[IC] One Piece: New Age

[tex]

Mathias turned towards the oncoming ship when the man on board shouted. He frowned. How dare they!? "This courtroom is..." Mathias began, putting his old wanted poster away and jumping across the deck towards where the enemy ship was approaching from, "CLOSED!"

With that last word, his gavel increased in size again until it was utterly massive, and he brought it down into the bow of the enemy ship, nearly tipping the entire vessel over with the force of his blow. Ultimately, the front 3rd of the rust-silver pirate ship that came to attack ended up in shards, splinters of wood shooting off in every direction. The remaining part of the ship began to sink into the water, but crashed into the ship holding Zypha, Abigail, and the escaped prisoners, jostling the entire platform violently. "Oops!" Mathias cried, his hammer already disappearing. He retreated back towards the group of pirates behind him with a nervous smile.

[malmshodes]

Abigail's blade didn't do what she was hoping it would. The man with the hammer was't cut in to. He should've been dead. It was hard to tell what happened exactly. One second she was rushing towards him, and the next she was cutting what was probably some kind of illusion and then he was talking about Schichikukai.

The red pirate stopped at glared at the man. "What's going on?" She didn't sheath her blade, but she wasn't pointing it at the man, and thrusting at his heart. "What are Shichibukai?"

[Jensoman]

"WHAT THE-" The enemy captain shouted, as Mathias's hammer instantly took out about 15 pirates, including the captain. As the rest of the damaged ship rammed into the first enemy ship with extreme force, a massive cracking noise could be heard as the first enemy ship, the one the Lotus pirates were upon, broke into two pieces, and was sinking along with the other ship. Fortunately, Mathias's attack prevented anyone from getting harmed, certainly preventing the pirates from either dieing or being severely injured. But if they did not act quickly, they would fall into the water.

Well, all except Croma, who was still on the Lotus ship.

The enemy crew did not have so much luck however, as they had either died from the hammer or the impact of the ships colliding, were lying severely injured and knocked out cold on top of some debris, or were drowning.

[malmshodes]

"So, not going to answer my question I see." Abigail muttered as the ship starting sinking into the ocean. She took a moment to glare at the schichibukai. The red pirate still wasn't one hundred percent sure what the man was up to, or even what the hell is name was, but she didn't like him, at all. "This isn't over. Not sure what your up to, but whatever it is doesn't matter, I'm not done with you." Her sword disappeared into its sheath and she ran towards the other ship.

"Crap." She stopped running when she remembered she couldn't run on air. "What do I do now?" She looked around frantically for something to get her to the other side before settling on a rope that was hanging from the enemy ship's sail. "That'll do, I hope." She grabbed it, and took a few long steps in the opposite direction before turning to run towards the edge of the boat. Just before she went over she jumped, and hung on as she swung over the watery divide. "Two landing practices in one day. Just my luck." She let go and hit the poop deck, rolling.

[Leaves]

August stepped forward as the battle had caught his interest. He wiped his sweaty brow and clenched his fists. The speedy pirate thought he was safe from a distance, but there was no telling at his point. "Did he say he was a warlord of the sea?" The pirate changed his expression immediately when learning of that information. There was certainty that the cuffed man did say he was a schichibukai.

"To think, I was trapped in a room with one of the warlords." August slammed his fist against the wall he was leaning onto. He began rationalizing the situation. "Okay, so they are known for their immense strength," August had heard plenty of rumors concerning the warlord's capabilities, but he was not fully convinced.

"Maybe all of it is just rumor," Fletcher muttered. He kept placed at his position and prepared himself in case the schichibukai brings the fight closer. So far it looked like was interested in one person. August could hear faint noises, but he ignored them and tried staying focus on the mallet guy.

He was stunned by the immediate pirate crew. The ship was coming at them and he didn't have enough time to react. "It's just one problem after another. Now we have the pirates to deal-" The vessel was immediately destroyed by the mallet-using pirate. The broken ship was proof enough of the warlord's capabilities.

"I guess it wasn't rumor after all," August joked. "I need to get off this ship." The incoming ship had caused minor damage, but it was enough to have the ship begin to sink. Most of the new pirates were knocked out or had died upon impact. The problem was still the schichibukai, unless he had some type of emotional personality change.

August began jogging towards the side of the ship. He eyed the railing he had to jump over to get to the other ship. He didn't doubt there was an open distance between this ship and the adjacent one. As he was nearing the railing, he picked up speed. Sprinting at full, he managed to use his legs to jump a lengthy amount. August soared over the water and landed onto the ship with ease.

He looked back to eye the schichibukai's next move...

[Noxx]

Croma was tossed around like a rag doll without direction from all the commotion on the ship and her recovering strength she couldn’t actually get a good bearing on what exactly was happening as her body was propelled into the wall. Twisting and turning without direction still holding her sword Kichi as everything in the room started to toss and turn soon enough her body was thrown into the next room through a wall imbedding her body in wooden frame two rooms down in the sinking ship. Fortunately, because of the angle the ship was in she was able to stand here on what used to be a wall and with some food in her stomach, she could actually swing her sword with the destructive force she was meant to wield. Jumping upward launching herself off a falling table, then a nearby chair the swordswoman ran up the wall before catapulting herself off to the side with her sword at the ready.

“Style of the undrawn sword: God’s punishment!” She yelled, swinging her sword once the force of that swing along turned the top half of the ship into splinters as she traveled through it and out the other side landing safely on the other ship. Having used up so much of her energy in that one attack Croma was knocked out once again with her stomach growling.

[IceHeart]

Zypha missed most of the action but she was able to pay witness to the other pirate ship being smashed to smithereens by the crazy one. So it turned out he was a Shichibukai, a strong pirate on the payroll of the World Government. They were strong and quite feared on the seas so Zypha was unsure if meeting the 'Judge' was good luck or bad. Well the good part was the newest threat was now no more, but the plain fact was they were essentially in the hands of the Shichibukai so things could easily turn bad.

Well now was not the time for thinking such thoughts as the Shichibukai's antics was quickly making the pirate vessel sink. Zypha wasted no time jumping back on board her vessel, thankfully she hadn't gone very far so it was a quick hop away to her ship. As everyone was scrambling aboard she wasted no time in setting sail, away from the sinking ship, they did not want to be near it as it was going down. She pushed the ship away from the other vessel and started setting a course to go around the island, as they needed to find a safe place to harbor.

"I hope everyone who wants to live is on board cause we need to get somewhere fast!"

[Jensoman]

As the Lotus ship moved forward and circled around the island, it seemed that it wasn't large at all. There were many rock formations and mountains at the edges, making it impossible to dock anywhere else other then the docks they had seen earlier. However, upon reaching these docks, it appeared that there were no pirates at the docks or on the remaining two enemy ships. Perhaps that had to do with the fact that many of Treant's men were now dead. Regardless, they were safe in their approach.

Further ahead however, one could spot a cave in the distance. There were a total of 11 dots near the entrance. It appeared to be a group of pirates. Two of them were arguing about something. One of these two seemed to have a trained jaguar on a leash beside them. A third pirate leaned casually against the cave wall, reading a news paper. Two others seemed to take their job more seriously, looking rather focused as they stood guard. Two more pirates sat on the ground, drinking beer and singing rather loudly. There was another jaguar sitting beside him. The last pirate seemed to be teasing someone who appeared to be a prisoner who wore seaprism handcuffs. "Yer not so tough anymore now, eh?!" The pirate shouted at him.

Due to the distance between them and the Lotus Pirates, they hadn't spotted them yet.

[Whimsley]

Alan Fringe flexed his mighty jaw and furled his lips outward. He was surrounded by jaguars, outnumbered ten to one by veteran pirates, stuck in a cave of unknown whereabouts, and didn't have a clue as to whether he'd see tomorrow's day. Yet those damned pearly whites revealed themselves. They flashed in two rows, gigantic teeth aligned, clenching together. The ends of his mouth curved upward, and Alan's green eyes opened wide as perfect circles. His pupils dilated to an absurd radius. His face wrinkled and his colossal tongue forced itself through his gigantic teeth. He laughed. He sang drunk shanties and kept a beat by slamming his cuffs against the cave wall. He stared, outnumbered in every way, into that cocky pirate's eyes. It was a look that caused a baby to laugh and a grown man to have his stomach turned. "AYE, YOU'VE GOT ME CORNERED YOU DO. I LIKE MY ODDS," Alan said. Though, the crew would swear his booming voice was practically screaming. His voice would be heard sooner than the rogue pirate crew would be seen, if anyone were to venture by. "LET'S HAVE A DRINK THEN, WE'LL DANCE AND SING UNTIL AN AVALANCHE CRUSHES US, WHAT SAY YOU ALL?" Alan suggested to the rogue crew.

[malmshodes]

Abigail watched from the ship's bow as the little island got closer and closer. It didn't look like anything special, but there was a lot of fixing up the place needed, especially if they were going to be dealing with slavers, and they were going to. She didn't know much about Zypha, but she had a feeling her crew mate too had been angered by the unwarranted attack on their ship, and she doubted the woman would let it go. NOt that it could be let go. There was a slaving business going on on the island, and there was little doubt that whoever this Treant guy was, wouldn't put up a fight in keeping them there, and protecting his investment. Easily, the worst thing they could do is turn their back on an enemy.

The red pirate picked up a nearby spy glass and looked through it. There wasn't much to see, but for a small camp with what appeared to be large cats. She didn't doubt those men were in league with Treant. The whole island had to be under his fist. "So what now?" Abigail said, moving close to Zypha so none of the others could hear her speak. "I'm not sure how you feel, but going in gun's blazing doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do." She shrugged. "But I'm not really a strategist."

She turned away from her partner and looked out into the ocean, and not for the last time wonder what had happened to the man with a hammer. They'd meet again, she didn't have any doubt about it, but next time she wouldn't let things go his own way again. She gritted her teeth and took in a long deep breath.

[Noxx]

Croma woke up in a daze having knocked herself out for most of the sailing only coming to when the land was well within sight. Staggering back to her feet with Kichi in hand, she started to make her way around the ship seeing her ex prison mate, but not the odd ball of a man whom he shared a cell with. She spotted Zypha and the girl she was with when they found them aboard the pirate vessel talking about something more than likely the next course of action. Fixing Kichi on her back as she walked forward to the furthest edge of the ship and took a look at the rapidly approaching shore, Croma was born with very good perception and eyesight but they were just too far away to tell. One thing she did make out of it however was smoke from a campfire, one that was still lit indicating someone was there, perhaps crew mates of Zypha?

[Leaves]

August stood completely up. Luckily, he was able to make a speedy getaway before he caught the hell-storm. He was not too enthusiastic with fighting a warlord. There was no telling if August would be able to land a heavy hit against a guy like that. The speedster stopped thinking about fighting the brute and looked around the ship.

He was confused on what would happen next. There was no telling who these pirates were and their intentions. They did not technically rescue him; they just provided an extra boat. Cracking his knuckles, he decided it'd best to speak. "Where are you guys headed?" He asked nonchalantly.

[IceHeart]

Zypha was considering what Abigail had said. It was very true, heading in straight on would be a bad idea, especially considering what happened the last time. For some odd reason the docks were empty which was very strange, then there was the cave up ahead. As Zypha was considering their options she was interrupted by the blonde.

"Where are you guys headed?"

It was fairly obvious where they were headed, but considering their predicament, Zypha decided to play nice. "We are headed for this 'slaver island'[obviously not the name but it would do] and figure out how to survive long enough for our log post to reset. Until that time we'll need to figure out how to deal with this Treant moron. In any case despite this ship's relatively small size we'll get spotted by whoever is in that cave if we go any further. Let's cast anchor here and we can take the longboat which should have an easier time getting closer."

Thankfully their small vessel did have with it an even smaller boat, with this they should be able to sneak up closer to the cave, then depending on the situation, find a path to the cave on land without being seen. "We need more information, this cave seems like a good place to start. Let's give it a shakedown and plunder anything of use from it. Afterward, hopefully we'll have the information we need to create a real strategy."

[Jensoman]

As the Lotus Pirates got into the smaller vessel, it appeared that Mathias, the Warlord from earlier, had dissapeared. As the small boat made it's way closer towards the docks, they were still not noticed as they managed to get to land safely. There was still nothing special in sight, and it appeared that the cave was the only place they could go too.

The pirate who had been taunting Alan staggered back. The bottom of his shirt shifted, and his belt became visible to Alan for a moment. There was a small key hanging onto his belt, which was quickly covered up again by his shirt. "L-Listen here you...freak..! Yer gunna shut the hell up or I'll make ya!" He barked in an uncomfortable and confused tone, as he clenched his fists.

[tex]

Elsewhere on the island

Treant looked over his orders for the month and sighed. Seventy two slaves to be distributed without delays, at risk of angering his customers. Needless to say, they weren't people you wanted angry at you, even if you did have a bounty over 100 million. "Ebi, go check out that nonsense on the south side of the island. We lost about 8 bodies in that little scuffle, and I'd like to prevent any more losses," Treant ordered, waving off his massive, cloaked comrade. The man nodded and smiled under his triangular hat before shuffling off, out of the room. "I'm not looking forward to losing customers. I'm not looking forward to it at all, Zeff."

[Jensoman]

Elsewhere on the island

A man sat against a wall in the shadows and rose to his feet, smirking at Treant and laughing. "BAHAHAHA! DON'T TELL ME YER AFRAID OF SOME LIL' SHRIMPS, CAP'N! WE WILL CRUSH THEM INTO DUST!!" Zeff roared, as his voice echoed through the room.

Another figure who was sitting nearby, appeared to be reading a book and spoke up. "Can you stay quiet, you moron? I am trying to read, here." A female voice said. "AH, COME ON JESSICA!!" Zeff barked back. "Psh...Imbecile.." Jessica muttered to herself, and continued to read. She did not seem concerned to the current situation at all.

[Whimsley]

Alan laughed, scraping his back against the cave wall as he stood. The seastone cuffs screeched as if nails on a chalkboard. He continued to bang the chain against the wall, creating his own shanty now. Though, it was mostly a series of grunts, growls, and hollers from the large-mouthed pirate. "BLOW THE MAN DOWN, YOHO, BLOW THE MAN DOWN. WAY, HEY! BLOW THE MAN DOWN!" Alan sang. The broad pirate's feet stomped alternatively and his teeth clashed together in melody. His fat tongue flicked to and fro, laughing between each stanza. Alan's mouth sang shanties, while his eyes sang taunts towards the key-bearing, cocky pirate. Make me.

[Leaves]

August sighed. He had hoped the woman did not answer with "cave." The speedster cracked his knuckles and began stretching his legs. He had some knowledge concerning log posts; he had to considering being ignorant out in the ocean would get anyone killed. August cracked his neck by shifting his head immediately left.

"Alright then. Not really enthusiastic about this, but this seems like the only option on getting off this island. I'll follow your "strategy," I guess." August threw his shoulders up. "Hope you know what you are doing."

[malmshodes]

"WE made it?" Abigail said, as she stood up on the beached boat to look around. "Doesn't seem like that big of a deal though." She blinked and put her hands on her hips. "There's nobody around." She shook her head, realizing how absurd her comment was. "Not that I'm complaining though. There's probably going to be a lot more blood shed before the day is over." Frowning, she gingerly got out of the boat, taking the spy glass she had put under the seat with her.

"So," she said looking at Zypha. "Since I'm not really what someone would call ... whatcha mccallem. The ones that think before they act? Anyways, what's next?" She looked through her spy glass at a nearby cave. "That over there." She pointed at the cave "Doesn't look inviting at all so I say we start there."

[Noxx]

Croma held onto to Kichi looking over the coast and all the potential ways this little voyage of theirs could end, the swordswoman wasn’t a particularly bright person outside of battle, but when it came to strategies before and during combat her mind was very meticulous. Walking closer to the group, particularly the speedster after fastening her sword to her side, freeing up both her hands would make the sneaking around they’d have to do much easier on her.

“Well, my prison mate is extremely fast at least enough to duck, dive and dodge normal people, especially drunkards easily, why doesn’t he create a distraction and we sneak in through the cave in all the chaos; if he gets caught we just fire him later” Croma explained to August and Zypha