Marines, HOOOO [Mission]

[long3]

The blonde remained vigilant, watching the entrances and exits of the room. Or rather, the single one. She needed to keep the hostages alive at all costs. Either they'd have to slaughter all of the Pirates and then free the hostages, or they'd have to bring the hostages somewhere safe before slaughtering the Pirates. Preferably the former, Justine mused. She could hear footsteps already coming to the door, snapping her out of her thoughts. She had to fight. Her whole body relaxed for just a moment as she waited for the next person to come in the door. Just as a figure jumped in, aiming a gun, Justine had already begun to swing her leg upwards. However, as soon as she recognized the figure, she immediately halted herself. Pausing, she put her foot back down.

"Good to see you, Miss Locke. I've found the hostages. Given the fight going on, it seems unlikely there are others. We need to prioritize clearing the restaurant. Until the pirates are cleared, the hostages aren't getting out," Justine spoke, her eyes focused sharply on the gunner, only to briefly rest on the hostages. The Shichibukai was still handling things outside, from what she could hear. But there were many pirates all throughout the Baratie, it seemed. More than there had been in the main room before. Where were the other Pirates coming from? If their numbers were larger than they thought, this could be excessively problematic. Looking back to the gunner, she decided to entrust her with an important job.

"Miss Locke, there appear to be more and more pirates around the Baratie than I had thought. It might just be me underestimating the size of their forces, but... I want you to take a look out and make sure you can find out where their forces are coming from. Worse case scenario, they've got a submarine surfacing to let other Pirates board the Baratie," Justine told her, entrusting the mission to her. If they really did have a submarine, it meant that if things started going from bad to worse for the Pirates, they'd sink the Baratie. Needless to say, they couldn't allow that. Not out here on open water, miles away from land.

[Victoria Locke]

Now that the hostages were accounted for, Victoria could breathe a little easier. While the Agent addressed her, she nodded and quickly reloaded her shotgun. Her superior was absolutely right. There was something going on with these pirates. As usual, the new command was met with a firm nod and a quick salute. "Yes, ma’am!" When the Shichibukai called out to them, she snuck to the door and carefully peeked out. Much to her surprise, most of their enemies had been reduced to a bloody mess. She swallowed nervously, trying to hide the shock before answering the question. "Yes, sir!" Deep down, she was regretting that she had missed the attack responsible for the blood puddle.

Most people saw a Shichibukai in action only once.

However, there was no time to dwell in that for another wave of yelling, violent pirates rushed in from the front door. Now it became obvious that these crooks were coming from somewhere and it was up to the Marine to find out where. After taking a deep breath, Victoria dashed into the fray. She hopped over some chairs, flipped onto a table and even used someone’s head as a stepping stone while jumping through the restaurant. It was taking all the evasive maneuvers she knew just to avoid the chaos. Luckily, the route to the door remained relatively open. She gunned down one of the late stragglers and rushed out.

Unfortunately, the pirates were waiting outside as well. Victoria came to a skidding stop when an enormous man, over twice the size of a common thug, blocked her path. This man definitely hadn’t been around here earlier. On his shoulder rested a morning star taller than the woman and most likely much heavier too. He leaned closer, smiling with broken teeth and nasty intentions. "Going somewhere, girlie?" Her only response was to calmly aim her gun at him. It actually got the man to back away, looking somewhat worried. As long as she had at least one shot in the chamber, she didn’t fear anything she could shoot.

Just before the Marine could pull the trigger, a long whip suddenly lashed through the air and snatched her gun away. She gasped and glanced around, looking for the attacker. Good twenty feet to the left, another pirate grinned at her and waved the stolen shotgun. "Did ya lose somethin’?" Victoria glared daggers at the thief who ran away, but she didn’t even have the chance to chase him. The enormous man before her chuckled and lifted the massive club above his head. "See you in hell, Marine bitch." This time, however, she was ready.

Acting on reflex, Victoria leapt and rolled away, only barely avoiding the first slam. The impact shook the deck and left a hefty hole. It was a proof his size wasn’t just for show. While the huge pirate yanked his morning star free, the trigger-happy Marine pulled out her revolver. A devious smirk visited her lips as she fired four quick shots, all in the man’s chest. He stopped completely, without even managing to scream. Poor bastard. Still, Victoria was admittedly proud of her quick reactions. Smiling faintly, she turned around to run after the weapon thief, but a creak of the deck made her freeze. The smile disappeared as she slowly turned around.

Instead of toppling over, the huge man straightened his back and leisurely scratched the barely bleeding bullet holes. "Hey... That tickled." Readying his weapon again, he started slowly approaching the visibly stunned female. At that very moment, Victoria really hoped she had carried a bigger caliber gun.

[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]422 [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]vicky and sis [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]sorry about the wait[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] The Shichibukai simply stood there, amongst the bloody mess he had made. He could hear his companions speaking in the distance, but he made no move to regroup. They seemed to have everything sorted, as he could hear the pitter patter of Vicky’s boots running behind him. He didn’t even really care what conversation Vicky and Sis had while in, what he could only assume to be, the kitchen. Cross was entirely too focused on not losing himself. Not letting this mission become a bloody massacre. Very few things made Cross truly scared. Losing himself was one of those things. His Devil Fruit brought out a side of him he tried to suppress as best he could. Admitting that “The Wicked”, as many people called Cross (and a name Cross used for his personality when he tapped into his Devil Fruit), was part of Cross’s personality was one of the most difficult things for him to do. Just as Cross was about to regain his composure, he heard a huge crash come from the direction Vicky ran in, followed by a few gunshots. Vicky was in a fight with… someone big from the sounds of it. The lack of a thud after the gunshots told Cross that her opponent wasn’t dead, either. And the gunshots sounded like pistol fire, not shotgun. She had to have underestimated her opponent. Suddenly, the whole front of the ship lifted up slightly, throwing the Shichibukai off balance ever so slightly. Something had come from below. Cross rushed out the door Vicky had run out of just in time to see ladders. Ladders EVERYWHERE. Dispatch was something they often call “wrong”. This pirate crew had a submarine. Vicky, I think it’s time for you to find out exactly why they call me… “The Bloody”. Cross said to his companion as, easily, 20 pirates rushed the deck. Including one wielding a suspiciously familiar shotgun. The white haired male grabbed his sword and spun it across his hand to hold it “correctly” (as opposed to his usual reverse hand). You all know me as a Reaper… Now to find out why. Cross said, holding back the Wicked’s laughter. The blade of Cross’s sword moved up and back, allowing him to use his blood to make a large scythe blade, then switch to a usual scythe grip. Double Accel. he said to himself, a bit of laughter escaping before he all but vanished into the ever growing crowd of pirates, leaving a whole line of them dead in his wake. [/classy][/classy]

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

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[long3]

Justine waited. She could hear fighting in the other room. The sounds of bodies hitting the floor. The fighting didn't seem to be stopping. She couldn't relax under these circumstances - not until the Marine brought her back the information. But she didn't want to just wait around here either. If they did have a submarine and they did plan to blow up the Baratie, then she couldn't stick around here. The hostages had been freed, but they were all huddled behind her. She couldn't bring them out of the kitchen recklessly, knowing the potential danger. But she was sick of waiting. Fortunately, in times like these, Justine had a plan. Remaining silent, she focused. She was ready to activate her Devil Fruit power.

Justine's power was the ability of the Hana Hana no Mi - the Bloom Bloom Fruit. In her mind, she pictured the other room. She had remembered just enough about the layout of the room from when she passed through - the length of the walls and how tall the ceiling was. She could make a visual image in her mind of how it looked. Since she couldn't peek out herself and see it, it was necessary to visualize it. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to sprout a body part. Suddenly, her vision began to split - it was like sitting back and watching two TV screens simultaneously. It was an odd experience, but one Justine had taught herself to cope with. The eye revealed the room - how the Shichibukai took down Pirate after Pirate. She saw the Marine running down a corridor and focused her eye the girl's back. Once more the Devil Fruit's power revealed itself, creating upon the back of her shirt an ear. Now she could hear what Victoria heard, clear as day.

There were gunshots. A fight ensued in which the Marine was swiftly disarmed, forced to rely on a pistol. The Shichibukai's voice emerged from the chaos. Justine more blood was spilt as bodies hit the ground. Justine looked back to the hostages as her eye showed no Pirates were racing through the main dining hall.

"There's no one in the Dining Hall, but its unsafe to send you out. There could be a submarine waiting in the water, bringing the pirates aboard. Only one thing left to do..." she remarked, allowing her ear and eye to disappear. Letting out a sigh, she began to once more utilize the Hana Hana no Mi's power. It was an incredible sight, watching a second Justine emerge from the floor head first. Slowly the blonde rose upwards, fully clothed in the exact same attire. By the time the second Justine emerged fully, she opened her eyes and looked towards the hostages, who were now all wide-eyed and gaping. She gave a small, playful smirk and put a finger to her lips as the original Justine rushed out the door. It was time to get involved.

[Victoria Locke]

Out of the blue, something moved the ship and not a moment too late. The burly man before Victoria had lifted his morning star again when the deck tilted just enough to mess with his balance. Dragged by the heavy club, he stumbled away sideways in comical attempt to stay upright. Meanwhile, Victoria took the opportunity to back away. She reached into her bag and quickly reloaded the revolver, just in case. Hearing her nickname stole her focus and she glanced at the Shichibukai. "Sir? What do you...?" She never got a chance to finish that question as she was quickly mesmerized by the sight of the transforming weapon. Sheer amazement left her mouth open and eyes wide.

All those rumors she had heard... They didn’t begin to compare to this display of power...

Victoria snapped out of her daze when she spotted a familiar gun falling on the deck from a dead pirate. Mustering all her speed, she rushed and dived forward to catch it, ignoring all the blood. Words couldn’t express how thankful she was for getting it back, but she still tried. "Thank you, sir!" With the situation confirmed and her weapon recovered, she was able to report back to her superior. But first... A large shadow appeared over the Marine and a familiar voice taunted her. "Hey! Did you forget about me, little girlie?" Without saying a word, Victoria turned around, lifted her trusty shotgun and blew the pirate’s head clean off. The large corpse fell with a deck-creaking thud.

Now she could go and report to her superior.

Mere seconds after dashing back inside, the hasty Marine almost ran right into someone. Upon seeing a dark-clad figure, she took a startled jump backwards. Instinctively, she aimed the shotgun barrel at the figure and... only barely stopped herself from making the biggest mistake of the evening. One more careless twitch from her trigger finger and she would’ve shot the Agent. It was the second time today she had pointed her gun at a superior officer and that was two times too many, borderline mutiny if you asked her. However, her dutiful side reminded her that this wasn’t the time or place to dwell in mistakes. She would have plenty of time to kick herself once the mission was over.

Fighting back an urge to get on her knees and apologize profusely, Victoria saluted the Agent instead. "Ma’am, your intuition was correct! They have a submarine that’s bringing reinforcements onboard!" Returning to more combat-ready stance, she stepped to the side of the Agent and glanced towards noises coming from outside. As long as the pirates had that troublesome submarine, they held a major advantage. Unfortunately, the trigger-happy Marine was out of ideas. Bullets weren’t exactly an effective method of sinking vessels. However, she was hopeful as she turned back to her superior. "What are your orders, ma’am?" If someone knew what to do, it would definitely be the Agent. Perhaps she would even sink the submarine all by herself.

A particularly pained scream wiped off that line of thought. Victoria’s eyes darted towards the assumed source of commotion. She hoped the Shichibukai was able to handle himself and keep the pirates from entering the restaurant again. A memory of the large, almost bulletproof man flashed in her mind. Who knew what else those sly bastards were hiding? Luckily, before that worry could develop further, it was suddenly punted away by the undeniably huge impression the red-clad man had left on her. Of course he could handle it. Such a powerful and cool warrior wouldn’t have any problems beating up few lousy criminals. ...Right?

[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]334 [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]lau and nameless [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]cross is going mad[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] Oh, the blood. The blood was everywhere. The blood of enemies and the blood that Cross’s scythe slowly dripped. Luckily for Cross, who was in the middle of the crowd of Pirates, they didn’t really have anyone who could stand a chance. Stand a chance meaning “had half a brain”. Most of the enemies he was cutting down were peons who stood no chance against anything, really, much less a Shichibukai like Cross. Cutting and cutting, the enemies dropped one after one. Cross laughed occasionally as the Wicked slowly took over more and more. A noticeable difference in his fighting style was made, from Cross’s power and speed fighting to a more primal, destructive onslaught. That is, until a huge guy snuck up behind Cross, disrupting the onslaught, then hurled the Shichibukai through one of the restaurant windows. Cross landed right next to Vicky’s boots, sounding a nice, loud thud. You bastards caught me by surprise! The Wicked shouted, his voice sounding maniacal, as he leapt to his feet and vanished back out the doors and onto the deck. As the doors flung open and Cross made it back to the deck, all the blood his Scythe had left behind earlier filled the crowd with thousands of thin, long spikes. Piercing through a few pirates, enough to throw them off, but not enough to kill them. Triple Accel, No interval! Called the Shichibukai as he vanished once again, only to appear on top of the submarine moments later. In his wake, the large man who threw him was left cut vertically in half along with a few of his companions, leaving only about 15 more. The top of the sub became lined with Cross’s blood, making him a nice, new playground. If the sub were to descent, he’d most certainly perish. Rational, normal Cross would have thought of that, but the Wicked didn’t. Bloody spikes started to attempt to push their way into the sub, through the plating. He was trying to sink it. [/classy][/classy]

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

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[long3]

Justine frowned. This wasn't good - if they really had a sub, that meant it was only a matter of time before they got desperate and decided to sink the Baratie. In another situation, Justine would have focused on getting the hostages to safety. However, the only way back to the ship was a small row boat fit for only three people, which would be a pathetically easy target for a sub. Moving the hostages was out of the picture. At that moment, Justine wished she had learned Geppou. At least that way she would have been able to carry the hostages to the ship herself. But now, the hostages had to stay put. They were safer on the Baratie, but only so long as they could keep the Baratie afloat. Time was, unfortunately, running out.

"We have to sink the submarine. Before they get desperate and sink the Baratie, we have to destroy it," Justine told the lower-ranked Marine. She wished for a moment that she had a more powerful Devil Fruit - useful as hers was for combat, it wasn't exactly hard-hitting. A man yelled out behind her and suddenly Justine found she didn't have time to sit around - narrowly ducking beneath the swing of a chain, she turned to see a man with a chain and sickle approaching. He swung again at her feet, but Justine jumped to the air. Before he could make another attack, the Cipher Pol Agent kicked her leg up, sending a blade of wind from the arc of her kick right towards him. The blade crashed into his chest, spilling his blood upon the floor as he stumbled backwards. He gripped his sickle tightly, but another Rankyaku struck him, knocking him to the ground in a bloody mess.

"We don't have much time. With the Shichibukai slaughtering their men, they'll get desperate," Justine finished before rushing out back towards where the Shichibukai had been fighting. Now it seemed he was ready to sink the submarine. Good call, but she couldn't let it descend before he pierced it. From the files she'd read, the Shichibukai was a Devil Fruit user. Fortunately, she could still buy time to stop the sub sinking.

"Fleur de mains!" she spoke as arms suddenly sprouted from four different points, each arm then suddenly sprouting another and another until there were essentially four 'chains' consisting entirely of bare, feminine arms reaching out and latching onto whatever part of the submarine they could grab. More and more arms sprouted and grabbed onto the sub. Her brows furrowed, she looked back to the Marine. "I'll buy the Shichibukai time to sink the sub. I need to make sure no one injures my arms. I'll need your support to make certain they don't". It was a desperate maneuver, especially since her arms were now so vulnerable, but she had little choice in the matter. Letting the sub descend was not an option.

[Victoria Locke]

Seeing the powerful swordsman crash inside got a frightened yelp out of Victoria. "Sir!" She was very relieved when the man got right up, but for a shortest while... something felt wrong. While the Marine was distracted, a pirate managed to surprise her. By the time she noticed him, it was too late to shoot. Gritting her teeth, she tried to back away. Suddenly, the pirate got slashed and staggered backwards. Victoria blinked in disbelief. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if she had seen right, but a second flash confirmed it. Her superior could fire some sort of blades with her kicks. Such an amazing technique... Perhaps, after all this was over, she could ask more about it...

Shaking herself out of the admiring daze, Victoria rushed after the Agent. The plan was clear. They had to cover the Shichibukai until he managed to sink the submarine. There were still quite a few pirates left on the deck. However, before the Marine could relieve her itching trigger finger, the Agent surprised her once more. Seeing the countless hands and the living blood made her realize that both of them were Devil Fruit users. If rumors were true, when they got dragged underwater... No. Now was not the time. They were both too skilled for that to happen. Victoria assumed a position by her superior’s side. "Yes, ma’am!" It was time to prove her worth.

Victoria tightened her grip on the shotgun and focused. An intense rush of energy washed over her and it felt like the world slowed down, if just a little bit. All the voices around her were swallowed by deafening silence and she only heard her own heartbeat. The world seemed so clear, so very simple right now. All these pirates threatening her superior... She would just kill every single one. Losing herself in the bloodthirsty trance induced by the Gunslinger’s Flow, Victoria lifted her shotgun at the closest pirate. "Don’t you dare..." The mutter was interrupted by a loud shot as the man lost his head. "...touch her." She finished her thought and loaded another round.

For her, this was no longer a fight, but an execution.

The other pirates hesitated for a moment and that was all Victoria needed. Walking forward with an eerily calm stride, she eliminated the criminals one by one. Her rhythm with the shots and lever flips was far faster than before. Some of the pirates managed to get close to the hands, but ultimately the trigger-happy Marine was able to keep them at bay. After the fifth deadly shot, she suddenly switched to her revolver. She acted on instinct, too caught up in the moment to really count or strategize. Her aim twitched from head to head and with each trigger pull someone got lead between their eyes. Not a single movement or bullet was wasted.

After fifteen fired shots and equally many new corpses, the Marine finally stopped firing. Her frigid gaze swept the deck in search for more threats, while her hand reached for her bag. This time, it took a mere moment to reload her revolver. She was still very much lost in her own little world. Without saying a word, she glanced first at her superior, then at the Shichibukai, as if to check that they were still there. The loyal soldier in her screamed that she needed to pay attention in case anything sudden happened, but right now she wasn’t even sure if she could hear new orders over her thumping heart.

[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]not saying [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]Vicky and Justine [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]sorry for the wait, I think we're mission accomplished[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] Thanks to the vantage point the submarine offered, Cross couldn’t tell what was occurring on the ship at all. He could only hear what was occurring bit by bit. Thanks to that, he could “tell” what was going on. He knew the sound of Vicky’s shotgun and revolver by now, so he knew she was ok, and he could feel something holding the submarine up. He had to assume that was some power the Agent had. He wasn’t worried about what was going on in the slightest. He knew he was with competent people, so there was no need to worry. Large blood spikes started to pierce the metal vessel and Cross began to regain his composure. He began to re-cage “The Wicked”. He could hear a few screams of terror from inside the sub, but that was to be expected. The pirates didn’t stand a change. Cross could feel the sub sinking little by little, even with the support he was receiving. There was only so much water that could pour in. He had to move, or he’d be sinking to the bottom with the sub. The white haired male leapt into the air, landing rather gracefully on the deck behind his companions. The bodies were stacked like cordwood. Apparently the two others had been busy up on the deck, taking care of the rest of the pirates. At least, the visible remaining pirates. Good work. Think there are any more left? Cross asked his companions as he leaned against the railing of the ship, his sword back where it was usually held. [/classy][/classy]

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

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[long3]

The Agent swung her leg again, the air from her kick once more condensing into a blade as it cut down someone who had been just about to cut through one of her arm-ropes. She halted on the ground, turning as she looked towards the others. She hated being in such a vulnerable position around these guys - With her arms in place like this, doing their best to hold the submarine up, all she could really hope for was that neither herself nor Victoria slackened in their efforts. She really did need the extra help for this one - as much as she'd like to, she couldn't be everywhere at once. She had to remain constantly alert and vigilant if she wanted to succeed.

Another man began to swing at her arms. Kicking off the ground at high speeds, Justine zipped between the man and the rope of arms. Positioning herself before him, she slammed one palm against the hilt of his sword, preventing him from swinging it as her leg swept out his own from underneath him, causing him to fall backwards and crash onto his back. A sharp kick to the throat promptly took him out with no mercy. But as soon as she turned her head, she caught sight of a large metal ball on a chain swinging towards her. She cursed and swung her leg up, using a Rankyaku to just barely deflect the metal ball away from the rope of arms. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to deflect it away from herself. The metal ball glanced against her side, but the force was enough to knock her to the ground. She rolled with the fall, trying to reduce the impact, but she still felt the pain in her side as she pushed herself back onto her feet. The man was ready to swing again.

With one more Soru, she closed the distance between them and jabbed her hand into his throat, catching him off guard as he hacked and sputtered, dropping his weapon and stumbling back. A well-timed kick to the temple took him down to the ground, knocking him out at the very least. Justine continued to clutch her side in pain, but a sound of piercing metal told her the job was done. She turned and allowed her own arms to disappear as she saw that the Shichibukai had succeeded in puncturing the submarine. The people inside would likely drown, assuming the submarine didn't drop far enough for the pressure to crush them first. The Shichibukai approached, asking if everyone was done, but Justine wondered if it was really worth answering. The submarine was sunk and the men's numbers had dropped significantly. The bad guys had lost.

"I don't think there are many left, at any rate," Justine commented, continuing to clutch her side. She'd likely have it looked at later, but that didn't matter much to her. The job was done, simple as that. Good had triumphed.

[Victoria Locke]

Victoria watched silently as the submarine started sinking. Her aim instinctively twitched towards the Shichibukai for a short moment when he approached, but her gaze quickly returned to scanning their surroundings. Her trigger finger was still twitching, but there were no targets. All the pirates seemed to be dead or at least playing dead. The Marine shifted her focus on her comrades. She could see their lips moving, but she couldn’t hear a thing. Her heart was pounding like a hammer, blocking the sound. Compared to her relaxed, confident comrades, she was still visibly tense and frigid.

Suddenly, Victoria spotted a trace of movement in the corner of her eye. Without wasting as much as a heartbeat, she flicked her weapon towards the movement and pulled the trigger, executing the last, struggling criminal on the spot. She didn’t know what the pirate had been trying and frankly she didn’t care. It had been nothing personal, just an instinct, a well-honed reflex. "Enemies eliminated... The area is secure." At last, the rush of adrenaline ended and her madly beating heart started slowing down. As she regained her thoughts, she realized could hear herself breathing heavily. The world returned to normal. Finally she understood that their mission was over.

The trigger-happy Marine holstered her revolver and secured her shotgun onto the messenger bag. After checking once more that she wasn’t missing anything, she shifted her focus onto her teammates and cleared her throat. "Sir... Ma’am..." Keeping eye contact the whole time, she clicked her heels together and straightened her back for a full salute. A hint of admiration, just a tiny one, visited her voice and eyes. "It was an honor to fight alongside you." With that, she turned away and headed back towards their dinghy, more than ready to return to base. On the surface, she was as calm and cold as she had been before starting the mission, but deep down, she was smiling proudly.

This had been one experience she would never forget.

[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]notsaying [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]tags[/style]Errbody [STYLE=font-family:georgia; font-size:25px; letter-spacing:-2]notes[/style]final post, kinda shit but so are most of my final posts[/classy][/style][classy=posttextbox][classy=sc][classy=posttext] The final body hit the deck with a resounding “thud”. Screams from the sinking submarine filled the air before they were choked from the ever increasing amount of water that filled the vessel. Sure enough, the “good guys”, Cross and Company, had won the day. The Baratie staff had quite a lot of clean up to do before they could host another wave of hungry civilians again, but they were alive at the very least. They were liberated from the oppression they had been stuck under. For once, Cross could actually smile about a mission the World Government had stuck him on. Usually, they just left a bad taste in his mouth. His companions seemed relieved to be over and done with the mission just as much as Cross was. Vicky saluted her two “superiors” and remarked about how it had been an honor to fight alongside them. Cross wasn’t quite sure how to take that. No one on his crew saluted him and Vicky was certainly the first Marine to do so. A slight smile came to Cross’s face, followed quickly by a laugh. Vicky, no need to salute me. I’m a “dirty pirate” after all. The best thing you could do for me is to put in the good word for me. The Shichibukai laughed before he walked past the young marine, ruffling her hair some. She needed to be less uptight all the time, so formal and polite. Maybe a little pirate influence would be good for the young one. Sister, on the other hand, Cross had no idea what to do for her. She was CP9, a whole different monkey. He could tell that Sis hated pirates, or at least had a strong distaste for them. He couldn’t ignore how well he worked as a team with her though. Perhaps the Shichibukai was finally making alliances with some people in the Marines. Perhaps. [/classy][/classy]

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

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