Wolf looked at her, smiling slightly. "I'm not strong...just stubborn. And I don't mind answering...I fight for my dream...and for the dream of my father. I want to make the ship he built the most well known ship in the seven seas...and my dream is a little more personal just yet" she pulled her hair back as the boats met up, ready for anything.

At Margaret’s answer, Dara simply smiled softly, nodding, content, before watching the men work. Once the smaller boat was lashed to the larger one, someone from the upper deck threw a ladder down, which Balto quick grabbed, attaching it firmly, before beginning the climb up. Ivor followed suit, the Captain intending to ensure things were safe, with Dara going up last.

Things on the deck seemed fine enough, with a few sailors mulling about, though their expressions seemed dour. Balto smirked, “Well, good you you lot. Of course, who knows what would have happened if you’d messed up.” Leaning in closer to the man he was addressing, he grumbled, “The cargo is fine, right?”

“What’s this ship carrying, anyway,” Ivorio wondered aloud.

Balto shrugged, “Eh, not important to you fellas.” However, now that Margaret was closer to the ship, she could tell that there wasn’t much room below deck for anything other than the life forms she could sense.

As soon as wolf stood on the deck the energy of all the life on board hit her like a bag of bricks. She stumbled back, luckily Dara was by her to catch her. She shook her head, covering her eyes to try and sort thru it all. After a few moments she looked at Balto, almost glaring at him. "If your cargo is below deck....I hope for your sake it's not what I think it is..." Her hands were shaking

At Margaret’s proclamation, Balto stopped, the big-nosed Fishman turning his head towards the woman with a slight grin. “Oh right, you said something like you could sense folks, huh? What? Got a problem with how we operate?” Balto asked.

Ivor blinked, wondering, “Eh? What’s going on?” Dara simply watched wordlessly, not following either.

Balto turned away shrugging, “Give the cargo a look if you really care, but your debt ain’t gonna pay itself you know.” Glaring over his shoulder, he added, “And you don’t want to have a debt with Raining Sunny, trust me.”

Getting worried, Ivorio said, “Worth a look...” The Captain led the way below decks, Dara following, her curiosity not waning. Heading down to the storage room, they found it: a room with a number of people, huddled up together, half asleep, or tense, wearing only dirty rags and chains as they coughed or shivered.

Slaves.

Gritting his teeth, Ivorio grunted, “What the hell is this?”

Dara ignored him, moving forwards, drawing a mask over her face and donning it, before going to the closest one and giving him a look. After a quick examination, she quickly concluded, “He’s sick...stay back, it’s contagious. They’re all sick.” Standing, she gritted her teeth, clenching a fist at her side, muttering, “This is...this isn’t of life is supposed to be lived!”

Wolf was right behind Ivor, her whole body shaking badly as she looked around. She felt ill herself, closing her eyes as she felt the life around her epp and weaken. She moved back, her emotions rising as she tried to block out the sad auras around her. She muttered "This is wrong...so wrong..." She turned and said "I can't..." she went back up on deck, fighting to breathe. She grabbed the railing and vomited over the side, her mind pounding. She shouldn't have come. If she had known she wouldn't have...

She felt Balto's eyes on her and her eyes glowed purple. It was good for her it was still early in the morning, the moonlight still above them. Not many knew that the moonlight, much light sunlight, has energy to it. Life to it. Its what controlled the tides after all. It was her favorite kind of life. Shadows. She turned to the fishman, her hands shaking in feeling sick and rage. Pure rage. She walked up to him and without warning grabbed him and slammed him against the wall of the cabin, her eyes burning purple now.

"I should have known...fishmen don't care about life...only money and power...do you even care that they are all sick down there? Dying? I can feel every single one of them...their pain, their sadness....their lack of hope...its enough to kill someone...if you and your bloody kind only knew what that felt like I wonder if it would change your ways..." She fought not to vomit again, the life on the ship starting to affect her worse the longer she was on deck. She looked him in the eyes and said "I don't care the price...or the reason...I won't let you do this...I went to prison for killed three ships worth of pirates who wanted to kill and rape a group of kids for sport...you think I wouldn't go back for this?" She raised her free hand and purple energy was gathered in her palm, swirling and smoke like.

As Margaret made to grapple with the Fishman, he seemed unperturbed by the woman, keeping his hands at his sides as he glowered, Ivorio and Dara watching quietly. Clicking his tongue, Balto began, “What? We smuggle things. You thought it was just goods? Besides, you damn hypocrite human, you’ve done way worse to my people. Why do you think I’m not in the Grand Line?”

Stepping forwards, her expression tense, Dara began, “But...this is wrong! Marco wouldn’t approve-”

“Of you finding out,” Balto quickly interrupted. As Dara’s eyes widened in horror, he continued, “Plenty of slaves have been moved through Lebara. Just cause you didn’t know doesn’t mean squat. If you wanna quit, then quit, that’s none of my business. My job was just to get id of this bad cargo: a bunch of sick slaves is no good to anyone. The Marines can have them.” Mouth spreading into a toothy grin, he added, “And they can have you two as well. That’ll take care of your debt, all right.”

Without warning, Balto jabbed his hands into the wall of the cabin, the wood cracking under his grip. As it splintered and shattered, Balto flicked his hands inward, pelting Margaret with a couple pieces of wood before using the distraction to lunge forwards, mouth wide open as he tried to rip a chunk out of the woman.

Wolf didn't move as the wood hit her, they did damage but her rage was all she felt. She roared and ducked down, pulling her blade free and slamming her hand into his chest. What happened next was not the normal Wolf would have done. Not the calm, collected Wolf. this Wolf...she was her namesake now. The energy wrapped around Balto, his own shadow wrapping around him and tightening, his scales breaking as it got tighter. Wolf didn't pause as she ran her blade thru him, using her on life energy to increase her strength to push the blade all the way thru. She knew it wouldn't finish him off for good, but it would make it easier for Ivor and Dara to. She pulled the fishman closer to her, her lips at his sort of ear as she muttered "There was one thing I forgot to say before...my name is Margaret Anne Wolfbane...the captain of the Shadowstrike...and I'm no hypocrite...I am not like other humans...I have a heart...you, on the other hand...don't have a heart or a soul...so my question is...what happens to you when your life leaves your body?"

She was shaking badly, her face almost green from wanting to be sick again. But she held it in as she looked over at Ivor. "What do you want to do with him, Captain? Shall I finish him?"

As Ivor stood by the ended scuffle, the huge Balto’s weight pressed against the cracked wood of the cabin. The ineffectual Captain scratched his orange hair, muttering, “Uh, he looks pretty beaten down to me, but if we give him to the Marines, we might be able to get Dara off. I mena, we’re still escaped convicts whichever way you slice it.” Looking to the back, where the ship was tied up, he tried to consider their options: Raining Sunny hadn’t expected them back apparently, given that this was a trap... As the Captain though, Dara simply stood, her black eyes locked onto the fishman, an unpleasant look on his face.

As Ivor pondered, Balto stirred, hacking out a glob of blood. Grimacing, he spat out a little more before making a low, whistling noise through his sharp teeth. Before Ivor could act, he felt a pair of arms on each of his hands, turning to find the members of the crew grabbing hold, fear on their faces. Dara and Margaret were snatched up by the innocents as well. The men on the boat were slaves, no different from the ones below except for their health. Their actions were not governed by logic, only emotion, the fear of going against their masters putting energy in their muscles. They managed to pull Margaret away from Balto, her sword coming free from his torso. The fishman slouched, before limping off, reaching into his aloha shirt and pulling out a sphere of some sort and a match. Striking the match, he lit the fuse, before chucking it into the air. It didn’t seem to go that high, but it detonated regardless, a flash of light illuminating the area for just a moment. Turning back to the other three, he leaned back against the railing of the ship, before groaning in with pain as he said, “You’re gonna have trouble in a moment now, you hear...” His sentence was punctuated, with another sputter of blood, and the large nosed basking shark fishman slipped from the railing, limply plummeting to the sea below with a splash. The once panicking slaves, stopped, loosening their grip on the trio, but not quite letting go, uncertain of their fates.

---

Elsewhere on the sea, a Marine ship sailed, its highly ranking officers aboard, following a mysterious tip off. Things were quiet on the brightening seas, until a clear flash in the distance was seen. The unusual disturbance meant the ship was changing direction, unknowingly making its way to a certain slave filled boat.

Wolf yelled in rage, throwing the man holdin her off and and running to the railing, her eyes going from purple to pure white. "Get back here you coward! I'm not finished with you! You...." She then saw his body floating there and she cursed again. "I will not rest until these people are safe and free again...and that bloody crew...pays for..." She slipped to the ground, coughing and vomiting over the side as the world spun. She looked over at Ivor and said "I messed up....but they...are free....right? Cap...tain..." Her eyes went back to normal as they rolled into her head and she hit the deck, the sickly auras around her pushing her to her limit.

As Margaret fell, Dara and Ivorio could only look on shock as they tried to comprehend tings. Neither had a particularly good grasp on her Fruit ability, for starters. Shaking off the hesitant crew, the two went to her side, Dara stooping down to examine her. As the doctor worked, Ivorio briefly glanced around at the brightening sea, before turning his eyes on the crew, asking, “And what’s your deal?”

As Ivorio got a good look at them, he noticed that they tended to be on the older side, the most charismatic looking one glancing away, before muttering, “We...too, are slaves. The old ordered to sail this boat of the sickly into the arms of the Marines, so that one of them can receive commendation.” Scratching his chin, Ivorio considered the testimony, quickly realizing that this meant that the Marines had someone on the side of Raining Sunny.

Turning back to Dara, the dark eyed doctor explained, “Heavy nausea, but I can’t tell the source.” Putting a finger to her lips in thought, she speculated, “She’s a sailor so it’s not sea sickness, and I know they can’t have poisoned her.”

Ivorio wondered, “Couldn’t they?”

Dara looked aside, no doubt thinking about things, before restating, “On second thought, they might have been able to at some point, but they’d have poisoned both of you, right? And why make you do this if they were just going to do this?”

Ivorio nodded, “True...as for this, come to think of it, Balto could have swum away, leaving us to get captured again and blamed for our crimes. I’ll bet whatever Marine traitor they’ve got is ready to kill, not capture...”

Dara blinked, “Barbary?” As Ivorio stared, she said, “I hear things on accident. I have good hearing. And eyesight, if my eyes are properly adjusted...”

Trying to think, Ivorio smirked, thinking, “We might be able to use this...I’ll watch Margaret and keep an eye out for trouble, you make sure all the slaves are taken care of. Except a couple.” With a nod, Dara, arms hidden under her poncho, hustled below, waving most of the crew along with her, while Ivorio moved Margaret closer to the helm, before having the small handful of older slaves keep at it with the ship, keeping it on track, Ivorio hoping he could get to the island and escape.

---

Meanwhile, on the Marine ship, a lookout called down from the crow’s nest, “Ship up ahead! It’s heading towards Lebara!”

Below, the bearded Captain Muscovy muttered, “Strange, was it going through the night? It could be desolate. Pull in and give it a look!” Turning to his second in command, he asked, “What do you make of it?”

Lieutenant Commander Barbary shrugged, “No idea...”

After a few minutes wolf stirred, her eyes moving under the lids before she opened them slowly. She knew what was happening and had to explain to Ivor before she passed out again. She looked around and reached, grabbing his hand. "Auras....on the ship....can't focus...life energy...,is sick.....i can't...can't....fight it..." She fought to stay awake, her eyes heavy as the world spun again. She prayed Ivor would understand her as she said "I sense...others....coming...have to get...out..."

Ivorio stopped as Magaret began to speak, leaning down to listen. As he processed herwords, he began to realize, “So, we’ve gotta get you off the ship then...others?” Getting back up and looking around the dawnlit sea, he spotted a ship in the distance, the white sails alerting him to who it was immediately. Knowing full well they’d be recognized, Ivor prayed for escape, but he doubted the slave ship could go any faster. He’d have to aim for something else, as fighting off Marines was going to be unlikely, and jumping in the rowboat was quite risky. Dara seemed kind enough, but Ivorio didn’t know her, thus couldn’t trust her when it came to diplomacy.

Looks like he’d have to try it himself, and pray he didn’t get shot to death before he got a word out.

As the Marine boat pulled up closer, Ivor quickly dropped Margaret behind the helm, where she wouldn’t be seen, hopefully, though he made sure she was close enough to hear on the chance that she got better. As he went back out, he heard a call from outside, a strong voice shouting at the old slaves, “You there! Where’s your captain?”

Stepping back outside, Ivor grumbled, “No captain here. Well, at least not one of this boat.”

As he came into sight, he saw a bearded Marine Captain, the man known as Muscovy, ask, “What business do you...you! Fontaine!”

“The one and only,” Ivorio sighed, arms motionless at his sides.

Hopping onto the deck, he was followed by his second in command and a troop of soldiers, who cautiously moved to surround, Ivorio doing nothing. Muscovy ordered, “Why do you return after having slipped through our grasp?”

“A series of unfortunate events, really,” Ivorio shrugged. He continued, “I learned some neat things about Lebara though. How much do you think is going on right under your nose?”

Muscovy’s brow furrowed, the man looking on inquisitively. Barbary jumped in, shouting, “What do you have on this ship?”

“Slaves, l-” Ivorio began, looking at Barbary suspiciously.

The man raised his gun, letting out a cry of forced horror, “Slavery? You monster!” Ivorio’s eyes widened as the man fired, the pirate ducking out of the way and making to flee. As the other Marines got their bearings, Ivorio scampered off, the slaves at the helm taking cover.

Well, that could have gone better, Ivorio thought.

Wolf listened closely, trying to think clearly as things went from bad to worse. Then she got an idea. She held up her hand and rested it on the wood of the ship. "Please give me some luck here...let this be a newer ship...." She then felt the spark of life and she felt the energy run thru her. It wasn't a lot, but it would do. Then she paused, sensing something else. She closed her eyes and then said "A very new ship...the soul is still there..." She looked over to see Ivor heading for the side. She needed to help the people on the ship. And get the three of them off the ship as well. She took a shaky breathe and said "Its worth a shot..." She pushed herself up, leaning against the helm and muttered softly "Nature's voice...."

Suddenly the ship rocked sharply, the wood around them groaning like under a great pressure. Wolf was panting, her hazel green eyes turned bright evergreen. The ship moaned again and the wood started to shake violently. Wolf smiled softly and muttered "Just a little more...come on..." Then the boards started to crack and split, the top deck opening up and a figure appeared. It looked like a ghost of a woman, her see though form green and yellow glow to it. The woman opened her eyes and looked at the marines, then said "This is my home...these are my children...taken from their homes by a fish on two legs...a school of fish on two legs....they are to be blamed...and the traitor in your mist..." She glared right at Barbary and said "A soul of greed...can be felt from a mile a way....the ones on this ship are not the ones who took my family from their homes...they were here to aid...and you can not take them..." The ghost glowed and the wood on the ship started to sprout into tree limbs and wrap around the marines, mainly Barbary. Wolf was panting now, her vision blurring. It would stall the navy long enough for the three to get off, and questions would be asked now. she hoped at least. She fought to stay awake, needing to guide the soul of the trees that made the ship.