| abstract | - Anouncer: And that’s that, ladies and gentlemen! The first finalist position has been claimed by the Obsidian Pirates! And now there are only two more fights remaining before that. Now for the last Semi-final round. Rachel Cain Vs “Stonewall” Eddie! Jessica: And now it’s my turn to fight. Pleasure talking to you. Marley: I thought your name was- Jessica: shhhhhh. Marley: Oh… oh yeah… heheheh. Dimitri: I won’t ask this time… Good luck. Jessica: Thanks. And.. you’re right Dimitri: Oh? Jessica: I really am running away from somebody. Byrn: You’re happy to let her fight, captain? Are you quite sure she’s strong enough to handle this guy? Dimitri: Strong? Maybe, maybe not, can’t tell yet. Smart enough, yes definitely. Besides, can we really do anything to stop her? Byrn: Well, as long as you’re certain. Ed: Oh, hello poppet... I heard my opponent was a girly that got seeded. Wasn’t expecting you. Want me to go easy on you? Jessica: If you intend to win this fight, don’t bother holding back. Ed: huh. Well said for girl- Jessica: Throwing dart. At this distance, you are as good as helpless against me. Convinced yet? Ed: Alright, I’m cracking yer skull. Marley: Woah! That guy really needs to learn to dodge! As Marley had correctly assumed, running directly at her earns Ed several long darts sticking into his shoulder. Jessica literally turns and runs away as Ed swipes at her, before turning back as he stops to pull the darts loose. They are surprisingly large, the size of small daggers, but don’t seem that sharp, not even drawing blood from the strike. However, Jessica smiles confidently. Jessica: I’ve already won this fight. Ed: Huh? It’s just a scratch! Jessica: that’s all I need. I recommend not waving your arm around much. Might stop it spreading. Ed: Poison? Jessica: Nothing too nasty. You’ll be fine in an hour or so, less if you try to keep still as much as possible. I’ll have defeated you by then of course. Ed: You! why… ugh… that stings… Jessica: I don’t suppose you can use that club left handed? Ed: Grr.. You ain’t some ordinary wench, are you? Jessica: Did you honestly think I was? Byrn: Captain? Dimitri: I always wondered what a magic show looked like to a magician.. Byrn: I’m sorry? Dimitri: Look closely at those darts of hers. Ed: I bet you ain’t so good once I get closer.. Jessica: That, I’m afraid, is wrong. Let me show you my real power. Ed: What… What is this?! Jessica: There are those who have called me a freak or a monster, and those who have called me gifted. Either way it doesn’t matter to me. But my body is my own, and it will obey me. All of it. Byrn: I… read about something like this once… is that what you meant about magic tricks captain? Dimitri: No. I never saw this coming. That really is a strange ability. Ed: What? How can she be... How do I even fight something like this?! Anouncer: “Stonewall” Eddie has left the ring, and is disqualified! This was quite a performance from Rachel! Dimitri: Brilliant! That was amazing! Byrn: I’ve worked it out, captain. The magic trick. Dimitri: Really? Byrn: Those darts weren’t actually darts were they? That long thin shape isn’t aerodynamic at long range, which was why she kept missing. They were too badly designed for combat to be weapons. Dimitri: Indeed not. So what’s the conclusion? Byrn: There’s a conclusion? Dimitri: Of course. Spotting the bits that talk is only the start. You have to work out what language they speak as well. Then you get to hear the message. Byrn: …. I give up. You’re just too good at that for me to keep up. Dimitri: What? Nah! Of course not. You just need to think it over! Byrn: Ok captain, I’ll think about it Anouncer: And now we choose our second finalist! For our last semi-final match! Rachel Cain versus the duelist Bergmont! Bergmont: I hope you are not expecting me to restrain myself, girl. Jessica: I hope you are not expecting that to make a difference. Bergmont: I am far swifter than you, foolish girl! Jessica: ack! In the audience, Dimitri flicks his right hand wrist, and his hand flips downwards on a concealed hinge to expose his gun. Marley: Woah, what are you doing bro? Dimitri: This has gone far enough. If he claims to have any honour at all, I am not going to let him hit a girl. Marley: But bro, you can’t just mess with a battle while she’s still fighting in it! That’s cheating! Dimitri: Ok then. Jessica: Fine. I- Bergmont: I told you a woman should not fight. This time I will make sure you remember. Dimitri: I’ve changed my mind. Enough already. Marley: Wait a minute- Byrn: Ok Bergmont, that’s far enough. Marley: Whaaat?! I thought you were trying to keep us out of trouble! Byrn: We’re already in trouble! Marley: Really? Byrn: Enough to justify that anyway. Bergmont: What is this?! How dare you?! Dimitri: It’s time for the final round, Battenberg! I’m going to send you flying! Bergmont: Was that a challenge? Dimitri: Of course! Anouncer: Well, it seems the contestants have made a decision for us! Bergmont is our second finalist! And so we now proceed immediately to the final match! Jessica: From what I’ve seen, he’s nigh unstoppable at close range, he hits just too hard and fast. But he seemed to have trouble blocking, so if you can hit him directly from range you’ll have the best chance. Good luck. Dimitri: Thanks. Anouncer: And here are our final contestants! Bergmont the duelist is the odds on favourite of the tournament, and up until now has obliterated every opponent in a single stroke! We have only seen Dimitri Marcellus fight once before, in the qualifier against “Catapult” Nelson, but that was an impressive clean win, and his teammates have both shown exceptional skill. If he follows that trend then this may well be the closest fight of the entire tournament. So, without further ado, the moment you’ve all been waiting for... Let the final battle….. Begin!! Jessica: I warned him about Bergmont at close range already. What’s he doing? Byrn: Being surprising. Bergmont: Gah!?! Anouncer: And he’s down! Amazing! Bergmont, the untouchable, unstoppable, unrelenting duelist flying away as Dimitri goes on the offensive! There has been NOTHING like that before! Bergmont: My slash shouldn’t have been blocked that easily. Dimitri: Not by an ordinary arm. But this is the arm of a mecha! Bergmont: Armour hidden inside a body. I must confess I would never have thought such a thing possible. Stands to reason a pirate would use such a dark tactic. But no matter! It will not save you! Bergmont: You are not even close to my level. No armour will help if I find your weak point. Bergmont: Don’t pretend that didn’t hurt you, pirate. You are no match for me at close range. Dimitri: It won’t matter. As I said before, I cannot forgive your opinion on pirates. I will defeat you! How well can you handle long range? Bergmont: A concealed weapon as well?! Do you really expect drawing a gun in a swordfight will make any difference?! Dimitri: I don’t recall this ever being called a swordfight, Battenberg! Dimitri: This went quickly. Dimitri: Ammo. Darn it. I knew the hard to replace ones would run out first.. Bergmont: Do you realise how helpless you are yet?! You pirates are nothing more than pests to me! Dimitri: Darn, what can I use what can I.. wait.. whatdidshesayagain- Ah! Dimitri: And thank you Jessica! That worked so well! Ammuniton problem.. Solved forever! Marley: What? Something you did? Jessica: Of course... The air in the gun barrel. He turned it into explosives.. Dimitri: You’re still coming? Bergmont: Of course. Did you actually think I was beaten? You’ve barely even touched me! I am only just starting. Dimitri raises his gun again. And Bergmont leaps. Dimitri barely has time to react before the duelist lands right in front of him and knocks him staggering with a vicious slash. As Dimitri recovers, Bergmont whirls and kicks, before spinning his saber in another circle and trying to stab Dimitri with it, pushing him back even more, and nearly knocking him over. Dimitri recovers just in time to get another attack hit him dead on. Bergmont: I told you. You are not even close to my level! Barely enough to deserve any real effort, but since you annoy me, I will show you a serious technique. Jessica: What the heck was that?! Byrn: Unbelievable! Marley: Wha…what… what th… Bergmont: Now do you understand? I am far superior to you! Dimitri: no...t Bergmont: What? You’re still conscious? Bergmont: What? Dimitri: Not. So. Fast. Bergmont: H-How can you even stand?! You should have been sliced in half! Dimitri: Just because you can find a few week points in armour plating doesn’t mean it’s not there. I admit that hurt, but it’s not enough to stop me. And you won’t get a second chance with that technique. I’m ending this fight now. Bergmont: You… should not be able to fight. No matter! I’ll finish you off with all my strength! Bergmont: Duelist’s judgement.. Bergmont: Guilt: Execution! Dimitri: Annihilation… Juggernaut Impact! Anouncer: And it’s over! Dimitri Marcellus claims victory in a truly amazing fashion! Anouncer: And now here's the tournament holder, Thorstein Weiss, to present the prize. Weiss: Congratulations. I was rather hoping something like this would happen. Dimitri: Thanks. Dimitri: A devil fruit? Weiss: It’s yours. You and your crew earned it. It is the prize, after all. Dimitri: What fruit is it? Weiss: I don’t know. It’s not been seen before, to the best of my knowledge. So I’ve no idea what it might do if anyone ate it. Anyway, since I’d already eaten one it’s only good to me for the money, and I thought this tournament was more rewarding. I’m glad I was proved right. Dimitri: Hahahaha! Your welcome. It was kinda fun for me as well. Weiss: Heyeheheheheheye. No problem! Hope we get to fight sometime! Dimitri: Yeah, me too! Maybe further up the grand line. Weiss: It’s a deal! Until then! Marley: Awesome bro! Just awesome! Jessica: That was amazing… Dimitri: Not as amazing as how you handled Ed. That was genius. Jessica: Really? Dimitri: Anyone could win a fight with a blast cannon, but it takes some skill to win a fight with knitting needles and a bottle of alcohol. Marely: What?! Byrn: Alcohol soaked needles... No wonder he said it stung! Jessica: I always wanted to be a tailor. And not even my brother could beat me at poker. I figured I could bluff my way out, especially with my hair as well. Should have realised you’d see through it. Anyway, thank you for beating up that creep. Byrn: The log has set itself captain. We should probably leave before anybody tries to take our heads. Dimitri: Sure. Let’s go. Coming Jessica? Jessica: What?! Dimitri: Thought I’d ask again. I mean you didn’t hate us earlier, even though we we're pirates.. Jessica: I might have, now I think about it. I actually might have. I could actually have travelled with you guys, even if the marines came after us. But I can’t. I have a different path to follow. Byrn: Meeting Edward. Jessica: Yes. I’ll wait here for him as long as I can, and go on from there. I know he’ll come eventually. Dimitri: Ok then! Here! Jessica: Eh?! But this.. Dimitri: A few hundred million Beri is always useful when you’re travelling, especially if you’re running away. Or you could eat it, although apparently there’s no telling what it would do then. Either way it’ll be more useful to you than to us. Byrn: We really are being unconventional for pirates, aren’t we? Marley: Yeah bro. Jessica: But.. What about.. Dimitri: Your idea about my Devil Fruit worked. We don’t need the money when we have a trick like that, and Byrn prefers to swim. So we don’t have much use for it anyway. Jessica: …. Thanks. Dimitri: No problem. Well, I guess we’d better be off. Jessica: Wait. Let me promise you. One day, I will pay you back for everything you’ve done, pirate or not. I won’t forget this. Let’s meet again someday! Dimitri: I’ll look forward to it! Marley: Alright! Byrn: I’d like that. Meeting again would be nice. Dimitri: Like that Weiss guy, only without the fight. Marley: Yeah! Let’s do- Eh?! Byrn: Weiss? The tournament holder? Marley: The guy who flipped up a whole building? Dimitri: Sure, he said he’d like to fight us some time. Marley: Bu..bu but.. Byrn: Back to the ship. Now. Marley: Let’s get out of here! Dimitri: See you again! Bye! Jessica: Those guys... are so fun.. Jessica: No. It's too risky to tempt the unknown. Especially with no taking it back. ??: Hey. Weiss: Ice. I thought you’d left Ice: What? Before that big fight? What would be the point? Weiss: You said you were losing interest. Ice: That was back when Bergmont or whoever was cutting down all the competitors. It was rather more interesting after Nelson got catapulted. Weiss: As in, when the Obsidian pirates arrived? Indeed, they’re exactly the sort I held this competition to attract. I might well have found a worth opponent at last, given time. Ice: So that’s why you did it. I was wondering. Weiss: Indeed. As I suspected, the temptation of winning a devil fruit drew out some powerful rookie pirates, and let me observe their fighting skills without confronting them directly. Ice: Which is exactly why I came here as well. That's kinda clever. Weis: thanks. Ice: Wasn’t that the girl from the semi finals? Byrn: Well, that was quite an outing. Marley: Yeah. And you gotta admit, it was pretty fun. Byrn: yes, I suppose it was. Certainly it was worth fighting Kelp. Though I’m worried somewhat by that Jessica girl. Marley: huh? Why? Byrn: It strikes me as odd that the person she was waiting for hasn’t arrived yet. It could be nothing, but it just feels off. Marley: Yeah. I guess it is pretty odd. But it’ll work out! I know it will. Byrn: Ok. Dimitri: So, where too next? Byrn: No idea. We still don’t have any maps. Marley: This’ll be fun then! Dimitri: Indeed! I can't wait to see what suprises the next island may have Byrn: That's quite an optimistic way of looking at it. Are you quite sure that slash you took isn’t going to be trouble? Dimitri: Yeah, it’ll be fine. He barely drew- what was that George? Marley: Huh? I never said nothing. Dimitri: Really? Byrn: It sounded like a shout. Marley: It’s her! Byrn: I'm stopping the ship. Dimitiri: Jessica? Jessica: Sorry to rush in, but I have to ask a favour. Byrn: Hmm? Jessica: It’s my brother. He’s been kidnapped! Marley: What?! Dimitri: What? Edward? Jessica: No! ah- Yes! I mean.. That’s not his real name! ah.. here, it’s right here. Jessica: You see? Dimitri: Diabolos Capricorn! Of course! No wonder you know how to navigate… So you and your brother were running away from home! It all makes sense now! Jessica: He was a year older than me, but neither of us wanted to take over the family business. Dad wasn’t listening to us though, so in the end Hector decided he was getting out on his own, and I persuaded him to take me as well. He snuck off right before his eighteenth birthday, which was when he was going to inherit his title. The plan was he’d spend the year setting himself up under the name Edward Cain, and then I’d also run and meet him at Whisky Peak. But…. Dimitri: But this pirate intervened. Jessica: Yes. I have to try and help him. But that particular pirate, de Triezieme.. he’s elusive. The marines have apparently been looking for him for three years and never caught up. Byrn: I see. So you’re hoping that another pirate might have more luck. Jessica: Please let me join your crew. If I become a pirate, I might be able to find another way to save him. Dimitri: Ok. I promise you, we will find your brother one way or another, and we will get him to safety. Jessica: That’s… that’s more than I could ask. I don’t want to drag you into a fight with such a dangerous person. Dimitri: We’re friends aren’t we? It doesn’t matter how dangerous that guy is. We’ll find a way! Jessica: Thank you. And in return, I can navigate for you. I have a map of the grand line, and I know how to read weather patterns. Byrn: Well that is a fair deal. I was having no end of trouble with that. Marley: Well, it’s high noon! Good time to set sail, right? Dimitri: Aye! Let’s go! To the unknown! Byrn: I’ll get the helm. Jessica: Oh. Jessica: Known or unknown.. And no way back… Jessica: A gamble with no way back. But then I made that choice when I first left Goa didn't I? Jessica: Onward to the unknown it is!
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