Where entrepreneurs come to die [Episode]

Doskoi Panda: a clothing line that, according to its flamboyant advertisements, had existed for centuries. And the tired old drifter could certainly believe it, having seen its products spread worldwide since he set out to explore the seven seas. A floppy panda attempting to flex; whoever had designed this genius logo certainly hadn’t considered its target demographic. “We make you look as fat and unfashionable as our mascot panda” might be a prudent slogan with that particular symbolism. Nonetheless, they had done a well enough job transforming the logo into a massive statue, here at the headquarters of the industrial powerhouse that was Doskoi Panda.

Seeing the statue tower above the storm of smoking chimneys that were a good distance away from it only emphasized its incredible magnitude. It was sculpted out of a dirty silver, streaks of which showed through the scraped bits on the otherwise black and white panda. The city that it stood upon was a sight to behold in the hours of the underworld. Millions of golden and yellow lights sparkling the faded outlines of troops of buildings that stood vigil in the dark of the night. A gigantic dome constructed of mirror-like glass was the most prized landmark of its appropriately named island. This was the city that the world’s many mega-corporations called their home. This was the place where the most brilliant entrepreneurs and pioneers of unfound businesses came to make their dreams come true. This was Mirrorball Island.

The drifter walked along an invisible path, high up in the breezy air above the calm East Blue waters. His vantage point had allowed him to witness the artificial beauty of the island in its full glory. The lack of sleep over the past few days of walking across the ocean had left heavy dark bags under his eyes, and lazy yawns were a constant harrassment. But, he preferred to have solid ground underneath him when resting, even if his abilities kept him afloat while asleep. Thankfully, the seas had been calm, as they often were in the Blues, at least in comparison to his usual stomping grounds in the Grand Line. His original destination had been another island in the East Blue, but with a poster of a notoriously skilled magician having flown directly into his face with nothing else in sight for miles besides the ocean’s shimmering, he decided to take a quick detour to the hosting location, namely Mirrorball Island.

The Magic Man, the posters called him unoriginally, and he wondered if the man himself had taken to that moniker as well as his audience seemed to have. Nathaniel Thorne; the name of the performer seemed eerily familiar when matched with that particular profession and his awfully nostalgic face. White hair, pale skin and piercing grey eyes were all too reminiscent of someone he had known a long time ago. This curiosity and familiarity was what was driving him to this otherwise mundane performance. For what magic tricks could ever surprise him after having witnessed the mind-boggling phenomena that were an everyday occurrence in the New World for decades?

Nathaniel sat backstage mentally preparing himself for his next big performance, of which was to take place in the Hammer and Anvil Theatre on Mirrorball Island - a fairly famous venue for those within the live entertainment business. It had been stood in it's place since the early days of Mirrorball Island, way back before Doskoi Panda became the colossus it is today. It had housed many esteemed talents over the decades it had been in action and therefore had also had it's fair share of infamous audience members. However, none of that concerned Nathaniel at the moment. While of course he tried his best in rehearsals and would never want to distract himself from giving 100%, he couldn't help but think about the more than odd circumstances in which he'd arrived at this point. For what was probably the first time since he'd become more famous for his piracy than his showmanship, he had been contacted by the representative of a Theatre and asked to perform personally. Usually, Nathaniel would book a venue of his own accord, more times than not under some sort of alias in order to avoid unwanted attention.

Nathaniel was not a stupid man, far from it in fact. He knew that there was a high possibility this was some sort of trap, perhaps the Navy had cottoned on to the fact Nathaniel rarely - if ever - turned down a show, but why should that stop him? Nathaniel loved to perform the magic he had learned from back home and from his Parent's journal, plus he was confident he could deal with any potential threat whenever and wherever he needed to. And so Nathaniel accepted the job and had made his way to the East Blue.

He let out a sigh and lent back in his chair. Perhaps he was overthinking it? What if the director of the Hammer and Anvil was just a fan of his? Maybe they didn't even realise he was a Pirate - a wanted Pirate at that. It was at this point that Nathaniel was tapped on the shoulder. Without reacting too much, Nathaniel opened one eye to see who it was that was bothering him. As it happened, it was one of the backstage crew that had been asked to inform Nathaniel that he was expected on stage in five minutes for a sound and lighting check. Nathaniel thanked the lad and sat up straight once again, now staring directly back at himself in the mirror that sat on his desk. He couldn't help but wonder if his Parents had performed here during their glory days. Maybe one of them even sat in his very chair looking at themselves in this very mirror. He felt a twang on pain shoot through his gut. Even now it was still difficult to think of them.

Nathaniel shook himself out of it, stood up, and made his way to the stage.

---

Abilities used: N/A

Current Stats:
AT - 195
DF - 210
RF - 190
WP - 205

”You wanna fight?!”
”Bring it on, long-nose!”
”Who’re you calling long-nose, lazy-eye?!”
”Who’re you callin’ lazy-eye, pig-brains?!”

An everyday scuffle at an everyday tavern. This one was no different from the many he had visited before. More often than not, he would find himself in a not-so-respectable tavern despite being more than capable of affording the luxuries that would otherwise only be available to the most stupid rich travelers. But, he kept himself in the company of these jobless, penniless and angry-because-their-lives-suck folks not only to keep a low profile, but also because these places were just a lot more fun. But, it was time to bid farewell to these impromptu entertainers, as he had an appointment with a more professional one.

The drifter paid his dues for the mountain of meat that he had just gluttoned through and picked his teeth with the metallic fingers of his robotic left arm, the machine wheezing and squeaking ever so quietly as it moved about almost as flexibly as his flesh arm. Saying his thanks to the bartender, who had been more than forthcoming about the town’s state and what little information he had regarding the evening’s magic show, the black-cloaked man took his leave. He now had a more specific destination, the Hammer and Anvil theatre. Odd name, as theatres go; most entertainment venues chose to go for less brute-force and more elegant and whimsical names. He almost looked forward to finding out if there was an apparently clear reason for its name that could be derived from its structural design or its neighborhood.

To his pouty disappointment, there was not a single notable feature in the appearance of the setting that would suggest the origin of the name. It was a moderately sized location, able to fit an audience larger than one he’d feel comfortable being amidst. But, his curiosity had already brought him too far to turn back. Luckily for him, Marine presence was almost non-existent on Mirrorball Island, its policing managed by a congregation of the city’s most powerful corporate giants. This did, however, warrant an army of thugs in fancy suits and pitch-black sunglasses. The drifter rolled his eyes at the mystery factor, unable to comprehend the practicality of such eye-gear in the fading light of the evening orange. If anything, it probably took away from the pleasant atmosphere that was created by the hundreds of spherical lamps hanging from tall posts, each seeming to be a different color from the last.

With the stage still unlit and the crowd still gathering, having paid their entrance fees at one of the many ticket booths that granted passage into the expansive grounds of the theatre, the drifter squinted his eyes and sharpened his senses. Even with the distracting shiny reflections from the otherwise darkened disco ball that hung above the stage, the man could feel the movements and anxiety of the staff backstage. One seemed more nervous and yet excited above all others. If he were to guess, that was most likely the man they’d all come to see that night. In expanding his detective senses, he caught many irrelevant conversations too, unfortunately.

”Mama, I want some cotton candy too!”
”Damn you, I thought you stood me up!”
”Ugh, that fatty needs to move, his ass is like… right in my face.”
”Everything’s set boss, the deal’s going down at the first applause.”

The drifter had had more than enough practice in eavesdropping to catch, off-hand, conversations that didn’t exactly belong in a particular setting. “The deal’s going down” sounded almost as suspicious as “where’d you hide the body?” in a fun-filled event such as this. He perked his ears and narrowed his scanning gaze to find the origin of these audibles, hoping to spice up his evening just a tad bit more.

Nathaniel watched as the second hand slowly moved around his father's Stopwatch, 30, 29, 28, 27... Nathaniel took a deep breath, closed his eyes and pictured his parents, as he always did before a performance. The lights were dimmed and the audience's murmur became silent. Nathaniel made his way to centre stage and stood still amongst the darkness. A single spotlight shone down upon him suddenly.

"Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Mirrorball Island! And welcome to the Hammer and Anvil Theatre, my name is Nathaniel Thorne and over the next few hours I will be taking you away to a land of mystery, allurement and illusion, the likes of which you'll never have seen before. Now then, without further ado... Let's get this show on the road!"

Suddenly, bright lights burst out in all directions, lighting up the Theatre in brilliant flashes of colour. Amongst the light, Nathaniel started to back up slowly towards the back of the stage. Then all of a sudden, he sprinted in the opposite direction, and once he reached the edge of the stage he leapt up into the air. The audience below raised their hands in order to catch him, but before he could fall into their arms, Nathaniel’s body unexpectedly burst, confetti raining down – along with Nathaniel’s clothes. That was of course, except for his hat, of which remained in place, hovering where Nathaniel had once been.

Before the audience could truly get to grips with Nathaniel’s disappearance, the hat began to move. It flew about the room for a few seconds in rapid insect-like movements, stopping once or twice and floating in place. At one point it stopped in front of the face of a young looking woman wearing an eyepatch, and then zipped upwards towards the empty royal box. Before it could crash into the wall, a hand reached out and grabbed the Top Hat from the air. The hand was that of Nathaniel, of whom had suddenly appeared, stood on the banister of the box. He placed the Top Hat back onto his head as the audience applauded below him.

It was at this point Nathaniel noticed a scuffle of some sort below him, he took a quick glance and saw a group of shady looking gentlemen in suits making a small fuss. However, being the professional he was, he brushed it off and got on with the show. "Thank you all, but that was merely the opener, we have plenty more to do tonight." As he said this, he took a step over the edge of the banister, but rather than fall into the decking below, his foot landed in place in the air. Nathaniel then brought the other leg down, of which also landed mid-air. He then began to walk towards the stage on what seemed to be an invisible staircase – much to the audience’s awe.

"For my next trick, I’d like to show you my version of an old classic," he said as he reached the stage and turned to face the audience, "pulling a Rabbit out of a Hat." Nathaniel made his way to centre stage, upon which the lights were dimmed, and two spotlights were shone down. In one stood Nathaniel, now holding his Top Hat upside down in his left hand, and in the other stood an empty pedestal. Nathaniel took a moment to breathe. This next trick would be a bit more complicated than those before it, after all this one would require him to use the abilities his Devil Fruit had given him.

"Now then, in the typical version of this trick, the Magician would first reach into his hat," he said as he did so himself, "and pull out the Rabbit, like so." Nathaniel retracted his hand to reveal a relatively large snow white rabbit with dazzling pink eyes. The audience applauded as Nathaniel placed the Rabbit onto the pedestal next to him.

After having done so, Nathaniel returned to his spot and placed his hand back into his hat. "However my version is a little different, you see--" Nathaniel paused, and for a moment froze. His smile didn’t waver, but a small bead of sweat dribbled slowly down the side of his face.

"Ummm… Just… Hold on a minute…" Nathaniel said before turning his attention to the hat. It seemed as though he was rummaging around inside before he stuck his whole arm inside, closely followed by his head, other arm and torso. At this point the hat appeared to have swallowed half of Nathaniel’s body, and before the audience knew it, his whole body had been gobbled up. The Top Hat then fell to the stage floor.

The next few seconds simply hung in the air. The audience was silent; it seemed they didn’t quite know how to react to what they had seen, and so simply sat still, waiting to see what would happen next.  All of a sudden, the Rabbit that had been placed on the pedestal jumped down and hopped over to the Top Hat. It began to nuzzle against, before jumping up and tipping the hat onto its side. The Rabbit then moved to the side with the opening and slowly made its way inside, until only it’s fluffy round tail was poking out the end, where it stopped and began to back up.

By the time its head had returned to the stage, it became apparent the Rabbit was pulling on something, of which turned out to be a shoe. The Rabbit kept tugging until a whole foot had popped out. In one swift motion, the Rabbit pulled an entire person onto the stage. This person turned out to be none other than the Magic Man himself. Nathaniel jumped up, scooped up his Top Hat and the Rabbit, placed the Rabbit back into the Hat and placed the Hat back onto his head, grinning all the while.

"Now then Ladies and Gentlemen, I bet you’ve never seen the Rabbit pull the Magician out of the hat before!" He said over the now hysteric cheering and applause of the audience.

Nathaniel took a bow and waited for the audience to settle before speaking again. "Right then, next I’d like to attempt something that requires a volunteer! Now let’s see…" He said while looking out into the audience. Eventually his eyes rested on a large, pig-like man, but just as Nathaniel was about to call him out, he noticed what appeared to be a Mink wearing glassed sat next to the man. That’s new, he thought to himself, he hadn’t performed with a Mink before.

"You there Madam, would you kindly make your way to the stage please?"

---

Abilities used: N/A

Current Stats:
AT - 195
DF - 210
RF - 190
WP - 205

The sudden showy spotlight on the stage did little to draw the drifter’s attention, as his easily distracted gaze was now frantically scanning for this “shady” deal that he’d overheard about. Although there was no indication that this secret rendezvous was taking place here, it still made sense for any criminal element to hide in plain sight amidst a tornado of people, as he himself was doing. If anything, with the streets comparatively empty, they might have stood out more meeting up in some abandoned alley, risking being spotted by some wandering, curfew-violating brat who had no interest in magic shows or cotton candies. No; his experience screamed to him that this encounter would most definitely take place here, where bystanders would be too engaged by the theatrics to care about anything else.

Before he could discover the origin of this suspicious yet intriguing meet, his focus was shattered by a floating top hat that whizzed by over the heads of the crowd, his own tall one luckily being out of the way. The magic tricks that the original target of his curiosity was performing were no ordinary ones, it seemed. And if his notion about the descent of the applauded man was right, it would not be a surprise. Despite the unusually exclaimed stagecraft of the showrunner, his attention was once again stolen, now by a ruckus from the direction in which he’d first heard the dubious words. This noise did allow him to find the source, his abnormal height giving him a helpful vantage point to spot the offenders from. A few men in suits, glasses, and fedoras, one carrying a cloth sack and another carrying a suitcase. If the drifter were to guess, the suitcase, full of what was doubtlessly a crapload of money, was going to be exchanged for the contents of the sack; if they hadn’t gotten into a disagreement that is. This argument was erupting in the very back of the theatre, a safe distance away from the last row of seats. And so, even the closest audience seemed to not be bothered much by the utter disregard of common courtesy. A second round of applause rang through the hall, the drifter catching the last bit of the latest act. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and near disbelief, clearly impressed by the creative twist in what usually turns out to be one of the most generic acts in a magician’s palette. The giant man granted him an applause, still trying his best to split the attention between the two interesting events, which only led him to miss out on the details of both.

Words like “fruit” and “cheat” were all he’d managed to catch in the gibberish that his ears were trying to sift through. But, that much was enough to formulate his own conjectures. Devil fruits, more specifically, fake devil fruits. Or perhaps the money was bogus. Either way, one party was being double-crossed, and he certainly couldn’t imagine a peaceful conclusion to the debacle. It was only a question of which side would pull the trigger to initiate the inevitable chaos that follows every fraudulent encounter in the underworld.

The show seemed to be heating up as the Magic Man had now stepped up his theatricality by inviting an audience member onto stage. The aura of this particular member seemed stronger than her appearance would suggest, but the man paid no mind to it, as he’d detected multiple strong auras in the crowd that evening. The drifter almost felt pity for Nathaniel, whose show would likely be ruined if the criminal scuffle were to escalate any further. And so, he stood up to resolve the disagreement with sheer intimidation, only to find out that he was too late. A loud bang left the man carrying the cloth sack flat on the floor, bleeding from his chest. The closer audience began to panic, having witnessed the aftermath of the sudden noise, while the spectators in the sections closer to the stage only searched around, wondering if the gunshot-like noise was a part of the act. The cyborg gritted his teeth, decided his interference would likely only draw unwanted attention now, and blended in with the alarmed crowd that was now shuffling desperately through rows of benches, stumbling over one another.

Nathaniel watched as the woman made her way out of her row and down the aisle towards the stage. When she had got within a few feet of the front row, Nathaniel realised that this was no mink he'd invited to be a part of his show - but she wasn't a normal human either. After all, she still had small fluffy ears and a bushy tail protruding from her.

While Nathaniel pondered as to what exactly this woman was, he also came to the realisation that she was a lot taller than he had initially thought; easily towering above him by a fair few inches. The mystery woman eventually reached the stage, where she casually jumped up onto and placed herself a couple of feet away from where Nathaniel was standing. She gave him a quick glance up and down, sizing him up, before smiling and asking what he'd have her do.

Something was off about her, Nathaniel knew that much. Not to mention, she also looked strikingly familiar now that Nathaniel had a decent view of her face. He realised that he couldn't let his curiosity distract him from his performance, and so in an attempt to wash away his interest in the woman, he decided to promptly return to his trick - perhaps he'd be able to talk to her after the show had finished.

"Now then Madam, what I'd like you to do is quite simple. You see--" Nathaniel was cut off by the sudden sound of a gun firing. Almost immediately, Nathaniel whipped around to look for the source of the shot. What he saw was the same shady looking guys from earlier, one member stood over the body of another. The audience began to panic and rush for the exits.

Shit. Why did this HAVE to happen tonight? Not only will this cause a big stir up, but it'll tarnish his name as a performer. Nathaniel had to sort this out, and fast.

---

Abilities used: N/A

Current Stats:
AT - 195
DF - 210
RF - 190
WP - 205

The crowd was only just starting to gather in the theater in anticipation of the show, kids leaping over the benches play-fighting with each other while their slav-- parents chased after them. Meanwhile, two nerdy teens sat next to each other uncomfortably in the back rows. The boy wore massive square glasses, sporting a classic side-swept black hair-do. The girl wore her pink hair in a single braid, her freckles brighter than even her hair. They looked around the audience lazily, hoping to spot some friends that could release the tense atmosphere between them.

”Oooooh shit! Look! It’s Stefan Gates!” Said the boy, pointing at a troop of businessmen entering the theater as if they were parading soldiers, each one of them dressed in expensive suits. This particular man’s balding head gave him more of an “old dad” look though. ”Who’s that?” Asked the girl uninterestedly. ”’Bill Jobs’, you know? The founder of Microrange, the biggest stove-producing company in the world?” The boy’s tone was condescending, as if the girl had asked an idiotic question with an obvious answer. Not a wise choice, as dates went. ”I don’t know about that guy, but I do recognize Dick Crimes! Eeeep!” The girl’s cheeks were blushing, bubbling green envy under the boy’s impatient lid. ”Who?” ”Are you, like, serious? He’s the hit metal-maniac who’s best known for his single “Caaaarrrrllll”. Oh my God… he’s, like, so hot!” The boy lost his patience, resorting to cheap speculations. ”Screw that, the entire heavy metal genre is for moody, rebellious brats who don’t sleep. And stop swooning like that, it’s embarrassing-- holy crap it’s Liquid Venom!”

He pointed at a tall woman walking along with the troop, her flowing black hair trailing behind her aging face. She was trying her best to hold onto her coat, which she seemed to be stubbornly hanging over her shoulders instead of putting her arms through like a normal human being. ”Huh?” ”You’re clueless! She’s the former lead designer of board games like the Metal Dear Loli: Snake Ladders series. Though, after her company fired her, she started her own underwear company. She’s so sexy.” Now the “try-to-make-her jealous tactics” came into play. He would have his revenge on her for making him suffer through the one thing that every guy hated: his date swooning over another man. ”Ewww, she’s old and wrinkly is what she is.” She had to go there. Though, to the older woman’s credit, she looked far prettier than most women her age. ”Shut up! She’s only 36 years and 3 months old and doesn’t have a single wrinkle on her. Her real name might be Hideous Komani, but that means nothing.” This plan wasn’t going too great. ”It’s even more gross that you know that-- Oh wow, so many celebrities! It’s Mike Xuckerburg!”

A skimpy fellow wearing a pompous blonde pompadour followed the older business-savvy woman. ”I heard he was trying to start a Den Den Mushi-supported social networking company, but it failed because all the employed Den Den Mushi went on strike.”
”Yeahhh, it was hilarious! He sold off his snailcoms company and got into toilet-seat productions. Everyone’s been calling him ‘Suckerburg’ since.” ”Ahahaha! What a loser!” Humans clearly got along better when they had a mutual target to bully and heckle. ”Although, I do wonder what they’re all doing here. I don’t know about that Criminal guy, but the other three are members of the Mirrorball mayoral association; though low-ranking.” The four celebrities were now seated in a special outcropping of seats that seemed to be reserved for the elites. The remaining suited troopers were lined up behind them, guarding the corporate leaders with their clichéd appearance.

”It’s Crimes, Dick Crimes! And Dick is also a member. I don’t know why they’re here though. Maybe they’re organizing an outing paid for out of our outrageous taxes?”
”Ehhhhh, that’s so unfair.”


The drifter looked coldly upon the corpses of two youngsters, victims of the crossfire of the little skirmish between a devilishly quick swordswoman and the clumsy gun-wielding mafioso thugs. The body of the boy lay on top of the girl’s, his glasses shattered upon her forehead while the girl’s pink hair bathed in a pool of their blood. The tall man gritted his teeth as the survivors stampeded out towards the exits, leaving him standing alone above the dead bodies. His clenching fists were only one indication of how badly he wanted to avenge this "collateral damage". Stay out of it. But, he knew, even now, that his involvement would only make matters worse.

Nathaniel wasn't too sure how to react to the scene that unfolded in front of him. Not only had audience members been killed, but a Marine had turned into a Bug, a Shichibukai had appeared, and then she'd gone on to eat what Nathaniel could only assume was a Devil Fruit considering that shortly afterward she managed to stop Bullets mid-air. If any of that wasn't enough, all of this had happened at his show! Having barely grasped hold of the situation, Nathaniel then remembered that he had one of his audience members on stage with him, completely open to any possible type of attack. He went to turn around and grab hold of her, fully intending to get her to safety when he noticed her apparent attitude.

Where he'd expected to see a fear-filled screaming young lady, he instead saw an unwavering, strong woman; merely taking a puff on her Kiseru while conversing with the large man from earlier, of whom had suddenly popped up from amongst the on-going chaos below. She then turned to Nathaniel and asked whether or not he'd like to join them. In a sudden twist of fate, it appeared as though she was in fact offering to save him.

It was at this point that, for no particular reason, something seemed to click in Nathaniel's head. The cogs had finally begun turning, and now that all the pieces were in their correct position, the image in front of him became clear. This person was not some simple theatre-goer, but rather one of his own. The furry-tailed female stood in front of him was Hundred-Faced O'Halloran, one of those graced with the title of 'Supernova'. Nathaniel faintly remembered seeing her wanted poster, along with his own, in an edition of the World Economic Journal covering each Supernova in as much detail as the Marines had on them.

Before  Nathaniel had the chance to say anything to her, the Pirate was kind enough to point out that the Shichibukai from earlier had turned her interest to the stage. When Nathaniel turned to look he saw the Captain of the Blue Rose Pirates staring at the two of them, ready to pounce.

Nathaniel closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Having regained his calm demeanour, he turned back to O'Halloran with a beaming smile on his face.

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

---

Abilities used: N/A

Current Stats:
AT - 195
DF - 210
RF - 190
WP - 205

“OOOOIII, ANIKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!” The thunderous voice boomed as if a hundred bolts of lightning had cracked in the starry midnight skies. Must he always announce himself so boisterously? “Ohhh, Ou-kun! It’s been a while. You’re back already? I thought I’d read about you in the news more often, what with you promising to tear things up.”

The spectral voice laughed with a violent sway, the source still nowhere in sight across the harmonious, gently singing waves.

“Ougahahahaha! The South Blue’s a table for weak fools wit’ shitty appetites. I got bored. I was wrong ta think the sea he came from woulda had more to offer. The only thin’ worth mentionin’ was the fight wit’ a list-bearer. Though, it was more us chasin’ after ‘im and ‘is company than a proper battle.” His speech echoed as if within mountains, though there were no mountains near but for the ones buried beneath the surface of the black sea and the ones failing to hide within men’s hearts.

“A list-bearer, scum amidst even an ocean of trash. What was he doing in the Blues?” The host raised an attentive eye as if he were speaking to an invisible ghost standing before him, his black cloak rippling loudly under him like a banner from a strong gust of wind. He sat up lazily, cracking his back with bubble-popping noises. His vaporous seat atop the grey waters rose higher when an aberrant wave approached him with intentions to tow him to an anchor’s rest.

The voice seemed to be getting closer, even with the volume diminished. “Hell if I know. The cockroach called ‘imself Flint. He was draggin' around some silver-haired loser named Thorne.”

“Thorne, you say? There was this white-haired couple who used to perform magic together on some dangerous stages. They were named Thorne too, from what I remember. The kids used to love those shows.” A phantom wave of melancholy and anguish washed over him, its capacity to sink him far surpassing that of the sea’s.

“We was gonna bring ‘em back wit’ us, but they broke free like they was magic. So, you mightn’t be wrong about ‘im bein’ the same prick.” The disembodied vociferation trailed away, substituted by a singular, quieter—though just as brash—voice following a nostalgic silhouette; a silhouette which would not quit jabbering for hours, no doubt.


Averting his path from an unbelonging young marine’s vicinity, the man-in-black weaved through the stampeding herd of magic-lovers, speeding like a chaotic wind. In motion, he passed an odd creature which he could only claim to have heard of in old stories. His still angry gaze followed the creature as it chased away on a tangent in the general direction of the distant gunshot which had sounded not but mere moments ago.

Only after he passed it, did he realize the aura of the creature was what he’d sensed earlier among the many strong presences gathering within the theatre. He wondered if it was some stage act, a monstrous pet who was now obeying its master’s call by seeking retribution against the interrupting, mannerless punks. All that was inconsequential, for his aim was only to meet with the white-haired child; the child fated to one day be bound by machinations of his magical parentage.

Nathaniel watched in awe as the Giantess Supernova shrunk down into a smaller, more hairier form, quickly followed by her scurrying away to find whatever caused that hole in the wall. Despite everything that was going on around him, Nathaniel couldn’t help but feel sorry for the theatre; a place as old and respected as this deserved better from its occupants – just another thing that fuelled Nathaniel’s anger. But revenge would have to wait, first things first, Nathaniel had to make sure the rest of his crowd escaped unharmed.

As he looked down into the audience it became apparent that the public were – understandably – thinking irrationally; people were clambering over the benches, others were brawling with each other, some were even attempting to fight the small fry of the men in black suits. Most of them however were bottlenecking into one exit. Nathaniel jumped down into the fray and made for the locked double doors that resided on the opposite side of the theatre. He somehow managed to get there without getting caught up in the mayhem that ensued, however upon arrival he found that, probably in some poor chaps desperation, the doors had been knocked into each other, meaning that even if they were unlocked, they’d still be jammed shut. Nathaniel reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two playing cards.

“Card Cannon!” Nathaniel imbued the playing cards with Busoshoku Haki and threw one at each door with a sharp swing of his right arm. The cards flew at high speeds and flung the doors off of their hinges. He realised this was somewhat hypocritical considering he’d just mentally condemned those that damaged the theatre, but desperate times called for desperate measures and such.

Nathaniel didn’t need to announce anything to those around him, as before he had the chance to, people had already swarmed around him and were hurriedly attempting to exit the theatre. Nathaniel pushed his way out of the herd and made his way to the side of the room. Most of the visitors had managed to vacate the area, leaving only the injured and the deceased members of the public behind. Except for one that was.

Sat quite melancholically with her legs crossed on a bench in the middle of the theatre was a middle-aged woman with long black hair protruding from underneath her red and white polka dot sinamay hat. She was dressed in a long elegant looking red silk dress tied up at the front with a large bow, and a white fur coat draped over her shoulders. Nathaniel ran over to her and grabbed hold of her hand.

“Sorry Miss, but it’s not safe here, you’ll have to follow me.” The woman did not move however, she simply sat still as if uninterested in anything Nathaniel had to say. Then she started to shake, at first Nathaniel thought she was crying, but when she cocked her head up to look at Nathaniel, she was smiling.

“Tss-sss-sss-sss! Tss-sss-sss-sss! And what makes you think I need saving little one…?”

---

Abilities Used:

Card Cannon (Didn't need to use the illusionary cards in this instance) - 5 Post Cooldown:

Current Stats:
AT - 195
DF - 210
RF - 190
WP - 205