President Dedd shot a beam of mysterious red substance at the duo, both leaping out of the way hastily as it crashed into the ground.
"I think I know what his power is" Sneeze commented as they observed their opponent.
"What are you thinking? Kev responded, still catching his breath from before.
"He's got some sort of Blood manipulation. That's how he was able to force you into his hand before, and it's what he's shooting at us. It also explains how he stopped the bleeding from his eye."
"That must be right. Good thinking."
They leaped forward at the same time to try and close the distance. "Plasma SPIKES!" Dedd yelled, throwing his arms out, launching a series of small but sharp red daggers whizzing past the boys, cutting up their skin. Regardless, they pushed forward without hesitation. Sneeze landed a hit first, a left hook to Dedd's stomach. Kev followed up with a right jab to the face, squirting some blood from his eye socket. The foe dazed and confused, both pirates continued the streak of punches, making contact over and over as they beat the hell out of President Dedd.
"ENOUGH!!!" Dedd shouted, and from the ground at the base of his feet shot up pillars of blood, guarding him from the attacks, and attempting to heal with his ability.
"What now?" Sneeze questioned.
"When I say go, charge at him, and don't stop hitting until he goes down."
"Got it." Sneeze responded, picking up 2 of the blood knives from before. Kev reached his arms out as far as the could go, charging up energy in each hand. "GO!"
Sneeze dashed forward, leaping into the air towards the wall of blood. In a swift movement, Kev slammed his hands together, creating a sonic boom of energy.
"VITALITY THUNDERCLAP!" The room shook as the walls rattled and the ceiling started to crumble. Dedd was knocked to his feet, lowing the blood pillars for a moment. Sneeze flew through the air, landing ontop of Dedd and pinning him to the ground.
"You should try to BE POSITIVE next time!" Sneeze brought down the blades he held, impaling his foe in the neck, ending him instantly. There was no time for the boys to celebrate however, as the most recent thunderclap had caused the ground beneath them to crumble. The mansion was going down. They fell through 2 stories of falling building, landing on the ground floor.
"Be positive? Really?"
"Yeah! Like B+? The blood type?" Sneeze defended.
They look over to see their former waitress, Shambles, in combat with the massive Dedd family commander from before, who was throwing pieces of stone at her.
"Thunder Zap!" Shambles broke apart the various chunks of rubble that was thrown at her with a short electric burst from her polearm. After clearing a path, she runs up to her enemy, and brings down her weapon on his head with maximum power.
"She seems tough." Kev notes while watching what's going down.
"Yeah, but lets get out of here, fast!" Sneeze replies. They make their way out of the rubble of the fallen mansion to find the other waiter, Litz, brawling with the beast hunter, officer Dedd. Swords raised, they clash steel together in a bright fashion, until distance is made between them.
"Emerald Typhoon!" Litz slices down a series of clearly visible green slashes, overwhelming his opponent with a more simple blade.
"I wonder what kind of sword that guy is using, it's something else..." Sneeze wondered as they snuck past the commotion.
"All right, we just have to make it down to the docks again and get the hell out of here, before we're spotted by some Navy goons." They agreed as they ran through the streets of town, attempting to not bring too much attention to themselves (and failing). "You do remember which way it was, right?" Sneeze brought up.
"What?! I thought we were following you!"
"Why would we be following me?"
"Well atleast we get to see the scenic route on the way back!" Kev laughed.
Sneeze buried his head in his hands. "We're going to die here..."
As they got to the docks, they realized a critical error. Kev shouted aloud, "Oh, shit! We parked in the sand, not the docks!"
"We don't have time to waste, There's an unoccupied boat right there, let's get on!" The boys hopped onto this boat completely foreign to them. It was larger than their last dinghy that they arrived on, about double the length with a singular room in the back, shaped like a small shed. As they set the boat off, they realized that it was just in time, as the lovely coastal town was just now noticing the collapse of the presidents house.
"Well, they aren't chasing us at least." Kev noted as their boat drifted to about 100 feet from shore.
"Yeah, safe at last. Hey, let's check out this little fort, we finally have shelter on the waves." They walked to the back of the boat, and slowly opened the door. To their utmost surprise, it was far from empty. Two characters were noticeable, sitting on the bed and leaning against the wall. But not just any random characters, but the two "waiters" from their previous escapade on Ocenae.
"What are YOU doing on here!?" Kev and Sneeze shouted simultaneously.
"Relax, we aren't gonna hurt ya." Litz chuckled, amused at the reaction. Shambles added on, "You guys are just too predictable, though."
"What do you mean? And how did you get here before us?" They answered, in disbelief.
Shambles sighed. "Well you didn't know where you're going, so that gave us plenty of time and more to get down here. Also, the only ways off of Ocenae are the docks, and the sandbank where you parked. And we guessed that you two were too dull to remember about the second option. I guess we were right."
Litz chimed in. "Oh, and we grabbed your monkey on the way over." Jojo the monkey climbed over his back and jumped onto Kevs arm.
"You guys were waiting for us to get here? But why?" Kev questioned with genuine wonder.
The sibling duo sighed. "We saw how you handled the man who had us as slaves. All we've done was terrible things to you guys, but you didn't hesitate to help us, when you could have easily left us there like anyone else. That being said, we would like to join your crew."
Kevs face of surprise turned into a grin. "Oh really? You wanna join us?
"Yes. And frankly, you could use some crewmates like us." Shambles responded, convincingly.
"Why is that?"
"Well, you could finally have a sense of navigation, for the first time probably ever."
"A navigator?? We don't need something like that!"
"I think the fact that we got down to the docks before you with a lead disadvantage proves otherwise."
Both Kev and Sneeze blushed.
"Besides, with me, we actually have a clue on which island to go to! I think it's settled."
Kev considered the idea for just a moment, then replied. "Yeah, you convinced me. You can join the crew, bratty map lady! And you two, swordsman!" Sneeze cut in after this. "That reminds me, what's the deal with your sword? It's nothing like anything I've ever seen before." He said, referring to Litz.
Litz replied. "Well, I'm sure you've heard of the 15 legendary swords around the world, right? This is Dansai, it's part of the True Triple Katana set. It's my dream to find the other 2 to complete the set and master the ability to wield them at the same time!
"A legendary sword, huh? I love the energy from you, can't lie." Kev responded, grinning. "And you? What's your ambition?" He added, referring to Shambles. She stood up. "It's the same as I told you before. I'm going to track down our mother, wherever she is on these seas, no matter the cost. It's what father would have wanted out of us.
"Alright, I like what I hear! Litz, and Shambles, welcome aboard, to the greatest expedition ever known! Where are we headed , Shambles?"
"Well, "Captain", the nearest island will be good to stop at for supplies, it's called Rivers' Crossing. How does that sound?
"That sounds to me like a plan! Oh, and can we maybe get ourselves patched up on the way there?"
