Chapter 8: Out of sight, but not out of mind


At first sight the marine force entering Lord Arthur's home wasn't particularly alert or thrilled for that matter. For they were merely on a routine stop as ordered by Patcheeni. Most of them were resentful of the guy because he treated some of his subordinates like pawns and slaves. While others such as Arthur, were given special privileges and treatment. The sight of dead ciphers didn't phase them because it too,was routine. Arthur was a neurotic scientist with a penchant for swordsmanship and perfection. His outlet was often going out on marine missions to take down miscreants and targets of the marines and world government. In his youth this worked out fine, allowing him to do his research and then take it out on criminals when his rage hit a boiling point. However as he got older and the frustration of never making any real strides in the field started to wear on him, he started to lose his mind.  The tragedy here was due to changes in the world over his life time, he could no longer work freely.

He was a genius, shunned from the scientific branches of the government for his conduct. He often lashed out at others when he hit a wall as he aged. And since the world was changing, its ethics were too. No longer did he have access to mentally ill people or society's trash. The world government in an attempt to appease people and its own outlawed human experimentation, especially at lower levels of research. Sure there were higher ups who managed to get in a human trial every now and then, but for Arthur he had no one to back him. Being forced to be a mere soldier, he rose through the ranks of the marines in lieu of his biological research. Though a hole still burned in his heart that could not be filled by violence. The need for discovery and invention tore at his heart strings, something he never let go of as a sign of him being alive. Patcheeni and the new age changed this though, and in a big way.

The cipher had long recognized the man for his blueprints and theory laid out in government archives. He was always thrilled to find a new journal, outlining different concoctions used on patients. Patcheeni noted Arthur's obsession with the human body and discovering its secrets. He had helped discover and publicized theory on haki, what it did and where it came from. He saw experiments where Arthur conducted  surgery on a variety of criminals ranging from bandits to famous pirate lords. Testing the limits of their bodies and ability to recover. It was here he was mapping out what made a person normal vs abnormal. What made a person durable enough to lift 40 pounds vs 4000 pounds. What allowed a person to be shot by a bullet and live, vs what it took to take a cannonball to the chest and not die. His research had actually improved rokushiki and almost helped develop a new branch of the fighting style, but he was ostracized before he could finish. So when Patcheeni offered him a chance at redemption and full liberty to once again conduct research, he agreed with the caveat that the cipher supply him with devil fruit users and the fruits himself.

The cipher couldn't promise him a devil fruit user, but he did supply him a fruit. Which had lead to the situation at hand. There on Water 7 he was left to his own devices. During the month he had been working for patcheeni, he was making excellent progress. Though this came at a high cost. He needed new goons every few days due to his uncontrollable outbursts and rage. However when the marines actually found him lying in the middle of his lab half encased in ice, they rushed to his aid. A male marine rushed to the Alabasta Den Den with great haste while the rest of his unit worked to help Arthur.


Patcheeni, unsuspecting as he was, had been in a jovial mood. A lady in each arm and sack full of gold which he "won" from playing cards at Rain dinners, he was ready to party hard. " Sir, Ensign Jeremy reporting in SIR", said the den den with a serious scowl on its face. Patcheeni looked down at his hand and hiccuped without much thought, " hey hey man be cool. Everything's fine and I got me some ta tas to see". The den den didn't respond for a moment, with angry indistinct muttering from the background. " SIR, this is a matter of utmost importance. Commodore and Lord Arthur is in critical condition! He won't make it, SIR". Patcheeni paused with his arms wrapped around his arm candies and took a moment to let that sink in. " what"?

Patcheeni was stunned, for he couldn't fully wrap his mind around what was being said. His arms started to get snug around his toys who started to pat on his forearm. " SIR, we also report that Arthur's latest research journal is also missing, SIR"! The man froze, but his arms kept contracting. The women he was with were turning blue, with one fainting and the other biting on his arm. He dropped the weak one and pulled the hair of the other back. He scowled at her and wrenched his grip around her long blonde hair. With his free hand he picked up the den den and said, " I want every able bodied marine on Water 7 to find the culprits. No one sleeps until they're found". With that he turned back to his prize and gave her a once over.

"Let's see how long you last".

Chapter 8,part 2: On the run


Lina dashed under the cover of night, with a half assed pace through the wilderness surrounding Arthur's back porch. She had a small journal in her back pocket and her jingling bag of gold coins in her makeshift sack strung over her shoulder. The forest much akin to the Nameless Baron's that allowed her escape under the cover of night. A very hilly forest fully of shrubs and large oak like trees growing in the highlands of water 7. An aesthetic the rich folk paid good money to preserve, as the rest of the island was not only crowded due to population growth,but also because of the island's imminent sinking into the sea.

She heard the sound of the seemingly panicked marines following close behind. Lina slowly picked up the pace as she fumbled around in the dark of night, without even the moon to light her way. The sounds of their footsteps and voices actually grew dimmer for a moment, but that only served to weed out the weaklings. Even as she believed she was making progress in getting away, the sound of a few marines followed suit. " God damnit this darkness is killing me"! Another veering more to the left chuckled as he danced through the dark wooded area, " haha you got smell but no sight huh"? Lina peered back into the direction where the banter was coming from, listening in on their conversation. She rubbed her chin momentarily, before throwing the sack over her shoulder again. She was determined to make it to the bank to exchange her treasure for beli, but no matter how far she went, the dark seemed to trip her up. And her pursuer's were never far behind.

Lina looked at her sack and glared, then back at the direction of the marines. More were coming and from different directions. The sounds of their pursuit started to blend together into a symphony of rustling leaves and heavy set boots clomping down on the forest floor. With a tear in her eye she grabbed one coin and tossed the rest of the coins out into the forest behind her. The sound of rattling gold coins had caught the attention of her pursuers as she suspected. The sound of their shouts becoming more audible with each second, she turned tail and ran as fast as she could. Not far behind her she heard people come from the trees, as if someone had pounced where the coins were tossed out. She heard loud sniffing in the distance, animalistic in nature. Much akin to a dog, but frenzied like a human's and more pronounced to boot.

" I ahhuh smellll'er I uhha smmmelll'er!", said the older marine. The younger cheekier one kneeled down and looked at the coins curiously. " Hey hey what the heck? how do ya know its a chick"? The older marine sniffing the coin, practically stuffing it in her nostrils grinned widely and bared his grisly teeth. It's weird, but men and women have distinct smells. This one however, is tinged with something else...something strong and alluring". Lina on the other hand bolted through the woods even faster than before. Her mind was racing and filled with all sorts of awful thoughts about who was after her. She imagined they too were like melissa, with strange inhuman powers. Truth be told she probably wasn't far off from her mark,but she had no way of knowing for sure and didn't particularly want to find out. The sound of the business district was loud, both a blessing and a curse. It represented as an indication that she wasn't lost anymore by pure chance, but it also meant running into more marines.

Not much further ahead Lina found the main road and unfortunately the sound of more marines. She quickly dashed out and rolled from one side to the other, looking like a dingy ball of brown and red passing through. " hey hey stop there immediately"! It was an ensign being follow closely by a few others in his unit. Lina's lungs were on fire, but she had no time to stop as she dashed through the dark. In her rush to escape she hadn't realized the drop off looking over a road. Her momentum too great and fatigue getting the best of her, she ended up skidding along and falling over the edge....

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Chapter 8, part 3: The Devil's Elixir

Lina's pursuers began to slow down, to find her nowhere in sight. A particularly young cadet came trailing close behind a few minutes later, panting with sweat beading down his neck. "Cadet, radio into command. We have reason to believe we saw the target,but we lost sight of her. The rest of you fan out, no one rests until we find her or her body". Accompanying the commander was the two abnormal pursuers, who were out of breath and about to collapse. " WHERE IS SHE", the older one growled as he leaned over and panted heavily. The Commander looked on at this marine and cocked his weapon. " My unit is stopping the caravan of farmers passing through here to the business district, but you will have no part in this. Identification. Now". It was dark and the shadows of the two men danced around in the lantern lights of the caravan. He slowly raised his weapon when there was no response and pulled back the hammer of his rifle. " Ahh muh apologies...", he paused to look at the young man's uniform for any signifier of his rank. " Commander but we're 'ere on special business. So if you don'----", was all he could say before his partner zipped from the dark behind the commander and bit down into his neck. The marine didn't go down without a fight. He struggled and squirmed, but could not escape the jaws of his attacker. He reached into his fest, now stained with a fresh coat of crimson to try and fire behind him. Though it was useless and all for nought, as bullets flew randomly in the night.

The caravan below halted as the horses started to neigh uncontrollably and thrash about. The marines who were sent to stop it all turned around instinctively, back toward the gunfire. The Comander on the other hand was fading fast, with a grim grin on his expression. " What's zo funneh boy"? The commander placed the barrel of his gun on the side of his neck, and fired his last bullet hitting his attacker square in the forehead. The two flopped down, leaving him crushed under his enemy with blood rushing from his body. With a last gurgle, he spit up blood. Although not before grinning at the horrified old marine who rushed to grab his dead partner and ran off into the night. The other marines who arrived on the scene found their commanding officer with deep bite marks on his artery and lying in a pool of his own blood. "Well...what are you waiting for boy? CALL IT IN"! The scream came from the senior ensign, who kneeled down in a panic to see if there was anything she could do for the officer. The boy couldn't do much more than gawk at what happened with a blank stare. " Hello? Hello cadet what's going on out there"?



Lina woke submerged in hay at sunrise. For an hour or so she was out of it and had no idea what was going on. She carefully squirmed around under the hey until she could see outside of it. It was still fairly dark, but she could hear the mutterings of a panicked market square. The sound of marines barking orders grinded on her nerves when mixed with the sound of livestock, animals and the people around her. She poked her head out to find she was the third cart in line at a check point into the square. Behind her was a procession of other wagons trying to make their way in town for what was supposed to be a routine day to sell their goods. Lina nodded her head once and pulled herself over the cart's edge with a loud thud. Brushing herself off she ran into a back alleyway of a restaurant and continued to run away from the square. She lied low for a few minutes and looked about, to find marines patrolling up and down the streets, randomly pulling people over and interrogating them. The gyst of what she got was they were searching for a girl with a red cloak and long brunette hair. She was a little flabbergasted by reaction, because it hadn't been this bad as of yet. Hell even after being blamed for killing 100 people a few weeks before the incident, the marines hadn't really tried to find her.

She sighed and propped herself up against a wall in the shadows. The chef of the restaurant came out with a boiling pot of gunk and gave her a sneer. Lina smirked and shook her head, being glad she wasn't being recognized for something bad. She pulled out Arthur's journal and peered into it.

Arthur wrote:Subject 1: Man
Build: fat
Name: Barry
Blood type: O
Treatment: 50cc of the fruit's juices
Day 1: Man seems to be stable. No changes
Day 2: Man seems unstable, but his muscles were somewhat enlarged. He kept asking for more, so we gave him more.
Day 3: Man nearly bent iron. His rage seems to be uncontrollable now that he has found out that he won't be leaving. His muscles seem to be bulging now, making restraining him a challenge. We have opted to give him his shot. That made him more angry.
Day 4: Man is dead, bleeding from all orifices. His muscles shrunk.
Autopsy: Hypothesis stands that the drug enlarges muscle mass artificially and then constricts rapidly in withdrawal, to cause internal hemorrhaging.

Lina flipped through the pages to find it was more of the same, with each page outlining the trials conducted on people. She had the right mind to crush and shred the book, but something told her it might come in handy some day. Hours had by the time she was down scouring it in dim sunlight. Using the crowds of the business district she swiftly weaved in and out of sight using others as cover for her own movements. The marines were stricter and more forceful than ever. They raided businesses and often times dispersed crowds through fear tactics and force. Lina found herself reflexively reaching for her blade, but she always stopped herself at the last moment. Because looking around every corner was another blue uniform. Street corners were littered with wanted signs for the ice witch and another for a description of a girl who sounded an awful lot like her. She sighed looking at the reward for her head, then at the photo less description which was more than double her real bounty."lookin...fer a girl in a red cloak and big boobs...brown hair...last seen at pete's meat market with the frost witch", said under her breath. She looked down at her boobs and made them jiggle a little with a frown.

" They can't be that big...didn't even get my sword in there. pfft ".

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Chapter 8, part 4: The cost

The Marine presence was overwhelming at times. At all hours of the day there were marines posted at every street corner.With the incident surrounding Arthur's death there was always someone posted at entrances to big businesses and city entrances. Getting in and out of town sometimes was like being at a DMV simulator. Three forms of id, plus a toll of 10 beli one way. Even the Galley La Co. who usually had a lot of sway in Water 7 ended up falling under their control. In the ports there were massive battleships made of wood that looked as tough as rock but slick as steel(Treasure tree adam) were patrolling the island's waters and controlling traffic in and out of the island. Nothing on the island was safe from them, but it was the price their people paid for being part of the world government. With newspapers flowing in about piracy running rampant on Alabasta and Revolutionaries causing trouble on Drum and Baltigo, there was no citizen who could argue against their presence. Now Lina realized it was her actions which gave them reason to step things up.

By day she helped pay a premium to keep dive bars from ratting her and a bunch of other miscreants out. Places where the rats of the world usually flocked for alcohol and easy hook ups. Lina barely slept during these days for fear of what others around her would do. Sometimes she even wondered if it was actually safer to take her chances with the marines than hang around drunken slobs and whores who took all their money. That's just how it was down in those basements, it was usually men who were on the run or just wanted a good time and women who flocked to take their money. Lina's eyes were always on the clock, waiting for sunset to come. For even the crazy marine patrols died down during the night time with only a minimal presence at night.

Whenever sunset came she would emerge from a backroom apartment and head down a narrow ladder leading out to the general bar area. A thick cloud of smoke assaulted her senses, filling her nostrils with a musty stench mixed with alchohol and piss." Heading out lil one"? One of the good fellas was actually the lead bartender at the Salty spitoon. He generally let her sleep in his quarters during his shifts when she couldn't keep her eyes open in public. Upon reaching ground level from a small alleyway, she was greeted by a crescent moon. The business district always surprised her how quiet things were at night. Service and goods shops closed around 5 pm in our time and restaurants with the exceptions of taverns, bars, and dives closed around 9 pm. Which left most of the night pitch black. Lina often passed the Siren's den on the way to the slums, which now closed down due to its connection to Arthur. There was a public outcry against the Devil's Elixir and rumor had it, people from all over came there to try it.

She scoffed as usual and tossed a rock at its sign with a frown. " hmph good riddence", she's say as she stomped off to the slums. Occasionally here she'd find places open. Unlike the business district folk, people in the slums often stayed open longer to keep themselves afloat, especially with the new taxes rolling out from the world government. They often didn't get the business of the actual business district, so they prided themselves on being there when the bigger guys closed. Sometimes she'd find people on the sides of the road holding candles while paying their respect with their fellow mourners. Lina recoiled at the sight at first, thinking back to the last time she attended a candle light vigil in the slums. Flashbacks of a woman with coal for eyes tugging at her shirt with a rabid expression. Although each time she'd actually come to her senses and approach the group cautiously. Not even the Marines approached these vigils as a sign of respect. Since the people of the slums didn't have the money to give their dead a proper burial, most cremated their dead and held group vigils for their loved ones.

It was often customary at these vigils to tell someone you didn't know about your loved ones. She'd meet boyfriends and husbands without their woman. They'd lament how much their lives were left in disarray after they were left alone, with no one to quell their rage and no smile to come home too after lifting crates at the docks for 12 hours. She'd meet women who lost their husbands and couldn't figure out how to support their families. Good men who couldn't take the heat at work, so they took to the elixir to perform better at work. Parents of all ages who had children get into a friend's stash or rebellious teens who got hooked instead of coming home. Young men gunned down at local shops and women found tossed in some ditch later to be found choked to death as prostitutes. All the parents though, nay, all the survivors had one thin in common. That was an equal disregard for social standing and a loss of life in their eyes. Lina having abandoned her own connections back in the east blue, never knew what to say. She'd quietly nod her head and try to go for a question, but each time failed to say something of worth. It was a feeling she was unaccustomed to. One which left her speechless as the grieving walked off.

With the coming of dawn she'd find her way back to the Salty spitoon and hole herself up in her room. There lying on the table was a coin left from her adventure with Mel. She'd often stare at the coin, sometimes making poses to try and make it float. Though unlike before the coin didn't budge. It lied flat on the table 9 times out of 10, sometimes wiggling a little on a good day. " I gave up the ability ta'swim fer tis"... Yes she was remembering it like it was yesterday. Walking along that beach where she met Mel days later. Each time she'd try to make the coin float while it was in the palm of her hand. Each time it lied dormant and lifeless as one would expect an inanimate object to do. However the only thing that made her more frustrated having useless powers, was the helplessness she felt whenever she challenged the sea.That feeling of futility she felt whenever she so much as dipped her finger in the tide, her body felt weak and limp. Lina try her darnest to move, but each time the tide washed in she'd lose the ability to stand.


As she lied there limply in the dark, her body would slowly gain its strength during the downtime on the ebb and flow of the sea. She's sometimes clench her fist so hard that it'd become sore, with each joint and tendon in her arm feeling like it was on fire. " It's only in my imagination...it's only'ma imagination"... she'd say under her breath, sand flying about from her huffing and puffing and teeth grit. " Move...MOVE DAMN IT", but even her mouth didn't work. Tension built up in her system. It was as if someone had a vice grip on her chest, squeezing harder and harder while she struggled to no avail. Lina who never gave up in her life, suddenly found herself helpless whenever she was in sea water. It was alien feeling. She didn't give up when she was headbutting the Pulverizer. She didn't give up against Jack Frost in the dead of winter. Or back down after two days of fighting Arthur and his goons. Her body always moved when she told it too, no matter the circumstance. No matter the enemy at hand, she would never back down. Yet here she was, crying face first in the dirt, looking back at the sea as if it was truly the one enemy she could never face again. "I'll ne'vr git to dive in'the ocean fer treasur er learn ta surf...or ride ah seahorse again...and for WHAT? FOR THIS FUCKING FRUIT THAT CANT EVEN LIFT A GOLD COIN NOW"  ,she said, staring with killing intent at the coin resting in her palm.

Memories of the past few days started to become clear now. The den den mushis which were designated for marineford, Baltigo, and Alabasta. The man on the line who spoke as if he were higher rank, like a parent rewarding a child. The fruit which lied in a lab controlled by the government.  

"Yes it'ahl makes..sense..now..Rain dinners"...

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Chapter 8, part 5: Goodbye water 7

It wasn't long before the surge from Patcheeni's orders started to taper down. Although their presence on the island was cemented in the new officer established at the Galley La Co.'s headquarters in the upper district, business as usual slowly returned water 7. Criminals and bandits changed their habits ever so slightly, now having to use tunnels and cracks in infrastructure to get in and out of populated areas of the city. Life went on for the shipwright capital of the world, it had to in order to continue as it had. The newspapers slowly stopped covering the devil's elixir and much of the pressure on its people was being lifted. Patcheeni men suffered for their failure, but the higher ups at Baltigo and Marineford didn't want to support his little revenge scheme for a measily frost witch and some unknown cloaked girl. His focus had to shift back to results, in order to replace Arthur and continue as scheduled.

Lina never went back to the Salty spitoon in the final days, but she thanked the bartender and owner of the establishment handsomely. Lina marveled at Water 7 one last time. She followed up the great network of river ways leading to the sea elevator. Where she rode several times, just to get the feeling out of her system. She admired the view the likes of which she'd never seen outside of that sea elevator, on a bright and sunny afternoon. It was strangely perfect to her, for the weather to clear up the day she planned on departing.

She visited Dill one last time in his office. With a light tap on his door, the scruffy old bastard gave her the go ahead to come in. Filled with smoke that seemed to form a layer of its own, Lina coughed and fanned it away from her. The old man was stooped over his work, head first in paper work that she couldn't quite make out. " Capt everythi'g alright"? He looked up at her with tired blood shot eyes and simply gestured at it all. He rested his forehead on his head and poured himself a drink, " What's with you skips? You usually don't come around, especially with that shit ya pulled with price...what do you want"? She looked around at the room and drank it all in, making sure to capture the dreary paint job and the musky and dark atmosphere of his office. " Leaving soon Capt, just came to say thanks".

He took a long puff of his cigar and took a good look at skips, before shaking his head. " You're a drift'r right? Bout time ya got going girl. Take this as a parting gift", he said while sliding some cards in front of her. She picked up the lamented cards with her picture on them and some bogus name, " Shirley everson what"? He gave her a terrifying look and Lina recoiled for a second, fumbling with her card. " Things haven't changed just on water 7, but everywhere skips. If yer gonna be using the sea train, you need documentation". She nodded and placed it in her pocket with a grin. Just as she was going to open her mouth a knock interrupted the moment.

Behind her was a Galley La co. chef gesturing to the deck with a grin, " ey skips enjoy and see ya later". She peeked her head around the corner to confirm what she thought it was. The smell was rather diluted by the smell of cigar smoke, but it was familiar. Something she remembered back when she first arrived on the island and couldn't separate herself from the Galley La co. What greeted her was an oddity she had never seen though, yes it was a fish. But it wasfatter and had a thingy sticking out of its head. It was slimy and had a coarse texture and felt like it had fluid in it still. " taste that part pup its real good". She nodded and ripped off the appendage and began munching on it slowly, bit by bit to savor the taste.

" Don't go causing others trouble ya 'ere? There's already a new bounty for ya...I don't want other folk worrying about cha", he said while placing a newspaper in her lap. She grinned at Melissa's bounty, which rose quite a bit due to the incident. And her own..though she didn't know why but it too had basically doubled. She was rather perplexed because no one had a clear description of her, but she guessed someone just placed the blame on her. Afterall, who was going to believe someone who was accused of murdering over 100 people"? The two ate until the sun started to set, but before then Lina savored the saltier taste of the fish and enjoyed the different textures each layer of fat the fish had. As she was getting up to leave he gave her a den den mushi, made only to contact the Galley La co. " Take it skips, if ya get yerself into a jam in Alabasta we're only a hop and a 'Skip' away". She smiled and hugged the old bastard's head as he stared out at sea. " Git going ye'filthy pirate".

She turned to exit to back inside when she turned and said, " Yer darn tooting, ya old geezer". Lina proudly left for the train station, but recoiled for a moment. The memory of Fisher and the JONE-S brothers came back to mind as she boarded the train. " Ticket and Id mam"? Lina nervously presented the id and gulped. The new marine ticket taker's eyebrow cocked before he gave her a courtly nod. " S'all good mam. Yer free to go inside". She nodded and headed in with rosey red cheeked and clenched fists. God I hate lying. Stupid stupid stupid stupid phew. Unlike before there was nothing suspicious about this car. Hell it was a little odd to her because there wasn't a single fishman in the car. Just a bunch of relieved citizens thanking the stars it was just people. " Oh my this is my 5th ride and there's no smelly fishy hahaha". Lina grimaced at the rude lady, but deep down she couldn't help but feel relieved. For most of her interactions with them were bad, but she knew they weren't all bad.

The whistle of the train set off one last time and she peered out to see the mountainous city one last time. " Ah ull'be back someday, home away frum home".

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