Watching & Waiting
Part One
Adjusting her sunglasses, she locked her eyes onto the large ship. Two smaller ones were sailing right along with it. They were heading for the docks. Seeing the whale like design of Whitebeard's ship in the moonlight made her smile. It suited the name of the ship, Moby Dick, despite how she thought it was a stupid name for a ship. But she wasn't the captain of it, the great Whitebeard was. So she had no right to name it or rename it. It was also the ship that held what she was seeking. And Whitebeard was the man she was going to have to get passed if she as going to reclaim what is hers.
The wind blew, blowing her hair behind her. It brushed like silk across her arms when it laid back against her. She waited until the ships had pulled into the docks before turning and headed down the hill. Her only company out here were the crickets. Soon their songs faded. The chatter of the islanders took its place when she reached the edge of the town. The lights pushed back the darkness as a lot of the people ran towards the docks to greet the pirates. The excitement if the arrival of the Whitebeard Pirates crackled in the air. This island was one of many that were under Whitebeard's protection. She wasn't surprised at the reception.
She had to admit she was looking forward to it, too. But her excitement was coming from a different source. She would finally be able to get her hands on her treasure, her treasure that she has been hunting for over a year. It was finally within her gasp. That is if she could only get to it and not get killed.
The cheering of the crowd made her look up. The Whitebeard Pirates had left their ships and was walking towards the town like a parade. The captain was massive. He towered over everyone there. She could feel a trickle of intimidation running up and down her spine. It was the first time she was seeing him in person. She now could see why so many feared this man. He looked as if he could squash this entire island. He might be able to with the devil fruit that he had. Strike that. He looked like he could squash this island without a devil fruit.
Her eyes trailed off of the large man and down to another. This one was a lot smaller than Whitebeard, a whole lot smaller. And she could feel the blaze burning inside of him from his own devil fruit he had. Her mind ran over the information she knew about him. It was Fire Fist Ace. He looked to be somewhere around her own age. She was sixteen. He was still new to the Whitebeard Pirates but he was very powerful himself with his devil fruit. He used to have his own pirate crew then joined up with Whitebeard, for reasons she was unclear about. And despite not wanting her mind to go there, she found him rather cute. He had a boyish charm with those freckles splattered across his face despite his reputation. It made her wonder what he was like. Was he nice?
The pirates continued on in towards the town.
Blending in with the excited crowd, she followed them to one of the locate taverns, Marla's Party Tavern. Having been here for a week, she knew exactly where they would eat, drink, and sleep. The islanders did nothing but talk about the pirates' arrival. Keeping her distance, she watched as they entered into the tavern. More cheers sounded out as the celebration had started inside the building. She took her leave at that point. She wasn't a drinker so there was no point in going after them. There were plenty of other things she had to take care. After that she would introduce herself to the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Did you hear?! The Whitebeard Pirates have arrived!" a man said to a group of other men.
"What?! Serious?!"
"Yeah! They're at Marla's Party tavern right now!"
"What are we waiting for?! Let's go see them!"
She rolled her eyes. Grown ups shouldn't act like children. And speaking of children.
"I'm am Whitebeard! The greatest pirate of all!" a child cried out.
"And I am Fire Fist Ace!" another child said as their group ran around acting like pirates and Navy soldiers.
"I will be Marco the Phoenix!" a third one cried. "Fear us!"
She shook her head, remembering when she was young and played such games. Such a nice time it was being a child, so young and naïve and impressionable. Sometimes she missed it. Other times she was glad to be over that stage of her life.
Having come upon the hotel she was staying at, she entered into the door.
"Hey! Fina!" a girl called out the second she stepped inside.
Fina turned her eyes to the girl who called out to her. It was Melena. Melena was the daughter of the couple who owned this hotel. Some how, at some point, she had made friends with the teenager without wanting or meaning to.
"Did you hear?!" Melena rushed over to her. Her blonde braid bouncing over her shoulder as she came closer. "The Whitebeard Pirates have arrived!"
"I know," Fina said. "I was near the docks when they arrived. Quite the intimidating bunch they are."
"What?!" Melena gasped, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "And you're only now telling me this?!"
"Well, I just got here and it's not that big of a deal," Fina said.
"What?! What do you mean it's no big deal?!" Melena grabbed her arms and shook her. "This is the Whitebeard Pirates we're talking about?! Have you even seen Fire Fist Ace?! He's hot, hot, hot! Literally!"
"Yeah, I think he's cute, I guess," Fina said with a shrug.
"You guess?!" Melena released her and crossed her arms.
"Well, I have yet to actually meet a guy that grabs my attention," Fina said. "Besides you haven't met Fire Fist Ace in person either."
"The Whitebeard Pirates haven't been here since Ace joined them. I get to meet him now. I've told you before I'm friends with the Whitebeard Pirates," Melena said. "Girl, sometimes I get the impression you're not into guys at all."
"I am," Fina said. "I'm on a journey. I don't have time to deal with guys and relationships. That's all."
"I know," Melena said with a sigh. "So you have told me. Still, I wish you didn't have to leave so soon. You've only been here for a week. I could totally turn you into a guy magnet if you would stay longer. You're a very beautiful girl."
"Uh, thanks? And I'm sorry," Fina said. "But this was a short stop to rest. I have to get going soon."
"I know." Melena nodded. "Could you at least go with me to see the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"I don't think so," Fina said. "I'm kind of tired. Besides they're at the tavern. You know I don't like going to places like that. The men treat women like objects there."
"You'll be fine," Melena said. "The pirates won't let anyone hurt you. You're with me after all."
"No thanks." Fina shook her head and headed for the stairs. "I'm going to bed."
"No you're not," Melena said.
"Hey!" Fina cried when Melena grabbed her arm and pulled her back out the door. "I don't want to go!"
"Come on! Have a little fun!" Melena said smiling. "How often do you get to see an amazing pirate crew like the Whitebeards? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"
Fina sighed, as she was drug out of the hotel and down the street. This wasn't a once in a lifetime opportunity at all. She had been tracking them for quiet a while now. This was the first time she had finally caught up to them and got so close to them.
A loud crashing of broken glass lifted her eyes to the tavern. A man was laying on the ground with blood trickling down his skin. Glass from the tavern window scattered round him on the ground.
"And don't you ever speak to a woman like that again!"
Fina looked up to see one of the Whitebeard Pirates standing outside of the tavern. If she remembered right it was Thatch, one of the commanders of the Whitebeard fleet. With his white posh outfit he looked more like a cook to her rather than a commander. She wondered if he was a cook.
"This is so great!" Melena shrieked. "I hope I can get close to Ace! Please take off those sunglasses! You're face is too pretty for you to keep hiding behind them!"
"How would you know?" Fina smirked. "You haven't seem me without them off."
"I just know! I can tell," Melena reached up to the sunglasses.
"Please don't." Fina grabbed her wrist to stop her friend. "I've told you I'm sensitive about my eyes."
"Yeah, you've told me that. But you haven't told me why," Melena said, frowning.
"My eyes are different from everyone else's," Fina said, releasing Melena. "Often people make fun of them. I'm really tired of hearing jokes about my eyes."
"Fine," Melena said. Reaching up again, she started raking her fingers through Fina's tangled hair. "At least let me fix your hair. It's a mess. You're such a beautiful young woman. I don't see why you can't take care of yourself better. You're hair is so black, thick, and full. The blackest I've ever seen, too. I bet you'd get a guy in a second if you took better care of it."
"Yeah, because that's what's important in a relationship," Fina said. "Hair care."
"You could also wear a skirt once in a while," Melena said. "I don't think I've seen you once in a skirt or a dress."
"I travel," Fina said. "It doesn't leave a lot of time for getting pretty."
"That's a lousy excuse." Melena pulled back to examine her work. "You sail on a ship. You have plenty of time to do your hair and dress up."
"I'm not interested," Fina said, shoving her hands in the pockets of her cargo pants. "Pants are more comfortable."
"Here," Melena said, grabbing Fina's shirttail. "Let me at least tie it up here so you can show some skin."
Fina sighed. She allowed the young woman to tie a knot in her simple white shirt, revealing her scarred midriff. It was sometimes easier to let Melena do this than to argue with her. It was hard for her to tell at first, but the more time she spent with Melena the more she could tell her friend was lonely. The island wasn't that big so it was easy for people that lived here to grow bored of their surroundings. Melena was happy that she had arrived. She gave the young woman something new to fuss over. Melena was very girly. She wasn't. She needed and wanted comfortable and convenient clothes.
"There that's better!" Melena clapped her hands. "You look amazing!"
Fina eyed her friend. If anyone looked amazing it was Melena, with her dark blue tank top with a short back mini skirt and enough makeup to highlight her natural beauty. Melena's smile was making her dimples more pronounced. Fina knew her friend would attract the attention of at least some of the young men here. She herself wasn't sure about getting this close right now. It wasn't her plan.
"Let's go," Melena said. She took Fina's arm and pulled her inside of the tavern.
Fina scanned the room. Tankards were being slammed together in toasts. Women from the tavern were flirting with the pirates in their revealing dresses. Men were laughing. A piano in the corner of the room was being played by a man who worked there. It was such a happy looking scene. All in all a place that made her very uncomfortable despite all the jollies. She wiped her free hand on her pants to get rid of the sweat gathering there.
Forcing past the smell of booze and unwashed men, Fina scanned her eyes around the room again. Not a single table was empty. The Whitebeards were sitting in the middle of the room, a few sitting at the bar. She noticed some had their jolly roger on their clothes while a few had tattoos of it.
"There he is!" Melena squealed, making Fina jump. "It's Fire Fist Ace!"
Fina looked at the black haired, freckled faced man. Her heart sped up in her chest. Her head became light. She didn't want to get any closer. But before she knew it Melena was dragging her across the room and right over to the Whitebeard Pirates. She stood right beside her targets. A chill settled over her body.
"Hello," Melena said flipping her braid over her shoulder. "It's nice to see you all again."
Fina lifted an eyebrow at her friend. Desperation was dripping off her sweet words.
"Hey! It's Melena!" Thatch said. "It's good to see you well!" His eyes turned to Fina. "Oh, hello. I haven't seen you here before."
Fina shifted on her feet when the man's eyebrows drew together as he looked at her. With a small wave she said, "Uh, hi."
"Guys, this is my friend, Fina," Melena said slipping her arm around Fina's shoulders. "Be nice to her. She's not use to so much attention."
"Melena," Whitebeard said. "It's been a while since we've last seen you. You've grown up into such a beautiful young woman."
Melena spun around, showing them her body. "I guess I have grown up."
"And you're as pretty as ever," Thatch said. "A sparkling jewel on the sea."
"Thank you, Thatch," Melena said. "You're as charming as ever." Her eyes went to Ace and sparkled brighter than the sun. "So this is the new guy."
Fina rolled her eyes at Melena's blatant determination to get to know Ace better.
"Yup." Thatch ruffled Ace's hair. "He's the new guy."
"Hey!" Ace smacked Thatch's hand from his hair. "Stop that!"
Thatch laughed. "Ace this is Melena. She's been a fan of ours since she was a kid."
"Oh really?" Ace looked at the girls, his eyes drawing towards Fina. "You're wearing sunglasses at night and inside?"
Fina crossed her arms. "There's no law against it."
"Sorry," Ace said. "I didn't mean anything by that."
"As I said before this is my friend, Fina," Melena said. "She's only here for a little while longer."
"Fina, huh?" Thatch asked. "That's an odd name."
"It's short for Serafina," Fina said.
"That makes sense then," Thatch said with a nod.
"I guess." Fina shrugged. Behind her sunglasses she watched Whitebeard. She couldn't help but noticed the man was watching her as well. She swallowed, wondering if he sensed her secrets, her plans. It wouldn't surprise her one bit if he did. The man was strong. His strength radiated off him with no signs of stopping. She wondered how that could be possible when everyone seemed to be so relaxed in here. She was the only one who wasn't relaxed. Her muscles were coiling so tight she knew if anyone else touched her she would bounce around the room like a rubber ball.
"So how's the hotel business?" Thatch asked, bring Fina's eyes back to him. She found that the man had pushed back a chair for her friend to sit down on.
"It's all right," Melena said, crossing her legs.
"Here," Ace said.
Fina turned her eyes to him to find he had brought over another chair for her. "No thanks. I don't like bar scenes. So I'm going to-Ack!" She gasped when Melena jerked her down into the chair. "Hey!"
"Sit down and learn to have some fun!" Melena said.
"Are you nervous about being in a bar?" Ace asked.
"Of course not!" Fina snapped. "I'm not a fan of the way men treat women in them!"
Whitebeard laughed. "Girl, if you hate that then you must hate men all over the world."
"I never said that," Fina said. "It's not about men strictly, it's about men thinking they have the right to treat women as they please. And that often happens when they're drunk."
"You sound very naïve of the world, Girl," Whitebeard said.
"I'm not," Fina said kneading her eyebrows. "So shut up! And my name is Fina!"
Whitebeard laughed again. "Girl, you are over a hundred years too young to tell me what to do!"
"My name is Fina! Not Girl!" Fina said. Anger flared up inside of her. She gripped her hands into two tight fists.
"Oh?" Whitebeard leaned forward, pressing his arm onto the table. "Did I upset you, Girl? Are you willing to fight me and my crew?"
"I'm done here," Fina said, standing up she knocked her chair over.
"Wait! Don't go!" Melena said.
"I didn't even want to come here to begin with, Melena," Fina said. "I'll see you later."
"Oh, okay then," Melena said.
Fina turned and left the bar. The joyful sounds faded away from her with each step she took. If only she could get the smell of all the booze out of her nose. A huge amount of tension left her that she didn't even know was there. Anger then filled her when the old man's words came flooding back to her. What was his deal anyway? He couldn't even say her name? What a jerk! She was more determined than ever to get on his ship and steal her treasure back from him.
"Hey! Hey, wait!" Ace's voice called out.
In her confusion, she stopped and turned around.
"I'm sorry about what Pops said," Ace said once he was by her side. "That's how he is. He didn't mean any harm."
"It doesn't matter," Fina said.
"Are you sure?" Ace asked. "You look upset."
"Not really." Fina shoved her hands into her pockets. Her eyes dropped down to his bare chest. She stared at it for a few seconds before noticing what she was doing. She forced her eyes off of it, glad to be wearing her sunglasses. "I don't care much for bars. They get me upset."
"Have you had a bad experience in them or something?" Ace said.
Fina flinched. How could he have possible made a guess like that so quickly?
"I'm sorry," Ace said. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," Fina said.
"Sorry," Ace said.
"Why did you even come after me? You don't know me," Fina said.
"Uh…I don't know," Ace replied. He scratched the back of his head and added, "I did it without thinking. You sort of remind me of someone. I guess."
"Then go back." Fina turned around and walked off. Stalking up to the door of the hotel and reached for the doorknob, she felt like turning around. She had to force herself not to. It didn't make sense for that guy to have come after her. Her stomach turned. Did Whitebeard send him? Was he looking to figure out where she was staying? No, that couldn't be right. Melena would have already told them by now that she was staying at her family's hotel. Shaking it from her mind she opened the door and rushed up the stairs.
Luckily, no one seemed to be around. She was free to run all the way to her room. She all but slammed her door to her room as she rushed over to the window. Without knowing why, she pulled back the curtain and found that Fire Fist Ace was nowhere in sight. He must have gone back to the bar. Disappointment settled into her chest. Letting the curtain fall back into place, she headed for the bathroom. Flipping on the light, she removed her sunglasses and stared at her reflection.
"Okay, Serafina," she said. "It's time to put your plan into action. The Whitebeard Pirates are finally within your grasp. It's now or never."
Placing her sunglasses down on the sink, she reached for the scissors that was waiting for her. Her eyes locked onto her hair. For years she had let her hair grow out. It was the closest thing to thing she had to being girly. She had no idea why she always let her hair grow. It was a fact that short hair was easier to deal with than long hair, especially with all the traveling that she did.
Taking a strain of her black hair in her hand, she lifted the scissors and cut it. The snipping of the scissors filled the room as strand after strand of her hair fell to the floor. Her head grew lighter with each strain she cut until her knee length hair was a messy boy look. Turning her head this way and that, she inspected how much it made her look different. She thought she looked different enough. She thought she had reached her goal of looking more like a boy.
Her eyes dropped down to her chest. Her breasts were a lot smaller than other females she has met. At least she wouldn't have trouble hiding those behind her shirts. She didn't mind. She never had. Her smaller size would help her blend in with the boys. That's what she needed now.
Placing the scissors back down on the counter, she gathered up her hair. She placed the strands in a sack that she had prepared for this step of her plan and exited the bathroom. Tossing the bag on the bed, she sat down and pulled out another set of clothes. This time her shirt was a black hooded vest and baggy dark green pants with three pockets on each leg. And they were boys' clothes of course. After putting them and her sunglasses on she left the hotel. On her way down the street she passed the Marla Party Tavern. She could hear the Whitebeard Pirates laughing. Through the window she could see Melena was still sitting with Whitebeard and Thatch. She couldn't see Fire Fist Ace inside. It made her wonder if he was in there or if he went somewhere else after he left her. She moved on.
Making her way through the town she came upon the Whitebeard ships. A few of their crewmembers were on the deck of the main ship. She sighed. If only they left the ship unguarded she could get what she needed and run, but nope. The ship wasn't left unguarded despite this being Whitebeard's territory. So she turned to her right and headed down the beach. The moon rose higher in the sky, lighting her path. The sand crunched under her boots. The waves slipped upon the beach, threatening to damp her boots before pulling back. A dark spot in the cliff then caught her eye. She walked over to it.
Holding up her hand, fire sprung to life in her palm. The light rushed over the cave walls. A few cave creatures scattered at the light in an attempt to disappear back into what darkness was left. Tossing the bag of hair into the air, she shot out a ball of fire at it from her hand. The bag and hair flared up. It fell. The fire fizzled out before it even landed on the rocky ground below her.
Step one was complete.
She left the cave and headed back into the town. This time she passed the street that the Marla Party Tavern was on and went two streets over. There she found another tavern, a less popular one that the scum of the island hung at. Stepping inside the broken down building, she found the smell here was worse than in the other tavern. It smelled like no one ever had cleaned it before. Dark stains on the floor suggested that was true. She tried not to think what caused those stains. She didn't want to know.
"What can I get for you?" a waitress asked.
"Beer," Fina replied. Sitting down she placed her feet on top of the table and tried to look as much like a guy as she possible could. A minute later the waitress walked back over and placed the bottle on the table. She handed her the money she had and picked up the bottle. She placed it to her lips and tilted it but didn't actually drink it. Relaxing back she started listening into everyone's conversations.
"Curse those blast Whitebeard Pirates," a man slurred. "If it wasn't for them we could run this island."
"Shut up," another man said. "Do you want them to find out you're talking about taking over the island?"
"I don't care," the first man said. "I'll kill them all."
"More like they'd kill you," the other man said.
Fina sighed. These men wouldn't do at all. She moved on to another conversation to her left.
"Boss, are you sure?"
"Of course I am. The timing is perfect."
"But the Whitebeards have three ships here."
"So?"
"This is suicide."
"If you're scared them don't fight."
Fina's ears perched up. This sounded like something.
"This is our chance to take out the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Boss, you're so insane. But I have to agree that we are very strong right now. If we can eliminate the old man then we can easily take his place. And with my water water devil fruit powers I can easily handle Fire Fist Ace. Not that I'd need to." He chuckled.
Fina lifted an eyebrow at the man's words. Carefully looking around, she found the group that was talking was a group of six members. She wondered if they were pirates but figured they weren't. What pirates in their right mind would come to Whitebeard's territory like this? Then she could be wrong. She didn't know all that much about pirates after all. But they looked like a descent size men. They might be able to give the Whitebeard Pirates a good enough fight, as long as Whitebeard didn't get involved.
"We still have to be careful. We should target only a couple of the Whitebeard Pirates then kill them."
"I agree. We can use sea prism stone on Fire Fist Ace. That'll slow him down. He usually hangs around with others that are normal humans."
"Not all of them. Marco is also a devil fruit user. We'll have to use sea prism stone on him as well."
"That'll be easy. There's a young girl here that's good friends with the Whitebeard Pirates."
Fina gritted her teeth. Her heart hammered against her chest. Surely they weren't talking about Melena. They couldn't be talking about her. Many people here are friends with the Whitebeard Pirates. They had to be talking about someone else.
"Her name is Melena."
Fina's stomach dropped. It was Melena.
"We can grab her and leave a note for Fire Fist Ace and Marco."
"That's sound like a good plan. When should we attack?"
"Tomorrow."
"That soon?"
"They won't be expecting an attack so soon. Besides we have no idea how long they're going to stay here. We'll take the girl tonight when everyone's asleep. We can easily break into the hotel. Her room is on the ground floor."
Fina jumped up. Taking the bottle with her, she ran out of the tavern and through the dirt paths that made up the roads in this town. She ignored the people giving her odd looks as she passed them. Reaching the forest, the jolly sounds of the party had been taken over by crickets. She found herself back on the cliff over looking the docks. She could see their ships. Tiny black dots scurried around on the water. She turned away.
Lifting up the bottle in her hand, she poured its contents out onto the ground then let the bottle fall from her hand. She hated herself. Despite only have been here for a week, she had grown to like Melena a lot. She didn't want to see her new friend get hurt or taken by those men. But what could she do? She needed to get close to the Whitebeard Pirates. She needed to get onto their ship.
She paced back and forth over the cliff, going over and over what the men had said. She found no way out of it. She had to let Melena be taken. But would they hurt her? Melena was only going to be there hostage. Wasn't she? Surely they wouldn't hurt her. Or would they? Should she really risk Melena's life? Would those pirates, or whoever, try to take advantage of her friend like…?
"Calm down," Fina told herself. "They are only going to use her as a hostage. They'll just take her, tie her up, and wait for Marco and Fire Fist to come save her."
Fina stopped passing. Breathing in the salty sea air, she exhaled it. "Besides I won't be far behind. I won't let her get hurt. She'll be fine. She will be fine."
Fina forced herself to stop pacing two hours later. Unable to get herself to go back to the hotel, she laid down on the ground and stared up at stars. Guilt plagued her for hours after that as she pluck blaze of grass from the ground. She hoped and prayed that the pirates, or whoever they were, wouldn't hurt Melena.
Unable to sleep, she remained there for a couple more hours. Then she decided she needed to go back and watch the hotel. She wanted to be there when Melena was taken so she could follow them and make sure they didn't do anything to her.
Pushing herself up to her feet, she wondered back down through the forest and to the edge of the town. Remembering that Melena's bed was on the ground at the back of the hotel, she headed to the closest alleyway. Tucking into the shadows, she was glad she had chosen dark colored clothes to help hide her. Quietly she stared at Melena's opened window. She hated being this close to her friend. She hated herself for not marching over there, for not demanding her to go straight to Whitebeard, and tell him what was going to happen. But this had to be done. It had to be. She had to get it back. She had no choice.
An hour later, she saw three dark figures making their way through the darkness. She held her breath and took a step back into the shadows. She watched as each one of the men climbed through the open window. Seconds dragged on once all three were inside. An eternity seemed to pass by when they finally started to come back out of the room. One climbed out first. He turned back and lifted an object out of the window.
Fina's heart raced, her head pounded. It was Melena. She knew it was. Through the moonlight she could see Melena wrapped up in her blanket, her mouth bound with something white. Once other man came out of the window. It caused her to knead her eyebrows together. Where was the third man? Then she remembered. They had to get a note to Marco and Fire Fist Ace. The Whitebeard Pirates, or some of them, must have taken rooms at Melena's hotel. The third man must be going to their room to leave a letter about the kidnapping.
Sure enough, five minutes later, the third man exited the window and they took off. Fina followed after them. She kept back several yards to make sure they didn't see her or hear her. Luck was on her side. The trail they were on had plenty of places for her to hide if needed. She made sure to walk along the shadows so she could blend in with her surroundings. When they started to turn, she froze until they started walking again.
Fifteen minutes later, the cave they were heading to finally came into view. A small orange glow was coming from the cave. From the shadows dancing on the cave walls she could tell a lot of people were inside, she assumed the entire group. Were they really going to jump two men with their entire crew? After putting sea prism stone on the devil fruit users? These guys deserved Whitebeard's wrath.
Slipping into the woods, she moved closer to the cave until she found a tree she deemed good enough to hide in. It also gave her a good view of the cave. Jumping up to the lowest branch, she grabbed on and hauled herself up. She climbed up a few more branches until she got a good view of the path they walked and the cave entrance. Then she waited for sunrise.
She lost track of time while waiting and worrying over her friend. Anything could be happening to her inside of the cave. But eventually the sun started rising over the horizon. The shadows of the night were pushed away and replaced with the golden rays of the sun. The crickets were long gone as the chirping of birds starting ringing through the leaves. Looking down the forest path she could see two figures walking up towards the cave. It was Marco and Fire Fist Ace. She gulped. There was no turning back now. Her plan was in full action. And she was ready for this to finally get started.
