BlueRyuu- I am glad you liked it. I enjoy providing others with enjoyment; it is why I write. Well, that and I am implanting a secret, subliminal message in my words that will one day enable me to take over the world with a single thought. The witch message shall come out in due time; all I shall say at this point is that I plan to utilize a certain real-world legend to form a tale of armies and wars... And yes, I like the name, too. Pirates of Doom is so much better than Kiss of Death, no?

Page-Mistress- Why, because they're twins, silly!

-Divius lon sha'rei-

I strode toward the Doom through the falling chunks of the ship, stepping over one of the enemy's sinking Jolly Rogers without a second glance as I moved toward the rest of my crew; I couldn't see any survivors from any of the ships, which was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing that there were no more people to take care of; a curse that more people had died because of me. As I drew near the ship, I could see Reza eying me carefully, to make sure the dark hatred I had for the Sea Devils had subsided. Giving him a reassuring nod, I turned my attention to where Aliza was very loudly arguing over something with the new member of the crew.

"-BUT WE REALLY NEED ANOTHER PERSON TO PLAY TAG WITH!"

I felt a drop of sweat form on the back of my head and slowly trickle down my neck. Climbing into the Doom, I moved to the back of the ship and released the lashes that had been holding the helm and sails in place, taking control of the craft again as Reza returned to his place on the mast. Meanwhile, Aliza and the stranger continued arguing.

"But I don' wanna be a piwate... It's scawy..." The girl flinched as Aliza stomped her foot down.

"IT IS NOT SCARY! IT'S FUN! AND I WANNA 'NOTHER PLAYER FOR TAG!" Spinning to face me, she folded her arms across her chest. "Tell her, Argy! Tell her to stay."

I turned my gaze to the girl and inspecting her eyes before nodding. "You have no family, no?"

The girl gasped and took a step back, fear plastering itself across her face. "How did you know? Awe you a demon?"

I looked away from her, to keep her from becoming more nervous by my sightless gaze. "Your eyes reveal much crying and little comfort; it is a simple matter of deduction to rationalize that you no longer have a familial relationship with anyone." There was a whimper and I turned back to see the girl looking worriedly down at Aliza, who was lying on her back in a daze.

"Tooooo manyyy biiiiig wooooords..." She said, a trickle of drool crawling down the side of her mouth. The girl and I traded a glance, a drop of sweat forming on the back of our heads, then she shook her head and looked down sadly.

"I don't have a family, you'we wight. They wewe all... All..." She sobbed and buried her face in her hands, a muffled wail coming out from behind her fingers. I couldn't understand it, but I didn't need to; it was obvious what had happened.

"They were killed, weren't they?"

"DAMN YOU!"

I felt my right cheek twitch; from the corner of my vision, I saw Aliza snap out of her daze and look up worriedly as the girl straightened up, all trace of nervousness or fear evaporating as a feral glint appeared in her eyes.

"DAMN YOU TO HELL, SCUM! HOW DARE YOU MAKE HER CRY?! I'LL CUT YOUR HEART OUT AND FEED IT TO THE GULLS!"

With that, she leaped forward, her foot snapping up as she propelled herself into a flying side kick.

"STOMP-STOMP CANNON!"

I felt my cheek twitch again, then I raised my left hand, leaving my right hand on the helm to keep us aimed at the island as the last chunks of the sinking vessels around us scraped against our side. Her foot connected with my hand, the sheer power of the impact causing a shock wave that shook the ship; narrowing my eyes, I wrapped my hands around her foot and jerked downward, causing her to gasp slightly as she was snapped up and abruptly found herself at my eye level, my blindfolded gaze burning into hers.

"Don't. Make. Me. Kill. You."

She paled as, behind her, Aliza and Reza, who had joined her from nowhere, scuttled over to the opposite side of the ship. Then her expression turned livid again.

"You think you can kill me, scum?! I'm the one that's gonna do th' killin' 'round here, slime-ridden dripwad! YOU MADE HER CRY!"

Bringing my knee up to steady the helm, I raised my right hand and caught her other foot before she could move it, squeezing ever so slightly on a certain nerve. She screamed in pain, then twisted away; releasing my hold on her, I placed one hand back on the helm and lowered my leg again, my other hand ready to fight her again. She, in turn, crouched down, her feet digging into the deck as she prepared another attack.

"EEEEEEEENNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

The sheer force of the will behind the shout startled me like nothing else had; turning our gazes to where Aliza was stomping toward us, her gaze fiery.

"I DON'T CARE WHO MADE WHO CRY, NOBODY FIGHTS ON MY SHIP UNLESS I SAY SO!" Coming between us, she pointed at me. "ARGY, APOLOGIZE FOR MAKING HER CRY!"

Looking across at the girl, I acquiesced to my captain's wishes. "I am sorry; I did not intend to make you cry."

Whipping around, she snapped her finger up to point at the girl, who backed away ever so slightly, a surprised look on her face. "AND YOU! APOLOGIZE FOR ATTACKING ARGY WHEN HE WAS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE YOU OUT!"

The girl looked up at me, the feral glint slowly fading as she nodded surly. "I 'pologize."

"There, everything's better." Taking a deep breath, Aliza then shouted, "WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!"

"Au! It's schizophrenia, au!"

Both girls and I turned to Reza, who preened himself before continuing, "It's when more-au!- than one mind is in a-au!- body; it's not-au!- very common, but it-arau!- can be dangerous if-au!- one mind is radically-au!- different from the other, arau!"

I frowned as I looked at the girl. "So you are another mind of hers?"

She nodded sourly. "Featherhead figured it out. I am Licone; the oth'r one's Nicole. We both share the same body, but she's a lot nicer th'n me." Looking up at me, she continued grudgingly, "It started when Nicole was five years, two months, eight days old...

-La'cresp no delaius-

Nicole's parents loved her very much. Her mother wasn't beautiful by many people's standards, but her father worshiped her mother, while she in turn loved him intensely. When Nicole was born, they both celebrated her as the most beautiful girl they had ever seen.

As she grew up, she learned to love exploring; she crawled, swam, walked, ran and climbed all over the island that she called home. In her explorations, she found many treasures, all of which she took back to her father. One day, she found this strange fruit, which she thought her mother might be able to turn into a pie.

When she took it to her father, however, his face turned pale and he asked her worriedly if she had taken a bite of it. She replied that she hadn't, that she wanted her mother to make it into a pie. He sighed in relief and took it from her before telling her it was a Devil Fruit, a fruit that would give her power, but would take away her ability to swim if she ate it. Not wanting to lose her ability to swim, she sighed relievedly and thanked her father for keeping her from eating it.

Not long after, They came.

There were twelve of them; all of them were pirates, all of them carried swords as big as they were and all of them were hungry for blood. They butchered the entire village and would have left if Nicole hadn't come down the path from her house looking for her friends. When she saw what had happened, she screamed and ran back home, the twelve following her.

Her father ran outside and was cut down instantly, while her mother they chopped apart much slower. When they turned to her, their blades red from her parent's blood and her sobs filling the air...

I was born.

I knew only that this person I had lived with my entire life was in terrible pain; I wanted nothing more than to stop her pain.

I kicked the first man right between the legs. It felt good to watch him scream and drop to his knees, but I could see that my enemies were far larger than me; a memory of a fruit swam into my mind and I turned, running for the shelf that her father had placed the fruit on, the men swarming behind me and bellowing ruthlessly. The shelf was too high for me; looking around, I spotted a broom and grabbed it, using it to knock the shelf down. Diving on the fruit, I inhaled it as quickly as I could.

The men stopped; for what, I still don't know. All I know is that my feet suddenly pulsed and I felt power surge through them. I felt wonderful; I just wanted to bathe in the blood of the murderers. Turning on them, I leaped, my feet tearing them apart as our screams came together, my vengeful cries and their fearful ones.

-Levon de sorcrass-

"... When she woke back up, I had already washed their blood off, not wanting her to be hurt any more; I had also managed to get her aboard their craft, threatening the sailors aboard with death if they didn't take us to the nearest port."

The girl clenched her fists together. "Since then, we've been hopping from island to island, trying to run from her parents' deaths." Spitting to the side, she glared at me. "And I take down anyone that makes her cry!"

I narrowed my eyes at her; her eyes said that she spoke the truth. Shrugging as I looked down at Aliza, who had sat down cross-legged during the story and was staring in awe at the girl, Licone.

"So, Captain, do you still want them as part of our crew." Raising my gaze back up to the slightly startled-looking girl, I continued blandly, "I don't know what sort of skills the other one has, but this one looks to be good in a fight."

Licone replied in surprise. "Wait, what?"

I looked up at her. "You have Devil Fruit powers; we can always use those in a battle."

"No, I mean, she's the captain?!" She pointed at Aliza. "I thought you were the captain, you bein' th' stronger one 'n all..."

"HE'S NOT STRONGER THAN ME! HE'S MY FIRST MATE AND I AM THE CAPTAIN, WHICH MAKES ME STRONGER!" Aliza inhaled deeply as Licone stood frozen in a backwards lean, then sighed and rubbed her chin before replying to my question. "Dunno, Argy; I'm real strong and you're pretty good, too. Rezzy's pretty strong, too, for a parr- raven." She corrected herself quickly; Reza and I shared a grin before Licone straightened up and folded her arms across her chest.

"Nicole may not look it, but she's a genius. She can read maps like an ol' navigator and she's mem'rized every star chart she's seen in a matter of seconds. Not jus' that, she reads a lot, each book makin' her jus' that much more smart." She smirked. "Heck, she likes explorin' an' readin' more'n she likes bein' 'roun' people, I think."

I smiled softly. "I know the feeling." Straightening, I raised an eyebrow at Aliza. "So, Captain? Does she stay or go?"

Aliza continued rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Why do boys get ta grow beards... And girls don't..." Pumping her fist in the air, she hollered, "A MYSTERY TO SOLVE!"

I sighed. "It's hormonally programmed into us, Captain. Just like girls get breasts, boys get beards."

Licone smirked at me and I looked up at her. "What?"

"Nothin'. Jus' that most guys are too squeamish about talkin' about girl's bodies." She formed a fist and blew it off like a smoking pistol before her grin turned hard. "Or ain't squeamish 'nough."

Chuckling, I turned the ship around the edge of the island and brought the harbor into view. "I am Argyle Finch; I do not do squeamish."

She smiled, then her eyes widened. "Nicole's wakin' up; I'm gonna vamoose b'fore she gets here." Smiling at us, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her entire presence changed; her shoulders slumped as her arms came up and hugged her chest, her gaze was sad and distant, her mouth was trembling.

Then she looked up at us and I spotted what hadn't been there before; the intelligence that Licone had told us of.

"So... I guess you heawd the whowe stowy, huh?"

I nodded and Aliza smiled comfortingly at her. "Yeah, you, uh, you told us."

"It was Licone, wasn't it?"

The question wasn't directed at me, but Aliza didn't look quite sure how to answer that, so I just nodded. "Yes."

"She doesn't know I know." She rubbed her arms tiredly, a sadness permeating her being. "I've known she was pwotecting me since I woke up on that ship; I'm at once gwatefuw towawd and a wittle scawed of hew. Aww I can say, though, is that I wouwdn't be awive today if it wasn't fow hew."

Looking up at us, she revealed a gaze with a depth of sadness to it I hadn't seen in years. "Pwease don't be offended by anything she might have done wwong; she onwy wants to pwotect me."

Smiling reassuringly at her, I looked down at Aliza.

"Captain, I like her. What say we let her join."

I heard the girl gasp, then Aliza rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Sure, why not? I like her, and we need a new player for tag." Grinning broadly, she gave the thumbs-up. "She's in! Welcome to th' Pirates of Doom!"

Nicole smiled at us, a pair of tears sliding down her face. "Th-Thank you."

I frowned down at Aliza. "Now that that's settled, you wanna explain why you've been doing that?"

She looked up at me, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Doing what?"

"Rubbing your chin, of course. Are you trying to look smart?"

Her hands snapped down to her sides. "Um, no?"

"Riiiiight." Groaning, I aimed our prow toward the harbor. "You might be able to destroy a ship and take down fellows twice your size, but you can't lie for seabiscuit."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

-Crios dya'nortem-