Serious; The Dusk Pirates; Chapter 10; The legendary tower of Vavel (Open to the Dusk Pirates)

It has been a while after the defeat of Moe Kuroama on the island of the New World named Raijin Island. The days after the fall of the island's ruler, the Dusk Pirates started their hard work. A small basement was built by the members of the Dusk Pirates after an order from Maximillion himself. In the middle of the island, the first basement of the crew was established, on the first island that they took over in the New World. It was a series of small huts. In the first hut, it was the lab of Quincy, the second hut was the place where Ellen could test her explosives. Another hut was a hut that was supposed to be the meeting room of the Dusk Pirates. Maximillion was gathering his subordinates there in order to give them their orders. The fourth hut was the building in which the crew members were supposed to sleep, while the fifth, which was slightly bigger than the other huts was the place where Maximillion used to sleep. There was also a sixth hut, extremely small, that functioned as the storage building for the supplies which Lappy was gathering while the crew was staying at the island. Above those huts, there was some big, dense rubber, of the same materials which the balloons of Colonel Royale were made of, so that the place would not be struck by lightnings.

Of course, the state in which the island was, also helped. Moe Kuroama, the 15th Division Commander of the Unknown Pirates, was putting a plan to motion there. In order for that plan to work and to prevent information from being leaked out, Moe did something very simple. He had already killed the inhabitats of the island and he had turned them into zombies with the help of his fruit ability. As a result, after his death, all of the effects of his ability stopped and the zombies were killed, making the island a desert island, with no other people except from the Dusk Pirates.

However, Maximillion knew that the place would not be a desert island for long. He was pretty sure that after the death of Moe, the Unknown Pirates would understand that something wrong was going on at the island. He knew that they would search a team to the island in order to find out what was going on and why Moe would not respond to them anymore. He was preparing himself for a battle against the Unknown Pirates. The Unknown Pirates would come soon to the island and they would take on the Dusk Pirates in order to take the island back and continue with their plans... Or so that was what Maximillion thought, as there were a few things which he did not know about...

Inside Maximillion's hut

"Everybody... As you all already know, we are going to be attacked soon... That guy you killed while taking control of the island was working with the Unknown Pirates... Apparently, this place used to be their territory and I am pretty sure that they are about to claim it back. Our reinforcements are about to come in a few days, but until then we have to be prepared for everything." Maximillion said to his crewmates while looking at all of them.


The captain and the rest of the crew were sitting around a big table. The captain was sitting at a presidental chair. Next to him, at his right hand's direction there was Frank and at the left hand's direction there was Quincy. Next to Quincy, Ellen was positioned while Nathan was sitting next to Frank. Lappy had taken his sit next to Nathan and he could see Manta who was at the opposite direction, right next to Ellen. Wako was not there, apparently. Maximillion had probably locked him up in order to prevent him from wrecking the place just like he used to do with the ship.

"Chk, chk... I do not see why you look worried..." Manta said with a wide laughter on his face. "I see this place of little to no importance for a crew like the Unknown Pirates. I doubt that they are going to claim it back.". Then, he turned his head towards a chicken that was standing on his shoulder. It was his pet, Connie. "Do you not agree, Connie-chan?" he completed while looking at his pet with a smile on his face.


"Hmph... You cannot understand, Manta. That is the reason I am actually worried... I cannot see why the Unknown Pirates would cause a genocide on an island if they did not need it for something... This place is a place they need... And I am afraid that they are going to come over here in order to take it back from us." Maximillion said with an emotionless voice and he got up. "Anyway, we have said enough. We will continue our conversation later. I have a few things to do, now. The meeting has ended." Maximillion completed and he got up.

As soon as he got up, Lappy also got up. The lapahn was a fearsome fighter and was very useful for the crew. He was the one who was mostly working like the person for the chores... He was doing the daily routine of the ship. However, while interacting with Maximillion, Lappy gained another trait. He obeyed Maximillion as if he was his master, as if Lappy was Maximillion's assistant. "Lappy, give me my fur." Maximillion said while going out and Lappy swiftly stood up. He grabbed the fur that was on the chair at which Maximillion was sitting and then he placed it on his back. "I will be at my office. Do not interupt me, unless I call you." he completed and he left from the meeting room.

At the time Maximillion got out, Manta stood up. He said "I am going to search for food around the place..." and he also left from the meeting room. The Dusk Pirates could do whatever they wanted to do... They had plenty of time to do their usual jobs... Or at least, that was what they thought.

[Note: You can basically post anything. Quincy can work on his drugs, while Frank can play music and Ellen can work on making new explosives. RP anything you want.]

Frank couldn't stand these meetings. Sitting in one place and listening was probably the hardest thing to do for the brutal zombie, who spent his free time by either smashing innocent skulls together or playing his fiddle. But, while sitting right next to Maximillion, Frank couldn't dare to drift off, and gathered all of the willpower he could muster to sit still and hold his temper. One would expect a first mate of a Yonkou crew to at least care about territory and rival crews, but Frank was more or less a mindless goon. All he needed to be happy was a target for his fists and people to not talk to him, that's it.

Obviously, as soon as Maximillion left the meeting room, Frank shot out of his sit, almost sending the chair flying into the hut's walls. He stretched his arms and legs to relieve himself of the meeting. Whenever Maximillion said he had "Thing to do" it meant that the crew was free to do whatever they wanted while he took care of whatever was bothering him. "See ya later, I have to release some steam after that LONG meeting" Frank said, even though the meeting was probably not that long. He wanted to simply leave the meeting room, find himself a quiet corner of the island, bust some boulders and then just play his fiddle. Nothing would make him happier.

Ellen listened disintresed at the meeting, focusing mostly on finishing making her new batch of cherry bombs, deciding to carefully grind down some of the gun powder with a pestle, her tougne edging out of the corner of her lips in an expression of sheer conscentration, til eventually she grinned happily at her work and pured the gunpowder into a teeny sack.
She then looked around blinking with suprise before calling out loudly and casualy; "Oh, meetings over? Good time to finish up making these explosives. Huh, seems that shadow man wasn't too much of an issue, I only used up my cherry bombs and few sticks of dynamite. Shame really, still don't know how dangerous 'The Melon' is yet. Field testings the only way since I don't have enough for another." as she walked out of the tent and began making her way to her own workshop hut.
She shuddered in memory of the fact Wako suddenly took a fancy for her after the battle with Moe, wondering how she could get away with sending the mentaly unhinged crewmate skyhigh or his body blown apart to smithoreens.

Lappy (Safe zone - Dusk Pirates' basement)

Seeing the majority of the crew members getting out of the meeting room, Lappy decided to leave from the meeting room, too. With Maximillion having nothing else to say, the lapahn, which got recruited in Drum Kingdom, got out of the meeting room and it looked around. A big part of the area was surrounded with the same material which was used to make the balloons of Colonel Royale. As a result, the place was safe, even for a weak creature like himself.

For a moment, Lappy started thinking. Apparently, even if the creature had no human speech, it could still understand the humans and feel and think like them. Those actions were no different to those of the humans. The only thing that made them differ was their speech at all... As a result, Lappy was thinking what he could do to make himself get closer to the rest of the crew. At first, nothing was coming in his mind. However, after a while, he finally managed to think of something...

Without even thinking for a second time, the over-sized lapahn moved towards the direction that Frank followed. The creature knew that Frank used to play that strange violin or whatever it was and so he decided to follow him to listen to him and show that he liked music, as well. That way, he could make Frank like him more or at least that was what the creature thought. With a smile on his face, Lappy finally arrived at the place where the zombie was playing his musical instrument and he sat down in order to enjoy "the show".

Lappy was clearly trying to make his comrades like him more...

Unknown (Around Lappy and Frank)

Meanwhile, at the safe zone of the place... At the place where Lappy stands and looks at Frank, who is playing the fiddle, a strange figure could be seen from afar. Although the figure does not look like an actual human, it has a very strange essence, the essence of a thing that actually is there but is not there at the same time.

"Enjoy your time, Dusk Pirates... This time might be your last time spending your time, after all." that strange figure, which was hiding in the shadows, remarked. Then, Lappy turned his head towards the direction where the sound of the voice came from, only to see nothing. Apparently, the strange figure had disappeared from the place... Something wrong was going on. It was difficult at that time to understand what was happening, but this mystery would be solved eventually, if not right afterwards...

Quincy was clearly anxious about something during the meeting. He kept looking around the room like if looking for something, his body displayed signs of worry and nervousness, and he was sweating throughout the meeting. When Maximillion finally dismissed the meeting, Quincy ran to his hut in his lab where he kept a very dark secret away from the other crewmates. His very first artifical creation.....

The creature was chained to the operation table moaning and groaning ready to be released from his bondage. It pulled on his restraints trying to be released. It strength was so mighty that it shook the underground of the hut "Father these chains.....they are chaffing me....Let me out." it said in a low threatening voice.

Quincy merely laughed as he saw the creature struggling to get out. He didn't know whether this is some sadistic torture, father's pride, or the fact that he created life is what caused him to laugh. "Junior be patient I still have many test to perform on you. Besides I'm still awaiting for the right chance to reveal you. The way you are now you would try to defeat me, and that wouldn't be good. So I'm keeping you here until you learn some manners."

Junior merely grinned "You know know me too well father bwahahaaha" The creatured jerked on his chains eager to be released.

Manta (Safe Zone - Dusk Pirates' basement)

As Manta was about to go and leave from the basement area of the crew, he happened to walk out of Quincy's hut. Apparently, Manta had not gone yet to search for supplies. At first he had to go and leave Connie at his hut because the weather around the island was very dangerous and she could be struck by a lightning. Although Connie was always with Manta, even at his most difficult battles, this time he did not want her to be with him because lightnings used to fall from the sky randomly, one after another and he could not look after himself, Connie and also search for supplies at the same time. "Ah, Connie-chan..." Manta said with a depressed look on his face as he walked to go and get the supplies.

However, as soon as he walked out of the laboratory of the doctor, Manta listened to something. Apparently, the doctor was talking with somebody. He could not understand who that person was and actually what it was or even if it really existed, as the creature was speaking with a low voice. Intrigued to learn what was going on, Manta was about to place his ear to the door and listen to the conversation that he thought that was taking place. However, as he did, he listened to another voice.

Unknown (Behind Manta)

"You know, spying on people is not something good... And I suppose your doctor will be mad at you for doing this, right? How unfortunate... Spending your last moments to listen to what others do and say is very unfortunate... I suppose there are creatures you would wish to be with right now, but instead you spend your time on business that is not yours..." a person said with a low, chilling voice from behind Manta. Even if Manta was a person who was crazy enough to get afraid from rarely to never, this person really creeped him out.

"HUH? WHO IS IT?" Manta said with a loud voice, loud enough to be heard by Quincy who was inside, and turned his head backwards, only to see nothing. That figure had just disappeared... Something very strange was going on. Manta was absolutely sure that this was not a part of his imagination... However, he could not explain that nobody was found behind him when he turned his head. What could be possibly be going on?

As Ellen sat down with her shoes and socks throw to the side, she grinned in satisfaction at her cherry bombs completion, but frowned and wondered who on earth are the Unknown Pirates and agreed with herself that they were certainly living up to their name, and wondered how to blow their ships apart.
She shrugged it off and began work on making a few sticks of dynamite, grabbing the casing and the fuse, quickly placing them on her worktable as she carefully began pouring some gunpowder into said cases.
"Huh, not that much gunpowder on this island, so it definetly wasn't taken for explosives, and not enough materials for it to be for shipwork.", Ellen mumbled to herself as she continued working, using up the gunpowder and now moving on to seal the tops of the dynamite and mumbled under her breath; "And why the hell did they tale it? Makes as much sense on why Wako suddenly went crazy for me.", shuddering again at the thought.

Junior, quincy's creation, grinned as he heared someone outside "Father there is someone outside. Looks like we have a spy." Quincy shook "Damn I was hoping to keep you to myself for a few more weeks. Wait that sounded like Mantra. Heheheeh I'll teach that bastard to spy on me. You may play with our friend but don't kill him Junior.

Quincy pulled on a lever releasing the chains off of his creature. The ground above was shaking as something came out from the hut smashing it into pieces. A creature roared as it came out looking toward Mantra. At first site it looked like a human only it has large like a giant and hunchback. It was in fact a huge troll if anyone read about mythology. Quincy made it from a normal human and child and pumped it full of experimental drugs and a few energy steroids making it a monster. Quincy at the beast's side grinning madly toward Mantra "Curiousity killed the cat. Get him mah pet." Junior ran toward with amazing speed despite his size.

Manta (Safe Zone - Dusk Pirates' Basement - Out of Quincy's hut)

"Curiosity killed the cat and Manta killed the chicken." Manta said with an angry voice as he realized that Quincy listened to him and tried to attack him along with the strange comrade of his. Then, he used his Shockwave Rush technique in order to move with great speeds out of the way of Junior and dodged the incoming beast's rush. His signature shockwave attack was used from his feet while he was about to run and he swiftly moved out of the way in a second. Manta had forgot the strange event with the man that approached him a few seconds ago and he was about to strike back at the second vice captain of the crew and his creation. With a serious look on his face, Manta grabbed his scythe which was on his back. He pointed with it towards the beast and he said to Quincy "You have become a chicken before but you have yet to learn, Quincy! Chkchkchkchkchkchkchkchkchkchk!" as he launched a blast of chicken energy from his scythe that moved towards Junior in order to turn him into a chicken.

Unknown (Around Ellen - Inside Ellen's Hut)

While the shipwright of the Dusk Pirates was standing inside her workshop and was wondering how she would create more bombs because the supplies of gunpowder on the island were few, the same strange figure appeared out of nowhere at a dark corner inside the hut. Apparently, the figure's face could not be seen. Only its shape was visible... The shadow of the corner was hiding the majority of his dressing and his face to the point that it was difficult to almost impossible for Ellen to see him. He was standing in a corner behind Ellen and was looking at her from behind.

"It seems that you are one of the most active members of the Dusk Pirates, just like that strange doctor and your captain." the unknown man said with an emotionless voice. "The rest of your comrades are a bunch of slackers from what I have seen... I really wonder how Moe was defeated by the likes of them..." he continued saying to the woman with the same tone on his voice that was low and slightly creepy. "Keep working, Miss Niarbel... You have little to no time to create the best bomb you can... Because your time is about to come soon, along with the time for the rest of the Dusk Pirates..." the strange man completed before he disappeared from the hut, as if he teleported away.

This was very, very weird... Who was the man who approached everybody and informed them about their incoming death? Something extremely strange and bad would definitely happen for the crew, soon... Could he be affiliated to the Unknown Pirates, the strongest crew of the New World? And how did the man always disappear? So many questions were created and they would be answered soon.

As he played his fiddle, Frank got lost in thoughts that mainly included blood gore and the sounds of bones breaking, even though his music reflected a sound and calming environment. His music was the complete opposite to his personality. He closed his eyes as he set on the debris of a boulder he destroyed several minutes ago, just for the fun of it, only to open them again and find Lappy sitting not too far from him, listening.

Frank didn't mind Lappy, on the contrary, he liked him for his quietness, a perk that pretty much all of the other Dusk pirates lacked. He could sincerely claim that Lappy was the only crew mate who haven't gone on his nerves even once. "Enjoying yourself eh?" Frank asked jokingly, knowing Lappy wouldn't answer. He continued playing, to his and Lappy's enjoyment. His music was the most precious belonging he had, along with his fiddle, being about the only remains of humanity Frank had. "You know..." Frank said, continuing his music, "I like you Lappy, I can count on you not to annoy me, and you have my respect for that" Frank explained in all seriousness.

Frank didn't hear the stranger talking behind Lappy since his fiddle was so close, but he did notice Lappy looking back. 'Hmmm?' Frank thought as he spotted what seemed to be a shade of a man that disappeared as quickly as it showed up. "The hell?" Frank wondered out loud, stopping his music. "Did you see something Lappy?" Frank asked as he got up from his sit, trying to get a better look over the Lapahn.

Lappy (Along with Frank - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

Lappy was looking around to see where the strange figure, which he saw around himself and Frank, had gone. Apparently, the lapahn not only understood that somebody was nearby, but he also listened to him. It was a strange, chilly and threatening voice... Even a mere animal like Lappy, without human speech, could understand that things were very wrong... With a worried look on his face, the animal nodded his head, answering positively to the question of the zombie. He could not speak, after all, and so his gestures were the only ways he could speak with. His body was the only way he could use to have a conversation with his comrades...

Unknown (Around Nathan - Meeting Room)

Nathan was apparently staying at the meeting room for quite a while. The swordsman of the Dusk Pirates really was one of the laziest people inside the crew. Despite the fact that he was one of the most proficient swordsman that existed in the world, the truth was that Nathan was a person that always took his time to do anything and most times he even ignored what was going on in order to relax. After all, out of all the Dusks who attacked the island to take it over, he was the only one to not cause any destruction and who did not take out an enemy, just because he took his time, scanning the area and the people who were around.

And just like always, Nathan was doing something that was really reflecting his personality. He was apparently sleeping at the chair where he was sitting during the meeting, relaxing himself. And while sleeping, something unusual happened, just like it happened to the rest of the Dusk Pirates. A strange figure appeared around him at a dark corner of the room, with a hat on his face. The corner was already dark enough to hide the figure's face but he also wore a hat that was creating a shadow that was hiding the face of the figure, surprisingly enough...

"Mufufufufufufu... The most laid of the Dusk Pirates... Sleep peacefully swordsman... This is going to be your last sleep, after all... Before your eternal sleep of course." the figure remarked before he disappeared from the spot in an instant, in the same way as he appeared. Another member of the Dusk Pirates was approached by the figure...

"You did huh" Frank translated Lappy's gesture. He walked over to Lapahn, looking around to try and spot the figure once again. Whoever, or whatever it was disappeared as fast as it appeared, leaving no track behind. "Whoever it was he must be a pretty big coward, fleeing before we even had a chance to 'talk'" Frank said. He knew exactly what to do with any intruders who'll be spotted on the island. Now that the crew was on high alert, there was no place for doubt.

Frank then realized that the crew was indeed on high alert, and whoever he and Lappy saw might have been an actual intruder! "Lappy, we need to find that 'thing' and bring it back to captain Maximilion before it'll cause any trouble".

Lappy (Along with Frank - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

The lapahn was staring at Lappy without saying a single word. Not because he wanted to not say anything, but because he could not talk at all, as he happened to be an animal. However, even if it was impossible for Lappy to speak the human language, it was still possible for him to show to Frank that he understood what he said. With a gesture of the head, the strange rabbit-like creature nodded and agreed with what his Vice Captain said. Indeed, that "intruder" had to be found and brought to Maximillion... But little Lappy and Frank know that the intruder would meet with Maximillion soon... Very, very soon.

Unknown (Maximillion's Office)

Maximillion was staying at his office and he was writing a letter. Apparently, it was a letter for his so called "reinforcements", the people that would arrive to assist him for the upcoming attack of the Unknown Pirates. Out of all the pirates in the pirate world, Maximillion had only one crew as a real ally. It was the New Black Cross Pirates, commanded by the former emperor of the seas, Roberto D. Wally. Ever since the meeting at Hail Shower Island with Wally, Maximillion learned a few things. He received information about the current crew of a guy that was seeked by Wally, the guy who was responsible for his fall with his betrayal, Jason "The Flying Hermit". That guy had defected to the Unknown Pirates and so Maximillion knew that Wally would come for sure, if he wanted to receive more information about the traitor.

"Dear Wally,

I am writing you this letter in order to ask you when you are about to come. Apparently, we are waiting for days. Of course, we can all take on the Unknown Pirates but we need your assistance as we do not know who is going to come to claim the island back. The Unknown Pirates are well known to the New World for having the largest and probably one of the most powerful crews. Remember that Jason might come with them as he has now defected to them. You might get a chance to find him if you come to help us. I need your response as soon as possible.

With regards,
Maximillion" was the letter that Maximillion had finished writing to Wally. He got up and prepared to go out to send the letter with a bird until something strange happened.

At a corner behind Maximillion, the strange figure that had approached everybody could be barely seen. He was staring towards the direction of Maximillion. His face could not be seen once again for a strange reason. It was the shadow of the corner as well as his clothing that prevented everybody from seeing how he looked.

"Greetings." Maximillion said to the man who was staring at him from behind, without even turning his head.
"Hm? You noticed my pressence?"
"Of course... I can feel it when I am being watched..."
"Mufufufufufu... Interesting. I expected no less from an emperor of the seas..."
"Really? That is good to hear..." Maximillion said with an emotionless voice and turned his head, only to see that there was no man at the corner. The figure disappeared once again, like he did with the cases of the others. Maximillion was now also aware of the strange figure that set his eyes at the crew...

Ellen nearly jumped out of her skin from when she heard the strager speak to her, his shadowy guise cuasing confusion as she merely sat motionless with her eyes frozen in fear on the man, a feeling of deadliness around him making wonder if the stranger ment that he would be the one to cause the supposed final minutes of her life.
It was the most she had been scared, and this was a woman who had survived a number of explosions and been up against marines, pirates and numerous violent cu-throats with manical glee.
"I need to tweak The Melon. Now!" she screeched to herself, knocking the dynamite she had been working on aside and began prying the sealed lid on her deadliest bomb, The Melon, and began grounding up a new mixture to include for the deadly cocktail of explosives, while trying her best not to think of the stranger that arrived.

Junior spun his body to the right dodging the beam but falling unto the ground because of his massive weight. The impact of his body hitting the ground created a huge hole in the ground. Junior got up from the ground wiping himself up. "Junior is that all to your strength? looks like i understimated you." The troll growled at his creator. Quincy had just mocked him making even angrier. Junior picked up a hug boulder from the ground and threw it at Manta. Neither did mantra know that this was just a distraction...

Manta (Outside of Quincy's Hut - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

Seeing the huge boulder being thrown towards him, Manta decided to do something that he would try for the first time. He was about to use his Devil Fruit ability in combat for the first time, after eating his fruit when the crew landed on Raijin Island. Of course, Manta had used his fruit ability for another thing, but he had never used it for a battle. As the boulder was thrown towards him by the powerful mutant, Manta did not lose any time. He touched the blade of his scythe that was made of steel. Then, he let his scythe fall from his hand and pointed with all his fingers towards the boulder, while saying "Steel Egg!".

At the moment the cook of the crew spoke these words, his attack was launched towards the boulder. Egg shaped projectiles, which were made of steel and had the size of a chicken egg, were being shot from the fingers of the man swiftly. Many of them struck the rock boulder constantly. As the steel was harder than the rock, it quickly broke the boulder into pieces before it could reach Manta. The boulder was destroyed and turned into many smaller rocks and Manta had just protected himself from the attack of the new creation of Quincy.

"Chkchkchkchkchkchkchkchk!" Manta laughed before he pointed towards Junior with one of his fingers afterwards and said "Steel Egg!" as he launched another barrage of egg-shaped projectiles that were made of steel towards the mutant. Manta was very angry with Junior and Quincy and after he was done with the mutant, he would start dealing with the doctor...

Unknown (Raijin Island's Cape - Island's Edge - Outside of the Dusk Pirates' Basement)

Meanwhile, outside of the basement of the Dusk Pirates...

At the cape of the island, a figure could be seen standing... A figure that was very similar to that of the strange man that appeared right in front of the majority of the Dusk Pirates and informed them about their upcoming death. The figure's clothing could be clearly seen now. He was wearing a straw hat that was hiding the top of his head and a part of his face. He had medium length black hair which were straight and reached his neck. Also, in the small part of his face that could be seen, he seemed to be wearing a red mask that hid it even more. He also wore a medium-length dark grey robe that reached his knees. He wore dark grey pants and dark grey shoes. He also had a dark grey scarf. As for his hands, they were covered with red gloves that made it more difficult for others to recognize him as his skin could not be seen at all. Finally, he carried a katana with him, which was sheathed in a black colored sheath.

The man looked at the sea. He sighed. The lightning around the island was striking the sea and caused some relatively big waves... Those seas... It was so difficult to sail at these seas. The weather itself was one of the biggest problems of the New World, as great as the dangerous people and the beasts that one could find there.

At the horizon, a few ships could be seen. There were 5 ships... And they all carried the same flag. The flag of the Unknown Pirates. The Unknown Pirates were approaching to claim back their territory.

"Well, well..." the unknown man commented. "It looks like they have arrived already... Mufufufufufufu.". Then, he disappeared from his position once again...

Junior stood taking the hit from the egg. He caught it in his hand leaving a smothering bruise in his hand but the feat was impressive nonetheless he had caught the egg with minimal damage. Quincy began to laugh "Good good excellent. Your strength is a hundred times more than an average human. I had inject you with 20 energy steriods giving unstoppable strength. You strength could rival a giant. I'm evil genius brawhahahahahaah" Then something else started to happened to Junior. His body was smoking boiling it until the mutants became a puddle of bones and organs. "What the hell dammit the subject was unstable." Quincy said in shock.

A quick scouting of the area revealed that the intruder, if there ever was one, left nothing behind. He completely vanished without a trace. "Looks like he outpaced us..." Frank said while rubbing the back of his head. He wasn't that speedy so he couldn't scan the area effectively, and judging by Lappy's large proportions he guessed he wasn't that fast either. "We should probably just head back and report this to captain Maximillion, I can't see this chicken anywhere" Frank noted. He then raised his fiddle to his back, before turning t the general direction of the Dusk's camp.

"Launch" He said before launching himself forward with a mighty jump. There was no point in waiting for Lappy, the sooner he got to the crew, the better.

Manta (Out of Quincy's Hut - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

Manta laughed as he looked at the smoke that came out of the body of the experiment. It looked like Junior could not handle things, after all. Like the majority of the experiments that Quincy made, this ended up in a failure and so it started getting destroyed while being under great pressure. Even if he grabbed the first steel egg, after the smoke started coming out of his body, the rest of the steel projectiles struck him, resulting at piercing his body and ultimately killing him. The first experiment of Quincy had just been destroyed by Manta...

"Chkchkchkchkchkchkchkchk!" Manta laughed madly as he looked at the experiment getting destroyed. "This is marvelous! It has been a while until I had some fun...". Then, he grabbed his scythe which was on the ground and he pointed it towards Quincy. He said "Now, it is your turn, stupid doctor...". However, before he could do anything to the doctor, he could listen to a few paces... Somebody was coming towards his direction and judging from the slow and steady pace, Manta could understand that the person who was approaching them was his brother.

Maximillion (With Manta and Quincy - Outside of Quincy's Hut - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

"Enough, Manta. You may kill the worthless experiments of Quincy, but I do not give you the right to harm him. He is very necessary and one of the most loyal comrades I ever had..." Maximillion remarked, surprising Manta who listened to a good word for somebody from Maximillion's mouth. "Anyway... I have something to tell you.". Before he could tell, though, another visitor had come. It was Frank who was heading towards Maximillion in order to talk to him about the person that had just approached himself and Lappy. "Oh, Frank... Welcome." Maximillion said with an emotionless voice as he saw his vice-captain, who also was trustworthy, like Quincy. "It is better to have all of you here..." the captain said and continued "I have a feeling that I am not the only one who has been approached... Seeing Frank rush towards me makes me think that he was approached as well... And that person gave me a feeling of a real danger... Listen. From now on, treat yourselves as if we are under attack. Prepare yourselves and get out of the basement. The Unknown Pirates will approach us soon and we need to be prepared. As for Ellen, I will send Lappy to get her..."

"Hm? Lappy? How is Lappy going to talk to her in the first place? Would it not be better for me to go?" Manta said with a wondering look.

"No... I want to talk to you about something else, while the others are getting prepared... How is the egg going?" Maximillion said and Lappy started moving towards Ellen's hut in order to take her and give her the message of the captain.

"It is going perfectly." Manta said. "Anyway, I got to get Connie... I really cannot fight without her by my side."

"Hmph. I see..." Maximillion said and he started moving towards the ship, which was standing nearby. He had to do something on the ship.

Lappy (Outside of Ellen's Hut - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

And just like his captain commanded, Lappy run towards Ellen's hut and knocked the door in order to give her the message of the captain. She had to be prepared, as well...

Unknown (Near Maximillion - On Colonel Royale)

As soon as Maximillion walked on the ship, the mysterious figure appeared once again. This time, the figure was not talking about the upcoming events. In fact, he appeared in order to talk to the man about something very, very different... As Maximillion walked, he said to the figure who was standing behind him, without moving his head backwards "What do you want now?".

"Mufufufu..." the mysterious figure laughed. "I really like that trick... How do you understand that I am around? You really have to teach me that trick..."

"It is not anything difficult... I just know how to watch my back." the captain of the Dusk Pirates remarked.

"Interesting..." the figure said to Maximillion who had just walked towards a lower level of the ship. "However, I have to inform you that you have to watch things that are in front of you... Because the man you are searching for is not in the place you left him."

"Hmph?" Maximillion said and his eye twitched for a moment while he also stopped. That really surprised the captain of the Dusks...

"Twitching?" the mysterious man said and the tone of his voice could be heard as if he was slightly laughing.

"I see that I am not the only one who is capable of understanding how people express themselves without looking. You are an interesting guy..." Maximillion said with his always emotionless voice and he started walking slowly again towards the place he was heading at.

"Indeed I am... Mufufufu..." the figure said and he disappeared again. Who was Maximillion searching? And who is this mysterious figure, after all? Many questions were arising...

As Lappy pounded his huge furry fist against Ellen's door, it was only a moment of time before she burst out screaming at the unfortunet laphan; "What the hell do you want you stupid flea ridden max hugging carpet?", and stared in confusion at Lappy's attempt to convey the message before replying in a quizzical tone; "I don't suppose that means Maxie wants everyone to show up does it? Either that or you've seen something odd today."
She scratched her head before rushing inside for a few moments and running back out again, telling the large carnivorous rabbit; "Right, thats The Melon all most done, and locked away, right were the hell do you need me to go errand bunny?", carrying a few sticks of dynamite and a full pouch of cherry bombs.

Lappy (With Ellen - Ellen's Hut - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

Seeing Ellen open the door of her hut, Lappy got relieved. She was inside her hut and she was not outside. However, that relief did not last for long. It lasted only for the time that Ellen was looking at him, before Lappy could understand that he would have to make her understand somehow what was going on. Sweat started coming out of Lappy's body as he started feeling anxious when Ellen spoke. However, when he realized what she spoke and the question she asked, the lapahn nodded with a relief once again for both questions. It seemed that Ellen was understanding him... That was good to know.

Seconds after he nodded, Lappy waited for Ellen to get "The Melon". As soon as the woman did, Lappy pointed towards the direction where Quincy and Frank were, so that all of them would gather together and so that the two vice captains would explain to her what was going on. The situation was critical... And it was about to get more critical very soon. Sooner than everybody expected.

Manta (Inside Manta's hut - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

Manta quickly entered his hut. The cook of the Dusk Pirates had to secure a few things. The first of those things was Connie, of course. The cook of the crew swiftly got inside the hut and said hello to his little pet chicken. The chicken nodded and Manta said with a smile on his face "Come on, Connie-chan. We are going to have a battle, soon.". As soon as the pet listened to those words, she jumped on Manta's shoulder and stood there. Manta turned his head towards her and smiled to her, only to see her smile. Manta indeed loved his pet... It really was the only creature he showed love to, except from his older brother.

Then, without wasting time, Manta moved towards his bed. He grabbed the bed with both hands and moved it upwards with great strength. Apparently, there was something below the bed which he had to retrieve so that he would secure it. Below the bed there was an egg. A very odd egg, which was not as small as the eggs that Manta used to create after he ate his fruit. It was something special... And something was going on with it, as Manta wanted to completely secure it. He grabbed the egg and he asked while moving out of the hut "Chk, chk... Connie-chan, where do you think we should hide the egg?".

Maximillion (Inside Colonel Royale - 3rd Floor Below - Dusk Pirates' Basement)

After the man disappeared, Maximillion started walking slightly faster towards the direction he was heading at, so that he would see whether the man's words were real or not. For a while, the man walked until in the end he finally reached a door that was only limited to Quincy, Frank and himself of course. It was the door where he had his cells behind. Apparently, there was a person who was locked up by Maximillion. He wanted to retrieve that person in order to have assistance.

With some swift movements, the captain quickly opened the door and stepped inside the cells. At the right and at the left there was nothing. He had placed the man at the last cell of the room. He walked and when he finally reached the cell, Maximillion was surprised. He could see the chains, that were meant to prevent the man from leaving, on the ground and the chair he was supposed to sit at was empty.

"Shit. Why does he always find a way to annoy me?" Maximillion said before he started running outside. Things were worse as the crew was composed of less people. One of the soldiers which he counted for the battle was gone.

Unknown Pirates (At the sea...)

Near the island, the ships were finally approaching... The Unknown Pirates were coming... They would be on the island in five minutes! The battle would finally start!

After landing like a crashing rocket next to Maximillion and the rest and receiving his orders, Frank's piggish face had a broad smile crossing it. He was starving for action after the boring meeting earlier that day. "Yes Captain Maximillion" He said with an evil grin that showed nothing but mindless violence behind it, which was pretty much all the crossed Frank's mind most of the time. Unlike the others, Frank had no preparations to make before the fight. All his weapons and tricks were a part of his own body, no setting up needed.

As the others cleared to their huts, Frank started wondering where he should wait for his destined opponents. Any reasonable being would immediately rush to a place where it had an advantage, but Frank was far from rational. He wanted whoever targeted the crew to find him as quickly as possible, so he could both draw fire for the crew's sake, and mostly so he could start fighting right away.

After a complicated decision making process, Frank finally devised a course of action. He bent his knees till his bottom was pretty much touching the ground, before performing a powerful jump that sent him flying away from the base, with the air whistling passed him in an amazing speed. "WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!" Frank shouted as he climbed higher and higher, reaching about 20 meters over the base. Right now, he was easily the most obvious target on the entire island. "COME AT ME UNKNOWN PIRATES! MY PATIENCE IS DYING!" He shouted, his terrible joke heard throughout the island.

Ellen first followed after Lappy towards their fellow crew mates unti she suddenly outbursted; "Wait, I just need one more ingredient!" and sprinted back to her hut, quickly unsealing The Melon as she took it out of her metal case, and poured an odd red sand like substance into her newest and most destructive creation, before re-sealing it once again and placing it in it's protective case once again before rushing back to her crew mates and apolegeticly telling them; "The Melon just needed a few last minute tweaks, but soon, I shal now be going down in history for creating a bomb that rivals the Buster Call.", and giggled maniacly as soon as she finished speaking, almost in a dream like trance of such a possibility and was imagineing the amout of destruction that would be created.

Lappy (Dusk Pirates' Basement - Below Frank)

Seeing Frank jumping out of the basement from a hole there was so that air could go inside it, Lappy was shocked. Apparently, the lapahn could never believe that his vice captain would reveal himself so recklessly to the enemies. Of course, the basement could be obviously seen by the enemies but the crew could form a plan first to sneak up at the Unknown Pirates. However, with Frank's strange appearance to the enemies that would not happen anymore. "BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Lappy said with a worried face and his eyes moved forward comically as he looked at Frank.

That was not the only one that would worry him, though. As the seconds passed, a loud sound was heard. It was the sound of a cannon... Somebody was bombarding the island, or at least that was what Lappy thought. For a second, Lappy was relieved as he could not listen to any explosion from the cannon ball. The bomb had probably missed and hit another side of the island... Lappy closed his eyes and moved his head downwards while sighing. He thought that this was what was going on... However, when the lapahn turned his head upwards, what he saw would definitely shock him even more than Frank's sudden appearance to the enemies. What he thought was wrong... The cannon ball had yet to explode. In fact, it was traveling towards Frank with great speed. Frank was being attacked with a cannon ball from the enemies' ships' cannons. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!" Lappy shouted and looked as the cannon ball was heading to his superior officer.

Manta (Out of the basement of the Dusk Pirates - Moving towards the beach)

While the others were preparing themselves for quite a while, Manta also made his move. After retrieving the egg and Connie, Manta was about to reveal himself. However, he would not do it like Frank did. He would do something else. Apparently, Manta was as reckless as Frank was. Despite the fact that he was Maximillion's brother, Manta was a short-tempered person who would always be driven from his lust for blood and not from his logic. As a result, while Lappy was staring at Frank who was grabbing all the attention with his antiques, Manta got out of the basement and started heading towards the beach where the Unknown Pirates would dock. Using his Shockwave Rush, Manta run with great speeds towards the beach and he would finally probably reach it at the same time with the Unknown Pirates...

Unknown (In front of Manta)

A loud lightning was struck and fell in front of Manta while he run. Manta stopped for a moment, only to see the mysterious figure who was stalking the crew for quite a while, warning them for the appearance of the Unknown Pirates.

"Chk... Is that you?" Manta said to the mysterious figure with an evil look on his face, while grabbing his scythe.
"Mufufufu... Indeed, I am..." the mysterious man said.
"You look quite strange... Why are you... fade?"
"Oh, well... There are some questions I cannot answer."
"Chk... Playing smart on me, huh? Chicken Beam!" were Manta's words, as he launched a beam of energy in order to turn the man into a chicken. However, the beam did not do anything at all. Instead, it passed through the man's body and the man started slowly walking towards a shocked Manta, who could not understand what was going on.
"Don't try to play the strong guy, here, kid." the man said as he approached Manta. "The Unknown Pirates and especially me are some opponents who are way out of your league." he continued saying and he unsheathed his sword. Then, he slowly moved it towards the flinched Manta, passing it through his body.
"Huh? Why... Why does it not hurt?" Manta asked.
"You really don't want me to make it real... Do you?" the man said to Manta and disappeared.

Right after that, Manta's scythe fell from his hand on the ground. For a few seconds, Manta remained flinched, wondering what was going on... That man... What was he trying to accomplish?

Maximillion

While Manta was being approached from the unknown man, Maximillion finally got out of his ship. He was standing on the deck and he looked at his comrades below. He could see Ellen, Lappy and Quincy, while Manta had already gone out and Frank had already revealed himself. If anybody else had done that, Maximillion would be angry. However, Frank was one of his most loyal comrades, similarly to Quincy and Manta was just his brother... "Hmph." he said before jumping down from the ship and he approached the three members who were there.

Seeing Quincy, Ellen and Lappy, Maximillion said. "Everybody... Listen. Manta had already gone out. I need you to go out as well and find him. He is probably going to the beach to face the enemies who are coming. I will be following you from afar in order to guard you... As for the basement, Frank is around and Nathan is sleeping inside, so I believe that it will be under protection for a while." he continued saying and he started walking out of the basement. "March, Dusk Pirates! Hmphmphmphmphmphmphmph!" he commented while walking. Lappy instantly started following. Only Quincy and Ellen would have to follow.

Unknown Pirates Ships

There were five ships that were coming to the place. All of them were having the same flag... They were the ships of the Unknown Pirates. All of them were sailing together, forming a line that was made of the ships. They were very synchronized and one could easily understand that all those ships knew how to cooperate with each other. At the top right ship, in the front of the deck, a female figure could be seen. She wore a black and blue dress that was quite revealing and also revealed one of her legs. She had medium-length blue hair and an accessory that looked like a flower on her head, that matched with her dress.

"So, this is Raijin Island, huh?" the woman said to one of the many men who were standing behind her, probably her subordinates.
"Y-Yes Ma'am!" the subordinate said and gulped, realizing that his boss actually spoke to him.
"Why are you gulping, soldier?" the woman said and turned her head towards him, looking at him with a cute look on her face.
"I-I..."
"Let me guess... You cannot answer to a beautiful lady like me, right?" she told him while revealing her already revealed leg at the man, making him stare at her.
"Y-Yes..." he said with a voice that showed his lust for the woman's body.

The next second was quite shocking, though, for the man, as well as the other people who were standing next to him. The woman instantly jumped towards the man and landed on his shoulders. The man fell on the ground and he was being covered from the long dress of the woman. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he screamed in agony, as if the woman was doing something to him while she was hiding him below her dress. Everyone around was staring with a shocked look on their faces and the woman laughed madly. When she was finished, she got up and there were no remains of the soldier, not even a single bone.

"A pathetic man like you has no right to dream of my beauty." the woman said and turned back towards the island again, watching it as if nothing happened.

---

The ship that was at the very left was another strange ship. In front of the deck a man was standing who was not dressed like regular people used to. He wore an armor and carried three swords with him. His armor was reminiscent to that of a samurai, while he also had a helmet on his head. At the back of the armor, the word "Wano" could be read and the man was being surrounded by many men who were all dressed like ninja soldiers and had their faces hidden, with an exception for their eyes.

"Well, my people... This is Raijin Island from what it seems." the man said to the men who were all bowing to him. It was clear that the man had some great influence to them, as if he was their boss, their ruler... Their king.

"When we get there, get behind me and start following me. There is something we need to do..." the samurai said to his men.
"Sir wouldn't it be better if..." a man attempted to speak, but before he completed his sentence the sound of a slash was heard and the samurai was seen sheathing his sword back. The man's head fell from his body afterwards and the samurai kicked it at the sea with great strength, as if it was a ball.
"A soldier cannot give orders to the king. That is a law." he said, explaining his action.

---

At the ship next to the ship of Sogun, at the deck another man could be seen. This man was quite mysterious. He wore glasses on the top of his head, a dirty green shirt that was almost destroyed and grey pants. He also wore high socks and grey shoes. His hair were grey and he had some beard. It was obvious that he did not have his face shaved for a while. Next to him, there was a deer standing.

"Meer... We are there." he said with a calm voice and placed his head on the deer in order to pet it.
"Iiiiiiiii!" the deer nodded and smiled to the man. The deer probably loved its master, as much as he showed that he loved it.

---

Meanwhile, at the deck of the ship that was standing next to Orianna's, another man could be seen at the deck. This man was not looking like a human at all. He had grey skin and he was bald. He wore accessories on his head that looked like horns and on his back that looked like wings. He was obviously looking a lot like a gargoyle. As for his clothing, he wore black pants and black shoes, a white shirt and a black tie. He had his hands at the pockets of his black pants and he was staring with a serious look towards Frank. In front of him there was a cannon. He was probably the guy who attempted to shoot Frank with the cannon ball.

"Sir... What is that guy doing?" a man asked him, wondering what Frank was doing.
"Honestly, I don't know..." the man said and sighed, while looking to see whether his cannon ball would hit Frank or not.

---

Finally, at the ship in the middle... In the captain's room, a man was having a dinner with another man. Both men's faces could not be seen... One of them, though, was wearing a straw hat and smoked a cigar while the other one seemed to be dressed like a gentleman and was drinking some wine.

"Sir! We are arriving in a minute!" a man said outside from the room and the man who was holding the wine started speaking to the man he was eating with.
"Well... I guess it is about time..." the man said to the man with the straw hat.
"Do ya think so? Why dun we wait a lil' bit? Why dun we leave it to the others?"
"I do not know... I am just worried."
"Come on, mah friend! Let's play some poker! We have plenty of time!"

Who were those men and what were their motives?

The Unknown Pirates had finally appeared... And the battle would start soon!

Quincy gladly followed Maximillion relieved he didn't just kill him after performing gruesome experiments behind his back and ordered one of them to kill his brother. Manta and him never got along from when he was just a rookie. That seemed so long ago. Oh well some more pirates came to island. Quincy could help but smile as he now had more body parts for his twisted exiperments. He also needed to test his chimera body which he has yet shown to his cremmates. He kept his new made body under wraps to surprise his enemies as well as his allies. Quincy wore are a surgical mask our his lion snout, so no one would notice.