Alexander Feldsman blinked to the shining sun above, his right arm either refusing to move or something was wrong, so he blocked out the sun with his left hand before moving to get up, the waves coursing and surging before him and touching his boots before eh took stock of everything. "I am not at home now..."
That prompted fear, but he kicked it down to think about it as he turned to inspect his right arm and stopped, blinking as the pain came in, he bearing his teeth in pain as he softly touched the stub of an arm now, it having either healed a bit or was just recently torn or bitten off, he focused on the former as it was a stub now, but any blood loss was either done or the wound had been burned to seal it shut as he slowly got up and took in his surroundings to better his understanding of what happened.
Was he dead, did he get teleported to some unknown island, was this island a form of heaven or hell? He hummed in thought before spotting a small crate coming in by the waves, landing on the beach as the waves threatened to take it back out before Alex got a move on snatching the handle of one side and pulling, making a mental note to get a bit of a workout if this was a punishment to haul heavy object out of the ocean's grasp, but he succeeded with a heavy yank and set it on the upper portions of sand before his left hand grabbed the padlock on it and twisted, it not breaking, but rather twisting as it wasn't even locked, just it was there to keep something in as he popped it open, blinking at what he found.
It was a metallic arm, its contents made him think of that one feral mutant with the bone enforced with that material, Adamantium or Vibranium, but it was the other material infused with the arm that made him pause, a more whiteish material that melded and molded itself with the metal as he picked it up, turning it about a bit in inspecting before he glanced to the stub and gulped. "Well... here goes nothing..." He moved it into the stub and then braced.
The pain raged in and through his body as the arm consumed his stub, replacing it with its metallic form and texture, he bracing for more, but after a few moments, the pain subsided and he glanced again to see that the arm was now his, removing his left and turning the arm around, it moving with him and his body as if it was always a part of him as he lowered it and looked around. Still nothing as he investigated the crate for any clues before he froze on a piece of parchment... no, a wad of bills, familiar-looking bills that had the answer for him. "One Piece... I'm in One Piece..." He pocketed the wad, a decent hundred bills of one-thousand Beri notes, before starting to think. "Okay, okay... let's first find out where I am and if... there is anyone else around to help me out." He headed off the beach after closing the crate and sending it adrift to keep from people finding out that he was there to start with, if they were on a ship or something...
He blinked at the sight of it, but really, how does one reply to the sight of a massive silo structure, initialized with the word 'Marine' on it, littered with another silo and a few buildings as well, a few armed with guns and cannons on top before he facepalmed with a test. "I am hoping that there is no one named Zoro here." The people around him jumped away in panic as Alex groaned. "Of course..."
Shells Town, he landed on Shells Town, how the freak did he end up here and BEFORE Straw-Hat Luffy even made it to liberate the town and dethrone Morgan with taking Zoro with him and leave Coby to be a Marine. "Wonderful..." He shook his head in breathing before he made his way to the base, also taking the brief moments to test himself on a few valuable skills that would come in handy later on if he was going to either join or follow Straw-Hat through the world.
He breathed and felt the world fall to darkness before the darkness erupted in figures of light, shapes of people, and opened his eyes to take it all in as real before he pushed it further, his eyes flaring blue in seeing a kid running in front of him, his steps stopping as the same kid arrived not three seconds later, chasing a ball in a panic. "Okay... that's cool..."
He moved to the next one, focusing on his other arm and gripping it as it turned into a blackened steel before fading as Alex spoke. "Five seconds... I need to practice heavily to get a full Armament ready for combat, this is only good for a sneak attack, not full combat..." Then he moved on the last one, chances being that he didn't have it, but it wouldn't hurt to try as he felt his will again and tried to use it in a burst, unleashing it over the town, but nothing, his will bounced back as a minor headache as he mused. 'I don't got it..." He breathed with a smile as he continued. 'Good, it would be a nightmare to have three for three in the first place, I am more than happy to have two than not have anything.'
He could test the Powers later, right now, he wanted to investigate Zoro and see if anything was the same or different as he arrived to the gates and turned to the wall, scaling it to look in, frowning as he could see Zoro, the bandana was a dead giveaway, but the other was not so familiar.
Bound to another post in the yard was a brute of a guy, looking about his age, but matching the body structure of Franky. At first, Alex thought he was a half-giant, that would make a bit of sense, but the lower torso ended with a pair of hoofs, and the facial structure was sporting not a human's nose, but a snout, the jaw a bit pulled out in medium tusks that curled toward the face as Alex could think of only one thing that the creature could be. "A Mink..."
His voice seemed to have jolted the Mink to life as he slowly started to move, wrists twisting in the binds of rope and the torso straightening up before beady green eyes opened and looked to the wall where Alex was before a smile spread across the face. "Ya see, Zoro, I told ya my brother was coming to see the mess we'll make." That voice was, however, familiar, as Alex leapt over the wall and stood up as he spoke.
"Kent?"
"Hey, Alex, 'bout time you showed up, though I can't really leave just yet." Alex snorted as he mused with cracking a smile.
"What, Mr. 'High-and-Mighty' Swordsman here too stubborn to walk away."
"You know how he is..."
"Yeah, and he is honor-bound to an oath, it just was made to the wrong sort." Alex huffed as he turned to Zoro. "I wonder why you have been left alone in the first place, this is Marine Captain Axe-Hand Morgan's 'domain', why hasn't he just come down here to put a Pirate Hunter to death?"
"What, you stupid...?" Alex folded his arms as Zoro spoke with looking up at him too. "I've only got a few days more before I am done here, then... I'll be looking for the Greatest Swordsman in the world, that... is my goal." Alex hummed before he turned to his changed brother.
"I just barely came to, on this island, how long have you been here, Kent?"
"A few days, the Marines didn't give me too much trouble, but I joined Zoro here for 'being an eyesore' to Helmeppo." The two shared a glance and Alex could tell that Kent was waiting it out, he wanted to show that tyrant of a Captain something that will floor him into the ground and that was in the form of a fist to his jaw, the only problem was that Morgan had yet to show himself and would show himself once Luffy showed up as Alex, after taking a moment to take it in, nodded and spoke.
"I'll be in the thicket, whistle when it is time." Kent nodded as Alex jumped over the wall again and waited, he wasn't sure if Kent could whistle now that he was a Warthog Mink, but he knew that Kent would make sure that Alex was aware, rightly so as the events occurred with Luffy arriving, saving Rika, and leaving with a promise to recruit Zoro, much later he would see Helmeppo running into the base with a redden cheek and Luffy arriving to get Zoro's blades as a whistle rang out and Alex nodded. "Got it." He jumped and landed in the yard as he started to untie his 'brother' while Coby made to untie Zoro. "I think this is the first time I ever had to untie you from a post, Kent, let's NOT make a habit of this, okay?"
"But if it does get to be a habit, then I'm breaking the habit." Alex groaned to Kent's cheeky grin as he finished up. "Now, let's get going before..."
"You lawless vermin are going nowhere!" The two turned to Axe-Hand Morgan marching in with a squad of riflemen as he growled. "Any that dare to defy me will be crushed under my boots, I am the law, I am the greatest man ever to live." Alex and Kent march to position themselves between Morgan and Zoro as Alex spoke.
"Your inflated ego is something, but it is nothing, but a mockery of real Justice, you are violent, you are a mongrel, you are nothing short of a rabid animal that needs to be put down." Alex answered as he cracked his knuckles before shifting into a boxer form while Kent got low in a wrestler stance as Alex spoke. "Any Marine that wishes to not suffer their captain's pig head, drop to the ground and stay there until we are done."
"Any Marine that has those ideas, put a gun to your head and shoot yourself, I can't stand cowardice!" Morgan bellowed and the squad trembled before pulling out pistols and aiming as Alex narrowed his eyes.
"Fine... Kent..." The Mink smiled before disappearing for a few seconds, the Marines surprised as Kent closed the gap on Morgan and delivered a hard right, his punch smashing through the metal jaw and launching Morgan into the building where he toppled over unconscious as Alex spoke, ripping a pistol from one of the Marine's hands and crushing it. "This base is toppled, anyone like to make us move to break you." He hurled the handle backwards and hit Helmeppo right in the forehead as he spoke. "Anyone ELSE?" But as expected, the Marines cheered at the loss of Morgan, their freedom made at the hands of 'pirates'...
Alex's stomach was sated with the food given by the tavern there beside Kent as they listened to Luffy and Zoro talk to each other about their next plan of action, Alex huffing as Kent gave him an wanting look and he gave in. "Hey, your name's Luffy, right?"
"Yeah, that's me." Luffy turned to them with a bone in his mouth as Zoro glanced as well with Coby.
"From the sound of it, you are just starting out, got a decent swordsman with you now, but no idea where to head next?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Zoro and Coby facepalmed as Alex spoke.
"We would like to come with, the nearest place from Shells Town is called Orange Town and we would like to check it out." Alex glanced to Zoro as he spoke. "And while your first mate will disagree, I don't really think that he can handle my brother as he is." Zoro's head gained a mark as he stood up with a hand on Wado.
"You think that porkchop is going to beat me!? I don't think so!" Kent took offence as he stood up as well with steam huffing out of his snout.
"Oi, your blades can barely do much on such rough skin, but I don't take insults to me or my brother laying down!" Alex blinked as there was... a phantom of a girl beside Zoro before he cleared his vision and spoke.
"Guys, we are only going to Orange Town, we don't have time to be brawling here, especially when we just cleared up some trouble." Both glared at him as Luffy looked at him too in pondering. "Besides, Luffy only came here to pick up Zoro and drop Coby off, the kid could use some serious work before he can be a Marine, so just leave it, you guys, we should ship out." Zoro and Kent gave up in accepting the decision as they sat back down, just in time for Ripper, the now-leading Marine to come in and thank them for liberating their town, but they couldn't allow pirates to remain any further as the four nodded and headed out, the Marines stopping them to ask about Coby, but before Luffy could open his big mouth, Kent clapped a hand over his mouth as Alex spoke.
"No, he isn't with us, the kid is just a good navigator that we stole from Iron-Club, he wants to be a Marine to bring that tub of lard to justice, but he needs some serious work, he's a bit spineless after getting some harsh beatings from Iron-Club for his cowardice." The Marines accepted that, especially when the only one who would be called Iron-Club would be Iron-Club Alvida, a problem out on the East Blue, as the crew headed out, picking up a larger boat than what was known to both Kent and Alex, sailing off as Coby and the base saw them off, giving a salute to them and punishing themselves for it, but Alex couldn't help it to return a salute to them before focusing on sailing the boat, he just lucky to have picked up a compass to guide them...
While they had some distance from Shells Town and took the time to relax and 'gorge' themselves, Alex took the time to focus and dove into his mind to figure something out. Normally, spirits were rare and the only place in the world where they would actually manifest was Thriller Bark, so what exactly happened when Zoro and Kent were about to clash?
He breathed in his mindscape as it formed, barren and cold, but still ground as he had no mouth, covered by the shadows around him, and couldn't move very well, but it was a small matter to handle as he took it in before he turned, a fruit before him and its form was that of the Hito Hito No Mi Fruit or Human-Human Fruit, but it must be a model then as it was a pale-black, the plant a bit more decayed, and vague symbols on it were looking more like a skull or a bone than just swirls.
Still, that had his answer, a Devil Fruit was the cause, but if that was so, then his arm should have weakened him greatly, but after the bout of pain, it just faded off, his arm acting as any other attached, so that was a mystery in of itself as he breathed and the mindscape faded away to open his eyes to the sky and... he blinked as it was feeling a bit faster and and there was screaming...
"GODA DARN IT!" Alex suddenly roused himself as he took an oar and started to row with Zoro while Kent brought up the rear with a pair of oars in chasing the oversized bird, likely holding Luffy in its freaking beak. "KENT, WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP!?"
"YOU LOOK LIKE YOU WERE SLEEPING PREFECTLY FINE!"
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME, GUYS!" Zoro shouted as they kept going, picking up a few stragglers and Alex, in a rage, clobbered them in trying to make them lose the bird as Zoro huffed. "Just our luck..."
"We'll grab him, a bird that size can't have gone any further than the island where it headed." Alex turned his head to where they were now heading for. "Next stop..."
"Orange Town..."