Business and Pleasure! A Mock Town Mystery!

[Jade]

Mock Town, Jaya
-Ten minutes before dawn-

The pirates who so loved to visit the port town weren't such a bother so early in the morning. Sure, some were still up from the night before, but their drunken laughter and brawls were beginning to die down as the exhaustion of a night of revelry caught up to them, so one could traverse the streets feeling that slight bit safer as long as this hypothetical one could bring themselves to get out of bed so early.

That wasn't such a hard thing to do for a consummate fisherman like Beldan. He whistled quietly as he walked down the street, taking his usual route toward the docks - taking care to step over the loudly snoring body slumped in the middle of the street, which wasn't so unusual, really. Of course, waking up early came with other benefits besides avoiding the worst of the chaos of Mock Town, like getting to fully appreciate the sunrise out on the open waters.

The sound of the waves hitting the docks was wrong, though. Beldan blinked as he stepped down onto the wooden pier where he knew his fishing vessel had been, there at the end - what was wrong with this scene? He wracked his brain as he continued down the pier, stroking the little bit of greying hair on his chin as he went. It was only when he reached the end of the pier, where he knew his boat had been left the prior evening, when it finally hit him.

Down there, at the docks of the popular pirate resort of Mock Town, there wasn't a single ship.

---

Lilin Post #1 / Tally Post #1

"...lin? Come on, now, time to wake up."

The gentle voice was contrasted by a rather rough shake of her shoulder - Lilin's eyes quickly opened, only to be met by a sort of softer darkness, of light just peeking through the cracks between her arm and her head. With a groan, she picked her head up off the table she'd apparently fallen asleep face-first on, and locked her eyes on the person who had dared to wake her up.

Ophelia was always far too cheery in the mornings. The so-called "Phantom Thief" looked like she'd been awake for hours, even though Lilin knew that couldn't have been the case - her hair was brushed, she'd changed into a new set of those dress clothes she so enjoyed... It was, quite frankly, both sickening and upsetting. "... What do tha want, eh?" Lilin finally forced out, and then dropped her head back onto the table. "Can't tha see I'm resting, tha damned sun-riser...?"

"Oh yes, I did notice that." Ophelia's response was given in as playful a tone as ever, but there was some genuine annoyance in it as well. "But there's better places to fall asleep than in the middle of a bar, Lilin, and besides - it's time to be awake. Come on, up up up!"

Lilin groaned again as the thief rolled her over onto her side, and then onto her back, and then onto her side again- And then the little devil fell right off the table, onto the wooden floor of the establishment. As soon as her body hit the floor, Lilin exploded outward like a smoke bomb, black smoke filling a fair chunk of the room until a black mask of a face formed within it, glaring out at the smiling face of her friend. "Why, tha little..." Rather than any coherent insults, Lilin simply hissed, like some sort of sentient tea kettle, as her form condensed back down into the little horned imp of a woman she was normally, one hand extended toward Ophelia with the middle finger extended upward. "I should wring tha's scrawny little neck for that."

"But!" Lilin's eyes crossed as she tried to focus on the finger that quickly accelerated toward her face, touching the end of her sharp nose quickly before retracting. "You won't."

The "Smoking Devil" gave a hmph as she folded her arms over her chest, but that certainly shut her up. "Tha owe me a smoke and a drink, leastly."

"Oh, I do, do I?" Ophelia laughed, and then nodded. "I suppose it's a good thing I 'acquired' this tobacco and whiskey for you, then."

---

"All of the ships disappeared, you say?" Tally didn't really need to ask the question, not when she could quite literally turn her head and observe the harbor to see that the man's words were true. "I... Wonder how that could have happened..."

"It's true! Look! They're all gone! Sunk to the bottom of the sea floor!" The bearded fisherman gestured at the docks for a moment, and then put his hands on his hips. "That's why I want you to go under the water and get me my fishing rod!"

Tally unclenched her jaw and sighed. Of course, she knew that swimming below the waves wouldn't reveal a ship graveyard, let alone this older man's fishing rod. But why had they taken something so insignificant in the first place...? "I'm very sorry about your fishing rod, sir, but I'm afraid that I'm already running late for meeting up with my companions, so..." She took a step back from the man and began to turn away, watching him from behind her blue tea shades - the man looked utterly dejected, and didn't seem to protest or push his case any further.

Really, what had they been thinking?

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #1}

---

Splosh…! Splosh…! Splosh…! The sound of crystal blue waters churning filled the air with gentle rhythm, the rippling of sail denied by sheets furled to block the unfortunate headwind from slowing them. Few other sounds really permeated the air, save for the sounds of timbers and metal axles turning, and the passive sounds of seabirds in the distance — a sure sign that land was approaching. Deep reddish timbers carved the waters upon an ivory keel, propelled not by sail, but by wheel. Surely, the week-long work of one Miss Bathory had not gone unappreciated, now cruising along the waves.

A door opened.

^{“Well, after a minor recalculation,” said one Patrick Bateman:
“It seems we’re still at twelve million, five-hundred and–?”}

^{“Land, ho…!”}

“Oh, so we’re not lost on the Grand Line after all. How relieving,” the financial wizard did state, mockingly wiping his brow as he walked along to the fore and inhaled deeply, reinvigorating himself upon salty sea air. Billy Loomis’ shout from above heralded no additional information, but then, he’d not anticipated anything from the reclusive shade. If important, he would’ve let them know already. No news was good news, though his own eyes could not yet see anything upon the horizon, nor could those of the man currently at the helm — the hulking but passive figure of one Michael Myers who eased the wheel.

“Isn’t it hard to get lost on the Grand Line?” asked one Freddy Krueger, currently gazing sleepily across the waters of this so-called Paradise as his wispy hair rippled in the wind. For once, he seemed less spaced out than normal, but that didn’t seem to make too much of a difference to his overall demeanour.

^{“Very hard if you’re following a Log Pose,” Jack Torrance chuckled:
“But… Big Sis didn’t really take to the idea!”}

^{“At least we don’t risk getting stranded…”}

“Log Pose, Log Pose, Log Pose,” chirped Charley Ray, the diminutive one currently clambering amongst the rigging of the vessel as if it were some kind of jungle gym. Shocking auburn hair wobbled like a wild mane in the winds. “Oh! I see the island!” he yelled, pointing a stubby finger out to sea and prompting heads to turn. Sure enough, the rich green silhouette of a landmass had breached the waves, presenting itself as respite for the crew of an as-of-yet-unnamed ship.

Again, hinges creaked softly.

“Hrm… This feels weird,” one Grimm-Rosa Scarlette exhaled, dressed in her typically tatty white shorts and black halterneck. Dark boots upon her legs and a length of red fabric wrapped about her neck like a scarf completed a rather typical aesthetic, with the scarf itself draped down her back and covering her more unusual scars. White bandage wrappings around her right forearm were the only remnants of damage previously sustained, otherwise exposing etched and fair skin to the elements. Eyes the colour of dark chocolate gazed not at her bandaged arm, however, but instead at what now occupied the former space of her left.

“Followed. Anatomy,” huffed Cujo, the mastiff emerging from behind his Captain as they stepped onto the deck. “Need. Practice,” he added, carefully observing his workmanship of the bizarre article. A replica limb now hung from the previous stump that remained of her left arm, filling in the gap with something woven and white, as if born of gauze. It hung limp, wobbling to and fro and betraying its lack of skeletal structure. “Test?” Cujo barked in question.

^{“So if I just…?”
Thwap…!}

“That sounded painful,” Loomis said from above. Sure enough, Scarlette’s endeavours had resulted in a slap to the face by the very object she was trying to control, leaving a slightly red mark upon her cheek. Not that it had fazed her in the least bit. Indeed, her focus was more upon the current state of her replacement arm, now silvery in its colouration and fully clenched and flexed with skeletal rigidity. Concentration lessened, and thus the limb quickly went slack again, colour bleached.

^{“Well, it works,” she nodded:
“At least… I think it will…!”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis}
<sub>As the Big Sis Pirates cruise along the waves, they spot land. Scarlette experiments with a newly created limb!

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

Quinn sat on the deck in a folding chair, reading a magazine. Frustratingly, the magazine was circular because it had come from Rondure, but it was good enough reading. It was a fashion magazine, filled with some… hideously round style choices. Quinn sucked his teeth as he flipped the page to see what new atrocity awaited him. He had been hoping to get some new inspiration from the magazine, but so far, it wasn’t looking like he would. He was casually eavesdropping on the conversations on deck, but they were loud, so he could hardly be blamed.

Traveling with Scarlette and her motley crew was an interesting affair and provided the siblings more security than they’d ever known when they were traveling by themselves. Gobbie had cried when Quinn asked for a separate room than her, but he needed his space. His roommate was hardly ever there anyway, which meant he pretty much had the place to himself. If he was honest with himself, he was actually really enjoying being here. Even if Scarlette had a bounty the size of a mountain. Something he had only figured out after reading the newspaper one day. He’d already thrown in his lot with her by then, so he decided just to let that one go. If push came to shove, Quinn was fairly confident that he and Gobbie could get away at least.

Sighing and rubbing his temples, Quinn knew that he shouldn’t be surprised that someone like Scar would go off without a Log Pose, but… Neptune, she was reckless, wasn’t she? He glanced up and over the railing to see the vague outline of an island in the distance. The problem with not using a Log Pose was never knowing where you’d end up. Quinn was only somewhat knowledgeable of the routes in the Grand Line, but it was enough to be a working knowledge. He at least knew if they followed a Log Pose, they’d be going to a place called Suzume. Without a Log Pose, they could just as easily end up in the Calm Belt.

As Quinn whispered a quiet prayer to never end up in the Calm Belt, Scarlette appeared on deck, dressed in her usual tatty attire. Quinn had opted for criminally casual. He had a red button down flowery shirt on with a black tank top underneath. But also! She had a new arm where she’d lost one before. Interesting. He winced when she slapped herself in the face, but as expected of Scarlette, she seemed unphased.

“I wonder where we’ve ended up… Loomis! Do you see anything interesting about the island from up there? Landmarks? Such? So forth? Marine Base? Maybe a sea train?” Quinn called up to Loomis. He wanted to be somewhat prepared. Especially if it had a Marine Base.

---

Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee

[Jade]

Lilin Post #2 / Tally Post #2

Before she'd walked too far off, Tally turned her head to look back at the bizarrely quiet, empty harbor and that lone fisherman who'd got caught up in all of this business. To his credit, rather than simply standing there, wallowing in his misery, the man seemed to be preparing himself to hop into the water in search of his fishing gear - she was tempted to stop him, knowing as she did that it'd be a fruitless search, but without being able to give the man the proper explanation... It would just do more harm than good.

Still hesitating on the spot, Tally turned her attention to the horizon. She studied it for a minute, eyes slowly scanning across that point where blue waves met the blue morning sky- And then black smoke obscured her vision, before clearing away just as soon as it'd appeared - she followed its direction just in time to see it coalesce down into the tiny shape of a grinning devil, perched atop a covered dockside booth's canopy.

"Good morning, Tally!"

"And here I thought I was coming to meet you," the fishwoman replied, folding her upper two pairs of arms over her chest and planting her lower pair on her hips. She didn't bother looking back toward where Ophelia's voice had come from - the little thief's habit of saying something and then popping up somewhere else was well-known to her already - and instead went back to looking at the horizon. "You went overboard."

"It's called 'no loose ends'." The young woman leaned against her, smiling down at the empty docks before looking up at the much taller woman. "Just coming down to check over our handiwork? I assure you, no one saw a thing - Lilin and I make quite a team. When she wants to cooperate, of course-"

"Oi." The little devil paused mid-action, holding an unlit match against the side of the matchbox - and then took it off, using the match to point at Ophelia. "Watch tha tongue. Hiding in shadows ain't my business." Lilin grinned, struck the match - and then poked the flaming bit of wood in the thief's direction once more. "Too little riskyness about it. She lit her pipe in one quick motion, popped the still-lit match into her mouth, and then spat it out onto the street below her a moment later.

While the shady duo continued to banter back-and-forth, Tally tuned them out. Instead of paying attention to that nonsense, she was focused on something out there on the waves that had caught her attention - and when she was sure of what her eyes told her, she raised her voice, interrupting her two companions. "There's a ship approaching."

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #2}

---

For a few minutes, Grimm-Rosa Scarlette continued to experiment — rhythmic and tempered pulses of the power of her Devil Fruit channeled through a material born of said ability served as catalysts. Of course, she could not take all the credit. This creation was Cujo’s doing, the mastiff’s medical expertise coming in handy in helping her draw up a blueprint. It wasn’t as simple as just making the shape of an arm, that much they had discovered in the prototype phase. What was sewn to her now was a replica — a form of skin and muscular structure all woven from unnatural fibrin.

^{“There’s a port, Quinn,” Loomis replied:
“Actually looks like quite a nice place…!”}

At Quinn’s behest, the anxious shade who lurked in the crow’s nest gave his analysis. A small town surrounded by lush forest and bathed by pleasant weather showed no signs of anything untoward, at least as far as the family of misfits was concerned. No white and blue structures to denote the presence of the World Navy, no black flags to speak of the existence of pirates, and nothing that could be identified as hostile. In fact, the place seemed rather quiet, with just a handful of figures present at the docks — an old man stretching his limbs as if preparing to plunge into the waters, a couple of women bickering passively, and–

^“Eep!”

^{“Loomis,” Hannibal Lecter spoke:
“Is everything alright…?”}

The sharp squeal from the vessel’s heights had caught the ear of most of its inhabitants, not least of which being the crew’s quartermaster, Lecter, whose fairer complexion and sleek build, pale greenish eyes and slicked back blond hair almost gave him the look of an aristocrat. Almost. Even with his choice of suit, pristine white with burgundy handkerchief neatly folded in the breast pocket, his surrounding fellows served to strip any look of regality he might truly have possessed. His concerns, however, were entirely genuine.

^“…!”

^{“Speak up,” said Bateman:
“We can’t hear you!”}

“Who’s staring at us?” asked Scarlette, picking up on her sibling’s worries. Loomis was a timid soul when it came to social interactions and, long since meeting him, the ‘Red Terror’ had very much learned the nuances of his being. A man who liked to lurk in the shadows and on the sidelines, out of sight and out of mind, verily loathed it when the spotlight fell upon him. For him to have such a reaction had echoed out to her perceptions, much to the confusion of her comrades.

^{“You heard that…?”}

“Good morning, Quinn~!” cheered another voice — the chirpy vocalisation emanating from none other than one Todd Sweeney. The crew’s hairdresser had emerged from the usual morning ritual, bright and bubbly as ever, wearing a typical lavender summer dress and cocoa-coloured boots. What followed her, albeit more subdued and with only a cursory nod to the cosmetologist, was the familiar mass of glossy black hair that was Yamamura Sadako, freshly brushed and tended to by Miss Todd’s own fair hands. The smaller girl’s lilac eyes seemed to scan the horizon, face contorting into a slightly puzzled expression.

^{“Great! Now he’s hiding…!”}

^{“Big Sis,” Sadako spoke up:
“We’re going too fast…”}

“Huh…? Oh!” Sure enough, the vessel’s approach to the island was a little swifter than anticipated, paddlewheels easily working the calmer coastal waters of what was very likely a Spring Island and drawing them closer and closer at pace. Myers was already making adjustments to the helm, turning the ship to roll up sideways to the rather modestly sized jetty, but the ship’s acceleration was not something he could completely control. “Stop,” Scarlette announced. What followed was the strangest sound and a few odd looks from her siblings as a few odd squeaks and a squelch faintly found their way up from the bowels of the craft. All the same, the turning wheels slowed to a halt almost immediately, mooring lines cast.

Land, at last…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>The crew reach land after Scarlette stops the wheels!

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

If nothing else, Quinn appreciated the overwhelmingly friendly atmosphere on the ship. Scarlette’s siblings had pretty much accepted them as their own after spending a week together building the ship. Even Quinn had pitched in, earning him getting crushed under a large wooden beam. Everyone had come to his rescue pretty quickly though. It was nice. Being able to rely on people like this without worrying about them judging him or… whatever. There weren’t a lot of expectations after he had helped rescue some of their family. Hm-hm. He wondered how long he could ride that high before they started having more expectations of him.

Quinn looked up as Loomis answered him, a rare smile on his face. Well, that sounded like good news! Until… it didn’t. Loomis squealed frightfully, which made Quinn sit up from his chair. The smile faded from his face as a solitary eyebrow raised up. Loomis said something else, but Quinn couldn’t make it out. No one could - aside from their freak of nature big sister, Scarlette. Someone was staring at them? Well, it wasn’t too unusual for people on the docks to be watching incoming ships.

He was about to turn his attention back to the abhorrent round fashion of his round magazine when his favorite sibling, Todd Sweeney, strode confidently out onto the deck. He gave her a smile and wave. “Good morning, Sweeney!” Quinn replied with unusual cheer, pausing for a moment as her expression changed from cheer to confusion. “Loomis is hiding because people are watching our ship come into port.”

Quinn clicked his tongue. Dammit, Scarlette. He reached out a hand and clamped onto the railing, using his Devil Fruit ability to anchor himself to the rail with mycelium. The ship wildly deccelerated and whirled into port. In no time at all, mooring lines were cast and they were docked. Quinn’s hair had flopped wildly to one side in the commotion. With some effort, he wrenched his hand free from the rail and fixed his hair.

“Well. That was...nauseating.”

Hopping up from his chair looking a little more green than usual, Quinn hurried over to the side and hopped off the ship. Solid ground helped to make that queasy feeling fade away. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked back to the ship proper. First things first! He had to find out where they were and if this place had a library or doctor or something that would tell him more about Devil Fruits. But more than anything, Quinn did not want to travel alone.

“All ashore who’s going ashore?” he called up to the boat uncertainly.

---

Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 2
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee

[Jade]

Lilin Post #3 / Tally Post #3

"Oh?" Lilin's head swiveled around to face the sea and tilted - unnaturally jittery motions, more suited to some sort of bird than an alleged human. "Well, would tha look at that."

"I suppose we could play this in our favor," Ophelia started. She stepped away from Tally, taking a few large, dramatic steps in the direction of the empty harbor - and then performed a quick turn on her heels and threw her hands out to either side. "We could pin the blame on this sorry lot - tell the lovely people here that their ships were destroyed by these definitely ruthless, terrifying pirates, and leave them to take the fall?"

"A story that falls apart the minute anyone decides to look for the wreckage." Tally raised her head, staring the thief down through her shades. "Though with the way this town is, that might not happen until after they've taken out their rage... Regardless. No."

The little devil's grin cracked to allow a thin stream of smoke to pour out. "Bah, any come sailing to this port ain't exactly saintly - we'd just be, ah, giving karma directions! Kashashasha!

The octopus woman didn't so much as move her eyes from Ophelia, still holding her ridiculous pose, let alone turn her head in the imp's direction. "I said no. This plan was bad enough in it's original state, I won't go throwing some unrelated group overboard on a whim."

Ophelia and Lilin shared a look, and then simultaneously sighed and shrugged. "Very well, we won't do that then. But..." The well-dressed thief spun on her heels once more, looking out toward the approaching ship. "Excuse the mixed metaphor, but, if we aren't throwing anyone overboard, then we'll have to make sure we aren't painting a target on their backs, yes?" She turned back to face Tally, just in time to fully catch the growing frown but utter lack of rebuttal from the massive coating mechanic - a response to which Ophelia clapped her hands and smiled. "And you'll be here to see the show this time - just make sure not to blink, or you'll miss it!"

---

The ship approached in record time - there was no way it was powered purely by the wind in its sails, not with the way or speed it was moving. Partially out of curiosity, but mostly to keep her mind off of the shenanigans her companions were engaging in, Tally watched the vessel closely, attempting to work out what was powering it. From a greater distance, she had almost assumed it was the power of a team of rowers; as it grew closer and the utter lack of any oars poking out of the ship became apparent, that idea went straight out the window.

She'd settled on some form of engine and paddlewheel shortly before the twin wheels came into distinct view, although there were things missing if it was any sort of engine she was familiar with. Could be a man-powered paddlewheel system, she thought, just as the ship was finally - and rather lately at that - slowing down. Mm. Might need to ask if I can take a look at the inner workings before these two pawn it off, then.

Where before there had been four people standing around the docks, now there were only two - the fisherman had been sent packing with an expletive- and nonsense-filled rant in Lilin's grating tones, and Ophelia... Was simply nowhere to be seen. Tally shifted where she stood, glancing about the area. If nothing else, the flashy thief certainly knew how to make herself scarce when she wanted to remain unseen. Which just left herself and the loudmouthed devil, standing around in her much taller hybrid form, impatiently tapping one heavy boot against the street and smoking like a factory working quadruple-time.

"Have any disembarked yet?" "No, Lilin." "How about now?" "No." "Now?" "No." "... Now?"

Tally pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath - doing everything in her power to temper the intense desire to deck the nuisance in the face short of feeding the impulse. "Continually asking isn't going to make them get off their ship any faster-"

"A-ha! One's come off, one's come off!" Leaving a trail of ephemeral darkness in her wake, Lilin darted forward past the six-armed woman toward the ship. "Welcome to Mock Town, tha sodden wretches!"

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #3}

---

“That’s not too surprising,” Sweeney replied, hearing Quinn’s words. The sibling duo of Quinn and Gobbie were fresh to the family — both still finding their proverbial feet — and the hairdresser thought it prudent to give her two beri’s worth on the situation. “Loomis has always been like that, for as long as we’ve known him… He never really explained it, but he just doesn’t like being watched, so we all do our best not to stare!” What followed the little conversation was far from graceful, but somehow everybody had managed to find purchase to avoid being tossed overboard by the sudden lurch of the ship.

Quinn, much to Miss Grimm-Rosa’s surprise, was the first to disembark. Bateman followed suit, practically sprinting off the ship the moment Torrance laid down the gangplank. Indeed, the ragtag rabble’s financier practically kissed the still decking of the port in gratitude, himself a tad on the queasy side after such a violent arrival.

“We should take a bit to make sure everything’s in working order,” Lecter said, turning to Scarlette as she watched Sadako quietly drift down the gangplank to join Quinn and Bateman. The mass of hair was practically a phantom at times, though her Big Sis was very glad that she had been the one to make an important call — twice now. “You know, on the off-chance we have to make a quick getaway,” the quartermaster added in a whisper as he watched Chucky ascending the rigging to Loomis’ hidey hole.

^{“Boo!” Chucky cawed:
“Huh? Where’d he go…?”}

^“Zzz…”

“Well, I guess that settles it. See you later,” Scarlette smiled, the scarred woman shuffling on her way down the gangplank to join the surprisingly small gathering of bodies. Bateman, Quinn, Sadako, and a barrel behind which she was absolutely sure Loomis was hiding — not that she had any reason to announce his presence, nor would she. However, it wasn’t so much the stealthy lookout that needed pointing out, for the quartet had found themselves in the presence of another, who had taken it upon themselves to offer welcome.

^{“Tha…?” Scarlette repeated:
“Who are you again…?”}

“She hasn’t introduced herself,” Sadako muttered, observing the centre of their attention. A figure taller than most, with wispy lengths of charcoal hair and an appearance that could only aptly be described as ‘devilish’ — a toothy smile, bad smoking habits, and curved horns all added to the image. Arguably, the figure was a little too perfect.

“Ah…,” Scarlette grunted, almost dismissively. The woman’s energy had once again subsided, leaving her in a state of lethargy as chocolate eyes stared blankly at the figure before them. Whereas others might have been disturbed or perhaps even enamored by the smoking devil’s aesthetic, the Red Terror showed neither such extreme, slouching somewhat with mouth ever so slightly agape. “So this place is called Mock Town,” she continued after a pause, revealing that she was, in fact, paying some attention.

^{“Tch! Come now, you two,” Bateman interjected:
“You have to thank people for their hospitality!”}

^“Mm…”

“Appreciated, ma’am,” he said, taking a step forward as if to take the lead in the conversation. “It’s not every island where you receive an immediate welcome by the locals. Might I enquire as to where we could find suitably tasteful yet inexpensive supplies, non-perishables and the like…?”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>After Quinn disembarks, Bateman, Loomis (secretly), Sadako, and finally Scarlette disembark! What they are faced with, however, is more unusual!

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

Pushing off another wave of nausea, Quinn brushed his hair back and finally took a look around. Bateman was quick to hurry off the ship for much the same reasons as himself. Quinn gave him a wry smile and a pat on the back. Kindred spirits in suffering as it happened. With a sigh, he saw a couple of the other siblings disembark, including Scarlette, but, all in all, it was a pretty poor turnout. Gobbie was probably going to be busy with the ship for a while, but at least Quinn wouldn’t be alone. It did feel a bit odd to go wandering around without her.

Sadako had decided to join them, which was… a little surprising. To be honest, he didn’t know her all that well. With all of the siblings, Quinn struggled to match names to faces sometimes. Even then, Sadako was really quiet. He wasn’t sure what she thought of him or if she even liked that he and Gobbie had joined their little family, however temporarily. Their little ragtah group was soon approached by… what could only be described as a total devil of a woman. Quinn stared at her incredulously for a moment before snapping himself out of it.

“Uh… thank you?” Quinn replied, his utterance behind Scarlette and Sadako’s less enthusiastic replies. He wasn’t sure how much he liked being called a sodden wretch, but he just chalked it up to the peculiarities of the island they were visiting. Bateman was quick to chide the other two for their lack of manners, but honestly, what did he expect from them? It was Scarlette. You could only have your expectations set so high for her.

“Hm… Mock Town… Sounds familiar…”

Quinn frowned and furrowed his brow, trying to remember. He’d spent a lot more time on the islands of the routes rather than individual towns. In the end, he shrugged it off. The town looked nice. Almost like a resort town! Maybe it was just some sort of tropical resort? Hm. But then, wouldn’t you expect to see a lot more ships in port? Actually… There weren’t any ships in port.

Quinn’s gut did a flip almost immediately. Wait… wait, this was super fishy?! He looked around this way and that but there wasn’t a single ship to be seen. Not even a dinghy or rowboat. Uh. That wasn’t right. His anxiety started boiling up from his belly into a slowly building panic. Trap? Was this like a honey trap? A pretty resort front? He took a couple steps back, away from the devil woman, reaching one of his tentacles out to the nearest person - in this case, happening to be Sadako.

“Uh, guys, something’s… very strange here…” he whispered to them, hoping that the devil lady wouldn’t overhear.

---

Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 3

[Jade]

Lilin Post #4 / Tally Post #4

From behind those large, orange-tinted glasses that gave her a sort of bug-like look, Lilin's eyes quickly scanned the bunch coming off the ship as they came. To their credit, they were a strange lot, no two quite alike - but once her gaze fell on the scar-covered woman with the dark bob cut, well, where else could she look? The long pipe in her mouth bobbed up as the edges of her lips curled up into a wicked grin as she utterly ignored everything being said in response to her own welcoming. "Well, would tha look at that. The Red Terror's running wild again, for true."

She reached one hand up to her pipe, grabbing the end of it between her forefinger and thumb, took one big draw from it, and then removed it from her lips. The terrifying beauty grinned - an action that was entirely directed at Scarlette and Scarlette alone - and then exhaled pitch-black smoke. Far more than what could have possibly come from her pipe; a giant cloud of thick, dense vapor that quickly enveloped the dock and, more importantly, the entire ship from which they had disembarked just moments prior.

And then it was all gone in an instant, as if some other person on the other side had sucked it all up - ship and all, gone. Lilin gently replaced her pipe, put one hand inside her dark grey haori while leaving the other to hang loosely at her side, and bared her too-sharp teeth at the scarred woman in front of her. "My sincerest apologies, Grimm-Rosa Scarlette - but I am a smoker. Kashashasha!"

---

Tally hadn't moved from her spot, even as Lilin rushed down the pier to greet the members of the crew coming off of the ship. Thievery certainly wasn't her business, but sending the utter weirdo that was Lilin to do what she did best - serve as an absolute distraction, what with her outlandish appearance and tendency to irritate - certainly made sense, especially when the thief needed to move out in the open without drawing attention to herself.

Where Ophelia had been hiding was still a mystery, but as Lilin got to talking, the Phantom Thief appeared - wearing her elegant, wide-brimmed cavalier hat and domino mask, silently walking with purpose down the dock on the opposite side of the ship from where its crew was gathering. With the flourish of a magician seemingly producing something from nowhere, a small, clear bottle was suddenly in one of her gloved hands.

For an instant, nothing seemed to be happening. The next, smoke poured forth from Lilin, enveloping the majority of the dock she was standing on as well as the entirety of the strange ship. The bottle in Ophelia's hands was pointed at the black cloud, and an instant later, it was all gone - ship included. Tally frowned; the thief had made another movement, using one hand to remove her hat from her wavy auburn hair and holding it in front of her while she took an exaggerated bow... And the bottle was nowhere to be seen, at least from where she was standing. There wasn't an obvious place it could've been hidden, and it certainly wasn't that Ophelia had thrown it into the sea...

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #4}

---

^{“Mock Town…,” Quinn had uttered:
“Sounds familiar…”}

“The ‘Town of Mockery’,” Sadako answered him, voice subdued. The walking Hime cut was not unfamiliar with the Grand Line — born to it in fact — but seldom had she ever visited much of what it had to offer. At least, not of her own accord. “It’s supposed to be a haven for pirates, but ours is the only ship here…,” she continued, trailing off as she took a careful step back. Quinn, seemingly unnerved by the situation, very much did the same. However, she was quick to further distance herself from the cosmetologist when he reached out to her, giving him a cautious look.

Much to Bateman’s chagrin, his attempt at reciprocated hospitality was ignored, his annoyance proven when his humble smile shifted to a soured grin. Not understanding was one thing, but blatant ignorance was another. Perhaps strangest of all, however, was the direction that the conversation took. The tall demoness’ words were very choice, prompting Scarlette’s eyes to focus a little more as that much hated moniker escaped from that wicked smile.

And then, smoke.

“What in blazes…?!” Bateman shielded himself, Sadako did the same, as thick smoke enveloped everyone. A choking irritant, black as soot, swallowed them, but Miss Grimm-Rosa remained mostly unfazed by the ordeal. Not an ounce of panic present, she simply closed her eyes and slowly exhaled, senses extending beyond the norm as vision was robbed. Such obfuscations were a nuisance, for sure, but it was what she felt and heard that made the difference. People had moved, presences shifted, though not out of her range.

Clarity.

^{“Ack– Is,” Bateman spluttered:
“Is everyone alright…?”}

^{“I’m okay…”}

“My sincerest apologies,” the smoking devil mocked, confirming her comprehension of exactly who was standing opposite her. Scarlette’s eyes had remained closed even as the smoke abated, head tilted to one side as if listening. Her stance, at the very least, had changed. No more uneven slouch, but standing straighter with one foot forward.

“Hmm… Why is it that everywhere I go, people seem to want to harm my siblings? It’s getting very tedious,” the Red Terror exhaled, voice strong yet laced with a kind of tired grumble, like someone rudely awoken. Despite eyes being closed, she seemed to gaze in the woman’s direction as she stepped forwards, making sure all of her siblings were behind her. “You’re different from the other two, though; you’re a lot more… ‘intense’.” Eyes opening, catching the briefest glimmer of light that dyed cocoa irises vivid red, locked onto the figure before them.

^{“Now tell me,” she hissed:
“Where are my siblings…?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>The group are caught off-guard by the smokescreen, but Scarlette extends her senses to get a clear picture, asking the devil woman to reveal the location of the rest.

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

And lo, how the bad feeling went from bad to worse. Devil woman knew who Scarlette was. That, uh, what probably didn’t bode well, what with that ridiculous bounty of hers. His legs all went to jelly. Sadako answered his earlier observation with an explanation, but warily stepped away when he reached out to her. Quinn didn’t have a lot of time to process that cautious look of hers other than to worry about whether she disliked him or not. He couldn’t read her as well as the more outgoing individuals in the sibling crew.

Quinn was about to run for cover back on the ship when a thick, black smoke engulfed the lot of them. He coughed, expecting it to be some form of tobacco smoke, but it didn’t have the smell, and there was just so much of it. He curled his tentacles and arms around his head protectively. He wasn’t sure what was coming, but he knew he sucked at taking hits, so whatever he could do to potentially lessen one would help even if just a little. The blow he was waiting for never came.

But, as soon as it had come, the smoke cleared. Quinn peeked out from the guard he’d put up. He saw everyone standing in the immediate vicinity as if nothing had happened or changed. He relaxed his guard incredibly reluctantly. Something was still off. It felt a little more breezy than before? Or brighter? He looked over to Sadako and Bateman as they called out.

“I’m fi-”

The ship. Gobbie. Sweeney. Kramer. Everyone.

Quinn stared slack jawed. They were gone. All gone. Without a trace. Quinn heard a dull roaring in his ears. The Devil woman mocked them with a sorry caricature of an apology and perhaps the most grating laugh that he’d ever had the misfortune of hearing. The world suddenly felt like it had been tipped upside down. The rug pulled out from under him. Other analogies that he couldn’t think of right now.

Scarlette didn’t balk. She didn't bat an eye. She grumbled and made thinly veiled threats. She’d get them back because that was all she wanted to do. She wasn’t afraid of dying or whatever else might come. Quinn had come to understand that about her very quickly during the Rondure incident. But he… he was scared all of the time. Even now. Especially now.

Looking past the Devil women - though that was hard to do - Quinn saw two others further down on the docks at the end of the pier. Passersby? No, probably not. Even if they were, the prickling unnerving feeling coursing through his body wouldn’t let him take that chance. It was pointless to ask why they’d done such a thing. If this was a pirate haven, they probably didn’t need an excuse to stir up trouble.

So, all that was left was to deal with it.

“Deal with it…” Quinn muttered under his breath as he tried to kickstart his brain into working. He repeated it over and over to himself until he managed to force himself to think. How did they move the ship in an instant? It could be Devil woman, but somehow, he doubted it. She had approached them first. The other two were more likely. And the how? Probably a Devil Fruit. He couldn’t fathom how else. He hadn’t heard the splash of water nor the crack of wood, so the boat was probably intact…

Getting a better look, one was a Fishwoman. Quinn doubted that any self-respecting Fishfolk would eat a Devil Fruit voluntarily. The other was… a human. And she was bowing dramatically. Probably that one. Okay. He’d identified the threats. Now… how did he use this information? It didn’t help that he couldn’t really tell which of these was the most dangerous at a glance - though he definitely didn’t like the look of Devil woman.

“Bateman, Sadako, do you recognize this Devil woman? Or those two, on the docks,” Quinn asked in a conspiratorial whisper, pointing them out as surreptitiously as he could. They were a bit more worldly and well traveled than he, so there was a good chance they’d know them if they had any sort of bounty. From the bounty, you could generally get an idea of how dangerous they were, which was exactly what Quinn was trying to figure out.

---

Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 4

[Jade]

Lilin Post #5 / Tally Post #5

The body language on display, even from where she was standing, was clear - Lilin and the dark-haired woman with the prominent cowlick were posturing at each other, following the disappearance of the latter's ship. We're doing this, then. Tally breathed in deep through her nose, forcing herself to relax with the exhale, and then began walking toward the confrontation.

---

Lilin leaned back and jabbed one arm into her jacket, letting it hang there loosely, while she jabbed her free pinky finger into one ear and looked down at Scarlette with a playfully confused expression. "Eh? Siblings?" She twisted the finger in her ear and popped it out, gave it a quick once-over, and then shrugged. "Dunno anything 'bout any siblings, but, if tha's fretting over tha crew and ship... Oh, they're sitting pretty." The devil woman's sharp grin came back out to play as she loomed over the oh-so-interesting woman. "For now."

The sound of wooden sandals hitting the dock signaled Tally's approach - the devil's grin widened at that. "'Course, tha'll be wanting them back, aye? Well, Grimm-Rosa, it's tha luckiest of days! All tha need do..." The arm Lilin had hanging in her haori shifted slightly, and then came the sound of cracking glass - and in one swift motion, a gigantic blade in a royal blue sheath, decorated with a pattern of silvery fish mid-jump along the length, was produced in a shower of glass shards glinting in the morning light. The massive blade was spun and slammed against the dock, rocking the entire structure.

---

"Wait, what?"

Ophelia stood up straight finally, still holding her cavalier hat in one hand. "That wasn't the plan!"

Tally came to a stop a few yards away from Lilin with all six of her arms crossed in front of her, planting herself on the dock - between the strangers and solid land. "Seems a little late for that, O-"

"Phantom Thief, Tally."

"... Phantom Thief, indeed," the octopus woman rolled her eyes behind her blue tea shades. "Regardless. Lilin. Check yourself, for once."

"Pick tha sticky selves outta the mud, the both of tha!" Lilin shot back, and then made a vague hand motion toward Scarlette. "An opportunity like this? It's called 'two birds with one stone', tha numbskulls! The devil turned her attention away from the interruptions, going back to grinning her sharp-toothed grin at Scarlette. "As I was... All tha need do is liven the place up! Bring on the fun! Entertain me, Red Terror!"

[Vio]

^{Scarlette #5}

---

The tension was palpable. A difference in stature did not dissuade Grimm-Rosa Scarlette, nor did the mocking and sarcastic intonations of the woman whom she currently stared down. Indeed, if it weren’t for that crucial difference in height, the energy of the encounter would have perhaps been turned on its head. Perhaps what made it worse, however, was the way the latter seemed to brush off the former’s concerns — even toy with the idea.

^{“Hmm,” Bateman processed:
“She doesn’t seem familiar… But…”}

“No… None of them do,” Miss Yamamura added, keeping her distance where she could and observing the trio. The other two present were oddities in how much they contrasted one another, but then again, so was the one that had approached. An Octopus Gyojin and, for what the two siblings could see, an otherwise regular human; both decidedly average in comparison to the staturally superior smoker.

^{“A sword…?!”}

The rocking of the dock surely signified the weight of such a weapon as the one the woman had just drawn; and though Scarlette’s focus was utterly transfixed upon her, she could not help but find herself questioning where it had come from. Not that it mattered. An oversized butter knife wasn’t a worry she felt a need to contend with — not now and not ever — when her siblings were at risk. At the very least, they weren’t the only ones disturbed by the blade’s conjuration, for the other two presences seemed equally taken aback.

^{“Lilin,” said the Gyojin:
“Check yourself, for once.”}

^{“As I was… Entertain me, ‘Red Terror’!”}

“Hm… C’est la vie,” Miss Grimm-Rosa muttered. Not a second afterwards, cued by only the subtle raising of a foot from the floor, her form blurred into non-existence. The gap between the two women closed in nary the blink of an eye, what the Smoking Devil would now be face to face with was none other than pulsating crimson essence wrapped tight about a balled fist. Hardly an unpredictable move, merely executed at shocking speeds.

SPOILER: Click to show

{

^{Scarlet Handgun…!
“Pistolet Écarlate…!”}

}
_{Covering her fist in a concentrated coating of her Devil Fruit’s essence, Scarlette punches the target. The condensed energy discharges to repel the opponent’s body with immense force.}

“Quinn! Sadako! Let’s move,” Bateman exclaimed, well aware of the chaos that their scarred elder sibling could create. He’d witnessed it once before, though in that she had not been alone. While collateral damage was never the one-armed woman’s express intent, it always seemed to occur anyway, and thus the family’s financier was rightfully worried about their placement on a comparatively fragile jetty. “Leave that one to Scarlette; hopefully, she can move the fight elsewhere,” he noted, but found that even then they were cordoned off. “I’ll assume you’re not going to just let us mosey on by,” he muttered, eyeing the six-armed and shaded lady…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
<sub>The fight commences as Scarlette makes the first attack against Lilin, using Étape Rapide to close the gap at blinding speed. Meanwhile, Bateman tries to lead Quinn and Sadako off the docks, but realises they are blocked by the Octopus Fishwoman.

Notes: Scarlette used her Soru clone to close the gap, jumping up to strike Lilin in the face.

Crew Page: Big Sis Pirates</sub>

---

Grimm-Rosa Scarlette | #960018
Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4
Gobbie Bathory [NPC] | #afeeee
Hannibal Lecter [NPC] | #87a96b
John Kramer [NPC] | #80461b
Jack Torrance [NPC] | #87d3f8
Yamamura Sadako [NPC] | #9370db
Todd Sweeney [NPC] | #c54b8c
Michael Myers [NPC] | #1b1b1b
Jason Voorhees [NPC] | #0070bb
Billy Loomis [NPC] | #696969
Freddy Krueger [NPC] | #b8860b
Charles Ray [NPC] | #43b3ae
Patrick Bateman [NPC] | #dc143c
Bubba Sawyer [NPC] | #fffacd
Cujo [NPC] | #d2691e

[Fox]

Bateman and Sadako didn’t recognize them. Hm. Did that mean… they were small fry? It could, but they could also be fresh faces on the scene. With a Devil Fruit, there was no telling. Quinn had the sneaking suspicion that the Devil woman also had one, but he wasn’t too sure about it. Sure, that was a lot of smoke, but she was using a pipe. Maybe it was a super pipe. Who knew? Quinn felt his heart beating fast and hard inside his chest.

He almost jumped back another couple feet when the Devil woman produced a giant blade and made her demands. Damn, she was a crazy one. The other two, Tally, and… Phantom Thief… seemed a little less… aggressive, but he doubted that they’d just let them walk by. Plus, he was almost certain that the Phantom Thief had done whatever it was to the ship, which meant she was their primary target.

Scarlette, for her part, was almost entirely unphased by the whole affair. Quinn didn’t really expect much else, but she just threw herself into combat, which meant that her allies wouldn’t be fair behind in reacting. Dammit Scarlette. Well. First thing’s first. They couldn’t fight on this tiny pier. Not for Quinn to be comfortable anyway. Bateman called out and Quinn responded by slamming his hands down onto the pier. A huge plume of spores erupted from his body.

“Sadako, Bateman, get the Phantom Thief! She probably has a Devil Fruit and is most likely the one that took the ship.”

His hypothesis relayed, Quinn focused on what he was doing. From the sides of the pier sprouted huge brackets of a yellow, frilled fungus. Specifically, it was called chicken of the woods because it tasted like chicken. As a note, Quinn hated the taste of chicken due to being forced to make it so much when he and Gobbie were cast adrift in the ocean.

This fungus formed long horizontal brackets, which he reinforced with a couple layers of the stuff. They’d be hard enough to walk on and extended all the way to the other piers. It took a lot of effort, but he’d made an arena safe enough for the Devil Fruit users. At least, until they could get onto dry land. Plus, it had the added benefit of preventing the Fishwoman - Tally - from just diving into the water. She’d have to put some effort into it. Hopefully.

---

Quinn Bathory | #7fffd4 | Post Count: 5