Ambush! A Foggy Battle at Sea!

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 7 // Ambush! A Foggy Battle at Sea!

The higher up the mast the Seaman went the colder it felt. But the more the fog dissipated slightly! Finally, with one final heave of the rope, Reynard managed to pull himself up onto the crow's nest. A few seagulls that had been basking about flew off in different directions leaving their white feathers where they once stood. Looking around with utmost speed he grabbed the spyglass which was neatly placed against a wall of the mast.

Holding the device up to his eye the Seaman scouted the area. Looking south, there was nothing but water... looking east there was some movement in the water... it seemed like a whale was resting on the surface a few knots away. Turning north toward the ship's destination... he saw it.

A black flag... with the crooked smile of a jolly roger. The flag made Reynard do a double take! He couldn't believe his eyes... they'd run into pirates this far up north? The jolly roger had a smiling skull wearing a pink pirate hat that sat on top of a layer of poofy cyan hair.

"Oh no... Ensign! There are pirates at the bow! I repeat pirates at the bow!"

He exclaimed, his hands were slightly shaking now... looking at that jolly roger he was able to recognize it. Those were the Bubble Pop Pirates lead by Bubble Pop Betty! An up-and-coming pirate Captain with a bounty of 15,400,000! A large sum and a big deal... the average bounty in the East Blue being no more than a measly 3,000,000 beri!

"Ensign Lovelace! It seems like they're the-"

*crochow!*

The sound of a cannonball being shot at high velocity through the now clearing mist interrupted the seaman. Its impact against the ship causing him to slightly lose his footing in the crow's nest. He stumbled and bumped his head against a bit of mast that stuck out.

"Ergh."

He groaned rubbing the back of his head. This was bad... but it would be okay! Rosalyn would take charge! She always did! She knew exactly what to do in these situations... she was the leader he looked up to after all.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Rosalyn Lovelace (Fox's OC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Reynard’s voice floated down, slightly muffled by the fog. It was muffled, but Rosie heard enough of it to know what was coming. Her body bristled suddenly, pink scales erupting from her skin and coating it like a suit of armor. With a deep breath, Rosie roared.

“MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS!”

Marines, stunned by the volume of the usually quiet and reserved Rosalyn, froze, but only for a second as Kurt followed up.

“You heard her! Arm the cannons! Go!”

That got them into motion. Rosie nodded her thanks to Kurt and turned back to the bow of the ship. Reynard called down something else, but the sound of cannonfire interrupted him. The bow of the ship broke through the last of the fog, allowing Rosie to see the enemy ship clearly. Ugh. It was always something, wasn’t it? The Bubble Pop Pirates.

Behind her, a door slammed open. Rosie didn’t need to look to know who it was. Vaun’s cloudy platforms materialized all around the ship. He hopped onto one adjacent to her. The ship started to turn to line up the cannons, but the pirate’s ship was already primed for a broadside. They unleashed another volley of cannonballs at them, but this time, they were ready.

Rosie jumped out over open water to meet one of the cannonballs mid-air. Her fist crashed into it and shattered it. Just as she was beginning to fall to a watery grave, a cloud platform appeared beneath her like she’d known it would. She fell onto it and bounced, grabbing onto the side of the ship as Vaun caught two more cannonballs with his clouds and Kurt shattered another with a piercing shot.

“Prepare to board!” Vaun called out.

The ship lined up, broadside to broadside. Rosie chopped downward.

“Return fire!”

Cannonfire erupted from their ship this time as the two ships drifted nearer to one another.

“And reload!”

Once the two ships were close enough, Vaun made what amounted to a bridge of clouds from their ship to the enemy’s ship. Rosie sighed. That man was always so impatient. Nodding to Kurt, Rosie waited a moment or two more before she followed in Vaun’s cloud steps. Kurt, for his part, stayed back and provided cover fire while other Marines readied ropes to swing over.

---

Rosalyn | Pale Pink (#fad7f6) | Post Count: 9
Vaun | Deep Sky Blue (#00bfff)
Kurt | Midnight Blue (#191970)

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 7 // Ambush! A Foggy Battle at Sea!

Grabbing onto the side of the crow's nest Reynard managed to settle his footing. He looked down, the fog now fully cleared. Everyone was getting ready! Fellow seamen were rushing in with guns and swords! Putting planks on the side of the ship to board!

While Vaun, Kurt, and Rosalyn rushed into action! More cannons were being shot! But that portion of the naval battle was coming to a close as seamen began to board the ship and pirates in colorful garb began boarding the ship. The clash of metal against metal and the smell of gun smoke filled the air as combat started.

"Oh, I should do something..."

Reynard whispered to himself, watching Rosie shatter a cannonball in mid-air. With that, he stood on the railing of the crow's nest and hunched over. Without thinking it twice he took a massive leap through the sky.

"Geppou!"

The Seaman began to kick through the air sending himself flying through it bit by bit until he was comfortably right next to the transformed Rosalyn. With a soft *plop* he landed on his feet directly beside her.

"I-I am here and ready to go!"

He announced getting in a somewhat crouched position, fists at the ready. Using his transformation powers Reynard transformed his legs into a pair of digitigrade fox-limbs and his arms into vulpine limbs. Brown fur covering both his legs and arms now... but outside of that he was wholly human in appearance. The power of his advanced zoan knowledge showing. A few of the pirates on the ship stared at them, baring swords and guns.

"What the hell... since when do the marines keep freakish experiments on their ships?"

A man among the small group of pirates hacked in his raspy voice. He had a sword held tightly around his fist and a glint in his teeth. Unlike his cowering comrades, he seemed a lot more confident in his abilities.

"To hell with it! I'll see ya in the Sea Devil's Locker!"

He charged with the somewhat confused men following behind. With a face of determination and slightly crouched, Reynard took initiative immediately.

"I got this Lovelace Ma'am! Kamaitachi Whirlwind!"

Reynard yelled out, seemingly disappearing from Rosalyn's side. It seemed he was gone in general... a strange gust came over the men who now stopped in place in confusion as one of their targets seemed to disappear. The sound of quickened footsteps was all over them even if they could see the young man. That's when it happened...

*shink*

One of the men's chests was cut, a slash was now on his chest... then another... then another. Until they were all effectively shredded to pieces except for the most confident of all who now stood in place confused.

"What... what's happening?"

He muttered in confusion, then when he least expected it a slash from behind came cutting him down. Reynard finally materializing behind him, his speed having calmed down. The young man was panting heavily, that was one of his strongest techniques but it did drain a lot out of him. His retractable claws hiding back into his paws.

"You're a fast one... but let's see how you deal with my bubble pop?"

A short thin woman with long pink hair that almost brushed the deck said, she had a comically large pirate hat that made her look like a child playing pirate rather than a serious one. With a wink and a wad of gum in her mouth, she extended a white-looking pistol Reynard's way.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // Geppou, Kamaitchi Whirlwind 

-- NAME // Rosalyn Lovelace (Fox's OC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Vaun Hertz (Fox's NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Captain Betty (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Rosie thudded heavily down onto the deck of the pirate ship, followed in quick succession by a second thunk from her tail. Reynard landed beside her swiftly afterward. She glanced down at him approvingly. He always seemed to want to anticipate her needs. A good quality in any assistant. He also seemed to have grasped his Zoan type Devil Fruit with proficiency that even she lacked. Albeit, she hadn’t exactly done much hands-on research in her case. It was informative seeing Reynard’s progress. As a group of pirates approached, Reynard took off.

Rosie moved on herself, smashing the faces of pirates and sending several flying over the railing. Captain Vaun was dealing with those above on the rigging and in the crow’s nest. She could tell from the sound of thunder and crack of lightning. A voice rang out across the deck that pricked Rosie’s ears. It was confident and female. A look and she saw a woman with stunningly pink hair that made her own dyed pink hair look drab. Rosie scowled. The instant she pointed her pistol at Reynard, her tail slammed the deck in rapid succession.

“Soru.”

Disappearing and reappearing in front of Reynard in the blink of an eye, Rosie lifted her tail up to block whatever oncoming threat had been headed her recruit’s way. With a sudden bang, Rosie felt something hit her tail, but it wasn’t the piercing sting of a bullet. She glanced down with a raised brow to see a thick mat of chewed bubblegum on her tail. As she looked at it, one of Betty’s men charged her, but Rosie swatted him with her tail, sticking him to the back of it.

“Hm,” Rosie nodded, not displeased with this turn of events. “Schwanzpeitsche.”

With a massive swing of her tail, Rosie spent both her tail and the man stuck to it straight at Betty’s side. This was going to hurt them a lot more than it would hurt her.

---

Rosalyn | Pale Pink (#fad7f6) | Post Count: 10
Vaun | Deep Sky Blue (#00bfff)
Kurt | Midnight Blue (#191970)

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 7 // Ambush! A Foggy Battle at Sea!

The strawberry-haired pirate gave a pout as Rosalyn got in the way of her attack. She wasn't proud that her attack was also being used against her men. Ugh, this fodder was so useless. No matter, this operation would likely call out for the big guns. The... metaphorical ones that is. Reynard on the other hand was greatful Rosie had rescued him! Even if she was stern it made him feel warm that she actually had his back. It was even more rewarding when Roslayn used the wad of gum attached to her tail to bash the pirates around. It almost made Reynard chuckle. She was so clever. On another note... did she just use Soru!? A new trick? He'd bug her about it later. 

"Aurelio, release the Sea Lion!"

Betty called out and as she did a man in a purple jester's outfit popped from behind her almost comically. Had he been hiding behind her all this time? If so, what crazy master of stealth was he? Whatever he was, he was creepy and seemed to be the second in command around these parts judging by his appearance alone. No way such an imposing figure was just another crewmate and you aren't wrong.

He was Aurelio "The Fool" a man known for his trickery and deceit given a bounty of 12,000,000 beri! Another bounty to gawk at especially in a place like the East Blue! Aurelio pulled out a horn from his hat revealing a full set of blue hair underneath, which was comically enough in the same shape as his hat.

Grabbing onto the horn he blew into it! A roar was sent across the sea! Then, that's when the water near both ships began to ripple and a massive creature bigger than both ships popped its massive head out. Half Fish! Half Lion! The creature sported a massive mane, a voracious maw, and fish-like scales. It was... the Sea Lion!!

"GWAAAAAAR!!!"

The beast roared! Various seamen on the Betelgeuse prepared their muskets aiming at the creature. Their bullets blasting at it, but ultimately bouncing off its scales. In turn, this had the effect of angering the sea lion which then proceeded to lounge itself at the ship and embed its chompers onto the deck. Seamen jumped out of its way, retreating from the angered beast! Trying to avoid ending up in its mouth.

Reynard's eyes opened wide and his mouth went agape as he saw the massive creature that was under the pirate crew's command. He had heard the news of the destructive wake left behind by the crew... he always wondered what sort of ability they had... but now he knew it was no ability. No, it was a product of their pet. He had heard of the power of Sea Beasts! Creatures capable of leveling towns if left to their own devices.

"Ensign Lovelace! Should we take care of that beast first?"

Reynard asked, but it seemed like the pirate Captain had other plans, the young pirate woman smirked smugly. With the Jester chuckling up a storm as he danced like a fool behind her.

"Oh, sweet boy I'm afraid you'll have someone else to deal with! Aurelio! Kill that boy."

This only served to excite the Jester more, who started to clap at the very idea and laugh even more.

"Heeheehoohoo! Already on it! Hyuuu! Let the fox hunt begin!!"

Just as he said that he pulled another instrument from his hat, this time a trumpet, and played the traditional tune played during a fox hunt. A bead of sweat fell down Reynard's forehead. He had this! Especially now that Rosalyn was next to him. Just as he settled his eyes on Aurelio however, the man had disappeared. Huh... where did he go?

"Peekaboo!!!"

Came the all too familiar voice from behind, turning rapidly Reynard saw the nine-foot Jester standing right behind him carrying what seemed like a massive scythe! How!? How had he done that!? Did he teleport!? No... he couldn't have that was impossible. He was just that fast then. Reynard clenched his teeth, damn. A maniacal smile was plastered over the larger man's grey-white! His yellow-colored eyes glowing out of his sunken eyes. Aurelio was anything but a friendly Jester. He was a demon. A monster. A freak! With a massive swing from his scythe, he slashed at Reynard.

"Kami-e!"

Reynard exclaimed, dodging the attack with Kami-e. Good, if he'd gotten hit by such a weapon he would have likely been filleted on the ground.

"Bastard! Watch where you swing that!"

The young man complained, rolling up a sleeve from his coat. As he got ready to punch the smug-looking demon-fool.

"Oh, but I have... heeeeeehoooooooo!"

What? Reynard thought, only to look down where he saw a perfect circle formed in the ground. This was almost like a cartoon or comic strip. His eyes opened while as he came crashing down to the lower deck, a few splinters embedding themselves in his paws as he attempted to stop his fall in time.

"Damn this bastard is so fast, I'll just have to match his speed..."

Reynard scoffed under his breath as he stood up from the debris, his muscles aching from the tumble. This was bad territory... it was dark under the deck. A perfect place for a man like Aurelio... he would just have to use his vulpine senses for this one. Taking some deep breaths Reynard tried to calm down. Readying himself for this incredible fight.

~~~

Meanwhile, this took place, Betty got ready to take on her target. Rosalyn, she scoffed at the pangolin marine. Just because she was an ability user and was using her useless men like living kanabo didn't make her better. Or at least that what Betty told herself. There was no way she'd match her special gum! No marine thus far had been able to. Ability user or not!

"You're mine!"

The woman exclaimed, shoving a wad of pink gum into her mouth. She chewed very quickly, puffing her cheeks before blowing out a massive bubble.

"Bubble Pop! Special Surprise!!"

She exclaimed pushing the massive bubble over in Rosalyn's way. Only to send a needle right after it! Fluttering harmlessly the bubble made its way over to the pangolin human! But upon contact with the needle, it exploded in a shockwave! Sending a blast of compressed air across the entire ship that even managed to knock out a few of her weaker crewmates and topple a few of the stronger ones.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED //
Kami-e

-- NAME // Rosalyn Lovelace (Fox's OC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Vaun Hertz (Fox's NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Captain Betty (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // Bubblepop! Special Surprise!

-- NAME // Aurelio (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Betty sidestepped her tail strike, but Rosalyn wasn’t too bothered by that. Her crewman smashed into the deck and dislodged from Rosalyn’s tail as the gum stuck faster to the wood of the boat than to her slick scales. Her tail wasn’t totally free of gum, but it was a lot lighter without someone stuck on the end of it. She sighed as some new chaos erupted. A clown appeared, releasing a giant Sea Beast. Rosie shook her head. Best to leave that to the Captain.

The clown was excited to be sent after Reynard, almost cartoonishly tricking the young Seaman and sending them both down to the lower decks of the ship. This was all so incredibly tedious and tiresome. She looked at Betty who was hyping herself up to defeat her. She was up to something, but that didn’t matter if Rosie closed the distance. Her fighting style seemed to be reliant on range. That meant that she likely had techniques in place to keep her opponents at bay. With some hesitation and disgust, she tugged two little wads of gum from her tail and smashed them into her ears. It felt horrible. Rosie was feeling a little petty, so she would ensure that Betty would feel something similarly heinous.

In the time that it took Rosie to insert her makeshift earplugs, Betty had already queued up her next attack. Instead of slamming headlong into a gum bubble, Rosie waited, activating Tekkai just in case. Her suspicions proved true when the bubble exploded in front of her face. The shockwave and soundwave rolled over her, but Rosie was unmoved. As soon as it exploded, Rosie released Tekkai and used Soru once again.

She disappeared in a blinding burst of speed, headed straight for Betty. When she reappeared right in front of Betty, she was already sending a Soru speed empowered punch at the pirate. The needles in her gauntlet were partially extended. This would hurt if not outright kill an ordinary person.

“Stahlschuppenfaust.”

~~~

Meanwhile, Vaun dropped one of the pirates off the side of their ship into the water. He was just dusting his hands off on top of one of his cloud platforms when a giant beast appeared and bit into the side of the Betelguese. Ha! Not on his watch! Bouncing from cloud to cloud, Vaun was over there in a heartbeat.

“Kurt!”

“Sir.”

Kurt fired a special armor piercing round at the beast, and Vaun followed up with a fist covered in dark clouds and lightning in perfect coordination with each other.

“Here comes the-”

BOOM!

A loud peal of thunder roared across the battlefield for a second time as Vaun’s fist connected with the beast. Lightning shot through the impact point before dissipating in the creature’s body.

---

Rosalyn | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 11
Vaun | #00bfff
Kurt | #191970

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 7 // Ambush! A Foggy Battle at Sea!

The crewmate that Rosalyn dropped let out a wheeze as he was dropped on the ground. His body aching with pain from being used as a human mace. Lucky for him, just as he dropped down he passed out. Unlucky for his Captain, she had a world of pain ahead. With a pouty expression on her face, she wasn't happy about Rosalyn using her gum to avoid hearing her monologue. How boring... who was she supposed to boast at if not her enemy? What was worse was her technique had completely been evaded.

"Damn you're a tough b*tch."

Betty grumbled, to he expected... she was an ability user after all and a damn tough one as well. What Betty didn't expect however was that Rosalyn could move at breakneck speeds. It really caught her off guard! Lucky for her, she always had a backup plan. With a wad of gum still in her mouth, she blew out a massive bubble moments before the punch connected.

"Bubble Pop: Pin Cushion!"

The punch connected, the needles on Rosie's gauntlet getting tangled up in the thick rubbery gum mitigating the damage somewhat. Of course, this technique wasn't full proof, Rosalyn had a strong arm. Strong enough to cause Betty to recoil back. Flying a couple of feet through the deck.

*WAM!*

Betty crashed into the mast causing splinters to fly about. She clenched her teeth, that was going to leave a massive bruise, wasn't it? If it weren't for her defensive technique she would probably be out cold now. Lifting her sights back at Rosalyn she stood up weakly, what was she going to do against this lady? She was not only tough but fast too?

~~~

Kurt's bullet pierced the scales of a mighty sea lion causing the creature to instinctively turn around and show off its big teeth at the gunman. There was no way a beast that large could dodge bullets that small. That said, it would take more than one round to bring it down and perhaps a little something else too.

*BOOM*

Came Vaun's electrical smash! Lightning crashing onto the massive beast causing its skin to darken almost comically and steam to blow off its body. The smell of burning hair smoked off its mane.

"GWAAAAAAAAAR!"

This roar was angrier than the last! With ferocious might, the beast lunged its entire body over at Vaun with the intent of tackling him and pushing him in the water where it likely would have a better advantage.

~~~

Standing up in a defensive position Reynard looked around. His ears pushed back as he tried to sense any sort of movement in the dark lower deck. But there was nothing but chilling silence, Reynard's eyes flickered back and forth as they looked for any signals of life in the darkness. He panted heavily, was he losing control of that battle? That's when the lights came on, shining around the room. The warm orange light of oil lamps put him a bit at ease. He closed his eyes for a moment...

"Heeehoooooo!"

Came the chilling laugh of the malevolent clown man. Reynard looked around only to notice that Aurelio was surrounding him. Mirrors... he was in a room of mirrors. He saw his reflection and that of Aurelio everywhere. Who was who? What was the path out?

"Shall we play some roulette boy?"

Aurelio inquired, smiling dubiously on all the mirrors he was on. Again, another enemy that played games. So confident that they had control of the situation. Reynard was starting to feel somewhat helpless, his breathing sped up. His stomach became a knot. His pupils dilated and his tongue dried out. Was this Shell Town all over again?

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Rosalyn Lovelace (Fox's OC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Vaun Hertz (Fox's NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Captain Betty (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // Bubble Pop: Pin Cushion

-- NAME // Aurelio (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Betty managed to block Rosie’s strike and gum up the works of one of her gauntlets. How annoying. She flew back several feet and slammed into the mast. If it weren’t for that gum, she would have been dead. A shame that she was still alive. Rosalyn pointed her other gauntlet at the woman and fired off a volley of heavy steel needles. Strong enough to pierce bone. She aimed for Betty’s center of mass, so that she would have a better chance of actually hitting her target this time.

Her soru was an unpracticed thing, and to be honest, she didn’t much care for it. It served to close the distance between her and her target and little else. It was also a bother because she couldn’t use Tekkai at the same time. Botheration all around. Rosie’s preferred style was definitely unrelenting offense and impenetrable defense. Ah, well. She’d have this in hand soon enough.

~~~

The Sea Beast roared in pain and anger. Vaun hated to do this to a beautiful creature of nature, but he was currently on the wrong side of the law! It lunged, throwing its body above Vaun in the hopes of belly flopping with him into the water. Not on his watch! Vaun sprinted and dove out of the way onto a fluffy cloud bed and rolled a few times before coming to a stop.

Kurt sighed at Vaun’s antics, aiming a shot for the creature’s eye and firing away. Vaun recovered shortly and launched himself at the Sea Beast again, sending a cloud coated punch right at the beast’s head with his incredible strength. It’d have to do better than that to dunk him! Haha! He wasn’t born yesterday, beastie.

“That’s what you get for being on the wrong side of the LAW!”

~~~

Below decks on the enemy ship, Aurelio lurked amid the maze of mirrors with the biggest smirk on his face. Sure, it made getting to the bathroom exorbitantly difficult, but he knew he’d made the right call in installing his maze of mirrors without Captain Betty’s permission! And he knew it by heart. That was why he knew exactly where the Marine boy was. He drew his gun. It was loaded with rubber bullets, but those could still kill if they hit the right spot. Why rubber? Because they needed to bounce!

“Here’s how it works, boy~! The bullets in this gun are all rubber. All but one.”

Aurelio fired. The bullet bounced around until it smacked Reynard in the leg.

“Oh ho! Looks like that was a rubber bullet! Maybe next time you won’t be so lucky? Maybe next time it will be your head? Your heart? Maybe the bullet will be real, maybe it won’t be! Let’s find out!”

Aurelio cocked the gun again and angled his shot. This time, he’d hit the arm. He pulled the trigger.

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 12

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 7 // Ambush! A Foggy Battle at Sea!

The steel bolts flew through the sky, Betty opened her eyes wide. It would take the big guns to take care of this woman now would it huh? With breakneck speed, she grabbed a few gumballs and blew them to extreme proportions creating a suit of thick gum. The pink outfit making her seem almost like a magical girl in those superhero comics aimed at young girls. With it, she would be as tough as Rosie and would be able to keep up in speed as well.

*poke poke*

The steel needles embedded themselves on the thick layer of gum being barely able to penetrate it. Betty clenched her teeth and curled up her fists now covered in rock candy gauntlets. The East Blue wasn't ready for this! This last escapade was all she needed to rise to the top and gain as much notoriety as other big names like Krieg Pirates or Arlong Pirates. No, she would surpass even them!

"Hahaha! Behold! My Candy Queen!!"

Banging both her fists together the woman jumped toward Rosie. Her boots spurting out bubbles of gum that would propel her forward with bursts of air. One hand sticking out to strike Rosalyn in the face. Cocking her fist of hard rock candy back she prepared the full-throttle attack.

"Round! Candy! Mountain! SMASH!"

~~~

Kurt's shot missed the eye just barely grazing the beast on the side of its head. The searing pain of a friction burned the creature and caused it more pain which of course only served to anger the sea lion more. This of course only aided Vaun who hit with another lightning smash conking it on the side of the head.

"Ugh..."

The beast let out a sigh of agonizing pain, it was starting to get dizzy with all these attacks. Shaking its head furiously it tried to retain its structure. Growling once more and with eyes red with anger it let out a mighty roar.

"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

Somehow this one was stronger than the last, so much so that it created shockwaves. The air itself shattered under its power and the sea rocked like crazy. Both ships shaking under its pressure. The wood on the decks began to crackle and splinter under the pressure of the strong roar. It was done. The lion was angry.

~~~

A clown with a gun, this was the stuff of nightmares. Why of all people did he have to end up with the crackpot again? Reynard's ears were perked back in agitation, his tail nervously swaying as Aurelio explained his plan. Rubber bullets? Real bullets? This man was toying with him. As his eyes darted back and forth looking for the real Aurelio he was smacked in the leg by one of the rubber bullets.

"Gah! Y-you psycho!"

Reynard grimaced, keeling over on his knee. He wasn't one for taking damage, he wasn't like Rosie who could resist a lot... even rubber bullets were dangerous to him. No... but he had to focus on the positive and not the negatives. If he could break the mirrors then he could find the real Aurelio eventually! Yes, that was it. With new resolve, Reynard decided to do what he did best. Attack like a wild man.

"Kumiho Chagi: Pyeongon!"

He yelled out slamming the mirrors on sides crashing them with his feet which flurried at extremes speeds almost making it seem like he had multiple legs at once. Spinning in a circle he tried breaking all the mirrors he could with this barrage of speedy kicks! This... was a plan, right? Rosie usually took care of those. No. He couldn't always depend on her! He needed to be a hero by his own merits.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED //
Kumiho Chagi: Pyeongon 

-- NAME // Rosalyn Lovelace (Fox's OC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Vaun Hertz (Fox's NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Captain Betty (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Aurelio (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Well, her shots hadn’t been evaded. No, this time, the pirate took them head on using a suit of bubblegum armor. Oh? Rosie lifted her eyebrows, observing the transformation. What an unconventional use of candy. It certainly wasn’t her style, but she was a bit curious about what the gum was made from. She’d have to take some samples when they were done here. Hm-hm. How fun. It could be a new project.

Betty came at her, jumping forward with the aid of some gum powered shoes. A fist came toward her. Rosie could have moved. She could have evaded the attack. Or attempted to in any case. But she didn’t. She didn’t move. She just stood there as the fist slammed down onto her head. The impact could be felt from the deck of the ship. A small trickle of blood ran down Rosie’s face. And then… a twisted smile curled its way there.

“Oh? Oh ho? Ha… haha… My, my…”

Rosalyn’s hand seized Betty’s wrist. Rosalyn tilted her head up, a malevolent glee in her eyes.

“How cute.”

Spikes jutted out of the gauntlet on her free hand an instant before she slammed it into Betty’s gut, ripping and tearing at her candy armor. Rosie twisted and dug it in.

“I think I’m actually going to enjoy this.”

~~~

Kurt had the sense to cover his ears before the lion roared, blasting them all with sound. Vaun wasn’t so smart, and jolted backwards, falling toward the water. Idiot. Kurt hurriedly hissed and loaded his rifle with rubber ammunition, firing at Vaun’s side. The jolt was enough to make the Marine Captain squeal in pain and snap out of his daze. A fluffy cloud appeared just before Vaun hit the water, the creator face planting into it with a soft slap.

“...ow.”

“Vaun, get off your ass!”

Kurt switched rounds again to armor piercing, taking shots at the Sea Lion’s body. Vaun pushed himself up with a cloud mustache and beard stuck to his face. Hm! Wait! That gave Vaun an idea! He took a bit of cloud and shoved it into his ears. Ha! He was invincible! Well, maybe not, but this worked. Taking a few leaps backwards, Vaun perched on a cloud above the Sea Lion’s head and waited for the thing to let out another roar. This time, he’d get it for sure.

~~~

“Tch!”

Aurelio moved back a bit when the fox boy unleashed a flurry of kicks at the mirrors around him. Hmph! He had more in his bag of tricks than just smoke in mirrors. But… This was also an opportunity. Grinning, Aurelio took aim, doing a dozen calculations in his head simultaneously and fired. A rubber bullet shot off, bouncing off the mirror fragments to send them flying back at Reynard.

A shower of sharpened bits of glass ricocheted back at Reynard. Aurelio cackled, giggling to himself wildly.

“You think people haven’t tried that before?! Have a taste of my Mirror Tears! Kyahahahahaha!”

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 13
Vaun | #00bfff
Kurt | #191970
Aurelio | #ffd700

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 7 // Ambush! A Foggy Battle at Sea!

The clenched fist connected, striking the marine as expected. A confident smile came over Betty, yes! But it would take more than that to take down this one. That much she knew. Even if the impact tricked down the deck of the ship causing the ground to shake. Even if blood was drawn. The fact that this woman was still standing. It meant there was more. Perhaps, perhaps she had bitten more than she can chew? Nah... no...

"Haha! Take that b-"

Her eyes widened, words cut off as her wrist was seized by the woman. The size difference allowed for Betty to try and pry herself off by pushing her leg against Rosalyn's gut. But there was no escape, no the grip was too strong. That's when it came. The how cute. She was... teasing her? She was that confident? Betty had no choice but to eat the attack, no. This was fine.

All part of the plan. Yes! The bladed fist came in hot being embedded deep into the rubbery suit. But the suit was thick like rubber. It didn't quite pierce... well it did... just barely. Betty felt that impact, it would most certainly leave a bruise and further, she felt the very tip of the blades on her gut. It wasn't enough to pierce her skin. But she felt the cold steel rip off her shirt and kiss her stomach.

"Haha! W-well! This is exactly what I wanted!"

She blurted out, her confidence was waning. The pirate knew she couldn't allow another blow like that to connect or she would die. No questions asked. Perhaps she had misjudged this Marine... she was strong. Too strong. But here was the catch. If she could take her down, then that would remove one of the greatest obstacles out of the way. Everything could be moved. There was no such thing as an immovable object.

"My gum absorbs blunt impacts! Thanks for that strike!"

Having absorbed the impact, she attempted to push herself out of Rosie. If successful she would turn around to strike Rosie with an attack with twice the force. Producing a concussive blow capable of dealing internalized damage. Perfect! This was Betty's one shot! It had to count!

~~~

The sea lion glared at Vaun and Kurt, its eyes were red with rage. Satisfied with it's own roar it decided the best thing it could do. Seeing as it worked once he decided it would be smart to work twice. Opening its wide jaws it let out another loud roar that caused the ship to rock. Even the sea moved sharply, huge waves slapping against both ships.

"GWAAAAAAAAAR!"

~~~

Having smashed the mirrors Reynard would soon be able to find the clown! But... well the fox boy had forgotten this was Aurelio's game and not his own.

"M-mirror tears?"

He asked in fear, his pupils dilating as Aurelio shot his gun and various shards of glass fell through the sky and embedded themselves on him. Reynard curled up, blades of glass stuck into his body as blood ran creating a puddle underneath him. Having lost control he was in his beast form, in a rather pathetic state whimpering.

"ROSIE!! HEEEELP!"

He yelped out loud, he couldn't take it. This Aurelio fellow was too much. Moving hurt... the clown was super scary. Reynard felt his heartbeat super fast. Last time with Wagyu he had help. His friends were there. Besides, the big lady was a very obvious target... not like this guy who was everywhere. Not like this guy who played dirty tricks. This was too much for the young lad.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED //

-- NAME // Rosalyn Lovelace (Fox's OC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Vaun Hertz (Fox's NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Captain Betty (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Aurelio (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Betty seemed confident still, but that confidence was waning. Rosie could tell. Like a shark could smell blood in the water. She was a tad surprised that her blow hadn’t struck true. Perhaps that armor was thicker than it looked. In that case, all she needed to do was strike at areas that were less armored. The joints, namely. As Rosie adjusted her grip to aim at Betty’s inner elbow, the pirate pushed away, managing to wrench herself free from Rosie’s grasp. Betty came at her again. With a curious tilt of her head, Rosie employed Tekkai again, hardening her body in order to better receive the blow. However, something strange happened.

A blast of concussive force - though not enough to move her from where she stood - traveled through her body at the blow. Pain seared inside of her, and she reflexively coughed up a bit of blood. She brought a claw to her lips and dabbed at the blood coating them, examining it as one would a specimen under a microscope.

“Ah… that’s a curious technique. I haven’t seen that before.”

It was dangerous. And, though she could probably withstand another blow, she did not care to. A long recovery time just wouldn’t do with Deman Reeves skulking about the East Blue. She certainly did not want their next encounter to end up like the previous. Her eyes darted over to Betty once more, her stance shifting into a more offensive one. She’d end this in one blow.

“I thank you. Had you not shown me that, I might have been unprepared. As a show of gratitude, I will make this swift.”

-~-

As soon as the sea beast opened its maw to roar again, Vaun struck. He jumped down from his cloudy perch, reeling back with a thundercloud charged fist. It sparked dangerously with blue electricity. He shot down out of the sky like a bullet and right into the creature’s open mouth, slamming his fist down onto the thing’s tongue and unleashing a massive electrical charge directly into the sea beast’s body.

“Lights out, kitty cat!”

-~-

Reynard’s cry rang out loud and clear from below. Aurelio laughed. Pathetic. Loading a live round directly into the chamber of his gun, he took aim at the little Marine’s head. It had been fun, but playtime was over. Captain Betty was probably already finishing up with that pink haired woman, so he’d help her clean up the rest. He pulled the hammer of the gun back, gave the little fox Marine a big smirk, and then pulled the trigger.

Two things happened at once. The gun fired, and something very large crashed through the deck above to block the bullet’s path to the fox boy. Aurelio flinched with recognition. The pink haired woman had appeared, but horribly changed, her body grotesquely morphed and covered in scales. She had wrapped her body around the fox boy and shielded him. His bullet plinked harmlessly off her scales. A baleful red eye peered back at him, sending a cold shiver of fear down his spine.

He jumped away, hastily reloading his weapon to fire everything he had at her. Aurelio sensed the danger she posed. And if she’d managed to get away from Captain Betty… Aurelio snapped the gun up as soon as the chamber was loaded, already starting to pull the trigger.

“Revolver Roule-”

Aurelio blinked and suddenly his vision was shrouded in darkness. He panicked, thinking he had died then and there, but as his gun fired, he knew that he was all too alive. All too painfully alive. For, illuminated by the flash of the gun, was her. She had closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Her claw latched around his throat with such immense pressure and force that it forced all other thoughts from his mind. Aurelio clawed at her hand. He… he was going to die.

“Y-You… pink haired witch…!”

Words became impossible as her grip tightened, seeming to want to pop his head right off of his neck. Aurelio flailed around, grasping at anything that could possibly help. After an impossibly long moment, he felt something sharp. A fragment of one of the mirrors? It didn’t matter. He lifted it high in a moment of desperation and swung it at the witch. He’d kill her first!

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 14
Vaun | #00bfff
Kurt | #191970
Aurelio | #ffd700

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 7// Ambush! A Foggy Battle at Sea!

Annoying! Thats the only way that Betty could describe this entire exchange. Why was this lady so damn tough!? Nothing she threw at her worked! If anything the more determined she became. Going for another attack Betty found herself hitting the air with a tired miss. This was becoming too much even for her. Before she would let out a clever retort a screech pirced the air, it came from below deck... hmm... so Aurelio was doing his work. At least that would facilitate things. Turning to look up at the massive woman she gave a smirk only to see her crash the ship's deck.

CRASH

"Ehhhh!?"

Betty screamed in shock! Why would she do that? How dare she ignore her! Poking her head through the broken deck she spotted Rosie grabbing onto her clown about to snap his neck. A low growl escaped her lips... she would need to think of a plan quickly. Otherwise they were screwed, big time.

~~~

An unexpected crash came from above, Reynard just before the jester could do much else. His eyes squinted and adjusted to the change of light as the dust settled. Among it all was his Ensign, a weak crooked smile curled itself over his lips.

"R-rosie..."

He blurted out, weakly standing up on both his legs. The pain from shards of glass stuck in his flesh pierced through him. Reynard grunted, holding back yelps. A weak smile came over his face as he saw her here. Coming to the rescue... but it would seem like Aurelio wasn't going to have any of it. With a hidden knife he went for a jab straight to Rosalyn's gut. The clown gave a vile smirk showing off his filed teeth in a devilish grin.

"Get... off... meh..."

The clown managed to say through his tightening neck. Reynard's ears perked up. How dare he!? How dare he do that! He was so tired of this stupid faced clown and his antics. With fury building up on him, Reynard unleashed a massive kick full force. Kumiho Chagi: Gwan! One of his signature techniques. But in this moment of danger he didn't even bother with announcing it.

"HOW DARE YOU HURT HER!!!"

He screamed, his boot connecting with the clown's chin. Instantly knocking him out and sending him through the wooden deck and out into the heaven's leaving nothing but a distant star in the sky. Reynard breathed heavily, his eyes shifting to the glass shards whose pain was more intense reminding him of their presence. Through that adrenaline rush he plucked out the biggest and most bloodied shard throwing it aside with clenched teeth.

"T-thanks... you alright?"

[Enemy Neutralized]

~~~

Meanwhile outside, Vaun's massive smash slammed onto the beast's tongue charring the creature from the side. The Sea Lion's face went black as the smell smoke and burnt hair permeated the area. With eyes rolled into the back of its head and foam frothing from its mouth the massive creature started to sink back into the sea knocked out. Vaun's spicy fist proving too much for its pallet. The marines on deck cheered for their Captain and his defeat of such a mighty creature!

[Enemy Neutralized]

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED //

-- NAME // Rosalyn Lovelace (Fox's OC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Vaun Hertz (Fox's NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Captain Betty (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Aurelio (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

A sharp pain in her abdomen informed Rosie that the clown still had tricks up his sleeve. She was just about to end his suffering when Reynard screamed, startling her a little and causing her to release her iron grip on Aurelio’s neck. In the next instant, Reynard’s foot connected with his chin, sending the mad clown skyward. Hm. They were going to have to search for wherever he landed. Sort of a bother, but that task could be delegated. Rosie looked down at Reynard, examining his injuries, which were far worse than her own. She dusted some glass shards out of his hair and picked out some smaller pieces from where they were lodged in his skin.

“Hm… you’ll need a medic after this is done. Get yourself back to the ship, Reynard.”

She patted him once on his head.

“And… good work.”

Praise was something new that Rosie was attempting to implement to bolster her recruit’s confidence. She felt like it was something she could do more genuinely than hugs or emotional support. She could mean it. And she did. His performance was quite admirable. Well. Anyhow. Her job wasn’t quite finished with the enemy captain still on the loose. She’d have to remedy that swiftly. Nodding, she stepped away, ignoring the throbbing pain in her stomach, and looked up at the holes in the deck.

Rolling back onto her tail, Rosie pushed herself through one of the holes, using her claws to pull herself up and out in one fluid motion. Back on the top deck of the ship, she cast her eyes around for Betty. She couldn’t have gotten very far.

-~-

Vaun stood on top of the sea beast proudly, lifting a fist in the air to the cheers of his subordinates. He allowed them a moment of celebration before clapping his hands together and jumping up a staircase of cloud back onto the Betelgeuse proper. He grinned widely at all of them and let out a hearty roar.

“Let’s finish this, Marines! Capture those pirates! For Justice!!”

---

Rosie | # | Post Count: 15

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 7 // Ambush!

Perhaps it was strange to feel that way? But having the glass pieces picked out of his hair by Rosalyn followed by her complimenting him made him feel happy. It made him feel warm. Better than earlier when she was being cold toward him that was for sure. Although perhaps he shouldn't have brought this topic up at that moment. Reynard let out a gentle sigh of relief.

"T-thanks!"

He stuttered his tail swishing excitedly, with the vile clown taken care of and Vaun handling the sea beast only one more person was left before they could wrangle everyone taking care of this pirate crew. Betty.

"Aha gotcha!"

Came the familiar voice of the privateering pinkette! A smirk plastered across her pale face, she shot out from her gun! But again, something different came out! This time it was... a tentacle? Yes. But it was made of bubblegum. The device went to wrap itself around Rosalyn but as it came in Reynard got in the way. In reality, this had been a clever ploy. You see, Betty had deduced that the young man would likely dodge the attack, but he would fall right into it if it meant defending his superior. Such was his unyielding loyalty.

"Get this off me!"

Reynard wriggled to break the material, but it proved too strong even for him. Whatever adhesive Betty was planning was too strong. With a tug she pulled Reynard still wrapped in the gum close and held onto him, wrapping her arm around his neck. She dragged him to the edge of the ship and cackled.

"Surrender now, Marine and I might let your friend here survive! I hear you fruit users don't do amazing in the water."

With that, she put Reynard over the edge only holding onto him by the rubbery material that surrounded him. The water was well below, and the boy sweat a bit. He had never fallen overboard in his life. In fact, it was to the point where he doubted the legends that fruit users couldn't swim but dared not test it out. His eyes shifted up to the woman. What to do... what to do... he didn't want to slow down this for Rosalyn.

"All you have to do is pay me two-hundred million beri and give me a boat to escape."

While Betty cackled and cooed at her supposedly marvelous plan with the smuggest of expressions. Reynard became determined! He had this!

"Rosie! I hope you got this! Take it from here please, ma'am!"

With that Reynard transformed into his full-beast form. A form where his body was longer and more flexible allowing for him to turn and take a massive bite out of Betty's hand. Immediately the woman recoiled in pain releasing him out of her grip and down went the boy into the water. Reynard despite plummeting to what could potentially be his doom smiled. He believed in his Captain.

"Hehehehe!"

*SPLASH*

"YOU INSOLENT LITTLE B*TCH! UGH!"

Betty screeched, with Reynard out of the picture and out of options... she would be easy pickings for the angry Ensign awaiting her.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // C

-- TECHS USED //

-- NAME // Rosalyn Lovelace (Fox's OC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Vaun Hertz (Fox's NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Captain Betty (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Aurelio (NPC)

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.