To New Beginnings.

Freedom. What was it like to be free? A world without chains and hands stained with blood. Even if they were long gone, the echos of slaves in agony filled her mind and the tears they once shed felt etched into her skin. She remembered all of their faces and how they were able to take a full, fresh breath in her care. Only one. The clinking of chains and the whispers of the marines around her would draw her cluttered mind back to reality. The sea prism stone wrapped around her wrists and ankles made her stomach churn. Would she ever be free or was death her only option?

She remembered what they had asked of her. She spent her whole life as a slave only to be sold off as a pawn in a larger game that she had no control over. Well, that was until she refused to do as they wanted. The marines were corrupt and more dangerous than any organization she had ever been connected to. They wanted her to experiment for them using her devil fruit powers. They wanted her to harm innocent lives and turn them into playthings for their cause. Right then and there she decided that she would never be apart of something like that. She was done being forced to do what other people wanted.

As she shuffled her way to the gallows, the chains clanging together and rubbing against her skin could be heard through the streets. The civilians branding her a criminal solely because the marines had done so. What crime had she committed? She was in a never ending cycle of slavery. All she wanted was freedom. Her hair had never been sparkling or soft. Her clothes had only consisted of tattered rags. Her eyes were tired. Her escape from this life was close at hand, so why was she so conflicted on if this was what she truly wanted? Marines would shove her along the way when she slowed down too much and as she ascended the stairs the would swipe at her ankles in an attempt to get her to fall. As she made it to the stage, eyes the likes of which she had never seen were all glaring up at her. For the first time, a saddened smile would slowly make it's way across her lips. Although, there was something in the air that would have her looking out over the town. It smelled sort of... smoky.

Retracing the steps of every mid pirate before him wasn’t something Ika found particularly alluring, but he knew succeeding alone in the world around him would be nearly impossible. Even still, company meant very little if they couldn’t buy into the mission statement of the new Revolutionary Army, and this made selections for his crew a bit more difficult than he would’ve liked. For the last several months, Ika had been looking around, scouring the globe for people worthy of his cause when he heard whispers of a girl. A doctor, an angel of life confined to death by the institutions of the World Government on the port island of Loguetown. Her story was a tragedy, but one that had graced the papers for years to the ecstatic applause of those who didn't know better. Loguetown wasn't far from where he'd been residing, and so Ika hatched a plan..

And that was what brought us to the now. Ika smiling sheepishly as the gallows before him began to burn out from under the soldiers. They would notice soon enough, but not soon enough. The gallows were coming down, and the crowd of bloodthirsty spectators would need to get their fill elsewhere. The bodies of beaten and battered marines littered the ground behind him, their groans drowned out by the ambiance of cheers and jeers about the pretty head they were hoping to watch roll. A small smile parted his lips as he turned up the flames, letting the gallows slowly begin to crumble as his plan came to action. He already had her keys, stolen from the body of one of the prone guards, he just needed to get her down safely and..-

Why the fuck was a marine captain surveying the area?.. Surely he couldn't know?

In the beginning moments, there was a pause in the world around her as she looked to the sky. Birds flying past seemed to be flying much slower than normal. A breeze would grace her skin as it whipped her long, blonde hair behind her. The cheering and shouting of the crowd blended with the crashing waves on the shores not too far from the gallows she stood on. Then, a hand on her shoulder would force her to her knees as she landed on the hard wood with a loud thud. The screams began to fill her ears rapidly as they called her a criminal, ruthless, and pirate. They couldn't have been more wrong.

However, the execution would go no further as the soldiers below began running around almost in haste. Where were they going? The smoky smell would fill her nose more and more until it was all she could think about. What was happening? Had something caught fire? Was anyone hurt? Her eyes would scan the crowd as their blood lust overtook any sounds and clouded their noses from the current situation. Within moments, the gallows would begin to creak heavily and the marines around her would begin to falter and take to the stairs.

Alone. She had been left alone on the creaking structure, even as it began to crack and break away from its lower portions. The bottom began to crumble beneath the weight and the woman was left to fend for herself. Covered in chains and stripped of any form of defense. This seemed to be the end for her, although a small part of her hoped that she could be saved from such torture.

A Captain at the gallows had to have meant they suspected some kind of intrusion, but there couldn't have been any expectation that Ika would make an appearance right?..

No matter. Ika had an objective and come hell, marine captains, or high water he was going to figure out a way to see this plan through to completion. As the gallows were lit and the marines began to scatter to the wind, Ika would ascend the scaffolding semi-obscured by the smoke. As he reached the woman, he would uncuff her in an instant before pulling her down the rapidly deteriorating staircase. "My name is Ika Mazi, I am a pirate in theory but I need you to trust me. We're going to get out of here, I have a ship docked nearby but you need to follow me and do exactly as I say okay?"

Ika wouldn't even bother to wait for a response of affirmation, as he knew full well the position the two of them were in now. A small smile would part his lips as his eyes stayed locked towards the dock. He would cast another ball of flames at the gallows and staircase as they fled, causing it to implode entirely as billows of smoke and flame lurched upwards. His plan was working as intended, all soldiers had dispersed to help the crowd, all except for one who was.. currently blocking his ship. "Fuck.."

A silent whisper of disappointment and irritation would flee Ika's lips in this moment as the Naval Captain blocked his path. A small smirk would ordain Ika's face as he looked towards them. "Don't suppose you'd be comfortable claiming she burned to death and moving on eh?"

His challenge was, admittedly, more than a little unlikely. "I don't think I'll be letting a pirate like you make off with her, no. Ika Mazi, brother of the Yonko Sano eh?.. Wonder what we could get from him with your life on the line hm?"

The Captain chomped down on a cigar, lifting his sword towards Ika in a stance meant for menace. "Give up now, and I may permit you to find out."

This was, of course, a fools hope. Nothing Ika had done to this point would give any indication that he might surrender, and he wasn't going to live out a new trend at this stage of his life. "If you won't get out of the way.. Then I'll go through you! Fire Fist.. Freedom Flare!"

As Ika said this, a fist shaped column of fire would lurch forward towards the captain, seemingly attempting to leave him in a smoldering pile on the ground. Now to see if he was still standing..

The smoke covered the screaming crowds, although they were now screaming from confusion and fear of the fire. Where had it come from? Someone had to have lit the gallows ablaze, but what was the intention? In moments, all of her questions would be answered as a man stood before her uncuffing her from the sea prism stone chains. Her eyes would widen as she watched him, but she had never met him before. She hardly knew of anyone that would do so reckless for her sake when the whole world wanted to watch her head roll. Without hesitation, he would drag her from her knees and straight for the stairs.

He would tell her his name and that he was a pirate, which wouldn't be good for her. The civilians would certainly come to the conclusion that she was indeed affiliated with pirate culture. But... they already seemed to think so when they called her culgar names earlier. So, why would it be so bad if she went along with one? He had saved her after all. He had expressed that she needed to do as he said, but she wouldn't respond to his question. However, she hadn't stopped running or attempted to interfere with his plan.

Why was he doing this? Surely if he was planning on using her, he would have left the cuffs on her. If he was really trying to attain her power, he wouldn't have released her to use it as she wished. The two would stop as she nearly bumped into Ika in front of her. Her eyes would meet with one of the few captains that had kept her in chains and neglected her needs for the sake of their cause. The sight of him sent a fearful shiver down her spine as she would take a step back only to be met with the sound of gunfire. They were surrounded. What was she supposed to do?

Her fruit had never been used for combat, but it had been used for medical practices. Her extensive knowledge taught to her by the very people that had bought her for keeping secrets could still be used in this way, couldn't it? If anything, she owed this man that had saved her from her untimely fate. In all honestly, she was terrified. She never wanted to die. She only wanted to be free. She wanted to do what was right for her and not for everyone else. Would that be so wrong? Was she allowed to fight for her own sake? As Ika's flame fist made way toward the Captain, the small, malnourished blonde would hold her hand out before her.

"Room," she would whisper just loud enough that Ika may be able to hear her. A rather sizeable bubble could barely be made out around them as the bullets flying at the would freeze in mid air and find their way back toward the targets. Of course, she had aimed them away from any life threatening vital points on account of her softer nature as a doctor. However, the Captain that was persistent in his endeavors against her savior and lunged forward to stab at Ika.

The Captains blade struck gold, as evidenced by the metallic taste permeating Ika's mouth and the sadistic grin marking the Captains. "Pirates like you don't live long enough to have a story. Your brother knew that, shame you didn't get the memo."

The Captain smirked, twisting the blade slightly before pulling it out. Ika felt the blood pooling in his shirt, as well as on the ground in front of him while it stained the free space between his teeth. He chuckled a bit, glaring at the man as flames began to billow off his shoulders. "No one ever said my path was easy.. but that was never the point! My brother is a bastard! He took the easy path! He used the freedom he was afforded for power when he could've done so much for the world, I'll never be like him! If I die on this path I welcome it, but it'll take a better man than you!"

Ika stumbled forward, finding his footing as he clenched his fist. "If you're so sure of my fate, come here and prove it! I'm getting on that ship, and there isn't a thing you can do about it!"

As Ika finished speaking, the Captain rushed towards him sword in hand, ready to put an end to things. Ika was of a similar mind with his fist cocked, radiating with flames. This would be the end of this fight one way or another. "Fire Fist.. Fury!"

As Ika said this, his fist came forward aimed directly for the Captains chin. He had no regard for his own body, the blade could land where it wanted, and yet as he felt his fist hit it's mark he.. didn't feel the blade strike paydirt? Why?

As the first set of marines was taken out by the blonde, another set would take their place as they slowly filed in to form larger numbers. Still, they seemed to misunderstand how her abilities worked and when shots were taken, they would be sent flying right back. At that point, most of the cowardly pretend soldiers were running for the safety of concrete walls. However, this meant that she didn't have to pay attention to their backs so much. She would turn to see Ika struggling against the marine captain and for a moment, she could have swore she smelled blood.

Ika's words would begin to ring out catching her ears as she analyzed them. Her eyes would widen as she came to see what it was that Ika was trying to do. Did he know? Did he know that she wasn't meant to be in this place? Was he here to free her from this hellish cycle? If she understood anything from his words, it was that he wanted to change this terrifying world and knew what it was like to see powerful men not lift a single finger to help. Even as he stood before this Captain struggling to win, he stuck to his intentions and didn't abandon his resolve.

The blonde would smile as a tear trickled down her face. This was her sign. A sign that was screaming for her to reach out and grab her destiny. All she wanted was to help people and promote freedom. Was it okay to trust in him? The two of the would take their stances of fire and metal as her heart would skip a beat. Before she could make a decision, her body would move to protect the very man that saved her from death. "This won't hurt," she would say moving her hand in a slashing motion toward his arm and disconnecting it from his body at the shoulder. It would stay suspended in mid air, until she found a crate to stick it too down an alleyway. Then, it was gone and there would be no way to retrieve it without passing by them first. Although, it seemed that Ika had already taken care of the issue at hand.

The blonde would spin her way around Ika as she took a look at him from the front. Blood had pooled on his shirt and she could tell that it would need attention sooner rather than later, but she didn't have the time to do anything about it here. "I can fix you, but we have to get to that ship first. Keep pressure on it," the woman would say sternly before she would grab his free hand pulling him along toward the ship. "Oh, my name's Emma by the way," she would say turning her head around to grin sheepishly at him.

Ika felt his fist land, the crack of marrow and singing of skin beneath his fist was a feeling all to familiar, as was the blood-stained grin he currently wore as attire. He watched the Captain fly through the air, arm removed cleanly by some force well beyond his comprehension as the man was sent sprawling through the air. The blade that had been levied towards him may have killed him, yet Ika's faith in his newfound crewmate seemed to be paying dividends already. He smiled slightly, letting the girl talk whilst knowing all too well he wasn't really listening. This was it, his first crew mate and the beginning of a journey he'd been yearning for his entire life.

He couldn't dwell on that now though. He clenched his teeth and grabbed her, ignoring the rippling pain coming from the still bleeding wound in his abdomen as he pulled the girl named Emma aboard. The soldiers were confused and almost in a daze watching them, the ship caught wind in an instant seemingly and was heading out from the port. With Emma on board, projectiles would be useless against them and the soldiers having seen her previous display lowered their guns.

Ika, still pumped with adrenaline and fury would take a stand at the rear of the ship, looking out over the prone body of the now downed captain and the irritated scowls of his soldiers. "My name is Ika Mazi, I am not my brothers blood! I am a legend all to my own, a legend that will work to free every man woman and child held captive by the whims of those who'd call themselves powerful! I will carve a path that the king of pirates never could! That no one ever could! When I leave this world, I will leave it better than the way I left it!"

Ika smirked, casting a wayward smoking fist to the air as adrenaline began to leave him. "Make no mistake... the Navy, the World Government, the rule of power ends with my generation. I swear it!"

As Ika finished his statement, he would step back from the rear of the ship and stumble towards the wheel. Blood began to pool onto the deck, and as the murmurs from the soldiers began to fade he noticed that he had.. probably overdone it. He set the ship on a course, smiling for a moment towards Emma, giving her the thumbs up. "Welcome aboard.. Emma."

As he finished his statement, he would stumble to the ground and smile. "Welcome to the Revolution.. let's hope it was televised."'

-thread exit-