Task:

Boss 1:

Boss 2:

The sea… a vast and wondrous place with adventure lurking at every corner. Part of her dreamt of someday exploring the entire world at her leisure. But today she was out on there on an important job. Two criminals were being transferred to Impel Down and she was the officer in charge of the ship that would hand them over to the great jail’s representatives. It was a simple task. The prisoners were Devil Fruit users but were kept in a weakened state with seastone cuffs in two separate cells below deck on opposite sides of the ship. It’s not like they were allies. One was a relatively well-known officer of the revolutionaries based in the South Blue. The other was a merciless pirate captain wanted for dozens of crimes. They were not friendly with each other in the remotest sense, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

She had gotten the chance to meet them in person before the ship left port. The first one she spoke to was the revolutionary lieutenant who was a decent and honorable man. He was polite and respectful, acknowledging that she was only doing her duty. At some point in their conversation, they were both trying to get each other to switch sides but their convictions were strong and neither succeeded. It was yet another reason for respect that they earned in each other’s books. The man vowed that he would escape one way or another but the young Marine reassured him that she would do her utmost to prevent that at all costs.

The pirate on the other hand was a vile and malicious man. He also started out as someone seemingly polite and well-mannered but eventually he could not hold back the poison in his words and the Marine lieutenant found herself to be on the receiving end of curses and ill wishes. This man vowed he would kill her himself to which she replied that he was welcome to try. Her analysis of him would reveal to her that he was the type to make poor decisions when enraged and so she did not mind rebuffing him with small provocations. Should the worst happen, the pirate captain not being in the best state of mind would be an advantage.

It truly was supposed to be an easy prison transfer mission. So why were there two unidentified ships approaching them quickly from the east and the west? Then again she was already expecting something like this to happen. As it was with her last job, the orders for this task came from above without her meeting the superior in question who put her on the assignment. As the enemy ships drew close, she identified one of them through their jolly roger. It was the remnants of the Prayer Pirates who had come to rescue their leader. Though she had no idea what they found likable about guy to save him. The other ship had no pirate colors. In fact she would not have given it much attention if she passed by it anchored in port. It was an inconspicuous vessel down to the smallest detail. And it was that characteristic that made it a prime candidate to be used by revolutionaries to carry out their secret missions. More than likely, these were Harvey’s men.

Two weeks ago, Zeppelin would have found the odds to be a tad on the impossible side. It was time to put her newfound abilities to the test. Almost as soon as she finished this thought, five spectral images appeared by her side.

Stam 240/250

Suddenly, two explosions rocked the north and south side of the ship. They came from below deck. What was going on? Neither the pirates nor the revolutionaries had gotten close enough to begin boarding. A panicked Marine grunt ran up to her and reported the situation. It seemed that both enemy parties managed to somehow send men to infiltrate their ranks to spring their respective leaders at the opportune moment. By all counts, that should have been impossible. Not unless they were aided in some way. The two men weren’t even working together. It was quite apparent that someone set her up. But she had other problems on her hands. On the port side, the revolutionary ship was pulling up close to them and they began to exchange cannon fire.

As the shots reverberated throughout the ship, Zeppelin issued her orders. They did not have enough men or cannons on board to engage both ships at once but what they did have was the advantage that neither of their adversaries were aiming to sink them until they could secure their leader’s escapes. With that in mind, they were likely going to try and board them and that was when they would initiate their counterattack. She ordered her men to shift their firepower to the starboard side to intercept the incoming pirate ship. She would handle the revolutionaries who had already begun to put up bridges to cross over to her ship. According to her plan, incapacitating the enemy crews was more important. Without a crew and ship, the prisoners weren’t going anywhere even if they did manage to free themselves from their binds.

As she walked over across the deck to face the incoming revolutionaries, five more ghosts joined the ones she had summoned earlier, making up a total of ten. Flying around above, they gave her a bird’s eye view of the situation. There was one man at the helm of the ship steering while ten were making their way across the wooden planks to their ship. Seeing only one opponent before them, the men charged swords drawn while those with rifles prepared to provide cover fire if necessary.

“Welcome aboard! Sadly, we weren’t expecting company so we’ll have to send you straight to bed without supper!” She raised her hand and then pointed it at the incoming revolutionaries as though she was directing a firing squad. “Negative Hollow”

The ghosts that were harmlessly floating overhead began to swoop down at their targets and bring them to their knees as they passed through them. Seeing their comrades fall, the few riflemen opened fire at the ghosts but it had no effect. The ghosts eventually got to them as well, phasing through their bodies and causing them to drop their weapons as they slumped to the deck having been overwhelmed with negativity. They won’t be moving for a while. The helmsman of the revolutionary ship was visibly shocked at the fate that befell his comrades but could not do anything to assist them as he had to stay put to steer their ship.

Meanwhile on the starboard side, cannon fire had started as the pirate ship managed to move in on them as well. Her men were holding up well and had the villains at a stalemate. That would do for now. It was time she dealt with the escaped prisoners below deck. She was starting to wonder why they had not made up out side yet. Her thoughts were answered by a loud crash coming from inside the ship.

Stam 215/250

Zeppelin made her way below deck, leaving two ghosts above to keep tabs on the situations with the enemy ships. She had sent a couple of ghosts ahead to see what was going on down there and was surprised to see her two prisoners seemingly engaged in a fight of their own. In some ways that was a good thing. But these two were formidable fruit users and the chances of them wrecking the ship and sinking it were well within the realm of possibility. That was the worst thing that could happen. Her being a fruit user herself, a sinking ship was one of the last places she would want to be.

She arrived at the widest hallway where the two prisoners were staring each other down. On one side, the revolutionary lieutenant was smiling smugly while showing off his footwork. At the man’s feet were multiple broken wax figures. On the pirate priest’s side, the wax user had an expression on his face livid with anger. Her sudden arrival caused the two of them to shift their focus to her.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in. I was wondering when you would show up lieutenant. I was just showing Luther here what it means to mess with revolutionaries. One of my men went to his cell block by mistake and he was unfortunately killed.”

Harvey was smiling but he was clearly upset about the turn of events.

“You’re a fool Harvey! We should be working together to escape from this place! Right now the Marines are our common enemy!”

As he shouted this, Luther formed a cannon with his wax and shot a wax ball at Zeppelin who just barely managed to duck out of the way.

“I hate to say it, but Luther’s right. I definitely don’t want to fight the two of you at once.”

Though she said this, it would actually be in Zeppelin’s favor if they did. The two were hardly in sync and she could use their disconnect against them if they both threw attacks her way. The problem was provoking Harvey whom she earlier deduced was the honorable sort who most likely wouldn’t think about double-teaming her especially with someone he was not fond of.

“To answer your earlier question, I had to welcome your men before coming here. Sorry to say, but I doubt they’re in any shape to help you out now. They’re not dead but, I can’t make any promises about what will happen to them after this.”

Harvey clenched his fist. She certainly got his attention now. At the corner of her eye, she spotted Luther smirking maliciously. He was probably thinking she was a fool for provoking the revolutionary. Such a simpleton. Shrewdness and cowardice did not go hand in hand. It makes one lose sight of certain things.

“And I thought you were different from the other Marines. Don’t hate me for this!”

Harvey rushed towards her at close quarters, displaying impressive speed. He then threw a left hook right at her face. She put up her arms to guard, rotating her waist at the moment of impact to disperse the force of the blow. It was a heavy hit, clearly enhanced by the Kilo Kilo no Mi. Had she made an error in blocking it, the punch might have fractured her arm.

“Not bad lieutenant.”

Stam 200/250

The small space was disadvantageous for her. Her opponent was a proficient boxer who more than likely possessed fighting skills a step superior to her. She had to take this outside. As the revolutionary prepared to unleash a flurry, the two were interrupted by the ever opportunistic priest, attacking without any regard for Harvey despite his earlier attempts of coercing him to work together. Typical pirate behavior.

“Die!”

The pirate launched a barrage of wax balls and the revolutionary ended up using his flurry to smash the incoming projectiles.

“The man just doesn’t know how to play fair huh?”

“Agreed.”

The revolutionary lieutenant was a bit confused at this point on who he should prioritize. Zeppelin could see that he too was starting to feel anxious. The look in his eye was enough to make the pirate nervous. Seeing that his “plan” backfired, the priest unleashed a huge torrent of wax, flooding the entire hallway and forcing Zeppelin and Harvey to retreat up the stairs.

Back on deck, the Marine grunts were still busy fighting off the pirates though she could see a couple of bodies downed on each side. She felt a little regretful she couldn’t be there to help them. Meanwhile, turned to look in the direction of his ship and saw his men slumped on the ground and not moving at all. He had worried look on his face but managed to feel a little better after seeing his helmsman still up and manning the wheel of their ship.

“So, what did you do to them lieutenant?”

“Nothing immediately life-threatening I assure you. They might as well be taking a nap.”

Zeppelin’s ghosts gathered around her as she spoke, catching the attention of the revolutionary.

“I assume it’s got something to do with those things then? A Devil Fruit no doubt.”

“No comment.”

“Of course.”

Harvey closed in on her again, this time going for a body blow. But before his punch could meet its mark, he found his fist inexplicably moved to the left, allowing Zeppelin to sidestep it with minimal effort. A ghastly apparition had appeared out of nowhere, snickering as its clammy hands let go of the man’s wrist, having moved it to make him miss. Annoyed, he took a couple of swings at it but found that his blows were barely met with resistance. It was like punching cloth and the ghost merely grinned in response, obviously feeling nothing from the man’s attacks.

“That’s a Boggart. Typically not my style but he’s a useful fellow.”

“I noticed.”

Harvey decided it was more prudent to ignore the new ghost and go straight for the summoner. Lightening his footsteps once more, he dashed towards Zeppelin but at this point the she had seen that movement too many times already and was waiting for it. But as she moved in to grab the man’s punching arm in an attempt to throw him, he pulled back at the last second and switched up his punch to his other hand, nailing Zeppelin in the midsection. It seemed he was saving this move for this moment. She found herself knocked back a few feet, crashing against the railings of the ship though thankfully she didn’t fall over. She coughed up blood. Judging from the pain she was feeling, he probably broke a couple of ribs.

“Ready to give up yet?”

“Not while I can still stand.”

Stam 175/250

Already receiving a major injury and there was still one more powerful fruit user waiting at bay, she definitely had to end this as fast as possible. The next move had to decide it. Her Boggart was still hanging around the revolutionary and judging from its grinning face, it was going to interfere with the man’s movements again. That would be her opportunity to strike. Looking to finish off the Marine lieutenant, Harvey closed in quickly again with a one-two punch. Instead of overstretching herself and trying to grab him, she settled for a parry while the Boggart took care of moving his other arm off mark. With an opening finally created, she aimed a palm strike at the side of his face that exploded violently on impact. The man was sent flying several feet but still landing on the deck of the ship. His face was now hardly recognizable from the burns and blood as he was left barely conscious from the attack. She honestly felt bad for him.

She was walking over to check on his condition when a cannon ball burst out from below deck, nearly hitting her. A familiar man clambered out from the hole created and straightened his coat. It was the pirate priest. He was looking rather pissed as it seemed when he flooded the hallway with wax earlier, he inadvertently trapped himself down below as well. He only just managed to blast his way out at that time. His angry expression turned into a rather annoying grin though after he saw that the two biggest obstacles to his escape were either near death or injured. Zeppelin wished she was in better shape to take him on but such luck was not on her side. A coward to the end, the man walked over to the barely breathing revolutionary and picked him up with one hand.

“Stop! What are you planning to do with him?!?”

“Why do you care Marine? Weren’t you thinking of finishing him off anyway? He was a pain in the neck earlier when my men broke me out and he destroyed plenty of my creations too. I believe it’s only fitting that he meets his end at my hands. He will make for a good statue.”

“I said stop!”

Pointing her hand at the pirate, her ghosts swarmed him causing him to let go of Harvey. Unaware that they were practically harmless, the man desperately waved his arms around trying to shoo them away.

“Get them off me!!”

While he was distracted, Zeppelin broke off into a run heading straight for the wax user and hitting him in the gut with a shoulder tackle. He was knocked down to the ground as he was nowhere near as physically capable as the revolutionary. He groaned in pain as he looked up at the injured Marine and cursed under his breath.

As he struggled to get back on his feet, he pointed his hand at Zeppelin producing another wave of wax to try and smother her. But this time she was a step ahead. She had summoned a large balloon-shaped ghost that carried her up to safety, avoiding the torrent of wax released by the pirate.

Stam 120/250

“Get back down here you coward!”

The angry pirate was shaking his fist as Zeppelin floated in the air carried by her ghost. Those were tough words coming from a man who appeared only after his opponents had exhausted himself. Still he was persistent. Eager to demonstrate his own power, he caused his wax to form itself into a large wax knight holding a long lance. She didn’t need to read his mind to figure out what he was up to. The wax knight winded up and then threw his lance at her. Her balloon ghost took the hit but it was not going to last against another one.

Zeppelin pointed her hand at the pirate and summoned three tiny hollows  that immediately moved down to surround the man who laughed in response.

“I already know your ghosts don’t actually do anything! Your silly tricks are not going to work on me any-”

The man found that he would not be able to complete his last sentence as when he touched the tiny hollow with his finger in order to mock the marine, it exploded knocking him to the side into the next hollow. It chained another explosion knocking him into the third for a final one that knock him backwards to the center of the ship. He lay on the ground bruised but not quite knocked out. As Zeppelin finally made her way down he tried to form a cannon again with his wax only to come face to face with the balloon ghost that was carrying the marine lieutenant earlier. His eyes widened with fear as he realized what was coming next. A large explosion rocked the ship as the large ghost popped. The resulting blast would finally knock out the pirate captain.

She was finally done. She turned her head in the direction of the pirate ship where her men were still fighting. They were down to about five men a side. It was about time she finally lent them a hand.

“Negative Hollow”

Her ghosts on standby swooped down on the pirates, making short work of them like they did with the revolutionary crew earlier. Her men cheered as the battle finally came to a close. Meanwhile she found herself leaning against the railing of the deck feeling exhausted from the ordeal. The ship was damaged but still seaworthy. She was almost certain she had lost at least couple of good men. All in all it was frankly terrible. Hopefully the Impel Down ship would meet up with them soon.

Stam 80/250

(Epilogue)

It would take another hour or so until her wish would be granted. Thankfully the few men still fit to work managed to clean things up well-enough. The pirates and revolutionaries were tied up on the deck, either knocked out or still suffering the effects from her ghosts. Bloodied and battered, their leaders were restrained with seastone cuffs again. It looks like Impel Down will be getting its new prisoners after all, and with a bonus to boot.

As the Impel Down ship linked up beside their ship, Zeppelin found herself feeling heavy pressure in the air as the man who was presumably the commanding officer of the vessel came on board accompanied by his men. Looking around, she spotted a few of her men were also on their knees, finding difficulty standing up. She had never felt this kind of pressure before. Was it some sort of ability? As the man drew close, she recognized the marks on the man’s coat to be that of a Vice Admiral. What was a Vice Admiral doing picking up prisoners?

Even performing a salute required a bit of physical effort. She was curious why the Vice Admiral’s men didn’t seem to be bothered by the man’s “ability” as they all stood at attention, surrounding the captured criminals.

“Is this your first time feeling the effects of haki Lieutenant?” The Vice Admiral chuckled.

Haki. It was yet another special ability that she had read about before. It was something all living things possessed and somewhere along the way, she had expected that she would have to learn it herself. But this was not quite the haki she was expecting to see or rather feel for the first time. This was neither observation nor armament haki. This was the rare third type. The pressure she was feeling matched the descriptions she read about the effects it was capable of. Was the Vice Admiral doing this on purpose or was it simply because she and her crew were feeling fatigued?

“Yes sir. I can’t say I know much about it, but it certainly seems impressive.”

“Right, so what do we have here? Ran into a bit of trouble on your delivery?”

There was a slight hint of mocking in the tone of the man’s voice. To be honest, it had been bothering her for a while that he didn’t seem to show much surprise at seeing their damaged ship and significantly larger number of captives on the deck. He couldn’t possibly be the one responsible for the leak could he? She had no solid proof, but every inch of her was screaming that the man was up to no good and that she should be extremely wary.

“It was a bit more bad luck than I would have wanted sir. Both of the prisoners’ crews managed to somehow find us and attempt a breakout at the same time. We managed to pull through somehow and here’s the result.”

“Very good! I’m glad that an officer as accomplished as yourself was on the job. I’ve read all about you. I shall see to it that you are properly recognized for your efforts.”

The Vice Admiral raised his hand and as he did so, his men all pointed their rifles at the tied up captives. Zeppelin’s eyes widened with surprise. Weren’t they supposed to be transferred to Impel Down?

“Sir what is-”

“A Marine ship was attacked and an officer was gravely injured in the attempted escape. I think this merits an execution, yes?”

“Sir I-”

Before she could say anything more, the Vice Admiral gave the signal and the sound of multiple gunshots rang in the air. In a span of seconds, all the captives slumped on the ground dead. The Vice Admiral clapped his hands a couple of times as though praising his men for the job well done. He then turned around to address Zeppelin again.

“You should get yourself checked when you get back to port lieutenant. That’s a nasty looking bruise. My men and I will take care of cleaning this up. You’re dismissed. Feel free to rest in your quarters.”

(End)