I thank my lovely and lovable reviewers for their lovely and lovable reviews. To let you all know, the Straw Hat crew will not be seen for some time, but they will eventually run into the Doom Cruu...

NopeJustMe- Your request for continuance has been reviewed and accepted. I an also pleased that you are enjoying the story already; many thanks.

BlueRyuu- ALL HAIL THE PIRATES OF DOOM! DOOOOOM!

Page-Mistress- Here is the encore performance...

-Luk'zorack shiel-

"I'm soooo BOOOOOORRED!"

Reza and I shared a weary glance before I looked down to where Aliza was leaning miserably on the side of the ship, occasionally shooting candy canes at a fish or two that would appear every now and then. It was the day after we left Rogtown, but our unquenchable captain had been whining about how bored she was for seemingly time interminable.

"Captain Al, you'll just have to be patient. I've set a course for Likang Island, where we should be able to find a new crewmate or two and maybe some treasure. Until we get there, we just have to be patient."

"But it's so BORING waiting!" She looked grouchily over at me, standing behind the helm of the Doom steering the craft. "Pirates aren't supposed to be bored! They're supposed to find treasure and blow up the Navy, not sit around waiting to go somewhere!"

I almost laughed at her description of what a pirate was, but I held it in check; she probably wouldn't have appreciated a hearty laugh at that moment. So, instead, I looked up at Reza, who was enjoying the breeze atop the crow's nest.

"Reza! Li nok del karzh nu'fel!"

He blinked down at me, then smiled wickedly and spread his wings; the feathered limbs caught the breeze and snatched him off his perch, then he folded them back up and dove down to the deck, seemingly about to smash into the deck before he popped them back open, slowing his descent enough for him to land gently on the deck.

Aliza, who had watched him with wide-eyed awe, clapped her hands excitedly. "Again! Do it again!"

Reza smirked. "I have a-au!- better idea." Raising both wings, his expression turned wicked. "I want you to-au!- try and stab me with those-arau!- candies of yours, au!"

She blinked, then her face hardened and she shook her head. "No! I don' wanna hurt one of my first mates! What kind of captain hurts her first mates?"

He cackled and danced from side to side, then I spoke up from the helm. "He won't get hurt. See?"

Aliza gasped; in the span of the instant between 'hurt' and 'see', I had plucked one of the knives from my bandoleer and slapped it toward the raven. It went straight through him and slammed into the deck beyond, causing Aliza to whip her consternated expression toward me.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"

I smirked and gestured at Reza with my hand, the other hand still holding the wheel. "Before you blow a vein, Captain, I suggest you take another look. He's not hurt in the slightest."

"Au! Of course, arau! It would take more-au!- than a little blade to hurt me, au!"

She turned almost hesitantly back to where Reza had been standing, then gasped; his image was dissipating into swirls of dark, feathery images, the knife quivering in the deck without a shred of feather or blood on it. Reza cackled again and she snapped her head up to see Reza clinging to the side of the mast with his talons, an unmistakable grin on his features.

"Au! See, my captain? Au! The day I am caught-arau!- is the day I die! Au!"

She smiled widely. "First Mate Reza! You're alive! YAY!"

With that, she began running around in circles, yelling gibberish in her happiness. At least, that's what she did until I spoke again.

"Bet you can't hit him."

She turned to me and planted her fists on her hips. "Bet I can!"

"Bet you can't."

"BET I CAN!"

I smirked. "Prove it."

She spun and snapped a candy cane toward the raven, moving pretty fast for a kid like her; Reza still dodged it, though, and appeared in a blur behind her, his wings thwacking her once on the head. She spun back around and rubbed her head, a hurt look on her face.

"Owwy, what was that for?"

He smirked. "Au! Tag, you're it, au!"

Her eyes lit up. "Yay! Tag!"

With that, they proceeded to play away the entire afternoon, me watching with a smirk as I enjoyed the breeze on my face. Yamakaze was tucked away in one of the four small cabins belowdecks, along with my rifle and shotgun; the only weaponry I had out were the small ones on my bandoleers. I wasn't expecting attack, of course; it still didn't pay to be too relaxed, though. I was at least comforted by the knowledge that there were at least forty cannonballs below as well as sixty mortar rounds, not to mention enough gunpowder to fire them all off. We had thrown the single-shot rifles overboard almost as soon as we left port, as they weren't nearly as good as mine and we didn't need them for anything else. The swords we kept, because Aliza insisted that 'Pirates are supposed to have lotsa swords!'; I personally didn't care as much about them as the rifles, because the swords were relatively light.

We had plenty of food and water and I had been most pleased with the previous masters of the craft for that reason; it meant I had less work to do trying to figure out how to get such menial items.

Smiling to myself as I mused life over and my shipmates continued their possibly-deadly game of tage, candy canes as sharp as any blade whizzing in all direction, I spun the knife I had thrown earlier around in my hand and sheathed it, guiding the craft toward Likang Island.

-some time later-

"Hey, Argy!"

I turned my gaze upward to where Aliza and Reza, bored of their game of tag, had been enjoying a pair of lollipops the pirate captain had produced. "Yes, Al?"

She was staring off at the horizon ahead of us, her brow furrowed. "I see smoke, Argy!"

My eyes narrowed as I swept my vision over the area in question. "I see a Navy ship fighting four larger pirate ships. The pirates fly a Jolly Roger with horns coming from the forehead."

She whistled. "Woooooww, Argy, you can see far."

"Au! You ain't seen nothing yet, au!" Reza flapped his wings, then settled them against his sides. "What should we do, Captain? Arau!"

She frowned. "Weeelll, the Navy is our enemy, but four-on-one is unfair, 'specially if they're bigger." She looked down at me. "Who started it?"

I scanned the area, spying the island and the respective directions the different ships were pointing even as the battle came into view by the naked eye. "It looks like the Navy ship was moving around Likang Island to pull into port when the pirates came out of a bay and attacked. Right now, the Navy ship is surrounded by them; she has no mast, her foredeck is trashed and it looks like they're getting ready to shell her again."

Aliza brought her hand up in front of her and clenched it into a fist, her expression livid. "Cheaters! Bullies! I'm gonna smash 'em all up!" Crouching down, she grunted once before screaming, "SWEET-SWEET ROCKETS!"

She erupted into the air, her feet spraying sugar everywhere as she blasted toward the cloud of smoke, her voice echoing behind her.

"CATCH UP AND HELP ME BEAT THEM ALL UP!"

I sighed and looked up at Reza, the options flashing through my head in an instant. "We're still flying Navy colors, Reza. I doubt that's very fair."

He shook his head, then tilted his wings. "Au! I'll announce our presence, au! Follow me one second after, au!"

"Remember," I cautioned, "This isn't a serious fight; we're just teaching a lesson to some scum. Captain's orders."

He grinned, then flashed off, blazing past Aliza as if she was standing still. As the two of them shot away, I lashed the helm and sails down so that the craft would continue sailing in the direction of the island, then pondered going below to retrieve my larger weaponry. Taking another look at the pirates, I grinned to myself and drew my two pistols.

"The Blind Gunfighter is here, no?"

With that, I, too, flashed forward, my feet pounding up the surf like it was earth. The water jerked away from my feet as if repulsed by some invisible force, but it never went very far before I was already away, each step leaving an afterimage twenty yards away from the previous one.

I spotted Aliza on the deck of the Navy ship, screaming wildly as she fired off volleys of candy canes and large, hard-skinned candies that smashed into the sides of the pirate ships like cannonballs. Above her, Reza, having already proclaimed our attack, was playing tag with the riflemen below, flashing in and out of existence at speeds none of them could follow.

Smiling wolfishly, I leaped one final time, ran up the side of the nearest pirate ship and erupted over the side, the wave I had generated from my speed slamming into the ship and attracting the attention of the crew aboard. Grinning, I held my pistols across my chest, each hand next to the opposite shoulder.

"Doom has come; do not resist!"

Their eyes narrowed and they roared, turning away from the Navy ship and charging me; with a smirk, I slammed into them, sending four of them rolling away and seven more flying into the ocean below. Spinning, I spotted one man igniting the fuse on a cannon and casually swiped one pistol toward him, firing a single bullet that cut the fuse, blew out the flame, ricocheted off a nail and slammed into the armor he wore, staggering him back a few steps. Just as he caught himself, I slammed a round kick into his head that sent him flying back and through a group that had been attempting to charge me.

Spinning back around, I looked up and analyzed the rigging for a split-second; then, grinning amusedly, I raised my pistols and fired off three rounds, cutting the main lines and sending the spars tumbling to the deck. Before they could strike, I leaped backwards, slamming into the wheelhouse and smashing the helm to pieces before digging in my heels and flashing forward, slamming into the central mast and snapping it in two. As it slowly tumbled into the ocean and the ship, still moving due to the other two sails, began rotating in that direction, I leaped to the side and smirked at the stunned crew.

"Have fun fixing that; that is, if my captain decides to let you off easy."

I turned and was about to leap to the next ship when a snickering voice came from behind me.

"Have fun eating my lead, cuz!"

I heard a shot and turned, swinging Ras'cal around in front of me and catching the small spherical bullet with the barrel. Continuing the rotation with that arm, I flung the bullet away into the air after checking to make sure Reza was well away from there, then flashed forward and ended right in front of the shocked, weasel-faced man, Lac'sar digging into the flesh under his chin.

"I don't think you quite grasped the concept of the Pirates of Doom having attacked you." Smiling toothily, I dug the pistol a little deeper into his chin, causing him to gargle and take a step back. "See, my captain, the little powerhouse that's currently disposing of your boarding party, didn't take to your style of fighting; so, just because of that, she ordered your entire four-ship fleet smashed. I was going to let you off easy, but now you've aggravated me." Spinning Ras'cal around, I spun the pistol into the air and formed a fist with that hand. "Say good-bye to your ship, scuzzwad."

With that, I slammed my fist down, splintering the deck and sending vibrations through the whole craft that literally tore it apart. Smirking, I leaped up, catching Ras'cal as I flew through the air and spun toward the next ship, a fine-looking triple-master. To my right, Reza was cutting another ship apart, while Aliza was standing on the deck of the Navy ship, surrounded by bodies as she sent storms of sugar-based products at the third ship.

Smiling, I hit the deck of the fourth ship and skidded to a stop amid a storm of splinters kicked up by my landing. The crew on this ship eyed me amusedly, something I didn't take kindly to, then a small, wiry man stepped forward, a glint in his eye.

"So, you kiddies think you can take on the Demon Lord Pirates and live?" He chuckled and threw his chest out proudly. "I am Captain Diego la Diablo, second-in-command of the fleet and brother of Lorass la Diablo, the most powerful man in the East Blue; his ship is even now fighting that Navy ship and that strange little girl, meaning he will soon awaken! You have no chance of-"

I sighed and rested Ras'cal on my shoulder, Lac'sar ready in my left hand. "I don't suppose you learned anything from the fact that I just sank one of your ships, a raven is currently shredding another ship, my captain just wiped out your boarding party on that Navy ship and is right now flattening that other ship with a fury you can only get from young girls, while I am standing here getting ready to tear this ship a new one." Cocking my head to the side, I smiled wickedly. "Hope none of you are Devil-Fruit users, 'cause this ships about to become nothing more than jetsam."

The man cackled and settled into a fighting stance, a smirk on his face. "It just so happens that I am a Devil Fruit man, little boy." His smile disappeared as triangular ears grew out of his head; long fangs emerged from his mouth and his arms gained wings in the familiar shape of a bat. "Scream-scream razors!"

A high-pitched sound erupted from his mouth, sending razor-sharp strands of sound toward me.

I felt all emotion slip from me and blandly took the attack, feeling nothing as the sound waves cut into my clothing and then vanished. The man frowned, then a bellow shook the air and he smiled wickedly.

"Ahh! My brother is awake! Soon you will all fall beneath his wrath!"

There was another bellow and I flicked my gaze toward where Aliza was standing on the enemy ship, sending wave after wave of sweets at a huge man with a lizard's head. I estimated respective strengths, then turned my attention back to Diego la Diablo and calmly raised Lac'sar up and aimed it at his head.

"You are correct; your brother is indeed awake. I do not know if my captain can deal with him on her own; therefore, I must end this quickly." Bowing my head, I continued in a low voice. "Forgive me for taking this fight seriously."

He cackled madly. "Hah! You think you can-"

"Barrage of ten thousand skulls."

I pulled the trigger, sending the bullet into his skull through the left eye. The projectile came out his left ear, shooting into the ear of another pirate standing farther back; he, too, died before sending the missile into another man's eye. This pattern continued until the entire deck was cleared and the bullet was lodged in the corpse of Diego as he finished falling down; my expression blank, I raised my fist up.

"I am sorry."

I brought my fist down and the entire craft exploded in splinters and scraps of cloth, chunks of steel and barrels of gunpowder. The latter exploded from the sheer intensity of my attack, further destroying the craft as I sank down with the ship. The instant my feet touched the water, however, I did not sink like the ship; instead, the water began racing away from my feet like before, creating a sort of crater in the water that kept deepening. Turning my gaze to the craft where Aliza was battling the lizard-man, I began moving forward, the craters forming beneath each foot not keeping up with my stride as I continued walking forward.

Reza's ship split in half and he appeared next to me, his eyes knowing as he perched on my shoulder. "Ugly memories, arau?"

I felt my blank expression slowly growing dark. "I killed her, Reza, and I am not sorry. Her children grow ever more despicable after me, don't you think? Ironic how she can still haunt me even after her death."

He looked at me concernedly. "Au! The witch is dead-au!-, don't carry the rage any more, au! It will consume you like-au!- your siblings, arau!"

I snarled and spat into the sea, the place my spittle landed turning to steam. "I won't, my friend; but just seeing her breed makes me sick."

"Au! The mirror must be an-au!- abomination to you, then. Arau!"

I nodded at his attempted joke. "It is."

"And me, too, arau!"

"No, you are a more pure breed, Reza."

With that, I shot forward, leaping up onto the deck of the ship just in time to shoot a pair of swordsmen off Aliza that had been attempting to stab her in the back while she knelt, panting from exhaustion, on the chest of the lizard-man, who looked very much dead. She looked up in surprise, then smiled broadly and stood up.

"First Mate Reza, First Mate Argy, I wanna introduce you to our new crew member!" Looking around, she spotted whatever it was that she was looking for somewhere on the other side of the massive bulk of Diablo and waved. "C'mon over and meet my first mates!"

There was a scuttling sound, then a teenaged girl poked her head out from behind the nearest mast, her expression wary; eying her back, I spun my pistols around and holstered them before looking at Aliza.

"Get her off here, Captain. I am going to sink this miserable ship to the bottom of the ocean."

She shrugged off-handedly and jumped down from the big man, smiling as she moved past us. "Go ahead; there's no treasure on here, anyway; that annoying bully said all of their treasure was spent on cannons and ships."

Nodding, I looked at the nervous-looking teenager. "Reza!"

He blurred into existence behind her, then she yelped as his talons dug into her and the two of them blurred away. Aliza looked up at me worriedly.

"You all right, Argy? You look really angry."

I smiled thinly. "I'll be fine once I sink this ship, Captain."

She shrugged and nodded, turning away from me. "Alright, but make it quick. We still need to find some treasure around here."

With that, she took off, propelling herself away with a blast of sugar; my lips drawing back into a sneer, I raised both fists above my head and roared before bringing them down savagely, fracturing anything that the ship might have had left for a superstructure into pieces.

As the ship sank around me, I heard an incongruous shout from Aliza.

"FIRST MATE REZA! WHERE'S MY SHIP! DID HE SINK IT, TOO?!" There was a pause, then another shout. "I KNEW THAT IT WAS THERE! I WAS TESTING YOU!"

-Dis zorack'shiel-