Salty and Johnny's stories; The return in Blue Stripe

Many years had passed. Many years since the rebalance of the world. The status quo had already been set. Derge was one of the most prominent figures of the Pirate World while the older ones were still ruling their turfs. The Marines would agree with that balance. After all, the pirates had reached such levels of strength and might that most of them would not dare to face against the Yonko. Not even the world government itself would try to eradicate them. Only a few romantic marines were up and strong, facing against romantic pirates of the old days.

However under this era, another hidden war was occurring. It was a war of grudge and vengeance against the atrocities and the betrayals that took place before the new balance of the world. It was a war of pride and redemption.

In this war, everybody secretly fought. And there was that man who wanted to kill his former best friend with his own hands. A man who was making his way to Blue Stripe, a former marine prison that was shut down. That man, "rear admiral" Salty Peppery, along with his unit, was making his way to the prison, eager to meet his former best friend a few days before his final breath. Their last encounter was about to take place.

"Do you not happen to have any orange juice? Vodka just doesn't feel the same without some precious vitamins, you see." a heavily handcuffed man nonchalantly claims, before being abruptly and violently tossed inside a decrepit, dim and moist cell. The bars quickly closed, and were soon enhanced with rope after rope of thick, hardened steel chains and equally massive and formidable locks. Which was honestly looking a tad irrational, given than the walling in itself looked quite weak in comparison. That along the fact that across the room, the window lacked any cell protection; rather, it seemed to have given way long ago. This was, after all, a largely abandoned facility.

"Guess you don't have to waste expenses on that when you have assassins aiming at your morning window." the male continues to calmly and casually refer to himself. There were dried and fresh bloodstains on his rugged black tuxedo suit, the white velvet shirt being in an equal state. But it didn't matter. In this life, that kind of life, things can go from heavenly to hellish in mere moments. "Black Cross is soon going to claim this area as part of their turf, you know. No point in playing kings when you have been reduced to pawns."

As the marine ship was making its way towards Blue Stripe, a certain marine had been staring at the sea. The man was a different man compared to a few years back. Back then, he was a simple Marine, a member of the Photography Department. He was simply sent in missions to take pictures and serve as an informant for the navy. He was a coward, who would fight with an altered camera, capable of shooting bullets. He had taken part in major events, such as Anubis' takeover at Arabasta and other incidents, serving as a minion and nothing else. His constant devotion at the force, though, would lead him to several promotions. He eventually became a captain of his own unit, the Photography Department and he got to have a few subordinates. One of them was his personal bodyguard and his former best friend, Johnny Cool, a simple but strong man with an extreme liking for orange juice. Johnny was so strong that led Salty to seek for strength. He wanted to become a stronger man, so he could protect his friend and not be protected by him. However, fate had other plans for the two.

Johnny was not the man he claimed to be. He was a hidden agent of the Black Cross Pirates. A prominent member of that ominous crew, with a dark character and an even darker past. Johnny was serving as an informant for Roberto D. Wally in the Marines, and when the time came, he would betray Salty and the rest of his unit, returning back to his former crew. Or rather, he would reveal his cover and reunite with his old friends, leaving Salty all alone, with a bitter sweet feeling. Salty would gain strength in order to protect Johnny, but Johnny was not the man Salty wanted to protect. He was something completely different.

All those years, Salty would become a different man. Ever since the "betrayal", Salty was already a formidable marine. He had created his very own fighting style, the "Troll Style", something unique within the ranks of the Marines. As for his marksmanship? He would leave his former camera, to replace it with a sniper rifle on his back. And along with his strength and character, his appearance would also be changed.

His signature hat would be removed, to give place for his blue beret. He would not wear the clothes of a photographer anymore. Instead, he would sport a light blue colored coat with the marine symbols anywhere. A few stars were present on his suit, showing his rank within the force. He wore dark blue pants and black shoes. On his back, he had the standard marine coat, which showed his rank. Finally, what would be signature for his appearance was the lack of an eye. An eyepatch was his signature piece of clothing. Why he had it was not known to anyone. However, several marines would claim that it was done by Johnny, when Salty found out his betrayal. Such was the grudge of Salty over his former friend. It did not matter, though. As Salty was a professional sniper, he would not need to close his eye anymore to target his enemies with the other eye placed in the scope. Two eyes were a hindrance.

"We are arriving, Salty." a man with a ptiched voice said. He was Fino, one of the loyal members of the Photography Department. The man was a bald man with a moustache. He was dressed like a standard marine who had the commodore rank.

[Introduction Box]
[Fino "The Pitched Swordsman"]
[Marine Commodore]

"I know, Fino." said Salty with a manlier voice, as the constant battles had even changed his tone. "The time has finally come."

[Introduction Box]
[Salty Peppery "The One-Eyed Hound"]
[Marine Rear Admiral / Head of the Photography Department]

Salty was not seen as an enemy by Johnny. Not that Salty seemed to be aware of this, not to mention that this condition wasn't exactly valid, either. It was but it also wasn't. For Johnny never harbored ill views towards his former subordinate. Sure, his job was to literally deceive him, but that was it, just a job. And Johnny knew well to separate his business from his personal affairs and beliefs. To an extent, he actually found amusing yet perplexing that his friend was seeing him as a mortal enemy. This wasn't the first time he was chased by him.

But this time he was caught, which was a first to him, at least for a very, very long time. Then again, outside of his captured being the byproduct of a careful, excellently executed ploy, his adversaries that time were members of the infamous Aegis. Those individuals were not your average social workers. For even a head worth nearly half a billion could be an easy prey to them, assuming a well-orchestrated plan. Which that one was. Still, he felt some remorse for falling for it. "They really got me ... I do wonder if that brat Manta is actually caught by them too, as the information stated, or it was merely to lure me."

Surprisingly, despite their differences and quarrels, those two vagabonds ended up becoming really good friends. Which the enemy became aware of. But, in everything bad, there is some good. He would finally be able to have a normal conversation with his other, more important friend. At least, that's what he hoped for.

While Johnny was wondering about whether Manta was caught or not, behind the bars, the doors at the hall that would lead to the pirate's cell had just opened. Salty was walking all alone. The man had the hands in his pockets. While he did not have anything in his mind, it was a proof that he was not trying to possibly attack Johnny, at least behind the cell. However, his gesture of having his hands in his pockets also prove that he did not intend to give a handshake to Johnny. He simply wanted to have a casual talk with him and ask him a few certain things.

"It's been a while, my old friend. It's been a while, Johnny. Or should I call you... Pirate Johnny?" asked Salty as he approached Johnny, looking at him, face to face. Then, he turned his back at Johnny, taking the hands of his pockets, making a few extravagant gestures. "And how poetic. You end up in the very same prison we had our wildest adventure in the seas." he finished, sighing in the process.

"How about just Johnny? Or perhaps, call me by my epithet, while we are at it?" the pirate calmly and with a somewhat giddy demeanor responded back, while resting his sitting stature against the damp, dirty walls behind him. His arms, placed behind his back, were wrapped in thick cuffs.

Johnny "Black Ogre" Cool
Bounty: 480,000,000 Beli

"Life does have a way to bring things in a circle, doesn't it? Say ... you wouldn't happen to carry any juice with you, huh, partner. I'm getting thirsty."

"Even if I happened to have the orange juice you desire so much, nobody could guarantee it would be poisonless. Ogre. Black. Ogre." Salty said with a serious voice while turning his head, staring at Johnny angrily with his single eye. His hands were back at his pockets once again.

A single second later, as soon as Johnny coompleted his sentence, Salty's eye twitched. He gulped for a second as a few images of their common past had just passed in front of him. Partner. Yes... The two were partners. And Johnny was a man Salty would bet his life for. But as Johnny said, "Life does have a way to bring things in a circle". And that was Johnny's destiny. He started as a pirate and he became a marine in a mission. He wasn't supposed to be a marine at all. He was fated to be a pirate and an enemy of Salty. And as life is a circle, Johnny had no other choice but to eventually return to piracy.

Then, he remembered Douche. He remembered the former pirate the two had captured and would later join the two in their adventures, one way or another. While he used to be a pirate and most importantly a complete idiot, he was eventually accepted into the Marines and he served as a subordinate of Salty. Thus, the Marine Rear Admiral remembered that life doesn't always make circles.

"You got me for a moment here, Ogre. If I accepted that life makes circles, I would accept your return to piracy. But life doesn't always make any circles. It's up to one's hand to shape their destiny and curve their path of life." he replied, waiting for the pirate's response.

His tone, what he said, it seemed to bother the pirate, but in a different way that one could assume. He sounded, to Johnny at least, needlessly hurt by all this. Could it be that he stopped considering him a friend?

"Let me ask you ... do you hate me? If so, why?"

OOC: Sorry for the short reply, am expecting your response to this to go full Oda-ish in my next one.

"Hmph. You betrayed me, Ogre. You ruined everything we built as a team. I never considered becoming a powerful Marine, nor a Marine with a rank. Yet, in order to protect you and the other losers in the team, I actually became something else. I changed myself... for a lie." said Salty with a cold voice. "Even if you sacrificed yourself for me, it would not matter. Because as a matter of fact, your allegiance is not with the Photography Department. Had you put your life on the front for us, your boss would haunt you in the afterlife. You are a liar and a murderer, Ogre. And for that, you cannot atone." he finished, waiting for Johnny's response.

"Did I really ruined everything?" Johnny pondered. It felt, from his tone, from his stance, that this was not an ironic act, but rather, the pirate seemed genuinely perplexed, confused by that statement. "Look at you now ... I've been keeping up with your progress. You've evolved, haven't you? I'm proud of you, partner."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, patrol units were observing the shore, making sure that no one was to arrive at the island without being authorized to. However, unbeknownst to them, someone had already arrived. And, while the marines and other officers were continuing to monitor, plus inform the agents on Blue Stripe of the situation, that person was slowly creeping in. Speaking of the patrol, there seemed to be an awful lot. Indeed, Black Ogre boasted a massive bounty, especially by Paradise standards but this still seemed to much.

"Does it matter whether I evolved or not? I may die by your hands or the hands of your friends in the future. After all, I am a proud Marine, no matter how strong I may become. And what if I evolved? What was the cost? I lost my humanity, my emotions... Only a few of my men have remained with me. And the few who are here... They just care for me enough to go. I am a hindrance to their career in the force. And do you know who is responsible for this? You and nobody else." said Salty as he turned his back at Johnny completely. "Had you not been a member of the Black Cross Pirates, you would be executed. But I know they will come and get you. I personally convinced the Fleet Admiral to have you transferred here, in order to lure your friends here. You see... I lost a friend. And you are about to lose your friends as well. Before you get executed, I promise to catch all of your friends and bring behind these bars you touch! I am waiting for them! I shall catch them and kill them! And when I do and you lose what you hold dear, the force may do whatever they want with you." said Salty as he picked up a Den Den Mushi.

"Where are they?!" he yelled at a marine who worked in Blue Stripe. "Have they not appeared yet?!" he yelled kept yelling.

"Why are you confusing allegiance with friendship, partner? There is a difference in these two. My job that I had to do, indeed that happened. The friends made along the way? Real friends. It seems you still need some assistance to understand that."

"As for that, I wouldn't be so sure ... for you see, it is true that someone was after my tail. You are correct about that. But it seems you are mistaken ... which means ..." Johnny thinks to himself for a moment, before getting up. In an instant, the chains holding him broke down. Apparently, he had little trouble doing that up to this point. But oddly enough, he remained standing, merely watching Salty. It felt as if he had no intention to try to attack him or try to escape, not at all. "If your troops expect them instead, it means they are ill prepared ... order your men to abandon their posts now, Salty!"

"Huh?!" Salty's single eye twitched as he listened to Johnny's words. Now, he did not really know what to believe. Was Johnny trying to atone by telling him that the Black Cross Pirates were on their way and that the Marines were not really prepared at all? Or was he trying to save his true friends and tried manipulating Salty, so he would order the marines to hide as soon as possible from an incoming invasion of the Black Cross Pirates?

"No... It's a trap." said Salty as he picked up his Den Den Mushi again. "It doesn't matter whether we are ill-prepared or not. We are Marines and we have to do our job, no matter what! We cannot retreat and let the Black Cross Pirates rampage in another basement of the Government! Even if that means that we will let our last breath in this hideous prison!" he explained to Johnny. "Boys! Act with caution! They are most likely on their way. They may have even arrived!" he finished speaking to his subordinates.

"Indeed ... they surely must be ... on the island already ...!" a metallic, distorted voice responded back, filled to the brim with a taunting tone. The other side of the island seemed to be calm now. Too calm. In fact, it appeared that every single officer stationed there had been taken out. But rather than a battle field soiled with the spilled blood and guts of the fallen, it instead emanated a unified sound of snoring. Why on earth was everyone asleep?

"This is bad ... Salty, let me fight alongside you. This is not the work of the Black Cross. There are some underworld people that had been after someone's tail for a while ... that someone is ... you!" Johnny reveals to his former partner. Was that merely a ploy? Who where these people and why was this happening? And if so, why was Johnny captured, why here of all places? Why Salty?

"Hahahahaha... You are quite funny, Ogre. Why would the Underworld want to erase me. I am the head of the Photography Department. I am the one who gives the pictures of pirates. I am not even involved in their business..." he said. Then for a moment, he froze as he remembered something. "Unless... That day..." he remembered something. "No, it most likely hasn't anything to do with it. Nevermind." he said. Salty's anger over Johnny was so huge that he would not listen to him. In fact, he denied anything his former partner had to say. He believed that he was trying to confuse him. "I will not be a part of your games anymore. I am not going to be tricked by a pirate, ever again." he said in disdain as he turned his back at Johnny for the last time. "Our conversation is over, Ogre." he finished as he got out of the room of Johnny's cell, only to notice that the guards outside were missing. Something weird was going on, indeed.

[OOC: I leave this to you, as you must likely have a plan ]

"Someone was a bad marine, wasn't he?" that same bizarre, wiry voice was heard again, this time from speakers on the edge of the corridor of cell rooms that spanned as far as the eye, or rather, the dim light, could go. The noise was followed by some static, then silence, then a soft, eerie laughter was heard; this was was clearly not coming from the speakers.

"It appears that Marines inherit a certain amount of self righteousness that disallows them from keeping track of the times they had been acting less than valiantly ... what a hypocritical way of living, if I may add." someone spoke, footsteps were slowly heard, becoming louder, slowly but steadily. "Do not worry about the people over here ... unlike you hypocrites, be it Marines or filthy pirates, we do value lives. Everyone is safe and sound ... albeit, in a state where they can offer nothing more than dreams."

And then all lights went out. Aside the sole one that was close to Salty, thus allowing only himself and a small perimeter around him to be visible.

For a moment, Salty trembled in fear. As if his conversation with Johnny brought back his older self, the personality he had when Johnny was transferred to the Photography Department. However, the next moment he took a deep breath, activating his unique battling style that made him differ from all the Marines in the force. A wide smile appeared on his face and his eye twitched in a manner that he looked somewhat twisted. He sighed before making an introduction to the people who were speaking to him. He would make a few flamboyant and elegant movements, as if he was yelling a motto to introduce himself to his enemies. For every single line he would speak, his voice would change from femine to manly and vice versa, making the sight quite cringy.

"Huh? Is that a voice I hear?" he said with the feminine voice.
"It speaks to me loud and clear." he said with the voice of a man.
"Floating on the wind!"
"Past the stars!"
"In your ear!" he made with a pitched voice.
"Bringing order at a breakneck pace!" he said with the feminine voice once again.
"Crushing doom, bringing good in its place!" he kept speaking with a manly voice.
"A rose by any other name is just as sweet!"
"When everything's well, our work is complete!
"Salty! Peppery! Yeah, that's the name! Putting the evil-doers in their place... We are Team Marine and we are in your face! Wobbuffet! Mime mime!" he finished.

Then, he froze for a moment. "What is that Wobbuffet and Mime Mime?! That Wobbuffet and Mime Mime what is?!" he finished. He acted as if nothing was going on. He acted in madness. After all, that was his style... The Troll Style.

The steps seized, and the broadcast went dead silent almost immediately once Salty begun showcasing his rather unique battle style -as well as introduction stunt / play. In fact, the silence permeated the entirety of the facility for an awkwardly long time after the Marine was finished with his demonstration. Awkwardly enough to feel as if this was all some sort of a comedy stage.

"... Guess he didn't grew up as much as I thought ..." Johnny mumbled to himself, a rather oversized sweat drop falling down from his left temple.

"R-right ... as we were saying, what you heretics do is of the highest ..." the voice then begun again, and gave out a massive, complex -overly in fact, a skilled philosopher would probably deem this as nothing more than a massive case of uselessly repeating one's self with different words, speech in regards to hypocrisy.

"Let's drop the formalities, brother ... I'll just shoot his arms and legs off and we can take the rest of him away and be done with this. The curse won't last for much longer." the voice coming from nearby Salty resumes, but not the steps. The sound of a gun loading followed.

[OOC: Damn, this became harder for me to write hahahahah]

"Heretics we are you might say... You might say that we are heretics... No... No... The warriors of justice we are... We are the warriors of justice!" said Salty as he calmly took a deep breath. Then, he kept acting in a calm manner as the other of the two men claimed that he and his brother would shoot Salty at the arms and the legs, prompting him to be even more cautious than before. "You are aiming my arms and my legs. My legs and my arms you are aiming. This is going to be fun, I bet. I bet this is going to be fun. I also carry a gun with me. A gun I also carry with me." said Salty as dashed backwards a few meters, taking a distance from the two mysterious people who were loading their gun. "I'm a sniper as well. As well, a sniper I am. Let the guns speak. Speak... Guns. Guns!?" he would constantly raise his voice as he pulled a trigger at the darkness, hoping to scare the two men before he would become more serious.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" he laughed in madness, a fake madness which he used to come up with whenever he had an encounter against an enemy. "Whose arms are about to be shot first? To be shot first whose arms are about?!"

"This guy is too annoying to listen to ... let's proceed instead, with the soft approach." the voice broadcasting from the speakers laments, after yet another prolonged pause, possibly a failed attempt to gulp Salty's newest verbal, psychologically wrecking assault to everyone's ears and soul.

The person nearby Salty lets out a grunt of approval, which was followed by a metallic, clicking sound. Gas begun to emanate from all over the place. "This is a powerful sleep inducing cocktail ... let's see you shout that one instead."

(OOC: Sorry for the delay, suffered from an illness called "I am binge watching Code Geas and Neon Genesis" xD)

[OOC: This post is going to be short, just for the reference]

"Oh my, oh my... Where are you?! Are you where?" said Salty with a pitched voice, imitating the voice of his subordinate, Fino. "I guess all I have to do is shoot wherever I can. Wherever I can all I have to do is shoot I guess! Yes! Yes!" said Salty as he slightly bended his knees and grabbed his weapon with his right arm, while his left arm was read to pull the trigger. "To my little friend say hello! SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!!" he finished as he pulled the trigger, sending a blind barrage of shots towards the direction he heard the voices of the two mysterious men coming from. Had nobody known Salty, they would have thought that he was under the usage of drugs, but Salty was simply an expert of his battling style and nothing else.

"Wrecking helper." Johnny's voice was heard, and then a massive blast knocked out a large section of the cell rooms and walling close to Salty, effectively creating a large enough gap to the open world outside to mitigate the accumulation of the neutralizing gas. Also, apparently he felt like naming that "attack" at the same time. Still, he wasn't leaving the room he was "locked" in, even tho he could walk out of it at any time he wanted.

The Marine's assault, coupled with the commotion caused by that eruptive strike seemed to draw the unknown assailant away from Salty, as there seemed to be no response back after the shooting frenzy.

*Shit ... that looked like a random, desperate attack but he clearly aimed correctly. I barely escaped with my life!* the unknown enemy speaks to himself, seemingly running away, holding his shoulder which seemed to have been pierced. "Let's ditch taking him alive, he is too dangerous to capture ... let's get him killed for once!"

"Where are you gooooooing~~~~~??? Are you going somewhere??!" said Salty with a singing voice, while walking slowly on the debris that was created by Johnny's massive attack which broke the majority of the abandoned cells of Blue Stripe. "And now we've got this..." he spoke with a serious voice for a moment, only for him to revert back to his Troll Style. "We've got this, now, haven't we?" he spoke with his troll-ish voice once again, turning his head towards the cell in which Johnny was, ignoring the two assailants who were after him.

"So... you finally broke out, huh? You broke out finally. So...?" he turned his head towards Johnny, hiding his grin behind the funny face he was taking due to the unique way he was fighting and leaving the two assailants with the opportunity to strike him. Or was it not a real opportunity?

"Broke out? Not really, I merely saved you. Cannot walk out unless you specifically order my release, partner. Fancy any juice?" Johnny calmly answered, while pouring juice into a wine glass, both objects seemingly appearing out of hammer's space. His tone also sounding far more familiar, as if they were back into their old antics. Now that felt nostalgic.

"It seems the enemy has retracted a tad, so ... want me to give you the information I possess about this situation?" he nonchalantly adds, now pouring some vodka, which also appeared out of thin air, into his glass, which was now actually two glasses, as if he was expecting the Marine to merely walk to him and take the liquid.

"Hmph? I guess I can listen to what you have to say." Salty spoke with his serious voice, albeit he stood still, not taking a single step, nor saying anything about Johnny coming out of his cell. "I am quite interested in finding out what is going on. After all, I can make a good scoop about this and maybe get some extra money from the World Economy News Paper to increase the funds of the unit." he continued. "A story with the Black Cross Pirates in a marine prison, an attack to a marine officer and a few unknown assailants. That sounds interesting. I guess they could hand over a bunch of money to the force." he remarked, while waiting for Johnny to speak what he had to.