Grass on the Other Side (DBP Only)

[flame08]

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT! (lolz Peanuts Reference) Rain hammered down on a lone ship as it moved slowly under the shadow of the mountain wall. Tonight the storms by some chance of fate were only on the edge of the mountain, one could see at the top of it clear skies of blue. Truly the other side of the mountain must have had a better world. The grass may actually be greener there, on the other side for those on the Los Anicetos. They were before Reverse Mountain, the first terror in any journey through the Grand Line.

Upon the Los Anicetos, the newly reformed Dancing Blade Pirates went about their business preparing for the ultimate crossing into the Grand Line. It hadn't been long since they had made their escape from the Marine Prison ship and miraculously had overtaken their previous ship the Los Anicetos. Now two of the members were in the medical bay under the watch of Bella, the resident doctor. Those two members were Jack Dancer who was suffering from extreme exhaustion after overusing his abilities and Pierce who had been shot in the stomach.

Syph had sustained minor injuries and was more recovering from her lack of muscle use during her stay in the prison ship. She sat now on the bowsprit of the ship holding on tightly to make sure she didn't tumble into the sea below. Every now and then she would stand up, train her balance and her skill forcing herself to fight the winds and storms to stay on the long pole that was jutting out of the prow. In front of her, her sword was dug deep into the pole so it wouldn't go anywhere if the ship got jumbled around in the storm.

Staring up before her she could see the towering shadow of the Reverse Mountain looking down on them. It was their only passage into the Grand Line and from the looks of things, the weather only got better as you went up. Behind her, another sword was stuck in the pole, different in shape to Kitasha, her sword, it was a Dao Sword she had made for Momo Du. It was the second time that she had been tasked to do this and now she was testing its wear against the forces of nature. It was holding up well, it had been made out of the melted steel of some of her extra swords and was a good as sword as she could make.

Syph's black clothes were soaked down to the point they left a visible outline of her body underneath. Her fiery red hair still seemed to light up the area around her making her almost a living beacon in the dark night, a firefly in the sky. But now she looked forward for a new object caught her eye. A yellow light barely visible at the foot of the mountain. It was the lighthouse of the East Blue, sitting there before them as a beacon to guide ships to the entrance of Reverse Mountain. Syph turned around looking back to the helm to make sure their navigator Tomas knew where he was heading. Her finger probably obscured by the storm pointed the way to the lighthouse and thus the entrance.

____________________________________________________

Not too far off another crew neared the Reverse Mountain. From the South Blue a medium sized Xebec prowled through the waters. For those on board they could not wait to make it to the Grand Line. Little did they know what was to happen to them, nor did the Dancing Blades know.

SPOILER: Click to show

Take your time, just introduce yourself. I'm gonna try and keep us moving but the opposing crew isn't ready yet so lolz. Fun stuff ^^

[White Mimic]

Pierce lay in one of the beds, still out from his efforts at the fight. It wasn't the loss of blood alone that had taken him down after the big escape the crew and he had been able to manage, not alone. After recovering somewhat from his slight psychological and emotional episode that resulted in the death of a higher marine, Pierce had made his best efforts to return to the deck of the ship. The climb was brutal, leaving specks and light streaks of red against the ship that had since been washed off by waves and rain, and he had even managed to stay awake for a few minutes as he laid on the deck and everyone regrouped. During those few moments of dizziness, he hadn't focused on anything of anyone, nothing but the then blue sky above him before drifting off into the realms of his own subconscious. The last thing he would remember doing before falling out of himself would be thinking the sky was a vast ocean below him, waiting for him to jump in.

That was quite a while ago, however. His thoughts had since turned to the dreams he had been having ever since his childhood, vague illusions of what may have been, or perhaps not, shimmering ripples of fragments that made no sense to him. There was a clear new addition to the dreams now though, the voice calling out, saying words that he couldn't understand, the most prominent of which being "R----", that and the girl. Her features were hidden, relatively difficult to determine, her hair, her skin, all of it was missing. Her shape and face however, those were much more vivid. Granted they faded in and out like the rest of his dreams, but they carried more with them than anything else he had occasionally dreamed about. She was... familiar.

"Mmmhh..." He woke to the sound of rain against a window, a room he hadn't been in much, but the smell was recognizable, relatively. It was masked by sterility but no mask could ever truly hide an identity forever, this was definately the ship. THE ship. Smell and sound were one thing, sight was another. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings together, moaning lightly as his eyes opened to the blurs of his surroundings, as if he were waking from some sort of hibernation, his head a little dizzy.

[BEX]

Bleary eyes stared up at the wavering form of the upper deck ceiling. Spots of water, grimy from the slick dirt of the above pirates’ feet slithering down between the once regal polished wood to splatter on his face as the storm raged above deck; he should have guessed he’d quickly be resigned to the medical bed. Not far to his right he could hear the, or rather feel the telltale beads of sound that bounced irregularly off Pierce’s body even going so far as to outline the treated wound the fishman had suffered in the retaking of the Los Anicetos, but while the man of the sea was strong Jack had always believed himself to be strong…

“What the hell…” he grumbled as he tired for the umpteenth time to raise himself from the twisted sheets that had been moistened with his sweat and for the umpteenth and one time he fell back helplessly against the creaking mattress griping beneath his breath about the lousy sleeping accommodations he’d been given despite it being his ship. “Yo, ‘Fish-breath’, you think everyone’s gonna die followin’ me around?” he asked grimly, his lips a tight line as he considered the possibility that he’d gathered this particular group of misfits together only to have them murdered at the cold steeled hands of the law. Just as quickly as his doubts surfaced at the forefront of his mind, they slid to the back as near mummified Captain groaned as another shooting wave of pain obliterated thought from his focus leaving only searing colors that he had assumed represented the various degrees of suffering he’d endured.

Once he settled his previously arched back into the sheets he raised his rail-thin palm where he could see and chortled at how gaunt his frame must have looked, how unfit to be their leader they must have believed him to be. He didn’t give a damn what anyone thought, but these misfits were his somehow…somehow their opinions mattered even when he continued to stubbornly insist that they didn’t. The speaker in his palm lacked its usual luster in the dim gray lighting that came through the windows. It was hard to believe that he’d actually assumed it would be smooth sailing after knocking that bitch off his property, it was strange who quickly she’d faded from memory along with all the other officers that had attempted to take down the notorious Dancing Blades—just as well, he didn’t have time for long standing enemies that weren’t up to snuff.

Somewhere just beyond the edge of his subconscious his overused Devil Fruit powers registered each of the remaining members of his crew, only making the absence of those that had been left behind all the more forgettable. As far as he was concerned the only people on this ship were the ones worth fighting and he would believe that regardless of anyone else’s opinions because in a way…their grudges was what bound them together in this ruthless sea periled by blow-hard vagabonds, greedy warlords, and self righteous government that believed it was only their actions that would ensure the ushering of a new era…a peaceful one. Jack nearly coughed up blood as he wheezed a sardonic laugh. He had foregone those peaceful dreams that had once plagued the lost dock boy of Saint Reia since the day he’d fought his first Navy Captain. The rush of it still hurtled in wild colors through his mind, not registering even a single detail about the man himself, I’m gonna drown in a sea of blood and I’ll be damned if I ain’t smilin’.

That was the way of a Kamikaze…a man determined to meet his own destruction with a smile on his face, “Hey ‘Fish-breath’…can I call you Piwus?” he asked suddenly serious as he turned his head in the direction of the just waking Pierce.

[thormundsson]

The feeling of rain on his body was a very welcomed thing. There was something poetically cleansing about a shower of rain to wash everything away. Of course it was even more beautiful when contrasted by the rugged and dangerous view from the steep slopes of Reverse Mountain. The weather and scenery seemed to mirror mixed feelings of the people aboard the reclaimed vessel, both their worries over their captain as well as the thrill of being back on track with their adventure.

Tomas adjusted held the course steady as they were carried along by the powerful currents. The wound in his leg ached a bit but the doctor, the young girl, had been very capable and fixed the bandages and salves on it just right. He could barely feel it any more, save for a slight ache in his right thigh. He took a quick look back to make sure the Lanternshark was still bound to the far larger vessel they were all riding on. It helped a lot that the Lanternshark was small enough to be dragged along without affecting the course much.

He turned his head back to his thoughts and the person that seemed to have taken charge whilst the captain and the fishman were out cold. Seemed both had taken some sort of injuries though in Jack Dancer's case it might have simply been over exhaustion. He hadn't worried too much, the doctor had assured them that the duo would survive the ordeal. He looked at one of 2 files he had brought back from his room in the Lanternshark and kept reading as he had one hand on the wheel. He'd have to go back for more and finish his reading on the rest of them in detail. The insignia of the Marines and the World Government was clearly visible at the top of each page. It was a mocking image on the pirate vessel.

The picture attached to the file he had was almost a carbon copy of the person now standing at the stern of the ship. Slender figure and a light frame but with the rain coming down on her he could tell that she was more muscle than she appeared. According to what the file said of the last encounters Firefly Syph seemed quiet but had a bad temper of angered. At least that was what the hastily scribbled report from a marine recruit attached to the file said. The temper was something to take into account, anger meant liability in many cases. Still the report noted that despite being a sword user she left most opponents alive and did not strike any vengeful finishing blows. A fine trait to have, something that Tomas admired.

He kept on reading, thankfully noting that nobody had yet to call him on his decision to let a number of marines go when they had taken the ship back.

[SHADE SMASH]

Bella let out a breath of air, plopping herself in a nearby chair and wiping some sweat that had accumalated on her brow with the back of her hand. Her hat, which usually stuck with her through good and bad, sat on a desk not too far away, and her sleeves were pulled up so they wouldn't get bloodied in the process. Even her hair was up in a ponytail. A some what odd sight for her to be in but one she didn't much care for at the time being.

She had finally finished bandaging Pierce's bloodied up body by tearing up a few white bed sheets she had found in the closet. Despite having to tear them up, they were surprisingly straight, at least to some degree. Under those, there were a few places she had to stitch up and lucky her since he was asleep, there was no need for the insulin she had found.

Jack, on the otherhand, wasn't as bad as the fishman. His sole reason for being here was purely from exhaustion and hunger. A stupid alement caused from him pushing himself over the edge. She had considered just leaving him there to live out the consequences of his choice but being the soft hearted doctor she was, she bandaged up a few cuts and bruises. Nothing very serious.

So, here she was, sitting in her chair, as she watched them sleep for the time being. Rain pelting against the window, somehow keeping the small room crammed with 3 people cool. To an extent anyhow. Giving a sigh since neither seemed to have any signs of waking up, she got up and began to clean the room. One would think the loud sounds she made in doing so would make the two sleeping beauties wake up. But it wasnt until she had left.

"I'm gonna get you two some food." She said aloud before she shut the door behind her, as if they could hear her despite deep in sleep. She then hurried herself to the kitchen, running in cases when she was forced into the rain, preparing food such as sandwiches. She wasnt really good at making the harder stuff, and even so she wanted to hurry back before they did wake up. Then she rushed back to where she walked in on Jack saying something.

"-can I call you Piwus?”

"Leave it to them to wake up when I'm not in the room" she muttered angrily to herself as she walked in with the two plates of food. "What the hell does Piwus mean?!" She wondered aloud to Jack, with an almost tired voice. If you could understand, it wasn't the 'i want to go to bed' tired. Then she placed the plates down on her desk beside her hat and walked over to Pierce to check on his condition. It was obvious by how Jack was that he felt himself to be perfectly fine.

Having a small flashlight appear in her hand, she sat on Pierce's bed and opened an eye lid to flash the light onto his eye then off to see if his pupils were dialating ok. She did the same to his other eye and when all appeared to be all right she asked how he felt.

[flame08]

(OOC: Not all the NPC's are ready yet *glares at Shadey* but in any case we'll keep moving anyways)

Patiently she watched as they passed the lighthouse that guarded the entrance to Reverse Mountain. The sound of rushing water now filled the air as their boat passed through the small channel leading over the mountain. They were dangerous waters, now she had to put her faith in their navigator to make the crossing. Hopefully he had done it before, if not he'd better be ready. Standing up where she was she grasped the hilts of both her swords. She had best get down from the bowsprit before they made their way up.

Turning around she pulled Kitasha out of the bowsprit gingerly stepping along the wood before placing it back in the bowsprit to anchor herself down. She did this time and time again until she could finally step off back onto the deck. Stopping for a second she analyzed both swords, Kitasha as always had stood the test of the elements perfectly no change there. Turning to the Dao sword she looked at it, it showed no signs of rust yet, though even if it did that would be easily fixed. Crossing the upper deck she took the stairs down to the entrance to crew quarters.

Thinking for a second she wondered where Momo might be, the sword was for her anyways. But then Momo really didn't need to get it from her so as she stood before female quarters she opened the door slightly and launched the Dao sword down the hallway watch it pleasingly slide into the wooden wall at the end of the hallway. Momo could obtain it when she pleased, Syph laughed. Considering the other places Momo could be, Syph shuddered slightly, none of them did she even distinctly want to be in, especially Jack's room.

Suddenly she felt a shift in the boat as she stumbled on the deck slamming against the door to Female Quarters. The whole ship seemed to tilt upwards and quake a little in the rushing water. Air blew into her forcing her to close her eyes and mouth. They were already making their way up. Squinting into the distance she could see the blue skies rapidly approaching through the rain, the rays of light seeming to guide them toward the exit.

Not feeling tired she decided to brave the storms a little more, going up the ladder to the helm she made her way towards Tomas. He was new on the crew and she never really had taken the time to get to know him. The rest she had already had some adventures with, though shorter with Momo than the others personally not something she felt was a bad thing at all. Standing up to him she looked up, he was a tall man seeming a bit older than anyone else on the crew with more years on him. Much larger than her at least he seemed neat with his clothes, an organized man, with so much disorder that'd be good. A scar she noticed ran up from at least her neck up to the jaw, a seasoned fighter as well then. Jack's judgement in fighters at least seemed flawless, how he was actually would be something for her to find out for herself. He was holding some papers in his hands but then that was of little worry she thought.

Reaching out a hand she squinted in the rain and wind. "Tomas is it? How do you like the crew so far? I don't know if you've actually met many of them. You'll have to do some sparring some day, the rest of us have got to see how Jack's picking has been." She smiled, it was only customary she guessed. It was one of the nicer ways to ask about someone else . . . and in Dancing Blade fashion none the less. She'd see how he answered and possibly continue with whatever. Boy did she not know what was coming for them at that very second as they neared the top of Reverse Mountain and the rain started to lighten.

____________________________________________________

At that very same time a second boat flew up the Reverse Mountain from the South Blue entrance. A xebec by the name of Nero Spero the home of the Spinning Gun pirates was that second boat. They just as much as the Dancing Blades knew not of what was to come as they peaked at the top. A crew as similar and different from the Dancing Blades as possible, they were based around a mainly large portion of gun users. The exceptions being only a few of the members, even more interesting was their numbers 7 of fairly equal strength to the Dancing Blades.

They had breezed through the South Blue raiding and pillaging though rarely actually leaving many people too annoyed with the exception of those being raided and pillaged from. Money, food, and most importantly alcohol they took, the rest they had tended to keep intact. A few run ins with other pirate crews and groups of marines had given them their name. A powerful team of fighters they boasted with two Paramecia users, a zoan, and a Fishman. The Spinning Guns were a strong group, recognized by the marines as a threat they had obtained quite some bounty in their time in the Blues.

The Spinning Guns however were not an extremely connected crew, each had their own personalities which differed greatly from each other. Brought together only by common goals and each other as a means to obtain them the Guns were now crossing into new territory for new prey and enemies. Possibly more resourceful than the Dancing Blades, they had already spotted the Blades making their way up the mountain. Their scout, the Zoan user had flown ahead through the storms to scan the top of Reverse Mountain and while doing so had noticed the ship coming up from the other route.

Heading back their scout had reported it to the crew who unlike the Blades were now ready for what was coming. There was no turning back with the two ship on a collision course. Now it would only be whose ship held out at the top, and most importantly who would begin the race in the lead. Grim is how one might consider it from the Dancing Blades point of view. With two members indisposed of from previous injuries and the rest wounded it is unsure if they would be able to out-do the Spinning Guns in combat or speed.

[White Mimic]

Cloudy dark shapes lingered around in Pierce's view as he struggled to get his bearings, closing his eyes several times as the light and dark proved too disorienting for him to focus for long. The first thing he tried to get a good view of was the ceiling, but all he could see was a shifting pattern that lingered from each sluggish blink, and the noise coming from his side was no big help to him either. He wasn’t too certain of what it was he heard but the voice was familiar: Bella’s. It was nice to hear after being locked up and taken to the closest threshold of a near-death experience he had ever experienced. Soon following was another fuzzy phrase, a voice he wasn’t quite as excited to hear in his state, which wasn’t to say it was unwelcome.

Pierce brought his hands to his face, rubbing at eyes glazed with crusting and flicking it at what he believed was a wall based on what he had been able to make out in his slideshow blinks. He briefly moaned in response to Jack’s voice, keeping his eyes in the shade of his hands. “Mm…?”

“Yo, ‘Fishbreath’, you think everyone’s going to die following me around?”

“Egghhh…” Pierce turned his head in the direction of the voice but kept his eyes closed, he was sure the window was in that direction, but the permeating sound of rain throughout the ship made it difficult for him to tell for sure. His hands returned to a lower position on the bed away from his face as he squinted lightly, trying to make out Jack’s body. It wasn’t standing that was for sure, no figure perpendicular to his current angle of view. “That’s not my name.” The shapes seemed to become less foggy as he spent more time with his eyes open, multiple images eventually converging into singular objects and features. However, he continued to squint, his eyes hadn’t taken in proper light for quite a while now. “And if you leave them again, maybe they will. That wasn’t very captain like what you did back there. But you did come back so I can’t say I’m angry.” He turned back to the ceiling and closed his eyes once again. “Besides, it’s not like they can’t hold their own if they need to. I’m sure I can at least.”

The truth was Pierce still harbored a little resentment towards Jack, but it wouldn’t be fair to act on those feelings, not after Jack’s return. It’d just have to be a little dark marble of suppression he left in the back of his mind, trying to forget it over time. But for now, the façade that nothing had changed.

“Yo ‘Fishbreath’… can I call you Piwus?”

Pierce groaned a little at the question, tilting his head away for a split second before returning to Jack with a lightly forced smile at the nickname. “Heh… that’s not my name either. It’s-” He was suddenly interrupted at Bella’s reentry, smelling something that was faintly recognizable as food though it took him a while for the aroma to hit him in full. Bella murmured something he couldn’t quite hear but he recognized the sound of her voice almost immediately, grinning toward the door (he hoped). She seemed a little on edge, and in response Pierce decided to not ask about it or say anything out of fear it could trigger a negative response. He opened his eyes a little wider than previously, attempting to get a good view of her, and by this point he was able to see fine, though he was still adjusting to the lighting. “Nice to see you Bella. No, Jack, my name is actually – GAH!” Bella had opened one of his eyes wider and shined a light directly into it, a sudden shock and slight discomfort, but nothing painful. He tugged at the mattress in response, not wishing to move around causing her to make an accident and, more importantly, to prevent him from reflexively doing something that could’ve hurt her. He almost would’ve knocked her arm away had it not been for the grip he had on the mattress, though there was a tearing noise as he tugged, at least one of the sheets ripping in his reaction.

After the examination, his eyes had definitely adjusted to the light which seemed pale in comparison to that which was thrust directly into his face. Though, there was a bright blind spot in the middle of each now. It would fade away in a few seconds, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a nuisance now.

[thormundsson]

Tomas turned and faced Syph as she came up to the steering wheel. They were the only ones on the deck as it was, the rain and the occasional wounds keeping the rest inside their cabins. She reached out with her hand to shake his as she asked him of his view of the crew. It was a more polite greeting than he had expected from any member of the crew, certainly Jack hadn't seemed like the most courteous man around and his files were somewhat lacking in info on the personal behavior of each and every crew member.

He switched hands on the wheel and slid his report on her into his back pocket. He wasn't quite done but it'd be a somewhat strange thing to have a marine profile on her as he shook her hand, it just felt wrong somehow. He reached out and took her hand, though the difference in size made it a somewhat awkward motion. His left hand strained to keep the ship steady as the currents tugged at it. He wasn't quite the strongest man, despite his tall frame, and he preferred to rely on his wits rather than brute force.

"I must admit it's been a novel experience, even though it's only been a short while with you guys. I've spent the better part of the last few years wandering about and even when I was a part of a......crew....I was never too close to any of them." He said to answer her question. He omitted the fact that he had been a marine despite just to ruffle no feathers but the rest of it was true. Even as at a lower rank he had found little in common with the marines he had served with. They were most just brutes and cannon fodder whose purpose was to never rise beyond their ranks.

"It's also been very interesting to see you all fight, true to the name of the crew I must say. I'd welcome a chance to spar with you at some point, though the situation won't exactly allow for that now" he continued on, his face a slight smile as the rain kept pouring down. He had to admit that most of them were probably at the same level of strength if not somewhat beyond him. He'd have to test it out himself just to make sure he knew their capabilities.

"I think we should alert the rest, it seems we are coming upon the summit and it'd be nice to have the entire crew here to see the Grand Line for the first time" he said quietly to her, realizing he might just fit in after all.

[BEX]

Jack being Jack grumbled before turning his back to the overbearing female doctor who despite her looks was about as abrasive towards him as they come—well Syph might have peaked her during times of peace, but Bella certainly hadn’t pegged him as one of her ‘misadventures’ while riding with the Dancing Blade crew. Sticky redness stained the sheets as Pierce wordlessly protested the forced examination and Jack’s brow twitched as more blood soaked through the poorly made bandaged strapped over his abdominal regions before he clicked his teeth angrily and sprung from the bed with the veracity of a wounded animal. Gooey life fluid leaked onto the floor while the owner of all this liquid stared down with wavering eyes before hacking up some more redness to add to the mix, but once he was done—the sides of his mouth well caked with the wanton sprays that had failed to make their descent onto the boards of the ground—he simply flicked the good doctor and her fishman patient off for good measure before storming out of the room.

Not the smartest move, but the Captain was neither a thinker nor lover. He wasn’t many things and he was good many things, some infrequently. For example currently he was uncoordinated thanks to a sufficient loss of blood that left him all but careening into the hallway walls before sliding down in a dazed heap chuckling happily to himself as the storm outside boomed. Thoughts of what Pierce had said lingered with him uncomfortably. Those words had hammered into his soul making him wonder whether at heart he really was a coward who had simply run away from his rivals…just before another bout of coughing brought more bleeding, but being the stubborn jerk that he was, the man whose bounty was the highest ever witnessed in the Blues rose gingerly to his spindly legs using the wall to prop himself up….

Stumbling became crawling, and crawling became dragging himself across the wet slicked wooden stairs leading towards the upper deck. Rain cooled him pleasantly though for the moment he remained as motionless as a dead bug soaking up the moisture, “Man, I hate the rain…” he muttered drily before turning to lay on his back, the sounds of two figures wedging themselves into his sonar. Darkness began to settle over his eyes and mouth worked without saying words that made any actual sense. Could this be the end of Jack Dancer?

Had Bella’s negligence simply been an oversight? Or was there a darker plot afoot here?

SPOILER: Click to show

Alright, we kinda need to move this along, I’d be happy to finish making the rest of the other crew. PM me what needs to be done…(didn’t say ‘who’ needs to be done because that would be unsightly if not too much Jack in one post)

[flame08]

"I must admit it's been a novel experience, even though it's only been a short while with you guys. I've spent the better part of the last few years wandering about and even when I was a part of a......crew....I was never too close to any of them." He said in answer to her first question. A novel experience ehh . . . definitely one way to express their uniqueness. She didn't doubt if she had just met this group and was trying not to be offensive 'novel' is one word Syph might use in her description. Other words possibly being 'odd', 'interesting' or 'different' were all valid possibilities to her. But anyways Tomas continued to speak.

"It's also been very interesting to see you all fight, true to the name of the crew I must say. I'd welcome a chance to spar with you at some point, though the situation won't exactly allow for that now" he continued on, his face a slight smile as the rain kept pouring down. Syph smiled at that comment, it'd be good for him to spar. She doubted his abilities against some of the more experienced warriors in the crew. Still maybe she was wrong, he needed to actually fight someone to show off his skill there was still a place for him to become an exceptional warrior.

"I think we should alert the rest, it seems we are coming upon the summit and it'd be nice to have the entire crew here to see the Grand Line for the first time" Upon that Syph nodded, "We probably should alert them. Its quite a sight to see . . . and that sparring can be done as we get to the bottom. I'm sure there are many members who would like to take a try at you, including me." She smiled winking at Tomas . . . turning around amused she walked off. Calling through the rain she said "I'm going to go see if the rest want to come up!" Jumping down from the upper deck she came onto the main deck which had the entrance to crew quarters.

Going to each set of quarters she yelled into them "WE'RE REACHING THE TOP COME OUT AND SEE THE SIGHT! WE WON'T SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS OFTEN!!!" Syph was happy, climbing back up to the bow of the ship. The top was rapidly approaching, she could already see where the waters of the different blues were meeting in a swirling mess as they crashed upon each other making their way to the Grand Line. Coming all the way to the foremost point on the bow she looked out as the boat peaked on Reverse Mountain. The rain disappeared and the clouds cleared upon a beautiful day and scenery.

Stretched out before her was the expanse of the Grand Line, small dots representing islands dotted the blue sea before her. It was a beauty, dark storms blue skies and a sun rising above the whole expanse. This was Paradise, part one of the Grand Line crossing half the world it was a 'paradise' of sorts far off from the Red Line and the New World which was much less so. She smiled, this was the beginning ehh, it was time to rock the world. Then a sound caught her ear, it was a yelling, a faint one almost like a war cry from far away.

Syph spun surprised, to a crazy sight indeed. A large ship which she couldn't identify had appeared out of another opening of the Reverse Mountain and was now barreling toward the Los Anicetos. They were headed for a collision course, what was more was they were prepared. A set of five people were standing on the bow of their ship not one of which looked surprised to see the Dancing Blade ship appearing out of the East Blue entrance. Screaming to the rest of the crew she ran to the port side of the ship looking off toward the new ship coming their way. "GET OUT HERE, WE GO COMPANY!!!!!!" Now directing her voice towards Tomas she said "GET US OUT OF THE WAY!!"

They were caught, maybe not outnumbered but caught, outflanked and possibly truly screwed. There wasn't much they could do to avoid getting hit by this new ship. Not to mention with Pierce and Jack down, there were only five members who were able to fight. Quite a few she believed were asleep at the moment, right now she only knew Tomas and herself were up and depending on the caliber of the opponent's that definitely would not be enough to stop five opponents.

The enemy ship neared them as the water routes crashed together, they were going to come out right next to each other numerically that would be horrible. They'd either have to let the enemies pass or sprint out ahead. That of course was still barring that their enemies were aiming to fight them upon the Reverse Mountain. From the deck of the enemy ship one of the opponents transformed, she was a girl of blue hair, from her small figure rose a large bird which looked oddly similar to Xun's own transformation. Flying out toward them it made for the masts, maybe to cut them down or something. Syph was worried, they had just gotten those masts fixed after she had selflessly used them to save Jack.

Strapping Kitasha onto her back she climbed up the rope ladder of the foremast to meet her opponent in the air. She would protect the masts which she had not to long ago destroyed. Balancing on the foremast she held out her sword beckoning her opponent to come and try fighting her. At the same time on the Nero Spero the members of the Spinning Gun Pirates prepared to overtake the enemy ship. The majority of their members were on board only their second mate and doctor were still below board. Their second mate had had an accident doing some questionable activities and was now going through some harsh procedures under the guide of the crew doctor.

Still the main strength of the crew was still above board. Already their first mate had moved in to make the preemptive blow, Mailin had transformed into her Zoan form to take out the masts. Teodor, Aiger, Anna and their resident Fishman were all ready to go when the boats were pulled up along side. Most of them weren't exactly going to brave the crossing other than their flying friend. With Teodor at the helm they were sure that they could easily board their opponent and bring aid to Mailin. The other few members took out their pistols and took aim looking for any people sitting upon the deck. Those would be the first targets to take down. Surprisingly for such a huge ship there were very few people visible on the ship.

Only two people were noticeable but they still weren't in range so the spinning guns held off on firing. Especially between two boats on this bumpy ride their aim would be badly marred.

SPOILER: Click to show

So i'm waiting on Jack for the fishman. The rest are ready, we also need someone to write up Syph's opponent (who is currently in surgery or something) She is supposed to have the Melt DF (it allows the user to melt parts of his body at a time for example if hes being sliced he can turn like his arm into a liquid that holds shape. So you'll cut through the liquid doing no damage then return to solid form. That or you can find something else i dunno, thats what Farris' idea for Syph's opponent was. Unfortunately shes busy with some real life stuff and won't be able to do it. Get ready to fight yall! BTW we might lose haha, or we'll push them off our ship at the least.

[BEX]

Jack’s tongue hung lazily from his mouth as heavy eyelids drifted shut. Somewhere on dock Tomas and Syphalia were mincing words, doing all the things that crew members were supposed to be doing—it made the rugged man sick to his core. Niceties were obstacles that saw you die at the hands of a Revolutionary soldier looking for beri or saw you gunned down in the face of some frustrated marine back in Saint Reia and he certainly hadn’t embraced camaraderie in his short stint as captain of the Dancing Blades. Thick, crimson leaking from his festering wound, the barely conscious thug flailed his whitish tongue to clumsily snatch at the fat droplets of water pelting him relentlessly as he lay forgotten by the rest of his crew. It wasn’t a bad way to die…he’d done enough as it was…besides he hated everything and everyone he’d met up until now…

Well, maybe not everyone, he decided at the end just before his eyes fluttered shut for what was presumably the last time. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t heard it before, but the hoarse cry from the fire headed shogun of the crew snapped his oculars open in time for the droning nose of beating wings to fill his senses. Smiling as the silver webs painted the world of black with cascading waves of sound that outlined the Zoan fruit user plummeting towards one of the masts in the heavy rain. Forgetting about the mind numbing pain at his side, the bloodthirsty vagabond jackknifed to his feet, deftly landing a position that faced him towards the ensuing onslaught of fellow buccaneers who apparently were seeking some sort of ends by taking down the impressive Los Anicetos. “Ho? Looks like I can’t die just yet” he drawled while pressing a hand into the wound only making the flow of blood soak through the dinghy white undershirt staining with rich red hues.

Jogging forward a few steps, the air thudded as he disappeared. Rather his form had condensed into a speeding blur set on a collision course for the dive-bombing Xun-look-alike—a well thought out plan as always. Taking the woman by surprise the two butted heads with tremendous force sending a spray splattering in a dome like formation as both were sent veering in their own respective directions. Jack’s path sent him slamming through the body of one of the three main masts before he managed to catch himself on hands and feet against the slick deck, but he felt giddy with anticipation despite the throbbing pain that swelled in his head. Looking up for a retaliatory attack from his ambushed foe, the young man only squawked in surprise as the upper half of the now ruined mast came falling towards him and the only thought in his mind was, Syphalia might actually be happy that I ended up breaking one here Feeling for his sword in the fleeting seconds he had to spare Jack realized that his heavy edged blade had been left below deck and with the heavy mast piece falling towards him he had little choice.

“GAAAAAAHH!!!” he bellowed, his voice echoing through the air as the speaker resting on at the base of his tongue amplified the noise to a harrowing concussive blast that shattered the falling debris into several moderately sized pieces. The ship would be damaged, but that wasn’t his concern he was only looking for a fight. Before he could pick out the form of the avian cursed fruit user a force smacked him with such veracity that he was set sprawling and bouncing across the entire width of the upper deck until he snagged against the side. Grunting as he shook his dank hair every which way, the seething warrior squinted angrily in the direction of a dark form stepping towards him…something seemed off about it though, “Are…are you a fish?! A two legged fish?!” he asked incredulously as none other than Sir James of the Spinning Gun pirates stepped forth with a malicious look on his face as the fist he’d thumped the famous bounty head with was still raised in the air as if in declaration of his great feat.

If the pose was meant to be impressive…if failed miserably as Jack slipped, hitting his head on the hard, gnarly deck as fits of spluttering laughter erupted from his chest only worsening the medical condition concerning his wound. As more rib racking chuckles bubbled up from him, blood mixed neatly with the water logged deck, “His-his head is a like a trout! Hahahaha!” he ranted, kicking his feet now like an amused child. Sir James’ ego could only take so much evidenced by the throbbing vein on side of his rather two flat sided head—the mighty man, err, fish had the look about him of someone about to do violence.

“H-hey-hey…do you like sushi? Or you do prefer tuna?! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” jested Jack, verily enjoying himself to this situation.

SPOILER: Click to show

I posted the NPC profile for Sir James, Mimic's counterpart in the crew section so please check it out. Flame has the others and I'm under the impression he's going to post them in that same thread.

[White Mimic]

“Hey! Jack where you going!” He didn’t look to be in any shape to be moving around the ship, not at the moment Pierce had caught a glimpse of the captain leaving the room. He was oozing blood onto the floor, from the mouth, moving as if nothing was wrong though the puddles of red he trailed across the floor told a slightly different story. Still enduring the examination at the time, Pierce hadn’t made out the insult thrown by hand by the bleeding captain. Pierce clambered out of the bed and moved for the doorway to watch after the captain, wanting to make sure Jack didn’t hurt himself any further but by the time Pierce had made it to the door, Jack had already vanished down the hall.

The bullet wound flared slightly in his efforts. It was only a mildly painful burn, kind of like a horrible tickle, but still much more uncomfortable than any tightly bound back or light in the eyes. He shot a concerned look out the doorway before slowly withdrawing back inside the recovery room, taking a long glance out the window. He may have resented Jack, just a little, but that didn’t make him entirely callous, not to someone who didn’t seem to regret allowing Pierce to stay on board. Or at least if Jack had regretted it, he was doing an excellent job of keeping it to himself. Outside the window, Pierce could see that they were beginning to make their ascent, water rushing past the window and the ship giving off groans with its unique body language, holding itself well to the anomaly of nature. He had never been to Reverse Mountain before. If ever he visited an island in the Grand Line due to work, it was generally thanks to a Marine Escort for civilians who could afford it. All alone, he couldn’t afford it, and considering everyone here was a pirate, it wouldn’t have gone over well anyway. Giving it a little more thought, he realized he wouldn’t have a luxury like that anymore, not after recent developments. He watched the ship’s progress through the little window, grabbing the food Bella made and taking a few slow deliberate bites before giving it a funny look.

It was okay, not bad but certainly not what he was used to, having made his own food for quite a long time now. It didn’t make much of a difference anyway. He hadn’t eaten in a while and any food was welcome on his pallet. Even… the vegetables…

As the ship travelled up and up, it became difficult to maintain a good balance on the food so he set it down on a table nearby and continued to watch the window, most of the water rushing past atomized into a fine, violent mist. He would head topside when the ship stopped moving, hopefully to get a good look at the view before heading back down into the room when the descent was made. He wasn’t a doctor but if injuries like this were anything like being sick, it would be best to avoid activity and stay inside where it was warm…-ish. There wasn’t too much heat at the time, but it probably beat being out in the rain. When they leveled off, Pierce propped himself up with only slight difficulty, having to bend his torso a bit and flaring the wounds to discomfort once more. It was short-lived as he walked it off, blood stains on the floor leading him to the upper decks. Pierce himself was barefoot, and every time he stepped in one of the pools, it almost made him want to shiver. In all honesty, however, it felt kind of nice, albeit overly morbid. As he approached the deck he could hear creaking sound of wood, followed by a few snaps. Looking out, he saw one of the masts topple, or at least the top of one. Nearby was another ship and it seemed there was to be an engagement.

“…Oh good, more fighting. I love getting shot.” Sarcasm usually didn’t bite too much, not when it was from Pierce, but he was clearly a little angry at the idea of more fighting. Last time, he had ripped a hole in the side of a man’s neck, the last thing he needed right now was to do it again. But even an injured man had to pull his weight from time to time. Having only poked his head around the corner for a few seconds to get a gauge on the situation, he ducked back under the deck, walking as fast as he could to the kitchen connected storeroom he had converted into his quarters. He lost his caps in the last fight and needed to replace them, at least for now. At least something good came out of his injuries: he wouldn’t have to put any caps on his dorsal quills, those were always a bitch to get.

[thormundsson]

Tomas' eyes widened in panic as the ship bore down on them. This was a terrifying moment and the absolute worst scenario he had imagined happening to them on the journey over Reverse Mountain. There were so many things that could go wrong that his mind was struggling with merely prioritizing the most dangerous things.

The most obvious one and the one that he tried frantically to find an escape from was that the ship would sink. In this case they'd be left with few options. With the number of Devil's fruit users, such as Jack and the zoan user they would have a hard time saving them, much less fighting the insanely powerful currents of Reverse Mountain. If this were to happen he would have to cut his losses and go straight for Jack Dancer. The rest of the Devil's fruit users were expendable as far as he was concerned and he was fairly certain the Merman and Sylph, the swordsman, would somehow be able to survive the currents but the rest would have to be sacrificed. This was of course counting on the other crew leaving them alone in case the ship sank, which was an unlikely thing to happen.

The only escape from that particular death was to rush aboard the Lanternshark who was still being towed along by the Los Ancetos. The main problem here was that due to the small size of the Lanternshark they would have a lot of problem with fighting the other crew off and even if they managed that he had no confidence in their survival on such a small vessel when they arrived in the Grand Line. In his short time at Marine HQ he had heard chilling stories of the waves and the weather in that cursed ocean and if even half of them were true they'd be in a lot of trouble.

He shrugged his head and grabbed his weapon, he wasn't much of a fighter but this was not going to end so easily and he was not going to lose his goal without a fight....

[BEX]

SPOILER: Click to show

I suppose we’re still using the NPC’s Flame had created so gonna try and ride out this story. The current order: Jack, Pierce, and then Tomas

Rain sliding down his face and washing little of the dark crimson blotch slowly spreading its tendrils across his dinghy white undershirt Jack’s laughter was cut short as another bout of spleen shredding coughing caught him midway through his mirthful enjoyment. Only barely managing to clamp a hand to his mouth, blood oozed through his fingers as hunched over in pain and embarrassment—any sign of weakness of an invitation for an enemy to take your life in an instant; especially against a pirate. Weak and feeling dizzy, the bounty head dropped to a knee looking just past the fish headed foe to notice that a certain multi-quilled merman who was more or less on his side had emerged from the lower decks, What took his ass so damn long?

A good question, but in wrong circumstances as Sir James declared his victory with a single spectacular fin extending towards the stormy heavens just past the other pirate’s shoulder. Silver splashed across his image as sound bombarded from every corner making him a bit queasy as the creaking ship produced its own groans to the mix as the bird zoan from earlier suddenly flocked into appearance once more. Recovered from a head-to-head meeting with the reckless vagrant of a man, the feisty winged girl seemed ready for round two while Jack was still attempting to figure out how to make it out of round one in one piece. “Not like I have a damn choice…” muttered the cornered felon as his back pressed against the edge of the deck; two pirates of veritable ability in his state might have been pushing, not to mention the Captain still looking greedily towards the Los Anicetos from the ship that lurked not far from bobbing vessel.

Hurriedly snatching hold of the heavy odachi resting at his back he pulled with veined might, unsheathing the black steel quite audaciously given his predicament—enough that his opponents took pause to admire the feat. It wasn’t everyday that one saw such a gigantic blade it seemed.

“….Suckers!” Jack cackled as he spun once…twice…and then flung the weighty object towards the pair, whose outstretched arms were telltale signs that they were completely unprepared for the meteor that slammed them through the top floor of the deck and into someone’s room below. The barely noticeable pirate that had made it aboard stopped just a few inches from beginning his onslaught upon Tomas—to stare at the mess that Jack had made: it was pirate rule number one, don’t mess up your own ship.

“What the f*ck y’all lookin’ at?” snapped the sailor tongued captain as he shook a matted clump of hair from his face. If only these jokers could be beaten before they ran into the… “Red…Line”

Surfs up.

SPOILER: Click to show

There is no specific person for everyone to fight. You just beat down whoever you feel like beating down.

[White Mimic]

Below deck, Pierce threw open the door to the kitchen, several cooking utensils scattered around, dislodged from their positions in the ascent. The door itself wasn’t able to open all the way, a skillet and a whisk stuck between the hinges and the wall. Some silverware had made its way to the floor from the cupboards and drawers and shards of plates, bowls, glasses, flukes, you name it had all been sliding around in tiny piles across the wooden floor. Luckily, it wasn’t as if the ship was stocked with tons of the stuff, only enough for the crew to get by each night which, unfortunately, was still enough to cover a good portion of the floor. With luck, there would still be enough to manage once this was all over, at least until the next island when Pierce could pick up more to replace the various shattered bits. As he carefully made his way to his room near the back, a stray spatula, perched precariously upon the counter, finally tumbled to the floor in the rocking of the ship, clattering with the remains of one of the smaller morning cups and the tail-end of two soup spoons. He jumped a bit at the noise, but it didn’t deter him from ducking into his room.

Rushing to a box near the corner, Pierce pulled out a few metal caps for the quills on his arms and legs, ignoring the longer ones for his back, and donned them as fast as a person could tie their shoes. He saw that the marine sword he had been carrying on his back for the escape from the marines was lying neatly in his hammock, and for what seemed like the first moment in his life, he was glad he had a sword. As he made his way back topside, the sword bobbed against his back, at least until he gave the strap some tightening. He didn’t plan on using it but without the help of his dorsal quills, he needed some sort of defense to feel comfortable fighting. He had his hand on the door to the kitchen when the ceiling collapsed and a pirate from the other ship was swinging in his hammock, dazed from the attack he had endured above. The other, less fortunate female pirate had crashed into the floor, face first into a box that had slid out of its usual spot since Pierce’s absence, then into the ground. In the middle of the room was… Jack’s sword.

There wasn’t time to get mad about it though, not at the moment. The bird girl seemed to struggle getting up, her wings taking up a bit of space and landing on her head probably could have done a lot worse, but the fishman in his hammock had gotten up quickly and was now pointing upwards to the hole in Pierce’s roof, glaring upwards with his mouth open, obviously in anger at what he had just gone through, perhaps even a flavor of humiliation. They both stood still for a while, the bird girl the only one moving in the room until she gave up and chose to lay on the floor for a bit until she could gather her senses together, it wouldn’t take too long. Breaking the stillness ever so slightly, Pierce slowly moved to Jacks sword and picked it up, getting the other fishman’s attention immediately.

They both froze in place, Pierce hunched over with the sword partially off the ground and the other with his finger in the air, looking at him with his ‘nose’ in the air. He looked more like a fish than Pierce, throwing him off a bit, but this other fishman was the first to actually react to the situation. He suddenly dropped into a fighting stance, taunting Pierce a little with a hand gesture while keeping his head angled to assert dominance maybe.

He had to get the sword back to Jack he thought, but it wouldn’t be easy if he had an opponent (which he preferred highly as opposed to a pursuer) and throwing it threw the hole in the ceiling, he could see a few problems with that idea: throwing it off the side of the ship by accident, hitting one of his own, etc. He tossed the sword back into the kitchen and entered his own stance, hopping left and right like a boxer with his arms shuffling around near his mid-section. He didn’t know what he was going to be facing, but he was prepared to go all out, even if he wouldn’t be able to keep the fishman prisoner for his own questions. He would’ve been inquisitive now, but the situation didn’t seem appropriate; He would simply have to wait and win.