♩Solar ♩ Gravitas & Vitas♩Strong Bird♩Blitz Sticks♩Oto Oto♩Oto Tier 3 ♩Nitufia♩Santufia♩Nitufia - Tier 2♩
"We're all caged song birds, waiting for someone to hear our sound"

As the Dutchman docked on the coast of Angel Island, Junbei was adamant to immediately find out the whereabouts of the two kidnapped Song Birds. “Calm down.” Caprice said, lifting his backpack onto his shoulders. “We’re aliens in an unknown territory. The last thing we need to be doing is going wild and acting irrational. We should anchor the ship and head towards the Town Area, see if we can pick up some information.” Caprice stated. Taking a deep breath, the pirate’s irises reverted back to their normal Sky Blue Nature. “I swear… If anything happens to Jade or Charlotte… I’ll have their heads for it!” Junbei exclaimed, clenching his fists firmly. Anchoring the vessel, Jacob, Iley, Hennessey and Caprice followed Junbei into the city. Walking onto the Sandy Coasts of Angel Beach, the swimming natives gawked at the crew, as if they were test rats in a cage. As the journey begun, the men approached a series of steps that lead them into the main shopping district which was buzzing with life and activity. However, the Wingless arrival caused everyone to pause, gawking much like the beach dweller’s at the crew with immense frustration and fear in their eyes.

“Something isn’t right here…” Caprice thought. “I knew things had to be bad if they enacted aliens to carry this paper at all times but seriously… What happened between land dwellers and these winged peps” Caprice continued the train of thought. “Curry Buns…” Junbei said, drooling all over the street corner at the bakery’s goods. “Hey! Old man! How much for the Curry Buns!?” Junbei exclaimed. “9-9-90 Extol a piece.” the scared shop owner declared. Junbei didn’t care about the on looking eyes, nor did he care about the racial issues of Skypiea. He was simple here to find out information about his friends but unfortunately, hunger took over. Digging into his pocket, the Auburn headed teenager removed over 100,000 beli  and placed it onto the owner’s table. “Whatever I can get with that in Curry Buns!” Junbei exclaimed grinning. The Winged citizen’s watching the transaction, lightened up a bit, huddling around the Wingless Crew Members. The shop owner’s hackled them for a variety of items, from clothes down to jewelery. Indulging the citizen’s Junbei abandoned his flashy Strong Bird coat, to try on a variety of Skypiea clothes which were for the most part, hand stitched and tailored.  

After swapping through a series of outfits, Junbei settled on a T-Shirt with the words, ‘Moon Town’ on it and as well as a variety of trinkets. Placing his Strong Bird Cloak back over his new duds, Junbei was signalled to come closer by a stall which read, ‘Sammy’s Low Budget Dials!’ Approaching the stall, Caprice followed shortly behind as the remainder of the crew was flirting with natives, especially Iley whose face was so red with excitement and lust, that he was extremely friendly with the locals in his mannerisms. “I see ya got some nifty headphones on their kid.” Sammy commented, pointing to the headphones around Junbei’s neck. “These?” the musician said pointing at the headphones he occasionally wore. “Ah! I got them back in the West Blue from a South Blue merchant, they’re busted for the most part though.” Junbei said scratching his head, he still had a problem with engaging random strangers into conversation, so social settings such as this made him uncomfortable and often by default he’d put on a frown to keep others from asking him too many questions.

“Wherever you got them from… Those are using tone dials inside the inner cuffs. Lemme see them for a bit!” Sammy inquired, confused slightly about the Land Dweller's use of jargon and naming. Taking off the headphones, the pirate turned over his accessory to Sammy, who begun to rip them apart with a metal pick. “See!” Sammy declared. After ripping away the leather and metal exterior, the man revealed two separate sea shells, which he pointed towards. “These are Tone Dials. They record sounds placed into them and once you press this button on the side, you can replay them later. Though, you can only record one song at the time, the length and the loudness is all up to it’s owner.” Sammy explained. “Here on Skypiea dials are the cornerstone of our culture. We have dials for combat, others for recreational needs and some just for everyday handyman stuff. Look!” Sammy said, shuffling around underneath the counter for examples of various dials.  After several moments of searching, he revealed six dials onto the counter.

“For example, Axe Dials!” Sammy announced, seemingly pressing a button type contraption built into the dials. From inside of the shell’s core, an axe emerged, standard size about that of those used for chopping down trees. “Next up! Flame Dials!” Sammy announced. Clicking onto the shell's side, a flame popped outwards, similar to those the Shandia used when they raided the pirates ship earlier. “I see… So that’s where the flames were coming from.” Junbei thought, slightly annoyed but he so amused he let it go momentarily. After going through a series of dials, from Breath Dials to blinding dials like Flash Dials, the most interesting dial to Junbei was the Tone Dial. “I can store my music in these things and probably catch a fair penny down below.” Junbei thought. “I’ll take as many Tone Dials, as you have in stock.” Junbei said grinning. “I’m interested in those Water Dials and Tone Dials, I only want one of each.” Caprice said sighing as his Captain continued to deplete the crew funds.

As the duo exited the shop, content with their purchases and making Sammy a new millionaire overnight(though it was only a few minutes afternoon), the pirates made sure to get some additional information before they left. “Hmm… Those people you're describing sound like Shandia Soldiers. During this time of year, they usually hunt game along Milky Path, it was just unfortunate timing. If they have your friends, getting them back will be hassle. They’re said to be closest to God. The Milky Path ya’ll travelled along is wedged in between Upper Yard. It’s forbidden for land dwellers to walk on Holy Land, hell, even citizen’s aren’t allowed into the Yard unless the Mayor or God permits it.” Sammy stated. Thinking back on the man’s words in the middle of the street, Junbei searched for Iley, Jacob and Hennessy who were now dining with female Skypiean’s at a nearby Angel Cafe.

Grabbing onto their collars, the duo pulled the crew members away as their eyes filled with tears. “Captain! I just want to be happy! Come on! Us adults have ‘needs’!” Iley exclaimed. “How embarrassing.” Jacob blushed, having shown a serious exterior most times, for Junbei to see him in this state was unacceptable by his books. As they dragged the love birds down the street, the men came across a sign reading ‘Lovely Street’ which was even much more packed with stalls and stores selling a larger variety of dials than the ones they bought in Sammy’s Place. As the party stopped by the Flower Dial Store, on adjacent street corner, old woman called out to Junbei, specifically. “You there! Boy with the Red Hair!” the old woman shouted, however, her tone was clear and robust, odd for an old woman of her age. As Junbei inched closer, with his crew trailing behind, Caprice was skeptical of the woman’s shabby looking stall, in comparison to all of the large stores in this district.

“The spirits are speaking to me… You come here seeking a friend don’t you?” the woman inquired, lifting a crystal ball from beneath the stall onto the table and looking into. “Ugh, I guess.” Junbei exclaimed, due to the woman’s statement being half-true. “They are located in the Upper Yard… The place of the gods!” the woman shouted wiggling her fingers sporadically. Easily sold, “Yes! How did you know that?” Junbei exclaimed. “I am a seerer! I see everything and anything on this island boy.” the woman declared, coughing to clear her throat from the deep tone she put on when ‘fortune’ telling. “Psh. Yeah right.” Caprice said staring at the woman with a straight face. “Junbei… We should just go and ask around-” Caprice statement was completely ignored as Junbei was hypnotised by the woman’s movements. “This can’t end well.” the boy thought. “I’m not sure exactly… but the ones you seek will probably be found at these coordinates.” the woman announced scribbling the location onto a piece of paper, along with instructions on finding the tomb from the shoreline, that was seemingly depicted on the paper.

“Rewards await you as well, within the same tomb likes an instrument by the name of Apollo’s Trumpet, it’s one of the Seven Rare Instruments of a lost clan called the-” the woman’s speech was cut short by Junbei’s excitement about the instruments he’d been looking far. Grappling onto Caprice’s shoulder, the man bolted off towards the Beach once again, excited to head out towards Upper Yard. Trying to stop being dragged around by his Captain, Caprice put his foot down on the beach. “Have you been listening to anything we’ve learned so far… Upper Yard is off limits to foreigners like us.” Caprice said sternly. “But the Trumpet- I mean Charlotte and Jade are important!” Junbei exclaimed, slighting embarrassed that he called the trumpet first. Sighing, “Alright fine. We’ll go to Upper Yard under one condition. We leave the Dutchman here and find other means to cross this sea. Covert missions are my speciality. If we are going treasure hunting, there’s one number one rule. Hunting isn’t about winning a scrapple, it’s about getting to the prize first. Any traps or enemies we encounter, promise me you’ll only fight when necessary.” Caprice said. Nodding earnestly,Caprice traversed the beach, Junbei following stead.

Along the Milky Currents, several winged woman danced against the sea with objects, which appeared to be jet skies or to Caprice, Water Cycles. Running towards a small shack on the beach, the child entered, “Mr. How much for those glider things on the water!?” Caprice inquired, panting due to the fact he’d just ran several metres out of excitement. “Rentals are 20,000 Extol and hour per Waver.” the old man exclaimed playing with his beard. Following behind Caprice, Junbei examined the sign on the Hut, ‘Juju Fall’s Waver and Dial Sea Side Shack’. Taking out the letter in his coat jacket, the last name was ‘Fall’, however, this man’s name or alias was ‘Juju’, however, he’d still ask a question.

♩Solar ♩ Gravitas & Vitas♩Strong Bird♩Blitz Sticks♩Oto Oto♩Oto Tier 3 ♩Nitufia♩Santufia♩Nitufia - Tier 2♩
"We're all caged song birds, waiting for someone to hear our sound"

Yawning at the quiet nature of the day, Juju sat on the stool within his shack’s confines, waiting for the night time to arrive so he could go and drink some booze. “Only ten more hours until I can shut the doors for the day…” the man said blushing staring at the ceiling through his tiny spectacles. A tiny child around five feet in height entered his store, looking around at the various Waver’s he had hung on the wall. Sitting up quickly, looking more alert, the man’s glasses balanced firmly along the ridge of his nose, responding to the potential customer. Following in moments behind him was a fairly tall gentleman with Auburn coloured hair who wore a fairly extravagant feathery coat.

“Ohoho… Is that what the kids are into nowadays?” the man thought, examining his traditional kimono wear. After taking a few glances around Shunji and Juju’s eyes met for the first time. “Welcome.” the man simply stated. Bowing his head slightly, “Thank you.” Junbei said shooting a grin towards the owner. Caprice pooped around the shop like most teenagers would, examining the different makes and builds. Settling on the skateboard version of the Wavers, peering at them wantingly. “Those ones aren’t for rental. Those are some of our newer model Wavers, called Jet Boards, using a combination of either Jet Dials or Milky Dials, so you can virtually surf on any terrain.” Juju explained in detail. “Hey. Can I ask you a question, this is pretty random but nonetheless. Do you know a man by the name of Lao Fall?” Junbei inquired. Almost instantly the man’s response was, “Nope. Never heard of him.” Juju decreed denying the very existence that was his cousin’s.

Scratching his head, “Figures. Anyone up here could’ve had that last name. Thanks.” Junbei responded bowing his head once again. “Why do you constantly bow your head towards me, sir?” Juju inquired about the child’s mannerisms. Smiling, “When I was younger, I was quite the brat. My master beat it into me to respect my elders and since then it’s force of habit.” Junbei said reminiscing. “Elders! Ha! I’m not a day over fifty-two!” the man exclaimed, flexing his bicep muscle on his right arm to show off his muscular physique. Both men began to chuckled at the statement. “Hehe why do you need Wavers for? You seem fresh behind the ears up here. Most visitors want to party in Lovely Street most of the time.” Juju inquired. “I’m looking for some friends of mine in Upper Yard.” Junbei said boldly. The man’s cheerful demeanor faded, “Upper Yard isn’t a place for the Wingless to be just walking around. Only torture and enslavement await you there.” the man bluntly stated, digging into his jacket for a pipe.

As Junbei’s facial expression tilted towards anger, “What’s the deal with us Land Dwellers, why is everyone on this island so cautious of us?”  Caprice chimed in. “That’s a question that’s existed for generations, far before you all have entered this Kingdom and stemming years back to the boom of piracy. For a long time, Skypiea wasn’t visited by many Land Dwellers. Let alone other Sky Island adventurers due to the hostile nature of the Shandia. If I had to say the most current reason for the Winged disposition towards you, it’d be the Revolutionary Army stationed in Upper Yard.” Juju said placing the pipe into his mouth, lighting it’s end and taking one firm puff.

“Revolutionary Army!? Like the same as the forces from down below?” Junbei inquired, thinking back on his good friend Cyrus and wondering if his organisation had anything to do with the current distress. “Yes and No. The rebels currently here are indeed not of the official army you call, ‘Revolutionary’. Up here, they're a bunch of criminals and so called emphasizers who want to pillage Upper Yard and Angel Island for treasures. However, we don’t value gold as much, we have natural resources for gold, they can take as much as they want. It’s the human trafficking that made the Kingdom react with an ‘eye for an eye attitude.’” the man noted. “About twelve years ago, the First Female of God’s Lions was kidnapped by humans and sold into slavery.” Juju said boldly. “It was a day none of us could forget. Both the White Berets and the Shandia Captain Commanders fought valiantly in attempts to save Princess Isabella from her captives.” Juju noted, but as the word Isabella rolled from his tongue, Junbei’s whole world froze.

“After she was stolen, the King dispatched a small unit towards Earth as liaisons with your World Government in hopes of retrieving the Princess, we even offered our citizens as soldiers in the Navy in good faith but no matter how hard we looked, we couldn’t discover anything about her sale.” Juju said clutching his hand in anger. “Until… I went to ‘Vearth’ several years ago. With my own investigation. I learned that she was experimented on and had died subsequently.” Juju said, with tears trickling from his eyes. The strength in Junbei’s feet broke, falling to his knees, everything around him became silent. Caprice offered screams towards his Captain but the memories of Base #45 began to resurface, and his handler’s face rung in his memories, freezing him in fear. Flashbacking to the Night of the Base #45 breakout, Junbei’s hands sunk into his saviour’s Isabella’s mid-section. Removing his hand the woman’s body made a loud clump falling to the floor. Correlating to present time, Junbei had also passed out.

---

“I remember it all now. We had planned our escape. Isabella, was the name of our Mutilated Winged Captain. All of the inmates had become soldiers in her rebellion, she was so bright. It was as if her smile could fuel us all. I loved Isabella. Honestly, to this day my heart is filled with guilt but it was him… He was the man who broke us ‘Marshal’. As we begun our escape, the guards were powerless against our Super Soldier gifts. One after one, each marine who’d kept us imprisoned over the years we’re now dead. Until, that man appeared before us. He’d planted these ‘kill switches’ in our bodies, something that’d shut us down if we’d ever rebel.  However, the chemical reaction due the various drugs in our systems had the opposite effect. From their, everything went red. By the time I came to, he was fatally injured and so was everyone else at the Base. We’d began to eat each other. I’ve never seen my handshake in fear so much as everyone I’ve grew to love literally lost their minds. I, too, participated in the carnage, until it was only me and Isabella left. And then-” Junbei’s nightmare ceased with the feel of cold water splashing over his face.

---

Jerking upwards from his discomfort, the musician regained consciousness, opting for hunched seated position under the comfort of the man’s futon. “Are you okay kid?” Juju asked, as Caprice laid asleep on the traditional Japanese styled room’s floor, glimpses of Junbei’s first images as he came to his senses. “Gishishi… I haven’t blanked out like that in almost a year now.” Junbei exclaimed, given off a painful laugh. “I’m sorry if my story triggered painful memories for you. I need to get across my point clearly. I don’t know who your friends are in Upper Yard but trust me, cut your losses and go home.” Juju said sternly. “This place is in the middle of a Civil War against the Wingless. Regardless of whatever your intensions of coming here was… You can find new crewmates. The New Knights of each side are powerful after the death of the former army. Each of them harbour a special hatred in their heart towards the Wingless. Which brings me to the next point or warning of sorts, Do not go around asking people about Lao Fall. It’s his Human Consensus Act that’s put it us at arms with the Wingless in the first place. After it’s decree the number of Land Dwellers increased, along with the number of abducted. Eye for Eye. It’s a mentality that’s sparked wars throughout the history of our people. This time is no different.” Juju concluded.  

“I’m sorry. Regardless of whatever is going on in Skypeia, I can’t abandon my friends. I’m going to Upper Yard regardless. Whether it be for treasure or adventure, I won’t let anyone restrict where and what I do. As a man carries the burden of two, I can’t.” Junbei said with pain eyes, wanting to tell Juju more about Isabella. However, it wasn’t the time or place.The two men sat in silence for the remainder of the night. Juju cancelling his plans of drinking due to the story leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Morning broke and Junbei woke up Caprice, while the man was still sleeping the duo, stole a Waver Jet Ski and Waver Board, leaving a note on the table. ‘Sorry’, it read. As the duo danced across the Milky Clouds, the circling around to the Eastern Entrance of Upper Yard, avoiding the direct route to lessen intersections by the Upper Yard guards. Docking their Wavers on a rock formation near to a small shore, the duo shot themselves upwards, Junbei using his sound abilities to propel them upwards. Opening the map, the duo followed the various descriptions of the Jungle, passing several landmarks on the map until they discovered an underground entrance. It was in an opening within the jungle, however, the mouth of the entrance stretched around five meters in length. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Caprice thought but followed his Captain’s lead.

Since the morning, Junbei hadn’t talked much, his usual cheerful self had some what taken a backseat. Caprice and Junbei walked for what seemed like hours down the one direction staircase, the heat of the jungle was beating into the enclosed fixture, with no draft of air blowing towards their current position. After travelling about a half of kilometer downwards, the duo took a break on the steps, panting and wiping away their sweat. Digging into his backpack, Caprice revealed two water bottles and several ‘kitty’ snacks, which they both nibbled on. It was awkward, Caprice knew something was wrong. “Hey, Junbei. Are you okay?” Caprice asked, nudging his Captain was eaten the snack mindlessly. Junbei simply stared at the child for a moment, blankly. After a few seconds, he came to. “Eh! Gishishi… I’m fine!” Junbei exclaimed scratching his head nervously. “Don’t worry too much about me Caprice. I tend to zone out like that sometimes!” Junbei said shooting the child a grin as he returned to his feet. Finally, after a few more steps, a cold draft could’ve been felt, which hinted to a room. Quickly running the staircase bottom, Junbei and Caprice found the old fortune teller, sitting in the centre of the 1km wide chamber.

The room’s decor was filled with several stone carved monuments, etched into the walls and floors of the room. Paintings filled the ceilings, depicting the history of the Skypiean’s descending from the Moon, however, to Junbei and Caprice, these paintings were nothing more than breathtaking art. From the caverns emerged several soldiers, each carrying guns, various bazooka and swords. “Glad you could join us, Red Head.” the old woman said chuckling. “Doesn’t look like there’s any trumpet here. How does your refund policy work, Ba-chan?” Junbei inquired. “Where your going you won’t need any material things… A pirate of your stature can reach twice your bounty on the Black Market in terms of the price you can fetch… I was getting tired of these weak Wingless twerps coming up from below but now look at you… The Infamous Auburn Songbird in the flesh.” the woman said, hopping down from her seated position to retreat behind the sea of men. “My boys will rough you up a bit. We even have some Sea Stone cuffs with your name on it.” the woman said sternly.

Following the duo down the staircase, was the old man from the Shop, Juju. “Jeez… Ya’ll don’t know the meaning of the words slow down or take it easy.” the old Skypiean announced, breathing heavily, as he pulled out his Gourd filled with water, gulping it down until no liquid was left in the vessel. “Sorry for stealing the Waver’s oldman. Even after your speech, I just couldn’t let it go. Actually, I had to come see what Upper Yard to offer.” Junbei stated, reaching towards his holster for his Blitz Sticks. “Hohoho… I figured you’d get lost trying to find Shandia, so I came to give ya’ll tour guide assistance free of charge, if you wanted it from an old coot like myself. However, it seems you’ve gotten tangled up with some pretty sketchy characters.” Juju said, pulling at his beard, assessing the situation. “Enough with the talking! Boys!” Oba-chan shouted, summoning the remainder of her family from the various different chambers adjacent to their current room.

The Mercenary Army’s inched closer, creating a barricade around the door, pushing the Old Man towards Junbei and Caprice. “I’m pretty sure your poster reads dead or alive! Eat this!” one of the goons shouted, sticking out his tongue as he pointed the Bazooka’s mouth towards Junbei. The distance between the bazooka marksman and the gang was around eight meters at most. Clicking on the button, a single missile shot off towards the group.

Creating a rope with a soundwave, Junbei lashed the rope against the missile, creating a sonic boom, causing the warhead to detonate prematurely. A large plume of smoke shot outwards, impairing the vision of everyone up to six meters in range of the smoke. With the Songbirds encased in smoke, the shooters took the opportunity to their advantage, unloading their rifle shells towards the backdraft. Grabbing onto Caprice and Junbei, Juju flew upwards as quickly, as possible, avoiding the unfriendly fire.

“Hey old man! How high can you fly!?” Junbei inquired. “Carrying you two, not far. As high as this ceiling if permitted.” Juju replied jollily. “Hold onto to Caprice for me! Fly as high as you can! Don’t come down until I say so!” Junbei shouted, breaking away from the man’s grip, entering into his intangible state.

Climbing as quickly as he could, Juju sustained a few bullet wounds to his torso area but headed Junbei’s order and climbed about 90 feet upwards, hovering close to the ceiling art by the Chamber’s roof. Reforming onto the ground, releasing a single red ring from his body about eight diameter’s outwards, encompassing the unfriendly fire and their shooters. Activating his Kenbunshoku Haki, Junbei used his intangibility to let the bullets phase through his body, projecting the course and path of each bullet as it arrived.

Tired of missing, the marksmen abandoned their guns, drawing their swords and approaching the musician with great speed. As they approached several soundwaves quickly compressed in what seemed to be a dome, red in color. The immense speed at which the waves are moving at gave off an ominous sound, generating an enormous amount of sound energy, the compressing waves burst into a gigantic sonic boom which devastated everything twenty diameters from Junbei, whose body acted as the core of the shockwave. The force of the floor caused the flooring of the ruins to collapse, sending the hundred plus warriors, not only deafened and severely injured but plummeting several thousand meters downwards to their untimely deaths. About fifteen, if that many managed to survive, others were crushed beneath the weight of the falling debris. Entering into his intangible state, glided through the sound in the air, safely positioning himself outside of the scope of the gigantic hole in the floor, which broke the adventurers into the lower chambers of the ruins.

On the outside, the noise could’ve been heard from various parts of Upper Yard. A fleet of guardians of the Nobles of the Yard, swarmed towards the ruins in response to the loud thud, which plagued Upper Yard, the commotion caused the nearby earth to shake with tremendous, on Richter scales around 4.0, those closer to the ruins about 5.0 in its force. Covered by a shield of her children’s bodies, Oba-chan popped from beneath the rubble, shaking in fear. “What in the- Are you a monster? What are you!?” Oba-chan shouted terrified, loosing several of her teeth in the fall. Sticking out his tongue playfully in a taunt, “I’m a Songbird, silly.” Junbei simply stated, grinning.

♩Solar ♩ Gravitas & Vitas♩Strong Bird♩Blitz Sticks♩Oto Oto♩Oto Tier 3 ♩Nitufia♩Santufia♩Nitufia - Tier 2♩
"We're all caged song birds, waiting for someone to hear our sound"

As the tremor struck Upper Yard, in front of the entrance to the ruins, the Shandia force settled. “Damn… It just had to be this ruin. This place is haunted.” the Winged Soldier stated. “H-H-Haunted!” the younger soldier exclaimed in fear. “That’s just an old fable Captain that elders tell noble children so they don’t go wandering in the jungle.” one of the other guards commented. “No No… This place is the real deal. This is the Ruins of Toti Clan. A long time ago they were some of the most fierce warriors this land possessed. They’d keep a rare species of Tiger as their families familiar, Night Tigers. Lore states they can hop into and out of shadows… Whoever is foolish enough to raid this sacred ground… Will be cursed for the remainder-” as the Captain closed in on his final words, the skeptical warrior entered into the cavern. “I’m not buying it! This place is frequented by refugees and traders, they probably got into a little squabble. Let’s go men!” the Vice Captain shouted. However, the Captain’s story had already planted the seeds of fear in the men’s heart.

---

Meanwhile in the cavern, Caprice and Juju landed downwards into the rubble hill of debris. “Hoho… Your Captain has an interesting skillset.” Juju commented. “Eh… He tends to get a little out of hand.” Caprice replied, sighing. Slapping the man with her staff repeatedly, “How could you!” the old woman exclaimed angrily. “Ouch! I wasn’t the one trying to turn me in for a reward!” Junbei said knocking the old woman across her head. As Junbei’s hand drew closer, the woman took advantage of the man dropping his guard, slapping on the seastone handcuffs onto Junbei’s hand. “Ha! Got him!” Oba-chan announced. “Boys!” Oba-chan shouted. Climbing out from underneath the rubble, the men reclaimed their weapons, aiming them at Caprice and Juju. Raising their hands in the air, the two crewmates tried not to make any subtle movements. Glued to the ground and panting heavily, the seastone cuffs drained Junbei’s energy rendering him motionless. The numbers had been depleted significantly, only ten men responded to the woman’s call, losing five prior due to blood lost from head injuries sustained.

Breathing heavily, “Ba-chan… I think we should retreat for now. In this condition, there’s no way for us to climb back out and if the Revolutionary Army finds out we wasted all of these men on one pirate, we’ll be in big trouble.” the man stated, trying to reason with the old woman. “No No! We’re turning this idiot in! We sell slaves! That’s what we do. Remember our plan, Allure won’t take excuses. The order is from the top of the Pyramid!” Oba-chan shouted back angrily. In heat of the woman’s frustrations, Caprice dashed towards Oba, sliding against the ground and extended his hand blade. Placing the sword by the woman’s neck, “Alright, drop your weapons.” Caprice commanded coldly. “I’ll slit her throat real easy if you don’t.” the child thief said mercilessly. “Where’s the key for the handcuffs oldwoman!?” Caprice commanded. The men chuckled, turning their guns to Juju. “We got a hostage too! Your Captain is locked in those cuffs and this old bat can’t do-” the man’s words were silenced by the weight of Juju’s hand against the man’s skull. Crushing it, the grunts shot at the man terrified, however, for his thick muscles mass, the bullets simply stuck into his body. Grabbing the mouth’s of the men’s guns, Juju bent two of them, picking up the two disarmed and using them as battering rams to take out the remainder marksmen. Picking the bullets out of his chest with his thick fingernails, the old man grinned. “I lived too long to be held hostage by a bunch of whippersnappers… Hoho…” Juju announced.

Swarming into the above chamber, the members of the Shandia recon group arrived. The men began to inspect the room, noticing the colossal eighty foot hole. “What in the world happened here?” the men floated over the surface of the hole, inspecting its contents. In the core of the pitfall, the guardians inspected several bodies among the debris, however, from their current angle, there was no way of telling who lied beneath the debris or Junbei and the gang’s current positions. Floating down into the hole, the first pack of ten tried to assess the situation, it was only then that they came upon, Oba, Juju, Caprice and the subdued Junbei. “This might get fairly ugly quite quickly.” Juju stated grinning widely. Trickling downwards, several meters, the men noticed first Juju. “Your Juju Fall! Jeez… I thought you were crazy enough to be getting into brawls in Lovely Street but destroying sacred ruins… Do you hate the new monarchy that much, Juvile?” the guardian said, taunting the man with real name. “Hoho… You young bloods don’t know any form of respect do you?” Juju said shining his canine’s in frustration. “I don’t go by that name anymore. It’s simply Juju. You can keep your taunts for those who actually care about being puppets in Sango’s Army? How’s that little brat doing anyhow?” Juju inquired.

Drawing their weapons, “Watch your tongue, criminal. Sango is the Chief of all Shandians! Put some respect on his name when you speak about him?” one the guardians spat off in anger, hands firmly grasped on his lance. Suddenly, a second tremor could be felt, this time, the staircase which led to the surface had been enclosed from falling debris due to the ceiling collapsing on the steps. This second tremor was side-effects of the first one caused by Junbei’s sonicboom. The ruins infrastructure though sturdy, was in shambles, breaking apart from the force of the residua shockwaves. “Boss! The Entrance has been closed off!” one of the guardians above surface level reported. “Shit. Alright, all these ruins have multiple exits scattered across Upper Yard, they all interconnect anyway! Grab the old man, the brat, the old lady and the Red Head, we’ll take them to the chief.” the Guardian’s instructed. Descending from above, the Winged forces leaked through the hole in the floor, quickly subduing the Devil Fruit User, fully attaching the shackles onto his arms.

Caprice too was subdued, as well, as Oba-chan and Juju went without a struggle, simply chuckling as the hand-cuffs were placed on his wrists. Clicking on their flash dials, the men lit up the underground tavern, revealing several murals which were engraven in the walls, as the men bundled the prisoners into the center of their formation, travelling through the caverns in search of another entrance which they’d use as their escape point. “Hey. You know these people?” Junbei said whispering to the giant winged man. “Their my nephew’s men.” Juju stated. “Then why are you in chains?” Junbei inquired, panting from the Seastone chains draining his energy to speak, let alone walk. “I never said that I was friendly with that side of my family. Hohoho…” the man exclaimed chuckling. “Oi! You two quiet back there.” the Commanding Guardian stated, as the journey through the lower level of the tavern continued. “Junbei. You remember what I told you about treasure hunting right?” Caprice said, walking along side his Captain whispering. “Yeah. I can’t exactly go all-out anyway with these shackles on my hand anyway.” Junbei stated. “I’ll get those off in a minute. When I do, I need you break another hole in the floor, can you hear it? This level of the chamber has a lot echo… It’s hollow. Meaning there’s a level much lower than this. The further down we go… The more liable we are to find treasure.” Caprice stated.

The party arrived to a dead end, at the end of the hallway, was a staircase that leaded further into the chambers but roar’s of ferocious animals could’ve been heard from the staircases peak. “L-L- Let’s try heading back out the other way.” one of the officers suggested, turning his back in the opposite direction. Picking open the seastone cuffs, Junbei reached once more for his tonfa, this time revealing his elongated, Solar. Lunging himself into mid-air, Junbei fired off a pillar of wind, tinted in a purple hue towards the floor below them. Spinning in mid-air, he also created a dust-tornado, with the two air pockets in close vicinity to each other, the Dustnado, absorbed the residual force of the air pillar, drilling a hole into the floor once again. “AHHH!” the guards shouted, this time, the fall was much steeper, about four thousand feet towards the floor. This room wasn’t as naturally lit as the ones before, due to the lack of gaping sunlight.

The spiraling downward Dustnado launched Junbei and the gang downwards about ten meters before losing force. Entering into his intangibility state, Junbei recovered Juju, Caprice and Oba-chan who was clutching onto the child’s clothing for dear life, as the remainder of the guards, fell to their ultimate doom, others took flight, inching slowly towards the ground with their wings. After finally touching the floor, Junbei’s Vitas tonfa began to shine brightly, naturally lighting the space around him for about diameters. However, the scent of this level was vile, it stank of death.

As Junbei’s light illuminated the surface, the sound of the Night Tigers, which figures now became apparent through the glow, engraved a horrific sight into everyone’s present eyes. As the Tigers sunk their teeth into the immobile soldiers who fell from the fall, Caprice watched as the soldier’s hearts and eyes were gouged out by their razor sharp teeth. Unable to handle the harsh reality, Caprice started to puke, vomiting up his insides from the scent of splattered intestines and torn carcasses. From above, the sound of the Winged Soldier’s being picked down from the sky as they descended could’ve been heard, due to the leaping Night Tiger’s amazing jumping capabilities. The only thing stopping Junbei, Caprice, Oba-chan and the guardians (around thirty in number) from being mauled, was the Night Tiger’s sensitive eye-sight, which wasn’t optimal in bright conditions.

Above, the mural on the wall, four thousand meters before they fell, depicted images of the Night Tiger’s feeding on the Winged Men. A warning written in ancient language simply read, ‘For those who walk among the day, these nights prey at night.’ For the first time in ages, Junbei’s heart had accelerated to levels of beyond anything he’d ever imagined. However, his hand didn’t tremble, nor did his nerves get the better of him, his irises simply flushed blood red. “Gishishishi Gishishishi!” the pirate exclaimed with great laughter, drawing the Night Tiger’s attention towards him. “Shut up!” one of the Commanding Officer’s shouted in fear, attempting to slap his lance towards the man’s face but it failed, Junbei had turned his face intangible, predicting the incoming attack. As Junbei’s face split apart, the soldier fell to his knees with immense fright, “Monster!” the man shouted. “Hoho… Your Captain is indeed a truly interesting man to laugh in a situation like this.” Juju exclaimed, examining the situation, playing with his beard. “No. Something’s wrong with Junbei… He’s different.” Caprice exclaimed worried. “His whole energy… It’s different from the goof ball I met on Twin Cape months ago.” Caprice stated.

---

In the psychosis of Junbei's mind, "I'm back. Did you miss me, Echo?" the inner voice that plagued the musician whispered. In his imagination stood a Victorian Theme table, where Junbei, a mirror image of himself and his handler, 'Marshal' sat around. "You've been off the drugs now for years now. However, the side-effects have rewired your brain in pressure situations to go berserk." Marshal seemingly spoke, lifting up the kettle to pour himself tea. The quiet image of himself bore sky blue eyes, while Junbei himself carried blood red crimson ones, "I know why I've been seeing you more lately. Your losing your grip on me aren't you?" Junbei said grinning. The man lifted the tea cup, sipping cautiously, as if the imaginary tea was hot, "True. After training with your master, you've pretty much flushed out the chemical effects. Psychologically however, this is your mind's way of rationalising high pressure situations. Meaning you have two choices- Become the monster that terrorised the South Blue or the Happy Go-Lucky Captain your crew know and love. If you pick either, you forfeit the other. Fair isn't it?-" Marshal inquired.

---

Punching himself in his head, Junbei snapped back into the situation at hand. Turning back towards, Caprice, the Captain's Sky Blue Eyes shone, "I'll be with you for just a little longer, Caprice. You look constipated! My crew mate shouldn't be so phased by some overgrown cats." Junbei said chuckling. "Besides... I've found a solution to which we'll be both happy with, my other half." Junbei said, closing his eyes activating his sonar radar.