BlueRyuu- Maybe not a complete explanation, nor a complete chapter, but I needed to get this put out and, at the end, I discovered that it was too short for a full chapter but too long for a partial, since the next part is... Well, take a wild guess.

If you are not satisfied with what little explanation there is, well... Let's just say life stories will come later. 'Kay? Long nights at sea, nothing to do but count treasure and tell stories, there will be something there, yes? Yes.

And PLEASE don't stop reviewing; you're the only reason I'm still going with this. "At least ONE person likes my storytelling; must keep writing! Must get better, to make it more entertaining! MUST BECOME SUPER-SAIYAN AUTHOR!

And now, ULTIMATE ATTACK! PEN-PEN CHAPTER!

Skadoosh.

-Ded'for nel tropksull-

Aliza was sleeping on my lap and Shasta was curled up further down the beach, her swords next to her and one arm laying across them. My coat was curled around my captain, the better to keep her warm, and I was slowly drifting off to sleep.

Shasta's suspicions had been soothed by my explanations and she had related some of her history to me; she had been traveling around the East Blue in a search for Roronoa Zoro, whom she wished to defeat in combat to prove her superior skills. But she had failed thus far and had been begging for food on the side of a road when the pirate woman had found her and had struck a bargain; she would provide Shasta with food and a place to sleep in exchange for her services.

What had started as a single mission had, by hook and by crook, become a lifelong debt that Shasta had found on her shoulders. It had been fortunate for her that we had come along; her captain had been thinking of raiding some small villages after the tournament to acquire some material wealth. She wasn't sure she would have been able to go along with that and would have had a conflict of interest she would have been able to solve only by killing herself.

When she finished her story, she had promptly rolled over and gone to sleep, leaving me to slowly follow her, the sun completely setting as my eyelids fell shut.

Then a thought, a memory, wafted through my brain; Medusa... Medusa...

-Le'von der kelzh-

"Medusa, my queen, your dinner is ready."

She turned to me, her cold green eyes, so much like a viper, boring into my own, the ten thousand orbs covering her body blinking steadily at me as she slowly raised her serpentine body up, her feathered wings unfolding as she stretched, shaking her dark green locks before she slithered toward the table where I had placed that evening's meal; side of man, head of merman, various other courses made from intelligent species. She loved eating things that had once reasoned; it made her feel superior to them.

As she regarded the meal before her, she spoke to me. "How fares our war, Gargoyle, my sweet?"

I shrugged, Yamakaze thumping gently against my back. "Baroness Nek'rio and her Siren Guard have made an appearance on the southern front; they slaughtered two thousand and fifteen of our soldiers before I could get there."

She smiled thinly. "My dear sister is becoming arrogant; yet she's too smart to face you in battle, my sweet. Not yet fatally arrogant, then; a pity." Reaching one clawed hand down, the bracelet hanging from her wrist scraping against her rock-hard skin, she delicately selected an ear from a dish and popped it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "I suppose a battle between her and I is inevitable." She blinked several of her arm-eyes at me as she swallowed. "And Leviathan? What of my dear brother?"

My face remained impassive as she reached for the nose of the head on the table. "His Merman Corps hit Loshiro Island yesterday. They smashed the base there and destroyed everyone on the island, including Troll."

She nearly dropped the nose, then she turned her head to me, her face covered in suddenly unblinking eyes. "He's getting proud of past successes, proud to the point of arrogance. I think, my dear Gargoyle, I will need to deal with him once we crush my sister."

As she swallowed the nose whole, I reached one hand back and wrapped it around Yamakaze, my other hand retrieving a pair of objects from my pocket and tossing them on the table in front of her. "Oh, by the way, here're two more hors d'oeuvres for you, my queen."

She looked at me and the things at the same time, her body suddenly still. "My sister's ring and my brother's necklace." Turning to face me, she rose to full height. "I would ask how you did it, but your body shows your past. So you defeated them both, did you?"

"I am no longer your pawn, Medusa." Slowly drawing Yamakaze from behind me, I held it down by my side. "Your sister was a witch, your brother a demon. But you? You're somebody I've thought of with loathing for so long it's embarrassing that I served your purposes even to this point. You fit the title of Gorgon; nothing else is degrading enough"

I felt my body stop moving as she spoke. "So you betray me even after I raised you to your rank? Treated you so well among all my servants? Trusted you with everything?"

"No, you didn't." Focusing, I raised my head, my hat brim coming up to reveal my own pair of golden eyes, my two orbs furiously fighting off the influence of her Gorgon Stare, the optical power that she and her closest advisors, bodyguards and I, her consort, held. "You didn't trust that I knew what I was doing on Lovor. You refused to believe I could handle things on Marzhan. The same with Kor'zha, Nev'kor, Luk'durgz and Murdvane, just to name a few."

"So that got me to thinking; why? Why did you mistrust even me so much? Then it came to me when you ordered the execution of the Logrinz villagers; you were scared of everyone. Your terror drives you to madness; to the point where you are dangerous to yourself and everyone around you. I cannot allow someone who has such power and yet has lost control to continue living."

She laughed, a harsh sound, and spread her wings, her locks erupting into life as they turned to vipers that hissed and spat at me. "So you think to challenge me? Hah! Even now, your body is immobilized! You are mine, Gargoyle, and mine alone!"

She raised one fist, power crackling in its grasp, then I smiled. "Hardly." Raising Yamakaze, ignoring the power of her Stone Gaze, I readied it. "Your defeat was assured the moment I entered the room."

Before she could speak, the poison in the nose of the human finished spreading through her body; in an instant, she turned to ash, thus ending the reign of Medusa, Gorgon Queen of the Lug'burz Archipelago.

Bringing Yamakaze down, I shattered the castle into rubble, destroying the Logia Necklace, Zoan Ring and Paramecia Bracelet in a single blow, ending the current-reigning Trinkets of Devils. As the dust settled and I slowly strode away, Reza lighting on my shoulder, the blood of the castle's inhabitants on his feathers, I knew we had created an age of chaos, but chaos that was no longer malignant in intent...

-De'rfon nil kur-

My eyes opened wide, the dark of night hardly even a challenge for my eyes to see in. Aliza still slept on my lap, while Shasta was sleeping lightly next to her swords, her body relaxed but her reflexes still tightened. I was the only one awake.

Then again, I was probably the only one dreaming of her.

Sighing, I reached up and undid the blindfold around my eyes, letting it fall into my lap as my eyelids shielded the world from my gaze. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep any more; the mere thought of dreaming of her again filled me with such a revulsion for sleep that I didn't ever want to sleep again. So, instead, it would be a good idea to do some preliminary scouting, if only to ascertain our opponents' plans.

With that thought in mind, I opened my eyes.

The world burst into view, my gaze taking in everything before I focused it on the island we were on; ranging across the land mass, I swiftly found the three captains, plus seven or eight others, holding a conference in a small room in a house in town; I almost charged right in when I spotted Licone standing obediently behind Wellingtoes' shoulder, but I restrained myself; the little man still had his strange helmet on. Instead, I focused on what they were saying, reading their lips with the skill of years of practice. It was almost as good as hearing them.

"-find those three and kill them," Wellingtoes was saying. "If they live for much longer, they could begin wreaking havoc with our plans."

"Well, if you hadn't taken their friend," Kuro said, an irritated expression on his face, "they would have skipped town once they had taken their ship."

"And as I've already explained," Wellingtoes countered, "I couldn't let her go. She is my first subject, after all; I require her for the culmination of my own personal plans." He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers, a wicked smile on his face. "Once that is complete, of course, I will have no further use for her."

I felt rage course through me, then Krieg spoke. "When will this plan of yours be finished? It better be soon. That expression of hers is creeping me out; I would like for nothing more than to crush it in my fist." He squeezed one hand together as if he was already in the moment, a wicked smile crossing his face.

Wellingtoes smiled. "You're in luck, then; the final stage will be completed at noon tomorrow. Once I'm finished with her, you may destroy her to your liking."

Kuro sighed. "Instead of that, why don't we simply give her back to her crew and kill two birds with one stone?" Tapping one finger on his knee, he smiled grimly. "I have some experience with sentimental fools like that; they care more about each other than the larger picture. Once they have her, they will undoubtedly leave for the Grand Line on their ridiculous little journey and that will be the end of them."

"Because they may not keep our plans to ourselves; the Navy might strike before we are ready and that would put many things into new perspective." Wellingtoes smiled and shook his head. "No, we will simply kill them, and her as well. That will tie things up nicely." Turning his attention to the other captains, he smiled broadly. "And then our plans will come to fruition; these wonderful new additions to our armada will ensure our victory, as will the ships we have stolen from the tournament prize circle."

One of the other captains, a tall, skinny man with six swords strapped to his back, smiled viciously. "Killing Marines, killing pirates, killing girls, killing sounds good." Looking down at the sword in his hand, his smile grew broader, revealing a hint of insanity in it. "My blades thirst for blood."

I couldn't control myself; focusing on one of the other captains, a massive, powerful-looking man with a dark expression on his face, I drove a lance of energy through his system. He screamed in pain, causing every head to snap to look at him; before their eyes, I melted his skin right off his body before bringing streams of blood into the air and writing on the ceiling above them.

Your blades shall break,

Your spirits will quake,

Your hands will shake,

Your souls I'll take.

As the pirates all finished reading, I tore his bones from his body and crushed them before shredding his remains and lighting them on fire. As the flames danced on the table, I focused on the shadows and projected my voice into them, creating an image of myself from the intangible shadows that rose from the table that slowly raised one hand, pointing at Licone's mindless body.

"I am of the Pirates of Doom, children of cowardice. I am he who sees, he who knows. I am the first mate of the crew, and I have come this night to warn you; my captain has sworn to retrieve her." Lowering the hand, I made the shadowy figure seem to slowly grow, the tendrils of darkness billowing out across the table. "I, as her first mate, am duty-bound to ensure my captain's commands are carried out. Tomorrow, she will command her crew to follow her into battle, I am sure. Should she do so, I will obey her command with all the fury and hatred I have gained for you and your pathetic band of weak-kneed cowards. My bullets will not leave a man on this island alive; thus, I also believe it best to inform you that I am sworn to return our crewmate to the ship and I am not one to shirk my oaths. Should any man wish to survive to see the evening tomorrow, I advise you to leave now." The shadowy figure began shrinking swiftly, one final sentence echoing through the room as it vanished altogether. "For tomorrow is the last sunrise that shall be seen on this island."

As I let the image fade, I derived great satisfaction from watching the nervous glances of the pirates gathered there; my dark mood of earlier having evaporated mostly, I closed my eyes and replaced the blindfold, smiling softly to myself as I opened my lids again and gazed down at my captain. Placing one hand gently on her head, careful not to awaken her, I turned my gaze to the stars and smiled softly to myself.

"Once a killer, always a killer, eh, Reza?" My smile fading at the thought of my dead buddy, I sighed and let my head slowly fall down to my chest, sleep slowly returning to me as I prepared mentally for the next morning.

Ironic, I abruptly realized just before I fell asleep; it was the day known to some as a day of sorrow, the Day of Blood, that we were to return for Licone and Nicole. Not common knowledge, to be sure, but my clan had celebrated it, the day of a terrible massacre of many of our warriors and those of some nearby islands by a vengeful group of demons whose leader we had killed.

Very, very ironic, then, that a group of three would destroy an entire fleet of pirates on the morrow to regain one who had been taken from us, as well. Very ironic, indeed.

With that thought bringing an amused smile to my face, I fell asleep.