[Mission 03] The Cat and The Queen (Taylor/Pluto/Puck)

[Puck]

“You don’t have to, you know.”

Puck couldn’t help but stare at the Den Den Mushi for a moment before rolling her eyes. Her father couldn’t help but meddle, though she really couldn’t blame him. Her father was a very confident and prideful man but if there was one thing he had a weakness for it was his daughter. As it should be, really, as all fathers should be worried about their little girls…but something was off. She could hear it in his voice and it bothered her more than she cared to admit. Still, neither of them was prone to show weakness to others and Puck could only pinch the bridge of her nose and bite back her sarcastic remark before it stumbled from her mouth.

“Tis fine Old Man,” Puck said finally at the end of a light sigh. “Notice ain’t ‘xactly known fer all da raids it handles. Place’s safe, an’ dis assignment ain’t nuttin’ ta worry’bout. Now how’s ‘bout you handle yer bidness an’ lemme work.”

“But-”

“Love ya Pops,” were her final words before she hung up. He meant well, but his meddling cost her more than just some random promotions. She hated feeling like people were only looking at her because her father was a Vice-Admiral and the light scandal that surrounded her demotion to the bottom rungs of the hierarchy. “Feh…”

She nodded her appreciation to the operator of the Den Den Mushi, who simply nodded back, looking bored of the whole thing. She didn’t blame him; Notice was a fairly boring place if you were out looking for adventure but a great place to get a tan or sweat your balls or tits off. You’d think with how hot it was that the nobles wouldn’t be wearing things like god damn fur coats but no, no, all year round apparently. Puck came from a wealthy family and knew how lavish they could get but she’d at least hoped that a tiny bit of common sense would override the need to show off said wealth. Apparently not.

“Amelia,” a deep growl came from behind and Puck turned cautiously. The huge man before her was the base commander of Notice, though she’d been told by other marines that he was mostly scary on the outside. “Briefed on your mission?”

Puck gave a smart salute before returning to form after a nod from the commander. “Yes sah Commander Lord. Vice Admiral DeLioncourte tol’ meh every’ting. Also said ah din’ hafta take tha mission, even afta tellin’ me his recommendation.”

The commander’s laugh was deep and booming, surprising Puck for a moment before she felt his massive hand clap down on her shoulder. “Sounds like your old man. It’s probably nothing, you know. Someone all bent out of shape because of a gambling debt or some perceived slight against them. Nobles, right? Look at them wrong and they declare blood feuds. Ridiculous.”

“Ah plague on’all dere houses, sah.” Puck said grimly, to much amusement from her superior. “Couldn’t say nay regardless, him bein’ an old friend’a da family. Wealthy folk beh havin’ tight knit circles, an’ he helped mah pops out a few times in dire straits. Old Man says he figures dis be makin’ dem square.”

“Good, good,” Commander Lord nodded. “Hope it all works out. I’m sending a few marines with you, though they’re probably already there. Boring work but the nobles always serve good food. Not the first time someone’s been threatened, and usually our boys jump at the chance to sit in a nice, cool noble’s house and run some rounds to make them feel safe. You know the way?”

“Ah do.”

“Good. Be safe out there, Amelia,” He paused a moment, then grinned. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Wouldn’t dream of’it sah,” another snappy salute and Puck was off towards the base exit and into town after Commander Lord returned it.

No, Notice wasn’t a bad place to kick your feet up at all. It was still a tad too warm for Puck, who constantly felt like taking a nap in the sun on such nice days. But the sun did feel nice and the hot was dry today, not humid, which suited her just fine. And there were more than a few delicacies that Puck enjoyed while being in Notice, even though she’d arrived not even a day before. Having stood in the world of wealthy nobles thanks to her father but having raised herself in rougher environments, Puck could honestly say that the noble lifestyle didn’t suit her as well as the life of your average Joe did. Her father had even commented that she acted more like a pirate than most pirates, though Puck chose to take that as a compliment.

The noble’s house was massive, because of course it was. She’d heard a rumor that Maxell, the man she was currently going to ‘protect’, was in a light war with his neighbor in an effort to make his house bigger than theirs. Currently Maxwell’s house stood at a stunning six stories, with additions being added onto the neighbor’s house even as she stood there taking the structure in. Could they even fill all that space? Puck balked at the thought, but nobles will be nobles. Not her business how they spent their beli.

“Recruit Puck,” the other marines, four in total, came out to greet her. The one that spoke was a tall, thin man with long limbs and a mustache so epic Puck was certain it could fight its own battles. “Glad you could be here. Gonna be a slow one, ya know. Sure the Commander told you all about it. Noble feels threatened, we come and flex some muscle, then they end up hiring a full time body guard anyways and we go home with full bellies and a funny story about how we tucked a noble into bed at night. I’m Benson, this is Right, Nory and Felt. We got some cards to pass the time when it gets slow. Already made the routes for the next few days, if that’s okay. Don’t suppose you like taking nights?”

“Naw,” Puck replied, immediately seeing the relief on their faces. “Prolly gonna’be drinkin’ ‘gardless, amirite?”

The marines all looked at each other before Benson looked at the dark skinned woman and smiled. “Puck…I think we’re gonna get along just fine.”

Yellow eyes filled with amusement as they all filed into the house. The first few hours for Puck would be spent memorizing the routes and getting to know the staff around the house a little better. Her fellow marines were more than happy to tell her all about Notice, as all had been born and bred right here, only leaving for marine training before coming back. They seemed to take great pride in their fair island, and it was refreshing for Puck to see such positive people. And so when she offered to run back to her room at the inn she was staying to grab her booze, they only laughed and wondered why she hadn’t brought it down with her in the first place.

Easiest favor she’s ever been asked to do. Plus, she was getting paid for it. How neat was that?

[BlacKitten]

Notice Town - Un-Noticed Alleys

The bottoms of beer-filled mugs thumped against wooden surfaces as rowdy laughs sounded in the malodorous air that stinks of dirty men. A trio had just walked in through the front entrance, immediately drawing in the eyes of delinquent-looking figures who all sat in their seats. The noisy atmosphere quickly grew quiet enough for the foreign footsteps to be heard. Taking the lead of the three newcomers was a black-haired adolescent boy with distinctive violet-hued eyes. He made no effort in even scanning the room as he appeared to be more interested in glancing over a small pile of bounty posters in his hands. Behind him were two girls, one who appeared to be the same age as him while the other was just a child who shouldn’t be here.

The older female of the three glanced side to side timidly, creeped out by the looks she was receiving. Some of them were intimidating while most others were downright perverted. “Pluto..., please hurry up. I don’t feel safe here,” she said in a soft tone, holding her metal spear with both hands at her front.

“This is why I didn’t want you two to come,” the boy continued lowered the sand-colored sheets of papers that were fanned out in his grasps as he started to examine the room that he now stood in the center of. Just as he paused, the little girl soon bumped into him from behind. She looked up to her older brother curiously, holding no fear in her vibrant violet-colored eyes.

“Seriously, why are you two following me?” With a turn of his neck, he gave a mildly annoyed visage.

“I wanted to come with you, and Ara didn’t want to be left alone, so she came along too,” Rebecca, the younger sister, answered the question with a giddy look on her face. This was the first time she had ever stepped foot in a bar before, but no matter where the destination was, her clingy nature always meant following her older brother. The reason she wasn’t afraid of any of these men around them was simply due to the fact that both Pluto and Ara were very strong. Either of them would protect her if danger looms near.

Faint snickers could be heard in the background. Three of them stood up as they glanced at the young lady cladded in a sleeveless white top with long silky black hair that reaches throughout her back and golden-colored eyes. She was a both attractive and cute at the same time with a rather large rack, a fruit ripe enough to be picked.

“Hey there...,” a drunk man reached out a hand to rest on the girl’s shoulder. “Why don’t you-,” his words were interrupted by a sharp pain that struck him at the center point of his solar plexus. Gritting his teeth, his knees trembled before falling onto them. It wasn’t merely a physical blow; it felt like electricity had been injected into his body, causing him to lose control over his own limbs. His two friends from behind dropped to their knees in a similar fashion, gritting their teeth at the flood of pain. However, the spear-wielding girl didn’t do anything, merely giving the same meek expression. They couldn’t comprehend who or what did this to them.

“Don’t touch her,” the boy, who –out of the three- stood the furthest from the riffraff, scowled with a deathly glare.

“He-he!” Rebecca smiled when the expressions around the room transitioned from arrogance to cautious. They must all know by now that her brother did something to cause these three defenseless men to fall to their knees. Truthfully, even she didn’t see what just happened. Her eyes simply weren’t trained enough to follow such speeds. However, what surprised her even more was the fact that her brother intervened even though Ara could’ve defended herself just fine. He was being unusually protective for someone who pretends to be so uncaring.

---

OOC

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}Technique Used:

12) Stunning Fist: From a regular fist, the curled index finger is positioned outwards. In marital arts, this is sometimes referred to as the Phoenix Eye Fist. Focusing the power at this single knuckle, the execution of this punch releases a small, swift, penetrating, dull burst of air. This technique can be combined with Pluto’s XFS, allowing his fired attack to transport his bio-electricity to the target. With his high precision and accuracy, this technique can be used to target pressure points and weak spots of the enemy from a distance to both damage and stun them. This technique is known to be small, fast, and debilitating to the target. It is as if the martial artist could snipe his opponents with his fist.

Maximum Range: 20 meters

[Puck]

“An’ den…an’ den da dame choked out da watah she was drinkin’ an’…an’ hurled her whole dinnah right dere on dah floor!!”

Her fellow marines were already red with laughter from the tale, with Felt falling to his side onto the floor clutching his ribs. Storytelling was in her blood, or so Puck believed from all the times her father scolded her for her…embellishments with any given adventure she recalled. Already a few drinks in as the night drew on, Puck was having a great time on this detail. They’d done a few rounds already, with Benson and Nory out patrolling while herself, Felt and right were enjoying a moment to gather and talk. The bottle passed between them a few times before Nory gave a sloppy salute and walked off to do his beat, his being inside the huge house while Benson was outside.

“So…ya spied da white haired cutie dat walked in?” Puck turned a curious eye towards the house. “Ass fer centuries an’ legs ta kill fer. Ya know her?”

“Hmmm?” Felt looked towards the house and shrugged his huge shoulders. “No clue. Might be someone else the noble hired on a permanent basis. Can’t have the marines patrolling your house forever, right? When the nobles get in their little squabbles they call us. When we tell them we can’t stay they get mad and hire their own goons. But hey, we’re the marines. Got more important shit to do than babysit, especially when nothing ever happens.”

“Nuttin’? Puck raised a delicate eyebrow, her yellow orbs looking towards the big man. “Like, evah?”

“Not usually,” Felt nodded, taking a swig of the liquor Puck had brought and handed it back to her. “I mean, you get the occasional squab, but the noble’s real battlefield is politics, right? Never gonna see a noble throw down. They pay people to do that for them. Pansies, the lot of them.”

“Not’a fan, eh?” Puck gave a lopsided grin and chugged the bottle for a moment before pulling it away from her lips, a satisfied sigh escaping her open mouth. “Man, say what’cha will ‘bout nobles, dere liquor be on point.”

“Truth.”

They both gave each other sloppy salutes and grins before walking off from the front door in opposite ways. They still stuck to their usual routes but Puck had suggested varying their paths to keep anyone that might be watching guessing. She looked at them knowingly, as none of them expected any trouble but…well, better safe than sorry. They were marines after all, professionals. Or…something along those lines. These four had grown up on this island and she trusted their instincts. Still, it never hurt to be cautious. It was in Puck’s experience that things usually got crazy when you least expected it.

But hot damn this was boring.

The house was huge, with so many entry points through easily climbable windows and unlocked servants entrances that it was nearly impossible to defend it all without the aid of at least ten more marines. On Puck’s first rounds she’d gone through the house and locked what she could, asking the servants to lock the doors they’d use to go outside whenever they left or came back in. Benson had commented that, usually, the servants of any given noble house didn’t cooperate with the marines as well as they did now, but Puck only made an offhand comment on how she was excellent with people, failing to mention that, later on, she was meeting the lead servant in a secluded room somewhere on the second floor for a light...rendezvous.

“Miss DeLioncourte,” a stiff voice greeted her as she was walking by an open door. “Please, your presence would be appreciated.”

Jittolie wasn’t someone that stuck out to Puck, but when you meet enough nobles they all tend to run together regardless of how they looked or where they were from. It was like they were all cut from the same boring mold that stayed the same, never broken. Still, he was a friend of her fathers and she’d known the man since she was knee high. And her father would never have asked her to protect someone he didn’t feel need protection. So Puck rolled her eyes, out of the vision of Jittolie of course, and walked into his office with a light swagger. Her eyes rested on the other woman in the room, the white haired chicky she’d questioned Felt about earlier, before her orbs fell back to Jittolie.

“Lord Maxwell,” Puck bowed, as was appropriate. “The Old Man beh sendin’ his regards. Says ya still owe him’a round ah chess aftah ya thrashed him yer last visit.”

The noble laughed, though you could tell it was something he didn’t do very often. Still, Puck gave her lopsided grin as she watched the noble shake a finger in the air. “Vice-Admiral DeLioncourte is a stubborn man. First time I beat him in years and he still holds a grudge. Of course now I owe him a favor for asking his child to help protect me from…whatever this is. I trust you’ve set up your patrols and routes with your fellow marines?”

“Yes sah,” The dark skinned woman affirmed, then looked towards the other beauty in the room. “Ya gonna inta’duce me, or ya gonna leave me hangin’?”

“Of course, of course,” Jittolie Maxwell stepped out from behind his desk and made a sweeping gesture towards the white haired woman. “Queen Leti Taylor, bounty hunter. I’ve hired her to…assist in this case.” At Puck’s raised eyebrow, Lord Maxwell held up a hand in correction. “Not an actual Queen, mind you. She informs me it’s a family name. I fully understand the marines can’t protect me full time. I sent word for Miss Taylor at the same time I requested aid from the marines. She’ll be here as long as it takes to help bring whoever is targeting me to justice.”

Puck nodded, then looked towards Taylor, eyes dancing happily as her gaze drank in the figure before her. “Pleasure, mah Queen.” Puck said in a teasing manner, holding out a hand to shake hers and giving a sly wink as she did so. “Name’s Puck. Hope we get…close while’on dis task, ya?”

[BlacKitten]

“Oi! Oi! You bastards! Those were my men! You picking a fight?” An aggressive, outspoken tone exploded through the silence.

“Pluto,” the little girl gently nudged her older brother with an innocent-looking glance.

“Hmm?” He offered her his undivided attention; his serious visage softened immediately.

Rebecca used her pointer finger to gesture at the loud man who stood up abruptly two tables away, “Doesn’t he have a bounty on his head?”

“Huh?” The older sibling gave a quick glance with a disappointed gaze. “He doesn’t look familiar. His face doesn’t match any of the posters that I have.” Having spent quite a bit of time starring at wrinkled up sheets in his hand, he’d feel awfully bad if his ability to recognize faces were atrocious enough that he couldn’t pinpoint someone in the same room as him.

“I don’t think you have his wanted poster,” the little one informed. “But! I remember a similar face being hung up at a bulletin board earlier.”

“OI! QUIT IGNORING ME!” The blond-haired man yelled, stomping his feet against the ground with each step towards the trio. He stood nearly seven foot tall with a brutish built, wearing a ragged dirty-pink shirt, shorts, and sandals. With an outstretched hand, he grabbed the boy by the collar of his casual blue t-shirt, snarling as he gazed down inches away from the youngster in an intimidating demeanor.

With one eye closed, Pluto leaned his head slightly away from the unpleasant looking face, “So..., do you actually have a bounty?”

“Humph! Get a load of this! I have a bounty of ten million beri!”

“...,” The boy made no effort to hide his unimpressed facial response. “Well... if you say so. I guess I’ll have to take both you and my sister’s word for it. But..., you do know that I’m now inclined to turn you in, right?”

“Hah! I’d like to see you try!” The unnamed man grinned in an amused manner as he tightened his grip and tugged the boy’s collar in more.

Nonchalantly, the boy grabbed onto the wrist that had been clinging onto his shirt and immediately the man released his grip and gritted his teeth. In a swift arcing motion, he twisted and leveraged the man’s arm in such a way that the entire adult body slammed against the floor. A husky shriek could be heard. The blond pirate tried to resist to the best of ability, but the more effort he put in, the more it felt like his arm was going to pop from his shoulder socket. Above all else, the insane grip strength around his wrist felt as if it would crush his bones into powder. Grinding his teeth was the best he could do to hide his pain and save his pride.

With a casual turn of his head, Pluto had his eyes meet directly at the older girl, “Ara..., how much force do I need to exert to knock this man out without killing him?”

“Eh!?” The spear-wielding girl didn’t expect to be asked such a question. “U-Um...,”

“Since we’re not in the Grand Line anymore, the bounties are awfully low here. Likewise, a lot of the troublemakers here are also a lot weaker than what I’m used to. If I kill him by accident, then they’ll be a reduction in the beri I receive from his already low bounty.”

“Uh..., A-Am I supposed to give a numerical answer?” She asked timidly. Was she supposed to give her response in kilograms or something?

“Damn you...!” With his free hand, the pirate forcefully pushed himself up. Hearing these youths mocking him only fueled the fire in his desire to beat the snot out of them.

CRACK!

“ARUGH!” He cried as his arm was dislocated from his shoulder.

“Ah... sorry,” Pluto blinked, not expecting the man to resist through the pain to such an extent. “Here, let me ease the pain for you,” he unleashed a quick, snappy low kick with the tip of his boot striking the man’s temple at the side of his head. Immediately, the cries of agony and squirming ended, leaving a motionless body that was knocked unconscious.

“Now then..., he is still alive, right?” The boy squatted and turned the body over to feel its pulse.

“Boss!” A bearded man stood up; his eyes glued onto the pirate’s body on the ground.

“Damn you!” Those that sat in inner corner of the room had stood up; all apparently belonging to the same crew.

Cutlasses were unsheathed from their scabbards. The bunch expanded their formation, circling around the trio of younglings.

“Ah..., good, he’s still alive... I think,” Pluto stood upright. He blinked upon seeing a group of armed men encircling him, “Huh?”