Simple Mission and Botched Vacation: Goldberg’s Punishment

[Bobbie]

Recalling the success of his last mission brought a smile to Lukas’ face. Rather, it would have, if pairing up with Lassa to take down the colossal figure of the Emperor Selethen hadn’t been rewarded with a punishment from Agent Goldberg once he caught wind of their operations.

Learn your limits and boundaries, the older man’s voice rang clearly in his head as Lukas stepped off the ship that docked into the east harbour of Eldoran Island and paid the dock owner. You’ve bitten off more than you can chew and you’ll learn this one way or another, the irony in the man’s words was overwhelming to the young rookie agent. Whatever happened to pushing oneself beyond their limits and striving to improve? What about a little thing called ambition? It seemed these things were forgotten when the elders felt threatened by the younger generations, and it left a bitter taste in Lukas’ mouth. Instead of being commended for his hard work in the face of real danger and getting out alive against all odds, he was being reprimanded for it. His punishment was a simple mission, which he hoped to get over and done with in less than a day so that he could return and gloat about being underestimated.

“Vacationer Arthur Lawrence…” he mumbled to himself, his tall skinny form well dressed in a white suit and a hat, a briefcase with his luggage in one gloved hand and a piece of paper with a description scribbled down onto it in the other. Pausing, he raised his gaze to look at all the people around him, an irritated frown engraved on his features as his sunken eyes made the man of sickly complexion look unwell. He could tell marines apart from the locals, but how was he supposed to find this one man on holiday among tourists and residents?

Locating this man was only part one of the mission he was sent to complete, the second part was somehow getting his hands on a devil fruit that he had in his possession. Ideally, this was done before the fruit was eaten. There were El Town and Ran Town to explore if need be, but this felt like the right place to start. Inns, bars, quaint wooden structures, and perhaps most appealing to tourists, a limited population to ensure some real peace and quiet and a perfect escape from work for anybody looking for a hassle-free vacation.

Perhaps it wasn’t the most strategic approach, but the man clad in white wished to get this over and done with as soon as possible, so his first goal was to ask around at the local inns to narrow his search down significantly. First up, Bottega’s Inn.

A chime rang as the wooden door was pushed open and struck a little bell, followed by Lukas’ shoes that tapped the floorboards as he approached the main counter where the innkeeper was simultaneously running a cosy bar and bistro on ground level and lodging upstairs through a door on the left side of the bar. While he walked, he swiftly scanned all the seats for any man matching the given description - which was not very much to go on: relatively tall, somewhat athletic build, short dark hair, and, perhaps the least useful of all, a ‘devilish appearance’, whatever that was supposed to mean, with cool grey eyes. He knew the man was here on some sort of holiday, however, so he ignored anybody dressed in anything too fancy, but there weren’t many of those to really rule out.

Reaching the bar, he politely tipped his hat and nodded, “I’m looking for someone named Arthur Lawrence, would you be able to tell me if he’s renting a room here? He’s not expecting me.”

---

Lukas: #838383

[Mr. Moon]

Alistair #1

Vacation at last. After all his adventures in the West Blue, Alistair finally made his way to the Grand Line, traveling on a civilian cruiser until he reached the Eldaron Island. A small island with a subtropical climate, that was home to a strong marine base meaning, that there was an almost nonexciting chance, that anyone would need his services as a CP agent.

Booking the hotel for the whole two weeks and paying upfront, the agent was spending most of his time on the beach, lying sunbed in trunks, with a book in one hand and a cold cocktail in the other one.

It was perfect a total paradise for his nerves which were still irritated after what happened during his last two assignments. Not that he would regret what he did to that bug boy, no it was simply that assassinations weren´t a usual part of his job and carrying them out didn´t sit well with him.

Speaking of which, there was one more thing that worked as a constant reminder of his past experiences. A simple dark backpack lying on the sand right next to him, that was containing Devil Fruit. Rare and possibly powerful one of the revolutionaries that were after it should be trusted. One, that could be his if he decided to eat it, but strangely enough, he couldn´t really make up his mind. Just a single bite could grant him powers beyond what normal mortals could even dream off but in his line of work that would probably mean promotion and more dangerous missions, which was the exact opposite of the peaceful future he envisioned for himself. There would be hardly any retirement for him if the ability inside proved to be too valuable. Yet at the same time, he couldn´t force himself to give it to his agency, or simply get rid of it as something, perhaps a tiny bit of the personal ambitions left in him, was calling him to it.

Taking a look to check if that thing was still next to him, the vacationed agent sighed and took another sip of his martini.

[Bobbie]

As expected, Lukas was met with scepticism as the barkeeper watched him in silence for a few seconds before asking, “And you are?”

Feigning innocence, Lukas pretended to be shocked by his own mistake and offered the brightest smile to ever grace his lips. It made the young lad seem more genuine, but it was, unfortunately, not enough to make him look any healthier.

“Right! How stupid of me, I’m sorry. I’m his cousin, Timothy Lawrence.” Gesturing for the man to wait just one moment, he began to dig into his pockets while he created a card from his arm and pulled it out from his sleeve under the perfect guise of his rummaging act. “Here… see, that’s me.”

As he produced the card, the barkeeper eyed it over - it was a perfectly regular looking identification card with Lukas’ image pasted on it and his details, all fake of course. “We grew up together on Hawk Route, Heretic Cabal,” with a gesture toward the field for ‘place of birth’ on the card, he chuckled, “It’s where he gets his devilish look from, we have a very distinct appearance I hear.”

If nothing else convinced the barkeeper, that final statement certainly did, which became clear when the made laughed and nodded. “Yes, I remember a face that can be described as such, and now I think I will also remember yours!”

Putting the card away, Lukas nodded. “So could you help me out? I’ve got some surprises for him that hold a lot of sentimental value from our childhood and I just need to drop them off for him to find when he gets back to this lovely place…” he raised his briefcase for a moment, “He would never forgive me if I revealed them to anyone or just left them outside his door, you know how embarrassing childhood memorabilia go…” Leaning over the bar, he brought a gloved hand to the corner of his mouth before whispering, “A couple of my own in there too. I try to be fair!”

Again, the innkeeper hesitated. Of course he’s hesitating, Lukas thought, this is highly unethical and extremely unprofessional, but can I sway him? It was a pity that he didn’t have much charm to his appearance, but he did have the charisma to get him through a lot of cheating and lying.

“Alright! Here, his room is on the first floor, number 107… but I can’t let you be in there for more than five minutes and I get a really good look at you on your way out. You know, to make sure you haven’t stolen anything.”

Idiot…

With a devious snicker that threatened to reveal Lukas’ true nature, he took the key that was handed to him. “I completely understand. Five minutes, in and out. Feel free to search me before I leave. Thank you so much, kind sir!” The truth was that he really didn’t need the key at all, as he was confident that he could get a locked door open without one, but he did need the room number… which he now began to make his way toward.

“Hold up!” Lukas froze and turned to face the gullible man again. “Don’t go telling people that I gave you that, alright? It’s bad for business!”

The urge to burst out laughing was almost uncontrollable, but Lukas somehow managed to keep his poker face. ‘Bad for business’ was an understatement, and this person shouldn’t ever be trusted to run a hotel ever again. It was alarming to see how easily a stranger managed to acquire the key to somebody else’s room.

“I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me! My lips are sealed!”

With that, he rushed up the stairs and reached room 107. Now that he had the key, he figured he may as well use it and eliminate the problem of leaving signs of his presence behind. Once inside, Lukas took a deep breath. “Alright, 300 seconds… if I wanted to hide a Devil Fruit, where would I hide it?” his eyes scanned the room, before they narrowed.

“295…” Lukas dashed around the room, using soru for the longer distances across the room to save on time. The young agent searched everywhere, flipping the entire room on its head. He removed the bedsheets and lifted the mattress, opened every drawer, peaked into any bag or case left lying about and even peered over on top of the furniture and behind lamps. Leaving no stone unturned, he took a quick glance into any vents until he was sure he had looked absolutely everywhere and let out a calm, mildly frustrated sigh.

“Not so simple when the obvious answer is… don’t hide it anywhere but keep it on your person…” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. “80 seconds left…” Resigned to the possibility that the Devil Fruit was not here, he hurriedly put everything back to its previous position as best he could with the little time he had, then produced a card that was very much like a joker, featuring a jester sitting in its centre and holding an oddly shaped apple over their open mouth.

“Five…” he dropped the card on the bed. "Four." He walked out of the room, locking it behind him. "Three... two..." upon descending the stairs, he met the innkeeper at the bar again.

---

Lukas: #838383
Innkeeper: #cef8a7

[Mr. Moon]

Alistair #2

Pleasantly rested, the vacationed agent cleaned his spot on the beach and packed his things before he got on his way back to the hotel. It was already late afternoon, and the sun was slowly falling below the horizon. An ideal time for a tasty dinner. Perhaps something from the "fish specialties" section of the menu, together with a good wine before finishing the book he was currently reading. That was his plan however as it turned out, fate felt inclined to thwart it yet again.

The first sign that something was wrong came when he was picking up his keys from the receptionist. The usually cheerful and very friendly guy seemed to be slightly nervous and unable to keep eye contact with him. All subtle signals that less perceptive observers would probably miss completely but that were painfully obvious to a trained observer like Alistair. He didn't press him in that matter however and headed back to his room instead.

The doors were still locked which was a good sign, but still, the agent searched the whole room for possible traps or spying devices before turning his eyes toward the table and a single card that was lying there.

“Devil Fruit…”

He muttered, still having his prize hidden on a back that was hoisted across his shoulder. Someone knew he had it with him and probably tried to steal it from his room. Someone cooky enough to challenge him like that. The agent immediately excluded the possibility of his own boss being involved because that guy didn´t have a sense of humor that would allow him to do that so some unknown third party? But how did they know about his fruit?

With an annoyed sigh, the agent switched back into his dark suit and with the fruit across his shoulder walked down to the reception.

“Excuse me…”

He approached the guy with a devilish smile on his face, placing the card on the desk.

“Can you please tell me who was in my room?”

[Bobbie]

“You find his room okay?” The innkeeper asked to mask any suspicion of the sharply dressed character before him. His eyes ran all along his body and Lukas could feel his gaze scanning for any items that didn’t belong. With a smile that was intended to be gentle, the agent nodded.

“Yes, thank you,” he returned the key. “I’ve left what I needed to leave there for him, I think he will be very pleased. Thank you again for your help.”

As Lukas was about to leave and wait for Mr Lawrence to return, the innkeeper stopped him once more, gently grabbing his arm. “Remember, you don’t tell anyone I gave you the key…”

Lukas turned to stare at him before a sly smile appeared on his sunken features. “Remember, you don’t tell anyone I was here.”

With a nod from each party, it was agreed that they would keep each other’s secrets, and Lukas was on his way. Once he was outside the inn, he made himself less visible, removing his hat to be less conspicuous and purchasing an overpriced map off the nearest stand to feign the appearance of a lost tourist. His face well-hidden behind the large map, he would occasionally peek out to keep an eye on who entered the inn since his exit. Sure enough, a man fitting the description he had been given for one ‘Arthur Lawrence’ showed up eventually, though he had to admit that he really did not expect the man to be dressed so casually. Sure, he was a vacationer, but somehow his status still prevented Lukas from imagining his target to be in anything but a suit or some other formal attire.

What Lukas didn’t know, however, as he waited for Alistair to emerge once more, was that the innkeeper failed to keep his promise. It didn’t take very much for the man to spill the beans as Arthur approached with a terrifying smile.

“Two peas in a pod…” the man quietly whispered, before forcing a smile that wavered within seconds and which he couldn’t hold for very long as he glanced at the card that Alistair placed on the desk.

“I’m so sorry, Sir, a man came by - your cousin, Timothy Lawrence.” He let his gaze rise to meet Alistair’s. “He asked for you but you were out and he said he urgently needed to drop off some personal items from your childhood together. Is… this it?” he asked, as he looked down at the card once more before yet again looking at his patron. “H-He showed me his identification card and everything, of course I wouldn’t just let anybody into my clients’ rooms! I checked him before he left too. To make sure that nothing was stolen. Nothing was stolen, right?” He asked a look of pure worry on his face.

“He didn’t leave long ago! You might be able to catch him.” That was a lie, a significant amount of time had passed since Lukas left, but luckily for the innkeeper, the man on a mission had not gone far at all. In fact, he was still outside the inn, moving from one position of cover to another to keep up the charade.

---

Lukas: #838383
Innkeeper: #cef8a7

[Mr. Moon]

Alistair #3

The agent was watching the innkeeper with a murderous gaze that would be expected from someone who just found out a stranger was allowed into their room.
"My cousin?"
He snapped with a perfectly acted anger while noting for himself, that whoever that person was, he knew his alias beforehand.
"How could it be my cousin, when neither of my parents has any siblings? And even if he was my cousin, what right do you have to allow him to enter my room without noticing me first? What if he had a bad relationship? What if he wanted to murder me, did you think about that?"
Alistair was grilling that poor fellow, raising his voice just enough to attract the attention of an elderly couple who just arrived.
"Oh, so you checked his ID because you would definitely know if that thing was fake or not. Or if it wasn't just some random guy who accidentally shared his surname with me!"
His angry outbursts now pick the curiosity of everyone in the hall including the staff.
"No, nothing was stolen, but not thanks to you sir, but because I had everything of value with me!"
He noticed the subtle indication that the innkeeper was lying about when exactly that intruder left. The way his eyes moved, how his muscles tensed and the tone of his voice changed. This means it would be probably worthless to pursue whoever that was. But still…
"Oh yeah? And what do you expect me to do to him? Should I run out and try to find whatever dangerous and possibly armed lunatic you let inside my room? No, not a chance sir, here is what I'll do, I am going to report the whole thing to the marines! And you can bet the rest of your pitiful career, that I won't forget to mention your part in this!"

[Bobbie]

The innkeeper was barraged by Alistair’s angry verbal assault. The agent was so good at acting that the owner was shaking in his boots, nothing but the counter between him and the angry client to protect him.

“I-I didn’t know that. Like I said, he showed me his ID, and I… believed him.” The man sputtered, trying his very best defence quite poorly. To say Alistair was an intimidating person to deal with was an understatement as the comments just kept coming. Forced into submission, the innkeeper merely nodded, almost whimpering, before he quickly gestured for Alistair to be quieter.

“Mr Lawrence, please…” he begged, looking over his shoulder at the elderly couple who had just arrived.

“Y-Yes, I believed him. I thought it was real and convincing. It was stupid of me, I’m very sorry!” he immediately became more apologetic as people’s heads turned to follow what was happening.

“I’m glad that everything turned out okay. L-Look, since no real harm came of this, how can we just move on from it?” Again, he glanced at the other onlookers, clients and staff alike, then back at Alistair. “A refund! A-And we’ll change your room, to make sure you feel safe. To a nice deluxe suite, the finest one we have available, how about that?”

Pausing, the innkeeper stared at him, pleading with his eyes to forgive this incident without going to the police, until he couldn’t take it anymore. His pleading didn’t remain silent for very long.

“Please, sir, I’m just the humble owner of this inn, I don’t have a very lot. Please, whatever I can do to compensate you for this terrible ordeal, I promise you it won’t happen again!”

His attention soon diverted to a younger couple who approached the counter. “We’d like to cancel our stay here please…”

“No! It was just an oversight! Don't go!”

“We would too, please,” another couple followed and soon a queue was beginning to form. “Us as well!” At that point, the innkeeper looked at Alistair and his pleading look was also filled with spite and resentment now.

“Well then… I hope you’re happy with this result, Sir.” His voice shook with desperation, an utterly defeated man. “My mistake, our deluxe suite is not available at the moment as it is currently undergoing renovations,” he retracted his former offer in a small voice, taking out money and beginning to count it, “but you will be getting a full refund for the entire stay booked with us.”

---

Lukas had grown bored of the leaflets and brochures that he had busied himself with, having expected Alistair to bolt right out the door, fuming. This was quite a surprising turn of events, that he made a mental note of - this Arthur Lawrence was not an impulsive man, even after having his room made available to a complete stranger. The dumbest of brutes would have run out screaming, fists in the air.

Sitting down at an outdoor table of a nearby cafe, he removed his hat and began shuffling his cards. As he sat in his seat, he had a clear view of the entrance to the inn, the only one available that he knew of.

“Come on, cousin…” he drew a Jack of Clubs, and then a Jack of Spades, placing the two cards flat on the round table at which he sat, next to each other. Lukas had the patience in him to sit there and wait all day, an entire week if that’s what it took to ensure a successful outcome to his mission, but he was treading unknown territory and that was bothering him. “Cautious, yet a person of interest to Goldberg… either not cautious enough or reportedly a dangerous man.” He mumbled to himself while gathering the two cards and adding them to the deck. He gave it another shuffle before springing the entire deck from one gloved palm to another. He had been angry at his superior who sent him here on this mission when he first received the instruction, and was only just now beginning to realise a few things that didn’t make all that much sense to him. 

All the while, his eyes were fixed on that wooden door, waiting for the devil’s face to appear.

"If you're really that dangerous with a devil fruit, why would he-"

“Can I get you something, sir?” An attractive waitress suddenly disrupted Lukas’ thoughts, prompting him to look away from the door for just a moment and at her instead. His smile seemed to have little effect on resolving some of the uneasiness of the woman.

“A cup of tea, please. No sugar or milk.” Making his order just for the sake of not being shooed off his table, he then returned his focus to The Bottega Inn once more. As the woman left, he moved his hat aside and began dealing out cards into a game of Chinese Patience without looking away.

---

Lukas: #838383
Innkeeper: #cef8a7

[Mr. Moon]

Alistair #4

While he was maintaining his angry look, Alistair was smiling for himself as the offered refund was a basically bonus to his pay as his agency and not him was paying for this hotel. Truth to be told, he wasn´t even mad that the owner first offered him a better apartment and later withdrew that offer because of the number of guests that cancelled their reservation in a response to the scene the agent performed.

“That´s all right. It would be a shame if my “cousin” wasn´t able to find me the next time he decides to pay me a visit.”

He grinned but there wasn´t anything joyful or amused in that expression. Rather it was a look of a predator that noticed a tasty prey in his reach.

With that, the agent turned around and headed back to his room ignoring the ruckus he caused. Getting inside, he locked the doors behind him and sit down at a small table, placing that accursed fruit on it just in front of himself

“Well, looks like someone is very interested in you…”

Alistair muttered almost as if he thought that the fruit could hear him.

“I told my boss that I will eat you and not turn in, but…honestly, I don´t know. From what I heard you taste like a s*it and while I never really enjoyed swimming losing that ability altogether seems quite harsh…not to mention you would probably make a peaceful retirement much harder for me…”

He sighed walking towards the bar to prepare a shot of whiskey for himself.

“Oh well, I just want to see the look on that as*hole´s face when he finds out what happened.”

With that, he walked back, grabbed that fruit and took a large bite, chewing on it thoroughly before swallowing the most disgusting meal he ever had.

“God…uuuuuuh…f*ck!”

He cursed, putting the rest of the fruit back so he could at least try to wash the tase away with another shot.

“Now, how do I find out what kind of power this…oh…”

As he was thinking for himself, the agent realized that his body suddenly shrunk down to less than a half of his original height.

“Oh…it was Zoan…”

Alistair muttered to himself with a hint of disappointment, taking a look at his wings and ashen grey feathers.

“What kind…some bird of prey? Owl perhaps?”

Slowly and clumsily he walked in his new body towards the mirror to take a look at himself.

“Yep…owl, but…”

Frowning, he realised something was off. In the middle of his head, where most birds had a beak he had…nothing.

“What the…FU*K FU*K FU*K!”

Curious he tried to open his mouth only to find an exceptionally large mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Startled, he jumped backward spreading his wings by reflex, knocking down a vase and the rest of that fruit.

“Alright… alright…that´s not normal, definitely not a normal…”

[Bobbie]

As Lukas sat there, pretending to place all of his attention on his little card game, his true focus was on the inn that he was sure his target was somewhere within. A frown came to the young man’s face as he noticed a large number of people now emerging with dissatisfied looks on their faces, most of them complaining about something.

While he wasn’t close enough to hear their words, there was no mistaking their expressions for any form of praise. The classic look of an angry customer was undeniable.

What the hell… he wondered to himself what exactly was going on as he narrowed his eyes. Did he lash out at the other patrons? They don’t seem to be very afraid, more so… irritated.

Catching a glimpse of the waitress approaching his table, making a few stops to drop off other orders along the way, Lukas turned his head away to lower his gaze onto the cards again. He continued to wonder how his actions could have led to such a reaction from so many other visitors at the Inn - he knew he wasn’t particularly charismatic, but as far as he knew, he had done nothing to drive other customers out of the establishment with a look of such distaste. The other alternative was that this was not caused by him, but by his target, a reaction that triggered something of an uproar among eavesdropping clients. Yet he had already seen that this was not an impulsive man.

“Your tea is ready, sir,” the waitress gently spoke, placing the teacup down on the table in its saucer, a packet of sugar still sealed beside it and no milk added.

“Thank you,” he replied, but then leaned back and locked eyes with the woman. “Excuse me for asking such a question, but I’m looking for a place to stay while I’m here on business…” Once he was sure he had her attention, he continued. “The Bottega Inn up there looks very nice, but I have never stayed there nor do I know anyone who has. Would you be able to offer your personal recommendation?”

The lady who had just served him his tea glanced over toward the inn, a smile immediately coming to her face before she turned back to Lukas. “Yes, a lot of our customers here have spent some time there, they all speak very highly of it. My own aunt and uncle have made several reservations there too while visiting. It’s a lovely place and the innkeeper is very friendly. Not very expensive, and I guess you do get what you pay for, so don't expect any five-star service... but there are many worse places to go.” Her kind words were only further confirmation of his suspicion that whatever caused those people to walk out so angrily was because of his target… which was a good indication to Lukas that he was dealing with somebody who was intelligent, cunning, and perhaps most worthy of noting, opportunistic. There was no telling what a desperate man would do to try and save a business.

“I see, thank you. That is very helpful, I’ll be sure to tip you generously for that.” Lukas flashed another smile, though he doubted that it was this that elicited the one in return from the waitress and not his offer of a good tip. Left alone once more, he let out a sigh, already tired from putting up an amicable front in social situations - or trying to.

Picking up a card and carrying on with his game, his other hand lifted his cup to take a small sip of tea, bitter to his liking, until his focus was returned to the inn’s main entrance yet again.

He hadn’t seen his target leave yet, but knew of no other ways in or out, save for the windows. Unless the man could suddenly sprout wings, that shouldn’t be an option though.

---

Lukas: #838383

[Mr. Moon]

Alistair #5

It took the agent some time, but in the end, he managed to regain the lost control over his emotions. Truth to be told, he had no idea what kind of fruit he ate or if it was really such a good idea, but there was at least one thing he was sure of. If it scared him, someone who knew there was a human under all this disturbing appearance, it should terrify anyone who would try to enter his room without knowing. And he was pretty sure that at least one person will try to enter this room uninvited in foreseeable future. And so, he made the necessary preparation. Cleaned up his room and hid the backpack where it was previously rested. Took some of his spare clothes and arranged it in his bed, together with the blanket and pillow so it would look as if someone was actually sleeping there. Then he found himself nice place at the nightstand, back towards the door so any unsuspecting intruder could easily mistook him for a regular owl or even better plaster statue of one.

As he was making this preparation, he quickly learned the ropes of his newfound ability. First of all, it was really zoan, although one he never heard of before, allowing him to transform not only into this strange owl form, but also in some kind of hybrid form between this one and his regular human look, that was even more horrifying then the scary owl. Second, his transformation wasn´t affecting only him, but also his shadow, making it darker, more pronounced and…strangely physical. He found out the hard way as he accidentally knocked some of his stuff out of the table not by part of his body, but by the shadow, that was following him everywhere he moved.

[Bobbie]

Eventually, Lukas would have to leave the café and make his way toward the inn. He did so unhappily, grumbling beneath his breath about how things rarely go according to plan and the odds of somebody choosing to remain in a room that had clearly been broken into and wasn’t safe.

The agent hoped Alistair would leave so that he could follow him, but it seemed that Lukas had no such luck. “Of course,” he quietly complained to himself. “Why would I?”

Getting past the innkeeper unnoticed was easy with his Soru ability to dash past without being seen. He did, however, have to be very careful of the noise he made. Once he ascended the stairs and reached his target’s room, he waited outside for a moment to gauge whether the tenant was awake or not. Hearing perfect silence, Lukas impatiently produced a card to slip it between the door and its frame, until a soft clicking sound was made and the door slowly opened.

Cautiously, he peered into the room that was in darkness. All he could see were silhouettes at this time, the moonlight offering a backdrop through the window only to darken shadows in the room. Unmistakably, there appeared to be a figure underneath the bed covers.

As the white-suited man entered the room and closed the door behind him without making a sound, he looked around him for any other figures, before his gaze fell upon whatever lay in bed. Narrowing his eyes, he strained to get a better look with the limited lighting - it looked like a person, but as he scanned the humanoid shape, what he would expect of any sleeping person simply wasn’t there. There was no movement underneath the blankets, no rising and falling with the soft breaths of a sleeper.

Another quick sweep around the room to confirm there was nobody standing within sight, only the worn furniture and some hideous owl statuette, he gingerly moved closer to the bed. Aiming to reveal what lay beneath it, Lukas grabbed the blanket and pulled.

---

Lukas: #838383

[Mr. Moon]

Alistair #6

The agent was waiting patiently for the would-be robber, without moving a muscle. His target was surely taking his sweet time, but for some reason, Alistair didn´t mind, almost as if his new form was made for this patient style of hunting and there was no doubt in his mind that whoever tried to rob him will return as Devil Fruit like this was too prized for anyone to just give up on it. And in due time, he was proven right.
Quiet steps, too quiet for any returning guest or member of the hotel staff approached his room and then opened the door before entering. Cosplaying an ugly decoration, he kept his eyes closed, letting the intruder to sweep through his room, waiting till he gets closer to him or until his hearing says him he tried to reveal the secret of the bed. One or the another Lukas chose to go after the bed and so once he took the blanket off, revealing pillows and Alistair´s clothes shaped in an approximation of human figure, the agent acted.
Opening his eyes, he turned his head towards the intruder, releasing spooky clicking sound with his tongue hidden deep inside of his close mouth. Then, once his head was turned almost in 180° and his eyes were focused on Lukas, he opened his incredibly large mouth full of razor sharp teeth and released ear piercing scream, using his schooled voice to make it as loud, high and scary as possible.
After that, the madness matter was turned into eleven, as Alistair started batting his large wings in the room, screaming from the top of his lungs, while his shadow, pitch black and almost liquid, moving always a few steps behind him was doing the same.
“KIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Turning around in a mid-air the agent spread his talons trying to claws onto whoever had the audacity to enter his room.

[Bobbie]

Lukas was surprised to see only pillows and clothing underneath the blanket on the bed, but perhaps it shouldn’t have been all that shocking. He knew that this Arthur person wasn’t to be underestimated, but Goldberg had given him such little information about the man that it was difficult not to.

The air was suddenly filled with a shrill shriek from the owl statuette that inexplicably seemed to come to life, and Lukas spun around.

“The hell!?”

His body jolted as the younger agent of the two got the fright of his life and he staggered backwards. His heart beating twice the dozen, he reached out to try and grab onto anything to steady himself, knocking over anything that had been left out in the open on the nearby furniture. In a quick and swift motion on his descent to the floor, his mind finally saw past the initial shock and started functioning, as he waved one hand through the air ahead of him.

“Sh-t, Dealer’s Ribbon.”

The passage his gloved hand passed through was filled with a ribbon of cards that were produced from his arm and flowed out of his sleeve. Once the ribbon was formed, the cards interlocked with one another to become sturdier and block an incoming attack.

Taking only a brief moment to process what just happened, Lukas swished his arm in the opposite direction. “Dealer’s Wave,” he uttered form his seated position on the floor between Alistair’s bed and desk, and each card in the ribbon violently flipped over with razor edges to deter an attacker from getting too close.

Quickly, he rose to his feet, the cards falling to the floor, nothing but inanimate paper.

“You… You ate it…”

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Lukas: #838383

[Mr. Moon]

Alistair #7

Satisfied, that he gave the thief the scare of his life Alistair pressed forward, with the intention to mark his face, with his long claw, to give Lucas lasting memento, that would remind him the next time, how foolish the idea of stealing from him was. However instead of soft flesh his natural weapons clashed with a shield of cards that appeared seemingly out of nowhere before splitting into individual pieces and attacking him. Nope, this guy, whoever he was clearly wasn´t your regular thief.
Cursing under his breath, Alistair hit the air with his long wings, flying towards the ceiling to avoid the sudden onslaught, before dropping down on the ground in his human form.
What could his visitor notice even in this darkness was a patch of even darker shadow, that followed his movement with a short delay and then disappeared once Alistair transformed into his human form.
“Of course, I did, how else to make sure someone wouldn´t steal it from me?”
The agent asked, his voice filled with sarcasm. And while Alistair was looking for a movement that could indicate an attack from his visitor, he seemed to be surprisingly calm about the whole thing.
“Now, normally, I would be satisfied with the scare you already got and kicked you out to get some sleep, but…there are few questions I need an answer for, because…there isn´t many people who know I was traveling with fruit and you are looking awfully lot like a Devil Fruit user yourself so…”
The agent pulled out his most menacing smile to push on Lucas even more.
“You will be a good boy and tell me who sent you and why and I´ll be a nice host and won´t throw your body to a nearest trash can, where it clearly belongs.”

[Bobbie]

The white-suited agent looked down at Alistair’s shadow, noticing the slight delay in its following of his movements, though he didn’t quite understand it. Something told him that it would be better if he never actually found out what that was all about anyway, and he would like to avoid such a situation if possible.

“Fair point…” Lukas muttered, acknowledging that it was a solid argument and a smart idea as long as the Devil Fruit was actually intended for himself, even though he knew that there was a jab at him in that sarcastic remark.

However, this was precisely what he was afraid of. If Arthur had eaten the Devil Fruit, that meant he would either need to capture him alive or accept failure of the mission. The latter was less than ideal as this was his only chance to get back into Goldberg’s good books, it seemed, and he was eager to please his superior and bring an end to all the nonsense that revolved around the powerful man’s hurt ego.

As Alistair pushed on with his threat, Lukas was slightly taken aback but couldn’t help chuckling at the insult thrown in at the end.

“Oh please, try a more original insult I haven’t heard before.” The man snickered, shaking his head, before adjusting his stance to be ready for a fight. While he knew the odds of his success were not very high, he feigned confidence nonetheless.

“Here’s the problem - I can’t tell you that unless my intention is to be headless by sunrise, and I kind of can’t return without that Devil Fruit which you ate, so… I guess you’re going to have to come back with me.” Pausing, he shrugged and produced a row of cards from his arm to flow out of his sleeve and into his palm. “Willingly or by force.”

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Lukas: #838383