A Sense of Urgency

That God awful noise was finally over. Shaad was unsure how long it actually lasted. Too long was the easy answer as, sword in hand, he let his arms drop to his sides. It was then he heard it.

"Don't move a muscle!" The enemy commander shouted the command from behind Shaad, and the pirate didn't need to turn around to know two pistols were aimed at him. In the next moment, two more soldiers emerged from nearby thickets. One, ahead of him but off to the left, while the second stepped up not too far in front of him.

Shaad felt the dirt spray on his legs as a bullet lodged in the ground between his legs not far from his foot. "Not a muscle," the commander reiterated. "Now, drop the sword." Shaad's eyebrow twitched, but a smirk spread across his face at the contradiction.

Slowly, Shaad uncoiled his fingers, letting gravity take control, the blade dropping gradually while the handle shifted in his hand. Barely, had the blade tip scratched the low grass before Shaad swooped up the weapon in a reverse grip and dashed forward, using it to deflect the two shots that chased after him.

Back pressed against a tree, the rising of his chest getting smaller with each passing breath, Shaad only became aware of the newest cut when he felt the warmth spreading down his cheek. Tasting the metallic liquid on his tongue, a smirk pulled at the youngster's lips. Much like the bullet fragment lodged just above his hip, Shaad thought he'd avoided the thrown knife even in close quarters. Unlike the gunman, though, he got his hands on the perpetrator of this newest cut.

"You're good," Shaad declared, voice raised to be heard over the pained yelps of the soldier forced to his knees, right arm wrenched to an unimaginable degree behind his back as he kneeled, completely at the mercy of the outlaw who'd killed his comrades. But, I'd guess there's maybe two people on this island that could truly challenge me now. Unfortunately for you, both of them are on my side."

A loud, desperate scream cried out as punctuation to Shaad's statement. The Police Chief's eyes followed as his subordinate was thrown from where his target had been hiding. However, in the interval it took for him to realize his mistake, his lone remaining elite was already dead, Shaad's iron grip ensuring there would be no saving the poor soul.

Kicking his most recent victim off Tairyoku's gleaming blade, Shaad used the body as cover for his charge on the officer. With a vicious one handed swing, Shaad pushed his foe back. But, the commander stood firm even as his heels skidded in the dirt, firing off a volley of shots from close range. Though Shaad blocked each bullet, his advance was effectively halted.

"That's twice now," Shaad commented. "What the hell are those pea-shooters made of?" When the only response was those 'pea-shooters' continuing to track the pirate as he weaved in and out of the surrounding foliage, Shaad changed his tune. "Fine; I acknowledge your skill. How'd you like to join my crew? . . Silence isn't always an endearing quality you know," Shaad grouched at not receiving any answer." There's no need to be this difficult. Yeah, you got a job to do. So do I. . . Let me do it and no one else needs to get hurt."

"Surrender and no one will."

"Aah, he speaks," Shaad teased moments before bursting from the cover of trees not far from where his voice sounded, a bull rush to his target. "I'll bet he bleeds too."

While the young pirate made it look easy enough to avoid the incoming projectiles, his straight forward approach appeared similarly flawed as the commander spun away from the vicious swipe at the last possible instance.

Opponent flying by, blade tip a hair's breadth away, the commander leveled the sights of his gun at the back of Shaad's head and fired a single shot from point blank range. Instead of satisfaction or pride, though, he felt pain. The painful realization that he truly was outclassed in this affair. The pain of Shaad's blade (now in reverse grip) stabbed into his tricep and causing his shot to go awry. And, the pain of a palm thrust right on his chin sending him toppling into the trunk of a towering tree.

But, above all the pain, the main thing he felt was a deep anger. Anger at himself as well as his foe. That anger manifested itself as black hair began sprouting all over his body and his physique morphed, gaining in size and physique.

Shaad, both swords once again in his possession as he'd taken Chiryoku from the chief's back in the exchange, looked on with intrigue. "A Devil Fruit, huh? So, you're that damned dog. . . Alright, let's test your bite."

With both blades brandished and ready, Shaad wrapped himself in killer intent as if it were a cloak taking shape. As if in challenge, winds in the forest picked up, whipping the leaves into a frenzy, a veritable hurricane of knives - as some even began to take on a humanoid shape - dancing around the area threatening both fighters as they grew increasingly closer. Cutting through multiple to no effect, Shaad accepted the futility, willing himself to calm down as a grimace overtook his features.

Overly concerned with calming himself through a series of deep breaths, Shaad left himself wide open to a powerful punch to the body, the air forcefully expelled from his lungs while a sweeping right hook targeted his left side. While Shaad managed to put up a defense with his newly reacquired blade, it only served to hold off the worst portion of the attack. However, an errant swipe from his right - the force of which created a fissure in the ground - was enough to end the onslaught after an uppercut clawed his chest.

'My left arms taken too much fuckin' damage,' Shaad mentally cursed. He'd figured as much; the palm thrust earlier should have been enough to snap the commander's neck and end this fight. But, unable to even hold up a solid defense, that conclusion was driven home more solidly than even the punch he'd just ate. He was still feeling the effects of that one, placing his left hand over his abdomen after securing Chiryoku in its sheath.

Switching to a reverse grip, Shaad held the sword close in front of him, taking a deep breath as he slid his right foot back. He'd underestimated his opponent and was working with a handicap. 'Now, we might actually have an even match.' The brash pirate smirked at his own audacity, dashing in in a blink.

The officer, however, showed that his fruit enhanced reflexes were a match for his expert marksman eyesight, jumping to the side of Shaad's extended blade, the coarse fur of his Zoan offering added protecting as the blade tip scratched along his abdomen.

Shaad was only just getting started, though. Turning on a dime, he lunged straight for the larger fighter. A clawed hand grabbed hold of his right arm, keeping his sword's length at bay while the overhead left that followed it up was also caught. The officer struggled to gain the advantage in this test of strength, but Shaad usurped it entirely, delivering a dizzying headbutt to his opponent.

His opponent stunned, Shaad pulled his hands free, an animalistic growl sounding in his ears as a stiff knee landed cleanly. Pulling his arm back, Shaad threw a strong right straight, the powerful strike ripping through a row of three trees. But, it missed his now fully canine opponent as the black lab Zoan clawed at his back leg before disappearing beyond the trees.

Shaad turned quickly, ready to give chase, but the voice in his head stopped him in his tracks.

'Are you an idiot!?'

"I don't have time to waste. I need to take him out quickly before Vega has an entire castle's worth of guards plus some aiming for his head."

'Oh, so that makes chasing a gun wielding, black dog deeper into shadows a good idea?'

Shaad eyed the thick canopy overhead. Even in this clearing barely any light broke through as the sun had set some hours ago, and it was a new moon tonight. "I'm trying to get ahead of it."

'Uhm, no. You're trying to get yourself shot in the face.'

". . . Fine. You have any ideas?"

'You already know.'

"But, that-"

'Ugh; all problems, no answers.'

". . . Fine," Shaad ultimately conceded, drawing his second sword only to stab both into the ground and fall to a knee. Dropping his head, he focused, feeling every prick of energy bristling within him. Massaging that tempest such that it flowed smoothly, Shaad remained in this position for well over a minute, unmoving as he allowed an almost otherworldly calm to befall him.

Finally rising to his feet, his voice was multitudes speaking at once. "Ultimate Burst."

Both swords in hand, Shaad launched himself like a rocket into the air.

Vega and the courier, Satori, waded in the calm water, looking up at the massive wooden door blocking the entrance. It was a rather exhausting swim almost halfway around the island, but neither the fishman nor Vega appeared fatigued in the least. Surveying the looming impediment in their way, it fully set in for both that this was not the situation they'd anticipated, save for maybe the stationed guards posted periodically along the perimeter.

Swimming below the surface, Satori and Vega easily dispatched the lulling guards along the banks, taking out two each with sneak attacks. The gate, a sturdy, wooden structure, certainly provided an imposing deterrent, but an attempt at overtaking this particular passageway seemed as likely as a blizzard in the desert judging by the guards' lackadaisical conduct. Vega signaled that he'd move up and take out the guards tasked with watching the area from the suspended bridge over the gate while the half-fishman placed a palm on the smooth wood.

Four more guards, all armored and armed, but none were prepared to actually fight. While the nearest guard, along with the one he'd been chatting with turned just in time to see Vega climb the last rung of the ladder, neither were fast enough to stop what happened next. Vega, on them in a flash, had clawed out the throat of the closest one before they could even think to scream. The second, though finding the wherewithal to attack the intruder, had his spear kicked away before a pair of legs tangled around his throat, forcing him to the ground.

The loud clang their combined bodies landed with, unfortunately gained Vega the attention of the remaining two guards. The first, a stocky older man charged right at Vega, spear held firmly. The problem was the last holdout, a fresh faced young man too scared to attack. On shaky legs, he ran straight towards a den den mushi on the nearby wall, eyes locked on the big red button attached to the snail's shell.

Going low and shoving the older man over the railing to Satori, Vega made a beeline to intercept the young recruit. Vega was faster by far, but the veteran guard's weight looked to provide the needed delay as Vega swung on the fearful trainee with an uppercut from his guantleted right hand. The three claws buried deep into the young man's stomach, the force driving them further behind the poor soul's ribcage until he coughed up a wave of blood.

But, Vega was too late. Blood painting the back side, the young man's hand slid lifelessly down the compressed button.

"Come on; wake up," Raine's muffled voice pleaded. "You can't be dead. Do you know how much I've sacrificed. . . If you're dead, I'll kill you."

Shaad's eyes opened slowly, the heavy lids resisting the monumental effort. A soft, gentle smile graced his lips seeing his navigator's watery eyes. He mouthed something, but no sound came of it. Raine, spotting the silent effort, leaned in closer, her top positioned in such a way that Shaad's inadvertent gaze was gifted an eyeful down the neck as she turned an ear to his lips. ". . . Kiss me." The words were soft, strained, such that Raine first thought he'd asked her to kill him, but he repeated it a second time, only slightly more audibly.

The navigator pulled back, a beguiling smirk replacing her momentary surprise. She cupped his chin firmly, leaning in slowly before turning his face away at the last second to whisper in his ear. "You need some TLC don't you?"

The captain's answer was inaudible, but Raine could feel him nodding his head. Even without that, she knew him well enough now that the question itself was purely rhetorical. It was in that mindset that she sat up, clasping his cheeks in both hands while meeting his eyes. Again she smiled, a playful smile before slapping him hard across the cheek. The reverberation resounded over the sound of rising winds and left an imprint of her hand emblazoned on his tan skin, complete with an outline of the band of her new ring. Seeing the sudden surprise in his face as it rebounded off her firm thighs and again focused on her, she stood up and let his head drop onto the grassy meadow. "You're lucky I didn't kick your horny ass into that tree over there, but that would've been counter-productive."

The tree in question was no closer than 45 yards at least. But, not only was Shaad certain Raine could've done it, but while he was regaining some of his faculties and energy, that would have put him out cold all over again.

As it stood, Shaad rubbed at his cheek. 'Nope, definitely not a dream.' While he'd assumed Raine caringly doting over him to be another trick of the forest, the throbbing pain along his jaw was all too real. "And, here I thought I'd finally been granted a brief respite," he muttered after an extended silence, Raine annoyed as she looked on.

"Hmph, you often dream about possibly dying?"

"You'd be surprised, the captain answered. "But, having you there made this one a lot better," he further joked, his eyes scanning the lush grass around them. They were a fair distance away from the forest with no sign of those guards that had been stationed to wait for him. "Where are we?"

A stretch of plains outside the towns. We're near a cliffside, so I can see if anyone approaches. But, what happened to you? I found you unconscious and barely breathing in a crater laid out on a pile of no less than two dozen dead soldiers."

"Two dozen? . . Oh. Shit. . . We need to get to the palace. Now!"