And the day had started out so well too. Gerard and his new companions were wrecking pirate scrubs like they were nothing. Then, all of a sudden, the leader of that jolly band of idiots directed an explosion downward, creating a loud boom and an even bigger dust cloud. As such, Gerard was effectively blind, allowing the pirate captain to grab a hold of him. To make matters worse, Gerard simply couldn't gas his way out of the hold.

Mantra! Shit!

Then came another big boom, this time point blank. With Gerard's inability to go intangible (and considering explosions made fire, that wouldn't have been a smart idea anyway), Gerard took the full force of the blast, and was sent rocketing back. His jacket and skin burnt by the blast, his body exploding in pain from the concussive force. The young man was sent bouncing along the sand before sliding to a stop, pretty much down for the count. Gerard was barely conscious, but through some miracle had survived, if his breathing was of any indication.

Being borderline unconscious, Gerard wouldn't see the others take down the pirate captain themselves, the only indicator he would have would be when he fully woke up to find himself NOT a corpse. Though he would definitely be kicking himself for this rather embarrassing display. How was he going to team up with a Shichibukai if he couldn't handle himself?

He needed to head back to Minion to train.

[Exit]

This is certainly going to be a day that Joey won't forget. He came to this island believing that he would be just joining some ordinary pirate crew which would've been perfectly fine for someone like him, but instead stumbled upon something possibly much greater. More than just some crew, an organization would better suit it. But the cook certainly didn't expect to run into a pirate who works for the World Government. He didn't even think such a thing was possible until today!

The dust finally settled, and Joey was still on his knees trying to catch his breathe. He had burn marks here and there along with part of his attire being ripped up. How his clothes became damaged despite not having them in full form is a mystery. Where do his clothes even go when he transforms is an even bigger mystery! But that all can be saved for another day. Joey finally caught his breathe, and turned his head towards the now deceased, and badly broken pirate captain that was giving them so much trouble. "Woah. Di-Did we do it?" he asked, his question not really aimed at anyone while being unaware that it was his previous stomp that did this guy in.

The country boy finally got back on his feet, and made his way to Nico who was complimenting the others on how well they did, acknowledging that they were now members of "Outer Heaven" which pleased Joey. He then handed Nico his baby den den mushi so that they could keep contact. Joey assumed that they were going to keep contact by exchanging numbers, but instead showed off his mysterious devil fruit ability some more which of course amazed the young cook. After that it seems that everybody started to part ways. Joey found it odd at first before quickly remembering that this wasn't going to be an ordinary crew, and that he was still free to travel around on his own.

Joey decided that he would probably stay here on the island for a bit before moving on elsewhere, perhaps drop in on one of his new allies out of curiosity. At first, the blond wasn't sure about joining a World Government aligned pirate, as he'd rather be beating up Marines, and getting into all sorts of crazy shit, but from what happened today, it still seems that he could get himself into some wild situations by working under, or rather with a Shichibukai, and the others which left a big grin on his face

-Exit-