Stolen Plans and the Island of Long Names(Rk,Vio,Kiwi,Rocko)

[RK]

Mission #35 ★
There are around two hundred soldiers that call the city of Aomizocolurba home but someone is offering a reward for war documents that can be found within the city to be brought to them! Will you risk the danger and bring back the documents from the Island of Taumatawhakatangi? Bring the documents back to King Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicoplois the Third to claim your prize! Wait... Say what? How to you even pronounce that!

Behold, the amazing island of Taumatawhakatangi, situated 3rd along the fearsome Warring Route of the Grand Line! On this island, a fearsome war rages between the forces of King Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis The Third in the city of Daloxicopolis, and the invading forces of Aomizocolurba, led by Gobyo Meramenaomizocolurba the Third. Now, a mysterious person has contracted 4 different people to steal a set of war documents inside of Aomizocolurba that could very well change the tide of the war.

In a cafe on the not so nice side of Daloxicopolis, a young man sits with a cup of coffee and a donut, contemplating the science of a good joke, of which he knows everything. This man is Hades Orion, a nobody comedian trying to make it big in the world. He even has this one joke thats totally hilarious, he just can’t remember it right now. Taking a sip of his coffee, he eyes the note that was given to him a few hours ago. It had a bit of a stain on it from the coffee, but could still be read.

“To those receiving this, i have put out a reward for the theft and delivery of military plans inside the city of Aomizocolurba. Those who bring this to me shall be rewarded with 130,000 beri, as well as a sacred weapon of our people, the blade of Dalimanishanticog. These plans could very well change the outcome of the war, bringing these plans will surely be a great service to the kingdom.”

It never said who it was from, or where to bring the plans to, but it was pretty obvious that it was the king, or at least someone close to him. Hades took another sip of his coffee, and a bite out of his donut. There was a bit of a squabble going on in the cafe over someone have a bug in their soup. Heh, thats actually pretty funny.

Looking around the cafe for a second time, Hades decided now would be a good time to lay down his act. It looked as though more and more pirates were flooding in, and giving them a good laugh would surely get him closer to the ultimate joke. The young comedian, full of passion and coffee, got up onto the small stage in front of all the patrons of the cafe. Calling attention to himself he began his bit.

“Hello! I, am Hades Orion, Comedian extraordinaire and master of jokes.”

There was little reaction from the cafe, they seemed to pay no attention to the young man in red.

“What do you call a fishman who’s got no arms and legs?”

The crowd looked up at Hades with a look of confusion but also a bit of anger.

“A Fish!”

Hades was then thrown out of the establishment. He couldn’t have been that bad, he only told one joke. He pulled out the note that had requested him to obtain the documents again. Contemplating this, he thought that this would be a good way to get his name out their, good or bad. Alright lets do it, he thought to himself, lets go steal some stuff.

Hades however, had no idea where to start. Hmmmm, what would Cronos do…AH of course! Hades knew exactly what to do first. Head straight to the city of Aomizocolurba! Jeez, just trying to say that in one go is impossible, it's no surprise that people here are experts at holding their breath. Hades had no time to lose however, and quickly burst his way through the streets, only stopping once he was out of Daloxicopolis! Hades knew this would be a sinch, besides, it’s not like the other people this guy hired would be able to take him on, they probably won’t even have Devil Fruits!

Hades giggled with excitement as he reached the gateway to the outskirts of the city. Pressing through into the wide open plains of Taumata, all he needed now was to start walking. Hades was already on his way to those plans, he could taste them now. Ew, who in their right mind would want to taste war plans.

[BlacKitten]

Psolitolpitoctown (eastern coast):

From the cerulean sky of triumph, a colorful blob of an array of colors descended at its own placid pace towards the earth. Red, blue, green, yellow, orange, white, and violet, multiple colors made up the unidentified object. In the center of all the blinding colors, a black and white figure seemingly hanged there, drifting lower and lower at a sluggish rate while shrouded under the shadows. The rays of the morning sun effulgently beamed at an angle towards him, efficaciously making his left side hot while his right side cool. Gentle breezes could never seem to make up their minds as they nudged him left and right, forward and back. He was literally going with the flow, and his destination was unknown to him, not that he had any particular place to be at.

“What is that?” A young woman spoke with a finger pointed upwards at the strange colorful blob. It was no bird or comet that they were seeing, but the identity of such a strange object remained unknown to them.

Drifting and hovering lower and lower, the gap between him and the people of below shortened within time.

“Is someone up there?” A man said; another finger pointed towards the magnet of attention. While indeed someone was up there, the question whether or not that it was human remained unknown for it appeared a little too puffy; black and white were the only colors that the figure possessed.

More and more people gathered, looking towards the sunny bright sky as they gawked and observed the unusual sight that had never happened before in their lives. It was as if a colony of colored bubbles were stuck together that came out of the clouds. Upon closing in, the myriad of eyes could make out the figure at the bottom of the colossal blob, but they lacked the proper words to actually label what their pupils were glaring at.

It was black and white, covered in fur and fluff, but most importantly, it was cute and adorable. This huggable little creature was like a stuffed teddy bear, but it was moving and very much alive. Feeling foolish for not noticing this before, the individual colors that made up the blob was actually balloons that were all bound and tied to the bear-like creature, yet there were no shop that could possibly engender this quantity of balloons.

Maru, a human secretly disguised as a panda, descended down to a town that he was unfamiliar with, but his entrance to this welcoming altruistic island must have been a little too showy and ostentatious. Hovering like a winged angel, his paws were barely touching the ground as he waddled towards the crowd of wondering pervasive people. Ripping the strings that were attached to his upper body, Maru randomly began distributing balloons to random pirates, civilian, and children which he came across in a hurried manner. With every balloon that he gave away, he felt heavier and heavier to the ground but soon back to his regular weight.

Why was there a bipedal panda on this island, distributing balloons? No one knew, and they probably never will find the answer. During the whole commotion, the sly little panda stealthily escaped the loquacious crowd, hiding behind a wall. A random bipedal panda had successfully landed onto this island, ready to play with his spirit full of alacrity! 

[Vio]

Aomizocolurba, a city home to a good two hundred or so soldiers. However, locked within the walls of this city, a set of military plans lay. These plans were the key to victory for the opposing side, not that Sunshaku Kasasagi really cared. The con artist was in it purely for the monetary reward, and perhaps a bottle of the finest wine the island had to offer.

Heheh. Never thought I'd be getting paid to steal, least of all by a king. Kasasagi chuckled to himself at the thought. He had received a letter from a complete stranger asked him to obtain top secret military plans from within the city of Aomizocolurba and return them to a rendezvous point close to the opposing city of Daloxicopolis. The swindler had already established that the letter had come from the king of Daloxicopolis, it was just too obvious given the circumstances.

Well, I've already made up my mind. Now, I've just gotta find myself those documents. Kasasagi walked on down the side streets, the brim of his hat shielding his eyes from the sun as, beneath his cloak, he flipped a playing card about between the fingers of his right hand. The four of diamonds.

I've just got one problem to sort now. Kasasagi stopped, his sly grin being quickly exchanged with a puzzled frown. There was just one thing bugging him about this whole town, and it really did make his mind chase possibilities as to why it was so. "This place was supposed to be full of soldiers preparing for some attack. Where the heck are they at?"

It was true, of an army two-hundred strong, the street magician had yet to spot a single uniform that looked even remotely militaristic. He dared not make any bold moves, just in case the soldiers were wearing normal clothes. The ultimate camouflage in a busy city, as Kasasagi knew, his specialty was, after all, lies and deceit.

"Whatever. It's not like anything has happened yet. They're probably all just prepping for the attack. Never could get into that whole military stuff." The thief continued on at a casual pace, the card in has hand having been changed to a three of clubs. He was, as he usually did, going to meander around the city and pick up information. This card shark always did have a strategic mind.

[rocko52 (Drago)]

A tiny rat was running about through the streets in the crowded cliff-side city of Aomizocolurba. He was easily dodging feet, hazards, crossings, and various other things to block his path. He looked up at all the pathetic people. How easily they could be killed, how fragile the veins in their necks. All it would take is a swift bite to the neck...but never mind that now. No need to cause a commotion this very moment, that could come later. The rat smiled to itself, besides, this job certainly would involve killing later on.

Not too long ago, Monroe had received a letter from a local king, informing him of a large reward available for whoever could find some war documents in the city of Aomizocolurba. Monroe, having nothing better to do, thought it would be great fun to take it on. After all, what better backdrop than a war to leave some bodies, but remain hidden. Not to mention the nice reward. Why not do this worthless king a favor? Sure he didn't give a damn about anyone here, but with a great reward and a wonderful opportunity to spill some beautiful blood, why not accept?

In the present, Monroe continued his scurry through the streets. He was a devil fruit user, obviously. He had eaten the Nezu Nezu no Mi Model: Rat back when he was starving teen in Alabasta. It gave him the ability to transform into a rat. Not that his past mattered. But his powers certainly did, they gave him a way to avoid killing in his own body you could say. He never had to show himself as a human while committing murder, he simply could transform into a hybrid form and do the deed that way. He'd still enjoy his bloodshed, while not being caught by authorities, truly marvelous.

Right now it was best to stay in his rat form, he didn't need the enemy in this game knowing he was here. He could quite easily be perceived as one of the many rats in this city. He smirked (in his head of course, a rat can't smirk) as he realized how simple this would be. All he had to do was find some soldiers, follow them, and infiltrate their base, as a rat. From there he could quite easily find the document with some hard searching. And if he ever got the itch for death...well he could just go hybrid and drag a guard into the dark or something.

As he continued however, he quickly realized something of annoyance. There didn't appear to be any soldiers...anywhere in what the briefing had described as a town full of military men. Well this certainly set him back a bit. However, Monroe knew that surely these pathetic apes wouldn't be able to fool him. They probably dressed as citizens for what he could only guess were guerrilla tactics. Nothing that could fool him. Seriously, the fact that he had managed to figure that only in a few seconds cemented that this army was quite stupid. Well at least compared to Monroe, which was true for most people. He supposed the tactic would work on ordinary mortals.

He just needed to find one of the guards who was armed. He began to inspect the people above him more precisely. After dodging through several ordinary people, he saw several weapons concealed under a man's coat by peering up under him. This fool surely was soldier.

Smiling to himself, Monroe hopped into the man's boots, and squished himself into a corner. He'd let this man take him to the base.

[RK]

Hades, standing outside the gates of the city, knew that now was not the time to be doing what he is currently doing, because this is stupid. Walking there would be stupid too however, as he would get all sweaty, and that'd be pretty nasty. Looking around, the outskirts held very little...except a stabled horse.

It didn't have anyone out here, it was just sort of there, alone. Not even a saddle. Hell, this fine creature probably doesn't even have a name. Walking up to the horse, Hades placed a hand on her snout and pet her, listening to her lovely neighing. "Know what horsey, I'm gonna take you with me."

Hades undid the horses bindings and hopped onto the majestic animal. She was a Pinto, a beautiful shade of dark brown. Hades continued to pet the horse and soon began his journey to Aomizocolurba. "Y'know, if were gonna be traveling together, i should give you a name." Hades said, and began to think long and hard of a name befitting this magnificent beast. Finally it hit him like the wind on his face, galloping along the expanse of fields and green.

"I know! I'll call you Artemis Harmonia!" Hades patted the horse again and continued his ride off into the distance. Farther along, a man stands atop a small hill, peering through a spyglass at the man in red on the horse. "Should we attack?" said the man with the spyglass, motioning his hand towards his blade.

A large man, with a hammer strapped to his back, looked over at the one coming towards them, he was a small fry, and would be easy pickin's. "Yes, but remember, we have orders to capture, not kill. Slaves are useless when they're dead."

The men charged, there were 5 of them, all armed with swords, except the leader, who brought out his large hammer and begin peering over at the comedian. Hades, who had caught wind of the bandits, had stopped and stepped off of Artemis Harmonia. "Hi, oh, do you guys wanna hear a joke? Ok so it starts with this can of tuna right..." The leader of the group swung his hammer at Hades, who without even stopping his joke, leaped over the hammer and began spinning his right leg.

"and this guy has the Tuna and he's opens it and eats it." Now with his leg coming to a halt, it locks into places, and Hades leaps down and strikes one of the men behind the leader of the bandits.

"Maku Maku no Funka!" Hades calls out his attack, striking the bandit, knocking him out with a powerful kick to the head. Hades turned around and continued his joke.

"And so another guy walks up to him and sees that he's in pain!" Two of the bandits give each other a confused look, but soon turn back to Hades in anger. Hades continued his joke.

"The second guy asks the first guy, 'Why are you in pain?'" The leader shouted out to his remaining three men.

"Guys, be careful, this one is a Devil Fruit user!"

The remaining three mooks charged at Hades, hoping that their increased numbers would catch him off guard. Latching onto him to try and pin him down, they only succeed in grabbing onto him. Hades, now looking feeling in back of him, he notices the three men have a tight hold on him. Hades turned his head 180 degrees to face all three of the men behind him. Speaking to them in a hushed voice.

"Hey guess what? Time for the punch line!"

Hades began to turn his torso around and around, spinning the man who had attached to his body. They were beginning to think about jumping off and hightailing it out of there, the leader off in the distance watching in a cocktail of fear and confusion. "And the first man said to the second man, 'I didn't know i wasn't supposed to eat the can too!"

Hades utters the punchline and throws the three men off of him and begins to spin his body and deliver a flurry of rotating punches to all three of the men at the same time, because spinning a punch makes it do more damage. Of course.

"Maku Maku no Tastumaki!" Hades landed after the assault and adjusted his arms, stretching them out, as well as letting out a well deserved laugh. "Hah! Get it?" Hades really tried to force that one on them, but alas, some people just don't get fine comedy. Looking back over to the leader, the last person standing of the group, Hades readied himself for one last attack.

"So how did you like my joke?" Hades asked the leader of the group, who swung his hammer at the comedian again, who swiftly dodged away. "Fuck you." Hades began spinning his right hand over and over, faster and faster. He would end it all in this one attack.

"Tough crowd...maybe you prefer knock knock jokes? Try this one Knock Knock!" The leader swung his hammer around again, this time striking a distracted Hades, knocking him down to the ground. "I'll bite, who's there?" Hades, looking at the leader straight in the eye, whispered another word. "Horse..."

At that moment, Artemis Harmonia, Hades' horse, charge at the leader and bucked him in the head. Giving Hades a chance to get up and continue his attack.

"Thanks for the help Artemis! Maku Maku noooooooo Arashi!"

Hades struck the bandit leader right in the face with a spinning punch, that which has the force of a raging storm. However, before the punch could knock him out, the leader grabbed Hades by the arm and slammed him down onto the ground. He also looked back to the Horse. Preparing to swing at it he raised his hammer.

"Artemis! Run, get out of here!" The horse quickly obeyed the command of Hades and begun to run away. Not interested in a horse, the bandit leader put a pair of special seastone cuffs on Hades, preventing him from using his powers. He then bound his legs and placed him on his back. "I'm sure Lord Gobyo is gonna love you, you little shit." With that, he punched the Comedian in the head, knocking him unconscious.

[BlacKitten]

With the myriad of colored balloons scattered randomly among civilians and non-civilians, one of those balloons was tampered with. An utter stranger dwelled in the shadows beneath walls, silently and naturally following the black and white creature. He held upon a string tied onto the knot of the inflated rubbery red balloon, and the figure nonchalantly bumped into the strolling panda, passing the possession of balloon to him.

Jerking his head, Maru, a human secretly disguised as a panda, glimpsed upon the string that his little black paw held onto with a big red balloons wanting to reach to cerulean sky. Before the giver strolled away, a small hint was given to him, “did you know that the color red can represent blood or war?” A rhetorical question seemed to be hinting the bipedal bear that the color referred to the balloon, but did it held any true value or meaning? Tilting his perplexed head, Maru repeated the same words that were spoken to him in his own mind as he watched the man walking away.

Before turning around the corner, the strange man raised his arm high up with a single index finger pointing straight up into the sky. After that brief moment, he was out of sight, leaving rest of the riddle for panda with a red balloon to solve.

Innocently staring up into the sky, Maru noticed nothing special about the heavens that watched over him and it didn’t took long for him to understand the whole situation. The sky itself wasn’t what the man wanted him to see; it was the red balloon. While staring upwards, light that travels through the balloon led him to notice a shadowy item inside the sphere of helium. Striking as fast as a vicious snake, his paw pierced through the rubbery balloon with his finger thrust technique.

POP!

Immediately after the large pop, a sheet of paper drifted side to side until it fell onto the panda’s open palm, being read thoroughly and vigilantly. A note that resided within a balloon was certainly a creative way to send messages.

“To those receiving this, I have put out a reward for the theft and delivery of military plans inside the city of Aomizocolurba. Those who bring this to me shall be rewarded with 130,000 beri, as well as a sacred weapon of our people, the blade of Dalimanishanticog. These plans could very well change the outcome of the war, bringing these plans will surely be a great service to the kingdom.”

Muttering to himself, he asked: “A war? What war?” This place was rather serene and placid.

BAM! Firing rifles and clashing blades was heard in the background, far into the distance behind the random panda. Crimson blood painted the walls in signs of carnage as corpses collapsed as they took their very last breaths. Battle cries echoed throughout the area while civilians hid indoors.

“Mmm… what war?” As the panda continue to read the paper, a pair of armed men brought their duel closer and closer behind Maru with the clashes of blades and bayonets continued. As a shadow overlapped with the note, his royal fluffiness unleashed a reflexive back kick, hurling one of the soldiers several meters away, “YOU ARE BLOCKING MARU’S LIGHT!”

Now then… what war was this note referring to? You would think that there would be at least soldiers with weapons around here in combat, but this town was rather peaceful. The chaos that occurred behind him wasn’t a war; it was a friendly showdown between pirates. Thus, this continued to cause Maru to question himself: WHAT WAR WAS THIS NOTE TALKING ABOUT?

On a side note, how much can he sushi rolls can he buy with 130,000 beri?

[Vio]

Sunshaku Kasasagi continued his slow stroll through the town, his eyes, obscured by the lowered brim of his hat, observing every detail of his surroundings. He was examining the layout of the city, how the roads and alleys linked to one another, and exploring every persons outward appearance. The swindling card shark was identifying potential marks to play his thieving tricks upon, as well as locating decent escape routes. However, something struck him as intriguing.

There seems to be an awful lot of people wearing long coats. It isn't that cold, so, they must be concealing something. The magician knew all to well how to obscure a weapon. His own personal choices were designed to be hidden in plain sight; the cane that resembled a magician's baton was, in fact, a swordstick. Not that he always used it as a cane, he did not need to, but it was most definitely a nice accoutrement to his handsome style of dress. As he was currently flipping a card in his right hand and carrying his briefcase with his left, he had no way to carry it. Seems I just found where all the soldiers have been hiding.

The more I look at this town, the more I wonder about the reason for this war. And, more importantly, where would these plans I'm supposed to find be hidden? I'll have to think this through a little. The thieving magician continued on, deciding it best to discretely follow a cloaked soldier from a distance. However, even with his sharp eyes, he failed to notice the hitchhiker that had taken up position in the boot of the soldier he was following.

As he followed, the deceitful performer kept his distance, keeping an eye on his mark's movements. Clearly a soldier, simply by the way he walked, hinting at years of synchronised marching with his unit; strong leg movements despite the casual walking speed. Not a marine, but definitely a well drilled soldier.

Chances are the plans are tightly guarded and well hidden, probably in an office of some commander or general. It's not going to be easy. Perhaps I can get some sap to do the job for me? Kasasagi pondered as he continued his subtle pursuit of the soldier, blending into the crowds of civilians and occasionally eyeing a pretty lady or two as he did so. The card in his hand was flipped once again, this time, a two of hearts. No, if I want a job done, it's best to do it yourself.

[rocko52 (Drago)]

The rat continued to wait in his hiding spot inside the boot of the militia man. This was only too easy, the simple ape was leading Monroe right to the base, and the plans. This whole mission quite fun to pull off, he didn't expect it to be a challenge. He didn't care about this war at all, but he was more than willing to carry it out because of all the blood he could spill, beri he could make, and there was a powerful weapon as a reward, plenty of a reason to get involved.

The buffoon continued on his way, pleasantly unaware of the little traveler hiding in his shoe. The shoe wasn't quite that comfortable, but it would be more than worth it in the long run. Perhaps for inconveniencing him, he'd kill the militia man once he'd served his purpose.

After a ways, the walker came to a stop. Outside, the light had dimmed. Clearly the soldier he reached an alley or something. He stopped and listened.

"Password?"
Came a deep, but whispery voice.

"Callafragallamegallicanooda."

Monroe almost laughed, but contained his squeaking. This island was ridiculous, full of idiotic long names. The people here were even stupider than ordinary ones!

"Enter Soldier," said the reply.

Slowly the rat could here the creaking of a door opening. Soon the soldier entered the door, and soon after the door could be heard clearly closing.

"Welcome brother, this branch is to have a meeting in exactly one hour, the plan is to be carried out in 48 hours from then. Finally, this war will be over," came the voice of the door keeper.

"Excellent I'll head to my squad's room immediately."

The soldier began to walk down a hallway, that was quite damp and dark. After some more walking, the soldier started to descend, before walking at a level stride again. Before long the fool turned left, opened a door, entered, and locked it. The man then turned, and sat down on a stool, before sighing. By the sound of it, the man was alone.

Monroe decided now would be an opportune time to take a look at his surroundings. He quickly jumped out of the man's shoe, and scurried to a corner. The man didn't appear to take much notice.

The room was very dark and small, however thanks to his rat abilities, Monroe saw far more clearly than a normal human would, in fact you could even say he saw as well or better than a human would in light. He also couldn't detect any color while a rat, a change he had long gotten used to. The room was made of stone, and the door that the soldier had just entered was wooden, with a small window. There was no light in the room besides what appeared to be torch light faintly shining in from the window. The man was sitting on a small bench, some of the only furnishing for the room. It appeared to be a cell, but it was apparently more of a living space, since there was a sleeping bag in the corner.

Monroe sniffed with his extremely sensitive nose, taking in and processing countless aromas at once. He took in the smell of beer, cheese, bread, unwashed and washed people, mold, dust, gunpowder, breath, candles, and so many more. He used his amazing sense to hone in on the room around him, and just within this small space he could smell everything about the man he had just be hitch-hiking inside the boots of. The man was actually quite clean smelling, various exotic shampoos gave off a beautiful scent from his hair and body. His breath smelled as if he had been brushing them merely a few minutes prior. In spite of the obvious uncleanliness of some aspects of this base, this man was nothing if not well kept. Although the rat couldn't tell, the man was blonde, and he had long hair, and a blue button up shirt. He appeared to have thrown off his cloak, as it now lied spread on the floor.

Monroe grinned inwardly, realizing this would be the perfect time to strike, seeing as his prey was alone. Hiding in the dark, he began to transform. His hind legs began to stretch into human sized legs, besides the fact that they were still covered in grey fur. His small paws stretched, and flesh grew over them as they became human hands and arms, except for his claws. The fur on his chest disappeared, although it stayed on his back. The fur that had covered his face disappeared, although his whiskers, and beady rat eyes stayed the same. His head was covered by thick, black hair. A cruel human smile was plastered on his face, with long, sharp, horrible teeth sticking out from upper jaw. His tail grew protruded from the back of his figure. He wasn't very tall, but he was around four feet. He had gone into his hybrid form.

He stalked behind the man silently in the dark, the soldier was pleasantly unaware. It was almost absolute black, and Monroe could see perfectly in it. Finally behind the man, he quickly put a hand over the man's mouth, and held his claws against his throat, and pressed his teeth against the back of his neck. The man didn't move, but made a faintly audible gasp, and sweat instantly formed on his face and neck. He was shivering in fear. Being able to see excellently in the dark, Monroe took in the absolute pleasure of watching the horrible fear grow across this man's face. His life's fate was entirely in Monroe's hands.

Monroe whispered into his ear, "There are secret plans for some kind of operation in this base, correct? Where are they."

The man, sweating slowly began to stutter, "Y-you mean the pl-plans for taking the capital in two d-days?"

"Yesss. Where are they?"

"T-they're b-being guarded in the g-general's quarters. T-there are too many guards for you to handle...and the general himself...you-you'll never get them!"

Laughing despicably Monroe replied, "I can manage. Thanks for the information...but where are these quarters?"

"D-down the hall, to the r-right. There is another h-hallways and a huge s-set of doors at the end. Th-that's it."

"You've been of much use."

"W-who are you?"

Monroe smirked cruelly.

"The last person you'll ever speak to."

With that, Monroe plunged his claws into the mans throat and dug his teeth into his neck. He bit down, and punctured through the flesh. The man tried to let out a scream, but the rat muffled it with his other hand. He dug his claws in further before ripping out some flesh and bones.

Monroe focused his eyes on all the beautiful blood squirting in all directions. He tasted it in his mouth. How this man's death pleased him. He bit further, before ripping out the chuck on flesh in his mouth. He dropped man to the ground, who had stopped breathing but was merely shaking now.

He had large pieces of flesh in the neck missing, and was bleeding profusely from the mutilated wounds that covered his neck. With his throat horribly mangled, and his neck barely resembling that anymore, he soon gasped his last.

Smiling evilly, Monroe opened the door to the room. For no reason other than he could, he threw the bloodied corpse into the center of the right now empty halls. The mutilated body was in clear view should anyone pass by, it was a walking hazard. The blood mingled with the puddles of water, and the light from the lamp illuminated the view for human eyes.

Excited, Monroe turned back into a rat and started to scurry down the passage close to the wall and in the shadows, licking his bloody lips.

[RK]

Hades awoke in a cold prison cell, his hands were bound with Kairoseki, and he couldn't see all that well. Sitting up and crossing his legs, he looked around for some means of escape. He felt a cold wind blow through the walls of the prison cell. He was still wearing his clothes, it looks like they didn't strip him of his belongings, all his stuff was here, Money, book of names, key. Odd, they should have at least taken his cash or shoes or something? Standing up, he rushed over to the bars of the cell. "Hello, anybody there?" Hades said, looking around the hallway, no answer. He needed to get out of this cell, but he needed a key to the cuffs. Wait...Key? Like the key in his pocket? Reaching into his pocket, Hades pulled out a key, with the roman numeral for 6 on it, VI. Placing it in the keyhole, it opened up the locks and unbound Hades arms, allowing him to wind up again. With a sigh of relief, he now had to see about getting the door to the cell open. He tried the same key on the cells padlock, but no dice.

Alright, looks like he'd need to do things the old fashioned way. Kick it till it opens. Hades began the rotary winding of his right leg, the feeling of his limbs twisting still tickled but it was as weird as before. He could hear voices coming from outside the cell, in what he assumed was the barracks.

"Did you hear about what happened."

"No, did something go wrong."

"Yeah, someone got murdered."

"Are you serious? That's terrible!"

"Yeah, poor sucker had bits taken out of his neck and throat. We have guys looking into it now."

"I hope i don't run into whoever did that."

"Or whatever did that..."

Hades took a deep breath, whatever attacked that soldier must still be here, and that meant that he was in danger. Hades brought his kick to the padlock of the cell. It didn't break but the cell bars became dented, enough for Hades to slip himself through.

Walking out of the bars, Hades dusted himself off, it appeared as though no one was guarding him, also very strange. Hades stepped up to the door to the prison block. Peering in he could see that there were several dozen soldiers here, all armed with swords and such. He would need a hardy, fool-proof disguise to make it past these creeps.

Hades zipped up his grandfathers army jacket and stood up straight and proud. He slammed out the door and looked around at all the soldiers. He placed his hands behind his back and began to eyeball everyone around him with an air of disapproval. He needed to make this convincing so here goes nothing.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE LORD ARE YOU MAGGOTS DOING DOWN HERE LAZING ABOUT LIKE A BUNCH OF FLIGHTLESS BIRDS?!"

All the men sat in silence, not even bothering to pick up their drinks to take a swig, they were all too confused. Hades continued on with his talking, focusing on one soldier who looked like he had just signed on to fight.

"PRIVATE WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' SITTIN' THERE BIG EYED AND STUPID FACED, GET YOUR ASS ON THE GROUND AND GIVE ME 20." Hades was enjoying this way too much.

The soldier quickly jumped to the ground and started doing push ups. Not giving any question to the man in the blue overcoat. Several other soldiers got up and questioned who this man was. Hades, of course had thought of a name. Of...course. He couldn't just go with Captain Hades Orion...Orion, O Rion. Hades turned back to the man who had begun to question his authority, and slammed his foot down onto the soldier doing push ups, increasing the weight he had to lift.

"YOU JUST BLOW IN FROM STUPIDVILLE SOLDIER? IM CAPTAIN LION KING, AND NOW, THE LEADER OF THIS SORRY GANG OF MISFIT SOLDIERS, ON THE LORDS ORDERS." Hades had blasted his booming voice out for all the men to hear. He had to be sure they thought he was the real deal, or else he was toast. Mmmmm, toast sounds good now, ooo with some steak too. Ohhh yeaah.

Hades had drifted off there for a minute, too much dreams of steak. Coming back to his senses he looked down to the man he had ordered to do push ups. He had collapsed and was pretty sure he had stopped breathing. Eh, whatever.

"ALRIGHT MAGGOTS, LISTEN UP, I'M NOT THE KIND OF MAN WHO LIKES TO REPEAT HIMSELF, GOT IT?"

Looking around, Hades decided to take advantage of the situation he had put himself into, these soldiers weren't very smart.

"BRING ME ALL THE STEAK AND ALE YOU'VE GOT MAGGOTS, I AM HUNGRIER THAN AN ANTEATER AT A SCIENCE FAIR."

Hades had just unlocked something inside of him, that possibly scared him. This should turn out to be quite eventful.

[BlacKitten]

The first or foremost rule in the life of a Maru was that one should never fight on an empty stomach. Fighting while hungry would be a big no-no in his philosophical beliefs. This secret, private, dangerous, adventurous quest to seek out the documents that held the key of the war’s outcome sounded very intriguing, but he would naturally have to prepare himself for the challenge. That first step happened to relate back to the golden rule.

CHAMP! CHOMP! CRUNCH! GULP! GNAW! GLUG! MUNCH! SLURP! The most famished creature within this restaurant became to center of attention unintentionally. With the traditional tool of chopsticks that he created for this moment, the skillful panda swiftly caused the multifarious series of colorful, appetizing, mouth-watering food the seemingly teleport into his mouth that opened and closed in alacrity. Any ordinary eater would have accidentally bitten his tongue at this speed, but Maru was a master in the arts of eating with pair of chopsticks. As his right paw dashed in to pierce through a chunk of meat that returned back into his mouth, his left paw held a cup of juice where he sucked it in with a bendy straw at the corner of his mouth. Combining this art with forks and spoons, he multitasked at blinding speed. His tremendous skills at cutting fruits and meat with a kitchen knife surpassed his skill in actual combat in knife usage.

All the meantime, waiters and waitresses ran their marathon between the kitchen and the panda’s table back and forth. Those people were also skilled for carrying plates in both hands without spilling a drop of sauce, demonstrating their long years of experience in serving food. About half of them were serving Maru the food that was requested while the other half was equally as busy stacking the finished plates that had been licked clean, not a speck of trace of food existed. Bringing those dishes back to the kitchen to be cleaned up, the plates continued on cycling in this typical and amusing pattern.

The other customers didn’t need the waiters or waitresses to aid them because they never finished eating what was on their plates. Most of them were too distracted at gawking at the dexterity of all those eating utensils being put to work. Their day at the restaurant certainly wasn’t vapid or prosaic this time, but their appetite certainly went down the drain. It was astounding how this black and white bear could eat so fast yet so thorough and clean by the completely food-deprived plates possessing no hints of remaining food. The panda’s spectacle had awed all the chubby people who wished to eat like Maru.

However, with his mind so busy on eating, he forgot one important thing to do during this entire process. Without warning, Maru stopped eating! His entire body went stiff as stone, and his hands gripped onto the eating utensils as tightly as they could. Everyone began to give a worried look of concern, wondering if the creature had choked or bit his tongue.

After a long pause with a couple of empty gulps, Maru frantically inhaled for air, “I FORGOT TO BREATHE!”

In a chorus, everyone shouted, “IT CAN TALK?” It was a foolish question. How else would he have ordered his food if he couldn’t have talk?

Gasping for air and panting, it seemed that he had much more training and practice needed in the art of eating. Gulping down the rest of his icy cold drink, he settled down his cup before giving a serious, dramatic look of seriousness, “I’m ready…” Step one of his preparation had been completed.

After paying for his meal, the panda waddled away, exiting the restaurant. His next need for this mission would be information of the whereabouts of this base. This would be extremely difficult if he asked the people that dwelled at his destination, but there was another method if he thought about it. If this was a war between two opposing sides, both sides should know a lot about the OTHER side. For example, if someone asked Maru what his weakness was, there was no way he would tell the truth. However, if someone asked him what his enemy’s weakness was, telling that information would benefit himself! With the two sides in conflict with each other for who knows how long, they should at least know whereabouts of their own enemy.

Thus, Maru picked the oldest person he could find since old people tend to be most knowledgeable. Waving his paw, he greeted, “Hello! What’s your name?”

An elderly person, perhaps in his fifties, widened his eyes at the mere sight of a standing panda who was speaking to him. Rubbing his old eyes, his age must be at the point where he was seeing things. Pretending that Maru was a person and that his eyes were playing tricks on him, he responded, “Ah… my name… My name is Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenwanderersteerdemenschderrassumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortplanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvon¬hinzwischensternartigraumhi.”

“…,” a drop a sweat flowed down the back of his neck, daunted by what the man had tried to say. “Sorry, could you say that again?”

“Ah sure!” the old man coughed to clear his voice before saying it again, “My name is Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenwanderersteerdemenschderrassumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortplanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvon¬hinzwischensternartigraumhi! What might your name be?”

“Maru!” The contrast between the lengths of the two names was humongous. His name was only four letters long, and the old man’s name was… a very big number, long. “… do you have a nickname?”

“Ah! You can call me Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff! It’s much shorter!”

“... I’ll just call you Wolfe!”

“Hmm! Wolfe, huh? Why didn’t I think of that as a nickname?”

Bringing this conversation on the main subject, Maru took out his message and attempted to pronounce it, “Aomizo-col-ur-ba… who controls that place?”

“That would be that no good Gobyo Meramenaomizocolurba the Third!”

Ah excellent, whoever that man was must be the leader of the enemy’s side of Maru’s “sponsor”. “Where is…,” he tried to read it off of the message again, “Amonizocol-urba?”

“Ah… let’s see here…,” taking his sweet time, the old man took a while to think of an answer before pointing towards a direction, “It is one the complete other side of this island! We are on the eastern side; Aomizocolurba is on the western side! It would be quite a long journey.”

OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND? He couldn’t have landed anywhere worse than this place. Thanking Wolfe for the information, Maru leaped onto a balcony, and he continued leaping from one balcony to the next until he reached a rooftop of a tall building.

It was time to use a more reliable method of transportation than letting to wind carry him while attached to balloons. Producing black ink from his fingertips, he drew a large triangular shape on the surface of the roof. Adding the supports and details that were needed, he summoned the drawing into the higher dimensions, “MANIFESTATION!” Holding the winds over his head, the panda began dashing off of the edge of the roof before he took flight on his red hang glider.

Maru, a human secretly disguised as a panda, took glided through the air, heading towards west! Manifesting the Jet Dial on his right paw that pointed behind him, the white dial unleashed a powerful burst of wind that propelled his glider faster through the sky, traveling at abnormal speed given his method of flying. After returning the dial back into its sketch form, he clutched onto the bar in front of him, looking straight ahead at his destination.

[Vio]

As Kasasagi continued to pursue the camouflaged soldier, the card shark observed his surroundings. There was nothing out of the ordinary in this town, no buildings that even remotely resembled military bases. It was curiously obvious to him that the town, at a glance, appeared totally devoid of anything militaristic. An ordinary man would not have the foggiest idea that this city was at war with another. There was no propaganda, no flashy fortresses like those used by the Marines, nothing.

I wonder why they're hiding everything. Perhaps they want to appear less of a threat? The swindler flipped the card in his hand one last time, switching it to an Ace of Spades. At that moment, his mark turned a corner into an alleyway. Kasasagi himself simply walked past the alleyway at a slow pace, listening intently as he did so. A subtle grin crossed his face as he continued on, allowing plenty of time to pass before turning around and heading back the way he came.

Now, I think it's time to try my hand. The street magician turned into the alley, completely empty aside from a few crates, barrels and bags full of trash. On the wall of the one building was a wooden door, just like any other, but with a sliding panel built into it. Stopping outside the door, he faced it and extended his arm, slipping the card into his sleeve as if it was never even there. He paused a moment, his face straightening from his sly smirk, then knocked upon the door.

The swindler waited patiently for a few seconds before the sliding panel opened up. The shadows of the interior shrouded the features of a face behind the doorway, the whites of his eyes being the only distinguishable feature of this bouncer. Kasasagi felt the eyes observing him, almost as if the doorman was trying to see into his very soul.

"Password?" Spoke the concealed figure.

"Callafragallamegallicanooda." Whispered the conman, acting as if he were trying to hide this secret code from inquisitive ears. Indeed, the mark he had followed had tried a similar degree of care, but to no avail. Kasasagi had had plenty of practice, picking up subtle things that most would fail to notice. It was a skill, though he had yet to truly master it. Sometimes just watching and listening did not cut it.

An awkward moment of silence passed, but Kasasagi did not falter. He had recited the password so calmly, despite innately finding it humorous. After the silence, the sliding panel closed and the familiar click of a lock sounded from the doorway. The door opened steadily, creaking slightly upon its reinforced hinges.

"Enter, Soldier." The keeper stood to the side of the doorway as the thief stepped inside, not to slowly, not to swiftly. The purple-robed figure did not even give the guard a second glance as the door closed behind him. Without the light of the sun, the interior of the building was very dark and dank. Torches lit the walls, but even their combined powers of illumination failed to banish the dimness which crawled through the building like a plague of rats.

"Officers will be holding a meeting in approximately forty-five minutes. The plan itself will be executed in two days time." Recited the guardsman, the tone of his voice indicating that he had been saying the same thing for most of the day, already. You could almost hear the boredom scratching at the wall he had built with his mock enthusiasm.

"I'll head down to regroup with my squad, then." Replied the deceiver, having already observed the available routes he could take. Up or down? Up seemed to prestigious for a standard soldier to attempt, so Kasasagi headed towards the stairway leading down. It certainly was the better option, as he was allowed to progress without so much as a word from the bouncer.

Now all I need do is find these plans. But, there's no doubt that they are upstairs. I need a way to get up their without being noticed. Pretending to be an officer would have been too easy a guise to pull off, so I'll just have to wait it out. Thinking to himself as he descended, the sly crook could feel the ominous air of the environment pressing against him. The building seemed to be some sort of dungeon, an old gaol, perhaps? Either way, it had been converted into a military base, though it had yet to achieve the feel of military influence.

Before him lay a corridor of prison cells. Each cell had been converted into barracks for soldiers, many figures moved between cells, obscured by the darkness. However, most of them were dressed in cloaks and hats, concealing their identities. No wonder Kasasagi had managed to get in so easily. However, the soldiers inhabiting the barracks seemed to be highly strung, based on their swift movements. He overheard conversations as he walked in, keeping himself at a slow march. It seemed everyone was on high alert, which was not a good thing.

[rocko52 (Drago)]

In the dark, damp, cold stone catacombs beneath the military base, the devious rat scurried on down the path he had been told to follow by his ever so useful victim. Killing that man was so entertaining. Ripping out the spin, tearing his neck apart, all the pain and horror plastered on his face, it was beautiful. And hilarious. And amusing. And comforting. Every kill Monroe made improved his mood for the better. How often he had to confine himself in his human form in order to blend in with such worms, this mission was heaven, a war-front is the perfect place to get away with slaughter!

As he continued, he could sense, thanks to his powerful nose, as well as his rather common set of ears, that a group of soldiers had arrived a few corridors back, after spotting the body. Surely security would tighten after this. The soldiers would be more frightened. This was absolutely lovely, all the chaos he was creating. The people would be too panicked to think about the plans. All the horror coursing through them was delightful, how fun toying with people was!

Monroe kept scurrying down the mostly bland passage, easily following his victim's directions. However, once he reached the destination laid out for him, he realized something. He was staring back at a four way intersection. The man had lied to him. That maggot...had lied to him!

The slimy psycho's short temper broke when he instantly realized this. That bastard! His rage started to build...now how would he find those plans?! He growled inwardly, before slowly regaining his composure.

He rested his form against the wall, waiting and thinking. Seeing a small crack in the wall, he snuck himself into the crack, and adjusted his body so he could stare out at the hall, and the intersection. He decided to wait for a bit, in order to formulate the plan. At the intersection, there was a lantern hanging from the ceiling that was momentarily out, it appeared as though it was meant to light the entire area, so there wasn't much of any light around. Monroe could tell, his rat eyes saw ultra-violet, he could detect the smallest change in light intensity.

Bored and frustrated, Monroe sat huddled in this crack for quite some time. Slowly, he could sense some soldiers marching down the hall. By the sound of it, perhaps three. This excited him easily. They would be easy targets. And they held the possibility of knowing the location of the plans.

He waited eagerly. After a few minutes, he saw them come into view, as they were carrying a torch themselves. The group slowly marched past his hole in stiff formation. He watched as the boots slowly went up and down, with cloaks flying behind them.

He quickly scurried out of his hole and began to follow them. They were in a formation. The head standing in front, the other two standing behind him in a horizontal row. They marched stiffly, but occasionally slackened. They were alone after all. However, they were engaging in conversation.

"I can't believe what happened to Hirugashikunellfugell. It's just....what the hell could have done that?"

"I know man...it's..it's pretty horrifying to think something's down here with us."

"Like me?"

With that, Monroe slashed the two hind soldier's necks with his claws, already transformed into his hybrid form. Having hit vital areas, blood spurted from their necks, as they collapsed, dead.

The man in the lead turned around with horror spreading on his face.

"Y-you!"

As soon as he said that, Monroe tackled him to the ground, the torch falling out of his hand, and extinguished in the puddles of water and blood.

The rat abomination stood on the soldier, one hand covering his mouth and digging his claws lightly into his cheeks, the pushing his feet's claws into the man's torso.

"Alright now worm, tell me truthfully now, where are the plans for the raid in two days?"

"I'll never tell you! Never!"

"Oh really? I doubt that." Grinning psychotically, Monroe bit into the man's left arm, hard. The man was screaming, but he covered his mouth. Stopping, he asked again,

"Where are the plans?"

"In...in the General's office..."

"Where is that?"

"The...the top floor...it's heavily guarded...you can't do anything to stop it..."

"It's alright, I'm sure I'll manage."

"Please...please spare m-me...I have a wife and kids..."

"Generic response, I don't really give a damn, but what the hell, I'll let you live."

"R-really?"

"Sure...just not with your eyes."

There was a flash of red, and a scream, and then Monroe took off.

---

Monroe, now knowing he was going in the complete wrong direction, took to the cracks inside the walls of the stone mammoth. He would reach the top...from the inside. He was in a wonderful mood...that man's pain and terror filled him with energy. This mission was so much fun!

[RK]

Hades had been yelling at these men for about 10 minutes now, and it was getting more and more menacing as he did it. He felt as though this side of him, Captain Lion King? It was something that was always part of him. Probably deep inside, he had developed a way to deal with all that had happened to him in his past. This must have been his pent up anger and sadness, balled up into a new persona.

However, he had just stopped his rant and looked around at the soldiers, holding a sense of discontent for them all. He left the room, exiting through another door to a hallway, which was mainly empty, except for a bench, with someone sitting on it. Hades exited from this state, moving away from Lion King and returning to his normal, cheery self. Sitting down at the bench, Hades looked over at the person sitting down, he couldn't see their face, but as soon as he tried to get a glance, they stood up and walked away. This mysterious person was wearing a long black cloak, covering their whole body, they looked like they were in some sort of cult. The comedian leaned back and thought about who this person could be, by the way they walked he could tell it was a woman, but all else was a mystery, if he tried to pursue her she might attack him, or worse, he might be found out. He instead decided to start looking for those secret plans, it would be an easy task, now that no one would bother him throughout the base. The only problem is that he would have to act like the Captain again, and that would be a bit detrimental to his goal. The Captain was the exact opposite of The Comedian in every possible way. Hades was happy, charmingly dimwitted, and friendly. The Captain, whom he has decided to name Orion(His secondary birth name) is a cold, collected, and strict individual, often showing very little remorse for the way he treat others, and can often be very cruel, and even greedy. This was going to prove to be a challenge.

Standing up from his seat, The Man in Red looked around, and slowly walked further down the hallway, out to a large room, he could see there were two men guarding a doorway, and a staircase on the other side of the room. Alright, that door looks to be the fastest way to the plans from here. It was guarded, and very foreboding. However, not long after Hades decided to approach the men, Orion took over, and swiftly approached the door. The two guards looked at Orion angrily, and would have attacked him had it not been for his stature and the look of authority on his face.

"Halt, state your name and business here." One of the soldiers said quickly and clearly, reading his hand at his sword. Orion put his arms behind his back and begun to wind his forearms clockwise, and his upper arm counter-clockwise. He looked at both men, his arms continued to spin as he began to talk. "I am Captain Lion King, i have just transferred here from places you couldn't even dream of coming out of alive, hell, i bet you two maggots couldn't even make it IN alive." Orion let out a slight chuckle, giving a sly grin to the two men. "I need to know whats behind this door, its imperative to the war effort that i make it through." The two men were getting suspicious of The Captain, and took out their swords, pointing them at his neck. Orion, not moving an inch, looked up at the two men with a look of pure evil. "Im sorry, my eyesight isn't all that great, but it appears that you two maggots are threatening to assault and possibly kill a superior officer, is this true?"

The two soldiers had no idea what they should do. They were caught between a rock and a hard place. Orion spoke again, this time his voice had gone up in tone a bit, he didn't sound angry, but one could tell his temper was rising. "You, sheathe your sword and hand it to me, immediately." The soldier wasn't about to disobey a direct order, and handed him the sheathed blade. The Captain held the sword for a minute, before using the built up power of his fruit to bend the blade in half, snapping it inside the sheath. The two men stood back in terror as the Captain stood at the front of the door and held the handle, failing to open it. It was locked. "It won't open, one of you give me the key. It is absolutely important for me to get through." The two men looked at each other and tried to respond but couldn't, only until Orion began to turn his head did one of them pipe up in fear of what might happen. "Th-Th-The key! Right! We...uh...were never given one." Said one of the guards, the one who was now swordless. Now furious, the Captain turned his body full circle and and looked both of them in the eyes at the same time, with only his one eye. Grabbing them both by the collar, he barked at them. "How the HELL am i supposed to get in then MAGGOTS?!" The two both pointed to the staircase on the other end of the room, it led to the room as well, but it was a bit of a different route, it would require a bit more time. Time that Orion did not have, the other contract holders were probably already at the plans by now, and he would not be giving up that money, or that blade. "You two, return to your posts...and get a new sword..."

Hades shifted back into control, he began to sweat heavily, that's the longest he's let the Captain stay in control yet. Looks like it took a lot out of him. Rushing up the stairs one could faintly hear Hades say "So what the hell was that Orion?!

[BlacKitten]

By utilizing the powerful force of the wind from his Jet Dial, he had significantly boosted his speed as he soared through the air. The dial acted like an engine, and in a sense, the combination of a hang-glider and a Jet Dial made it one of the first airplanes in this world. Who said that pandas couldn’t fly? His royal fluffiness ate the Zuga Zuga no Mi, perhaps one of the most versatile Devil Fruit in existence. While he was ignorant about the types of Devil Fruits out there, the one he consumed would be the most common type of all, paramecia. With the power to draw by producing ink from his fingertips, the Drawing Human can manifest his drawings into three-dimensional objects including color, material, and function. Much of it can be determined by his imagination, and this very power created this hang-glider. However, this was only one of his many powers, the most basic one.

Despite his speed, he could tell that he only passed the halfway mark since this island was too vast even through the air. The wind that rushed through his face seemed to have soothed him, hypnotizing him to fall asleep. With a sleeping pilot governing this aircraft, Maru flew off course by a slight angle, heading towards another village as a consequence.

Meanwhile, in Zuluquctumustulu Village, a small-scaled war between two forces of soldiers clashed against each other with all sorts of weapons. Battle cries and screams can be heard from far away, and innocent civilians hid in their homes, hiding from the dangerous environment of carnage. Each faction of the armies was led by a commander, shouting to give orders as well as frantically speaking into their Den Den Mushi to report the situation back to base. One of the commanders pointed into the sky while speaking into the snail-looking device, “I SEE AN UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT IN THE SKY! IT LOOKS LIKE A RED KITE!”

“Zzzz… Zzzz,” gently snoring and rolling in his sleep, the lethargic napping bear smoothly descended at a steady angle, crash landing into the ground as he plummeted into the midst of a war.

A soldier nudged another man, “Hey! Let’s check it out!” Two humans approached closer towards the red kite-like object, analyzing from different angles, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As a team, both of them lifted the hand-glider from opposite ends, shoving it aside as they revealed the sleeping panda underneath. Maru was curled into a little ball, sleeping innocently.

“W-what is this creature?” one of the soldiers hesitantly asked.

“I think it’s a bear, but I never seen this species on this island before!”

The worst thing to do to a sleeping Maru was to touch him, and that was exactly what one of the soldiers had done when trying to lift the creature up. Triggering the latent sleeping powers, he activated Maru’s Sleepwalking Fist, the art of fighting while asleep. This was accomplished through sleepwalking. Grabbing the soldier’s collar of his clothes, the unconscious martial artist pulled himself up to his own two feet before thrusting his grip forward, hurling the threat away from his space.

“IT’S ALIVE!” the fallen man shouted!

Registering a myriad of potential threats in his surroundings, the sleeping Maru began rushing forth to eliminate all that stood against him. One reckless opponent dared to charge forth, swinging a double-edged broad sword in one hand. In a graceful circular motion, the panda twirled a quarter of a circle, avoiding the downward slash at the last moment, and all in the meantime, he clenched his grip around the soldier’s wrist. Blending, flowing, and borrowing his opponent’s energy and force, the panda took complete and utter control of the man’s entire disposition by simple joint manipulation of the wrist and elbow. While this commonly used technique in martial arts was great for self-defense, it can also be a great self-offense as demonstrated when Maru torque the wrist and slamming down his entire weight above his palm that crushed the elbow, rendering the swordsman to drop his weapon. Grabbing the sword before it was given the change to land, the martial artist twirled around as he parried an incoming swing of a crowbar by another soldier.

His royal fluffiness struck the man’s kneecap with a sneaky little low kick, and without retreating that leg, he stepped forward to close the gap where his hip motion led his free hand to uppercut against the opponent’s chin, knocking the opponent onto his back.

Turning his stance to face the next imposing fighter, Maru intercepted a thrust of a trident by striking his sword right between the fork-like metal at the end. As the two combatants strike each other a second time with a thrust of their wielding weapon, one would think that the trident would prevail in terms of range, but the panda struck first! Using the Sonic Thrust technique, the fluffy bear unleashed a piercing air projectile from his thrust, wounding his opponent in a flash.

Seen as a bigger threat, the panda soon encountered a gang of three soldiers attacking as a team, each possessing a katana. With a single swing of his broad sword, his royal fluffiness swung his blade in a horizontal motion, unleashing a crescent-shaped air projectile that took down all three men in one blow. The aftereffect of the wind blade led the intangible arc-shaped wind to expand, widening the gush wound on the victims’ abdomen. This technique was called Sonic Slash.

“MEN! ATTACK!” The commander pointed and ordered.

A wave of eight minions surrounded and bolted forth as if their lives depended on it. This formation was unexpectedly disrupted when Maru hurled his broadsword at a one of the enemies, piercing armor and flesh upon impact. Dashing towards the opening, the black and white creature swung his leg to sweep a soldier by his legs as his arms guided the man to fall backwards. After stomping the enemy, the panda summersaulted away to evade a piercing lance.

Blending with the enemies’ movements, he weaved and circled around several threatening attacks, and all in the meantime, he was asleep, “Zzzz…Zzzz… Zzzz!” Snapping one’s elbows while taking the long-sword, he gracefully swung the blade in a fluid manner, slicing and stabbing those that attacked. The last one standing out of the eight was a large, bulky man that swung his massive wooden club downwards only for a chunk of its wood to be sliced off its handle. After stabbing the thin and fine blade into the fat and flesh of the man, Maru pulled the blade out as blood flowed down the groove of the blade.

“FIRE!” Four lined up soldiers aimed and fire their rifle at the sleepwalking monster, but the wave of bullets that were fired all hit the wrong mark. Using the bulky man as a shield, Maru blocked the projectiles be standing behind the defeated adversary, holding the wounded knelling body with his free hand.

Shouting at the Den Den Mushi, the commander informed the troubling news, “A PANDA IS BEATING UP MY MEN! WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS! … Hello? You there?” Looking at the one whom casted a shadow over him, he saw the bipedal panda standing right behind him who cut off the wire that connected the snail to its speaker with a blood-stained blade. As Maru approached slowly, step by step while gripping firmly onto a borrowed weapon, the commander hesitantly took a step backwards for each step that the panda took.

Pulling out a gun and instantly aiming it at the monstrosity, he pulled the trigger. Maru, however, plunged the tip of his blade into the barrel, halting the bullet from escaping the pistol at all. The recoil caused the gun to hurl out of the owner’s hands.

“Get away from me!” The commander ordered, but Maru couldn’t hear very well at his unconscious state. Unsheathing his sword, the soldier jolted forward to slash forth, only to have it knocked out of his hand by the creature that fell from the heaven. Four assistances came running to their superior’s aid, rushing forward before it was too late.

Right after the creature horizontally slashed his sword with the Sonic Slash technique, the commander tripped backwards, landing on his behind while coincidentally evading the attack. The air projectile slashed down two of the aiding soldiers that got within its range. One after another, the panda took down anyone that went against him as he slowly approached closer and closer to the commander.

Just when Maru was right above him with a sword raised over his head, the commander held out his palm, gesturing the panda to stop, not that it would help. Given the amount of time that it would take for him to be sliced into ribbons, he couldn’t formulate any speech under the time restraints prior before his anticipated death.

The sword came crashing down… literally!

Flopping onto the ground while dropping his weapon, Maru collapsed as he snored gently, “Zzzz… Zzzz…”  Sleeping like a baby, the panda rolled around to find a comfortable position for his nap.

Oh, thank the lord! The panda didn’t kill him!

[Vio]

"Excuse me," Sunshaku Kasasagi said, directing his call for attention at the nearest cloaked soldier. All the focus seemed to be around one particular area of the passage, what could have happened? That was exactly what the swindler in deep purple wanted to know. "What's happened?"

"One of our men has been murdered," replied the fellow soldier, his voice deep and laced with the tones of heightened caution. An internal death would certainly cripple the conman's attempts at laying low. Such in incident would provoke an increase in security patrols, for certain, making it far more difficult to remain concealed amongst the ranks of the apparent enemy. Worse, if they performed an identity check, he would be caught out immediately. "Have you seen anything suspicious?"

"I've only just arrived, so I'm afraid I can't be of much assistance," commented the deceiver, feigning a degree of sorrow so as to avoid rousing unwanted attention. The more he blended in, the easier it would be to navigate the complex and find what he was looking for: the battle plans. Thinking on the spot, the crook attempted to earn the trust of this soldier. "Shall I report this to senior officers? Whoever killed our brother could be a spy, or worse, working for the enemy. If the officers are in danger, they need to know."

Silence. The solider stared at Kasasagi, uttering not a word in response to the thief, the look on his face turning to one of concern at what might happen if the senior officers were in danger. The victim's death was a grizzly one, preyed upon by a rat of unknown strength and origin. The information, or rather the lack of it, was procuring untold panic and caution amongst the ranks. Kasasagi could tell that much simply from looking into the eyes of this man of war. No matter how brave a soul you were, everybody has an inexplicable fear of the unknown.

"Sergeant!" Shouted a younger soldier, stumbling around the corner at the other end of the corridor and entering Kasasagi's vision with due haste. Out of breath, the youth stopped short of another, taller figure. "There's been... another attack..."

"What! Where? Tell me, soldier!" Bellowed the taller man, a sergeant amongst the ranks of these normal troops. His gruff voice seemed to carry a mix of rage and worry, a sure sign that he was troubled by these sudden events. Kasasagi and the fellow soldier watched and listened, hearing out the young trooper as he spluttered out words.

"Two dead, one alive. Further in near C Block. The survivor. His eyes. They're gone!" Tears formed in the eyes of the soldier, overwhelmed by the shock of what he had seen and the fear that such an ugly fate might fall upon him. His legs trembling, the soldier fell to his knees before his superior. Clearly, he had only recently enlisted. The con artist knew that this boy had never seen true combat before and, by his reactions, was probably not even ready for it.

"Alright, as of now, we're on full lockdown! Got that! Whoever this killer is, I want him found and captured, ASAP!" The sergeant bellowed his orders with extreme authority. Kasasagi saluted, replying with "Sir, yessir!" just as the others did. The killer had sewn too much chaos already, provoking drastic actions that the swindler had hoped to avoid. Well, even Sunshaku Kasasagi fell to bad luck every once in a while.

Looks like I'll have to stick down here for a while. Well, no use complaining about it. This turn of events might actually be of assistance. The conman in purple marched down the corridor, beginning his fake search for an unknown assassin. Getting roped into this mess was a nuisance, but it could also prove to be beneficial in the long run. All he had to do now was continue to blend in with the soldiers and avoid becoming the prey of this mysterious predator. If only it were that easy.


(Probably not going to match those massive posts at the moment.)