Trust and Piracy (Beri/Time/Mod)

Pao's tastebuds had never endured an assault like this before, this fruit was easily the worst thing she'd ever tasted. It tasted like gunpowder mixed with mud and sewage, not a natural taste at all, it was repulsive, but as she swallowed that first bite she'd feel a tingling sensation begin to emanate from her stomach. It was a pleasant feeling despite the foul taste of its source, and something about it let Pao know instinctually that there was something special about this fruit... and that despite it's utterly repulsive taste if she were to finish it, she'd find out just what that special thing was.

As the disgusting fruit disappeared, Pao would begin to smell something else, something that smelled absolutely delicious. But the scent was coming from a container she already knew had no food in it. It was a barrel of some high quality gunpowder, definitely not something you'd eat normally. But right now it smelled to her like a full course meal cooked by the finest of chefs. It didn't take a genius to intuit that something about the weird fruit she'd eaten was related to why a previously unremarkable barrel of gunpowder had suddenly become the most appetizing thing on this ship. This didn't do much to explain how this change had occurred, but it was clear something had definitely changed in her after biting into that weird fruit... now she just had to figure out what.

As Pao dug into the barrel of gunpowder, greedily shoveling it into her mouth, some of it ended up getting up her nose, not long after that Pao would sneeze louder than she ever had before, and more forcefully too... as she would be knocked over from the sheer force of it as a loud BOOM rattled the room, followed by the sound of splintering wood.

When Pao regained her bearings and looked to see what would happen, she'd find a hole in the door that definitely hadn't been there before... and more alarmingly she'd spot the source after a moment, as she'd realize her vision was being somewhat obstructed by her nose. Reaching up to feel what was wrong with it, she'd find it had morphed into a cannon! Smoke was rising from it as if it had just fired... which would explain the hole and why she'd been knocked over backwards like that. If she focused a bit, she would be able to return her nose to normal, morphing it back as if nothing had even happened.

This raised many questions, but it also meant trouble. She'd fired a small cannon, not nearly as loud as a full sized ship cannon... but it was still a cannon. There was no way she hadn't been heard. Someone was bound to investigate, and when they did they were going to find her. She didn't have long before she was in for a fight... but it did seem she had a new trick up her sleeve if she could figure it out in time

She didn't have to wait long before a trio of pirate grunts reached the door, with the doorknob and part of the surrounding frame now gone it was easy for them to slide it open and enter the room. They didn't know what they were looking for yet so they didn't spot Pao instantly, being even more in the dark about what had happened than she had been, but all three had weapons drawn, and it didn't take long for them to notice the open barrel of gunpowder and look closer. It was now or never, they'd spot her in a few seconds at most and rush her in the cramped room.

The moment Pao called out and activated that sensation from before she'd find that something seemed.... Off.... Namely how the cannon on her midriff did extend.... except it did so FAR more than she had anticipated. Thankfully, before she could fall over, she was able to fire her cannon, the three pirates who were looking for her panicking on sight and ducking out of the way.... no, a more accurate gander was that they hit the deck, literally in this case, as the cannonball fired and splintered not only the gunpowder barrel which blew up with immense force; but also knocked them out of the door as they attempted to escape, slamming into the underside of the deck as they did so.

The resounding detonation instantly blew a literal hole into the side of her ship, giving Pao a clear view of the distant blue that she yearned for.... except at this moment while her cannon had basically prevented her from getting hit with much, the sound of an explosion was NOT doing her any favors, as the smell of burnt gunpowder, the ringing in her ears, and the weight of the five foot cannon extending from her abdomen with a blasted open end showed that while she was not helpless; perhaps erring on the side of caution for now wasn't too bad of an idea. When she did regain her hearing enough to no longer be drowned by ringing she'd hear the sounds of shouts of fire, enemies, and of course, "FIND OUT OUR DAMAGE!" The voice of the captain she had hired rang out; and it was only then that she noticed something. The blast hole had caused the boat to begin taking water, splashes of it entering the cargo hold as waves slipped into the ship at their peak.

Bruce's voice could be heard coming from the door the goons had flown through. "MISS ARE YOU ALIVE!" He yelled, not caring at this point if he had blown his cover. While Pao was uninjured she'd still have a few scraps, bruises, and a feeling of gut pain as she would find standing up with such a long cannon sticking out of her to be.... well.... front heavy.

Pao would find that retracting the metal weapon was easy to do. In fact, it was effortless on her part. It seemed as though the main issues she'd have were recoil and the impact from the blast. That, and maybe the problem of making cannons that were way too big for her to keep her balance with. Heading towards the sound of Bruce calling for her, she'd step towards the part of the hull that was quickly flooding with water. As she moved through the seemingly harmless liquid, Pao would suddenly begin to feel strange with the water reaching up to her ankles.

It was as though the moment she splashed around her body began to feel heavier than lead, her excited stamina about her new adventure quickly draining as though she was a bottle of rum that someone turned upside down and wasted on the ground. She'd still be able to move, but her movements were sluggish, dragged along almost even though in the past she had ran through the beach waters up to her knees with ease before. Bruce appeared quickly as he looked at Pao, as well as the hole in the hull of the ship. "Miss Pao, did you blow up the powder keg?!" Bruce asked, confused as to what had actually happened. He looked back to see the three goons who had searched for her were groaning, seemingly trying to get their bearings together. "The captain is lookin' for ya' upstairs. If he finds out ya gone, I don't think he'll take mutiny laying down." He said, appearing worried now that the possibility of him getting put in the brig was even more evident.

He turned around, seeming to be oblivious to how exhausted and tired Pao was as she slowly sloshed through the water towards the exit. Of course, as Bruce turned around to see Pao still in the storage area, he looked confused. "Hurry up miss! We don't got long!" He clarified, before noticing that one of the guys who were downed had recovered enough to yell at Bruce, before pulling out a pistol, "Get her ya big oalf! She's tryin' ta sink the ship!" He cried, aiming at pao's leg. Considering the blood coming from his ears, the blast must have made him deaf considering that he didn't react to Bruce's words.