see her on the way back and no one is drownin no one. Kid, put up or shut up. We’re all after the same thing and if you can’t play nice on the team, I am sure that Mihawk will put you in your place in two seconds or less.”
After that snail was muted, Mihawk said, “Axel, do your best. We are here if you need us.” -
The people of the town all were out in the street. They had been there since the day before and waiting for the tremors to stop. The captain of the marines in the area just returned from an outing, his ship getting tossed in the waves from the tremors but not pulling it even close to dock. The captain took injured marines in his sand paper arms and leaped into the water and hopped out onto the land and ran them to the sturdiest building and placed them down. The other men on his ship only carried one at a time but he was carrying four at a time. He saw the one marine and her plight as the tree fell.
The Sand Devil ran over and lifted the tree from the house it collapsed into and tossed the tree out towards the sea. He then looked at the marine in the door frame and said, “Get to a reinforced building. If you can, care for the injured. Direct everyone out of the streets and to safety.” He heard his own snail phone going off and answered it with a firm, “WHAT?!”
“Notification to all Marine personnel,” The voice on the snail was reading off a recording, “The Fleet Admiral is in combat. His opponent is an advanced pirate capable of shaking apart the earth. Tread with caution.”
The Sand Devil hung it up and then tossed the snail with an angered growl. He then ran from the area and started to help get people to safer areas than out in the open. He was moving as fast as his shark muscles could take him.
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The admiral looked at the girl with a nearly pitiful gaze in his eyes, he reached his hand out with his palm facing up. He gently spoke to her after taking a deep breath, “I have seen your deed. You will be rewarded. I will take care of this from here.” He was hoping to do this quickly and get her medical attention. He would kneel down and scoop up the dead body in his other hand, holding it in his arm. The others were still crowded outside and he glared over his shoulder at them and said, “Don’t just stand there. Get medical you useless bag of lumps.”
They scattered to go get help at his demand and then his attention could return to the injured hero. He looked her over and his mind recalled what he’d seen. She had a very potent Devil Fruit and it could be useful in the future. He decided to speak on the abilities and if she were to take his hand, he’d start leading her to the medical ward. “So, you use poison?” He asked her in a serious tone. There seemed to be some remorse in his voice, though he’d seen the raising through the ranks and had watched Jango become who he was. Then to need to slay him arose and he gave it to this young woman, a nice touch.
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Once all the people were safe, the marines turned their focus and blades towards Axel. Then their Vice Admiral stepped in and looked at the backed up shark and at his men and said, “Step aside.” The marines looked at the vice admiral and shook their heads. That was when he walked over to the shark and looked at the mark closer. He looked back at his men and said, “That’s not a pirate mark.”
“B-but the neo sun pirates!” One of them stuttered out.
“They are only pirates by name, not by any other means,” The Vice Admiral lectured them and said, “Go learn your history while we wait this out.” The building could be felt shaking but its structural integrity seemed enough for now. The Vice Admiral watched as the men either ignored it or went to go look things up then turned his head to the shark. “You are safe here,” He stated and then placed out his hand and said, “My name is Coby. I am the Vice Admiral here and those were and are my idiots. They don’t like to learn about anything but their own histories and it makes them a little… How to put this… Ignorant? Yeah.”
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Jango smiled when she yelled back at the marines and the admiral present amongst them smiled as well. Jango moved back and forth from the fury of swipes, his body was about to shut down but he wasn’t going to let it, not yet. Despite dodging the strikes, he had blood running from his mouth and his breathing was definitely deeper as he stepped side to side. He then was about to swing again but she moved in close and he had to step back towards the door. He dropped the shovel by accident and her sweep connected with his leg. He let the leg collapse down but the moment that knee gave out, his body shut down and he collapsed to the ground, this not being helped by strong tremors starting to echo through the base.
He twitched as his force to keep going caused his quickening heart to burst veins in his body. This was when he chose to speak his last words, “She should be an admiral…” His body convulsed on the ground as the nerve endings went out, each part twitching oddly and his entire digestive tract expelling their contents. One the worst stopped, his fingers were twitching for a bit, eyes left open and a nasty mixture leaking from his mouth.
The admiral weaved through the marines and stood right behind the door and placed his hand on the top of the broken wood and smashed down to splinter it off its hinges. Then he picked up the table with one hand and tossed it back at his crew and pinned them out. He stood there and waited for her to show her resolve but he spoke openly to her, “You are quite the fighter.”
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Heiwa looked to Axel when he asked her to go and nodded as she said, “Be careful…” She leapt into the water and swam at her top speeds to try and get there swiftly.
While Axel was sleeping during the night, one of the marines from the town decided to sit near the ship since there was a sleeping shark alone there. He didn’t ask permission and was a couple feet away from him to make sure he was safe. This marine wore a jacket of high ranking and his pink hair flowed in the wind. He pushed up his glasses and would stay for a little.
This would be when the tremors reached them, the sounds of people waking up screaming and the unprepared buildings falling while some stayed stable. The ship rocked like mad and felt like it could tumble there at the dock. People began to panic and try to get to high ground. The marine on Axel’s ship took off into the town and yelled, “Everyone! Into the Marine base! It is stable! Do not let anyone tell you otherwise! Their Vice Admiral commands it!” People began fleeing into the marine base while he stood strong. Some of the other fishmen that had been visiting were freaked out by the earth shaking and either leapt into the water or went to the marine base. There were even merfolk there and young’uns of both kinds.
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Jango only smirked at her anger and stepped to the side, just enough that the poison bullet wouldn’t hit somewhere fully fatal but into his shoulder as he didn’t want to let the men on the other side of the door to get hit. He stood strong despite the poisons running through his veins and kept his breathing even. It was clear where his resolve stood, despite the pirate past, he was definitely all marine. He then released his pendulum and let her charge him, figuring that since she had her poisons on her and it was already in his veins, it wouldn’t hurt to fight her hand to hand. He brought his leg up to block hers with his shin then thrust his hand out towards her forehead, attempting a strike on her injury to make it hurt more.
This was when he reached and pulled out a hand shovel and swung it at her head with the blunt end. It was clear he was trying to do damage though he noticed something. The marines had stopped trying to come in and interfere. As he drew the shovel back again and yelled, “COWARDS! IF YOU WERE TRUE MARINES YOU WOULD STILL BE TRYING TO HELP HER!” He finally gasped for breath but he made it seem like just a normal intake, forcing himself to keep going. He then used the shovel to attempt two slices horizontally for her chest. “SHE IS NOT AFRAID TO FIGHT A POWERFUL PIRATE ON HER OWN!”
The marines behind the door just stayed silent, then started yelling back, “YOURE TOO POWERFUL!” “THERE’S NO WAY!” “WHAT RANK IS SHE?!” They hadn’t a clue the admiral was behind them and watching.
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Jango felt the one blade press into the mop he decided to fight with and pressed back against it. He used the rocking of his pendulum to swing it up along the thrown sword at him and wrap it up, yanking it to the side. Droplets were flying nearly everywhere and he raised his shoulder to block his face and it was unseen if a drop had in fact hit him or not. He leapt back and released the mop. He whipped the chakram back at her but ripped it ahead of the blade and back to send the blade at her as his other hand grabbed a support beam of the room and pulled. The room to her left and his right would begin to collapse and launch boxes down upon them both. He stood through the fury of boxes and used the falling objects as weapons as he pushed them fiercely towards her or punched them. His breathing remained steady through it seemed he was weakening. He took it one more step seriously as when the boxes were done falling, he whipped the pendulum right for her. It was nearly unseen that his body was beginning to shake and give out but he pushed himself past the limits being set for him.
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Jango felt the tug on the chakram and decided it was best to make it seem as though he dropped it, keeping his four fingers open but his thumb pressed to his palm to keep track of the string. He felt it pull beneath his gloves as he had made his way to the door and continued to keep it loose so if she got in its path, it wouldn’t tug on her noticeably. This was all too crucial when the table was thrown at him, placing his hands out to take the impact on his palms, his thumbs now pressed to the side of his hands as he stopped it just to see the flurry coming at him.
He pivoted his wrists to make the table stand long side up then ducked behind it on the ground. This was when he decided it was time to truly get serious against her. He ripped at the string and it snapped the chair up to the ceiling and smashed it there, splinters raining down. He continued the movement of his chakram to knock down a box containing a mop near him. He grabbed the mop in his other hand and had the chakram cut the door behind him. It only opened the top bits of the door and marines were trying to crowd in and see what was going on. Then he moved from around the table and knocked it sideways and kicked it against the door. He wrapped up his pendulum string and swung it rhythmically as he swung the mop in from the upper right.
He noticed she had two swords but this didn’t bother him, he felt more than comfortable fighting the young one with a blunt weapon. And now all the marines would be able to witness her taking his head, his smile growing as everything fell into place. This would be his own greatest victory.
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Jango smirked as she readied herself and picked a sword. He opened his lips in this smirk and placed his finger on the desk to the string connected to the chakram. He allowed her to make the first move and he tugged the string to flick the chakram to wrap around the desk leg and then yanked the table up hard to use as a shield. As the desk went up, he ducked down kicked his leg out towards her shin. He didn’t strike with his full force so if it did connect, it wouldn’t break it but it would leave a nasty bruise through to the bone if it hit and would hurt like all hell. He’d follow that with pulling the string on the chakram and forcing it to cut through the leg of the desk as he swung it around the flying edge of the desk to slice towards her arm. He wasn’t trying to hurt her bad and he knew worse was coming if she did lose to him so he’d wait for her to defeat him.
Feet scurried towards the door again and it was clear the scuffle was heard. Marines were banging on the door and shouting demands for the door to be opened. Their thrashing against the door sounded as if they were about to break it down and sounded more so frantic as time progressed. Because of this, Jango slid around to the side after his attacks so he could be in front of the door.
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The poisoned fruit would continue to eat at her inside, her stomach acids would beg her to enduce vomiting but the pain in her would beg her not to for fear of more pain. She would begin to taste blood.
Heiwa stood and enjoyed the rocking of the boat and the rain on her flesh. She appeared to be enthralled in the sounds of thunder and lightning echoed in her eyes as she watched the direction they were going. Her head fins wiggled a little, her turning her head to Axel as he guided the vessel and seemed shocked at his sudden question. She looked back out at the sea and pondered how best to answer. She took a deep breath and let her spines resettle and trapped more water against herself. “I really don’t know,” Heiwa answered.
She reached into her skirt and pulled out a notepad encased in a plastic sheath. She opened it up and a pen fell out of it as she let the rain hit the dried inks that seemed to not be water based. “I have taken notes to attempt to guess the identities of the four undead,” Heiwa showed him the paper. “All I have on it is that across the com, they all sound the same so I have attempted to analyze the personalities. They seem to be from the same place or at least it seems they communicate through the same snail.”
On the paper was written, “Seems impatient.
Constantly seems to want to come from hiding.
Voice seems to emit both masculine and possibly feminine tendencies.
Extremely proud, evident through impatience.
All seem to want to reveal, Mihawk always insists not safe. What does he know of them?”Heiwa would hold it so that he could read it. “This is literally all I have on them. Though I forgot to write down their interest in those flags and allowing you to possess them. Yet the only thing they know is that you are one of us and they refused a stronger power to let you keep them.” She sighed, “So much faith in so short of time is either hope or desperation. Especially since they even let Darcel as one of the powers when all he is doing is attempting to replicate a former captain. Even when Truble tried to revive the Whitebeard Pirates, he wasn’t trying to emulate him despite finding and nearly dying to attain the Gura Gura No Mi. He was trying for both fruits present but he’s the only one of the powers that has fought the Fleet Admiral before he was at full power.” She shook her head. “Some of their decisions are questionable but it seems Mihawk has full and total trust in them.” She folded her arms and looked back at the pad, picking up the pen and jotting down her last thoughts on them.
They would here the snail utter out Truble’s voice, “Fleet Admiral found, made Mako and my crew retreat. I will face this bastard.”
“Stand down,” Mihawk’s voice came through. “Just because you have a vendetta doesn’t mean you have to face him.”
“Mako’s down,” Truble’s voice traveled through. “It’s not just a vendetta.”
One of the gargled voices patched through, “Live to fight another day. You are important to our fight against them.”
There was silence then a slight crunch noise before the snails announced, “Contact lost.”
Heiwa clenched her fist and said, “He’s so stubborn…”
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Jango listened to each answer intently and ran his thoughts over what was going on. His mind was divided but he made sure to put his mind to detail on the interview. He thought over things as he debated what she was saying though her eyes told him that she was not a liar. He then nodded and heard people run past again. He tensed up and thought on what he must do and gazed at her dead serious, slipping out the paper from his sleeve. It appeared to have been folded twice, him only opening the one fold and writing on the paper for it to say, “Promote her to where you see fit, Koby.” He then took a deep breath and said to her as he folded it. “You will be receiving a promotion, but I have a final two tasks you must complete.”
He pressed the paper to the desk and slid it over to her. He spoke to her in a dire tone, “Take this paper and do not open it. Take it straight to Vice Admiral Koby and do not let anyone take it from you.” He then took out three pistols and set them on the table, two swords, and then took out his bladed hypnotic disc. He sprawled them out and placed his hands upon them. “The second task is for you to take my head and show it to the attacking Admiral. Bedros warned me they may have found out about my past so since they are here and obviously searching, I will tell you.” He looked down slightly and removed his hands from the weapons as he interlaced his fingers and placed his elbows on the table.
“I,” He paused as he regretted bringing back a life he had left behind, “I once was a pirate…” He swallowed his own remorse. “I abandoned my captain for a life of justice. I started at the bottom and worked my way up like a normal human being. I stood up against Fruit users without any powers of my own.” He started to sound more proud. “I lived my life to the point I knew eventually it would be uncovered. So, if you do this, you should get promoted well.” He stood up straight and strong, ready for her as he said, “I will put up a bit of a fight so you will not be called a traitor but you must pull the first move.”
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The bird upon eating the fruit would feel extremely sick, no power would come to her but her insides would very well feel like they were twisting up. The pain would be felt through her entire digestive tract as it grew and her stomach would be highly upset. The pain would slowly begin to immobilize her as this fruit was a fake.
Heiwa nodded to the bird and did some minor calculations in her head. She then followed Axel and examined the flags. Sure enough it really was them, she smiled as he spoke through the com and was proud of him to still consider himself one of them. She followed him as he checked out the other chests. Her spines puffed up a bit and her eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of the jacket. Her eyes trailed as he stacked the other chests on top of it and then followed him back out onto the deck. She crossed her arms under her breasts and closed her eyes as he sat down. Then she heard him speak to her, her eyes opening to glance at him in deep thought. “Well,” Heiwa started, “Perhaps try to get stronger.” She offered him a polite smile and said, “You’re already strong for a shark. I could always raise it with toxin immunity since I am pokey and deadly and then we could have better tactics in combat.” She was thinking strategically. “Or get Mihawk to do some training with you. Or one of the others, preferably ones that seem to like you.” She was almost thinking out loud. She then looked up at the storm they were sailing towards, soft droplets beginning to fall as they got closer to the storm.
This was when he got to see her do something she’d not done in front of him before. She looked up and let the rain fall on her face, her taking a deep breath to puff her back and chest spines out and then lightly for all of her spines. The drops ran down her body like a klinko machine as they weaved between her spines. Once she’d felt the cool drips for a little amount of time, she released the breath and trapped some of the water against her scales. She then said, “Perhaps… get each of the crew to come for personalized training for you and your bird friend.”
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The marine just gave Carina a glare and seemed as if he was on the verge of it. Though he lifted his head off the desk and started placing things into order. He even decided to brush his hair more neatly on his head and started to rearrange his new office. The loud screeching of the desk was heard as it drug across the floor, that horrible sound that wood would make on a freshly waxed floor. Once it was drug once, the sounds were heard again as well as a bookshelf was moved as well as a lot of thuds from books falling.
Bedros didn’t even cringe at the obnoxious sounds from the office and took the papers. He smiled at her and nodded his head in thanks. “I certainly hope this wasn’t too much trouble, miss,” He said briefly before looking at the stamp and seeing it bled through. He only smiled more before he turned and began to walk to head out, “Thank you again, and good luck on your promotion.” He turned his head to flash her a smile before he turned back forward and it was lost in his serious guise.
Jango lost his smile as well, though to the girl, it would most likely just be a thought of him taking it serious. She would not know of the information that had passed between the two. He waved a hand for her to follow him, the Rear Admiral finding a secluded room and opening it for her to enter first. Once she passed, he’d lock the door before entering and closing it. The room chosen was a supply closet with a desk and a chair in it. He stood himself behind the desk and motioned for her to sit, saying, “This interview will be short. First off.” He took a pause. “What qualifies you for a promotion beyond a stranger’s say?” He had a serious look in his eyes.
An alarm would be heard outside of one usually to say another Marine ship was incoming and with a higher crew on it. Jango held his breath a bit but exhaled. The alarm was a short two loud beeps, meaning it was an admiral. After she’d answer, he’d be sure to ask his next question, “How do your fellow members treat you?”
Then a loud and blaring alarm of a pirate attack was set off. Jango’s fist clenched and said, “Ignore the alarms, we’ll finish shortly.” He seemed very nervous and kept glancing at the door. Something was wrong out there and feet were heard running through the halls.
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The crew began to feel horrible about the way one lone girl could stand up to a shark where a bunch of men couldn’t. They began going about their duties more firmly, seemingly her words had not effected them. They focused on helping the nearly drowned comrades by drying them, giving fresh clothes, and even by trying to check for water in the lungs with a ship’s doctor’s help. They were determined.
The Sand Devil grabbed the one human still in the water and shot out of the water, landing with the human safely on the deck. He then let him go get changed and looked around to find his crew was not trembling in his presence, at least they weren’t just freezing in fear. He looked over at the ship next to him and smirked at the bird. He then realized, she was putting clothes on, which meant she’d been nude and her men didn’t attempt to take advantage of her. He was proud of that. Then he saw the devil fruit raised by Axel and he tensed up. He was hoping he wouldn’t take it just because it promised him power.
He and his crew froe when he offered the fruit to her. The captain smiled a very toothy smile as he watched this. He watched as they were going to head out and heard Axel. He called back to him, “I hope we cross paths again on similar terms. Thank you for saving some of my men and for ridding us of those pirates. Good luck where-ever you go.” He had a large smile and then turned to his men. “SET SAIL! Head to port to restock and patch up! Place the wounded lined up on deck!” He would be out of sight and earshot as the two sailed in opposing directions.
When Axel would broadcast over the snail, the first reaction was silence. Then Mihawk’s voice came through, “Don’t ever let go of those.”
“Like he said,” Mako’s voice echoed after his then the sound of a cannon. “Crap.” It seemed like she had meant to mute but instead more firing was heard through her end and her yelling, “TELL ME WHEN WE’RE IN A FUCKING FIGHT! ILL GO SINK THEIR ASSES!”
“Mako,” Mihawk spoke through again.
“Shit,” Mako said then the sounds from her end muted.
Truble decided to clarify the situation, “Marine ship, perfectly under control.”
A very deep voice came through, it was Mako’s gunner, “Axel, if you ever lose those, we’ll kill you.”
“Shut up, Haiboku,” Heiwa’s voice came through. “Axel, I got Samuel up to the other he seemed to be trying to follow. I am coming back to your position, I must see this and I won’t touch it.” Her end muted.
Then a haunting female voice rang through, “Ki shi… What a lucky little fishy.” The voice seemed to be giggling, “They’re right you know, you’d have several crews coming to kill you if you lose them. And still some that may be coming to do so now… HEY BUNNY BOY! RABBITS CAN’T EAT A FISH!”
“Fuck off Bats…” A somewhat high male voice patched through. “I want them, yeah, but I would think he’d be in more trouble if he was IN the grand line. Our only way out and in is currently who knows where and we have no links of communication.”
“YO HO HO HO!” A laugh chimed through on the frequency and continued, “You children should back off. He may have my captain’s flag but if you target him, I will cut you down myself!” There was silence for a moment before he said, “Oh and Tanakami~! I am coming back for more boobies!”
“If you didn’t, I’d be upset,” The creepy female responded.
“I don’t think you have the right to hold either of those,” A rough voice patched through, “One of us four should have them since we are the unspoken Yonko.”
The next voice could not be placed and was obviously gargled, “That boy has more right than you, Kid.”
“The Undead have spoken,” Mihawk stated then continued, “I will be following your ship. It will need a distant eye on it.”
“That’s not needed,” Heiwa spoke up again, a splash heard as she came out of the water near the ship then swam over to the edge, “I think he’s far capable of taking care of himself.”
The smooth male voice of Onotameni spoke through as he said, “Because he is a fishman.”
“No,” Heiwa pulled herself on board and started to ring out her skirt, pretty much showing everything off. “Because he was one of us, and he still is a pirate. He is a good one. Also, if anyone notices directly that one of the ones currently deemed the most powerful is seen following his ship, they will assume he has something of value. This will not just get him killed, but if that Fleet Admiral sees you then we will all be compromised.”
“This is why you are the brains on her crew,” Mihawk commented.
There were mutters of agreeing and a few of the members protesting. Heiwa then said, “Mute.” Then she looked to the bird and said, “What’s the difference in time between when you guys parted from those marines?” It was clear she was hoping they weren’t being followed by the Sand Devil, which they weren’t.
-
The marines that remained on the ship were staring in wonder at the skypian. One of them finally got brave enough and moved to the edge of the ship and leaned to talk to her. He seemed to question what to say to her then finally blurted out, “How in the hell do you deal with sailing with a shark?” He crossed his arms and then the rest came over to hear the answer. “They are so intimidating with the sharp teeth and the sand paper flesh that can rip skin from bone. Not to mention they have a tendency to rip people apart for no reason.” He sighed and said, “We can’t take a step without fear of dying since he was promoted and placed in charge.”
“Yeah,” Another chimed in, “We’re even too afraid to take a shit for fear if it lands on a fish he’ll skin us alive.”
Then the crew waited in silence for her answer, not knowing beneath them that their other crew mate was frozen in fear and unwilling to take anything from any of the treasure. The Sand Devil made sure to attempt to keep an eye on him while seeing that his newfound friend wanted to raise the ships. While Axel went to the one, he went to the other and gently tugged on it to find it was stuck. He had seen Axel go in and begin to pull out men. He kept tugging on the ship to figure out which way it was to free it.
The men that were placed out on land in the ship with a hole felt safer as the ship drained. They didn’t get to see their hero but they were certainly thankful. While the others were slightly frantic as they were pulled from their ship, they were also thankful despite the needs to hold their breaths. Some of the marines on the ship came to the aide of their nearly drowned comrades with or without their answer. They got immediately to helping these comrades by getting towels and first aid.
Back below in the water, the Sand Devil finally found which way to tug the boat to get it unjammed from the bottom. He’d felt the vibrations of the other fish in the water and peered to see Axel heading towards it. He ignored this for now and got the boat up and onto the surface, rotating himself to place his feet against the bottom and looked up at the nearest hole that was draining. He located it and smirked, scooting his one leg forward on the boat. He placed one of his hands forward and the other in front of his chest, palms open and facing towards his head’s direction that was generally up to him. He felt the water as he focused and swiftly pulled his arms over his head as he clenched his fists, slamming them down onto the boat without harming it. The strike, instead, seemed to dry the wood as the water within the boat shot out of the holes. Then he sighed as the boat floated on its own merit then and pushed off of it gently.
It was then that he turned his attention to heading towards Axel and Heiwa, her being shocked when Axel approached but not actually outwardly reacting to such. She heard his words and nodded before saying, “I was instructed to hand these out at the meeting.” She pulled out a little pouch, similar to the one she had her snail in and placed it in the water in front of him. “If you need help, you know where to find us,” She then took his heed and took off as fast as she could in a circular path to attempt to avoid the captain of the marine vessel but they made eye contact as they passed one another. Strangely enough, he just let her swim on. This confused her but she swam quickly.
The Sand Devil went up to Axel and said, “I see you scared off a pirate… Seems a different story from you tearing apart the ones earlier. I’ve seen the mark through your shirt. I hold nothing against that particular grouping.” He looked back where Heiwa was swimming and voiced out, “They are more freedom fighter than pirates.” He looked back to the boats and saw the human they’d brought down was swimming back up empty handed. He sighed and said, “My crew is a bunch of worthless cowards…” An extra amount of bubbles left his mouth as he put emphasis on the word ‘cowards’. He started to swim back towards them and waved for Axel to come with to swim and talk. “I take fun in teasing them, hoping it will make them stand up to me,” He sounded exasperated, “Yet nothing has happened yet.” -
The catfish’s whiskers seemed to want to flare from their bindings as fear entered his eyes, he’d spoken the wrong words to the wrong fish. He remained silent as he felt the blade close to his scales and closed his eyes, thinking that this brethren was bound to end his existence to never redeem his hate to those undeserving of it. Then his tethers were loosed and he could move, he opened his eyes to be free once more. Now calmer and in his right of mind, he would nod to the sharp-toothed scaled savior and swim at his top speeds to retreat from the location and head home. He would be required to follow the trail of the other who had fled before, as he had been raised on that ship.
The captain of the marine vessel’s eyes slit as thin as they could go as he locked onto the vessel his sudden helper had appeared from. He took in a deep breath as he was going to ask his men to investigate but then he saw it move faster. His presumption was that this was his sandpaper fleshed ‘friend’ moving the vessel towards them. His men seemed antsy but he fanned his fingers out and placed his palm towards his men with his arm to the side. “Stand down,” His voice boomed like a drum to his men, “He is our friend from earlier.” As the vessel moved closer, his eyes would lock onto the human on his boat. Then the wings became appearent and he took a deep sniff through his nose, she must have been from that sky place. It was no bother to him but she did look like a flying happy meal. His eyes were locked until Axel began to speak, shifting his pupils as they dilated slightly to appear normal. He was more than ready to dive in with this new found friend, but the thought of rewarding a member for their bravery sated a sort of sadistic desire that had been welling in him for some time. He turned his head to his crew and looked carefully among them.
His entire crew was frightened but the one crewmember seemed to be quivering more so than the rest and even hiding in the back. As the captain strode towards this frightened sheep, his fangs were bared in a twisted smile. He placed his hand upon the man’s shoulder, webbing rounding his shoulder and picking up the shaking. A nasty smell assaulted the captain’s nose but a recognizable one, that of his own men’s urine from their fear of him. This only made him more certain of choosing this human for the task as he spoke with direction, “Gear up, you’re swimming with sharks.”
The captain noticed the human would not move, the smile fading as not even a word was uttered beyond the chattering teeth. The Sand Devil then raised his hand from the shoulder to see the man run to go gather the gear, the sick smile returning. He flicked his eyes over to his other men as he demanded, “Move and you will all be permanently demoted to shark bait…” They all froze in their tracks, not even daring to do their duties. This only made him smile more, the vibrations felt of the geared human attempting to flee in the water. The captain only seemed more sadistic as he waited for him to start swimming away a bit. He pulled his coat off and let the wind catch it a bit as it floated to the ground, his muscles flexing as he wore a set of black pants. His feet slid out of his modified shoes as he took a running start to the closest edge of the ship and leapt in. He soared through the water as he caught up to the human quickly, grasping him by his oxygen tank in his hand. The human yelped loud enough that the air escaped his mouth but he swiftly got it back in.
“Our friend and your reward is this way,” The Sand Devil began to drag the human backwards towards where Axel was swimming. There were many more than just the three ships Axel had sunk, it appeared that before Axel had arrived that the marines and pirates were sinking each other. In plain view was six pirate ships that had suffered and two marine vessels. There were some chests visible from their busted storages but only the pirates’ vessels seemed to hold the valuable shiny objects. The captain made sure to not release the human until he was in between himself and Axel.
In the distance, both sharks would feel the vibrations of an oncoming being. It was swimming and certainly fast enough to be a fishman. The being stopped as soon as it could see the dot which was the marine captain, though it saw Axel and most definite he could see her clearly. The spines of the porcupine puffer stuck up as she gazed at the situation, she moved lower to the ocean floor to distance herself from the eyesight of the males.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bedros and Jango remained outside of the door and commenced in chatter the moment Carina was inside the door. The tone of their voices were soft for no one to hear but seemed serious in nature.
The poor man reduced to running papers glared as Carina entered his new office. He listened to her words and reached to acquire the papers. He sighed as the words came slopping from his mouth, “Bedros again… Must he always be let through?” He took out a stamp and didn’t place it onto the paper, muttering, “Always in and out and in and out… The fucks a guy doing making so many trips for fishing… Couldn’t he just stay longer and get more fish? Is he afraid they’ll spoil or something?!” He stamped it and almost through the paper and said, “Take his friggin papers.” He then placed his head on his desk. “Go… away…”
It was clear the two outside heard him in there and silenced themselves. They had a serious look on their faces and Bedros took out a note, passing it to Jango from sleeve to sleeve in a seeming handshake. Whenever Carina would return, they would appear to be smiling and return their hands to their sides.