Apologies for the slooooow update, became addicted to World of Warcraft. XD

Last chaptah, holy cowz. I've lost the inspiration for One Piece stories, so it might be a while before the sequel comes out. Seeing as I'm deploying overseas pretty soon, could be quite a while. But meh. There IS a sequel, believe it or not, but, as stated above, could be a while.

Thanks ta BlueRyuu for being so loyal in reviewing, luff yaz 4ever. Sorry I haven't responded, but when I get addicted to a game, I get ADDICTED.

Anywayz...

-Dawn of the End-

The first thing I saw when I woke up was white. White ceiling, white walls, a white curtain fluttering in the breeze.

Rolling my eyes to the right, I gazed out the window and found myself amused that there was a Navy flag flying over the glistening white tower with the blue trim; a Navy base. I, Argyle Finch the Gargoyle, member of the Pirates of Doom, known by far too many as a dangerous man and by a very few as the most powerful in the world, was recuperating from the history-defining battle I had just fought in defiance of the world order in a Navy hospital. I couldn't help but start chuckling to myself; it was just too funny.

"Well, I see your sense o' humor ain't gone."

Turning, I found Shelby regarding me with a bemused smirk on her face, her legs folded in front of her as she leaned back in the overly large chair placed next to my bed. Smiling, I nodded out the window.

"I hope that flag out there doesn't mean that my captain's currently incarcerated in one o' those cells under that flag; otherwise I may have to flatten this place ta break her out."

The girl giggled and shook her head. "No, no, nothing of the sort. If you must know," she winked conspiratorially, "she's actually discussing your futures with th' Admiral."

Raising one eyebrow at her, I slowly sat up, feeling the aches of days spent in bed combine with the strain of freshly-healed injuries and sore muscles to create a decidedly unpleasant sensation. "I hope you didn't do anything to try and persuade her, Titan, or something very painful is gonna hit you pretty soon."

She smiled at me as I flexed my arms to try and work out some of the kinks in them. "Actually, I was just planning on fixing you up and dropping you all off at a nearby safe house I've set up ta wait fer ya ta finish healing." Shrugging, she looked off into the distance, a slightly discomfited expression crossing her face before she looked back at me. "But she insisted on comin' here an' talkin' with Ao."

My eyebrows went even higher. "The Admiral? What did she want with him?"

She shrugged again. "I didn't pry into her head and she didn't tell me. From what she an' Nicky were talkin' 'bout as they went in, though, I gathered that yer cap'n wants somethin' from th' Admiral that he promised."

My eyebrows couldn't go any higher, so I just let them relax as I swung my legs over the side, smirking at my white frock.

"Well, whatever she decides will be fine with me. Before I do anything, though," I gave her an impish look, "I need some pants."

She giggled and eyed me mischievously. "Aww, but I like you better with no pants! More... Fun to look at, if ya catch my drift."

We grinned at each other, then I spotted my battered clothing lying in a pile by the door and moved over to it, reaching down to pick it up. As my hands wrapped around the brim of my hat, though, power flowed into me; wincing slightly, I felt all the pain suddenly vanish and the injuries instantly finish healing. Sighing, I dropped the hat and turned to a slightly-curious-looking Shelby.

"By the way, I need some new clothes."

She cocked her head to the side. "Why's that?"

I nodded at the innocuous-looking pile of belongings that was all I had in the world. "Because that's my personal set of Trinkets, Titan of Land. The Sea Devil Gargoyle's supposed to die, remember? So my captain can go free?"

Shelby smiled slightly, then pointed back at the bed. "You might as well wait a bit; wait 'til yer captain comes back."

Something about her tone sort of set off warning bells in my head; looking her over, I felt my expression darken as I spotted something in her face that displeased me. "What did you do?"

She smiled coyly at me. "You might wanna sit down for this one."

Returning to the bed, I sat down cross-legged and folded my arms, staring expectantly at her. She cleared her throat, then sighed and shook her head before smiling at me.

"Your captain will be along in a few moments to explain the course that you all will be taking."

I narrowed my eyes at her and was tempted to return to my sea-demon power just long enough to find out what I wanted to know from her, then the door opened and I turned to see my captain in a Marine uniform, her eyes shadowed beneath her hair. Behind her, Nicone, her eyes also shadowed, stood beside a Marine guard; once the man saw that all was well within, he turned and left, letting the door close behind him as I stared almost open-mouthed at the pair. It was a few seconds before I could find my voice, then I spoke.

"Why, Captain?"

My captain bowed her head, revealing her hair done up in a tight ponytail, and answered quietly, "I told you; the Pirates of Doom are dead."

"But why join the Marines?" I scratched my head in puzzlement. "It makes no sense at all."

Nicone answered this time. "Because they told us what you are, what you did." They both looked up at me and I felt the blood leave my face at the misery in their faces. "They told us about your home, your life, how you've killed everyone around you and left the survivors to die in the ocean. How your heart is as cold as ice and that you deserve to die for a single minute's worth of what you've done for your whole life."

Aliza broke in. "And they told us that you're a normal pirate, that trying to be honorable pirates, trying to live by rules, is stupid. They told us we can never be true pirates if we do that; that we can only do that as Marines."

"Enough."

Cutting them off with an upraised hand, I looked in Aliza's eyes and narrowed my gaze. "Let me ask you this again; why join the Marines?"

She stared at me for a moment, then Shelby broke in. "Because the World Government found out about her family situation."

Her grandparents? Were they attempting to use them as hostages? Raising myself up, I pinned Shelby in place with a glare honed by years of wrathful fighting. "I swear on the graves of my people that, if you touch them, I-"

She brushed me off. "Oh, can it, doofus. Thing is, Aliza didn't tell you the truth about her grandparents."

Looking at my captain, I narrowed my eyes as she avoided my gaze. "Captain?"

Taking a deep breath, she looked in my eyes, her own full of tears. "Gramma an' Grampa are dyin', Argy. They've been really sick for a long time, so I wan'ed ta get them money ta get an operation ta fix them." Looking back down at the floor, she continued as a pair of tears dropped from her face. "But the Navy says that the operation can only be performed by a Marine surgeon an' that only Marines can get a contract for it."

Leaning back, I folded my hands behind my head and smiled at her, relief flooding me. "Oh, okay."

All three heads turned to look at me in confusion. "Whaddaya mean, okay?" Shelby sounded as puzzled as I've ever heard her. "Y'mean you... Actually, what the heck do ya mean?"

Smiling at her, I looked up at the ceiling. "It's quite simple and I've been telling everyone this since I met her; Aliza is my captain. I dun care what you say or think about it, I don' care what she does or where she goes. I've decided ta tie my fate ta hers an' that's all there is to it. If she wants ta go Marine, it's no skin off my teeth. If she wants ta go pirate, that's cool, too. Only thing I'm worried about is that she chooses it herself and it ain't chosen for her."

My smile widened. "And since I'm no longer a Sea Devil, I get ta come along and actually have some fun!"

Shelby shook her head at me in amusement. "And how can you help since yer no longer a Sea Devil?"

I shot out of bed, the edge of my foot flashing up next to her throat in the blink of an eye as I smirked at her. "You forget; before I gained my powers, I was a skilled fighter in my own right. With my powers gone, I've simply reverted back to my pre-devil skills."

Aliza hit me then, jumping up on me and wrapping her arms around my neck as she began crying into my shoulder. Nicone and I exchanged looks, then I sat down on the bed and wrapped my own arms around my captain; behind us, Shelby grabbed my clothing and weaponry and held them up for me to see. Nodding to her, I watched as she disappeared with them, for destruction of the articles which had contained my power.

-The Eleventh Hour Beckons-

I stare down at the village beneath us, the bluffs that line the island effectively shielding the collection of houses and ships almost completely from all but the closes inspection. Beside me, Nicone lowers her binoculars and pulls up a portable den-den mushi, speaking into it quietly.

"This is Punisher Team, ready ta move on your mark, Cap'n."

Aliza's voice is quiet as she responds over her own communicator. "Understood, Punisher Team. Vindicator Team, how're things 'n your end?"

The voice of Cairo, the assassin of our Navy Death Squad, comes on. "Me 'n C'ssandra're ready ta go."

"Understood. I shall hold myself and Lieutenant Darik back in reserve; you are a go in two minutes."

Smiling as Nicone hangs up, I gently test the surface of the rock face we're clinging to. "So, Nicky, think yer up fer our first mission as th' Navy's personal death commando?"

She grins at me. "Th' question is, are you?"

Shrugging, I look down at the village. "Let's get this over with; Smilin' Dan an' Ma're liable ta kill us if we're late for supper again."

Grinning as a flare explodes to life from above us, she kicks off against the wall and I follow suit, looking up and catching a brief glimpse of my morose captain standing outlined by the light on top of the bluff, her form shrouded in a cloak but her body language miserable. I'm getting worried about her, but that can be taken care of later; for now, it's the mission first.

Spinning around, I smile toothily and bring my right arm in front of me as I fall, a dark substance flowing out of the tattoos of my dead buddy from a year before right before I hit the center of the pirate village that we've been sent to annihilate.

Bringing my own den-den mushi up, I speak the confirmation phrase of Punisher Team's touchdown.

"The dogs are loosed."

THE END