Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

In an Unknown Place not far from Nanohana: A large, burly man trudged painfully through the desert all by himself. He was heavily wounded and bore several gunshot wounds, but alive and yet breathing. He ran until he could only crawl when the pain became too immense to keep standing. His face and thick silver beard were caked with sand and matted with sweat, but his will to live forced him to push and continue onward. He was only a short distance away and they hadn't yet departed; soon to be there. They had hunkered down in a safe haven where they were unlikely to be found. He had to get there... had to warn his crew of what had happened to Hashim.... and that the deal was off.

Nanohana: After his outburst of his untethered emotions, he was caked in dust and his shoes were dented and close to falling to pieces. Brushing himself off, he abjectly decided his next destination was to walk himself down to town square for a new pair. Without much of what he had brought along on the Enforcer, he would need to make due with what resources he had left.

A bright and scorched desert day in the port city was still stretched out before him and the trial wouldn't be for three days. That gave him some time to come up with a work-around out of this mess and brightened his spirits if only a little and helped abate his emotions.

His mind went into chess mode, thinking through every possible answer. Could he bribe the Inspector? Maybe try to steal back all his stuff? At worst, he even contemplated the idea of sneaking in and murdering the shiny-haired bastard in his sleep. Neither answer he came up with, try as he might, could solve all of the dilemmas before him and led only to more feelings of despair and resignation. Throwing those ideas out, he continued living on inside his head as he reached the plaza and walked over to an unassuming place that sold shoes.

A short and tanned woman took his money, but as he as walking out the door, something clicked in his memory from looking at the woman standing behind the register. Something he had neglected to consider. Acting like he was in a hurry, Emanuel hurried out of the store and immediately set off down the road.

"No." said the captain-woman sitting up against a hospital bed with a blank expression on her face. Her shoulder was wrapped up in bandages and they were sitting in a private room with a pretty outlook from a window. For good measure, Emanuel had stopped and bought some trinkets from a jewelry store. He still tried to look calm even though the flat answer left him near-crestfallen. "But why not? We fought Hashim together and I saved you from ending up a snack food. Couldn't you just do me a favor just this once?"

Sitting himself upright, he smiled and leaned in with his right elbow resting on his knee and supporting his chin. Before replying back, she sighed. "It is against my honor to go against the rules for strangers. Plus, I haven't heard anything about the charges against you and I'm not committing to helping you fight something I know nothing about. Ask someone else if they'll help."

Emanuel appeared to lean back, placing his hand now at his side and rethinking his strategy as he decided it was time for plan B. "Than, besides yourself, who are the other highest ranking Marines?" Eileen turned her head and mulled the thought for a moment. Behind her eyes, he could sense the glint of suspicion and decided  to respond with a curt little smile and that seemed to disarm the moment as her next words were kind and unassuming. "That would happen to be Ivan and Julius."

No luck. Finding Julius was no big chore, but it was not a long time before the man had started to berate him and declare that he would be deferring his judgement to the Inspector for the matter. That left Ivan and he decided from a bit of thought not to pay the man a visit. Their exchange from the day before the raid had given him enough of an impression and he deduced that it was unlikely that he could persuade him the same way he did with Eileen. Ivan the Breaker was a name Emanuel knew through reverence and he wasn't about to risk a painful conversation with the man.

That left him.... with nothing and standing outside in the middle of the scorching heat. Back to Square one.  

---

Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

Running out of options, Emanuel stood by on the sidelines, leaning up against a building as he went into a deep think. It was a bustling street that day, flanked and surrounded by colorful stone houses and lively storefronts with callers ushering passersby. The people were dressed in light robes and protective headgear that sheltered from the sun's heat. Now that he'd been outside for a while, he was also sweating.

Still, all his mental energy was channeled and focused directly to his purposes, ignoring much of what was going on around him at the time being. Noting that it was getting to be annoying sitting around on a busy street with voices periodically interrupting his thoughts, Emanuel started walking down in the opposite direction to escape the crowd. Wandering in his own little world, it was only after his stomach rumbled that he awoke and realized the neglect of his need to eat. Without his regular dwellings, he decided to break his pace and head for the only place he knew for a lunch.

The inside of the place was about the same as he remembered from the previous night, though more brightly lit this time around. There was a small following inside enjoying the entertainment and their quarter-hourly lunches. One thing he noted that was a welcome change was less of the rowdy bunch that had set up playing cards in the corner. Right now it was happy hour and he was completely fine with the opportunity to enjoy himself and de-stress from having had his stomach turned upside-down over the past several hours.

Ordering his food and sitting down, he began to drift and cast his attentions about and enjoy the entertainment. There were some pretty women sitting at a table at the opposite end, enjoying lunch with one another. Absently and without meaning to do it consciously, he began to admire the shades and style of their hair. One of them had shoulder-length brown bangs that were twisted up into wavy curls while the other had it long and flowing and brushed it over her shoulders. Both were attractive and he couldn't help but stare for a moment as a smile formed on his face.

Come to think of it, he had never pursued romance of any type. Though it wasn't something alien for him to consider from time to time, when had he ever even made an honest attempt at love? His lips pursed and he placed his hand on his cheek in thought. Wouldn't it be nice to start a family someday... preferably before he retired in old age ... maybe? He didn't force himself to confront it with an answer at this very moment, instead letting it sit in his brain and turning his eyes and attentions back to the entertainment.

It was the same cast and routine from that night; the young man about his age wearing a white turban and robes, though his scarf had been switched out for a better-looking burgundy-colored one. Other than that, there wasn't much more to note and he was similarly unimpressive. He was maybe a bit more rounded and by comparison, Emanuel could now note that he himself stood a bit taller in stature. He was brown-skinned and had a distinct accent.

With his assistants, they started dance exotically and then called up a seemingly random volunteer. This time, the man called up one of the women that he had been staring at and asked her to sing. "Now Miss... would you care to grace this audience with a tune." Her face moved back-and-forth, seemingly confused until the host leaned in closely and whispered into her ear. With some visible misgivings, the woman opened her mouth and began to sing a song that the locals began to cheer, even if Emanuel was sitting there stone-faced. Her voice cracked and he could have sworn she couldn't match a tune. It sounded painful for him to listen to.

When she was finished, the audience as well seemed to recoil from having one of their native songs butchered. With showman-like flare, the young man surrounded her with the black curtain after some more theatrics. "Now than, watch closely ladies and gentleman. I am now going to transform this woman into something completely different."

A minute or so passed with little appearing to occur, but when the curtain fell once again, the two subjects were standing side-by-side, facing the audience with smiling and happy faces. Everyone opened their mouths and then let their jaws hinge and drop as she started to sing. From her lips carried an amazing melody completely shattering the calm. Emanuel even lost track of time and all seemed to fall by the wayside. (LINK: Beautiful In White)

Compared to earlier, everyone quieted down and stared in awe until the last note had passed her lips and then all couldn't help but stay silent until it was finally broken and everyone turned from silence to applause that filled the room. Everyone got up on stage and took a deep bow before the last encore. For the marine, he watched and somehow felt the flickers of curiosity lighting up in the back of his mind.

After the show, the young man and his crew retreated to the outside while the guests ate their lunch. Taking off his scarf and turban, the young maestro sighed and patted himself on the back once more for an excellent performance. Behind the restaurant, there was a small place outside that was cut-off and out-of-view from anyone passing on the streets. As Emanuel watched them from behind a window pane, his gaze leveled on the young showman. They relaxed and leaned up against it for several minutes before the assistants accompanying him wandered back inside. With a glinting smile, he ducked down behind a wooden cabinet to let them pass before getting up and eyeing his target.

He was alone, leaning up against the wall when Emanuel slowly creaked open the door. The motion didn't go unnoticed and turned his gaze over towards the source. "Hello there, thought I'd find you here. Mind if I have a word with you?" Seeing the navy blue marine uniform, the young man instantly started to panic. Had he been found out? Had his secret been discovered? The man moved quickly and Emanuel saw the reaction right away. "Don't worry! I'm not here to arrest you or anything! I happened to be watching and I'm a bit of a fan! I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

Turning up the charm a little bit, he leaned up alongside the same wall. Though he had stopped panicking a little bit, the showman moved further away. "I'm Emanuel by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you. That was quite the astounding performance you put on there." Emanuel reached out and offered a handshake that the boy hesitantly returned. "Thank you. I work hard at it." His tone of voice was tacit and shy, not immediately sharing in the Marine's friendly manner.

"I could tell that you do. I was astounded by it, but that's also why I wanted to speak with you. How did you do it? Get her to somehow change her tone of voice in one minute? Was it an act?" The reaction to the question was to twitch suddenly, unsure of what to say next. He got the question occasionally from fans, but in this setting and being confronted by a marine... he almost felt like he was being coerced. Emanuel stayed away and gave him the space he needed to think, but his question was voice carried some of his eagerness. "Skill. Skill and a lot of practice."

Turning up his charm offensive, his smile carefully flowered into a sharp and cutting cheshire grin. "How than?? Did you just hypnotize her and put her under your spell or something?" It was just a guess along with a playful jest, but upon hearing it, the performer's reaction spoke volumes. His eyes started to un-focus and he shrunk away like a little squirrel hiding from viper and Emanuel was like a shark smelling blood in the water. He didn't need to affirm it because Emanuel could read it all over his face. A hypnotist would certainly serve his purposes well. To him though, he was certain the appearance of a Marine at his doorstep was quite intimidating and that was what he was hoping to leverage.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. On the contrary, there is a task I'd be willing to hire you for.. so long as you can demonstrate it. If you can, I promise there will be plenty of gold in it for you as well ... that is if you're up for it." The allure of money. He couldn't be certain the lad would take the bait, but it was the best card he had to play in this scenario.

"I can't help you... really. This power... there are some limits to it. It wears off after a couple of days and...." The Marine ensign turned and clicked his head curiously. "And? What?" Turning his gaze away from Emanuel, the brown-skinned adolescent's face faltered as he rifled through his shirt and pulled out the same gold-and-silver pendant Emanuel had seen the first time. "My grandfather gave this to me and he's the one who taught me how to use it. The thing is... I've only ever been able to use it on women."

At the admission, the Ensign's eyes started to show understanding after only a bit of thought. "Only on women? So then... you're assistants and the owner of the restaurant... You hypnotized them too?" He nodded abjectly. "Did you ever do anything... perv-" On second thought, ignorance is bliss when it came to that topic. He didn't wanna know and it was better that he didn't. Sometimes, turning a blind eye was needed in situations like this. What was the old saying? See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil and all that.  

Only working on women was still going to be a wrench thrown into his plan, but it would still be handy nevertheless. He reached out and offered a handshake, "You haven't told me your name yet, but if you'll accept my offer, I can most certainly use your help right now. Do that and I'll forget we ever spoke afterwards. You'll have no trouble from me."

Deep in his thoughts, the hypnotist had maybe a few misgivings about the individual facing him. His face turned chocolate with thoughts of what dealing with a Marine could do for him and so instead of giving his real name, he quickly came up with a pseudonym he had always used with individuals he didn't trust. "You can call me Hamlet."

---

Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

By the time the two of them had finished talking, nightfall had nearly come and that worked perfectly fine for Emanuel. For this first step to work, he needed the cover of dark. In the time they had before night, Emanuel decided to kill their time in idleness. While they waited, Emanuel had Hamlet demonstrate his hypnotic abilities by using the two assistants he had brought along into his act.

"Un... Deux.. Trois!" The two went stiff and their eyes went hazy as they sat against the building like dolls. Hamlet walked up and placed his hand in front of their eyes. "The pendant acts as a focus point. Once they're like this in the suggestion state, you can give them orders and they'll follow them, but they have to be whispered into their ears and all orders are reset after about a week so they'd need to be reapplied."

Emanuel took and examined the pendant, noting how it gleamed silver and gold. He also took note of the smell. He didn't know what he had sprayed it with, but it had a faint flowery fragrance that was strangely bewitching. "Hmmm. That's good to know for later, but have you ever tried using it to hypnotize men?" Hamlet nodded his head. "For some reason, men don't listen to my suggestions. Some women can also throw it off if they have enough willpower. I just can't find a fragrance that works on men." After giving back the pendant, Emanuel sighed to himself and gazed up at the fading sky. It was almost time.

Hamlet followed Emanuel as he traveled the back alleys of Nanohana toward the hospital. The travel was quick and luckily, he had remembered the layout quite well. Eileen's room was on the second floor so the two of them were forced to remain stealthy. The front door was impossible so they circled around to the back. Knocking out the guard, they brought out a ladder and climbed to the second floor. On top of the ladder, Emanuel was forced to climb in through an open window into the room of an old women sound asleep in her bed. After retracting it, he decided to be better safe than sorry and hid the ladder quietly under her bed.

The two of them stealthily moved through the halls of the hospital until Emanuel came to the door he recognized. Inside, Eileen was fast asleep in her bed. They moved up front and on his mark, the young Ensign covered the ruby captain's mouth, waking her up as Hamlet held the pendant before her eyes and chanted, "Un... Deux... Trois" She didn't fall away without a fight and struggled briefly in a half-asleep stupor before the hypnosis hit and her eyes drooped lower.

"Nice... I'll take it from here if you don't mind." Hamlet stood by as Emanuel cupped his hand around Eileen's ear and whispered his command. Once he was finished, he beckoned Hamlet back over and the two of them quickly made their way back around and out via ladder. And luckily for them, this first part had gone smoothly, but there simply wasn't the time.

Had the Inspector set him an early curfew? Hopefully not, he thought while hurrying down a silver-licked street with Hamlet silently following in his footsteps with an unreadable expression dogging the sharp corners of his chin like a bad afternoon shadow. Was he having second thoughts about following him? The one mostly forcing this exchange was him and they hadn't even discussed most of the important details.

He'd thought long and hard about this, considering almost every angle he could conceive. If asked in retrospect, he would say that it occurred to him like a web, one piece falling into place one at a time over the span of the entire day. In his mind, he had been at it non-stop, relentlessly deciding and going over his thoughts ever since he had been served by the Special Inspector and put in mortal jeopardy. His heart raced, his core was still shaking, and he was tired enough that he could drop dead right now.

His thoughts rebounded back and he ceased to travel down that rabbit hole anymore. He had a plan and a good one, but to enact it, there was one vital step that would need to be met. And he would need that person's help. As they came to a secluded spot, Emanuel turned about and gestured for the hypnotist. "For now, that is all I have for you. I'll meet you here tomorrow though before sunrise. I'll be taking you somewhere tomorrow for a full day so we can train." The response he got was rather down and un-enthusiastic and he sighed.

"Train for what?"

"I've been thinking about it a lot for an hour and I've decided that... to make this work, it can't be avoided. If my plan is to all work out, I'll need you to do more than just hypnotize women, but also men too. It's too limited and won't allow us to do much. So I've decided that tomorrow we're going to spend time training you and see if we can find some way to let you also hypnotize..."

"What for? What do you plan to do with it?" His reply was in an agitated and angry tone of voice, prompting a tense stare-down between the two. Hamlet, with his bulging eyes, moved closer as Emanuel took a step back and leveled his gaze evenly as he realized that he would now need to defuse this moment. "I said this wasn't going to be easy."

Hamlet didn't back down. "Tell me the whole plan. I thought we would just have a few things and then be done with it." His very face seemed to radiate with emotion the young Ensign hadn't expected from a street rat. Like staring into a flame. A breath hitched in his throat and his eyes seemed to glaze over. "I need to do something important and I'm acting alone. This town is going to be...." he hesitated for a moment, for the first time in a while being overwhelmed by Hamlet's stare and his hand went up by reflex to flick a bang of his hair away from his eyes.

And then he steeled his backbone, stood upright, and spoke hardheartedly. "-attacked by pirates. And I can't do anything about it right now for reasons I can't explain. We need to interrogate someone being held inside Marine Base and I need to get in there." They didn't break eye contact, but the street urchin was seemingly investing in the lie. "But how... and when?"

He wanted to ask more questions, trying to pierce the ensign's stone-wall expression that betrayed nothing. Something seemed foul and he wanted to retreat and abandon this person who had seemingly beguiled him into being an accomplice to this strange mission while knowing nothing. Yet, for the moment he chose to silence his estranged mind and they passed the rest of the way in silence before departing for the night.

Pirate Hideaway: After traveling many miles through the blood, sweat, and the tears, the nameless pirate finally reached safety. Infected wounds were patched up with fabric torn from his clothes. His eyes were half-closed from the torrents of sand and one eye was too black-and-blue to open. Yet, in his best words, he recounted the capture of Hashim to his captain as he sat on his throne.

He listened intently before fury started to build and he smashed his pint of rum down on the chair arm hard enough to splinter it in a fit of anger. They had a deal... a partnership. The smuggling operation was supposed to last forever and bring them unprecedented wealth, but now it had all gone up in smoke thanks to the meddlesome Marines.

His eyes flew to the side where some of his men were sharpening their blades. For several more minutes, he raged and kicked the wall until his foot had left a dent in the rock. "Nobody... Nobody gets in the way of my operation...  and doesn't suffer the consequences. The marines ... they will rue the day they messed with me." He took another swig, downing it quickly and then giving a lasting sigh and belch. "Gather the men ... I think it's time we go on a little raid and teach these fellas a bit of a lesson about what happens when you cross... Crossbeard."

---

Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

24 Hours Later...

He walked through the prison inside Nanohana's Marine base. The inside was as dim and dark as the outside and parted only for the light in the hallway to peep in. It was populated with rows and rows of cells for condemned prisoners, but only one caught his eye. He wore a mask covered with shadow, but decided to remove it as he came closer to the end of the tunnel that was occupied by a single prisoner.  

"Well if it isn't the dang brutalizer who stabbed me in the eye, broke my hand, and threw me in this cell to rot. Looking a little snazzier than normal I see." Hashim growled menacingly as Emanuel sat down and placed the headgear on the side. With the security disabled for the time being, he was obliged to speak openly. "Have to say, you didn't leave me much of a choice in the matter. You could've shocked my leg off if I let you."

The two of them showed teeth. One pair was jagged and bloodthirsty while the other seemed inclined to half-smile and only treat the bear to only the impression of kindness. "Since we have limited time here, I'll try to keep this visit short and get to the point. I'm sure you have better things to do there." With disgust, the bear growled while Emanuel sat on a chair that had been placed nearby, assuming his natural pose of crossing his knee over the other with a half-bemused facial expression.  

"What would you say if I told you I had an offer for you; one that could possibly involve your freedom?"

"I would tell you to go shove it up where the sun don't shine." Hashim growled out the words of each syllable in a deep-seated tone of viciousness. "I never trusted the marines and I have no reason to start doing so now. After what you did, you must be crazy to think that I'd do anything other than sever that head of yours from its shoulders and that I regret not taking the opportunity when I had it."

Emanuel wasn't dissuaded and his tune changed to be much more sly. "I figured as much." Emanuel said as he rubbed his two fingers together in front of Hashim and peered curiously at the mink that was bound by several pairs of cuffs. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but he had to give it a shot. "I thought I'd come down and offer it to you just in case. It's really sad that I'll have to break into the armory by myself and I won't have someone causing a bit of a ruckus."

The bait was just enough to get Hashim's attention, albeit reluctantly and with evident mistrust in his voice. "What kind of a fool do you take me for?" His neck craned and twitched against the chains that bound him in place, causing them to clatter and clang. Just a little bit. "No fooling; I'm completely serious. Truth be told, a lot of the goods we seized from you are still in there. All I would need is a bit of noise and I'd even be inclined to let you reclaim most of it. I'm only after a certain item: the fruit you had hidden and stashed behind your camp."

"Hmph. I knew the mantra you Marines about being all righteous and shit was just a facade." Though the light was near to nonexistent, Hashim could see a faint glimmer of something he knew quite well. "What brought this on now though? You just greedy for power or something?"

Emanuel let one hand move and support his chin by his side and let his left hand writhe. "I figured that if I'm going to be seen as a pirate mole, I may as well start acting like one. And besides, it's nothing personal on my end. The way I've come to think of it is that sometimes, in order to do the greatest good, you're inclined by nature to commit the greatest evil."

Out of the corner of his mouth, Emanuel silently spat out something foul-tasting. Did he really believe that garbage? It sounded like something one would come across in a bad novel of some sort, but it seemed to be working as now the two of them had a dialogue going. "So what do you say?" Hashim looked and stared into his obscured eyes without being bother by the lack of light leading into his cell.

"Hmph. I'll compliment you on this: you'd make a fair pirate if you ever chose to switch sides. You try to sweet talk everyone like that? Unfortunately, I ain't buyin' whatever you're selling. You might wanna fix that mug on your face cause as soon as my boys get word to..." Hashim realized the slip only after it had already left his lips. It wasn't hard to pick up what his next words were going to be and there was no need for him to ask. The corner of his lip perked up before curving into a darkened smirk.

"So you're just going to sit here and muddle in misery while you wait for your subordinates to set you free? Or is it the pirates you're waiting for?" It was unlikely that Hashim would have enough men to take down the Marine base on his own. Did he have fail-safes in place? Not likely. So who was it that Hashim was waiting for them to get word to? The same pirates the Marines had put down during the raid? That seemed to be the most likely explanation; fitting for the bandit to have come up with a back-up plan. Would they attack the base by themselves just to get him out or were they smart and opt to be more methodical?

Whatever they had waiting in the wings, he had a couple more pressing concerns and so after a slight shrug, he moved on to his next topic. Time was running short. "There are a couple more questions I want to ask you: whom did you ally with that would voluntarily bolster your numbers and what did you promise them?"

No answer. The ensuing silence was earthy and tense, save for the heavy breathing from the mink. Despite the obvious tension between them, Emanuel felt at-ease for some odd reason. They said nothing to each other with Hashim instead choosing to try and go back to ignoring him.

At last, Hashim seemed to decide something in his head and he turned his eyes up. "Do you really want to know?" After a nod from him, Hashim seemed to utter a subtle sigh of resignation. "It was through a Broker... of the Black Market. He came to me and offered me a deal: I smuggle his goods to all his clients in Nanohana through my contacts. In return, I would get a cut. That was all."

The Black Market. That was definitely a familiar name, heard only in whispers here and there from time to time. Even he, with limited knowledge of it all, knew at least of the vague and secretive underworld. Hashim's expression turned to dark dispassion as if he'd just swallowed a lemon whole, but Emanuel pushed on. "And... the broker's name was?"

With that, Hashim shook his head and went silent, refusing to say anymore as they returned again to being at a stand-off with Emanuel finally taking a deep breath and sighing after several more minutes. "Well, I've waited too long and I'm almost out of time so I guess that will just have to do for now."

With his conditions seemingly satisfied for the time being, Emanuel rose from his seat and started to walk out of the prison. "I will think about our exchange, but please do consider my offer, it would be as much as your benefit as mine. Also, thank you for being so cooperative. It will certainly come in handy." After grabbing his shadowy headgear, Emanuel exited the prison into the darkness, leaving Hashim all alone in his cell once more.

---

Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

"So... everything is all set up than? When are the pirates coming?" Hamlet whispered in an eager voice as Emanuel walked out of the room. "Soon." Judging from the bear-mink's reaction to his questions, he had a hunch it wouldn't be long now. Of course, there was only so much he could glean from the bandit leader's reactions and his few changes in tone. Not a whole lot of information to base any concrete judgments off of, but he had gotten some vital information, not least of which being the broker he was involved with.

Time was running out before his trial was set to begin. His heart had been racing all day and yet he was feeling more calculating than ever before. He had set up the pieces and now it was just a matter of seeing what happens next. "It's been a few days. Hopefully the precautions we've set up will be enough." He surely hoped they would be; it had been a painstaking day for the both of them. To evade detection, he had snuck out of his quarters and they together had been at it for the past few hours.

There were times when he felt like he was missing something or someone was watching him. While out on the town that day, he continuously had the feeling that someone was following him wherever he went. Was he just paranoid or had the Inspector decided that he needed to be watched? Whenever he got the feeling, his teeth gritted and he took back-routes or hurriedly escaped into the crowd. In the end, he and Hamlet had practiced in safety and silence inside a small enclosed space that he explained to Hamlet was necessary to keep the Pirates off the trail.

The more they got along, the more he was starting to become fond of Hamlet the hypnotist. He was young and rather talented, but impressionable and seemed to be more trusting of him than he had thought. Though he still kept the details at arms length from Emanuel, from what he had gathered during their talks that day, he was indeed just a thief who got by on his ability to hypnotize women and for his love of showmanship. In Emanuel's book, he was still shady but for now it seemed like he had some sort of respected connections for the Marines that Emanuel had been putting to work all day now.

After leaving discretely under hoods and wraps, they made their way through Nanohana and up to top of a tall flat-roofed building about midway through town. The stars were still out and shining as daybreak was still a while away. The flat-roof had a small setup out already; several skewers, a small bag of fish on ice, and a pit they used to start a small flame. Hamlet started the fire with the fish on the skewers while the young half-breed started chopping up vegetables on an improvised cutting board. Once that was done, he got some meat from the fish and let the ice melt in a pot they placed over the fire. The vegetables and meat all went into the water along with some of the fish bones. After simmering for a while with some spices, the stew was ready and the grilled fish had been cooked through. The two of them sat down on two small wooden boxes and began to eat.

As Hamlet sat down, he took a glance down at his robe. He'd been wearing it all day and decided to take off his turban and the scarf he wore around his neck. He took it from his neck and instead wearing it around his waist like a sash.

Over the meal, Emanuel silently began going through his own thoughts while Hamlet picked up his silver-and-gold pendant and seemed to be admiring it until Emanuel popped in out of curiosity. "That reminds me... where did your grandfather get that pendant? Did he find it in somewhere... like in an ancient ruin or something?" Hamlet smiled and turned it over in his hand with orange shadows dancing across the outline of his hand and illuminating the gold and silver lines. "Nothing that amazing ... he told me once that it was dear to someone he loved."

"Hmmm. You were always reluctant whenever it got out of your hand that I almost thought it could've been like some family heirloom" Emanuel took another bite from his fish and helped himself to some more stew. "Did he teach you than about hypnosis?" Emanuel continued his line of questioning as Hamlet seemed to now be relaxing. "Actually... It was nothing like that. When my grandfather passed it down to me, I was just angry at a lot of things at the time. I wanted to be... on the stage and being able to do whatever I wanted without anybody telling me what to do."

As if contemplating something quite deeply, he took an uneven intake of breathe before speaking again. "I ran away and one day I was... well in a bad place. I even tried to join a traveling caravan of gypsies. Even though it didn't go so well, that was also how I got the stage name I use: Hamlet. While I was there, one of them pulled me in and read my palm and said I had a hidden gift." He held the pendant out by the chain and watched it dangle in front of Emanuel. "She said... my grandfather's spirit lives on inside this Pendant and that it would help me channel my gift. All I needed to do was believe it was there. After that, it just... occurred to me accidentally when I was trying to do some tricks."

His voice sounded modest, though he averted eye contact periodically. A dishonest sign that Emanuel noted in the back of his mind with some dispassion. The knowledge that Hamlet was a stage name didn't escape him either and drew a rather curious reaction this time instead of being merely dismissed. "So than, if Hamlet is a stage name you picked, than what were you born as?" This time, the boy's eyes seemed to move about nervously. "My Grandpa named me Hamon, though I kinda dislike the name. It brings back some bad memories. Like you, my real father was a Marine whose name was Hamon... and he died before I was born. My mother was the reason I tried to join the traveling gypsies though."

Emanuel seemed to get the message of not questioning any further. Hamon's body language gave him that impression and he decided to say no more. After they finished, they turned out the candles and began to roll up into their sleeping gear, the two of them bunkering down and getting ready to sleep.

In the few hours that passed, he slept restlessly as his mind kept him wide awake for the most part. He managed to close his eyes for a while and nod off for about 45 minutes before again reaching up and staring over the expanse of Nanohana's curved buildings and architecture. Overhead, the sky was still half-dark and it seemed day was about to break. Just when he was about to head back down to sleep once more, something caught his gaze over the horizon.

A long line of men stood, their silhouettes riding high over the sand dune as they came down, raining down from the sandy desert with their swords and daggers like fangs chomping at the ready for blood-spill.

---

Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

Day had not yet broken. The world was veiled in shrouds of violet and sanguine, but that was soon broken by pitches of orange. The Pirates arrived in force; some rode atop horses that barreled down from the horizon at top speed and others brought up the rear and crossed the threshold with blood-curdling yells. The guards and policemen of the town, always prepared for anything, were the first to meet them despite at a sudden disadvantage. They were taken aback and suddenly outnumbered, but many were quick to think on their feet and sounded the alarm.

All hell broke loose soon after. The Pirates ran through Nanohana chopping down the town's defenses and throwing their torches into windows, setting the place up in fire. The town guardsmen retaliated in kind, fighting the outlaws tooth-and-nail as the bell started to sound and ring throughout the town. The sounds of fighting erupted in the streets as people awoken from the tolling of bells took to fight or flight. Ordinary citizens grabbed guns or their pitchforks before trying their best to cut down the intruders. Panic and distress ensued as the attackers pushed forward towards center square. Far behind the attack was a man with a crossed beard, standing on a sand dune overlooking the carnage with a stoic expression.

Emanuel laid atop the building where he and Hamon had slept, watching as the attack began and rising quickly. The bells awoke Hamon from his slumber as Emanuel went over and quickly donned his headgear for the next phase of his plan. It was a mask that he had made from a type of red, hardened hexagonal fruit that was sold commonly on the docks and then carved out crooked eye-holes at the top and a jagged mouth. With his blanket for a cape, he looked passable enough in his eyes, though Hamon was puzzled why he had chosen to wear it in the first place.

The two of them moved hurriedly from rooftop to rooftop, leaving the defense to the town guard, but Emanuel soon felt Hamon not following as close-by as he thought. The boy seemed to be staring back at the fight and the marine could see the torn feelings breaking through. Emanuel had to push him onward, not letting the hypnotist off the hook until the rest of his plan was ready. Though Hamon didn't know what orders he had given to the Marines, he had convinced the lad that it was all meant for good and he would stop this attack since he knew it was coming.

They arrived at a building overlooking the base. Soldiers poured out of the building in single-file lines, their guns poised and held firmly in their hands. They moved with purpose, spreading out through the main areas to push the outlaws back from the main square. Emanuel smiled behind his mask and placed two fingers in his mouth before letting loose a loud whistle.

"Soldiers. My soldiers." The men beneath looked up with alarm, spotting the figure standing overhead and immediately turned their guns upon him. Emanuel with one raised hand made a sarcastic gesture of salute before the first bullets could ring out and uttered in his best graveled voice. "Execute Order 6-66."

Orders? What Orders? The Marines seemed to be confused at the declaration with some preemptively firing bullets at the mysterious figure that luckily missed. Suddenly, the sounds of several bullets firing rang out that were not aimed high. Instead, the Marines had suddenly dropped their sight from the mysterious figure and turned their sights upon another target. The bewitched Marines turned and fired, hitting several of their own comrades.

Chaos took hold as all those hypnotized within earshot changed their targets and let loose upon the others inside their sight. Several began firing like madmen, throwing explosives and causing even more confusion. With no time to lose, Emanuel jumped across the building and hurriedly crossed the courtyard while they were distracted, disappearing inside. Left in the dust was Hamon, who stood at the top of the building looking on in complete and utter disbelief.

Once inside the base, he wasted no time uttering the phrase once again and several of the remaining Marines would turn upon their own comrades. With his knowledge of the base's interior, he didn't need to worry about finding his way around. He just hurried on his way, kicking a few of the ones that they hadn't hypnotized that still managed to survive. Standing before the door leading down into Hashim's capture chamber, he paused and thought to himself for a moment, conjuring up some of his old thoughts. After a moment steeped in thought, Emanuel withdrew his hand and hurried on his way to his main goal was held.

Inside, the main room guarding the armory was circular in appearance and housed a tall ceiling with a locked door being farthest away on the opposite end. Emanuel kept himself pushed up against the wall beside the locked door. Without thinking, he pulled out the key he had taken from the base earlier in the night before his meeting with Hashim and let it jingle in the door before the locks slid open. Whatever awaited him inside, he was on-guard and battle-ready for whatever was to come.

---

Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

The hypnotist watched from above as the Marines began and continued to fight one another, his eyes quaking and legs giving out from under him. Wild and rampant thoughts plagued him as the pirates advanced ceaseless through the town, unhindered now as the Marines were now almost completely disabled. The only few still resisting were the most able-bodied men and women, the 2 captains who still kept hold of their minds and were fighting Crossbeard's forces with all their might. Even then, the force of pirates were certain to win.

Inside the Marine Base, Emanuel worked his way through the lock before hurrying in himself. His cape flowed behind him as he stepped over the threshold and was greeted by a phalanx of Marine guards that had stayed behind. Just like the others though, once he repeated the key phrase, the last two able-bodied Marines they had managed to hypnotize, turned on their own fellows. This time though, the Marines guarding the barracks were taken by surprise but reacted quickly. After a single shot, the Marine that still kept his mind cut his losses and promptly shot the two bewitched Marines before turning his gun back on the intruder.

Emanuel dashed quickly from the door and quickly kicked away the gun before sliding into his chest and then delivering one well-placed kick to the man's jaw. Once he hit the floor, Emanuel had to quickly grab his keys and place the two of them into the mechanism to open the armory. Ordinarily, there was a certain trick to the lock and the keys had to be inserted in a combo, but that wasn't so difficult for him to get around. Even if it wasn't given to him, he had been present when the armory was opened before so all he had to do was dig into his memory a little bit and presto.

The gate opened up slowly, unveiling a small room with several boxes that had all been neatly arranged into a diamond-shaped pattern. Most of the boxes held treasure and other goods the Marines confiscated commonly from the outlaws they captured. There was little time for him to think so he made for the box at the farthest end where he knew that much of Hashim's secret stash had been placed. He had to quickly rifle through some gold, putting only a few handfuls into his own pocket for Hamon. His real prize was the fruit that Hashim had buried deeply into the sand and his one hand reached in and pulled it out from amongst the gold.

It wasn't exactly a thing of beauty, but it had a captivating appetite for him. From the moment he had touched it in the desert, he had desired it and it drew his thoughts irresistibly so. After taking it out, Emanuel drew it in close and took one eager bite. Almost immediately after swallowing, his whole body riveted with revulsion. It was as if he had eaten rotten fish and if there had been anything nearby to drink, he would've had to down it right away. The taste was absolutely horrendous.

With no time to spare, he had to hurry out of the base. Time had been on his side this time, but things could still turn sour if he let them. With what knowledge he had of the base's interior, he knew that going out the front door was no good idea as they were most certainly going to be on to him by now. So he had to take the next best idea. He went up the stares and quickly had to jump from a room and then clamber and shimmy up to the next rooftop. A couple bullets nearly grazed him on his way up, but missed and soon he was back up on safe ground again and bounding across the rooftops with abandon towards the spot where he had left Hamon.

When he arrived, the boy looked like he'd been in a wreck of some sort. He was shaking visibly and Emanuel was worried he may have been hurt. When he placed a comforting hand over his shoulder, Emanuel was suddenly grabbed from behind the neck and Hamon arm-grabbed him before putting all his weight down on his neck and thrusting his head into the stone. At first, he had thought that the Marines had snuck up from behind, but Hamon had been the one to execute the maneuver.

"You said... we would help the Marines save the town. I believed in you... I trusted that you meant what you said!!!" Hamon's voice was shaking and Emanuel felt tears drop onto his head. "I didn't know... you were going to have the Marines fight each other... YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THE PIRATES!!!" he screamed it aloud before taking out the gold-and-silver pendant and beginning to have it tick back-and-forth in front of his eyes just as he had done to hypnotize each of the Marines.

Like a pendulum, the metronome started to make him feel dizzy. From behind the mask, it started to feel comforting to be there. Drifting off into a warm summery-like day. It would be nice to just... sleep... and...

A deep breath. Forcing it into his lungs, Emanuel wretched and pushed his neck up with all the force his body could muster. The result was a struggle, the two of them locked together closely tied. Hamon started the chant and he could smell the faint scent the two of them had figured out together. It was relaxing and calmed him, sapping his strength noticeably the more he kept his gaze locked on the swinging pendulum in front of his eyes.

It couldn't end like this. It just couldn't. With one more push, Emanuel kicked up with his leg, forcing his neck and body to snap backwards. With the enlarged size of his helmet, the headgear knocked into Hamon's jaw, opening the boy's eyes just as he completed the metronome's steady chant. He fell backwards, freeing Emanuel who sat up and had to re-draw breath into his lungs.

Hamon fell onto his back, motionless with his eyes hazy and spinning in the back of his head. Emanuel crawled over and sat beside him, recognizing what had happened now. He was in a trance; the young hypnotist had fallen into his own trance. What a shame. To himself, Emanuel faced more than a little remorse for what he was about to do. Hamon had done so much for him and he'd actually enjoyed watching him grow genuinely.

He struggled and struggled to hypnotize even the simplest man. He tried so hard, believing he was doing good by his hometown. He believed a Marine, being a wretched urchin on the streets doing petty shows. And yet, he had taken advantage of all of it for his own goals. This last betrayal hadn't affected that, not at all. With some length of heaviness weighing on his heart, he placed a solemn hand on Hamon's shoulder before beginning. After taking off the fruit helmet, he hesitantly placed it on Hamon's head and even put the gold he had taken in Hamon's pocket and wrapped the cape over his neck.

Leaning in closely and whispering his command into Hamon's ear, he spoke. "I love you. You are the thief who stole into the Marine base, stole Hashim's Devil Fruit, and hypnotized all their soldiers. You acted alone, nobody else but you. You are the master thief, Jack the Ripper."

---

Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

The night had reached its final conclusion. Emanuel stood atop a building overlooking the docks with the unconscious hypnotist fully trussed up in the garb that Emanuel had prepared. The lingering feeling of sadness still gripped him and he felt the stinging touch of remorse as he looked over the damage done to Nanohana.  

It certainly soothed his conscience a little, but were the words 'I love you' true to him? Did he really just confess with honesty? That question popped up in his head and Emanuel idly placed a single palm over his chin. After mulling over his thoughts, he looked over his shoulder and decided with some reluctance that they didn't. Still, he had done it with the hope that he had done at least one minor good thing after everything that had transpired.. that he had been forced to do. He had miscalculated by a lot and hypnotized more Marines than he should of, almost completely crippling their defense.

He hadn't anticipated fully that Hamon would betray him; he had needed the hypnotist to further help him frame someone else, but this was the way things turned out to be. Because of him, many innocent people died and he would never be prosecuted for it. A question popped into his mind: Could he have done this differently? Couldn't he have just hypnotized the Inspector and the rest of the captains and gotten through this whole mess that way? No, Hamon's powers wouldn't have worked on any of the other captains other than Eileen. They were all too strong of mind and he could tell that that plan would have backfired. What about hypnotizing Hashim? That also was still an open question that he had decided was impossible during his confrontation with the Bear.

So this was the path he had chosen to walk. The path leading to the worst possible result and one that indelibly sullied his hands with blood, no matter what he could say to comfort himself. He absorbed that thought fully into his mind and let it sink in, but he didn't let anyone see him shrivel and shrink from it.

It took the whole morning and then some for the Marines to regroup and recover all of the dead. Confusion was evident in all of their downtrodden faces as they were forced to cross out the names on the list of all the Marines that had betrayed them and turned their weapons on their comrades.

The encounter had lasted little more than maybe half an hour before daybreak and Emanuel estimated that it was probably one of the harshest blitz defeats that Nanohana had ever suffered. He stood on standby as they sorted through the damage that had been done before handing over the disguised hypnotist who was then unmasked. In the hours that followed, there was supposedly a lot of clamor and fervor, but Emanuel could glean no clear signal of his fate. There was even hearsay in the barracks that the tribunal was to be cancelled in light of the circumstances. That sounded too good to be true, but he held out hope.

That hope lasted for only short amount of time before he was summoned and ushered over to a small ill-used room inside the Marine base. The inside was a courtroom-styled setup with a single chair placed on the ground for him while the Captains and the Inspector sat on a raised platform.

Special Inspector, Arman C. Bellerose sat front and center in the judge's seat with the three captains seated to his flank. The white-skinned man wore his premier suit and silver-garnished shoulder pads. His crewcut salty-graying hair was combed and conditioned with spiky and glistening edges. In Emanuel's eyes, it's like he had made it that way cause it looked the most intimidating.

Captain Eileen, a captain with powerful mechanical and gear-based talents. She was seated to his left, wearing her signature crimson outfit and marine cap. Her shoulder was still burnished with bandages from the battle, though she seemed to hold it over her with pride.

Captain Ivan the Breaker, a retired centenarian who still held the rank of captain and whose name was well-known on Nanohana and throughout Alabasta. His hair was entirely gray with tanning brown wrinkled skin, but his eyes looked as if they themselves had been forged with iron and steel and showed no weakness. He took his seat to Arman's right, watching over Emanuel with no hint of emotion.

Captain Julius, a tall and burgeoning veteran of the Marines arrived and took his position beside Eileen. He was a tan, blond-haired man who seemed to go about his duties with passion, but today he seemed to be looking rather disinterested and contrastingly un-passionate. From what Emanuel guessed, the attack had hit something of a nerve for Julius.

Once all of them were seated, Inspector Arman began. "I would like to thank you three for attending this proceeding. Compared to what just occurred, this may seem like an exceedingly minor matter to you all. You have my most sincere gratitude for your council and for taking the time out of your newly busy schedules." Reaching below him, the crisp man took out a bag filled with the papers he had seized from Emanuel.

"The Marine in front of you was found with important papers in his possession... and a lot of them. Multiple Bills of Lading from several vicinities as well as several classified dossiers that would most certainly not be entrusted to any man of his rank. While many would say that this may only warrant a slap on the wrist, I'm of the opinion that the punishment should be more severe than what is on the books, given the sheer amount of papers I confiscated. And that is why I have called you here today."

Emanuel couldn't help but shutter as the man spoke. His nerves seemed to be defying him at this moment, but he grit his teeth and forced himself towards calm. "The punishment I believe to be adequate is complete and utter discharge from service in the Marines. I would even say imprisonment should be on the table, if you'd all be in favor. Because, over the past several days I have had him monitored and I believe his suspicious activities warrant disclosure. Also, with the amount of documentation I discovered, I would say that the charges should be elevated to the level of high thievery. Quite frankly, I do believe he is one and simply will not tell us. Without further ado however, I will give Emanuel one chance to explain himself for all of us so you may each come to your own conclusions. Tell all of us in attendance Emanuel, why did I find you with these papers when you know full well of their value?"

Forcing himself to not shake, the ensign stood and forced a deep breath of air into his lungs. His fingers remained clenched in a fist. His chest felt like it was near to bursting. And he was running on what felt like complete and pure adrenaline. "First off, I want to defend myself against the position that my charge should be piracy. I am not a pirate. I have dedicated my life to the Marines and you have all seen my dedication. I managed to apprehend the bandit we captured. I helped rescue the citizens. And I gave my all catching a rogue pirate who broke into our base. As for why I was caught with papers I wasn't supposed to have... a lot has happened to me in recent weeks."

The young man breathed in deeply. He couldn't take the time to register the reactions of his judges; all he could do now was speak. "A while ago, I was on a voyage that went underfunded with supplies that went missing. I got curious and decided to investigate. What I found was that someone had been stealing supplies and redirecting those resources to their own gain. I know that this was wrong of me to look at documents that I had no right to. I have no other excuse to mention other than my own sheer curiosity. As for the dossiers, my reasons are the same. There were several marines I suspected of stealing funds and misappropriating resources. Recently, I was also assigned to the G-6 unit of the Marines. I wanted to look up information on their commanding officer."

When he went silent, the captains sitting above him all seemed to be twisting their lips. He was red in the face and gulped down a lump in his throat, both from exhaustion of the last few hours and the pressure of his entire future now weighing on him. It was now completely out of his hands.

---

Emanuel D. Angelov
"All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability."

He was sweating. Sweating. His mind hung by a thread off of every word that was exchanged and his stomach sagged and sank when it seemed likely the Inspecter was heavily favoring Impel Down until Ivan's proposition mentally floored the conversation for him. Julius outrage and exit from the room left him feeling infinitely better and finally his grip on the chair and writhing fingers lightened up a little bit. He had been hoping that Eileen would be his saving grace, but it appeared that Ivan would be the one instead.

After the tribunal was adjourned, Emanuel couldn't help but utter a heavy sigh of relief. After all the ups and downs of the past few days, he felt utterly exhausted and yet at the same time vindicated. Everything he had done was for the better, the sacrifices he had made had all paid off in his mind. He stood and saluted, "I promise that I will make you proud."

He left the room afterwards, trudging down the long hallway towards the exit with a newfound spring in his step.

[Exit]

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