SRS: A Rising Stargazer - Volume II: Walken Tall

It was a clear day, all traces of the storm that had swept over Castaria the night before vanished and forgotten. The harbor town was small and a little out of the way, so it was not frequented very often by outsider merchants and traders. Indeed, the only ship in the port not originating from the island was a sleek corvette, small and quick, which would only hold a crew of 6 people or so. The mast looked slightly battered and there was some damage to the ship, as it hadn't fared too well in the heavy storm it had plowed through.

Lieutenant Shocker X. Dreyton stood on the dockside, studying the damage to the ship. He'd pushed the Mjolnir hard to arrive here ahead of the stolen Marine cutter under the command of the traitor Jhonen Vincenzo. Given the damage that Jhonen's anchor had inflicted to the cutter's deck and the major storm that had just occured, Dreyton was certain that if the ship hadn't already sunk then Jhonen would be heading for the nearest island, and this was certainly the nearest. Any other islands were a few days travel at the least.

Not that this little town was worth much. There was graffiti on most of the buildings, skulls with the crossbones replaced by two planks of wood. It appeared this town had seen some other pirates in recent times. Not that it was any of Dreyton's concern, he had a target fixed in his mind now and once that happened he would never stop chasing.

In a small pub near the docks, there could be sounds of jubilation and joy echoing throughout the tavern called "The Green Man". Inside the tavern there were scenes of merriment occurring. People were dancing and drinking and a sole man on the stage of the bar was playing his violin. It was a happy tune, one that rejuvenated even the most depressed of sailors. The man was playing very vigorously, forcing his notes into a higher pitch. He then signalled the end of the song and bowed.

The patrons of the pub all clapped and whistled in approval with the music. The young man bowed and carried his violin to the pub counter where an old bartender was laughing and smiling "Wonderful Ozzy!! Always a crowd when you are in town, AHAHHAAHAHHAA." Ozzy did not smile back, he was in no particular mood to smile really. He had been through a hellish couple of months. Kesu disbanding, his decline from the world, the government bounty which was making his life a living hell. Still though, there were good times where he could just play his music with no one interfering. this was such an occasion. Ozzy then said "Look guv..... i know i said i dont want your money, but i would like a room for a couple of days..... besides you owe me Stevo........." The bartender laughed and then said "Look lad, your a right kid you are, so ill tell you what, you perform tomorrow and the day next and ill pay yah....." Ozzy carried his violin case and headed out for a stroll in the town, the wind ruffling his hair as he breathed in warm sea air "Ok guvnor..... whatever you say......." Ozzy walked out of the bar.

monothar was walking around and asked the barkeeper of the pub "have you seen or heard any news of annachie,mona or fiona wraiththay? looking at him waiting for a answer as the barkeeper. when the barkeeper came around with an answer "annachie was executed a few days ago by some marines but mona and fiona escaped but i dont know where they have gone." as he heard what the barkeeper he just looked down hiding his tears to find out about his fathers death but he left the bar and headed for somewhere where he could get supplies or his ship he couldnt think straight. he just found out about his fathers death .

"How bad is the damage?" Dreyton gruffly asked of the Seaman that was looking over the ship. He'd picked up two more Marines in this little town, filling in the gap that Jhonen and his accomplice had left by killing two of the Marines he'd been on patrol with. The thought of the dead marines made his blood boil, and he angrily stood up to get a drink. He needed to calm down, as sparks were arcing off his hands.

Heading towards what looked to be the only bar in the small town, Dreyton bumped into a man carrying a guitar, and snarled out loud.

"Watch where you're going!"

((Its a violin man.........))

Ozzy bumped into a man and grunted "Watch where you are going guvnor... unless you want me to beat the holy saint mary into yah........."Ozzy looked at the man who just bumped into him, he felt cold.... and was wearing a navy uniform. For Ozzy that in itself was dangerous enough to warrant a stay clear from this guy title. Ozzy was not really afraid of one marine, he was afraid that a lot of marines would attack at once, so he decided he would just walk on by. "Well then see yah later guv......" Ozzy walked away hoping that the marine did not recognize his face from the wanted poster, that would be bad news.

Across town there were two people standing at the edge of the area, one was a man who had many scars and a bald head, he was holding 2 katanas in his hand. The other man had a full set of hair and a semi long nose. He was wearing a captains coat and a pair or boots "Gregory..... prepare the men.... we will take this town.........."
The bald man bowed "It shall be done as you commanded Captain Brussev"
The man known as Gregory walked towards his ship, he was going to unleash a terror on this town like never before seen, for his people and for his comrades.

((Presentation box))
[ Brussev "the Tsar" Kolinsky]
[ Captain of the Red Menace pirates}
[30,000,000 beli]

[Gregory "Bloody blades" Volakis]
[First mate of the Red Menace pirates]
[15,000,000 beli]

Monothay looked in the graveyard for any tombstones with his fathers name to get him some peace but he found nothing so he decided to head back to his ship all the people, all of the voices and all of the places were a blur as he walked to the dock to his small boat. when he got back to his ship he saw marines as he climbed on top of a building he said to himself "oh god marines are here to get me, pirates are here . is there anywhere safe"

"Don't think yer'll be takin' this place so easy," came a rattly voice from a table outside a shady cafe. It was addressed at the two pirates who seemed to be planning to take the town for themselves. It was the voice of an old man, and it was an old man who spoke, frail and breathy, but with a hard and angry look in his eyes.

"If you'd bother to look you'd see the Rogers that are painted on these buildings. The skull with the wooden boards," he added, querulously raising a finger to point out one of the symbols on a building on the opposite side of the street.

"We pay our protection to the Plank Pirates, not to you, and we want no trouble. We don't want to see two pirate crews clash, so I think you should leave!" he declared firmly, slamming the sake bottle he held against the table.

~ ~ ~

Shocker brushed off the rude musician who'd barged into him, dismissing him but not entirely satisfied. The man seemed familiar somehow. Dreyton had definitely never been to this little hole of an island, so unless they'd met in their travels he must simply have that kind of face that everybody recognised.

Or perhaps Dreyton had seen a picture of him somewhere. The man could be famous. Or more likely he could be a criminal with a bounty.

"You, musician!" he barked as he turned to face the man that had run into him.

"What's your name and your business on this island?"

Brussev then laughed "We know about the plank ones...... they will not be a problem.... war comes to all places eventually , if you stay out of our way, there should be no problem........ you wont have to pay protection money once we take this town.... the wealth shall be distributed equally amongst us all.... all men are equal........."

Gregory, woke the men inside the ship up "Come comrades..... Captain Brussev has given the order to prepare, not one step back!!!" The men roared in approval and went to put on their red coats and boots, alog with their rifles and sabres. They marched outside appearing behind Brussev and saluting in order. Brussev then smiled and said "Nothing you say can stop this raging uprising old man........."

----

Ozzy swore in his head. What was he going to say, this marine guy was obviously dangerous. Ozzy was thinking for a moment or two and then he said "My name is....ummmm..... Aaron Fink? The famous violinist?" Ozzy was now praying that his lie would work to his favor, he would hate to have to start fighting now.

Shocker narrowed his eyes at the young man's uncertain response. A false name for certain.

"I think you're lying to me, Aaron Fink," he growled. An errant spark flew from his fist as he held it up in front of him.

"You wouldn't happen to be lying to a Marine officer, would you?" he asked rhetorically. Though the question was rhetorical, the underlying threat in the voice was all too real.

~ ~ ~

"We finally made it!" shouted Jhonen jubilantly. It had been a long, hard night but they'd battled through the storm and were now sailing into port a half day later. The ship was looking a little worse for wear, but mostly okay, aside from the emergency patch job on the hole in the deck. That had sprung a leak midway through the storm and Jaw had spent most of his time scooping water out of the ship.

"Funny how so soon after a storm the weather can be so lovely, isn't it Bryce?" Jhonen mused as he worked his stiff arms and hands. He'd been at the helm for almost eighteen hours now, having refused to hand over the control of the ship to either of the other two even after coming clear of the storm.

Yawning loudly, he stretched and made his way towards the galley. "Jaw will be up in a moment to dock the ship, I'm getting a drink," he advised Bryce.

monothay got up thinking if the marines came looking for him they would look on the roofs as one of their first thought. so monothay climbed down and bought something to eat and something to drink while doing this he tried to hide his face for they would see his tear. also he hoped that the marines would not know who he was.

Ozzy was now thinking of something to save himself from this situation, as soon as he saw the sparks come out of the marines hand he knew he wasnt going to stick around to find out what ability this guy had. Ozzy then said "What you dont believe me? MY NAME is Aaron Fink. Ive been travelling here and there playing my violin in so many islands. Marine or not , certainly youve heard my music!!"

---

The red coat soldiers had ransacked the cafe. Leaving a few people dead. They fired their rifles picking up any stragglers. Brussev was smoking his cigar as he then saw a man bleeding on the side walk. Brussev then said "This all happened because you refused to comply. Treat your allies well and rule your enemies with an iron fist.... that is my motto......" Brussev took out a pistol and shot the bleeding man dead. The bullet splattering his brains all over the side walk.

Brussev then saw Gregory cutting down a man nearby with his scimitars. "Gregory.... torch this cafe.... that should send a clear message....." Gregory grinned "With pleasure comrade Brussev........" A few of the red coated pirates begin throwing Molotov cocktails to set the cafe on fire. Brussev needed to start sending clear messages and get the weeds to start attracting to the fire he had set.

Jaw had taken a cabin for himself entering a meditation trance for the whole night. It really helped getting refreshed the moment you go out of the trance. He felt it was time to dispel the trance and go up on the deck, he had a job to do.
Last night Jhonen had refused on having one of the two of his crew mates taking hold of the helm and Jaw understood that. The giant fishman had to bend his head down so he can pass every door on this ship. He finally reached the deck passing through his captain with only a slight nod and heading to the helm while cracking his bones.

Jaw could feel the blood circulating his body and the fresh air of the sea entering his big lungs and snatching away from him any thoughts of relaxation again. The sharkman retained his usual frowny facial expression as he took hold of the helm and guided the damaged ship through the waves heading towards the nearest island.

((I will proceed the topic slightly to the docking process, no problems right, Vagrant ? ))

The fishman precisely parked the ship on the docks but instead on focusing on the docking he had his eyes on the marine ship that was docked nearby. This wasn't good and Jaw decided to dock the ship as further from the marine ship as he could. And so he did.
He grunted as he put his elbows on the railing and kept an eye on the marine ship awaiting his crew mates.

"The best weather comes after a storm!" Bryce answered his captain, jubilantly, looking rather refreshed himself. Some ways into his vigil keeping the captain company he had displayed yet another of his many amazingly un-amazing and average talents: sleeping in uncomfortable places. Stretching out his last kinks, he hopped down over the railing onto the deck of the ship and started climbing the rigging.

Though the ship was small, the buildings on the island were none too large, either, and it was fairly flat; Bryce still managed to get a fairly good lay of the land. His eyes, naturally adapted to spotting fine detail and seeing great distances, slowly scanned over the island, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He saw out of the ordinary, and in abundance.

"Captain-nii!" Bryce yelled, rushing to climb his way down the rigging and nearly falling to the deck, dangling by a leg caught up in the rigging. He flailed around indignantly for a moment or two before coming loose, managing to twist himself around enough to land on his butt and spare himself any real harm. Bryce was certain Jaw had seen, but he didn't have time to be embarrassed or enjoy the attention either. Rushing to the galley, he threw the door open and leaned inside, hands on either side of the jamb.

"Captain! There's a lot of activity on the island," Bryce said, not winded yet but definitely getting there. "A building is burning on the far side of town, and there are people running around all crazy in the streets. There are a lot of tags on the buildings here - I mean, like a jolly roger with crossed planks - and there are some guys in red coats making a scene, and..."

Stopping to catch his breath, he continued somewhat more calmly.

"Marine ship a ways down the coast, too. Jaw avoided it as best he could, and I didn't see anyone out on deck to spot us when we passed it, but it could be a problem, anyway."

Mentally assessing the situation on the island, Bryce tried to decide what he'd advise. It seemed chaotic; the marines would have enough on their hands that dealing with them wouldn't be too easy; on the other hand, they'd still have to contend with the other forces, themselves, in all likelihood. It was too chaotic, too unordered. Situations like this were hard to shine in.

"Maybe we should just find the next island along the way?" Bryce offered, smiling weakly. He knew he wasn't likely to get his way, with the ship in the condition it was, but it was his nature to try.

Shocker smirked, a grim and humorless smile. He was going to enjoy this.

"Famous musicians don't forget their own names. You just did. Come with me, kid. I'm going to put you in holding until we clear up who you really are," he ordered forcefully. He reached for the violinist, but was halted by a va-whump, a dull thud of expanding air. A moment later Shocker was able to see a flame leaping high in the air, thick smoke pouring from the flickering fire.

"An explosion!" he grunted, turning away from the violinist, mentally filing him under "To Do". This was more important, and he could see his other marines were appearing from the ship and heading towards the explosion. Shocker cricked his neck and removed his jacket, revealing the chunky metal capacitors on his shoulders as he turned to face the direction that the ruckus was coming from. Fully-charged and ready for some action, Shocker made his way towards the fire.

~ ~ ~

Elder Jakob watched in disbelief as the flames licked up the side of the cafe opposite his building. These pirates were insane! Captain Walken would have their heads! He hoped so at least, given how much of his rather meager earnings went to the damned pirate each week.

Still, a greedy pirate was better than a violent one, so the old man would take facing Captain Walken over this madman any day. He knew that the Plank pirates would show up soon, they usually haunted one or two of the local bars and would have heard the explosion. Not wanting to be around when they did show up, Jakob sneaked out the back of his house and fled into the small wooded area immediately beyond the town.

~ ~ ~

Jhonen dashed out onto the deck, surveying the situation from the ship's raised vantage point. There was a lot of smoke and flames in the distance, and there appeared to be people heading towards that direction. He could see the red-coated figures and caught his breath. He recognised the outfits, he'd seen them on bounty posters when he was working with the marines.

"Those are the Red Menace pirates," he growled. He rubbed his temple angrily.

"They've been around for a long time, they're a pretty low class crew all up. The captain's bounty is B 30,000,000 but it's only jumped up to that recently, when he attacked and scuttled a Marine patrol ship, and everyone on it. A regular patrol ship, nothing that was a threat out on the ocean."

Jhonen reached for his anchor, grabbing it firmly and hoisting it easily over his shoulder.

"I guess they got sick of being low-ranked pirates and destroyed the ship just to raise their notoriety and bounty. The captain's had been sitting on about B 7,000,000 for years before that event," he added as he undid the bandana tied around his wrist and tied it instead around his head, displaying the common Jolly Roger proudly in its declaration of him as a pirate. "The Red Menace pirates are scum, and it looks like we'll have to intervene. The marines will be there too, that's for sure, but I can't stand by and watch a town be destroyed by such violent Morgania pirates!" he shouted loudly.

Dashing forward, Jhonen jumped from the prow of the ship and landed in a crouched position dockside, the weight of the anchor causing him to land hard enough to kick up a circle of dust around himself. He straightened himself and turned to look back at the ship.

"Are you two coming?"

Jaw continued watching the horizon while hearing a few words from the awfully fast and loud Bryce and the fishman figured out that Bryce indeed had a great sight which was a surprise to Jaw as he saw the same things that Bryce talked about much later than the eagle-eyed marksman.

Jhonen dashed on board while quickly explaining the facts about what was going on given the details and information from Bryce. It seemed it was a bloody convention out there - both pirates and marines and now the newly formed crew of Jhonen who seemed to put a band on his head with the jolly roger of their crew which remined the fishman about when were they going to put a jolly roger on their ship if they had any. Of course if they had, they needed to wait for Jaw to fix the ship...

If they made it alive out of there...

The sharkman nodded and jumped off the ship on the dock besides the anchor wielding human and asked him, though a bit inappropriate.
"Do we have our own jolly roger yet ? " He looked curiously at his captain while awaiting for an answer.

Ozzy did not pray to any god, but he was thanking any higher being up there for his good fortune. He was about to run when he saw where the smoke that marine was running too came from. The smoke was near the Green Man pub he had been working at. Ozzy was about to walk away, too bd for those people, only the strong survive, that was all there is too it. Ozzy however felt this tugging feeling in his heart. He had sang for those men and they al seemed so happy. Ozzy gritted his teeth and then said"Ah to hell with it!!!!" Ozzy ran towards the smoke, heading for the Green man to make sure no one was hurt, because if any of those people were hurt he would reign a horrible vengeance upon them.

----------

Brussev then received a report from his lower ranks. "Comrade Brussev, damage reort is minimal, some of the other businesses along here have agreed to follow our glorious cause.... some of them however......." There was a scream, a woman was dragged to the roadside and there was a gunshot. The woman fell to the ground , blood al over the road. Brussev then said "Do not be hasty with your bullets you morons!!!! Give them time to consider our offer comrade, then shoot them!!!" The pirate who shot the woman said "Sorry comrade..... i just thought since she said no, i should get rid of her........" Brussev took out is gun and fired , instantly killing that pirate. Brussev then said "You do not talk back to your superiors........"

Gregory then walked besides Brussev "There are marines coming comrade.... this could get ugly........" Brussev then laughed "We have come a long way from ambushing marines Gregory..... with this new power i have gained.... those marines cannot dream to touch me now......." Brussev waited no for those marines to arrive.

Jhonen looked with surprise at Jaw, caught off guard by the question.

"Well, no... I only gained a crew yesterday. I hadn't considered myself a pirate before that, just a conscientious objector. We don't even have a name yet!" he exclaimed as he pondered on the possibilities. Only for a moment though, as he took his anchor and began to swing it around, getting himself warmed up.

"Maybe we can call ourselves the Monster Trio, hey?" he laughed at Jaw as he waited for Bryce to get his guns and join them.

Bryce was listening, but he was also looking. He was plotting the best course through the streets, searching for the spot he'd make his nest.

"You're the one who can navigate anywhere using the stars," Bryce commented. "Start with that."

Turning his attention to the more pressing matter, he unslung Carpe and glanced back over at his chosen spot: a three-story hotel, not too far from the fire. It was the tallest building near the action, one of only three such structures in the town. It wasn't ideal, but it'd have to do.

Right before he leapt over the rail, his hand already raising to give a backwards wave to his crewmates, he stopped and reconsidered his course. He could kill them almost as fast as they could run out into the streets, true. However, it was a large and obvious residential target. If the Red Menace hadn't chosen to put it to the fire on their own, already, they certainly would the moment they noticed the direction their men's corpses were facing away from, and he couldn't cover it a full three-sixty. Before too long he'd be choosing between a burning hotel room and streets crowded with angry, vengeful pirates.

Slinging the rifle back over his shoulder, Bryce swiftly unslung his shotgun, Diem, and stepped up with one foot on the railing, waiting for the other two.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, looking over his shoulder. "I can lead the safest, shortest path through the city, but all said I'll be happy to stay just a bit behind you two, actually."

Brussev was now leading a march through the area. All that was left in this area of town was the pub called the Green man. He then shouted to the owner of the tavern who was inside the bar looking out form his window "My friend!!! Unless you surrender your business to me, i will have no choice but to destroy it and kill you on the spot!! What will be your choice old man?!!"

The old man in the bar came out first and then spit on the floor in front of Brussev ,"My Great grandfather and my Grandfather and my Father before me all have seen the likes of you pirates who think you can rule the world, and i'm going to tell you now i will never hand my bar over to some stinking , murderous piece of shit like you !!!!" The men inside the bar held their heads. They knew it was the end of the old man.

Brussev did not smile , he then took out his pistol and pointed at the old bartender. "You do realize what you said old man? Ill have to kill you now"
As Brussev loaded his pistol with his finger on the trigger the old bartender then said "Do your worst boy!! I have lived for 60 long and wonderful years, i did not bow to the Plank pirates and i sure as hell ain't gonna bow to you!!!!!" Brussev had a bloody gleam in his eyes as he said "Your funeral old man"

As BRussev fired his gun there was a swift movement and a young man had landed in between Brussev and the old man, he had sliced the bullet which was intended for the old man. Brussev cursed as he saw this "Who dares interfere in an execution?!!!"

It was a man with two golden katana's and a violin case. Ozzy got up and faced the old bartender "Go inside and make sure my room is readymate, i think ill be having a nap after this" Ozzy turned around as the old man said "But Ozzy, i cant have you fight this battle, its not yours!!!"

Ozzy then chuckled "Silly guv, where the hell would i stay if your bar was destroyed? Now go inside and get my room ready, ill also have to sing another song for all of you tomorrow you know?"

The old man had a tear in his eye, and Ozzy said "Your bravery is like a song for my heart guvnor. I will take that bravery and use it to crush these cowards, so go inside, please mate ?" the old man nodded as he walked into the bar again and closed the door behind him.

Brussev was enraged , that man had interfered with his plan for utter domination. He then said "Do you realize what you have done you stupid boy? You have incurred the wrath of the Red Menace crew, the most bloodthirsty crew on the OCEAN!!!!!"

Ozzy then ruffled his hair "And so? What about it?" The Red menace crew gasped at this mans bravery in front of at least 51 well trained soldiers with rifles. Ozzy then grinned "I once faced a yonkous crew with my old crew in some big war mate, cheh, that was a horrifying time, you people to me are like shitty cowards compared to those men. If you think you cowards can actually kill me, ill show you in an instant how small you lot are!!"
Brussev then cursed, he had seen enough of this man. He then roared "GO MY COMRADES!! SEIZE AND KILL HIM!!!" The first row of the pirates aimed their rifles and fired simultaneously. Ozzy dashed to the side and cut down the bullets and parried other bullets away. He then dashed foward and held his swords up high. He then began singing a peculiar song

"Well, I've been a disclaimer for twenty-four years
Poor mother drowned in a pillow of tears
Im well known in story, famous in song
The black sheep, the blemish, the one who went wrong
The black sheep, the blemish, the one who went wrong

My crime is discomfort, my mind ill at ease
They'll grow on my shoulder, my favorite disease
My siblings, my rivals might tend to my wake
Grieve me not brothers, I was mother's mistake
Grieve me not brothers, I was mother's mistake

And all the grand expectations of an epic of wealth
Leave me long to crawl back to the womb
Well, I've tasted your grace, placed it back on the shelf
Drag your pedigree wives to your tomb
Drag your pedigree wives to your tomb

Well, I came from this city, a victim of peace
But I've grown far too filthy to attend to the feast
So I take to the hills to live savage and free
I dont need nobody, nobody needs me
I dont need nobody, nobody needs me"

His movement and speed changed as he was ow dodging and cutting down the pirates one by one in the first row. Brussev watched in utter amazement, this was pure madness to him. Ozzy then finished cutting down the 11th soldier , he stood still. "11 down eh? 40 left to go"

“Step aside, bard.”

The voice was that of authority and power, and it came from the doorway to the Green Man tavern. Standing imposingly in that doorway was a broad pirate, clad in a tattered Marine jacket and a battered old Marine tricorn hat. He was tall enough that he had to duck under the doorframe to step out into the light, and the flickering orange glow of the flames lit him up ominously.

“You fought well, but this town is under my protection. If this old bastard redcoat wants to hurt the people here, then I’m the one who he has to take it up with,” he stated menacingly. At this statement, more pirates began to file out, until there were about twenty or so crowded around the Captain.

“We are the Plank Pirates! And even if the people who live here fear us, our promise to them is to protect this town in exchange for their gold!” the man shouted. “You’ll have to face the might of Captain Walken D. Plank!” he roared as he drew a wooden staff from a holder on his back.

“You’re just a washed-up old pirate, Red Coat. I heard that you started your piracy just after Gold Roger was killed, so you’ve been at this almost twenty years. And only B 30,000,000 for your bounty?” he scoffed. “Even that has only increased in the past two years from your previous B 12,000,000, which I guess is how you’ve managed to avoid the wrath of the Marines for so long,” he spat.

He took a fighting stance, gripping his staff firmly in his hands, tilting his hat upwards to ensure it wouldn’t get in his way.

“So let’s fight, you red-shrouded bastard!”

~ ~ ~

Lieutenant Shocker witnessed the actions of the young musician, his swords swiftly slaying eleven pirates. It became painfully obvious to him that this man had to have a bounty on him, for such casual killing meant he’d done it before. That was why he’d attempted to conceal the truth from Shocker. But the Marine would have to deal with the swordsman musician later. Right here was a golden opportunity to apprehend some real pirates.

He had heard of the two pirate captains in front of him. Certainly the older one in the red coat seemed more impressive at a glance, with his B 30,000,000 bounty and his eighteen year history of piracy, but the other man, Walken D. Plank, was supposed to be an up-and-coming pirate of potentially great power. Charismatic, unafraid of death and able to rally men to him like sheep to a shepard, the man had real potential to be a thorn in the World Government’s side. His bounty was only B 8,000,000 and as such was smaller than the average bounty of B 10,000,000 for the South Blue, but that made him no less dangerous an individual. After all, Shocker reminded himself, Gold Roger’s first bounty had been just B 3,500,000.

For now it would be best to watch and wait, Shocker decided. His marines were covering the area’s main exits and he could wait to pick off whichever pirate captain was left, hopefully in a weakened state for an easy takedown.

~ ~ ~

Jhonen shrugged at Bryce’s suggestion. Some might deem it cowardly or weak of the boy, but to be honest, Jhonen didn’t care either way. Bryce was coming to the fight, and that was all a captain could ever ask of his crewmates.

“We’ll work out the crew name later,” he announced as they set off into the town.

“Keep an eye out, and when we come to the action make sure to assess it first. I don’t want unnecessary deaths, alright crew?” he commanded.

monothay finished his meal as the marine went by monothay got up left money for his food then went to the harbour he had no need for supplies he came for the knowledge now he will leave in terror . when monothar left the restaurant he ran as fast as he could knocking into a few people as they got up they were cursing his name but as monothar was running to the docks he saw pirates ships and more marine ships he knew he needed to get out of there so he had to run faster but since he ran faster he didnt look for where was going as he ran into a man who had just come off a pirate ship who had an anchor on his back . when monothay hit the man he felt back then curled into a ball

Brussev laughed "Ohhhh , and who exactly are you boy? Some random common fool who had it in his mind to be a pirate? Look comrades!!!, look at that man!!!" Brussev was now pointing at Walken "This is the example of cowardice, he hides here in this mere town, forcing the town to pay him for protection, and now claims he is better than us!!! What exactly have you seen boy? Nothing!! I have fought fly's with more caliber than you!!! So do not foolishly comprehend what i can and cannot do, especially since today is where my plans began now that i have enough power at my disposal with this crew!!!"

Ozzy then said "will you both shut up? Your both utter idiots and losers!!! One of you is a idiot who prays on the weak and attacks and kills innocent people at will with no remorse, you i will strike down soon enough. The other one is a loser who stays in doors while the whole town goes up in smoke even after these people paid the damn fee to keep their lives and shops safe, where the hell were you huh?!!" Ozzy was about to be blindsided by one of the pirates before he impaled his blade into the pirates face. He then pulled out his sword "Ill just kill both you shitheads and then this island will be in peace......"

Bryce nodded but made no response. He couldn't help but feel that the last line had been directed at him, after that speech Jhonen had given on his feelings about the average marine soldier. This was chaos, anyway, and he wouldn't get much attention today no matter what he did. Slumping his shoulders just a bit, he dropped down over the railing and began heading for the safest entry point to the chaotic network of streets.

He hadn't gotten very far, however, when a blindly fleeing fellow ran into his captain. Instinct brought his gun to bear on the man in a blink. The strange boy had chosen to curl up into a rather non-threatening fetal position instead of pressing his attack, however, causing Bryce to lower Diem. Kneeling by the panic'd young man, Bryce put a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a reassuring tone.

"Calm down, this'll be over soon," said Bryce. "There's a forest you can get to if you follow the shore around that way. It should be safe for you to hide in there until this is over."

That said, Bryce gestures with a jerk of his head in the direction they'd be taking into the mix, waiting for the much physically stronger pair to lead the way.

Captain Walken smirked at the musician who had spoken up. The boy was hot-headed and moronic, that much was for certain.

"If you must know, I was in the bar. I had to prepare myself for battle, collect my weapon and my wits and gather the crew together. I didn't expect anyone to be so foolishly charging in and attacking a town so clearly under the protection of another pirate crew. Any sensible pirate would have gradually baited out the protecting crew, rather than destroying so much so quickly."

His look turned grim as he turned to face Brussev, clenching his staff tightly.

"As for you, Brussev Redcoat, you are the true coward. Destroying buildings, killing innocent men and women. You've made quite a job for me, because now I'll have to make amends to these town people for not being able to provide full protection to them. You charged in recklessly, destroyed a large amount and have made a fool of me and a fool of this town," he roared as he swept his bo staff in a half-circle slash. A gust of compressed air whipped out from it, knocking over half the Red Menace pirates, bringing them crashing to the ground. Most didn't get back up.

"If you want to fight so badly boy, then fight the swordsman. His sword vs your swords, it only makes sense," he commanded.

~ ~ ~

Jhonen led the way, running at a moderate pace through the town, avoiding the people who were fleeing the fight by ducking around them skillfully. Even with the large anchor he carried, Jhonen seemed to dodge and weave with great skill, the weight of the anchor hardly bothering him.

Approaching the scene of the fight, Jhonen slowed in order to take in the happenings. The most obvious part was the number of pirates laying prone on the ground, some clearly dead, others knocked out or winded.

"What the hell's going on here?" he breathed, amazed by the scene in front of him. He Looked at the other two following him.

"For the moment we have no idea what's going on. We work out what's going on, who's the "bad guy" in all this and then we handle the situation as we think we should. I trust you both to make smart decisions."

Jaw followed his captain through the burning place and the fleeing cowering people. He had not put his hood on his face, simply because he forgot so but Jaw figured out that it was much easier passing through a crowd of innocent people by only seeing his face and height of course.
The smell of burnt wood and skin lingered in the air which disgusted Jaw and reminded him of the many bloodshed he had witnessed in his life as a Sunlight pirate and even before that when he was a slave to the Tenryuubi.

The giant fishman was fully on his guard now even when running behind the anchor wielding researcher and prepared to listen to any orders. Bryce, the sharp-eyed marksman was somewhere around and probably has seen them. It was pretty advantageous to have someone covering you...at least Jaw hoped so...
The crew finally reached the 'eye of the storm' and could make out lots of figures there and non seemed innocent.
Everyone there was part of this conflict...

It would not be long until the whole place turned into a bath of blood.