Baterilla was normally a nice, sunny location, a good place to relax, enjoy oneself. And take a load off before going back to the grind of everyday life. And today was really no exception. Well, as far as the weather was concerned, and most people people would agree about the rest.

Anton was one such person who would disagree.

He was sitting at a cafe, drinking a cup of tea and pouring over various bits of paperwork. He was currently off duty and catching up on some essential reading, mainly the various updated wanted posters. So many infamous pirates were popping up all over the place, especially in the South Blue. It was really disheartening. But most importantly, he had found one particular wanted posted. Naga D. Linnea. He remembered her from Karate Island, that kind hearted, beautiful woman who had helped calm his nerves when he first came to the island. He hadn't known that she was a pirate when they first met, and learning that she had one of the highest bounties utterly crushed him. Why was someone so nice and kind wanted so badly by the World Government?

He let out a sad sigh as he set the wanted poster down. While part of him wanted to see her again. He also knew if he did, it was his job to try and capture her. He really didn't want to. Good people didn't deserve to be arrested, but there was no denying orders from the top.

Why were the nice ones always criminals?

Anton was pulled from his saddened disposition by a voice speaking up. He blinked, looking over to see a rather pretty woman standing beside him, looking at the wanted posters on the table. Anton blushed. He hadn't even heard her coming, and despite his recent encounters, still wasn't used to being around beautiful women. "Y-Yeah, she is isn't she," he said bash fully, though with a hint of sadness about the situation. Then she asked a peculiar question. Who was worth more? Anton blinked in confusion. "Erm, let me see," he said as he moved through the wanted posters. It wasn't long before he found the one he was looking for. "Ah, here we are. Melissa Devaroux, bounty one million, nine hundred and sixty thou..."

His voice trailed off. His head slowly turned to look at the woman next to him, then back at the picture on the poster, than the woman, then the poster, then the woman again. And then Anton screamed and sprung to his feet so fast the chair he was sitting on flew and hit the wall. He very quickly drew his sword. Holding it out in front of him with trembling hands. "Melissa Devaroux!" he yelled out, fear pretty obviously apparent in his voice, "I, Commander Anton La'croix place you under arrest! Now come quietly...please...?" His bluster wasn't that impressive to begin with. And already it was starting to fade away. Of all the pirates he had to encounter, he had to encounter one of the most wanted in all of the blues!

Why me!?

530 words tags a line of notes here

A gentle giggle would escape the mouth of the female, the strange behaviour of the man was enough to make any laugh. Upon reading out her bounty, Melissa would nod to herself in amusement. Soon enough the chair would fly in to the wall though she was in no danger of this. The drawing of the large sword would have Melissa turn her body to the right side, so that the point of the sword if it were to be fully extended would be in front of her turned body and not within her abdomen. She would naturally move accordingly with this, though the point at this point was no were near her, the blade being held up in front of the now shaking marine. You could just give me your beli and those wanted posters. It doesn't look like your in much shape to be threatening to arrest anyone mr shakes a lot. Wait, is a commander better than a lieutenant? because i already broke a lieutenants face before." she would say a smile apparent upon her face. "I suppose to answer your question, no, i won't come with you, how about you come with me instead and become a pirate. That paper work stack looks so boring" Melissa would say, her eyes would move between the marine and the trembling sword that was above her. Due to the 14 inch distance and the 48 inch range of the sword, the marine held an advantage. All he would have to do was slightly adjust the angle about two inches to have it directly above her turned body and slice down right. "I can show you naga" Melissa said with a wink. .

made by sei

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The Elegent Fist wasn't threatened by him at all, but then again, nobody really was whenever Anton was concerned. The guy just didn't look all that intimidating, he never was really. Anton paused when she mentioned him joining her and becoming a pirate, about him seeing Naga again. For a brief moment, he was tempted to say yes. After all, being a marine just threw him into one life threatening situation after another, being forced to go up against maniacs against his will, and even those he was supposed to be protecting being afraid of him.

But then again, even if they were afraid of him, who would protect them?

"I-I can't do that," Anton shook his head, his resolve starting to strengthen as he spoke. "Yes, I'm not a fan of this job. I didn't even want to become a marine. But if I leave, who will protect the people here? Who will protect the people of the South Blue? Yes, there aer other marines, but then there are those that don't care how many innocent people get hurt, and there are pirates far more cruel and sadistic than you and Miss Naga who wont think twice about hurting them. Th-Thank you for the offer Miss Devaroux, but I'll have to say no. I'm sorry."

What happened next happened quickly. Rather than swing his sword at Melissa, the commander bent down, his body immediately shifting into his hybrid form before launching himself forward, aiming to strike her with the handle of his sword. He didn't want to kill her, he had a feeling she was someone who didn't deserve to die.


Switching to hybrid form.
Current Stamina 310/320

[quote="Melissa Devaroux"]

530 words tags 310 - 25 = 285 stamina remaining

It was a rather nice answer, Melissa had met many marines prior, they shot first, asked questions later. In all honesty, she did not care if the marines perished or lived. If the man had not spoken with such honesty, she would not think twice about ending his life. Instead the pirate decided to use him, use him as what you may ask? an example. One showing that the might of the pirate was not to be scoffed at. Having dealt with Zoan users before, Melissa though surprised by the change was not entirely caught off guard. Devil fruit users were popping up every were and the zoan class was the most basic form that one could gather. The attack was also one she was prepared for. Upon the first movement of the pirate, bending down. His sword would lower yet its new position would have it somewhat upright. With its angle now safely from Melissa the pirate would be able to pull her arm back upon the lunge. With it being the handle that was to become the weapon, this eliminated much of the swords reach. A dangerous gamble. The speed of the zoan user was not to be scoffed at, though Melissa's pull back had not been her only defiance. As the handle came towards her gut, Melissa's own fist would fly upwards in an open palmed uppercut like motion with the intention of striking the grass hopper's chin. Now, the strike to the gut would normally cause one to buckle, perhaps causing the wind to leave the targets body. Alas this would not be possible, for the handle of the sword would simply sink in to the abdomen of the female, the chest area now showing its snow form, thus also revealing that the female the zoan user was fighting against was a logia user. Generally Melissa would try to avoid attacks using this manner, but the sudden speed of the hopper and the lack of distance had forced the occassion to present itself much earlier. Thankfully the speed of the hopper like creature and her own fists momentum would make avoiding the fist much harder especially since the handle of the sword and the palm would connect mere mili seconds from each other. Not to mention as the hilt touched her and pushed through, this action revealed the logia body. If the grasshopper were able to halt his own movement the logia power of the female would remain a secret, while the grass hopper had revealed his own power. If her hit were to connect, the powerful and incredibly strong strike would release a shockwave of power not only doing blunt force damage and breaking the chin with the initial strike, but damaging some of the blood vessels around the face of the creature. Technique: .

made by sei

The attempted attack on the pirate had proved to be a total waste, as Anton felt his hand and the sword handle sink into her stomach, feeling the cold slushy texture of snow right before her own fist connected with his chin. While her stomach proved soft and slushy, her fist was like being hit with iron. The shock wave sent a second impact that even the grasshopper zoan's tough exoskeleton couldn't withstand. The blow caused him to stumble back, knocking him off of his feet and causing him to drop his sword, which fell to the ground with a clatter.

His head spun for a second, his vision blurred before his senses returned. He slowly pulled himself to his feet, feeling blood dripping down his chin. Pain was shooting through his jaw, but his eyes told all to well what he was thinking. He knew he was in trouble.

A logia type!? Why did she have to be a logia? How the hell am I to go against a logia!?

He looked around, trying to find anything he could use to defend himself. Any hope of outright beating this woman was fading fast. Should he run? It was obvious that Melissa thought little of her, if her smile was anything to go by. There was really no point in saving face by getting himself killed. But if he ran, what would she do? And it was his job after all. Anton was sure he was going to cry.

The swirling snow blocked his vision, making it difficult for him to see. He could barely make out the figure of her walking over to his sword, picking it up in her hand, though not holding it in a threatening manner. Then she spoke, almost like she was taunting him, echoing the questions bouncing around in his head. Anton's teeth clenched from the stress, both from fear and the anger starting to rise up inside him. "You're right. I don't really care for this job. It's dangerous, it's put my life at risk more often than not, and quite frankly I think my superiors are insane for even giving me this rank.

But, if I'm going to do anything with my life, I may as well use it to defend those who can't defend themselves. Those people out there don't deserved to be victimized. I know what it's like to be scared, to feel hopeless. The only difference is I can actually do something about it." He suddenly lept back, putting more distance between himself and Melissa. Hopefully the swirling snow would make it harder for her to see him.

"It's not like my own life is worth anything really."

He suddenly kicked off of the wall, shooting towards where he saw her at high speed, hoping to ram his entire body into her.

"Hopper Tackle!"

Techs Used:

A part of him had known the attempted assault was pointless. As he shot through the snow, straight through the woman, chilling him to the bone. He just simply wanted to try, to try and be brave before getting his own ass handed to him. A rather pointless effort in the end. He should have just run. He was never cut out for this.

Suddenly, the snow seemed to clamp to his body, building onto him more and more until the weight proved too much. While his exo-skeleton would have protected him from blunt force and swords, the cold just went right through it, locking up his muscles and chilling him to his heart. He fell in a useless heap as more piled onto him, trapping him in a prison full of snow. Then Melissa walked over, speaking to him. This was it, the end. He was going to die here, cold, scared, and completely helpless. Just like he always thought he was. He couldn't keep the tears out of his eyes, even though he was trying to be braved.

He was a failure. A complete and utter failure. Sure, he had gotten lucky in the past, but when it came down to it, someone like him was just completely useless.

As she asked for his last words, the young man didn't say anything. His head hung down, staring at the ground, the young man's fragile spirit broken.

Anton barely even looked up when she spoke. It was all over. He was a dead man, and everyone around him could see it. He was going to die the miserable failure he knew he was. He didn't even see the fist coming down to strike him, to end him.

Except, it didn't end him.

The attack seemed to connect off to the side, but the effect was surely felt. The shockwave caused by the attack tore away at the snow holding him in place, throwing his body off to the side like a ragdoll. His vision blurred as he bounced across the ground, sliding to a stop in a useless heap. The cold had completely sapped his strength, leaving him barely even the strength to try and regain his senses, to pull himself back to his feet. He didn't have the will to either. He just lay there, letting his vision get blurrier and blurrier before finally everything went black. The zoan's body slowly shifted back into his regular form as his eyes closed, his body finally going limp on the cold stone ground.

The fight, if one could even call it that, was over. Anton La'croix had been defeated, and rather badly as well.


Anton La'croix is unconcious. Anton La'croix is out of the fight.