Black and White

Victoria was shocked. She wasn't sure what she was expecting as she had thought back on it. Was this really the ending that she was expecting? Mikoto and Zesiro to take down both a Shichibukai and a Yonkou's pick. This was without a doubt as close to the first shots fired that anyone could ever expect. This was Mikoto and his crew marking out their future territory.

And even more surprising Victoria was happy with this outcome. Mikoto hadn't captured her attention because he was some small fry who took it easy. If you were going to go into this war like this he would have to be more than willing to push the envelope. She didn't think of either of them as strong enough to win the war. If they were going to get strong enough to win the war then they definitely couldn't hold off for too much longer.

"A new history will begin to come across the waves," exclaimed Victoria, "Remember when we heard that?" she turned over to meet her partner, her First Mate and her future husband, Johnathon who nodded. "Its amazing how such things can come back to haunt us."

"That old man certainly did know such things were going to come to a boil," Johnathon stated, recalling the old geezer they had met on their own journeys. They weren't expecting anything too exciting, but they got it with the last Pirate King's declaration of the One Piece being hidden. It had stirred up such chaos on the seas as pirates, Marines, and regular men and woman alike hit the seas in search of such gold.

"If you had told me those days were the calm before the storm...I would've asked how could they get any crazier," Victoria stated as she leaned back into her large chair. "I thought things were crazy enough. I wondered if the old pirate king put up with this kind of insanity as well."

"He probably caused it."

"Che he he," Victoria laughed, she remembered meeting the old Pirate King, being there not only at his execution, but she also met him once out at sea. It was only something small like that, but those memories burned in her brain now and she wouldn't forget the man's insanity and proud demeanor. That was what caused a new generation to spark again. Men like him and women like herself. Leaning forward she nodded.

"Well, then, are you ready to continue on this crazy waterslide?" asked Victoria and Johnathon nodded. He was always ready.

"It may be crazy now, but it'll get even crazier in these next few weeks and even worse?" Johnathon asked, already knowing the answer, "if this war doesn't get settled in just the right way. It'll only worsen from there. The Marines won't know the meaning of restraint."

"I don't remember signing up to become heroes," laughed Victoria as she grabbed her sword and walked forward, "but let's make sure the world knows of us." Victoria stepped forward and went towards the beach. Her own crew following.

Pulling her flag off of its pole and wrapping it around her like a cloak, she let it flutter in the air. "Navigator, which way to the Marine Headquarters?"

"North-by-Northeast. Approximately 13 degrees!"

"Good," Victoria stopped her footing short and turned in the approximate direction and stopped her feet at the ends of the artificial beach they made. She grabbed the empty air. "Let's send them a message." Her fist grabbed even the empty air, her fingers digging into space itself.

Victoria had eaten the Mage-Mage no mi* giving her supreme powers of bending. Now it didn't sound threatening, which is what she thought when she first ate it. But she hadn't become a Yonkou because of her good looks. With this Devil Fruit she could bend anything she touches, wood, bone, metal, and even space itself.

She pulled back, moving the space she had grabbed with it. And the distortion of space became evident as it began to bunch up, the end of the beach which had previously been a couple of yards in front of them shrunk to about a foot. The water shrunk as well, beginning to lap at their feet.

"Victoria," stated Johnathon.

"I know, I can feel the water," Victoria reassured him. She knew what she was doing. "I've done this before, remember?"

"Never with this intention," Johnathon reminded her. This was not a simple ship they were firing on. This was the strongest power in the New World. The Marine Headquarters itself. And Victoria could only nod.

"Indeed, perhaps that's why my heart's beating again," Victoria smiled at him, the same primal smile that had attracted him to her in the first place. The red heat mixed with fierce determination.

"Good, I was hoping I wasn't the only feeling that way," Johnathon stated earnestly. Victoria let go, letting the space snap itself back into place and forming a massive bow. Its arrow? Space itself. The powerful bundled up condensed space flew through the air. It would crash soon.

"Let that be our message to the Marines," explained Victoria as she went back towards her throne, "we're not giving up without a fight. The Revolutionaries, willing to throw the world into an untested chaos, hopeful a good new world order will appear. The Marines, insistent there are no problems in he world and will insist on controlling every single last aspect of the world. Or the pirates, holding the flag of freedom and protesting the war." Victoria snickered, "though its not quite that black or white, is it?"

(-With Mikoto-)

"Really?" asked Enma as he scurried over to Mikoto as well as Zesiro and began to look them over, amazed either one of them was still standing. It was amazing, how much damage they had both taken. Zesiro body was beaten and battered and to make matters worse most of Mikoto's damage was located inside of his body. The sound waves, churned his stomach, sent his heart into a bad rhythm, lungs were a bit off. Everybody was in bad shape.

And they were going to go to war. It was a laughable thought that these guys who were half dead now and quickly closing that gap were going to take them on. But admittedly it did seem that both of them were proud of themselves. Their opponents were tough so it was a well-deserved type of pride, rather than what else they had had in their lives.

Kicking his head back and signaling to them Mikoto asked quietly, "where's Ridley?" He had seen Rosa and Lily on his way down they weren't exactly hiding from him and there was no need for them to be anywhere else. So Mikoto decided he needed to know where the crew was. If things had gone this bad this fast he could only imagine what Ridley was doing.

"I heard that Ridley left," Enma stated, "he went up to talk to...Victoria?" Enma stated, although the last word came out a bit uneasy. As if Enma wasn't certain. "I actually don't know who he is talking to. He just mentioned that he had to talk to someone before we left."

"I guess we just have to wait," Mikoto stated.

"I don't know if we will have that luxury for too much longer," complained Enma, "things are moving. And they are moving quite fast."

Mikoto nodded and slid down a bit further into his bed. Things were definitely happening, which probably weren't the best especially at this speed. The thought that Mikoto was uncomfortable with something going fast was kind of funny.

There wasn't much more they could hope for. They just had to relax. Things were coming and the waves were being stirred and nobody was going to have it easy now. They were just waiting for Ridley and Victoria. Or...the Marines and Revolutionaries. Which ever one made noise first, so they were just going to wait for that to happen. So they settled down and rested.

Waiting for the news to come down from Victoria would definitely be a horrible idea that caused everybody to shivered. It would be slow going for the rest of the day, they would just have to hope that they would get their excitement sooner or later. Because for the time being they were practically stranded.

"What are you hoping for?" asked Enma as he looked over to Mikoto, "things aren't quite going our way, but we need to stick to this."

"I know," Mikoto stated as he swung his legs off of the side of the bed and tested them lightly, "and from the looks of it. Plenty of people are actually throwing their hat into the ring with us. The war that's coming will shake the world to its core."

(-With Ridley-)

"You know, why I'm here, don't you?" asked Ridley as he sat across from Gan, the man who was from the Revolutionaries. Gan had originally intended to just mess with them and then leave, learn a bit from them and their fights, which he had accomplished, but this man was someone who was a bit more interesting.

"I'm guessing you're afraid of me going back with this information," explained Gan as he looked down at the notebook under his arm. It contained a lot of data he had collected on Mikoto's and Zesiro's fight. More importantly it contained what little information he had managed to eek out of Victoria's group. Ultimately a Yonkou's power were definitely out of his range of understanding.

"Actually, no," Ridley stated as he brought out his guitar and strummed on it slightly, "you see, that information you have collected is already outdated." Gan looked surprised at Ridley's information.

"Excuse me? I collected this information this very morning and you expect me to believe you when you said it is already dated?" Gan laughed loudly, perhaps a bit of an extra punch put behind each cackle to emphasize his point. "This information can be vital to the Revolutionary's victory against you."

"You've seen it yourself," Ridley explained simply, "the kind of changes Mikoto undergoes. The rapid development. Or do you still believe he is the same person as he was a week ago." Ridley played a small rift on his guitar as he chuckled, "sound reverberates the loudest against the hardest steel. That's the kind of enemy you are going up against. Mikoto is still evolving as is Zesiro."

Gan frowned slightly as he looked down at his books, "So you wanted to tell me that? Why is that?"

"A dying man's last wish?" Ridley stated with a confident chuckle, "you see, the brilliant thing about what my father did to me as that I got my head sorted. Wanting to become famous? Sure, sounds great, but right now...I think I'm more interested in screwing over the war and helping my friends."

Pausing and looking down at his own body Gan smiled, "And that's why you're here. You want to beat me. The Revolutionaries are your biggest threat. That's what you're thinking. The Marines are already in shambles and many of them are debating about whether or not their 'Justice' is right any more. The longer something stays around for the more likely it is to grow mold."

"Something like that."

"The Revolutionaries still haven't sorted out the changes that are around the corner, their only goal is take down the Marines. Meanwhile the Marines in the World Government who are debating whether or not the current government is worth saving. So they are more likely to crumble from the inside...even if they win. A coupe will come.

"LAUGHABLE!" shouted Gan suddenly, "do you really choose to follow in the current footsteps of the Government forever. You're a criminal! Join us, get a pardon! Chase your dreams as a free man."

"My father taught me something," Ridley laughed, "that damn bastard. No matter how much you try to ignore your parents, no matter how big of a thorn they are in your side...you still learn from them. And what I've learned is that some people are criminals. And, you know what they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?"

"You're insane."

"Learned from the best."

Sight and Sound