Episode 1: The First Ladder

Episode Description:

Cold. It had to be cold. Colder. Coldest. Adrian needed to douse himself in icy water in order to relax himself. Some may say he would be a fitting owner to fruits of ice. Adrian liked the cold touch of water too much to give it up, so obtaining such a power wasn't part of his aspirations. As he showered in icy-cold water at the marine base, he recalled flashes of his childhood. Gripping his fists tightly, he started breathing heavy and fast. He could feel his body tensing up and shake, anger welling up. He was glad he showered in isolation, for no one could come in and hear him yell out as he attacked the wall before him.

This was an everyday thing, and he didn't know if anyone knew. It was the same wall, and he chipped at it anytime he showered. Always alone, always in such cold temperatures. Adrian turned around and rested his back against the damaged wall, sliding into a sitting position. This sad, angry part of him that seemed so unstable was not one people got to see. He didn't put on this show for others. If Adrian didn't release this emotion, he'd eventually succumb to letting it build up too much. After a while, Adrian finished his shower and packed up his things to return to his quarters. Though, not without slipping on his full-body suit.

Marines were the only thing that helped him maintain discipline. That wasn't the only reason he joined up, but it was a very strong benefit. As he left the shower room, he passed by a few cynically laughing marines who had clearly suppressed whatever they were saying as Adrian passed. Fellow Marines shouldn't be hiding anything with that kind of attitude, it just makes them suspicious. He didn't look back, though he was devilishly curious. Once he heard their voices disappear, he turned and quietly made his way to the entrance of the shower room.

Faintly, he heard voices discuss what sounded like a business deal with a rather shady name, "Rat-Ear". Rats. At least they weren't Weasels. Knowing that he was unfamiliar, but suspecting illegal dealings, he left to go do some research.

---

Adrian was livid to discover that "Rat-Ear" was a pirate that scoured across the West Blue. He poisoned the waters he sailed with human and drug-trafficking. He was currently wanted dead or alive for quite the sum, and he was quite ballsy for coming even an inch closer than he should be to Las Camp. It made sense, however, with crooked marines helping a filthy pirate make money off of the Marine island. There were likely more Marines in on the scandal that helped Rat-Ear enter undetected.

Once he was far from his quarters, he assumed casual clothes without his disguise. Patrolling around the town, he slipped into the general public undetected. Spending hours simply looking for any familiar faces from the small group that passed by him earlier, he eventually stopped near the port. Finding the faces he saw before, he remained as calm and nonchalant as possible. He acted like a citizen simply enjoying the freedom and protection the Marines brought.

Taking in the air, a hearty marine came up and patted him on the shoulder. Internally, he wanted to gut the marine. Externally, he smiled back at the marine and noticed it was one of the small group from before. Burly and hairy and quite handsome, but disgusting on the inside. While the marine seemed perfectly giddy and heroic, Adrian already knew he was scum. "Hey, Kid. Enjoying the ocean smell?" Adrian chuckled lightly, intentionally flirtatious in attempt to get a response from the marine.

"Yeah. I know it doesn't REALLY smell the best, but seeing it and knowing what you guys did for us...Simply wonderful." Adrian ended his words with a light, quick wink. The marine smiled, being a bit more feely with his hand on Adrian's shoulder. "Aye, why don't you come around later and I can take you on a quick tour of the entrance into the Blue?" Adrian put a hand to his mouth, forcing himself to blush. "Oh, well, I'd love that. I'll see you tonight then?" "Aye, well...I must return to my duties. Oh, my name's Rodney. Your's?" Adrian put the hand on his mouth to his chest.

"Alex." Adrian nodded and skipped away. Hating every moment of the movement, Adrian knew this would take a bit of reconnaissance to expose. He didn't know who was involved, so this was going to be a solo mission. Time to prepare to gut some rotten fish.

Adrian wanted to play around the allure he had over Rodney, wearing slim clothing. His shirt was made of a very light material as well as his shorts being a bit...short. He wasn't against using his body to expose someone, and knew that he could cause "unintentional" issues with the more homophobic marines. The hyper-masculinity among the soldiers was disgusting and weak. Adrian, for one, didn't understand the issue they had with who people got their rocks off to. Secondly, masculinity was a fragile concept and always led to the weakening of man.

He didn't care how feminine he seemed; something some may say would be contradictory to the whole idea of him wearing a disguise while on duty. Adrian knew he couldn't bring anything along, especially since he wanted to seem frail enough. He even did his best to mask all of his scars, aside the ones that were clearly visible, with makeup. If anything, Rodney would likely protect him. Otherwise, he'd show his true colors and that'd give Adrian enough reason to be less merciful with his justice.

---

Nearing the docks, Adrian saw one of the buildings surrounding the docks lit up. Assuming that was where he was going to find Rodney, he moved forward. Moments later, he was abruptly stopped by the one and only. Pretending to be thrown into a state of shock and fear, Rodney stopped him from letting a scream rip. "Shhh, Shh! I didn't think you'd scream if I pranked ya. Come on, let's go on a trip." Adrian shook his head with beady eyes and a weak pout. Soon, they were on a small fishing boat riding the night shore.

At the very least, Adrian liked the cold that brushed along the water. The icy moon raised high into the sky shined down and gave light to the distance. He liked the cold, but it still pricked at his bad memories. Touching his facial scar, he caught Rodney looking shocked. "I, uh...noticed your scars. I'm surprised you weren't more shy." Adrian giggled, biting his lower lip momentarily. "Yeah...I've learned to ignore them. I know they're kindaaaa ugly." At the end of his sentence, Adrian breathed through his teeth to accentuate his distaste for the scars.

"Well, Alex, I think they look just fine. Especially in a world where someone could be made of rubber or even somehow made of pure elements. This world is too crazy not to have scars." Adrian leaned back, resting on his arms and crossing one leg over the other. "Oh? So philosophical on our first...uh...time hanging out. You must be extremely intuitive and devilishly smart!" Adrian winked at Rodney, making him blush and look away.

Even if you aren't one of them, you're still as dim-witted as any one of these fools. Hmph. Adrian kicked the superior leg in his position, feeling a silence settling. The two just looked at each other for a while as they sailed. Mr. Knight was severely annoyed while Rodney took it as a romantic moment. "Uh, actually had something I wanted to show you. Mind if we had back to shore?" I better be getting dinner out of this.

Sure enough, they returned to shore and entered the lit-up shack, and it was a small table adorned with cheap clothe and an assortment of small dishes. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" Rodney smiled, hugging Adrian as he came to his side. "Yeah, that this is a date." Adrian smiled and immediately took a seat. Oh dear, I hope he doesn't expect much after this.

They took a while to eat, exchanging small banter and Adrian handily lying about himself. Alexander King. Rich family. Religious up-bringing. Child of the lord who could do no wrong. Rodney ate it up as he really saw a kind, cute boy in front of him. A sadistic torture device was a more fitting description. Leaning on his own hands, Adrian looked deeply into Rodney's eyes. The fool drank his cheap sink-wine, nearly spitting it out at the sudden intimate engagement.

Adrian heard people outside and giggled hard, trying to catch their attention. Rodney did not hear them and laughed nervously. Soon, a duo entered the shack with loud, booming voices. "Oi! Rodney, still messin' wit' that dear girl of yo-" The first man stopped, shocked in place. The second was much angrier. Perfect. "Uh, Rodney, you havin' some drinks wit' an ol' boy of your's? Where the girl go?" Adrian then started putting on a show of his own.

Looking greatly flustered, Adrian started reddening in the face. "Did you tell your "mates" that you were on a date with a girl? I am very much NOT a girl." Rodney stood up as Adrian pretended to try and storm out. He fully expected one of the two that entered to be the more aggressive type. "Alex--" "Save it! Probably spit all kinds of...gross about what you wanted to do with me!" The angrier intruder cracked his knuckles and stood in Adrian's way.

Adrian pretended to not see him as she turned away from Rodney and bumped into him. "Mate...He was basically salivating at the idea of tearing up your cat. Except there ain't no cat, is there? Never seen my boy with a girl before, sounded fishy...guess I shouldn't be surprised he's into smoking salmon." Adrian forced himself into a shiver to really pump confidence into the angry marine's demeanor.

"W-well....salmon aren't really-" "SHUT YER TRAP! Already caught my boy in it. Come on, gotta punish you for your crimes." Adrian tried juking the marine, but was gripped up by the neck and dragged on the ground. Rodney was petrified, scared of his peers. "RODNEY! D-DON'T LET THEM DO THIS TO ME!" Moments before leaving the shack in the hands of a likely brutal homophobe, he watched Rodney sit back down and continue eating. Hm. I guess this is one way to get a lead. Figures that dude is just a pussy. I think he deserves this beating more than I do. Oh well...

The marines drug Adrian into a dark, isolated part of the docks and proceeded to beat him. Slurs and general insults all around were spit in his face. Sometimes, there was literal spit in his face. After a while, Adrian acted like the surface wounds were more than they were and slowed his breathing. When they thought he passed out, the two left. Looking at the moon, Adrian sat up and spit a gob of bloody phlegm and shivered at the splat it made. That was scarier than a couple grunts. Well, I guess this is the part where I follow them. They are definitely in on it.[/color]

Bruised and slightly bloody, Adrian followed the path of the blockheads who he let beat him. While it infuriated him that he had to go that far in order to truly bait something out, he did what he had to do. That didn't mean that those three's heads weren't going to be on his trident later, however, and he personally promised himself they'd be the first to go. Approaching the shack that he had dinner in, he over-heard the marines berating Rodney for having interests that went against their beliefs. "HOW DARE YOU...even THINK about smokin' on his chicken!" What? Adrian tried his best not to laugh, which would've blown his cover had he burst out like he wanted to.

It was mostly the more aggressive of the duo that beat him that yelled at Rodney, which went on for far too long. Eventually, he over-heard them speak about meeting up with "the others". This instantly piqued his interest, so he waited for them to leave. Rodney left the shack with quite the shiner, likely the rabid bigot that smacked him around. As they moved away from the main area, Adrian followed them all the way to a massive ship-loading station.

Realizing that he would have to rely on the environment for his spy-work, Adrian detoured and used nearby buildings to climb like a ladder onto the top of the station. There were balcony windows leading onto an upper floor, which he waited before using. Once he felt he was clear, he spied on the marines from above. As he listened to them speak, he knew they used small talk to pass the time while they checked the place for anyone FOOLISH enough to follow THEM? It was quite DIFFICULT and DANGEROUS and they'd never get caught!

Adrian looked around for some sort of office to hide in, expecting something used by the managers over-looking the station. As he found it, he quietly moved his way into said office. As two lunkheads searched the upper floor he was on, which was basically an elevated metal platform attached to the office, he made sure be ready when they neared. He hid once they came towards the office, but they half-assed their search and just looked into the window of the office. Once they were collected down on the lower floor, Adrian quietly exited the office.

Hearing them speak about meeting with Rat-Ear and his crew for the next shipment, he clenched his fist. Filthy traitors, I got 'em! But...I don't have anything hard on them. As he listened, he heard the duo from before get ready to bring up Rodney's excursion. Rodney was able to stop the more supportive tweedle, but the rabid one nearly yelled it out. Adrian realized he saw those from the showers, which meant there were several marines involved. Quite the operation, he had to give it to them.

Eventually, more gathered and were filled in with updates. There were nearly fifty traitorous marines. Dirty. Disgusting. Marines who didn't truly believe in the power of LAW. The one true medium in which any good or evil could act. Animals. Adrian waited until the location was revealed, which seemed to indicate that they changed locations frequently to remain well-hidden. With that, he made his way for home.

---

Adrian was up late that night, crafting a room for operations complete with a map riddled with tacs and a big table for prep. He knew that he couldn't wander out without his suit on now, and he needed to be quick on his feet. Tomorrow is it. I'm by myself. Fifty marines. Fifty weak animals. I'll crush them. Adrian laid out all the tools he was going to retrieve after his daily duties and even marked the spot they were going to receive the delivery. He had a picture of Rat-Ear's wanted poster, which lacked any poster for his crew so they were likely all weak as well.

Killing was definitely an option for him, but knocking out as many marines as he could without making it a total bloodbath was more important. Adrian was going to take a few heads, though. Reprimands or not, he needed to bring ultimate justice down on the treacherous vermin. Adrian moved to his room, making a stop by his mirror. He was shirtless and the makeup had worn from his sweat. The scars made images flash, and then he thought about Tequila Wolf. Marines were scoundrels too, the title meant nothing. The faction, at surface level, meant nothing. All that mattered was conviction, strength and one's own sense of JUSTICE.

Adrian had that. The endurance through conviction. The might through strength. The opportunity through justice and law. These were insects that littered the meaning of being a Marine. Time to extinguish the roaches.

Adrian spent some time training outside, doing various different exercises to warm himself up for the night operation. After a while, he began showing off his prowess with a quarterstaff. Whirling it around his body as well as showing off the movement he can attain through the length of wood had begun to draw some attention. A group of marines came up to him, brandishing training weapons. "Oi, you're that Knight guy? Aye?" The first of the three spoke, whom had brandished two lengths of wood half the length of Adrian's quarterstaff. Dual-wielder that likely relied on speed.

"Yeah, yo! Heard you never take that suit off, do you even shower?" The second had been messing around with a kendo sword, his form was a lot less refined than the first and likely was a sloppy fighter. The third didn't use any weapon and was the most reserved, likely being the best fighter among the trio. "Hm. Yeah, how do you even breathe?" Adrian just looked at them, shrugging and resting his staff on his neck. He didn't answer them with words, only vague body language.

"Oi, hidin' a stitched mouth?" The first prodded, taking a step forward. Apparently they didn't like Adrian's little show. The second tried stopping him and the third stepped forward with the first. "Yeah, I'd hope you weren't being rude." Adrian just looked at the unarmed marine through his pale contacts. "That's a nice little stare you have there." Adrian felt like it was a schoolyard and the bullies had found their first target. "What are we doing then? You guys here for a show or?" The bare-fist marine closed the distance, getting in Adrian's face.

"I'd like to think we're here to make sure your day goes well. Y'know, just checking up on you. Making sure you know what you're getting into." Adrian didn't budge, but he realized that the three had likely saw him returning late at night and knew he wasn't in on the scandal going on. Adrian slammed the staff firmly into the ground, planting it. "I know exactly what I'm doing. Wouldn't be a marine if I didn't." "Yeah? That's good." "You want to make a scene here? In my room? in some alley? When?"

The marine patted Adrian on the shoulder and the trio prepared to walk off, dispelling their training weapons. "Oh, well, whenever we feel like it, really. You'll know when." Adrian spit at them when they walked away. "It could be now, it could be. But it's kinda public, it's kinda obvious and really...we haven't eaten and I showered because of an early day date. Y'know? You aren't high on our agenda." That's the biggest mistake you've made. If you saw me last night, then I guess...that's just unfortunate.

---

The wall was red. Crimson-splashed. Three pairs of ears pinned by needles. The square was full of horrified faces and screaming. Scarred children and fearful mothers. Nobody understood the message, but some of the marines there did. They understood completely. While Adrian had to miss their meeting with Rat-Ear, the pressure would certainly bring him out. The mauled bodies of the three marines who threatened Adrian with knowledge hung from the corner of the building. All three were missing their ears.

There was no elaborate fight. They were grunts, nothing special. But Adrian still had to send a message. This would raise the suspicion of marines who were both involved and not involved. However, if everything went according to plan...this would just symbolize a pirate making it known that he owned this town. Once thwarted, a tumor would successfully be removed. Adrian knew this, and knew he had to draw Rat-Ear out. There were no words on the wall, simply blood and traitor ears.

Adrian showered the mess off of himself, staring into the scarred wall that he always beat. His hands were stiff as stone from all the pummeling he did, likely. After he was all clean, he put on his disguise and moved back to his quarters and prepared for the operation. This time, he had to use the utmost stealth to scout out their plans. It was likely going to be more than simple illegal trades, they would be on red alert. The trade would likely halt while the actual night patrols took it up a notch to keep the streets criminal-free.

The meetings would likely take place outside of the city, so he'd need to find a way to follow them off the Island. Using the map to draw a plan of action, he geared up and headed out for the night.

Adrian sprinted across various rooftops with light feet, armed to the tooth with tools tailored for espionage. He kept a keen eye out for the patrols peaking around every nook and crany with their lanterns. First he'd be wary of the smell of burning oil, and then he'd look for any bit of piercing light. While he made sure to avoid the patrols, he followed any clearly suspicious marine roaming the streets. They all seemed to converge towards the docks; this seemed typical as Adrian did catch them in a warehouse earlier.

When Adrian neared the docks, he dismounted the buildings he was traveling on and into an alley. He saw approaching lights from one direction and retreated into the darkness. Once they passed and it had been a moment, he emerged from the alley. Once he got the opportunity, he hid behind a shack on the way to the warehouse. He knew that chunks of the traitorous would come by, several shadows passing him every now and then. Once he deemed it safe, he made his way into the warehouse.

Unsurprisingly, he found them preparing a rather large ship to quietly paddle on out of Las Camp. Marine after marine loaded onto the ship; Adrian only had moments to follow them. After the last marine entered the ship, Adrian hooked onto the edge of it and used shuko to grip onto the side. Here we go. Time to meet with good ol' Rat-Ear. The ship was off into the night, moving slowly and lacking lighting so that they would sail under the radar.

---

With a bit of distance from a mini-island not far from Las Camp, Adrian removed himself from the ship and flanked the entry point so that he wouldn't be discovered. The island was a thick jungle, but a path into it was very clear. This path likely led to Rat-Ear's base of operations. Hiding in the trunks above marine heads, Adrian maneuvered through the jungle undetected. Following them, he eventually saw a warm light radiating from afar. The closer he got, the brighter it became until an opening emerged and he saw a massive bonfire with pirates drinking their senses away. Numerous tents were scattered across the camp hidden within the jungle.

The fifty marines entered the scene and all of the pirates suddenly became hostile. This was only a split moment that turned into the pirates being incredibly friendly with the marines. From the largest, most decorated tent came Rat-Ear. He was a monstrous man, standing at nearly seven feet and adorned with various pelts. In his right hand, he dragged a bone-ribbed club. His ears, of course, were akin to a rat's. To further the theme, he had a necklace of rat ears hanging loosely from his neck.

He had a gold piercing on his nose like a bull along with his left ear having several tight piercings on it. He spoke with the loudest voice in the whole party, a mix of grunge and high-pitch. "Aye, I see you come to give me good news? Sorry about your men, of course. Are things still hot?" The leader of the marines, the man he originally ran into back at the showers, had stepped forward. "Eh...It's still a bit rough so trade should still hold off for a while. I have a bit of compensation ready for ya as an apology since this was clearly on my end. Someone's onto us and we had a lead. But...well, that's why we're on high alert. They were our lead."

Rat-Ear paced, banging his club on the ground out of frustration. "Alrigh', our little deal isn't quite over. You blue-hats just need to find this little shit and arrest him for the murder of three sweet, innocent marines." The marine leader shrugged, being handed a hefty bag and signalling one of Rat-Ear's men to come on over and take it. The marine and pirate talked about what their course of action was gonna be, and when they finally agreed that finding Adrian and arresting him was the best idea. Then killing him for "resisting arrest and killing one of their own marines". They were likely going to execute a marine and himself if Adrian failed his mission.

"Another thing...if you find him. Let me know. I'll be smuggled in smooth like butter so I can take his ears." "Just like my men. Deal." The meeting ended there, and everyone returned to the ship. They didn't need all those men for a meeting like that, so they likely either wanted to be able to defend in case of Rat-Ear betraying them or they had something up their sleeves. Half-way out of the jungle, the leader had two of his men stay near him as he spoke to them. "Look, if things get bad...if we have to cut our deal with Rat-Ear, I need you two to set this place on fire. Burn everything, pirates and all."

Disgusting. Can't even face him honestly. Once that was established, everyone made it smoothly to the ship and Adrian mounted it like before, smoothly sailing back into Las Camp. Adrian had a terrible idea. It was going to work, but it nonetheless could end quite terribly. Dismounting from the ship once many of the marines exited, he approached the massive group and called out to them. "Hm. Don't like rules I take it?" The leader puffed up his chest, but shivered as soon as he noticed who emerged from the shadows.

"Ah, the one and only Latex Man! And before you go on and on about how that suit's not made of latex, I'd suggest going to sleep after the first hit." This is definitely going to hurt...but that'll make the end result feel that much better. "What do you--" WHOMP!. Adrian was out cold, everything going black. He didn't see where the attack came from, but he definitely let himself succumb as much as possible to the attack. "HA! Nighty-night."

When he awoke, he came face to face with Rat-Ear. He stood menacingly with his club patting his free hand with a steady rhythm. "Aye, mate. I think we have a bit to discuss." Adrian was tied to the chair, which he could feel relatively easily so he didn't struggle unnecessarily. "Yeah, maybe. How about we have a bit of tea, you untie me, and we settle this peacefully!" Adrian spoke with a cheery voice, smiling brightly. He realized he wasn't wearing his disguise anymore and was stripped down to his underclothes.

"Yeah? I'd fancy more of a tussle." Rat-Ear whistled sharply, summoning two marines from the shadows to untie him. He cast his own club aside and removed the pelts he wore to reveal a heavily scarred body. Adrian stood up and stretched out a bit, taking a grappler's stance. "Yeah, I think I'd 'fancy' that too." The room was lit up to reveal numerous marines circled around and beginning to get rowdy. They hyped up the fight, getting Adrian's blood pumping. Everything slowed down for him; his vision demanded only Rat-Ear and it only acknowledged him as the target.

"You gonna make a move or am I just gonna have to wipe the floor with yer skinny arse?" Adrian rolled his head and cracked his knuckles independently and postured up to show confidence. "I was just about to say the same, Rat-Shit." This got Rat-Ear to lunge, which Adrian side-stepped. It was clearly not a real attempt at an attack as the fight had yet to begin. "I just want to ask you all! Before this goes whichever way it does, do you all know you're cowards!?" Boos beamed from all sides as well as profanities spewing from their defecating mouths.

"Really! You lot are all COWARDS! Ants, weak and ready to be squashed and never capable on your own. You all rode your high horse, kept 'em painted gold. But you made one mistake!" Rat-Ear postured up himself, getting in Adrian's face. "Aye? Whas that?" Adrian pushed Rat-Ear and made some distance, taking his official stance. "You crossed me. You saw my face. I'm gonna do more than bring justice. I'm going to kill you." "Judgin' yer fellow marines for their horses! Yet, you wanna commit the greatest of crimes!"

"Not my fault you decided to resist arrest. Come on, Rat-Shit." "BRING IT BOY!"

---

Rat-Ear's Stats

ATK: 70
DEF: 80
REF: 50
WIL: 100

HP: 150

Adrian uses MT [J-Q SILVER SHOT] on Rat-Ear
Adrian uses LT [WINTER BURN] on Rat-Ear
Adrian uses UT on Rat-Ear

---

Rat-Ear uses LT [RAT SNACK] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses LT [RAT SNAP] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses UT on Adrian

The member 'Adrian' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 18, 2, 12

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

#2 'Reflex Check' : 6, 18, 16

To start off the fight, Adrian immediately shot like a bolt, closing the distance between him and Rat-Ear. He speared his hand into the pirate's chest, blowing him back [J-Q SILVER SHOT]. A shock-wave burst from the interaction, and Rat-Ear couldn't help but stumble back from the blow. When he recovered he immediately returned the favor by using a feint attack, baiting Adrian into getting struck by a nasty uppercut that immediately combo'd into a weak jab [LT RAT SNAP + UT]. When he attempted a similar attempt, Adrian adapted and simply created space between the two.

Blood ran from Adrian's nose, who had taken quite the blow and needed a moment to recover. Rat-Ear didn't show it as much, but he needed a moment as well. "Aye, ye got a nice set of hands on ye. I'll give you that, little twerp!" Adrian wiped the blood from his nose and immediately came back into the fight, attempting to grapple Rat-Ear but the burly man broke out of it with ease [LT WINTER BURN]. "Oi! Ya scrawny arse tried gripping me up? Let me return the favor!" Rat-Ear attempted his own grapple, except with his horrendously kept teeth [LT RAT SNACK].

Adrian was thankful he could avoid it, reversing the moment with a surprising roundhouse kick [UT]. The kick slammed Rat-Ear in the jaw, which made the crowd get even louder with excitement. Rat-Ear spit out a tooth and rolled his shoulders. "No-no! None of that you nasty fuck." Rat-Ear snarled at Adrian, signalling to the crowd to hype them up. "OI! YA LOT NEVER TOLD ME HE HAD SUCH FIGHT IN HIM!" Adrian softly laughed at Rat-Ear, keeping his eyes trained. "Yeah, that's why I slaughtered their men so easily. Ants."

Rat-Ear looked at Adrian with an ugly smile, showing his rotten teeth. They were black and disgusting and his lips oozed with dirty saliva. It was like the mouth of a komodo. "Y'know, despite our differences...I like that fire. Well, sad we're gonna have to put that out." "We'll see Rot-Tooth."

---

Adrian's Techniques:

Durations/Cooldowns:

Stat Checks:

Stats:

Adrian uses LT [J-Q BRONZE SHOT] on Rat-Ear
Adrian uses UT on Rat-Ear

---

Rat-Ear uses LT [RAT SNACK] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses LT [RAT SNAP] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses UT on Adrian

The member 'Adrian' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 19, 6

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

#2 'Reflex Check' : 1, 14, 11

Rat-Ear lunged at Adrian once more, salivating at the mouth and ready to bite into Adrian LT [RAT SNACK]. Spinning around the pirate, Adrian retaliated with a powerful jab into Rat-Ear's side LT [J-Q BRONZE SHOT]. Rat-Ear stumbled away, taking a moment as he gasped for air. Once he recovered, he spit in Adrian's direction. "AGH! You fuck! Gut-shots, hm? Well if you wanna play dirty, FINE!" Rat-Ear went for a similar feint technique as before, except for this time he double-faked Adrian out and slammed him in the face LT [RAT SNAP]. This sent the blonde tumbling across the ground and into a small group of marines.

They pushed him back into the fight and he stood with a stumble. "Heh, I don't see why you're complainin'. Fuckin' dirty pirate. All you know is a crotch itch and crime!" Rat-Ear charged Adrian, prompting him to do the same. They both slammed each other in the face, knocking each other away and creating some distance [UT] [UT]. "Ya got a nice hook, I'll give you that you little shit!" Adrian spit out a glob of blood and Rat-Ear spit out another tooth. "No compliments from me, Rat-Musk."

The two engaged each other in a bout of harmless flurries, love-tapping each other to bait out a heavier attack. Fists flew with feet only serving the purpose of posture. They both yelled in each other's face, making deep eye-contact. When they both calmed, they both took a moment to regain themselves. "Let's stop the dancin' like lil' princesses, aye?" Adrian spit in Rat-Ear's face, seeing blood and saliva stick between his eyes. "I was just waiting for you to throw a real punch!" "HERE IT COMES!"

---

Adrian's Techniques:

Durations/Cooldowns:

Stats:

New ATK V. DEF:

Adrian uses LT [WINTER BURN] on Rat-Ear
Adrian uses UT on Rat-Ear

---

Rat-Ear uses LT [RAT SMACK] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses LT [MACH FIST] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses UT on Adrian

The member 'Adrian' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 17, 12

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

#2 'Reflex Check' : 4, 2, 7

Rat-Ear caught Adrian off-guard, closing the distance with a massive lariat LT [RAT SMACK]. Narrowly, he avoided it and gripped up Rat-Ear, giving it his all. "HA! Ya tried that once already! What makes you--" Adrian, bellowing deeply and roaring with great strain, lifted Rat-Ear high into the air. "Heh-AAAAAAAH!" Grunting as hard as he could, Adrian dealt a dangerous pile-driver, smashing Rat-Ear into the ground. Immediately he followed up with a flurry of punches that pinned the pirate down.

"Hnngh! Shit! Sto-- Tha-- Fu--!" "AAAAH!" Adrian let go of himself, his eyes drawing blank as he kept belting out harsh punches that didn't have much posture behind them [UT]. Eventually, Rat-Ear knocked Adrian away and stumbled to his feet, much like Adrian did from the massive punch previously dished out. Rat-Ear again made a deadly move to try and close the distance, going for a quick one-two. The first punch connected against Adrian's side, but was much weaker than the second punch [UT].

Adrenaline pumped through Adrian, the energy pushing him to react and avoid the second attack LT [MACH FIST]. Adrian reset the situation between them, jumping around to keep himself limber and full of momentum. "Never expected someone like me to put up a fight, huh?" By now, Adrian had shown his formidable nature. His bare torso was full of nicks and scrapes and swelling began to form across his face in places where skin was broken.

Rat-Ear was looking equally rough, having multiple cracked ribs and the most sore back a man could have in a fight. Blood and swelling filled his face just like Adrian's. He clearly had the might over Adrian, but that didn't stop the ageless man from fighting on. "Fuck no. I don't care how this goes, you made this interesting and I respect you for that." Adrian smiled with a mocking expression, not accepting the compliment.

"I can't say the same. You think those shots did shit? Come on, Princess." The energy brought out something darker in Adrian. The way he spoke was adaptive, but he genuinely enjoyed the thrill of the fight. He would enjoy it even more if he had Rat-Ear pinned down and squealing. The hype marines around them had become more quiet, becoming genuinely afraid that Adrian could possibly overcome the human Rat. "I don't think I've enjoyed killing someone before as much as I have now."

"I agree."

---

Adrian's Techniques:

Durations/Cooldowns:

Stats:

New ATK V. DEF:

Adrian uses [UT] on Rat-Ear

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Rat-Ear uses LT [RAT SMACK] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses LT [FLURRY] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses UT on Adrian

The member 'Adrian' has done the following action : Dices roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 9

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 1, 11, 17

Adrian knew that if he burned away at his stamina that he wouldn't be lasting much longer. Rat-Ear's hits have already began shackling down his conscious mind, weighing him down through sheer soreness. Regardless, he did his best to remain in proper form and react accordingly to the options the pirate chose. Rat-Ear hardly cared about form and ran off raw instinct, knowing he could muscle through the young-looking blonde's defenses. As they stared each other both down, Rat-Ear began to make the first move.

Another feint, except this time it was done very sloppily and sluggishly LT [RAT SMACK]. Adrian easily avoided it, side-stepping and retaliating with another vicious roundhouse kick [UT]. Knocking the pirate away, Rat-Ear rebutted with a reckless punch that caught Adrian while he was in a momentary daze [UT]. Stunned by this attack, Rat-Ear pressed his advantage with a flurry of shotgun-esque punches LT [FLURRY].

Adrian was blown back quite hard, suffering many tiny blows that felt like stones striking him over and over. The final punch launched him back into the crowd, knocking some of them out. Being pushed back to his feet, the blonde needed a moment to recover. "F-fuck...Is that all you got you soiled, sadly-picked pansy!?" They both spit in each other's direction, Rat-Ear having a beastly composure. "No-where near...When you're down, I'm going to rip into that sweet flesh of yours and add your ears to my necklace." "Don't let me breathe. One gasp of air and I'm going to drive my hand so far up your rib-cage that you're gonna be sittin' pretty as my hand-puppet."

---

Adrian's Techniques:

Durations/Cooldowns:

Stats:

New ATK V. DEF:

Adrian uses [UT] on Rat-Ear

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Rat-Ear uses LT [FLURRY] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses LT [FLURRY FINISHER] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses UT on Adrian

The member 'Adrian' has done the following action : Dices roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 20

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 1, 16, 19

The end was nearing, and it wasn't quite what Adrian wanted it to be. Rat-Ear had the upper-hand and was far from falling and the ageless marine knew he needed to create the best reversal he could. The two went blow-for-blow mostly, but Rat-Ear's blows were much more dramatic and effective. As soon as Adrian let his guard slip from being so worn down, he nearly took a whole flurry LT [FLURRY]. While he narrowly avoided each hit with his rag-doll motions, he couldn't stop himself from avoiding the finisher LT [FlURRY FINISHER].

Rat-Ear watched the marine sloppily avoid his flurry, so he adapted his flurry to consist of less-committal feints. Once he baited Adrian, he slammed his fist as hard as he could into Adrian's chest. Before he launched too far from the pirate's reach, he received a harsh front-kick to the gut to accelerate the launch [UT]. Adrian had a very difficult time getting up off the pile of unconscious marines, holding his chest and gasping for air. It felt like there was a thousand pounds hugging his lungs, keeping him from doing anything far from stumbling when he tried to move.

"Callin' it quits yet?" Adrian couldn't speak; he could only receive several mocking verbal blows. He faded in and out, everything blackening and then lighting up as if it all shifted to the rhythm of his breath. Rat-Ear's voice grew louder and louder with each step, acting the role of a hammer on his head that beat and bashed him. The tempo of sound flurrying his ears bit his drums like rats scurrying over a dead body.

Finally sick of it, Adrian mustered up all of his strength and slammed Rat-Ear in his jaw [UT]. "Sh....shut up..." Rat-Ear looked back at Adrian and laughed as he licked the blood from his split lip. "Ahh...I've already won, Pussy-Foot!" Adrian slumped over, a shadow concealing his eyes as the marines all chanted for Rat-Ear to finish him off. I already know you can't kill me....You might not hear me, but you're going to regret toying with me.

---

Adrian's Techniques:

Durations/Cooldowns:

Stats:

New ATK V. DEF:

Adrian uses LT [WINTER BURN] on Rat-Ear
Adrian uses UT on Rat-Ear

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Rat-Ear uses LT [FINISHING MOVE] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses LT [FM COMBO] on Adrian
Rat-Ear uses UT on Adrian

The member 'Adrian' has done the following action : Dices roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 7, 1

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

#2 'Reflex Check' : 8, 20, 13

Adrian knew that he only had one move and that it may not be enough, but he'd do his best to make it hurt. Rat-Ear already felt his dominance grasping inevitable victory, so he had virtually no guard. Adrian roared, using the last bit of strength he had to grip up Rat-Ear and power-bomb him into the ground LT [WINTER BURN]. As soon as the grapple ended, Adrian shifted himself and attempted to pummel the pirate before being tossed off [UT]. Adrian didn't have enough steam to keep Rat-Ear properly pinned down.

Immediately retaliating, Rat-Ear went in for a punch filled with all of his might LT [FINISHING COMBO]. Adrian dodged, but his lack of stamina caused him to stumble into a roll. Rat-Ear followed him in the blink of an eye, another shotgun-punch prepared and driving into Adrian's torso LT [FM COMBO]. Adrian bounced off the ground, feeling something crack. Before landing, Rat-Ear scooped up the marine by his throat, keeping him in the air. Rat-Ear closed his hand harder and harder, attempting to crush Adrian's throat [UT].

"This is what victory looks like, kid. Welcome to the real world. I hope you like havin' yer cherry popped because I'm about to squeeze allllll the juice out." Bringing Adrian to his face, he slowly spit on his forehead with much blood. Adrian coughed blood up from the attacks, struggling to breathe. "This is what you would've been looking forward to for your entire career. Resting under the fingernail of every pirate you come across. Trying to slay demons without the proper equipment. Don't worry, that's not even the best part. Now that I've broken you, I can't wait to shatter you. For now, I'll just savor this..."

Rat-Ear released Adrian, snapping his fingers to signal a few marines to drag him away. "Oi, anyone else still standin'...clean up the sleepers and the floor. And you lot draggin' my doll! Glue the pieces. Y'know, patch 'im up. I don't want him to die too quickly when the fun begins." Rat-Ear began moving for the exit once most of the marines cleared out, but realized that he had suffered many precise blows. Every grapple, every physical attack...they were all calculated. "Sonofabitch...knew exactly how to hit me. Pointless, but I have to give him props for trying."

Barely conscious, Adrian smiled as he was put in another room that was almost equally as dirty. They did basic medical procedures and Adrian slipped into darkness for hours.

---

RAT-EAR WINS THE BATTLE!

RAT-EAR ENDING HP: 86 hp
ADRIAN ENDING HP: 0

Results:

Rat-Ear is wounded, next battle he will be set to a +0 Difficulty Boss.

Rat-Ear's Stats:

Dark filled Adrian's eyes, his fleshy shutters sealing off the outside. Reality was blocked off as his mind fought for consciousness and did its best to overcome the weight of injury. Adrian was severely injured from the battle, yet Rat-Ear had him patched up so that he could prolong whatever torture session was coming next. A marine duo tended to his wounds and for hours he rested. However, each touch shocked his mind with images that seemingly projected onto his eye-shutters. These images brought painful memories of the bast and how much abuse he dealt with.

Adrian resisted on reflex, giving them a hard time which they hardly cared about. They did their job and left him be. Another marine came to visit Adrian, which he softly awoke to. The marine before him was dressed like a proper medic, which became even more evident when there was actual medicine being applied and the marine brought a pitcher of water for him to drink. Once Adrian was fully awake and hydrated, the marine went on about how long he had before Rat-Ear dragged him away.

"H...he's going to remove you from the room in half an hour. I hope you're well enough by then..." Adrian was angry at first, but gave a rather calm response as he didn't want to strain himself. "Why would you want that? Did I do something..." It was then, as he sat up, that he saw the bruises on the medic's face. The medic was petite and frail, which flashed memories of his own position on Tequila Wolf. "Was it him or the marines?" "Hm? O-oh...no, don't worry. I would focus on yourself if I were you. It's...it's going to hurt."

Adrian stared into the medic's eyes, ice flowing through his retina. "You've watched before. Did you have to listen?" The medic nodded, nearly brought to tears. "Well...this gives a bit of perspective. They aren't just traitors, they're just as grimy as Rat-Ear's necklace." Adrian did minor stretches by flexing parts of his body when the medic looked away. It wasn't going to properly limber him up, but he could at least get the blood flowing.

"I'm going to miss my precious trident...what did they do with it?" The medic began packing up all the unused materials and disposing of the used ones. "Three doors down...they like to keep everything from any 'nosy marines' as trophies. Well...I guess I should leave. They don't like me spending too much time with patients..."

Adrian stood up and took the medic into his arms very gently. At first the medic tensed up, but then he relaxed. "I want you to run. Get help. It's not going to be pretty in here, but I'll make Rat-Ear pay. Just...you didn't see my face. Okay? You didn't see what I looked like and I'll make all of them pay." Compassion. That wasn't something Adrian ever felt. But this person...was in a similar position he was in. A slave. Abused. Likely defiled. He knew it all too well. "The leader...he....he--" "He's dead. All self-defense, of course. I'll wait fifteen minutes. Don't worry."

The medic turned and looked into Adrian's icy eyes. "Thank-you." Adrian ignored the boy and sent him off, returning to his bed. They underestimated him because of his body. Rat-Ear overestimated his blows. Not killing him was a big mistake. Adrian stared at the door ahead of him, waiting until he began hearing voices near. The voices drew closer and closer, and Adrian simply thought on the eternal winter of Tequila Wolf. The guards that loved to toy with him. The family that abused him. The lover that betrayed him.

Everything was coming full circle, and he knew that whoever stepped into his room was dead. Today's a bad day for grunts.