CH - 42

What?"

"Do you really think this is a good idea? Last time you went off on your own, you got captured and we had to come save you."

"I remember. But I think…" and Halcen made an emphasis on the next words, for Grey's benefit, "that me being the Captain, means I need to be able to handle the big problems myself. Wouldn't you agree?"

Grey gulped.

"I'll take my chances alone. Everyone else stays here." Halcen went down below deck to make ready for his trip. He needed to get nice and bundled up for the climb. It was going to get extra cold up there so he put on a heavy coat, thicker pants, boots, gloves, and a beanie. There were also quite a few new toys he had picked up from their pillaging of Bear Island that he made sure to have just in case. Finally, he tied the Devil Fruit around his waist, making sure to take that with him as well. He was wary enough leaving the Black Tail alone with an entire group of people who owed him no allegiance, but the Devil Fruit power, he would not chance them getting their hands on and using against him. He had dealt with enough of that already.

Halcen dropped off the front side of the ship.

Everyone watched in anxiety as Halcen headed out by himself.

After a few minutes, he was out of sight.

Halcen began his ascent up the heinous mountains. This was not a trip he was looking forward to.

"Fucking Max," he grumbled to himself. "I ought to stab that fucker when I see him." He went on and on for a few minutes. He was angry. He had come so close to Loguetown and finding Red-Hair. Now, he was getting thrown to the farthest corner of the East Blue to go pick up these random dudes that nobody else could take care of. Halcen cursed his bad luck.

His body lunged and latched as he climbed up the first level. His sturdy limbs flung his body up and up until he reached a spot he couldn't handle himself with his own bare body. So he got his gear ready. With some further tinkering, Loyola had managed to improve the previously used grappling gear. The rope was now metal cord, and the hook itself was much sturdier. This was going to help on Halcen's new mission.

He grunted and groaned as he climbed up the staggering cliff sides.

Motherfuckers had to be out here in the middle of fucking nowhere, on the top of a goddamn mountain. I am gonna kick somebody's ass when I get up there.

As he went it began getting cold. The higher he got, the worse the winds whipped. Thank God he had been prepared with the insulated clothes.

After what felt like hours, Halcen finally made it up to a niche that cut into the mountain. He rolled over the edge and laid down flat on the snow-laden ground. He took a deep breath. "Finally," he said in exhaustion. He turned his head to look back over the edge where he had just entered through. The sun was getting far into the west. It was evening. The sun would begin its descent soon. He needed to make camp. He was too tired to make anymore headway this day.

He stood up and took a look around the area. There wasn't much going on. It was just a slightly flat area that opened up from the stony side of the mountain. The ground was hard, mostly stone, but there was a couple inches of snow that made it a little more difficult. The worst thing though was he could feel ice underneath that had grown hard over the stone.

His body shivered and shook. Halcen decided to get a small fire started. It wasn't much, but it was enough. He sat over it for a few minutes, trying to get warm.

He found a small enclave of boulders deeper into the niche and threw some canvas over it for a tent for the night. It was only big enough for him to squeeze into lengthwise, so he couldn't put the fire there as well. His body was strong, but he wasn't immune to the cold.

Halcen awoke to the sounds of scratching. His body shot into an awakened state. He stared at the entrance to the rock insert he was in. Light came shining in from the other side of the canvas tarp he had put over the rocks, which meant it was morning. At least he'd gotten a full night's sleep before being awoken. There was something outside.

He could hear from multiple spots around the area, scratching and sniffing. He tried to reach out with his Sensory Haki but he wasn't calm enough to accurately read the situation. All he could tell were there were at least four – maybe five – animals of some kind.

He tried to hold still and hold his breath. If they left, he could move on unhindered.

But that did not happen.

Something jumped in through the canvas screen that was over the rocks, startling him. Halcen shot up and began fumbling to the top of the rocks, pulling the screen out of the way. It was flung aside by a vicious white wolf. It barred its teeth and growled at Halcen as it tried to climb up the stones after him.

Halcen's face exploded in surprise. "What the fuck?" There was an actual wolf right there… attacking him. He quickly climbed all the way up to the top of the stone cave and stood up to look down. There were five wolves… all standing around the area, still, staring up at him.

And then a sixth one jumped at him from the side. Apparently it had been at the top, waiting for him. It tackled him, knocking him off the stone and they crashed to the ground. The dog whimpered and Halcen let out a huff. He was in shock. All this action and he hadn't even really woken up yet. What the hell is going on here?

Halcen twisted onto his back just in time to stop the wolf that had tackled him from tearing into him. He put his arm out and grabbed the beast's throat, forcing it to let out a whine. Halcen looked angrily at the wolf. It was too well kept to be wild. Its hair was groomed and glossy. This beast was trained. Someone had sent this pack after him. He flung the animal across the way and it smacked into the side wall, giving out one last whimper before it went out. It wasn't dead, but it would stay down for a while.

Halcen stood up quickly to check his situation. The other five were slowly stalking towards him. "Alright!" he slammed his fists together and his entire body shot over with black Haki. "Come on!" he shouted.

And one of the wolves lunged at him, with its snout open, ready to tear into Halcen.

He threw out his left arm and the dog bit down on him there. He could barely even feel the pressure. He laughed. Kumajin had a much more painful bite. Then he punched the mutt in the ribs with full force, knocking it to the side. He could tell he had broken some bones, but it would probably live.

The others stared at him in pause, unsure how to proceed. Two of their pack had been taken out already. This man was strong. Nothing had fazed him yet. They needed to be smart about their next move.

Halcen stood with his back to the rock wall, surrounded and unable to get on without a fight. I don't have time for this shit. I gotta find these guys and get outta here. I've got too much to do to be stuck down here. He could sense the general vicinity of where the men he was after were. His Haki told Halcen they were still much higher up the mountains. These wolves had surely been sent by them to take him out. There must have been some kind of security system that had alerted them Halcen was there. No wonder nobody else could hack it.

Halcen braced himself as all four wolves rushed him at once. He was backed against the wall; nowhere to run. But he was strong enough to take them on.

He swung his left arm out and smashed one of the wolves in the face with his rock-solid fist.

It got knocked back but was able to get back up.

Another one came straight at Halcen from the front, going for his groin with bared teeth. The pirate swung his right leg up and kicked the bitch in the face, causing it to back out.

The one on his far right took advantage of the opening and leapt on him. It tried to dig its claws into his body and then snapped its teeth down on Halcen's shoulder. It let out a whimper, letting Halcen know that it had hurt the beast more than himself. It hurt its own mouth.

"Get off me, bitch!" Halcen shouted as he grabbed the mutt by its back and slammed it into the ground.

It fumbled to stand back up and then ran back to the protection of the pack. They stood there staring at him.

Halcen noticed the one in the center hadn't moved yet. It stood, staring deeply at the man. Halcen admitted, he looked quite regal. This was their alpha. This was their strongest. He had yet to make a move, but he was going to be a bitch to get rid of.

The others cowered in the background as Halcen squared off with their pack leader. The white wolf leant in slightly, lowering his head and baring his teeth; signaling he was ready. He stared intensely into the intruder's eyes.

Halcen bent his knees, preparing for the bout.

The alpha took off faster than any of the others had proven capable. It didn't try to tear into Halcen, instead it aimed to wear him down. It rammed it's forelegs into Halcen's chest, making him stumble back into the rock wall, his head jerking backwards and bashing into the stone.

Regardless of the Haki, the stone still hurt. Halcen cussed out loud.

The beast was still on him though. Halcen grabbed its wrists and threw it off of him.

The alpha was pushed back, but still landed on all four paws, skidding back a few feet.

Halcen charged it, still coated in black Haki. He whipped his foot at the hound's head, and knocked it off its legs, sliding across the icy stone on its side. Halcen tried to follow up by running towards it, but wasn't able to get a steady sprint on the ice.

The alpha was able to get back up before Halcen reached it.

Halcen drove down his fist, trying to hit it, but the wolf raced around behind Halcen's back, swiping his leg. He fell to his one knee and lost control.

Damn this beast! He's got the upper hand. I'm not used to fighting in this environment. I don't have claws to keep me flat.

The beast slashed at Halcen's back. The claws went deep, almost cutting through his Haki altogether. The swipe went all the way down to Halcen's waist, tearing his coat along the way. In the fray, Halcen lost the Devil Fruit. It had been wrapped around his waist, and the alpha just cut through the cloth holding it to him.

Dammit! Halcen shouted in his head as he watched the little red fruit roll down towards the outside ledge. He gulped hard and tried to push off. His foot slipped and he went sliding down the small hill towards the ledge as well.

The wolf saw the fruit fall from his enemy's waist and chased after it. He had little trouble reaching the fruit. He stood still, sniffing it, while eying Halcen. This was new to him, clearly.

Dear god, don't do it. Halcen shook his head slowly, as he stood back up in front of the alpha. He was only about two feet away from the black-starred fruit. Halcen stared intensely, his pulse pounding. If the wolf got it first, he knew he would be in big trouble. He had no idea what powers this thing carried, but all Devil Fruits had devastating powers. He needed to get it back before the wolf decided to eat it.

The wolf made a move.

Halcen dove.

An elbow hit the mutt in the mouth before it was able to get its jaws around the fruit. Halcen's right arm wrapped around the fruit and he began to slide uncontrollably toward the same ledge he had barely managed to climb up the night before.

Halcen saw he was going over. He moved his left arm as fast as he could, grabbed his knife, twisted his body around, and jabbed the blade down into the stone, smashing through the ice. It slowed him down, but it wasn't enough, his body continued to go over. He tightened his grip on the knife and pushed his Haki into the knife, creating a stabilizing effect. He stopped only after the majority of his body was already over. He hung with his arm and shoulders trying to pull up the rest of his body.

Halcen watched as the alpha stalked toward him.

I need to get back up, now!

He finally pulled his legs back up and stood up one more time. He took a deep breath. That was too close.

The other wolves stood in the background, panting and staring. None of them had been able to get over on the intruder. But their leader… he was much stronger.

I don't know what this bitch is on, but I'm gonna take him down. If I can take down a forty-foot bear god, I can handle one wolf.

Halcen resheathed his knife, cutting its tie to the Haki. He could focus better this way. He knelt down to one knee. He wrapped his arm around the Devil Fruit, making sure he couldn't lose it. The possibility of one of these animals getting Devil Fruit powers… Halcen was sure it would be too horrible to face.

Halcen pushed off, all his body a black blur, flew over the ground toward the intimidating white wolf.

The alpha saw it coming. He was faster than the man. He dodged to the left, letting Halcen run right past him.

Halcen jerked hard to stop as the wolf was behind him, trying to ready another strike.

The beast pounced on his back, digging its teeth into his left shoulder. This one hurt too. His Haki was waning already. He could feel it. Halcen panted.

Fuck. I'm still not fully recovered from my fight with Kumajin.

He could feel the strong teeth actually beginning to penetrate. Blood started to pool as the animal went wild on him, shaking its head rabidly, trying to tear apart his flesh. The red blood dripped down his black body.

"No," he grunted. "Get… up," he told himself. He pushed with his feet to try to get back up, but the wolf was going crazy on him. "GET OFF!" Halcen shouted as he swung his left arm in an arc, smacking the mutt in the face, pushing it off him.

Halcen turned quick underneath to shove a quick kick straight backward with his right leg. It hit the wolf in the face. Then with as much force as he could, with his left arm alone, he thrust down, pushing his own body in the air, twisting toward the wolf, who was stunned by the first two hits.

His left arm came down atop the alpha's head like a hammer from the sky, bashing him down into the ground with a sharp howl.

Halcen landed to the side with a rough "Agh." He twisted himself back to stand up, standing over the alpha. The beast was unconscious. Halcen stared down, just to be sure, he put his boot on the mutt's neck and pushed down. After a moment of it not moving, Halcen said lowly, "I win."

Then he turned to stare down the rest of the pack. And slowly, almost panting, Halcen asked "Who's next?"

The animals began to back up into growling submission, and then they all ran off, one by one.

"Damn right."