The World Shakes! Battle for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit A nother rainy night loomed over the Red City, casting a curtain of fog that enveloped the streets as the cold water hit the hot metal surfaces of the factories and the sun-heated pavement. Barely a soul was seen outside their home, as the numerous criminals that lurked around Baltigo called that mist their home, and thrived in its concealment. A lightning bolt suddenly hit the ground at the distance, soon to be followed by a massive thunder, and a scared gasp, coming from a certain building in the heart of the city. Heavy breathing and cold sweating accompanied the thunder's already fading sound, in the middle of snores and sleep-talk. "Haah... haah... Well... there goes my sleep for the night... haah..." Akira got out of bed after catching his breath, still trembling a bit as he began changing into his uniform, taking advantage of the fact that all of the other faceless Revolutionaries packed together with him in those cramped barracks were still asleep, snoring through the storm without a hint of trouble. After getting ready for the mission that awaited him in a few hours, he began walking quietly towards the building's kitchen-bar, preparing a cup of coffee for himself as well as getting a snack or two. This was going to be too long a day to be suffering from a bad night of sleep during it, after all. His mind began to flee, away from the drink and the food, from the present and the future, trying to recall the exact parameters of the mission in the state of post-nightmare fugue that he was in. He remembered his superiors, as they had called him in the middle of an important reunion. The precise words were still vague, but he recalled exactly what he had been assigned to do. The Evercold Pirates, whose tiny island-base was found near Baltigo, had discovered an ancient and extremely powerful Devil Fruit and were about to hand it over to the World Government's agents in their ignorance, in exchange for a ludicrous sum of money that would easily allow each of them to live luxurious and decadent lives without any need to work or pillage ever again. Of course, that was merely the result of the lack of Marine presence in Baltigo, because otherwise the negotiation would turn into a bloodbath as soon as it started. But no, this crew outnumbered the small amount of covert Marines in the island, and chances could not be taken. Luckily, the Revolution has moles everywhere, and it only took a handsome bribe for us to learn of these details. But with the plans to expand the influence of the movement by striking at corrupt governments in other islands, all of the more powerful leaders had their hands full, so the responsibility fell upon the faceless soldiers, with little to no bounties and about no way to be recognized by Marine forces until it was too late. Of course, the leaders weren't going to let just anyone take this mission. They chose specifically from the most distinguished cadets, finding Akira a good pick due to his overall success in last year's campaigns, and pairing him with a smug-looking gunman, admittedly one he was not familiar with, named Marshall. The plan was simple, but its execution was the most difficult part: They would need to go to the meeting place where the Marines and Pirates were soon to be in, then track the Pirates from there before they reach the meeting point, and somehow steal the fruit from their grasp. Then they would just need to bail back to the barracks with the fruit secured and report to the boss. They did recommend using guerrilla tactics instead of directly fighting the pirates, given their numerical superiority, but beyond that, the only real priorities were survival and the recovery of the fruit. Akira sighed, and his mind went back to the present. His coffee had gone a bit colder, the cup half full and waiting for him to finish his drink. He drank the rest, noticing how the wooden floor crackled subtly as if someone was walking around the place, even though he was alone in the kitchen. "Another one of those weird things that happen around me all the time", he thought, back against the wall while he passed the time counting raindrops or looking for recognizeable figures in the mist outside the building, staring at the window for hours on end. Morning was soon to come, and the coffee had already kicked in. Once Marshall was ready to go, he'd head out with him towards the meeting spot. It was time to be a hero!
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Last edited by Akira on Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:17 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : OOC bit)