Nightmare [Invites only]

[Apocalyptica]

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`` Screams echoed in her mind. Delusional thoughts of pain entered her mind. the girl's legs ran and ran. Carrying all of the burdens of pain and injuries that she had received withing a matter of couple of hours. The female's eyes were shut close as she ran blindly. Not knowing where she was going at this point. All she knew is that she needed to get out of here. Out of hell. Out of this never ending black hole that just seemed to be sucking her back in as she lost more of her main strength.

`` The female ran through a blue of surroundings. A man pursuing her far behind. She couldn't remember what the man looked like though. But that was important. She wanted out. The darkness finally ended, she busted through a brick wall, adding another injury to her list of current injuries she had at the moment. Debris flew everywhere as the little girl fell through the wall. The concrete crumbled as if they were nothing as the girl opened her eyes to a sight she had haven't saw in two years. The stars. The night sky. The coolness of the fresh air on her flesh.

`` She actually stood still, her crimson eyes stared into the night sky. She was actually wondering what these magnificent sights are. It was a peaceful sight to her. So peaceful that the female didn't actually mind dying right here in this spot. A loud boom interrupted the girl's dazed trance. Snapping back to reality, her eyes widened as she had realized that she was outside of the base. Her legs found some strength as she took off into a sprint. Her light blonde hair whipping behind her head. Her crimson eyes focused on the sea.

`` The sea was her escape from this dreadful world. The only escape. Salt water washed around her body as she dove into the ocean. The darkness was coming back again. The female floated in the ocean limply, instantly losing all of her strength to carry on. Was this the end?

-Two days later.

`` The sun rays danced on the sparkling sand. Palm trees leaves wavered in the gentle breeze. The female had been washed ashore. Apparently she had found a piece of driftwood and drifted all the way from Grand Line out to East Blue. The female was still out. Dried blood was still left on her body. Some cuts were made into the flesh from the flying debris and attacks from the marines as she fled the base.

`` Though she had no memory of this. Just brief blurry memories. Darkness still covered her eyes as she laid there in the sand. She looked... well... dead. After a couple of minutes of lying there, she started coughing as if she haven't breathed air this whole time. Her fingers twitched and move as she tried to flip herself over. But the efforts proved to be a failure. She felt so weak. The female slowly opened her crimson eyes, closing them tightly as the sunlight shone. It was so bright. Almost like the lights above a experiment table. Was she back? She hoped not.

`` She opened her eyes once again. Then she realized she was still outside. The strange light shining down on her still. What is this strange world? She felt so alienated. The waves lightly washed upon to her feet. She could not move, not yet at least. But she had partly gotten back her conciseness back.

[Sean]

A thud occurred as the ship slammed itself onto a rocky shore. The shake was powerful enough shake some sense into Sean, who had been resting himself inside a nice enclosed room, which he called his 'office'. As of now it was merely an empty room with a desk and a chair. other than a few pieces of furniture, the ship was quite empty on decoration. By now; Sean, Juli and Eddy had been travelling on sea for a few days. None had any real clue of where they were going, other than a compass which gave them the general idea that they were heading north. As of now, it would be a poor decision to head into the grand line now, not without a better crew and a skilled navigator to direct the ship. There was only so much a compass could do. The plan was now to head up north, away from the Grand Line, and search for a qualified navigator in that hemisphere.

Now back in reality, Sean immediately rushed outside onto deck, looking down over the deck edge. That was it, dry land! "Juli! We've hit an island!" he exclaimed, quite eager to get off his ship now and explore this new-found land. Soon after Juli arrived, Sean had rushed over to the crank to operate the mechanism, lowering down the anchor to rest upon the sea bed. That should stop the ship from drifting away now. It was always easy to set the anchor down, but there was difficulty Sean suffered when the time came to pull the anchor back up. Obviously he was not the strongest of people and would need brute strength to lift it back up when the time came. Though, that's a bridge to cross once the time came. Now he was rather proud over his accomplishment in landing over his first island. "Well Juli, you think we are going to find any recruits here?" Sean asked in an almost optimistic tone. Perhaps the first island was always optimistic for pirates, maybe it was just that 'beginners luck' ideal talking. Nevertheless, Sean was well aware islands may not have civilisation and so this may just be a baron wasteland for all he knew.

Next up, Sean lowered down a ramp which acted as a platform for them to reach the white rocked beach. Sean walked down first and took a step onto dry land. Ah, it was good to be back on a stone floor once more. It felt somewhat strange, no longer where they rocked about anymore. Instead it was fixed and still as ever. There was a lot Sean had to familiarise himself with again after drifting on a ship for a few days. he had to go through that process before when he was previously a pirate in the Black Cats. Besides that, as a pirate once more, he now had to get use to the feeling of being on land and being on a boat again. Now being a captain, it simply added to the determination for him to experience and learn much more.

[Juli]

Atop the upper deck of the yet to be named ship, Juli found herself sitting in a chair snatched from another room, bathing in the bright sun, dazing in and out of consciousness. Not like the was anything to do here, or anything. She guessed she could mess around in the water, but didn’t really feel up to it, or much of anything. Eddy on the other hand, was in the water, perfectly healthy once more.

Juli’s daze was interrupted when the entire ship shuddered from a collision. Juli jumped up, looking around to see the cause. The first thing she glimpsed was the island they landed on. The shore she could view was dreadfully close. Is that what they hit?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sean called for her, mentioning that they hit an island. Juli knew, of course, but she said nothing as she headed to the lower deck. She arrived to see Sean lowering the anchor. Juli suddenly worried for Eddy. Stepping of the side of the boat, she called into the water, “Eddy!”

A growl from the shore alerted her. She turned her head to see Eddy yawning on the coast already. Juli huffed; the Umima had no manners! The least he could have down was try and keep them from hitting, or tell them there was an island. Oh well, nothing they could do now, though she’d have some words with the bear later.

“Well Juli, you think we are going to find any recruits here?” Sean asked before lowering the ramp.

Juli glanced at the island, not seeing anything from this point. Forests, sure, once you got past the coast, but nothing marking any civilization. “Well, I’m more worried about supplies... but maybe.” Juli slipped down the ramp and called Eddy over, climbing onto his back with a grateful pat. “Ready?” She asked Sean, curious about what civilization was here...

[Apocalyptica]

`` Faint coughs escaped her mouth, as if choking on the lack of air. Her lung and heart worked rapidly to get the air flowing in her inner system. The female let out steady breathing motions. Her crimson eyes still faint, as if they could lose the look of life within them. Slowly her arms moved to the point where she could push herself onto her back on the sand. The female moved her head to the side after feeling slight vibrations move among the tiny grains of sand.

`` She heard a faint voice. No. Two voices. One male and one female. The girl continued to lie on the sand, unmoving. She tried her best not to lose the conciseness again. She needed to be awake. What if those two voices belonged to marines? She'd be in trouble for sure. She didn't want to go back to that hell hole. The female then tried to remember what she was running from. She couldn't remember it. But she know that she needed to avoid marines or any government officials.

`` The female tried to remember her own name too. All she could remember was the number 122112. Perhaps her I.D. number? That seemed to clicked within her mind. Then she remembered she was nicknamed 'Apocalyptica'. Apocalyptica blinked as she stared at the light blue sky. She tried to use her arms to sit up, but her arms were still too weak to actually get her to stand up. Looks like she was going to lie down for a while until her full recovery. But things were going to be different if those voices were marines. She she would for sure be taken somewhere and be held captive. Never to see this world again.

`` More coughing sounds were heard. Only louder and sturdy this time. Which was a good sign. She was recovering. But she needed many hours of rest to be fully walking around and for her robotic system to boot up.

[Sean]

He gave Juli some time to slide down the ramp and hop onto her mount. Sean was sure to bring along with him his black suitcase which he kept the notorious cat claws in. The wind of the coastline blew some streaks of hair over his face and the bottom end of his black trench coat flapped in the sea breeze. As she hopped onto her mount, Sean could hear the faint noise, quite difficult to detect with the battering of the waves and the blowing of the wind. Sean concentrated harder on his hearing sense perception, he could hear the noises of coughing and it was quite clear that it must have been human now. Sean turned his head toward Juli, but it was not Juli or Eddy he was looking at. Behind Juli a few meters away, where the rocky edge gradually crumbled up into a sand beach, there was a humanoid figure laying on the beach. The sun shun directly onto Sean so it was hard to make out anymore.

“Ready?” Juli asked him. Though Sean kept his attention fixed on the figure behind Juli. "Yes. And I think we may hae just found civilisation." He pointed toward the direction of the figure laying on the beach. It let out more coughing sounds, and judging from that, it seemed to grow louder. That didn't sound healthy at all! "Maybe we should take a look?" He suggested to Juli, before walking forward off the white rocky ground and onto the sand.

As soon as he got close enough, he examined who the person was now. Just a girl; a girl who didn't look well at all. Pale in fact, as if there was something wrong internally and with those marks and injuries on her, externally too. She was wet, so she couldn't have fallen off the white cliff behind them, as Sean hunched at first. She must have been washed up from the ocean. Sean noticed that her eyes were open, the girl was conscious and alive, quite ironic for a dead looking girl. Usually Sean took a 'survival of the fittest' philosophy and would simply leave the girl now to suffer her demise. Simply let nature take it's place. Yet, in this case, she seemed young; there was no need to witness her die right now. "Juli, I understand that you have some skills in medicine and first aid right? Think you can help her for now?" Sean recognized Juli's abilities and this would be quite useful for them all. Sean was no doctor nor that knowledgeable when it came to in depth medicine. Yet with Juli around, who knew a more in aid than Sean, they may as well attempt to help this girl.

[Juli]

“Yes. And I think we may have just found civilization.”

“Hmm?” Juli responded, before turning in the direction of the pointed finger. Was it...a person? Sean headed off, and Eddy followed, slowly and steadily.

When Juli got there, Sean was still examining the body. It was...just a little girl with white hair. Juli frowned; those wounds looked awful. Sean spoke up, “Juli, I understand that you have some skills in medicine and first aid right? Think you can help her for now?”

“Uh, buh. Er...is that what I said?” Juli sputtered grimacing. She scratched her head nervously and explained, “Well, it’s more like I’m trying to learn...I’m don’t know nearly enough to be a professional...” Juli glanced down at the girl again, who let out a painful cough. “But I’ll try!” Juli added, feeling pity for the poor thing.

Hopping down from Eddy, she shuffled through her sack of things, withdrawing bandages and disinfectants. She wasn’t sure how much they’d help, but anything would be better than nothing. Juli got to work, wondering if there was someone more qualified somewhere on the island.

[Apocalyptica]

`` The voice got closer... and closer. The female tried to see if they were marines or not. But she couldn't tell still. Her breathing was still shallow from the lack of water. She tried to lick her lips wet, but her tongue was dried. Apocalyptica heard the two talk as they sought the female on the shore. "Juli, I understand that you have some skills in medicine and first aid right? Think you can help her for now?"

`` So they aren't marines. At least Apocalyptica hoped so. If they were marines, then they were certainly dumb not to know this female was is a runaway. “Uh, buh. Er...is that what I said?” said a female voice, sputtering as if she was nervous. ]“Well, it’s more like I’m trying to learn...I’m don’t know nearly enough to be a professional...” said the girl. Apocalyptica stared at the girl with a blank gaze before the darkness crept back into her vision. “But I’ll try!” That was the last thing she heard.

--Time Skip--
(A couple of hours later)

`` The light haired female let out a groan as she slowly opened her crimson eyes. She looked at the wooden ceiling above, she blinked. Last time she saw was a bright blue sky. She sat up, looking around seeing that she was in a room on a bed. Apparently she felt a whole a lot better than she had before. Taking the covers of her, she stood up from the bed. Apparently she had mostly recovered.

`` Her crimson eyes explored the room, spotting a door that led to outside. Placing her hand on the door knob and turning it to open it. Her orbs caught the sight of the exotic sky once again and a small smile appeared on her face. Happy to see the sky again. Apocalyptica wandered out onto the deck, letting the sun rays shine down on her. She felt so free. Actually. She is free. She realized that at last. "Free." said the female. The word rolled off her tongue so nicely, it even seemed to give her an burst of energy. Like she wanted to take of running out of joy. But she was still quite weak to do so.

`` Then she remembered the two people. Did they save her? If so, then where have they gone off to? Apocalyptica looked around, searching for the two.

[Sean]

((Heh, just to get her on. I have been granted permission to control Apocalyptica up to the ship.))

Sean took notice on Juli's sensitivity on the subject, though he remained please to know that Juli quickly overcame that and would still make an attempt to aid the girl. "Well, you're the most proficient with first aid out of us. Now your skills are required." Sean explained, since there was not much else he could do now. It was time for Juli to go under the spotlight and use her theory on first aid. Then again, it was like a test to see if the theory she knew would equal the final result. Sean sat down on a nearby rock and observed Juli as she began to work the healing process on the girl.

Eventually the girl passed out once more. "Maybe we should move position? She is probably dehydrated and cold out here. Perhaps it's best that we move her into one the the rooms on board?" Sean suggested. Regardless, Sean was ready to take her back onto the ship once Juli was done. He awaited for Juli to finish off the rest of her aid, short term aid, before he kneeled down to lift up the girl. That's strange? Sean knew he was physically weak, but not that weak! He couldn't be incapable of even budging a girl slightly. She felt as if she weighed a large rock. Sean struggled to lift up the girl with both hands. Instead he gave up and stood back up, examining her some more. There was no way a small and slim girl like her could weigh so much. "Juli..." At this moment Sean was lost for words. Was this actually a buffer Sean had received? Or was this girl actually weighing digits that were drastically unrealistic.

"Juli she wont budge..." it took some time, but Sean struggled to push the words out of his mouth. At that point, the girl opened her eyes once more. She opened her mouth to speak, but the speech just didn't come out. It was no good to speak now, it would only drain what little energy she had. But she had to use some energy for now. Perhaps conscious of the plan, she found the strength to lift herself up in a poor and unstable posture. Gradually, Sean aided her onto the ship. She struggled and limped across the shore line, but eventually she made it and collapsed once again upon the bed. Sean let out a sigh of relief and leaned himself against the wall. "Well that's done now." He turned back to Juli and acknowledged her concern for the well being of the female. Maybe if Juli was not with Sean, he would have most likely stuck with his philosophy and left the girl to die on the beach. Though, this was not the case now, the girl was under their hospitality.

After some time in silence, Sean was the first to speak out, suggesting a new plan which he had taken time to assess in his mind. "Ok Juli. It would not be quite ideal to leave the girl here alone now. So how about this?" Sean cleared his throat before continuing. "You can come with me if you wish or stay here. But I will scout ahead and see if I can find a settlement nearby. There I will be able to stock up on any first aid supplies you need. Or otherwise, all the general supplies we need." No matter what Juli decided, Sean would accept her decision and afterwards, he will move out to gather whatever they needed. Perhaps there, he may even find someone worthy enough to join the Fleeting Shadows.

--Time Skip--

Unluckily, Sean had returned enthusiastic about nothing. His intention to find a new crew mate proved unsuccessful, though on the brighter side, he was able to return with the supplies the party needed. "And it's good to be back!" he exclaimed, feeling quite accustomed to his new home, the ship. And with that, it was at least a good feeling to return after a disappointment. On his way to place down the items he had gathered in his arms, he was interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open and the sound of feet banging on the wooden floor. 'That's not Juli or Eddy'. He was startled to see that small girl coming out of one of the rooms from the ship. "You- You're up?"

[Juli]

Juli began to administer care on the young girl as Sean and Eddy looked on. She spread a salve on the nastiest wounds before covering it with a bandage. She honestly did not know what the salve did, as she bought it elsewhere, but It seemed to help Eddy some, but maybe he was just a fast healer... Plus, her bandage tying could use work.

Juli also noted a few other things. One was that the poor girl was dehydrated. Juli hadn’t really known about that happening until she began to spend more time on land recently. It seemed to happen faster to her than to Sean though; probably because of her years living in the water. As Juli lifted the girl’s limbs to tie the bandages better, she also noted how heavy they were, but passed it off and continued to work.

Minutes later, she breathed a sigh of relief as she finished. It was still a shoddy job...maybe there was a doctor somewhere on the island?

Juli backed away from the girl, trying to think of what to do, when Sean said, “Maybe we should move position? She is probably dehydrated and cold out here. Perhaps it's best that we move her into one of the rooms on board?”

Juli nodded in agreement as Sean moved to lift her. Juli would have offered, but she didn’t have a leg to stand on, and she didn’t want to test how delicate Eddy could be, worrying for the girl’s safety. Sean tried to lift her, but was struggling to find the right words.

“Juli she won’t budge…” Sean said, flabbergasted as he tried, and failed to move her. Juli blinked in shock, thinking it was just her, but apparently, there was something else entirely.

"I thought...er...buh?" Juli stammered as Sean managed to get her up, though the girl seemed to be doing most of the work. They began to move back to the ship, eventually making their way to one of the empty, single rooms. Sean moved the girl to the bed and took a moment to rest. “Well that’s done now.”

Juli looked at the girl again, trying to think of what else he could do for the girl here. Sean interrupted her thoughts, “Ok Juli. It would not be quite ideal to leave the girl here alone now. So how about this? You can come with me if you wish or stay here. But I will scout ahead and see if I can find a settlement nearby. There I will be able to stock up on any first aid supplies you need. Or otherwise, all the general supplies we need.”
Juli pondered for a moment before answering. “I’ll stay here. I guess someone should watch the ship, right?”

An agreement reached, Sean headed out onto the island, while Juli remained on the ship with Eddy.

Now with a bit more in the way of supplies available, Juli continued her treatment of the girl, giving her water and fixing up a few more of her wounds. If there was anything internal though, then Juli was ill-equipped to deal with it. If there was civilization here, they definitely needed to see a doctor, if only to make sure Juli didn’t mess up too bad...

Confident she couldn’t do much more, she retreated to the kitchen. She doubted the girl had eaten anything in a while either...shame Juli couldn’t cook. She grew up with servants who did that for her, delivering straight to a table kept in her room, always keeping her distance so she never stung anyone. She was really paranoid about it back then, as if she feared that just touching them with a bare hand would hurt! When she was about the age of the girl they just found, now that she thought about it. Giggling a bit, she decided to take a quick trip to the ocean, hoping to find something they didn’t need to cook. The longer they could stretch out their supplies, the less they’d need to buy, and the less they’d need to steal. Right up Juli’s ally.

She slid onto the deck and called to Eddy, “Eddy! I’m going into the water! Watch the ship and scare off anyone who isn’t Sean! Or the little girl!” The Umima gave a growl of assurance...which Juli heard from above. The mermaid looked up to see that Eddy had climbed into the crow’s nest. “Eddy, what are you...never mind...” She sighed, exasperated at his antics. She reached the ramp down and went down, before circling back to the coast and entering the ocean. She swam around for an hour or two...

Too worried to ever stray to far from the ship, Juli checked the shore often. At one point, she thought she saw Sean returning. Regretting that she found little, she figured that she had at least killed some time. She hastily swam towards the ship, reaching it in no time. Intending to speedily shoot up onto the deck, she failed when she found that the shores were still shallow in the low tide, stopping just short of sliding painfully across the rocks. She carefully headed back up on the shore, moving to the ramp to see Sean on deck. “Hello Sean! Did you find anyth-“ Juli began, before she got high enough to see the girl was now awake.

“You-You’re up?” Sean stuttered.

Juli moved farther up the deck, getting a bit closer to the young girl. “You’re walking! That’s excellent,” Juli smiled, both grateful that she was okay and that Juli probably didn’t mess anything up. “How are you feeling?”

[Apocalyptica]

`` The little female girl turned around to see one of the people from earlier. A big smile flashed across her face. She looked like nothing more than a simply little girl. “Hello Sean! Did you find anyth-“ said a female voice. "You- You're up?" asked the male, he seemed to be startled by the fact that she was up and walking about. “You’re walking! That’s excellent,” said the female, smiling. Apocalyptica turned to see the girl on the deck. “How are you feeling?” asked the female.

`` Her crimson eyes looked at the girl. "I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to you guys. I'm assuming you're the ones who saved me from my darkest hour. I am in your debt." said the little girl as she bowed slightly to the two. Her crimson eyes looked back at the male, instantly her internal system woke up as it searched for files and records as her eyes scanned his face. Her database pulled up the basic information. This man was named Sean Kuro. A pirate captain, with a bounty hanging over his head. Apocalyptica blinked, making the files and records close down.

`` Had they found out that she was a cyborg? She did not know. Though they probably noted how heavy she was when they tried to carry her on board. The little girl instantly smiled more. "Oh I seems like I have no yet introduced myself yet! My name is Apocalyptica, Nice to meet you Captain Sean and Juli." said Apocalyptica as she pulled also pulled up Juli's name in her internal database. Her blonde hair gently played around in the light breeze.

`` "I'm sorry if I had been such of a burden to you." said the girl apologetically. Bowing once again to the two people before her. This female looked no more than 10 years old. Her smiles seemed so innocent, so naive just to make almost anyone fall for her innocence. However this girl is more than it meet to the eye. A whistle could be heard faintly in the distance. The little girl's eyes widened as she heard the familiar sound of a cannon ball whistling. She snapped around and saw an incoming cannonball. Frightened and scared, she instantly closed her eyes tightly.

`` The cannonball missed on purpose as Apocalyptica opened her eyes. She spotted a ship out on the sea. Blues wood, white sails, blue logo. Marines. Apocalyptica's face was a look of fear. "Whoever you are, please hand over the girl. She is a dangerous person and will possibly cause harm to you. For your safety, we demand that you hand the little girl over. If you fail to comply, we will use force." a voice amplified by a den den mushi sounded out toward the trio. Apocalyptica looked at Sean as if she was waiting for his answer. His answer will decide Apocalyptica's fate.

[Sean]

She seemed so injured before, that it was unrealistic for the young girl to begin walking around on the ship. Was that even healthy? Wouldn't she need to be in bed resting? Sean was too puzzled with questions that burst inside his head like fireworks, to notice that Juli got back on deck. Rather than Sean, Juli took it really well and went straight into engaging in conversation with the girl. Sean merely shrugged off the questions now. Despite his doubts, his perceptions told him that the girls must be healthy now. Maybe this should be a good time to let her get off the ship?

"I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to you guys. I'm assuming you're the ones who saved me from my darkest hour. I am in your debt." Debt? Sean replayed it through his head. Although from a grown man or woman, that word would probably be the valuable word to pull out in return for rewards or services, it did not seem as if much debt could come from a small girl. Sean continued to listen to what else the girl had to say, though on her introduction, Sean was drawing to the conclusion that this could not be an ordinary girl. "Apocalyptica" Sean mumbled to himself, repeating that name. That was no ordinary name for a human being, what an odd name for a child. Though did not smash Sean's trail of thought as her next statement, which was knowing the names of both Sean and Juli. Not only that, but Sean's position as captain. Sure, she may have seen a bounty poster. But they were nowhere near big enough for news to spread out so fast. A petty bounty like theirs was too little of a concern for the marines to inform the public.

Glaring down at her now, Apocalyptica made herself out to be like an ordinary child. Yet Sean was suspicious of her, she knew his name and Juli's when they had not even greeted themselves. This all seemed too odd. Despite any of that, Sean was a pirate, Apocalyptica was a child. Sean was a very unlikely person to fall for any innocence, even from a child. And in this case, she had to leave the ship. But before Sean would move onto that topic, there was just one thing to cover. "So Apocalyptica. Why do you know our-" Sean was interrupted by the loud explosion, followed by the whistle of a sphere traveling through the air. Cannon fire! That's when Sean noticed the blue naval ship out at sea. The word 'Marines' embedded on the ship's sails. So they opened fire now? This was perhaps the end. Their anchor was still gripped onto the sea floor, they were crippled, unable to move. The cannon ball would end it all.

"Whoever you are, please hand over the girl. She is a dangerous person and will possibly cause harm to you. For your safety, we demand that you hand the little girl over. If you fail to comply, we will use force." That was no attack, that was a warning shot. Sean was not quite sure whether to feel relief or hostility right now. Inferring from what they have said, they did not know of Sean or Juli being on the ship. In all honesty, surrendering the girl would be ideal, had they not a bounty. It was not that simple to do so. Even if they did hand the girl over, the marines would be sure to recognize Sean and Juli and provoke the end of brinkmanship, engaging in a full out fight. It's not that Sean was willing to protect Apocalyptica, but that he was willing to protect himself. "I have a plan, let us use the element of surprise." he whispered to Juli and Apocalyptica. "Very well gentlemen! Please do come over and we shall discuss our trade!" Sean called out, his voice traveling to the ears of the marines. With that, he would allow them some time to approach the ship. "Prepare for close combat." Sean simply warned the others. He stepped inside, disposing of all the items by placing it on the empty kitchen table. They can be sorted out later. Now, Sean did a little preparation for himself and resorted to his fine weapons. Opening his black suitcase, he the cat claws shun a divine aura into Sean's eyes.

[Juli]

"I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to you guys. I'm assuming you're the ones who saved me from my darkest hour. I am in your debt," the young girl said. Juli sighed in relief, feeling both satisfaction that the girl was okay and a little pride that her treatment worked! Juli wasn’t sure if she should be walking quite yet though. Isn’t that always what doctors said after their treatment was done?

"Oh I seems like I have no yet introduced myself yet! My name is Apocalyptica, Nice to meet you Captain Sean and Juli," She continued. Juli double taked: how did she know their names? Well, Juli had just mentioned Sean’s...maybe she had heard Juli’s earlier? Juli concluded that it wasn’t anything to worry about. How she knew Sean was a Captain though, was another story.

But that name...Apocalyptica? That sounded like a name to run away from really fast. It wasn’t even a real name! Juli didn’t really ‘get it’. Maybe it was a human thing?

“So Apocalyptica. Why do you know our-“ Sean began, before the whistling and explosion of a cannonball interrupted. The explosion rocked the ship a bit, causing Juli to cry out, shocked. The Marine announcement rang out. Did they want...the Apocalyptica girl?

“I have a plan, let us use the element of surprise,” Sean said, before answering the Marines. He turned back to Juli and Apocalyptica and said, “Prepare for close combat,” before retreating to the back.

Juli’s jaw hung open. She turned back to the ship, then to where Sean vanished off too. He was seriously thinking about fighting!? This was nothing like at the docks a few days ago! Who knows who could be on that ship?

“Seeeaaaan!” Juli said, slightly panicky as she followed him. “What are you thinking?”

...Several feet above them, Eddy the Umima lazily slept in the crows nest. The cannonball earlier had caused him to stir, but it would take more than that to wake the sea bear.