Marines, HOOOO [Mission]

[long3]

The sun was beginning to set. The skies were red, slowly darkening the further up you looked. Grey clouds reflected the red skies as they moved about overhead, pulled in the direction of the wind. The seas reflected red as well, the waves rippling outwards from the horizon where the sun descended past the sea. Far off in the distance, rather than an island, a single ship could be seen. A vessel that travelled upon the water, a one-of-a-kind ship found only in East Blue. It was one of East Blue's most famous venues - the Baratie. A restaurant that sailed on the seas, offering food to customers who were traveling great distances. Now, it was their destination. A place where dirty work was to be carried out.

Looking out over the railing of a ship's deck, a blonde woman dressed in black hummed a tune to herself. Her figure was slender, clothed comfortable in a white shirt and black tie, with a black suit jacket and black trousers. Black shoes completed her look, giving her the appearance of some kind of professional. But she wasn't just some kind of professional. She was a professional. An Agent skilled in assassination, now on a mission to take care of rowdy criminals. It was nothing compared to some of the escapades she went on regularly, but it was work nevertheless. It would require her undivided attention, same as with everything. On this mission however, she'd be accompanied by two others whom she might never have worked with otherwise - a Shichibukai and a Marine.

She didn't mind working with Marines. It rarely happened save on some select missions, but all things considered they possessed the same goals. They sought the same things. They were both the Good Guys. They worked for the sake of Justice. That was more than enough reason to trust her Marine comrade. The Shichibukai, on the other hand... She was distrustful of him. Pirates were Bad Guys. That was what she had been taught. They were evil and terrorized the innocent. But this man worked for the World Government. That should have made him a Good Guy too, but nevertheless she couldn't stomach the idea that a pirate could be classed as a Good Guy in her books. So she distrusted him.

And that wasn't even getting onto the matter of his last name.

"We're nearby, but we aren't going to approach until nightfall. We'll need the cover of darkness if we're going to get close," she informed the others on the deck. The blonde Agent turned around, staring down towards her comrades on the mission. "I trust both of you know what to do?" she spoke, raising a brow. It was time to get serious, after all. The mission would soon begin.

[Victoria Locke]

A female figure with long, dark hair was sitting on top of a barrel near one of the cabin doors. She was dressed in a full uniform, albeit not the one Marines most commonly used. Her coat was black with a raised collar and white cuffs, while her loose-fitting cargo pants were dull gray in contrast to Marine white and blue. On the deck next to her, she had gray messenger bag, full of spare ammo. While her cold features showed no signs of nervousness, she had been clutching an old, beaten-up shotgun like it was some sort of safety blanket for a while now.

Yes, she was nervous.

Her name was Victoria Locke and rank was only Petty Officer, so she felt quite a bit out of her league here. The marine carefully eyed her two teammates. She only knew the blonde woman in a suit was a government Agent, outranking her by fair margin. It automatically made her Victoria’s superior for this mission, the only person whose commands mattered. That was all she needed to know. The other one was something of a legend, one of the Shichibukai, a powerful pirate working for the World Government. From what she knew, they usually worked alone, so it was bit of a mystery why this man was here. She inadvertently shivered when her gray eyes met red and green.

Did that ominous man have some hidden motive?

Victoria snapped back into attention, quite literally, when her superior spoke. She stood up with her back straight and gun held against shoulder. Once the most important question was voiced, the marine reflexively clicked her heels together and saluted the woman. "Yes, ma’am! We are to liberate Baratie by any means necessary." Repeating the mission objective as a clarification was meant for herself more than anything. It was a force of habit, one born from her dislike towards uncertainty. She needed to know exactly where she stood in each mission. As long as she knew that, fear and hesitation held no place in her mind.

Giving the pirate a distrusting glance, the marine gripped her shotgun firmly. This man was not one of them. If he were to betray them... Pushing that thought aside, she turned her full focus on her superior and stepped forward. "Ma’am, I volunteer to provide support fire and watch the exits to stop any pirates from escaping." While Victoria wasn’t a tactical genius per say, she knew that just rushing in was a bad idea, especially with her trigger finger. There had been enough incidents in the past already. Also, she didn’t trust the pirate enough allow him to watch their backs. However, she was admittedly curious to see what kind of power that man held in battle.

Shichibukai... She wanted to see with her own eyes what kind of skills had earned that title.

[Cross Messor Sanguine]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:500px;,bTable][STYLE=width:200px; height:400px; float:left; background-image:url(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/Foxman94/Ragna-3.jpg)][classy=lyrics][STYLE=font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:7px]i am an exile[/style][STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]a sojourner[/style] [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]words[/style]426 [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]justine and victoria [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]first post with cross[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] A male rested against the railing of the ship, his white hair and the crimson belts of his jacket flapping in the wind a bit. He wasn’t over by the group, not even close. He stood by himself, almost like an outcast. He was a Shichibukai among marines. In other words, a pirate. He could almost feel the distrusting glares stabbing into him like daggers. He was a pirate, a type of person that Marines were taught to hate and given the want to purge them all from the world. Even though he was a dog of the World Government, they treated him all the same. The name “Cross Sanguine” was still the name of a criminal to them. Luckily for Cross, he didn’t care. Let them hate him. Let them fear him betraying them. So long as they didn’t harm innocents and were fighting those that did, Marines were ok in Cross’s book. One thing Cross did mind, however, was being called out for pointless missions. He was brought on to assist a CP9 agent and a low-ranked Marine take on a small band of pirates. They didn’t need him in the slightest. Whatever. Money was something everyone needed. He just had to deal with some stabbing glares for a bit. The Shichibukai didn’t even move when the Agent spoke. She was going over standard Marine boringness, otherwise known as “things that don’t apply to Cross”. He just had to deal with the threat and not kill any “friendly” people. Their plan of attack was to strike at night and make sure no Pirates (other than Cross) escaped alive. The young Marine woman responded the way most new Marines would have, as if she was at Drill Camp. Something about watching the exit to make sure no one escaped. She used guns, a point that could be taken just from looking at her, yet she wanted to guard the exit. Riding caboose wouldn’t help anyone get higher on the totem pole. Yeah, I know what to do. I’ll… fight pirates. Cross said in reply as one of his hands slid down to rest on the pommel of his massive sword. He could, to be honest, probably take out the target single handedly; but that wouldn’t leave any room for the Marines to grab some glory. Just let me know when you guys are ready. Any questions, feel free to ask. He added while gazing out at the sea. He just wanted to finish the stupid mission so he could get back home to his ship. [/classy][/classy]

[STYLE=opacity:0.5]LAIKA OF BTN![/style]

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[long3]

Justine remained quiet as the other two began to speak. First it was the Marine. Of the two others, Justine had guessed she would be speaking far more with the Marine, if only because they both knew exactly where they stood. They were both allies, even if they had never met one another before and didn't even serve directly in the same organizations. Still, they were both on the side of Justice. For Justine, that was enough to trust her. But it was a professional relationship, Justine remembered. The young woman before her responded in a very orderly way, addressing her as she probably would address a Marine Captain. Justine was under no illusions that their ranks technically made Justine her superior, but it was still an odd situation for it to be addressed so directly.

"Long range support would definitely be of use," Justine spoke, mulling her suggestion over. It was clear she had at least a basic understanding of tactics. That brought a smile to Justine's lips, though perhaps not too big a smile. "Whether to kill escaping Pirates or provide cover fire, your support will be of use to us," Justine told her, smiling a little before her gaze passed over the Shichibukai, at which point it began to fade away. She was still concerned about his involvement in this. It wasn't unusual for Shichibukai to be asked to go on missions for the World Government, but it definitely felt odd being asked to work with one in her assassination work. It made her somewhat uncomfortable. Looking out across the sea, she watched as the sun was now descending. The sky had darkened a bit more, with the red skies falling lower whilst the darkness took over.

It was almost time. In probably just a minute or two the sun would set. Then they could begin to move. Standing upright, the blonde walked across the deck towards the side, where a dinghy hung over the side of the ship. A crane of sorts hoisted it up, though in a minute or so it would have to be lowered into the water. Seemingly delicate hands gripped a lever, beginning to pull as the ropes began to shift. The dinghy was slowly lowering downwards, descending towards the blue sea below. Turning towards the others, she looked to see if either of them would be ready. She wanted to keep things going according to plan.

[Victoria Locke]

As the Marine carefully observed the reaction to her suggestion, the subtle change in her superior’s expression didn’t go unnoticed. Victoria allowed a small, friendly smile to show and nodded in response. When her superiors were happy, she was happy. Unfortunately, that content feeling didn’t last very long. The silence and anticipation were slowly getting to her. She could actually feel her trigger finger twitching. If she were to enter the boat like this... No, that couldn’t happen. It would’ve made her a walking risk. She had to find a way to relax before the mission began. Starting by taking a deep breath, she tried to relax her arms and shoulders. Perhaps looking around would help as well.

While waiting and walking around, Victoria’s eyes drifted onto the Shichibukai more than once. She tried to keep her glances quick and neutral, but few openly admiring looks slipped in as well without her knowledge. To be precise, she was admiring his weapon. It was enormous, by far the biggest sword she had ever seen on a human. The design was simultaneously powerful and sleek, as the thick, intimidating blade was balanced by the long, mechanical-looking handle. Simply magnificent... Suddenly realizing that she was staring again, Victoria quickly turned her head away, only barely keeping the beginning of a blush under control. Hopefully the man hadn’t noticed her gawking. With how much she loved weapons, she just couldn’t help it.

Luckily, the Marine didn’t have to deal with the embarrassing situation for too long. When the blonde woman started lowering the dinghy, Victoria stopped few paces away from her superior to stand in attention once again. Much to her relief, she found that focusing on other things for few minutes had worked and set her mind at peace. She was mentally prepared for the mission. From what she had gathered, Baratie was a restaurant ship of sorts and fairly big. There would most likely be many tables, chairs and other obstacles scattered around. That might become troublesome, especially for her, if the pirates played it smart with cover.

While the small boat got closer to the calm waves, Victoria secured her shotgun on the straps of her bag. With the final preparations done, she saluted the Agent. "Ready to begin whenever you command, ma’am." Afterwards, she turned towards the pirate and her cold gaze fixated straight into his eyes. Now that she had reached a mission mindset, she wouldn’t flinch again. "I’ll be right behind you, sir." For a pirate, it might’ve sounded excessive or mocking, but Victoria had no ill intent behind her words. It was simply force of a habit. While she made no secret of her intention to keep an eye on the pirate, she still wanted to remain polite.

After all, she didn’t have a problem with the man, just his occupation.

[Cross Messor Sanguine]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:500px;,bTable][STYLE=width:200px; height:400px; float:left; background-image:url(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/Foxman94/Ragna-3.jpg)][classy=lyrics][STYLE=font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:7px]i am an exile[/style][STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]a sojourner[/style] [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]words[/style]458 [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]justine and victoria [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]make it to the ship in your post, if you want[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] A slight chuckle unconsciously escaped Cross’s lips as Justine thought over the lower ranked Marine’s proposal. Either she had more on her mind, or knew nothing about firearms. Just from looking at the dark haired woman’s weapons, one could tell that she wasn’t “long” range in the slightest. She was using a lever-action shotgun which, while beautiful in design and function, is a mid-ranged weapon at best. Anything passed, maybe, 10 yards and the pellets would have dispersed for the most part. Unless she was using slugs. The Shichibukai wouldn’t make a big deal about it, especially not in front of Justine’s subordinate. Not like it mattered much to begin with. Again with the cold, untrusting stares. Sanguine could almost feel them again, and still questioned why they were directed towards him. Ever since he began to work for the World Government, he’d had a clean rap sheet. He didn’t rebel, didn’t attack Marines, nothing that should raise distrust. He wasn’t submitting, simply using it to further his own goals. Suddenly, his feeling of the stares changed locations. From himself to his weapon, it seemed. It was a unique weapon, so a few stares were to be expected. The sun began to sink into its bed, signaling the beginning of their assault on the assault of the restaurant ship. It seemed that Justine had chosen a small dingy to take to the site, which was probably a smart idea. If the pirates saw a marine ship approaching, no telling what could happen. Nothing good, that’s for sure. As the dingy hit the water, Cross’s two “companions” looked at him, one of which spoke, the other simply gazed. The Marine girl was quick polite, referring to him as “sir”. The two of them were ready to go, so there was no use in waiting. Cross nodded to the two and stepped over the railing, dropping down into the boat that awaited them on the water below. He stepped to the front of the small raft and grabbed the lone oar. Y’all coming? Cross asked the two women with a glance over his shoulder. Once the two of them were in the raft with him, he began to row over to the side of the target vessel. The trip was a decent distance, so that gave time for a mission talk. So… Mission rundown. An unknown number of targets, possible civilians. Between the three of us, this shouldn’t be any problem at all. Cross said before clearing his throat, then continuing. … Just through what I’ve heard and observed, we should make an ideal team. We have Sister with her extremely close melee, myself with my mid to close melee, and Vicky’s shotgun. Anything either of you’d like to add? [/classy][/classy]

[STYLE=opacity:0.5]LAIKA OF BTN![/style]

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[long3]

Hopping down, Justine landed in the raft just after the Shichibukai, sitting on the opposite end of the raft to him. It wasn't necessarily something she'd done intentionally, but subconsciously. As soon as all three were in the boat, the Shichibukai took it upon himself to begin rowing. The raft moved through the water as now the sun had finally descended past the horizon, with only a sliver of light visible above the seas. Dark skies loomed overhead, cloaking the land in shadow. The blonde woman stared at the restaurant before them. But her thoughts were dragged aside as the Shichibukai began to speak, going over the specifics of the mission again. In his opinion, by his hypothesis, they made a very balanced team.

"For the most part, you are correct," Justine admitted, deciding at least for the moment to put aside her animosity. It didn't mean she liked or trusted him completely, but right now it was better to work with an ally than cause the mission to fall apart. If that meant talking and interacting with the Shichibukai, so be it. "However, I am a close-to-mid range fighter. Nevertheless, our team is still well balanced," she spoke. She felt odd referring to the Shichibukai as part of the team. Bile rose in her throat at the thought of it, but she said nothing. She wasn't going to say anything about her mid-range abilities, because she wasn't fond of giving out more information than necessary. At least not in the presence of a Shichibukai.

The fact he might have already known about Rokushiki didn't matter. It was the principle of the thing.

"We're getting close. Miss Locke is going to have to remain behind. But there's a chance the Pirates might still be awake. In that case, I can't just walk in there normally. Do I pose as someone else and walk in with the Shichibukai?" she thought to herself, only to stop and pause. "I'd rather die than pose as a Pirate's friend or relative. They'd probably recognize him anyway," she thought to herself, looking back. "I'm sure both of you have been thinking about how best to enter. If not all of the Pirates are asleep or distracted, we can't just act recklessly".

[Victoria Locke]

Victoria was the last one to get in the boat. She managed to keep her landing graceful despite the bag she lugged around. There was no room for mistakes. Taking the position in the middle, Victoria sat down calmly, but kept a keen eye on their target. Her hand slowly reached towards the holster hanging from the side of her belt and she grasped the handle of her trusty revolver. It was no rifle, sure, but she was confident about her accuracy even at this range. If someone spotted them approaching, she would’ve forced them to take cover with a flurry of lead. So far she didn’t pick up any movement ahead, but this night had just begun.

When the Shichibukai started speaking, the Marine allowed her focus to shift on him. Aside from having possible civilians on board, it was very much what she was used to facing during operations. Though her initial reaction was only a nod, the curious nickname really caught her attention. It felt unusual to have someone, especially a pirate, refer to her like that. Most of her comrades called her by her last name, keeping interactions professional and impersonal. Admittedly, she enjoyed discussing the strategy and approach like this. When her superior spoke up as well, Victoria made a mental note to observe what kind of techniques she used. She was curious to see what exactly gave a close combat fighter more reach.

Despite the obvious differences in power, she was feeling like a part of the team already.

After hearing both of her comrades, Victoria decided to offer her piece as well. "Agreed. While we should work well together, we can’t fall for overconfidence." She placed her hand on the shotgun and patted it. "If you need suppressive fire at any time, just give me a shout and take cover. I... can’t promise you won’t get caught in crossfire." As much as she disliked admitting such weakness, her allies deserved to know. However, she wasn’t too worried about it. Like the pirate and her superior had both noted, this should’ve been easy with their combined skills. Her opinion on the best approach was a straightforward one, as expected from a shotgun-toting grunt.

"I think we should hit fast and hit hard, keep them guessing how many of us there actually are."

Just when they were getting close to the restaurant ship, Victoria glanced upwards and her eyes immediately went wide. There was someone right there, near a door to the left. Because of the shadow, she couldn’t tell if the person was guarding something or actually napping while on guard. At least there was no visible reaction to their arrival. It was too risky to start shooting now. Instead, she nudged her comrades and leaned in for a whisper "Company, ten o’clock." Perhaps they could handle it quietly. Meanwhile, she grabbed her revolver and remained watchful, ready to put some rounds into anyone who tried to interfere. It was unfortunate guns were so awfully noisy.

As much her trigger finger twitched, she wasn’t going to shoot carelessly. Yet.

[Cross Messor Sanguine]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:500px;,bTable][STYLE=width:200px; height:400px; float:left; background-image:url(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/Foxman94/Ragna-3.jpg)][classy=lyrics][STYLE=font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:7px]i am an exile[/style][STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]a sojourner[/style] [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]words[/style]418 [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]victoria and justine [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]let's do this...[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] Cross paddled the small dingy, listening to the input from his fellow “companions”, they even considered him that. Justine had no input on the actual plan, it seemed, other than to clarify that she was a mid-ranged fighter as well. So be it. Victoria, on the other hand, had some input on how they should operate. She also admitted to being rather… trigger happy. She’d have more problems than anything if Cross was to be a victim of friendly-fire, and live. Other than that, Victoria thought that they should hit fast and hard; an obvious plan for someone who used guns in general. Not much stealth to be had there. Hitting fast and hard sounded like a good plan to Cross, though. As Victoria quickly proved, she had pretty decent vision. She spotted an enemy looking off the deck, potentially asleep, but on patrol. It seemed no better targets would be around. Sister, Vicky and I will hit fast and hard while you sneak up and do your thing. Don’t stop until they’re all dead. Cross said to the two females in a hushed tone, his rowing slowing down to maintain stealth. He didn’t want to be shot at while they were still on the water and had no room to dodge. His eyes never really left watch over the patrol, even when they were almost touching the boat. He must have been asleep. Some guard he was. Let’s kick this into high gear. Cross said with a smirk as he crouched on the dingy, then suddenly leapt into the air and onto the deck of the Baratie. He kept his body low as his eyes surveyed the area, making sure no one had seen him. He was pretty much in the clear. He could see faint movement with the unconscious guard, but not much else. Perhaps he’d wake up soon. That couldn’t happen. The guard was only about 20 feet from Cross, a perfect distance. Double Accel, no interval. He could reach the guard before his companions were even on the deck, though it’d require expending a little energy. It was worth it. In the blink of an eye, the white haired male was behind the patrol and had already snapped his neck, all that was left was to push him overboard. As the body tumbled into the water below, the Shichibukai waved slightly at his two companions, signaling them to begin. With that, he grabbed the handle of his sword and was ready for a fight. [/classy][/classy]

[STYLE=opacity:0.5]LAIKA OF BTN![/style]

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[long3]

Justine might have preferred it had Victoria not said anything. Just saying that there was no guarantee they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire put Justine a little on edge. It wasn't too surprising to consider, given the chaos of battle, but nevertheless it was better not to think about it. It at least eased up on the tension a little. Still, Justine understood that it was going to be dangerous either way. She couldn't let just that stop her. But before Justine made a move to begin, the Shichibukai rushed in first. From the boat he leapt onto the deck of the Baratie by himself, quickly racing towards the guard left outside and snapping his neck. Just like an assassin, she noted. Clearly he had some experience. But now it was Justine's time to move.

The great thing about Justine's training wasn't just the benefit of her martial arts skills, but her leg strength. She had currently mastered two of three leg-based Rokushiki techniques. Though perhaps the third one would have been more useful in these circumstances, her strong legs were more than enough to propel her through the air, over the ocean's waves and onto the deck of the Baratie, where her legs buckled for a moment to absorb the impact. Then, standing upright and tall, the blonde woman looked towards the Shichibukai. She didn't speak, but she didn't need to. It was a warning look, informing him to be aware. If by chance there were still civilians here, they couldn't act recklessly. Stepping noiselessly across the deck of the ship, she closed the distance between them and looked to the door.

"All I need is a moment. Don't show your face. They'll recognize you," she told him matter-of-factly. A Shichibukai wasn't someone you forgot about. Pressing a hand against the door, she quietly sidled in, closing it gently and silently behind her. The blonde woman looked around the restaurant, where a group of Pirates took a nap in their seats. None of them had recognized her as a threat. But what concerned her most was the light shining from the kitchen. Someone was in there. If there were hostages, they were likely to be tied up in there, with someone watching them. Stalking around the tables noiselessly, she crept and crawled around the group before finally stopping at a wall, the door to her right as she pressed her body against the wall. From the corner of her eye, she could see a pot with a reflective surface. Three chefs, tied up while a Pirate with a flintlock pistol stood over them. She frowned. This was not a good sign.

"I should have told the Shichibukai to provide a distraction. Still, that wouldn't guarantee the safety of the hostages," she thought, frowning. There was only one way to settle this.

"Soru!" she thought to herself, her feet kicking off the ground at incredible speeds. Her body moved into the kitchen, stopping for a moment to change direction and bolt towards the guard. He raised his arm. She needed only a moment. Almost instantly getting behind him, she grasped him around the neck and twisted. But it was too late. His body crumpled to the floor lifelessly, but he'd already fired a shot at where she had stopped for just a moment. The crack of a flintlock pistol echoed through the air. She looked to the hostages with a concerned look on her face, but it was soon replaced by irritation. If only she'd been a second faster. Now the Pirates were going to wake up, and she was trapped here in the kitchen with the hostages.

[Victoria Locke]

The silence continued, proving that they were still undetected. Good. Surprisingly enough, the Shichibukai agreed with her suggestion. Perhaps he was a straightforward person as well. She could trust someone like that, right? As she briefly looked away to holster her revolver, the Shichibukai said something about high gear. Was he already...? When she turned her focus back on her teammates, one of them was already gone. Judging by the splash of the dead pirate falling into the water and the lack of gunfire, he had just eliminated the only guard. Victoria was admittedly impressed, though it was a pity she didn’t see what had happened. Luckily, she got a good view of the Agent effortlessly soaring through the air.

Magnificent...

While the powerful servants of Government easily got onto the ship within a mere moment, the lowly Marine failed to keep up with them. Getting onto the ship proved bit of a challenge for her. She hopped as far as the empty, unsteady dinghy allowed and just barely grabbed onto the railing. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find a good foothold at first and her boot slipped, almost sending her into the cold sea. After bit of scrambling, she managed to kick herself up and flip over the railing. Her landing wasn’t anything spectacular, only a simple drop into kneeling position before she stood up. Now that she thought about it, maybe she should’ve tossed the cumbersome bag ahead first...

By the time Victoria was back on her feet and had readied her shotgun, the Agent had already slipped inside. The Marine was sneaking towards the door as well, glancing at her surroundings with every other step. She did not want to get ambushed. Carefully peeking in from the door, she observed their opposition, a roomful of napping, lousy pirates. There were quite many of them, but the team still had the element of surprise... Then, a sudden gunshot echoed through the ship and every single pirate in the room jumped up. The remaining shards of sleepiness would’ve probably distracted them longer if Victoria hadn’t opened her mouth- "Damn it!" -and reflexively gunned down the two closest criminals.

At least now the pirates were painfully aware that they were under attack.

Victoria jumped away from the door and cranked the lever of her shotgun, loading a third round. Unfortunately, the pirates had already seen her and were now rushing for the door. Still, she stuck to the plan and turned the doorway into a deadly chokepoint. One pirate fell... Then another. Victoria had quickly gotten into a nice rhythm with her shots and lever flips. Third one hesitated for a moment, but as soon as he peeked out, he got a lead shower. Fourth one collapsed especially pitifully. Taking aim at the numbers five and six, she pulled the trigger and... -click- Her eyes went wide. Once again, her trigger-happy nature had distracted her from the most important detail.

Without wasting time, two of the larger goons rushed at her with nasty-looking swords and clear killing intent. Her shotgun was empty and it was too late to draw her revolver. She lifted her weapon in front of her in a futile last-ditch attempt to guard herself...

[Cross Messor Sanguine]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:500px;,bTable][STYLE=width:200px; height:400px; float:left; background-image:url(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/Foxman94/Ragna-3.jpg)][classy=lyrics][STYLE=font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:7px]i am an exile[/style][STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]a sojourner[/style] [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]words[/style]589 [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]people [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]cross, you so silly[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] So the Agent was the next one on the ship, followed closely by the not-so- graceful marine. They were both quiet, so that was really what mattered; Cross had to guess. After he broke that guard’s neck, Cross just kind of waited. He didn’t want to leave his team behind and one of them die or alert the pirates. They should probably try to stay under cover as much as they could. Alerting the pirates would turn the whole situation into a blood bath and nothing would be pretty or clean or anything. The Agent approached the male with a warning, not to show his face. It made sense, in many ways. Pirates would typically know who a Shichibukai was and what they looked like. Though, if they were planning to stay in cover, no one would know it was Cross anyway, as they wouldn’t realize they had just died. Whatever, let the assassin deal with some of it. It’d be dreadfully boring if Cross did everything for them after all. With that, the Assassin snuck into the ship and vanished into the shadows. The marine came up next and peaked in. Cross didn’t really care to know what the forces looked like. They weren’t “scary” or intimidating to him. Just some punk pirates hurting innocents. That was reason enough for Cross to slaughter them. Then the very thing Cross wanted to avoid happened. He heard a gunshot come from inside. So that meant one of two things. Either the Agent was dead and now all the pirates were distracted or she alerted everyone on the ship. He had to rule out the former because, from what he gathered, killing Justine was no easy task. With all of the guards alerted and Victoria fighting some at the door; Cross took a post next to the same door Victoria was fighting at, just far enough away so as to be out of the blast radius of Vicky’s shotgun. Why he didn’t rush inside was because of something he had read about one of his companions. Shotgun shells shot onto the ground as Victoria dealt with enemy after enemy, and then what Cross had read about happened. He heard that tell-tale click that guns make when they become clubs. He’d heard that Victoria wasn’t very good at keeping track of how many shots she had put down range. Something about being a little trigger happy. Just in time for two huge goons to come after her too. From where Cross was standing, the goons couldn’t see him, but they were happy to raise their blades at Victoria. A sigh escaped Cross’s lips as he decided to devote more energy to Accel again, a single accel would do though. In the split second it took him to move, Cross had cleaved a one of the goons in half with his sword, then Acceled again to be between the other good and Victoria. He was in the perfect position to do something cool. The goon swung from above, not knowing his friend had passed on or that Cross was there; leaving Cross the perfect situation to catch the blade with his free hand. Tsk, tsk, Vicky. You really need to keep count. Sanguine said with a small chuckle before cleaving the befuddled goon in two. He assumed his combat position, not to say it was different from how he normally stood, and looked inside the ship, his eyes focused and unmoving. Reload and keep count this time. Let’s go save us an Agent. [/classy][/classy]

[STYLE=opacity:0.5]LAIKA OF BTN![/style]

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[long3]

Well, there was a positive and a negative to this situation, she told herself. The negative of course, aside from being the one to cause this in the first place when she was supposed to be the professional, was that the Pirates were awake and ready to fight. The positives, however, were that thanks to the Gunner's hasty firing, the Pirates had initially focused on the fighting outside of the restaurant, perhaps not even realizing that she had been the one to cause the gunshot in the first place. That meant that, for at least a moment or two, they were avoiding her and the hostages. However, there was one more positive still left even as a Pirate suddenly rushed into the kitchen, perhaps expecting to tell his ally to bring out the hostages.

Swinging her leg upwards, a blade of wind slashed outwards from her, the curve of the air blade the same shape as the arc of her kick. Before the Pirate could even react the blade split his head open in two, knocking him back into the doorframe as he crumpled to the ground, his head wound bleeding out. In the narrow passage between the entrance and where she stood, only one or two Pirates could enter where she was at a time. The narrow passage made her position easier to defend, since she could no longer be overwhelmed by numbers. It also meant she couldn't escape until she was completely sure no one was left outside, but she would have to make do. For now, using her Rankyaku would be enough to slice off heads. She stood defensively in front of the cooks, watching as another Pirate with a blade burst in.

Her leg swung up, the air blade nearly cutting through the man. But his sword rose up, absorbing the impact of her attack. He was cocky for just a moment, thinking he was safe, but Justine was quick to rush in and slam her hand into his throat. He couldn't even let out a gasp as the blow to the throat silenced him, but with another strike she crushed his windpipe, leaving him sputtering and thrashing about on the ground for air as she stepped back away from the door. She sighed, wiping her brow. She would have to wait in here until her support came. Until then, she couldn't leave the hostages. It was times like this that she wished she had managed to learn Shigan. A Shigan to the brain would be a quick and clean death. Rankyaku was better suited to longer ranges, not the narrow space she was locked in.

[Victoria Locke]

In her haste to back away from the attackers, Victoria accidentally tripped and fell painfully on her butt. She looked up and clutched her shotgun in anticipation for the pain. It felt like the time slowed down as the two goons reached her. Just then, a miracle happened. One of the pirates suddenly split in half and collapsed. The Marine gasped when the red-clad swordsman appeared in front of her seemingly from thin air and blocked the other blade. With... With his bare hand... She had heard stories about swordsmen who could deflect cannonballs with their blades, but actually seeing something like this felt unreal. Pirate or not, Victoria could only silently admire such a powerful and cool man.

A bright crimson color quickly spread over her cheeks when she heard the Shichibukai’s teasing words. The embarrassment of looking like a clumsy idiot in front of one of the legendary pirates burned hot enough to melt her usual cold and confident demeanor into a puddle of uneasy muttering. "I’m sorry, sir... It won’t happen again, sir..." She wanted to answer clearly and firmly as usual, but... Deep down she knew she couldn’t actually promise it wouldn’t happen again, no matter how she tried to keep count of remaining shots. Unlike the Shichibukai and the Agent, she didn’t have any close combat skills worth mentioning either. Oh how she wished the sea would’ve just swallowed her.

Victoria got back on her feet, desperately avoiding eye contact and attempting to regain her composure. Luckily, reloading her gun gave her something else to focus on for a moment. Opening her bag, she pulled out red shotgun shells and slipped them into the gun one by one. The motions were better-practiced and much faster than those of an average Marine. Flipping the lever once again, she ended the short reload with a satisfyingly heavy click. Appropriately enough, she also managed to find her cold confidence again. "Let’s get moving, sir." However, she secretly wished the red-clad man wouldn’t remind her of the failure. She would’ve no doubt turned into a blushing victim of shame again.

Allowing the powerful swordsman to take the lead, Victoria waited for few moments before rushing into the restaurant section as well. She grabbed her revolver and quickly kneecapped three pirates while trying to locate the third member of the team. However, she couldn’t spot the Agent anywhere in the room. Holstering her revolver, she kicked a table over and jumped behind it. Less than a second later, six throwing knives stabbed into the wood. The Marine cursed audibly when four more whizzed over her head. It seemed like these bastards were smart enough to try pinning her down instead of just rushing blindly. Then again... She had probably already shot everyone stupid enough to rush towards a shotgun wielding Marine.

Luckily, she wasn’t alone in the situation.

When the pirates turned their attention to the Shichibukai, the Marine peeked out as well and gave her ally four blasts of cover fire. While supporting the swordsman, she also noticed a suspicious door. Pirates were occasionally going in, but no one came out. Taking a deep breath, Victoria dashed out of her cover and ran all the way to the door. Suddenly stepping into what seemed to be the kitchen, she swept a frigid glare along with the shotgun barrel across the room. "Nobody move!" After a very awkward moment, the situation fully sank in and the Marine lowered her gun. "Oh, forgive me, ma’am." It seemed that the Agent had saved the hostages.

Good, now Victoria knew who she absolutely could not shoot.

[Cross Messor Sanguine]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:500px;,bTable][STYLE=width:200px; height:400px; float:left; background-image:url(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/Foxman94/Ragna-3.jpg)][classy=lyrics][STYLE=font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:7px]i am an exile[/style][STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]a sojourner[/style] [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]words[/style]513 [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]somepeople [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]sorry for the wait. finals and all. kinda shitty, sorry.[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] Cross laughed a bit to himself at the response Vicky had. Just the response he thought she’d have. Embarrassed. Then again, it was the response he’d imagine most people would have when someone pointed out their shortcomings. At least she didn’t try to hide or anything. She hopped up and went back at it, entering the ship after Cross. That gained her some respect with the Shichibukai. Some people would have tried to hide in their shame, but Vicky was strong and went back to what she was doing. Inside the Baratie, there waited more pirates that Cross would have liked to imagine. It seemed dispatch lied about the “small” pirate crew. More like a relatively large sized one. Small would be about 5 pirates. This group was not “small” by any stretch of the word. Cross watched as Vicky took to a run-and-gun style of attack, leaving Cross to do his thing. Sadly, his thing would have involved being in her line of fire in most cases. She had a shotgun and was shooting at all of the badguys; Cross had a sword and would need to be with the badguys to do anything. Poor planning is poor. Luckily enough for Cross (however unlucky for Vicky), more of the crew were coming up from behind the female. They made perfect targets for Sanguine. They weren’t in the firing line of a trigger happy marine and they weren’t friendlies. Perfect targets. The Reaper dashed towards the leading pirate, not using Accel as he didn’t want to tire out. With a single leap, the male crossed the rest of the distance and cleaved the first two pirates in half, leaving the others frightened and circling him. Oh what to do? Awwww. Now I’m surrounded. Y’all happen to know why they call me “The Bloody”? Cross asked the group, now surrounded. A small laugh escaped his lips, a bad sign. It was him starting to enjoy the fight. He knew what was coming and what he was going to do, and sadly, part of him was going to really enjoy it. While he was talking to the pirates, even while they were encircling him, the white haired male was letting out a puddle of blood around himself, almost unnoticeable. We ‘ear cause uv ‘ow much blood you leave in you’ wake. One of the pirates said in reply, all of them a little nervous. Another laugh escaped Cross’s lips. If only that were the case… Welcome to my playground. Cross said to the circle as huge spikes of blood emerged from the pool that was below the feet of the pirates, piercing them all and leaving them for dead. To those on the outside, all they would have seen would be a wall of spikes, stabbing from every direction, and bodies mixed in. The Shichibukai dropped the wall of spikes after regaining his composure. Fighting back the demon that lived inside of him was difficult enough. Sis, Vicky, y’all ready!? Sanguine called back to his companions, hoping they were alright and were ready to continue. [/classy][/classy]

[STYLE=opacity:0.5]LAIKA OF BTN![/style]

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