Task Name: Pirate Wars: Ennies Lobby
Tier: 3
NPC or PC: PC
Location: Ennies Lobby
Crew, Team, or Personal: Personal
Description: Did you think you were the only pirates drawing a short stick and landing the Ennies Lobby route? THINK AGAIN! Other Pirates were just as unlucky, and are trying the same sneaky strategy as you are. However, seeing the Melusine docked on an offshore islet, they immediately attack it, looking to plunder supplies. As the ship escapes and the enemy pirates try to take over the Island as a Hideout, you'll be left with the task of eliminating them all and ensuring the flashy idiots don't attract an admiral to the Island...
Enemy Details: 20 T0 Impaler Pirates, 5 T2 Impaler Pirates with guns
Boss: Yes

Capn:

First mate:

Off shore islets... Truthfully, exploring these places was a lot better than simply exploring Ennies Lobby and constantly being on the lookout for one of the many over nine thousant Marines who called that island their home base... If only she could buy patience by the bucket, cause she'd most certainly need it at this rate. Thus, she found the off shore islets far more pleasant to explore than the main island, and it saddedned her to find that none of them was large enough to interfere with their log pose and reset it for the next course. They really would have to hide out in Ennies Lobby before heading anywhere else, huh?

As Linnea walked around the islet, she kept her Haki primed and ready just in case she happened to get ambushed by any other creatures like the Humandrills she dealt with the other day. Alas she found nothing of the sort, even if coming up empty wasn't enough for her to leave her guard down. Linnea continued exploring the jungle as was her favorite hobby, taking in the sights and scents she'd never experienced before, yet all the while keeping her friends and crew mates in her mind as she tracked all of their individual positions. None of them displayed any signs of danger. Truly some of her crew mates - like Spook and Melly - didn't really require her help to keep themselves alive. But others, like Locke and Mea were still young and inexperienced, and even others like their resident mercenary crew were equally inexperienced with battling opponents of the kind they'd have to face right here in the Grand Line. Whenever she travelled like this, Linnea couldn't help keeping all of her friends in her mind. This was why she'd grown strong enough to call herself Captain, solely for the express purpose of protecting them. She was still young, but with every day that went by she grew stronger and more capable. Among her many dreams, one that stood out next to her ambition of travelling around the world was her desire to protect all of her crewmates throughout the whole voyage...

But soon, Lin felt something odd in some of their auras... The Mercs at the beach had seen something they didn't like, and before long she had pivoted on her foot, turned around and walked straight back towards the beach with a serious look... What had they seen?

She knew Melly was following her... At first she didn't even realize the girl was after her but her Haki prowess was still there and among her crew like she was Linnea was fully aware of each and every one of her friends' individual auras. It took going a good few meters into the jungle for her to realize Melissa was indeed trailing after her, and it wasn't until she her the girl call out to her and turned around that her eyes rested on her first mate's elegant shape. Linnea flashed a warm, loving smile at the girl... She had recently taught her Haki and even told her she posessed the power to be a Queen, the kind of news that - at least among her tribe - would have instantly driven someone away to try and found her own underlings. Even if Linnea hardly treated her crewmates as such, she was glad that Melly decided to stick beside her regardless. There was still much they could learn from each other, and witnessing her power drove Linnea to grow stronger so she could keep up with her. Sometimes she felt they were actually driving each other to get stronger... She walked up to the girl but the sudden hug caught her off guard, even with Haki, earning a cute gasp from Linnea before she rested her arms on Melly's back, feeling her silky raven hair brushing against her cheeks:

"Thank you too, Melly...", she'd answer, wrapping her arms around her so tight she could feel her heart beat, "...For standing by me..."

She was still wearing her white colored Ranger's dress, just as she had for most of the time they'd been around Ennies Lobby; but had also done away with the Marine disguise, just like Melissa. She pulled away slightly, just enough to be able to smile and look into Melissa's eyes, but they wouldn't have a chance to enjoy this tender, affectionate moment...

Before long, the boom and hiss of soaring cannonballs filled the air. Linnea immediately turned back towards the suspicious ship, instantly drawing her bow and shouting orders to their Mercenary crew, "They're after the Melusine!! Everybody get on board and take the ship away, Melissa and I will hold them off!!", she commanded the nearest merc who promptly nodded and headed back to the ship. Seeing a cannonball aimed close to their ship, ready to intercept some of her weaker crewmates, Linnea's hands moved on instinct: Activating her Viper Sniper, she drew and fired an arrow, intercepting the cannonball and blasting it off course, momentarily protecting her crew from the hail of cannonfire. She moved around the beach, antecipating the path of cannonballs and strafing around to stay stafe, her Kenbu Haki firmly locked onto Melissa to ensure she was safe too. But the Enemy Pirates didn't seem overly concerned with the two women at the beach. Instead, their Target was the Melusine, just as the anchor was raised. But Linnea wouldn't let them: She would force these pirates to fight them here, on save shores.

Nocking two arrows on either side of her bow, she coated both of them with Jet black Haki. Her steely blue eyes took aim at the lower half of the Large Pirate ship's hull, and exhaling deeply, she released both arrows, flicking them down with a duplicated Drill Shot. The two arrows tore through air, and even a bit of water, on their path to the enemy ship, finally blowing two large holes in its hull, through and through. The effect was immediate, as anyone could immediately see the ship taking in water and getting heavier; with pools of blood confirming the death or injury of some of the enemies. Their keel damaged; Pirates no longer had the luxury of chasing the Melusine. Their significantly less intense cannon fire was completely shifted towards Linnea and Melly as they turned the rudder ashore, intending on running the ship aground to keep it from sinking further. Now running around in a zig zag motion to avoid cannon fire and shielding her eyes from the dust, Linnea approached the edge of the ocean, placing her foot upon the water and freezing it, gradually forming a 30 meter bridge between the beach and the pirates ship, intent on making a path for Melissa to cross. She was bruised and slightly dazed from all the explosions, but still perfectly combat ready...



Using A-rank Kenbu, C-rank Buso (30 HS used)

Used 3 T1 arrows

4 T0 grunts defeated

Spoiler:

So far so good, their plan was going as expected. The Pirates had stopped chasing after the Melusine and were now thoroughly focused on the two strongest members of the crew. This was the very reason why she formed a crew in the first place, Linnea wanted to sail with her closest friends, and not have to worry about them being too weak for whatever adventures may come their way. She would protect them to the best of her abilities... But now, calling it a plan to deal with these pirates was a stretch. Half the times - and right now as well - attacks were too sudden for Linnea to be able to plan anything in advance. This was the time she put Master Jeong's teachings to full use, and draw up strategies on the fly. The Icy bridge would likely lure the pirates onto it, but it would also allow Melissa to wipe them out before they sat foot on land. With the powerhouse beating them all up and the narrow ice bridge funneling the enemy forces, they were ripe for picking for Linnea's bow.

"Just as planned.", Linnea answered with a confident smirk, shielding her eyes from the dust as the snowy Melissa stopped a cannonball and hurled it right back at the enemies. A powerhouse was an appropriate term for her first mate, giving her one final direction before she went balls deep into enemy lines, "Once you're on that bridge, use your snow storm. Leave them blind."

The bridge was an effective trap. With a sinking ship filled with desperate enemies, they would surely attempt to use it to escape: It was a lot easier to take down as many pirates as possible while they were all clustered up and visible, which wouldn't happen from the moment they sunk the ship. When they finally went that far, the enemy army should be nice and trimmed up. Still, Melissa's counter cannonballs had obliterated the enemy's own cannons, and before long all that Linnea had to do was ensure they didn't advance on the beach too much. She occasionally strafed to avoid the bullets, retaliating with a Trio of Steel tipped arrows that cut a swath through the advancing grunts, each arrow easily piercing and taking out more than one, for a grand total of eight enemies, Inluding a cocky gunner who took too many chances with hiding behind his meat shield buddies.

Yet another gunner took a shot at Linnea, only to have her step outside the bullet's flight path in a timely manner, and retaliating with an arrow to the gut. A few of the grunts and a single gunner were smart enough to ignore the Icy bridge, but make a grave mistake: In lowering the rowboat onto the water, they were sitting ducks. Melissa was in a perfect position to sink the boat in one fell swoop, but she could alternatively leave it for Linnea to sink with a Haki infused arrow...



Used B-rank Kenbu (45 HS used)

Expended 4 T1 arrows, 3 T3

11 T0 grunts, 2 T2 defeated

Spoiler:

As Linnea got to work on trimming the fat - by "fat" she meant the useless grunts who only served to make the crew seem bigger - Melissa finally landed next to her, with that same mischievous look in her eyes that Linnea so knew and loved. It meant she was about to cut loose, and the pirates on the ice bridge were ripe for the picking. Whenever she felt like it, Melly could just break the bridge with the grunts on top of it. She nodded at Melly as she landed, looking onward to assess the battlefield prepare the next step, occasionally dodging a few bullets as some of the Pirates dashed at them like madmen... They didn't dare trying to bring the ship closer. The two girls had already proved how it wouldn't be too hard to sink the ship with the pirates on it, and Linnea's Logia could easily trap them in an ice sheet and nothing would be accomplished. A smart move could have been to pressure Linnea into using her Ice to keep the ship from sinking, but they didn't seem like the type to figure that out. But then would it matter? The answer was no.

Instead, Melissa simply did what she did best: Unleash death and destruction to whoever annoyed her. This time, she did so in the form of a mighty punch that unleashed an air blast strong enough to shatter the ice bridge from the point she stood, leveling things and people its path, and breaking the hull of the ship. It recieved a brand new paint job courtesy of the woman's attack and took out most of the Pirates crossing the bridge. At that time, Linnea simply aimed and shot a Haki infused arrow at the surviving rowboat, literally splitting it in half at the keel, forcing the pirates to swim ashore and preventing the gunners from shooting as their gunpowder got wet.

"You boys really drew the short stick here... One one side, two Logias; on the other side, 10,000 Marines.", Linnea commented with a cold tone as she always did, yet for once she had a faint smile on her face. Guess Melissa's antics were getting to her, "Wrong choice."

One might question the strategic wisdom of admitting her powers to the enemy, but after Melly's earlier flight, even a monkey would have figured it out. Plus, its not like all of them could hear her anyway. But then something unexpected... Out of the blew, they saw a man flying overhead as if he'd been thrown by someone on board. A quick look revealed the culprit: a minotaur looking bulky man who had no trouble flinging one of his crewmates ashore. Tch... So they have Devil fruits too? But then, the flying guy changed, signalled by a loud whinny... His body warped and contorted into what now looked like a Horseman! Another Zoan huh? Still, Linnea wasn't about to let him board so easily: Even though the guy was obviously wearing full body armor fitted to accomodate his transformations, the belly was obviously still a weak spot. Linnea drew an steel tipped arrow and shot it upwards, piercing its gut. The beastman whinnied in pain, but still managed to land on the sandy shores and rear its head at Linnea:

"WHIHIHIHIHI!! So two lone bitches have been bullying my boys huh? Impaler Captain and Horse Horse fruit eater, Captain Dick is here to play with you!!", he said, laughing boisterously before kicking the sand with his rear hoof, and darting into a powerful gallop, lowering its head, ready to spear Lin with a horned helmet.

Melissa too would have her hands full as the transformed Minotaur would jump ashore in an impressive feat of strength, at the cost of shattering a good part of what remained of his ship... Both Logia girls now had her opponents in the form of burly and smelly Zoan men.



Active B-rank Kenbu, used D-rank Buso (50 HS used)

Expended 5 T1 arrows, 4 T3

She remembered reading stories about men who fought and killed raging bulls with nothing but a sword and a cape... What did were they called...? Ahh, the Matador Bullfighters! The situation was a bit (starkly) different from what she read back then, but here, staring this beastman in the face, she felt just like a Matador. Instead of a sword, she had a bow, and instead of a beastly bull, she had horseman with a horned helmet doing pretty much the same thing. His speed naturally made being gored a devastating and frightening prospect, but now more than ever, Linnea kept her cool. She stared the charging beastman in the eyes (at least up until the moment it lowered its head) with her perpetually cold gaze.

The guy was fast... Easily faster than her. But with Linnea's ability to antecipate his every move, simply stepping out of the way was simply a question of timing, one she was rather used to from all her experience with timing her shots to hit moving targets. Thus, the horseman narrowly breezed past her, and as Linnea pivoted out of the way, she nocked and shot two arrows while strafing around - one went through his armor and the other bounced off - making it hard for the horseman to lock down her position for yet another charge. However, she was painfully aware that if he sucessfully gored her, she would most certainly die on the spot. This guy's human form had the bulk of a gorilla and his horse form had the speed of a mustang. The two combined meant that most enemies wouldn't even stand a chance.

Meanwhile, Melissa was having a little too much fun with her Minotaur. Due to her mastery of her Elemental form, Melissa didn't have to dodge attacks like Linnea did. None of these guys had any knowledge of Haki, so Melissa's Snow body gave her absolute supremacy so long as she were able to react. And since she had learned Haki from Linnea, that weakness was no longer even remotely relevant. But most importantly, Melissa was a girl was a strategy - even if it seemed like she was only toying with her opponent - the kind that only someone like her could ever think of and pull off to this end. In the end, it gave her an idea:

"Quite a mouth on those two, huh? Ill have fun goring them both once I'm done with you.", she turned back to the horseman as he taunted with a vicious, self assured grin, "Of course i doubt squishy little girls like you two can recover from it."

And with this, Linnea just cocked her head slightly with a deadpan look, filled with blunt mockery: "Are you the crew's idiot or something? You need to actually hit me before worrying about others.", taking a page from the Matador book, Linnea did what they did best, she taunted the foe into a blind, mindless charge. He roared and sprinted even faster than before, instantly accelerating to his top speed.

It wasn't even that hard. As she strafed, Linnea placed herself between the Minotaur and the Horseman, and when the guy finally charged, she had already been freezing the ground behind her all the way to the Minotaur, and a few moments before the Horseman hit her, she used her Ice thrusters to dodge, before nocking two arrows and moving beside Melissa. The result was as obvious as it was predictable, and no amount of insults from either of the two beastmen would help them: They loudly crashed onto each other with a big mess, and Linnea instantly gave Melly a signal she'd understand:

"MELLY, DO THE THING!", Linnea called out, hoping her first mate would get the message...

Spoiler:

Used C-rank Kenbu (60HS Used)

Expended 5 T1 arrows, 5 T3

Stage, check... Actors, check... Set-up, check... The two beastman were properly enraged to the point they couldn't see anything but the two frosty Pirate girls, and that proved to be their downfall. No amount of screaming or trying to insult the other was able to stop them the moment they set foot on the icy floor at that speed. The ensuring crash was as loud and flashy enough to make even Linnea wince slightly, and amusing enough to get a chuckle out of the cold blooded huntress.

She still had that smirk on her face as Melly did the thing, her Blizzard technique that turned any and all battlefields to their favor. "Naturally.", she answered with unusual confidence, pulling out a single arrow and coating it with Haki. The Ice sheet was mostly a straight line, and the bulk of the work had already been done in ensuring the two beasts crashed head first onto each other. Stunned, slowed, and blinded as the two ice women were hidden from their view - but not vice versa - thanks to Mel's blizzard. Concealing your own movements while still remaining aware of your enemy's was a basic principle of warfare, one Melissa's skills made incredibly easy. Thus, it was all left to Linnea to deliver the finish: A Haki imbued Drill shot lined up Impale both beast men in a form of poetic justice

"White Hunt!!", she called out the instant before the white ice and snow slowly became blood red. Both officers of the enemy crew fell down dead and Linnea was free to recover some of her used arrows and praising Melly with a soft blush on her face, "That was a good fight... Right, Melly?"

With that done, all that remained was wiping out the leftovers of that pirate crew. Deprived of the Ice bridge and all usable rowboats, the few grunts and gunners that

could still fight had just about ran out of morale. Linnea wasted no time in using her ice to freeze the water all the way to the boat and keep it from sinking any further, but even then she still had to wait for the rest of her crew to come collect the treasure, since neither her or Melissa were able to swim. In the end, the few pirates that survived were left that way, it wasn't as if they could go anywhere; instead they were marooned on that island since Linnea had zero intention of carrying them anywhere. If that weren't enough, the Uroboros soon found the Impaler Pirates were pulling quite the treasure behind them, giving them a rather hefty haul.

"When the Marines come to drag you all to Impel Down, give them our regards.", she spoke to the few who were still alive before

[EXITS]

Spoiler: