[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/3iywwTz.png[/img] [h2][color=black]Balthier D. Sydney[/color][/h2] [b]Somewhere in the West Blue, two months ago[/b][/center] [i]Alabasta[/i] The former captain of the Black Dragon Pirates, feared throughout the West Blue, sat hammered at a bar listening with increasing impatience to another drunk narrate his whole life. "We came to...shis island you shee. But it washnt no island, no shir. It wash..." Balthier sighed. He came for information, not to listen to this old fart spin yarns. [color=black]"Yes, yes, I'm sure the goldfish was huge."[/color] He interrupted with a wave of his hand. He leaned in closer and said in a low voice. [color=black]"Now, why don't you tell me a little story about a certain ship that docked here about a month ago. Pirate ship, big one. Lots of cannons. Dragon Skull flag. [i]The Nidhogg[/i]. Ring a bell?"[/color] The alcohol that warmed his belly goaded him to simply beat the information out of the man. He ignored it. There was a heavy Marine presence here today. Several ships where docked here to resupply on their way to the Grand Line. Much as it chafed at him, he had to lay low. At mention of the ship, recognition slowly dawned in the grey-haired and balding man's eyes and fear tore through his drunken haze. He paled and the flagon in his hand began to shake. "Ah uh, 'm not s-sure what you mean, young man. M-m' memory 's not what it used to be." He started edging away, his eyes flicking around the room. Balthier smiled and leaned back as the sweet scent of fear filled the area. "A-anyway. Need to get home. The missus uh...that is she don't like me stayin out drinkin too late." He tossed a handful of beli on the counter. "Here ya go, this round and the next on me." He scuttled out the door with surprising coordination. Balthier watched him go over the rim of his flagon. Not an unexpected reaction, though a bit inconvenient. He was hoping the man had been too drunk to put two and two together. He'd deal with him in a moment. But first, since he had been so kind to buy a round... [color=black]"Hey! Bartender! Get me some of your top-shelf stuff!"[/color] [hr] About an hour later, Balthier came stumbling out of the bar, head buzzing pleasantly. The bar had been a shithole, but the owner really knew his drink. That had been some really good booze. Maybe it was the drink, or maybe his nose was still clogged with all the gag-worthy smells that hung around a seedy bar. Whatever it was, he didn't notice the smell of anticipation and barely constrained bloodlust until there was a click of a pistol and he found himself staring down the bore. Oh. He slowly slid his eyes pass the gun to the man holding it. Small wire glasses, plain hair, plain eyes, plain face, five-foot two. Absolutely nothing remarkable about him. Which, in a way, was remarkable. Balthier knew him. [color=black]"Oh hey [i]hic[/i] Taliesin. Is that a gun in your hand or are you just happy to see me?"[/color] [color=silver]"Save it, Syd. By tomorrow, your bounty will be paying off my tab."[/color] Several more bounty hunter emerged from their hiding places. At least six on the rooftops with rifles, two brandishing swords and pistols to the north and south, and a big brute grinning and cracking his knuckles squeezed his way out of the bar's doorway behind him. Finally, cowering in the darkness nearby was the same old man who had rushed out earlier. Balthier calmly straightened and looked around at the assembled mob. [color=black]"Are these the new hires?"[/color] He asked calmly as he pulled off his coat, and folded it over his arm, his movements slow as not to provoke his captor. Taliesin snorted, sharp eyes following his every more. [color=silver]"In this economy, everyone's looking for part time work. Now, come quietly, or we'll have Marines swarming us in no time. Then we'll have to kill you, and that would be such a pity."[/color] Balthier grinned at him. [color=black]"The poster does say 'dead or alive' so why not just shoot me and be done with it?"[/color] Taliesin smiled back. [color=silver]"Because I believe in maximizing profit. Two birds with one stone and all that. And, I'll be doing you a favor. So, before we turn you in, how about you tell us everything you know about the Black Dragon pirates and where we might find them."[/color] Balthier barked out a rough laugh. [color=black]"Thank the gods for the greed of men. If you somehow manage to kill that treacherous worm, Alistair, I'd gladly go with you and sleep peacefully."[/color] Taliesin lowered his gun. [color=silver]"I'm glad you could see reason."[/color] [color=black]"But. There are some on my crew I still care for. As Captain, I can't let you harm them."[/color] Behind his glasses, the bounty hunter's eyes widened. He brought his pistol up. [color=silver]"Fi-"[/color] Balthier transformed. In a fraction of a second, his body grew in size. Muscles bulged as his body changed shape, his skin rippled and peeled as black and purple scales formed. Horns grew from his head and down his body, tearing though his shirt. Fangs like daggers grew from his jaw, which shifted and stretched as the bones rapidly changed shape. From his back, burst might wings, topped with wicked spears of bone, fully destroying his shirt. A long, sinuous tail swayed from side to side, helping him balance as his legs became digitigraded, ending in massive talons. Each of his fingers lengthened, the nails growing in length until he bore five razor-shape claws. [color=silver]"-re!"[/color] Guns roared as they unloaded bullets into the monstrous form where the man had been seconds before. Sparks flew as the bullets ricochet harmlessly, though he twitched his head to the side as one quite nearly took him in the eye. It stung, and produced a trickle of hot blood. Balthier wasn't worried about the men. He could easily take on several times their number, especially if they didn't have Haki, as these poor saps clearly didn't. Taliesin was a different story. The man was a crack shot with any firearm and very very dangerous. He had no devil fruit powers and yet he had taken down scores of pirates who did. Those who underestimated him rarely got a chance to see the error of their ways. He had been hounding after Balthier off and on for nearly three years. The pirate was heartily sick of running into him. If he stood and fought now, the Marines would be all over them. Worse, there was a very good chance Taliesin would be able to kill him. He surged forward in a blur of movement, fainted left, then pulled right as another volley exploded in the night. Most of them went clear, save one, which knocked scales from the side of his neck. Taliesin backed up slowly and calmly took aim again. Balthier ended his dash right next to the old man. [color=black]"You're coming with me."[/color] He leapt into the air, then snached the man in his talons. He screamed in terror as beat of his powerful wings pushed them both toward the sky. Below, he could hear Taliesin's voice ordering his men not to shoot. They didn't want to accidentally hit the old man he thought with satisfaction. As soon as that thought crossed his head, a sharp pain in his wing followed a gunshot. A small hole, trailing blood appeared in the membrane. [color=black][i]Damn that Taliesin.[/i][/color] Putting as much force into his wings as possible, he fled into the night. [hr] Once he was reasonably sure he was out of range, Balthier angled his flight toward a precipice. The old man clutched in his claws was still gibbering away. He dropped the man on the edge before landing himself. Quick as a flash, he seized the man by his shirt and held him out over the abyss. [color=black]"I'm out of time and I'm out of patience.[/color] The dragon growled. [color=black]"Tell me about the Nidhogg or I drop you."[/color] The man struggled futilely. "The Grand Line!" He shouted. "The Grand Line! T-they went to the Grand Line! He said something about stopping in Alabasta! Please that's all I know!" Tears and snot streamed down his face. Balthier shook him once, pops from the seams in his shirt tearing could be heard. [color=black]"Why?"[/color] "I don't know. I don't know! I just didn't want to go to that cursed place. Please...have mercy captain." [color=black]"No mercy was afforded me when you sided with [i]him[/i] and left me on that godforsaken island. So why should I give you any?"[/color] "P-pluheesh...mershy..." He sobbed. For the briefest second, Balthier seriously considered dropping the poor bastard. [i][b]Do it.[/b][/i] Came the whisper. But the rage left him. With a careless toss, the threw his former crewmember on the ledge. [color=black]"Find your own way down."[/color] He told him. Then he leapt off the ledge, talking flight and headed back toward town. Alabasta Kingdom. It was a very long way away. Why was that crazy bastard going to the Grand Line? Could he really be after the One Piece, first hid by Roger, then Luffy? He always did have a fasciation, nay, obsession with those old legends. Always chivvying him to set sail after it. Balthier didn't really see the point. With Marines focused on the Grand Line, pickings were good elsewhere. A man didn't need legendary wealth to be wealthy. Or world wide fame to be notorious. But that was for another time. For now, his main goal was to catch Alistair and strangle the life from him with his bare hands. [i]Alabasta[/i] [hr] [center][b]Alabasta, present day.[/b][/center] Balthier crashed-landed on an outcropping of rock. Not his finest moment. He rolled a pace before coming to a stop, his dragon form dropping. He lay there, staring up at the sky, breathing heavily. Flying, he found out, in the Grand Line was risky. It's unpredictable weather and tempestuous seas meant that flying took a lot of effort, severely cutting the distance he could travel. He'd been able to get a ship near Reverse mountain, but as the crew was unwilling to go further, he'd had to fly on his own up the mountain. He'd been prepared with good information and a log poise, but along the way here, he had also managed to get his claws on an eternal pose for Alabasta. He'd ship-and-island hopped, avoiding Marines and Bounty Hunters alike. This last flight had been the longest yet, over turbulent seas and through tornados and storms. Sleet and hail, lightning and rain, and weirder things: massive gysers out of nowhere, blood-sucking birds, an island that spun like a top. Here on the Grand Line, it seemed to him like logic was a thing that's only purpose in existing was to be soundly ignored. His thoughts whirled like the birds overhead. He groaned, every muscle in his body aching. He was going to lie here for a while, rest his body. Then maybe find a drink. A few minutes later, he found himself standing outside a bar, realizing he was completely broke. [color=black]"Damn. Change of plans."[/color] He began walking away. He had to find someone who saw where Alistair had gone. More than likely, he had missed him, but it wouldn't hurt to check the docks for the Nidhogg. If she was here, his search would be over. He set his steps through the sandy streets toward the docks.