Task Name: The Princess' Favor
Tier: 2
NPC or PC: PC
Location: Ennies Lobby (Outskirts)
Crew, Team, or Personal: Crew
Description: Either from being saved by the princess or maiming the animal she wanted to kill and cook, she will demand you to compensate her for her troubles. She isn't really forceful about it, just domineering and commanding to a fault, eventually convincing you to humour her. She has heard about a Particularly tasty breed of mushroom in this island and isn't in the mood to get it herself. Get it for her and she'll even pay you something worthwhile, assuming you dont find anything worthwile yourself. However, that cave is inhabited by a particularly aggressive breed of badgers. You'll have to beat them to reach deep enough to find the mushroom... It seems poisonous... Why does she want that thing?
Enemy Details: 5 T1 Cave Badger young, 2 T2 Cave bagder adults, 1 T3 Cave badger Alpha

Continued from Here


Was this it...? Was this how her adventure was going to end? Linnea always thought she understood the consequences of eating a Devil Fruit, even one as powerful and versatile as the Hie hie no mi. She might have for the most part, but perhaps on a certain level, she definetly didn't account for everything. As she sunk face up into the ever deeper water, looking at the skies and flying southbirl abouve, she thought back to every moment that had led to this one. And she had no regrets for the life she lived... Or so she'd like to say at the moment of her death but she only had one: To die without completing her singular ambition. She wouldn't be able to protect her friends through their own any longer too. All she would be remembered by was her infamy and the diary she'd been keeping... It wasn't enough..! If only she'd been more careful... She wasn't really afraid, just was disappointed.


The lake really wasn't very deep. The water had yet to have a chance to grow cold when she finally hit the bottom, soon after she was barely able to see any light pouring in from above. Her Haki sensing died down as Linnea no longer had the strength to keep it active, and soon she no longer bothered keeping her eyes open... She wondered how long would she be able to hold her breath like this; probably not long. When would she take the fatal last breath underwater? Forunately, she didn't have to worry about that: She felt something soft but slippery coiling around her waist and hips, with a surprisingly firm grip, and finally a pair of arms wrapping around her torso, firmly under her arms and chest, slowly pulling her up. Who was this...? It was defenitely a woman, with her smooth skin and bountiful breasts comfortably pushing against her back. Even in her precarious situation, she couldn't help but blush at the close proximity to a total stranger, whose smoothness keenly reminded her of Alice. She desperately trying to look at the face of her samaritan but then something else happened.

The other girl shook restlessly as Linnea swore she could hear a yelp...! Turning around, she finally saw her savior in all her glory, literally. Her chest bare for the world to see (just Lin and the fishes really), she blushed and covered herself hurriedly. Apparently Linnea's squirming had dislodged her bikini top, with her smooth slipper skin it was no surprise. Most importantly, her eyes widened at the girl's alien visage. A mermaid...? No, an octopus? Maybe a fishgirl? She had smooth blue skin, gorgeous violet hair, and even prettier garnet eyes.



No longer worried about being gentle, she unceremoniously wrapped a tentacle around Linnea's waist and flung her skywards, out of the water with a loud splash and into the shallow sands at the water's edge. She was still unable to use her fruit but she wouldn't drown anytime soon. Better yet, she could move. But before long, a very angry and flustered, regal looking mermaid surfaced to berate her:

"W-what do you think you're doing, you p-pervert!!!", she complained, hurriedly pulling her top back down to cover her breasts, "You troublesome devil fruit users! Next time I'll just let you drown...!"

"I'm so sorry it was an accident, I swear!", Linnea, just as desperately embarassed, tried her best to thank her kind yet offended benefactor, but her efforts were ineffective at best...

The Mermaid rested her upper body on her elbows, unwittingly pushing out her cleavage slightly, her cepahlopoid body hanging below the water with just a tentacle waving irkedly as she ranted:

"Hmph!", she scoffed, looking away haughtily, before pointing at the half frozen, half shattered banana croc, "Look what you've done to my special ingredient!! If you actually mean any single word you say, you're gonna get me a new ones to replace the ones you lost."

She finally looked at Linnea again, with an equally offended frown, but a commanding look in her eyes... And Linnea could only sweat and smile sheepish and apologetically, unsure of how she was going to appease the demanding mermaid. The girl had saved her life after all.

"Just fly straight you stupid bird! I need to know what your so flustered about!" an angry Locke had been following the Southbird companion of her captain, Naga D Linnea, for what seamed like 30 minutes after he had flown back to the crew to get them to follow him.
The day might have started off pleasant, an islet around Enies that still had a night and day cycle, warm but not overbearingly hot in the day, nice and cool at night, and the weather was halfway stable!

The Southbird however, was flying in circles at points as he continued to cry.... "Linnea, you better still be alive!" thought the greenette as she activated her Kenbunshoku Haki, at C rank. Thankfully Linnea's aura appeared, slightly weakened, along side another strong aura that the blacksmith didn't recognize... After almost tripping over a few marines, who were out cold, and few more minutes of running, the blacksmith comes across her captain, who was soaking wet, and a very unexpected sight. A mermaid who's skin was a light shade of blue, and who's lower half was that of a octopus.

This woman seamed to be fussing at Linnea, complaining about messing up an ingredient... And before Locke could question that, a large alligator like creature was noticed, who's head was literally frozen and then shattered to pieces, clear evidence of Linnea's work.
"Umm.. Excuse me." Locke said quietly and non threateningly as she walked out of the woods. She was wearing a pair of brown shorts and a forest camouflage shirt... A little dull but good in-case things required a little stealth.
"What's going on here?" Locke's amber eyes switched from one target, the mermaid, to Linnea, and then to the creature that was partially shattered, while the looks of both relief, and curiosity were on Locke's face. She decides to be polite though to this new face and says "Thank you for saving my captain miss... She has a bad habit of running off without telling her crew where she's going..." despite this Locke smiled a friendly, warm hearted smile at them both "I'm Locke, and this here... well I guess she should be the one to introduce herself." Sengoku flew down onto his owner's shoulder, happy to see her alive.

Nicholas' day had been pretty chill since they had arrived here on this beach. After all, it was good to take a load off and relax, especially where they were. He didn't leave the ship this time, instead being content to lounge on a deck chair on the deck and catch some rays, sitting there shirtless. He had a nice cool drink next to him (thanks to their captain, ice was never an issue), which he sipped now and again.

But then, his little R&R period was interrupted by a loud crowing. Nicky knew that sound almost immediately. That was the sound of the captain's South Bird. He remembered Linnea taking him with her when she left the ship. And judging by the sound, those calls were anything but pleasant.

The captain's in trouble!

Whether it was due to chivalry, or the fact that he forgot that his captain was pretty damn strong, Nicholas lept to his feet and made a mad dash off of the ship, forgetting even to put a shirt on. If his captain needed him, then he would be there, even if he wasn't as strong as her or Melissa. Thankfully he didn't forget his dials, which he had tucked in his pants pockets.

And that was why Nicholas suddenly burst onto the scene, finding his captain in a rather nice looking bikini, completely wet, Locke, who was in a more modest attire, and what appeared to be a rather attractive, blue skinned woman, whom upon further inspection would see that she was some sort of octopus girl.

"I heard the Naga Signal and came running captain," Nicholas spoke out. Yes, he would refer to the Southbird as the 'Naga Signal' from now on. "Are you alright?" He would then turn his attention over to the blue skinned octopus girl, a small smile appearing on his lips. "And who, may I ask, if this lovely young lady here?" he asked, giving her a polite bow. Then the words he had heard Locke speak up as he arrived clicked in his mind. "Did I hear you saved our dear captain here? Thank you very much for that. I am Nicholas Edison, at your service." Nicholas had never met a mermaid before. Fishmen, yes, but never a mermaid. And such a beautiful one too. The Grand Line was such a wondrous place.

Sengoku cawed in complaint, responding to Locke's own, but he didn't seem overly annoyed. The bird liked Locke after all, he seemed to have a soft spot for pretty girls... However, his circling of a single location was a good enough lead for more than one fellow Uroboros to the site, where Linnea, only just reactivating her Haki, was able to recognize her, "Locke!! Glad to see you~!", after only just believing she was going to die, she was naturally overjoyed to see her friend and Blacksmith.

The Mermaid eyed the more elegantly dressed Locke with curiousity, and actually smiled with a hint of a approval at the greenette's introduction, "At least one of you has manners... Better than none, I guess.", she commented, giving Linnea a snide look


"Sorry...", apologiezed Linnea once again, scratching her head sheepishly before offering her hand and smiling, "I'm Naga D. Linnea; Captain of the Uroboros Pirates. Rest assured, I'll get you those ingredients, even if you still won't believe me."

"Pirates huh...? I won't hold my breath. But in the off chance you do mean it, here's where you need to go...", she stretched her arm out towards a mountain up in the distance, "There should be some caves going under that mountain. There's a glowing mushroom that only grows there. Get it for me, and I'll consider us even. For the rescue AND the croc..."

She spoke that last part as if she was being incredibly generous. This mermaid obviously didn't seem like the nicest of people, acting incredibly haughty and self entitled, almost like what she'd expect a noble to be like. Yet for Linnea, still looked like the most generous person in the world right now. Most of all, she knew that under all this proud sassiness was actually a kind hearted girl. Flash arrived soon after, and as Linnea went to greet him, the ever smooth debonair spared no praised to dazzling submarine beauty, not the least bit put off by her tentacly lower half, "Flattery will get you nowhere, pirate.", she answered snootily, even if a faint, poorly disguised smiled could be seen on her face, "My name is Sabrina. Tell your captain to get me what I asked and we can talk more afterwards... I'll be here when you get back"

Clearly flattery actually had some effect even if she was too proud to admit it. With this, the blue skinned mermaid dove back underwater, and soon she had gone deep enough that they couldn't see her anymore, even if Linnea still sensed her presence.

"Well, I'm going out to get her mushrooms. Any of you coming along?", asked Linnea, turning her gaze between her two crewmates, before blushing slightly as she cocked her head down, "Also... Thanks for coming so quickly..."

With this, she would quickly turn around as if to hide the innocent blush on her cheeks, leading the way towards the mountains for whoever chose to follow her...

Yeah, it's good to see you too!" said the greenette as she looked Linnea over to really make sure she's okay... Her fashion sense hasn't changed, so that's a sighn for the better.

Locke's first impression of the "princess" that was in-front of her wasn't the best, but the little bit of talking they had showed a little more that she was letting on...
Of course Linnea was thankful, as anyone would be in her situation, but she jumped a little too hastily to accept this woman's deal... You usually dont accept to get mushrooms in a cave without some information.

After Flash had done his usual routine, introducing himself to the pretty girl in the room and try to woo her with his "charm". At least he was honest about being worried about Linnea...

"I'm glad he doesn't remark about me like that... does he?" Locke thought. She was genuinely concerned about the way her crew saw her, though she tried to be modest, she knew she still got looks from the guys of the crew... "I just hope none of them go far enough to follow me constantly..."

As Linnea declared her plan out loud, and Locke seeing the Mermaid, who's name was apparently Sabrina, dive back into the water with no trouble. She could feel the woman with her Haki who was apparently enjoying her swim...

You think!? Of course I'm going to come with you, we dont need another near death experience of our captain!"Locke was sure Flash would agree with her as she continued "And it was absolutely stupid for you to have gone to a place with deep water! Even more so alone!"Locke was clearly happy with her captain being alive, but still gave her her own two cents about the captain's well being.
The blond's thanks however made Locke smile "Your welcome, Linnea, Just try to be more careful..."

Locke then looked at the mountain that was ominously stretching above the forest... A few clouds were creating a larger one at it's peak, and the slight sound of thunder could be heard.
One more thing comes out of her mouth before she waits for her captain to get up "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

She said that his words wouldn't get him anywhere, yet Nicholas knew that the girl enjoyed it. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her disappear back under the waves. Well, this was certainly an interesting encounter. Though she had saved their captain's life, now it was time for them to return the favor. Something about mushrooms? Nicholas had heard stories about some mushrooms being used as a narcotic. Was this mermaid secretly a druggy? Or did she just really like to eat mushrooms? Either way, they were going mushroom picking.

"Well then, let's not keep the lady waiting, shall we?" he spoke up, as he waited for Linnea to get up before heading towards the mountain.

Ten minutes later and he was regretting rushing off without a shirt, the dark clouds over the mountain caused the temperature to drop, causing the shirtless navigator to shiver. He'd worry about Linnea being cold, but she was an ice woman. The cold would be absolutely nothing to her. They were standing in front of a dark cave, where the mushrooms were said be to growing. While the place was foreboding, it was bound to be warmer in there than it was out here. He could almost feel the warmth in the air.

"Well," Nicholas spoke up, trying to hide the fact that he was cold, "Let's get this done shall we? Just in, grab some shrooms, and out again, right?" He took a step towards the cave, eager to get out of the warmth, when he heard something moving inside the darkness. Nicholas paused, his muscles tensing up in preparation for what was in there.

And then, some small charged out. A badger?and judging from its size, a rather young one. The thing let out a high pitched growl as it tried to sap threateningly at Nicholas. However, the navigator wasn't threatened at all. He gave a dopey smile as he crouched down. "Aww, if it isn't a little baby," he said, playfully holding out a hand, only to pull it back when the badger cub tried to bite. "What are you doing out here all by your lonesome little guy?"

Of course, the little badger cub wasn't alone. As all of a sudden, four more of them burst out of the darkness like little rap angry, furry bullets dog piling onto Nicholas. The navigator was now crying out, struggling on the ground to get the biting cubs off of him. It would be sort of a funny sight, with the exception that now something bigger could be heard growling in the darkness.

"I know what you mean...", commented Linnea, patting the greenette's shoulder as she sighed. She had to scare off peeping toms with ice needles and arrows more often than not. Make no mistake, Linnea may not be shy about her body, but she still had those warrior instincts that led her to react with violence if she felt someone watching her. It could be a predator after all... As they went on towards the mountain, the greenette simply scolded her for her carelessness, and the shy archer lowered her head slightly, "But Locke!!", answered Linnea with an almost pouting, whiny tone, for once looking like the little sister of the two, "I've been adventuring alone all my life!!"

Of course she left out the detail of her freshly acquired devil fruit, which until she truly mastered would be more of a hindrance than an asset. Acquiring such a power, with such drawbacks, is only worthwhile if she learned to use it to its fullest, or else becoming a hammer would be her doom, "I will, I promise...!", Linnea smiling humbly, nodding her head once and trying her best to reassure her worried crew member. It was her own fault for making her worried after all.

Flash seemed to be shivering, but there was nothing Linnea could do to help him... She didn't have any clothes to share. But fortunately for them, they arrived at the mountain before long, and the moment they walked into a cave, feeling a lot warmer than it was outside. Hopefully those clouds would have cleared by the time they came out.

"Right.", Linnea confirmed, nodding once more and turning ahead as she used her Haki to lead the way, "She spoke as if there were plenty of them around here...", she then felt a few small presences up ahead... Small animals? As they got closer, she confirmed them to be badgers, and a young one soon walked in front of them. Even if it was small and possibly adorable looking (judging by Flash's behavior), Linnea knew not to judge an animal by its outward appearance and this was a perfect example of that, speaking calmly to her Navigator and warning him about the animals, feeling their aura to be restless and agressive, "Careful Nicky... These guys don't feel friendly at all."

If that weren't enough, she also felt a few others scurruying around. Condensation oozed from Linnea's arm as she entered her ice form and prepared her basic skill, not really feeling like using arrows on something so meager. And once they suddenly dogpiled her friend, she didn't waste time. Linnea had a hunter's rule about not killing the young, though that rule lost it purpose when said young were as agressive as rabid dogs. Quickly swiping her arm four times, killing two tiny badgers and wounding two others. One of them kept trying to bite at Nicky (more like nibble really), but another dashed at Linnnea almost reflexively, and with the creature's small size, her dashing attempts were mostly fruitless... She yelped as the small animal bit onto her leg, drawing a bit of blood, only to be frozen into a lump and shattered when the annoyed huntress lost all of her merciful thoughts...

Killed 2 T1, wounded another



Used A-rank kenbu (20 HS)

Spoiler:

The path up to the mountain, if you could even call it one, was rocky, filled with major deviations and the forest was thick enough to give even most hunters claustrophobia, but thanks to both Linnea and herself, Locke had been able to avoid any strong auras.
Flash remarked at the cold that seamed to be settling in, to which Locke couldn't help but think "That's one of the many ways we need to be more careful... The weather here is crazy, and it's only going to get crazier..."

The caves entrance felt ominous, and if anyone had a strong imagination, like Locke, they could have easily mistaken the cave entrance for a dragons scull... "Into the maw of the beast..." she says, quoting a book she once read as she walks into the cave.
The cave was damp, the musty smell of... well, must and wet animals filled the nostrils of the crew that went in.

Locke, who was at the entrance to another tunnel where she saw a green glow, behind the rest of the crew heard Flash remark "Aww, if it isn't a little baby," before a "flashy" scream as the sounds of Ice spreading... unfortunately covering the precariously damp floor in ice, even increasing the slipperiness... This would only hamper the greenette as she literally slipped and fell about 5 times before catching up to the two of them.

There was the evidence of a frozen, shattered creature, a few were dead but Flash was being pulled apart by the "cute" creatures he was remarking about before... The auras of a few stronger ones were coming into view as Locke pulled out her fans and, with a bit of aiming, threw her fans in a

Boomerang Toss:

The bladed fans missed Flash by a centimeter as one trimmed a bit of his hair, but both hit their marks, the two small badgers who tried to make a meal of the navigator...
(423 words)

Nicholas had gone up against many things. Marines, zoans, dragons. But he never expected to be dogpiled by a bunch of baby badgers whop were now gnawing on his flesh. Thank goodness he wasn't alone, for in short order both Locke and Linnea had managed to get the little biters off of him, killing them in the process. While Nicholas was never one to endorse the killing of little ones, even baby animals, Nicholas could not be more happier to throw the little things off of him like so many furry footballs.

He scrambled to his feet, his body cut up and riddled with teeth marks, but ultimately in no serious condition. He brought a hand to his hair, feeling where Locke's boomerang had trimmed it. "Ok, not a lot of damage. Good." he gave a sigh of relief. He could grow it back easily enough. He looked around, looking at the dead badgers laying around the place. "Man. Somebody's going to be mad when they see this," Nicholas spoke, obviously referring to the badger parents.

And he would prove absolutely right as suddenly a massive, furry form barreled out of the darkness, launching itself straight at Nicholas and knocking him to the ground. While the younglings were small enough to almost be considered cute, the adult was almost as big as Nicholas himself, and was right now trying to take a bite out of the navigator's head, had the man not been forcefully holding its massive jaws back. "Ok, this is seriously getting ridiculous!" Nicholas growled. After all, it had been Linnea and Locke that had killed its young, not him! Why was every animal on this island out to eat him!?

He brought his foot up to hold its jaws back, freeing one hand to reach into his pockets, pulling out two dials. With some difficulty, he managed to attach one to his elbow, gripping the other tightly in his hand. "I've had just about enough of this!" he growled, as the Jet Dial on his elbow sprang to life, letting out a high pitched shriek. "One. Ton. PUNCH!" His fist moved faster than someone could see, punching the badger square in the face, the impact dial in his hand going off with a loud boom! The badger was launched into the air, slamming into the crave mouth before crashing to the ground. As Nicholas climbed to his feet, his arm aching, the badger stumbled to its feet, shaking his head. "Yeah!" Nicholas shouted out, "How do you like that, huh? I'm nobody's damn chew toy!"

----
T2 Jet Dial Used - cooldown 2 posts
T2 Impact Dial used - cooldown 2 posts

skill:

Stamina: 225/250

With Linnea's prompt reaction and Locke's followup, they were easily able to free Flash of the attacking young badgers, with Linnea fully aware that this situation would be almost cute if these little bastards weren't trying to turn them into their snack. They had obviously bit off more than they could chew but now the rest of the family was here too, no doubt intending to teach their young how to do it right. She could feel them about fifty meters away and knew they would have to get rid of them before being able to continue exploring the cave, but was mostly content to ignore them while they dealt with the young...

But then they attacked.

"LOOK OUT!", Linnea warned the moment she sensed danger but to no avail. Predicting attacks herself was one thing, but predicting and warning an ally in time was a lot harder. Thus Nicky was nocked down towards the ground as soon as he stood up from the earlier attack. She didn't know why they were so interested in him or perhaps whatever cologne he wore made him smell particurly tasty to these creatures but in the grand scheme of things it was relatively irrelevant.

Linnea swiped her hand about twice, making the giant badger roar in a mix of pain and annoyance before her focus was forcefully shifted elsewhere. Another badger the size of these two charged at them, while an even larger one slowly approached. Quickly weaving her hand, she shot a total of four needles into the new badger's head, and by the time it arrived at their position it had falled down lifeless, its eyes and head filled with ice needles.

Flash demonstrated a new technique, making Linnea's eyes widen as she witnessed its birth. She had seen his jet dials before, and she had also seen his impact dials, however, she had never seen him use the two in tandem like this, and knew this was a clear sign of the extent of his growth. She couldn't even foresee the ridiculous impact this attack would release, as her Kenbunshoku Haki didn't alert her to the destructive potential behind each of his dials. "Wow...", she applauded speechlessly

But there was no time to celebrate as even larger badger slowly approached, roaring mightily before charging at the trio... It was clearly angry at the loss of his relatives!


5 T1's, 2 T2's down.

Active A-rank Kenbu

20 Stamina used

Spoiler:

The shout of the captain alerted the blacksmith to another creature as it barreled down, knocked Flash down, and tried to bite the navigator... The icy needles from Linnea stopped more that were coming out, but the true star of the show had Flash pinned down... untill a high pitched sound came from his elbow, and he knocked the badger back at least ten feet.
It looked injured but not quite enough to keep it from fighting... The foam from it's mouth signified it was angry. Angry enough to try to rip Flash apart once more!
From what Linnea had told the greenette, Flash wasn't the kind to sit back and watch anyone be abused, especially women he found attractive.
And though she tried to look decent, she had never found herself trying to seduce anyone with her looks... It just wasn't her style.

The fans she threw returned to her, and with a calculated grab, she took the
Another, this time almost as large as a bear, came out of the cavern with an aura that matched it's foaming rage! Locke quickly slid over to Flash's side as she cuts the badger across the back (after she got her fans back), with a simple strike... the hides of these things weren't too tough.
The larger creature now had her attention, se stands up and runs towards it, aiming at least three slashes against it

Wing Beat!:

Locke shouts as one of the slashes cuts against it's fur, the others hit the same spot twice, opening a now bleeding hole, but now the  badger was angry!!

It roared in pain as it bit onto her arm and started to pull her further in, her own blood started to mix with the beasts as she stabbed it again, and again, with her other hand! it barely fazed it as it continued pulling on her, before striking her legs with it's claws. Now instead of pants she had shorts, and bleeding wounds on her legs! "Help me please!?!" shouted the blacksmith as she wished she had some sort of arm guards and leg guards... and bandages, she'll need bandages to keep herself from bleeding out...

Though she knew she wouldn't die here, thanks to her friends, she also knew that the damage done to her wouldn't be permanent. The feeling of a beast ripping her skin to shreds didn't feel pleasant at all...

(403 words)

Things were getting crazy here. The badger that Nicholas had punched into the ceiling was still up, another had appeared, only for both to receive icicles to the face from Linnea (ice powers for the win!). Then came the big guy. Massive compared to the three people in front of it, it looked all the more ready to rip the three of them apart. And something happened that Nicholas never expected. Locke suddenly charged in and started slashing at the thing! Was she crazy!? While he didn't doubt her ability to defend herself, there was only so much a single person could do against a beast like that. And it became all the more obvious when it started taking a bit out of the poor blacksmith, dragging her screaming into the cave.

Well, Nicholas was not going to sit around and let a beautiful woman get mauled by a massive badger. He rushed in, grabbing the Axe Dail and once close enough, swung it to catch the massive beast right in the face, more importantly its eyes. Blood flew as the x-shaped blast of air sliced into its face, forcing the badger to cry out in pain, releasing Locke in the process. Without another word, Nicholas suddenly scooped up the wounded blacksmith in his arms, holding her bridal style as he jumped back, putting some distance between himself and the wounded, raging badger. As much as he wanted to beat the damn thing senseless, right now, he had to get a crew member out of there. Besides, the captain was with them and could easily handle the situation. Still, if the badger decided that Nicholas needed a good chomping, or decided that it wanted some more of Locke, Nicholas had plenty of dials ready for it.

"Are you ok?" he asked Locke as he set down down gently. He didn't know just how badly she was wounded, but he wasn't going to take any chances with the beautiful blacksmith. Setting her down, he immediately moved to put himself between her and the raging badger, reaching into his pocket for his Thunder Dial. If the monster made a move towards them before Linnea would flash freeze it or something, then Nicholas would be there to give it a good, sharp shock. If his time in Enies Lobby had taught the navigator anything, it was that he could hold his own with the best of them, at least for now.

----
T2 Axe Dial used.

The oversized badger, albeit grievously wounded, was still shambling about, his attention now a bit more spread out after he was attacked by all three Pirates. It roared weakly, crearly trying to muster up his strength for yet another attack, but he would find none. It was Locke who struck first this time around, while Linnea simply kept her eye on the even bigger one. The pretty green haired blacksmith immediately engaged the Big boss, as the Captain looked on worried. But she would be doing more than just looking. Strafing around, she started swiping her hand again and again, sticking as many painful ice needles into the badger as she possibly could.

Yet Lin's expression grew worried as she saw it bite into Locke, and retaliated with two more vicious needles to the giant badger's eyes, wounding them and setting the field for Flash's follow up, a mighty Axe dial between his face, "everybody, JUMP!!", she would call out before suddenly unleashing a new technique.

Spoiler:

Unleashing yet another new Ice technique, Linnea flash froze the ground beneath all of their feet, and while she made a point not to seal off Flash's she did lock down each of the massive badgers. Of course, she wouldn't be able to hold down a creature that large for long, but it would be more than enough to knock it down by catching it off guard, and that would be all the time they needed to keep going. Linnea shot a few more arrows, grievously wounding the giant badger and setting him up for the finishing blow, leaving it up to Flash and Locke to deliver it. Their navigator had more than proved himself in the past few months, and she had no qualms leaving such a task to him.

Spoiler:

With this, they were able to press forward into the cave, and past the badger next they finally started seeing some mushrooms. They were hardly hard to miss, with their glowing color and all, but Linnea couldn't shake the feeling that they were poisonous... In her experience as an explorer, flashy things are hardly accidental and most living beings have a purpose for it. Flashy mushrooms were often poisonous, which was exactly what these ones looked like, "Its this, right...?", asked Linnea, picking one up and turning to Flash and Locke, "It has to be, why else would she not tell us anything else... I wonder what she needs them for."

Linnea proceeded to fill her pockets with shrooms, and if Flash and Locke did the same, they would have more than enough to provide to the blue tentacly mermaid...

[EXIT]

"How could I have been so stupid!?!" thought Locke as she was being dragged by the strong, bear sized badger that she had cut a gash into before being attacked herself.
The evident cuts on her legs and body were leaking out a precious fluid, blood, as she dared not to resist the badgers teeth... only more damage would be done if she did so.
The reasoning she came to was "I just wanted to be useful... and maybe show off to be seen just as valuable as the rest of the crew..." But before the badgers next strike, the "flashy" navigator of the crew had jumped in and activated some sort of shell, before a blast of pure force knocked the beast off her arm.
He then (embarrassingly) carried her off towards the exit, questioning if she was okay... "I-I'll be fine..." she said, blushing and sweating profusely. The embarrassment from causing the trouble, including the sudden attention from the navigator, whom she didn't know much at all other than the basics, made her wish she had just thrown her weapons at the target instead...

This time Locke heard Linnea shout for them to jump, and though she was injured, jumped up just enough to dodge a ring of ice that spread from the captain. As soon as she landed though, she slipped and fell... She was clumsy on the ice and most her skills required footwork to do anything.
As Linnea shouted for the two to strike as the beast was frozen in place, Locke was unable to do anything s she struggled to get herself standing upright, from both the ice and the pain of her wounds.

As the two others went deeper in, Locke stayed behind, cannibalizing her clothing scraps from when the badger attacked her legs, to rags to help stop the bleeding... And as they come back, they have glowing mushrooms that somewhat matched the description of the ones Sabrina wanted.
"As much as I'd love to come with you guys, I need to get to Mea before these get infected... the greenette winces as talks, every bit of movement she caused hurt either her legs or her arm.

She thankfully has no problem getting back to the ship, other than the pain, and easily prepares for Mea to fuss at her again for injuring herself...

(409 words)
{EXIT}