Arc Details:

Task Details:

"Finally, we are here!" a young man shouted while standing on top of the bowsprit of the ship, with a smile on his face and his hands held out on his sides as if he was attempting to grab something large.

"Get the hell off of there before you fall off of the ship Axel! It will be your own fault, and I won't be sending any of my men to get you either!" shouted another young man from the forecastle deck just a few few from where Axel was, his hands balled in anger. Both of them were Ensigns, which meant they were the highest ranking officers on the ship. The man shouting was the only permanent leader on it however, as Axel was only there to help out the crew. He had on his usual attire as usual, which included his long red coat, a green T-Shirt underneath that, blue pants with straps on them for mags that his belt couldn't carry, and finally, a pair of sandals. Everyone else on board had their standard issue marine outfits on, whereas the only thing Axel had to verify his marine standing was the marine symbol on the back of his coat and a badge attached to the front of his belt. Daniel, the other ensign had long blonde hair that went to just below the back of his neck. The marine cap on his head did well to hide most of it since no one could really see the hair going down his back but a bit of it, with his outfit on.

"Don't worry Dan. I know how to balance myself. Anyway, shouldn't you be worried about preparing the ship to land?" Axel replied with a question and another smile, looking back at the ensign, able to see his concerned yet angry expression turn into a stressful one. He realized how right the gunner was, but didn't want him to get the upper hand.

"It is my duty to protect every marine on my own ship, so don't get carried away fool, ugh," the blonde said in disgust before leaving Axel alone to instruct his marine recruits on what they needed to do so they could approach the dock of Baterilla safely.

WC: 374
TWC: 374

"Alright, I will go scout out the island my way. You can do whatever you want with your men!" Axel shouted as he ran out of the dock and towards the port city. He knew Daniel was shouting something at him, since his marine recruits cringed once his mouth opened, but couldn't make out what he was actually saying. The marksman was tasked with the 96th Branch to figure out why crime was rising so suddenly on Baterilla. It couldn't have been a coincidence. The higher ranking marines suggested that an organized crime syndicate began operating there a week or two ago, so it was up to the recruits and ensigns to deal with it. Daniel thought they would send him a professional marine, but to his chagrin they sent the adventurous Axel who couldn't stand still too long. They entered the marines at the same time, so they trained together, and were even in the same branch at a point. Now Daniel had his own branch, but Axel was too unorganized to have that responsibility, and thus became some sort of mercenary marine that was sent on different missions with different branches. It was better for him that way.

"Hmmm, I barely have any beli on hand. Better go to one of the banks. I should have some fun on this island before anything else, in order to release some stress, heh," Axel said aloud to himself, smiling. Not that he was lazy or anything, but they just got there, so a half-hour or hour of entertainment wouldn't be that bad. Once the gunner got into work mode, he got serious, so the organization wouldn't last another day or two in his opinion, anyway.

Going down a few streets of the tropical city that had trees everywhere, Axel finally found a bank that he could withdraw some beli from. He had his wallet located in one of his many coat pockets ready when they asked for ID and whatnot. No point in making this a long process, for the young man wanted to be in and out. Once he opened the double-doors of the bank however, he knew that wouldn't be possible.

WC: 363
TWC: 737

The inside of the bank was of a typical setting. The middle area was large enough for dozens of customers to wait, standing in the lines that led to the counters where the bank guys would give them there beli or deposit it. Axel didn't know much about the whole process, instead of the fact that all he needed was a bank card, then the workers would do whatever they did with it, and give him beli, or take it depending on what he asked for. What you didn't usually see were five criminals in black ski masks pointing guns at the crowd and workers asking for all of the beli they had.

One of these criminals were ordered to camp out near the door and aim at whoever came through, and this time he was pointing his flintlock right at Axel's dome. The spiky whit haired male looked around as he was instructed to put his hands up, which he did. All of the bank robbers had on black outfits including black gloves which hid their skin tone, just for extra assurance that no one would be able to identify them. Two of them were aiming at the workers behind the counter, while another two were aiming at the people in the lines, collecting their wallets.

"Alright, you see them doing it. Now give me yours, buddy" the man aiming his flintlock at Axel asked, holding out his free hand to obtain it. The marksman's facial expression was one of shock, but that was only because he didn't want to let this dumb man in on his attempt to stop the robbery. Axel's revolvers were obviously attached to the sides of his waist, yet the criminal didn't dare to look down thoroughly. When he did, it was too fast for him to spot any weapons, but even then, an average person would see something like that from the corners of their eyes.

What made things worse for this crew was the fact that the female robber at the counter put her gun hand down on it and looked at her colleagues to wonder if they were doing their jobs accordingly. The bald male worker with his work suit on that she was pointing the revolver at while the other workers went to go get the beli decided that it was time to be the hero, and was able to easily snatch the gun out of the woman's hand. She immediately ducked as he shot, the bullet getting stuck in the wall opposite him. With  the rest of the criminals turning to see what was going on, Axel thought in his mind that this was too easy, got his revolvers out, and put two in the knees of his would-be assailant. As he went down fast, Axel kicked at his head with his left leg, using all of his might, knocking him unconscious before the fiend could fully let his scream out. The others were too busy shooting at the 'hero' who was now crouched behind the counter to worry about Axel. The woman that was de-armed had another revolver that she pulled out, luckily for her.

"Alright, let's end this," the gunner said to himself in a whisper as he ran towards the criminals, shooting them all in the kneecaps, wasting the ammo in the revolver he held in his right arm while having wasted four bullets in the revolver he held in his left arm. All of these bullets landed accurately where Axel wanted them too. He had to run through a crowd and make sure no bullets hit them, but it was easy for someone practicing marksmanship for years. He kicked the guns away from the men to ensure that they wouldn't be able to fire them, and proceeded to kick them unconscious, but was interrupted by someone's voice.

"It is coming from over there boys! Let's pursue the targets!" shouted a voice that sounded familiar to Axel. It only took a second to realize it was Daniel.

"Shit, His crew moves too slow for me. I need to figure this problem out today so I won't have to walk into another crime while trying to enjoy myself," the young man thought to himself in a panick. He looked at the groaning criminals on the floor and decided to pick up the female. Carrying her on his shoulders, Axel fled out the back-door of the bank. It was Good for him that there were no marines down this street.

"Hey, put me down and leave me to be captured! It is better than working for that man!" she shouted, but Axel ignored her, wondering where to go next.

WC: 782
TWC: 1,519

Round Metal Bullets: 26 of 36 left

END OF TASK

Task Details:

"Will you stop screaming lady? I am trying the best that I can to get these things out of your knees, but I can't continue unless you stop trying to make me deaf. And stop squirming as well, since you are just making the bullets go deeper in," Axel instructed the woman that was sitting on a bed in an inn room the gunner rented for the day, so that he could tend to the wounds of this criminal he captured, and then get info on who her boss is. The inn manager was  quite shocked when a spiky-haired man in a red coat came into the building with a screaming woman in a black suit and black ski mask over his shoulder, but he calmed down when he saw the man's marine badge, thinking that he was probably going to question her or something. But then, why would a marine take a criminal into an inn instead of the base for that he asked himself in his mind. Whatever the reason, the guy wanted nothing to do with marine business, so he stopped entertaining the thought and got back to work.

Before Axel got out some tools to get the bullets out of the woman's kneecaps, he removed her mask and gloves to reveal a beautiful girl that looked to be in her late teens. She had long blonde hair that poured out of the ski mask, and blue eyes. The rest of her features like her mouth, nose and ears were flawless in Axel's opinion, though he didn't want to think of her appearance any further. The marksman was there for interrogation, not romance.

WC: 276
TWC: 276

"And my name is Sarah, not lady," the girl replied to Axel's earlier demands with a comment. Sarah would have ran as far as she could from the marine if not for the two injuries that pained a person to walk the most, which was a bullet in both kneecaps. Axel always aimed for them for that very reason, rarely having to use more than two bullets to stop an enemy. Once he did that, the marksmen went up to the enemy, kicked away all of the weapons away from them, and then kicked them unconscious. This plan almost never failed, and it didn't now, except for the fact that he didn't kick this girl unconscious. He needed information out of her.

After Axel finished taking the bullets out of the teen and wrapped her up in bandages, he began asking her questions while she laid straight in the bed with a cover over her.

"Alright, so where is the boss you work for? I have been on this island dozens of times, and a robbery never occurred, but all of the sudden we hear that crime took a sudden rise, and now you guys decide to start stealing. This must be organized crime, so spill it," Axel demanded as he walked around the room with his hands behind his back, like a true detective would do.

"You may be right, but I have never seen the man. One moment I was in my home eating dinner with my parents, and the next, some guys came in, took out there guns and..." Sarah informed Axel, not being able to say the next few words. The gunner already knew what had happened from her tone, so she told her to skip that part and continue. "They told me that I worked for their boss now, and that they would kill me if I defied them. The people in the bank with me seemed to be in the same predicament. There is a small circle of people within the organization that actually have seen the guy's face, so I am sorry, but I don't know anything," Sarah concluded, looking up from the bed she laid in and straight into Axel's eyes. he could tell that she was telling the truth.

WC: 378
TWC: 654

"Oh, well I am sorry for making you relive an event like that in your mind. Don't worry, I will find the man who ordered such a heinous attack, just to get another henchmen. But first, I need to know where you are getting your missions. Do you go somewhere or..." Axel began to ask before Sarah interrupted him.

"There is a warehouse a few miles from here on the outskirts of the city. A few of us live there and get our assignments from some guy who comes from wherever. I still can't figure it out, as I have tried to follow him a few times, but he is just too quick for me I guess," the girl told Axel. That was all he needed to work with anyway. He would just wait outside this warehouse and then follow the guy who comes in and goes out.

"Alright, thank you. I will leave you here to keep you safe. It isn't like I was followed any....." Axel replied, but stopped talking after hearing what seemed to be gun fire. Before the bullets started flying in the lobby, Axel heard someone screaming. It sounded like the owner of the inn. The marksman assumed that he just die from the gun of a criminal apart of the organization, and that he was in fact followed. He faced the door from where he stood, which was right in front of the bed. Sarah sat up with her gun out.

"Uh, give me that. You are a louzy shot, and don't lie because I saw you during the bank robbery," the gunner commanded before grabbing the gun out of Sarah's hand with an angry expression on his face which was mixed a little with a smile. He then pushed Sarah out of the bed and on the other side.

"What are you doing!" she shouted as she fell to the floor.

"Saving you from the bullets that will be shot into the room in a few seconds, now hush!" he replied with a loud whisper. Two men came into the room, but both of their kneecaps were already shot once the door opened by the fintlock pistol in the spiky white-haired marine's right hand. Another two ran into the room, pointing their guns at Axel who did a dodge-roll to the left and shot at both of their kneecaps once he balanced himself while his own kneecaps were bent on the floor. He stood back up, went over to the men and kicked their faces unconscious.

'It is not safe here anymore. You are coming with me to the base. I guess I have to work together with them this time around, ugh," Axel informed Sarah.

"Uh, that is fine and all, but I can't walk you know!" she replied back in a shout, in her painful voice. She landed on her knees when she fell.

WC: 483
TWC: 1,137

END OF TASK

Task Details:

"You do know I can lock you up for assisting in the escape of a criminal, right Rover?" Daniel asked, wondering if that had gone through Axel's head. They were on the forecastle deck of their ship while the sun was setting. So much happened today that Axel was surprised it wasn't already night out. To the right of the marksman sat Sarah on a wooden chair with bandages around her knees. The other marines acted like they we're cleaning the ship, though they we're really just nosy and wanted to listen in on the conversation between the two ensigns.  

"Come on man, you know I work a little faster alone right? I brought her right back anyway," Axel replied with a smiling yet guilty facial expression. "Studies show that criminals tend to spill the guts if they believe they are in the hands of rogue enforcers, you know? I brought her back after I got the info anyway" he added.

"A rule is a rule Rover, and you broke it, but let's see what the higher ups want to do with you after we finish the task at hand I suppose," Daniel kept his decision firm. Him and Axel have been friends for a long time, but even he had to get served by justice. The blonde had a feeling that nothing over the top would happen if they finished the mission successfully anyway. "Now, what has she told you? We need to get this guy as soon as possible," Daniel asked, with his angry expression turning into a curious one. Axel was upset over the fact that after getting that info, he was still going to get in trouble, but he told Daniel everything he heard, since keeping it all to himself wouldn't get them anywhere.

WC: 298
TWC: 298

“There is a warehouse a few miles west of the port town. A ton of henchmen working for the leader of this organized crime live there and receive their instructions from a man, but none of them knows where he comes from. Our best bet is to sneak around the facility and tail him to wherever he is going,” Axel explained, looking at Sarah for confirmation, in which she nodded her head with a smile. Axel smiled back.

“So, when does this man usually arrive at this warehouse?” Ensign Daniel asked with a curious expression. Axel look at Sarah for the answer, since she didn’t tell him that one.

“Well, he would arrive at pretty much anytime, but mainly it is in the morning. There are some days he misses out on, but for the most part it is a daily thing,” Sarah replied. You could since the nervousness in her voice though, as she only really trusted Axel at this point.

“Alright, we will head out early tomorrow then. For now, you two are dismissed. Don’t leave the town though, since you are under my watch until this is reported to the higher ups,” Daniel said, heading towards the hold of the ship.

“Well then, that went better than I thought. At least I can help bring this guy down, heh,” Axel said to Sarah. They both smiled, but also showed a bit of seriousness. Tomorrow would be the only shot at getting the criminals, because if the boss got away, they would probably move their operation to another island.

WC: 261
TWC: 559

“Alright, me and Axel will head towards the warehouse as stealthily as we can with the res of you waiting a few hundred meters out until I give the signal over the radio channel,” Ensign Daniel explained to his branch. All of the marines including Sarah who was walking with crutches were in the western outskirts of the port town. The blonde girl didn’t want to stay in the town, and kept begging to come with the marines since she felt that she was in the wrong as well as all of the other criminals, so she wanted to help somehow. Daniel reluctantly allowed her to come, but warned that they wouldn’t be able to protect her at all times, which she was ok with.

The two ensigns moved out, and after about 10 minutes they arrived near the warehouse. It was basically a large dusty box with a large gate as the entrance. Luckily the grassfield surrounding it provided enough cover for the two ensigns not to be spotted as long as they didn’t get too close. Axel and Daniel were right on time too, as a man in a cloak went into the warehouse. They were too far away to hear what the man talked to the people inside about, but he came out almost as fast as he went in. Mysteriously, he walked forward for about 5 meters before becoming out of view by the marines.

“Did he teleport? I don’t get it...” Axel wondered aloud, but then Daniel radio’d in the other marines to get there as soon as possible. “Hey what are you doing,? We don’t know where he...”

“Underground. There is a door from where he disappeared from on the ground. I saw his body go down, not just vanish. You should be more aware of your surroundings Rover,” Daniel replied with a smirk on his face. Axel got annoyed at that response, but it didn’t really matter as long as the blonde was right.

The marines were all gathered around the hatch that would open to the underground base that the boss of this entire operation might be apart of. Some of the marines were tasked with holding off the people in the warehouse by informing them that they were no longer under the control of the criminal mastermind. It worked out pretty well since none of them liked this line of work in the first place. Daniel opened the hatch and in they went one by one. Sarah went into the warehouse to ensure the others that the marines were telling the truth. She couldn't go underground with crutches anyway.

WC: 438
TWC: 997

Below the hatch was a wooden ladder attached to one of the walls of the small tunnel going down. Every marine apart of the operation went down it, and came into a large cave chamber once the tunnel ended. The ladder continued even as the tunnel ended however, since it was a few meters from the roof of the cave chamber to the floor. Once the ten men were all on the ground, the surprise attack occurred This cave chamber had dozens of thick stalagmites within it, allowing for a good cover which the enemies used to conceal themselves. All at once, men in black suits came from behind these stalagmites, carrying guns, swords and other types of weapons.

“Spread out and go on the offensive boys!” Ensign Daniel shouted, and with that the marines dispersed, quick enough to dodge most of the bullets coming their way. Some hit one or two marines however, since their were marksman everywhere within the chamber. The first thing Axel did was pick up a gun from one of his fallen allies, dodge-rolled to avoid a few bullets being shot in his direction,, and shot at the closest enemy he could see. They were still near the stalagmites, not moving, so it was easy to get a chest shot in that would make this guy fall forward. Axel ran towards him picked up his gun and took cover there for a second, waiting for a lot of the gunfire to calm down. The criminals were destined to run out of the mag in their flintlock pistols soon.

WC: 263
TWC: 1,260

With the marksman Peeking around the chamber, the saw that here were five other marines left including Daniel, and there were about eight of the enemies left. Once bullets stopped going everywhere, Axel dashed from the stalagmite. There were more close-combat fights with swords and fists now, so that gave him some targets out in the open to shoot. As he ran towards one criminal however, another closed in on his left side and was about to cut his head clean off when the white spiky-haired marine ducked, pointed the flintlock pistol in his left hand at the guy’s stomach and fired. This man grasped his stomach as he fell down while Axel went for the target he was going for in the first place. One leg shot was enough for the marine fighting the dude to knock him out with his club. He went on to help out more marines like this until there were only two henchmen left, and they were both in close combat with Daniel in the center of the chamber. These two looked more skilled than the others, and there were multiple instances in which their swordplay out-matched Daniel’s, yet he luckily was able to escape the death strikes. That is when Axel decided to run towards them and aim the two flintlock pistols in his hands towards the two. They looked forward before dodge-rolling out of the way of Axel’s bullets, separating the two from each other since they rolled in opposite directions. This helped since Daniel only had to fight one while the gunner decided to shoot down the other who was still trying to stand up from his roll. After a few seconds, it all worked out and all of the henchmen were done for. There were four marines left including Axel and Daniel unfortunately, but it was there victory.

“Alright. Those of you who survived will follow me through that tunnel over there. The main enemy is probably through there,” Daniel pointed at the tunnel. Him, Axel and the other two marines walked forward, ready to deal with what was ahead. The young man was shocked about what happened in the chamber, with all of the dead bodies. Everything happened too quick for him to spare any of the enemies too. It was as if in just that one instance, Axel had changed. He looked at himself as a monster for a second, but eventually stopped thinking about it all together as he went through the tunnel.

WC: 416
TWC: 1,676

END OF TASK

Task Details:

“How did they make it through the chamber? I thought I hired the best in the business dammit! I should have never listened to that shady dealer, ugh,” said a small and chubby man in a black-and-white suit with black spiky hair. He sat on a throne made of stone in the chamber that is connected to the second larger one through a tunnel. The cave this man decided to set up his location in wasn’t the biggest layer for a criminal organization, but it worked for him, until the marines got on the case. Now his first line of defense was destroyed and the only thing he could do now was run. He had a number of men spread out in this chamber, but he couldn’t take the chance.

“Alright John, let’s ditch this joint,” he said to the men that alerted him of the fight in the other chamber. The man just happened to be the man who gave the criminals above ground their assignments. His face was long and narrow, he is bald, and he also has a long nose.

“As you wish, master Penwagon,” John replied.

“Alright guys, cover me while we escape. Those of you who survive will be picked up later tonight,” Arthur Penwagon instructed as he an John left via the ladder at the back of the chamber that led to western coast of the island, beyond the warehouse.

While Axel, Daniel and the other two marines went down the tunnel, eight other marines joined them from behind. Reinforcements were needed, Axel thought, since they lost so many marines in the last fight.

WC: 270
TWC: 270

“Alright guys, prepare yourself for a another fight. It seems like another chamber is ahead, so the henchmen may be hiding out like in the last one. Also be prepared to fight the leader of the criminals,” Daniel informed his recruits and Axel. They all nodded. Axel was still feeling weird over the deaths of his enemies as well as those marines back there. He couldn’t stop himself since the only thing he thought about at that moment was staying alive. He snapped out of it once him and the others entered the second chamber though. It was smaller than the last one, but there were many stalagmites that the criminals could hide behind. Daniel was correct in alarming his men too, since they were attacked as soon as they entered the location.

“You guys cover me and Axel while we search for the leader!” Daniel shouted as he ran around the chamber with the other Ensign. Axel still had the two flintlock pistols his got from fallen allies and enemies in the last chamber, and even refilled them with bullets from them once that fight was over. Each had a magazine size of 8, so so he was able to shoot down anyone who got in his and Daniel’s way. During the search, he was cut by two or three swords strikes, but it was nothing serious, shooting the enemies who did it afterwards.

“Hmmm, we can’t find them in here. Maybe they escaped by using that ladder,” Axel suggested, pointing at the ladder at the back of the chamber. They were close to it, and with the fighting taking place near the tunnel, they were safe. It was when the two ensigns began climbing the ladder that the henchmen were drawn to them, at started shooting. Axel returned the fire and got the two guys that had the best aim before they did any serious damage. A few bullets scraped the marine on the sides, but it was nothing severe. And so, the two of them got to the hatch on the end of the ladder and opened it.

WC: 351
TWC: 621

The two marines found themselves on the coast. It was a grassland that ended in a small rocky cliff shaped like a crescent where ships docked. Looking forward, Axel spotted two men attempted to get their ship prepared to take off.

“Stop right there you criminals!” Axel shouted as he ran towards them, pointing the pistols in his hands at the two. Him and Daniel were about 20 meters away from the ship and the sea. Arthur and John were trying to get the anchor up, but there was something blocking it.

“Look boss, some of the pesky marines got out of the cave. I will deal with them while you keep trying to get the anchor up,” John explained to Arthur. He stepped forward and removed his cloak, revealing that he was wearing a black T-Shirt and black jeans. He waited for Axel to attack, and the marine tried, but as he pulled the triggers of the two flintlock pistols, he realized that both of them were already out of ammo from the previous fight, that is when he threw the two aside and tried to take out his two revolvers, but John dashed forward and knocked the young man down with a fist right to the face. Axel rolled backwards once he hit the ground to recover and get some distance, which helped since he was up right before John came at him with an uppercut. The marksman moved his head to the left, took out the revolver attached to the right side of his belt and shot the man twice in the chest, taking him out.

WC: 269
TWC: 870