(Serious) The Gibus Pirates: A Brand New Game

As a new dawn flushed the desert island known as Krooka Island, signaling that 48 hours have passed since the rebel forces marched towards Prime Palace, the island returned to it's normal atmosphere. Or did it? The streets have been washed of blood and bodies as the islanders helped each other rebuild broken shops and stands. In the middle of the bazaar, a huge barbecue was being prepared, with a pretty dead gigantic Bananwani, formerly known as the ship carrier of the Two-Faced Pirates, the menacing Fluffy, was being skinned and seasoned. Over at Prime Palace, the Bananawani garden in the yard was being redesigned, and the damage to the first floor was being evaluated as debris were collected. As rumors of the glorious battles that took place in the palace spread across the island, the warriors turned into heroes, praised by the thankful islanders. Every open shop and stand offered them food and service for free. The docks were busier than ever, with different pirate ships arriving at the now safe island. While all this happened, a couple of new prisoners in the Prime Palace Dungeon were about to wake up.

Jekyll Garuda opened his eyes in shock after having his head bashed against the cell wall by the chief guard. He took a deep breath, only to immediately gasp and choke a second later, reaching for a stitched wound that decorated his throat. He was cuffed to the cell wall by a pair of seastone cuffs, neutralizing his Zoan abilities. It was the first time he was awake since the events that took place two days ago, and he had no idea what was going on. When he spotted his twin brother lying in the cell next to his, he tried to scream at the chief guard, but this only sent him into another coughing spree. "Don't try to talk, you'll kill yourself before your visitor arrives" The chief guard explained before bashing Hyde's head against his own cell wall, waking him up as well.

[Introducing:
Jekyll Garuda
Former co-ruler of Krooka Island and former co-captain of the Two-Faced Pirates
Unable to speak because of a sword wound in his neck]

Unlike Jekyll, Hyde's Zoan provided him with respectful scale-based defense even inside his body, allowing him to survive the lethal attack, while Jekyll was only saved by his iron-hard feathers, a result of his Life Return skills. "Whass Going on?!" Hyde shouted as he discovered he too was cuffed, his words unclear because of his lack of teeth and colorful burns that decorated the inside of his throat. His armor was taken off, leaving him in his underwear. "You have visitors scumbags!" The chief guard shouted.

[Introducing:
Hyde Garuda
Former co-ruler of Krooka Island and former co-captain of the Two-Faced Pirates
Got his metal teeth blown out of his mouth with a shotgun]

Around the corner of the cell block, two figures appeared as they walked towards the pair of cells. The first one was an extremely tall and thin individual, wearing a pair of black pants that hung over his brown shirt with a pair of suspenders. On his head, the man wore a tall Gibus hat, that thanks to his height was now brushing against the ceiling. He had bandages around his stomach area, and a few cuts next to his mouth. "So this is how poetic justice looks like huh? Former dictators being imprisoned in their own private prison" The man said with a taunting voice. Hyde would have flashed his teeth if he still had them when the man spoke, he remembered that man, it was a very painful memory.

[Introducing:
Alphonse B. Clyde
New ruler of Krooka Island
Suffering from a pair of fractured ribs]

"Whassssss do you wansss sssssscum?! You already sssook our island from us" Hyde mumbled, his words blurry and unclear. "Well, this island wasn't supposed to be yours in the first place, dad should have given it to me" Al said. Jekyll tried to speak but all he managed was a few coughs as he reached for his soaring throat once more. "I assume you didn't have to catch up huh Jekyll? Or should I say half-brother Jekyll" Al said, making Jekyll's eyes almost pop out of their sockets. "It's true. Dad was one sly bastard, but enough about me, let's talk about a more interesting part of our loving family, I think her name was Mary Juliana?" Al said calmly. After hearing the name, both Garuda brothers shivered in fear, they obviously knew more about Mary than Al did. "But first, did you have something to ask these fearsome captains?" Al asked, turning to face the second man who visited the cells along with. Actually, he wasn't really a man in the whole sense of the word.

Back in the recovering city, a small nursing staff was busy preparing breakfast for the patients of the small clinic. There were many patients after that battle took place, but most of them were discharged in the two days that passed since then. However, the nursing staff was in its full capacity. Every nurse and doctor on the island wanted to be in the clinic as long as a certain patient was there. He was one of the brave warriors who raided the palace in the attack, and as rumors claimed, he was the one to strike the final blow on non other than Jekyll Garuda himself.

After the battle Montgomery had felt rather ill and been taken ill to the hospital or at least he had thought it was a hospital. He kept blacking out so he wasn't entirely sure where he was half the time. It turned out after his battle with Shen he had taken more damage than he had thought but the adrenaline had made him notice the pain much less. Now that he lay in bed with his pants and shoes on but his slashed jacket & shirt hanging on the chair beside his bed he could feel how his stomach hurt with almost every movement. He tried pulling himself up to sit up and grunted in pain.

As he lifted his medical chart from the end of the bed he read through it quickly and managed to decipher from the code doctors used when treating patients he had suffered ink poisoning. Turns out from being hit by that powerful ink slash from Shen not only had he broken 2 ribs but he'd also had his chest cut open rather badly and allot of ink had managed to seep in through the wounds. He could taste something horrible in his mouth and realised it was ink which still remained in his system. As he laid the chart back down he grunted pulling himself out of bed and stumbled over to the mirror.

His scar was all bandaged up. He knew he shouldn't look at it but wanted to. Instead he lifted a comb from his bedside table and began to comb his hair neatly before pulling on his shirt buttoning it up placing his tie around his neck and tying it up perfectly in length with no extra bit sticking out then finally painfully pulled his coat on an d fastened the buttons up. Reaching into the pockets he removed his gloves and pulled them on.

Grabbing his cane which was lying against the bed he felt like he really needed it now as he hunched over trying to stop his wound from re-opening and used it to full effect as he hobbled from the hospital to the exit. He couldn't wait to discover what had become of the town whilst he'd been slipping in & out of consciousness. He knew he hadn't played a big part in the battle but he was happy to have helped. As he arrived at the exit he looked out and could see the town was as lively as ever and he smiled. It was time to take in some of the local sights and learn more information about the town. Perhaps he'd learn a thing or two he could refer to later during his journey.

[[Terry]]

Terry woke up in the clinic , his body was wrapped in bandages and so was his arms. He sighed as he tried to sit up looking around the clinic. It seemed pretty busy, but at least it was quiet enough for Terry to rest. "You need a drink or snack hero kun?" It was a nurse and Terry suspecting it was the nurse who was looking after him, since she had his chart and all which was worded 'hero 2'. Terry wanted to laugh hysterically at this, he was no hero. He then grunted "If you could give me my chain sword and my stuff...." The nurse then whacked Terry on the head with the clipboard. "Now listen here, hero or not, you are not leaving till you are 100 % recovered, so no sneaking off with your stuff!!! arent you going to eat the noodles that the lady from the bazaar made for you?!!" There was a bowl next to his table. Terry almost felt like crying, but he didnt, it was the first time anyone had been this nice to him. He took the noodles and started eating it with a smile. The nurse smiled as well.

"Thanks for allowing me to speak, Al..." the man said to the captain of the Gibus Pirates. The man had a peculiar appearance. In fact, his body was not like a human body. He only had the upper part of his body and he was attached to the back of an eagle. He carried two swords with him and he wore a tight sleeveless black shirt.


"Well, well... I awe you an explanation first, Garuda brothers." Lance started speaking. "At first, I traveled around these islands in search of a man named Victor... When I came to this island, I was attacked by your goons and so I started attacking back... And during that time I decided to investigate some more on the island about him. From what I learned, the two of you could have some information... And I would like to know what you two know.". he continued saying. Then, he unsheathed one of his katanas. The katana was a very familiar katana... It was the one that Terry threw on the man's neck with his Mato Mato no Mi powers. "And Mr. Jekyll... If you don't really want to see this sword slicing through your neck again, I would suggest you to tell me anything you know about Victor... If he got here, he was definitely noticed. That man means harm to every place he goes at..." Lance completed and he waited for the answer of Jekyll...

Jekyll's face started filling with cold sweat as Lance drew his sword. He was powerless and in pain, and would gladly cooperate to save his life, but when eh tried to speak, he only managed to enter another coughing spasm. He reached for his throat and lied on the floor, desperately trying to regain control of his breathing, the cut messed up his air ways. "You know, it'd be a shame if you won't be able to talk for the rest of your life Jekyll, and I bet you'll grow tired of eating soup pretty quickly Hyde" Al said. "I could easily ask a doctor to give you two some medical attention, but I'm going to need something in return, how about cooperation?" Al asked rhetorically, turning his gaze from the choking Jekyll to Hyde' who's frown got deformed by his empty jaw. "I suggest you start talking..." Al said.

Hyde punched the cell wall in frustration with his free arm, but with the seastone weakening him, it was less than intimidating. "Fine ssammit, that Victor guy wassss here not a long time ago" Hyde hissed, "He arrived, and when we sssried to imprison him as a devil fruit user he left, I guess he didn't want anything from this island, all he did was wreck some shops and kill some of our men but that's it" Hyde said. "That's a good start... but now let's talk about our dear sister Mary" Al said, walking towards Hyde's cage and crouching next to it to look Hyde straight in the eye. "I want her island, and you're going to tell me everything you know about her..." Al said coldly. Hearing that, Hyde broke into a sickening laughter, twisted by his lack of teeth and sprayed spit all over his cell. Jekyll, who managed to breathe once again, laughed as well, leading to another coughing montage. "You! You wanna! You wanna take Mary's island!" Hyde laughed as he wiped a tear form his eye. "That's a good one brother, that's a really good one". "Tell me!" Al shouted, grasping Hyde's cell bars. "Fine fine..." Hyde answered calming himself down. "Me and Jekyll tried to take her island ourselves a few months ago, after discovering how fancy it was compared to ours" Hyde explained. "We didn't have a chance, her men drove us off the island before we even got to see her in person, her control of that island is unbreakable, Mary Juliana is a monster" Hyde explained. "And you want to take her island!" Hyde repeated, returning to his laughter, making Jekyll choke a bit more.

Hearing Hyde's words, Al stood up angrily, tilting his Gibus hat down in the process. "Try not to choke yourselves laughing, I'll be seeing you again" Al said coldly before turning around and walking towards the exit, signaling Lance to follow him. Of course, Lance wasn't under Al's command, not yet at least, but there was practically nothing he had to gain from the Garuda brothers now that they spilled the beans. Their laughter echoed through the dungeons corridor as Al started climbing the stairs leading back to the palace.

As Montgomery arrived at the street outside of the hospital, the random by standers stopped their doing and clapped their hands, whistling and cheering at him. "That's the man who defeated Shen!" A random woman shouted with joy, but all the commotion alerted the hospital staff, and two doctors raced after Montgomery to try and ask him to return to his bed. But, before they could do that, someone stopped them. "You're more fragile than you look" A voice called towards Montgomery, a very familiar voice.

[Introducing:
Kim Maito
Leader of the Oasis Rebels]

As the crowd spotted Kim, the cheers grew even louder, as Kim was a war hero as well after the events of two days ago. "Here, take this, it should help you with the pain" Kim said as he handed Montgomery a green pill form his pocket. "It's a special painkiller I got from one of the pirates at the docks, way more advanced than the ones the hospital has to offer, it should keep you running for a few hours" Kim explained. He then turned to the pair of doctors, giving Montgomery a chance to take the pill without them noticing. "This man is now officially discharged, I'm taking full responsibility of his condition form this instant" Kim announced. "Now, you need to come with me, there's someone that wants to see you" Kim said to Montgomery, before starting to make a way through the cheering crowd while waving at them so Montgomery could follow without disturbance.

Meanwhile in Terry's room, the nurse was about to get herself a chair so she could keep an eye on Terry, but while she looked for one, a figure stepped through the room door. He was an old man, wearing the local rugs that all of Krooka Island's people wore, but he had a distinctive eye patch on his left eye and a revolver tucked under his belt. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but this man is coming with me, and is now officially discharged" The man said. "But Kalik! He's still injured!" The nurse pleaded, but the old man wasn't convinced.

[Introducing:
Kalik Mogura
The great Bananawani rider
Second in command of the Oasis Rebels]

"I'm sorry, but I have direct orders from the highest authorities, you need to come with me now, and please bring his sword back" Kalik explained. The nurse nodded and left the room, probably to get Terry's sword back. "Here, take this, it should help you with the pain" Kalik said, handing Terry a small green pill. "It's a powerful painkiller, it should calm your pain for a few hours" Kalik explained. The nurse then returned with the sword, handing it to Terry. "Now come with me" Kalik said, heading for the room door.

"I am coming!" Lance said and Roze started flying behind Al so that Lance would get out along with the head of the Gibus Pirates. "Damn it... Victor is not here..." Lance said to Al with a disappointed look on his face. "However, it's good to know that he was here recently. He can be in one of the islands around... I will have to search for him..." he completed. Then, he kept following the captain of the Gibus Pirates, waiting for his answer over the matter. He wanted to know what Al's opinion was.

As people cheered for him Montgomery grinned and heard some footsteps behind him as he turned around he stepped back to avoid their grasp then heard a familiar voice. Looking at the man who'd spoken he recognised Kim and smiled at him. As Kim handed him some pills he happily took them and popped one into his mouth.

"Thanks for the pills."

As Kim spoke about someone wanting to meet him Montgomery nodded and Kim began leading the way. As he led the way having the doctors leave him to go Montgomery followed behind really throwing his cane into use. As he struggled along on his cane he could still feel some pain in his chest a little bit but he was certain Kim wasn't giving him placebos and the pain would subside eventually. As he struggled along in pain he kept a hand in his pocket with his note book just to make sure he wouldn't lose it to pick pocketers since he had lost one of his notebooks before hand and wasn't about to lose another.

[[Terry ]]

Terry put the bowl aside and then looked to the new guy. He took the green pill and he feel a whole lot better. Nothing unusual there, Terry used to be a regular drug junkie so it always made him feel better, but now it had left his system, he had realised years ago, no amount of drug abuse would be able to take his pain away, no amount of indulgement would forgive his past sins. He got up and then pointed his sword at Kalik from behind "why should i follow a stranger who appears out of the blue? Who are you and what do you want?" Terry wasnt going to blindly trust people, that just wasnt his style.

Kalik raised an eyebrow as he felt Terry's blade touching his back, making the nurse scream and stick to the wall. "Why you should trust me? Mainly because I just gave you your weapon back, if I wanted to hurt you I would have done it while you couldn't defend yourself..." Kalik said calmly before turning around to face Terry. "You should trust me because I'm a rebel as well, I was a part of the battle, and anyone around here would tell you exactly that if you asked them" Kalik said, and the scared nurse nodded in response, her face turning pale. "You should trust me because I'm here to get you out of this hospital, which I assume you want" Kalik added, "But most of all, you should lower your sword down because there are sick people here, along with doctors and nurses who worked around the clock to get you back in shape, so you can start repaying them by not messing up this place". Kalik then turned around and headed for the door. "To make it short, just follow me and quit the nonsense" he said without turning back, giving a reassuring nod to the nurse who was still sticking to the wall.

Back in Prime Palace, Al lead Lance through a marble corridor, that had pictures of Jekyll and Hyde taken off of its walls by a bunch of workers. "I understand, but trust me, if you'll wait for a little bit longer I can promise it'll be worth your time" Al said in response to Lance's words. Lance's wishes were perfect for Al's needs, he could use Lance's will to chase after Victor to get him to join his voyage, it was flawless. After a brisk walk through the corridor, Al opened a wooden door, inviting Lance into the room. From the inside, the room looked like an extremely fancy office, with a long polished wooden table and coated chairs spread along it, marble and gold on every wall and a picture of Jekyll and Hyde hung on the back wall, with a mustache and blackened teeth drawn on each of their faces.

"Please sit down, Lance, I have a special offer for you" Al said calmly as he took a sit in the head of the table, not before removing the picture off the back walls and hurling it against a different wall, making the frame break and the picture itself tear. In the meantime, Kim was walking Montgomery through the same corridor after they arrived at Prime Palace, inviting him to enter the room Al and Lance sat in. "Take a sit you two, you arrived just in time for our little meeting" Al said. He then stood up, placing his hands on the table. "I guess we should just start without our final guests, they're late arrival was expected" Al said with a small grin. "As you may or may not know, after our victory over the Two-Faced Pirates, the control of the island has been returned to its rightful owner, me" Al explained. "Albeit that, I am not planning on staying here. Control of the island will be in the hands of Kim, as the head of the rebels, and I'll maintain formal control of the island while I'll continue my journey, and I was hoping you two will be interested in joining me..." Al explained, pointing at Kim Lance and Montgomery as he mentioned each of them respectively.

He turned to Lance first, as he was the easiest one to lure in Al's eyes. "I can help you track down the man you're after. As a navigator I can guarantee you that he didn't have many route options that lead away form this island. If you'll come with me, along the route I'm planning, you'll be able to not only track him down but also bring him down, and I'll be glad to help as long as you'll fill your share of the deal, and join me until it's done" Al explained. "There's no doubt that you're not a normal fighter, not even a normal human, and I'll need someone with skills like yours on my side for what I have in mind" Al said. After what Hyde and Jekyll told him about his sister, he needed as much power as he could get if he wanted to bring her down as well.

"As for you" Al said, turning to face Montgomery, who was a bit more mysterious than Lance. Al then reached for his pocket, pulling out a small piece of crumbled paper out of it, with a few drops of blood staining it. "This was found inside the shirt pocket of one of the casualties of the Garuda Brother's attack. A couple of eye witnesses claim that they saw you and that casualty leaving the same house moments before his death" Al said. He then tossed the piece of paper towards Montgomery so he could read it.

"Krooka Island - Hut #132 - Montgomery Clementine", along with an amount of money that was hidden by a drop of blood. "Only a fool would buy information from an informant with this in his pocket, it risks both him and the informant..." Al said. "I had to see many informant while searching for my brothers' island. It took a lot of calls, but one of them was skilled enough to know who you are" Al explained, he obviously had some connections in the right places. "You're obviously good at what you do Mr. Clementine, keeping yourself off the radar like that, I had to go through my entire list just to figure out what you were dealing, and I could surely use someone like you with me" Al said. "I can promise you access to more connections, a real foothold in the business, if you'll help me" Al said.

He then leaned back in his chair. "I can promise you both power and control if that's what you're after, I know I do, but it works in both ways" Al said. "So, what will it be?".

Terry dropped the blade and held back his temper.This wasnt good for Terrys psyche, but seeing the scared nurse was enough to make him stop. He wouldnt risk going wild here, not where there were innocent people. Terry then took his coat and wore it, and latched his sword to his back and followed Kalik, he turned and apologized to the nurse who patted him on the head and told him it was alright. Terry though didnt believe those kind words, he could still smell the fear off her. Terry put it behind him and followed Kalik "So where are we going? Im not a rebel or anything, but im guessing this as something to do with the shitheads who were running this place right?"

Meeting Al Montgomery listened to everything he had to say Montgomery remained silent thinking bout everything he had to say before he finally said.

"Informants don't really work very well if we're known. We operate under the shadows. But as for helping you and gaining power. . . well I don't think I'd want to say no to that. I'd be more than happy to join you and if this means getting more contacts then I'm certain it would be beneficial joining you. But I feel I should mention that my prime goal in life isn't actually to gain power or notoriety, I do believe that is the main goal of most pirates but seeing as I'm an informant I feel it would be best to remain in the shadows. The only goals I have involve becoming stronger seeing as I nearly lost in that battle with Shen & I would also like to get revenge on my sister. I seem to rambling at the moment so I will reveal more to you at a later date when it really matters but until then I think I can leave it. You have your self and informant Al, I look forward to working with you, but may I ask a few questions about that power of yours, I feel it would be very beneficial for me to gain knowledge about it."

Removing his notebook and a pencil he flicked it to an open page and wrote down information about Al's appearance and personality then noted Devil Fruit Powers He raised his head to look at Al hoping to hear about his devil fruit.

Lance listened carefully to the words that Al spoke. While Al would be speaking, he would not move a single inch and he would stare at him all the time in order to not miss a single word. The man with the gibus hat was proposing him something that seemed to be pretty good and something which would benefit him. He was asking him to join his crew and in return he would help him track down Victor. Now that was something amazing... Not only Al was giving the chance for Lance to search for Victor, but also Lance was being given the chance to stick with some powerful people who would be able to help him a lot in his battle against Victor. With a smile on his face, Lance started flying towards Al. He moved towards him and he raised his hand swiftly, while saying "All your gifts are marvelous... Power... Control... I really respect this. However, I have only one request... Can you promise me... revenge? If you can do that, be ready to shake my hand and accept me into your crew as a member. If you cannot, then I guess I have to decline your offer.". Even if Lance was pretty sure that Al could offer him what he wanted, he could not do anything else but ask him. He was more than ready to join his crew but he would have to learn if his future captain would help him at everything he needed, before he would join his crew as his crew's swordsman.

"You bet" Kalik said without turning around as he walked through the bazaar, with people cheering on either side of him, both for him and Terry. "Heroes! Heroes!" They chanted.

Al flashed a thin smile, everything was going according to plan, he was about to get two crew mates, possibly even three if the last candidate won't be as troublesome as reported. "Gentlemen, I can get you anything you want, as long as you'll stand by my side" Al claimed. "I can share any information you want with you Montgomery, but I'm no fool. If you turn on me, and sell this information, know that I'll be after you" Al said. He then turned to Lance. "I can promise you revenge, and more. Hell, revenge is the main reason I came to this place in the first place" Al said as he spread his arms to both sides. But before he could say anything else, the room door was pushed in and two more people joined the meeting, Kalik, the old man who brought Al and Lance to the Tavern, and Terry, who fought beside Lance against Jekyll.

"We can discuss it all later, it looks like our final guests have finally arrived" Al said, signaling for Terry and Kalik to take sits. Al then rested his gaze on Terry. "I don't know much about you, but I managed to get your name from a pirate named Jon Boulder, Terry" Al said, "I don't know what you do, and I don't know what you're after, but I do know one thing, and it's that you are a devil fruit user" He explained. "That throw you performed against Jekyll, that was not an ordinary throw, you were clearly using something beyond your human abilities, and I'm very interested in that 'something'" Al said. "I could use a guy like you by my side, I need your power, and in return, I'm willing to give you anything you want, regardless of the cost" Al said. It sounded ridiculous, like Al thought he was some sort of wish granter, but it was true. All Al cared about was avenging his father's betrayal, nothing more and nothing less, and he was willing to do anything to achieve his goal. He didn't reveal his goals, there was a time and a place for this, and it wasn't here or now with Kim and Kalik in the room.

Terry sat back and felt the mans gaze on him. To be honest, it wasnt so intimidating as he expected it to be. When he asked him to join his force Terry sighed. To be honest, company wasnt something he was good at. But Terry looked upon the mans face and could tell at least his invitation was sincere. Terry then pointed two fingers up "There are two problems, number 1, i do not use my ability, i almost NEVER use it , unless its necessary and number 2 , you havent told me at all what you want to achieve, it could be anything and i dont like a project which doesnt suit my interests, oh and 3rd thing, i dont play well with others....." Terry then sat back waiting for a response.

Al predicted that Terry would be the most problematic of the bunch, but he desperately needed Terry's abilities for his future plans. "Well, I guess there's no point in postponing it any further" Al sighed. He wanted to reveal his plans after him and his crew left the island, so to not irritate Kim and Kalik, but the support of Terry and the others was much more crucial to his plan than the support of Kim and Kalik, meaning that he'll have to reveal it now for the sake of getting Terry to join him. "As you may or may not have heard, I, Alphonse B. Clyde, am the son of the famous Captain Longbeard, and the half brother of both Jekyll and Hyde" Al explained. The only person in the room who possibly hasn't heard this before was Terry. "When my dead died, his will shifted the control of Krooka island to Jekyll and Hyde, and the control of the second island he owned to my remaining older half sister, Mary Juliana, leaving me with absolutely nothing" Al said, clutching his fists as he did, the very mentioning of his father's betrayal was humiliating to him.

He did his best to regain his composure before continuing. "My father betrayed me, and my mother, and I had to get back what I deserved, and so I did" Al said, flashing an evil grin. At this point, Kim rose from his sit and raised an accusing finger at Al. "You fought Jekyll and Hyde just for revenge! You never intended to help us!" Kim shouted. That was the thing Al feared will happen, but he prepared a backup plan for such an occasion. "I did, but I also gave you and your comrades practical control of this island. Me and these three fighters helped you liberate your people, so I suggest you to be thankful for that instead of questioning our motives " Al spat angrily. He tried to make it sound like him and his three future crew mates were already a united force, to attract Terry's and the others' loyalty. Kim's hand shook, but he understood what Al was saying and sat back down a moment later.

"Of course, my revenge won't be completed until I took my sister's island as well, and as my half brothers noted, that would be much harder than taking Krooka Island back" Al continued calmly. "And this is where you all enter the picture. I need power, manpower, to take that island. I need you three to help me, and in return, I'll promise to help you achieve whatever goal you desire" Al explained, his motives finally revealed to all. He then rose form his sit and rested his long shotgun on his shoulder, his head almost hitting the chandelier above him because of his great height. "I will not force any of you to join me, or accept my leadership, but if you wish to live up to your expectations, meet me in the docks in one hour, and we will set sail" Al said. He then toppled his Gibus instead of bowing down before exiting the room and heading down the hallway, giving Lance Montgomery and Terry time to consider his offer.

[To rush things up, we'll be departing in my next post, so you should each post your char's course of action for one hour, time skipping to the departure]

Revenge huh? Revenge was all consuming, no one knew that more than Terry, revenge was also great, it was something to strive for. Terry could completely understand Al, he felt Als pain as he spoke about his father. Terrys father never betrayed him, but he still hampered Terrys growth when he was young. Terry then spoke to Kim "And you would have done the same.... no one is ever going to help you out of the kindness of their heart you stupid girl..... so why not accept his help and THANK HIM, without him, your people would have been suffering for years to come...." Terry then turned to Al before he left the room "I will join you... simply because you and i are very similar..... my goals are not too important, but i will do whatever i can to help your revenge.... i dont need to think it over, ill be your help....." Terry got up for a bit and walked to the door, as he walked he remembered the scene in the rain, the feeling of water on his face, as he killed the person who slained his beloved. That feeling of pain crept up. Terry needed it again. He then said "Can i go somewhere for a while?"

After hearing everything Al had to say to himself Terry & Lance Montgomery nodded. He understood perfectly what Al wanted and figured travelling with him would provide useful towards himself since he could offer higher up contacts. Montgomery was more than happy to join him and stood up looking Al in the eye.

"Of course I'd love to join you since fighting alongside you I managed to gain some notoriety and fame I suppose you could say. It was nice to be noticed again like I used to. It was nostalgic I guess you could say. I would like to live the high life again and since you speak of all these contacts you have I would very much like to join you as it would be very beneficial to myself."

Montgomery offered his hand to seal the deal between himself & Al.

He couldn't wait to set sail alongside such a classy looking man a fellow monocle wearer. He grinned at him and would've set off to pack up his belongings if he had any other than those on his back but instead he ran his hand over his injury and felt a weak surge of pain.

As Al traveled down the decorated hall, a grin appeared on his face. He could hear the supporting calls of Montgomery and Terry, everything was going according to plan.

[Time Skip: One Hour Later]

A group of dock workers worked vigorously on a medium-sized ship that docked there. It resembled a marine ship, except for its black and brown painting, and a pirate flag that was waving from the tall mast: A cracked skull sporting Al's tall Gibus hat. The dock workers were ordered to prepare the ship for a voyage, following all of Al's orders as a repayment for his help in bringing don the Garuda Brothers. As the busy workers ran around the dock, hoisting crates and planks around, Al watched over the dock from a comfortable spot, pleased with the results. The ship, or as he called it, The Classy Slug, wasn't the ideal ship for traveling around the Grand Line, and had very little to protect the crew with, but it was durable enough to survive the weather, and that was good enough for now.

"Sir!" A dock worker called as he sprinted towards Al, before stopping in front of him and catching his breath. "Sir, how much food will you need for your voyage?" The worker asked, pointing to a stack of crates that were labeled with names of various foods and drinks. Al glanced at the stack of crates with a pleased expression, helping these islanders out might have been the best financial move he could have done. "Enough to feed 4 people, and a large bird, for a week" Al answered calmly. "Yes sir!" The dock worker called before sprinting back to the group that waited next to the crates.

Al had the next destination of the crew planned out, and assumed it'll take them about a week to reach it. He could have asked for more, but preferred to keep the ship as light as possible to make the voyage quick and clean. Besides, they could always fish for food if the situation will call for it. "Is everything to your liking?" A voice called from behind Al. It was Kim, who took a spot besides Al to observe the preparations for the voyage. "It is, but I'm still missing the medical supplies, and the loot" Al answered with a straight face. When Kim and Al devised the plan for ruling the island after the Garuda Brothers were imprisoned, they had an agreement: The treasure that the brothers kept inside the palace will go to the island's recovery and wealth, while the treasure in their ships will go to Al, for the sake of his voyage.

"The medical supplies you asked for is being packed as we speak, and the loot is being collected" Kim answered. He seemed to have forgiven Al's misguidance after Terry's words. Kim was smart, and knew that having Al as his ally will benefit him more than crossing paths with him. And besides, once Al takes off, Kim will finally have the free island he always dreamed about. "Excellent, but I have one more request to make" Al said as he turned to face Kim, who seemed pretty surprised. "What is it?" He asked. "Jekyll and Hyde, I want you to provide them with medical care, give Hyde a new set of teeth, and cure Jekyll's throat, but don't let neither of them out of their cells or out of their cuffs unless I ask you to" Al explained. Kim's face twisted in bitterness, he planned on executing the brothers since Al had nothing to gain from them anymore. "May I ask why?" Kim asked bitterly.

Hearing the question, Al chuckled and turned to face the docks once again, his hands crossed behind his back and his gaze lying on a large amount of leather sacks that was moved from the Two-Faced Pirate ships to his own. "No you may not".

[[At the classy slug]]

Terry walked along the ship, he placed his hands on it and moved his hands along the ship as he walked to the entrance. This was such an unpolished ship, it needed new everything. But still Terry grinned when he saw the ship, at least it was a decent enough base that could be improved upon. He then looked around as he headed up stairs "Your ship needs new sails...... but i have an idea... instead of Sails, how about cola powered turbines? I had been planning on getting rid for the use of sails to use wind energy to harness the ships movements...." And unknown to everyone, a girl was watching Terry as he worked, it seemed he was happy, Terry knew she was there, but he knew she was also not real, it was just another hallucination, but he was still glad to see the woman he loved watching over him doing something he enjoyed, Terry smiled widely for the first time in day as he showed Al his notebook.

Making his way to the Classy Slug Montgomery was enjoying the praise from people in town. As he had begun to walk back through town struggling a little the towns people had cheered and given him the occasional gifts and so on. He had gratefully taken them and was now heading to the docks. He saw a ship with a jolly roger wearing a Gibus then looked to Al guessing this ship was his. Approaching it he saw Kim and smiled. Seeing him speaking to Al he didn't want to bother him but he did however want to thank him for the pills as they had made him feel much better.

Feeling another surge of pain as he took another step with his cane he popped another pill into his mouth and stood looking up at the Classy Slug.

((Terribly sorry guys, I'm having some problems both with my spare time and my RPing motivation))

Hearing Al's obnoxious answer, Kim frowned in frustration. He turned away from Al and walked down to the dock, meaning to help the workers load Al's equipment on the ship as quickly as possible, so he could finally start rebuilding the island. In the meantime, Al was glad to see Terry on the ship, and even more glad to hear that he was in fact a shipwright, which was bound to save him a lot of time, effort and money in the long run. "As long as you know what you're doing Terry, consider this ship as your own" He called as the final sack of golden coins was taken down to the ship's haul. That money was crucial for Al's plan. According to the information his brothers supplied, his sister's island was far more protected than Krooka Island, meaning that he'll need a greater manpower to take it down, and that money was meant to achieve exactly that.

Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, Al turned his head to see Montgomery, another important addition to his crew, whose presence calmed another one of Al's nerves. "I'm glad to see you've made the right choice" Al said with a grin in the corner of his lip, "Come, I'll show you where we're headed". Then, after gesturing for Montgomery to follow him, Al stepped towards the ship, pulling a map out of his back pocket and unfolding it on the ship's rail so both Montgomery and Terry could see it.

After a quick scan of the map, Al raised his index finger and placed it down on a drawing of a small island not too far from Krooka Island. According to the map, the island was a perfect circle. "This right here is Desmal Coin, better known as the layered island" Al explained calmly, while a shadow of a large bird passed over the group as Lance, the third and final addition to the crew landed on the deck and joined the briefing. "As its name suggests, the layered island consists of more than one layer, two to be exact, one over the other. The top layer, Desmal Heads, is a highly populated, WG renowned area, with occasional marine presence, and a lot of civilians. Unfortunately, the amount of arrests has escalated significantly in the past few months, leading to the capture and imprisonment of many pirates" Al explained. "On the other hand, the bottom layer, Desmal Tails, is a thriving pirate gathering spot. It is below sea level, and no marine will dare to set foot there" Al said proudly.

He then raised his finger from the map and stretched his long hands to both sides. "It may be risky to get there, but once we'll manage to get to Tails, recruiting easy manpower will be a smooth ride" Al explained. "It's one week of sailing away in the current weather, with a possible deviation here or there, and I can't think of any better place to start looking for manpower in, or for a high bounty devil fruit user" Al admitted, looking at Lance. "What do you say gentlemen?".

Seeing how Al explained about the next place they were to visit Montgomery nodded. It seemed that Al had allot of knowledge about these islands and it was a good thing too since he had none about some of them. In fact it was partly the reason he was out at sea, to learn more information. Looking at the man he could see how proud he was at his victory over this island.

As Al explained about the island with two layers Montgomery realised how different islands were the further you got from his home town. He was happy to be out and about sailing again. As Al finished explaining their next destination he grinned and nodded to Al.

"It sounds like a fine plan to me Captain, I'm up for it, hopefully I should be able to find some more contacts in the lower Pirate layer of the island. I look forward to it and this week will give me some time to get better acquainted with the rest of you, which I must say I do look forward to since you are an interesting bunch."

Terry read his notebook and nodded as Al said this ship was to be treated like his own. He started doing a basic drawing and sat down on the side of the deck, there was some work to do, but the long term of it was to add wind turbines to the ships mast, or replace the mast all together. Terry was momentarily distracted by the word desmal tails, tht place would definitely have the parts and the material to do it, Terry didnt say anything but nodded in agreement with Al.

Lance was listening to the words of Al. Things were turning interesting and now Al was saying to him in his own way that he would help him chase down Victor and slay him. That visit on Krooka Island turned out to be actually very helpful... If Lance did not land on the island to see what was going on while Al was battling with the goons of the Garuda brothers, this chance would not be given. Now, Lance had some allies to fight with and this was the best... Even if he liked working by himself, Lance was something more than delighted to know that he had somebody to back him up and it was much more better because he knew that the people who backed him up were not weak at all. "I like your idea, captain..." Lance said to Al, accepting him as his captain. "We will get to that island and we will cut down Victor's neck... And when I do that and find my own body, I will be something more than useful here... I will regain my full strength and then I will show you that it was nothing more than a gift of Fate your meeting with me!" Lance said to Al.