Serious: The Squall Pirates Chapter 1: Where the Wind Blows (Closed)

7:23 in the morning...Azeal Island

A lone figure stood overlooking the edge of a cliff as the sun was just starting to rise far off in the distance ahead of him. He was young, a boy just reaching adulthood, and he looked like it too. He was dressed simply in a sleeveless, dark blue shirt, tan pants, and brown boots. In front of him, right on the edge of the cliff were two wooden crosses stuck into the dirt as markers for graves.

"Well, it looks like it is time," said the young man to the crosses. "Thank you, mom...and dad. For everything. From this point on, my life is going to be a bit crazy, but I'll do my best to make you both proud." He looked up, staring out over the ocean in the direction of another island, the silhouette of which could just barely be seen from where he stood. He grinned. "Look out Bellford. I'm coming home."

[Presentation Box]
Daniel D. Haught
Soon-to-be Pirate Captain
Bounty: 1,000
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Same time...On Bellford Island

The morning light streaming in through his open window was what woke the Marine Commodore from his slumber. He slipped out of bed quietly, leaving his wife to sleep, and crossed over to the window. For a moment he just stood there, looking over the city that it had been his duty to protect. He had done all that he deemed necessary to fulfill that duty and he had no regrets. Except one.

Two years ago he had received word of a pirate living in the city under the guise of a civilian. As a Marine, it was his duty to stamp out such individuals and he had done so with little trouble. Even when the woman's husband tried to help her, he had destroyed that man as well. A firm believer in absolute justice, he had proceeded to chase after the woman's child, but the boy had already escaped. It wasn't difficult to track him down and when he had done so, the Marine had had the opportunity to kill the boy by blasting apart the boy's ship as he had been sailing to Azeal. And yet, for some reason, the Marine found that he could not harm the boy. He had hesitated and that hesitation had given the boy time to reach the island. At first the Marine had shrugged this off, thinking that it had been a momentary lapse, but as time passed, he started to think otherwise. If it had just been a lapse, then surely he would have sent some soldiers to Azeal at some point during the last two years to kill the boy, wouldn't he?

The Marine sighed. Thinking of the past always made him feel depressed. Taking the window shutters in hand the Marine started to close them when a gust of wind blew in from the outside. He shivered as a chill ran down his spine and he quickly shut the shutters. Then he went over to his closet to pull out his uniform and get ready for work.

Even as he did this, he knew that something was wrong. After all, it wasn't a cold day. In fact it was quite warm. So why was it he still felt that chill wind still rushing over him?

[Presentation Box]
Dio Thrawn
Marine Commodore

Mariana closed her eyes as she felt the breeze, she had arrived at Bellford in the morning, it was night now, she didn't have a place to go since all the hotels were, Mariana had been too lazy to find any other place since everyone would probably had said 'no' to a pirate, and even more to one with three katanas.

She was now in her boat, staring at the stars, damn she liked the night sky. 'I wonder why do some people think that stars are dead people? I mean, it would be awesome if my dead ancestors were here but I really don't think something like that is possible' she thought, and like that, Mariana wondered about lots of things before falling asleep.

She didn't really have a dream, since when she woke up in the morning she could only remember something, just something, that there was this boy, a man, who said that they were meeting soon, Mariana didn't pay much attention to the dream though.

She woke up early in the morning, when the sun was just coming up, Mariana tied the boat to the port and went to walk around the town, just in case she found something interesting that would catch her attention.

She found this pretty necklace that had a heart made out of silver and a silver chain, she totally loved it and asked the owner how much it costed, since it didn't cost that much Mariana decided to buy it, she then put the necklace on and went around to find somewhere to have breakfast.

(OOC: Here are your antagonist! If you want. Spencer and Daniel can become rivals. I just haven't gotten to RP with any of these 3 characters yet.)

The All Blue pale skinned man stood at the top balcony of his Marine Ship. He allowed his custom colored blue Justice Jacket flow in the wind. This was his 3rd year at sailing the seas in search of new Marines. He had been put on this duty by volunteering. He didn't like to fight often. But wouldn't let a pirate escape if there was one right in front of him. He let the breeze blow out his newly lit cigarette and frowned.

"...Aw....that was my last match..."


The Marines eyes then began to glow a shining gradient light. The then sent a small quick blast of energy through his pupil. Lighting the cigarette. Who was this man? He was Vice Admiral Gideon Newton.

[Presentation Box]
Name: Gideon Newton "Dancing Sun"
Occupation: Vice Admiral
Power: Pika Pika No Mi

"CAPTAIN!!!! PIRATE SHIP! 10 MILES SOUTH!! SHALL WE ENGAGE?"

From the lower balcony yelled a small Marine. A young man standing at about 5 foot 7 inches. He ran over to his Captain who was standing on a balcony above him and informed him of the situation.

[Presentation Box]
Name: Spencer Train "Dash"
Occupation: Commodore/Coronal
Power: Fist Fighter, Roushiki Trainee

"...Oooh...Is that sooo?...We'll I'll handle that..since its so far away.."

Vice Admiral Gideon then disappeared from clear sight and reappeared on the edge of the ship. Such speed, Spencer thought. Vice Admiral Gideon then stood on his right leg and rose his left. Charging some form of beam through his leg. The light was so bright Spencer couldn't stare at Gideon for long.

"..Gideon Beam: Leg.."

Gideon then kicked forward and sent a bright yellow beam in a straight forward line towards the Pirate ship in a distance. The beam then hit the ships side and created a massive explosion. Nearly destroying the entire ship. As the explosion took its way. A huge forceful wind blew back as a recoil. Blowing Spencer, who was used to being blown back by Gideon's Beams, right off his feet. Including the rest of the Marines on the ship who were above deck. Gideon the watched as the beam diminished and revealed broken up parts of the ship. The crows nest was floating, by its self with two pirates in it. The front of the ship was slowly, but surly sinking. After gathering him self, Spencer got up, along with all the other Marines.

"..VICE ADMIRAL GIDEON! WE'RE SUPPOSE TO CAPTURE PIRATES TOO! NOT ANNIHILATE THEM!"

"Fine Fine.......Steven!"

A Robotic like Cyborg then jumped from the crows nest of the ship. Landing in front of Gideon on its feet. Causing a quake to any one who was near Gideon. Spencer, once again. Fell on his ass. The Cyborg then looked up at Gideon and frowned.

"..I was rebooting..The hell do you want?"

[Presentation Box]
Name: Steven
Occupation: Transforming Cyborg
Powers: Swiss Army Cyborg.

Gideon then held his arm up and pointed at the area he just caused havoc in.

"..Take this Fishing Net and put the Pirates in here. Then bring them to the Shore. That's all?"

"Grrrr..God dammit Gideon! I'm not a damn Maid! I'm a Highly Intelligent Cybotronic Personoid who is trained in Advanced Combat! Respect me!"

Gideon the turned around and stood on his right leg again. He then extended his left leg and spun around quickly. While in mid spin. Gideons leg began to glow again. This time, it wasn't charging. He then kicked Steven on the chest sending him flying off the ship in the direction of the ship he just destroyed.

"AND DON'T MISS ANNNNYYYY...KAAAAAAAY?"

Steven flicked Gideon off and then span around. He then brought his knees up to his chin and put the Net in between his toes. As he did that, he spun around, transforming into a small robotic Dingy. Then used his high tech propellers to quickly swim through the sea. As he made it half way to the destination. He felt the water below him move violently. A Giant Sea king with a large crocodile like mouth and snake teeth and 8 spider like eyes came out of the sea. Steven then made a sharp turn to the right and transformed again. Being so close to the Sea King. Steven ejected his Battle Axe from out of his back. As he grabbed hold of it. He swung it around, jabbing the Axe head into the Sea king. He then Ejected one sword from his left arm and went into climb mode. Scaling the Sea king quickly. He made it to the Sea Kings head. He then took his battle Axe and began constantly slashing the Sea King in all of its eyes. Steven then finished the beast by driving his Sword into its skull. As the Sea King began to fall down to the water. Steven ran down its back and jumped forward as if he were going to dive into the water. Instead, he transformed back into Boat Mode and continued his mission to recover all the stranded Pirates.

On the Shore of Azeal Town. Gideon laid back in his chair that was in the Captains room and began to relax. This was a simple recruiting mission.

"...Oooooo...This is sooooo boring...Spencerian Boy..Go do my job.."

"Bu...But Vice Admiral Gideon! I don't have the experience!"

"How else can you get it with out doing it first?"

Spencer then exited the room as Gideon laid back and closed his eyes and began to take a 30 minute nap. Spencer then yelled to all the Marines on the ship.

"ALRIGHT! GIDEON PUT ME IN CHARGE! I WANT 30 OF YOU WITH ME ON THIS RECRUITMENT MISSION! 20 OF YOU CONTINUE TO PATROL THE CITY! AND THE REST OF YOU STAY ON THE SHIP AND GUARD IT! IF YOU SEE ANY PIRATES ARREST THEM! LETS MOVE OUT!"

Spencer and his 20 Marines then made their way into town.

(There is no Azeal Town. It's a jungle island. Bellford is where all the humans live. Look, TBL, much as I appreciate you trying to help out, please don't do this again without asking first. I had my antagonists already planned out and everything. For now, though, let's just roll with it. I guess it is partly my fault. I should have specified how 'Open' the thread was.)

Daniel pushed his ship, the 'New Dawn', into the water and hopped into it. Then, waving one hand, he blew the sails open using his Kaze-Kaze powers and started out over the waves in the direction of Bellford.

As he went, Daniel took one last look around his ship to make sure it was ready. He hadn't sailed in it since coming to Azeal. There were no leaks as far as he could tell and the plain white cloth of the sail was undamaged. Even the wind direction was in his favor without him needing to use his powers. It seemed like fate...not that he believed in that garbage. Regardless of whether or not someone was going to do something, they still made that choice to do it.

Daniel cast a long look over Azeal Island. It had been his home for the last two years and he felt a little regret in leaving, but then he saw the wooden crosses he had used as grave markers and his resolved strengthened. Even if he changed his mind now and did not become a pirate, there was no way he could turn back. Not with so much business left unfinished.

So Daniel returned his attention to Bellford Island. He never looked back again.

Mariana had been eating breakfast in this small restaurant that had nice tables, chairs and all, the staff was also really nice, considering that Mariana had 3 katanas with her, and staff usually freaked out when seeing her, also kicking her out of the restaurant.

She ate pancakes with hot milk, she knew that she would be too hungry but wouldn't want to eat more, since she's really lazy, even to eat, she, after finishing the pancakes and the milk, payed and left the restaurant.

After leaving the restaurant, Mariana went around town the look for things that would catch her attention, again. She then noticed Marines walking/running around town, Mariana knew she didn't have a bounty, yet, but she had 3 katana which made her suspicious of being a pirate, she like this, Mariana went to a dark alley and waited there for whatever was happening with the marines to stop and everything get back to normal, she only hoped she wouldn't be found and had to fight against them.

Daniel's ship slid into port alongside a Marine vessel. He narrowed his eyes, looking up at it, but didn't do anything. They had no way of knowing who or what he was, though that would soon change, and he intended on keeping it that way for as long as he could.

Leaping off of his ship onto shore, Daniel paid the dock owner from what little money he had taken to Azeal with him, before turning away and starting into town. He would head first to the Marine headquarters. There he knew that he would find the Commodore who had killed his family. And then...Daniel's hands tightened into fists. Then he wasn't sure what he would do. Fight the guy, probably, but kill him? At one time the answer to that question would have been an overwhelming yes, but after what had happened five days ago, he wasn't so sure anymore. Would it be right for him to inflict the same pain onto the man who had hurt him so long ago? Perhaps, or perhaps not. Regardless, he would do what needed to be done.

A screaming could be heard coming from up ahead of Daniel. He took off in its direction along with most of the crowd around him, who also wanted to see what was going on. When Daniel reached the source of the screaming he found a young woman cowering before a circle of Marine soldiers. In her hands was a baby, who was crying. One Marine was standing back from the circle, holding up a document from which he read the following:

"You have been convicted of mothering the child of a pirate. As a citizen of Bellford, you should know that this is against the law of our fair city. As punishment for this crime, both you and the child are hereby sentenced to death."

Daniel's blood ran cold out the sound of the words. This baby...this mother...this moment...it could have been him. He too would have been executed had his parents not helped him get away. Then mother's pleading broke through his thoughts.

"No...please...take me, but leave my son!" she was saying. "Don't hurt him!"

"Alright, get her and the brat and let's go," the Marine spokesman said, ignoring her words.

One of the Marines surrounding the woman stepped forward and grabbed her arm. The next second, he was sent flying as Daniel burst through the Marine ranks. The young man became a blur as he dodged and weaved around the frightened woman, punching and kicking, blowing away the surrounding circle of soldiers.

The Marine spokesman took a step backwards, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of his defeated soldiers, lying scattered and broken like dolls all over the ground. Daniel came to a halt directly in front of the woman and he knelt before her, holding out his hand.

"Are you alright?" he asked her softly.

"Y-You!" the Marine spokesman and found his voice again. "Stop what you're doing! You're under arrest!"

"Oh yeah," Daniel muttered contemptuously, looking back at the man. "Almost forgot." He smiled kindly at the woman in front of him. "Stay here. I'll take out the trash."

Daniel came to his feet once more and advanced upon the Marine, who at first backed away, but then drew a sword he was carrying at his side.

"Stay where you are!" he shouted, sounding desperate. "I'm warning you!"

Daniel's body became a blur once more as he dashed forward and kicked the man's sword from his hands. Then Daniel took hold of the front of the man's shirt and lifted him easily into the air over his head.

Cocking back a fist, Daniel said, "Think of this as payback from the man whose wife and child you almost killed." Then, he sunk his fist into the man's face with all of his might, blasting him backwards through a brick wall and into a bar where he lay unmoving in front of the surprised bartender.

OOC: Well Spencer is more kind then any thing. He'll side with who ever seems to be in the right set of mind. So look at him as an ally. Steven also just does what he wants most of the time unless its a direct order. And Gideon is sleep......For now at least. You don't have to fight him though.

Near the Entrance of Bellford

Spencer with his 20 Marine Soldiers behind him marching. Entered the town which at the time. Seemed to be in peril. Spencer observed the area and looked to see where this commotion was coming from. This wasn't a Island that was said to be inhabited by Pirates.

"...Everyone take 5...stay on your toes..your still close to the jungle.."

Spencer walked through town with one hand in his pocket and another hanging freely. He made it to the center of town and saw what the commotion was all about. It seemed a pedestrian had got into a quarl with some Marines. From what it looked like, Spencer assumed it to be just a man trying to become a rebel. Knowing the Code, you can't attack a Marine. Spencer then took his eyes and focused them on the man standing around the beaten up Marines.

"Sour!"

In a flash. Spencer disappeared and Reappeared in front of Daniel. He then pointed at him and looked him in the eye.

"..I'm Spencer Train! A Commodore in the Marines! Out Ranking just about every Marine on this Island..I here by ask you..did you assault these officers?"

Daniel looked around at all of the Marines scattered across the ground. Then he glanced back at Spencer and grinned cockily.

"You mean these losers?" he asked, jabbing a thumb at the bodies. "Yeah, I smacked them around a bit. What of it?"

He honestly didn't care what rank Spencer was. He figured that after what he had just done, beating the tar out of one more Marine couldn't make all that big a difference. That is assuming that Spencer was foolish enough to attack him. Of course, Daniel had no doubt he would attack, but there was always a chance he would use his brain and stand down.
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The place that Mariana had chosen to hide wasn't quite as safe as she might have thought. A woman had observed her go into the alleyway after seeing the Marines. Had this woman simply been a passerby, she might have not thought much about this. However, this woman wasn't a simple passerby. In fact, she wasn't even on the street at all. She was sitting on a rooftop peering through a sniper scope when she had seen this occur.

[Presentation Box]
Guinevere Pendragon
World Government Agent

The woman, Guinevere, set aside her sniper rifle and rose to her full height. She was tall, but not unusually so, and willowy. At each of her sides she carried a knife. She ran her hands over their hilts before making her way down into the street and heading in Mariana's direction. When she reached the alleyway, she stopped just at the entrance and then said loudly and clearly, "The Marines are riled up today. More so than usual. I wonder why. Could it be you, perhaps, who has caught their attention?"

Mariana was taken by surprise, she hadn't expected someone to see her go into the alley, or even see her at all, she always liked to not let herself be known unless wanted to.

She wanted no problems, but she didn't seem to think of any good reasons why the marines would be looking for HER, I mean, she was a pirate, but she had no bounty, or had done anything bad as for the Marines to acknowledge her, she was just a normal person in their eyes, or so she thought.

Mariana looked at the woman who had said this, she smiled and shook her head. "I don't think so, I have no bounty or anything like that" she said and approached the woman, a smile still on her face.

Guinevere returned her smile a bit coolly. Even though she was not a mind reader, she could usually tell what a person was feeling and this young woman before her was, or at least had been, nervous. Something was definitely up.

"Of course you don't have a bounty," Guinevere said sweetly. "I would know if you had. And yet you still ran and hid in here. Interesting how an innocent person can act so...guilty."
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A man stood atop a nearby building, looking down at Daniel and Spencer. Unlike Guinevere, he had no need of such things as sniper rifles to see his quarry. In one hand he grasped the hilt of a sword, which he had already drawn from its sheath.

"Shall we move in now, Excalibur?" the man asked. "The Marine seems to have things under control and this young man does have a very low bounty. Still...the way he's standing...he's not an ordinary human."

[Presentation Box]
Arthur Pendragon
World Government Agent

Mariana looked at the woman strangely, she wasn't acting guilty, at least not that she knew, she had just entered the alley to stay away from the marines, since she was a pirate, but she wasn't obviously to tell the woman this, since she appeared to be either a bounty hunter, or maybe a marine, heh who knew even someone from the world government.

"Guilty? I am not guilty, if you think I'm acting guilty, may you please tell me what I did to show so?" she asked politely, she was calm, and didn't look nervous at all, she did not show any reaction or sign of being nervous or guilty at all. She was fine, unless this woman was a mind reader to read her mind and see that she was just hiding to not have problems of any kind with the Marines.

Guinevere laughed softly. It was funny to her how some people tried to cover things up. This girl was already making mistakes in her attempt to defend herself.

"I've already told you," Guinevere said, shaking her head while still smiling. "Perhaps I should make things more clear. I saw you take one look at the Marines running through the city and then you headed over here where you have been for the last few minutes while the Marines continue their search. If that's not acting guilty, than I don't know what is." At that precise moment, there came a loud, crashing sound. Guinevere glanced in its direction, now frowning. "I told him not to go overboard," she muttered. "My husband can be so reckless." Turning back to Mariana, Guinevere's smile returned, but it was strained. "Excuse me. I must go and attend to business elsewhere. Please do not leave the city. I have some things I would like to ask you."

With that, Guinevere left the alley and sprang atop the nearest building with a single leap. She made her way across the rooftops at high speed, jumping from building to building.
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Arthur had certainly been reckless. In his boredom he had sliced through a nearby rooftop, sending the whole thing crashing down on the spot where Daniel and Spencer stood. Daniel had sprang out of the way, losing sight of Spencer in the chaos. As the young pirate captain turned to face his new threat, Arthur landed on his feet in front of Daniel.

"Hello, my young friend," Arthur said as if he hadn't just dropped a large piece of masonry on the boy's head. "Why have you come to this city? It is the place where you received your bounty, is it not?"

"What the...who are you?" Daniel asked, more shocked than angry that this strange man knew that piece of information about him.

"Oh, how rude of me," Arthur smiled and bowed. "My name is Arthur Pendragon. How do you do?"

Daniel looked at him like he was crazy. Scratch that. He was crazy. Period. Why else would he do what he had just done on a crowded street? Wait...crowded...Daniel's eyes widened in shock. The woman he had saved earlier! Where was she?

He quickly scanned the area and then spotted her, making her way down the street at a run with her child clutched in her arms. Daniel felt an overwhelming sense of relief. At least she was safe. As for Daniel himself, he returned his attention to Arthur and adopted a defensive stance in case the man attacked again. It looked like things were not going to go as he originally planned.

Mariana's eyes widened slightly, as she heard the woman talk, she nodded slightly and let the woman leave, she didn't want to have problems, but hell, problems seemed to find their way to her, didn't they?

Her eyes widened even more as she saw the woman leave, leaping into the building and moving in fast speed, Mariana thought it was awesome, she did. She was interested in this woman, even if she was suspicious of Mariana, Mariana just couldn't help to be interested in someone who showed signs of indeed power, and this woman did, at least from what she had seen.

"Back off," Daniel growled. "I really don't want to fight you right now."

That was the truth. He wouldn't have minded taking a couple of seconds to beat down one or two punk Marines, as he had already done, but after seeing what this man could do, he knew that fighting him would take up to much time. Not to mention, Daniel wasn't even sure if he could beat him.

"Ah, but we don't always get what we want," Arthur replied casually. "As for me, I shall be getting just that. You see, what I want is to understand why you have returned...and whatever it is that makes you think that you can succeed on your quest. You are after Commodore Thrawn, are you not?"

Daniel sighed. Was nothing secret from this man?

"You seem to have figured it all out," he told the man. "Why don't you tell me?"

"No, that would take time," Arthur said, pulling out a watch and looking down at its face. "Which neither of us has. And seeing as both you and I already know that I am right, there is no reason to waste anymore." He snapped the watch closed and then placed it once more into his pocket. "I suppose that there is nothing else to say. As by old instructor used to say, 'En garde'!"

With that he leaped forward, slashing at Daniel's chest. Daniel pulled back at the last second, barely avoiding being bisected by the large blade. Even so, he was left with a long cut across his chest. Pain like he had never felt before rippled through his body. Never in his life had he received such a wound. This fight, Daniel knew, was not going to be fun.
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Guinevere had almost reached her destination. She had used a few bursts of soru to get as far as she had. It was not fear for her husband that drove her to move so quickly, but rather fear for the civilians who might be watching. Arthur's style of fighting was anything but subtle, especially when he found an opponent that actually caught his interest.
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Dio Thrawn had just sat down in the chair behind the desk in his office at the Marine headquarters on Belford when an ensign burst in through his door. The ensign snapped a hasty salute and blurted out, "Sir! A fight has started near the central square! Several officers have been wounded. Requesting your orders, sir!"

Thrawn sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. Things like this never happened on his off day.

"Fine," he groaned. "I'll be out in a minute to lead the troops. Gather for me a squad, but don't make it too large. No point in frightening the civilians anymore than they already are."

(Got to keep this thread moving...)

Arthur followed up his first attack with another slash. This one Daniel blocked by sharpening the air in front of his fingers into a blade and slashing at the sword with his fingers as it came at him. The sword was deflected away from his body and Daniel was left without a scratch.

Arthur stared at his weapon for a moment, as if he could not believe what had just happened. Then he tried again, striking even faster and aiming for Daniel's throat. Daniel once more blocked it with a blade of wind, though he almost didn't. Arthur wasn't even trying to hide his surprise. He muttered something about 'stupid sword isn't working' before he attacked yet again with a flurry of swings. Each of these Daniel blocked, bringing his arms around to swipe the sword's blade away from his body with blades of wind.

Arthur finally took a step back, panting slightly as he looked Daniel up and down. Aside from Arthur's initial cut, Daniel had not received any damage throughout the brief exchange.

"There is more to you than meets the eye," Arthur murmured, glancing back up at Daniel. "So that's the reason you returned. You got yourself a devil fruit and now you think that you can beat the commodore with its power. Very interesting."

At that moment, Guinevere dropped in next to her husband. "Arthur!" she said. "What do you think you're doing causing so much damage to the area? I could hear you fighting from nearly a quarter of a mile away!" She then looked at Daniel and raised an eyebrow. "And what is this? Your opponent? He's a boy! And he's not even carrying a weapon."

Daniel had had enough of being underestimated and thwarted in his quest to fight the Commodore. Using his Kaze-Kaze: Slipstream technique, he blasted forward, his body blurring as he dashed right into Arthur's face. He cocked back his fist, preparing to sock the man right in his face.

"Kaze-Kaze: Jet Stream!"

The punch did not connect. Just as his fist was reaching Arthur, the man simply vanished from sight. Taken by surprise, Daniel stumbled and nearly fell flat on the ground. In the meantime, Arthur appeared behind him, preparing to cut him across the back. He never got the chance. Daniel had indeed lost his balance, but he was by no means helpless.

Daniel already had one leg in the air and so he hooked his foot around the flat edge of the blade and swept it aside. He then brought his foot back to the ground and spun to face Arthur once more.

(I guess I'm a one man show then. May as well just get things over with.)

Arthur wasn't smiling anymore. He wasn't angry, just shocked. Guinevere also looked a little surprised, though not as much as her husband. Neither of them spoke at first, but instead just stared at Daniel.

"Well...he certainly isn't just another punk," Arthur admitted after a few seconds of silence. "Okay, change of plan. I'm going to-"

"What do you think you're doing?"

Dio Thrawn had just arrived on the scene. Behind him was a group of twenty Marine soldiers. Each of them was armed with rifle and a sword. All except for one of them, who was also the man who had spoken. He was carrying a small axe and that was all that could be seen. That man now stepped forward and pointed his axe at the three in front of him.

"Cease your actions immediately!" he snapped. "You are all under arrest for disturbing the peace in this town."

"Oh boy," Arthur muttered. "This really does call for a change in plan. We weren't supposed to attract the attention of the local law..."

Guinevere glared at him. "That was your fault, idiot!"

"Right," Arthur grinned weakly. "Anyway, we better cut out now." He turned and waved at Daniel. "It was fun while it lasted! I hope we get to meet again! Until then!"

With that, both he and his wife used soru and dashed away. Daniel stared at the place where they had been, looking dumbfounded. He really needed to find out how they were doing that. Even he couldn't run that fast and that was while he was using his devil fruit.

Mariana had decided that she was tired of hiding, because first, she had no bounty which meant they couldn't have anything against her, and second, even if she did have three katanas, she still could make up an excuse for that, so basically, she had nothing to worry about.

See Mariana, you worry about nothing, those minutes were totally lost and you got to know a dangerous woman, perfect, if I only had known before, if I only had thought about it better before doing something as reckless as that, Mariana thought as she exited the alley, she decided to stop thinking about the what if's and start thinking about how to not meet that woman again, even if indeed, Mariana was strong, that woman seemed dangerous, more than Mariana would've liked.

Mariana exited the alley, looked from left to right without being obvious, and then turned left, since there were less Marines over there, she walked into a restaurant and sat there, she didn't want to look suspicious, at least not anymore, since the last time she was obviously failing at that.

Breathing deeply, she smiled at the waiter and looked over the menu, already knowing her order. "I'd like a glass of lemonade and a cordon bleu please" she said politely, she tried and tried to not look or sound suspicious, and who'd think a pirate would know what a cordon bleu was.

The axe-wielding Marine now turned his gaze on Daniel, seeing as the other two had escaped. That had been unexpected, but he would just have to work with what he had.

"Don't you dare move!" he snapped. "I'm coming over and..." A hand had descended on the man's shoulder, cutting him off.

"I'll take care of this," said Dio Thrawn. The axe-wielding Marine saluted and stepped to the side to let his superior move forward. Dio marched towards Daniel, his hands now clasped behind his back. The two them stared at each other, neither saying a word. Then, "Who are you?" Dio asked.

"My name is Daniel D. Haught," Daniel replied. "I'm looking for Commodore Thrawn."

Dio's eyes widened for a moment as he realized the meaning behind the boy's name, but then his eyes closed and he sighed wearily. The cool wind from earlier that morning...the cold feeling that had stayed inside him...it all made sense now. He could not avoid it, even if he had wanted to.

"Well then, boy, you have found him."
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A man burst into the restaurant where Mariana was ordering her food. He ran to the center of the room, shouting, "There's a big fight going on near the central plaza! Commodore Thrawn is there now!"

The room was immediately filled with the murmurings of interested individuals. Several stood up and left the restaurant before heading in the direction of the battle. A few others began to question the man who had come in. Outside, many people could be seen leaving various shops and homes and going towards the battle as well. Apparently most of the town had heard the news.

Daniel froze, his eyes widening in shock. This man...he was the one who had killed Daniel's parents! If Daniel attacked now he might be able to kill him before he could defend himself. He might...

Thrawn raised a hand and waved his soldiers away. "Please leave us," he said. "I will take care of this on my own."

The axe-wielding Marine looked shocked. "Sir, this is completely irregular. Shouldn't we..."

"If this young man is capable of defeating me, then you won't be much use, will you?" Thrawn replied impatiently. "Go. Now."

The axe-wielding Marine stared at his boss for another couple of seconds and then saluted and turned away. "Very well, sir. We're pulling out men!"

Thrawn watched his soldiers march away until they had disappeared from sight. Then he returned his attention to Daniel, who dropped into a fighting crouch. A pained expression flickered across Thrawn's face. It was so strange. Usually he would try to kill people like this child as soon as he could, but something was holding him back. And he knew exactly what it was. This boy...this poor boy...was the product of his absolute justice. Had Thrawn not killed his parents, this child might not have even become a pirate. His parents had 'retired' after all.

"Please..." Thrawn said, holding up his hands in front of him. "Let us not start our second meeting with a battle." He pointed off down the street away from the Marine base. "Come. We have much to talk about."

Daniel didn't want to trust this man and honestly, he didn't trust him, but there was still a nagging doubt at the back of his mind. Something about this whole situation was wrong. The way Thrawn was acting and speaking...either he did not want to hurt Daniel or he was just so confident that he could win if they fought that he didn't care how many risks he took.

Slowly, Daniel nodded to Thrawn and started to move in the direction the man had indicated. All the while, Daniel kept a close eye on Thrawn. Regardless of his uncertainty of the man's intentions, Daniel did not like this at all. There were other possibilities here besides the ones he had thought of. For example, it could be a trap. An attempt to make Daniel let down his guard and beat him without any loss of life.

Thrawn moved alongside Daniel, not speaking or even looking at the boy. His own thoughts were in turmoil. He should take Daniel down now before he became a threat. This conversation he was trying to initiate was pure foolishness. What on earth was he thinking? Blast this stupid guilt.

"So...what do you want to talk about?" Daniel asked, finally growing tired of the silence.

"I thought that would be obvious," Thrawn replied, curtly. "You've made quite the ruckus, haven't you? And all because you wanted to reach me for...what I did."

"You murdered my parents," Daniel snapped.

"And you want revenge," Thrawn commented. "I understand perfectly."

"No, you don't," said Daniel. He came to a halt. "Truthfully, I don't know what I want. Revenge was part of it, sure, but that was before..." His voice trailed off. Then, very quietly he said, "...before I met him."

Thrawn raised an eyebrow, but let it drop. He looked on ahead at all the people moving around town on their daily business.

"Life is a beautiful thing," Thrawn murmured, just loud enough for Daniel to hear him. "But so is peace and order. Sometimes the two collide and we must make choices as to which is more precious to us. And which would cause more harm to the other. I have made my own choices as to which I value more and all too often I have chosen peace and order. Just as I did with your parents." Daniel tensed, but kept quiet. "Sometimes I wonder if it is right...or if I am simply this world's greatest fool." Daniel looked over at Thrawn and saw, to his great surprise, the man's eyes were shining with tears. "I used to be so sure of my own actions, but more and more I find it difficult to even pull myself out of bed each morning."

"You feel...guilt?" Daniel asked him.

"That, and pain, among other things," Thrawn said. "Tell me, boy. What is it you intend to do when you leave this place?"

"I...I want to follow in my parents' footsteps," Daniel said, his voice shaking slightly as his confidence wavered. He had not expected any of this. He thought Thrawn and him would have fought without a second's hesitation. "I want to become a pirate. Is that so bad?"

"Perhaps not," Thrawn mused. There. He had admitted it out loud. The secret he had been hiding for so long. "As for the present, what is it you wish to accomplish here?"

Daniel thought about it carefully. Then, with a touch of regret in his voice, he said, "Nothing. I don't want anything from you or anyone else on this stupid place."

Thrawn chuckled softly. "Well put," he said. "In that case, I will not try to stop you from leaving."

Daniel nodded. "Right."

"I do not think we'll be seeing each other again," Thrawn said. "But if we do, the next time we face each other will be as enemies. Remember that."

Daniel smirked. "Don't worry. The next time we meet, I'll be a pirate captain whose name is feared across the ocean. A punk like you won't even be on my hit list."

"We'll see," Thrawn said softly.

With that, both the Marine Commodore and the future pirate captain turned from each other and walked away. Neither looked back.

Daniel stepped down into his boat and shoved off from the shore. He looked back at Goldendale as he sailed from its shores. He doubted he would ever return here again, just as he doubted he would go back to Azeal. There was no need for him to return. Not anymore.

Turning from the island, Daniel sailed onward, with hope in his heart, as he set out towards his next destination.

(And that brings this first thread to a close. My apologies, Lost, for leaving you like that, but I did try to bring your character to Daniel with all the explosions and people running towards the chaos and so forth. I guess things have just been to hectic for you right now with school and the chatbox.)