The inky black wet suit that Oliver wore twisted and writhed before it slowly shifted, pulling back from where it had covered him head to toe until it hung loosely as a t-shirt once more. A small smile flitted across his face as he patted the shirt- his living armor, Lita. "Damn, you're useful. I didn't even have to change clothes!"

"We need to get moving, Oliver." Ram cut in, voice tight with worry as he returned the radio to its owner. "We still have the other ship to deal with, and I doubt they missed the huge explosion."

Oliver's eyes flickered to his companion, taking in his furrowed brow and the tension in his shoulders- even more so than when he had explained the plan to blow up a ship. "True, but we should still have some time, right?"

Ram's jaw clenched, and he shook his head. "Polina said they have another ship approaching from behind. We need to clear the way-" He grabbed Oliver's hand, which had just started to raise the radio, and shook his head quickly. "She said for us to finish clearing the way, and that she would handle it."

For a second, Oliver's eyes blazed with an intensity that startled his companion, before he closed them. With a sigh, he climbed onto the Scrambler with a muttered curse.

"She's perfectly capable, Oli." He reminded himself, knuckles clenched on the bike's handles. "And she wouldn't bullshit you. If she says she's got it, then she's got it..."

"Let's go, Ram." He said after a moment to compose himself. "We'll circle around to the other side of them. Hopefully they will be focused on the explosion, and we can sneak up on them..."

Rushing back to the island they had spotted the pirates from only took a minute- much to Ram's regret. Trees whipped past in a blur at the reckless speed Oliver pushed the bike, and sand kicked up in a spray as he slid them to a stop right at the edge of the water. The Scrambler disappearing from underneath them caused the large Demon to stumble, only for him to be roughly pulled on to the newly deployed boat by the shockingly strong human.

The small boat practicality skipped across the waves, the dark water misting across the duo- for only a moment. Oliver drove the boat straight onto the sand, only for it to disappear the instant it ground to a halt, leaving Ram sprawled across the grainy black beach.

"Come on, Ram. No laying down on the job." Oliver said with only a trace of humor from the back of the bike.

"How did I get stuck with the madman?" Ram groaned and levered himself up off the ground.

"This doesn't make sense." Oliver muttered as he peeked out from the dense cover offered by the jungle foliage, scanning the ship through his binoculars. "Why are there only two?"

The top deck of the pirate ship was nearly empty- no sailors raising the sails, no men prepping their weapons and armor... Just two people. One was likely the Captain, judging by the impressive hat and the amount of gold glimmering about his hands and neck...

But it was the other figure that really worried Oliver.

A hooded figure stood to the Captain's side, their forest green cloak nearly touching the deck and completely obscuring the figure- the only detail Oliver could clearly pick up was their height, them being nearly a full head shorter than the Devil... Roughly his own height, if he had to guess.

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"Shouldn't they be doing something?" Oliver asked with a glance at Ram. "I mean... a ship just exploded! Shouldn't they be readying to sail? Or arming themselves? Or even just panicking like idiots?"

"Yeah..." Ram answered slowly, gazing through his own binoculars. "You're right. It doesn't make sense."

"So what do we do?"

Oliver shrugged at the question- while the unknown figure would likely be a problem, and he definitely didn't understand what they were doing, it didn't change his objective. If anything, it would help him: with only two people on deck, and both looking towards where the ship exploded, sneaking up would be a lot easier.

And, if they could deal with those two and keep the other pirates contained below deck, it would certainly simplify things.

"I'm thinking we approach from the rear- without using the motor; I don't want them knowing we're there, after all. Then... we climb aboard, gun the idiots down, and set fire to the ship..."

"Just... expect things to go wrong." Oliver added slowly, even as he started moving. "This is starting to feel like a trap of some sort."

The small raft drifted silently across the water and bumped softly into the hull of the ship. Grabbing the rough wooden planks, Ram held them in place as Oliver leapt up from his seat- and his eyes widened in surprise as a bright pink, fluffy tail and sharp claws sprouted from the man while he was still midair...

Oliver's claws dug into the wood, and he scrambled quickly up the back of the ship- only for the claws and tail to disappear like an illusion the second his feet touched the deck. His eyes locked onto the two figures, neither of which seemed to have noticed his arrival, and he hurriedly pulled a rope from the warehouse and tied it tot he rail before dropping it down to his companion.

Not wanting to lose the element of surprise, he didn't wait for the demon to join him.

His trusty FAL appeared in his hands and, without a second thought, he shoulder the weapon. The soft click of the safety coming off seemed to echo in the air for a moment before he fired the first shot, taking the Devil Captain in the back of the head...

But that click also seemed to be enough warning, as the cloaked figure spun away from his companion to face him.

Oliver's eyes widened in alarm at the speed the figure moved- he hadn't seen anyone move that fast since he fought Evelyn... and she was a vampire... With enhanced speed and reflexes...

With a small shift, his aim switched from the already dead pirate to his new target. A small frown creased his features as the figure didn't even attempt to dodge... which turned to a grimace of frustration as he feathered the trigger twice, and both shots pinged harmlessly off an invisible barrier.

"Come now, it is only reasonable to make preparations to counter firearms when visiting a world possessing such. Wouldn't you agree?" A cultured voice rang out from beneath the hood... and, while they spoke the local language- which Oliver had never bothered to learn the name of- they did so with a flowing lilt that reminded him vaguely of a French accent. "Surely a traveler such as yourself understands this logic."

Long fingered hands, lightly tanned from the sun, reached up to push back the hood. An angular jawline led up to prominent cheekbones, framing pale green eyes beneath lustrous blonde hair- all of which was already an oddity for this world... But the tapered points of the ears piqued Oliver's curiosity.

"An Elf?" He asked as Ram clambered over the rail to join him.

"You have encountered my people before, human?" The elf asked with a smile.

"Nope." Oliver smiled in return- he was meeting an Elf! Given the situation, he knew it was likely they were on opposing sides... But still, an Elf! His friends would absolutely lose their minds when they heard about this! "Sorry, Elf, but you have the advantage there; All I have to go on is myths and folklore."

"Ah, a first for you, then. Well, allow me to introduce myself." He bowed politely- and dramatically, as he flourished the cloak behind him. "I am Alton Oakheart, heir to Clan Oakheart. I hope that I do your myths and tales justice."

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