Redemption (Rated T) - A Pirate/Fleet RP

[Omni]

Brian could only watch as Sev suddenly headed for the library. Great, flew off before I could say anything. Can phoenixes really bring people back from the dead? That must be handy… Maybe we won't need it. He had still managed to get the suit from Fraze. He looked at it as he headed down the hall to the lab. That strange liquid-like substance in the cup… It would probably be a bad idea to drink it.

He came to the lab, gave the lock what it needed, and entered through the the door.

"Increasing power levels… No response."

"Are you guys doing tests without me?"

"Well Terson," the female replied, "what did you think we would do while waiting for you to return?" She smiled smugly, then asked "What's the cup for?"

"The suit," Brian pointed at the cup. "I got the suit."

"Great… What did he say about it?"

"That it understands your thoughts, it will spread over your skin-"

"What about fur?"

"…I dunno, he didn't say. Well, if it doesn't, that would mean Jaliv can't be the test subject. Sorry Jaliv! You have to miss out on all the fun."

The rodent, Jaliv, just looked at Brian and blinked.

Brian turned back to the female. "I don't suppose you want to try, Fesserfa?"

"You're the one who kept suggesting we use a live person."

"Fine. Fraze'll probably want the suit back ASAP, so we should use it. I'll be back in a minute."

---

"Tada!"

Fesserfa looked over at Brian. "Nice suit," she commented with an unimpressed tone.

Brian acted like he didn't hear. "Shall we get started?"

"Hold on… Generators and other tools are offline. Jaliv?"

"Sensors are online and functional."

"Brian, you may begin test number eighty-seven whenever you,re ready."

"Alright…" Brian said as he walked up to the bike. "Here goes…"

He grabbed one handle and slung his leg over, much like a rider mounting a horse would, and grabbed the other handle. "Woah…"

"Professor Fesserfa, the readings indicate an increase in energy."

"Interesting…"

"Hey guys, something weird is going on."

[Amneiger]

Amneiger blinked when the phoenix suddenly vanished. He switched between the various security cameras in the vicinity, trying to see if -

>> Library systems: Mage ambassador has arrived.

Mage? But the kitsune is still...wait. Amneiger brought up the network for the library and began to search for the phoenix.

>> Library systems: Warning - Patron assistance drone #H-519 has sustained damage.
> Show me.

Amneiger's system showed a playback of the footage of the drone being damaged. There was the phoenix and what was it doing? And did it just teleport off with one of our restricted books?

Fraze couldn't hear him without his suit. Amneiger used one hand to order a manual inventory of the books in the library and with the other tuned his communicator to Bacon's frequency. "Bacon, did you see that?"

[Bacon]

"Er... not exactly." Bacon said as he paused the game. He brought up a remote view of the security systems, "Why, what happened?"

[Amneiger]

"Take a look." Amneiger transmitted camera numbers and timestamps that showed what the phoenix had been doing. "It's the phoenix the Pirate ambassador was traveling with. It teleported into the library, damaged a drone, and stole a book."

[Huntress]

Hunty hadn't gotten far in the meantime. With her inherent dislike for taverns and crowded places - she knew well that she was a wanted criminal and her hair didn't make her hard to recognize - she hadn't settled down in any of the little pubs or inns Tabloid Town was loaded with, but kept striding on, keeping her eyes open. Although she had to admit that there were very few wanted posters on the walls. Most of them were on souvenir stands, with discounts if the corners were tattered or smeared with paste.

At one point, when she was trotting on there, with meepits clustering around her feet, Sev appeared out of nowhere and dropped a book on her.

Incidentally, OOC!Hunty came home from dorm today and therefore spent two hours on the bus down a road she's seen for two solid years and with an MP3 player she's also listened to for two solid years, so she was bored enough to remember the highschool science classes and as a result of a lot of calculating, she can hereby state that if we're to assume that Sev dropped the book from exactly eight feet above Hunty's head, that he let the book go at the second when it was positioned right above the head, that Hunty was at that point moving on at roughly 2.4 mph, which is my average fast pace, and that my calculations were correct, then she'd moved forward by the time the book reached the level of the head and it whizzed past her head 2.2 feet behind her. I know, I'm a sad case.

The meepits, who had good rodent reflexes, had made their conclusions from the 'heads up!' and dashed aside. Hunty, whose archer reflexes weren't that much worse, spun around while her brain registered Sev's message, and noticed the book just as some random street kid lunged forward to grab it, once again proving that street reflexes beat animal and archer reflexes by a very long run.

Hunty's boot landed on the boy's hand.

Well, perhaps not a very long run.

"Come again?" she asked, craning her head up and temporarily ignoring the whimpering kid who was now locked between the book under his hand and the good strong pirate boot on his hand, with meepits staring at him from a few feet away. "You got demon-info from the moon?"

"Huuunty," Bloody Mary said in his usual important-stuff-to-attend-to-plz voice. The captain sighed and released the street rat.

"Learn to recognize people you're better off avoiding, kid," she said, picking the book up. The boy scarpered, glad to have gotten off easy.

"Ooh, tough," Bloody Mary said with a vague grin. "What I meant was you shouldn't really blab about demons and suchlike in the open."

"Eh, that too," Hunty said, backing into an empty alleyway. "Get down here, Sev, high time for you to show up. How's life up there? Ikkin still tickin' and not in too much trouble?"

She squatted down to let the meepits look into the book. Justice, the brainpower and only advanced literate, hopped closer.

"Paperback copies in the Fleet library, didn't expect that," she commented. "I thought they'd all be in fancypants machinery... lemme see that index."

The book, as quick leafing-through proved, was one Mage and Knight libraries didn't have. It was actually a kind of bound report, released as recently as two weeks ago, and Leraye had his own chapter in it.

"Says here," Justice said, diagonal-reading, "that he's a low-rank demon, non-magical, relies on alchemy. Et cetera, et cetera, yadda yadda... quite a bit about Guild Wars. Assisted the pirates in their attacks against the knights of the terrestrials, more random junk we all know by now cos we were there... disappeared in the middle of the battle in the iceberg, hasn't officially been spotted on the planet since." She paused. "Officially?"

Hunty bowed closer. "I'm interested in what comes after the disappearance."

There wasn't much. Only a few sentences.

'Information regarding the data concerning the demon from June 13 (terrestrial calendar) forth, as well as information concerning his current whereabouts, is classified as Highly Restricted (see: Acts and Regulations Section 263, subcategory: Guilds' War, NTWF, #309622647). Further info may be requested from the Personnel Library (Level 9 security pass and identity verification required).'

There was a moment of silence.

"How incredibly helpful in one way," Bloody Mary said, "and incredibly unhelpful in the other."

[Zylaa]

"Nice place," Jina said with a grin as they entered The Human Cannonball. Zylaa grinned too as the bar patrons loaded an unfortunate, half-conscious brawl loser into the cannon, which would shoot the victim unceremoniously into a canal.

She took a table as close to the door as possible, because it was good survival skills to keep an escape route handy. "Can I see the paper, still?" she asked Jina. Despite no direct mentions of demons, Zylaa hoped there would be some lead in there. Some inexplicable disappearances, perhaps, or phenomena, not recognized by the inhabitants of Tabloid Town.

"Oooh look, there's a water-skiing budgie," Zylaa commented as she skimmed article headlines and photos.

As the sound of splashing and drunken cheers broke out from the back of the pub, Zylaa turned to the crime blotter, which was a full page, thanks to the joys of Tabloid Town. Zylaa rummaged in her coat and found a pencil stub, and begin circling.

A surly waitress came by a minute into Zylaa's operation.

"What do you want to drink?" she sighed.

"Rum," Zylaa said absently, absorbed in her reading. She didn't catch Jina's order, but the waitress slouched off as Zylaa finished the second column.

In another few minutes, she flourished the pencil, content with a job well done. "We've got a few suspicious criminal actions here. Er, more suspicious than usual," she amended herself.

"A jewelry store was robbed over in the nice posh district of town. Nobody was seen coming into the store that night, none of the store's alarms went off. Mages were called in, but couldn't detect any magic.
"People have been disappearing, too, again with no explanation as of yet, but that's slightly less suspicious. After all, it's Tabloid Town.
"Also, someone stole their neighbor's Weewoo and attempted to sell it at a pet store, which probably has nothing to do with demons but could be a nice bargain."

((*takes 20 cookies from Fraze* And a cupcake for anyone who recognizes the reference in my own post.))

[Jina]

((Takes cupcake from Zylaa))

"Can I see the paper still?" asked Zylaa. Jina handed it over. "Oooh look, there's a water-skiing budgie."

A waitress came over and asked for their orders. Zylla ordered a rum, and then the waitress turned to Jina.

"I'd like a 'Sploder, please." When the waitress gave a questioning look, she said, "It's a mix of ale, saltwater, gunpowder, orange juice, lemon juice, salicylic acid, cough medicine, sand, ice, hydrogen peroxide, sugar, bran, washing up powder, milk, sour milk, apple juice, tea, and tomato juice. Not too heavy on the sand and don't forget to bring a few aspirins on the side. Shaken not stirred."

The waitress looked pointedly at the Human Cannon, and then back at Jina.

"Or... I could just have a rum, I suppose."

A few minutes later Zylaa looked up from her writings. "We've got a few suspicious criminal actions here. Er, more suspicious than usual. A jewelry store was robbed over in the nice posh district of town. Nobody was seen coming into the store that night, none of the store's alarms went off. Mages were called in, but couldn't detect any magic.

"People have been disappearing, too, again with no explanation as of yet, but that's slightly less suspicious. After all, it's Tabloid Town.

"Also, someone stole their neighbor's Weewoo and attempted to sell it at a pet store, which probably has nothing to do with demons but could be a nice bargain."

"Well personally I want to go check the Weewoos, but I think the jewelry shop is our best bet. But lets take a quick look around here, first."

Jina scanned the pub. "Hmm.. I don't think those two know much, or if they do then they won't be able to remember it... And I doubt the North Tabloid Town Train Club knows much about demons, which leaves... him."

[Rider]

[glow=red,2,300]Rider made up for her own purse being stolen by relieving some poor landlubber of his. It had 7 fewer shinies. Rider put that on a mental tab.

"Yarr, then demons be infuriatn'."

Ventratta stared.

"Yarr, what be shiverin' yer timbers?"

Ventratta shook his head sadly. Of course, to push the issue any further would be to break the fourth wall.

Rider's eyes were fixed on the signs above the shops. They wandered from one side of the street to the other as she walked. "Yarr, they say ol' Engel went on the account years ago. But ye know how rumors spread in this city. Seems true, though, Pity, that ol' sulter would've been a help. Seen all sorts out in the world. Look like we're returnin' ter the captain now."

That's when a sea of people charged out of the Landfish like the place was on fire.

Naturally, this means that Rider ran in. Just an old man and Katkat. And tension that you could cut with a knife.

"Ahoy, Kat. Who's yer new matey?"[/glow]

[Zylaa]

"Well personally I want to go check the Weewoos, but I think the jewelry shop is our best bet. But lets take a quick look around here, first."

"Aye, we need more random small fluffy things on board the ship," Zylaa agreed, not expecting a reply as Jina began to scan the customers.

"Hmm.. I don't think those two know much, or if they do then they won't be able to remember it... And I doubt the North Tabloid Town Train Club knows much about demons, which leaves... him."

Zylaa was all set to make a snappy quip about the demonic activities of the North Tabloid Town Train Club, but the retort died as she followed Jina's subtly pointing finger towards the man in the far corner of the pub.

The man sitting alone at a table wore a dirty, threadbare cloak that had seen better days, and quite possibly better decades. The hood put his eyes and most of his nose into shadow, though his chin and pipe were still clearly visible. Zylaa looked back into Jina with one eyebrow raised.

"One of the main ways to promote longevity and health is to not talk to lurking cloaked people," Zylaa noted. "That said, since we're asking around about a deadly demon, we've obviously given up on health and longevity long ago."

As the waitress returned with two mugs of rum, Zylaa beckoned her closer and turned her head so the man couldn't see her ask. "That man in the corner... who is he?"

"The president of the NTTTC?" the barmaid asked.

"The other corner."

"Ah, that's Walker. I reckon he be one of them Rangers," the waitress said. "Dangerous folk."

Zylaa sipped contemplatively from her mug as the waitress walked away.

"So, shall we go interrogate the creepy person, or not?" she asked Jina.

((... I couldn't resist. Sorry.))

[Bacon]

"What the heck?" Bacon mumbled as he watched the security replay, "Why does it want a book? It's not like any 'Fleeter's gonna be old-fashioned enough to write down critical information in one." He paused. "Wait, we don't keep hard copy records like that, do we?! It's unencrypted! It's primitive! It's juvenile! Well, unless you're somebody like Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton. Hey, X-3, you ever see Jurassic Park? Or Hunt for Red October?"

"... No. That is irrelevent at current in any case." the ship responded.

"Huh, oh, right, the book! Amneiger, there was a robot that gave the firebird that book, can you somehow find out what data- I mean information that book contained with the robot's help?" Bacon suggested.

[Kat]

"Ahoy, Kat. Who's yer new matey?"

"He's the furthest thing from a new matey, Rider," said Kat. Blades sprang out from both ends of her staff, and she brought one close to the old man's neck. "Demon, he is. Started glowing green awhile ago."

The man chuckled, the sickly verdant light slowly ebbing away from him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, his eyes on the blade. Before his opponent could think of an appropriate witty remark or a spell to knock him out, he disappeared, seemingly blending into the air around them.

Then he reappeared noiselessly behind the three young lads still cowering by the table. In a swift motion, he sprinkled what looked like emerald dust into their faces. They gasped, their eyes rolling back into their sockets, and clawed at their faces, screaming in terror. The triplets fell from their chairs, knocked out but not dead.

And that was when Kat struck, staff-blades retracting as something that looked like a long purple ribbon shot out of one end, entwining itself around the old man who wasn't a man. As soon as everything but his head was cocooned in shining violet rope, he fell with the unconscious triplets.

Still he grinned, like an uncle who had been tricked too many times by a favorite nephew - or in this case, niece. His single gold tooth glittered.

"I know who you're looking for," he said smoothly, shedding his apparently fake accent. "But don't waste your time. I ain't talking."

((From here, anyone else can control this man. This means you, Rider. XD))

[Jina]

((Zylaa... that was awesome xD))

"So, shall we go interrogate the creepy person, or not?"

"He's not that creepy. You just have to know how to deal with these people," Jina said. "Come on, I'll show you. Or you could stay here and be a scardey-cat if you want."

She walked over to Walker, and noticed the irony in that. Wait, was it irony or something else? But before she could think any more about it, Walker was giving her a strange look.

"I don't normally get people coming over to me."

"Well, I'm not normal, so that rule doesn't apply to me. Anyway, I need some information. I know you are the kind of person that has information. So, I can see a very simple solution."

"Oh yeah?" The Ranger grunted. "And what might that be missy?"

"It has three sections to it. Number one, you don't call me missy. Number two, you give me any information I might want that you possibly can. And number three, you get a number of drinks depending on how well you do the first two. Do you like it?"

Walker downed his glass and then looked at Jina with a gleam in his eye.

"Alrighty then. What do you know about demons?" she asked.

[Rider]

[glow=red,2,300]The demon community was restless. It didn't take a Shiva to realize this. Ever since the cold-blooded murder of the lady Winterstone, the demons had been reluctant to trust anyone who wasn't their own.

Every demon within miles of Castle Kestrel had heard Kit's call to revolt against the people of this realm. Word of mouth had spread even farther than Kit's clairvoyance could reach. Those demons who hadn't fled were on the brink of carving out some territory for themselves, perhaps straight out of Tabloid Town's back alleys. Perhaps even a merry revolt to remind people that even though the demon race was a minority, they were still a power to be reckoned with.

To these demons, Leraye had become a symbol. He didn't care about the petty rules of this land. He used his alchemy to seriously mess with the guilds, to steal their time and power. He had reminded them that demons were to be feared.

The old man grinned, that grint hat looked disconcertingly like Leraye's. The sort of grin that comes from absolute confidence, the sort that cannot be beaten. Look at these neurotic pirates, scurrying around like mice. They'll never find our hero, our Leraye. They'll live in fear of him for the rest of thier lives.

Rider held her sword to the old man's face. "Your name?"

The old man's response was not the sort that ought be said in front of ladies. Thankfully, neither Rider nor Kat were delicate ladies. Rider slapped him with the flat of her blade.

The old man swore and spat at Rider's feet. "Look at this world you're running, where even your youth want to hunt demons." he spat again at the young boys. "Hunt, like we're animals! Monsters. Tell me, girls, do your kind fear my kind this much?"

"I have a demon of my own," Rider said. For some reason, she felt she had to defend herself against this man. But that was ridiculous, he was the one who was tied up. "No demon hunters will touch him."

"Hatred and fear are so thick in this city, I can scarcely breathe. Most demons have fled Dunburrow. That's where the cloud is thickest. From birth, their children are taught to hate us."

He paused, making chills race up Rider's spine. He was struggling against his magical bonds. "You've been trained. I knew you were with the guild as soon as I laid eyes on ye. Those sick dogs these boys call parents are lucky ye came when ye did. I would have taken them, the new generation of demon hunters. I would have hunted them. I would have shown them what happened to Winterstone."

Rider felt uneasy again. This truly was an irrational fear. She slapped him with her blade again. "You'll be doing no such thing. Kat, tighten those bonds please, and let's see if we can't find out where Leraye is."[/glow]

[Speck]

On the way to the bathhouse, Speck passed through a section of the shopping district. Most of the district was composed of shops selling cheaply-made-but-expensive trinkets, the sort of stuff only tourists would buy. There was, of course, a majority of tourists in this area. There were also quite a few pickpockets, as many visitors to Tabloid Town (particularly those from the Sub-Board Islands) were ignorant of thieves. She was glad that she kept her coin close to her chest.

With this new coin, she thought she would partake in some clean clothes. The ones that she wore weren't necessarily worn out from use, but she was already getting some funny looks from passerby. She hugged her dark green overcoat closer to her body to hide her bloody clothes, and stepped into one of the more homely stores. Not long after, she emerged with slightly fancier clothes than before, her old clothes in a paper bag. (Though she still wore her dark green overcoat over the ensemble.) Hopefully, the bathhouse attendants would let her in with her new threads.

--

The shopping district was only a few blocks away from her destination. As she had hoped, the bath attendants let her in without any questions and led her through the maze of rooms. They passed the noisy, communal pools first, then hurried on to the private baths. A bath was being drawn for her as she was led down the corridors.

Speck stopped walking behind the attendant, the grip on her bag of old clothes tightening. There was a strange, familiar presence behind the door to her left. It was a stronger pulse than any human, with a hint of otherworldly power. Mentally, she took note of the room number, and caught up with the bathhouse attendant a few doors down. While Captain Huntress would have preferred her to investigate, Speck was more preoccupied with her bath. It had been ages since she'd stepped into an formal bathhouse like this.

She was soon enjoying a warm, sweet smelling bath. Her belongings were stowed away in the locker that came with the room. Feeling safe at last, she closed her eyes and relaxed.

[Omni]

"Should we abort?" Jaliv asked the other scientists.

"No, I don't feel anything weird like that," Brian replied. "I'm feeling energy, like we thought might happen, but there's something else too. …Some guy with glasses, pointy ears, and wings. Luh… leh… lar… Larry? Something about a prison… AUGH!"

"That's it! I'm aborting!" Not wanting to get near the bike herself, Fesserfa pressed a few buttons, causing a robotic arm on the ceiling to move. She hurriedly controlled the arm as Brian grunted a few more times, and she succeeded in knocking the bike over. Brian fell off.

"Are you okay?" Fesserfa asked, running closer.

"Yeah… I think so." Brian got up, with some help from Fesserfa. "That was weird, like there was something else there."

A moment of awkward silence.

Jaliv broke the silence. "Perhaps we should resume this test another time?"

"Yeah, I'm not ready to jump back on that thing yet. Besides, I should get this suit back." Brian paused. "I'll be right back." He headed back to change.

A moment after Brian disappeared into the other room, Fesserfa spoke to Jaliv. "Do you really think that test should be continued?"

"You know as well as I that this test is the only one thus far to have results. We have been given orders to study this… object and learn more about it, pre-authorized to conduct whatever experiments we wish, and report everything. Perhaps we will be ordered to continue with this test. Perhaps to stop. Perhaps we will be allowed to continue as before, using the test if we so choose. However, it may not ultimately be up to us."

Fesserfa looked back up, just staring as if into space, feeling a little worried.

((I keep misspelling 'Brian' as 'Brain.' ))