Factory Job [Mini-Arc]

[Igrath J. Indigo]

It was night in Thriller Bark and the full moon shone bright overhead with very few clouds in the sky. The time was midnight and the light glinted off the green lenses of the goggles worn by a Marine. This was not a normal marine though, this man was more serpent than human now, even the body fat he use to possess was now gone. Igrath Indigo stood waiting two blocks from the factory for his partner to arrive on the scene. Behind him the serpent man's tail twitched in the night, the cold wasn't exactly doing him much good.

Sometimes this serpent body was a bit of a curse, the twitching was barely able to do it's job of keeping him awake as the cold made him lethargic. He couldn't wait to get into the thick of things so his blood could get boiling and his body wake up. All he would need was this partner, and potential recruit, to arrive and they could begin the mission. This was a dangerous area to be a marine or bounty hunter, it was even a danger to a good many pirates. Igrath rested one of the combat knives he wielded from it's sheath and looked around, not a moment to relax out here.

[LILITH A. ZENITH]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 350,bTable][atrb=style,border-left: 2px solid #61b9f8; padding: 10; color: #3F3F3F;][style=float: left; padding: 2;] [style=border:1px solid#2973a5;background-color:3F3F3F;width:100px;height:100px;padding:8px;][/style][/style] [style=font-size: 22px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: -1px;]Lilith A. Zenith[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]AGE: 19[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 10px; margin-left: 10;]FEMALE[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; font-family: calibri; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]WORDS: Some.[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10;]TAGS: Snake guy.[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]NOTES: Didn't know what to put.[/style]

[atrb=style,padding:10px;border-right:1px solid #61b9f8;][style=font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10px;text-align:center;margin-top:0px;letter-spacing:0px;color:#726963;]A place of darkness, a center of light.[/style] [style=margin:-20px 30px 10px 30px;text-align:justify;font-family:tahoma;font-size:10px;text-transform:lowercase;color:#8e8e8e;line-height:13px;] This foreign place... her companion had called it "Thriller Bark," was quite the creepy rock. It was semi-dark, the moon sending down a blanket of moonlight to give everything an eerie lifelike glow. Even the grass seemed to be alive with every breeze. The sight sent shivers down Lilith's spine. Shrugging this off, she took her place beside her commanding officer for this mission. He was quite the sight to behold as well. Truth be told, he kind of creeped Lilith out. A talking snake wasn't on the "things you see every day" list. The cool air felt good as they continued to survey the area. Her new attire of skirts and thinner shirts was replaced with her favorite outfit of a black coat with a light blue scarf matching her eyes and some darker blue pants. Of course her white marine jacket was drooped over her shoulders as well. When she spoke, her voice was kept more or less at a low volume, but it wasn't as if they were hiding or anything. "Sir. Captain Zenith reporting." She stood quietly and waited for his response. Really, she hadn't been briefed deeply on the mission. All the captain knew was that a bomb was involved and her commanding officer was this snake guy. She made sure to keep a good distance away from him; he was gross after all. Her hand always resting on the handle of her katana. She wasn't expecting an ambush, but it wasn't as if it couldn't happen. This place was the scum of West Blue, as dangerous a location as any here in the Blues. [/style]

[/td][td][atrb=width,300][atrb=style,padding:10px;][style=font-family:
[/table][style=font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: -1;]made by chariza of OTE[/style][/center]

[Igrath J. Indigo]

Here she was, the woman who would be working under him for the duration of this mission, possibly longer if he could convince her. She was dressed conservatively with warmth in mind, he only wished that the main office had finished tailoring his coat so it wouldn't constrict his movements, but he was stuck with a vest. The greeting was quite formal as well, despite that she never saluted and kept her distance, hand on blade. "Greetingsss, Captain Zenith, as I am sure you are aware I will be the commanding officer for thisss mission, Commodore Indigo." His forked tongue flicked from between his lips, the malice in the air was thick enough for him to taste.

He had been instructed on the need to brief her on the specifics of the mission, and now was better than in the middle of the factory. "I assume you know that this is a haven for pirates and normally out of our jurisssdiction, thisss is a sssspecial case though. Reportsss have come in that the pirates hold up in that factory are planning to bomb a heavily populated park in Illusssia." His rasping hiss of a voice paused as he looked around, he had heard something, yet it ended up being only a black cat. "We lack any information on the time or date the bombing will take place, ssso we have been sssent to eliminate the threat."

He paused to gauge her reaction on the statement, it had been purposefully phrased it to sound like they were sent to kill the pirates. The serpent did not desire anyone who was overly fond of killing on the crew he was going to form, they had to be willing to take people alive. Once her reaction had been properly gauged, whether she be in mid-rant, finishing up, or had some indicating expression, he would hold up a hand and continue. "It is our choice whether to kill them or capture them, but it isss my dessire to capture the piratesss rather than killing them, ssso do everything in your power to avoid doing ssso. Pleassse, do not think that meansss I want you to avoid killing if your life will be in jeopardy otherwissse."

"Lets try to ssstay under the radar asss long asss possssible." He turned and began walking to the building they needed to infiltrate once he finished. The sooner the pirates were thwarted the better.

[LILITH A. ZENITH]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 350,bTable][atrb=style,border-left: 2px solid #61b9f8; padding: 10; color: #3F3F3F;][style=float: left; padding: 2;] [style=border:1px solid#2973a5;background-color:3F3F3F;width:100px;height:100px;padding:8px;][/style][/style] [style=font-size: 22px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: -1px;]Lilith A. Zenith[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]AGE: 19[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 10px; margin-left: 10;]FEMALE[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; font-family: calibri; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]WORDS: Some.[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10;]TAGS: Snake guy.[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]NOTES: Didn't know what to put.[/style]

[atrb=style,padding:10px;border-right:1px solid #61b9f8;][style=font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10px;text-align:center;margin-top:0px;letter-spacing:0px;color:#726963;]A place of darkness, a center of light.[/style] [style=margin:-20px 30px 10px 30px;text-align:justify;font-family:tahoma;font-size:10px;text-transform:lowercase;color:#8e8e8e;line-height:13px;] Mmm. His talking was unnerving as well. Hissing words in their shared language was one way to make sure people thought you were a snake, which he totally was. Then again, Lilith didn't know if he could help that lisp or not. Didn't matter, it still creeped her out. That train of thoughts had her miss the entire first part of what he said about who he was. But then, she knew that already anyway, so she tuned in as he explained the plot of these pirates and how she, and he, fit in the grand scheme of things. He went on to say that they were supposed to eliminate the threat. That was fine. Lilith could disable them with enough efficiency that she didn't have to kill them, so she just continued to listen, making little to no reaction at all. He then went on and it appeared that he agreed with Lil's ideology after all. She nodded as he was speaking, but let him finish what he was saying. If this proved to be how he really handled himself, he would be a good commanding officer. With a final note of saying that they should stay more or less anonymous, she nodded again. "All of that works for me. I wasn't planning on killing them anyway. There are more humane ways of victory." she said lightly, dropping her hand from her sword handle for now. He was creepy, but maybe she could trust someone like him in the future. It all remained to be seen. Looking around again, Lilith waited expectantly at her snake boss for the time being. "Lead the way." She said, grinning a bit. Normally, she would have smiled bigger, but there was just something off-putting about the way he... was. It wouldn't let her release her restraints. [/style]

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[/table][style=font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: -1;]made by chariza of OTE[/style][/center]

[VEE MENU]

Theme Song

-------------------------------------------

Thriller Bark, the bain of West Blue and by far the most corrupt. Drunks, armed drug dealers and scantily dressed women roamed the streets without care at every hour of every day. There was no official authority to stop its inhabitants from doing the things they wanted to do, only territories forged through power and fear. Criminals controlled Thriller Bark, dissuading even the World Government from interfering with their flourishing businesses. Oddly enough however, a pair of Marines entered its maw on a night like anyother, led by admirable cause and overzealousness. Even so, the law would not protect them there, nor would their bodies be found if something unfortunate were to happen to them. It was too late to turn back, the city of cut-throats and desperation had them now, and it threatened to steal their very lives. Poor, wreckless souls..

"Extra, extra! Read all about it! Extra, extra!" A man called out half a block ahead of the marines. Dressed in a pair of soiled pants, with no shirt or shoes, the man sat on the streets curb scratching at his scruffy beard. "Extra, extra! Read all about it! A girl was recently abducted miles off the coast from the island of Illusia. The kidnapping took place on open waters. There was hostility and it's believed there's a ransom involved.." He continued, holding a piece of moldy bread to his lips with one hand while cupping his ear with the other, reporting the news it seemed.

"On another note, the RiverCity Bottom Boys saved a tiger yesterday.. From the neighborhood Zoo.." He added with a strong, charismatic voice.

"Eddy! Get your father man, he's doing that thing again!" A young man called out from across the street.

"Al..Alright, I got em!" An adolescent boy with shaggy brown hair, a white tank top and blue jeans responded. Trotting from a small group of young, slacker street kids, the boy crossed the street before approaching the bum on the curb. "Yo dad, go home.. Don't do that, come on, go home.." The boy spoke softly to the man, moving his hand from the side of his ear and the bread from his lips. Helping the man to his feet, the boy watched his father cross the street.

Scratching his head with a sigh, the boy turned with a look of sadness in his eyes. Upon turning however, his eyes grew wide with terror, at first. Terror soon transformed into nerves of steel as he looked from the snake-like creature to the woman. "YOUR MONEY! OR YOUR LIFE!" He snarled viciously, removing a pocket knife from his pant pocket before drawing on her. Times were difficult in Thriller Bark, enough to change a caring son into a hungry beast of oppurtunity. There was no fear in the boys eyes as he threatened the woman, only contempt from desperation remained.

The small group of young men could be seen crossing the street. "Hey, what's goin' on over there!?" One called out.

[Igrath J. Indigo]

The desolation of the land filled the marine's unseen eyes with sadness, he could not imagine growing up in a place such as this. There, not far ahead of them, was a man calling out the news to the streets as a whole. The scantily clad women and beggers seemed to pay little attention to him, not that Igrath kept a close eye on the women. Again his tongue shot out on instinct and tasted the air, the thick miasma of malice and fear hung heavy in the air. There were a great deal of things in this place to be frightened of, and it only took a moment for him to place himself among them.

As the shouting of another man joined the fray, this time directed at the news caller, something about his father. While that took place the serpentine man spoke softly to his partner, "My apologiesss if my appearansce frightened you earlier, I sssometimes forget what I mussst look like to othersss." There was not much time for a response though, as shortly after the sad eyes turned to horror as they saw the snake man, then determination when they saw Lilith. Desperation could do many different things to many different people, and the Commodore was no stranger to that feeling. It was sad to see that caring young man turn to this because of it though.

His weapon was no threat and quickly the male's hand shot out to seize the boy's wrist with his right hand. The left reached down, as if going for one of his combat knives, when the group crossing the street yelled to them. His hand continued to move down and reach into the small satchel at his hip while his head turned, goggles flashing in the moonlight. "Nothing you need consscern yourssselves with." It was a brief statement with the hopes to turn them away without a fuss.

Turning his head back to the adolescent he withdrew a handful of bills from the satchel and handed them over to the boy. "I give thisss to you, not because you threatened my friend, but becaussse you ssseem to need it ssso much." His duty was first and foremost to protect civilians, to him this was just protecting a civilian from hunger. There should have been enough to feed the boy and his father for a few days if they spent it cautiously. He would release the boy and allow him to take the money and leave if he so chose, but further action would not be met with such kindness.

[LILITH A. ZENITH]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 350,bTable][atrb=style,border-left: 2px solid #61b9f8; padding: 10; color: #3F3F3F;][style=float: left; padding: 2;] [style=border:1px solid#2973a5;background-color:3F3F3F;width:100px;height:100px;padding:8px;][/style][/style] [style=font-size: 22px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: -1px;]Lilith A. Zenith[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]AGE: 19[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 10px; margin-left: 10;]FEMALE[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; font-family: calibri; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]WORDS: Some.[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10;]TAGS: Snake guy.[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]NOTES: o.o[/style]

[atrb=style,padding:10px;border-right:1px solid #61b9f8;][style=font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10px;text-align:center;margin-top:0px;letter-spacing:0px;color:#726963;]A place of darkness, a center of light.[/style] [style=margin:-20px 30px 10px 30px;text-align:justify;font-family:tahoma;font-size:10px;text-transform:lowercase;color:#8e8e8e;line-height:13px;] The filth of this place was amazing. It even made her thoughts about the snake man disappear for a second. The absolute scum of society came here and made it a home worthy of themselves. Everything about the place seemed to scream for help; but the damage had been done for most people. Being changed by their way of living was commonplace. Normal people that could have been happy villagers on some other island had to murder to survive. It was sad really. Some filthy man was yelling about utter nonsense in the middle of nowhere until his son finally showed up. While she was watching that, Lilith's commanding officer, now dubbed snake-guy, voiced his discomfort at his own appearance. It really struck a nerve with Lilith. She had been judging the man solely on his appearance, and while he was a sight to behold, it was not fair to him. Just the idea of how she had been judging him despite the fact that all he had ever done when around her was positive, appalled her. The young marine would have to rectify this later and apologize. But before any of that could happen, the boy, after rescuing his father, turned on Lilith and her partner. His makeshift shiv glinting palely in the dark atmosphere. He was more pathetic than scary, but Lilith didn't underestimate anyone, and her hand slid to her katana. Her actions weren't needed, however, because her partner grabbed at his hand in an attempt to detain his wrist. At the same time, others came to see what the ruckus was about. Lilith did act then, stepping between the two and the group showing up. She did catch the end of the conversation, however, and admired the fact that he was trying to help. But in this place, that money was as likely to get that boy killed as to help him. "good evening boys. nothing interesting happening here. just a quiet discussion." [/style]

[/td][td][atrb=width,300][atrb=style,padding:10px;][style=font-family:
[/table][style=font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: -1;]made by chariza of OTE[/style][/center]

[VEE MENU]

"Geez, what the hell is that thing?" Were the first words that came to the lips of one of the young men. "I don't know, but if it came by my house, I'd kill it.." Said another. "Thing looks like it just crawled up out of hole. Good god! Is it male or female?" A third jumped in. Each ventured towards the three cautiously, before an expression of hunger appeared in their eyes, just like in the boy before them. It didn't matter if they were marines or not, the boys couldn't pass up an oppurtunity like that. They'd take just about anything at the risk of their own lives.

Eyeing the woman as she cut them off, the boys began reaching for weapons of their own, only stopping upon spying all the money the lizard-man had given Eddy after snatching him by his wrist, forcing him to drop his pocket knife at the lizard-mans feet in the process.

Sidestepping, Eddy scurried away from the lizard-man and onto the street simply to get bum-rushed by the others. After Viciously prying the money from his hands, they shoved the boy to the curb. Turning, the boys raced back across the street before disappearing into a dark alley.

Standing, Eddy glanced over the marines with a look of wonder and disgrace, as if he'd been wronged but hadn't known why or if he should try to shake them down for more money. With a moments hesitation, the boy ditched his knife before chasing after the other boys, disappearing from view.

The air seemed to chill over after the boys had gone, an omen of things to come perhaps, or was it something else? Whatever it was, the world seemed a colder place without them that night, moreso then it already was. Whether the marines were expecting it or not, they had a long night ahead of them.

The bearded man from before could be seen about half a block further up the street, broadcasting the news again, but unlike before, his words were filled with dellusions of angst. "Only the dead know what Thriller Bark truly looks like, for they have seen it in its true form.." He spoke in a dark manner before looking in the direction of the factory, only to look beyond it. "Blood stains the air in this city.. I cannot see the blood, but I know it's there.. EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!" He called out.

The flocks of street walkers seemed to thin out with each step closer to the factory, a light fog rolling in as if on que to encase the large gated entrance encircling the factory, welcoming them to a path marked with dread. A shadowy figure stood at the unopened gate with his back to the path the marines were traveling on. Without action, the figure just stood there, silent.

[Igrath J. Indigo]

The boy scampered off almost as soon as Igrath had released him, yet it seemed the financial aid was all for naught. The money was quickly pried form his hands and then his assailants pushed him aside like rubbish. He looked upon the serpentine man with blame in his eyes, the happening had been his fault after all. Well, the boy was still alive and could continue to survive in this harsh environment for a long while. There was still a bit of fire in his eyes, they would survive until the marine could gain the power to do something about all of this.

Yes, this place would be freed from pirate control, freed by the hands of the serpent if it was the last thing he did. Those men from before continued their advance though, they had not been deterred by the commodore or the captain. They could not waste their time on them, it seemed like one of them would have to do something about it. "Captain Zenith, if they continue to follow usss then get rid of them, quietly." He didn't want to raise an alarms before they even arrived at the factory, technically not even while they were in the factory either.

A fog rolled in as they moved on and the number of people on the streets thinned out quickly. As the marines made their approach a shadowy figure could be seen a dozen or so yards ahead with their back to them. If Lilith were still behind him he would gesture for her to wait there while he took care of the gate's guard. What else could the person be besides a guard, standing watch outside the gate of factory they headed for. As quietly as he could move, tail raised form the ground, the snake man moved closer and closer.

The figure never seemed to look their way and when he was within eight feet of the man, Igrath's tail began to move. It moved to coil around the neck of the man and tighten. It was not tight enough to snap his neck, but if the figure could not avoid the strike then there would be a great deal of difficulty breathing. There was a bonus too, the tightening muscles of his tail would constrict the vocal chords, preventing any sort of warning from being given to the men inside. He had to wonder who might be inside though and if the fog was even natural or something being produced from inside the factory.

[LILITH A. ZENITH]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 350,bTable][atrb=style,border-left: 2px solid #61b9f8; padding: 10; color: #3F3F3F;][style=float: left; padding: 2;] [style=border:1px solid#2973a5;background-color:3F3F3F;width:100px;height:100px;padding:8px;][/style][/style] [style=font-size: 22px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: -1px;]Lilith A. Zenith[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]AGE: 19[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 10px; margin-left: 10;]FEMALE[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; font-family: calibri; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]WORDS: Some.[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10;]TAGS: Snake guy.[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]NOTES: o.o[/style]

[atrb=style,padding:10px;border-right:1px solid #61b9f8;][style=font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10px;text-align:center;margin-top:0px;letter-spacing:0px;color:#726963;]A place of darkness, a center of light.[/style] [style=margin:-20px 30px 10px 30px;text-align:justify;font-family:tahoma;font-size:10px;text-transform:lowercase;color:#8e8e8e;line-height:13px;] Human nature reacted more or less according to how Lilith believed it to be. The other boys, immediately having seen the boy's wealth, used superior numbers to take his prosperity from him. And if that cycle continued, those very boys that had just taken off would continue to betray each other over such a small thing and everyone but one would eventually be dead. That was just how it was here. Stories were stories, and facts were facts, but just being there, seeing those theories in action. It wounded the soul. But there was no time for soft thoughts now. Those boys had more to worry about than the marines that had somehow foolishly wandered into their slums. As they disappeared around the corner, the duo continued on their way. A fog also decided to roll in about this time, and it only got thicker as they walked. It was eerie. Times like these brought on an intense feeling of thanks for her new skill that gave her a relative idea of dangerous situations and where people were. Her sixth sense, dubbed "Haki" by Vice-Admiral Lee who had been the commander of the ship bringing her over. He explained the ability to her and let her know it was the most raw version of the gift, and only tenuous training could make that stronger. "They aren't near us anymore. No need to worry." She replied to his comment about making sure none were following them. Her skill couldn't pin point anyone, but she could tell if anyone was in her area. And nothing resembling the group of boys was piquing her senses at the moment. After a minute or so more, snake-man moved, attacking the gate leader and attempting to render him unconscious before the alarm was set off. Lilith did as she was told. She waited. [/style]

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[/table][style=font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: -1;]made by chariza of OTE[/style][/center]

[VEE MENU]

The factory was large, efficient and well put together, yet it lacked a certain something, something that it desperately needed. Maintanence and a whole lot of sunshine. The place looked like something straight out of a horror film, the building the characters ran into and never came out of, ya that's the one. Rusted metal and broken windows could be seen through the fog while unhinged slabs of construction swung sporadically, creaking and groaning against the wind. Upon closer inspection, anyone could tell that the factory had gone under and hadn't recieved any visitors outside a few passing vagrants for quite some time. And yet, there was a dimmly lit light coming from the upper most room window.

"Come on, ya.. Do it, come on.. Ya, that's it, do it.. Come on.." Whispered the figure amidst the mist. He was sweating profusely and breathing in an unusually excited manner. Twisted expressions of savagery and pleasure seemed to alternate against his demeanor, almost like he was expecting something to happen but couldn't wait for it to happen fast enough. He was tall, muscularly built, dressed in a purple tuxedo and wore a white masqurade mask across the upper portion of his face. Whatever he was doing there, he seemed to be enjoying himself, a little too much one would say.

Without warning, a long serpent-like tail wrapped around the man's neck before attempting to strangle him. With wide eyes, the man attempted to yelp in surprise, though couldn't due to the pressure againts his throat. Reaching out however, the man grasped the fence in front of him before prying at the tail around his throat. Kicking hard against the now rattling fence, the man managed to get enough leverage to twist his way from the lizard-man's grasp. Gripping his neck and gasping for air, the man turned to face the other with his back pressed against the fence. "Who the hell are you?" He growled, obviously surprised and confused, as if expecting to see someone else. "Wait, don't answer that, this is how I say hello and goodbye.." With a smile and something like a dark chuckle, the man reached into his pocket only to pause.

Within seconds, as if to respond to the fences rattling, the light from the upper room could be seen moving towards the factory's window. Shrouding the figure holding what appeared to be a lamp from being recognized, it was not clear whether or not they'd discovered the group. Moving away from the window, the light grew dim once more.

The factories entrance doors could be heard from the distance, groaning loudly as it was pushed open. Stepping through was a tall, heavy-set man wearing a brown trenchcoat. Right behind him was a rugged, tattooed woman with choppy red hair, a red vest and cargo pants. The woman also wore a metallic cylinder-like device along her left forearm. Stepping from the entrance, they began to survey the area.

Quickly glancing over his shoulder, the masquarded man cringed before darting off to the side. "Eight Knuckle Larry and Automatic Gene? I must not be seen.." He hissed, leaping into and crawling through a large pipe connected to the factories old waste disposal drain.

Through his haste, Igrath may have attacked an innocent man, unintentionally gaining the enemies attention despite his efforts not to. Will the marine couple confront the man and woman or will they run and hide like the coward before them?

[Igrath J. Indigo]

Damn, despite his attempts at silence the large man managed to kick at the gate and create some noise. Had he gotten an alert out to the pirates inside the warehouse, he couldn't be sure just yet. What happened next was a very impressive maneuvering feat where he managed to get sufficient leverage to twist free from the snake man's python-like grip. It was amazing to see someone do that to say the least, but when he spoke it wasn't a warning call to be sure he had been heard. What's more, when the light shone in the window he froze rather than getting more aggressive, it seemed he wasn't with those pirates.

By mistake Igrath had attacked a bystander, his innocence was questionable considering the noises he had been making before the conflict began. His words when two people walked through the door confirmed his suspicion that he was not one of the pirates. As the man fled the scene the serpent man dropped to the ground and pressed his thin form against it, the fog was still present at the area so all he could do was hope they didn't see him. The man wondered what Captain Zenith was going to do, would she run to help if she noticed the difficulty or what.

[LILITH A. ZENITH]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 350,bTable][atrb=style,border-left: 2px solid #61b9f8; padding: 10; color: #3F3F3F;][style=float: left; padding: 2;] [style=border:1px solid#2973a5;background-color:3F3F3F;width:100px;height:100px;padding:8px;][/style][/style] [style=font-size: 22px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: -1px;]Lilith A. Zenith[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]AGE: 19[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 10px; margin-left: 10;]FEMALE[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; font-family: calibri; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]WORDS: Some.[/style][style=font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10;]TAGS: Snake guy.[/style][style=border-right:10px solid #61b9f8; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; margin-left: 10; background-color: #3F3F3F; color: #61b9f8; display: block; width: 250px;]NOTES: o.o[/style]

[atrb=style,padding:10px;border-right:1px solid #61b9f8;][style=font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:10px;text-align:center;margin-top:0px;letter-spacing:0px;color:#726963;]A place of darkness, a center of light.[/style] [style=margin:-20px 30px 10px 30px;text-align:justify;font-family:tahoma;font-size:10px;text-transform:lowercase;color:#8e8e8e;line-height:13px;] Not good. Was the first thing that came to mind when the man started shifting and managed to reach the gate. From there, he twisted free and ran off. Ran off? He wasn't headed toward the factory... and he raised no alarms. If he was part of the criminal group, wouldn't their cover have been immediately blown? Since it didn't go down like that, he must have been innocent. The thought gave her a pang of remorse. Attacking an innocent man was horrible. Even in ignorance. But she had no chance to dwell on it. Two people came from the fog, announcing their exit of the factory with the groaning of the doors. Lilith was too far away to see them through the fog, and that was just as well. If she didn't want to be seen, she probably shouldn't be in range to see them either. They walked out and Igrath went to the ground. His snake body was easily pressed against the ground to hide, but Lilith had to do something a bit more creative. A trick she had learned from her master for fighting in low visibility. Back in Miqueot she had practiced in blizzards and deeper snowstorms. By staying out of the edge of vision, one could keep their silhouette hidden from anyone. And by using their hearing or haki to get the most general of locations, keeping out of sight was rather easy. But this way was much less chilly. Lilith faded into the fog and made her way to the nearest thing to hide behind and wait until they passed. Until the bomb was dealt with, the criminals could wait. [/style]

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[/table][style=font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: -1;]made by chariza of OTE[/style][/center]

[VEE MENU]

"The Doc and his paranoia, it really is getting on my nerves.." Spoke the woman as the two scanned the area, pacing roughly twenty yards away from the lizardman's position. Stopping, the woman gave a gruff sigh before rubbing the steel device encasing her left forearm. "That man, I swear.. We should go up there and put a stop to this right now.. What he's doing to that little girl ain't right.."

Following at her side, the tall, heavy-set man seemed to lack the same digilence as his counterpart. "Aw, give it o' rest, Gene.. The man knows what he's doing. Just let em' work, okay? He is Captain afterall.." The man responded, a bit irritated, while at the same time attempting to calm the woman. "Now, get ova' here and finish whatcha started five minutes ago." He added, grabbing the woman by her backside before pulling her into his arms.

"Not out here, let's go back inside.. This place gives me the creeps.." The woman stated, ignoring the man's advances but not fighting them off either. Moving back to the front of the building, the woman entered the factory with the larger man right behind her. The door groaned as it was closed once more.

It wasn't clear on the amount of people actually residing within the factory or whether or not the Marines heard them talking or not, but it was safe to say they were quite comfortable inside, more comfortable then those hiding amidst the chilly night air outside.

The factory possessed many entrances, some of which barred off from the inside, leaving only three easily accessible entry ways outside of tunnels and drainage pipes. The front door was unwise to enter due to the fact it was recently used. Though it led to the basement, the side entrance wasn't much safer. Like the rest of the building, it was dark inside and hid what dangers may or may not have been laying in wait. The back entrance however possessed enough lighting for them to move safely, though the risk of detection was quite high.

How would they proceed?