[Peridot]

Carina noticed the navigator’s stressed out screech and was about to reassure him that everything would work out fine and to even go into great lengths when the admiral spoke calmly to reassure the navigator. It was surprising and nice to see that Admiral Cancer really did trust her to use her powers responsibly. If she had been a pirate spy, this would be the opportune time to try and poison him, so it touched the young marine officer that he willingly put this much faith in her.

She felt some degree of sympathy since the pain of having a nasty open wound like that must be completely unimaginable. The Admiral might have come out better just fighting with Mako. When he asked how long her makeshift treatment would last, Carina paused for a moment to consider since she had never had to seal a wound so severe before. Usually it was for however long it took to drag the person back to the medic bay.

“To be honest, I’ve never timed this to see how long it lasts.” She gave up trying to run mental calculations in her head and just decided to give the admiral her best estimation. “As long as you don’t scrape or wash it off, it should last anywhere between four to six hours.” It might not last the entire journey to Thriller Bark, but at least it would buy the crew a little more time to get Admiral Cancer there. She sincerely hoped they wouldn’t have to do too much fighting when they arrived given both his condition and the fact that the fast pace was pushing the crew to exhaustion. The crew’s work ethic and hustle showed just how much everyone on the ship truly cared for their admiral.

“She has a grudge against you?” Carina asked trying but failing to mask her concern and misgivings. She’d rather have an alive admiral in need of prosthetics than have him killed by the owner of Thriller Bark in retaliation. Then, Captain Buggy’s comments on the activities of the Fleet Admiral came to mind, and she paused before deciding to overstep her bounds a bit and ask him a question before she hunkered down to paddle as best as she could with the rest of the crew. “What… exactly were you ordered to do?”

[Peridot]

Carina nodded when Admiral Cancer said that the pirate doctor had given him an adequate dose of anesthesia. It didn’t hurt to check, and the marine was bearing what must have been excruciating pain well given the circumstances. The young marine officer picked up on the fact that Admiral Cancer had encountered the doctor before, but decided that this emergency was not the time to inquire for more details. The next moment, the admiral echoed that sentiment as he smirked and commented on focusing on getting to Thriller Bark.

She could hear the sloshing sound of churned waves as the boat reached enough speed to create an audible wake.
The paddles really did make a huge difference to the movement of the ship, and it was almost inspiring how extra effort and teamwork could make such a difference. Another officer of the ship rushed over upon Admiral Cancer’s demands, and Carina noticed the navigator’s high voice as he reported on Thriller Bark’s whereabouts. She wasn’t sure if the unusual pitch was natural, due to nervousness, or some unfortunate combination of the two. This would certainly be an interesting crew to get to know.

Her expression darkened when she heard that five pirate vessels were surrounding a single marine ship. No doubt the pirates were harassing yet another marine vessel to find the whereabouts of the Fleet Admiral. It stunk and made her feel bad to be breezing past what could be a ship full of allies in need, but there was nothing they could do to help. With any luck, Buggy and Truble wouldn’t be too merciless on the marine ship.

The admiral gave his orders and then turned to her, with a calm tone and meter to his voice despite the alarming situation he and his arm was in. It made Carina wonder whether this was the effect of the doctor’s drugs or some immense amount of willpower. Normally one could apply pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding but with the admiral’s arm battered and crushed, that sounded like a terrible idea and a good way of increasing the internal bleeding. The same thing went for removing the offending pieces of bone protruding from the admiral’s arm.

“Hmnn. Diluted snake venom will work for that,” Carian muttered both to herself and to the admiral as she considered alternative options to reduce the bleeding. Although it made some people nervous about being treated with poisons, Carina felt that it would be dishonest to not explain exactly what she was doing. Also, giving a quick explanation would be better than being accused of potentially trying to poison her vulnerable commanding officer. The ship was really starting to pick up speed now, and the tension in the air could be felt as the whole crew hurried to reach Thriller Bark in hopes of getting help for their admiral.

She focused for a moment to cover her hand in a viscous, yet slightly oily textured mauve poison. Given the rocking and unsteadiness of the ship, Carina decided to lower the poison dosage even more just in case she slipped or something unexpected happened. Then, in a single deft move, Carina wiped the poison off of her finger, leaving only the slightest trace of lingering poison. If the admiral would allow, she’d gently run her finger along the outside of his arm around the points of protruding bone and where the bleeding looked the most severe, allowing the poison to come into contact with his blood and create gelatinous blood clots to seal off the bleeding wounds.

[Peridot]

As Buggy made his farewell and rode off onto his boat, Carina watched the ship split apart and veer off in another direction. What type of pirate wants to get killed or captured, anyway? Carina thought to herself as she mused over his departing words. Buggy was a strange pirate, and not like she had expected. He was more sane than she had expected from a man who used to run around in a clown costume, but it seemed like he only boarded their ship to poke fun at the admiral and his crew for shits and giggles. He didn’t stick around to press the wounded marine for information or anything, even though it sounded like that was what he had been here for at first.

Snapping her attention away from the horizon, she glanced over at Admiral Cancer as he sat on a step and took a moment to recover from the piratical mayhem which had just occurred. It was a bit of a shame he was badly injured, otherwise this might be a good time to wait until Buggy’s ship was far enough away and then try to sink it with some cannonballs.The treacherous thought came to mind, but Carina’s more rational side pushed it away as she reminded herself why they had surrendered to Buggy in the first place. Everyone was in bad shape. The admiral’s arm was alarmingly disturbing. Broken bones would recover on their own, but Carina could see bits of pearly white ivory sticking out of his arm, and that looked very, very serious especially since he seemed to favor the pistol.

Fredjamin eventually came to, looking in pain but not grievously or even semi-permanently injured. There’d be a few nasty marks from where Buggy had grabbed him though. Both of them heard the command to sail to Thriller Bark and while Carina was simply curious since surely some of the stories about  that place had to be exaggerated, but Fredjamin looked frightened. At first, she smiled slightly thinking that the admiral was joking about the horror themed Thriller Bark turning into a night club. The corner of her mouth dropped when Admiral Cancer’s arm jerked nastily and he began to describe the current owner. It actually was a nightclub. She wondered what kind of person would be able to fix bones shattered to fragments, but if this Gekko woman was trained by the famous surgeon, Hogback, then maybe she’d be able to pull it off. The question, of course, is will she? Carina pondered. What kind of bargaining chip was the admiral planning on using to convince a pirate to heal an officer of the marines.

The admiral suggested that the crew use paddles to speed up the ship as best as they could, and she followed Fredjamin as they went to go collect paddles to help out the rest of the crew. “It’s a bad break. I’m amazed he’s even conscious right now. I sure wouldn’t be,” Carina confessed to the seaman apprentice when his comment made her glance back up at the admiral’s fragmented arm. “And I’ll promise to tell you if I get bit by a zombie if you do the same,” she said seriously although she wondered about just how deadly a poison zombie would be.

Despite the fact that she didn’t have any incredibly strength beyond that of a well conditioned young lady, Carina still got one of the spare paddles to help. Every helping arm mattered and it was important to her to work and be seen working with the crew if she wanted their trust and respect. “I’ll be right back,” Carina told Fredjamin as she made sure to pass by where the admiral was sitting, still holding the paddle.

“…Sir?” She piped up a bit hesitantly. Although she had gotten nothing but a good impression from him earlier this morning and yesterday, she was wary of the pain making the admiral crankier than usual. Wounded and desperate creatures were always the most dangerous. “If you ever need more anesthesia for the pain, I can help with that.” She offered, assuming that whatever Truble’s doctor had given Admiral Cancer to help with the injury would eventually wear off.

[Peridot]

Carina hissed angrily as each attack of hers failed. She had half expected it from the start but seeing the confirmation in front of her eyes still stung as Buggy was easily able to keep up the conversation while dodging with his bizarre fruit powers. The pirate captain began to detail all of the horrible atrocities he had witnessed the fleet admiral commit in the name of his justice, some of which startled Carina enough to significantly lower her guard.

Did Fleet Admiral Nomikomu really kill someone because they wouldn’t say what town they were from? And had the Sand Devil really been a marine this entire time? Why would he kill him then? Firing sure, but killing someone because they sympathize with pirates is ridiculous!

While she was caught off guard, torn between her thoughts and the ongoing ‘battle’, she lost track of Buggy’s assorted disembodied parts, not noticing as his hand began to form behind her. He emphasized that not even she as a marine was safe from the Fleet Admiral’s wrath with a gentle poke in the back. Carina whirled about startled and wild-eyed by the sudden contact but Buggy had already spread his pieces apart again. If that had been a knife instead of a friendly poke, she would have been dead before she even knew it.

Meanwhile, poor Fredjamin struggled and shouted helplessly before Buggy knocked him out with a sharp jab to the neck. His handiwork complete and having thoroughly driven his point across, the pirate clown reassembled beside Carina and began to step forward menacingly, highlighting the fact that there was nothing the marine could do to stop him. Buggy passed down an ultimatum: continue to oppose him or accept that she was beaten and let the pirate walk free.

The girl glared at Buggy angrily, about to tell him just where he could shove his little ultimatum after beating up her friend when she heard Admiral Cancer bark at her to stop fighting with the pirate. The order rang clear across the ship, distinct and authoritative enough to snap Carina’s focus from the impending fight. She twisted to look at him, noting that the admiral had ceased the fight with Truble because of whatever that nasty cracking noise had been. Buggy reformed and smirked, as if their fight had little importance to him.

Carina wanted to punch that arrogant face so hard that his neck would break, but he had already defeated her by showing off how he could spread his self around to avoid her attacks. Fredjamin along with a good part of the crew was unconscious and Admiral Cancer was injured and unwilling to continue the fight. If she continued the fight, the whole ship would likely be killed, she’d be disobeying her commanding officer and even worse she still wouldn’t be able to defeat Buggy. With an angry look and clenched fists, Carina took in a deep breath and let it out in a dejected sigh. He’s strong, I’m weaker and that’s that.

“Fine, you win this time.” Carina admitted bitterly, her gaze dropping slightly to avoid meeting Buggy’s eyes. It was almost physically painful to confess her defeat even though, according to Buggy, there had never been any question of who was more powerful in the first place. “I won’t try and stop you from leaving.”

[Peridot]

“Innocents? The people? You’re talking about us killing and reclaiming money from pirates, not civilians and hard-working citizens!” Carina replied feeling a little frustrated with how much Buggy was making sense. Nobody seemed to like the fleet admiral, but why hadn’t anyone held him accountable? Because he’d rip them apart, she thought cynically to herself. Might makes right, after-all. Whether it’s marine or pirate hierarchy.

“Someone should rein in the fleet admiral, but that doesn’t mean you lot should get away scot-free for your crimes,” she protested. The way Buggy was using her first name made her bristle at the familiarity. “Of course the good should beat down the bad, but I’m not convinced that the fleet admiral is bad! He’s heavy-handed, but he’s only targeting bad people.” Or those he thinks are bad people. Was that fishman really not a pirate? He had a Sun Pirates tattoo, and it’s possible to change a tattoo if he really wanted to remove pirate affiliation.

Fredjamin at this point tried to pull away, so she loosened her grip as he urged them to fight the pirates and advance through the marine ranks. A few other crew members charged Buggy who swiftly disabled and incapacitated them with his bizarre fruit powers. Buggy taunted them with a smile, just daring them to try and kill him because he was a Yonko. The pirate’s attack on her crew plus his little challenge set Carina on edge. Well, this seems to be just a friendly fight, what the hell. I ought to at least try. Maybe I can learn how to better use my powers from this.

“Yeah! They’ll have to call you fools the Sanko, cuz they’ll be one less of you,” she challenged with a rebellious yet playful tone in her voice. She whispered to Fredjamin, “At least go grab a weapon first. And remember what I said about fruit…” She continued to focus on Buggy, “No way am I going to be a pirate just because of some dumb tradition y’all came up with. And you’re fighting my men, so as a rule I can’t let you get away with that.”

With that said, Carina launched a flurry of her toxic bubbles containing paralytic gas at Buggy the Clown. Two were aimed high around neck level while the others were knee height. Learning from her attempted attack at Mako, she decided to use her powers to pop the bubbles prematurely if the pirate looked like he would try to weave around them.

Meanwhile, Truble and the Admiral began fighting each other. Over the din of her own attacks, she could pick out the phrase “suicide mission” but refused to let the invading pirates try to demoralize her. After all, it would be in their best interest to try and dissuade them from their task. Carina turned her attention to Buggy, she’d need all the luck and focus she could get and didn’t have the luxury of watching both battles. All she could tell from the flurry of movement in her periphery is that they were really starting to go at it. The very boat felt like it was going to shake apart and the stirring of the deck underneath her feet threw Carina slightly off balance. She quickly returned to her feet and looked around for something to use on Buggy besides just her fists, feet and sword. Not seeing anything immediately useful, Carina decided to continue using long-range attacks on Buggy to see how he would respond.

[Peridot]

Admiral Cancer and Mako looked to be fairly even in their fight and they seemed to be fairly evenly matched when Carina glanced over to see the fighting that had resumed between the two. Buggy had also noticed the fight but seemed to be content to not butt in on the fight and gang up on the marine. Surprisingly noble for a sneaky pirate, Carina thought to herself and decided to answer his questions as long as that kept him from interfering.

“But…that’s different!” Carina blurted out while the cogs in her mind turned as she tried to think about what she would do in such a situation. The idea of pirates taking over the world was ridiculous, the criminals were much too disorganized and freedom loving. Things would descend into madness! But what would she do in such a situation? Carina had no clue, but it wouldn’t be prancing around a pirate base. “Just because I would have done the same thing doesn’t change the fact that you’ve hurt and killed people to steal their money,” she retorted angrily.

When he took a few steps towards her, still maintaining that calm and relaxed demeanor, Carina took a few nervous steps backwards. She had never fought against another fruit user before, and Buggy had experience in his abilities and superior strength on his side. Buggy claimed to not want to hurt her, which made Carina uneasy with not knowing just what to do in a situation. There was an implication that he might if she got in his way.

Fredjamin proved to be more brave or reckless than she was and tried to punch Buggy. The pirate used his Devil Fruit powers to separate his body and easily avoid the attack and grab her subordinate. Carina was all ready to leap into action if the pirate captain looked about to hurt Fredjamin but instead he just gave the seaman apprentice a warning and let him go. She glanced over at the other marine to check that he was alright and moved to help him get back to his feet. “We can’t beat him right now,” Carina whispered to Frejamin, hating herself for admitting such a weakness but not wanting him to keep on attacking and trying Buggy’s patience.

Was it even possible for her Devil Fruit powers to work on someone who could cut themselves off from their circulation or respiratory tracts so easily? If Buggy’s disembodied head breathed in toxic gas, would it ever even reach his lungs or for that matter, would poison in his arm make it to the rest of his body if Buggy sliced himself up? Why am I so weak!? Carina thought to herself, angry at her own helplessness in the face of these two pirates.

Then to make matters worse, another ship bearing the symbol of Whitebeard appeared to run alongside their vessel. None of the marines seemed to dare try to gun down the ship so the captain and his crew boarded the marine vessel as well. Buggy turned and smirked at the piratical reinforcements before turning his attention back to Carina and Fredjamin quickly enough that she didn’t have a chance to try and use some sneak attack, although she had been strongly considering trying to shove him into the water. It was almost as if he were making sure they weren’t about to do anything stupid.

With one punch, the massive Whitebeard captain split the air, sending both Admiral Cancer and Mako flying backwards and separating them. The way Truble scolded Mako reminded Carina of a father bickering with an errant child more than the captain of a ship reprimanding a subordinate. Her immature behavior as he headed onto the ship only served to strengthen her impression. Then a few of the crew attempted to charge the infamous Whitebeard captain only to get disarmed by the crew’s expert marksman. None of the marines were grievously wounded, Carina could see that the pirates were making sure that this encounter had as little bloodshed as possible. If the pirates weren’t looking for a fight, then she wouldn’t pursue them. Heck, the Whitebeards were even stopping Mako from attacking the Admiral. Anything to get them to leave as quickly as possible would be good.

From where Carina stood by Fredjamin, she quietly grasped his arm in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture but would also hopefully keep him from running off and getting shot needlessly. If the Whitebeards were trying to take the crazy fishman away, then by all means, let them! Buggy was more than enough to deal with right now. Although she wasn’t happy about letting the pirates leave, the young warrant officer said nothing in response to the gunner’s taunt.

[Peridot]

The fishman pirate captain was looking down on her and although Carina didn’t like feeling such a huge difference in power, she felt relieved that the orca lady didn’t seem to want to kill the admiral. Of course there was no way she was going to take a pirate at her word, and she didn’t want to see Admiral Cancer tortured or interrogated for information either.

Carina was confused though, they didn’t seem to be trying to kill each other but the admiral was pulling his pistol while Mako had flung him off the railing and was now approaching in a threatening manner. The way the admiral spoke to focus the pirate’s attention on himself made Carina think that this might be a conversation best left to the two of them since it didn’t seem to be the all-out pirate attack she had initially thought it to be. When Fredjamin attacked Mako, Carina’s heart stopped for a moment as she was afraid the orca woman would rip him apart. Instead, she just patted his head condescendingly and moved onward. That action coupled with the way she had just shoved instead of slashing or attacking the boat made Carina think that the pirate was going out of her way not to do any lasting or serious damage.

She was surprised when, instead of striking at the admiral or continuing their fight, Mako dared Admiral Cancer to shoot her. She was clearly angry at the death of the fishman marine captain, and she was even implying that he had honestly never been a pirate despite showing sympathy towards them. It was a tense moment, and Carina could feel each second tick by slowly as she was unable to look away at the two, wondering if and when the admiral would pull the trigger.

Then chaos happened when a marine in the crows nest announced the arrival of another ship. The admiral’s gun failed to go off and Mako began to shove him roughly, still convinced that he had answers as to the Fleet Admiral’s location. Carina’s eyes widened as she caught sight of the second pirate to board their ship. The clothes he wore was unmistakable, it was Buggy the Clown still in his disguise as the kind fisherman she had first run into and now he was here to harass Admiral Cancer as well! The dirty pirates weren’t playing fair, teaming up on him like that!

Then Buggy turned his attention towards her and had the gall to smile at her as if he hadn’t tricked her back at Reverse Mountain. Carina’s face flushed with rage and embarrassment, turning bright red. He was an enemy, yet she owed her position and the extraordinarily good turn her life had taken to him. Was she supposed to be grateful to a pirate? And was he going to rub in her face how he had tricked her? It was a shame, she had thought he was so cool and been so grateful to him, and now it turned out he was an infamous pirate! She was still blushing bright red but answered his question, aware of the looks she was getting from the bewildered crew.

“I’m a warrant officer and the warden of this ship now. I got my promotion, ” she responded. The worst thing was not knowing whether she still would have accepted a favor from the man in front of her had she known he was a pirate. She just didn’t know. He had been kind, charming and paid her some really nice if a bit flirtatious compliments at a time when she didn’t have many friends. Her frustration at him for being a pirate and at herself for having accepted a favor from a pirate built up until she had to let it out. “And…And you tricked me, you scheming pirate! What do you have to say for yourself!?” It was important to let the crew know that she neither wanted nor willingly made friends with pirates.

[Peridot]

“Oh, no problem, Sal.” Carina responded when ze dashed up the rigging with a bundle of ropes and then turned to Fredjamin with an amused look. “That’s how you’re introducing me?” It seemed like she’d be the girl who vomits purple for quite some time on the ship, but it was true so who was she to argue against it?

Suddenly, a tremor rocked the ship, sending her skidding back several paces and falling on her butt while Fredjamin tumbled to the deck onto his face. When the admiral emerge, looking around for the cause of the sudden motion Carina pulled herself quickly to her feet. Then the deck rocked again, and it became clear that something underneath was harassing the ship. Obeying the admiral’s orders, she ducked down and looked for something to hold onto in case the whole ship collapsed or split or began to sink.

An enraged looking fishman appeared onto the deck and Carina immediately recognized her as Mako, one of the pirates declaring her challenge to the Fleet Admiral. The woman looked fearsome in real life, with sharp predatory teeth and battle wounds.’ To be able to shove the ship so hard, Carina figured that the woman must be incredibly strong. The warden’s eye narrowed as she tensed up ready to fight at the first sign of violence towards one of the crew. The pragmatic part of her mind noticed the wounds marking the orca flesh as she considered what type of poison might work best in this scenario where the target already had open wounds. She certainly wasn’t going to go with a sea snake or pufferfish poison in case the pirate had worked up an immunity to those.

To Carina’s increasing wariness, Mako locked her attention straight to the admiral and made her way towards him, shoving aside anyone in her way. The fact that she shoved and pushed instead of cutting or killing her way towards her superior made her hesitate to launch an attack on the pirate despite the fact that she had attacked their boat. It looked like she wanted attention and to speak with him first, and she didn’t want to interrupt and potentially cause a massacre when the admiral didn’t seem overly concerned at all with their pirate visitor. In fact, he seemed to have calmed down once she showed her face, and was now as cool as a cucumber.

Carina watched the confrontation with sharp, wary grey eyes. She was at first surprised that the admiral was so free in mentioning where the fleet admiral might be located, but it made sense. Their leader wanted to fight all of the pirates, and would be happy to meet Mako and get the chance for another gruesome execution. If pirates were dumb enough to go looking for a fight with the fleet admiral, who were they to stop them for getting killed? If you got knocked out a bit, how the hell do you expect to win this time?

Then the wild pirate launched her hands out at the admiral in a clear attack despite the fact that the admiral had given her all of the information she had asked for. At this attack, Carina began to cover herself in caterpillar venom for intense hemorrhaging, making sure to stay away from using any poisons based on sea creatures. She didn’t trust herself to be fast enough to coat herself in poison if the monstrous woman suddenly turned on her, and decided that it would be better to forego the element of surprise here in exchange for not getting struck suddenly. Mako screeched about whether she was going to get the same treatment as the treacherous fishman captain for being a pirate as she attacked.

He whipped out a pistol to shoot her, and Mako kicked him over the rail and onto the lower deck. A big fight was clearly about to happen, and it was clear that the fishman pirate was on equal level if better than the admiral. Carina clenched her fists angrily, there was little hope of her surviving the fight if she butted in, but like hell she was going to leave the admiral to duke it out with this pirate all by himself. She thought back to Jango howling at the marines too cowardly to help and reduced to watching his battle from outside the door and took a small breath to steady herself. She wasn’t going to be like them, and if the admiral lost then she was likely going to die by pirate or drowning anyway.

While the two were glaring at each other, Carina spat out a bubble filled with toxic gas at the orca woman. She didn’t really expect such an attack to hit when Mako had managed to dodge a surprise pistol attack, but that was fine. It would at least serve as a warning shot. The young officer glared at Mako, trying as hard as possible to look fierce despite feeling scared and outmatched like the rest of her quivering crew mates. Her fists were still clenched tightly as if that would keep her legs steady.

“Hey! ” She would shout after the fishman reacted to the attack and side-step farther away from where Fredjamin was taking cover on the deck.  “You got what you came here for! If you’re trying to kill our admiral then you’ll have to fight me as well cuz I won’t let you!”

[Peridot]

It seemed as if her words had helped calm the apprentice at least a little bit, since he even attempted a shaky smile. Carina took heart in how his attention seemed to focus more sharply when she explained the major, universal weakness of fruit users. That was good, with any luck he’d remember what she said when the time came. It was a bit strange explaining and exposing her own weakness to the other marine, but she decided that it was for the best. The information would come in handy if he ever ended up fighting a fruit user, and if she ever fell off the side of the ship into the ocean then he would know to give her help instead of waiting for her to swim back to the surface.

He seemed to cheer up even more though once she told him that she hadn’t tortured the rear admiral during her fight. She followed him out to where she should dispose of the toxic waste, listening to his story as he gave it. Her eyes narrowed slightly when he mentioned that he was also the laughing stock of his base. Not only did that not bode well for how he was treated, but was he implying that people had been laughing at her behind her back? Or did Fredjamin just mean that he had also been a social pariah?

Either way, she continued listening to the tale. The young officer’s eyes darkened with silent anger when Fredjamin revealed the scar on his arm. It was such a stupid thing for other marines to do. Just how bored and insecure were they to feel the need to mark one of their own for something so trivial as having an unusual name? She was the daughter of a pirate and could easily imagine what would have happened to her in that base if she hadn’t had fruit abilities to keep her safe.

She blinked at his next words, taking in the fact that the admiral had done him a kindness by taking him away from such a toxic situation and noting that Fredjamin was hemophobic. She wondered just how scared he was of seeing blood, and felt that the execution they had just witnessed on the television couldn’t have been good for him. It was a bit worrying since she felt that with the upcoming war, he’d likely have to see a lot of blood. It just hopefully wouldn’t be his own. Then he called her awesome, and she couldn’t help the grin spread on her face at the compliment.

Fredjamin then almost walked off the edge when he clearly stopped paying attention to where he was walking. So everyone on the ship had something interesting going on about them? Well, that would be good to know and interesting to find out as she got to meet and familiarize herself with the crew. She nodded, still listening to him as she headed over to the side with the bucket in tow and dumped the toxic goo out of the container. Meeting everyone would be good, although she gave Fredjamin a look of sympathy as he vomited, likely from the horror that was their fleet admiral’s justice.

While he threw up, she patted him once on the back and then glanced back at her bucket noticing a tinge of purple. There was still a small amount of poison that wouldn’t leave the bucket and stuck to the sides. Carina frowned at that, not really wanting to have to take the time to rinse the thing out and wishing it would all just go out on its own. She glared at the bucket and felt something in her mind twitch before the left-over poison left the bucket and splashed out into the sea on its own volition. Huh. Playing the incident off like she had intended to control her own poison, she quickly worked to cover up the slight confusion on her face. Seeing that the apprentice was finished and feeling well enough to continue, the young officer then turned to Fredjamin and nodded. “That sounds good, I would really like to meet more of the crew here as long as we’re not interrupting them.”

[Peridot]

After the announcement, it was clear that the seaman apprentice beside her was strongly shook up from the ruthless torture and bloodshed handed down by their Fleet Admiral. Carina had to admit that his cruel behavior was more something she would have expected from a pirate captain than the quick, clean justice of a marine officer. But, she would never admit this out loud  of course.

She listened to his words as he admitted that he wasn’t ready to fight such big-name pirates and doubted the high command of the Marines. The poor guy was shuddering and terrified just at the thought of having to face the pirates. Back at the base, she would have snapped at him for showing such blatant cowardice in the face of duty.  Here on this ship and after all that had happened she was now his superior and he, her subordinate. With the perks of leadership also came responsibility and duty, and one of the more important duties of a marine was to take care of and watch out for their subordinates.

He might have been more experienced on the ship and even older, but Carina still felt protective towards the young apprentice who had done his best to take care of her and worked hard just like she had back on the marine base.

“I just got on the ship so I don’t know how ready you currently are to fight,’ Carina began slowly but carefully and thoughtfully. “But after this announcement, we’ll get ready. And don’t worry, it’s not like we’ll be charging into the fray to fight one on one with the Shichibukai.” She continued, keeping her voice steady to try and reassure him, “After that announcement, any wannabe with a boat and a greedy heart will be out kidnapping people for a crew and calling themselves a pirate. There will be other, weaker pirates for us to fight and grow strong on. Us, as in the entire crew fighting together, not just you on your lonesome. ….Also,  you don’t have to kill a pirate like the Fleet Admiral does. He scares me, but that stays between us. ”

Carina placed the bucket aside, on the floor, and made a brief glance to check that her hands and clothes were clean before giving the apprentice beside her a firm pat on the shoulder.

“There will be plenty of drills and training and more drills. If even after all of that, you’re still nervous I would be happy to spend my spare time sparring with you.” Her weapon skills weren’t anything spectacular to speak of, so the additional practice would serve both of them well and hopefully give the apprentice an ego boost. “And remember, they may have a Devil Fruit but we’re at sea. Sink a fruit user’s ship, push them into the water and they’re helpless.  Just keep a calm head, and don’t give up.  You’ll be fine. ”

When he looked at her bucket, Carina was about to refuse when he asked again about her fight with Jango. “Oh, you don’t have to. I’m feeling much better, so I can do it myself.” She didn’t want to get into the habit of having others clean up after herself, and if he accidentally spilled the poison on himself it could be pretty unpleasant.  Luckily, he seemed too on edge to remember the bucket. It was almost as if he was wondering if fighting pirates was always so brutal. She didn’t want to avoid the question a second time and give him the wrong impression.

” About Jango, if you really want to know then I’ll tell you,” Carina began and took a breath to clear her thoughts before carrying on. “The man had no Devil Fruit powers, but he was strong and fast and had the weirdest weapon I’d ever seen. Honestly, the Rear Admiral was toying with me at every step, despite my powers. Even with just a shovel, he was still fearsome and used every aspect of our surroundings to his advantage. He died because he got overconfident and I used cheap tricks and foul play. ”  Why did he think he would be able to continue his life as a Rear Admiral with a piratical history? 

“It’s good to be strong and powerful, but everybody makes mistakes or has a weakness and it’s important to be able to use those to your advantage. I’m not going to lie and say he died as cleanly as I would have liked , but… it wasn’t that bad. I fought with Jango and killed him. The Rear Admiral tortured and mutilated that captain before killing him. There’s a difference.”

She moved over and picked up the bucket, “So where should I go dump this out?  Over the side, right? And I never got your name… How did you end up on this ship? “

[Peridot]

When the seaman apprentice apologized, Carina hastened to reassure him that she wasn’t upset that he didn’t know her name. ‘Oh, no it’s fine! You don’t need to be sorry, I still have to learn everybody’s name as well!” His words about Admiral’s Cancer admiration of Devil Fruit powers explained why he and everybody aboard the ship had been so nice to her. It was surprising and a little disconcerting to be called an ‘amazing asset that should be cherished’, and she was sure that her flattered embarrassment showed on her face. The kindness would take some getting used to.

The marine’s request was surprising as well, and her eyes widened as she became slightly flustered. Didn’t he realize she was sick? Was he so bored or so interested that he would be willing to sit and chat with a queasy girl holing up in her room and barfing out a lung instead of out embracing the fresh air?

“What? You really don’t have to come in, I mean if you want to that’s fine but I might not be great company…”

Of course then his real motive came out. He had clearly heard the stories and wanted to hear first-hand. News really did travel fast, and Carina wondered what explanation the crew had been given for her sudden transferal. She was about to answer when the admiral’s bellows could be heard. The fleet admiral was ready to make a public announcement! The seaman apprentice with her promptly barged in and revealed that her room had a built-in television! How cool was that!? She settled over onto the edge of her bed and rested the bucket on her lap since she felt another wave of discomfort coming.

At first, the seagull symbol of the marines showed clear as day before the feed got hacked. Carina sat up a bit straighter in surprise when a pirate appeared, battle-worn but still hearty on the television instead of the Fleet Admiral. When the captain of the pirate crew announced that the legendary treasure, One Piece, was still out and up for grabs, Carina gasped with shock at the implications. This man…is trying to start another age of piracy! This is history in the making, but there can’t be any other pirates stupid enough to come out of hiding, right? Sure enough, the neo-Whitebeard pirate crew all introduced themselves boldly and without fear, a menagerie of misfits and quirky looking pirates.

He challenged the Fleet Admiral, he challenged the marines and he challenged every single pirate out there, demanding to live life free of the order previously ruling the land. More and more pirates vocalized their support of the race to the grand treasure while Carina just helplessly watched, feeling another wave of nausea pass over. She hunched over the bucket and retched as quietly as she could while captains from all sorts of crews accepted the man’s challenge.

Carina lifted her head slightly at the sound of Buggy’s voice. So even the older pirates were going to be a part of this madness too? Then she realized that she recognized the man’s voice, it was the same as the kind old fisherman she had talked to earlier! No way though, he had marine registration papers and was best friends with the Rear Admiral….who used to be a pirate…His name even spells out Buggy! How could I be so stupid!? ‘ “AH! It’s HIM!” She shouted with surprise, grateful that she had been holding the bucket tightly enough so it wouldn’t spill.

Then the name of Mihawk was brought up, causing the young officer to fall silent and grit her teeth and clench her grip on the bucket angrily. She had heard of this man. He, like Buggy had been one of the Shichibukai back in the day, before the Fleet Admiral had decided that the marines no longer needed to work with dubiously loyal privateers. One of the many pirate fleets he had sent to the bottom of the sea was her father’s. It was only business, part of the natural pirate food-chain and Mihawk’s attack was what the Shichibukai had been expected to do. Mihawk had proven his strength and his power and influence demanded respect, but nothing would make her like the man. It’s a shame the Fleet Admiral wasn’t able to get him too when he took out the Shichibukai.

Then, the pirate transmission was over with a challenge to the Fleet Admiral who didn’t hesitate to respond. The man looked like a violent devil of rage as he revealed a tied and bound up fishman in poor condition. Carina gasped when she revealed that the figure was a traitorous captain. It was clear that the Fleet Admiral had no qualms about striking prisoners as he pummeled the former marine officer for answers.

Carina took in a sharp breath when Yalbagoth protested, “I didn’t know!” Hadn’t she helped a pirate unknowingly as well? It wasn’t fair to give capital punishment for a misunderstanding or a screw-up, and even the best of marines could make mistakes. Nomikomu’s response wasn’t encouraging, as Carina knew first-hand how misleading appearances and behavior could be. What about Captain Bedros? What of Rear Admiral Jango? By that logic, shouldn’t the whole base by Reverse Mountain get punished for letting an ex-pirate be in command for so long? Her blood was running cold as the man began to torture Yalbagoth for what she deemed to be a minor crime. She winced at the insults the fishman was hurling at the Fleet Admiral since there was no no possible way for the captain to persuade himself out of that situation, regardless of his innocence.

Then the tortured prisoner began to admit that he had helped Truble, the pirate who had just previously hacked the radio. With his insults, the fishman began to reveal that regardless of whether he had purposefully helped the pirates or not, he was most assuredly a pirate sympathizer. Nomikomu’s vicious torture continued as he began to rip teeth out and slice the fishman’s dorsal fin off in retribution for the treasonous comments. The Fleet Admiral was a sadist, Carina realized to herself.

Also, the examples of the prisoner’s treachery felt like they were really scraping the barrel to Carina. Hadn’t he done anything… recent? Then, Nomikomu revealed the bright red tattoo wrapped around his upper leg. That was unmistakable proof, the captain had most assuredly been a pirate at one point in his life. Despite all of the pained noises, Carina let out soft breath. For a moment, she had been worried that the Fleet Admiral actually didn’t have any proof of traitorous behavior besides the captain’s sympathy for pirates. The sigh turned into another bout of nausea which soon subsided again. Howls and screeches of pain before the former captain offered what had to be the worst excuse in the history of the world. No one would believe a story that dumb. Who gets themselves that hurt over a dog!? He could have at least come up with a better lie. The insultingly poor lie enraged Nomikomu even more. Yalbagoth was allowed his final words, a plea to pirates to be free before the Fleet Admiral evidently changed his mind and taped his gills shut before tossing the guy into the sea, now burdened with the gifts and curse of a fruit user.  The apple transformed into a devil fruit to  Carina’s astonishment, a clear indication that the man had passed away.

I’m glad he’s on our side, she thought to herself, but still felt on edge and ill at ease. One last burst of toxic sludge into the bucket and a few dry heaves left the container almost filled with a poisonous slurry. She was feeling much better though, as if she had finally gotten out the last of the foreign toxicants.

With one last menacing statement, the Fleet Admiral ended the broadcast. Carina turned to the seaman apprentice sitting in her office chair. Exactly what did one say after two broadcasts like those?

“I’m glad I’m not a pirate,” she spoke after a moment to break the stunned silence. The Fleet Admiral was terrifying to her and she was a loyal marine! The message was meant to be intimidating, and it was a good sign the marine command hadn’t backed down or been fazed by the pirates’ message, but she was still grateful to not be in close proximity to the sadistic man. “But wow… the pirates have just declared war! Pirates will be crawling out of the woodwork everywhere!” Carina spoke as the full brunt of what had just happened became more real.

“It’s a new age of piracy!”

[Peridot]

The pat on the back got Carina’s attention when contrary to her expectations that the men would be disgusted or contemptuous of a seemingly seasick officer, people literally started to crowd around her to give words of sympathy or comment on how cool it was that she had eaten a Devil Fruit. Such behavior was much different from the attitudes of the men on base, and the warm reception almost seemed too good to be true. One the heaving had subsided for the moment, she wiped her mouth with a spare handkerchief. “Oh, umnn. Don’t touch that,” she responded with a bit of alarm at the thought that one of the crew might actually do so. “I ate the Doku Doku no Mi but that’s a poison even I can’t handle.” Despite still feeling a little shaky, a shy smile was forming on her face at the reassuring words. If their initial reaction was anything to go by, then the crew on this ship were nice just like their admiral.

Eventually the admiral decided that enough was enough, and that she was being crowded too much and dispersed them. She took the bucket he offered, and nodded her understanding of the admiral’s command. “Right! Thank you, sir!” He straightened up and told her that she would get her duties after she was well. Then the murmurings of a snail phone could be faintly heard and he was off to his office to go answer the missive.

A Seaman Apprentice was sent to help escort her to her room, something Carina was very thankful for since she didn’t want to try navigating the underbelly of the ship for the first time while feeling ill. He spoke and acted like a perfect gentleman rather than your typical burly and gruff marine. She’d have to spend the time to catch the names of the crew once her stomach ailments subsided. These people were surprisingly nice. Carina decided to accept his generous and gentlemanly nature. She made a point of giving back the level of respect she was given.

She accepted the offered arm, gingerly resting one hand on the inside of marine’s supportive arm while her free arm clutched the bucket tightly and allowed him to escort her back to her quarters. “Thank you very much,” she spoke quietly and carefully as she tried to ignore the unpleasant way her stomach continued to churn long enough to at least be polite. She gave him an appreciative, yet subdued smile.” And my name’s Carina Skylark, not Miss Fruit.”

[Peridot]

As the ship entered the turbulent waters of Reverse Mountain, Carina noticed all of the crew members braced themselves either against guard railings or by tying themselves with rope to specially designated posts on the ship in case they fell off. She raced over to the bulwark when the admiral ordered to brace herself for impact. She dashed over to the nearest bulwark and gripped the guard rail so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

To her surprise, the ship went up the mountain at an incredibly steep angle. The rain was picking up and starting to fall, feeling like tiny icy chunks of hail against Carina’s skin as they got closer to the top, navigating between the walls of the mountain and the carved arches marking the entrance to the Grand Line. To the newly promoted officer’s alarm, she could pick out the booming of thunder accompanied by quick flashes of light marking the sky. For a moment, she had a horrifying image of the entire crew and ship getting electrocuted by a bolt of lightning when they made their way to the summit. The slant of current flowing down the other side of the mountain was at a sharp angle, but the admiral and crew seemed to be well prepared and had it under control. She couldn’t keep down the startled shout of surprise mixed with terror as a flash of lightning struck directly beside the boat just as the bow of the ship entered the downstream current.

Then Carina realized why it was so necessary for everyone to brace themselves. Just like a rollercoaster ride, the ship paused for a heartbeat stilling moment at the top of the mountain. It was icy cold at the very tip, but the girl wasn’t sure whether the goosebumps spreading on her arms were from the frosty air or excitement as the crew was treated to a stunning view of the sparkling waters of the Grand Line and the seemingly endless horizon.
“Woah! So that’s the Grand Line…” Then the ship tilted and began to cascade down the down current while the crew desperately tried to slow the ship’s speed. Throughout the din and chaos, the admiral stood unfazed and resolute.

Carina’s grip tightened on her own guard-rail as her stomach began to churn unpleasantly while they raced downward towards the Grand Line. Her heart felt like it would fly out of her throat, but the rush of adrenaline was welcome and nice now that they were becoming less and less likely to get struck by lightning. Her balance was thrown off by the sudden break, and Carina was sent careening and sliding backwards by the change in momentum. The young marine regained her grip on the railing though, and would be perfectly fine although her already bruised leg was plenty sore from getting banged up against the guard-rail. Carina’s grip didn’t want to loosen from the railing, even thought the ship was now moving to calmer waters.

The poisonous human could feel her stomach continue to gurgle and churn uncomfortably at both the hectic entrance to the Grand Line and the overwhelming amount and diversity of toxicants Carina had consumed only moments before-hand. Oh please no, not now. Not in front of everybody. Her face took on a sickly pallor as she tried for a few seconds to keep her composure. “…I think I’m going to be sick,” she warned in a trembling voice. Utterly failing to keep her nausea down, Carina released her death-grip from the guard-rail and quickly lurched her way on shaky limbs across the deck to the leeeward bulwark of the ship. She doubled up over the railing and promptly threw up noxious purple gunk into the ocean below.

[Peridot]

“Well, there’s no helping that I guess.” Carina responded when she was told that the ship wouldn’t be heading to Vice Admiral Coby at all. With that said, she fell into step beside but slightly behind Admiral Cancer as they headed to the ship, shouldering her backpack with all of her supplies. Her mind whirled slightly from the admiral’s news about Vice Admiral Coby. When he mentioned that the Vice Admiral wasn’t available, she took on a pensive and thoughtful expression. Coby was out hunting pirates and would likely be perfectly fine, but for him to get so worked up about the chase right when Jango died. Could the two be related somehow? Her thoughts went back to the secret message secreted in her pocket. Were these pirates he was chasing part of Jango’s old gang? Could he even be using the pirates as an excuse to avoid receiving Jango’s note? The plot thickens, Carina thought to herself as she wondered just what Jango had decided to write. The temptation to not take a peek was almost overwhelming, but she had to persevere. The kind former Rear Admiral had been counting on her.

When they first arrived at the ship, Carina’s eyes were transfixed upon the vessel where she would be living for who knows how long. This would be the ship for her first real journey out into the dangerous and wild waters. To her, the ocean air had never smelled saltier, and the breeze had never felt more refreshing than this moment. In Carina’s eyes, it was the perfect day to sail. When the Admiral kept walking, she hurried along beside him so as not to lose any time.

As they walked, the admiral lit up a cigarette and then to her surprise, he offered her a joint from his pack as they approached the ship. Carina took one more out of habit and from being caught off guard than out of any desire to smoke. “Thank you sir,” she said distractedly. It wasn’t the sort of thing normally offered to others, and especially not to someone her age. Wasn’t smoking really bad for you? She rolled it about in her hands, using it as an outlet to work out her nervousness when a waft of second-hand smoke drifted its way over to her, causing the girl to stiffen and look significantly more awake as her eyes lit up. It was as if she had just taken a tiny taste of 4000 different types of ice-cream flavors at once. The cigarette in her hand suddenly became much more interesting. Experimentally, she stuck the cigarette in her mouth in an imitation of the admiral and was happy to find that the cigarette tasted even more poisonous than it smelled.

While the admiral brought her around the ship to meet some of the important crew members on board as well as show her where her room was so she could quickly dump her baggage, the offices and everything else was on the ship, Carina took note while carefully munching on her cigarette as if it were a piece of delicious candy she wanted to savor.

After meeting all of the people and having a grand tour of the ship, they ended up on deck where the admiral began to ready the crew to set sail. Carina gave him a curious glance but didn’t say anything. She decided to wait to ask just what sort of duties would be expected of her until after they had gotten going. Setting sail took a lot of effort and they were so close to Reverse Mountain that she didn’t want to disrupt the admiral or any navigating that might be going on. The mountain was treacherous and she had heard it was easy for even large ships to get torn to pieces by a simple mistake. She found a place to stand nearby that seemed relatively out of the way of any sailors trying to hoist the sails, tie off rope or weigh anchor and took in the sight.

Her eyes alighted on a familiar face. It seemed like the cranky registration paper guy would be coming aboard with them. Hopefully the guy would stop whining now that they would be sailing on the open sea. Carina took another nibble of the cigarette, trying to guess which toxin a certain unfamiliar but delightfully citrus-y flavor was coming from and chuckled softly under her breath. Somehow she doubted his mood would improve that drastically. The girl stretched and then grinned at the sight of the ship preparing to sail.

[Peridot]

When the admiral took a breath before he announced his decision, Carina looked up, eyes wide with anticipation and excitement to hear his response. Her face split into an enormous smile at the verdict passed down, “YEESSSS!” She shouted happily with excitement before remembering where she was and who she was speaking to. “I mean, aye-aye, sir!” Nothing in the East Blue could have wiped the grin off of her face. She gave a salute as the man strode away. Despite the tremors, he didn’t stumble at all as the marine left the medical ward.

Once he left, she went to talk to the head nurse to tell him that she was leaving and then rushed off to go pack up her important personal affects. She was finally going to visit the Grand Line! Working as a marine recruit and apprentice hadn’t always been easy, but all of the torment was worth it for this moment! She had a good commanding officer who recognized her talents, was heading off to the Grand Line and had a promotion to boot! Carina forced herself to slow her pace when she realized that she was overexerting herself just a bit.

When she got to her room, none of her bunkmates were present since they were likely off in the middle of drills or training. Carina decided to take this opportunity to pack without having to worry about annoying her fellow apprentices with the inevitable mess of clothes, books, her emergency medical kit, her weapon maintenance kits and everything else she’d need to be taking with her. The young marine hummed to herself a sea shanty popular with the recruits while she packed away her equipment and books, leaving only her clothes, journal and toiletries left.

As she reached for her spare uniform, Carina realized something. Warrant officers were exempt from having to wear the standard sailor uniform. She paused and then decided to spread out her clothes and examine them critically. She wanted to be off and sailing on the great blue sea as soon as possible, and there simply wasn’t time to go shopping or request new clothes so she’d have to make do with what she had. Still, she was an officer now and it was possible to start showing her own sense of style! Carina huffed for a moment and then locked the door to the bunk and decided to try out the few civilian outfits she possessed for weekend trips to Loguetown.

To her chagrin, Carina realized that by “few” she had exactly three civilian clothes: one for Friday night, one for Saturday and one for Sunday. Although she was fond of the navy blouse with a white collar and her blue and white hoodie, Carina decided that for her first time aboard a ship she’d rather wear the traditional uniform which she was more comfortable in. At least until she practiced fighting and maneuvering in the other clothes. With that settled, Carina packed up the rest of her clothes and then headed off to the mess hall to get a good meal after that long fight. The men were noticeably more nervous around her when she came to get her food this time around, but one or two of them began clapping to congratulate her on defeating the treacherous Rear Admiral.

Carina blushed slightly with pleasure at the praise even though the few people clapping made the fact that the majority of marine soldiers weren’t clapping more apparent. She sat with them and exchanged her farewells, explaining her new position and how she would soon be setting sail. Her bunkmate came in with a her meal and made sure to tell the whole table all about how thankful she was that Carina would finally be gone. Carina just laughed, not caring at all. “Well, I can’t wait to leave either. You leave crumbs in the room and never do your laundry,” Carina retorted in a joking manner, “it’s been what, three weeks now? And people think I’m the biohazard…” The rest of the meal was spent in joyful laughter as she celebrated her last night with the few people at the base she actually got along with.

Once she finished eating, Carina headed back to her room and wrote out the day’s events in her journal. She made sure to detail what had happened between her and Jango, and the subsequent conversation she had with her new commanding officer. She even wrote some small notes to herself about her ideas for new combat techniques before closing the leather-bound cover shut and settled down for an early sleep.”Grand Line, here I come!” She called out to absolutely no one but still feeling the need to make some kind of a statement. At long last, she was making her dream a reality!

There was no need to set an alarm, since she was certain that the early morning role call for the seamen would wake her up in time. The sooner she got some rest, the sooner she’d be able to leave and start her grand adventure! With such an exciting day ahead of her, it was difficult for Carina to fall asleep. The girl tossed and turned, jittery with anticipation before she eventually passed out and then woke up the next day.