Location:

• Archepeligo known as the Conomi Islands.

Interacting:

• @dragonmancer
• @malmshodes
• @Ira

---

Xerxes found himself knelling on the Fly of what was left of his crews ship. His mind fuzzy, the last remnants of last nights memories being chased away by the realisation that it was new day.

"Damn storm." he mumbled to himself despondently and he rubbed his aching neck. After a night of sudden, violent storms, he was forced to watch the newbies.

Memories if the nights events came flooding back. Total darkness prevailed as clouds thickened and the sky was stricken, blotting out the moonlight and stars. The wind arose to push the still waters to choppy, which morphed into mountains of angry waves. The crew struggled to get the sails down, and to tie them off. They slipped on the rain soaked deck. When the others heard and saw how frightened the sailors were, they panicked. The wind slammed the rain into their faces like tiny stones and pushed their hoods back. The ship pressed, first up waves at forty-five degrees, and then crashed down jarring their bones. At one point the waves spun the vessel sideways. They held tightly onto the mast, onto ropes, onto anything. It was difficult to hang on.

Xerxes chuckled to himself, he found the expressions on the faces of the crew members funny, fear gnawing at their very soul. Storms had a way if showing the true nature if a man, or was it when they first spilled blood, 'bah' Xerxes couldn't remember, didn't matter, he was in charge.

As Marxo left, Xerxes calculated the money that the crew had left, little to none. Xerxes sighed, they couldn't rob anyone, so they were stuck. The most they could get with thier money was a slice of moldy bread.

"Oi, neither if you wouldn't happen to have any Beli? If you don't, those 'bellies' of yours is gonna remain empty." he barked, turning to the pair who stood behind him, his goggles seemed to brighten glaring of the sunlight. Xerxes wasn't a harsh leader, he could care less what the crew did under his watch, but if the Captain ordered it he would carry it out.

I would be reading a book just before our captain made his announcements. The book in question was nothing remarkable, a simple green cover titled the fables of Siegfried, and was nothing too interesting either. A simple story of a knight, and all of the elements you'd expect from such a book. A damsel in distress, love interest, slaying monsters, exploring dungeons, the works. Of course I was also in my suit of armor, I haven't taken it off since I started wearing it and that was long before I met any of my current crew. My large lance sheithed at my side, and my massive shield on my back. Black iron armor reflecting little light as my crimson cape lowed behind me in the wind. I was enjoying my reading until I heard Marxo begin. My eyes lifted from the page however when the captain gave his orders. About time we got a new boat I thought as he had already prepared to take off. I looked to the first mate, Xerxes, and our newest recruit Melany. I was familiar enough to know how well, ruthless our crew can be. I've seen a glimpse of Marxo's bad side, and Xerxes well, lack of morality. In fact I was still debating on whether Xerxes is even considered human at this point. Melany wasn't as bad, though her fighting style was dirty and distasteful, still her lack of well, being completely mad or heartless was a refreshing factor to consider.

@LokiLeo789
I was a soldier, not a leader, and as such I awaited orders from our temporary leader Xerxes and laying some trust in whatever it is he plans. The captain had warned us to not go crazy plunder and pillaging so i imagined he wouldn't do anything extreme. So while I waited for our next orders from the first mate, I continued to read my book, keeping my ears tuned to my crew. I then perked up at Xerxes questioning. "I will be passing on food, do not worry on feeding me." I said dismissively, though I was somewhat famished it wasn't the longest I ever went without having food, there were other crew members that probably couldn't take the same treatment.

Melany Hunnir was leaning against the ship's railing, arms across her ample chest, and eyes focused intensely on the crew's leader as he gave his speech. A part of her was agitated that there was yet another obstacle in her way. There was always something slowing her down. She didn't give her complaints a voice though. There wouldn't be a point to it. Everything had a time and a place, but right now, when there was just a problem that couldn't be skipped over wasn't the right moment to complain. Sighing, she only shook her head, and watched quietly as Marxo left them with Xerxes.

A few moments passed while the man asked about beli and then the other crew member Jackal informed them that he wasn't going to eat. For a second she thought about ignoring the man's statement, but at the moment he was a member of the same crew as herself. So if he failed at some point then so would she. She couldn't fail now; wouldn't. @dragonmancer "MmmMmmm." She cleared her throat and looked in the larger man's direction. "Not to scold, as your an adult, but skipping a meal out at sea isn't the wisest course of action. The next meal isn't always guaranteed, and one never knows when there's going to be a need for strength, lots' of it. Best to keep that belly full so your arms and legs won't crap out on you at a bad moment" like when we're all pinned down and someone with tough skin could be used as a human shield.

Without waiting for his reply Melany turned her attention to the second in command. "Nope. I've got nothing on me at the moment, As for beli go." She paused for a moment and then a small smile appeared on her face. "To be honest I'm still a bit new to how things work around here. What exactly does Marxo mean he mentioned us not going crazy? Is that an order to keep our heads down as low as possible, or just don't go overboard?"

@malmshodes
My eyes trailed off from the book as the new recruit lectured me upon not eating. She wasn't wrong, however when she said she didnt have any beli herself I gave a heavy sigh. Lowering my book I reached into my satchel, pulling out a small sum of beli, combined with the scraps of money Xerxes had they might just barely have enough for two meals. I'd force the beli into her hand and returned my eyes to my book. "I imagine she needs more food then me, and the captain is always supposed to eat of course.@LokiLeo789 You lot go eat without me, I ain't hungry." I would lie, turning the page in my book as I continued reading, hoping Xerxes would answer her question.

Location:

• Archepeligo known as the Conomi Islands.

Interacting:

• @dragonmancer
• @malmshodes
• @Ira

---

Xerxes grinned under his mask as he watched new recruits go at it. The knight was a passive one, which he found unusual, and the red head was just as hot as her hair, although a bit mannerly. They didn't seem to be good fits for the crew exactly, Xerxes and Marxo were killers, these two seemed…a bit weak.

With a laugh, Xerxes took the money that the knight happened to have, which would amount to two meals, if the knight was to dimwitted to take this opportunity to eat, then Xerxes would gladly let he stave. Glancing at Melany, Xerxes considered her question. Apparently she didn't know what she was getting into when had joined his crew. His goggles grew brighter and brighter as he seemed to be peering into the very souls of the two crew members.

"You don't know much about me and your Captain do you? Neither do you realize that we aren't your jolly crew of Straw Hat Pirates. Xerxes admitted scratching his bald head. "We are a crew of killers. We kill, steal, pillage, that is what the Sunny Massacre Pirates are about! Xerxes proclaimed, a grin plastered on his face.

Before Xerxes could continue his rant, a call came in on his mobile transponder snail. Within moments he picked it up, ready for orders. As he listened, a smile grew on Xerxes face, one that would give even marines nightmares. Turning towards the town expectantly, an explosion rocked the boat, right on time.

"Looks like your going to get to experience what it means to be a Sunny, Melany." Xerxes chuckled. With a snap of his fingers, every building to the left of them at the dock was set on fire, electricity arcing off of it creating more explosions, screams being heard for miles away. "We have 30 minutes to get to the pier…. Oh and Jackal…eat…or I'll make you." Xerxes cackled before jumping off the boat and making his way into the town.

JACKAL VENTMAW

Location:
Archepeligo known as the Conomi Islands.

Interacting:
@LokiLeo789
@malmshodes

Though I had paid some attention to Xerxes, My eyes lowered from my book once again as I looked to the explosion in the distance. With a sigh I'd lower my book and tuck it away in my satchel. I was hoping that today would be rather quiet after last night's storm, though that looked to be impossible now. 30 minutes to pillage before we get on our new ship? that is not a lot of time. "Fine, but we don't have the time to sit down and eat, might as well steal some food and take it with us instead, in fact we should probably stockpile on it. Of course considering how broke we are now cash is also something we should prioritize in." I spoke above the screams of bystanders amidst the chaos and fire.

I didn't like giving orders or suggesting a strategy after all i wasn't designated as a leader, but the idea of only having thirty minutes or being left behind was a stressful rush of a scenario for me, it was easy for the rest to think of themselves but i refused to risk leaving anyone behind. "I'll get whatever food I can carry and then I'm heading straight for the pier, I'll make sure to come back to get you guys if I don't see you there in 20 minutes." I said flatly, no longer concerned of a leadership role, and continuing to march down the street.

rom the crow’s nest Jax had a decent view of Loguetown. One of the most famous places in all the world when it comes to pirates, where Gol D. Roger died and one of the many islands that Monkey D. Luffy made an impact on. He was able to make out some spots where he could teleport to just in case anything happened in town and the ship was not a safe option. The voice of the captain broke his concentration on the city and he was able to barely make out that he wanted the crew to head into town. He hadn’t been with the ship or crew very long, but he did know that whenever the captain had a strange feeling about anything, he was usually right.

It makes sense tactically to head into town, it’s always good to get the lay of the land in order to assess choke points and the quickest route to get back to the ship. He worked his way down to the deck with the wind spraying sea salt in his face. This made him think that getting googles might be a wise investment. That gives him another reason to go into town. He still had some beli from his successful mutiny. It should be just enough to get him a meal and a reasonable pair of googles.

Jax finally hit the deck after a quick climb back down. He climbs down with ferocity every time due to the mistrust of the mast. He has a firm belief that it will completely topple over if anything stronger than a light breeze decides to hit it.

He looked around for his crewmate, a large fishman who goes by the name Kanki. They will definitely stick out like sore thumbs. It’s true that there is a Marine base in this town, so it there might be safety in numbers. There is also the chance that if Jax and Kanki travel together, that they have a harder time blending in with the crowd.

"So, do you wanna head out and scout the town with me or do you think we should split up?”

“Kanki, that’s enough! You’ve beat him, so stop it already!”

Several of his fellow disciples held him back and tried their best to distance the Electric Eel Fishman away from his beaten and bruised opponent, who laying practically lifeless, in front of him. However, their efforts were too no avail. He was massive even among his kind and the fact that he could just leave those around him paralyzed just worked against their favor.

“This is our fight, back off!”

A burst of electricity was suddenly let loose from Kanki, leaving those around him twictching on the floor and unable to move. They had no choice but to simply watch what was about to take place.

“I don’t care if you’re my senior or one of the strongest guys in here. I hate cocky chumps like you.” Said Kanki as he approached his opponent with sparks of electricity being discharge from all over his body.

Picking up the bloodied Mako Shark Fishman by the neck with one hand, Kanki smirked and whispered to his ears. ”Sweetdreams, senpai.”

From a distance, a behemoth of a fishman was apparently quietly observing the events that were taking place. Basing on the smile that was on his face, he was probably enjoying what he was seeing. “Kanki, again? That kid sure is a troublemaker.”

His train of thought was then disturbed as another fishman in a gi was panickly rushing to him. “Master! Its Kanki! We can’t stop him!”

With a hearty laugh, the Great White Shark Fishman stood up and turned to his disciple.

“I know, I know. Leave him to me.”



Waking up from his morning nap, Kanki was quielt lying flat on their ship’s deck, basking in the bright rays of the sun and enjoying the calm sea breeze.

Above him, was Jax and aside from enjoying the fresh air of Loguetown, it seemed like he had other plans. "So, do you wanna head out and scout the town with me or do you think we should split up?”

Getting up, his hair was frazzled and clothes unkempt. Kanki turned to his crewmate and gave him a little proposition of his own.

”Travelling alone is never fun, but before we get to work, maybe we could get a drink first?”

Whislt scratching his head, Kanki just gave Jax a huge grin as he was awaiting for his reply. He was quite the negotiator, but if his offer wasn’t convincing enough, his good looks could get the job done.

It wasn't every day Dirk found himself around clothes. At least, not normal person clothes; most of what he was used to was his own unwashed rags, and the excessively rich tastes of his previous masters. These seemed rather in-between-ey by comparison, so he assumed that was what "normal clothes" meant. Regardless, he was among clothes now - his Divine Purpose had brought him to the small-ish shop called Chipper's Clothing unseen, but then it had decided to fail by ringing a bell when he pushed the door open. Or maybe that was intentional? The shopkeeper was coming over in a green apron and brown trousers and such, anyway, and from his expression, he seemed to be a rather conscientious fellow.

'Goodness gracious, my boy, whatever do you think you're wearing?' the old man asked in a somewhat shocked tone, only to be taken aback by the blunt, surprisingly quiet response of 'Not a boy. I am twenty two, and that's really offensive.' Dirk seemed less offended than he claimed, taking his time to stare intensely at the shopkeeper, head tilted to one side with a slight frown, before glancing round to take in his surroundings - wooden architecture, intended to soothe and calm, only slightly offset by the glinting metallic frames holding the variety of clothes. The frames reminded Dirk of his torture at the hands of the divine father, but also distracted him for a moment from the shopkeeper taking him further into the building, introducing himself as the shop's namesake and asking for the slave's own name.

'Dirk.'

'What a lovely name. And might I ask what brings you here, in those, uh... rags, no less?'

Though the man seemed nice, Dirk had known little kindness in his time, and took several seconds to stare again before formulating a whispered response: 'I was in the house. The big one on the hill. I was going to. Er. The guy said I was a. Pleasure? Slave.' Chipper's eyes widened at this revelation, murmuring something under his breath as Dirk continued. 'I didn't want that. So I used my martial arts skills. He died. But there's more of them, so I escaped. Now I have to fulfill my Divine Purpose.'

The shopkeeper nodded, then broke into a wide smirk. 'Hmph. The fat bastard got what was coming to him. Some of those World Government types... they're just dreadful, you know? I- well, of course you do, my apologies.' He took a brief look across his property, then looked at Dirk again with a rather warmer smile. 'Well, look. How about you pick out some clothes for yourself, Dirk, and we can discuss payment options... let's say "later" for now.'

Oh, right. Money buys things. Dirk had almost forgotten that fact of the real world. Fortunately, he had an object worth a lot of money. He pulled out the strange fruit with one hand, and his knife with the other, and began explaining that 'This is worth a lot of money. If I cut out a slice-'

He was stopped when Chipper's hands covered his own, his expression grave. Before the man could speak, Dirk interrupted with 'Please stop touching me,' the man removing his hands post-haste before quietly asking whether Dirk knew what he held.

'A knife. And this fruit. Apparently, you get power from. Eating it?' Dirk asked. 'So I figure you can eat some of it. And get some power.'

'I'm afraid the Devil Fruits do not work like that, Dirk,' Chipper informed him quietly. 'They will lend their full power to the first being who consumes even an ounce of their flesh, at the cost of rendering the bearer of such power unable to swim. If you stole this from a World Government official... let's just say you'd do well to hide it from prying eyes, eh? And, perhaps, leave this island as soon as possible, if you value your life and freedom.' Another few moments of staring, and Dirk sequestered the knife and Devil Fruit away again. 'But for now,' the man continued, 'please, take your pick of clothing. You must have been getting such bad sunburn through all those holes.'

Time passed, and Dirk picked out a selection of brand new clothes, the shopkeeper insisting that he would provide freely to any man or woman who actively opposed the World Government's tyranny - underwear, black socks and shoes, dark trousers, a wide necked grey shirt, a neck chain with a small bell on it (Chipper admitted that these were cheap as dirt despite the hefty price tag, and he only really sold them to those youths who for some reason thought they looked cool), and finally a black longcoat that covered most of what lay underneath, complete with white-striped hood (though his new friend asked if he really wanted to wear that in such blistering heat). He changed into his new attire, transferred his weapon and his Devil Fruit to the longcoat's pockets, discarded his old rags, and finally found himself leaving the shop. He said his goodbyes to the shopkeeper, agreeing that he would return to see the man some day if he succeeded in fulfilling his Divine Purpose before Chipper passed on, and ultimately slipped into the crowd. The goal: to escape Loguetown as soon as possible.

And to do that, he'd need a ship.

“Sure, I need to get something to eat anyway and it’s always good to have something to wash it down.” Jax wasn’t going to turn down a chance to get to meet his new crew mate and it might be humorous to see him get drunk enough to get into a fight with someone. Just as they were about to disembark from the ship the captain came out onto the deck and declared his desires to head out into town with Jax and Kanki.

Their walk to the center of town was accompanied with a loud siren which caused citizens all around them to rush to safety. This obviously did not deter the captain, so Jax won’t let it deter himself. Though the crew was moving with a purpose, it was annoying to have to move around all of these people. It was slowing their movement down and it increased the chance of bumping into someone who might recognize Jax. There was also a chance that Jax might lose sight of his captain if he pushes forward too far. Kanki and Jax are easy to pick out in a crowd, but if it wasn’t for Bogard’s red cloak Jax would lose his captain in a heartbeat.

Jax hated being out in the open like this and these sirens were going off for a reason, for all they know Marines are sweeping the town for pirates or pirates are attacking the town or even worse there is going to be a public execution today. Whatever the situation is it will probably only lead to bad news for them.

Jax was trying to get away from the public eye so it would be harder for the Marines to find him. It made sense to become part of a pirate crew since they usually have bounties either way. He was able to fit in and live a somewhat normal life while helping his captain become the pirate king. With that position of power, Jax will be able to help more people than he could have if he just decided to go hide in a hole and pray that the Navy never finds him. Now his captain is dragging him into the center of one of the most famous towns for everyone to see; this can only end well.

The sirens kept wailing with every step and it started to get on Jax’s nerve. There was no order to anyone’s actions besides their own and it was starting to be counterintuitive to keep pushing into this crowd. They were not making any progress, so it might be best to find a restaurant to eat, drink, wait out these sirens, and find some information.

“Do you guys want to head into a restaurant? It might be nice to eat some real food for a change and we can ask around about the siren. I can head up to the top of a roof and try to find a restaurant that might still be open.”

Melany Hunnir
@dragonmancer
The red pirate's first instinct was to push her blade into the larger man's hand as he took hers in her own and put the sack of beli into it, but she forced her shoulders to relax and wrap her fingers around the sack. For a moment she blinked down at her hand to look at the gift. "Alright." She shrugged and put the coin purse into her pocket. "I can't force you, but I'm not going to risk letting myself get weak from hunger." She pushed off the railing to make her way to the town to find something to eat, but stopped and turned her attention to the first mate while he talked to her.

@LokiLeo789
For a moment Melany just stared at the man before shrugging her shoulders. "Who knows. There's stories about everyone, and there's not a pirate out on the seas without at least a dozen people claiming their the most blood thirsty killers roaming the seas." She grinned. "You can't believe everything you hear, right?" She opened her mouth to continue but the call from the captain came in, explaining that they were broke and there was going to be a change of plans. Without a word she nodded when Xerxes lit the buildings. "Hmm." She exhaled more than spoke and turned towards the crew's tank. "Food would be great. I'd love to help you get some, but I"ve got some other things I need to do." She smiled at the man. "But if you get a chance, would you mind picking up any citrus fruit you could get those giant paws on? We don't want to become the scourge of the world, and die of scurvy, right?" She winked and without waiting for further instructions, heading towards the destination.

JACKAL VENTMAW

Location:
Archepeligo known as the Conomi Islands.

Interacting:
@LokiLeo789
@malmshodes

I blinked at melany as she ran off winking at me. "Fruit, got it." I said before morphing into my more monstrous form, size increasing drasticly as I ran through the smoke and debris caused by Xerxes, in my 20+ height I have would storm towards an abandoned fruit stand. Lifting the entire stand of fruit and using a tent as a makeshift sac in the midst of fleeing civilians. I continued to put Beli and food items into the sac until it was filled to the brim, a process that would span 10 minutes as I continue

Anaru Kahurangi

Location:
Marine Ship, somewhere near the archepeligo known as the Conomi Islands.

Anaru stood tall in his room on the ship, a mysterious voice, clearly disguised, coming out of a den den mushi. "Sunny Massacre Pirates in the Conomi Islands." the disguised voice rang out. "Roger, i'll bring my squad immediately. Over and out." Anaru's voice boomed out, before the line went silent.

Anaru slams the door open, accidentally flinging it off its hinges, into the ocean. "Men! set course to the Conomi Islands, our informers got us a tip on the Sunny Massacre Pirates!" Anaru cheered, his subordinates cheered as well, as the helmsman, turned the ship, towards the Conomi Islands. the ship was already close to the islands anyway, so it wouldn't take long at all. "When we get there, these are our targets." Anaru held up photos of the Sunny Massacre Pirates, even those who didn't have bounties were amongst the photos. "We want them alive, remember that. and above all else, uphold our morals, rock solid justice!" Anaru's voice boomed across the ship, his men cheered, even the more reserved ones. but how did a brute of a man like Anaru get an informer who knew where the pirates were, and how did he manage to get those photos?

The sirens started just a few minutes after Dirk left Chipper's Clothing. Hearing them screech through the town, he was almost certain that he was now being hunted. He was not concerned, however; with his new outfit, and a Divine Purpose driving him onward, unseen through or by the dense crowds, he was quite certain they would not catch him again. Or rather, he had no desire to be caught up again, knowing full well what came after that.

On his way to somewhere or other in the town, ideally the shipyards, Dirk moved past a few men who seemed fairly interesting. Two rather tall people, one of whom looked like a sort of fish guy, and a much shorter guy, the person he'd nearly brushed into. A man in a red cloak. The combination of people was obviously quite noticeable, given that most others in the area were not nearly so tall or brightly dressed, and judging by their movement patterns, it seemed obvious that they were their own group. The ex-slave found himself intrigued - why would they be here, grouped together the way they were, if they were not some significant set of people? Say... pirates? With a ship?

Steadily, Dirk began following them. He remained a fair distance away from the group - he could afford to do that, for how obvious they were - and remained amongst the crowd. Even if he was fairly tall, he knew for a fact that most people wouldn't bat an eye in his direction. His Divine Purpose would shield him.