[Episode] Too Big

Episode:

Even with the sounds of men at work, there was a noticeable quiet that had fallen over the marine vessel as it glided through the water. Nobody was talking, just focusing on their work. But then, such things were natural when one was about to go into battle.

A young woman stood at the ship's bow, looking straight ahead. Her outfit was a bit more elaborate than the standard marine uniform, her rank granted her a little freedom in her attire. Long dark hair flowed back in the ocean breeze as icy blue eyes focused on what was ahead.

Commander Elizabeth Tiller:

In the distance, she could see the growing shape of the island. Ever since the lookout had first spotted it, everyone had gone quiet. Any and all confidence had been replaced by serious determination as soon as their target had come into sight. Elizabeth had not stopped looking at it, watching it grow as they got closer.

"Nervous, commander?"

She gave a small start. She hadn't even heard him approaching. She turned and looked up at the smiling face of Captain Trudeau. Trudeau was a tall, lean man, with vibrant red hair and a goatee. Unlike the rest of the crew, he seemed completely relaxed. Or at least, he was very good at hiding it.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No sir. I've fought pirates before." Trudeau chuckled, "Ah, but there's a difference between simply running into pirates on patrol. It all happens quickly. You don't get time to think." He looked out at the island, "But planned assaults like this, they give you almost too much time to dwell on it."

Elizabeth looked out towards the island. "I guess. But this lot shouldn't be anything to worry too much about." Indeed, in the grand scheme of things, the Black Dawn Pirates were a relatively minor crew. But they had been making a lot of moves lately. That was why the marines decided to nip them in the bud now. Trudeau placed a hand on her shoulder. "Confidence is always good, but don't let yourself get careless either. All it takes is one lucky shot or stab." Indeed, that was something on the minds of everyone right now.

Elizabeth looked back at him. "Understood sir." Trudeau smiled. "Good. Now you'd better get ready. It won't be long before they realize we're coming."


Post Word Count: 390
Total Word Count: 390

"Cheers lads!"

There was a roar from the gathered pirates as they raised their glasses, beer sloshing onto the table before they started happily drinking and chatting. It had been another successful raid, and the crew were taking time for a well deserved celebration.

Ever since their successful robbery of the Ilisia marine base, things had taken a good turn for the Black Dawn Pirates. They had been hitting bigger targets, bringing in more loot. They were actually starting to make a name for themselves. They even managed to find a small, deserted island that they decided to use as a hideout. An island hideout! Now that was a sign that they were starting make their way up in the world!

Hyde couldn't help but share in his crewmates' glee. Sure, the place was nowhere near as swanky as the headquarters of the old mafia family he used to work for, but it was good to see this lot starting to take off. Especially since Hyde knew he himself had a big part of it. He had been the one working the books, helping with the planning, and his devil fruit powers had certainly helped.

And yet, as he enjoyed the celebration, there was something in the back of his mind. A sense of familiarity, and certainly not in a good way. Though the fun and drinking was pushing that part of him down. Booze had a tendency to do that.

"Hyde!" Captain Jericho laughed, draping an arm around his quartermaster, "So, any ideas for our next big hit?" Hyde blinked before letting out a laugh. "Already? Captain, we only got back from our last raid not too long ago!" "Hehe, I know," Jericho grinned, "But I feel like we're on a roll! I want to keep up this monentum. Maybe we can try to hit a noble's ship. Or a marine vessel. Ooh! We could even try attacking a port! Lots of stuff there!"

[npc=pirt]"Captain!"[/npc] Jericho and Hyde looked over as one of the pirates ran up to them. Unlike the others, he seemed panicked, frightened. "What's up?" Jericho joked, "Booze run out or something?" [npc=pirt]"N-No Cap'n!"[/npc] he blurted out, [npc=pirt]"I was just in the lookout sir! Marines! There's a marine shop heading our way!"[/npc]

The party atmosphere instantly died as everyone looked towards the lone pirate. The only one grinning was Captain Jericho, who stood up, "We'll, looks like those marine bastards want to take a shot at us! Get ready for battle men! We'll take all they have and send them to the bottom of the sea!" The captain's enthusiasm was infectious, as the pirates were suddenly roaring and ready to go. They immediately started to scramble to various positions, ready to give the interlopers a proper welcome.

Meanwhile, a certain feeling of dread was starting to grow in Hyde's stomach.


Post Word Count: 479
Total Word Count: 869

[Musical accompaniment: Here ]

"Looks like they noticed us."

As the island grew closer, Trudeau could see the sudden burst of activity amongst the pirates, manning battle positions and some even getting cannons ready. While not the strongest defence he had seen from an enemy, it was enough to show these men weren't slouches either. He lowered his spyglass and looked to Elizabeth. "Get ready. We're going in."

Elizabeth nodded and ran back to prepare as Trudeau called out to the crew. "Battle stations men! Full speed! Let's get in there and hit them as fast as possible!" The marines started working like a well oiled machine. Sails unfurled, catching the wind and picking up speed. As they drew closer, there was the boom of cannon fire from island, cannonballs crashing into the water on either side of the ship.

Elizabeth was quickly back on deck, Saber in hand. "Bring a few cannons around and fire back! Have rifles and gangplanks at the ready!" A pair of cannons were wheeled up, facing towards the island before firing. Elizabeth could see the shots striking the island, though it was hard to tell if any damage was inflicted.

The ship glided into the bay where the pirate's ship, the Sundowner was docked. Riflemen took their positions, opening fire as some of the pirate gunners shot back. The rest of the marines were drawing their weapons, getting ready. "Full stop! Drop anchor!" Trudeau ordered, "Gangplanks down!" The sails were quickly pulled up as the ship's anchor plummeted into the water. Long walkways were dropped on either side of the ship, one side leading to the rocky outcroppings that surrounded the bay, the other going onto the Sundowner itself.

Trudeau drew a pair of Swords as he looked to Elizabeth, "Take one squad onto the island! I'll head onto their ship!" Elizabeth nodded, before turning to her men and pointing her saber ahead. "Charge!"

There was a roar amidst the crack of cover fire as the marines split off in two ways. Tredeau's men charged onto the enemy vessel, while Elizabeth's squad hit landful. Either side, there were pirates fully armed and ready for them, as the two sides crashed into eachother.


Post Word Count: 364
Total Word Count: 1,233

The entire island had turned into a chaotic war zone. The sound of gunshots, blades clashing, and the shouting of combatants filled the air. Now and again, there was the roar of a cannon, shaking up the cave-like tunnels that perforated the island like a stoney sponge. And Hyde Garland was finding himself in the middle of all this chaos.

He should have known this would happen. It's what always happens. You get successful, you let it get to your head. You push too far, grow too big, and you end up attracting the wrong kind of attention. It had happened back when he was in the mafia, and now it was happening here too. And both times, he was a big factor in their success! But this time, things were different. They had their own weapons this time. They weren't relying so heavily on him for their firepower. And, after all, getting marine attention was inevitable in this kind of life. Maybe things will turn out differently.

As he ran down the tunnels, a pair of marines rounded the corner. Thinking quick, Hyde lept at them with a flying kick, catching them before they realized he was there. The three crashed to the floor, the pirate quickly springing to his feet. A few quick stomps on their heads against the cold, stone floor was enough to leave them dazed. Hyde paused for a moment, glancing at their dropped weapons. A sword and a pistol. Sure, Hyde could always create his own, but having a back up on hand was always useful. He scooped them up, before continuing his run.

He soon came to a larger chamber in the rock, numerous crates stacked all over the place. This had been where they stashed the various loot they had gathered from their raids. A hole in the side of the chamber gave an open view of the bay. The fighting was clear as day, as marines and pirates were clashing even on their ship. "Damn..." The more he saw, he more was reminded of back then...

His attention was then drawn to something coming from the other entrance of the storage room. A small cluster of marines, being led a (quite attractive) woman. Now, Hyde wasn't normally one to fight women. But that was more because he hadn't really fought against women before. He believed he had been raised to be better than that, but if said woman was a capable fighter, then he was obliged to defend himself, right? That being said, he wasn't really wanting to fight off a bunch of marines by himself. Quickly looking around, an idea occured to him.


Elizabeth's heart was racing. So far the battle was going rather well, but she couldn't allow herself to grow complacent. With several of her men behind her, they came into a large chamber stacked with boxes. No doubt their ill gotten gains.

As she crossed the threshold, she saw something large flying in her direction. "Look out!" She dove forward as whatever it was crashed into a pile of crates to her right. The stack buckled and came crashing down, right into the entrance. Quickly recovering and getting to her feet, she looked back. She couldn't see if her subordinates were OK, but it looked like the way out was now blocked.

"Well, fancy meeting a lovely lady here."

She looked towards the center of the room, where a man stood atop one of the crates. Unlike the other pirates, he seemed rather well groomed and dressed. Granted, his coat was a little flashy. Through a pair of tinted glasses, the man gave her a confident smile. "Allow me to introduce myself," he said, pulling off his coat with a flourish, "My name is Hyde Garland. And it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Elizabeth's gaze hardened as she held her saber ready. "Never heard of you."


Post Word Count: 649
Total Word Count: 1,882

Hyde Garland uses:
Hit & Run - active
Fog Armor - MT on self
Swatch Blade - LT at Elizabeth Tiller
Painter's Arrow- LT at Elizabeth Tiller
UT at Elizabeth Tiller

Elizabeth Tiller uses:
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 11, 10, 13

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 6, 11, 2, 3

Hyde Garland uses:
Incoming! - HT at Elizabeth Tiller
Old Fashioned Violence - LT at Elizabeth Tiller
UT at Elizabeth Tiller

Elizabeth Tiller uses:
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 13, 15, 19

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 17, 18, 3, 15

Hyde Garland uses:
The Floor is Lava - AoE at Elizabeth Tiller
UT at Elizabeth Tiller

Elizabeth Tiller uses:
MT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 20, 15

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 7, 8, 1, 18

Hyde Garland uses:
Artistic Cure - HT on self
Swatch Blade - LT at Elizabeth Tiller
UT at Elizabeth Tiller

Elizabeth Tiller uses:
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 8, 5, 19

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 16, 9, 7, 13

Hyde Garland uses:
Get em Boy! - MT at Elizabeth Tiller
Painter's Arrow- LT at Elizabeth Tiller
Old Fashioned Violence- LT at Elizabeth Tiller
UT at Elizabeth Tiller

Elizabeth Tiller uses:
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 15, 14, 1, 8

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 6, 13, 6, 18

Hyde Garland uses:
Paint Bomb - HT at Elizabeth Tiller
There's the Door - LT on self
UT at Elizabeth Tiller

Elizabeth Tiller uses:
HT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 15, 17

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 18, 5, 19

Disregard. Wrong combo used.

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 5, 13, 12

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 8, 5, 15, 15

Hyde Garland uses:
Swatch Blade - LT at Elizabeth Tiller
Old Fashioned Violence - LT at Elizabeth Tiller
UT at Elizabeth Tiller
Retreat Roll

Elizabeth Tiller uses:
HT at Hyde Garland
LT at Hyde Garland
UT at Hyde Garland

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Hyde Garland' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 7, 8, 12, 11

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 8, 7, 3, 10

The fighting was in full swing, out on the deck of the Sundowner. Evidently pirates didn't take kindly to folks Storming their ship, even when docked. Trudeau could honestly relate, as he blocked and incoming strike before countering with his second blade, taking down another of the pirates.

It seemed like the Black Dawn Pirates had been doing some recruiting. There were a food number more here than he expected. He hoped that things were going easier for Elizabeth on her end. She was a tough girl, but had she been in a situation like this before?

Suddenly, the feeling of impending danger came rushing towards him. His body acted on reflex, diving to the side as a large form crashed into the ground where he had been standing.

Captain Jericho rose to his feet, pulling his large blade out of the floor as he gave the marine captain a smug look. "You marine bastards think you can waltz into our home, and start a fight on my ship," he hefted the blade onto his shoulder, "I'm gonna have to teach you some respect."

Trudeau rose to his feet, a small smirk spreading across his face. "Captain Jericho. I was wondering when you were finally going to come out." Jericho only laughed as the two captains stared eachother down.


Meanwhile, Elizabeth was staring down her own opponent. Truth be told, she didn't expect to run into anyone like this here. He was most likely an officer of the crew or something. Still, the way he carried himself, his confidence bothered her. She instantly wanted to wipe that look off of his face.

Fortunately, since he was a pirate, that was her job.

She lept up onto the crates, charging towards him with saber at the ready. She leaped across the gap towards him, sword held high. Hyde, meanwhile, braced himself and then started to...what? It was hard to tell. He seemed to be making hand motions along his body.

Suddenly, he blade seemed to come down on nothing but smoke. Her eyes widened in surprise. A smoke bomb? She hadn't seen him draw it.

She didn't have much time to dwell on it though, she Hyde was right beside her, swinging a knife at her. Elizabeth quickly brought her sword up, catching the blade with a metallic clang. The knife's blade didn't seem particularly strong, as one quick twist caused it to snap. As Hyde took a step back, Elizabeth quickly followed through with a punch to the jaw.

Hyde stumbled back, losing his balance and falling backwards off of the crate they were standing on. As he fell out of sight, Elizabeth prepared to jump down after him. She stopped dead when an arrow suddenly shot up from below, narrowly missing her face.

An arrow? When did he have a bow? She didn't see any weapons on him at all in fact.

Even if the attack missed, it gave Hyde a chance to slip out of sight. "Not bad," his voice echoed out around the room, "I can see you're a good step up compared to those idiots in Ilisia." There was a small sound and she swore she heard, in a much softer voice, "damn, certainly hits harder too."

Elizabeth wasn't sure whether to be irritated by his bravado, or smirk at the knowledge that she hurt him. Well, she'll settle for a third option. Find him and beat him up.


Post Word Count: 575
Total Word Count: 2,457

The piles and walls of crates made the room almost like a maze. She kept to a low crouch, saber gripped tight as she tried to see any sign of Hyde. All that talk and now he was hiding? She should have pegged him as a coward from the beginning.

Though cowardly as it seemed, she had to admit that a place like this was a prime location for ambushes and sneak attacks. There was no doubt in her mind this was Hyde's intention. An underhanded, but affective strategy. She kept her eyes peeled. One missed detail and she would leave herself wide open.

"Peekaboo!"

Granted, when Elizabeth thought of sneak attacks, she figured he'd come from around a corner, or attack from above. What she didn't expect was the crate next to her to suddenly slam into her, smashing into the one on her opposite side. The crate smashed on impact, revealing plenty of pistols which scattered along the floor. Elizabeth couldn't even get out a grunt of pain as she slumped to the floor.

Hyde laughed as he stepped out from where the crate was. "Man oh man, that never gets old!" He bent down, scooping up one of the pistols, "Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go help me crew so..." Elizabeth quickly recovered her senses to realize what was happening. She quickly grabbed one of the fallen pistols, pointing it at Hyde just as he pointed at her.

Click.

The pair paused, a little thrown off by the lack of 'bang' that came with firing a gun. A few more pulls of the trigger gave the same result.

Hyde sighed as the realization dawned on him. "Of course. Why would they pack loaded guns?" Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a little silly about the whole thing. "Well, it does make sense. Safety and all that." "Yeah, I guess." Even pirates were smart enough to practice safety.

There was a brief pause before Elizabeth's leg sharply came up. There was a strangled cry, followed by much, much cursing from Hyde. As the pirate doubled over, grabbing his groin, Elizabeth quickly grabbed her saber from the mess of weaponry and scrambled to her feet. She was caught by surprise when Hyde swung a fist out behind him.

Elizabeth let out a sharp gasp, stepping back and grabbing her chest. "Dammit that stings! Who does that?" she hissed. Hyde, teeth clenched in pain glared at her. "Who does that? You kicked me in the balls!"

"You hit me in the boob!"

"You kicked me in the FUCKING BALLS!"

"Yeah, well, you're a pirate! It's what you deserve!"

"Yeah? Well, you deserve this!"

Elizabeth yelped as suddenly Hyde threw the pistol he was holding at her, smacking her right in the face. "Gah! Sonuva-!" She recovered just in time to see Hyde rounding a corner. She growled, gripping her blade tightly, "Hey! Get back here!"


Post Word Count: 486
Total Word Count: 2,943

When this started, Elizabeth had fought Hyde for the simple reason that he was a pirate, and she was a marine. One was a criminal that needed to be stopped, and the other someone to do the stopping. But now, Elizabeth was driven by a growing hatred for the man personally. Something about him was triggering something within her. Maybe it was his smug attitude, or maybe it was the cheap shot with the pistol whip. Something was now driving Elizabeth to bring the guy down personally, as she ran after him through the maze of crates and stolen supplies. She almost relished the thought of pummeling that face of his.

She rounded a corner, looking out for any sign of the pirate. In fact, she was so focused on finding him it took her a minute or two to notice something was wrong. Her feet were hot, very hot. Like her shoes were on fire. But that couldn't be right. There was no fire, or coals. Looking at the ground, she did notice some strange pattens on the stone floor, almost like someone was trying to draw...lava? Regardless, the marine soon found herself hopping up and down, yelping in pain. "HothotHOT!" She turned and started scrambling up the boxes, trying to get away from the painful floor.

She managed to get atop of the boxes, immediately sitting down to blow on her feet to cool them. Her boots didn't seem burned, but the feeling of heat was still there. Just what had happened down there?

"Hot enough for you?"

Elizabeth looked up just in time to see something lunging at her. A dog. Where had a dog come from? She let out a cry, rolling back as the beast tried to bite at her, only for her to throw the thing off of her. As the dog fell down below to the hot floor, she quickly climbed to her feet, her venomous gaze instantly landing on Hyde. "You! Where did that dog come from? What did you do to the floor?" The questions were starting to pile up, and as much as it infuriated her, the answers were laying with this man. Hyde, standing some distance away, smirked. "Take a look down there," he said, pointing to where the dog flew.

Now that he mentioned it, surely she would have heard the dog crying in pain from the heat. She spared a glance down below, only to find nothing. Instead, there seemed to be... "A drawing?" Indeed, there was a rather detailed picture of the very same dog, now on the floor, blending in with the drawn lava.

"Need another hint?" Elizabeth looked over towards Hyde as the man pulled a brush, before quickly painting something on the crate he was standing on. She couldn't get a good look at it before he suddenly pulled it out from the very surface, revealing it to be a bomb. Her eyes widened, trying to process what she saw before Hyde suddenly threw it at her. She gave a surprised cry as the bomb exploded in her face, sending her flying back.

A devil fruit. The man had a devil fruit.

As Elizabeth laid on the ground, hurt and disorriented, she could make out the sound of Hyde's laughter against the ringing of her ears. Fury started to override pain as Elizabeth let out a shriek of rage, fists pounding the floor in frustration.


Post Word Count: 572
Total Word Count: 3,515

Hyde couldn't help but laugh as the bomb went off in Elizabeth's face. Who would have thought that fighting marines would be this much fun? It almost made him forget that there was a small war going on outside of this room. Hyde casually dusted himself off. "Well, that was fun. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

A loud shriek of rage quickly caught his attention as Elizabeth, almost frothing with rage, dove at him, her saber ready to slice into him. Thinking fast, Hyde quickly pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, pulling forth the drawing of the knife on it just in time to catch her blade, managing to push it aside. Hyde smirked, "Now now, let's not lose our he-YIPES!" He jerked back just in time to dodge a punch aimed square at his jaw.

As he tried to jump back, Elizabeth dropped her saber and with her now free hand grabbed a hold of his collar, yanking him close with a feral look on her face. She swung a fist low, punching Hyde straight in the stomach. Hyde wheezed as the air was forced from his lungs, his body thrown back as he bounced along the crates before managing to recover and land on his feet. And in an instant, Elizabeth was back on him, swinging fists in a blind fury. Hyde yelped and kept jumping back, dodging and weaving to avoid those fists of fury.

"Woah! H-Hey now! Let's just calm down a bit!" Hyde yelped out, trying to avoid getting another hard punch. For someone who focused on using a sword, she really hit hard. Elizabeth snarled. "Calm down? Calm down!? You slammed me with a crate, slapped my breast, hit me with a pistol, almost set me on fire, sicked a dog on me, and threw a bomb at my face! And you want me to CALM DOWN!?"

She threw a hard punch, which Hyde managed to catch, stopping her assault temporarily. "Now, I understand. I think anyone would be angry in your situation. But, just for a moment, consider this," Hyde bit back a laugh, "You, are REALLY ugly when you're angry."

Elizabeth's angry face:

Veins throbbed on Elizabeth's face as she let out a growl of rage, suddenly throwing her entire body against Hyde. The pirate let out a yelp as he stumbled back, landing flat on his back, with the wrathful marine atop of him. Elizabeth straddled him to keep him pinned, fists ready to deliver righteous fury. Hyde's eyes bugged out in fright. "N-Now hold on. I know what you're thinking. Do I choose violence, or mercy? And the answer, may well surprise yo-" "VIOLENCE!" Elizabeth roared out like a tribal warrior, bringing back a fist. Hyde could only yell out before he would recieve the pummeling of a lifetime. Hell indeed hath no fury like a woman scorned. Or in this case, a woman driven to homicidal rage.

Post Word Count: 487
Total Word Count: 4,002

Swords clashed on the Sundowner as both captains, marine and pirate, continued their duel. Both had managed to get some good hits in, and it was clear that the both sides were getting exhausted. Breathing heavily, Jericho glared at Captain Trudou, gripping his sword tightly. Around them, the battle didn't seem to be going so well for the Black Dawn Pirates. His crew were starting to drop like flies.

"You come into our lair," Jericho snarled, "Attack my men, destroy everything we worked for!" he brought up his sword, "And you think I'm letting you walk out of here alive!?" He let out a roar and charged towards Trudou, sword ready to try and strike the marine down. Trudou held his two blades at the ready, preparing himself for the incoming onslought.

The two closed in, their blades slicing through the air. Both men were still for a moment. Anyone watching the battle would find it hard to tell just who came out on top of this clash. Suddenly, there was a spray of blood. With a soft groan, Jericho slumped forward, collapsing to the floor.

Trudou took a deep breath, standing tall and sheething his blades, looking at the downed pirate captain. "Honestly? Yeah, I did."


Hyde's head was swimming. His face was bruised, blood pouring from his nose as Elizabeth beat down on him over and over again, venting all her fury onto the pirate. Hyde had gotten into a lot of fights in the past, and had even been on the recieving end of a beating himself. Right now, he was flashing back to a better time, back on Baterilla. Maybe he was too hasty to flee the island. Maybe he should have tried laying low on the island, start anew and the like. His head rolled back, ready to embrace the sweet release of unconsciousness.

That was, until he saw what was happening on the deck of the Sundowner. Through the hole in the stone wall, he had a good view of watching his captain fall to the marine captain. It was almost like a bucket of cold water to the face. His eyes widened in shock. "Captain!" With a new burst of energy, his body rolled to the side, throwing the surprised marine off of him. His body was trembling, being pushed beyond what it naturally should be able to do. Hyde quickly scrambled back to his feet.

His captain was down, everything was falling apart around him. This was the mafia all over again, and this time he almost got captured. There was only one thing for Hyde to do in this situation. And that was to get the hell out of here as fast as possible.

Elizabeth climbed back to her feet, just in time to see Hyde making a run for it. "Hey! Get back here!" she shouted, moving to chase after him as he lept out through the hole. Elizabeth ran to the hold, peering out in search of the pirate. There was no sign of the man. Surely he didn't dive into the water. Even she knew that Devil Fruit users couldn't swim. But where was he then?

She growled and thumped the rock in frustration. "Dammit!"


Post Word Count: 540
Total Word Count: 4,542