Serious: Trouble on Fishman Island: Bruce and Marissa versus The Infernal Trench Pirates (Open to myself, Cob and anyone else who wants to get in on the action- but message me first please! )

"Another milkshake, dear?"

Marissa Mizune looked up from her latest charting sketch and blinked up at the elderly Cow Fish mermaid. She had become so engrossed in her mapping that she had almost forgotten where she was sitting- namely, the Mermaid Café on Fishman Island.

"Uh, no thanks, Hana. I think I'll settle up with you now, actually."

The Lionfish mermaid groaned, flexing her sore wrist as she scrabbled in her satchel for her purse of Beli. She had been there since she arrived, telling herself that she'd only sit down for an hour or two- just to rest her fins. After all, while the swim back to Fishman Island hadn't been all that hazardous, it had been long and had taken a lot out of her.

"Any plans now that you're back to the island, sweetie?" Hana asked her with a smile. "Going to visit family? Sightseeing?"

Marissa placed the Beli on the table, shaking her head gently. "I'm really only back for a quick visit and to pick up some supplies."
Her only real family that she'd be happy to see were her dear Nakama, the members of the Purple Heart Crew and as for sightseeing, she'd seen all of Fishman Island's most beautiful sights before; as far as she was concerned, it was probably better to keep moving.

"Awwh, well if you're headed to the market," Hana told her as she scooped up the gold coins and settled the bill. "You should at least check out the new jewellery store."
"I'll make a point to do so," Marissa replied with a smile stretching out her tail and testing her balance on the floorboards. "Thanks, Hana. Have a good day."

"You too, Marissa! Come back soon!" the other mermaid cooed as she moved away to tend to a new table.

Marissa smiled to herself, shrugging her satchel on to her shoulder. For whatever resentment she used to hold for the island, it had certainly grown on her since she had last been there.
That was three years ago.
The navigator mermaid, now twenty years old, hadn't found it quite as difficult to return to the island as she thought she would.

She was just rolling up her maps when she thought she felt someone's eyes on the back of her neck. However, when she whipped her head around to investigate, she saw no one there. Just the painted wall that she had been sitting in front of.
She shook her head slightly, frowning internally. "Stop being so paranoid, Marissa."

She was just leaving the Café, trying to shake her feelings of unease when suddenly a loud explosion rang out through the air and the back wall of the Café all but disintegrated into huge fragments of stone shrapnel.
A frantic symphony of screams, shouts and swearing suddenly filled the once-peaceful Café and when the smoke cleared, three figures stood in their new makeshift "entrance."

All three were clad in tight-black suits, hoods draped over their heads and their mouths covered by similar black scarves. Despite their guise though, their heights coupled with the coarse scales on their hands and the fins that tore the surface of their suits that they were Fishmen.

The one standing in the middle pulled away his mouth-scarf, revealing a set of dagger-like teeth surrounded by eerie silver skin, betraying the presence of a  Viperfish Man.
He growled, chuckling as his hooded eyes scanned the Café before finally settling on Hana.

The unfortunate Cowfish Mermaid was the one standing closest to the main counter.

"Alright, darling," the Viperfish Man snarled. "Hand over all the money you've got in the safe and we'll think about not hacking any of your dear customers into sushimi..." He pulled a long bladed machete from the confines of his suit, smirking as his two cronies did the same.

Hana shrunk back against the counter, paralysed with fear and shivering, apparently to afraid to speak.

"What's that, love?" the Fishman sneered, advancing on her. "I didn't quite catch that...didn't you understand the question?" He grabbed her by the arm. "Maybe if I make a little example of you, one of these other sweet little mermaids will get the message..."

Marissa pulled a needle from her wristband. "Like Hell..."

"Bull's Eye Shot!"

The needle whistled through the air, lodging itself into the Viperfishman's eye. He roared, tearing it out and swinging around to glower at the Lionfish mermaid who'd done the throwing.

He gritted his teeth as he looked her up and down and then laughed darkly. "Oh sweetheart...you are going to wish you hadn't done that..."

"Run," Marissa mouthed to Hana as the three Fishmen advanced on her, removing their hoods.

[[Introduction Box:

Trent du Sade
Viperfish Man
Infernal Trench Pirates

Jet Rotund
Cookiecutter Shark Fishman
Infernal Trench Pirates

Rhys Whittle
Brownsnout Spookfish Man
Infernal Trench Pirates ]]


Trent ran a single clawed fingernail along the blade of his machete.
"You're either very brave for trying to attack us, cutie...or incredibly stupid..."

Marissa was silently starting to question this herself as the trio advanced on her but she did not indulge him with a response, instead pulling several needles from her wristband and preparing to stand her ground.

Bruce lazed around outside of Fishman Island; he was simply waiting; killing time until something interesting would happen.  It had been like this for a long time, in fact since Bruce took his position with the Shichibukai.  Ever since Derge had killed Iken, Bruce had been on the lookout for the infamous madman.  Bruce even went as far as to make a begrudging alliance with Karasu and few of the other Shichibuaki in order to spot someone who might have very well destroy the island.  However it never came, the battle that would have left the island devastated.  Bruce was sure Derge was going to go after Fishman Island since it had allied itself with the former Yonkou.  It was really strange that a man that swore to take everything from a man to stop after killing his target.  Bruce wasn't sure if he should feel relieved about Derge's absence or worried.  Whatever the care was, Bruce knew he couldn’t let it consume him.  People in power usually sweated the little things so much that they wasted their entire lives on what could happen.  Every now and again, Bruce had to remind himself of that.  
Bruce’s massive body cast a shadow on the surrounding water, as the light from the island bathed his backside.  It was warm and almost like sunlight, but still not quite the same.  Bruce was one of the lucky ones that get to go between Fishman Island and land without much worry.  It’s something that was becoming more common.  Since Bruce had taken on the role of protector of the Fishman, no ever before that.  Since Namor and then Bruce’s introduction into the Shichibuaki, the number of missing fishfolk had gone down.  Even still, Bruce was just one man.  Not even a fishman of his magnitude could stop every bad person, fishman or just man in between such a large space.  
 
“purupurupuru….purupurupuru…..click…..”  A ringing sound shattered the silence causing the large fishman to shift.  He reached his overgrown hand into a pocket on the side of his trousers.  After digging around he pulled out a small blue snail like creature.  Bruce pressed a button on the top of the creature’s shell.  
“We’ve got a situation on the island!” said a frantic voice.  
“Calm down and tell me what’s going on.” Bruce replied keep a cool tone.  All the while, even as clam as Bruce may have sound; he made a quick B line for the island.  
“It’s a pirate group, their raiding the mermaid café!” replied the voice, a little less frantic.  
“Pirates?  I haven’t seen any ships come in, in over a week now.” Bruce questioned the guard suspiciously.
“They’re a band of Fishmen.” The gate  guard responded.  
“Fine I’m on my way…”
“Wait!!! What are you doing!?!?  We don’t have the gate open yet!” the guard roared franticly as he seen the mass that could only be Bruce approaching Fishman Island, picking up speed.  
“No time for that.” Bruce answered as he drove through the first and then the second layer of the protective bubble.  
“But the ….mumble property…mumble age….!!!”  
Bruce wasn’t able to catch the last part as he hit the ground skidding down the road.  He left a large indent in the stone streets as he came to a stop.  Without wasting any time, Bruce headed towards the trouble.

Trent immediately charged for Marissa, his machete poised to to strike and his teeth bared in a maniacal sneer.
Instinctively, the mermaid dropped herself to the ground and swept her tail against his legs, letting her poisonous tendrils sting his calves.

The Viperfishman let out a roar, dropping to his knees and wincing but lunging at the mermaid all the same.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" he barked at his subordinates. "EITHER FUCKING HELP ME OR RAID THE DAMN SAFE ALREADY! THE CAPTAIN WANTS A HAUL AND WE'RE EITHER GIVING HIM ALL THE MONEY WE CAN CARRY..." His beady eyes swiveled back to Marissa, narrowing further. "...or a mermaid...and he'll be happy whether she's dead or alive..."

Jet bolted for the safe, shoving aside the screaming bystanders and slicing at anyone who refused to move with his machete.
Rhys immediately moved in to restrain Marissa's frantically lashing tail, hissing when he met with the force of her stinging tendrils.

Out of the corner of her eye, as she wrestled with Trent, Marissa noticed Hana still standing in the background, looking on in horror.

Marissa coughed, her lungs under pressure as Trent's hand came to close around her throat. "G-Go...Go!" she called out. "G-Get everyone out...I'll be fine...!"
She tried to reach for her needles, only to be stopped by Rhys grabbing her wrist, chuckling.

"Not so fast."

Wheezing, Marissa attempted to lash her tail against Trent's back, hoping it would relieve her windpipe a little...when suddenly, she felt a tremor in the ground.

And then another one.
And another one.
In a perfect rhythm.

Running?

Squinting out the entrance of the Café, Marissa saw a huge, hulking figure running towards her. For a split, second Marissa thought she was hallucinating from lack of oxygen.

No...it couldn't be...
The figure got nearer. It was a fishman. A very familiar fishman.
It was! It was him!

"BRUCE!" Marissa called out, still struggling beneath Rhys and Trent. "BRUCE!!!"
Despite her situation, her heart had never felt so lifted.

Jet looked up from raking money from the safe, gawping with wide eyes at the massive Megalodon Shark fishman. "What the-?"

As Bruce ran down the street, panicked citizens desperately tried to dive and dodge the massive feet that were coming at them. It must have seemed strange and bizarre to see something so large moving so rapidly. The uppity citizens of Coral Hill rarely had to see little lone deal with the likes of Bruce. Seeing him coming at full speed immediately range alarm bells to anyone that regularly came to the said district.

"Out of the way! Move it! I'm coming through!" Bruce shouted.

He jumped over and dodged the miniscule residents at his feet as they scurried away from him. The task of avoiding civilians was only made harder with that fact they kept moving. If they had just kept still, Bruce would have had no problem avoiding them. Thanks to the unavoidable situation it took Bruce much longer than it should have to reach his destination.

As Bruce got closer he could hear something. It was a voice calling out to him, a female voice that he could have sworn he had heard before. His grip tightened while he clenched his large fist. It hit him, the realization of who it was as well as the kind of trouble she had likely gotten herself into. Bruce's blood almost began to boil, as he imagined what could have been happening to Marissa to make her call out like she had.

"Let her go." growled a low voice.

A shadow was cast over the establishment and a moment later glass could be heard shattering. Bruce stuck his hand through the barred glass window that sat up on the roof. The metal bars no the sharp glass slowed the monster like fishman as he reached in and grabbed the Viperfishman off of his former crew mate. With his thumb firmly holding the first down, Bruce went after the remaining two. He squeezed the fishmen tightly in his grasp to remind them that it would only be too easy for Bruce to ride the world of their kind, permanently. If any of them offered resistance he'd simply squeeze the fight and life out of them in one go.

Marissa massaged her aching throat, now relieved of Trent's strangling. She looked up and beamed at the appearance of her former crew-mate. It really was Bruce!
Just the sight of the fiercely loyal giant brought back floods of happy memories from her time with Namor Oceanus and his crew. She had forced herself to leave, realizing that to ever call herself a pirate, she'd have to train, get stronger and become a more efficient navigator...but her departure had been a difficult and leaving all of them, especially Greim, had just about tore her heart in two.
The sight of Bruce gave her hope that she might meet some more of the Purple Hearts in the future.

But now was not the time for sentimentality. Taking advantage of the fact that Bruce had detained one of her assailants, Marissa lunged at Rhys, pinning him to the ground. The Spookfishman had been far too shocked by Bruce's sudden interlude to pre-empt her attack and thus, he fell backwards easily.
He attempted to raise his machete, swinging for her neck but Marissa quickly smacked his wrist back with her tail, causing the weapon to fall from his hand and slide across the floor.
Marissa drew a needle from her wristband, quickly moving to insert it into his neck.
Rhys put up a fight, however, struggling to move in the confines of her tail.

"Get off me, you little wench..."
"Not until I'm certain you can't hurt anybody else..."

Trent stared up at Bruce, his eyes wide- one silvery and one bloody from the needle. He squirmed and choked at the sudden compression but then chuckled wheezily.
"You may have the upper hand now, brother. But we
are many in number and fuelled by the ferocity of a rip-tide. We WILL claim back Fishman Island in the name of the Infernal Trench pirates..."
And with that, he lifted his machete to plunge into one of Bruce's giant fingers, also clamping down into the flesh hard with his teeth.

Jet looked from Trent to Rhys in horror, not knowing who to assist. Eventually deciding that the colossal Fishman was a greater threat than the little mermaid, he dropped the money and ran towards Bruce's legs, machete lifted and ready to strike.

Bruce glared at the fishman when he stabbed and bit down on Bruce's thumb. The pain was minimal and the wounds themselves were little more than scratches to Bruce. Like many shark species, Bruce's shed teeth catch on his skin creating a sharp and relatively hard layer which protects the sharks from various predators. The viperfishman's mouth most likely took more damage from Bruce's skin than Bruce did from the bite. The sword was a slightly different story, however it still did only very little damage; at most a flesh wound.

As the blood trickled down Bruce's hand, a small orb of water filled his palm. The orb wasn't actually all that small, in fact if covered the viperfishman completely. At first it seemed as if Bruce was trying to drown the foe. However the water soon began to spin and churn until razor sharp blades of water sliced everything within the orb that Bruce held in his palm. Trent was sliced over and over again until the water turned completely red obscuring the view.

"Water Bullet"

Turning over his palm, Bruce held the orb of water for a moment before throwing it. The blood filled orb smashed into the advancing cookiecutter-sharkfishman causing it to explode. Body parts from the first fishman flew from the impact zone and splattered again the side of the mermaid cafe. There was no reason to keep all three alive, as long as there was one of them it didn't matter what happened to the other two. Bruce was hope that after the show he had just put on, the remained foe would be more than willing to talk to them. If the last one standing refused to talk, it simply meant they'd have to repair their forces for unknown factors.

Jet's eyes widened as his crewmate's dismembered form hurtled towards him and didn't have a second to breathe before he was thrown back against the mutilated wall of the Café. There was a sickening crack as Jet Rotund's head thwacked against the hard concrete.
He fell to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his lips and his head falling limply to one side, betraying the fact that he had broken his neck upon impact.

"Stinging Constriction"
Marissa laced her tail around Rhys' legs, gripping the flesh against her tendrils until the pain became too much for him to fight against. Hissing through his teeth, the fishman's grip on Marissa's neck lessened and free from the constraint of his arms, the Lionfish Mermaid quickly inserted a needle into his neck.
Aided by her natural toxins, the Spookfishman's limbs started to fall limp as the paralysis took effect.

Marissa untangled herself from his hold and sat back, watching as his body lost rigidity until only his eyes were capable of moving.
She sighed, looking around the partially destroyed Café, her eyes finally falling upon Bruce.

She smiled faintly.
"Bruce Megawhite...it's been far too long." She tilted her head to the side, almost laughing a little. "Do you remember me at all?"

"You sound the same, you smell the same, you even feel the same; however you look so different.  My old nakama, I could never forget you.  How have you been all this time?  It's been what, two years now?" Bruce inquired with a big toothy smile.  It was a bit awkward for the simple fact that his smile could just as well install a sense as fear as much as it would show he's friendly.  

Bruce picked up the only remaining living fishman and stuck him in his pocket.  Something occurred to Bruce causing a look to spread across his face.  He felt through his other pocket for a moment before pulling it out, empty handed.  A disappointed look spread across Bruce's face.  

"I thought I had Craig with me....but I guess I left him in another pair." Bruce said with a slightly disappointed tone.  It was as if, Bruce thought there was nothing wrong with carrying people around in his pocket.  From the sound of it all, Craig apparently traveled around in Bruce's pocket often.  To those not used to this sort of thing, the fact that Bruce treated Craig a lot like one would treat their car keys would seem rather strange.  

"Well anyway.  What have you been up to for that last two years? "

Marissa blinked a little in confusion, slightly weirded out by the fact that Bruce liked to carry people around in his pockets. Then again, she supposed it only made sense that the giant fishman saw it as convenient to offer people that mode of transport.
After all, at his size, everyone else was basically the size of a trinket.
She smiled warmly when he told her that he remembered her.

She scooted over to him as smoothly as she could manage and hugged his leg gently.
“It’s good to hear that I haven’t changed completely anyway. For the last two years? I’ve been travelling, gaining new experiences and trying to improve myself as a navigator by studying. I’ve also been training on different islands to make myself stronger and a better fighter…”

She looked up at Bruce, smiling brightly. “So Craig is here too?” She couldn’t help but giggle at the memories of her old crewmate. “That’s wonderful. What have you been getting up to, Bruce? What brings you here to Fishman Island?”

Her amber eyes wandered up to his pocket and she frowned a little. “Ah, but first, perhaps we should do something about him first. Get him somewhere where we can detain him? That venom will wear off in the space of an hour or so…”

Without giving it another thought, picked up Marissa and placed her on his shoulder. There was a bit of hesitation as Bruce had to resist the temptation of putting her in his pocket. Before Marissa could say anything about Bruce picking her up he spoke, "This way I can hear you better." Bruce began walking down the street, headed in the direction of the nearest guard station. The Royal Guard would have a place to detain the fishman until the poison wore off.

"Yeah, at least he's on the island somewhere. If he's not in my pocket, he's a hard one to keep track of when he's off causing trouble. Usually he's somewhere near a tavern or Mermaid Cove flirting or at least attempting to with all of the pretty mermaids." Bruce mentioned with a small snicker.

"I've been around mostly. I went back to the calm belt a while back to look for my clan. Unfortunately they were gone...I found the village alright, but it was abandoned and it doesn't look like anyone had been there for decades. Everything was overgrown with sea vegetation...It was the only life I found there; even the fish I remember eating as a child were gone. I guess they out ate their environment and moved on...Maybe I'll find them some day" Bruce said with a slight bit of hesitant hope.

"After I came back I had heard that Iken had been killed by Derge. Taking what I know about the blood demon, I went straight for Marineford and told them I'd fill one of their Shichibukai spots. They accepted and a little later I found myself in a meeting with the other Shichibukai. I guess the marines had one of their Admiral's and Vice at the site when Derge killed Iken. They fought Derge right after and still got their asses handed to them...Seeing how powerful the threat to the island was, I opted to ally with Karasu; however much I despised doing so. And I suppose months later, here we are. Derge has disappeared and shows no signs of activity." said Bruce catching Marissa up.

"Anyway. We have plenty of time if it'll take an hour. There is a guard station not too far from here. I'll take him there and they can hold him until they're read to interrogate him." said Bruce as he strolled down the street.

Bruce made his way to the station where a small squad of guards stood outside. They looked like they had been waiting for him. Reaching into his pocket, Bruce pulled out the fishman Marissa had taken alive. He placed the limp body on the ground in front of the guards. Immediately one of the guards went over and checked the man.

"By god, you brought us one alive this time!" said the guard examining the man.

"It was Marissa's doing. She said the poison should wear off in an hour." said Bruce nodding to his nakama.

"What's this guy's story?" questioned the guard.

"No idea. Pirates maybe? One of them mentioned the three of them weren't the last we'll see of their group. I'd call in to the other stations to prepare for them." Bruce said suggesting a course of action.

Marissa let out a high-pitched squeak at being lifted up but quickly accustomed herself to sitting on her large friend's shoulder. It was definitely better than being put into his pocket and after he explained that he could hear her better that way, the mermaid made herself comfortable and held on to his neck for support.
She had never been so high off the ground before and the view, she had to admit, was quite wonderful to behold.

She smiled after being told about Craig and his flirtacious escapades. It appeared that her old crew-mate hadn't changed a bit. She wouldn't have had him change his ways for the entire world.

Marissa blinked and her shoulders slumped as she listened to the news about Iken Namikaze. A great wave of sadness washed over her. "No...no...that's terrible. Iken was such a great man and such a good leader. I remember when we worked with Steel Village as part of Namor's crew...I can't believe he's gone..."
She looked up at Bruce and patted his cheek, smiling gently. "Though, it's good to hear that you've taken up Shichibukai status. You're deserving of the power you hold." Marissa curled her tail up, taking great care not to drag her stingers against him. "And it's a pity that your clan weren't in the calm belt but I'm very certain that one day you'll meet up with them again. You're bound to meet them again, during your travels and their migrations..."

Marissa shuddered slightly at the thought of her own "family." She had deliberately avoided the north part of the island, unable to face those who had enslaved her and abused her as a young mermaid.
Not wishing to dwell on such thoughts, she quickly diverted her attention down to the guards who took Rhys the Spookfishman from Bruce.

"The poison is from my spines. It will start wearing off around the fifty minute mark and he'll be able to move and speak again by the time an hour has passed," she told them, adding to Bruce. "I did a bit of experimentation with my poison on different organisms that I passed from island to island." She frowned with a shrug. "The ocean can be such a violent place..."

She leaned against Bruce's cheek, looking thoughtful. "I'm guessing that they were pirates as they all wore identical costumes with the same symbol on it. As for what the symbol meant...I have absolutely no idea. They seemed very intent on robbing the Café but they also seemed eager to create a climate of fear. I mean, they could have easily just walked into the place with a gun. There was no reason to blow a hole in the wall and-..."

BANG!!!

Marissa never got to finish her sentence. Instead she got cuff off by a loud, resounding explosion in the distance.
The lionfish mermaid's eyes widened. "What was that?!"

************************************************************************

Meanwhile in the harbour shopping area of Fishman Island, a massive Blowfishman standing at seven feet tall and clad in the same black jumpsuit as the three Café attackers was creating havoc in the squares.
"HUHUHUHUHUUU!" he chuckled, inflating his huge body and releasing another powerful gust of air, blowing innocent shoppers, monuments and anything else that wasn't bolted down across the ground as easily as sheets of paper. "Consider me the weatherman, shrimps! Today's forecast sees hurricane gales all across downtown...."

[[Introduction Box:

Kelp Typhoon
Blowfish Fishman
Infernal Trench Pirates ]]

Bruce was waiting for Marissa to explain to the guards about her poison and her theory of the fishman. She was saying they were similar in both dress and symbol, so they were likely of a pirate group. Bruce had thought as much, however Marissa made a good point. There was on reason for those men to blow up a wall to an open establishment. There was something else going on here, something Bruce got a bad feeling about.

When all of the sudden an explosion came from the shopping district Bruce turned in the direction. There was a small jolt as he had to resist the instinct to run towards the area. Bruce staggered in position for a moment as he looked toward the source of the explosion and then glancing at Marissa. He let out a small sigh; he knew what her response was going to be; however he didn't want to put the young mermaid in danger. It was his job to protect the island and the last thing he wanted to do was place a former nakama in danger.

"Look, I know what you're going to say...I don't think you should come along. There is no telling what or how many enemies might be waiting for us. Don't think I'm underestimating your strength...anyone can tell how much you've improved. It's just not your fight, and there is no reason to put yourself in danger for it. If it's him...I don't know...no. If it's him, I can't win. If its Derge, the only thing I would be able to manage is to hold him off for a little bit; to keep him from wreaking the island before help gets here." said Bruce with a hint of panic in his voice.

Marissa looked to Bruce, her brows arching in concern for the source of the explosion. She was about to suggest that they head there as soon as possible as it was likely to be another wave of attacks by these pirates, but the giant fishman seemed to pre-empt her exact thoughts.

She listened to him as he pleaded with her to not come with him. The mermaid frowned: she could understand where Bruce was coming from but at the same time, she had a duty to her former nakama too. Her chest tightened at the thought of him going alone.

"Bruce, I understand your concerns but you must understand mine too." She placed a hand on his cheek. "If you went alone and got hurt, I'd hate myself for having let you go alone in the first place..."
Her voice trailed off slightly when it suddenly dawned on her that Bruce's worry for her could also be a hindrance to his fighting.

She wouldn't rest well knowing that he got hurt after she let him go alone but she wouldn't ever be able to forgive herself if Bruce died trying to protect her or her presence put him in harm's way.

Marissa took a deep breath, her fingers curling slightly against his cheek. "If I stay here, you have to let me do what I can. You have to let me interrogate this Fishman..." She looked down into her lap. "I'm not stupid, I know I don't look threatening but I've known since I was young that I'm capable of instilling immense pain in other people..." She swallowed. "I can get him to tell us everything we need to know."

The Lionfish mermaid looked back to Bruce's massive face, curling her fins as she spoke. "That's if you decide to leave me here. I'll let you you decide...because I trust your word, Bruce..."

Bruce could feel the disappointment in Marissa's grip as he fingers curled gripping his cheek. She gave up her argument quickly, but Bruce had an idea what she was feeling right then. It was probably something along the lines of she didn't want to slow him down. Bruce wasn't under the impression that the little mermaid would slow him down at all. It was simply he couldn't forgive himself if something happened to her.

Bruce shut his eyes for a moment thinking everything over. He felt as if he had been punched in the stomach when he decided. "I'll bring you with. The guard can handle the grunt work involving the prisoner. Besides, there is nowhere safer on this island than with me I suppose." He said realizing something.

If it was a large force, such as one that would come along with Derge; nowhere on the island would truly be safe. It would simply be best if he was with her. That way if it was something big he could always send her through the bubble. Thankfully she was a mermaid so there was little that could actually catch her in the event it gave chase.

With Bruce's mind finally made up, he headed toward the shopping district. Even with Bruce's size it would take a few minutes to travel to the area they needed to be. Bruce wasn't moving as fast as was towards the Mermaid Cafe; however he was still keeping a steady pace. "It should only take a few minutes to get there, so hang on till then." Bruce said reassuring her he was taking her with him.

By the time the two had arrived on the scene the fishman had leveled a small portion of the shops. Bruce closed in towards the apparent cause of the destruction. Both parties were aware of the other by this point. Neither Bruce nor the Blowfishman were all that quiet or graceful when it came to doing what they did best. Even when Bruce reached attack range, the giant fishman waited to attack. He wanted to make sure that all of the civilians were out of range before he took on another that could cause as much damage as they could. It wasn't every day that Bruce could fight someone that was even remotely destructive as he was.

Marissa smiled gently as Bruce told her that he was taking her with him. She hugged his cheek and placed a gentle, chaste kiss on her jawbone.
His act showed great friendship and a great willingness to believe her; consequently, the Megalodon Shark Fishman strengthened her resolve not to hinder him in battle.

"Thank you, my dear friend," she told him, hanging on to the side of his neck as he ran towards the source of the explosion and paying heed to his instruction to "hang on."
Her eyes widened and her heart was set pounding in her throat by the sight of the completely destroyed shopping district. Most of the buildings had been torn asunder, debris of ever colour and consistency now littering the once-beautiful square. Just as they had been in the Mermaid Café, crowds of innocent civillians were fleeing in crowds or panicking in scattered clusters.
Marissa couldn't help but give a low cry of despair at the the scene that revealed itself as the dusty plumes of smoke cleared.

"No...who could do this? Why would someone do this?"
Maybe it was ironic.
Just three years ago, Marissa had held such resent for the island that she would have celebrated its destruction. Now she had so many fond memories attached to it, the sight of it being decimated evoked a whole new feeling of anger in her chest.

Kelp, the Blowfishman, turned around to face Bruce, instantly recognising the new attacker. His huge body heaved as he swivelled on the spot, a wide grin breaking out across his face as he looked up at the much larger Fishman.

"Huhuhuuhuuhuhu! Aren't you a large brother to contend with?!"
Kelp sucked in another huge breath of air, inflating his body to twice its size- the black suit straining as the Fishman's spines started to protrude.
He blew out another cannon of swirling breath the fast-moving air ripping through the ground and shattering the cobbles around Bruce's feet.

"Why don't you take the little shrimp on your shoulder, turn around and go home?" Kelp taunted. "After all, the bigger they are, the harder they fall! Huhuhuhuuuhuuuu!"

Marissa frowned.
It was hard to tell what was worse about this Fishman: his affinity for destroying public visitation areas or his sense of humour.

Before either Bruce or Marissa could say a word in retaliation, a loud buzzing pervaded the air and out of the shadows, emerged a second fishman.
His long thin body, thin-slit eyes and protruding quills made him an unmistakable Electric Eel Fishman.

[[Introduction Box:

Finley O'Watts
Electric Eel Fishman
Infernal Trench Pirates ]]

He snickered in a reedy, high-pitched drawl. "Well, well, well...what's this? A couple of well-meaning citizens trying to get in the way of the Captain's orders? We can't have that can we?"

He stomped on the ground, a line of static electricity rippling across the cobbles- manifesting as sparks of white. The line grew dangerously close to a group of fishkids and merchildren huddled in a frightened clutch near the edge of the square.

"This is your warning," Finley cackled. "Leave here, now."

Marissa looked to Bruce, saying firmly in his ear- sensing that he was as unprepared to retreat as she was. "I'll take the skinny one. You take the fat one...."
She slipped from his shoulder, sliding down to the ground and pulling five needles from her wristband.

"Five Point Penetration!"
She called her attack as she threw her needles at the Electric Eel and as he reeled back in the pain of the needles meeting his face, Marissa slipped past him to get to the children.

"Come on, guys...get moving..." she begged them, ushering them away through the dilapidated shops.

Kelp inflated himself into a massive orb of air, turning his attention to Bruce and suddenly starting to roll forward like a massive, spiny boulder, aiming for the Sharkfishman's legs.

Bruce leaped into the air to avoid the spikey ball of over inflated air.  As he hung in the air, Bruce was about to crush his foe with a powerful punch, however he hesitated.  If he attacked the foe in a way that would take him out in one attack, he'd likely cause too much collateral damage.  Normally Bruce wasn't opposed to destroying a building or two, but there were people in the way.
 
"Damn it.  This will have to do....1000 Tile Punch" Bruce said mumbling.

He intentionally weakened the intensity of his punch.  Bruce let fly a punch that was roughly the equivalent of someone who was at 1000 dorki in strength.  Granted the punch would almost certainly flatten a normal per or even fishman, Bruce doubted it would harm the foe all that much.  If the attacked landed it would deflate some of the air as well as shattering a small portion of the ground around the foe.  
 
A small amount of blood began to drip from Bruce's hand where he was stabbed by the spikes.  He landed on the ground behind the foe.  Bruce spun to face his Kelp once he had stabilized his footing.  It didn't take the large fishman much time to get ready for the foe's next attempt at an attack.  Bruce felt bad for Marissa, she had to protect the children as well as fight off a foe.  With Bruce's large size, he could easily harm the children as much as he could protect them.  It was easily one of the biggest down falls to Bruce's size.
 
“What are you waiting for brother?  Did I knock the wind out of you?” Bruce mocked trying to keep the blowfishes attention.

Kelp let out a shout and a groan, taking the impact of Bruce's punch and immediately deflating at the rate of a beachball that had just met the business end of a well-sharpened needle.
"Guh!"

The punch may have been deliberately weakened but it still knocked all of the air clean out of the Fishman's lungs.  
His spiny form rolled over on the shattered ground before he gradually reinflated himself, giving a few wheezy chuckles as he looked over his shoulder. "Huhuhuuhuu...you'd best leave the jokes to me from now on..."

He spun around, bringing himself to face Bruce once more and inflating himself until his spines were fully protruded. "And a two man act is getting rather stale! Let's see if this breathes new life into our little show! Thirty Knot Twister!"
Kelp suddenly expelled a fierce breath of swirling, slicing air from his lips- however this time, Bruce was not his target.

The ferocious winds were aimed at a fountain, just to Bruce's right where several civillians were attempting to hide.

Meanwhile, Marissa had been helping the children to escape through the wreckage, out of the square. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Finley removed the needles from his face and because of their shallow levels of penetration, they hadn't caused enough penetration to deter him.

"Alright," the Eel Fishman hissed. "Let's see how you like it...Static Splice!"
A ripple of electricity traveled along the ground in a jagged line, catching against Marissa's fins and shocking her.

The jolt wasn't enough to cause a seizure but it was enough to set her tingling to her very extremities. She let out a scream, lifting her tail and whipping around to see Finley advancing on her.

She drew a needle from her wristband and dipped in into one of her own tendrils, her eyes narrowing.
A merkid suddenly latched on to her back, squealing and crying, wrapping its tiny tail around her waist.
Marissa gave a cry of shock and attempted to push the child away.

"Come on. You need to get out of here, little one!"
"Noooo," the child whined. "Nooo...staaay..."

The little guppy was too afraid to move anywhere without an adult figure to cling to. She swallowed, moving backwards in the wreckage as best as she could and preparing to throw her needle.
She just needed him to come a little closer...but at the same time she couldn't risk the Eel shocking her a second time.

In the midst of her panic, her thoughts flickered towards Bruce, hoping that he was alright fighting the overgrown windbag.

Bruce waited for his foe to make the next move. It seemed easier to let the giant puff ball attack and for Bruce to counter. So far it has spared the civilians around the area any backlash from the fight. His avoid and counter method seemed like the best option until Kelp spoke once more. Bruce listened to the fellow fishman all the while waiting for his next move to come at him. Unfortunately the following attack wasn't aimed at Bruce, and the moment the words left Kelp's lips; Bruce knew it.

Bruce eye's widened as he hand shot up towards the back of his neck. Clenching his fist around the hilt, Bruce unsheathed a massive sword. It was sword on scale with Bruce himself, a massive cutlass type sword with a shimmering black steel blade. It was all in a flash or a blur of the moment. The massive sword that could have only weighed tons swiftly came down. It was controlled by the massive power behind it known as Bruce.

"Ten Thousand Tile Slash"

When the blade of the sword came down, it unleashed a powerful watery force. The attack was a combination of both fishman karate and swordsmanship. The sharp blade of pressurize water blew away the twister in the blink of an eye. It also left a sharp trench extending from Bruce all of the way to the side of the bubble. A large hole the size of a ship was blown through both the interior and exterior bubbles. There was a surreal kind of moment at the force from the attack pushed back the ocean's waters. However the moment was only that, a mere moment. Water began to rush in from the outside. Shots from the bubble cannon quickly sealed the self-healing bubble to prevent too much of the water from flooding the streets.

Bruce turned his attention to Kelp. He held his sword in his right hand holding the bladed edge towards the large puffed up fishman. Bruce knew he had to end the battle quickly, even if it meant a sacrifice or two. The alternative was allowing the battle to wage on and destroy even more of Fishman Island and putting even more lives on the line.

Even those fleeing for their lives, found themselves stopping for a moment, completely breathless and completely captivated by the force of Bruce's attack.
The force of Bruce's mighty Ten Thousand Tile Slash was not only enough to stop the force of Kelp's Thirty Knot Twister, it had also struck the Blowfishman clear off his feet. The deadly fusion of techniques had been more than enough to save those who had been the target of Kelp's assault and most could not help but stare gratefully up at the sword-wielding giant before hurrying, (or being pulled), to safer ground.

Kelp turned over slowly, drunkenly taking stock of his surroundings before slowly staggering to his feet. He was bleeding heavily at this stage: a trickle of scarlet running in a rivulet from his lips to his chin, only complimenting the vast and macabre patches of crimson that stained his costume- a clear testimony to the areas where his spines had been completely ruptured by the force of Bruce's attack.

His eyes widened as they fell upon Bruce's gargantuan cutlass, the blade gleaming in an ardent silver when it caught the light of the sun-rays that strained down to the underwater island.
The Blowfishman seemed to already know his fate, even before he fully realised that the blade was held, ready to strike him.

"Huhuhuuu," he managed to wheeze, staring up at Bruce with a crooked, gap-toothed smile. Kelp had known his mission all along: as far as their beloved Captain was concerned, this was a minor set-back. "So you try to fight with honour, brother? Not going to simply slay me where I stand. D-Do it and do i-it wh-while my eyes are on yours..." His voice was becoming stilted by his mouth filling with blood. "B-But know that m-my comerades and I are only f-few of m-many more...many more who w-will fight in the n-name of our C-Captain to take back Fishman Island from the ty-tyrants who continue to r-rule it..."

The Blowfishman inflated himself once last time. "R-Regardless of the number of lives th-that this vengeance may cost..."


Finley had Marissa cornered and had also unknowingly backed the mermaid into making an impossible decision.
She knew she needed to end the battle as quickly as she could physically manage. Their fight was causing far too much destruction and was putting far more people in danger: she and Bruce's intervention had not come without a price.

All it would take was a single needle to the jugular to silence the Eel-Fishman and his long neck made him an easy target. Unfortunately in order to be assured a definite bull's eye- he needed to be at a closer range to her.
If he was closer, she was at a higher risk of being shocked again and normally she would have seen this as a necessary sacrifice- if it wasn't for the child currently clinging, petrified with fear, to her back.

As the Eel advanced, Marissa was forced to opt for the latter option, fearing for the little merkid's safety. She threw the needle with as much force as she could but it only struck Finley in the centre of the throat rather than the all-too-necessary vein she needed.

He flailed.
He screeched.
However he was still perfectly mobile.

The Lionfish Mermaid took this as a vital distraction and used the few seconds to reluctantly prise the child from her back.
"It's ok, it's ok," she tried to assure the wailing infant, passing her to one of the other escaping children. This little fishboy had hung behind, seemingly concerned as to how the battle was going. Maybe the merkid was his younger brother?
"Take him and go! Quickly!" she bade the child, watching with slightly lifted spirits as the boy nodded- cradling the younger one as he darted off into the confines of the wreckage. "You're safe...you're both safe now..."

"Pity you can't say the same for yourself, little tiger-prawn."
Finley- having tore the needle from his now bleeding neck- suddenly pounced down upon Marissa, grabbing her around the torso and squeezing her tightly. "I'll show you what you get for trying to get in the way of Infernal Trench business!"

Marissa felt the air being pushed from her lungs and static building around her, crackling in the air and making her hair stand on end. It wasn't long before the mounting electricity was penetrating her skin, forcing her to grit her teeth. The static was far from enough in terms of voltage to cause instant death but it was slowly building and sons of Neptune did it sting.

"Y-You're n-not the only o-one who kn-knows how t-t-to sting!" Marissa managed to growl through gritted teeth, wrapping her own tail as firmly around the Fishman's waist as she could, making sure her tendrils latched on to his exposed flesh and releasing her poison. "Stinging constriction!"

For a few moments, the Eel-fishman and the Lionfish mermaid were simply in deadlock, both twitching in pain but neither letting up.
It was like a playground game of "mercy" with both waiting for the other to cry out in surrender first.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before Marissa's poison reached the interior of Finley's cardio-vascular system. Little by little, his grip on her slackened before he collapsed to the ground around her- glazed-eyed and slack-jawed.

Marissa exhaled in laboured breaths, rubbing her arms and examining her attacker.
He was dead now.
Perhaps her actions had cost a life but he was no longer a threat to the peace of the island.
Sighing, she rubbed her bloodshot eyes and scanned the wrecked square for Bruce- hoping that he had fared well in his own fight.

Bruce held his sword pointed at his foe while he stood in a stance ready to strike. His plan of attack was to cut off the foe's attack a moment before it was unleashed. He waited as the fishman took in the air around him. The foe grew once again to the size or maybe even bigger than when he had use the rolling spiked ball move. When Bruce seen the foe tense up, Bruce went in for the kill.

Bruce leaped forward using the strong hard muscles in his legs and calves to propel him forward as if they were springs. His arms bulged as his grip on his blade tightened with anticipation of the blow. Bruce brought the sword up, raising it so he could place the absolute more momentum in his attack as he could. With each step the large fishman took a small tremor’s worth of energy was distributed out through the ground. Anyone in the vicinity of the battle could feel or hear the steps, one after another drawing Bruce towards his enemy.

"FORE!"

Bruce swung his blade with the side of it facing Kelp. The powerful golf like swing was meant to send the large ball of spikey fishman air flying out through the inner and outer bubbles. Bruce was worried that the spikey airbag fishman was going to try to literally kamikaze the area. They both new that Kelp had no chance of winning, and the fact that he and the rest of his crewmates believed they were fighting an injustice only deepened Bruce's suspicions. Crazy zealots could often be unpredictable if one were to take everything at face value. However Bruce knew what it was like to believe in a cause that one would be willing to give and take life for. In essence the two weren't all that different, it's just they believed in causes that were in opposition with each other.

Kelp took the force of the sabre at its fullest, his spiny, air-filled body partially deflating as it met the ferocity of the blade. Unseen to those around him, a miniscule smirk ghosted on the Blowfishman's lips despite the pain that rocketed through his skin: he would die for his Captain's miraculous vision and thus, he was leaving this world happily.

The light left his eyes, just as the air left his lungs and his body splintered through the inner and outer bubbles.

Marissa watched with a widened stare as the spiny projectile shot over her head and squinted through the dust of the debris in the direction that it came from.
Bruce's mighty silhouette slowly took shape as the smoke-clouds started to clear and the Lionfish mermaid allowed herself a sigh of relief.
Her friend was alright.

She suddenly felt rather silly for ever doubting her giant companion's skill as she scooted over to him.
"I need to get a transport bubble," Marissa noted to herself. "I don't mind having to move about on land but I'm not very fast and this is rather hard-wearing on the fins..."

When she reached Bruce's feet, she lightly prodded his legs to get his attention- keeping her fins and spines as far away from his exposed skin as possible. Her attack on Finley had caused her natural venom to flood into the tip of her tendrils and she was more-than-likely still going to be excreting.

"B-Bruce?" she called up to him. "Are...are you alright?"
It was a stupid and perhaps quite a redundant question considering that her friend didn't appear to be all that beaten up or cut. Still, she felt as though it was an important thing to ask.

Showing concern for others and actually vocalising that concern was a skill Marissa had been trying to work on in the last year or so.