Diverging Winds: The Silver Song Begins

[Raab]

"Right on man."

The naive navigator beamed at Gavin's unwarranted praise; sure, Nolan thought he was pretty alright behind the kit, but to have that notion supported by an actual musician? Well...that was just the bee's knees.

"Well, thank you kindly, mister!"

Nolan kept rappa-tap-tapping away as Gavin decided to improvise for a few minutes, though the musician's musical genius gave way to something infinitely more enthralling: food. Noticing that he, Nolan the sub-par survivalist, had completely neglected preparing the food for his new companions, instantly leapt from his throne of rhythm to aid Gavin and Green-hair.

"Ah! My apologies..."

"How do... I even... Man..."

"It's a bit tricky, you see. Gotta'...find a...hrk...hnnnng...God damn...YAHHH!"

The can was proving to be a greater adversary than Nolan expected. It was time to take drastic measures.

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S BOSS, CAN-MAN!"

Taking the can behind Green-hair's rocky perch, the altogether helpless Resinbarian took to smashing the can against a sharp edge of the dusty boulder.

Clang.

Twing!

Crrrrsh.

"Almost...got you...GAHH!"

POP!

And with that small escaping of compressed air, Nolan emerged victorious. The Battle of the Bean was over!

"HA! Gotcha'. Now we gotta cool this thing..."

Nolan took a moment to fashion a sort of spit to roast the open can of beans on; he had to forfeit his drumsticks in doing so. In a few minutes, the small troupe was in business, the smell of slow-cooked beans wafting around the campsite. Nolan took in a deep breath, altogether pleased with his culinary conquest. The young traveler was actually proving to be quite useful for once.

As if by some act of God, however, Nolan's gaiety and satisfaction were to be crushed in almost an instant.

"So how much longer until we get to Porter, man? Would probably be faster with horses too, man..."

"Yea.. I want a horse too.."

H-...horses...!?

The naive navigator had just come to a startling realization.

"I think we saw some guys riding some when we got to that first town."

Oh...oh god.

"A horse with a bed on it, can we get one of those? I'd really want one of those.."

N-no way...no way I forgot...

He most certainly had forgotten.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Nolan leapt to his feet, knocking the beans from the spit and onto the ground directly in front of Gavin. Something had just bothered him to a quite impressive degree; Gavin and Green-hair's mentioning of horses...yes, that seemed to be it. Why, then? It's not as if Nolan could have produced such an anima-...

Ah, yes. That horse.

"I-...I can't believe it."

So...er, yes. Nolan could have been some help. It seems though that once again, Nolan's rather odd brand of navigation and survival had taken a turn for the worse: an oblivion that caused the young Resinbarian to forget a crucial ally in his trek across the scorching desert.

"Th-that horse...is gonna kick my ass when I see him again..."

It was true, he was.

"UGH."

Nolan made his way over to Green-hair's boulder-chair once more, this time instead of beating a can of beans across the edge of the stone, driving his forehead repeatedly into the rough rock face.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid...STUPID."

Ah, that's the ringer.

"GAH! MY FACE!"

Nolan collapsed in a head beside Green-hair, cradling his injured mug in his trembling hands.

"I-...I'm sorry guys...no horses for us. We're hoofin' it on this one. Should be there by tomorrow afternoon..."

Rolling over onto his back, Nolan looked up at the starry sky, wondering why on earth he of all people wanted so badly to be a navigator, a survivalist.

I'm really just...terrible. God damn.

Though...there was a certain tenacity about Nolan. A tenacity altogether unapparent in the heat of battle, but forever coursing through his veins.

Th-...yeah, that's why I gotta get better.

Nolan sprung up, sitting indian-style and beaming once more.

"Live and learn, they say. Ha! I'm sure that stupid horse won't even remember..."

The young navigator inched towards the fire, lying down and curling into a ball to get himself comfortable.

"Help yourself to the rest of the beans, fellas. Best get some shut-eye quick, though. Rest up for tomorrow."

Completely shrugging off his fit of absolute insanity, Nolan closed his eyes. Tomorrow would be a better day.

[Terminally Chill]

Gavin wasn't too torn up about the absence of horses, dismissing the dilemma with a simple shrug. After all, the young musician was a wanderer; walking tended to be the name of the game when he wasn't stowing away on a merchant ship. Walking through a blazing hot desert though... That was a new one. The worn sandals of the singer would endure as always though, so Gavin was content to retrieve a can of beans from the ground while Nolan had his dramatic meltdown. Even in the short time they had spent together, Gavin had become used to Nolan's outburst. That or the magnitude of any situation was lost on the dopey drifter, who blew on the contents of the can before dumping them sloppily into his mouth. By the time the beans had been finished, Nolan was already curling up by the fire and calling it a night.

“Best get some shut-eye quick, though. Rest up for tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me man.”

Convincing the wanderer to sleep was an effortless task. Setting the emptied can on the ground, Gavin crawled down from the boulder with his guitar and situated himself near the fire. A loud yawn preceded Gavin stretching out his lanky body against the cooling sand. Curling up against his beloved instrument, the songsmith offered his two companions a parting wave.

“Night man.”

The obnoxious din of Gavin snoring filled the chilly desert air, ensuing almost immediately after he shut his eyes.

The next day...

The trio had made a good amount of headway in their walk to Porter Town. They had set out when the baking sun peeked over the horizon. There was hardly a choice anyway; sleeping in the unbearable heat was impossible (except maybe for Gavin). The guitarist in question was slumped over, dragging his feet sluggishly across the sand as beads of sweat rolled from his face to their evaporative deaths. The sun was nearly straight above the three travelers, the position of the oppressive star meaning they were near Porter Town if Nolan's estimation was close to correct. Gavin hadn't been much for chatter on the sweltering desert walk, raising his shaggy head once in a while to nod or shake. In the midst of the sun beating down on the bard, a familiar sensation returned. Only for an instant, Gavin felt the contrast of a cool breeze brush against his face. Along with the ghostly air came the distinguishing scent of salt in the nomad's nostrils. Gavin opened his eyes groggily and squinted against the blinding sun, looking ahead to see the source of the breeze.

A town much like the first one Gavin and Winry had stumbled upon lined the coast. The comforting sight of the expansive sea greeted the unlikely companions; the desolate expanse of land had made Gavin nearly forget what the sea was. Even from afar, the buildings looked to be more maintained than the shady saloons of Whiskey Town. However, what was lacking was Whiskey's vivacity. A port town was generally bustling considering it was the trading hub of an island. Despite there being people in the streets, there was an unsettling sense of urgency about the island and an eery silence that was rarely broken. What was even more odd was the lack of ships moving around the island. Ships rested at the port, but they looked more abandoned than anchored and the couple vessels that were on the open sea shared the trait of sporting black flags.

The mast of a particularly large ship at the harbor lorded above the rest. The black flag it sported was larger than the others, displaying the ominous insignia of a jagged-billed fish with two red blades crossed behind it. Didn't spell trouble at all... Nope.

Despite having obviously arrived at their destination, Gavin had to ask anyway.

“Is this Porter Town, man?”

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'Y'know, I was wondering..'
The silence that surrounded the group had brought it up.

'We're agaisnt Fishmen, right?'
For some reason, a moment of said silence had to follow her pondering's.

'And this place is like, the hottest, deadest place ever.'
She looked around at the vast nothing, really proves her point.

'So what would people who live in the sea, want with the complete opposition of their usual environment..' The way she pitched the end of it hardly made it seem like a question, more an open ended room for discussion, something she didn't expect either of her company to comprehend let alone comment on. The lack of scenery, that vibrancy of geography which this island seems to just laugh at, like some hipster who thought looking anything other then dry and desolate was so two-hundred years ago. Impatience was getting the better of her, she thrived off silence, but this was that horrible exception.. It had her seeking conversation from the two she walked behind, slightly shaky from her injuries still needing some time to breathe, her mind still needing a moment to sober up a little more. Despite it being almost remedial in the larger picture, considering she didn't bleed to death that evening, had a fire and drink. The thought of her voice shrieking in that fashion from her attempt her usually effortless melodic vocals had her actually feeling reluctant to try it again. She had nothing to prove to these guys, some idiot and his half-assed guitar, another with his make-shift human jukebox tendencies which still rattled her brain long after he had performed that excruciating process. Maybe it was just the drink, even for her standards she had a lot to douse the stings and aches. Being too hard on the guys, too hard on herself? She deserved some sympathy after what she had been through, maybe they did too..

'.. Naaah~' She chuckled to herself, to any other a random negative had emerged from the Green-haired girl without any instigation, but none the less had picked up her pace and put small smile on that face. She was going to drive herself, and in turn the others crazy at this rate, so she took her theoretical hammer.. And bashed out that kink. To drown out the annoying-ass birds, the stupid drone of civilisation which she dreaded in the distance, at least for now she hummed away her problems. 'Mmm-Mmm-Mm-hmm-Mmm Hm-Hm-Mmmmm~..' With the tune stuck in her head as if headphones had consumed her senses, eyes closed and head bobbing from side to side with every other imaginative beat. She ended up walking right between and past the two companions of hers, the town which Gavin sought to identify fairly late was impressive when compared to their brutish female friend. She had lost herself in the confidence to project, and the comfort it brought that the previous beating of her organs and body had not tinkered with it in the way she previously feared. Though in her head the song finished not long after she had began waltzing off towards the next spec of civilisation on this blank 'n beige canvas without the musician and navigator.

'This place looks like business.' That was her assessment, allowing one slightly hovering leg to reverse in motion and back beside the other, letting her hand run through her hair as the other rested into a pocket, grabbing the down but not out cigarette from her hair and placing it in its more preferable position at the side of her mouth. '... I expected more.. Uh..' She spun around, the stick already singed and trailing, her hands imitating some sort of happy-jazz-motion with an over-enthusiastic one sided grin and raised brows. 'Even Whiskey was sharper than this..' She turned back to the doom and gloom which just settled on this place like a fog, folding her arms and letting out a drawn sigh and a cloud of smoke. 'But I guess we blame that one for all this, 'ey Navi?' she turned her head to look at Nolan directly, though also pointed to the very obvious pirate bearing vessel which loomed over its smaller chained neighbours of the sea. 'I guess now's the time we pick which one of these hardly operable ships is the one you were talking about..' She perked up for a moment, an idea springing to mind as her hand sprung to her small bag, a small slate complete with paper began to be riddled with lines and shades, the city suddenly in artistic form via Winry's steady and swift hand. She took the paper from the solid surface it was attached to, passing it over to Nolan also to reveal Winry had simply put a giant colourful rainbow over the down.. three to be exact.

'That was totally what you made this place out to be.'
She packed away her things again, rubbing her hands together before advancing.

'Oh how I desired thee, triple rainbow.. If only..'
The melodrama was just for kicks 'n giggles..

[Raab]

Sniff sniff.

Ah~...we're close.

With the sun nearing its high point, Nolan let a satisfied grin dance across his face. It was a rare occasion for the young Navigator: he had managed to trek across the open desert with his two companions with relatively little missteps or detours [save the small scrap the group had run into, though that was completely out of the young Resinbarian's power]. Above all else, it was satisfying, and the horizon only fortified this self-satisfaction as the tops of Porter's cityscape trickled into view. Nolan was perfectly confident that they had reached the port town, though there seemed to be some disconcertion on the parts of his new comrades.

"Is this Porter Town, man?"

The naive navigator stopped in his tracks; his confidence had all been crushed in that single inquisition. Nolan immediately reached for his back pocket, exhuming a small black notepad which he immediately began to tear through. Its pages contained various notes about trade routes, weather patterns, flora and fauna, and basic survival tips that allowed him to cross the somewhat unforgiving dustbowls of Resinbar. He was sure that he had followed his notes and directions to a tee, though Gavin seemed to think otherwise.

"... I expected more.. Uh..Even Whiskey was sharper than this.."

No, not Green-hair too!

"I guess we blame that one for all this, 'ey Navi?"

Now flipping through his notebook not to find answers, but simply to calm his nerves, Nolan had completely ignored the fact that his companions had been walking closer and closer to the town which he thought to be Porter. Noticing Gavin and Green-hair's progress, Nolan pocketed the notepad, and galloped towards his companions.

"H-hey! Listen!"

By the time Nolan reached the duo, however, Green-hair had whipped up a quick, crude drawing of what she believed to be the true porter town...or, something that Nolan had made the port-city to be. It seemed to be fairly close interpretation of the ever growing cityscape before the traveling trio, though there seemed to be three magnificent rainbows arching over the less than impressive mass of port-side buildings. Though Nolan examined the picture quite intently, the young navigator was at a loss.

"Well I mean...I know there ain't much to it, but Porter's got some of the best sea-faring folk on the Grand Line! They're sure to have some sort of vessel for y'all. Whether they're willing to part with one or not, well...that's a completely different story..."

Rushing ahead of the group, Nolan took point once more; they had finally crossed the town's threshold, a large wooden arch which read "Porter", and what a sight the town was. While it was completely absent any natural phenomena, it wasn't as desolate and unappealing as Green-hair seemed to think it be. There were people scuttling about every which way, completely enthralled in whatever it was they happened to be doing. What was interesting was the lack of shouting and conversing that made Porter so rich and lively. It was a very uncharacteristic silence, from what Nolan remembered of his previous visit. The Resinbarian seemed to forget that the town was allegedly occupied by rampaging roughnecks, pirates that called themselves the Red Tides or some such thing. Completely oblivious to the current situation, Nolan began sticking his nose into everyone's business, attempting to hail at least one of Porter's citizens in hopes to learn more about the sea-faring vessel market.

"'Scuse me, miss? Ah...okay, too bust I see. Ah! Mister, if you could spare a mome-...you too? Alright...well, uh. Oho, Ms. Granny, if you could jus-...gah!?"

In his extremely intruding vivacity, Nolan seemed to break the last straw of an old woman's patience, the granny beating the poor young fellow with the back of her handbag. Nolan was a stray cat under the broom, and was quickly shooed away back to Gavin and Green-hair. He had returned empty-handed.

"Well I'll be...ain't never been so uptight 'round here. I wonder what's up..."

The trio was about to find 'what was up' in just a few moments. As if hailed by Nolan's incessant prodding, a looming figure approached the wayward wanderers, its body casting a shadow which engulfed all three of the young explorers.

"Well, well...what do we 'ave here..."

[Terminally Chill]

“Well, well... What do we 'ave here...”

Gavin tilted his head in the direction the gruff voice had come from, giving the shape that had blocked out the sun a clueless look. A moment later, the figure swooped right past the guitarist and Winry to lunge at Nolan in a sudden flash. The man who came out of the ominous shadow was a giant, his most distinguishing feature being an impressive feature that shrouded much of his broad face. The trio of travelers had experienced hostile threats in place of warm welcomes thus far, but this particular man was actually... Laughing. A hearty chuckle rang out above the hushed murmur that had fallen over Porter in recent times. Although Nolan might have begged to differ, the burly stranger had no intention of doing any harm to the wanderers. His massive, hairy arms were clenched around the thin frame of the young navigator, crushing him in an affectionate bearhug.

“If it ain't Lil' Ward!” The man could easily be identified as a Resinbar native considering his accent was nearly as thick as his facial hair. After releasing the bone-breaking hold on his apparent acquaintance, the jolly giant turned to Gavin and blinked a few times. “I see ya made yerself some new friends.” The man offered both of his wide, calloused hands to greet the other globetrotters. “The name's Kyte, nice t' meetcha. I'mma ranchin' pal of Nolan's old man.” Gavin accepted the handshake, his own hand miniscule in the Kyte's gargantuan grasp.

“Hey man, nice to meet you. Gavin Amadeus D'Arras.”

“Heh, you two ain't from 'round these parts...” Kyte gave a small laugh, Gavin's own accent and odd appearance making that fact obvious. “So what brings ya n' yer pals to Porter, Lil' Ward? More family business?”

“At first, though I ran into these fellas down in Whiskey.” Nolan's words were strained, having barely recovered his breath from the massive hug. “Lookin' to get a ship and hightail it out of here.” Kyte's jolly face took on somber features for a moment at the mention of the word “ship.” Nolan in the meantime finally straightened up, taking one last deep breath.

“But somethin' don't seem too right, Kyte.”

Kyte looked pensive for a moment, even hesitant as he stroked as his grand beard.

“I guess it's been a lil' while since ya came here for contracts n' such... Follow me.” With a wave of a burly arm, Kyte turned his massive frame and began walking into town. Gavin shrugged, going along with his travel-weary companions. The outsiders drew strange glances from the Porter citizens, a few pirates flashing malicious grins as they cut through the crowd.

“Not sure if ya 'ave had the pleasure of meetin' any of them boys, but they're the Red Tide Pirates. Things started changin' when they got 'ere. Guess their cap'n wanted 'em to keep any hopeful pirates from makin' too much trouble fer 'im down the line.”

Gavin kept an ear involved in the conversation, but was more interested in the tasty aromas wafting from the assorted Porter Town restaurants. Last night's can of beans hadn't exactly been the most filling dinner.

“They don't mess with us too much if don't 'cause 'em trouble or try n' leave the island. Usually anytime pirates come 'round 'ere, we jus' kick 'em out. Ain't that simple this time though... Don't ask me why fishmen would come to a desert, but they're tough sons-a-bitches in or outta the water.”

The giant rancher came to a stop in front of a rather large bulletin board that stood in the center of the city.

“'Specifically them boys...” One of Kyte's thick hands motioned toward the board, singling out two bounty posters that were nailed to the wood. “They're runnin' the show 'ere. Keepin' their posters up as a reminder, I reckon.”

Managing to finally make it around the monstrous frame of Kyte, Gavin peeked around the friendly herder to offer a curious glance to the posters.

“That one's Thumper. He's the head honcho 'round 'ere.”

WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
“STEEL DRAGON” THUMPER
40,000,000

The tall and lanky fishman on the poster had a yellow hue to his skin, a metal mask shrouding much of his features except for his rather large bottom jaw.

“Kind of a weird looking dude, man...”

Kyte shot Gavin a quieting glance, continuing on with the introduction.

“'N those two are the twins, Arko n' Banz.”

WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
“TYPHOON BROTHERS” ARKO & BANZ
28,000,000

The two fishmen were undoubtedly brothers, only the differing color in their skin being any identification. One had fiery red skin, while the other was a brilliant blue. The twins had contrasting builds to Thumper, being closer to the height of an average human with more visible muscle than their leader. They looked to be engaged in a brotherly brawl in the poster's picture.

“... So like Fish A and Fish B, man.”

“THEY WILL KILL YA, YA KNOW?!” Kyte offered a dagger-tooth response to Gavin's silly naming aid, the guitarist having trouble telling the two apart. “Thumper n' the twins are nasty as hell... 'n I reckon the scariest part is that none of 'em are even the cap'n. If ya cross 'em, yer as good as dead.” Kyte turned back to Nolan, placing a large palm on his friend's shoulder.

“That's why ya ain't leavin' Resinbar. I'd hate to see ya get hurt, Lil' Ward. I know yer old man would too. The Red Tide ain't allowin' no one off the island. Ain't nuthin' we can do but sit tight, ya hear?”

“Nah man.” Gavin chimed in sleepily, causing Kyte to turn to face the shaggy songsmith. “We're definitely leaving, man. Way too hot.” Kyte's eyes widened, unsure of why a seemingly normal musician believed he had any chance against the Red Tide monsters. The lazy speech of the bruised bard still carried an absolute certainty and confidence that surprised the big rancher.

“Which ship are we taking, Nolan... man?”

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'So we came to a port town for a ship, in which its citizens might not even give us a ship? And then even if we do get a ship, we have to worry about stealing it or asking nicely.. And even when! And how we get a ship is settled, we still have to deal with these pirates stopping every boat from leaving the island?'

She turned to the silver lining Navigator with a very disgruntled expression, an outline being projected in her mind as to where he was when she last looked, but there no longer. 'Why did we even take on this guy, man?!' It seemed even with Gavin's sloth-like pace, she had been evaded and left on the outskirts while her companions otherwise wandered into the apparently occupied town without a care in the world.. The very thought of it made her wounds ache. It didn't take long to catch up with Gavin at least, his sluggish pace of keeping a certain distance from the pestering scaredy-scarf wasn't exactly a challenging thing to parallel, though Nolan's ability to get on everyone's nerves just by saying hello was a talent which was obviously honed over the years. 'Haha, he got beat up with a handbag.. Did you.. Never mind.' She would've laughed at him more directly upon his return, but it seemed they considered an old woman assaulting people as a bit more of a stern topic rather than a laughing stock. Now that she took in the feel of the town, it really did seem much more tense than the quaint little town implied by its humble faces and places.

'Something's rustled them, that's for sure.' People kept passing by the confident woman with questionable looks, her wounds and bandage coating may have been giving off the wrong kind of image in an oppressed town of caution and whispers. None the less she responded in kind, making them flinch and hiss in disgust as she stuck out her tongue and glared at one after another, each expression of hers in response being a special quirk just for them.. It was the least she could do. 'Who's that.' she flat out pointed at the grizzled man who approached them, who then greeted the group in a much more welcoming tone than the whole towns ambience combined. He seemed to know Nolan, even Gavin, though that could have just been his persona being of a very warming individual. 'Yea, I'm uuh.. Nice to meet you I guess..' Why did she find his greeting so embarrassing? It was annoying, she wanted nothing more to do with this cheery fellow despite her hypocrisy of subconsciously demanding more happiness from the townsfolk. He quickly took Nolan under his wing, trailing him and in turn the tailing Gavin further into the town.. She followed out of curiosity more than anything, she expected their welcoming to include more violence to be honest.

'This guy...'
They talked, about fish, and oppression, and..
'He's...'
She stopped, spinning on her heel and quickly departing from the flight-path.
'Booooring~..'

The town had to have something more than some old friend and a sob story, maybe it was a bit too harsh to disregard the hundreds of people who lived here as simply collateral to the combat that would no doubt ensue.. But she did anyway. She wasn't in the mood! This heat, the dumb looking passers by acting like she's some sort of outcast, she got enough of that from the rest of the world. They would no doubt cause some sort of tussle, and she for one didn't intend to lose, so she was essentially their soon-to-be saviour. But this is the reactions she got, the quite literal avoidance as they turned corners and edged around the Totem wielding woman who admittedly was striding down the centre of the road. Hell, she'd probably be able to find a ship before those three could even got to the end of the street with the mans show 'n tell of Porter town. The conflict of interest was seriously exposed, she needed off this rock, and she wasn't afraid to make it horribly obvious that she would climb over people to there. It was a matter of following the wind to get to the port, a closer inspection of scenery was required before she ruled out simply hi-jacking a vessel and leaving. a multi-toned voice echo'd itself in the distance, getting closer and closer in volume, her ears perked.. It was coming up behind her? It grew louder and louder, before it became just plain annoying.

BRO

BRO

Freaking, shut up?!

She had spun back to verbally assault the culprits, hands out and clenched in sheer aggravation while the perfect sea view of future and promise away from this place was being destroyed by its horrible atmosphere and now annoying riff-raff to top it all off. The two culprits were just as stunned as she was at who was telling who to shut up. The two Fishmen resembled one another in more ways than one.. that's for damn sure. They seemed to lean off one another when they stopped, staring each other down for a good long while, all their arms folded and brows furrowed while passers by seemed to simply escape from the imminent beat-down. Maybe Winry didn't realise the volume of the situation, or the veins which pulsated from them being verbally abused in such a fashion.. But she had no intention of letting up on them.

'So what are you idiots supposed to be..?'
'Did you hear what she said Bro?'
'I dunno, she's so small Bro.'
'Always size comparison with you Fish-brains..'

[Raab]

"Well...the way Kyte put it, it don't seem too likely we're gonna' get a ship at all..."

It took Nolan up until this point to really soak in everything his old friend had said. It seemed that the rumors were true; Porter was being held hostage by some no-good, two-timing, badass sons-of-bitches, and there was no one strong enough to run them off as was fine Resinbarian style. Nolan took a few more moments to study the posters. A shiver ran up along his spine as the monstrous Thumper's metallic mask branded itself into the young navigator's brain. The deplorable duo known as the Typhoon Brothers seemed pretty formidable as well, and their bounties sure did show it. it was actually rather peculiar that Resinbar hadn't been hit by felons of this caliber in the past, or at least in his lifetime. The Grand Line was known to harbor some of the most dastardly criminals, and it would seem that the dustbowl had been lucking out up until this point.

Still, there was something about the outsiders that gave Nolan a sliver of hope; they were strong enough to muscle their way into the Grand Line, and lucky enough to arrive in one piece. Maybe it was luck that brought them here, to an island in need of heroes willing to cut loose the shackles of oppression and drive the villainous vagabonds back to the depths from whence they came. It all sounded incredibly farfetched and fairytale-esque in Nolan's mind, but it was definitely plausible enough to apply to the current situation. For the first time in a while, Nolan actually felt quite confident that everything was going to turn out okay, at least with Gavin and Green-hair at his side. It was the Resinbarian's one chance to make a difference.

"But to hell with that!"

Nolan pushed Kyte aside, and ripped the posters from the bulletin board. A wave of courage had overcome the perpetually meek navigator as he thrust the now crumpled posters into the air.

"We'll show those rough-necks what 'fer; I ain't a'scared o' them, not no how!"

Kyte was taken aback, as were the passers by that happened to notice Nolan's uncharacteristic outburst. He couldn't help it, though. The youngster was pumped, and he was ready to kick some fishmen ass.

"GREEN-HAIR, YOU'LL SHOW 'EM WHAT 'FER, RIGHT!?"

Nolan spun on his heel to catch the gaze of his emerald mistress, hoping to get the same level of enthusiasm from the bruised brawler.

"G-...Green-hair...?!"

She was nowhere to be found.

"...Eeeeeeeeeon second thought, maybe we just lay low for a while...heh...eh heh..."

In attempts to restore order to the now quietly chaotic square, Nolan flattened out the crumpled posters, smoothing them along the bulletin board, and reposting them in hopes that no one would notice their rather violent removal from their corky abode. Though, for all of Nolan's effort, the posters remained crumpled and contorted, making the proportions of both Thumper and the Typhoon Brothers rather cartoonish and comical. Nolan could barely stifle a giggle; he seemed uncomfortably pleased with his degradation of his enemies' mark on the victimized town.

"And just what the hell are you laughin' at, boy?"

A sudden silence plagued the square, all onlookers ducking and diving into whichever cover they happened to find. Realizing that the cold, biting remark had been directed towards him, Nolan slowly began turning about to face the rogue voice. Those few short moments seemed an age, and there was only one thing on the naive navigator's mind.

Please don't be him. Please don't behim. Please don'tbehim. Pleasedon'tbehim.

A metallic shimmer was all Nolan needed to discover the identity of the mysterious arrival.

"Th-...Th-th-th...Thhhhhhhhh-..."

"You got somethin' to say?"

Nolan gulped.

"YAAAAAAA HAA HAA HAAAAAAAAAA~."

Nolan ran.

Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit.

Nolan stopped.

Thump!

"Hey, watch where you're going, bro."
"Yeah man, maybe we gotta teach him a lesson in manners, Bro."

Wincing from the sudden impact and undoubtedly bruised bottom, Nolan looked up at the threat-throwing fellows standing over him.

Nolan's face grew pale.

"Tyyy-t-tyyy-t-tyy-ty-tyyyyy~...!?"

"...what's wrong with you, bro?"
"Maybe he's retarded, Bro."

"Might be it, Bro."
"I know, Bro."

"GAAAAAAAAAAH HA HAAAGREEN-HAIR WHERE ARE YOU!?!"

[Terminally Chill]

“Wonder why he's freaking out, man.”

Gavin scratched at his hat, head tilted as he watched Nolan making a hasty and absurd escape from the bulletin board. Turning to the looming figure beside him, the guitarist gave a clueless shrug. As he turned to the mysterious man, Gavin couldn't help but take a second glance. Although the identity of the shadow was obvious, it hadn't quite registered in Gavin's hazy head. The garb the fishman was dressed in was plainer than the steel mask he wore over much of his face. A dark red coat was slung over his shoulders as a show of authority, the sleeves left unused by his folded arms. A sash of the same color was tied on his waist just above white shorts with a black houndstooth patterns with black sandals to complete the usual fishman garb. The same emblem emblazoned on the ominous flag above the town was tattooed on his left pectoral. Gavin had looked from the crumpled poster back to Thumper at least a dozen times before finally addressing him.

“Oh hey man, you're that guy.” The realization that had taken Nolan a split second had finally dawned on the dopey drifter. “Kyte said you were kind of in charge of the sea situation, man. Think you could get me a ship?”

Thumper's lanky neck swiveled as he looked down the peculiar human questioning him, raising an eyebrow behind his mask.

“The hell...?” As Thumper studied the features of the human making the ridiculous request, past words from his subordinate flashed through his mind. A look from Gavin's guitar to the blank look on his face was all it took.

“... idiot guitarist...”

Looking away from the guitarist, Thumper caught sight of the purple trail flickering behind Nolan as he fled.

“... some little shit with a scarf...”

Thumper let out a low growl that gained a haunting metallic edge as it reverberated through his mask. It was all becoming very clear now. Without a word, the Steel Dragon snatched Gavin up by the back of his suspenders and lifted him from the ground.

“Oh, you're going to carry me to a ship? Thanks man.”

Without a word, Thumper began walking in the direction Nolan had ran to with the musician dangling from his webbed hand. Murmurs were could heard from the Porter citizens' hiding places, concerned for the safety of the clueless wanderer in the clutches of the ruthless Red Tide commander. A content grin spanned Gavin's face. He was happy to get off of his feet after such a long walk from Whiskey to Porter. Eventually the distinctive sight of the Typhoon Brothers came into view. They immediately looked away from the other globetrotters to give their boss a questioning nod. Thumper tossed Gavin carelessly beside his comrades, crossing his lengthy arms once again.

“Huh... No ship here, man.”

“Who's this guy, Boss-bro?”
“Yeah Boss-bro, what gives?”

“Oh hey...” Gavin dusted himself off, standing at his full height to face the twins. “You're uh, Fish A and Fish B, right man?”

“... What did you just say bro?”
“Did he just say what I think he said, Bro?”

Thumper ignored his heated subordinates as his eyes fell upon the last piece of the puzzle staring him defiantly in the face: Winry Saito.

“... damn green-haired little girl...”

“Arko! Banz! Looks like we found our three troublemakers.”

“Whoa! You mean the three bros that beat up our bros, Boss-bro?”
“Yeah, uh, beat up our bros, Boss-bro?”

“You got it. They're not worth our time though, so drop any beef you got with 'em.”

Thumper turned his back on the three travelers, coat flourishing as he waved for the Typhoon Brothers to follow suit.

“You got it Boss-bro.”
“You got it Boss-bro.”

The two brothers gave the trio joint scowls and each other a few needless shoves before following behind their commander. Thumper meanwhile spread his arms out as he came to a halt, taking a deep breath before letting out an impressive yell.

“RED TIDE!”

The command resounded across Porter Town, immediately getting the attention of any pirates within earshot. A few bodies could be seen coming out of pubs and restaurants, lending an ear to the towering fishman.

“We've got some trash here to clean up! Get to it!”

A cackling chorus filled Porter Town as the marauders amassed, pirates of both the fishman and human race converging on the unlikely companions in a half circle. Thumper and the Typhoon Brothers soon disappeared among the growing crowd of bloodthirsty pirates as the travelers' opposition became more frightening in number. Red Tide cronies were coming from every crack and crevice in Porter, each of them wielding a variety of weapons but sharing the same gleam of killing intent in their eyes.

“That's a lot of pirates, man.”

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'Speaking of persistence..'

She rose from her previously seated position, the heated stare between her and the Fishio-Brothers had lasted a little longer than others would considered normal or even comfortable, for the good of the surrounding area and their complete lack of patience with one another, Nolan had arrived on the scene in a fashion most fitting to his overall persona. 'I knew you were a Navigator, but aren't you supposed to chart seas, not people?' A chuckle escaped sharply, she didn't have the pleasure of ejecting the desire to cough around these people, any kind of weakness would have been picked at the moment it was evident.. Something her bandage clothing currently had done enough of in regards to revealing current capability. 'Relax you idiot, I'm right here.. Jeez.' As she let out a wolf whistle. the twins turned their attention once more towards her rather than the scarfed panic-attack, if they were going to fight anyone it may as well be a challenge to them. 'Don't tell me those compensating muscles are just for show~' That seemed to do the trick, the two began some sort of bone cracking ritual, the intensity cranked up to eleven was enough to give her the green light. Her body seemed to not have the same thought in mind, her own attempts to size up to them was carefully disguised, her stomach locking a painful sensation which had her sitting back down like she'd been stuck on rewind.

Everything slotted perfectly together, new company turning heads of all involved.
'Great, and here I was thinking he'd least be able to get serious to defend himself.'
Her opposition was no longer, instead the newest Fishman had sunk his focus into her with a furrowing glare.

She was in no state to fight, even these people, not like that was going to stop her at all but it was worth crediting her reason for not upright beating them senseless. This would've all been avoided if they hadn't been so happy-go-lucky on their arrival, but there was no point in dwelling on that now.. How to get out of this situation was the next obstacle on her road to freedom. 'You got something to say slack-jaw?' The newer and seemingly much more able Fishman, throwing Gavin amongst the wide-spread collection of the three, only had a snarl in response to the attempted goading, unfortunately. 'Aah, so you're those guys..' Once her wounded mid-section had stopped its sporadic moment of jolting pain, she finally stood up straight and narrow, hulking her large weapon over her shoulder and taking a gentle walk more towards the contacts. 'How is that guy? I'd say you should've seen him afterwards.. But I guess you got the whole before and after deal, huh.' She was ready for a fight, even more so ready to get beat up, but it wasn't like she had anywhere to run.. May as well take it on the chin.

'H-Hey! You can't just walk off, I'm trying to get away from these guys and you just bring them back to me?! That can't be the only reason you we- Freaking come back and fight me dammit!' Was she seriously being shrugged off?! Her of all people, they had looked at the three and measured them equally as if her power was even affiliated to the other two. They were the top dogs, the head honcho's, she could see it in their beady little eyes. She would have ruled it down to them not wanting to fight, theres a time and place for that, something she could respect.. But nothing pops a casket more than being measured in worth lower than you really are, which came front and centre with the words the apparent leader of the pack screamed to the rooftops next.

'Trash.. Haha, can't mean me.. right?'
She even looked back to the others with a forced laugh.
'Seriously, where are they going guys? What did you do?'
A horde fell upon them, all shapes and sizes, those punch-worthy grins.
'These are.. They're.. Fodder'

Despite her near shadowed facial expressions as her hair collapsed over them, her twitching body and riddling fingers that tapped against the hulking weapon perched on her shoulder, one of the many took up the role as first to bat. He was bog-standard, a human who was more sheep than anything.. Bending to the demands of a single person upon their bark was something she could never comprehend, and she hated what she couldn't understand. It wasn't flashy, it was more of her desire to funnel out all of that pent up rage into and onto one poor victim, a lamb to the slaughter fittingly. He didn't even get a chance to monologue which he no doubt was going to try, gesturing to his laughing friends on his left and right, casually strolling towards them as if they weren't even going to react. Her fingers tense around his face, the squeak and muffle didn't have much time to radiate from his person before his body twisted quite unnaturally towards the ground, imprinting his face into the cobble surface of the main road to incapacitate him just like that. This was Winry they were facing, The Winry Saito?! And man was she pissed.

Her wounds felt like prickles rather than painful, her whole body tensed to the extreme.. If her teeth clenched any tighter they'd shatter. She didn't have cocky words, a moment to show the friends of the unfortunate soul who they were fighting and how they were going to get beat up pretty effectively. An intangible mumble consistently came from her as she dragged herself towards the enemies, not so much flinched by the display, more so the near possessed female walking towards them. Whoever those people were who had dropped the two beside her, strolled off like zero shits were given.

They were in for a real wake up call.

[Raab]

"Guh! Green-hair, th-thank god you're here."

Somewhat gathering his composure, Nolan took no time to stand up and brush himself off, but rather scoot across the ground so that he could more quickly cower at the side of his emerald avenger. There was no mistaking Nolan's quivering for anything else but the most potent fear and distress, a feeling personified by Nolan's grabbing of Green-hair's muddied boot and trembling like a dog recently disciplined. It was one thing for Nolan to come across low-class thugs, outlaws on the run passing through Whiskey or some such town, but these guys, they were something else. They had bounties, bounties sanctioned by the good ole' Boys-in-Blue, which obviously meant they had garnered some of the World Government's attention.

It was something quite foreign to the young Resinbarian, foreign and altogether terrifying. It was a good thing Green-hair was here. Even with her wounds, it possible that she was completely capable of-

"Trash.. Haha, can't mean me.. right?"

Nolan could feel Green-hair's reaction to the off-hand insult, irritation and anger practically seeping from the young woman's pores. The naive navigator slowly came to realize that it was perhaps not the plundering pirate party, but the volatile Green-haired warhead standing beside him. Nolan had seen the woman in action, having been coerced to combat at the drop of a hat. God knows what the jade contender could accomplish fueled by pure, unmitigated rage.

"Heh...hey, Green-hair. Calm down, we'll be alright."

Empty words fell on deaf ears.

"Seriously, where are they going guys? What did you do?"

"M-me!? I did nothin', absolutely nothin'. Nu uh."

Resistance was futile.

"These are.. They're.. Fodder"

"Oh, god dang..."

Nolan failed to release his grip as Green-hair made her slow march towards the group of ravenous rough-necks. Nolan, now grasping Green-hair's leg not out of fear, but in hopes to stave off the inevitable onslaught, was simply dragged about the sullied ground without so much the slightest bit of resistance. It was only just now that the young Resinbarian understood Green-hair's strength, having been easily dragged about by the small, dainty-looking woman. Sure, he had seen her lift a Fishman nearly three times her size, but he hadn't felt it. This, in itself, was as terrifying as it was impressive.

"Yehhhh, Green-hair, don't drag me into this!"

It couldn't be helped. Nolan was in for a long and painful beat-down.

"Fine! If ya' wanna' get killed, kindly do so without me."

The naive navigator flung himself from the woman's boot, burying his face in the dirt in hopes that the danger would whisk away on whim. In his self-inflicted darkness, Nolan slinked into a mental and emotional shell, a combat-tactic of the world's children and cowards. All hell was about to break loose, and Nolan was in the middle of it. Was it his own fault, or was it they're fault, those two outlandish, trouble-mongering individuals he called friends. It was hard to believe that yesterday Nolan was enjoying a tall glass of fine tequila, hours away from a life of danger-free adventure. Why had he so blindly offered to show these troublemakers around anyway? Why in the wo-...

"Git' up, ya' god dang coward!"

One of the pirates had broken ranks, brandishing a rusted scimitar, making his way towards the cowering Resinbarian. Though, it was only until the cruel man delivered a swift kick to Nolan's semi-exposed gut that the navigator took to noticing his new adversary. The blow, quite obviously, sent cause Nolan to crumple like a was of paper, his body now perfectly sprawled about the dusty ground.

"You're in for a world o' hurt, cowboy."

"Guh...urgh...wha'...?"

Understandably, the first two noises were brought about to the unwarranted kick to the gut; the second, however, was brought about by something much different. As Nolan's dirtied head laid flat against the sandy, sun-baked ground, he could hear something quite unmistakable: an amalgamation of tiny pitter-patters, a vibration that coursed through his entire body. He had heard it many times before, though this time it was quite unexpected.

"Th-...the hell?"

[Terminally Chill]

Winry had already gone wild bashing the skulls of the so-called “fodder”, unsuspecting pirates dropping to unconscious heaps as the enraged girl's rampage continued. There seemed to be no stopping her at this point; Winry had been genuinely insulted and intended to pay the Red Tide back in full. However, there seemed to be no end to the enemies as the emerald-haired eradicator mowed through the pirate ranks. Gavin had avoided any confrontation thus far, ducking under the stray flying pirate as he looked for any sign of Thumper amid the chaos. The dragonfish fishman was their ticket off the island at this point, whether he'd willingly give them a ship or not. The chances of escape were looking slim though as the Steel Dragon and Typhoon Brothers had vanished in the swarm of their underlings. Winry's strength was a sight to behold, but in her injured state it wasn't certain that she could brutalize her way through a whole pirate crew. Nolan on the other hand was having trouble with just one of the lackeys. Gavin scratched his head, searching the foggy recesses of his mind for a way out of what quickly escalated into a fight for their lives.

“Th-...the hell?”

That was when a peculiar sound caught the keen ear of the musician.

“Huh...?”

A low rumble at first, the approaching din grew with the force of a thunderstorm. Many of the conscious Red Tide pirates turned their attention in the racket's direction, a confused murmur passing through their ranks. Nolan found himself momentarily safe, the pirate intending to kill him moments before now captivated by the ominous noise. Before long the thundering sound began giving way to what sounded like a chorus of gunshots, distinctive thumps that grew louder in their approach.

“YEEEEEEHAW!”

The Resinbarian war cry echoed through Porter, putting many of the pirates on their guard. Soon a bespectacled man on horseback appeared the edge of the city, dressed in the usual Resinbar garb with a golden beard lining lining his broad jaw. The most prominent feature of his attire was the large golden “W” glimmering in the unforgiving sun that hung from his polo tie. The confusion amid the Red Tide only grew at the appearance of the rider. A familiar face emerged behind the blonde cowboy, the huge frame of Kyte being carried by a steed fitting in size to support such weight. Even with Kyte's impressive size, the storm of sounds couldn't have possibly been caused by two men on horseback. Soon enough the culprits were revealed, the company of the mysterious wrangler and giant rancher appearing in a storm of dust:

A giant herd of charging cattle.

The impressive spectacle struck panic into the Red Tide cronies. A cow was hardly a formidable opponent compared to a pirate, but a full herd rampaging forward at full speed was a nearly unstoppable force. Considering they were restricted to the inside of the town at the point, the pirates weren't going to escape the wrath of bovine blitzkrieg.

“S-STAMPEDE?!”

While many pirates attempted to flee from the oncoming onslaught, there were some too headstrong to concede to the stampede's power. The bearded rider at the helm came into contact with the stubborn swashbucklers, his steed's hooves effortlessly bowling them over while Kyte stormed in seconds later to crush anyone who had managed to escape the first strike. The front line had been broken, leaving no opposition for the stampede as they began trampling over the force of Red Tide pirates. The lead rider came to a stop near Gavin and Nolan, his horse raring up on its hind legs as the rampaging cattle ran wild over the pirate forces.

“Nolan! What're you doin' here, boy?”

Neither Nolan nor Gavin could offer a response. The musician simply stared with a dumbfounded gaze, not sure what to make of the unexpected turn of events. Either way, it was the type of desert miracle they needed and Gavin wasn't going to question that.

“Ah, hell. Best get on outta' here. Kyte n' I 'ave been plannin' this ambush fer weeks; don't want you gettin' hurt n' all.” The rider tilted his cowboy hat down against his eyes, taking the reigns firmly in his hands. “… Good see'in ya, son.” With a flick of the reigns, the Resinbar rebel bolted away through the stampede to join Kyte once again at the helm.

That man was none other than David Ward, Nolan's father and head of Resinbar's most well-known ranching family.

The chaos continued, observed from afar by the shock Red Tide commander, “Steel Dragon” Thumper. The masked fishman trembled in anger as he watched the whole of his crew helplessly swept away by a tide of a different kind.

'I knew I recognized the kid with the scarf... He's David Ward's son! That old man should have stayed on the ranch...'

The blood red coat of the dragon slipped to the dusty ground, his wild eyes narrowing maliciously at the unaware rancher through the slats in his mask. The enraged tremors that shook Thumper's body were hard to mask; the Red Tide had never faced this sort of opposition from the Resinbar natives. The fishman bent his long legs and crouched down, placing a webbed hand flat against the ground.

“I'll kill this bastard myself.”

Thumper disappeared in a flash, blazing across the battlefield in a single bullet-speed bound. His fist was cocked backward, muscles tensed and ready to deliver a fatal strike. The Steel Dragon had every intention of extinguishing the life of David Ward and any hope Resinbar had of resistance.

That intention would never become reality

As the torpedo fist neared the famous rancher, a palm caught the deadly strike just before it could reach its target. Thumper's eyes widened in surprise at the identity of who had intercepted him.

“You have some fight in you after all, huh?”

“Hey man, that guy isn't your enemy.” Gavin Amadeus D'Arras, held Thumper's fist tightly clenched in his palm with his other hand holding the neck of his guitar. The bard and fishman were locked in air, floating just above the stampede.

“Ha! Then who's my enemy? You?!”

“If I have to be, man.” Gavin tightened the grip on his instrument's neck, inciting a chuckle from the Red Tide commander.

“What, are you gonna hit me with your guitar...?”

“Something like that, man.”

“Idiot! My mask is made of solid steel! It's just going to bre– GUH!”

The side of Gavin's guitar exploded across the side of Thumper's head with a loud 'BONG!' sound, the Grand Line pirate caught completely off guard by the solid swing. Arko and Banz, along with any other Red Tide pirate that hadn't been trampled into the ground, watched with bugged-out eyes at the mid-air spectacle. A trail of blood spilled from Thumper's agape mouth body crashing into a nearby restaurant. The Red Tide watched in shock as their leader was enveloped in dust and debris. Gavin landed nimbly away from the waning charge of the cattle, letting out a loud sigh.

“I really didn't feel like fighting today, man...” Gavin rubbed at one of his eyes sleepily, aloof nature in tact even amid the heat of conflict. His jade eyes flickered to Winry as head tilting casually in her direction.

“Hey Winry. Can you and Nolan make sure Fish A and Fish B don't go after the cool old guy and Kyte?” The music knight shouldered his weapon of choice, pouting childishly. “I guess I'll take care of this stupid masked dude, man.”

An enraged yell erupted over the trampling hooves of the Ward family cattle as Thumper burst from his prison of ruined wood and plaster. The dragon's body was heaving, veins threatening to burst beneath the stress of his ire. Wiping the blood from his mouth, Thumper stood at his impressive full height once more. He appeared virtually uninjured from the attack, aside from a few scrapes and bruises from the rough landing.

“Arko! Banz!”

“What's up, Boss-bro!”
“Yo Boss-bro!”

The Typhoon Brothers appeared at their commander's side, barely able to keep their excitement for violence under control.

“Kill the girl and the two Wards. I'll deal with the guitarist myself... We'll make them pay for what they've done to the Red Tide!”

“We'll smash 'em up good, Boss-bro!”
“BROOOOOO!”

The tail end of the stampede was coming up by now, the bodies of incapacitated buccaneers left littering Porter Town. The betta fishmen twins dashed off enthusiastically to carry out Thumper's work, leaving the Steel Dragon to face off against his acoustic adversary. The Red Tide boss cracked his lengthy neck back and forth, shaking off any stiffness the songsmith's opening assault had caused.

The six string slinger's sandals shifted against the sun-baked earth, grip tightening on his weapon as the last of the cattle passed by. The oblivious look of serenity remained on Gavin's face despite his body's preparation for battle.

The fight for Resinbar was on.

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'Is she some sort of monster?'

'Why did she stack them like that?!'

'I feel so much better now..'

'How is she bulldozing through us..?'

'I'm not fighting her, that's for sure.'

[/b][/i]

'Oioi!'

The groups of minions all seemed to flinch and seize at her beckoning, the sight of their friends and comrades stacked up an easy five-six feet high while she sat casually atop of it wasn't exactly morale boosting. They didn't want to climb them to get to her, let alone fight her anyway! 'So now you know that you didn't stand a chance against a little injured girl anyway.. Need to be put in your place.' A resonated confused noise bounced back and forth the littered crowd, this was all just to make a point?! It wasn't a challenge or a duty for her to protect her friends, even herself, she just wanted to show off to their boss! 'Aaah.. Was a good warm-up, these wounds are really grinding me down though..' Her attitude had taken a full one-eighty turn back to her original self, like some sort of challenge triggered a wild animal bent on primal instincts of destruction.. Which was nicer for all parties involved sure, but the returning and unforgiving pain of exerting herself while riddled with wounds was something her body considered returning with harsh warnings.

'I know I've still got some of it here somewhere..' She had began rummaging around her belongings, now relatively safe from the glaring and otherwise dispersed fighters looking for someone that would register a hit, hoping to find something which has helped her in these situations more than once.. Her medical know-how did come in handy even for those completely lost to violence and obnoxious impulses. Herbal concoctions were her speciality in a sense that mixing random plant A and random plant B created mysterious result C, in this case she had lucked out long ago with her consumable substance of that shiny blue plant and some of those dull green ones. But she obviously knew more than that, she was a doctor after all, or at least she liked to think she knew more. Taking a seat on the highest incapacitated lackey, a sharp kick to their chest as he moaned in pain from her interaction, she wasn't really sure if her hands shaking then her entire body was just her finally giving up or just all a figment of and over-active imagination. Maybe an exhausted one too.

'Man.. I'm really that bad? Freaking, why did I put these lids on so tight?!'
rumblerumblerumble...
'Freaking, would you sto- Oh its jus- OHJEEZ!?'

Her tower was pushed and shoved to the degree that its ever so delicate foundations were torn apart by the sudden emergence of what seemed to be very angry cattle and a whole 'lotta dust. Like, you couldn't see anything all of a sudden from those crazy things blitzing through the terrain and crew like there was nothing in the world that could stop it... It was freaking awesome. She had been consumed by this constant giggle fit of joy as they decimated everything in their wake, and with a confident cheer she glugged down the special serum, slapping her face playfully to distract from the horrible sour taste it had before looking off into the sandy mists, hand covering her eyes from the sun as if looking far off into the distance.. The culprit of this awesomeness must be known to her at all costs. 'Y-You! Did you, who are they?!' She didn't know heads from tails in all this mess, probably because she was too busy laughing like a crazy old woman while screaming out who the person was that casually galloped past on a trusty steed! The gentleman in question seemed to catch her in his eye, giving a tip of his hat and an impressive battle-cry of cattle farmers before vanishing amongst the mass of moo's.

'He tipped his hat at me..'
Gavin's show of strength was ignored, even the request seemed to not register with her while the stomping and and shouting took presidence over the lazy musicians tone.

'Eeeheeeheeheee!~ I'll defend you cowboy dude!'
Guess she was doing it anyway.

In this strange dedication to the Cowboy of the century in her eyes, the two previously named 'glare-twins' by her subconscious seemed to have intent of the malicious sorts towards him. Why would you even try to beat up a dude that can control animals with his voice?! 'Mighty steed, away!' with a quick-step off her much reduced hill of defeated minions, balancing on one of the final cow's who obliterated their prior problem, a skip turned to a leap in some haste.. Quickly getting the hang of catapulting herself closer to the front of the horde and in turn the identical Fishmen. They were close enough to strike, the slow-motion moment of them taking that final leap to their destination, followed by her sudden appearance in-between their synchronised movements, clotheslining them both into the middle of the cattle before jumping out one after another onto their own mounts. The moment would have been more dramatic if Winry was able to stand on them for more than two seconds, sitting on one instead as she pointed to each of them with her evil pointy fingers.

'How could you go after that guy dudes, he's the best?!'

'.. BR-'

'.. BR-'

[/right]
'No! I'm going to freaking Brotalise you both for this!'[/center][/b]

.. Brotalise?
[/size][/blockquote]

[Raab]

What...what even...Pops!?

The already quite befuddled Resinbarian youth had been even further perplexed by the dynamic entry of the one and only David Ward, patriarch and ranching-genius of the Ward clan known throughout the entire island. It was taking the naive navigator quite some time to process all that had been going on. Between the emergence of the Red Tide and the subsequent retaliation of Kyte and his father, it was hard for Nolan to even remotely comprehend how exactly he was to act in such a situation. Gavin had, apparently, chosen to take on the felonious Thumper; lord knows why, since up until this point Nolan hadn't seen an ounce of heroics or battle-savvy from the musical mucker. Winry, on the other hand, chose to take on the brotherly bastards known as the Typhoon Brothers, and had already made her assault atop a clamorous cattle.

Gathering himself as best he could, Nolan sat up, though still very much battered and bedraggled. Crossing his arms across his knees, Nolan rested his chin in thought. How could he, in his very limited power, hope to contribute to the battle at hand? He wasn't strong, he had no knack for strategy; Nolan seemed to be a blight more so than a boon! Yet, there was something within the young Resinbarian that urged him to press on, to gather up arms and join his comrades in violent glory. Perhaps it was a sort of blind patriotism? Or maybe a new kind of loyalty forged from the iron of friendship. Either way, Nolan felt a weak fire within him; all that needed to be done was to ignite that last smoldering ash.

But how? What could possibly coax that kind of gallantry from the cowardly cowboy?

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump.

"Wha'ssaaa

[/color]AHHHHH[/color]!?[/b][/color]"[/size]

"NEEEEEEEIGHHH~!"

CRASH!

Yes. It is exactly who you think it is. And he just trampled poor Nolan Ward.

"B-boy!? What the heck are you doin' here?!"

The trusty steed of old pranced about in place, shaking its head before letting out another long whinny.

"Jesus, I know. I know. I was gonna' apologize when I saw you again!"

"Ppppppp."

It was obvious that the beast was a little sore about the incident in Whiskey town.

"Honest, I was! Did you come on down here with pappy?"

The steed nodded in confirmation, yet proceeded to deliver another swift kick to Nolan's head. The young man proceeded to clock himself against the dusty ground, and only a moment later leap to his feet to confront his companion about the unwarranted blow the the cranium.

"I said I was sorry, ya' god dang vermin! What more do you want!?"

The horse then pranced closer to Nolan, nudging him with its large head, almost as if it were urging him towards the battle up ahead. Noticing exactly what his trusty steed intended, Nolan looked back to the amalgamation of cattle and battle-cries that loomed off in the distance. Looking back to the beast, Nolan lifted a thumb and motioned it towards the vicious battleground.

"Yeah? You think I should."

"Eeeiiiiiiigh."

At the beast's confirming whinny, Nolan spun on his heel and threw his arms up into the air. It seemed he was none too happy with its answer.

"And what do you expect me to do!? I ain't got no fight, I ain't got no talent for this kinda' stuff..."

The horse, thoroughly annoyed by its master's resistance, lifted its hoof to ready another blow to the young Resinbarian.

"OKAY! Okay...we'll go."

The horse lowered its hoof, and then nudged Nolan forward again as if to put in the last word. A reluctant Nolan shimmied to the side of the steed, and mounted it in a single bound. Without so much as a spur, the horse took off towards the massive heard that was quickly growing on the horizon. Nolan couldn't help but feel slightly proud of himself, even if it had taken a horse's kick to the head to set his head straight. This was it. The naive navigator, for once, was about to do something, something heroic.

"Giddyup, boy! We're losin' 'em!"

"Pppp!"

As if some supernatural force had suddenly took hold of the duo, Nolan and his steed tore across the desert floor with ungodly speed, reaching the rear end of the stampede in no more than a minute. Nolan quickly scanned the pack for any sign of Green-hair and the dastardly duo. After a few moments, Nolan could make out an unmistakable battle-cry of the womanly variety.

"I'm going to freaking Brotalise you both for this!"

"Green-hair!"

Sure enough, there they were, about halfway down the pack of stampeding cattle. Nolan took a moment to pat his trusty steed on the neck before bidding farewell.

"Alright, boy. Take me right up along side 'em. And this time, I promise I'll be back for ya'."

The horse whinnied in approval, and pushed even harder so that he could bring his valiant master closer to his targets. It seemed that the brothers couldn't hear the Resinbarian's speedy approach over the roar of the stampede, which gave Nolan an element he so enjoyed.

The element of surprise!

"Let's get 'em, Green-hair! YEEEEHAWWW~!"

Nolan leapt from his steed, and was headed directly for the back of the blue-bro. Taking his scarf from round his neck, Nolan quickly wrapped it around both of his hands so he now had a sufficient grip on the make-shift garrote.

"YO, BRO!"
"BRO!?"

"BRAAAAAH HA HAAA~"

With skill quite uncharacteristic of the naive navigator, Nolan managed to launch himself directly onto the back of the brother dubbed Banz, and wrap his scarf round his face so that the massive creature couldn't help but stumble around the backs of the calamitous cattle.

"G-get him! Now!?"[/blockquote]

[Terminally Chill]

'Hope those guys will be okay, man...'

Gavin watched as the remnants of the stampede continued their warpath through Porter Town, taking Winry and Nolan with them to face off against the formidable Typhoon Brothers. Looking back to face Thumper, the musician's mind moved to focus on his own opponent; had his own trouble to worry about. By now the townsfolk had come out of hiding, but not completely. The presence of the Steel Dragon was reason enough to take cover, but the spectacle of the unassuming guitarist standing up to the Red Tide commander drew hopeful Resinbarian eyes. Although Gavin had no intention of being a savior when he arrived on the island, the liberation of Resinbar from the Red Tide suddenly rested on the shoulders of him and his comrades. With David and Kyte's stampede taking care of most of the Red Tide's underlings, all that remained was the daunting task of facing off with the three monsters of the crew.

Thumper's lengthy legs were bent at the the knees, the explosive energy kept within them threatening to burst through the fishman's tightened muscles. The tall terror crouched down, assuming the same stance he had taken before attempting to kill the Ward family patriarch earlier. A moment later, Thumper hurtled forward in a flash with a single impressive leap.

“Drop dead!”

'Here he comes man.'

The bullet charge of the fishman was upon Gavin almost instantly. His acute ear managed to time a side step to barely avoid the rush, but Thumper made a split-second stop on his heel. The fishman's leg carved the air as the momentum of the blitz shifted into a deadly spinning kick. Gavin's guitar barely met Thumper's shin, absorbing the brutal impact of the opening attack and sending the songsmith skidding backward across the sun-baked sand from the sheer force.

“Whoa man, hard kick!”

“Hard kick” was an understatement to say the least; it was one of the hardest hits he'd ever felt. Gavin barely had time to regain his footing before Thumper was already on the offensive once again. The Red Tide leader's attacks were unrelenting, unleashed in a barrage of punches and kicks that the back-peddling bard narrowly dodged and parried. Realizing that Thumper's onslaught would soon overwhelm him, Gavin attempted to mount a counterattack against his fishman foe. Pushing through one of Thumper's monstrous kicks, Gavin swung his musical mace only to find it batted away by the fishman's scaled forearm. The ease as to which his attack had been negated surprised Gavin for a moment, just enough to distract him from Thumper's leg looming above him. A devastating axe kick slashed down to crush the troubadour, forcing Gavin to step back once again. The sole of Thumper's sandal grazed past Gavin's nose, the dragon's heel driving into the parched ground and erupting the earth into a shrouding fountain.

The occasional groan of doubt was all that broke the tense silence among the Porter Town spectators. So far, it didn't seem like the young musician had any change against the Steel Dragon. That belief was only reinforced as Gavin emerged from the cloud, blood trailing from his mouth as Thumper's fist slammed into his chin. Thumper's shin sliced through the sandy plume, driving a stiff kick into the wincing wanderer's ribcage. Gavin was sent sprawling across the desert floor, tumbling in a dusty cloud before scrambling to his feet once again. Thumper gave a toothy grin, amused with the sight of Gavin's labored breathing. The momentary break was all the time Gavin needed to regain his composure, reigning in his erratic breaths and facing Thumper with his usual dopey look.

'Feels like I'm getting hit with a steel hammer, man. He shrugged me off pretty easy too.'

Gavin had little time to dwell on the strength and durability of the ferocious fishman as Thumper had already closed the distance between them. The acoustic adversary lashed out with his guitar, colliding with Thumper's kick. The impact of the blows meeting rippled through the sand, minstrel and marauder caught in a brief deadlock of strength. The attacks separated, Thumper hammering down on Gavin with both fists as soon as their momentary draw had been broken. Gavin managed to block the double ax-handle strike with his guitar, forcing the strike aside and managing to deal a blow of his own to Thumper's abdomen. The fishman groaned, unable to fend off Gavin's guitar from smashing against the side of his mask in the next moment. A resonating ring accompanied the six string strike, the sound sparking a growing murmur among the Porter Town natives. Gavin's swung his guitar once again, landing another head blow on the Red Tide ravager. Thumper had succeeded with his own attack though, a scaled fist exploding across the wood-wielding warrior's face.

Both fighters reeled backward, hitting each other in the exact same moment. They each regained their footing, standing off once again after the stalemate. Gavin wiped the blood trickling from his mouth, face already visibly bruised. Thumper let out a metallic growl, holding his head and cracking his long neck once more after receiving the pair of hammering hits to the head.

“Don't you get it, moron? You can keep hitting me in the head, but it's not going to do any good.”

“Then I'll just hit you somewhere else man.”

[/b]

“You really think it's that easy?!”

Gavin shouldered his guitar, awaiting the next exchange.

“Yeah. Pretty much man."[/size][/blockquote]

[Tori Tori Chopper]

'Alright, just 'gotta beat these guys..'
'This ones goin' down bro!'
'Funky town, bro!'
'Euuugh..~'

The stampede of the cattle in their thunderous unison was enough to send the dazzed and fatigued mental state of the one more commonly known as green hair in a frenzy, her vision pulsating like a gruesome bass beat sent her perspective into violent ripples. Of course on the outside this looked like nothing more than a half-awake expression while she ran fingers deep into her messy hair. One would think the situation before them would provide more of a challenge, their ground being the backs of the cows who stormed from path to path of the town, all directed by who Winry would gladly call the man of the hour regardless of not even knowing who he was. Only a true winner could shift the battle in a single gesture, in this case it was a cowboys calling card.. Genius. 'I bet you he's called like 'Chet' or something.. Yea, something really cool but for no reason?' She glanced back with a daydreaming grin to her opposition, who stood a few cows away from her in what was now easily confusion. 'Eh, nevermind..' She went to make her first move, she wasn't going to let them flank her in their patterned assaults even once, she was hardly in condition let alone mood.

THUMP
'Tch!..'

Despite her medical magic working enough wonders for her to maintain balance and logical thought, her body was having none of it beyond looking fancy for the show. Her simple jump had her nearly tumbling forward onto the next farmland animal, her whole body pumping like she was about to explode from the inside.. Collecting herself with an uncontrollable clutch to her stomach as her opponents looked on with the grin of victors before the conflict had even began. 'Looks like I'm going to have to travel light.' The twins were about to attack before she turned her back to them, considering her already retreating from the battle and getting ready to dismount themselves instead. She brought her giant weapon up front and center, dangling it behind the horde, and with a quick peck on its stone surface it descended from the scene, crashing into the sand and vanishing from view moments later. 'I'll be back for you, my dearest.' It was too much to handle when she could hardly handle herself, she would have to deal with these guys the old fashioned way.

'You done being weird Greenie?!'
'Ha! Good one bro!'

Her neck cracked from side to side, wrapping her remaining chains around her arms and fists before raising them to her two targets. She was about to charge, collide at the center in all its splendour, but something kept catching her eye.. This image which she had previously considered an idol flickered from the wrong side of the rampage. Had the cowboy came to help her? Something she would previously consider insulting became a blessing just because, looking with a face consuming smile, even close to screaming when the image became more pronounced in her peripherals. 'My Her- Oooh.. Freaking you of all people!?' disgruntled as the scarf wielding man known as Nolan launched from his steed, if he hadn't immediately jumped into action with an incapacitating move, she would have incapacitated him personally. She didn't even comment, she was in no place to overstep a cocky persona, and with the weight of her weapon free from her body, you could say it was the world off her shoulders. Despite the crippling shocks from nerves screaming in opposition, she leapt from back to back, floating towards the confused duo before they could even turn their attention back to the woman.

'Lights out.'
CRUNCH!

The focus of her flying hay maker was precise enough for it to not spread about he rest of the mans sturdy body, only his head and some of his upper body arced off to the side from the strike, but his arm already prepared to catch her immediately after the hit landed. She had aimed for the wrong twin, which at first glance would be confusing, Nolan sticking his neck out only for her to try and bring down the wrong guy. Even the twins, who had both been struck by what they considered their enemies best attacks and come out the other end without even feeling it.. Thought this was going to be over for a second time before it even began, though as one thing after another fell apart it unfolded into quite the opposite. His large fist clutching for her lower body had missed, the women flinging herself over, around and under the Red Fishman before he even realised his fingers were grasping at thin air. The jingled of the chains which now encased him didn't really resonate effectively over the otherwise obnoxious noises which resonated around the essential saviours of this town. Though the grip wasn't exactly much to go by, these two seemed like the type to fall quickly to a smarter approach. Through inaudible shouts to one another their fists swung, if they couldn't hit the targets themselves, it was logical to strike the enemy who had latched to their counterparts in crime.

SMACK

SMACK

[/right][/b]

Maybe not such a good idea after all

As Winry detached herself from her metallic links, the wrappings much too tight to uncoil from her target and escape as they both nearly flopped to the ground, she nearly herself fell victim to the monstrous charge, sailing down her own personal Fishman surfboard to skid across the ground for a fair few feet before hopping off and getting her distance. The other would no doubt jump off to catch up if he had not fallen with or without Nolan already, they seemed the inseparable type.. But that situation would be tackled when it came into fruition, sooner or later. For now, as the cattle departed as their moving stadium for this moment in time, her target rising once again unharmed and simply brushing the dust from his front. Winry let out a controlled and fierce vent of air before raising her fists in preparation.

This was going to need some real buck.
[/size][/blockquote]