Mission #24 - Blab/Stroud/???

[stroud]

An Island of wealth, culture and finery.

Beautiful architecture lined streets and hung from the sides of hills; beautiful lakes and swooping roads lined with glittering lights and paved with silver granite. The views were spectacular even from the docks located on the edge of town. This area was normally prime for the fish market or the bazaar of other villages or small towns but no, ha! Not here in Toroa where pomp and grandeur took precedence.

Stroud already hated everything about this island less it's kind coolness. In his brief travels he'd already come to find heat to be his grandest and most unforgiving foe. Beast, monstrosity, leviathan- ho! All manner of wild game in need of hunting stood as no trouble to the accomplished Huntsman and Buccaneer! He could stomach any fear and accomplish dubious feat in the pursuit of his trade...but the treacherous elements? The cruelty of Mother Nature herself?

Hark, even he was a man of limits and weakness.

Nevertheless, despite his minor discomfort in the attitude of his current residence, Stroud was upon the island of Toroa at the behest of the general populace. Not a frequenter of pubs and bars, Stroud had wandered into one such establishment with only the quest for information as his thirst. Many voices regaled the young pirate's need and he was informed of a bitter state of affair on Toroa. Gangsters, uncouth youth and hardened criminals were assaulting and demanding 'security fees' from the common people.

Stroud was no hypocrite, mind you, but piracy had within it a semblance of honor. There were certain targets you didn't go after and certain actions you simply don't take. Money was always the objective, this was true, but harming children or the elderly and destroying livelihood was not their creed. These gangsters needed a form of persuasion not often attributed to your run-of-the-mill person and Stroud had quickly found himself volunteering for the job.

One other was to appear, he'd been told. Another of a small softness for small rights and wrongs. Stroud was of the mind to wait briefly, see if perhaps their was merit in a temporary alliance as benefactors of mutual interest and intent. It never had hurt him to be patient before.

[satoshi]

A fine day to travel is the thoughts that went through Zeus's mind as he arrived to the island of Toroa.

The architecture was a sight as that was the good thing of being an adventurer was the sights one would see in this large world; the beautiful lakes and great constructions of mankind. Arriving from the docks Zeus seemed to be enamored with the island but he knew he had a job to do as he heard of the misfortune that befell the island. Although he was walking around; Zeus was very observant as he saw the look of fear and caution as he passed by. The people must have thought him a pirate, now that he thought about it maybe he should begin to wear some sort of medical attire but the thought passed.

Zeus ran into one problem of answering this Islands call was that he didn't know where the people in need of medical attention were. Coming here he expected for there to be parts of the island where there would be plenty of wounded people but that was not the case. This made him think that he could have mistaken minor harassment and mild violence for murder and mayhem; which was probably due to his prior encounters with pirates. This issue was jus petty criminal behavior and he would not be needed it seemed but Zeus was a man of honor and he came here with the intention to help and that is what he would do.  

This island had to have a place to gather information every place had their mecca of gossip. Someone had to have information on these pirates who were lower then scum which infuriated Zeus as the pirate life was something he detested.

Either way he seemed to have found his way to a Pub and it seemed that his prayers were answered as what better way to get information then a pub. Entering the bar he saw the usual people those who were running from their miseries, those who were weak to alcohol, the gamblers and petty criminals not pirates but opportunists. Looking around the bar as he entered he evaluated each and every person he saw and no one was quite stood out except for a man in a long navy blue coat of great height. Many men stared him down but he kept up his act of being a visitor and decided to join some of the gamblers. They saw him looking at the game, and one spoke up saying "This is no place for boys not from round these parts keep moving" one said to him.

Zeus pulled out his currency out of his pack; "Shame I would have loved to join I actually enjoy poker occasionally" he said. After seeing the money and hearing that he played poker occasionally they looked at one another and gestured for Zeus to sit down and unfortunately for the men Zeus gambled more then just occasionally. The doctor was in the game for no more then 10 minutes and was up a small fortune which was not making him any friends but Zeus just listened really to their casual banter. "Well my fortune seems to be good today I think its time I go wouldn't want to run into those pirates with any more money then I already have" he says standing up and collecting the money he won. One of the larger men got up at the table and placed a hand on Zeus's hand stopping him from collecting the money...."I never seen luck like that then you mention the pirates, you must be with them you young cheat" he said applying pressure. The stockier bald man glared at Zeus attempting to intimidate him but he read this man he was a tough guy but not a pirate but maybe he could use this situation to weed out any pirates.

"That is some grip but if your going to grab someone's wrist you should do it like this" he said then twisted the mans wrist with two fingers causing him to drop which made the other men stand up in disbelief. Seemed like a feat of strength but he just applied pressure to the pressure point in the wrist, and one guy thought he'd use the confusion and grab the money on the table and run. He lunged for the money but froze as he backed up slowly as he had a needle positioned at his neck. "I pegged you as an opportunist" as  he finished collecting his money.

[Blaka]

It was a fine morning in Toroa as Queen B. Melosa stepped of the ferry she had used to come to the island. No cloud was seen in the light blue sky, only the occasional seagull. As always, the captain of the Queen Pirates was wearing her yellow skirt and sleeveless black top with two flowers crossing in front of her chest. On her back she had strapped her two blades. Of course, she also didn't miss her trademark yellow leather gloves that concealed the holes in her hands.
She was here because she wanted to see the island's rich culture. She had read about the fancy lifestyle most citizens were leading. About the stunning operas with singers from all over the world. The grand balls, where nobles from everywhere came to have fun together and converse about politics. The concerts that were held every once in a while, supposedly even famous stars like Soul King Brook came to play in front of thousands of fans. It was time to see everything with her own eyes. And so, the young lady wandered up the main street.

And what a sight it was indeed! The pirate princess almost squealed at how glorious everything looked. In a sense, it reminded her of home, back in the Queendom. People were wearing all sorts of expensive fabrics on their body and had the craziest hairstyles that probably took two hours every morning. The shops in the street reflected on that as well. Pompous dresses and shiny shoes in the display windows. And then there were the swords. All kinds of smithing shops graced the alleyways. Big bastardswords, elegant rapiers, sharp butcherknifes for the every day kitchen.
Everything told the pirate princess that strolled through the street: the entire island was build around the happiness and wealth of its people.

Her pink pigtails bobbed up and down and the black high-heels clicked on the pavement as she turned to the right, away from the busy shops. Afterall, she needed a place to stay for the night. And looking for one in the evening, when she would be tired and likely a bit tipsy, was too much of a hassle. She'd have to pay an entire day's worth anyway, so why wait.
Suprinsingly, even though the main street was so busy, the side street the pirate princess had walked into was completely devoid of life. Row houses to her left and right made the road look rather small and confining. Only the houses to her right had doors to this street. To her left stood only the blank back walls. Nevertheless she continued because she saw a sign in the distance looking awfully like a cheap inn.

All of the sudden, the pink-haired pirate heard a high-pitched scream from inside one of the houses not too far in front of her. Alarmed, she picked up the pace to see what was going on. Before she arrived however, the door sprang wide open and a young child came flying through, crashing with her back against the wall on the opposite side.
The kid, a little girl, not older than 8, was looking downright miserable. Her mousy hair was all over the place and its cherry-red dress was riddled with stains.
Instinctively, Melosa wanted to run towards her to see if she was hurt, but froze on the spot as she saw more people stepping out of the house.

Two square-built men in black suits came stomping through the door. Their fists were easily the size of Melosa's entire head. Both of them looked like someone forced them into their outfit. A torn down classic pirate shirt would have fitted them much better. Behind them, a woman strutted through the doorframe.
The woman was a bit older than Melosa, in her late twenties at least and a good deal taller. Straight red hair was falling down to just above her hips. Her long red dress covered everything up to her chest. Above it, one could see the snow white, almost colourless skin of the woman. She was focusing on the little girl, so Melosa couldn't see her face. But she could hear her voice. And it send a shiver down her spine. High-pitched. Cold. Emotionless. Metallic.
"Now, what do you tell mommy and daddy?" the creepy woman in red towered over the crying lass on the ground. Melosa was frozen in shock about what happened in front of her eyes.
"E-elizabella s-says you should p-pay."
"Or what?" Each word had to be like a slap in the face for the child. No comfort could be found in the voice.
"O-or she'll teach me t-to sw..sw..to swim..." whimpered the little girl, breaking down in tears on the dusty street.

Melosa began to tremble. Not in fear, but in anger. What kind of horrible person did you have to be to threaten a child like that! She was about to draw her sword, but once again forgot to move due to what she saw:
The horrible woman raised her right palm, previously hidden from Melosa's view. There was no skin on the hand. Not even flesh or bones. Just spindly, rusty steel skeleton. Elizabella raised her index finger in approval.
"See?" All of the sudden, her voice turned normal. Still high-pitched, but human, friendly even. "That wasn't too hard was it?"

Without even one more word or a look in Queen Pirate's direction, the cyborg and her two apparent guards turned and walked off in the direction of the inn, leaving behind the terrified kid on the street.
Melosa decided to hold off until the three were away far enough before she rushed to the poor girl's side, got on her knees next to her and gave her a big hug.
"Hey...hey..." she tried to calm her down "Everything's okay...everything's...okay..."

[stroud]

Of course it had to be this way. Really, what else could he have expected from being the patient one?


No one showed up. No like-minded individuals, no friendly comrades and not even a lively or reckless fool to bolster the mood back into joviality again. No, Stroud was always alone when it came to doing the dirty work for others and would likely be the man in the shadows when praise and rewards were being doled out.


Well, there was no real harm done in the long run. It never hurt to just have a nice and simple walk along the streets and keep an ear out for trouble. The young hunter had found himself multiple times on the receiving end of dumb luck just by letting his feet take him in whatever direction they so desired. Even now he found himself being drawn towards a slightly less lit part of town. The lamps were becoming maybe a little bit further inbetween and their glow just the tiniest bit less vibrant. Such things usually didn't make a difference during the daytime hours and most people cared not for how bright a lamp was.


" Keh, figures...," He scoffed, swiping underneath his nose with his thumb and spitting to the side. These were the signs where civility and the modicum of safety had come to a sudden halt. The underworld wasn't some crazy and seedy place like civilians liked to believe. There was no secret knock or lever that opened a wall into a dark bar. No, the criminal and illegal elements of every city were strewn about in plain sight for those whom had lived long enough in the shadows to notice it. Stroud just so happened to excel at seeing and following signs.


As he trekked down the narrow cobblestone path that winded it's way between a warehouse and what appeared to be a simple restaurant, a sudden raucous gave a pregnant pause to his journey as a door somewhere up ahead slammed open. He couldn't see what was going on from his position but years of hunting game had him crouching down and against the wall to minimize his own presence. Words and the footfalls of multiple individuals slowly found their way to his ears and he allowed him to eavesdrop on the conversation.


It appeared as if someone was being strong-armed into doing something. The words murky from the distance and only giving clues that there was some sort of payment being demanded. The two voices were remarkably different, one soft and young while the other came off as near inflection-less. A third voice chimed in but Stroud placed the same tenor in the afterthought of it's statement to that of the colder speaker. A tone change, not a different person- giving false praise and comfort before marching further away from Stroud. He stood up to approach the younger voice before yet another spoke out in sincere empathy.

" Don't be alarmed, I'm coming out," He called ahead before turning the corner and seeing Queen with the young girl," You two together?" He inquired while wondering if perhaps they had any information on the island's state of affairs.

[satoshi]

Zeus collected his payment and decided to leave the establishment that he was currently in, as he thought he made a few enemies so best not stick around just in case they want to resort to more violence. Zeus decided to stroll around as he had no where in particular to be and maybe something would come up. Now Zeus was not one to ignore the plight of others, but he did not necessarily get involved in every situation that he came across. Zeus saw a girl she had pink long hair bound in two pigtails that hung left and right from her head just down to her ears. On top of her head, she has braided 3 yellow feathers into her hair that stand up straight and resemble a crown as if she was royalty. This girl was consoling a little girl had to be no older then ten years old, crying into the arms of the older girl.

Zeus heart went out to this situation he wondered what had this child crying the way she was but she seemed to have someone who was looking after her. Zeus kept walking in the opposite direction he was in the business of helping others but he is a medical guy not one for emotional comfort. Zeus's eyes locked with this girl with the three yellow feathers that resembled a crown and she seemed like a good soul. Zeus saw another man looking on as well but he kept walking maybe he'd be of some use to someone else in his place.

[Blaka]

For a moment, Melosa just sat there, the bawling girl in her arms. Her gloved hands patted the child on the back. Although she was luckily not wounded, the kid's entire body was trembling like her own. Not in anger, but in horror. To say such terrible things to a child. The pirate princess decided that she would find out who this Elizabella woman was and tell her a thing or two about manners!
"Don't be alarmed, I'm coming out!"

Instantly, the little girl stopped shivering and hid her face in the pink-haired pirate's chest. Likewise instantly, Melosa looked up. There was a man at one of the few corners the narrow alleyway had to offer. Strange how Elizabella and her lot hadn't noticed him. Or maybe they had just ignored him, as they had ignored the Queen Pirate.

Quite huge, the stranger was at least 20 centimeters taller than the green-eyed noblewoman herself. The effect of his size was elevated by the fact that she and the lass in her arms were cowering on the ground.
He was wearing a blue coat, a black button down shirt, gray pants and shin-high boots. Everything but the coat was neatly tucked into each other.
Instinctevly, the pirate lady on the ground pressed the crying kid even closer to her chest and turned slightly around to protect her from any potential danger. Though she realised her motion was unnecessary upon closer examination of his face. His long, white hair and a bit of a lack of masculine features in his face confused her for a second, but his voice and muscular figure clearly belonged to a male. The thing that made her relax was a look in his pale violet eyes. As far as she could see, there were no harmful intentions noticeable.

"You two together?"
"Huh?", responded Melosa, letting go of the girl in her arms to wipe off some of the tear water from her bare shoulder "No no sir, I just got here right on time, like you."
Gently, she tried to straighten the child's hair a little
"Better now?" she asked in a calming, friendly voice.
The kid sniffeled for a few more seconds, then finally nodded, looking down on her feet.
"Do you want to tell me your name?"
"Che..Cherie. Cherie Hanatare."
"Is there anybody you can go to for now? Anybody home?"
Instantly, Cherie's eyes filled up with water again.
"N-no, they're o-out w-working! Th-they n-need to make the money!" she blubbered out.

"Hey...Hey...."
It took a bit before little miss Hanatare had calmed down again. Enough time for the stranger next to them to say something to her as well. After the tears stopped once more, Melosa stood up and took the lass to her doorstep to sit her down properly.
"Listen, you stay here for a while. I need to talk to the nice man over there, alright?"
Absent nodding.

With these words, she strutted over to the stranger in the blue coat and curtsied. They were out Cherie's hearing range here, so their talk wouldn't trouble her further.
"Sorry, sir, children first.", she smiled "My name is Queen B. Melosa. I don't know if you heard her, but the woman and her men just threatened a small child with execution. I caught her name as well, she called herself Elizabella.", The smile on the pirate princess' face turned into a frown the more she recalled the incident. "I'm not from around here, you don't happen to have heard of that woman?"
As if she had just remembered something, her eyes got slightly bigger all of the sudden, she blinked, then the familiar polite smile returned.
"Sorry again, I got caught in my anger. I totally forgot to ask, your name!"

[stroud]

Stroud couldn't help but notice the brief but evident shielding of the child from himself, a move not unlike what he'd have done had there roles been reversed. He allowed himself a smile to show he was not offended and understood the gesture.

" No, I cannot say that we are not acquainted. Although, I am here on rumor, naught more...," He replied while looking past Queen and noticing a rather oblivious looking man walk by. There eyes met briefly and then the man simply trudged on, uncaring or uninterested in the scene before him. Stroud felt his lips curl into a brief sneer before he redirected his attention to Queen and Cherie.

He realized she'd asked his name in the brief pause between his looking away and the child requiring comfort, a question that was almost into the uncomfortable pause zone of conversation," Apologies. I am Stroud V. Burgess. I was employed by the people of a sister-town to this to either help or discover some of the cruel machinations that have appeared as of late," His hand idly drifted up to chin where he stroked the smoothed skin before speaking more," I take it that you're not part of the problem judging by your actions and my gut usually leads me in the right direction...do you know anything going on besides what the little miss had to say?"


--


Elizabella would chuckle mirthlessly as she walked further away from the small group. She had dropped her ear (yet another cybernetic augmentation) around the corner from the group and (merely out of amusement rather than actual interest) was eavesdropping on them. The words being exchanged however were of note, they seemed the type to try some sort of out-of-date heroics and get involved in her business. 

" Butch, Snill- I want you to find out where our new friends are staying tonight and give them a warm Elizabella welcome! I daresay maybe even invite them to join our little security business,' A giggle escaped her, alien compared to the metallic limb she brought to her lips like an innocent schoolgirl would. She allowed the hand to brush back her flaming red hair and let it billow behind her like a scarlet cape.

Her two henchmen, Butch and Snill, simply grunted and gave a shrug before they trudged off separate from their mistress.

[odango]

To most visitors, Toroa was a wonderful island packed with glamorous cities, beautiful views and one couldn’t forget about the level of culture life. All of these reasons attracted new people to Toroa. They attracted families looking for a brighter, safer life. They attracted young people who were chasing their dreams. And, they attracted self-centered and greedy people. No one would believe it, if someone were to deny the wondrous qualities of Toroa. Indeed, there were a many reasons why it was one of the most delightful islands on the planet. But to some… in this case, Tsubaki, it was home. She didn’t see the island as much as a wonderful place of culture as she saw familiar roads, relived a few memories and looked over most things with a sense of boredom. Even the most beautiful things become common if you see them almost every day.

*This feels a little weirder than I imagined.* the hazel eyed brunette confirmed to herself as she walked down the partially busy streets of the town. In truth, this particular town was not her home. She was from a much bigger city – the “capital” if one were to say so. However, she could still feel familiar with the streets. The architecture of the main buildings was similar to that of her home. Also the layout of the town seemed similar.

That day, she was dressed in your regular marine uniform, yet with black, slightly tighter than you’d normally see, trousers and her shirt seemed a couple sizes too big for her. The young woman didn’t want to call too much attention to herself with a marine uniform, so she had thrown a dark purple cardigan over it. For some reason, she hadn’t changed shirts. Perhaps it had something to do with her pride as a marine slowly growing… or perhaps, it was for an entirely different reason.

Having been in town since the previous night, the nineteen year old once again walked the streets and now and then glanced around in a calm manner. She wanted to get a feel for the common folk in this town. There were stories and statements of how horrible some criminals were acting towards all varieties of citizens, yet she wanted to take a closer look at the people. The busty marine had quite impressive observation skills, so she could make quite a lot from just watching and listening. For example, she had learned that most cases of criminal abuse were kept quiet about because of blackmail. Had more been reported, perhaps, marines had actually been deployed to take a look. In her case, she asked to come, even seeing as marines were not much associated with Toroa in any way. Whatever the case, her family was noble on the island and she felt a little responsible.

*It seems, most problems come from blackmail in this town… so, I just need to find a way to stop giving the brains of these blackmail brawn. Or I could try to see who actually lets them know of their targets’ most valuable possessions and people. I doubt they scout themselves…* she figured, before hearing a sort of mechanical, almost frightening laugh come from her left. She stopped, her trail of thought disturbed and was now gazing at a red-haired woman. She also had a red dress and seemed quite pale. Tsubaki couldn’t say anything about that, she being rather fair skinned as well. However, what they didn’t have in common was robotic enhancement. Right, so this woman was a cyborg? Or did those parts have no more than the basic function? Tsubaki couldn’t tell at that moment. However she did notice the woman was missing an ear… *Curious… she seems not to have schizophrenia or those two would’ve probably ignored her order… so perhaps she’s truly amused. I wish I heard all of it. However, security business and new friends sounds like a bad enough combination. Anyway… this one seems too dominant to actually do ground work. Those two visually look too dense to be subtle and good at any kind of spying…* and there she went, weighing the “ifs” and “maybes” as she turned left herself.

Not long until our busty marine came to the scene. However, what she saw was something odd. There was a girl crying, she seemed quite bullied and perhaps traumatized by something. It was easy to mentally hurt kids about her age. And there were two others. A man and a woman. By what she could tell, they were chatting. Were they taking the time to flirt? Tsubaki had come close enough to hear the last bit of their conversation. Great, they were exchanging pleasantries. Quite the timing.

Pretty sure she had made them aware of her presence, she glanced at the child. Somehow, she felt this tug on the inside of her stomach. It felt as if something heavy was in there and was slowly raising up and making her more uneasy. In truth, she was once again experiencing high levels of empathy. This was common for the hazel eyed brunette… She then looked at the couple on the other side and raised a brow. Wait, was that a light scowl in her brow as well? Did Tsubaki think the two had something to do with this? Perhaps. Was she looking at them in a judgmental way? Probably. Who’d feel like flirting next to a beat up child anyway? People these days, really…

[Blaka]

Melosa raised an eyebrow at the response to her questions.

"A sister-town?" she repeated his words "So this is a bigger problem then? Not just a one time thing?"

While they talked, Melosa too noticed the uncaring stranger passing through. A muscular guy, not as tall as Stroud but still. Contrary to her new acquaintance she wasn't as appauled by his attitude though. People were busy with their own problems sometimes. Unless they were supposed to guarantee the security of the citizens. For a second the pink-haired pirate got upset with the Marines of Toroa once again. If this was such a problem, why didn't they do anything about it?
Then she remembered that Toroa wasn't part of the World Government anymore. Actually, even though she was a well-read woman, the pirate princess realised she had no idea who was responsible for security now.

Keeping her smile intact, the noble girl answered the white-haired man:
"No, sorry." Her yellow gloved hands picked off one of Cherie's hairs that had stuck to her top. "I'm just a tourtist, really. Didn't plan on having to help out but clearly something needs to be done!"

Worried, the green-eyed girl looked back at the lass behind her in between words. Cherie was just sitting there, staring at the ground, sniveling every few seconds.
Suddenly, a realisation came to mind:
"If your employers send you instead of the local forces, they probably know the guards here can't do anything. Or don't want to do anything. Either way, we'll likely have to deal with this on our own... I'd rather not ask the little girl for information, she seems down enough. Don't want to make her relive all this."

Their conversation got interrupted by fourth person entering the scene. A brunette, about Melosa's own age, dressed in black pants and a violet cardigan. Her figure was a little shorter, but curvier than her own rather slender body. Brown hair was falling down to her waist, bobbing left and right as she walked towards them. A birthmark below the right eye was the first thing the Queen Pirate noticed about the stranger's heart-shaped face.
Instead of Zeus' uncaring attitude, this woman seemed quite disturbed by the scene, esspecially little Miss Hanatare. The look on her face told the pirate captain that she didn't approve of her and Stroud either, for some reason. Whatever the reason, there was another person they could ask about information.

"Hello madam!" Melosa turned away from Stroud and approached the lady, smiling politely as always "Do you happen to be from around here? We just witnessed an attack on this child" she made a vague gesture towards Cherie " by a criminal calling herself Elizabella."
As it did before when explaining the situation to Stroud, her smile disappeared for a second when she thought about what kind of horrible person would do such a thing.
"Apparently she's blackmailing families around town and threatening to kill their relatives."
Quickly, the smile was back on her face.
"Do you happen to know anything about that? Or who we could turn to?"