Mission #1: Exhuming and Grave Robberies [Ritz]

[Lawrence Pure Regent]

The sky darkened as a Marine camp was set up near the extravagant town inside Nihilus. Around this time, the snow had often blinded many as the cold also took away their sense of touch, two major traits to living. The town looked stunningly beautiful in the dark, especially as their lights shined brightly in the dim night of Nihilus. Normal carriages and sleds were worth nothing if you were to ever to go to Nihilus. The snow lowered mobility much more than what you normally would expect and while being numb, expect the feeling of wanting to jump into a bonfire, if one could ever light up in Nihilus that is. Inside the marine just outside of the town, large groups of soldiers huddled up into bunches, trying to receive as much heat as they possibly can get. But one soldier was apart from the group, and that was of course the one and only Seaman Recruit, Lawrence Pure Regent. Though he was quite exceptionally cold, the feeling of cuddling with men freaked him out, enough to make him stray outside the group, away from male hands. The young adult was sent here to finish a task, and thankfully, it was not under Officer Musker, who was no longer in command at Louguetown. hI-i-I h-hate thisssssc..h Managing to sputter the words out of his mouth, Lawrence rigidly looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for the captain of this mission of course, who stood up, unfazed by the cold.

gAlright. I know you are all cold, but I will proceed to remind you of why we are here.h Bringing out a piece of parchment, the officer cleared his throat before he proceeded to read off of it.h A group of grave robbing bandits have once again exhumed from the dead. They seem to go to the Nihilus grave yard and dig up the treasures buried alongside the bodies of wealthy folk. Storm the grave yard at midnight and put an end to the grave robbers.h Clearing his throat once more, the officer placed the paper in his back pocket before he stared at each and every one of his soldiers for the mission. hPrepare to go in ten minutes! If you are not prepared, expect some punishment later!h Sitting down, the officer tilted his cap toward his face, and laid down calmly. Lawrence then stared blankly as he had managed to warm up his hands for a few seconds. Normally he would be chatty like all the other marines at the moment, but he felt somewhat depressed at the moment. hHey, do this! Hey do that! Ifm chill with everything else except being worked like Ifm being paid a million belifs an hour.h[/i] Feeling a bit ticked off, Lawrence looked around, but as he did, his frown turned into a wide smile. And of course, the recruit had recognized her immediately. When he was back in Louguetown a few days ago, the girl was one of the soldiers sent to help with the protection of the dock, which failed quite horribly. Getting up to walk closer to her, Lawrence gave his trademark smile, and looked at her face. Yup, definitely was on Louguetown during the incident on the dock. hHey, w-whatfs up?h Lawrence smiled as his teeth chattered uncontrollably, but he felt slightly warmer and composed in front of the girl. What can you say? Women made Lawrencefs world go round.

[ritz]

A long black cloak covered a young female marine as she sighed. She was leaning against a large shield which was currently strapped to her right arm.As one of the few female marines that these men saw a few of them had gotten a little too close..though she would blame the cold a bit there. Still she had managed to make it clear that she wanted to be left alone at least for the time being. And it seemed the men respected that though every now and then a question or statement would be turned to her and she would respond. Despite the chill though, her cloak and her armor kept her warm enough so she was not shivering.

She had stood silently with the rest as the orders were given and she began to check her gear. Her sword had not stuck from frost yet and her shield was cleaned and ready to go. It was then her little world of solitude was entered as a man carrying a nodachi approached her a friendly smile on his face. It was the marine she had seen only briefly during the defense of the docks..a defense that might have worked had people stayed at their posts instead of completely abandoning them. It also might have helped it the idiot Musker had created a mobile squad but what could one do? "Hello there....did you need something from me?"

[Lawrence Pure Regent]

Lawrence smiled brightly as he heard the girl respond. At least she wasnft going to ignore him, which was probably one of the most unforgettable moves a female could do to Lawrence. hIfm pretty sure nothing so farc..what do you think about the mission?h Trying to continue the conversation, Lawrence inched a bit closer to the female marine as the camp was in total silence now, obviously tensed up about what are they going to do in the next five minutes. As for Lawrence, he was actually pretty skeptical about this too, as it was his most dangerous mission yet. Stopping a group of madmen while they were in the freezing snow? Who wouldnft prefer to have these events be all just a dream? Taking a quick glance at the leader of this mission, Lawrence himself was quite surprised. The officer was calm as a native in his homeland when it was at its best. hBoy, I wish this guy would transfer to Louguetownc.h[/i] Lawrence thought to himself as he turned back to face the female marine. Being under Musker for quite a while, Lawrence had found himself enjoying whatever chance he got to take a quick little trip to another island, but for this mission, Lawrence of course had loathed coming here, but now he didnft hate it the slightest bit. This officer had skill, setting an example for the rest of the marines proved to be the best method at dangerous times like this, what a pro. Attention now focusing on the girl, Lawrence lifted his head before he brought up his right hand towards his nodachi.

hMy name is Lawrence, and wellch Thinking of whatever witty comment he had, Lawrence gripped the nodachi with his right hand even more. hAh! Alright, I was just wondering if you wanted to back me up when wefre on this mission~! g Smiling, Lawrence had of course, noticed the girlfs shield, which was oddly peculiar, but Lawrence didnft really mind. Whatever chance he had coming towards him, Lawrence made sure he would use it to get closer to her, even if it was a life and death situation. Ending that sentence, Lawrence had then heard a ethumpf sound, which seemed to have brought half the marines in the camp into utter silence. The one who had made the sound of course, was the officer. hAlright marines! Itfs time to go! And remember, anyone that dies today will not die in vain. I personally shall make sure of it! Let us depart!h Voice sounding fearless and kingly, the officer was the first to step out of the camp doors along with his sword and pistol, the officer didnft bother to look back at his small army, having confidence that they will all know what the right thing to do was. Getting up, as every other marine did, Lawrence made his way towards the exit, but unlike the others, Lawrence looked back, and waited for the girl. Now taking off his nodachi and holding it to his side, Lawrence eyed the girl and smiled for a bit. gWell, you got my back?h Turning around, the marine now walked out of the exit, but he did it slowly, obviously waiting for his ally for the mission.

[ritz]

"The mission? seems like a basic mission to me, they may have some level of armament maybe even a Devil Fruit but other than that I do not think we have much to worry about if we can keep our heads about us" She would shift a bit lifting her shield out of the ground as she stretched her neck some. This mission was not going to be a long one but for the time it would take it was going to be intense. Her free hand came up to adjust the hood of her cloak a bit to keep out the cold air. She wa snot worried about the fabric getting int he way though as the cloak and been designed to be worn in battle.

She would turn to listen tot he marine leader as he spoke his voice cool and calm. She liked this man he seemed like a good leader unlike that Captain Musker, a fool of a marine is what he was. She would watch as the marine she was talking would walk a bit but turn back asking if she was going to watch his back. She would smile a bit. She liked this guy..he was alright for now. "Yeah..as long as you watch mine." Lifting her shield she would follow them.

[Lawrence Pure Regent]

hAwesome~!h Lawrence said now as he turned around again to follow the rest of the marines on the path to the grave robbers. Shivering for a bit, Lawrence made out his surroundings, which consisted of nothing but a few trees and snow. Seeing as how the rest of the marines were shivering as well, it at least reassured Lawrence that he wasnft the only one that felt like he was soon going the turn into an ice sculpture. Inside, Lawrence felt a bunch of mixed feelings while he walked behind them. He felt like he was a pot, and ingredients were being dumped onto him as quickly as possible.

While walking (though snow of course blinded most of his vision), Lawrence had now saw less trees then when they had started off into the snow. More evidence that many people had traveled upon this path was placed on the floor of the snow or even heard when a marine stepped on a buried trinket. It had seemed like a lot of people lose items on this path, and didnft even bother to try to recover it. They probably must have realized how dangerous their environment really is. hWish one of them could at least offer a mapch[/i] Chattered Lawrence quietly as he started to move faster, hoping that it could at least warm up his legs a bit. Believe it or not, Lawrence had felt somewhat cautious of following this road, because one, they werenft really directed by a map of any kind. Even if you had lived on this island for many years, the snow could always cover up trails, as well as blow away signs that told you where a city was. And two, the grave robbers may have set up look outs for their group. So a map could actually be a perk, as it could help them choose the least obvious (but safe) road, and finish their objective without many casualties.

The trail of footsteps by the marines soon halted as the captain of the squad lifted his right arm, signaling for them to stop as well as be quiet. Getting a better glimpse at what was happening; the recruit soon realized why the leader had told them to stop. There in front of them, was the graveyard. And inside the graveyard, were the figures of possibly at least thirty grave robbers, digging up every grave they could possibly find. hW-what do we d-do now?h Lawrence whispered, voice sounding very curious on what they were about to do now. hIfll attack the front while you all cover the sides and the back of the graveyard. We mustnft let them escape! I pray you all good fortune!h The officer replied as he unsheathed his sword and grabbed his pistol. An odd fighting style, was he planning to fight hand to hand while shooting them down with his second weapon? But there was no time for them to observe right now, they had a plan to follow. hAa-lrightccIfll t-take the back.h Moving first, Lawrence made a run for it towards the back of the graveyard. It was do or die.

[ritz]

Ritz followed Lawrence as he headed off towards the back of the graveyard to cut off the grave robber's escape. She raised her shield slightly as to block the snow from cutting off her vision. The weather was not going to be helping this mission has it would provide cover to any of the grave robbers whom tried to make a run for it.

She stopped as Lawrence did her large shield int front of the two of them in case any of the robbers opened fire. "so then..did you have a plan or are we just going to wait here and see what happens?" She shifted her shield a bit as she heard gunfire. "Hmm...seems it's starting"

[Lawrence Pure Regent]

hPlan? Not one that I know of at least.h A wide grin was placed upon his face as the snow continued to fall to the ground. Sounds of battle began to start from the distance when the marinefs left hand now fell towards his nodachifs handle and pulled it out to show the enemies his weapon of war. Out in the distance, the leader of their squad gracefully shot down one graverobber while cutting another one from behind him. Now the sounds of gunfire could be heard throughout the snowy field as many grave robbers cried out, charging at their ambushers. Clang! Pick axes flew across the field while the adrenaline of battle had seemed to be pumping both allies and enemies alike. Gritting his teeth now, Lawrence placed his right hand on one of the graves as both of the recruits were still hidden from the sights of robbers. hI guess itfs about time right nowcch Mouth moving towards his left hand, Lawrence stabbed his nodachi into the ground as he now revealed a single white glove worn on the hand. hWith this single hand, I shall protect all that needs to be protected!h Chuckling, Lawrence now picked up his nodachi and wiped of the snow that clung to the blade. hHaha! Pretty cheesy right?h

Rushing into the battlefield, Lawrence made dives towards gravestones to avoid any bullets fired by his fellow navy men. As one of the grave robbers came close by the gravestone Lawrence hid behind, the marine made a quick movement, thrusting his sword at the enemyfs arm. At the last second, the marine lifted it up a few centimeters, letting the weapon graze the robberfs arm and injure him to the point where he had gotten scared, fleeing. Getting up, Lawrence now looked around at the battlefield until he saw where the commander had been. Slicing and shooting, the commander was brilliantly defeating them one by one, and to Lawrencefs surprise, he was managing to keep them from dying! hYou see that?! Brilliant!h Looking back, Lawrence thought he would see the face of the girl, but instead saw the large hands of a grave robber, who already had his hands raised, prepared to strike down on his soon-to-be killed preyc..