Raphael was lying on the ground with his arms and legs outstretched. The sun had just crept over the horizon and had begun inching it's way across the beach towards Raphael. The golden eyed pirate had secluded himself on the chain of islands known as Las Camp for training. He had been there for quite some time; the up and coming pirate was attempting to hone his skills in the best way he knew how. Unfortunately training alone was a difficult thing to do. Raphael had been dragging boulders around the island as well as swimming with rocks tied to his extremities. It far easier than what he do while on his home island, so it made him feel as if he had not been making any real progress. The sun found its way into the closed eyes of Raphael causing him to open his eyes.

"Well well what do we have here." Dr. Jaeger said with a sinister grin on his face. With the use of a surveillance den den mushi that had been set across the island before the arrival of Raphael. "Looks like I'll be able to get some tests in today." The pink haired, glasses wearing noble clicked a button on the control panel in front of him. "I hope he's tougher than the last few." The sinister smirk still staining his face, the good doctor leaned back in his chair. "Let the games begin." with those words 20 robots came darting from the dense jungle behind Raphael; some looked stronger than the others. Raphael quickly sat up and turned around to see the stampede coming for him. While hoping up the blooming fighter began to think where exactly did these things come from. He had been all over the island and hadn't once encountered them.

Without hesitation three of cyborgs advanced ahead of the pack and attacked Raphael. One jumped into the air and sent a kick towards the head of Raphael, while one slid attempting to throw him off balance, the other attack his mid section. Raphael grabbed the leg of the air born cyborg and slammed it into the one that had slid. Raphael was still holding onto his makeshift club; quickly slamming it into the third cyborg. The force of the attack and what he used to attack managed to cripple the three attackers. The remaining 17 would be upon Raphael, who picked up one of the disabled cyborgs and began spinning. Once he had gotten a good amount of momentum Raphael launched the cyborg at its kin. He rushed behind it using it to clear a path do that he could enter the jungle. Raphael left a sense of excitement as he was pursued through the jungle. It had reminded him of his home of Olym Island.

The cyborgs were fast but only a little over half were even close to being able to catch the golden eyed pirate. Considering their sheer numbers Raphael would have to think about how he was going to handle them. Five of the stronger looking cyborgs managed to close in on the pirate. Raphael noticed, but unfortunately for the cyborgs Raphael had learned about this particular island like the back of his hand. The rookie pirate jumped into the air, grabbed a branch, and yanked on the branch causing vines to fall on the 5 cyborgs who isolated themselves from the rest. As the vines fell they began to entangle the isolated cyborgs. While they struggled to free themselves Raphael landed on one of them and twisted its head around to the back; he quickly repeated the process for the remaining 4 that had been entangled.

Just as he had dealt with the last of the group the remaining forces managed to catch up to him. Raphael once again went on the move, ducking and dodging any obstacle in his way. There were still 12 of these unknown assailants perusing him. He began thinking of ways to thin the herd; he knew if he were to allow them to catch him than the battle probably wouldn't turn out well for him. The sounds of footsteps echoed throughout the uninhabited island. Suddenly it dawned on the pirate. There were various natural traps that Raphael could exploit. There was a large tree in the middle of the island that would be the final destination, but first he'd have to take care of at least half of the remaining cyborgs. While thinking of ways to deal with a majority of his opponents he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten, quick sand, there was a swamp area that had a quick sand pit.

Raphael grinned and cut to his left. They weren't to far off from where the pit was. Dr.Jaeger however was becoming rather impatient with the lack luster performance of his cybernetic creations. The good doctor remained calm, pushed his glasses back up his nose, and began typing away at the keyboard. The cyborgs that were chasing after Raphael received the transmission from Jaeger; they began throwing each other at Raphael in order to catch up to the crafty pirate. The instincts of Raphael began blaring; he turned to see a cyborg flying through the air towards him. Raphael did not have time to react however and would find himself hitting the ground with a loud thud; the cyborg had succeeded in tackling Raphael. Before he could be attacked Raphael quickly flipped the cyborg off of himself.

The golden eyed pirate attempted to get up and run, but found himself being tripped by the cyborg who has tackled him. "Damnit!" Thinking fast Raphael grabbed a large rock and used it as a club to hit the cyborg repeatedly in the head. Unfortunately for the rookie pirate captain the remaining 11 cyborgs managed to catch up. He stood facing them unwavering and unafraid. Dr. Jaeger sat silently, fingers crossed, monitoring the screen before him. Raphael shifted to a defensive stance in preparation for the on coming attack. They had learned their lesson about dealing with Raphael in waves; this time around all 11 cyborgs rushed Raphael. The pirate flowed through the attacks of the cyborgs as if he were the waves in the ocean. However due to the sheer numbers of his opponents their attacks crashed into Raphael every other punch that was throw. Raphael began to send his own attacks back.

The golden eyed pirate knew he would have to lure them to the pit or this fight would not last long in his favor. Waiting for the right opportunity Raphael vaulted over one of the cyborgs and continued to the pit. Within minutes of him initiating the chase again he had reached his destination. Raphael turned to face the coming horde, he was bruised and bleeding, yet he was unphased by either condition. As the horde of cyborgs approached Raphael the golden eyed man was waiting for them to attack. He had shifted his body into a defensive stance; just like before they all attacked him at once. As each cyborg attempted to attack him, Raphael used their momentum against them to guide them into the sand pit. Dr.Jaeger watched as each of his experiments were tossed into quick sand like rag dolls. The scientist simply smirked and began typing away at his keyboard; ending the typing frenzy with the click of a single button. After he had guided the last of his attackers into the trap, Raphael sat down in order to rest his body.

Word Count: 1,252 [1st Task Complete]

Raphael was sitting there with his senses fully trained on his surroundings. He was not tired, however his body was. The golden eyed man could tell based on the fact it had become slightly heavier; that's why he had to sit down. Raphael turned to see his attackers sinking deeper into the pit of quick sand. The man was baffled to say the least; he had no idea where the cyborgs had come from. The adventurous pirate had combed the island various times and saw no sign of these cyborgs. Raphael concluded that someone was either here on the island or in the waters around the island. Raphael began thinking of where this person could be located, as his mind trailed to those thoughts Raphael heard a noise. It sounded like the sound of wind whistling; like something was flying through the air.

Raphael's head snapped back, so that his gaze was averted to the sky. That's when he saw a large man, or rather cyborg flying through the air with a clenched fist. It appeared the figure was coming straight for Raphael. The golden eyed man quickly hoped up and jumped back. He had made it just in time because the cyborg came crashing down just as Raphael jumped back. "Target Acquired. Proceeding to eliminate Target Dr.Jaeger." Raphael raised  an eyebrow to the cyborg as he took note of the name 'Dr.Jaeger'. So that was the man who had been targeting Raphael. "Oi who are you?" Raphael was referring more so to the good doctor than the machine in front of him. Dr.Jaeger laughed behind his screen, as his creation spoke for him. "Who we are does not matter boy. You are simply a Guinea Pig for Dr.Jaegers experiments." The Herculean cyborg shifted to a offensive stance. "You will die here from my hands boy." Raphael stared blankly at the cyborg.

"I'm going to rip you apart you walking piece of scrap metal." Raphael's tone of voice matched his expression; it was calm not showing a hint of annoyance or anger. No further words were spoken between the two the only thing that would speak were their fists. Hercules propelled himself from his position straight for Raphael. "Too Slow." The brown skinned pirate mocked, while avoiding the head on attack. Hercules began sending a volley of punches towards Raphael; mid swing Hercules stopped and sent a kick aimed at the ribs or Raphael. The rookie pirate had been parrying the attacks rather well, but the feint that Hercules had done caught Raphael off guard. Barely managing to bring his arm down to his side to deflect the kick, Raphael lost his footing a was pushed a few feet to the left.

The kick was rather powerful, but from that kick alone Raphael had gauged the cyborgs strength. Although Hercules was tough Raphael's close range combat skills were slightly higher. Hercules wouldn't let up on Raphael; the cyborg man rushed Raphael recklessly attempting to hit Raphael in the head. Raphael remained calm and was prepared for the cyborg because he would have done the exact same thing in this situation. Raphael gracefully dodged the attack while grabbing the outstretched arm of Hercules. Using the momentum of his opponent Raphael gripped the arm tightly and spun one good time. The golden eyed pirate had lifted Hercules from the ground and flung him. The large cyborg had been rocketed through the air; crashing into tree after tree. "You insolent little...!" Hercules yelled towards Raphael as he crashed into tree after tree.  

Raphael wasn't finished with his attack just yet, as soon as his grip on Hercules had left and the cyborg flew through the air Raphael chased behind him. Hercules eventually regained his composure after crashing through a dozen trees. When the cyborg man looked up he saw Raphael directly in his air space. Hercules attempted to attack Raphael before the pirate could continue his assault. Just as the cyborg raised his arm to attack he was rocked by the fist of Raphael. The head of the cyborg jerked to the left then the right as Raphael sent blow after blow. Raphael then sent a powerful kick towards the chest of the Herculean cyborg. The kicked connected and sent the machine crashing into more trees before slamming into a large boulder. Hercules was becoming frustrated with the overwhelming fighting ability Raphael possessed.

"You have under estimated your opponent. Hercules." The words of Dr.Jaeger felt like knives to the cybernetic man. "I apologize master." Hercules had been lodged into the boulder by the attack of Raphael. The cyborg ripped himself from the boulder. This time Raphael had taken his time approaching Hercules. Considering the distance if he rushed it could have proven fatal, so the golden eyed pirate paced himself. Hercules soon came into sight; Raphael's expression could have been compared to a lion on the hunt. All the cyborg man could hear was the words of Dr.Jaeger who had been watching the battle unfold from a monitor. "N.G.E. 001, Codename: Hercules initiating weapons protocol." The cyborg man lifted his left arm; his hand transformed into a barrel. Raphael stopped in his tracks and prepared himself for what was about to come. Just as Raphael stopped Hercules fired a missile at the golden eyed pirate.

Naturally Raphael dodged. It helped that Hercules didn't have the best of aim as well, however the explosion from the missile was not evaded. Heat engulfed the back of Raphael, as the young pirate was propelled from his original position Hercules made his move towards him. The jungle had been set ablaze by the missile. Dr.Jaeger grinned my the actions of Hercules. "Will you recover from this?" Dr.Jaeger spoke aloud as if Raphael were able to hear him. While still in the air Raphael would feel the foot of Hercules collide with his stomach sending him rocketing through the tree; Raphael flew back to the beach and slid across the sand. It took a minute, but Raphael regained his composure and stood up.

"Alright..." Raphael cracked his knuckles. Hercules came hurdling from the thick jungle. Just as he had appeared before Raphael when they first met Hercules once again was air born. The cyborg man was surprised to see that his opponent was still standing, however the cyborg did not stop his assault. Unfortunately for the cyborg Raphael was prepared for him. When the cybernetic man got within the range of Raphael the brown skinned man sent a kick aimed directly at the head of the cyborg. Hercules had put himself in a bad position. Raphael had used the cyborgs momentum to his advantage once again. Not only that but the cybernetic mans weight had to be taken into account as well. The well timed kick had completely took Hercules's head from off of his shoulders. Dr.Jaeger quickly leaned back in his chair from excitement. "Splendid!" Von began clapping while wearing a giant smile. Dr.Jaeger had went from testing his experiments to testing Raphael. The good doctor once again began typing away on his keyboard finishing by clicking a single key. Raphael watched as the headless body slammed against the ground. The head of Hercules had flown to back into the inferno that used to be a jungle. The island looked as if it were a war zone. The young pirate stared at the burning jungle with a uninterested stare. Considering how the cyborgs had attacked one after another Raphael figured this might continue, so he did not relax his guard.

Word Count: 1,265 [2nd Task Complete]

Raphael was standing with his eyes closed listening to any noise that would indicate a enemy. He suddenly heard giggling coming from above. The golden eyed man promptly opened his eyes while shifting his focus on the faceless giggle. What Raphael would see was a girl, most likely a cyborg, floating down from the sky. "Target found Master. Sorry but you're not going to have the same kind of luck against me." The vibrant orange hair woman floated down and hovered just above the surface of the ground. Six blades hovered around her as if they were wings. Raphael began focusing on the blades. Considering how they hovered around her then that meant the cyborg woman could control them freely. Raphael immediately knew he would have to get close to the woman to have the best chance of beating her.

Without anymore words the blades began flying at Raphael. The golden eyed pirate immediately began parrying them. The blades were quick, so it caused the man to begin back peddling. Raphael was going to have to completely assess the extent of the cyborg woman's abilities. The blades suddenly began encircling the golden eyed man. The eyes of the pirate darted between the blades as they began to circle around. It was possible that they would attack one at a time or as a collective. Raphael stayed on his guard as he analyzed the movements and possible delay of the blades. One blade rocketed towards Raphael; he swiftly dodged the incoming blade grabbing hold of it as it passed him. When he did that the blade felt as if it were being pulled by something, so he let it go.

Raphael deduced that the only explanation given his current situation was that Valkeryie was somehow magnetically controlling them. Even though he hadn't seemed like it the man was extremely insightful. Because it came to this he would have to now test their reaction speed. Raphael waited for the right moment; that moment would arise when all 6 of the blades came rushing towards the encased pirate. Raphael smirked and jumped into the air cashing the blades to crash together. The pirate had only jumped high enough to clear the pieces of flying metal, so that he could land on them. Raphael jumped from the swords and darted towards a stationary Valkeryie. The blades as if having a mind of their own chased after Raphael. The golden eyed pirate slowed his pace just enough so that the blades would be right behind him.

As Raphael got closer to Valkeryie the cybernetic woman began to think that he was going to attacker. This caused the woman to fly up into the air, however when she did the the speed of her 6 weapons began to slow down. Raphael took note of this and began hatching yet another plan to test the capabilities of his enemy. The overseer known as Dr.Jaeger took notice of this and grinned from behind his screen. "Appears this boy is far more insightful than I previously thought." The good doctor said while crossing his legs. Raphael had cut to his left and continued running; the blades followed behind him while Valkeryie had returned to her original position of floating above the ground. Raphael was going to see just how far the blades would go before stopping. It was obvious to him that there was a limit to what Valkeryie's movement.

Raphael had gotten a good 5 meters away and noticed the blades begin to slow down. He traveled another 5 meters and the 6 blades stopped altogether. "So 10 meters is their limit." Raphael mumbled to himself. So the challenge now would be to disable these blades or keep Valkeryie from escaping into the air. The gaze of Raphael shifted to the jungle that was still relatively on fire; certain spots that had been burned down were ash, but due to how thick the foliage was it was taking a while for all of it to burn down to the ground. That was were Raphael had to get the orange haired cyborg to go. It was his only hope on defeating the woman. Raphael figured that the woman knew her limitations, but given her "mission" a little provocation might get her to fall into his trap. Even if she was a cyborg Valkeryie still had human traits and a human mind.

Raphael headed back towards Valkeryie; the once dormant blades now active again once again began their chase. Raphael remained focused on his target. "Boy Dr.Jaeger bombed with you darling. The one before was pretty bad to. Maybe creating cyborgs just isn't his thing." The words on the golden eyed male caused Valkeryie to become slightly annoyed. "Shut up! Dr.Jaeger is the greatest!" Raphael's gamble at trying to provoke the woman appeared to start working. "I bet he's a pretty lonely person if he's creating cyborgs like you all left and right. I bet he's some kind of socially awkward weakling." At this point Valkeryie was becoming visually disturbed by Raphael. The half human half machine woman began turning slightly red due to the anger that was building up inside of her.

"That should do it." Raphael mumbled to himself, as he immediately turned and began running into the jungle. "Get back here!" Valkeryie yelled as her and he weapons followed the golden eyed man. If it wasn't obvious before it was now, the creations of this Dr.Jaeger held him in high regard. The deeper they got into the jungle it became harder and harder for the orange haired cyborg woman to keep track of Raphael, as well as remain floating through the air. Raphael knew she could only go so high and be able to attack him, so she wouldn't climb into the sky to search for him because there would be no reason. "Splendid Splendid Splendid!" Dr.Jaeger clapped with sheer joy in his voice. "You are simply Splendid!" The scientist said directing his excitement towards Raphael.

Now that he had the woman in this environment all he had to do was confuse her thoughts so she couldn't concentrate on controlling her blades. While tracing through the jungle Raphael almost tripped over something. Looking down the golden eyed man saw the head of Hercules. He quickly picked it up and turned back towards the direction Valkeryie should have been coming from. Raphael launched the head towards her direction. His aim wasn't top notch, but as long as it got close it would serve its purpose. Raphael followed behind the head, however he was slightly behind it. Due to the smoke and the fire spreading valkyrie couldn't hardly see in front of her. That was until the decapitated head of Hercules came breaking through the fire and smoke. She was caught of guard and defended against the head with all of her blades. "Foolish girl." Dr.Jaeger said while monitoring the battle. Raphael came bursting through the smoke just after the blades had collectively pierced the severed head. When the cyborg woman finally realized what had happened it was to late. Raphael was upon her. The vicious pirate grabbed the woman by the throat and began squeezing her neck before quickly slamming her body into the ground. The blades fell to the ground lifeless. Raphael stood and quickly exited the jungle. He had spent to much time within the smoke and needed fresh air. Raphael's attack had not killed the cybernetic woman, but he did not think she would survive being in the middle of a ravenous blaze such as this one.

Word Count: 1,268 [3rd Task Complete]

Raphael had been standing there taking deep breaths of the fresh air. The golden eyed pirate began getting a strange feeling; a sudden chill ran down the spine of Raphael. He immediately turned around to face the burning jungle. Raphael felt as if he could see something coming towards him walking through the flames as if they were nothing. Dr. Jaeger grinned. "Now Judas...Push him to his limits for me." The good doctor was talking to the last of his experiments that he had prepared for field testing. "Yes Master." The figure who had been shrouded within the smoke and flames raised the sword that was tightly gripped within his left hand. Judas shifted his body to a offensive stance and gripped his sword with two hands; with a powerful and precise swing pressurized wind ripped through the flames and foliage. The attack was so powerful it extinguished the flames and cut through whatever was within its range.

Where was that attack headed? Straight for Raphael. However the instinctive man felt it coming. As soon as it rip through the jungle Raphael could see a small green line coming straight him. The golden eyed pirate quickly ducked under the attack. He refused to look back, but behind him he could hear the air cracking. After the dust and sand from the attack was beginning to clear Raphael could see a see red light. Judas began advancing towards Raphael and with another swing of his blade cleared the fog of sand and dust. Raphael rotated his shoulders and began walking towards Judas. Raphael had quickly assessed that the cyborg before him would give him no time to think of a decent tactic against it. So the golden eyed Raphael knew he'd have to fight instinctively. Both Raphael and Judas began quickening there paces until both had hit a full sprint. Judas had his sword at the ready when Raphael approached the cyborg.

When the two met, Raphael swung with his right hand and Judas met the attack with his blade. Midway through his swing Raphael stopped and stepped within the stance of Judas, and sent a uppercut to the cyborgs chin. The attack from Raphael stunned Judas and his his head back. Raphael quickly reached around the sword of the stunned Judas, with a hook using his right hand. The fist of Raphael hit the cyborgs head with a thunderous blow causing Judas to stumble to the left of Raphael. Before Judas could get out of range of Raphael the golden eyed pirate sent a kick to the head of Judas. This caused the body of Judas to rocket back to the right of Raphael, and fly across the beach. Dr.Jaeger raised his arms into the air and spun around in his chair laughing. The scientist stopped himself and began clapping. "Splendid young man! Simply Splendid!"

Judas quickly caught his balance and shifted his body into a offensive stance. The cyborg gripped his blade with both hands and began sending waves of compressed air towards Raphael. They weren't as big as the first attack of Judas, but Raphael could still see thin green lines coming at him. The golden eyed pirate began dodged them, but would end up getting cuts on both of his arms. Judas had rushed behind his attacks and sent a diagonal slash across the chest of Raphael. Raphael was just barely able to avoid a deeper blow, by leaning back slightly Raphael was saved from a slow death. Having knocked Raphael off balance Judas sent a kick to the chest of Raphael sending him tumbling across the beach. "Yes! What will you do against this?" Dr.Jaeger shouted at the monitor. His words obviously directed towards Raphael.

The golden eyed pirate eventually caught his balance and stood back up. Judas would once again send slashes of compressed air towards Raphael. The golden eyed pirate kept his eyes trained on Judas and began weaving through the green lines that bombarded him. Raphael began advancing towards Judas; the pirate rocketed from his stationary position causing a booming noise to resonate throughout the island. Judas had continued his ranged attack, however the wild beast known as Raphael had been dodging each attack that headed towards him. He continued to advance forward, weaving through the attacks of Judas. When Raphael got to close to Judas the cyborg swordsman attacked Raphael with a horizontal slash. Raphael timed his jump perfect as he leapt into the air, while in the air Raphael extended his leg in order to kick Judas in the head.

Raphael's kick landed and sent the head of the cyborg jerking back. The body of Judas followed suit and was thrown back, into the used to be jungle. Raphael followed behind the cyborg man. Judas while still flying in the air, through the decimated foliage flipped backwards and jabbed his sword into the ground to stop his momentum. When Judas would go to look up he would find Raphael swinging a clenched fist aimed at his head. The cyborg acted swiftly and leaned while unsheathing his weapon from the earth. Even though he was in a awkward position Judas still somehow managed to cut the arm of Raphael. The golden eyed man didn't got give up the chase quite yet. Raphael took a step and swung with the opposite fist; Judas still being off balance from his previous parry was struck by the follow up attack.

Judas was about to start stumbling yet again but planted his foot into the ground; the cyborg retaliated with a horizontal slash towards the chest of Raphael. Raphael clenched his jaw and sent a kick towards the head of Judas as he was following through his previous attack. As Judas stumbled Raphael followed his attack with another kick to the head of the cyborg. This caused the one eyed cyborg to jerk back and stumble back in the other direction. However once again the cyborg managed to cut Raphael; this time however it was across the stomach of Raphael. Due to his angle Judas couldn't land a solid strike, so the found from his blade wasn't deep at all. Raphael clenched his fist and swung with the hand that Judas was stumbling to. This process continued until Judas was eventually knocked backwards. Raphael stood there with cuts over his entire body. Surprisingly the golden eyed pirate had managed to keep himself from being cut to deep.

Judas was now a fair distance away from Raphael. Both Judas and Raphael both looked rough and ragged. Although Raphael was not tired in the slightest. Raphael took this chance to quickly survey the area. Upon doing this Raphael saw the 6 blades of Valkyrie lying on the ground. Raphael without a single thought rushed towards the blades. Raphael began picking them up one after another. Each time he would kick the hilt of the blade causing it to rocket towards Judas. Raphael continued this process with all 6 of the blades; the up and coming pirate rushed behind the blades. Judas who was just getting his bearings back looked up to see only the 6 blades coming directly towards him. The cyborg man deflected 5 of the blades, but he would find the 6th swords changing its positioning due to Raphael. The rookie pirate had grabbed one of the blades, and while the guard of Judas was down after deflecting one of the blades Raphael stabbed the cyborg through what was its eye. The blade exited through the back of its head. The body of Judas instantly dropped to the ground lifeless. Dr.Jaeger stood up and turn from his computer. "I think it's about time I made my grand entrance." The scientist exited from his monitoring area with a quickened pace.

Word Count: 1,297 [4th Task Complete]

"Yes, you are very splendid indeed." Raphael had turned to see a tall slim man in a white. The golden eyed pirate tilted his head and began to analyze the man. He assumed that this man was human due to the fact that the first thing the cyborgs had said were that they were engaging their target. "So you're human huh?" The pink haired man clapped his hands together and smiled at Raphael. "Yes! I am Doctor Von Meinrad Jaeger." The scientist analyzed Raphael. "Seems you've had fun with my experiments." He said taking note of the damage that had been dealt to him. "You are a very interesting young man. Quite powerful for your young age and barehanded at that." The scientist moved three steps closer to Raphael. "Who are you young man?"

"Raphael Vega..." the words of the young pirate came without hesitation. The golden eyed pirate kept his eyes trained on the pink haired scientist, while still keeping his ears open for something that may try to attack him from his blind spots. Von took notice of Raphael's tenseness and began chuckling. "It's quite alright I don't plan on doing anything..." Von paused. "Well at least not yet." Raphael gripped his fists when he heard the scientist say "not yet". "Tell me young man. What are your goals." Raphael was hesitant against having such a casual conversation with a man he considered his enemy at this point. However seeing as he didn't feel like he was going to lose if a battle did ensue. "I want to be strong, so I can survive." Von adjusted the glasses on his face as Raphael spoke. The scientist stepped even closer to Raphael. He was close enough to be in arms reach of Raphael.

"If that is the case then that means you'd have to climb to the top of the food chain, that way no one can hunt you..." Raphael made sure he was looking Von directly into the eyes. "I understand that." When the words of the golden eyed pirate rang through the air Von grinned, while placing his hand over his eyes. "That is what I wanted to hear!" The pink haired Von Jaeger quickly regained his composure. "I can help you. Let me join your crew. I see a vast amount of potential in you; allow me to cultivate it. I've never met someone who can calculate yet fight instinctually and with my help you can rise exponentially." Raphael blinked a few times yet felt no malice come from the man. "If you can do the things you say you can...You are welcome to join me." Von threw his arms out in excitement. "Splendid, but allow to test your current level...Captain"

The words of the scientist seemed to hiss out of his mouth. "What is that suppo-" Raphael didn't know what had just happened. Von had moved to fast for Raphael to keep up with. The scientist had slammed the hilt of his weapon into the forehead of Raphael. The force from the blow was so powerful it sent Raphael skidding across the sand and into the ocean. The golden eyed pirate regained his composure before he got out of the shallow end of the end. Von remained in the same position as Raphael stood to his feet. Once Raphael began to think about it; the man realized he followed the movements of Von. However he couldn't his body couldn't keep up with his thoughts. "I see you've realized what just happened. Well I'll give you that much. You have some good eyes."

Before Raphael could do anything Von had began thrusting the hilt of his weapon towards the golden eyed pirate. Raphael could slightly see something flying through the air towards him; it appeared to be about the size of a baseball. Raphael couldn't tell exactly where they were exactly, so the young man out his arms up and slouched to protect his body and head. The baseball sized compressed air pockets this the arms of Raphael with a great amount of force, causing thunderous sounds to echo through the airspace. Raphael began to drop to his knees from the attack, as Von bolted from his position towards Raphael. The swordsman the was clad in white was upon Raphael in no time at all, how the young pirate was ready. Raphael had quickly dug his hands into the sea and grabbed two handfuls of sand and threw it towards the face of Von.

The scientist had seen it coming however, none the less he was impressed with Raphael's movements in trying to distract him. As Raphael attempted to kick Von; the scientist quickly grabbed the leg of Raphael, turned, and flung the golden eyed pirate back towards the beach. Raphael bounced against the ground twice before flipping back to his feet. "Excellent you're already adapting to similar attacks. Now come at me Captain." Von held his hand up to Raphael and motioned him to attack. Raphael clenched his fist and rocketed towards Von. "Such a wonderful look in your eyes." Raphael reached Von within seconds and began a barrage of punches. Von simply knocked the hands of Raphael to the side using his sheathed blade. Seeing as his combination wasn't getting him anywhere the golden eyed pirate began throwing feints into his barrage. His did it sporadically, so that his movements weren't to predictable.

Von grinned at the progress Raphael was making in battle, and weaponless at that. Just as Raphael was about to attack with another feint he would stop and attack Von with a horizontal kick to the ribs of the scientist. The kicked connected and sent Von stumbling to the side. Raphael quickly moved towards Von, but the swordsman had already recovered. Raphael was on the side of Von and had sent a punch to the side of the swordsman's head. Von gracefully turned his body and met the fist of Raphael with his sheathed blade. Raphael cringed, but the feeling of his fist hitting the sturdy sheath was replaced with the feeling of Von's foot connecting with his stomach. Spit flew out of the mouth of Raphael as he flew through the air. Before the golden eyed man could even hit the ground Von was upon him, swinging his weapon vertically it connected with the head of Raphael.

Raphael slammed head first into the ocean floor. The golden eyed quickly planted his hands into the ground and flipped his body forward so that both his feet were headed straight for the head of Von. The counter attack was well executed, and Von couldn't counter. The feet of the young pirate captain connected with the face of Von sending him flipping back a few times. Raphael's attack had put a good bit of distance between the two men. Raphael was breathing heavily as he forced himself to stand to his feet. The body of Raphael was beaten and bruised, but the golden eyed man kept on fighting. Von had decided to lay in the water to cool his body. The scientist threw both hands into the air and began smiling. "You truly have the tenacity of a King my young Captain! Show me more! Just how far does your potential reach!"

Von flipped himself back up and began slowly walking towards Raphael. The scientist drew his sword and discarded the sheath. The moment Von had drawn his blade a vicious wave of murderous intent swept over Raphael. A bead of sweat rolled down Raphael's face. This had been the first time in a long time that Raphael had felt fear. The golden eyed pirate had almost forgotten what it felt like. Raphael was trying to tell his body to move, but couldn't. He could tell that the man approaching him was leaps and bounds ahead of him in terms of power. It was as if the sheath was hiding Von's truly murderous presence. "If you won't move." Von gripped his blade with two hands. "Then I will."Raphael blinked one time to find that he was within range of Von's sword.

Von had attacked with a vertical slash aim towards Raphael's jaw. Raphael's sense se yelled to his body to move. Just as the blade was about to complete split his jaw the golden eyed pirate leaned back, causing the blade to only knick the jaw of Raphael. "Splendid Captain! Just Splendid!" Von began a barrage of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal attacks with his swords. The scientist wasn't trying to kill Raphael so allow his attacks portrayed that it wasn't his intent. Raphael couldn't track Von's movements and at the point his mind was blank. The young pirate had been moving purely on instinct. He was barely managing to evade the attacks of Von, although every attack of Von's connected they weren't severe.

Von began laughing maniacally. "Yes Captain! That's it!" One of Von's diagonal attacks cut across the torso of Raphael; the sword attack was followed up by a kick to the head. Raphael was sent propelling back towards the beach. Raphael skid across the want and sand before slamming into a boulder that rested kn the beach. Raphael could barely keep his eyes open and his vision was blurry, yet the he stood back up using the boulder as support. Raphael knew he couldn't beat Von and that was painfully obvious. However he refused to lose this way. Although the mans body had shown defeat his eyes blazed full of fight and vigor. Actually, a better word would be undefeated. Von's grinned had yet to fade, as his Captain continued to exceed his expectations. Von planted his feet and seemed to cause the air to crack. He was headed straight for Raphael who was fighting to stay conscious.

Raphael began to black out, yet as he attempted to keep his eyes focused on Von he noticed that his attacker was beginning to move on slow motion. Von attacked Raphael with a straight stab. Raphael saw Von mouthing something, but the only thing he could hear was his own breathing. Before Raphael knew it he was doing his body moved on its own. He had turned his body and sent a single powerful uppercut to the chin of Von. The attack was so powerful that it sent the swordsman flying into the air. Von was content with his Captain. The attack had stunned the scientist, so he couldn't move before his body came crashing into the ground. Raphael on the other hand had dropped to his knees unconscious. It took a few minutes for Von to recover fro the attack of Raphael. Von stood up and approached his Captain. "You have exceeded every one of my expectations. I promise to help you accomplish your goals." Von nealed to his unconscious captain. Von stood back up and picked up Raphael. "I guess the test is done."

Word Count: 1,816[5th Task Complete]