(Roin & Cre RP) Recruit.

[cremuex]

A soft breeze wafted in from the open window, swaying the corners of the heavy black block out curtains that were pulled back and tied up with green tassels. The morning light seemed to warm the otherwise empty tavern- too early for the patrons and too late for anyone to stay that wasn't already whisked away to a moderately comfortable bed upstairs or in one of the private back rooms. Of course, the cross roads tavern was never empty- not from it's hosts.

It would have been all quiet on the western front if not for the soft low singing of a young woman, as she cleaned up the after math of what could only be described as the usual night- singing, dancing, spilled drinks; At least last night was free from any fisticuffs or duels, though that only happened a few times a week, depending on the crowd.

The girl, with long wavey pale blonde hair trailed the mop head back and forth, working from the entrance backwards to the bar. The bubbles released the scent of lemon and a mysterious oak note as it soaked into the wooden floor boards. You could tell just by watching her that she had done this a million times and it had become second nature to her as she twirled chairs out of the way in her jovial way- almost as if she was dancing with the furniture and mop in a day dream like state.

The clock ticked silently on, keeping time with her. 9:18? She still had roughly two hours or so before anyone would start to wake up, and by then the tavern would be clean, fresh and ready to serve breakfast. It also meant that she'd have to shut out the light from at least some of the windows, as the regret of splendor came over those in the form or sobriety, or worse, a hang over. She'd never experienced a hang over before, not because she was fortunate in that way- but because she didn't drink, simply because she grew up watching others experience it.

The girl spun the wooden handle between the palms of her hands, flicking off as much of the cleaner as she could before straining it and putting it away. She wiped a few small beads of sweat off her forehead with her forearm. She was almost done, all that was left was to empty the bucket and wait for the floors to dry, which would be quick thanks to the use of hot water in the mixture.

She lifted the bucket and rested it against her abdomen walking down the stairs to the basement carefully where she could empty the contents without worrying about splashing on anything- everything down here was cement and tiles. She knew that the basement in the past had acted as a sort of triage room, where people could get patched up if they got shot or stabbed. Everything was easily sprayed down with water and flowed into the drain. She also knew that this is where Tony brewed some of the stronger alcohols that were only sold under the name of 'sweet water', and weren't something offered to anyone freely, but had to be requested if you knew about it, making it a bit of an insider knowledge.

She climbed back up the stairs to the ground floor of the tavern, untying her work apron from around the outside of her emerald green coat and hanging it back up on a hook along the wall. She hadn't even noticed that she was no longer alone in the establishment.

[Roin]

"Egon, we need to consider more options. Those tech-guys removing us-"

"Forget about them, Ida. Truthfully, we're better off this way, if you ask me. Besides, I'm not here to talk about what's been lost... we'll make something better than what they offered us."

The streets of Strawberry Hill were quiet as the pair walked along, the scientist and the cybernetic Marine walking almost side-by-side. A lot of Egon's leave was getting used these days, especially with the removal of the man from CHIMERA's roster. It was only a temporary position after they rescued him, of course, but it was still yet another group that sent Egon off on his own. At this rate, the man was considering trying to request his papers. Being a Marine was the dream, but dealing with the various men and women in command had steadly worn on his nerves. With the removal of his position, his father's friend's daughter had been left without a home as well. So as Ida walked alongside him with a book in her hand and her jumpsuit unzipped considerably to reveal cleavage, there was no one to blame but himself. After all, part of the reason they likely hadn't kept him were due to his dangerous methods in testing and creating weaponry.

Without a lab and on leave until the Marines found a more proper station for him, however, Egon and his partner-in-justice had returned to the only place he had actually called home besides for the Professor's lab. Without his family to raise him, the start of his life had been spent in the orphanage on this island. It felt almost like an age ago, the memories of his childhood filled with nothing but violence and horrible experiences. It had been here that Egon lost his arm, a punishment for trying to make his way in the world. The small boy who had been held down and maimed had come a long way since then, now standing at an impressive six feet and five inches. It was only as Ida reached out and grabbed his left arm's wrist softly, the skin tingling softly with sensations that very little of his body had. One of the most truthful Marines in the world turned his gaze toward the woman, having snapped out of his thoughts and thankfully been stopped just short of missing the door and crashing into the wall of the building.

"This way, Egg-head... come on."

Only nodding, the man followed the woman into the place. Ida messed with her hair for a moment before zipping the jumpsuit up to better hide her assets. The woman's curves stood out, obviously, but she at least was hiding the cleavage far more. As she started toward a free table with her book and adjustment of her glasses, her tattoo'd arm on display as she sat down and waited patiently with her nose buried in the book. Egon knew she was hoping to perfect the cybernetics necessary to sustain life and survival of others, but he had no interest in any of that. And as he pushed his way in after a moment, the man's attire made him seem far rougher than necessary.

The professor's basic limbs were wrapped and contained in a pack worn around his upper half, the far more clunky Battle Arm open to the air thanks to the sleeveless, navy blue shirt he wore. Even with his P&C Legs, the black jeans the man wore made it next to impossible to tell he had cybernetic replacements, barring the clank of the metal and bare feet of the limbs. The only thing he had kept similar to his trademark attire was the bandana wrapped loosely around his neck, bundled up and hiding his prominent chin. The brand on his back was hidden along with most of his scars, but the man's silver eyes were studying the area with a caution born from his past life here.

"Egon! Now!"

"Tch! Shut up, Ida! You're not my boss! At this rate, you're better off joining the Marines and trying to get promoted before you boss me around!"

Carefully moving toward the bar anyway, Egon would turn his gaze toward woman who had just appeared nearby, removing her apron as if she had just finished working. Most people would demand service just upon arriving, but the cyborg instead shot her a smile before turning and lowering to sit on one of the stools. The wood audibly strained underneath the cyborg's weight, the man remembering just in time to place his bagged extra limbs on the ground. Tools and the like were being sent to Ida's "contact", but the limbs weren't something he could just leave behind. Regardless of his experiences on Strawberry Hill so long ago, the Professor had only left him these arms. If they were ever lost, there would be no way to remember him beyond his memories.

"Ida, I think... I might petition forming an Organization for the World Government. I know it's not-"

The slap of Ida's cybernetic hand sounded real thanks to the glove she wore, but Egon cursed all the same from the weight behind it making him jerk forward. Idea or not, it was clear Ida was either too busy reading up or just thought it was too dumb to discuss right now. Which, to a degree, Egon had to agree as he grumbled and put both metal and flesh on the bar, interlocking his fingers in patience. Today was a new day... a day for him to enjoy the morning and try to avoid the darker memories rolling around in his cranium.

[cremuex]

The girl smiled back at the man as he sat at the bars counter top, patiently waiting- she went about her day getting ready for breakfast and thawing out the bacon that would be cooked up for meals later. It was only when the word Ida had reached her ears that they realized just how zoned out she was. She had seen the man and smiled at him, only for it to not register properly in her mind that someone had actually come in and sat down. She did a double take and almost audibly yelped at her blunder.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" She said, bowing her head at the man and the lady sitting adjacent, that were at the bar, waiting patiently to be looked after.

"Welcome to the Cross roads tavern! My name is Cremuex, is there anything that I can get for you?" she asked with a curtsy as she placed two menu's in front of the couple. Examining their faces she realised that she didn't recognise them, or at least that she didn't remember ever seeing them before.

"Is this your first time here?" she gave a small smile, "The first drink is always free!" she informed them. It was a rule that Tony had come up with; she wasn't sure if it was just smart business practice to get repeat customers, or if it was a luck thing, but Tony was always one for superstitions and so far it seemed to be working. Of course they'd gotten people that tried to disguise themselves for another free drink, but that normally ended in a good story.

[Roin]

As the woman made her way over, Egon raised his view first to meet her gaze. Ida, still reading, missed out on much of the initial reaction. The introduction made the woman's name obvious immediately, the line of questioning and mention of drinks confirming what Egon had so far pieced together. The woman tending to them currently was one of the few workers of the establishment known as "The Cross Roads Tavern". Perhaps she was the only one, who could say... certainly not Egon as the man idly raised a single, mechanical finger to either point upward or to symbolize the number one.

"Fresh water in the biggest glass you got. And if you don't mind, a bottle of gin to go with it. A sweeter mix if you don't mind."

Though drinking so early wasn't the best idea for most people, the cyborg and his reinforced heart wasn't too worried about the stupor brought on through alcohol. Getting drunk was quite possible for Egon, but his body could almost literally flush alcohol from his blood stream with very little effort thanks to the Vapor Core. The other part of it, of course, was the woman right beside him immediately perking up at the mention of a sweet, alcoholic beverage. Miss Kare looked to the cyborg with an almost distrustful look before looking to her notes once again and putting the book on the bar with little concern for someone to spy and study the technological babble related to cybernetic hearts and the like. After all, the duo had been raised and grew up on one of the most advanced islands in the world, easily the most within the Paradise half of the Grand Line. Most things that were common speech between them were related to parts or technology few in the Blues could understand.

"I'll be sharing with the oaf. Can't have my Marine buddy getting too carried away."

"Tch... truthfully, you have a worse tendency than I do of getting drunk..."

The lack of an answer as the woman pulled free a pencil and began to write and mess with formulas left little to the imagination... but at last, the man turned his full attention back to the woman behind the counter. While he had been facing her body-wise, the man's naturally cold-looking silver eyes fell on Cremeux. The cyborg had an astounding look on life of course, but the rough childhood in the orphanage nearby had shaped Egon greatly. Just a boy who had endured horrible suffering, the tap of his metal foot and a small smile almost disarmed the naturally cold and nearly dismissive "feel" of his gaze. It was just a simple moment of greeting between the two, but the very effort that came over the most truthful marine's face was one born from a truthfully good intent.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, however, Miss Cremeux. My rude companion and I will have my previous order, despite her attitude. She's just a tad bit upset we lost access to the toys she wanted to play with so much. But it would be equally rude of me to get a free drink, since I was born in Strawberry Hill myself. So please... allow me to pay for the drinks."

Bringing his human hand away, the cybernetic swordsman further exposed the mechanical assets that clung to his form, the clunky Battle Arm a rough middle-ground from a true replacement arm and the more common "blocks" that made up modern cybernetics for most men and women in the Marines and the world. With a moment to rustle through his pockets, however, the man pulled free a wad of beri and brought it back to the counter to place in full view. It was the remainder of his last paycheck, the struggle of a Marine trying to travel to and from the Grand Line rather monetarily struggling. Wahrheit wasn't the kind of man to simply take a free meal or drink, though, if he could pay out of his pocket. The most truthful way to live life was to pay for something given in some way or form.

"If this isn't enough, I don't mind working something out. If necessary, I can help fix some of your tech up around this place? Maybe spruce up a stove's gas valve if the flame has been dimming recently?"

"Pft... he'd obviously be fine with stripping. Heck, ask him to give you a hand. Ask for the right one."

Immediately the Marine shot the woman a look, Ida at last looking up from her book to smile to Cremeux behind the bar, the woman ignoring the grumbling as Egon lowered his own gaze and rubbed at the mechanical limb.

"My friend's name is Egon and what he means is that we're a bit short on cash. The Marines had to remove him from another group and because of it my contract fell out. So if there's any help you might need, he's more than willing to pay any way he can."

A flirtatious wink from the mechanic and cybernetic doctor came before she returned the gaze to the book. The Tavern certainly had an interesting pair show up... and no doubt trouble was lurking in the streets outside as the morning sun shined off the steel arm. Some of the light reached his feet, the shine brightening the darker corner where the bar met the floor. Two drastically different people had shown up and were likely to make the woman's day quite troublesome, enjoyable, or just outright strange.

[cremuex]

Cremuex gave a curt nod as she turned around and reached for one of the glass bottles, tinted red with a wax seal that had to be broken in order to be poured, so that anyone could tell if it was a new or opened bottle. This bottle, for instance, had been opened, the rubbery wax cracked as the cork was pulled out. The label read "monikers", it was a dry gin, but it didn't have the same heaviness. With a base of Juniper berries, the second distilled scent were various roots for a more earthy tone and the final distillation was a hint or rose and cucumber for a cooler more mild flavour so that it could be drunk straight.

She placed the bottle in front of the man and looked for an appropriate glass, a normal tumbler of cylindrical shape as opposed to a Spanish balloon glass. She'd accidentally insulted someone with it before and was particular about not insulting others where it can be avoided. She also put out two tall collins glasses, one for the lady, one for the gentleman for when she bought the jug of water over. She disappeared for a few moments, coming back carrying a three litre ceramic jug, a wine cooler bucket filled with ice cubes and a small steel scoop.

She listened in, wondering what sweeter mix would do well for the girl that she assumed was Ida. She figured that they were interested in sharing the gin. She tried to measure up in her mind if she should let the woman try sweet water, though the alcohol content for sweet water was quite high, so she went against it, shaking the idea out of her mind.

She couldn't help but smile as the two playfully sparred back and forth, obviously on friendly terms.

"Oh- Please! It's the tavern's customs. Tony, the boss, is quite staunch about the first drink always being free. It's like a tradition. You wouldn't want to get me in trouble with the boss would you?" She gave a pout and tried to look worried that the man or the woman would dob her in to her boss, though she highly doubted either of them would.

She gave a cursory look around the tavern- there wasn't very much tech around the place, so she couldn't think of anything that would need fixing. Everything worked as it should, and she couldn't imagine anything changed. Even if she could, she'd need Tony and Fran to agree to it as well and they wouldn't be awake for another hour or so.

S-Strip? The word caught her attention and she could feel her cheeks glowing with warm as a heavy blush crept over her- she had to turn slightly to hide her face so that they couldn't see her being so affected by just the idea. The mention of the gentleman fixing things as well mad the visual imagery all the more poignant. When they mentioned asking for a right hand, she looked back around, obviously confused. Noticing that the man was rubbing at a mechanical limb, her reaction changed from flushed to concerned.

"A-are you ok?!" She exclaimed, louder than she intended. She covered her mouth with one hand and almost reached out with the other hand before having to pull herself back, recognising that she had to respect their personal space and it might make them feel uncomfortable.

Cremuex was quick to recognise that the girl was volunteering her friend. Cremuex pursed her lips and tried not to be so bashful around the two.

"I can't speak for what needs fixing or what can be done, but that'll come to pass when it does, I'm sure Fran and Tony will be willing to lend their ears once they're up and have had some breakfast... "

She folded one of her arms and rested her chin on her hand, contemplating. "So... do you two have a place to stay?"

[Roin]

The water and alcohol set-out, the metal-armed man seemed to brush off the inquisitive and somewhat worried question that came at the realization of his cybernetic arm. Few people in the Blue understood that Egon's suffering and pain had only come briefly in a long-lost age. The arm he wore now felt no pain... it was nothing more than an extension of his crippled form to replace what had been stolen on the very island they were speaking on. Carefully grabbing hold of the the pitcher of water, rather than pouring a glass, the cyborg leaned slightly back on the stool as Ida turned her attention to the alcohol with a smirk. While the female set to popping the bottle and pouring what steadily grew to be a very filled container, the man exposed his muscled and almost iron-hard body. While his body was strong, it certainly wasn't made of steel like the limbs... but the chest wasn't human.

"Don't worry about it... think of my payment as compensation for what I'm about to do."

There was no threatening nature to his voice, but rather one of focus as the cybernetic arm pushed in the center-most part of his body, along where the ribs joined and protected the most crucial organs. As the panel opened, it didn't expose flesh and blood... but a powerful, hissing engine. One side of it was coated red, the bubble and smell of ink immediately filling the room as the bubbling of the somewhat heated substance occupied the air. The red part was carefully connected to a harness that was shaped almost exactly like a heart... and the beating nature of it made it clear that the man's heart from so long ago was pumping and thriving within the caring machine. On the other side, strung along to the sides and carefully harnessed to sections of the lungs, was a blue side. The blue side was almost empty, the man pushing the slide door to open the fuel compartment. Steam vented outward, rising to form a small smoke-tower from the man's chest briefly, before it dissipated and cooled off to a degree. Immediately, the man's heavy arm seemed to sink, the chair groaning as if he'd grown heavier.

"Damn... I guess I was just about out of steam... no wonder I've felt somewhat drowsy."

With his human arm steadying the pitcher, the man did something that no one from the Blue would ever have likely imagined seeing. Egon poured the water from the glass into his chest and into the open receiver of the steam-chamber. The bubbling of water as the somewhat large half of the engine filled. Audibly and visibly, the mechanical arm began to click and function once more as power seemed to be restored... and as the pitcher neared only a quarter left, the man pulled it away and sat it on the counter. By this time, the mechanic was sipping on her beverage, smirking at Egon as the man went to sealing up his compartment.

"You know Egon, girls just love knowing what makes a guy tick... maybe you should let me see what's under-"

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~

The noise almost made Ida fall off her stool, the woman's right arm darting out and grabbing hold of the bar with its iron, death-grip lock as she sensed the danger of descending to the floor. The loud sound was from the man's mechanical arm and beneath the bar, the instant he closed the chamber the body parts hissing loudly. Very quickly the harsh whistle continued climbing as the man seemed almost completely unphased. Steam began to click and clack, hissing and stinging from release valves on his body. Steam was rising from below as it seeped from his pantlegs and waist-line in an attempt to vent from the pants. Within seconds, however, it at last spilled over as the harsh noise returned far louder and shrill enough to send Ida at last toppling away and to the ground, her beverage thankfully left on the counter. All around Egon's right side and steadily from beneath him, steam poured out as the release valves opened. Releasing the sudden rush and extra amount of pressure from flooding the water chamber had effectively forced a steam evacuation... and as the inn went from nice and peaceful to steamy and still ringing as the whistling died down, Egon at last raised his mechanical arm. The speed it moved at and the way it moved was finally equal to that of a human's limb, the more heavy battle arm moving smoothly with full-power behind his cybernetic limbs. And as the arm reached out to grab the bottle of alcohol, Egon quietly set to pouring it into his own glass while Ida cursed and continued trying to get up after the shocking fall.

"We do not have a place to stay, unfortunately. Most places... don't care much for my kind. You know... Marines with a truthful look on the world."

"Th-that's not why we'd get turned away, you noisy idiot!"

Blinking, the man turned to frown at Ida as if nothing had happened. The man had set out to answer the question posed by their host, yet hadn't accounted for just how loud he was. Even with the woman giving him a death glare, her normal hand "fixing" the synthetic glove worn over her own cybernetic arm, the Truthful Marine turned the silver-eyed gaze back to the glass he'd filled with only a grumble before raising it to take a drink of it.

---

Outside and carefully making their way toward the building, a single man carried a case in one arm and held a leash in the other. Wearing a large, ankle-length cloak, the giant of roughly eleven feet tall drew few looks from the people on the street in the early day. The whistling ahead had the man smiling from beneath a wide-brim hat, pulling at the leash as the small feline on the end of it grinned. After a few days of tracking him, the man was getting closer to seeking out the fellow who had escaped his clutches back in the Pirate Marketplace. He'd chased him to an entirely new Blue... but at last the mysterious stranger was narrowing in on the prized man with many cybernetics. A living honeypot, a walking treasure... whatever he called it, the journey's prize was closing in as the feline walked ahead and brought them closer to the door of the establishment.

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC Note}
Hit me up on Skype if you have questions. Otherwise I will keep you in the dark for a bit longer on this stuff :T

[cremuex]

An eyebrow raised when Egon mentioned 'what he was about to do', she was dumb-founded when the man opened up his chest and could do nothing more that stare silently at his ... interior? She didn't know the first thing about engines or mechanical engineering, but she could tell what the red pulsing heart was, and the blue area being lungs. She didn't have time to think about whether or not they had intestines or kidneys or a liver or anything like that- as the smell reached her. Plastic possibly? Crushed ants? ... Ink? No- it must be some sort of oil or something to keep the engine working.

Then it hit- the shrill screech of hot air piercing through the tiny vents of the mans mechanical limbs. She wasn't sure if she swore or not as she covered her ears, she couldn't hear it if she had sworn and nothing could be heard over the high pitched noise assaulting them. Thankfully, the steam wasn't too hot that it would sear anybody, and the windows that were open helped the steam to dissipate without issue. The noise seemed to quiet after a few moments and she uncovered her ears cautiously, only to push her pointer fingers in them hoping to make them pop so that she could hear properly again. She carefully observed to see if anyone was speaking, the tinnitus still ringing in her ears with a somewhat groggy sound, almost as if she was under water.

"A truthful look on the world huh?" Came a voice from behind her. It was Fran, a slightly thicker built woman with a green mohawk that fell to one side and was long enough to reach her breasts. Fran seemed unimpressed by the noise that had cut through her establishment. As she looked at the man and the woman that was just getting up to her feet she was unphased by the mechanical limbs, like she'd seen it all before and wasn't anything out of the ordinary for her.

Cremuex however, hadn't noticed the woman standing behind her as she continued to try and pop her ears, saying 'marp marp' over again as she tried to regain her hearing enough to at least hear what she was saying. It was only from looking at Ida and Egon that she noticed that they were looking behind her. She turned to see what they were looking at and gave an awkward wave when she noticed it was Fran.

"I thought I heard the kettle." Fran said coolly, to which Cremuex gave a blank smile, her ears still ringing.

"Fran, this is Ida and Egon, their looking for somewhere to stay. Ida, Egon - this is Fran, she runs the place." Cremuex said, her voice sounding slightly off, like they weren't sure what syllables they were using. Fran made a gesture with her hand, turning her wrist slightly like someone tilting a cup to drink tea. Cremuex clicked her fingers in a way that showed that she had gotten it and went off to the kitchen, leaving Fran and the other two by the bar.

Fran had caught enough of the conversation to figure out what was going on. They were turned away from places, marines with differing views on the world, cybernetic arms- they'd probably been through a few battles by the looks of them. If she needed to throw them out she could do it herself, no need to wake Tony for it in case he was needed later at night.

[Roin]

[/font]

"Oooo~, your hair is fantastic!"

"It wasn't a kettle. It was my systems venting excess steam to ensure the proper pressure and capacity of my Vapor Core was reached. If it was a kettle, however, it would certainly have been one of the largest-"

The man's voice stopped as the tavern's peaceful air seemed to tense slightly. Though Ida wouldn't pick up on it, the girl smiling real big and pulling out a pencil as she took notes on the owner's hair, the Marine's head turned to look back to the doorway. A lone man and a strange cat had entered, the feline's smile certainly one of the more twisted things the Cyborg had seen in a while. The man easily stood above even Egon's height, having to duck to enter the establishment and standing easily nine feet tall. Instinct kicked at the cyborg to fight... but instead all the man did was turn back to face the owner and the rather disoriented barkeep.

"I do, however, apologize. It's generally a good idea, however, to do that beforehand if I need to potentially fight anyone. Truthfully, it ensures I don't blind myself too much while in battle. It's like-"

"Franny, eh? Ever hear the rumor about the Strawberry Madman? One of the worst tenants to ever work at our esteemed orphanage?"

Ever so slightly, Egon's body tensed at the mention of such a name. Ida, carefree as ever, turned and looked back to the man and his cat while she continued taking notes on the woman's unique haircut.

"Eh? Strawberry Madman? Is that like some folktale here or something?"

"Tchtchtchtcha~, that's a good one... but no, he's quite the real monster!"

"Real monster? So someone actually had that name? What did he do to get that-"

As the man had been slowly walking toward the bar and keeping the speech going, Egon had been drinking quietly. It was only at Ida's joking and natural response, however, that the man brought the bottle down with such force that the entire counter shook from the man's metal limb. The owners of the establishment were strong, certainly, but for such an "ordinary" looking cyborg, the battle-oriented arm had more than enough power to do what few men could do... and had cracked the thick glass and splintered the wood slightly. With a shift in the man's squared face, the Marine looked back with a dangerous glare to the monstrously-sized man

"Don't talk lightly about that man. As you said... he's very real. Besides... I don't like to drink when people speak of such horrible men lightly. Miss Fran had just asked about a 'truthful' look on the world... and truthfully, I think you'd only ruin our conversation speaking of someone like that."

Looking back to the mohawk owner and smaller, far less intimidating Crem, the man's face expressed just how apologetic he was for the outburst. No words were said quite yet, however, as the Truthful Marine raised the bottle and resumed taking a long swig. Even the cybernetic doctor beside him couldn't help but move on as she looked back to their innocent bartender with a smirk and a waggle of her eyebrows as a rather suggestive look came to her face.

"So, you ever think about getting enhancements? My buddy Egon became quite the strapping man with one of my family's patented Vapor Cores... we've also been dying to-"

Crick.

The sound had cut off Ida's obvious attempts to convince the bartender to undergo cybernetic reconstruction... but she didn't quite see what made the noise as she looked back. The man that had entered the fine establishment had thrown back the large coat he wore, revealing vertical-striped slacks, the seams and stripes consisting of a dark red and the base color a dark blue. On his right hip, thanks to the tossing back of the coat that shrouded his form, the wide-brimmed hat-wearer carried a dangerous looking rifle. Sling-holstered down the side of his leg, the man reached a hand down to the grip of the rifle as if to use it as a sidearm rather than a true-weapon.

"Miss Fran, was it? My name is Agnew... the man in front of you is my property... and unless you want my feline and I to run havoc on your fine establishment... then why don't you be a good gal and make sure he surrenders, nice and slow-like? That other one I don't care for... but that man is "truthfully" worth enough money in scrap that I can guarantee this place becomes the next big place to visit on Strawberry Hill. The parts alone anyway... but the man himself is wanted by the Strawberry Madman for a nice fee. They've got some unfinished business, after all... he still needs to take that man's other arm."

The man pressed a button along the sling, the harness detaching from the weapon to allow him to draw it. The cat's fur seemed to rise on its back for a moment, but the creature at last started to grow more and more menacing as it grew angry. It didn't grow in size, but rather the creature seemed to emit a strange presence. The room's light seemed to flicker around the beast, as if it were sucking the light from the air. In truth, however, it was obvious what the source of flickering was. The creature's fur was spiking outward quickly and in different sections of its body, as if it were manipulating it and pricking it outward. A strange duo had appeared, one's identity hidden by the brim of his cap and the other either his pet or some sort of animal that seemed trained in techniques far from ordinary. And all this time, Egon continued drinking from the bottle... the stream of liquid steadily emptying into his gullet and leaving the bottle less occupied by the instant. Ida, however, was immediately frowning and reaching to the bags Egon had been carrying... and as she rose to her feet and tugged, the woman's notes were stashed on the table with her right hand while the left removed and expanded her trademark tool... a giant wrench, which she idly maneuvered in her grasp before planting its head against the ground like some swordsman. The pair were in a situation that seemed rather normal to them... but at last Egon brought the bottle down and looked toward Fran and Cremeux from the bar before sliding the emptied vessel forward.

"I'll gladly take care of them and explain what I mean about a 'truthful look' on the world. I'll need to, however, remove my pants to do so. I take it neither of you are too squeamish to see me running around without them, correct?"[/ul]

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}Agnew's color code = 990000
Hope this spices things up. Don't be afraid to exert Crem into the scene! We gotta get her some motivation to become a Marine! (O-Or at least Egon's follower, right?

[cremuex]

"Thank you dear." the older woman said as she crossed her arms over her chest. She raised an eyebrow coyly as the man mentioned being the biggest of anything, though biggest kettle made for quite the title.

Cremuex and Fran both paused as someone else entered the inn. Fran sighed and went to get her hookah, it was going to be a long and eventful day, she could just sense it. The little bar maid however seemed happy at first to see an animal, before looking someone unnerved and creeped out at seeing it's face. something about it just seemed... off.

Fran didn't seem to like that the cyborg was apologizing, it suggested to her that they were about to do something reckless or something that would endanger her precious tavern.

The name Franny made Fran almost reflexively clench, like it pained her to hear, and her eyes seemed to sharpen as she stared the man down. The smaller Cremuex made a face that seemed to say Holy shiess, like some heavy blows were going to be thrown. Frans jaw clenched as the man continued to speak. Of course she knew of the Madman, she knew the rumors were true as well, and it sickened her. She'd seen death more times then she could count, but to do such a thing to children even sent a shiver down the well traveled ex-pirates spine.

She could understand the response from Egon as the man crushed one of her glasses and put a few splinters into her bar top. She seemed to understand a bit more about what the man had gone through, such an understanding could only come from living through such a traumatic event.

"You can't own... people." came a low, rough growl that seemed deeper and darker then anything the tavern owner could humanly make. Something seemed to have triggered a deep change in the otherwise calm and collected woman. "You can't buy me off... and you certainly can't give me an ultimatum."

Cremuex seemed to hide behind the bar, crouching down and whispering to the other girl, Ida. "Hiiiiiiiide." she called, almost trying to get her to hide on the other side of the bar with her so that they could seek cover somewhere in the back.

"Take off as much as you need son." Fran said with a sneer. She didn't mind but Cremuex did, giving her a helpless look. She was blushing fiercely at such an idea and started to breathe heavily, a light blood trickling out of her nose. She covered her face abashed and couldn't do anything more then whispering Oh my god oh my god oh my god over and over again.

[Roin]

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"Don't worry... my boy here really knows how to party when he takes off those trousers! State of the art bio-cybernetic research has ensured-"

"Stop ignoring me! I'm done playing games! I got you, you cyborg freak!"

The man's rifle was unslung in a single motion, the man taking aim down the sights toward Egon. But with the man's smile growing, the Marine cyborg rose to his feet and grabbed hold of his pant's waistline with his Battle Arm. Hissing steam, the limb shrouded Egon's motions as he kicked the chair backwards toward the feline and the gunner, smacking into the man's gun mid-tumble. The end of the weapon rocked upward, smoke pouring and gunpowder flashing as the mid-caliber weapon stung the ceiling. Quick to move, the little cat leaped out, delivering quick claw strikes to disassemble the chair while its tail lashed out and grabbed hold of the weapon, preventing it from striking its owner.

And as Egon finished the full motion of his movement, steam pouring fourth from below as well as the arm now, the torn asunder slacks were in his metallic grasp. Whirring could be heard as the man adjusted his stance with two steps forward, clicking as gears and servos whined and struggled within. Machinists would find such a piece of equipment like what Egon had as limbs impressive... but to the average joe of a Blue, the man's full body being revealed was somewhat awe-inspiring. With a pair of red and white-stripped boxers clinging around his more delicate upper thighs, groin, and buttocks... the man's mechanical legs were on full display. The glimmer of seastone on his thigh guards was evident even under the paintjob. The shape and structure all the way to the strangely shaped feet made it clear of one thing, however... that these legs were meant for chasing down a foe.

"Alright... time to test out my upgrade! Every last bit... I'm going to hit you with!"

Agnew was shrugging off the startling chair-attack, the Feline hissing and arching its back as Ida rushed forward to stand beside Egon with a look far different from the confident and serious square-jawed Marine beside her. She looked almost excited.

"Better use that tune-up I gave the VC! It's practically one of a kind, after all!"

"Truthfully, you don't need to remind me! I don't want to fight and wreck up the place anymore than necessary to bring this guy down! Innocent civilians cannot be allowed to get drawn-up into my affairs!"

While Agnew watched with a snarl, the man finally ran out of patience and fired the rifle toward Egon again. The bullet impacted hard with the man's shoulder, Egon not moving but jerking his body back slightly as the bullet pinged harmlessly off the Battle Arm's reinforced plating. Immediately, the man seemed startled and began to draw back... but rather than chase forward after him, the Marine braced his position and extended his mechanical limb. Clicks could be heard as the cylinder-like tubing linked up... before a hissing pulse sounded as the arm's firing chamber fully aligned and primed. And as Agnew sailed backward, the arm seemed to shake as it prepared something dastardly.

"Keikenshugi... Dangan!"

The arm jerked briefly as the vocal and mental command reached at identical times. While the prior wasn't necessary, the cybernetic limb did require a specific set of conditions to be sent through the circuitry... and as it confirmed the checklist, the arm clicked into an almost straight line. As it prepared to fire, for the briefest of moments, the Marine's clothes seemed to shrink around his upper body. The shirt tightened and his bare, human arm flexed with the incredible strength that came from being used for so many tasks. For an instant, it was clear that every muscle in the man's body was prepared for what was to come... and the dead give-away had Agnew reach out with his long, lanky free hand to grab one of the tables in the bar. Pulling it up and off the ground with sheer strength, it flew between the two just as the firing began.

CRACK-KAK-KAK-KAK-KAK-KAK-KAK-KAK!

The initial shot was booming, but the arm was far from done. Behind the first shot, a large and clearly powerful caliber-bullet, seven more flew. The first one smacked into the table almost dead-center, splintering and burying itself. To the standard person, such a display no-doubt looked inspiring... but if one could analyze the scene as a fighter or using adrenaline or even sensory Haki, they'd see a completely breathtaking sight as the rather blunt-projectiles crashed into the table, sending splinters and cracks through it with the sheer force and weight the carried. One, two, three, four shots all struck the surface, each time slightly higher than the last. The result sent the table skewering downward and allowing one of the large shells to strike the man dead-center in the chest with rib-cracking force. The fifth and sixth struck the table mid-flip as it came back up and around, shattering through it and allowing the seventh to smack the man's shoulder as he began to fly back. The result was that Agnew had been flying backwards... and the two shots made him spin back and down, crashing hard into the ground and going for a tumble. The eighth and final shot, however, missed entirely... and buried itself in the top of the doorway of the establishment, the projectile half-sticking out of the wall and hissing with the steam-powered force used to propel it.

Steaming from the hole in his hand, Egon could only smirk... even as the Feline leaped toward him. The vile creature's grin turned into an open, biting face as the Truthful Man's eyes turned to it... and for the slightest moment fear came over the confident Marine's visage.

And then Ida smacked the little bugger with her massive wrench, sending it sailing across the room and out the door, smacking into Agnew's face just as the man was sitting up, sending cat rebounding into the air briefly while the man dropped backward and into the dirt road for all the people outside to sea. Steam poured from the cybernetic man while the mechanic laughed and raised her prized weapon-tool to her shoulder with relative ease. Safe to say, the difficulty in their executed attacks was clear... but the quick dispatch and eviction of the villains had left them victorious. While Agnew groaned and started to get up, however, the man's muscles began to relax along with his posture seeming to grow somewhat tired. It was, however, only as his head lowered that Egon made it clear that he was somewhat let-down.

"Damn... I hit the doorway. Th-that wasn't even my target and look what I did... I'm still far away from perfecting this technique. The Professor would be utterly disappointed at my arm's efficiency..."

"Yeah, just look at that table over there! You smashed it to smithereens with how many times you hit it! Ooo~, but it sure worked well! Look at the force those bad-boys carry! Imagine if you had delivered every single one on target! You're turning into a walking cannon, Egon!"

[/ul]

[cremuex]

"Don't worry... my boy here really knows how to party when he takes off those trousers! State of the art bio-cybernetic research has ensured-" Cremuex covered her ears, almost tearing up thinking about the man's body- mechanical or otherwise. She couldn't see anything thanks to the counter that was protecting her from stray bullets and shrapnel but she could still hear the commotion with her hands covering her ears. Something wooden broke the preceding eight shells were louder then she anticipated. It was only once things calmed down did she test the water, checking that things had actually finished before uncovering her delicate ears.

She managed to catch the end of Ida congratulating the man on being a human weapon when she opened her eyes and looked up at Fran. She hadn't moved besides to take a puff of her hookah and seemed surprisingly calm. They were both glad that Fran didn't have to step in. Noticing her adopted daughter had done cowering at the corner of the bar she breathed out, a small ring of smoke formed by her lips that rose to the ceiling.

"It's safe, you can come out now."

Cremuex stood up, brushing herself off and taking a cursory glance at the damage. She couldn't manage to look passed the red and white candy cane sugar cheeks that were Egon's firm just rounded buttocks. She froze like a dear in headlights, her nose dripping blood out of one nostril, her face flushed a bright crimson. She tried to tear her eyes away and look at something else. Anything else. Oh god... what if he turns around? She had to pinch her nose as the idea of the man's non-robotic groin formed itself in her mind. She wasn't so big on the idea of cybernetic limbs- they wouldn't have the softness or warmth, to feel intimate- and she certainly wasn't going to remove any functioning limbs for them either. But those buns did seem so... cup-able? Like thy were the right size to be squeezed.

Cremuex shot a look to Fran, her adoptive mother, who only seemed to smirk back with an eyebrow waggle, then broke off their eye contact and regained the conversation with Egon as if nothing had happened beyond the usual interruption, like a work colleague seeing someone out at lunch. Fran didn't need to be told what truth the man spoke of, she could sense it. The way she viewed things, people were either running from, or to something, if the man had wrangled with the madman before, whatever he was doing here now was no coincidence.

"Stay as long as you need, you can start fixing that door any time you please."