OOC: Arrived from Drum here: https://op-piratenation.rpg-board.net/t7291-universal-drum-travel-topic

O Brother, Where Art Thou?:

Is it really such a good idea to just go wandering around the island and into the heart of this chick's territory? You literally just did the same thing on Alabasta and look how that turned out. Zoe yelled from the deck of The Dreadnaught as Cyrus strolled down the gangplank and onto the docks of Baltigo. The main docks of the island were several kilometers away, but Cyrus wanted to keep his people away from the main part of the island, less prying eyes out here in the more deserted section. Keep the men honest for me Zoe. Cyrus said back with a wave of his hand, dismissing the woman and continuing on his way. This was personal business and there was no need to involve his crew any more than was necessary. He knew each and every one of them would lay down their lives for him without hesitation, as would he for them, but this was different. Cyrus didn't know what to expect in this sprawling city and he didn't know how he would act once he finally found Jane. He would never forgive himself if something were to happen to his crew just because he had been blinded by rage.

Walking into the dusty settlement, Cyrus noted that the store fronts had shut down some time ago. The few residential buildings were either boarded up or should have been. There were maybe one or two other people on the streets as Cyrus turned down what he assumed to be was main street. So these are the left overs from Red City, the outcasts. Cyrus said to no one in particular as he walked down the street. Down at the end was a man with a wagon pulled by two horses. He was loading grain and rice in front of a house. Excuse me sir, are you heading into the city? Cyrus asked as he grabbed a bag of grain, threw it over his shoulder and placed it into the back of the wooden wagon. The old man looked Cyrus up and down, trying to decide if he was about to be mugged or not, Aye, I am. You come in on that big scary looking ship? The man asked, skeptical. Cyrus chuckled, Indeed, I seem to have misjudged the docks and am looking for a ride into the city. My ship needs some repairs, otherwise I'd sail it into the Red City port myself. In all his time with the Revolution, lying had become almost second nature for him. Cyrus could tell however the old man was still unsure, I'd be happy to reimburse you for your troubles. Cyrus said, producing a thick wad of paper Beli. Almost immediately the man's eyebrows sprung up as he took the wad and stuffed it into his pocket, People get shanked around here for a fifth of that cash boy. You'll have to hop in back with the grain, only room for one up front.

Cyrus smiled politely, That'll do just fine, thank you. before climbing into the back and resting on the grain bags. He placed his hat over his face to block out the harsh desert sun before conking out for the journey.


---------------------Several Hours Later-----------------------


The Red City had been a sight to behold, truly. Not only had Cyrus managed to scope the place out, he had even met a new potential friend, someone who might just be interested in aiding him in this insane endeavor. All in all the trip had been a resounding success and he had even managed to find his older friend on his way back out of the city. Naturally the man had requested even more money for a trip back home, which made little sense as he was hauling less weight, but Cyrus was happy to oblige.

Oye, looks like some poor fool got into some trouble with a few of the Warlord's bots. The old man said behind Cyrus, who lay in the back of the wagon. Hm? Cyrus asked, stirred from his thoughts as he sat up and looked in the direction the man was pointing to where several dozen robots could be seen attacking a lone figure. How far are we from the village? Cyrus asked, not taking his eyes off the event unfolding before him. Another 10 minutes or so most likely. The man said with a shrug. Cyrus figured 10 minutes in the wagon meant only about 20 minutes on foot, Okay great, thanks for the ride and keep the change. Cyrus said before jumping from the wagon and heading towards the commotion. This was his chance to see what Jane D. Punk was packing.

Bazel had finally arrived to Baltigo after traveling several days with his crew. As he prepared to dock on the island the ship stopped in the sea. Bazel would look around as he packed wondering what had come of his travel. "Hmm, Faust why did you stop?" asked Baz who was packing food and supplies for the trip. "Baz, look around. Sadie has a whole in her chest that hasn't fully healed. Kash isn't any better and I'm me." said Faust who seemed more unsure of himself than usual. Baz took the time to look at everyone in the room and only then he realized how banged up he truly was. "I see, so I'm going in alone?" smirked Bazel who hadn't rolled solo in quite awhile. "We'll keep in contact with the den den mushis on our wrist" said Kash who would flash her den den mushi. Bazel would look downwards at his before he grabbed the backpack putting it on his back. "I'll be back before nights end" said Bazel as he went up the hatchet and left the ship. Once he did that the Red Desert would submerge once closed. In the air Bazel would fly until he reached land which was about an hour out.

Bazel would turn his wings off the second he reached the docks turning the raging flames from his body into that of his regular arms. Bazel knew he was probably spotted on his way in which is exactly what he wanted. He came here looking for his older brother and all the attention he would receive if people knew he was here would probably alert his brother. One thing Bazel noticed was this island had a large robotic influence, noticing those who seemed to operate the docks were that of the robotic nature. One woman in particular looked as if she was being separated from her kid which caused Bazel to rush to her defense. "Oi, leave her alone" said a light toned Bazel before one of the robots looked at him and went back to prying the woman from her child. It was then Bazel sighed and the smoke began to ooze from his body. Within a blink Bazel was gone appearing above the head of the robot overseeing the prying. Bazel would send a palm from his right hand downwards sending the robot crashing into the ground from the weight and heat of the palm. The other robots in the area would stop what they were doing whether it was moving boxes or operating the docks and converge on Bazel's location. A large brawl would break out between him and the cyborgs.

No freaking way. Cyrus suddenly stopped in his tracks as he neared the brawl he had spotted from the wagon. The brawl itself wasn't what had interested him, flooring him and ceasing any further movement, but instead it was the man who had inadvertently started the brawl. Baz? Cyrus asked out loud, though from the distance still separating them there was little chance Bazel D. Wiggins would be able to hear his older brother. Picking up pace again, Cyrus ran towards the fray and dove in blade first, stabbing and slashing at various robotic parts. What the hell are you doing here?! Cyrus yelled to Bazel as he speared a Forsaken between the eyes with his sword.

It had been years since Cyrus had seen his younger brother, though brother wasn't necessarily the correct term for their relationship. The two thought of each other as brothers sure, but they had no blood or even marriage relation whatsoever. Instead the two had met up in the Revolution early on, long before Baz ever left to pursue his own life. They had made fast friends, performing missions and various tasks for the Revolution. They had each other's backs always and promised to continue that even after they parted ways. Unfortunately that had been years ago and the only contact they had had since then was through reading about one another in the News Coo. Cyrus had stopped in to see Baz's grandfather and mother back on Alabasta, but he hadn't even seen those two in well over half a decade.

Please don't tell me your mother told you where I was! Cyrus yelled at his younger brother before sidestepping a charging android and lopping off its right arm with a quick flick of his wrist. Cyrus had explicitly instructed the two not to tell Bazel of his whereabouts, or even maybe that he had stopped in. Thankfully he hadn't told gramps or his brother's mother the real reason he was going to Baltigo, so perhaps he could send Bazel home before he was sucked up into this hellish nightmare. Damn Baz, what did you do to piss these guys off? Cyrus asked with a chuckle as more robots seemed to appear out from behind buildings and sand dunes alike. Whatever had happened, these things were pissed and tenacious as all hell. Cyrus realized as he danced around these bots, flashing his blade through their metal flesh, this was his first look at his opposition. These clearly weren't anything special in Jane D. Punk's robotic empire, but at the very least Cyrus was getting a firsthand look at the main forces.

Bazel continued to mow down the robots as they swarmed after him. He was melting them and crushing them at the same time so you couldn't properly tell that they were infact melting as their bodies had been reduced to nearly nothing from the pressure of the wind. People had began to pay attention to what Bazel was doing which didn't alarm him because he was hoping to draw some attention to his actions. There was a robot behind Bazel that he didn't see coming but as he turned around to face it a sword had torn it apart. Bazel had looked to see where the sword came from and noticed it was his older brother's weapon. Bazel smiled as he made eye contact with his older brother Cyrus, someone Bazel looked up to greatly. "I came in part for you to be honest" said Bazel as he continued to release waves of heated wind from his hand. It had been years since the duo had seen each other. Last time they had seen each other Bazel didn't even have his devil fruit yet. Now that his older brother was here Bazel planned on showing out like no other to impress him.

It seemed there was no end to the wave of robots that came to deal with Bazel. Cyrus yelled a question towards Bazel as both men continued to knock off robots. Bazel would palm one by the top of its head melting it before punching a hole through its chest "Her and Grandpa sold you out" joked Bazel who was making short work of the opposition. The duo were making waves against these metal bastards one by one as each continued to come by. "I actually did this to get your attention" said Bazel who would turn his arms  into wings of flame and released a gust which would scorch down several robots forcing people back from the raging flames that Bazel had let loose. He would then turn back his wings into his arms and stand back to back with his brother. The duo were a very formidable pair even without their devil fruit abilities. This goes back to their youth where they were crappy youngsters trying to prove their worth to the higher ups in the revolutionary army. "Ya know brother, this was long overdue" said a smiling Bazel who hadn't stopped smiling since his brother arrived.

Cyrus rolled his eyes as Bazel confirmed his worst fear. His mother was a great woman who Cyrus respected deeply, but she had loose lips no doubt. Cyrus continued hacking and slashing at the robots, spinning this way and that, sidestepping metal hands and limbs sharpened to sword edges. The bots were slow and weak, but their numbers were great for tiring out two combatants. Cyrus took a deep breath as he continued to turn the robots to scrap metal at his feet, only hesitating to reply to Bazel as they fought, Well bravo little brother, mission accomplished. Cyrus said sarcastically in acknowledgement to Bazel trying to get his attention. Did you really have to pick a fight with so man- Cyrus stopped mid sentence as Bazel suddenly turned into pure flames and unleashed a whirlwind of fire, incinerating a group of metal heads. Well...that's certainly new. Cyrus said with moderate surprise as a robot grabbed onto his shoulder and spun him around, only to be cleaved from genitals to skull as Cyrus swung upward with his sword.

Breathing hard The Reaper of the Revolution stepped back as there seemed to be a lull in the advancement of the troops. Together they had cut down maybe half of the combatants and Cyrus had no worries about finishing the job, but every once in awhile it was good to step back and assess the situation. I have to be honest Baz, this isn't quite the big meeting I had in mind when I imagined seeing you again. That being said, you're right, it was long overdue. Cyrus said with a chuckle. Suddenly the scraps of robots surrounding them began to move and Cyrus groaned, Oh good, zombies, Jane has zombie robots. Unfortunately for Cyrus, it was much worse than that as the scraps of metal, clusters of wires and piles of glass shards began flying into the air to a singular location in the back of the advancing robot troops. Right before their eyes the materials began growing and binding together, crafting themselves into one massive being of serrated metal and pure destruction. A goliath among the rampaging robots and all Cyrus could do was let out a low whistle, Oh, this is going to be fun. Try to keep up. He said to his brother before jumping back into the fray. The massive robot behind the wall of smaller beings completed itself and charged forward, the smaller robots making way for the goliath to hit Bazel and Cyrus head on.

Bazel was experiencing a wave of emotions which came from finally seeing his older brother again. Bazel was never the type to become overly emotional but the idea of seeing his older brother had just put him in a dapper mood which was aided by the never ending wave of robots which the two were tasked with taking out. Bazel's smirk was priceless after Cyrus had seen Bazel's powers as he wanted to be stronger than his older brother and hopefully this fruit plateaued him into position for that. The duo continued their destruction of the robots while trying to one up each other in the manner of which they did it in. "I was going to wait until I was the King of The Pirates for our next meeting but I had to take the opportunity presented to me. Wanted you to meet my crew!" It was then the scrap of the robots started to gravitate towards one area which caused both brothers to look at in awe. "I've seen how this ends" said Bazel as he remembered once some leaves he fought on Ohara had turned into a giant leaf monster. It wasn't a pretty end result, Bazel was picking leaves from his hair for a month.

Bazel smirked as had a move he wanted to test out. He initially used it against Dredd on Skypiea but he had worked on it a bit with his grandfather during his time on Alabasta. Hopefully the move proved its dividends in growth for this specific enemy. The air got thin and hot as everyone in the immediate vicinity would begin to sweat. "So brother, I worked on a technique called Mach I. You're about to see it" said Bazel as smoke would start releasing from his body next. When he first arrived here in Baltigo he used the mode briefly but never in depth but now he could test it out to its fullest. With the steam coming from his body Bazel turned into a blur as he dashed ahead of his already moving brother Cyrus and upwards he went. He'd be on eye level with the bot as he would release his arms forward creating a gust of wind which just knocked the bot back. Bazel would then land on the hoard of bots down below. Using them as a stepping stone Bazel would jump upwards forward once again this time with a spiral of flame around his right arm   punching a complete hole through the robots chest. The robot would then explode as Bazel slide on the ground adjacent to the body.

Cyrus considered activating his ROOM and switching out the larger scrap robot with one of the smaller, fodder-esq robots charging towards him. It'd be quite comical as Baz tried to show off his new skills only to find himself incinerating one of these grunts rather than the goliath they were up against. After all, that'd be quite the big brother type thing to do and it'd be a good laugh afterwards. At the last minute though, with a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his brow and an amused smile on his face, Cyrus decided against duping his younger brother and let Baz have his moment. Cyrus watched as Baz suddenly ripped a hole through the chest cavity of the scrap titan, dealing a decisive blow to the monstrosity as it shuttered and collapsed. The metal beast's core was all but incinerated as it rolled uselessly on the ground. However, even with such a decisive and inspiring blow, the smaller robots paid it no mind as they continued their charge towards Cyrus. I have to say, I'm impressed, but as per usual I'm cleaning up your messes. Cyrus said with a rueful grin as he met the advancing horde head on.

ROOM! He said with a snap of his fingers as a vaguely pale blue dome spread out from his being around the robot horde. Watch out Baz, you're not going to want to get caught up in this. Cyrus said with a chuckle before slashing in the direction of the horde, moving his cane sword like an artist with a brush. He painted the landscape like a canvas, littering it with gears, wires and shards of metal alike. The robots were unharmed, technically, but completely and utterly useless as Cyrus used the power of the Ope Ope to reduce them to nothing more than rubble. Looking at his handiwork with a sigh, Cyrus sheathed his sword and stood tall as Bazel walked back towards him, Well, I suppose that's all in a days work, eh? Cyrus looked back in the direction of the small port that was currently housing members of his crew and The Dreadnaught, Personally I need a drink after all that and I believe we have some catching up to do, no? Cyrus smiled, throwing his arm around his younger brother, Come on, drinks are on me.

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