Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it.
Ramen Sensei - RS - No problem, at all. Thank you so much for reading.
Guest - Thank you. I was experimenting with the type of style Magpie would use in fighting and reckoned that he would result to traps. But, as his battle against Zoro demonstrates, he's not afraid to get into battles and is very strong. Thank you so much for reading.
djinn - Thank you so much, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
wellingtonlucas282 - No problem, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Since Magpie stole his Devil Fruit powers, Luffy can be vulnerable to gun shots and cannon fire, but he still has his strength. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.
HyenaMan - Thank you so much. It didn't seem right for him to join the Straw Hats just yet. However, he will still play a crucial part on the Arabasta arc as I will reveal in this chapter. Thank you also again for pointing out the grammar mistakes, I'll try better in this chapter.
Thank you all for reviewing and enjoy the story :)
Chapter 4: Kingdom Of The Endless Sand
Banks Of The Sandora River
With one last tug up the waterlogged marsh, the boat was now safely secured and hidden amongst a thicket of long reeds; Magpie leaned up and dusted of his hands before he waded through the waterlogged earth to the dryer, upper ground where the agent of Baroque Works, Mr 3, was waiting for him.
It wasn't a long journey from the deserted island to the Kingdom of Arabasta; his boat was built for speed and stealth, making it effortless to cross the waters, sail up the wide river that split the land in two and land on its banks without being detected. It was now the early evening and the sun was descending slowly beneath the horizon. It was going to be dark soon; a perfect time for the assassin.
His new mission, that was due to his failure, was to scout of the mysterious crime syndicate known as Baroque Works, assassinate princess Vivi and capture Monkey D. Luffy; a feat that he would consider simple before the previous mission. Not only that, but he was on borrowed time; every single tick of the clock was a step towards his termination; everything was at stake for him.
He stepped onto the sandy shore and stalked towards the agent who hands were still bound by the Seastone cuffs; he picked him up by the front of his collar and loomed down at him darkly.
"Where's your base of operations?"
Mr. 3 gave a fearful look, but in his head, he was smirking menacingly, 'Sure, I'll tell you,' he thought deviously, 'Once Mr. 0 and Miss All Sunday learn that I brought back a Black Feather assassin, they have to reward me for my genius plan in capturing something so rare,' he cleared his throat and looked away, "We are all told to meet at the Spider Cafe at eight o'clock twenty miles south of Rainbase."
Magpie hummed and dragged Mr. 3 up the sandy bank and put into the distance landscape. All that greeted him was miles and miles of sand dunes; towering, crashing and rolling across the landscape like a great ocean; beneath this sable-filled lane was great monsters that hide away from the sun's scorching touch or to lie in ambush for any naïve traveller. Magpie scoured the scene before him; he was aware that he had landed directly east of the city of Rainbase so all he had to do is travel south west until he finds this Spider Café.
"So, should we be going?" Mr. 3 asked.
Without looking at him, Magpie answered him in deadly tone, "Let me make this clear, Mr. 3. You're hope of making me a reward for your boss will be futile."
Mr. 3 sputtered in surprise, "H-how did you…ahem, what makes you think that I would?"
"There is one good reason why," he said, ignoring his question, "Because I know who this Mr. 0 is?" he slowly turned his head to him, his hollow black eyes giving off a deadly glint, "And once he hears what I have to say…he will be obliged to accept my offer."
It took a while for him to realise; his mind was occupied with capturing the Straw Hat at the time. The name of the man that Vivi had said was behind it all; he recognised it.
Crocodile. Sir Crocodile. One of the seven Warlords of the sea.
Seven very powerful individuals across the globe, who had made their name in piracy, are chosen by the government to keep the power of balance in favour of the Marines. Their duty is to wipe out smaller pirate crews and to carry out orders from the World Government; in exchange they are pardoned for their crimes and diplomatic immunity, meaning that, as long as they don't anger the leaders, they can do pretty much anything they wished to. Essentially, Warlord was a polite way of saying of 'glorified puppet'.
But, nevertheless, they are a fearsome threat and not to be taken lightly. They were chosen not for their obedience, but because of their formidable strength.
Magpie rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck from side to side, "Spider Cafe: 20 miles from Rainbase. Currently location: 30 miles from Rainbase. Distance from current location to Spider Cafe: 50 miles. We will arrive in one hour."
"One hour?" Mr. 3 questioned, "A journey like that is going take all night."
Not responding once more, he slung the man over his shoulders and held him tightly; he crouched down, placed one foot in front of the other and stared straight ahead in a running stance. He took a deep breath, tensed his legs and shot off the dune and sprinted over the landscape.
'10 miles an hour,' he thought as he steadily got faster, '20 miles an hour,' his legs were becoming a blur as they ran faster and faster; he crouched down lower until he was almost horizontal, '30 miles an hour…40 miles an hour…50 miles an hour.'
Mr. 3 screamed in terror as Magpie zoomed across the barren desert; he flew over sand dunes, zipped past rock formations and rocketed over dusty planes. Occasionally, large hungry desert beasts would burst out of the ground hoping to catch their next meal; giant lizards, snakes and crabs all tried to capture them, but they were all surprised when they completely miss their target. Once lizard monster tried to chase after them, but one shot from the assassin's hand cannon was enough to leave it dead. He bounded over sandpits twenty meters wide, leapt over several sand dunes at one time and even encountered sand pirates that were sailing across the desert. He raced alongside the smaller sand boats, surprising the sand pirates with his speed before he overtook them as easy as if it was breathing.
Eventually, he spotted a wooden building on the distance and sped towards it; as he drew near, he slowed down and allowed his coat and hood to billow out after him before he dug his feet into the soft sand and slid to a halt. It glanced up at the one story building; it looked like an old saloon bar with wooden clapboard walls, swinging doors and small, square windows; just beside it was a tall water tower and over the door was a sign that read the cafe's name. Magpie tossed the passed out Mr. 3 onto the ground and headed to the front door; he sensed nobody inside it and, after opening the door and looking inside, saw that he was right.
There was nothing exceptional about the interior; a single wooden bar and a few chairs and tables and bottles of liquor on suspected; items you would see at any dive bar. Although, the large hole in the far wall did make him hum in wonder. It looked as if it had been left not too long ago, the cigarette in the ash tray was still warm and the bar and table were clean and free of dust; if he had to guess, he would say that they left an hour ago.
Seeing nothing worth his time, he walked out of the bar and scoured the sandy terrain around the cafe for clues to which direction they headed off in. By that time, Mr. 3 had regained unconsciousness and looked drearily around, he lifted himself up and gave a small laugh.
"Oh…w-w-we're here already. I-I-I must have slept through the whole thing," he muttered to himself as he sat up and looked towards the assassin, "W-what a-a-are y-you doing?"
Magpie had spotted tracks not too far away from a carriage of some sort; he inspected the tracks before he looked up towards where it led to.
"We just missed them," Magpie muttered, "They're heading north to Rainbase. If we go now, we can reach the city when we do."
"G-go now?" Mr. 3 uttered before Magpie once again picked him up and slung him over his shoulders, "No please! Not again!" he begged desperately as the assassin crouched down into a running stance, "Not again! Not agaAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Magpie rocketed away from the abandoned café, picking up speed with every single second, Mr, 3, once again, screamed all the way.
Rainbase
You wouldn't be able to tell that the kingdom was suffering through a drought if you were in Rainbase.
The city, known as the City of Dreams, continued to thrive despite of it; mainly due to the heavy gambling industry present. Citizens, wearing loose and simple clothing and headscarves to combat the heat, roamed its dusty streets and the market places while water overflowed the many public fountains as if there an abundance of it. In the distance, cheers and laughter rang out like bells from the numerous gambling dens and bars that dotted across the city. It was especially lively at night when the sun has gone down and people are free to enjoy their evening and forget the troubles that laid outside the city's border.
It was easy enough for Magpie to sneak in undetected or without rousing suspicion; strange visitors come and go all the time and so he was able to keep his hood hidden over his mask and sneak through the narrow alleyways without any trouble. Even when he had Mr. 3 out in front of him with him gripping his wrists behind his back to prevent him from escaping; they were largely unnoticed by everyone.
Mr. 3 growled irritably and fidgeted in his hold, "I can't help but notice we seem to walking around in circles. Don't tell me you're lost, assassin?"
"I am currently scouting the entire city; noting every single street and lane. It's necessary to have reconnaissance before heading straight to your target," he whispered to him as they went down another street, "The tracks ended just as the city started, meaning that your colleagues are somewhere here."
They turned a corner and saw that they entered a marble-paved plaza which was elaborately decorated. However, on the far side of the plaza, was a tall golden and blacked stripped building shaped like pyramid. It was by far the largest building in Rainbase; it was surrounded by a moat of clean water and could only be reached by a bridge; on either side of the bridge were two giant paw statues and, on the very top of the building, was a statue of a bananawani head, a gigantic crocodile with an unusual banana-like growth coming out of its head. There was a large marble arch that stood over the front door with a sign that read 'Rain Dinners.' Magpie looked over the building with a critical eye before turning to Mr. 3.
"What is that building there?" he demanded.
Mr. 3 frowned in confusion, "It's Rain Dinners. It's the largest casino and hotel in Arabasta. Why?"
"And who owns it?"
"Well, Sir Crocodile, of course. One of the seven Warlords of the sea. Everyone knows that."
Magpie gave the casino another look before he hummed thoughtfully, 'Hidden in plain sight,' he pondered before he led Mr. 3 towards the building.
They crossed the populated plaza, up the marble steps and over the bridge before stepping inside the luxurious Rain Dinners. The air was filled with the sound of laughter, the clinking of metal coins and the buzzing of the slot machines. It was tightly packed in the casino with people at every machine or playing table trying their luck for a fortune; although, judging by the shouts of anger and annoyance, luck was hardly on anybody's side. The interior of Rain Dinners was elaboratly decorated with wall frescos and small palm trees; he could only assume that the floors above them, which held the hotel rooms and the five-star restaurant was equally as ornate.
Magpie locked on to a door on the far side of the casino with the words 'Personnel Only' etched on it and immediately headed towards it. Before he could get to it, however, a burly man with brown hair in a black suit stepped in front of it and held out his hand to stop.
"Oi, can't you read? Personnel only," the bodyguard growled.
Magpie lifted his head slowly and gave the man a deadly glare, "I wish to see Sir Crocodile."
The bodyguard was taken slightly aback by his appearance but sneered back at him, "The boss is in a meeting. Now clear off before we kick you out."
"I'm afraid I must insist nonetheless," Magpie said, with a tilt of his head.
"Listen punk, if you want your money back then play another game until you win. Don't be crying to the boss, because of your bad lu-urk!" he suddenly gasped out as the side of his neck was pierced by something sharp.
He held his hand over the cut as blood began to seep down his neck and collapsed onto the floor on his knees, grimacing in pain.
"You won't die as long as you put pressure on it," Magpie merely said as he sheathed the rapier swiftly back into its holster, "We'll let ourselves in, thank you," he told him as he pushed by the bodyguard and through the door.
They stepped into an empty corridor and headed down it towards a staircase leading downwards, but stopped suddenly when he sensed something. His head darted up to the right corner of the ceiling where, for a split second, he thought he saw a blue eye coming out of it. The eye winked and disappeared, leaving a single pink petal in its wake. Magpie glared at the space for a few more seconds before he continued to head down the stairs.
There's no point in sneaking anymore. They already knew that he was here.
Meeting Room
Several stories below the casino was a giant chamber where the secret base of Baroque Works were located. Like the rest of the building, it was elegantly decorated; a large marble staircase leading from the door down to the floor, a long ebony table with matching chairs and large windows with thick glass surrounded the walls. The windows looked out to beneath the Rain Dinner's moat where bananawani crocodiles swam; the giant, scaly creatures seemed to not pay attention to the room and floated patiently.
Sat at the table were six people; the other members of Baroque Works.
The first was a short, fat middle-aged woman with fizzy red hair tied back by a green headband. She had fair skin, bright purple lips and a wide frog-like face. She wore a white shirt, purple with daisy print trousers, a large pair of purple tinted sunglasses and a tie that was shaped like a Christmas tree.
To her left was a tall, slim young woman with curly dark-blue hair and fair skin. She had a beautiful sharp face, dark green eyes and thin eyebrows; she wore a revealing outfit consisting of a long-sleeved jacket a bikini top that had a spider web-like patten over her abdomen and low-riding trousers.
Across from her was a tall, muscular, dark-skinned man with a shaved head and a unibrow over his round eyes. He had a sharp blocky chin, long thin fingers and had the archaic Japanese symbol for the number '1' tattooed over his chest. He wore a long sleeveless dark coat and baggy beige trousers that was held up by a white sash.
On his left was a tall, thin flamboyant-looking man with short dark hair, fair skin, a long face and wore heavy make-up including green eye-shadow, red lipstick and rosy blush marks on his cheeks. He wore a long pink coat with the words 'Bon Clay' written on the back over a dark blue jacket and blue round breeches and ballet shoes; sprouting out of the collar around his neck were two swan neck and heads which hung over his shoulders.
To his left was a tall, fat man with fair skin and dirty blond hair. He had a fat face with large lips narrow brown eyes and seemed to produce an abnormal amount of sweat. He wore a dark green shirt, brown trousers, large shoes, an orange scarf around his neck and had an odd-looking gun and a baseball bat strapped to his back.
Finally, at the end of the long table and by far the most intimidating person in the room, was a giant, muscular man with black slicked-back hair, greyish skin and a vicious scar that ran from his left cheek across this bridge of his nose and ended on his right cheek. His left hand was replaced by a large, golden hook and in his large jaw was a smoking cigar. He wore a suit consisting of an orange vest with black crosses, over a white shirt and a dark blue cravat; he wore black trousers and a large, long furred coat that was draped over his shoulders. A menacing aura seemed to radiate off the man; his sharp face was filled with a mixture of intelligence and uncrushable strength; he leaned back in his chair confidently and seemed to dominate the room without trying. This man was clearly in charge of everything.
The man grinned menacingly at his subordinates, "Now that you have your orders, I expect you all to carry them out without failure," he drawled, "If this succeeds then the kingdom of Alabaster will inevitably crumble. And once the citizens have lost their place to go. They too, will fall into the hands of Baroque Works. Within a single night, this country shall become our 'Utopia'," he leaned back in his chair and blew his cigar smoke into the air, "Operation Utopia will be the last and greatest plan carried out by Baroque Works. The operation will begin tomorrow at seven. Am I understood?"
"Roger!" the other members of Baroque Works replied with a firm nod of their heads.
In the corner of the room, there was another member of Baroque Works who preferred to be in the shadows. She was a tall, beautiful woman with long raven black hair and slightly tanned skin. She had a sharp, intelligent face, a slim figure and narrow bright green eyes filled with wisdom. She wore a white and gold long coat over a purple short skirt and vest as well as a white ten-gallon hat that was tilted over his face.
She frowned and hummed in intrigue at what she had just seen before she pushed herself off the wall and headed to giant man at the end of the table. The hook-handed man glanced at her from the corner of his eye as she leaned in close to his ear.
"We have an intruder heading this way," the woman said in a sultry voice, "He seems to have Mr. 3 as a hostage."
"An intruder," the man growled before his eyes turned to the flamboyant man, "Mr. 2, have you dealt with Mr. 3 like I ordered?"
Mr. 2 blinked in surprise, "I would have, Mr. 0, but I couldn't. When I arrived on Little Garden, he was nowhere to be found. Neither was Mr. 5, Miss Valentine or Miss Golden Week."
"WHAT! WHAT! WHAT!" the short woman shouted as she slammed her hand on the table repeatedly, "YOU DIDN'T CARRY OUT A DIRECT ORDER FROM THE BOSS!? HOW COULD!? HOW COULD!?"
"Be quiet, you little mole person," Mr. 2 sneered, "I would have loved to carry on my investigation, but I had to return to attend this meeting. Next time, think before you shout, you horrid little thing."
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME! HEY! MR. 4 ARE YOU GOING TO LET HIM TREAT ME LIKE THAT!" the woman screeched.
"Errr..." the tall, fat man groaned, his face frowning in confusion.
"HURRY UP! WILL YA!"
"Enough," Mr. 0 ordered firmly, immediately silencing the argument. He glanced back at the raven haired woman, "Miss All Sunday, where is the intruder n-"
SLAM!
Suddenly, the doors to the chamber slammed open and a person was flung through it. The figure flew through the air before it landed on the stairs and rolled down every single one before stopping on the ground in a painful heap. Everyone, apart from Mr. 0 and Miss All Sunday, jumped to their feet in shock and looked down at the figure bloodied and bruised on the ground. Mr. 2 was the first to recognise him.
"Mr. 3!?" he yelped in surprise, "What happened to you!?"
"He's been attacked," the blue haired woman muttered with an angry scowl, "This may be why you haven't found him."
Mr. 3 gritted his teeth in agony and pointed with a trembling finger at Mr. 0, "L-look out."
Click!
The members of Baroque Works stopped at the sound of a pistol's hammer locking in place; they turned around and their eyes widened at the sight of Magpie standing behind Mr. 0. His rapier drawn and held just underneath the man's neck while his other hand held a pistol that was pointed directly at Miss All Sunday's head. They had barely seen him enter or even move. Miss All Sunday calmly looked at the pistol before she glared at the jovial mask of the Black Feather assassin, taking everything she had not to snarl at him. Mr. 0, however, seemed to look upon the rapier with an amused look before glancing up at Magpie.
"M-Mr. 0," Mr. 3 gasped out as he shakily pushed himself off the floor, "Look at what I brought back. He's a-"
"Be quiet, Mr. 3," the large man snarled, "I know exactly who he is. He turned his head up and grinned manically at Magpie, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Black Feather assassin."
The assassin tilted his head down at him, "The pleasure is all mine, Sir Crocodile. But please, call me Magpie."
"Black Feather?" Mr. 2 whispered to the dark skinned man beside him.
"Never heard of them," he growled back.
Crocodile chuckled darkly, "And how can I help you, Magpie. You have interrupted quite an important meeting."
"Your meeting is meaningless to me," Magpie told him, "I have come here to offer a truce."
"It's common courtesy to offer, so they say, an olive branch if you want to make a truce."
Magpie pressed the blade of his sword to Crocodile's neck, "Consider this my olive branch."
"HEY! HEY! HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" the short woman shouted as she pointed at Magpie, "WHO IS THAT GUY! I WANT TO KNOW RIGHT NOW!
Miss All Sunday sighed and closed her eyes, "May I do the honours, Mr. 0?"
"No, need," Crocodile said with a wave of his hand, "I'll explain. When I was sworn in as a Warlord, the World Government provided me with two simple missions. The first to counter the imbalance brought by the four pirate Emperors and the second was to defeat and arrest smaller pirate crews with our formidable strength," he grinned in amusement, "However, they all us provided me...with another secret mission that should never be revealed to the public. To find and bring back the Secret Empire's top assassin's the Black Feathers," he chuckled once more and glanced up at Magpie, "The Secret Empire...a global superpower that is so shrouded in mystery that even the World Government know nothing about it. Nobody knows where it is, how big their domain is or how powerful they are. AH! AH! AH! They don't even know who rules it. And just when I thought it was just a myth...you turn up," he reached for the table and, while still having the rapier at his neck, took his cup of tea and sipped it calmly, "I presume that you assassins are trained to never confront us Warlords. Meaning that you must have a very good reason for being here."
"I repeat," Magpie said in a dark tone, "I have here to offer a truce."
"As much as I enjoy the history lesson," the blue haired woman sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "I believe that you are missing something important."
"Miss Doublefinger," Miss All Sunday warned.
"I'm saying that you can't be a great assassin if you make such a rookie mistake. You come in here, make demands and expect us to follow them...when you haven't even considered our power," Miss Double Finger said with a smirk, "Isn't that right, Mr. 1?"
"Indeed," the bald man across from her nodded, "No matter what your abilities are, you've just walked into the lion's den. In other words..." he glared at the masked assassin, "You're outmatched seven to one."
"That's right!" Mr. 2 cackled before he performed a pirouette in his chair, "What on earth can you do, huh?"
Silence fell over the chamber, not a single person spoke or made any sort of movement. Suddenly, Magpie began to look at every single person in the room, inspecting them each with his black hollow eyes. The Baroque Works membered felt as if the assassin was staring into their very soul; searching for all their secrets they wanted to conceal. Eventually, Magpie looked back to the front.
"In this very room, almost everyone has some sort of Devil Fruit power," he snapped his head towards to Miss All Sunday, Miss Double Finger, Mr. 1, Mr. 3, and Mr. 2, "There are five Paramecia type users..." he snapped his head to the short woman, "...one..." he then glanced at the gun on Mr. 4's back, "...no, two Zoan type users and finally..." he looked down at a smirking Crocodile, "...one Logia type user. Calculating... five possible solutions to defeating all over you. Choose solution with the highest successful rate," he aimed the pistol at the glass window, much to their shock, "Drowning Devil Fruit users. Chance of Success: 100%."
The members of Baroque Works were alarmed by this; Miss Double Finger, Mr. 1 and Miss All Sunday scowled at the assassin while the short woman, Mr. 2 and Mr. 3 fell deathly pale and Mr. 4's mouth dropped open. Crocodile raised a single eyebrow at what he said before he calmly sipped his tea again.
"Wait! Hold on!" Mr. 2 cried out, "You're not seriously thinking of destroying the window. You'll drown as well."
"Err..." Mr. 4 agreed.
"ARE YOU CRAZY OR SOMETHING!?" the short woman yelled, jumping up and down in her chair, "I SAY WE KILL HIM NOW BEFORE HE GETS US ALL KILLED!"
"Enough, Miss Merry Christmas," Miss All Sunday sighed, "He's not going to do anything like that. He's come here for a reason; he's not going to throw it all away after he's come so far. After all..." she gave the assassin a dark look, "...the Black Feathers always complete their mission...no matter what it takes. Isn't that right."
Magpie responded with dark look of his own and entered a stare off; fighting for dominance. It was becoming clear that they both knew more about each other than they are willing to admit. Before anything else can happen, Crocodile's dark chuckle rang out through the chamber.
"AH! AH! AH! So, this is the power of the Black Feathers, huh?" Crocodile drawled, "Fine, let me hear what you have to say and I'll consider your truce."
"Thank you," Magpie politely said as he holstered his pistol and rapier.
"B-but Sir!" Mr. 3 sputtered in protest before a glare from the Warlord made him shut up once more.
"My mission is to capture an individual and bring him back alive to the Secret Empire," Magpie explained, "I want nothing else from your organisation nor do anything to disrupt your plans...all I want is Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates"
Crocodile cocked an eyebrow, "You're too late. He and his crew are already dead."
Magpie tilted his head to the side, "Impossible. It has barely been a day since I last encountered them."
The Warlord sighed and leaned forward in his chair, "You seem to have made a mistake, Magpie. It was Mr. 3's mission to eliminate them and I have been informed that they are dead on Little Garden."
"Little Garden?" Magpie repeated before he glanced back at Mr. 3 who had shakily got back onto his feet, "I believe we met on Little Garden."
Mr. 3 gulped nervously, "Well...here's the thing. We were unable to carry out your orders, Sir. We were not able to kill Vivi or the Straw Hats..."
Crocodile shot up onto his feet and slammed his hand and hook on the table, "YOU DIDN'T KILL THEM!? YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THEY'RE STILL ALIVE!?" he roared furiously, silencing Mr. 3. A shadow fell over the Warlord's eyes as he glared menacingly at his subordinate, "Then what the hell was that Snail call about? You told me over the phone that they are dead."
Mr. 3 shook his head, "I-I never called you, sir. I don't know what you're talking about."
Crocodile gave a terrifying snarl, his eyes bulging in their sockets. The room fell deadly silent, not one person daring to speak or else they would feel their boss' wrath. Eventually, Crocodile sighed and sat back down in his chair.
"I see...Now I understand why the Unluckies never returned," he muttered before he took a drag of his cigar, "But you did manage to kill off at least one or two of them...right?"
Mr. 3's face turned deathly pale, "Well...no."
"WHAT!?" Crocodile snarled.
"Oh dear...it seems you have been misinformed," Magpie said with a hint of amusement in his tone.
"But look, I brought back an assassin in return," Mr. 3 uttered, pointing at Magpie with a shaky hand, "That's at least makes it up for it."
That was a mistake.
Crocodile's eyes grew bloodshot and his teeth gritted together in a vicious snarl, "YOU LITTLE PIECE OF-"
"W-wait! Boss!" Mr. 2 suddenly declared, stopping the anger he was about to unleash on his subordinate "Would you mind explaining to me the detail's behind Mr. 3's failed mission!?"
After a quick explanation of the Straw Hat's appearance using hand drawn pictures of Luffy, Zoro and Nami and an old photo of Vivi, Mr. 2 gasped in shock and stood to his feet.
"I-I met them!" he announced, "If you are talking about these people, then I definitely met them," he reached up and touched his face with his hand. Suddenly, his face transformed into the likeness of Luffy, "I met him!" he touched his face again and turned into Zoro, "and him!" he touched his face three more times and transformed into Nami, then Usopp and then Chopper before he turned back to his normal self, "And these three. And Miss Wednesday. A.K.A Princess Vivi. These people were my enemies all along!" he shouted, slamming hand down on the table.
"And it would seem that there is one man and one animal that we have not accounted for," Crocodile hummed as he took a drag from his cigar, "So, there's five of them in total including Vivi."
"It's not all of them," Magpie told him, earning an interested look from the Warlord, "There's another member of the crew who goes by the name Sanji, the ship's cook. It would seem that you missed him Mr. 2."
"What!?" Mr. 2 cried out before hanging his head in despair, "I really messed things up."
"And the animal that they have also has a Devil Fruit power," Magpie continued before he smirked from under his mask, "I'll be happy to tell you everything I know about them; names, strengths, weaknesses, weapons that they use; in fact, I can guarantee their capture. I have a feeling that they would be heading to Rainbase so they can confront you," he tilted his head at the hook-handed man with an air of confidence, "In return, I receive Monkey D. Luffy and I will take my leave without any more trouble. Are we at an agreement?"
Crocodile cocked an eyebrow and gave a low hum as he thought about his proposal. The rest of Baroque Works were silent as well as they waited for their boss' decision. Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 2 were fidgeting in their seats as they impatiently waited; Miss Double Finger and Mr. 1 maintained their cool composure as they watched the assassin and the Warlord and Miss All Sunday had her arms crossed over her chest and glared daggers at Magpie beneath the brim of her hat. Mr. 4...well, he just looked confused like always. Before Crocodile could come up with a response, Mr. 3 stepped forward and slammed his fist on the table.
"You have to got to be kidding me!" he yelled, earning a deadly look from the two men, "You can't trust him! I've seen him work, I know what sort of a person he is!. He will betray us the first chance he ge-ACK!"
Suddenly, before anyone could see him move, Crocodile had appeared before Mr. 3 and grabbed him around the neck and lifted him off the floor. Mr. 3 began to choke and spasm in his grip, his arms hanging uselessly by his side.
"SILENCE, YOU INCOMPETANT BUFFOON!" Crocodile snarled, "The reason why I made you Mr. 3, despite your inferior strength in comparison to Mr. 4, is because I assumed your cowardly but cunning ways would help you achieve success. You disappointment me."
Before everyone's eyes, Mr. 3 began to change; his skin began to turn a brownish grey, his eyes bulged from his eye sockets, he seemed to get thinner and thinner until his bones began to show under his skin; it was as if the life was slowly draining out of him. It took Magpie a moment to realise that all the moisture was being sucked out of his body; drying up until he was nothing but a husk of man; a pile of paper thin skin and bones. Crocodile eventually released him and Mr. 3 fell to the ground in a heap on the ground; he was still alive, but he was barely hanging on.
"W-w-wat-er," the man gasped as withered on the ground uselessly.
"Water?" Crocodile said before he pressed a button underneath the table to release a trap door beneath Mr. 3, "Feel free to drink as much as you like."
Mr. 3 screamed as he fell through the trap door, but the screams were immediately silenced as they closed behind him. Crocodile stalked over to a nearby window and tapped it with his knuckle to catch the attention of a nearby bananawani that was swimming by.
"It's meal time," he told it, making the beast swim down beneath the chamber. Crocodile than turned back to Magpie who had been waiting patiently for him to be done, "You're in luck. We just had a position open up for you. However, I have an additional proposal before I can agree to anything. My intelligence suggests that Princess Vivi was childhood friends with Koza; the leader of the rebels. It will be troublesome if she were to convince him to put down his arms; especially after everything we have been preparing," he gave him a toothy smirk, "If you were to eliminate her and provide us with information on the Straw Hats... then I will give you Monkey D. Luffy in return. Do we have a deal?" he asked, holding out his hand for him to shake.
Magpie smirked behind his mask, 'Perfect, just as planned,' he thought before he shook Crocodile's hand, "I accept the terms."
"AH! AH! AH! AH!" Crocodile chuckled, "Welcome to Baroque Works, Magpie."
Hotel Room
Crocodile provided him with a penthouse suite in the Rain Dinner's hotel for him to spend the night in; a room that was far too big and far too bright for the likes of him and found it completely unnecessary. However, Crocodile insisted he take it as a gift for their temporary truce and for providing much needed reconnaissance on the Straw Hats; that's what he said anyway, Magpie only believed he give it to him, because it amused him to have a Black Feather assassin under his possession; like a bird in a gilded cage.
At least the view that was provided him was decent. Excellent for surveillance.
He had pulled over one of the armchairs to the windowsill and watched the world below him. It was getting late and the lights from the houses, casinos and bars were starting to shut off one by one. He was going to sit there for the entire night when suddenly he sensed somebody at his door. He glanced behind him and frowned suspiciously.
'What is she doing here?' he thought before calling out, "You may enter if you wish, Miss All Sunday…" the door slowly opened to reveal the raven haired woman; an unreadable expression on her face. She stepped inside and softly closed the door behind her. Magpie turned back to his window, "…or should I say…Nico Robin. How serendipitous that we should meet."
"I see that I'm still wanted by the Black Feathers," the now named Robin said in an even tone, "No matter where I go…you're always there."
"If you are worried about me capturing you, then don't be," Magpie told her, "I'm not here for you."
Robin raised a sceptical eyebrow, "You honestly think I'll believe that."
"I do not care what you believe. The assassin who is assigned to capture you is called Crow. I could inform him of your location…but he's a bastard, so I won't," he stood up from his chair and faced her, "Not only that, but you're not my mission. My target is Monkey D. Luffy and only him."
"And what do you want with him?"
"That is classified."
"Does that mean you don't know?"
"It is not my mission to know. I only serve the Secret Empire, not rule it."
Robin hummed and leaned her back against the door, "I remember Crocodile saying that no Warlord has ever encountered a Black Feather assassin before. That is quite an achievement for your kin. I can't help but wonder why you would break that trend."
"I need to complete my mission by any means necessary."
"Like joining Baroque Works? Surely, it would be easier to confront him," that's when she noticed the crack in his jovial, "Oh, I see now. You already did," she gave a small smile, "A stronger opponent then you were expecting, perhaps?"
Magpie tilted his head at her as his hollow eyes gleamed darkly, "It was an oversight. A mistake I won't make twice."
"Which is why you decided to team up with Crocodile," Robin hummed thoughtfully, "for reassurance, efficiency…maybe another reason?"
"Why did you come up here, Robin?" Magpie growled, "To make fun of me?"
"I'm just curious," she said with a smirk, "It's not every day a person can pick the brains of Black Feather assassin. I just thought I would take the opportunity before you-"
Robin suddenly gasped as two powerful hands grabbed onto her throat and began to choke her by forcing her head back. She tried to reach out for the hands but found that her wrists were suddenly grabbed by two other hands and held behind her back. She gritted her teeth and looked down to see four reddish-purple arms sprouting out of her body; two holding her arms and two choking her. They arms were horrifying to look at; not a single part of the skin was not covered in a deep, bloodied muscle contusion, the same kind an athlete would have when they rip a muscle badly. Robin, however, tried not to think about it and glared up at Magpie who was holding his arms across his chest.
"You talk too much," he whispered in a threatening tone, "Watch what you say."
Robin grunted in pain, "This…this is my power," she uttered as the arms continued to strangle her, "You took it," she said before her eyes widened in realisation, 'The only Devil Fruit power capable of that is the Snatch Snatch Fruit. I read it in an ancient text. But that's impossible. It has been missing for so long that the World Government considered it extinct. How could he have that power?' she thought in confusion, 'He can't be that old. Is it something that the Secret Empire have kept it for all this time.'
"I'm sure your mind is buzzing with questions," Magpie said with a tilt of his head, "Questions that will never be answered," he leaned down so his jovial mask was a few inches away from her face, "Like I said before, you are not part of my mission. But anyone who stands in my way of completing it or compromises the secrecy of the Secret Empire…" she gasped as the hands tightened around her neck, "…will be terminated as well. I'm sure my superiors would understand why I killed the devil child of Ohara. It's all for the sake of the Empire," he made the arms disappear in a flurry of petals and released Robin from her hold; she dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for breath and rubbing her bruised throat, "Leave," Magpie commanded as he turned away, "Crocodile would want us refreshed for tomorrow."
Robin snarled at him, but wordlessly got to her feet. She glared darkly at the back of his head before she turned and stormed out of the hotel room. Magpie waited for the door to close behind her before he sat back down on his chair and stared up at the starry sky and waited patiently for the morning.
Unknown Location
Meanwhile, Mr. Nest knelt before the gigantic throne of the ruler of the Secret Empire to show his respect. The great hall, which was so large that the ceiling and walls could not be seen, was filled with darkness; the only source of light were the beacons of fire lit on either side of the throne. Sat on the throne itself was a muscular figure about one hundred feet tall with long silvery white hair that flowed over his shoulders. He wore deep purple royal robes and fur lined cape that flowed from his shoulders all the way down to his feet. However, the most distinguishing feature was the large porcelain white mask which covered his entire face; the mask depicted an angry, stern expression with a closed frowning mouth, furrowed eyebrows and deep wrinkles on the forehead. His mask looked much older than that worn by the other Black Feathers; it held a wicked, devious feeling to it.
The giant man leaned back on his throne and gave a weary sigh, "And finally what of our agents in the New World?"
Mr. Nest cleared his throat, "Buzzard has been keeping an eye on the status of Dressrosa and Doflamingo. I've been expecting a call back any time soon. Big Mom has been quiet since the last report; I should send Sparrow to investigate. And finally, all the way from Caesar Clown's laboratory on Punk Hazard, Parrot has successfully stolen several samples of Smile," he said, before stepping aside to show off a locked chest containing the samples.
The Emperor snapped his fingers and immediately two masked servants appeared from the darkness, "Bring it to Bathory's lab. I'm sure she'll be pleased to experiment with them," he commanded," The servants picked up the chest and carried it out the hall as quickly as they could, "Congratulate Parrot on his hard work. Order Buzzard to stay put on Dressrosa, but get Sparrow to move on to Wano. I need an update on Kaido's status report. Will be all, Mr Nest?"
"Yes, my liege," Mr. Nest said, "I will carry out your orders immedia-"
"What of Magpie?"
Mr. Nest hesitated slightly at the question, "Magpie?"
"You have not given me your report on him. How is his progress in capturing Monkey D. Luffy?"
Mr. Nest cleared his throat and bowed his head, "Magpie has…run into some trouble."
"Some. Trouble," the Emperor growled menacingly.
"I-It's nothing severe, my liege," he told him urgently, as sweat began to pour down the side of his head, "He has not failed yet and I assure you that I will make sure that he won't. In fact, I have given him another mission that this Monkey D. Luffy is involved with. There are signs of an organisation in Arabasta that wish to overthrow the throne and I have ordered Magpie to obtain intelligence of them. He will not fail like last time, my liege."
The Emperor stared down at him with a deadly glare, making Mr. Nest gulp in nervousness. Eventually, he leaned back and hummed in thought.
"Make sure he does, Mr. Nest," he said in a dark tone.
"Thank you, my liege," the man sighed in relief.
"I am not finished," the Emperor hissed, silencing him immediately, "Tell me, Mr Nest, what is your position?"
"I'm…I'm leader of the Black Feathers," he hesitantly replied, "I assign my assassin's orders in accordance to your wishes, my liege."
"Indeed, you do. I have given you responsibility over my elite assassins. A force that has served the royal family for almost two centuries. I hate to see it fall apart under my rule. Be sure to take better care of it…or else," he hissed threateningly, "Now leave. I wish to be alone."
"Of course, my liege," Mr. Nest hurriedly said before he bowed once again and gritted out of the hall as quickly as he can. Once he had stepped outside and allowed the large oak doors to slam shut behind him, he sighed in relief and wiped the sweat off the side of his head, "Raven."
"Yes, Mr Nest?" the assassin asked suddenly appearing at his side before continuing to sing her lullaby.
"Keep an eye on Magpie," he snapped at her, "At the first sign of him failing the mission, capture him…in fact, how long does he have left to complete his mission?"
"Four days, nine hours, thirty two minutes and sixteen seconds. O little brown field mouse…"
Mr. Nest hummed thoughtfully, "Forget about his time limit. No matter if succeeds or not, I will eliminate him on the spot," a nasty smirk spread across his lips from under his mask, "That boy's been a thorn in my side for too long. I will not let him threaten my position any longer."
Raven nodded, "…With fur so bright that all adore. Of course, Mr. Nest," she said before she once again disappeared in thin air.
Mr. Nest chuckled darkly as he walked down at empty hallways towards his office. He was unaware of the figure hidden in the shadows in the corner, watching him carefully. A small smile spread across the figure's face, her eyes sparkling in fascination.
"My, my," she said to herself, "It seems my sweet little Magpie is in trouble again."
Bar On The Edge Of Rainbase
Morning had arrived over the glamorous city and Magpie had already set his plan to action. With some calculations and simulations that he acted out in his head, the only logical place the Straw Hats would arrive is at the southern side of the town; naturally, they would need water after crossing the scorching desert and so he found a tavern located near their estimated arrival point, knocked out the owner and posed as a bar tender and waited for them to come.
Magpie disguised himself in the local attire consisting of a long white robe and a headscarf which was pulled up to cover the lower part of his mask. This was not the first time he had to go undercover. Luckily for him, business was slow in the mornings and hardly anybody had entered.
He was in the middle of polishing a glass when the door to the bar swung open and he sensed two people walk in. He glanced over his shoulder and frowned in annoyance. One was a tall muscular man in his mid-thirties with short, spiky snow white hair and fair skin. He had a stern rugged face with narrow eyes and sharp jaw; he wore a white fur-lined coat, black trousers, a pair of goggles around his neck and had a long metal club attached to his back. Between his teeth were two large cigars which he was smoking at the same time.
The other person was a pretty woman who looked to be in her early twenties with short black hair and fair skin. She wore clothing inappropriate for Arabasta's harsh conditions consisting of a fur lined jackets, a Hawaiian shirt, thick gloves and trousers. She wore a pair of round glasses that covered her eyes and a katana holstered onto her hip. Magpie growled silently as the two trudged across the bar and sat down on the stools directly behind him; he could tell that they were Marines and, judging by the fact that they were not in proper uniform, means that they were upper ranked.
"Excuse me," the woman said with a friendly smile, "May I get a glass of water and...err..." she turned to her companion, "Captain Smoker, what would you like?"
"Whatever is on tap," Smoker muttered, "I don't care."
Magpie glanced at them over his shoulder for a few more seconds before he began to prepare their drinks, "Certainly."
The Marine Captain gave him an inquisitive look at his strange tone and hummed thoughtfully as the 'bar tender' placed at stein of beer in front of him and cup of water in front of the woman to which she happily thanked him.
"Ain't you hot under there?" Smoker asked him, nodding at his covered head.
"I am perfectly fine, thank you," the disguised Magpie replied before he continued to clean some glasses.
Smoker grunted at the response, but decided to ignore it for now.
"Captain Smoker," the woman said, catching his attention, "Is it alright if we go over the plan?"
"What plan, Tashigi?"
"T-the plan to capture the Straw Hats, Captain," the newly named Tashigi stuttered in surprise, "I know we lost them in Nanohana...not that it was your fault or anything -ahem- but we spent all this time crossing the desert to Rainbase. I just assumed there's a reason."
Smoker took a swig of his beer and shrugged, "There's no reason. I just have a feeling that we need to be here."
Suddenly, the door to the bar slammed open and, to Magpie's satisfaction, Luffy and Usopp stormed in and began yelling loudly. They were both wearing headscarves and Arabasta style coats that was designed for desert crossing.
"WOOHOO!" Luffy cried out, "We finally drink water, Usopp!"
"WADUH!" Usopp yelled out, equally as excited before the two ran up to the bar, "Hey, guy! Give us some water!"
"Five barrels of water!" Luffy cried out as he slapped his hands against the bar top.
Magpie cast a look at the Marines and saw that they have not noticed them yet before swiftly going to the back and retrieving two barrels of water, 'Targets identified: Luffy and Usopp the sniper. Plan of attack: adding sedatives to water supply and rendering them and their crew unconscious. Chance of Success: 90%' he thought as he carried back the two barrels on the bar.
"There's something suspicious going on in this country," Smoker grumbled, not noticing the pirates right beside them, "Something big...I can feel it in my bones."
"Then do you think there's some connection between Crocodile and the criminal organisation?" Tashigi asked curiously.
Magpie set the barrels down on the bar in front of Luffy and Usopp.
"Thanks!" they happily cried before they lifted the barrels and began to drink hungrily.
"I still can't get my head around why the Princess of Arabasta is travelling with the Straw Hats," Smoker continued to grumble, "In times like these, all you can really do is sit back and wait for another lead..." he trailed off as he and Tashigi finally noticed who was sitting next to him.
At the same time, Luffy and Usopp noticed them and slowly put the barrels down, their cheeks bulging with how much water is in them.
...
...
...
...
SPLURT!
The pirates spat up the water into the Marines' face and immediately ran out of the bar.
Smoker growled and wiped the water of his face, "HEY! GET BACK HERE!" he roared as he chased after them.
Magpie blinked in astonishment before he looked down at the tainted water that was spat out over the bar; he sighed wearily, 'Idiots.'
As Smoker ran out of the bar, Tashigi got off her stool and gritted her teeth in anger, "The Straw Hats are here," she muttered before she looked back over her shoulder, "My apologies for the mess. How much do I owe-" she stopped short when she noticed that the person she thought was the bar tender had suddenly disappeared, "...err...where did you go?"
Rooftops
Magpie tore off his disguise as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, trying to kept up to the fleeing Straw Hats and Vivi as they tore through the crowded streets below. Smoker had alerted to the rest of the Marine forces and now they were hot on their heels with their rifles in their hands.
'This is already out of control,' he thought as he leapt ten feet into the air onto the next roof, 'I need to get rid of the Marines and trap the Straw Hats so I can bring them back to Rain Dinners."
He spotted a palm tree up ahead on the side of the road and used his power to steal a lump of the earth that was keeping it anchored to the ground. Just as soon as the pirates ran past it, the palm tree began to sway before collapsing behind them across the street, temporarily stopping the Marines from chasing after them. Smoker, who had been leading the pack, grunted in annoyance as he saw the fallen tree before he leapt in the air and turned his lower half into wispy white smoke that sailed over it. However, the other soldiers didn't have the luxury of powers to help them cross the tree.
"Whoa! How did that happen!" remarked a Marine grunt.
"Who cares! Get it out of the way and chase after them!" another grunt shouted.
Magpie watched Smoker sail across the air in his smoke form in intrigue, 'Identified: Logia type. Plume Plume Fruit,' he thought before he noticed the Straw Hats split up at a cross roads. Usopp, Nami and Sanji went do the left road, Vivi and Zoro went down the right road and Luffy used his powers to fling himself across the roofs with Smoker chasing after him, 'Perfect,' he thought to himself before he sprinted after the first group.
Alleyway
Nami and Usopp screamed in fear as they ran down a narrow alleyway as they were hastily being chased by Billions, undercover Baroque Work agents. They turned a corner, almost ran into a couple and leapt over a few wooden crates in the middle of the road; but the agents still chased after them.
"How do they know who we are!?" Nami yelped as they turned a sharp corner, "Do you think they are working with the Marines?"
"I don't think so! Just keep on running until we get to the casino!" Usopp yelled back.
He spotted a pile of crates and bags piled up against the wall of the alleyway and frowned thoughtfully. He took out his slingshot, took aim and, as they ran past it, fired a pellet at the bottom crate, making the entire pile fall over in the Billions' path. Nami laughed gleefully at the sight.
"Nice one, Usopp!"
The teen grinned triumphantly, "Haha! That's why they call me Captain Usopp: the untrappable!" he loudly boasted.
They turned a corner and immediately ran into something, making them fall back onto the ground. They groaned in pain and looked up to see what they collided against; only for their blood run cold at the sight of the dark figure standing over them.
"Targets identified: 5 and 6," Magpie coldly said, "Result: capture."
Streets of Rainbase
"Damn it," Zoro spat as he ran down a street, quickly being pursued by a legion of Marines led by Tashigi.
He had allowed Vivi to run on ahead while he stayed behind to defeat the grunts. It was easy work; the Marines were nothing against his steel swords and his speed; he would have continued to finish them all off...if she didn't show up.
"Of all the people. Why did it have to be her?" he grumbled as he ran as fast he could.
"Hey! Come back here and fight, you coward!" Tashigi yelled as she and the Marines chased after him.
He darted down an alleyway to his left hoping to shake them off his tail. Tashigi growled furiously and pointed up ahead to the alleyway.
"He went down there. Don't lose sight of him," she commanded as she narrowed her eyes in determination, "I've got you now, pirate hunter Zoro. I'm not going to lose you like I did at Logue Town."
She and the Marines turned the corner and ran down the alleyway...only to stop short as they were met with a dead end with no swordsman in sight. They blinked in confusion; they looked left and then right and then up, but he was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell? He got away!" Tashigi muttered in anger, "How did he do it?"
Rooftops a Few Blocks Away
"Huh?" Zoro uttered in confusion, looking around the empty rooftop with an eyebrow raised, "How...did I get up here? I swear I was in alley a moment ago."
"Has anybody mentioned that you're sense of direction is atrocious?" a dark voice said from behind him.
Zoro's eyes narrowed in anger; he recognised the voice.
"Bastard," he reached for his katana, but found that they had disappeared from the sheaths.
Before he could do anything else, a sharp thin object pierced his upper back, causing him to grunt in pain and grit his teeth. He looked over his shoulder and snarled as he saw the jovial mask of Magpie behind him.
"My blade is directly pointed at your heart. Any sudden movements and I'll push it deeper," Magpie threatened coldly as he held onto the rapier buried into his back.
"I thought you were dealt with back on that island," Zoro growled at him.
"I will only die once my mission is complete," he told him, "Nothing will ever stop me," he snarled before he pulled his pistol from out of his coat pocket and slammed the butt of it against the back of his skull, knocking him out instantly.
Meanwhile, down in the streets, Tashigi had sent her Marine grunts to search the area for Zoro and to leave no stone unturned. She searched through the streets and alleyways, growing more and more frustrated by the second.
"Where the hell could he be?" she muttered to herself.
That's when she spotted something in the corner of her eye on the roof of a nearby house. She looked around and saw a hooded man carrying another man over his shoulder whilst he leapt from roof to roof. Her eyesight might be poor, but she recognised the man he was carrying's green hair anywhere. It was only for a few seconds before the hooded man ran out of her line of sight, but it was more than enough time for her to realise that Zoro was being taken away. She frowned thoughtfully and tilted her head to the side.
"What the hell is going on?"
Streets of Rainbase
Vivi crept down an alleyway and looked around the corner; she immediately reeled back when ten Billions ran past her hiding spot, causing her to gasp in fear. However, once the last Billion ran past the alley, she sighed in relief and stepped out into a clearing with several large buildings surrounding her. She frowned thoughtfully and looked around her surroundings, trying to figure out where she had to get to.
"I need to get to Rain Dinners and meet up with the others," she murmured to herself, "But all of these Billions are making it difficult for me to get anywh-"
A shadow fell over her, making her gulp in fear. She tightened her grip on her whip, took a deep breath and swung it back at the figure behind her...
...only for Magpie to catch it effortless and pull it out of her grasp.
Vivi gasped and stepped away from him, "W-what are you doing here? I thought we left you on that island."
"A minor setback," he simply said as he tossed her whip over his shoulder and took out his rapier, "My apologies. You are not originally part of the mission, but because of your status and the fact that you decided to involve yourself with the Straw Hat...I have no choice, but to eliminate you."
Vivi held her hands up in defence, "You don't have to, Magpie. Do you truly want to do it or are you being ordered to do so."
"My orders are my life. It is all I have."
"Surely, that can't be true," she told him, "Please, you have to let me live for now. I already told you what is at stake."
"And I already told you that I don't care," Magpie snarled as he raised his rapier to his side, "You are classified as a threat to the Secret Empire. Your punishment is immediate death."
Magpie crouched down and prepared to attack when suddenly he sensed something coming towards him from above. He dodged backwards away from Vivi just as the first hail of bullets hit the ground he had just been standing on.
DAKA-DAKA-DAKA-DAKA-DAKA-DAKA!
Vivi gasped in surprise while Magpie growled and looked up to where it was coming from. Zooming towards them from out of the blue sky was what looked to be a giant falcon with brown and black feathers, but there was something odd about it; it had giant feathery wings, but they were attached to a muscular human-like body and head. Its hands were sharp talons, it had a yellow beak which covered most of its face and wore a long white robe with black star print, a white bandanna around its head and it had two Gatling gun turrets under both wings. The Gatling guns fired again at him; he avoided them by back flipping out of the way and ducking behind a nearby tree. Meanwhile, the falcon, with its mighty, shape claws, swooped down and plucked Vivi from off the ground and flew her away. Magpie stepped out of his hiding place and watched as the falcon-human hybrid landed on a roof of a nearby building. He released Vivi from his grip and began to morph back into a human now wearing the same clothes. He had slicked back brown hair, a pale face with purple eye shadow around his eyes and a long sword attached to his hip,
"Pell," Vivi gasped in relief at the sight of the man.
The Zoan type user gave her a faint smile, "It's good to see you again, Princess. It's been too long."
"It has," she agreed with a thankful smile of her own, "How is my father? Is he safe?"
"He is well, but he's getting more and more weary by the day," he turned his sharp eyes down at Magpie and narrowed them in anger, "Princess, is he a member of the organisation trying to take down our kingdom."
"N-no," she uttered, "I don't think so. Pell, please be careful. He has a powerful Devil Fruit power that allows him to steal anything. Even other Devil Fruit powers."
"I see. Allow me to take care of him, Princess," Pell muttered before he leapt off the roof across from the assassin. The two men stood off against each other, glaring challenging at one another across clearing. Pell frowned thoughtfully as Magpie tilted his head at him before he spoke in a low tone, "My name is Pell; one of the two head guards at the service of King Cobra Nefertari and is widely known as the strongest fighter in Arabasta," he narrowed his eyes at him, "That mask…I've only heard rumours of your existence, Black Feather."
"You are associated of the royal family," Magpie hummed as he drew his rapier from his sheath, "I have no choice, but to eliminate you along with the princess. If you surrender, I will make sure to make your death as painlessly as possible."
"I never thought an assassin would be so arrogant," Pell snarled as he too drew his sword, "Your crimes against the Nefertari will not go unpunished."
Pell leapt at him and swung his sword down on him, but Magpie easily dodged to the left. The guard continued unleash a flurry of stabs, slashes and swings at the assassin as he tried his best to him, however the assassin was too quick as avoid every single one of them. Meanwhile, Vivi began to climb down from the roof she was on; she needed to be quick and meet up with the others before it was too late.
'Please be careful, Pell,' she thought as she continued to climb down.
Magpie ducked under another swing and, seeing an opening, sprinted forwards and slashed Pell's side, leaving a thin gash. Pell cried out in pain and glared back at Magpie and his bloodied rapier; he morphed back into his human-falcon form, flapped his wings and took off into the air. He flew up as far as possible before he flipped backwards in the air and nosedived down towards Magpie with his sword ready to cleave him in two.
"I WILL NOT LET YOU HARM THE PRINCESS!" he roared as he swung his sword right at Magpie's chest.
SHLICK!
A sickening, bloody noise ripped through the clearing, catching Vivi's attention. She jumped down on the ground and turned to see the fighter's facing away from each other; with Magpie standing still and Pell crouched down with his head bowed to the ground. Vivi stared wordlessly at the two, waiting for any reaction…
…however, she gasped when she saw a trail of blood drip from Pell's chest.
The palace guard coughed up more blood before he morphed back into his human form; he staggered to his feet to reveal a vicious gash across his chest.
Pell hissed in pain and wrapped his arms around the large cut to prevent any blood from seeping out; he looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened at the sight of Magpie with his own sword in his hand covered in his blood.
"I do not wish to continue this fight any longer," he said before he tossed his sword to the side before sprinting in front of Pell. The guard barely had time to react before the assassin kicked him in the face, sending him flying onto his back; Pell grunted in pain as Magpie zipped towards him and stamped on his chest, keeping him pinned to the ground, "You are a security threat to the Secret Empire," the assassin hissed as he took his pistol out and pointed it at his face, "You will be terminated as punishment."
"NO! PELL!" Vivi screamed as she ran up to him and grabbed the arm holding the pistol with little success, "PLEASE STOP! I PROMISE WE WON'T TELL ANYONE!"
"Princess, no," Pell grunted as he stared down the barrel of the pistol.
"Wait your turn!" Magpie snarled as he threw her off him, knocking her off her feet in the process, "I wouldn't have to do this if you didn't get in my way!" he pointed the pistol at Pell's face once again and pulled back the hammer.
Pell winced and gritted his teeth as he prepared for the inevitable.
Vivi was climbing back in her feet with tears in her eyes.
Magpie narrowed his dark, hollow eyes as he tightened his grip on the trigger.
He woke up at the sound of a scream.
Ever since the crack in his prison opened up, he had his ear constantly pressed up to it and listened to the outside world. And while he heard amazing things; things he had not heard of in many years; he did hear things that make him sick to his stomach. He heard his prison commit acts of violence and harm on others with his body; actions that he had no choice in making. Eventually, it had got too much for him and he had turned away from the crack and looked away; he didn't want to hear him hurting others anymore.
However, he heard a scream of anguish from outside his prison, jolting him out of his slumber and making him crawl back to the crack and pressed his ear against it once again.
"NO PELL! PLEASE STOP! I PROMISE WE WON'T TELL ANYONE!"
His eyes widened as he heard that scream. he was going to hurt someone again.
This is not him. He is forced to do this. The prison is controlling him.
'No,' he thought as he balled his right hand into a fist, 'No, don't this!' he raised his fist up beside his head, 'I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO KILL ANYONE ANYMORE!' he yelled in his head before he slammed his fist into the crack in the mask.
Streets of Rainbase
'I'm sorry, my king,' Pell thought as he closed his eyes tight.
"NO STOP!" Vivi screamed as she reached out to stop him, but there was no way he could get in time.
Magpie pulled the trigger…
BANG!
…and fired the pistol.
Pell winced as the gun fired, but frowned when he didn't feel any sort of pain; he cautiously opened his eyes and gave a gentle gasp. Vivi blinked in shock and took a step back. Magpie was the last to notice what had happened; he looked to his right and saw that he was no longer pointing the smoking pistol at the guard…but upwards to the sky.
"What?" Magpie uttered in confusion.
'He threw his shot away,' Vivi thought in confusion.
Pell frowned, 'What's the meaning of this?' he thought before turned his arm into falcon's talon and slammed it against the assassin.
Magpie was thrown off of him and smashed against a wall of a nearby building before falling to the ground; he groaned as he pushed himself up, but found that his right arm was not responding to him. He tensed the muscles in his arm before he finally gained control of it.
'What was that?' he thought to himself, 'For a moment, it felt as if I was not in control of it,' he turned his attention back to his targets; Vivi was helping Pell off the ground while he struggled to get his footing back; he drew his rapier again and crouched down, "I will not fail this time," he muttered to himself.
He crouched down, ready to pounce with his sharp blade when a cool voice sounded out across the clearing.
"That's enough, Magpie," they turned and saw Robin saunter her way out of an alleyway before she casually put her hands in her pockets, "You can step down now."
"Miss All Sunday," Vivi uttered, her eyes widening in fear at the sight of her.
Magpie merely tilted his head at her, "I am just about to execute her. Don't get in my way," he snarled.
"That won't be necessary," Robin curtly told him, "Mr. 0 changed his mind. He wishes to see the princess."
"Our agreement is for me to kill the princess in exchange for my target. Tell Crocodile that I am not his servant. He can't order me around like he can with you."
Robin gave him a sharp look, "He anticipated this. He said that if you kill her now, he will not allow you to have Straw Hat and you can forget about the truce," she cocked an eyebrow at him, "You did say, by any means, did you not?"
Magpie gave her a deadly glare before he sheathed his rapier, "Fine," he muttered bitterly, marching up to Vivi and grabbing her by the arm, "It's on Crocodile's head if events take a turn for the worse," he glanced at the injured Pell still on the ground, "What are we going to with him?"
Robin looked down at him before she crossed her arms in front of her and closed her eyes, "Seis Fleurs," she said before six arms appeared from nowhere with a flurry of petals.
Two sprouted from the ground and grabbed Pell's legs, two sprouted from his back, grabbed his arms and pulled them back and finally two sprouted from his shoulders and wrapped around his neck; the guard grunted in pain as the arms pulled his arms, neck and legs backwards until he was almost crescent shaped with the threat of his spine breaking like a dry twig.
"You'll…pay…for this," he sputtered out before Robin gave the final command.
"Clutch," she ordered, tightening her hands into fists.
CRACK!
Pell gave a pained-filled gasp before he collapsed to the floor unconscious; the arms that were holding him back disappearing into petals in the process.
"PELL!" Vivi yelled as she attempted to rush to him, but Magpie tugged her back.
"Leave him," Robin said, turning around and walking away from them, "We need to hurry back before seven o'clock."
Magpie growled in annoyance and pushed Vivi to get her to start moving forwards towards Rain Dinner; Vivi attempted to escape from his grasp, but he was too strong for her. As he led her away, he thought back on how his arm acted on its own and wondered what had happened. He distinctly remembered, just before he fired the pistol, the crack in his mask pulsated slightly as if something hit it; he used one finger to feel the crack before he reached into his pocket, pulled out the chip that fell from the crack and spotted it back in; it wasn't completely sealed off, but it was enough to keep it in place for a little while longer.
He gasped in shock as the crack in his prison was blocked off, plunging him into darkness once more with only a slither of light coming from the edges.
'No!' he thought as he slammed his fist against it, 'no, no, no, no! NO! Don't seal me off again! Please!' he thought desperately as he continued to try and break through his prison, 'I'm so close to breaking out!'
Meeting Room
Back in the meeting room beneath the casino, Crocodile leaned back in his chair and smirked triumphantly at his captives. There were two cages, one made of steel and brick and the other made of Seastone bars. The steel cage contained those who Magpie had previously captured; Nami, Usopp and Zoro who was still asleep on the ground; the Seastone cage, however, not only contained Luffy, but also Captain Smoker who had chased the Straw Hat all the way to Rain Dinners and captured along with him. Due to the nature of the Seastone neither Luffy nor Smoker were able to use their powers, rendering them useless and trapped in their own prison. Despite this, Luffy still tried to push his way through the bars in rage filled determination.
"LET ME OUT AND LET ME KICK YOUR ASS!" he shouted, "COWARD! BASTARD! Err...COWARD!"
"Luffy, you already said that one," Usopp said with a roll of his eyes.
Nami shook her head, "I wouldn't get it pass him that those are the only insults he knows."
Luffy blinked in surprise and looked at them in confusion, "Huh? You guys are here?"
"WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR FIVE MINUTES! HOW HAVE YOU JUST NOTICED US!?"
The Straw Hat tilted his head at them, "Why are you over there and not in this cage?"
"Because there's no point trapping non-Devil Fruit users in Seastone," Crocodile drawled as he took another drag of his cigar, "This cage was especially designed for you," he turned his eyes up to the captain, "And for incompetent Marines."
Smoker snarled, "Damn Warlords. This is exactly why you can't trust pirates."
"Huh?" Luffy uttered, "How did you know I have powers."
"Why do you think, Luffy," Nami sighed before he glared at Crocodile, "He's separated us based on our abilities. Clearly, he's had some intel on us."
Zoro snorted and woke up whilst rubbing his head, "Huh? Is it morning already?"
"It's been morning for hours!" Nami yelled at him.
"AH AH AH!" Crocodile chuckled, "I must admit, I was surprised by your sudden appearance. Due to one troublesome subordinate, I was not properly informed of who you were. However, I am well aware of who you are, Nami the navigator," he said, making her flinch, "As well as you, Usopp the marksman, Zoro the swordsman and ex-pirate hunter and finally Luffy the captain of Straw Hats," he grinned cruelly, "I have yet to introduce myself to Sanji the cook and Chopper the doctor."
Luffy hissed in annoyance, "How the hell do you know that!"
Suddenly, the door to the meeting room opened to reveal Robin and Magpie with a struggling Vivi still in his grasp. Luffy's eyes widened at the sight of the assassin before he snarled furiously.
"YOU!"
Crocodile smirked, "Aha! Perfect timing. I take it that you are already acquainted with my latest addition to Baroque Works."
Luffy grabbed onto the bars and shook them fiercely, "Bastard! Let go of Vivi right now!"
From over in the corner of the cage, Smoker's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight of assassin from the top of his hood to the sharp rapier sheathed at his hip. Within the Marine ranks only the upper ranks, from the Fleet Admiral to the Rear Admirals, have been briefed on the existence of the Secret Empire to prevent a security leak; being only a captain, Smoker didn't know who Magpie or his association to the Secret Empire, the World Government's biggest threat, were, but something about him made him acknowledge him as a threat. And if he was working with Crocodile, then he couldn't imagine what sinister plan was occurring.
Magpie glared down at Crocodile as he led her down the stairs, "It is unwise to do this, Crocodile. If the princess poses a threat to you and I then you should have allowed me to kill her immediately."
The warlord gave him a malicious grin, "You are concerned over nothing, Black Feather. Everything is going to plan," he gestured over to the Seastone cage, "I even had Straw Hat wrapped up and ready to give to you. I hope you don't mind the Marine captain along with him. You can kill him as well."
Magpie looked over at them and tilted his head, "After everything...you fell for the trap door hidden in front of the V.I.P sign trick? A toddler would have fallen for that."
"Hey! In my defence, I didn't know what a V.I.P was!?" Luffy shouted angrily at him.
"How is that remark defending you?" Usopp sighed from the other cage.
Smoker grunted in anger, "If you weren't so thick, Straw Hat, I wouldn't be in this mess alongside you. Instead, I would have torn this entire casino piece to piece."
Usopp shrugged, "I mean, you also fell for the trick so..."
"What are you implying!?" Smoker snapped.
"Ah! N-nothing! Captain Smoker, sir!"
"Crocodile!" Vivi yelled fiercely as she tried to get out of Magpie's grasp, "Don't you dare ignore me after everything you've done to my country!"
The warlord looked up, smirked and opened his arms wide in greeting, "Ah, welcome at last Princess Vivi...or rather Miss Wednesday. You've done a splendid job avoiding my assassins up until now. I even had to get reinforcements from the Secret Empire to capture you," he waved his hand at them, "Magpie release her. She will cause no harm here."
Magpie, despite his better judgement, let go of Vivi's wrists; the moment she was free, the princess began to march down the stairs towards Crocodile.
"I'd come all the way to the ends of the Earth if it meant seeing your death, Mr. 0."
Crocodile chuckled as a dark shadow fell over his face, "I'm afraid the only thing dying you'll see...is your worthless country, Miss Wednesday."
The princess' eyes darkened in fury before she charged down the stairs and pulled out another one of her whips, "IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, THIS COUNTRY WOULD STILL HAVE PEACE!" she screamed with unbridled rage.
Her crewmates yelled at her to stop, Smoker could only shake his head in knowing disappointment while Magpie and Robin watched on in slight amusement as Vivi jumped over the table Crocodile was sat and swung her whip right at his head.
"PEACOCK! STRING SLASHER!" she yelled as the tip of the whip hit the warlord...
...only for it to pass through his head and hit the back of the chair with such force that it snapped off; Crocodile's head burst into wave of yellow sand before the rest of his body disintegrated and also turned into sand. The sand floated around the room before it stopped directly behind Vivi, causing her eyes to widen in hopelessly.
"Calmed down yet, Miss Wednesday," drawled the voice of Crocodile from seemingly nowhere.
Before she could move, the sand particles began to clump together and grab her by the throat, choking the air out of her. The sand began to morph and move back together and slowly began to piece itself back into Crocodile who had now got Vivi by the throat and his hook wrapped around her arm.
"I'm sure all who live in Arabasta, yourself included, would be aware of the power of my Sand Sand Fruit," he turned his dark eyes down at the struggling Vivi, "Should I turn you into a mummy as well?"
"OH CRAP! HE'S A LOGIA TYPE USER!" Usopp yelled in fear.
"NOT ANOTHER ONE!" Nami shouted beside him.
"GET AWAY FROM HER! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS! CROCODILE!" Luffy declared as he tried to break through the bars once again.
Zoro hissed in anger while Smoker snarled angrily at the Warlord as he shoved Vivi into an unoccupied chair.
"Now sit down and don't glare at me like that," Crocodile growled as he moved to the centre of the room, leaving behind an irate Vivi, "It's almost time for the long-waited party to begin," he glanced back at Magpie, "What are you waiting for? Find the last Straw Hat and bring him here. You can kill their pet if you like," he smirked cruelly, "I think a reindeer head wall mount would do nicely in this room, don't you think?"
"DON'T TALK ABOUT CHOPPER LIKE THAT!" Luffy yelled at him.
"Luffy, a few days ago, you were calling him emergency rations," Usopp pointed out.
"THAT'S DIFFERENT!"
Magpie sighed in irritation, but turned around and began to wordlessly leave the meeting room. However, before he could leave, Zoro called out to him from across the room.
"Hey, asshole! Give me back my swords!" he yelled at him.
Magpie looked over his shoulder before he zoomed up to his cage in a split second. He pulled out two of his three swords out of his coat and placed it on the floor in front of the cage, "You should take better care of your possessions," he mocked, much to the swordsman's anger. He then pulled out the last sword and studied it in his hands, "Hmm, Sandai Kitestsu the cursed blade, if I am not mistaken," he said before he put it back in his coat, "I think I'll keep this one and gift it to my emperor."
"HEY!" Zoro shouted at that, "GIVE THAT BACK!"
However, Magpie ignored him and sprinted back across the room, up the stairs and out of the door, closing them behind him as he left. Crocodile watched him leave with a smirk on his face before he turned to Robin.
"Is it almost time, Miss All Sunday?"
Robin took out a pocket watch and looked at the time, "Right on time," she said with a devious smirk which made the Straw Hats flinch in anger, "Seven o'clock exactly."
"Perfect," Crocodile chuckled, "Operation Utopia...has begun."
And that's it for now, I hope you'll enjoyed it.
YAY! I finally get to introduce Robin! She's my favourite character along with Franky, Chopper and Perona. Like last time, this chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I felt like I was getting ahead of myself and so I split it up into two chapters again. According to my estimates, Magpie will join the Straw Hats at the end of chapter seven.
Thanks for reading :)