BlueRyuu- Hello, favoritest reviewer!

Yes, 'tis horrible to have Shasta perish. But new friends are on the way... No?

And I believe other people are reading; they're just not the reveiwing types or they don't like it or both or maybe they just don't feel like spending compliments or insults today.

Teddy Rosencrantz- Spelled the whole name through correctly on the first try. Lovin' it!

Anyway.

The first thing I thought of when I read your note was, "He must not have liked Star Wars or Superman or Batman or One Piece or Dragonball Z very much". Really. XD Anakin? Luffy/Zoro? Goku?

Seriously, though, I must point out that you simply say what you say because all of the awesome characters you've seen have obviously been side characters. I am a guy that likes going out of the norm, even if it means giving ubers their due.

Beyond that, after your obviously eyebrow-raised criticism, I feel I should point out -in a highly respectful and submissive way- that I have some limited experience in writing prior to this, meaning I am not a newbie; whether or not I am a noob I leave to you to judge. I am not one who generally likes throwing awe-inspiring powerz around with my characters; however, I am also not one given to finishing any story I start. Viewing the two, I decided to skip complete and utter realism in favor of actually finishing a story sometime.

Trust me, I have more plans for this story than uber-man all week long. But, that only comes with patience.

Back ta BlueRyuu, I would like to thank ya for all your dedication and patience with meh. It's way too much fun givin' ya entertainment.

And now, boys, girls and flies on the wall, I present a chapter before another chapter.

-De nor vel-

After I had confirmed that Shasta was dead beyond help and after we had given her a proper sea burial, we stood on the deck facing each other, the five remaining members of the Pirates of Doom. As I reflected on our brief, bloody history together, I had to admit that Aliza had reason to dissolve the group.

Wiping her eyes again, our captain looked up at us miserably. "At th' nex' island, we'll split th' treasure an' sink th' ship."

Nicone shook her head and raised one hand pleadingly. "Wait, wait, why are we splittin' up already?! I barely joined and we're already done?! What about all that talk about treasure and the Grand Line?! Are ya really gonna give that up-"

"IT'S MY FAULT THEY'RE DEAD!" Aliza's scream shut Nicone up like nothing else could; as we both watched, the captain spun around to face away from us and continued in a cracking voice, "I'm th' captain, an' I've let two of my crew die without doin' anythin'. I shoulda kep' Rezzy from fightin' that weird guy. I shoulda kept Sassy down here with me while Argy fought those creepy ladies."

Spinning back again, she revealed a tear-soaked face and clenched fists as she exploded, "AND I'M WEAKER THAN ARGY! HOW CAN I BE THE CAPTAIN IF I'M WEAK?!"

Nicone snapped her hand to the side, waving away Aliza's exclamation. "But yer not weak, Cap! If ya were, you'd be dead! 'Sides, your th' reason I'm still alive and free! I wanted ta kill myself, but you've given me a reason ta live! Don't take that away from me already!"

I sighed, long and low, attracting their attention to me as I stood up and scratched at my eyes where my blindfold was beginning to create itches. "Before we all dissolve into chaos, I think I should point certain things out." Raising my hand, I began ticking my points off on my fingers. "First of all, neither death was your fault, Captain. If you had prevented either of our comrades from fighting, they would have resented you and would have left later anyway; I knew Reza personally, while Shasta had proven herself bound by her concept of honor. Had you attempted to hold them back, they would have gone ahead and fought anyway and would then have returned with feelings of resentment."

"Secondly, you are not weak. If we compare our respective powers, in fact, I would actually be the weaker one if someone was to take away my demon powers. I am, at best, a so-so gunman, while my knife-fighting skills are very bad. Without my demon strength, I would not be able to lift my ax, while my speed would be somewhere between average and decent. You, however, with your powers permanently a part of you, will only continue to gain strength for as long as you live and keep fighting; the mere fact that you have advanced so far this early in your life proves that you are a genius with your powers and experience will only make you insanely powerful."

"Third, you are the captain and I would have it no other way. When I saw you, I was wandering aimlessly, getting everyone I met in trouble in one way or another, no purpose, no future other than to eventually meet with someone stronger than me and die at his or her hands. When I joined your crew, however, I found a purpose, a point to my strength, something I had lost after so many years of serving a master. You wish to create the greatest treasure in the world; having no dream of my own, I will throw every ounce of strength in my being to ensuring that you attain that goal."

"Fourth," I smirked, "it's actually more my fault that they died."

Both girls gaped at me, then Aliza shook her head angrily. "No! You didn't do anything!"

"I joined a pirate crew, ensuring that Reza would eventually run into the pirate that had destroyed his people and would battle him. I saved Shasta from my own blast and therefore ensured she would die by the hands of a swordswoman that was seeking, again, me."

"Which brings up another point; if I had never joined, you would not attract nearly as much attention. Since you have a confirmed former Warrior of Gorgon aboard, however, you will now be a target of every agency aware of the Sea Devils and some organizations that are so far above normal powers that they could be considered deities."

Spreading my hands, I smiled slightly, bitterly. "So if you wish to place the blame, Captain, blame me. If you so desire, I could leave the crew and ensure that no one else will be hunting you in an attempt to get me."

There was a moment of silence, then Aliza's shoulders slumped and she looked down. "No, Argy. No."

I left it at that and sat down cross-legged on the deck, my expression turning to a frown as I felt my temples begin thumping louder than usual. "So. What do we do next captain? Do you still wish to dissolve the Pirates of Doom?"

She opened her mouth to reply, then the throbbing of my temples exploded into full-scale warning bells and I dove forward, reflexively snatching up Nicone and Aliza before flashing away just as thirteen bolts of lightning struck our ship and blew it to smithereens, fire erupting from every conceivable point on the craft and ripping it to pieces.

Growling, I spun to face the oncoming group of beings and felt my heart begin pounding as Nicone grunted under my arm.

"Dammit, can't we get any peace around here?!"

As the beings slowed to a stop in a circle around me, I felt my heart sink as I slowly shook my head. "We're not lucky tonight, Nicone. Just not lucky."

Around us was assembled the six most powerful beings in the world and their respective groups of warriors, as well as two beings that had the feel of sea devils and two normal human beings that still radiated more power than they should, as well as the dragon the humans were riding.

We stared at each other, then I bowed my head to each man, woman and creature present. "Luna, Goddess of the Tide." The long, lithe woman curtsied gravely. "Her personal bodyguard, the Wind Blades; Naya, Laya, Saya, Craya, Vaya, Maya and Wueya." The seven warrior women spread their wings and brandished their swords in a salute as I turned to the huge, bearded man with the lower body of a fish. "Poseidon, God of the Wind." He smiled at me and bowed, his huge trident glowing slightly. "The Trident Watch; Lef'tune of the Lightning, Sal'gel of the Gale and Mar'gei of the Rain." The three fish-bottomed men snapped to attention and spun their tridents as I moved on to the short, burly man with the amused expression. "Surf, God of the Wave."

He snapped off a salute, a grin on his face. "Gnarly ta meetcha, dude."

The two tall, slender women on either side of him giggled and gave each other a high-five. "That's our Boss! Friendly ta everyone!"

I couldn't even bring myself to smile as I nodded at them. "Tina and Arlene, the Wily Sisters."

They pouted and I turned to the three beings with no bodyguards. "Devastator, Titan of Storms." The tall, bearded man with the horned helmet, circular shield and war hammer barely even nodded to acknowledge me. "Obliterator, Titan of Oceans." The merman, his sharklike jaws snapping irritably, snarled at me; ignoring his usual greeting, I turned to the final Titan. "Shelby, Titan of Land."

The little girl giggled as she waved at me. "Hiya, mister! How's biz?"

I shrugged and bowed as I replied. "The usual, mistress." Before she could reply, I turned to the two humans and narrowed my eyes. "Admiral Aokiji and Commander Spandam of the World Government."

The tall, curly-haired man eyed me sadly, while his compatriot glared down at the dragon they were riding on.

"Stop wobbling when you fly, creature! It's hard enough for me to stay on without you continually-YAAAAA!"

He grabbed for a handhold as the dragon bucked under him and I bowed to the long, serpentine creature. "Sha'crel'del'norsz-den'mera'shoi of Cri'no'ma, it is an honor."

The dragon's eyes narrowed at my use of her full name, then I turned to the final two beings, a tall, leanly-muscled man with a tail easily fifty feet long and tipped with pincers and a small woman reading a book. "I apologize, but I do not believe we have been introduced yet."

The woman looked up at me, then returned her gaze to her book as her comrade chuckled deeply, his tail lashing the air.

"What, you don't recognize your fellow Sea Devils, Gargoyle? I am Scorpion and this lovely bookworm," he jerked thumb at the woman, "is Mantis." Smirking at me, he flipped over backwards in the air before pointing at me, his gold watch glistening in the night. "You've had a nice li'l run, eh?"

I felt my expression flatten out as things began making far too much sense; slowly settling down onto the ocean, I brought Aliza up and used that hand to pull my blindfold down carefully, so as to not alarm anyone into doing something rash. Focusing, I looked down and pulled a pillar of earth out of the ground before setting the two mute girls on it and turning to face the group assembled around me.

"I have one question before we begin this conversation; how long have I been a Sea Devil?"

I heard gasps from the girls behind me, then Surf chuckled. "Dude, since you killed yo' boss, y'know?"

Nodding, I looked at each person gathered around me before shrugging. "And what is this about?"

There was an uncomfortable silence, then Poseidon cleared his throat and spoke. "You are a Sea Devil, Gargoyle of the East Blue; that title, along with its power, carries certain responsibilities with it. The creating of new devil fruits, as harmful as it is to the sea, is critical in maintaining the balance of power so necessary between the Devils, Gods and Titans."

Shelby giggled. "Yeah! And besides, we can't have Sea Devils running around with pirates! It's not fair for the rest of the crews, right? And then we also don't like that you ain't under our control, either."

Admiral Aokiji poked one finger in his nose as he piped in. "The World Government doesn't like having you with pirates; it presents too much of a threat to global peace and balance and all that."

Poseidon nodded, then they turned to me as I grunted in amusement.

"Well, much as everyone may or may not dislike it, I am a part of a pirate crew now. So whether or not I accede to your requests, I must first consult with my captain." Turning to Aliza, I looked her in the eye. "So, Captain? Do you want me to leave the Pirates of Doom?"

She looked down at the ground and chewed her lip for a moment, then looked back up at me and said, in a clear and authoritative voice, "No."

Turning back to the group, I folded my arms and shook my head. "Welp, guess I won't be taking that job. You'll have to deal with having a pirate group strong enough to defeat the Word Government for now."

"That will not happen."

Obliterator's voice was vicious, hateful; turning to look at him, I felt the pressure around me beginning to build up as the ocean began reflecting his wrath.

"You are a Sea Devil! You obey your master, Devastator, and perform like puppets for him!"

Devastator looked down his nose at me, the sky above crackling with electricity. "I hath decreed thy servitude unto me, fool. Bow thy knee to me or bow thy head to mine judgement!"

Shelby sighed, then floated down in front of me, her bright white hair glistening in the spray beginning to kick up from Obliterator's wrath. "Listen, Gargoyle; the World Gov says that, as long as you're not there, your friends ain't a threat to them. If ya just do as the boys are sayin', they're willin' ta give 'em a clean slate."

Aokiji nodded, his finger in his ear now. "We've already got the pardons submitted; they're goin' through the system even now."

I considered the offer; on the surface, Aliza had told me quite clearly she wasn't willing to give me up under any circumstance; my duty was to her. Under the surface, however, the pardons would give the two of them a chance to start fresh with whatever they wanted to do. Turning to look at them, I felt my expression harden. Aliza was still wavering about the continued existence of the PoD, while Nicone was about as unsure of everything as anybody could be.

Turning back to the group, I looked at Shelby. "What if I gave up my existence as Sea Devil and became mortal? Would that be acceptable?"

None of them seemed to have considered that; pausing for a moment, Shelby looked up at her fellow Titans and they communicated mentally for a moment, my eyes reading the mental signals running between them like an open book. When they turned back to face me and Shelby spoke, I already knew their decision.

"That works."

I nodded. "In exchange for a clean slate from the government for us all and our freedom to sail the seas, I'll give up my Sea Devil powers. That sound fair?"

Spandam cackled while Admiral Aokiji nodded and tapped the dragon on the head. "I will head back to Headquarters right now and ensure that the pardons are given. I leave the rest of this business to you all."

With that, he turned away and they flew off. Keeping my focus on them for a moment just out of curiosity about Aokiji's purposes, I fell into a lucky break.

Spandam's lips contorted in a sneer as he glanced back at us and he mouthed, "Well, Admiral, it's too bad they're all about to die, isn't it?"

The admiral nodded. "I don't know why they want to kill the entire crew; the two girls at least should fall under our jurisdiction. But Mistress Titan was most decisive; her compatriots want revenge on the man for not obeying them for so long."

I felt my eyes narrow, then I looked up at the descending group, casually pulling my arms into my coat with me. "One question before I give up my powers. What are your intentions once you have them?"

Poseidon seemed to hesitate, then Devastator spat to the side, lightning flaring as he did so. "It is none of thy concern."

Obliterator cackled maniacally at that. "Matter of personal opinion, no?"

Shelby looked down at me quizzically, then she must have caught something and smirked before turning away from the group. "See ya boys later! I gotta go make sure those guys get those slates cleaned pretty!" With that, she shot off, a red star in the night as she faded into the distance.

Poseidon came to rest in the ocean next to me and extended one hand palm-up. "Your Totem of Power; once I have struck it with my trident, your powers shall be taken and given to the next Sea Devil in line."

Smiling, I looked him in the eye, my arms folded under my coat. "No."

The group gaped at me, then I looked up and stared Devastator right in the eye, my lips curling back in a sneer. "You're planning to kill us all."