[Saga] [Notice Conquest][Part 4] Eviction Notice: Notice Noticed

Mon Apr 03, 2023 3:28 am

Previously on...

[ Planned Plots ]

Now...

Current Quest:

OOC: (-eh is a cough; -ee is a weeze)

As the sun began to rise over the island of Notice, and shadows began to cast off the many resort buildings that made up the bulk of the island's income, a stillness could be felt in the air.

The several large wooden boats drifting towards the shoreline obviously belonged to The Primetime Pirates. And yet seizing their advance was not a task that could be easily handled by the Marines at present. Especially since they were preoccupied elsewhere.

Even if they had noticed, it would appear as though a majority of the cannon fire was wasted earlier in the week. The Marines had artillery, but no provisions to keep the cannons stocked fully.

As the boats landed well-dressed men with clown makeup on their faces descended upon the beach, the various prints showcased on the makeup and the various patterns that were worn seemingly plastered upon their visages at random.

Armed with pistols, swords, spears, and all manner of melee and ranged weaponry they charged up the beach. Though they were met by a standing brigade, well-armed sharpshooters from the Foundation Guards who opened fire indiscriminately at the charging posse of insane clowns. Unleashing absolute carnage against the charging forces.

But the first wave was a distraction.

Soaring above the gaggle of goofs who were taking bullets as though it was their profession, a large well-oiled man whose musculature was impressive to the point of being sculpted by the gods came crashing down with a tremendous thud. His right arm took the head of one of these sharpshooters and smashed it into the ground beneath him. Leaving a sanguine splatter across the battlefield itself.

Raising up this jet-black figure cocked his neck to one side and then to the other, cracking his knuckles his bullets deflected off of his inky skin.

Desmond had arrived. Leading the fray as instructed by his beloved captain.

It seemed as though his prey had not arrived as of yet. A shame, that. He'd have to bide his time and play with the appetizers before getting to the final course.

“I love the smell of pissed pants in the morning, peerrvavava!!!”

A sound pinged on Desmond’s personal den den mushi, and Erudite’s voice rang out into the giant man’s ear.

“Hmm… no signs of the Marines yet. Let’s hope that changes. I am surprised we got any resistance right off the bat. Seems like our interloping friend last night tipped off the S.S.F. A shame.”

The assault on Notice was underway… and even now the Marines were nowhere to be seen. It would be up to Aya to get them here… and soon. Before things really kicked off in earnest.

{445 | 25,609 | 20,000 }

sucré @ gs

Tue Apr 04, 2023 5:44 pm

Jumping from one of the boats, Kabe soared across the waters of Notice. The blonde bruiser’s landing caused sand to fly everywhere. By the time the dust had settled, it was already too late for the Foundation’s nearest soldiers. In spite of the stakes that today’s battle held, Kabe could not be more excited. While the teenager sometimes did feel pity for the particularly weak whelps that he came across, it was truly their fault for being weak in a world where the strong are the only ones who command respect. At the very least they could have at least allied with someone stronger. Hell, Kabe ended up joining the Primetime Pirates all because of one fight on Spider Miles. How hard could it be?

While Kabe continued to warm up before the real battle started, The men from his boat were left to fend for themselves on the beach. Among them only three stood out, Fred Rickson, a stocky man with two shields, and a bearded man that wore comically large boxing gloves. With their backs together, all they could do was complain while combating the stragglers that Kabe had neglected to take care of himself. “Clank! I thought you said that kid would keep us safe!” Clank kept his shields raised high, almost hiding the fact that his face was becoming red with anger. “Don’t blame me Clive! I heard he was a knight from the Grand Line, that felt like a safer bet than being near Desmond!”

The straggler guards were startled by the increasingly loud argument between the two grunts, giving Fred the perfect opportunity to get the drop on his would-be killers. With a few quick slashes with his oversized dagger, the trio was safe, for now at least.

Fred collapsed in the sand, there was no use wasting any more energy given that the crew’s officers seemed to be in no need of assistance. Clank and Clive followed suit, sitting under the palm tree next to their tired coworker. Clive was the first one to break the silence. The self-proclaimed boxing champion made a gesture to Kabe, who was still happily fighting with the S.S.F. 's forces.“Rickson, You know Kabe well enough. Is it true what they say about him? Did he really fight Sky God before fleeing to the Blues?” Clank began to crack up, spilling some of his drink in the process “Shahahaha! Are you serious!? I don’t want to downplay the kid but the Seven Warlords are monsters! Don’t be so quick to believe those rumors!” Smiling, Fred sat up and began to draw in the sand. “All rumors have some truth to them, let me explain.”

About a Week Ago | Dead Air

Kabe sat on top of a large table, showcasing his rough drawing of Mapleshire. “So if you go up these giant trees scattered around the island, you end up so high that there are whole other islands stuck in the branches!” A grizzled man raised his hand “Did you ever have to fight the people from up there?” Kabe laughed before realizing the question was serious. “Like a war? No, usually they just keep to themselves unless they want to trade with us. I’ve only ever seen one person from up there before, he had some strange wings on his back. He must have eaten a Devil Fruit…”

Present Day | Beaches of Notice

Clank’s face began to redden again. “Those idiots parroted that story so many times it turned from that to ‘Kabe clashed with Sky God in the New World and left the Grand Line to lick his wounds’” Clive rested his head on one of his purple boxing gloves. “Well, It’s not like that kid didn’t just come out of nowhere. I heard he destroyed a small Marine outpost before we went to Spider Miles.”

Fred looked over to the growing pile of defeated guards near the blonde swordsman. “Apparently that one actually happened…”

Kabe was only getting started, but it was evident that the S.S.F. did not send nearly enough men for Kabe and Desmond to both be satisfied. The shipwright sheathed his sabers and reached for the lacrosse stick that rested on his back. “At least I didn’t forget you this time. Here’s hoping the Marines are a little smarter. These morons were so afraid of Mr. Wilkz that I barely got hit.”

Word Count:

Sat Apr 08, 2023 4:04 am

A Daydream of Home on Zou

"...This isn't going to work."

"Not if yougara keep saying that..."

"...No really. I mean it, this is stupid and youteia know it! It's got to be impossi-"

"Don't yougara ever listen to what the Old Hare is always going on about, MijikAya?"

"...."

"...Don't tell me youteia actually believe that shit."

Early Morning, Somewhere on the Streets of Notice

"... It'll be easy. Piece of cake."

Clove-scented smoke drifted up toward the open sky.

Get the Marines riled, but don't get tangled up with them or raise suspicions.

The tiny Mink couldn't keep herself from pacing like a caged tiger even after settling on a plan.

So what if it was Marines? Aya assured herself that she had dealt with much worse. Pulling the wool over the eyes of Lesser Minks was a way of life for the previously lone traveler.

Surely a swatch of drab 'Justice' white didn't change things much.

She could almost hear her panicked Mother on the wind, losing her breath and a bit more of her sanity to another long and practically unstoppable rant about the dangers of Lesser Minks. But here Aya was; scoping out a gaggle of Marines who seemed to be enjoying their time away from whatever superior would have been currently reprimanding them for horsing around as they patrolled.

A practically perfect canvas for her to work with.

It was hard to believe even idiots would fall for this, but she was out of time to reconsider. Somehow she was betting it would raise fewer questions with a plan like this, anyway.

The little woman emerged from her hiding spot around the corner of an alleyway just before the now very confused marines crossed her path.

" Help!! P-please, you've got to help!!"

Aya did her best to fill her voice with faux panic.

Her precious mink had been hidden away with layers of bandages painted carefully with shades of fresh blood red and smeared with painted dirt and debris. Both ears sat uncomfortably pinned into an oversized floppy sunhat, though the bright red of her hair still peeked out from her bandaged and bespectacled head.

The frozen men before her seemed to be taking a moment to assess the strange mummy wearing a sundress that had appeared before them. Aya wasn't about to let them think about things too long and quickly upped her performance into hysterics.

"It's just AWFUL! You've got to hurry and help, please!!"

Though one man in white tried to reach for her shoulder for what Aya could only assume was reassurance, the girl fell to her knees in front of the group and avoided the touch entirely. Her tightly bandaged paws fell over her dark lenses as she feigned sobbing.

Other civilians seemed to be taking concerned notice of the scene quite quickly, which seemed to dawn on at least one of their 'protectors'. Aya heard rustling and caught a glance of a transponder snail hastily being fished from a marine's bag.

Perfect.

[npc=navy]"What's going on? What happened to you, little girl?"[/npc]

Aya was thankful no one could see her eyes as they rolled toward the back of her skull and she bit her tongue to halt a snide rebuttal. It didn't matter, and might even help her cause if she played her cards right.

" ...Clowns! ...PIRATE CLOWNS!!! Out on the beach! Th-they were big and scary and-"

As the sneaky Mink pointed toward the right direction and rambled and rattled off childish adjectives describing the monstrous men, one gander in the gaggle of marines' eyes seemed to widen with a sudden realization.

He began speaking into the transponder and Aya could have jumped for joy if she wasn't so caught up in fake sniveling to a pack of men who clearly were unsure how to handle the crying and seemingly injured strange young lady.

Maybe Marines weren't as dumb as she thought.

Maybe they were just dumb enough for this to work.

{666/666}

Fri Apr 14, 2023 1:28 am

OOC: (-eh is a cough; -ee is a weeze)

It was not a coincidence that nearly every executive member of the Primetime Pirates hadn’t received direct orders from Brood on where he needed them. He hadn’t given express orders to Laylay, Molly, Academia, Jackson, and Sarahfeenah. But this was to be expected, Brood wasn’t the type of leader that felt as though he needed to give everyone a distinct order. He figured that they would all access the information given to them and utilize their best judgment given the factors laid out before them.

For that reason, each of these individuals assigned themselves to a task they’d excel at. Though an absolute psychopath with no remorse for any living being, Jackson knew that his skills were best suited for sinking enemy battleships. So he stayed behind on the ship with Erudite and Juniji. Academia did the same. Laylay and Molly decided to tag along with Brood and Festus. As a sniper, Sarah decided her abilities were best suited for covering Aya. Just in case things managed to go haywire.

To that end, she had a front-row seat in watching Aya work her magic and it seemed as though her words hit the ears of those Marines with gusto, showcased by how frantically those men sprang up into action—activating their transponders to make their report. She couldn’t pick up on the chatter, but she contributed her own as she sent a call out to Desmond. After a few moments of ringing, the living ogre would pick up on his end.

It was clear he was excited by the battle at hand.

“S’at so? PEERVAVA!! Good then!!! Eh Kabe!~ Looks like they comin’ in hot.” Desmond hollered as he gripped a guard by the head and crushed his cranium in his palm.

For their part, Desmond and Kabe were making short work of the lackluster forces employed by the S.S.F. Sure, the star of the show had yet to reveal themselves, but hey, shit happened. It really made Desmond think about if that Sun F. Lower person was really as cracked up as they made themself out to be. They didn’t manage to do anything substantial the night prior and it was strange that Brood and company allowed them to live.

Hours prior, The Dead Air hull…

Brood and Festus made their way out of the corridor, at his behest, and that hooded figure that was left behind in the meeting hall sat in silence before rising up and making their way toward the entryway. Had their presence truly gone unnoticed?

The Hood that they wore was sophisticated technology crafted by Peytor himself. It allowed for one to bend the light around them so as to obscure their presence. Through the use of their own training as a former member of Ciper Pol, this hooded figure was also able to utilize a technique that allowed them to mask their scent. So that they smelled like any other random grunt. To that end, despite being so obviously out of place.
To the untrained eye, they didn’t exit. The tech was that good but to those with the ability to use Haki. Well, they hadn’t accounted for that. Haki was rare outside of Paradise.

As the figure made its way into the hallway, they quickly made their way toward the stern of the ship. Doing whatever they could to make their hasty retreat before ultimately being surrounded by the Primetime forces.

But they didn’t manage to get far.

The very moment that their foot hit the poop deck, they could feel the presence of someone standing behind them. The figure, panicking, acted swiftly. Reaching underneath their cloak, grasping hold of the blades kept there. When their eyes locked onto the presence they discerned that it was none other than Brood himself.

But in that blink of an eye, Brood’s head cocked to the side as a series of sharpened blades glinted from underneath that very robe, finding themselves slamming into the wooden wall behind him.

Brood’s eyes settled on the mysterious figure who seemingly used the ‘shave’ technique immediately after tossing out the knives. With his right arm raised Brood managed to block the large machete that seemingly came out to strike him.

Gazing upon the figure, Brood could do little beyond a smile.

“Little-ee rat, you’re not Maxwell. You-ee can’t skulk about this eh-ship without being noticed-ee. Even with that… tech. Just-eh-cause we act dumb-ee doesn’t mean we are. Nice trick tho-ee, life return I think… ee-good for masking-ee one’s presence...but not one’s intent.”

The figure used the technique again to land on the edge of the ship, though found their back pressed up against a wall of sugar that was erected prior to their machete strike.

Leaping away, the individual removed their cloak. Exposing their armored visage and a peculiar mask that was in the shape of a sunflower. The would-be assassin unsheathed another blade, twirling them around before speaking in a distorted voice.

“Je savais que te tuer ne serait pas une tâche facile, mais je ne pensais pas que tu étais si vigilant. Surtout étant donné que vous m'avez tous laissé me promener sans aucun problème avant maintenant. (I knew killing you wouldn't be an easy task, but I didn't think you were so vigilant. Especially since you've all let me walk around without any problems before now.)”

“Well… you violated the dress code the moment you wore a cloak on board. We are a fashionable, jacket-wearing crew.” Academia spoke up while puffing out his chest. “And stop speaking like that, we’ve already been to the Frauce Kingdom before.”

He had been leaning up against the wall, arms crossed. He wasn’t alone either, Desmond, Festus, and Molly were there as well. Attempting to sate their violent natures by watching this would-be spectacle. Of course, this meant that Erudite, was also nearby, watching carefully.

“Heh… touche… Well ‘zen… why woul’jou reveal all of ‘zat information in fron-hon-hont of moi, however? I could have been transmitting ‘zis conversation with le Marines on le island.”

“Doubtful, you haven’t been paying attention much. We are so far away from Notice right now it’s not feasible that a short-range transmission would ever get out of here. We can’t regroup if we’re just hanging out around the island.” Erudite scoffed as she laid eyes on the mercenary.

“...Introductions are in order ‘zen… I am ‘ze trois étoiles (3 star) bounty hunter, Sun F. Lower. And I shall be collecting… all… of your heads. Starting with ‘ze boss.”

“Heh, if ya can take da boss, I will happily surrender my life to ya.” Desmond cackled, though Brood didn’t seem phased by the interloper’s existence in the slightest.

The masked figure chuckled ominously, muttering a slashuashuashu… through their voice-augmented mask.

“Ah good, I eh-needed an in with the-ee Bounty Hunter’s Association-eh. Or whatever it’s called. We are going-eh to be a competing company, ee-yanno.”

The masked individual found themselves slowly twirling their blades faster and faster until they became whirling disks in their hands. Without so much as another word, they’d toss their blades forward. Aiming to decapitate Brood.

Though of course, this was nowhere near touching his neck. As he swatted the blades away, watching one blade lodge into the deck and the other fly back toward his attacker. Brood’s figure seemed to fade in and out before he appeared behind the figure n in place of the candy wall he constructed. Pushing them forward with his open palm, the figure spun around to try and face Brood.

Once some distance was created, the mercenary found themselves pinned up against the wall. Unable to move, unable to retaliate. Large icicle-sized spikes of solid sugar held the individual against the wall with minimal effort. Having been fired from Brood’s very same palm.

“Don’t feel-ee bad. If I ever eh-struggled for more than a minute with a person in the eh-blues, then I’d never be worthy-ee of my bounty.”

There was a blur, and that mountain of muscle that called itself Desmond appeared before the now helpless mercenary. With his arm jet black, covered with an intense amount of haki, The brute would slam his fist straight into her stomach.

The masked figure would cough up blood, but it was not visible since it was now inside their sunflower mask. Their body lurched forward, as all of the air in their lungs was pushed out. At this, Festus walked over to the figure and placed his hand upon the figure’s head. A glint of selfish delight wafted over his face.

"Looks like there's going to be… hic-… a change of plans. Listen to me… hic-... carefully, we get it you did this for money. HICCUP! So if you want to make it out of this hic- alive here's what you're going to do…"

Notice, South Beach…

Desmond snapped out of it momentarily, his fist crunching the ribs of his nearest opponent before he’d charge the remaining men. His musculature proved far too mighty for individuals here in the Blues. The only thing that would even pose a threat to him would be a… giant robot of some sort. As if one of those things existed.

Still, he’d speak out to Kabe all the while. Cutting through the mayhem with a plan all his own.

“Once those reinforcements get here, I’m going to split the riff-raff away from ya. So be ready ta beat whomever they send.”

Meanwhile, the good doctor spoke out to Aya over the transponder. “Good work, just so you know the boss is watching us. Even if you accomplish the task he gave you, you'll gain more favor with him if you actually contribute something on your own. You got a rare power there, it might be helpful to our end goal."

As for Brood, he didn't have much trouble getting inside the complex. His crewmate was good at infiltrating places like this. Laylay somehow managed to get that back door open, and now all Brood needed to do was track down the man in charge. For this to be such an impressive Manor, the lack of security was rather surprising.

“...Somethin hic- seems off Brood…” Festus admired as he stepped over one of the bodies of the guards that they had broken whilst approaching the manor from its northern entrance.

“Oh?... ee-Ehh…. no shit. Don’t let your guard down… that cloak-ee was like nothing I’ve ever seen. That eh-certainly was the kind of tech-ee you get in the Blues. That had to come from somewhere on the eeheeheeeehehe-Grand Line. We ain’t dealing with no amateur engineers here.”

The pair cautiously stepped into the manor, keeping an eye out for anything out of sorts. For all Brood knew, this could have been a trap.

{1,753 | 27,362 | 20,000 }

sucré @ gs

Thu Apr 20, 2023 7:25 pm

In the short time that Kabe had been fighting the S.S.F. 's forces with Desmond, the once large blockade of mercenaries had shrunk greatly, leaving only the brave and stupid among them to continue fighting. And Kabe was quite fine with that. As long as the crew keeps applying pressure, the Marines will have to send out their big dogs eventually. The young swordsman just wished that “eventually” would come sooner.

Yawning, the blonde brute inspected his sabers, but just before he could take out his whetstone the greenhorn privateer was rudely interrupted by the ~~hopefully last~~ wave of goons.

[npc=misc]“Surrender now! Or else we will have to kill you!”[/npc] The man’s words came off a little too shaky to be taken seriously as a threat. But considering the fact that they had surely just witnessed their coworkers get crushed or cut apart, Kabe wouldn’t call them on it.

Stifling a laugh the swordsman began to approach his would-be killers. “Be serious! You’re not strong enough to choose how I die!” The blonde jumped up into the air and began to spin.

“Frisbee Blade!”

Landing on top of a nearby building, Kabe quickly dusted himself off before turning to Desmond. “I hope they remember to take lots of pictures too!”

High above the beach of Notice, Clay flew in his oversized pigeon form. The newly promoted commander didn’t wait to see what the other officers on the island were doing. Once the gray-haired marine had heard that two blonde pirates were leading an attack on the beach he couldn’t let this opportunity pass him. If either of them was the criminal who killed his grandfather, he had to bring them to justice.

Looking down, the commander could see that the soldiers were beginning to pour in and clash with the crazed clowns that had overrun the shores of the island. Circling the area the twenty-foot-tall pigeon noticed two characters that fit the description of his target. “What is that kind of Haki doing in the Blues!? Fuck it. I’m going for the small fry first, I’ll probably need Eucalypt and the other’s help to try and bring down that freak.”

Kabe looked out at the numerous marine soldiers that had shown up since Ms. Ruiz had fooled them into showing their faces. While they definitely had spared more numbers than the S.S.F. did, there still weren’t any big hitters present. Kabe was a fool, but he wasn’t an idiot. Surely they had sent a couple of them down to–

“Hmm. What is this feeling? It feels like I am in the woods back home…”

By the time Kabe had realized what was going to happen, it was too late. “ROCK PIGEON!”

The colossal bird headbutted Kabe straight in his midsection, carrying him into the air. Kabe coughed up some blood. He had been in his fair share of battles, but the swordsman had never been hit by anything quite like that before. But on the bright side, this guy was probably the biggest marine on the island. So at least there wasn’t another scavenger hunt to be had.

Once the pigeon reached the shore it whipped its head, sending Kabe rolling into the sand. By the time Kabe had used his swords to stop himself the pigeon was gone, and a young, gray-haired marine stood in its place.

“It had to have been you! I’m going to make you regret what you did!”

Kabe stood up and readied himself for the battle ahead. “Good luck with that. I have no clue what you are talking about, but I don't live with regrets!”

Word Count:

Wed Jun 28, 2023 12:34 am

As the gaggle of men in white before her deliberated about the best course of action in half-assed excuses to keep from heading toward the scene of the action, Aya's attention was now focused miles away.

'Contribute'? Surely they didn't think she was just going to sit by while the others worked.

Though she had to admit, a coffee break did sound nice...

[npc=navy]"We should really head back and regroup before anything.."[/npc]

[npc=navy]"And the girl! We've obviously got to take her to a medic-"[/npc]

That was enough to suddenly expel the boredom that was beginning to set in as the disguised Mink the babbling droned on. Even more alarming was the scraggly Marine moving to crouch slightly and outstretch a hand toward the woman with a warm smile.

[npc=navy]"Come on, let's go get you all fixed up, shall w-"[/npc]

A piercing yip suddenly shot through the ears of every unfortunate listener within a half-mile radius as Aya recoiled. The man quickly toppled back onto his ass in shock, almost bowling over the next closest member of the squad of Seamen.

As the Lesser Minks turned their gaze toward her with utter confusion, Aya was already two steps ahead and turning-tail to dart back down into the welcoming shade of the alley.

" I DON'T KNOW YOU!! I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH YOU!!"

She nearly had to bite her tongue to keep from slipping a '-teia' in but managed to nail the delivery of the outburst perfectly.

[npc=navy]"W-wait, where are you- Come back!! We just want to help!"[/npc]

The frenzied steps behind her were a clear indicator that the group had taken the bait and were following suit, though miraculously this 'injured' young lady was already evading them at an unnatural pace.

It only took one duck around a corner for the Marines to realize they were now staring down the length of an empty alleyway. The girl was nowhere in sight. Despite this, they barreled forward in blind pursuit for the sake of the greater good.

Blind enough, in fact, that as they rounded another corner they seemed to be completely unaware that they were now fewer in number than moments before.

It wasn't until the lead realized the sound of footfall had quieted significantly that he suddenly slowed to a halt.

As he glanced back over his shoulder he was greeted with a trail of his peers' unconscious bodies. The smell of ozone lingered in the air. One man seemed to be twitching, mouth agape in shock.

[npc=navy]"...What the- "[/npc]

"...Goodnight!"

Unseen claws dug sharply into the Marine's shoulders with a crackle and bright flash of electricity. Jittering limbs sprung to life as Electro pulsed through his musculature. Moments later, he joined the others in a face-down alleyway 'nap'.

The invisible assailant scrambled up one of the walls of the alley and toward the comfortable heights of the roofs above.

"...I'm not really a performance artist, youteia know. But I suppose it's good to branch out."

Aya lit herself a clove cigarette and heaved a sigh of relief, letting the fluster of the one-sided scuffle roll off her shoulders and the sunhat fall from her aching ears and into sight high above the view of commonfolk.

The little transponder sputtered on the smoke for a moment.

"...Point me in the right direction, will youteia? All these ugly buildings look the same to me. Kiiiii-pi-pi...!"

{561/1227}

[Saga] [Notice Conquest][Part 4] Eviction Notice: Notice Noticed