Task:

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!"

Oddly enough, this wail of despair didn't come from the commodore, which really wouldn't have been surprising, but rather from his second in command, Celia, who looked like she was about to lose her mind and rip her hair out. In a rather bizarre reversal of what would be the normal situation, Anton was trying to calm her down. "Celia, we've only been inside this thing for ten minutes. Ten minutes is not long enough to succumb to madness!" Anton yelled out, grabbing the hysterical woman's shoulders and shaking her around. The woman grabbed hold of his arms, looking into his eyes, her own wide and crazed. "You don't understand! I'm trapped in the belly of a Sea King..." she pointed viciously over Anton's shoulder, "With HIM!"

Anton looked over to see the bane of Celia's existance, James. Anton's expression fell flat. "Seriously?" "YES!!" Anton really tried to stop himself from sighing. They had been on a ship, out at sea for a while, and she was now freaking out at the possibility of being trapped somewhere with James? Sometimes he just didn't understand his second in command. Thankfully, he knew of some way to help calm her down. "Celia, I believe there's some paperwork in my office that needs to be done. Why don't you go work on that?" Celia looked up at him, her mind understanding what he was trying to do as she shakily nodded. She turned and headed towards Anton's office on the ship. Having her do something to take her mind off of this insanity would help calm her down.

As she went into the ship, Anton sighed. It was odd to see Anton be the calm one in this situation. "So, any ideas on how to get us out of this thing without killing us?"

James was sitting on one of the chairs behind the others with his head in a book he found in the library downstairs. "Hmmm" he mumbled as he casually sat back, his eyes darting from left to right before turning the page. The moment Celia began to panic, Junior sighed a little before constructing ear muffs made of wax around his ears, and continued to read. He was all for making loud noises, and being obnoxious, but when it came to reading, James would rather that things stay quiet, even if he is trapped within a huge seaking with little to know hope of survival!

The moss haired marine decided to look up to see that Anton, and Celia were looking in his direction, but of course couldn't make out what they were saying. But given James' dense, one dimensional personality, he assumed that the second in command was trying to work up the nerve to be with him, which made total sense in this ensign's mind, because who wouldn't want to be with the self proclaimed "Love Master"? He then winked to the second in command, and made flicking gestures with his tongue at the same moment she left, the green eyed marine believe that she was getting "ready" for him.

"Heh, the woman can't keep her eyes off me." he said to himself somewhat loud due to not being able to hear himself. As Anton asked for any suggestions, James went back to reading before his eyes widened. He quickly closed the book, and yelled, "AH HA!" at the top of his lungs, throwing the book in the process. He then let out a quick, "Oh shit!" before catching the book, nearly dropping it a few times before getting a firm grip. "Can't just be throwing history's messengers around like that." he said to himself before clearing his throat.

"Guys! Did you know that Seakings rarely chew their food, despite their many teeth, and has a very acidic digestive system!?" he yelled out as he turned the book around to show everyone the page with a big grin growing on his face. Turns out he was reading up on Seakings. "But I still have yet to find out how to cook this thing properly....." he frowned before turning the book back to him. "Also something about parasites, but whatever." he added before turning the page.

Anton couldn't help but groan as James spoke. He did NOT need to hear about how this thing digested its food. If they were stuck in here long enough, they'd end up melted along with the rest of this beast's food. The fact that James seemed more interested on cooking this thing than anything else also bothered him. But then there was something that got his attention. "Parasites?"

Than was when there was a cry from one of the marines, turning all eyes to see some sort of large, insect 'thing' grabbing hold of the man, who was flailing about in a panic. The the light that Pritchard's numerous candles granted, they could see many more of the 'things' starting to descend onto the ship. "Holy shit!" Anton yelled out, drawing his sword as he unconsciously slipped into his hybrid form. The entire ship went into a panic as these monstrous parasites dove down onto the ship, hoping to make a meal out of the crew.

And like hell Anton was going to allow that to happen. It was bad enough that they were trapped inside this thing, he was not going to let them become food...twice! Gripping his sword tightly, he launched himself towards the bound man, swinging his blade and catching the parasite in the middle. The thing let out a loud shriek as his sword sliced through it, almost cutting it into two and forcing it to drop the crewmember. "Get ready to fight people!" Anton yelled out, "We've fought worse than this!" Despite this though, Anton was terrified. While they had fought pirates, they had never fought things like these.

---
1 parasite killed.

Stamina: 510/520

Not hearing what the others on the ship were saying due to his waxy earmuffs, James continued to read, not noticing the sudden new lightings of candles courtesy of Pritchard. Despite this situation, the green haired ensign couldn't help, but take it as a vacation for the most part, just humming silently to himself as he flipped the page. "OH!" The marine shouted out as he sprung up from his seat. "I found it guys! The answer to the burning question we were all wondering!" James would yell as a reassuring smile grew on his face. What was it? Oh what was this answer that James spoke of? A way to cook the beast, or perhaps the way out!?

"Seakings...do....in fact...." he then paused, dramatically, taking a deep breathe before continuing. "....MATE!" this may not have been what the others who were listening had in mind, but James was certainly interested in it....a little too much perhaps. "Oh hohohohohoh..." James continued to read the page with a creeper like grin before biting his lower lip before finally noticing, he couldn't hear anybody. Without shifting his eyes from the book, James moved one of his hands around his hair until finally touching the earmuffs, turning it back into a liquid state before disappearing. The first thing he was greeted by upon doing this was screaming, and someone yelling to prepare for battle.

James who still had his head in the book didn't completely comprehend the noise at first, simply glancing up before looking back down. "Wait, what?" he then glanced back up, seeing multiple marines along with Anton in his hybrid form taking on these odd looking creatures. He then raised an eyebrow, looking over to Pritchard. "Hey, are you seeing th-" before he could finish, Junior just now realized that three of these parasites had surrounded him. Two on each side, and one behind. "U-uhh..." before he could even process this, the three parasites would attempt to pounce him causing the marine to retaliate by jumping towards his chair to get out of the way, landing chest first onto the hard seat, wincing a little from the impact.

"Ahhh...grrr.." the green eyed marine groaned a little before getting back up, seeing that the three parasites still had their sites on him. Thinking quickly, James would pick up the chair with ease despite his now bruised chest, and the moment the parasites tried to pounce at him again, he would smash the chair down on them as hard as he can, killing the three as well as destroying the chair in the process.

"What the hell are these!?" James yelled out, despite reading about these things not too long ago.

(3 defeated)

Well, it seemed that his crewmates definitely showed they were capable, with James taking down three of the parasites and Pritchard consuming 5 of them within bubbles, bubbles which he loudly ordered everyone to avoid touching. While Anton didn't fully understand the man's abilities, he was more than willing to take his word for it. A quick count revealed that there were sixteen of the monstrous parasites left. They had to wrap this up quick before their subordinates were turned into parasite chow.

It was at this point that Celia burst in through the doors, her eyes widening when she saw the mayhem surrounding the crew. Anton almost expected her to scream, considering her previous breakdown earlier. Instead, the woman silently drew her guns and opened fire, taking down two of the parasites with ease. Guess all of this was proving too much and she just couldn't freak out anymore. Or she had calmed down, one or the other.

Anyway, it was time for Anton to get into the fray. Three parasites were coming at him. Anton swung his sword, catching on in the mid section and slicing it almost cleanly in two. The other three jumped back before leaping towards him from either side, hissing violently. Anton dropped, holding himself up with his four arms. "C Sharp!" The sharp burst of sound threw the two monsters back, launching them off of the sides of the ship. Anton quickly bounced back to his feet, his sword ready. Five more down. Eleven left to go.

----
5 parasites defeated.

skills:

Stamina: 480/520

Celia's Ammo: 18/20

"Why are we worrying about bubbles at a time like this!?" James yelled as a response to Pritchard before wincing a little, placing a hand on his chest. Everyone on board was fighting hard against these parasites. Pritchard showing off his bubble themed devil fruit, Anton Sir showcasing his zoan fruit abilities. Heck, even Celia who was panicking earlier came out, and opened fire, causing a wide grin to appear on Junior's face.

"That was excellent, Celia! I knew your love for me couldn't be bottled up for too long." he snickered as he walked over to the woman in the middle of the freaking battle, gesturing his hands as he continued to talk. "The moment you sensed that I was in danger....not that I was, or anything, you came swooping in! Thinking about how lonely you'd be if I met my demise!" he said in a dramatic tone. Before he could get to her, a parasite came charging towards him. The moment the marine glanced over to see the bugger, gray wax instinctively leaked out of his pours until it covered all of his skin, before hardening.

James fell over unto his back from the impact, but took no damage thanks to this ability. As the creature attempted to chew at his face, James quickly kicked it off with both feet before sitting up. "Do you mind?" he said to the creature as he stood up, the wax disappearing the process before the two began to charge at each other. "I was talking to..." as they continued to charge, James held up a fist, aiming for the parasite's face. ...my..." suddenly, the fist made contact with the creature's face in full force. ...Celia!!" the fist then slammed the parasite back first onto the ground, cracking a bit of the deck under it in the process it.

James then stood up with a smudged look on his face before realizing what he just did. "...Hmm..."

Passive:

Skill Used:

135/150

[/quote]

Celia would have normally responded to James' flirting by, well, shooting at him. Instead, she settled for blasting a hole in another parasite that was trying to eat one of the crewmen. She'd make the casanova wannabe pay later. Right now, hideous monsters needed killing right now, and that took priority.

Meanwhile, Anton was continuing to hold his own against the monstrous parasites, the parasites in turn seemingly learning just how dangerous the grasshopper man was and doing well to keep out of his reach. Instead, they were starting to focus their efforts on the remaining crew members, the ones without the weird and frightening powers. Of course, Anton was going to have none of that. He was the captain of this ship, and as such, had a responsibility to protect his crewmen. He had already lost enough men in the line of duty, to condemn them to such a horrific fate.

Keeping his eyes on the parasites circling him, he eyes a pair of them that were going after one of his crewmen. He drew his sword back, green flames coating the blade before swinging with all of his might. "Brûlis!" The burning arc of flames shot forward, slicing through not one, but both of the parasites, their charred halves falling to the ground lifeless. Any parasites around Anton suddenly backed away, realizing that not only was he strong, he was carrying fire with him too. And as everyone knows, mindless monsters like these seem to have a fear of fire.

3 parasites defeated

Spoiler:

Anton Stamina: 450/520

Celia's Ammo: 18/20

"IF we get back, ya know." James said with a shrug as a response to Pritchard's comment as he walked over to him, grinning. "Just think about it. Has anyone ever escaped from this...belly of the beast?" he asked before wrapping an arm around the Ookama's neck, gesturing at the area they are in with his other hand. "This! Will be our new home!" he jokingly said before placing a finger under his chin with a wondering expression. "Or at least until it digests us of course...."

Suddenly, green flames lit up the boat, catching Junior by surprise. His eyes then shifted to his captain who just extinguished two more of these parasitic assholes. "He is so friggin awesome!!" the marine praised before letting go of Pritchard while bouncing up, and down. "I expect no less from our future Fleet Admiral!!" James yelled out to Anton with an echo filling the area. His attention then went towards the remaining three parasites who backed away from the Zoan user. "Alrighty then..." James said with a grin while cracking his knuckles, believing this to be the perfect opportunity to impress his fellow crew mates. "Shall I finish this up?" he asked as he walked. Everything seems to be going good. Majority of these creatures are defeated, and James is about to think of something badass to pull off. Yes, yes they will ALL praise him after this! Unfortunately, there was one thing he didn't take into account...

"WAHH!!" James yelped as he slipped face first onto the deck once again due to some of the soap left behind. "..."

And like that, the battle was over. The remaining parasites were driven from the ship, either in pieces or whole, Anton didn't really care. What was more important was that he crew was safe. He could easily tell that Celia, James and Pritchard were ok, but what about the rest? "Is everyone alright?" Anton called out. It took a bit but he soon got a head count for the rest of the crew. No fatalities thankfully enough, but there were some injuries. Those injured were brought below deck in order to rest and recover. Who knew what those parasites could do to a person.

With a small sigh, Anton sat down, his body shifting back into his human form. The threat was over, for now. But there was still one underlying problem. They were trapped inside a seaking! Sure, they had driven the parasites off for now, but how long would that last? No doubt they'd come back, and keep coming back until they were dead and either parasite or seaking chow. And despite James' willing acceptance of the situation, Anton was not about to make this place his new 'home'.

Celia approached the commodore. "Any plans sir?" Anton sighed and shook his head. "None as of yet, but I don't plan on just sitting here and waiting for the end. I think we should take the time to recover first, try to think of a way out of here." The commodore then looked up at his second in command, "Good to see you've calmed down." Celia shrugged, "Aparrently shooting stupid things helps me relax. I think being in this crew is starting to get to me." Anton chuckled and smiled, looking around at his crew. "I guess it is. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Th-that was all part of the plan..." James lied as he struggled to move his arms into a push-up like position to get himself up. So much for trying to impress his captain, he thought. Or maybe there is still a chance! He thought about it. He would do a quick push-up to bounce himself up, then unleash a powerful attack to take those remaining parasites out in one swoop! He snickered at the idea, believing it to be full proof, only for his expression to shift into an "OH CRAP" one as he saw the last creatures attempting to finish him off, perhaps make him into a meal? He began to wonder how they would eat him. Raw? Probably not. On a stove. Highly doubtful. No wait! A grill!! That's what the green dodo would do, he grinned.

A blur, smashing those parasites away suddenly broke the green marine from his thoughts. His eyes widened as he came to the realization that the person who saved him was the Ookama himself. Never seeing Pritchard fight before, James watched the graceful techniques he pulled off. It seemed a bit...odd, almost as if he were dancing like a ballerina instead of actually fighting. "That..." James slowly stood up as the Ookama finished up the remaining parasites. "Was..." he walked over to Pritchard. "Awesome!!" he exclaimed before shaking his crew mate back in fourth. "I don't know what kind of technique you were using, but I bet there is an interesting history behind it. How it was made, who made it, why was it made!" James gestured his hands around, dramatically as he talked before coming to the realization....

"...You stole my thunder..." he sulked before lowering his head.