Lock the Door and Throw Away the Key. High Seas Jailbreak!

[Shark a' Pult]

An unfortunate truth that many who fly the black flag and take to the high seas, traverse the various dangers of the Four Blues, only to have their time cut short upon reaching that ocean of oceans; the Grand Line. A harsher degree of nature, hostile elements abound and of course a greater Marine presence, often leads to the book being closed on many a new story of ambitious piracy.

Such was the case for Arnell Aigorn and Rioul Schway, who ran afoul such a Navy division in Mock Town, before their story could even truly begin. Detained and imprisoned before they could make their getaway, they now sit in the brig of a newly launched Marine vessel, commanded by the officer whom was responsible for their capture. En route to a nearby holding facility, it seems their future is bleak.

At least though some good came of their arrest, thereby giving Jack Ringer the chance he needed to escape on his own vessel, alongside a strange pair of brothers the pirates had encountered in town. Being free and in command of his own vessel, it remains to be seen what the captain of the Red Ace will do with this gift...


~~~

The Nordamark it was called, the new Navy ship being launched from Mock Town under the command of a capable captain whom while the christening ceremony was not yet complete, herself detained a number of pirates and local undesirables. The vessel itself was not a standard construction battleship, smaller and less heavily armed, but faster and more maneuverable by all accounts. It was made for quick island-running rather than full scale battle, but unfortunately the ship wouldn't be used for either of these purposes. The maiden voyage was, plainly enough, sailing with a number of merchant ships to the next island.

At least some benefit of the ship being new, was that the facilities were relatively nice, even the brig where two suspects worthy of note were being held. Despite being a holding cell, the place was clean and fairly spacious; assumedly it was made for holding more occupants, but only a small number of suspects from Mock Town in total had been detained, so there were enough separate cells in the brig to average about one to two occupants per cell.

And this of course was where the two suspects of note found themselves. A number of wall-hanging beds, some simple small tables and chairs, and an overall abundance of things to do. The dim amber glow from lanterns hanging in the corridors outside the cells played over the insides of each, and the slow rocking motion of the ship on the sea produced a steady washing sound audible even down here. The bars were not particularly worthy of note, though obviously it was discouraged to try to break out, as there were posted guards towards the entrance points to the brig. The occasional wandering marine enforced this presence.

---

The Red Ace would have no trouble leaving port, as the Nordamark and overall marine presence were still devoted to preparations for departure and sorting out the issue with some world noble. Of course not long out, and it would find a small fleet of ships in a glut some miles from the bay. Every so often another ship or two would join the procession, as well as a couple of larger Navy vessels which were already there as protection.

All in all, the lot were waiting for the Nordamark to join them. By the time the Red Ace reached the assortment of ships, conveniently enough, the occupants would be able to see the ship itself being launched and would join with the others within the hour. More likely, within the half hour.

That is of course, assuming the captain actually approached the collection of ships. There was nothing stopping him from doing so, as to the others in the fleet it would just seem like another vessel joining them. That said though, the Red Ace could altogether avoid the procession, and simply sail onwards to wherever was desired.

[Franky]

"Not good" said Jack, looking through the spyglass he had retrieved from his captain's quarters at the numerous Navy ships in their path.
"Those guys could be a lot of trouble. There's a lot of them and one good hit will slow us down enough for that fancy new one to catch us. Hmm. The odds are against us, all we can do now is fold or..." He looked at the convoy of ship and perked up like he had an idea. "...Bluff."
He whirled around and headed back to the ships wheel. "Rizzo! Take down the Jolly Roger, we're gonna sail out of here right under their noses"
He stopped in his quarters again to retrieve something before taking the wheel and steering the forward to head in to join the group of ships.

[Necromantic Soundwave]

One hell of a beating. Well, two hell of a beatings.

The first one was losing to the vice admiral. Arnell was strong. Probably weren't a lot of people on the Blue Seas that could give him a worthy challenge unless they were retired Grand Liners themselves. Leave it to taking a beating so bad to remind him that he was still small fish in a sea full of sharks. Also, it gave him time to think of metaphors describing his predicament as he faded in and out of consciousness on the way to the brig.

The second beating came a little later. Some yellow eyed marine -- A bit like mine, now that I think of it -- took him away from the cell, gave him a good beating. Made him eat something. He blacked out after that, but he felt strange. Violated. So now he laid on his bed, waiting. He could break out, probably. There wasn't any seastone keeping him from his transformations, but knowing the Vice Admiral would likely be waiting was enough of a deterrent.

Besides, I'm in no condition to leave.

Black eyes, bruises, and a few shattered bones. Hopefully Jack got away, for what it was worth. Giving up his own adventure so that Jack and those former nobles could get away. If only he could have put his hatred aside and got on that bubble with them. It was too hard. He would only have ended up giving them a beating again.

Not that it mattered now. Arnell's regular thoughts of rebelliousness were quelled while he was in such a defeated state. He didn't even attempt to talk to Rioul. He hardly knew the guy, and when they got to whatever lock-up, he may as well never see him again anyways.

[CJ]

"Yes, sir!" Rizzo cheered. As he tugged the rope to lower the flag, Ron fought to tie his bandanna around his head. His brother still had the odd black swirl of hair that identified him as being related to his Celestial Dragon family. Ron's hair line near his forehead was scarred, so he didn't look much like his old self anymore. From a distance, the brothers would seem normal, which is exactly the sort of identity they wanted for themselves.

"What if they call our bluff?" Ron asked, crossing his arms and looking up at Jack. "Are you prepared to face the risks they might pose?"

The rogue seemed somewhat nervous about Jack's abilities. The pirate just freed him and his brother with his amazing power, but he wasn't sure how he'd do against a great number of Marines.

[Shark a' Pult]

A fair number of the ships in the convoy looked to be flying the same flag, but not all of them, and it wasn't a navy flag either. That was clearly reserved for the few ships protecting the lot. The question then was, where these ships were all from, though that was not immediately apparent.

Either way the Red Ace would have no difficulty approaching the collection of ships at standstill, drifting about till the Nordamark joined them, which would be in no time at all. Nearing the lot though, simply waiting long enough and the attention of at least a few of the ships nearby was caught. Or rather, the crew on board. Most continued about their work, but not every ship was stocked cargo, at least a ferry or two visible. The nearest vessel though, a relatively smaller caravel, had a captain who neared the side and called out to the Red Ace.

"Heeyo! What's she carrying? Can't be much from the looks of it, but where's she bound?"

A little further off in the other direction about the same time, one of the bigger ships (though still mercantile) hailed the Red Ace. An officer or some similarly ranked crewmember made use of a low-tech megaphone to do so.

"You there, last minute arrival! Have you logged with the convoy head? Make sure to do so before getting underway!"

Seeming to make the rounds, the bigger ship didn't get too close, instead continuing through the glut of vessels and continually calling out orders and the like. Met with varying responses, it seemed the ship itself wasn't officially in charge of keeping order, but it's size certainly helped give that illusion.

It seemed this was somewhat necessary at least, since now that the last marine ship was nearing, most of the vessels in the convoy (at least, all the ones towards the back) were starting to turn and orient in one direction towards the front. Preparing to set sail en masse, it seemed.

---

Like clockwork, the guards made their rounds through the brig, leaving little to guesswork. A tight ship was being kept, likely at least in part due to this being the maiden voyage for the ship. Either way, more and more external sounds could be soon heard, more than just the wash of the waves outside. Sounds of signal bells, shouting and the hailing of other ships. It seemed that the ship had met up with some others, though for what purpose was as of yet unclear. By this time, the patrols got less and less, until it seemed a period of a solid thirty minutes passed without sight or sound of a guard.

Amidst the dulled assault of sounds from outside, there sounded something a little closer and more clearly audible. Metal, jingling against metal.

"Guys... hey guys!" a short shout, stifled by a hasty hand. "Whoops... hey, it's me."

Outside the cell in the corridor stood the fellow from back in Mock Town, looking like he was trying to do a (bad) job of sneaking about. He still had on the same clothes, the green & white hoodie with khaki cargo pants, though he seemed to have found a red quilted overcoat since the time from their detainment and his apparent escape. He'd come to stop outside the pirates' cell, and was dangling a set of keys. He did his best to keep his voice low, a little above a whisper, though he was clearly quite excited.

"I managed to snag these off one of the guards when he wasn't looking, he seemed too busy to notice. Not sure what's going on up top, but I think this is our chance to escape!"

Moving to the side a bit, he leaned up on his tip toes and hopped a little, to grab at one of the hanging lanterns.

"So, what do you say? Wanna make a break for it?"

[Franky]

Jack turned to Ron with his biggest smile yet.
"I always am. This is the Grand Line, the highest stakes table in the world! And if you're ever gonna hope to win big you gotta be willing risk it all. That's what it means to be a pirate on this sea."
After pulling into the group He gave a thumbs up to the man with the megaphone before speaking with the other captain.
"It's not about quantity friend, we're in the exotic pet business and it's ALL about rarity. Just picked up a couple southbirds in fact. We're headed for Vira eventually but we got potential clients everywhere so if you don't mind we'll stick with you guys for a bit. Having these Marine ships around would make us feel a lot safer, can't be too careful with all these pirates around these days, y'know. So what's the next stop for this bunch?"

[CJ]

Ron and Rizzo kept close nearby, listening closely as Jack communicated with the Marines. Well, Ron did anyway, standing at attention with cross arms. He glared at Jack, hoping that his gamble would see them through as his luck had before. He still hadn't known the man for a very long time and hoped trusting him wouldn't lead to his or Rizzo's downfall. Already he received the beating of a lifetime from Arnell earlier that day and was still feeling the effects of it along with bruises still forming.

Rizzo hummed as he swept the deck, trying to keep busy. He kept glancing at Jack to see how the situation was faring. He had a plan in mind in case the Marines questioned him about the legitimacy of his imaginary trade.

[Necromantic Soundwave]

Arnell groaned, and turned over so that his face looked towards the bars of the cell. His brow furrowed as he looked at the less than competent man. He hopped free of the bed, and nearly fell over. He didn't realize how wobbly his legs were. He was in no condition to escape just yet, but he didn't want to yell at the guy with the hoodie yet. Having the keys could prove useful later, if he'd be given a reprieve. Never knew when another beating could come from that yellow eyed marine.

"I'm not in any condition to escape, but maybe Rioul is. If you're smart, find out which keys fit our cells and take them off. Hide them away. Put the keys back. This ship's too big, and too luxurious for an escape to go unnoticed. That damned marine who put us in here's probably walking around too," He said, and clutched at his side, which was thankfully still bandaged up. That sword cut wasn't his favorite thing right now.

With that, he walked over to a chair and sat down, looking at the man expectantly, "The name's Arnell, by the way. Best I learn yours before you end up getting yourself killed with how stupid you're being right now," Perhaps the beating really did break poor Arnell's spirit. Compounded with the boredom and no real purpose to his adventures, it was all just floating around in his head and making it difficult for the salamander man to have any hope.

"Besides. Where would we go? Rioul and I can't swim, and we've probably left the dock by now."

[Furikuri]

Rioul's eyes fluttered open at the sound of his name coming from Arnell's lips. "WHat's that?" He said loudly while sitting up, his eyes blinking to adjust to the gloomy light. Eyes finally settling on the keys the man from Mocktown was holding. "Are we busting out of this joint?" Rioul whispered, "I'm sure we could jump the guard and sneak up top. Maybe hop a life boat and head towards the nearest island."

Gingerly stretching out his leg Rioul let out a slight grunt. The pain had largly subsided and the wound was healing quickly. A bullet of the caliber that would wound a man meant very little to an elephant, and it was more of a lingering stiffness than pain that Rioul was dealing with now. "I could carry you easily, especially if you can be any smaller." Rioul remarked. "I'm not entirely sure what we are working with here, but if we need any muscle I have that in abundance."

[Shark a' Pult]

"Having these Marine ships around would make us feel a lot safer, can't be too careful with all these pirates around these days, y'know. So what's the next stop for this bunch?"

"You can say that again, but it's Jerulas what's the next stop. Unscheduled, but the new navy ship... ah here it comes!"

About half the way through speaking, the fellow caught sight of the Nordamark joining with the convoy, holding his hat as he leaned over the side.

"...see, the new navy ship. S'carrying prisoners, bunch of pirates I think, from back in Mock Town and set to drop 'em off the prison in Jerulas. Picked 'em up during the ceremony, big deal that. They brought down a Vice Admiral I hear, but can't imagine it's for a ship."

Giving the signal for the crew to set about with the rigging, the captain set ready his ship to go, seeing as the convoy was already beginning to pick up pace with the ships towards the front. It wouldn't be minutes before the whole lot were en route, watched on over by their marine escorts. The focus vessel in question, the Nordamark, acting prisoner transport detail was situated towards the center.

"Wonder what they're really here for... anyway, name's Toulouse, nice to meet ya'. What say we has us a wager eh, your southbirds against my pineapples? Who makes it to Jerulas first, eh? Drinks on the loser!"

Speaking as he neared the back of the ship, the captain tipped his hat and grabbed the wheel, before the sails were unfurled on his vessel and she was off. Once en route there was no set procession order so ships could overtake one another, and for the number of ships the going was fast it seemed. If the Red Ace wanted to keep up, it would have to go as fast as it could go, and if it wanted to get towards the front it would have to faster than that.

All the while the Nordamark kept pace towards the middle of the convoy, ever steady as the various other ships, big and small neared and passed it or fell behind.

---

Given the motion of the vessel, those in the cells might be able to tell that the ship was well underway by now.

"The name's Arnell, by the way. Best I learn yours before you end up getting yourself killed with how stupid you're being right now, besides. Where would we go? Rioul and I can't swim, and we've probably left the dock by now."

"Well, my name's Victor, but... did you not see outside? They must've brought you guys down here before me, before they chucked us in cells. I saw, the ship's moving with like, a big fleet!" again he had to stifle himself, speaking too loud "We're on the open water, but there's plenty a' ships all around us."

To be honest, Victor was a little disappointed that it seemed his would-be wayward companions had all but given up. Part of him at least expected a daring jailbreak even if it wasn't a sound plan, but instead he found them accepting defeat. Or at least, one of them was.

"I could carry you easily, especially if you can be any smaller. I'm not entirely sure what we are working with here, but if we need any muscle I have that in abundance."

"Well that would be good if we need to escape, but for now most a' the crew are gathered up on deck, something to do with all the other ships around. I think for now, at least a safe idea would be to go lower into the ship. Cargo hold maybe, could find us some uniforms or at least equipment better than shackles."

Carefully, he went to unlock the pair of pirates' cell in as quiet a manner as he could manage, which didn't really matter that much because they were all talking about louder than that. Still though, eventually he had it open, but he didn't enter inside. Merely holding the door open with one hand an the keyring in the other, he waited to see if they actually were interested in escaping as he had hoped. Rioull at least seemed on board, but Arnell might need some convincing.

"I'm not too worried about the guards noticing for now. It's a pretty novice crew, since the Captain got demoted, so it will probably be awhile before the figure something is up. Although, if you'd rather I locked the door back up and returned the keys..."

[Franky]

Jack twitched. An insidious look of excitement grew in his eyes as it commonly did in the past.
"I'll take that wager. Unfurl all the sails gentlemen, full speed ahead!" he said whirling around and returning to the helm.
The Red Ace was a small ship which were usually design for maneuverability, and it was. But there were secrets to its unusual design. It quickly sailed forward, keeping pace just behind Toulouse's ship.
"Hmm, merchant ships, built to be as fast as possible, can't have the cargo spoiling after all. But we've got an ace up or sleeve."
Jack now seemed completely focused on sailing. Any thoughts of escape or marines completely forgotten, or at least temporarily pushed to the back of his mind.

[CJ]

Jack's gamble worked.

Ron had to admire the pirate. He could be bombastic or subdued when the situation called for it. He felt much better about his and his brother's future prospects.

"Yahoo!" Rizzo shouted, unfurling the sails and going about his usual chores. Unlike his older brother, he didn't think too much about the dangers of their current situation.

"So," Ron asked, pausing and turning to Jack again, "what's the plan now?"

[Shark a' Pult]

"Har har, so he thinks he can beat us?"

Toulouse was surprised to find the Red Ace keeping pace well enough, considering it was such a small ship compared to some of the others in the fleet. True, in a test of speed, the biggest ships never tended to win but generally the more sails the better. Some of the faster ones had those of the lateen kind, or even masts sticking out the side of the ship and all manner of oddities, but here was Jack's ship catching up to the best of them.

"Let's peel away then lads, see if we can catch the wind proper!"

Toulouse and his merry men aimed to get far enough ahead from some of the others in order to capitalize upon the benefit of not having to share the wind. While he didn't hope yet to catch the ships clearly in front, perhaps he could get a step up from the rest of the pack. The two in front though were probably out of reach for now, as they were well and clear ahead of the convoy by a league or so. An average sized ship and a smaller one still, the one had some sort of turbine-driven engine while the other had multiple smaller hulls and skipped across the waves. Keeping pace with one another, it seemed those two at least, were the uncontested leaders of the pack right now.

At least, until a new contender started pushing it's way forward.

"One side peasants! This is our waterway!"

Hailing everyone in front of it by megaphone, it was the larger ship from before, that busied itself with organizing the convoy before they left Mock Town. Not nearly the biggest ship in the fleet but still sizable, she was rather ornately designed and opulently decorated, but with a massive prow had no trouble casting aside smaller ships. Although she had sails bearing full caps print of "EL ROYAL", it didn't explain how she was pulling ahead of the other ships of her size or even the smaller ones. The oversized paddle wheels on either side of the ship though, churning up a torrent of water, that might explain it.

While there was no great risk of death in it's way thanks to the prow, if the Red Ace did not pick up speed or outmaneuver the paddle ship, there was the distinct possibility of being smashed out of the way and losing the wind for a time.

[Kyubey]

Amongst the fleet of larger ships, there was one much smaller boat sailing in between. Larger than the common dinghy or rowboat, she was big enough for one or two people to comfortably operate and live in, and just discreet enough to pass by most places unnoticed. The exterior showed many signs of use, suggesting that she had been sailing for a while now, and survived some rough waters in that time. Not an impressive or flashy boat, but she had character all the same. The one distinguishing feature of the ship, something of a trademark for those who knew her, was the distinct smoky smell that seemed to surround her at all times.

The source of this smell would not be difficult to identify. On the deck, currently adjusting the rigging on the sails, was a young woman, roughly in her mid to late twenties. A cloud of smoke seemed to drift above her, from a cigarette clenched between her teeth. She finished her work on the rigging, and stood upright, looking out at the other ships in the fleet through thick sunglasses.

"They weren't lying when they said I'd have competition," she said with a sigh. "Damn. Least the weather ain't bad."

The little ship was fast, but by no means the fastest of the fleet. Still, her sole sailor managed to get along rather well, by weaving in between the larger, less maneuverable boats, until she had a clear view of the leads ahead of her. Coming out ahead was not her first priority, but being the first to the destination was by no means a bad prospect.

Upon noticing El Royal, a single eyebrow raised above her shades, and her mouth curled into a frown. If she could have willed her ship to go faster, she would have done so at that moment.

"Ugh, that's just peachy, ain't it."

Cursing under her breath, she averted her eyes from the eyesore of a ship, as if not looking at it could make it go away. Refusing to yield her position, she pressed forwards, with a bit more determination and purpose than she had before.

[Franky]

"Our plan here, Jack said to Ron "is to keep pace with the rest for now, then once we're close to the finish we'll find a gap in the front of the fleet and spring the Ace's secret weapon at the last minute.
He pulled the riggings tight with one hand, keeping the sail properly positioned.
"not that just keeping pace with these ships will be easy"
The shadow of the El Royal fell over Jack and he turned around to look up at it, giving it a look more quizzical than concerned, and after a moment, smiled.
"But it looks like the sea's dealt us a royal flush"
Jack turned the helm pulling off to the side, but not by much. The Red Ace began falling behind the El Royal's pace as it went past, but kept unsettlingly close to the side of its hull, nearly colliding with it. The megaphone man and his crew didn't seem worried about running into other ships, but the difference in size was quite significant, they might not even notice the Red Ace was there.
"Hold the helm steady" He said to Ron as he ran to the main deck, quickly making his way to the side of the ship nearly brushing the Royal.
With one hand, Jack gripped the railing of the Ace, and with the other he reached out over the rail and placed it on the hull of the larger ship, grabbing it. His muscles strained to perform the feat, but the effect of his power combined with his already impressive strength and sure enough the difference in the two ship's speeds disappeared and the Ace began to be pulled alongside the Royal.