Wealth, Adventure, and the Open Sea: A One Piece RP.(Arc 4: Porte Carlo.)

[Mr. Omega]

He smirked at Yoje's comment. "They got most of it out now, but their sail is ruined, and some of them got a real nasty surprise." They were now right between the ships, almost right past them.

Peter saw the back end of the Marine ship blow out in an explosion, and from the smoke saw an owl fly through. "DAMN! Way to go! That takes care of another ship." Seeing Jacque land, he turned to the other ship. He saw Grana had reached to top of the burnt sail, getting ready to exit the same way he entered. After repeating his trick to reach the ship again, Peter smirked. "Way to make an entrance. Sorry about the fire, but you got out of it fine." He turned to Sammi. "Ok, we're just about through. Get him ready and let him go once we're out of firing range."

The ship had now cleared the blockade, sailing towards the open sea. "We made it!" He laughed heartily, turning to those behind him. "Great job, everyone!"
[hr]

Back at the harbor, Hippocrates had gotten back onto his ship. One of the Marines ran up to him, a panicked look on his face. "S-sir! The pirates who had taken to governor! They made it past the blockade!"

"What?!" He spat at the young Marine, rage clear in his voice, but he seemed to calm down almost instantly. ".....No matter. What are the conditions of the blockade ships?" "One has a burnt sail and the other has no cannonballs, sir!" "Who is commanding the ship that is in better condition to pursue them?" "That'd be Officer Gulligan, sir!"

After a minute, he nodded. "Very well. Tell the ships to combine their troops, share their ammunition, and pursue those pirates. They can repair the ship on the way. Wait for them to reach land. Now then, about those pirates..." The Marine nodded and ran out, coming back with some papers. "We have a positive ID and photo of all of them." "Good... let me review this information, and I'll send it to HQ." He took the papers and walked back towards his quarters. "Until then I have some business to take care of."

Spoiler: End of Arc!

The arc is now officially done! We are now in downtime!

For all those posting, you can mess around on the ship, talk with each other, or establish your character. I am going to start setting up the next arc, contact a few people who might be joining, updating the OP, and will participate in downtime if someone wants to interact.

 

[Tim_Buoy]

?Well now that we esssscaped how about a good old sssssea sssong? Said Sylvester as he coiled his whip. He slipped it back on his belt and took out the violin. He gave the instrument a quick tune. When it was ready he started playing the familiar melody.

 

[GoWithDAFro]

Yoje leaned against the rail of the ship, watching the ocean and enjoying Sylvester's music. "That was a solid victory" he said to no one in particular. This crew is decently strong, and most of them seem like alright people. I think I'll stay with them, and not just to learn the Paper Art from Sparkles
"Hey, Peter. Where are we headed now? Anywhere specific?"

 

[NeoAC]

Looking back at the burning wreckage of the Marine blockade, Sammi breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God. I can't imagine how bad that would have looked if I got caught right after Bob. Nice to see Peter's got some heavy stuff though. That fire cannon worked wonderfully. The snake man's music was helping her reflect, but she snapped out of it when she looked back at the mast. But now, what to do with this guy.

She turned her attention back to the Governor. "Relax fatty," she told him. "You're not coming with us." She took the barrel of wine that was still strung up and released her ropes' hold on it, sending it crashing to the deck with the top falling off of it. The wine started spilling out over the floor until Sammi set it up right. She poured the rest of the wine over the railings, no doubt getting some lucky fish drunk off the cheap vino.

"You cheap out on booze, we cheap out on getting you back to terra firma. See how this works?" She moved the ropes so that they freed the Governor from the mast but kept him tightly bound. "So you're going to be paddling yourself back to your precious Marines in this boat made from 100% recycled material. See, we care about the planet in this crew. We just don't care about you."

She used a couple of the ropes to tie him up to the rigging, then swing him over the barrel, finally lowering him into his makeshift vessel. It was a tight squeeze but he barely fit inside. She took out one of her axes and chopped down the lid, making into one long plank. "Here's your paddle," she said, lodging the wood in with the Governor. "Don't worry, I'm not going to boot you over the side." She leaned in close. "That would just be mean, wouldn't it?"

The ropes that were still attached to the rigging unwound from the the Governor and wrapped themselves around the barrel. Sammi slung the barrel over the rail and the ropes started lowering the Governor towards the ocean. They were moving slowly.

Sammi watched the barrel go down for all of a few seconds before tiring of it. "Close enough!" she shouted and with that she detached all consciousness from the ropes, letting the Governor's barrel plunge into the ocean. He was submerged for a moment before reappearing as a dot in the water. "Better get paddling if you want the rescue boats to find ya!" she called out.

Hostage taken care of, she went back up deck where Peter was still celebrating the victory. Jumpy man was already there. "So, what now Captain? Where we heading with this beast of a ship?"

 

[Scarim Coral]

Jacque had a walk around the deck as if he is on a tour. The song Bink's Shake is sweet music to his ears.

"Ah I haven't heard that song for ages!"

He pay attention to the deck floor and to his surprise he found that the floor were quite sturdy although he can be wrong sometimes. Once he had finish walking around the deck he morph into his owl form and fly up to the crow's nest. He landed right into it as the nest fit right into his owl form.

Something tells me I will be in here quite often.

He then fly back down and landed on the deck. He then proceeds to rest of the deck floor literary.

"Don't mind me; I'm going to take a nap. Don't take my bag and don't you dare try to peak under my mask!"

He lay on the floor and dose off to sleep.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Peter had leaned back, enjoying the sounds of the music. "You're real good with a violin, you know that?" He sighed happily, staring up to the sky. After he heard a splash over the side of the boat, he chuckled.

He heard Yoje and Sammi ask him a question. "Our next stop is the island of Lasklee. Not the ideal location, especially nowadays, but I have a few things I need to take care of. I need to get some materials to upgrade this ship into something a little more acceptable for a pirate crew, and I have a few packages I need to pick up from there. If we keep heading south, we'll be there in no time."

"Now I know not all of you joined under the best circumstances. I appreciate your help, but I'm not forcing anyone to do anything. If coming with me conflicts with your plans, you're free to leave once we get to Lesklee. But I would be honored to have you all accompany me. Just think about it." He smiled, walking back to the railing, looking out to the sea.

He took a minute to look at his new ship. "I need to do a lot for it. Fortify it, arm it better, find ways to increase the speed. Get it a new coat of paint, give it a new name, make my own flag now that I have a sizable crew... this adventure is gonna be great!" With a large grin on his face, he turned back to the crew. "Come on! Let's celebrate while we still can!"

He went to the back,trying to find if there was any food or anything to drink there. "Hey! Can anyone here cook?"
[hr]
On the Marine ship, there was a large stack of photos and a bit of paperwork spread across a desk. "Captain, we managed to get a positive ID on all the escaped pirates. Of course, we have their captain, "Gadget Fiend" Peter Tew. The one who was seen arriving with him was Sammi "The Viking" Makela. Their navigator seems to be "Phantom Magician" Grana Rei. We also managed to identify "Sea Serpent" Sylvester Shirahama. We're not sure what role he has. And the long-haired fellow doesn't have a bounty. The people we talked to told him he was a traveler, calling himself "Sparkles".""

Hippocrates looked at the five pictures. "Some of those names sound familiar. Ask HQ if anyone in command recalls the last names "Tew", "Rei", "Shirahama" and "Makela". I don't know them, but someone else just might. Now then, what about those three who I encountered on the docks?"

"We couldn't positively identify the man called "Smithy". We managed to find out the other two, though. One was Jaqcue De Hootingham, the other was Yoje Taruki. You seemed interested in these three, sir... a little offended that they got away?" "At the very least, I think I have plenty reason to suspect Taruki over something. Hootingham might just be my paranoia speaking. I've requested for some files to try and confirm my suspicions, relating to the incident somewhere else. I might be wrong, but until then..." Hippocrotes motioned for the Marine to leave.

As he got to the door, the Marine asked. "Sir, if you're this interested and think they're a threat, why send Officer Gulligan without more backup? Why not send another ship to aide him?"

"If their direction is even the slightest indication, we might not need to. Lasklee is a place where Marines have a little... difficulty operating. Sending one ship is going to be troublesome already. I trust Gulligan enough to not do anything stupid there. And he won't quite be operating on his own. Unless those pirates are incredibly lucky, or have someone there with some serious connections, they'll also have to deal with Boss Tozani and the Budero family and Oyabun Inshi and the Yarrakona family. We probably didn't even need to send one ship: the locals will try to take care of them for us. They'll either lose a couple members or even all be taken care of, leave for the next island, or cause a bit of damage to one of the gangs. Either way, we have the least to lose."

 

[Xero Scythe]

Spoiler: OOC

Hello everyone. I'm sorry I seemed to just disappear off the face of the earth for the past week. My computer somehow crashed, and it took days just to find someone who could actually fix it (Best Buy couldn't do a thing- go Computer Brain!). Anyway, all is right now, so posts will begin to pick up once more!

Grana smiled as he heard the music begin to play. "Damn! Well, that's certainly one way to start an adventure!" Grana then began to dance a waltz with an imaginary partner before hearing Sammi drop the governor over the side. "Hah! Remind me not to cheap out on a date with you! I can't swim!" Grana laughed, completely at ease with this company. "What do you know. Maybe my luck's starting to turn again." Grana opened up a portal below him, dropping into it and ending up near the steering wheel, once more in his simple, daily clothing. "So, to Lesklee we go!" Grana yelled, spinning the wheel slightly to put them on a collision course with the island. He checked against his map to make sure before lashing the wheel and returning to the deck. "Lesklee, Lesklee... Why does that name sound familiar?" Grana muttered to himself. His blood ran cold. "Oh, shit. Lesklee. The Yarrakona Family. I stole their Dragon Diadem! Damn, of all the places we had to go!" Grana snapped out of his internal struggle in order to join the festivities once more. "Okay, okay. I can do this. Maybe they forgot?" Grana shook his head. "Yeah, right. All I can hope for is that I get lucky, just like always. Until then, focus on the festivities!" Grana reached into his hat once more, searching for something to help. With a grin, he pulled out 3 full bottles of rum. "Hello! I found this on the marine's ship, and I didn't want it to go to waste! I reckon we can find a bit more in the hull of this ship."

 

[Mr. Omega]

Peter took one of the bottles and smiled. "That's more like it!" He looked over the edge of the ship. "Oi, I can see our destination up ahead. It's that little speck on the horizon. We should be there soon."
[hr]

[HEADING=2]Arc 2: Gangs of Lasklee.[/HEADING]​

Lasklee is considered one of the more lawless areas of the West Blue. The few Marines that are actually stationed there have been payed off, and most of the authorities are mere figureheads. The real people running the scenes are the two gang leaders. Controlling the Northwest is Boss Tozani of the Budero family. His main base of operations is the Eyes On The Table Casino. His main rival, Oyabun Inshi of the Yarrakona family is the man in charge of the Southeast from his resort the Ivory Oyster. The city has various shops all around, with products from all around the world, fine bars and great places to eat.

Lasklee has a long history of violence between the two families, but it used to be done in secret in back alleys or in the basements of some run-down shack. As more and more islands have undergone dramatic shifts in the recent months, both families have decided to throw all subtlety out the window. Both sides want control of the island now, wanting to keep it safe in case any powerful pirates come and threaten the stability they have there. The civilian population now has to deal with almost daily shootings, and as time goes on, both sides have now started hiring bounty hunters to fight for them. As the violence escalates, the population just seems to have stopped caring who wins and just hope they aren't close by when the next fight erupts.

 

[tsatoma]

"Hey Olio, ya' ever gonna tell me where we headin'?"

It was the forth time now that little curly-haired Fusilli had asked Olio where they were heading, and he was starting to get fed up. The little man asked him once more before he finally gave in and told him. "We're headin' to that old man's clock shop in tha center of town! He owes Boss Tozani some money, and we're gonna collect on it, ya got that? Now stop pesterin' me with questions!" Olio told his younger partner, taking a turn down an alley at a brisk pace.

"Alrigh' already, was just a question. I just wanted to know since I half thought ya were gonna take me out or something, like I had done somethin' wrong," Fusilli replied, initially cautious at going down an alleyway with the older man before adjusting his fedora and following along.
"What? If I were ta' do that wouldn't ya think we'd be heading outside of tha city and not close to the center? I swear they pair me with the dumbest people!" Olio replied, clearly on his last nerve with Fusilli, "So now just shut yer trap. We're gettin' close."

And, for a few minutes, there was peace and silence for Olio as they walked out of the alley and down the large, empty street where their destination was. That peace did not last however as Fusilli felt the need to make note of the emptiness. "Shouldn't there be people or something here? This is one of the market streets after all."

"Eh it ain't anything to worry about. There probably just wasn' any customers and so they packed up their shop early," Olio replied with a nonchalant shrug, brushing some dust off his striped suit as he saw the sign for the clock shop up ahead.
"Yeah but...all of them?" Fusilli asked nervously, following closely behind the older man, "What if it's tha Yarrakona family? O-or that archer fella'?"
"The Yarrakona aren't gonna mess with us this close to tha casino, and that archer is just a damn rumor made to scare the other family. Not quit yer yappin', we're here," Olio told Fusilli, walking up to the glass door of the shop and knocking a few times before making his way in.

The light from the outside illuminated a small portion of unlit shop, the only other light being from below a door on the other side of the room next to a set of stairs. Olio stepped inside slowly, keeping a hand on his pistol as he made his way inside. The ticking of all the clocks was almost deafening once Fusilli let the door close behind them, the clocks being the only sound other than their own breathing. Olio motioned for Fusilli to get his gun out as he made his way across the room to the store owner's office.

"Hey Benji, ya in there? I'm warnin' you this ain't funny," Olio said loudly into the room, doing his best to keep any hint of fear out of his voice as he pulled his own pistol out. He waited for a response before backing up and kicking the door in; rushing inside to find the office to be empty. "Where tha hell are ya? Don't tell me you ran," he muttered, holstering his pistol and looking around the room. Everything was neatly organized, with no signs of anything being looted or taken out in a haste if Benji had left suddenly. In fact, it looked like the place hadn't been touched at all for a few days. As Olio scanned the room Fusilli saw a note on the wall, and as he went closer he saw that an arrowhead was used to keep it there. "Hey Olio ya will have to read this for me, can't read for shit," he said, grabbing the note and handing it to the older man.

As Olio read the note in the light of the candle of the desk, sweat started to fall down his brow. He let the note drop onto the candle as he reached for his pistol, fumbling it in his hand before letting it fall to the ground after hearing a footstep behind them. There was a twang and he fell to the floor, Fusilli barely having time to realize what had just happened before another was heard. He slumped against the wall next to Olio, the last thing he saw being the cloaked archer right outside the door to the office.

The archer lowered their white bow slowly, moving to the side when an old man with thick glasses came down the stairs to look at what had been done. "Well it is not as bad as I thought it will be. The sooner I clean this up the better," Benji the clock shop owner stated, moving past the archer to turn on the light to the room.

"Will you be needing any assistance with that?" the archer asked with a calm, yet hard voice.
"Nope. I already asked Maddie next door to help out. I appreciate it though. We all appreciate what you've been able to do," Benji said, grabbing a blanket out of a drawer and putting it down next to the two dead Budero family members.
"I do what I can. I advise that you leave once you are done here. Either change your identity and stay or board the next boat off this dreadful island," the archer stated bluntly, watching the shop owner roll out the blanket.
"Already have that planned out too for the most part. I think it'd be wise for you to follow your own advice and do the same. Who knows what Tozani will do once he hears of this," he started, looking up from his work to see that the archer had already left as silent as they were when they first approached him with this plan.

 

[GoWithDAFro]

Yoje looked over at the island. "This boat moves faster than I thought it would. But I'd rather not wait until we arrive to find something to eat." He started walking below deck. "The governor must keep some rations on this ship. Some more drinks, too."

 

[Scarim Coral]

Jacque had woken as he let out a big yawn.

He smiles "Ah good, I am fully awake now so I'm good to go for a while unless I going have to use my owl form again twoo."

He walks to the edge of the ship as he saw an island from the distance.

He ask "So which island are we heading over to now and what are we doing?"

 

[Xero Scythe]

Grana walked downstairs, disappearing for a bit. When he came back up, he was carrying a stout fishing pole and some bait. He shrugged as he saw the reactions of his crewmates. "I saw a few fishing poles down in the hull and decided I might as well catch us dinner. I also saw some limes and lemons to fight off scurvy, and some drinking water. That's about it for the extent of this vessel's sustenance." Grana disappeared one more time before bringing up a large box. He created a portal right above the box, filling it with seawater. Grana then lined and baited his rod, casting it out into the sea to test his luck. "I don't know what kind of fish live in these waters, but I'm pretty decent at cooking fish. If someone else is an actual cook though, be my guest." Grana felt a bite on his pole and yanked up, hooking the fish. He then reeled in quickly, disappointed that the fish wasn't putting up much of a fight. When he finally got it into the boat, he sighed, disappointed at the fish's minute size. He took the hook out of the fish's mouth, instead re-hooking it in the back. "You took my bait, you bastard. Fine- it's your job now. Go find me a bigger fish!" Damien chuckled as he threw his newly baited hook back into the water. "Anyway, we're going to the land of Lasklee, town of two warring gangs. However, we will know it better as our first step toward the Grand Line!" As Grana waited for a bigger bite, a thought popped into his head. "Say, Yoje, what the hell was that move you used to walk in the sky? That looked incredibly useful." Grana mused.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Peter noticed Jacque walk up to the edge. "Had a good rest, I see." He then saw Grana hooking a tiny fish. "Mr. Hootingham, we're here for two purposes. First off, we're going to need more rations and supplies. Sammi and I had only expected a couple people joining, so we only bought enough for about 5 people back in Jingo. Second, I have a few personal items that where delivered here. I'm just going to pick those up before starting work on the ship. I might take a look around and see what they have to offer in this town. Like Jingo, Lesklee has some good stuff as long as you don't mind where it came from."

They were now going around the island, going to the eastern side. "Ok, we should be near a place we can dock the ship soon..."

 

[Scarim Coral]

He pauses when he heard the word Lesklee spoken from the captain mouth.

He reply "Leskleee eh? We got out of one hot frying pan and hop into a bigger one. This better be quick before the troubles find us twoo."

While he doesn't know the full detail of that island but in his former life as a marine he had heard varies rumours that the marines posted over there were corrupts.
Whatever he had heard about that island he had pretty much had avoided going there by himself until now.

 

[GoWithDAFro]

Yoje turned to Grana. "Its called the Moon Step. I kick the air with enough force to propel myself in the opposite direction. Normally, you need both legs to do it properly, but in my kangaroo forms, my legs are strong enough to only need one. I could probably teach it to you if you'd like, but you'd need a certain level of physical strength first."

 

[Xero Scythe]

Grana raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I was born and raised on a fishing boat. I reckon I have enough leg strength to attempt the technique. If not, I can always just buff up." Suddenly, Grana's pole bent into a C. "Here we go!" Grana chuckled, as he braced himself against the boat, readying himself for the upcoming fight. Grana felt the fish tense up under the water, and was amazed at the size of it as it leaped into the sky. "He's gotta be at least as long as I am tall... Now that's a fish!" Grana once more felt the fish tense up as it splashed back into the water. It tried to drag Grana into the water with it. Grana played with the fish, letting it tire itself out before reeling in each time. Finally, the monstrous marlin leaped into the air one last time. Grana summoned all his strength and pulled the fish into the boat. It flopped around on the deck before Grana drew the tanto and stabbed it, killing the fish instantly. "I have food!" Grana yelled, before placing the fish on ice. He turned to Yoje. "I would be honored if you would teach me the Moon Walk." Grana jumped high into the air, managing to get his feet under him again to kick once more in the air. Unfortunately, Grana did not go an inch higher, and landed back on the deck with a thud. "Damn, and I wanted to fly, too." Grana grinned before seeing a port show up. "Yeah, I see it. Alright guys, prepare to dock!" Grana looked for Sammi. "Say, Sammi, mind helping me out? Can you tie us to the dock?"

 

[GoWithDAFro]

"I can start teaching you while we're waiting for Peter to get the things he needs, Grana." Yoje smiled at the thought of having another student and walked over to the winch for the anchor. "Hey, Jacque, why are you against us being on this island?"

 

[Mr. Omega]

As they approached the dock, Peter jumped to a small pile of stuff from his old ship. He rummaged around, pulling out what seemed to be a set of blueprints. "Ok, since we're almost there, I think I should start making my preparations for the ship. I'll need to make a couple adjustments to these..." he then directed what he was saying to the crew. "Can I ask a favor? Once we dock, can you guys stay on the ship for a couple minutes?"

 

[Scarim Coral]

Jacque replies "Nothing personal, I just heard rumours about the place twoo. I think a gang lord or someone owns it like some king and I'm not in the mood to cause any more fuss like in Jingo. I could do with a few more r and r's twoo"

He then heard the captain order which he is delighted to hear.

He said "Fine by me.... wait a couple of minutes? Are you scouting ahead to see if it's clear?"

 

[NeoAC]

Sammi was about to snag one of Grana's acquired bottles of rum when he started calling for her.

"Sammi, mind helping me out? Can you tie us to the dock?"

"Yeah I guess I can do that," she replied, silently cursing that there would be no shot of rum for now. That stuff actually looks good too. Damn it.

She took her position at the side of the boat as she could see the dock slowly approaching. She held her thumbs out in a double Ebert manuever, knowing that the thicker rope would be needed to secure the larger ship. The rope started to grow, slowly wrapping it's way around a couple of the railing posts before heading down toward the outstretched mooring posts on the wharf. It took a few seconds but eventually they found their mark and started coiling around the moors, securing the boat to the dock.

Sammi detached the rope from her hands and watched both ends tie secure knots on each end. "OK Grana," she called back. "You want to get the anchor then while I lower the gang plank?"