Mission #5: Something, Something (Melody)

[BEX]

(OOC: Sorry for the crappy post)

Lush blades of grass rose up all around him when he awoke in the jungles of the tropical Lost Island. How he had managed to arrive at this are he had no memory of or more correctly put whenever he tried to think about what had happened to him placing him in this spot his head flared in pain causing him to give him quickly. Wobbling to his feet Jack Dancer observed the setting around him and looked down at his body to see if he had incurred any injuries; for some reason he felt as if he had been through something dramatic although he couldn’t quite explain it. His gi was ripped down the middle of the back and the hem on the sleeves had gotten wet in the humid dampness that hovered in the area. Realizing that it was beyond hope the confused outlaw tossed it to the ground and began focusing upon the other needs that he needed to fulfill or else survival would be out of the question,

“Where’s a d*mn lost naked woman when ya need one?” he griped loudly towards the sky in frustration of his predicament.

Trudging reluctantly through the fertile land Jack came to a grove of what looked to be coconut trees and he immediately began to deliver striking fists towards the trunks of the trees in order knock the fruits out of the tree. Several fruits fall out of the trees to his delight as he glanced at the fallen fruit at his disposal with a contemptuous kind of greed that only came from starvation, but Jack didn’t care. The only time that he allowed anything to distract him from eating was when a sound of place within the forest reached his ears from one of the dark corners of the island or at least the small portion that Jack had explored anyway.

He wasn’t alone.

[masquerade]

The grass shivered as she walked by and she wiped her brow of the sweat that had formed. She hated the humidity of this Island, but she had to find out where she was. She had ended up here by accident due to the fact that her sense of direction was shot no thanks to the Devil fruit she had consumed. She was tired and sweaty and tired of all the heat, but she was already dressed down enough.

This was the woman known as Sira the Melody Gambler. She had long braided black hair and her eyes were pattered with rings of white and black where her Iris and Pupil should have been. She had a great set of curves to her body and was not afraid to show it. She wore a leather black bikini top with a short skirt and a pair of sandals. She carried a wineskin full of water at her side in case of emergencies, and around her neck was a Log Pose that only vaguely helped her get where she needed.

She walked into the clearing of the Coconut trees and saw the man and sat down on a rock and a Coconut fell down from a tree as a buzz of white flew at the tree and the coconut landed in her hand. After which she held a hand to the coconut, and the top of it was cracked open as something else flew from her hand.*Hey there, You get lost here too?"*She spoke in a tired tone, but happy that there was someone else here on the Island with her.

[BEX]

As if fate had saw fit to grant Jack’s lustrous wish for a “playmate” a girl swathed in tight, black leather came out of the bushes with an innocent look upon her face as she asked the now amused Jack if he was lost as well. His lips twitched at the corners of his mouth while he flashed his best attempt at a sincere smile and walked towards the girl,

“Babe…now that yer here bein’ lost is all a matter of point of view” he delivered smoothly as he reached out with his left arm to rest it on the girl’s right shoulder before he leaned in close.

His guard had completely gone down and in fact had this strange woman wanted to she could have ended Jack’s life due his sheer inability to remain “decent” minded in the presence of a beautiful woman or most woman that were of any desire were a real distraction to him. Soon his face was close enough to the woman’s cheek that he could have easily reached out and pecked her cheek with a kiss, but that wasn’t his style. He wasn’t interested in making her feel special, he just wanted a good “rise” and he wanted to get the hell of the island; there was no room for petty things like romance in the boisterous pirate’s mind.

“How ‘bout we sleep here for the night and then we can search the area tomorrow morning?” he suggested clearly with ulterior motives on his mind.

In fact he was hinting at it so that the girl would pick up on it and fall for the idea, that was how things worked in Jack Dancer’s mind; the thought of a girl actually being decent had never occurred to him and it certainly didn’t now as his eyes undressed the girl in his head. It was then that he noticed the strange eye patterns in the girl's eyes,

"What's with yer eyes by the way?" he asked as he peered closely while drawing nearer to the girl slowly with each passing second.

[masquerade]

She watched the man close in as she drank from the coconut and smiled, she could already sense this man's true motives and she laughed on the inside. It was one of her abilities to sense the true intentions of people and it did not really bother her what this man was after. She would simply play with him a bit and pretend to be innocent. She smiled when he spoke of her being lost with him and simply drank the coconut milk some going down her lip over her body before she wiped it away and she looked at him and smirked as he suggested staying to "rest" and she smiled innocently*"It would be nice to finally rest, I tend to get lost a good bit so I am a little tired."*She then listened to him when he spoke about her eyes and she smirked as a large fist size four sided game die appeared in her hand and she smirked*"I ate the Game Dice fruit, it changed my hair a bit, but gave me the power to create dice in almost any size and use them as I wish."*Then the die vanished and she smiled at him.

[BEX]

“Game Dice, huh?” he said thoughtfully thinking of a particularly physical activity that they could have used that power quite conveniently, but he quickly brushed the thought from his mind.

Sitting beside her now with the same perverse smile on his face that boldly said that he was thinking of very lewd acts to perform on the girl yet for reason he was still sure that she would continue her cavalier attitude towards him; something he found uniquely interesting about this one. Now he stared up still thinking in the back of his mind moves to put on the girl when a surprising question slipped from his mouth,

“Have you ever wondered if you coulda been a stronger person that yer whole life woulda been different right now?” he asked as his eyes remained fixated in the stars.

For a moment in time Jack let his guard down and even that disgusting smile that he had faded away smoothing the wrinkles of vulgarity from his facial features and the man looked innocent for a change. A commoner would look at him sitting next to this wildly dressed girl and actually think that he could have possibly been a good person; something that Jack himself would never allow anyone to think about him. Not when he had thrown his life away. All he wanted now was revenge against the world and because of that his blood ran black in its veins as if it had expired from over exposure to a heart full of hate. The girl wouldn’t pick up on any of this he hoped as he snapped out of his thoughtful trance; it had been a long time since he lost track of himself like that. He would be sure it wouldn’t happen again. Sucking his teeth as if nothing had happened he averted his eyes from the girl and gazed into the darkness with a scowl on his face before asking bluntly,

“So are you gonna give it up or what?”

[masquerade]

She smiled a bit when he made the comment that he had made and she blinked a bit when he asked the question and her eyes of rings blinked a bit and she smiled leaning back a bit and laughed a bit at his odd question, it was not a mocking laugh, nor did she think it was funny. She was laughing at herself and then she finally spoke*If I had been stronger, I would not have grown up as a thief under the influence of thieves for parents. I probably would never have the adventure that I have everyday, so what? The fruit makes me continuously lost, but it has lead me to several things in the past, and I am glad for that honestly.."*Then she saw and felt him let his guard down, sensing he had much hurt, pain, and much doubt and anger mixed with sorrow. This man was down for the count nearly, she was amazed he even managed a fake smile from what she felt from him. Then she blinked at what he had said at the last part*"What are you talking about?."* She seemed genuinely concerned for him at the moment, she could feel what others felt, and she hated the down feeling.

[BEX]

“What are you talking about?” the girl asked Jack with what seemed to be concern in her voice; it took the rebellious lad all the willpower he had to keep ire from tainting his next course of action.

Instead he simply elaborated upon what he was asking the girl as he leaned one hand over her legs and drew his face close enough that his lips hung temptingly close in case either accidentally slipped, but Jack wouldn’t wait for chance to give him such a great opportunity. Of course she couldn’t know that,

“I meant when are you gonna give me the chance have a glass of wine with you…geez…” he lied with a smirk on his face now once again; he didn’t want sympathy from anyone and that’s why he had to be the dark man that he was today.

Although he continued to attempt seducing the girl there was something bothering Jack as he became aware of a set of eyes behind the girl’s head hidden away in the folds of darkness granted to the being by the surrounding trees. Springing up like angry cat Jack rested his hand on the hilt of his tsurugi although he didn’t immediately unsheathe the weapon as he charged after the quick pattering that he could faintly pick up through the forest. Not being familiar with the area didn’t serve Jack’s interest and the pirate found himself stumbling over roots in several instances until finally the noise of the feet had completely gone unheard. For some reason he couldn’t hear where the “visitor” had gone no matter how much he used the power of his accursed fruit. Not willingly to leave the matter as it was he continued in the direction he had been following the strange noise forgetting all about the girl in the rushing excitement,

“D*mn, it’s f*ckin pitch black out here…” he grumbled more out of uncertainty than anything else; for some reason the uselessness of his Devil Fruit in this particular situation was making him very uneasy.

Soon the tropical trees around him swelled outward leaving him to view upon a vast ruin that seemed to stretch endlessly onward from where he could see it and he saw that it was covered in exotic plants of all sorts. Some of them, he heard movement from and other’s he didn’t. This certainly was becoming a strange trip after all. Having become used to solitude the scowling young man walked up to the entrance of the ruins unknowingly tripping a trap wire sending a sharpened tree stump coming at him from every direction as he remained rooted to the spot in front of the ruins,

“Shi-!” he exclaimed with wide eyes filled with shock; he hadn’t anticipated this would be where he would die.

[masquerade]

In the moments that she had asked she felt a twisted sense of hate and regret, like she had hit some hidden never that ought not to have ever been looked at. But then the man went on to hide what he had and he closed himself up again, he was hiding. He had done something that he felt he had to keep hidden or something. But then she sensed something about them and she blinked as he seemed to notice it. When she went to get up, he had already went to get up but he had tripped on a branch near his feet and she blinked, as he went about to try to follow what ever it was. After a while she went on after him, worried that something may have happened, he may have tried to seduce her, but that was no reason to let someone run off like that when they were in such a dangerous place. When she finally saw him the Logs where falling, and in a moment of desperation, suddenly an impenetrable set of Dice walls surrounded him as she yelled out something and when it was done she rushed over and a door opened at a side and she offered a hand to help him out*"Are...are you ok...that looked close.....

[BEX]

A serious looked crossed his face for a brief second as the logs closed in on him from sides. There was only one way that he could think of to escape without being skewered here, but as he lifted his arms out he quickly found himself fenced in by massive game dice that remained intact while the logs shattered against their surface. Blinking once in surprise at the sudden aid Jack turned his head with an ungrateful frown on his face as the girl reach out towards him,

“Are…are you ok…that looked close…” she said in that same worried tone that she had used on him earlier when they had first met. Agitation caused him to twitch from head to toe as he wanted to challenge the girl right there for digging into areas about himself that he hadn’t wanted to be acknowledged,

“Shut up, I’m fine” he retorted as he leaped onto the surface of one dice than pushed off to the surface of another before flipping through the air and landing in a crouched position not too far away from the girl, but facing away from the ruin.

Turning back around he observed that shattered logs which looked to be really polished and well prepared to do their job; this wasn’t something that was just recently set up. Rubbing his scraggly chin with his index finger and thumb the pirate’s sense of adventure and daring forced him to overcome common logic instead he began to walk towards the door that had opened up off to the side. Jack was sure that it hadn’t been there when he had first appeared at the ruin and if such dangerous things were set in place to protect the area that probably meant that something of value was here,

“Look, ya can stay here and play Goody-two-shoes, but I’m gunna explore this place snatchin’ whatever loot I find” he egged the girl on; his previous tone of seduction gave way to his free manner of speaking to any individual.

Staring at the old pillars that held the roof up Jack smiled as the scabbard of his weapon danced at his back as if it too were anticipating a fight to be remembered as he bounced happily towards the door after what looked to be a life threatening situation to the commoner as proved by the girl’s actions. Things would definitely get interesting from here on out.

[masquerade]

Her eyes took a serious look as he told her to shut up. She hated being told that and now she would show her true side as a mischievous smirk went on her face and as he turned away from her, she shot a Game die zipping past his head and it shot through three trees before finally embedding itself in a fourth one.*"Your just like the rest of the men in this world, thinking you can do things all on your own, the least you can say is a thank you, but you are too bull headed...Well I'm not going to put up with it. And as for Goody Two Shoes, I have done things I doubt that even you would think of, I've stolen killed and raided all for the sake of treasure. I am no good, so don't even lump me in with that group.."*Wit that she then began to walk past him to the ruins and as she did she walked amongst the pillars a moment before she noticed a glint at her eye and dodged swiftly as a bullet zoomed past her and she looked in the direction it came from*"Appears we have a long shot somewhere....

[BEX]

The girl’s spunk had been a bit unexpected yet it wasn’t a threat for someone like Jack and he blew it off with a simple devious smirk which faded quickly as a bullet barely missed hitting the girl in the head; a sniper was at work.

“Appears we have a long shot somewhere…” the girl said thoughtfully.

At least on that point Jack had to agree with her as he remained motionless by the door trying to pick up on stray sound waves that would give away the attacker’s position or even if they had already made another attempt on the reluctant duo’s life. Even someone as daft as Jack could see that this meant the ruin had something valuable in it and whether it was a tomb or treasure the prospect of making some money sounded good to the already greedy pirate. His lanky arms hung limply at his side as he observed the girl silently for seemed to the third time to night except this time it wasn’t her intriguing figure that he was noticing, but it was also her demeanor change. Something within him softened at the sight of this girl, seemingly innocent yet having committed crimes of horror as she had said to him earlier with that sadistic smile. He knew she wasn’t lying, but whether or not she was actually proud of those things was entirely different matter; he understood very well what that felt like.

“Well we ain’t gonna find anything out here so we should probably just head inside and take on the mofo’s that are tryin’ to take us out” he suggested with a slight expressive twitch of a hand to firmly make his point,

“…anyway even if we turned back here we would have to find away back to civilization and these b*stards…” he indicating pointing his right thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of the ruin,

“…probably wouldn’t let us live long enough to get outta here” he finished before turning back to the entrance and grabbing the handle of the door.

Exciting thoughts danced in his head as he cracked open the large wooden door and then flung it open preparing himself for any more traps that may have been set for unsuspecting strangers. Inside was a dark dungeon like stairway that twisted in a spiral downward into the darkness while the walls dripped with moisture most like created by the tropical climate of the island. Down beneath the rubble it would be much harder to discern any sounds from the background noise meaning that his Devil Fruit’s, Ecolocación, would be rendered useless for the remainder of the voyage. Smiling darkly at the odds of their survival of this venture Jack stepped onto the first step leading downward tossing away all his fears in the process,

“C’mn down Sexy-Dangerous…” he called over his shoulder referring to the girl when something occurred to him and he stopped on the second step to turn back to the girl,

“…what the hell’s yer name anyway?”