It was the twilight in Baterilla. The setting sun had cast the sky a fiery orange as the area began to darken out. Many people were going home to eat dinner and relax, while the Marines were out patrolling and such. It was a rather peaceful evening...if it wasn't for the fact that a good amount of Marines were called to Aka's Grocery Store due to a hostage situation. Some sort of triad members came in and just started pointing swords and guns. Amongst the 20+Marines surrounding the store was Wade Lamar Bainbrydge, who was being briefed about the situation. Wade himself was rather cautious, not wanting any innocent casualties. "We need you to get in there and secure the hostages." His various superiors would say, due to his rather great speed and such. Wade, not really having a choice, would nod and look forward at the store. It was near the middle of town, in a medium sized plaza, out in the open. The curtains were down in the store, preventing the Marine's to see what was happening. The Marine's themselves had surrounded the entire front half of the store, rifles pointed. Thus, Wade was suppose to get into the back of the store and sneak his way in. With that, he began to move amongst the crowd of white and blue, remaining hidden despite his size as his made his way to the back.

Although night was fast approaching on Baterilla it didn't deter many people from still enjoying the weather. Unlike some other islands that housed extreme weather conditions, this one was so temperate pretty much all year round. Aulburne could definitely make it a habit to keep coming back to the island if only to enjoy its refreshing climate. His left eye took in the sight of children chasing each other down alleyways in such carefree delight. A gentle sigh escaped his lips, whisked away into the setting horizon on a soft breeze that tickled the back of his neck. If he didn't know any better, he'd assume that the typical islander's only worry was sitting out in the sun too long.

The fishman was currently topless, he had deemed his shirt unnecessary in the face of such nice conditions. It was currently tied around his right bicep in a simple knot should the need arise to wear it again. Aulburne wasn't shy at all in displaying his chest for the world to see. His feet continued to carry him past the local inhabitants, some only sparing a wary glance in his direction. It was to be expected that his presence here wasn't entirely welcomed, but they tolerated him all the same. Aulburne didn't see any reason to test the locals on the matter, simply allowing them the same courtesies they showed him.

Aulburne had left the southern end of the town only to find himself in its main plaza. The fishman realized he had been walking for quite a bit but didn't quite notice how long until now. His gaze settled on the group of marines situated on the other side in front of him. As casually as he could without looking like an absolute idiot, he stuck his hands into his pockets while walking closer with a curious expression plastered across his face. The marines were so focused on what was going on in front of them that he managed to squeeze there a large gap in the formation to make it to the front of the group. Unfortunately his luck didn't hold long enough for him to put together what was going on.

A marine standing to his left leaped into the air in a started shout and flailing of limbs. It would seem that she'd only just now noticed the fishman's presence in their ranks. The young woman brandished the rifle at the young man, its muzzle aimed squarely at his chest. A few of the others followed suit until the entire unit was now aiming at him. Aulburne slowly raised his hands in a mock surrender as to not startle anyone into blowing his head off. A lazy smile tugged at the corner of his lips, he was going to have to think of something quick to ease the tension before someone got too trigger happy.

"Uh nice temperature we're having am right?", his tone a little too calm given the present circumstances. A few of the marines exchanged confused glances, but no one had yet lowered their gun. Aulburne hoped his weak attempt at humor might have calmed down their nerves somewhat. The fishman chuckled quietly at the thought, he'd never been one for quick quips. "I'm sorry let me try that again. What I meant to ask earlier was if it was okay if I go into the store really quick and grab a bite to eat. I'm kinda running on empty here", his request coming out in a rich baritone voice that seemed to suit him. The female marine who he'd scared initially scowled at his too friendly attitude. She nudged a young man standing next to her, before jerking her head in the direction of the store. He nodded slowly in response, then turned on his heel making his way over to a too tall, pale gentleman in a tophat. "Sir, I believe that we have another situation on our hands. A humanoid creature is suggesting we let him into the store on a 'snack run' or something", the last few words spat out in annoyance.

The sun slowly began to move lower and lower below the horizon, but left a good portion of it's top part out, allowing some light still. Wade was personally surprised at the fact no one was really noticing him amongst the crowd, despite being a single inch away from ten feet. He was also surprised that the situation did not escalate that much either. Then he heard some commotion coming from the Marines and began thinking that he spoke too soon. It wasn't until some Marine came to him talking about some humanoid who wanted food from the store that Wade sighed, though, kept his smile on and followed the Marine back. The "humanoid" was obviously a fishman (had none of the other Marines seen one) and looked quite well off considering his jewelry. Wade stood a full 3 feet and 6 inches above him as well, thus, he had to look down to meet his eyes. Speaking of which, Wade observed the fishman for a few seconds, his rather creepy eyes taking the sight in. Eventually, Wade let out a tired sigh and scratched the back of his head before speaking. "Sorry sir. There is a hostage situation going on and we just on the scene. I'm afraid you can't get your food for now till it's settled." With that, Wade, turned around. "If ya excuse me."

Wade quickly ran toward the back of the store once more, disappearing in the sea of Marines, actually making it to the door this time. Now crouching, he approached the back door and tried the handle. Perhaps out of seer luck, it was unlocked. Fools must've forgot to lock it. With a slow turn of his wrist, he opened the door and crept inside. It seems that he was in the storage room, evident by all the shelves filled with canned foods, ready to put into the main store. Hiding behind a shelf, he listened carefully as he heard two set of footprints enter the room. "Stay here. Me and Mao will take care of the hostages." One of the voices said, sounding rugged and raspy. "Why storage though? No body is gonna sneak in." Whined the other voice, sounding more young with a cracking voice. "You don't know that. Fu Man Chu is in up stairs in the boss's office. Now stay put and do as you're told kid." With that, the raspy voiced man left, leaving the younger one alone. "Fuck you Hao." The young one would say. Two in the store, one in the office, and one here. How hard could it be? Slowly Wade stood, not all the way, but enough to peek over the shelf. The young man wore a purple kimono and was carrying a chinese sword. He was currently pacing back and forth by the door rather than patroling the storage room.

Slowly Wade made his way to the man, hiding behind the shelves everytime he would turn around and begin his pacing once more. Seriously, does one notice this 9 foot 11 inch guy crawling around? Once close enough, however, Wade would lash out, placing a hand on the man's mouth and one on the back of his head. With a quick movement, he snapped his neck with his little effort. Exhaling slowly, Wade dragged the body behind a shelf before hiding next to the door, trying to hear anything that would prove useful.

Aulburne stood still with his hands raised in case any of them got the funny idea to shoot him just for attempting to scratch his nose. The silence that surrounded the group was more tense then he would have liked, but from what he could see judging by the looks on their faces no one was up for small talk. However, the moment didn't persist for much longer as the young lad from earlier came waltzing back with a strange individual in tow. The fishman had no room whatsoever to criticize another person's appearance, but this man warranted such a reaction in his eyes. The gaze alone that he shot at Aulburne while he scrutinized him sent an involuntary chill down his spine. This was a new feeling for him, in that he was actually somewhat unnerved by this gentleman standing over him.

However, it seemed that this marine was much nicer than he appeared to be given his bizarre appearance. The fishman couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in interest at the situation he'd just walked into. Although before he could prepare a retort of any kind the lanky gentleman took off once more towards the store. The marines around him parted onto two sides, guns still aimed at him as they allowed him an exit down the path he had just come from. Aulburne was more interested in what was going on inside of the store that required such a large marine presence. Feigning a willingness to leave peacefully the young man took two steps forward before stopping again. Aulburne's gaze locked onto a fixed point in the horizon, eyes squinting to get a better picture.

The marines turned in the direction that the fishman was facing trying to get a glimpse at whatever he trying to see. A sly smile tugged at the corner's of his lips, but it was too soon to start congratulating himself. Since their backs were now turned to him the fishman retreated backwards quickly to the store. He stepped lightly around the side of the building where he'd seen the tall man disappear around. Aulburne was fairly sure that he had come this way judging from the backdoor being left ajar. The fishman propped the door open just a little more to allow himself to enter, closing it behind him after he was in. Aulburne walked through the storeroom on light footsteps trying to make as little sound as possible. As he was contemplating where the pale marine might have wandered off to next, quick movement in his peripheral to his left caught his attention.

The young man recognized the figure sidling up to the door as the one whom he spoke to outside. He couldn't quite shake that feeling he got just from remembering how the marine looked at him earlier. Taking quick, deliberate steps he pressed himself against the wall making his way over to the man. Hopefully, now that the marine could hear Aulburne approaching he would be less tempted to assault him. The fishman sidled up to the opposite side of the door across from the other man, flashing the marine a smug smile in greeting. "No offense to you, but your guys made it way too easy to follow you back here. But after hearing that potential innocents were in danger, how could I not volunteer my services to help?", his voice dropped to a low whisper considering that the marine was being stealthy for a reason. Aulburne couldn't help it, his insatiable curiosity demanded to know what was going on. The fishman would continue on in that same soft whisper after taking a deep breath and releasing it. "Oh and by the way this alliance is non-negotiable, but I figured anyone would appreciate a helping hand. So what's the next move partner?"

As Wade listened to hear any conversation between the two men in the main part of the store, he began to hear quiet footsteps. Quickly turning his head to see the culprit, he let out a small sigh as he saw the fishman from earlier creep up to the other side of the door. Wade listened to him speaking about dumb the Marines outside were (he took no offense of course, since it was rather true) and how easy it was to slip inside before noting that Wade will be receiving his help whether he liked it or not. Wade looked at him for a few seconds before simply shrugging. "Theres two in the main store and one upstairs. The hostages are in the main store....I think we should go and take them out as f-" Wade immediately hushed as one of the men began to speak. "Hao...ya really think we're gonna get paid when this is over?" One man said, who wore a purple kimono and carried a sheathed Sword. "Of course. We wouldn't be risking our asses if we weren't, would we?" Replied Hao, how also carried a sword. "True......still. We're surrounded out there. The five of us ain't gonna do shit against, what, 20 Marines?" "Eh, I'm sure boss has it already planned out. For now, just make sure none of the hostages make a ruckus and keep anyone from entering." "Yeah yeah..." With that, silence once again filled the store. After a moment of it, Wade resumed speaking. "Let's go and rush him. Take them out in one go and release the hostages before getting to the main man. Any objections?" He would say as he looked back out of the doorway, ready to go in and take down the men.

Aulburne was relieved to see that the marine was being more rational than his brethren standing outside. The young man was currently not in the mood to plead his case while these criminals ran amok through the store. His gaze darted between the marine standing across from him into the room where the two men were and back again. It was a simple enough plan of action, but the key would be to make as little ruckus as possible. The last thing that the dynamic duo needed was to draw any attention from the boss upstairs and risk endangering the civilians. The fishman nodded slowly in the tall gentleman's direction to convey that he understood the plan.

A slow exhalation of breath escaped his lips before peeking his head around the corner to determine the other two men's locations. It was better that he clear his mind before engaging the two lest he end up worse off than the hostages at their mercy. Aulburne edged around the corner making his way over to a wooden stand displaying various fruits. The stand stood up to his waist, but the thing was piled so high with fruit that he'd only needed to bend his knees slightly to remain hidden. Another cautious glance around the mountain of produce told him his actions had gone unnoticed. Another figure stood off to the far side, the man wrapped in a purple kimono was the closest one to him and therefore currently his target.

The blue-skinned young lad contemplated how to get to this man while making as little fuss as possible. An easy approach would be to sneak behind the criminal whilst his back was still turned and incapacitate him. Yet before he could carry any of this out, heavy footsteps against the marble floors broke through his thoughts. Those same steps stopped just short of the stand, sending his pulse climbing just a bit higher. Aulburne cursed whatever higher power there was that allowed his luck to be so gosh darn awful. The fishman assumed that the man in the purple kimono knew he was here and in mere moments he'd be dead.

However, closer examination of the issue after he'd calmed down to look it sanely would reveal a different picture. The purple robed man had no idea that the fishman was crouched roughly an arms length away. The criminal was likely just hungry from watching the hostages for so long, evident in him picking a rather large melon off the top of the pile. The fishman figured he could still twist this to his advantage, readying himself to lunge. Aulburne's expression twisted into a feral snarl that revealed many nasty, sharp dagger like looking teeth. His body was already in motion before the purple robed man could call in any help.

The fishman's mouth opened wide biting down hard on the exposed throat of the criminal, cutting off whatever response he tried to make. He would twist his head in one smooth motion picking the man off the ground and slamming him on the other side of the stand where Aulburne was positioned. His teeth pulled at the soft flesh ripping out a sizable chunk of it before spitting it out to the side. The purple robed man hadn't even had time to yell, a bloody gurgle as he choked on his own blood was the only sound made. Those hands clawed frantically at the exposed throat before they hung limp at the sides, eyes now glossed over and empty. The criminal's blood coated the fishman's maw dripping down past his chin onto the floor. Hopefully the other guy had been behind the young man and was already done with his own mark.