A Clean State

**Date Started:** June 25, 2020
**Date Completed:** November 17, 2020
**Users Involved:** User:Black Dwarf Star, User:Berserkchart486, User:Schnark, User:DamonDraco
**Setting:** New World
**Characters Involved:**
* **Hunting Pirates:** Marisa, Fisher J. Alva
* **CP-0**: Bulls Zy, Lester
* **Other**: Benjamin Tabart
* **Voice Only**: Rena Argo, Phoebe

## The Recruiting Center

Atomium was a bustling metropolis, decorated with the banners of the victorious, and littered with the joyful praises of all its citizens and vendors who wandered the streets in the midst of the midday lunch-hour. For a new recruit to the Hunting Pirates, even though he was but a starless member, Alva was some kind of celebrity as he moved through the crowds. Though, it was obvious that he wasn't a well known member by his ability to intricately weave through the hordes of fans. For those whose names were known, they were welcomed with something akin to a "*Omg, please sign this for me! I'm your biggest fan!"*.

His reactions were more like, "*Oh wait, you're in the hunting pirates?! Wow, you must be pretty strong!"*; that tone where the person is obviously just trying not to ignore you, but didn't really care about you either. Like some sort of...D-list celebrity. Still, he couldn't help but smirk as he watched the jovial citizens of Atomium scurry around. It was quite the opposite of what he had heard about it from the news, but yet, so was everything. Everything was different from how the news depicted it.

Finally, Alva made it to a rather small restaurant, hidden behind the main street in the cozy corner of an alley. The store was positioned just slightly below sea level, requiring one to walk down a small, narrow staircase to reach it. The restaurant had a cavern-type theme, and attempted to appeal to those who may have been a little tired of standing in the shadows of modern technology, and instead desired to be among the natural boundaries of the world. Having once been the first mate of the Dewdrop Pirates, a band of people bent on protecting the environment from the clutches of evil, it was no surprise that Alva was a man who found himself more in tune when surrounded by the aroma of nature. Yet, he often found himself in quite a troubling predicament, as he deeply hated dirt.

In the week he had been here, Alva made sure to visit this small, little restaurant every single day, and so he was already known among the staff as the **New Regular**. He took his seat comfortably in the corner of the restaurant, obscured under the shadows of one of the walls that peered out like a cliff, and opposite from the other side of the room where a visual-based Den Den Mushi relayed information about the news within Atomium.

"Ah, you're back!" the waiter announced, approaching Alva from his left. "Welcome, welcome! Everyone told me that today was going to be the day that you finally bailed on us."

Alva smiled weakly, pulling a cigarette from his pocket. "Already making bets about me?"

The waiter, whose nametag read Largo, nodded. "Yes-sir. And it looks like I may have just won the pot, haha!"

"Yeah, it was a smart bet. This place is one of the few here that'll let you have a smoke while you dine," Alva explained, finally lightning his cigarette with a flick of his finger, "Can't beat that right?"

"Of course. Though, what will you be having?"

"The usual..you know, the alfredo noodles with the--"

"Yes, yes, the chicken alfredo, with a glass of Chardonnay?"

Alva nodded. Just like that, the waiter took his leave to deliver the order to the kitchen. They had already memorized his order. Yet, Alva wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or if he was simply that easy to read.

Within the Metropolis, it was nothing new to see members of the Hunting Pirates everywhere. The freedom of the people represents the freedom that the pirates themself thrive for. Freedom that will be upheld by the very members of the Hunting Pirates that are on this island. The ones that fight for the sake others, and oppose the World Government in a pursuit of true freedom.

Amongst those were the ones with ambitious goals, and those that wanted to be part of the freedom. Those with devotion would go out of their way to make their wildest dreams come true. The New World was ruled by the pirates. The influence of the World Government was not felt as strongly here as it was in the first half. But that didn’t mean that they could just think that everything will be fine. For freedom, you’ll have to fight.

And Marisa was one of the members that advocated that way of thinking. Her chase for freedom had started in the East Blue, where she was living on a small island for most of her years. Trapped with nowhere to go. When she finally joined her father’s pirate crew, she felt free. Then, when they sailed through Paradise, there was constant pressure being put on them by restless Marines. It took many struggles and tribulations until Marisa was finally at where she was now.

She found shelter amongst those that shared her way of thinking. And having been part of the Hunting Pirates for years by now, Marisa still seemed like an illusive figure to many people. But, despite her seemingly lack of reputation, she had earned the title of Three Star amongst those that are members in the Hunting Pirates. There was most certainly more to her than meets the eye. The troubled past that surrounds her, and her eager chase for freedom.

As she walked through the streets, she’s got many people looking at her. Even amongst regular people, she stuck out. Her mere presence carried a unique aura, and portrayed Marisa in the light of a knight in regal attire. Addoned with the signature cape and red, white and gold clothing, representing something akin to royalty itself.

While there were people who recognized her, for what was standard for the Hunting Pirates, this was rather minimal. Gasping noises and surprised looks as they saw her. The well-built and beautiful figure of the woman known as a crusader. And there were even more surprises to be had when it turned out that this very woman was heading towards a seemingly simple, small restaurant.

The sound of her heels echoed throughout the narrow street corner, and made its way to the restaurant, before she had even arrived. But it didn’t take long for the door to open, and the regal looking figure that was Marisa to enter the small restaurant. Immediately receiving the stares of the people that recognized her. But no cheering.

Marisa was drawn towards something. She could sense a unique presence within the room. She didn’t even have to look for just who it was. It was a distinct feeling that would tell her who it was. And Marisa felt herself drawn towards a blue light. One reminiscent of the sky reflecting off of the sea. Her mind made her feel like she was smelling fine soap, and the sensation of water running down her skin.

She was drawn towards that particular aura, and as she went forward to take settle down next to where she was drawn, she was already next to the person of interest. The aura that stuck out from the crowd. Standing right next to the seated Alva. Her eyes peering down on him, before preemptively taking a seat on the same table as him.

“This here seat does not happen to already be occupied, am I correct? Do not be alerted by my vicinity. Excuse me, waiter. Allow me to trouble you with a request for one black tea.”

She talked to both Alva, and then the waiter. Just her appearing like this out of nowhere was already questionable. Especially considering how she does not have ties towards the person that she decided to sit down next to. Rather, it was Marisa just following her guts, and the attraction she had towards the unique auras of certain people.

Her deep red eyes made contact with those of Alva. It wasn’t just a brief contact where one would look at their surrounding, and accidently meet eyes with a person. No, she was downright staring at him. But she wasn’t even saying a single word. Just, quietly observing.

Which, for some reason, was way more awkward than Alva could have ever imagined. He did his best to avoid making direct eye contact with her, glancing at the visual den den mushi, then back at the surface of the table, then past her to the people walking into the restaurant, but nothing he did could remove the stigma of her red eyes peering at his face.

He decided to break the ice.

"Um...so, you a fan or somethin?"

“Fan?”

She said in a tone of shock and confusion. Like a question like that being utterly ridiculous to ask in such a situation. But then again, it’s not like he would know just why she came towards him. In reality, she was just following her guts.

“I don’t even know who you are. I was merely drawn towards a peculiar aura that I’ve felt when I was making my way through town. Amongst many individuals, you somehow stood out to me. I have a knack for telling certain people appart amongst a crowd.”

Marisa preemptively tried to reach for a cup that she assumed to be right before her. But her tea had not yet arrived, and so she just seemed to be grabbing the air for no apparent reason. But she tried to play it off as if it was planned by raising her hand up towards her head and pushing some of her hair away from her face.

“My name is Marisa. I am a member of the Hunting Pirates. I can tell that you must be more than just an ordinary civilian. State your name and affiliations.”

"O-Oh! Well, I'm Alva," he replied casually, finally making eye contact with her. For some reason, it made sense considering her attire that was she wasn't a fan, but a member of the same organization he was. "I am also a member of the Hunting Pirates. Though, I'm somewhat of a new recruit. Starless member as well, so I don't really hold much sway. I'd even argue I'm not *that* different from a regular civilian after-all, haha!"

He inhaled the smoke from his cigarette, before briefly exhaling it, leaving behind an unusual aroma: something more pleasant than one would anticipate.

"Anyway, any member of the Hunting Pirates is a friend of mine. But, well, you should really be careful when it comes to just following random people, don't you think?"

“Being Starless or not doesn’t matter. The matter of fact is that we joined this pirate crew due to similar ideals. The hunt for freedom. Knowing that you must think similarly, means that you are someone I can trust regardless of what your rank says about you. Strength doesn’t matter. Conviction does.”

Marisa continued to make direct eye contact with him. Her pupils seemingly not moving as they stayed fixated on him. Even now, she was still analyzing him and trying to figure out more about him. But there is only so much one can find out by merely looking at someone.

“Indeed, It is not a wise idea to follow strangers. But you must also consider that we are in the middle of a city belonging to the Hunting Pirates. Also, I wasn’t following a random person. I was following you.”

She was awfully blunt about. Very clear and open in each one of her sentences. She raised her hand and played around with the drill-like shaped hair hanging in front of her shoulders. Body language suggesting that she was rather laid-back.

“If you are indeed a member, then there is nothing to worry about. But I do want to find out more about those that have similar ideals as I have. Tell me, what’s your deepest desire, and what do you want to achieve?”

"Hmmm," Alva hummed, tapping his cigarette against the ash tray positioned in the middle of the table. He was very certain Marisa was at least higher ranked than he was, judging from her comment earlier about his own status. Only people of authority recognized the importance of the weak, and the strength of conviction.

"Right now, my deepest desire is this grub I'm about to feast on. Have you had the Chicken Alfredo here before? It's amazing you know, especially when paired with the right drink," Alva continued from earlier, finally manifesting his thoughts into words. "Oh, well, you probably don't do much drinking though now that I think about it. You don't seem like the type."

“I… Well, I can’t say that you didn’t answer my question. But, it was unexpected nevertheless.”

Marisa really had found someone peculiar. Normally when engaging with such words, she would get an answer on the more serious side. But this was really something uncalled for. So much so that Marisa didn’t really know how to properly react, and actually averted her eyes from his. Puffing up her cheek for just a moment.

“I haven’t actually eaten anything here before. I am really just hoping that they have black tea. I don’t really eat that much, honestly. I need to stay in shape in order to be able to properly fight. Because of this, drinking is out of the question too. But, perhaps I can train my body to get used to the sensation of being drunk… Would that help in combat?”

While they were talking, a waiter had arrived with the black tea that Marisa ordered. Marisa paid accordingly, and finally had something to drink. She took a small stip from the tea.

And her face churned up. She hates the taste of black tea. But she likes the red color that it has, so she tried to drink it anyways.

“Bleh… Anyways, I’ve been waiting to be called to a mission. I’d do anything to help the Hunting Pirates. I’ve heard that Starless members often feel overshadowed by their superiors. But I don’t think one should look at the status of someone. If I think I can rely on you, then I will view you as an equal.”

"Anybody ever tell you that you're extremely straight-forward?" Alva replied, smiling slightly as he conversed. She reminded him of Cicero D. Melodias, his former captain of the Dewdrop Pirates, and someone who he met in quite a similar situation. He was randomly drinking in some bar, eating, and then he had showed up in the same way Marisa did; on pure instinct. Maybe that was why he was so equipped to properly deal with her.

"Anyway, I appreciate that, but we probably aren't equals on the battlefield. You look like you have some tricks up your sleeve. It'd be nice to have you for this next mission I'm being dispatched too, but I'm plenty sure you have some more important business to deal with."

"Don't talk about yourself like that. Being an equal has nothing to do with anything. As long as you are ready to fight in the first place, you are a valued asset in any operation. As for myself, I technically always have a mission in mind. However, I am unable to do so right now. You see, years ago, my father had been captured by a particular Marine. And I know that whatever is currently happening to him, it can't be anything good. I wish to free him. But before I do that, I want to kill that coward of a Marine, who's been hiding in Paradise the whole time. The moment she steps foot in the New World, I will put an end to her."

Marisa just mentioned something incredibly serious. But as she raised the cup and took a deep, long sip to empty the whole cup of black tea, the serious expression on her face was overwritten by one of struggle. Putting the cup down, she pressed her hands against her mouth to force herself to swallow it. She really hated the black tea. But she was used to torturing herself at least, so this was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Uuugh... Gross. If you are going on a mission, then you should tell me. You don't know dangerous it might be, and it doesn't hurt to have people by your side. If you really don't see yourself as a strong fighter, then it'd be a shame to have your life be thrown away. Even if it's for a good cause. But I can protect you. Tell me, what just what is your mission?"

Alva's eyes lit up in excitement as Marisa mentioned her interest in his mission. She could easily be useful, even though he had to pick that out of a barrage of statements. For someone so awkward, she sure did talk a lot.

"Ah, yes, yes," Alva replied, "I actually could use you on this mission of ours, if you don't mind coming with me. Though, I should warn you, this mission is one that I've personally volunteered to do. It isn't really one that was asked of me. I'm targeting the personal property of that Shichibukai. Benjamin Tabart, scion of the Bathory Family. We're going to hit one of his businesses where it hurts, and remove his influence from this world, at least. That's the plan I have right now. Though, I don't expect it will be as easy as I'm making it out to be."

Marisa stared at him with a concerned glare. It was almost like she had just heard the most outrageous thing in the world. However, in reality that was just her face churning up from the tea. She really hated the taste, and that was the main reason why she couldn't keep a straight face. His statement however didn't really make her flinch. In fact, she was moreso surprised that he would go out of his way to pursue such a dangerous mission all by himself. Either he was incredibly brave and confident, or really reckless.

"That is... Quite the mission you've given yourself. Antagonizing a Shichibukai out of all people, and Benjamin Tabart out of all of then? One might say that that kind of plan is rather... How should I put it... Ah, **suicidal**. However, what kind of advocates for freedom would we be if we weren't ready to sacrifice our lives for the greater good?"

Marisa painfully finished her tea after saying that statement. Her face slowly but surely calming down and shifting back into an expression more fit of a woman that dresses in such a regal manner. Indeed, what he had said was rather unexpected. But nevertheless, Marisa couldn't help but admire him for it.

"Indeed, it won't be easy. But in this world, the greatest strength one can have is reliable allies. Don't go out on such a dangerous mission all by yourself. For your sake, and the sake of the greater good, I shall accompany you on this treacherous mission. Not because anyone has told me to, but because much like you, I personally volunteer. Tell me more about your selfless quest."

"Wonderful," Alva clapped. "Though, I wouldn't necessarily say this quest is selfless. In fact, it's entirely because I desire to fight for what I believe in. It's actually rather selfish," he continued. "Tabart is at the forefront of all agriculture in this world. With his devil fruit, he has revolutionized the world by terraforming islands, creating abundance of foods, etc., While this has benefitted humanity, this type of bull-crap has created a rift in the environment for other species. Such a drastic change is not good, and I fear that if this continues, many species that we possess in this world are bound to go extinct."

Alva clenched his fist. "I cannot allow it."

"Having a motive is good. It's the main driving force on your mission. I didn't expect that this Benjamin Tabart would cause this much trouble. So far, I've only heard smaller bits and tales about him. But never have I met any of the people that actually support him. It sounds like his actions are going to be a detriment to the overall freedom that we wish to achieve. Same with these fools that work for the World Government... I will assist you."

While she had already made it clear that she was ready to help him, having heard just what this Tabart is responsible for is enough to work her up. Even though she had just met him, she already trusts him, simply due to the fact that his words sounded genuine, and that he indeed wanted to change the world for a better place. Marisa's motives were questionable to many, but overall, she also chased after the true freedom that the Hunting Pirates are longing for. Having been with them for years, she knows the ins and outs of the pirates that work here. And he was rather exceptional. She could feel the determination in the aura that he was emitting.

"However, I do not think that I should be calling any of my allies of the Crimson Crusaders to this. While I trust them and believe in their abilities, knowing that if I were to die on the land of an infamous figure such as Tabart, I'd prefer my death to be a lonely one, rather than pull my closest allies down with me. Same goes to you. I order you to not die. Understood?"

Alva smirked. "Of course, my lady. After-all, that is universal; no one ever plans to die."

He stood up from his seat.

"I will contact you when it is time to begin the mission. I do have some preparation that I need to make," he continued, glancing towards the waitress.

"Is that fine? Good!"

He didn't wait for a response, before taking his leave, leaving Marissa to her thoughts, as well as with the bill.

Only a few short days had passed since Marisa and Alva discussed their plans to disrupt the operations of the Shichibukai and Celestial Dragon, Benjamin Tabart, for his crimes against the earth. It surely was not the most noble goal in the eyes of most of the populace, especially since many of them believed that his frequent terraforming was entirely beneficial to the environment, but that was entirely out of ignorance. Still, this grave misconception made it difficult for Alva to acquire soldiers in his battle, and even though he spent his entire time attempting to recruit, he had not gathered a single person aside from Marissa.

To be truthful, he wanted to cancel the entire plan, but in his hubris, he had already sent out the call of war, and the last person he wanted to anger or confuse was a third star within the Hunting Pirates. He had already *accidently* left her with a rather inconvenient present the last time they had met. He stood at the edge of the dock, his foot rhythmically, and impatiently patting the clattering wood. He was nervous, such was obvious by his consistent fidgets, and glances.

“Please,” Alva muttered, “let her not show up. To all the gods in the world, I beg of you!”

But then, his words and prayers were hushed like a crowded room by her presence. She approached the dock, enthusiastic and eccentric as she had been when she first approached Alva.

“Shoot.”

## A Nasty Dragon

Zy put her hand to her mouth, yawning loudly. Her other hand pet the top of her pet Komodo dragon's head. Clementine's moans made it quite clear she was enjoying the touch of her doting master. "I'm bored," said Zy, "where's Tabart?"

Lester, standing not too far away from her, looked around the room. Not a soul in sight, at least not yet. "Why? Do you want to get your rocks off?"

"Lester!" Zy shouted, getting to her feet. "I simply want to be relieved of this boring assignment! How dare you assume I had such a vulgar thing in mind, and with my superior no less!"

"So you don't want to have sex with Tabart?"

"Well... I didn't say that."

“This assignment will be over soon, Zy. I promise,” Tabart interrupted, blinking into existence within the large room that Zy and Lester occupied, surrounded by a small cyclone of tree leaves. “However, these matters are important. The Garden Droids that Phoebe sent are doing good work. They’re working to provide the finest harvest that this island will ever see,” he continued as he glanced out the open window, the very same in which he seemed to have appeared through.

He turned his attention back to Zy and Lester. “Anyway, we will remain here only for a short while longer. I just need to make sure that everything goes well before my departure. Once the harvest has been completed, and it shipped, then we will be able to return to Tir Na Nog.”

Lester bashfully covered his mouth upon Tabart's arrival. Had he heard his voice? It would be absolutely mortifying if he had.

Zy on the other hand, completely ignored that fact. She sauntered over to Tabart, draping her arm around the man. "I was soooooo bored! Normally things are just fine and dandy, you are a Warlord after all, but with you gone things were especially boring. Can we have a little bit of... fun?" The last word was more sensuous the others.

Tabart nodded at Zy. “Yeah…I promise, after all of this is over, we’ll have the most fun in the entire world.”
He took a step forward, folding his hands behind his back as he glanced through the very same window that he had just entered through.

“The steps I have taken has led us to different paths and crosswalks, which have had uncertain and unknown endings. But, through it all, you two have walked by my side, without complaint and with courage,” Tabart continued, his tone somber. “I want you both to know that I appreciate what you have done for me, and I apologize for everything I have made you do for me. Those longs days that you waited as I slaved away in my office, feasted on the battlefield, and trained.”

He turned to face them again, his face drenched in serenity. “You won’t have to wait any longer. Because, finally, after all this time, I know what it means to be who I am; a Bathory.”

He paused. “But I am not a normal Bathory, am I? There is none other like me, for I am the closest to him: Frederic. I’m the only one who can hear his voice, and therefore it is only I who can listen to the call of destiny…and right now, it beckons us. Us three, right here, to create it. The thing that all others have failed to do.”

Tabart smiled brightly, stretching his arms out widely. “Paradise! While they search for it, in that forsaken One Piece, or pretend to have it, in that false Mary Geoise, we will create it. We will do it here, in this world, for it is beautiful.”

He took a step forward. “However, not everyone can be trusted. You both know this, right? The people of this world do not understand the paradise in which we dwell, and therefore for the betterment of society, they must be made to understand. If they do not come to it with their own fruition, then, as kings of this world, we have no choice but to rule in their place, so that they do not harm themselves.”

He looked backwards towards the window. “That is our destiny. Not as gods, but as people. Now, Zy and Lester, please go check on the P.B bots. Even though they were designed by a literal genius, I would like someone to speculate on their productivity!"

"Weird time to get all sappy on me Tabart," Zy teased, "but we'll get the job done. Clearly, Clementine, stay with Tabart. Let him know if you smell anyone that's not supposed to be here."

The Komodo dragon hissed in agreement. "Don't worry Tabart, we'll make sure that perfect world you're looking for will come to fruition." And they headed out.

## Deep in the Brush

“Look,” Alva announced, pointing towards the P.B Inc bots that scoured the beautiful grasslands, and gorgeous plantation. The earth was quite the opposite of what anyone would describe as Apocalyptic; the plants were plentiful and large, and the lands were rich in resources. The sheds and buildings that were construed were crafted from organic materials that would eventually return into the earth and nourish it with its presence.

Still, Alva couldn’t help but turn his face up.

“It’s a fake paradise! Just like that stupid island of his!” he spat, peeking through the thick brush that he was currently masquerading his presence within. He turned to Marisa, who he had drug into it beside him.

“You know his island is a big maneater plant right?!”

Marisa had been sticking with Alva this whole time, since she assumed he knew just where he wanted to go and what his plan was. By just observing everything at first, nothing really seemed out of place or questionable, and she didn’t suspect anything until he actually pointed out certain things. And even then, they were a bit difficult to believe. But why would he lie to her? In the end, she would believe him regardless.

It was rather off for someone to just create islands like this. While they perhaps aren’t on the scale of actual islands, it was still an impressive work of art. This Benjamin figure has the potential to create an abundance of life in this world otherwise covered by ocean. Creating life seems to be a thing in this location, because Marisa’s otherwise calm personality saw a major shift when she saw those androids.

“...W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what the hell is that?!”

She said to Alva while looking at the androids He wouldn’t know, obviously. But, Marisa had no idea that Phoebe had actually created androids. In fact, Marisa could barely tell that they were androids. They looked so much like her that she thought that she had just cloned herself. Which considering Phoebe, is something that Marisa wouldn’t have been surprised about.

But why would she work for someone like Tabart? She hates pirates, and a Shichibukai is just a pirate with government support. It didn’t make sense to Marisa. Nothing did. There had to be a reason behind it. Marisa just observed them for a while, and slowly started to figure out that it couldn’t have been clones. She tried to sense them with Kenbunshoku Haki, but couldn’t detect them. Like they had no life. No soul. And while that seems like an apt description for Phoebe, these things were artificial. Machines.

“Alva, those things are robots or whatever. And they look like a certain Marine called Phoebe. I know her personally. She’s one of the most twisted and deranged people in the entire world. A mad genius, and I’ve personally seen her grow up to become one. These things must be her creations. For all we know they are just as evil and deranged as she is.”

Marisa said while observing them some more. They were just doing typical gardening things and didn’t seem like an active threat either. Some even engaged in conversations and behaved very human. Some came, some left… It was all very organized. But as she was watching and didn’t expect anything bad to happen, one of the androids had come towards their hiding spot.

“Excuse me, you two have been here a few minutes now. Is there something I can help you with?”

The android didn’t see their faces and thus treated them like guests. In fact, the androids were aware of the two of them hiding ever since they arrived, because while they weren't strictly made for combat, they still had some of their abilities given to them by the S.T.O.R.M System, which is why they functioned in the first place. But they didn’t bother with them since they were preoccupied with their work, and because the two didn’t pose a threat to them. Marisa looked at Alva with a concerned stare that practically said “What should we do?”

"We talk!" Alva announced, peeking from the brush. "We want you to stop everything that you're doing. You're harming the environment! I mean, seriously, look at it. Look at what you've done to the place? You're making grapes, in an environment where grapes shouldn't grow!! You're robots aren't you? Don't you know that's bad?!"

He eventually leaped from the brush into the open field, fully revealing his frame. "Secondly, what are Phoebe's robots doing here? Isn't this Tabart's territory?"

Marisa immediately pressed her face into the dirt when Alva just sprung up. It was sheer and utter disappointment that he’d even consider doing such a move in enemy territory after they had tried to take the sneaky approach. And just like Marisa, the android, and all the other ones that had now taken note of his antics were surprised by that sudden outburst.

“Are you trying to get yourself caught, you fool?!” Marisa tried to quietly tell him while keeping her face away from the androids.

Now with Alva standing, more androids dropped their work and instead walked over towards the location of interest. All looking at him baffled. And there were several dozen of them, just looking now. Even though they were androids, they were capable of feeling confused. And right now, they most definitely were.

“Does he not like grapes perhaps?” One of the androids asked.

“No, he said that grapes aren’t supposed to grow here.” Another one answered.

“Are you sure he knows it? Sir Tabart has told us to take care of them here.” Yet another one spoke.

“He is a great botanist. I doubt his judgement should be questioned.” The conversation continued.

“Perhaps Sir Tabart hired someone to look over it for him.” A different one answer yet again.

“But he has asked what we are doing here, considering how Miss Phoebe created us. Has Sir Tabart not told him?” Another one asked.

“It couldn’t be. We’ve been working here for a while now, and Sir Tabart wouldn’t forget to inform anyone about us.” A new one answered.

“But what does that have to do with grapes?”

“Nothing. I think he might be lost.”

“What about the woman next to him?”

“She appears to be cowering in fear. Did we startle her?”

The conversation seemed to be going nowhere. All the while Marisa listened and couldn’t believe that Phoebe’s tech would be able to talk in such a way. Or that technology would even make that possible. She’s truly a freak. And she didn’t like the last parts about them assuming that Marisa was scared of them. It’s more so the fact that she doesn’t want to show her face. Because she and Phoebe have history. For all she knows they have some kind of face recognition technology.

“Please don’t mind me. I am just inspecting the soil, as we have indeed been hired by Benjamin Tabart. Excuse my colleague, he’s new to the job. May I ask you if this Phoebe he has mentioned is currently located within the New World?”

Marisa tried to get herself and Alva out of this mess by playing along with their conversation. If they assumed they were working for Tabart, perhaps they could get more information out of them than expected. Especially for Marisa, regarding Phoebe…

“Miss Phoebe? She is located in the other half of the Grand Line. We are only here because Sir Tabart was interested in her technology and needed us to help with his gardening work. Since you work with him, we assumed that he had told you.” One of the androids explained.

“Ah? No, he hasn’t told us. Thank you for clearing it up to us.”

Marisa sighed in relief after hearing that Phoebe wasn’t in the New World. She wasn’t afraid, but she couldn’t stand that woman and would be happy if she just died there by messing with the wrong person.

The androids looked at each other for a bit, only to scatter again and return to their work. Some still throw some doubtful glares back at Alva. Marisa stood up, and covered most of her face with the cloak that she wore. Reaching forward with her arm to pull Alva by the cheek.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? We are in enemy territory! We need to tread with caution! We can’t just waltz in like we own the place. We were lucky that these androids are gullible enough to believe us! We can’t just go and pick a fight. Let’s try and collect more information before we throw ourselves into the danger. Now let’s go. Let’s use the moment while we are not forced to sneak around to get more intel.”

"Ah, Marisa, you gotta relax a little!" Alva replied. "They're just androids! They're programmed to garden. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Cipher Pol agents showing up?!"

"Sorry Tabart, but there appears to be a few intruders on the island," said a voice, not too far from Marisa and Alva. "Only two at the moment, but be on the lookout for me. Engaging now." The unmistakeable click of a transponder snail went off, as two people wearing the obvious white of CP-0 stepped forward.

One was a woman, with green hair and eyes. She wore a smirk, as if she looked down upon those she was up against. The other was a man, much taller than his companion, but clearly more reserved, with his collar done up all the way to his nose. While most of his face was hidden, his eyes showed a clear seriousness.

"So," said Zy, "what the hell do you two think you're doing here?"

“W-What luck!” Alva exclaimed, chuckling nervously as the two cipher pol agents came forth. “I-I was just saying how lucky we would be if some cipher pol agents showed up, especially those belonging to that infamous agency; aegis zero!”

He took a step forward, bowing in respect to both Zy and Lester.

“Alva is my name. Tabart hired us to watch the soil and to till it and stuff; gardening stuff, you know? Anyway, if you could leave us to our work, we’d greatly appreciate it.”

"Hm, that's odd," said Zy. With a flick of her wrist, a small, throwing knife appeared in her hand. She began picking her teeth with it. "We've been here for a couple of days already, and are actually Tabart's bodyguards, so we know everyone that's supposed to be here and everyone that isn't. So, would you like to make up a different excuse before we carve you up bring you to our boss?"

All the while, Lester stood, cross-armed, as he stared down at the two intruders. If anyone was using Kenbunshoku Haki to sense their presences, they'd immediately find how impressive an aura Lester exuded. He was an agent of CP-0 after all, and only someone of great power would be an effective bodyguard for a Warlord of Tabart's quality. However, despite Lester's more intimidating outward appearance, the more frightening one would be Zy. As, no matter how hard one could try, they would have no energy to sense. All living things gave off some aura of Haki, even if they weren't trained in it, but for Zy, it was like she didn't exist.

She took the knife away from her teeth, tossing it in the air and catching it repeatedly. "So, I'll give you two options right here and now. Option 1: explain to us why we shouldn't kill you right now or, option 2: let us take you into custody. Option 2's much easier on all of us, but just know that if option 1 doesn't work out for you, you'll be a couple of corpses in no time at all."

As expected, Alva’s loud mouth eventually did get them into trouble. And by looking at the situation they’ve now found themselves in, it was certainly not good. Marisa knew that something like this would happen. But that is why she came with him. No way he could do this alone with that attitude. His intentions seemed honest. But he seems to be a little bit too reckless on the execution. Furthermore why only Marisa came here and didn’t bring anyone alongside her. Because now, the only person she needs to protect is him.

Despite being confronted by two clearly strong individuals, Marisa stood steadfast and immediately did the first thing that came to mind: Get in between them and protect Alva. She moved her cloak away in order to pull out a small shield from behind her back. Leaving the sword she had alongside it behind in order to try and avoid seeming hostile. It probably wouldn’t help much, but she did so regardless.

The **Taiyō No Shin**, as it was called, was made to protect. Asserting the situation made Marisa realize that attacking downright would be a horrible idea. She needs to be careful. She was in enemy territory after all. And now with all those androids staring too, it really didn’t make the situation any better.

“You are acting haphazardly. This man came here with honest intentions, because he feared that Tabart’s influence on the wildlife would eventually be a detriment to other wildlife. Nature should progress naturally. We humans have already interfered many times, and now stepping right into mother nature’s territory by trying to do her work is taking it a step too far. Plus, if a man is ready to associate himself with the likes of Phoebe, then he most definitely can’t be trusted for anything safe.”

Marisa stood firm and kept that shield raised. Keeping herself in between those two Cipher Pol agents. The tension had already risen to an uncomfortable point. Still, Marisa couldn’t waver. She looked back at Alva for a brief moment, only to look back at the two agents.

“I will not let either of you claim his freedom, or his life. I can trust him and his goals. He has one side, and that is the side of freedom. How can you trust someone who doesn’t even know if he wants to be free, or be a government dog?”

Zy caught the knife, putting it back inside her sleeve with another flick. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a pair or golden claws, fastening them onto the back of her gloves. "So we're gonna play it that way, huh? Lester, let's kill the boy first. He looks scrumptious." She licked her lips in hunger. "All I've had to eat these past couple of days were fruits and vegetables. I could use a little meat." She took the knife back out, and with Lester slightly ahead of Zy, the CP-0 agents began to advance.

She wasn’t surprised that reasoning wasn’t going to help. After all, these were bodyguards of a warlord. If anything she should’ve seen this coming from the start. But this happens when one tries to reason with people that are clearly out of their mind. And even though the same could be said about Alva and Marisa, considering how they just entered a dangerous territory such as this. But if Alva had come here alone, it might’ve already been over for him.

“So that’s the kind of person you are… Your suits help with making you look more sophisticated. But deep down you are just a disgusting person. Something I am all too familiar with. I hate your kind. It’s the reason why I am doing things like this in the first place. I already told you, I am not letting you hurt him.”

Marisa continued to hold up the shield with one arm, and used her other arm to wrap it around Alva’s stomach. Getting a tight grip on him to assure that wherever she moved, he’d come with her. She can’t protect him if they were to separate. Staying as close as possible is important. But she isn’t going to engage in combat just yet.

“Shhhhh…… “

She inhaled deeply, filling up her lungs to the brim, even past what her body would be able to physically hold. Her chest noticeably bulging out from the vast quantities of air she had just inhaled in a single breath. Pushing her body beyond its limits through rigorous training had led to her having pushed her physical boundaries to extreme limits. But merely pushing them beyond what was physically possible wasn’t the only thing she could do. Properly utilizing the power she had by pushing her body beyond its limits was where she truly shined.

Marisa didn’t exhale. Instead, she was able to completely redirect the air she inhaled out of her pores. And she was capable of doing so with the body part furthest away from her lungs, being her feet. With a practically unnoticeable “exhale” a TSCHHHH noise announced itself from underneath Marisa’s feet. Out from the soles came a powerful force of air that literally shot Marisa, and Alva whom she was holding onto, into the air at great speed and force.

She couldn’t face them like this just yet. Running away wouldn’t do them any good. These people had Haki and could detect them. Plus they were more familiar with this island than they ever could be, meaning there were no good hiding places. Thus, the air itself was the only temporary escape route that they had. But Marisa wasn’t going to just run away. She had promised to help Alva, and she was going to do so. Even if that currently meant making sure that they wouldn’t hurt him.

Repeatedly inhaling and forcefully pushing air out from her pores to catapult her and her partner into the sky, lead to them in a position hovering in mid-air. Marisa constantly inhales and forces air out her feet in a unique display of bodily function control. It was a technique great for quickly escaping into the air. But long usage would lead to her getting incredibly lightheaded and dizzy. Thus, once she was a fair distance away, to the point where the island itself was blurry.

From that point onward, Marisa quickly moved her legs up and down, like she was walking on the air itself. It’s not something that she had been taught, but instead managed to replicate during her intense body training. By both pushing smaller quantities of air out her soles and basically jumping off the air, she could stay in place in the middle of the air. Marisa didn’t have any Devil Fruit powers or unique abilities. Instead, she had pushed her body to great limits through downright deadly training alone. One might not see just how much Marisa has pushed herself due to her rather unsuspecting appearance, but underneath it all lied thousands of hours of self torture.

It all eventually led to her developing a fighting style that she has dubbed “**Kyokugen**”. The pinnacle of her training when it comes to body control, and a showcase just how much Marisa has disregarded her own body for the sake of becoming stronger.

“This won’t help us for long. I can’t do this forever. We have to think of something quick. Tell me Alva, what is your ultimate goal with this island that Tabart has created?”

Alva grit his teeth.

"We need to destroy it! It's the only way, Marisa!"

There was the sound of poofs in the air. Anyone that's been in the New World for a long enough amount of time would recognize that sound. Marisa's technique was special, but it took much more time to prepare than the Geppo of CP-0. In the case of Zy and Lester, they only needed to jump off the air. It didn't take long for Lester to overtake them, positioning himself directly above them.

Lester reached into his pocket. Ordinarily he'd pass it to Zy, since her accuracy was better than his, but accuracy wasn't a factor in this scenario. The stone turned black as he imbued it with his Haki, throwing it at Marisa and Alva with the speed of a bullet. Not long after it had left Lester's hand, did the stone expand drastically in size, turning from the size of a baseball to a massive boulder, the Haki within having expanded and grown alongside it.

Back on the ground, Zy had moved directly beneath their targets, increasing her speed with Soru, and rising somewhat into the air with Geppo to decrease the travel time of her attacks. The boulder would be too large and too close to simply dodge, and Zy was there to make sure they couldn't simply retreat. She inhaled deeply, heat gathering around her mouth. And when she exhaled, a massive conflagration flew from her mouth. "**Ryu no Hōko!**" The flames spiraled from her mouth, aiming to trap Marisa and Alva between both earth and flames.

"That's hot," Alva muttered, sliding his foot slightly forward as he prepared his assault. His left leg shot upwards and snapped like a whip, sending forth an enormous blade of air that moved with such ferocity the world screeched in anguish. As it touched the boulder, the stone split in half like a fabled sea; that was Alva's only intent in this specific moment. If he was to deal with the boulder, then he knew that would free Marisa up to deal with the scorching flames cast by Zy. Yet, what was more surprising, perhaps to the two Cipher Pol agents, was his knowledge of their technique.

"Marisa," Alva called out, his tone firm, yet calm.

Getting caught in between attacks with the two meticulously working together, it was easy to tell that these two had been working together for a long time. They already had the advantage by knowing how they can combine their attacks in the best way possible, while Alva and Marisa were left to figure out how their attacks would best work together. Marisa was ready to somehow protect Alva against both forces. But seeing that he can actually put up a fight put her at ease.

However, that move just took care of one issue. One more was left in the shape of flames. Alva had told her his plan, and it seemed otherly blasphemous. Destroying an entire island? That idea seemed ridiculous. Not because it’s impossible, per say, but because of how extreme it is. Then again, it is artificial…

“Alva, cover your ears and try not to panic.”

That was the only thing Marisa had said as the flames just kept creeping closer. She did something unthinkable, and straight up tossed Alva away with as much strength as she could muster up. Ensuring that he wouldn’t be consumed by the flames, nor the attack she is about to unleash.. But throwing him left her at the mercy of the flames, because as soon as Marisa threw him, her body was enveloped by the flame. Her skin is burning from its heat.

But Marisa remained calm. She’s been used to scorching heat like this throughout days of conditioning her body to withstand extreme heat. Something that’d cause permanent burns of severe degrees would do nothing but be very uncomfortable. Even with training, these flames were intense. And she could feel her nerves screaming for help as the heat consumed her.

This is exactly what she wanted. As she continued to float in the air, Marisa stayed calm, and quietly muttered something underneath the sound of heat crackling around her body. Completely on fire, the pain began to get more and more intense. And still, she remained calm.

“Heavenly Poem, First verse of Voice…”

“*Violence has spread across the land, and war has been given birth,*

*The god’s anguish could be heard, with pleads that would shake the earth.*

*Their screams didn’t reach their souls, and humanity was doomed to fall,*

*To reach the soul of the people, the gods would scream,*

*With a voice to end it all.*”

Mentally and physically prepared with that poem as her body continued to burn throughout, Marisa inhaled deeply with such strength and vigor that the air around her succumbed to the strength. The flames waving around on her skin as the torrents of air had slowly begun to snuff them out. Revealing red skin, harmed from being set on fire. Marisa continued to inhale as her chest began to puff up.

“Hrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmm……”

Her vocal cords began to roll and shake, as vibrations could be felt traveling throughout the air. And as she continued, the sound only became more intense as time went on. Her body was prepared for the amount of punishment it was about to receive. But that wasn’t enough for her. Marisa reached behind herself to pull out a sword. The Taiyō No Kōsen. Marisa was against using the sword and shield, unless it was in order to protect something or someone. And in this case, it was for Alva.

“**Hrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmm!!**”

The vibrations got more intense and much louder. Already beyond uncomfortable for anyone to listen to, Marisa wasn’t even halfway done yet. Marisa held the sword in one hand, and took aim. But not at her enemies. No, but at herself.

*SCHOO!*

A swift slice, aimed right at her own arm. Made sensitive from having been burned by the flames, and now being met with the sharp pain of being cut into. A deep wound that burned and stung. The pain was massively amplified by the flames that had burned her. And now there was a huge, gaping wound in her own body. Bleeding. Dripping all over the burnt skin with her own, boiling blood. The pain was intense. The pain was immeasurable.

Much like the gods of the poem, Marisa couldn’t help but scream.

“**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!**”

Marisa unleashed an utterly devastating shout. The air shook from vibrations, like the entire world was shaking from her scream, which had been amplified by the pain. Shockwaves shot forth from around herself as she screamed, and were amplified in the direction that she was facing. A sound more than capable of burst eardrums. No, kill a person. A constant barrage of screaming that exceeded 200 decibels, and carried enough strength to harm the world around herself.

The screams travelled all the way down to the island and sea. Waves crashing and water rippling from the intensity of this unnaturally loud and powerful scream. Crashing against the side of the island, only to slowly begin flooding it. Making the earth shake, and rip apart. Cracks appearing in buildings and the earth itself as the sound of Marisa’s scream shook them.

The androids that were residing on the island weren’t made for combat, and they also weren’t made to withstand the immense pressure of the scream. Their components were bursting from the power of Marisa’s scream, and they were slowly being fried by their own electricity. Smoke rising from their bodies as they were being destroyed from sound alone.

It could be heard from miles away. But as distance went on, the scream became less harmful as a whole. But they could still be heard. This is why Marisa literally threw Alva away. Because if he had been this close, her voice would harm him as well. But now, the screams were mainly directed at their two foes: The Cipher Pol agents.

Marisa constantly turned her head to keep a steady sight on the two of them. Her scream was akin to an explosion constantly going off, and shockwaves being carried forth to cause someone to burst. A voice so harmful that it would vibrate someone to death from the inside out. Bursting someone’s eardrum would be the least of their worries. But it wasn’t like Marisa was unharmed from her own attack. As she continued to scream, blood came pouring out from her mouth, yet she continued to yell. This maneuver was so immense that it was taking a toll on Marisa’s body herself.

But she’s always been reckless. Her fighting style does not take her own personal need into consideration. Marisa was always ready to give her life for what she considered to be the greater good. And that mindset accumulated into her fighting style. Reckless attacks that push her body beyond her limits. But this has also served to strengthen her body and make it much more resilient.

The fact that she was just bleeding from the inside out instead of dying from the own sound she was creating at basically point blank goes to show just how much this girl has pushed herself in the past already. And these Heavenly Poem techniques are basically her dancing with death each time she uses them. But each time she used them, death seemed further away than before.

The second that Lester's bolder had been cut in two, he was already moving in on Alva and Marisa. Under the cover of the boulder, he had shrunken down, decreasing to the size of an ant, not easily detectable in this sort of situation, especially against the backdrop of the sky in his white uniform. But that was when Marisa did something unexpected; she threw Alva away. It didn't take much longer until Marisa began unleashing a shout upon his partner so loud that it started crumbling the buildings around them and damaging the PB-Androids. Even Alva likely wouldn't be out of range of this technique. "*Tabart probably won't like this.*" And he immediately moved in to attack.

Despite his small size, he still possessed the strength of his full bodied self, only his body had been "lessened" by the power of the Resu Resu no Mi. He rocketed towards Marisa's front using Geppo. Aside from a little bit of vibration, he was generally unperturbed by the loud shout. He could hear it just fine, but the force of the vibrations became lessened as soon as they made contact with his body. Another ability of his Devil Fruit. Size, speed, power, he could lessen anything that touched him. However, his partner didn't have the same luxury.

Before the shouts could get too unbearable for Zy, Lester had maneuvered right in front of Marisa, between her arms and as close as possible to prevent a swift counterattack, and grew back to his normal size. Right up to her face, it became more difficult to lessen the sound waves as they came out of the pirate, his insides actually began to rattle as he gritted his teeth, but that wouldn't matter. He was absorbing the impact to give Zy time to recover. "**Shigan!**" In a motion faster than the eye could see, he jabbed his finger towards Marisa's throat, black from his Haki. In comparison to him and his partner, not only was his physical strength far superior to the Gerongian, his Busoshoku Haki was equally as dense.

Back near the ground, as Zy recovered from the shouts, a small amount of blood trickling from her ears, she hadn't forgotten their objective, and had kept her eyes on both of their targets the entire time. Zy's arms began to move so fast that they had practically disappeared from sight. About 15 throwing knives flew threw the air, each one at sonic speeds. They whistled through the air as they headed towards their target: the abandoned Alva. However, they weren't all on course to hit their targets, at least not currently. About ten of them would either overshoot him or go beneath him.

"**Tobu Shigan "Bachi"!**" She flicked the fingers of her clawed gloves, ten times in an instant, creating bullets of air that flew even faster than the knives themselves. They clipped the sides of her knives, redirecting them towards the desired targets of Alva. "Throat, eyes, femoral arteries, heart, stomach, elbow joints, knee joints, appendix, liver..." she snickered at the last part she had aimed, "and testicles." Each joint would prevent him from moving properly, the eyes would prevent him from seeing, the arteries, throat, and heart would cause him to bleed out quickly, the liver, stomach, and arteries bursting would cause stockpiled acid, bile, and poison to course through his body, and the testes would cause an incalculable amount of pain.

While Lester's bread and butter was his strength and durability, Zy's was her speed and accuracy, all exasperated even more by her specialty in Kenbunshoku Haki. She could sense each move that Alva was about to make before he could make them, all in an attempt to strike him before he could properly defend himself. And even more dangerous still, Alva couldn't use his own Haki to sense Zy's intentions.

Marisa’s voice continued to roar and vibrate the air, with sound great enough to kill. She was set on protecting Alva. Marisa didn’t care about protecting herself, and her reckless fighting style showed just how little she cared about her own body. And as she screamed, she didn’t notice the small being that turned out to be Lester coming for her. In the vicinity of her own scream, the pain she felt that amplified her scream also lessener her own senses.

In a single moment in what seemed like to be the fraction of a second, a finger dug into her throat. Piercing her skin and digging into the vulnerable flesh of the throat. The few inches of layers of flesh that were protecting a vital part of the body. She could tell that this guy was an assassin. He aimed to kill as quickly as possible.

Yet as the finger dug into her throat, it stopped short at a point before it’d be lethal. It could not be seen, but Marisa’s flesh hardened the moment it felt something piercing her skin. Conditioning her body and learning to control it has led to protection like this coming simply out of instinct. A finger was stuck in her throat, but not anywhere near a lethal point. With her flesh hardening, so appeared a small, concentrated layer of haki inside of it. Marisa didn’t use haki in the fight until now. And she was saving it up to protect herself in vital moments like this.

And as soon as the finger was thrusted into her throat, with blood spurting out from the wound, Marisa put away her sword, and held onto his arm. Immense force and power could be felt from just her fingers, as they were grappling onto the firm, trained flesh of his arm. Pressure that would normally rip straight through an arm. But this guy was trained.

Holding onto his arm, she tried to pull his arm in closer, as if she wanted him to pierce her throat even deeper. Blood dripped out from her mouth due to her scream, and now out from the wound in her throat as well. Pulling him more and more. More blood building up and gushing out.

“*Start to hurt already, dammit… I can barely feel anything.*”

She said while doing what seems like an attempt to use Lester’s finger stuck in her throat to end herself. But she didn’t even feel anything. All the sensation of pain was drained from that nerve wracking shout from before. If she can’t feel anything, then she might as well put it to use, because as soon as she finished that sentence, the red skin she had from the fire turned an even deeper red. Steam began to rise from her body.

Marisa’s immaculate control over her own body allows her to increase her own body temperature to absurd levels. In the matter of seconds, Marisa has brought her very own body to a literal boiling point. Steam dripping from her skin, and evaporating in an instant due to the heat that was present on her body. This was no racial ability. This is the result of downright suicidal training.

The temperature of her body rose, and the blood that was pouring out from her mouth and wounds was literally starting to boil. Bubbles rising and popping from the intense heat, yet the effects of the heat seemed to do nothing to Marisa’s body. Her own body was being cooked via her own control, and as anyone would basically already be dead, she persisted. She continued to live.

“Whatever training you did to achieve your strength and abilities, it’s nothing compared to what I have done to achieve mine. Don’t talk about how rigorous your training is until you’ve looked death dead in the eyes after every time you trained.. I glimpsed into the afterlife multiple times, and yet I denied myself its sweet embrace. Not because I think highly of my own life, no. In fact, whenever I go into battle, I fight like my own death is certain. But I keep standing up, because I refuse to die.”

The steam emitting from her body turned into flames. Her body has reached such a high temperature that she literally began to burn. She opened her mouth as wide as she could, and dug his finger even deeper into her own flesh. Intending to boil his finger within her own body, and using her own blood. As her mouth opened, unpleasant gagging noises could be heard, as Marisa was tearing herself up from the inside out.

**KRRAAACH!**

Marisa released a loud cough, that short worth literal liters worth of insanely hot, boiling blood aimed right at Lester. It mixed with her sticky saliva, and made a combination of an incredibly potent combination of stickiness and boiling hot blood. A combination that would stick to someone’s body, and boil it up with all the insanely hot blood covering them. Boiling hot liquid like this would cause third degree burns in seconds. But with Marisa’s intensity, it could burn right through someone.

Despite her regal appearance and formal way to carry herself, Marisa’s fighting style is brutal. For both her enemy, and herself.

Alva could not help but wince as Marissa’s voice cleaved through the air like a radiant blade, piercing both the earth, as well as his ears, with its ferocity. It nearly distracted him from Zy’s nearby assault; had his instincts not kicked him, he may not have reacted in time. Still, there was hardly anytime, and from his prediction, Zy was aware of that. However, he doubted her Haki could foresee his reaction, even if she may have saw it, there was no way for her to believe it.

Instead of dodging the knives, Alva simply extended his hands outwards, and rapidly spun them in a circle, akin to that of a washing machine, simultaneously catching the knives with the palms of his hands. As he did, they were rapidly spun into a line around his body, dangling across it like fabrics of clothing. He smirked.

“Dangerous one you are,” Alva muttered, certain that she could read his lips through Marissa’s shrieks. Judging from her ability to pinpoint him accurately, he was at least judging that her senses were impeccable. “However, I know the same things you did. The only reason I was able to move my arms like that was because of kami-e; I made them flexible and spun them around. But, more importantly, I cleaned your knives. There is nothing more unappealing than a dirty knife, right?”

He took a step forward slightly.

“That’s the power of my Woshu Woshu no Mi!”

Then, he exploded from his place, the only indication of his movement made known by the patter of his toe against the earth ten times before his disappearance. When he blinked back into existence, he was positioned behind Zy. He threw his leg forward, sheathing it in his Busoshoku, and aimed directly for her hip.

As Marisa grabbed onto his arm, trying harder and harder to pull him into her throat, he knew that something was wrong. And as her blood began to boil, he immediately figured out that he shouldn't maintain contact with her for much longer. From the top of his finger, an extra burst of Haki flew out. It wasn't just regular Buso at this point, but the application of Emission, hoping to send his Haki straight through her throat and out the other end, completing the hole he had attempted to create earlier.

Immediately following this, Lester's body shrunk down in size once again, freeing his arm from Marisa's strong grip, and headed down to assist his partner. Any blood and bile that Marisa coughed up at the CP-0 agent would likely soar over his head, given his now minuscule size, while any that landed on top of him would be lessened by the power of his Devil Fruit.

Back on the ground, as Alva attempted to attack from the rear, he severely underestimated her speed. She turned somewhat, elbow coated in Haki to meet Alva's own kick, the limb stiffening to increase its defensive power. "**Tekkai!**" Her Tekkai wasn't as good as Lester's, that was certain, but she was still a Rokushiki master after all. Using her other hand, she aimed it at Alva's face, flicking her index and middle finger off of her thumb simultaneously, a pair of sharp, air projectiles flying from her fingers towards Alva's eyes. His leg being up would make him unbalanced, likely making it more difficult for him to retreat before her attack had finished.

Timed to strike just after Zy's strike, Lester flew down from above, hands black from Haki and clasped together as he aimed them towards Alva's head, hopefully shattering his skull and sending him into the ground. Zy and Lester had been partners for years, friends for years, they knew each other's tactics and preferences in combat fairly well, and their teamwork was beginning to show.

Lester seemed to have realized that it was too much trouble to stay this close Marisa, and decided to flee… But not before leaving behind a rather unpleasant gift before departing from her grip by using his devil fruit abilities. What Marisa felt was piercing pressure within the tight confines of her throat. Like a needle trying to dig its way through her throat.

The hole he had made grew slightly, and the piercing wave of emission Haki made Marisa caught up boiling hot blood once again. It felt like something pierced through her throat. Yet at the same time, nothing did. It was merely a wave of pain, yet her body managed to withstand the advanced technique of Haki. Her throat remained unharmed, but the pain could still be felt from the attack he used. Marisa got nothing to thank but her naturally durable throat that it didn’t get shredded up from the inside out.

However, regaining her focus in an instant after it had happened, just a second after he shrunk Marisa immediately utilized Haki in order to detect his aura. He could make himself small to hide himself with ease. Which meant that in a situation like this she needed to focus on him in particular. But she had to take another thing into account, which was her ally who also had to defend himself. Even though she wanted to put trust in him, her will to protect was greater than having confidence in others.

Marisa inhaled. She had a very bad feeling as Lester vanished once again. She could still sense him. But she could also sense… danger. For Alva. As she inhaled, she once again prepared the same technique as before. And with a sudden burst from her soles, she redirected herself in order to fly at the ground at high speed. It was basically an instinct that kicked in. She dashed past Lester in a great display of speed, and gracefully landed right in between Alva and Bulls Zy.

With a thud on the ground and a wave of air being displaced by her sudden entrance to once again join her ally after briefly separating herself from him to unleash an attack without wanting to harm him, she swiftly moved both of her arms. One with her shield in hand, that she aimed up and above Alva’s head. And one hand to protect his face.

The first sound could be heard. It was the air pressure released by Bulls Zy meeting with Marisa’s hand. The concentrated force of air met with her hand, and caused it to inch backwards as her hand was struck. Hitting the skin that has been made sensitive from her previous move where Marisa was engulfed in flames. Her skin and muscles naturally tensed up upon being hit, and the attack in the end did nothing more than slightly pierce Marisa’s skin.

Then, the second sound. The noise of Lester’s Haki imbued fist meeting with Marisa’s shield. A metallic noise echoed throughout as the shield was struck. But, it was a shield after all. A weapon made for protection. And even though it was no massive shield, it did not need to be one. Much like the history behind it would indicate, this shield remained valiant throughout many battles, and did not endure a single dent, despite having been struck with thousands of attacks. It even withstood the strength of a powerful fist, further strengthened by Haki. And Marisa’s arm didn’t even flinch after the shield had been struck.

Marisa threw herself in between two attacks, just to ensure the safety of her ally. Showing just how little Marisa actually cares about her own safety. And even though she and Alva just met, she was already prepared to throw her own life away just for him. A behavior one would expect from a Marine when it comes to innocent people. But, Marisa’s outlook on justice was different. She will protect those that deserve it. And when she does, she will protect them with all she’s got.

“You two indeed know how to work together. There must be a strong bond between you two as well. Such wasted potential, considering how you serve a man who had his chance at freedom, yet still chose to work with World Government scum. Your work is not just. But the cause of the Hunting Pirates is! I thought I could show you at least some respect, but the man showed me he is afraid of pain, and would rather flee from me to team up on one man.. And I’ve got no respect for **cowards**!”

After deflecting both attacks, Marisa put away both her sword and shield holsters located on her back, obscured by her cape. She stood next to Alva with a posture that implied she was ready to fight. Not try to make distance or run away like before.

“It would be a great dishonor to use the sword and shield that have been passed down for generations, and sully them with the blood of unworthy foes! They were made to protect a kingdom from vicious infiltrators! Yet, they are but an extension of my own body. My true weapon? You are looking at it right now!”

As she spoke, Marisa’s hair began to move like it had a mind of its own. Her body temperature rose to the point where steam emitted from her body. Immaculate body control that could only be achieved by focus and downright deadly training. The hole that had been poked into her throat cauterized right before their eyes. The grass they were standing on catching on fire from the heat Marisa was emitting.

She inhaled once again. A brief inhale, that filled up her lungs in an instant. Both of her hands aimed forward with the pores expanding to let the air escape from her hands. Combined with the heat of her body, it created winds empowered by heat. A literal heatwave shot from her body. And Marisa just kept inhaling! One big cycle of her constantly inhaling, processing the air and releasing it out from her pores located on her hands.

The air itself turned red. Not from flames, but by the heat itself. Scorching hot winds that set anything on fire that it hit. Within mere seconds, the blooming greens that were surrounding them at first were suddenly turned dark and black. Destroying the beauty of this artificial nature using nothing but her own body. And she was so meticulous, that she made sure that Alva wasn’t going to get hit by the heatwave by turning her back to him.

But the vicious assault wasn’t limited to just shooting hot air from her palms. The veins on her arms suddenly began to bulge out and expand, as they inflated in an unsightly manner. But Marisa didn’t care about appearance.

Thump, thump. thump, thump.

Her heartbeat could be heard. It was downright booming. She was intensifying it through her ability to control her body. Doing this with her very own heart was very harmful. Normally such an intense heartbeat would cause a heart attack. But Marisa was well trained to sustain something of an otherwise extreme scale. It was literally pulsating all the way to her hands, and pushed outwards!

'***Shinpaku Nesshabyō'*** (心拍熱射病, ***Heartbeat Heatstroke***?)

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Her heartbeats further amplified the waves of heat that she was releasing through her hands with added vibration, to the point where it was no longer mere wind, but downright explosions! Bursts of immense heat left her hands and scorched the earth, as well as the air itself. Releasing pressure from her hand like explosions. So much force that it in fact caused the palms of her hands to tear open! Not even her body could withstand this constant pressure, despite how resistant she was.

But all this did was combine this already devastating combination with boiling hot blood that further destroyed her surrounding. They had come here for a reason, and Marisa was ready to sacrifice everything just to achieve it. She was always ready to sacrifice everything. And throughout this onslaught of surrounding and body destroying terror, Marisa STILL made sure that she couldn’t harm Alva with her extreme attack. However, while scorching the island with this reckless maneuver, she also aimed for their two adversaries.

“GRRRHH!! THIS PAIN MEANS NOTHING! I BLEED AND I BURN, BUT I WON’T EVER FALL DOWN! ALVA, I WILL PROTECT YOU, AND MAKE OUR GOAL COME TRUE! I WILL PAINT THIS LAND BLACK WITH SCORCHED PLANTS, AND RED WITH MY OWN BLOOD! THIS IS WHAT I AM READY TO SACRIFICE FOR THE HUNTING PIRATE'S QUEST FOR FREEDOM, AND TO OPPOSE THE CORRUPT WORLD GOVERNMENT!”

The explosions and heatwaves from her hands intensified as she just kept going. The most reckless and self-harming fighting style that one could possibly use. But, Marisa made it clear that she didn’t care. She promised to help Alva… and now she is going to help with all she’s got. If Alva wants this island gone, then so it shall be.

Alva jumped backwards away from Marissa, gritting his teeth as the display she was putting on. Her powers were fantastic, and she held strength that he could barely even fathom, but they were destructive to her own body.
He could barely watch the entire thing, but he had to. He had to wait for an opening to attack. There was no way that they Zy and Lester could simply ignore this. Not that they would anyway. Not from what he knew about them.

They were taught to never do that in the Cipher Pol. They were told to complete their mission at all cost. It was the reason he was cast away; rather, it was the reason they cast him away. He was a necessary sacrifice for them to achieve what they needed. They just never expected him to remember what occurred, and neither did he.

As soon as Lester's fists met with Marisa's shield, his Devil Fruit activated, transferring into the tool in order to shrink it down to the size of a bottle cap. He moved onto his feet after his failed assault, preparing to continue the battle, and becoming irked as Marisa's heat was expelled.

Zy's lips curled into a smile. The heat Marissa was emitting was so intense, and she loved every second of it. She would've opened her arms out to bathe in the warmth if it wasn't for the fact that she was still in the middle of a battle. And with the heat beginning to burn the island, they'd need to act quickly. Zy's Gerongian physiology would allow her to absorb the heat and Lester's Devil Fruit could decrease the heat on him, but they couldn't let her damage their superior's island. They had made a mistake initially. They should've killed Marisa first.

"Coward?" Zy's previously green eyes suddenly shifted to red. Zy was unique amongst her people. A Blood Rage, an increase in power that often caused the Gerongians to lose control of themselves and attack blindly towards the object of their rage. But Zy did not have this problem. Most Gerongians were calm and collected, Zy was angry all the time. The boost in strength wasn't as great in comparison to her pears, but her level of control of the state was like no other.

Lester caught sight of the change and nodded. They both knew what they needed to do. "**Soru "Ryu no Toshin"!**" Fire expelled from Zy's feet, drastically increasing the speed of her assault to more than double the natural speed of the Cipher Pol technique. She'd arrive at Marisa first, from the front, aiming to stab her knives into the pirate's stomach. They were incredibly resistant to heat of course, as they'd need to be in order for someone such as Zy to use them effectively, and with the combination of the Haki flowing through them, turning them black, the chances of Marisa's attack actually melting them were rather slim.

"**Soru!**" Lester would arrive immediately afterwards from behind Marissa, making sure that his back was the one facing Alva. If he wanted to attempt to stop what was coming next, Lester would be the best one to actually stop him. The CP-0 agent went to grab Marisa's arms, hoping to pull them behind her and stop her from attempting to stop Zy. Of course, the process of taking this pirate out of commission could be lengthy and more difficult than anticipated, and while waiting would likely ensure Marisa's end, CP-0 couldn't afford to allow this island to be damaged any further.

"**Geppo!**" The partners shouted, flying high into the air above, hoping to take Marisa with them, high enough into the air so that her high body temperature would cease harming the island. And once at an appropriate altitude, they'd continue their assault. Zy would continuously stab into Marisa's stomach, making sure to leave one of her two knives in at any time, so that if she attempted to move too far to one side, or up or down, she'd be gutted. In the meantime, Lester would maintain his grip on Marisa's arms, enhancing his musculature with Haki as it coursed through his arms, ensuring that she couldn't simply wrest herself free of his grip. He'd place his knee on her back as he would begin to pull on her arms, hoping to quickly move from simply causing, to dislocating both shoulders, to ripping the limbs free from their owner's body.

Marisa didn’t even show an ounce of care when the two agents came dashing for her. The woman in particular had a strange reaction that Marisa hadn't seen before her eyes changed, and she somehow looked a lot more aggressive than before. Their abilities became more and more clear, and even though Marisa was distracted with blasting the greens of this island with the heat exploding from her body, she still could pay attention to her enemies.

As Zy came dashing forth, Marisa didn’t move. Not because she didn’t see it coming, no. But because she didn’t react. She did not care about taking the two out, no. She cared about doing what she and Alva came here for. Which as it turned out, was tearing this island appart. When she came forth, Marisa didn’t even aim any attack at her. And as the sharpend, Haki imbued knife came towards her stomach, she still didn’t move.

**“HRYAAAAAH!”**

A brief, yet powerful and resonatic scream came from Marisa, as she forced air and heat out of her body in one big, yet brief burst. Sending waves of heat to travel across the remaining, surrounding green fields, which immediately scorched and burned them. Even before being attacked, Marisa cared more about getting their mission done than her own safety. As well as Alva’s safety. Marisa was the kind who was ready to throw her life away at any given point in time, no matter what the cause was.

And for the Hunting Pirates, there was no sacrifice too big. Marisa unleashed flames to further scorch her surrounding, and was prepared to get hit by anything that the two Cipher Pol agents would throw at her. And thus finally came the knives that Zy were using to stab into her stomach. Blackened with haki and aimed to harm. Thus it came and pushed against Marisa’s skin.

*“I’ve been stabbed by your partner before. Don’t think I’m not prepared for it now.”*

Marisa thought to herself, not revealing anything to the woman, and leaving her to figure out just what was happening. Because as she pressed the knife against Marisa’s stomach, all that Marisa could feel was something sharp pressing against her. But, that was about it. Marisa had shown just how great her skills are when it comes to controlling her own body. Being able to release flames via air and heat, and screaming so loud that even the floor would tremble was nothing more than a taste into what Marisa was truly capable of.

Much like before when Lester stabbed her throat, Marisa’s muscle’s tightened, and her skin and flesh hardened the moment something hit it. Marisa knows what pain is like, and she has felt it many times before. Her body was accustomed to it, and knew what kind of pain was inflicted by what attack.

In the end, it all came instinctively. Her body had adapted over many years of training and spending time in the harsh seas, going from the East Blue, to Paradise, to New World. Her body protected itself against the Haki imbued weapons that she tried to stab into her, and ultimately completely failed at doing so. Alongside that, a black coating appeared on Marisa’s body too.

She had been holding off on using Busoshoku Haki, because she knew that using it was limited. And likewise, she not only trained herself to have a great amount, thanks to her sheer willpower that came from her desire to protect, but also training in general. Zy’s attacks did nothing to Marisa’s body, no matter how hard she tried to stab into it, or how often. And the Haki only activated when she was being struck. That way Marisa wasn’t wasting anything.

But it went deeper than just the surface. Due to seeing Lester utilizing emission Haki, she was mentally prepared to defend herself against it this time. The spot that was stabbed wasn’t just the outer layer. No, it protected all the way inside of her body, so that her insides may be protected from any more emission attempts.

And that was all just in the short matter of time of her stabbing Marisa. Not even taking Lester into account, who tag-teamed with his partner to send Marisa into the air. But it was fine. The cool air pressing against her body told her that it was time to cool her body temperature down again. She had scorched enough land already, and now her body got a brief moment to rest, even though it was actively defending against the two agents.

Even though Lester was doing a good job at restraining her, his attempts of trying to pull her limbs off was just as futile as Zy trying to stab into her body. Marisa adapted rapidly. Even though his strength was amplified, Marisa’s body fought back. She felt the pulling on her skin, but no signs of her bones popping out from anywhere where they belonged. In the end, her body obeyed Marisa.

Within the air, they tumbled and spun around as they just continued to harm her. Even though now they were forgetting something while they were teaming up on her at the same time. Alva was still down there, and he had the same goal as she did. It was why they came together in the first place. The shared goal is to show that Shichibukai that the Hunting Pirates are ready for him too. No government obeying dogs will defy them.

**“ALVA!”**

Marisa yelled as she was suspended in the air alongside the two agents trying to harm her. She had been through something numerous times. And now, she will endure too. She yelled his name, but that’s all she did. In the end, she left the rest for Alva to continue with their goal. Flames had spread and were slowly but surely eating away at the island, while the two agents were wasting their time trying to kill Marisa.

Her sword and shield might be great weapons, but her body was a greater one. Even now they haven’t had the chance to see just what she was capable of with it. And with them both literally touching her up close and personal, she could show them just what it could do. Marisa’s hair began to slither and move in an ominous way. Body control did go further than just body temperature and voice. Marisa showed that she can control her very own hair as well.

Wasting not a second for words, her hair just rapidly expanded and drastically increase in length. Thick, combined strands of hair were aiming for the Cipher Pol agents that were trying to kill her. Countless strands of hair that were strengthened by Marisa’s own ability alone, and thus were much thicker and harder than any ordinary hair. Right away, aiming to completely entangle the two and keep them as close to her as possible. If they don’t want her to escape, then that is fine with her. Because she doesn’t want them to escape either.

With hair aiming to wrap around them, there was more hair that just kept growing out of her head. But this one wasn’t aiming to tangle around them. No, it continued to expand, growing larger and larger around them, to form a large, thick sphere of hair around the three people suspended in the air. Not only aiming to tangle the two of them up, but imprisoning them within her own hair as well.

'***Kami No Keimusho'*** (髪の刑務所, ***Hair Prison***?)

A technique where Marisa literally created a large sphere of her own hair around someone. Or in this case, around herself as well. Soon, the light of the sun was completely blocked out by her own thick strands of hair. And not long after, the hair surrounding them turned into a deep, black color. She was finally tapping into her haki, that she had been reserving this whole time.

And now she had plenty of Haki inside of her to use, which she used to not only protect herself from her attackers, but even further harden her already immensely durable hair. She was going to wrap them inside no matter what. Even if she has to continue to endure their combined efforts for minutes on end. But, Marisa didn’t care. Even as darkness surrounded her, she kept smiling. Because she was doing this for her ally.

*“Go on Alva. Show them how much of a threat you really are!"*

She once again through to herself. Not even exchanging a word with her attackers anymore. Rather saving every last ounce of stamina to keep them trapped and protecting herself. Marisa was perfectly fine with acting as a human shield for her allies.

Alva understood exactly what Marissa meant when she called out her name; it was desperation, yet it was the pinnacle of her ultimate sacrifice. He could not allow her sacrifice to go unanswered. There was something that beckoned him to do as she wanted. She wanted him to finish the mission, but there was something else in him that wanted to save her. He wanted to help her from her anguish, and her concerns. He remembered a time where he had to choose between the life of another, and the success of the mission. Back in the day, he had chosen incorrectly, and because of that, his entire existence had been cast away and made a dream sleeping in the back of his mind. They had forced him to forget his own family, or what remained of it. But he was a different man; far different from whom he had once been. He would save her and complete his mission simultaneously. Or at least, he would die trying.

“Sorry Marissa, but I’ll have to steal some of the spotlight here. Forgive me on that, but I will not allow any of my comrades to die. Not while I am sitting right here doing nothing,” Alva continued, placing his hands on the ground nearby. He begun channeling the powers of his devil fruit into it, washing every bit of soil, and every leaf of every flower that his powers could access. Much like other devil fruits, Alva required but a single touch for his powers to take effect, and by focusing and honing them, he could access a much wider range, albeit still limited. Yet, this farmland, was surely small enough. This battlefield was in his range. All he needed was time.

As his powers ripped through the world like a gentle stream, the plants were uprooted, and contorted into their original features, completely removing the influence of Tabart’s Mosa Mosa no Mi as if it had never existed. This was the power of his devil fruit; the ability to cleanse the heart of pirates of their evil and dastardly ways, yet the power to cleanse the very influence of other devil fruits should he need to. He was the key to stopping the Shichibukai’s transgressions against the world, and he believed it was his destiny to fight back against his tyranny. For Alva, Tabart was nothing but an extension of the World Government. He was nothing but an extension of the Old Nobility that continued to rule this world from the shadows of the heavens. He was a tool, and he did not even realize it himself.

Still, he could not directly save Marissa herself. He knew that it would ultimately be left to Zy and Lester to choose what they desired. Would they continue to assault her, or would they stop to stop Alva from tearing his island apart, and undoing all Tabart’s hard work?

Their mission…whatever it was…he knew as CP-0 they had to obey. That’s what he had to do afterall.

"What the fuck!" Zy shouted as Marisa's hair elongated, creating a sphere that surrounded the two CP-0 agents. If she wasn't angry already, her eyes would've turned red then and there. She looked at Marisa, a look of absolute malice and anger etched onto it, but then her lips curled into a smile. She looked behind Marisa towards Lester, who still had her arms locked and was pulling as hard as he could. Their eyes met, and he nodded. "So, you wanna keep us stuck here with you, huh? That's fine, I can always eat the boy later. It's not every day I get to eat meat that cooks itself. Of course, I think you could do with some tenderizing. Lester!"

An energy left Lester's body, traveling from every point of contact her was into Marisa. This wasn't the power of his Devil Fruit, it couldn't effect humans after all, at least not directly, which is why he hadn't even attempted to use it on Marisa's hair. This was his Haki, but he was using a technique far more dangerous than simple emission as he had used before. This was internal destruction. Previously he had used it in combination with his Devil Fruit to attack an infection on the inside of Tabart, but now his sole focus was destroying Marisa from the inside out. Of course, she could attempt to harden her own internal structure with Haki, it was the only effective defense against this kind of attack, slinking through her veins, into her bones, and wreaking havoc everywhere it went, but that would only prove to completely negate his power if her Haki proved stronger than his. Not to mention, that was only one part of what was going on.

Marisa had hardened her hair with Haki, a part of her plan to keep the CP-0 agents occupied, but consistently releasing that much Haki would take a toll on one's reserves. Zy held her hand up, fingers together. Red flames formed on it, illuminating the darkness. But then, her hand turned black, hardened from her own Haki, before the flames turned white. It was a special technique of the Gerongians, the Power of the Dragon's Spirit combined with Haki, drastically increasing the temperature of their flames without any extra expenditure in their heat energy. Of course, she had absorbed quite a bit of heat from Marisa earlier, so he reserves of heat were incredibly high. She focused the flames like a scalpel, like a laser, before firing the the flames from her hand up into Marisa's hair dome, moving her hand so that she could cut straight through the strands. Hair was already a flammable material, and with Zy's white flames, Marisa's own powerful hair would likely meet its match.

Lester's internal destruction was attacking Marisa herself, and Zy's flames were attacking their prison. Needing to protect herself on two fronts at the same time, something would give sooner or later.

There was no time to wait between his cleansing of the land, and his next attack. It was true that he needed more time to completely cleanse the island, but if Marissa perished here, there was no way he would continue with opportunities to do so. More than that, there was no possible way that he could ever consider him a comrade. Still, her distraction was pivotal if they were to succeed. That’s why he thought of his next move very carefully, and, in a split second, decided to execute it.

He slammed his feet into the earth, kicking it several dozens of times before the force of his attack rebuked him from the earth itself and sent him surging towards Marissa’s dome in a blink; the very nature of his strength leaving small dents in the beautiful hearth below. As he appeared before the dome composed of her hair, blinking into existence as quickly as he had disappeared, he lifted his leg up carefully, and cocked it backwards along his hip.

His Busoshoku oozed from the pores of his flesh, coating his leg in a deep-black armor that nearly ignited from the friction of his movements which resulted in a puff of steam radiating from his being as if he was an oven. He grit his teeth.

“Sorry, Marissa…but you’ll have to go away for a little bit!!!” Alva yelled, providing them just enough time to hear his statement, before he slammed his leg directly onto the ball, using the force of it to launch the trio to the spot where he knew that one of them would be most ineffective. It was a plan they talked about several times on their way to the island and was one of the reasons he decided to confront the P.B androids where they were.

He sent the dome spiraling directly into the ocean itself, kicking it with such tremendous power that it would have no choice but to sink immediately upon contact with the saline water. The rest would be up to Marissa to ensure his displacement was effective, but he had all the trust in her that he would ever need.

Marisa knew that the time had come to endure. Was it their goal to dispatch their foes? No. She still wasn’t the kind to needlessly kill anyone. And even though they were clearly trying to kill them, the last thought that was on her mind was to kill Lester and Zy. She is going to wait everything out, no matter how gruieling it may be.

Hovering in the air was the ball of hair that she had made, with herself and their two foes trapped inside of it. She was not attacking. Just keeping them trapped so that they wouldn’t escape. What happened inside of it wouldn’t matter. Because now, Marisa had her eyes closed and focused. Focusing on keeping this defense up for as long as possible, until Alva finished the job. She could only hope that he wasn’t going to try and help her, but instead focus on the mission. After all, that is what they came for.

And so, Marisa closed her eyes….

…

She could barely feel pain anymore. Yet, she could still feel something going on. Something going on around her. Inside her, even. Her mind wouldn’t be distracted however. The defense would become nigh inpenitrable, and Marisa wouldn’t let up. Even though she could feel something… Warm on her hair. Not even realizing that it was incredibly high heat. It was like her mind was in the middle of shutting down most of its functions, just so she could keep the defense up.

And Marisa didn’t even notice as her insides were churning. Or how blood began to drip from her mouth. Everything was black, and all that existed were herself, and her two trapped enemies. Nothing else mattered. And even though something was being done to her, there were no screams of pain or any signs. Just pure focus.

“I won’t fail you Alva. I promise. Finish the job. I don’t care about what happens to me.”

Marisa thought to herself. The mission was more important to her than her own life. Everything was. Even though she was the kind to disregard her own life and her very own body, she still lived for so many years. A sign of her strength and just how hard it was to kill her. She can’t keep track of all the near-death experiences she has gone through in the past. However, there were some that flashed back into her memory.

Her mind drifted into thought….

She saw herself. Alone. In the middle of a desert. The heat of it cooked her alive as she was lying motionlessly in the sand. Nature itself eating away at her body. And yet, she stood up.

Another memory. Dropping from an extreme height, only to fall into water. Her body hitting it like hard pavement, and then sinking into the deep black abyss of the ocean. And then, she swam back up.

Memories of a fight, where she lied on the ground and her foe was repeatedly into her body with a poisoned knife. And after everything went black, a few hours later, she woke up, and lived despite what had happened.

Sacrificing her own body for not only more training, but for the sake of others. Living every day knowing it might be her last. Yet she feared nothing. She had become used to it. The sensation of almost dying felt as familiar as the sensation of her simply breathing in. Marisa had pushed her body to the limit countless times. Death looked her straight into the eyes, and yet, she just stood up to live another day. Days turning into weeks. Then months, then years. If she didn’t die back then.

Then she won’t die now either.

Her thoughts kept her distracted as everything around her was going on. At least, until there was an impact that she couldn’t ignore. One that forced her eyes open. An outside source that had attacked them. But she didn’t sense anyone else there besides Alva. Which meant, it was Alva. He must’ve done something to launch them away. So that he may be left alone and continue their job.

*“Smart thinking.”*

She quietly thought to herself. Not knowing just where he had kicked them. They were sent flying, with not even Marisa knowing where they were going. All that she knew is that she was absolutely going to hold on for him and keep these two of them trapped for as long as possible. They were not going to escape from her bind. The only indication she had from the outside was a hole that was burned into her hair as she got distracted.

And then.

*There was a splash.*

Water. They were surrounded by water in an instant. They didn’t just land into the water. No, they were sent flying right into it with an attack that carried tremendous force. A loud splash alerted Marisa, and caused her to almost instinctively inhale deeply and hold her breath. Marisa had a tremendous lung capacity, as she has shown before when she unleashed a powerful scream that created shockwaves and caused the very island itself to crack. With a full lung, Marisa could hold her breath for several hours.

The sound was the only thing that could have prepared them. Because not soon after, the hole that was burned into her ended up being the reason why the inside of the sphere that she made out of it was filled up in an instant. Salty water immediately filling up the ball of hair that they were inside of. Marisa began thinking, and putting the pieces together. He must’ve aimed for the water specifically, because he knew that Marisa doesn’t have Devil Fruit powers.

And then it hit her.

Thanks to Alva’s move, it would be possible to incapacitate one of the agents. Lester had unique abilities that were not able to be explained, other than them being Devil Fruit powers. And he won’t be able to move his body in the water. Which meant that with the water flooding in, Lester would be rendered harmless. Which meant Zy would be a greater threat.

But just because one of them can’t move underwater, doesn’t mean that she is going to let go of either of them.

Marisa disabled her Haki, and the hair turned back into its regular golden color. The sphere she made vanished, but the strands of hair that were wrapped around the two of them were still as tight as ever. In fact, they were even tighter now. Because the Haki she focused onto the sphere to keep them trapped now went into the hair that had wrapped around the too. Everything made sense now. it was in fact a genius tactical choice after all. But now that Marisa got her focus back, she just noticed what had happened to her body. She was damaged.

But being damaged didn’t mean that she was stopped. In fact, now, Marisa wasn’t threatening to harm Alva anymore. Which meant that now, she could actually properly fight back without being scared of harming her ally. Marisa could finally fight more seriously. And she WILL make the absolute best out of Alva’s quick thinking and smart maneuver to kick them underwater.

'***Kōfun Jōtai'*** (興奮状態, ***Adrenaline Rush***?)

The sound of her heartbeat could be very clearly heard. Marisa’s control over her own body allowed her to amp up the adrenaline production in her body, and even control when it activates. Normally it was something only activated in life or death situations. However, Marisa was so used to being in these kinds of situations that her body didn’t know just when to activate it anymore. Which meant she had to do so remotely, basically.

*TRSSHHH!!*

The sound of her hair becoming harder and even more tense could be heard, even through the water. Her strength amplified greatly, and her mind was on full focus. And her body was ready to ignore the damage that was going on within it to fight properly this time around. All thanks to Alva and his quick thinking. Marisa will make sure that his efforts will be rewarded handsomely.

The red color within Marisa’s eyes turned into a glowing, golden color. Flashing with a light as her body began to slightly glow in a yellow color as blood was rushing through her system to overflow her body with energy. Marisa felt like she was back at full health. Not even the wound in her throat bothered her anymore. And she was ready to show her two foes just what she was actually capable of.

Zrrrr…..

ZRRRR…..

**ZRZRZRZRZRZRRZ!!!**

Electricity began to spark from her body. With her mind and blood rushing, so did the energy required to make her body move. A technique that she dubbed “Denki” that allowed her to weaponize her own Bio-Electricity and force it out in the form of electricity. It was very similar to something like Electro that the Minks used. And this was just something that Marisa learned to do after getting better control over her body.

The electricity sparked as it began to visibly charge through Marisa’s body. The crackling was very much audible. And her hair refused to let go of the two. In fact, the expanded hair that she had before was moving in a snake-like matter. She was focusing on multiple things at the same time. Because to make Alva’s move worth it, she was aiming to finish it right here.

Then, the hair pushed! Spinning the three of them in circles at violent speeds. Fast enough to create a whirlpool that would keep them suspended in the water thrashing them around. It was like her hair functioning as ruders. And there was still more hair available. But that wouldn’’t be used to move. No, she was going to use it to attack!

Crackling left and right, the electricity emitted from Marisa grew more and more violent. It already had the potential to give a very painful zap. But this was only the beginning. The water they were in was churning and crashing around. And on the surface, the violent currents were clearly visible. It seemed like there was a whole battle going on. But in reality, this was nothing more than preperation for what’s to come.

Electricity sparking, water crashing, hair thrashing, whirlpool spinning, blood pumping…

Marisa was ready.

***"Sen-bai Kaminoke Arashi"*** (千倍髪の毛嵐, ***Thousandfold Hairstrand Storm***?)

*SPLASH! SPLASH!*

**ZRRRRRRTT!**

*FWOO FWOOO* **FWOOOOOOO!**

Deep in the water, all hell suddenly seemed to break loose. Marisa was violently spinning in place to create a powerful, sucking vortex, with electricity completely frying the surrounding area and obscuring it with a harsh, blue light emitted from her body. Small strands of her hair were waving around, hardened and fast. These tiny strands were like thousands of extremely sharp blades being whipped around at violent speeds that caused the water itself to be torn apart and explode upwards towards the surface.

The water above the surface was downright exploding with all the tremendous force that Marisa was releasing with one attack that combined the water around herself with speed, Bio-Electricity and thousands of sharp strands of hair. Thus this attack was essentially crushing, electrocuting, slicing and tearing someone apart all at the same time.

But Marisa wasn’t done yet. She had both of her hands open, and would use them to violently pummel the both of them with a series of punches that caused the entire water to quake. On top of all that, she was going to beat them up as well. And she was doing so with little to no mercy. And even though her body was going through so much stress by performing all of these attacks, Marisa was fine.

Because in the end, she was truly the master of her own body.

“**GGRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!**”

Her war shout could be heard rippling throughout the area. Even though the water. Alva made this possible, and Marisa was going to make good use of it. And to think that this was merely a taste of what the Hunting Pirates were actually capable of. She might only be a Three Star within the crew. But she was undeniably one of the strongest ones.

## Conflagration

"*The hell?*" Zy thought as they suddenly found themselves tumbling through the air. She had still been moving her hand to cut through Marisa's hair, but all of that was suddenly put on hold. Her eyes momentarily flashed red, and she saw, the sight of Marisa's hair ball headed for the ocean. She grit her teeth. Had that runt really mustered up that much strength in a kick? "Lester! Be ready!" He nodded. He already knew what she meant. He took a deep breath, and the two began removing all sorts of trinkets from their pockets, small stones, knives, tiny spears, and discs, everything had to go.

Splashing down into the water wouldn't have been especially bad for Lester, at least not until more water had filled up the area, but things became demonstrably worse when Marisa undid her technique, causing all three of them to be surrounded by water near-instantly. Lester was paralyzed, and even though Gerongians were excellent swimmers, Zy was still restricted.

Of course, there was one thing that neither of the pirates had accounted for. Yes, Lester's ability was a product of a Devil Fruit, but all Devil Fruits had a weakness to water, some more than others. And when Lester's shrunken objects came in contact with water, Lester's ability was nullified. Boulders, giant metal plates, even a few swords suddenly grew back to their normal size. The sudden increase in size would push Zy and Lester away from Marisa, and give her somewhat of an obstacle to need to get through in order to attack them, which would buy them at least a few seconds.

Marisa's hair and her bio-electric aura began charging up as she tried to turn them over in the water again and again. But all this only made Zy more angry, and an angry Gerongian was the most dangerous. Marisa may have had someone she wanted to protect, and so did Zy. And she wouldn't let these pirates have their way.

Despite the method in which they used their ability, the special trait of the Gerongians was not flame projection, it was heat manipulation. Zy let out a primal roar, matching that of Marisa's, despite it being muffled by the water, but that didn't last long. Before Marisa's attack could connect with either Zy or Lester, the water began to bubble. And then it was gone.

"**Ryu no Ikari!**"The white-hot flames of the Gerongian erupted from Zy, in every direction. The water surrounding the trio vaporized almost instantly, not just in an effort to free them of this watery prison, but to burn off every strand of hair on Marisa's head, freeing them from her grasp. She'd continue releasing this heat, in a constant stream, until her reserves were completely spent. By the end of it all, Zy's body temperature would be identical to that of a normal human's, at least until she had the time to regain her heat.

Another reason that the buffer of boulders and discs was important was so that the water would vaporize before burning Lester too much. His skin became a little cooked, but with the water gone, his Devil Fruit could activate again. He began lessening the effects of Zy's fire as it wafted over him, using Geppo to get out of dodge before Zy was spent and the water would come rushing back over them. And as soon as Lester was freed of Marisa's hair, and no longer in danger of drowning, she'd fly up and out of the water as well.

Alva continued to look onwards at the immense struggle occurring between the three warriors. He felt bad that he could not do more to assist Marissa, but he was intent on finishing his goal. He had his doubts that these cipher pol agents would leave him to his agency otherwise. Still, the amount of time that it took for him to finish cleansing the island was equivalent to the amount of time it took for them to break from Marissa’s entanglement. Alva lifted his hand from the earth, which had been completely purged of Tabart’s influenced; scrubbed clean of his immense power.

There was a certain strength that the Shichibukai held, and that much was certain from how long it took him to purify the land of it. Though, he had assumed that was the nature of an awakened paramecia. It no longer appeared as such, but as something more. They were fortunate he did not appear to be on this island, though, he assumed that Marissa still would have made an impact even if he were.

All that remained was for him to grab and acquire Marissa.

Their mission was accomplished.

Throughout the fight, there were many unexpected twists and turns. But in the end, Marisa had done exactly what she had planned. Even though there were many points of improvisation, there was one clear goal from the start. Even though Alva was awfully vague about it at first. Having known about his powers, Marisa knew that she could leave the “cleansing” of the island to him. All that mattered by then was to buy time for him.

And time they have bought.

The fruits of their labor became clearly visible after their combined maneuvers and attacks with skillful cooperation despite literally just having met. Their hearts resonated alongside each other, and their thoughts aligned. This was the way of the Hunting Pirates, where the hunt for true freedom connected the members on a downright spiritual level.

Even though she worked hard to protect him, Marisa knew that he was by no means helpless. It was simply in her nature to defend her allies to the best of her abilities. Even risking her own life while doing so. But alas, today was no such day where her life was truly at risk yet again.

Unexpected results underwater would leave anyone surprised. Marisa and her foes included. The splashing and crashing of the violent waves were met with the bright light created by Zy and the unexpected ammunition popping up from Lester briefly losing control over his powers made the whole underwater ensamble quite a confusing mess.

Marisa’s adrenaline was pumping, and her blood was working to give her body all the energy it needed to properly work through all the pain she had been going through. Before, flames had met with her skin and turned it red and sensitive, a stab in the throat alongside a push of exerted haki, multiple stabbings, pulling, crushing, clawing, burning. Marisa didn’t forget about the pain that she had to go through during the fight. But there was a reason why despite everything that had happened, Marisa didn’t waver. Strength, conviction, will… Just a few things that made Marisa keep going.

With the bright flash of heat that evaporated the water, Marisa had vanished in thin air. As if the heat made her disappear as well. Waves of mist and particles of evaporated water taking up the surrounding area like a dense fog. It was hard to see just what was going on, and it would take a while for all of this fog to settle.

A brief moment was all that it took. A speedy escape out of the violent waters and hot fog as Marisa forced the last remaining air out of her lungs by once again using the technique that forced air out of her pores, which propelled her forward and away from the evaporated spot. Marisa already knew what the two agents must be thinking. The rocks crushing her, Marisa exerting herself to an extreme, and finally this massive wave of heat released by Zy. It would be easy to assume that someone would have met their end by then.

But not Marisa. As the dense fog settled and the island that had been thoroughly cleansed by Alva’s Devil Fruit powers became visible again, distinct shadows could be seen through the fog as it continued to settle and dissipate. And what it revealed was the troublesome duo of Alva and Marisa. Marisa in particular was quite the sight. Despite everything that had damaged her and the injuries she endured, it looked as if most of them had begun to heal up or were already gone altogether. The agents only got a glimpse of what Marisa was capable of. The body control was beyond anyone could just learn by ordinary training. These were the fruits of labor that involved near death training, followed up by even more near death training. Marisa didn’t treat her own body with any respect. And she has shown that numerous times throughout the fight already. Her adrenaline was still pumping. She was still raring to go, despite everything that happened. She had been through much worse before anyways.

“Are you finally seeing it now, you World Government dogs?”

She exclaimed. Her tone shifts to sound much more aggressive, but in a lot more convicted way. Before she seemed serious and knightly, as her appearance would imply. But Marisa was more than just a blank slate of a knight. Within her resonated a soul that chased for true freedom.

**“DO YOU SEE IT NOW? WE ARE THE HUNTING PIRATES! THE HUNT FOR FREEDOM BINDS OUR SOULS LIKE THE GOLDEN SHACKLES THAT CONNECT THE WORLD WITH THE HEAVENS! THE UNBREAKABLE BOND OF OUR CONVICTION WILL NEVER WAVER BEFORE ANYONE! THIS LAND IS BUT ONE MESSAGE THAT WILL CARVE ITS WAY INTO THE MOUNTAIN OF HISTORY! HEED OUR CALL! REMEMBER OUR NAME! AND TREMBLE BEFORE OUR WILL!”**

Marisa got her heart pumping with her own speech. And it could be heard. The air around them trembles from the sound emitted by the powerful heart that was resting within Marisa’s chest. Pumping at a speed that would easily cause a heart attack for any other person. But Marisa was used to having her heart pump in a constant state of overtime. This was but a warm-up for her.

Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dumpba-dumpba-dumpba-dumpba-dump…..

Her heart was working like an engine, and the tremors of her tremendous heartbeat could be felt. The ground she was standing on was starting to shake from the intensity of the beat of her heart. Adrenaline rushing through her system, which would only further empower the strength of these immense heartbeats.

She walked in front of Alva, and picked him up with her hair. Knowing what was about to happen, she wanted to protect him from the immense force that was being released. Alva had done great work. He softened the earth and weakened it by removing Tabart’s influence from it. The soil was weakened, but not yet unusable. After what Alva had done, Marisa is going to make sure that this island would absolutely not be usable anymore.

The quakes from her heartbeat intensified with each passing second. The beat of her heart more rapid after every single time. Booming sounds release at a fast pace. Marisa’s muscles in her legs hardened and tensed up. Knowing what’s going to happen next.

**”Shinzō Hossa No Jishin”** (心臓発作の地震, *"Heart Attack Earthquake"*?)

**BOOOOM! BOOOOOM! BOOOOOOMB!**

The force of her heartbeat became focused and was sent through her legs. The trembling and vibrations would easily be capable of breaking an untrained person's legs and just pulverize the bones inside of them and turn the muscles into mere mush. But Marisa was trained, and prepared. Her muscles tense and bones prepared, she would not feel the force of the attack that she was unleashing.

Forth came shockwaves that traveled through the earth that she was standing on like waves of water. Traveling from where she stood outward in a circular motion. And that became even more visible with the dirt and soil cracking, tearing apart and being launched into the air. Clumps of earth bursting from the vibrations and being sent skyward, which would tear the weakened island slowly but surely appart. As impressive as this artificial island was, it could not compare to a regular, natural island. And Marisa and Alva demonstrated just why that is.

The continuing shockwaves traveled, and each beat of Marisa’s heart sent forth another one. Within the span of just a few seconds, dozens of these shockwaves traveled across the ground and tore the artificial island appart bit by bit. The dirt succumbing to the force of Marisa’s heartbeat and the unnaturally powerful shockwaves created from it. With each passing beat, the damage just kept growing and growing.

What used to be plantlife had either been burned by Marisa, or cleansed by the power of Alva’s fruit. Leaving only weakened soil that was now meeting its end by the tremendous force of Marisa’s attack. And this time, nothing was going to stop her. And all the while, Marisa assured that Alva would be safe. She greatly cared about his safety and his life. Even though she was converting her own heartbeat into an earthquake, she would keep him safe no matter what.

The damage would be done within the span of just several seconds. Not long enough to appreciate just how much effort Marisa was putting into this attack. Throughout the duration of it, she essentially felt the stinging pain of multiple heart attacks. But her body was too strong to succumb to something as weak as that. She ignored the pain however, due to her own adrenaline getting put to work.

Broken androids were swallowed down into the cracks created by the quakes, and either crushed by the force of the vibrations, or kicked up and tossed around by the force of the attack. Marisa hated Phoebe, and all of her creations. If anything, the fact that this Tabart works with her only proves to her that he must have a rotten soul. Not a single spec of this artificial island would be spared.

“Alva!”

Marisa called out to him as she was holding onto him with her hair.

“Thank you for all of your efforts!”

Zy and Lester remained in the air, hopping off the air periodically with Geppo. As Marisa gave her speech, the two CP-0 agents didn't care. The freedom that she was supposedly looking for wouldn't be found through her methods. As she prepared to plant her foot on the ground and unleash her attack, Zy prepared another throwing knife, and then her eyes glowed red. She saw it, what would happen in the next few seconds, and she couldn't bare to let it happen. "Lester! We have to go! Now!"

Lester looked at her, for once, confused by his partner's words, but the look of panic on her face said it all. They would be safe from this island-shattering technique, but as a Devil Fruit user, the same couldn't be said for Tabart. In an instant, they rocketed across the sky.

"I'm coming baby!"

## Not All Dogs Swim

These things were not unusual for Tabart. On the contrary, he could never remember a time where this did not happen. From his time in Mary Geoise, to the brief period he spent on Alabasta, to the incident right near Dressrosa, and so forth. For some reason, he did not fear it, despite it being his greatest weakness. To him, it was his only weakness; the only thing that he could never overcome regardless of what he did. Strength? He could eat some spinach. Eyesight? He could eat some other stuff. He always had a plan for everything, but never for this. Still, that did not mean he refused to take precautions against it. That was the reason for this vivre card that he handed to his top executives. If anything, they would know exactly what was happening, and it was for that reason that Zy and Lester knew exactly what was happening at that very moment.

Tabart tried desperately to throw his head above the water, but the metal-bowl he occupied was so damn slippery. Even if it was not, he was far beyond the point of return. He had been submerged in the water for far too long to have the strength to drag himself from the very depths of the bathtub he had slipped and fallen into. It was such a shame that this would be the way he would die, but Tabart accepted it in his heart. He loved baths. He truly did. They were warm, comforting; his aunt Elizabeth taught him that baths were extravagant and elegant. He dedicated himself to a bath every-day when he had the opportunity, though it was always around the same time. This bath was the exact reason he had been missing from the battle happening on the very outskirts of the island. There was nothing in this world except the call of god that could drag Tabart from his bath.

He could feel his lungs failing him. He had enough air to hold his breath for quite some time. It was a fortunate effect of one of the plants he created; he always made sure to eat it prior to his bath to ensure when he did fall in that he would not die right away. But now, he could feel his lungs losing strength. The muscles used to support his “breath-holding” were on the verge of decay. In Tabart’s experience, those were always the last muscles to go.

Still, it was peaceful. Death was strange, but it was peaceful. Tabart closed his eyes and concentrated.

It was just as he was resigning himself to death that he would feel the sensation of air filling his lungs once again, water being pushed from them, and the soft lips of a woman touching every inch of his face.

"Oh my god! Tabbie!" shouted Bulls Zy, cradling him in her arms. "Are you alright? Baby! Talk to me!"

Tabart opened his eyes, his body still weak from the water that was pumped from his lungs. Still, he gave a slight grin, a devilish smirk that many were accustomed to seeing as he glanced upwards weakly.

“T-Thanks,” Tabart groaned, his voice hoarse, "I knew you two would save me...You always do."

”Come on baby,” Zy stroked his hair, “let’s get you home, safe and sound. Lester, take out the bed.”

Lester glared at her.

”What...? Oh right. Then just carry him!”

Lester rolled his eyes, taking the Warlord out of her hands.

”I swear, next time we run into either of those two assholes, I’ll run ‘em through for what they did to my Tabbie!”

Lester looked at Zy knowingly.

”You’re right, that one guy did look kind of familiar. Although I still can’t place his face.”

Tabart couldn't keep up with the conversation happening, mainly because had had already fallen asleep the moment that Lester and Zy started conversing.

”Tabbie? Tabbie!” Zy checked his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief upon realizing it was still there. “Alright, let’s him out of here.”

the two CP-0 agents hopped off the air using Geppo, headed for their nearby ship.

## Return

The rumbling from her legs echoed throughout the air as her heartbeat took apart the weakened island with each passing beat, with the intensity increasing the more she did it. With Alva having been exhausted from using his fruit to cleanse and weaken the land, Marisa was left to finish the job, while still having been on guard regarding their two foes that were still ready to strike.

But… then something unexpected just happened. They… left? Marisa couldn’t believe it when she saw it. She was sure that this was some kind of trick. But with her being so distracted with making sure that her body doesn’t break apart from the technique that she is using, her vision was shaky and blurry, and the outlines of their bodies vanished.

“What in the world?”

She asked herself as she continued for several minutes, until the magnitude of the vibrations and shockwaves created by her powerful heartbeat had thoroughly run across the entire island. Kicking up the ground and tearing it apart. One by one, piece by piece, and not stopping until the job had been fulfilled. And while it took several minutes of Marisa straining her body to such an extent, the deed had eventually been finished. The artificial island that belonged to Benjamin Tabart had been destroyed. The fact that it was artificial and that Alva weakened it with his powers made this much easier to do than if it were a regular, natural island.

And as the island crumbled away, so did the ground that Marisa was standing on. After it was finished, Marisa stumbled into the flowing water and violent currents that had been created from the vibrations, all while holding onto the exhausted Alva. Thankfully, Marisa wasn’t a Devil Fruit user, and thus still had her ability to swim. But if she had devil fruit powers, she wouldn’t have to use such extreme techniques that are potentially lethal.

Her legs were still shaking from the attack, and she was practically still quivering and jittering. She had to make sure that Alva wouldn’t be submerged, and thus once again put full focus on protecting him. While holding onto him with her hair, she began to slowly paddle with her still jittering arms and legs. The wounds that she received had temporarily healed in order to fight, but once she was done with her attack, the rumbling that coursed through her body began to forcefully rip them open again. Causing cuts and internal damages to once again take a toll on her.

“Dammit… I didn’t have the time to fully heal. All I did was regenerate my skin and haphazardly clog up wounds to stop bleeding. The damage is still there. I will probably take a good few hours until I have the energy to heal. But… Tch! I need to keep going! For you, Alva! Can you hear me? I told you that we did it! But, I haven’t heard… from you.”

Marisa shook him around a little in order to get a response. But this whole ordeal seemed to have caused him to pass out. Marisa only just now noticed. And, that made Marisa realize just how much Alva worked to make this possible. And to think that he was planning to do this all by himself at first. What would have happened if she didn’t come along? She doesn’t even want to imagine.

The torrent she created from her underwater technique was still around, and it was making it difficult for Marisa to swim away, especially with that extra weight that she is now carrying around. And her legs were still jittery from that technique from before. Marisa depleted more of her stamina by forcing more of her hair to grow, and creating two giant hands made out of her own hair that she then used to swim, just to escape the vortex that she had made. Swimming and swimming, all for the sake of protecting Alva. She didn’t care if she drowned. But, if she did, then he would too. So, Marisa has to make sure she doesn’t risk it.

After much kicking and fighting, Marisa escaped the waters that had been ruined by her vortex and the continuous quakes of the still falling appart artificial island, and together with Alva entangled in her hair, she was now out on the open water. The small throwaway ship that they used to even get her was nowhere to be seen. Marisa wouldn’t be surprised if the agents destroyed it, or if one of her attacks accidentally did it. Which meant that Marisa was forced to swim.

And she swam and swam, just to get away from the scene of the battle. Their mission was successful, and the Hunting Pirates had once again shown how far they would go in order to achieve their goal of true freedom, by opposing the World Government, and the pirates that have given away their own freedom in order to become their dogs. Marisa knew that this Tabart was a dangerous individual, and messing with his territories like that was a good way to get on his bad side. But, Marisa didn’t care. It was Alva’s own mission, and she was ready to die for the cause.

Messing with the government wasn’t something she was new to. The first thing she did when she became a pirate was pick a fight with those that were employed under the World Government. The Marines are simply the natural enemies of the pirate. They stand in the way of the true freedom that the Hunting Pirates wanted to achieve, as did other pirates. So messing with a Shichibukai was basically messing with both sides. But that is something one has to be prepared for when they embark out on these seas. In particular the New World.

Marisa swam and swam. Aimlessly, basically, and all in one direction. She had totally lost her orientation, but couldn’t stop swimming, because she didn’t want to risk Alva’s life. Her legs were calming down, but still too jittery to use properly. Her stamina had to persist until they finally had ground underneath their feet again. She thought that she would have to do this for hours. But… in the distance, their salvation arrived.

A ship. Not one of their own ships. Not even a pirate ship. No, it was a Marine Vessel!

“It will have to do…”

Marisa quietly said, as she took a deep breath and began to quickly swim towards the ship that had appeared in the horizon. In fact, it was coming their way. Marisa had been swimming in a straight line this entire way, which made Marisa think… Had the agents called for reinforcement? She didn’t know, but it wouldn’t matter now anyways. Whatever they were doing here, Marisa had never been happier before to see a marine ship.

She continued to paddle with her arms and hair, coursing through the water at great speeds that would even make a fishman surprised. Keeping her head above the water in order to make sure that Alva wouldn’t drown, she would not try to hide the fact that she was very clearly approaching this marine ship. And, it also didn’t take long for the marines on the ship to see the golden torpedo making its way towards them.

“Hey, do you see that? There is something coming for us!” One of the normal soldiers said.

“Not something, someone! Who is that?” Another one said.

And as they talked, none of them were prepared for Marisa suddenly speeding up as she approached them, before diving into the water, holding her breath. Building up speed beneath the surface for a brief moment, to make sure that Alva wouldn’t drown, and then swim towards the surface again with great speed!

*SPLOOSH!*

Marisa came flying out of the water like a torpedo. Flying high into the air, to the point where the leap out of the water was enough to jump over the ship several times over. But her aim was to land on it. Hovering in the sky for a brief moment, Marisa and Alva fell down, and she gracefully landed on her feet, while assuring that Alva wouldn’t be affected by the impact.

All of the sudden, these Marines had an unexpected visitor. Leaving all of them surprised by her sudden appearance. She opened up her hair and let Alva down onto the floor. They finally had some ground underneath them again!

“Phew… That was close. Man, for once you Marines are actually lifesavers. I thought I had to swim until I finally found an island.”

Marisa casually said, wringing the water out of her hair and clothes, while also taking off the cloak that she wore and throwing it aside. It was all drenched in water and would just weight her down. All the while, the Marine looking at them had no idea what just happened. But, this was a breach of their vessel, so they prepared their weapons by lifting swords and gun and pointing them at the two unwanted visitors.

“Who are you?!”

“What do you want from us?!”

“Identify yourselves!”

The marines began talking to them. Or rather, just Marisa, since she was the only one conscious and thus able to talk. She slowly lifted her hands into the air in order to calm down the situation. Trying to play it cool for the time being. No need to get into trouble just yet. After all, Marisa had some questions too.

“Woah woah woah, calm down now, no need to get violent. How about you tell me what you are doing out here first? After all, had you not been here, I would have had to continue swimming until I ran out of stamina.”

Marisa said, still acting calm and reserved in order to not alert the Marines just yet. They didn’t seem to know who she was. Luckily. This would perhaps make it possible to get out of this without a fight. After fighting these two agents, she has had enough fighting for the day.

“Eh? We… We were just around these waters, and we heard a loud scream come from the direction we are currently sailing to.” One of the marines explained.

“A scream? That… Oooooooh….” Marisa suddenly remembered the first attack that she did during the fight. The Heavenly Poem, which created a scream of not only intense magnitude, but also volume. It must have been loud enough for these Marines to hear it, and thus make their way in order to check on the situation. Marisa didn’t realize that her scream was really this loud.

“Oh, that. Uhm, false alarm, I guess? That scream that you heard came from me. I am the one who screamed. But, now there is nothing to worry about anymore. Trust me, that scream came from me. Need proof? AAAAH! There. Sound familiar?”

She explained, and then briefly screamed to make her point. Making all of the Marines flinch from the volume that her scream had, despite it being short and relatively harmless compared to the scream that she has done before. This was perfect, they didn’t know about her or about what really happened. If she can keep up this charade, then maybe she will be able to get out of this with Alva no problem.

“What’s all this commotion?!”

A voice echoed from inside of the ship, which eventually creeped closer and entered the deck of the ship, where Marisa, Alva and all the other Marines were located. It was a Marine Captain who owned this ship, and was the one that set course to investigate.

“Sir!” All the Marines said, saluting him and turning towards.

“Sir, we have just received news from this woman that she was the one who screamed earlier! It turns out that the problem has been resolved.”

One of the Marines explained. The Marine Captain raised an eyebrow in confusion and befuddlement. A woman he said. Someone was on their ship and he didn’t even realize. He looked past all the troops that were standing and saluting, in order to look at the person they were talking about, while also seeing the other person lying next to her.

And the moment he saw them, his eyes sparked up. He raised his voice with an aggressive tone. Getting out his own sword and gun.

**“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, IDIOTS?! THOSE ARE MEMBERS OF THE HUNTING PIRATES!”**

**“EEEEEEH?!”**

That one sentence caused a big uproar. For some reason, none of these Marines were aware about who they were. Except for the captain that finally decided to speak up. They all turned back towards Marisa and Alva, once again aiming their weapons at them with much more on guard postures. The Hunting Pirates were a name to be remembered however. Marisa sighed. There goes the undercover fun. But it took them quite a while to realize that. Now, Marisa had no other choice but to do something.

“Look, all we needed was a ride. We could’ve settled this peacefully, but if you want to be like that, then fine! I’m going to take your ship and use it to get me, and my ally back home!”

Marisa turned towards all of the Marines and quickly inhaled large volumes of air. If none of them knew who she was, then none of them would be aware about her abilities either. As she inhaled large amounts of air, Marisa prepared herself to unleash a scream. One that wasn’t on the same scale as the Heavenly Poem, but still strong enough to take out mooks like that.

**“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!”**

She unleashed a powerful scream, that didn’t just shake the ship, but the water around it. Sending forth a shockwave and a wave of air with immense volume and magnitude. And the marine soldiers caught in direct sight of her scream only had the second to briefly cover their ears, before the intensity of her scream vibrated their insides, and caused their brains to cease function.

All of them together they fell down, passing out from the internal harm that was being done to their brains. Marisa’s scream had enough power to kill a person. But she wasn't the kind to kill for no reason. She made it intense enough to knock them all out, but not to kill them. And all the troops that aimed their weapons at them had passed out. All, save for the captain of the ship.

During Marisa’s scream, he fell down onto his knees and covered his ears. Barely being able to withstand the pain that a mere scream caused. It felt like his entire insides were going to get crushed from the pressure of her scream. And he got to see as all of his soldiers fell down, passing out due to being unable to handle the intensity of the scream. But he wasn’t a captain for nothing. He was more durable and powerful. But even then, this was unexpected. He endured all the way until Marisa finally stopped.

“Damn it! What the hell?! Men! Stand up! Grrr… We’ve basically walked into a trap set by some stupid pirates! If you think your scream is going to be enough to stop me, then you are mistaken!”

Once Marisa finished, the captain slowly stood back up, recovering from the pain he had to go through, and still visibly struggling because of it. Regardless of that, he wouldn’t let that stop him.

“SORU!”

With that, he vanished from sight. Using the Rokushiki technique that grants one who knows it incredible speed by kicking off the ground multiple times. Marisa felt the winds around herself as he was using speed to his advantage in order to try and catch her off guard.

“You sure are fast. It reminds me of someone very annoying. As well as these agents that I just met…”

As he was dashing around Marisa in order to prepare for one strike, Marisa tensed up the muscles in one of her arms, and compressed the mass. Her arm began to jitter as she basically prepared her muscles to unleash a much more powerful punch than she would deliver otherwise. And as the dashing around her continued, the captain finally aimed to strike her down at the neck with his sword.

**CRASH**!

The dashing around had stopped, and the gust of winds announced an impact, and revealed a picture of Marisa’s fist having made contact with the face of the captain. His own speed and Marisa’s increased strength made this hit much more powerful than it normally would have been. And after one strong scream and a single punch, the captain of these marines too succumbed to Marisa. Passing out alongside his comrades.

“You were not nearly as tough as these Cipher Pol agents. Too bad for you. They basically prepared me for someone weaker like you.”

She scoffed. Now, everyone on the ship, save for Marisa, was passed out. And before Marisa would get to work on turning this ship around and using it for herself, Marisa once again elongated her hair, as well as stiffening and hardening it. She then began to pick up and collect the Marines, before binding them all in a tight bind made out of her own hair. Tying them together, against poles, against barrels, where she felt like.

Then, Marisa picked up Alva and went inside of the Marine ship. Searching around, until the found the quarters of the captain. Alva deserved better than to lie on the hard wooden floor of the ship. She put him down onto the bed that belonged to the marine captain, so that he may rest up.

“You did good, Alva. I’ll get us home. Don’t you worry.”

Marisa then made her way back out on the deck, and towards the helm. Marisa was rather experienced with steering and controlling a ship, due to how many missions she has been doing solo. With one strong turn, she turned the entire ship around and began heading towards a new direction. Now, without all the water keeping her up, she reached into a pocket and revealed an eternal pose that pointed to Atomium. This was their way back home.

The Marines on the ship had been knocked out and tied up. Marisa figured that now, she would take them all the way home. But, that might not be bad. After all, as long as they don’t escape again, it’s not like they are going to get the chance to tell anyone. Perhaps keep them for ransom? No, interrogate them about World Government activity. This could be a great way to get some information.

“Alright. Let’s go back. Hmm… Oh, that reminds me, I should probably tell one of the Five Stars about the guests I am about to bring them.”

She once again reached into her pocket to take out a small Den Den Mushi that had been resting inside of her clothes the entire time. How this one didn’t get damaged during the fight she had is perhaps a greater mystery than the One Piece itself. Either way, Marisa began to dial, in order to try and contact one of the Five Stars. The one in particular she was trying to call being Rena Argo.

*Purupurupurupuru….*

*Puru puru- Kacha.*

"WHO IS THIS...?!" The voice of Argo boomed from the speaker, the Den Den Mushi instantly adopted a wide expression, "Oh, wait," It frowned a bit, as if suddenly realizing what had been in front of it. "Marisa-dono!" Of course, of course, he should have figured given the Den Den Mushi that was ringing, hopefully he had not yelled too loud.

A beat. "I have heard that you went off on a mission-" Argo's right eye widened and he almost bit his tongue, "-ANYTHING HAPPENED?!"

Marisa narrowed her eyes, which even the Den Den Mushi on the other side imitated. Argo screamed hard enough that the Den Den Mushi on her side spat on her face. Marisa wiped it off and pretended nothing happened. She had something to talk about after all.

“Ah… Yes, Marisa reporting in. Me and Fisher J. Alva is about to return from out mission after infiltrating one of Benjamin Tabart’s artificial islands. First of all I wanted to report that our mission was successful, and that we have completely destroyed the island. Decreasing the influence of Tabart and thus the World Government. Alva is currently sleeping, exhausted. I will be bringing us back home to Atomium…”

Marisa briefly paused.

“...On a stolen Marine ship. Our ship we arrived on had vanished, most likely destroyed. But this one had conveniently arrived. I knocked out all the Marines on board and tied them up and am planning to take them with me. Considering how we can perhaps get some classified government information out of them, I wanted to inform you whether or not this procedure would be acceptable. There are some… Burning questions that I really want to ask them. And I wanted to ask for your permission.”

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" Argo started to beam, so much that the Den Den Mushi started to gape its own mouth, formed into an oval shape. However, a cough came, he quickly corrected himself, "Very fu- Very well!" Even its expression steeled, matching Marisa's. "Be sure to register them as *Items* when you arrive at one of the ports," Not that she would not have done that any way, Marisa, in recent years, surely showed how diligent she was, "Including your new prisoners."

Atomium possessed several ports all around, with every single one of them equipped to receive and look out for anyone and anything entering the island's field. Once Marisa registered the ship and the Marines at the correct label, all the guards would be notified.

"About the mission..." Argo suddenly spoke again, his tone much strict and not so loud, "You did good in aiding Ava, he may be among our newest younglings, but he appears to mean well..." Not that he had met the pirate several times, the amount of Hunting Pirates was indeed increasing, "In regards to the island you attacked, Benjamin Tabart's," To think they were able to do such a thing, "Were you sighted?"

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to complete the mission without engaging in combat with two Cipher Pol agents. Their names were Bulls Zy and Lester. Judging by how they fought, they were very experienced fighters. I heard about the training that these kinds of agents do. But I haven't personally met them myself until now. It was… An interesting experience, to say the least. For some reason though… As the fight met its end, they just retreated? I couldn’t hear what they said, because the island was literally falling apart underneath my feet.”

Marisa explained. Their encounter was definitely not an easy one. And it was to be expected that they ran into people that worked for Tabart. But, there was another thing that they saw on there. An image that was now burnt into Marisa’s memory. One that she utterly despises.

“Also, on that island, there were… Workers. Robots, no androids. And, they looked like… they looked like… that blue haired, blue skinned, blue eyed BITCH OF A CYBORG THAT DESTROYED MY OLD CREW AND CAPTURED MY FATHER! THAT BITCH PHOEBE WORKS FOR TABART! I HATE HER! That absolute villain… I swore that I would not take the life of anyone for no good reason. But if I hear about that bitch entering New World… I will murder her myself!”

She ranted on. The androids she saw however didn’t survive the attack. They were destroyed alongside the island. This just goes to show how faulty Phoebe’s tech truly was. She can’t wait for the day where she can finally murder Phoebe with her own, naturally trained body and show her how her technology does not matter.

“Ah… Forgive my rant. I’ve told you this before when I joined the crew. Thank you for informing me about what I must do. I promise that as long as I live, I will devote myself to achieving true freedom. Sir Rena Argo, is there anything else that you wish to know about or discuss?”

"......." Argo stared at Marisa through the Den Den Mushi connection, while his eyes were wide to the point his eyebrows were arched, his shut mouth harbored a smile, though he had almost dropped the speaker. Emotions overflowing from Marisa was not something the Hunting Pirates saw every day, nor every week, yeah, he guessed she was just self-contained like that, a grenade waiting for its pin to be removed. "Worry not, Marisa-dono, true freedom will be rewarded..."

Ah yes, all those years ago when Marisa joined their flag, Argo did not let the memories wash into his mind, so that he could continue speaking. "I suppose that should put us in their- fucking radar, huh..?" Within the other line of the speaker, a long tongue stretched out of his mouth, licking at the air before retreating, he smiled again and grind his teeth. "...Your report about everything that happened will be most important."

Argo's brows furrowed inwards, "What happened, what you saw, how those little bitches fought, how those blue-ass androids acted..." A quick sigh escaped through his nostrils, "We'll be sure to aid you in your interrogation as well, a hand helping a hand."

“Sir Rena Argo…” Marisa quietly said.

“Alright. I will tell you-you-you Huh-huh-huh? Mymymy DenDenDen…”

For some reason it seemed like the signal that was being received in between the two Den Den Mushi was being intercepted somehow. The snail-like creature was stuttering and jittering. Something that Marisa has not seen before.

And then…

*Kacha.*

“...Sir… Rena Argo?”

“Oh?”

“Huh?”

“Oh! Can you hear me?”

“What? Yes-- Waitwait… Who is this?” Marisa asked.

That voice. This was a new voice. But it seemed… Familiar. Uncomfortably so.

“Aaaaa-- Hahahahahaha~! Hello Mariiiiisaaaaa” The voice on the other line said.

Then, the signal was gone again. But, she recognized that voice. That laugh. The way it said her name.

“**PHOEBE**?!”

Marisa wasn’t aware that the line had once again returned to Rena Argo. The connection had been briefly interfered by Phoebe, but not for Argo to hear. No, only Marisa got to hear that voice. He thus would not be able to know what just happened. But, whatever just happened, it caused Marisa’s spine to tingle and her body to freeze up. This was like a bad dream.

“Waaaha...  HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?! YOU BITCH! TALK TO ME! WHERE IS MY FATHER?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!” Marisa began to rant. Not knowing that the line had once again returned to Argo.

Argo's hair was blown back by the sudden shouting of the Den Den Mushi, much like Marisa earlier he was showered with saliva as well. More than his hair, it seemed to blow away any kind of expression that he bore when speaking to her beforehand. Still, Argo's hand clinged to the snail.

The static of the transmission did not go over Argo's head, but he did not speak immediately.

The world itself had gone quiet due to Marisa's screaming, both her side and Argo's own, the activities on Atomium failed to reach his ears. Only Marisa's shouts. No muscle in his body moved either, while his eyes stared deep into the violent snail. He remembered, he remembered her rants of that Marine... But for that to be repeated…

"...WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED OVER THERE?!!" Argo bellowed as well, brows fiercely sinking into his temple. Snail in hand, he moved to the closest window, "STOP FUCKING SCREAMING AND TELL ME!"

When she finally heard Argo’s voice again, Marisa immediately stopped. Still, her heart had sunken down into the deepest parts of her body, and she could feel chills all over her body. As time passed, Marisa had proven to that blue cyborg time and time again that physically, she was simply superior. But, psychological warfare is where she faltered, and where Phoebe excelled. She knew how to get on Marisa’s nerves. But now… Now out of all times?

“Sih… Saha… Sir Rena Argo, Phoebe somehow intercepted the signal, and talked to me directly! She just… laughed and said my name! I don’t know how in the world that is even possible! Probably some technology again! What in the world is going on?!”

Marisa was beyond frustrated. She clenched her teeth together, and the frustrated noises of her teeth rubbing against each other could be heard all the way to the other side, as even the Den Den Mushi would imitate it.

“...Forgive me. This… I don’t… A-anyways, Let me tell you about--”

*Zrrrk*

The signal was once again cut off. But this time, Marisa didn’t notice. No, it didn’t affect her this time. This time the signal was connecting with the other Den Den Mushi. The one that Argo was using. And with a creepy slasher smile quickly replacing the expression of it.

“....Argo, right? You made a huge mistake by attacking my androids, and Tabart’s territory. This will have consequences. You chose the wrong enemies. You have the incompetent failure of a woman called Marisa to thank for messing this up. Toodles~”

The voice was gone, and the signal to Marisa returned.

“--Which means that he probably has more of them.”

The signal returned to Marisa who had just finished her sentence. Phoebe worked with Tabart, and she wasn’t going to let an attack like that slide by. And neither would Tabart. Marisa’s and Alva’s actions would lead to more trouble than they had hoped for.

“Did that explain everything, Sir Rena Argo?”

Argo's smile almost stretched through the borders of his face, pretty much betraying the whole situation that unfolded just before him, taking a second. Rather, taking a whole second. It did not leave his face even as Phoebe left no room for him to respond, in fact, he took everything she had said, down his ears, into his brain, his mind, yet, the smile remained once again.

Further, Argo noticed how the sound of Phoebe's voice interacted with her surrounds, though minimally. Through training and his snake sense, he was able to very well pick details and brainstorm inside his mind what kind of place it was. During the whole ordeal, his eyes stared at nowhere, almost closed even, but with several veins popping up across their surface. If Argo approached any of the crew's experts on technology and signals…

Marines, fucking Marines, working with the Government no less, as if they wanted to bring every single shit head over the pile of bullshit that were their Justices. Phoebe was already in there, Argo thought, but she went further and insulted them, Marisa, to further sink the knife in the wound…

"Oh," Argo blinked after seconds of not answering Marisa's question, rubbing one of his eyes just as he came out of some nap, "You see... the same thing that happened on your end, happened to me..." With his left hand, he gave a pat on the Den Den Mushi's head. "I suppose if we continue to discuss here... that stupid marine will interrupt again, Marisa-dono."

“Tch…”

Marisa let out a frustrated groan. So this is why Argo didn’t say anything and was so quiet. As well as the Den Den Mushi changing expression all of the sudden. The signal had been broken somehow. This damned Phoebe was messing them. For all they know, she might already know more than they at first thought. They cannot properly continue like this. Either way, Marisa informed him about what happened, and the results of their mission.

“Yes… Let’s not risk it. I will continue to finish up the mission once I arrive at Atomium. We should discuss the rest in person. I am… So sorry for the inconvenience. I did not see this coming. But I won’t let that stop me. Wherever she is, she won’t get in our way right now. But let’s be careful nonetheless. Thank you for your time, Sir Rena Argo. I will be seeing you soon. Until then, goodbye.”

*Kacha.*

Talking anymore was not worth it. She didn’t want to risk it. Whatever that Phoebe knew didn’t matter at the moment. She won’t be able to stop it. Marisa is more so concerned about her own father. For years he had been captured, and knowing Phoebe, every single day he must be going through hell. The mere thought of it makes Marisa sick. And everytime she is reminded of Phoebe, those memories come back, no matter how hard she tries to suppress them. She’s just haunting her. But she can’t let that get in the way of her work. They will achieve true freedom no matter what.

With that out of the way, no matter how uncomfortable it was, it now meant that they were going to go home. Considering the travel they needed to even arrive at Tabart’s island, it was going to take a few hours. She will have to keep things in check as she traveled.

Hours would pass. And during that time, some of the Marines would wake up, to which Marisa informed them about what was about to happen, only to promptly knock them out again, so that they didn’t have to hear their whining. They were hostages now, and they would use them to get information. Much like Phoebe probably just did… Win some and lose some. This was to be expected, considering who they had been messing with.

And as more hours passed, Atomium appeared in the distance. In order to not get targeted, Marisa stood on top of the mast of the ship, waving her arms and weapons in order to alert her allies of her arrival. She was arriving with a Marine ship after all, so seeing them coming was rather nerve wracking. But, nothing bad happened, and Marisa arrived at the docks with the ship.

“Oi!” A starless member came and approached the ship.

“Marisa, it’s you. How come you are here with a marine vessel?” He asked.

“Oh, our small ship was lost during the encounter we had. So, I nagged us this one. Register it as an item. As well as… About 30 marine soldiers, and a captain. I brought them here in order to get some information out of them. Our mission was a success, don’t worry.” Marisa explained.

“Seriously? Good god, I, uh… Good job, of course! Hey guys! Marisa brought some new guests and a ship! Let’s lock them up!”

The starless member yelled towards some of his buddies, to which they came in order to board the ship, and see all of the knocked out marine soldiers. Marisa has done quite a number on them, just to keep them knocked out. They were all bruised up. Regardless, they cut up the odd strings that were tied around them, and carried all of them into cellars, to where they would be kept and interrogated about government information.

Finally, Marisa went into the captain’s quarters in order to pick up Alva, and carry him out of the ship. He had been sleeping this entire time. He really must have been exhausted. She will carry him some more, and walk through Atomium.

“Hey! We heard about your success! Great job!”

“Woohoo! Marisa! Alva!”

“Let’s go!”

“Great work!”

Marisa was met with the words of several civilians and allies. The news about their successful mission had reached them already. Even though Marisa normally kept to herself, seeing this kind of appreciation did put a smile on her face. And while Alva couldn’t react, he most definitely deserved the cheering he was receiving right now. Marisa would continue to walk, until she reached one of the hotels.

Getting special permission due to her status, Marisa carried Alva to a private room, where she then laid him down on a bed. She took a nearby sheet of paper and pen, and began writing in order to leave him a letter.

“Dear Alva. Thank you for your assistance back when we were taking on Tabart’s territory. This may be one small step for the Hunting Pirates, but one big step towards true freedom. I have assured you that we could get home safely the moment you passed out. When you read this letter, I am probably out on a mission again. Please take this gift. It may not be much, but I wanted to reward you for your efforts. --Marisa.”

She put down the letter on a table located next to the bed, and put down {{b}}1,000,000 next to it as a reward, coming straight from Marisa’s own pockets. And with that, Marisa would leave the hotel room, letting Alva rest up, and returning.

Returning to once again restlessly work for the sake of the Hunting Pirates. To achieve true freedom.