Rum and Antipathy (Rei+Invite)

[Victoria Locke]

Welcome to Micqueot, an island where countless vineyards bathed in the sun, a cool breeze blew through the paved streets of the nice city... and most adult citizens were waddling around with swaying steps. A new brand of rum had been released just the other day and it had gotten unbelievably popular. It was no wonder that people were holding all sorts of parties all week long. Generally speaking, citizens just wanted to have fun and celebrate their success. However, where there was booze, there were also people who took it too far. That’s why the small, local marine base had called for reinforcements.

On stark contrast to the carefree citizens, the uniformed marines scattered here and there were sober and dead serious. They had been sent here to keep the rowdiest party animals under control by any means necessary. Among them was Victoria Locke, who was actively patrolling the streets with a small team. Her black coat and gray messenger bag set her apart from the rest of her team, all of whom were wearing standard uniforms. In a way, it also marked her as the leader of the squad, though they were all equal in rank. She paid little mind to her three squad mates and in turn they remained absolutely silent, focusing on vigilantly searching for threats.

Now, Victoria wasn’t the type to turn down any duty or even complain about it, but playing a babysitter for civilians who couldn’t handle their liquor was really testing her patience. For the sake of justice and safety of the citizens, they should have just banned the rum and confiscate all of it, as far as she was concerned. It was causing more problems than it was worth. And speaking of problems... A group of older men stepped out of a nearby tavern to smoke. They all turned their eyes towards the approaching group, especially the woman, and the marine tugged her messenger closer in response.

She had a bad feeling about this.

One of the men stepped up for a friendly greeting. "Hello there, lady." He had a dark five o’clock shadow and a large beer belly, quite fitting for his dusty pants and shirt that had once been white. Rest of the men seemed quite alike with their unofficial drinker’s uniforms. "Why don’t you join us for a glass or two of the new special rum? We’ll treat you and you can share your opinions on it." Sure, their appearance was bit shaggy, but honesty and friendliness simply shined on their rugged faces. Such smiles and tone were impossible to fake. Most people would’ve seen that they were a fun-loving bunch with no ill intentions.

However, what Victoria saw was only a gang of potential troublemakers who were interfering with her duty. That impression alone brought out the most natural response she could give: a bone-chilling glare and a matching tone to go with it. "I have a shotgun and authority to arrest every single one of you even for just disrupting peace." To further underline her point, she grabbed her gun from the straps of her bag and flicked the safety off. "Now, I only need a reason." Understandably, the men lifted their hands up and quickly backed away, trying their best to not give that reason. This woman had made it crystal clear that she wasn’t joking.

The spokesman of the group was unsure whether to laugh or feel threatened. "Easy there… We ain’t gonna cause any trouble. You just looked so glum and we thought-" That comment must’ve hit a nerve, because Victoria wasn’t going to listen anymore. "For your information, there is a big difference between being glum and being dutifully serious." With that, she marched off and rest of her team followed. As they headed towards a bit shadier part of the town, literally, she just had to mutter under her breath. "I was trained to handle pirates and other troublemakers, not nosy civilians... And I don’t even look that glum…" While she would never admit it, even she needed to vent sometimes.

Needless to say, this wasn’t turning out to be the best day for Victoria.

[REI SATSUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #111111; width:325px; padding:15px; border-left: 10px solid E6E6E6; vertical-align:top;] Rei stretched as she walked along the streets with a lazy yawn. The crew had arrived in town a few days ago, somewhat by accident and surprisingly not related to any recent events in town. Their goal had been to resupply and continue on their journey towards Reverse Mountain, the entrance to the Grand Line. Unfortunately, most of the crew had quickly taken note of the celebration that was going on and had begged to hang around for a little while longer. Of course, Rei couldn't simply refuse, but she tended to be somewhat uneasy on an island that had a Marine bass, no matter how small it was rumored to have been. As a precaution, she'd allowed them to go, but had sent Grant with them to ensure that they would have at least one sober individual among them if trouble were to break out. The Captain, meanwhile, was abstaining from strong drink as she had no tolerance. Even a couple shots was usually enough to get her tipsy and the last time Rei had managed to get hammered, she'd left part of a town in ruins. Of course, Grant had chewed her out for it and Rei had sworn off the stuff for a while anyway. Unfortunately, that left her with some free time, since her crew was busy enjoying themselves at the bar. If not for her first mate's tolerance level, she probably would have dragged him out of the bar to help carry her bags or some other excuse. Chances were he was probably flirting with some scantily-clad wench right about now without a care in the world and the whole idea of it was enough to tick the captain off, so tried to push the thought of her mind for the time being. Instead, she tried to focus on her shopping, which was something she tended to do for her own pleasure a majority of the time. Although, she hadn't had much luck. Rei had never been one for fancy clothes or gaudy jewelry. She'd already cleaned out any good book stores though, leaving only the trinkets shops, which she was now browsing at curiously, looking over the strange and unique items. It was then that Rei spotted something she recognized immediately as a green headband, similar to the one Grant was often wearing. Come to think of it, the one he currently wore was one he had acquired not to long after leaving their home a little over a year ago. Of course, like any article of clothing, it had it's obvious signs of wear and tear from their many adventures, so perhaps he could have used a new one. Maybe she could give it to him as a gift for... a birthday or holiday? She'd think of some excuse. After inquiring about the item, Rei quickly paid the old vender and stowed the gift away in her coat pocket for later. Turning to go, the pirate captain had started down the street when the weight of someone's arms suddenly dropped onto her shoulders. "Well, aren't you pretty. What do you say to getting a drink with me, doll face?" A man's voice caught her attention as her focus darted up the young man in his late twenties. His hair was short and sandy blond in color. His skin tanned with a scar running over his right eye, but he wasn't alone, another two flanked him on each side, indicating that was more than likely a pirate. Almost immediately, it was hard to captain to hide her look of annoyance with the gall of the man for touching her, let alone attempting to flirt with her when he smelled like a brewery. "Unless you want to end up at the bottom of sea, I suggest you leave me be." Rei warned coldly as her fist drove into his side. Once his grip loosened, Rei turned using foot to sweep his feet out from beneath him and with a steady thrust of the elbow sent him backwards, where he landed on his back against the stone cover street. "Tsk! Like I'd tolerate drunken trash like you." She spoke, lifting a hand to brush her long hair aside. The sight was enough to drop the jaws of the men that had been with him and ticking them off almost immediately. "You wench!" One of them bark, drawing back to throw a swinging punch, but Rei saw it coming a mile away and immediately sidestepped the blow. Stepping beneath his arm, the Captain simply used her leverage and the man's own momentum to send him flying, launching him into the air and into a nearby food stand with some commotion. "If you've got any sense you three should walk away from this while you still can, because I can't promise I'll be able hold back." Rei explained with a cool smirk, pushing the coat away to show that she was wearing a weapon. She normally tried to settled things as diplomatically as possible, but the captain was more than aware that some individuals simply couldn't be reasoned with. In those situations, it was required to use a little incentive through means of a force and of anyone in the crew, Rei was the last person someone wanted to tangle with. Besides, a woman had a right to defend herself in situations like this and even more so as a pirate.

[atrb=style, padding:10px; width:115px; background-color: #000000;][atrb=valign,top] [style=background-color: #111111; background-attachment: scrolling; height:100px; width:100px; padding:5px; border: 1px solid #FF6699;][/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]WORDS[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]897[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]TAGGED[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]Victoria[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]NOTES[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]None[/style]

[Victoria Locke]

Even with all the celebration going on, the commotion down the street hadn’t gone unnoticed. Four marines, Victoria’s squad to be precise, approached the scene running. They had heard the crash and yelp as the aggressive man had been chucked into the food stand. Leading the squad, Victoria was the first one to spot the source of the commotion. She lifted the shotgun barrel towards the sky and pulled the trigger, blasting an attention-grabbing warning shot into the air. Few seconds after the shot, an almost equally loud shout echoed through the street. "Hold it right there!" The marine woman came to a quick stop and the rest of her squad wasn’t far behind.

Victoria’s gray eyes narrowed as she counted four suspects at first glance. Before thinking further, she loaded a new round with a crank of the lever and took aim for another shot. The barrel of the shotgun slowly shifted between targets as she observed the suspects, trying to pick one to interrogate first. Her squad followed the example and readied their rifles. "No one is going anywhere until we get to the bottom of this." While the cold command was directed at the four suspects, most of the nearby civilians stopped on their tracks as well. There was good 30 feet of breathing room between the troublemakers and the marines, but the tension was still high.

All in all, it was quite a scene: three shady men, one unnervingly cool-headed woman and a ruined food stand. There would be a lot of explaining to do. Victoria for one was convinced that average civilians, no matter how drunk, didn’t cause this kind of chaos. She didn’t recognize any of these people, but the woman seemed remotely familiar and not in a good way. Keeping the shotgun trained at the woman’s chest, the marine approached her with slow, steady steps. "Of course, we can settle this matter in the marine base if anyone prefers that." Part of her hoped that they would surrender peacefully so the civilians wouldn’t get caught in crossfire.

However, the more realistic part of her knew not to expect much.

Meanwhile, the rest of the squad moved closer as well. Each one had picked a target to keep in check. They were prepared to use force if the men resisted, but none of them were likely to shoot just yet. Victoria on the other hand… Her finger was actually twitching in anticipation as she tried to ignore the ominous feeling she got from the cool woman. "Care to explain why you four are disrupting peace and trashing civilian property?" For a brief moment, she took her eyes off the suspect to gesture towards the stand in question and check if the owner was alright. It might have been a mistake, but she didn’t realize that.

[REI SATSUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #111111; width:325px; padding:15px; border-left: 10px solid E6E6E6; vertical-align:top;] The snap of gunfire silence the three men in front of her, though Rei never flinched as a voice rose over the crowd and silenced everything. Glancing over her shoulder with some level of annoyance, it wasn't hard to spot the Marines as she began to bark orders and probably saving the other pirates lives. How irritating! She hadn't even started this mess and the Marines were already being their nosy selves and butting into her affairs. Their leader it seemed was as high strung as could be and was already wasting bullets over a scenario that was hardly out of the ordinary. "Calm down and no one needs to get their panties in a wad." Rei answered back in a slightly annoyed tone, which was something to say considering she was the only pirate who had yet to draw her weapon. The other three were already on edge and had their hands on their guns ready to fight. Then again, maybe she could use that to her advantage and not have to reveal who she was, without causing to much of a hassle. "If you have to drag someone down to a base, then you obviously can't read the situation very well. Three drunk men standing and two on the ground squared off against a single woman, now want to guess who the victim and instigator is in this situation?" She questioned almost patronizingly, as if the entire matter should have been obvious enough to decipher with nothing more than a single look. Unlike most people, Rei was not the sort to suddenly go cowardly simply because they were wearing a uniform or holding rifles. Moving her hand to show she wasn't holding any weapons and shrugging her shoulders in demonstration, Rei let out a faint sigh. "This is obviously a case of self defense from a gang of pirates." Rei explained with a innocent smirk, though the cue was obviously enough to incite a look of irritation from the pirate nearest to her. "Like hell you Marines are dragging us anywhere!" The man cursed as he tore something from his pocket and threw it to the ground, releasing a cloud of thick black smoke that began to pour out into the streets as they turned and began to flee. It was thick, enough to choke a person who accidentally breathed in the awful stuck. However, despite the severity of the situation, Rei couldn't help hide the faint smirk in amusement. People really were easy to manipulate. Shove them between a rock and hard place, and they would immediately revert to their instincts. The admission that someone was a pirate was normally enough to send most people into panic. Fortunately, Rei wasn't most people. Instead, she allowed the smoke to cover the street and slowly moved back like any by-standard towards the nearby alleyway behind her. Once the pirates were in flight, she simply turned on her and took off into the shadows quickly. It seemed the crew would have to cut their celebrating short. With the Marines crawling all over the place, it was to risky to remain here any longer and they would have a better chance of getting out to sea while the majority were busy chasing some other crew around the island. Sure, maybe it was cruel in some sense to use another pirate as a patsy or a distraction, but no one ever said being a pirate was about being fair. Rei couldn't have guessed that not all the Marines were so quick to give into the obvious chase.

[atrb=style, padding:10px; width:115px; background-color: #000000;][atrb=valign,top] [style=background-color: #111111; background-attachment: scrolling; height:100px; width:100px; padding:5px; border: 1px solid #FF6699;][/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]WORDS[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]589[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]TAGGED[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]Victoria[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]NOTES[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]None[/style]

[Victoria Locke]

Much to Victoria’s dismay, the suspicious woman turned out to be the cheeky sort. To make matters worse, she actually had a point, not that the marine would actually admit it out loud. At the same time, the smirking woman practically confessed that she wasn’t an average civilian. The marine lowered her gun and stepped closer for a sarcasm dripping rebuttal. "Oh, is that so? Must be an optical illusion then because from where I’m standing this looks-" However, she never got the chance to finish that because a far angrier shout interrupted her. By the time she noticed one of the criminals pulling out something, it was already too late to do anything.

Victoria managed to hold her breath as the suffocating haze suddenly filled the street, but the smokescreen still severely impaired her vision. The suspects were almost perfectly hidden. Almost. Upon seeing sudden movement in the smoke, she whipped the barrel towards some fleeing figures and pulled the trigger. A short pause followed after the shot, marked by a distinct click as she loaded another round within seconds and fired again. The shots were followed by two different yelps, revealing that she managed to wound, if not incapacitate, two of the escaping men. However, the third man as well as the woman both slipped away in the chaos. It confirmed Victoria’s suspicions.

Innocent people didn’t run from law enforcement.

For now, catching two of the perpetrators was better than nothing. Risking a coughing fit, Victoria tried her best to yell a quick, loud follow-up command to her wheezing allies. "-cough- Arrest -cough- them!" Meanwhile, she was determined to go after that cheeky woman by herself and dashed towards the direction where she had last been. Unfortunately, the thick smoke covering all the nearby routes forced her to pick a random alley and hope she got lucky. As she kept rushing forward, the surrounding smoke got quickly thinner until she could breathe freely again. She emerged into the sunlight on a crowded street, but her target was nowhere to be seen.

Gritting her teeth in irritation, the lone marine glanced around more than once before dashing down the street. Another click was heard between running steps as she flicked the lever once again. Many marines would’ve declared a simple chase futile at this point and just called for back-up, but she wasn’t the type to simply quit after one setback, or many setbacks for that matter. There were only so many places in this city where an escaping suspect could go. She was certain that they would inevitably run into each other again and once they did... A faint, but confident smile rose on her lips.

Next time, she would let her trusty Model 1887 do the talking.

[REI SATSUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #111111; width:325px; padding:15px; border-left: 10px solid E6E6E6; vertical-align:top;] A dark blur disappeared over the small fence, ducking into another street and searching the area quickly. The obvious solution was to race to the ship and get off this island, but Rei knew not to think so simply. If the Marines were smart enough to realize they were chasing pirates, then they would be expecting them to head for the docks first. Which meant that the Captain was going to have to find another option, but where?... As luck would have it, Rei happened to notice a pair of men stagger out from one pubs. As they neared, she was quick to snag them by the collars and drag them into the alleyway. The initial confusion as they whipped around the see the pink haired Captain standing there was enough to make them to quickly sober up. "C-Captain. What are you doing here?" The older of the pair asked, adjusting his hat a bit in confusion, rather surprised to see the young woman in these parts, since she didn't seem to enjoy the bars as much as the boys did. "Shut up and listen to me, because I don't have a lot of time to explain. The Marines have called in more numbers. I want you two to find Grant and the rest of the crew. Tell them to return to the ship immediately and if there are any obstacles, remove them. I don't care how. Once the crew is on the ship, I want you to set sail without me and sail towards the east corner of the island." Rei began to explain seriously, pulling out the old pocket watched from within her coat and flipping it open to glance at the time. "There's a Marine base there, so you won't have a large gap in time. When the clock strikes three, I want you to sail the ship past the base. After that, be prepared to make a hard turn and drop the sails to head out to open water." She added before tucking the family heirloom safely away back into her pocket. "Whoah! Wait, Captain, you can't be serious?!" The younger one blurted out in shock, though he was quickly snatched down by his collar to quiet him. "I mean, we can't just sail past a Marine base. They'll blow us out of the water, even if we are prepared to fight, and what about you? We can't leave you here." He asked, his tone seeming to hint at concern. The Captain seemed confident enough, but the option of leaving without her on deck was not something many of the crew would be thrilled with, under any circumstances. "The Marines will be a little to preoccupied to focus on any passing ships. I'll rejoin you when I'm finished dealing with a certain... matter." The Captain answered cryptically, though wouldn't go into detail for obvious reasons. She didn't want them worrying or worse, spouting off what she had planned to her first mate. He was already going to chew her out badly enough for what she intended to do, but it would be worth it in the end, Rei was certain of that much. "Now stop wasting time with questions and just follow orders. Oh, and one more thing..." Rei began as she started to turn away, but stopped short. "Let me borrow your matches and the rum." She ordered quickly, though the pirate was quick to retrieve the item from his front pocket and to offer up the rum, he couldn't quite erase the confusion of why she would want something like that at a time like this. Obviously, the island was full of alcohol if she'd wanted to drink, but no one had ever known the Captain to drink when she was serious about something. Instead, she quickly motioned for them to get moving. "Aye, Captain." Came the answer in unison as they both turned to leave. If there was anything the Black Moon Pirates had learned while sailing with Rei, it was that despite the insanity of her schemes, there was always a method to the madness, even if most couldn't see it. Rather, by now, they had learned that as long as they followed orders, everything would work out it. It was also that trust that would allow her to do what she needed to do to get them off the island, even if meant she had to stir up a little trouble to do it. She could almost hear the chewing out her first mate would give her for it, but it couldn't be helped. Even a pirate couldn't go against their nature forever.

[atrb=style, padding:10px; width:115px; background-color: #000000;][atrb=valign,top] [style=background-color: #111111; background-attachment: scrolling; height:100px; width:100px; padding:5px; border: 1px solid #FF6699;][/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]WORDS[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]769[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]TAGGED[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]Victoria[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]NOTES[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]None[/style]

[Victoria Locke]

For once, Victoria got lucky. While the elusive woman had managed to stay out of her sight so far, the marine had still gotten results with her search. Down the street, next to a yet another bar, she spotted the third man who had slipped away because of the smoke. She recognized the clothes at first, but it was the scar running over his eye that made her certain. He was chugging down from a large rum bottle, blissfully unaware that he had been found. His wide grin showed how good his mood was after supposedly outsmarting a bunch of marines. Well, that wasn’t going to last very long.

When the man spotted the quickly approaching woman, his grin disappeared. He didn’t waste any time in pulling out his gun and pointing it at the meddling marine with an angry yell. "You!" Victoria had an equally short response ready when she took aim as well. "Me." Two gunshots echoed through the street as the pirate and the marine exchanged lead. Victoria winced as her left shoulder started bleeding. The bullet had gone straight through and the stinging pain was numbing her whole arm. On the other hand, the man hadn’t been as lucky. He fell limp on his back, while his now tattered shirt turned a dark shade of red.

At least no one else got hurt...

Suddenly, the on-lookers gasped as the bleeding man twitched and coughed. He wasn’t quite dead, but not too far from it either. Well, at least he was in good enough condition to grit his teeth and voice his uncensored opinion on the marine. "You... you uptight... crazy... little... b-" However, before the man could say anything truly rude, he got silenced by a shotgun barrel squashing his nose. Victoria was less than amused by his defiant attitude. "Oh, don’t mind me. Feel free to throw away what is left of your worthless life." Perhaps the sarcastic insult to injury was uncalled for, but at least it made her feel better.

Soon enough, the place was swarming with armed marines. One of Victoria’s squad members had saved her the trouble of calling for backup. Medical team patched the injured man up and took him away to make sure he would live to face his charges. At the same time, they quickly checked Victoria’s shoulder, but she refused to return to the base for full treatment like they suggested. Instead, she fully reloaded her shotgun and took off running to chase after her original target. The encounter had left her with a painful wound and a hastily bandaged shoulder, either of which could easily ruin her personal mission, but she was far too stubborn to give up because of such details.

Jogging down the street once again, Victoria vigilantly searched for the mysterious woman. The arrest had used up more time than she had planned. Her target could be anywhere by now. On the bright side, her backup had arrived and dozens of marines were starting to patrol the streets behind her. They didn’t know who to look for, but they might still scare criminals into fleeing her way and she certainly would recognize that woman if she spotted her. With that in mind, the marine quickened her pace. If searching the bar district didn’t get her results, she would head to the docks next.

[REI SATSUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #111111; width:325px; padding:15px; border-left: 10px solid E6E6E6; vertical-align:top;] It didn't take Rei long to reach the edge of the rooftops and to spot the walls of the Marine base, along with the handful of guards that have been left to maintain any of the offenders that had been left to sober up. The men that remained were barely officers, the bare bone minimum required to complete the task and who lacked enough experience to actually patrol the town with the reinforcements and superior officers. The sight was enough to earn a smirk in satisfaction that her gamble had not been in vain. Lesson one in warfare, always stay three moves ahead of your enemy. The most obvious methods the Marines would have used to catch the pirates would have been to head for the bars and the saloons, then to the docks. Unfortunately, her crew needed to reach the ship which meant she needed to find something to distract the Marines for a while until she could ensure their escape. What the pirate chose was something no sane Pirate, which was precisely why the Marines would never see it coming. Dropping down into a nearby alleyway, Rei waiting along the shadows for one of the patrolling officers to pass by, before striking like a snake and snatching the man into the darkness and out of sight. A sharp crack on the head was all it took to render the man unconscious. The Captain then unceremoniously stripper the man of his uniform, handcuffed his wrists to nearby pip and gagged him with his own scarf in the event he woke up. Fortunately, that never happened and as hard as she'd hit him, he'd probably be out a while. Throwing the uniform on over her tank top and pants, Rei stashed her coat and weapon into her bag, before throwing it over her back and picking up the rifle that the Marine had been carrying. After pulling her pony tail through the cap and ensuring that everything was in proper place, the pirate simply stepped back out into the street and made her way towards the front gate with a confident smile. Resting the rifle over her shoulder, it didn't take much more than a salute, before she was allowed to walk right into the base along with another solider that had been returning from patrol. No one questioned or even hesitated to think something was amiss, because with all the reinforcements that had been called it, an unfamiliar was nothing to extraordinary. Humming slightly to herself as she made her way inside, it didn't her long to slip off on her own and to locate where they kept the gunpowder and ammunition. While she was careful not to be spotted, with so little focus on internal protection as outward, the Marines had left themselves open in the worst possible way and against a very dangerous enemy. Slipping the bottle of rum from her bag, Rei popped off the top and took a swig, before allowing the bottle to hang at her side. As she moved away from the shed, she allowed the allowed the alcohol to trail rather inconspicuously until she'd reached the corner of the main building, ducking around it as the bottle emptied completely. Guess, it was time to start the fireworks. Drawing the match out and striking it against the bottom of her boot, the alcohol next to it the dirt immediately lit up and began to streak down the trail of rum. It took only a few seconds, but the resounding 'BOOM' that echoed as the flames hit the gunpowder was like music to her ears. Not that it was easy to miss, most of the town had probably heard it and as the few Marines that were there seemed to realize that the fire needed to be put out, Rei turned and made her way inside. With the men distracted in attempting to quell the blazing heat, the pirate made herself busy doing what pirates did best - looting anything that wasn't bolted down. That included maps, important documents, even some hard to find medical supplies. As Rei made her way up to the upper rooms though, she came across something that almost immediately earned a devious smile. Turns out that the Marines not only had to bring reinforcements, but the money to pay for those soldiers for their long hours of work and stored it in a vault in an upper room. Now having once lived as a thief, Rei knew a little something about locks, which meant it didn't take her long to crack the thing open and behold the shimmering glory of her find. Oh yeah, she was probably going to get strung up for this, but she was a pirate, could one really blame her? Stowing as much of the money and gold as she could into the bag, Rei soon realized her problem in actually getting out with the stolen booty. Instead of going back the way she came, the pirate decided to take the window, sliding out onto one of the unoccupied walls nearest the sea. The crew should have had plenty of time to get things ready by now. Reaching into her pocket and retrieving the watch once more, the face soon revealed that it was still a few minutes to three. Even with the uniform on though, Rei couldn't help be anxious. She might have had her weapon by her side, but once the fire was out and anyone realized she was not a Marine, there would be hell to pay. She just hoped her devil's luck would hold, because if she could actually succeed, then chances were there was going to be one heck of a story in tomorrow's newspaper.

[atrb=style, padding:10px; width:115px; background-color: #000000;][atrb=valign,top] [style=background-color: #111111; background-attachment: scrolling; height:100px; width:100px; padding:5px; border: 1px solid #FF6699;][/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]WORDS[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]949[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]TAGGED[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]Victoria[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]NOTES[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]It's official, Rei is slightly insane.[/style]

[Victoria Locke]

The stubborn marine was silently cursing her lousy luck after checking the fourth tavern without any luck. It was like that mysterious woman had vanished into thin air. If only she could’ve gotten some sort of hint... Thanks to that careless wish, something exploded. Victoria turned around to see a huge column of smoke rising from the marine base. A mutter of disbelief left her mouth as she was briefly stunned. "This... can’t be..." Seeing the symbol of her beliefs burn... It was like some awful nightmare. After the initial shock passed, she took off towards the smoldering base, desperate to help her comrades. Luckily, it wasn’t too far away, but it might’ve been too late...

Things were even worse at the scene of the fire. Marines and volunteers had formed a bucket brigade, but the armory had already taken heavy damage and other buildings were still in danger. Victoria couldn’t believe how something so devastating could’ve happened. Safety was topnotch here. Accidents should’ve been nearly impossible. However, a yell about sabotage entered her ears soon enough. Of course. Marines didn’t make mistakes. That was what Victoria believed, no matter what. While others were dousing the flames, she took it as her duty to scout for casualties and help them. Secretly, she was also hoping to find any clues of what really happened here.

The yard was already under control, so she headed around the building.

Suddenly, Victoria spotted movement in the corner of her eye. In a heartbeat, she lifted her shotgun and took aim towards the source, but seeing a white uniform made her lower her weapon just as quickly. It was just a fellow marine... peeking out from the window of the base... with an odd sack... In the back of her mind, a tiny voice nagged that something was off here. She didn’t recognize the marine, but that wasn’t the source of her suspicion. It was simply the oddity of the situation. What was that person doing in the window? There didn’t seem to be smoke or fire there and the stairs should’ve been usable. Well, asking wouldn’t hurt, right?
"Hey, you! What are you-"

When the odd marine fully slipped out of the window, Victoria caught a glimpse of her face and long hair. Words got briefly stuck in her throat due to another shock and the real marine could only grit her teeth in frustration. That damn woman really had been a criminal all along, but now she had already made the guardians of justice look like complete fools. Gathering her wits, Victoria took a deep breath. "Guys, we have a traitor over here! Don’t let her get away!" The shout was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the vicinity of the base and soon reinforcements started arriving here as well.

While the other marines regrouped, Victoria hastily returned Model 1887 to its straps and rushed after the arsonist. She was adamant about keeping her in the line of sight, but all the running was taking a toll on her. Keeping up the same speed was difficult. Her shotgun was no good at this range either, but a good soldier always had a back-up plan or a weapon in this case. Equalizer would reach that criminal. She whipped out her dear revolver and pulled the trigger without hesitation. Three quick shots pierced the air, all aimed at the torso of the cunning pirate. This time she wouldn’t let that criminal get away.

"Hold it!"

[REI SATSUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #111111; width:325px; padding:15px; border-left: 10px solid E6E6E6; vertical-align:top;] A devilish smirk flashed across her features as Rei whipped around at the shout, immediately recognizing the dark haired marine from earlier. So much for sneaking over the wall without anyone look. Oh well, probably would have been boring that way and Rei really did need to kill some time. Tearing off the cap and tossing it into the air, Rei offered a sort of mock bow before turning tail and running. Oh, this was so going to be in the papers tomorrow. A pirate didn't give a performance of that nature and not have it written about, but that was the whole point after all. She needed a spectacle, a public scene to demonstrate to everyone exactly what kind of person they were dealing with before they entered the Grand Line. A nearby soldier attempted to follow the Marine's orders by stopping her and raising his weapon to fire as she raced towards him, but before he could get off a shot Rei's foot arched under the barrel causing it to discharge above them. Drawing a fist back as she came down, the pirate's fist struck the Marine right in the jaw and sent him toppling over the side into the court yard. It was then that the crack of gunfire rang out, one of the bullet striking the raised part of the wall while the other passed through her right shoulder. The final bullet struck the bag she'd been carrying over her back, striking something metal and ricocheting off with a clear ping of metal on metal. "Son of a bitch!" Rei cursed in annoyance, glancing over at the hole in her shoulder that the bullet had left, though there were was no blood. It was moment like this that the pirate was thankful for her error in eating the Devil Fruit, since the wound wouldn't be life threatened. That didn't mean the shot didn't smart like hell, but she wasn't quite out of the fight just yet. However, it was WAY to close of a call for Rei's liking and it was time to settle the matter. Sure, Rei would admit the truth. She might have underestimated how easy it was for the Marines, one in particular, to be a royal pain in her backside. It took only a few moments for the ice to begin reforming to close the hole, but it might as well have been a declaration of war for the captain as she eyed the cannon across from her along the wall with a twisted smile. Fine. If they wanted a gunfight, then she would simply give them one. Careful to remain beneath the top of the wall to avoid having another bullet chance hitting her, Rei delivered a hard kick, causing the canon to swivel up and fall backwards toward the interior of the fort. She did this twice more with the canons facing parallel with the wall, one towards the right and the other towards the left as the Marine soldiers clamored up in a rush to catch her, forgetting one very important thing - there were only so many rows of Marines you could fit on a wall. Of course, Rin was more than ready, waiting with the pack of matches in hand as they suddenly halted their charge in realization that the fuses were now lit. "Looks like you boys brought the wrong weapons to a gunfight." Rei explained in a calm tone as they paled at the sight and began to scramble for cover as the canons ignited sending a canon ball into each of the far towers and sending Marines diving over the edges to avoid getting caught in the cross fire. The final canon that was pointed within also went off, striking the main building complex and sent quite a bit of rubble and brick falling into the courtyard. "Mark this day, you worthless dogs of the World Government, because this is the day you crossed paths with Rei Satsuki, Captain of the Black Moon Pirates and the person who will be the next Pirate King!" She announced proudly for everyone in the vicinity to hear. Yeah, no one could ever accuse the Captain of being subtle... about anything, but the whole scene was enough to bring a proud smile to her face. The base looked like it had been laid siege to, despite the fact that all this mayhem was the result of one very crazy pirate. There was one flaw in Rei's brilliant plan that she had forgot to factor in - structural stability. Crap! With the two side of the wall weakened, the wall suddenly began to sink before falling outward much to her shock as she jumped over the side, hoping to avoid ending up underneath the wall as it fell outwards towards the sea. The loud crash scattered who knew how many tons of stones and canons that were now buried beneath the rubble of the former wall. Rei managed to land about thrity-five yards from the shore, rolling to a less than graceful stop before popping up to her feet and bolting towards the sea as the faint glimpses of sails slid around the corner of the cover. Right on time! With the booty in tow and the canons no longer able to hit the ship, Rin focused on making her way to the shore and towards her ride off this Marine infested rock, avoiding any spare shots that might have come her way as the smoke from the rubble began to clear.

[atrb=style, padding:10px; width:115px; background-color: #000000;][atrb=valign,top] [style=background-color: #111111; background-attachment: scrolling; height:100px; width:100px; padding:5px; border: 1px solid #FF6699;][/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]WORDS[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]918[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]TAGGED[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]Victoria[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]NOTES[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]None[/style]

[Victoria Locke]

Victoria lowered her gun and had to restrain herself from doing anything stupid. In the chaos, she couldn’t get a clear shot, but that didn’t mean she just stood there and watched. While the pirate was busy dealing with the cannons, the marine reloaded her revolver and tossed her bag to a nearby comrade. She had a plan and that meant ditching any unnecessary weight. Once the preparations were done, she closed her eyes and focused. The aching of her injury vanished, the beating of her heart got faster and the distractions surrounding her got silenced. Only bloodthirsty intent to take down the dangerous pirate, Captain Rei Satsuki, remained in her mind.

As long as she could still stand, she wouldn’t quit.

When the wall started collapsing towards the sea, Victoria’s eyes opened wide. Now or never. Few gasps escaped from the crowd as the stubborn marine bolted past her comrades. Needless to say, at this point she was very desperate. This incident had already become a huge stain of shame for the Marines and letting the culprit get away would’ve been absolutely unforgivable. She jumped on to the wall and ran up as it was leaning forward. Using the collapsing wall as a ramp, she launched herself after the swift woman, falling only few feet behind her. The landing was heavier than she had anticipated, but she managed to stay upright.

As Rei popped up from her roll, Victoria lifted her revolver. "Pirates only have one fate..." The intense focus briefly granted her inhuman aim. She fired six times in quick succession, sending lead towards the pirate woman’s ankles, knees, waist and finally the back of her head. While most would’ve called it an overkill Victoria was convinced her shots would only slow that terrifying woman down at best. With that in mind, she dashed after Rei without wasting time, pushing her body to the limit with the Gunslinger’s Flow. She was quickly gaining on her, but the result of this mad race was still going to be a matter of inches.

Using every last ounce of her speed, she made a desperate final leap towards the pirate in attempt to tackle and grab her. It was a reckless move by itself, but the follow-up she was planning would hurt far more than any fall or kick. She aimed to wrap her arms around as firmly as possible. While her left hand was going for the best piece of cloth to grab it could reach, her right one was occupied by what seemed like a black handle. A dark, curly cable connected it to something beneath her clothes. This was her trump card. For the sake of her duty, she would stop that criminal by any means necessary.

Regardless of whether the marine managed to pin down her target or not, she still fully intended to go through with her plan. It all happened in a matter of seconds. Taking a deep breath, Victoria closed her eyes and braced herself. The detonator clicked as the red button was jammed down. "Long live the World Government!" Another click echoed and the power of her trump card was revealed in an instant. If Rei hadn’t made her move by now, it would’ve been too late to escape the blast. A painful shockwave would’ve tossed away anything within 20 feet radius. Victoria’s final hope was that her comrades were vigilant enough to take care of the rest.

Her final fear, however... was that the pirates were faster...

[REI SATSUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #111111; width:325px; padding:15px; border-left: 10px solid E6E6E6; vertical-align:top;] While Rei might have been a pirate, she liked to consider herself something of an expert when it came to human psychology. True, she hadn't counted on the wall collapsing, but most people... Well, sane people - normally did not go charging over a collapsing wall and towards a pirate ship that was armed and ready to fire in retaliation. The base and it's walls were what protected them. Leaving that safety to pursue after a criminal that had already demonstrated a ruthless and reckless streak was not advised, but every now and then on the ocean Rai happened to run across those that were like herself and quite possibly insane. It just so happened this Marine was one of those few and to her shock barreling out of the smoke she caught sight of the Marine coat and tried to pick up the pace. As two shots ripped free of the ships canons to buy her some time and cover to reach the sea, it wasn't doing much to deter the the dark haired young woman, as a bullet managed to graze her upper thigh. The sting was painful, but it was enough of a burn to send the pirate whirling around on her heel. Rolling her hand across in front of her a wall of ice rose causing the bullets to slam or ricochet off from the edges of the ice, one of them grazing her cheek, much to the pirate's annoyance. Glancing over her shoulder, Rei could see the sea not to far behind her. Darn it, she'd run out of time and room. However, before she could get off the shore, she felt a hand suddenly seize hold of her coat in protest. Annoying pest, wasn't she? Whipping around to confront the Marine and be done with the whole affair, however, Rei caught sight of something that caused even the fearless and carefree pirate to question who was really the insane one here. Sure, the Captain had broken into a Marine base and caused who knows how much money in damages, but at least she'd had a plan to walk away from it alive. If that was what she thought it was, then the Marine wasn't just nuts - she was suicidal! Damn it! Rei cursed to herself. She should have just turned the idiot into a frozen statue, but she didn't have the time. As Victoria drew the detonator from her pocket, Rei pushed forward and reached back to wrap her arms around the Marine in an embrace in that could have been mistaken for something far more romantic if she'd been a male, almost turning so as to dip the young woman slightly. That wasn't the pirates intentions, but considering where the explosive was stored, she needed to grab hold of the wire between the detonator and the bomb hidden somewhere in the Marine's clothes. She only had a split second, but that was all the Devil Fruit user needed. Wrapping her hand around the spiral cord, Rei used her to abilities to flash freeze the wire, before tightening her grip. Funny thing about most objects subject to sudden cold was they were painfully brittle and it didn't take much to shatter the object like one would fine glass. Just in time to as the Marine yelled out some death chant and her finger slammed down on the trigger. The click rang out, but the moment passed in silence for the first few seconds as a smirk slipped onto the pirate's face, which was now positions eye to eye with the Marine as the smoke from the canon fire shielded them from onlookers. "Ne? You shouldn't be so hasty to throw your life away on a pirate. Don't get me wrong, it's an awful romantic gesture, but for some reason... I don't think it would be much fun if you died here." Rei explained calmly as the ground around her feet began to ice over. A soft white mist rose along the ground as a chill crept into the air, though as she leaned forward as one would to kiss another, the pirate hid her intent to freeze the Marine's boots to the rocks behind a cool smile. When she was barely a hair's breath from the other woman's face, Rei's smiles suddenly widened cheerfully. "Well, see ya around." She spoke somewhat abruptly, releasing or rather... dropping the young woman unceremoniously and darting away before she could grab her again. With a running jump, Rei darted out over the water, getting some distance before allowing the ice to spring from her hand and freezing the water beneath her. It was on this trail of frozen ocean that she landed and that after offering a final wave, turned and darted towards the ship where a rope had been let down and was waiting for her when they passed to snatch up their captain and head for open water. Besides, she had to do something! She didn't want her trying to kill herself again. This was about chaos to get away, not causing unnecessary death. However, the pirate would admit she kind of admired someone with that kind of admiration, even if it was more than likely wasted on the Marines.

[atrb=style, padding:10px; width:115px; background-color: #000000;][atrb=valign,top] [style=background-color: #111111; background-attachment: scrolling; height:100px; width:100px; padding:5px; border: 1px solid #FF6699;][/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]WORDS[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]870[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]TAGGED[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]Victoria[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]NOTES[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]Sorry for the wait. Got sick XD And Rei's randomness.[/style]

[Victoria Locke]

Victoria was fully prepared to face the last second of pain from her trump card. The short moment felt like an eternity. However, the explosion never came. Her thumb reflexively clicked the red button few more times, but absolutely nothing happened. She opened her eyes with an undeniably puzzled look. This changed the instant she noticed the pirate and the position they were in. Her eyes darted up and down, while a whole range of emotions washed over her in mere seconds: panic, anger and disbelief visited her face before she finally settled for questioning surprise. However, she was far too stunned to resist the embrace.

When the pirate woman teased her about the failed attack attempt, a bright, rosy color started burning her cheeks. She wanted to say something, anything, but no words came out. Beating of her heart was getting constantly faster and the lingering adrenaline rush only made it worse. Her training had never prepared her for something like this. Shivers travelled down her spine as she gazed deep into Rei’s eyes. There was something strangely magical about that woman. Victoria’s mind couldn’t understand it, but her body couldn’t resist it either. Just as their lips were about to touch... The marine suddenly lost the support of the embrace and yelped as she hit the cold ground back first.

Victoria slowly pushed herself into awkward sitting position and rubbed her behind. An inaudible curse escaped from her lips. The pirate had already made it to her ship. Now, the marine had no way to stop that criminal, unless... Her eyes widened as she spotted a familiar weapon. There was her trusty revolver, on the sand, just out of arm’s reach. It must’ve fallen from her holster during the tackle. She quickly reached towards it... or tried at least, but her feet wouldn’t even budge. Glancing down, she was hit with a quite chilling realization. Her boots were covered with thick ice. It didn’t take much to figure out who was responsible for it, but... When?

The only moment she could’ve done it was...

As soon as the whole situation sank in, Victoria collapsed back on the ground, clenching her fists, gritting her teeth and still blushing furiously. "I... cannot believe... I fell for that..." This really wasn’t what she had in mind when she swore to continue this chase until she could no longer stand. In a final act of stubbornness, she lifted her head and took a deep breath before screaming after the pirate. "Captain Rei Satsuki! This is not over! No matter where you run, I will find you!" She tried her best to ignore her pitifully exhausted state and gathered all her remaining confidence in that yell, so it would be a promise rather than just an empty threat. They would definitely meet again.

Once the marine had gotten most of the frustration out of her system, her head dropped with a tired sigh. Her body was aching, but her pride had taken the worst hit. This incident had been a massive failure on her part. Letting the criminal slip away after successfully tackling and almost arresting her was absolutely unforgivable. Deep down, however, Victoria couldn’t help but silently praise the pirate for her skills and quick thinking. In another life, that pink-haired, sly woman would’ve made a damn fine marine. It was a pity she had chosen the wrong side by becoming a criminal, but she would have to face her mistake eventually. After this stunt, her bounty would no doubt be doubled and bounty hunters wouldn’t let her off easy.

While the smoke and dust raised by the cannon fire begun settling, a squad of armed marines finally rushed to the beach. They assumed a protective formation around the downed marine and raised their rifles towards the fleeing pirate ship... Only to lower them upon realizing the situation was already over and they couldn’t do much anymore. Victoria forced a half-hearted smirk at her comrades and pointed towards the ice around her feet. "If you brave men are done waving goodbye to the pretty pirate captain, I could use a little help here." Perhaps dripping sarcasm wasn’t going to get her free any faster, but she just needed to vent somehow.

It took a while to carefully melt the ice and far longer to get the base cleaned up and at least somewhat functional again. Full rebuilding took the better part of the following week. Stories about the incident spread quickly, but every version was bit different from the last one. Many marines exaggerated it to hide their failure. Soon, one woman turned into a powerful witch leading over a hundred men, while one explosion turned into a relentless siege lasting hours. At least that’s what the newspapers eventually claimed. However, one persistent female marine pieced together the truth behind the stories and wrote it in her journal as a reminder of the cunning pirate who got away, Captain Rei Satsuki.

This chapter ended in a bitter defeat for the marines, but the story is just beginning.



((And this is Victoria's exit. Feel free to post an exit post as well if you'd like. I had a lot of fun with this thread and I hope I get to see more of Rei's shenanigans in the future. Thank you.))

[REI SATSUKI]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #111111; width:325px; padding:15px; border-left: 10px solid E6E6E6; vertical-align:top;] Rei had caught the rope and swung up onto the railing of the ship, the bag of stolen loot still swung over her shoulder, which was quickly dropped onto the deck. Some of the crew were waiting to help her, though the rest were at their positions atop the rigging as they'd been ordered. "Full sail! Let's move!" The Captain shouted, as the sails quickly dropped open with the flutter as the wind hit them and the crew let out several whoops in celebration. It was in the moment that she'd turned to glance back at the pillar of black smoke that arose from the rubble of the base though, that Rei managed to overhear the shout from the Marine back on the shore. It was a cry that earned a cool smile as a hand raised in farewell. Hopping down from the railing as the island began to fade into the distance and the ship began to carry them out to sea, Rei was immediately greeted by several of the crew, who came to check that she was alright. The Captain was fine, of course, and the crew soon broke out some drinks in celebration. Chances were her bounty would rise, but despite this, some of them had noted Rei's rather lax and almost preoccupied look as she nursed a bottle of rum. "Captain?" One of the younger members of the crew chimed in curiously. "Are you sure your alright?" He questioning in worry, since Rei hadn't really bothered to go through the loot. Instead, she'd left the task up for the crew. Not that the Captain had ever shown much of an interest in wealth, though they had managed to acquire quite a few unique items that would certain aid them. "Hm? Yeah, I was just thinking." Rei explained simply, as she leaned back comfortably. "About what, Captain?" Another young man pushed in surprised wonder, since the Captain was never one to talk much, so when something was on her mind, it never failed to peak some interest. "I was thinking... It's a shame she had to be a Marine, she would have made one heck of a pirate." The Captain explained, though the idea immediately earned a few looks of confusion, before it suddenly dawned on them who Rei was talking about. "WHAT?!" They both shouted in unison at the apparent disbelief, before their expression fell in worried confusion. "... Jeez, Captain.... we never knew you went that way." One of them confessed in conclusion, which immediately caused Rei's expression to sober as the empty bottle went flying towards the man's head. "I do not swing that way, you perverts. I was making an observation!" Rei snapped in explanation. Then again, the crew had always been rather close knit and more of a family than anything else Rei had, so it wasn't surprising that the two immediately cracked a pair of big grins in amusement at the Captain's annoyance. "Hai! Hai! Whatever you say, Captain." The two answered with a dismissive wave, knowing full well that the act was far less reassuring that it should have been. It was hard not to find amusing though, but seemed to make clear to Rei that they had witnessed the somewhat close moment with the Marine in saving both their lives, even if it had been nothing more than a distraction. "Shut up! Don't you two have kitchen duties? Get back to work or I'll have you clean the decks with your toothbrushes." Rei snapped in dull annoyance, though it seemed obvious enough. The Captain had a habit for barking orders or recalling a certain persons duties when she didn't want to be messed with, though managed to snag another bottle from the nearby crate as the two surrendered with another chuckle and shuffled off to the kitchen . Honestly, sometimes she had to wonder if her crew saw her more as a Captain or an older sister figure to annoy. Slipping back into her seat once more though, Rei couldn't help glance up at the darkening sky and the stars that had started to appear. It really was a shame, but with any luck, it wouldn't be the last.

[atrb=style, padding:10px; width:115px; background-color: #000000;][atrb=valign,top] [style=background-color: #111111; background-attachment: scrolling; height:100px; width:100px; padding:5px; border: 1px solid #FF6699;][/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]WORDS[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]693[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]TAGGED[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]Victoria[/style] [style= border-bottom: 1px solid #FF6699; text-transform: lowercase;]NOTES[/style][style= text-align:right; background-color: #111111; padding-right:2px;]... The End!...[/style]