The humid Sabaody air, thick with the scent of salt, wet earth, and lingering smoke from the recent chaos, pressed down as the group moved away from Shakky's Rip-Off Bar. Dr. Lysandra and Proto-Mono stood framed on the bar's top step, the scientist wringing her hands, the living glitch bouncing on mismatched legs, waving her bubble wand frantically. "Bye-bye, bouncy friend! Bye-bye, stabby friend! Blink-bloop!" Jelly wobbled a farewell wave back.
Rayleigh led the way with easy familiarity, his sword at his hip. Shakky walked beside him, a fresh cigarette glowing. Henrick, his massive frame a protective shadow, guided Fia, who kept a reassuring hand on Lulee and Geo's shoulders; the children's eyes darted between the path ahead and the retreating bar, wide with nervous excitement. Galit Varuna, his long neck constantly swiveling, provided a steadying arm for Atlas Acuta as the Mink limped heavily, his bandaged leg a stark reminder of the recent battle. His rust-red fur bristled slightly with discomfort, but his jaw was set. Marya brought up the rear, her tall boots crunching on the broken path, her gaze scanning the treeline flanking Grove 13. The Heart Pirate insignia on her leather jacket caught the dappled sunlight filtering through the recovering mangrove canopy.
They had barely cleared the bar's overgrown yard when the distinct sound of disciplined footsteps and clanking rifles echoed from the main path ahead. A phalanx of Marines emerged, rifles held ready, led by Vice Admiral Venus Harlow. Her mechanic's jumpsuit was gone, replaced by her crisp, albeit slightly rumpled, white trench coat. Her customized prosthetic leg gleamed as she strode forward, her face a mask of cold resolve. Beside her, Captain Kai Sullivan adjusted his glasses, hand resting near his rifle sling, while Captain Nuri Evander, still in his imposing Arambourgiania form – massive wings folded back, beak-like snout surveying the scene – landed with a heavy thump, kicking up dust. Marines fanned out, forming a skirmish line blocking the path to the cove.
"Look out!" Dr. Lysandra shrieked from the steps, her voice crackling with panic.
Marya stopped, turning slowly to face the approaching force. A cool, almost imperceptible breeze stirred the leaves around her. A faint smirk touched her lips, barely visible beneath the shadow of her collar.
"Maybe I should—" Rayleigh began, his hand drifting towards the hilt of the simple sword at his hip.
"No need," Marya interrupted, her voice calm and level, cutting through the tense silence. In one fluid motion, she drew Eternal Eclipse. The obsidian blade didn't flash; it seemed to drink the light. She didn't swing it at the Marines. Instead, she held it aloft, point towards the ground, and gave it the faintest twist of her wrist.
A low hiss filled the air, not loud, but pervasive, like steam escaping a thousand tiny valves. Not smoke, but a dense, pearlescent mist erupted from the blade's tip. It didn't billow; it spilled, flowing across the ground with unnatural speed, thick as cold soup. It rolled towards the Marine line, silent and relentless, swallowing the sunlight and the vibrant greens of the recovering grove in a wave of spectral grey-white.
"Hold positions!" Harlow barked, her voice sharp, cutting through the rising unease as the mist washed over her boots, then her knees, rising rapidly. "Maintain discipline! They're trying to obscure—"
Her order died in her throat. Shapes coalesced within the mist. Not vague forms, but skeletal figures, horrifyingly distinct. Rib cages glistened with phantom moisture, skulls grinned with empty sockets, fingers of bone scraped against spectral femurs as they lurched forward silently. They rose from the mist itself, frost seeming to crackle on the ground beneath their intangible feet. A dozen, then two dozen, spectral warriors advancing on the Marine line.
"OPEN FIRE!" a panicked Sergeant screamed.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
Bullets ripped through the mist and the skeletal figures. They passed through ribs, shattered skulls, punched through torsos – leaving no mark, no impact. The skeletons kept coming, silent, relentless, frost spreading in their wake. One skeletal hand reached out, passing through a Marine's chest. The man screamed, dropping his rifle, clawing at his unmarked uniform in primal terror. Another soldier turned and ran, tripping over roots hidden by the mist. Fear, thick and sour, replaced discipline.
"STAND YOUR GROUND, YOU COWARDS!" Harlow roared, her face contorted with fury. She lunged forward, her fist wreathed in the faint black shimmer of Armament Haki, and punched straight through the skull of the nearest skeleton. Her fist met no resistance, passing through empty air and mist. The illusionary skull didn't even waver. "ILLUSION! IT'S A TRICK!" she bellowed, whirling on her men. "DON'T LET THEM—"
But it was too late. The Marines were consumed, not by physical threat, but by the chilling dread of the unknown, the sight of death walking untouched by their weapons. They fired wildly into the mist, shouted prayers, stumbled back, the line dissolving into terrified chaos.
Harlow cursed, a venomous sound lost in the panicked din. Her eyes, sharp as flint, scanned the mist-shrouded path the group was taking. "EVANDER! SULLIVAN!" she yelled, pointing towards the retreating figures barely visible through the thinning edge of the unnatural fog. "AIR PURSUIT! NOW! DON'T LET THEM REACH THE COVE!"
Nuri let out a guttural screech, his massive wings unfurling with a powerful whoosh that stirred the mist. Kai leapt onto his back, unslinging Silent Requiem in one smooth motion. The beast launched skyward, clearing the top of the mist bank in seconds.
Rayleigh glanced back at Marya as they continued towards the treeline bordering the cove, the sounds of Marine panic fading slightly behind the wall of mist and phantom skeletons. "Nice trick," he remarked, a genuine note of appreciation in his gravelly voice.
Marya slid Eclipse back into its sheath, the mist already beginning to thin and dissipate without its source. A faint, dry amusement flickered in her golden eyes. "Great for parties," she deadpanned.
Shakky chuckled, the sound warm amidst the lingering tension. "Adds a certain atmosphere."
THWIP! CRUNCH!
A high-velocity rifle round slammed into the mangrove root just inches from Geo's foot, spraying splinters. The boy yelped, jumping back. Looking up, they saw Nuri circling overhead, Kai taking careful aim from his perch, the sniper rifle steady despite the pterosaur's movement.
"Persistent, aren't they?" Rayleigh sighed, his easygoing demeanor shifting into something focused and old. "Allow me." He didn't draw his sword fully, just loosened it in its scabbard. With a movement deceptively simple yet radiating immense power, he flicked his wrist. A crescent wave of pure, invisible force – Haki compressed into a blade of will – erupted from the scabbard's opening. It wasn't aimed at Kai, but at Nuri's massive, beating left wing.
The Arambourgiania shrieked, a sound of genuine pain and shock. A deep, bleeding gash appeared across the membrane of his wing. The powerful rhythm faltered. Nuri banked violently, struggling to stay aloft. "Gah! Wing compromised! Losing lift!" he squawked, his distorted voice filled with alarm.
Kai, thrown off balance, cursed, grabbing onto Nuri's back for dear life. "Abort pursuit! Evander, get us down! Now!" The wounded pterosaur veered sharply away from the cove, descending erratically towards the Marine encampment near the bar, Kai's sniper threat neutralized.
Rayleigh slid his sword back home with a soft click. "Should buy us some time," he said, turning back towards the path leading down to the hidden cove where the bubble-coated sub awaited its dive into the deep blue. The sounds of chaos – Marine shouts, the fading shrieks of illusory skeletons, the distant whine of Nuri's injured flight – became the backdrop to their final dash for the sea.
The hidden cove felt like a sanctuary carved from chaos. Sunlight, fractured by the mangroves, dappled the turquoise water lapping against the rocky shore. At the water's edge, the submarine rested, its hull encased in a shimmering, iridescent bubble – Rayleigh and Henrick's handiwork. It looked fragile, like a soap bubble clinging to metal, yet pulsed with a resilient energy.
Rayleigh gestured towards the vessel, his voice relaxed but carrying easily over the gentle lap of waves. "Alright, Marya. The coating's stable, but remember the pressure gradient when descending past two thousand fathoms. The bubble flexes, but sudden maneuvers—"
Galit Varuna, already inspecting the hull seam where bubble met metal with intense focus, interrupted without looking up. "I'll monitor the bubble integrity and pressure differentials. My calculations account for tensile stress and hydrostatic compression far exceeding Sabaody's trench depth." His stylus tapped rapidly on his volcanic glass slate.
Atlas Acuta, leaning heavily on a driftwood staff, managed a pained smirk despite the bandage encasing his leg. "Listen to Noodle Neck, Ray. He's got it all figured out… probably." His sapphire eyes gleamed with familiar, if weary, arrogance.
Marya merely raised a single, dark eyebrow, her expression unreadable beneath the Heart Pirate insignia on her leather jacket. Denim shorts and combat boots were practical, even here.
Rayleigh chuckled. "Alright, alright. Point is, Henrick here knows the welds and the valve system inside out." He clapped the massive fishman on the shoulder. "He'll be your mechanic down there. Between him and Spaghetti Neck's numbers…"
He paused. Both Shakky, taking a slow drag from her cigarette, and Marya, her head tilting fractionally, turned their gaze towards the sky above the mangroves. A single point of light, impossibly bright and moving faster than thought, streaked towards the cove like a fallen star aimed directly at them. It left no trail, only a faint, high-pitched whine that vibrated in the teeth.
"Company," Shakky stated flatly, exhaling a plume of smoke that hung unnaturally still in the suddenly tense air.
Marya's golden eyes narrowed, reflecting the approaching brilliance. Her hand dropped to Eternal Eclipse's hilt. The blade slid free with a soft shink, the obsidian length seeming to deepen the shadows around her.
Atlas shifted his weight, a growl rumbling in his chest. "I can still—"
"Get in the sub," Marya cut him off, her voice calm but leaving no room for debate. She didn't look at him, her focus locked on the blazing point of light rapidly resolving into a humanoid shape. "All of you. Get it in the water. Now."
Galit started to protest, his long neck swiveling, slate held up. "But the optimal launch sequence requires—"
"Galit!" Marya snapped, a rare edge of impatience sharpening her tone. She finally tore her gaze from the sky for a split second, pinning him with a look colder than the deep sea. "For once, just do as I say."
Rayleigh nodded, his easygoing demeanor replaced by focused readiness. "She's right. Go. I'll stay, lend a hand if needed." He gave Marya a sideways glance, a ghost of his smirk returning. "Wouldn't want to cramp your style."
Galit swallowed hard, then nodded stiffly. "Understood." Atlas cursed softly, frustration warring with pain, as Henrick moved immediately to help him towards the sub's hatch. Fia ushered Lulee and Geo quickly inside, their small faces pale with fear. Jelly wobbled after them, morphing into a protective blue dome over Geo's head. "Bloop-safe!"
Henrick paused at the hatch controls, his deep olive skin taut with concentration. "Ready to deploy the bubble seal on your mark, Marya."
Marya stood alone on the rocky shore, Eclipse held loosely at her side. The air crackled, smelling sharply of salt and something like overheated metal. The light descended, resolving into Admiral Borsalino Kizaru just feet above the water. He didn't land; he shifted, his body reforming from pure light mid-air into a devastating downward kick aimed like a laser-guided missile at Marya's head.
WHOOSH-CRACK!
The air screamed. Marya moved with blinding speed, Eclipse snapping up in a vertical block. Kizaru's gleaming yellow shoe met the obsidian blade with a concussive BOOM that sent shockwaves rippling across the cove's surface, shattering smaller rocks nearby. Water geysered upwards. Marya's boots skidded back half an inch on the wet stone, gritting her teeth against the immense force, but she held. With a grunt, she shoved upwards, parrying the kick and immediately countering with a horizontal slash that forced Kizaru to dissolve into light particles, reforming a few yards away, standing casually on the water's surface.
"Oooohhhh," Kizaru drawled, adjusting his round sunglasses, his voice lazy but his eyes sharp behind the yellow lenses. "So the rumors hold weight. You really are Hawkeyes' little shadow. The eyes… the blade… the sheer nerve."
Marya lowered Eclipse slightly, a faint, cool smirk touching her lips. "I'm flattered there are rumors, Admiral. Didn't know I rated that high."
Kizaru's smile didn't reach his eyes. "The only place you're rating is a cell in Impel Down, girl. You're not leaving this island except in custody." He raised a hand, fingertips beginning to glow with concentrated, searing light. "Yasakani no Magatama." A barrage of searing light orbs materialized, streaking towards Marya.
Marya didn't flinch. She smirked, her stance relaxed but ready. "We'll see about that… Twinkle Toes." She became a whirlwind, Eclipse a blur of darkness deflecting, dispersing, or outright absorbing the blistering projectiles. Each impact sent showers of sparks and superheated steam hissing across the rocks. She dodged one volley by dissolving her lower body into mist, the light orbs passing harmlessly through, then reformed instantly to parry another.
Kizaru's gaze flickered past her towards the sub. Rayleigh stood near the hatch, calmly observing the fight, chatting with Galit and Henrick who were now inside, visible through the viewport. Henrick was manipulating controls; the bubble surrounding the sub pulsed brighter, and the vessel began to sink slowly beneath the surface, water rising around its lower hull.
"I see the Dark King isn't rushing to your rescue," Kizaru observed, launching another swift light-speed kick that Marya barely dodged, the shockwave tearing a furrow in the rocky shore.
Marya blocked a follow-up punch, the force vibrating up her arm. "Who, him?" she called back, a hint of genuine dry humor in her voice as she danced back from a sizzling beam of light that vaporized a chunk of rock where she'd stood. "He's a little… elderly. Wouldn't want him to strain his back." She punctuated the remark with a swift, Haki-infused thrust that forced Kizaru to momentarily dematerialize again.
Kizaru's lazy smirk tightened almost imperceptibly. "Cheeky."
Inside the sub, now mostly submerged with only the conning tower and bubble visible, Fia peered out, her coral-pink hair pressed against the thick glass. She saw Marya, a small figure darting and weaving amidst blinding light and concussive blasts. "Will she be okay?" Fia whispered, her voice tight with fear.
Shakky, watching from the shore near Rayleigh, didn't look away from the fight. "She's just toying with him," she murmured, taking a drag. "Buying time. She'll be fine."
Rayleigh glanced into the sub. "Henrick? Galit? You good?"
Henrick gave a firm nod from the control panel. "Bubble holding. Ready to dive deep."
Galit, hands steady on the helm controls, echoed, "Pressure stable. Ready."
"Then get below," Rayleigh said calmly. "We're leaving."
The sub sank completely beneath the turquoise water, the bubble shimmering like a giant pearl as it descended. Inside, Lulee tugged at Atlas's arm. "What about Marya?"
Atlas, watching the fading surface light through the viewport, placed a large, reassuring hand on her head, his voice gruff but certain. "Don't worry, kid. She's comin'."
On the surface, Rayleigh cupped his hands around his mouth, his voice booming over the din of the fight. "Marya! All set! Good luck!"
Marya deflected another blinding kick, the impact sending shockwaves through the water. She risked a microsecond glance over her shoulder towards Rayleigh's voice and the now-empty cove water. "Thanks for everything, Gramps!" she called back, her voice clear and oddly cheerful amidst the violence.
Kizaru's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. Her nonchalance was grating. "You," he stated, his voice losing its lazy edge, sharpening into something dangerous, "aren't going anywhere." He raised both hands, palms glowing with terrifying intensity, preparing a massive blast. "Ama no Murakumo…"
Marya's smirk widened into a genuine, almost feral grin. "Think that's my cue," she declared. "This was a nice little warmup, Admiral. Fun. But my father?" She met his gaze squarely, golden eyes glinting. "He strikes way harder. Maybe I'll see you around… Twinkle Toes."
As Kizaru unleashed the searing pillar of light, Marya didn't try to block it. She simply dissolved. Her body, her clothes, even Eternal Eclipse, flowed into a dense, pearlescent mist that billowed outwards just as the blinding beam tore through the space she'd occupied. The beam slammed into the cliff face behind, vaporizing rock in a thunderous explosion of steam and shattered stone.
Kizaru stumbled forward, thrown off balance by the sudden lack of resistance. He cursed, a sharp, venomous sound. "Tch!" His head snapped towards the cove. The mist was coalescing, reforming rapidly on the deck of the submerged submarine, visible just below the surface within its protective bubble. Marya stood there, whole again, brushing imaginary dust off her leather jacket.
"DIVE!" Marya's command, muffled by water and hull, echoed through the sub as she yanked the conning tower hatch shut behind her, sealing it with a heavy clunk.
Kizaru's face contorted. "Oh, no you don't!" His body exploded into pure, blinding light, streaking towards the descending bubble like a vengeful sunbeam. "You won't escape!"
Inside, Galit didn't hesitate. He slammed the dive planes hard. "Full descent! Emergency depth!" The sub's engines whined. The bubble compressed slightly, then held as the vessel plunged downwards into the cool, blue embrace of the ocean depths.
Admiral Kizaru reformed just above the churning water where the sub had been, his foot impacting only seawater. He hovered, fists clenched, radiating frustration and searing heat that made the air shimmer. Below, the shimmering bubble and the dark shape within it rapidly dwindled, swallowed by the vastness of the sea. He watched it vanish into the deep blue, the only sound the angry hiss of steam rising from the water his light had superheated.
"She got away..." he muttered, the lazy drawl utterly gone, replaced by cold, hard fury. The cove, scarred by light and force, was suddenly, ominously quiet.