A/N: This was my first work, the one that started it all and I am proud to call this as my best work so far. Difficult it was to create an interesting story with a character based in my imagination. Even more so since it took me a while to get into the swing of things. It was fun as it went but soon I got writers block for a while and my interest dropped to a halt. Deciding to shelve this one for the time being, I began different stories and writing projects as to keep me thinking while I think of the next plot.

Looking at the various stories I've made after this and I must say that I have gotten better than before. Now looking back at this particular one, I wanted to improve on this story since I found it quite incomplete. Unsatisfactory.

Dedicating what spare time I had, I added more to this tragic tale of Grin and upgraded it to suit my taste. I gave more detail to the man behind the mask and to the people around him while not steering away from who they are in our favored show. Hope you will like this version even more.

Write your comments in the review board my dear readers and tell me if my actions proved satisfactory for your everlastingly hungry interests and imagination.

The sun peaked on the horizon as it slowly set in the South China Sea. The skies glowed red and the winds blew chilly trade winds into the glimmering ocean.

Not far off was a ship that went about its way across the waves. It was an old cruise ship but now old enough to be a rotten wreck. It was enamored with bright and rich colors of scarlet and blue with a large open deck. From rich people to mediocre to shipmates in the poop deck, the ship carried various characters off to their respected coasts and travel hubs.

Islands dot the horizon and showcased palm trees and the usual sights that appeal to tourists and travellers. And indeed it did for the sightseers and couldn't get enough of the views and invested many of it in their photos, and each other.

The heat didn't trouble them. Nor did the sunset that appeared in the horizon and the night stars that shone. It was a marvelous sight for the passengers in the ship. It made a simple trip around the sea interesting for all.

Sadly, the same couldn't be said for a man called Jho. He was your mediocre and regular joe doing his job. He was a janitor with a small patience and had no particular love for his job.

Like many people who had achieved nothing in one's life, Jho disliked many things. He disliked working in the ship and its endless toiling. He disliked the captain, the working conditions, the lifestyle serving the distasteful passengers and most of all he hated the passengers themselves!

It was all unbearable for him yes but he had no say in it. It was the only job he could do despite it being a dead end. Jho wouldn't be in this particular situation if it wasn't for the losses he made in gambling but as of now he had no choice. Despite the situation, he wanted more out of his life. A life of wealth, excitement and adventure as a man of his age would desire. What he got instead was a low paying job, crappy guests and the shit that awaits for him in the bathroom areas.

"This blows." He said after cleaning up some bastard's puke off the deck. "Another boring day in a boring ship. Nothing ever happens here."

It took an effort for him not to hurl himself after spending about an hour cleaning it and taking out the scent. He threw the mop to the floor afterwards and began smoking by the railings. Darkness came then some city's lights soon popped up beyond the horizon miles away.

"That must be Roanapur. Glad we aint passing there."

Truth be told that was the only few good things he had throughout the trip. He's heard of what kind of city Roanapur was. It was hell on earth with no laws and death at every corner. The moment a guy steps foot there he grows a new asshole. Stories such as that however shroud the wealth that pours into it every day. But for people like Jho wouldn't know anything about that.

"Wouldn't be caught dead in that place. Not in a million yea-"

A sight of a moving shadow caught his eye. The unexpected surprise made him drop his cigarette and gave him a fearful shiver. As dark as the sea was at that hour, he couldn't help but see silhouettes of men that were climbing the ship from their small boats.

There were dozens of them and saw them sneak about all over the ship like cockroaches. Jho was terrified and speechless for a moment as he stood on the balcony, petrified. He hid immediately behind some cargo and then watched as the events follow through.

Armed with shotguns, six-shooters and rusty blades, the rugged looking pirates stormed the ship. Passengers were taken by surprised and scattered in the chaos. Gunfire erupted as small skirmishes erupted all over the ship between the pirates and security forces. Some of the passengers fought back with foolish bravery but soon enough, the pirates took over.

The passengers were herded together and were gathered into the center deck in the open. Valuables were handed over and wallets were torn as the passengers could do nothing but obey with barrels and blades breathing down their neck.

A few pirates kept guard over the hostages while the rest began looting the rooms. They ransacked bags and crates and threw them out of windows. Glass were broken and furniture's were vandalized as the pirates pillaged the ship.

Amidst the commotion, Jho did his best to huddle in his hiding spot. He prayed to whatever god for the nightmare to be over. He could hear the innocents cry and weep as the pirates barked orders and fire their guns in the air. As atrocious as it all was already, it couldn't compare to what came next.

One of the hostages started to wrestle the pirate leader for his gun. A few others rebelled and tried overpowering the pirates. Shots were fired then all hell broke loose. People ran in chaos trampling each other and running away from the scene.

The Pirates, whilst outnumbered were armed and shot and stabbed indiscriminately at the mob. More men tried fighting them off but were butchered all the same alongside the rest who tried running away. Red soon colored the deck and the pirates chased and shot the rest into the confines of the ship and threw others overboard.

Jho who was hiding in the sidelines hurled his guts out after seeing the carnage. He couldn't take it anymore! He got up and ran away from the crowd and the slaughter.

I have to get out of here...Oh, he thought. This is some fucked up shit that's goin on here!

He hardly ran a few feet from where he was when he collided with one of the passengers. The fat fuck fell on top of him suffocating him with the bastard's sweat and tears.

"Help me! God Damn it! Get me out of here!" he cried

"Help yourself fugly! Get off!" Jho replied

But the man couldn't. The man's obesity was the death of him. He was shot multiple times all over and couldn't move without feeling the bullets piercing his flesh. He was trapped. They both were.

They struggled with each other and unbeknownst to them one of the pirates saw them and made his way towards them loading his pistol as he walked. Jho was panicking and struggled ever so more to get away. His leg was trapped as well as his life.

The pirate steadily walks on his weapon at the ready aimed towards them, the sight of which made Jho close his eyes waiting for his death. He didn't want to die just yet.

The pirate began firing, his bullets hitting his mark. The fat man yelled at Jho's ear after every blast covering his face with blood as well blurring him of his vision but blocked him from the onslaught. As he laid there untouched, he felt lucky that he wasn't hit.

I'm alive! Hahaha! Thanks fat ass! I'm-"Ooof!"

The pirate with the pistol stepped him on and all happiness disappeared from Jho's face as he went eye to eye at the barrel of the gun.

"Not so lucky anymore are ya punk?" the man said with a grin

"Fuck! Bastard got blood all over my shoes!" The pirate shouted at the corpse. He angrily emptied his mag on the corpse.

"That's what you get for showing off Yuda. You wanna look cool and you end up with shit" The second pirate Chon said as he saw his friend's work. "Never knew you for an Eastwood fan though."

"Shut up haha! I technically did the prick a favor. It was either that or he gets crushed by that fatass."

"Hahahaha! Yea! Jokes aside the boss man wants us to go to the cargo hold and look for the rest of the goods. The others will handle the rest up here."

"Still pissing yourself at the sight of blood huh? You never learn." Yuda mocked. "Let's go then. Somebody's gotta watch your ass down there. I wouldn't mind picking up a few things before the rest."

The second pirate held his own tongue and just shrugged off the comment with a finger. The two walked their way down the corridors and met up with the bossman. He was a grizzled old veteran with the scars to prove it and an attitude that ruins any day. With him were 2 other guys, a Youngblood recruit and the other was just another forgettable face.

"Let's go now ladies. We gotta get in and out fast before the feds arrive." The old man barked.

"Don't worry about it gramps. No cop will be out this late in the middle of the fucking ocean in the fucking dark." Yuda replied mockingly

"They will after that gunshow we just pulled off. Now we have the rest of the guys killing em off."

"You mean the gunshow YOU started pops?"

"Piss off prick. Before I chop you off and shove it up your ass." The veteran said. Both men had their hands on their weapons with tensions rising for all of them.

"It didn't have to be this way. It didn't have to be this way," the youngest of the group muttered under his breath. "They just had to force our hand did they?"

"Yea. But then again they were idiots. Some of them wanted to be heroes and look where that got them." Yuda replied, taking his attention away from the old man.

"Still though, do we have to kill everybody?"

"Do you want them to rat us all out to the cops? I aint doing jail time again. I'm not saying that I'm proud in doing this but I got to. This could be our lucky break and I aint having a tourist or a fucking rookie to take that away from me. Now let's do what we came here to do. And not a word out of you, you little spitfuck" the old man pointed at the hothead Yuda

They said nothing more as they went their way to the main cargo hold. A few gunshots were heard echoing through the walls. The sound of heavy breathing and crawling was heard before finishing with a bang. The 5 men who walked on saw the lower decks clean and bloodless as compared to the upper deck.

"Nobody's made it this far huh? No problems then" one of them said

"Stay on your toes though. You'll never know." The boss replied. "We haven't reached the end yet.

The group soon arrived to the last hall. There they men a large iron door that would lead them to the cargo hold. It took them a while to open but fortunately for them, 5 men were more than enough to make it budge.

The halls echoed with a loud screeching of scraping metal as the men pried the door open. The door soon opened wide revealing a dark portal. One of the men entered and pulled on a switch on the side that turned on the lights of the room.

The room revealed rows upon rows of baggage and crates. All were neatly stacked upon each other reminiscent to a shopping mall. The pirates entered the labyrinth and started pillaging the contents at random. They broke open bags and spilled its contents to the floor before picking up valuables in haste.

"Hey guys! I think you better take a look at this!"

The pirates ceased their looting and made their way to their comrade's location.

The pirate pointed towards the figure that lay on the pile. It sat as though it was on the throne as crates and bags were molded to befit it. The man was of medium build, skinny but not to the point of desperation. Short messy hair of a raven black shade rested on its crown and pockets of grey hair etch on its outline. The light almost made it seem to glow. He wore dark attire complete with a stitched up leather jacket, gloves and heavy boots.

What they hadn't noticed as they got closer to it was that he was wearing some sort of gas mask. It looked old and worn that covered the lower part of his face. It was an odd looking one too, made in a shape of a skull with a black bandanna tied along its left eye. The pirates also felt a strong and sinister aura surrounding the figure and unsheathed their weapons at the ready but were hesitant to come any closer.

"Go check it out rookie." Yuda commanded. Weird. What the fuck did we get ourselves into?

The young pirate slowly approached the figure with his rusty machete pointing forward. He was careful at his step as the others followed behind uncertain if the figure was a corpse or a threat.

"Is he alive, rookie?" The old pirate asked.

The rookie hesitantly went closer to the unconscious man. Faint mists slowly flowed out of the mask. Looking closer, a short burst of gas blew at the Rookie's face and blocked his vision for a moment.

The Rookie coughed as he smelled the noxious fumes and fanned away the foul smelling mist. Once the smoke cleared, the rookie went face to face with the figure and came close to wetting his pants as the mysterious figure's eye gazed straight back at him with red eyes!

"He's-erk!" the rookie choked out before the figure grabbed him by the neck and crushed his throat shut.

"Fuckin kill him!" The oldest pirate yelled and began blasting lead. The others did the same but the man pulled the rookie in front of him. Blood spewed into the air as the rookie was torn apart by the barrage. The figure then charged forward towards them with the corpse in tow.

The masked man grabbed the rookie's machete with his free hand and slashed the nearest pirate in the face. The blow was quick and decapitated the man with one blow.

Crimson liquid pooled out like a fountain. Blood stunned the other 3 men in awe and shock as it flew to their faces. Amidst the confusion, Grin moved in and threw the kid to the oldest and then stabbed impaled him with the corpse on the wall like a work of art.

"That's it! I'm out of here!" the second pirate yelled and started running out of the room. He dropped his weapons along the way and ran for his life.

Left behind to deal with the threat, the first pirate held his ground and laughed at the carnage in front of him. He dropped his empty pistol and took out a machete and readied himself for a fight.

"You're pretty good man. I always wanted a challenge." he joked. The masked man simply looked on.

The masked man said not a word. Only the sounds of mechanical breathing covered the room. The man's silence started to scare the pirate. His hands began shaking and his breathing quickened. A look on the man's single red eye revealed the man's intention. Boredom. The masked man didn't see him at all as a threat.

"Motherfucker! I'll show you who's worthless!" The pirate yelled and charged forward.

The masked man's eye remained unchanged and watched as the idiot ran at him. Brave were the pirate's words but the fear in his eyes betrayed him as it made his actions sloppy.

The moment the pirate hacked at him with all his strength the masked man simply raised his arm and had it collide with the blade. The force of the impact unexpectedly shattered the blade. The masked man's arm was intact save for a large gash that ripped the leather sleeve.

The pirate staggered in disbelief as he looked at the broken piece of steel on his hands. The masked man quickly lifted him by one hand. The pirate struggled to escape, banging at the cold arm as he did to no avail.

The masked man held firm and unsheathed a large Bowie knife from behind his own jacket. The pirate looked on helplessly remained silent as he watched the shining silver blade in front of him. The masked man gutted the pirate while the latter screamed in pain and was afterwards dropped to the floor left to die.

"You fought well." The man growled as he watched the pirate shake as it bled to death. His voice was low, hoarse and disoriented due to the mask. His breathing was paced and echoed throughout the room.

Kneeling down next to the dying man, he watched as the life faded from his eyes. Digging into his pockets, he took out a dollar coin. He opened the man's mouth and placed it directly under the pirate's tongue. He finished it off by closing the lids of the dead man.

He took a moment to collect himself as his head ached due to the abrupt wake up call. He breathed slowly letting the painkiller-laced gas from his mask imbue his system. He repeated the process a few times and allowed it to ease him up from all the excitement.

"Nice nap." He yawned feeling a bit woozy. He cracked his knuckles and stretched his back. "Good warm up. I sure could use more."

It wasn't long when more faint gunshots and more screaming broke his concentration and caught his attention.

"Speak of the devil." He grinned under his mask. Tossing the knife between his hands, he made his way topside. His heart pumped with excitement for the souls that were waiting for him up there.

Chon ran for what seemed like hours after seeing the horror on the cargo hold. He saw it as a nightmare as a beast ripped through all those people. He ran away with no regrets of leaving his friend behind to deal with that freak alone. That guy was a maniac. They both were. Chon had hoped that they would at least kill each other in the end.

Chon fell to the ground and puked heavily to the floor. It was all too much for him. It was all too unreal for him. What that thing did was impossible. He tried wiping the blood off of his hands but couldn't. Tears started falling from his eyes as he stressed to grasp what he saw.

"That thing ain't human!" he said as he struggled to stand. "I am SO out of here! I gotta-gotta get the other's! Yes! That's what I'm gonna do!"

As soon as he managed to stand up he suddenly felt pure terror. He felt something come closer towards him. The sound of mechanical breathing resonated all over the halls. He didn't know where it came from but he knew it could only come from THAT man.

The sound was everywhere and it clawed into his psyche. Chon pissed his pants wet n fear and broke into a run. He didn't care where as long as it wasn't down where he was. Running for what felt like a lifetime Chon passed through the endless doors and dark corridors.

Chon soon became exhausted. His breathing became heavy, his heartbeat punching him to stop but terror gripped him tight. He had to get out of there. He had to get topside. The others must be warned.

The sounds of gunfire gave him high hopes that he was close. Light soon emanated from the distance. It was the exit he was searching for desperately. He was saved. The others will be there. Killers and brawlers that is tougher and more dangerous than him who will kill the one that's chasing him.

"That Freak can't kill all of them hahaha." He said hopefully as he bolted out of the door. "WE GOT TROUBLE OVER HERE GUYS! He's right behind me!"

The moment he emerged from the confines of the ship, the lowly pirate's heart sank. In the open, he saw his fellow pirates fighting for dear life and getting butchered. Chon stood motionless as he saw the masked man move through his friends like a plague and cut them apart effortlessly.

Chon looked in horror as he watched the hardiest men he knew fall dead. Their necks and limbs were bent in two. Their faces collapsed and bloodied with the masked figure towering above all of them.

It moved like a ghost in the battlefield. Walking about in the open as it shot down men with a single blast or with a quick slash. It jumped from cover to cove, blocking and dodging every shot. It even used some of the corpses as a shield as it moved about with composure.

The pirates shot erratically with curses and loud guns but none appeared to make its mark. They were in a panic they were firing blindly. Spraying and praying more like it.

Helpless and in panic, the masked man did it's work well with painting the ship's deck with red. Limbs were scattered all over, blood coated the walls, and bodies litter the floors. The pirate's stood no chance. It was a massacre.

Chon who fell seated at the floor as he saw his last colleague bite the dust. He did not even raise his weapon as the man saw him. He did not try to run as it walked near him. He did not raise his voice and shout as the man stood before him. He was broken and defeated.

"W-w-w-who are y-you?" the pirate stuttered.

"People call me Grin." he replied. Rolled the cartridges of his revolver, he pointed it to the petrified man's head as soon as the spinning stopped. "Most call me 'Reaper'."

BANG

Grin patted down his hands and cleaned his blades the moment the thrill was over. He took a few seconds to breath and looked around his surroundings. He was saddened by what he saw. Many innocents litter the decks of men, women and even children who never had a chance in life. That troubled him a little as he walked in the blood-covered ship.

Grin found himself with another problem; he's stuck on a ship with a lot dead people. Even worse, he was stuck on a ship with a lot of dead people without anyone with the knowledge of driving a ship. Grin climbed to the bridge and looked for a solution. He was fortunate to see the engines are still running but fuel was low.

Looking around, he saw city lights far on the horizon. He steered the ship to that direction and set his course there. A large statue emerged the moment he got closer. The sun began rising from the horizon and revealed the statue's shape. It took a shape of a large faceless Buddha.

Grin immediately knew where he was heading. He made a malicious smile as he thought of the wonderful opportunity that fate has given him. It was a good place to start anew.

"Roanapur here I come."