Hello dear readers, here I come today with some more chapters.
That's right, chapters, as in more than one.
Due to some divine grace I had been in quite the writing mood these last few days, I began writing and as days passed I soon found myself with a lot of content, as such I decided to do something special and make a double update today.
So if you reading this on the day of the update (July 10th-2023), be sure to check out later for the next one I'll be posting. Writing these chapters, though somehow tiring, was quite the fun. I'm very proud of how they turned out and I hope you guys like it too.
See it as my thanks for everyone that arrived here, I know my early chapters were kinda rough on the edges, but you guys stuck to the end and arrived here, and to all you I'm very grateful.
So... yeah, that's about it for this note. Here's your chapter.
But first, a guest review.
Takioki: Well, there's a few reasons why he didn't really trained during the his first fifteen years.
First there's the meta reason, that being me not wanting to write him as some sort of child soldier.
I've already read many stories where the MC is a older person reincarnated in a younger body, and to me it always felt a bit strange when they're shown acting like they're still in a grown body, talking and training as if a person in the army. It just never clicked for me, furthermore with me wishing for him to have such strong DF as the 'Lightning Dragon' fruit I kinda feared unknowingly making a gary stu.
The other reason was that while Lucas knew of what was in the future, he still was very much shook by the experience of dying. Having went through that he gained a new view of life, now more attached to it he was very much reluctant to let go of his normal life soon so, hence why he postponed any serious training and just kinda enjoyed his life in his new tropical home that was Dragon Island.
And lastly but not least we got his new mother, Branca. As someone that just recently lost her husband to the sea and the life of a Marine she was very, very afraid of letting her son walk the same path his father did. That somethig implied when in the first chapter I said that she refused Garp's offer to live with him, though she mellowed down on that stance to the point of allowing him to eventually leave it was still something that prevented him from training like a madman like Ace or Luffy did.
Besides, Garp turned his training to twelve in order to make up for the lost years, so its all good.
DISCLAIMER: I don't know if I should do this or not but whatever, I don't own anything here apart from my OC's.
May have grammar errors
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Early the Next Day
In one of the offices in the Marine Base of Mel Island the trio from Dock Fourteen stood in position before Commander Triscratches, the man in question was sitting behind his desk, a pensive look on his face as he stared down the young marines before him.
Some minutes earlier they had come to him requesting a private meeting, a bit unusual, but he had a very good opinion of the three so he accepted their request. In the security of his temporary office they told him about their little 'undercover mission' in the night prior, as he listened to their story his expression changed many times from amused, to frustrated, to angry, to annoyed, and then setting on a pensive one.
"Can't say I'm really surprised" he huffed and then glared at Lucas "Thought I said you should talk to me next time you thought of going out at night for a solo mission"
Lucas gave a sheepish laugh, an apologetic look was on his face.
Looking at the other two Triscratches saw similar awkward expressions, fidget they basically looked like three little kids that got caught doing something wrong, not that far from true actually given the situation.
The older Marine sighed.
"Let's forget this detail"
Dispelling their worries Triscratches picked the papers in his desk, his expression serious as he looked again at the reward from their actions in the previous night.
"This… Is quite troubling"
The documents Tashigi managed to find contained logs of many deals, ones of less than stellar origin to say the least, a fact that didn't took much to verify. In particular the entry about the pirate Vorax was the most damning of the bunch, someone that gained fame due to his constant convoy attacks where many were of Marine origin.
"Tashigi"
"Yes Sir!"
The Commander turned to the young bluenette, who almost dropped her glasses in surprise, and asked "You said the building where you found these was a sort of liquor store, am I right?"
"I believe so, from what I was able to see the outside indeed looked like a liquor store, a fancy one I might add" having said that another memory came to her "One of the rooms I entered looked like a mead storage room"
Nodding Triscratches rose from his chair and walked to a map of the town in the nearby wall, after a quick scan his eyes locked at his target.
"This one" his finger pointed at a certain prestigious street just outside the commercial area "According to what you told me this should be the place, 'Honey Land', one of the most high end places in the island"
The three looked closely at the map and took in the info, looking at where the store was Lucas was even able to remember actually having flied over it the other day.
"Uhnn… Now what sir?" asked a confused Torlo "Do we just, like, storm the place? Tashigi said they have our weapons in one of their storage rooms, should be a good enough reason"
The Commander scratched his beard as he entered a deep thought, walking back to his chair he sat down. After some time when his silence began to weight on the room the man spoke.
"No"
That was an unexpected answer.
"But Sir-"
"Seaman Lucas!"
The Commander's answer caught the three by surprise, Lucas tried to say something but the Commander silenced him in an instant. The authority exuding from his body was immense, it was the aura of someone that demanded respect and going against wasn't easy.
"We're going after them... but not yet" he gestured towards the documents spread on his table "All this gave me some food for thought. I need to investigate this a bit more before we go rushing. My instincts tell me there's more to this all, I'll start by looking into the Honey Land's owner Michael"
That caught Lucas's attention.
"You sure that's owner's name sir?"
"Yes" The older man nodded "He's the richest man in Mel Island. Before coming here I made sure to memorize the names of people of interest in the Island, which he certainly is due to his status"
Lucas jolted!
That name made something click in his mind, reaching to his pocket he picked one of the white cards.
'M.I.C.L.'
The young dragon looked at these four letters with incredulous eyes, a crazy realization becoming clear the more he thought about it 'The man couldn't be this dumb and arrogant... could he?'
Lucas's stunned expression confused everyone in the room, literal blue sparks could be seen flying off his head. Tashigi looked at the paper on his hand trying to understand what he was saying but saw nothing, to the side Torlo approached his friend and asked in concern.
"What's wrong my man?"
"Well… think I found a very incriminating clue about our main suspect"
"How so?"
"Just read this, quickly and out lout"
That answer made Torlo even more confused, a sentiment shared by the others. Curious he picked the paper and did as his friend told.
"M.I.C.L. , Micil, Micel, Micli,... Micael... M-MICHAEL?!"
Everyone was stunned silly but this revelation, their minds momentarily glitching due to how absurd it sounded.
Coming from behind his desk Commander Triscratches grabbed the paper from Torlo's hand and looked at it more closely, his expression the definition of 'dumbfounded' as his mind tried to make peace with the clue that by all means should had been so simple to find.
"It's so absurd that it just might be true…" he murmured.
Looking again at the youngsters before him Triscratches saw they looking at him, also coming to terms with this 'clue' they looked at him waiting for guidance. Getting his bearings back he said.
"That's certainly an unusual finding, it will be of great help in my investigations. Good eye Seaman Lucas" he gave the young man a nod of approval "Go back to your duties as usual, I'll be making contact when I get back some more info about this whole ordeal"
"Yes Sir!"
With a nod and a salute the three turned around to leave, however as they're about to open the door the Commander's voice came from behind them.
"By the way... You all did well in telling this time to me first, very well..."
A bit surprised they nonetheless nodded in understanding and then left.
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Now alone in his office the old Commander let out a sigh, picking up the papers in his desk he gave it all another good scan, a wary look on his eyes as he thought about the implications these findings imposed.
'Just hope my suspicions don't turn out to be true…'
Shaking his head he picked a den-den mushi from a drawer and called one of his trusted aides.
It was time to uncover some crimes!
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Days Later
"How could this all be happening?!"
Inside a fancy office somewhere in town a figure behind a big wooden desk could be seen roaring in anger, his frustration quite palpable as he looked at the many reports brought to him by his men.
No a single one was of good news.
The figure was that of a somehow short man, probably around his fifties he wore a fancy honey colored suit, a bit on the chubby side he had a certain air of arrogance and greed around him that he didn't tried to hide at the moment. Though most curious of all was his short light brown hair, which for some reason had a honeycomb pattern all over it.
"Those damned marines!"
In anger the man slammed his desk, turning his head to the side he glared at two figures sitting in a nearby sofa. These two being Guo Jing, the opponent Lucas faced in his final match, and Danfeng, the man in white that Tashigi saw.
"If you two had done your jobs correctly this headache wouldn't be happening!"
The man's accusatory words infuriated Danfeng. With sharp words he retorted with equal anger.
"Hey, we stayed vigilant all night and did our jobs. It was your men Michael that fumbled the ball and got soloed by some unknown assailant, a girl with blue hair. You have no one to blame but yourself!"
"You little-!"
"Please calm down you two"
Before things could escalate more Guo Jing interjected, his calm but firm tone put an end to their arguing, though they didn't stopped staring daggers at one another.
"You lucky I have lot of respect for your esteemed master" reaching for a bottle on his table he poured himself a dose of mead then downed the whole thing to calm his nerves "You two better put in more work, otherwise I'll be sending him a letter about how you two failed in helping him repay his favor"
Danfeng gritted his teeth at that but in the end said nothing. Guo Jing patted his junior brother in the shoulder to help him calm down, looking back at their 'employer' he asked:
"What now?"
"They been cracking down on many of my secret business around town, they acted silently and swiftly in way that we hadn't be able to counter" The criminal leader reclined back on his chair "I don't know how they did, but I feel like soon they'll make the connections and come after me"
"That informant of yours couldn't have tipped you before it all happened?"
"Apparently not, useless trash…" he murmured angrily, pouring himself another dose he looked at them with renewed resolve "So answering your question, now we prepare"
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Seven days Later - Marine Base, Mel Island
A week had passed since the private meeting with Commander Triscratches, many things changed. With the older marine in the reins the organization tasked with securing peace in the world gave a show of efficiency.
With the intel secured by the trio acting as guiding lead Triscratches was able to one by one uncover many secrets about the dark side of Mel Island, swift capture of people tied to 'Honey Land' and its owner followed by interrogation allowed them to shine a light at the man's secret identity as the leader of the island's criminal underworld.
It was honestly amazing to hear about all the things the marines managed to uncover in a week's time, with even Lucas feeling awestruck when the Commander gave them an update on the situation, as truth be told in way Lucas still had some doubts regarding the Marine's competence deep inside him.
Even after all these years memories of the many times he watched they dropped the ball still lingered in the back of his mind, even if almost gone their left echoes that planted these small, but very real, subconscious seeds of doubt in regards to the Marine's ability of doing things with great efficiency.
Commander Triscratches's actions helped him uproot these invisible seeds, by showing that 'yes' the Marine was quite competent in what they do.
Lucas can barely fathom the level of skill needed to orchestrate an operation like this one. Before all these dark dealings eluded their eyes thanks to the darkness in which they hid in, but now that someone shone a light into them things suddenly took a very different turn.
Off course Commander Triscratches's seasoned hand guiding all did a lot in helping their incursions stealthily achieve their goals, the enemy only knew of their movements when it was already too late. Most marines in the base knew nothing of these moves apart from some selected few, and the people in town even less.
Despite all that for the three young marines that kick started all of this these last days went about normally, they'd awake and go out to do their tasks just as they had been doing previously.
At the moment the three could be found in the small training field behind their dorm.
Torlo was sitting beneath a tree servicing his rifle, showing good skill in doing it. He wasn't alone as to his side sat an orange haired marine, another marine that came from Marineford Thomas was there in the cargo hold when the pirate attack happened.
Some meters down the field stood Tashigi, her trusted sword 'Shigure' in hand she trained her swordsmanship with great focus.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
With graceful but firm moves she slashed her blade at the air with great speed, wind surging around her as one could almost see fleeting cherry blossom leaves flowing in the end wind after each of her slashes.
Sweeping through the trees the wind'd make leaves fall towards her, when they arrived before Tashigi'd move her blade to intercept them, cutting them midair with a rapid multi-slash move she actually managed to prevent most leaves from touching the ground!
"Clap! Clap! Clap!~"
Turning around towards the source of the claps Tashigi saw a fellow marine, Alvara had a smile on her face as she approached a now tired Tashigi "You skill with the sword never ceases to amaze me"
"Thank you"
Wiping the sweat from her brow she returned the smile, but when looking at the still intact leaves in the ground she couldn't help but frown.
"I couldn't get all of them, wasn't fast enough. Maybe I should step up my training…"
Alvara lightly scoffed "Do you hear yourself? More training? Girl in these last few days I practically saw you do nothing but train! We barely talked this week"
"S-Sorry about that…" Adjusting her glasses Tashigi smiled sheepishly at her "But you're not wrong, though I always trained hard in recent times I do think I started to go a little overboard"
Turning her to the side Alvara looked at something and giggled.
"Think I can see the reason behind the change"
All the way in the opposite side of the field an interesting scene unfolded, a familiar figure stood in a fighting position before a strange machine.
The machine in question was very similar to those 'tennis ball machines' back on Earth, a big basket in the back filled to the brim with balls and a sort of gun barrel on the front. The similarities however stopped there, the balls in the basket aren't tennis balls, but some heavy ones coated in steel, and the barrel in the front really did looked like a gun as it launched said heavy balls at ludicrous speed!
Pow! Pow! Pow!
Looking like an actual gun the machine launched the heavy balls at Lucas, he however stood his ground. When the balls arrived before him he moved, extending his arm in a motion already engraved into his body he punched the balls square on off the air.
The two girls watched with amazement as he hit every single ball without moving from his spot, his speed such that from an outsider's perspective his arms seemed to have multiplied. Their perception wasn't the same as that of normal people, but even they couldn't keep up with all the punches.
"You think his arms is in one place, when in reality it's already on another" said Tashigi as she analyzed his speed in wonder "To think he said that machine couldn't compare to his Grandpa's training is truly amazing!"
Alvara nodded.
"If true then it's no wonder he turned out the way he is, and I can understand how you became so focused in training with this guy around. Hell, even I get the feeling of stepping up my training regime when looking at him"
Tashigi perked when hearing that, a sort of fire began shining in her eyes.
"I have an idea!"
"What?"
"You can train with me!"
"Gotta pass on that one"
"Huh? But Why?!"
"While the idea's tempting, I don't think I can keep up with your training-"
"You can't know that, you haven't even tried!"
"True…"
"It's settled then! How about I pick you up ear-"
Tashigi was quite into the idea of having her blond friend joining her in some training sessions, she was about to eagerly explain her plans when a new someone arrived at the training field.
"I bring a message from the Commander"
It was the MCPO Allex, the older marine that helped them during the pirate attack arrived at the field with a serious expression on his face, with his arrival everyone stopped what they were doing. Affected by the man's aura they too adopted a serious expression, with bated breaths they waited for him to speak.
Surveying the young marines before him Allex nodded in approval when seeing them paying attention.
"The operation starts today at 17:00, be prepared"
"!"
No more words needed to be said as they all understood what he meant.
It was time for the final battle
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Hours Later – East River Park, Mel Island
After a week of stealth incursions and preparations it was finally time to go after the final boss of the hour, the owner of 'Honey Land' and leader of the criminal underworld of Mel Island, Micahel!
According to the plan devised by Commander Triscratches the marines'll set out towards the north part of the island, amongst the information gathered in this week's operations was the intel about a secret underground hideout in that part of the island.
When looking into it they saw in some old documents that piece of land under Michael's name, that coupled with some of the previously found info made them sure of its veracity, some scouting later and all the info they needed as in hand.
The marines going north will be divided into two teams, the first main team lead by Commander Triscratches himself will be tackling the main entrance to the hideout amidst the hills. The second smaller group will be going for another entrance found in the nearby forest, hidden this secret entrance is believed to be less guarded than the main one, the smaller but less conspicuous team composed of the more junior marines should be enough to deal with any resistance.
If all goes according to plan this 'pincer' move should make the enemy forces fall in no time, in the meantime the marines left in the base will be securing the 'Honey Land' and any other property left under Michael's name while also offcourse helping keep any semblance of normalcy so as to not alarm the citizens.
And that's was the plan.
"Well I get it everything about the plan" said a slightly nervous Lucas "But it was really necessary to raise our ranks again?"
At that moment he and his friends stood before a group of marines ready for combat, they're the second group going north for this operation that'll be tackling the secret entrance hidden in the woods. Lucas previously already knew he and his friends'd be part of this group, however, what none of them knew that they would also be the ones in charge of leading everyone in the group through this mission!
"Something about 'not being proper for mere seaman first class to be leading other marines in an operation like this one'" Tashigi tightly grasped her sword's handle in hopes of calming herself "The Commander really surprised us this time"
"You could say that again, when we went to his office man already had the papers officialized and everything!" said Lucas in a baffled tone "Can't believe he raised me all the way to 'MCPO'!"
Just like they said, before going out the Commander saw fitting to raise the three's rank.
Tashigi was raised two ranks to become a 'Chief Petty Officer', same rank as Torlo who also got promoted one rank from his previous 'Petty Officer' status. Though most eye-catching of them all however was Lucas, the white haired marine got promoted three whole ranks becoming a 'Master Chief Petty Officer', just one rank shy of the highest position amongst the 'infantry and sailor division' of the Marine.
"Can't believe we been marines for only about half a month"
Even though he had quite the good view of himself he never in his dreams thought he would be rising through the rank this fast!
It was truly an unexpected development.
Their promotion came about not only as a mean to prevent an 'improper situation', but also as an early gift for the three due to their contribution to the operation.
After all, had the three not infiltrated that bar and got back with the info Michael's criminal business would had continue to elude the authority's eyes. Without mention the great contributions they're bound to make in today's operation, you just need to look at their track record to be sure of that. As such Triscratches saw fit to use his authority to bestow them with this gift of rank promotion.
"What's with this face my man?"
Approaching from the side Torlo hosted one of his arms over Lucas's shoulder and brought his friend into a side hug, lips curved into a smile "Be happy I'm allowing you to have a higher rank than me for now, you should enjoy while it last because soon enough I'll be accumulating enough merits to once again outrank you, and this time it'll be by a solid margin"
That put a smile on Lucas's face.
"Oh, really?"
"I'm telling you man, I'll probably be 'Lieutenant' by this year's end!"
To the side Tashigi was giggling watching their interaction, while Torlo sported one of his trademark smirks anyone that looked closer could see that he was just as fidget as his two friends. However he hid his nervousness behind his usual smirk of confidence, and through his usual jester words helped his two friends' easer their nerves, and seeing they smile in turn helped him deal with his nerves.
Lucas returned the hug with a smile "Well, if that's the case I'll be 'Captain' in less than one year's time!"
"Those're some fighting words, I like that!"
AS they finished easing each other's nerves someone walked towards them from the group of marines "Good to see you all with high spirits"
"Yo Alvara"
The blond marine also got drafted for this mission, she had the standard marine rifle on her back and a backup pistol strapped to her right hip. She gave them a look up nd down before donning a smirk "You all looking good, our three mighty leaders"
She then pointed at their clothes, now that they're above 'petty officer' there's no longer any obligation to wear the sailor uniform, hence they ditched them and donned essentially the same clothes they wore during their 'undercover' episode.
"Thanks" turning to look at other marines there Lucas asked "Say… is everyone ready?"
"Still feelin' bit nervous?" Alvara gave him a reassuring smile "Don't be, everyone here knows about your capabilities and are quite content with you leading us"
She wasn't wrong.
Looking at the crowd Lucas could see lots of familiar faces, in his time on Mel Island he got to know the majority of his peers. Be those that came alongside him from Marineford, or who already had been on the Island, everyone more or less knew each other at that point.
When he looked at them a lot of them also looked back at him. Some smiled, some offered nodded and others even gave him salutes. As Alvara said at that point basically everyone knew about the "Lightning of Justice", they all are well aware of his powers and thus had no worries with him being the leader of their group.
"Don't worry, we can do this!"
"Yeah, where's that draconic smile of yours? Show it to us!"
With those words from his friends Lucas gained another boost in confidence, closing his eyes he called upon the image of his role model. Garp's broad chested figure soon appeared on his mind eye, with his usual smile he looked at him while exuding that vibrant, exuberant confidence and air of irreverence that nonetheless evoked a sense of authority.
He opened his eyes, a glint coming from then as that draconic smile of confidence appeared on his face.
"Alright everybody, we all know why we're here. We'll be leaving here from East River Park, using the woods to cover us as we march north. Commander Triscratches and the main group already went ahead, with them drawing the enemies attention to the main entrance the secret one should be left relatively unguarded, an easy picking for us"
He pointed at a familiar orange haired marine, he wore headphones and on his back was a backpack with a den-den mushi strapped to it.
"Thomas, as our radio operator stays at the back. Be sure to keep us update at all times" With that he turned to his friend "Torlo'll be leading our riflemen at the rear, snipe the enemy at distance and provide support. Tashigi will take the close-combat specialists to the front, protect the others behind and be the sword of our group"
Finishing that Lucas turned again towards the group and cracked his neck, blue sparks running down his body and his eyes glowed.
"I'll be in the very front, spearheading our attack I'll be everyone's shield. No matter what boss level enemy they throw at us, be sure that I'll beat the dog out them before they can lay a finger on any of you!"
""Hahahaha""
When he finished his little speech everyone there had a smile on their faces, while Lucas wasn't any natural born leader his words and way of acting nonetheless lifted everyone's mood. He certainly had a different air about him, and thanks to that morale become high as this group of relatively junior marines became confident in their victory.
"Let's go!"
With that the group began they march, the woods of Easter River Park connected to the forest outside of town, a not very used path, from there they used the green around them as cover and walked north. How to tread through dense woods was amongst the first lesson recruits have to go through, so all in all no one had much trouble walking past the natural obstacles put before them.
In a way Lucas felt right at home there, he used to play a lot on the dense woods back on his home Island and for a whole year he lived in an uninhabited island alongside his crazy grandpa and a literal giant tiger. It all kinda came natural for him now.
Speaking of That…
"Sniff"
After some time treading through the woods Lucas who was leading his caught wind of a smell, stopping on his track he raised his hand and wordless ordered the others to stop too. Tashigi who had been not too far approached him.
"What's wrong?"
"I think we got company up ahead"
Memories of the times he went hunting with Khan came to his mind, recalling what he learned back then he sniffed the air a few more times and was able to confirm the presence of humans some dozen meters in front of them.
"I sensed about dozen men hiding up there behind those trees" he said pointing at some trees at the distance "They probably got tipped about our coming and thought of setting an ambush"
Though Tashigi couldn't see these men hiding behind the trees she trusted Lucas enough to not question his words, hand resting on her sword's handle ready for combat she asked "You're the leader... what you say we should do?"
"They haven't seen us yet, so…" he smirked "Let's counter their ambush with one of our own!"
With a nod nd smile Tashigi walked back and relayed the plan to the others.
The hunt was afoot!
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Northern Hills, Mel Island
"Rush!"
"Shoot them"
"Do not falter men!"
Meanwhile on the hills up north a battle had already begun.
The main group lead by Commander Triscratches had set out for the north early and had already arrived at the hideout's main entrance and engaged with the enemy, who had already been waiting for them, in combat.
There was actually some walls made with wooden logs blocking the hideout's entrance, it also served as a good cover and vantage point for the enemy troops who hid behind it.
The advantage however didn't lasted long as the marines came prepared with a couple of heavy weaponry, aka, cannons. Something they used to great efficiency to blast some holes in the walls, which their infantry used to approach the enemy and engage them in close combat.
Commander Triscratches was amongst the first to advance past the holes to engage the enemy face to face, the older man's skill with the saber allowing him to push forward the line on his own in a way the not even a dozen marines combined would be able to.
Slash
With quick and precise moves the Commander slashed his way through the group of enemies before him, though his body no longer boasted of the vigor it once had, the skill he had with his blade couldn't be higher. The finesse he displayed when wielding his weapon wasn't something anyone could have, that level was only achievable for those like him who had walked the saber's path for many decades.
It wasn't something some low criminals could stand against!
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Somewhere deep inside the underground hideout the main target of this operation, Michael, watched with bated breath the battle happening outside his doorstep.
The room he was in looked similar to his office in 'Honey Land', a couple of screens could be seen on the walls from which he was able to watch the battle outside, all thanks the many video den-den mushi he hid everywhere on his hideout to act as surveillance system.
With a grim expression he watched the battle turn sour for his side, the weapons and equipment his men had was of marine-level as it was taken directly from their ships as result of his many deals. But that didn't matter much as the attacking marines had way more skill and discipline.
In other words he was essentially getting a firsthand lesson on that old wisdom, 'of nothing matters a weapon if the hand wielding it doesn't have enough skill'.
"That damned Commander also doesn't make things easy!"
Triscratches not only bolstered the marines fighting strength with his marvelous saber skills, his leadership was quite paramount for the smooth advance the marines had been having. His mere presence lowered Michael's chance of getting out of this!
'That man needs to go!'
With that in mind Michael's turned to a figure in the corner and angrily barked an order.
"My useless pawn, it's time for you to prove useful once again. Unless you want me to ruin your precious career even more you better go out and fight, take my elite team and go stop their advance!"
"I WANT THAT GREEN BEARDED BASTARD DEAD!"
"…alright"
With a resigned sigh the figure walked out, picking some of the best men doing guard on the hideout he set out to try and stop the marines main team's advance. With that done Michael turned to one of his men there with him and asked.
"What about those two 'guests' of mine? Where're they?"
"They went to the hidden entrance Sir" replied the operator "Some minutes ago we received a call for backup coming from them, so they headed there to reinforce things"
"Hmph, the rear squad couldn't correctly ambush some rookies? Useless!"
Feeling his anger acting again Michael poured himself a glass of his favorite mead, a Honey land's original, and downed it in one gulp to help himself calm down a bit.
"Still, with those two going there things should quickly sort themselves out..."
However while he said that the truth was that things weren't exactly going his way, and though quite arrogant Michael, the leader of 'Mel Island's Criminal League', wasn't someone dumb. His mind raced, seeing the signs of his possible demise he already began revising the old contingency plan he made in case of things going completely south for him.
'Just hope I'll not have to use 'that' today…'
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…
Outside the battle still raged on.
"Things don't need to go on like this any longer, surrender now and come with us peacefully!"
Commander Triscratches having defeated an enemy group near the entrance's doorstep looked at his downed opponents and offered them a way out.
As his side had the major advantage the entire fight he believed the enemy's forces should be smart enough to see the foolishness of going on like that, they had everything to lose if the battle kept going and he himself didn't felt like making his men fight a battle that could be ended right there and then.
SWOOSH!
"!"
Suddenly a sneak attack came from behind, a well thought move it came at him in the exact moment his attention was elsewhere and aimed right at his blind spot!
Deflect!
However the instincts of a seasoned fighter with many decades of experience couldn't be just fooled like that, at the last second a chill went up his spine and alerted him about the incoming danger.
Even with his back turned he was able to quickly position his saber as to deflect the attack away, showing again the depth of his saber's path. In a heartbeat Triscratches turned around and faced his attacker, when he did however his eyes couldn't help by widen.
"So it was really you Ricardo?"
That's right.
The one sneak attacking him was none other than the marine Captain responsible for the Mel Island's Marine base, Marine Captain Ricardo!
Sword in hand the Captain gazed at his old friend with a forlorn look on his face, some meters away from them marines could be seen engaging the reinforcements brought by Ricardo.
"You don't sound too surprised Urba"
"I had some suspicious"
"Oh yeah? Do tell"
"It's quite simple really"
As he said that Triscratches and Ricardo circled each other "Michael's criminal operations, while hidden in a way the common person wouldn't notice, shouldn't had been able to elude our eyes for so long. The fact they did could only mean one thing, someone from our side was helping cover them all up!"
"-And only someone with the highest authority in the Island would be capable of covering something on the size of Michael's operations, in others words... me"
"Exactly"
"So you knew huh? Guess that's the reason why this week you moved forward full force without having me involved" Ricardo gave a chuckle filled with amusement seeing his old friend's face "Always knew you'd make an excellent Captain"
"I still ain't happy in being right" the corners of his mouth lowered, his eyes showing a pained look "Still can't understand why... Why you did all that my friend? Why you sold yourself?"
"I didn't sold myself my friend... it was more of me being forcefully put up for sale and bought against my own will"
"Huh?"
Captain Ricardo looked at his old friend with a tired expression.
"My predecessor, the Captain in charge before me, had a deal with Michael. He would do all the things you just described, by covering the man's actions the Captain allowed Michael to spread his dark hold across the Island and surrounding waters, he practically co-founded Mel Island's criminal underworld with him. However came a point that a transfer order came, it was issued by people very high-up so he couldn't just refuse. Before leaving he left things in way that would allow Michael's business to keep running smoothly, while also setting up anyone that'd come later for failure"
All of sudden the wrinkles on his face became more preeminent than before, his hair mostly white now.
"...When I came to assume post I unknowingly entered a deep entranched trap"
Hearing all that Triscratches's eyes went wide.
"Why didn't you fought back?"
"You think I didn't?!"
Ricardo's face contorted as roared, the years of frustration buried deep inside him bursting forth.
"I tried! I really did! But the web spun around me was too thick! I do not know for sure how they did, but they did. In the end all I could do was some damage control, make sure people's life in the island wouldn't be affected" he sighed tiredly "It's all I was able to do…"
Triscratches was in disbelief, shaking his head he looked at his old friend with gritted teeth and asked something that was stuck on his throat.
"Why didn't you called me?"
"Huh?"
That honestly stunned Ricardo.
"I said why haven't you called me?!" Triscratches's face was marred with anger and betrayal "Why you didn't called my help? We're friends! I'd have come in a heartbeat and we would have solved all this mess together! So tell me, WhY?!"
Ricardo's face was the definition of defeated at the moment, through the many years under Michael's dark grip the once great man lost most of his hope and resigned himself to the pawn position he was In now.
"I-I… I was honestly afraid. Afraid of telling you-... afraid of losing my rank and merits. I was afraid... and after I time I just lost hope…."
Seeing that look made much of Triscratches's anger evaporate, in his eyes the Ricardo before him become a defenseless old man, someone in serious need of help.
"...You should thank that Lucas kid later" his words caught Ricardo's attention "Not for him and his friends what's about to happen wouldn't be possible"
"..what?"
The aura around the Commander changed, the sharp air of an unmatched saber began to surround him and rushed forward at Ricardo with full force.
"We'll win this battle, lock that slimy Michael behind bars and finally free you from his hold"
"CHARGE FORWAD MY MARINES! WE'LL PRAVAIL TODAY!"
The air around the battlefield changed as these words rumbled across it, the older marine raised his saber up, the amazing aura rushing towards his soldier, renewing their vigor as they charged again at their enemies.
The battle raged on!
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Well, that was the chapter.
This here was the penultimate chapter of the 'Mel Island', who if we look from a meta perspective actually lasted some good years. Set up all the way back on the 'Ravenous Wolves' attack, I'm finally cashing in all that I had set up until now.
Really hope you all're liking, what your thoughts on the characters and their interactions? Hope they didn't felt weird. And the plot? It's cool enough? God I hope so.
Fun Fact: My profile picture is an A.I art I did of our MC Lucas, while not perfect it still quite spot on so if you wondering how he looks just go check it ou. There on my bio there's also some links for arts of that are quite close to how he looks when transformed, go see if you want.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the support. Again, if you reading this on the day I'm posting it be sure to come back later for the last part of this arc I'll be posting soon.
Constructive critics are always welcomed.
Fiquem Bem!