Remember last time? Team Nevins is aboard a ship, sailing to Singapore. They meet a stowaway, who is a little girl, wanting to meet her father. However, trouble stirred, when a Spirit Caller swam towards our heroes, and they suspect that the girl is responsible.

Rook asked, "Young lady, not that I may ask this question, but… How's MIO doing, these days?"

The girl replied, armed with her knife, "MIO, huh? Who the hell is that?"

Yamabuki answered, "Don't pretend like you don't know, kid!"

The girl prepared to fight, as she yelled, "Hey, I warned you punks! Now you're gonna get it! My demon blade is ready for its 340th victim, and you all look like prime cuts."

Heather chuckled, "I can assure you, we're not…"

Peter sighed, "Good grief…"

The girl shouted, "WHAT'S SO FUNNY? Stupid jerkhole!"

"Jerk hole?" Heather thought, as she responded, "You know, now that I think about it, this girl… I don't think she is the Spirit User…"

Michelle said, "Yes… But who, then?"

As they were pondering, the captain appeared, wearing his blue shirt and white pants, with gray hair and a beard.

"Is this a stowaway, Milady? Thanks for grabbing her for me." he called.

She gasped, as Michelle said, "Captain."

Episode XXV – Devil vs. Fish!
Dark Blue Moon!

The captain grabbed the girl, as Chazz lit his cigarette. Michelle said, "Whoa, captain… Ease up."

The Captain restrained the girl and boomed, "When it comes to stowaways, I'm rather strict! You may be a girl, but if I let you stay on my ship, there'd just be more and more stowaways! I think we'll lock you in the brig, until we make it to port!"

Michelle sighed, as she said, "Hold it! Before you do, captain. I have a question. You verified the identities of all eleven men on board."

The captain said, "Of course, my men have worked aboard this ship for ten long years; veterans at sea. I'll vouch for any man on board. I'm not worried about that, since I gave you my word, from the very beginning, ma'am."

He turned to Chazz and said, "Oh, and one more thing…"

SWIPE!
"Smoking is not allowed on my ship!" He swiped the cigarette, and added, "You may be young, but I will not allow you to smoke on deck. What were you planning to do with the ash and butt, when you're done? Were you going to toss them into those pristine waters? You may be a guest on this ship, but you'll abide from my rules."

He jabbed the cigarette into his shirt, and hissed, "Got it, punk?"

The captain then escorted the girl to the brig. Black smoke appeared from out of nowhere, as Peter shouted, "HOLD IT, POPS!"

The captain halted, as Peter, emitting black smoke from his mouth, called out, "I appreciate that you stopped Chazz from smoking, I'm good, since I don't smoke. Just do me a favor and not act like a condescending prick, when you make the rules, you fucker."

Michelle barked, "HEY, PETER! Don't be disrespectful to the captain! Mr. Princeton's the one at fault! Besides, the girl brandished a weapon, so technically, the captain's rules are final!"

Peter snorted, leaning to the railing, "His rules don't mean shit! I'll treat that salty seadog by treating him like shit, for no good reason… You know why? Because the captain's the Spirit Caller…"

The others gasped, as Michelle cried, "HE'S A WHAT?"

The others yelled, "WHAT THE-?"

The captain asked, "A Spirit… Caller? I'm not sure I follow you, sir…"

Rook complained, "That is completely impossible, Peter! We chose Captain Drago, because he was verified to sail us to Singapore, as recommendation from the Speedwagon Foundation! We can trust him. There's no chance of it, at all, that he's a Spirit User."

Yamabuki cried, "Mr. Giese! Random guesses will only make things confusing!"

Heather said, "No, wait! He may think that he is the Spirit User."

"Hold on, what's this Spirit User?" The captain asked, in confusion.

Peter said, "My Darkness Shadow has abilities, unlike the ESP Perk. I found a way to differentiate power stone users from others. Precious Stones, Power Cores, Spirits, Stands, you name it."

"Wha?" Michelle asked.

"The trick is… Spirit Callers can't stand cigarette smoke… And a single whiff makes a vein pop up, from under their nose!"

Everyone gasped, as the captain, Michelle, Heather, Rook, and Yamabuki held their noses, in shock. The girl asked, "Uh, what the hell is going on?"

Yamabuki bawled, "YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS, PETER! THAT'S A FALSE ACCUSATION!"

Peter smiled, "You're right… Only an idiot would fall for that false accusation… And I say we found that idiot…"

He pointed at Captain Drago, as Michelle cried, "No way… He called his bluff!"

The captain screamed in shock, as Team Nevins was stunned. Drago stared down at them, menacingly, as his eyes rolled up.

"Impressive!" Michelle said, "But what made you think Captain Drago is the Spirit User?"

Peter said, "Chazz's Ojama Star and my Phantoms are very fast… To be honest, I had no clue, until Chazz tried his cigarette, to tip off the rest of the crew. Simple as that."

Drago laughed, "And I fell for it! Damn, you're good! Didn't expect this… But you're right. I'm not the captain… The real captain is already shark food, down in the China Sea."

Peter roared, "If that's the case, you can join him, only you're swimming in the River Styx, you bastard!"

Drago chuckled, as the monster returned. It grabbed onto the ankle of the girl and lifted her up high.

"DAMN IT! NO!" Michelle, Rook, Heather, & Yamabuki shrieked.

The monster showed itself, as a mutant sea monster with blue scales, and four eyes.

Trouble underwater – lies and betrayal! The Moon Card, in which Steven Cooke also represents, shows fear of the unknown! Drago shows his Spirit Caller – Dark Blue Moon!

Drago said, as the monster clasped the girl tight, "I kept my identity hidden, hoping to pick you off, one-by-one. Six-on-one is so troublesome, even for me. The other way would've been much simpler."

He yelled, "But since you already know who I am, six-on-one, it is!"

He smirked, "But it shows that lady luck is on my side, seeing the girl within my grasp! Think I'll take a dip with her, in these shark-infested waters. If you want to save her, you can dive in after us… In the ocean, I have the advantage! I can take all six of you, at once!"

Peter glared, "Go on! Act tough, when you hide behind a hostage! It'll take a lot more than that to shake me off, you dumbass!"

"It's no act!" Drago boasted, "This is a prediction. You, Peter Giese, right? I hear that you have the Darkness Shadow, the most powerful Precious Stone of all… I like to put that to the test. I've heard your heroics and your carnage. I'm not trying to brag, but my Dark Blue Moon is king, underwater. And yes, darkness represents Death, since some people die drowning. But for my Spirit, it can swim faster than any fish in the sea, and much faster than a meathead like you…"

He jumped on the railing and said, "Why don't we test that theory, right now? I mean… if you're not afraid of a little… SALTWATER!"

The sea monster dove into the water, along with Drago. But Peter remained in place. His three Phantoms appeared, as he cried, "Yoru Sen Akuma – DARKNESS DEVIL!"

The Phantoms land a punch to the monster's skull, followed by his Chaos Fist, "ORAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA! ORAAAAAAAAH!"

He landed one final punch, sending the sea beast into the blue water. The girl is rescued by his two remaining Phantoms, hanging on the railing. Drago was drifting afloat, as he was badly bloodied.

"No… way… He's that fast… He attacked me, before we could fall… He normally let the Darkness Shadow consume him… But he… He's controlled it…"

Yamabuki smirked, "Never underestimate a Stone User; it's what I'll call those with Precious Stones of Control!"

Peter said, "YOU'RE the only one swimming in saltwater, today, pops! Choke on it!"

Rook called, "You're undoing was to outwit an AAW Agent! Tough break!"

Yamabuki laughed, "Well said, Rookie~!"

Drago was floating away, as Yamabuki smiled, "There he goes… He talked up his Spirit's power, I expected to see more. But in the end, he's just a blabbering idiot."

Peter pulled the girl up, but Michelle asked, "Hey, Peter! You need help? Hurry up, would you?"

Peter groaned, "I can't…"

His arm was covered in barnacles, as he growled, "Damn it… I'm being pulled in…"

Rook gasped, "Those are-."

Heather said, "They're barnacles! They're a type of crustacean that lives between high and low tides."

Michelle said, "They're on Phantom #2 & #3's arms, and they got stuck on the side of the boat!"

Peter growled, "Salty seadog! He's still got some fight left in him! He must've done that, when I attacked! Damn things keep multiplying!"

He started to grow weak, as Michelle called, "The captain's disappeared! I don't see him in the water! Peter, pull harder!"

Peter groaned, "Wh-What do you think I'm trying to do? That's why I'm sweating like a pig!"

He was pulled in, falling to the ocean. Heather called out, using a snowy afterimage of herself, "BIG GUY!"

He chucked the girl up, and Heather caught her. She returned to the ship, as Peter and his Phantoms plummeted into the waters.

"HE FELL IN!" Michelle cried.

Peter touched the bottom of the sea floor, as he was moaning in pain, but holding his breath. Drago said, "Welcome, landlubber… This is Dark Blue Moon's undersea level, and from here, he reigns supreme, deep below in the briny depths."

Peter growled, and launched an upper to Drago. But he was pushed back to the rocks, with a pulse of air. "Bad idea underestimating me…" the captain said, "You disappoint me, in your size… But since your powers can make you talk, underwater, how about you show us more of your one-liners, from your cocky side?"

Peter's Phantoms spoke, as the first one said, "So, what would you like, after the three of us gut you?"

The second one said, "It'd be a shame to waste fish… Sushi, fish paste, or a plate of sashimi… Mizuki would like that, but I'm doing her the favor."

The third one smirked, "He'll make one hell of a meal, since Lord Peter has an appetite."

Drago boasted, "Don't play games with me, fool. You sound tough, but I know the truth. But I am curious by your abilities, and how it'll last… You're probably going to tell yourself, "How long can you stand, underwater? I can last about two minutes, but can he last longer than me?" Well, let me answer that… My lung capacity is three times the size as your pitiful lungs… And your afterimages are just flakes of fish food. See, I have trained heavily… Six minutes and twelve seconds is the time, submerged. And!"

SMASH!
Dark Blue Moon destroyed the propellers on the ship, as the captain boasted out, "If I were you, I would try to avoid my Spirit's cutters! They are ten times deadlier, and faster than a ship's propeller! Sharper, too!"

Peter started to swim upwards, as Drago boomed, "Trying to swim your way back up? Don't waste your time! Those barnacles are growing into your body, and about to consume you! How does it feel to lose your life energy, in the murky waters below? But even so, take a good look around you!"

Peter was caught in a huge whirlpool, as Drago explained, "My Spirit Caller is creating an underwater whirlpool! There's no way you can possibly escape! That's right! Swim faster! You just make it hard to breathe, while your power keeps draining! But it's too soon to kill a smartass like you!"

Michelle cried, from above, "It's been too long! Big Guy can't even swim!"

Rook cried, "A giant whirlpool! It must have him trapped!"

Yamabuki shouted, "WHERE THE HELL IS GIESE?"

Heather called, "Let's go and save him!"

They prepared to jump off, but Heather shot an icicle into the whirlpool. Her huge icicle broke off, and examined it. "Those are scales!"

She added that he's using scales in the whirlpool, like a huge blender.

Rook cried, "They're swimming all over the whirlpool, and they're razor-sharp! He wasn't kidding about killing all six of us, at once!"

Chazz said, "It's like a watery antlion pit! If we dive in, we'll be sliced to pieces!"

Peter was caught in the whirlpool, nicking countless times, and growling. Drago calls out, "I'll take a guess at what you're thinking… In one part of the whirlpool, only one part stays still! And that is… The Eye! Such mundane thinking… Is that what you were thinking, right? Even if you use your punches and kicks at me, it has no strength to fight back! See if you can take a free shot at me, fool!"

Back above, Rook shouted, "DAMN HIM! We're completely helpless!"

Heather cried, "Peter's up in the water! But… I don't think he's moving…"

Yamabuki cried, "Shimata! He's motionless!"

Michelle asked, "So, he went limp? He wasn't struggling against the whirlpool? Well… that's actually a good thing."

Drago roared, "Aren't you going to turn me into sashimi, boy? Well, too bad, because I'm turning YOU into CHUM!"

He cackled, as Peter went closer. Dark Blue Moon slashed its talons onto his body, but Peter broke out of the barnacles, splitting into seven afterimages, "YORU NANA SLICER!"

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
His Phantoms emerged and slashed onto Dark Blue Moon's eyes, and pierced into its eyeballs, in seven slash chops, at once.

"Sorry, did I interrupt you?" Peter asked, "You want me as chum?"

Drago started to gurgle and gag, as Peter called, "What's that? You'll have to speak up! We're underwater!"

Drago croaked, "But your power was drained! You planned to go limp, so you strike back at me with your afterimages… That's… what you did!"

Peter replied, "Not even close! I was only focused on an asshole like you… and how fun it would be… to kick your teeth down your throat… and you'll be pissing your pants, underwater… And that's all… Bye, Pops."

SLASH!
He slashed his right leg onto Drago's body, slicing his entire body, from head to waist, in half. His dead body sunk into the dark abyss.

Peter emerged from the water can inhaled air.

Heather cried, "BIG GUY!"

Michelle smiled, "Jolly good show, Giese!"

Michelle prepared the life preserver, but the ship started to shake. It exploded into a many shots inside, as Yamabuki yelled, "THAT CAPTAIN PLANTED BOMBS IN IT, AFTER ALL! DAMN IT!"

Michelle called out, "GIESE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE! SOMEONE SEND OUT A DISTRESS CALL!"

The entire ship exploded into a massive ball of fire, as Team Nevins, the girl, and a few survivors hopped aboard lifeboats and escaped to safety.

That night, around the time of The Gang's adventure in the China Sea, Yuno Gasai arrived at the department store, Casa de Muñecas. She then grinned, as she was preparing for the delivery. She removed her hood, showing long pink hair and wearing a dark blue school uniform. She smiled and said, "This must be the place… Casa de Muñecas… The resting place of The Perfect Mannequin, Farra Stevens…"

She then said, as she was instructed, "Mr. Andrews said that I arrive at 8pm, and the back door will be open for me. Good enough. This will be great."

She reached for the door, but it was slammed shut but a mysterious silver object. Yuno gasped in shock, as a voice called, "Well… What do we have here?"

The silver object was pulled back to a figure in the shadows. Yuno cried, "NO! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"No one touches Farra's beautiful body! Besides, the body is beautiful, likewise my beautiful chinstrap. How ya doin'?"

He emerged from the shadows, holding up a silver microphone, and with spiky blonde hair and a black beard. Yuno snarled, "Huh? Who are you?"

Enzo smiled, as he said, "I'm what you call the Hero of New York City! AAW-New York, and you're under arrest, likewise your pathetic boss, Parky Park Andrews! Mr. Andrews has kidnapped the girls in his dollhouse, and I'm taking him in!"

Yuno growled, "You catch on, you beardy boy. Does Mr. Beardy Man have a name?"

Enzo bellowed, "YEAH! My name is Enzo Amore! And I am… a certified G… and bonafide stud! And you CAN'T! TEACH! THAT!"

He shifted his legs around and concluded, "BADABOOM! Realest guy in the room! HOW YA DOIN'?"

Yuno snarled, "You… an AAW Agent…"

Enzo said, "Yeah, and let me add to this theory… Scarlet Riley knew of this Casa de Muñecas, and she talked to Big Cass. Sent me from Jersey, so Cooke and Gooden take my shift! But I should warn you… NO ONE turns my fellow agents into Monster High Dolls, Barbies, statues, gargoyles, and so on, and so on, how ya doin'?"

In short, Yuno gasped, "What? Then that means-?"

Enzo smirked, "Yeah… She knew about Casa de Muñecas, from the start! You're busted, kid! And for taking down TWO Aces, you're going ONE! On ONE! With the Jersey Agent of AAW, SmackTalker Skywalker!"

He added, "And if I had a dime for every time Scarlet was right about a place that harbors innocent girls… I HAVE ZERO DIMES!"

Gasai gasped, "NO! THOSE HUMANS KNEW?"

He prepared to fight and barked, "Come quietly, Gasai! Interpol told me lots about you, you yandere freak! How ya doin'?"

Enzo and Yuno stared down, as Yuno growled, "Shit… Parker's cover is blown! I thought Farra Stevens and Asahi Sakurai are mannequins, forever… But the heads in AAW knew about it? How did they know?"

XXXXX

Scarlet was sitting by the window, as she growled, "You can thank Broken Matt Hardy for learning this premonition of Farra and Asahi's fate. When I saw that they have become Parker Andrews' mannequins, it was a matter of time. MIO's doing… I bet…"

She shone in a fiery psychic aura and whispered, "Never underestimate the powers of a Broken Brilliance."

WAIT! Scarlet knew? And she sent Steven and Mundy away to New Jersey, for nothing?
Whatever Scarlet has planned, will it rescue Farra and Asahi? And what of Luther and Cassandra Martinez?
Be sure to tune in to the next chapter!

To be continued…