West Blue Arc: The Hallows

[Lady Warlock]

Captain Scarlet Johanna Indigrid

Never in a million years would Scarlet have mistaken Cletus’s flashbang’s for toys because she’d been around weapons of a similar sort that did much deadlier things; if anything at all, the ones Cletus had were more comparable to toys than the ones she had worked with in the past, actually. Well, Scarlet hadn’t actually ever worked with the more dangerous things - that much had been forbidden to her - but she had seen them and she’d seen the effect they could have. Despite wanting to comment on the fact that she knew how to throw, Scarlet bit her tongue for the moment because it would be a more fun remark to say when she had time to tell the stories that came with it.

Instead, Scarlet simply kept running.

Then she heard the marines and she glanced back at them. Hearing some of their words, she was very disheartened because her own name had not once been mentioned. “What!?” she yelled, quite exasperatedly. “Cletus gets a fancy name and I don’t?! I’m the captain don’t ya know!!!” She shook her head in exasperation, glancing back at them with angry eyes before sticking her tongue out at them in a rather immature fashion.

It was Arlen’s words that got her out of that childish state.

“I couldn’t warn you, Arlen. That would’ve warned her too and then we never would’ve gotten out of that fight in the first place!” She said it as though it should’ve been obvious and she wasn’t going to change her standpoint on that. “I got you out and you’re alive. I’d say I’m doing pretty good so far!” Scarlet did realize, though, that coming up with some sort of signal for future situations might be a good idea and she hoped it was something she could remember to bring up once they were all sailing on Charybdis again. Until then, she was sure everyone would still live.

Then, at hearing mention of Limstella, Scarlet didn’t even try to look too hard at the figure in front of them running their way. What she did know was that they were going to collide and it wasn’t going to be pretty so instead of allowing that, Scarlet swerved around the figure and then grabbed her at the last second which led to a harsh jerk for Limstella and a very quick - maybe too quick - change in direction.

“Come on everyone! We’ve gotta get to the ship!”

Still not having noticed that Nerissa and Ed were gone, the only people Scarlet was hoping to find at the ship were Jasper, Cygnus and Shannon. She really didn’t like the thought of leaving anyone behind, but it seemed they were being pursued wherever they went.

Pequeno Burraidh AllHailDago Misuteeku QuirkyAngel CelticHero37 shadowdude505 Stormborn Targaryen

 

[CelticHero37]

Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV

​

Temple of Halos? Ed thought to herself, Huh, this Halos dude must be pretty hot stuff. Then why doesn't he have any food? Awe, Ed wishes there was food. Now Ed is hungry. Why no food?

Ed's slouched as her stomach grumbled, falling into despair until Nerissa said her name. Then Ed perked up and started listening again. She was surprised Nerissa remembered her name. When the lady mentioned how chaotic their meeting had been, Ed simply shrugged. She'd been through worse than that. However, the captured member was a little concerning. After all, if these people were gonna give her free food, that meant they were her friends. Thus, Ed put on a bright smile and gave Nerissa a thumbs up as if to indicate she would be coming along. It made Ed feel good that someone else said meeting her was a blessing. That just didn't happen to her.

Ed was about to follow Nerissa when she paused and scratched her head, then she called up, "Hey, wait a minute. I thought you said that was the Temple of Halos. Who's Lady Aquarius? Ooh! Is that his wife?!"

***​

The flash-bang caused Ed to pause and stare as she mumbled, "Ooh, pretty lights..." Ein, the Mongoose, was frightened and scurried into her shirt. Despite this, Ed watched in awe as the second flash-bang went off. Then sh bumbled after Nerissa, flailing like a drunk. Of course, due to her quirky personality, one would not be able to tell if that was just her being silly, or if she had been too close to the flash-bang when it went off.

As the two made their way in the opposite direction, Ed would occasionally comment on what Nerissa said. When she mentioned going up against a seasoned strategist, Ed added, "Seasoned strategist? You need more than salt to be seasoned well. Hee, hee. Leave this one to Ed."

When Ed was finally able to stop running, she found herself hiding next to Nerissa. She didn't know why they were hiding, but she could tell it was appropriate for the situation. There were people around that didn't seem friendly, and then there was a ship. She wondered if that was the ship they'd be leaving on. From what Ed could see, it looked like a pretty good ship. However, she didn't get a good look at it, as she got distracted by what Nerissa was doing.

After watching Nerissa for a moment, she leaned over and whispered, "Hey, I can't hear yo..." she wasn't able to finish her sentence before the whale appeared. Before she had a chance to ask questions, Nerissa had already walked up to it. Ed blinked at he question and stood up, saying, "Hmm, to be honest... probably not."

With that, Ed rolled out of their hiding spot and up to Nerissa calling, "Take it away strange water lady!"

QuirkyAngel

 

[Misuteeku]

Limstella
​

Limstella almost tripped when Scarlet came almost out of now where, and grabbed her. The sudden jerk of movement felt that her ankle was going to get twisted but didn't. The thought of smacking Scarlet was also in mind but she didn't when she started to figure out who grabbed her. Too many things were going on after the random guy came in.

"Well, I guess we're leaving?" Limstella said trying to recover after getting dragged by Scarlet. She began to keep pace with Scarlet and looked around the area. There were marines around but they musn't of detected them yet. "Did you find Cygnus, by the way?" Limstella asked slightly worried for him.

 

[shadowdude505]

Cletus T. Bass
​

"Damn it," Cletus swore as the marines arrived. They must have been drawn in by the light show. As Cletus dragged Arlen with him, he pulled out his pistol with his other hand. With his cigarette clenched between his teeth, Cletus stared down the sights of his pistol and fired at the marine bullets that looked like they were going to hit one of his crewmates, deflecting them away. "She's something alright...," Cletus grumbled under his breath as Arlen recovered from temporary blindness. "Don't mention it," he added in reply to the younger man's thank you.

Cletus couldn't let go of Arlen fast enough as the young man quickly wiggled out of his grip. He continued to follow the group and gave them cover fire as they reunited with one of their crewmates. It looked like Scarlet's flashbang plan was beginning to pay off, but at what cost. Now the marines also knew they were there. He let out an irritated growl after Scarlet complained about not getting a wanted poster worthy title (though she wasn't the one he was irritated with). He now had a bigger target on his back. That was a bit worrisome to the old shipwright, but what made it worse was that they called him "Trick-shot Cletus," not "Deadeye Cletus." "That wasn't the name I told 'em...," he grumbled.

Lady Warlock Misuteeku CelticHero37 QuirkyAngel Stormborn Targaryen

Captain Pyrrha Atlas
​

Pyrrha ran through the forest and kept her eyes pealed for pirates. She wasn't sure when she'd cross paths with them. As far as she knew, justice had been served for the villagers, but she still needed to fulfill her orders and capture the pirates. After her run in with Darren and letting him escape, she felt like she needed to capture the pirates to continue to live up to being an Atlas.

She continued to make sword slashes toward the sky to mark her location so that her squad could meet up with her. Eventually she began to hear the sounds of footsteps. They were heading right toward her. On the off chance that these were the pirates heading her way, the female marine captain readied her sword. She saw silhouettes with guns running toward her, but she didn't loosen her grip on her sword when she heard one of them say "Captain Pyrrha!" The group of marine soldiers stopped running once they reached Pyrrha and saluted her. "We're here to assist you, sir!"

Pyrrha saluted back and was about to tell them "at ease" when two flashes of light appeared. "Let's go, men," Pyrrha ordered as she began to bolt off toward the now dissipating light. The sound of gun shots hastened her and her squad.

 

[AllHailDago]

Jasper Pharos​

After what seemed like an eternity of staring across a small bit of open ground at the Marine, a small exchange of events took place. First they seemed to move towards each other at almost the same moment, the Marine throwing several gauging blows as he went. Jasper turned them aside with as little energy as possible, mildly insulted and equally curious as to what exactly the man was so cautious for. His brazen challenge to combat and desire to fight one on one suggested he was not one for overbearing caution, so why? Jasper was just about to ask when a not too distant detonation and burst of fire into the sky seemed to distract the man.

He actually turned his head away from Jasper to look at it! Jasper, ever the opportunist when it came to situations such as this, took the chance while he had it. With as much speed and force as he could manage in one punch he brought his fist in contact with the tip of the man's jaw. There was a jarring sense of discomfort and shock all the way up Jasper's arm, and the man's head snapped back with a crunch as his jaw broke. He slumped into seemingly boneless heap onto the ground, unconscious. Jasper stared for but a moment disbelieving. He had held the notion that this fight would be more skewed against him without his weapons. Did the man lose on purpose, or was he simply that much an idiot?

Never mind that, there was simply no time to dawdle. Those detonations could mean any number of awful things for his crewmates. He stretched for a mere moment or two and then took off towards the ship via Shave. After a time he arrived as close to the ship as he was comfortable while still maintaining cover. As he watched the ship from a distance it was clear there was a Marine presence aboard, though he could not determine numbers or movements. He mulled over his options, pondering how to best clear the ship of hostile forces and bring it to where the crew would most easily be able to depart. Though he suspected fowl play, Cygnus' abilities were more than capable of restoring things to working order.

Jasper decided an initially covert option was the best one, and he set off to infiltrate their own ship. Using shave and moonwalk he flashes across the open space as soundlessly and invisibly as he could until he was against the far side of the ship. Here no one approaching to board would see his actions. He ceased moving near a window below deck and shrugged out of his suit jacket. Laying it in layers against the window he promised to apologize to Cletus for the extra work later. Then he hit in several places through his jacket and broke the window in muffled bursts, the sound inaudible beyond a scant foot or two over the sounds of the ocean waves. He pulled his jacket away slowly and dropped the held glass into the sea below. Then, after dusting off the now empty hold where the window was, and beating out his jacket, he re-donned it and slipped through the opening.

He alighted upon the floorboards of the storage room below deck with a self congratulating smirk. After a mere moment perusing the storeroom he found where he had stored his weapons. He put his sword belt beneath his suit jacket and slipped his swords Nyx and Luna into their proper places. He let out a deep sigh of relief as the familiar wait release a serious quantity of pent up concern. He crouched low and slowly walked out to the galley. There he found a most heinous sight! Two marines, clearly of relatively low rank, sat at the counter. One had a cup and was drinking from it respectfully enough despite it being another's ship and property. But the other man...

He was drinking straight from Jasper's teapot. A dark expression of displeasure crossed Jasper's face, before he took three long, angry strides to behind the man. Drawing back a fist, he slugged the man in the back of the head at the base of the neck, catching his tea pot as the now unconscious man dropped it. The other man went to turn and let out a cry, but a swift elbow to the throat, followed by a swiftly drawn pommel strike to the head rendered him as senseless as his comrade. Jasper re-sheathed Luna and set the tea pot on the counter. It would seem those who'd boarder their ship had the barbaric thought to make it their own. A thought Jasper would now be dissuading them from. He grabbed the two unconscious men and headed for the stairwell up to the main deck.

Lady Warlock QuirkyAngel @Azure Sky Felix
[I tag you three as Athena told me there is a collab of Axel and Draven interrogating Cygnus above deck. As such I presumed theyd have sent at least a couple guys below deck. As things progress here soon he'll be coming above deck and returning their unconscious subordinates, and looks like we might get a lil Jasper x Draven/Axel action after all eh?]

 

[Lady Warlock]

Captain Scarlet Johanna Indigrid

Given that they were running from marines, there was very little amount of stealth put in at all in the way that Scarlet and her companions approached Charybdis’s location on the shore. Even if they weren’t running from marines, Scarlet still wouldn’t have put much effort - if any at all - into approaching stealthily. As far as she knew, the ship was fine and they should be able to simply board and get on their merry way once they had everyone together. The moment before they bursted onto the beach, Scarlet heard Limstella’s question and she shook her head in a rather disappointed manner.

“No, we haven’t been able to find him. You saw that flash in the sky, though, right? I’m hoping that most of the crew can figure out that something like that means it’s time to go. Given all the chaos, the ship seems like a good spot to rally.” As much as she wanted to believe that that would work, Scarlet wasn’t as hopeful as she would’ve liked to be.

Now that she had more experience with her crew, Scarlet knew that they would have to spend time coming up with signals and plans for what everyone would do if they ever got separated like this again. She almost felt silly for not having put anything in place sooner, actually. There was no way to go back and fix that now, though. Maybe Jasper would have some ideas of what to use as signals. He seemed like the kind of person who would know things like that in Scarlet’s opinion - then again, Scarlet would’ve trusted Jasper with almost anything. For now, all she could do was hope that her unofficial signal had managed to get enough attention from her crewmates.

With her answer having been given, Scarlet burst through the trees and growth of the forest and almost instantly saw that there were another two ships parked right next to her own. There were also some people wandering on the deck of Charybdis itself which would only pose problems as far as Scarlet was concerned.

However, given that she hadn’t been stealthy in the way that she charged onto the beach - still pulling Limstella along with her - there was definitely no reason for her to try hiding now. “Hey!” she yelled out furiously. “Get off of my ship!!!” She wasn’t really in a state to realize that it was damaged just yet otherwise her anger would’ve been more severe than it already was. She continued running towards it - letting go of Limstella somewhere along the way - and shoving past anyone who stumbled in front of her. Most of the marines on guard didn’t seem to be prepared for an angry brunette absolutely charging through everything. It really wasn’t that hard for her to get onto the deck; that was where the problems started, though.

A marine had pulled out a sword and Scarlet instinctively reached for her knife… which wasn’t where it should’ve been. She had used it to stop Aiada from pursuing them.

“Oh crap…” she muttered to herself before dropping to the ground and rolling out of the way of a sword swing. More and more marines started to fully comprehend the situation and move towards the newcomers in the process as well.

shadowdude505 QuirkyAngel CelticHero37 Misuteeku AllHailDago

Chief Petty Officer Malcolm Swaiver

Malcolm had always been a rather odd marine. He was one of those people who liked to play by the book, who frowned upon and promptly reported anyone who didn’t work exactly by the book, and who got all of his paperwork in on time. It all made him the kind of person who was easily promoted… to a point. At a certain level, marines needed to be able to think for themselves a little bit rather than looking to the official policies to determine all of their actions. His career had been one to label as successful so far because he had been moving up the ranks; little did he know, his promotions weren’t going to be coming in so quickly anymore. He had to do more… he had to think for himself.

This was one of those times where he really wasn’t going to.

At the moment that Scarlet and her four other companions ran onto the beach, Malcolm had been minding his own business for the most part. His business had been to go through the items on board Charybdis and create a manifesto of sorts. Since the ship was now in marine custody, it would be extensively helpful to know exactly what was on board. There was so much that could go wrong if they didn’t have an inventory, not to mention it was policy to know what was on board a captured ship. Malcolm was simply keeping to that policy and he didn’t think any of his superiors would mind him getting that task done and over with.

Unfortunately, getting that done didn’t work too well when there were pirates charging into the scene. And Malcolm recognized a few of them immediately. He took his job of being familiar with wanted individuals very seriously, more so than he really needed to actually. However, even knowing that some of these individuals were wanted, Malcolm himself wasn’t the kind of guy who would start barking out orders or taking control of the situation; he wasn’t in charge, after all.

Instead, he scurried around the brunette who was charging onto the deck and made his way to Captain Axel’s ship. This was something the Captain needed to know about, after all. As he ran onto the deck, Malcolm started yelling out, “Captain Axel! Captain Axel!”

Scooping up a pile of wanted posters as he ran past it, Malcolm started shuffling through it to see if he could find any of the faces he had seen, not even realizing or caring that the wind was picking some of them up and blowing them right out of his hands. There was one that he found and he pulled it out as he scurried down the stairs of the ship. “Captain Axel! Commander Draven!” he yelled again, completely ignoring the prisoner who was with them. “There’s a group of pirates storming the beach! They… they… this one is one of them!” He held up a picture of a brunette woman who’s name on the poster was Scarlet “The Red” Indigrid. “But there are more too.”

QuirkyAngel Felix @Azure Sky

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Arlen Hakhassi ​

Hot on Scarlet’s heels, Arlen could only swear loudly as he watched the Captain of the Red Ribbon Pirate charge recklessly towards the deck of their marine-guarded ship. No thought. No plan. Just her reckless fury at the marines who claimed the Charybdis as their property. Not that he blamed her. It looked like the dogs of the World Government did a number on their boat. Still…it was rather stupid…even for someone like him who was more brawn than brain.

“Che. No helping it.”

Taking advantage of the fact that Scarlet had caught some of the ones on the dock off guard, Arlen’s elbow found its way to an unprepared marine’s gut and his knee into another’s as he moved. Better take them down now before they could gather their wits. Or worse yet, join up with the marines that were already chasing them. Ducking a punch, the silver haired teenager took hold of the outstretched arm with both hands and flipped the body of his assailant towards a marine who his rifle trained on Scarlet—causing a misfire. Thankfully.

“How did the marines even know that ours is a pirate ship?” Arlen asked his allies as he leapt over a marine that charged at him. He didn’t wait for an answer though—since it appeared that Scarlet was in trouble. Kicking off the officer’s face, and another’s, it wasn’t long before his sandaled feet landed on ship’s rails just as Scarlet rolled away from the swing of the sword. Jumping forward, without a moment’s hesitation, Arlen’s fist smashed into the back of the marine’s head with enough force to slam the man’s face into the deck. A crack was heard.

“Well, whatever.” Straightening, Red Ribbon’s fighter planted a foot on the fallen marine’s head and drew his scimitar as more marines closed in. Eyeing each and every one of them, the dark-skinned teen licked his lips, his green orbs glimmering with an intensity that caused some to pause in their tracks. It looked like he’d have to keep close to Scarlet…since since their reckless captain appeared to have jump into a fight weaponless. Wasn't that normally Jasper the Butler's job? “No plan then. Let’s just clean them all off the Charybdis and be done with it. All this running around’s making me hungry.”

Number-wise, the odds weren't in their favor. But, then again, Arlen had never been one to be frightened of numbers.

Lady Warlock
AllHailDago
CelticHero37
Misuteeku
shadowdude505

 

[shadowdude505]

Cletus T. Bass
​

Cletus ran along side Scarlet to the beach. He had been hoping things would get a little easier once they reached the ship, but things didn't turn out that way... The sight of the beat up Charybdis caused the shipwright to pause. His usual scowl deepened into something much more angry looking than before. "They don't respect ships like they used to," he thought to himself as he took a drag on his cigarette.

The sound of fighting caused Cletus' attention to snap toward Scarlet and the other marines. Cletus reached for his pistol to try to get Scarlet out of her jam with the sword wielding marine, but Arlen must have been paying more attention to the fight than he had because the dark-skinned teen managed to intervene first. Though there was no shortage of trouble as more marines rushed out onto the deck. Cletus began rushing his way onto the Charydbid deck with his gun blazing; his targets were the weapon wielding hands of the marine soldiers.

Bang. "Someone must have raised our flag, or at least got a good look at it," Cletus began to answer Arlen's question moments after it was asked. Bang. "It could have been the theif trying to cause a distraction." Bang "Or an accomplice." Bang, bang. "Or a snoopin' marine." Bang. "Though even if we do get all these marines off our ship, we won't be goin' anywhere with a mast like that," he said as he reloaded. "Even if I can create a temporary fix, it's goin' to take a miracle to get out of this...," he added pessimistically.

Lady Warlock QuirkyAngel CelticHero37 AllHailDago Misuteeku

 

[Misuteeku]

Limstella
​

Limstella was ducking under an object for some cover as everyone was fighting. "Why does this happen to me?" It was rather depressing in her mind. She only wanted to lead a quiet life and live alone. That thought was rather even more depressing in her case. She took a quick peak and decided it was best to hide and cover.

The sounds of the battle were loud and the many enemies that were falling from her crewmates. She hated to call them crewmates but this made it official that she was now forever stuck with them. She was nearby Cletus since she felt somewhat safer with him due to experience. Reaching into her sleeves she grabbed her fan. The marines around her were most likely not going to notice her but it was good to be careful.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Captain Scarlet Johanna Indigrid

Even though she couldn’t really fight because - well - being weaponless made that a hard thing to do, there were other things Scarlet could manage to accomplish eventually. It helped that her crewmates had leapt in and saved her from the immediate dangers of the situation, and slowly, as they started firing and as swords started clashing, she was able to take in the scene. One thing caught her by surprise more than anything else… the marines were all pathetic, really. No one seemed to be taking charge of the situation which meant that, while some of them might have been capable independently, they weren’t actually functioning as a unit. It wasn’t what she was used to seeing in marines.

She had never been in a marine firefight this up close and personal before, but even from a distance she had been able to see that their inner workings had the most effect when they all worked together. It was clearly not something that was happening at the moment.

“Thanks Arlen,” she commented when he had jumped to her aide and then her eyes watched as she stayed at his back, calling out attacks for him when they were coming from different directions. It was effective enough for the moment.

“Something’s off about these marines,” she began to say when a bullet whisked through her hair. Her head turned rapidly, distracted from what she had been saying, and Scarlet screeched, “WATCH IT!!!” It was not a shot she had been happy with in the slightest. Her body spun around, maneuvering herself out of the man’s line of fire, and she continued with her previous thoughts. “They aren’t working together. Something’s missing. They’re… leaderless?”

The term was an epiphany even to her.

“That means the worst is yet to come.”

At Cletus’s mention of needing a miracle, another thought occurred to Scarlet although this one was more of a longshot. “Speaking of miracles, Arlen, where’s Nerissa? Now would be a really good time for all of us to start believing in Aquarius.” Scarlet herself had always been curious about the stories the priestess shared, but she couldn’t honestly call herself a believer. Now she needed to be, though. That was her thought on the situation, though.

QuirkyAngel shadowdude505 Misuteeku AllHailDago CelticHero37

 

[Phayne]

Kane's once grandiose 'world' filled with glory, excitement, adrenaline and Honor had now shrunken to the bitter and depressing prison cell aboard the navy Ship currently captained by Marine Captain Pyrrha Atlas. A simple cell devoid of any furniture or windows was the height of his 5-Star VIP cruise trip; only the best for the former Champion of Crixia. As if this level of customer service was not enough, he was graced with the extra addition of iron cuffs and solitude

Truthfully, Kane could have forced himself free, using the strength he had built up over the years both in and out of the Arena to forcefully contort the hinges of the cell door, the weak point of this whole cage he had found himself trapped in. Yet, Kane for the duration of his capture had refrained from doing so; any attempt to actually force an escape while out on the ocean would have been a foolhardy one. The timing simply wasn't right; if he had broken free at the time, than his only options were to jump ship and attempt to out swim a navy vessel or commandeer the whole ship and try to sail it by himself, this latter option also coming with the added requirement of having to subdue the marines and its captain. For the duration of his stay, Kane had begun to contemplate his decision making, wondering whether or not it was worth it. He had chosen to act honorably - perhaps influenced by a bit of arrogance and pride - his decision to go against the criminals intent to have him lose the fight was the main reason for his current status as a criminal. Time spent in his thoughts was enough time for the ship to reach its destination.

To Kane's surprise, the boat he was on had docked on an island; an island not under the jurisdiction of the Marines, talk of pirates could be heard amidst the group of men that frequently passed by the cell, chatter and whispers between the men; something about surrounding their ship and apprehending them. It made sense though, there was no ironclad rule that the Marines could not capture 'more' pirates. Kane sighed at the thought... hoping that the marines didn't end up capturing too many. There was only a limited amount of space in this cage, especially when someone as tall and wide as Kane currently inhabited it. Any un-welcomed guest's would be in for a real surprise should they have the luxury of joining him.

Minutes went by without much being said; the energy that permeated the air on board the ship carrying a tinge of tension; a flickering glimmer of adrenaline that seemingly bounced off every individual. For the most part it felt like the marines on board were afraid to talk; afraid to lose even an iota of concentration as they prepared for the upcoming fight. Kane sighed, to him these bunch of worry warts were nothing more than greenhorns, to be this anxious about a potential confrontation showed that they still lacked proper training. That begs the question, how was he captured. The ship he had found himself on prior to capture had been a simple merchant boat; a boat heading towards a trade island deeper in the West Blue ocean and with no actual reason to deny or outrun a fast approaching Navy ship. Having been stopped and willingly allowing the ship's crew to board, Kane was quickly found below deck, his large size acting against him. Knowing that resisting was futile and not wanting to get the innocents involved, Kane allowed himself to be captured; surrendering almost immediately upon capture.

The beginning of this fracas was soon apparent as the first sounds of gunfire could be heard; the source however being quite distant from where Kane currently was, perhaps starting atop another vessel. Kane forced his head against the side of the ship, pressing his ear against the wooden exoskeleton of the vessel. The sound of the marines clambering around above him as well as the frequent explosion of sound as bullets were fired was more than enough to tell Kane that the events outside were serious. You didn't need to be a genius to piece together the signs of a fight; a rather serious one as well given how frantic the uniformed clad marines were. Listening to a fight was enough to get the blood pumping and the adrenaline boiling, however this very instance was also a godsend, it was a chance and perhaps the only one he would have; to escape from the marines.

With his back firmly pressed against one side of his prison, Kane pulled his feet in towards his chest as close as he possibly could before powering them against the other end, the force of the impact sending the prison cage into a flurry of vibrations. This process repeated itself several times, each kick against the prison door causing its frame to bend slightly, the bolts that hinged it in place, beginning to crack under the pressure. Thankfully, the sounds of fighting above and an apparent lack of 'command' aboard the ship had made this attempted escape a rather smooth one; the only one to realize or hear Kane's escape attempt a single Officer stationed outside his Cell, who in a few moments came to regret his decision to investigate.

As soon as he entered the room, the large iron door of Kane's cell came flying towards him, the iron bent in several parts, melded into its new form via Kane's constant barrage; the hinges that held it in place now cracked in two under the strain. With quick movements, Kane was upon the Navy officer in mere seconds, his body arched slightly as he hunched over in the room; which in turn gave him a far more menacing aura. "Unchain me" he commanded, standing before the cowering soldier; the sheer difference in their sizes more than enough to intimidate him. "Unchain me and nobody has to get hurt" he repeated, taking a step forward and shrinking the distance between the pair of them.


"b..b..b..buut..." stuttered the Marine, "..the.. thee.. caapp.captain.." he tried to muster a proper sentence though his attempts were ultimately in vain. "Th..the.. capt..tain..wil.l" he was cut off abruptly as Kane leaned in closer; so close that every exhale sent a flurry of warm air against the Soldiers face. "Unchain. Me." he commanded, the authority in his voice enough to send the young man backward; flat on his ass. The sound of him hitting the deck followed by a chiming of keys's essentially the 'death knell'. Kane raised an eyebrow and glared at the youth; the marine now dripping beads of sweat from his forehead. This was the champion of Crixia he was dealing with, a Gladiator of renowned strength and a behemoth that towered over most men. To stand up to a man that was three ft taller and almost twice as wide would have taken some rather big balls, something this marine lacked. "NOW!" he shouted, playing on with his intimidating appearance; the marine cowered, a small wet spot appearing on his uniform trousers.

Reluctantly, the marine fumbled with his keys as he gave in to the pressure; deciding to take his chances with Captain Phyyra rather then risk 'death' at the hands of the prisoner. "Quickly" ushered Kane, wanting to spend as little time as possible on the ship. A few seconds, before the sound of iron smacking the floor echoed through the prison deck. "O..ok.. I.. I... did as yo..mmphhh" Kane's now free hand shot forward and clasped the marines face; ceasing his attempts to talk.

"Now, take me to my weapons" smiled Kane, enjoying his current position of power as well as the feeling of freedom, now that the iron restraints were off. By now the patch of dampness in the soldiers pants had grown.

 

[AllHailDago]

Captain Scarlet Johanna Indigrid and Jasper Pharos

Jasper trudged up the stairs rather irate with the Marines who had dared to touch his teapot, not to mention trespass on his Lady's ship. He was imagining all the delightful ways he could terrorize them after they had awoken, and how they would make great hostages, when he heard fighting from topside. His frown deepened a degree as he began rushing up the stairs. As he reached the top he shifted his hold on one of the Marines enough he could open the door. It was.... quite the sight.

For a few moments at least it was clear no one noticed him or the open door. In that time he watched several Marines attempt to mobilize as.... Jasper sighed deeply. They mobilized as Lady Scarlet rushed head first into danger, weaponless, for what had to be the millionth time. Luckily Arlen was keeping a close guard on her, and doing a rather fine job at it if Jasper was to be honest. Cletus was not far behind either. They themselves were not looking in his direction as he exited the stairwell.

They also were not looking at the Marine raising a gun at Lady Scarlet near the doorway. Jasper went for his swords... only to realize he still had the men in his hands. Well, nothing to be done in the time allotted but to use objects at hand. Jasper half spun, lifting the man in his right hand off the ground where he was being dragged, and promptly smashed his unconscious body into the gunmans back. A shot was still fired, but it went far wide of Jaspers crewmates, and the gunman was hardly in a position to shoot as he fell to the deck, gun knocked from his hands.

Jasper dropped the marine in his right hand on top of the man, to keep him pinned where he was. Afterwards he adjusted the man in his left to have both hands on one of his legs. With several spins he tossed the man, straight into a swordsman near Scarlet and Arlen. There was a mighty cracking sound and both men, unconscious or otherwise, fell off the side of the ship. Jasper dusted his hands off as if he had just finished a particularly dirty cleaning project, and drew his swords. "Apologies for my tardiness, Lady Scarlet."

The captain had been avoiding what she could and occasionally tossing a punch or two although she didn't honestly think they were that effective compared to the efforts of everyone else around them. She had to admit, though, that the efforts of her crew members were highly effective and Arlen's sword rarely seemed to be missing its mark. 'Maybe... just maybe... we can get out of here before they even manage to get organized.' Of course, she was completely forgetting about the fact that their ship wasn't quite functional.

With all those thoughts floating around, Scarlet neglected to notice too much of who in the crew was actually accomplishing much of anything and thus, Jasper's words startled her extensively. She jumped just prior to exclaiming, "Jasper! Where have you been?"

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "I was collecting supplies for the ship when everything went a little.... crazy. I snuck past a large majority of the townsfolk, stopped to get a crewmember or two out of spots of trouble, and fought a Marine or three whilst sneaking aboard our ship." He cast a dirty look at the stairwell and unconscious man beside it. "Some of them had the gall to touch my teapot with their filthy hands." He unceremoniously kicked a marine off the side of the ship when he attempted to attack Jasper while his attention was elsewhere. "What about yourself?"

Sidestepping a swing from a marine sword, Scarlet then jabbed her foot against the back of their ankle in a manner that sent them collapsing onto the ground. "Well, Cletus and I were looking through some shops when we kinda got chased out of town. Then... well, then we fought a swordswoman, met some new people, and ran from marines to get back here." Although it was probably oversimplified, there wasn't really time for a more in depth explanation. "We need to get out of here, but I don't know where Nerissa is... or Ed." She neglected to realize that Jasper didn't know who Ed was.

Jasper simply stared down a Marine who had raised his gun at him. The man seemed to blanche before throwing his gun down and diving off the boat. "Missing several people are we? Well first off we clear this ship and keep it cleared long enough for Cletus to get us moving again. Then when we have soundly secured an escape route we can double back for what crewmates we can save. Though I must advise you to understand some may have already been captured and shipped off. We would never really have a way of knowing that ourselves. We may have to sail with less than everyone if circumstances dictate such. Do you understand?"

"We're going to at least try to find them before we leave. I'm not abandoning my crew, Jasper." She said it with such ferocity that there was no arguing with her.

Jasper watched as all the remaining Marines he saw began retreating, more like fleeing he supposed, from the ship and dock. With that he turned and bowed his head to Lady Scarlet. "But of course. I did say we would double back and save those we could. I would never suggesting flat out cutting and running to you. All I meant to say was that we may have to accept someone not coming back with us if we wish to leave alive at all." He sheathed his swords and stood at his usual spot a few paces to one side of Lady Scarlet.

After nodding in affirmation and looking around, Scarlet realized that slowly but surely, the marines on their ship were backing away. That had to be a good thing for them in the moment. "It seems like we're close enough to clearing the ship, though." Her attention shifted to Cletus, then. "Cletus, how long until you can get the ship moving again? It doesn't need to be perfect; it just needs to work for now."

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Lieutenant Commander Draven

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!​

Just as Scarlet as ordered Cletus to fix the Charbydis, five cannonballs slammed into the side of the vessel, creating new holes in the lovely ship and causing her to shudder ever so slightly. Standing on the deck of Captain Axel’s ship, Draven held a pair of binoculars to his eyes as he spoke calmly to the men on board.


“Ready the next round, but don’t fire until the signal. We’re timing our shots with that of Prryha’s men.”

Docked on either side of the Charybdis, rows of cannons were being prepared on both Axel’s and Pryhha’s ships while the pirates fought valiantly to clear their own ship of marines. Orders which Draven had Chief Petty Officer Malcolm relay to both ships. He had mainly been observing the pirates, identifying the fighters and non-fighters, their particular skill sets, while the ones left guarding the pirate ship did their ‘best’ to handle the situation on their own. Their retreat was somewhat sad, given how badly the enemy was outnumbered—he counted 4 fighters amongst the pirates—, but since Jasper Pharos was on board, Draven wasn’t particularly surprised. The ones stationed on Axel’s ship were at least rearing to go. The ones left on Pryhha’s ship as well…or at least, they should be.

“Officer Swavier, do you have the Transponder snail hooked up to the speakers?”

At the man’s nod, Draven brought the receiver to his mouth. “Attention, Pirates. This is Lieutenant Commander Draven speaking. I hope you’ve enjoyed yourselves. Your ship is surrounded. Surrender now, or we will open fire.”

Gathering all the rodents on the island had been surprisingly easy. Not only were they all headed to their ship, they all did it in an entirely obvious manner. The only thing left to do was spring the trap. A raised hand from Draven caused planks to fall on either side of the Charbdis, forming bridges that connected two marine ships and the pirate ship. Spear-tipped chains also shot forth, imbedding themselves in the enemy vessel to keep the damaged boat from escaping. His next words were directed to the retreating marines…though his velvet voice was heard by all.


“We are marines. The heroes of the sea. The ones who pick up their weapons against thieves, scoundrels, and criminals alike. We are the upholders of justice. In our War Against Piracy, there is no turning back. Who will fight if not us? How will we rid our home of the evils of piracy if we turn tail and run? Even if the enemy before you is frightening.” Four fighters. “Even if their skill outclasses yours, take heart. Your Captains are behind you and your comrade in arms beside you. Remember your training and advance forward steadily with courage”

A bit dramatic? It was enough to keep their attention at least.


“Keep in mind that those who successfully catch pirates and those who desert their post will be noted and rewarded accordingly.”

That said, Draven returned the receiver to its original spot and, turning towards Axel, bowed theatrically. “Whenever you’re ready, Captain Axel.” Normally, he’d be helping to direct the ones on Pryhha’s ship, but since personal reasons had brought him aboard Axel’s ship to check out the new prisoner, Draven simply had to make do. Adaptability was one of his strong points. A brief glance was sent in Cygnus’s direction before glacial eyes looked away. The boy’s fate would would be left in Axel’s hands. An all out attack? Perhaps Axel had some words to say to the enemy Captain. Whichever the case, Captain Axel was in charge since Captain Pyrhha had yet to return.


Perhaps I ought return to Pyrrha’s ship.

Setting aside his binoculars, Draven drew his rapier in preparation for the second wave assault. There may be many more to come depending on how the fight went. Fight. Retreat. Give their allies time to recuperate. Fight again. That was how the weak many took out the strong few.

Lady Warlock
@Azure Sky
AllHailDago
shadowdude505
Misuteeku
Felix

 

[shadowdude505]

Cletus T. Bass
​

Cletus was a bit surprised that the marines were retreating. He was a good gunman, but even that alone wouldn't save the crew from a marine swarm. Though now that the marines were leaving, maybe there'd be some peace and quiet that'll allow him to fix the mast. If only he were so lucky. Before he could explain how long it would take him to repair the ship, it was suddenly attacked. The cannonballs broke through the wood, but only dented the metal lining underneath. It was a good thing he had bolted the metal in during Mirstone, otherwise there'd be holes in the ship. Right now the chains keeping the Charydbis close to the inevitable marine attack kept Cletus the most worried.

Cletus let out a disproving grunt as Draven showboated over the speakers for the other marines. He mental scoffed at the heroes of the sea comment. Humanoids are a flawed breed, it was just a fact of life. Anyone could use justice as a shield for heinous acts. Anyone with the power of the World Government could spin things the way they wanted commoners to see it, and the common folk would believe it. Though this wasn't the time for the older man to dwell on his paranoia.

Cletus took one final drag on the stub that was his cigarette before flicking it away. "Under ideal circumstances, if I had enough manpower to hold the mast so I can work on my quick fix, it'll only take me about five minutes; but this isn't one of those situations. We'll need to deal with this first," he grumpily replied. "I say we should try to take out their cannons, but we'll need a plan," he added, speaking more to Jasper when he mentioned a plan.

Lady Warlock AllHailDago QuirkyAngel Misuteeku CelticHero37

 

[Misuteeku]

Limstella​

Limstella just continued to be as near but not so near it would be weird to her 'crewmates' as possible. She was the closest to Cletus. When the cannonballs hit the boat she just winced at the noise. "I'm contributing so much to this crew, man I'm so helpful." Limstella could only mutter to herself. She constantly started to think that this insane journey was started to get to her. For the past god knows how many days she's been either talking to herself or Cygnus the latter who was gone and missing.

When Lieutenant Commander Draven started to talk she mentally face palmed and cringed. Was this guy serious? This guy with squadrons of marines had trouble trying to take down three people, and she didn't include herself because she was practically useless when it comes to fighting. This seemed like a doomed situation until Cletus said he could do something for the ship but they'd need a plan. Then again it was pretty doubtful with only three people.

 

[CelticHero37]

Watanabe Hotaka Wasabi​

Wasabi watched as the scene with the marines began to escalate. Obviously the captain hadn't planned for this sort of situation. Of course, he could have just sat back and watch the scene unfold, but that wasn't the type of person he was. Besides, he had made a commitment to this pirate crew, and they seemed like decent people, which was all the more reason to support them.

Thus, even though he was not right by her side, Wasabi made sure to watch her back. Any marine that got too close took a boomerang to the face. Of course nobody suspected the cook keeping watch from the forest. Well, maybe a few did, but Wasabi was able to handle them without trouble. Once it seemed that a decent amount of the crew had gotten back onto the ship, he finally slipped out of the shadows in a dash to get on the boat. Surely they'd be departing promptly.

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Arlen Hakhassi
​

Where was Nerrisa? That was certainly the question of the day. Normally Arlen would be out looking for Nerissa in this situation. That was his job. His duty was to protect the Priestess of Water. Yet here he was fighting on behalf of a crew he’d only joined because of Nerrisa. Jumping into a boat to help Scarlet…his reaction had been instinctive. Jumping right into a trap apparently. Arlen withheld a sigh as he eyed the row of cannons lined on boats which sandwiched their own. At this rate their vessel wasn’t leaving dock anytime soon.

Cletus seemed calm. And, as always, Scarlet’s butler Jasper looked composed. It was a strange feeling—fighting beside comrades. Arlen was used to fighting alone.

“Scarlet was right…about them being leaderless before. Things started going downhill when their leaders showed up. So we just gotta beat up their leaders to make our getaway, yes?” Simple logic. “Especially the one speaking over the loudspeakers. Draven? I really don’t like that guy. I'll see if I can buy us at least a little bit of time...maybe.” He shrugged. “Either way, when they start firing, our priority should be to make it out alive. Worst come to worst, we’ll have to abandon ship.”

To Scarlet. “I believe in Aquarius. My mum’s a loyal devout. But I’m not the type of guy to start praying until I’m at death’s door. Do everything you can before depending on a god that may or may not save you. That’s how I’ve lived my life. As the Captain of the crew, I don’t think you should try to sound like Lady Nerissa. Leave the praying and miracle-wishing to her.”

To Jasper. “Just so you know, I’m not leaving this island without Lady Nerissa.”

Hopefully she hadn't been captured. At the very least, he knew she wasn't as reckless as Scarlet. And, given their current situation, it was probably a good thing she wasn't with them. Turning to face Lieutenant Commander Draven, Arlen said quietly to the crew. “I’ll leave the rest of the planning to you guys.”

Then he raised his voice.

“Heroes of the Seas?!” Arlen scoffed. “Yeah, Right! All I see are cowards hiding behind their big guns.” Arlen raised his middle finger. He didn’t actually know what the gesture meant, but from what he’d seen from spending a year with outsiders, it was derogatory. “Why don’t you come over here and face me yourself, instead of talking sh*t. I bet the leaders of the marines are nothing, but a group of stinkin' cowards who hide behind numbers and talk big!”

Lady Warlock
AllHailDago
shadowdude505
@Azure Sky
Misuteeku

 

[shadowdude505]

Marine Captain Pyrrha Atlas
​

Following the sound of combat, Captain Pyrrha Atlas made her way out of the forest and onto the beach. She had arrived just in time to see her men retreating from four pirates. "Those better not be my men, I trained them better than that...," she thought as she took a drag on her cigarette. She ran back to her ship with her squad and intended to be the voice or reason for the retreating marines, luckily for her Draven took the reins for the motivation department. His speech was a bit flashier than what hers would have been, but she didn't doubt that it would do the job.

She arrived at the railing of her ship that overlooked the Charybdis and watched as events unfolded. She had arrived just in time to see Arlen's crude gesture. A scowl appeared on the smoking woman's face; she thought the middle finger was a childish gesture. "You pirates really are an upstart crew," she stated, making her presence known. "Considering that some of your crew are unknowns, I'd wager this is the first time some of you left your home island. I doubt I need to remind you that being a pirate is a criminal offense. We were ordered to capture you, but if you cause enough trouble you're just putting your own lives at risk. If you value your lives then surrender, otherwise I won't be able to guarantee you safe travel to your jail cells. We're the ones with justice on our side. You pirates are worth the same dead or alive. That's just the way the world works," she added matter-of-factly.

Lady Warlock QuirkyAngel AllHailDago @Azure Sky Misuteeku CelticHero37

 

[Phayne]

.

"Are you sure its this way?" inquired Kane, still grasping the man by his face as they traversed through the lower deck of the Navy Vessel."Oi.. Answer me.." he demanded "..don't go playing dead on me.. I've barely even touched you" he added, shaking his arm from side to side and causing the young man to swing around like a rag-doll "I don't want to hurt you.. but if you are trying to lead me to a trap.." Kane paused once more, squeezing the mans head once more with his large hands. "...I sure miss whacking melons on the beach..." he mused, threatening the young officer. As he said this, the sound of hurried marching echoed from around the corner; the sound of Marines rushing towards the upper deck was enough to stop Kane and his new friend in their tracks. The prison guard turned prisoner had attempted to signal his comrades however his attempts proved to be in vain as Kane's hand clasped around his face, the man could only muster a few frantic movements with his flailing limbs followed by mumbled sounds; it also helped that the sound of gunfire from above helped to mask the sounds of their movements.

Finally reaching their destination, Kane raised his free hand and grabbed the back of the officer swirling him around to that the officer was now facing the door. No words were needed for him to understand the situation. With shaking hands, the marine fumbled with the keys once more as he opened the door to the 'weapons' room; the location where Kane's weapon and armor were currently stored. "Bahahaha.. I'll tell ya one thing ya lot are good at... its keeping your loot in tip top condition" remarked Kane smacking the officer on his back. To Kane, it was a simple slap to the back.. to the officer however it was akin to having someone tackle you from behind with such force that the wind was knocked right out of you. Unable to stand his ground, the Marine stumbled a few step forwards on unsteady feet, before falling to his knees as he gasped for air to refill his lungs. A few hacks and coughs followed by Saliva dripping onto the floor signaled his recovery. "Hahaha! Man up!" goaded Kane, walking towards the opposite end of the room where the majority of his belongings had been stored, leaving the young man to struggle near the door way. "I.. I..'ve... don.e..wh..at..you've..as..ked.." he mumbled, still scared out of his wits as he forced himself back onto both feet and turned to address Kane, "N..ow.. will.. will..you.. let..me..g..." the Marine was cut off abruptly as a soft whistling permeated the air; his vision soon filled with nothing but a thin metallic edge.


Kane had stopped just short of the marine's neck, the edge of the blade just a few millimeters from the Marine's face. As if on cue, the soldiers body collapsed under his weight; his eyes rolling back into his head as the shock of the whole thing hit him like a tonne of bricks. Any closer and his face would have been severed in two; the mere thought that death was right in front of him had sent his mind into overload; eventually crashing the system and causing his body to become limp. "I thought I'd let ya keep your life... as a reward for being cooperative" smiled Kane; implying that he had intended to render the marine unconscious in the first place. "However... I can't risk having you blab about my escape.. so this will..." he stopped noticing a puddle form from between the mans thighs. "Oh come on..again?" he whined, shaking his head in disappointment. How a man of this caliber could ever have been considered fit to be a Marine was beyond his comprehension.

Noticing a World Government flag hung upon the wall, Kane proceeded to tear it down; draping it over the man's nether regions which had remained soaked. "..nobody wants to see that.." he stated simply, before turning to walk out of the room. The sound of gunfire continued to serenade the 'world above', the fighting continuing between the Marines and what he had assumed to be the Pirates they had initially come here for.


As Kane was about to reopen the door; it swung open. Two unsuspecting marines standing at the entrance; their rifles hanging across their back as they made their way to the weapons room; their objective to bring up additional ammunition for the marines above. Needless to say, they were not expecting to see the towering figure of Kane standing before them. As if on cue, the pair of them shouted in Unison; "Stop!", their hands fumbling with their rifles as they struggled to take their aim; ultimately proving to be their downfall. Without waiting for them to continue, Kane dashed forward with both arms tucked into his chest; his body hunched over as he rammed the two marines; both fist's punching forwards into their guts and ultimately knocking the wind right out of them. In fluid motion, Kane caught one of the rifles that the men had dropped, rotating it in his right hand so that the wooden butt of the gun was now facing forward and quickly proceeded to swing it across the face of one of the marines; the force causing the rifle to snap in two whilst the Marine fell flat onto the floor; unconscious.

Without wasting a breath, Kane twirled around to face the other stumbling marine, grabbing this guy by the neck and shoving him up against the wooden walls of the lower deck. Just in time to hear a feminine voice from above; the same voice that belonged to the Captain of the ship and one he had recognized from his own capture. Her presence aboard the ship was a big problem, simply powering his way through from above deck was now almost certain to fail. If the route from above was blocked, then there was only one option. Make a new exit. "Lead me to the barrels of gunpowder" he demanded, tightening his grip around his newest captive.

The marine coughed, still attempting to recover from having the wind knocked out of him. "You best start leading me there.. otherwise your gonna be the 3rd Man I put to sleep today.." he threatened, urgency now present in his voice. The pirates whomever they were, were his ticket out of here..he wasn't gonna let this chance slip.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Elisa Pentana, Darren Fallk and Their Crew

It had been a while since the two of them had landed on the deck of their ship. Elisa revealed that she still held the artifact in her possession, it was secured in component of the ship that even some of their own crewmates didn’t know about, and that was the end of that. Mission completed and there was no other reason to stick around… except for the fact that they all knew there were two marine ships on the other side of the island. Marine ships were things they preferred to avoid on most occasions.

Darren had headed below deck to get some medical attention which left Elisa pacing the deck of the ship, arms crossed in front of her and a rather disturbed expression on her face. “Captain?” she called out to the man in charge. “I met a few people on the island who seemed like friends. One of them… well, I gave her the map because she’s one who we could learn from. And I’m concerned about them and our marine visitors.”

“Hmm? Isn’t it usually our own crew that we’re supposed to be concerned with?” Even though they were always seeking friends on every corner of the sea, that was how he’d been trained. “Especially since we have the artifact now… we really can’t afford to tangle with them.”

“I know, but…” she couldn’t actually come up with an excuse that seemed to work.

Then her eyes widened.

Lightbulb.

“I gave one of them the map to us. If the marines find that map, the entire core of our guardians will be in danger and there’s no telling how fast the navy would move with such information.” Her entire voice was serious, but in reality, Elisa didn’t think that Nerissa would lose such valuable information. She liked to hope she had at least a reasonable sense of judgement when it came to who she could trust with such information, anyway. Then again, even though she’d never been wrong before about her judgements, it didn’t mean things couldn’t go wrong now.

“Always exercise caution…” It was one of their leader’s many warnings.

It was that same warning that got the captain’s attention too, because he knew that if Elisa had truly given away such information, it was their job to protect that person for as long as that person was within their reach. He rolled his eyes at the woman, half intent on blaming her for this whole fiasco in the first place. He wanted to think that she was just making it up to get him to move, but she knew that wasn’t true. Elisa wasn’t that kind of person. “Guess we got no choice, then,” he grumbled unhappily and regretfully. These kinds of things usually happened when they let Elisa go alone somewhere and it seemed Darren hadn’t been able to find her in time to keep her from getting them all into a bind.

Pity.

Viridian Blue - their ship - started moving, much to the surprise of much of the crew on board. A few ran right towards the captain to ask what they were doing and he shifted all of their attention to Elisa who immediately called for attention. “Attention everyone! When I was in The Hallows, I met a woman who I believe can truly teach us much that we don’t know someday. That day is not today, but in order to ensure that that day comes, I gave her a map.” A few gasps ran through the crows at that. A map wasn’t hers to give, but she had anyway, apparently. “With the marines assaulting the pirate vessel, we are left to assume that our home, our beliefs, our very way of life are in danger because if they find that map, there’s no telling how much we would lose. We sail to the aid of that pirate crew now, to protect our way of life from those who would take it away from us.” While she wasn’t the most practiced in inspiring speeches, it certainly managed to do something, and all the crew members got to work, giving the Viridian Blue all the speed such a ship could manage to offer.

And the distance they had to go really wasn’t far at all. It was a small island, after all, and within mere minutes, both the Red Ribbon Pirates and the marines they were engaging would see a ship peering around the corner, heading to meet them. It’s flag was neither marine nor pirate, though. Instead, it bore the emblem of an angel.

Captain Scarlet Johanna Indigrid

The cannonfire was loud enough to make her jump, but once she realized that it had actually been intended to put holes in her ship, Scarlet was furious about the whole situation. “HEY! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE PUTTING HOLES IN MY SHIP!? YOU’RE ALL A BUNCH O’ LOUSY NO GOOD, GOODY TWO SHOES STINKIN’ MARINES WHO DON’T KNOW HOW TO APPRECIATE A BEAUTY WHEN YA SEE ONE!!” Although unlike Lieutenant Commander Draven, Scarlet lacked any speakers, her voice was certainly loud enough to reach anyone hiding even in the treelines on the beach.

She muttered something unintelligible under her breath while she scurried to the edge to investigate the damage for herself and she was rather relieved to see it wasn’t near what she would’ve expected. A pirate couldn’t be a pirate without a ship so Charybdis had to be one of her priorities in the moment. Or wait… did Charybdis have to be a priority? Having a ship was important, but having Charybdis wasn’t necessarily as important. She just needed a ship.

Her eyes scurried to the ship opposite the one with the speakers wired in. They hadn’t really had much come at them from that direction at all so if her and Arlen were right and they needed to get away from the leaders, that was a good direction to head. Of course, it still had some marines on board - that much they weren’t going to get away from, but it seemed just as leaderless as the whole group had been at the initiation of things.

“Arlen! Jasper!” she called out to her crewmate, wondering what he would think of her idea. “What if we just stole one of their ships? Draw them all to Charybdis and then leave on theirs? Neither of their ships are broken.”

It was at a point where Scarlet wasn’t sure if her idea was crazy or brilliant. That was why she had to ask.

Unfortunately, her own thoughts were keeping her from noticing the fourth ship that was drawing ever closer and surprisingly managing to pass mostly unnoticed.

shadowdude505 QuirkyAngel AllHailDago CelticHero37 @Azure Sky Felix Pequeno Burraidh Misuteeku Stormborn Targaryen Phayne

 

[Misuteeku]

Limstella​

Limstella, being the most non-existent person on this crew, due to her lackluster abilities spotted the ship in the distance. The ship was unfamiliar to her, and it was quite a mystery to her. "Um uh, Scarlet." Limstella said crawling out her personality. She was the lookout after all, and she did a pretty bad job being look out before, might as well act her job now.

Pointing towards the direction, Limstella opened her mouth, "There's a forth ship coming this way." Limstella pointing out the mysterious ship. Why did she mention this? Why was this information useful? She had no idea, as she continued to look at this mysterious ship coming closer. In the end she didn't care, whether or not they died right now.

Lady Warlock

 

[shadowdude505]

Marine Captain Pyrrha Atlas
​

Pyrrha didn't wait for any snippy remarks from the pirates after making her remarks about how the world works, instead she turned her attention back to her crew that was on the deck of her ship. "Follow Lieutenant Commander Draven's plan," she ordered. "I'm going below deck to rally any remaining men." Having just returned to her ship, Captain Pyrrha wondered if any of her men remained below deck or if the sounds of battle against the pirates had drawn them out moment before she arrived. Either way the pirates were going to be dealt with and it didn't look like they'd be leaving anytime soon, so now was the best time to check on her numbers.

Pyrrha flicked her cigarette butt into the sea before making her way below deck. At first it looked like everyone was gone, but Pyrrha wasn't about to assume things by their first appearance. She started walking her way through the hallway until she noticed the door to the brig was open and there was no prisoner inside. The female marine captain broke into a run as she began to search below deck for any of her men. She spotted a passed out marine and could smell the pee on him before she could run past him.

As she continued to run, she began to hear two pairs of footsteps in the distance. She picked up the pace and managed to catch up to Kane and one of her marines near the gunpowder room. "I'm ashamed a man like you could easily overpower my men. You should have tried to fight them all when you had the chance, now that I'm here, I'm putting an end to whatever it is you're planning," she told Kane with an angry glare and her sword drawn.

Phayne

Cletus T. Bass
​

Steal one of the marine ships? It was an ambitious plan, but the Red Ribbons were already in a pretty big pickle. While Cletus thought that he would be able to repair the Charybdis if given enough time, the position the pirates were in made that kind of move make a lot of sense. It would mean they would have to leave the Charybdis behind, while they don't make ship like they used to, choosing the crew's safety over a ship's sentimental value was a very captainly choice to make.

Cletus started to eyeball Pyrrha's ship and noticed that the marine captain was heading below deck. "If you really want to steal a marine ship, I'll follow your lead Captain; but I think we should storm it instead of drawing the marines here. One of their captains just went below deck and I highly doubt that Draven fellow would shoot cannons at a marine ship, especially if a high ranked officer is on board." At the mention of a 4th ship, Cletus turned his head to look at where Limestella was pointing. "Unless marine ships have some new designs, that doesn't look like a marine ship. Maybe our luck is finally turnin' around." Of course now that he said that, he probably just jinxed them.

Lady Warlock AllHailDago QuirkyAngel CelticHero37 @Azure Sky Misuteeku

 

[Phayne]

.

Reluctantly and scared out of his wits, the man pointed in the direction of the gunpowder room, his shaky limb pointing further into the ship. The man was to put it simply, prey. He had no means to defend himself against the overwhelming size and strength of Kane, nor did he have the resolve to fight back either, simply his mind only processed the best method of surviving this ordeal and at present, the only way he would have survived was to do as his captor had demanded. Loyalty to his own life far outweighed the loyalty to his captain, thus when push came to shove there was only one option for the frail man. "Th...that..way" stammered the man, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. Kane turned his head towards the direction momentarily, wondering whether or not the marine was being sincere before he returned his gaze upon him. "I have shown restraint up until this point.. but if you are lying.. then god help you." replied Kane, putting more pressure onto the man, effectively causing the wooden wall he was up against to crack, splinter and implode on itself as the mans body was being forcefully pushed through it. "I..it's..th...tr..oof.." coughed the Marine, his face beginning to turn a light shade of blue as he struggled to breath; Kane's Goliath sized hand clamped firmly around his neck. Satisfied, Kane smiled once more; the demeanor and once intimidating presence he had earlier, now dissipating as he pulled the man free from the wall, turned and began to drag him along the floor in the direction of the gunpowder room. It wasn't long until they reached it, Kane sparing no time in waiting for his prisoner to unlock the room, chose to kick the door in after all time was of the essence.

"Good.. good. this will do nicely" marveled Kane as he eyed the several barrels that had remained unguarded. There would me more than enough powder in here to cause a ruckus large enough to disable the ship as well as distract the marines above. Eyes fixed on the powder, Kane placed his blade against the side of the corridor wall and entered the room.

"W..Wi..ll you.. let.. me goo." stuttered the man -'coming back to life'- still restrained in Kane vice grip, Though Kane ignored his pleas as he walked over to one of the barrels, still dragging the man with him. The plan was simple, Kane would carry one of the barrels through the ship, leaving a trail of gunpowder behind him until he was a safe distance away, the trail of gunpowder leading to the remaining barrels inside the room; the rest was pretty straightforward and Kane simply needed to find a safe spot. Satisfied, Kane using the tip of his blade, etched a small hole at the base of the first barrel so that a portion of its contents spilled onto the floor, then repeated the same process with a second barrel, picking the latter up and beginning to leave a trail as he left the room. He would need to get a safe distance away from where the explosion would occur; he could only hope that the pirates above would be able to last that long. Though before he could even begin to worry about that his departure was cut short.

Kane stopped as he heard a feminine voice address him from behind, the tone and context of what she said implying that she was of higher rank then the men he had previously encountered. "Ashamed?.." repeated Kane, turning his head back slightly and glaring at Phyrra with one eye. He kept that stare on her for a few moments, examining the posture she had taken up as well as any other details he could take in; mainly the blade which she had draw already. Given its size and length, Kane knew that she would be unable to use it effectively inside the ship, simply put the length of the blade hindered it and would have made it harder to utilize her full arsenal of attacks within the ship, unless she was content with slicing and dicing the interior of her ship; that being said, Kane was not in a better position himself, given his own sword 'The Whistler' was just as long and heavier and even more at a disadvantage than her own blade. Using it properly in this tight and restrictive space would also prove troublesome for him.That being said he could still wield it defensively. Having taken in as much detail as he could, Kane relaxed his shoulder's, his serious tone shifting slightly as he let out a loud bellow.

"Hahaha..you think too highly of your subordinates" replied Kane, turning around to face Phyrra whilst still maintaining his grip around his current captive. In his left hand, was the restrained man and held underneath his right armpit was the barrel which Kane had tilted upwards to cease the leakage of powder. "You should be rather proud, proud that the men unfortunate enough to grace me with their presence still hold onto their lives.. though, that is only due to the mercy I had shown towards them.. murdering and slaughtering fodder is something I do not enjoy much less those that have not resolved to risk their own lives for the path that they pursue." he glanced down at his own prisoner, the tears and look of fear as he juggled the dice of death ever present on his face. Kane grimaced at the sight; the idea that this thing in his hand was considered a 'man' much less a marine warrior was sickening to him. Were the marines so desperate for men that they would recruit kids into their ranks or where they so poorly resourced that they couldn't even train their own pawns into soldiers worthy of the title. Kane clicked his tongue. "Compared to the gladiator's of Crixia, these men are nothing more than babies still wet behind the ears" he added, raising the man up from the floor and shaking him like a rag-doll to prove his point. "Snapping this guy in two takes little more effort then snapping a large stick in two..." he increased the pressure around the mans neck, causing him to squirm wildly as the captive marine attempted to claw his way free. "Tell me Captain, do you value this man's life?" Kane raised a brow, tilting his head slightly as he glared at Phyrra, "Do you care about him enough to turn around and let me off this ship? Or will you take a step closer and seal his fate..?"

Kane dropped the barrel from his right arm pit, letting it fall to the floor below, more of its contents now spilling onto the floor. His right hand now free, he retrieved his sword from where he had earlier leaned it against the corridor wall; though rather then holding it out in an offensive manner, Kane held the blade vertically, the hilt facing the sealing and the tip of the blade facing the floor. The sheer width of the blade had managed to block a quarter of the corridor's own width. "What is your answer?.." he questioned once more "...and be wise about it, because the time it will take you to make it here is more then enough time for me to deal with him"

And as if on cue, the man forced himself to face Captain Phyrra, tears streaming down his face as the look of desperation reached its climax. "C..cap..tain.. p..pl..e..ase.." he mumbled, "..my...da..ught.." Kane increased the pressure slightly, effectively silencing his voice. He didn't want to torture the man more, yet he didn't want to spend the rest of his life incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and this was merely one of them. Kane would do what needed to be done in order to escape, even if it meant resorting to violence of such nature.

shadowdude505

 

[Lady Warlock]

Elisa Pentana and Viridian Blue

Sailing straight towards the trap that Charybdis seemed to have found itself in, the crew members of Viridian Blue all remained nearly unmoving aside from the captain at the helm and Elisa who kept trying to get a better glimpse of what was going on with the pirates who she believed herself to be friends with. She had met some of them and they all had seemed friendly enough - more so than any of the marines she’d ever met, at least. It was hard to get a good look at a ship, though, when it was sandwiched. And in this situation, Charybdis was the meat.

“Can we fire from here?” Elisa asked, deadly serious.

The captain’s eyes widened as he considered her question. “Can we!?” he seemed shocked by her question. “Technically, yes, but you do understand that that would draw the marines to us, right? Our crew is not equipped to deal with a marine boarding and we do have the precious cargo that they cannot get their hands on. You realize that, right, Elisa?”

Her lips set into a hard line as she considered the captain’s honest evaluation of their situation. It was true that they had to avoid the marines as much as they could, but surely if they caught the marines by surprise, there would be a way to stop them without dealing with boarding. “Could we outrun them?” she dared to ask.

“It’s hard to say. Their ships are hopefully damaged a bit from whatever your pirate friends are up to, but it might not matter.” He shrugged. It was a risk.

Unfortunately for their captain, it was a risk Elisa was willing to take. Nodding in response to his comments, she said, “Let’s go for it, then. Pull alongside them, fire two shots, and then we’ll run. If that’s all we can give them, so be it, but we will manage something. They’re our allies now. They have to be.” There was a fierce determination in her voice and it was the kind of resolve that would help her climb the ranks of their organisation in time no matter how brief her time with them had been so far. She had the passion, she had the ferocity of a warrior, and she had the desire to seek new knowledge and to protect it from those who would have it wiped from the world. And that was all essential for them.

Whether she knew it or not, the fact that she was absolutely annoying the captain to an insane degree would actually come to benefit her standing in the end of it all. That was how things worked, coincidentally.

“Prepare the cannons!” the captain yelled out to the crew who were until that moment simply watching and waiting for something to change or for things to go wrong. Meanwhile, he started moving the wheel to bring them up alongside the first marine ship although there was still some distance between them; he hoped it would be enough to give them a headstart when the chase began. The captain had no doubt that it would begin.

“Ready… aim… FIRE!” and the first volley of cannonfire was sent flying on its way, targeting Axel’s ship.

QuirkyAngel Felix @Azure Sky

Captain Scarlet Johanna Indigrid

“Storm the ship…?” Scarlet found herself repeating Cletus’s suggestion while she turned and watched the ship that Limstella had pointed out to them. There were too many things going on for all the pieces to fit together properly in her mind, but as she saw the ship pull alongside one of the marine ships, Scarlet found that she had the smallest glimmer of hope. Now the more terrifying of the two marine vessels was sandwiched just as much as they were and she had to feel like that boded well for them.

However, that also made it tempting to just fire back at Draven’s ship… or, well, the ship that Lieutenant Commander Draven happened to be on. Scarlet had to remind herself that regardless of how good that would feel, Charybdis was still sandwiched as well and if they turned it into a firefight, all of them would likely be swimming in the end of it all. And, regardless of anything else, Charybdis still wasn’t going to be moving any time soon.

Briefly, she glanced in the direction of the ship she was intent on stealing. It seemed that something on the ship was distracting the attention of a few people, but cannons still pointed at Scarlet’s ship. As much as she was ok with leaving Charybdis, she still didn’t want to see it blown to shreds; it was precious to her in a way that she couldn’t quite describe. She knew then that she wouldn’t be able to handle it if they fired on it until nothing was left. They couldn’t fight on deck.

One more thought occurred to her before she could just leave the ship, though.

“Can we disable the cannons on this ship?” she asked - mostly towards Cletus although any answer would work. “We don’t want them to be able to fire at us once we’re on the other ship.” Their primary goal, after all, was just to get moving and to get on their way to the Grand Line.

Scarlet’s movements were becoming a bit hesitant now because she wasn’t sure how much time they had before all the firing would start. An echo like thunder rumbled through the air only moments after that as cannonballs tore through Axel’s ship - not fired from Charybdis, but fired from the new ship instead. Her eyes flared in that direction and then she knew they had to move. “We have to move… NOW!” She gestured towards all of her crewmembers on board the ship and started running off of Charybdis, heading straight instead towards Pyrrha’s ship.

Again, she was charging into combat without weapons at hand. It would be interesting. That much was certain.

CelticHero37 AllHailDago shadowdude505 QuirkyAngel Misuteeku

 

[shadowdude505]

Cletus T. Bass
​

"Ya. Leave it to me," Celtus replied after Scarlet asked about disabling the cannon's on the Charybdis. He started running below deck immediately afterward. He made a quick stop in his room to grab his tool box and ammo kit. If they were going to steal a marine ship he didn't want to leave these two items behind. Luckily breaking the cannons gave his a good excuse to grab them.

Cletus bolted toward the Charybdis's cannons. He knelt down beside the first cannon he could reach and began to dismantle the firing mechanism. The sound of cannon fire caused the older man to flinch. It had come from the side of the ship that Draven's group was on. Cletus expected to start seeing more dings in the metal shell he had installed inside their ship, but that didn't happen. Cletus guessed that the new ship that arrived must have fired the cannons. "So they were allies after all...," he muttered to himself. "Or maybe they're just trouble makers that want my bounty...," he paranoidly grumbled. Either way he didn't know how long he'd be safe inside the Charybdis. Now was the time to work fast so he could quickly catch up to the others.

Cletus finished messing with the first cannon and moved on to the next one.

Lady Warlock AllHailDago QuirkyAngel CelticHero37 Misuteeku (TheForgottenDoll)