Demonic Guardians; Chapter 1: Broad Horizon (Open to Anyone)

(OOC: Well, since no one seems interested in joining crews right now, let's try this: Completely open thread! Although, a Yonkou or an Admiral might be a bit much at this stage…)

Dawn had arrived. The people of the port town on Honey Island were just starting to wake up and go about their business. The majority of the small town's income came from its extensive shipping lines. It was in the perfect location for ships going to and coming from the Grand Line to resupply before taking their goods on to their next destination. So the majority of the town's people worked as sailors, shipwrights, or merchants.

Very little of the town was actually on Honey Island. The island itself was not large and so much of the town had been built on concrete and wooden platforms that stretched out on supports over the ocean.

This particular morning, as one group of day shift dock workers approached their work area, they came across a rather peculiar sight. There was a large, dark-haired man on a jetty. He was dressed simply in a pair of white, cargo pants and a high-collared, black vest which had the words 'Tough Love' written on the back. The vest was zipped up on the front, but this did little to hide his muscular physique. He held a fishing pole and was sitting on an overturned, empty crate. None of this would be considered out of place except that the man was not fishing in the ocean. Instead, his line was dangling in a bucket that had been filled with water.

At first, the workers were not sure what to do. The guy was sitting on one of the jetties where they worked. For all they knew he was just an idiot, but his size made them nervous.

A young woman suddenly appeared near the man, walking across a gangplank to the jetty. She looked to be in her late teens. She had long, dark blue hair that she had tied back in a ponytail. She was dressed in a red tank top, tan shorts, and a pair of sandals. On her hands she wore a pair of thick work gloves and a pair of steampunkish goggles hung around her neck. A few of the dock workers received a shock when they looked down at her legs and noticed what looked like small clumps of fish scales scattered sporadically across her skin.

The woman walked over to the strange fishing man and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm going into town to pick up supplies," she told him. "The ship has a few leaks that need mending. I have no idea what you've been up to, but this thing is a bit of a wreck." The man just grunted in reply and waved his hand dismissively. She stepped around him, saying: "See you later, Dezzy!"

'Dezzy' turned to glare at her back as she walked away with a bright smile. He really hated that nickname.

Vice Admiral Cortez decided to come to honey island because he currently was unneeded in the Derge crisis. With his authority, strength, and fishman blood, he would be capable of reaching fishman island in the event of an emergency. He had heard many things about the sweets in honey island. He had decided himself to come and taste the honey-suckle chocolate that was so famous in the barracks. He could care less about the weak and foolish soldiers, but the fact that everyone enjoyed the food brought him to believe he may grow fond of it afterall.

Gheppo Kamikaze

People all around watched in surprise as this huge freak of nature walked on water rather than use rhe bridges and boards, which were crowded. He could care less. Wearing a navy-blue suit, a belt, fine marching shoes, and an admiral-cloak, no one could NOT recognize who was, at least in title. He noticed a man fishing in a barrel. He ignored this until he had purchased some chocolate. After discovering it wa indeed delicious, he bought a year's supply and left. On his way back to the ship, he noticed the man still there. But then he noticed the female nearby. He didn't seem to like talking, but the female was happier. That meat it would be easier for him to get information.

He followed her to the market place and approached her.

"Excuse me, madam," Vice Admiral Cortez made a slight bowing gesture, then continued, "I was just wondering who you are. You and your friend interest me."

(OOC: no worries. A VA is really strong, but not nearly that of an admiral. Plus, he'll hold back if fighting comes along. Or npcs will get in the way and get slaughtered. Either way.)

The young woman had only just reached the town's main marketplace and her eyes were already scanning the stalls for what she needed. In this particular instance, she wanted to purchase several, very specific substances which, when combined, would create an excellent waterproof adhesive that was perfect for filling in cracks on wooden structures. The materials used weren't exactly rare, but the exact formula was a secret taught to the woman by her old shipwright buddies back when she was still in training. She had thus far honored her promise to them so far, keeping the formula to herself. Like cooks, shipwrights fiercely guarded the secrets of their trade. It was always important to maintain an edge over the competition.

The woman wasn't entirely sure why her newfound partner had brought them to this island. So far, he had done little except fish out of his stupid bucket, and he did that all the time anyway. She had to admit that he was a strange one, but at least he was reliable when all else failed.

She was startled out of her internal thoughts by a masculine voice that seemed to be addressing her. Thinking that there must have been some sort of mistake, she turned to see a tall, strange-looking man, who was dressed in what looked like a Marine uniform, staring at her. The sight of the uniform reminded her of something her partner had said about their mission. Eventually, they too would be dressed like that. Well, her partner might be dressed like that. She intended to modify the uniform significantly to suit her own tastes, but the exact details of that could wait until it became more relevant.

"I…are you talking to me?" she asked. She immediately smacked herself on the forehead. "Well, duh! Of course you are. Why else would you be looking at me like that?" She stuck out her hand and smiled at him. "The name's Azure. My friend calls himself Adezlan. We're…" She hesitated, uncertain as to how she should word this next part. "…travelers. It's hard to describe us as much else right now. Don't worry, we're not here to cause trouble or anything." Actually, she didn't know whether or not that last part was true. Adezlan had yet to share his reasons for coming here. "Anyhoo, I'm running my mouth. How are you doing? What's your name?"

"I am Vice Admiral Cortez. And you seem wary. Almost as if talking to me stirs memories or complicated thought. This can mean several things. One, you have had bad experiences with marines. Two, you are a criminal. Three, you are lying. Four, you have a hyperactive mind. Five, I remind you of someone. Six, you are expecting something. Finally, seven, you plan to join the marines. I can eliminate several of these with reasoning. You are not a criminal yet. You are not on the wanted list. It is very unlikely I remind you of anyone at all, except perhaps other vice admirals. As for the sixth, your observing tendencies are not of anticipation. They are of seeking. So if you could clarify your position, I would be much oblidged. If you have had bad experiences or are lying, I don't expect you to tell the truth. Of your mind is hyperactive, you might give an insufficient answer. Given these points, perhaps you could tell me something else. Like what it is you are seeking? Or maybe you could clarify your position exactly nevertheless."

Cortez had walked her through his process of reasoning. Years of experience gave him all of the tools necessary to break someone down into the nitty gritty. If she was lying or had bad experiences, she would be under pressure and give it away to the ever observant Vice Admiral. In the event of the other two, it would be simple to prove it to be true. The Vice Admiral was currently rather bored. Playing games like this were a way to pass time. He didn't need to slaughter anybody if he could play with people's minds and behaviours all day. He reflected on her response and noticed in the mental replay she seemed to hesitate after stating they were not causing trouble. Before her intial response, he would continue.

"Also, it seemed as if you hesitated after saying you weren't here to cause trouble. I did not detect deceit, but perhaps confusion? Or maybe ignorance? Or even recollection. Though I shall not inquire as to why, perhaps you should be careful. If you are expecting trouble, you should by prepared for both the trouble and the reaction thereof."

Azure

After he finished, Azure stared at Cortez for several seconds, her mouth hanging slightly open. Her lips twitched once, twice, three times. All at once, the dam broke and she burst out laughing.

"Sorry!" she said in between giggles. "You're a bit weird, like a robot, but you're funny. I like you!" She looked up at him with a wide grin and placed her hands on her hips. "Fine. I'll try to be more clear. We're guardians. At least, that's what Adezlan calls us. Our job is to fight criminals and corruption whenever and wherever we find them. I know, that's what you Marines do and Adezlan told me he wants to be a Marine, eventually. Before that though, he said he wants to find people who stand outside of the system and are willing to look at it objectively. That way, when our group joins the Marines and we start working our way up through the ranks, we can try to make changes to drive out corruption."

Azure hoped that she wasn't speaking out of line by revealing all of this. Technically, Adezlan was her superior and she probably should have run it by him first, but since there were only two of them she figured that she should be allowed some discretion in what she told people. Besides, this guy was a Marine. Surely he wouldn't have any problem with what they were doing. Except maybe…well, she didn't need to tell him about that. Just because Adezlan sometimes disagreed with Marines and they had, on extremely rare occasions, even come to blows, didn't necessarily make him a criminal. After all, those Marines had been the ones who were hurting innocent people because of their so-called 'Absolute Justice'. Adezlan was just fighting against their corruption and inhumanity. Although, she had to admit that Adezlan was pretty scary during those fights, even more so than when he fought against pirates. She hated to admit it, but the name of their group suited him quite well. But then, he had been the one to choose it.

Regardless of Adezlan's reasons for doing what he did, Azure thought it best to keep those specific details to herself. She didn't know Cortez well enough to know how he would react. Though he was quite intelligent, so maybe he would find it out some other way.

"Anyway," she continued. "Like I said, I don't think we're here to cause trouble. This town seems so safe and quiet that I can't imagine that there are any major criminals here. I figure that we're here for sentimental reasons or something. Dezzy does tend to brood a lot, but he's been especially moody for the last couple of weeks so that would make sense. I doubt we'll be here for more than a day or two."

Adezlan

The tall, dark-haired man stood quite suddenly. Adezlan Kel turned to look at the town behind him. He had waited until Azure left the ship and even then, he had given her several minutes to get lost in her shopping. She would probably be gone for at least a couple of hours getting whatever it was she used in her repairs. Hopefully that would be enough time for him to do what he wanted and return to the ship before her.

Under normal circumstances, he would never do this without her, but this time, he didn't want her involved. He had come to the town because of a tip. If it paid off, he would tell her about it, but if not…there was no point in getting her hopes up. She had been hurt enough.

Adezlan tossed his fishing pole onto his ship and then set off into town.

Cortez had not been expecting laughter, but it did not break his composure. It at the very least confirmed she was telling the truth. She was still hiding something, but from her mannerisms it did not appear to be anything worth pressing. He analyzed her explanation. To her, it would appear like he was just phasing out for several seconds. He had said that they wanted to root out corruption and that 'dezzy' was being emotional lately. He decided at last to reply.

"Rooting out corruption will not be so easy, when it has penetrated so deeply. For example, myself. I joined the marines to kill, not because of some ideal of justice. I follow orders to the letter and rarely go to far, and quickly balance any mistakes I make with a proper amount of success. As a result, I rose through the ranks until becoming a vice admiral. In a sense, you could say I am corrupt to the core. I believe your idealistic notions of rooting out corruption will only weaken the marine forces and make justice more difficult. A believe a more tame approach would be more suiting. Perhaps instead of corruption itself, you could root out action taken upon by corruption. I do not act upon my corruption, except with corruption and orders line-up exactly, meaning it makes no difference, like buying a great house for cheap because pirates murdered a family there. The house is no less great, but the value seems to have shifted, so why should it matter?"

Giving her a few seconds to contemplate his philosophy, he continued with a seperate analysis.

"I am something of a psychologist. Though I did not address myself as such earlier, I am in fact a doctor who both studies the mind and the body. Based on your discription of your leader, I can safely assume that he is hiding something from you. Maybe he has plans he hasn't shared with you? Or maybe he is worried about you for some reason. Or perhaps, he is hiding information from you rooting from either reason. Or maybe, he simply decided to leave you because he finds your nickname annoying, as I analyzed earlier, though from your deescription I doubt that fits his natural behavior set. He seems to be a patient man. When I saw him before, it appeared he was waiting. Perhaps he was waiting for you to get away? Or maybe he is expecting someone or something to meet him? My experience tells me you should be wary. But priorities are priorities. You seem to be seeking something yourself. Maybe what you seek is more important than the secret or secrets of your partner. Perhaps you should purchases what you came to purchase and return to your vessel. Or, your partner's secret could be more important. "

Giving several more seconds to contemplate his words, he concluded his statement.

"Are you worried about him, or are you worried about what you seek? Worried in this instance, meaning the defining of the object of priority."

Cortez had always been verbose. It was to be expected of a sociopath. Like most serial killers, he enjoyed murder and was expceptionally intelligent. Unlike serial killers, he had justice on his side. So not only did he get away with murder, but his murders benefited those around him. He could even be rewarded. If only the fools who joined the marines would realize the beauty of it. So many fools court marshalled or killed in action because they can't kill the right people when ordered to, instead of indiscriminate murders. It is pathetic and unsophiticated to cortez to think the way of these savages who seek danger and death at any cost. Restraint and patience; if they only had these two aspects, so many marines would function better, receive raises of rank, and even have their lusts fulfilled. Why were there so few who had refined themselves to be a paradox of truth: a weapon of justice. A weapon is a tool used for the sole purpose of harm or destruction, but is often used with ulterior motives. Justice is an identity of what is lawful, what is moral, what is orderly, what is balanced, and what is acceptable. A weapon defies the logic of justice, but serves it well. If these weaklings understood what it meant to be a weapon of justice as he did, they might actually succeed.

Cortez returned to reality, realizing the girl he was playing with was beginning to respond.

Azure

So he liked to kill. That was a problem. She really hoped Adezlan didn't run into him and was thankful that she had made this particular shopping trip on her own. Then again, if this man was right, Adezlan had wanted her to do just that. But he was just speculating, so it was possible he was wrong and she shouldn't be listening to him. Either way, she decided to leave it alone for now.

"Well, to start, I don't think you quite understand what I'm talking about," Azure replied. She rubbed the back of her head and sighed. Why did this have to become a philosophical discussion? "Dezzy is more into this sort of thing than I am, but I'll give it a shot." She took a deep breath and then began: "Your example of buying a house doesn't fit with the sort of corruption that we're worried about. That's not really corruption anyway. It's just taking advantage of the situation. After all, no one was harmed because you bought the house. What Dezzy seems to want to get rid of is this almost psychotic devotion that some Marines have about what they claim is justice. While I've been traveling, I've met some really amazing soldiers in the Marines. They genuinely want to help people." She narrowed her eyes and, scathingly said: "Of course, there are those like you who like to…fight, but even they seem to stay within certain boundaries. Then there are…others." Her expression became troubled and there was a faraway look in her eyes. "They kill or imprison people simply for being related to pirates…or revolutionaries. They are quite willing to murder dozens of their own subordinates if it means taking out just one more enemy. They are self-righteous and treat human life as if it means nothing compared to their 'great mission' or some other useless crap like that. That is the kind of corruption Dezzy wants to drive out." She seemed thoughtful. "Actually, it might be better not to even use the word corruption at all. Maybe ideology would fit better, since ultimately Dezzy wants to replace the old ideology with something new." She turned away from Cortez and started to walk away. As she went, she called back over her shoulder: "Look, it's been fun, but I think I'll take your advice and buy what I need and head back. Dezzy's probably wondering where I am. See you around."

Adezlan

Adezlan had made his way inland, avoiding the main streets and public areas. He wandered in a seemingly random pattern, passing through alleyways, over seemingly unused, decrepit bridges, the occasional sewage tunnel and, more than once, doubling back. To an observer, it would seem like he was trying to throw off a tail, but in truth, he was just hopelessly lost. It wasn't his fault. The directions he had been given were somewhat vague and the twisting streets did not help. Still, it was to be expected. The man he was looking for was not the kind of person to set up shop in an easy-to-find area.

At long last, Adezlan stopped in front of an old warehouse. There were a lot of places like it on the island. When the town had been smaller, the warehouse had been close to the ocean, but as the people of Honey Island expanded their home outward, it had fallen into disuse. Supposedly a black market weapons dealer was operating out of it now. Adezlan was about to find out whether or not that was true.

Adezlan approached a side door and tried the handle. It was, of course, locked. Since he had no idea how to pick a lock he decided to throw caution to the wind. He drew back one of his fists and punched the door with all his might. It was blown off its hinges and throw into the room beyond. Adezlan stepped into the warehouse and began his trek into the darkness.

Cortez turned away from azure. He walked, carrying his year's supply of chocolate with him, and stepped on the water as before. She had made it clear that the conversation was over, at least for now. When analyzing her response, he noticed how much like himself she looked; when he remembered his lover. The envy of an ensign lead the soldier to kill his lover. Corruption at its best. Her description likely happened to her, or maybe she observed it instead. Utilizing his talents, he would whisper in Azure's ear as if he was right next to her, despite being so far away.

Kin Roar

"Your generalization is what lead to my response, not my misunderstanding. It appears that you aren't rooting out corruption like I thought, but the act upon it as I suggested. But keep in mind, you aren't the only one who has been scarred by the memory of a marine's corruption."

He quickly became disinterested in Azure. Her friend seemed more fitting to worry about. He might be of use, or maybe he would just be interesting. Cortez was curious about 'Dezzy`s' plans, situation, and etc. he seemed to be hiding something, so maybe he could get an idea of what it was. Noticing the stares once more, he realized it would be wasteful for him not to utilize his stealth in case of outside involvement. He planned his destination as the place where the fishing barrel was, and he disappeared, dashing from pole, roof, and floor.

Kin Soru

People displayed confusion as cortez disappeared from his spot, but Cortez wasn't there to see it. In mere moments he had arrived at his destination. Dezzy was not there. There were very few items to give away which direction he went; a nearby tool was displaced several micrometers, and dust had been moved. This was not sufficient evidence for tracking, but the little evidence there pointed in the general direction of town. Furthermore, logic would dictate that if he was going to come to this island near the town that he would want to go to the town.

Kin Shadow

Forcing camouflage with the surrounding, Cortez slowly, carefully, stealthily, vigilantly, and observationally walked towards town. Avoiding contact with people, he calmy and invisibly (to most eyes) made his way towards town looking for tips as to were dezzy might be.