Sean Rogers; "Crow" (Deleted)

The SHADE Organization has existed for a long time. It was started before even the Void Century began. The Organization came into being for one purpose: To train soldiers for Konar, a country that was destroyed during the Void Century. Up until Konar ended, the Organization was famous for the soldiers that it churned out. However, when the Void Century finally came to an end, all records of Konar, including the ones about the SHADE Organization, vanished without a trace. Since that time, the Organization has been forced to go into hiding. They could have disbanded, seeing as they could no longer fulfill their original duties to their country, but those that remained had no intention of giving in that easily. So the Organization was remade into a group that trained mercenaries.

In the present day, the Organization still exists. They are no longer confined to just one country. Instead, there are SHADE Organization bases in the North, South, East, and West Blues and several others in the Grandline. Unfortunately, the World Government has become aware of their continued existence and has put out a bounty for the capture of anyone who is a part of the SHADE Organization. Despite this, the Organization is still running strong. They are also still in the business of training mercenaries.

Over the years the Organization has made changes to the way they do things, but how they currently operate is they first train the mercenaries from the age of six and then send them out into the field to do jobs for other groups and get money. A fraction of the earned money is taken in by the SHADE Organization and stockpiled to help keep the Organization afloat. The rest is kept by the operative or operatives who went on the mission. In exchange for the money they take, the Organization not only trains the mercenaries, but also gives them a place to live and raise their families should they get married.

Since the Organization is so wide spread now, there are many different branches. Each of these branches is headed by two or three individuals. There is no singular ruler who controls the whole system and while this does at times form rivalries between the branches, their common enemy, the World Government, is so powerful that it forces them to stick together.

Sean was born in Eagletown down in the South Blue. His parents, Steve and Natalia, together head the Eagletown branch of the SHADE Organization. As such, Sean grew up training to be a mercenary and he has never considered being anything else.

Early on it was obvious to Sean’s parents that he was a leader. His younger sister adored him and his older brother came to him for advice and comfort. Sean even had his own little gang made up of the children of the other members of the SHADE Organization. They would all roam the halls of the Organization base, causing mischief and playing tricks on its members.

When Sean turned six, he was forced to grow up a little. Not only did his schooling start, but so did his military training. At first this training was focused on the physical aspect of being a soldier, but as time passed it became more disciplined and he learned to follow orders without questioning them. Then when he was twelve, he began a somewhat more specialized training regime, like all of the others his age. He was taught to lead in the field and to plan out missions. All of this he took in without much difficulty and his parents knew that they had made the right choice in teaching it to him.

At the age of eighteen, Sean was enrolled in the adult basic training program. This was much more strenuous and difficult than most basic training programs would be for other military factions, but considering that these children had spent so many years preparing for it, more was expected from them. When he started his basic training, Sean was asked two things: What kind of martial art did he want to learn and what kind of weapon would he wield. From his list of choices, Sean chose to learn the Earth style martial art and picked out a pair of Tremor Fists to complement it.

Basic training ended three years later. Now twenty-one, Sean had a choice. He could simply quit his training and enter the field or he could go on to take the final tests. These tests were the last and greatest of all the challenges the SHADE Organization had set up for its young charges. Passing these tests automatically gave one the prestige required to become a head of an Organization branch. It also earns them a dagger. Of course, these daggers were not ordinary weapons. They were made to last and are virtually unbreakable. However, the real reason for having one of these daggers is not their usefulness in battle. It’s more of a badge of honor. Just having a dagger like this one signifies what a person has accomplished. There are also symbols engraved in the blade and hilt of the dagger, showing what kind of a person carries it.

Not surprisingly, Sean chose to take the final tests. He did not, however, enter them right away. Instead, he spent the next four years training exclusively for them. He still went on the occasional mission, but his parents allowed him the take most of this time off to prepare. Then, at long last, he took the tests and he passed them with flying colors. He received his dagger. On the blade was engraved a bear, the symbol of strength. The hilt, however, has two symbols on it. One of the symbols is a mountain and the other is the outlines of four different people. These outlines are like the chalk drawings police make around the bodies of murder victims. Three of the outlines are standing together while the fourth is a short distance away holding up one arm, like he or she is pointing. The mountain represents the Earth martial arts style that Sean specializes in and the outlines of the people are to show that Sean has been trained specially as a strategist.

Sean was now twenty-five and had a bright future ahead of him. He was a candidate to become the leader of one of the branches when a spot opened up and he could pretty much pick and choose his own missions. For a while, he was happy. He knew his place in life and was confident of his success. Then he turned twenty-six and everything fell apart.

Sean was sitting on his bed, meditating, preparing himself mentally for the day’s tasks, when his sister Madison entered the room. Sean and Madison were close. They had always been that way, ever since they were young children. As such, Sean knew instantly that something was wrong. Madison looked terrified and even close to tears. This was no simple matter. Like Sean, Madison had been trained as a soldier. She was more willing to show her emotions than he was, but she did not break easily under pressure. Even when Sean asked her what was wrong, it took her a few seconds to calm down enough to speak.

Slowly, the story began to come out. Madison had overheard their parents talking about a situation they had with a nearby government. This government, which was a monarchy, had great influence on all of the surrounding islands and the SHADE Organization wanted their cooperation so that they could safely continue their operations in the area. Now this monarchy was old fashioned and they were still in the business of making political allies through marriage. So it was Steve and Natalia’s idea that if they married off Madison to this government’s young prince they could easily deal with the matter.

Neither Madison nor Sean had had much time to form romantic relationships. It wasn’t easy, considering all the training they were put through. So they didn’t have very much experience with these matters. Sean had only recently secured a girlfriend, who was also a part of the SHADE Organization.

Sean tried to placate his sister and said she should just refuse to marry the prince if she didn’t want to. Madison then told him that their mother had brought up that possibility and it had been decided that they would force her to do it even if she didn’t agree. Sean was, at first, speechless. He had never realized his parents could act in such a debase manner. When he didn’t say anything, Madison asked the question that she had wanted to ask him since she had first come to him. She asked him to help her escape. Still, Sean did not say anything so she begged him. He told her to shut up and let him think because escaping would take planning, not split second decisions. Madison gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek and then she was out of the room, saying that they would talk later.

Sean and Madison had a younger brother and an older one as well. What they didn’t know, was that the younger had noticed Madison listening to their parents and he had then eavesdropped on Sean and Madison’s conversation. He passed their plans on to their parents, who decided to wait and make their move slowly.

The next few days were tense. Sean and Madison packed clothing and food and hid it in a small boat they had bought with their spare money. All the while, their parents kept an eye on them. They replaced the carefully packed clothing and food with towels and rocks so that if their children did get away, they would have nothing to go on.

When the day of the escape finally came around, Steve and Natalia were waiting for Sean and Madison at their escape boat. They tried to convince their children to turn back, but Sean and Madison’s minds were made up. A battle began and Sean and Madison were split up. Sean was fighting his father while Madison took on their mother. Neither of the children believed they could win, but they refused to give up. At long last, Sean managed to trap his father in a narrow hallway and defeated him with his Landslide Burial technique. When Sean returned to the boat, he found that Madison had also been victorious. Their celebration was short lived, however, when their older brother appeared. He told them that he had been ordered to stop them, should they by some miracle defeat their parents. He also informed them that their supplies had been replaced with useless cloth and rocks and that they would not get far with their boat. A quick examination proved him right. Then, after saying all of that with a straight face, their older brother told them that that was why he had prepared another, slightly larger ship and loaded it with plenty of supplies for their journey as well as a little money. He led them to this ship and showed them what he had done. Then, giving each of them a hug, he bid them farewell and watched them as they sailed away.

Sean has never told Madison this, but before they left, he wrote a note and left it back at their house. The note was written to their parents and it said that Sean would try to convince Madison to return, but whether or not he succeeded would depend in part on his parents allowing them to return and accepting Madison’s wishes. Until that time, he would protect his sister from harm as best he could and continue her training.

Sean and Madison’s journey has not been easy. As trained mercenaries, they need to find people who are willing to hire them on as bodyguards or soldiers for battles. But they need to be careful so that they do not attract the attention of the SHADE Organization. The Organization has hidden for so long because they make sure that they deal with traitors or rogues.

During one of their recent jobs, Sean and Madison lost track of each other in the midst of a violent skirmish. Sean is now searching for his sister and will do all that he can to find her again.