SERIOUS: Reconnaisance Unit, Chapter 2: Broken Bonds and the Mysterious Predator of the Valens Mountain Range (OPEN to Shad0w and Cryptic Terror)

At the unknown location where Hawks is.
"So ... this is ... why this all occurred?" Hawks says, while he looks at some documents, he was addressing to none other than Brosko, the perverted ape-man. The documents on his hands seemed to contain some sort of maps, alongside coordinates and some notes. However, it didn't seemed like this was the reason he asked what he asked. Brosko, on a large, long plank, which must have been some sort of makeshift "bed" for them to lay down the injured opponent, who, despite being an opponent was now treated in a more neutral, if not alliance-like way, hisses at the magician, before he closes his eyes, and places his broad, furry hand in front of his face. His voice was somewhat wimpy. "Yes ... that is exactly why I did that! .. Don't you try to judge me, pirate, it's not like the likes of you would just kindly offer your assistance if asked to!.."

"That is only half true." Hawks says, while glaring at the man, who, stops speaking and slightly opens up his fingers, previously tightly hiding his face from his presence (the magician's), looking at Hawks. "It is true that we'd have no obligation to assist you, even if you was to plead. However, it is also true that, as pirates, our goal to reach such an inhospitable and unforgiving place, was most likely something that pirates would want to associated with. So, the reasonable conclusion would be a treasure. You, being the "master" of these lands, and with your knowledge, could easily offer to assist us, in exchange for "that". Am I, in any way, wrong?"

To that, Brosko was merely left to grunt in displease, which was followed by him taking away his hand from his face completely. "I can't possibly be sure that this is how it'd go." "You'd still have a better chance to get something out of it, than to engage in combat, or in this face, abduction, with us. We are members of one of the more dangerous crew, after all, that should give you a clear indication of how foolish you was." It was true, and he was right, and Brosko simply had no hope of winning this argument of sorts. Sighing heavily, he looks at the magician. "So, even with that in mind, your offer .. it was true?"

"Indeed. Despite what happened, your knowledge could still be an asset to our search. Even with the documents taken and our own Intel, we'd need a man of these lands to assist. So, are you willing to cooperate?"

Jade & Sasori vs ???
What originally seemed to be just a faint, almost beautiful and certainly good to the eye, snow falling, had already begun to turn into a blizzard. How bizarre, it wasn't really that far off from the site of the molten lava still flowing onto the cold lands. It was just some miles away, but, allas, that was how the Grand Line was. What would be normal or more-expected into the calmer seas, like the Blues, was not bound to occur over here, too.

The problem here, aside the obvious problems of such a condition being dangerous for living beings, was that it coincided with the assault of that unknown force of creatures, to Jade and the bladed scorpion friend of hers. Sasori quivers his bladed arms vigorously, and keeps moving it's surprisingly nimble head from side to side, trying to locate and identify the opponent. If it was just one opponent, that is. Then, suddenly, not long after a glancing blow was delivered to Jade, another attempt was executed. This time, higher speed, and aiming better. The initial strike wasn't a miss, or a dodged move. It was to test the waters. Whatever this thing was, one thing was certain. It was at one with the current, blizzard, condition of the battlefield. And it knew that too well.

After the snow turned from and enticing display of the delicate purity of nature - the brutality revealed itself. She lost her footing several times on the unforgiving ice - the sudden change was perilous - as soon as the snow fell it melted slightly only to be rapidly converted to ice by the plummeting temperature as still more snow fell, adding to the layer of ice. Her human form wasn't equipped to endure such an environment - she was a child of the desert.

Her body gave way to the savage sphinx whose vicious claws and thick golden fur could endure the cold and find traction int the treacherous ice. Green, glowing eyes glimmered as a stak contrast to the beautiful, pure, and deceptively deadly white falling around them. Her wings were spread giving a slight reprieve and partially sheltering the large scorpion who also was a creature of the desert. If thing got desperate Sasori could resume his sword form and find a safe warm spot against her hip.

A cold sharp blow impacts the Spinx, she falls to her knees, absorbing the shock in forward momentum, rather than her bones - cold deadly eyes scan the arctic terrain for the source of the attack.Beautiful elegant motions of surefooted paws silently stalk ahead as her body grows progressively smaller, eventually disappearing in its small domestic cat form as she searches the storm the her attacker. This golden cat was on the prowl, separated from her crew and with a scorpion to protect, there would be blood and hell to pay for this offense.

The unidentified creatures, as if toying around with the sphinx, and the fact that indeed they had the upper hand by being clothed into a vastness of white, something they were familiar to since at birth, begin to circle around the sphinx and the scorpion. A circle that was slowly, yet painstakingly vigorously, getting smaller and smaller, a circle forged by constant movement of the entities, which, in conjunction with the weather's current condition, was keeping them from being visible, blurred up, toned-down white images that were spinning around as if razor sharp claws.

And then, they seized shortening their encircling grasp on to them. Still spinning around, however, it seemed like they were more than just toying. Or rather, they were interested in more than just to play around with what was obviously more of a pray to them, rather than an unwelcome pair of guests. They were, seemingly, intentionally stalling, intentionally trying to cause mental damage via fear and impatience. So, it was safe to assume that these creatures had some degree of intelligence, too. Or, they were guided by something with the intelligence to arrange them into such a position and behavior towards the trespassers.

OOC: bumps o.o"

OOC: On it. <3

The tiny sphinx begins to grow, progressively and seamlessly into her full beast form, towering and ferocious. Oddly, she was purring, the low frequency of the sound detectable over the storm for a material dense enough. The dense exoskeleton of the scorpion could pick up the vibrations of her purr to determine their location, should that become useful.

Her golden fur brushed against the scorpion and she moves past it, focusing on the spinning figures aloft among the wind gusts. Their pattern was erratic and unfocused. She noticed them closing in without making any attempt to attack. Her anger was rising as she struggled to keep an eye on them in the turmoil of the storm. No attacking and anger - precisely what she was meant to feel.

Being trapped with no conflict, no visible escape, and nothing that can be directly attacked - a frustrated hostage in an invisible cage ... but why? Thinking about it only make her angrier - she struggles to swallow it. The first on to succumb to anger always loses. It was one of the most difficult lessons.

The snow began to build around her golden paws and she watched, waiting ... they couldn't keep this up forever and a hungry cat was a terrible thing to annoy. She kept herself between her enemies and Sasori - she'd never forgive herself if anything happened to that adorable arachnid.

Suddenly, while this snowy mayhem continued, a figure amongst the shadowy figures moving around seemed different. While the rest looked massive and feral, this one seemed to be more human-shaped. Was there a human leading this assault? The answer was to be answered very soon.

"Who is it that dares to trespass into my territory? I see .. a golden lion, and an over-sized shrimp .. what kind of a circus freak duet is this that walks into my lands?" The voice was deep, rough and really dominant. Whoever this was, if it even was human after all, seemed to be a person that took pride of himself and the lands he claimed were his, and was seemingly not above looking down on whoever would walk inside. But wasn't Brosko supposed to be the person controlling this snowy mountains?

Meanwhile, Hawks is flying; well, not really, but Ferdinards can fly, and Hawks is actually riding on him. He seems worried. "We got the information and stuff we needed but .. to think that this foolish baboon wasn't the true thing to worry about .. we need to find Jade before she accidentally steps into that part of this place."

Shrimp? Jade eyed her clawed arachnid friend to see if he would take offense to being confused with a crustacean. This bloody island kept getting worse and stranger. She was somewhere between being bored of and being exasperated with the constant barrage of nonsense this island had to offer. She sat up quite straight and looped her tail neatly around her front paws and waited for things to unfold. She rather wished she had a bit of tea. No wonder this cursed place wasn't on any of her maps - it was best avoided.

"Now what? Did you just stumble onto this barely habitable slice of hell in recent months and claim it in the name of your ego after living a previous life of being ostracized for being a self-absorbed, insufferable container of heated air? By all means - launch a meaningless attack on a pair of strangers while lamenting your devastating back story that justifies your baseless acts upon lost travelers who have no interest in this truly awful island. We haven't got all day and the 'shrimp' is hungry."

"Hm?"
A whistling sound follows that grumpy-like exclamation, and the swirling assault comes to a complete halt. Only now was it perfectly clear what those creatures were. Those were Lapahs. A creature known to inhabit the snowy mountains of Drum Kingdom. A race known for it's ferocity and brutality, as well as cunning and organized tactics to subdue and hunt down prey and intruders alike. And, in the middle of this herd of over-sized white rabbits, there was ... a short man, that was apparently wearing nothing more than a pair of jeans. Yet, many parts of his overly muscular body were covered in fur, fur similar in colorization with the one those pets of his had. The most disturbing features, however, were the fact that he also had a bunny hat, that even had pink inner ears, as well as the fact that his face, with that oblate nose and annoyingly blue eyes, seemed disgustingly familiar, as well as unpleasantly familiar.

"I was born in these lands, Golden Lion. No one has ostracized me, and no one discarded me here. I have no hatred for anyone, but, these are my lands. And ... I hate people." The man says, basically contradicting himself in the same phrase. "I also hate my brother. Brosko. Whoever comes here, it's his fault. Therefore ... I hate you!"
Another one that turned out to make no sense at all!

"I do not care what you hate - do you think the entire world must bow to your likes and dislikes? No one cares about your preferences for various things in the world nor your bloody relatives. Being born in a particular land does not mean that it belongs to you - apparently you have also inherited your awful brother's lust to possess everything the light touches. I suppose it wont bother you that if I see your brother again, I will be the last thing he sees before he dies with his soft neck between my jaws."

The sight of this creature combined with the memory of the vile and bloody thing the ape-like creature had done to her during her captivity still stirred a need for vengeance and blood in her soul - but she would not take that punishment out on this innocent creature, despite his bizarre irrationality.

"I have no reason to be here. I should have been gone some time ago - but your idiot brother prevented my departure in the most deplorable of ways. I'll leave you to wallow in your hatred of everything - that must be a very fulfilling life for you. Enjoy that, bunny herder.
"

"..." The shorter, differently-shaped -yet still bizarre in all ways- yet potentially just as annoying man remained silent as Jade responded to his statements. Apparently, he wasn't the type of person to willingly include herself into such complicated -and, unaware to him, stupid and annoying- situations. In fact, he seemed like he lost all interest, or will, to harass her and her companion any further. At least, the impression was this, until an unexpected thing was to change this.

Suddenly, the man disappears. And then, Sasori, reflexively moving forward, seems to glare at the direction, and it seems rather nervous, if not scared, before it violently gets knocked to the side, smashing away and onto some rocks nearby, with incredible speed and force. The poor creature lets out a squeal of distress, before it seemingly faints. The short man stands there, with one of his palms extended, smoke was sizzling from his hand. "Your shrimp is .. quite fast. I was going to attack you, instead ...!"

A fight seemed inevitable now.

The big cat narrowed her eyes as the scorpion smashed against the rocks. She licked the visible cuts on the creatures face and side, releasing healing enzymes to work on the unconscious arachnid. Looking up, her vicious glare lands upon the aggressor - an echoing lion's roar escapes her lips filled with rage and pain. "You'll pay dearly for that." Her little dagger friend that tried to kill her upon their first meeting was very dear to her and she was viciously protective of the endearing little fellow. She would not hesitate to tear this bastards throat out for what he'd done. The sphinx leaped at the creature, claws extended and teeth bared - blinded by rage and thirsting for vengeance.

"Come at me, Golden Lion!" The equally obnoxious to Brosko, albeit a shorter version of him, yells back at Jade, before he makes a rather embarrassing pose, with arms raised and placed above his odd ears, and one of his legs extended forward, in a painful to watch, "battle" stance. Immediately after, the pain in the ass of a human leaps forward, at a remarkable, astonishing speed, and dashes straight towards Jade's path. They were both going on a collision course, in other words. As the draw nearer, he moves one of his arms backwards, his palm open and with fingers connected with each other. "Beast Killer Code; Slay Dagger!" he shouts, in a high-pitched, irritating tone, which was followed by his mouth opening in such a stupid way, it looked like a duck's mouth.

Jade was annoyed to be draw into another pointless battle by a delusional simpleton completely misinterpreting the very temporary presence of her crew. Given little choice, she readies herself for battle, folding her wings over her back, claws ready to shred. Just before the two can meet, there is a blinding flash a light and both warriors fall backward.

A massive figure stands over the fallen fighter, with hands on hips. A huge, statuesque woman towers over bother of them, purple eyes narrowed as she snarls. "YOU TWO CLOWNS! I give you and your idiot brother one tiny UNINHABITED ISLAND to oversee - one equipped with a core of volcanoes so you can warn sailors of the icebergs - like a natural lighthouse - and you idiots manage to destroy the island and wreck ships? Where the hell did this cat thing come from? You and your bother's exotic taste in women isn't healthy - that awful wife of his isn't good enough for him and this grotesque thing certainly isn't good enough for you. Get these people and your selves off of this failed frozen experiment. You two have failed - I can no longer claim you as my sons nor heirs to our kingdom. You can't even rule an UNINHABITED land with out reducing it to ashes and killing anyone who happens by. The guards are here to collect you."

Jade stood, confused, sitting up straight like a proper cat with her paws fully aligned in front of her. After some time, she opened her mouth to protest, "...but I'm not- I only"

"SILENCE" The woman thundered at her before turning back to her shattered son. "Take your people and go."

"Uhh, huff, what was that? .." Noticing the figure above him, he immediately opens his mouth widely, letting out a very high pitched squeal. "GYAH, SOME WEIRDO APPEARED!" and then again, a split second later, he squeals yet again, louder, whilst extending his arms. "GYAH, MO-SAMA! I DID NOT MEAN TO OFFEND YOU!"

The situation had quickly shifted from odd and potentially dangerous to .. just odd. Apparently this towering female was in some way related to the man, although the fact that the short weirdo initially shouted out that "another weirdo"-quite an irony that he, of all people, spoke out these exact words- was making things a tad questionable. Nonetheless, he obviously seemed to know her, so perhaps he was simply .. even more of an idiot than expected. Which didn't seemed that odd, in this searing sea of oddness.

The lapahs, or else, over-sized, mean bunnies, were also quite rattled by this appearance, and in fact begun running away in fear, clear sigh that whoever she really was, she was probably the one to be labeled "the boss". Meanwhile, the annoying, "mini Brosko" was on his knees, and bending down, his hands barely touching the female's toes. "My apologies, Mo-chan! I mean no harm! ... Brosko was the bad boy, go spank him!"

Why were all situations Jade was involved with, willingly or otherwise, always so bizarre and .. odd?

"CHAN?! I'm your MOTHER! Let me teach you some RESPECT!" The large creature roared with such ferocity that everything in front of it experience hurricane level winds. The little sphinx was both confused and horrified by the creature but seemed relieved that it had the good since to know its children were indeed idiots.

The creature thundered over to its sniveling child still carrying on about respect and the requirements of managing a functioning kingdom. It appeared that the two brothers were princes whose awful taste in women was only matched by their unforgivable stupidity. No wonder they had such a terrifying parent.

Jade gradually shrunk in size in a silent, unnoticeable way while those two were distracted. Careful paws shifted in the snow with precision and silence. Carefully she approached her fallen friend. Purring she nuzzled against Sasori to wake him in the quietest way possible, hoping her would remain quite so they could get the hell out of there.

In spite of the situation becoming more and more bizarre and awkward, it was true that, finally, a window of opportunity had appeared; a chance to escape that weirdo, and leave this place, possibly soon leave this entire region, at last! However, while attempting to awaken her scorpion friend, things were about to take a turn for the worse; rather, the more and more (and more) odd and unpleasant.

"Hm? Mo-chan .. something appears over the horizon ..." The pathetically annoying, bunny-eared man mutters, while whipping -a terrible thing to watch- on her feet again. His observation was not mistaken, however. Something was visible, and actually, that something was getting larger. Or rather, it was coming closer.

"There they are!" Hawks shoots, whilst raising his rapier, ready for combat, riding ... the oversized cock-man. Why was he attacking them anyway?!


Some moments earlier, while he and Richards, excuse me, the oversized cock-man, were flying towards that direction, when suddenly ...
"I see conflict up ahead..."
"What? I can't see much more than a white, turbulent landscape spreading across my eyesight."
"My eyes are special ..."
"Either way, do you locate Jade?"
"Indeed, she is under attack..."
"What? Go faster, we have to aid her!"

How noble (and stupidly ignorant)!

The Sphinx remained nuzzling her scorpion friend, growing more visibly upset that he remained unresponsive. No matter how good the opportunity was to escape, she would never leave him like this. Something loud catches her attention. Of all bloody times for her crew to turn up, they only come when quiet and stealth are needed - the very thing that every last one of them were 100% awful at.

Since their silent escape was doomed before it began, Jade shifts from her cat form into her human one, putting Sasori's head on her lap. She strokes his head, singing softly. Despite her inherited siren abilities, she had not used them since joining the Black Cross crew Perhaps the creature would calm and recover quickly.

The towering creature remained yelling at her imbecile son, and had taken notice of neither the sphinx, nor the approaching crew. " ... You are both disinherited from the throne. We are adopting your cousin - you two clowns will single-highhandedly run this kingdom into the ground if set free. I care too much for the land to subject it to the burden of your profound idiocy. You and your idiot brother are no longer sons of mine I cannot abide ---" The creatures words were cut short as a faint melody reaches her ears. She suddenly falls into a deep sleep, mid-sentence, while standing up, her finger still pointing toward her son astonishingly. "ZzZzZzZzZz" What a curious effect.

"Eeeeeh?! Mo-chan fell asleep while standing?!" The imbecile squeals in amazement and surprise, only for his eyelids to almost immediately become heavy. "Come to think of it, I am feeling rather sleepy .. Oh, I know!" he moves his head backwards, before he, inexplicably, slam it against the frozen ground with a considerable amount of force. "Vital Spirit!"

Meanwhile, Hawks notices that something about their speed and trajectory is off. "Hey, what are you doin-HEY, WHY ARE YOU ASLEEP?!" Hawks loses it and yells in shock. Much like the bunny ears, however, he too feels the effects moments afterwards. "This sound .. could it come from ..?" he does not even manage to complete his sentence, before him and the cock smash down, and right onto the idiot, causing a large boom, and a load of snow and ice to be blasted around. What a mess!

"Gyah, what in the world?!" Brosko's brother yells, while holding his bleeding forehead, while looking around, unable to understand what had happened. "My my .. that sure is an unsettling headache ..." a familiar voice is heard from within now discarded snow, a voice that is slightly altered from the usual, however. "And you, who are you? Your appearance bothers my taste."

Oh .. someone's back.

The towering parent of the pair of idiots remained trapped in a deep slumber, unaware of the new pack of idiots who were just arriving. The look on her face was peaceful and relaxed - which never happened - it almost made her look like a different person with all of the frown lines and angry scowls were removed.

Jade was becoming more worried by every passing moment she got no response from her little scorpion friend. She continued to stroke his head, the effect of her voice magnified by her worry. She vaguely noticed the arrival of the rest of her crew along with their bizarre company. She watched them tumble and crash to the ground, sending a light flutter of snow to settle on her hair and eyelashes. Her song never broke but the slight alteration of a particular voice did not escape her notice. Familiar ... what could it mean? She couldn't thing about that now - she had to worry about Sasori.

"You ... you insolent! You harmed the prince of these lands!" Brosko's brother shouts to the man, who was no other than Hawks himself, while tightening his fists in anger. Hawks meanwhile, was looking around, placing his hand on his forehead, slightly bending his head backwards, as if an expression of disgust. "Your voice is also awful. Why are you in my path? I have no business with a nobody like you." His demeanor had drastically changed. In fact, such arrogance and sense that he is superior, it was familiar in a rather .. awkward way.

Sasori was still knocked unconscious, resting his head on Jade's lap. Meanwhile, the weirdo, taking that odd battle position he had earlier when he tried to have a skirmish with Jade, declares his intentions. "I will kill you, to make an example of what happens when you dare badmouth me! You fool!" Hawks then turns towards him, with a sassy, smirk on his lips, mischievous eyes.

"Badmouth? You just ooze out incompetence. Just perish already, Frog-bunny." Apparently he's struck a nerve, as the shortie's eyes narrow, his expression changing to an outraged one. "I am not a frog! Just die!" he lashes out, high speed and elusive movements. However, displaying astonishing calmness, even for Hawks himself, the blonde male merely moves his arm forward, while making a step forward. "Kaeru Kiragiri!"

The shortie is slashed horizontally all across his torso, and spinning into the air, while Hawks, displaying incredible "badass" vibes, calmly prepares to sheathe his blade already. "Just die, you annoy me." turning his head around, he adds up "Now, to look for my favorite food..~!"

Oh dear, could it be? Ero-Hawks?!

Despite her trance like state, Jade remained wary of her surrounding, determined to protect her fallen friend. She watched the brothers carefully - they seemed to be immune to her vocal persuasions. Odd - she could never quite tell who or what would be affected. It even affected herself - giving a calming, rational effect, which was precisely when she wasn't savagely ripping apart the creature who did this to her friend. His health was more important than her vengeance.

She pulled a caterpillar from her pocket and rested it on the scorpions head, hoping his favourite treat would do some good. The movement of her crew mate seemed different. He seemed much swifter and more competent than usual. As he slipped passed the dangerous enemy, it seemed as though nothing happened - seconds later she saw the bloody evidence of the smash that was too fast for her eyes to detect. She was so surprised that her melody almost stopped. Mysterious Hawks - what kind of secrets had he been hiding?

It had begun to snow again, even more snow was clinging to her hair, giving it a silvery sheen that glittered in the moon light, causing her song to be even more haunting. She failed to notice how cold she was as flakes of snow settled on her cheeks and lips. She caught herself eying the skillful blade of her crew mate - what was it about a superior skill with swords that is so hypnotic? Sirens were notorious masters of melodic illusion and manipulation - but this one was weak to the beautiful song of steel.

While Hawks and Jade were the only ones left still conscious over their area, a closer look at the other parties would be useful -the ability for the writer to state such a thing .. just ignore it, the need was felt for him to behave as a narrator-.

Ginji's party

Ginji was seemingly inside what looked like yet another cave. How dull. This cave however was different. Unlike the previous, rather freezing one that unexpectedly lead to a house, this one was more bright, and .. a lot hotter. Why would Ginji be walking downwards into a cave that was getting alarming hotter as he was descending. "Well, this should lovely be the place .. those lovely jerks, having left me to do all the work while the chase around in the lovely snowy plains! Maaha!" apparently Ginji was up to completing what they originally even came around these lands; find the "treasure", or whatever this was. "Oi, Chime-san, is this lovely the right way, for sure?" he then adds, the Chimera was with him! "Indeed." speaks the Lion head. "You doubt us?" the snake head adds. "Peeeff, this place should become a sauna, we should charge people to use it!" says the goat head.

Brosko's "party"

"So, this is how you felt, huh? My apologies, did not know you felt that way." Brosko is speaking, surprisingly serious. He is very calm and doesn't seem lively at all, either. On the other side of the room, tied up very well, was the imposter Hawks, Liza, sitting down. She doesn't seem to be willing to speak. "I'm such a fool .. but the way it went like that ..." he glares at the door, which was opened, and was leading to a small room. There was a bed, and someone was resting there. "Guess I'll have to leave this place if I want to survive mother's rage. But, if by exchange of her "treasure", they help me save her, then ..."
What was he talking about?

Jade's party

"Jade, there you are ..." Hawks speaks, with a pleased smile on his face, while slowly turning and walking towards her and Sasori, who, had meanwhile begun to recover, evidence of how he just sucked that caterpillar treat he was given. Behind him, Brosko's brother, falls down, yelling in pain. "Just drop dead already, will you? Even your scream is ugly." Hawks remarks, while glaring back at the opponent, who was still conscious. "Y-you ... you bastard .. ugh ..."

Jades half lidded gaze shifts to Hawks. She puts her hand over her mouth as her melody stops because it was too awkward to sing at someone who was speaking to her. "Hawks - you're safe! Your sword skills ... that was... Hawks, I -- SASORI!" She was interrupted as the scorpion seemed to be reviving and eating his treat. In retrospect, she probably should have just offered him food to begin with. She rested her cheek against the scorpion, happy to see he was alright.

"Ah, Sasori~" Hawks responds, and bends down, to pet his friend's head. "Good boy, you was taking care of your friend, right?" he comments, not entirely right of course, as she was the one that was attempting to help him out. Nonetheless, holding the tail of the creature, it immediately shrank, and became a dagger, an action that probably caused Jade to lose her balance, which, happened to be stopped by Hawks quickly taking her hand, and stopping her from potentially falling down. "Don't you worry, pretty lady, I got you." he comments, a shiny smile on his face. And was that .. glitter? Where did he find glitter?!