Running through the streets of lower Marie-Jois...
They found me out. How had they found me out?
Not daring to look back...
Betrayal. That was the only possibility. Ten years of perfect cover brought to an end.
Heading for the docks...
Just get a boat and leave. Shouldn't be too difficult – just hitch a ride-
A boat is in sight...
There's a boat! Now I just need to-
A chill wind blows from the left...
No, not him! Need to find cover, need to find-
A flash of light from the right...
Two of them? That is just unfair. Just a few more steps-
A red glow and intense heat gather from the rear...
Damnit, how did they get here so fast? Must reach the boat-
There is no-one in front.
There is no-one ahead of me! No cover. No safety. DAMN.
He turns...
...to face my pursuers. Aokiji. Kizaru. Akainu. This will require a whole lot of luck.
The name of this man is Raphael. For ten years he was the Marines Head of Intelligence and chief of CP0, their top spy. Although not really. Really he is the top spy of the revolutionary army. And he has just been found out. He is 6' ½" tall, wears a long, dark purple sleeveless greatcoat and a black Marine's cap over a pink chequered mask. His hidden hair is brown and storm grey eyes glare out from holes in the mask. He has an open white shirt revealing a tanned, slightly muscular washboard chest, has a red sash as a belt and black trousers. On his back he carries a large golden Nodachi. His main power is his Devil Fruit, the Thought Thought fruit, one of the insanely rare Unnatural Logia types. This fruit is the reason why he was promoted to Head of Intelligence. This is the reason he is Dragon's top spy. This is also the reason why he will survive this battle. It is currently ten days prior to the Battle of Marineford.
Raphael faced his pursuers. They were all very tall men, roughly the same height as each other but towering above the erstwhile spy. To his right was Aokiji, his black hair fluffing out over his ears, a sleep mask on his forehead, wearing a white button-up vest over a long-sleeved navy blue shirt and matching white trousers and shoes. He also wore a yellow tie divided geometrically by black lines. To Raphael's left was Kizaru, a middle aged man with a moderate amount of wrinkles on his face, and a very thin beard as well as close-cropped black hair. He wore a yellow striped suit with a Marine coat draped over his shoulders like a cape, his arms not in its sleeves, as well as pure white shoes, gold-amber tinted sunglasses, and a dark green shirt with a mauve tie under his yellow suit. Facing Raphael was Akainu, who had a square shaped face, very pronounced facial features and short black hair. He wore a standard Marine cap and sported a crimson, double-breasted suit, decorated with what appeared to be a pink rose on his left buttonhole. His light flower-patterned shirt was open at the top, revealing part of a tattoo. He also wore black gloves and shoes. All three wore large, white marine coats. They stared at Raphael emotionlessly.
"You betrayed us, Spy." Aokiji said first, his voice as chilly as the arctic wind.
"Use his name, Aokiji." Kizaru replied slowly. Akainu stayed motionless, his arms folded.
"Erm, do we have to do this?" Raphael asked hopefully. He really did not like the idea of facing the three admirals of the Marines. For one thing, he could only think of one outcome.
"Now you die, traitor." Akainu said, ignoring him. The three Admirals stepped forward as one.
"I am not a traitor." Raphael smiled under the mask, resigning himself to this fight. "I was never on your side." The three Admirals lunged, and Raphael vanished.
Kizaru looked over at Akainu and Aokiji, who seemed frozen.
"Ooooohhhh, this isn't good." He said. The street seemed shadowy, vague. If he didn't concentrate on an area, it was blurry.
"So this is 'unclear justice' then?" Kizaru turned to see Raphael leaning against a wall. "Interesting." Raphael reached over his shoulder for his sword. Kizaru raised his hands together, and created a sword of light, hardened with Haki.
"Gathering Clouds of Heaven!" Kizaru announced. He then brought the sword up in a fluid motion that caught the descent of the golden sword and held it. "Ooohhhh, you're fast." Kizaru said. Raphael snarled in response. Blows flickered between them too fast to see, but Kizaru's skill won out and Raphael was flung backwards through a building. Instead of hitting rock, the building parted like a cloud as he passed. He raised his sword in a massive two-handed slash, and pinkish-grey smoke curled around the blade.
"Mind-Razor Memory slash!" Raphael yelled, and brought the sword down. Kizaru dashed forward and blocked some of the power, but the rest flooded through the plaza and both combatants vanished in the smoke.
Kizaru opened his eyes. Raphael opened his eyes. And swore. The other two admirals had not been idle.
"We know all about your Devil Fruit Power." Akainu said, a towering wall of magma behind him.
"What will you do now?" Aokiji asked, a sword of ice clasped in one hand and every escape route blocked by frozen barriers.
"Soooo, that was the Thought-Thought fruit. Hooow scary." Kizaru said, one hand clasping his head. His sword had gone, and Raphael's was back on his back. He drew it, and stroked the blade with his thumb. A bead of blood welled up, and he flicked it contemptuously at Akainu where it sizzled for a moment then vanished.
"Bring it." He told the three admirals, and extended one hand towards Akainu. "Mind Fog!" Akainu leapt towards him, his fist large, red and burning with magma. And missed. He staggered, and shook his head to clear the headache that had suddenly blurred his mind. Aokiji's sword was caught on Raphael's Nodachi, and Kizaru remade his light sword. Aokiji and Raphael struggled against each other for a moment, then leapt apart as Akainu punched at Raphael, missing Aokiji by inches.
"Oi, be more careful!" Aokiji shouted at Akainu, who just grunted and attacked Raphael again. Raphael dodged away, and slashed at Kizaru who blocked and then reposted, only for Raphael to catch the sword in his right hand and then shatter it with one massive backwards stroke of his huge sword.
"Ooooohhhh," Kizaru responded, apparently completely unconcerned.
"This is the named blade Kyōretsuna Genjitsu, the Shattering Reality." Raphael grinned. "Respect it." His return stroke was blocked by Aokiji, giving Kizaru a chance to recover and target Raphael with an outstretched finger which emitted a thin beam of light. Raphael's hurried dive to the side prevented it from killing him, but it still gouged a gash through the edge of his mask. Seeing the three admirals coming again, Raphael made a decision. "See ya!" he said, and leapt into the air. "Geppou." Raphael began to jump, apparently off thin air, hopping away. Light flashed, and Kizaru appeared beside him, his leg coming round in a shining kick which smashed him down into the pavement. As Kizaru followed him down, readying another kick, Raphael rolled away, coughing blood into his mask, and dove into Aokiji's mind.
Aokiji's mind wasn't as cold as Raphael expected, which was irritating because he had imagined himself in a warm coat to prepare, dark grey with a fur-lined collar. What it was was dark. And slow. Not slow as would be in the mind of a dim-witted person, but slow in the way of someone who takes time to assess every situation. As he passed an open doorway, an instinct made him duck as an ice sabre whistled through the air where his head had been. It was a strange sound – after all it was made by a blade of frozen air which moved with blinding speed and yet slowed to a crawl. As he reached for his sword he realised how disorientating this mind was – everything was slowed down except his mind, so he kept expecting things to happen faster than they did. The problem was, this was Aokiji's mind, and so Aokiji was used to it. Raphael had managed to slide part of the blade out over his shoulder when Aokiji's blade reached the end of its swing and came back at him. Raphael tried to dodge but doubled over, coughing blood, as pain shot through his chest. In the hour it seemed to take the blood to fall to the floor from the bottom of his mask, an hour of horrific, slow pain, Raphael diagnosed that Kizaru had shattered two of his ribs. Aokiji's ice sabre finally struck, and glanced off his sword. Splinters of ice dug into Raphael's back and added to his pain, but Raphael ignored it and rolled away, despite the ugly cracking sounds coming from his chest. He got to his feet and finally managed to draw his sword, holding it in a diagonal guard position with his other hand clutching his abdomen. Aokiji loomed over him. Raphael split himself. He left his doppelganger in front of Aokiji and stumbled away into a building. It was difficult to maintain – controlling two versions of himself took a lot of concentration, and also doubled any ailments or pain he was suffering, as he felt it through two bodies at once. It left him feeling dislocated, as he looked through four eyes at once. As one body fought with Aokiji, each blow planned hours in advance , bringing fresh waves of pain and driving his doppelganger back another step, his other self brought his sword up in a massive swing as he had done in Kizaru's mind.
"Mind-razor Memory Slash!" Aokiji beheaded the Doppelganger, Raphael's sword fell, the world exploded.
Only a few seconds had passed in the real world. Raphael appeared in midair and aspirated blood, desperately trying to rally himself – getting used to time again, staving off unconsciousness from the rapidly increasing pain and keeping track of where his enemies were. The biggest threat to him right then was Akainu. As soon as he hit the ground, which almost caused him to black out, he rolled as Akainu's fist hit the ground where he had landed. A spray of magma melted straight through Raphael's mask and permanently disfigured him as it splashed down through his right eye which was instantly blinded. Adrenaline deadened some of the pain, long enough for him to cut Akainu in half and glance at the harbour – a harbour at which a ship was just pulling in. It was flying the flag of the Celestial Dragons. Raphael grinned. Perfect. He turned back to Akainu, who was just reforming himself. One last thing to do.
Akainu's mind was strange. It was black and white, with no grey, and therefore difficult to make anything out. Raphael waved his hand through a white beam, and immediately withdrew his hand – his palm had been badly burned. The black areas were cold enough to freeze the blood leaking from his mouth. This was undoubtedly the most horrible mind he had ever entered. He heard a sound and turned. The white was spreading. Like a wave it was covering the cold blackness and heading towards him. He could hear slow, measured footsteps coming closer, and knew Akainu was near. He quickly drew his sword and brought it down, even as Akainu reached for him and the skin was burnt from his back.
"Mind-Razor Memory Slash!" he said for the last time.
Raphael dashed for the boat. He could see the Celestial Dragon preparing to disembark, and increased his speed. He dodged beams of light, shards of ice and streams of magma and dove into the noble's unguarded mind. He collapsed into a corner that was uncomfortably soft, careful to avoid notice from the illusions created by the noble's narcissism, and looked out at the frustrated Admirals. They wouldn't dare attack or impede a Celestial Dragon, and so he'd be safe until he saw a chance to jump ship. As a bonus, he'd managed to distort and confuse their memories of him during his brief visit to each of their minds. He wondered who his next refuge would be, and how he'd explain this mess to Dragon.