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Hundred Dreams
Date Started: October 3rd, 2022
Date Completed: Ongoing
Previous Role-Play: The Lotus Sutra

Users Involved: User:DazzlingEmerald, User:EmperorSigma, User:Zironix00, User:PuddingCups, User:Lemasters30, User:GoldenPiece, User:Amaterasu Hawkes, User:SventheWalrusKing, User:Berserkchart486, User:TheBlackMageNitro.
Timeline: September 1584
Characters Involved
1584 Rookies:

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Climbing Red[]

It was a dark and stormy night. What was left of the Kingdom sailed against the final ripples of South Blue engulfed in the shadows of the enormous Reverse Mountain, which completely claimed the view from one side of the ship. In fact it was hard to determine whether it was truly night or day because the last several hours had been spent in the shadow of this massive, red mountain. With only two sailors aboard the breaking vessel, survival seemed scarce.

"Dammit, is this any way to build a crew?!" Hornigold Clovis, the Helmsman and new captain of the Kingdom manned the wheel of the ship, doing his best to navigate amidst the horrific scene. "That Daruma... he was so focused on fighting that he didn't even bother to find a proper navigator or cook! Not only have we had nothing to eat for the past two days, but I haven't the slightest idea as to where we're going!"

Clovis looked back towards Thug. Fortunately, Clovis was a hefty man. His extra weight kept him from blowing away in the torrent winds. Still, the rain was relentless and it made it hard to see out any farther than what was immediately before them. "Hoy, Thug! We're looking for what's called a 'waterway'! Listen, from what I've come to know, we need to scale this damn mountain and it'll spit us out in the Grand Line. But if we're not careful, we'll end up crossing over into the Calm Belt and believe me when I say that it will be the end of us!"

Clovis looked back at the waters. He gritted his teeth. The stress of their low probability to survive was starting to get to him. At least I'll have another shot at this if I do die. I still have three dolls inside of me. If the marine ships are still close by, then I'll be able to trade my life for Lucien's! But I'd rather not take that risk... if the ships have gained enough distance by now then this will backfire and I'll remain dead! We have to get this done in one go.

Suddenly, Clovis found that he could no longer move the wheel. It was jammed, just as the began to climb a massive wave. "Thug!! I'm countin' on you to find that 'waterway'! Tell me what way we need to go!"

The journey on the sea was rough and to be quite frank, Thug was over it. It seemed to have been going in circles, water, water, and more water. It made it hard for him to even stand without thinking of having to release his fluids. At other times, he legit wanted vomit but he was scared anymore pressure against the planks would cause the ship to sink then and there.

Cloth covering his mouth, he pointed into the only direction he could see before vomiting. The direction was seemingly north, his hand shook. "G-Go that way, Clovis. T-Trust me, my 'I want to get the fuck off this boat senses', are going crazy right now."

"Alright, mate!" Clovis had no choice other than to rely on Thug's instinct. The truth of the matter was that neither he nor Thug could make out much visibility against this storm. Any sense of direction was better than having none; if they missed entering the waterway then their ship was certain to meet its demise by crashing into the mountain.

"Here we go... Thug, brace yourself up there!! There's no looking back from here!" With all his might, Clovis pulled the rudder in the opposite direction. The Kingdom began to spin against the current for a moment, until Clovis used his Devil Fruit powers to tighten the straw ropes around the sails so that they would open fully. The ship teetered to a stop, then began to head backwards into a very tight clearing.

They were doing it. They were entering the waterway. The massive mountain closed out on the ship from both sides. The ship, because the wheel was jammed, was responding little if at all; the sides of the ship grazed the mountain, wood and metal was lost into the sea. "N-No... we can't take anymore than we've already taken...! If this keeps up... we're done for...!" Clovis beamed aloud, trying desperately to regain control of the wheel yet to no avail.

The ship, however, was at the mercy of the current. Reverse Mountain was the apex where the four directional seas met in the middle. The current was so strong that anything within it was forced along a fixed direction, so from this point on Clovis did not have to do much other than steer the ship. Which of course was easier said than done, seeing as how the wheel was completely jammed.

Clovis pulled the rudder back and forth. As he could no longer rely on just the wheel, he kept teetering the ship's impact with the current. Appropriately accepting and rejecting its pull against the water. As the ship scaled further up, the surrounding temperatures plummeted. Reverse Mountain was a "winter island". It had frigid weather, and Clovis felt it immediately in his bones. His teeth trembled, his spine shivered. Yet he gave one last tug at the rudder and the wheel gave a loud snap. He slammed his hands back on it and found himself able to control it once more, just in time to narrowly avoid a large hunk of ice.

"We've done it! We're here at the top!" Clovis looked forward with a proud grin. "This is where the four seas meet! These are the first drips of the Grand Line! It's just down below!" But there at the apex of the mountain came a sudden surge. On the opposite side of the South Blue was the East Blue. The waters from the South and the East combined to give rise to a singular current. And in that moment came another ship from the East.

The ship wasn't particularly big and it seemed to be aged and not in the best of shapes. On its desk stood a green haired young man wearing nothing but black baggy cargo pants and a pair of combat military boots. Tied to his pants was a gray leathered bag that, by its shape could only contain some sort of book. On his shoulder sat a small orange frog looking around for any obstacles. Despite appearing to be in a position where his ship could wreck at any moment, Zed laughed as he turned his head to look at the other ship coming up the mountain. "Looks like we have company. Let's hope whoever's in that ship doesn't bother us, this is already too much for me to handle as it is." He kept holding the help of the ship, struggling to keep it on the right path.

“G-G-Great,” Behram said, the rest of what was going on was none of his concern, only the feeling of his stomach feeling empty. His most recent eatings and liquids rolled about in his stomach as if it were some sort of fun house. A area where children played and were allowed to run around freely as if there were no restrictions.

He gripped the cloth firmly, “I’m gonna, have to nap.” His body fell backwards, slamming into the planks as he fell unconscious.

"Thug...!" Clovis exclaimed, looking overhead into the crow's nest as Thug fell backwards. As he was high above the rest of the ship, he would actually fall out towards the deck. What made matters worse was the fact that Clovis could not readily abandon his post at the helm. Letting go of the wheel at any point could endanger the trajectory of the ship and spell immediate death.

In that moment, to save Thug from what could have been his death, Clovis learned to manipulate the ropes around the ship even further. He altered their shape, causing them to expand into a hammock. Thug would land safely into a straw hammock, where he would be able to rest for the time being. Of course this left Clovis with no one other than himself to man the vessel at the very apex of Reverse Mountain.

Finally making notice of the opposing ship that had reeled into sight beside them, Clovis pulled the rudder north and used his control of the ship's ropes to repeatedly open and close the sails. This was done in an attempt to catch the other ship's attention as he also yelled out towards them. "Ahoy out there!!! Can you hear me?" Clovis screamed out at the top of his lungs. "Please, let us on board of your ship! My ship is about to sink!"

Zed examined the other ship's occupants while he thought about what to respond. Truth be told, he didn't have much of a choice. If he didn't allow them to come aboard they would much likely try to convince him which would distract him and probably cause the ship to wreck. "Sure, get in. But you seem like a more capable helmsman than me. Take control of this old thing or we're doomed to sink too."

After hearing that, Clovis didn't hesitate to grab hold of Behram, tucking him underneath his arm, and swinging over to the other ship by attaching a rope made out of straw to the higher mast of the ship. As he crash landed on Zed's ship, Clovis' first instinct was to immediately stand back up and look back at his ship.

He ran over to the edge of the deck, planting his hands down on the gunwale. Clovis' eyes caught hold of the final sight of the Kingdom. The signature and iconic ship of South Blue's most notorious pirate crew, the King Pirates, crumbled before his eyes. The vessel struggled to remain afloat in its final moments; the currents of Reverse Mountain cascaded from both sides and snapped the ship down the middle. The two halves sunk to the bottom of the flowing river, then were spat out into the fog underneath.

"Ahh... there goes my ship," Clovis sighed aloud, closing his eyes and burying his face into the arms that rested along the gunwale. The Kingdom was the last piece of sentimental value that Clovis possessed from his days as a King pirate. The original incarnation of the crew were lost to the world, their captain imprisoned, and now their ship annihilated.

It was ironic to think that Ronaldo Christiano had followed through with Daruma's orders to burn the flag when no less than a few days later the waters of Reverse Mountain swallowed the ship whole. Even if Christiano hadn't done so, Daruma would have ultimately gotten what he wanted. The only difference would be that Christiano could at present be a loyal member of the crew. "Ah, Christiano. If only you'd have listened to me-hm."

Bidding the ship goodbye, Clovis turned around to face Zed, who had been kind enough to let them aboard. "Ahoy, mate. You have my sincere thanks. If you hadn't come by when you did, well I think it goes without saying that me and my lad over there would be under deep waters." Clovis took a bow. "The name's Hornigold Clovis. May I know the name of our savior?"

Zed was too busy to notice Clovis' use of his devil fruit abilities. Even though he had read dozens of books about it, his superstitions still made him believe some of the popular myths about devil fruit users. He looked over his shoulder to see where the voice came from before before turning his head back to the front of the ship. "Everything happens for a reason, my friend. Let's hope our meeting is a sign of good fortune. The name's Zed. And this little fellow's Rana." He pointed to his right shoulder and turned around to greet his new companions. "And I'm no savior, not until we're safe and sound." He extended his arm in order to shake Clovis' hand , which probably wasn't a good idea given the circumstances, but he was told that not shaking a man's hand brings bad luck.

Zed would not have to reach far to meet Clovis' hand; Clovis, being a member of the long arm tribe, had extremely long limbs. Clovis' hand was abnormally large, accepting Zed's hand into it like a mitt. "Aye, you're certainly right about that, lad." In that moment the waters kicked up again. The entire vessel shook.

"Hoy, let me grab hold of that wheel!" Clovis sprung to life, rushing to the helm of Zed's ship. "If we're to make it out of here alive then this here is our best chance-hm!" Although he was taking control of this ship for the first time, it seemed like Clovis had been its helmsman countless times before.

Zed made his way to the bow of the ship. This was where the cold winds affected his naked torso the most but it didn't seem to bother him, instead he was more focused on knowing how far were they from the base of the mountain and scouting any obstacles that could be missed from the helm of the ship. The path was narrow and, in the shape it was in, it wouldn't take much to take the ship down.

Zed waved to Clovis hoping to get his attention. "Hey, can you hear me? We're going pretty fast, there's some rocks on your right side up ahead, be careful." He nibbled the middle knuckle of his right index finger, something he did when he was nervous.

"Zed, was it? Thanks for the heads up. I'm doing the best I can trying to steer this darn thing but against these currents, it's almost impossible," Clovis admitted matter-of-factly. "At this rate we'd be lucky to make it into the Grand Line in one piece... I'll see if I can salvage this ship of yers, but I won't lie to you mate, it's not a priority."

Clovis offered Zed a brief glance. "Getting down this mountain with our heads on our shoulders is as good a bargain as I can ask for! Kashishishi!"

Zed took his hands to his face in an atempt to make himself heard. "Don't worry about this piece of crap. I don't care what happens to it. Just let me know when you think it's about to sink. I can't aford to get this wet." Rapidly, he pointed twice to the bag tied to his waist.

"Aye, say less!" That last bit gave Clovis all the reassurance that he needed. He now maneuvered the ship freely without holding back, taking every risk he could. After riding a sudden tidal wave, the ship was launched into the air. Clovis' eyes bulged out of their sockets; his tongue slithered out of his mouth, conveying nothing but shock. He felt his soul leave his body that instant he looked down and saw the massive drop that awaited him.

The ship glided through the air for what felt like hours before finally plopping into newer waters. They had done it. They had truly made it. They had reached the Grand Line!

"Oh I think I'm gonna be sick," Clovis' face turned green. He held his mouth closed with his hand yet to no avail. He had to let it out. He turned and let it all out at once, puking all over the main deck. Then he gave Zed a waning glance. "Sorry, mate. I don't do well in fast acting voyages like that one. Well, would you look at that? That, right over there?"

Clovis pointed at the clearing that they had entered. A nearby town situated atop the red mountains. "I suppose it'd be best to head on over there, ey?" Clovis stomach grumbled, audibly. "Hoy, a thing or two to eat would be great about now. Wake my Quartermaster, will you? And why don't you join us, too, Zed? I haven't got any money but... we'll fetch ourselves a meal the pirate way."

As the ship tilted and turned, Zed's face showed an excited smile. And the view he got when it was hurled into the air was the most beautiful scene he had ever seen. When the ship finally landed , he looked behind. Seeing Clovis paint the main deck with whatever was in his stomach , he raised one of his eyebrows confused about what had just happened.

"Couldn't you have... You know what? Nevermind." He grabbed his bag before answering to Clovis' proposal. "Sounds like a plan. I'll tag along if that's really ok with you. Unless you're in a hurry, there's something I need to do before leaving the ship. But I'll wake this guy up for you before that. " He made his way to Behram, squating down, he grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him a couple of times. "Hoy, mate. Wake up, it's time to go get some food."

Zed did not wait for a response. He stepped back, stood up and took out his book and a pen from the bag, quickly writing down what happened since the last time he wrote about his journey. "Let me finish this and I'll be right with you."

West Mountain[]

The sound of the waves crashing up against the Swimming Siren wooshed back and forth, leaving then returning over and over again. The vessel rocked left and right as water flew atop the vessel landing to the deck of the ship where one individual stood. Rain poured down over them and the sound of thunder shook the side of the construct they attempted to cross, yet the sun shined as bright as ever.

It was about mid-day, three o'clock to be exact, as this trying pirate crew push over the treacherous mountain that separated the seas from each other. Their journey up until this point was a tough one. At any moment, they captain of the ship could have ordered for the dome contraption to be pulled down over it, but they relished the challenge of doing it the old fashioned way. Not for pride, nor for ego. Simply for the thrill of the adventure.

Waves continued to slam against the body frame of the boat, rocks hitting and forcing the vessel to jump to the opposing side. The base of the Swimming Siren was constructed of a caramel plated metal tungsten. They were a lucky bunch to have run into Stark as the man who crafted their ship, because though the captain had been willing to risk their lives for the sake of thrill, even she knew without a proper Helmsman and a wooden ship, they wouldn't have been able to make it.

The sound of metal scratching against the rugged edges of the rocks, brought great pain to the ears of the crew. But before they knew it, the were within the water way, guided onward by John Joe who was the one actually listening to the words of Stark before departing. After traveling alongside the route of Reverse Mountain, the duo finally managed to reach the top, where their vessel aimed downward and began to fall down the mountain.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Misty shouted at the top of her lungs, throwing a fist into the air as a smile took over her face. Joe was more hidden with his expressions, that and he had been attempting to guide the ship with its unique steering technology.

The wind blew past Misty's face, allowing her hair to lift into the air, while she held on to nothing but her hopes and dreams, yet somehow magically balancing herself on the railing of the deck. She was more of a risk taker than anyone else in her age range, a testament to her unpredictability.

Water fell onto the Swimming Siren in the form of a giant wave, soaking everything on the deck in one fell swoop. Even Misty who sat aboard the railing had her entire outfit wettened. At the same time, the ship had made it to the bottom of the mountain safely.

"That was fun! That was fun!" She shouted, laughing and giggling, pulling on her wet clothes as if it caused her discomfort. "But I've gotta change my clothes now." She said, departing into the ship.

Thirty minutes had passed as the ship sat stagnant in the sea. Misty appeared back at the deck of her ship with a brand choice of clothing on. Rather than her two piece set that consisted of a top and jeans, she instead wore a yellow skin-tight full-body jumpsuit. Around her waist was a belt colored much differently than before, now pink and blue with a built in water bottle carrier. The buckle itself was also different, a gold circular shape object with bumps along the inner rim and wings similar to that of a .

Stretching her arms out at the now clear sky, Misty smiled until her lips couldn't stretch anymore. "WEEEEEE MAAAAAAAAAADE IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT, FLINT!!!!!!!!!" Misty screamed at the top of her longues, tonsil shaking left and right as she did. Then, she calmed herself and scratched the back of her head.

"Where are we again?" She asked, dumbfoundedly.

The ship buzzed. "Good afternoon, Captain Misty." The feminine voice said, accent so heavy that the british tone couldn't be ignored. "It would seem that you both have arrived in the first half of the Grand Line otherwise known as Paradise."

"Oh? Good afternoon to you too, Aiv!" Misty said, kneeling down and rubbing her face against the ship. "I love the sound of your voice, it's so heartwarming. I told you, you don't have to call me Captain, Misty is just fine!"

Aiv paused, her artificially intelligent being was caught off guard. "You're too modest, Captain Misty, but it is within my programming to refer to you as such. By the way, these seas are notably dangerous and if you aren't careful you coul-"

The sea sudden shook as a shadow rose up from the ocean and completely covered the Swimming Siren. Then, a creature seven times taller and bigger than the ship store down over it.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Misty asked, her eyes literally jumping out of their sockets as the sea creature looked down on them.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRR!!!!!!!!!"

A mighty roar shook the sea, sending the waves into a violent rush that caused the ship to rock back and forth as it they had been traveling up Reverse Mountain all over again.

"That would be a Sea King, Captain. This one is said to be the guardian of Twin Capes, the Protector of the Cape." Aiv replied, her brain filled to the brim with as much knowledge that Stark himself had acting as a sort of guide for the Swanns.

"Hey!" Misty said, shouting at the sea king. It was a large creature, but it was still smaller than most Sea Kings that the crew would encounter in the future, if they made it that far. "Get out of our waaaaay!"

With a mighty leap, Misty channeled the water in her body into her left arm which had already been wrapped into a fist. Veins stretched along her wrist and arm, the muscles immediately expanded as if she spent every minute of her life in the gym. With a strong left, she gripped a hold of her bottom lip with her teeth and threw her back into her punch.

BAAAM

She slammed right into the face of the Protector of the Cape, sending the creature falling back into the ocean where it dived into the sea, hurrying away from the Swimming Siren.

Landing back to the ship, Misty's arm returned to normal as she clapped her hands together. "Alright, where to next."

"I believe you should head for the nearby town, Twin Cape. You're going to need to acquire a Log Pose." Aiv suggested, her voice carrying along the ship.

"Okay, so, Twin Cape it is!! Let's go, Joe!" Her voice traveled inside of the ship where Joe had been working during their travels. It was only a matter of time before his temporary position as Helmsman would become permanent, something we all knew he didn't want.

Joe sighed. He preferred not to leave his kanabo unattended - it felt wrong, having it out of his hands for long. But, it was the demand of his duty at the helm. "Aye, captain." He grumbled, gently adjusting the wheel with his massive hands. It was only shortly after that the the island housing Twin Cape came into view over the horizon, and the two pirates set their course. As the island neared and the details of land became clear in sight, Joe guided the ship into dock with a delicate care, surprisingly deft in his handling of the vessel.

"Captain," Was all he said, calling Misty's attention to what she was almost certainly already surveying with curious eyes.

Through Joe's expertise, mostly masked by the efforts of Aiv, he was able to sail the Swimming Siren across the sea and into the small port of Twin Cape where they had already began to disembark. Misty jumped from off of the deck of the ship, as Joe dropped the anchor and tied to ship up to keep it from sailing away on its own.

"Permission to enter, No Intruder Mode, Captain Misty?" Aiv asked.

Misty placed her finger on her chin, "No intruder mode?" She then began to tap it, "I've never heard of that before, what's that Aiv! Ouuu! Ouuuu! What's that Aiv!" She said, hands help up to her chest filled with excitement."

"Well, to put it simply, it stops intruders from being able to take control of the ship."

Nodding her head, "Yes!" She slammed her fist into her palm, "We can't allow someone to take our ship! Stark worked so hard to get us this good ship. Activate No Intruder Mode."

"Of course ma'am," Aiv said, activated the mode just as permitted to.

Now, turning back towards the town, Misty stretched her arms outward. The port's worker sat at a podium. Misty approached him, patting her body down and pulling out an unknown amount of belly and slapping it onto the podium in front of him. "Keep the change, just make sure the ship is fine!"

The man looked over to Misty. His eyebrow lifted in confusion, because she clearly had no idea what she had been doing. Shrugging his shoulders, he pocketed the money and walked away from the podium, leaving her to do whatever business she had came to do in the first place.

"Joe, hurry up. This town doesn't even look that big, honestly."

Joe followed, his ever-watchful eyes darting here and there. He was on duty now, and his priority was watching out for bounty hunters or marines that might be following them.

"Big enough." He grunted, wary gaze scanning rooftops and balconies. It finally found its way back to Misty, and he added.

"We have a plan?"

Dead Time[]

Truth be told, Crickett had arrived around three days ago to the two horse island known as Twin Cape, as small as it was, the location served as an important key, or more so a door, to better opportunities. The easiest discovered method to travel through the dangers of Paradise. What an ironic name that was. Two lighthouses and a few buildings sporadically placed here and there, her time here had been dreadfully boring and that resulted in drastic measures of attempting to find some sort of entertainment.

"Yellowbeard huh? And Jordan as well? What lovely names..." The red-haired woman sat in a chair made entirely out of velvet, within the confines of some dusted up abandoned home on the island. Her face was blocked by a page of black and white, plastered with stories the world itself had written. The News Coo as they called it. Crumpling it up into a wad, she tossed the paper behind her, revealing a porcelain skin, big red eyes, and thin painted lips.

She didn't show a hefty amount of skin, not as scantily clad as others, but the skin that was showing crawled with black tattoos, what appeared to be names of people. An interesting fashion choice to the naked eye, but so much more than that to Miss Crickett.

Snapping her fingers, a little boy with pink hair came shuffling forward, he dressed odd. Almost as odd as she did. Robes far too big for him, and a conical hat decorated with stars. It was customary within the island of Stella Gaz, for everyone who possessed magic to take on an apprentice of sorts. Of course, the rest of the world didn’t work this way, as Crickett had found out on her journeys but as it appears, old habits don’t really die. Not when the creatures doing them are so set in their ways.

“Y-yes mistress?” He whimpered, “Update me on the Crystal Ball, where exactly are we? And what path have you decided on? You do know, your decision determines our fate.” She said it so casually, her deep voice mocking the deadly undertones of her statement. She had put her future in the hands of a child. He had to be trustworthy. “Oh! Ah! Yes, well, it’s gonna take a few days…. I’ve determined the safest path…”

“Very well, though I don’t want to spend one more minute here. It’s dreadful, absolutely dreadful. I pity the ants that were born on this hill, swarming to mundanity like sugar. Not even a name worth taking, so sad. Wouldn’t you agree Dipper?”

The pink-haired boy stood up straight when his name was mentioned, awkwardly saluting as his baggy clothing flew through the air and the draggy sleeves seemed to shield his face. That was probably for the best, for fear and or anxiety had turned it a cherry red. How embarrassing. “You don’t have to agree with everything I say you know?” She bent down slightly, pushed the sleeve out of his face and looking directly into his eyes.

He began to speak, but she silenced him with her own words. “Just kidding, you’re my apprentice afterall.” It made Crickett cackle and Dipper himself found it somewhat funny as well, until the next words sprung from her purple lips. “Did you conceal our ship Dipper, as you were told?” He thought about this momentarily before nodding, “Yes Mistress Crickett! It’s all taken care of!” She smiled in return, shewing him off to go knit or play with a ball, whatever kids enjoyed doing.

What Dipper and Crickett thought to be a spell, rendering their ship invisible, was nothing more than an oversized blanket tossed over the naval vessel. It appeared “magic” in Stella Gaz hadn’t come very far and little did the witch and her apprentice know,

They were expecting company.

Just a few meters away from Crickett, definitely within range of being able to be seen, Misty and her first mate Joe stood like two lost puppies. The question Joe asked didn't make the situation any better and only put Misty in a state of confusion as even she had no idea what they were to do next, let alone a plan.

She slapped her hand under her chin and began to think, "I don't have a plan, but there was something that Stark mentioned we needed to do."

Silent still, she dropped down to her rear end and folded her legs on top of one another. Her position of holding her chin remained undone. She had been thinking hard on whatever it was that Stark had suggest. Then, in a spring of luck, she jumped to her feet and slammed her hand into her opposing palm.

"I remember now! A Log Pose!!!!" Misty exclaimed, excitement filled her body as if she had hit the lottery.

Her hand went to her forehead as she looked to the townsfolk. "Uhhh, these people all look busy," she said, everyone moving so fast carrying things from one shop, back to their boats. "It's so annoying trying not to disrupt peopl-" As she slung her head, she was Crickett and Dipper standing aside one another and unlike everyone else around, they didn't look as busy.

"Hey!" Misty said, waving at the two while running towards them both in a sprint. She didn't even warn Joe, she simply left him behind and hoped that he'd follow behind her. Do you know where the Log Pose is? We're supposed to find him here!" She called out to Crickett.

Joe just sighed, deep and heavy, before trudging after his captain, a look of exasperation on his face. "That girl, sometimes..."

A knock on the door looking for someone named Log Pose. Whoever the man was, he must have been deeply loved. Crickett glared at her loyal henchman, the boy who couldn't have been any older than thirteen.

"S-should I answer the door?" He asked shyly, attempting to peek out the window without being seen. An unlikely success, he was far from a trained ninja or a spy.

"Well it isn't going to get itself." Crickett snapped, causing Dipper to open the door. The two of them were a rather unsightly pair, a pasty woman covered in tattoos possessing fiery red locks, and then what appeared to be a pink-haired child slave. Both in ridiculous pointed hats, far from the pirate eras current fashion. Maybe they were trend setters.

Upon the door being opened and light hitting her face, Crickett rose from her velvet seat, the only item of furniture not covered by some sort of drape or layered with thick dust. Cobwebs crawled about the room every which way, laid by spiders Crickett had yet to kill. She moved towards the stranger slowly but surely, her body lankily swaying as she went. Despite wearing heels, she lacked the elegance and poise that most proper ladies had in them.

"Oh, this Log Pose... is he lost? Has fate brought us together to find him? Do you need my..." She leaned forward, "PRECOGNITION!" She dramatized the word, very heavily. Scarlet locks fell upon her face, this paired with the hat painted a grim and scary shadow! To tell the truth, it was an ability she didn't have, but a girl could still pretend.

Dipper tried to intervene, "I think they mean th-"

"QUIET!" She shouted, tossing a knife behind her which pinned him to a nearby wall. Almost out of sight, always out of mind! "Ignore him!" She smiled, clapping her hands together gently as if to welcome the guests inside.

"Oh you guys sure are nice!" Misty said, thinking nothing of the fact that a random stranger had invited her into her house. She was a friendly person herself and never had the intentions of hurting someone unless they did something to her first, so she had twisted her views to think the same thing about everyone else.

She waved out to Joe, knowing he'd come at her beckoning call, but at the same time he'd probably just wait for her outside the door. "Come on, Joe! These nice people are going to help us."

Head nodding, she stepped into the quarters of Dipper and Crickett. "Oh, wow, you guys have an entire house! This is so cool!"

Joe's eyes were everywhere as he stepped in behind her, having somehow caught up wither despite his slow walk. He was on the lookout for anything that his considerable experience might identify as a warning sign. He'd walked into plenty of situations - that is, his clients had - where he needed to bear considerable peril to save employers from obvious double crosses and ambushes. He had a spotless record despite the fact, and every job he weighed with the continuation of that record in mind. Now, that dedication was centered on Misty.

As Crickett welcomed them in, a table appeared in the room that hadn't been there before. Previously there was merely a chair with its back to an unlit fireplace, but now that fire had found its spark as well, creating life and shadow within the room as it danced.

On that table was a crystal ball, or at least that is what both Crickett and Dipper believed it to be. Log Pose was a foreign word to the pair, but to many others it would be easily recognizable, perhaps Misty was as blissfully ignorant as they were. Crickett extending her arms, beginning to talk in gibberish. The strange arrow within the crystal ball danced every which way, the fire oddly seemed to burn brighter, stronger...

"LOG POSE!" She shouted, her hands waving over the ball. "I see him..." She stated. "The man you are looking for... IS ON THIS ISLAND!" Crimson locks shielded her face, like spidery legs climbing down her entire body. Her voice deepened as the dramatic announcement was made, and her aura became somewhat scary, sinister even. The fire snuffed itself out. Mere coincidence. The truth was, Crickett was no soothsayer or seeress, the so-called crystal ball in front of her merely pointed to the next island...

But unfortunately, her homeland of Stella Gaz had taught her differently.

Misty smiled and stood in awe as Crickett went to work. Where the older woman had been misguided by the people of her land to believe something, Misty outright had no idea of what it was that Crickett had been doing, or at least trying to, and was fascinated by the display of what seemed to be her abilities.

"THAT IS SO COOL!" She shouted, shaking as she stood up and smiling from ear to ear. She'd never seen fortune telling before her eyes like this and to witness it was a whole new thing.

Joe sat back, skeptical but keeping quiet.

"So that Log Pose guy is here!" Her head bounced up and down as she nodded. "Okay, ma'am! So, he's here and I need to find him so he can tell me where it is I need to head to next." Her naive nature made her forget the fact that Stark stated it was something they'd need to get from a local store on the island.

"Does that thing tell you exactly where he is?"

"Oh yes, it certainly does..." She stated, her spider-like claws she called hands waving over the Log Pose. Anyone with even the slightest nautical knowledge might have thought they were putting on a comedy show. "Isn't that right Dipper?" She eyed her apprentice, who was poking at the fireplace with a stick in attempts to do... something. Probably look busy. He didn't want to disappoint Crickett.

"Erm, yeah, yeah, totally Mistress Crickett!" He shuffled over, barely able to walk in such baggy clothes. You'd think they would have tailored his robes a little better, but he wasn't so lucky. They were hand-me-downs from Crickett's old apprentice, whoever that was.

"He is here, somewhere in the west of this island, apparently." Dipper commented on the direction the pose was fixated on. Truth be told, it only had a few hours left before it's reset, when it would point them to the path he had determined to be safest. Why it was pointing west now was the same reason it was pointing south twenty minutes ago. The magnetic poles had yet to settle! No doubt that direction had nothing in it at all, or at least logic and reason would say so. Too bad the world was not based on fact, for what was happening in the western quadrant of Twin Cape was everything but.

One and Two[]

Twin Cape had seen considerable expansion over the last handful of decades. What was once a lone lighthouse was now a thriving port town, with buildings and homes situated both high and low about reverse mountain's red turfs. In the northern part of the town, roughly a twenty minute hike from where they'd docked their ship, Clovis, Behram, and Zed had found a tavern that went by the name of "Lighthouse Lovers".

The three pirates had been here for any number of hours by now, helping themselves to both breakfast and lunch. Piles of plates stacked up towards the ceiling; Clovis' already stout belly was now even more round. As he pulled the flesh off of a fish and began cleaning his teeth with its bone, the pirate captain let out an audible burp as his eyes found Zed.

"So what's this need for logging your journey?" Clovis wondered sincerely. He gestured to the book Zed always seemed to carry around so protectively with him. "That book. You haven't set it down once in the hours I've known you, Zed."

"This thing is my treasure." Zed tapped the bag where he kept his book. He didn't realise how absorbed he had been into his writing until Clovis called him out on it. "I'm sorry if I've been a little focused on it , but so many exciting things happened that I was afraid I'd forget something. He chugged down the rest of his drink before finishing. "One day this will be the most famous book in existence and it will be my way to live on in this world, my magnum opus. So I have to get everything right."

Clovis twirled the fishbone between his teeth like a toothpick. He rested back in his chair, letting his belly out while he rubbed it with his other hand. He studied Zed's face as he spoke. It was evident to him that this was more than just his passion. It was his life's goal.

"Wow. What an ambitious goal that is." Clovis rose up his eyebrows. "There's a lot of books in the world. And you want it to be the most famous book ever? A tall task. But, I say it's worth going for. As long as you believe you can do it then what's it matter what someone else thinks? You know what I realized? Everyone in this world seems to just be too afraid to live out their dreams. It's always the ones who are too lazy or too scared to take the first step forward themselves who have the most to say against what you really want."

Clovis tossed the bone into an empty bowl and grabbed a cup of water. Yes, this pirate was strangely staying away from the booze. "If that really is your goal-hm, you're gonna have to make it worth reading." Clovis grinned. "Say, will you come with me? I'll give you plenty of adventures to write about." Clovis cupped his hand in front of his mouth then whispered to Zed. "I'm aiming to be Pirate King."

"Really? See, one of the things I wanted to write about was the One Piece. The legendary treasure. No one's ever written about it, only those who have seen it know what it is. But the One Piece is real. And I'm going to see it and write about it, tell the world what it is. I even learned how to read those poneglyphs in order to help find it. " Zed smiled. Rana jumped on his head as he leaned forward. "Zahahaha. Tell you what. Keep me entertained, take me to see the One Piece and you got yourself a deal."

"Poneglyph?" It was the first time Clovis had heard of such a thing. He knew about the One Piece, of course. Or the myth, rather. All the pirates in the world were after the treasure of the previous Pirate King. The pirate who led his crew to find it was dubbed as the next "Pirate King" so naturally Clovis himself longed to find it. "What's that?" he wondered aloud, showing no shame over his lack of wisdom.

"The One Piece has to be real..." Clovis agreed. "It wouldn't make sense otherwise-hm. So many pirates are risking their lives to go after it. I really wonder what it is. It has to be something real important if the Pirate King hid it away like that. I wonder... could it be a powerful Devil Fruit? Now that would be a damn shame. I've already eaten one-hmm."

"I read about them in a book when I was a kid, my father told me about it because he knew a man that could read them back in Loguetown." Zed scratched his head. "Do you know what a stele is? To put it simply they're big chunks of stone with text written in an ancient script carved into them. It's said that they show the way to the One Piece. I can go into detail if you'd like but we can save that for later"

Zed was so engrossed in the poneglyph talk that he had disregarded the fact that Clovis had just told him he ate a devil fruit. When he finally realised it, his expression completely changed. "Y-you ate a devil fruit? Tell me something. Is it true that devil fruit users feed off of human bones and blood? 'Cause I ain't trying to be eaten. See I got a fruit of my own, stole it from an island back in East Blue. Rana, come here. " The little frog jumped into his lap and from it's little backpack, Zed took out a pear shaped amber colored fruit. "But I don't know what to do with it."

Stele blocks that contained ancient scripture? Apparently which entailed the whereabouts of One Piece? "Why is this the first time I'm hearing about something like this," Clovis thought aloud to himself, then it occurred to him that he should keep his voice hush. Leaning forward in his seat and speaking in a lower tone, he addressed the topic further. "I'm thinking this is something not a lot of people know about. This is the first I'm hearing of it. Tell me... are there many like you who can read those blocks? Hell, I can't even read regular writing. A shame, I know. I won't ever be able to understand that book of yers."

Clovis' eyes wandered to the frog and then to the fruit. "Hoy... you've found one?" Clovis eyes widened. "Aye, that's right. I ate one. Not particularly by choice... but the powers they can bestow upon those who eat them are beyond anyone's imagination. Are you not planning on trying it for yourself?"

Zed looked around, seeking to find someones eavesdropping. When he thought it was safe, he covered his mouth and whispered. "I don't think there are many who can read it. And I've been told that the ones who do tend to keep it to themselves. It attracts the government's eye. I'm only telling you this because if you want to be the Pirate King you should know about this as soon as possible. " He then grabbed the fruit and examined it. When he was finished, he took a sniff but it didn't have any particular smell. "It doesn't smell like anything. I don't know about eating it though. I'm sure this bestowing of powers has some catch to it. I don't to have eaten human bones and blood."

"Well if you don't plan on eating it..." Clovis glanced to Behram. "My buddy here's been looking all over for one. Ain't that right, Thug? I'm pretty satisfied by my power. I don't think I'll be eating another fruit for awhile. But I don't think there's such a thing as a bad power. A Devil Fruit user will never lose to an ordinary person. Only someone with a better Devil Fruit can beat a strong Devil Fruit user."

"I don't know if I'll eat it. I have to think about it. I'll hold on to it for the time being. Even if I don't eat it, I think they sell for a really high price. Some extra cash might be good." He put the fruit back in Rana's backpack. "I could experiment with it. Should be safe enough. I have time to figure out what to do with it." He cracked his neck and knuckles before continuing. "Now to more important matters... What's next?"

Behram had finally snapped back since their travels over Reverse Mountain. How they were able to survive such a treacherous journey was beyond him, but that only meant fate had a better plan for them. But the motion sickness he suffered from needed to be dealt with and needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

"Hey, hey, Captain." Behram said, "I'd be nice to get some new clothes and get out of the rags-domo." He said, pulling on his torn up shirt, damaged pants, and shoeless feet. To be honest, he didn't look much like a pirate at all and when standing beside Clovis and Zed he looked more akin to that of a slave. What a cold world they lived in.

It had been a few hours since they had been in the Lighthouse Lovers tavern. It was a trio of pirates that had decorated the news a short while ago. Santiago drank mug after mug of strong rum, while his other two comrades were more modest in their consumption. Of course, even Santiago's excessive drinking paled in comparison to the ravenous guy with a huge gut sitting at the opposite end.

The journey had been treacherous, sailing up and then down Reverse Mountain had been an excessively arduous task. Yet thanks to Finwind and Harlow's navigating experience, combined with the useful powers the others possessed, allowed them to pass through the storm and into the sea that would either make their dreams a reality, or crush them as countless pirates through history.

"Gulp!" Santiago chugged his last drink, placing it in a pile. "Aaah...Hey, you know what's weird, Allie? Seems the regulars here are avoiding us..."

Aleph sat opposite to Santiago, while their captain remained in the middle. He held a cigar and looked around him. Thanks to Harlow's words of encouragement, and Santiago's "miracle drug", Aleph's previously damaged and featherless wings had returned to its glory. Even if it proved to be dangerous, he would now showcase his black wings with pride after nearly a decade of hiding his true heritage. His white hair would no longer be dyed black, and he wore a Donatelli Designs battlesuit, with nothing but sandals on his feet. He had a buttoned orange shirt, with the buttons around his neck open and a necktie hanging loosely. Beside him, rested a pair of weapons, hidden by a black coat. Even with that, his most prevalent feature along his black wings was the constant flame that lighted his back. Aleph moved his cigar to his back, lighting it up with his flames.

"Ya' just noticed?" He said while taking a few puffs. "Captain made the headlines just a short while ago. They stare but surely know not to look at us with a weird eye. And stop calling me Allie, it’s not a nickname if my real name’s as short. You’re just calling me a different name. And I hate it.” Aleph said while directing a glare to Santiago briefly, then turning his gaze back at the trio that just emptied countless servings.

Santiago took a bite out of Aleph’s plate. “Well, Harlow’s notoriety isn’t the only thing they stare at.” He said while jerking his head at Aleph’s wings. “You should be more grateful for what I did, and as payment let me call you whatever I want.” He said with a sinister grin. “And what the hell do YOU keep staring at?”

“Tch! I never agreed to such terms. You simply wanted me as your lab rat.” He then jerked his head towards the far table. “Those three stooges. They’re irritating…”

Santiago turned to look, then glanced back at Aleph. “Them? They look harmless! Or…” He then leaned closer. “Do you have something against the chubby people?”

Aleph placed a hand on the table forcibly, then leaned closer to Harlow and Santiago. “It’s not that. See that long armed guy? Apparently the guy’s some sort of deal. He’s one of the new rookies people have been talking about, supposedly from the South…”

Looking over where her subordinate had gestured, Harlow's gaze was drawn to the Man who was clearly from the Long Arm Tribe, his long and shaggy hair and demented smile allowing her to recognize him. "It appears that we aren't the only big names on the island." She made a light remark as she drank from the mug in front of her, her gaze never leaving the man's face.

"So, that’s the infamous "Shinigami" from the South?, How interesting, the man worth Beli 120,000,000 and the only one from this new era to be worth more than me."With an amused smirk on her lips, she inquired aloud.

"He looks to be far more foolish than I anticipated." She finished by handing Aleph her mug and leaning forward, her face in her palm.

Zed probed the other tables with his eyes. Most of them didn't have anyone remotely interesting using them until one of them caught his attention.

"Hoy, Clovis. That girl in the black hat's looking at you funny. Do you know her?" Zed had no idea who were the other table's occupants. Since the start of his journey that he hadn't been reading the news and that made him completely unaware that he was not only in the presence of two pirates with over Beli 100,000,000 bounties but he had also spent the last few hours talking to one.

Behram had finally re-joined Clovis and Zed after departing for a moment in search for a new set of clothes. His former ripped cloth were no more and he returned with a much better appearance altogether. It was unclear where he had gone to style his hair up in such a manner, but he managed to even have that fixed up to a more presentable standard, giving him a bit of distinction from Clovis.

His bare skin was expose and all he had over his upper body, was a brown shirt captain's coat with goal shoulder pads and gold trimming along the lining. It was chipped off around the collar and chest area, evident that it had been a more used cloth, but he had only acquired a small amount of money from the Gryphon's Ship when he jumped aboard it and stole from it. His lower body was covered by a pair of basic black slacks and feet wore a pair of black loafers.

"Aye, Capt'n," he said, looking more healthy then he did when originally introduced. A couple plates of food and supply of water would get one there. "So you've found yourself a brawd? Thafufufufufufu!" He laughed, "Don't really seem like your type, but she got a nice set." He said, holding his hands up to his own chest. "So I'm not even mad at you!"

As both of his subordinates pointed out the obvious, Clovis himself couldn't help but notice the blonde haired woman at the other end of the tavern giving him a strange look. At first he thought it was because he may have had something in his teeth. Then he thought he had crumbs left over in his beard. But nothing he did seemed to avert her gaze. And since neither he nor his crew seemed to know of her, it wasn't long before Clovis began to take things personally.

"Hoy, don't get the wrong idea, Behram! I've seen what a woman's love can do to a man. I don't plan on walking down that road myself." Clovis eyed Harlow back, meeting her gaze with his own. Veins bulged in his forehead. The expression her face held... it carried a certain arrogance in it. As if she were telling him how much better she was than him, just by sitting across the room.

"Hmph... I don't like that look on her face. She seems to have quite the opinion of herself-hm. Just who does she think she is? Acting as if she owns this place..." Clovis slammed his fist against the table. The size of one of his massive hands was even larger than that of his entire skull. A subtle slam of it caused the table to split in half and crumble, both sides falling in opposite directions so that they freed up his legs.

"You should learn to mind your own business! Who do you think yer lookin' at?!" Yet, she still said nothing. She was tormenting him with her silence. "That settles it." The man who had come to be known as "Shinigami" for his deeds in South Blue rose to his feet as seemingly all eyes within the tavern turned towards him. "I'm gonna wipe that stupid look right off of your face!"

Clovis' right arm emitted a singular green string. One turned to two, and two turned to four. The strings multiplied many times over until they encased the entirety of his arm, sharp nails jutting out of where his fingertips had once been. The woman's gaze was such that the others in her immediate presence virtually went unnoticed by Clovis. He seemed to be directing this frustration only towards her.

In one swift motion, Clovis aimed the palm of his hand towards Harlow and in that same moment his wrist snaked across the room. A trail of stringy green straw puppeted the limb towards Harlow; Clovis intended to grab hold of her skull with his extendable reach, and upon establishing contact with her identity he could then cause that very hand itself to emanate an explosion.

This was a variation of the scarcely known "Hakai Ho" of the Longarm Tribe, garnered by Clovis through his partial transformation of a scarecrow's hand. "Flying... Jack!" A sizeable detonation would commence, potent enough to consume the table of the opposing pirate faction if not blow down the wall of the tavern which stood behind them.

Santiago went to grab the entire plate from Aleph, when he felt a strong breeze, forcing him to keep his own black hat in place. Aleph hadn’t removed his gaze from Clovis, even as he became visibly irritated, cleaning himself up and meeting Harlow’s stare.

Clovis’s arms became thin and string-like, the straw extending in order to reach Harlow. Once he saw the sudden and quick transformation, Aleph took a last inhalation of his cigar, and leapt forward. The Lunarian jumped over the table swiftly, his wings allowing him to glide the short distance much faster. His large and dark wings then crossed in front of him as he stood before the attack. Clovis’s blades fingers would meet his appendages that now covered Aleph’s entire body, one wing covering his legs and lower body, and the other the remaining upper area.

“You made the first attack...” He uttered.

The moment the sharp claws met his wings, they released a flaming detonation, blowing apart the floor and sending tables and chairs flying about, and pushing Aleph to slid back to smack the table behind. At that instant the explosion ensued, Aleph’s wings flapped open, pushing the impact away from his comrades and trying to force Clovis’s serpentine arm to coil back in the air, as he released a torrent of hot wind throughout the tavern. Even amidst the debris, smoke and dust, Aleph’s eyes seemed to glimmer a crimson hue as he stared down Clovis, his black wings fully extended open now as he released a puff of smoke from his mouth, his back flaming.

“So you should be prepared for what comes next.” Pulling back his cigar, he turned slightly to Harlow. “It’s your call now, Captain. I’d say we return fire…” Aleph declared while looking back to Clovis and his companions.

Watching Aleph casually leap to her defense was truly amusing for Harlow as she remained seated with her face resting in her palm, she was truly confident in her crews ability to defend so it had no sense for her to bother reacting. "It would seem our dear "Shinigami" is another trigger happy fool." She stated amusedly as she finally snapped her eyes away from him towards Aleph.

"It would be unbecoming of us if we simply allowed such actions to go unpunished wouldn’t it." She stated rhetorically before the entire bar erupted into a frenzy as numerous plant-life sprung up from the ground, walls and ceilings, completely covering the entire place in a thick jungle. As with all in her life, Harlow had planned ahead the moment she stepped into the bar she had noticed Clovis and his crew and knew that trouble would most likely brew between then seeing as they were the current top two contenders of the generation, so it was without saying that she made plans by releasing a breath of seeded spores throughout the bar which she now used to blood her garden.

"You’re the one who stated this, so be prepared for what’s to come." She stated as she unleashed a torrent of wildflowers in their direction.

With a grimace, Clovis pulled back his arm. He hadn't suspected anyone else to intervene when he challenged Harlow; and most of all, he didn't expect to see flames, of all things, again so soon. It instantly reminded him of his own vulnerability. Fire, as far as he was concerned, was just about the only thing that could penetrate his body. Everything else seemed to pass through seamlessly.

"What's with that bastard?!" Clovis exclaimed while puffing air on the tips of his finger. "He has black wings coming out of his back and they just shot out fire-hm? He's a freak!" said the man with ridiculously long arms.

Clovis looked around as the entirety of the tavern was lost to a steady growing jungle. There was no mistaking it. This must have been the workings of a Devil Fruit. They had become even more common since entering the Grand Line. Is this her power? Greenery like this has got to be weak to fire, too. Which means she'll keep her own underling in check. If he uses those flames again, this time he'll be burning us both.

"Hoy, don't pin this on me. You're the one who started this the moment you looked at me funny. You can't blame a man with a bounty on his head for being cautious about the looks he receives-hm. You can never be too careful. What if yer a marine? I'd rather not take any chances." Clovis stood his ground, waiting around to feel the tension in the air for just a moment longer. Having set foot into the Grand Line mere hours ago, he was not informed of the many other rookies who now occupied Twin Cape. He was likely the last to arrive.

"N-No! Let me outta here!" a civilian cried out, tripping over a vine on the ground and landing in front of where the exit was. Now lined by countless greens, he had no way of escape. "I... I don't want to get involved in a fight between two pirates!!"

"The 'Shinigami' and 'Black Hat' are about to let loose!!" another woman cried. She was a brave one, trying to tunnel through the shrubs in her way only to never be seen again.

"'Shinigami'?" Clovis wondered aloud, overhearing the commotion around them. "'Black Hat'?" Clovis had no idea what they were talking about. To him this matter was personal. It had nothing to do with who Harlow was. She was looking at him in such a way that it raised his suspicions. He resolved to deal with her rather than to allow her to gain something from her observations. It was that simple.

"I see-hm. So yer a pirate. And the room turning into the way it is now... yer a Devil Fruit user, too. Which means..." As he paused, the green strings that had transformed his arm earlier began to resurface from all pores of his skin. They squirmed and wormed until they took over his entire body, increasing his size many times over until he became a scarecrow with fangs protruding from his mouth. He towered over the Black Hat pirates while shielding Behram and Zed with his body. "...You'll have a bounty I can cash in on!"

Clovis' voice became daunting, sounding as if two ominous voices were overlapping over each other. "Kaaashishi!" With both hands now transformed into talons, Clovis aimed to slash through the many flower petals that were being sent his crew's way.

"Thafufufufufufu!" Behram laughed as his Captain followed up with his last words. Cashing in on a bounty was definitely something Behram could get behind and the fact he felt better than before could only allude to how he would stand alongside his captain.

He dropped both of his arms down to his side, like retracting strings a unusually long piece of cloth fell down like a chain where it hung on the ground gripped into the palm of his hand. It stretched across the broken tavern, laying around like a stretched out anaconda waiting for its prey--but this snake was pitch white.

The people within the building attempted to escape, though before they could, the ends of Behram's cloth wrapped around them and slithered up to their necks where they were ensnared immediately--no strangled--and lifted off into the air. In the matter of seconds, their bodies became like ends for his cloth, or marionettes until the control of Behram. "If it's money on her head, Capt'n, there's gotta be some on their heads too!" He shouted excitedly, referring to the members of her crew."

His gaze tucked as his lips curved upward into a demonic smirk. "I say they've just made us some rich bastards!" Swinging his cloth around, Behram aimed the strangled people's bodies towards the members of the Black Hat Pirates.

"Come on, man. Don't go out killing random people, that's not nice." Stooding up, Zed cracked his knuckles and neck. "Plus, this whole thing seems unnecessary. But I guess I got to follow your lead now, right?" He grabbed his shovel and sword to defend himself. "Don't let me die, captain."

The screams reached even the ear of Finwind, who was sitting just outside, preferring not to share air with the overwhelming amount of humans inside. He progress a sigh "Black Hat, you force my hand yet again" he mumbled, before turning to enter the now jungle'd interior of the tavern. He immediately took note of one of the men getting up, Zed. Finwind grabbed a wooden chair and hurled it toward the man "We suggest you remain seated, as the show is only just beginning." he mocked.

Taking notice of the flying chair, Zed took a swing at it with his shovel, smashing it into a wall. He then turned to face Finwind. "Another one? As if three weren't enough... You leave me alone!" Pointing his sword at him, moved behind Clovis and Behram. It's not that he was scared, but he couldn't help letting the nerves get to him. Pirate fights were much more intense than he had imagined and what he had to deal with back in East Blue was nothing compared to it.

Finwind let out a heavy breath, a slight chuckle, before rushing forward and attempting to grab Zed by his face. He would shove the man backwards towards a nearby window. The goal was to give his captain space, having Finwind around would only go as far as to limit her abilities, she'd be holding back, and he didn't want that.


"I'll leave the others to you two," Harlow said as she slashed at the plants around him, plants that exploded in toxin and liquid when destroyed before another quickly spawned in their place. "I'm sure you realize losing isn't an option." She stated as she cast a glance at Santiago and winked at him.

Refocusing her attention on Clovis, Harlow couldn't help but smile as her plan came to fruition. Harlow was amused knowing that the outcome of their little scuffle would increase one of their reputations after leaving the island. She had anticipated that another of the new generation of rookies would stop at Twin Capes, so she had divided up her crew to scout of each person with a bounty to either subjugate or eliminate.

"To think that a pitiful man like you would outshine me in terms of bounty amount is truly amusing and annoying." She called out to Clovis as she manipulated a vine net to reanimate the corpses of the dead former bar patrons. Harlow had no intention of allowing Clovis and the Pain Pirates escape now that she had them in her sight.

"So I'll take care you right now, Shinigami." Harlow stated as she directed the marionettees to attack the pirate while continuing to bloom greenery throughout the bar, unconcerned about who or what was damaged in the process.

"Eh?" The last Clovis had seen of his bounty he was worth a measly Beli Small12M. Which was nothing compared to the bounties he later saw towards the end of his voyage in South Blue. If this girl had a bounty even lower than that, then she truly was nothing to gloat over. "Outshine you in bounty? How could you possibly know what I'm worth-hm? I don't remember you being around South Blue!"

Lucien was a pirate from the New World, belonging to the crew of one of the Yonko. Of course his capture would make headlines far beyond South Blue. Clovis had been in the Grand Line for no more than a handful of hours, but his name had arrived long before he had.

Seeing her as even less of a threat than before, Clovis --rather dismissively-- declared, "fine by me. Let's settle this. Pirate-to-pirate. One of us dies here!"

I've defeated countless big names by now! What's this little girl compared to them? Clovis eyed the corpses that came to attack him at her command. I can't lie about that though... that's really cool! She's using those dead bodies to come at me-hm?!

Clovis stood his ground and swiped his arms at the air before him. Straw strings formed at his fingertips, so thin that they were difficult to see with the naked eye. These strings possessed immense cutting power; Clovis was aiming to mutilate the reanimated corpses, sending severed limbs and pieces of their body to scatter around the tavern.

Harlow realized as she watched Clovis concentrate on the bodies that he wasn't the most experienced fighter. Looking around at the plantlife that had begun to engulf the tavern and the turmoil of the others brawling before returning his gaze to Clovis, Harlow determined that things were becoming too cluttered and that they needed to go before they become entangled in the struggle of the others. Harlow grew a flower beneath Clovis' feet and used it to wrap around and "swallow" the pirate before repeating the technique on herself. The goal was not to attack or capture Clovis, as he would rapidly discover that he was released in a matter of seconds, but he would quickly find himself not in the tavern with his crew but in the center of a crowded location, before Harlow appeared before him from a flower on the ground.

"I apologize for it, but I grew tired of all the chaos at that Tavern." Harlow apologized as the others surrounding them began to notice the two, some recognizing them and frightening out.

The speed and familiarity with which Harlow was capable of sprouting a flower to not only transport Clovis but house his enlarged scarecrow form was genuinely alarming. He felt the world around him grow dark for a moment before he was suddenly raised before a crowd; out before the public in the square of town. The red earth of the red line welcomed him as he rose back up to his feet, towering over the fleeing citizens and Harlow herself.

"'Black Hat', huh?" Clovis thought aloud to himself, not necessarily needing his opponent to confirm her identity. "The way you use your Devil Fruit is... impressive." A nervous bead of sweat trickled down the side of Clovis' face. To be honest, it never occurred to him until that very moment that one could further their prowess with the powers of their fruit through training. Very clearly Harlow had; the way she moved implied that her techniques were tamed with practice. On the other hand, Clovis believed in spontaneity. He believed in improvising.

"I wonder... what is your goal? If you're sailing these seas for the same reason I am... then you just might become a problem for me, after all. I think it's best I eliminate you right here, 'Black Hat'!" Clovis crossed his arms across his chest and spread his straw feet slightly apart. As a helmsman, he made use of the wind to carry his ship by its sails. Through the same application, he was going to make use of the breeze about the island and let it guide his scarecrow body.

The body of a scarecrow was unlike any ordinary Zoan transformation. Normally upon transforming, users of such powers gained a plethora of physical benefits. Superior strength, superior durability, superior instincts. However, because the straw which composed a scarecrow's body was so thin, Clovis received no such amplifications upon transforming. Instead his body became hollow. It took away his internal organs and enabled him to survive without them; yet most of all, with how light his body became, it offered Clovis a massive boost in speed.

"Fushi no Maikaze..." By surrendering all restraints, Clovis could ride the wind current and let it further bolster his speed. In what seemed to be an instant, Clovis blitzed forward, hoping to catch Harlow by surprise with his newfound speed. He swiped his nailed hands in a lateral fashion, intending to leave a deep wound on Harlow's shoulder. "Juhari no Kouzai!!!"

"A Zoan… No, a Mythical Zoan, which is quite rare in these waters." Harlow remarked as she watched Clovis Transform, she was intrigued by his devil fruit and was considering exploring its capabilities.

Humming positively as Clovis viability vanished from her sight in a burst of speed, Harlow did nothing to move or evade what was to come, instead she merely watched and waited as a field of flowers bloomed across the area, covering the once barren red soil and creating a garden of flora, cover to the scattering Civilians with amusement, Harlow subtly breathed out a swarm of seeded spores which got blown around by the wind.

Re-focusing on her current position, Clovis, as fast as he was, paled in comparison to Harvey and Mako, as was proven as Harlow's head turned to look directly at Clovis as a thick flow of sharp wooden spikes erupted from her body, aiming squarely at Clovis.

With how he rode within it, Harlow's faint words were carried along by the wind. With top speed, Clovis darted for Harlow and with a swipe of his talons he tore off the wooden spikes that were emanated from her chest, yet failed to inflict any actual damage to her real body. The wind carried Clovis further ahead against his wishes; he was lifted up off his feet and for a moment it almost seemed like he was going to fly off. He countered this by transforming back into his usual self, using the weight of his base state to instead land on the roof of a nearby building.

Harlow's spores went unnoticed by Clovis, who was much too focused on trying to control his own abilities while also falling for the distraction that her garden of flowers served. They took hold of his eyes in such a way that he grew wary of the flowers, wondering why Harlow would harvest them if not to attack him. What's the deal with that garden? If I step on one by mistake is she gonna transport me like she did before? I'll have to be more careful.

Clovis shot strings out of his fingertips, so thin that the naked eye could barely discern them without the right angle of sunlight. He then leaped into the air and took flight, at least visibly so. In truth he was using his straw strings to traverse the skies by attaching them to the clouds above.

"Kaashishishi! A 'Mythical Zoan', you say?" Clovis was no expert on Devil Fruits, but he had encountered Mythical Zoans previously. He knew they were the rarest power in the world and what had made Lucien so supremely strong. Now, he had no way of telling what kind of fruit the Kashi Kashi no Mi was, but with how smart Harlow seemed to be, he was going to have to take her word for it. "That's right! I've eaten such a rare power!! Does it make you cower in fear at the thought of having to face me?!"

Instead of responding vocally, Harlow simply smiled amused at Clovis. He had no idea he had played right into her hands by opting to soar rather than stay on Earth. Harlow had predicted that Clovis would have a small aversion to the plantlife she generated attributed to her previous use to transport him, and with her spreading a vast field of plantlife throughout the area, Clovis would have no choice but to take to the sky or roof. Given his previous use of his straw body to boost his speed, she had assumed he was capable of floating or gliding, which was proven right, albeit in a different way.

"It appears that arrogance breeds in all species other than humans." Harlow smiled as she raised her hand and snapped her finger. The spores she had created earlier were not ordinary spores; they had the power to combust when exposed to sunlight, and her snapping her finger hand removed the outer shell that prevented immediate combustion from occurring prematurely.

"Your fruit is unique among the many, but you lack the knowledge and understanding of its powers, therefore you're just a small fish with a golden hook." She said this with a smirk only seconds before her plan came to fruition.

'BOOM'

The entire skyscraper burst in a fiery explosion that rapidly merged with the untouched spores to create a deluge of fire that raced downwards, the pressure from the explosion was powerful enough to shatter windows and leave fissures in the surrounding. Harlow enclosed herself in a "Armor" of thick Sap coated Bark to protect herself from getting injured by her own ploy.

Clovis had played right into Harlow's trap. Once she had deduced his use of the winds to bolster himself, she had discreetly planted her seeds down the same current. As Clovis sprang through the air with his strings, he became nothing more than a fly caught within a web.

"W-Wait a second...!" he exclaimed upon seeing the glow of the seeds in the air before him, but it was too late. The detonation claimed him, along with the entire building itself. A fiery funeral surrounded Clovis' smothered form, a sizable crater underneath him like a bed. He rolled around, back and forth, desperately trying to extinguish the flames that sought to devour his straw body. Fire was far too potent to a scarecrow-ningen and unfortunately for Clovis, an all too common weapon.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!!!" Clovis screamed at the top of his lungs, fighting just to remain alive. Even a small candle flame could threaten to spread over his whole body. Being caught in an explosion spelled certain death. Trauma plagued deep into his mind. Somehow he managed to wither the flames away, yet he could hardly manage to get himself to his feet. He settled to be prone on his knees, hand clutching his throat as he begged for air.

"Gahh.... gahhh!!!" There was no time to think, only breathe. He sniffed hard into the air trying to fill up his lungs.

"So this is a man's strength worth Beli 120,000,000?" As Harlow approached the downed Clovis with a look of sadness and pity on her face, the Fem of people who had escaped the explosion and debris began taking pictures of Harlow standing over the defeated Clovis. "How pitiful." She uttered as roots sprang from her arm, piercing Clovis' skin while the grass beneath his back sprouted and coiled around him, trapping him. "I have no idea what the World Government was thinking, but it doesn't matter." Harlow began draining the nutrients from Clovis's downed body without a command, intending to kill him by mummification. She was dissatisfied with the outcome after hearing about the deadly creature known as the "Shinigami," yet all she got was an arrogant upstart.

"It appears that you fell short of expectations."

Before she could fully absorb the nutrients from Clovis, she was rudely interrupted by the sound of screaming, which prompted her to look over and see a wave of Magma crashing into the center. "Wait, what the fuck?" As she watched a few people being scorched alive by the wave, she exclaimed in shock. Harlow was forced to move owing to an impending wave before she could even register what was occurring.

Clovis was dragged along with her as she used Soru to quickly move into the air, his roots still tied to hers. She frowns when she lands on a roof some distance away. Harlow frowns as she releases Clovis, considering killing him now but decided against it because the unexpected rush of Lava piqued her interest instead. "It appears that a greater power is watching over you today." She said this as she kicked him to the side before vanishing in a burst of Soru, wanting to find her crew before things got even worse.

Harlow's vines invaded Clovis' very being. It baffled him. Swords and bullets had failed to pierce his straw body. Fire seemed to be the only thing which could bypass his defenses and penetrate his real body ordinarily, yet Harlow unveiled yet another counter into the mix. It was beyond Clovis' understanding to comprehend how exactly this was possible, but Harlow's plants could interact with the tangible body that was hidden within the straw.

Clovis could do nothing but wither in agony as the vines spiraled up and around his body, invading all premises. He felt the life being sucked straight out of him; fluid, fat, and all. There was no chance for escape. No opportunity to capitalize on. He was bested by this superior Devil Fruit user, who saw through every last one of his tricks while preparing a calculated plan to coast to victory.

Just when he thought he had met his end, Clovis was discarded like an afterthought. Magma from the distant streets caved into the town and ironically saved Clovis' life; he laid there in a heap on the ground among fallen debris, watching as the pool of magma slowly but surely was headed in his direction. Left to die, it seemed like Clovis could do nothing but await his demise, until he caught sight of some civilians nearby.

Clovis was laying with his stomach flat on the ground, arms beside him. He found the strength to twist his neck so as to rest his face on its side. Then he punched a hole into the dirt beside him, transforming his arm from the wrist down into straw to burrow a tunnel underground. The hand surfaced from the soil before one of the civilians, taking him by surprise and establishing a firm hold of his face. Clovis released the man after a brief moment, returning his hand through the tunnel back to his side.

What Clovis gained remained obscured, yet a ridge opened in his arm and a singular straw doll emerged from within. It immediately fell to the ground and within the next instant, the man whom Clovis had grabbed could be heard screaming in the background. The man's body was suddenly covered in deep wounds and burns and he fell to the ground, unable to move. This allowed the pool of magma to catch up to him, silencing his screams once and for all.

Clovis stood up to his feet hardly the same. There was a newfound spring to his step; all of the damage he had sustained in battle with Harlow was now imminently gone, as if the bout had never even taken place. Hornigold Clovis who was renown as the "Shinigami" had cheated death yet again and leaped into the skies just as the magma spread over the ground beneath him. Commanding the skies with his straw, Clovis retreated to wherever he could find a suitable place to land.

Chaos Erupts[]

After spending quite some time in the South blue causing chaos and mayhem within the area, Amaterasu decided to continue her journey onward in order to complete her journey of conquest. There is a path of death that Amaterasu Hawkes had left in her wake because she killed all who she could because she wanted to find those who were strong because she could. In the process of bringing herself to reverse mountain, she found that her ship had become battered and nearly destroyed. The only reason it was still afloat was the fact that she forced a few shipwrights to repair the damage it had suffered from the conflicts she had been involved in during her adventure.

There is a mountain called the Reverse Mountain, which is the entry point into the Grand Line. As it was known, this particular part of the sea was infamous for being the graveyard of many such pirates, but for one rather menacing woman, this was not the case. All of this started with her ship crashing into the reverse mountain's entrance after it collided with its entrance.

There was a single woman in the wreckage, rather floatsam pieces that flew around, who stood on the wooden chunks that flew around before she jumped onto one of the sheer cliff faces of the reverse mountain from atop the wreckage. When the woman unsheathed their blade, she jammed it into the side of the cliff...before it clanged off, just like what would happen if an idiot jammed the point of their sword into a rock without thinking.

It was then that Amaterasu realized she didn't have to climb this thing after all. The vapor surrounding them soon formed into clouds that slowly lifted them up towards the top of the reverse mountain as they slowly made their way upwards. In spite of the fact that the boat had remained battered and taking water her lips would smack in disbelief at the lousy job the shipwrights had done, rather than taking responsibility for the crash that caused the ship to crash into the mountainside.

The large cloud suddenly broke through the top of the mountain, the cloud having climbed up the side of the mountain utilizing the updraft created by the water from the mountain's entrance, allowing for the cloud to be sent flying up. Having reached the peak of the mountain, the woman sat up high, looking over the large valley below the mountain. From there, the woman stood atop their cloud, lifting their arms...shouting to the wind, to no one in particular,

“..Finally, after so long...this damned stretch o' the sea, isn't it? I can smell the blood from here...Oh, this'll be fun. I guess I haven't given this a proper sayin'..a toast, to all the unfortunate people I'll be robbing of their lives."

The woman, being Amaterasu , lifted a bottle of Sake from the prior ship that had crashed, before popping the cork off to take a sip, before spilling some onto the sea river that flowed down.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, her body pushing out every last bit of air until there was nothing left. The sheer speed at which the ship descended down the mountain was definitely concerning. Hell it would seem that even once she managed to get to this so called 'Paradise' that she ran the risk of having their ship be absolutely destroyed on the way down. The ship itself has banged against the walls of reverse mountain with each breaking more and more of the ship apart as she laughed at the destruction a mountain could cause before long there was barely anything left. As Amaterasu looked around at the wreckage she would rip off a piece of plywood that seemed to be a good shape for what she had intended to do with it.

Amaterasu would get a running start with the small piece of the ship that remained as it crashed into the wall destroying what was left. From within the sky Amaterasu had leaped up using the Plywood as a surfboard as she began to surf the harsh waves of the reverse mountain. A devious grin stretched out across her face as she was laughing menacingly enjoying the thrill of having her life on the line but it wasn’t long now before she would be reaching the bottom very soon. As she came towards the bottom rather than crashing she would use the waves to use herself as a projectile of sorts sending her flying into the sky and landing upon the sea as she would have been excited to continue her journey noticing the island nearby she decided to investigate.

Amaterasu would step foot on the island Being taller than the average human, Amaterasu stands at 8’4” (254 cm) with a very fit build and tan complexion. Her hair is colored silver, and styles in a messy ponytail that ends at her waist. Her bangs are messy and stick outwards from her face, leaving one v-shaped bang droop down to her nose. Her left eye is a dim yellow hue with prominent eyelashes, while her right eye is covered by a black eye patch with a red outline. In the middle of the eyepatch is an embroidered pinwheel-esque design. For clothing, she wore a long sleeve navy blue crop top that exposes her midriff and underboob. Covering her shoulders is a large red fur cowl. The fur is colored creamy beige and feels rough to the touch. The cowl is also decorated with large buttons sewn in an ornate pattern. with tassels hanging from them. Her arms are adorned with maroon colored bracers, accented with the same fur found on her cowl. The gloves at the end of the bracers are fingerless and are accented with beige patterns along the forearms.

At her hips, she is equipped with Izanami and Izanagi at opposite sides. She wears wide bone colored pants that cut off after the knees. At her waist sits an ornamental coil that is decorated with hoops of tied fabric, and a piece that hangs from her pelvis to her knees. Underneath, she wears a pair of tight black leggings with a tabi style sock at the end. The vamp of the sock is accented with a golden line, over top of a red embroidery. Her footwear of choice is a pair of platform geta, with a three inch heel. Notable scars on her body include her right cheek, a slash scar. Another grotesque scar on her right abdomen. As well as her right eye’s scar hidden under her eyepatch.

“Now where too?” Amaterasu would mutter under her breath before being greeted by a citizen of the island.

“Good morning ma’am I’m…” the man began to speak, but before he could even finish amaterasu had grabbed him by his head and began to crush his skull, instantly killing him before she threw him out into the vast ocean behind her.

“I don’t remember asking!” As amaterasu continued to venture further into the island.

The murder committed by Amaterasu was witnessed by a young girl who immediately fell to her knees, paralyzed by the trauma she had just experienced. Her eyes widened, pupils trembling. That man that Amaterasu had just murdered for no apparent reason, was the girl's father.

"Daddy... no!!!" She threw her head back and tears began to stream down her face. She couldn't get the image of her dad's skull being crushed out of her eyes. Overhearing the commotion as she had been nearby, the girl's mother came to her daughter's aid as quickly as she could. Her mother held onto her belly as she stood over her weeping daughter, putting a hand to her own stomach as she spoke. She was pregnant.

"Lorelei, what's the matter? Lorelei, speak to me, what happened?"

"That girl... she killed daddy!!! She murdered him!!" Lorelei cried aloud.

Her pregnant mother fell to her knees. She couldn't bare the pain of the bad news. She covered her mouth and began to lose consciousness. The man Amaterasu had killed in cold blood had just been trying to offer her a tour of the island. He was a tour guide, working endlessly day and night to afford his family a better way of life. He and Lorelei's mother had been married for more than 40 years. Their relationship began as children at the age of 10 years when they were next door neighbors.

Lorelei's mother couldn't imagine living without the love of her life. As she blacked out, her eyes rolling backwards, foam began to spill out of her lips. Lorelei quickly shot up to her mother's side as she fell back on the ground. "N-No! Mom! Please, no!!"

Lorelei tried to apply CPR to her mom, but she was under such intense trauma still that her arms wouldn't work the way she wanted. Hands trembling, mouth trembling. She felt her moms lips with her own as she desperately tried to recuperate her; thrusting both hands against her mother's chest. She felt her pregnant mother and her baby brother inside of her die with her own hands. Right before her own eyes.

Lorelei's mind went numb.

Amaterasu would have heard a high pitched annoyance just next to her as she would shift her gaze to look at the sobbing child on its knees during this time. She would tense her head at the cries as she grew more and more aggravated and most likely more or less disgusted at the weakness that she was witnessing as she watched the cries being uttered. According to Amaterasu, those who are powerful dictate to those who are weak, and those who are weak do not have any rights when compared to those who are strong. A lesson that was taught to her at a very early age was one that she was forced to learn.

In the end, the pathetic crying and sobbing that the mother brought into the picture only made a flame burn within Amaterasu even hotter due to her frustration even more. “Well, I’m glad you have chosen to be the weak and I’m going to remind you where you belong in this world!” Amaterasu was speaking with a malicious tone of voice as she took a step towards the two of them.

When Amaterasu grabbed Lorelei by the hair and tossed her behind her, it was not enough to kill her, but it would end up fracturing the bones in her left leg and leaving Lorelei covered in cuts and bruises as she tumbled until her body came to a complete stop. “Here, let me give you a demonstration on how to do it successfully! ”

In order to force the unconscious mother's cheeks open, Amaterasu would grab ahold of the mother using her hand to force them open, as she then hovered her own mouth above as she let molten magma pour down into the mouth of the mother as she let it trickle down into her mouth. In an instant, the mother's eyes shot open in pain as she squirmed and struggled to free herself, but to no avail, as Amaterasu's grip on the woman was too strong, as magma filled the woman's mouth.

When Lorelei was witnessing the act, she cried out for her mother and began crawling as she dragged her lifeless leg behind her as she clung to her mother for support. "Mommy, please stop, you are hurting her!" "I don't want you to hurt her, please stop..."

She turned her head slightly back towards the girl, as if to ask, “oh and are you going to stop me? Oh my gosh how pathetic is that? It was then that Amateratsu stood up, unsheathing one of her blades as she was going to throw it up into the sky as it would fall down and puncture the mother through the stomach, while the mother would struggle to do anything because her mouth had been completely burnt out. In an effort to cause more damage, Amaterasu would pull out her sword in a way that would be as inhumane as possible, in the process causing more damage than she would have otherwise done. “It looks like I dropped my sword this time, so I am so sorry about that! ”

Lorelei would eventually have reached Amaterasu as she would be trembling with fear and she would not have thought about anything any longer as she pounded her fists against Amaterasu's calves as she had no idea what she was doing. "Oh, what's all this fighting back business all about, huh? I must say that I am truly impressed by your effort. My first impression was that you didn't have it in you. I would like to offer you a reward. I'll let you talk to your mother one last time haha!” Amaterasu would squat down and grab the mother by her hair and bring her scorched face up towards Lorelei, in an effort to comfort her.

It was during this time that Lorelei first began to speak, "mo...." but before she could even say her first word amaterasu repeatedly slammed the woman's face into the ground until it was a bloody mess. The woman before did not bear any resemblance to the one she was now. “Hahaha let me tell you a lesson, parasite life isn't fair to you...I bet you have all kinds of emotions festering inside of you that you've no idea on how to deal with…”

As Amaterasu grabbed Lorelei by the throat, she would stand up with her and bring her face to face with her. “You need to feel these emotions in order to become strong enough to seek revenge against me if you truly care for your family and wish to take revenge on me. In spite of this, I would like to leave you with a parting gift as well!”

It is interesting to note that Amaterasu's hand would transform into a dragon's talon as she would then put it up to Lorelei's eye as she slowly punctured it while laughing the entire time as she would then throw her to the ground afterwards.

Those few seconds Amaterasu took to speak to Lorelei, were the seconds needed to save that young girl's life. Like a flowing river, the sound of moving water could be heard closing in. Drops of water rained over the area, but there was no sign of drizzle in the forecast. In the midst of Amaterasu's well rounded speech, a soft hand gripped the back of Lorelei's head, holding it up with grace.

Meanwhile, the other hand was much large and muscular. Veins stretches throughout the hand, which had been balled up into a fist, the muscles mass was on par with that of a person who'd spent their entire lives in the gym. Yet, despite the differences in the two arms, they belonged to the same person.

A flash of yellow would have been the only thing Amaterasu would have seen before the oversized fist came flying towards her in the form of a punch. Long black hair flowed in the wind, like the cape of a superhero, shielding everything behind the two of them. The other hand jerked the girl's head to the side to evade Amaterasu's talon. It may have seemed like a lot, but the way each action had been changed together made the movements looked fluid and simultaneous.

The person there to save Lorelei was none other than Misty, a fellow pirate captain much like Amaterasu, but clearly they had different agendas. Regardless, Misty intended to have her fist slammed right into the center of Amaterasu's face using the momentum from the pushing water as well as the power in her fist to send her flying in the opposite direction.

Misty had a different look in her eye. A glare. An expression of irritation, but above all else, she was pissed off.

At first the journey towards the mysterious unknown was exciting, some might even say fruitful. Misty had been looking for a very specific person, or well a thing they had all mistaken for a person. Crickett had her own agenda, as a fatalist she believes the world sent her signs. That the stars above dictated what would happen below. Misty knocking on her door, in need of an oracle, a soothsayer, was nothing more than fate working its magic. She had no need to find this "log pose" but perhaps, it was better than the boredom of waiting in that dreadful house for even one more second, or maybe she was curious to how events would play out. Either way, in Crickett's mind coincidence was non existent. Only fate.

Unfortunately for all members involved, a cry for help led the group astray. Upon their arrival, what they saw was something far different than what they expected. Dipper, the young pirates apprentice, attempted to close his eyes. To shield his innocence from the atrocities being committed before him.

"Keep them open Dipper." Crickett commented, finding her way onto a roof alongside her apprentice. Crickett herself was not trying to hide, she had no need too. The events transpiring did not scare or shock her, as they had done her naïve young crewmate. As the pair sat on tthe roof, it began to rain. It was not the type of rain you dance in, when you look up at the sky and smile and laugh, jump from puddle to puddle with joy. It set an ominous mood, almost a foreboding warning. Luckily, Crickettt always carried an umbrella.

Dipper watched as the woman terrorized a child, her arm now resembling a dragons. Her torture being intervened gave him a sigh of relief, it looked like the little girls eye had been sparred, even if her mother hadn't.

"I know it may be hard to watch, but do you remember what I told you?" Though the captain was often mean to the pink haired boy, she seemed somewhat motherly in this scenario, her voice fighting against the pitter patter of the rain.

Dippers eyes widened, "That there are people who have swallowed stars just like us? Who would use them for different reasons?" They were speaking of devil fruits, a concept that in their culture was much different from the beliefs of the outside world.

Crickett's purple lips spiraled into a grin. "Why yes, and it just so happens you have swallowed the same kind of star as that girl right there..." Her crooked finger pointed in the distance, at the one who had displayed her fruits abilities. "So you just watch, and keep that secret between us."

Dipper blushed, he didn't like to think of his magic as anything too powerful! In fact, he had very little control over it. That is why he was an apprentice after all. He changed the subject, "Why are you not joining the fray, Mistress?"

"That woman's name is worthless to me, evil grows on trees. Besides, if either of us are going to fight it will be you. That's a part of your apprenticeship." Those words struck fear into Dipper's heart, even more so than the crazed killer fighting right below them. His head rolled in circles, birds and stars flying overhead as he fell in and out of consciousness.

Her voice became several octaves higher, as opposed to her usual deep rasp. "You know what we're here for anyway..." Grabbing a wadded up paper from her pocket, she stretched it out, reading in all capital letters 'HORNIGOLD CLOVIS, WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE' her finger traced his picture, "I finally found you scarecrow, and scared you should be..." The hearts vanished from her eyes as the fight snapped her back into reality, she stuffed the bounty poster back into her pocket and watched the battle, ensuring Dipper was doing the same so as well. He could learn a thing or two.

It was Amaterasu who had planted her feet solidly into the ground as she turned her face into the overly sized fist that had thrown the blunt force towards her face. Despite her refusal to move from where she stood, as the initial attack fell upon her, she remained firmly planted on the ground. In the aftermath of the blow, Amaterasu was left with a dislocated jaw as a result of the blow. In order to restore the jaw joints to their normal positions, Amaterasu would place her fingers around the bottom of her lower jaw, push down on the back teeth, and lift up the chin until the jaw joints had returned to their normal positions. As she would stretch her mouth up and down before spitting some blood on the ground her teeth stained with blood as there was a drizzle of rain falling down upon her. Amaterasu was drooling a bit from the thrill of the fight, but it was no normal drool, but magma as she had a toothy grin across her face.

Amaterasu's body temperature would only increase as the rain around her could not even reach her body before evaporating. As she would look towards Misty before she spoke briefly. “Ughhh how irritating, but nevertheless I always enjoy a fight…” Amaterasu said briefly before unsheathing both of her blades in a quick succession and by utilizing her scabbard which is unique to the previous shogun bloodline as it is used as a sheathe. The innards of the scabbard are lined with Sharpening iron and when the blade is unsheathed it is sharper than it once was before. Additionally the sheathe would cause the blade to ignite into flames allowing the user to access the phoenix fire abilities.

Without allowing even a mere second Amaterasu would unleash a barrage of attacks known as Onibi Burning Slash: Onibi Honogiri (鬼火炎斬りOnibi Honōgiri, literally meaning "Ogre Fire Blazing Slash") Amaterasu launches from her sword a a demonic like projectile of compressed air enveloped in flames to the opponent with great speed and power. The demonic form the Air slash represents is known as an Onibi According to folklore, they are the spirits/Yokai/Oni born from the corpses of humans and animals. They are also said to be resentful people that have become fire and appeared.

In the midst of Amaterasu unleashing a barrage of air slashes, she would be laughing, but kept an eye on her immediate surroundings while also talking aloud. “So let me guess your hero type: That piece of shit kid should be thankful to me for introducing him or her to a path that would ultimately lead them to becoming stronger than they were before! ”

With a pulling arm Misty removed Lorelei out of harm's way during Amaterasu's moment of drawing her sword. Using the rushing water under her feet, she slid across the ground as though she had been surfing, escaping out of Amaterasu's range.

Dancing around with the water under her feet, Misty employed a plethora of slide dashes and movements that allowed her to evade the brute of Amaterasu's attacks. It wasn't until the last couple escape her blade, that they were able to cut into Misty's uniform and leave two large cuts across her left and right arms.

Teeth gritting, Misty knelt down. She had no only been trying to make sure she had been protecting, but also had to take into consideration the life of Lorelei.

Lorelei almost seemed ungrateful for being saved. With eyes as dead as her father’s, she observed the ensuing fight, unaware that Misty had gone out of her way to rescue her. It wasn’t so much that Lorelei did not appreciate the kind gesture; but rather that deep inside, she felt no purpose left to live for.

She eyed Misty yet to Misty it would have felt like Lorelei’s gaze passed straight through her. “…”

Misty didn't need to call out everything that had been damaged on Lorelei. In fact, she felt that if she did, she'd only bring more pain onto the young girl. The look in her eye told her everything she needed to know about the situation. Misty could see the defeat. Her want to give up on everything and call it what it was. It was the same look she had on the day that Flint had died.

She had now stood next to Joe and Misty simply handed Lorelei over to him. She knew that if there was anyone capable of protecting the young girl, it was him. "Joe, I'm gonna kick her ass, so keep the girl safe, alright?" She said, fixing her stance, while her muscular arm began to bloat before it slowly returned to its normal size.

Joe nodded, by her side instantly. Cradling her in one arm, he dashed away from the battle.

"Pirates can't be heroes." Misty said, preparing herself for battle. "That's why I'm gonna kill you instead."

Pores opening, Misty began to secrete mist across the battlefield. The mist quickly became a thick fog that masked the vision of everyone around. Even Misty's allies lacked the sense of vision when within the cloud's radius. Silent steps moved throughout the mist, she had effectively abandoned her previous location.

From within the cloud, the pirate captain unleashed a barrage of concentrated water bullets towards Amaterasu. It were as if she had been using an automatic rifle to fire each of these shots, but they all only came from her fingertips. It was a variation of her Water Gun technique; the Rapid Fire Water Gun.

It was indeed interesting to watch as Amaterasu watched Misty move around the battlefield using the water below her feet to help increase her own speed, which was indeed an interesting thing to observe. As a matter of fact, it was evident throughout this entire fight that she would utilize water to some extent, but to what extent Amaterasu did not know. As such, this only led to amaterasu growing more and more excited about the fight as it would continue to build up until she was overwhelmed with a strong feeling of bloodlust as her barrage attacks were getting nearer and closer until she cut her. As soon as she saw the blood, she would laugh menacingly. In spite of this, Misty’s declaration to kill her was the breaking point for her as she was running magma from her mouth as she panted with excitement as she was reacting to what she had just heard.

In the midst of preparing herself for a fight she hoped she would never forget, she no longer needed any words to explain what she was going to do.

In the course of the battle, Amaterasu continued to emit heat, which caused the fog to dissipate around her as a result. In spite of the fact that Misty had secreted a decent amount of water, Amaterasu had matched it with her own heat in the form of her powers. It was not capable of completely enclosing her, so it was more like a ring of fog than a complete field that encircled her. Misty, despite all this, remained hidden within the dense fog, hiding from her until she fired bullets of condensed water at her.

There was a point during the course of the encounter where as the bullets were coming towards Amaterasu, the water mass would start to evaporate from the heat generated by the air around her before even reaching her body, each bullet would dry up and reveal the location of Misty within the dense fog. The surrounding area around amaterasu at this point would melt the immediate surrounding area plants bursting into flames from the intensity of the tempature.

In view of the fact that Amaterasu was now aware of Misty's location, she would be able to follow every shot that was sent out from the fog cloud towards Misty and react accordingly. It was then that Amaterasu would spin rapidly in a circle, creating a large gust of wind, along with the heat that surrounded her, which would create a massive heatwave that spread outward in all directions. With this attack, the purpose was to disperse the fog and heat up the battlefield in such a way that it would be more suitable for her.

It is now that Amaterasu is able to see Misty more clearly that she propels herself forward by kicking off the ground with tremendous pressure, as the heat surrounding her is melting everything around her as she traverses towards her. During this time, Amaterasu would smirk as she began to use yet another of her sword techniques Raijin Thunderclap This swordsman technique involves Amaterasu to move at speeds that allow her to break the sound barrier far surpasses anything the average person could visually keep up with let alone react to as Amaterasu attempts to slice all of her enemy within a second however the second part of the technique is when the sound of her movement catch up as it releases a loud thunderous boom that sends a shockwave that has the capabilities to severely damage her opponent’s eardrums.

Amaterasu may have been able to deal with the mist at the moment, but not once did Misty ever stop her body from continuously producing the vapour. The moment Amaterasu would have stopped the spinning motion the mist would have immediately returned, giving the screen she initially created life once more.

"That was lava then... that's where that heat came from. But that won't be enough to stop the Misty Terrain." Misty thoughts not once hindered her flow of battle. "I'd better watch out."

If there was one thing Misty possessed over a lot of her opponents, it was her flexibility which in turn went into the methods for honing her reaction time to certain techniques. She had seen great speed before and while she hadn't been at the level to surpass many, she did work on ways to aid in avoiding strikes. After all, a lot of her time in the West Blue revolved around battles against the Mafia who are known to use firearms as their primary weapon. She had trained her body just to the point where she could react to a bullet.

The moment Amaterasu lifted her leg, was like the moment a shooter pulled on the trigger. It was clear the type of fighter that Amaterasu was. Misty didn't need to prepare herself for Amaterasu's next strike, her body was able to do it on its own. The blade came flying towards Misty with a strike that was as linear as could be. Misty's body pivoted to the side, like an altered river path.

Following the guiding hand of Amaterasu's strike, Misty grabbed ahold of her arm which held the sword and lifted her body off of the ground allowing for her legs to wrap and twist around Amaterasu's own. Just before she did however, the young pirate captain's arms became protected by a cold blob of water which gave her initial protection against the heat. She may not have been more powerful than Amaterasu, but she possessed better body control. She knew how to use her weight against her opponents. With a simple tug, she sought to sweet Amaterasu off of her feet and flip her over to the ground to slam her onto her back.

Some of the water split from Misty's arms and traveled along the hands of Amaterasu, encasing her opponent's body in what could be seen as a sheet. Amaterasu may have been able to control the heat of her body, but with the water flowing and covering her body so long as they remained connected, Misty would be able to regulate the body heat of Amaterasu to the point she'd be able to stiffen her magma through her own cold water. After all, that was how water kept a person from passing out during extreme heat.

All while doing this, Misty called out to Joe. "Jooooeeeee!"

After Amaterasu had fallen to the ground on her back and met with the gaze of Misty who was interlocking with her own body at this time atop of her a sheet of water quickly began to cover her body, but before she could be completely coated in the sheet of water she would go into her next attack. In an instant, Amaterasu's free hands had become a hybrid state as they had taken on the appearance of the claws of a dragon. It took her a split second to release her sword in the hand that had previously changed forms as she made her move. Afterwards, she proceeded to dig her razor sharp claws deep into the leg of Misty who was currently wrapped around her own and was holding her in place with the intent of holding her in place as well without a way for her to escape.

Meanwhile, she could feel a sweltering heat coming from Amaterasu at the same time as she was doing this as without any warning, the magma within her body exploded out of her mouth in a concentrated continuous blast of magma directed at Misty straight at point blank range. There is a rapid spread of this blast, and it is extremely powerful as well. It is possible that if Misty were to try to avoid the lethal attack, Amaterasu would simply not release her grip with her claws and tighten her own legs to hold her in place if she were to try and get away.

Unfortunately for Misty, she had no intentions of removing the hold she had on Amaterasu, which meant her leg was open for the piercing. Blood immediately poured out of the wound, but Amaterasu left her talon within. She didn't have much time to squak with the pain, combined with the fact that her legs had slowly began to feel the heat coming from Amaterasu's head, it was a pain she'd have to bury behind grit teeth for the time being.

At the same time, the heat around Amaterasu's leg began to rise in temperature. "Something's coming!" Misty thought to herself, the heat leaving scorch marks on her legs underneath her clothing. She wasn't able to come to the conclusion that Amaterasu had planned to let off her attack through some sort of precognition, but solely based off of her intuition and in that moment, she reacted accordingly. She didn't have as much power as Amaterasu. She didn't have as much speed as her either. However, reaction time was probably the one skill she exceeded in the most.

Misty had the most control over the duo considering the lock she held her opponent in. Tightening her legs and thighs around Amaterasu, reacting just before her attack could escape her mouth, she locked Amaterasu's mouth shut by squeezing the bottom of her jaw and the top of her head together giving the attack no place to go out to and instead, would find itself potentially exploding in her mouth and outright choking her with her own technique.

Amaterasu was done playing games. It was only a few moments before the explosion was due to erupt in her mouth that her eyes began to change into more reptile-like eyes. Following the appearance of these scales, molten magma began to leak from the crevices in between the scales as molten magma covered her entire body. Though it took time, her body began shifting and changing not only in appearance, but also in size, and her body extended to a height of about one thousand meters as a result. Aside from minor things such as her hair color remaining the same, Amaterasu's body showed very little resemblance to her past self besides a few other things that did not seem to be worth mentioning. Her new appearance and form resemble those of an eastern dragon, as she has taken on its physiology just in time to spare her life, but not her stomach.

The damage had caused Amaterasu's stomach to grow upset as it built up like an erupting volcano exposing a molten lava blast breath due to her upset stomach as it released as a molten lava blast breath. Nevertheless, due to the excessive buildup, it was much stronger than previous attacks. While the unsuspecting eye might believe this to be some sort of ultimate attack, it was actually a last resort. Like a draconic tum to fix a rumbling belly, and the pukey magma aftermath that came with it.

Naturally, the surrounding area would suffer from the magma's destructive flow, and many would be able to feel a supernatural heatwave, those who were closer would feel these effects more intensely. The rain, the mist, it would clash with the newfound heat and most likely fade.

Unfortunately, the explosive burst did not fix her stomach rumbling. Like a volcano in need of release, the surrounding area was already doomed and Amaterasu took the sky instead, at least she transformed before this issue arose, or else it would have been embarrassing!

It was time to fly away for the time being.

As Amaterasu transformed, Misty's body fell to the ground. She winced in pain, her eyes squinting shut as she grabbed hold of her bleeding leg. Leg locked, she rolled over slightly to witness Amaterasu's transformation and what she seen had completely caught her off guard. Like a skyscraper, Amaterasu's body gave shadow to the entire town. With just the altering of her body, she had virtually altered the time of day and made it appear as though night had fallen.

"What the hell is she?" Misty had never seen a the abilities of a Zoan and for a dragon to appear right here shocked her even more. She was lost for words. Simply mesmerized by the creature that Amaterasu had become. All of that went out the window the moment Amaterasu began to barf up lava. Quick thinking was all Misty could resort to.

Water roared under her body, but to be quite frank, she had been running very low on it. "I need something to drink," Misty said to herself, riding her waves towards Joe. "I won't be able to carry myself with this." As she closed in on Joe, the magma hit the ground and began to swim along the main surface of the town, sliding across the landscape sending it ablaze.

"Hey Joe, I need you to take me to the ocean!" She shouted, closing in on him as he held Lorelei. The closer she drew towards Joe, the dryer both her throat and skin began to go.

Joe hoisted his captain over his shoulder, still cradling the child in his arm. He kicked off in a sprint towards the sea, the salt of which he could smell on the wind. Despite his girth, he blazed a trail through bush and village at a blinding speed reminiscent of a cheetahs, covering a distance of miles in minutes. The whole time, his brow continued to furrow as he observed the shriveling state of his captain. Reaching the shoreline, he carefully stored the child in a nearby fishing hut before kneeling at the water. Carefully holding Misty in his arms, he lowered her into the water.

Luckily for Misty, he first mate knew exactly what to do in situations like this. He knew it was dire to get her to the water as soon as possible, but what he hadn't been prepared for was she was to do next. As her body laid into the body of water, a vast ocean with thousands of miles in its radius, she simply floated on her stomach.

Flashes of her childhood played in her head. The times she and Flint would hang together and frolic around in the gardens of Hoenn made her feel all the more safe. She'd tease him for his fear of swimming and he'd tease her for not being able to ignite fire in the same way that she could.

"Times were much simpler," she thought to herself, her face planted into the ocean but her eyes were closed. "But that doesn't mean anything." Opening her mouth, Misty began to drink up the ocean water. As she did, her body began to bloat and build up until her stomach stretched out like an oversized balloon. She immediately became rehydrated, her skin returning to his illustrious shine from before.

This was the second time since she had started her journey that she had been in such a shriveled state. In her youth she had experience this once and ever since then she kept the Water Bottle, but she had gone too far and with the heat working against her and speeding up the evaporation process, it was a bad situation for her.

But now, completely rejuvenated, Misty pushed her oversized body up into the air, bouncing on it as if it were solid. Puffing her lips out and aiming towards the traveling water, Misty took a moment to assess. "Joe got the get out of the way, we won't be able to help everyone. Most importantly, the Swimming Siren." The most important thing to a pirate crew was their flag ship and Misty immediately realized that as the magma continued to spread about.

Spreading her lips apart, Misty shot out a dense deep wave of water over the moving magma and rest of the town. This water spread across the area in the form of a towering wave which immediately washed down over the buildings and its people. While Misty's intentions may have been good, what she hadn't accounted for were the amount of devil fruit users that were on the island and would be affected by the moving waters.

"Water Geyser!" Misty shouted as her body slowly deflated from the water being shot out in front of her.

Joe's mouth was slightly agape as he in wonder he watched his captain, bloated with water, unleash the wave upon the magma before her. He was still shocked from the sight of a dragon, but was more so focused on what Misty was doing. For a moment, he let surprise take him. Then, his trained instincts kicked in, and he took off at a run after her, hefting his kanabo in one hand as he moved to back up his captain.

The Arriving Angels[]

"Ah, Twin Capes. I am certain this is the place the documents had pointed out," said Remiel, captain of North Star Pirates. Walking alongside her were Raguel and Dione, vice-captains of the rookie pirate crew.

Thanks to a set of documents that spoke in detail on the standard procedure of Marine squadrons relocating to the Grand Line, they had gained a good amount of insight into the ocean that seemed to wrap around the entire Blue Sea. They now had a good idea of what was needed and where to travel for their journey.

A 'Log Pose' was listed as crucial for navigating the waters of the Grand Line and thus the trio had set course for Reverse Mountain, where they had flown up and downstream to reach Twin Capes.

"Hm...." Raguel gave a quiet nod to her cousin as she surveyed their surroundings. She had noticed that with their journey into the Grand Line, there was more and more talk of pirates as if there were a handful somewhere in this town right now.

All three of them had been keeping up to date with the latest news. They had learned how the Blue Sea seemed to make a big deal of these pirates, publicising their deeds and listing their bounties. With how the Reverse Mountain funnelled water from all four 'Blues' into the Grand Line, she was certain they would run into a few of those pirates soon.

Raguel's eyes did narrow slightly when she had caught sight of a certain butler in the news but shook it off. Her anger over that situation had long since passed and it had been a heat-of-the-moment thing to threaten him like that.

Hopefully, they didn't run into each other again.

Various townsfolk watched as three winged women passed them, seemingly not bothered by their staring and muttering. Naturally, seeing beings like them was not common at all. Some wondered if this was a sign from the heavens, given their angelic appearance.

"The wingless here really like to stare at us," Dione remarked, mask somewhat muffling her cheery tone as she walked alongside her two comrades. "Must be their first-time seeing folks like us."

"Let them stare and burn it into their memories. What they're seeing is the future of our people. The next generation to shoulder the responsibility held by our fathers and mothers; sky warriors in the making." Remiel grinned, filled with confidence and growing excitement for what her journey had next in store for them.

"Akakakaka! Typical Miel." Dione laughed. "Always turning a simple observation into a whole-ass inspirational soliloquy."

Strolling through the town was a tall rabbit mink with a few bottles of cherry cola strapped to his chest. As a few of the townsfolk spotted him, they whispered and contemplated on what he was doing here. Runty caught the eye of a woman, tipping his hat towards her. “Howdy.” Despite his friendliness, the woman quickly rushed into her home.

Determined not to let the close minded attitudes of the townsfolk get him down, Runty continued his stroll through the small town. The flap and flutter of white feathers caught his eye, noticing a green haired woman with large wings. Making his way up to her and her group, he spoke. “I ain’t ever seen a winged woman since ma’ fell in the chicken coop.” He chuckled. “Looks like we’re the strangers in this town, they don’t seem very welcoming.” Runty held out his hand for a handshake, smiling. “I’m Runty.”

"And I can't say that I've ever seen a wingless like you before, kind sir," Remiel replied with a smile. She saw his offer for a handshake and responded in kind, grasping his hand with her own and shaking it. "Pleased to meet you, Runty. I am Remiel."

"Raguel." The violet-haired winged woman added to the greeting by giving her name as well.

"And I'm Dione! It's great to see another tall person around here. Akakakakaka! " The winged redhead said with a laugh.

The Dream of One[]

It is too often in life that people use one another as stepping stones toward an unreachable greatness. The simple life of one goes undocumented, as the kings and queens of this world continue to grace the history books and determine the future. A certain somebody disliked that way of things, she sat on the rooftop twirling her red hair, watching the battle as raindrops fell from above. To her, greatness did not lie in someone's occupation. It was not a power you obtained or a sword you held, it was a name.

“We’re leaving, Dipper,” Crickett commented. Leaping up from her position, she, alongside her apprentice, stood on the roof. “The sun and the ocean fight every day, at dawn, and then dusk. I’m afraid your training will have to be cut short, but I’m sure you don’t mind.” Cricket rolled her eyes at the remark, truth be told her apprentice did not like fighting. He became squeamish at just the thought. That would certainly have to change soon if they were to be pirates within Paradise.

Dipper nodded almost religiously, he couldn’t agree more. “B-but, where are we gonna go Crickett? What if we run into someone else, and what if they’re scarier? And what if they’re stronger? And what if AHHHH-” The woman had grabbed him by the collar and jumped from the roof, onto the newly soaked streets of Twin Cape. Dragging the child through the city ever so casually. “Shut up Dipper, and stop complaining. I’m just fate's hand that’s all, and fate wants your ass on the other side of town.” Naturally, that didn’t stop him from whining and moping all the way there, “FATE?! Are we on about this again!!” He screamed, flailing his arms about as his body scraped the brick road.

“WE WERE NEVER OFF OF IT!” Her teeth looked like daggers, her eyes like that of some vicious monster. Just expressions as it seemingly shifted back to its normal soft look. “Fate, destiny, they control everything we do. No action is original, no word is said mistakenly, everything is written in the stars FROM NOW UNTIL THE END OF TIME!” Crickett had a reputation for being… passionate about her beliefs. Most would find her scary and erratic but by this point, Dipper had learned not to talk back and merely rolled his eyes. He refused to drink the same Kool-Aid as most residents of Stella Gaz. It appeared Crickett had a very different philosophy, and if that Koolaid had been colored purple? Well, the proof was on her lips!

“Well, weeeeeee’vvvvvvvve arrived.” Tossing the boy in front of her, he tumbled and rolled, knocking over a few chairs and a table in the process. Crickett sighed, “Pick those up! You stumbling idiot!” to which he responded, “Yes Mistress!” Bowing hastily before getting to work. The red-haired woman huffed, her heeled boots walking up to a small building on wheels, featuring the insignia of some aquatic clawed creature. It didn’t look very tasty in Crickett’s opinion, but it did look just as her vision predicted.

“Does anyone work here?” She teased, unable to see anyone in her immediate field of vision. The rain was definitely a deterrent, or perhaps the fact that monsters in human skin had invaded the island kept everyone locked inside. Either way, it wasn’t a great day to own a small business.

At first, there was no reply. Nearly half a minute passed before the cadence of the Cricket’s second knock woke the tradesman from his brief nap. He rushed from his chair inside his mobile dining facility and opened the window. The tradesman was unusually shaped compared to the other merchants in the area; of all things, he appeared to them as anthropomorphic toad. There was almost nothing to indicate that he was even remotely human apart from his ability to speak in a coherent sentence. Such were the wonders of the Grand Line.

“O-Oi there! Welcome to the Crafty Crab! How can I help you, today?”

Mere second had passed but it had felt more like hours. Crickett questioned why fate would have brought her to such a dreadful location, and then the store opened up. "Of course, it all makes sense now." Crickett spoke, but it wasn't directly to the talking man-frog in front of her. It was directed more towards an ominous third party, whoever that might be. Dipper stopped fixing the mess 'he' caused in order to watch his captain. There was no telling where this was headed.

"I've been called here to break your curse! What a difficult life you must lead! A human turned frog by a mysterious power, denied your destiny because of an evil star swallowers wicked words! Did I hit the nail on the head?" What an elaborate story she had made up in her mind.

"Actually-" Dipper began to speak, he knew of the Frogfolk and their people, a well read young man, but Crickett simply extended her arm, silencing him with that action alone. No one liked a know it all!

“Believe it or not, I get that type of stuff all the time,” the merchant replied, lifting his hand into the air. Though they were webbed, he spread his hand out, allowing Crickett and Dipper to see his fingers.

“I got the same thumb you all have. Just the same exact ones,” he jovially continued, putting his hand down. He smiled.

“I heard that my great, great, great, great, great grand-mami was a normal human! Fell in love with me great, great, great, great, great grand-papi. Ain’t that something crazy!?”

Crickett almost seemed angered by the truth, her teeth ground together and her hands made a fist. "Well, that's a slightly less interesting origin story." No one liked to be proven wrong, certainly not Crickett! Then again, she had yet to see the determining factor in all this, she needed to know.

While Crickett licked her lips, preparing a question, Dipper was flexing his fingers much like the frog, nodding as if to confirm. Yeah he was right and captain was wrong, what else was new?

"What is your name?" Crickett asked, leaning over the counter so that her one red eye could get a better look. To many, this was a harmless introduction but to Crickett, a woman obsessed with the future of others, it was everything. Her favorite method of divination, and the only one that had ever proven itself accurate.

He blinked.

“Name is John. John Santiago. What about you two?"

Crickett's eye widened, much like a storm, an idea was brewing inside her mind. Lowering her head slightly, a shadow was cast upon her face, likely due to the large hat resting upon her head. This left only a thin smile left in the light. That name, John Santiago, was the creator of this storm of brilliance, an ingenious idea. Crickett was a collector, her body showcased that. Names had a destiny attached to them, a goal, a fate, a personality. Names had power. This mans name... was destined for greatness! Obtaining such a thing wouldn't be easy, but she had an plan.

"Have you ever wanted a different life, my dear John Santiago." Her voice was deep, scary even, but saying the name was different. It was light, airy, sweet. Like she wanted something, because she did. Removing a singular glove, her hand showcased a plethora of names, supernaturally tattooed onto her milky white skin. "Bed Tundy here was a real lady killer, you look like you're missing out on that?! Or ohh, right here..." She spun her hand around, showcasing her pinky finger, another new name. "Or maybe you wanna be rich, Beff Jezos had a mind for BUSINESS!" She was a saleswoman through and through, and she wanted to strike a deal.

It was akin to a reseller stopping someone in the street, flashing open their coat to showcase a collection of stolen goods. Except it wasn't weapons or watches Crickett was selling; it was a better future.

At this point, John's face did not betray his emotions. His smile had slowly shifted into a stern glare. His lips pouted over one another, and he folded his arms across his body.

"I ain't really appreciating what you're doing here, lady!" he announced. "All this time here, you see how I'm struggling because of this sudden splurge of weather, and instead you're trying to sell me something? Who comes to someone else's shop and tries to sell them stuff, huh?"

He leaned out of his window.

"If you ain't gonna buy something, then go on skedaddle. Capisce?"

Crickett fainted, luckily Dipper was there to catch her fall. Not that Crickett weighed all that much, but he definitely had to be stronger than he looked. "Uh yeah, sorry about her..." Dipper set his master down gently, waiting for her to wake up from shock. "I-I'm sure she didn't mean to be rude! She just gets like that, she has a thing about names. That's all. Take it as a compliment, I'm Dipper! Nice to meetcha John." He had to stand on his tiptoes in order to see over the trucks counter.

Fishing around in his pockets, he pulled out around 250 beri, three coins now rattling onto the counter after he flicked them from his palm. "We'll take whatever your favorite thing to make is! Okay!? And between you and me, don't ever buy a name from her..." Dipper had an innocence to him, but the last sentence was a true warning. As if he had seen this very same thing happen before.

Crickett was back on her feet after the momentary lapse of consciousness. This happened a lot when things surprised her. "You are right my dear! But you shouldn't blame me for fates doing, the bad weather, the bad business, it's happening for a reason." Spinning around, she awkwardly walked towards the nearest table, crossing her legs in the seat.

"Your name told me everything, today Mr. Santiago, your life will change forever." Dipper scurried to be by his Mistress, like a loyal little lap dog. "Just remember I gave you a chance to live a normal life, you blew it. Namamamamamamama!"

John hummed silently as he took the coins and counted them in his hand. His smile returned, as did his hospitable attitude.

"Normal life, eh?"

He turned around, leaving the window open so that he could continue conversing with them. Inside of his mobile booth was a miniature kitchen equipped with a few simple necessities: a stove, a countertop, cabinets filled with utensils, pots and pans, etc., John lifted a bucket from beside the stove, and plopped it on top. With a flick of his finger, he lit it.

"I haven't been living a normal life since the day I was born! You one of them fortune tellers?"

Crickett's nose seemed to dance as the food began preparation. On her ship, good meals were far and few between. If she hadn't seen what she saw, she might have tried to recruit the frog and maybe even cured his curse along the way. John might have claimed that was his natural body, but Crickett heard all the excuses before.! Crickett stuck to her gut, not the words of some stranger!

", haven't you heard of it? When your mothers holding you in her arms, and the doctor asks for your name? She has the greatest power over you known to man! The name that leaves her lips... will determine everything." The thought of it alone made Crickett salivate. "I don't like that word 'fortune teller' it's a slur where I come from! I swallowed a star! I'm a sorcerer now, and that there is my apprentice." Her thumb pointed towards Dipper as she spoke.

"Crickett's never been wrong about the future! Only the present!" Dipper seemed excited about building his Mistress up, but realizing the backhanded compliment he had given her earned him, well, a backhand. A glowing red mark now graced his face. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you!" Crickett hmphed, feeling no remorse for the action. It seemed that Dipper saw the punishment fitting, he didn't resist or fight back in any way. Perhaps that was just the nature of their relationship.

John chuckled, opening the bucket's lid, and then closing it back again. With an additional flick of his finger, he added more flames, speeding the process up.

"So that's why you're into names and everything! Makes sense now," John replied. "How much would you charge me to tell me my destiny then? I'm curious to know if I'm as good as I think I am."

He opened the lid once more, throwing a variety of spices into it.

Standing behind his sitting Mistress, Crickett violently shook his head, trying to tell John it wasn't a good idea. However, his short stature made him hard to see and it didn't help that Crickett was purposely body blocking him. He moved right, so did she. He moved left, so did she.

"Tell you what," She leaned back, her arms now folded behind her head. "For a cursed thing like you, this ones on me." Crickett didn't often do this, but she felt the need. His name was something of interest to the girl and seeing his story playout would bring her great pleasure. Lifting up her eyepatch, a crystal eye was revealed, like a fortune telling device plunged into her socket.

Crickett then proceeded to reach into her wild red main, managing to pull out a scary-looking hand-held mirror. Holding this reflector up to her face, her one good eye squinted as she positioned it in a way which allowed her good eye to see into the crystal eye. It was definitely a roundabout way, but Crickett was a roundabout person.

"Ah yes, John Santiago.... namamammamama!"

Dippers knees began to quiver and shake as she spoke. This was always a scary process for him! Knowing the future, what a talent! And the fact he had never seen his Mistress be wrong? The words leaving Crickett's lips carried weight.

Snapping her free hand, Dipper squirmed behind Crickett, his tiny hands appearing at her side with a piece of paper and pencil. As she spoke, he wrote. To anyone directly in front of her it would look as if she had four arms, albeit one set was particularly tiny.

"Like moths to a flame, the pirates gather at the red twins
A volcano fights the sea but in the end no one wins
Erupting from the chaos, a four leaf clover for the toad
As idolatry leads the croaker down a different road."

Closing her eyepatch and setting down the mirror, she sent Dipper to deliver the fortune. A poetic quatrain of mystery, often no one understood them until it actually happened and those who believed her were far and few between. None the less, Crickett was confidend in her abilities, and it took a lot out of her! Fortune telling was hard work, it made her hungry...

In nick of time, John pulled the steamed crabs from the bucket and placed them onto two separate plates, decorated with a burgundy seasoning and slices of butter. He exchanged them with Dipper, taking the fortune for himself. He didn’t squint. Frogs had fantastic eyesight.

He mouthed the words to himself.

“I don’t know what any of this means. You sure you ain’t just make this up?”

Dipper had made the trade, fortune for plates. Holding them in his hands, he shook his head no when asked the question. "Crickett's mind is foggy, you'd get it if you knew where we came from. The futures the only thing she knows for certain. She might think log poses are crystal balls, den den mushi are voodoo, but the future... that's where the fog clears." He talked softly, smiling to the frog man. He had a genuine love for his captain, and truly believed whatever her intentions were.

The woman eyed the boys, conversing softly over the plate. She knew what Dipper was doing, but she couldn't let him reveal too much. "Hurry it up Dipper!" She shouted rather impolitely. "We've still got a man to hunt." Skipping up from her chair she walked over to the booth, "Walk a few miles east and tell Misty I said you're welcome, or don't. You'll meet her one way or another, namamamama!" Swiping her plate out of Dipper's hands she basically devoured the crab, slurping it down like it was spaghetti and laying the plate on the counter as she began her stride.

Dipper bowed towards John, "T-thank you for feeding us again! It's really good!" He ate slower, and walked slower too... "Wait up!!" He shouted, following Crickett and nearly tripping in his panic.

Evil Duty[]

During all the events, there is one person who doesn't hear or see any of this. Not because he wasn't there, but rather because he wasn't at the right height. Underneath the city was a veritable cave system with various tunnels that definitely weren't there before. With a bag on his shoulders and a torch in his hand, a tall man in a fine suit strode around, or at least he would look like that because he was now covered in dust and dirt. He reached into the bag, pulled out an object and placed it on the ground.

"Finally done. This has taken hours. I've been away from the captain for too long," the man commented as the light finally revealed his black hair, with a familiar huge shield on his back, a large green sword on his belt, and a new addition around his shoulder are now chains. The last member not yet seen and the first mate of the Black Hat Pirates, Holmes Hayden, showed a very rare smile that looked completely sinister, as he was glad to finally finish his task to return to his crew and with a hopeful thought that he could finally please his mistress. Even if it was her plan from the beginning.

That was exactly why Hayden was not present with the rest of the Black Hats, because he had been tasked with creating this underground cave system and placing there the bombs they had looted from the Mafia, as well as adding the toxins that the captain herself had created with her Devil Fruit ability. If everything goes according to plan, the bombs will explode under the city and release poisonous gas in the city, making it easier for them to deal with everything since they have the antidote. And Hayden had the tools to prepare all that, and the willingness to do it and get dirty as the hours went by.

"It's a perfect plan. Just like you'd expect from a captain." Hayden said aloud as he prepared to leave.

"Groooo(We did most of the shit for four eyes! We spent hours while I had to crawl quietly!)" came from the shield, Hauke.

"Gruuii(That plant bitch is lucky our owner likes her, or I'd eat her for getting us all into this shit!)," came from the sword, Juergen.

Hayden just sighed, still not quite used to his weapons being able to talk, or at least make sounds.

"Yeah, I know. You're both hungry, even though you should be full, Hauke, but I promise you, when the plan is done, you'll have plenty of meat to feast on." replied Hayden as he reached a dead end, the point where he thought he had started.

"Groooo!/Gruiiii!(That's not what we meant!)," both weapons screeched at the same time as Hayden winced at the volume.

"Sorry. Yes, we'll get out of here quickly. Hauke, use Dig." commented Hayden, raising his shield as he heard the growl of his weapons. Unstoppably, pincers that looked like the jaws of a beetle formed from the shield before they began to spin at an insane speed, looking like a drill. Hayden sighed as he held the shield at an angle against the wall as they slowly resurfaced, debris and dust being pushed aside like nothing.


Following suit, Finwind leapt out the window after Zed, landing on the ground outside "What are you doing?" he asked, slowly pacing forward. "Running to your companions? Is this what you planned to do for the entirety of the Grand Line?" he continued, both mocking and pressing the man emotionally.

Zed laid on the floor for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and uttering to himself. "I join this guy's crew and within minutes I'm already caught up in some bullshit fight." He got up cleaning glass shards from himself. Looking back at Finwind, he smirked. "I had actually planned on watching from afar. I can't afford to die before I see it. But one can only get so close without getting involved. " With his thumb, he cleaned a drop of blood that was running through his nose. "Everyone seems to have this crazy powers and I'm just a normal guy. I have no idea how to handle this, but if I have no other option I guess I need to figure it out."

Rather than flying out of the window and following Zed and Fiwind, Behram simply turned his body around so that his back was now facing Clovis' own. "Oi, Capt'n!" Behram called out, his swinging of the bodies continuing on as he held them up in the air like puppets.

"That new mate of 'ars looks like he can't put a light to a candle, Thafufufufufufu!" He laughed, his jokes seemingly never coming to an end. "I don't think it's time for yer to be losin' mates right now! But I've got yer back no matter what!" Behram had slowly began to get into this whole pirating thing, picking up on their etiquettes such as ways of acting and manners of speech.

Guiding his cloths, Behram forced them to follow Finwind outside of his window. With his back turned towards the window and no eyes behind his head, it would have been hard for Finwind to even detect the incoming clothing. It slithered like a snake and possessed no sound as it moved through the wind.

This was Behram's reason for his former imprisonment. He had a bounty of Beli10,000,000 million on his head for thirteen confirmed killings. He was known to the South Blue as the Strangling Behram. Coincidentally, these twisted hobby of his played a way in how he would fight, using clothes to extend and chain at his opponents in an attempt to entangle them. In this instance, he sought to wrap around Finwind's neck to pull his back from Zed.

"Powers?" Finwind spit to the ground. "You're pathetic human scum, even without my powers, you'd be helpless." He commented, folding his arms "You aren't ready for the Grand Line, you're not even ready to be a p-URRGH" His speech was cut short, a wrenching at his neck quickly shut him up, jerking him back towards the wall of the tavern. Finwind tried to act fast, turning his throat to brass and heating it up, burning through the Cloth and freeing himself, before slamming into the wall.

"One." he grumbled, lifting himself off the ground "A cheap shot like that from your friend won't save you." he said, holding out a hand, water began to drip from it as Finwind gathered a bit of moisture from the air, before throwing his hand forward, the water shooting off his hand like a rain of bullets at Zed. "Uchimizu".

While Finwind was annoyed that he currently had to deal with two opponents, he knew that it wouldn't last for long, his crew were a handful, even without him. Hopefully Aleph could step up and keep Behram distracted.

Zed slid forward, using his sword and shovel to cover himself from the projectiles that could still hit him. His plan was to get closer to Finwind, in a long distance battle, he would never stand a chance. "Pathetic human scum? You think you're better than me just because you're stronger? I'm fully aware that I'm not skilled enough to defeat you. You say I'm not ready for the Grand Line but I am. Because I was brave enough to cross that mountain. If I have to fight people like you to get to see the One Piece, so be it. I'm not gonna die before that happens. I might be powerless, but I never said I was weak."

Zed smirked back at Finwind and, while he spoke, he tied a rope between his wrist and the handle of his sword. "No matter the outcome of this, I'll win. Even if I lose, I'll heal and keep going. Stronger. If you cut me, I'll heal and keep going. Stronger. If you break my bones, I'll heal and keep going. Stronger. Even if you kill me, I'll become a ghost and keep going. Stronger. " When he finished, he launched his sword towards Finwind in an attempt to stab and pull him closer.

Finwind turned his hand to brass and shifted his body to catch the sword within his hand, pulling back against Zed's strength, enough to match him at a standoff at least. "That's more like it. Die with honor." he spoke, clutching his other fist before a wave of shade overcame them both. Whether it was, the rushing tower of water, or the enormous dragon that took to the skies, something was blocking the sun from their fight, it was enough to distract Finwind, and care less for the frail Zed fight.

He slowly shifted forms, growing in size and turning completely to brass. Finwind continued to grow until he reached one-hundred-fifty feet in size, turning to face the oncoming wave of water, he chopped downwards, splitting it into two separate waves passing by him. He scanned the area on the other side before his eyes met with a target, a very large, red, flying target.

Finwind launched forward to the edge of the town, but it was no use, the Dragon was already above the clouds, much too far for him to pursue, he'd have to wait for it to land. In the meantime however, he was standing in Magma, using his own heat as a way to overpower and counteract the heat from it.

It was liquid, right? It was also flooding the town. He growled a little at the thought of aiding all the humans, but his companion were there as well. He leaned down and shoved his hands into the magma, heating them as needed, swirling as much of it as he could, trying to draw and manipulate it as he could water, with his Fishman jujutsu. His right hand shot forward, thrusting the magma forward with it, a spiral of magma launching outwards towards the sea. "Ipponzeoi!" he shouted, creating a current of Magma, to draw at least a good portion of it from the land.

Meanwhile, Zed was still clinging to Finwind. As the fishman grew , the young man slipped from his hand, but managed to get a hold of his sword and lodge it in the chest of the now colossal Finwind. Making use of not only his sword, but also his shovel, he slowly attempted to climb the body of his opponent in an effort to reach his head.

Having done his part, Finwind stopped for a moment, looking down to his chest, the man from before had held on for quite the ride, he finally took note of Zed climbing up his torso. Wrapping his hand around the man, Finwind pulled him from his torso, and up towards his face. "Bravery? Or perhaps foolishness?" he asked rhetorically.

"You may yet have a future, The Sea Goddess grants you choice." he spoke almost prophetically. "Death or Imprisonment?" he asked. The choices were bleak, but possibly his only two at this point, challenging Finwind may not have been the best plan, but it was admirable. Finwind could potentially end the mans life, here and now. Or he could take him back to Harlow. It was all up to Zed.

Zed struggled, attempting to wriggle out of Finwind's grasp, to no avail. It didn't take long for him to reply, as he couldn't die there. "Imprison me." He responded before uttering to himself. "I'll find a way to get out of this."

He was unsure if his captain would look for him. After all, they didn't know each other for that long. It was completely possible that Clovis would leave him at the hands of the Black Hat Pirates. If that was the case, surely Rana would come find him and together they would find a way to release him.

"So be it." Finwind spoke, pulling the man away from his face, turning, and moving toward the Black Hat's ship. At his large size, closing the distance wasn't difficult, although it may have been a bit sickening for someone like Zed being in his grasp.

Watching everything from a safe distance, when Finwind started to grow, Rana clung to him. The little frog quickly raced along his back, waiting for an opportunity to get close to Zed.

Finwind reached the ship in little to no time at all, slowly shrinking back down to size, tossing Zed to the deck of the ship as soon as he was a safe size to do so. He stepped up to the man and smirked "Harlow seems to like taking prisoners, so you'll probably live." He said, taking a cross-legged seat before the man "Tell me something" he said, beginning to rub at his chin "Why do you use a shovel?" he asked.

"Why would I tell you?" Zed answered dispassionately. "I assume you had a reason for making me your prisoner. I'm pretty sure it wasn't for us to be friends. Besides, I'm human scum. Why would anything I do interest you?" Zed was in no mood to hold a conversation. What he needed was silence while countless escape schemes were developing in his imagination.

Swinging atop the roofs and trees of Twin Capes, Behram went soaring through the sky. Something was different though. He wore a large smile, something he held often, but this one was much different from the others. Rather than cunning or joking, this one was filled with excitement and surprise. His heart raced and his blood pumped and flowed much faster than usual. His anxiety was through the roof and the only thing that could calm it was a pill designed specifically for it.

Swinging his final time utilizing his cloths, Behram landed upon the tallest building of the Twins with something in his hands. Flashes of a few moments flickered in his head. It felt unreal that the chain of events happened the way that they did.

---

"Hey! Grab that chest!" A man shouted, as he packed up what he could onto his back in an attempt to escape the pushing magma. "We've got to hurry or it'll be the end of us!"

Then, the man who had accompanied him nodded his head in response. "We can't let this escape our grasp. It's the power we need! It's what we've been looking for!"

Behram may not have know exactly which one it was, but he knew it was right in the ballpark of what he had searched for. The many battles he had seen since escaping the prison replayed in his head. The powers these people held in the form of devil fruits were like something straight out of a fairy tail.

Using the loud noises and panic against the duo, Behram stopped atop a roof and swung his cloth towards the man holding the chest. With his movements, he wrapped the cloth around the mans neck and pulled him off of the ground, strangling him and separating him from his comrade. His feet dangled as he tried to use his free hand to release himself, but to no avail.

"Jeffery!!!" The man on the ground shouted up at Behram.

Pulling the man up to his own face, Behram watched as he struggled and kicked his legs about. He flailed around like a fish out of water. "Hey..."

"Gyaahaaa," He man cried out, still struggling.

"Aye, aye, now. You just happen to have something I need. I wouldn't take it so personal," Pulling the rope tight around Jeffery's neck until his eyes rolled to the back of his head, Behram carried on. "Just the wrong place at tha' wrong time is all. Thafufufufufu!"

Snatching the chest from out of his hand, Behram kicked his lifeless body back to the ground where his corpse was swallowed up by the lava. He opened the chest and sitting right in the center, perched up against the sides was a fruit with a unique stem and swirls all over

---

Still swinging on ahead, Behram hide the chest within his coat and replaced it with a transponder snail. He continued to move from rooftop to rooftop, following the transformed state of Finwind He picked up the speaker and began to call Clovis.

"Aye Capt'N!" Behram shouted, "Yer mate ain't doing too well right now! He got tied up by tha' big guy!"

Once Upon A Dream[]

Crickett always managed to worm her way out of trouble. The chaos erupting throughout the Twin Capes practically had no effect on the red-haired captain. Upon her original departure, she had arrived early in comparison to other captains, in order to prepare for what many may call a pirate-stricken doomsday.

Twenty-eight years old and yet still considered a part of this rundown generation, she didn’t feel the need to quarrel with children or exert her power through needless destruction. Some of the scariest things in the world could not be seen, they weren’t kings or dragons, material power that could make a child cry at most. It was fate, destiny, the fact that some are born for greatness… and others, mundanity.

Perhaps it was on accident, or maybe purpose that Crickett avoided the molten magma sweeping through the streets of Twin Cape. Walking by the tallest, sturdiest buildings, she tried not to let the panic bother her. Dipper was not as strong-willed, he seemed to be terrified by all that was encompassing him.

“We should really, uh, think about leaving soon Mistress.” He commented, walking beside his master. Crickett sneered at the boy as if the comment had caused her to lose a great deal of respect for Dipper. The two did not talk much the rest of the way, aside from Dipper’s usual whining, concerns for their safety, and stupid commentary made by the young and naive. Crickett didn’t feel a need to explain, not until the pair got closer to the location.

Twin Capes had grown in years of late, a bustling port city, it was only natural that some of the older folks spread out. Disliking the attention, the rustling city scene, this made abandoned shacks like this one common. Built onto the side of the strange red mineral deposit only accessible through a series of manmade wooden ladders. Signs were posted in every direction, arrows that led to one house or another. One thing was for certain, the troubles and worries of the town were far away from hermit's paradise. A popular tourist name for the hut of an old man who had an important job on the island before its expansion.

That piece of history didn’t matter to Crickett. The house was falling apart at its seams, the farm was littered with scarecrows and rotting vegetables. “This is where it happened Dipper!”

“Uhh, w-where what happened?” The teenager seemed scared of the possibilities, he heard a chain rattle as his mistress unsheathed her previously hidden weapons. It looked like she was holding two giant nails attached to chains, “The man who took my eye. I will kill him here.” The wind rustled through her hair, blowing that crimson-red mane to her side and adding a touch of drama to her speech.

Dipper almost started choking. He wanted to correct her, but that wasn’t how she lost her eye at all! It was some bar fight with a man who very loosely resembled this Hornigold Clovis! All they really had in common was that they were ugly! Ever since Crickett laid eyes on his bounty poster, she mistook it for him and now, she wanted him dead.

Whilst the wind blew, Clovis’ bounty poster flew out of Crickett’s pocket, the very sight of his face angered her. The chain rattled once more, the nail leaving her hand as it shot toward the poster, planting his “WANTED” face right onto the pumpkin heads of one of the many scarecrows. Oh, the irony in it all.

Swinging from cloud after cloud to navigate about the horizons, the silhouette of a floating shadow loomed overhead until culminating into the form of a Hornigold Clovis; Shinigami, Helmsman, and Captain of an unnamed crew of pirates. He rode the wind to the ground and landed on the red earth with a comedic thump, falling flat on his face as he struggled to tame the powers he had acquired no more than a week ago.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, rummaging to his feet. Clovis rubbed his face and looked around. He was surrounded by small shops. "Where did that lava come from all of a sudden? It sure saved my ass. If it didn't show up when it did, I would've been a goner-ow!" Trauma kindled his mind. He decided to traverse what was left of the town on foot.

"That damn Black Hat... I'll need to stock up on dolls before I run into her again. She'll get what's coming to her-ow!!" Clovis grabbed his nose as he felt a sharp pain radiate through his face. "Hmm. I have to find Thug and Zed. Come to think of it, neither of them have eaten Devil Fruits. I wonder if they were able to escape the tavern before it was taken by the lava."

In searching through what was now a ghost town, Clovis caught sight of his reflection. Only, he mistook his reflection for someone else and he ran into the shop to have a word with the lad. But as soon as he ran through the door he ran into naught. The inside of the shop was abandoned. Not a soul in sight. "That's weird... I could've sworn there was someone in here..."

Clovis returned to the streets. He dug his hands into his pockets, finding more room than he remembered. He peered into another shop and he saw his reflection one more time. "It's him!" he exclaimed. "He's not getting away from me this time!" Rather than use the door, Clovis instead leaped into the window itself, breaking the glass with his strings. He landed in another abandoned shop, shards of glass scattering all over the floor around him.

"Hoy! Come out here! Show me that face of yours!" Clovis yelled out into the shop, careful to maintain his guard. He took a protective stance, anticipating the enemy to come from any direction. "Where did he go off to this time? Did he eat a fruit that lets him teleport? Or... has he escaped into the shadows?!"

Clovis began to stomp on the ground as if by tampering his own shadow he was accomplishing something. "You're inside of my shadow, aren't you!? Come out you fiend!! Eh?" With each consecutive stomp, broken pieces of glass flew asunder until finally, upon looking down at the scattered shards, Clovis saw his own reflection one more time. His eyes widened. He touched his face, slowly. "Oh. Handsome lad you are."

Seconds passed. Clovis stood up straight, plugged his finger up his nose, picked around in a desperate hunt. Then something inside him snapped, he looked down at the broken pieces of glass once more, then sprinted towards a nearby mirror. His eyes bulged out from their sockets, his jaw dropped so low it hit the floorboards. "NANI???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He couldn't believe it. The man he'd been chasing was him all along! His face, his body, everything had changed! The final moments of his battle with Harlow replayed in Clovis' mind. Her powers had completely restructured him!

"I... I... I've changed!" he realized at last. He walked out of the shop in a slow trance. He stroked his beard, trying to deduce whether this was a good or bad thing that he had changed so much, but he couldn't come to any sort of consensus. Clovis traversed the ghost town lost in thought, passing by a wanted poster hung up in some alleyway. He offered a quick glance towards it. "Oh. Black Hat."

Stroking his beard some more, Clovis continued further then stopped, suddenly. Something snapped within him. He sprinted back to the poster, which showcased the face of the very girl who had beaten him before. Anne Harlow. Bounty Beli Small111,000,000.

Once again, Clovis' eyes bulged out of his head and he exclaimed aloud in shock. "NANIIIIIII???!!!!" He ripped the poster off the wall and took it into his enormous hand. "That tiny girl was worth this much?!!! But she was half my size!!" Clovis rubbed the back of his head in disbelief. No wonder she had beaten him so easily! Her bounty was even larger than Zarren or Daruma's! He folded the poster and tucked it into his pocket. In case Thug had something to say he'd use the girl's bounty to justify his loss.

It wasn't until Clovis wandered a ways further that he came upon any sort of inhabitants. From the distance he could see a woman with red hair and some kid standing in the fields. He looked out at them, observing from afar. Everyone had likely fled the town out of fear of the magma. It seemed to be traveling over the entire island. Clovis had yet to learn about what caused it. He wondered why the girl and the boy were sticking around rather than running away like everyone else.

"Hoy!" Clovis waved his giant hand as he called over to them. "Hoy!!!" he called again, this time waving both giant hands above his head. "What are you guys still doing here-ow!!"

Crickett turned around, her singular eye matching her hair, the other covered by a black patch. Dipper gulped. While his mistress and the man might have been to dense to recognize the truth, Dipper knew almost immediately. He opened his mouth, "C-c-captain.." He shivered, to which he was met with a boot to the face. "Don't interrupt two adults speaking!" She murmured, looking towards the complete stranger.

Despite being the man she was looking for, Crickett lacked the talents to tell. Though an expert soothsayer, in the words of Dipper himself, Crickett had never been wrong about the future, only the present. The minute she laid eyes upon the man, her heart seemed to skip a beat. She fought these feelings, swallowing them down as if nothing more than a jagged little pill.

"What ever do you mean?" Crickett hmphed. "Fate has summoned me here, what is your excuse!" She pointed dramatically, forgetting she was holding her weapon, she sheathed the chained nail somewhat embarrassed. "I've been hunting this man, but I'm afraid he must have died to the dragon. What a sad day for my taxidermist! Namamamamama!"

Cricket raised his hand and tried to speak, but he found that Crickett's boot was still resting comfortably on his face, she wasn't going to let a petulant child kill the vibe!

Clovis closed the distance between him and the woman with a slow walk downhill, hands in his pockets to maintain the "cool" aura around him. What he was looking for were answers to the hot magma, but instead he found something else burning up inside of him the moment he gazed upon this woman. Her words and actions made him blush. He twirled the end of his mustache with one hand as he tried to play it off.

"F-Fate? Ow! I don't b-believe in something so silly like that." Clovis twirled his mustache some more and offered a fleeting glance to Dipper before his eyes returned to Crickett once more. "May I know your name, madam? Beautiful madam, miss?" Clovis quickly looked back over his shoulder to hide his face for a moment. WHAT A WAY WITH WORDS YOU HAVE, LAD!! WHAT A LINE! A REAL POET!!

Clovis turned back with a blush and grin. "Did I hear you right? Did you say that there was a dragon nearby? Ow!! Oh how might I have possibly missed that?"

Her hair seemed to snake outward as rage boiled her blood, "FATE IS NOT SILLY! I SHOULD CUT OUT YOUR TONGUE FOR HERESY LIKE THATTTTTTT!!!" Managing to calm down, she took a deep breathe. Especially upon noticing her heel had dug even deeper into her apprentices face! Oopsies! Her voice became higher as her next sentence was aimed to make up for her last, "Sorry about that, I don't know what comes over me sometimes! Hehe~" Her smile became soft and warm all of a sudden, as opposed to it's former harshness.

Extending her arm, "I am Crickett. Nothing more, nothing less. Ugh, Dipper, what a terrible step-stool you are!" She released her grip over the boy as he rolled out from under her heel. Though he knew the truth, he couldn't tell his captain! She'd never believe him! He gulped. It'd be him who suffered the consequences and then... it'd be too late!

Panicking at what should be done in an impossible situation such as this, he stared blanky. Then, Crickett asked the question. What was normal introduction to the world was ritual to the red haired woman! Truly worthy of her title as name thief! "And what might your name be?" She licked her lips, her words carrying a certain danger with them, as if words could be weapons.

Dipper's head began rattling, playing charades behind his mistress, he did every possible sign to tell this man NOT to say his name!

Clovis completely disregarded the woman's emotional, rage-induced outburst. His face remained unchanged as he continued to twirl one end of his mustache. What wasn't there to like about Crickett? She was beautiful, well spoken and so good with kids! "My name?" Clovis was still stuck in a trance. He set his hand into Crickett's and his eyes turned to hearts.

Yet as Dipper began to, well, dip, Clovis' mind settled into reality. He met Crickett's eyes with a smile and shook her hand while saying in a most nonchalant tone, "Hornigold Clovis, pleased to meet you Miss Cricket. Ow!! Does your son have autism? He's jumping around like there's ants in his pants."

Everything changed in that split second. The world spun around before her like a dizzying dream, the squash and the tomatoes, wasting away in the fields of abandonment blurring her vision with orange and red. Birds pecking at the harvest flew away in fear, the woman gripped her weapon as chains fell from her sleeves.

"You don't remember do you? Namamamaama." She was neither laughing with or at him, but more so about the situation she had so stupidly stumbled into. "You have a lot of nerve showing your face in front of me. How long I've sought you out...." One of her nails pointed to her eyepatch, the chains slithering across her body like snakes. "Is Clovis what you call yourself now? Well it doesn't matter. You can be Clovis, Carl, or Caroline. I'll always remember your name, painted as a scar on my body!"

Crickett's arm swung in Dipper's direction, grabbing his pale pink hair and holding his body in front of her. His feet dangled as he groaned, not even trying to get away. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. "Transform." Crickett commanded, in a clear emotional frenzy of pure hatred.

Dipper seemed somewhat saddened. "I- I- can't! This man, he... he didn't take your eye!" Dipper announced, a statement which to say the least, calmed the name thief down.

"HUUUUUHHHHHH? HOW CAN THAT BE TRUE!?! IS THAT TRUE!?" The arm that held dipper reared back, allowing her head and his to be side by side, although his feet were still unable to touch the ground, it was as if she was holding a lantern, not a person. She stared at Clovis, waiting for his answer.

"H-H-Hold on a minute!!" Clovis moved his giant hands forward in a defensive manner. "It wasn't --ow!!!-- me! I promise you, my crew and I have just entered the Grand Line a few hours ago! Before then I spent my entire life in South Blue! I can't be the one that yer looking for!"

Any reasonable minded person would have been observing Crickett's abilities. How she seemed to find value in each word and how she apparently could wield Dipper as a weapon with a little more than physical contact. But Clovis was far too blinded in this moment. Something was keeping him from seeing the red flags Crickett was giving off.

Dropping Dipper in shock, alongside her weapons, a hand flew to her forehead in dramatic gesture. "I was wrong, I've never been wrong... has fate led me to the wrong perch? Did the stars align different than how I envisioned? What a world! What a world! What a CRUEL CRUEL WORLD!" Crickett was very dramatic in nature, something she truly believed in had been disproven by one singular man. It didn't cross her mind that fate is always changing, that something unexpected could have happened, that she wasn't ever meant to kill the man who stole from her. That type of rational logic was absent from Crickett's mind.

Recovering from her mental state, a finger pointed into the air. "That must be it! You used to look like that," She held up one of her arms, referring to the bloated face and belly of his outdated bounty poster. "Now you look like this! It must be ! Paired with my Onomancy we could rule the world! NAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA!"

As she jumped to conclusions, Dipper sighed. "D-does this mean he's coming with us? And I have to cook for three now..." Crickett leaned down, whispering into her apprentices ear. "No, you'll still be cooking for two! You're not eating for a week after that little stunt you pulled, allowing me to embarrass myself in front of such a... gentleman." The words nearly brought tears to Dipper's eyes. He really had his work cut out for him.

Crickett's voice naturally became more cutesy when talking to Clovis, much different from the raspy sea witch who had been conversing with Dipper. "So do you have a crew or anything like that~!" Aside from knowing he was a wanted pirate, Crickett knew very little.

Clovis, too, used a much softer voice when addressing Crickett. It was as though he were bit by the lovebug; he saw something in Crickett which he did not see in anyone else. When she pointed to the bounty poster of him that she had put up, Clovis' eyes bulged out of their sockets, riding along a river of tears. His jaw dropped so low that his tongue flopped out of his mouth. Until now he had known his bounty of be Beli12,000,000. But the count on this new poster was ten times that. Beli120,000,000.

"NAAAAAANNNNNIIIII?!!!!!" Clovis couldn't believe his eyes! The intense shock, it was... overwhelming. He started to feel lightheaded. He was worth more than Daruma, more than Zarren; hell, even more than Harlow! When did this happen? He grabbed hold of the poster completely glossing over Crickett's comments about his physique. "T-T-This is my bounty? Ow!!"

Clovis grabbed his head. It was one thing to believe in his dreams, but he never imagined that the World Government would so quickly brand him a threat. To reach nine figures so soon, he truly wasn't expecting it. Tears of shock turned to streams of joy. He wiped his face with his arms. "Ow!! Anything issss possibleee!! Wahhhh! Wahhh!!! I really can do this! I really am meant to be a pirate!! Just you wait, world, this is just the beginning!! Ow!!! I'll be the one to find that treasure! I'll be the one to find the One Piece!!"

Taking the poster into his giant hand, Clovis tore it free from the knife and used it to blow his nose. Calming himself down, he then turned back to the beautiful Crickett. "My crew... yes, I do have a crew. A man named Thug --ow!!-- and another named Zed. I need to find them. We were separated during a fight with another crew. But after all that lava... happened... well, I'm not so sure where to even start looking for them." Clovis gave a hard sniff. He looked around.

"Come to think of it, the lava hasn't reached to here yet. But judging by how big that tsunami was... I'm almost certain it'll hit here eventually. Miss Crickett," he turned to her, "earlier you mentioned a dragon. Ow! What did you possibly mean by that?"

Crickett watched the display of emotion in annoyance! To her, bounty meant nothing; a price on someone's head did equate threat level. Of course, it didn't help that here bounty was a mere Beli6,600,600 and jealousy was definitely at play. Admittedly, she hadn't noticed it before, 120,000,000 was a lot of money. It gave Crickett an idea, but that would come later.

"Of course you were meant to be a pirate!" Her voice became serious again. "But as for that crew of yours, Thug... Zed... well I'm afraid it just wasn't in the cards for them! Namamamamam!" Crickett's body began flailing around, waving like a flag in the wind, "I'm melting! I'm meltingggggg...." She cackled as she fell to the ground, only to jump back up reanimated. "You are destined to be a pirate, and they were destined to die. Them's the breaks."

Dipper couldn't help but laugh at his masters jokes, he had seen the chaotic fights beginning firsthand! "There was a big fight, right at the docks." Dipper explained. "A star swallower I think, she had the strangest ability... kind of like- OUCH!" Crickett's boot had stabbed his foot to keep him from sharing too much. "Yes, yes, a dragon of epic proportions. It's old news. Your crews dead, you're coming with me hotshot." Crickett teased. Her lovey dovey voice was seemingly absent ever since this new plan hatched, but it quickly reappeared. "Does that sound good to you~!"

Meant to be? Destined to be? "Ow!!" Clovis touched the side of his face. "A dragon? A dragon was the cause of all that magma?" Clovis put two and two together as he thought aloud. His eyes wandered into the distance, where he imagined the lava would pour in from. Yet, no such thing happened, even for as long as they had all been here. Had someone managed to put an end to the flow of the lava?

"And I thought fire was bad... but magma is even worse. But I won't shy away from anything. Ow!" He took a step forward as if amidst some heroic monologue. He hoped Crickett was watching of course, and that the dramatic flare of his charisma was seeping into her. "I refuse to take the easy way out! No! I will forge my own path to the end, no matter what awaits me!" Clovis' long arms rose up beside him. He declared this promise to the heavens. "If a god exists, then fuck that god! You won't write my story for me! No one will!" He flicked off the sky with both hands. Hands balling into fists and his hips, he began to pump them slowly back and forth as if he were penetrating the very clouds themselves.

"Dragon, King, God, it doesn't matter! I'll introduce them all to a world of pain! Kaaaashishishi!" Clovis turned back to see over his shoulder, yet his eyes took hold of Dipper rather than Crickett. He marched up to the boy, leaned down so that his face was in his, and then pulled his eyes apart with his fingers. Sticking his tongue out and rolling his pupils off to the side, he tormented the little child with a hideous expression. "Bleegghhh!!!"

It became clear that Clovis treated the world like his stage, stepping front and center to perform a speech of epic proportions. Honestly Crickett would have found it endearing if he hadn't insulted everything she believed in. Those words, to defy the universes mystical grand design! IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE!!! A vein popped out of Crickett's forehead, she wanted to cut him down right them and there! Feed him to that dragons drool! But... as she stepped forward in the attempt her heart throbbed once more. No! It couldn't be. Was him defying destiny what made her feel this way? A woman sworn to follow the invisible path laid out for her? She hated herself for her inability to act, but perhaps right now just wasn't the proper time to kill him... it would come later. The thought made her smile.

At the end of his monologue, Crickett let out a slow, sarcastic clap. Dipper instantly began crying as his eyes locked with the supposed king of pain. "Fight that dragon and you'll die, it's written in the stars clear as day, buddy. But, if you wanna melt into nothing be my guest. Who am I to stop you?" Crickett wasn't the type to become anyone's cheerleader, in fact, she was now advocating for his death. If she couldn't do it herself might as well be an outside force!

"Dipper, dry up. You're embarrassing me." This was mumbled of course, she didn't want to seem weak in front of Clovis! Dipper sniffled, "Bu-but he's scary? And he's doing it on purpose..." The waterworks continued. Crickett groaned. Why had she chosen such a wimpy apprentice? "And then, then, then, there's the dragon and all those people and! I don't know if I can handle stuff like that!" He collapsed to the ground, looking up towards the red haired vixen, and then towards his scare factor; Clovis.

Her scarlet eyes glared at him, sulking on the floor like a baby. "Then it's time to grow a pair." She stated firmly, turning away, red locks flowing in the wind like red vines as she walked towards the field, a little food for the future journey would be nice.

"In this world there is no such thing as fate. If there was, I'd still be tied to a pole and left as food for a school of crows," Clovis mumbled aloud for himself and the others present to hear. "I'll write my own story. Ow!!" The moment Crickett turned around, Clovis swooped down and reached for Dipper. His hand would pass over the boy's mouth and, in an attempt to abduct the young child, Clovis would pull Dipper into his own chest. In that moment Dipper would pass through Clovis' straw body and be held prisoner inside, lost in the bed of dried wheat like a needle lost in a haystack.

All Crickett would have to do to counteract this was turn around. Clovis would panic and Dipper as a result would flop out of him harmlessly; Clovis, whistling to fill the space of the awkward tension, would then walk off in front of Crickett. "A little food, eh? For some reason I don't feel that hungry anymore." Clovis rubbed his stomach, his battle with Harlow replaying in his mind for a moment. "But, I'll do you one better than that, Crickett-swan~! You see, word of the lava has spread around these parts like naked pictures of a newly wed bride. When I walked around the shops earlier, I didn't see a soul in sight. Ow!!" Clovis rubbed the side of his face. "The civilians left everything behind and ran away for their lives. There's plenty of supplies for us pirates to rummage."

After taking one step in the direction of the town, Clovis turned and took a knee in front of Crickett. He reached with his long arm towards her, offering her his hand. "May this lover of pain have the privilege of plundering this town with thy beauty? Ow!!!" Clovis' face attempted a seductive expression.

Of course, she did turn around. Crickett might have been cruel, but she did care for Dipper, if only a little bit, that was still more than nothing. What was really an attempted abduction, Crickett saw as a harmless hug. At least they were getting along? Dipper didn't see it the same, but he had learned what happened when he opened his mouth, and also what happened when he shut it! Gulping as he bounced out of the straw-made haunted house, he swallowed his pride. Sliding onto the floor, he scurried to be near his mistress. At least beside her he was only subject to the occasional physical abuse! There was no telling what Scarecrow wanted!

All reason and logic told Crickett not to accept this strange proposal, to run about through the half melted town like some sort of barbarian! However, the flies and worms hiding within the fruit she picked did most of the convincing. "I guess it would be good for Dipper to see..." The woman sighed. "Fine." She scoffed and her face seemed to shrivel creating an evil look. "What a perfect time! Like a lamb to the slaughter! His crew is dead... we'll be all alone... then I can kill him!" Of course Clovis wouldn't have been able to hear all of that, said so low that Crickett herself was hardly able to make out the words. The only comprehensible part was the end of the sentence, her signature laugh, "NAMAMAMAMAMMAAMA!"

Dipper blinked, "I'm not so sure that's a good idea, what if uh, what if that dragon comes back?" Crickett rolled her eyes. "Then you'll fight her, like I should have made you do the first time! What use are you to me as a pacifist!!?"

Clovis rose up from his knee and coughed into his hand. Eyes aimed at the nearby town, he gave a sly signal in its direction. Then he started towards it and as he came upon one of its alleys he reached down into a box and conveniently uncovered a long woven sack which he immediately took into his hands and pried open. Slinging it over his shoulder, Clovis began to raid shop after shop, collecting whatever he may come across and stowing it away into the sack after deeming it valuable.

All the while, Clovis sang aloud; he was no musician of course and perhaps his singing voice was actually quite painful to endure, but all that mattered was that it helped him pass the time along. Singing made even the most mundane tasks that much more enjoyable. But Clovis rather liked looting. So in this case it made a joyous activity even more thrilling. "♫ Go down you blood red roses, go down! And it's mighty draughty around Twin Cape... Go down you blood red roses, go down, Oh, you pinks and posies!♫ Ow!!"

Marching into another shop, Clovis kicked down its door and stormed inside. Lucky for him, he had struck gold. Quite literally. For this shop happened to be none other than a jewelry store, full of shimmering and shining jewels. With a proper swing of his giant hand he broke through the protective glass that encased the jewels and began to stuff them into the sack over his shoulder. "♫Go down you blood red roses, go down... It's round Twin Cape we've got to go... Chasing dragons through vein and lava... Oh my old mother she wrote to me...My darling son come home from sea! Ow!!!"

The next shop that Clovis raided was a weapons store. As he broke down its door he was a bit more cautious going in; ensuring that no one was inside he let down his guard some. Strolling the innards of the shop, he briefly paused and stared at the back wall behind the front counter; Clovis took note of a large symbol which was painted upon it. He paid it no mind after that, and scurried to find something that would be of use. There was one such weapon on display when he reached the back room of the store, encased in a protective glass all by itself. For obvious reasons this caught Clovis' interest most, and he found that not even his fists together were able to thwart the glass.

It took the powers of his straw to slice the glass box in half, and as he took hold of the sheathed weapon, Clovis felt a strange sensation emanate up his arm and through his person. "Jolly good sword, I reckon?" he wondered aloud, and without bothering to draw the blade from its scabbard he stowed the sword at his hip through the sash around his waist.

Clovis exited the store and returned before Crickett, curious as to what she might make of the sword. "Hoy, Crickett-san. I came across this sword... the design on the bottom is quite unique, no? What do you think?" He pulled the sword out of its sheath to showcase it to her. The blade was long yet dull around the edges. The sword was especially thin and remarkably light; the sharpest part of the sword was the tip of the blade, making it useful for thrusting.

His song was annoying, his habits were annoying, his voice was annoying, and yet, Crickett stuck around. He marched in one shop and out another, stealing whatever fancies his interest… the woman's mind wondered. She didn’t have a need for anything this pathetic town had for sale, or formerly had for sale after all this destruction. Her mind wandered to the “treasure” aboard her ship, and perhaps yet another reason her bounty was so low.

While many pirates kept a treasury, hers was not filled with gold but with rare and exotic findings. The skeletal arms of a four-armed tribesman, the third eye of some oracle, and the sixth toe of a giant. These things were far more appealing to the woman than gold, little pieces of history that would last forever…. The thought made her drool as she dreamt of Clovis, hanging in her treasury like nothing more than a wax statue. A man who denied the fate she had given him!!! And he would pay for that!!

The more she thought about it, the more it angered her, and the more she fell in love. Eventually, she began arguing with herself out loud, much to Dipper’s dismay. “I love him.” She plucked the petal off a charred flower, one of many magma-related victims. “I love him NOT.” And this went on, and on, and on. “Uh, m-mistress? Are you okay?” Her apprentice questioned, to which she responded with the usual, “SHUT UP DIPPER!” Though much angrier than normal, almost like a growl. For the first time in her life, fate, and destiny had no role in her current decisions. Why was that? Because the heart had become involved.

Though Crickett had an odd way of showing that her love, at first sight, was true, this was how she showed affection. Her rude abrasiveness to Dipper proved that further. Eyeing the man as he walked into a weapons store, Crickett knew what had to be done. Clovis was to steal a weapon from this shop, that much was common sense… but how could she change the outcome of this situation? That was far more complex.

It happened so many years ago. A name she had been saving for a special occasion.

The door to the shop rang, welcoming in a guest so that the bartender didn’t have to, yet he still did. The voice of an elderly man, back in the kitchens doing god knows what, “Crickett! Crickett is that you!?”

Compared to how she looks now, she was practically unrecognizable. No visible tattoos, simpler clothes; a basic t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a bandana. It was hard to mess up or stand out in an outfit like that. She took a seat at the bar, “You know my schedule so well pops.”

“Well, you’ve been a customer, what, nearly every day?” He grabbed a mug and as Crickett opened her mouth, she was shushed. “I know, black coffee no sugar. You freak.” The fact that he already knew that caused her to smile.

“Have you been keeping secrets from me, Crow?” Grabbing the mug, she put her nose upon the rim of the cup, sniffing the espresso. Not many people could tolerate black coffee, but she found it delectable. His wrinkled face seemed confused, “What on heaven do you mean sweetheart?” He asked, leaning against the bar. What little hair he had left stood in a chicken-like clump in the middle of his head which he scratched as if that would magically answer his question.

Crickett shook her head, she didn’t want to push any further. He changed the subject. “Did you ever put any thought into working for me? You know, I’m gonna retire real soon and The Horseshoe could be yours! Wouldn’t that be nice for you?” Crow saw her as a daughter, she came to the bar nearly every day, yet never drank alcohol and always tipped well. She only heard tales of his life and occasionally lent a helping hand or two. In his eyes, she was a sweet girl, better than most.

“I can answer that with a question of my own,” She downed the coffee, as if it was hard liquor, licking her lips as if to suck down every bitter drop. “Why did you testify against my father?” Those words struck an immeasurable amount of fear into Crow’s heart, so much so that he began to sweat.

“Well, I, uh, dear, I’m not sure what you mean?” He panted, his eyeballs dancing within his head as he looked for a wordy escape. The ignorant response won, all the cards he could have played.

“I mean I won’t be taking over your restaurant. They executed him you know? Right in front of me. All because he could see the future and told the truth…”

“HE WAS A HERETIC CRICKETT! A MONSTER! A FIEND! A VILLAIN! You’re better than him! Your life could be different!” Somewhere in his panic, Crow found courage.

“And what about you? All those stories you told me… how come he’s the heretic when you’re so clearly cursed! Every ship you’ve ever gotten on was destroyed in a storm. Every wife you’ve ever had is miraculously dead. Every flower you touch dies. You’ve been struck by lightning what? A million times…”

“That doesn’t make me cursed!”

“And if that made him a monster? What does that make me? We have the same gift.” Crickett nearly began tearing up, but she kept her head held high. “And I see something awful in your future.”

“You’re no witch! No sorceress! You haven’t swallowed a star! Get ahold of yourself… this isn’t like you… no this isn’t like you at all.” Right then and there, his spirit broke. The girl he once knew seemed unfamiliar to him, like a switch had been turned on, or off.

Crickett’s arm lunged across the bar, she was faster than him, taller, and her limbs longer. It was an easy reach. Crow began choking, his little hands struggling to break free. Black ink flew across his body, spiraling into letters. First c, then r, followed by o and w. They danced across his skin before snaking themselves onto Crickett herself.

“My father was an astrologer. Call him whatever helps you sleep at night, you sentenced an innocent man to die, and for that… no one will ever call you anything again. Have fun with all your newfound luck, Horseshoe isn’t such an ironic name after all. NAMAMAMAMAMAMA!” Looking at her victim, he seemed lifeless but he was very much functioning. For all intents and purposes, he was alive, even if a former husk of what he once was.

Cricket stumbled outside, shocked at what she had just done. Rolling up her sleeve, several names were printed in black ink, one particularly new one still wet like fresh paint. Crow. Her back fell to the bar of the horseshoe as she began to cry. “I’m sorry daddy.” She moped, looking up towards the night sky…

A shooting star just barely visible, Crickett closed her eyes, but her wish was already being granted; one name at a time.

The daydream was interrupted by a voice, chills were sent down her spine, and she seemed almost startled. Snapping back into reality, Clovis was waving a weapon around in her face! A sword, just as she had predicted.

Extending her arm forward, she saw the neck of a man she had once strangled, but as her gloved fingers wrapped around it, her hand touching Clovis’ own in the process, it was, of course, a sword. “Crow.” She whispered, the tattoos on her body swirling around in circles, that name, in particular, made its way from her arm down to her fingers, the black ink seeping from her gloves and curling itself around the blade, the name now engraved in the steel as if it had always been there, comparable to the signature of a blacksmith.

“Ah yes, what a fine sword indeed.” Her lips curled into a wicked smile. One that Clovis could never understand without knowing the full extent of her past, one he probably never would… but one thing was for certain. Crickett had not stolen that name for nothing.

"Crow?" Clovis repeated after Crickett, unsure by what she had meant, exactly. He had shown her the sword because he thought that it might have impressed her. And the more he impressed her the sooner he thought he could, well. His eyes cast a fleeting glance over her smirk, giving the otherwise sinister expression the benefit of the doubt for no proper reason at all. She had flown no less than a hundred red flags until now and Clovis refused to acknowledge every last one of them. Such were the rules to love.

"Ow!! That's not a bad name at all, actually! Hey, are you good at naming or something? I think I'll keep it. Crow it is." Clovis pulled the sword closer to himself, holding the blade before his face to see what had been inscribed upon it. Just as foretold, the word, or rather the name, "Crow", was etched onto the body of the weapon. The branding was true and proper; as Clovis ran his fingers against it he could tell no difference between it and the rest of the sword, almost as if it'd been there all along. Without thinking much more on it he lugged the blade back to its sheath, or at least he tried. He missed the scabbard no less than three times before he finally found his aim and heard the proper click.

It was in that moment that a faint beep could be heard, emanating from within Clovis himself. He reached into his chest with his giant hand, plunging deep into his straw body. After rummaging about for a good second or two he propped his hand back out to the sight of a transponder snail in his palm. Kaya no Hari. A supplementary technique Clovis devised to suit the need for the storage of simple items; being that his body was made out of straw, Clovis stored a handful of relevant tools inside of himself to access in a moment's notice. In this case the artifact in question was a Den Den Mushi he had taken from Gastrell Lucien, taking the immediate appearance of his first mate, Thug.

Katcha. "Hoy, Thug! You're alive after all. Ow! I didn't doubt you for a second. What's that?" Deep veins bulged atop Clovis' eyebrows, tearing through his forehead like cracks chiseling in glass. "Stay right there. I'm on my way." He immediately shoved the snail back into his chest and took a step forward, all the while his eyes faced the ground.

A dark aura seemingly enveloped the man as if the fool Crickett had grown accustomed to was suddenly a different person. Gone was Hornigold Clovis. In his place had come the Captain of the Pain Pirates. "Hoy, Crickett. My crew needs me." A sudden draft of wind caused the tendrils of his fur coat to flutter dramatically, bolstering his appeal that much more. He kept his gaze low as he took another step forward. "When I take care of my business, let's pick up right where we left off, hm?"

Clovis took off, slinging the sack of stolen goods over his shoulder. And if Crickett studied his silhouette long enough she would see him he trip on a rock and fall flat on his face in the distance. "Ow!!!!!" Good old Crow was already at work.

The fall was not all bad for Clovis. When he looked up, a group of civilians had surrounded him. They offered him a hand up to help him back to his feet, but as he accepted their aid, Clovis had something entirely different on his mind. "When's the last time any of you have been to a chiropractor? Ow!!"

---

A grin curved onto his face as Clovis announced he'd been preparing to make his way towards him. He didn't doubt his captain's ability to track him down, so he instead remained at a good enough distance that would allow for him to remain out of Finwind's sights, but keep the fishman in his own.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he looked down to the chest and flipped the top to open it once more. A white, luminescent looking devil fruit with black swirls all over its base. Its shape could have easily been made out to be an apple, but since it was transparent and could be seen right through, it could have raised a few questions, but not a single one would come from Behram himself.

He was excited about all of this. He could shake the thoughts of when Zarren and Lucien fought out of his mind. The power that the two of them displayed from their devil fruits, replayed over and over in his mind.

"I wanted this..." Behram said to himself, "I stayed down, Thafufufufufu.." he laughed, removing the fruit from the chest and tossing it onto the ground. "Then I may as well eat tha' fruits of my adventurin'!" Without wasting another moment, Behram stuffed the fruit into his mouth.

He took a moment to chew it down, breaking it into something he could swallow as it fell down his throat. He stopped moving for a moment and his eyes went wide. Then his face went sour and blue near the forehead area and in a regurgitating expression, he tried to spit the contents out but it was too late. "SHIT IT'S DISGUSTIN'!!" Behrma shouted at the top of lungs. He attempted to clean his tongue with his cloths to get rid of the taste. If he could, he would have ripped out his tongue.

"GYAAAAK! PTUUUU PTUUU!" He spat at the rooftops, placing his hands on his knees to take a moment and assess everything. "Is that tha' price ya pay for power?" He quickly fixed himself and wiped his mouth off. His body slowly calmed itself as the fruit's contents merged into his DNA.

Behram looked down to his hands and clenched them. "I felt tha' change," he told himself. You learn the name of a devil fruit when you gain its power. "The Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Ghost," his smile returned back to his face following his uttering of the devil fruit's name.

"THAFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFU!" He laughed at the top of his lungs.

Fulfilled Prophecy[]

Twin capes was in a bustle of activity. The worst kind. The streets which were once cleared of people due to the pesky rain was flooded with hordes of panicked people. Molten waves of lava coursed throughout the streets. The volcanic material crushed the infrastructure, and those unfortunate enough to be caught in its initial wave were melted into nothing. John’s food cart was one of the few exposed to it. However, that was the least of his worries.

It was his livelihood, his passion, but it could all be rebuilt. What couldn’t be were lives, and so, John leapt from the top of every building, transporting the elderly, and children further into the expanded territory of Twin Capes. By his count, he had transformed thirty or so people, traversing the entirety of the landscape with but a few leaps. He glanced over towards the molten river that formed through the crevices of the former portion of twin capes. It had just been twenty minutes ago that he rested uneventfully in the streets, and then now, it was nothing except a desolate wasteland of molten earth. Another place he had to abandon.

“Time to head on out then,” he muttered, glancing at the destruction again, “Before they blame me for this too.” He leapt forward, leaping across the molten lava, directly into the waters of the ocean below.

Misty rested upon the deck of the Swimming Siren. She may have not been able to save the portion of the town that fell prey to to Amaterasu's lava, but she was at least able to keep the lava at the docking area at bay, keeping the vessels that had chosen this side safe from demise.

She was accompanied by Lorelei and Joe who attempted to aid her in ensuring she had gotten enough back into her body. That wasn't her only problem though. The wound she had suffered from Amaterasu's talon had begun to take its toll once Misty's adrenaline came down and the blood soaked the lower left leg portion of her body suit.

Despite her pains, she still looked to the land of Twin Capes in disappointment of how things turned out. In the midst of everyone getting away, Misty's eyes follow the one man who appeared differently from others. Despite her pains, she jumped on one leg and rushed over to the railing as he dove into the ocean. Her eyes focused on him as though he were her target.

"Joe! Joe! It's a frog guy! Look at him!" She exclaimed, pointing towards John.

As a frog, John had no need to turn his head to view Misty who was positioned in his peripherals. It wasn’t like he really could anyway. Still, he shifted his body, and faced the vessel. It was a fine vessel, forged out of metal instead of wood. John wondered how it’d stayed afloat, but he was no shipwright. The complexities of science alluded him.

Still, perhaps they’d be willing….

“Hoy!” John called out, throwing his hand into the air. “Hoy there! You aren’t here to dock are ya?”

The moment John called out to her Misty, she became filled with excitement. She hopped on one leg and formed a smile that stretching from one ear to the other. "Docking?!" She asked, shouting. "No, no! We're leaving before it gets worse! Can't you see it!" She said, waving towards Twin Cape.

"Are you gonna swim somewhere else?" Misty asked.

John nodded in agreement. "Yeah! I was going to do a quick loop around the docks to make sure everyone was alright, then I was heading out," replying, as if the two had been acquaintances for years. John was quite friendly.

"If you don't mind, can I hitch a ride? I could swim the entire way, but it'd be a hassle!"

She had no intentions of denying John's request. Her head went up and down rapidly as if she had been overcharged on sugar. What may have seemed like an act of kindness from the young girl, would only turn into an interrogation after she finished asking all the questions she could about his anatomy.

"I'm not sure where you're going, but we aren't either." She waved him aboard, "So maybe you'd be helping us find our way to where we should be going next!"

Alighting on deck as if he were a feather of a man, Joe immediately took off his overshirt, tearing it into strips as he moved to Misty's side. There was barely controlled concern in his eyes, as if he had needed to resist saying something before now. The reality was he had been very close to grabbing and carrying her, watching her hop along on one leg. His face betrayed his worry as he knelt to wrap the cloth around her leg.

"Please captain, exercise some self-preservation. You've been seriously injured - again."

Misty looked down to Joe whom had now lifted her off of her feet. Folding her arms, she pouted and poked her lips out. "But Joe, that cool frog guy asked for a ride! We can't pass that up! My leg hurts, but as long as I'm alive I'm fine. I'm fine!" Misty was like a child and Joe like a father the way he had to tend to her after her battles.

"Hey! Come on aboard!"

John dipped his body under the water. With his powerful hind legs, he rebuked the sea and propelled himself through the ocean like a torpedo. His eyes had a protective film over them which allowed him to see perfectly in the murky waters, but he hardly needed even that. His sense of hearing was outstanding. He could detect the most minute vibrations, such as a metal ship floating upon the gentle waves.

Within a second, John's body shot from the water and his towering figure landed upon the surface of the ship, his frog-like disposition in full display.

"Thanks for the ride. Where's the rest of the crew though?"

Misty wiggled her way out of Joe's arms, landing back to the deck of the ship with a cheeky grunt. "Grhmph," She masked her pain behind a soft and welcoming smile.

"Rest of the crew?" She questioned, almost as though she had been confused from his words despite her being the one who captained the ship. "We're here!" Misty said, holding her arm out to Joe. "I'm Misty and he's Joe! It's not the biggest crew, we've only recently begun our journey." Her eccentric personality stood out like a sore thumb.

"You're it?!" John jumped. "H-How did you navigate over reverse mountain?"

His eyes did not betray his emotions. They were wide with shock.

"You must be one helluva Helmsman, Captain," he added.

"Oh, that was all Joe's doing!" She said, referring to John's comment about the Helmsman. "I couldn't offer much assistance towards that." Misty grabbed some of the cloth from Joe's hand and took a seat onto the deck. She then began to wrap her leg even tighter around the cloth he had already added to her. She needed to add as much pressure as she could to the wound before it would open once again.

Pressing around her leg, she could feel the pressure being applied by the cloth. But she'd need a better fix if she wanted to be back up on it heavy again. "I kinda just followed the direction the waves moved and told him to follow it. We were told to get some sort of Log Pose or meet some guy named Log Pose, I can't remember, honestly."

Her head tilted to the side once more as she jumped up to her feet. "Who are you? You're like a frog-man-thing. No disrespect of course."

John smiled, showcasing his teeth. "None taken! My name is John. John Santiago," he declared. "I'm a frog, but I'm a person, just like you! I eat and breathe, just like you...well, not exactly like you, I breathe through my skin! But, you know, I heard that my great great great great great grandpapi was a human, just like you."

He paused.

"Anyway, I have a log pose. Got one from my travels a while ago," he said, opening his mouth. He reached into his throat, and pulled out the alternated compass. He shook off the saliva and stomach acid.

"If you want, you can have it."

"A FROG PERSON!?" Misty said, hands pressed up against her chest as her body shook and the pupils of her eyes immediately turned into sparkles as though John were some sort of trophy. This was the first time she had seen such a being with her own two eyes, but she remembered hearing tales of there being other kinds of beings out there in the World.

Then, when he reached into his throat she gave a look with her nose turned up into the air. "I think it may be best if you.. ya know.. maybe even keep that one."

Though she may have been turned away from John's ability to reach down his throat, something else he said did catch her attention. "You can breathe through your skin? How does that work. Does your skin have many mouths on it? I can breathe underwater without too, but no one where I'm from could tell me why. Maybe its my skin too?"

"!!"

Her eyes widened and she went quiet.

"Was my great great great great great grandad a frog, just like you?!"

“Maybe!” John agreed, throwing his hands out in excitement, incidentally throwing the log pose onto the deck of the ship. “Specially if you can breathe underwater. Regular folk can’t do that. It’s entirely possible we’re really related after all!! You even look like the people where I’m from, ribibibibibi~!!!”

"That's so awwweeeeeesooooommmmmeeeeeeee!" She shrieked.

"By the way, where are we taking you to?" Misty asked, returning back to business. "Like I said, I don't even know where we're going, so I'm not sure how we'll even get to where you need to go. But some path, is better than no path, right?"

John shrugged. “Anywhere but here. But, hey, I have an idea. Lemme join the crew!”

“OH WOW REALLY?!” Misty shouted at the top of her lungs. “Do you really want to join? Oh, wow! Another member! We’re starting to look like an actual crew now! Of course you can!”

Misty didn’t even considering denying John’s request. The entire point of being a pirate was to acquire a crew and if members were going to fall into her hands, she has no problem with it.

"Why not, right?" John replied with his characteristic smile. It was unusual for a frog to have such teeth, so he always wanted to show them off the best he could. "Most of the time, when you hear about pirates or talk to them, they're always plotting something crazy. This may be the first time I've heard of a pirate just traveling to travel. To see stuff. That's the reason I left my home in the first place. But then, I got stuck here, because I ran out of money."

He turned his body and clutched his hand dramatically.

"Then when I finally got some, I bought that stupid food truck, and then a dragon dropped lava on it!!!"

Misty stroked the back of her head, "Yeah, money's short here too. I'm starting to understand more and more why pirates plunder and do what they do. I thought being a pirate meant you can do whatever you wanted, break the rules, not pay for anything. Well, I mean, you can, but it's not how I want to always go about things."

At the core, the young pirate had a kind hard. Circumstances changed what her life path would consist of, but that didn't change who she was completely. "Another members brings us up to three!" She said, excitedly. "Oh man, it's really turning into a crew! Okay, Joe!" She said pointing towards the open see in front of them.

"Set the sails! Start the engine!" Her gaze shifted over to the sleeping Lorelei, "Let's go to the next island!"

Joe rolled his eyes slightly as he sighed, making his way to the ships wheel. "I guess that's that then." He muttered. His exasperation melted, however, at the look on Misty's face as she chattered at their new and unusual crewmate. Caressing the wheel with his hand as he settled into his position helming the ship, he chuckled.

"Ain't my decision to make anyway." The engines roared to life as he pulled a hefty lever to his right, pushing buttons linked to various mechanical systems built into the vessel to allow it to be manned with fewer crewmembers. The sails unfurled, the warmed breeze filling them taut as the ship lurched forward. With the sun yet high in the sky, the Swann Pirates were setting off.

Pirate's Code[]

Aleph sat on the crow's nest, which had become his favorite spot on the ship. Despite having the position of "lookout", during the short few weeks, Aleph had mainly used the location as his personal resting place. He always had enjoyed gazing at the ocean, and while he could attain better views than most thanks to his ability to soar through the air, there was an indescribable peace that came from simply letting his gaze rest on the endless ocean and simply letting the mind drift as if sailing the waves.

The altercation between his captain and that other rookie still lingered on his mind. It seemed the twin capes had become the epicenter of chaos, as he even could've sworn he had seen what appeared to be a serpentine beast in the sky. Molten rocks had suddenly caused severe damage in a different part of town, tremors of which had been the reason for Aleph to head into the skies and determine the cause, all the while Harlow and Clovis clashed. While Aleph's sight and hearing were exceptional, he had a newfound "sense" that evolved within after acquiring his new powers, allowing him to detect from even further beyond, while on land.

He took his job as the crew's lookout quite seriously, not only being the one in charge of locating enemies or land as they sailed, but also providing the crew with constant watch of their surroundings, whether on land, sea or air. Even more diligently, Aleph had taken it upon himself to buy and read newspapers from all the corners of the world, in order to keep himself informed in the lookout for potential obstacles in their way.

He took a drag of his cigar, exhaling as Finwind approached with a stranger, an individual he recognized from the tavern brawl. As Finwind and Zed exchanged words down in the ship's deck, Aleph rested the two weapons he had kept hidden once in the tavern. A double edged blade inside its scabbard, leaning on the edge of the crow's nest mast, and a spear, resting on his own shoulders as his arm wrapped around it loosely. The blade had been a gift, given to him by the First Mate, Hayden, as part of the haul stolen from their destructive adventure in Carnasada. The spear, a memento, from his mother, rather, from his tribe. Based on his mother's words, the ornate spear had been passed down for generations, and it remained one of the handful of belongings Aleph took with him on his new path.

Grunting, he rose up and stretched his black wings, then leaning on the edge as he looked down at the new prisoner caught by Finwind. Counting himself, there were currently five individuals on the Black Hat's ship. He wondered where Hayden was, as he often received a separate set of orders from HArlow in times like these. Santiago had been with him until he learned of the magma stream ravaging through town, and he had gone in search of fresh corpses. He wasn't too far, and should be on his way back. Harlow on the other hand went to a different part of town, and while he kept watch of his crewmates from afar, he seldom worried for their well-being. A few weeks had been enough for him to learn that each of the Black Hats were quite formidable on their own.

"That's the second guy you've taken prisoner..." Aleph said, throwing ashes from his cigar down towards Zed. "Is this some sort of habit of yours? Better keep that guy on a tight leash, unless you want our Ghost Doctor to get his sticky hands on him." He said to Finwind. Despite being crew mates, Aleph hadn't really interacted much with Finwind, unlike Hayden and Harlow. For the most part, they had a degree of respect and camaraderie, but seldom exchanged words outside necessary interactions. However, when push came to shove, Aleph knew Finwind, and any other member of the crew would have his back in any situation.

"What was that?" A deep voice echoed as a door to the lower levels of the ship opened. From it came a massive figure, that of the undead form of the half giant Benba. Given a second chance at life after his death at the hands of Uredurk, Benba now served not only as the crew's bodyguard, but in a twisted change of fate, now kept watch over their other prisoner, who had also been his killer. His eyes and mouth oozed a blue-white substance as it spoke, the ectoplasmic energy that tethered part of his spirit into his undying body.

"Ugh..." Aleph scoffed. "I hate it when you do that, Santiago. Speakin' through your damn minion."

"Benba's not a minion. In any case, I'm on my way back." Santiago somehow spoke through Benba, his voice mixed with the giant's own. "I couldn't find any usable corpses. They were either too mangled up or burnt to cinders..."

"Weird fuck..." Aleph shook his head, flapping his wings as he descended to the ship's deck. His spear still resting on his shoulder as he walked closer to Finwind. He took a one off glance at Zed, and simple leaned on the edge of the ship, looking back at Finwind and his prisoner.

"First the Marine Orc, and now this scrawny human. Are ya' making some sort of collection or somthn? Or are they emergency food supplies?" He shrugged. "Not that I care, honestly. Harlow gives us the freedom to basically do whatever we want, so if this is something you're into, I won't judge." His fiery gaze fell on Zed.

"But like I said, make sure to keep him on a tight leash. Not that he could run away fast enough even if by some miracle he escapes. Ya' heard? Moss-head?" Aleph said while lighting up another cigar, his gaze leaving Zed and turning towards the town beyond the bay.

"And where the fuck is Hayden??"

Finwind sighed at Aleph "You talk a lot, you know that?" he chuckled, before looking to Zed. "The Goddess granted him fortune, and with it, I decided to bring Harlow a gift." he spoke calmly, before crossing his arms. "You may eat him, if you'd like. I will refrain from partaking, though. Human isn't quite to my standards." he laughed.

He turned to look at Aleph finally "Has Hayden not returned? Perhaps the task given was too great for him. His training has yet to conclude, he'd best survive." Finwind spoke coldly, before moving to the rail of the ship and looking out to Twin Cape "There was quite the commotion, I wouldn't be surprised if we lost someone, this was..near madness. I've seen less happen in the arena back in Dressrosa, quite tame in comparison." He ran his hand across his short beard. "Harlow will return, I cannot say for the others." he commented finally.

The threats that he might be consumed or become a victim of whatever the so-called Ghost Doctor would do to him were ignored by Zed. He was relaxed since he was certain that he would find a way out of the situation. Even if he didn't, he would still live.

"You can't touch me." He said calmly but in a provocative tone. "I'm more valuable if I remain unharmed. I was reluctant to admit it to you because I feared the government could pursue me, but I can read poneglyphs. Few individuals possess the talent. I'm sure many people would pay generously for my services if they are of no use to you." Zed acted as if he didn't want the attention that came with reading poneglyphs, but in truth, he yearned for it. His book would become more well-known the more people knew him. Looking for a way to reach Rana, he said the only thing he could think of. "I need to take a dump!"

Finwind growled before looking to Zed "Then do so. You wouldn't be the first we've made shit their pants." he said, before balling a fist. "But let's get one thing clear, you hold no value except being a trophy of the Black Hats." He laughed before looking to Aleph "What was it you called him? Moss head?" he asked, before looking back to Zed "Let's consider you lucky for that gene, perhaps Harlow will take a liking to you!" he said, before reaching out and poking the man in the forehead.

"Ah, you're no fun, fish stick." Seeing his plans cut short, Zed laid on the floor with his hands behind his head serving as a cushion. Since there was nothing he could do but wait, he yawned before closing his eyes. "I'm taking a nap. Wake me up when this Harlow's here."

"Aren't you feeling a little too accomplished for beating someone who can't even put up a decent fight?"

An unfamiliar voice was heard aboard the flagship of the Black Hat Pirates. A look to the other side of the ship unveiled the form of Hornigold Clovis, albeit far different than what the opposing pirate faction would remember. He had undergone a dramatic physical transformation at the climax of his duel with their captain to the extent that he was now hardly recognizable when compared to his previous form. He appeared on the main deck, pinky finger plugged into the nostril of his nose.

Clovis wore a dismissive face, as if he were unamused by all that he was seeing transpire before his eyes. "Ow!! Trust me." Clovis looked the fishman in his eyes. "There are plenty of bigger fish than him."

Standing at Clovis' side was Behram--the official First Mate of the Pain Pirates. His long spiky black hair, stretched down the brown captain's coat he had stolen from another pirate on the island and slightly lifted in the wind. Where Clovis met the Black Hats with a finger in his nose, Behram met them with an evil smirk and burrowed eyebrows as though he had been ready to start something.

"Yer might not wanna' auction tha' mate off so soon," Behram started, his hands opened and fingers spread, ready to make his move whenever his captain would give him the authority to do so. "We might able to make a better offer for one of hers! Thafufufufufu!"

Finwind smirked, not at the recognition of a voice, but the recognition of intent. The insult itself from this mystery man was enough to stir a bit of the fires building inside of Finwind. He stood tall and looked to the men who made their appearance "A decent fight requires a decent opponent." he remarked before balling a fist and holding it up, a bit from his chest "The problem is, I am the bigger fish." he chuckled.

He took note of Behram, the only familiar face of the two and took note that they were in fact the Pain Pirates. "So, you're the rescue party? Was your captain too afraid to show, himself? Or are his hands still full, dealing with Harlow?" he mocked, not recognizing Clovis in the slightest.

"Hands full?" Clovis retorted, raising both massive hands up to his chest and giving the air a squeeze. "Not much there for anyone to have their hands full with her, mate. Where is that blasted captain of yours, anyway?" Clovis' eyes scanned the ship. He spotted Aleph, made not of Zed on the floor.

A normal person would have demanded their subordinate be handed over. But Clovis and by extension, Thug, much rather preferred going about things with a different approach. These two were always looking for trouble. They didn't need an invitation to danger.

"Which one do you want, Thug?" Clovis remarked, keeping his eyes fixated on Aleph. "Ow!! That fire bastard or this black fish?"

Zed stayed motionless, his eyes shut. "Took you long enough..." Nobody would have known from the way he stated it that he was beginning to have second thoughts about whether he'd get out of that situation. He sat up and crossed his legs with a swift motion. Just like Finwind, he immediately recognized Behram when he turned to face his rescuers. But he wasn't able to identify the other man. He examined the man's face for a few seconds while squinting his eyes. Zed's face lit up in a broad smile when he finally recognized him.

"Hoy Clovis, you look good! But I don't need a rescue party..." Rana, that had been waiting for an opportunity, leapt atop Zed's shoulder as he began to speak. "... I just needed a distraction."  With that said  Zed quickly grabbed something from Rana's bag.  It was the devil fruit h e had taken from Pera Island. It was a pear shaped amber colored fruit with a blue stem but as Zed took the first bite, the fruit completely changed.  The fruit had transformed into a perfect circle of turquoise color with swirls encircling it and a blocky stem. Zed didn't give it much thought and ate the entire fruit in three bites. It tasted terrible, but he made every effort not to react in order to not ruin the moment.

Behram didn't bother to respond to his captain. In fact, he used the breathing moment Zed gave him of eating the devil fruit to capitalize upon. Gripping the air and digging his nails into nothingness, the palm of his hand flashed a green and white illuminating hue. Stretching his smirk to his ears the light gathered in his palm and formed into a sphere.

Wisps of light flashed off of the attack. It would have taken a veteran to tell how unstable this energy was, but the power behind it was even greater. Pushing his open hand forward at the air in front of him, the beam of energy shot from his palm in a wide spread attack. Initially, he hoped to attack Finwind with his technique, but the blast was so widespread that it stretch across the bulk of the ship, covering its width and then some, which meant even Aelph was within its range. Most importantly though, so was Zed.

The blast was potent enough to rip through solid structures such as concrete, meaning the vessel of the Black Hats would suffer severe damage with the most of it being done to the mast, essentially destroying it.

"I call it tha' Spectral Blast, but it isn't supposed to be as wild!" Behram claimed, giving his new technique a name. "I guess I gotta get used to this power still!"

It hadn't even been a full hour since Behram claimed his devil fruit powers. He hadn't even gotten enough time to figure out its in and outs, but he didn't figure out the basics relatively quickly and sought to employ them in this battle.

Finwind began to form into brass given Clovis' comments towards Behram, ready to charge the men before the beam left Behram's hand. But he wasn't fast enough, the beam flew towards Finwind, who pulled up his arms to brace for the impact. The beam directly impacting his brass body and resulting in a powerful explosion of ectoplasmic energy, not only covering the ship in ectoplasm, but also launching Finwind backwards, through the mast, and coming to a rolling stop on the deck.

"nine...that one's a nine.." he grunted, picking himself up from the deck. His body heat began to increase, creating a steam against the naturally cold temperatures of the ectoplasm that still lingered on his body. He hadn't experienced a hit like that in some time, these guys were serious. He quickly took off into a sprint, jumping over the edge of the ship, and growing mid-air, changing into his giant form before landing on the ground aside the ship. After all, he wasn't foolish enough to change while still on the ship. He turned and reached down towards the deck, aiming to grab both men and crush them between his fingers.

Clovis' eyes lit up at the display of his First Mate's power. Devil Fruits were nothing short of a blessing; they were capable of completely turning around a person's life in the blink of an eye. Not that Thug was ever useless; between the three members of the Pain Pirates he was certainly the only one aside from Clovis who possessed any degree of competency as it pertained to combat, but having such a power at his disposal made him far more of a threat than ever before.

"Well I'll be!" Clovis exclaimed, going to swing his hand and give Thug a good old pat on the back. "I have absolutely no idea how you just did that or what that stuff is but great going! Ow!!" Clovis touched the side of his face, rubbing it tenderly as Findwind leaped off of the ship and increased dramatically in size. He grew to be so big that he towered over the ship entirely. A nervous trickle of sweat slid down the back of Clovis' neck.

Clovis scanned the rest of the ship. He wanted to make sure Zed was alright and that Aleph wasn't about to attack him. He had made note of Zed withering on the floor earlier; the Devil Fruit which he had shown to Clovis in the tavern hours ago now laying beside him with a bite taken out of it. The only probable conclusion that could be drawn was that Zed had decided to eat the fruit, meaning he had overcome his hesitation from earlier. Clovis took some small steps until he was standing over Zed, then offered his subordinate a hand to pull him up to his feet.

"Ow!! So you ended up eating it after all, huh? I'm glad. That means all three of us are fruit eaters now." After helping him stand up, Clovis would step away from him slightly. "Wonder what kind of power you have... Any idea how to use it? What's the voice inside of your head saying to you?"

"You see the big guy over there?" Zed nodded towards Finwind's approaching hand. "Leave it to me! Barrera Tortuga!" The index and middle finger on each of Zed's hands were crossed, much like his arms were. The fishman's hand abruptly stopped moving as though it had encountered a barrier. The broadest smile appeared on the young man's face. "Sorry, fish stick. You're out!"

The appearance of the Pain pirates wasn't unexpected. In fact, after Zed blabbered on about his "value", he knew that there was a possibility the others would attempt to get him back. It wasn't too hard to decipher, if Zed was so willing to talk about his unique skill to his captors, whether it had been a bluff or not. The way they appeared and walked around their ship annoyed him, after all, the green haired man's predicament had only happened due to Clovis's own recklessness.

Clovis had attacked them earlier, although Aleph was more than willing to answer in kind, it had been Harlow that had taken it upon herself to deal with the enemy captain. What's worse, the guy that was ruthlessly swinging around bystanders as part of his fighting style launched a blast that caused damage to the deck of the Gaia's Grace. Thanks to Finwind taking the brunt of the blast, Aleph was able to swiftly launch himself into the air, further propelled by a brief burst of focused flames emanating from his feet.

"That's twice now you've started attacking us..." Aleph's voice echoed from somewhere around the ship. He observed from above as the ship's mast fell, a vein bulging on the side of his forehead. He tapped his spear on his shoulder as Finwind morphed into his great size, and Zed, now having eaten a Devil Fruit, blocked the enormous palm with his newfound power.

"Fwuooosh!"

With a powerful flap of his wings, Aleph descended as Zed activated his barrier, landing in a squatting position right between Clovis and Zed, wind rushing past Clovis as his eyes were staring right at Behram. With his right arm he held his spear, pointing its tip at the slimmed down Clovis. His left hand had his index and middle fingers extended towards the back of Zed, the tips of his finger guns gleaming with a fiery glow.

"Did all that running away from our captain made you lose some pounds? Is that why you're so confident you can pull this off, because we're not Anne Harlow?" Aleph stood up straight, recognizing that there was no need, or rather, no use for more words against these individuals. They had embraced the life of piracy, and so had he. The aimed to take whatever they saw fit...And so he had to do the same.

"So be it. Bang, bang..." He uttered without enthusiasm even before his three enemies. From his fingers, he shot two small, fire bullets towards the back of Zed, who would have his focus towards the gigantic palm of Finwind. At the same time, he forcibly flapped his black wings forward with great force, creating a pressurized torrent of wind in order to not only prevent Clovis or Behram from aiding Zed, but to also push the duo away from their ship. A pirate's ship was not only their means of travel, but was also their home, their pride. And they had sullied the Gaia's Grace one they stepped foot in it. And what's worse...

The had destroyed his favorite spot.

If uninterrupted, Aleph would mercilessly continue shooting fire bullets towards Zed's back, as he forced more strong wind currents towards Clovis and Behram who remained a bit back, in order to force them into the sea or back unto land. Clenching his spear, what appeared to resemble electrical currents would begin to spark around it, orange colored energy surging from his spear as he would keep his attention towards Clovis should he transform into that strange monster form or his extendable straw-like limbs, and Behram's energy beams which strangely enough, resembled the cold energy that surged from Benba...

"URAAAAHH!" Speaking of the undead, four armed giant, he would stand on his feet once more after also reeling a distance back from Behram's attack. Yet while his body suffered under its effects, his eyes glimmered a whisp-like hue even stronger than before. Half of the broken mast would then appear once more, albeit being used as a bat in order to swat the invaders away from their ship.

"I guess we'll be taking all of you then..."

Once again, Clovis marveled at the display of his crewmate's newly acquired Devil Fruit prowess. Just when he thought that they would all be crushed under the weight of Finwind's massive palm, Zed resurrected a barrier to stop it dead in its tracks. "Ow!! What an ability... hoy, Zed! Nice going-"

His words were short lived, however, as when he stepped towards Zed to give him a pat on the back, torrent winds held him back. Squinted eyes caught sight of Aleph as he flapped his black wings to keep both he and Thug at bay, all the while shooting a series of flaming bullets at Zed. "Zed, look out!!!" Clovis exclaimed from behind, but he didn't know if even his words could reach him due to the winds, much less any of his own powers.

Just when Clovis was about to take further action of his own, Benba came to life, swinging the mast which Thug was responsible for toppling towards him. While Clovis was not quick enough to move out of the way, fortunately he had begun to get a better grasp over his own powers; and so he turned his body into straw, causing his torso to disconnect from his waist as the mast swung straight through --dealing no damage.

A feat like this was on par with that of a Logia if Aleph had ever seen one. However, now that Clovis' body was made of straw, it became especially light. So light that the wind pressure directed by his wings was strong enough to send him flying off of the ship. Away into the sky he went, until he was lost into the clouds.

With one hand, Finwind continued to push against the barrier created by Zed, applying greater and greater pressure against the barrier as it held his palm back. But with the other, Finwind reached up, clutching his hand towards Clovis, who was sent flying into the air by Aleph. The trajectory was easy enough to read, as long as Clovis didn't change directions, he'd fly right into Finwind's hand, and immediately get caught in his grip.

Without warning, Behram's body lifted off of the deck of the ship, falling past the railing which he crashed into, nearly falling backwards into the ocean behind him. The greatest weakness of a devil fruit user, was the sea itself. At the same time, Finwind extended his arm out in an attempt to grab ahold of Clovis.

"Oi! Capt'n!" Behram exclaimed, reaching his hand up towards Clovis. However, unbeknownst to the Pain Pirate, Behram's body had transformed into a phantasmal being. Those who would have been watching him, would have noticed how his body went from being completely physical, to something more transparent and more see throughable. This was the transformation of his devil fruit--a ghostly creature--hailed throughout many mythologies and stories as beings that didn't truthfully exist.

His legs were no more, instead, they combined together at the thighs taking the appearance of some sort of tail. As he reached up towards the floating away Clovis, Behram's body lifted off of the boat up into the air flying after his captain. Initially, he didn't even know he had been flying until he looked down and noticed that he had been getting further away from the ship.

"Aye! Am I flyin'?!" Behram asked himself, eyes widen and confused. Still, he continued along his path, the wind and his new speed bursting forward to reach Clovis just moments before Finwind could grab him. He opened his arms and grabbed ahold of Clovis, but at the moment of contact, he would rather than make contact with his captain, phase right through him.

"What tha' fuck!" He said, Finwind now having a clean path on Clovis.

Zed had no choice but to construct a new barrier in order to protect himself from Finwind pressing down on it and Aleph preparing to blast him into surrender. "Barrera Armadillo!" But he was not fast enough to prevent Aleph's two initial shots.

"Fuck, that burns!" The projectiles scorched his skin and tore holes in his clothing, causing him to scream in agony. Zed could however survey the battlefield now that he was safe from harm and ascertain the location and condition of both his adversaries and his companions. His knowledge of his newfound abilities was limited which limited his ability to employ it creatively in combat, but his barrier provided all the safety he needed to think about it.

Thug was Clovis' fleeting chance to be saved out from the air. But when his hand passed through him, Clovis was forced to take counter measures of his own. He looked up, seeing Finwind's massive hand waiting for him. Clovis was headed straight for it and there was nothing he could do to alter his trajectory. Only one thing came to mind.

Airborne, Clovis lugged the sword he had recently acquired from the sheath at his waist. He held the rapier with both hands, centering the blade against his chest. Right before his eyes, the unique blade absorbed Clovis' energy and transmutated it; the result was the sword's blade turning into powerful, fast-reaching tendrils of straw. In the blink of an eye --no, far faster than even that-- within an instant the straw blade shot out at Finwind's massive hand, aspiring to penetrate through its brass defenses completely and drill a spherical hole right into it. "Yanagi??!"

Finwind saw the man reaching for his sword and prepared to heat his hand "All. Things. Burn." he spoke calmly, the words reverbing throughout the area, if the sword was Iron, 1,538 degrees Celsius would be plenty to burn it. If it were straw, merely 55 was enough. But Finwind didn't care, his hand heated to Five Thousand Degrees, ready to melt even Diamond, though it may have been overkill, the attack burst into flame before it was even able to touch his hand, the heat surrounding his hand being plenty over the required amount of heat to overpower the now enhanced straw.

His hand kept its course, closing in on Clovis, and with it now heated, it posed an even greater threat to the man. In an instant, the man could be lit on fire. In retrospect, being a man made of straw had plenty of advantages, though fighting a man who could produce vast amount of heat may have been a mistake.

It was indeed a mistake. Not that Clovis could have ever known what sort of powers that Findwind would possess; the straw from the sword not only failed to penetrate through Finwind, but the tip of its blade was lit on fire, causing Clovis to retract it while still in the air. That was his first mistake. Clovis was not particularly clumsy, but handling such a weapon seemed to throw him off of his game for some inexplicable reason.

His first instinct was to blow on the flame, and yet rather than extinguishing it, this action only managed to grow the flame. The fire spread over Clovis' face, carrying down to the rest of his straw body. He screamed in agonizing horror, fidgeting in the air as the gush of heat emanating from Finwind's hand sent him flying back towards the ship. "KAAAAGHHHHHH!!!!!"

Falling flat on the ship's deck, Clovis withered around on the floorboards, his entire body engulfed by the fire. And just when it seemed like the Pain Pirates' Captain had met his end, the flames suddenly disappeared, and he stood up to his feet as if nothing happened. "Why is every member in Black Hat's crew able to use fire? Ow!!" Clovis touched the side of his face, rubbing it tenderly.

In the far off distance, over the top of the hills in the horizon, a bright flame shot out into the sky, followed by a loud scream belonging to one unfortunate civilian. Clovis plugged his pinky into his nostril, fishing for treasure. "Hoy, Zed. That green wall you formed earlier..." Clovis sheathed his sword at his waist, keeping a stern gaze on Finwind. "...Form it around this ship."

Zed was unaware of Clovis' strategy, yet for some reason he thought it would be successful. He hastily uncrossed his fingers before returning to his original position without so much as a glance to his captain. "Barrera Tortuga!" Around the ship, a perfect turquoise ball formed. He couldn't help but flinch, even though he expected someone would shield him from Aleph's fire. He found it annoying that he could only use one barrier at once because it left him vulnerable whenever he needed to use it for something other than self-defense.

"Aye, Barretta Tortoise!" Clovis remarked proudly, his joy at Zed's execution completely overshadowing his obvious butchering of the technique's name. The entire ship was now encased in Zed's barrier, sealing everyone inside in, and everyone outside, out. The Captain's next actions were anything but cordial, as he turned his back to Finwind who was now prevented from interacting with the ship any farther and quite literally pulled his own pants down to flash him with his buttocks. Bolstering his taunt further by pulling his eyelids down and and sticking out his tongue, Clovis used his offhand to give himself a good old spank. "That's right you blasted fish!! Can't touch us now, can you? Ow!!"

After completing his... rampart of a celebration, Clovis returned his attention towards those who were still aboard the vessel. That made only the five of them; his own crew --himself, Zed, and Thug-- as well as Aleph and Benba. "Hoy, Thug. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Let's settle the score with these two and take this ship. The Grand Line awaits us, mate."

Clovis stepped in front of Zed, shielding his subordinate with his own body. Zed's protection was the utmost priority. "Hoy, Zed. Stay behind me. And... give me a piece of your hair, will you? Ow!!" An odd request. But the Captain must have had another plan...!

Zed lifted his eyebrow in genuine confusion. Why on earth would he want that? His thoughts on this strange request didn't linger for very long. After all, when he relied on Clovis to shield him from Aleph, he delivered. He would certainly have something up his sleeve. "A piece of my hair? Sure. Whatever you need." He lowered his head towards his right hand and, using his free fingers, grabbed a portion of his hair, pulling it out with a fast head movement. "There you go, take it."

Aleph was observing his enemies, from Behram’s strange abilities to Clovis, before he noted how Zed’s shield had seemingly protected him from his small barrage of flame bullets. It seemed that while potent enough to even hold back Finwind’s giant hand, it had the ability to expand itself to fully cover its user. Being so near it, and seeing that Behram and Clovis became occupied for a moment, he tapped the shield with the base of his spear, noting as the kinetic energy rippled around the shield until it dispersed.

“Quite the defense you have there, eh?” Aleph said while raising his eyebrow, grasping his spear with both hands as he raised it above his head. Aleph then spat away his cigar, as the sparkling energy on his spear continued to build up.

When Clovis landed shortly after his brief interaction with Finwind, Aleph’s eyes widened slightly as the strange shield expanded all the way to fully envelop the ship. It was truly astounding, yet after Clovis finished his indecent behavior and turned to Aleph, the Lunarian gave the first smirk he had shown the entire day.

“Those are quite some useful abilities you all have. Now I don’t know about that guy-“ He said while nudging his head towards Thug.” But that half piece of a swirly fruit over there tells me mosshead just had a bite of one of those nasty fruits. Ya’ see, I myself did so as well while in the midst of combat a few weeks back. It was thanks to Cap’n that I got a grasp of it a bit quicker than most, but there’s one thing for certain that won’t change.”

Aleph began to spin his energized spear on his hand, the swirling motion releasing electrified sparks around him. “The drain on one’s stamina is heavy. Especially the first few weeks…” He grinned a bit more and pointed at the sphere around them.

“This is probably taking a toll on you, eh?” Aleph stopped spinning his spear, raising it above his head and grasping it with both hands as they then became covered in a sheet of flames.

“Sorry Cap’n. I’ll patch it up later.”

Through his spear, Aleph released an explosive burst of destructive energy that had swelled up from within the weapon, and as he did, he slammed the base of the spear on the ship’s deck, releasing as well the flaming energy on hus hands. The power of his thunder spear rained down the ship’s deck and below, pulverizing even the durable woods and materials that composed the floors of the Gaia’s Grace. While the energy would travel quickly to Clovis’s and Zed’s feet, its main target would be the flooring around them, and below, and even further down. In a mere moment, Zed and Clovis would notice that their foodhold had been incinerated, which would mean it could lead them to fall to the floor underneath. But even then, if they would look down, they’d notice that the destroyed floors wouldn’t end until it reached the underside of the ship. If Zed’s shield truly covered the entire ship, it would’ve been visible on the other end, yet a layer of sea water could’ve easily slipped into the inside of the shield if it truly covered even the underwater parts of the ship.

With the footing under him crumbling as well, Aleph however managed to stay afloat as he created a crater on the ship’s deck, knowing that Harlow would certainly be furious, but to him it provided an opportunity for an advantage against enemies, and so he would take the gambit.

“Now, Benba!”

Letting go of the mast, the half giant leapt into the air wildly, spinning forward with great momentum as he crossed the distance and a brief moment. His massive figure ended his spin above Zed and Clovis’s location. With no foothold for him to hold himself to, not until they fell into the base of the shield, or sank into the ocean, Benba would pound his four arms and strike the air right above their position. His incredibly fast strikes would shower them with cannonballs of pressurized air caused by the undead giant’s flurry of strikes.

The combined weights of these attacks would aim to send Zed and Clovis plummeting down below or into the ocean, depending on their actions and how long Zed’s concentration would last, albeit the cost of the wager being the damage being done to the Black Hat ship. But just like with his past actions, it was all a gambit, in order to gain a decisive advantage over their adversaries.

“Let’s see how long that shield can actually protect you, before it becomes your greatest weakness.”

Seeing how Zed visibly required focus to keep such a durable shield up, a power he had obtained mere moments ago, Aleph deduced that his options would greatly be limited with the predicament he would be in. And while there was the possibility that Behram would come to their rescue or Clovis resorted to an ingenious alternative, Aleph drew out his broadsword as he flew in midair as he flapped his black wings, grasping his spear with his opposite hand. Despite being the youngest member of the Black Hat pirates, Aleph’s past provided him with skills that kept him on par with even more experienced members.

“Your mistake was assuming you had the upper hand, SHINIGAMI!”

As Zed handed Clovis a sample of his hair, Clovis freakishly ingested it into his mouth. "Now you're safe," he announced as he stepped away from Zed, seemingly leaving him unprotected. He would ultimately be too late to stop Aleph as he destroyed the ship, however. Clovis' eyes widened in shock. He palmed his face in disappointment.

"Graaghh!! What did you do that for?! Now we don't have a ship to steal, ow!!" He quickly grabbed hold of his rapier and pulled it from his hip, his leap forward coinciding with Aleph's own. Clovis proved quick enough to intercept Aleph's sword with his own; a loud clang resounded in the middle of the barriered dome.

Landing back on his feet just as Benba's pressurized air attack began to reach them, Clovis looked back at Thug and Zed. "We came here to save Zed and steal their ship. Now that there's no useable ship to take --ow!!-- and we already have Zed, there's no further reason for us to be here. It's just a waste of time. Let's bolt, boys!"

Clovis motioned for Zed to release the barrier. Of course that meant that Finwind would once again be able to reach them, but if he was going to out of his way to stop them when they were retreating, then he and his men wouldn't hold back.

Pressurized balls of air blasted into Clovis, passing through his straw body without dealing damage. He stood before his two men, acting as a shield.

Finwind heated his hands once more, holding them outstretched around the barrier, as heat began enveloping the area around the entire barrier. He increased the heat progressively, although he didn't know if it could penetrate the barrier, something else was happening instead, the water beneath and around the barrier began to bubble and boil. The earth of the shore began to heat and melt.

If the barrier dropped, this heat would quickly encase the entirety of the ship and all of the people on it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Clovis noted Finwind's outstretched hands. He lifted his own hand up to stroke his beard. "On second thought... we'll have to stay in here--"

The foothold underneath Clovis gave way, and he found himself falling towards the bottom of the dome barrier. Acting quickly, he wove his straw like a web, attaching it to all corners of the barrier to give his crew a cushion to fall on. Falling onto the net safely, he looked up at Benba and Aleph and for a moment, simply laid there.

"Ow!! This is getting tiresome. Zed, hold this dome! And don't move an inch..." Clovis crossed his hands then raised both arms to his sides. "Utayomi Koushudaishi: Amiori Tategoto...!!" Strings upon strings upon strings began to shoot out of Clovis' hands. Each string --sharp enough to sever a limb if touched-- would shoot out to the opposite end of the barrier until the inside of the barrier was nothing more than a collage of strings.

This attack compromised Clovis' own men; though Thug was now intangible and had likely phased out of the barrier. Zed was completely vulnerable to being pierced by the strings if he moved even an inch. With hundreds of sharp strings taking over the inside of the barrier dome, there would be next to nowhere for Benba and Aleph to escape.

Clovis' aim was simple; to slice apart both Aleph and Benba by constantly moving the hundreds of strings inside of the dome and cut off all routes of movement for his enemies. The way Clovis moved the strings around in a vicious, rapid, never-ending fashion made it seem like he was playing double dutch with the Black Hats.

Zed tried to move as little as possible while speaking, a drop of sweat running down his brow. "Whatever you're doing, do it quickly! I'm not sure how much longer I can do this." Zed's voice had a noticeable undertone of fatigue. If he didn't rest soon, he was sure to collapse sooner or later.

While outside of the barrier, Behram spent most of his time trying to fly back towards the ship after losing control of his flight functions in a sad attempts to save his captain from being captured by the oversized Fishmen. That's what it was like to eat a devil fruit that was more complex than others and trying to use its powers within an hour of acquiring it.

"I'm outside of tha' barrier!" Behram said to himself, analyzing the situation he had been presented with after flying back towards the ship. "But I'm sure as hell I can pass right through it!"

His gaze turned toward Finwind who had been attempting to breach the barrier. "Tryna get to the capt'n?! I don't think so!!" Declared the Pain Pirates' first mate. Slamming his hands together, Finwind sent another blast of his ectoplasm towards Finwind, but unlike the last time this one was much larger. He kept his hands out, giving him extra control over no only the path of the blast but the force of it was well. Behram's goal was to push Finwind away from the barrier and had the man not acted swiftly against the blast, would potentially be pushed over into the open ocean, followed by the chilly effects of his beam.

Finwind noticed Behram as the man shouted at him, quickly thrusting his right hand down into the ocean and causing a pressured wave of water to spike upwards and intercept the blast of ectoplasm, the two made contact and boiling water with shrapnel of ice coated the area. Finwind continued to hold his left hand over the barrier, continuing his radiation of heat over the area. It wasn't going to be easy to fight with one hand, but if there was anything Finwind had over the others, it was experience. He could keep up his end of the fight longer than anyone else here.

Aleph floated in midair as the Pain pirates did their best to remain in control of the situation. Finwind was clearly causing stress on Zed's barrier, and so he probably won't last long. But Behram's intervention outside of the barrier, and Clovis's ingenuous attack, put the pressure back on the Black Hats. Even with how thick his skin was, Benba was being cut and sliced all over, so much that the slashes eventually managed to completely separate three of his limbs, two arms and a leg.

Noting how powerful their slicing power was, Aleph began to attempt to parry the flurry of sharp straw strings, swinging his blade and spear with a fiery coating, allowing him to burn to the straw. However, due to the sheer quantity, many slices were able to bypass his weapons, hitting him straight on his body albeit he failed to also receive any injuries. He then pulled his arms back into his body, covering himself by wrapping his black wings around him, causing him to descend back to the ground, but also to be completely shielded from Clovis's wide range attack. He then took note of something.

"Urgh! My flames!" HE said as Aleph felt the perpetual flame on his back began to burn even less. His invulnerability would soon be lost. Having forced his body to act against its nature for years, by forcing his flames to be out for most of the day, Aleph had a shorter time-frame to use his flames than a regular lunarian would, at least until his body acclimated to operating under its normal self. Aleph knew that time limit would run out soon, and even if he was accustomed to fighting and living without his nearly-invulnerable body, he'll make use of his innate power to force this situation in their favor.

Under the protection of his wings, Aleph remembered his mother. He remembered them flying around a fire, careful not to fly too high in the sky as to avoid being discovered. Yet they glided around the large flame, dancing, singing and drumming, remembering the traditions of the people they once were. Of the Gods they were, those blessed by the everlasting flame of an even greater deity.

Aleph took a deep breath and pounded his chest, as he released a wave of flames in a radius around him, burning every attack that came his way. He pounded his chest one more time, as the flames on his back seemed to have given out, yet, in a flash of light, the flames instead begain to coil around his arms, enveloping his hair and the tip of his black wings. From his nostrils he finally exhaled a darkened smoke, his red eyes becoming wide and dilated.

"I was hoping not to use this at this time...But I have to instill in them..."

His crazed eyes then glared back at Clovis and Zed, pointing his weapons at them as he took a stance. It was quite unusual however, as he never remained in place in a single stance. Aleph hopped and glided around in an ever-changing stance, flipping around in the air and landing back on the ground, while then hopping to the side and continuing with the unpredictable patter. Until a moment after...

"The Wrath of the Sun God!"

Aleph dashed forward with an explosive step, his foot emitting a jet-like stream of flames that propelled him like a rocket. HE spun around in the air, slicing against the rain of sharp strings that would perpetually rain down on them. However, even as he moved several times faster, slicing strings managed to pass through his attacks, and would begin to cause deep cuts all over his skin and wings. However, the crazed, trance-like warrior state of Aleph continued forth, with his flaming hair and, cackling as he closed in on Zed and Clovis. His weapons pointed down and to the side, as he approached almost as a blur, his body spinning in random patterns until he appeared on clovis's side. His flaming weapons were then brought diagonally, curving them in the air to deliver an upwards, flaming strike on the enemy pirates.

Releasing the outburst of flames that covered him in this attack, Aleph's sword and spear would release a fiery explosion that aimed to envelop both members of the Pain pirates, and hopefully blast them into the barrier or burn them to a crisp. Revealing a secret technique he never meant for others to see, at least this soon, was Aleph's way of recognizing his enemy. He was up against a man whose bounty surpassed his captain, and so he would have to aim to completely destroy them, if he desired a chance at victory.

What's with those wings? And that body...! Clovis wondered to himself as he observed Aleph take on what even Benba's brutish figure could not. It truly amazed Clovis. His strings were sharp enough to cleave enough ships like butter. And yet the innate durability which Aleph seemed to possess --something which was coined to his race, which Clovis had no way of knowing-- was beyond remarkable.

Seeing Benba sliced apart, Clovis diverted his attention completely towards Aleph, who became a bright shining star racing down upon them. When it was clear that the ship was beyond salvaging and that after this bout there would be nothing left of it, Clovis stood his ground and resolved to damage it himself. He no longer cared what happened to it, only that he and his crew would emerge from his scuffle with their lives.

To that end he had already made preparations for Zed's life. Earlier he had asked his subordinate for a piece of his hair. Then upon ingesting it he had told Zed not to worry any further about his safety. This was because with a sample of Zed himself, Clovis had managed to link his life force to that of someone else's.

After his battle with Harlow, Clovis realized that against strong opponents he was going to need to stock up on "extra" lives. Before leaving his beloved Crickett, and prior to arriving on the Black Hat Pirates' ship with Thug, Clovis had encountered 10 citizens of Twin Cape and binded them into expendable dolls. Earlier Clovis had lost 1 life to Finwind's heat, allowing him another usable slot; he used this new slot to take in Zed's sample.

As Aleph crashed down against them, Clovis and Zed had seemingly no means to defend themselves. They would have been completely decimated by the overbearing attack of the Lunarian. The ship was destroyed from underneath them, and from outside, the dome of a barrier was illuminated with endless flames.

And yet as dust, ash, and debris cleared away, Clovis and Zed were completely unharmed. They had taken the full force of Aleph's attack, an attack which he had put his all into, and they were able to stand?! Much less... there wasn't even a single scratch upon them?

"Ushi no Koku Mairi..." Clovis remarked in a stone cold tone. He was standing on a floating piece of wood. A switch had been flipped within him based on Finwind's actions earlier. Two straw dolls surfaced from Clovis' chest and fell into the waters below. He had exhausted 3 dolls over the course of this fight, leaving him with 7 more opportunities to cheat death; using two on himself and the third to redirect the damage on Zed as well.

The strings remained in the dome like cobwebs in an abandoned room. Clovis reached his hand into the air, contacting some of the strings, then took a few of them back into his body. His actions had an intention behind them; earlier, Aleph had been cut by the strings as his defenses crumbled, leaving small streaks of his blood behind on Clovis' strings. By recalling these strings into his body, Clovis was able to ingest them. And...

Another straw doll surfaced from Clovis' chest. This time, he grabbed hold of it firmly in his grasp. Now that the ship had been destroyed, Zed's safety was compromised, and Finwind outside of the barrier was supplying insurmountable pressure, Clovis had no choice other than to get serious. He had every intention to end this battle here and now.

"You're extremely strong, mate." Clovis admitted, bluntly. He looked to Aleph, keeping his feet parted to maintain balance on the drifting piece of wood within the dome. "Wouldn't mind you joining my crew. Ow!! In fact, I think I'd rather like if you did. I'll leave that for you to decide."

Clovis' hand turned into a claw. He held a nail against the eye of the doll which he held in his hand. "Tell me, lad. What keeps you loyal to Kuromugi? Oh, and please watch your step. I wouldn't want you to lose an eye. Ow!!!"

Season he may have been, there was no one who could escape the facets of exhaustion when it came to the overuse of their abilities. The advantage Behram did have over Finwind, was the fact he hadn't engaged in battle much earlier which meant his reserves were stacked and ready to be expunged in this battle specifically.

"Aye," Behram said, his grin still as wide as ever. At this point, it had become his trademark and while he didn't appear to be, he was growing just as irritant as his captain. "If they capt'n gonna get 'em in the spider's web, then I may as well get serious too, arg."

Crossing his arms over his chest, body still floating well above the ocean, he looked down to Finwind. Breathing in a large amount of air, the ectoplasm within his body began to mesh and mold. With a mighty exhale, Behram released a powerful gust of wind from his stomach, blowing into the direction of Finwind causing the sea itself to rock and shake into large towering waves.

At the very end of his exhale, three small orbs appeared in front of him. "This 'ere," the orbs began to meld and mesh, collapsing on themselves before flopping around like dough. In the next moment, they formed into three miniature ghost, each bearing a striking resemblance to Behram, like clones of himself but they possessed no body definement or clothes only the tail-like appendage which allowed them their ability to fly. Each of the ghostly clones had a grin on their face, hands up in the air as if they were attempting to chase and scare a young child.

"Thafufufufufu!" Behram laughed.

"Thaaaaafufufufufufufufufu!" The ghosts imitated Behram, laughing with a more deep and scratchy voice.

"Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack!" Behram shouted, pointing his hand towards Finwind who had been occupied with breaching the barrier. Each of the three ghost flew towards Finwind and immediately circled around him.

Like Behram had just done before, each held their hands up and shot out their own versions of Behram's Spectral Blast at their target's sides and rear.

Meanwhile, Behram held his hands up in the air and began to generate a cloud of ectoplasm above his head which swiftly moved through the air and rested above Finwind. It was a large cloud, one he made sure would cover the large physique of his transformed state and even more. The barrier protecting the ship, only made this easier for him to preform. From the cloud, rain would fall over him, but upon contact Finwind would notice that this rain wasn't wet. Instead, rather than land and slid down his body like normal rain, he would have noticed these drops phase straight through his transformed body.

Finwind's pupils seemed to shift a bit, seemingly shrinking in size by a little before he removed his hand from over the barrier. Looking to Behram he opened his mouth to speak, before large waves of water formed and came crashing down toward Finwind, he sliced through them with his arms, and the water seemingly wrapped itself around his arms, utilizing unfocused water into an attack against Finwind just became a way for him to capture some water for use with Fishman Karate.

Again, before Finwind could speak up, he found himself defending against another wave of attacks, this time from all sides, he quickly shifted his arms, shoving the water he had captured around his body, similar in form as a cape of water, wrapping swiftly around his body, it was quickly frozen over by the attack from Behram...clones?

He wasn't sure what they were, nor did he seem to care, The shower of frozen ice shards knocking against his brass skin. At this point he stood straight and stepped to the side, no longer heating nor blocking the island from any of the Pain Pirates. "Leave." He spoke calmly, furrowing his brow, something had come over him, he seemed, for the first time, genuinely angry, but not at the Pain Pirates. The rain drops fell through him, which was unexpected, though he seemed genuine in his decision, he was going to let them leave.

Ceremony of Nine Cellular Infections[]

A tiny wooden ship danced on the wild waves as two individuals were sighted stepping up from the lower deck of said ship. It's creaking wooden floors made frustrating, high pitched noises every time one of them placed their foot on the wrong plank. Finally being able to smell the iodine, Aerio smirked. Glancing over to the woman next to him he opened his mouth

"Kindra, remind me please, which one of those rookies is our first target?" His soft and charming voice echoed through the wooden cracks in the floor and played a soothing melody with the wind that passed through the sails and their ears.

Kindra held a stack of papers in her hands, shifting through them "The most likely target based on numbers seems to be..." she said, quickly pulling out a bounty poster and handing it to Aerio. "Crickett, otherwise known as Name Thief, or Red Witch" She pulled out two more papers and handed them off as well "though, other likely targets could be Swann D. Misty, or this John Joe. They both make up the currently wanted Swann Pirates." she stopped for a moment. "The gaps in Rookie bounties are astoundin', even more so their names. Don't 'spose you know why she'd be called the Name Thief..." she asked, before rushing to catch back up to Aerio.

Knowledge in Numbers[]

While the Pain Pirates began their attempted assault/rescue mission. Harlow had unintentionally stumbled upon someone who had peaked her interest, not due to any huge reason like a high bounty, large infamy or power, rather it was the lack of that which caused her to take interest. In the few moments it took her to leave Clovis defeated by her hands, The Black Hat Captain stumbled upon another bar filled in people all whole seemed content on ignoring the on going chaos in favor of enjoying their time before they broached deeper into Paradise.

It was during this time that she stayed within the bar watching over the inhabitants to spot any potential recruits that she came found the person she was currently watching because for as long and intently she had been watching the room, this one person had managed to escape her attention, in fact up until the man shifted ever so slightly thus causing the spores around the room the shift, Harlow had completely missed his presence entirely and that was truly intriguing to her. It was the reason we currently find her seated quietly watching him while awaiting her First Mate to answer her call via Den Den Mushi.

"What a truly interesting person I stumbled upon." She intoned while keeping her eyes discreetly upon the mane who peaked her interest.

The man she referred to sat at the bar. Many emptied glasses sat to his right and drunken fools on all side. I guess I'm hardly better at this point, thought the man as he threw back a shot of dark rum. The the sweet, oaky flavor filled his mouth and gave a slight burning sensation as it went down his throat. Not his usual poison, but it got the job done with the absence of whiskey in the bar - partially the fault of already intoxicated state.

However, hardly any better does imply he is still better. Even with the booze running in his body, Minamoto Kamui's senses were not dulled. Having been trained as a ninja, he knew all too well the means of stalking and spying on his prey. While he may not be on the prowl, even now he could feel the eyes of a predator fall upon him. I guess I'm out of practice, in the end I still attracted someones attention.

Not wanting to reveal his suspicions, he simply ordered another drink from the bar. "Barkeep, get me a drink of that top shelf cognac," ordered the shinobi. Certainly, he did want the drink, but he used the opportunity to dart his eyes into the mirror. It was a movement that would be barely noticed to the untrained eye or even mistaken as him simply perusing the various drinks available. However, alcohol - for once - was not his motivation in the bar. Behind him, he saw his watcher move and take a seat. A tall, blonde, tattooed woman.

Perhaps under different circumstances, Kamui may have taken this as an invitation of sorts. However, her gaze was not that of one seeking companionship for the night. It was a powerful stare of someone willing to take a life - to kill - for what she wants. That didn't seem to be her ambition either though. Perhaps the best play for now was to send a message back. "Barkeep, make it two and send one to the blonde."

The barkeeper simply did as ordered and poured the second glass. As he looked up, he saw the woman and smiled. "Good luck, sir." Kamui rolled his eyes as his drink was served and the other moved towards the pirate.

Smiling pleasantly as she received the drink from the bar keeper who silently nudged his head towards where Kamui sat at the bar, while her intentions wasn’t t directly interact with him as of yet it would be both stupid and wasteful to ignore the opportunity that fell into her lap. Raising from her seat and attracting more than a few stares, Harlow made her way towards the Shinobi before placing her drink besides his and taking a seat beside him, ignoring the groans and grumble of the other men who were planning to try their luck with her.

"You’re a rather bold one aren’t you?" She questioned the moment she sat down, her signature black hat tilted to cast a shadow over her face. "But I suppose it was logically one of two options that was presented, either ignore what appears to be my not so discrete glances or lure me towards you in an attempt to figure out my intentions." She stated as she took a sip of the liquor that was presented to her.

"Those who like boldness often don't make it very far where I'm from," said the man as he took a drink as well, feeling the sweet flavors of fruit and the strong flavors of oak and tobacco as he did. "I wouldn't count myself an ugly man, but I don't think I've been stared down quite like that, at least not in this setting. So I supposed the second one, your intentions."

Kamui was uninterested in a fight, not when he had this much to drink already. He knew no matter what came his way, he had a means out. Between his skill as a shinobi and his relatively new powers, the shinobi had speed and stealth on his side. It was simply a matter of what the woman had to say next. The die was in her hand, all she had to do was cast it. Kamui drank as he awaited her response.

Harlow, seeing no point in wasting time, set her cup down and decided to get right to the point. "You fascinate me," she stated bluntly as she turned to face him with a puzzled expression. "I overlooked your presence the entire time I was in this bar, which is nearly impossible for someone as attentive as I." She explained the reason she approached him. "The level of skill required to remain hidden from me should not be possible in the first half of the Grandline, albeit not at the very beginning."

She looks around the room, noticing that everyone seemed to be ignoring them as if they weren't there, which was partially her doing with her spore to control their minds for the time being. "I guess my question here is, what would compel a man of your stature to return to the low seas?"

"Bingo," Kamui said as he slammed down another empty glass. "My home is far from here, all the way in the New World. As for why I'm here, I was looking for a lost subordinate of mine." Kamui looked to the bartender and held up four fingers, a sign the bartender came to understand as four more ounces of whatever liquor the man was drinking. "As for him, I have affirmed his safety. Now, I make my way back home. I've just opted for the scenic route," said the shinobi as he gestured towards the bar. This was not the first one he has stopped at on his way home, nor would it be his last.

Refocusing on the woman, Kamui gripped his freshly delivered glass without a glance. "The way you speak of interest and attentiveness, I'd imagine you aren't a typical bar patron either. I've no interest in joining the Marines, if that's what you're after." Kamui was somewhat tired of service, part of why he wasn't opting to speed back to his shinobi clan. The Marines would just be a larger version of with a worse bureaucracy.

Raising her brow at his statement, Harlow let out a delicate laugh at the irony of the statement, given that she was a former Marine turned pirate looking for a crew to dethrone emperors. "Marines? Why would you think I was a member of that organization?" She inquired after her laughter subsided.

Her interest in Kamui had grown exponentially since she sat down beside him for a drink. "I don't believe I exude the typical arrogance or annoying bright aura of Justice that most Marines seem to exude." She continued, looking at him over the rim of her drink.

Hunting the Stars[]

Remiel found herself hopping from roof to roof as she traversed through the town. After some discussion amongst themselves, the three skyman found that splitting up to search for the Log Pose might yield better results than staying together.

Boredom was starting to set in. She hasn't had a decent fight in a while. There was the one with that monster back in West Blue, but she couldn't find herself enjoying it thinking about the battle nor did she enjoy it when it happened. "Hopefully someone with impeccable strength and decent character would show up. I'd love to test myself against the fighters of this sea." Remiel said to herself, stopping her aimless movement as she stood on the roof of a bar.