The sun set on the Charon just as Mashyuu touched down on the deck with Harley in his arms. The tired Pirate Captain stumbled forward and let the young woman go. "I still can't believe that Ensign didn't lay a hand on you with any of her attacks. You got lucky Mashyuu!" Harley slapped the dark haired man upside the head while she stepped back, a playful smile on her face. "Still I'm glad you let me come with you this time. I don't think you could have handled the marine and the cultist." Harley's face had small bruises on it as did her left arm and her legs from the impacts of the fight she was in a few hours ago. She thumbed to the door leading below deck and sighed. "Gonna go put some ice on these and let the swelling go down. I'll catch you in a bit." Harley wandered away from Mashyuu, leaving him with his thoughts and a few of the people Yuurei had found and rescued before.

The Captain took the time to climb the rope net up to the crows nest of the ship and sat on the edge of it, looking out over the edge of Skypiea and to the world below. Everything was small dots on a map of blue from the height the ship was at, it seemed peaceful but Mashyuu knew better. Most the world was in turmoil as far as he could tell. Too many Pirates, Marines, and Revolutionaries, not to mention the Bounty Hunters and gangs, each had their own plans that effected too many. Hell Mashyuu was sure that his plans to get rid of Quinn would disrupt someones life eventually. His head sank down to his chest and his hair fell over his face, masking the confusion that plastered it. I don't think we are ready for this. Now a God is awake and the Marines are looking to capture me for some sort of tribute to Adam... I don't even know what this guy looks like. Just that he has some big stone guardians that I don't think I can take. This is a mistake....

The concern and worry on his face slowly washed away as his resolve filled his heart. Mashyuu wouldn't be deterred from his plan of action, not yet. His first course of action needed to be getting rid of the Marines on Skypiea before they did something terrible. He had only dealt with them a few times and each time led Mashyuu to believe that their brand of Justice was wrong and self centered. (Not that Mashyuu's was much better.) Digging into his pocket Mashyuu pulled his Den Den and clicked it on. "Any available crew mates who want to announce who we are to the world, come to the meeting hall. It's time to make an offensive strike to the Marines." Mashyuu growled into his Mushi and hung up.

Quickly he flipped his body forward and spread his wings, gliding over towards the door of the meeting room and landed in a three point stance. He stepped inside and stood at the head of the table, waiting for anyone who was free to show up, sure to leave the windows open in case Gideon was free to crack some skulls. Harley was the first one in the room with her medical bag strapped over one shoulder, bandages covering her bruises that made her look worse than she felt. "You're gonna do something stupid. I need to be there in case you need medical attention."

It was a beautiful day in Angel Island, but Yuurei had chosen to stay on the ship for the day. He wanted to train himself, and ready himself for the battle to come. There was a lot of things that he had done on this island, and he knew that there was a lot more to do. His robe was half off as he had changed his clothes now as he was wearing a black robe this time. He had gotten this from a different time, and he decided to wear it. Yuurei’s main concern was to hide his identity from people, so they didn’t know who he was. He knew he was a wanted man around these parts, so it was why he changed his whole entire wardrobe. Still, he was doing sit ups as hard as he could now as he was sweating his ass of as he didn’t know what he was going to do now.

He didn’t have anything plan to do now for the day, so he figured training would be the best thing he could do. It didn’t take long for his den den mushi to start ringing near him, which stopped him from exercising. He sighed as he was enjoying what he was doing, but knew that if someone was calling on the mushi, then it must have been important. He stood up straight as he moved towards his den den, and picked it up. When he picked it up he could hear Mashyuu speaking on it, and when he finished speaking, he could only be shocked to hear his captain’s words. It wasn’t about being known to the world, but the fact that there were marines still on Angel Island. It angered him to hear this because he thought he had taken out all the marines that were on this island. He cracked his neck when he heard this, and figured he would head to the meeting hall.

The swordsman would move to the corner of the room and gather all of his swords. He would place them in the sash as he was ready to move. He had also taken a towel that was nearby and rubbed his body with it as he was trying to dry himself. Yuurei would walk out of the area he was in, and he would dry his face at the same time. The swordsman would walk in a normal pace towards the meeting hall. He could feel the presence of a bunch of people working around the ship as well. He could smile because these guys were doing their thing to keep the ship in great form. While he was walking to door of the meeting hall, he could feel the presence of someone rushing straight towards him. He would sighed because he knew who it was. Koneko jumped on him, and swung around Yuurei’s neck as she was happy to see him.

”Yuurei-sama. Where are you going? I’m coming and if you say no this time, then you will regret it, nya.” she warned him. How she said it made him feel like he had no choice but to say yes. He didn’t want to, but he knew that she would hate him, if he continued to keep pushing her away. ”I’m going to Mashyuu. He wants to fight some marines, and I’m going to go kill them all. I told them to leave Skypiea, but they are still here, which I warned them, if they were, then they would perish. I will be okay with you joining us, but please, if you sense, or feel like things are too dangerous run.” He told her with a stern, yet caring voice. She stood hanging from him, and wasn’t surprised on how much he cared.

”Fine, I promise if it gets too dangerous for me, then I will leave, or hide until it is safe, nya.” She happily said to him. She was just happy to be able to go with him. He nodded, but he didn’t move where he stood because she was on his neck. ”could you get off my next?” he asked her, and she blushed a bit before letting go. Her feet touching the ground, and when she did that, he was walking off again. It didn’t take long for the two of them to make it to the meeting hall. When they got there, he would see Mashyuu, and Harley who were both waiting for their arrival. ”I thought I got rid of the marines Mashyuu. You are telling me there are more? Those people seem to multiply like roaches. When you think you got rid of them all, more seem to appear.” he said to him.

He cracked his knuckles on his right hand by simply just flexing his fingers and closing it into a fist. ”I will be going with you” he said as he nodded as he would always have Mashyuu’s back. ”I will be coming as well, nya” She said happily as the two waited to see what he would say.

Gideon had started his day normally, waking when the only sound being heard were the waves and the birds chirping. He had taken an over-sized rag and did what he could to clean both his ship and the Charon. With his size, he was able to cover a lot of distance and even reach the high parts of the masts, which he noticed were the hardest for the others to clean, all the while humming a tune he had picked up when walking around the island. Lastly he had wiped down the outer areas, both port and starboard, given that he would never be able to reach the inside of the ships, he figured he would cover any parts which were too difficult to do so.

After cleaning, the town had woken up, Gideon could also hear movement within the Charon, though he couldn't tell who it was. He went over to his ship and began preparing for lunch, realizing he had cleaned well pass breakfast. Two hours passed when he had finally finished his full course meal, baked boneless chicken breasts with potato wedges, all coated in dressing and basil, this was his best meal, he hoped the others would be able to think the same.

The den den mushi went off. Gideon quickly pulled his jacket from the boat and spotted the den den mushi he had attached to the collar; he brought it up to his ear to listen. He was surprised, given that he and Yuurei had attacked the secret marine base that was stationed in the Upper Yard as well as the warship they had hidden behind the island. Were there more marines or did the Commodore return with reinforcements? Either way, Gideon took this chance to quickly stack a tray with several plates full of his meal; he dropped his jacket back onto his ship before he made his way back to the Charon.

At this point, Gideon wasn't surprised by what was announced, he came to realize this crew attracted attention, mainly bad, whether it's unintentional or in this case intentional. Now as far as he could guess, the crew intended on making themselves known to the world. He questioned whether or not that was a good idea, given that they are pirates, what was the benefit behind doing so, and whether or not if it was worth it.

During the time Gideon has known this crew, the only things he had received as profit were looted items and beli, which he didn't mind, so long as he didn't had to pillage from innocent people who needed couldn't afford to be robbed. There were a few times Gideon had to think about becoming a pirate and he came to the conclusion it was all for the best if he managed to sail free, rescue his mother, and get to take down Loki. Speaking of which, he would have another shot at getting information.

Gideon peeked through the window Mashyuu had left opened, then passed the large tray into the room, "Feel free to eat as much as you want" he greeted everyone.

A wide smile spread over Mashyuu's lips and he nodded at Harley with a wicked gaze. "Can't say you're entirely wrong. But I do have a few rules for anyone coming with me." Mashyuu admitted. He had considered his options carefully before calling the meeting and knew what needed to be done. Just before he sat down, Yurrei and Koneko joined him in the meeting room. Not a moment later, Gideon had peered into the room and passed a large tray of food towards the group. Mashyuu quickly took the food and placed it on the table only to pick up a morsel and shove it into his mouth. After he chewed, Mashyuu nodded at Yuurei and cleared his throat, motioning for everyone to have a seat.

Mashyuu folded his arms behind his back and looked to Gideon first. "Gideon, we haven't had much time to speak with one another. For that I'm sorry. Let me start by answering some questions you might have. I don't know exactly what Yuurei and Dai told you. We are a crew of Pirates. That being said, I won't tolerate mindless killing, stealing from those who clearly don't have what they need to live or have not harmed us in any way. People I believe, are generally good. However if someone crosses us, I won't hesitate to show them no mercy. I expect the same from my crew. If these basic expectations are too much for you, I don't expect you to stick around." Mashyuu took another piece of food and ate it then continued on, pacing back and fourth in the room.

"Last time we spoke I told you about the devils fruit I found. About the god I awoke. Well I've eaten that fruit, because I realized that we as a crew, let alone individuals aren't ready for what we are facing. I thought the fruit would give me an edge. And while it has, it's not enough. We are newbies on the sea, as a unit and we need to come together. How can we do that? I've an idea on it. Shortly after eating my devils fruit I learned that Marines are hunting me to offer up as a tribute to this God. His name is Adam.... that's a bad name by the way. Not scary or god like at all." Mashyuu trailed off and pointed at a small metal goblet of water, crooking his finger and dragging it with his magnetic power across the table. He took a swing and continued.

"We are going to go to the closest large town and ask around for the marines, or at least look for them. It doesn't have to be anything amazing but we are going to find them and run them out of Skypiea. No killing. I want  the world to know who we are and that we aren't some scrub crew like the thousands of others out there. After that we are going to all meet here and head back to Jaya first, then set sail until we are ready for dealing with a god up here. If you aren't willing to do this, speak up. So.... Who's in?" Mashyuu smiled as his hand brushed his hair back. Harley stood up and saluted Mashyuu. "I can agree with that plan of action. You know I'm not much of a fighter but I'll be there to help keep you patched up in case of a bad wound."

Soon after he got to the room with Koneko, he could feel the presence of his close friend making his way there. He could only smile because now they were going to have the big guy with them as well. He looked to the window that was open, and his eyes widen when he saw the meal that was given to them, and he looked down to his stomach as it growled at him. He chuckled to the sound of this noise, and Koneko blinked a bit surprised from his tummy rumbling. With the food placed on the table, and Mashyuu getting ready to talk, Yuurei sat down along with Koneko before he started grabbing food and eating while he waited. Koneko would do the same, but it a proper way because she didn’t want to look like a monster eating food.

The thief heard the words that came out of his captain’s mouth, and knew these were just rules he had to say. It didn’t bother Yuurei as he continued to eat, and he knew that Gideon more than anybody didn’t like killing too much. Now that he was talking, Yuurei noticed that he was standing up again, and this time pacing around the area. He chuckled a bit, which almost caused him choke on his food. He smacked his chest a bit before slowly swallowing his food as he would let out a sigh of relief. Captain almost killed me just by doing that. he thought to himself as he grabbed something else on the table and began to eat it. Soon enough he started speaking again, and Yuurei, and Koneko were listening closely. The word marine stung Yuurei in the back of his head. He didn’t like that there were more marines on this island, and the thought of them not listening to him only anger him.

His left hand would curl up to a fist and he would clench it as hard as he could as he tried to hold onto his anger. They were after Mashyuu however, and the reason made him laugh. Still, he kept quiet even though he wanted to talk, but figured he would allow Mashyuu to finish speaking. He did catch the scene of what he did with the metal goblet just now, and nodded because he knew it had to be the power of his fruit. He knew that Mashyuu couldn’t do that before, or at least he never displayed such an ability before. Yuurei heard his words, and he smiled when heard the agenda for today. ”So we are finally leaving this place. I guess we are going to allow Quinn to breathe a little longer.” he said as he knew that was their main reason for coming up here in the first place. Still, he had wanted to speak about the matter before he had come up with the plan.

”First of all let me start by saying this. They want you as a tribute? That is crazy, and it will never happen. I don’t think they know who you have as your family Mashyuu. I guess we never really took on anything as an entire group, except for those guys that were heading to the ship. Still, maybe I should eat my Devil Fruit. I been scared to do so, but I figured I was waiting for you to do it, so I could follow in pursuit.” He would take out his devil fruit and place it on the table in front of him. Yuurei would admire it for few as he figured the longer he took to eat it, then the easier it would be for it to be stolen from his person. Now that he had said this, he figured it was time for him to speak of the plan that Mashyuu had brought up.

”I want to one hundred percent make sure that there are no marines on this island. Gideon and I took down a huge warship filled with marines, and we ran them out of Skypiea. Still, I guess there were more around this place from a different unit, or those guys didn’t listen. As for killing, if they force my hand I won’t show no mercy Mashyuu, but there will be marines who will be left to leave and tell the world about us.” he paused a bit as took some water in his system from being slightly parched. ”I do enjoy going back to Jaya Island. I felt like I missed a few things down there, and we would probably find some more people who will join us for the incoming battle of the Gods, and with Quinn as well.” He was getting excited now as he couldn’t wait for this to start. Koneko was just eating as she was nodding with everything that everyone said. She just wanted to be a part of something now, and this was her chance.

The meeting room was filled by the primary crew. As for the lackeys, they didn't arrive, probably because this mission only required the ears of fighters or those who earned their position. Regardless, the food was being eaten to Gideon's satisfaction. What surprised the giant was that the meeting opened up by the captain addressing him first. Seeing that the attention was on him, Gideon straightened himself, though he kept his face by the window.

By what Mashyuu stated, Gideon was relieved to hear that the crew wasn't focused on hard pillaging and senseless killing, though when that subject had came up, he accidentally looked towards Yuurei for a split second, thinking back to all the moments Yuurei had coated the battlefield with blood, barely leaving anyone alive, only showing mercy those he excepted would spread word of the events, then he thought about Daimaru, how the sharkman went feral and tore through the battlefield upon their first meeting, the field was just as bloody and even lying to a slaver to get information... ultimately killing him, or intending on killing him after though the slaver thought he would be spared.

Gideon's eyes looked back to Mashyuu, he wondered two major things: If Mashyuu knew how possibly dangerous both the Blade-Bleeder and the Hell-Shark were, and if Blade-Bleeder or the Hell-Shark obeyed such orders... and if so, how far would they needed to be pushed to break that order?

"I understand, Captain, I'll try to preserve life" This time Gideon managed to avoid eye contact with Yuurei. He thought back to when Yuurei gave him a 'hard talk', about why he made the tough decision to kill, "To avoid anyone one of them from getting reinforcements or returning with an upper-hand" that is what Gideon kept telling himself, trying to get use to the way the crew battled, or at least that is what he thought. He kept his eyes on Mashyuu, this isn't how the crew is, and by the Captain's orders... there will be no deaths, or at least much less deaths then the previous battles.

What brought Gideon back to reality was the continuation of the conversation from the captain. Devil fruit? Seeing the captain move the goblet brought Gideon in awe, he has only heard of Devil Fruit abilities, now he is witnessing one in action. Then he noticed Yuurei's devil fruit and remembered what it was, now in was in awe of the fact that the crew was more powerful than he had realized.

"Forgive me, captain, but a tribute?" Gideon had to interrupt, this didn't seem right at all, "Marines performing such an act? It's illegal in practically all major civilizations, why would the marines do such a thing? It goes against their law and code of conduct as well as their morality, no commanding officer would do such a thing" Gideon was passionate about this because he has always seen the marines as a hammer of absolute justice, no matter the situation, they had to act upon the law with an Iron Fist, but now hearing such an act, it didn't seem right, were they even marine?

Mashyuu lifted his brow in Yuurei's direction and sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. Sometimes he didn't understand the thief. "Yuurei, if you're going to eat that fruit I should warn you... It's very bitter. On top of that I don't know if you need to eat it all or not but I did just to be safe. Oh and you're going to want to steer clear of any big objects, including the ships when you eat it. I was almost impaled by tent poles." Mashyuu commented but quickly noticed the way the Giant's eyes shifted in Yuurei's direction when the thief said something about killing. "Listen here. Normally I don't care about killing if you're defending yourself. But this time I am issuing a Captain's order. No killing." Mashyuu turned to look at Gideon this time to answer his question. "Yes, a tribute. When I awoke the God, one of his guardians told me that the god would be coming for me eventually. I'm not sure why. Here's the deal. The world below doesn't know about what happens up here. Thus the Marines don't have to follow any laws from the blue sea. Everything is Skypiean law. If the marines can gain favor here then they can get supplies they wouldn't be able to get below. The reason I don't want anyone dead is because we have no idea what each of these marines know. They might not know that my capture will lead to a tribute. They could just be doing their jobs and I won't kill someone for that." Mashyuu reasoned, making sure to look at both Gideon and Yuurei directly in the eye.

Slowly Mashyuu walked towards the door and stopped. "We will leave tomorrow morning. Take this time to get rest, get your gear in check and ready your minds for a long day. If you have any questions I'll be on the crows nest until nightfall. Everyone is dismissed." Mashyuu's voice was serious, level and stern, as if on this next course of action he wouldn't suffer anyone challenging his orders, unlike when he normally issued a command as more of a suggestion. Without a word he stepped out of the meeting room and flew up towards the crows nest. "Wow... Seems like he's really on edge about all this." Harley muttered and pushed her hands into her pockets, glancing at everyone. "But hey, at least it seems like we are on the offensive instead of defensive for once."

Yuurei heard Gideon and he looked at his friend and nodded as he was okay with that. It was the captain’s order. He did hear Gideon’s question, and he was happy that the cook was open and question things. He didn’t want his friend to be quiet just because Mashyuu was the captain. Still, he looked over to Mashyuu as he heard him speak to him first. It was about the fruit, and his eyes widen when he heard his friend speak about what happen to him. It made him look at the fruit, and he feared it. He didn’t know what to do right now, and he hesitated at first, but then figured it would be best to get this part over with. This fruit held power, and even though he didn’t know what powers he was getting, he figured it would be a great cause to the crew. Still, he knew that he would have to get away from the ship just in case. He didn’t want it to be destroyed, nor would he want to get anybody hurt.

Still, while he was thinking about this, he heard Mashyuu explain things to Gideon, and he shook his head. There were more troubles to take care of in Skypiea, and he wasn’t too happy with that. Still, their first task at hand was to get rid of the marines from this island. At the end the plan wasn’t for today, but for the morning to come. Yuurei nodded at him, but never got to say anything to the man as he stormed out of the room. He did, however continue to stuff his face with Gideon’s food. It was amazing, and he couldn’t help himself. Koneko was doing the same thing as she heard everything Mashyuu had said. She was against killed, and she didn’t think she could do it even if she wanted to. It didn’t take long, but Yuurei’s face was stuff with food, and everything that was food was gone from the table. He looked towards Harley who had spoken, and nodded in agreement.

He swallowed his food quickly sighing with relief as he looked at her. ”At least we have time to prepare ourselves. I’m usually on the offense, but first I should go eat this fruit, and see what horrors await me. If you guys want to come and check it out do come.” He jokingly said this. He didn’t really want anybody to come, but he figured they would because he didn’t really show that he was joking. Yuurei got up from his seat as he patted his stomach. ”God bless Gideon’s cooking even though something did taste bad, or weird.” He said this and walked out of the meeting hall. The pirate was walking towards the side of the ship, and jumped off to land on the docks. Koneko followed in pursuit to see what was going to happen. Yuurei had gotten a few meters away from the dock, and he had went inside his clothing to look for the fruit, but couldn’t find it.

He was a bit worried that he left it in the meeting hall. Yuurei was about to walk back, but he saw Koneko. ”Yuurei you already ate the fruit. While you were eating you accidently put it in your mouth and ate it like it was everything else, nya.” She said this to him as she was warning him. Yuurei’s eyes widen when he heard this and it worried him a bit. He looked at his body and he felt fine, and then his body got heavier. He looked at his body and he got nervous. ”I think I’m getting fat Koneko. I’m getting heavier. Oh my god no!” He said this, and soon he fell to the ground do to his weight being too heavy. Yuurei felt his body crushing the ground he was laying on, and looked at Koneko. She wanted to help him, but she was scared she might make it worst.

”Fight this Yuurei-sama. I know you can, nya!” She said hoping that her words meant something. He tried to get up as best as he could; his body kneeling as it was the best he could do for the moment. I’m not getting fat, but am I increasing my weight then? he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but what happen next would be surprising. He had indeed relax and the gravity on him had return to normal, or so he would think. When his eyes open, he noticed that he was floating in the air. Yuurei’s eyes widen again as he wasn’t sure what kind of trip he was going through now. ”What the fuck is this now? Am I really floating in the fucking air now? I don’t want to be like Mashyuu!" He tried to swim to move his body around, and it was working.

Koneko could be seen laughing as she didn’t think this would happen to Yuurei. Still, she was surprised that his fruit was able to allow him to do this as well. ”Well at least you aren’t gaining weight Yuurei-sama, nya. Still, do you know what is causing this, nya?” She asked him. He got into a sitting position while floating in the air and crossed his legs as he looked confused. ”So far what I’m getting is that I can change my weight from being too heavy, to being able to make myself weightless and float in the air.” He wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t right; he was changing the gravity around him, and on him specifically, which caused him to go through this.[/color]

The meeting hall was silent for the captain as he continued and as he did, his tone was serious, stern, none hesitant, he was entirely sure on his decision as well as he course of action, as a captain should be. Gideon's eyes kept on the captain, no longer because he wanted to make sure he was paying attention but because of Mashyuu appeared, as if his words were law.

After the captain stormed off, signalling the meeting to be over, Gideon pulled back from the window and looked to the sky. There was much to think about; they had another fight on their hands, but it wasn't just to gain popularity, or to send some kind of message, but it was also to save Mashyuu. This 'tribute' for this 'God' was indeed a problem, and what's more is that if the source is true, whatever or whoever gave this information to the crew, then that means the marines, who are suppose to be authorities of the law, protectors of the weak, are now committing crimes, breaking laws because of simply technicality.

"Damn it!" Gideon walked over to his ship to begin rearranging his equipment. Mashyuu had a point when it came to the lower ranking grunts, the marines are an organization strengthened by their hierarchy, the higher-ups make the orders and the lower ranking officers follow them, despite their own opinions or morals. Gideon then thought about the fights he had with the marines at the secret base and the warship, would he had been able to win without killing? He wasn't sure, but at the moment, he had to move forward, there's mission at hand. If the grunts were simply following orders, then somewhere high on the chain-of-command, someone made the decision of entering Skypiea illegally, normally it would be trespassing, but given that they are an army, then it is considered an invasion.

What's the goal? Gideon wondered. Why would the marines go through all this trouble? As far as he has gotten from his and Yuurei's last expedition, it was to gain some kind of favor from the leader of Skypiea, politics... but this seems different. A tribute; to be able to perform such a crime and go against their own code of conduct, they, or someone specifically, might intend on something selfish, something that the head of the Wold Government, the admiral or whatever it's called, wouldn't allow... doesn't probably know about. But who would be so selfish, secretive, and sly?

Then Gideon came to an idea; it had to be Loki. The giant clenched his fist around the side of his ship, cracking it. It made sense; If his sources were right and Loki did indeed work for the World Government, then he must be pulling the strings behind this whole operation, and if that's the case, then someone knew who that could be.

Sitting atop the crows nest, Mashyuu looked out over the cloud land of Skypiea with a weak smile playing on his face. His heart hurt, he had gathered a crew for the sole purpose of coming to Skypiea and taking down Quinn but it turned out he wasn't nearly ready enough. He really could have left at any moment but his heart wouldn't let him as long as marines were on Skypiea working with Adam of all people... or whatever the god decided was the best form to take. Mashyuu sighed, his head sank low and his arms started to quake with anger. He shrugged his shoulders and pushed off the nest and dropped down in a spiral pattern to land on the deck of the ship where Harley stood with her arms crossed over her chest, hip cocked to the side, waiting for the dark haired man. "You're getting into your own head, and its gonna make you slip up at the worst time. It's not your fault that the God woke up. If you didn't pull that fruit and Ragnar beat you in the temple, I'd bet he would take it. It sounded like he was going a little crazy as it was. If not you, someone else would have eventually taken the fruit and that would have woken up Adam. Honestly I'm glad it was someone who cares about people." She patted Mashyuu on the back and headed for the gang plank, hearing the yells of Yuurei, she decided she could use a good laugh after the rough day she had...

Mashyuu found himself below deck, his forge opened, he stood in a leather apron and boots with a matching pair of gloves. His hammer crushed oxidized ore, flattening it out into a two inch thick, seven inch long hand guard that swept up like a pair of open wings. He took a small chisel and a tiny hammer and started to clack the hammer against the thin chisel so he could carve a wing design into the hand guard. After it cooled he blew on the guard and removed all the loose pieces of metal he had carved out of the guard, then took a piece of sand paper and smoothed out the jagged parts of the guard until he had once wing shaped hand guard for a short sword. He set the guard on a shelf in his room and smiled at his work. He had been progressing slowly but he was starting to amass a small collection. When he made land he would be able to sell some wares.

The sun rose on the Charon the next morning as Mashyuu stepped out onto the main deck of the ship and looked around at the grunts walking around and living their lives. Slowly he raised his den den up and spoke. "Phantom Raiders, assemble. It's time to go." He shoved the den den into his pocket and straightened out the black coat he wore and patted down the vest under it. His booted foot kicked his cane sword into a spiral around his arm and prodded it against the deck of the ship. His red gloved hand pulled his white and red mask from his pocket and placed it on his face. "Someone lead the way to the closest city." He ordered his crew as they assembled...

Yuurei continue to float in the air as he was slightly moving. He didn’t know this was happening because he was trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Koneko just watched him as he didn’t come down from the air right now. He would soon see Harley on the docks, and she would wave at her. He had gotten happy when he saw her, and figured that she would be confused on what was happening with him. It didn’t take long, but him waving his hand had caused something to happen. He didn’t know it at first, but one of the poles nearby had lifted up, and was heading towards the thief. It was moving towards him, and when he finally noticed he looked to see what it was, and his eyes widen. He was surprised that this was happening, and he started swimming in the air as he was trying to dodge the pole that was coming his way.

The swordsman worries brought him to drop to the ground, however, which because of the speed of his fall the pole would miss him. Still, he had hit his face straight on the floor as turned around quickly to roll around while grabbing his nose. ”Damn this. What else is going to happen now?” He moved his hand away from his nose, and noticed that he had bled a little bit. Still, he noticed that he wasn’t out of the woods just yet. His eyes moved upwards and he noticed that there was the pole that was still heading towards him. He quickly got up from the ground, and onto his feet before he started running away from the pole. The metal pole would following Yuurei no matter where he would go, but the man wasn’t logical at the moment to just hide behind something.

”How the hell is my power attracting metal. I thought that was Mashyuu’s ability! I saw what he did with the metal goblet!” He shouted as he continued to run around. Koneko could only laugh when she saw this, but she felt bad for Yuurei. Still, he ate the fruit, so he needed to get used to it. ”Yuurei-sama, you will figure it out. Just keep running for your life until you do, nya!” She shouted this, but he wasn’t excited about her words of encouragement. He knew that he couldn’t continue running like this, so he turned around and placed his hands outwards. ”Stop!” He said this angrily hopefully it would work, and it actually did. His eyes widen when he noticed that the pole was no longer moving towards him. It stood in the air, and he thrusted his hand forward, which allowed him to push the pole forward, and away from him.

It would soon land on the ground, sticking straight into it. The thief sighed as he found that scary. ”What the hell am I able to do? It seems like I can attract and repel things. I can float as if I weight nothing, and crush the ground as if it I were getting too heavy for the…” He paused right then and there. He had a smile on his face as he understood what he was able to do. ”It’s freaking gravity. I can control, and manipulate freaking gravity. I can’t believe it. That is why I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. Then would I be able to…” He got quiet again, and took out his father’s sword, and tried to float it in the air, but when he let go it fell to the ground.

That frustrated him because there was no way that didn’t work. He went to pick up the sword, but when he reached out for it, the sword moved away from him. Yuurei looked even more frustrated now. The swordsman was repelling his blade away from him, and he started to chase after it. ”Come on this is annoying.” He pulled his hand back, and the sword came straight at Yuurei. The man jumped back and the sword stabbed the ground, which brought Yuurei to swallow his saliva. His eyes widen as he was trying to stab himself, or that was what the sword was trying to do. The swordsman would continue to do this the whole entire day trying to better himself with the understanding of his fruit. He knew that it had to do with gravity, which made a bit nervous, yet at the same time extremely excited.

When the next day came, Yuurei was up really early as he was still thinking about the fruit he had consume yesterday, and wondered what he could do with it. The fact that he could control and manipulate gravity was amazing, and he figured he would need more time before he could use this power without messing up. He did, however, learned to make sure he didn’t trigger it by mistake. On this day he had already been ready as he was sitting down and waiting for the phone call. They were going to get rid of the marines on this island for good. Then it happened, his den den Mushi started ringing, and he picked up as he got up from his bed, and walked out of his room. He didn’t need to hear, Mashyuu’s words because he knew it was time.

While walking towards the deck of the ship he put his den den mushi inside the white robe he wore. He made it to the deck of the ship, and he could see that his captain had new weapon in his hand. Yuurei heard his words of having someone lead them to the nearest city. He had a smirk on his face as he figured he would be the one to do that. Yuurei walked ahead of the crew, and looked back at everyone. ”Follow me.” He said this as he got to the edge of the ship, and jumped off and landed onto the docks. Koneko followed behind as she was jolly as ever as she was off the ship as well. The thief would move off in a direction as he knew what city he was going to take them. This location was an area that he and Gideon had gone to a few times.

It wouldn’t take long for them to get to the entrance of the city. At the front of the city there were several buildings lined up next to each other. With every four buildings build next to each other there were gaps that separated them from the next building, allowing people to move through them, use their vehicles to go through these gaps, which were streets. This city didn’t just have buildings, moving through the city the scenery would change and people would see houses taking up large portion of the areas. The color of the houses were vibrant compare to the plain-looking buildings from the entrance. Then there was the park that could be found in the left side of the city. It was a huge park with green grass, and tall trees everywhere, where people would bring their families. There were playgrounds for the kids in this park as well. On the right side of the city was the area where the shopping district would be located. This area had many different shops reach as far as people who sold their stuff being outside, or just having stores for people to walk into. They also had a few Taverns around this area, one that Gideon, and Yuurei had gone to a few times. The one they gone to had an outdoor portion of the Tavern allowing people to drink outside freely as long as they stood in the tavern’s parameter.

”Welcome to the city. Gideon and I have gone here a couple of times. It’s actually where I met Gideon. Here we will be able to find a lot of information. I must say I have gone through a lot in this city. If we want to get information though we might want to head to the left side of the city. There are a few taverns with men who see a lot throughout their weeks.” He would say this, but walked into the city as he was planning on heading their regardless of anybody’s decision. ”Yuurei-sama has been here a lot. It’s actually where I went after he rescued me, nya.” She followed after him.

After a moment, Gideon calmed himself down. He finished packing away his things into the hall of his ship and closed the deck of the ship as if it was a giant trunk. He tossed his jacket to the side with is bandanna and fannypack, kicked off his shoes and just as he was pulling out his pillow and blanket, he turned to view something happening. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. It was indeed Yuurei flying about, being chased by poles; the only sense he could make of situation at hand was that he must have pissed off the captain, now Mashyuu was threatening him by throwing metal stuff at him, but what the giant didn't realize was that Yuurei was flying too, he was too tired to think of it or even care at the moment. After he hopped onto his ship, he sprawled himself out and laid beneath his blanket, and his pillow covered his head, he needed a nap, just a nap, or so he thought, Gideon ended up sleeping through the rest of the day and the entire night, his old wounds still needed much sleep.

* * *

Gideon woke the next morning, before anyone was awake, as usual, stretching and feeling 110%. He bathed himself and dressed before he began cooking up breakfast. With the leftover boar meat he still had on ice, he diced them to make a large amount of strips to which he fried till they were crispy, Bam!, Bacon. With a sack of potatoes, he skinned them, diced them, boiled them before mashing them with bits of his usual seasoning, Bam! Mashed potatoes. And as usual, he made enough servings for the entire ship. He needed to get rid of the rest of the boar meat before it spoiled.

Walking onto the ship, Gideon spotted the rest of the crew, "Good morning" he said as he handed the silver platter to one of the winged lackeys to distribute the food while the giant went back to finish getting ready.

The day was going to be bloody, but what the crew was about to do will be needed in order to free those who have been mistreated and enslaved. Gideon tightened the black bandanna on his head before he grabbed Jormungandr and his fannypack.

Soon enough the giant was walking behind Yuurei who led the way for the rest of them. The way they carried themselves, showed the people around them who were curious that they had an errand to run, little did they know, this errand was a mixture of business and personal.

When the trap door of the ship opened and Yuurei popped out, Mashyuu nodded at the man, a sign of greeting without using any words. Next came Koneko and Gideon. Mashyuu nodded at them as well. "This is it then, everyone aside from Dai and those saved by Yuurei. It's for the best really. I don't want to leave the ships without one of us here. Now if anything goes south during this I want all of you to try to escape and make it back here. And remember, no matter what, after this we are headed to Jaya to plan our next move." Mashyuu ordered, pulling his jacket forward to hide the large morning star he carried on his right hip and the hand ax on his left thigh. As the crew headed out, Mashyuu's cane blade floated at the Captain's side and he grasped Harley's wrists and flew her up into the air so the two of them were at Gideon's eye level and to his left. "When all this is over, you and I are gonna have to sit down and have a beer or something together. I'd like to get to know my crew. Luckily Yuurei says your worth having around. Plus I've seen what you can do on the battle field and in the kitchen. Tell me, what is it you're actually after in this life?"

Seemingly before long the crew had arrived in the nearest town and Mashyuu had let Harley land, and touched down next to her, carrying his cane like a perfect gentleman. He listened to Yuurei's explanation of the town and glanced about the area, letting his wings stretch for a moment before pulling them in to rest on his back. "Yeah.... Lets split up, meet back here in say an hour. If you run into any marines or think you're being followed report it and try to lead them back this way. We are looking for solid proof of marine activity in the area. But lets not come out and tell people who we are or why we are looking for Marines. Make something up if you have to. Harley go with Gideon, Koneko with Yuurei. Seeing as I'm Skypiean I shouldn't get bothered." Mashyuu reasoned to the crew. Focused purely on the task at hand, Mashyuu didn't wait for the crew to reply or even move, instead he flew up and north into the city and landed at the first major intersection in the road he saw and started to wander down a sidewalk like path.

Keeping himself relaxed, Mashyuu walked calmly and let his eyes wander around each time his cane clacked on the ground. His mind was working to identify a marine in the small clusters of people at various points in the city. Most of the men and women had wings but every now and then he would see a non Skypiean and wonder if they were a marine or slave.

Harley joined Gideon and looked up at the all monster of a man. "Ya know... we should really look into making something that can change your dna and shrink you or something... It's gotta be hard to get around in places like this. You must get judged a lot. Don't worry champ, I'll be nice to ya. Where do you suggest we start?" Harley nudged the large giant with her elbow and winked up at him while wearing a cute smile like she was simply happy to be doing something other than patching up her insane crewmates.

Yuurei was planning on heading to the East part of the city, and he would have enjoyed everyone heading the same direction, but they were going to split up. He felt like there was a good rule somewhere in life, which made sure that people didn’t separate from their groups. Still, the group was split at the end, which left Mashyuu to go alone on his own. He wanted to say something, or at least suggest that Koneko had gone with him, but it was too late. His friend had gotten into the sky, and he was soon off. ”That man sure gets ahead of himself sometimes. Well, since he put us into groups, then it just means that I will be head East Gideon. Do your best at finding some good information.” he looked up at the giant when he said this with a smile on his face. After he did that he looked at Koneko who was next to him.

”Keep your eyes out for anything, or anybody who is different from the rest. Also make sure you aren’t caught off guard Koneko.” He explained to her as he looked at the grunts that followed him. He smiled at each and every one of them as they were here to fight. They didn’t want to standby on the ship while the man who helped went off to fight a battle with a small number of people. ”Follow behind, but act like you aren’t with us. You guys have wings, so go into groups of three, and chat with each other and pretend like we don’t know each other until the time is right.” He said these words, and waited for a sign to see if they all understood what he told them. They nodded, and moved around, so they were in small groups of three. They were not close to Yuurei, or the other groups either.

When he saw that everybody was ready, he started walking towards the East side of the city. The crew had finally been separated again, but he was glad that they had baby mushis to communicate with each other. Konkeo figured they had to play the part of being together, which she was excited about. Yuurei never said anything like that, but when he spoke about grouping up, she figured they would group up and act like they were something. She latched onto his arm without hesitation, and he looked to his side as he was trying to figure out why Koneko did this. ”Why are you holding my arm like that. Your breasts are kind of close to me shoulders.” He said this to her as he blushed and looked straight ahead. ”I’m playing the part of your girlfriend. If we have to act different and normal, so people don’t know our true agenda, then this is how I’m going to do it, nya.” She was excited about this.

Yuurei sighed as he shouldn’t have been surprised with what she had done. Still, walking through the city, the people with Wings had saw the two, and they could tell that she wasn’t human from her tail. They figured different race being together was a thing in the Grand Line. Yuurei waved at them, and they quickly looked away. The grunts were actually having conversations in their circle; the people had gotten in groups of people they were truly comfortable with. It wouldn’t take long for the large group to make their way towards his favorite Tavern. He waved at the waitress who was there, and she waved back at him, but when she noticed that Koneko was on his arm, she pouted a bit from jealousy. This tavern had an open part to it, and he could see that there were people who were drinking already. The grunts continued to move around the tavern’s structure, so they didn’t make it obvious they were with Yuurei.

”Can I get my usual drink please.” He said to the waitress. She nodded and went to get him what he wanted. She was upset that there was another girl on his arm, but at the same she was grateful that he saved her life. Yuurei would soon walk towards the corner of the tavern, and take a seat where he usually would. Koneko would let go of his arm, and sit down next to him. ”Are you really having a drink here? Why are we here, nya?” She asked. She knew he was going to look for information here, but right now it looked like he was just enjoying himself. ”You got to play the part, if you want people to trust in you, and give the information you ask for. If I just come in here asking questions nobody would answer me.” He shook his head as he explained this to Koneko. Soon the waitress would come with his beer mug, and place on the table. ”on the house Yuurei. What you did for me, this tavern will never forget.” She said as she walked away.

Koneko’s ears twitched when the waitress spoke to him like that. ”What did you? Why is she in debt to you, nya?” Koneko was getting jealous now, and her tail was straight up. She pouted her face as she looked at Yuurei. ”I will explain it to you later Koneko. See those people there. They look like they would give up any information they have.” He eyes them, and brought his beer to his mouth as he drunk some of it before putting it down on the table. He sighed with relief on how good it was. Still, he was going to give it a minute or two before actually prying information out of them.

At one moment, Gideon noticed Mashyuu flying by his face; surely it was a surprise because he was never use to having smaller beings converse with him without needed him to bend down, "Aye, captain" he said, agreeing, though he felt a bit nervous at the idea of having a one on one talk with the head of the crew since, as he indeed imply, that they have yet get to know one another directly, "I desire to get stronger and fight for freedom" all true, though given that they didn't have time to discuss the full reason, he figured he would leave the rest for the day he does have his conversation with the captain.

Once they've reached the crossroads point, the captain separated the group and took off to the sky, "Right, take care, Yuurei and be careful" he gave a small wave to his friend before turning about looking off into the distance, wondering where should they head off to. Feeling Harley's comforting nudge, he looked down, nearly forgetting this would be the first time he'll be spending any kind of time with this woman.

Gideon reached down and gently picked up Harley by slowly scooping his hand from behind her so that she'll land into his hand in a sitting position. He would then lift her up elevated his chest as he began to walk towards the east, "I enjoy my size, I'm not ashamed of who I am, though shrinking myself would benefit in areas such as getting in areas such as beneath the deck of the Charon or into human-made taverns" Gideon chuckled , "DNA? Shrinking? I don't know if such a thing is possible, sounds like magic, unless there's some kind of Devil Fruit that could do such a thing" he laughed at the idea, though if there was such a fruit, he would question whether to eat it or not, because he may not have seen a devil fruit in his life other than the one Yuurei had, but he heard of the curse it brought, those who ate of the fruit would become hammers, and Gideon enjoyed swimming, it is how he traveled the seas most of the time.

"Honestly, I'm not sure where to go to find information, I've never really been good with that, that was always Yuurei's thing, and I just went along with it" Pretty soon, the two reached the food market, stands and carts made up the square and to Gideon, this was the perfect time to do some some shopping.