Two more Great powers ((For Pheonix squad and Black Cross pirates and for people who want to watch, its a event thread, since Nishki is about to become admiral in this thread and Wally is about to become yonkou in this thread))

"My my, Gael-sama, could you calm down just a little bit ? There's no need to go mad now, right ? If we just let anger corrupt even the good days we have in this harsh battle against piracy, then whats the point to keep on, right ?" he fixes his tie, then mumbles something about disliking ties, and then talks again "Nishki-boy, havent seen you since Antantis .. I'm glad you are finally gonna get promoted, my .. superior, hehehe ~!" Bushon smiles widely and extents his hand towards Nishki, after having gotten in the middle to calm things down between those 2 men.

Meanwhile,
"Hmm ? Oh course I noticed, my friend. It's one of the big events, after all. Hehehe, those marines should have made that boy an Admiral earlier on, maybe things would have turned out differently ... not that this was bad for us !" he laughs and then gives Tiberius a large glass of beer. "I would actually, really, like to congratulate him personally, but, I suppose going there now would end up in me being arrested, right ?" he laughs again, louder. Then he changes subject. "How is Nouhime ?" he asks him, showing concern about Tiberius, something he would only do to very few of his men.

(all right, and Cob you may do that, whenever you're on)

Oh? Bitching off to an admiral, are we?
Talitha shouldn't be so happy about this. She really shouldn't. But she was. Her whole heart was lit up like a christmas tree, the warm glow of an incoming bitchfight lying ahead of her. Until tie boy came in and ruined it all! No! Not her bitchfight! This was her goddamn bitchfight, and she already thought it all through!
"Oh? Pardon?"
She smiled in the friendliest way possible.
"I believe matters between him and me aren't over yet. You don't wanna listen? Well then don't!"
With that, she turned to Gael, her smile turning into a smirk.
"Being friends with a criminal, much less a criminal of that... mans status isn't a problem? We should hunt down the Unholy Pirates, you say? Before taking down a traitor who recordedly has enough power to screw at least the last war over? Gee, I don't know, I think I'll consider it. Oh, wait...."
She was now standing right next to them, lacking the space to squeeze through them without making it look like a group hug, she had to settle for hissing at Gael from the side.
"Guess what, fuckass: We're doing all we can! Do you have any idea how many of those pirate crew are out there practically beggin for us to hunt them down? Of course you do, seeing as you're just like that scum. do you have the slightest idea how many men we are losing in pointless battles? How ridiculous we look? We are the ones who ought to protect the people! Make them feel safe! Give them the feeling that they can sleep safely, without having to fear an attack any moment!"
Right, this whole PR thing wasn't normally hers. But she got it. That guy, that, er, Wally, was dangerous, right? And he made them look like idiots. Clearly, he needed to be taken down.
"Now imagine, there's that one guy, who can take on who you call Almightly Tallest so affectionately, dwarf. The hero of the marine, screwed up badly by a guy who basically just showed us the middle finger and made us look like freaking idiots."
She wasn't really taller than Gael herself, but this was about insulting him!
"If we just let him walk away, what is that going to show those people who are supposed to trust us? And what is it going to show the pirate crews out there? That we can't even finish off one little traitor, that's what. That we're running with our tails between our legs from one man and his crew. Our image is cracked already. We have to fix it."
First speech as leader of the squad. Felt great, being all motivational and bitchy. To tell the truth, she really didn't care who she was to take down, but anything that this guy here said must be wrong in some way. And maybe it was partly Nishkis cracked pride speaking when he said the Black Cross pirates had to go down. But they were pirates. And as long as there was a bounty on their head, she'd take any chance to take them down.
"And to be absolutely correct, I'd rather not take your help in this. The Phoenix squad can do it! So go take on the Unholy Pirates or whatever, but Wallys ass is mine..... So is yours, by the way. And his."
She pointed at Nishki. What the hell was she, owner of all asses in one way or the other? And that had been less epic than she had wanted it to sound. She might need work on this whole speech thingie....

Suddenly, a well dressed man in his thirties with a metal jaw and blocky arms coughed loudly for Gael, Ti'ar, Talitha, Nishiki, and the rest of the groups attention. "Godd afternoon, I am ensign and medical officer Ioric Hieford, I just thought I should introduce myself since I have recently been transfered to the Archangles special operations crew, and as you can obviously tell if your not stupid or blind, these arms are in fact robotic for I am a cyborg before you start asuming I am disfigured. Do you mind if I join you?"

Gael slunk away slightly. "Yup, the only person. I thank you for actually arguing back with logic. Still, since he now knows that we're all gonna be trying to kill him, one hopes he'd have some blasted caution!" He visibly shrunk back when she used the word 'scum' as a blanket term for pirates. He stepped back, and held up an arm. Vines blanketed the entire hallway in the blink of an eye, and they were already trying to wrap themselves around Talitha's throat.

Before Gael's vines could get any farther, two chains made of seastone wrapped around his throat and threw him backwards, gasping for air. The vines disintegrated as Ti'ar held the chains tight around Gael's throat and held him in a headlock. "Let me f*cking go, Ti'ar!!!" Ti'ar sighed and threw Gael to the ground, sitting on top of him. "I can't have you killing my superiors, can I?" "She called Ranyx scum! She called him scum!!!" Gael's overpowering furious rage was almost tangible. Another sigh as Ti'ar moved to pin Gael's limbs. "I know, Gael. I know. It'll do you no good to do something stupid like that."

Ti'ar looked up from his thrashing charge, his mouth twisting into a toothy grin. "Believe me, Madam. If we want to take out someone like Wally, isn't it better to enlist the people who have fought him before? Back at Saobady, Gael stopped him from killing several people... after he disabled you, by the way." He then found a pressure point on Gael's neck, which he managed to use to knock the Shichibukai unconscious. "I've seen him do... things. Terrible, terrible things, Talitha. Even I'm glad we have him on our side."

He then turned to the new arrival, his eye narrowing in suspicion. "Huh. A new Archangel, huh? Then you're serving under Rear Admiral Martello, and yours truly. If you can, could you go hunt down our captain? I need to chuck Shichibukai Gael into his pet frog's mouth... that's if Talitha and Nishki don't have something they'd like to say to the 'Sleeping Beauty'?" No. Never again. Never using the word 'beauty' again. He'd die before he let himself use that word again.

The large gathering could smell something strange; a sickly-sweet smell, like a room in the hospice ward. To Talitha, it was a very distinct and more familiar smell, a mixture of anti-septic, gun oil, metal, and gingivitis.

"It's a meeting," a hissing voice announced, a single black-gloved skeleton-thin arm raised in greeting. Dressed in his usual one-sleeved marine coat, body blue metal and black synthetics beneath, Rear Admiral Kalamity shouldered his way out of the room where Nishki had been promoted and into the antechamber where an unusually large crowd was growing.

"And we're outside the meeting room," he observed. Leaning forward, fleshless jaw dropping open, the lifeless black disk that hid behind it his one cybernetic eye fixed on Talitha, then Nishki.

"Congratulations, Nishki-Taisho," Vince stated, placing his single arm across his stomach and bowing fully to a ninety-degree angle. Upon rising, he looked over at Ti'ar with the subdued shichibukai beneath him. A moment later his gaze rose to the man in the tie, then swept over to the Archangel recruit. Finally, it settled back on his commander.

"I apologize for being late to the aft-meeting meeting, Taisho. However..." Kalamity pointed his index finger at the fallen Shichibukai, "I agree with that man." He quickly lifted his hand to hold it in Talitha's direction, gesturing silently for her to give him a moment to explain himself.

"Pardon me, Blythe-shosho. There is a lot at stake here, and I...I have no more or less say in it than you, so please give me just one moment before you start killing me." Turning his gaze and charred, yellow-toothed, lipless grin back towards Nishki, he continued.

"Your defeat to Wally was the result of many factors, and the Atlantis war...it was a doomed venture from the get-go. I agree with placing a priority on hunting down known marine-killers, chrah, but I cannot say that The New Black Cross are our greatest threat...or if they are, that they are the most pressing one..." Vince paused to suck in a deep breath before resuming his speech, creating a horrible, wet, raspy sucking sound in the process.

"The government can keep the populace from knowing of what happened in Atlantis, but all the powers will find out...too many heads left that dome in tact for a total freeze of information. Your dogged pursuit of Wally will be seen as, universally - and I apologize for saying this, Taisho - an act of petty revenge." Kalamity coughed out a glob of something dark red, horrible and smelling like a burnt cupcake, which subsequently slithered out the window on it's own as he continued speaking in his rough, charred voice.

"Wally will be set on all sides by challenges in his new role," Vince said. "The world does not just roll out a welcoming carpet for a new pirate emperor. Every silver-medalist on the seas, every threat that has ever desired that seat; they'll all set on him at once. Throwing marines in there because of a personal vendetta..."

"I'm sorry, I believe I've overspoken my bounds," Vince apologized after a short pause, bowing once more. "But do consider all options. Remember..." The tightness of Vince's visible cheek muscles implied he would be smiling if he had a face to smile with.

"You can destroy all the villages in a kingdom in the time it takes to break one castle," Vince explained, holding up his finger and turning to look at Talitha for just a moment. "Which is the greater threat: a kingdom without a castle, or a castle without a kingdom?"

Nishki was about to say something when Talitha came across to argue with Gael. He personally was not insulted by Gaels words, its true that Unholy was a threat, but his crew was decimated and that mans crew was on the verge of collapsing the way it was now. Still Nishki was about to admit he maybe was a tad agressive about the whole ordeal. That was till Gael was emitting killing intent. Nishki stood in front of Talitha his blue embers sprouting, until Ti'ar stopped Gael. Nishki calmed down and then stood up straight , he was protecting Talitha from all this. He then turned to the new archangel member "Ohh... then do you know where Martello is , i have to talk to him?" He then heard Vince who had just arrived. He heard Vincents whole speech and then laughed as he turned around "Dont be silly Vincent, i never said i was going to crush Wally now, this will happen soon, but my resources are not focused there, my main aim is to begin hunting marine killers , something the pheonix squad will be very busy with, Talitha is in charge of all the operations on land and therefore the new one in charge of the pheonix squad directly by the way Vincent. And then my second goal Gael and Vincent , is too stop the flow and take over of islands in which Anubis pirates, Unholy pirates, Black Cross and Steel have been doing recently, for this matter, i have the perfect squad for the job........"

[[Outside marineford at the Gates of Justice]]

The Bastion closed in on the Gates of justice, aboard were 4 men all bandaged except the bright blonde haired one who just sat and watched into the sky as the Gate opened.

The scrawny one spoke first "We are back... how exciting... its so sad our little Segato thing didnt work in big name captures....."
[[Commodore Jericho Reign]]
[[Butcher of Santa Goret/ Envy]]
[[Archangels]]

The other man with auburn curly hair was asleep and not saying a word. He simply snored away. Jericho simply held his hand to his head "Sometimes i get jealous at how simple this guy can be, kekekekeke"

[[Lieutenant Bart Jones]]
[[Sloth]]
[[Archangels]]

Nearby sat a big man hulking over to sharpen his axes, he was also chewing on some crackers. He never said a single word and just kept sharpening his giant dual axes. Jericho sighed "That one over there is all power, Keekekekekeke, you can learn from him Bart...."

[[Lieutenant Jessop Mbango]]
[[Gluttony]]
[[Archangels]]

The bright blonde haired man finally spoke "Jericho for the love of the sea will you not shut up? Im having a right headache right now!!! DAMN IT.. all those pirate crews we caught on the way here are pointless , i wanted that Ranyx bastard!!!!"

Jericho kept quiet but then said "Well oh great leader..... technically you sank like three pirate ships on the way here....... we got only a few survivor pirates from the wreckage...."

Martello then rubbed his head "Either way.... being back home is good... Nishki had sent me some message asking me to come back... i wonder why....."


[[Back inside Marineford]]
Mary paused to muse this and then sighed "Very well Tero, i shall instruct you..... it wont be easy, its not like soru or shigan..... but either way ill be glad to teach you, we will begin later, right now i have to see the admiral"

((OOC Gore, have I ever told you much much I love your RP skills ? Well, I love your RP skills ! ))

"However .. there is still one way to congratulate Nishki ... oi, today's all that promotion celebration crap, right ? Bring me that Black Den Den Mushi .. I was gonna toss it, since I no longer see whats the use to intercept their talking, but I guess one last use before that, wouldnt mind .. hahahaha !"
"Right .." Hawks is leaving and goes towards his captain's cabin. Now, what he had in mind was quite crazy and useless, but, he knew that once something was in his captain's mind, nothing would change it.

Ioric merely listened with a straight face, before hearing what Ti'ar said. "Pleasure to meet you sir. I'll go look for him now, since your obviously busy harming and insulting goverment officals." He pelied, with a large smug smirk on his face. He the polietly left closing the door gently behind him. After a few hours of looking, and a few more stashing what ever valubles that could be easily overlooked and even easier to 'borrow', he ended up in the dock's where he saw that a his comanding officer was arriving quickly. well, best get in the rear admirals good books, less likely he'll mind if I thorughly clean, swab, and disinfect that filthy ship he's using. the clean- freak cyborg thought to himself, before walking up to the docking marine ship with the largest possible smile for a man with a metal jaw could manage, and greeted in a voice that reeked of politeness, "Welcome to marineford gentlemen! You are the archangle special opertaions branch am I correct? I am Ensign Ioric Hieford and I shall be your medical officer as of now for your divison!"

[[Black Cross]]

Tiberius didnt want to openly tell Wally anything about his wife's condition, after all he was a man who wanted to see his child come into this world with no problems, not be bound to a crew. Tiberius then sighed "She is fine just resting....... and are you sure you want to do that? We just got started, no need to bring the wrath of everyone down on us..... especially not Nishki , i did not take pleasure in doing that to him at Atlantis....."

[[At the docks of marineford]]

Martello got off to be greeted by some sort of weird man "Hmmmm, a new one? Interesting..... we do need medical staff.. my squad keeps fighting with no fresh reinforcements, this must mean Nishki has decided to unleash me now that he has returned.... good.... welcome then, i am Martello, Rear Admiral Martello......"

"I see.." Wally smirks "He may be an enemy, and indeed, our attack towards him, may not have been the most noble, but I still respect this man's abilities, after all, I dont think there are many in the Marines with the power to oppose us .. I at least feel like congratulating a rival, is it bad my friend ?" He walks towards a few steps. "I know I am not a person with a lot of respect when it comes to fighting, unlike you, but that doesnt mean I dont consider him a worthy man."

"I understand you disliking a group attack against one man, but also remember, we are pirates, and at this moment, we had to stick to a good plan that would give us the attention we needed, as well as the advantage. I do not like fighting dirty, but in the life of a pirate, this has to happen." Suigo tells to Tiberius, then he puts his cigar back to his mouth and smokes.

((thanks Shadow. Keep those compliments coming!))

When the vines came, Talitha wasn't sure what she was about to feel. Her human side was more than happy to take the invitation to a fight, but at the same time, her animal side, remembering what had happened last time and seeing the intent Gael had in attacking, hissed in fear and covered. Normally, she let her instincts carry her away in such situations, especially after so obviously aiming for it, but now, with her instincts telling her to cover, she didn't know what to do exactly, where to move next.
Still, she felt a bit angry when Nishki stepped in front of her. What, she couldn't fight her own battles now? Well, obviously she couldn't, she had just been standing around until now! But.... but.... Was she even angry with him, or angry with herself, or angry with Gael or what?
She mumbled something in response to Ti'ar. Maybe she was a bit hard on the shichibukai. But she had never seen the point of asking pirates for help. Couldn't they just fight their own battles, preferable against mentioned pirates?
And then, another reason to be angry came along and got her inner animal worked up, this time over some serious burnings she took last time. Oh yeah, that acid had hurt like hell.
She listened to his small speech.
"Pf, well aren't you mister wise guy?"
She murmured just loud enough for everyone around to hear with her arms now crossed and her eyes following whatever the cyborg had just.... coughed up... It was kind of cute... and disgusting.... like jellyfish. A bit on the creepy side.... God, she hated jellyfish.
It could be the presence of the cyborg, or, more presicely, his smell, but she suddenly felt very, very sick. she barely heard anything of waht Nishki said, until he mentioned her.
"Right. Commander on land. Cool. I'll be.... on the ship then...."
She needed to get out of there, she felt like she was going to throw up, and she was not about to do that on Nishkis coat.
Her stomach aching alarmingly, she quickly made her way out of the building. Later, she'd get thinking about why she was in charge on land, while Vincent was at sea. Didn't that mean he had more power than her?
But right now, she concentrated on not throwing up while soldiers were saluting her, which they always seemed to do. It would have been too ridiculous, even for her.

The sound of heels echoed through the hallways. click, click, click...
They were black high heels, leather, perfect fit and not the cheapest around. Nothing she wore was ever cheap, unless she wanted to look cheap, which she never did.
Her hips were swaying like they always did, and she could feel the looks they attracted. How hypocritical, saluting her when they could see her, then stare at her behind once they were out of her view.... she supposed it was a compliment, and she wouldn't really want it any other way. She wanted her men impressionable, and as long as they were busy staring at her curves, at least they wouldn't think about rebelling. Not that they'd ever have the reason to...
The heavy breath of a dog and the sound of it's paws on the ground mixed in with the ever constant clicking when Donovan returned from his small walk. He had learned to doggie walk himself when he had turned a year old. Such a smart dog. And he kept the more corageous, unwanted admirers at bay.
"Did you play with the water in the toilet bowl again?"
Her voice was deep, it had a purring to it that sounded irresistible to most. It was wasted on the dog though. It didn't pay attention to the voice, it only payed attention to the words it said and whined a bit in response, obviously feeling guilty. The woman chuckled in response. She did not care if her dog destroyed toilet bowls to play in the water, which was what he ahd done, she knew.
Both of them stepped out to the docks, and the woman let her dark green eyes wander the scenery, searching for something. a new ship had just arrived, and she was almost sure it was the one she was looking for. She placed a hand on her hip. Women like her, she knew, did not search seriously. They waited until they were found. And that's what she would do. Though it would be ill advised to keep her waiting for too long.
Beside her, her huge dog sat down, almost towering her still. He really didn't understand his owner at all sometimes, why not wait in the cool hallway instead of out here, where people were just going to stare? But as he was a dog, he didn't really mind that much.

The doors of the room flung open in time for it's opener to see the small scuffle between Gael and Talitha. It was Derge Sr., he had returned with what seemed to be a female prisoner. A grin spread across his face as it became more chaotic as more people stepped in. However before it could escalate any further, it just seemed to have stopped. Derge was rather unhappy with this out come. He wanted to see a fight between the marines and the great Gael. Walking into a position were he could speak with the new admiral Derge spoke.

"Oh fighting amongst ourselves are we? Grudges and personal biases are very unprofessional. Anyway despite the Wally indecent there was some success in the Atlantis War." Derge Sr. said pushing Clearwater forward. "This is Delia “Crimson Snow” Clearwater, bounty of 80 million belli. She is currently in a relationship with Anubis. I believe it would be beneficial to play on that and draw him out." said Derge as he walked even closer to Nishki. "What are you thoughts on the matter Admiral?" Derge asked in a condescending and disrespectful tone.

Delia observed the situation with a tactful eye, a mask of serenity and calmness that was used to hide her uneasiness a being in a room full of marines. She glared at Derge when he pushed her forward but straightened up, not wanting her dignity to fall any lower, then returning her attention at Nishki, who Derge was informing him of who she was and unfortunately what her relations with Anubis was. "Admiral?!" she whispered softly but with shock with eyes widened as she looked at Nishki once more, composing herself. Last time she met him he was only Vice-Admiral.

Nishki stopped in his tracks and then turned around to see Delia Clearwater. Nishki then sighed, he didnt like women being hurt , but whatever it was she was a pirate. And He knew she did have some relation to Anubis in some manner.Nishki then stood in front of Derge and Clearwater he grinned "This is my response Derge... i leave the operations regarding Anubis and his pirates to you and your..... nephew...... you can do as you please there, it makes my life easier anyway." Nishki then spoke to Delia "You might be the key for us in the coming battles Clearwater.. its too bad..."

"Funny how you say that Nishki-san," Delia simply responded with a sharp tone, a cold smirk appearing on her face as she looked around the room, sighing and shaking her head. "This really does bring back memories of when I was a marine-in-training," she said with a said expression on her face, earning murmurs and looks from the other marines. "Of course it was delightful seeing the place I was assigned to burn down in flames by yours truly," she added, the same smirk as before coming back as she watched the enraged and shocked looks of the lesser marines.

Nishki laughed as he saw Clearwater reply in such a manner, it did not seem like she feared death let alone marines. But he leaned down adn spoke to her "You have guts..... you would have made a fine marine, tell me, how is Anubis now days? Has he been doing well? And what exactly is your relationship to him?"

Delia suppressed a shudder when Nishki came close to her and narrowed her eyes at him, giving him one of her cold glares. "I'm surprised at getting compliments from you Admiral, and if I didn't have guts I wouldn't be a Captain ne?" she answered the first part, giving him a smirk. "And my relationship with Anubis-sama is none of your business, nor do you need to know how he's been lately," she said in a firmer tone with a serious expression, although she couldn't stop the slight blush appearing on her pale cheeks.

Derge Sr. was stumped for once in his life he didn't have a smart ass comment to retort with. Looking at Nishki the man who had just silence him only built up his anger more. The man had ordered him on what he considered a suicide mission. How was he ever going to compete with Anubis, little lone the infamous crew. This was defiantly a turn for the worse, he had a nearly impossible mission but he wasn't going to turn it down. In fact in the moments that passed with silence, his mind began buzzing full of plans on how to possibly take down the Yonkou.

Derge Sr. had assassinated powerful people in the middle of large groups before. However he knew he would need help, but who would he get to help. Most of the other Marines wouldn't dare standing against Anubis although he did know of one person who had confronted him before. Derge, the captain of the Blood Demon's a group of Marine hired bounty hunters and Derge Sr.'s very own son. Lifting his head up with a grin full of spite and dislike, Derge spoke to the new Admiral.

"Fine, ADMIRAL!" Derge Sr. said gritting his teeth. "I accept your mission with a great amount of pride." said Derge with a snarl barely able hold back a punch he was dying to throw.

The young captain noticed the animosity and dark aura Derge had for Niski, and she couldn't help but smirk at this. "Ne ne, if you think you can bring Anubis-sama down then you'll just be walking to your deaths Vice-Admiral Derge," the teen said with a sardonic giggle as she placed a smile on her expression, directing it to the Vice-Admiral.

Nishki smiled at Clearwater and then told her "Well.. its not like you wont talk eventually Miss Clearwater , time can change things, eventually you wont even have to speak. I think Anubis will come for you...... well that is what i think anyway......" Nishki then heard Derge Srs response and then smiled

"I am glad such a amazing marine as yourself has agreed to this difficult assignment Derge senpai, I look foward to your glorious performance, now if you excuse me , i must go meet MArtello and then address certain matters, times are changing for sure" Nishki turned around to let his cape flow and smiled , things for the first time in a long time were looking up.

A young man in a green robe was walking around the docks of marineford. The fact that this man was walking was itself a shocking event since he spent most of his time sleeping and eating. The boy seemed out of place among the many marines who were busy with the new recruitment of an admiral. He was messy and walked as if someone was forcing him to do so, a fact that was true. The boy walked with a tiger-sized ship behind him, and a parrot on his shoulder. The parrot was holding some kind of letter that was stamped with the marine insignia. "...The new admiral has decided to recruit you, Enma Zen, the man who defeated the "Mad Pirates of Arc Road", to the special ops division known as "Archangels". Blah Blah Blah..." The parrot said, reading from the latter he held in his claws with a female voice. People passing by the boy turned to watch the parrot with amazed faces. "Why would a freshly recruited marine admiral would want to recruit a lazy ass as yourself to his special ops division?" Smarty the parrot asked with a somewhat teasing tone. "I'm not sure Smarty-pants, let me see the letter!" The boy, Enma, answered. He snatched the letter from the parrot and begun reading out loud. "...The Archangels crew will be captained by Rear Admiral Martello Young and will focus it's efforts on the elimination of key pirate crews. This is not an invitation to join but an order, negative answers won't be accepted and..." The boy kept on reading the letter that begun to look like a book as he walked by a group of people. "Uhm Enma-kun?" Smarty asked. "Yes Smarty-chan what is it?" the boy answered. "You FREAKING PAST BY YOUR NEW CREW YOU LAZY MORON! TURN BACK RIGHT NOW!" the parrot barked, bossing her own owner around. Enma stopped in mid-step and turned back as if nothing happened. He approched the Archangels a second time and asked "Is one of you by any chance Martello Young?". At this point Smarty exploded with anger. She pointed at Martello with her wing and shouted "THATS REAR ADMIRAL MARTELLO YOUNG YOURE TALKING TO! SALUTE GODDAMIT!" and performed a small bow herself. Bushy, the sheep that walked behind the two lowered his head as well. Enma raised his hand to perform a lazy-looking salute that was everything but respectful. His baggy cloths gave him a sloppy look and his long sleeve was dangling over his hand. "Enma Zen reporting for duty sir..."

Tero smiled kindly. “Of course. My apologies for taking up your time. And thank you.”

He turned and left, first walking and then using soru to move even faster. Tero already figured Rankyaku would be a strain for his legs, but if what Mary had said was true and it was even more difficult than Soru, then he figured it would be best to build up his leg strength. His excessive use of Soru on his last few missions had already been draining.

So there he was, zipping around Marineford. He stopped only long enough to let sentries get a good enough look at him to tell that he was a Marine before he took off again. It wouldn’t do to let them think he was an enemy. That would take time to clear up and would interrupt his training.

As he ran, Tero saw Rebecca Martin again. She didn’t look as angry as earlier, just…lost somehow. He wondered what it was that had made her so angry before. He resolved to speak to her about it later and kept on going. It wasn’t long after that he saw Talitha…Rear Admiral Blythe…and he noticed that she looked irritated. Not that that in and of itself was unusual, but Tero thought she also looked a little pale. He hesitated, then dropped down behind her to walk in his usual spot, ready to help at a moment’s notice. Not that Talitha ever asked him for help. Usually she just yelled at him.

Quietly, his voice barely above a whisper so as not to attract the attention of any eavesdroppers, he asked, “Are you feeling alright?”

After Nishki gave his response, Vince nodded politely and backed away from the crowd to let matters resolve themselves. It seemed like his arrival had sparked an impromptu dissolution of the gathering; starting with Talitha, the little group seemed to break up one by one. Before he could ponder on why his presence seemed to have that effect, the gathering was rejoined by the entrance of another pair from doorway behind them.

One was easily recognizable as Vice Admiral Namikaze, or as he was commonly called amongst the rank and file, Derge. Vince had heard stories of the man, though spending most of his time with the science division had kept him from ever meeting him in person before. It was clear he was a headstrong, cocky type. The Vice Admiral wore his disappointment with Nishki's promotion on his face.

The prisoner he was escorting for whatever reason was a young woman. Her face didn't register right away, but Vince knew her instantly when her name was spoken. Captain Clearwater, a young and rising star in the pirate world. Vince recalled her file, one of the many he'd studied before his admission to practical service in a proper marine division. She was a high-threat target, a person known as the worst kind of pirate: a marine-killer.

Kalamity's burnt, fleshless lower jaw tightened even further as his hidden cybernetically-altered eye took in Miss Clearwater's features. She looked young, her face fair and eyes expressive. There was a sort of gentle, understated beauty to her that he had been attracted to, back when he was human enough to be attracted to anything. The smirk on her face, cute as it was, dripped with smugness. Behind it all, this mask of youth and innocence, Vince saw the crime.

"Nishki-Taisho," the rear admiral rasped loudly enough to be heard, turning to face the departing Nishki. "I apologize for following unorthodox channels, but I must make a request that you now have the power to authorize," he stated, his voice it's usual, level, unbearably scratchy tone.

"I do not know if Chief Scientist Damien informed you or not, but I am an expert in information extraction. I was given no less than a year of training in this skill, and..." Vince leaned in towards Delia's face, his metal upper-face and skeletal, ruined lower jaw stopping inches away, his black, opaque eye-disk meeting her right eye.

A sigh escaped the toxic cyborg's mouth, white mist rolling over the scarred and discoloured mess of a tongue that lolled around in Vince's lipless, cheekless mouth. It smelled saccharine, too sweet to bear, with a cloying quality that made it linger in the nose unbearable. The second she breathed it, as it passed drifted over her face, Captain Clearwater would begin to feel it's effects: fear, dread, trepidation. Kalamity turned to face Nishki again.

"...my particular ability makes me a natural for the task, chrah hrah hrah! In any event, if you will grant me permission, I will retrieve all information that the prisoner possesses on the topic of the Yonkou Anubis, and present it to Namikaze-chujo as vital intelligence for the success of his new mission."

The disgusting cyborg marine saluted, standing at attention.

"At your pleasure, of course, Taisho."

((OOC: Technique. Note that it was only used in a small burst, so ignore the part about it spreading to fill a large area.))

Spoiler:

Iris interest had been peaked. What a sloppy person.... What a sight, in the middle of those stunningly neat looking, organized soldiers... He seemed to be half asleep, even, or would be, if it wasn't for his parrot shouting into his ear. Iris looked down to her dog, who was lying on the ground now, his long tongue hanging out of his mouth. She was glad he was a more mild mannered fellow, though not quite smart enough to read. When he noticed her looking at him, Donovan looked back up to her, an almost aking look on his face. He licked his muzzle, the way dogs did when they had just eaten, and Iris raised an eyebrow inquiringly.
"Did you eat something, Donovan? A rat, perhaps?"
The dog whimpered and cocked his head, guilt showing on his face.
"No? Something bigger, then? And what would that be?"
Donovan wasn't smart enough to read, but he definitely was smart enough to tell when he was in trouble. He barked loudly and jumped up, running directly for the group of marines his keeper had been looking at for a moment longer than at the others before. They had just arrived a bit ago. Donovan was stupid by human standards, but such things he noticed. They smelled of sea air, more so than the rest of the base. He barked loudly at them, wagging his tail wildly. The phrase: "He just wants to play" might have been fitting, but wouldn't have sounded reassuring in the least, seeing as this dog was the size of a horse and about ten times as scary.
Iris hadn't moved from her spot. She knew what Donovan was trying to do. Did he ever learn? She chuckled.
"Changing the subject, smart boy."
She waited a few more moments.
"I suppose you want me to safe you now, do you? Well, just for you, then."
She moved slowly, each step with much elegance behind it, hips swaying as before.

Talitha had been just about to move out to the main plaza, when somewhere, a dog barked. A big one, by the sound of it. Talitha shuddered. She hated dogs.... Hated them so much. Who the hell even brought a dog to their job? Freaking unresponsible!
Lost in her thoughts about dogs, she lost concentration for a minute. Unusual, for her. She was always on guard. People could never surprise her. But Tero did. when she suddenly heard him behind her, she spun around, ready to draw her claws across his face. She only noticed it was him not a moment too late, and left it at hissing.
"Damn it Tero! Is that any way to adress your superiors, sneaking up from behind?"
Like she was one to talk. No one was as bad at showing her superiors the respect they deserved as her. But she had been surprised by him, and she was embarassed by that.
As for his question, she tried to ignore it. She would have ignored it in any situation, but....
"I am not feeling all right, thank you very much! I'm pretty much feeling freaking sick. I mean, about to throw up sick!"
She didn't know what made her tell him this, for all she knew, she had made the weirdest decisions all day long, for no reason at all. Why not continue doing just that?