(Thanks to L-R-D, Draco Oblivion, TsubakiTwilight, Dthehalfdragon and dArK tIdEs. Right, I'd thought I'd mention I'm working on my Wikia again, and I'd be glad if you reviewers could take a look, add some articles, or generally give advice! I want to make it nice, y'know. Also, I would like to know if there are any good artists out there that can draw figures, if so, PM me! Read On!)

The Forest was thick and humid, causing the three members of Dragon Claw and Jin to sweat. Red was in front, pushing past the leaves, muttering something along the lines of: forgot to ask for a sword.

Behind him were Tromso, followed by Hikari and finally by Jin, who had refused, much like Tromso, to use his weapon to cut down leaves. After a few more minutes of battling though the jungle, reach seemed to get thicker and thicker; Red shrugged off his shirt and wiped his head. "Do you reckon this is an abandoned island?" He asked, facing his three companions.

"I doubt it." Jin said. "After all, those stairs were man-made, I'm pretty sure. If we continue going forward, we'll either reach the other side of the island, who find something living."

Red sighed, before there was a low growl, almost like a hum.

"I think something living found us." Tromso said, and the four prepared to fight. Then there was a loud roar of pain, before it was cut of quickly.

"That's... unusual..." Red muttered, before stretching his arms. "Well, let's go before something actually tries to eat us."

It took almost half an hour to finally break from the forest. The grass was cut all the way down, and the trees were completely uprooted.

"This is definitely man-made." Jin said, nodding while scribbling in a note-book.

"Or creature-made." Hikari pointed out.

Jin crouched and looked at the grass. "No, the grass is all cut equally, no creature can do-" Jin suddenly whipped his head to the side, staring intently into the forest.

"What was-" Red started, but Jin put his finger to his lips and stood up. Unsheathing his scythe he closed his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed, before his eyes shot upwards.

"Duck!" Jin said, dragging Red down with him as Tromso and Hikari crouched down. Arrows shot past where their heads were, impaling themselves into the trunks ahead of them. Then figures erupted from the depths of the trees, covered in mud, and wielding crude spears and leaf skirts. They were letting out a roar cry, charging at Dragon Claw.

Red ducked under the first spear, and punched the man in the ribs, but the man grinned and ducked under Red's arm. Red spun around to see the man running towards Hikari, who went for a kick but the man slid under and continued running. Jin saw him, but had to raise his scythe to stop two spears aimed at his throat, allowing the man to run straight past.

"Die Jungle Scum!" The man shouted, leaping into the air, and raised his spear above his head. Then he fell straight towards Tromso, who looked up in surprise, but he quickly batted the spear shaft away, before ducking under a punch. Tromso swung his battle-axe upwards and cut through the spear, cutting it into two separate pieces. But then hands reached out and grabbed his head and neck, pulling him back. Another set of hands ripped the battle-axe from his grasp, and another grabbed his legs.

The other members of the group were having no trouble at all. Considering they weren't getting attacked.

"Why are they going for Tromso?" Hikari asked Red.

"No idea. But we need to get him. Come on." Red ran forward and prepared to hit a man in the back when there was a sudden rush of wind, and the group of attackers fell to the ground, and Gouki stood holding Tromso, who was bleeding slightly. Handing him his battle-axe, Gouki glared at the men.

"Jungle scum?" He challenged. "You do realise he's a fishman, right? Look at him!"

Muttering rose and they looked at Tromso in new light. Red went to thank Gouki, but he caught a blur before he was gone.

Two of the men looked to each other, having a brief conversation, before they let out a shout. They remained, but the others dispersed back into the trees.

They were gone as fast as they came out.

"Drop your weapons!" Red demanded, as he, Hikari and Jin surrounded the two men.

Complying, the two men dropped their spears, before raising their hands. "We do not mean to cause trouble."

"You attacked our crewmate, and it looked pretty deliberate to me." Red said. "Why did you go and attack Tromso, but not us?"

The other man rubbed the back of his head. "Excuse us, but we thought he was a member of the Jungle Pirates. It's a rare chance to get a Jungle Pirate on his own, and we took the chance."

"Jungle Pirates?" Red repeated in question. "How does that explain attacking Tromso?"

"The Jungle Pirates are all half-creature, half-man. Such as this 'Tromso'."

"I'm still a person!" Tromso exclaimed, getting annoyed. "And the only pirate crew I'm a member of is Dragon Claw."

"As we said, it was our mistake." One of the men said. "On hindsight, we realise that the Jungle Pirates don't have any fish types, they are all mammals or birds. It's just... it's a bad situation we are in. They destroyed our civilization, and only a couple of hundred remain."

"Why don't you revolt?" Jin asked.

"Revolt?" One of the men let out a bitter laugh. "We are scared people. Even just two of the Pirates would be too much. We are scared to act, as we fear the result. They always kill the children and females if we act against them, and it doesn't matter where we hide them." The man looked up to Red. "I'd advise getting away from this island while you can. The Jungle Pirates do not have much patience for intruders."

With that, the two men merged into the forest, becoming one with the trees and plants.

"So..." Red said, sighing. "I guess we go tell these Jungle Pirates what we think of them."

"Really? Can't we just get Gouki and go?" Hikari asked.

"No. One, we need to at least wait a day to see if the Log Pose Sets, right Tromso?"

Tromso nodded.

"Also, Dragon Claw is... well, I wouldn't say a 'good' pirate crew. We don't mind robbing and looting, but Talon always said only from those who don't deserve. Plus, we fight other pirate crews, and we can likely get a lot of loot from them."

"Fair enough." Hikari said, nodding. "So where do we go now?"

"I'd suggest finding some kind of village, the place where the men come from." Jin spoke up. "Get some more info on these Jungle Pirates, and piece together their weaknesses and strengths, and act accordingly."

"First Gouki, and now you." Red said. "I really need to get a plan of myself so I can secure my status as Captain. Well anyway, let's go."

Red led the four onwards, as eyes watched from within the forest.

Random Fact: In 2009, ABC News found 112 different spellings of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi's name. (Yes, I am copying and pasting the facts, and I had no idea that's how you spelt it)

Once more the shout out for an artist!

Next time on OPNN : New Dreams: A number of incidents draw Dragon Claw's Attention from the various places they are at, while a Jungle Pirate makes an uninvited visit...

See you then!