Conversation had long ground to a halt between the Slayer Pirates and Dragon Claw. Marston was polishing his pistol, Eliza was fiddling with her sleeve, and Diego was sitting deep in thought on a tree stump.
Even the Slayer Pirates weren't talking, either fiddling or deep in thought, much like Diego.
The only time the silence was broken was when Opal muttered "Mavrik's fighting giants again" in reference to the rather large shakes emitting from the island.
"What's with the sombre attitude, guys?"
"Aah, Jayce." Render said at the familiar voice as Jayce walked into the group. Diego's eyes widened slightly at the arm/backpack combination. "I don't suppose you have met Mavrik."
"Yup. Last I saw he was going to fight some demon chick."
"The Mandrahora?" Marston asked sharply.
"Mandra-what now? All I know is she was some freaky-ass girl with elbow blades and an evil' what-not look." Jayce's bionic arm buzzed every time he moved it, which was rather frequent. "Captain told me to run."
"Concerned for your safety? He sounded like the sort of Captain to work with his crewmates. He must be afraid of the Mandrahora's power." Eliza said.
"He's only concerned about cutting me to ribbons." Jayce responded. "Ain't about whether or not I'm powerful enough to face her, since if I'm in the vicinity of Mavrik – if anyone is in the vicinity of Mavrik – we'd be cut ten times to Sunday." Jayce tapped his shoulder which let off a metal 'clink'. "Besides, he's more of a solo player anyway. He trains us, but leaves it TO us to do the teamwork."
"What about the giants?"
"Eh, I heard 'em but didn't see them. I did in fact get almost squashed by a weird guy with a ponytail. He hit straight into me, knocked me head-over-heels BAM!" Jayce slammed his hand onto the ground to emphasize his point. "When I looked up, he had one GIANT gouge through his heart, and then he just got up an-" Jayce stopped as he made eye contact with Diego, or more importantly eye contact with the metal eye, which was trained on 'Power-Shot'. "Now what would an eye of one Regal Lawson be doing in some weird person like you?"
"You know Regal?" Diego questioned, narrowing his eye.
"Not personally, oh no." Jayce squeezed his arm as Marston and Eliza noticed the other members of the Slayer Pirates tense. "Unless, you count, of course, the slaughter of my mother, father and my baby sister. I tend to have hatred to those who sport his inhumane mechanics."
The mechanical eye spun around rapidly, before coming to a rest. Diego stiffened, before relaxing. "Inhumane? You call my work inhumane?"
The voice was Diego's, but the tone was far from it. He was like a puppet, sitting on his stump, his mouth opening and closing.
"Diego..."Eliza muttered warily. "What's wrong...?"
"I'm not Diego as of this moment, silly girl." Diego said with a snap, before standing up and stepping sloppily towards Jayce. "Now, I repeat, why do you call MY work, me, Regal Lawson, inhumane?"
"Speaking through a puppet, through that eye of yours, eh?" Jayce smirked and let out a clicking noise. Immediately, Opal, Matthias, Render, and Isabella stood up at once. Sensing danger, Marston and Eliza stood up as well.
"I will perhaps send along a little present to deal with you." Diego's voice was full of spite. "I'll finish off what I started when I... shall we say dealt with you family."
Jayce suddenly thrust his metal hand into Diego's stomach, intent on gutting the current captain of Dragon Claw – despite the fact Regal was only channelling his voice into him. The hand tore through ice, sending shards across the ground. Jayce's eyes widened slightly at this.
Everyone acted very quickly.
Marston pointed his pistol and placed it against Jayce's forehead, still and tense while Eliza had split herself in two other personalities, each holding a dagger towards Jayce's throat.
The Slayer Pirates each pulled out a weapon to point at one of each personality of Eliza, and Marston. Matthias with his staff, Render with his pistols, Isabella with a long, curved knife and finally Opal with her thin golden sword.
The air was thick with tension as nobody moved.
"Oh my, I think I'll leave you." Diego's voice said, before his eyes went blank and he slumped backwards off of Jayce's fist to the floor.
"No matter what the excuse." Eliza said slowly. "You have assaulted our captain. That is inexcusable. Will you accept your punishment without protest, or will you force us to take care of you."
"Threatening our crew member?" Opal said. "You are making a mistake, Dragon Claw. We are veterans."
"It's doesn't matter how old you are. It is your ability. Now, Jayce. Which path do you choose?"
Jayce grinned. "I don't like friends of Regal. I think we're going to slay some dragons!" Jayce went to lunge forward but didn't move other than a small shake. He blinked again. "What is...?" Jayce tried to move even his head but he was stuck in place. Looking ahead, he saw that Marston and Eliza were in a similar state, and could only assume his crewmates were the same.
"What the heck..." Isabella eyes shot around trying to find the source of whatever power was holding them in place.
"What... is that symbol...?" Opal managed to utter. "On the floor."
A number of eyes looked down to see a large circle surrounding the group, with a number of smaller symbols inside.
"Silver. The Colour of Imprisonment." A light, tender voice announced. "You have been caught in my Colour Trap."
(Thanks for the reviews, and sorry for the delay! It sucks I know, plus it's short but I suppose it happens.
Hah, you should be able to guess who the person at the end is, assuming you've read the manga.
Next time on OPNN – New Trust: With the fighting at a standstill and the majority of Dragon Claw and the Slayer Pirates caught in a 'colour trap', it appears as if there time is done. Can they be saved, or will they be defeated by the unknown enemy?
