At that moment, they heard footsteps. "Someone is coming," Kalifa said.
They turned to see a group of Marines charging towards them. "Capture them!" T-Bone commanded.
"Marines," Marianne noted.
"They must have followed us," Nojiko added as she looked at the Marines advancing towards them.
One Marine lunged toward the group. He swung his sword at them. Alvida met him halfway and swung her massive mace and caught him squarely in the face. The impact knocked his teeth out and sent him flying backward. "Take them all down," Alvida shouted.
Maya and Kalifa shared a silent look and nodded in unison. Without a word, they turned their focus toward the main threat and advanced on T-Bone.
T-Bone looked to see them coming. He had recognised that it was Kalifa, a former member of Ciphor Pol 9. She was dangerous. "Right Angle Flash," he said as she sent a sharp, rectangular shockwave toward Kalifa.
"Paper Art," Kalifa said as she relaxed his body. She moved to the right like a piece of paper and dodged the attack.
She held out with her whip, Lovethorn. "Contract Strike," she said as she lashed it out. The whip coiled around T-Bone's blade. With a sharp tug she tried to pull T-Bone sword however T-Bone firmly held it.
"You will not take my sword," T-Bone said as he looked at Kalifa. He tried to pull Kalifa towards him.
Maya saw T-Bone was pre-occupied. She moved forward. "Cess Thrust," she said as she dashed forward and delivered a horizontal slash across T-Bone's breastplate. She had shattered his breastplate.
"Cess Barrage," Maya added as her blade flashed. She launched a rapid series of slashes at T-Bone.
T-Bone saw the barrage coming towards him. He twisted his blade and managed to break free from Kalifa`s whip. "Thrust Guillotine," he countered as he lunged forward with all his might and went forward.
Their blades met with a violent, metallic ring. There were sparks flying. Maya continued with a rapid barrage of strikes.
T-Bone moved his sword to counter every one of her relentless slashes. The air around them hummed from the friction of their clashing energy.
Maya then dropped to the ground instantly. "Cess Sweep," she said as her blade cut a wide arc through the dust. She was aiming for his legs.
T-Bone saw it coming. He quickly jumped into the air and dodged the attack. The blade just grazed his boots.
"Hostile Takeover," Kalifa shouted as her whip went forward and snapped upward directly at T-Bone`s feet. He was launched into the air.
Kalifa immediately leapt after him. "Moonwalk," she said as she kicked the air to gain height.
"Corporate Ladder," Kalifa added as she swung Lovethorn in a spiraling vertical motion that struck T-Bone repeatedly. The spiraling strikes pummeled T-Bone relentlessly. Each crack of the whip bruised his ribs and forced the air from his lungs. The sharp edges of Lovethorn tore through his uniform and left deep, bloody wounds across his chest and shoulders.
"I will not fail justice," T-Bone groaned. "Right Angle Flying Bird: Bone Large Bird," he added as he swung his sword mid-air and sent a bird-shaped beam bouncing through the air towards Kalifa.
Kalifa saw the attack coming. She kicked the air repeatedly to maneuver herself through the sky. As the bird-shaped projectile bounced toward her, she lured it toward a nearby stone wall. Then she dropped down at the very last second. The energy beam crashed into the wall and exploded.
"That was close," Maya said as she looked at the derby falling.
T-Bone landed heavily on his feet. He was panting as he struggled to catch his breath. "You pirates are a plague," T-Bone said.
"We have not done anything here," Maya responded.
"That is what they all say," T-Bone replied. "I have been tracking all the pirates here and capturing you one by one so you will not harm another innocent person," T-Bone added.
"We don't want anyone to get hurt," Maya said.
"I have seen your actions," T-Bone said. "Right Angle Flash," T- Bone said as he made a right angle cut in the air with his sword. He then swung it towards Maya. He sent a rectangular cut forward. The slash flew through the air.
"Cess Cleave," Maya said as she gripped the hilt of her sword with both hands and brought it down with crushing force. Her steel collided directly with the air slash. There was a shockwave. The initial impact pushed her back a few inches. She gritted her teeth and poured her entire strength into the strike and shattered the projectile into nothingness.
T-Bone gritted his teeth. "I will not let you pirates hurt innocent people," T-Bone said. "One has already gotten away from me today, I will not let more escape," he added.
Kalifa simply spun. "Bubble Master Soap Sheep," she said as foam erupted around her body. She created a protective, fluffy barrier on her body. "Sheep Cloud Relaxing Bubbles," she said as she launched the foam forward towards T-Bone. It hit T-Bone and drenched. His muscles turned to jelly and he lost his grip on his sword. It fell to the ground.
T-Bone hit the ground hard as well. "What is this?" he questioned as his body was too smooth and relaxed to move.
Maya stood over him. Her sword began to glow with an ominous, flickering red light. "Hex's Arc Wave," Maya said as she swung her blade and released a massive red beam that tore through the ground. It hit T-Bone and created a massive explosion that engulfed the area. There were Marines next to him which were sent flying back. There were more cracks appearing in the stone,
As the smoke cleared, T-Bone was barely clinging to consciousness. His white Marine cloak was in tatters. It was hanging off his body in scorched, blackened rags. There were deep cuts from Maya's sword and Kalifa's whip covered his chest and arms. He was bleeding from the wounds. His body was shaking and covered in bruises as he struggled to stay on his feet. He spat blood. "I will not let pirates go, the innocent," T-Bone said as he lost consciousness and dropped to the ground.
"I feel a little bad for him," Maya remarked.
"He is our enemy, simple as that," Kalifa said as she touched her glasses.
Meanwhile, Marianne stepped forward. She dipped her brush into her palette. "Betrayal Black," she said as threw the black paint onto the charging Marines. The moment the paint set, the soldiers froze. Their eyes and weapons turned towards their teammates.
A Marine who had been charging forward suddenly pivoted and he drove his blade into the shoulder of the man running beside him.
"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?" the wounded soldier screamed as he held his bleeding arm in shock.
"I can't stop," the Marine sobbed as his arms moved and swung his sword again in a wide arc that cut his comrades in the stomach.
The Marine went down as he spat blood. His stomach was bleeding.
Another Marine lunged at his team mate and sliced his chest. There was blood leaking from his wound as he collapsed. "Stop it," he said.
A Marine holding a rifle shot his two allies in the chest. He had tears in his eyes. "I am sorry," he said.
Marianne looked at the chaos with no expression on her face.
"Seis Fleur," Robin said as she sprouted six arms on the remaining Marines. "Clutch," she added as two arms grabbed their legs and made them fall backward. Another two pairs of arms held their back and the last pair grabbed their upper body. The pairs of hands on the upper body and legs pulled, cracking all their backs. They all collapsed.
"Lets leave," Alvida said as she smacked a Marine with her mace. Her mace had blood dripping from it.
At that moment, the cave ceiling began to crack.
"It looks like the whole place is going to collapse," Robin said calmly. "We are going to get crushed like pancakes," she said with a smile on her face.
"They'll die if we leave them here," Nojiko added.
Kalifa pushed her glasses up her nose. "They are our enemies," Kalifa reminded everyone
"Yes, they are," Alvida agreed as she rested her mace on her shoulder as she looked at the unconscious soldiers. "But," she said.
"Vivi wouldn't let them die like this," Nojiko interrupted.
"No, she wouldn't," Marianne said as she nodded in agreement.
Kalifa sighed. "It is foolish to save your enemies," she said.
Alvida smiled warmly. "It is. However, my love does foolish things all the time, and I suppose it's starting to rub off on us," she added.
"We can rub it like a lotion," Robin commented.
"He is not a bad person," Maya said as she looked at T-Bone.
"Cien Fleurs," Robin said as a hundred arms sprouted from the ground in a long line. "Delphinium," she added. The arms acted like a conveyor belt and rolled the unconscious Marines safely towards the cave entrance and out of the danger zone.
"That solves it," Nojiko said.
"Very handy," Alvida added. The girls all chuckled. "Let go before this cave collapses," Alvida added.
The group stepped out into the fresh air. Alvida stretched her arms. "Let's head back," she said.
"You're all far too sentimental," Kalifa muttered, though she didn't look truly annoyed.
Nojiko laughed. "Even though the princess has a soft side, she can be pretty ruthless," Nojiko said.
"Yes," Marianne agreed. "Back in Skypiea she was a bit scary," she added.
"Only to her enemies," Alvida said with a smile on her face. She looked to see the Marines unconscious. She would have left them dead before she met him and her sisters. She thought she had joined.
"Lets head back," Nojiko said. They all nodded and headed back to Glimstorm.
In the lush gardens of the palace on Granu island, King Cello walked through it. He watched his flower blooming.
Cal ran towards him and bowed low. "My King, the third Life Gem has been located and claimed," he reported.
Cello looked at him. "Was it taken by the same people?" he asked.
"Yes, Sire, we believe it was the first group," Cal replied.
Cello straightened his posture. "Keep me posted on this," Cello said. "Our Kingdom depends on this," he added.
"Yes my King," Cal said as he got up and walked away.
Cal smiled and took out a Den Den Mushi. "Sir three have been found and they will be going for the fourth soon," he said.
"It is time," Den Den Mushi responded.