A Completely Normal Mission

**Users Involved:** User:EazzyMacc,User:GoldenPiece
**Setting:** New World
**Characters Involved**: Nepyse, Brunhild

## Transfer

A large battle ship flanked by two cruisers rocks as waves batter its strong hull. The ships sail in a tight formation that reflects the discipline of the marines on board. The bright sun's rays pass through a small circular window on the battleship, causing the icicles in the room to sparkle. The young marine captain Nepyse sits with his legs crossed in meditation in the center of the floor. His long white hair rests loosely around him on the floor and he sits with his eyes closed. He thinks back to one of his more recent missions, the sudden and devastating attack that had occurred on Peremiriye island. A creature able to regenerate like nothing he had ever seen before took multiple men to stop. He recalls fighting along side Hakuho Sho and being amazed by the man's power. Though even more than his power Nepyse was amazed at his resolve to fight. Sho enjoyed combat in a way Nepyse could not understand. Feeling and inflicting pain like that was not something he enjoyed but it was something he knew was necessary sometimes.

The temperature in the room drops as the young man sinks deeper into meditation. He pushes away the thoughts of that bloody battle and instead focuses on the mission at hand. He was thankful when he was assigned a mission to simply escort already detained prisoners from one island to another. A group of pirates had been captured and needed to be transported to a more secure facility than what the island could offer. He was assigned to head this mission and he looked forward to having a more peaceful trip. For a moment he thought he might miss the desert island he had been stationed on but that thought quickly left his mind when the cool breeze of the ocean kissed his skin. For now he would over see this convoy and enjoy his time away from the oppressive heat of the desert.

His meditation comes to an abrupt end with the shouts of landfall coming from above deck. Nepyse gathers his equipment, placing his black scythe on his back. The chain and crescent medallion that hangs from the handle of his scythe jingle as he walks onto the deck of his ship. His battle ship docks and he walks off the gang plank to be greeted by a warm breeze. The island's warm climate is tame when compared to the harsh deserts of islands like Alabasta.

"Welcome Captain Nepyse! I hope your trip went smoothly. The prisoners are being held nearby, I will take you to them." A stiff marine woman speaks quickly, almost running out of breath as she goes. The young woman stands at a salute until Nepyse gestures for her to relax. A dozen marines secure the docks and begin short patrols.

"Thank you marine, you may relax. The trip was enjoyable, though I wish it was a bit longer. There's a simple peace at being on the ocean waves." The white hair of the younger marine waves on the soft breeze. The marine pair walk towards a two story rock building that stands alone a short distance from the marine docks. The female marine leads Nepyse to a dingy cell occupied by seven bruised and tired looking men. Each man wears a black and white striped outfit full of holes and covered in stains. Heavy chains connect the wrists and ankles of the men to each other.

"Here are the prisoners, they should be pretty worn out right about now. They had a pretty late and rowdy night. They must have heard they were being transferred and tried to escape last night." The woman explains the prisoner's rough appearance. Nepyse observes the men in their cell while she explains. He takes the key to the cell and opens it. He gestures to the men.

"Alright men, get up. We have a boat to catch." Despite his young and delicate appearance his voice is commanding. The men look at each other in confusion but after a moment begin to stand. Metal chains clunk and rattle as they follow Nepyse out of the prison and towards the ship.

She knew what she was attempting was truly unconventional and truly defeated the purpose of her occupation but she couldn’t allow the opportunity to split between her fingers. Being a strange mixture of a Bounty Hunter and Mercenary, Brunhild knew that attempting to raid a marine facility to capture a wanted man that was already apprehended by marines was truly a stupid move and one that she would normally accept, however the person whom hired her paid her truly handsomely to accomplish this task as well as promised to double what she had already received upon the safe return of her target, how was a girl like her who was born and breed to be a mercenary suppose to turn down such a generous offer.

So that was the reason she found herself perched atop the marine base peering down at her target whom was being escorted into the base before glancing towards the Marine that was in charge of his imprisonment, one she knew from the information she received was a relatively young one possibly a few years her junior.

"From the information I received on him, he’s still relatively new to the marines so he wouldn’t posses a squad of high powered marines, being a Captain himself it’s fair to assume his skill are limited." She analyzed to herself, while it would appear she was underestimating her opponent, it was far from the truth as she was just assessing the situation based of the knowledge she held. Having finished assessing the situation, Brunhild silently hopped down from the roof and began to sneak in the shadows, her crimson colored hood being the lay visible thing of her before it too was hidden by the darkness.

A soft breeze rolls over the grass as the prisoners are marched from their cells. Some of them curse and shield their eyes from the bright sun over head. \*"Looks like these guys have been locked in that cell for a while, huh?"\* Nepyse thinks to himself. He sighs while scanning the immediate vicinity. The crescent moon medallion sways as he walks but the noise of the prisoners' chains puts the thought of a quiet walk out of the question. The small marine leads the group, the prisoners walk single file behind him and the female marine walks behind them. It takes a few moments for the prisoners to get into a groove and walk since the chains on their legs are all connected. Whether it was intentional or not two of the prisoners repeatedly fall over themselves and halt the group.

"Hey now, you two are just prolonging the inevitable. Just get up and keep walking, stalling here won't help you any." Nepyse walks back to the two men to scold them. Even though his voice is commanding, his stature is not. These prisoners clearly aren't taking the marine very seriously but it doesn't seem to bother Nepyse. If he is being honest with himself the young marine hopes these guys make these silly attempts to stall so that he doesn't have to return to the desert island he came from. The men begin to get back to their feet and Nepyse scans the area again. He sees his ship off in the distance, not more than a few minutes walk away. \*"I wonder if they'll try to escape while on the ship. None of them have devil fruits but I can't imagine they think they could swim to safety...I suppose I'll find out eventually."\*

"Hmm odd procedures." Brunhild mumbled as she as she continued to observe Nepyse from her hidden position while waiting for the perfect moment to free her target. She could go about this mission in two ways, one stealth or two go about it in a destructive manor and eliminate everyone present to ensure she wasn’t chased.

"Choices, Choices." She muttered as she watch and wait for a better opportunity.

It only takes a few moments for the prisoners to continue walking towards the docks. The group of prisoners mumble amongst themselves as they go. The cuffs are too tight, the cuffs are chaffing my wrists and ankles, the chains aren't long enough and I'm too close to the guy in front of me. Nepyse only smiles and shakes his head at the prisoners' whining.

"Ok, that's enough! Shut up and move!" Nepyse barked his orders at the prisoners. A wave of frigid air rolls off of Nepyse, forming frost on the ground around him. One of the prisoners yelp in surprise when the frost creeps over his feet. The small Yurei's hair floats on the winter breeze the emanates from him. His form shifts and becomes less substantial as he activates his zoan devil fruit. His feet now float above the ground and he approaches the prisoner that leads the line. He reaches out with his black scythe and the prisoner gulps when the cold metal caresses the skin of his neck.

"I suggest you get on the ship before I lose my temper." Nepyse's speaks softly but his intent is made clear. The prisoner nods and pulls the chains to make everyone hurry up and walk. Nepyse floats up ten feet above the the convoy and tries to hide the smile on his pale face. He isn't angry with the men or even close to losing his temper but he had seen his superiors motivate new marines in a similar manner.

With their new motivation the prisoners are walked onto Nepyse's ship. One of the marines has a small notebook and records the names of the men and matches them to the names of the men they are meant to transport. After a few moments the marine nods and the men are marched below deck to the ship's holding cells. Nepyse lands next to the female officer that had helped him move the prisoners. He smiles to her gestures for her to relax when she begins to salute him.

"Thank you for your assistance, hopefully the rest of our trip will go as smoothly as this. Take care." He bows to her before turning and boarding his ship.

Deciding that stealth wasn’t the best approach anymore, Brunhild took the matter to the next level, and by that she meant direct confrontation. With her plan in mind, Brunhild brazenly leap from her hiding spot utilizing the heat generated from her Devil Fruit to propel herself across the distance towards the ship.

"Unfortunately for you m, I’m out of patient." She muttered to herself as she cocked her fist back which soon ignited under a a core of molten metal and stone.

**"Blast Burn"**

Swiping her fist forward she launched a large fist shaped pile of molten metal and stone towards the ship.

The fiery attack slams into the side of the marine vessel, rocking it violently on the water. Some of the men are caught off guard and are knocked from the ship into the waves. Reacting quickly, Nepyse shifts into his zoan form. His body becomes pale and nearly see through as two wings of ice and snow form at his back. He takes a deep breath and then unleashes an icy cloud from his mouth. The rolling freezing cloud quickly extinguishes the fire on his ship, leaving a thin coat of ice over the damaged wood and now cool metal slag. With a flap of his wings he takes to the sky a few meters above the damaged ship. He points his scythe at Brunhild and casts a furious look at her.

"State your name criminal! You have some nerve attacking a marine vessel so haphazardly." Each breath that leaves his body is accompanied by a frosty cloud. The are within a few meters of him begins to drop and frost forms on the ship. His normally relaxed eyes are staring down Brunhild with an intense focus.

"It's none of your business what my name is." Brunhild stated as she used her body's heat to stay afloat in the air. "I propose that you surrender now and hand over Prisoner 0056." In a neutral tone, she demanded.

"It would save your life as well as the lives of the remaining members of that squad."

A look of surprise pops up on the young marine's face as her demand catches him off guard. He's surprised to hear someone wants one of these petty criminals, and even more so that this attacker knows the prisoner's number. He glances back at his damaged vessel and is glad to see his men are aiding those that fell overboard in the sudden attack. He fixes his eyes on his adversary that floats across from him and hardens his gaze.

"Don't underestimate me just because I am young, it might be the last thing you do." His voice is as cold as the wind that swirls around him. He raises his scythe and when he swings it five crescent blades of frigid wind cut through the air towards Brunhild. Anything these crescent blades cut instantly begin to freeze solid, posing the threat of both slashing wounds as well as frostbite to those struck by it.

"You should of taken my advice." Brunhild simply stated as a way of steam erupted in front of her intercepting the the the frigid wind blade. "It would have prevented what is about to occur." Her voice echoed before a fishy made of molten ore began raining down upon the shit like a hailstorm. Within moments the surrounding sea began to bubble and boil and the superheated substance made contact with its liquid body, the ship would soon follow and was ignited, metal burst melted under the intense heat and large holes were created in the body of the ship.

"It’s tragic that you would risk the lives of your crew to protect scum." Brunhild stated as she appeared standing on the one of the burning gunwale of the marine vessel before sending a large chunk of molten metal towards Nepyse.

Nepyse is confused by Brunhild's tactics. She seems to want a specific prisoner yet she blasts the ship the man is held on with little to no regard for the lives of those on board. His confusion is quickly joined by anger. With a strong flap of icy wings Nepyse launches himself towards the burning ship. Instead of going after Brunhild, he swings his freezing scythe to cut holes in the side of the ship. Where the slashes of his scythe tear through the wood, the area around freezes and quenches some of the flames that threaten to engulf the ship.

"Quickly, jump through the holes, abandon the ship!" The young marine shouts to his men trapped on the ship. As he speaks he focuses his attention on the boiling waters surrounding the ship. He takes a deep breath and exhales a freezing cloud of mist that spreads out around the ship, cooling the waters. The mixture of boiling water and freezing air causes clouds of snowy mist to spread out across the battlefield.