Trying to Survive

Ridley was just sitting down beneath a burnt out tree. He made a makeshift tent out of the small branches. Rather than sleeping on the ground, he built his tent on top of a rock. Not very comfortable, but he would wake up with clean pants. He gripped his guitar and tried to play a few notes, but another burst of thunder silenced any muse he once had. He looked out at the trees sprouting up in the distance. Despite his tent and stone bed he couldn't sleep, the thunder didn't bother him. It was the apparent emptiness of the island that wouldn't let him sleep. It was disturbing to look in all directions and find nothing. No small huts with people huddling beneath them for warmth.

Ridley was surprised that they were still islands in the Grand Line that were completely unoccupied. It was possible, he supposed, but there had to be a damn good reason. Why else would an entire island become sparse of any and all life to mysteriously vanish? Even the rats disappeared. If something could scare rats completely away from their home. The thing that attacked their ship was possibly the thing that managed to make life on this island scarce.

He fiddled with his guitar for another few seconds as he considered it all. An empty island plus giant mysterious force that attacked them for no reason meant something horrible was coming. The real question was what was it that attacked their ship in the first place? Or why it did? Ridley took one last glance upwards toward his poor tent's roof before settling in even more to his place.

He picked his eyes up. He looked around, he paused as he caught sight of someone growing closer to him. His hand gripped his guitar. He felt a slight twinge of pain shoot up his shoulder as he hefted it up. His fight with Karasu was still messing with his body, he couldn't rush it, but whoever was coming…he needed to be ready to knock them out. He kept his eye out for the approaching person. They were almost here.

(-With Enma-)

A large white pure bone rib cage stuck out of Enma's shoulders forming an almost umbrella like structure as he walked through the rain. The rain muted all sounds. His bone umbrella made things a little bit better, but it didn't help with the poor visibility. He kept walking forward through the heavy downpour in search of something helpful. He was highly doubtful that he would encounter anything that would be of help. From what he could tell it was an abandoned island, with no real good feeling to it. Not that it bothered him. He wasn't one for puppies, rainbows, and beautiful flowers. All of which this island seemed to be completely devoid of. He marched on trying to keep his head dry as he went.

He paused and squatted down, examining a few foot prints in the mud. They were Maria's! Enma smiled as he examined them more carefully. Right off the back the imprints of her mechanical body made themselves obvious to him. He guessed that didn't automatically make them Maria's, but the odds were good enough. Enma jumped to his feet and continued down the path, a happy smirk on his face. While it was only one of eight, it was a still a refreshing sight to see his nakama's footprints and get back on the right track. He quickened his pace down the muddied path, anxious to be reunited with one of his fellow crewmembers.

He was taken back a bit when he did though. Maria wasn't really alone, but who was with her didn't really comfort him. It didn't appear to be anyone he knew. And from the way Maria just embedded her fist into one of their faces, he assumed she didn't know him very well either. Maria continued rotating around and brought her heel into the face of a second guy. There was almost a horde on top of her of mangled old men, with rotting teeth and ruined complexions. He supposed this wasn't the time to be insulting them, though as another large group of them ganged up on Maria, bringing her down.

Enma's bone spear extended from his hand, piercing into one of the men and that was it. The man's body wasn't forced off of Maria or anything, his spear pierced his skin, reducing it to dust and he barely even took note of Enma. The doctor rushed in with his spear at hand, deciding that weak attacks like that wouldn't work. He swung a blunt end of his spear up and into the chin of the already injured man, blowing his head off as his neck was turned to dust. Enma looked at the head fly through the air, almost transfixed as he watched it float about.

Suddenly another two or three of them jumped up, grasping to Enma's neck determined to bring him down like Maria. "Skeleton Porcupine!" Sharp bones shot out of Enma's back and front in all direction, exploding into the men around him, forming holes in their body and making them release him due to their somewhat primal knowledge. His spear shot through his hand, backwards into the abdomen of one of the men behind him, knocking him off of him. Enma rotated around, swinging his spear and knocking it into the poor man's skull, once more Enma found surprisingly little resistance as his bone spear ripped through his skull. It was as if the man wasn't even there, it was like his entire body was just being held together by dust and nothing else.

Enma paused as he took a quick inventory of what was around him….the answer was about 60 more of those men. Their skin looked like shriveled up old prunes, but they were coated in white clothing with special marking adorning them. They shambled forward Enma all at once. Almost just as quickly their heads were blown to the side, sending their entire body flipping to the side as Maria came crashing through. She moved through the mob like a demon. She was punching and kicking, knocking any one of the men who stood in her way aside like a hurricane. She planted her feet once more and bulldozed another ten or so down.

Enma rushed forward, spinning around and placing his back to Maria. He would protect her back and she would protect his. Or so he thought. While his plan was clearly the smart thing to do, Maria had other plans. Bringing her fist around and stepping forward again, she clear another row of the men throwing them aside. Without bothering to return her position and protect Enma's back, she rushed forward moving through the mob. Her fist swinging through the air and knocking another man back through the air. Enma's plan may have been smarter, but Maria was proving her plan was simple and effective. Just knock them aside.

(-With Mikoto-)

Despite the fight going Enma and Maria were involved in happening on the same island as he was, Mikoto didn't have a single ounce of worry. Or knowledge about it. He was leisurely walking through the rain barely even bothering to keep an eye out for his crew or any other living being on the island his thoughts were kind of preoccupied. "It's the eye of the coyote! It's the will of the wild! Rising up to the challenge of our world!*"

"Yeah! That can be my theme song," said Mikoto, taking a break from what should be described as the perfect impression of a drowning cat than a man singing. He looked around for a brief second, deciding that maybe one of his crewmembers heard his song and was calling out to him. When he didn't hear anything, he shrugged and kept walking forward…and sadly resuming his horrible song.

He cleared another branch out of his way with a quick jab, snapping the branch as he made his way through. He paused as he noticed what can only be called someone's humble abode, a small wooden shack with a fire place out front. Mikoto looked up at the rain; his hair had been matted down from the vicious downpour. He could do well with a quick nap under a roof…maybe they had food…or riddles!

Mikoto smiled to himself as he calmly walked up to the small house and knocked on it. The door creaked open, apparently who ever lived there wasn't a big believer in locks. Mikoto shrugged as he looked in at the small room. There was nothing in the way of comfort or even food…Mikoto frowned, no sign of life either. "Either way," thought Mikoto directing his gaze skywards only to be met with more rain dropping down onto his face and eyes causing him to flinch, he scurried into the house despite its owner apparently being missing.

The room only contained one small table with a clear vase sitting on top of it, in that vase was one flower that was in the process of dying. Its leaves were withered and its head had drooped as if accepting its poor fate. If it was…someone on his crew's flower it would be in much better condition. He couldn't remember his name, but he was fairly confident it was a guy. He shrugged and further inspected the small room. Other than a boring table and a dead flower the only other real thing in the room was a bed, a small straw cot that looked like it hadn't been made or cleaned in ages. He would just take his chances with the floor. He took another step forward when the sound of thunder pierced the air and made him jump. Thunder sucked.

"Who are you?" shouted a voice from behind him. The pirate captain swerved around and took up a fighting position almost reflexively. While there was admittedly a man behind him, Mikoto's attention jumped to the thing past him. A large bag of fish was laying just barely in sight, he could make out at least half of the pile though. Mikoto licked his lips as he looked at it. Fish was one of his favorite dishes.

He took a step forward, but the man apparently took that as a sign of violence. His hand went to his weapon and he gripped it tightly. Mikoto took a brief second to actually pay attention to the man this time. He appeared to be well-aged, probably 50's-60's. Mikoto stretched his shoulder blade with small circles as he looked on. He wanted past the man and at the delicious fish he had been hauling. Mikoto raised his guard and made a quick half-step forward, to which the man reacted to quickly. Mikoto lunged forward ready to fight for that delicious looking fish!

(-With Rosa-)

Rosa was wandering through the island. She kept her trusted diary saved in her jacket. She didn't want the rain to ruin it. She was trudging through the rain, in a real foul mood at that. The rain wasn't making it any better, but regardless, she would never be in a good mood until they rescued Lily! How could the crew act that calm! She gave her life for them! She…went to jail for them…not gave her life. Rosa had to stay calm. She took a deep breath.

Lily jumped off of the ship and attacked a madman who was trying to kill them! Their biggest concern wasn't even with that! They should be doing whatever they could to save her, but they weren't! It seemed their biggest concern was about their captain becoming a Shichibukai! Not about saving the young girl who saved their lives! Lily struck out, flashing her sword through the air and burying it in a nearby tree. She needed to save Lily. She was taking too much time! They needed to get going! The longer they waited, the longer poor Lily was in jail. She couldn't imagine how she was holding up! It had to be horrible for her. Rosa was shaking with the thought, both in rage and fear…and possibly a little bit out of the cold rain that was pelting her face.

Rosa grabbed her small jacket and held it tightly together. She was trying to stay warm in the middle of this horrific storm. Another strong gust of wind blew into her face, but it didn't do anything to calm her rage. She kept her head low and marched forward. She just needed to march on, keep her head held high and ignore the roaring rain and rage. She may have been annoyed with the crew right now, but they were still her only way off of this island. She had decided already. When she got off this island, she would rescue Lily even if it meant storming Impel Down. Even if it meant doing so alone.

(-30 Minutes Later-)

Mikoto and the old man were sitting in the small room. Mikoto had a deep swollen cheek on his right side. The old man on the other hand was trying not to wince in pain. His left arm was tightly gripping his abdomen. There was a slight swelling going on down there, too. He had given Mikoto a slab of fish and he had one in front of him as well. Neither one were saying anything, but they have come to the same conclusion that neither one was particularly interested in killing the other. Mikoto was just shipwrecked, here by accident, and chanced onto this house. The old man…the old man was here for one reason or other. Mikoto didn't ask, he just dug into the fish.

"So, you are looking for your crew?" asked the old man. He had better manners than Mikoto did who just barely managed a grunt between bites. "But you don't remember anything about them." Mikoto flashed him a thumbs-up to convey the old man's understanding was correct. "Well when the rain clears up I'll take you to the nearest island on my boat."

Mikoto choked down a large bite of fish. "No need," said Mikoto with a smile. He paused for a second and looked thoughtful, "I'm pretty sure I have a navigator…and a ship! I'll be able to sail out of here once I find them. Safe and sound!" Mikoto gave the old man another thumbs-up before digging back into his fish. With a sharp knife and fork, he was having a good time ignoring the fact that all of his allies and friends were lost out in the pouring rain. He was too busy enjoying the food laid out before him to worry about his friends.

"I'm saying forget about them," the old man had a very scolding tone to those words he said. He slammed his fist into the table. "On this island there are two deadly forces. One is a beast, the other is a hunter. I have been here for awhile and then the beast arrived. He was young at first; he ate some of the wild-life here and there, but for the most part he was lazy. He would sleep, eat, then sleep some more. I didn't mind it. The beast was more trouble than he was worth. However, he didn't bother me; he didn't bother life on this small island. It was the hunter who threw a wrench in things."

"He came here at first just to rest at first, but then the two became entangled in what can only be described as destiny," continued the old man. "They fought a fight of epic proportions. They exchanged blows, the beast and the hunter until the battle died down. It ended horribly…for both ends. It was a draw. Neither side had won, neither side had lost. However, how could they accept this as the conclusion? Could the hunter really accept that such a creature was his equal? Could the beast accept the hunter as its equal? No, the hunter stayed on this island in constant competition with the beast."

"Yeah, so what?" asked Mikoto, "Just because they are two titans on this island doesn't mean anything. My crew won't interrupt their fight as long as they stay on our good side. And if they offer my crew fish like you did, they'll definitely stay out of their hairs."

"Hah," laughed the old man, his head swung between his two shoulders. "It's not going to happen like that. They are both territorial, both of them are evil and powerful monsters. They will chase after your crew and beat them down. I hate the thought of it, but they will try to kill your crewmates the instant they see them." Mikoto paused for a second thinking about it. "I'm not trying to scare you, but you lucked into finding me first. I'll be able to take you off the island without exciting them."

"Nah," said Mikoto leaning back in his chair. He reached forward and rolled a fishbone around on the plate. "My crew can handle themselves. I'll go searching for them and find them all tomorrow. Until then I have complete and total faith that they'd be able to survive. They have survived worse after all."

The old man struck out with his weapon, smashing it in front of Mikoto's face and into the table. He was breathing heavily, a sign of the utmost serious news plastered on his face. "There is nothing worse than those two."

The Enemy's Base

*'Eye of the Tiger' with some…Mikoto variations to it.

Mikoto doesn't have a care in the world. His crew is trying their hardest though, it is just that Mikoto…Mikoto is being Mikoto. Cooks come before navigators, theme songs come before crews, and fish and riddles top all else. Just a quick glance at how the rest of the group is holding up. I know I'm a day late, but yesterday was Memorial Day so things got shuffled around. This had to be pushed back...also what's up with the lack of reviews as of late?