The Highseas, Watery Respite

[grim]

Eden, with his legs arched upon one another sitting in "Indian-style" upon the bowsprit of the ship. The creek of the ship followed accompanied with the licks of the waves, the caw of the seagulls fulfilling the atmosphere. The shimmering sun beaming brightly against the blue sky, plush clouds floating calmly.

*Gulp**Gulp**Gulp*

His hands notched around a large barrel turned bottom-side up, liquids flowed continually into his mouth set a-gap. Some of it just missing it's mark as it'd trickle down the side of his face and into the sea for all the thirsty drowned souls Eden knew needed a refreshment from the salty waves. The middle fingers on his right hand had been wrapped in tape. The sanguine stains on his finger tips had now been dried through a mixture of natural time and the heat of the sun acting as natural expedite.

The tide of liquids that poured affluent into his wide trap had only been droplets now. Eden's left eye opening now before shacking the barrel, emptying the rest of the contents into his mouth. Allowing a crisp breath of air to escape his lungs from the cooling drink, tossing the barrel high into the air, landing far behind the ship into the sea. Lifting himself from his seat and motioning towards the main deck. His eyes scanned the deck for Alex before calling out to her. "RED! WHAT ISLAND ARE WE SHOULD WE GO TOO?" He said with his hands cupped onto his mouth.

Eden's mind eager with the thought of the next adventure, a wild smile forming upon his face. He couldn't contain the excitement that traveled through his body. A small creature scurrying up his body before coiling itself around his neck, a small purring sound emitted.


"Hopefully we find more friends too!" His hands now placed upon his hips, viewing the high seas along with his small cuddly friend. The salty bites of the waves that splashed against the hull sent droplets of water to Eden's frame. His whole visage displayed his pure joy with how this "Pirate" thing was turning out.

[Traveller]

Alexandra stared blankly at her 'Captain' as he downed an entire barrel of whatever liquid that had been in said barrel. Sighing, she rolled her eyes heavenward for patience as he called for her to tell him which island they should go to, obviously his mind was on adventure. It always was, when he wasn't talking about food or whatever else had popped in his head, it was adventure. Nearly all the time.

"I could always throw you overboard if you need another adrenaline fix" she commented, before looking towards the map, while navigation wasn't her forte she could handle calm seas like this. "There are several we need to go to, for supplies and the like, there's an island that the map from Ohara leads to, and then there's an island that has a doctor on it. Which I would recommend for both you and Zen. But seeing as you're the Captain, it's up to you," she spoke blandly, before straightening slightly as she remembered she needed to check Zens bandages. He had been healing well over the last few days, but the healing was slow and Zen spent most of his time sleeping. They were beginning to run low on clean bandages, and she was worried about leaving them on for more than a day or two for risk of infection setting in. While her skills in first-aid were advanced, she was no doctor, and she feared they would need one before this voyage was over.

"As temporary navigator, and the only one with any real medical expertise on this ship, I recommend finding a doctor. Adventure's can wait" she spoke after a moment of thought, before grabbing a long wooden pole and using it to keep the helm still, so they would keep going straight, before heading to Zen's room. "If you need me, I'll be checking Zen's bandages" she called over her shoulder before going through the door that lead to stairs, which would take her below deck and towards Zens room.

Grabbing a spare roll of bandages and her first-aid kit along the way, she stopped in front of the short blonds room and knocked thrice, waited a moment, and entered. "You awake?" she asked without preamble, focused on unzipping her first-aid kit to grab the disinfectant. It needed to be reapplied today. 

[Cryo Through the Looking Glass]

Bleary eyed and tired, the golden haired teen lifted his head off the hammock warily, before collapsing in a heap on the hard wooden floor of their vessel. 
'You awake?' a voice called gently. It was Alex. Seemingly having medical experience, (more than Zen anyway) the redhead walked over to the crumpled form of the boy and applied some sort of foul smelling antiseptic to the wound he had sustained from falling stalagmites during their escape from Ohara. Gosh, they had caused a lot of destruction, looking back on it. A sinkhole, landslides, ancient temple destruction. Zen wouldn't be surprised if they got marines chasing after them.

Zen walked down the dark wood panneled corridor, and up onto the poop deck to meet Eden, who was standing at the prow of the boat, his furry companion stretching around and nibbling him like a parrot. As Zen admired the view, a sun setting, sending radiant waves of light that gave a sepia tinge to the boat. The sea was choppy, creating mounds of ocean foam that rippled across the Adventure and rocked its hull like a child would be rocked to sleep. 
'Made any decisions?' he called to his would be captain. As a dot in the horizon grew bigger, drifting on the waves peacefully, the flag that it flied was anything but. A double masted sloop with sails flying the crest of two axes crossed and a band of hungry men on its deck, it looked like the trio was in for some trouble. But behind them, the real trouble lay, and although Zen was too gripped by the pirate ship at starboard, port held a far greater danger. Marines. The World Government ironclad streamlined through the water like an arrow, menacing with its clean, cold exterior. The two ships hulking before the frigate was sure to end in their deaths.

'Guys! Get up here! We have danger!'

[grim]

Eden motioned his right hand upwards taking a look at the blood stained ivory bandages, a slow hum indicating his thought while his left hand had been placed under his chin."Yea I gotta be at 100% when I adventure." He said with a snap as she'd began to lower down into the bowels of the ship.

After a small amount of time Eden could hear an ascent up the ladder, tilting his head back to look with the assumption it'd be Alex due to Zen's sleeping fit. An excited look consumed his face as he jumped from his seat with such gusto that the sleeping creature wrapped around him almost was shook into the sea, gripping on the edges of the duck and scampering back upwards. Eden rushed towards Zen wrapping his arm around Zen and tugging him vigorously. "Zen I haven't seen you in fore- Oh yea you're wounded too." He said backing from his friends before he did any more damage. With his finger pointing towards the small door that led to the lower portion of the ship. "I'm ganna get something so we can have a drink!". Jumping down the pit rather than using the ladder as he'd land with a thud, walk towards the cupboard. Placing a hand on the door, wasting no time forcing it open and sprinting towards the last barrel. There it sat, ideal, and in Eden's sight it began to glisten with gold sparkles. He couldn't contain the giggles as he motioned towards the barrel rubbing his hands, a cheeky smile stretching his face around his teeth. Tightly gripping the cork before snatching it allowing small portions of liquids to jump from the top of the barrel. Now with his mittens wrapped around the sides he began to slowly lift it towards his vacant lips. His eyes shimmering with the thought of the crisp taste, just as it got to his lips he heard a call.

Breaking him out of his disillusions, gripping the cork and smashing it back onto the plug before rushing out of the room. Climbing back up the ladder with a barrel in hand and pet on neck. As he climbed onto the deck he began to scan the area. Lifting the barrel over his head to protect it from any danger. "What! What! Who! When! Wh- Oh it's just a ship." He said tucking his lip in on one side of his face in a nonchalant manner. Setting the barrel down onto the ground before he shifted his gaze to the pole that held the crows nest directly next to him. He began to scale it in almost an instant, calling back down towards Zen."Make sure Rose doesn't drink it all!" He said reaching the point he'd intended to on the pole before screaming down once more. "Actually i might just drink it all. I haven't drunk anything yet!" He said as he leap from the pole onto the opposing pirate ship, a grave yard of broken barrels sitting just before his spot he usually sits.

Easily able to get upon the hull of the ship, coming eye to eye with several roughly dressed pirates. In a squatting position he point to the pirate directly in front of him, giving him a nasty grimace. "Would you mind if we borrow a couple of barrels of drink, my crew drinks a lot." He said with a blank stare.

[Traveller]

Letting Zen leave the room, Alexandra went about taking stock of what they had in the ship. Which, admittedly, wasn't much. But it was better than nothing, even if they would have to ration it until the  next island. Then they would need to buy some, and she honestly didn't know how much they had in terms of money. Great, now they would have to budget. Well, Zen and her would budget, and keep as much money away from Eden as possible. The young shield maiden had no doubt that the boy would waste his money on the first thing he saw, useful or not.

The sound of Zen yelling, his voice slightly panicked, had her running up the ladder topside. Looking around, she saw what had the younger boy so worried. A pirate ship, and a Marine ship!? Why was- oh right, right. The whole Ohara debacle, that would be enough to kick up some sort of reaction from any nearby Marine Base.

"Oh wonderful. We haven't had a week to rest, and not only do we have the Navy after us but we also have another pirate crew to deal with" she scowled, turning her eyes to the closer ship, the pirate ship, and doing a double take when she spotted a short boy she was very familiar with standing on the potential enemies ship.

'Wha-? How-? Oh forget it' She threw her hands up in the air, coming to accept that her captain is an idiot with no sense of self-preservation, and that he would need to be babysat 24/7 if they would want to make sure he didn't do something stupid every five minutes.

"Well, I guess he's going to take care of the pirates then!" she bit out irritably. She was going to chew out the smaller boy when this was over, mark her words. "I'll take care of the Marines, then, shall I? Zen, you're still too hurt for direct combat. Work the ships artillery to provide long ranged support, heck, throw in some of your chemical concoctions if you want." Alexandra let her hands fall to her sides before she went to the nearest catapult and jumped into the basket. Activating the release mechanism, she was flung towards the Marines ship, brandishing her shield as she went.

Landing on the ships deck, she rolled with her momentum and stood casually. With a cheeky, careless grin and a flick of her hair and scanned the group of surprised Marines.

"G'day gents! How is everyone's day this fine..." she looked up at the sun, "afternoon?" she enquired happily. "I hope you've been having a good day so far, because it's about to get so bad like you wouldn't believe" she announced, her grin shifting into a condescending smirk as she settled into her signature opening stance. Standing side on, shield guarding her front and her hand on her still-sheathed sword.

In truth, her plan wasn't to fight off a ship full of Marines. She wasn't Eden, and knew she couldn't handle this many people. But if she can change their course to ramming the rival pirates ship, maybe the two parties will get so caught up with each other, they won't notice the third party leaving the vicinity. The third party being their little ragtag group of misfits.

'I hope the boys remembered to keep their Den Den Mushi's with them' she thought, shifting in preparation to counter an incoming attack. 'Because we're gonna need them this time.'

[Cryo Through the Looking Glass]

Zen's response to Alexandra's torrent of speech was a smirk and an evil look. I'll do more than just man the artillery... he thought with a grin.

Hang on, when did the so called 'captain' get on the enemy's boat? 'Eden you do realise those guys are the same as the ones who attacked us on Toroa? Righhhht.' Zen walked calmly onto the makeshift catapults he had installed on the poop deck, loading them with a mixture that was sure to leave them in tears. A heavy bag of spice he had found in the ship's stores was going to make sure they at least spluttered.

The marine vessel was at the moment, Zen's main priority, with a fleet of musketeers numbering about 7 or 8, with arms poised, ready to fire. He deduced that the woodcutter pirates would have the least 'ranged' attacks, their muscle bound and oiled bodies built for melee. Yet he wasn't worried about Eden's welfare. Why? Because out of their crew, he was the most likely to be able to take down a whole crew and their mothers.

Wincing as the pain in his side took a turn for the worse, as the boat rocked violently. The three ships were disrupting the current in a way Zen didn't like in the least bit. 

'Surrender now and your life shall be spared.' A voice, amplified by a megaphone that came from the marine vessel. Then Alex took a leap that defied all laws of physics, flying onto their boat with a laugh that could have made a grown man shrink in fear. 'Do you want to die painfully Alex?'

Being the only passenger on their ship the 'Adventure', it was Zen's responsibility to keep the ship form sinking into the ocean waves. Although the marines were stunned by the cocky redhead who had foolhardily jumped aboard enemy turf, it wouldn't be long before they fired. He caught Alex's look and nodded. She was trying to make this three way battle into one that would, hopefully, not involve them. To help, would be a different story. Alex would probably try to get the marine crew's attention, and indeed she had done that. But Zen's role was to man the catapults, which he did.

The wood frame looked as if it would break if the breeze blew too hard, but Zen knew his structure was wieldy enough to survive the battle. Running a hand through his hair and glancing down at the spice bag, in his heart he knew, this was going to be a doozy.

Lifting the heavy bag into the wood spoon of the catapult, the Rauner caught a whiff of the intensity of the spices, making his eyes water with the pain. Luckily, it seemed the marine forces were occupied with Alex, and so they didn't see the one short boy who launched a missile of spice towards their bridge, which coupled with the small distance, provided the glass frame the exertion upon it it needed to crack, sending a shower of spice onto a very shocked and bemused captain. With their driver out of commission, Zen ran to the prow, using their underwater propellers to shift the 'Adventure's' trajectory, moving it away from the boat sandwich, which had just lost its juicy filling of the Cainhurst Pirates.

'And that's how you do it!'

[grim]

Eden perched upon the outer hull of the ship in a squat, his arms folded across his chest. His crimson eyes laid upon the pirates who's expressions weren't that which would warrant someone like Eden to be smiling in there faces, which is exactly what he was doing. Zen suddenly began to speak, causing Eden's ears to perk up and his joyful expression to change to one of extreme focus, given his limited brain power. His mouth a-gap and his eyes sliding as far to the side of his sockets as they could, giving the impression that he was actually attempting to look at Zen. A low hum which signified the use of his thinking muscle rung from the back of his throat at Zen's words, attempting to remember exactly who attacked them back then. A single finger placed just before his mouth as his eyes traveled up in thought. Quickly ended as his eyes caught a glimpse of there flag which jogged his memory. The events that caused him and Zen to become friends had flushed ruggedly into his mind, along with whom exactly the flag had belonged to.

His gaze coming down towards a small gathering of pirates just before him, there angered faces gave the illusion that they had been steaming red. Another hum escaped the boy throat as he eyed the mans face. "I kinda remember you, you look a little bit uglier than before though." He said waving his hand just before the mans face, index finger extended towards his mug. With a vicious growl the man leaned downward, a firm grip onto a harshly carved wooden stick. With a tug and a grunt he began to swipe it towards the legs of Eden, who was able to notice that the object in hand was actually an axe and react in time to save his lower-body limbs. Leaping into the air as the attack passed just under him. Lifting his right arm as the sound of tree growth echoed through the intimidate area, the bark had consumed his arm now as he landed with both feet upon the mans separate shoulders. Bringing his now giant bark covered arm down directly in the center of the mans face. Blasting him down towards the deck where his head had met two wooden forces with nearly the same texture and heartiness. "Hey man, It's okay to be ugly! Ugly people lead rich lives, usually not leading with there faces though."

He spoke to the man in a tone similar to that of someone attempting to comfort there friend. Pulling the wooden maw from his face, he was out cold. A few more gruff looking men surrounding Eden, but his focus had quickly shot to one finger. A sudden flash back of a man being killed, in public and cold blood. Eden's face folding in a manner that it rarely did, a face of pure anger as he'd eyed a former enemy. At that moment a sudden force over took his right arm. Gasping lightly as he'd caught him off guard. "Got 'Em boys!" A voice rung out as one of the crew members of the ship had been holding his giant arm in his sweaty vice. "Hold 'Em still!" A voice just from the left of his echoed, turning his head to the scene of a much larger man sprinting towards him with an axe already over head.

Eden snapped out of his small trance, his left arm now forming into a bark covered morph just like his right. His focused on the running man seem to completely shift, right onto the man who'd been holding his arm. Sliding his hand right onto his ankle before yanking it upwards and forcing him to release Eden. Now with both hands on the mans ankles he spun him in the a counter cloak-wise fashion. Using the man as a weapon and landing a blow just into the ribs of the second pirate, successfully knocking them both overboard and into the sea. With that, Eden's eyes instantly locked back onto the familiar leader of this band of pirates, along with his surrounding crew. They'd been equipped with saws and axes, and other various wood cutting utensils

[Traveller]

Alexandra laughed at Zen's words about her wanting to die painfully, before leaping at her opponents. Spinning, she bashed her shield against the many grunts that had surrounded her in her moment of mirth. Ducking under poorly executed slashes, and half-drawing her sword to divert other attacks, and kicking out at the legs of those trying to press their weight against her shield, trying to make her fall or back off. It was kind of funny, really, and while she was having fun, she had a mission to accomplish.

Drawing her sword, she got in her familiar opening stance for one of her favourite attacks. Standing side on and her arms drawn back, sword held in her signature reverse-grip and the blade parallel with her arm. She tensed her muscles, took a deep breath and...

"Horizon Curve!" She yelled with glee, spinning on her heel to perform a complete 360-twirl, her sword cutting down most of those who didn't have the common sense to duck. Now that the crowd was cleared, for the most part, the young woman ran for the helm, skipping the stairs and running straight up to the helm. Glancing around her quickly, she saw the enemy pirate ship turning off-course, a cloud of orange coloured something surrounding the deck. Zen must be having a blast, she wondered how Eden was doing...

The sound of steel cutting air had her spinning and raising her sword to block the downward slash of a heavy cutlass. Her attacker was tall, easily approaching the seven foot marker, with long blond hair tucked into a ponytail and... he was shirtless, showing off his myriad of scars. A seasoned fighter, then.

"You must be the Captain" the redhead grinned despite the weight pressing on her. Her knees were bent and shaking, and she had no doubt that one good shove would have her off the railing and back into the mass of Marines waiting to take her head.

"I am, and what of it, pirate?" the man growled in a deep baritone. She shouldn't, she really shouldn't, but dammit! It was right there...

"I just wanted to give my condolences" she chuckled, twisting her body and making the blade slide down her own and hitting the railing. Almost cutting it in half. By the way the mans face reddened, she would say he got her meaning.

"You dare insult the capability of my crew!?" he shouted, swinging again, this time forcing her to jump back or else be sliced in half, shield or no. With a flip and a twist, she landed on her feet and stayed in the crouching positing. Alexandra raised her head to shoot him a cheeky grin.

"Well yeah, obviously. I didn't come here for tea and biscuits," she paused, "but while I'm here-" she leapt to the side to avoid getting crushed by the Captain. "I guess that's a no then!" she laughed. Diverting another strike as the pair fell into a rhythm. It was like a dance, a deadly dance of blades, diverting and dancing around various attacks and counter-attacks. Every attempt made for the helm was circumvented, one way or another, but neither could land any significant blows on one or the other, and they were only sporting light scratches and grazes. And Alexandra would have called it fun, possibly the time of her life, but the shots being fired at her by the rest of the mans crew were annoying her.

"You're crew is- Whoa! Is being very rude" she commented, dodging another strike and jumping onto the railing again.

"I know, my apologies for that, but you can't tell me your offended by their enthusiasm" he sent her a wicked grin, and she found herself grinning in return. And then she cut the anchoring ropes of on of the decks cannons, and used the sparks made of metal clashing with metal to light the fuse. Everyone except for the captain paused in confusing at the woman's odd move, only to be comically surprised as the realization hit him like... well, like a cannon. The blast sent the cannon back, flying across the deck, and through the railing on the other side before falling into the ocean with an almighty splash. Taking several Marines with it.

"I think you'll find I do, actually" she returned, with a grin of her own as she jumped off the railing. One moment she was grinning at the man, the next she crashed through a wall and landed in a heap of debris. It took her a moment, but when she finally rolled onto her knees, she looked up and saw the blond man glaring down at her.

"While I applaud your creativity in the heat of battle" he ground out, and did she hear a note of approval in his voice? "But seeing as you have seriously harmed my men, I'm afraid playtime is over" he raised his sword, and Alexandra realised this whole time he had been playing with her.

'Oh sh-' she couldn't finish the thought as she leapt to the side, and rolled with the momentum to avoid being skewered. She managed to roll onto her feet before she was battered with a barrage of attacks that she could barely read, let alone block and dodge, and within seconds she was sporting several cuts. While the exchange before had fairly back and forth, this one she was forced purely onto the defensive, and even then it wasn't doing her much good. She was really, truly struggling, and she now knew she was outmatched.

'Dammit! I was arrogant, and- duck!- and high on the thrill of- Jump!- the thrill of battle -block! Ow, that's gonna bruise- My mother would be ashamed of that. Keep- Dammit! - Keep your head in battle, or you'll lose it' Alexandra scolded herself as she desperately tried to keep exactly that from happening. She was happy with her height, and didn't want to lose it. The Captain sent a vicious straight kick into her gut after he easily dismantled her guard, and Alexandra wasn't sure whether it was her bones of the railing that cracked and groaned from the force of the impact. Probably both.

Coughing, the turned her head and spat out the blood that had come up. Internal damage? Or had she just cut cheeks with her teeth again? She didn't know, she was in too much pain to take stock of any specific potential injuries.

"The fight was well fought, but I'm afraid it ends here" the young woman looked up, and saw the Captain looming over her. Though not on purpose, it was probably just a side affect of being so tall. Looking around her, she saw she was surrounded, and that she had landed next to something very interesting.

She sent him a bloody grin, that had far too much teeth to be friendly. "Yes, it does" and with that, rammed her sword into the mechanism keeping one of the anchors aweigh, directly destroying the part keeping the anchor from dropping. The whirring sound that followed was music to her ears, but the resulting jarring of the ship as it was forced to change course, not so much.

Rolling with the momentum, the young woman forced herself onto her feet, and with a smile she bowed to the remaining crew and its Captain.

"Well it has been fun, and I do wish I could stay longer, but I'm afraid I really must dash. And I see you have a meeting with another ship coming up, so I won't keep you!" and with that, leapt away. Off the ship and into the water.

Hopefully, the boys remember to pick her up. Because Her ribs are hurting to the point she doesn't know if she can swim all the way back to the ship.

(Phew! Got a bit carried away there!)

[Cryo Through the Looking Glass]

Zen couldn't do anything as the siege had taken a turn for the worse, Alex taking a battering at the hands of the marine captain. The only good things to come out of the boarding was the fact that the swordswoman had taken the ranged attackers of the marine force out, making Zen's job a whole lot easier.

He turned to look at the battle, only to see a leaping figure with fiery locks and a sword take a dive. We'll have to go after her later, Zen thinks as he hears Eden insulting the rival pirate crew, seemingly unintentionally, though you can never be sure with him.

Zen ran to the other side of the boat, his momentum taking a turn for the worse as the vessel rocked violently, barely catching himself at the edge. The teen called out to his captain. 'Eden you're going to get yourself sleeping with the fishes! The pair had had trouble with one member of the woodcutter pirate crew, and with the entire enemy ship armed to the teeth with things literally designed to chop through wood, this would not end well. There was nothing the teen could do. His injury put him out of commission for a while, and bringing the ballista to the other side of the boat was a definite no go. But he had to help. As Zen runs back to the prow, it starts to pour, the gathering storm clouds reaching a culmination point over the now rough seas, and the skies darkening as the light is sucked up like a vacuum cleaner sucks dust up.

It seems that this is a signal from the gods above that this is a battle unable to be won by their small group. But Zen has never been a religious person anyway. Putting a metaphorical middle finger up at the heavens with his next actions, the boy, his brown hair plastered to his face by the sea spray and his almost Jedi-like robes fluttering in the wind, runs to the woodcutter boat and leaps aboard, in a feat of physical endurance that shouldn't have been possible in his condition. Bringing a small beaker out from his trusty satchel containing potassium in its purest form, Zen opens the vial into a beaker of water he has just pulled out. Tossing it at the pirate closest to Eden, the chemicals mix, a volatile lilac flame emerging from its shell of glass, before exploding with a loud bang into the crowd, causing an almost ripple effect as the pirates run for cover. 'Oops....' Zen exclaimed sarcastically. 'Eden, we gotta get outta here!' During this statement a bang of thunder occurs and a wave roars up above the boat.

Rocketing himself off the boat, the teen flies like an arrow, his descent onto the 'Adventure' amplified by the woodcutter pirate vessel's now steep curve. They were truly at the mercy of the ocean now, and with a Devil Fruit user onboard it was more than likely severe injury would occur. Then Zen remembered the other member of his crew,

Oh God, Alex was still in the water! Realising this, the boy grabs a rope, and quickly tying it with the most secure knot he can think of to the prow and to his foot, Zen closes his eyes. I can do this, he thinks, before throwing himself into the stormy seas.

[grim]

Eden stood on the now rocking deck of the wood-cutters, balled fist raised over his face which held a grizzly stare towards the party. The swaying of the ship intensified, though Eden neglected this fact as he dashed forth. Directly into the maw of the pirates as an wave of war cries roared from there mouths sprung a gape. Eden allowed his own roar to escape which had been equality as rambunctious as the group. The vibration began to shake the very foundation of the boat, even drowning out a distant streak of lightning and the thunder the followed it.

Eden's sent a jarring right to the first pirate that closed the distance, landing in the center of his gut as he blasted towards another small crowd of his mates. Sliding his eyes to the right as an axe was heavily swung towards his center. His arms thrust, his hands instinctively opening widely motioned his torso backwards. The axe grazing him just enough to split the flesh on his ribs, slicing the shirt and allowing a parade of crimson liquid to drench the deck. Edens hands shot towards the man who was sent off balanced his full hearty swing. His gripped the man with an extreme vice so tight as he sent a knee towards the center of his nose. His eyes widened as the knee bone crashed against his nose, causing the man the slump down on the deck. A sudden blunt sting rung on his right side, his face winced before he'd turned to see an axe lodged into his arm. Closing his eyes and reeling his back towards as he released a cry of pain. His side began to warm unnaturally, sliding his eyes in there socket rather than turning his head. The crimson liquid flooding his arm and quickly filling the cloth clothes he wore. His available arm gripped the head of the axe, forcing it downwards back towards his flesh as he rocked backwards. Placing his foot into the man who bore the axes center as he lifted both him and the axe. The fury that plastered his face forced through his eyes in a raged look, face to face with him. In a plucking fashion the axe exited his arm causing even more blood to spurt over the deck with its exit. Both the weapon and man sent over board towards the now crashing waves.

Eden held the wound, as the man who would be captain walk towards him with the large axed gripped into his hand resting onto his shoulder. Tapping it ever so slightly as the stillness of the two starting towards each other was broken with droplets of water from the sky. Now soaked in two liquids, Eden rose to his feet.

"You don't seem so hot buddy"

He said with a snicker, tapping the weapon on his shoulder and curving his head at Eden. A smug look upon his face.

"What kinda man cares about a flesh wound?"

Removing his now blood soaked hand from the wound as he reentered his fighting stance, a wild smile covered his face. Though just before he'd decided to rush forth, a crackle of what seemed to be fight erupted directly on the mans face. Eden sheilding his own as he tumbled off of his feet. The crackling fire danced on the mans face and even on his crew, Eden seeing what effects fire had on him in general began to back away. Inching slowly backwards as he back tapped against the damp wood of the ship. Hearing a familar voice as he looked up to see Zen. Ever so happy he raised to his feet to great his fellow crew-mate. Just as he opened his mouth another crack of thunder blasted through the air, this one closer than any of the others, close enough to send a large shock wave (and a literal wave) barreling towards them. Strong enough to knock both of the boys off of the ship. Though Eden wasn't as lucky as Zen.

A cool visage covering his body, his closed eyes shot open. Unable to move his body as he'd began to panic. A large amount of air released from his lungs as bubbles shot to the surface. Trying with all his might to move his body but it just wouldn't budge. Was this the end for Eden?

[Traveller]

The sea began to churn and roll, storm cloud's overhead blocked out the sun and made it seem almost as dark as night. Cursing, she looked to where she last saw Zen, on the ship, just in time to see him jump off and plummet into the sea! What the hell was he doing!? Over the roar of the sea, she heard the sound of fighting, and saw Eden falling into the sea almost immediately after Zen.

"Oh come on!" she yelled, and began to frantically swim for the Devil Fruit User. Whether he had fallen by accident or on purpose, she didn't care, what she did care about was that the idiot was going to drown. The pain in her chest began to worsen, but she ignored it, along with the rest of the aches in her body. When she was close enough, she took a deep breath, almost losing it again when the pain suddenly doubled, and then dived after her anchor of a captain.

The dark waters made it hard to see, but a timely flash of lightning illuminated the waters just enough for her to see his outline. Letting her weapons and close help her sink, she kicked her feet as hard as could, and with an outstretched arm, she grasped the boys leg and pulled him close. The water was freezing, and she was worried his small body wouldn't be able to handle it. Without thinking, she put her mouth to his and pushed air in, forcing oxygen into his lungs.

Once she was sure he wouldn't immediately drown, Alexandra started making her way to the surface. It was farther than she thought, and they had been sinking deeper and deeper while she had been giving him air. And she was slower, the lack of air now in her lungs, her injuries, her clothes weighing her down and having one arm occupied with keeping Eden from sinking...

Her lungs were burning, and what little air she had left escaped her lungs with a pained cough as her ribs suddenly exploded with pain. Kicking with more desperation than thought, Alexandra grasped desperately for the surface, her vision was getting blurry, and the edges were going dark. Dammit, dammit!

Suddenly, freezing wind was biting into her face, and without thought Alexandra inhaled, and hacked when she half swallowed salt water. But she was above water, and with a heave made sure Eden's head was above water too.

"Gad- kah! God Dammit Eden! I swear to all the higher beings, you will be the death of me!" she half yelled, half wheezed. Her lungs burned, from the lack of air, but now there was another searing pain in her chest she couldn't identify. Looking around, she tried to spy Zen, but couldn't catch him anywhere. She saw their ship, close by, thank all the gods that be. It didn't seem damaged, though it was rocking violently from the wind and waves of the storm. Well, that can't be good.

Gun shots fired from somewhere behind her, and the water around her splashed as it was peppered with bullets. With a curse, she turned and saw a small lifeboat, full with around three Marines. Soaked to the bone and shivering, but still resolutely trying to hit them.

"Really!? Are you s!!&^%$ me!?" the redhead took another pain breath, before diving back underwater to avoid the rain of bullets. Kicking her feet, she made for the boat. Luckily, it was only a few metres away. Once near enough, she bodily threw her captain out of the water and into the boat, surprisng the Marines enough to make them pause in their shooting spree. Popping out from under the water herself, she grabbed the edges of the lifeboat and heaved herself up. Without missing a beat, she uppercutted the nearest Marine off the boat, backhanded the other into the water with his friend, and took an impressive left hook from the third Marine, who had reacted faster than his friends to the sudden arrivals. She teetered near the edge of the boat, but with a wicked grin she grabbed the Marine by his uniform and threw them both over the edge and into the frigid waters again.

Kicking the boat away as she grappled with the Marines in the water, the sound of cannon fire had her looking to the enemies pirate ship. It was getting blasted to splinters by the Navy battleship, which was damaged but otherwise not too worse for wear. Dammit, without the pirates to keep the Marines occupied, and all their crew now in the water, the Navymens attention will now go to Adventure and her wayward crew.

Abandoning all hope of everyone getting out of this, Alexandra grabbed her wrestling partner as the Marine ship turned towards him, grabbed her sgian dubh and pressed it to the Marines throat, making him stop his thrashing. The two nearby also stopped, and with steely lavender eyes Alexandra looked away from them and up at their Captain. The battleship was close enough that she could see him, even through the wind and rain.

"Captain. I offer you a proposition" she called up over the roaring win and waves, "The life of my friends for my capture! I won't fight, as long as you let my friends and our ship go!" she called up, and watched the surprise and... approval? Filter across his face, but after a long, tense moment, he nodded and gesture for his men to bring them aboard.

The retrieval was fast and effecient, she surrendered her weapons without a fuss, and after a professional pat-down and a quick interrogation on whether or not she had any other weapons hidden, she was escorted to the brigg. Before going under, she looked out to the stormy seas and sent a small prayer to any diety that might be listening. Alexandra prayed that Zen and Eden, and even the small ship Adventure, made it through the storm alive.

She didn't pray for herself.

[Cryo Through the Looking Glass]

ZENITH RAUNER ____ TAG Cryo Through the Looking Glass WORDS 673 NOTES spiffy eh?

Zen hit the water, the sudden chill rocketing through his bones like a knife through hot butter, and the stormy waters threw him round. Although attached to the boat, the constant rocking caused him to be tossed and controlled as if he were a puppet.

He saw Eden, the wave that had knocked Zen onto the boat had knocked Eden into the water. He tried desperately to reach the devil fruit user, but time and time again the waves thrust him under, determined to drown the young man. He gasped for air, and saw a tall figure swimming towards him. Alex.

Although filled with relief he was almost disappointed. It seemed the reason for his jumping off the boat was nullified. But then again, maybe he had already known that the shield maiden could take care of herself, and he had just wanted to seem heroic.

Now the Adventure was scraping against the overturned and blasted up hull of the opposing pirate ship. The marines, on the other hand had dispatched lifeboats, and had eyes only for the one who had assaulted their ship. There was nothing he could do. The two surrendered. 

Zen grabbed the rope that was his tether to the Adventure, and skimming over the surface of the water, he hoisted himself to the slick wood of their vessel, clasping a ladder that led to the prow of the boat. 

It took him the better part of 10 minutes, stumbling over himself in an effort to reach the deck. But he'd done it, and although his crew were still with the marines, Zen wouldn't give up. 

Sopping wet, throughly exhausted, and his injury stinging like a thousand ants were eating him alive at that one point in his side, the Rauner grabbed his satchel, which he had left on the boat before he had taken the 'relaxing' dip in the ocean. Time to test his new weapons.

First began with a rubber ball, pulled from the pack that held all his chemicals, smelling strongly of an artificial, almost sterile alcohol.

Next he readied the glove, which seemed to nod at Zen, also pulled from the satchel. It rippled, and Zen's trusty Sabertooth gauntlet morphed, a thick layer of fur and flesh snaking up his arm and encasing his limb in a perfect mood of a sabretooth's hind leg.

It was bursting with explosive power, and grasping the rubber ball in one hand, the boy reared back, but not before sending a jolt from the spark throwing gun in his other hand onto the ball. From there it was touch and go, and the ball was already igniting as power rippled through Zen's artificial animal arm, tossing it in a surge of energy.

The ball raced through the air, before impacting on the main marine ship, which almost no one was left on, having spread out into the lifeboats. Zen's primary objective was not to take lives, but take transportation. Then it erupted into flames, a fireball that spun through the boat with all the force and energy of a bomb, and lighting the night sky up in a unearthly glow.

Zen was taken aback at the massive destruction caused, having ripped the marine's vessel to shreds, a smoking reminder that the Cainhurst Pirates were not to be messed with.

In the boy's sheer awe and terror, an enemy had slunk onto the Adventure, and seeing the teen, rushed him, throwing him to the ground in a bear hug that squeezed the life out of him.

'H-helllppp...'

He gasped, spluttering. The woodcutter pirate continued his assault on the teen, and in the instant where he released the pressure to grab a small hatchet from his belt, Zen smashed upwards into the man's jaw with his elbows, in a blow that left his arm numb. This gave Zen enough leeway to get his left arm out, slashing the sabretooth glove into the gruff man's arm. Breathing hard, the man charged for another assault..

ISHY of THQ & ADOXOGRAPHY

[grim]

Darkness...

Eden slowly drifted towards a thick hazy darkness, even over throwing his natural senses. With the last portion of breath escaping his body is a school of bubbles that floated upwards. It was as if he watched his life escape through his lungs. Slowly his eyelids sunk down towards each other. Easing so violently into the grip of the darkness, all feeling in his body had ceased, which caused a swaying motion rather than the stillness of his attempted forced body movements. He could no longer fight the darkness that beckoned him with such a sweet embrace, it almost felt warm in the sea of the freezing waters as his eyes shut completely.

Darkness...

Such a darkness that it couldn't be described as a color, It had its own feel, its own taste. It dulled the senses while also making them explode vibrantly. Just as the darkness would consume him, a small sensation began to tingle his body. It'd grown rapidly until it overtook him as a whole. He suddenly jerked upwards, his eyes thrust as the feeling in his body was restored. Coughing lightly as he spurt some water onto the deck. inhaling a heavy breath as he'd laid upon his elbows and knees. The intake of water caused his chest to burn. His breaths grew even more heavy as the burning sensation grew from a while. Making small movements and wincing at the growing pains which didn't last much longer as he coughed up another hull of water stuck inside of his lungs.

Raising back his feet only half conscious, though it was beginning to restore itself at a rather rapid rate. The droplets of the rain tapping on his body, making a strange sound due to his wooden skin. His hair sink down into his face as his crimson eyes almost glimmered in the current gloomy scene. He heard something just to the side of him, it'd almost been blotted out the ringing that sung in his ear. Yet it was so faint it'd been as noticeable as a roar. Eden's head turned to the side, his visage unmoved by the sight of his friend being attacked by the pirate of the other ship. Turning his body towards them, and with slow dead-man life shifts that replaced his walking he started towards him. His arms had been lowered as if they didn't work anymore, they bounce with every step of his shambling movement. With each step, the next one began to grow in life. His eyes growing wider and soon enough even making a full expression, one fleeting with rage. His arms swung upwards from the droop, cocking his right arm backwards to form a solid open palm. Forcing it towards the pirate that mounted Zen. The palm clashing towards his back, not seeming to be the least bit of impact-full. The man reeled backwards. His pupils disappeared from the sheer pain of the attack as he toppled over. Eden extended his raged look towards Zen for a brief moment before it shifted into a hazy smile.

""Get up."

He said with a small chuckle, a warm smile placed upon his friend. His smile soon shifted back into a look of determination once more as he looked out towards the sea for Alex. The small crew had took her into custody, he could see a portion of her red hair as they moved her towards the lower part of the ship. Though due to the quick thinking of Zen, they had been stopped momentarily giving Eden a small window to attempt to save Alex . Edens arms quickly morphed into the large wooden figures that his crew had normally seen them do. He placed them onto the hull of the ship, a small digging sound rung lightly from them as he began to pull backwards on the hull. Without even looking back towards Zen he said in a rather serious voice. "Guard the ship and make sure no one gets on, I'll be right back." Releasing his pull and launching himself towards the ship, launching himself towards the smoking vessel as he landed harshly onto the deck, having to roll to avoid any serious injures. The ships main units were busy fighting the fire, busy enough to let Eden sneak by and into the bowels of the ship. Starting towards the stairs he saw them take her down.

The inside of the ship had been unnaturally cold, the sudden spike in temperatures even caused Eden to shiver a bit as it reached his skin. More worried about the safety of Alex to motioned onward.  As he moved through the lower portions he'd notice that the brig had contained more than just Alex here, as the many other pirates screamed from him to release them. Gripping the bars and attempted to break them in some fashion, but he hadn't been strong enough. With a puppy like look he ran from the people towards a cell that had been open. A tall man, at least to Eden, with several different decorations stood before him. His fashion made it easy to identify him as the Captain or a figure in command on the ship.

"You'll get her over my dead body pirate!" He called swinging his weapon towards Eden's face. Curving his body backwards as he was easily able to avoid the mans attack. A grim look plastered his face as he walked slowly forward. The mans weapon danced towards Eden's body, though he was easily able to match the attacks with dodges, due to the nature of his fighting style. The man rushed forwards sinking his all into a final attack. Eden ducked downwards, the blade shaving his shoulder as he tore through the cloth that wrapped his body, a fine red mark appearing instantly. His large wooden arms began to shave downwards, similar to when he completely released them from his body to preform more agile movements. Though, this time the arms didn't come off completely, instead only a large portion of them landed onto the ground while a more compact form of the wooden arms had been revealed. Now with the attack soaring over his head, Eden gripped the mans waist band on his pants furiously. Sending a powerful Wooden Shotgun punch towards the mans chest as he literally knocked him out of his pants and through a portion of the ship. The man landed into the water with a splash as Eden stood straight up, nodding at his handy work with a slight smile before removing the keys from his pants and throwing them down towards him. Pressing them against the shackles of a blonde haired pirate's cuffs as they released and hit the floor with a clank. The pirate in question was a rather tall female pirate with blonde hair and a scar that etched directly down her forehead. Eden quickly jetting out of the cell as he waved for the other pirate to follow. At that moment a wave of navy men rushed from the corridor, way more than Eden had planned on fighting.

As he made it towards the deck of the ship once more, he noticed that the people had just finished up dealing with the fire. They noticed both him and the other pirate rather quickly. he grabbed the pirate and pull her upon his back. Placing his wooden arms upon the railing of the hull and throwing himself towards the Adventure. Both him and pirate hitting the place with a thud, not really effecting either one of them. They'd obviously been through far more.

"I'll go back for her"

 The ebb and flow the storm created had profuse effects on the larger ships as they'd been taking the brunt of the forceful waves. Though Eden ignored this as he began to walk back towards the railing, just when a loud voice rung out from the enemy ship.

"Your friend has gave her freedom so that you may be free, we will pardon the low ranking pirate you took on a whim, but if you are not gone in the matter of 2 minutes, we will be forced to deal with you"

Uncertainty laid a grasp on Eden, he balled his fist angrily. He wanted to ignore the marines and attempt to save Alex so badly, but that would go directly against Alex's will. Growling a bit before releasing his fist and turning around. He made his way to the lower deck, his head hung lowly as he descended.   

[Traveller]

"Never thought I'd see the day, a pirate sacrificing their life for another" her guard commented roughly, though not with any intent to insult or offend her in any way. The shackles clicked shut over her wrists, and she obediently walked into her cell and sat down.

"Well, we're not your typical band of renegades, if case you haven't noticed" she raised a brow at him, and he scoffed, shutting the door with more force than strictly necessary.

"Hardly, I've seen crews far more extraordinary than yours, but they all cut and run before risking their life for someone else" he shot back, and the young woman grinned as she leaned casually against the cell wall.

"You've just proven me right, Soldier" she quipped, and the Marine ran the conversation through his head, before realising that she was right. With a scowl, he turned away and began to patrol the hallways of the brigg. After a moment, she sunk to the floor with one foot extended and the other bent, and let her head fall back against the wall to stare up at the dank ceiling, ignoring the chatter around her.

A sudden commotion just outside the brigg roused everyone and brought their attention to the door, which was opened with all the force of a small cannon, and in came-

"What in the name of The Grand Keeper are you doing here!?" She yelled at Eden, the Marine guarding the cells was swiftly beaten, and Alexandra watched as he started to free prisoners. Though he only had time to free one, before several Navy Men crashed the rescue attempt. Eden and the other criminal were... escorted to the deck, and most of the Marines followed, except one.

"Captain" Alexandra spoke, careful to keep her voice neutral. The taller man nodded his head, acknowledging her, "You swore not to go after them" she warned, and he raised a brow.

"One of them boarded our ship, and released one of our prisoners, and attacked one of my men. Why should I keep to our agreement when they have so blatantly broken it?" he questioned, calm as he pleased.

Alexandra was at the bars of her cell in one leap, and glared at the man with a dangerous fury that had the man questioning just how prepared he was to risk baiting her, but that only lasted for a moment, he needed to know the extent of her loyalty to her Captain and crew.

"They were not part of the agreement, aren't even aware of it! You will honour your end Marine, or I swear to all that be in this world, I will take the life of every one of your men and drag them to the deepest pits of Hell with me" her voice was soft, but carried enough weight that everyone in the room felt it, and they knew that she would keep this promise if the Captain didn't keep his. The man, try as he might to deny it, found himself impressed by the young womans convictions. If only she had chosen to be a Marine, they may have been friends. But alas, the world had decreed they would be enemies, but that didn't mean he couldn't respect her. Even a little.

"Very well" he spoke formally, "I will allow them a chance to escape, if they take it your friends will be spared, if not, then they will meet the same fate as you." And with that, left the room. Sighing, she sank to her knees and pressed her forehead against the cold steel bars of her cell. Closing her eyes, the redheaded swords woman waited, and strained her ears to listen to outside world. Trying desperately to garner any clue to what was happening, if Eden was being smart for once and would back down, if Zen was alright and if his injuries hadn't gotten worse the the fighting, if the Adventure had gotten damaged some way, if the storm was letting up, anything that would let her know her friends were alright.

Heavy steps were heard, and Alexandra looked up to find that some doctors were coming down to take care of the still unconscious Marine down here. As well as a new guard, thankfully. Standing up, she spoke without preamble.

"What happened?" her tone could be compared to stone, but the Marine only smirked at her. She glared murderously at him as he walked by her cell, but otherwise turned away and went back to her previous position sitting against the wall. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. No explosions sounded, and no one she knew were dragged down here in chains, so she could garner that everyone she actually cared about was safe. She smiled at that, content with the circumstances.

"Fair winds, my friends" she said softly, barely a whisper, and closed her eyes to drift into an uncomfortable doze, the pain in her ribs, and the aches and pains in her body slowly drifting away into nothingness as sleep consumed her.