Sorry for the later chapter, blame fanfiction :X
(Thanks to Dthehalfdragon, L-R-D, Riosho X3, and Draco Oblivion X3! I'd thought I'd mention that these two parts 'Through Alcatraz' are used to reintroduce Dragon Claw to any readers continuing on, and also introducing them to any new readers, although I'd recommend reading One Piece New Nakama in that case. Read on!)
"Not here."
"Nope."
"Come on! Where is it!" Gouki Riosho exclaimed, sighing, his trench coat whishing as he stopped. Gouki closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Come on Kazefuchi; tell me where you are..." Gouki opened his eyes and shook his head at himself. "Come on, swords don't talk."
Gouki jogged around the corner to come face to face with a group of guards. Gouki suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind them. "Sorry, can't stay to chat."
Before the group could turn around, their faces suddenly scrunched inwards as if punched, and they fell to the floor, groaning slightly. Gouki dodged around another corner, noticing a large crashing sound behind him. Gouki didn't pay attention until the arm smashed straight through the roof. Reacting quickly Gouki hopped backwards and glared up at the red-clad giant. "Woah..." he muttered. Gouki stared for a moment and saw something glint in the area, before it hit the giant's face. A few seconds later a shockwave smashed through the building with so much force it propelled Gouki through a wall.
The official Infantry of Dragon Claw groaned and stood up, rubbing his head. He looked around the room, and his grin lit up his face. Gouki jogged over to his black bladed sword, Kazefuchi, and picked it up, hugging it close. "Nice nice, found you. Now to deal with that giant who I'm sure is... ah." Gouki had turned, and saw the giant on the ground, motionless and unconscious. Moments later he saw two figures jump down, and could have swore he recognised one of them before a sound drew his attention.
It was like footsteps, but metallic as if they were wearing steel boots. Gouki poked his head around the corner, and ducked just in time as a thin missile shot over his head, and blew out an already crumbled wall behind him. Gouki breathed a flick of his hair out of his eyes and stared ahead the figure in front of him.
It was off a man wearing a dark green tank top, camo trousers, and a menacing blonde Mohawk. But his right arm seemed to be made of linked metal parts, while the other arm was pure muscle.
"Let me guess. Cyborg?" Gouki called out, wondering who the person was.
"Jack is not a cyborg. Jack is a killing machine!" The person, Jack, raised his arm and another missile shot from his palm. Gouki ducked back into the room and headed towards the back wall, watching Jack walk into the room.
"Killing machine? Is there some kind of off switch on you then?" Gouki joked.
"Jack does not appreciate humour. Jack will kill you!" Jack raised one leg, and it seemed to bend back from the knee, revealing approximately 12 holes.
Fast and deadly, bullets shot from the knee and would have taken down a normal human.
But Gouki wasn't what one would call normal.
In his eyes, the bullets were as slow as a snail. He walked forward, leaving a jagged blur behind him, even though he was only walking. Using one finger, he nudged the bullets all together, before grabbing them and carefully placing them in the opposite direction, straight at Jack's face. Gouki moved back and leant against the wall.
In real time, the bullets shot forward fast, straight into Jack's face. Jack gave a cry of surprise as bullets pelted his face with clanging noises. He raised his hand while covering his face with his free hand, and the missile shot from his hand. But before it even got out, Gouki once again saw everything slow.
He jogged forward, grabbed each of Jack's fingers, and closed them. He looked at Jack, musing, before grabbing his real hand and moving it down so it grasped the closed fist. Gouki then let out a swipe at both of Jack's legs, seeing a thin line of blood appear around it, although no movement from it. Gouki went back to his wall again.
Three things happened simultaneously. Jack's legs were cut in two, completely severing them from the middle of the thigh. His eyes flashed a dangerous red. Finally, the missile hit his closed fist, and blew both his real arm and mechanical arm straight off from the elbows. Jack screamed in pain as, now legless and armless, he fell to the floor, blood pumping from his legs and arm, while his other arm let off electrical sparks.
"Malfunction. Error, error. Jack does not appr-appr-ap-a-a-a- CHZ –The time is ten o'clock in the morning – CHZ – To live is to die and to die is to live – CHZ-AHHHH!" Jack let of gargled screaming, thrashing on the ground, before finally becoming still. Gouki went forward to make sure, when its eyes flashed. "Self Destruct Sequence Active in 3..."
"Oh... dear..." Gouki muttered.
"2..."
Gouki prepared to run when something grabbed him around the neck. Gouki was pulled backwards, and suddenly everything went wavy. He saw the explosion and flinched as it hit him, although he didn't feel anything. Feeling completely, confused, Gouki turned around and jumped half a mile when he saw a woman looking blankly at him.
"What is this?" Gouki asked, rubbing his chin.
No answer.
"Hey... hey, girl..." Gouki stepped forward and waved his hand in front of the woman's face.
The woman jumped slightly, and blinked, shaking her head, wiping her mouth. "Oh, sorry. Ahem. You are Gouki Riosho, correct?"
"That is me."
"Good. My name is Sugata Joji, a member of The Society and I am to accompany you to the outside. Come with me."
XXX
The poor guard backed away from the demons in front of him. "P-Please... please... no more!"
"Bit too la~te." One said, pouting its lips and kissing at the guard.
The other shrugged, and seemed to split into two.
"No! Please!" The guard begged, but suddenly two feet cracked into his jaw, knocking him groggy. He wavered in the air before a large metal fist smashed into his face, breaking his whole bone structure in his face.
"Nice one!" Jenny said, clapping Eden in a high five. Jenny and Eden were both important members of the Dragon Claw Crew. Jenny was the shipwright, while Eden was the cook.
"That felt good, teaming up with someone other than myself." Eden said, bringing one of her clones back in. "Especially someone who I don't need to worry about somehow going evil."
"There may be a time..." Jenny murmured lowly, unconsciously stroking the top of her shoulder where the number '9' in black ink resided.
"What was that?" Eden asked, looking at Jenny oddly.
"Nothing." Jenny said, smiling. "Now, let's see if we can get out of here and find the crew. I suggest climbing up that rubble." Jenny and Eden had been imprisoned in the same building which the giant had smashed with his arm moments ago, almost crushing them in the process.
"Fair enough." Eden went first, climbing up the rubble and getting to the top. She leant down and offered her hand to her crewmate, who accepted it and pulled herself up. The two females nodded to each other, before looking over the outside. "Hey, Jenny... isn't that... Raven?"
Jenny looked to where Jenny was pointing, and also saw the familiar dark ship in a dock complete with other pirate ships. "Yep, that's Raven all right. If it's that clear, the best bet would be to wait for that."
"Quote the Raven, nevermore."
Jenny and Eden whipped around, seeing a creature fly at them in a bundle of black feathers. They both ducked and watched as the creature looped in the sky and flapped down towards them. The man was covered in black feathers, and his face showed a yellow-ish beak, and small, beady eye. Large wings were in place of his arms.
"I am the true raven, I am Gin. Your ship is no Raven." Gin said, glancing back towards the ship. "Yes, truly a work of bad art."
THWAK!
As if in slow motion, a mace slammed into the side of Gins face, and it was not a pretty side. The spikes of the mace impaled Gin in the cheeks and side of the face, shredding the skin and puncturing an eye. The half-raven turned back into its human figure, falling to the floor, blood seeping from its head.
Jenny and Eden looked to their saviour, and saw what at first glance would be an angel. Instead, it was a man with a brown vest, brown trousers, and a large pair of white wings on his back, keeping him afloat.
"Who are you?" Jenny asked, standing defensively in front of Eden.
"My name is Yotaka Ningen. My orders are to get members of Dragon Claw. Are you not the shipwright, Jenny, and the cook, Eden?"
"We are." Jenny said carefully. "But what orders, why 'get' us?"
"I will only say what needs to be said. You have no choice in the matter. But you shall not be harmed." Yotaka suddenly flew forward, having sheathed his mace, and grabbed both Jenny and Eden around the waist, before throwing them on his heavily muscled shoulders and flying towards the ground.
XXX
The first Cabin Boy of Dragon Claw smashed his fist into a guard's stomach, before throwing him to a growing pile behind him. "Come on, that all you got?" Hermy taunted, glaring at the guards in front of him. They had long found it useless to shot, as bullets just bounced off of Hermy, considering he was a cyborg, or at least, so he thought. Hermy twisted his hand around as another group of marines charged towards him, and a spurt of fire rushed over them in a wave, causing them to scream and burn.
"Get the cannons!" One of the guards shouted. Hermy stood fast, waiting for the 'cannons'. A squealing was heard, before four cannons appeared from the T split, already ready to fire. The four cannons went off at once, causing Hermy to duck. The four cannon balls whizzed over his head and crashed into the wall behind him.
"Almost!" Hermy shouted, before shaking his head at himself. "Stop becoming like Diego, Hermy, geez."
Hermy raised his hand, and fired a net out into the guards. The net caught one in the face, and his screams were cut off short as the net cut through his head as f it were butter. The others looked horrified, before another set of cannonballs were fired off. Hermy ducked once more, but found that they were sensible. Two had gone above, two below. With utmost delicacy, Hermy grabbed both cannon balls from the ground, leant back, and used all of his strength to throw it back into the guards, connecting with two cannons and blowing them to pieces. The explosions also caught the gunpowder of the other two cannons, blowing them up as well. Hermy grinned, before a kick suddenly landed on the back of his head.
Hermy was propelled forward, falling to the floor. He groaned and stood up, turning around to see a thin, fit man with bright red hair and his hands in his pockets. The man stepped forward and swung a kick at Hermy, who ducked, but the leg went round in a whip and connected with the side of his head, driving Hermy back into the side of the wall.
"Who're you...?" Hermy asked, getting up.
"My name is Hwo. I am one of the Vice Wardens. If you think you are going to get away just because you are a low rank in your crew, don't be mistaken."
"Hey, just because I'm a different rank doesn't mean that I'm a low rank! Cabin Boys are just as important as, say, the cook, or the navigator!" Hermy exclaimed, before quickly firing off a burst of flames at Hwo.
But the Vice-Warden executed such a fast kick it blew the fire out and kicked Hermy square in the jaw, driving him up in the air. Hwo jumped around and executed a perfect roundhouse kick in the air, smashing Hermy against the wall. Hwo landed, and Hermy stood up again, cracking his knuckles.
"All right, let's do it!" Hermy ran forward, but something whizzed past his ear. An arrow shot through the air, before connecting straight into Hwo's forehead with a sick thunk. Hwo swayed, before falling backwards in a heap. Hermy turned around to face a man who was wearing a dark green combination of a vest and trousers, along with tussled blonde hair. "You an enemy?"
"I am an ally." The man said, putting the bow in his hands up in the air. "If I was an enemy, I would have killed you already. My name is Doguri, and my orders are accompany any Dragon Claw members outside. You are one such member, so, if you would please, come with me."
Not particularly knowing what else to do, Hermy nodded and followed Doguri.
XXX
The final member of Dragon Claw as the Second Mate, Diego Faulkner, smashed his mace into a guard's stomach, causing crimson blood to splash on the ground. He swung up with his mace and crashed it into the guards jaw, adding the unfortunate man to a list of casualties caused by Diego. A hand grabbed Diego's shoulder and he spun around, using the armour on his arm to hit the man in the head. Diego then kneed him in the stomach, before knocking him in the back of the head.
'Who knew that the mace could make itself small' Diego thought to himself, remembering a month ago when he was defeated by Fudo. He managed to get the mace, but it shrunk in his hands and he had hid it in his mouth, and had waited for the right moment to escape. And a jailbreak definitely qualified.
"Hey, are you Diego Faulkner, Second Mate of Dragon Claw?"
Diego turned at the sound of a female voice, and a beautiful young woman looked at him. She had a perfect shade of turquoise hair, tied into four separate ponytails. She also wore orange vest and trousers, although Diego was captured by the face.
"Are you?" The woman repeated.
"Uh... yeah, yes. Diego Faulkner, that's me. May I ask who is the lady asking?" Diego asked kindly, hanging the mace on its hoop on his waist.
"My name is Kareeda, and I'm a member of The Society. I can't particularly explain much, but I have to direct you to the outside. Captain's orders."
"Well, I'm powerful enough to defend myself if it's a trap... sooo... sure thing, lead the way."
Before Kareeda could answer, a loud roar was heard. Diego turned to be sliced in half by a large sword, but the equally large man continued running, and cut through Kareeda.
Diego quickly formed back together; after all, he was an adept user of his Ice devil fruit, a logia type. But Kareeda was not. Diego leant down to the woman's face, which was closed. "That was my fault... I should have been a gentleman and took the blow for you... I'm sorry..."
"That's bull." Kareeda said, causing Diego to practically jump out of his skin and caused his eyes to bulge out of his head. After all, that was half a corpse talking to him. Kareeda's top half suddenly rose in the air, and turned around, looking at the big man, who let off a girlish scream and ran away, dropping his weapons.
"Uh..." Diego started, staring as Kareeda's legs stood up. "Um..." Kareeda's two halves connected back together. "What... was that?"
"It's just the Bara Bara No Mi. I'm a split woman. I can't be cut, whether I want to or not." Kareeda said, smiling sweetly. "But let's go outside."
The walk was easy; after all, there were a number of holes in the walls. Diego made a staircase from ice and helped Kareeda down, stepping on the ground. He looked at the vast expense of ground, before spotting a group of people to his left, and another to his right.
Kareeda walked off to the right, saying: "That's my crew, see you."
Diego turned to the left, and joined his own crew, Dragon Claw. The members all smiled at him.
"And the last is my annoying brother, Diego." Hermy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Diego caught a hard glare from Ferina, and pointedly turned away.
"Tzahaha..."
Red looked up to see the corresponding Captain from The Society walk up to him.
"An intriguing crew indeed. Powerful. Possibly enough to rival my own." November said, snickering. "I doubt it though, although you may get the chance in the future. Talking of which, the next time we meet, trust us, we will fight you to the finish... and perhaps the death... Tzahahaha!" November turned and started walking away, followed by his crew.
"Hey!" Red called out. "Hey! What about your orders to get us out! What was that about!"
November grinned even more. "Oh? Just something my brain told me to do. Let's go." November continued to walk away, leaving Dragon Claw speechless.
"Something his... brain told him to do?" Hikari repeated.
"Basically... he just helped us... for the hell of it?" Jenny questioned.
"That IS interesting." Gouki mused, placing a finger on his chin. "Well, we should-"
"Go? Gouki, that is not going to happen."
Jenny, Gouki, Diego and even Hikari froze, and they all turned towards a familiar hooded figure with dark skin.
"M-M-Mist?" Diego exclaimed, surprised.
Before the cloaked man who appeared to be floating could respond, an ear shattering scream was heard. Dragon Claw whipped around to see something barbed dragging Ferina to a marine ship, cutting into her wrist.
"Ferina!" Red exclaimed in surprise.
(Ba Dun Dun Dudududuuun! Yep, I'm evil to leave you on such a cliffhanger. And this cliffhanger? It leads directly into the main plot of this story, and the next story (If that gives anything away lol). Mist has appeared, and Ferina has been caught by something barbed towards a marine ship! Panic time!Ahem...
Random Fact: Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe was originally going to feature Kung Lao and Harley Quinn as downloadable content. Never came to fruition though. (I obviously don't own MK or DC.)
Next time on OPNN: New Dreams: As the arc concludes (Hey! I told you it was short!) Dragon Claw find themselves in an unfathomable decision. One that HAS to be decided. But will it threaten to split them in two?
See you for the perhaps shock of the story! (Well, apart from something evil I got planned much later into the story)
I've rambled to long, see you next time!)