Chaos In Baterilla

Tonight was exceptionally dark on the island of Baterilla; thick clouds blotted out the crescent moon. Shadows danced in the silent streets, sparsely illuminated by oil lanterns. Weaving through the darkness, Alva raced toward the port where the Marines were holding the women they had taken. Alva stood on a roof overlooking the dock. He saw the women of the island huddled in a circle, surrounded by lit torch stands, and guarded by twelve Marines.

"I'm sorry, just wait a bit longer," Alva whispered.

He found a way to board the ship. "Time for another night's swim," he thought.

Alva silently climbed aboard the Marine ship over the starboard railing, unseen. A patrolling Marine walked toward the stern. The moment he passed a crate, Alva grabbed him from behind and pressed a sharp blade to his neck.

"Be quiet. If you make any loud noise or resist, I will kill you. Nod your head if you understand," Alva whispered into the man's ear. The Marine quickly bobbed his head.

"Why are you here? Quietly now," Alva said, removing his hand from the Marine's mouth.

"We are looking for a certain woman," the Marine replied.

"All the women you've rounded up are pregnant. Why are you looking for them?" The blade gleamed in the light from the dropped lantern.

"I don't know," said the Marine, his voice shaking.

"Who ordered it?" Alva demanded.

"Agents from Cipher Pol showed up one day; we've been searching for months. That's all I know; please don't kill me," the Marine pleaded.

"Where is the one in charge?" Alva asked.

The Marine pointed. "He's in the captain's quarters."

Alva knocked the man out and laid him behind the crates.

Alva made his way through the tight corridors below deck and snuck up to the door he was looking for. The room was dark, and as he approached the bedside sword, he recognized the man—it was the same government official he had encountered when he first arrived.

Alva moved to subdue the sleeping man, but the man's eyes shot open. They locked eyes for a brief moment. The instant Alva swung his sword, a searing pain tore through his abdomen.

"Guh!" Alva gritted his teeth against the pain.

The Cipher Pol agent withdrew his finger from Alva's abdomen and sprang from the bed, sending his blanket into the air. He landed a crescent kick on Alva's hand, driving his sword into the ceiling and disarming him. The agent followed with a straight kick aimed at Alva's head. Alva dodged, grabbed the airborne blanket, and threw it at the agent. As the agent knocked the blanket away, his vision was obscured for a split second, and Alva vanished.

Alva struck the side of the agent's head, sending him into a 360-degree spin on his back leg. When the agent regained his stance, his attacker had disappeared again. Alva crouched low in a karate stance and delivered two successive punches to the same spot.

"1000 Brick Fist!"

The agent spat blood and collapsed, unconscious.

Meanwhile, on the docks, Marines dozily kept watch over the women captured for questioning.

"Oh man, this stinks. I'm stuck here while the rear admiral took the rest of the men drinking," Kipp complained.

"What is the point of all this, anyway?"

"Hey, Kipp, watch what you say. You don't want those Cipher Pol guys to catch you," Benzo warned.

"Yeah, yeah... It just doesn't make sense to me why we had to round up all the women on this island," Kipp replied.

"We just have to suck it up and follow orders. I heard this order came from way up high," Benzo said.

"Gyaahh!" One of the women on the dock cried out in pain. The woman sitting next to Sherry grasped her shoulders in panic.

"Sherry, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Bonnet, something's wrong," Sherry said.

"Okay, hold on, I'm here," Bonnet reassured her. "Hey, Marines! This woman needs help; you must get her to a doctor."

"What's going on?" Benzo asked.

"What do we do, Benzo? This seems serious," Kipp said.

"We're not supposed to let any of them leave yet," Benzo replied.

"I know we aren't, but..." Kipp hesitated.

"How do we know she's not faking it to get out of here?"

"Are you mad? What if something happens to her baby?" Bonnet demanded as the Marines dawdled while her friend needed help.

Suddenly, a man rushed at the group of Marines with all his might. "Sherry! Hang on, I'm right here; let me go!" he yelled.

The Marines restrained the man as he struggled to reach his wife, Sherry. The commotion drew more townspeople to the dock, many anxiously waiting nearby for their family members to return. A rowdy crowd formed.

"Johan, I'll stay with Sherry; you need to get the doctor," Bonnet urged.

"Alright, I'll go. Wait for me; I'll be right back." Johan gave up trying to push forward and sprinted off.

"Let my wife go; she didn't do anything!" Johan shouted.

"HEY, STAND BACK!" More angry people gathered, and the few Marines left to guard the women grew panicked.

Inside the cabin of the Cipher Pol agent on the ship, Alva had bound and gagged him. Alva was enraged by the situation on the island. In the heat of battle, he had lost his composure. This wasn't normal for him; in all his many fights, he had survived by keeping a cool head.

Ever since the soul stone awakened in Lougetown, it affected his mind whenever his emotions ran high. When he was hurt or his life was in danger, he felt an uncontrollable rage and a drive for battle. After subduing his opponent and taking control of the situation, the influence affecting him subsided.

With his emotions back under control, Alva felt eerily calm and composed. He splashed water on the man to wake him up. The man looked dazed at first but quickly realized his situation.

"Now that you're awake, let's get started," Alva said.

Without another word, Alva tortured the man in a myriad of ways. He used every method of causing physical pain he had ever learned, staring into the man's eyes the entire time. Cipher Pol agents receive interrogation training; the man believes he is ready. However, this was unlike anything he had ever experienced. The pain was on another level, and there were no questions to respond to.

Alva inflicted more and more pain, and it felt like years had passed. The man could think of nothing but the pain as he stared into the masked man's cold, unwavering eyes. It drove him mad. In a short time, his willpower collapsed.

Alva removed the gag from the man and then sat across from him.

"Please... no more."

"Who are you, and what are you looking for?" Alva asked.

"My name is Harpen. I am an agent of Cipher Pol 3, working directly under the World Government," Harpen replied. "We are searching for a certain pregnant woman."

"Why is the government looking for her?"

"She is carrying Gol D. Roger's child; that's all I know," Harpen confessed.

"I see. What do you know about this woman?"

"Nothing, but that she is due to give birth soon."

"What you're doing here disgusts me, so I want you gone. You will call it in and tell them the woman is not on Baterilla Island. Do you understand?"

The look in Alva's eyes told Harpen he would die horribly if he made a mistake. Harpen nodded repeatedly.

Still bound to the chair, Harpen spoke into the transponder snail Alva held in front of him.

"This is Sparrow; we have completed our search of Baterilla. The target isn't here," Harpen reported.

"Confirmed, Sparrow. You are to return. Good work." A monotone voice came through the line.

CLINK.

"There, I did it. You'll let me go now, right?" Harpen asked.

"Yeah," Alva said.

Walking behind Harpen's chair, Alva put him in a headlock and snapped his neck.

Alva combed the room, clearing away all signs of the struggle, then went through every file they had on the women and marked them all clear. After pouring a bottle of liquor into Harpen's mouth and all over his clothes, he tossed the body down a flight of stairs with the bottle.

Alva stood on the top deck overlooking the chaotic scene of the docks. Marines struggled to maintain control of the angry people. If he didn't act soon, the situation could devolve into a massacre.

"Let's do this," Alva muttered. He ran toward the stern of the ship and jumped.

"Sherry, my love! I've got the doctor! Hold on, I'm coming!" Johan shouted as he dragged the doctor, behind him.

"Ugh, oh, Johan," Sherry groaned.

"Hold on just a bit more, Sherry; help is here. You're going to be okay," Bonnet reassured her friend, though her face betrayed her confident words.

"Let us through, hey!"

"Unhand me; I'm a doctor."

"OUT OF THE WAY, MY WIFE HAS BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH!" A large man grabbed one of the Marines and threw him over the line of guards.

"This situation is getting out of hand. Kipp, go get the rest of the men," Benzo ordered.

"Roger! I'll be back as soon as I can," Kipp replied. He ran as fast as he could to the only bar in town.

"Let these people go!"

'Water Dance: Waterfall Basin!'

Before Benzo could finish looking up at the sound of the voice, a sheathed sword buried itself into the center of his face from a downward slash, sending him tumbling across the ground.

A boy landed in the middle of the shocked Marines. His size and young face made it unclear whether he was a young man or a large child, but his savage blue eyes told them he was serious.

"What the hell? Get him!" a Marine ordered.

Before most could raise their rifles, Alva shot forward at his fastest speed. He slashed each of them as he weaved through their formation. His sword coiled and struck like a whip.

'Water Dance: Ikuchi Flowing Dance!'

Alva knocked out thirteen Marines each with a single blow from his sheathed sword.

He didn't stop there. Charging toward the remaining Marines, he blocked an incoming sword strike and delivered a spinning back heel kick, using his momentum to dig his boot heel deep into the Marine's temple, sending him twirling through the air.

In moments, Alva had knocked out all the Marines. The townspeople stood slack-jawed and wide-eyed at what they had just witnessed. One person had beaten all those Marines alone.

"It will be alright now. Go to your families," Alva said.

"HE DID IT! YEAH!" The people burst into cheers and rushed to their loved ones.

"Sherry! Hold on, the doctor is here now," Johan said, holding his wife.

"Let me see her; we must get her to my clinic now. She is going into labor," said the doctor.

"Take her in a hurry," Bonnet urged. Johan carried Sherry in his arms, with the doctor following behind.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"

A loud shout came from the Marine commander as he aimed at the crowd. A Marine moved to block Johan from leaving, but a knife flew past his head, causing him to stumble backward and fall.

"Keep going," Alva said.

Johan, Sherry, and the doctor looked at him. "Thank you," Johan said. The trio continued running past the Marines.

Alva stepped forward in front of the Marines and drew his sword, taking a stance.

"These people have had enough! Your men are still alive. I suggest you withdraw. If you want these people, you will have to kill me. HEAR ME, MARINES: I WILL NOT BE DYING ALONE! If you wish to continue, then come."

Alva stared the men down with a steady gaze and relaxed posture. The oppressive atmosphere consumed everyone present, and no one moved. On an instinctual level, the Marines knew that the first to move would die.

The silent standoff continued as the sun began to peek over the horizon. The rear admiral could feel his heart pounding as sweat rolled down his face. Doubt settled into his mind; it wasn't a matter of whether they would win—he knew they would.

'How many are going to die for something so stupid? For what?' he thought to himself.

PEDE PEDE PEDE PEDE.

The ring of his transponder snail broke the silence, saving him from a decision.

He quickly answered the call. After a short conversation, he hung up.

"Alright, men, our mission here is over. Return to the ship!"

The Marines and townspeople collectively breathed a sigh of relief. As the Marine ship sailed away from the island, the townspeople celebrated the reunion of their families.

"Thank you, young man," Bonnet said. "What is your name?"

"My name is Alva."

"Oh! Alva, you're bleeding. Come quickly; sit over here. I'm a nurse; let's get that stitched up," Bonnet offered.

After getting patched up and receiving the gratitude of the people of Baterilla, Alva returned to his aunt's house to have breakfast. Rouge enjoyed breakfast with Alva outside, overlooking the sea for the first time in a long time.