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Luna ducked under the body of a Marine that had been sent flying by one of the bear’s massive paws. The animal had to stand at least fifteen feet tall on its hind legs, its shaggy brown fur thicker around its jaw, almost as if it had a beard, and parted in places by large scars. One, in particular, drew Luna’s attention: it stretched from the bear’s left eyebrow and ran toward the back of its head. Not only that, but was that bear wearing armor? [color=lightblue]”Marcus?! What the hell are you doing here?! And why are you a bear?”[/color] Luna asked, unsure which of the two questions needed answering the most.

Marcus let out a loud roar and swiped his paw through a group of Marines. “Sorry, Luna, but I heard the gunshot and couldn’t stay back! We’re almost cleared out, but I left Rufus in charge of the retreat. As for why I look like this, haven’t you ever seen a Zoan user before?!” Before Luna’s eyes, Marcus began to shrink as he transformed into his hybrid form. As he lost about three feet in height, his forepaws morphed into five-fingered hands, each one still tipped with a vicious-looking claw and his snout shrank as his fur cleared from his eyes and scalp, giving his profile a strange combination between human and bear. His upper arms became bare while his forearms and hands retained their thick fur coating. His shoulders and neck widened and shortened, respectively, as the old veteran closed his eyes and cracked his neck. “Been a while since I’ve transformed,” he muttered. “It’s like exercising a muscle you barely use.”

Opening his eyes, he noticed Captain Arbor and let out a low growl. Noticing this, Luna asked, [color=lightblue]”You know him, big guy?”[/color]

“Yeah, I tussled with him back on Eclipsis,” Marcus muttered. “He and his men caught up to us while I was loading people onto one of our triremes.” He pointed at the scar on top of his head and added, “He’s the one who gave me this, but I sent him running with his tail between his legs. We can handle him, but watch out for his Devil Fruit power. It lets him go into plants and move through the roots. If I can remember correctly, it’s easiest for him to move between trees, but be careful around any plants, just to be safe.”

[color=lightblue][i]So, that’s how he does it,[/i][/color] Luna thought. As she started to think about how she could counter Arbor’s ability, she heard the Marine captain say, “Is that you, Prefect Istria? I thought I left you to die on that miserable island.”

Marcus let out a bark of laughter and replied, “It’ll take more than this little scratch to put me down. How’s your leg? If I remember correctly, I turned your femur to powder last time we met.”

Luna’s ear twitched and she looked more closely at Captain Arbor, whose face had scrunched up into an angry scowl. Sure enough, she could see that he was favoring his left leg. [color=lightblue]”He sure wasn’t moving like he was injured a little while ago,”[/color] Luna muttered. Though Marcus had given her a hint what to take advantage of, the few seconds she had fought him had already told her it wouldn’t be easy. Just as she had that thought, she watched as Captain Arbor sank back into another tree.

“Well, when you can move between trees and roots like he can, you don’t really have to worry about using your legs,” Marcus muttered. He turned to Luna with an encouraging grin and added, “You’ve got this, Luna. I’ll keep his men busy. As young as you are, you’ve got a better chance of keeping up with him than I do.”

He patted her back and said, “Show this old soldier what the new guard can do!”

With that, he charged forward with a fearsome roar. Several Marines tripped over themselves as they tried to back up while the braver ones brandished their weapons. Luna watched as he charged into their ranks like a sentient battering ram and felt thankful he was on her side. Suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she heard leaves rustling. Without really knowing where the attack was coming from, she jumped to the right just as Captain Arbor sailed through the air, his sword held straight in front of him as if he were doing his best impression of a spear. He disappeared into another tree and Luna let out a growl. [color=lightblue]”Great, now the guy’s a freaking dolphin…”[/color] she muttered as she ducked under another flying attack by the captain. [color=lightblue]”Actually, a swordfish might be more accurate!”[/color]

Again, she heard leaves rustle, this time from directly behind her and it clicked. She suddenly turned around just as the captain shot out of the tree behind her, his eyes wide when he saw her facing him head on. She caught his sword between her fists and said with a grin, [color=lightblue]”So, that’s your tell! The tree shakes before you come out!”[/color] She pressed her fists against the captain’s blade and shattered it between the steel plates on her glove’s fingers.

She didn’t miss a beat with her next move and lashed out with her right leg, cloaked in light blue arcs of Electro, as the steel shards fell to the ground. Her shin caught the captain on the side of the head and sent him flying through one tree before he phased into the one behind it. “Your ears are sharp, princess,” he grunted, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere around Luna. That kick definitely hurt him.

[color=lightblue]”And now that you have a taste of just how hard I hit, how about you give up?”[/color] she suggested. [color=lightblue]”I mean, now that I know how your power works and you don’t have your sword, you’re kinda powerless against me, aren’t you?”[/color]

“For now,” the captain said. “But thanks to the Prefect working his way through my men, there are plenty of weapons for me to choose from.” A moment passed before he added almost thoughtfully, “That said, I’ll stand a better chance if I stopped that monster from tearing my men apart, won’t I?”

[color=lightblue]”Oh no, you don’t!”[/color] Luna shouted as she ran through the trees, following the sound of combat. As she ran, she lashed out with her fists and legs, toppling trees in an effort to flush out the captain, but to no avail. If he wasn’t in any of the trees near her, then he must already be a ways ahead of her. [color=lightblue][i]Just how fast can that bastard move?![/i][/color] she thought as Marcus finally came into sight. He had wiped out almost the entire squad and didn’t seem any worse for wear, though Arbor was nowhere to be seen.

The old veteran noticed Luna as she approached and dropped the Marine he had been holding by the face. “Did you finish off–” He stopped as he felt something push into his back. Looking down, he saw the blade of a sword, crimson with his own blood, protruding through his chest, having pierced between the plates of his armor. 

“Huh…” he muttered before he fell forward.