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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 15:57:41 GMT -5
Celestial
((Near the "White" Weewoo))
"Is he... going to be alright?" PFA asked Celestial, bringing her out of an almost trancelike state.
"I hope so. It is a powerful magic that has gotten into him and I truly believe that he might be havng something similar to an allergric reaction because of the gem" she said while keeping her magic flowing steadily to the feline who she heard was called Cat Assasin. What a charming name.
Sparks almost interrupted her concentration. A wall of purple flame had grown around them, blocking a fireball of the exact same colour. Celestial had only seen these flames once, when Kat and the other Bluisa were fighting. The flames were both Kat's and by the looks of them, Astheille was winning. She couldn't go back and help her, Cat Assasin's need was greater. But Overlord...she signaled for him to come here.
Overlord saw Celestial flick her hand and felt the need to respond. He took off from Bluisa's shoulder and flew over to his mistress, eager to hear his orders.
Go save the purple mage on the dark ship Celestial did her best to relay all of it despite the dragon minds crowding around. However, they were beginning to weaken slightly, allowing a little room for short mind-communication if the link was strong. She hoped Overlord would understand.
Celestial extended her other hand and put it on the gem in his circlet, filling it with power. He would use it when it was necessary.
He understood enough to figure out that somebody Celestial kenw was in danger. The mage he was talking to would soon understand what he was offering.
His circlet was full of power, power which he could tap into. With luck, it would be enough. The Weewoo took off towards the cliffs and the demonic ship. He was just in time to see the blonde defeat the purple mage. The gem was moving though and the blonde was making it move. He could hear her muttering something that felt arcane and he was glad not to hear what it was. It didn't matter though. He had his own gem of power.
It suddenly lit up and began glowing, enveloping Overlord's whole body in a mutlicoloured glow. Without uttering a cry, he swooped down and let out a single blot of lightining heading straight for the blonde mage's eyes.
Huntress
((The White Weewoo - and yes, people, it's still the White Weewoo through and through xD The black spiky part is only the casing.))
Huntress watched the ninja drama unravel in front of her with not much apparent compassion. Allies or not, their issues were not her business, and whatever Bluisa was saying, she had done something to make the ship go livid, metaphorically speaking.
Part of her brain was still registering the bright flashes of Kat's battle as she turned to look at Goosh, who'd approached her, saying, "Either you or Rider has the gem, I assume, or else a lot of free time and much black paint. But we can discuss this later. What are my orders?"
"Free time is something we really don't have right now," Hunty admitted with a grin, "much as everyone seems to think otherwise. At this point..." she looked around as a thought began to form in her head. Really, what were her plans after this little showdown on many levels would be sorted out?
Actually, heck, she was the captain of the ship. She didn't have to wait. At this point they were just waiting to get the crew together.
"Go talk to the crew," she said. "Find out what they've all been through and what they found out, youknow, if they found anything about the gem, then leave out all the unimportant bits and report back to me. I wanna know if the crew is okay and in more or less stable physical and mental health, and whether everyone's ready to set sail. Speck isn't here yet, I see, but if she delays much longer, I do fear we'll have to go without her. As soon as I get a clear picture of what our current status is, we're going." For the time being, she had no clue where exactly they'd be going, but the small thought forming at the back of her head still wouldn't leave her be.
Poison, was it not? Danger to the whole land and all of the guilds. And she knew well that they had something useful in the hold, something that would very possibly help.
Yes, the thought was getting very interesting now.
Her thread of thoughts was cut off as the ship jerked around again all of a sudden, then remained silent. But it was a suppressed silence, a silence in which the yards began to tremble again. The black mist added its part by turning into a fierce flaming haze.
She snapped back to reality - granted, at this point the reality was much messier than her thoughts, which were crystal clear at this hour of the night - and noticed a bunch of squirrels clustering on the clifftop and shouting messages.
Ooh.
She paid attention. A message from Cyborg? Double ooh.
And then came the message fully worthy of triple ooh, as the squirrel she remembered all too well as Hazel said, "The message is Cyborg is looking to form an alliance with the pirates."
She grinned, sitting down again. "Bloody Mary!"
The meepit, or actually a furry blue haze that had been moving very quickly up the rigging, made the last few quick leaps and landed on his everlasting position on Hunty's shoulder, his small face beaming with something all too sinister. The black haze twirled around him.
"Did my old ears deceive me?" he asked, sitting up in all his length. "Whadda you know, Hazel. Looking for an alliance? Where were you alliances back when you were still on board, matey?"
Hunty had always discouraged gang wars on board, seeing that there were all too many gangs and even one war would mean a big bloodbath, but she'd also always discouraged disobedience, and surely enough, the squirrels were guilty of both. Images of old times flashed through her head, memories of the time when she was still the vicecaptain and struggling to - bloody hell, struggling for her authority over an underswabby and his gang of squirrels. Sometimes she still wondered why she hadn't taken things to the keel from the start. Judging by the sizzling of the black fog of the ship, the Weewoo was wondering the same thing. And the ship probably knew more than she did.
Guess that's what you call karma.
So she left Bloody Mary to sort out his old grudges and turned her focus on the gem in her pouch instead. It was twitching restlessly, acting like a lump of iron near a number of magnets.
"Down," she hissed in the voice of someone who's long tired of messing with magic, then, as the gem indeed calmed down a bit, looked around for Leraye. The demon was still sitting on his couch, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. For a moment she rather envied him.
Right, she'd given him a promise as well. Now the thought in her head took a rather clear shape.
"You, demon-boy," she shouted, tossing Leraye the gem. "Keep it for the time being. It's acting funny again and you're better with it than I am." The captain's eyes flashed cheerfully. "Can't afford to let it go haywire now. I have some... fireworks in planning."
Cyborg
" We'd rather not ally with you, but Cyborg and his brother Midknight thought it would be best, since their being attacked by a former member of the crew, Keng," Hazel said to Hunty, " oh and Bloody Mary I'm looking forward to starting our first fight, right here, right now if you want!"
( Remember the squirrels don't know everything's fine now.)
Zylaa
((Weewoo))
Zylaa was going to respond to Bluisa's protest- the girl seemed to think that Zylaa thought that Bluisa was someone else. But her mouth opened into a huge yawn instead. No wonder, Zylaa thought. It must be half-past three by now. Some drama was playing out among the ninjas below by the time she finished yawning, but she figured the ninjas could decide that among themselves. She looked around for Hunty.
Cyborg's squirrels had arrived, and Zylaa made her way towards them in time to hear the offer of an alliance. Many weasels from belowdeck had arrived and were regarding the squirrels curiously. Unlike the meepits, though, the weasels never acted hostile to anyone, unless that someone held shinies.
The Captain moved on, towards... a man on a floating couch? Strange. Even stranger was when Hunty tossed the man the gem. What was the story there? No matter.
"Captain," Zylaa said, "Sorry to spoil the fun, but the gem sort of has an army trapped inside it, back from before the NTWF. If we keep up using it, we'll run the risk of releasing a bunch of cursed fighters into the world, or we'll join them." Another yawn. This would do no good.
"Budge up, you," she added to the man on the couch. "I need a nap if I'm to be of any more use.
Omni
((Mage Manor, guest room))
Omni listened as Nature explained her nightmare, sortof, and smiled a bit as Surf started singing. She would have liked to join in, but on top of her plugged nose, she didn't even know the lyrics.
"Yeah, id waz jusd a dreeb. Id definidely wasn'd a breminition 'gause… well, some ob dat sduff gan'd habben." She didn't want to mention what happened to Kit, but she did fiddle around with the crystal on her collar.
"Dry daking a deeb breath. Breathe slowly. Relagz. Release your feerz as you egzhale…"
---
((Outside Mage Manor))
Again, Ethan had to suppress the urge to shudder as Cyclops climbed up his back and curled around his neck. At least before there was some cloth between them, now Cyclops had oozed himself onto bare skin. "If there's a poncho, that would probably work, but don't go through the stuff or leave the shuttle unless you have to."
Shortly after sending that last message, Ethan came up to Zari, who had fallen to the ground. "Are you okay, Professor?"
Vyt
((Near White Weewoo))
For some time, Bluisa could not retain the anger that was accumulating in her mind. Helplessness had only made it go worse during the time the mage could only watch as the events unravel.
Out of her duty, Bluisa knelt near Cat Assassin and took out something from his cloak. It was her crystal ball, the same thing she had given Cat Assassin while in the Mages Manor. The dark mage then focused her attention on the gem. Bluisa then took note of who was currently holding the gem.
As the dark mage slowly stood, a rather loud and sharp noise followed, echoing around. Bluisa's eyes were glaring with anger, but her intention was more in seeking revenge rather than bringing chaos for no reason.
She turned to Hunty, thinking that she was the main reason Cat Assassin collapsed. "How many more people will you leave dying before you realize you've been using the gem the wrong way?!" she screamed, her eyes teary yet focused on the captain. "Even someone like you had been mentally consumed by the gem! Do you think you have total control over it?! You're WRONG!"
Bluisa's usual black aura then changed accordingly. Her concern for her friends and loved ones had completely negated the evil affiliation Subila had left upon her, as her body shone with white light. It was the greatest goal she had achieved: purifying her originally evil seed with the imaginative water of friendship. Not even the mist surrounding her could stop the light from piercing through.
Her eyes, which had also changed from red to white, kept their focus on Huntress. If there's someone who can put some sense into the captain, it was her.
((Afterlife))
"... I heard from Sev that though your body was returned, the soul did not. What happened?"
"... I chose not to return. It was of my own will. I lived a bad life, and I will be forever like that. I do not wish to return just to continue."
"... But you lived a great life! You have seen your long lost daughter, save NTWF by fighting against your own evil counterpart, and have even lent your share of humor!"
"No... All of the wrong things I have done cannot be overshadowed by the right things I've given out, and-"
"You're not the Vyt that I remembered... The childhood friend of mine knows no such thing as giving up... He is quite an optimistic person, always thinking that tomorrow will be a better day..."
"... I've given up on sheer optimism. No matter how hard you try, there will always be someone who will put your hopes down. You don't understand what I've been through... for eighteen years, I was constantly trying to convince my own people that I mean only good, but what do I get? A million-dollar bounty on my head."
"No, I completely understood. Do you think I gained the name 'Cat Assassin' for nothing? In my identification laid a kill count of more than 5,000... Let alone count how many innocent lives I had left heart-broken... But did that stop me from convincing that I've changed since I went on my own journey? No."
"... You said earlier, and I quote, 'Do not be blind to what you can really see.' Well, I say the same thing to you. You have attained some, if not all, of the things you want to have in your life: your daughter, your friends, your sanctuary... You're just covering them up with your pessimistic views, convincing yourself that you have not gained anything for your own life. Please, Vyt... Return to NTWF. You have died quite prematurely, and I don't want to see you so down like this..."
PFA
((Near Weewoo))
PFA lowered her head a little in response to Celestial. "Oh, Uncle... please be alright..."
Suddenly, purple flame surrounded the group, blocking off a fireball of the same color. PFA winced as the fires collided, sending a small blast of heat toward the group. What was that about? she wondered silently.
Then, there was a loud and sharp sound. PFA instinctively brought her hands to her ears, but brought them back down when Bluisa started to speak.
"How many more people will you leave dying before you realize you've been using the gem the wrong way?!" the mage shouted, tears in her eyes. "Even someone like you had been mentally consumed by the gem! Do you think you have total control over it?! You're WRONG!"
And then, a very bright light, which PFA had to shield her eyes from. The ninja was not sure at all what was happening, but from the looks of it, Bluisa was about to attack the pirate captain. Which was not a good thing.
"Bluisa! Don't hurt her!" PFA yelped. She had no idea if the mage could hear her, though... all she could do was wait and see what happened.
Celestial
((Near the "White" Weewoo))[/color]
Celestial kept her hand on Cat Assasin, feeding him the power and thankful for the dragons who lent her the power. The loud, sharp noise made her wince but the magic didn't falter. She was too strong for that for the time being. However, she noticed Bluisa walking towards the pirate captain. This wasn't right... was her thought. It was soon confirmed.
"How many more people will you leave dying before you realize you've been using the gem the wrong way?! Even someone like you had been mentally consumed by the gem! Do you think you have total control over it?! You're WRONG!" she shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks. But then she began glowing and not faintly as Celestial did from her power but bright and focused.
"STOP BLUISA! SEE SENSE! SHE IS NOT YOUR ENEMY, YOU ARE!! Celestial shouted, the echo in her voice from the dragons carrying it further. Still keeping her hand on Cat Assasin and feeding him life-giving power, she extended her hand and sent a shockwave of air towards Bluisa, hoping to knock her off balance and stop her inflicting any unnecessary damage to the pirate captain and the ship. It was strange but Celestial felt an odd feeling of respect for the pirates.
Ikkin
Ikkin quickly realized that she wouldn't really have too much to do in the fight against Asthielle. Not only did the Meepits quickly become a non-issue, but Kat had told Celestial to back off as well. Ikkin figured that that probably meant her, too.
She decided to stick around in case Kat needed backup, though. After all, she wasn't about to let a friend get hurt just because the friend wanted to take a fight alone.
Besides, Asthielle wanted the gem, and Ikkin was not very inclined to let her have it.
So Ikkin watched on as Kat and Asthielle argued and fought over the gem, Asthielle claiming (quite wrongly) to be the only one who could control it. She tensed up a bit as Celestial released her spell and flew off, leaving Kat to be thrown backwards by a dark spell from Asthielle, but Kat regained her composure and fought back before Ikkin could do anything to help her.
Ikkin created a small flame in her hand and played with it while waiting for something to happen to require her help. She didn't like not having anything to do.
Fortunately, this didn't take all too long. Kat and Asthielle had started arguing about the power of summoning spells, which in and of itself wouldn't be very interesting if she hadn't started a very annoying chant directly afterwards.
Ikkin moved her kitsune ears to try to block out the sound, then immediately threw the fire she already had in her hand at Asthielle's unguarded chest, following it up by a pressure dart from her other hand. Kat might have told her not to interfere, but there was no way she was going to let Asthielle summon the gem because of that.
Besides, all she needed to do was distract Asthielle, anyway.
***
"You, demon-boy," Huntress shouted, tossing the gem to Leraye. Leraye fumbled it, not expecting anything like that, then managed to catch it before it zoomed off. "Keep it for the time being. It's acting funny again and you're better with it than I am." Her eyes flashed, but not in a threatening way. She seemed rather cheerful, actually. "Can't afford to let it go haywire now. I have some... fireworks in planning."
"As you wish," Leraye said with a smile. "It is acting rather odd. I think someone might be trying to summon it. You might want to deal with them."
He focused on the gem, using its power to weaken the effect of the summoning spell on it. Hopefully, whoever was trying to summon it would stop soon.
After all, the captain's fireworks were just the kind of thing that Leraye liked.
Before the gem stopped acting odd, though, a weasel girl came over. "Budge up, you," she said. "I need a nap if I'm to be of any more use."
Leraye found her bluntness rather odd, but figured he wouldn't say anything, just move over to the end of the couch. No reason to make the weasel girl upset.
Kat
((Near the not-so-White Weewoo))
So intent was Asthielle in summoning the gem that she left herself open to not one but three spells coming in at her. But upon seeing a flash of lightning that seemed to be getting brighter and brighter by the millisecond, she turned on the spot almost instinctively, her cloak whipping around her and smoking with dark magic.
And then she disappeared, Kat's staff clattering harmlessly to the ground. The unfinished spell lingered on the gem for a short while before fading away. Now that Asthielle was gone, Kat turned to see Celestial's Weewoo and Ikkin; the spells that had saved her - and the gem - matched their magical signatures.
"Thanks," she said, nodding to both of them before walking over to pick up her staff. "I owe you both." Staring up at the White Weewoo, "Change of plans, Cap'n...can you make sure that ship doesn't throw me off too?"
Of course, she couldn't let her guard down that easily; Asthielle could still be lurking around, waiting for another chance to strike again. But for now, she was gone, and that was good.
Kwoiffei
((Mage Manor – Drakhé's room))
For what seemed like forever, Drakhé lay on the floor, half-asleep and very much sore. His mind was still going over the dream he'd been abruptly woken from.
Too many questions came to mind. Why the ballroom? Why that feeling of security, yet a feeling of a lack thereof? Why a waltz... why Kwoiffei? Why Rikku?
Wait... Rikku? The dragon shook his head. Why her of all people? I didn't even see her face...
It wasn't making sense in the least. He had managed to forgive her... somehow... if apologising and accepting her apology counted as forgiveness. But she was a necromancer. He hadn't been lying when he said he'd been witness to some of the things a powerful necromancer could do. However, he had left out some details...
The prejudiced part of him was mad, and wanted him to take back his apology. But another part of him seemed... preoccupied with her.
Why?
A noise brought his wandering mind back home and tied it on a leash. Sharply he turned his head, and saw a pile of clothes left at the foot of his bed. Something was strangely familiar about it.
The dragon rolled over and crawled over to the pile. Once he reached it, he proceeded to take one piece of clothing, and take a good look at it. And then he gasped.
It was a lavender tunic – and on the front of the tunic was a symbol: three eight-pointed stars placed within each other.
The symbol of the Aronesh Elite.
Attached to it was a note: From Kwoiffei.
Huntress
((The White Weewoo))
Bloody Mary grinned widely, barely keeping his upper lip from twitching, looking down at Hazel. "No, thanks. I have better things to do than eat squirrels at this hour of the night. And if you don't want an alliance, then we have nothing to talk about. You'd have to get Cyborg here in person, and you'd have to persuade this little nutshell more than Hunty. Keng..." he paused. Keng had been driven off the ship for failing her duties. "Who the heck is she working for now?"
Huntress had more things to pay attention to in the meantime. Like Zylaa.
"Sorry to spoil the fun, but the gem sort of has an army trapped inside it, back from before the NTWF. If we keep up using it, we'll run the risk of releasing a bunch of cursed fighters into the world, or we'll join them."
The captain snorted quietly. "Finally some light on the story. Even if the light is coming from a flamethrower. See, all the more reason to keep an eye on it. I already got what I wanted from the gem, the sooner we get everything sorted out with it, the better for us. Reminded me..." She turned around, clinging to the lifts. The lack of sleep was really kicking in now, but if there's ever a place where you can't fall asleep, it's on the upper yards of a ship. She squinted at Bluisa, who shouted: "How many more people will you leave dying before you realize you've been using the gem the wrong way?! Even someone like you had been mentally consumed by the gem! Do you think you have total control over it?! You're WRONG!"
"Actually she's always like that," Bloody Mary said, wondering just how much abuse the ship's smoke-screen would be able to take. Then again, Hunty seemed confident enough.
And she was, in fact. One learns to judge the abilities of their ship rather fast, because their survival depends on it. So at this point she was just standing there with a kind of semi-sleepy, thoughtful look on her face, as the black fog raged in front of her, keeping a firm shield between her and Bluisa.
"All I ever did," she said, "was protect my ship. I never asked him," she nodded at Cat Assassin, "to follow me and get in the gem's way, or whatever it is that happened to him." She raised her chin a little and cast a look around the cliff. Asthielle had disappeared, and it looked like it was time to call it a day.
"You, ninja," she looked at PFA. "Get on board. The ship will let you in. I gave you a promise and I'm keeping it, but you'll be on my territory for that."
"S'dangerous," Bloody Mary warned.
"I know, but I trust the Weewoo. And Kat, you get on board as well. You're a pirate, and the first mate of this ship. I don't see why she should throw you off. You, dragon-lady... you can stay where you wish, the ship seemed okay with you." She looked around. "At this point we could all use a little shuteye, but with all those things seething on the land, I want everyone who should be on board, on board, and everyone who shouldn't be on board, off the board. We're not staying near the coast for the night. And it'll be a short night, because half of it is already over."
Speck
It was getting harder and harder to keep going through the forest. Out of breath, Speck slowed down and stopped, leaning against a tree to rest. Just as she began to regain her energy once more, a tug was felt in her chest. The being inside her squirmed, clinging to Speck's very heart and soul. It was as if something was calling it against its will. She clutched her stomach, gasping, and knelt on the ground.
The feeling was soon gone, but she felt nauseous again. She felt for the amulet in her pocket, rubbing it. The other spirit calmed down and withdrew only slightly. Her stomach growled; she hadn't eaten in several hours. She needed to get back to the ship.
A scurry of feet caught her ears, a flash of pink fur streaked through the bushes. Speck stood, feeling the skin of a lemon bomb in another pocket. She let go when she realized the scurry in the bushes was a small pack of meepits. Didn't the Captain have a whole horde of meepits that followed her?
PFA
((Near Weewoo))
"You, ninja. Get on board. The ship will let you in," the pirate captain called to PFA.
"But I..." PFA started, but then pondered for a moment. She really didn't want to leave Uncle behind, and she didn't want Bluisa to attack the pirates... but she couldn't do anything for Uncle now, and if PFA got on the pirate ship, maybe Bluisa wouldn't attack it. A little reluctantly, she turned to Celestial. "...Take care of him, alright?"
And then, she took a deep breath, and walked toward the rope ladder that connected the Weewoo to the cliff. The mist didn't block her path, which she was thankful for. She soon came to the ladder, staring at it for a moment. She felt weird to be boarding the pirate ship in such a peaceful manner, what with the pirate/ninja rivalry and all... but they were allies now. PFA had yet to fully comprehend that.
Before actually boarding the ship, she turned to look in Bluisa's direction. "Please, Bluisa! Don't attack the pirates! They're... they're our allies!" PFA shouted to the mage. She was fully aware of how strange that sounded, coming from the mouth of a ninja. But hopefully it would keep Bluisa from attacking.
Keng
"Oh, it's decent pay. I wouldn't have stuck around at the beginning if it wasn't. You're guaranteed to be payed at least as much as a new recruit, which is pretty good with hazard compensation salaries. Of course we're payed in credits, but that can easily be translated and into and payed in whatever currency you wish." explained Keng.
Zari
Zari raised an eyebrow. 'Quit it with the "Professor". It makes me feel like an old geezer, which I am by human standards, but whatever.' She yawned. 'Shoulda slept in the shuttle and let Ienalle drive.' Ienalle blanched. 'I can't drive.' 'Well blow that. Lessgo find Leoness. Hopefully with my hood up, she won't see me.' She got up, turned around, and began to walk out of the tree cover.
As it happened, Ailura Vaiderayle, better known as Zari, Crimson Knight of Dunburrow, was wondering, if the Other was so close, where the hell was she? Not inside the Manor. No. She turned back towards Pyro. 'Are you sure this is a good idea? Or should we head back to the Castle. Hopefully rounding up the Knights will be easier from there.'
Kat
((Near - and then on the White Weewoo))
"And Kat, you get on board as well. You're a pirate, and the first mate of this ship. I don't see why she should throw you off."
"Dunno, maybe she might think I'm the bad mage," said Kat, shrugging. Nonetheless, she waved her staff once, and disappeared in a puff of violet smoke, only to reappear beside Huntress, still grinning as her staff returned to its wand form. She stood there for a few moments, as though expecting to be ejected from the deck.
Nothing happened.
"Okay, so at least she knows who I am. Cap'n, perhaps you have a job for me?”
Vyt
((Near White Weewoo))
An invisible force caught Bluisa off-guard as the mage was pushed around once more. It came from Celestial, who had seemed to temporarily leave Cat Assassin behind for the attack. "STOP BLUISA! SEE SENSE! SHE IS NOT YOUR ENEMY, YOU ARE!!" the dragoness told her, the voices of a thousand dragons accompanying her.
Shakily but strongly, Bluisa stood up to recover from the attack. She then turned towards Celestial, but instead of being angry for attacking her, Bluisa understood clearly what the dragoness meant. "I did not say she was an enemy to me..." she explained, her voice a bit stirred from the force that pushed her awhile ago. "... But there's a huge consequence in using the gem so foolishly, and she's trying to cross the line!" she ended. Oh, how Bluisa wished she could properly explain that she knew the purpose of the gem better than probably everyone else around her.
"Please, Bluisa! Don't attack the pirates! They're... they're our allies!"
What totally caught Bluisa by surprise however was the fact that PFA was given an offer by Huntress to join the ship, along with the others. Her white eyes widened with astonishment, but she finally realized that the ninja seemed to have tied a mutual bond with the pirates around her not too long ago. All the mage could do was sigh.
"... Fine," Bluisa breathed out, reluctancy present in her voice. "If you wish to trust someone who does not know how to use the gem properly, it's your choice. Remember that I've warned you, though. I don't want to see you come back devastated."
Bluisa then glanced at Cat Assassin, who had never moved an inch since collapsing. "Now, if you excuse me, I have your dying Uncle to tend to," she heavily said before rushing to check on the feline. Bluisa's concern for PFA was still present, but experience would tell the ninja better than her own explanation.
More tears were flowing from her eyes.
((Afterlife))
"Hold on. Don't think about the pain, focus on my voice and magic. Reach out for it for it can save you."
That exact statement started to linger inside the head of Cat Assassin. It was said by an unknown girl, but what she had said was full of kindness and concern. Seeing that he could not do anything for the moment, Cat Assassin obeyed the command and closed his eyes.
Vyt watched as the soul of his childhood friend slowly evaporated from the afterlife. It was then that he thought he had to hurry. "Cat Assassin! I've decided that I will return to NTWF... But under one condition: everyone must figure out for themselves why I had chose not to return in the first place."
His eyes still shut, Cat Assassin could only react by smiling, as finally his whole body dissipated.
Vyt sighed. "It'll take awhile before he could return to his body..." he said. He glanced at the hole he was looking at not long ago, seeing the image of PFA and Bluisa having an argument. "He's my only hope right now."
Celestial
((The "White" Weewoo))[/color]
"I did not say she was an enemy to me...but there's a huge consequence in using the gem so foolishly, and she's trying to cross the line!" Bluisa replied, tears streaming down her eyes. If Celestial wasn't inhabited by so many dragons, she would have hugged Bluisa and told her it will be alright. She really was turning soft.
"Bluisa, what must happen will happen. Experience is always the best teacher and if that gem has a bad surprise in store it will be exposed soon enough. she smiled, taking her hand off Cat Assassin. She couldn't do any more for him but what she had done should be enough to at least wake him up.
"You, dragon-lady... you can stay where you wish, the ship seemed okay with you." the pirate captain shouted at her. This was an interesting offer indeed but Celestial didn't really want to go on the ship. Although it would be useful to keep an eye on the gem.
"...Take care of him, alright?" PFA's voice brought Celestial out of her musings. We won't be able to take care of him unless...no was Celestial's thought. Besides, she had done all she could. She turned to Bluisa and Cat Assassin.
"If you ever truly need us, we shall come. AS for your uncle, the forest should have everything you need. I find that wormwood works well if mixed with a little magic." she said before flying over the cliff and landing with grace onto the Weewoo.
"If it is alright with you, we have never felt comfortable on ships but we wish to come with you on our own wings." Celestial said, nodding to the captain respectfully. Hopefully, it will be acceptable.
Small tendrils of barely visible light snaked off Celestial as she released the dragon's powers. She wouldn't need them now and if she did, she could always call upon them. For now, they should replenish their strength and she wouldn't be able to release them if she was on the move. Slowly, her dragon form features shrank and disappeared beneath her skin, save seven small spikes on her head where her crest usually was. It didn't matter though, nobody could see them anyway. Her eyes regained their normal colour. Celestial was herself again and not just a mix of dragons.
Overlord, come here. she said with ease through their mindlink.
"Thanks, I owe you both." the purple mage said and Overlord nodded, weewooing happily. At least he had done something right. Suddenly Celestial landed on the ship and Overlord glanced over to her as she talked to the pirate captain. Small lights were spinning off her and the dragon's features were retreating like knives into a sheath. Finally she looked over at him with normal blue eyes and a thought entered his head with ease and without the accompanying echo of dragons.
Overlord, come here. It was simple but it was all the Weewoo needed to hear. He flew off the rails and landed on her shoulder, joyous at his reunion with the old Celestial and not a jumble of dragons.
Goosh
((The Continually Pun'd Weewoo))
Goosh watched as Huntress tossed the gem to a man on a couch, biting his lip. The Yurble didn't know who this man was, and if Huntress had put the gem into the wrong hands...
"Sorry to spoil the fun, but the gem sort of has an army trapped inside it, back from before the NTWF. If we keep up using it, we'll run the risk of releasing a bunch of cursed fighters into the world, or we'll join them."
Exactly.
He would have to find out who the man-on-the-couch was. With this many Pirates, they should be able to wrangle the other piece from Speck, and then they would find out who the metal man was.
Huntress stood in the rigging, calling out more orders. "At this point we could all use a little shuteye, but with all those things seething on the land, I want everyone who should be on board, on board, and everyone who shouldn't be on board, off the board. We're not staying near the coast for the night. And it'll be a short night, because half of it is already over."
Goosh wasn't tired in the least, after being unconscious and healed. Actually...why wasn't the gem having the same effect on him as it did earlier? He didn't feel weak or confused. Perhaps the healing had given him some protection? He would need to thank the lioness the next time he saw her.
"Alright, Cap'n," Goosh called, as things began to settle down aorund the Weewoo. He was a bit confused, though, as PFA ascended on to the deck. This whole situation was about as steady as a balancing ball. He needed to be careful.
"So," he said to Huntress, "where are we headed?"
Cyborg
" Keng seems to be working with the spacefleet. Oh tell Hunty we said bye, you obviously don't need an alliance sio we're leaving. " Hazel replied as she and the rest of the squirrels rushed across the bridge and towards the forest.
Meanwhile back with the spacefleet and the merc's Cyborg stated " Ok so, we'll be paid, no attacking pirates, oh and do you have anything I can use to shut my brother up?" he asked jokingly. " Wow that was hilarious," Midknight replied scarcasticaly," I just don't trust them.
PFA
((Forest: south of Dunburrow))
"The type of currency doesn't matter to me," Jernath said to Keng. "I care about worth. And what's decent pay to you might not be to me... I need numbers. How much would we be payed for this, exactly?" he adjusted himself to be a bit more comfortable. "If I don't like your answer, I won't help you."
---
((White Weewoo))
PFA was relieved that Bluisa decided not to attack, but she was concerned with how rough the mage sounded about it. "Now, if you excuse me, I have your dying Uncle to tend to," Bluisa muttered, which made PFA feel even worse.
"I can't help him..." PFA said softly, not really caring if Bluisa was listening or not. She was partially saying it to herself. "I'm no mage, and even if I was, Celestial..." she paused, swallowing a lump in her throat. "...Celestial did all she could. I'm sorry, Uncle..."
PFA wiped some tears from her eyes before climbing down the ladder. The ladder was rather wobbly, and the ocean crashing upon the rocks beneath her didn't help to comfort her at all. But she proceeded, albeit slowly, toward the ship.
After some time, she finally reached the deck of the Weewoo. The first thing she did when she came on board was take two steps and fall over. It would take her some time to get her sea legs, especially since she didn't ride on ships very often.
She pulled herself back up, and took a moment to look around. She saw a few pirates she knew fairly well, plus some she didn't know very well, and... some guy on a couch. She also saw Celestial, and Kat had just teleported in. Pretty much everyone was here now, it seemed. Everyone, except...
She turned to look up at the cliff, concerned about Bluisa and Uncle. She wasn't sure if either would be coming onto the ship with her, considering the circumstances... she might have been the only ninja willing to do this. She really hoped not.
With a sigh, PFA then turned away from the cliff, looking toward the pirate captain. She slowly walked toward her, being careful not to fall again. The pirates were crowding around the captain, so PFA decided not to try and talk to her just yet. But she figured she'd at least go to her, so they could talk later. She didn't want to shout from across the Weewoo, after all.
Huntress
((The Weewoo >>))
Huntress, who now had a little more time to think, watched as the mess unravelled. Goodie, finally it's getting a little easier.
But the crew's welfare came first, and she probably needed some time alone to fit all the puzzle pieces where they belonged in order to see the full picture. She turned around and began to climb down to the deck.
"Cap'n, perhaps you have a job for me?" Kat asked, appearing next to her.
"Mraw?" Hunty stared blankly at her for a moment. "Hm. Yeah. Go get me a map, will you? One of the bigger ones, with the whole land on it, with the coast and the spot where we are right now, and as much of Dunburrow on it as possible. I wanna see at least Castle Kestrel and Mage Manor on it. Bloody Mary?"
The meepit turned away from the squirrels as they ran off and trotted down the rigging. "So you're not planning to take a hike?"
"I'm planning to take revenge," Hunty said, her voice rather calm. "And save the land, quite possibly. Though first..."
She looked up at the black rigging. This was the problem with the pirate hideout. Getting into it was tricky, since it was a cove, but getting out of it was a complete masterpiece of the art of sailing, as there was no wind to speak of. It was definitely not suited for a quick escape, and Hunty knew all too well that there were quite a few wrecks at the bottom of the ocean there. She'd mainly relied on the blarf in getting out of there, but at the moment the creature was nowhere to be seen.
"Can you get out, girl?" she shouted, unsure whether she actually had to shout - the ship was bound to hear her anyway, if it was able to hear. The White Weewoo seemed to ponder things for a moment, then the black fog pushed against the cliff.
The black ship drifted out of the cove, towards the open sea, turning a little as she went. Both anchors rose out of the water, the yards turned after one another, seeking the wind, then it caught something in the upper sails and began crawling on by the coast, next to the cliff, already too far to use the mist, since it didn't have anything to use for pushing any more.
"The keel, Hunty." Bloody Mary trotted up and down the railing, sniffing the wind. "She can't turn the keel. Get to the helm."
The captain galloped off. "How the heck? She can turn everything else!"
"S'probably the same effect as trying to lift yourself up by the hair," grumbled the meepit, sniffing frantically. "There, there's a nice wind coming into the upper sails, just get 'er on a broad reach, a little starboard..."
The lower sails, though tattered, caught wind with a loud noise that echoed over the sea like a cannonshot, then the demonship turned towards open sea, accelerating with every minute.
Hunty finally found a minute to look at Celestial and Goosh.
"You probably won't like it where we're going," she told Celestial with a somewhat grim smile. "It's a pirate thing. But... I need to get it done. It's been begging to get done for years and years."
She grinned at Goosh, then gripped the wheel more firmly, looking around. They were a good two cables away from the coast, out of gunshot. This would do.
"Where we're headed? Well, right now, we're going in irons."
Bloody Mary's eyes widened.
"Portside anchor down!"
The ship seemed to hesitate before lowering the anchor, but then it splashed into the water, and the brigantine turned around on spot.
The sails dropped as the ship stopped directly in headwind - the irons -, and, having lost all wind, began to flap before the ship decided that this wouldn't do and reefed them all. The pirate ship remained drifting about half a mile from the shore, facing the land.
"Neat," Bloody Mary said grimly. Getting out of the irons was about as hard as getting out of the cove.
"This'll do for now," Hunty said, coming down from the helm. "Okay people, everyone's dismissed for the time being. You all need your rest. I have my reason to believe that tomorrow will be a very, very busy day, so use the chance while you still can. The ninja," she nodded at PFA, "is our ally and guest, so no stabbing or the like. We should have plenty of spare hammocks downstairs. Unless you wish to stay on the deck or something. I think Leraye will be able to create more of those couches. Nothing like some good sea air to clear one's head."
"And then we'll sail in upwind into the shore?" the meepit asked with a scowl.
Hunty glanced at him. "Yep. Then we'll sail upwind into the shore. As soon as I get those maps.”
Amneiger
"Well, it's all stuff," said Amneiger, looking around the shuttle. "There're some boxes that looked like they've been bolted to the wall to keep them from moving around and some buckets in this kind of plastic container. And how am I supposed to get a poncho to you without leaving the ship? I'm not even sure where you three are right now."
Celestial
((The "White" Weewoo))[/color]
Celestial listened to the pirate captain give out orders with pretend indifference, keeping an ear out for anything useful. Eavesdropping has sometimes saved her life and some instinct told her that her life will be in danger many times over.
"You probably won't like it where we're going, it's a pirate thing. But... I need to get it done. It's been begging to get done for years and years." the pirate captain suddenly spoke to her. Celestial just shrugged and smiled.
"My true loyalty only lies with those who only a madman would attack and that is certainly none of the guilds" she said quite cheerfully, amazed at the change in her voice without the echo of dragons. If anybody doubted what she said, it was the truth. But that didn't matter now. She focused her air magic subtly onto the air around then, aiming it for the sails to create a fair wind. Whatever the pirates did with the gem, she would have to make sure that the mutual debt between her and dragonkind was repaid.
Amazingly, the power of the dragons had completely refreshed her. While everyone else was finding a place to sleep, Celestial flew up into the rigging, watching. There was something strange about that moon, some sort of metallic glint.
Vyt
((Near the Now-Deserted Cliff))
Bluisa watched helplessly as PFA and Celestial joined the ship. She could not interfere with their own decision, and even though she could, the mist surrounding the ship would just repeat what had happened. It was quite confusing, though. She was the only one who the mist did not allow.
Bluisa was alone. All alone.
Finally, the mage broke down into a tantrum, unable to maintain her temper. "Why?" she asked, still not believing what had just happened. "Why would no one believe in me when I know the truth? Why could they not give me any hint of trust?" she ended before bursting into another moment of crying.
It was then that she thought of Subila, her original. She started asking herself if she too had experienced the same thing. Bluisa could even remember the cold welcome Subila had when she first came to the NTWF. Contrary to what most of the people know, her attack was not even the first time she was in NTWF. Subila had been around for years, trying her best not to be affected by the NTWFers' ignorance.
"She had not even started to create havoc in NTWF, yet everyone else around her had created her bad reputation," Bluisa remembered. For once, she pitied the dark mage for having to experience that, though Subila might appreciate the power she gained from them instead of loath and ask why they were doing that to her.
"... Do dark mages like me deserve nothing from this world?" she asked no one in particular before bringing out more tears. Today was not the day for goodness to prevail, she thought.
((Afterlife))
Vyt entered the mind of Bluisa and, watching Subila's existence in NTWF unfold, was rendered speechless. He could not believe she had suffered the same fate he had, being discriminated by everyone around her as a dark mage who only knew destruction and grief. He too was branded "a dangerous mutant" by the people back in his world, and was forced to travel across the land, searching far and wide. Each Pokemon, to understand the power that's inside... Pokemon!
Vyt then started to think rather abstractly. He realized Subila was one of a kind: she was a person who never discriminated anyone. That kind of attitude was never present in any NTWFer, including himself. He hated to admit it, but Subila was way better than anyone in NTWF in terms of objectivity.
"... I guess Subila wasn't bad after all," Vyt thought. If the Yang was here, he'd agree with him completely.
Ikkin
Ikkin growled in annoyance as Asthielle disappeared before her spells could hit. Sure, it was better for her not to be there, but still, Ikkin didn't like a fight getting cut off by a coward.
Kat got up on the ship, seemingly worried about whether or not it would allow her onboard. Ikkin really could see no reason why it wouldn't. As Kat tentatively stepped on board, Ikkin flew up to the ship herself. She landed near Hunty just as the captain sent Kat off to go get a map.
And, after that, Hunty started to pull the ship out of the cove, using the Weewoo itself to help sail through the perilous path. It felt odd to be on the ship without using her wind to power it, she thought. Helpless, almost. But, the Weewoo seemed capable enough on its own, so she tried to relax as much as she could.
Once they had gotten free from the cove, Goosh asked the question that Ikkin was wondering the most – "Where are we headed."
Hunty's answer wasn't anything like what Ikkin expected. After warning Celestial that she probably wouldn't like where they were going, she answered Goosh, "Where we're headed? Well, right now, we're going in irons," before ordering the portside anchors lowered and letting the ship drift facing the shore.
"This'll do for now," she said, coming down from the helm. "Okay people, everyone's dismissed for the time being. You all need your rest. I have my reason to believe that tomorrow will be a very, very busy day, so use the chance while you still can." She continued on for a bit, telling the pirates to leave PFA alone and where she should go for rest, but Ikkin sort of zoned this out; she hadn't fought ninja in so long, and had been part of two other guilds that didn't mind ninja much, so she really didn't have a problem with that.
The next thing that Ikkin really paid attention to was an unfamiliar name – "I think Leraye will be able to create more of those couches." She looked around, wondering who this Leraye was, and found a bored-looking man sitting on a floating couch who she didn't recognize.
"Who is Leraye, Captain?" she asked Hunty. "I've never seen him before. Is he a new pirate?" He didn't really look much like a pirate, she thought. He actually looked more like a scholar; his clothes were far too trim and proper to have been out at sea for any length of time. But, then again, that might just have been a result of his being new.
***
((Going a little bit back in time, but... >_>; ))
Leraye, meanwhile, was bored. The fight that he wanted to watch had been cut annoyingly short, as the pirates' enemy simply disappeared. Though he was glad that the gem was no longer trying to pull away from him quite so much, he did wish that he could have had a longer fight. Sitting on a couch away from everyone else with nothing going on was not the reason he wanted to come with the pirates.
He decided to use the gem to hold one of the squirrels - who were leaving - back, to see if they'd come back for it and start a war with the Meepits. Then he'd have something to do, at least.
The gem glowed purple as he focused his power into it, willing an invisible barrier to form around the last squirrel before it left the ship.
Kat
((WEEWOO!))
"Hm. Yeah. Go get me a map, will you? One of the bigger ones, with the whole land on it, with the coast and the spot where we are right now, and as much of Dunburrow on it as possible. I wanna see at least Castle Kestrel and Mage Manor on it."
"Aye aye, I think I've got one somewhere," said Kat, saluting. She made her way down and out, past the rest of the crew and off to her quarters. After she broke the magical barriers on her door, the familiar smell of hidden parchment, tainted with some sharp herbs, greeted her.
When was the last time she had been in her quarters on the ship? She took a moment to look around before stepping towards her desk, where she kept some books and a few scrolls for reference. In fact, sometimes she felt more like the chronicler of voyages than a first mate. But after not much rummaging, she dug up a huge scroll tied with a bit of thin, gilded rope, where Map of Dunburrow, Mage Manor and the surrounding lands was written in bright purple ink.
Kat popped out again, running back to Huntress after the door magically resealed itself. For a moment she hesitated, as though she had felt Asthielle follow her again. But that was impossible; if the ship didn't want Bluisa around, she could just imagine what it would do to Asthielle.
In a few minutes, she was once again by the captain's side. "Thought I'd lost it.”
Keng
"Let's put it this way. A decent amount to me is enough to buy enough rum to last for five years within a month once the credits are transfered to something more commonly used down here." explained Keng with an old pirate tendency to compare the worth of things to how much rum it could buy despite not being a religious drinker of it herself.
Cyborg
" Oh, rum, that brings back memories." Cyborg said remembering when he was nearly kicked off the Weewoo for getting drunk. " I don't know, I'd like to be paid, but I still don't trust them." Midknight said to the other merc's. Then Midknight whistled and after he did so black smoke formed and out of it appeared a black fox. " Hey Shado, how are ya?" Midknight said to the fox which he was now petting. As the squirrels rushed off the bridge they realized Cashew had been held back somehow. They rushed towards him to see what was going on. They saw some person with a gem was somehow causing it and yelled at them" Let him go or we'll attack you 'til there's nothing left of you!"
Fraze
Fraze listened to the Commander's propaganda, stifling a sigh. He had heard leaders before justify their actions as being "for the people's own good." Rarely had they acted in the interest of those people. Still, it would be best that he stay with the 'Fleeters for now. With a silent comm message sent directly to Strife, Fraze said he would go ahead to look for people who may see them. Only a few seconds after he sent the message off, there was a commotion. Fraze looked back to see Strife apparently having a seizure of some sort. He was soon over it, though, and sounded defensive about what had happened. Not too surprising, Fraze thought. Anyone would be a bit defensive about doubling over like that, especially someone like the Commander.
Fraze thought he heard muted voices somewhere...he looked around, but saw no one other than the 'Fleeters. It certainly didn't come from any of the houses--rather, it seemed to be in the opposite direction, back outside of the town. Odd. Probably just paranoia on his part.
Bacon
Bacon almost commented on how either Keng and him had different salaries, or rum is a lot cheaper than he expected, but decided against it, deciding he'd rather be allied with these guys than get beat up by trees again.
Zylaa
((Weewoo))
The man moved over obligingly, if a little stiffly. That was understandable- she hadn't exactly been the model of courtesy. Who is this guy, anyway? she thought as she settled onto the couch. She was already drifting out of focus, as lack of sleep suddenly caught up with her. Dimly she registered a commotion by the cliffs.
She felt the comforting movement of the ship a minute or two later as they began to move again. Huntress was calling orders, so she blearily opened an eye to fix on the captain.
"Okay people, everyone's dismissed for the time being. You all need your rest. I have my reason to believe that tomorrow will be a very, very busy day, so use the chance while you still can. The ninja," -Ninja?- "is our ally and guest, so no stabbing or the like. We should have plenty of spare hammocks downstairs. Unless you wish to stay on the deck or something. I think Leraye will be able to create more of those couches. Nothing like some good sea air to clear one's head."
That was a cause for waking up. Zylaa looked around until she found the ninja. How the blazes did we end up making an alliance with a ninja?! But... the captain had ordered everyone to get sleep. Explanations could come later.
Leraye- Zylaa looked over at the man still sitting on the couch she had barged onto. "Sorry about that," she said. "I'm short-tempered when I'm sleepy. I'm Zylaa, by the way," she said, standing up. "Now that we've gotten our orders, I'm heading down to my bunk."
Blearily, she stumbled belowdecks and into her own hammock. She flopped over, pulled up her tattered blanket, and was asleep in an instant.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:00:56 GMT -5
PFA
((White Weewoo))
Just as PFA was getting used to walking on the ship, the Weewoo started to move. She fell over a second time, but pulled herself up again. And pirates do this all the time? she thought silently.
She realized the ship was getting away from the cliff, leaving Bluisa and Uncle behind. She felt bad to be leaving them, but then she remembered the badges Bluisa had given her. If they needed her, they'd be able to summon her... hopefully.
Almost as soon as it had started, the Weewoo had stopped again. PFA was confused at first, but when she felt a gust of wind rush by her, she determined that it was because they were trying to sail against the wind. She sighed; how could pirates stand having so little control over where they could go?
She perked up upon hearing the pirate captain speak. "The ninja is our ally and guest, so no stabbing or the like. We should have plenty of spare hammocks downstairs. Unless you wish to stay on the deck or something. I think Leraye will be able to create more of those couches. Nothing like some good sea air to clear one's head."
PFA blinked, glancing toward the strange man on the couch. She assumed that was Leraye, mainly because he was the only one who had a couch. A floating couch, now that she was looking at it.
"No need for that," she called to the man. "I can use a hammock."
With that, PFA started toward the lower deck, where the captain said there were hammocks. As tempting as a couch sounded, sleeping under the open sky was never something that appealed to the ninja. That, and she wasn't sure she trusted a guy who could make floating couches appear from thin air.
As she went down the stairs, she found herself yawning again. How much time had passed since she looked at the moon from Celestial's back? It felt like it had been at least half an hour... at any rate, it was still very late, and she was really tired. She needed sleep.
She went into the first room she found with an open door, pleased to see there was a hammock inside. Without a second thought, she hopped into the hammock and got cozy. She wasn't used to sleeping in hammocks, so it was a bit weird at first. But soon enough, her eyelids shut.
It didn't even occur to the drowsy ninja that the hammock she was sleeping in might not have been a spare. It was too late for her to think about it now, though, as she was already fast asleep.
---
((Forest: south of Dunburrow))
Jernath sighed in response to Keng. He had no idea how much rum costed, so the girl's example was of no use to him. He glanced toward Cyborg, who seemed to be reminiscing about the drink in question.
"Cyborg, how much is rum worth?" he muttered to the Kougra. "Your friend here doesn't seem to want to give me a straight answer." Which means she might be trying to swindle us, he added to himself. He cast a suspicious glance at Keng, before returning his gaze to Cyborg.
Cyborg
"It really depends where ya get it, see me and Keng know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a girl, who's boyfriend gets us a great deal on rum. So instead of the $15 a keg we only pay $8. That keg usually lasts me about a day or two and Keng a week. So ya that's a good amount of money." Cyborg replied.
Huntress
((The Weewoo))
"Who is Leraye, Captain?" Ikkin asked Hunty. "I've never seen him before. Is he a new pirate?"
"Mrmrgh?" Hunty mumbled, already lost in the map Kat had brought. It was a good one, meaning that it was a big one, and spreading it out while actually seeing something on it wasn't easy. "Leraye... guess you could call him a pirate. He's on our side, anyway. Quite frankly, I wouldn't want him on any other side." She didn't quite feel like spilling all the demon-beans - you'll never know who might feel like making a fuss over it and she'd had enough fuss for one day.
She squatted down and spent a few furious moments wrestling with the map that, since it had been rolled up, didn't feel like spreading out. Some of the meepits trotted closer to act as makeshift weights, though it was pretty obvious that they mainly came for the entertainment.
"Ho hum." The captain grabbed her compass, bowing over the reluctant map. "Thanks, Kat, dismissed. Go to sleep, people. Sunrise is only some three, four hours away." She was getting sleepy herself, but it was probably better to get things done before sunrise.
The needle of the compass turned a few times, then made up its mind. Hunty tilted her head. Yep, this was the direction.
Ikkin
"Mrmrgh?" Hunty mumbled, fiddling with her map on the floor. "Leraye... guess you could call him a pirate. He's on our side, anyway. Quite frankly, I wouldn't want him on any other side."
Well, that was most unhelpful, Ikkin thought. The only thing she really got from it was that Leraye was probably dangerous for some reason, if Hunty wanted to make sure he wasn't on anyone else's side.
She looked over at him, sitting on the couch serenely, smiling las he held the glowing gem in one hand controlled a squirrel like a marionette.
...wait. Controlled a squirrel like a marionette?
"Cap'n, where'd Leraye get that squirrel from? It almost looks like one of Cyborg's, but I haven't seen him around for a long while..."
PFA
((Forest: south of Dunburrow))
Jernath listened to Cyborg, and then started to ponder. Rum for five years within a month... let's see... numbers started flying through his head as he did the math. ...Well, depending on what she's going off there, that would cost anywhere between $2,000 and $27,000!
With that thought, his eyes flashed. $2,000 a month was decent salary, and any more than that was even better. Jernath hopped down from the tree, and came up next to Cyborg.
"If that's our pay, then I'll take it," he said with a grin.
Vyt
((The Cliff ['coz I can't just call it 'a cliff' for nothing...]))
Successful in calming herself down, Bluisa had already begun channeling her own energy to Cat Assassin, but she could not do so for some odd reasons. It was almost as if the feline was resisting to be healed... or the gem was trying to stop him from returning.
Bluisa watched as the ship set sail through the sea, giving her more hope for the return of Cat Assassin. At least the gem's too far away to cause any more harm, she assumed. If she was right about the second choice, the feline might just come back any minute now.
For a moment, Bluisa watched the star-riddled sky. It was showing a rather unusual atmosphere. "I'm afraid this night isn't over yet," she uttered after being given an omen by the darkness in the sky. She then shot a glance at the badges on her and remembered that she and Cat Assassin still had access to teleportation if PFA would be attacked.
The sudden sound of a groan prompted Bluisa to look at Cat Assassin once more. He was starting to wake up, probably because of the spell Celestial had cast upon him. The mage thought better to thank the dragoness once she would meet her again.
"As soon as Cat Assassin wakes up, we shall follow the ship. I never sensed any goodness lying in it. None at all."
Rider
((Forest, middle of blasted nowhere)) The Meepits smelled lemons, and made a comical U-turn to get to Speck. Only one was blue, and it was a lighter blue than that of the Captain's Meepits. Nalia (the blue one) sniffed Speck curiously. Ventratta (indentifiable because he was clearly the leader,) squeaked some orders to Sephi, who vanished and returned shortly with a branch covered in small black berries. Ventratta motioned to Speck to follow, and the four started towards the Weewoo.
((The White Weewoo)) "Sorry to spoil the fun, but the gem sort of has an army trapped inside it, back from before the NTWF. If we keep up using it, we'll run the risk of releasing a bunch of cursed fighters into the world, or we'll join them."
"Something out of a ghost story," Rider said. "Is this true, Leraye? Oh, and could I have a couch? I really need to sleep, and there's a ninja in my hammock."
She paused.
"Geez, I miss having Captain's Quarters."
Huntress
((The White Weewoo))
Hunty, having pinned down the course, looked up at Ikkin's question, and raised an eyebrow.
"All squirrels look the same to me. Though I wouldn't at all be surprised."
She got up with a scowl. She'd nearly forgotten that Leraye was a demon, and, as the whole universe knows, someone with a lot of potential power and a bored look on their face rarely means good news in the long run.
Well, she was ready, anyway.
"You, girl," she said, patting the foremast. "Can you fly?"
There was no reaction for a moment.
"Because if you can't, I'll have to use the gem," the captain continued, "but I'd rather not, seeing all those nice things I've heard about it tonight, and we don't want us all to go boom here, yourself included."
That seemed to process. The black ship floated quietly for a moment, then it... well, cleared up. The black fog slid down from the masts and sails and disappeared down the boards. The meepits blinked in the sudden brightness of the moon.
The fog stretched out on either side, farther and farther, becoming more transparent in the process. The ship was growing wings, using all the fog it had.
"She can't generate new fog, it seems," Hunty said quietly, watching curiously as the waving greyish shields stretched out farther and farther, now nearly a mile long on either side.
"That leaves us pretty much defenseless," Bloody Mary warned.
"Only from above. Come on, girl!"
Whump. The fog-wings swung up, then down. The lift was surprisingly powerful. The Weewoo swayed on the waves, bouncing up, then falling down again.
Whump. This time it was stronger. The keel splashed out of the water, then fell back down.
Whump. The ship rose heavily like an elderly seagull. Whumpwhump. It rocked a little from side to side, but then gained balance, and rose higher.
The sails flapped. They were still facing the wind.
"You're planning to go to land," Bloody Mary said slowly. "You're really planning to go to land."
Hunty grinned widely and grabbed the wheel. "Yep."
"Wouldn't want us to fall down in the middle of the forest," snarled the meepit. "She's not exactly fluttering like a nightingale, s'what I'm saying."
"It'll do for now. Won't be a long flight."
Whump. The ship rose for another few dozen yards and then headed towards the shore, heavily at first but slowly gaining speed and balance.
Kat
((Weewoo!))
"Good night, Cap'n," said Kat. "Just...give me a knock if there's trouble afoot. I guess I'll turn in." She walked off towards her quarters, stretching out her arms. In fact, she was so tired that she almost forgot that her door was always blocked by a magical barrier she still had to break and almost walked straight into the wood. With a flick of her wand, the door opened and shut behind her.
And without further ado, she flopped into her hammock and fell asleep, her wand plopping carelessly onto the floor.
Celestial
((The White Weewoo))[/color]
Celestial suddenly lost her balance as the ship took off into the night sky, two great wings of black fog propelling it up. She suddenly felt very afraid of not flying on her own wings. There was a certain vulnerablity to it, the feeling that she wasn't in control of where she was going and that if she fell, she wouldn't catch herself in time. Jumping off the mast, she shapeshifted into her Dragon Form, flying beside the ship and careful not to clip her with her wings and tail. The aerophobia was gone.
She blew a little wind beneath the ship to help it's slightly gawky flight. It really wasn't meant to fly.
Ikkin
"All squirrels look the same to me. Though I wouldn't at all be surprised," Huntress answered.
Ikkin let the subject drop. The captain certainly didn't seem interested in the squirrel, whoever it belonged to, and Leraye wasn't exactly hurting anything. Besides, the conversation between Bloody Mary and Hunty was more interesting.
"You're planning to go to land," Bloody Mary said slowly. "You're really planning to go to land."
Land? Ikkin thought, in surprise. Why would we go to land? What is Hunty planning? All Hunty said regarding the destination was that it wouldn't be a long flight... but where would that take them?
"Cap'n, where are we going?" she asked as the ship hesitantly took off and headed for the shore.
***
"Is this true, Leraye?" Rider asked. "Oh, and could I have a couch? I really need to sleep, and there's a ninja in my hammock."
"Unfortunately, yes," Leraye said, allowing his smile to droop. In all honesty, he didn't find it very unfortunate. He actually found it rather useful, considering it was his fault in the first place. He was an alchemist, after all, and it was never possible to create a Philosopher's Stone without some sacrifice.
But, he figured that the pirates probably would not like this all too much, even if his own procedure was far less harmful to the warriors trapped inside than the alternative would be.
So, instead of trying to explain his own actions to Rider, he just hoped that no one would find out about them. He figured it wouldn't hurt to explain the gem's power source, however. "The trapped army is the only reason the gem has any power in the first place," he explained. "You don't have to worry about them being released, though, unless the gem is shattered."
He really, really hoped that the gem wouldn't be shattered. And not just because that would mean he would need to make a new one.
"As for the couch... how about I make you a bed instead?" he said, smile returning to his face as he gripped the gem and willed a bed fit for a king into existence on the deck nearby.
Cyborg
" Let me go!!!!" Cashew yelled at his captor as he tried to run which looked hilarious. The gem was holding him in place, but he continued to try running. Meanwhile the squirrels dashed at the person and jumped at them.
While this was happening it seemed the merc's had somewhat come to an agreement as Midknight and Shado jumped down from the tree. " Cyborg I don't think this is a good idea, and we should go find the squirrels before we start helping them." Midknight said. " I don't care whether you like this or not we're gonna be paid and it'll give us a chance to survive a little longer at least. Hey Keng could I ask a favor of you? I'd like to know if you and your buddies could help us find the squirrels cause they should have been back by now" Cyborg asked Keng.
Ikkin
"Help, help! I'm being attacked by crazy squirrels!" Leraye called out dramatically as he floated his couch out of the squirrels' reach and allowed them to land underneath him.
As much as he enjoyed conflict, he really didn't like to be involved in it personally. So, he immediately looked for a way to avoid having to deal with the squirrels. He quickly noticed a few Meepits were on deck - the ones who had come over to Hunty to help her hold down the map. They weren't really paying attention to the squirrels.
Perfect.
Leraye began moving the couch slowly in the direction of the Meepits, lowering it just enough to make the squirrels think they could reach it while readying it to raise up immediately once they pounced. If the Meepits thought the squirrels were attacking them, everything would be perfect, he thought, grinning.
Cyborg
Run, jump and miss. They had missed the target. It was on the move. " Get back here and face us you coward!!!!" the squirrels yelled. They ran again , but this time split up Hazel took a group of about 20 - 30 to the left to attack, Oak took group of about 20 - 30 to the right and Redwood took a group of about 20 - 30 to the front and they all jumped at once and attempted to get on the couch to attack.
Ikkin
Leraye floated the couch higher and out of reach once more, letting the squirrels crash into each other under the couch.
"You really are a bit dim, aren't you?" Leraye said with a sigh. This was starting to get annoying.
He floated the couch right over to the closest Meepit. If the squirrels tried to attack him again, there was no way the Meepits wouldn't end up involved.
Rider
"As for the couch... how about I make you a bed instead?"
"Thanks," Rider said with a smile. But just as she started to get comfy, the ship rose.
Her Weewoo was flying. Rising into the air! Rider could feel the wind on her face, and it was miraculous. Sleep seemed the farthest from her mind.
Then she noticed the squirrelly games.
"Hey, what are you doing? Knock it off, I don't have the energy to deal with this now. I'll just grab Kat and have her fence the Meepits and squirrels up."
Bacon
"Oh, yes, we'll just get out our squirrel-ometers." Bacon said sarcastically, before asking, "How do you think we are going to find a bunch of squirrels?"
Rikku
((Mage Manor – Rikku’s room))
“Come, dear sir! Surely there is enough space in this ocean for both of us?”
“I am afraid not, Mr. Ocean Liner. For I am not the innocent Mr. Ducky that you thought I was. I am … EVIL ANATIDAE! MUAHAHA! You shall never beat me!”
The small rubber ducky ploughed beak-first into the ocean liner, which, Titanic-esque, began to sink. Evil Anatidae turned around and gave a resounding quack of victory, but he did not see Mr. Ocean Liner coming up behind and … BAM! The duck gave a watery quack and sank.
Rikku leaned back against the ornamentally carved rim of the bathtub, and put in more bubble bath.
She was used to odd hours of sleep, and had woken feeling reasonably refreshed, and, for the first time in a while, like her head wasn’t stuffed with marshmallows and cotton wool. However, falling asleep on the stone floor was a pretty sure way of waking up all sore and achy, and it was cold.
Snowing, in fact. Rikku found this delightful; there was nothing as fun as romping around in nice fresh-fallen snow.
Maybe I could ask Drakhé to help me build a snowman!
… Wait, what?
Rikku frowned – where in Neopia had that thought come from? Then she remembered her odd dream, and felt a rush of relief. It was just her subconscious, playing its little games. Nothing significant.
Yup. Matter of no importance.
Definitely.
Rikku gave a twirl. She was dressed in clean clothes, unstained by blood and earth, which was a definite improvement. Her warmest cloak, too, that lovely fur-lined one. And she’d managed to tease most of the tangles out of her hair.
Her left eye, however, was another matter. It was bloodshot and almost pure red; it didn’t really hurt, but it looked hideous. Rikku examined her reflection critically for a few moments, and then un-knotted her bandana and re-tied it so it covered her eye. So. Better. Though she looked like a pirate.
“Vain,” she chided. “Spacefleet are going around trying to kill everybody and you worry about what you look like?” She shook her head and snorted. “Pathetic.”
The leader of the Mages is … Ikkin? Actually, I’m not entirely certain we have a leader. She scratched the back of her head thoughtfully. That’s a tad worrying … ah, well. Guess I’ll just have to wander around. And I may not be right, anyway …
But even if I’m not, even if there’s only a faint chance that these people did … She floundered, and then gave a broad gesture. All this … they have to pay.
Nastily vengeful thought there, girl. Watch out.
I’m a necromancer! I can do what I like!
She struck her most dramatic pose, and then paused, and went over to the window to look at the soft white snow outside one last time before heading to the kitchen.
One last thing to do first …
The Invisible Guild
((Somewhere in Castle Kestrel))
“Trilby … you were a pirate. You and Marzia go find the White Weewoo, see what part they’re playing in this.”
“Alright.” Trilby waited, and then frowned. “Where’s Marzia?”
“Didn’t he come in?” Sickle glanced around, and briefly sent a gust of snowflakes down the hall. No figures were highlighted. “darn!”
“I can’t do an assignment on my own,” Trilby said with a shrug. “Guess you have my knife on this one.”
Oak said nothing, but tested the blade of his cutlass against the stone. His intent expression was almost worrying.
“Then all we need to do is wait for them to come to us.” Tigereye smirked.
((By the dropsite))
Marzia skulked.
He was very good at this. You might say he was a professional skulker. He skulked around corners and skulked at doors. People didn’t really notice him unless he wanted them to. And he didn’t want them to. It was so much easier to manipulate the world unheard and unseen.
He’d found the site where at least some of the Spacefleet personnel had landed. The most likely-looking target was the dropship – it was probably only guarded by an NPC a low-ranking officer, as opposed to the other ships, which had a disturbingly … personalized look to them. Marzia’s mother had always told him to never trust a ship that could think for it self.
He lifted up his modified blaster, aimed it and fired it into the trees. Then he was running, sprinting towards the dropship. He’d fired from across the clearing to put them off the trail, but it wouldn’t be long before any guards came running, and he doubted they’d be pleased. He may be invisible, but that didn’t mean he was invulnerable. Blaster fire still hurt.
Cyborg
The squirrels ran at the couch and accidently hit one of the meepits. " Get out of the way!" Hazel yelled at it.
" It's easy when looking for a group of squirrels who went to a pirate ship and haven't returned look for a pirate ship..... duh!!!!!" Cyborg replied. " And I thought the fleet were supposed to be reallly smart!" Midknight added sarcastically.
Huntress
((Above the forest, aboard the Weewoo))
Hunty took a step aside, as far as she could without letting the wheel go, and stretched her neck out to look at the treetops drifting by far below. She didn't dare let the wheel go, as the ship now felt a lot more sensitive about control - it was probably using the mist to interpret signals from the keel - but part of her wanted to giggle like a little kid and run from railing to railing.
They were now above the forest, flying straight towards something huge and dark looming only a couple miles away. And they were closing in fast.
Hunty gave Celestial a thankful, rather cheery salute, then turned towards Bloody Mary, who was staring at the pouncing squirrels with a scowl. "Get some guys and go fetch me some of those boxes in the aft hold."
"Which ones?" the meepit asked, his scowl severing.
"The ones that read 'Do Not Touch Under Any Circumstances'."
"Silly me." Bloody Mary galloped off, stopping only to bark a few orders here and there. Hunty turned to look at Ikkin, and her face was now very serious. "Cap'n, where are we going?" she had asked. And there was more than one answer to that.
"Ikkin," Hunty leaned on the wheel, "have you ever noticed that we're sheep?"
She stretched her back and stifled a yawn before continuing: "Smart ones, perhaps, and rather well equipped, and with a few good guardians. But we're still sheep. We run rather than fight, because running keeps us alive. And everyone out there, all those guilds, even all those farmers, are sheepdogs. We may be smart enough and fast enough to run from them, but still they show up when we least expect it to bite our calves and keep us running. We're free to do what we want, but we've always had to keep an eye out for everyone. And I mean everyone. But especially, and no offense there, the Knights."
Now the dark mass was straight ahead, gradually turning into the grim, inconquerable Castle Kestrel.
"The Knights," Hunty said, her voice somewhat emotionless. "Always there with their chivalry and honour. I can understand the Mages, they protect what's theirs. I can understand the Ninjas, there've been plenty of mutual issues between us to warrant skirmishes. And the Mercenaries work for the highest bidder, I can understand that well. But who put up Wanted posters? Who get involved whenever there's even a rumor of us closing in? Who show up with swords poised when they hear that pirates are in town, even if we're trading peacefully and not looting? Who's constantly biting our calves and keeping us running?"
Bloody Mary et al showed up again, carrying three big boxes. There was a vague scent of lemon around them.
"Well," and now Hunty left the wheel to the meepits, digging in her pockets, "tonight the sheep grew fangs. Can you blame them for biting back?"
Castle Kestrel, which usually looked rather friendly and inviting in daylight, stood there like a block of cliff, black and silent. The ship turned a little, taking a curve around it, the wings casting a shadow on the moonlit parts of the ground.
"Leraye!" Hunty shouted, finally finding what she was looking for: a box of matches. "Leave those squirrels be and get over here." She squatted and opened the first box. The lemonscent got stronger.
"And besides," she said, heaving the box on the railing. "As we heard earlier tonight, the castle has been poisoned. I don't know a better way to clear anything from toxins than some good old," she lit a match and dropped it in the box, "some good old Vitamin C."
The box plummeted off, towards the black silence of the castle.
And then it was no longer black.
Hunty leaned on the railing, watching rather curiously as a humongous fireball went off farther below. A pillar of grey smoke mixed with pale yellow rose in the light of an inferno that was now lighting the eastern side of the castle.
"Guys, do remind me that I owe Speck three-" WHOOM! "-four lemonbombs." WHOOM! "Make that five. No, six." She examined the explosions critically, then lifted the other box. "Eh, big castle of stone, it won't even create a decent fire. Once more for the king, as they say."
Another box plummeted off, followed by explosions. Hunty turned around, grinning in the light of the fire. Her face looked surprisingly calm, as if she was just happy for a job well done.
"Great, Clara's rubbing off on her," Justice grumbled.
"Well, it is a rather polite fire," Bloody Mary said, clinging to the railing. "Has Boom tinkered with those bombs again? I didn't think lemon bombs could be that powerful."
From the hellfire below, a strong scent of lemons and gunpowder was drifting off.
((And this, m'dear Invisible Guild, is what you call narrative irony :3))
Rider
The faint smell of lemon wafted through the forest, as if coming from above. A shadow blocked out the sun.
Ventratta squeaked in terror. He scrambled up a tree to get a better look. The mist was forming a set of impossibly incorporeal wings. He screamed at the top of his tiny lungs, but it was no use. No one would be able to hear him. Already the ship was on its way in the direction of Castle Kestrel. Ventratta scurried back down, and the spineless Sephi stared at him as if to ask, "Now what?"
PFA
((Forest: south of Dunburrow))
"Duh!" came a shout from Cyborg. Jernath elbowed the Kougra in the side. Hard.
"Don't be rude to your employers," Jernath muttered. "They won't employ you that way."
Jernath shot a glare at Midknight, and then looked over at Bacon. "He's right, though. If they're headed for the pirate ship, it would probably be best to look for a..."
Suddenly, there was what sounded like a series of explosions in the distance, coming from the north... from the castle? That was odd. A little unsettling, too.
"What was that?" he asked no one in particular, glancing northwards. He couldn't see the castle from there, but he was quite sure that's where the sounds came from.
Bacon
Just as Jernath looked towards the castle, Bacon thought he heard blaster fire from a different direction... the direction the ships were in.
"Keng, do you hear that? I think the ships are under attack!" He grabbed his Pulse Charger, setting it to the more potent 'Nueral' setting. Remembering how well it had worked last time, though, he also grabbed a few rocks.
Celestial
((The skies next to the Weewoo))
Celestial glimped the pirate captain saluting her and half-nodded, half-bowed her head back before flying a little bit to the front, diagonal of the ship's right wing, helping it along just like geese do in flight. Two very evil and big geese. She finally had view of their destination: The Knight's Castle. Celestial let out an almost subsonic cry of joy: She finally had a chance to strike back for every dragon who was injustly killed by the knights.
The pirates dropped a box down onto the castle from their ship. Celestial knew from past experience that a box dropped onto a building was never good news and fanned her great wings backwards and away from it, awaiting her chance. A fireball smelling faintly of lemons exploded all around them, biting a great chunk out of the castle. The purple dragon screeched and let out a wall of pure sound at the already damanged castle, potentially just as destructive as the lemon bombs. It shook the bricks and mortar of the castle, cracking them and making even more fall.
For those who the chivalrous have killed unjustly she thought as she watched the destruction with indifferent eyes.
Amneiger
Amneiger sat down in one of the seats in the shuttle. As he did so his foot brushed against something that had gotten lodged under the seat. What's this?...Looks like a poncho. He reached down and picked it up. As he did so, he glanced out the window.
"...Unit 4, come to this window, magnify the flying object, and show me what you see."
The minitank obliged and Amneiger opened his laptop quickly enough to see a good close-up of something that looked like a flying pirate ship with foggy wings. It quickly sailed away, out of range of the window.
Okay, I saw what direction it was going in, can I walk after it?...Probably not, it looked pretty far away. Wait, let me check this map.
It, uh, looks like it's heading for the Knight's castle. And that means for the Commander and the other Spacefleet officers.
And I can't pilot this ship, either. I really ought to learn to fly someday. Where are those three?
"Ethan, Cyclops, Zari, you've been out there for hours! Mage Manor is only thirty minutes away at most and I just saw a giant flying pirate ship heading in the direction of the Castle. What are you all...never mind, I'm coming out there myself." Amneiger put the radio in his pocket. "Units 5 and 6, come with me. Unit 4, guard the shuttle." He picked up the laptop, stepped out of the shuttle, and began walking in the direction of Mage Manor.
Fraze
((Somewhere near Castle Kestrel))
Fraze saw what appeared to be a dark cloud in the distance.
"Crebain from Falcorum!" he shouted to the group. "Hide!" He ran behind a sheltered rock, and barely glimpsed the rest of the 'Fleeters scattering to their own rocks, doorways, and other sheltered spaces. The flock of foul birds whipped by them in a riot of cawing and flapping wings. When it passed, the 'Fleeters slowly emerged from their hiding spots. "This passage to the Castle is being watched," Strife said. "We must take the northern route, and scale the walls of the castle." As the cloud grew nearer, Fraze realized it was a--ship. Not a plane, not a space vessel of some kind: a sailing ship, flying with what looked to be smoky black wings. The ship made its way to the castle. How anything of that mass could fly when moving at a relatively slow speed--apparently without advanced technology--was beyond Fraze. He did not see the bombs drop, since the sky was just barely lightening. But he saw and heard the explosions. They were good booms, he had to admit, considering they were likely little more than gunpowder. Chunks of stone flew off of the castle roof and walls, but the structure as a whole remained steady.
Then came the screech. Fraze's skinsuit reacted in half a second to block out most of the sound, but he had still caught the full blast of the first part of the sound. His ears began to ring from the force of it. Well, Strife certainly won't like this, he thought. "Orders, Sir?" he asked via communicator. "I should be able to jump onto that ship if needed." If he were to jump that high, his skinsuit would take so much energy from him to assist the jump that he would be unable to stand for about fifteen seconds, but he didn't want to mention that.
He changed frequency. "Team two! Do you see that? A flying...ship...is bombing the Knights' castle."
This would certainly complicate matters. He thought about simply jumping onto the ship without waiting for Strife's orders, but decided against it. For one thing, he would have to run to the ship to get within range, and it might be gone by then. For another, as long as he stayed with the Commander, Fraze could help keep the Commander's destructive tendencies to a minimum. He guessed Strife would simply want to attack the ship. Fraze wondered how that would work out--the two of them could likely get up to it, but he didn't think the others in their group could.
Vyt
((The Cliff [AKA I'd better get out of here FAST))
"Ugh..."
Bluisa heard another groan from Cat Assassin, but this time it sounded more natural. About time, she thought. The mage was itching to move once again, but she had promised PFA to keep an eye on her uncle for awhile.
Cat Assassin's eyes, though still shut, started to move. His eyelids then began to recede back into his eye sockets, letting his black pupils and red irises accept the light coming from the silvery moon once more. His recovery was slow but steady, and Bluisa could not see any complications hindering him from continuing to wake up. That was good, since Bluisa can continue with their journey.
... Even without PFA.
As soon as Cat Assassin was back to his senses, Bluisa dropped down the bad news about PFA allying with the pirates and venturing alone. However, instead of loathing about it, the feline just laughed about it, annoying the mage. "There's nothing funny about your niece turning her back on us!" she shouted.
As his laughter slowly vanished, Cat Assassin patted Bluisa on the shoulders. "No, she hasn't turned her back nor lost her trust on us," he revealed the mage, his voice more serious than the laughter he had let out. "Probably she thought she was not contributing enough and went on her own path. I assure you however that she will return some time later..."
Soon, Cat Assassin stood up rather proudly, quite happy that he had regained much, if not all, of his stamina. He reckoned it enough for him to continue the search for until sunrise. Bluisa was not convinced by his words however, but knew she had no choice but to move on. Probably she would be able to have a clear thought once she meets PFA again.
That last idea gave her the courage to continue with Cat Assassin.
"PFA and the others have gone into a ship and headed this way," Bluisa noted him by pointing at the direction of the ship, even though it was out of their sight. Cat Assassin however thought her limited information was more than enough for them to follow. Soon, he nodded, hinting Bluisa to cast her wind spell again to help them travel across the sea.
"Oh, I almost forgot..." Cat Assassin interrupted. "I've talked with Vyt through the afterlife... He said he can return, but only if we know why he kept himself dead in the first place."
Even with the condition, Bluisa let out a wide smile. Her face was shining with new hope, as she chanted her wind spell with utmost joy.
Finally they can bring Vyt back.
The Horsemen
He was standing on top of a convenient cliff that overlooked Castle Kestrel. The wind shook his mantle that seemed to be made of darkness itself. He was tall, at least seven feet, and very thin. His pale horse was grazing a few feet away.
There was a sound of thudding hooves, and another horse appeared, bearing a rider. It was a big, sturdy warhorse, and its rider was in full battlegear.
The newcomer dismounted with the quiet tingle of said battlegear, and turned to look at the tall figure. "It's been a while," he said.
The other one turned around. The man in battlegear looked into a face that consisted mainly of a static grin and a lot of polished bone.
YES, said Death. His voice sounded like tombstones falling in a damp basement. YOU'RE LATE.
"Am I, now?" War asked with a grimace. "What have I missed?"
NOT MUCH, ADMITTELY.
"See?" The other Horseman looked at the castle with a sigh. "Sixty eight pages of war and no battles to speak of. Have there at least been deaths?"
YES, said Death. There were always deaths.
"Well, I got a good night's sleep at the very least. How much longer until a real war starts, whatcha think?"
THERE'S NO TELLING. Death's voice was rather impartial. He was never out of job, after all.
"Whoopee." War looked at the pillar of smoke on the distance. "Here's hoping. Shall we?"
They mounted their horses. War reached out his neck to look at Death's steed.
"Didn't you ride a horse of bones earlier?"
Death seemed sheepish. ITS HEAD KEPT FALLING OFF. DIDN'T YOU RIDE A FLAMING STEED BACK ON THE DAYS?
"I'd rather not talk about it," grunted War.
They rode off.
((Sorry, guys, I so couldn't resist x3))
Cyborg
(( Sorry Goosh I couldn't resist.))" Jernath don't start with me! I suggest we find out what that was, I'm guessing it was either the pirates dropped some bombs, the knights used bombs, the Spacefleet blew something up or Goosh farted." Cyborg said with a laugh. "You also think you'll find the squirrels there don't you?" Midknight asked. " Ya I do, Rose let's go see what happened!" Cyborg yelled at the inactive Rose who hadn't been moving for some time.
Ikkin
Hunty gave some orders to her Meepits before turning to address Ikkin. Ikkin thought the orders were more than a little foreboding, but she figured she'd get the explanation soon enough.
"Ikkin, have you ever noticed that we're sheep?" the captain said, leaning on the wheel of the ship.
No, she hadn't, really. She'd never really thought of herself as the mindless follower type - she was a pirate, after all. She was about to say this before Huntress continued and made her analogy more clear.
"Smart ones, perhaps, and rather well equipped, and with a few good guardians. But we're still sheep. We run rather than fight, because running keeps us alive. And everyone out there, all those guilds, even all those farmers, are sheepdogs. We may be smart enough and fast enough to run from them, but still they show up when we least expect it to bite our calves and keep us running. We're free to do what we want, but we've always had to keep an eye out for everyone. And I mean everyone. But especially, and no offense there, the Knights."
Ikkin thought this sounded rather more like a fox than a sheep, but, at least now she understood where the captain was coming from. Nobody liked pirates, really. Sure, she'd gotten the Mages on pretty good terms with them, but otherwise... Huntress was pretty much right.
She couldn't question Hunty's claim about the Knights, either. After all, chasing pirates was probably in the job description. Not that she ever did anything like that herself, but...
The castle slowly came into view, looming ominously in front of the Weewoo.
Surely this didn't mean that Huntress planned on attacking the Knights! Ikkin thought frantically. The captain might have been right on all counts, but Ikkin had friends in that castle. She couldn't let it be attacked without trying to stop it!
"Cap'n, you don't seriously intend..." Ikkin said softly.
The captain just kept up with her explanation. "The Knights," she said apathetically. "Always there with their chivalry and honour. I can understand the Mages, they protect what's theirs. I can understand the Ninjas, there've been plenty of mutual issues between us to warrant skirmishes. And the Mercenaries work for the highest bidder, I can understand that well. But who put up Wanted posters? Who get involved whenever there's even a rumor of us closing in? Who show up with swords poised when they hear that pirates are in town, even if we're trading peacefully and not looting? Who's constantly biting our calves and keeping us running?"
Ikkin didn't know what to do. Once more, she found herself right in the middle of a brewing war between the Knights and another guild, except this time, all she wanted was for it not to be happening.
"Captain, they're not all like that! I have friends in that castle!"
The captain was distracted by the Meepits, however, and didn't seem to notice her. She continued on with her declaration of war – "Well, tonight the sheep grew fangs. Can you blame them for biting back?"
Ikkin wasn't quite sure whether she could or not.
But now, Hunty had called Leraye over and was busy with matches and the boxes she had ordered the Meepits to bring up. "And besides," she said, heaving a box onto the railing. "As we heard earlier tonight, the castle has been poisoned. I don't know a better way to clear anything from toxins than some good old," she lit a match and dropped it in the box, "some good old Vitamin C."
"No!" Ikkin called out. "Cap'n, stop! I have friends down there!"
The captain didn't stop. Rather, she heaved another box over the edge, taking down one of the castle's towers and making the flames grow even higher.
Ikkin could only look down in horror at the state the castle was in. While Castle Kestrel was far too large to have been damaged too much by the explosions beyond the initial entry damage, flames spread rapidly throughout the wing of the castle and let off a large amount of lemon-scented smoke.
"No... all those people... it felt as if a thousand people cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."
"Quit the melodrama and stop referencing Star Wars," Sev said, annoyed. "No one was killed. Your captain actually did a supernaturally good job of keeping the casualty count low. And your friends weren't there anyway."
Ikkin could hardly believe it. In any case, even if no one was killed... "What were you thinking?!" she called out, grabbing Hunty by the collar. "Don't you realize that a good number of the Knights are not our enemies?!"
***
Leraye came over when called, floating his couch away from the squirrels before finally jumping off.
"What do you wish of me, captain," he said, grinning in the light of the explosions below.
Cyborg
The squirrels watched as Ikkin grabbed Hunty by the collar. " Go Ikkin!!!!" they shouted as they attempted to attack the kid again , but missed and once again knocked a meepit. " Did you guys not hear me the first time, move!!!!" Hazel shouted at the meepits.
Goosh
Goosh had been leaning over the railing of the Weewoo, just to the point where it had started to fly. Now he stood near Ikkin and Huntress, nervously gripping the rail.
After issuing orders to one of the Meepits, who trod on his foot as it passed him, Hunty leaned foraward with a calm expression that could only mean doom.
"Ikkin, have you ever noticed that we're sheep?" Goosh wouldn't consider that to be true, as the Pirates weren't exactly conformists.
"Smart ones, perhaps, and rather well equipped, and with a few good guardians. But we're still sheep. We run rather than fight, because running keeps us alive. And everyone out there, all those guilds, even all those farmers, are sheepdogs. We may be smart enough and fast enough to run from them, but still they show up when we least expect it to bite our calves and keep us running. We're free to do what we want, but we've always had to keep an eye out for everyone. And I mean everyone. But especially, and no offense there, the Knights."
True. Very true. The ninjas did worse things to their enemies, and just because a pirate considered anyone who got in their way enemies...that didn't make them bad people, necessary. They just lay across the line of the law, depending on their mood.
They were flying towards the castle, and now Hunty's comment on the Knights seemed much more ominous. Was she really going to...
Well, it was Hunty.
Ikkin seemed panicked. Goosh couldn't blame her, as she was a knight. Maybe this wasn't a good thing...
But his resolution stiffened. Even Kit had thought the Knights were bad. Policing things that didn't need to be policed. Instilling honour and order into a world that was doing just fine on it's own. They needed to be taught a lesson. Which seemed to be exactly what Hunty planned.
He watched, breathless with anticipation, and the stylus in his pocket twitched. He took it out, twiddling between his fingers as Hunty dropped boxes of lemony fresh pain over Castle Kestrel.
Fire and smoke and the cent of citrus erupted below. Sev said something about little to no fatalities, and Goosh was pleased. The Knights had gotten what they deserved. A warning. A bite.
Ignoring Hunty and Ikkin, Goosh turned to the railing again. The stylus tingled in his palm. And he could see a shape, a symbol silhouetted in the smoke. Unsteadily he reached out with the stylus.
Pirates had always been known for their impulse, Goosh noted with a grin.
He traced the symbol in the air in front of him, watching as the lines he drew formed in glowing golden light. The symbol was foreign to him, but seemed...right, somehow. Important.
He watched as the smoke rising from the castle began to twist and writhe. Against the night sky it formed letters, illuminated by the fire.
KNIGHTS STINK.
With the bitter scent of lemon and smoke heavy in the air, the only words he could think of were poetic justice.
Pyro
((Outside Mage Manor))
((apologies for the godmode, Zari, but I thought we should get over to the castle post haste))
Pyro cast a glance up at the Manor. She didn't want to leave, not when answers could be close at hand, but then, Zari had a good point. If they returned to the Castle, they would meet any Knights who had also decided to go back to Dunburrow. There was also the chance that they could find out more about that poison that had almost taken both their lives.
"Very well. Let's go back."
*****
((Dunburrow))
Pyro led the way around the path bordering the city walls, preferring to take the long way around, riding quickly, than to steer her horse through the crowded streets of Dunburrow proper. Concentrating on the castle she could see, rising above the rest of the city, and focused on her speed, the Black Knight never looked up.
At least, not until it was too late.
She actually had her hand outstretched, pushing open the North Gate of the castle, readying herself to walk inside. She turned to half-smile at Zari, expressing her approval of the return to Dunburrow. That's when the first explosion hit.
Pyro was knocked off her feet by the force of it, slamming into the metal gate and slipping halfway down. Her horse reared and took the loosening of her grip on the reins as a chance to turn tail and bolt. Pyro was partially stunned by the impact, trying to get back on her feet as explosions rocked the towers of the castle. A bitter, citrus scent assaulted her nose. Lemon?
Flames were rapidly consuming the left wing of the castle. Pyro could only look on in horror as she drew her sword and felt it twist in her hand, sensing her dazed mind and biting against her will. Pyro ignored that, and rushed up towards the castle. Heat blasted at her face from the flames, but her sword lessened the discomfort as it had during the first inter-guild battle.
She had no way of knowing if the people inside had made it to safety or not. The left wing only was burning, and some of the towers were crumbling, but the main part of the castle was stable. That wasn't the important thing, though. The important thing was if anyone had died.
Pyro looked up at the skies. She could see a cloud far too large to be real, mist gathered around it. Whoever was in there had dropped the bombs. Rage such as she had never felt surged within her.
"If anyone's dead," she whispered to herself, looking at the wall of flames in front of her and taking several steps back, knowing her sword wouldn't yield her that much protection. "If anyone's dead, I'll hunt you down and I swear I'll kill you. Do you hear me? Whoever you are--" her voice rose to a furious snarl, "I'll kill you!"
The only answer she got was the sparks bursting from what had once been part of the Castle's left wing, and she took a few long paces backwards, unwilling to turn her eyes from the sight. Burning it into her memory so she would remember what the unknown attackers had done.
Omni
((In the field with Zari))
"How am I supposed to get a poncho to you without leaving the ship? I'm not even sure where you three are right now."
"I said you shouldn't to leave the shuttle unless you have to," was the message Ethan transmitted buck to Amnei.
"Well blow that. Lessgo find Leoness. Hopefully with my hood up, she won't see me."
Ethan wasn't sure why Zari wouldn't want to be seen by the person they were supposed to pick up, but decided not to ask her, considering some of the weird things he'd heard her say.
It was at about that time then Ethan received another message.
Gone for hours? he thought. But we left the shuttle a few minutes…
Ethan looked up. The large purple cloud covered much of the sky, but from what he could see, the positions of the stars had changed more than they should have. He thought he may have even seen them moving slowly.
"We need to get moving, now," Ethan said to Zari as he grabbed her arm and started running as fast as he could, again. "Something weird is going on."
"Professor Amnei, I don't know why, but time seems to have been moving more slowly for Professor Zari, Subcommander Cyclops, and me. I recommend against coming here; we have no idea if you would be caught up in the same effect yourself."
----
((Mage Manor, guest room))
Omni had decided to try removing her makeshift noseplug. She leaned her head forward and held her left hand under her nose and she slowly pulled the pebble off. Thankfully, no blood dripped into her hand. She took a few quick breaths through her nose to make sure her nasal passageway was clear and…
Wait… did she smell what she thought she smelled?
"Actually, I just got another idea," she looked down the hall, inhaling again. Yup, smells like it. "You can follow me if you like, or you can stay here."
She ran down the hall - something she seemed to be doing a lot of today - toward the kitchen. When she got there, she was greeted by the familiar sight, and smell, of chocolate chip cookies.
PFA
((Forest: south of Dunburrow))
"Jernath, don't start with me!" Cyborg growled.
Jernath narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. Sheesh. Just trying to keep you from getting yourself killed... he thought, but didn't say anything.
Besides, Cyborg and Midknight were already off again, heading in the direction the explosions came from. At the same time, though, Spacefleet was saying something about their ships being attacked. Jernath decided that Spacefleet could probably take care of whatever it was by themselves, and they hadn't officialy been hired yet, so...
"We'll be back later, if you're still offering a job," he said to Spacefleet, before dashing after Cyborg. He stopped only briefly, to beckon Rose to follow. Whatever was going on, he would figure out what it was.
---
((White Weewoo: Rider's room, apparently))
PFA looked into her bowl of ramen noodles, smiling. The noodles they made at the Ramen Shop were always so delicious.
Her chopsticks lept from her fingers, and promptly started to do a dance, as music came from a speaker PFA never knew the Ninja HQ had. She didn't ponder it, though, and just went ahead and danced with the chopsticks. The other ninjas there - as well as some who weren't ninjas, but were dressed the part - burst into dance as well.
The Ramen Shop somehow morphed into a dance club, as a disco ball rained light upon everyone. PFA smiled, waving at Uncle and Bluisa, who suddenly decided to kiss for some reason. Then they proceeded to dance together.
And then, the ramen noodles exploded.
PFA groaned and rolled over. She wished whoever it was would stop playing with explosives. The ninja sighed, then drifted back to sleep. She was tired, after all.
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Outer Walls))
((Sorry if it seems like i'm backtracking quite a ways, but i've been stuggling to keep up lately. ^^; I'm trying though.
Also, just a reminder; Surly is Subcommander #4's name.))
Travelling through Dunburrow proved to be no problem for The Commander or his group of officers, and they had done so without being seen by any of the villagers. As soon as they reached the tall stone walls of Castle Kestrel, though, they knew that it was going to be much more challenging than a stroll through town.
If The Commander had his way, he would "test" his growing psionic strength on the castle walls, but he knew that such an action would cause violent acts of retribution from the terrestrials. He was also aware of Surly's growing skepticism of his motives in this attack, and he didn't want another one of his subcommanders turning against him like #12 did.
Besides... by waiting until his group entered the heart of the castle, they would have a strategic advantage when they begin their takeover. Not only that, but they would also have a greater chance of capturing or killing those who try to escape the castle before they find reinforcements.
The group of officers concealed themselves behind the trees surrounding the outer wall of the castle. Surly stood next to Fraze and The Commander, and pulled out his scanning device as soon as he found a hiding spot.
"According to my readings," he began, "Most of the soldiers are situated in the upper floors of the castle, as well as the towers surrounding the walls. The lower floors inside the castle are strangely empty... but that should give us the advantage we need in order to get inside."
"How are we going to scale the walls?" asked a marine.
"Leave that to me," said The Commander, pushing the marine aside as he stepped towards the wall.
He looked upwards to make sure that none of the castle guards were patrolling nearby. Then, he focused his energy into the palm of his hand, and he pressed it against the wall.
The harder he focused, the brighter the gem fragment inside his Leech glowed. He stiffened the joints in his fingers, and his hand began to dig into the stone as though it were nothing but sand.
Within a few seconds, the stone in the wall surrounding The Commander's hand dissolved into a pile of dirt, creating a hole in the wall that was just big enough for him and his troops to crawl through.
"Wow..." said another marine. "Good job, Sir!"
Suddenly, a light on Surly's scanner began to blink wildly.
"Sir!" he began. "I'm detecting a large mass of energy coming in our direction!"
By the time he had finished his sentence, the ground beneath them was covered in the shadow of a massive pair of wings that were soaring across the night sky, blocking the moonlight for a brief moment. The Commander looked up, and at first glance, he couldn't believe what he saw.
A massive ship was flying in the air. By the looks of it, it was some kind of sea vessel, but demonic spikes were sticking out of it, and it had a pair of enormous wings that were as black as shadows. The demon lifeform, The Commander immediately thought to himself. What was it doing here?
His question was soon answered as the demonic airship floated directly above the castle and started to bombard it with explosives. Bombs fell from the ship down onto the castle, causing large, pale yellow explosions that set fire to some of the towers and threw chunks of stone in all directions. However, the castle itself remained intact.
"Orders, Sir?" asked Fraze through his communicator. "I should be able to jump onto that ship if needed."
"No!" shouted The Commander out loud. "Are you blind? That ship belongs to the demonic lifeform!"
He turned towards the rest of his troops. "We came down here to establish contact with the demon lifeforms, and to ensure their survival as a threatened race on this planet. This is the perfect chance for us to show the demons of our intention to form an alliance. We must help them fight the knights."
Surly turned to Fraze, then to The Commander, thinking to himself for a brief moment. "Agreed," he said. "The demon attack will likely distract the majority of the knights inside the castle. Getting inside will be that much easier."
"It's settled, then," said The Commander, turning towards the hole in the wall. "Follow me, men. That's an order."
"Sir," said Surly, "Might I suggest letting Fraze enter first? His cloaking technology will be invalueble."
"It's really up for him to decide. Either way, I believe the terrestrials will be too distracted to focus on us at the moment."
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:02:29 GMT -5
Bacon
Without waiting for a response from Keng, Bacon ran through the forest to where he landed his ship.
A few marines were visible outside the dropship; they were looking around in all directions, firing their blasters at random places here and there every now and then when a strange sound was heard. Bacon had been around Fraze long enough to know: those are the expressions and mannerisms of somebody facing an invisible enemy.
Bacon sighed, "Oh, great... as if it wasn't hard enough when I could see the bad guy.”
Amneiger
"An effect?" Amneiger's annoyance at being left in the shuttle by himself for hours was momentarily replaced by curiosity, and he took a few more steps into the forest.
Zari
Zari sighed with relief and yanked her arm away from Ethans grip. 'She's gone. Thank Skies. Sorry. Just, last time someone grabbed my arm, I near died.' She paused. 'Twasn't Latiere's fault.' Ienalle snickered. She'd heard this story before. 'Weird is good. I can blow stuff up that way to release my feelings.' She halted. Mage Manor.
'Now or never.' She muttered. Three steps. You can turn back. No, that's chicken. Spoilsport. Well blah to you, voice in my head. She raised and hand and rapped twice on the door. There wasn't a doorbell. If she kept quiet, she'd stick out. 'HALLO?!'
--
One look at Castle Kestrel and Zari took a step back. 'They've probably killed at least one servant. That was the servants wing. Your room, mine, might have broken furniture. Who would do this?' Her voice was quiet. She began to smoke, the fumes rising from her skin and clothes to add to the the already smoggy air.
'Some bloody deity has it up for me. I've seen the stone game. They're better equipped. There's more of them. Them in the colours of death. They've got more.' Zari clapped her hands over her mouth.
She stared over her long fingers. Her vision was going. A table, intact, amound the wreck. There were robed people sitting around it. Ten in the pale, mottled blue that mark them out as...no. The other six were robed in silvery-gray. One of the blue robed held up an image. Castle Kestrel. Another sent another Image towards it like a throwing star, destroying it. More images. Destroying one another.
They were PLAYING. It was all a game to them. One of the gray-robed stared at her for a few seconds, then jerked her head. Back to the world of the mortal, eh? Zari's vision faded. She'd covered her eyes. 'Sorry. It's just...Sometimes I wis the world were more black and white, rather than gray shades. It'd make my life easier. Much easier.
Kat
((Weewoo Airlines))
Kat jerked awake as the ship jarred to this side and that - and fell to the floor. But thankfully she didn't land on her wand.
Picking it up, she burst out of her quarters - to see that they were already soaring high in the sky. Staff lengthening automatically, she spread her feet and tried to keep her balance as she called out, "Oy, Cap'n, where're we headed? Need any random air magic to help ease the turbulence?”
Speck
Speck followed the small, furry creatures. So... they can't talk. These must be Rider's meepits, She thought, walking through the forest. Then everything became dark, if only for a moment. Something was blocking the light from the moon. The pirate looked up to see... Was that the Weewoo?
"Holy mother of Davey Jone's kracken! The ship's flying! That's..." She paused as if to think, "That's so cool!"
The flying pirate ship soon flew away. Not long after it left Speck's line of vision, explosions went off in the distance. She thought, continuing her way towards the cove that the ship had been docked in. It wasn't long before she reached the cliffside, looking down into the dark depths.
Just as she was making her way towards the cliffs, a large creature was making its way towards the cove. The Blarf lifted it's shaggy head out of the water in confusion, looking for the The White Weewoo, before it spotted Speck on the cliff. It grunted, them swam closer and closer to the steep cliffs. Slowly but surely, it lifted itself out of the water. Rocks cracked beneath it, but nothing ever gave way to the massive beast.
Speck watched in awe as the kracken climbed up the cliff to meet her. Considering the size of the Blarf, it didn't take long for it to scale the cliff. It pulled itself over the edge of the cliff; as soon as it was completely on dry land... it shook it's shaggy fur out. The pirate, quite small in comparison to the creature, ducked as seaweed and saltwater rained on her from above.
The Blarf was dried to its satisfaction. Nearly the size of the Weewoo herself, it could see well over the tops of the trees. It lowered its head to Speck's level. She stepped back, if only because she was still frightened of the beast. She hadn't been on the ship long, but she didn't need to be to know the damage a creature of this size could do.
"You... You want me to ride you?" She asked the kracken, wondering if it could understand her.
It nodded its head, "Blaaaarf..."
"I could be like one of those knights or something," Speck struck a pose, "Speck the Kracken Tamer!"
The blarf bared its teeth at her. Its rows of sharp, pointy teeth.
"Or... Maybe just Speck," The pirate looked back into the forest. Assuming the meepits had come back with her to the cliff, she called, "What d'you say? Shall we all go for a ride?”
Kwoiffei
((Mage Manor - Drakhé's Room))
On average, Drakhé's morning routine would have a rough outline consisting of: wake up, throw on an outfit, and head to the kitchen to get breakfast. Despite the chaotic events of the past twenty-four hours or so, this routine was almost the same, except that he had woken up earlier than usual.
His white shirt and pants had been tossed almost carelessly onto the floor, joining the increasing piles of clothing lining the dome-shaped bedroom. Instead, he had chosen, after some hesitation, to don the Aronesh Elite's uniform. A pair of lavender-purple trousers, together with another white long-sleeved shirt, were quickly joined by the tunic. As he fastened the belt around it, he noticed something.
He didn't feel cold. Nor did he feel too hot.
Then came a memory - something he read in a book, in Aronesh's syllabic written language: The uniforms are enchanted to maintain a comfortable temperature, regardless of climate.
Admittedly it was a little embarassing. He spoke the language fluently, he was familiar with the capital; surely he wouldn't have forgotten something like that?
...nevermind.
Walking from his room, and taking the usual route to the kitchen, gave the shapeshifter time to think. He went over the events of the previous day in his mind, connecting his experience to what other people said had happened.
A storm caused by some sort of magic gem begins. Rikku, Surf and some others go off to help. I go into the forest and get lost for most of the day... during that time, it starts driving me and Rikku insane, she gets attacked by a space... something... and a vampire... He shook his head. This was a bit much to comprehend. She raises some zombies, a giant fireball crashes into the ground, I find her and the zombies. I follow Rikku home, I tell her about my fear of necromancers...
Wait.
Drakhé stopped. There he went again. Maybe I'm just trying to get over the fear, he mentally sighed.
Then again, he wasn't entirely sure of his own emotions.
((Mage Manor - Kitchen))
After a few minutes, the dragon had finally reached the kitchen. He couldn't help but notice that some nondescript mages had been staring at him. One of them even seemed to be blushing - and that was embarassing in itself.
"He's in a military uniform..." "I thought he wasn't the fighting type!" "Yeah, but how many soldiers are fighting types anyway?" "...good point."
In all honesty, he was glad to get away from them.
Once in the kitchen, Drakhé headed to where he usually went: to a collection of boxes which held seemingly neverending supplies of fruit. Of course, given the nature of the Manor, there would be some pesky critter hiding in one of them now and then.
He reached for an apple, only to hesitate.
With how much I got hurt yesterday?... Maybe not.
Instead, took several pears.
As he munched, he began to wonder... Drakhé. Keep eating.
Rider
"What d'you say? Shall we all go for a ride?"
Ventratta squirmed into Speck's pocket, but the other two shook their heads and vanished in blossoms of darkness. Scouting was one thing. Riding around on giant sea monsters in a human's pocket was entirely another.
Rider slept through the bombings, and when asked about it later, would only say that it was a very polite fire.
Vyt
((To the Skies! *zooms*))
With a strong breeze carrying them around, Bluisa and Cat Assassin ventured the sky in search of the White Weewoo, hoping they would reach it before sunrise. Clueless about what was going on in the ship (or even about the fact that it was flying), the two kept their heads turning to ensure a good view of the sea. Hopefully the ship had not changed directions for them to be able to catch up.
Flying ships were never meant to be faster than the wind.
Bluisa pulled out her crystal ball once more, rather disappointed by it. Since they flew, the crystal ball seemed pretty useless right now, only able to reveal some people inside a dock of a ship. The image could not be zoomed out further.
"... Nothing yet?" Cat Assassin asked. He was quickly answered by an expressionless nod from the mage, followed by sighs from both beings. He too was getting quite bored with their search. "It's not like in the old days where I'd always get into other people... This is pathetic," he spoke to no one in particular. He did have a point, however. The plotline of the roleplay was getting quite boring.
Then a very weird thought entered Bluisa. "If only the ship was flying, then we'd be able to see it..."
It was then that they saw a rather large object on the sky, hovering over land. Quickly, the breeze hastened its movements. As the two looked closer, they confirmed it was a ship.
Oh, how irony can stun anyone into surprise.
Huntress
((Near Castle Kestrel, aboard the Weewoo))
Hunty gave Ikkin a stern you're-touching-me look, but didn't make a move to free her collar. After all, she hadn't expected her boatswain to just happily go with the idea, and was in fact glad that she was taking it as well as she was.
"Once again... where do your loyalties lie?" she asked with a scowl, then her face softened a bit. "Yes, I know you have friends there. If you didn't, I probably wouldn't have done what I did. I probably would've put that gem in use again, and gods know where that might've led."
She turned her head to look at Leraye, and her face turned stern again.
"What do you wish of me, captain?"
"Well, it would be nice if you stopped stirring trouble among the rodent-gangs on board-" she paused, spotting how the squirrels poked the meepits around. "Lemme rephrase. Feel free to turn the squirrels into an overcoat if you want. But the meepits have been having a bad day to start with, and, well." She paused, unsure how much she could actually boss Leraye around. He did accept her captainship, but he was still a demon, and Hunty knew that pirates didn't have to be demons to mutiny every once in a while.
"Actually I called you for this," she concluded with a grin and jerked her head at the black cloud of smoke raising towards the sky next to the floating ship. "That, m'dear, is pirate life. Adventures to the brim. Happy with my share of the bargain, or should I drop the third box?"
She took a step back, freeing herself, and turned to look at what Goosh had done. And nearly snorted in a very un-captain-ish manner.
"Come on, Goosh, let's not sink too low," she said, though with no disdain in her voice, and turned to look at Kat. "Ooh, just in time for the fireworks. As for air magic... hm."
She looked around. The ship was now fluttering - if you could call that fluttering - a few dozen yards away from the inferno, which had already begun to die down. At least on the outside; one couldn't be sure whether or not the fire had spread inside. Hunty figured that if any of the poison inside had caught fire, it was entirely possible.
It was only then that she noticed that the deck was vibrating quietly. She put her hand on the railing. It was vibrating as well. The whole ship was trembling quietly, and the black wings had started to move faster.
"She's not meant to fly," Bloody Mary said, hopping on her shoulder. "Wouldn't be surprised if she fell down when we're halfway back."
Hunty grimaced. "Yeah, we were lucky to have gotten here in the first place. Well, I've no doubt Celestial and Kat can help us there, but I don't like exhausting each and every one of the magical capabilities we have. Listen, girl, find yourself a nice clear spot to land."
Bloody Mary stared at her. "You just blew up the Knights' castle and now you're landing in front of it?"
"Why not?" The ship began to descend as the turbulence got stronger. "Once she lands, she gets her mist back. We'll be exactly as safe as back on the sea. And with all those things that've been happening lately, nowhere is really completely safe."
She leaned on the railing again, watching the trees rise past them. Her thoughts from earlier that night rushed back. Here they were, by Castle Kestrel again. The front rows. And really, if the land was on a highway to hell, she much preferred to ride in rather than be dragged in. Besides, now she had a steed very suitable for that highway.
The ship planted itself on the ground near the eastern wall, remained upright for a second, and then, as it so tends to happen with ships that have a keel and thus no flat bottom, quietly fell over on one board, remaining standing under a 45-degree angle.
The wings pulled themselves in, flowing around trees and bushes like a fastforwarded morning scene. As the mist gathered around the bottom of the ship, it rose more upright again. The fog bounced in over the railing, filled the deck, and sprinted up to the masts.
The demonic brigantine was sitting in front of Castle Kestrel, all sails reefed and the Jolly Roger flapping proudly in the gaff, as if she'd been there since the beginning of time.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:05:45 GMT -5
CelestialCelestial was strangely enjoying herself. She didn't approve of carnage but wrecking the castle of the Knights who have done so much to her kind was somehow satisfying. However, she would be able to inflict more damage as a human with her spells. Celestial went limp like normal and within seconds, she was standing in front of the now almost extinguished firestorm, looking at a wide hole in the wall. A shadow decended on her and she saw the ship landing in front of the castle. I hope it has a good trick in store to keep it from falling over on it's side Celestial thought as she watched the ship land and keel over. The black mist gathered around it and a "sea"formed beneath it, righting the ship and making it look prouder than ever. If this war ends, I might join them the thought came into her mind. If this war ends... But Celestial didn't have time for musing. Two flying figures were closing in fast. It was Bluisa and the now revived Cat Assasin and Celestial didn't think they were here to enjoy the party. She flew up in her human, leaving the ship and castle far behind. It was hard to fly when your wings weren't as large as she was used to but finally, she reached their height and settled into a hover. "Bluisa! Cat Assasin! Don't attack them, please! For all our sakes!" she shouted, letting the air project her voice despite the lack of the echo that could have made a difference. If they ignored her, she would have to fight them. Keng((cough... filler-ish post of haven't actually ready everything... >.>)) "Consider yourselves hired!" Keng yelled at the mercenaries as they headed off. "And in case it wasn't obvious for those of you still here, get your rears back to the dropships marines!" CyborgCyborg and Midknight continued running towards where the explosion had occured and were about halfway there. Meanwhile the squirrels yelled," Let Cashew go!!!!!!" at the strange boy. RoseRose quickly caught up with Midknight, Cyborg and Jernath. "Yay, so we finally get some action," she said cheerfully. " And we got hired! Although I hope the squirrels are okay. We better qet there fast," she added as she ran faster. FrazeFraze's skinsuit's battery was bit low. Crashing through the trees after the Commander's spectacular impact had depleted its energy by about thirty percent, shooting himself with the flechette gun had taken away another four percent. Add to that miscellaneous other draws on its energy, it was at about sixty percent. He knew he had to stay cloaked, but he couldn't recharge the suit's battery that way. He hoped they could find a fire or some other source of energy--if they were going into battle, Fraze wanted to be fully prepared. "Are you blind?" Strife cried out in answer to Fraze's question. "That ship belongs to the demonic lifeform!"Hmm...he had a point there. Though Fraze thought that a flying sea vessel on steroids with wings made out of what appeared to be thick black smoke seemed to be an impractical means of transport for anything, even a demon. Fraze decided to remove the sound-block--the operation of his cloak that allowed him to be nearly silent as well as unseen--and responded, "Understood." Strife turned to address the whole entourage. "We came down here to establish contact with the demon lifeforms, and to ensure their survival as a threatened race on this planet. This is the perfect chance for us to show the demons of our intention to form an alliance. We must help them fight the knights."Fraze wondered whether this was the best thing to say out loud. If the Commander's voice carried into the Castle--or even into the town, for that matter--this plan would be found out before it even started. As if responding to this thought, Fraze thought he heard shouts coming from the town. Certainly a reasonable response for people who had just witnessed an attack on their main protection. If the townspeople saw the 'Fleeters, Fraze knew that the Commander would order his troops to kill them. "Might I suggest letting Fraze enter first?" Surly asked. "His cloaking technology will be invaluable." "It's really up for him to decide. Either way, I believe the terrestrials will be too distracted to focus on us at the moment." was the Commander's response. If Fraze could lead the team away before the townspeople saw them, he hoped that he could at least help avoid that conflict. There was no reason not to. "Certainly," he responded. "Does anyone have a digital map of the castle? If someone could send it to me via communicator, I could call it up to help us navigate. With that, he ducked in through the hole that the Commander had made in the castle wall. He looked both ways, and saw no one. He turned around, and called "All clear!" As he turned, he saw the demonic ship fly across his now more narrow field of vision once more. He wasn't sure, but it seemed to be landing. Hmm. Well, if the Commander wanted to make first contact now, he'd say so. Expecting the Commander would want to move forward, Fraze looked more closely down the hallway. It was made out of the same stone that the castle walls were. He assumed that there would be a central room on this floor, from which they could get to other parts of the castle. Which way, though? He knew the Commander would just as soon poke through more walls as he had done, but that might be just as much of a benefit as a disadvantage if they wanted to use this castle as a base. The hall seemed to grow brighter to his left. "I think we should go left," he called again. He waited for more people to voice their opinions. Surf((Mage Manor - spare room with Nature)) Surf called drowsily after Omni and began to follow after the Zafara, when something caught her eye. She could see a series of bright glows, and then a black stripe across the sky, through the window. The second her mind registered it as trouble, she squeezed herself through the window, jumped to the ground, and bounded after the source of the glows. As she got closer and closer to the trail of smoke, she noticed the Weewoo, in all its thorny splendor. She gazed up at the ship, failing to realize that she was still running, until a hard force made her stop. She ran into a signpost. Surf got back up, too concerned with her sore face to see if anyone else was around. ((Feel free to notice Surf being a ditz and hitting a pole. She's right outside the castle walls, by the way)) BaconBacon was considering what to do next... If only he could get to some of his equipment aboard the Stellar Eye without being detected, he might be able to use soundwaves to find the invisible entity, like sonar. But the reality is, it's highly unlikely that the entity wouldn't notice such an obvious and time-consuming course of action. A marine appeared behind Bacon. He yelled to the marines by the ships, "Hey, Jord! What's going on around-?" A blaster shot past his head interrupted him. "Watch what you're shooting, Kyve!" "Sorry, I thought you were the phantom!" The Marine that had fired replied apologetically. "What phantom?" The marine behind Bacon asked. "Somebody invisible, either by nature or device, seems to be stalking the ships." Bacon explained quietly, scanning carefully for any signs of anti-prism refraction, a common side-effect of low-quality cloaking devices, or the more likely disembodied footsteps, either of which would tell him where the thing was. The marine behind Bacon picked up his radio, and, after only a couple seconds, put it back down. "I can't get in touch with HQ." He said, surprised. He looked up at the storm, as a sudden wind whipped snowflakes into his face. "Something funny's going on, and I'm not laughing." Bacon stared at the marine, who seemed at the same time both incredibly serious and admiring his own wittiness, or lack thereof. Rikku((Mage Manor)) “Brr. Chilly.” It was actually quite toasty in the Manor, but there was a slight chill in the air that spoke of snow and ice. It was rather bracing, actually. Rikku almost found herself whistling. She walked into the kitchen, and blinked. There were a few people there already. “Bit early for breakfast, isn’t it?” she said with a grin, though she had to admit that the pears Drakhé was munching on looked quite tempting. There was enough time to satisfy her growling stomach later. Right now, she had work to do. The Mage rooted around in a few drawers before finding a couple of clean dishrags. Those would come in handy. Next was a small sharp knife from the cutlery drawer, and finally, a small bottle of wine. “This really ought to be in a wine cellar,” she said, holding it up to the light and examining it. “Of course, downstairs there’s, like, a torture chamber, so that probably wouldn’t work too well. You can’t really pour a glass of claret to the charming harmonics of screams in the background … come to think of it, why do we even have a torture chamber?” Ceasing her chatter, she put the bottle, knife and cloths on a bench, and unhooked her flask from her belt. It was a mixture of blood, wine and ashes; it helped to slow decay on dead flesh, and burned worse than fire on living. A handy aide to a necromancer, but she’d used it too much lately, and had run low. The flask was only a little over half full. First, she tipped a little wine into the flask. It helped to stop the blood and ashes from turning into a congealed, clotted mush, but she was certain that there was a more mystical reason why it was necessary, too – something about the way that the light made the red liquid sparkle appealed to her. The next part was easy, too; one of the pouches on her ever-handy belt contained several chunks of charcoal and ash. She sifted out a handful of fine powder, and added itinto her flask. Then she positioned her wrist over the lip of the bottle, and carefully cut it with the knife. Wincing, she watched her blood flow, and when she judged that it was enough she immediately wrapped the cloths around her wrist. A slapdash cure, but it’d do for now. She then corked the flask and shook it to make sure the contents were evenly spread. “It’s all about the balance,” Rikku said reflectively. “The last batch was a little off, I think; it barely hurt my throat when I swallowed it, and some of the things I reanimated were … odd, to say the least.” She grinned. “Then again, that’s what makes life interesting, right?” She paused and frowned. “Drakhé? Why are you wearing uniform?” Kwoiffei((Mage Manor - Kitchen)) The shapeshifter had just finished his third pear (he was famished) when he noticed Rikku... of course, when she had remarked about how early it was, it was hard to not notice her. Almost immediately – another hand took his, this one feeling much more alive - his eyes went wide and his face flushed as the dream came crashing back into his memory. Fortunately he was able to cover that up with his arm, which he used to wipe his mouth. Apparently his table manners had slipped somehow... no, they were always a little sloppy. "I lost track of time," mumbled Drakhé as Rikku went about in gathering equipment, including of all things a bottle of wine. His eyes widened again upon her mentioning the torture chamber; he'd never heard of the Manor having one. Did this place have its sadistic side too? "T-torture chamber? Yeah, that d-doesn't make sense.""Go figure, he doesn't like the thought of it." "Well, Drakhé isn't usually a violent kind of person."He didn't like other people talking about him either, but Drakhé remained silent despite it. Instead, he commenced eating a fourth pear, watching the young necromancer. First she poured some wine into a flask, before adding some black powder, probably charcoal. He kept his distance, still unnerved - after all, this was most likely necromancy of some sort. Then she put a knife near her wrist-- --and a trickle of red appeared. The half-eaten pear fell and smashed on the floor. Almost before he knew it, the shapeshifter began to run towards her, but very quickly stopped himself. There was still no masking the alarm on his face... although it rapidly turned to an expression of embarassment. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, looking at the floor. Drakhé was quiet for a short while as Rikku spoke about how it was 'all about the balance'. It more or less confirmed his suspicions, although the part involving blood was still alarming. There was always the danger of cutting the wrong blood vessel... "Drakhé?" Rikku's voice. Instantly his head snapped up. "Why are you wearing uniform?""Um... er... I, uh... it's good against the cold?""Drakhé," one of the nondescript mages called, "that's a military uniform. People don't just wear those for no reason.""Oh." For a few more seconds he looked slightly away, obviously unsure of what to say. Finally he said, "Someone gave i-it to me. I-I wanted to t-try it on. Reminds me of home."And now came an awkward silence from the dragon. He looked more than slightly away, only to have his eyes fall on the smashed pear. "Uh... you want a pear? I-I can get another." Kat((Weewoo Airlines, landing)) "I assume that you won't be - " It then dawned on Kat what they had done as she looked over the deck. At first, she couldn't believe her eyes, but when they landed and she could see for herself the fate of Castle Kestrel, Kat felt a jerking, tugging sensation close to her heart. "Cap'n," she said slowly, turning to Huntress, "was that...really necessary?" But Kat was certain there had to be a good reason; many of the pirates, if not all, knew that she was not only the first mate of the ship and another mage, but also the Purple Knight of Dunburrow. * * * Asthielle stirred. She had been camping outside the Manor - actually, sleeping underneath a tree - for a while after escaping from a magical attack. Apparently, there were a lot of mages here, definitely more than she had expected. As much as she hated running away from a fight, there was no choice; she was outnumbered, and all she needed to do was get the gem, and take down Kalianne Triss, whichever came first. Magic shouldn't be wasted in killing random people - that is, unless those random people decided to get in her way. But first, she had to figure something out. Were there other strange forces at work in this already strange land? Would they help her, or hinder her? The manor looked like it was big enough to house a library, or at least, some people who were actually willing to answer her questions. She stood up and walked towards its front door, stopping while she was several feet away. It didn't like her, and she didn't like it for not liking her. PFA((Dunburrow: South Gate))The mercenaries arrived back at South Gate, where they were before they headed to the forest. What Jernath immediately noticed was that there was no one there anymore. Where was everyone? Where was Kit? He then noticed the commotion going on around Castle Kestrel... one of the towers looked like it had blown up, and he thought he saw a pirate ship sitting on the ground... how very odd. "Come on, let's go check it out..." Jernath said to the other mercenaries, as he started on his way toward the castle. But on his way, something on the ground caught his eye. It was Hades. And he was burned. "Hades!" he exclaimed, kneeling down to get a closer look. "What happened?" Upon closer inspection, he found that Hades was cold, and wasn't breathing. Then again, that might not have meant anything, since Hades was a vampire... he was supposed to be like that. But even so... it still didn't seem right. Jernath rolled Hades over, noticing that there was no resistance... the body was completely limp. And, confirming Jernath's suspicions, there was a stab wound in the chest, where the heart was. Slowly, silently, Jernath stood back up. "He's dead," he told the other mercenaries. And then, silence. The kind of silence that hung in the air, that told of the solemnity of the message... they had lost a mercenary. Hades was gone. "Let's get to the castle," Jernath said after a while, starting to walk again. They couldn't let Hades' death hinder them. Not now. Not while there was war. Strife((Castle Kestrel - Base Floor)) "Certainly," replied Fraze. "Does anyone have a digital map of the castle? If someone could send it to me via communicator, I could call it up to help us navigate."That being said, Fraze eagerly stepped through the hole in the wall to check for terrestrials on the other side, turned around, and said "All clear!" to the rest of the group. "Subcommander, lead your troops through," said The Commander, crossing his arms. "I plan to seal this hole." Surly nodded and crawled through the hole, where he found himself in a hallway within the castle. He made a quick motion with his hand, signaling the marines to crawl through as well. One by one, the castle's empty hallway filled with Spacefleet officers. Finally, The Commander himself crawled through the hole. When he was inside, he knelt down and focused psionic energy into his hands. His troops could see nothing but his head behind his flowing black cape as he sealed the hole with a layer of thick stones. "I think we should go left," said Fraze in the meantime, noticing how the hallway grew brighter on the left side. "You may have a keen sense of intuition," said Surly, "But I would much rather rely on hard facts. To answer your earlier question, I will upload a digital map of the castle's infrastructure to your skinsuit." With the press of a few buttons, a map zoomed its way into Fraze's database. Meanwhile, The Commander had finished sealing the hole. He swiftly turned around and walked to the front of the pack. The torches on the walls of the castle illuminated his already sinister-looking eyes and gave a bright glimmer to his armor. "Do you need a map, Sir?" said Surly. "I am the Master Commander of Spacefleet. What do you think, subcommander?" said The Commander with a wicked smile, which quickly faded into a stern look. "Let's go. We have work to do. And I don't think I need to remind you all to watch your backs. We can detect lifesigns, but there's no telling what sort of magic tricks these terrestrials will try to pull on us. They cannot be trusted under any circumstances." Before he even finished his last sentence, The Commander began to walk down the hallway. Surly and the group of marines followed closely behind, and they kept close to the wall in case somebody should come. Surly himself wondered why The Commander wasn't doing the same. It was almost as if he wasn't even trying to stay hidden. According to the map, Fraze was right: turning left would help lead them to the center of the castle. As they walked, Surly kept a close eye on his communicator, watching it for nearby lifesigns. The marines held their laser rifles close to their chests, and some of them took this opportunity to reload them with fresh energy capsules. Rikku((Mage Manor – Kitchen)) "Someone gave i-it to me. I-I wanted to t-try it on. Reminds me of home."Rikku paused. Obviously a touchy subject then … but … did I honestly just walk out and do necromancy directly in front of someone who told me he feared it? Good grief, he must hate me now … ugh.
But … he looked worried. He actually looked worried about me, for a second. I haven’t had anyone worry for my sake for a while … if at all …
"Uh... you want a pear? I-I can get another."Lost in her thoughts, Rikku blinked and looked at Drakhé. “Hmm? What? Oh, sure.” She felt her wrist give a pang and started opening drawers and peering into them, looking for a healing potion. “I’ve always been fonder of apples, though … or strawberries. Strawberries are delicious.” She frowned. “Pity it’s winter.” There. A small glass bottle, sparkling liquid trapped within it. She pulled it out and drank a little of it, and the pain immediately subsided. He was worried about me …Rikku had to turn away to hide a blush. VytIt was not too hard for Bluisa and Cat Assassin to notice Celestial from afar. Dragon wings were very easy to see, and only she had them on her back. Celestial had also seen them and flew high, confronting them. "Bluisa! Cat Assasin! Don't attack them, please! For all our sakes!"Bluisa was about to speak when Cat Assassin waved his hand at her, signalling the mage to let him say his own side. Bluisa understood; she was very poor at trying to convince someone. Besides, Cat Assassin, who had so many experience with such a situation, was better fit for the job. "... All our sakes?" Cat Assassin spoke with much confusion. The feline then noticed the stench of lemon trying to surround the three, prompting him to look downwards to see the chaos brewing below them. "I can already tell you have you've done so much to this place, and that you have not yet finished. Now tell me the reason why. The last thing I want to hear from you is that you're doing this for your own sadistic purposes." Cat Assassin spoke those words like a fine ma- err, feline. He could easily read people's minds even without any magical abilities, and Celestial was no exception. Celestial"... All our sakes?I can already tell you have you've done so much to this place, and that you have not yet finished. Now tell me the reason why. The last thing I want to hear from you is that you're doing this for your own sadistic purposes." Cat Assasin spoke with the assertiveness of somebody who already knew what somebody was going to say. Celestial felt the fine touch of something on her mind, something which didn't feel like Overlord. The feline was reading her mind. "The gem has made the pirate ship almost indestructable. If you try to attack it, the gem will only make it more powerful but that power will strain it's already broken form. If it breaks, we are doomed. I do not know why the pirates attacked the castle, I simply moved a few bricks around without anybody noticing. Those few bricks can't compromise for the dragon lives which had fallen beneath a knight's sword" she shouted at the pair, confident of her words. If they wanted to fight, she was ready for them. Her fingers were already twitching in readiness. Overlord on her shoulder was bristling with awareness. The air around them had indeed grown tense. VytCat Assassin listened intently as Celestial told them her side, giving emphasis to the harsh treatment the Knights had given her kind. Though the dragoness started to become more alarmed, the feline shrugged it off.
"... So you're here for revenge?" Cat Assassin thought so, actually not surprised. He had realized that not so long ago, what with the tension brewing with the dragoness and all. "What you are planning to do... Will that complement the fate that had fallen on your race? If this continues, your race and the Knights will only bring suffering to each other until the bitter end... Is that what you want your next generation to have? The potential fate that they will be born to a world ruled by misunderstanding and chaos?"
Cat Assassin paused for awhile to breathe some good fresh air. Some of what he had said pertained to his past life as a hitman with a kill count of more than five thousand, and he knew fairly well that he could not just kill himself to compensate for the crimes he had committed.
"... It's not only your kind who needs to act against such atrocities. You have to understand that both you and the Knights hold the key to stop this fate of yours, not either one of you. As a matter of fact, I will help you with that as a token of appreciation for reviving me..." he spoke, saying that last phrase with a smile. "... But I beg you to listen and try to follow what I had just said. I don't want to see a friend of mine follow the same fate I had."
Cat Assassin then brought back the topic about the ship. Though he had not met anyone who was onboard the ship, he already had a very logical image of them. "But then there's the gem... You may not notice, but the gem has corrupted each and every single person who had gone aboard the ship it had repaired. They are all thinking now that they have the gem, they can do anything they wish. If you have a clear mind, you may have noticed that they are slowly succumbing to the gem's power. If this keeps up, all of us will suffer. The dragons, the Knights... Everyone in this world."
"We have to get the gem away from them at all cost. It's the only way we can get them back to their senses."
Edit :: Shortening the font size to clean post up. CelestialCelestial listened to the feline. He was frustratingly right despite everything but she didn't like the idea of stealing the gem from the pirates. The spiked ship didn't look like something she would want to mess with and even if they did get the gem, who was to say it wouldn't corrupt Cat Assasin and Bluisa. But if she refused, would that mean she had become corrupted with the gem as well. The light of power that came from her did repel the black mist but as soon as she released the dragons it swirled around her feet like it did around everyone else aboard that ship. For the first time, Celestial felt the fighting of her dragon side and her human side which had been going on ever since she was born. She resisted the urge to clutch at her heart and shout in frustration. "How do I know that once you are in posession of the gem you will not become like them?" she asked, putting her experience with Subila and her desire for the gem in clear view of anybody who tried to read her mind. Celestial didn't want to be the mindless delivery girl who was killed when she handed over the gem. Cyborg" Normally I'd agree with you, but I see the Weewoo and I'm going to it whether you are or not. First I think the squirrels are there and I think the pirates have something to do with this, cause I smell lemons." Cyborg declared as he ran towards the Weewoo. Midknight followed his brother to the ship which was oddly on land. " So how are we going to get up there?" Midknight asked. " How good are you at climbing vines?" Cyborg asked as a rhetorical question with a wink as he made some vines appear and directed them up and towards the ship where they latched on to the railing. The two brothers made their ascent while Shado stayed at the bottom as he'd teleport up when his master was on the ship. Vyt((Celestial, I'd like to point out that Cat Assassin isn't really reading your mind, but just trying to apply some logic. I think you were thinking he knows telepathy. )) "How do I know that once you are in posession of the gem you will not become like them?" Celestial asked, which brought Cat Assassin into thinking again. "Good question," he noted before sinking into deep thinking. There must be something that can ward him from the gem's harmful side effects, if there were any. Bluisa stepped up, tired of standing there with nothing to say. "I'll handle the gem, Celestial..." she said courageously. "Once I succumb to the gem's powers, don't hesitate to take my life away, but please do so after we've brought the gem far away from them," she added, making Cat Assassin glare at her in surprise. "Weren't you listening to what I said, Bluisa?" Cat Assassin asked, furious over what she had said. "Taking away a life just to resolve something isn't the answer to thi-" Bluisa interrupted Cat Assassin just before he could finish. "A slight misunderstanding like that of Celestial's is one thing, Cat Assassin. Trying to stop something powerful from taking over our world is another. If there's someone who needs to be sacrificed for it to be stopped, it's me." Such brave words had even halted Cat Assassin. He realized they were fighting against something who cannot be negotiated with, but sacrificing your own life just to stop it? It was against his principle, but if it is the best way to stop the gem... "Fine, then." CyborgThe kougra brothers finished their climb and leaped over the railing to see the squirrels yelling about letting Cashew go, Ikkin and Hunty looking very angry at eachother and a floating couch, but somehow this didn't seem odd to him. He ran to the squirrels and asked, " What's wrong?" " Cyborg!" the squirrels rejoiced. " Some guy is holding Cashew in one place and not letting him go and he's over there!" the squirrels added pointing at the "guy" as they called him holding Cashew in place. Cyborg stormed over to Hunty and Ikkin. " Hunty I suggest you tell that kid over there to let my squirrel go or there will be a lot of trouble." Cyborg threatened. Midknight walked over to his brother and the two pirates and snapped his fingers. When he did this once again Shado appeared out of a cloud of black smoke. KengKeng reached the clearing in time to hear the explanation of what was going on. Several thoughts crossed her mind on how to find this invisible person: first was using smoke the blowing it away to see where the smoke got stuck on an unseen presence, second was water splashing around and looking for the large shape where water wasn't present in the air... but that would require rain, and it was snowing and... "EVERYBODY STOP MOVING!" Keng yelled, as her eyes went from the empty air to the snow on the ground. One of the sets of footprints in the snow didn't belong to anyone from Spacefleet. There were too many sets going in to many directions closer to the ships though. Her eyes then traveled to the edges of the clearing and around them, "There! Did any of you come from that direction?" she asked pointing at the faint footprints coming from some hedges. Huntress((The White Weewoo)) Hunty glanced at Kat, then leaned on the railing again. The night had begun to turn into morning, she could feel it, and together with having accomplished all her initial goals, the adrenaline levels were dropping. She was getting rather drowsy. "Cap'n," Kat said, "was that...really necessary?""Yes," the captain said simply, not feeling like going over the explanation again. Not that it mattered. It was done, and wasn't going to be undone, and she was a pirate, therefore not the kind to regret her deeds or feel the need to justify them. "I had my reasons." Bloody Mary landed on her shoulder again. "Now what? Truth be told, I don't like it here. The ship isn't a living being, so she can't grow tired, so now that we've landed for a bit, we might as well take off now, get to the sea, and get far away from here." Hunty shook her head. "Won't work. Coming here was easy, we were just an odd cloud and nobody was expecting a thing. Now that they've seen what we did, we can't afford to spread the wings again and leave the ship defenseless. Not before I know who else is around here. Within the radius of a mile, at least. Someone might already be watching, ready to attack, and I don't want that, because I don't want to use the gem again, nor do I want anything to happen to my ship. No, the current position is the safest." The meepit shrugged with the grimace he always made when he was forced to agree with Hunty against his own survival instincts, then spun around on her shoulder. "Um." Hunty turned around, noticed Cyborg, and had to agree that 'um' was quite the right word there. " Hunty I suggest you tell that kid over there to let my squirrel go or there will be a lot of trouble," the kougra said. Hunty exchanged a glance with Bloody Mary. Then they both looked at the former underswabby and mutineer standing in front of them. Then they looked up at the black masts. For the most part, Huntress didn't make a particularly good team with Bloody Mary. They thought too differently, and usually at different speeds. They tended to come to a conclusion through an argument. But for one, they reached the same conclusion at the exact same time. "That," said the meepit, "was a bit of a-" The White Weewoo settled in again. As a not-entirely-sentinent being, its existence, as much as it defined itself, worked through the black mist. During the flight it had paid little to no attention to what was going on on the deck, having to focus on the wings. Now it pulled itself together and, in its own primitive way, put two and two together by noting down what had changed in the meantime. The reaction was somewhat delayed, but all the more firm. One after another, each of Cyborg's squirrels was wrapped in black smoke and sent flying off over whichever point of the railing happened to be the nearest. Cyborg himself was kicked off in a neat arc quite comparable to Bluisa's earlier flight. Midknight and his pet, whom the ship didn't recognize, were simply dropped off over the board. The brigantine was burning with semi-transparent mist, alert and present. Hunty leaned forward on the railing. "Bit of a bad idea," she shouted cheerily. "But on the bright side, the squirrels are now free, aren't they?” Cyborg" I can move again!" Cashew shouted as he ran over to the other squirrels. " Wow so you taught the Weewoo some new tricks!" Cyborg said with fake surprise as he and his brother landed on their feet while the squirrels rolled on the ground which looked hilarious and Shado landed on his side. " Once again I see you are too cowardly to fight me without tricks!" Cyborg said to his former captain. Bacon((Forest, Near Spacefleet's Ships)) "There! Did any of you come from that direction?" "No, ma'am." The marine behind Bacon replied, "That set of footprints only goes towards the ships, and none of us were over there. Bacon plugged his goggles into his PDA, accessed shoe-tread matcher, a handy program that matches footprints, and followed the foot-trail Keng had pointed out to where they ended. They ended where another set, this one barefoot, began, and that trail ended... "Oh great." He removed his goggles. This was not good. "I think he's already in the dropship." Bacon whispered to those nearby him.
The Invisible Guild ((Castle Kestrel)) Sickle grinned. “Castle go boom.”
Tigereye muttered a curse under his breath. The things he had to deal with in this job … “Yes, Sickle. The castle went boom. Would you like to put out the fire?” The whole castle had shaken under the impact, and there were a few isolated blazes here and there.
“That would mean Spacefleet would be able to tell we’re here,” Oak pointed out. “Or, at least, that an ice mage is. We don’t want them to know, do we?”
Tigereye blinked. Maybe this great lump of muscle had a brain after all. “No, but we don’t want to be incinerated either … oh, forget it, this castle’s made of stone anyway.”
“Marzia gave the impression that Spacefleet have pretty advanced technology,” Trilby spoke up. “So my phase-shifter won’t do any good. They could probably sense my heartbeat or … brain signals or something.” He shrugged.
“Well, then.” Tigereye gave a grin. There was something of the wolf about it. “I guess we have to go to them before they can come to us.”
“They went in that way.” Sickle pointed. “What’s the plan?”
“They’ll have a scout out, no doubt. So The Commander will know we’re coming before we get there. They will certainly have their weapons at the ready, so be careful to seem non-threatening, alright?”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Oak said. His cutlass was sheathed for now, but it wouldn’t remain that way for long. “Should we contact the Lord?”
“No! You know Avelin would just meddle –” He broke off. “There they are.”
The former Knight walked towards them, both hands raised above his head to indicate his peaceable intentions. “Hello there. I am of the Shield Guild … we call ourselves the Peacekeepers. You wouldn’t have heard of us.” He gave his best non-menacing smile. “We come to offer an alliance, Commander.”((Forest – drop site)) Marzia glared. There hadn’t been many guards, but other people had come running when he’d fired. That had been a mistake, then. darn it, this was a perfectly simple plan …
One of the Spacefleet personnel pointed to something. "There! Did any of you come from that direction?" Marzia followed the direction of her gaze and had to suppress the desire to curse. There were his footprints, plain as day.
This plan was seeming like less and less of a good idea. He quickly kicked off his distinctive boots – his feet would freeze, but hopefully he wouldn’t lose too much feeling before he could make the ship. Then he ran swiftly – the people had stopped moving, but maybe they wouldn’t notice the small indents being made in the snow. It was still falling, if slower, but the layer underfoot was thin and his footprints were difficult to make out, particularly without the heavy indentation of his boots.
There was the drop ship. The door swung open as he neared it, and closed again as he dived in. They hadn’t locked it, then. That at least was something.
“Engines, engines,” he muttered, running his half-frozen fingers over the control panel. The controls had changed a little since his time. He could still fly it. It was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, time was fast running out. BaconThe Marine behind Bacon ran towards the ships. "Jord, Kyve! He's in the dropship!" Then the dropship's door closed. The marines hurriedly tried to activate the emergency over-ride. Bacon turned and looked at Keng. "If he gets that thing airborne before they can get to him, the only option left is to shoot it down. Do you think you can get Lily to distract him while I get in the Stellar Eye and try to shoot him?" Keng"Lily-" "Do I get to do something?!" asked the synthesized female voice excitedly. "Yes, if that drop ship takes off shoot it down." "I'm no-" "Just shoot at it, Bacon, I trust you to get this. Urchin you're with Lily and... say Lily, there aren't any life signs on board you are there?" "7" "What did we say about registering plants as life forms?" "Well you asked for lif- OK. OK. No life forms registered on censors." "Thank you. Urchin, still watch out for any stowaways, we don't know the full properties behind this invisibility. Half of the rest of you stay here, the rest of you are with me. There were explosions detected in the direction the commander went. Move out." Keng ordered and immediately began making her way towards the castle at a brisk pace. "Bacon, meet up with us when this is taken care of, leave guards at the ships though." Bacon"Right." Bacon said. He ran to his ship, hoping it wouldn't have engine failure like last time there was a combat situation. PFA((Dunburrow: South Gate))"Then you guys can go to the ship," Jernath said in response to Cyborg. "I'll go to the castle, check things out there. Rose, either go with them or come with me." The Kougra brothers ran off toward the White Weewoo, while Jernath headed toward Castle Kestrel. Something was going on there, and Jernath wanted to figure out what. ((Castle Kestrel: outside))As Jernath got close to the castle, he suddenly started to smell the faint odor of lemon... an odd thing to smell when you were approaching a castle with a blown-up tower. He decided not to think too hard on it, though. There were more important things to think about. He noticed that the Weewoo was standing not too far from where the castle was. Which he supposed was a good thing, incase Cyborg needed his help or vice versa. Another thing he noticed was that some other people had also started to gather around the castle. Namely, two knights and a girl who ran straight into a signpost. "...You alright?" Jernath asked the girl, while he was inwardly deciding on what else he could do. He couldn't just barge into the castle, especially not while there were two knights watching. That would be very rude. SpeckSpeck nodded to the departed meepits, then turned to face the Blarf. One of her hands absentmindedly stroked Ventratta behind the ears. With a little bit of effort, she heaved herself on top of the kracken's head. Had she not been holding on to some of it's slightly damp, matted fur, she might have fallen off when it lifted its head once again. The landscape and countryside was far easier to navigate from atop the great beast's head. Sparse islands of stone and wood buildings were surrounded by a sea of treetops. There was no sign of a flying ship, but she could clearly see the silhouette of the Jolly Roger flapping in the crisp morning air. The sun tinged the horizon with glowing pink light, framing the masts of the pirate ship in its glow. Speck wanted to stare at the view longer, it was such a beautiful sight. But she had a job to do, and a captain to serve. "All right, Blarfy. Let's go!" She patted the beast on it's head, and it began to tramp through the forest. Trees were almost effortlessly torn aside in the Blarf's path, branches snapping like twigs. It would only be a matter of time before they reached the tripped-out White Weewoo. Surf((Outside Castle Kestrel)) "Oh, I'm alright," replied Surf, rubbing her sore face. "But, more importantly, what the cheese happened to the pirates' ship?! And what happened to the castle?" She looked around, and noticed that the sun was beginning to rise, tinting the sky with a faint pink glow. At least the sky is pretty, she thought. Omni((Mage Manor, front door)) "She's gone. Thank Skies."Ethan realized that Zari must not have been talking about Leoness. He couldn't help but wonder who exactly she was talking about. "Sorry. Just, last time someone grabbed my arm, I near died.""I don't blame you then," Ethan said, a moment before they stood in front of the doors to the manor. Zari knocked at the door, shouting in hope of someone hearing her. "Here," he said as he reached for a knocker. He had yet to grab it before Siber growled. Ethan quickly turned to look at what Siber was growling at. he resisted the urge to pull out his rifle, though he did tighten his grip on it. What he saw was a blonde woman, who was apparently also heading for the door. "Siber, stay," he commanded, preferring that Siber not attack her right away. Ethan looked at the woman, feeling that he had to say something. "Who are you?" --- ((Mage Manor, kitchen)) Omni approached the sheet of cookies. They smelled so good… She wanted to eat one, but she knew it wouldn't taste like how it smelled. Not being able to taste sweet was rather annoying at times. Gah! Why does the smell have to be so tempting?!She got a small plate and a spatula, and promptly began scraping cookies off the sheet and putting them on the plate. She approached a cupboard to get a cup when she noticed Rikku and Drakhé. "Getting an early morning snack?" she said to Drakhé, referring to the pears he was holding. PFA((Castle Kestrel: outside))"That's what I wanted to find out," Jernath replied, looking up at the exploded tower of the castle. Then he looked over at the pirate ship, which was surrounded with black mist and had spikes all over it. It didn't occur to him until just then that the ship might not have always been like that, as he had never actually seen the Weewoo before. "Well, I was certainly expecting more commotion," he commented, looking around and seeing no fighting whatsoever. He expected there to be people jumping at each other's throats and screaming insults. Instead he got people standing around and wondering what the explosions were about. He sighed. Maybe I should see what's going on at the ship, he thought, and started walking toward the Weewoo. Maybe they would know what was going on. Besides, that's where Cyborg and Midknight were. RiderThe violent expulsion of Cyborg and the squirrels jolted Rider awake. That was a honkin' comfy bed. She made a mental note to thank the alchemist later. First thing's forst, news from the outside. She summoned the Magus Sisters, who squeaked out an exhausted report of nothing happening whatsoever. She summoned Nalia and Sephi, and listened to their garbled, squeaky report. "Cap'n, Speck's riding the blarf through the woods. She's on her way to us. Um, did the ship just spit out the squirrels?" Celestial((>_> Sorry Vyt!)) ((The Skies above Castle Kestrel)) "Good question," the feline replied before he started thinking. Celestial took the time to have a muse of her own. She didn't want to betray the pirates but at the same time if she refused, it would possibly mean that the gem had gotten to her during the time she was aboard the ship without the cloaking light from the dragon power. For the first time, Celestial felt her dragon side and human side fighting each other, locked together in a symbiotic fight. I'll handle the gem, Celestial...Once I succumb to the gem's powers, don't hesitate to take my life away, but please do so after we've brought the gem far away from them,"Bluisa said and Celestial snapped to attention. The dark mage was going to sacrifice her life. Cat Assasin spoke with oturage but Bluisa didn't pay any attention. "A slight misunderstanding like that of Celestial's is one thing, Cat Assassin. Trying to stop something powerful from taking over our world is another. If there's someone who needs to be sacrificed for it to be stopped, it's me." Bluisa finished and Celestial saw that there was no way she could be convinced otherwise. "What you are doing in noble Bluisa. I only wish-" she was cut off by a flaring pain from her wing which was getting stronger by the second. Yellowish drops of something were flying everywhere every time she flapped and the pain increased with each motion. She remembered the fight with the zombie and how it tore her wing with it's teeth. The infection had finally set it. "You will have to go without me, I am in no condition for flying. However, Overlord can come with you if you wish" she said, willing the little Weewoo to fly away from her. He resisted the call as best as he could. Overlord didn't want to seperate from Celestial, especially in the condition she was in. However, she told him to go which meant that hopefully she could handle it. With a lot of reluctance, he took off from her shoulder and flew over to Bluisa, settling himself uneasily on her shoulder and looking at him mistress with sadness in his eyes.Celestial had to land and heal, the pain in her wing was too great. She plummeted down like a hawk, thoughts clouded by the infection. The ground was coming up too fast however and her downstroke wasn't strong enogh to slow her down completely. She crash landed, unaware of her location and let healing energy loose around her wing and numerous cuts she sustained form the landing. The shock of the landing and the soothing, soporific effect of the healing magic made Celestial fall into an uneasy and troubled sleep, much like unconciousness. The only sign of activity was the occasional spark around the hole in her wing eject some pus or form a link of membrane with another side. ((Feel free to trip over me, notice me or have me get in your way. XD)) ZariZari followed Ethans line of sight. This woman seemed to be staying back from the door, almost as though she was being pushed away. Ienalle stopped washing her paw and mrowled. <Ienalle> What was that fo- oh. I see. Funny smelling human. Grr. Stay back, terrestrial!> Zari breifly shushed Ienalle, then spoke, still staring. 'Tza, who're you? We'd hate to accidentally let a sane and normal axe-person into the Manor by mistake. That'd be terrible.' she said, entirely serious. Or not. It was hard to tell with the hood up. Strife((Castle Kestrel - Hallway))The Commander and his men continued down the hallway. Surly and the marines walked with cautious steps, watching their backs as their leader had advised them. The Commander himself, however, marched across the center of the hallway while staring forward. He understood that, because of the power inside his Leech, he would stand little chance of hiding from the knights even if he tried. With that logic, he would simply storm through the castle, taking on all challengers he came across. As The Commander had predicted, one of the knights spotted him walking down the hallway. The knight emerged from another hallway to his right and walked towards him, hands straight in the air. Immediately, the marines rushed behind The Commander and pointed their rifles at the knight, ready to fire at the first sign of an attack. "Hello there." said the knight. "I am of the Shield Guild... we call ourselves the Peacekeepers. You wouldn’t have heard of us."The Commander crossed his arms and listened. He was extremely suspicious of this knight's intentions, and he had a gut feeling that he was planning some kind of surprise attack. His suspicions seemed to be confirmed with the knight's next statement. "We come to offer an alliance, Commander."A devilish smile spead across The Commander's pale face. The torches on the walls illuminated his teeth with their dancing flames. I caught you red handed, savage, he thought to himself. The knight was up to something. How else would he know that he was a commander? He could use this opportunity to sneak in an attack of his own. "An alliance, you say?" asked The Commander, trying to make his voice sound as peaceful as possible. "In that case, allow me to propose an offer that will be... mutually beneficial..." Slowly, he walked towards the knight as he spoke. Some of the marines behind him itched their heads in confusion. Surly was also confused at first, but he knew The Commander enough from previous scenarios to realize what was about to happen. And it happened. Within a fraction of a second, The Commander's expression turned from a peaceful look into a malevolent gaze. He lunged forward, tackled the knight, and pinned him to the ground. He pushed the tip of his Leech weapon into the side of the knight's face so hard that his arm was shaking from using so much muscle power. "Tell me who you're really working for and why they know of Spacefleet," he snarled into the knight's ear. "My weapon is mighty thirsty, and you have five seconds before she drinks from your blood.” Huntress((The White Weewoo)) Hunty looked down at Cyborg, then at the scattered squirrels, and then it occurred to her that she'd been too busy with other things to find out what the squirrels had wanted in the first place. She asked Bloody Mary. "They were looking for an alliance," the meepit said, patrolling up and down the railing and sniffing the air. People were closing in, apparently. "An alliance? With whom?" "With them. Or rather, with Cyborg." "No, I mean... with us?" "Yes," the meepit said patiently. Hunty looked at the grey kougra who was currently shouting insults at her. "Uhuh," she eventually said. "Anything else I didn't hear?" The meepit gave her a sideways glance. "Apparently Keng's working for the Spacefleet now." Keng had been kicked off the ship after most of their loot had been stolen during her watch. Hunty's face remained blank. "Spacefleet? What's that?" "No clue. Um, still remember Keng?" the meepit hazarded, much like people can't resist poking an aching tooth. "The werewolf?" "Oh yes." Hunty's face was still blank. "I never forget a crewmember." She looked down again. "This one in particular." The she raised her voice. "Fight you? A while back you were seeking an alliance. What do you want, exactly?" Bloody Mary reached her part of the railing on his patrol again and nudged her sleeve. Hunty turned around to hear Rider say, "Cap'n, Speck's riding the blarf through the woods. She's on her way to us. Um, did the ship just spit out the squirrels?""As you saw. Speck - and the blarf?" She grimaced. "Well, that's definitely good news on Speck's part but the blarf coming here... we won't be able to protect him when he's out of the water." Bloody Mary, who'd gone off down the railing, turned around. "You do realize that he's a ship-sized creature who can curl up in a ball of spikes and whose breath can make earwax melt?" "Yah, but he's still a big soppy," the captain said grimly. Cyborg"Fight you? A while back you were seeking an alliance. What do you want, exactly?" " I don't want anything anymore from you guys. For I don't need an alliance with the pirates anymore, cause I happen to be allied with someone you might remember. Her name's Keng and she's with my allies." Cyborg replied. Meanwhile the squirrels had collected themselves and formed a crowd around Midknight, Cyborg, and Shado. Kwoiffei((Mage Manor - Kitchen)) Drakhé was relieved to be freed from an awkward silence. He was also relieved that he'd have something to do, and possibly take his mind off of what had been happening with him and Rikku. Wait... I'm doing this because of her. Dangit!
"Strawberries? O-okay."So saying, he turned and walked back to the boxes, taking care not to slip on the smashed pear on the ground. First he took a pear from the box. He stood up, but hesitated for a moment, then moved to another box, and opened the lid. Inside this one were strawberries. With care he took three of them, gathering them into his hand along with the pear... then he snatched a fourth one and put it in his mouth. He couldn't help it; he was hungry, dangit. Hopefully no-one would notice. The dragon closed the lid once more, and took several more pears in his arm before walking back to the necromancer. As he did so, he began to shiver. Wait, didn't this uniform stop him from feeling the cold? Please let no-one notice, please let no-one notice...
"Here," Drakhé said finally as he offered the pear and strawberries to her. "Getting an early morning snack?" It was another voice - distinctly female. Drakhé instantly recognised who it belonged to - Omni, a fellow mage and fellow non-human. Since he was caught in a potentially embarassing situation, there were only two ways in which he could react: potentially embarassing, or even more potentially embarassing. Which one would he pick? "Er, I, uh, yes?" SurfJernath went to go ask about the Weewoo, and Surf decided to follow suit. The frightening appearance of the ship stopped her from soaring up to the deck, so she did the most gracious thing possible: yelling. "Hey, Huntress, Rider, what in the world happened to your ship? Did you ask one of Kit's demons to be the remodeler or something?" Kat((Weewoo and outside Mage Manor)) "I see," said Kat slowly as Huntress answered her question. "Okay...well, Cap'n, what's next for us, now that we've blown up the castle?" I just hope the Knights are all right and none of them were inside when it exploded...I'm sure they are...Kat sighed, her fingers tight around her wand. "Well...if you need help going around Dunburrow, you know who to ask." * * * Asthielle pulled into a battle stance, her hand out, ready to utter the first curse that popped into her head. "Who are you?"She put down her hand. This guy is just too familiar, but I think I'll just play dumb and pretend I don't know who he is. "I think I should be asking you that same question. Are you from around here?”
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:08:18 GMT -5
Zari((Outisde Mage Manor)) Zari cleared her throat and spoke to this strange, blonde, woman. 'Ahem, ma'am. We were seperated from our charge, Leoness, and got word that she was here. Her pet, the one-eye he's got-' she jerked a thumb at Ethan and Cyclops, '- went crazy until we went to find her. No, we aren't from around here.' she leant on her staff and eyed Asthielle distrustfully. 'You?” Bacon((Forest - dropsite)) Bacon entered the Stellar Eye with much haste, closing the hatch behind him. He looked out the veiw-panel at the dropship, making sure it hadn't left just yet. Sliding into the pilot's seat, he flipped the ignition swith, which replied with a very disappointing "VGhgkhzzz...". "No, not another burnout!" Bacon said. He ran across to where a panel was removed from the wall, unplugged one transit-capacitor and plugged in the auxillary. Once again he sat in the pilot's seat and flipped the ignition to "on".This time it gave a rather satisfactory "vghgVRZRZRZKLNGH-You ain't nothin' but a houn-!" Bacon immediately turned the radio off. "I hate it when it does that." With his hands on the dual-controls and his feet on the twin accelerator pedals, he looked out at the dropship again, ready for ship-to-ship combat. PFA((near Castle Kestrel))On his way to the White Weewoo, Jernath noticed a figure plummet from the sky, crashing rather spectacularly to the ground. He decided to go and take a look, as it was between there and where he was going, anyway. Once he was close enough to see who the figure was, he recognized it as the dragon girl who was at South Gate. The one that was fighting the zombies. The wing that got bitten clear back then was now spewing pus, and the girl was unconscious. Guess that bite got to her, he thought silently. Unfortunately, he didn't know a lot about first aid, especially not for dragon wings. All he could do was leave her there, and get someone else to help her. So he continued on his way to the Weewoo, wondering if someone there would know what to do. ((Near Weewoo))When Jernath got close enough to see the people on the pirate ship, the first thing he did was look around for Cyborg and Midknight. He was expecting to see the Kougras on the ship, but instead they were next to it, and were shouting insults at the ones who were on the ship. Or, at least, Cyborg was shouting insults. Midknight wasn't, currently. Even so, it was enough to distract Jernath from his thoughts about the dragon girl. "What's going on?" Jernath asked the Kougras as he came up next to them, being careful not to step on any squirrels. Why are you so angry at the pirates? he thought, but didn't say. Vyt((Above White Weewoo)) Bluisa and Cat Assassin turned at Celestial, who was reacting awkwardly to something behind her. They both noticed yellow liquid dripping from a wound on her wing, causing the dragoness to grimace in pain. She ordered the Weewoo on her shoulder, which she named Overlord, to go with them, to which the white bird reluctantly obeyed. Thoughts of helping the dragoness went circling inside the minds of everyone around Celestial. The three watched as Celestial slowly descended towards ground. Moments later however, they noticed that her speed was gaining distance, but was too late to figure out that the dragoness had landed nastily towards ground. Worried, Bluisa started to weaken the breeze around them to prepare for their descension, but was startled when Cat Assassin gave her the signal to stop. "Put me near the White Weewoo first," he commanded her, the feline's low tone hinting the mage that he needed to go there as fast as possible. "You can stay with Celestial for her to be healed. I have a few more people to convince there." Bluisa nodded in agreement. The breeze around them started to split up, giving Cat Assassin his own. As soon as the process was complete, the mage ordered the breeze around the feline to take him near the White Weewoo. Its quick reaction was the confirmation that it obeyed diligently, as the feline was being taken near the ship. Bluisa then turned towards Overlord, who was quite worried about his master of some sort. "About that thing you said about reviving Vyt back without the gem... Can you elaborate on that?" she asked while waving her hand at the breeze to lower them both. Cyborg" Well to sum it up a little pirate brat held one of my squirrels captive, the Weewoo is alive and Hunty's to afraid to fight me without it." Cyborg answered. " I wonder when my magic will return? Do you know how long it'll take?" Midknight asked Cyborg. " No clue never had to use that much magic." Cyborg replied. Strife((Outisde Mage Manor)) Zari cleared her throat. "Ahem, ma'am. We were seperated from our charge, Leoness, and got word that she was here. Her pet, the one-eye he's got, went crazy until we went to find her."This was Cyclops' signal to emerge from his hiding spot behind Ethan's neck. He crawled out of Ethan's cloak and snaked his way up the hood until he was sitting directly on top of his head. He managed to utter a "Brrrrfth!" noise in an attempt to sound excited about seeing his "master," Leoness. Cyclops hoped with every cell in his gelatin anatomy that this discussion wouldn't result in combat. He was ill-equipped to even communicate his thoughts, much less fight. FrazeAn icon blinked at the edge of Fraze's sight as he received a map of the castle. He called it up, a web of interconnecting lines appearing in his vision, a virtual display of the castle overlaying itself on the real, stone-and-mortar castle. He called up the map of the main floor; in a few seconds, he found roughly where they were. As he expected--and as Strife now agreed--the main room of this floor of the castle was to their left. As soon as they had made it to the main room, someone stepped forward. Hello there," the person said. "I am of the Shield Guild... we call ourselves the Peacekeepers. You wouldn’t have heard of us."Fraze hid the map from his sight. Everyone he had seen on the surface since he went planetside the day before had met him with open aggression. These Peacekeepers now met a whole squad of 'Fleeters peacefully--even as most of the 'Fleeters had their rifles pointed at the Peacekeepers. Counterintuitive though it was, Fraze found this declaration of peace even more suspicious than the hostility he had seen displayed before now. Still cloaked, he took his flechette gun out of its holster, though he kept the safety on. He judged it best if he did not show himself just yet. "We come to offer an alliance, Commander," the Peacekeeper continued. All right, Fraze thought. How do these people know who the Commander is?Strife began walking toward the Peacekeeper. Fraze had seen the Commander adopt that air before--once before he had pinned Fraze against the wall, once before he grabbed that mercenary to use as a hostage. What was coming next was obvious, and Fraze stepped back to allow it to happen. "Tell me who you're really working for and why they know of Spacefleet," the Commander growled. "My weapon is mighty thirsty, and you have five seconds before she drinks from your blood."At the mention of his gun, Fraze's thumb seemed to jerk involuntarily. He felt a slight click, and realized he had turned the safety of his own weapon off. It wasn't something he had intended to do, it just--happened. At the moment that the safety was turned off, the gun seemed to...shiver...in his hand slightly. Nervous, he flicked his thumb again to re-activate the safety. He would wait to see what happened. It remained his job to stay hidden. CelestialHe shivered with terror at what he saw Celestial go through but at least he felt whole so she couldn't be dead at least, just unconcious. There were a few faint blips of light around her wound indicating that it would be healing but he didn't want to know what kind of pressure they were under. A mercenary walked up to her but left her alone to Overlord's great relief.
"About that thing you said about reviving Vyt back without the gem... Can you elaborate on that?" the mage spoke to him, taking his troubled thoughts away. He concentrated on putting words into her mind.
It isn't simple and like I said, would require great sacrifice. A life in fact. There is an abyss left if you take somebody out of the netherworld that only a necromancer or somebody that specialises in death knows how to fill artificially and only temporarily. Phoenix fire usually can fill it as well as phoenix down which is why they work. The gem would only fill the abyss with shadow. However, filling the abyss with a life is energy-draining. However, the person I know can gain huge amounts of energy easily. I do believe you have seen it and even felt the power yourself. he thought to her and looked down at Celestial as if pointing to her with his head in an obovious hint to who he was talking about. Kat((Outside Mage Manor)) "No, we aren't from around here. You?"Asthielle twirled a lock of her hair. "I thought it would be quite obvious that I am not from around here either." In that case, you are of no use to me. What I need is a tour guide, not a fellow tourist. Her fingers twitched. Maybe it was better to dispatch this other newcomer too...but then again, it would be such a waste of a perfectly good pawn. "Do you know anyone who's from around here?" she asked Zari after a short pause. "You see, I'm looking for...someone." Huntress((The Weewoo)) "Okay...well, Cap'n, what's next for us, now that we've blown up the castle?"Something quite like compassion flashed in Hunty's eyes as she turned to look at Kat and sat down on the railing, turning her back to the kougra-squirrel company altogether. "Well, in all honesty, I would've planned going to war with my brand new ship to wipe all knights out of Dunburrow altogether. Heavens know I have plenty of reason to wish that, given what the knights have done to us - and pirates in general - in the past. But I can't do that to you and Ikkin, can I now?" She grinned faintly. "I was just planning to take a hike, sail away, and let these people sort out their own skirmishes. But we can't leave now. Which is why," now she raised her voice, "which is why I want someone to scout the area and find out who else is around here. In the castle, in the woods, in the air, the whole shabang. Except that I'd rather not have anyone killed or wounded, so if anyone has ideas about magical cover or stealthy moving or anything of the sort," at that point she rather regretted never having had much insight in ninja training, "do speak now. These are things I can't decide on my own." Something creaked farther below, in the ship's hull. "Cyborg's still talking to you, capitano," Bloody Mary said, still on his railing-patrol. "And the ship doesn't like it." Hunty turned around, noticing that more people had arrived in the meantime - did that girl just run into a signpost? - and raised an eyebrow, hearing Cyborg accuse her of being too cowardly to fight him without the ship's help. Then she looked down, where the ship seemed intent on proving the kougra's point. The row of hatchboards was opening. Being a pirate ship dependent on agility and flexibility, the White Weewoo was armed with the rather usual compromise in naval artillery: a set of carronades, short and light cannons that couldn't shoot particularly far and with not much accuracy, but had very heavy firepower to make up for it. Those carronades were now rolling out one after another, five in either board. "Aw, I'd hoped those had transformed into at least 42-pounders," Bloody Mary said with a grimace, sitting down on the railing. "Those'd be too heavy for the ship to carry," said the captain, grinning widely, then turning her attention to Surf. "Hey, Huntress, Rider, what in the world happened to your ship? Did you ask one of Kit's demons to be the remodeler or something?""Nah, that's all original design," Hunty shouted back. "We pirates believe in do-it-yourself. Like it? I rather like how the keel turned out." The meepit rolled his eyes. VytIt isn't simple and like I said, would require great sacrifice. A life in fact. There is an abyss left if you take somebody out of the netherworld that only a necromancer or somebody that specialises in death knows how to fill artificially and only temporarily. Phoenix fire usually can fill it as well as phoenix down which is why they work. The gem would only fill the abyss with shadow. However, filling the abyss with a life is energy-draining. However, the person I know can gain huge amounts of energy easily. I do believe you have seen it and even felt the power yourself.Overlord's informative explanation made Bluisa ponder a lot. The bird sure had quite some knowledge for a minion, she thought. If the rumors about the gem were true, then reviving Vyt through it would only cause more trouble for everyone. However, if she would follow the bird's suggestion, she would have to offer a life in the process. Bluisa had just recently proclaimed that she had turned her back against darkness, but her only goal had pitted her in a situation with decisions she will all regret; either she would abort her mission or exchange a life for it to be finished. Bluisa had almost forgotten that they were descending towards ground, as her feet landed quite badly on the muddy soil. Her eyes closed instinctively, reacting to the sudden jolt of pain entering her legs. It was a good thing the breeze had somehow cushioned her fall; other than the pain, there was no further damage done. "Celestial!" Bluisa gasped, limping towards the fallen dragoness. The magical aura surrounding her stopped Bluisa from running, as the latter sensed it was healing the dragoness somehow. For now, she just had to guard Celestial until she wakes up. "Oh, Cat Assassin. I hope you'll be successful..." Bluisa breathed out. Surf((Just outside Castle Kestrel)) " Nah, that's all original design," replied Hunty. " We pirates believe in do-it-yourself. Like it? I rather like how the keel turned out." "Well, personally, I'm not all to into the thorny look. I'd rather not skewer myself in my room, y'know? Now," she continued, glancing at the ship, "do you have any idea what happened to the castle? Or is the destroyed look 'in' now?" She carefully walked to the ship, and carefully swung herself onto the deck via the thorns. Rider“which is why I want someone to scout the area and find out who else is around here."Ventratta scrambled out of Speck's pocket. Rider held her hand out to recieve him. Ventratta squeaked and made wild paw motions. "Ventratta and I will consult the Meepits. We'll see if any of them volunteer." Rider went belowdeck and sat on a chest of exotic fruit. Closing her eyes, she concentrated. The barracks in the Meepit Realms, drain. Send every soul to the human-Neopian plane. Alert the soldiers that it is time to earn their pay. It is time for war. Dozens of balls of darkness bloomed, petals fanning out around the emerging Meepits. Most were pink, though there were a few light blue ones, some green, red, faerie, most colors. "Soldiers, I know I've been calling on you a lot these past couple days, and you have been responding with great strength and courage. You have been a beacon to Meepitkind. Others of your kind may spit upon you and curse you for helping humans, but you are wiser by far than they. You understand that when evil takes the human world, the Meepit world is not far behind. The planes are connected. "I'd love to be able to tell you that I don't need you to fight. However, this world is in over its head. Battle may ensue at any moment. Hunty calls this "just a scouting mission," but she and I both know that we're not scouting for nothing. There's something out there, and it is corruption. Therefore, I will not utilize anyone who is unwilling. I also can't take all of you, this is, after all, a stealth mission. If you're willing to scout and you're willing to fight, step forward now." Nalia was racing forward before Rider could get the words out of her mouth entirely. The Magus Sisters wilted a bit, and vanished in blooms of darkness, exhausted. Meepitzilla started to lumber forward, but Rider stopped him. "This is a stealth mission, 'zilla. I'm sorry." About a dozen other Meepits stepped forward. Sephi seemed torn. The gentle, peace-loving Meepit cradled his tiny acoustic guitar, his eyes darting from Nalia's face to the ever-increasing number of portals leading out. Nalia wouldn't care if he stayed or went. She wouldn't even notice. But all the same. She was a reckless beauty. With a sigh, Sephi slung his guitar over his back and stepped forward. PFA((near Weewoo))"Well, to sum it up, a little pirate brat held one of my squirrels captive, the Weewoo is alive and Hunty's too afraid to fight me without it," Cyborg explained. As soon as he finished, as if to back up the statement, the ship's hatchboards started to open, revealing a row of cannons. "...Well," Jernath grimaced, staring at the cannons which were far too close for comfort. "We certainly get ourselves into a lot of messes, don't we?" Now what? was his immediate thought. There certainly was no easy way to fight when there were cannons pointed straight at you. Especially not when the cannons were between you and your opponents. And especially not when you were too injured to do any complex maneuvers. "I don't suppose there's any way we can reason with them, is there?" Jernath asked Cyborg, with a lack of better ideas. "I mean, you are a pirate, right?” SpeckPoseiden's Trident! I must've zoned out there, Speck thought. The great Blarf had arrived alongside the ship. She hadn't noticed before how much the White Weewoo's appearance had changed. Now that the sun was beginning to rise, it gave light to its demonic image. The Blarf leveled its head to the height of the deck. Speck hopped off, petting the kracken on its snout to thank it. Its voice rumbled, and it laid down next to the ship. "Orders, Cap'n?" Speck walked up to Huntress. Hopefully, the pirate could go back to her hammock and rest a bit. She knew a war was brewing... but she was dead tired. It didn't matter that the Possessor had rejuvenated her energy. She didn't particularly feel much like doing anything right now after all the excitement earlier. And she was plum tired of running through the forests of Dunburrow. Omni((Mage Manor, kitchen)) Omni made a slight nod of acknowledgment. "Yeah, I have a hard time sleeping on an empty stomach," she said as she pulled out a small glass. "Sometimes I'll eat a piece of bread or something before brushing my teeth, just to keep my stomach quiet." She reached into the refrigerator, pulled out a carton of milk, and proceeded to fill the glass. Kat((The Weewoo)) "Like I said, if you need any help in navigation, you've got me, Cap'n," said Kat. "I can send out a temporary magical familiar before me to scout and send a warning, but like I said, it can't last long. If we get attacked - that is, if - I'll be on offensive and defensive." She paused, and then added, "I'm glad you didn't blow me and Ikkin up.” Rikku((Mage Manor – Kitchen)) Rikku pulled the rags off her wrist. To her relief, the potion seemed to have done its work; all that was left of the cut was a thin red line. She tossed the cloths into the sink to deal with later, and, on a thought, pulled her bandanna away from her eye. The potion would probably have stopped it being so hideously bloodshot. Drakhé held his hand forwards. On it was a few strawberries and a pear. "Here," he said, offering them. Rikku blinked, a little surprised. “I didn’t actually expect you to … I mean, it’s winter, and …” She glanced towards the fruit boxes. “Ha. Gotta love magic, huh? Thanks …” She took them carefully, avoiding touching his skin, though she wasn’t quite sure why. The shape shifter seemed to be shivering. Maybe she just didn’t want to embarrass him in front of those annoying and nondescript mages. Yeah. That was it. “Thanks,” she said again, then winced inwardly at the repetition and put two of the strawberries in her mouth in quick succession to avoid further blunders. They were quite tasty; soft, juicy, and bursting with the taste of long days of sunlight and blue skies. Omni was there, too. Rikku didn’t notice the flame-coloured Zafara until she said, "Getting an early morning snack?"“Ghi, fomly,” Rikku said. She winced, swallowed, and then amended, “I mean, Hi, Omni.” Omni chatted a little, pouring herself a glass of milk. Rikku smiled and nodded, taking a bite of her pear. The sweet juice dribbled down her chin, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. “Waitasec … I think I’m forgetting something.” Rikku frowned and cocked her head on one side. “It was … important …” Her eyes widened suddenly. “Ah! Spacefleet!” She debated the wisdom of banging her head against the desk, finally deciding against it. “Hey, Drakhé. Remember that clearing? With the corpses? Well, I have an idea about who killed them. It was made to look as though it were demons, but … last night, I had a really piercing headache, based right behind my eye.” She gestured. “And just before I went to bed, I looked in the mirror … and the reflection, briefly, showed two people who had been invisible before. They were making adjustments to a headset that had a needle driving right into my head! They were experimenting on me, I think. And I don’t know why, or if they did it to anyone else, but … the technology was advanced, really advanced. And earlier on, I saw a … ship, I think, all shiny metal. And the people who it belonged to were real secretive. Said they were called Spacefleet, but that they had to remain a secret, and, well, that just seemed pretty suspicious to me, so I figured …” She gave a helpless shrug. “And I wanted to tell Ikkin or Kat or someone else important, but they don’t seem to be here right now. So I don’t know what to do …” Kwoiffei“I didn’t actually expect you to … I mean, it’s winter, and … Ha. Gotta love magic, huh? Thanks …”Much to his relief, Rikku took the fruit he'd brought her. He couldn't help but smile. While Omni was talking and getting herself a glass of milk, Drakhé had shifted the pears into his hands, and resumed his devouring them. If one could compare this pair's table manners, then the dragon was clearly the sore loser; he was chomping, and aside from trickling down in multiple currents, the pear juice smeared his muzzle. Okay, so he'd always been a tad sloppy... but yesterday he had only eaten an apple. If he could just find them, he'd be capable of eating twelve entire watermelons. Fortunately he had just finished off another pear when Rikku spoke - first to herself, and then to him. That space-thing again?He - and maybe the nondescript mages as well, unlikely as it might have been (says reality) - listened to what she had to say. Drakhé winced loudly when hearing of the needle in Rikku's head, and for a moment wondered if it would have touched her brain. He reached and touched the back of his head... nothing unusual, thankfully. Advanced technology? Ships of flying metal?... Introduced themselves but wanted to be secret...
Wouldn't magic make a metal ship fly?For a handful of seconds he was quiet, obviously trying to take it all in. It was not an easy feat for one as naive as him... "W-why d-don't you ask a-around?" Ikkin"Okay...well, Cap'n, what's next for us, now that we've blown up the castle?"Kat asked the question that Ikkin had been thinking. Except that Ikkin was also wondering whether Hunty even had a plan. A surprisingly nice look flashed in the captain's eyes. "Well, in all honesty, I would've planned going to war with my brand new ship to wipe all knights out of Dunburrow altogether. Heavens know I have plenty of reason to wish that, given what the knights have done to us - and pirates in general - in the past. But I can't do that to you and Ikkin, can I now? I was just planning to take a hike, sail away, and let these people sort out their own skirmishes. But we can't leave now. Which is why," she said, raising her voice, "which is why I want someone to scout the area and find out who else is around here. In the castle, in the woods, in the air, the whole shabang. Except that I'd rather not have anyone killed or wounded, so if anyone has ideas about magical cover or stealthy moving or anything of the sort, do speak now. These are things I can't decide on my own."Well, that was rather problematic, Ikkin thought. She rather wished that they could just fly away now so she wouldn't end up having to fight her fellow Knights, who were almost certainly angry about the castle being bombed. And scouting missions were boring and not at all the kind of piratey adventure she'd hoped the Cap'n would send her on when this all started. Before she could say anything, though, Sev spoke up. "I can tell you one thing, without needing any scouts at all. There are people in the castle that shouldn't be there, and their energy feels bizarre and non-magical. If there's anyone around that we need to worry about, it's them." Invaders, in the castle? Ikkin thought. I can't let them get away with that. Not after letting Hunty do what she did."Forget stealth," Ikkin said, summoning the wind around her to rise up in the air. "I'm going to fight them, Cap'n. I'm a Knight, too. I hope you understand. Besides, they're dangerous anyway. We'd be better off taking them out regardless of what a scouting mission would show. And it's not like we'd likely get much useful information; we're pirates. They'd probably notice us no matter how much we tried to be secretive. So I'm going to fight. "I would appreciate some backup, though," she said, taking off towards the castle. "I'll stay here and protect the ship, so you don't have to worry about that," Sev said. "I need to stay where it's quiet anyway so I can work on reviving everyone before sunrise. It's much harder when they're not nearby." Huntress((The Weewoo)) Hunty turned around with a scowl, watching Surf board the ship, and not a moment too soon: the mist thickened around the mage. "Let her in, she's okay," she said. The ship seemed hesitant, but then loosened up. Nonetheless, a pool of black shadows remained twisting around Surf's feet at a certain distance, ready to take action. The ship had been a pirate ship for years, she wasn't about to trust strangers. The captain grimaced, half happy, half hesitant, as Speck rode in on the kraken. "Welcome back aboard, sailor. You look like you've been through some interesting things... care to share?" She nodded at Kat with a smile, thankful that the mage was taking things lightly, then spun around as Ikkin took off. The blarf raised his huge head and perked his ears, watching the kitsune float. He rather liked floating things, they were fun to play with. When the kraken was going through bouts of boredom, seagulls learned to avoid the ship. "Intruders, eh?" Hunty frowned, then glanced at the blarf. The big creature was no lapdog, but he was a living thing nonetheless, even if his rubbery skin could resist a lot. And now he was sitting there in the open, granted, next to a protective row of carronades, but still way too vulnerable for the captain's liking. "You, boy!" The kraken's attention turned from Ikkin to Hunty. "Go with Ikkin," Hunty said, glancing back and forth between the blarf and the castle gates, trying to make sure he'd fit in through the doors. He probably will, she decided. "Keep an eye out and be careful. Remember: food." "Foooooood," the kraken howled happily. In his world, everything that moved qualified as food, and the pirates had made sure to use it for their advantage. "Kat, you're free to go along," Hunty said. "Actually I'd like as much protection as possible... either for the blarf or for the scouts, however you wish to look at it, but the more of you go along, the happier I'll be." "You might as well go along yourself," Bloody Mary remarked. "What use will you be just sitting here?" "I need to keep an eye on things. And on the ship. But you can go along if you wish." "I need to keep an eye on you," grunted the meepit, then paused to think. "But matter-o-fact, I think I will. Want me to go paint my face blue and shout some encouraging one-liners to spice things up?" Hunty grinned. "Your face is already blue." "Goodie, saves me a few minutes." The meepit bounced off the ship and disappeared somewhere into the vicinity of the kraken's right ear. "Okay then, boys, let's move out, hup-hup!" The kraken got up and shook himself. Vyt((Afterlife)) "... This is horrible." Vyt watched as the scene at the White Weewoo unfolded. Everyone he thought were wise had finally decided to attack everyone they wished to conquer, including the magnificent Hunty and Ikkin. Never had he seen such hatred and blind rage from his former friends, and anger was rapidly accumulating from his own side as well. Seems I really have more wisdom at my side compared to these idiots, he thought. Trying to breathe out his own anger, Vyt did his best to exclude himself from the people he was viewing, but was rather caught by surprise when he saw PFA aboard, sleeping away from the whole mess. As a father, he could watch no longer. He knew he had to act. "For great justice," he proclaimed. Vyt then remembered the morning after he conceived with a woman, the very first in his whole life. He had received numerous mumbles from her about their incoming child being granted "powers incomparable to Yin and Yang combined," and that she was so scared about her own child that after she gave birth, she deliberately left him with his child. That child grew up to be PFA, but Vyt had then ignored her mother's warning since he had seen nothing unusual from their child. Now, Vyt had to put PFA to a test. If there was something Vyt had not done at PFA, it was reading out her mind. He was planning more, however. He was hoping she actually had some sort of ability to communicate with anyone in her dreams. Immediately, Vyt changed his view from the pirates towards the sleeping PFA and channelled the energy within him, tapping her dream world in hopes of finding her subconsciousness within. As soon as Vyt was inside PFA's mind, he started to shout her name consistently, hoping she'd hear him. CelestialThe mage thought he was a minion! Overlord found that quite funny for some strange reason. He was more than just a minion, he and Celestial shared minds and even lives. In a way, they were one.
Before he could explain that to the mage, she began decending towards Celestial. He chirruped happily at being with his mistress in some way at least. As soon as they were close enough to the ground, he glided off her shoulder and not noticing that the landing didn't have a positive effect on the mage. He waddled over to Celestial and weewooed quietly in her ear, encouraging the healing magic to work quicker. He then turned to the mage and whispered to her mind.
"When she wakes, ask her about the reviva.l" PFA((White Weewoo: Rider's hammock))PFA was in the Training Room, throwing kunai at targets, like she liked to do. Except this time, the targets were angry.
"We've had far too many weapons thrown at us!" one of the targets exclaimed. "It's time for you humans to taste your own medicine!"
PFA ducked as the targets threw a wave of kunai at her. She gritted her teeth, reaching for her katana, when suddenly Vyt appeared next to her and started calling her name.
"Father! Get down!" PFA yelped, furiously making gestures for him to duck to the ground. "The targets are attacking!"
PFA's subconscious didn't realize that Vyt had come from beyond the grave to talk to her. She had just taken him as a part of her dream. SurfTo Surf's surprise, the mist that was surrounding the ship began to encase her in a suffocating cloud. Surf gasped for air, but the mist prevented her breathing. To her relief, Huntress turned to her with a scowl, and ordered the mist to free her. But, when the mage glanced down, she noticed that it was still swirling around her feet. As she stood, listening to orders being issued, her mind raced. She had a growing suspicion that the pirates had attacked the Knights, and she disapproved of the potential harm to innocent people. But, on the other side, that mist was dangerous, and if she got on the pirates' bad side...Well, she didn't want to imagine that. Surf came to a decision: she would side with the pirates for now, and see how it played out. "I would appreciate some backup, though," finished Ikkin, and began to head towards the castle. "If I could be of any help, Huntress..." The mage trailed off. Choosing her words carefully, she continued, "I know I am not one of the pirates, but I am loyal to Ikkin, and as long as her loyalties lie with you, so do mine." Vyt((Afterlife)) Vyt was caught by surprise when a very furious PFA immediately told him to duck from whatever was getting her so excited. Obviously, she took him as part of her dream. While the former half-feline liked the idea of playing with her for awhile, he knew they both had no time for such petty games. Vyt waved his right hand in a circular motion, showing PFA that the targets were just an illusion of her desires. "PFA... I've come from the afterlife to warn you. You've pledged allegiance not to a friend, but rather a fiend who only desires to get what she only wished. Do not be misjudged by her supposed friendship to you; you've just been used." Finding no better time, Vyt went near PFA's subconciousness and shook it with his ethereal arms, hoping she'd come to her own senses. "Now is the time the real PFA blooms. You must realize that you have the hidden power to stop this madness..." he proclaimed. Vyt had no better words to describe the large burden he had inflicted upon his own daughter, but he knew better that she was one of those, if not the only, who can prevent the incoming catastrophe. Vyt's body started to disappear from PFA's dream world, hinting Vyt that he needed to hurry. "Wake up, PFA. This is not the time to let things flow by. You have the power to control the fate of NTWF!" he bade. * * * ((Near the White Weewoo)) Cat Assassin could already see the White Weewoo from way up. He was itching to put down those who were causing trouble with NTWF. The feline found no better time to do that except now. ZariZari shrugged. 'No. I don't. I know someone, but I'd rather she not know I'm here, because she'd kick up a fuss and demand answers and blah. Apart from our friend in there. I'm not sure if she knows her way around either.' she pushed back her empathy, then winced as her barrier crached, letting a thin trickle of other people's emotions into her subconscious. Tension. Yep. Normal, Check. Anger, normal, check. Uhm...total bliss? Not check. I'll have have to look into that later. Nervousness. Check. Owch? Normal. Okay, all good except for the happy. She cleared her throat and laid a hand on the doorhandle. 'Ethan. 'Clops. We needa find Leoness soon. No more time to waste.' a weak chuckle. She hadn't slept in a while, and it showed. She need 11 hours sleep a night, and this wasn't exactly the best of situations to be in when your tired. ((Believe it or not, my brain actually does work a bit like that. I walk into a room, and check things in it off. Normal, Normal, moved a lil, Not normal, so no check. Silly Zari.)) Kat((Weewoo! And then in front of Mage Manor)) "In that case, I think I'll go with Ikkin; she did ask for reinforcements. Of course, you're free to call me back if need be." Kat looked down at her feet. Extending her wand again, she took a deep breath and whispered a few words to herself. The area she was standing on flared with bright violet light, and in no time at all she began to hover a few feet over the deck, buoyed by what looked like a shimmering, delicate platform. "I hate this spell, but it's the quickest one. Plus, creating wings out of magic is pretty cliché," she grumbled as she tailed Ikkin, clutching her staff like a brake. In a way, Kat looked as though she were riding a purple path that moved along with her, blazing a purple trail that would slowly fade in her wake. "Ikkin, wait up! I'm your backup!" * * * "No. I don't. I know someone, but I'd rather she not know I'm here, because she'd kick up a fuss and demand answers and blah. Apart from our friend in there. I'm not sure if she knows her way around either.""I see," Asthielle sighed. She thought for a moment, choosing her next question carefully. But once she had said it, she wondered if she had indeed picked the right one to ask. Dropping her voice, she whispered, "Do you know anyoned called Kalianne Triss?” AmneigerIn what was undoubtedly an act of foolishness on his part, Amneiger had wandered further in the direction of Mage Manor in the hope of seeing whatever had told Ethan that there was a time warp going on. He had, however, taken the precaution of having a minitank travel in front of him to check for hazards. When it suddenly stopped, Amneiger stopped and looked about. They were approaching the edge of the forest and he could see Mage Manor through the trees. Simply seeing a building in the distance wouldn't have caused the minitank to stop, however. Amneiger opened his laptop and held it in one arm. "Show me." The image changed to that of the tank's camera. First it focused on Zari and Ethan standing at the front door of the Manor; they seemed to be talking to somebody. Then the view panned to the side to focus on a blond-haired girl, who appeared to be the one Zari and Ethan were talking too. Amneiger got out the radio, then put it back. He'd better let the other two finish talking before interrupting them. For the moment he held his position in the trees. RiderRider came to the deck and found out that the stealth mission was off. Blast, all that time writing a dramatic speech for nothing. She couldn't send the Meepits on a direct assault, not when her prime fighters were so tired. "Speck, glad to see you're alive and well, but would you mind telling us what the frigate was going on back there?" She cleared her throat and put on a more concerned tone. "Seriously, are you hurt?" PFA((PFA's dream)) "PFA... I've come from the afterlife to warn you," Father said. PFA was confused now. That wasn't the kind of thing that people in her dreams would usually say. The Training Room around PFA faded away as Vyt continued to speak; her subconscious started to think that this was more than just a dream, and it didn't want the dreamworld to get in the way of this message. "You've pledged allegiance not to a friend, but rather a fiend who only desires to get what she only wished," he went on. "Do not be misjudged by her supposed friendship to you; you've just been used.""Used?" PFA blinked, standing up. It was then that Vyt grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her, a motion that felt a little too real to be a dream. "Now is the time the real PFA blooms. You must realize that you have the hidden power to stop this madness..." Father continued. "Wake up, PFA. This is not the time to let things flow by. You have the power to control the fate of NTWF!""...What are you talking about?" was the only thing PFA could say. This was certainly a very new experience for her. The superiors had always told her that she needed more training, that she wasn't yet good enough for the important missions... and now she was suddenly being told that she could change fate. She didn't know whether to believe this or not. After all, she was still dreaming. HuntressHunty gave Surf a sideways glance. "I know I am not one of the pirates, but I am loyal to Ikkin, and as long as her loyalties lie with you, so do mine."Indirect loyalties. She'd never liked those, and for a reason: while she had complete trust in her boatswain, she couldn't place trust in the same people her boatswain placed trust in. It was like an explosion - the farther you get from the epicentre, the weaker the effect. But she was well aware that she wouldn't have any authority over the mage, and keeping her on the ship didn't make much sense to her either, they weren't an inn or anything. "You're free to go wherever you want," she said. "If you wish to side with us, then welcome aboard. You can count on full protection of everyone in the group as long as you don't work against us - you hear that, boy? Not food." "Blarf," said the blarf, who was looking in over the railing, the first pair of front paws leaned against the hull. "But if you choose to turn against us," the captain continued, "you're food. Hear that too, boy?" "Blaaarf." There was a distant sound similar to multiple catapults being released one after another. The blarf was wagging his tail. "Nice. Do get going then." Hunty looked at Surf again. "Nothing personal there, but y'see, we're pirates. If we trusted everyone without precautionary measures, we'd be dead pirates, and we don't like that." Bloody Mary looked up from his thick fuzzy nest. "And what're you planning to do on your lovely safe ship while we're out there risking our heads?" Hunty went over to Leraye's couch and popped down. "I'm planning to have a nap before I fall over. Good luck, gentlemen, and try not to get killed." The meepit snorted and prodded his spiky steed's ear: "Move it then. Up and away, to those gates there." 'Those gates' were firmly shut, but they were shut against a ship-sized monster with three rows of shark-fangs. Bloody Mary watched with a scowl as the beast wrestled with the door. "Come on now, just grab that big ring and pull... no, pull...! Or just, youknow, do what humans do and stick a claw in it, then pull. Don't bite the ring, it won't help. Or the knocker...! Or, well... aw man, not like that, it's good oak, have some respect, you don't see woodwork like that any more these days... eh, guess that works as well as anything else." The doors, covered with saliva and fangmarks, slid open. The beast slid in. *** Her name was Delinda. She'd grown up in a small picturesque village not far from the castle, and she'd spent many a clear night sitting on her window looking at the castle and dreaming that she was really a princess who'd been kidnapped at an early age, and one day heralds would come to take her back to the castle to a life where she'd never have to milk cows again. Then she grew up, and came to the castle. Unfortunately, while a maid's life didn't involve much cow-milking, it did involve quite a bit of dust, spiders, greasy dishes, and dirty underwear. Not that she complained. It was a nice, steady job, and she got a new dress every Christmas. A maid's life didn't usually involve getting blown out of bed due to a distant explosion that shook the entire wing she slept in, though, so while the other servants were clustering on doorsteps, whispering nervously and arguing whether or not they should go outside to see, Delinda was sneaking downstairs in the meantime, armed with a poker. She'd recently read a book titled 'The Amazing Adventures of a Young Farmboy Who Becomes a Mighty Hero'* and had become really attached to the idea of a self-confident female warrior. Not to mention the explosion had really shaken her, pun not intended, and she knew that the castle's pantry still had some chocolate cake left. And nothing like some chocolate cake to calm your poor nerves, right? She turned around the corner, and ran pretty much straight into the blarf whose big figure occupied the whole hallway. Despite popular belief - stemmed from the fact that the blarf had tiny eyes hidden under thick fur - the creature had excellent night vision (stemmed from the fact that his species had lived in an underground temple for centuries). He perked his ears, focusing his glance on the petrified maid, then lowered his head to sniff her. "Oh, a maid?" asked a low, coarse, surprisingly small-sounding voice somewhere around the blarf's head. "Hey, how do you keep this castle anyway? It's pitch-black in here, really, I thought a big castle would have torches flaming inside day and night and all that jazz." "I-I don't..." stammered Delinda, too scared to run or at least try that fancy jump-swirl-kick with the poker that'd been described so thoroughly in the book. "Not that I care, it'd probably just set the blarf's fur in fire," the voice continued, "and you don't wanna see him attempt a stop-drop-roll in here, trust me, but still, I thought this place would be a little more, yanno, lively and all." "Blarp," said another voice, this time from the creature's mouth. Big, smelly, fang-ridden mouth. Delinda dropped the poker, turned around, and ran, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Maids these days," said Bloody Mary. "Now where's the rest of that gang?" * The people of Dunburrow, while rather liking that whole idea of belletrism and high-class literature, also liked the idea of leaving that to scholars and dusty libraries. The average commoner, being a simple and straightforward farmer, much preferred simple and straightforward books you could read without having to strain too many braincells and use as toilet paper later if you didn't like it. And here you wondered why people like Paolini do so well. Which also goes to show that letting Hunty devour Pratchett's books in one sitting instead of doing homework is generally a bad idea, but that's how the universe tends to work in these parts of the world :] IkkinIkkin was almost halfway to the castle when she heard Kat call out behind her. "Ikkin, wait up! I'm your backup!" Kat said, surfing on a purple platform like something out of a superhero comic. "Glad to see you could make it," Ikkin said with a grin. "I was thinking I'd have to take care of those intruders myself." She then noticed something else which had been following behind her - the blarf, which moved a lot faster on land than she'd really expected it too. "Ah, I see you brought the Blarf, too. The more the merrier, I say." She concentrated on the energy signatures of the intruders as she continued on towards the castle. They had clearly been there for some time; they seemed to have taken the throne room now. She flew on faster - how dare they use the poison as an excuse to take the castle? The intruders would pay for that. And, she thought to herself bitterly, they'll pay double, because I couldn't protect the castle before.Ikkin didn't waste any time getting into the castle, but before she could open the doors, the Blarf seemed to try to do it himself. She wasn't exactly sure how it was possible, but he somehow managed to get the doors open. She flew in as soon as they were open enough, and headed straight to the throne room. When she got there, she found a rather unexpected scene. A very-powerful someone in a kind of futuristic-looking armor was threatening a knight who Ikkin didn't recognize as part of the Knights Guild, while several clearly-lower-ranked intruders looked on. Ikkin assumed the threatener was the leader of the group, due to his power. With the lower-ranked bald space marines was another, who felt more powerful than them. Oddly enough, there was one less person in the room than Ikkin thought there should be. She made a note to keep a lookout for hidden enemies. In any case, the leader seemed to be otherwise engaged, and Ikkin would much rather lessen the odds against her and her allies as quickly as she could. "Get out of our castle!" she called out, drawing her sword out of her sheath and creating an extremely high-pressured blast of wind along the length of it which she threw out in the direction of the weakest of the group. She followed it immediately with a fireball aimed right over the head of the higher-up in that group, aiming to set his hair on fire. It was at that point that the blarf finally burst in, with a loud cry of "FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" He immediately set upon one of the lowest-ranking invaders, gobbling him up on the spot. Then, having apparently eaten too quickly, he let out a humongous "BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!" Knowing what was coming, Ikkin created a sphere of fresh air around herself to block out the awful stench. The Blarf's breath was bad enough normally; she did not want to know what his burps smelled like. Celestial((Celestial'sDreams))She was flying but it wasn't like any flight she had ever experienced. It was too dark for it to be real, even in space there would have been stars and planets to light her way. This was the legend of draconic teleportation in full force as just as described in the old records of her order which have survived. But it was over in a flash. She was standing in a metallic corridor near a window which looked over the craters of... a moon? She reeled back from the view dazed. This wasn't real, it was only a dream only a dream. There was no such thing and yet, the metallic glint on the moon was there when she looked up at it. Celestial shuddered with the realisation of what this could possibly mean for the whole of the NTWF. The mention of Spacefleet yesterday when she was with Rikku and Surf. This was Spacefleet's HQ. It couldn't be anything else. She placed each step carefully not knowing what security measures they might have installed. When your HQ is located on the moon, you could bet that these people didn't want anybody else to find them. Celestial hoped it was all just a dream and she hadn't accidentally used the ability and achieving the impossible. No dragon mage could do so unless they were fully in control of the dragon powers. She had disbanded them aboard the ship. The corridors echoed with strange hissing noises and the metallic smell was always there, Celestial wondered how the 'Fleeters could tolerate it. A door was in front of her. She put her hand to the door and- ((Near Castle Kestrel)) Awoke in the meadow near Castle Kestrel. At first Celestial was thankful it was only a dream but curiousity slowly crept over her. Why did she see what she had never really seen? Was she meant to go there? But her wing...didn't hurt anymore. The healing magic had done it's job well, there was no uncomfortable loose skin or any trace of infection. She sat up to see Bluisa and Overlord near her. Celestial turned to them both and smiled. "The sleeper has awakened" she said, a quote with a double meaning appropriate for the situation she was now in.
The Invisible Guild ((Castle Kestrel – Hallway)) "Tell me who you're really working for and why they know of Spacefleet. My weapon is mighty thirsty, and you have five seconds before she drinks from your blood." Tigereye winced. The Commander’s weapon pushed into his head so hard that he wondered whether it would be sufficient to drive through his skull without even being fired. He forced himself into icy calm.
“The name Peacekeepers doesn’t really do us justice,” he said swiftly, trying to stick to the original plan as much as he could. “That was our original purpose. Similar to yours … Commander. This meant we needed knowledge of all seven Guilds, even the unknown ones – you, the Mercenaries, and us. You can’t keep the peace if you don’t know whom you’re protecting.
“But we deviated from that purpose a little, I think. The Guilds are at each other’s throat. They’re a bunch of idiotic savages with no knowledge of civilization! My Guild’s out for ourselves now, and Spacefleet is as strong as us.” Possibly stronger, but no need to add that. “So an allian –”
At that point a kitsune burst into the room, sword drawn. She immediately threw a fireball at The Commander. Tigereye tried to struggle out from under him, knowing that this probably wasn’t the best place to be right now. He wished Sickle and the others were here … they were waiting only a few corridors away, and would surely come as soon as they heard the chaos.((Forest – by the ships)) Marzia swiftly ran his fingers over the controls, eyes closed, and felt it all coming back. In his day he had been as good a pilot as any. This would be almost too easy.
He activated the engines, but kept the ship where it was until the defensive shields activated. Then he waited for a few more seconds, knowing that the gaggle of people he’d seen would probably have got into their own ships, and that by now a large amount of vicious weapons would be trained on him. And he wasn’t sure what kind of weapons the dropship had, if any. So that left skillful maneuvering. Dropships just weren’t made for that kind of thing. This might be harder than he thought.
He rose the ship up a little, let it hover, before plowing it nose-first into the forest. It wasn’t going fast enough to snap the trees, and it seemed as though an inexperienced pilot had just entangled his ship.
Then he reversed it, hard enough to shoot backwards, and then charged at the trees again, this time skimming just over them, low enough to rustle the leave. This chunk of metal had better have good shields.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:10:08 GMT -5
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
The Commander listened intently to the knight's explanation, while still holding his gun firmly against his head. The knight described how he was a member of a secret, seventh guild of "peacemakers," who had a duty to protect the world of NTWF. Very similar to Spacefleet's primary mission, he figured.
“But we deviated from that purpose a little, I think. The Guilds are at each other’s throat. They’re a bunch of idiotic savages with no knowledge of civilization! My Guild’s out for ourselves now, and Spacefleet is as strong as us."
The Commander chuckled on the inside. He was certainly right about that. He lifted his free hand and scratched his chin with it, pondering to himself. Would an alliance with this hidden guild truly be beneficial?
He didn't have time to think it over, though, as he heard the cry of another knight from the other side of the room. "Get out of our castle!" the knight shouted angrily, her voice distinctly female. It was Ikkin, the kitsune that Leoness had encountered in Mage Manor earlier.
The marines behind The Commander immediately aimed their laser rifles at Ikkin, but before they could fire, she drew her sword out of its sheath and summoned a strong, concentrated blast of wind towards them. The majority of them fell hard to the ground, and three of them slammed against the wall. One unfortunate marine took the full force of the blast and soared clear across the room, and was seperated from the rest of the group.
Surly then saw Ikkin launch a fireball straight at him. Having no time to think of anything else, he ducked down. He felt the heat of the fireball as it soared over his head, and it headed straight for The Commander. Before it made contact though, The Commander's heat shield flickered on, and his body was briefly surrounded by an orange field of energy as the shield completely absorbed the fireball. It didn't even faze him.
The Commander released his grip from the Invisible Guild member and stood up. Then, time seemed to slow down dramatically as he turned around and locked eyes with Ikkin, glaring at her with his infamously malevolent gaze. It was a look that sent chills down the spine, much like taking a knife out of the freezer and jabbing it into your back.
He would have started walking towards her, but at that point, a giant monster burst into the room. By the looks of it, it was some kind of sea creature with a giant mouth of menacingly sharp teeth. "FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" it cried in an almost deafening voice and slinked its way towards the lone marine on the other side of the room.
The marine tried to stand up, but because of his panic, he stumbled and fell down again. Sitting on the ground, he fired his rifle at the monster. He had no idea what kind of damage it did to the beast, though, as his body was quickly surrounded by sharp teeth. He screamed to the top of his lungs while firing his laser rifle continuously at the roof of the monster's mouth, but it was all in vain as he was swallowed whole.
Once the marine's body had fallen to the creature's stomach, it let out a massive burp. Ikkin shielded herself from the awful smell with a cloud of fresh air. The marines, who were still lifting themselves from the ground, began to cough and gag as the odor entered their noses.
The Commander did nothing to shield himself from the stench, but his lifetime experience in space had taught him to tolerate all sorts of wierd smells. Aside from that, he knew he could use this opportunity to make the first strike, so he forced himself to bear it.
"An interesting bag of tricks," said The Commander, glancing at Ikkin. "I think i'll take them."
The Commander aimed his Leech at Ikkin, and her body was immediately covered in bright green scanlines. Unlike the weapons he had previously scanned, Ikkin's body was a lot more complex than a simple man-made tool, and because of this, the scan took much longer.
In the meantime, the rest of the marines had finally lifted themselves from the ground, and opened fire at the giant sea monster. The throne room was filled with flashes of light as a swarm of red lasers soared towards the creature.
Vyt
((PFA's dreams))
Vyt knew he caught PFA in surprise. Telling such words to someone who had just went past their puberty can make them stunned to life. He himself would not even believe that PFA really had such kind of power hidden inside to change the course of fate. However, desperation and justice was with him all the time, keeping a constant reminder that doubt would only kill their chance of liberty.
As much as Vyt wanted to explain further, his body had almost disintegrated to about half of it. Afterlife never really permits anyone in it to meddle with the lives of the living, and he just passed through that border. Still, the former half-feline risked being stuck between the living world and the afterlife to warn someone of the upcoming destiny of NTWF, and that they can steer it away from catastrophe.
"Look deep into your heart, PFA..." Vyt said, his voice slowly vanishing as well. "... and unleash the power you've always had inside..."
With that, Vyt let out a wild scream as he vanished from PFA's dream world.
((Near Castle Kestrel))
Her wound magically healed, Celestial started to wake up. "The sleeper has awakened," she spoke upon awakening, forcing Bluisa to be baffled for a moment. The dragoness sat up to show that she really was wide awake now.
Bluisa reached her hand towards Celestial in a modest gesture, offering her some help in standing up. "Indeed, the sleeper has," the mage smiled, half-ignoring what the dragoness had said. She really did not have any thought that her statement meant something else.
"Cat Assassin's already on his way to the ship," Bluisa noted Celestial, keeping her on the current events. With that, she pulled out her crystal ball, which she had forgotten to give to the ex-hitman. However, with the relatively long time that had passed, she knew he was very close to the ship that he needed no help from the ball. "If I'm not mistaken, he's probably facing the pirates..." she continued worriedly.
Omni
((Mage Manor, front door))
"Do you know anyone called Kalianne Triss?" the woman whispered.
"I don't know anyone here, except for our charge. I don't know anyone by that name either."
"Ethan. 'Clops. We needa find Leoness soon. No more time to waste."
"Agreed," Ethan said, turning back to the door and using the knocker to knock, three times. "…Do you think we should just open the door?" he asked, thinking of how one might react when they opened the door to see shady figures in dark cloaks.
----------
((Mage Manor, kitchen))
Omni listened to Rikku talk about experiments and a needle in her head, thinking that maybe that was why she had a bandana covering half her face. "How's your head doing?" she asked. "Maybe I can heal it if it needs healing."
It was then a knocking noise echoed throughout the Manor. It was another thing the Manor's magic did, a knock at the door could be heard by everyone inside, unless they didn't want to be disturbed. "…Could someone get that, please?"
Huntress
((Castle Kestrel throne room))
The blarf licked his fangs, shaking his head as if trying to get rid of an unpleasant taste, then spat out a tuft of smoke, looked up, spotted the lasers, and curled up at once like an armadillo.
"You idiot!" Bloody Mary yelled, clinging to his ear as it dashed downwards, then realized that yelling was a bad idea when enemies were all around and switched to fierce muttering. "Don't curl up, don't curl up, don't curl up! Get up, now!"
The marines, albeit nervous, were shooting at a beast a good twelve feet high, so only a few of them missed. A number of laser blasts hit the blarf's back as he was unfolding himself and getting up.
The pirates had never managed to figure out just why the blarf's back was covered in a strange jagged jungle of steel plating and spikes (and tentacles and tiny little wings, which were even more of a question), especially seeing that his whole species looked like that, but it was. When the laser beams hit the spikes, they melted at once, turning into shapeless piles resembling half-burned wax candles.
The creature got up and raised his head, as much as someone his shape could raise his head. The majority of laser blasts hit his chest and front paws, or at least the thick fur around them.
It burned, yes, and he definitely didn't like the feeling, but if you're big as a hill and with thick rubbery skin that would probably withstand a lightning strike, you're able to shake it off. Especially if you have thick black fur on said skin, most of it still a little damp as he'd only climbed out of the sea some half an hour ago. The smell of singed hairs filled the throne room.
The blarf shook himself, nostrils twitching. Fire. He didn't like fire. He spent most of his time in the water these days, so he could deal with it easily, but right now he was out of the water and getting dryer by the minute.
And just to top that off, another few laserbeams hit the dryer parts of his fur and set them on fire.
"Hoahahah," did Bloody Mary, a somewhat sadistic grin sliding over his face. "I'm outta here. Remember, boy? Stop-drop-roll!"
While the meepit jumped off and skidded behind a chair, the kraken curled up once again, suffocating some of the flames around his chest with that. And rolled over the floor in the clatter of spikes, into the group of marines in front of him.
Some of the spikes on his back had melted, but he had plenty to spare.
Splat.
Bacon
((Forest - dropsite - Bacon's ship))
Bacon shook his head at the almost drunken-looking maneuvers the dropship had just done. This guy either has no experience, or hasn't flown in a very long time. As Bacon chased after the dropship above tree level, he turned the radio back on. Before Elvis could say 'hound dog' he switched from music to ship-to-ship communication.
"Lily, if you can hear this, switch to security channel 2." The Spacefleet secured radio channels required a password to access, and if the guy in the dropship didn't know how to fly very well, chances are he didn't know the password.
Staying on the open channel himself, Bacon addressed the mystery man. "Hey, you in the dropship, who are you, and what the ion-phase-coil do you think you're doing?"
___
((Forest - dropsite exterior))
The few Marines that stayed behind to try and open the dropship's door looked at the leaving ships with a feeling of failure. They could do nothing more here.
They turned and looked at the castle, then at the very scary flying pirate ship. All sighing at once, they went that direction, hoping they wouldn't miss out on too much action.
Keng
Keng, after a jog that was longer than she'd expected, arrived at the scene of the Whatever-it-was-being-called-at-the-time Weewoo and she very nearly lost her jaw. She stopped so abruptly at the sight of the ship once she cleared the tree-line that a few of the marines bumped into her. She hardly noticed the jostling, she was much to transfixed on the both sorry, impressive, and befuddling sight of her old ship.
Her first question was how in the NTWF it had made it this far in-land, (she'd sorta missed out on the flying thing). On further inspection she now saw barnacles where normally the ship was below water; it wasn't too bad, but Keng still thought it fell below her standards of cleanliness. And finally there was the burnt masts visible even from her distance. She'd heard there was a fire but...
Unable to wait any longer to get some answers her deer-in-headlights moment ended and she broke into a full sprint towards the ship. The marines followed closely behind her, their weapons out and at the ready as they always were. Now out of her trance she also began to notice other things as she rapidly closed the distance between herself and the ship, for one, the footprints of some large animal that lead to the sorry looking Castle Kestral Is that from what I think it's from? she asked herself in regards to the footprints. No time to dwell on this thought though as she spotted Cyborg and the mercenaries along with the trusty band of squirrles slewed about on the ground. Something wasn't right.
"Cyborg!" She called out, still a little way's off, not taking the time to notice that she and her band of marines looked suspiciously like a charging attack force.
Fraze
As soon as the Peacemaker began speaking once more, Fraze realized what he was doing: attempting to manipulate the Commander by playing to his weaknesses. Subtle flattery, attempting to show similarities between the Peacekeepers and Spacefleet...
He knew there was going to be a fight. He realized that this fight would probably involve Spacefleet-level weaponry--and he was painfully underarmed.
Fraze grimaced at what he had to do. He walked to a corner where no one seemed to be looking and, for the third time that day, he removed his Universal Box from its resting place in his shoulder. He knew he couldn't keep removing and replacing it at this rate--eventually, his skin would simply refuse to close over the box, and he would have to carry it at his side for however long it took for the skin to grow back. Half an hour with the right medical supplies, several weeks without them. "You can’t keep the peace if you don’t know whom you’re protecting..." He opened the lid and hopped in. He didn't know how much weaponry he would need. He figured he had enough flechette cartridges--he didn't like using that weapon unless he had to. He picked out a standard multi-purpose assault rifle, slightly more powerful than the Spacefleet-issue ones and more versatile. He grabbed several extra plasma cartridges and a few other more exotic forms of ammunition, all of which he clipped onto the handle and sides of the gun. Last, he picked out two regular golf ball-sized plasma grenades and--remembering how effectively Keng had used it--two flash-bangs.
He had barely climbed out of the box again when he heard a voice cry "Get out of our castle!" Fraze scrambled to close his Universal Box and return it to its resting place, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out. As he was doing so, he felt a strong wind and looked up to see one of the marines flying toward him. Forgetting the searing pain in his shoulder, he did his best to scurry out of the way. The dazed marine just missed him.
With yet another boom, the main doors to the castle were thrown open. Had the situation been different, Fraze might have laughed at the fact that they had gone a rather circuitious route to get to the main room when they could have just used those doors. However, the irony was interrupted by a large...long...furry...thing, with far too many teeth, that bellowed "FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" Heck of an entrance, Fraze thought. The creature lumbered in his direction--though a creature that size could lumber faster than most could run--and swallowed the marine who had nearly collided with Fraze. The creature's call for sustenance was soon finished by a sound of satisfaction. Being nearer to the thing than most of the others in the group, Fraze smelled the thing's belch first. Gagging, he switched on the oxygen recycling in his suit.
In the corner of his vision, Fraze saw the Commander do the same thing to the foxtailed mage's body that he had done to that merc's bow. Hmm, this ought to be interesting, he thought. He vaguely noticed his flechette gun shudder at the same time that the mage was being scanned.
The marines were now all focusing their attention on the creature that had just devoured one of their own. Fraze added a few of his own blasts, but nothing seemed to do much damage. The monster seemed uncertain about what to do for a while, then curled up and began to roll toward the group. Some of the marines scattered, others remained completely unaware. Fraze threw himself to the side, plowing into a few marines and knocking them out of the way. He didn't want to see how many were squished, and didn't care that a keen observer would now know that there was an invisible person in the room.
Cyborg
" Hey Keng!!!!!" Cybirg called out to his friend. " Awwww you're girlfriend's here." Midknight teased. " Shut up!" Cyborg yelled, " Keng you're just in time to see the pirates attacking the fleet. Oh bye the way the Weewoo's alive now!"
Rose
"Stop teasing him Midkinght, don't be so immature!," Rose said as she jogged up to the group. She stopped because she was blocked off by the squirrels."Hazel can you move so I can go talk to Cyborg and them?" Rose asked." Good to know your okay though! Cyborg whats going on?”
Cyborg
" Sure Rose!" Hazel said as she and the other squirrels cleared a path for Rose. " Basically a pirate brat wouldn't let the squirrels go, Hunty is too afraid to fight me without her ship which is now alive, the pirates attacked the fleet and now Keng's here so I'm expecting a fight, which would be interesting. See I want a little revenge on a few people in the pirates, like the meepits, Hunty, and Goosh." Cyborg declared to Rose.
Ikkin
Ikkin growled in annoyance as the fireball she'd intended for the sub-commander not only missed its target, but also ended up hitting against some sort of automatic shield that protected the leader of the group. So much for trying to keep him out of it while taking down the minions.
At least her attack on the underlings seemed to have worked out well enough; while they might not have been taken out instantly, they weren't in the best position to fight back after being thrown into the stone walls of the castle. It wasn't like Ikkin had intended to kill them, anyway.
Besides, she now had the leader to deal with. The blarf could probably take care of itself for now, and Kat would be along at any time now to help out.
For his part, the leader gave her a glare that seemed like it could kill a lesser man. Ikkin was neither lesser nor a man, however, and had faced things far more frightening than the angry glare of some random invader from the future, so she just glared right back at him.
Somehow, Ikkin's opponent managed to withstand the awful stench of the blarf's burp without blocking it out, and actually seemed to take the opportunity to go on the offensive. Not that it would do him any good, Ikkin thought. It wasn't like she would be affected so long as she kept herself shielded - and the shield would help against other kinds of attacks, too.
"An interesting bag of tricks," he said. "I think I'll take them."
Ikkin growled. Who did this guy think he was, trying to take her powers? She couldn't let that happen.
Fortunately, the method that he intended to use to do so seemed to be fairly obvious; green scan-lines and a pointed weapon weren't all too difficult to understand.
Ikkin sheathed her sword and created two pressure darts in her hands. Then, taking control of the air outside her bubble, Ikkin leaped towards her opponent, jumping high in the air to get out of reach of the weapon. At the apex of her jump, she flipped over and threw the pressure darts directly at the weapon, then twisted in the air so she would land facing her opponent - hopefully, behind him.
Speck
((Aboard the Weewoo))
Just as Speck was about to tell her story to the Captain, Huntress plopped down on a couch. Looks like the Cap’n is going to rest a bit. That doesn’t sound half bad, actually, she thought.
But before she could step in the direction of crew’s sleeping quarters, Rider interrupted her by essentially asking her the same question that Huntress had. She sagged her head in defeat briefly before talking to the ex-captain.
“I ran into some guy with metal armor and asked him for the gem. Actually, a shard of the gem, I think. He punched me with a rock-fist, I tried fighting back, was blocked by Keng, got shot with an arrow from nowhere. Um… What else… Oh, a fight between some mercenaries and the metal-man ensued, and I used the distraction of this fight to get the heck out of there…” Speck summarized all that she could, “I think that’s about it. Oh. And some unexplained force healed my wounds before I rode the blarf back here.”
“Dram shame that arrow got me. My coat’s ruined and I’ve no idea who to take it out on,” She fiddled with the bloodied hole in her coat, “Not that I would kill them over a hole in my coat… but it’s my favorite coat. Come to think of it, it’s my only coat.”
There were a few details that the lemon-weilding pirate was leaving out. While she trusted Rider a decent amount, she felt that some of her gathered information from the metal-man skirmish would be better suited for Captain Huntress’ ears. With a brief "excuse me" to Rider, Speck walked over to the couch that was on deck. She didn't question why it was there: she had seen stranger things. Her eyes glanced over to the gem and its current holder, and she was about to speak to the Captain, when an uncontrollable rage took hold of her.
“You!” It was too late; Speck wasn’t quick enough to pull the protective amulet out of her pocket and around her neck. The amulet clattered onto the deck of the ship. The voice had taken over once more.
The pirate lunged at Leraye’s throat, intent on choking him, “You dare show your face after trapping us all in that… that thing! What do you intend to do with these guilders, hm? Keep them in one of your alchemic experiments so that you can ‘keep the peace’?”
PFA
((PFA's dream))
"Look deep into your heart, PFA..." Father said, starting to fade away. "... and unleash the power you've always had inside..."
And then, he was gone. PFA blinked, trying to figure out how to interpret this. She looked at her hands, which looked completely normal. But she felt... there was something more. There had to be. The power I've always had...
Then, she started searching. Searcing, trying to find the power she was supposed to have. The power that could supposedly change the fate of the entire NTWF. She did not know what she was searching for, just that it was supposed to be there.
She felt a strange sensation, deep in her heart. Something she had never felt before. She concentrated on it, thinking this was perhaps the power that Father had spoken of.
PFA's hands began to glow. The left hand was a deep purple, while the right was a bright yellow. She looked up, seeing that she was back in the Training Room, and the targets were once again ready to attack her.
She thrusted her hands forward, toward the oncoming targets. A beam of light, swirling with purple and yellow, shot out. PFA had to close her eyes to shield them from the brightness. When she opened them again, the targets were gone.
...Did I do that?
((White Weewoo: Rider's room))
PFA's eyelids shot open. She was back in the pirate ship, still lying in a hammock. She was back to real life.
She sat up, taking a moment to ponder over her dream. She couldn't help but wonder... Was that really a message from Father?
After a moment, she climbed out of the hammock, and ran out of the room. If what Father was saying was true, then she needed to find out what was going on, and fast.
---
((near Weewoo))
"Hey Keng, Rose," Jernath said when Keng and Rose approached, but continued no further with that statement. He instead listened as Cyborg insisted he wanted revenge on the pirates, for what they did to the squirrels. Revenge. Well, I guess that means no reasoning with them...
Jernath took a step backwards, closer to one of the nearby trees. He very well knew he could climb the tree and start shooting arrows at the ship if he needed; that was the kind of thing he happened to be very good at. If a fight were to start, he'd be ready for it.
Zari
Zari squinted at Asthielle. 'Ehm.' For some reason the name rang familiar. Without warning, an image stamped itself over her retina's. Strife's face. Odd. Then a kitsune she didn't know. Even odder. 'The name sounds mildly familar. Though it doesn't help that it sounds like the name of my country's capital. Funny that.' She watched Ethan knock out of the corner of her eye, then sighed. 'Names aren't always what they seem, I guess. Sorry I couldn't help.' she kept her voice rueful, thankful that she was a good actor under pressure. It did come in useful sometimes.
--
((Castle Kestrel-- Throne room.))
Zari's head pracrically exploded. she'd lowered her barriers to stop her headache, when it restarted, other people's emotions throwing themselves around her skull. Yep. Something just broke there. she thought calmly as she began to run inside the Castle, desperately wanting it to stop, stop, stop, nowpleaseforskyfiressake.
She screeched to a halt, staring. Thankfully, the upside of your brain being broken was that it seemed virtually impossible to freak out. 'Hello, Ikkin. And company, of course.' She narrowed her eyes at the guy in the weird armour. Behind him was another person, this one made of some sorta silver stuff. Weird. But the last time she'd seen stuff like this, it'd been accompanied by the last thing she wanted right now
'You. Do you know a ZariKrahia Valnae Raldia ret Illhvren?' she sounded calm, although her slightly mad appearance said the complete opposite. The resemblance was pretty plain, although she was older, covered in a combination of dust and whatever else had been showered on her head by the ruined castle. The effect would have been highly amusing if she hadn't been clutching a longsword in one hand and a stave in the other.
((Yep, Ailura-Zari's brain went bang. As in, BANG.)
Kat
((Castle Kestrel, with Ikkin and the Blarfie))
Ikkin arrived first at the castle, as Kat was still getting the hang of the weird surfing spell. Maybe she should have gone with the flaming wings after all. With a sigh, she snapped her fingers and said several words that almost had her tongue-tied, and the ethereal platform disappeared under her feet. But before she could fall, bright purple wings of fire sprouted from her back, and they frantically flapped, keeping the mage in the air.
"Shoot, these are even harder to work!" Eventually Kat dived, staff in one hand and following Ikkin's magical signature.
The doors were open by the time she got there and ended her wing spell - whether it was the Blarf or Ikkin who did it, she had no time to wonder. Tracking the magic to the throne room, she darted there - in time to see Ikkin leap into the air like something out of an action movie and hurl pressure darts at what looked like the enemy. Plus, the Blarf was there too...and something reeked that almost made Kat's stomach rebel, but it was dissipating.
Speaking of the enemy...they didn't look like Knights at all. Or mages. Or anyone remotely familiar to her.
"Last I checked, this was our castle, so give it back!" Kat yelled. She swung her staff like a sword and created three purple fireballs that blazed towards some of the leader's minions - assuming that the leader was the one Ikkin was aiming for. Then, she saved one special attack for the leader - a jet of amethyst fire that sparkled and crackled with energy. Hopefully while he tried to block that, Ikkin could make her move.
* * *
((Outside Mage Manor))
"I don't know anyone here, except for our charge. I don't know anyone by that name either."
"The name sounds mildly familar. Though it doesn't help that it sounds like the name of my country's capital. Funny that.' She watched Ethan knock out of the corner of her eye, then sighed. 'Names aren't always what they seem, I guess. Sorry I couldn't help."
"I see," said Asthielle, sighing and shoving one hand into her pocket - a hand that was twitching with impatience. "Well, I highly doubt simply knocking will be of any help. This place has powers of its own. But yeah, you can always try, see if any good folk will open up for us.”
Huntress
((The Weewoo))
Hunty had already happily drifted off to sleep, when Speck's words drilled themselves into her brain. Mrm, well, that's pirate life for you, she thought absently. Dangers all over. Speck seemed fine for now, had to be if her biggest complaint was her coat, so she just leaned her head against Leraye's shoulder, caring zilch about his reaction, and went back to sleep.
For an entire minute, before Speck jumped on Leraye's throat, blazing with rage. Hunty was practically pushed off and shaken up, and Speck's voice, suddenly sounding all too different, smashed into her ears like a bucket of ice: “You dare show your face after trapping us all in that… that thing! What do you intend to do with these guilders, hm? Keep them in one of your alchemic experiments so that you can ‘keep the peace’?”
Wait, whut? part of her brain asked, while the captain-part, which was a considerably bigger part, took over at once.
"Alright, break it up!" she snapped, though not exactly to Speck. The command went to whom it really concerned, and the ship jerked into action.
It was going to do that anyway. It knew Speck, and it'd come to accept Speck, in its dark primitive 'was ninja, now ours' way. This person wasn't Speck. This one counted as an intruder.
The black mist moved in, wrapped itself around Speck's body, and quite literally tore her away, in a quick motion Hunty had already seen twice that day, with Bluisa and Cyborg.
"Stop right there!" she shouted, fully awake again. Can't a pirate get any decent sleep for one minute? The mist stopped, leaving Speck floating in it. "We don't want to break all the bones in her body, but that's what you'll do if you throw her off!"
Every atom of the mist begged to differ, seething furiously. It wanted to get rid of the intruder, and truth be told, Hunty wasn't all too sure how much she could control the ship. Her captainship mainly meant doing what the majority was okay with, and the ship was a very, very big majority.
"Well, keep her outside the board for the time being," she said a little more softly, and the mist shifted around obediently. The captain got up, stretched her back, yawned widely, then popped down again, stretching out her legs.
"Talk, both of you," she said. "Speck, what's the big deal and what the heck happened to you here a minute ago, and Leraye, what exactly did she mean?"
((Castle Kestrel throne room))
"Ohboy," Bloody Mary muttered, trotting on alongside the wall of the room. "Hunty's gonna have my guts if the blarfboy dies in here."
The blarfboy, however, had no real reason to attack anyone. He'd gotten food, and he'd extinguished the flames, and the spikes on his back didn't concern him because he didn't feel them. So he stopped in the other corner of the room, unfolded himself again, and, finding nothing better to do, sat down on his two last pairs of legs, leaving the first pair dangling in the air.
"Blarf," he said rather cheerily.
"Yesyes, do make yourself a nice big target," muttered the meepit, trotting on in his direction and being thankful that he at least was a small, fast, and rather unnoticeable target. Though he had to admit that the blarf was a target by nature. People were all too inclined to shoot big fanged things. As a matter of fact, they were all too inclined to shoot in general.
At one point, his senses suddenly turned against one another.
"Whatthe-" Bloody Mary mumbled, screeching to a halt and straining his eyes at a completely empty spot of the room that, as his nose and ears assured him, shouldn't have been empty.
Humans have a rather stupid habit of trusting their eyes more than anything else, even if they know well that eyes are most easily deceived. No other species does that. Noses and ears are a lot harder to deceive, thus a lot more reliable.
The meepit's ears moved quickly back and forth, then he snuck closer very carefully, painfully aware of the visibility of his dark blue fur against the cold light stone floor. Do I know this smell…?
Cyborg
" Stop now!!!!" Cyborg yelled at Kat and Ikkin as he sent a rock pillar at Kat. " I'm guessing Keng's gonna be angry when she see's her teamates over there are getting attacked." Midknight added. Shado looked at Ikkin. Knowing she was an enemy he growled furiously at her.
Kat
((Castle Kestrel, throne room full of shiny shiny magic and one hungry Blarf))
"Hi, Mr. Blarf," said Kat cheerily in the wake of her last spell. "Enjoying yourself, I assume?"
"Stop now!!!!"
Stone pillars were headed her way, unleashed by the one who had just spoken. Rock wouldn't burn easily, that is, unless she had enough firepower, enough for a volcano. It was possible to gather that much energy, but only at the cost of her life.
"Sorry, but we're having too much fun to stop," said Kat, creating a sparkling purple shield around her, feeling rock shatter against it. "Ikkin, look out!”
Rider
“I ran into some guy with metal armor and asked him for the gem. Actually, a shard of the gem, I think. He punched me with a rock-fist, I tried fighting back, was blocked by Keng, got shot with an arrow from nowhere. Um… What else… Oh, a fight between some mercenaries and the metal-man ensued, and I used the distraction of this fight to get the heck out of there…” Speck summarized all that she could, “I think that’s about it. Oh. And some unexplained force healed my wounds before I rode the blarf back here.”
"... I don't know what part of that to comment on first. Let's start with this - KENG?"
No sooner were these words out of her mouth when Speckles started going all glowy and freakish and trying to kill their alchemist. The ship broke it up quickly enough, but all the same.
Rider picked up the amulet. "She was trying to do something with this, Cap'n. Put it on, possibly. She was talkin' crazy even before she went all glowy, something about Keng and metal-men and stuff."
"Can't a horse get any sleep around here?" Shiva yelled, trotting up to the group.
"Shiva, is there any demonic energy around here?"
"... Leraye."
"Other than him."
"No, though the energy coming from Speck is certainly not normal. Spirit energy, you might say. Is it breakfast time yet? I feel like fresh fox."
Ikkin
Leraye wasn't quite sure how to react when the pirate captain decided to lean up against him. He might have been a demon, but things like that were still rather awkward.
Fortunately, she didn't stay like that long. Unfortunately, this was only because some crazy pirate girl came up in a rage and grabbed him by the throat, seemingly out of nowhere. She'd seemed normal enough before that, he thought to himself...
“You!" she said, her voice accusatory. You dare show your face after trapping us all in that… that thing! What do you intend to do with these guilders, hm? Keep them in one of your alchemic experiments so that you can ‘keep the peace’?”
Leraye grabbed hold of her hands, trying to keep her from throttling him. "I have no idea what you're on about," he said weakly. "And you'll not get an answer if you choke me to death."
Fortunately, Huntress stepped in. "Alright, break it up!" she said, and the ship reacted accordingly. The ship itself pulled the pirate girl away from him, leaving him on his couch to catch his breath.
Before it could throw her as it had done to the others, however, Huntress called, "Stop right there!" and the ship seemed to listen.
After convincing the ship to hold Speck safely, Hunty turned on both her and Leraye. "Talk, both of you," she said. "Speck, what's the big deal and what the heck happened to you here a minute ago, and Leraye, what exactly did she mean?"
"She seems to think that I use people in alchemical experiments," he said with his usual smile. "Probably someone close to her, considering her reaction. Rather silly, really. Whatever is controlling her clearly doesn't know what it's talking about, and probably just wants to cause trouble.”
Vyt
Bluisa felt a little bit better when Celestial talked of Cat Assassin being able to stand on his own. Though praising him for traits the dark mage already knew was nothing near a surprise, she was glad that the dragoness was trying to cheer her up. It was seldom that someone would talk highly about a person like Cat Assassin, she thought.
"He will be fine but I believe we have a matter of business to attend to... I think you know what I mean," Celestial ended. The dragoness then began to gather energy in a very alarming rate, surprising Bluisa into taking a step away. She had never seen someone from the dragon race so energetic; Subila would usually encounter easy-to-tire-out dragons in her previous missions, and Bluisa was inside her mind to witness her slaughtering them so easily.
"Wait, Celestial!" Bluisa started. She felt she needed to tell the truth. "I do not really know what you mean, but if it concerns the gem, I will follow... Otherwise, you'll have to explain everything to me..." she added honestly. The mage never really had a clue of what Celestial was talking about, but she felt it was something so important.
She couldn't really leave Celestial's side right now, considering that only she had an alternate way of reviving Vyt.
((Near Castle Kestrel))
The breeze took Cat Assassin just near Castle Kestrel, a place he had been awhile ago. Remembering how one foolish human tried to free the demons inside never failed to baffle him once more, but the feline shrugged the thought off. It was not the time for him to reminisce.
Chaos had already surrounded the once-glorious castle, confirmed by the ugly mix of lemon scent and the stench of burning wood. Something told Cat Assassin he should investigate the castle first. After all, he was used to prioritizing those who needed help, or at least those who looked like they needed one.
Seeing the large hole he made earlier, Cat Assassin entered the castle, making his same way through the dark alley and into the throne room.
Goosh
Goosh's eyes opened. Crud. He had fallen asleep on the deck of the Weewoo, slumped against the mast. He rose, stretching.
The sky was lightening subtlely. Dawn would break soon. Turning, Goosh saw Speck and Rider and Huntress and the man on the couch. Speck? When did she get here? Did she have the gem?
Without warning, Speck angrily attacked the man on the couch. Huntress used the ship's new black mist to separate the two. Speck was contained in the mist, and Goosh stepped forward to hear what the man, who he heard Shiva call Leraye, explain himself.
"She seems to think that I use people in alchemical experiments. Probably someone close to her, considering her reaction. Rather silly, really. Whatever is controlling her clearly doesn't know what it's talking about, and probably just wants to cause trouble."
"You think Speck is posessed by a poltergeist or something?" After what he had seen so far, Goosh was ready to believe that pixies stole his rum when he wasn't looking*. Poltergeists seemed far too rational.
*It was, in fact, a small drunken hamster colony that was periodically stealing Goosh's rum to stock their town's only bar. Which was in fact their town's only building. Having been pushed into the shadows by the two other rodent colonies aboard, they felt they deserved the comfort. But that's another story. *thwack'd for copying Hunty*
Speck
"Speck, what's the big deal and what the heck happened to you here a minute ago, and Leraye, what exactly did she mean?"
Speck struggled with the mist to no avail. She was stuck midair, wrapped in the stuff, with no chance of being set free. At least not in this state. Her purple eyes met with Huntress’, a smirk on her lips, ”What do you think happened to your pirate lackey? Her weak soul and body were perfectly easy to take over.”
"She seems to think that I use people in alchemical experiments," he said with his usual smile. "Probably someone close to her, considering her reaction. Rather silly, really. Whatever is controlling her clearly doesn't know what it's talking about, and probably just wants to cause trouble."
Speck’s attention snapped back to the achemist. Glaring, she spoke to him, ”Don’t play innocent, Leraye. The war broke loose who knows how long ago, and you used that huge distraction to your advantage. I thought I could trust you, but you turned your back on everyone and trapped the warring Guilds in that gem”
”Tell me why you did it, and I might not tear this girl from the inside out.”
Rider
"Hold up, hold up," Rider shouted. "Goosh, it's not a poltregiest. It is also not the pixies that stole your booze. Probably."
"Mr. Not-a-Poltregeist, there really is no need to tear anyone up. I don't know what quarrel you have with Leraye, but leave me and mine out of it, please! ... Who are you, anyway?"
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
The marines continued to fire at the blarf, causing some of the spikes and plates on its back to melt and catch fire. The creature seemed to dislike the fire, and attempted to put them out by rolling along the ground... straight towards the marines.
Half of the marines turned around and rushed out of the way, while the other half slowly walked backwards while firing madly, frozen with the fear of their impending doom. Fraze noticed this, and he lunged at the marines to push them out of the way. Despite this, the blarf managed to roll over two of the marines, flattening them into pancakes of flesh, metal, and expensive uniforms.
Surly watched in horror as the two marines - two of his men - had their lives taken away just like that. A feeling of anger swept over him as the blarf simply unfolded itself and sat in the corner of the room, calm and cheerful as though nothing had happened.
Judging by the monster's appearance and what it just did to three of his men, Surly made an educated guess that its primary motivation was food. He devised a plan.
Surly cautiously walked up to the blarf. While he did so, he pulled a frag grenade out of his pocket, along with a silver bag with the words "Spacefleet Rations - Meatloaf Flavor" written on the front in small letters. He tore open the bag, scooped his hand inside, and covered the grenade in a layer of thick brown paste. To the casual eye, the grenade now looked like a giant meatball.
"Hey... hey you!" said Surly, a bit nervous that he was standing next to a beast several dozen times his size. He waved the 'meatball' in the air, hoping that the creature would see it. "I have more food for you! Would you like a little snack?"
Meanwhile, The Commander was having his own troubles. While he scanned Ikkin's body, she sheathed her sword and seemed to create two pressure darts in her hands. Then, she dashed forward and jumped high into the air, using her wind magic to propel her forward.
The Commander walked backwards as Ikkin came at him, still trying to scan her with his Leech. As Ikkin reached the peak of her jump, she threw the darts straight down, aiming to smash the Leech with them. The Commander quickly turned around in an attempt to avoid the darts, but they managed to pierce through his right shoulder pad, sinking slightly into his flesh. It stung terribly... but he wouldn't let his opponent know that.
As Ikkin made her landing on the floor, The Commander grabbed the pressure darts with his left hand. Show no weakness, show no weakness, he thought to himself as he quickly pulled them out of his shoulder. He gritted his teeth, and to further hide his pain, he forced out a devilish laugh.
"You savages make my job all too easy." The Commander held the pressure darts in front of him, their tips covered in red, and scanned them with the Leech. Since they were small weapons, the scan was completed almost instantly, and a bundle of pressure darts appeared inside the Leech's transparent dome.
He would have fired them, but another one of the castle's defenders shouted at him from across the room. "Last I checked, this was our castle, so give it back!" It was another distinctly female voice, and The Commander was beginning to wonder if the castle was run by some kind of matriarch society.
He turned around and faced the person who shouted at him. She was a mage of some sort, dressed in purple robes and wielding a shining staff of some sort. No more than a second passed before the mage hurled three purple fireballs at the marines who had just recovered from the blarf. The marines immediately dove onto the ground, and two of the fireballs missed their targets. The third one, however, set fire to one of the marine's backpacks and knocked him front-first into the wall. One of his comrades rushed over to help him remove the flaming backpack on his shoulders.
The purple mage then proceeded to launch a jet of crackling amethyst fire at The Commander. Once again, his heat shield flickered on, and it flashed bright purple as it absorbed the fire's energy. The Commander was physically unharmed, but the force of the blast, along with the amount of energy the shield was using to absorb it, sent him flying backwards. As he flew backwards, he slammed into Ikkin, and eventually, the two of them slammed into the wall, causing Ikkin to become sandwiched between The Commander and a wall of stone. He felt his opponent behind him, but had no idea what she did, if anything, to protect herself from the impact. Several chunks of rock broke away from the wall's surface behind them, but instead of falling to the floor, the rocks began to levitate around The Commander's body.
Celestial
"Wait, Celestial! I do not really know what you mean, but if it concerns the gem, I will follow... Otherwise, you'll have to explain everything to me..." Bluisa shouted just before the power gathering reached a critical stage. Celestial canceled the spell out, lettin the small motes of power dance off into the dawn sky. She turned to Bluisa, noting the amazement in the mage's eyes but it wasn't the nice kind of amazement, it was more of a 'I thought you were weaker' amazement, the bad kind. Nevertheless, Celestial spoke with the calmness of a sea on a windless day.
"While I was...asleep, I believe my weeewoo talked to you and explained the process of draconic resurrection, the one that requires a life. That can wait unless you wish to go ahead with it but if not, I could invite you to come with me and hopefully learn about the gem in more detail. You see, I had a dream that on the moon, there was some sort of futuristic building, possibly the headquarters of another guild. If you wish, you can go with me and help. If not, stay here and I shall come back for you. This might help us learn more about the gem, hopefully" she said not adding that it could also stir up that guild if it was indeed a guild. Maybe it would even cause a war.
"I don't have time to waste, make your decision quickly but this must be done" she said and began to gather the power once again. "If you are unclear about something, ask me when I am out of the trance" she said before she was once again taken over by the dragonpowers she was calling.
Fraze
((There seems to be some confusion over when Fraze is cloaked and when he isn't. Because of this, I will use a gray font when Fraze is cloaked, and a regular font when he is not.))
((Castle Kestrel: Throne Room)) Fraze had just gotten to his feet after avoiding the creature, and looked up to check on the Commander.
He watched the foxtailed mage jump over Strife, fire two projectiles, and land behind him. Fraze thought the move was needlessly flashy. Intimidation tactics like that usually require extra energy that you don't have in a battle. Many who use such strategy hope that the fight will be over soon--because if it's not, they will be exhausted long before their opponents.
Fraze respected the maneuver. He found that most people who use such acrobatic feats fit into two categories. Either they are unskilled and use a flashy fighting style to make up for their overall ineptness, or they are so proficient that they can show off and still remain relatively safe. This mage seemed to fit into the latter category.
He heard another voice, once again telling the 'Fleeters to leave the castle. This one seemed familiar somehow, but Fraze couldn't quite place it. He looked to the castle entrance, finally realizing that it was one of the mages he met when he had gone planetside to retrieve his flechette gun. What was her name, again? Calliope, cauliflower, kingfisher...oh, right, Kalianne. She hadn't seemed particularly trusting of him when they first met, so she would probably be much less so now. After seeing her throw three bright purple fireballs at the marines, he was sure of this. She fired a beam of purple light at the Commander--to Fraze, it looked vaguely like a ship-sized weapons laser beam when it goes through a dust cloud. The Commander was thrown into the wall by the impact, with the foxtailed mage behind him, but seemed to be mostly unharmed.
He saw something move in the side of his vision. Looking down, he saw what he thought was the blue meepit he had met yesterday. The creature seemed to know he was there. Well, there goes my cover, he thought. Remaining cloaked, he spoke to the meepit, hoping that he wouldn't be heard by anyone else. "The last time we met, you threatened to bite off my nose. I'd rather not have a repeat of that event, but--you're affiliated with the Pirates, aren't you? I would have thought the Pirates and the Knights wouldn't be particularly friendly with each other."
He saw one of the marines' backpacks had been set on fire. Well, he really needed to recharge his skinsuit's power...he jogged over to the marine and decloaked. "Here, let me take that from you," he said, picking up the pack and adjusting it on his back so it rested beneath his Table. His suit registered the fire as an energy source, and its battery slowly began to refill. It wouldn't be enough to charge it all the way, but it was better than nothing.
He realized how ridiculous he must have looked wearing a flaming backpack. +2 to fire damage, or +4 against zombies and undead sheep! Though, once again, he didn't particularly care. It was light enough, and probably wouldn't hinder him much.
Deciding to make himself known, he called out, "Kalianne! Fancy meeting you here!"
Surf
Surf kept her smile while Hunty was facing her, but glared as soon as she turned around and left. The more she saw of this pirate, the more she was beginning to dislike her. She decided to escape her and go with Ikkin and Kat, but the second she turned to head after them, she saw a grey Kougra, and what looked like a darker colored version of him, attack Kat and Ikkin with pillars of earth. "Kat, watch out!" she shouted, propelling herself over to where she and the Kougras were.
The second her feet touched the ground, she sent a particularly strong gust of scythe-like wind at the grey Kougra. "I've got your back, Kat," she said, turning to nod at the mage.
Huntress
((The Weewoo))
Hunty bit her lip, listening to Leraye's and not-really-Speck's parts of the story. This was getting mighty interesting indeed.
"Curiously, this accusation seems to fit with what I heard earlier about the origins of the gem," she said coldly. "Someone had to forge it, and someone had to trap all those guilds in it, and a demon alchemist would fit that picture as well as any other."
Her mind was racing when she turned to look at Speck. "On the other hand, I'm a lot more likely to listen to a member of my crew who's done nothing but help me tonight, than some violent ghost who's possessing the body of another crewmember and threatening to tear it apart. You're not giving a good impression there, whoever-you-are."
Her eyes darted back to Leraye. "You may, of course, be speaking the truth. But we don't really have a way to find out, apart from your word against his, eh? So we might want to rationalize here." She looked at the amulet Rider had picked up. "And right now the most rational way of action I see is to exorcise a little. Unless you give me a reason to trust - and believe - you."
((Castle Kestrel throne room))
Bloody Mary almost broke out in a jig when plain air started talking to him. That's one point for noses and ears right there, take that, humans.
"The last time we met, you threatened to bite off my nose. I'd rather not have a repeat of that event, but--you're affiliated with the Pirates, aren't you? I would have thought the Pirates and the Knights wouldn't be particularly friendly with each other."
"No clue what you're talking about," Bloody Mary said, happy to hear some rational talk instead of the dreaded pow-pow-pow. "But if you've given anyone who looks like me a reason to want to bite your nose off, then I probably shouldn't be answering your questions anyway."
He slid closer to the scent and as it started to move, followed it around. When Fraze decloaked, the meepit gave a happy grunt. No wonder the smell had felt familiar, he still remembered the guy from the cornfield.
"So you're with 'em shiny people," he said, using the chance to bounce through the air and land on Fraze's shoulder while it was still visible. "Same shiny people who shot the blarf. I'ma starting to think that biting your nose off might not be a bad idea for a start."
He stretched out his head, looking at the blarf who currently bent down his head to sniff the grenade subcommander Surly was offering him.
"I'd also like to point out," he added in a conversational tone, "that if that guy over there is trying to pull some kind of a trick instead of sharing his food with a poor hungry critter, then your nose is most definitely going."
The blarf's nostrils twitched when he took in the scent of the fatal meatball. Then his long, pale tongue swished out and in again, tasting the thing he was being offered.
For a moment he remained sitting there, then his mouth opened and, instead of the usual 'blarf', a long wail emerged from what sounded like the very depths of his body.
"Noooooooooot."
"Good grief," said Bloody Mary. "Is that some kinda sci-fi grub? This is the first time I see him classify something meaty-looking as 'not food'."
Cyborg
" Ah, but my friends and I have my back." Cyborg said with a smirk to the mage as he created a wall of rock to block the attack. Midknight and Shado then darted towards the mage, Midknight with cutlasses out and Shado with his teeth barred. The squirrels also ran at this mage while Cyborg sent vines and razor leafs at the mage and Kat from on top of the rock wall.
Rose
"I have a bad feeling about this,"Rose said to Hazel before Hazel ran off with the other squirrels. Then Rose swiftly moved shortly behind Midknight and Cyborg. While ignoring the bad feeling she had, she prepared for a fight, she brought out her bo staff. "Like you said before, I've got your back you two," Rose said. She still had that uneasy feeling and as soon as she had finished talking to Cyborg her head began to hurt and the feeling grew worse.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:12:12 GMT -5
PFA
((near Weewoo))
A fox girl and a girl wearing purple flew away from the Weewoo, toward Castle Kestrel. Cyborg and Midknight decided to follow after them. Rose decided that the Kougra brothers would need help, and decided to follow after them as well.
Jernath, however, decided it was better to stay behind and keep an eye on the Weewoo. If everyone were to leave the ship and get distracted with whatever was going on at the castle, the Weewoo could catch them off-guard with some kind of crazy attack. One that would probably be rather difficult to counter.
This way, we can catch them off-guard, he added mentally, as he watched one of the people from the ship chase after the other mercenaries. With clearly hostile intents, he noted. If it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight they were going to get.
"We should keep the ones on the ship busy, before they send any more reinforcements," Jernath whispered to Keng, just before climbing into the nearest tree, hopefully without anyone noticing. His back continued to protest with his movements, something he had been trying to ignore. Rose still hasn't gotten the chance to heal that, he sighed inwardly.
Once he had gotten high enough to see what was happening on the ship, he noticed that they were having some kind of discussion. They're distracted, he thought with a smirk. This was almost too perfect.
He grabbed his bow and an arrow, and started to aim. He looked over the different figures onboard the ship, trying to decide which to shoot at first. Soon enough, he decided on the Yurble, who seemed to be a bit drowsy. And then he fired.
He wondered briefly if the supposedly-alive ship would have any kind of defense against arrows. He supposed there was only one way to find out.
Zari
((Castle Kestrel-- Throne Room.))
Zari was nonplussed. Totally. Completely. 'Kat, do you know this wingnut? Who is he? and why does the other guy, leader person, have, uh, traces of magical energy that comes from someone I know, who'd be bad news if she showed up here, which knowing my luck, she has?' She tugged severely on one ear, unaware that her counterpart was doing the exact same thing not far away.
Ikkin
Ikkin couldn't help but feel a little bit victorious when her pressure darts made contact with her enemy's shoulder, despite the fact that it wasn't what she was aiming for.
That feeling didn't last long, however. It was quickly replaced with confusion as the darts, which usually vanished as soon as they'd done their damage, remained embedded in the commander's shoulder and had to be pulled out. Her confusion turned to annoyance as he laughed evilly.
"You savages make my job all too easy," he mocked, somehow managing to hold the darts that shouldn't have been there so he could scan them in with his device. Several copies of them appeared inside of the weapon; Ikkin figured he was planning on shooting them at her and prepared to defend against them.
Before he could shoot them, however, Kat shot a jet of flame at the commander, throwing him backwards and - most inconveniently - into Ikkin. Once she was hit, there wasn't much she could do to deal with the impact in the air. She did manage to force herself downwards a bit so she wouldn't have to deal with the full impact of the heavy commander, but her right shoulder was still caught between the commander and the wall on impact.
Fortunately, the spell on her outfit took care of the brunt of the impact for her; the downside was that the spell added a great deal of weight to the clothing to compensate and dragged Ikkin to the ground, rendering her immobile for a few moments as well as sore from the impact.
She managed to drag herself to her feet just as the broken rocks from the impact started to circle around her opponent.
Don't tell me he's an Earth Mage, too... she thought. Having to deal with a mage was just what she needed right now.
Stretching out her right arm to make sure it still worked, Ikkin created several more pressure darts in her hands. If her enemy was going to copy all of her attacks, she wasn't about to give him anything more substantial to copy.
Then again, she needed some kind of trick, considering that her enemy already knew the kind of weapon she was using. So, she jumped away from both her opponent and the wall to get herself some range, throwing one at the side of her opponent nearest the wall while doing another flip in the air. This time, the acrobatics were meant as a distraction in hope that the commander wouldn't notice that she threw the dart with much more velocity than she had done the last time to try to hit him with it as he dodged.
She threw the second dart seconds later and at a slightly different velocity as she landed, aiming on a diagonal towards her opponent. Depending on whether he dodged or not, the dart would either be aimed at his chest or the power-stealing device on his arm.
If it worked out either of those two ways, Ikkin thought, she would get what she wanted.
((Ikkin seems to like demonstrating that there's more to her pressure darts than just making them, it seems.))
Keng
"Woah!" OK, that was unexpected... thought Keng. She had now come on par with Cyborg's position. "Cyborg! NOW what?!" she asked, next thing she knew the archer... Jasper was it? No... .... the archer was whispering something in her ear, she didn't quite catch it with the number of things happening at once "Ohh... nevermind... Marines take... oh..." Keng came to the sudden realization that they were very out in the open,
"Cyborg, we're kinda sitting ducks to those cannons if they decide to start shooting at us. Can you maybe throw up a barrier for cover NOW rather than later?" asked Keng. "Something like a trench." she added . Then again there really wasn't enough time to wait for him to do that, but with the way the boat curved there would be adequate cover if they got in close to it, plus the cannons couldn't shoot at them if they were within a certain range without overshooting. "Get to the side of the ship!" she called, her first priority being to gain a semi-safe position. Keng of course didn't really know how this 'weewoo is alive' thing worked, as she had yet to see it in action (the angle she viewed the ship from prevented her from witnessing the recent Speck event). Cyborg seemed to have the one mage covered –the pirates and mages always seemed to be in good standing with each-other she noted to herself mid thought- with the help of his brother and Rose.
There were 5 marines with her in total, plus herself made 6 and the mercenaries made 10 in total. Not bad. It didn't take long for the marines to respond to her barks like sheep -very well armed and trained sheep- being herded by a collie. "Anyone have rope?" she asked them. Two of the marines held up grappling guns. "'aight, you two hold onto those." she told them as she spotted an alternative for herself. Vines littered the ground from one of Cyborg's earlier attacks. Having had her limbs pulled at by them she was confident they would be strong enough to hold her, and a few were of impressive lengths. Keeping a careful eye for snipers -not that the pirates really used that tactic often but Huntress was as good a shot as any she'd ever seen- and grabbed a few of the longer vines. They were surprisingly flexible for plants and didn't snap or splinter as she tied a lasso into the longest. "Prepare to board." she told them grimly. This wasn't going to be any fun.
Rikku
((Mage Manor))
Drakhé stayed silent for a few moments, then suggested, "W-why d-don't you ask a-around?"
Rikku nodded. “Yeah, that might be a good idea,” she said. She paused, and then added warmly, “And, Drakhé … thanks for believing me. Most people wouldn’t. Spacemen, conspiracies … squid, I probably wouldn’t believe …” She trailed off.
"How's your head doing? Maybe I can heal it if it needs healing."
Rikku opened her mouth to tell Omni that she was fine, re-knotting the bandanna around her neck as she did so, but before she could say anything, three knocks sounded. The Manor had an odd habit of shuffling noises around all over the place. This sound probably came from the front door.
"…Could someone get that, please?"
“’Kay, I’m on it.” A little glad to get away from the slowly awkwardifying situation in the kitchen, Rikku headed off through the network of corridors and rooms that made up Mage Manor’s interior, nibbling the top off her last strawberry as she went. It was delicious.
Reaching the doors, she examined them critically, and then called, “Hi! You might want to be careful, the doors are a little …” The doors fell slowly backwards, crashing into the stone floor of the entrance hall for the second time that day. “… Fragile,” Rikku ended, but the grin on her face quickly faded when she saw the visitors. They looked a little shady, and she didn’t recognize them, neither of which were good signs.
Spacefleet. They’ve got to be. Rikku glared at the intruders.
“Who are you?” she demanded, making an aggressive pose, arms crossed, legs spread. “What do you want?”
If they’re Spacefleet, then they will burn, burn, burn … The necromancer’s eyes widened a little, surprised at the depths of her hate for these people. Calm down. They haven’t said anything yet. They could just be peddlers … or … something …
Kat
((Castle Kestrel))
Kat watched, almost more intrigued than fearful, as two of her fireballs were dodged, and the third did nothing more than set someone's pack on fire. The leader, on the other hand, seemed to absorb the spell she had dealt, and was knocked backward into Ikkin.
"Sorry!" she called out. But there was no time to wait for a reply, as rocks began to levitate around this supposed leader.
"Kalianne! Fancy meeting you here!"
At the sound of her name, she did a double take and saw who had said it. Who was this guy? Had they met? Apparently, they had, and her staff arm fell limply to her side. "Fraze? Do you know...them...?" But even before she had asked, Kat already knew that this was a very stupid question; Fraze did look like he was in cahoots with those strange people.
"I've got your back, Kat."
She saw Surf nod, and nodded back. "I came here as backup, and I get backup too. That's definitely something to be thankful for."
"Kat, do you know this wingnut? Who is he? and why does the other guy, leader person, have, uh, traces of magical energy that comes from someone I know, who'd be bad news if she showed up here, which knowing my luck, she has?"
"I know lots of wingnuts; you'll have to be more specific," she told Zari, creating a burst of violet fire that scorched the vines and razor leaves that were headed her way, not to mention Surf's. Her counterattack was a lot more different; it consisted of shards of rock-solid ice that she directed towards Cyborg.
Vyt
((Near Castle Kestrel))
Bluisa noticed the energy slowly seeping away from Celestial. The dragoness seemed to have noticed her confusion, and had given her the chance to be cleared of all things. That was good; like her, Bluisa did not want to follow blindly to something probably large.
"While I was...asleep, I believe my weeewoo talked to you and explained the process of draconic resurrection, the one that requires a life. That can wait unless you wish to go ahead with it but if not, I could invite you to come with me and hopefully learn about the gem in more detail. You see, I had a dream that on the moon, there was some sort of futuristic building, possibly the headquarters of another guild. If you wish, you can go with me and help. If not, stay here and I shall come back for you. This might help us learn more about the gem, hopefully..."
Wait, there was a guild so advanced like that mentioned? Even Subila never had the chance to see such a guild, Bluisa noted. If it was true and the guild was hostile, they would be facing another great threat. Worse, if they had the gem...
Bluisa shook her head when Celestial added something else. "I don't have time to waste, make your decision quickly but this must be done," she told Bluisa before gathering her powers once more. The transformation never took a moment longer, as instantly the dragoness empowered herself once more.
As an answer, Bluisa only gave her nod of agreement. Cat Assassin would have to be left alone again, she thought.
((Castle Kestrel: Throne Room))
Cat Assassin was taken by surprise when an ensuing battle greeted him inside the throne room. There were so many people who were probably affiliated with different guilds, and the many targets of these beings made the battle very confusing. No matter how unclear the battle was going, the feline knew that such a battle would only bring suffering to all sides.
"Whoever you are that ordered these men to go into war, you'll gonna PAY for all this," Cat Assassin whispered to no one in particular.
Slowly, he approached the battlefie- err, battleroom- with his eyes full of reasonable anger. His open arms had their hands filled with focused energy, as the yellow-white light that escaped through the ball of power tried to fightl the dim atmosphere of the room.
He would have to stop the largest of them all first: the furry mammoth-like creature attacking the modern marines.
Cyborg
Cyborg looked at Keng and prepared to tell her that he could build a barrier, that is until she decided to board the Weewoo. " Keng that's not a good idea, the Weewoo's alive" Cyborg said as he attempted to avoid the ice shards by jumping of the wall, but got one in the left leg and fell to the ground with a thump. Seeing this the squirrels ran back to Cyborg while Midknight and Shado rushed at the mage that was helping the one in purple. Midknight ran and attempted to use a spiral slash like attack, while Shado lept at the mage's head preparing to bite it off.
Surf
Surf smiled as Kat nodded back to her, but did not have time to say much else, for the black Kougra and the duo's pet fox leapt at her. The former used some sort of slash attack, while the latter merely leapt at her.
Using the quick reflexes that are essential in any martial art, Surf arced her staff in a downward strike on the fox's skull, using a gust of wind to make it extra lethal. She needed that fox out of the way, to make it a two-on-two battle. She then stepped to the side of the slash attack, but underestimated the cutlass's range, and took a blow to the shoulder. It was nothing fatal, but it stung painfully. She didn't have the time to clean the cut, however, and knew this was going to make it worse.
((Surf's cut is only a millimeter or so thick, but she doesn't want it to get infected and turn black, y'know. And it's getting blood on her shirt. D: ))
Strife
((Mage Manor - Entrance))
“Who are you?” demanded one of the mages who answered the manor's door. Judging by her pose and the tone of her voice, she seemed to be assuming the worst about the band of Spacefleeters in disguise. “What do you want?”
At this point, Cyclops crawled down the side of Ethan's body, making his way towards the mage while trying to speak to her telepathically. He had no idea if she could read telepathic messages, but it was worth a try.
I do not know if you can hear me, he began, but I am responsible for bringing these people here. All I wish is to return to my owner, Leoness. I... miss her terribly.
Cyclops crawled forward until he was sitting at the mage's feet. He looked up with his single eye, and tried his best to create a look of sadness and plea, making his eye water up and sparkle in the light. He hoped he was pulling off this human emotion correctly. He had only seen it while watching a recreation of Romeo and Juliet in Spacefleet's Sector One auditorium. The role of Juliet was played by one of the service bots in the cafeteria, but the effect was there nonetheless.
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
The blarf's head moved closer to Surly's meat-covered grenade. At this point, he immediately gave the meatball a squeeze, and a red light started blinking from underneath the meat.
The blarf's nostrils twitched, and it slurped up the object with its tongue. To Surly's dismay, the creature's mouth remained open with disgust, and it let out a deep "Noooooooooot" from within the depths of its body.
"Good grief," said a strange voice nearby that belonged to a small, furry blue creature. "Is that some kinda sci-fi grub? This is the first time I see him classify something meaty-looking as 'not food'."
Just as that last sentence was finished, the frag grenade exploded. It was followed by a loud noise that caused Surly to dive away from the blarf. A burst of light and fire erupted from the beast's mouth.
While this happened, Ikkin had recovered from her crash into the wall. The kitsune knight jumped away from The Commander while doing a mid-air flip and throwing another pressure dart at him. The dart would have hit him clean in his other shoulder, but one of the bulky rocks levitating around his body had floated in front of it. The dart crashed into the rock, smashing it into three smaller pieces that orbited The Commander's body in a haphazard way. The dart itself fell to the ground, once again failing to disappear when it normally would have vanished after impact.
The Commander knew that because of the damage he suffered in his shoulder, it would be more difficult for him to raise his arm, so shooting an airborne target was out of the question. He reacted quickly, realizing that his opponent would run circles around him if he didn't pull off some stunts of his own.
As Ikkin landed on the ground further away from him while throwing another dart in his direction, he used the miniature jets on his boots to zoom forward into the air, leaving a thin trail of smoke behind him. The rocks that were orbiting his body continued to follow him like magnets.
He flew across the throne room, the jets keeping him at a steady elevation above ground. One of the orbiting rocks crashed into a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, making a loud noise and causing shards of glass to fall to the floor, but he paid no attention to it. He circled Ikkin, pointed his Leech downward and proceeded to shoot pressure darts at her with rapid succession, much like a machine gun.
Ikkin
Ikkin was rather annoyed that her maneuver had been defeated by a floating piece of rock. She really should have realized that could be a problem. She was even more annoyed that the pressure dart still didn't dissipate like it should. What was happening to them?
She didn't really have much time to think about this, though, as her opponent used some kind of jet boots to take off into the air. He wound up high enough to let some of his rocks crash into a chandelier; Ikkin used a shield of wind to keep the glass shards from hurting her.
And then, he did what she'd been figuring he'd do at some point - while circling around her, he let out a stream of his copied pressure darts.
Ikkin grinned. He really didn't understand her powers at all, did he?
She easily took control of the copied pressure darts in midair - they were still made of the wind, even if they had been copied - and sent them all straight back at their source just as quickly as they had been sent at her.
Then, deciding that her opponent was probably trying to take the upper ground for a reason, she took off into the air, staying as close to the ceiling as she comfortably could. Flying came to her second-nature, so she could stay up there as long as she wanted. Her opponent, on the other hand, had to rely on a fuel of some type or other. And if there was anything Ikkin knew about fuel, it was that it'd always run out sooner or later.
Celestial
Just before the trance began, Celestial saw Bluisa nod in agreement. This was a good sign and all the help she could get would be appreciated. Overlord sat calmly on her shoulder and seemed to be waiting. She closed her eyes and everything faded.
There were the mountains and hills again which she flew over without moving her wings at all. It was also much faster thah anything she could manage with her wings alone. She finally settled into a position with a panoramic with of the scenery just as it was before and from each cave, tendrils of power flowed to meet her heart. She absorbed them greedily this time sure of what she was doing. They couldn't form a cocoon around her as each was taken as soon as it came near her. Finally, the power was enough, just under what she could stand. It was time to go back and face her enemy.
She stood up, tall and proud as the dragons that now inhabited her mind. Her eys flipped open to reveal a whirling mass of a thousand different colours and shades. Her features have become more draconic just like before.
"We are ready to make the jump" she said, her voice echoing with power and enhanced by the soft glow which had spread all over her body by now. Celestial shapeshifted, not into her dragon form but a dragon with great wings and a net pattern etched all over them like a pagan tattoo. This was the only form of dragon which could make the jump and use the power boost to their advantage.
"Climb on, there is only room for one and we aren't going to hurt you" Celestial said as gently as she possibly could with this echo in her voice. She loved being draconically empowered.
Huntress
((The Weewoo))
The ship, having decided that not-Speck was a safe entity for the time being, focused its attention on other things for the time being. Granted, since it was a ship, its attention was always everywhere at the same time. So it didn't have much of a problem spotting Jernath's arrows. As they entered the mist, they slowed down as if they'd hit ballistic gel. Then they turned around and whizzed right back.
Admittedly, the White Weewoo was an incredibly lousy shot, and mist, even sentinent mist, isn't anyone's first choice in bowstrings, so the arrows flew some five feet before dropping miserably on the ground. But it was still the thought that counted.
"Mrm," Hunty did quietly, looking around. "Looks like we're stranded here then. Hopefully they'll exercise enough caution when they return. Getting in and out of the ship won't be easy at this point."
((Castle Kestrel throne room))
The blarf blinked when the non-meatball exploded in his mouth. That wasn't pleasant. That wasn't pleasant at all.
And the fragments of the grenade were even worse. The explosion didn't harm him much, but the shards stung his tongue and palate and he didn't like it. They felt like wasps. He shook his head vigorously, smoke erupting from between his jaws, and gave a long whimpering snarl.
"That son of a...!" Bloody Mary exclaimed, still perched on Fraze's shoulder. He liked shoulders, they gave a better overview, and he didn't like the view he was currently getting. Although...
"Morons," he said, sitting down. "That's not how you kill a blarf. That's just how you anger a blarf, and when a blarf is angry..."
The creature's eyes were watering, his nose was clogged because of the smoke, and his mouth was on fire. Almost literally. He needed something to soothe it, something liquid - there we have it.
He fell on all sixes again, lumbered forward, and, without further ado, bit Subcommander Surly neatly in half. The upper half disappeared between his jaws, while the lower half collapsed on the floor.
Yep, this felt better. He'd never liked the taste of blood, but it definitely beat the taste of smoke and fire and extremely fake meat. He shook his head again, rubbed his nose with both front paws a couple times, and then turned to face the rest of his room, ears perking.
"Had it coming," the meepit commented, obviously in the mood for chitchat. "If you're going to attack him, you either kill 'im with your first try, and you guys don't seem to have the equipment for it, or you don't attack him at all."
The blarf turned to look at the late commander's group and somehow managed to ruffle up, which meant that his spikes suddenly looked a lot more spiky, his fur puffed up, and his fangs, most of them still bloody, bared to the max.
Cyborg
Shado fell to the ground with a thud, but what was the loudest was the sickening crack coming from Shado's skull as the staff connected. Midknight watched as his companion fell to the ground. " You, are gonna pay for that with your life!" Midknight growled at the mage. Cyborg removed the shard from his leg. He stood up in pain. " Hazel, you and your squirrels move Shado behind the wall!!!!!!! Rose, I know you want to fight, but this is more important I need you to heal Shado!!!!! It sounds like a cracked skull!!!!! Jernath fire at will at either mage!!!!!! As for you, you just made the biggest mistake in your entire life mage!!!" Cyborg yelled as he ran at the mage but, with each step he felt great pain. When he made it in range Cyborg grew some vines and had them grow behind the mage and had them attempt to curl around her hands. Mean while the squirrels had moved Shado and Midknight's eyes were a furious blood red and the black energy came back, he wouldn't be able to use magic, but it definitely showed he was ready to kill this mage as he rushed at her and stabbed at her abdomen with one cutlass and her throat with the other.
Rose
Rose ran quickly over to Shado, his head was indeed cracked."Let me try something new," she said to the two brothers. She lifted her hands over the wound, Shado's head and began to chant something, as she did this instead of her hands surrounded with a silver glow they were surrounded by a red glowing colour. " This will take a longer time but it will heal him better," Rose added. Thinking that it wasn't important she did not mention that it might affect her health, if it took too long. She continued chanting as the brothers went crazy with anger.
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
Surly looked back at the monster, hoping to see a giant pile of lifeless flesh on the ground. To his dissappointment, though, the frag grenade barely caused any harm to the creature. Smoke poured out of its nostrils and mouth.
At that point, he knew that he was outmatched. He turned around and began to run from the blarf, but within a few seconds, his vision went blank, and he lost all feeling inside of himself as the monster bit off the top half of his body. His legs collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Subcommander!" shouted one of the marines.
"NOOOO!" shouted another.
The remaining marines began to fire their rifles at the blarf with feeling of revenge coarsing through their veins. Without their superior officer and a solid set of orders, they couldn't think of anything to do except attack.
On the other side of the throne room, Ikkin had taken control of the pressure darts The Commander fired and reflected them back in his direction. How could he be so stupid? He should have known that the knight would be able to manipulate the darts with her wind magic.
Of course, since the darts were duplicated, they weren't as powerful as the real thing, and The Commander knew this from experience. Immediately, he used his psionic energy to pull down a large chunk of stone from the castle's ceiling. It floated directly in front of him, and the copied darts jammed into its surface.
He tossed the stone aside and saw Ikkin floating in the air in front of him. He gritted his teeth in frustration. It seemed that she would be able to deflect any kind of projectile he threw at her. Unless...
The Commander noticed that Ikkin was very close to the ceiling. A smirk creeped across his face, and he lifted his arms straight upwards. He concentrated on her with an intense gaze, and when he clenched his fists and pulled his arms down, the ceiling directly above Ikkin cracked into several large pieces of rock and collapsed, falling downwards at an incredible speed.
Fraze
((Castle Kestrel--Throne Room)) "Feel free to bite my nose all you want. I'd be more worried about the damage done to your teeth than to my face," Fraze responded to the meepit.
"Fraze? Do you know...them...?" Kat seemed to realize the answer to her question before Fraze could answer. This wasn't someone he had any disagreement with, but it looked as though they might have to fight one another. "Yes, I do." He wasn't sure whether to sound apologetic, pleased, dismayed, or proud. His answer came out seeming like a mixture of the four.
Fraze looked to see the creature devour Surly, and rounded to attack the rest of the 'Fleeters. Fraze's mind raced. He didn't have enough firepower to get this thing, it seemed.
"Commander!" he called, seeing what he now knew was called a blarf prepare to attack. Retreat seemed to be the best option right now, but he doubted whether Strife would agree. Either of them probably had enough armor to survive a blarfie-chomp, but the marines obviously didn't. Somehow, they refused to acknowledge this fact, as they now began to throw every kind of ammunition they could find at the creature. The fools, Fraze thought, more with pity than anger. They had just tried this a few minutes ago, and two of their own died because of it! He saw the creature prepare to attack once more, and knew that it would do far more this time than squish a couple marines.
The creature didn't really seem to be angry by nature, though. It seemed almost...almost like a big dog. A very, very big dog, with spines growing out of its back, several pairs of legs, and too many teeth.
Maybe he could distract it...?
“HOLD FIRE!” Fraze bellowed to the marines at the top of his lungs.
A curious aspect of Fraze's skinsuit stems from the fact that it is, in its rest state, an amorphous blob. When it covers a person, it does not do so in any specific way, just whatever part of it meets whatever patch of skin is where it goes. Because of this, any part of the suit is capable of performing the functions of any other part.
Including the communicator speaker.
With the speed of thought, Fraze brought up a number of music files. He flicked through them, quickly deciding on one song in particular. He played it--but rather than have the sound funnel to his ears alone, he had his whole suit play it. At full volume. It was barely noticeable at first, since it started rather unassumingly. A musical triangle and various voices, that was it. But it reached a certain point...and exploded. The tune sounded through the whole room, the chanting echoing off the walls. Fraze had gotten no more than a few hours of sleep in the past two days, and was beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion. However, as he allowed the powerful rhythm of the song fill him, he suddenly felt filled with energy. This was the very music he had trained to, he knew its power, its strength, its spirit.
"Hey, boy!" he called to the blarf. When he was sure he had the creature's attention, he ran straight in front of it and--
Danced.
Not what one might usually think of as a dance, certainly--he kicked, spun around, ducked and dodged with such vehemence that one might have thought he was locked in battle with an invisible enemy. And yet there was such a fluid motion to it that it did, indeed, seem to be a dance. The whole time, he smiled--a mischievous smirk, really. Hopefully the blarf was adept enough at registering facial expressions that he would know that Fraze meant no harm. Hopefully.
It seemed to him that the blarf was taking an interest in him. Good, he thought. In the midst of his movements, he began to move away from the other 'Fleeters, hoping the creature would follow him.
Surf
A cracking sound was heard as Surf's blow connected with the fox. It would survive, but incapacitated the fox, evening the odds. The black Kougra immediately screamed at her in rage. Surf replied flatly, "I almost paid for that with my life, thank you very much, when your pet leapt at me. It's not my fault that I was forced to use self-defense."
The other Kougra began instructing his comrades, and suddenly two vines sprang up next to Surf, and at her hands, wrapping themselves around her wrists. Surf moved her foot, creating a bit of wind that cut one vine, and used her free hand to cut the other vine.
She had no time to remove the cut vines from her wrists, however, because the black Kougra sprang at her, swinging two cutlasses, one at her throat, and one at her stomach. Surf leapt back, using a thrust of wind to speed up her movements, so that she was nicely out of range of the two strikes. Using the momentum of her dodge, she lunged back in, and sent a scythe of wind at the Kougra, following it up by thrusting her staff at his solar plexus.
"Kat," she added while she dodged and counterattacked, "can you take care of the other one? I'm a bit tied up at the moment."
((So you know, the solar plexus is an area right below your ribs and above your stomach. There's a bunch of nerves there, so if you get hit there it knocks the wind out of you, meaning you can't breathe for a few seconds.))
Cyborg
(( Don't worry I know that.It's annoying getting hit there. ^_^)) Midknight swung..... and missed. He avoided the wind attack, but attempted to twist out of the way of the staff and was hit in the ribs. Midknight fell to his knees and pain, but got up and instead tried a spinning low sweep kick to knock the mage over. Meanwhile Cyborg rushed at Kat and sent 10 vines, 5 razor leaves, a rock pillar and a boulder at her. He realised though he would have to be careful of how much magic he used.
Ikkin
Ikkin was neither deaf nor stupid, so as soon as she heard the ceiling start to crack, she dodged almost out of the way. The almost was because she didn't want to get too far from the cracked ceiling; she used a gust of wind and the spell on her outfit to keep the rest of the rock from hurting her all too much. She thought she might have been bruised in a couple of places from rocks that got through, but she wasn't about to let that slow her down.
Wasting no time, she flew right up through the hole to the floor above, floating herself above the ceiling line as a defense against having more rocks fall from the ceiling onto her. Then, she used a fairly weak version of one of her potentially-most-powerful moves - she sent a high-speed stream of air at her opponent. This wasn't just normal wind, however, but had been modified by her control over the air so that there were many pressurized points of air that acted as the equivalent of needles.
Hopefully, that would shred through the rocks protecting her foe and score a hit. She prepared herself to put up shields anyway, though; she didn't want to get caught by the rocks underneath her if her attack somehow failed.
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
“HOLD FIRE!” shouted Fraze to the marines.
"You heard the man," said one of them to the others, lowering his weapon.
"But we outrank him," argued another.
"He's Special Ops, so his orders take priority during combat missions."
The arguing marine reluctantly lowered his rifle, along with the rest.
At that point, Fraze's suit played a very loud song, and he began to distract the blarf by pulling off a serious of dance maneuvers.
Above them on the other side of the room, Ikkin had dodged the majority of the stones falling from the ceiling, and flown herself into the resulting hole while launching a powerful jet of wind at The Commander. He saw it coming, but it reached his position almost instantaneously, making it impossible for him to avoid.
The stream of needle-sharp air cut through the stones orbiting The Commander's body, slowing them down slightly, but not entirely. The bulk of the stream hit the left side of his body, leaving a few tears in his cape and denting the left side of his armor. His chest plating absorbed most of the damage, but his left arm and leg felt like they had been punched several dozen times within a fraction of a second. He snarled, soaking up the pain as his body spun around a few times from the impact.
His opponent already managed to hit him twice without suffering even a single cut. He was getting angry... very angry... and yet he knew that a burst of aggression would only make him a more vulnerable target. He needed to try yet another strategy.
As soon as he straightened himself in the air, he noticed that Ikkin was still hiding in the hole in the ceiling in order to protect herself from any more falling rocks. If he couldn't hit her with falling rocks, he reasoned, perhaps he could hit her from a different direction. From every direction, for that matter. If he was going to level the playing field, he needed to focus on his greatest strengths, just as Ikkin was focusing on her strength with wind magic.
Still floating in midair, The Commander crossed his arms and focused very heavily on his psionic energy, staring at the hole in the ceiling. The stones surrounding the hole started to break away and orbit around Ikkin's body. Their orbit started very slowly and loosely, but as more rocks broke away and the hole grew bigger, the rocks orbited more steadily, surrounding her body in a sphere of stones that grew denser by the second.
PFA
((White Weewoo))
PFA stumbled up the stairs of the White Weewoo, just in time to see an arrow freeze in the air, and then fly away from the ship. What was that about? she wondered.
She decided to ignore that for now, and instead started looking around for the pirate captain. If what Father said was true, that the alliance was just a trick, then PFA needed to talk to the one who offered the alliance in the first place.
The pirate captain was over by the couch, where the weird man was still sitting. The captain said something, but PFA didn't catch what it was. She was too focussed on her own thoughts.
The hidden power... the fate of NTWF... the words of her Father echoed through her head. If she was really going to change fate, she was going to start here.
"What's your plan?" PFA called to the captain. "If we're going to be allied, then I need to know what we're doing."
The last sentence was slightly forced, but PFA decided that it was best. After all, as far as the pirates knew, PFA was still completely trusting of them. She decided she shouldn't break the alliance so suddenly, especially not when she had no idea what was really happening. She needed to get some information before jumping to any conclusions.
---
((near Weewoo))
The arrow slowed down as it reached the mist surrounding the ship, then turned around and was chucked the other way, landing lamely on the ground. Jernath sighed. Well, that did a lot of nothing.
Jernath glanced over in the direction of the castle, noticing the figures off in the distance that were the other mercenaries and the mage. He thought he heard Cyborg shout something, but even though there were six exclamation points, Jernath couldn't tell what it was from that distance. So he simply dismissed it as an angry battle shout, and looked back over at the ship.
Well, if I can't get on it, and I can't shoot at it, then what am I supposed to do? he pondered to himself. He didn't have any magic he could use, and even if he did, the ship would probably block it anyway. He just wished there was some way around that mist...
Until he thought up a better idea, though, he figured he'd at least try and make some sort of distraction. He moved over to a different branch, so it would be harder for one to determine his location, and reached for another arrow. He stopped though, deciding it wasn't wise to waste arrows on this, and instead grabbed a loose branch from the tree he was in.
Branches, however, were not designed to be fired from bows. They were usually curved, covered with twigs and very difficult to aim. This branch was no exception. But Jernath wasn't looking for good ammo, just for something that would keep the pirates distracted.
After snapping off the twigs on one side, Jernath carefully placed the branch to his bowstring and drew back. The branch felt very weird compared to his arrows, thus it took a bit longer than it usually did to do this. But regardless, he tried to aim the branch vaguely in the Weewoo's direction, and then fired.
Another thing about branches was that they were not very streamlined. Thus, the branch Jernath fired wobbled rather awkwardly through the air, and was heading toward the ground before it would be able to reach the Weewoo, even if the mist weren't there to deflect it.
It probably would have caught somebody's attention, though. After all, branches don't usually make a habit of launching themselves through the air.
Zari
((Mage Manor- Just Outside))
Zari pulled her hood back and raised an eyebrow at Cyclops. 'He's speaking the truth. He doesn't like us much- me because I stink of predatorial animals, being a handler for them, and my friend here, he just doesn't like.' she allowed the carefully blank look to slide off her face, replacing it with slight amusement. 'We heard she was here. Her name is Namarie Leoness. My name is Raldia Valnae Ailden.' She put her hands behind her back. In a bid to look more harmless, she'd let the fur retreat. Holefully the glasses and the name would be enough.
Ikkin
Of all the things her opponent could have done with the rock, trying to surround her completely was one of the few things Ikkin hadn't thought of. She ran through possibilities in her mind as the stones began to orbit around her and coalesce into a sphere - what could she do about this? Her eyes darted around, looking at different parts of her shrinking stone cage, trying to figure something out.
Suddenly, she hit on a realization. The top part of the stone must be the weakest, because the commander was controlling the stones to the side from underneath.
She blasted the top of the stone sphere with a spray of wind shards, tearing apart the stone and giving her the room to escape from the sphere before it closed in on her. Unfortunately, she didn't quite time it right, and her left foot was closed in the stone before she could make it out entirely.
Acting quickly, she turned the spray on the stone holding her foot until it cracked enough to let her pull her foot free. She grimaced from the pain; the spell on her outfit helped a little, but never really worked all too well on the wind shards due to their small size. She was very glad that she spent most of her time in the air; she wouldn't want to have to walk on that foot until she'd gotten it healed.
For now, though, she'd just have to deal with it - and with the enemy who'd necessitated it. So, she summoned up a large gust of wind, intending to try to force the giant sphere of stone back down towards its source.
Before she did this, however, she realized that her opponent probably wouldn't be stupid enough to get into a reverse-tug-of-war with a giant ball of stone when he could just will it apart and shoot the pieces back at her. Well, she'd have to plan for that, then. Using a shimmer effect on the air to try to block out her actions, she grabbed a couple of pieces of furniture and a tapestry from the second floor, stuck them inside the stone ball, and set them ablaze before following her original plan and trying to blast the stone sphere with enough wind to force it back at her foe.
Vyt
((Near Castle Kestrel))
Celestial's body began to change (yes, screw the last part about her immediate change), as her body features began to grow more scaly and harder. The transformation seemed as if trying to tease Bluisa's dark race, but the dark mage totally ignored the idea. Though she wanted to show her that the dragon race was not as very powerful as she thought it could be, that action would only be done by Subila. Bluisa never liked to be associated with her once more.
As soon as the transformation was complete, Celestial stood up proudly, showing probably one of her newest dragon form. "Climb on, there is only room for one and we aren't going to hurt you," spoke the dragoness, her voice now disembodied by echoes once more. It made Bluisa a bit ticked, but not angry.
Without speaking any word, she climbed behind Celestial and clinged on to dear life, as she braced herself for what was coming.
((Castle Kestrel: Throne Room))
Cat Assassin was totally ignored! That was good, considering that he needed to act more as a mediator rather than another side of the battle. Besides, the energy around his hands was meant for purposes other than inflicting pain.
He noticed the large creature going into berserk, as its mouth found its meal (or snack, whichever it preferred) on an unsuspecting marine. Noticing that it had already been angered by their attacks gave Cat Assassin the right time to initiate his first plan.
He needed to pacify the creature down.
Cat Assassin ran towards the creature, checking his distance accurately. As soon as the feline thought he could now outjump the creature, he immediately transitioned his feet from alternating back and forth to an instant thrust on the floor to give him enough force to jump. Felines like him would never really have problems with jumping too high; for them it's fine as long as you land safely.
The Invisible Guild
((In the dropship, over the forest, and heading for the horizon, baby! … Forget that last bit.))
Marzia smirked as his pursuer demanded his identity. He found such naivety more than a little amusing.
He affected an accent. “See, mate, the problem with that is, why on the Netwaf would I be wantin’ to tell yer my name for? Seems to me that’d mean you’d have the advantage …” He switched back to his normal icily cynical tones. “And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
He glanced at the course heading and made a few swift adjustments to it, relishing the feel of being in a ship again. He hadn’t been able to cobble anything together that he could actually fly in the Guild, and an unregistered spacecraft would have been too much of a security risk, at any rate. But there was nothing like the feel and hum and spark of power flowing through his hands and as he controlled this streamlined metal.
Another glance at the course heading confirmed that he was going in the right direction.
“Here we are …” Marzia deliberately spoke into the mic, enjoying taunting his follower. There’d been more than one ship at the dropsite, though. Better to hurry.
Castle Kestrel loomed on the horizon, in the way that only a pile of stone can do. And was that the masts of a sailing ship? There hadn’t been any freak tidal waves recently, had there?
As his own ship drew closer to the Castle, Marzia noticed several other things about the paradoxical vessel. It was very spiky, for one, and the ominous mists that drifted around it were unpleasantly purposeful. The name White Weewoo was still visible. Pirates, then. And they had the Artifact, obviously. Very well.
The silvery ship circled around the pirate one, staying just clear of the searching mist, and fired into it. Two beams of lazer-light arced down, aimed at crucial parts of the ship, and Marzia judged that that was all he had time for before his pursuers caught up. Pity. He would have loved to see that old wood burn.
((Inside Castle Kestrel))
Tigereye crawled over to a corner, forgotten in all the chaos. He glanced back over his shoulder once – was that man dancing? – before running down the corridor. Open warfare wasn’t really the Guild’s style; subterfuge was more his thing. A one-on-one swordfight was fine too, provided he could use all the dirty tricks at his disposal, but full-scale bedlam like this just made things needlessly complicated.
His tattered brown cloak billowed dramatically in an icy wind, and he followed the direction it was coming from. Sickle and Oak were waiting tensely in a small side room. Trilby was presumably there also.
“What now?” Sickle looked irritable. This room had been on fire when they’d found it, and it had taken a lot of energy and ice to put out the flames. The cobbles underfoot were at once both scorched and freezing, and it was uncomfortable, even if it was a good hiding place.
“We wait till the dust settles, then we strike. A few well-placed grenades would put at least two of the Guild heads out for the count. We can’t do much now; it’s too dangerous.” The former Knight drew his tattered cloak closer around him against the cold.
“Wonderful. MORE waiting.” Sickle started to pace impatiently. “We could just try and take them by force, or even head back to the base.” A whirl of silvery blue magic emphasized her angry words. “Anything, so long as we actually do something! I didn’t join this Guild to hang around having tea and crumpets!”
“I like tea and crumpets.” Oak laid a hand on his cutlass. “But she has a point. We should –”
Tigereye’s scarred face contorted into a snarl. “I am your commanding officer and you will do as I say!”
Trilby spoke from somewhere in the room. “Shouldn’t we contact the Lord? Tell him what we’re … doing …” The burly ex-pirate trailed off as Tigereye directed a glare at every corner of the room.
“We wait,” he said shortly.
Tense silence reigned in the icy room.
Kat
((Castle Kestrel & Mage Manor))
Surf had gone for the fox, which left Kat to deal with the Kougra. Blades sprang from both ends of Kat's staff, and she stepped forward to block the Kougra's attack. But before any epic duel could ensue, her opponent was distracted when Surf managed to keep the fox in check. " You, are gonna pay for that with your life!"
"Can you take care of the other one? I'm a bit tied up at the moment."
"My pleasure," said Kat. "I'll - "
From the corner of her eye, she saw Cyborg animate some objects...objects that were coming straight at her. One vine claimed her left wrist, and she quickly slashed it off with her staff, with a trickle of blood the only sign that she had overdone it. A second, and then a third vine took her legs, pulling her off her feet. Agh, forget the blades! Kat thought angrily as she fell onto the floor, staring straight ahead at the rest of the vines headed her way.
After retracting the blades again, she sent a spiraling burst of violet fire to burn the vines that had claimed her, and the next seven that looked all too eager to fold her in their lethal embrace. Just when she thought that it was over, a razor leaf grazed her cheek. Another one scored a long cut across her right arm. The last three never made it, as they were frozen by a blast of ice and clattered to the floor, where they shattered like glass.
The rock pillar and boulder were next. Kat ran, dived and rolled, getting out of their path and wincing as she rolled on top of her staff. She jumped back onto her feet, looking for her next opponent.
* * *
“Who are you?” she demanded, making an aggressive pose, arms crossed, legs spread. “What do you want?”
At last, someone opened for them. Asthielle looked this person up and down, and could sense the unmistakable magical signature that identified this inhabitant of the manor as a mage.
"My name is Asthielle," she said quickly. "Perhaps you may know a Miss Kalianne Triss?”
Surf
((Just outside Castle Kestrel))
Surf lightly jumped up, above the Kougra's kick. She chuckled to herself at the Kougra's sad attempt to trip her with a sweeping kick, because she knew that takedowns never worked unless you get your opponent off balance first. Taking advantage of her position above the Kougra, Surf thrust her arms at his temples, creating a sort of pressure attack to enhance it.
((Mmkay, Cyborg, just making sure, because a lot of people don't know where these pressure points are. By the way, the temple is a place where you pray a pressure point on the side of your head. Oh how I love the fact that I take karate. ^_^))
Rider
Cap'n was being bothered with enough things already, and both of them were bothering Speck with enough things already, but since Speck didn't seem to be posting, someone had to ask.
"Hey Cap'n, why're we getting shot at?"
It was a dumb question. They were a ship shrouded in black mist and parked on the ground. Who wouldn't consider that a threat? But these weren't proper arrows. these were branches.
Who goes through the trouble of firing branches?
"Ahoy!" Rider called to her attackers in a cliched manner.
Huntress
((Castle Kestrel throne room))
The blarf wasn't in a good mood. People shooting at him and giving him food that wasn't food hadn't been a good start, and now there was more shooting. He probably would've pounced on the shooters with all his six paws and twenty eight claws if his instincts didn't speak louder than Bloody Mary. So he curled up in a very big furry spike-ball of sulky rage instead, to wait until the shooting stops.
Which meant that while the grenades didn't harm him whatsoever, the laser blasts melted all the more spikes. When stones began to fall, a number of them got stuck in the half-molten metal.
And then there was music. As the firing stopped, the creature's ears perked.
"Hey, boy!"
His ears perked more. This was for him. That's how he was always called.
The blarf unrolled himself and sat down on the floor, smoke wafting from his fur. He tilted his head, watching Fraze dance.
Bloody Mary, who'd obediently slid off as da beat broke out, was impressed. Change of tactics. He hadn't expected that. When people encountered the blarf, they tended to shoot until they ran out of ammo or got eaten, sometimes both. He dived behind a chair and watched.
"Blarp," said the fuzzy kraken, landing on his six paws and edging forward. The dancing thing was moving away. He moved after it, ears flapping back and forth, sniffing like crazy, and curiously raised one of his front paws.
Bloody Mary broke into action, landing on his head. "No!"
"Blarf?" The blarf lowered his paw again and took another few steps forward.
"If you smack him, he won't be moving any more, and it won't be interesting any more, and then they'll shoot again," said the meepit, sitting down. This was an argument, so the blarf got back to sniffing and following Fraze, vaguely wondering to himself where this would all lead.
Bloody Mary was wondering the same thing. But he was a much quicker thinker, and you need some sharp wit to be the undisputed leader of a gang of anarchists. He cracked a faint grin.
"Just keep going," he said. "I've an idea."
((The White Weewoo))
Hunty was getting sleepy again. When PFA approached her, asking what her plan was, she wedged her eyes open and stared blankly at her, getting her into focus.
"Whuhuh? Plan? I dun have a plan. Right now we're just sitting here waiting for someone to return and report status. Once I learn what we're up against, I can start thinking of plans."
At that point, two laser blasts whizzed overhead. One of them crashed through the rigging, breaking a number of lines, the other bit a chunk out of the fore royal yard.
Hunty's chin jerked up. "Whatthe?"
The mist was already in action. The yard grew back again, which meant that the black fog thickened where the yard was supposed to be, and solidified within the matter of seconds. The same happened with the rigging. Right, the whole rigging practically was the mist, only in a more solid and rigid state. But...
The captain jumped to her feet. She'd never needed coffee in her pirate life. You either slept, or the circumstances kept you awake with adrenalin.
"She can't block lasers," she hissed to nobody in particular, eyeing the spacecraft that was now circling around the ship. "No wonder... it's not magic, and it's not solid matter, there's nothing to block."
The ship was sizzling. It may have had no way to shield itself, but it could repair itself. And the brand new half of the royal yard was already omitting fresh black mist.
"There's your plan of action, ninja," Huntress said with a cold grin. "We're going to try and survive. They can't destroy the ship, but they can hit us. Better move downstairs, people."
She paused. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a branch flying in the ship's general direction. She really liked the sea better.
Oh bugger, Speck. The ship wouldn't let her in, but leaving her out now would be murder.
"Scratch that. We need a shield of sorts. Or to bring down that bloody vessel, preferably both. Leraye, here's your chance to prove your loyalty."
Bacon
((Above Forest, Near Weewoo))
Bacon sighed, the chase was taking longer than he would have liked and the pursuer apparently didn't take him seriously. After momentarily losing Bacon, the pursuer was now shooting at the pirate ship parked on the ground by the castle.
Bacon blinked. The what by the what?!
The pirate ship somehow seemed to repair itself, which would have concerned Bacon, had he not just caught up with the dropship again.
He switched the radio to the encrypted channel and entered in the security code. "Lily, this is Bacon, open fire on target vehicle." He then switched the radio back and said to the fugitive, "Fine, long-distance interrogations never work anyways. Have a nice day."
He squeezed the trigger on the joystick several times. Emerald beams of light shot out of the two recessed laser cannons, splitting the air with a high-pitched whine as they raced towards the dropship.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:14:59 GMT -5
Keng((UFO Fight)) Lily didn't waste any time with her fresh order. She didn't even pause to listen to the plan of attack being directed to her by Urchin in the cockpit. The artificially intelligent ship went for the high ground, or air as it were, and used it's lower swiveling turrets (think Millennium Falcon) to shoot down at the ship. They weren't the most powerful weapons in the galaxy, but they were sufficient for the majority of combat situation to get the job done. "Say hello to my little lasers!" the ship snickered as much as it was possible for a metal bucket to do so. Several shots went off towards the top of the currently-not-succeeding-in-escaping vessel before Urchin took back control then swiveled sideways and down in an ark, carefully avoiding Bacon's line of fire, to repeat the process, now firing at the ship's underbelly. CelestialWihtout a word Bluisa climbed onto Celestial's back and grabbed whatever she could hard, holding on for dear life. There was also an element of annoyance in the mad clawing which the dragons could sense. Something was troubling her. "When we go, don't worry but don't let go either" she said andbegan visualising the surface of the moon she saw out of the window on the base. The metallic corridors and pipes invaded her mind while the hissing electric sound and stark lights set them off. Celestial took off into the sky, keeping these imagies firmly in her mind and not even letting giving Caslte Kestrel a stray glance. The dragons inside her remained quiet, not longing for battle this time. They knew the task ahead and it's dangers well. Wings pumping, she whispered the words of the spell in her mind channeling the power into teleportation and not once questioning her dream. It was too real not to be true. With one last flap of her wind she uttered the last syllable and teleported. If anybody was watching it would have seemed as if she had just disappeared into thin air with Bluisa. It was everything the legends and her dream said it would be: darker than dark, colder than cold. She didn't feel Bluisa on her back even though the mage had dug her fingers into her scales. But Celestial kept flying, knowing that if she stoped now there would be no escape. All breath in her was still and ever fibre was waiting for the moment where the vision in her mind would become reality. It seemed to take forever but she knew it was only a few seconds. The artificial lights reflected off her scales and in her eyes. She winced at how bright they were. First Celestial let Bluisa off her back and only then did she shapeshift back into her human form but still draconic enough to make the dragons inside her heard. Celestial looked around. This was the place she saw in her dream to the last bolt in the floor. She looked back to Bluisa and started to walk down the corridor just like she did in her dream. That door at the end had to be significant. Perhaps it could even lead her to the gem's secret. PFA((near Weewoo))
Almost as soon as Jernath had fired the branch, a huge, metal ship of some sort started flying circles around the Weewoo, shooting at the pirate ship with lasers.
Well, that's definitely a distraction, Jernath blinked, feeling his distraction attempt was rather inferior now. Especially considering that the flying ship actually damaged the Weewoo. But regardless, the pirates were distracted, and that's all that really mattered.
As two more flying ships appeared and started shooting at the first, the mist around the Weewoo started gathering around the parts the lasers hit. Jernath took notice to that fact, and wondered if maybe, just maybe, the mist would be too distracted with fixing the ship to block attacks. It was a long shot, but a shot nonetheless.
Jernath climbed to yet another branch, and grabbed another arrow (an arrow this time, not a branch). If this was really going to work, he had to act fast, as the ship was healing quickly. He fired the arrow at whoever seemed to be the farthest from the mist gatherings, and then watched. He had the feeling this wasn't going to work. But he wanted to try anyway.
---
((White Weewoo))
"Whuhuh? Plan? I dun have a plan," the pirate captain responded. "Right now we're just sitting here waiting for someone to return and report status. Once I learn what we're up against, I can start thinking of plans."
Before PFA could even start thinking about how to respond to that, two laser beams shot out of the sky, crashing into the rigging of the Weewoo. PFA looked up in surprise, seeing some weird metal thing flying around them. That didn't look good.
"There's your plan of action, ninja," called the captain, catching PFA's attention. "We're going to try and survive. They can't destroy the ship, but they can hit us. Better move downstairs, people," a pause, and then the captain spoke again. "Scratch that. We need a shield of sorts. Or to bring down that bloody vessel, preferably both."
PFA didn't really know what to do, though she kept an eye on the metal thing. Bring it down, came a thought to her mind. Flashbacks of her dream were coming to her mind. A beam of light, shooting from her hands. Can I really do that...?
PFA dashed to the stairs, where it was safer, and started concentrating, trying to see if she could repeat the event in her dream. Where she found the power deep in her heart, which she had never before felt. Unfortunately, it was a lot harder to do in real life than it was to do in her dream. It was a lot harder in real life to concentrate on something that you weren't sure even existed. Vyt((Castle Kestrel: Throne Room)) The large creature looked totally stunned, not knowing what to do. Cat Assassin knew it was too outnumbered to think of what to do to counteract against everything being thrown at it, let alone make a half-decent plan of winning in that battle. Nevertheless, it was clear to the feline that he alone can stop the battle without causing more bloodshed. Cat Assassin extended his right hand outward as he prepared to land. The feline knew he jumped a bit too far and was heading towards the creature's back. He would not want to collide on a rampaging mammoth, for it meant suicide. It was a good thing Cat Assassin had both his hands filled with energy, however. The energy in his right hand met the peculiar back of the creature, making crackling sounds as it made contact with whatever was behind it. Amazingly, it let Cat Assassin cling behind without receiving any damage. The feline held tightly to his energy, waiting for the right time to jump off. After a second or two, Cat Assassin hopped off towards ground. Immediately, he turned around and placed the energy in his left hand below the creature, trying his best not to get stomped by its six large paws. "Signum Sanctuary!" With a shout of his well-known ability, Cat Assassin jumped off once more, this time fairly away from the creature. He watched as the energy he left underground snuck below, spreading around in a radial motion. Suddenly, walls of pure energy sprung out of the ground, trapping the creature inside.
Spacefleet HQ ((Spacefleet HQ - Sector 2 - Main Hallway)) One of the security cameras mounted on the ceiling spotted an unusual pair of figures moving across the hallway. They seemed to be heading towards the lift door leading to the lower subterranian sectors of the station. Upon sensing this, the camera immediately triggered the station's alarms. The hallway started to glow red while a loud, repetitive noise filled the intruders' ears. They had been detected. ((Spacefleet HQ - Subterranian Sector 4 - Central Security Office)) "WARNING - UNIDENTIFIED LIFEFORMS DETECTED," shouted the large computer terminal in Spacefleet Headquarters' security office. Subcommander #9 was sitting in chair directly beside the terminal, and he his body stiffened in surprise. He dropped the metal cup he was holding, which made a metallic noise as it bounced on the ground. Fortunately, the steaming hot coffee inside did not spill, since the top was covered in a plastic lid. Instinctively, he leaned over the terminal and held down a button on its surface to inform the other subcommanders of the discovery. "Emergency! Activate Sector 2's primary defense systems!" he screamed. He then moved his fingers rapidly across the enormous keyboard on the terminal, preparing himself and the rest of the station to deal with the unknown visitors. * * * An announcement boomed on the loudspeakers in every floor, corridor, and sector of the station... Attention all personnel! A security breach is in progress by an unknown group of lifeforms. All non-combat personnel should initiate Code Orange protocols and remain in their quarters until further notice. This is not a drill. CyborgMidknight missed, he saw the mage's lame attempt at an attack as he rolled out of the way. What the mage didn't realise is his plan was working, the mage was in the air. Cyborg seeing their plan was working sent a boulder at the mage's abdomen and razor leaves at her neck, arms and legs. Shado was healed enought to fight now and he was ready. He teleported to Midknight waiting until the mage hit the floor to attack. CelestialA blaring alarm filled Celestial's ears but she didn't flinch Instead her eyes only whirled faster as she continued walking, the tingle of magic filling her. If they wanted a fight, they could easily get one. She was more than just one person but a mixture of a thousand dragons who do not fear death. She turned to Bluisa with a sadistic and anticipating smirk. "It seems that we are getting a welcoming commitie" she grinned amidst the alerts. This isn't going to be pretty for whoever was attacking them. Fire and space did not mix well. That is, if words did not work any magic first. VytBluisa's expression showed much surprise. Teleportation... Not again... she thought, reminded by the time the mage was suddenly teleported at the Ninja Guild when she picked up a scroll near Cat Assassin's house. All she could do was close her eyes and cling tightly to Celestial. Without her sight, Bluisa only felt the sudden coldness surrounding her. It hinted her that something was going on, and by reasonable judgment she thought the teleportation had begun. Moments later, the area around her started to warm once more, though the temperature was still colder than the spot where they took off. Bluisa opened her red eyes and met a very peculiar scene. Everything was covered in metallic protection - no, everything was indeed metal. The blinking lights and modern technology gave her the idea that they were inside a space station of some sort. Suddenly, the annoying sound of the alarm caught their ears' attention. Celestial turned back towards Bluisa to warn her about incoming hostility, to which she nodded in return. It seemed that they were considered intruders by whoever was managing the place, and the "welcoming commitee" would not be as much welcoming as they could be. Bluisa turned around, taking note of her surroundings. Everything was going against her own affiliation, the bright lights being able to hinder most of her spells. Only stronger darkness spells would be able to negate the illumination around them, but Bluisa only had few spells that fell in that category. Bluisa would have to save them for later. Celestial seemed able to take them both to their destination without much help, she thought. Keng((Spacefleet HQ)) The corridors and personell of the moon base were no strangers to large and massively powerful creatures intruding into the base. There was once an attack by what they'd thought was only a large asteroid, but turned out to be an RNA based life form, suspected to be related to viruses. This event had killed the debate once and for all as to wether or not viruses could be considered living things, and caused considerable damage to the civilian sector. The beast had been fought off and left severely injured with only a few cookies from the souvenir shop and a tourist's backpack full of school notes to show for it's efforts. It's been widely considered the worst shop lifter in all of Spacefleets history, but one of very good taste when it came to cookies. One guard who happened to have been on the front line of that attack, now turned the corner with his weapon drawn, and just behind him were six others. One had a rocket launcher despite having been advised that firing it in the hallways ranked right up there in the top 20 ways to be sued for property damage. "On the ground now!" yelled the leading guard, waving his weapon at the two intruders for emphasis. ((The Doom-Mode Weewoo)) As Keng climbed the rope she could hear Mission Impossible playing in the back of her head. It seemed wrong to be sneaking onto her own ship. Not so much in the moral sense but in the she-had-to-do-it-at-all sense. Around her the marines silently followed her up. They were moving quickly now that they'd established a rythm. The strange mist flowed around them. It gave Keng the uneasy feeling of being watched, almost like the mist was prodding at her, trying to determine her intentions. More likely the ship was trying to figure out why she seemed so familiar, like seeing an old friend and recognizing their face from a distance but not being able to remember their name, and not being entirely sure it was actually them because there was no reason for them to be where they are. They were approaching the railing now, and Keng peered over the edge cautiously to check for a welcoming party. The pirates however were preoccupied and with good reason to be. Keng recognized the Stellar Eye and Lily chasing what she could only presume was the drop-ship she'd ordered them after. For reasons she couldn't herself fathom, the drop-ship was shooting at the Weewoo. Keng might have sworn loudly at it for blowing holes in the ship which she would have to repair if she: a) Was still part of the crew b) Wasn't trying to not be noticed c) Wasn't herself there for battle d) Wasn't looking on in awe as the unsettling mist repaired the ship. e) All of the above The correct answer of course being e). Using hand signal commands she gave her orders to move further away from the group. The ship may have some new tricks but she still knew every nook and cranny and creaking board. If this could be considered a sort of infiltration mission, she considered herself to be at a great advantage compared to most of her others in which the location she was sneaking into was usually one she'd never seen before in her life. Speck"Do I need to explain myself, Captain?" The Possessor scowled. This was getting no where real fast, "I am obviously desperate for an answer, no offense to your lackey. You would be too if your soul had been trapped for countless ages, with no hope of moving on to the next world."Bluffing was doing it no good. The Possessor, consumed with the thought of revenge, had forgotten Leraye’s front of calm and collectiveness. What was another dead body to the alchemist, anyway? It surely wouldn’t get any answers if it killed and/or tortured its host. But what’s the point of getting an answer if you’re already dead? Ease of mind? Speck’s voice piped up in her own mind. It was her time to convince the being of something. Shut it, girl. You know nothing of what I’ve been through. Its voice bit back at Speck. Speck did the mental equivalent of a wince. You’re free from the gemstone, aren’t you? Can’t you just… move on now? Or do you really need that answer before you can? There’s probably no excuse that this demon-man can give you that will satisfy you.Despite her ignorance of the Possessor’s past, this pirate girl was right. Even during its life on the planet, the Possesssor could remember no one having any answers to Leraye’s motivations. He was, and always will be, a mystery. Yet, while it was free from the gem, it was now trapped inside Speck. The Possessor had spent too long in the body, and what remained of its lifeforce had started to intertwine with Speck’s. It withdrew control of her body, reverting to a whisper in her mind for what would be the last time. “Captain. If you’re not too busy, I’m going to need that amulet,” Speck called to Huntress, unsure as to who had picked the amulet up, if anyone. Celestial((Spacefleet HQ)) Seven guards turned the corner with one carrying a nice-looking rocket launcher, a weapon Celestial once hoped to leave behind when she left the real world. Still, this was a Sci-Fi futuristic guild. She almost laughed at the thought of that. At least they weren't mutated by an alien substance. "On the ground now!" the guard with the rocket launcher shouted at them both, waving it around. Celestial looked him straight in the eye with sheer confidence and without any sign of doing as she was told. "Who dares to order us around? None but the Dragon Mage may command us!!" the enraged dragons shouted using her voice. The eyes turned blood red wth flashes of scarlet in them displaying the indigantion of the dragons. Wings outstreched, Celestial focused her gaze on the rocket launcher and blinked. That blink became a single spark in the fuel of the rocket launcher. It was designed to do only one thing: explode. It exploded well but the explosion was projected right back at the guards, white hot flame rushing over their heads. The energy from the explosion knocked the guards over, sending them flying onto their feet. The shockwave did reach Celestial and Bluisa but it's power was reduced to that of a shudder in the floor. However, Celestial made sure that none of them were burnt or badly hurt except for the man holding it, he was impossible to save. She would tend to him later if they agreed to listen to her and not attack. "If they think we are going to come quietly, then they must think again. We are no ordinary intruders, we have come on behalf of the planet beneath you. If you do not wish to talk, then all your technology counts for nothing for no civilised person would attack without listening to reason. We know we appeared here out of nowhere but with you being on the moon, how exactly were we supposed to arrive? Call a space taxi?" she said calmly, trying to add a little humour to the sitaution. After all, humour sometimes loosened people up. If these were indeed people… Huntress((Castle Kestrel throne room)) The blarf, completely captured in following Fraze and thus paying no attention to anything else, up to and including someone bouncing off his back, suddenly walked face-first into an invisible barrier. He blinked, pulled his head back, then lunged forward and bounced into it. It didn't work much. He sat down on the floor and patted the barrier with his front paws, giving a quiet deep snarl. "Why do they all insist on making him angry?" Bloody Mary moaned to himself, looking around. Not that he had to look far; the orange cat who'd chanted a spell a second before the blarf walked into the barrier was a dead giveaway in itself. "Brawrp," said the blarf sulkily, slammed his front claws into the wall in front of him, and dragged them down repeatedly, trying to scratch his way through. It sounded - and in essence, was - exactly like fingernails on a chalkboard. Bloody Mary could feel it in his teeth. It cut right through the whole room like a crystal chainsaw. "Hah," he mumbled, burying his head in the blarf's thick fur in an attempt to muffle the sound. After all, he wasn't about to tell him to stop. The shards of the chandelier on the ground began to tinkle. ((The White Weewoo)) Hunty watched as Speck argued with herself. Her eyes had narrowed into slits. "Do I need to explain myself, Captain? I am obviously desperate for an answer, no offense to your lackey. You would be too if your soul had been trapped for countless ages, with no hope of moving on to the next world.""You're not Speck, and I'm not your captain, you slimy little thing," Hunty snapped, then paused with a scowl. "Well, I do sympathise. But I'd sympathise more if you didn't go around threatening to tear Speck into pieces. Granted, I'm tempted to call your bluff there. If you killed her, you'd be back to having no body, and there'd be no negotiating, and you'd be back on square one, whereas we have... ha!" She spun around. "Where's that firechicken? The ship's under attack, just the time to send out heavy cavalry." The ship was dealing with itself nicely enough at that point, though. The aircraft had gotten company and had better things to worry about. Another arrow came flying, which it brushed down with a quick whack of the mist. And then there was, of course, Keng et al, climbing up the other board. The White Weewoo was mildly curious about that, as much as a ship could be. It knew Keng well, so having identified the werewolf, it had no further concerns with her. The rest of the group, however, was unknown. Well, it'd had plenty of practise with that already that night. One after another, the mist picked the marines up as if cleaning barnacles, and dropped them off together with the ropes. No point in changing good tactics. Hunty, who'd missed all that, watched Speck with an intense scowl. When the girl asked for the amulet, a smile slid over the captain's face. "That's you, alright. Rider, if you please..." She took the amulet and tossed it over to Speck, who was being floated back in over the railing at that point - the ship had recognized her too. "Where the hell did you pick up that freeloader? I've seen possessers in my time, once met a guy who had some five souls in his body, and it wasn't even much of a body, had scurvy and everything, but those were all pretty... peaceful.” Strife((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room)) The Commander smiled as Ikkin became trapped in the prison of stones surrounding her. As more stones added themselves to the growing mass, the hole in the ceiling grew bigger and bigger, exposing the room directly above the throne room which was filled with furniture and tapestries. Several wooden chairs fell down as a result, shattering into piles of wood as they made contact with the throne room's floor. Just as it seemed that Ikkin would be mercilessly crushed by the sphere of stones, she bursted through the top of the sphere, which was less dense due to The Commander being underneath her. As she did so, her foot was caught as the sphere sealed up again, but she blasted another small opening to pry it loose. The Commander then saw her create an opening in the center of the sphere while using her magic to grab hold of a few pieces of furniture. She set them on fire, placed them in the center of the sphere, and then blasted the sphere with enough wind power to send it soaring in his direction. He grinned at the sight of this strategy. The girl fought intelligently, there was no doubt about that, but it seemed that she was underestimating his power. He knew that since the flaming furniture was surrounded by stones, he could simply push the stones - and therefore, the furniture - in the opposite direction. The Commander stretched out his hands while opening his palms in a pushing motion. The giant ball of stones, which was zooming towards him, quickly decreased in speed until it eventually stopped completely in midair. While this happened, stones continued to break away from the decaying ceiling, causing the sphere to grow larger and denser with every second that passed. Once again, he laughed, knowing that it would annoy his opponent. "I could tear this entire fortress to its foundation," he shouted, just loud enough for Ikkin to hear. He had no idea if he could actually do that, but a little intimidation never hurt. The Commander spread his arms outward, willing the outer stones to break away from the sphere. The small cluster of stones that remained pushed the furniture to the ground, where it crashed into and set fire to the carpet that led from the main hallway to the throne. The stones floating in the air began to make their way to The Commander himself. The first several stones snapped to his arm, and the rest of the stones began to extend from his arm, forming a string of rocks that rapidly grew longer. Finally, the remaining stones formed a large sphere at the end that was roughly the size of a person. When it was all said and done, it looked as though a giant ball-and-chain was attached to The Commander's arm. The Commander started to swirl the chain of stones in a clockwise motion over his head. The motion was slow at first, but it picked up speed until the chain became a blurred disc about ten meters in diameter, much like the blade of a helicopter during flight. When it was moving as fast as he could make it, he thrusted his arm forward and sent the spinning disc of rocks in Ikkin's direction. Kat((Castle Kestrel, throne room)) Kat pressed a glowing hand to the cut on her arm, feeling it slowly heal. The cuts on her face and wrist weren't too much; she had to save her magic. She saw Cyborg send a boulder and razor leaves towards Surf, and leapt forward, twirling her staff before her like a baton. The boulder turned tail and headed back towards Cyborg. With a single arcane word and another wave of her staff, Kat turned the whirling razor leaves into ice, and they uselessly clattered to the floor. She could have sworn that a few got past her, but as she contemplated this, two leaves managed to cut her other cheek. Fraze"Just keep going," the blue meepit said. "I've an idea.""Excellent," Fraze replied between movements. He could keep this up for quite a while as long as he played relatively slowly. However, he never got to find out what the idea was, as an orange cat flew in from--where?--and created a barrier around the blarf. The creature did not seem at all pleased. "Why do they all insist on making him angry?""Well, he's not with me," was all Fraze could say. To the stranger, he added, "Friend, you just wasted a large amount of energy for nothing. I had it calmed down and mostly to the door. Now it's mad again. The last person who made it mad got bitten in half. Unless you plan on teleporting it, you'll just have to keep it there." For a moment, he glanced to the Commander. Strife's battle with the foxtailed mage had gotten much more fierce, it seemed. Best not to get involved unless he was called on. The marines seemed unsure of what to do now. A few aimed their weapons at the cat, but Fraze gave a signal not to attack. Fraze didn't agree with the feline's tactics, but he wasn't an enemy just yet. SurfSurf's risky technique came to bite her in the butt, as she was completely open to Midknight's attack, which consisted of a boulder at her body, and a swarm of razor leaves at her arms, legs, and neck. Surf cursed under her breath, but was spared from being squashed to a pulp, thanks to Kat, who sent the boulder flying back at the Kougras, and rended the majority of the leaves useless. A few leaves whizzed past, however, hitting Surf's wrists. Wow, the mage thought amusedly, I could be emo. The mage flipped back to where Kat stood, while she stored her staff in the leather loop that was sewn into the back of her coatfor this purpose, and took her fans out of her coat pockets. The second the mage landed, she unfolded the fans, and swung her hands down, creating and X-shape of slicing wind. After delivering this blow, she quickly replaced the fans, and grabbed her staff again. "Thanks for saving my butt there, Kat," she added quickly. AmneigerAmneiger watched using the minitank's camera eye as the door to Mage Manor opened - or rather, fell open. Huh. Why wouldn't they fix the door? They must have gotten distracted...by what? And that mage who just came out doesn't look too friendly. What's going on in there?
They didn't fix the doors because they either didn't have the time to do so or the mages who did this kind of thing are gone. What could draw them away? A fight? Where would a fight be...the Knight's Castle? Or wherever the pirate ship was going.
That might provide an explanation as to why the mage seems so angry...but that has too many variables, like my not being able to see inside Mage Manor. Vyt((Castle Kestrel: Throne Room)) A stranger went near Cat Assassin, quite surprised by his sudden appearance. "Friend, you just wasted a large amount of energy for nothing. I had it calmed down and mostly to the door. Now it's mad again. The last person who made it mad got bitten in half. Unless you plan on teleporting it, you'll just have to keep it there," he noted the feline. Some of his comrades raised their weapons at him, but the stranger signalled them not to attack. Cat Assassin turned towards the person, his red eyes glaring at him. "Don't try to tell a veteran that he's wrong, lad. I know what I'm doing..." He then pointed at the creature, taking note of how his small barrier was trying to suffocate it inside. Indeed, it was too small for the large creature to move. Even though it was trying its best to escape, the barrier would just consume more of its energy. "I'm tiring it out," he answered, almost trying to question the quality of the training the men in front of him had received. Even amidst the small earthquake the mammoth-looking creature was making, Cat Assassin tried his best to maintain his focus. There were other people fighting each other, and the feline was the only person who could not be affiliated with anyone inside the throne room. That alone could gave him the role of an impartial mediator. He had to act fast to stop everyone from attacking each other. Gosh, I gotta stop repeating myself. Hehe xDD((Spacefleet HQ)) "On the ground now!" Well, that was not quite a good thing to say while attacking, Bluisa thought. Helpless while inside a rather brightly-lit place, the mage had no choice but to count on Celestial to counter against the incoming attack. The dragoness never failed to keep her hope high, as she easily (and almost overpoweringly) destroyed whatever the projectile was. It exploded prematurely, harming those behind it more than them. However, the explosion caused a relatively strong shake. Probably the only one who noticed this, Bluisa turned towards Celestial, who was trying to put the people earlier into a peaceful negotiation. ... After getting so aggressive? I doubt they'll listen, she conceived. Bluisa stepped up, thinking that Celestial's words would mean nothing to those she had already caused harm to. "Stop! We both are very powerful, but if either one of us continues to attack, we'll blow this whole thing up!" she noted all of them, including Celestial. Hopefully, someone who had not attacked yet like her would have high credibility on both sides. Cyborg(( Emo nice touch Surf!! LOL! Go to the pink emo corner!))Seeing the boulder flying back at him Cyborg caught it, but was knocked back a few feet. Cyborg then used the boulder to block the wind attack. " You'll have to do better than that to get rid of me!" Cyborg yelled as he threw the boulder back at Surf. Meanwhile Midknight felt his magic slowly returning, he would need to save what little magic he had left. Shado saw his opportunity and jumped at Kat's leg attempting to rip it off, mmmmmmm Kat leg. RiderThere were lasers. Rider wondered how she hadn't noticed the lasers. Same reason she hadn't noticed the vampire shooting her before. Multitasking. With great frustration and reluctance, she handed the amulet to Hunty, who in turn handed it to Speck. "Alright, now as I'm a fan of not getting shot at... Excuse me, what is the ship doing?" *insert sound of Marines falling into the mud here* "I love our ship. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to find out what's shooting at us and why." Rider dodged laser blasts, keeping low to the ground. There was a lot of rolling around and bits of clothes catching on fire. "Those metal angels. Yo, Leraye, some cover would be nice! Holy mother of - that's our werewolf!" Deep breath in, deep breath out. Roll over, get behind a cannon. "Cap'n, that's our blasted werewolf!" PFA((near Weewoo))The arrow was deflected. Jernath sighed; his long shot was a bit too long, it seemed. Marines were picked up and tossed off the ship, but Keng seemed to be ignored by the mist. This fact confused Jernath for a moment. Wait, Keng was a pirate once, right? Perhaps the ship doesn't realize she's changed affiliations, he decided. But regardless, if the ship wasn't stopping her, then she could keep the pirates distracted. Jernath climbed to a branch where he could get a better view of what was going on, and then just watched. He didn't need to waste energy on something that Keng could do on her own. Though he inwardly prepared himself, incase she ended up needing his help. ZariZari raised an eyebrow as one of the "wingnuts" (as she had privately began to call them) started...dancing? It was distracting the whatever-it-was, sure enough, but it was very weird. I wish I had a tail so I could lash it at the moment...wait, what? ZARI. Keep your subconscious under control. StoppitShe backed away, towards the door, smoke rising off her after her recent anger with the destruction of her home, and pressed herself against the wall, gripping her sketchbook with both hands. This was the riskiest thing she'd done in a while. It meant embrace fear. Forget the weapons she had. Forget herself. She shut her eyes, and reopened them scared out of her wits. The sketchbook began to give off a soft amber glow, slowly changing to blue as her eyes did. Fear was swallowing her. A little bit longer... A shiver ran up her, starting from her hands. She vanished. Fear made you want to seem small. Or invisible. And that's what she was. Invisible. For now. The fear trickled back into her subconscious, hanging there like like a grey cloud. If she stood still, hopefully if things got nasty she could help. Omni((Mage Manor, kitchen)) Omni watched as Rikku ran off to answer the door. She paused for a moment before shrugging and putting away the milk carton. Deciding that she would like to get a drink for herself, she took out another glass, this one she filled with water and lifted to her mouth. A sound was heard throughout the room. "Yes, I know, I swallow loud," Omni said before anyone could bring up the subject. She finished the glass off and put it in the sink. "I'd like to stay and chat, but I should be going." She picked up the glass of milk and plate of cookies, and started heading back to the guest room, being careful not to spill. "Nature," she said in a sing-song voice as she approached the room. "I brought cookies!" ---------- ((Mage Manor, front door)) Ethan payed no heed to the girl's aggressive pose. Or if he did, he didn't show it. Cyclops climbed off of Ethan and in front of the girl. Soon after, Zari spoke. "He's speaking the truth. He doesn't like us much- me because I stink of predatorial animals, being a handler for them, and my friend here, he just doesn't like. We heard she was here. Her name is Namarie Leoness. My name is Raldia Valnae Ailden."Ethan gave Zari a confused look. "Wait… did he say something?" He turned back to the girl. "Sorry, he has a method of communication that not everyone can detect. Yes, we're here to see Leoness. We're know her. …Ask her if you don't believe us." Huntress((The White Weewoo)) Our werewolf? What the heck was Rider now talking about? Hunty turned around. The mist parted helpfully, forming a clear corridor across the deck down to Keng, creating a kind of odd reunion effect. The captain was so surprised that her face showed no emotions whatsoever at first. Then her mind kicked into gear. Hadn't Bloody Mary said that Keng worked for Spacefleet now? ...whatever Spacefleet was, but one way or another, she wasn't going to take any risks as of now. The ship still trusted Keng, once it'd already let her in, so the ever-so-useful tactics of kicking the intruder out wasn't going to work this time. "Whadda you know," she said. "To what do we owe this honour?" ((Castle Kestrel throne room)) The blarf stopped his improvised barrier-solo, seeing that it was of no use. His nostrils twitched quickly, sniffing the air. It was getting hard to breathe - big as he was, it didn't take much to use up all the good air inside the energy cage. Bloody Mary, who was experiencing the same thing, was thinking fast. The barrier was all around them. Even something as big as a blarf couldn't get through. That meant that crashing through was no option. Distracting the feline who was holding up the barrier was another option, but since they were inside and he was outside, well, that was not much of an option either. So that left two ways out, one of which was immensely easier. He climbed into the blarf's ear, held on tight, and gave him the command. The blarf, already somewhat dizzy because of the lack of fresh air, sat down, blinked a few times, then curled up into a ball of spikes again. And rolled forward, as much as he could still move. And bounced into the barrier, and bounced back against the other wall of the barrier, and bounced into the air from there. The spikes dug down the barrier with an ugly screech, sending the blarfball into a quick spin. He came down again, and crashed into the floor. The stones shattered, caved in, and the blarf fell straight into the basement under the throne room. He unfolded himself, all the more dizzy because of the spinning, and took a few deep breaths, thankful for the damp air. "Blarp!" "One'd think that it only works in movies, but there we have it," Bloody Mary said mainly to himself, trying to get the world into focus again. It was a dark, dusty, and generally rubble-covered world, but definitely beat the earlier scenery. He sighed. He really hated the idea of getting up there again, but a plan's a plan. "And up again, boy. Another hole, if you please." The blarf looked up at him, or at least tried to squint at his own ear. "Blarf?" He didn't like the battle, now that his stomach was full. He'd much rather have looked for another way out. "You don't wanna lose your new bouncy toy, do you now?" That was a point. The blarf curled up again. The floor of the throne room exploded into a cloud of rubble when the blarf bounced out again, landed a couple feet away from the new hole, unfolded himself, and sat down uneasily. He didn't like doing that trick even once, but twice was pretty much pushing it. Not to mention a number of the smaller spikes on his back had broken, leaving him with about half the steel-jungle he'd had when he came to the castle only about half an hour ago. "The things I do for the crew," Bloody Mary muttered, stumbling out of the blarf's ear. "H'well. Look, bouncy toy!" The blarf, who could recover from those tricks pretty quickly, seeing that he was more used to them, got up again, and nearly stuck his nose into Fraze. "Blrp?" "You might wanna get bouncing again," Bloody Mary prompted with a grin, sitting down. "Or he might get back to more interesting things. Like eating people.” Fraze"Don't try to tell a veteran that he's wrong, lad. I know what I'm doing..." Fraze honestly didn't know where to begin. "Knowing what you're doing and knowing the consequences thereof are two completely different things. I've heard a great many people say they knew what they were doing, many of them had no idea what would happen because of it. I knew exactly what I was doing when I applied for the covert security post for the Singularity Sphere project. I had no idea it would eventually be the primary determinant of my actions from then until the present.” He knew the new person would have no idea what he meant, but he didn’t care. Not long after, the barrier became completely useless as the blarf broke through the floor of the castle, and came up several meters to the side, Tremors-style. Fraze instinctively covered his face as various chunks of stone and mortar sprayed everywhere. "You might wanna get bouncing again," Bloody Mary prompted with a grin, sitting down. "Or he might get back to more interesting things. Like eating people."“Sounds good to me,” Fraze answered, trying not to be unnerved by the enormous fanged, furry, and almost adorable face in his way. He began to play music again. He moved away more quickly this time, hoping to get the blarf out the door soon. It worked. “You’re probably with that ship, aren’t you?” he asked the blarf once they got outside. It was a rhetorical question, one for which he neither needed nor expected an answer. He soon made his way to where it was perched on the ground. Wonder if the inhabitants will notice the music? he thought to himself. CyborgShado saw the blades and teleported back to Midknight before he could be attacked. Cyborg saw Keng on the Weewoo and knew of Keng's and Hunty's history, when Keng was kicked off and was really, really, really, really angry about it. He decided to go back to the ship. " Midknight , Rose and Shado forget about the mage and get into the trees, it's time for a little reunion." Cyborg said as he rushed towards the vines he had made earlier and began to climb them. Meanwhile Midknight and Shado rushed to where Jernath was and jumped onto a branch near him. Zari'Yeah, he did.' Zari answered Ethan's semi-rhetorical question, then added, sending the mind-words to Cyclops and Ethan as well as the girl with the freaky hair. #I'm telepathic, see. I can send, recieve, and listen in, sometimes, on mind-sent messages. Please leave a message, beep, and I'll get back to you later# She didn't bother to hold back her magical aura from going with it, attatched like a return address written in warmth. She grinned. 'Don't mind my answerin' machine impression. It's fun, but unecessary. KengIt was much to late to late to help her comrades now, and it wasn't exactly a good time to be asking them over the radio now that she'd been spotted. She stood there sorta awkwardly having just jumped over the railing, and was in a half squat mid-step like a cartoon being caught sneaking about. "To what do we owe this honor?" asked her old captain. Keng, unsure how to respond, instead of answering the question replied with one of her own that had been near the forefront of her brain. "What the bloody hell did you do to her?!" She asked waving her arm around. "I mean I heard she'd caught fire -what was that by the way- but..." Keng made another sweeping gesture and their surrounding more or less finished her sentence for her without the use of words. And now while she was getting nagging questions of her chest she saw no reason to stop, "And how exactly did she wined up here? And who's that guy?" she pointed ay Learay, "And I must say I'm very disappointed in the state of this ship!" she declared pointing at a few cobwebs in some obscure corner that had somehow survived the fire. "And have you SEEN how many bloody barnacles are on the side of the ship? This is exactly why I could never move up from swabby! This place is a bloody mess!" Speck“Thank you,” Speck said to both Hunty and the Weewoo as she was handed the amulet, and set down on the deck (respectively). She cupped her hands around the amulet and held it to her mouth. You need to repeat this chant just as I tell you. Once you have repeated it, blow into the amulet. There is no going back once you have done this. I will leave you with my power and knowledge… but brace yourself for a rough ride. The voice said in her mind. It then spoke in an ancient tongue. It somehow was not too difficult for Speck to repeat the language into the magical stone in her hands. Then, she blew. The stone shone brighter than the sun, if only for an instant. An excruciating pain ran through her body, as if her innards were being torn from her. Her stomach lurched. Had she not been in so much pain, she may have thought something like, Oh, Poseidon. I hope I don’t lose my lunch again!She could feel a burning on her right forearm and around her left eye, as if someone was branding her with a hot rod of metal. Her knees buckled, and she fell forward onto her hands. The amulet faded and turned black, crackling like a dying fire. Speck could feel a weight lift from her soul and drift away. The pirate wiped sweat from her brow and clambered to her feet. It was only then that she was fully aware of the battle going on around her. Her entire body tingled with the unfamiliar sensation of magic. The world spinning around her, she stumbled to the crew’s quarters. She would be of no use at this moment after going through the exorcism. At least, not until she grew accustomed to the magic within her. As she made her way down the decks, she did not notice the delicate curlicue markings trailing down the left side of her face, and around her right arm. They were red and sore, and would eventually fade white with time. IkkinIkkin growled in annoyance as the commander just stopped the ball of stone in midair and then broke it apart in such a way that the fire inside wouldn't affect him. And he laughed. Oh, how she hated opponents who laughed at her. Clearly, he'd seen what she'd done, despite her effort to the contrary - but he hadn't even given her what she really wanted - an opportunity to pit her own magic directly against his. To make matters worse, he threatened to tear down the whole castle - something Ikkin didn't really think he could do, at least not without taking a good deal of time. He certainly did seem to be trying, though, taking more and more stone from the edges of the whole in the ceiling. The rocks from this went to her opponent, forming a stone ball-and-chain at the end of his arm, which he swung in circles, gaining momentum. Finally, he thrusted his arm forwards and sent the whole thing towards Ikkin. Ikkin flipped over it without much effort, then sent a blast of shredding wind at the weak point of the whole setup - the stone "chain" that was holding the spinning stones. She landed on the side of the hole in the second floor, where there was still stone, and shielded herself from the explosion of broken stone that resulted from the disk of stone hitting the opposite side. She prepared a few pressure darts to throw down at her opponent, but just then, the blarf decided to scratch the wall, resulting in an awful screeching noise that pierced right through Ikkin's extra-sensitive kitsune ears. She blocked her ears in pain and closed her eyes to try to block it out, and fell through the floor as the stones crumbled underneath her, not able to think about the disappearing floor due to the awful sound. She came to her senses right as the sound stopped - just in time to keep herself from hitting right into the burning carpet. Reflexively, she took control of the fire and sent it all directly at her opponent, allowing herself to land not-very-nimbly on the burnt - but no longer on fire - carpet. *** Even for a phoenix, seeking out all those who had died violently in the last day and reviving them at a distance was a whole ton of work.
Of course, it wasn't nearly as straightforward as reviving someone nearby. For one thing, when he revived someone nearby, he didn't really have to worry about the body all too much. He just set it on fire and used the same flames to force the person's soul to make a new one.
This didn't work at a distance, for obvious reasons.
Fortunately, Kit and Shade's bodies had already been dealt with, but, even so, there was the problem of reviving a soul that was far away. Which probably wouldn't have been quite so much of a problem if Sev didn't need to seek out other people simultaneously. After all, there was poison in Castle Kestrel, and he didn't want to ignore the fact that people could have died from that, too. And other people who had died on the battlefield created around Kit.
And since Sev's powers were spread out over so much of an area already, it also picked up several other people along the way, such as a rather silly farmer who had decided to make a flying machine out of those twirly seeds that fall from trees, thinking that twirling was in the nature of the seeds themselves.
As one could imagine, this added up very quickly, which took Sev out of the action for quite some time. He even failed to notice the lasers firing.
Fortunately, however, he managed to complete his task before the sun rose completely. While people revived in this way wouldn't wake immediately, they would at least be able to remain alive once they did wake up.
Sev immediately noticed that things weren't right upon waking from his trance-like state, however, and called out to Hunty. "Well, Ikkin's not around, but... I'd rather not have the ship explode around me. So, what do you want me to do?"*** "Curiously, this accusation seems to fit with what I heard earlier about the origins of the gem," Huntress said coldly. "Someone had to forge it, and someone had to trap all those guilds in it, and a demon alchemist would fit that picture as well as any other."
Leraye was very glad that he made it a practice to smile all the time; otherwise, he might just have given himself away, there. But one advantage to showing no emotions except those that are forced was that you couldn't be surprised into showing something you regretted.
This, of course, made Leraye an amazing poker player, which he had taken advantage of on many occasions. But that's another story completely.
Going back to our own story, Leraye quickly realized that he was in much less of a pickle than he had feared that he was. While the captain was suspicious, she didn't seem likely to act on those suspicions.
"On the other hand," she said, "I'm a lot more likely to listen to a member of my crew who's done nothing but help me tonight, than some violent ghost who's possessing the body of another crewmember and threatening to tear it apart. You're not giving a good impression there, whoever-you-are."
Leraye was very glad for common sense.
At this point, the captain tossed the pirate girl's amulet back to her, calling for an exorcism. Leraye's attention wandered off.
It came back rather quickly when several lasers fired at the ship. Now this was more like it.
Well, at least it was until Huntress called him out. "Scratch that. We need a shield of sorts. Or to bring down that bloody vessel, preferably both. Leraye, here's your chance to prove your loyalty." she said.
Oh, bother. Leraye so hated to fight. He much preferred to watch someone else do it for him. "I'd be rather useless in a battle, I'm afraid," he said with a smile. "I do think you could find a better use for this in a fight than I could, though," he added, tossing the gem to Huntress. "I'm sure you could come up with some way to use that to stop the lasers, right?" Vyt((Castle Kestrel: Throne Room)) The sound of constant crashing caught Cat Assassin's attention back towards his own barrier of energy. As much as the feline wanted to teach the marine a thing or two about fighting, he had no time to add another student to his list. Teaching PFA was already hard work for him. Though fatigued, Blarfie (the feline made that horrible nickname out) went its way underground. It was very smart for it to find the flaw to Cat Assassin's almost-impenetrable Signum Sanctuary: that it only surrounds the person horizontally by the ground. The feline almost cursed, thinking that he should've used more energy to place an extra wall underneath. Still, what's done is done for both sides. After a moment underground, Blarfie had pierced itself through another spot of the stone floor, jumping right ahead towards the stranger Cat Assassin was talking to. The feline had no choice but to jump away from the creature, seeing that it caught them by surprise. The man he was talking to followed him almost immediately. "Marine!" he addressed Fraze, whose name he really did not know. "I know you aren't supposed to follow a stranger's orders, but you need to tire that thing out. It looks quite exhausted from what I just did," he noted the Spacefleeter. Kwoiffei((Mage Manor - Kitchen)) “Yeah, that might be a good idea,” came Rikku's reply. After a pause, her tone changed. “And, Drakhé …” Did his heart skip a beat? She was speaking warmly... “thanks for believing me. Most people wouldn’t. Spacemen, conspiracies … squid, I probably wouldn’t believe …”Drakhé looked at the floor, unsure of how to respond. He may not have noticed yet, but there were the typical symptoms: knotted stomach, rapidly beating heart, a faint blush. Thankfully Omni spoke to Rikku, allowing him to gather his thoughts. After what I've been through... I'll believe any—Then there came the sound of three sharp knocks. Drakhé was clearly startled as he responded by jumping. "…Could someone get that, please?" “’Kay, I’m on it.”Rikku, who'd by now re-knotted her bandana (did she ever take it off? he wondered), left the kitchen, obviously to get the front door. The shapeshifter watched her leave, only turning away when she had disappeared from sight. Meanwhile, Omni had gone and got herself a glass of water, and proceeded to swallow loudly. The nondescript mages stared at her. Drakhé didn't. With his table manners, that would probably make him a hypocrite. "I'd like to stay and chat, but I should be going," Omni said as she took some cookies and milk and left the kitchen. "Okay," came his reply. This left him alone, aside from the nondescript mages. One of them quickly left the room, but he decided not to pay it any mind, instead focusing on eating yet more pears. -- ((Mage Manor)) Heh... Drakhé, still not too quick on the uptake, are we?This particular nondescript mage chuckled to herself as she walked through the corridors. Her destination was the library, which she knew was the site of some carnage not too long ago. Her purpose there: to do some research. Then again, if anyone knew who I was, then I'd have to kiss this Manor bye-bye and flee.
I can't leave Drakhé alone. He needs my help – badly SurfSurf glared at Cyborg when she saw her wind attack become ineffective against the boulder. The Kougra then threw the boulder back at Surf. The mage was prepared this time, however, and acrobatically dodged the boulder. She gasped, when she looked back and realized that it was headed straight for the pirate ship. The cursed fox had taken a bite of Kat's leg, but Surf didn't get the chance to incapacitate it again, because the group of mercenaries quickly retreated. "Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it gives us a chance to recover," she quietly said to Kat. "Should I go get some bandages for your wound?"
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:17:20 GMT -5
Kat
((Castle Kestrel, throne room))
It wasn't until the fox relinquished its hold that Kat could take a good look at what had happened to her leg. Despite the ongoing chaos, and as it wasn't a good idea to let it take her weight for too long, she sat down on the floor, stretching it out. Her robes weren't badly torn, and there weren't too many blood stains, but the patches of dark red on purple cloth were slowly growing as she stared.
Tearing her gaze away from her mangled leg, Kat craned her neck to follow the boulder. Knowing that it could hit something, she raised her staff and shouted a single word that wavered on the last syllable. A blast of spiraling, crackling purple energy shot toward the boulder, striking it at the very center and making it explode into a shower of dust. She sighed, taking several deep breaths. That spell had taken a lot out of her, and her bleeding leg wasn't helping. Plus, she had forgotten that she needed magic to heal herself...
"Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it gives us a chance to recover. Should I go get some bandages for your wound?"
"That...would be nice," Kat admitted wearily. "But the question is, where can we find bandages? I'd try to heal it myself, but I think if I cast another spell, I'll use up the last of my magic.”
Cyborg
Cyborg climbed onto the deck and walked up to Hunty and Keng. " Well looks like we got ourselves an awkward pirate reunion, now all we need is Goosh and then we got two people who wanted me left on an island and two who didn't." Cyborg said with a smirk. Cyborg put his paws on his cutlasses, sure he trusted Keng, but it was Hunty and the pirate brat that he didn't trust. Meanwhile Midknight noticed the mages would be able to heal and decided the merc's needed the same. " Rose hurry we need everyone at full health so you'll need to heal and then when the time comes I want you to attack the purple mage with Jernath while Shado and I take care of the other one.”
Keng
" Rose hurry we need everyone at full health so you'll need to heal and then when the time comes I want you to attack the purple mage with Jernath while Shado and I take care of the other one!"
Keng slapped her hand to her forehead when she heard this. It's ok! We come in peace! she thought sarcastically to herself.
Huntress
((The White Weewoo))
Hunty listened to Keng's speech, and the corner of her mouth began to twitch. Sure, she'd kicked the werewolf off the ship a while back, and she'd been angry as hell, but, as Bloody Mary had predicted, her anger never lasted long. They were pirates. The pirate Code has more than just 'if they don't return, leave them behind'. Which is more of a guideline, anyway.
"What the bloody hell did you do to her?! I mean I heard she'd caught fire -what was that by the way- but... And how exactly did she wined up here? And who's that guy? And I must say I'm very disappointed in the state of this ship! And have you SEEN how many bloody barnacles are on the side of the ship? This is exactly why I could never move up from swabby! This place is a bloody mess!"
The captain pursed her lips. "Lessee... magic, a pyromaniac, more magic, a demon, and the barnacles, might I point out, would be your problem, not mine. Though given the current state of the ship, I wouldn't go near the barnacles. Wouldn't be surprised if they were able to bite your head off." She grinned. "I can't take full credit for what the ship looks like, though. This is her own doing. She's a bit of a showoff - really, girl, are you waiting for a drumroll now? You know I don't do those things."
Indeed, if there was anything Hunty had learned about the new state of her ship, it was the fact that it had a rather awkward sense of humor. Pushing people off was no fun. Letting the 'fleeters climb up to the railing and then pushing them off was fun. Letting Cyborg walk up to Hunty and deliver his speech, then throwing him off the ship was even funner, and so the ship did just that.
"She's really getting better at those arcs," Hunty said, watching as the black mist grabbed Cyborg again and lunged him over the railing for the second time that night. Then Speck wandered past her, towards the crew's quarters.
This brought the captain back to reality. She looked at Speck, who was thankfully Speck again, judging by the fact that the ship not only let her in, but was curling around her feet in the form of the black fog like a cheerful, albeit worried puppy. She looked at the battle going on in the sky, luckily no longer targeting the ship - for now. She looked at the former, now-returned werewolf swabby, whose loyalties currently lied heck-knows-where, and didn't want to listen to her coldly pragmatic part of the brain, which pointed out that this particular issue was her own fault.
For one second, just one second, she cracked. For only one second, she wasn't the level-headed captain of the pirates, but just a scared girl.
How am I ever going to get the crew out of this?
Then reality returned once more in the form of something small and black being thrown her way, and as she automatically caught it, Leraye's words somehow reached her brain: "I'd be rather useless in a battle, I'm afraid. I do think you could find a better use for this in a fight than I could, though. I'm sure you could come up with some way to use that to stop the lasers, right?"
The scared girl died, there and then, and the captain was back. This wasn't so hard, after all. She had the best crew and the best ship this side of the seven seas, and she had the gem. The rest was just the question of working with the circumstances. That's what she'd always done. That's what always got the ship through the storm. There's no tomorrow. You have to look at what's today, or you might miss getting brushed overboard into the Locker.
She tucked the gem in her pouch again, and straightened her back. Her face lit up. It was about the same kind of spark London had got in 1666.
"Lessee. Sev, I want you on the defensive. Keep an eye on those metal-birdies up there, and destroy any laser blasts heading the ship's way. I've no doubt you can do that; lasers may be powerful but in essence, they're nothing but fast fire." She scowled, fingering her pouch. The gem felt lukewarm. Who knows how fragile it really is...
Well, it was a risk she was willing to take at the moment. Hunty waved her hand through the mist on the deck. "Girl, you need more where this came from. Double your resources."
The fog curled around the pouch on her belt, and thickened. The thickness spread all over, down to the keel and up to the masts. The mist shifted around, so the deck remained more or less clear but darker in comparison, as the twice as thick fog was shrouding most of the light coming from outside.
"Constant vigilance," she reminded the ship, patting the railing. Then something caught her ear.
Music?
((Castle Kestrel, outside))
"See, this is why you don't trust ninjas," Bloody Mary said sternly, blinking as they got out of the castle and into the faint approaching daylight, which felt all too bright in comparison with the dark hallways.
"Blarf." The blarf was still moving on like a tiger tracking down prey, his stomach near the ground and the neck stretched out to the max, keeping a curious eye on Fraze. They were headed towards the ship, slowly but steadily, and the meepit was rather wondering what kind of a sight it may have been, him riding in on a huge monster whose back looked like a battlefield. He would've liked to think 'glorious', but he had to admit that the cheerful music preceding them was sort of spoiling that particular effect.
Not to mention his glorious steed was wagging his tail.
The meepit slid down to the nose of the blarf and sat there quietly until they came to the board of the ship. Then he barked, "Stop right here, boy."
The blarf, looking reluctant, stopped and sat down, his tail moving from side to side.
"And you stop right there too," Bloody Mary told Fraze. "I'm going to have a word with our capitano, and then you're going to have a word with our capitano... no obligation, ofcourse, but if you don't stick around, our buddy blarf here will feel bad and walk straight back in there to look for a little snack. If you catch my drift.”
Rose
Rose quickly rushed over to the merc's. "Sorry for being so slow," she apologized. She then went to work healing everyone's wounds, she had managed to do it fully this time. "Thats about all I can do, I took too long healing Shado,"she said.
Strife
((Edited for page stretchiness. ^^; ))
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
As The Commander launched the disc of stones at Ikkin, she flipped over it easily and landed on the floor above where there was still stone to stand on. She then blasted the chain of stones with a stream of wind, causing the disc to break away from it. The disc continued to zoom forward until it smashed into the wall of the room on the second floor, creating a huge hole in it and sending hundreds of stones flying in all directions.
Ikkin shielded herself from the burst, but she could not shield herself from the painful noise of the blarf scratching his claws against the barrier below them. The Commander's ears were too weak to hear the scratching, but it seemed that his opponent's ears were highly sensitive to it.
The Commander chuckled as his opponent squinted her eyes and covered her ears in an effort to block out the sound. As a result, she ignored the fact that the floor beneath her was still disintegrating, and eventually, she fell down towards the burning carpet below her.
Had The Commander been carrying anything that made high-pitched noises, he would have exploited this weakness to its fullest. Unfortunately, he had nothing in his arsenal that would produce such a sound. He made a mental note to resupply after the castle was secured, in case he should have to encounter this knight again in the future. If there was a future for her, he thought to himself amusingly.
Before Ikkin made contact with the carpet, the sound dissipated, allowing her to focus again. She took control of the flames spreading rapidly across the carpet and hurled them at The Commander in a large jet of fire before landing softly on the ground. The fire soared upwards, and The Commander's heat shield flickered on, soaked up the flames like a sponge, and faded away.
Of all the terrestrials The Commander had dealt with in his Spacefleet career, he was starting to think that this one was the strongest. Countless unfortunate souls had lost their lives to The Commander's brutality, often with no more than a solid burst of plasma to the skull. And yet, this single kitsune was filled with so much rage and determination that she was withstanding everything he threw at her so far.
He was honest with himself, though - it felt strangely good to be presented with such an intense challenge. It gave him the opportunity he had been craving since he crash-landed on the planet - the opportunity to see just how powerful he had really become.
The Commander lowered himself from the now nonexistant ceiling of the throne room. When he was just a few meters above Ikkin, he willed some of the stones scattered around the room to gather beneath his feet, forming a circular platform. He then deactivated the jets on his boots and allowed himself to land softly on the platform. It levitated above the pile of broken glass from the chandelier.
Finally, almost every loose stone in the room was pulled towards him, and together they formed a wide, thick ring around his body, much like the rings of planets. He was about to speak, and if Ikkin tried to attack him, he would be able to force the ring of stones to surround him and block whatever she threw at him. He didn't know for certain if it would do the trick, but it was better than leaving himself completly exposed.
"The mind of a terrestrial is so predictable," he said, raising his voice so that others in the room might hear him if they listened carefully. He crossed his arms and stared at Ikkin, his torn cape floating behind him in a sinister way. "They let their idealism guide their behavior. They oppress new forms of life that disagree with their beliefs.
"The stroke of midnight granted you an opportunity to form an unprecedented union, but just as I had predicted, you reacted the same way any band of savages would react... with hostility. And when you first spotted my team in this throne room, you once again allowed your preconceptions to influence your behavior, and you attacked us immediately without question.
"You terrestrials are no different than the giant beast beside you," The Commander nudged his head in the direction of the blarf, who was currently following Fraze out of the throne room. "Like the beast, you act only in your own self-interests, rather than the good of all. When you see food, or for that matter, anything that appears to be food, you eat it, no questions asked."
His mouth widened into a nasty smile. "I can feel the rage building inside of you... growing more intense with every word that slithers out of my mouth. You're telling yourself that i'm wrong. You're telling yourself that my words are twisted, and that I am the very thing that I speak badly of. But the cold, hard truth is that your savage instincts are stopping you from seeing the bigger picture.
"You are, in fact, the beast, and I am the food. But if you sink your teeth into me, I will bite back, and my bite will be ten times as vicious as yours. It's the only way you terrestrials can learn to step down and accept your fate."
While The Commander spoke, his hand slowly creeped behind his cape, grabbing the handle of the blaster that Lt. Marzia had given him in the forest. The blaster had remained concealed, and he knew that his opponent had no idea of its existance.
"Go ahead. Dinner is served."
The Commander chuckled, and his chuckle grew into a diabolical laugh that filled the entire throne room.
Rider
"This place is a bloody mess!"
"I rather think you're a bloody mess, and only about to get bloodier." Rider drew her cutlass. "We'll be asking the questions on our ship. Who are these people who come from the sky? And who the blast is he?" Rider pointed to Cyborg as he made his flight across the sky.
Deep clouds shrouded the ship. The air looked to be too thick to breathe, but Rider was breathing just fine. It did give a claustrophobic aura, though.
The music was coming in just fine, though. If Rider hadn't been so busy pointing her cutlass at Keng, she might have danced. Also, the smell of... blarf?
"Cap'n, they have our werewolf and our blarf. If that is one of the people from the sky. Keep your crossbow up."
To Keng, "Now give us one good reason why we shouldn't feed you to the Blarf. I'll probably count information on this Spacefleet as a good reason. Probably."
Surf
((Just outside Castle Kestrel))
"I think I can find something," replied Surf. "I'll be right back, okay?" Without waiting for a response, the mage ran to one of the many houses scattered outside the castle. She grabbed a bucket of water from a bewildered farmer, and a rag from his equally-nonplussed wife. She quickly gave a brief explanation that her friend was injured, and handed a few gold coins to the farmer, as reimbursement.
With her supplies, Surf ran back to Kat, and handed her the bucket of water and the rag. "Here. Let's get that wound washed off, and then we can bind it to stop the bleeding."
Cyborg
( ( Okay I don't know if anyone else here would agree, but Hunty I feel you're god modding Cyborg.)) Cyborg landed on a tree nearby. He was sick of this, he just wanted to watch Keng's back, he knew how untrustworthy pirates are, considerring he used to be one.
Meanwhile Midknight and Shado were fully healed and jumped off the tree to the ground below.
Vyt
((Outside Castle Kestrel))
Cat Assassin followed the man outside, learning that Blarfie was still on the move. He overheard from the marine something about it being associated with a ship, but where else could they find a ship on land but the one he saw not long ago from the skies? If the feline could remember it right, PFA was still on the ship. At least I'm getting near her... somehow... he thought for a second.
Cat Assassin noticed that he really was following them towards the ship. The pain from earlier had started to emerge once more, but for some reason it was severely reduced to mere irritation. Probably that dragoness put some kind of pain-relieving spell in me before she left, he reminded himself.
After seeing that he was nearing the mist of the ship, Cat Assassin thought about his concern for PFA. She may be the only one who knows Vyt more than anyone else besides me... I need to tell her what Vyt told me earlier!
Spacefleet HQ
((Spacefleet HQ - Sector 2 - Main Hallway))
The dragon woman's voice boomed across the hallway, defiant of the guard's order.
"Who dares to order us around? None but the Dragon Mage may command us!!"
Through the use of some type of magic, the dragon created a spark inside the front guard's rocket launcher. It exploded, sending the group of guards flying backwards and onto the floor. Each of the seven guards were wearing suits that had built-in force shields, and their bodies flickered blue as the shields absorbed the main force of the blast. The guard holding the rocket launcher was knocked unconcious, while the other six behind him suffered only a few bumps and bruises from landing on the hard metal floor.
"If they think we are going to come quietly, then they must think again. We are no ordinary intruders, we have come on behalf of the planet beneath you. If you do not wish to talk, then all your technology counts for nothing for no civilised person would attack without listening to reason. We know we appeared here out of nowhere but with you being on the moon, how exactly were we supposed to arrive? Call a space taxi?"
"Stop!" shouted the girl who was accompanying the dragon woman. "We both are very powerful, but if either one of us continues to attack, we'll blow this whole thing up!"
((Spacefleet HQ - Subterranian Sector 3 - Command Center))
The group of officers in Spacefleet's command center watched the scene unfold before their eyes.
"By the cosmos!" cried one of the officers in disbelief.
"Looks like we've got us a pair of superior lifeforms," said Subcommander #9 as he walked into the command room. Snot dripped from his thick, pig-like snout, and he wiped it off with his gloved hand.
"What are we going to do?" asked a lower rank officer. "We've incapacitated creatures of this magnitude in the past, but we've never dealt with two of them at once."
"Then we'll just have to use twice as much force, won't we?" replied #9 in a condescending tone, gritting his teeth in frustration.
Subcommander #13 swiveled her chair around, pointing a stern finger at a group of officers in the corner. "Shut off power to all lifts in Sector 2. We have to block them from reaching the public and classified sectors."
"Aye Sir," responded one of the officers, who proceeded to flip a series of switches at his terminal.
"I'll attempt to communicate with the lifeforms through the loudspeaker in that hallway," said Subcommander #20. "Hopefully that should distract them while Hogface gathers an assault team to incapacitate them."
"That's Haggoth to you, worm brain," snorted #9. "I might as well bring the flash drones. They can't hit us if they can't see us."
"Very well then, gentlemen," said #13, crossing her arms. "Make it so."
((Spacefleet HQ - Sector 2 - Main Hallway))
Subcommander #20's voice boomed over the loudspeaker in the hallway, responding to the intruders' previous statements.
"Agreed," he began. "We should find a solution to this... misunderstanding... through diplomacy."
One of the guards who had been knocked to the floor was finally able to lift themselves. "What? But Sir!" he shouted in a fuzzy voice. The guards were wearing helmets that covered their faces, so they needed to talk through speakers located in the chest plating of their armor.
"No but's, soldier. We must deal with this situation as calmy as possible. This is, afterall, a first contact scenario."
"Sir, they are intruders, and have clearly violated Spacefleet proto-"
One of the other guards slapped his helmet before he could finish his sentence. "Play along, man," he said through a private channel so that the intruders could not hear. "They don't understand the structure of this space station. We can lead them right into a trap."
The lightbulb finally went off in the first guard's head. If he wasn't wearing a helmet, his smirk could easily be seen.
"Very well then," continued #20's voice through the loudspeaker. "Intruders, please state your request.”
Clocky
(O.O.C: Wonder if I can still join… [o-o])
A tall figure in odd clothes hummed as he sat in his boat, which was slowly going it's way through the dense swamp of early morning. No paddle of any sort was needed for this mode of transport -- at least with it's current occupants.
"I wonder if that village is up yet… Well, either way, today will be fun."
He raised his hand in front of him, and a small cylindrical piece of wood appeared in his hands, a curved blade slowly creeping it's way through the wood to point it's way forward. "Oh yes, today will most definitely be fun…"
(O.O.C: Pardon any typos/mis-spellings. I don't have to use the word "cylindrical" or "paddle" or "occupants" too often, oddly. [o-o])
Celestial
"Stop! We both are very powerful, but if either one of us continues to attack, we'll blow this whole thing up!" Bluisa shouted to the guards. Celestial sighed without an echo. Bluisa wasn't making the situation better. Even though it was her hand that struck the blow, it wasn't her mind. Perhaps is was a mistake bringing so many dragons here, they were too difficult to control.
"Agreed, we should find a solution to this... misunderstanding... through diplomacy." a loudspeaker somewhere boomed, another reminder of Celestial's unpleasant life on Earth. However, she didn't flinch and just stood there facing the direction of the voice.
"We are glad at somebody wants to go down the dilpomatic way. Thank you." she said fearlessly. She mustn't let the terrified fluttering of her heart affect her. Celestial's eyes flicked towards the guards who were talking but she couldn't really hear what they were saying. A forgotten instinct told her she was trapped but it was probably the confinement of the metal walls.
"Very well then, intruders, please state your request." the loudspeaker continued. Celestial took a deep breath.
" There is a terribe storm on the NTWF which is affecting every guild and each creature on the planet. We hoped you would be able to give us some information on the cause of it. If we did, the storm could be stopped and it will be better for all of us." she said, doing her best to smile which was difficult when you weren't fully in control of yourself.
Lead us from fear of death to knowledge of our own immortality she whispered quietly to herself, no echo in her voice this time. It was comforting even if the comfort was small.
PFA
((near Weewoo))
The other mercenaries had apparently finished their battle, as they were now coming back to the ship. Midknight and Shado hopped into the tree that Jernath was sitting in.
"Hey guys," Jernath said to them, patting Shado on the head. What he wasn't aware of was that the fox had gotten its skull cracked earlier, and even if it had been healed, that gesture would've done more hurt than good.
It didn't matter, though, as Rose came up into the tree just then and began healing everyone, taking care to get them as healthy as possible. Jernath smiled upon realizing that this meant his back would no longer hurt when he moved around. It was a bit numb once Rose was finished healing him, though that was just because of the nature of healing magic, and it would wear off.
"That's about all I can do, I took too long healing Shado," Rose said when she was done healing everyone, which made Jernath a little concerned.
"Don't wear yourself out for us," he told Rose, as Midknight and Shado hopped off the tree. "You need to look after yourself, too. You should rest a bit."
And then the ever-'shipping narrator struggled very hard to not write up something Rose/Jernath here, 'cause it would work so perfectly right at this point in time but it would be too OOC for Jernath. D: Woe.
Noticing Cyborg rocket over his head, Jernath decided to just stay in the tree for now, and watch what was happening from there. At that point, there wasn't really much else for him to do: he couldn't get on the ship, and there wasn't any particular reason to try just yet. So he waited.
---
((White Weewoo: stairs))
Wait... there. Is that it? PFA wondered, when she felt a tinge of something within her. She started to focus on it, trying to decide if it was that weird power she had in her dream. It certainly felt like it...
She concentrated, trying to see if she could tap into it. She already knew a little bit of magic, so this didn't seem like it should be that hard...
PFA thrust her hands up in the direction of one of the flying ships, trying to shoot a beam at it like she did to the targets in her dream. All she got, though, was a few rather disappointing sparks of light. She blinked. What? I thought I had it...
She took a deep breath, then tried again. The same thing happened. As with the next three attempts. PFA frowned. This was harder than she thought it would be.
In a desperate attempt to get something to happen, the ninja started making all sorts of motions. Punches, kicks, twirls... it was almost as if she was trying to do some kind of dance. Especially when music started playing from somewhere, which PFA subconsciously started moving to the rhythm of.
After a while, since none of her gestures seemed to be doing anything, PFA wasn't even paying attention to her movements anymore, and was just moving to the rhythm of the music. Part of her was still concentrating on the power within her, as she still had a small amount of hope that she could do something with it, but for the most part she was just dancing.
...Which meant she was caught completely off-guard when suddenly she was surrounded with a translucent wall, that swirled with purple and yellow. PFA yelped in surprise when it happened, stopping her dance. She then blinked, and put her hand to the wall. The wall felt solid enough, though it vanished just seconds after that. It was then PFA realized that she had stopped concentrating on the power within her once the wall came up.
"...I did that?" she thought aloud, trying to get her mind to wrap around the concept. But how did I do it? she added silently. Seeing as she wasn't paying attention to her dance, she really didn't notice what movement prompted the barrier to come up.
Ikkin
As soon as Ikkin ended up back on the ground, the commander took the opportunity to land, creating a circular platform of stone to stand on that hovered over the broken chandelier in a rather showoffish manner. Ikkin decided that she was going to have to force him into the air again. After all, he was probably landing for a reason, and if she could run his boots out of fuel, all the better.
Of course, that would have to wait for a better time. Ikkin's opponent had surrounded himself with rocks that orbited around him like miniature moons, and Ikkin was rather certain that it would work rather well as a defense against most of her attacks.
She had to have something that she could use, though... but what was it?
Before she could think of it, though, her enemy started to talk, in just as annoying a manner as he'd ever done. "The mind of a terrestrial is so predictable," he said loudly, crossing his arms as if he didn't even need to worry about an attack. His ragged cape billowed out behind him in a way that reminded Ikkin of a cartoon villain. "They let their idealism guide their behavior. They oppress new forms of life that disagree with their beliefs.”
Yeah, like that's not what you're doing, she thought. Except without the idealism. Whoever this guy was, he had a stream of wind shards coming towards him, once she could figure out how to get past that barrier.
"The stroke of midnight granted you an opportunity to form an unprecedented union, but just as I had predicted, you reacted the same way any band of savages would react... with hostility. And when you first spotted my team in this throne room, you once again allowed your preconceptions to influence your behavior, and you attacked us immediately without question."
Like he could really blame her for reacting with hostility when he'd invaded her home castle, Ikkin thought angrily. She didn't need any preconceptions to know that he wasn't supposed to be there.
Hmm... maybe the wind shards could work, if she timed it right, Ikkin thought. It would certainly be the most satisfying attack to wipe that smug smirk off that annoying enemy's face. She probably could shred through some of the rocks... but it probably wouldn't be enough. Unfortunately.
"You terrestrials are no different than the giant beast beside you," He nodded in the direction of the blarf, who was leaving in an oddly playful manner. "Like the beast, you act only in your own self-interests, rather than the good of all. When you see food, or for that matter, anything that appears to be food, you eat it, no questions asked."
Like he was the one to be talking about the good of all, floating around and laughing diabolically and all. He was just trying to taunt her into attacking, and it made her sick. Even more so because she couldn't help but be furious at him despite knowing his ploy.
She would attack. That wasn't in question; she couldn't let him get away with everything he'd done. The question was, how could she do it in such a way that she wouldn't just be playing right into his hand?
Her opponent's smirk widened evilly. "I can feel the rage building inside of you... growing more intense with every word that slithers out of my mouth. You're telling yourself that I'm wrong. You're telling yourself that my words are twisted, and that I am the very thing that I speak badly of. But the cold, hard truth is that your savage instincts are stopping you from seeing the bigger picture."
Of course he'd predict everything she was thinking. She was right, of course, and he knew it. He just didn't care, that slimy little...
Ikkin's fists tightened.
No, she couldn't attack yet. Not without a plan.
"You are, in fact, the beast, and I am the food. But if you sink your teeth into me, I will bite back, and my bite will be ten times as vicious as yours. It's the only way you terrestrials can learn to step down and accept your fate."
Ah, that's what he was planning. He was just going to attack her as soon as she made her move. Well, then... she'd just have to make it impossible for him to predict her move, then.
"Go ahead," he chuckled. "Dinner is served."
Oh, it would be, alright.
Ikkin willed the air to flare up around her until it looked rather much like a power-up out of Dragonball Z and let out a long yell.
She didn't need to do this, of course; it was just a lot easier to hide the creation of an invisible wall of wind stretching from the floor behind her to several feet above her head when one acted completely over-the-top.
Wasting no time, she leapt over the commander, blasting a different form of her shards of wind from one hand - instead of a steady, focused stream, she allowed the shards to take whichever angle they went towards most easily. That way, orbiting rocks alone wouldn't be enough to keep her enemy from getting hit by the shredding wind.
At the peak of her leap, she switched hands, aiming from a slightly different angle to confuse her enemy. Just as she would have landed, she let the dual streams stop so she could catch herself an inch above the ground - she didn't want to land hard on her already-injured leg.
Two things happened almost instantaneously after that - she finally noticed the blaster that her opponent had planned to use to "bite her back" and she created two directed streams of air more powerful than the undirected ones she'd used before. Only one stream of air was pointed directly at him, however. Concentrating on the shards of wind broke Ikkin's concentration slightly, and Ikkin fell the inch to the ground, directly onto her injured leg. She gasped out in pain, but tried to keep her attack up regardless. Despite the fact that her right arm's aim targeted the commander's blaster arm rather well considering the situation, the second was pointed above the sphere of stone that surrounded him, not even close enough to let the outermost shards touch.
Looking rather flustered, Ikkin let the pressurized streams vanish and took off a few feet into the air so she wouldn't have to worry about hitting the leg again while trying to dodge that laser. Plus, it would be easier to pull off the near-instantaneous dodges necessary in midair.
Besides, she wanted to be out of the way when that "misdirected" blast of wind shards came flying back at her enemy from the wall she'd made earlier.
***
"Lessee. Sev, I want you on the defensive," Hunty said. "Keep an eye on those metal-birdies up there, and destroy any laser blasts heading the ship's way. I've no doubt you can do that; lasers may be powerful but in essence, they're nothing but fast fire."
"No problem," Sev said, taking off into the air to circle slowly around the ship to keep it safe.
Phoenix fire really was convenient, he thought. After all, it was probably one of the few things that the pirates had that could stop lasers.
He easily set into a pattern, keeping an eye on the spaceships in the air, wondering if he'd need to do anything now that the two ships seemed to be busy with each other.
Huntress
((The Weewoo))
"Cap'n, they have our werewolf and our blarf. If that is one of the people from the sky. Keep your crossbow up."
Um, yeah. The crossbow. Hunty had left it by the railing when she needed more flexibility to climb around the rigging back when they were still by the cliff. Now she picked it up again, and attached it on her back along with the quiver. Can't be too careful.
She looked down, where the strange parade had arrived, and nearly snorted.
"Let me guess," she shouted down. "The Amazing Marik and his Circus of Wonders?"
"Not funny," Bloody Mary snarled. "Get down here. I have news."
The captain shot a quick glance over her shoulder. Things were looking okay for now, well, some skirmishes aside, but she wasn't a kindergartener and had plenty of trust in her crew in general. So she swung her legs over the railing, looked down, and froze on spot.
"What the hell," she demanded, "happened to the blarf's back?"
Bloody Mary looked back at the jagged jungle of molten steel, stones, tentacles, the odd spike here and there, some stumps of what'd used to be spikes, and something... organic. Right, the squished fleeters, poor buggers.
"S'why I want you to get down here," he said.
Hunty jumped. It was a high jump, high enough to break her legs if the mist hadn't kicked in and softened her fall. She got up, nodded briefly to Fraze as if to say 'I remember you, but I have more urgent things to deal with right now' and looked at the meepit. "Well, talk. Where's Ikkin? And Kat?"
Bloody Mary explained. Hunty bit her lip.
"I sent you guys into a pretty nice situation, didn't I? What exactly happened?"
The meepit paused. "We-ell. So we went into the throne room, right, and it was loaded with those people, and the blarf ate one of them, and the rest started shooting. That'd be the molten spikes. Then he curled up and rolled over, that'd be the, erm, organic bits."
Hunty looked again. "Molten steel and charred bodies... what the heck did they shoot with?"
Bloody Mary nodded at Fraze. "Ask him. While you're at it, you could also ask why one of 'em fed the blarf a grenade."
The captain's face remained blank. "A grenade."
"Take a look."
Hunty scowled, then motioned the blarf closer. "Open up." As the creature revealed his fang-ridden, desk-sized mouth, she held her breath, and stuck her head in.
It wasn't pretty. It wasn't pretty at all. The blarf was too big to feel anything worse than discomfort, but the damage was still far worse than he'd shown. The whole inside of his mouth was studded with grenade shards. They hadn't pierced the palate, and the tongue was more or less rubbed clear, but it still looked like a lot of weeding to do later on.
Hunty pulled her head back, waited until the blarf closed his mouth, then breathed again and used the chance to utter a word that made Bloody Mary blink.
"What'd he do to whoever did this?" she asked. There was something new in her voice, something cold, grim, and metallic.
"Eh, well, half of him should still be in the castle, and the other half - you meant provocation? Nothing whatsoever."
Hunty was quiet, so the meepit, after a curious pause, proceeded to explain how there'd been more shooting. The captain listened, and began to dig in the blarf's fur. Surely enough, there were more shards. All over his chest.
By the time Bloody Mary got to the part where Fraze started to dance, the captain's eyes were flashing. By the time he got to Cat Assassin's barrier, her look could melt steel.
"Why?" she interrupted, somehow managing to put a cobraful of venom in that one word.
"Beats me," said the meepit.
Hunty scowled. "He was a ninja, right? We have an alliance with ninjas."
"Uhuhuh, an alliance that nearly got us killed," the meepit snarled. "Suffocating ain't fun, I tell you. That girl up on board I don't mind, but not all ninjas are alike, and this particular cat didn't act much like an ally."
Hunty fell quiet again. Bloody Mary hated that kind of silence. Blazing rage he could understand, but Hunty's cold fury could explode when you last expected it, and in the darndest ways. He hastily ended his report, and waved his paw around in Fraze's general direction, motioning 'he knows more than I do, ask him and leave my poor hide alone'.
Hunty looked at Fraze, and her eyes narrowed into slits.
"Well, you again," she said. "There's more to you than meets the eye, eh? There they are, a bunch of well-equipped soldiers, shooting at my blarf and feeding him grenades, and you have them cease fire without a blink. You caught a high rank here, Bloody Mary."
"Gotta have some luck with these things," the meepit agreed cautiously. The captain's voice was calmer now, but it was the kind of calmness used to hold back seething rage.
"I'm the captain of this crew," Hunty said. "As such, I have full responsibility for what my crew does. You're pretty darn obviously not a local - and if you were, I'd know you - but that's how these things work around here. So I hear that your men fed a bomb to my blarf. While he was sitting in a corner doing nothing. And they shot him because he'd defended himself. I gotta say, I don't find it all particularly funny." She patted the blarf absently. "So we might as well drop the whole junk with meteorological observations or whatever your ship told us back there in the woods. Who are you, where do you come from, and what do you want? In singular and plural. And note that the answer might be enough of a redemption for all those guys back there who shot the blarf and didn't get eaten - which might still very well happen, so dontcha try anything funny."
"Brp," said the kraken, mildly disappointed that the bouncy toy was no longer bouncy.
Vyt
((If it's creativity you want, creativity you will get. Hope it doesn't make me so carried away, though...))
((Near the Weewoo))
Cat Assassin stopped at the sight of the mist. The foggy air in front of the feline seemed to be alive, moving and swirling around in a coordinated fashion. He could remember barely that it was the same thing that rejected Bluisa from getting near the pirates way back at the cliff. If his assumptions were correct, the mist must've pushed Bluisa away either because of her intentions of getting the gem away from them or simply since she was a dark mage.
I can't believe I'll have to use that again...
Cat Assassin raised his right hand towards himself, its thumb levelled with his mouth. The feline closed his eyes as his sharp teeth sunk deep through the thin mixed layer of fur and flesh. As he released his bite on his thumb, the wound caused blood to flow outside.
In a circular motion, Cat Assassin moved his right hand around him, almost trying to draw a sphere. Slowly, his hand generated red focused energy, and with every single spin the energy grew exponentially stronger. He was ready to unleash one of his most tiring abilities yet.
"Extremity Signum Sanctuary!"
A three-word phrase escaped from Cat Assassin's blood-stenched mouth, as the feline jumped and landed his right hand on the ground. The energy from his hands almost met the muddy soil, only to resist getting contact with it. Instead, it made a curvature away from the ground. Red translucent energy then started to build around Cat Assassin, forming the same sphere he had drawn with his right hand.
It formed a sphere of energy right around Cat Assassin.
... I only have an hour to last inside this sphere before I suffocate. I'd better hurry.
Cat Assassin then placed a foot in front of him. This caused the sphere to move forward, forcing the feline to follow it with another foot if he would not want to stumble inside the sphere. He was rather angry that he'd have to deal with such restricting solutions, but he needed to find PFA, and fast.
The energy sphere pushing the mist away, Cat Assassin approached the ship.
Cyborg
" Hey so I see the bloody mist is still there." Midknight said as he saw his brother sent off the ship onto a branch nearby. Shado had just got comfortable when he saw the meepits and decided he wanted to eat one, but he stayed on the tree, his snack could wait until later. Though before he could do anything he felt Jernath pat him on the head, normally he would have bit off the person's hand, but Shado liked Jernath for he was very kind to him. " Ya the mist's still there, and now Keng's there alone with a rag tag group of pirates on their living ship, I sense trouble is gonna happen soon enough and I swear if they hurt Keng, it'll be the last thing they do." Cyborg said with a growl.
Rider
"You'll come with me," Rider said, waving her cutlass at Keng's back with the heaviest suggestion of violence. "And please, I'll ask that you not speak."
Rider ushered Keng over the side of the ship, and shortly followed, the mist breaking thier falls.
"Hey, Shiny McBlarfabuser, you recognize this werewolf?"
Rider was aware of how vulnerable she was, but Keng was more vulnerable and that was all that mattered for the next forty seconds.
Keng
Keng vaguely wondered how she was supposed to answer questions, without speaking, and how Rider had managed to get behind her. The first question seemed more important however and Keng noted just how many questions she was always asking. "Umm.. but I thought you wanted me to answer your questions? Hey Blarfy." she waved at the big monster, "and on that note, umm... that flying kougra would be Cyborg... you know... former underswabby of mine and whatnot? And Spacefleet would be the people in the ships trying to stop the ship that was firing at the Weewoo." It seemed pretty safe to assume that if they were running around firing blasters in the open, they were no longer being strict about their secrecy policy.
Fraze
Who are you, where do you come from, and what do you want? In singular and plural. And note that the answer might be enough of a redemption for all those guys back there who shot the blarf and didn't get eaten - which might still very well happen, so dontcha try anything funny." Fraze paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. “Well, I must say your ship is looking well despite the whole setting-on-fire thing. I hope you don’t still think I did that. “First, the attacks on your seabeastie were not completely unprovoked. The first thing he did when entering the castle was to eat one of the marines. I was only several meters away when this happened. I’m sure it’s in his nature to eat things, but it’s also in the nature of these marines to shoot at something that just made a snack out of one of their comrades. Too many of those I’ve met here in the past few days seem to be surprised to see people act in defense of themselves or their friends and colleagues. “As far as I can tell, one of the subcommanders wrapped a grenade”—he paused to unclip one of his own, hold it up, and reclip it—“in some rations. By this time, we still weren’t sure of the thing’s defense capabilities.” He realized now was not the time to use such semi-military terms, and made a mental note to switch to more colloquial jargon. “After he ate one half of the bite-sized subcommander, the marines resumed the attack.” “Despite what you may think, I’m not high rank.” Fraze looked pointedly at the stripey-haired captain to make sure she heard him correctly. “Heck, most of those marines technically outrank me. I just have authority in combat situations. I realized that your blarf would just go bowling with more marines until they all stopped shooting, so I wanted to get it away through other means. I think you saw how. I have no clue who that orange cat was—you would probably be better able to say who he is than I would. But he’s definitely not one of ours.” He was interrupted by another pirate. "Hey, Shiny McBlarfabuser, you recognize this werewolf?" Strange how all these pirates seem to be female, Fraze pondered. If the situation was different, I’d like these odds. “I find your nickname offensive in the extreme, Redcape McFallsoutoftrees,” Fraze answered, attempting to hold back a grin and only partially succeeding. “And last time I checked, yes. Though she wasn’t here during the combat action against the Blarf, so I’d appreciate it if you not cause her bodily harm. “Now, for the main bulk of your question. Singular: I am Fraze. I come from around…there,” he said, pointing at a region of the sky where that he guessed his planet of origin was. “A few hundred light-years away. More recently, I come from Spacefleet HQ. And it’s not what I want that you should worry about. “Plural: We are Spacefleet. I don’t know where the ‘Fleet originated. I’ve only been in this system several months, and haven’t had time to read up on the history. As for its location, well, you know that big whitish-gray orb that comes out at night?” He was taking a chance, assuming that pirates would appreciate sass. He had certainly seen enough of it from them. “I’m not entirely sure what we want. Chain of command and all that. Better ask the Commander, he’ll probably be out soon. “As a gesture of good faith, I can probably help you heal up your creature a bit. At the very least, I can give you something for his mouth—but you’ll need to get a barrel of water for it.”
Rider
”Umm.. but I thought you wanted me to answer your questions?"
"No need to get snarky, obviously the situation has changed," Rider hissed before they jumped, because sometimes time warps are necessary.
“I find your nickname offensive in the extreme, Redcape McFallsoutoftrees,”
"You fall out of one blasted tree and suddenly no one will ever let you forget it. Alright, fair enough. She doesn't hurt us, I don't hurt her. She was, after all, one of ours." The 'was' was spat out like poison.
This kid had a tongue of brass, but didn't look to be backing it up with much thus far. not that it mattered, Rider was not about to make a fuss with some lunatic who claimed to be from the moon, particularly if he was going to help the blarf. the possibility of him hurting the blarf was not entirely outside the realm of possibility, but blarf vs. brasstongue, the odds were not in Fraze's favor. Add an angry ex-Cap'n and a Cap'n on the verge of spitting fire, and Rider felt confident that no one was going to betray anyone else.
"Ventratta, get up to the Weewoo and ask Goosh or Zy or someone to get a barrel of water down here. Thanks, you're amazing."
Cyborg
Cyborg lept out of the tree and ran towards Keng and Rider. " Now I suggest you not even think about harming Keng. That is unless you want to be crushed to death." Cyborg said to Rider as he wrapped his paws around his cutlasses.
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
Ikkin let out a furious yell as the air around her flared up, creating a barrier of wind behind her. Perfect, The Commander thought to himself. She's doing exactly what I want her to do.
The knight's yell didn't go unnoticed. The small group of marines left in the room turned their heads as they heard it, and immediately began to rush across the throne room to help their leader. The throne room was massive, though, so it would take them a little bit of time to get within comfortable firing range.
Ikkin jumped into the air towards The Commander while launching shards of wind at him in random directions. At the same time, The Commander determined that it would be too risky to fire his blaster, and instead crouched down and grabbed the edge of his stone platform like a surfboard, willing the platform to fly to the side to avoid the bulk of his opponent's attack. Several of the wind shards smashed through the loosely orbiting stones, but The Commander himself had completely avoided them.
Just as Ikkin reached the peak of her jump, she launched another swarm of shards slightly to the side of The Commander. Once again, he steered his platform out of the way, but the angle at which the shards were fired confused him slightly. One of the shards cut through a group of stones and hit his shoulder. The shoulder pad absorbed most of the shard's force, but it was still strong enough to cause the pain he had experienced with the pressure darts earlier to resurface. He grunted in pain and took several loud breaths.
The Commander then saw Ikkin land slightly above the floor while launching two stronger, more concentrated streams of wind in his direction. He quickly flipped his platform over so that the bottom of it would shield him from the stream. The first stream of wind crashed right into the platform, shattering it to pieces and sending him flying backwards. The second one missed The Commander and headed for the wind barrier Ikkin created. It reflected itself against the barrier's surface and headed in The Commander's direction, but narrowly missed him as he fell from the air after losing his platform.
Just before The Commander hit the ground, he activated his jet boots and thrusted himself several meters into the air again. His opponent was also floating above ground, and behind her, the group of marines were rushing towards her. Soon enough, they spread themselves out and began to fire their rifles at Ikkin's back. At the same time, The Commander raised his blaster and pulled the trigger.
Unexpectedly, the blaster made a loud burst of noise and fired a much stronger laser than The Commander anticipated. The beam was twice as large and three times as bright as that of a normal blaster's. In addition, the force of the laser pushed The Commander backwards several meters.
It only took him a second to realize what had happened. Marzia must have overclocked the blaster so that it used an entire energy cell in one shot. If The Commander had used the blaster in the forest just like Marzia had told him to, he could only imagine the number of trees it would have set fire to. At the moment, though, the beam was about to blow another giant hole in the walls of the throne room, assuming that the beam cut through his opponent, or missed her.
In any case, the blaster was now nothing more than an expensive paper weight. He tossed it aside and willed the stones around him to form another platform beneath his feet. He deactivated his jets and crouched onto the platform, keeping a close eye on Ikkin and the marines behind her. He breathed heavily, his shoulder and ears throbbing with pain. He couldn't hear a single noise for several seconds after the blast, but in a way, his temporary loss of hearing allowed him to concentrate more sharply. If his opponent chose to ignore the marines and sent another blast of wind at him, he'd be ready to dodge it.
"Excellent!" he shouted. He was a fair distance away, but he was pretty sure his opponent could still hear his voice over the blasting of the marines' rifles. "You reacted just as I hoped you would... savage.”
Speck
Once through the door to the lower deck, Speck found that she could not keep going towards her sleeping quarters. She sat down against the wall of the hallway, trying to catch her breath. The pirate had no idea that an exorcism would take so much out of her.
Then there was the matter of new power and knowledge. Thankfully, the being – one Jonah Farlap by name- had not decided to give her his memories. If he had, everything that he had bestowed upon her surely would have overwhelmed the pirate. The only information she had on Jonah was that he fought in some ancient Guilds’ War, was once betrayed by Leraye, and was a blood mage.
Speck rubbed her right forearm where one of the magical brands was. A blood mage. Jonah Farlap was a blood mage, and he had given her his knowledge and power of such. Why did a magical brand have to be involved? Speck wasn’t particularly fond of tattoos of any sort (at least, not when they were on her, anyway).
Information rushed at her. It’s one of two focal points. I’m supposed to focus my energy at one or both focal points, and release spells from there? What? Just because she had been given the knowledge and power didn’t mean that she had the experience to learn how to use it right away. It would take practice. The only way she knew how to practice, as a blood mage, would be through either healing others… or fighting against them with her magic.
The tingle of magic continued to run through her veins. It was almost numbing; she had never felt this sensation before. It would be distracting until she knew how to use it properly.
Speck sighed, sat back… and meditated. If there was one thing she had learned in her days as a ninja, it was to focus. She may have forgotten it when stepping onto the deck of the White Weewoo, but now this minute skill would be of good use. With every breath she took, she could feel the magic flowing. Breath in, bring the energy closer to the core. Breath out, let it flow to the fingertips and toes. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Feeling more accustomed to the energy –not to mention refreshed-, she stood up, took a deep breath, and stepped back onto the deck. Practically none of her crewmates were still on board.
“Well, that’s just peachy,” She said, stuffing her hands in her pockets.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:19:58 GMT -5
IkkinIkkin was not very happy that her opponent chose to dodge out of the way rather than trusting his shield as she had hoped he would. That made things a good deal more difficult. A few of Ikkin's first blast of shards clipped through some of the commander's stones, but they missed him entirely. To make matters worse, his marines finally realized that they didn't have anyone else to fight and decided to join in against her. She could sense them coming near as she continued her attack, but it was too late to do anything at that point. Fortunately, her second blast of shards met with more luck; her opponent, however, managed to avoid the last two, though he ended up losing his platform because of it and had to fire up his rocket boots to keep himself from hitting the ground hard. As if the situation wasn't bad enough already, the marines finally made it over within firing distance, and the commander had his blaster at the ready. Ikkin had no time to think; almost reflexively, she flipped over and behind the marines to avoid the gunfire, using a blast of wind to try to ward off the bullets. This worked, but not quite well enough; while she managed to push them away enough to avoid any real wounds, she still was clipped on the side of her legs by a few that the spell on her clothing couldn't ward off completely. She couldn't let that distract her, though, because the commander was about to fire. She took a flying leap behind one of the marines, who she pushed directly into the line of fire before leaping up in the air to try to avoid the blaster fire entirely. Unfortunately, she misjudged the incredible size and heat that the little blaster would put out. While she didn't take a direct hit (that befell the poor marine that she'd pushed in the way) or even a minor hit, the heat alone singed her tail badly as she tried to get out of the way. To make matters worse, she'd landed in front of the marines again, who, fortunately, were no longer firing at her. The only good side was that it looked like the commander had run out of ammunition. He tossed it aside and created another stone platform beneath him, which he crouched down on, shutting off his rocket boots once more. He breathed heavily, clearly in pain, but continued to taunt her - loudly, as if he didn't know how loud he was speaking. "Excellent!" he shouted as the marines started firing again and Ikkin was forced to dodge up into the air once more, shielding herself with the wind. "You reacted just as I hoped you would... savage."Ikkin responded with the greatest retaliation that she could muster - she flipped above the shield she had created around her and willed the entire underside of it into shards of wind, leaving only enough shield left to keep the bullets at bay. These she blasted out in all directions - but mainly at the marines who were firing at her. The result was not pretty, and was the reason Ikkin didn't really like to use that attack all too much. While the commander had an almost incredible defense in his armor, his underlings didn't have quite the same advantage. And without such protection, being blasted by hundreds of razor-sharp blades at high speed tended to do very bad things to one's body. While Ikkin was fairly sure that she hadn't killed most of them, it was very certain that none of those marines would be firing at her again any time soon. The remainder of the shards had been aimed in the commander's direction. Ikkin figured that he'd dodge, but she might as well take out his platform so he'd be forced to use his rocket boots again. And then, finally, she gave a real answer. "You hoped I'd take out your shoulder and your underlings?" she said with a smirk, trying very hard not to think about what she'd done to said underlings. "Funny, you don't seem like that type to me." Hopefully, he wouldn't notice just how exhausted she was getting from using all that power. Using the ultimate shards of wind always took a lot out of her. ((Sorry for taking out the rest of the marines... but, really, it's probably less godmodish for me to take them out of the way now than it is for me to keep dodging bullets. >_>; )) Wolf(( Salve! See, this is how it's gonna work. Since I've got a lot of explaining to do to clearly get Wolf into the roleplay, I'll be posting all/most of these bits before I get fully up-to-date, since none of these will change no matter what happens that I haven't seen yet and since there's no interaction between my character and others'. That way, once I'm up-to-date, I can just jump into the roleplay and get going. :) Ergo, so I hope you all like it, but if not, just skip this and read the summary. XD
Celestial, the dragons I mention live far in the north, unrelated to yours. Don't worry. :)
Oh, and Shino? I beg of you, mind the slight godmoding, my love. :] ))Wolf shook his head and reclined in his throne. He enjoyed his kingship most when he found the throne room empty of all but himself, when he stumbled upon a single moment of intimate solitude and privacy. Though he loved and cherished his newfound family in Dunburrow, he often found himself recalling wistfully his time in Glen Oak, his small fief in the mountains far northeast of Dunburrow. True, he had been lord there much as he was a king here, but the smaller kingdom provided a quieter lifestyle than Dunburrow gave him. Besides, oftentimes, he’d idled away the days in solitude, confined in his manor as he studied and trained to find his way into this new world he had been given by the dragon-lass.
But all that was behind him now, all that was history ancient enough to be prehistoric ((hmm, backstory, perhaps?)). Now, even the last remnant of the dragon-lass had faded into the songs of forgotten minstrels when the Dragon Claw had been shattered but nary a year before when the guilds had risen against a shared foe, the tyrant of a small army that had fallen just as easily as it had arisen. The scuffle hadn’t been much, really; in fact, except for the recounts of others, Wolf could barely recall a thing. Normally he had a memory as keen as an eagle’s eyesight, and yet this his mind had misplaced.
Truth be told, he tried little to remember those times. No matter how minor the battles had been, in the crossfire, Sir Shino had fallen—his brother, his lover, the one man he could entrust his entire life and soul unto had been killed. So painful the memory, in fact, it still felt as if he had been the one to wield the life that had slain him.
He had vowed to find a way to revive the White Knight, but he had failed. Shino still lay dead and he still stood alone as king. Life was harder without him, lonely when the nights were cold and chilling when the halls were empty.
“My lord?”
Wolf shook himself awake and stared at the peon before him; he carried a parcel and seemed rather pale in the face, as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Yes?”
The man nodded and stepped forward, holding out the parcel for him to take. “A messenger delivered this.”
Wolf hesitantly took the parcel and examined it; it was wrapped in brown paper and string and was about the size of a thick novel. In fine, black letters were written the words, “To: King Wolf,” and beneath it, “From: Lord Shino.”
No, this couldn’t be. Shino was dead. Was someone playing a cruel joke on him? Why—why would anyone do this?
He looked back up and the man stumbled backwards, wringing his hands.
“I’ll leave, milord.” He turned and rushed away.
Wolf was still stunned a moment more before he tore off the paper and string and saw the object within: Indeed, it was a thick novel, freshly printed by the looks of it. It read, “The Momentous Occasions,” across the front and in smaller print beneath that, “The recounting of Lord Shino, White Knight and Steward of Dunburrow.”
Wolf slowly pried open the cover and read the handwritten inscription:
“Love, I have not been lost forever. Soon, I shall return to our castle.”
The handwriting was Shino’s. There was no mistaking it.
* * *
Wolf sat atop the battlements of the King’s Keep. Sir Kabe had briefly been shown him the last remnants of Dunburrow’s first castle shortly after his coronation; however, it hadn’t been until he had received the tome from Shino that he had decided to flee to its secrecy. Hidden high in the mountaintops above the capital and all but forgotten except in the oldest of historical texts, Sir Kabe had assured him that the Keep was a closely guarded secret shared only with the ruling bodies. In this, his unspoken words had clearly been translated: This hidden haven was meant for Wolf’s eyes only.
And here it had been that he had begun reading “The Momentous Occasions.” Thus far, he had barely made a dent in its dense retellings, but already he had experienced death, rebirth, and three and a half different encounters with seven and three-quarters dragons. Though his kinship with the dragons made it painful to read such vivid depictions of their defeat, his intimacy towards the White Knight prevented him turning it aside. Every word was a glimpse inside Shino’s soul, and this Wolf would not forsake. The dragons had been given a choice other than death; their suffering should not be his own.
* * *
Sora the sable mare sniffed lightly the air before sighing. She swore Shiva had said he’d be but a moment before he returned, and yet, it had now been hours. She was beginning to get frightful, too: She knew how prone towards rashness that ravishing stallion was, and after that telepathic transmission offering equal rights and liberation for demons worldwide, she was certainly more than a bit on edge.
She was about halfway between thinking he had gotten caught up in some squabbling and pondering whether or not he had forsaken her and died when she hiccuped and a plume of hay and dust shot up around her. Her back suddenly felt heavier, and something was tickling her sides. She peeked over her shoulder—and she leapt up kicking and neighing—wings! She had wings! Sleek and lustrous dragonic wings that would certainly look alluring in a swimsuit—but that wasn’t the point! She had wings! She—she was a winged horse!
Then a moment later, somewhere between flailing her new appendages and wondering if she could actually use them to fly, it struck her why: She was having quarter-demon horselings!
Spacefleet HQ ((Spacefleet HQ - Sector 2 - Main Hallway)) The dragon woman thanked Subcommander #20 for listening, and explained how she and her friend were seeking information about the storm that had been terrorizing the planet for the past day or so. "Very well then," said #20 through the loudspeaker. "The guards will escort you to my location in Subterranian Sector 2, where we will commence our... negotiations." "Would it be too much trouble to get a medic down here?" asked one of the guards irritably. "Kyle got a rocket between his teeth, no thanks to our... visitors here." "Way ahead of you, soldier. Now get down here. That's an order." "You heard the Subcommander," said another guard with a hint of impatience in his voice, motioning towards Bluisa and Celestial. "Let's move. This sector has been locked down as a precaution, but we will reactivate the lift in the central corridor and take it to Subterranian Sector 2. It's a long way down, so please try to be patient." Two of the guards began to walk down the hallway and stopped after a few seconds, waiting for the others to follow. Two other guards positioned themselves behind Bluisa and Celestial, but resisted the urge to prod them with their blaster pistols as they usually did with uninvited guests. It was quite obvious that they would recieve much more than an annoyed grunt from these superior lifeforms. Vyt((Spacefleet HQ)) Bluisa sighed in relief. The people she and Celestial were facing were not barbaric at all in their manners, and though they were the first to attack, they seemed to be apologetic in their precautionary measures. She could sympathize; Celestial alone was a being to be feared with her dragonic blood. Ignoring the rude mumbles she was hearing from some marines, Bluisa stepped up. It was then that four guards surrounded the two girls, probably to keep an eye if they'd become hostile again. Again, Bluisa understood why they were doing that, but the feeling of being surrounded by total strangers were intimidating for the mage. Bluisa turned towards one of the guards behind her. "We mean no harm in our visit. Please, do not be alarmed," she begged of him. After seeing the pistol in front of the guard, Bluisa faced front, a bit shocked by the scary look of the guard. This is so awkward... It's like they're hiding something… Kat((Castle Kestrel)) "Here. Let's get that wound washed off, and then we can bind it to stop the bleeding.""This is a big help. Thank you so much," said Kat with a small smile, dipping the rag into the bucket of water and washing her mangled leg. It stung, and she shuddered, but it was better than letting it go and get infected. As she gently swabbed at her scratches and cuts, she used the slightest bit of her magic on them, just enough to keep them from bleeding and opening too easily again. "...unfortunately, I don't have anything to bind my leg up with. And, it looks like Ikkin's going to need me to be her backup pretty soon." Huntress((By the side of the Weewoo)) Hunty scowled, listening to Fraze. She leaned back against the side of the ship as she did, and as a result, disappeared completely into the pitch-black mist curling up its side. "Ghack!" She struggled out again, fog curling off her clothes. "The moon, y'say? That explains quite a bit, actually." Her eyes had softened a bit, though compared to her earlier state it still didn't leave her in a very amiable mood. "If you can help the blarf - and I mean help, not try anything funny - consider your buddies back there forgiven. And they still have plenty to be forgiven for. The blarf, unless you haven't noticed, is an animal. I'd like to think that humans have better self-control than that. Especially if they have this kind of technology." She squinted at the rations Fraze had shown them. "Then again, I'd expect just about anything from people who eat stuff like that." "Nooooooot," the blarf said helpfully, flooding them all with bad breath. "Especially if even he doesn't consider it food," the captain added once she stopped coughing. "Bloody Mary, what do you say?" "I say that I'll be interested to see how he's going to roll up the side of the ship in this," said the meepit, who'd been paying more attention to their surroundings, especially since he was - as usually - on a higher position. He pointed at Cat Assassin in his hamsterwheel. Hunty stared. "Whattheheck is he doing?" The meepit shrugged. "Wasting energy? He dropped a kind of similar load on us back there. I think he's trying to push the mist back with that." The captain scratched her head. "Well, he's definitely gonna succeed in that. He's a ninja. An ally, remember? The ship's bound to let him in." ((Sad but true, Vyt, sad but true. And I'll be interested to see how you're going to survive in that thing for an hour when you claimed the blarf to be suffocating that same minute >>)) The meepit's ears jerked forward. "You stupid pile of driftwood, he's not an ally! He nearly killed us!" "For all we know, mighta been a shield to protect the blarf," Hunty said levelly, "and the ship wasn't there. She knows them as allies and it's pretty hard to get an idea out of a twenty-ton entity of independent mind... oh look, narrative irony. You again?" That was directed at Cyborg, who'd shown up again. "S'the swabby union," Bloody Mary said, at that moment pretty happy for his high position. The situation was getting amusing to watch in all directions. "Where there's one, there all are the others." Hunty grinned and looked at Fraze again. She was still the captain and as such, news about people from the moon ranked quite a bit higher than swabbys. "Right, back to matters. Sorry 'bout that. See how I have to work?" She leaned against the blarf's nose this time. The anger, that'd been contained somewhere in the depths of her mind for the last few minutes, suddenly reappeared in her eyes. "This whole land is a mess. Purple storms, things blowing up, people getting possessed, heck, my crewmembers getting possessed, demons running around, people from the moon running around... or doing ballet, in some cases." Apparently, sass was contagious. "My ship getting set on fire-" "Pirates allying with ninjas," Bloody Mary interjected. "Especically that. And it wasn't me who thought you'd set her on fire, but fact of the matter is, you were there when it all started. The whole junk with the gem, that's when you moonpeople began dropping down on us. And," because what goes around, comes around, "shooting my blarf and my ship. So." she ended with a snarl. "It's going to take a bit more than giving the blarf a drink to turn things for the better for you. And I do think I want to see that commander of yours. I've had quite enough of this farce.” Surf"Ah, but I can solve that," replied Surf. Surf ripped a strip of cloth off of her jacket, using one of the biggest movie cliches ever and handed it to the purple mage. "Not the best bandage, but it'll work for now." Rider“ Now I suggest you not even think about harming Keng. That is unless you want to be crushed to death." "No one's thinking about harming anyone," Rider said, silently wondering what was with people and falling out of trees. She lowered her cutlass, mentally checking her inventory for hidden daggers. "Not if Fraze agrees to take us to the Commander." She turned to Keng. "Why did things have to turn out like this? Ahh, never mind, I've no more reason to detain you. We can figure out the wherefores later, but remember, Keng.... They're your people, but we could've been your people too." Keng"Hold your fire, or blades or whatever Cyborg. Who says you're not my people? The only difference is I've been charged with the safety of these people when we're out, and I was kicked off of this ship. Right, you weren't there for that were you? Either way, you can be sure that I will put the safety of those who are depending on me before even myself. Believe it or not they've got homes and people to return to when all this is over and I intend to see them back." With that, having been officially released she backed away from rider then grabbed her radio. She had to find out if her marines were OK after their fall. "This is Cmdo. Keng, marines report. Mrn. David you there?" "This is David, we have a few injuries, but are fine. We're just a short ways off from the voodoo boat. What's the situation?" "Standby on that." she said with a relieved sigh as she placed herself along-side Fraze, who seemed to have things reasonably under control at the the time. Celestial"Very well then,the guards will escort you to my location in Subterranian Sector 2, where we will commence our... negotiations." the voice on the loudspeaker continued. Celestial's ears pricked up at the tone he said 'negotiations'. It sounded ominous, too ominous for her liking. Some of the guards muttered about their fallen companion and Celestial wished she hadn't blasted him. If she had ful control of herself, she wouldn't have done so. Sighing, she willed a little healing energy to go to the worst of his wounds. The yellow streaks in her eyes betrayed what the dragons thought of that. "You heard the Subcommander, let's move. This sector has been locked down as a precaution, but we will reactivate the lift in the central corridor and take it to Subterranian Sector 2. It's a long way down, so please try to be patient." one of the guards said and walked around them in a strange way that reminded Celestial of a stalking predator. There was definitely something wrong here but she couldn't use her magic. She breathed deeply, controlling the wild minds beside hers. It was very probable that she had bitten off more than she could chew in more ways than one. "Alright we shall go" she said to them calmy, walking into the cirlce of guards to show them she wasn't afraid. Celestial noticed some of the guards twitching their guns, wary of them. She looked around at them and flet the angry murmur of dragons within her. She whispered to them to unify. If they weren't together, all of them would be in trouble. "We mean no harm in our visit. Please, do not be alarmed," Bluisa begged the guards and Celestial smiled at her. "Don't worry Bluisa, it will be fine. We can survive this" she said offering comfort to the dark mage. It was too light for her in this space station. Celestial herself felt a bit claustaphobic inside these metal corridors. RiderRider smiled at her own haste. Well, now what? "I still want to know why it turned out like this." On board the Weewoo, Shiva could feel a tight tug on his power. Like some of his super-strength had left him and was being consumed by... Sora? What? Shiva was fairly sure he had been told to stay put at some point or another, but since when had he ever been a good horse? He climbed the ramp to the deck and jumped over the side, allowing the mist to break his fall. He took off like dark lightning to his beloved's side, his mind racing through the possibilities. There were still demons, and they got her. She was being affected by the gem. Wait, hadn't the stud horses in the demon world complained sometimes? Something about sharing the mare's precious burden? ... No, that's crazy talk. ... Seriously, the gem got to her is all. ... Or just the stink of lemons. That's it. Just keep blaming the lemons. Do what Rider does. Blame whatever's ticking you off most. He screeched to a halt in front of her stall. Wings. Draconic wings on his Sora. Wings crafted from his demonic energy. He had never seen anything like this before. Perhaps the energy inside of her had decided that since she wasn't demonic, she needed another defense mechanism to protect herself. Maybe not just herself. "Honey... what's going on here?" Even as the words were coming out of his mouth, he knew. A bright smile lit his face and the breath caught in his throat. Vyt((Near White Weewoo [at least, getting nearer])) Cat Assassin was having a hard time maneuvering his energy sphere. Small chunks of rocks were lying everywhere, putting difficulty to the course he was taking. Not to mention the ex-hitman slowly being leeched off his stamina by his own sphere. By the time ten minutes have passed, the rate of drain would start to grow rather exponentially. Even though Cat Assassin had been trained specifically to withstand any stamina-wasting activities thrown at him, Extremity Signum Sanctuary was one of the abilities he could not master at all. "PFA!" Cat Assassin started to shout, hoping the ninja could hear him. The energy sphere had somehow reduced his voice's loudness, partially because it was becoming quite hesitant to let the voice out. Hoping the distance would suffice for the lack of loudness in his voice, Cat Assassin continued approaching the ship. It was then that he noticed his sphere was out of control. Rolling at an alarming speed, the ball was headed for the ship. At that rate, it could punch a hole or two through the ship. Cat Assassin had to at least slow down the sphere enough for it not to do so. Cat Assassin turned around, still keeping his feet moving. They were still shuffling back and forth, but in a moment they stopped at a particular point. At the same instant, Cat Assassin changed the pattern of his feet towards the opposite direction, now trying to stop the ball. The energy sphere was still approaching the ship at a fast rate, but thanks to the feline's actions, it was starting to slow down. It created a loud thud on the ship's side. Bacon((Near Black Beekadoodle White Weewoo)) The marines that had been trying to get into the dropship Marzia stole before he took off before venturing towards the action now met up with the ones that had left with Keng. "David, what happened to you guys?" Jordan "Jord" Bennigan asked as he saw them lying on the ground. "More importantly", the as-of-yet-unnamed one of the three newcomers added, "What's up with that... thing? It's like it's from Pirates of the Caribbean Four." Andrew Kyve nodded, "Are those the pirates #7 talked about a few months back? He didn't mention their ship looking so... there's not really a word, is there?" Keng"The freakin ship spat us off it's deck like last week's coffee." explained Mrn. David. "Let the Cmdo. stay up there though. They must be her old pals. I think she's about as confused about the condition of the ship as we are though. We're just waiting on word right now." explained David, who happened to be the most senior of the marines that had gone with Keng. Behind him a few of the other marines rubbed at bruised rib cages, but were otherwise ready to go when called. Fraze((Near the Weewoo)) "Glad to see you're well, Keng," Fraze said. He saw Cyborg, the kougra he and the others had fought, jump out and threaten the captain with bodily harm. "In the past eight hours he's attacked Keng several times, threatened her with death twice that I can remember, and now he's protecting her," Fraze remarked, more to himself than anyone else. "This whole land is a mess. Purple storms, things blowing up, people getting possessed, heck, my crewmembers getting possessed, demons running around, people from the moon running around... or doing ballet, in some cases."Fraze let out a bark of laughter at the last item on the list. In response, he began to sing, in a horribly off-tune voice: "I feel pretty, oh so pretty I feel pretty and witty and gaaaay! And I pity any giiirl who isn't meee todaaaaaay!" Seeing the mingled looks of horror and (hopefully) amusement, he cut his song short. In a more serious tone, he continued. "This whole universe is a mess. I've come to the decision that irony is as fundamental a force of nature as gravity or electromagnetism." His philosophizing was cut short, though, when several meepits plopped down a barrel of water in front of him. Trying to maintain an air of civility, he thanked the meepits. Digging around in a pocket, he pulled out a tube that looked slightly larger than those mini toothpaste tubes. He removed the cap and squeezed a glob of the contents into the barrel of water. Finding a stick, he began to stir. "Dermal regen gel," he said. "Heals most mild to moderate cuts and scrapes and such in under a minute. Last time I saw the Commander, he was fighting with a foxtailed mage. I couldn't really tell who was winning. But I wouldn't want to interrupt him, and he's my commanding officer--I'd rather not see how he'd react to several pirates wishing to have a word with him in the middle of this duel. So yes, I can take you to the Commander, but I highly suggest waiting until the fight ends." The gel was thoroughly mixed now. To demonstrate it, he had his skinsuit slide away from his left hand. He drew a fingernail of his right hand across the back of his left, leaving a thin cut dotted with red droplets, which he displayed to the watchers. He dabbed a small amount of the gel on a finger, and drew it across the cut. The cut quickly faded into nonexistence. "It burns, though," he added. "So I'm going to add a mild anesthetic as well." He dug out another tube, added a glob of it to the mixture. While stirring, he continued speaking. "He just needs to swish it around for a good twenty seconds. Should get most of the cuts, and it'll clear out the shrapnel." At this point, he made a mental note to put some more of the gel on his shoulder. Not now, though--he didn't want anyone getting curious. To show that the mixture wasn't poison, he cupped his hands in it, took a mouthful himself, and swirled it around his mouth. His tongue, cheeks, and palate went numb almost instantly. It didn't have much of a taste, per se--at least, not one that he could determine. He turned to the side and spat the mixture onto the ground. "I'd request that he not spit it anywhere near me, if that's possible.”
Spacefleet HQ ((Spacefleet HQ - Sector 2 - Main Hallway)) Celestial and Bluisa complied with the guards. Before departing, Celestial casted a small healing spell on Kyle, who had regained conciousness as a result and began to squirm around on the floor. Almost immediately after this, a pair of Spacefleet officers arrived at the scene. Unlike the guards, they were not wearing helmets and their armor was not as bulky. The white crosses on their chests were a dead giveaway to their duties as station healers. As they approached Kyle and set their medkits on the floor, the rest of the group continued marching down the cold, empty hallway towards the main lift. The surface of the moon remained absent of light outside the pill-shaped windows of the hallway, and yet the inside of the station was so bright in contrast that it made the outside world feel like a plane of nothingness. It felt extremely enclosed, almost as though Spacefleet HQ was the only object in the universe. After walking a short distance, the group came to a metal door on the side of the hallway that was about twice as long as a normal door. One of the guards stepped forward, while the rest surrounded themselves in a loose circle around the two intruders. The guard that stepped forward removed his glove and placed his hand on a glowing blue panel beside the door. A bright line slided across the panel's surface as it scanned the guard's hand. FINGERPRINT IDENTITY CONFIRMED. CLEARANCE GRANTED, it buzzed in a robotic voice, and the metal door retreated into the ceiling. ((Spacefleet HQ - Subterranian Sector 2 - Central Corridor)) "Are you sure this is a good idea, Haggoth?" asked Subcommander #20 through a radio headset. "The intruders seem to have peaceful intentions." "Did you not just witness what they did to our officers?" snorted Haggoth. The floor beneath him clanked with the sound of his hoofs. A group of about ten marines followed closely behind him, but the amount of armor and weaponry they were carrying made the marines on the surface look like children with squirt guns. Half of the marines were holding standard-issue laser rifles and had two blaster pistols strapped to the belts on their uniforms. The other half were holding plasma cannons with large barrels that pulsed with green energy. The cannons were capable of firing concentrated bullets of plasma at extremely high speeds - fifty five bullets per second, to be exact. Haggoth himself was dressed in the same armor as the marines, but because of the shape of his head, he could not wear a helmet. Finally, to complete the assault team, two large robots ambled forward at the back of the group - the flash drones. Their shape and structure closely resembled a headless gorilla about twice the size of a person, but they had wheels instead of feet and were obviously made of a silvery metal alloy. There was a small hole in their stomachs where they could launch flash grenades, and small laser cannons were attached to the tops of their wrists. "I know, Subcommander," continued #20. "But don't you think you're using more force than necessary?" "When it comes to superior lifeforms, there's no such thing as too much force." "We don't even know what these lifeforms are planning to do! If we just give them what they want, we can avoid a lot of potential deaths-" "I'll hear no more of this!" Haggoth slammed a button on his communicator and locked #20's transmission channel. ((Spacefleet HQ - Lift B6)) Meanwhile, Celestial, Bluisa, and the group of guards continued to make their way to the subterranian levels of the station. While the lift slowly carried them to their destination, Celestial and Bluisa were exposed to the most terrifying and hideous form of indirect torture imagineable... Elevator music. The lift played a soft instrumental tune that sounded something like a jazzy salsa remix of The Imperial March. The horribly bland song cut through the air like a hot knife through butter, and unfortunately, there was no way to turn it off. The fact that the lift was extremely crowded didn't help matters. Ever since the guards had filed into the lift, they remained as silent and still as statues. Years of intense military training had taught them how to resist the excruciating noise of the elevator music. It had been rumored many times in the past that the reason for the subterranian sectors being so far underground was because it would force officers (and of course, potential intruders) to spend more time in the lifts, but this rumor was always dismissed as soon as it surfaced. Strife((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room)) Ikkin leaped over the guards as they bombarded her with laser beams. As she landed, she summoned a blast of wind to scramble the aim of their weapons, but a few lasers still managed to clip her on the sides of her legs. As The Commander's giant beam headed in her direction, she pushed one of the marines directly in its path and proceeded to get out of the way. The beam travelled straight through the poor marine, melting his body into a pile of ash within seconds. The beam itself did not hit Ikkin, but its intense heat managed to singe a bit of fur from her fox tail. The beam then proceeded to cut through a stone column, causing it and a small portion of the ceiling above it to collapse into a huge pile of dust and rocks. Finally, it dissappeared as it collided with the wall at the far end of the throne room, sending more stones flying into the air. As this point in the battle, the throne room was a complete mess. As the marines continued to fire, Ikkin created a shield of wind around herself, jumped into the air, and split the shield into hundreds of wind shards that travelled straight at the marines. Since their armor was not nearly as thick and bulky as The Commander's, the wind shards pierced right through their skin. Clouds of blood filled the air, and the marines screamed in pain while falling motionless to the floor. Most of them had fallen unconcious, while one or two of them would likely die within a few minutes from blood loss. The remainder of the wind shards travelled towards The Commander, but he simply willed his stone platform to strafe sideways. Since he was further away from Ikkin than before, it was easier for him to dodge the attack completely. "You hoped I'd take out your shoulder and your underlings?" said Ikkin, replying to The Commander's previous statement. "Funny, you don't seem like that type to me.""Once again, you fail to see the bigger picture," stated The Commander, floating closer to Ikkin. He remained cautious, in case his opponent decided to launch another attack. "I do not understand why terrestrials choose to hate someone like me, when clearly, there are more dangerous forces at work right under their nose..." The Commander motioned his hand towards the pile of dying marines beside Ikkin. "Look at them. Five soldiers, conditioned with the strength of years of military training. It took you but one second to end their lives." He locked his eyes with Ikkin's. "You have proven exactly what I wanted you to prove. In the end, it does not matter where your allegiance lies. In the end, it does not matter what you believe to be good and just. Deep down inside, you are nothing more than a cold-blooded killer. "I'm not completely innocent of the title myself, but I don't hide it in shame like the rest of you savages. It is a part of my title. It gives me the strength to do what needs to be done, regardless of what morals are in question. Morality is a terrestrial attitude. It holds you back from embracing your true potential - something that my people did decades ago." He let out a sickening chuckle. "No wonder you still live in castles. "It's a shame, really. You could be so much more than you are right now, but your terrestrial mind is too insignificant to understand the greater meaning of things, and chances are that you never will. Pah... it's a miracle I decided to even put up with you for as long as I have." The Commander reactivated his jet boots and willed the stones around him, including the stones that formed the platform beneath him, to cover his body, giving himself an extra layer of armor. His blaster was gone, and the pressure darts in his Leech were useless, so his only choice was to get up close and personal with Ikkin. He knew he was taking a huge risk, but at this point, he was arrogant enough to take such a risk. "This is it. I'm coming for you, and you cannot stop me. Become the killer that I envision you to be, and you might have a chance." The Commander laughed as he activated the helmet on his armor, covering his head in a dome of thick glass. Afterall, there would be no point in getting up close if his opponent could just chop his head off. Then, using both his jet boots and the psionic push of the stones covering his body, he thrusted himself towards Ikkin while spinning rapidly like a human missle. Unlike a missle, however, he had the ability to make sharp turns in mid-flight, and to prove this to his opponent, he zoomed towards her in a confusing zig-zag pattern. She would have to teleport in order to avoid him, which he was pretty sure she couldn't do. He predicted that she would bring up some kind of wind barrier in order to block him, but in that case, the force of his spinning body would still push her into a nice little corner, giving him the upper hand that he desperately needed. From that point, he hoped he would have a chance to attack her severely injured legs and incapacitate her. Ikkin"Once again, you fail to see the bigger picture," the commander said, floating closer. "I do not understand why terrestrials choose to hate someone like me, when clearly, there are more dangerous forces at work right under their nose..."
Hah, Ikkin thought. For someone so intent on treating everyone not like him like moronic savages, her enemy sure acted clueless. It didn't take a genius to understand that why someone would react violently if you invaded their home.
Her amusement at her foe was quickly squashed when he pointed at the marines that Ikkin had attacked earlier, though.
"Look at them. Five soldiers, conditioned with the strength of years of military training. It took you but one second to end their lives." He looked directly at Ikkin, his eyes locking onto her own, daring her to look away - to look at what she'd done.
Ikkin felt a pang of guilt. She didn't want to look. She wouldn't look. It was easier if she didn't.
And it wasn't like she couldn't set things back the way they should have been once the fight was over... right?
"You have proven exactly what I wanted you to prove. In the end, it does not matter where your allegiance lies. In the end, it does not matter what you believe to be good and just. Deep down inside, you are nothing more than a cold-blooded killer."
But it did matter, she thought. Whether one killed for one's own purposes, without provocation, or whether one killed out of self-preservation or the defense of others or to protect one's home... that mattered.
How could he fail to understand such a simple concept?
And why – why - did she still wonder if he might be right?
The next part of her enemy's speech made her all the more resolute not to listen to him, though.
"I'm not completely innocent of the title myself, but I don't hide it in shame like the rest of you savages. It is a part of my title. It gives me the strength to do what needs to be done, regardless of what morals are in question. Morality is a terrestrial attitude. It holds you back from embracing your true potential - something that my people did decades ago." He laughed, with a horrible sickening kind of chuckle that could make the cheesiest of supervillains blush. "No wonder you still live in castles."
Ikkin growled. Who was this guy, a self-proclaimed amoral murderer who took pride in his own lack of morals, to use her own moral sense against her?
"Embracing your true potential..." Yeah, maybe your true potential as a monster.
"It's a shame, really. You could be so much more than you are right now, but your terrestrial mind is too insignificant to understand the greater meaning of things, and chances are that you never will. Pah... it's a miracle I decided to even put up with you for as long as I have."
Or less. Ikkin was fairly sure that would make her less. Which was just why her enemy wanted it.
Well, if he was going to think his "greater meaning" was more complex and nuanced than morality, let him. It would only give her more justification to take him down as a threat.
Finally, he made his move. Ikkin was rather glad, really. She much preferred action over lectures, especially when her lecturer appeared to be simultaneously calling her immoral and claiming that morals didn't exist.
He activated his jet boots, then willed the stone around him, forming it into a sphere around him to armor himself. Bizarrely, it made him resemble a giant rocky pinball.
"This is it, he said. "I'm coming for you, and you cannot stop me. Become the killer that I envision you to be, and you might have a chance."
Ikkin forced a grin onto her face, despite her remaining inner conflict. "Hah, and give you the pleasure? No thanks. Besides, just because I have morals doesn't mean I don't still think it's right to take out an amoral invading threat like you!"
She really wished she could feel as confident as she was trying to sound.
Fortunately for her, though, she never was able to moralize over any particular action while an enemy was directly attacking her. And directly attack this one did - he came blasting towards her in an odd zig-zag pattern inside of his stone pinball.
There was no way to dodge. He could clearly just follow after her considering his erratic movements. She might be able to fly into the air, but that would be too much of a risk. And shielding probably wouldn't take his momentum down completely.
So, she went for broke. She formed a pressure dart in her left hand, then waited until it was too late for him to turn back - and almost too late to make her move - and then drew her sword out of her sheath and slashed horizontally with one smooth movement, extending the reach of her sword with a razor-sharp air blade that could cut through even stone. The two halves of the stone were forced apart by the force of her swing.
Then, just before the now-split sphere of stone would have hit her, she made a second, downward slash, slicing the stone right in front of her. The four pieces split even more, giving Ikkin a space free of stone large enough to protect her from the impact.
Realizing that her opponent could probably just will the sphere back together, she flew through the opening she had created, throwing the pressure dart - which was not quite as focused as her first ones had been - at the commander as she passed.
Ikkin wound up not all too far behind her enemy. She panted heavily as she hovered not-quite-steadily in place, gripping her sword tightly in her right hand. She really hoped she had done some damage; she didn't know how many more moves like that she could pull off. Bacon((Near Black Beekadoodle White Weewoo)) "The freakin ship spat us off it's deck like last week's coffee. Let the Cmdo. stay up there though. They must be her old pals. I think she's about as confused about the condition of the ship as we are though. We're just waiting on word right now."Dari Vaner, previously unnamed by the narrator, nodded as he removed his helmet. He shapeshifted his head to his more comfortable wolf form. Absently he wondered why the helmets were made to fit humans when so many werewolves, like himself and Commando Keng, and other specieses made up Spacefleet. It took too much concentration for him to keep his head, even just his head, in human form all the time. He suddenly remembered to respond to Marine David. "Ah, right, she did once say she used to be a pirate. I never realized she meant a literal 'Ahoy matey' pirate, I figured she preyed on unwary freighters wandering around in unsafe space." Kyve also took off his helmet, as it was getting too stuffy and he needed the fresh air. After a pause, he added, "I thought she pirated movies." Dari rolled his eyes, and almost made a sarcastic remark when Kyve added, "I was going to ask her for that new Indiana Jones movie too." Jord sighed, "Kyve, you idiot, shut up already!" "Don't call me an idiot." Andrew Kyve playfully punched his friend in his still-helmeted-face. "OW!" Jord moved into a fighting stance, "What do you thi-" "BOTH OF YOU IDIOTS SHUT UP!" Dari shouted. He collected his thoughts for a second, and looked at the pirate ship again. "So, the ship itself threw you boys off?" Dari shook his head in amazement. "What about the Commander, any news? I mean, he and Spec Ops Fraze did head in this direction, didn't they?" Without waiting for the reply, he started walking around the ship towards the castle. "They may be in need of our help." Jordan and Andrew shrugged, and followed their good friend as they often did. As they walked Jord removed his helmet and hit Kyve in the ribs with it. Kyve retaliated with a strike to the jaw that Jord easily blocked and countered with a spear-hand to the solarplexus. Dari turned and glared at them, and they stopped fighting immediately. Kat((Castle Kestrel, throne room, people have absolutely no idea that an enemy is down bandaging her leg...or maybe they're all just DEAD)) "Not the best bandage, but it'll work for now."Kat grinned. It was cliché, but it would have to do. She took the bit from Surf's jacket - and for a fleeting moment, wondered why she didn't rip a piece from her robes. Oh yeah...the cloth of my robes don't make good bandages. I should really fix that. At last, Kat had her leg bound securely, and she stood up again, clutching her staff. With one wave and one word, she sent a large sword made entirely out of purple fire towards the leader, who was still fighting Ikkin. Celestial((Spacefleet HQ)) Celestial turned around to watch the medics gather the poor soldier up. She wished it hadn't come to this, that the soldier didn't have to be hurt. At least now he was concious and being taken good care of. The guards began moving and she walked with them, the soles of her boots making soft noises compared to the armoured clonk of the guard's feet. They came up to a door and one guard scanned his fingerprints in while others stood around them both. It unnerved Celestial and she stretched her wings out a little to make sure that she still had them as a reminder of what she truly was. The door opened into a llift and Celestial's eyes turned pure black with the fear of the dragons and she couldn't suppress a shudder. If they get out from sheer terror, I'm finished. she thought to herself. The dragons were too afraid to answer her. Breathing deeply, she stepped into the lift. It was a lot worse than she thought. Music played in the background and this time she couldn't stretch her wings as they were packed into the lift tighter than sardines in a tin. Her eyes were now whirling black on black from terrible fear. Don't get out now! Please don't! she begged the agonised and terrified dragons in her mind. She wished she could sing and drown out the sound but an echo in your voice isn't ideal for singing. And you don't exactly comment on somebody's taste in music in a narrow space, outnumbered and when the others had guns. At least it will be better when they get down. Hoepfully, the Spacefleeter will be reasonable and moral enough to let them speak. An involuntary hiss of disbelief escaped her lips. The dragons smelt a rat in all this. Huntress((By the Weewoo)) Hunty watched Fraze's ever-so-versatile performance with a mixture of curiosity, disbelief, slight amusement, and quite a bit of 'would it be safe to make sudden moves?' "So now he's a mad scientist," she said to the world in general. "Bloody Mary, where'dyou dig this one up?" "Secrets of the profession," the meepit said vaguely. "But I think he's okay. For now." The captain nudged the blarf towards the barrel, furrowing her brow in thoughts. "Fighting a foxtailed mage - yeah, that'd be my boatswain, all right. Crudmuffin." "Kat's also in the throne room," Bloody Mary pointed out. "And they're both knights as you know. They have a reason to protect the castle, so I wouldn't be surprised if the whole room was getting a load of hellfire by now. Which is why we took a hike, really, you know I, as a meepit, don't play heroes, and the blarf, you saw what he was getting there." "Ain't blaming you. Drink, doofus!" Hunty nudged the blarf, who was grumbling quietly and sniffing the goo in the barrel that, in his opinion, not only wasn't food but was actually so far from food that it was beginning to reach the definition from the other side. "But I still don't like it. Those two are under my command and therefore under my responsibility, and I didn't send 'em in there to fight. They might be making matters a lot more complicated." "As just pointed out-" began the meepit. Hunty sighed. "Yes, their castle, and things are complicated at this point anyway, so it makes no difference. Curse those multiple alliances. And I don't really intend to walk in there anyway. I'm not a mage, I don't really have anything to protect myself with, heck, I don't even have a cutlass. The blarf is staying out of this, and I can't ride my ship in there, so I'll probably just wait until they come out. Sooner or later, they have to. What's wrong with you, you annoying little bugger?" "Blarp!" The blarf stuck his tongue out. "I don't suppose captain's orders will work here, eh?" the captain asked with a grunt. "Blarf." "How'bout 'drink it, it's good for you'?" The creature reached his neck out and sniffed the contents of the barrel. Then he squinted at Hunty, then at Fraze, then apparently made up his mind and slurped everything down in one go. It wasn't bad, which was, admittedly, a nice change for that evening. He pondered the state of things for a moment, then sat down resolutely and began rinsing the inside of his mouth. It sounded more or less like the spin cycle of a very big washing machine. "Spit it at someone hostile," Hunty suggested with a grin, crossing her arms on the chest. "Blgrpgrgp." The blarf's eyes fixed on Cyborg, who'd been waving cutlasses around for a while now. "We could let him keep it until that Commander guy shows up," Bloody Mary said. "He sure looked like he could use some cooling off." Hunty snorted. She'd reached a point where she would've liked to be angry, but the circus going on all around her was making in increasingly difficult. She gave in with a half-amused sigh, turned to look at Fraze, and held out her hand. "Well, we never got properly introduced," she said. "I'm Huntress. Captain of this merry gang, yohoho and rum and port and starboard, you know. Consider this a truce for the time being. Don't read too much into this," she added, eyes narrowing, "we don't believe in random bloodbrotherhood, but I do like my blarf." "Blrpgrgp." Vyt((Spacefleet HQ))
Bluisa noticed another group of people approaching. They were less intimidating than the guards surrounding them; in fact, they looked as if they have little experience at all. Immediately, they took Kyle away from the group and tended to his wounds. The mage could see them treat him before she set her line of sight back on their path.
As the group was approaching a dead end of some sort, Bluisa started to wonder why they were still walking towards the wall. She got her answers when, after meddling with whatever was inserted on the side of the wall they were facing, one of the guards somehow opened the wall.
Moving walls... I like the idea!
Seeing the guards in front enter the room in front forced Bluisa and Celestial to follow. The room was pretty small and had no objects anywhere. Nothing except...
Bluisa jumped after hearing some kind of music. It was when the "door" of the room slammed closed. Worse, the music was quite horrible to the mage's taste. She could even see Celestial act awkwardly towards the music.
This is torture... I know they're up to something!
Bluisa turned towards the rather insecure Celestial and gave a quick nod. Hopefully no one else saw what she had just did.
((By the side of White Weewoo))
The severely slowed energy sphere had only created a rather loud thud sound below the ship. A second earlier and the sphere might have done more. Still, Cat Assassin sighed in relief.
... That was, before he realized he was in a very awkward position with his tail up high.
Shaken (but not possibly stirred), Cat Assassin slowly recovered from his state. He could thank the sphere for not letting his body collide with the ship, but now was not the time.
The feline examined his surrounding. He knew his sphere could only pass through the rather wide board near his side, but that was where the large creature he met earlier passed through. If his assumptions were true, the board would lead him right into the deck, where the pirates possibly were.
Sighing, Cat Assassin had no choice. He maneuvered his sphere once again, though this time slower towards the board. It was the only "peaceful" way to enter the ship.
That took him some time. The board was tilted and would not let him roll on it easily. For many times, it tried to move him off the plank. For the other times, its inclination gave difficulty to the course. Cat Assassin could just push the sphere high into the air and land at least near the deck, but he feared that it would destroy the ship.
The sphere finally managed itself at the end of the board, and Cat Assassin was finally on the deck. PFA((White Weewoo))"PFA!" came a shout, barely audible at all. PFA recognized the voice, though: it was Uncle. She looked over to where the voice came from, noticing her Uncle rolling along in a ball of some sort. But it wasn't exactly a smooth ride; Uncle crashed into the side of the Weewoo, then tried to roll up a ramp (which was a very difficult task, thanks to our good friend gravity). But he eventually made it up to the deck. "Uncle!" PFA called, running toward the cat. She was very relieved to see that he was still alive, but also concerned, as he appeared to be rather worn out from using so much energy to get on the ship. She then starting spewing questions like a fountain spews water. "What happened? Are you alright? Where's Bluisa? How'd you get here?" A brief pause, and then, "...Why are you in a ball?” Vyt((White Weewoo))"Uncle!" shouted a familiar voice. Though exhausted, Cat Assassin stood up to welcome PFA again... if he had any arms outside the energy sphere to even hold her. Bombarded by lots of questions, including one concerning his energy sphere, Cat Assassin held his right hand high, its palm facing the direction of PFA. It signalled her to slow down. "First of all, this sphere makes me invulnerable at the expense of a large amount of energy and dignity from all your humiliation... Second, Bluisa's with Celestial, but that's the only thing I know... Third..." He paused. The next thing he was about to say was something concerning Vyt, and it took him awhile before he could find the words to suade PFA. "... When I was unconscious, Vyt talked to me... He said he'll be returning to NTWF... If we realize what made him not return in the first place..." Cat Assassin sat down, quite fatigued. The air around him started to moist, losing its freshness. His heavy breathing hinted PFA of everything he had done just to find the ninja. "The gem... It only manipulates the user's mind... Corrupts it.”
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Post by GW2 on Oct 15, 2008 16:23:29 GMT -5
PFA((White Weewoo))Uncle raised a hand, signaling to PFA to slow down. Which she did. Uncle then began explaining. First, the ball made him invulnerable, but took a lot of energy. Then, that Bluisa was with Celestial. That made sense enough. The next thing Uncle said caught PFA off-guard: that he talked to Vyt. Uncle, too? came a thought, but it was interrupted when she heard the words, "He said he'll be returning to NTWF... If we realize what made him not return in the first place..."PFA didn't know what to think about that. Why would Father want us to know why he didn't return? she wondered. That doesn't make sense...She didn't have much time to think on it, though. Uncle fell to his knees from exhaustion, panting heavily. He then proceeded to say, "The gem... It only manipulates the user's mind... Corrupts it...""The gem?" PFA thought aloud, looking over toward the pirate captain. It was her who had the gem, and had used it to buff the Weewoo, twice. The first time was weird enough, but the second time was just plain odd to PFA. You've pledged allegiance not to a friend, but rather a fiend who only desires to get what she only wished. Those were the words of her Father. He was referring to the pirate captain. All she wanted was to get the gem... to have it in her hand... it was manipulating her. This was what her Father meant. It had to be. "...We have to get it away from her," PFA muttered to Uncle. "Before it takes over her. Before it takes over the NTWF." She then started down the ramp, thoughts racing through her mind... there had to be a way to get the gem away from the pirates. There's always force, she thought with a grimace. But... that'll be only if it's necessary.The ninja came up with an idea, just as she came up to the captain, who was introducing herself to some other people. Huntress! That's her name, PFA thought with a smile. She was sure she knew the name, she just couldn't remember what it was. Now that it the name was running through her head, PFA figured this was a good time to speak up. "Huntress? Where is the gem?" the ninja asked. "Have you done what you were planning to with it? We made an agreement..." PFA had the foreboding feeling this wouldn't be that easy. But there was only one way to find out. AmneigerThat mage looks pretty angry, Amneiger thought as he looked at Rikku standing in the doorway of Mage Manor. It might be difficult to talk our past her. Maybe a different approach...Leoness is somewhere in the Manor, the mage hasn't seen me yet, and we are really in a hurry."Okay, we're going to start circling the Manor. Look through the windows and tell me if you see Leoness." Amneiger started going in a clockwise direction through the forest, and the minitanks followed him. >>Unit 6: Window found. Checking...no match. No matches...no matches...one match found. "Where?" The minitank pointed its camera eye at one particular window. Amneiger glanced about. They had went around a corner of the Manor; the front door and the people in front of it could no longer be seen. He ran across the grass to the window and tapped on it. "Leoness? Leoness? It's me, Amneiger. The Commander sent us to find you. Ethan, Cyclops and Zari are out front and...are you all right?" Strife((Mage Manor - Guest Bedroom))
((Please note that for the first few paragraphs, I am rewinding the Guilds Wars clock to some time after 3:00 AM, shortly after Leoness ran away from the kitchen area. Don't worry though, as i'm going to catch up to Amneiger's post rather quickly.))
Silently, she lay on the bed in one of the manor's guest bedrooms. She held the white carnation flower between her two soft hands, close enough to her nose so that she could breathe its scent as naturally as the air around her. Wet lines covered the sides of her face from the corners of her eyes to the surface of her pillow.
Leoness was trying as hard as she possibly could to forget the image of her loved one that she saw in the mirror earlier. That couldn't have been Strife. It wasn't Strife. It was The Commander - a person too heartless and monsterous to be called by name. Sometimes she found herself completely fascinated and confused at the same time. How could such a sweet, affectionate man be so cruel at the same time? She always knew that The Commander had good in him somewhere, and now more than ever, she wanted to pull that side of him to the surface.
But after seeing that image of him going berzerk against those people, she felt as though all the work she had done to help him better himself was for nothing. She could only imagine the chaos he was causing right now... but honestly, she would prefer not to imagine it.
Gently, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift into sleep. Unbeknownst to her, she wouldn't find much safety in the dreamworld from her terrible thoughts either.
* * *
The sky and clouds were a sickening green color that made the entire earth look like it had been poisoned from above. The clouds were completely blocking out the sun, covering the land below in complete blackness. Large, red laser beams fell from the sky like rain, exploding in quick bursts of light and sound as they collided with the landscape.
Leoness was standing in the middle of a wide open field, but the field was not empty. Dozens... hundreds... of bodies covered the ground like a blanket of death. She walked forward, her legs shaking with horror as she watched her steps to make sure she didn't step on any of the corpses. It was so dark that she couldn't see anything other than the unnatural glow of the sky. In the distance, she could hear the sounds of swords clashing, bombs bursting, spells being chanted. It was a war zone.
Eventually, she saw a steady patch of red light in the distance, and began to make her way towards it. As she got closer, she saw a tall, sinister figure in the center of the light. As Leoness approached the figure from behind, she could see that he was wearing a very thick suit of black armor. There were tall, sharp spikes in the shoulder pads, and demonic symbols were scattered across the surface of the armor. The symbols emitted a blood red glow.
Her heart skipped a beat as the figure slowly turned around. Time slowed to a crawl as she locked eyes with him, staring at his pale, twisted, but recognizable face. It was The Commander.
The Commander's trademark symbol pulsed red on his chest plating, and his Leech was twice as big as it usually was. Clouds of red and purple swirled around in the Leech's core.
"S...Strife..." said Leoness, her lips quivering.
"That is not who I am..." snarled The Commander. His voice had a powerfully ominous echo to it - an echo that made it seem as though a hundred Commanders were talking at the same time, instead of just one. "But it is what I have caused."
The Commander then withdrew a tall sword with a spikey handle. More demonic symbols were etched into the blade of the sword, and almost its entire surface was covered in the multi-colored blood of the people he had slain.
The sounds of other people fighting in the distance seemed to fade away, making it feel as though The Commander and Leoness were the only two people left alive. Her heart felt like it was caving into her chest. Was he going to try and kill her? No... she couldn't believe it... or could she? Like The Commander said, he was not Strife... He was not the man she loved.
"I am going to end this war, once and for all."
The Commander glared at Leoness with a look that cut through her soul like a storm of daggers. Tears started to flow down her eyes as she summoned an orb of fire in her right hand. If he was really going to kill her, she would make it as difficult as possible for him.
Just when she thought he would strike, another, more human voice cried out into the darkness. "And we're going to end you, Commander."
In the blink of an eye, Leoness felt the presence of others by her side. She turned her head to the left and saw... Strife?
Unlike the demonic Commander, Strife was wearing his standard Spacefleet armor. In one hand, he was holding a staff that she faintly recognized as Kat's, and on his other hand's wrist, the core of his Leech glowed with a swirl of red, orange, and yellow energy, flickering in the darkness like a bright flame. Finally, the skin on his face was not the pale or twisted, but instead soft and beautiful like a normal human being, and his eyes were a normal dark brown color. Beside him, a small team of knights, mages, pirates, and ninjas stood with their weapons drawn, ready to attack.
Tears of joy streamed down from her eyes at the sight of Strife, and the orb of fire in her hand disappeared. This was the man she loved - always by her side, ready to protect and defend her. She would have embraced him and kissed him tenderly, but she knew that The Commander was about to attack them.
"Listen carefully, dear," Strife said to Leoness softly. "Before Sev vanished, he allowed me to leech his phoenix fire. The moment I attack Commander Demonface, I want you to control the flames and surround him on all sides so that he can't escape."
Leoness nodded her head eagerly, still too shocked at his appearance to formulate words.
At that moment, the demonic Commander leaped into the air and drove his sword into the ground. It cut through one of the corpses and sent a massive shockwave in the direction of the heroes. The shockwave knocked one of the pirates and knights to the ground, while the rest of the heroes either jumped in the air or shielded themselves from the blast with a magic spell.
Immediately, Strife grabbed his love and launched himself into the air with his jet boots, narrowly avoiding the shockwave as well as a large red laser beam that fell from the sky.
Meanwhile, the union of guilds below them began to charge at The Commander, lunging at him with a flurry of attacks that would take too long to describe in words. Still holding Leoness in mid-flight, Strife waited for an opening in his friends' attacks, and when he was sure that his attack would not hit them, he shouted "Now!" while spraying phoenix fire at The Commander like a flamethrower. At the same time, he raised Kat's staff and launched a steady stream of purple fire at the same time.
The purple and orange swirl of flames, combined with the magical attacks from the others, lit up the battlefield like fireworks, and for the first time, Leoness could see the bodies of the unfortunate people laying on the ground.
She didn't pay too much attention to it though, as she needed to help Strife. Focusing her mind, she willed the intense fire to create a wide orb around The Commander below. The orb of fire rapidly condensed itself around The Commander, and in due time, the force and heat of the fire would burn him into ashes. Or so they hoped.
Just as the flames were about to collide with The Commander's demon armor, another voice shouted out from the darkness.
"Leoness?"
* * *
Leoness jolted awake, sitting up in her bed while panting heavily. After taking a moment to gather herself, she heard the same voice that she heard at the very end of her dream.
"Leoness?"
Her eyes darted around the room, trying to determine the source of the voice. After a moment, she saw a Spacefleet officer on the outside of her window.
"It's me, Amneiger. The Commander sent us to find you. Ethan, Cyclops and Zari are out front and...are you all right?"
Leoness swallowed, and set her carnation flower on the end table. "I'm okay, Professor. Thank you for asking." She managed a smile. "Tell your group that i'll be out in a few minutes."
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
As The Commander zoomed towards Ikkin, she did not take the defensive stance he anticipated. Instead, she withdrew her sword and slashed twice at the stones covering his body, using her wind magic to extend the sword's reach immensely.
The first slash chopped his sphere in half while managing to put a diagonal cut through his armor, starting from the top of his left shoulder pad and ending in the middle of his chest plating. The armor absorbed most of the damage, but still left The Commander with a pain equivalent to being scratched several times by a cat's claws. He grunted, but because his bodily movements were being guided by machinery and psionic energy, he did not flinch.
Now that there was an opening in The Commander's stone sphere, Ikkin used the opportunity to get herself out of the corner of the room. She travelled through the hole in the sphere while throwing a pressure dart at one of the exposed sections of his armor. The dart lodged itself into the plating on his leg, giving his lower leg a mild sting. Once again, despite the pain, he did not (and could not) flinch.
The Commander stopped himself in midair, and willed the remaining stones around him to cover his body even tighter than they did before, so that instead of surrounding him in a sphere, the stones attached themselves directly to his armor. Using another burst of psionic strength, he pulled some extra stones from the destroyed column nearby and attached them to his arms and hands, making him look as though he were wearing a pair of large boxing gloves.
Then, as Ikkin remained in position and started panting, The Commander saw a sword-shaped burst of flame come towards him from the other side of the throne room. Kat, the purple mage, had just reentered the castle. The fool, he thought to himself as the flaming sword travelled towards him. Within a fraction of a second, his mind formulated a plan.
Using the psionic push of his stones, The Commander thrusted himself at Ikkin in an erratic pattern. Since the stones were as close to his body as they could possibly be, he could maneuver himself with even more agility than he could with the stone sphere.
The Commander paid no attention to whatever attacks his opponent was likely to use against him, focusing all of his energy into charging straight at her. Once he was within arm's reach, he lifted his left arm and, using his stone fist, knocked Ikkin with a loud thud into the path of Kat's flaming sword.
The maneuver had unfortunately caused the pain in his shoulder to resurface again, and he felt his left arm go numb. He could only afford to swing it a few more times, and after it, chances are that he wouldn't be able to move it. IkkinIkkin wasn't expecting the commander's attack to come so quickly, and wasn't able to react before being pushed directly in the path of Kat's flaming sword. Fortunately, though, the pain from the initial impact served as a very good reminder of why she should stay on her guard, and she managed to both force most of the flame to dissipate before it reached her and also stop herself before hitting into anything. It had still cost her quite a bit, however. Her enemy had hit her hard - it rather much felt like she'd been hit with a sack of bricks where he had hit her with his stone fist - and while she had kept most of the fire away from her, she hadn't been quick enough to keep the heat from painfully searing her left side. She winced, holding her left arm, and panted heavily. This wasn't good. She had to do something, and fast. Her opponent was still using the stone to protect himself, now using it as a kind of armor. She could cut through it; she knew that. But his actual armor was even more resilient than the stone, and the fact that the stone took the brunt of the attack only made it worse. But, maybe if she used the damage that she'd already done... Ikkin struck out with her sword on a diagonal, aiming for the slashed-away portion of the commander's armor. The edge on the wind blade was not as sharp as it had been due to her exhaustion, but it still should be enough to cut the stone and any unarmored portions of her foe it happened to hit. As soon as she finished the attack, she moved immediately into a thrust, once again aiming for the place where the armor had been damaged. She tried to force all of her concentration into keeping the blade sharp, but even still, it was hard to do. Then, she jumped back and moved her sword to a defensive position, panting heavily once more as she waited for her foe's next attack and tried to concentrate on ignoring the pain that hit her suddenly as soon as she'd stopped having something else to put everything into. She wasn't even sure where it was all coming from anymore; by this point, it almost felt like her entire body was on fire. The pressurized wind around her sword wavered, caused a mild gust as the opposing winds became unbalanced, then disappeared completely; she couldn't focus on it enough to hold it steady. Hopefully, she'd be able to concentrate on her magic when she needed it. But it was still very clear that from now on, she would need to be really careful about what she used her magic for - she was quickly running out. Kat((Castle Kestrel, Throne Room)) "Ikkin!" Kat was seriously not expecting the commander to actually use Ikkin like some kitsune shield. But thankfully, she had avoided the flaming sword - at least, most of it. She had to use a different strategy...something that would distract him more. Another wave of her staff gave her three fireballs, burning with the same color and ferocity as the sword that had been dispelled not too long ago. She sent one towards the back of the commander's head, and the other two at his back. AmneigerAmneiger nodded. "Okay. We'll meet you outside." He turned away from the window and went back into the forest as he pulled out the radio from his pocket. "Ethan, this is Amneiger. I've found Leoness and she should be out in a few minutes. I'll be heading back to Zari's ship now." He lowered it as he got back to where the minitanks were waiting. "Come on, let's go.” SpeckSpeck looked around on deck, spotting both Cat Assasin and PFA. The former was in what looked like a giant hamster-wheel. She shrugged at the sight, deciding that it wasn't worth her effort to attack the feline. He didn't appear to be doing any damage to anything, and looked like his energy was somewhat depleted. Possibly from the hamster wheel that contained him. She yawned, "I'll wonder what happened to the Captain later. Right now, I could use a nap." With that, she headed below-decks to her hammock once more. This time, she actually reached it. Had Speck trusted Leraye at all, she would have simply saved herself the trip down below by napping on his summoned couch. He's really given me no reason to trust him. He hasn't given me reason to not trust him... but I think Farlap's word against his is enough for me. For now. I'll get the other side of the story later.If the Captain needed her, Speck was sure she knew where to look. She adjusted herself in the hammock, and was soon snoring the morning away. Huntress((The White Weewoo)) Huntress turned around upon hearing PFA's voice, stifled a yawn, and remained staring at the ramp leading up to the ship. "Well, that's a bloody stupid thing to have up when sitting in the middle of hostile territory. Who put it up?" "You know how there's been a lot of traffic on and off the ship lately," Bloody Mary said. "No wonder too. Spit, boy!" The blarf, who'd still been rinsing his mouth with a kind of thoughtful, absent look on his face, turned and spat. The goo, now slightly rust-colored and filled with grenade shards, hit the ramp with surprising power. It broke into two. Both halves collapsed on the ground into a soggy puddle. "Remind me to stock up on water, should I ever have to send him to battle again," the captain told the meepit, raising an eyebrow. "And perhaps some garlic. Either way... the gem, ninja?" Her attention turned back to PFA. "I have it, still. Whether or not I'm done... hard to say. You can see the ship as well as I can, right? You saw what the lasers did. We're on the same side as of now, and as such, I daresay you're about as interested in the ship being able to protect itself as we are. These are hostile grounds, and if we're to get out of here, we depend on the ship, which depends on the gem... in other words, no. I still need it." She grinned faintly. "Stay with us, fight for us, help us get out of here in one piece, and the gem is yours.” GooshLasers and hamster-wheels and ballet. Oh my. This was going to be fun. Goosh watched as the man mixed up a strange, globby potion. He was tempted to use some of the goo on his sore arm, but then the blarf slurped up the entire barrel. Oh well. He patted a tentacle, bored. Huntress then made a deal with the Spacefleet man. Goosh walked over, poking and prodding the skinsuit. "You sure we can trust him at all?" he asked, doubtfully eyeing the non-pirate. Strife((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room)) The impact of The Commander's stone fist knocked Ikkin backwards a fair distance - far enough to put her in the path of Kat's fire as he wanted. Despite the knight's efforts to disintegrate the flaming sword before it hit her, she winced in pain as it managed to singe her left arm. A deep cackle escaped The Commander's lips. "Ikkin!" cried Kat in the distance, clearly upset that her attack had, once again, caused unintential harm to her friend. Ikkin was visibly growing weaker, but despite her injuries, she was still determined to take down her foe. She slashed her sword at The Commander, aiming for the cut in the front of his armor. The Commander raised his right arm, and the epic noise of sword against metal bounced across the walls of the throne room. The slash had cut through some of the stones covering his arm, but once again failed to get through his tough armor. At that point, Kat launched three purple fireballs at The Commander's back. His heat shield flickered to life, and one by one, the fireballs bursted as they collided with the shield, leaving him completely unharmed. While The Commander had not been harmed, or even significantly pushed, by the fireballs, the purple glow of his heat shield caused him to lose focus on his opponent's next attack. Ikkin's sword travelled straight forward, passed through the heat shield like it was nothing but light, and pierced through the narrow opening in The Commander's armor. The blade sank into the suit underneath his armor and right into his skin. Ikkin quickly removed her sword, and a patch of blood soaked through his outfit and trickled down the front of his chest. The Commander let out a loud scream, not so much from the pain (which was, so far, the most painful attack Ikkin had dealt to him), but rather from his intense anger. He had managed to be as patient and intelligent with his attacks as he possibly could, but his frustration had finally broken through. Now, he was downright furious. Ikkin recoiled and waited for The Commander's next attack, her sword freshly painted with his blood. The enraged spaceman gave her almost no time to think about her next move as he lunged at her and went completely berserk. The Commander repeatedly swung his stone fists at Ikkin while using his psionic energy spin around her body in all directions. One moment, he was in front of her while swinging his left fist at her chest, and a fraction of a second later, he was behind her while swinging his right fist at her injured legs. He felt his fists hit something each time, but he was too blinded by rage to see if the impact was with Ikkin's sword or with her body. As The Commander orbited around his opponent, swinging wildly at random parts of her body, he felt his stamina draining rapidly. He was losing blood from his injury, and after swinging his fists several dozen times, the speed of his attacks started to slow down. There was a tingling sensation in his left arm, and as he had predicted earlier, it went numb, but he pushed on and continued swinging with his right fist only. He hoped that his opponent was getting just as tired as he was. IkkinIkkin felt her heart sink as her enemy blocked her first attack; she knew she didn't have all too many chances left. Fortunately, Kat's second attack distracted him enough so that her second strike hit home.
The commander yelled out in pain and rage as he rushed towards Ikkin, barely giving her enough time to force the wind to form around her blade to protect the actual blade from being damaged by the stone. While she generally used it as a conduit for magical power more than as an actual weapon, she still much preferred not having it chipped.
Her enemy's right fist collided directly into the wind blade, crushing some of the stones on his fist, but he was already halfway around her with a second attack, aimed at her legs. This she only managed to block by sheer instinct; she grabbed the dagger she kept in a pouch in her left boot and used it to block most of the impact, though the awkward angle of the block rendered her unable to block it entirely and she was jilted forward by the remaining force.
This threw her off; while she was able - however barely - to spin to block a punch to the back of her head with her sword and a punch to her side with her dagger, they only served to knock her further off balance and she failed to defend against the next strike, which hit her squarely in the stomach. Fortunately, her defense had weakened the rocks on the commander's fist enough so that their crumbling took away enough of the impact so nothing was broken, but she still could do nothing but gasp for air before getting hit a second time, this time from the back.
Almost without thinking about it, she forced the air around herself into a bubble-like shield to protect herself from the next few hits, concentrating as much as she could on the shield so she could have some time to catch her breath.
Fortunately, her opponent seemed to be slowing down, which was a very good thing, considering that her reserves of magic were quickly dwindling down to nothing, and the need to shield didn't help much.
As soon as she had gotten herself at least somewhat steady - though still wracked by pain from all of her injuries - she acted as quickly as she could, deciding to go for broke this time. While she had been catching her breath, she had noticed that the orbiting commander had unconsciously fallen into a pattern of attacking, which he kept up even though he now only seemed to be able to use one arm. He didn't seem to notice this, however, and Ikkin wondered if he might not have even been thinking about what he was doing at all anymore.
Well, if he really was berserk, than that was just perfect.
She released her shield just in time to stab directly at where she knew her enemy's right fist would be as he punched towards her - an actual stab this time, rather than a simple block. Then, immediately, she stabbed towards the thin opening in her enemy's armor, aiming to hit a spot an inch closer to the center of his chest than she had the last time.
As she struck out towards him, she willed all of the wind that composed the wind blade but a very narrow sliver - approximately in the shape of her sword's actual blade, but angling up slightly faster so she could use her sword's actual point to make a second puncture wound - into pressure shards that flew towards her opponent right around the blade. These were oddly shaped and not as sharp as what she'd used before, particularly the last ones formed due to her waning concentration, but at the range she used them, it was rather likely that at least a few would bypass the armor entirely, making that point moot.
She finished her attack in the same position as she would have been if she'd simply attacked with a normal sword, rather than the extended blade that she'd been using; in fact, she didn't even have any of the wind blade left to use, as it had all either been turned into wind shards or simply dissipated.
Her magic was, for all intents and purposes, entirely spent. She still could fly around, but only because she'd spent so much time practicing that it took nearly nothing out of her; combat-wise, all she had left was - perhaps - a partial, momentary shield or a couple of pressure darts. Physically, she could barely concentrate due to all of the pain, which almost seemed to taunt her by focusing on whatever she wasn't concentrating on blocking out; as soon as she finally got the burning in her arm to lessen a bit, her stomach exploded with pain as if she'd been hit again, and when she tried to concentrate on that, her legs started acting up. If she was on the ground, she probably wouldn't even have been able to stand.
But if she hadn't utterly failed at her attack, none of that would be an issue. No matter how advanced his medical technology was, he wouldn't be able to survive for very long with multiple puncture wounds so close together. Fraze((Outside the Weewoo)) Fraze watched the blarf's reaction to the mixture with some amusement. Had the situation been different, he might have enjoyed spending some time with the creature. "Well, we never got properly introduced," the Captain said, turning suddenly to Fraze. "I'm Huntress. Captain of this merry gang, yohoho and rum and port and starboard, you know. Consider this a truce for the time being. Don't read too much into this, we don't believe in random bloodbrotherhood, but I do like my blarf."Fraze took her hand and shook it. "Fraze, Special Ops merc for Spacefleet. Flying things, technology, nifty sound effects and so forth. I'm happy to take peace--even temporary--when I can get it. And I much prefer my blood to be internal rather than external, so I think we're in agreement on that point." Releasing Huntress's hand, Fraze looked over to the large furry creature, now rinsing his mouth out with the expression of one pondering the depths of philosophy. "I rather like your blarf as well," he added, deciding to leave "when he isn't snacking on 'Fleeters" out of the sentence. The hamsterballed cat had somehow managed to get up the ramp to the pirates' ship. The twin questions of how and why surfaced in Fraze's mind. His pondering was cut short though, when a girl--who didn't seem particularly piratical, but Fraze wasn't a good judge--ran up to Huntress and asked for— For the gem. Fraze's sharpest sense had always been his sense of the absurd. It was one of the few things that had kept him mostly sane--not to mention alive--over the years. However, this sense had its disadvantages, as well. Now, for instance, it took him a not-insignificant physical effort to keep from bursting into laughter. Everyone really is after that thing! Well, now I know who has it. And who it may go to. On further thought, he realized he should have figured out that Huntress had the gem. Even pirate ships that had (as Fraze now knew) at least two powerful mages aboard them are usually not prone to sprouting black fog-wings and flying. Nor do they have a tendency to demonstrate parabolic motion using people they don't like. He knew the Commander would want to get the gem. He wasn't sure whether he should tell his new acquaintances this. Probably not just yet. Fraze became aware of someone poking him. He turned around to see a furry pirate—after a few seconds wracking his brain, he remembered that the species was called a yurble. "You sure we can trust him at all?" the yurble asked. Fraze thought about being offended that such a question would be asked, not only when he was within earshot, but when the one asking was prodding him experimentally. Instead, he chose to laugh. “No, you can’t be sure you can trust me. If I told you that you could always trust me, no matter what the circumstances, it would be a barefaced lie. And no offense intended, but the same could probably be said of you—or anyone else here, for that matter. Especially with these strange goings-on. Though for the time being it would be best for the both of us that we trust one another until one gives the other a reason to give up that trust. “You seem to be interested in my suit, hmm?” Fraze asked. “It’s just armor. If armor were living and had half of a mind of its own.” To make himself appear less bizarre, he had the suit slide away from his head once more. Fraze remembered the low battery of his suit. He didn't remember losing the flaming backpack, but it seemed to be gone. Hadn't given the suit much energy, anyway. Now the sun was rising, when it was up completely, it'd probably take five hours for the suit to recharge from sunlight if he ceased any energy expenditures. With a thought to the suit, he put all of its latent effects on standby. As it no longer acted as insulation, he quickly realized that yes, the morning was rather cold. Well, he liked the cold. Still, five hours was quite a while. He wanted to see if there was some faster way to recharge it. Huntress seemed occupied, so he turned to the pirate wearing a red cape. “Do you have a fire or some supply of electrical energy somewhere that I can use? I’d rather not go back to the castle just yet. Magical fire would probably work.” JinaJina had been walking too long. After not finding her sister, she had turned around, become lost several times, and finally thought she had herself back on track. She wondered if the pirates were worth all of this, but she didn't wonder for long. She had nothing else to go to, and there wasn't much better than sitting around drinking. Jina heard voices. She listened, and looked around. Then she saw the Weewoo. Huh, she thought. I thought that was much further away. She cautiously approached it, and saw some people outside. The captain, and someone she didn't recognize. When she was close, she spoke up. "I'm back, captain. Case of false rumors, unfortunately. What's going on?" Rider“You sure we can trust him at all?""We're pirates," Rider said to Goosh, as if that explained anything. She turned to Fraze. "You know, while your Commander doesn't take kindly to being bothered, our bosun does. In fact, I think I'll go bother her now. Meantimes, Ventratta, could you find Sev and ask him to loan our friend some fire? Thanks." The Meepit scurried off. "I'm back, captain. Case of false rumors, unfortunately. What;s going on?" Rider could only assume that this was someone who had joined in her absense. "Hell," she answered simply. "I'm ex-captain Rider, I'm not the drunkard she makes me out to be, and I rather think her tea is mroe dangerous than the rum." ((Castle Kestrel, Throne Room)) "... What is this madness?" Purple fireballs, arms of stone, fire, wind, metal, magic, and oh my, injuries. "IKKIN!" Rider yelled. She summoned a nameless Meepit. "Run back to the Weewoo, get Sev! Quickly!" Rider drew one of her own daggers. If she could get the Commander's attention away from Ikkin for a moment, everything would be alright... right?" She threw the dagger at the Commander. ((It's a very weak medieval attack, Strife. Feel free to ignore me, I'm hardly turning the tide of this battle.)) Kat((Castle Kestrel, Throne Room I shall make your attack a little less ignorable, Rider. XD)) Kat perked up at the sound of a voice that was all too familiar to ignore. Whipping around, she saw Rider enter, just before Kat could gather up enough energy for another purple attack. The former threw a dagger at the leader's back. It could distract him long enough for her to figure out a much better plan than aiming for his back and simply being the distraction... Raising her staff high, Kat unleashed alternating jets of fire and ice that wrapped themselves around the dagger like two very different serpents. They weren't purple this time, but they still sparkled. Strife((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room)) At some point, Ikkin had withdrawn a dagger and summoned a shield of air to deflect the majority of The Commander's relentless punches. The Commander felt a wave of relief, however, when at least a few of his blows managed to crash into his opponent's stomach and back. Although he knew that his punches were becoming increasingly predictable, The Commander continued to swing his right fist, desperate to get a few more hits in. He knew that Ikkin was in too much pain to stand on her own legs, and if he could at least prevent his opponent from being able to float in the air, he'd be able to pin her to the ground and smash her skull open with his stones, killing her instantly. Unfortunately, his hopes were for nothing. As his right fist came at Ikkin, she attempted to stab the fist with her dagger while using her wind magic to increase the sharpness of the blade. The Commander quickly veered his fist out of the way and knocked her dagger to the side. Because of his failing stamina, though, he was not quick enough to stop his opponent's next stab, aimed for the cut in his armor that was now stained with blood. The stab punched another hole through his outfit and into his skin. At the same time, Ikkin had launched wind shards at random sections of his body. The shards caused most of the stones covering him to shatter into dust, but they did not punch through his armor like her stab had just done. After this happened, The Commander's eyes caught the glow of his heat shield as some kind of magical dagger came soaring in his direction. The dagger was covered in a swirl of fire and ice, but The Commander had no time to think about how two opposite elements could exist on the same weapon. The dagger passed through the heat shield and bounced against the back side of his hip. Neither the fire nor the blade itself caused damage to him, but the force of the magic and the strength of the ice spell was enough to deliver a final, decisive blow to The Commander. The Commander was knocked to the side, and the stones attached to him immediately broke away and flew in random directions. The throne room vibrated slightly as his body crashed to the floor, causing small drops of blood to shoot up into the air. He had been defeated. With his last ounce of muscle energy, The Commander untangled himself from his cape, turned around until he was laying on his back, and pulled out his communicator. "HQ," he spoke bitterly into the communicator. His voice was breathy and shakey, but oddly enough, it made him sound even more intimidating than usual. "Get a dropship down here. Now. I need reinforcements." The Commander tossed his communicator to the side, and it broke into two pieces upon hitting a stone pillar beside him. He then dropped his head to the cold floor and let his muscles relax, a pool of blood forming underneath his motionless body. He'd save whatever strength he had left for his voice, as he knew that the terrestrials were going to approach him and start asking questions about where he came from and what he was doing. He figured that he would be dead within a few minutes, based on the amount of blood he was losing. For some reason, though, he didn't feel death approaching him. His body throbbed with pain, he felt light-headed, and he could barely move his arms and legs. So why didn't he feel himself being pulled into the depths of nothingness? Why was he not overwhelmed with the sudden fear of losing his life? It almost felt as though he was barely being kept alive by something... The gem fragment inside his Leech continued to pulse with purple energy. ((Mage Manor))Back at the manor, Leoness was on her way to meet her Spacefleet comrades at the entrance. As she walked through the hallway, though, a light pain swept across her chest. It didn't feel like anything was wrong with her heart... but it felt more like some kind of sign. Strife was in danger. She could feel it, and she knew that she needed to act quickly. Her heart started to race, and her walking speed increased until she was lightly jogging across the hallway. Her feet still ached from the burns she had suffered, but before she left, she had found a pair of blue and white shoes and slipped them on for extra cushioning. Because of this, the pain was reduced enough so that she could move around without major problems. Of course, in her haste to leave the manor, she had forgotten that the manor could simply teleport her to the entrace. The manor did, in fact, sense her desire to leave, and in the blink of an eye, Leoness felt the world around her begin to spin. When the spinning stopped, she found herself at the front gate of the manor. She spotted Ethan, Zari, and what appeared to be Subcommander Cyclops, thought she didn't quite recognize him without his huge robotic suit. There were also a few more people scattered around that she didn't recognize. Cyclops turned around and crawled his way towards Leoness. Good to see you again, Chief Medic, he said to her telepathically, although he knew that she wouldn't be able to hear him. "I'm sorry for all of this," said Leoness sincerely to the people she didn't recognize. She looked downwards while timidly rubbing the ground with her shoe. "My friends are just worried about me. If you want us all to leave, I will understand."
The Horsemen The throne room was bearing the signs of heavy fighting now, and was almost completely empty. All battles come to an end sometime.
...if you look at it with the mortal eye. But if you were to switch focus to another plane, you'd see that it's quite crowded at the moment.
Death was growing kind of impatient. He'd seen many deaths, obviously, but these were the souls of dead Spacefleeters. The Fleet had always tolerated members of any race, species, shape and form, and as such, they had all sorts of different ideas about what should happen to them after they die.
NO, he currently said to a tall, lanky fleeter who'd been killed by Ikkin's shards, I'M AFRAID THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN GET ON A BOAT ON AN UNDERGROUND RIVER HERE. THE SEA IS TWO MILES AWAY. I COULD ARRANGE A REINCARNATION, THOUGH... NO, I DON'T DO ANY 'FANCY POLTERGEIST BUSINESS WITH SHACKLES', SORRY. I'M DEATH. I WAVE THE SCYTHE AND THAT'S IT. THE REST IS YOUR BUSINESS.
The souls that had gathered around him attempted to talk over each other. One doesn't pay much attention to higher-ranking officers in such a situation. Everyone's equal in death.
"S'cuse me?"
It was a new voice, a female voice. Death turned around to spot a stern-looking blonde woman riding a huge white horse. She was wearing a sensible-looking leather riding suit and her hair was tied into a bun. The horse looked twice as impressive, though. Its bridles and saddle were decorated, gilded, ornated, and a dozen other things anyone's fantasy can do to some leather straps.
"I'm here to pick up one Wulf Svensson," she said, raising a parchment scroll.
Death sighed with relief. That's one down. WHICH ONE OF YOU WAS WULF?
The fleeter in question, a sturdy young man, stepped closer hesitantly. "Are you... a valkyrie?"
The woman looked down at him. "Yep. Get on, boy, I don't have all day."
Wulf's brow furrowed. "But... you don't look like a valkyrie."
The valkyrie scowled. "Lad, have you ever tried riding between earth and Valhalla, wearing little more than tin plates? It's not pleasant. We have to keep up with the times. Now move it."
One after another, the souls of the late soldiers sorted out their existential questions and disappeared. Death turned to look at one last soul who was squatting next to one half of Subcommander Surly's remains.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
"I don't know," said Surly. "That was one clean bite, wasn't it? I barely felt a thing. Shouldn't I be angry?"
NO. ANGER IS A MORTAL PHENOMENON. YOU'RE PAST THAT. WHAT'S NEXT IS UP TO YOU.
Surly got up and turned to look at the scene in front of him, at the Commander, the knights, and the bodies of his fellows who'd already disappeared, except for one of them who snuck off through the wall to find some shackles.
"Can I... stay?" he asked.
IF YOU WISH. Death was, quite frankly, glad that he didn't have to sort that one out.
Surly sat down on the floor. "I've been listening to orders and issuing them all my career. But now that I look at it... was it the right thing to do? Coming here, infiltrating the castle... why did we do all this? Why did we die?" He looked at the Commander. "Why exactly did he order all this?"
Death, who'd heard plenty of such monologues, turned away as tactfully as possible and focused his attention on the Commander. An hourglass appeared on his bony palm. He looked at it.
War showed up next to him. "Well, that was fun beyond all imagination, ey? Knew they'd get to decent battles eventua- what's with that guy?"
HARD TO TELL. Death poked the hourglass. It was filled with purplish glow.
"Will he die?" War scowled. "I mean, soon."
HARD TO TELL. THIS IS OUT OF MY JURISDICTION.
The other Horseman blinked. "How so?"
I'LL HAVE TO LOOK INTO THIS, said Death. MEANWHILE, I THINK THINGS WILL BE GETTING BUSIER FOR YOU SOON.
Spacefleet HQ ((Spacefleet HQ - Subterranian Sector 3 - Command Center)) The Commander's transmission echoed across the open space of the command center. "HQ, get a dropship down here. Now. I need reinforcements."Subcommander #13's heart jumped at the sound of The Commander's voice. She never heard him sound like that before. It seemed like he was severely injured, which was very uncommon for someone with his military expertise. "We must be dealing with a greater threat than we imagined," #13 said to herself. She then turned to the other officers. "You heard The Commander. Prepare a dropship and send more troops to the surface." Several of the lower-ranked officers nodded their heads and began to speak into their communicators, ordering officers in other sectors to prepare themselves. ((Spacefleet HQ - Subterranian Sector 2 - Main Hallway)) "What??" snapped Haggoth in disbelief. Subcommander #13 just informed him of the transmission. "Don't pull my tail, toots. The Commander never asks for backup. Never." "Why would I lie to you, Haggoth?" buzzed #13's voice through the communicator. "Something big is happening down there, and we need some of your troops." Haggoth let out a long, heavy sigh. "Fine. I'll have half of my assault team break away and accompany the landing party. But i'm keeping the flash drones. Something tells me that those lifeforms in the lift might have something to do with this." "Thank you, Haggoth. I believe there is some correlation as well. Good luck." "Yeah, yeah." Haggoth clipped his communicator to his belt in a disgruntled manner and continued walking. Soon enough, his team reached the entrance of the lift. "Okay, men," he snorted while turning to face the guards behind him. "I'm ordering everyone on my left side to head to the docking bay. You'll know why once you get there." Question marks appeared in the guards' minds, but they decided not to ask about the situation yet. "Yes Sir," said a guard in front. Him and four other guards turned to the right and headed down a seperate hallway. "As for the rest of you," continued Haggoth, "Get into position. Flash drones?" The two drones stiffened themselves from their hunched positions and made some inquisitive beeping noises. "I want you two in the front with me." Without further delay, the guard in front gave a quick hand motion to the guards behind him, and they surrounded the entrance of the lift in a wide circle. The flash drones ambled into the middle of the circle, and Haggoth stood directly in front of them. Finally, he pulled out a blaster pistol, holding it in his right hand, and then pulled out a small, shiny knife in his left hand that sparkled with blue plasma. "Get ready, and watch your aim!" he shouted to the guards surrounding him. After a minute or so of waiting, a green light above the lift entrance turned on, and the doors sweeped open, revealing Bluisa and Celestial and the cluster of guards behind them. Immediately, the guards in the lift crouched down and shielded their eyes, as did everyone else. A burst of smoke shot out of the hole in the drones' stomachs, and they were pushed backwards slightly as flash grenades flew out of their stomachs and into the lift. The moment the grenades made contact with the floor, they exploded in a burst of light. It was harmless, but it was designed to cause a strong sense of disorientation. Hopefully, it would allow to guards to move in and incapacitate the lifeform. IkkinIkkin's opponent pushed aside her first stab towards him, but it had still done its job. He was left completely open for her sword, which sliced right into him. Somehow, her pressure shards had managed to miss the opening in his armor completely, though they did destroy a good deal the stones he had covered himself with. Before Ikkin could assess her enemy's condition, however, she was distracted by a voice calling out, "Ikkin!" Ikkin turned to look, and saw Rider, who had just thrown something towards the commander. Since when did she get here? Ikkin wondered. Whatever Rider had thrown was intercepted in the air by alternating streams of fire and ice, which hit into the commander, blasted off the remainder of his stones, and finally knocked him to the ground, hard. With what looked like the last of his energy, he managed to turn himself over onto his back, pull out some kind of communication device, and call for reinforcements. Reinforcements. That was the last thing she needed right now. Now that she was no longer in mortal peril, all of the pain that had been drowned out by sheer adrenaline suddenly crashed in on her, making even flight hard. Ikkin dropped dangerously, then managed to catch herself, but couldn't hold herself steady. She needed to get down. She lowered herself down as best she could, coming to a rest on her hands and knees to keep as much of her off the ground as she could, and turned most of her concentration towards a self-imposed illusion that she was okay and not injured. It didn't work perfectly, of course, but it did help ease the pain somewhat, at least in her mind. Ikkin didn't waste any energy talking. Rider and Kat could ask the questions, she figured. *** Sev was flying around yet one more time in his so-far-rather-useless patrol when he heard a rather loud meepit call from the ship.
"Meep! Meepmeep!"
One of Rider's meepits - Ventratta, he thought - had somehow made it up to the railing of the crow's nest and was clearly calling up to him.
He couldn't understand meepit, but Ventratta seemed to want to tell him something, so Sev figured he might as well stop flying in circles and go down to see what he wanted. He landed easily on the rails of the crow's nest and looked down at the meepit standing next to him.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Meepmeep, meepmeepmeep. Meep." Ventratta mimed a person, walking around, and then a bird blowing fire at that person.
"You want to know where the dragon girl is? Sorry, I don't know."
Ventratta meeped in an annoyed way and shook his head, then tried again. This time, he ran around as if his tail had caught fire.
"You want me to set you on fire? Well, that's tempting."
Ventratta facepaw'd, then tried yet again, putting as much detail into it as he could. First, he mimed a person walking around, then jumped into another position and meeped the way he would if he'd seen something shiny. Then, he jumped back into the person's position and pretended to be exhausted. He took yet another position, flapping his paws like a bird, then switched to the person yet again, and got down on his knees as if begging for something. He switched to the bird, nodded his head, then pretended to blow out fire, switched to the person one more time, ran around as if he was on fire, then stopped and thanked the bird by nodding his head.
By this point, Sev was rather confused. "So you're saying there's a shiny man who wants me to set him on fire? Now that's just crazy talk."
Ventratta nodded violently to show Sev he was right, then pointed down at the shiny man.
Sev almost couldn't believe it, but flew down to the man anyway.
"A little meepit told me you wanted to be set on fire. Could you please explain?"
Before he could, however, another meepit came running as quickly as it could towards Sev, meeping loudly. Sev couldn't generally tell the meepits apart, and didn't know any of their names besides Ventratta and Bloody Mary, but this one was rather unusual in that it had darker fur on its paws than on its body. It ran over to Sev, poked him with a paw, and ran back, then waited for him to follow.
"What do you want, mittens?" he said, wishing that creatures that he couldn't converse with would stop bugging him.
Ventratta, who had come down from the crow's nest, mimed a person with ears and a tail.
There was no mistaking that one. Ikkin was in trouble.
Sev turned to the shiny man. "You have five seconds. I'll set you on fire if you want, but Ikkin's too important to be wasting any more time here."((Sorry for taking control of Ventratta, Rider, but I couldn't do anything with Sev if I didn't take control of him anyway, and I figured I might use it for some laughs. ^^; And I felt like giving your nameless meepit some distinguishing factor, just because. And a possible name - Sev doesn't actually know his name, but it might as well be Mittens, no? )) Kat((Castle Kestrel, throne room)) Kat blinked as she watched the leader fall. Her fingers twitched on her staff; they had done it. And yet... The blades popped out from both the ends of her staff again, and she pointed one at his throat. For the most part, he wasn't much of a threat as he had been before, but she still couldn't be sure. After all, he had just called for reinforcements, which was never good. But she'll deal with that later. "Why did you come here?" she asked, her voice wavering. A little purple kitten emerged from the other end of her staff and strutted about as though it were the greatest being ever created, its fur rippling with magic. It ran over to Ikkin, nuzzling her arms and legs. It was a personification of a healing spell, and for a fleeting moment Kat wondered if she should be doing the same to the enemy. But first, she wanted answers. JinaJina was sitting in a tree. She was a bit lost and confused, and was going through her thoughts trying to organize them. Something happened, but she didn't know what. Her seat in the tree wasn't exactly comfortable, in fact she was already beginning to itch, and she had only been there few minutes. Then something fell on her. Ouch. She looked down to the floor to see what it was, but there didn't seem to be anything there. She climbed down to have a closer look, but still nothing. She began to walk back to the tree, but the ground gave way. Bigger ouch. She had fallen along way, and looked around to see nothing but blackness. Blackness, and a big pair of red eyes, that is. ZariOne thought echoed in the head of the unfortunate being sitting outside the ruins of Castle Kestrel. ow.Zari couldn't...feel, exactly, but she knew when her roughly-human disguise was cracking. She'd used so much power over the last week or so that it was almost to be expected. Fae, naturally, weren't even roughly human. They were made of idea's and feeling, but chose to look roughly human, if you could see the shape of feeling that is. She took off, feeling what weight she had vanish. With a sigh, she headed west, to Xenam, where, hopefully, she could find someone who could help her. Someone who'd known who she was from the start. Someone whom she'd known since the girl was born. Ferdamei Omivaise Narisang. She banked, and headed towards the Xenami Plains, a streak made of light and feeling. Ferdamei didn't know Zari ret Xenam. She knew Ailura Vaiderayle. ((Someone I know is playing Ferdamei, but I have little say in what she does apart from the fact she's Zari's friend and informant. And that she's a bit of a nutjob.)) Zari saw Leoness and her face lit up. For a moment Professor Ailden, the sarcastic, crazy leader of the genetics field, wasn't there. Then she was back, taking over the scared kid once more. 'Leoness! We've been looking ages, but there was a timefield somewhere and we got all slowed down and Ienalle wanted food and then we couldn't figure where you were and then someone said something about a stranger at the manor and we came here as fast as we can. and I tells myself "Raldia, if we don't find her you will have no chocolate tonight" and we did find you!' she took a breath and stopped chattering. 'You don't look to good. Are you hungry?"
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 14:37:31 GMT -5
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
"Why did you come here?" demanded Kat, pointing her staff at the fallen Commander's throat.
The Commander let out a laugh, and began to speak while staring up at the ruined ceiling of the throne room.
"Is this how you treat all uninvited guests to your humble home? Slaughter them until they can barely move, and then ask them why they came here? You people are unbelieveable."
The Commander paused to take a gasp of air, then continued. "Since you so kindly asked me, though... Surely you are aware of the storm that's been terrorizing the sky. I came for the same reason any stranger would come at this time. I came for answers. But it seems that you savages have neither tolerance nor patience. Kill first, ask questions later."
He gasped for air again, and raised his head to look at Kat, speaking to her in a bitter voice. "Your friend over there gave me no chance to explain my presence before screaming at me to leave, and then attacking. I was merely defending myself against her relentless assault. My squadron of marines tried to stop her and explain the situation, but instead of listening, she slaughtered them like animals."
He motioned his head towards the pile of dead marines in the distance. The stone floor beneath them was covered in dark red stains. He knew that the mage didn't witness the entire battle, so he figured he could play innocent.
"Why do I even bother telling you this? No matter what I say to you, you're likely to believe one of your own kind over a stranger." The Commander gasped for air again. "I am merely stating the truth. Whether or not you give in to your ignorance is your choice."
Fraze
Fraze watched as a bird flew toward the group, eventually stopping in front of him. He hadn't read up much on the local fauna, but part of him wondered if it was a phoenix.
His suspicions were supported when the bird spoke. "A little meepit told me you wanted to be set on fire. Could you please explain?" Fraze began to do so, but yet another meepit ran up to the bird before he could speak. They've quite literally got rodents crawling out of the woodwork around here, Fraze thought. This one didn't seem to speak, unlike the blue one Fraze encountered earlier, but had to communicate using an impressive sort of interpretive dance. Whatever the message was, it got across to the phoenix.
"You have five seconds," the bird said, turning back to Fraze. "I'll set you on fire if you want, but Ikkin's too important to be wasting any more time here." Fraze tended to be a bit overly eloquent at times, but decided this was not the right time. "Yes, please," was his response. Depending on how hot the fire was, five seconds could recharge his suit completely or hardly at all. Either way, better than nothing.
Kat
((Castle Kestrel, throne room))
The staff began to shake as Kat tried to keep it close to the enemy's throat while she listened to him speak. So perhaps he wasn't as much of an enemy as I thought, since he was concerned with the storm going on...but...
"But why invade our castle?" she asked softly, a lot less furious than before. "And...and..." Her voice trailed off.
Maybe it was the tension. The storm was nothing like anything the NTWF had ever seen before, so everyone got worked up about it. Then there was the gem, and then figuring out who would side with who and why...I didn't want to make the same mistake I did in the last war, turning against my own comrades...
Kat slowly turned towards Ikkin and Rider. Her expression asked them a question she didn't have to say out loud. Sweat began forming around her temples; the magical healing kitten would have to be the last spell she would cast for a while.
Vyt
((Afterlife))
Vyt's sense drove him to check out on Bluisa. Reading the minds of the people who were waiting for her and Celestial, he then sighed with a conclusion in mind.
Ambush on the elevator. How typical. ((Spacefleet HQ))
Dead silence. The rather eerie atmosphere of the lift (beside the annoying background music inside the lift) was getting on Bluisa's nerves, almost forcing her to shiver. Every second passing by, doubt towards the guards around the mage was getting stronger and stronger. Glancing at a grimacing Celestial did not help either and only gave Bluisa the desperation to depend on herself.
With a ting sound, the door in front of them slowly opened apart. Even with only some inches of it moved, Bluisa could already see several people waiting for them, armed with too many technologically-advanced weapons.
Then, a blinding burst of light filled up the small room.
Though probably harmless to Celestial, the light took out more than it was supposed to have at Bluisa. The sudden rush of illumination actually pushed Bluisa aside, forcing her back to harshly meet the steel wall of the lift.
Before getting knocked out however, Bluisa got the chance to chant another spell.
In hopes... that I may not... be revealed... Darkness... Obey me... make me concealed... Hide me... in my... ally's shadow... and make me healed...
Using the shadow from her cloak, Bluisa managed to change her form once more. She was then transformed into a small black spot that wasted no time with the light around it. The shadow immediately merged with Celestial's own, trying to squeeze in from lack of space.
Unnoticed by anyone, Bluisa was actually unconscious, only relying on her own shadow form to wake her up.
Celestial
((Spacefleet HQ))
Celestial breathed deeply ignoring everything but the terrible fear which wasn't her own. In her mind she whispered to the dragons in their own tongue, trying to make sure that they wouldn't get out now. Hopefully when the lift opened, it would all be better.
She couldn't have been more wrong. As soon as the doors opened, bright painful light flooded in. The black fear of her eyes disappeared to become a blazing red much like blood. The conciousness that was Celestial got swallowed by the tide of draconic anger and fury. They let out a great roar and flames rushed out from Celestial, not caring who they touched or what. They were made of true draconic anger, blind and unreasonable. Somewhere in that chaos, a though which was human stirred.
As long as they are unified, we stand a chance. The 'fleeters might have tricked us but they unified the dragons when unity was needed most. In a way, this works to our advantage.
The dragons didn't notice the black dot blending with their shadows but it didn't matter. They were angry enough to kill anyone they saw.
Huntress
((By the Weewoo))
Huntress leaned her back against the mist, which was prepared this time and cushioned her like a pillow... a big, soft, fuzzy pillow...
She shook herself out of the sleepy haze and crossed her arms on her chest, watching the events unfold in front of her. Technically, she'd more or less gotten what she wanted. It looked like it was time to pack up.
"Sev? Going to the castle, I assume? Once you're done setting our new friend on fire, do go sort out anything that needs to be sorted out in there, and then tell all those stooges to get back here a-sap. I didn't send them in there to fight, and we've wasted enough time already. This may be the knights' castle, and they may have a reason to run around in there, but they're still my officers. And I'd like to see that aforesaid commander as well."
Rider
"You mistake our self-preservation for ignorance?" Rider said. "From the story I got, your men would have killed us and our blarf for no reason."
"Kat, don't kill him. The Cap'n wants to speak to him. But keep a close eye on him, he'd as soon shoot you as shoot a dog."
Omni
((Mage Manor, front door))
Ethan had received a transmission, telling him that Leoness would soon be with them. Sure enough, within a minute, she was there apologizing to the girl at the door. Zari quickly started explaining what happened.
"…and I tells myself 'Raldia, if we don't find her you will have no chocolate tonight' and we did find you!"
"It is good to see you, Doctor," he said with a friendly smile.
Now that we found Leoness, how can I…
His computer-brain brought something to his attention, something that he only saw briefly in his field of vision before. He turned his head and looked. If this really was a place of magic like he had heard, then maybe, just maybe…
"You don't look to good. Are you hungry?" Zari directed this to Leoness, but it still broke his chain of thought.
"I know this is an odd time to bring this up, but does anyone have a writing utensil and some paper? Or parchment?"
Meanwhile Siber continued to keep a watchful eye on the blonde woman.
Ikkin
Kat quickly took control of the situation, pointing the blade of her staff at the commander's throat. Ikkin wondered if it was necessary, but she figured it was better safe than sorry, so she didn't say anything.
"Why did you come here?" Kat asked the fallen enemy with an unsteady voice. Ikkin listened as much as she could while keeping her concentration on her illusion. She was rather curious about that, too.
But, something else happened then that was even more interesting still - a little purple kitten popped out from the other end of Kat's staff and strutted proudly towards Ikkin before breaking into a run. She stifled a laugh; it was just too cute.
The kitten reached her quickly, nuzzling up against her injured legs and arm and stomach. Where it touched, Ikkin could feel an electric buzz, and then the pain subsided. It apparently was a healing spell of some kind.
As soon as she could do so without screaming out in pain, Ikkin sat up on the ground and let the kitten/healing spell curl up in her lap. Not only could she then pet it like the cute little kitten it was, it was also in the perfect spot to heal most of her injuries.
This was things were when she finally could drop her illusion and listen to her enemy's answer. Unfortunately, she had already missed part, but what she did hear told her all she needed to know.
"Your friend over there gave me no chance to explain my presence before screaming at me to leave, and then attacking. I was merely defending myself against her relentless assault. My squadron of marines tried to stop her and explain the situation, but instead of listening, she slaughtered them like animals."
That lying snake! Could he ever stop talking and trying to turn everyone against themselves?
Fortunately, his next statement was true – "No matter what I say to you, you're likely to believe one of your own kind over a stranger." Kat would never turn on Ikkin over the words of an enemy, even one as silver-tongued as this one.
Even so, Kat's staff seemed to shake, and Ikkin knew she had to be wondering whether what he was saying was true. Instead of letting him up, however, she instead asked him another question – "But why invade our castle?" Her voice was softer, and no longer angry. "And...and..."
She looked towards Ikkin, then towards Rider, with an expression that could only be asking whether or not they had done the right thing.
Ikkin wasn't sure what to say. She knew she was right. The commander and his team had tried to take over her castle, had tried to kill the blarf, and had surrounded her to try to kill her. Sure, she'd made the first move, but invaders really shouldn't expect a warning when the defenders were outnumbered. She just didn't know how to phrase it.
Fortunately, Rider did it for her. "You mistake our self-preservation for ignorance? From the story I got, your men would have killed us and our blarf for no reason."
Good. That really was all the explanation necessary.
"Kat, don't kill him," Rider continued. "The Cap'n wants to speak to him. But keep a close eye on him, he'd as soon shoot you as shoot a dog."
In a miracle of perfect timing, Sev appeared right next to Ikkin after this.
"Well, if the Cap'n wants to see him, we might as well take him right there," Ikkin said with a grin.
***
"Yes, please," the shiny man said.
Well, if the shiny man wanted to be set on fire, that's what he'd get. Sev walked right over to the shiny man, touching him with one wing, but before he could do anything else, Huntress spoke up.
"Sev? Going to the castle, I assume? Once you're done setting our new friend on fire, do go sort out anything that needs to be sorted out in there, and then tell all those stooges to get back here a-sap. I didn't send them in there to fight, and we've wasted enough time already. This may be the knights' castle, and they may have a reason to run around in there, but they're still my officers. And I'd like to see that aforesaid commander as well."
"Where else would I go?" Sev said sarcastically. "I shouldn't be long, and I'll come back with both your 'officers' and that commander. Don't worry about it."
And then, as soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared, leaving a plume of orange and gold flames behind him.
Sev could always control the flames that he left behind when he teleported, and this time, he used a weaker form of his phoenix fire that was rather similar to normal, non-magical fire except that it wouldn't burn the wood. He didn't know what the shiny man wanted with being set on fire, but he'd rather not accidentally kill him. That usually resulted in him being set on clean-up duty, and he never really liked clean-up duty.
He quickly reappeared in the castle, right next to Ikkin, who was still petting the spell kitten, but hadn't yet been fully healed. She seemed to be in good enough condition for now, though, so he decided to listen in to see whether he could be of more use otherwise.
"Well, if the Cap'n wants to see him, we might as well take him right there," Ikkin said upon seeing him.
This was almost too easy, he thought.
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
"But why invade our castle?" asked Kat, her voice growing softer. "And...and..." She turned to her comrades.
"You mistake our self-preservation for ignorance?" said Rider. "From the story I got, your men would have killed us and our blarf for no reason." She then turned to the purple mage. "Kat, don't kill him. The Cap'n wants to speak to him. But keep a close eye on him, he'd as soon shoot you as shoot a dog."
Captain? The Commander was almost sure that the knight he had mercilessly beaten up was the leader of the terrestrials. The thought of facing enemies even tougher than Ikkin was made him feel more defeated than before. He wouldn't let that get to him, though. There was still a chance that this so-called captain would only be a captain by name, rather than strength, as was the case with Spacefleet.
The Commander laughed once again at Rider's statement. "Self-preservation? You believe that I am some kind of invading force intent on conquering your stone playhouse? I would have expected even people like you to think more maturely than that."
Suddenly, he spotted a flash of light out of the corner of his eye, and he felt the presence of some kind of creature in the room. Because of his position on the floor, though, he could not lift his head high enough to see who or what it was.
"Well, if the Cap'n wants to see him, we might as well take him right there," said Ikkin.
The sound of his opponent's voice alarmed The Commander. Despite the heavy damage he had caused her... despite all of the pain his powers had inflicted on her... there was not one hint of extreme fatigue in her voice. He guessed that someone had casted some kind of healing spell on her, and his heart immediately sank. All of the energy he had spent trying to kill her was wasted.
At this point, The Commander's pale skin had grown even paler from the lack of blood in his body. From a distance, it looked like he was dead, but oddly enough, he didn't feel dead. He just felt an immense wave of pain, which was starting to fade away as his body parts went numb.
"Fine," he said in a slithery voice. "The sooner we get this resolved, the sooner you people will realize the errors you have made in your judgement. I can only hope you come to see the truth about that kitsune someday," he motioned his head towards Ikkin, "Before it is too late."
The Commander paused for a moment, giving his previous statement time to sink in. He could feel the tension building around him, and with luck, he'd make the terrestrials question the true motives of their friend.
"Now... take me to your leader," he finished. He couldn't help but chuckle after realizing how cliche that sentence was.
Bacon
((Near the Weewoo, other side now))
Jord, Kyve, and Deri walked up to the pirates that were talking to Fraze with suspicious looks on their faces.
"Spec Ops Fraze?" Deri asked as soon as the three marines were close, "Who are these people? What's going on? Is that Commando Keng there? What is going on?!"
Kyve looked at the pirates with distaste... did he smell lemons?
Jord noted the cutlasses some had and put away his blaster. His hand slowly, carefully crept to the hilt of his SF Melee Corps. standard issue Vorpal sword. If anything happened, he'd be ready.
Jina
Jina and the large beast stared into each others eyes. But there was no love between them. Rather, the large beast was getting hungry, after spending a few thousand years in a cave with nothing to eat. Jina wasn't exactly a feast, but it wanted all it could get. Jina was stiff with fear. She kept watching the eyes, and soon she could see further into the cave, and see the form of a long dark snake all along it.
Suddenly, the snake moved. It lashed out, just missing Jina. The beast wasn't the type to miss, but it had been out of practice for a long time, and the light from above had begun to blind it. A random fact entered Jina's mind. Grab a snake from behind the head, or else it will bite you. It gave Jina an idea. She ran behind the snake's head, and climbed onto it's body. Then she crawled further up it's body until she was just behind the head. The snake had been looking around trying to find her, but it heard her draw her dagger, and started thrashing around, causing Jina's dagger to fly out of her hand. That was bad. Jina knew how she could escape, but if she didn't have the dagger, it wouldn't work.
She hopped quickly off the snake and picked up her dagger before the snake could see her. She ran as fast as she could to the wall, jumped, and stuck her dagger in it. She could hear the snake sneaking behind her. Using the dagger to help her, she clambered out of the hole as quickly as she could. She expected the snake to come after her, but it didn't.
She looked around to see the tree she had been up not long before, and the Weewoo. She took one last look at the hole. Or rather, where she thought the hole had been, because it was the way it had been before she fell in now. She tested it, but it didn't give way.
Jina was confused. Why hadn't the snake come out? How did the hole fill in? Then she realized. There was no hole. Nothing had fallen on her. No snake had tried to eat her for lunch. She had simply gone insane. It was the only answer. Jina stamped her foot, and screamed.
She screamed very loudly.
Rikku
((Mage Manor, Entrance Hall))
Rikku stood impatiently as the intruders made their introductions. The slug-like one received a raised eyebrow, but even he seemed to have valid reasons for being there. The pyro-necromancer heartily wished she had an excuse to make trouble for these people, but before her brain could work something out, her mouth did the thinking for it.
“You’re not welcome here,” she said sharply, and, whirling around, stomped dramatically off. The breeze allowed in by the once more fallen doors swished her cloak around – it added to the appearance of the thing, but it set her teeth chattering with cold. It was full morning now, and the sun shone weakly on a starkly beautiful landscape of muffled hills and silence. Rikku spared none of this any attention, of course.
Maybe they’ll just come in anyway, or find another way in. It’s not like all windows are boarded, and I didn’t even say ‘don’t come in’. All the better if they do, provided the Manor knows they’re enemies. It has defenses for this kind of thing, surely.
We really need to fix those doors.
Her stomach felt satisfied now, and her brain, if not firing neural pathways at lightning speed, was back to functioning about normal. She had all the supplies she needed, and for once no one was messing around in her head. Life was good.
Maybe I should talk to Drakhé again, she thought, feeling an unexpected pleasure at the idea. But her wanderings had brought her in front of the training room, where Mages could practice their various abilities without fearing that they would incinerate, crush or in any way mess around with anything particularly important. Rikku was the first to admit that she sorely needed practice.
Slipping inside, the girl was relieved to discover that there didn’t seem to be anyone else taking advantage of the training room’s facilities at that particular time – she could feel her anger lurking, ready to flare up at the slightest provocation, and the last thing she wanted was to get in trouble for tossing fireballs at people because they’d ‘looked at her funny’.
It would be difficult to practice necromancy here, and besides, that skill had received more than enough attention recently. Instead, Rikku held out her hand, palm up, and summoned a small fireball.
It hovered above the smooth surface of her skin, casting strange lights through the cavernous hall. Rikku found that she was being pulled in, watching, entranced, as the patterns of light danced and sparked. Most of the time, she viewed fire as a necessary tool; she rarely thought of how beautiful it was, and found herself regretting it now.
Moved by impulse, she closed her fist around the sphere. It snuffed out, but for once, she didn’t feel the sear and burn of it against her skin. Her pulse quickening, she opened her hand again, and summoned the fire once more. Testing her self, she concentrated on the fire, and it snuffed out.
She let out a long breath, and realized that she was both grinning and sweating heavily. Testing the limits of her fire mastery was proving at once more interesting and more tiring than she had thought it would be. Normally, the only way to put out the fire once she’d summoned it was to physically smother it, and using fireballs as an offensive action was risky at best. Now, though …
Come on. Why would you need to fight? Who? It’s always better to try to come to a more peaceful resolution and …
Oh, come on. Stop trying to fool yourself.
Grinning, cheeks flushed and eyes glinting, Rikku experimented with fire, struggling to understand its subtlety, its cruelty, and its impartiality. Fire was made of contrasts.
Maybe if I get good enough at this, I won’t feel the need to be a necromancer any more. And then maybe people won’t condemn me as soon as they hear what I am … Her eyes sparked at the idea. Stupid people. Why should I pay for their shortsightedness?” She snorted, and the next fire sphere she summoned was tinged with black. Wow. Cool. I can do that? Pyro-necromancy ... it can extend that far?
Kat
((Castle Kestrel, throne room))
"Kat, don't kill him. The Cap'n wants to speak to him. But keep a close eye on him, he'd as soon shoot you as shoot a dog."
At Rider's words, Kat nodded slowly, trying to keep a more steady hold on her staff. Well, at least Kat didn't have to kill anyone...for now.
"Well, if the Cap'n wants to see him, we might as well take him right there." She felt something akin to a tiny ripple in Ikkin's magical signature after she had spoken, and knew that Sev must have appeared. That was a good idea. Perhaps Huntress would know what to do...
"Fine," he said in a slithery voice. "The sooner we get this resolved, the sooner you people will realize the errors you have made in your judgement. I can only hope you come to see the truth about that kitsune someday.
"Now... take me to your leader."
Kat blinked several times. The truth about Ikkin? What was he talking about now?
"If we're going to take him to our leader, as he says, then we'll need him alive," she said quietly. Another kitten, just like the one in Ikkin's lap but wispier and fainter, emerged from the other end of her staff, and washed its face before walking over to the leader - another healing spell. But it paused when it was only a few steps away, sniffing the air.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
The kitten blanched as though someone had swatted it on the nose, and let out a yowl. It turned to its caster, looking as though it had been told to jump off a cliff.
But it returned, heading for the fallen enemy, its tail swishing about imperiously. Still continuing to wince, the kitten settled itself the best it could, searching for his worst injuries.
((Mage Manor, entrance))
“You’re not welcome here.”
Asthielle sighed, and looked at the people who stood with her outside the Manor.
"Don't believe everything you say," she said haughtily, and stomped off inside. This time, she was ready for the Manor's defenses, and put up a magical barrier around her, which made her glow pale yellow. Unfortunately, it took a lot of power to keep it up, and putting one foot in front of the other became a Herculean task, but at least she was inside, and she would follow that girl.
Asthielle followed her to a wide room of some sort, and saw her begin to practice fire magic. So very much like Kalianne...
"Would you happen to know where Miss Kalianne Lunara is? I am in quite a hurry, and I know she hangs around here."
Amneiger
Amneiger was retracing his steps through the forest; as he got near the path leading from the Manor to Zari's shuttle he saw the mage turn around and go back inside. The blond-haired girl followed and was soon lost in the hallways of the Manor. Amneiger frowned - had she seemed to be walking more slowly as she had gotten further into the Manor? I must be imagining things.
He left the forest and approached the others standing in front of the Manor just in time to hear Ethan asking for paper. Paper? At a time like this? Amneiger searched his pockets; nothing. Paper and pencil; it would be a good idea to carry some. Maybe get some later. And I wonder what the mage and girl were doing...not the time. "Zari, do you have any of those at your shuttle? We need to get to wherever the Commander is, and fast. We don't know how much time we've lost here."
Kwoiffei
((Mage Manor - Library))
The nondescript mage had finally reached her destination, and yet the day had only barely begun.
The library's appearance would come as a surprise to some - despite being the scene of a magically-enhanced battle recently, almost nothing seemed to have been touched. Something in the air smelled different, but it was a subtle difference, indetectable to most human noses.
Or perhaps she was just smelling all the books.
No, something's definitely been on fire in here. Maybe it was the floor.
She walked over to a corner of the library, comfortably seating herself on the floor. A small, clear sphere could be seen in her hand.
Soon, the sphere began to glow white... but then the glow started to flicker almost violently.
And now the air had a very strange scent.
What?!
--
((Mage Manor))
She's been taking a long time...
Drakhé mused over this simple fact as he helped himself to the last slice of a watermelon... not counting that he had eaten the rest of it as well. Now his face was even more of a mess, and there were fruit juice stains on his uniform.
The sun had fully risen by now. He couldn't help but feel awe at the sight of all this snow; it was a beautiful sight.
Of course, being in the kitchen would have given him time to think were it not for those nondescript mages. There they were, chatting away... about him. And about Rikku, and how they had behaved.
"You saw that, didn't you?" "Course I did, stupid." "It's weird. I've never seen him act like that before." "Normally he'd run away..."
"Maybe she's his master now?"
"No!"
They were clearly caught off-guard, even though they probably shouldn't have. Right when he had yelled, he crushed the entire slice in his hand. Now some of the remains were seeping through his fingers and dripping onto the floor.
A change came in the air.
"What the--" "Y'feel that?!" "Forget feeling, I can smell it!"
Drakhé started, then shivered. Even with the uniform's temperature regulation, he got the chills. And something did feel different... almost wrong...
The Manor...?!
Nature
"Nature, I brought cookies!"
Nature blinked after hearing the voice of her mentor and something about cookies. Just earlier, she was staring blankly into space, traumatized by her nightmare. She shook her head in fear. Were those premonitions real . . . or not?
She suddenly remembered Omni. The Zafara looked at the plate of cookies her mentor was holding. All of a sudden, her fears melted away. Nature's eyes grew wide and, euphorically, she grabbed three cookies and stuffed one in her mouth. Sooooooooooo good! She stuffed another one in her mouth. I wonder who made these . . . She was about to eat the third cookie . . .
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a sound was heard.
ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!
Nature froze at the sound. What the heck was that?! Nature looked around. There was nothing there that caused the sound.
"Weird," Nature mumbled. "It sounded like . . . lightning . . ."
SPLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!
This time, Nature got up and looked out the door. What was that?! First lightning, now water? Nature's eyes darted at the corridors. Nothing there . . .
She suddenly saw a shadow in a corner. It was sort of familiar . . .
"Seline?"
Nature went to the area where she saw the shadow. Once there, she got the biggest surprise of her life.
It was an Elvish Dragon. But it wasn't Seline. It looked so small . . . was it a newborn? It's skin was metallic blue with little lightningbolts and ocean waves patterned on it, kind of like Seline's white clouds. It's small eyes were half-open, revealing sparkly silver irises, kind of like the silver lining on storm clouds after the rain. Around its neck was a small charm -- a raincloud. It was sitting in a corner, lost, lonely . . .
Nature's heart filled with sympathy for the little Dragon. Slowly, she went near it. The little Dragon cowered in a corner, afraid of the approaching figure. Nature went closer and more slowly, aware of the fear pounding in the little creature's heart. She knelt before it and outstretched her hands, as if saying, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."
The Dragon was afraid. But seeing the Zafara's jet-black eyes -- soft and friendly, like snow itself -- the little reptile inched closer and closer, until she found in the Zafara's arms. Nature looked closely at the Dragon and then she realized, it was special. For it controlled two elements -- lightning and water. Elements of a thunderstorm.
Nature looked fondly at the little dragon in her arms. "Hi there," she whispered. The Dragon cawed a bit. Nature smiled. She saw that it was a girl Dragon. Now, what to name it . . .
Nature's eyes suddenly lit up. She smiled at the dragon. "I know what I'll call you," she confined to the Dragon, just as the same way when she found Seline, "Snow Princess".
'I'll call you 'Demene'."
Child of Lightning and Water.
Celestial
Overlord finally came round from the shock of being seperated from Celestial. It felt so strange to no longer have that friendly presence in the back of his mind. However, he shook his head and decided he wasn't going to stand around longing for her, he would do things on his own. Because even if they were bound they were both in control of their over lives. He spread his wings which to his disappointment were once again more like the stubby wings of a normal Weewoo and flew towards the castle where he sensed...something.
Overlord flew into the window of the castle with great difficulty. He had really gotten out of practice flying with short wings. One of the many advantages that having Celestial nearby was that her air magic leaked through their mind link and made him more able in the air. At least he still had his deadliest weapon if something went ill. He hovered down carefully and silently hoping that nobody would see him, especially not the armoured figure in the centre of the crowd that had gathered. Some he remembered from before, some he didn't recognise. Either way, he settled down onto a ledge and focused his eye on all of them. At least he would know what has happened while Celestial was away.
He shuddered to think of the great battle that had occured here judging by all the burn marks, holes and...bodies.
Omni
((Mage Manor, guest room))
Omni smiled, relieved, as she watched Nature begin to wolf down the cookies. "Don't forget the milk!" she said, also sing-song-y, holding out the glass.
ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!
Omni jumped, spilling some of the milk and cookies on the bed. Her head darted around, trying to find where the sound had come from. Is it thundering outside?
SPLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!
Now that sound confused Omni. It sounded like… waves crashing or something, but it seemed to be coming from within the room. Omni and Nature both looked around, and came to look at the same corner.
"Seline?"
Nature approached the elvish dragon, which was too small to be Seline. Omni the plate and glass down on a nightstand and also crept toward the critter, to get a closer look.
It wasn't long before Omni could see that the little elvish dragon had what looked like waves and lightning bolts on it's scales. She could also sense water and lightning magic in it's aura. It seemed to be cowering, so she stopped in her tracks, but Nature continued toward it, if more slowly. Nature kneeled down, holding her arms out as if to welcome it. Eventually, the dragon overcame enough of its fear to approach Nature, and there was a moment where Omni had to restrain herself from 'Awwwww…!'-ing. Omni got closer and felt its aura. Lightning… water… magic… elvish dragon… girl!
"I know what I'll call you," Nature said softly. "I'll call you 'Demene'."
Demene… Omni faintly wondered if it meant anything, and if so in what language, or if it was just made up. There was another question on her mind, though, one that she felt like she had to ask.
"…Do you know if elvish dragons like cookies?"
Fraze
((Outside the White Weewoo)) "Spec Ops Fraze?" asked a 'Fleeter whom Fraze didn't recognize. "Who are these people? What's going on? Is that Commando Keng there? What is going on?!"
Before Fraze could answer, the phoenix vanished, leaving behind a cloud of fire that soon enveloped Fraze. He saw the flames, but did not feel them. His suit quickly covered his head once more, and worked to absorb all the heat of the fire. Remembering he still had various ammunition on his person, he unclipped his weaponry and tossed it on the ground, just outside of the fire.
"These are the Pirates. Captain Huntress, the blarf, and several others whose names escape me at the moment," Fraze answered, gesturing at each in turn. He realized being on fire would create a strange spectacle for the 'Fleeters, but he still thought it wise to answer their questions. "Commando Keng is here, yes. She has former pirate affiliations. We've established a temporary truce with the pirates. They wish to meet with the Commander. Last time I saw him, we were in the Knights' castle and he was dueling with one of the pirates. I think one of the pirates just went back to the castle to find them. I think they should be back soon. What's happened with your group? Any injuries?"
Half a minute had passed since he had been set on fire, and his suit's battery was fully recharged. Part of him relaxed a bit--he tended to be more than a bit obsessive-compulsive about keeping his suit at full energy, so he was glad not to be running low anymore. Not knowing exactly what to do, he looked toward the sky and said, "That's enough, thanks." Might not work, but it was worth a try.
Nature
"Do you know if elvish dragons like cookies?"
Nature blinked and looked at her mentor.
"Um, I suppose they do . . ."
Spacefleet HQ
((Spacefleet HQ - Subterranian Sector 2 - Main Hallway))
As soon as the flash of light had dissipated, Haggoth and the guards raised themselves and pointed their weapons into the lift. As soon as they did that, however, they saw a burst of fire rushing out of the lift, heading straight down the center of the main hallway.
Haggoth immediately rolled out of the way. He felt the intense heat of the flames on his armor, but aside from that, he had moved just in time to avoid getting seriously burned. One of the heavily-armed marines, who was directly in the fire's path, was more unfortunate. The marine's force shield flickered on and crackled with orange light as he was knocked like a rag doll into the distant section of the hallway.
Upon seeing this, Haggoth shouted "Fall back!" to his troops. All of the heavily-armed marines surrounding the lift took cover behind creates, columns, and any other solid object they could find. They were trained well enough in the arts of tactical combat to know not to leave themselves out in the open.
Haggoth himself took cover behind one of the columns that was embedded into the wall. Him and his men would wait and see how the flash drones and the guards in the lift handled the situation.
Surely enough, the six guards inside the lift aimed their blaster pistols at Celestial and Bluisa while reconfiguring them to stun rather than kill. The flash drones ambled themselves out of the way - the lift was too small to risk shooting one of the guards on accident.
Flashes of light bursted out from the lift as the guards fired their blasters at point-blank range.
Omni
((Mage Manor, guest room))
"Um, I suppose they do . . ."
"Well, I suppose there's one way to find out," Omni said, taking a cookie [image] from the plate, then kneeling down near Nature and holding it out, near Demene.
Bacon
((Near Black Beekadoodle White Weewoo))
"I think one of the pirates just went back to the castle to find them. I think they should be back soon. What's happened with your group? Any injuries?"
"No damage here, but Marine David's group seems to have been thrown from the ship. Superficial injuries it seems, but I doubt they'll be happy to hear about this... truce." Deri replied. He couldn't help but notice that the Special Ops agent happened to be burning.
Kyve noticed Jord reaching for his Vorpal sword, and reached for his own, albeit much less subtly.
Jord looked at the pirates, trying to make eye contact with them. Jord may not be much of a speaker, and he's definitely no writer, but his eyes can speak volumes, can recite War and Peace, The Complete Works of Shakespeare and Lord of the Rings all while in the time it takes to blink. And these eloquent eyes were now declaring that nobody wanted on this marine's bad side.
"That's enough, thanks."
Deri blinked in confusion, and tried to follow Fraze's gaze. The ship battle was nowhere near where he was looking, nor was anything else Deri's trained eye could see. "Uh, are you okay, Sir?" He asked, adding the last word as an afterthought.
_____
((I'm soaring now, somewhere in the sky, a rush of air, never wanting to come down...))
Bacon noted the dropship's erratic movements. Either the hijacker was very skilled at evasive manuevers or else he just had trouble flying straight. Either way, Bacon had a hard time getting a lock on the dropship.
He vaguely wondered if there was anything good in the fridge, which wasn't really a fridge, just a secret storage compartment installed too close to the coolant plates to be used for anything else.
He looked at the veiwscreen for the security cameras at the fridge's contents. Nothing. He switched the camera to one of the cabinets, which were just regular secret storage compartments and found a can of pear halves.
Bacon didn't really know why the ship had security cameras, which he had repositioned for his own purposes, or secret compartments, or an Elvis song hardwired into the radio that would start playing every fifth time the engine was turned on. All of these had been installed by a previous owner.
He shrugged, turned on the ship's less than reliable auto-pilot, retrieved the can of pears and his makeshift can opener (formerly an outdated rotary saw), and got back to the pilot's seat in time to avoid hitting a tree. For something called the Eye, his ship sure couldn't see.
He opened the can with one hand and flew with the other, a remarkable feat considering the dual controls his ship used. He popped a half of a juicy, skinless pear into his mouth and continued flying as normal.
Jina
Jina was once again in the forest. She had decided to go for a walk just to calm herself down. But, not knowing what the terrain was like, she had become lost again. She didn't care. She had decided to look into what was going on, because she had now convinced herself there was nothing wrong with her, and being a very inquisitive perso, she wanted to know what had really happened. She had heard of some of the places around, and so she knew what she looking for. She just didn't know where it was.
With a bit of luck, Jina managed to find Mage Manor very quickly. It was time for her to ask the mages what they knew. She approached.
Strife
((Mage Manor - Entrance))
"It is good to see you, Doctor," said Ethan to Leoness with a friendly smile.
"It's good to see some familiar faces," she replied, managing a light smile of her own.
"You don't look to good." noted Zari. "Are you hungry?"
"I'm quite alright, Professor, but thank you anyway. I'm just a little drowsy..." She took her striped cap out of her pocket, placed it atop her head, and messed around with her curly hair a little bit until it fell comfortably down the back of her shoulders. "Does anyone have a scanning device, or knowledge of Commander Strife's last location? We need to get to him as soon as possible."
Cyclops vibrated, produced a light rasping noise, and spoke telepathically to Zari. Professor, tell them that before we go anywhere, I would very much like to return to the ship and reconnect to my suit. I cannot be of much assistance without it. We can also bring the ship's medical supplies with us and attempt to treat any injuries our soldiers have suffered.
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
"If we're going to take him to our leader, as he says, then we'll need him alive," said Kat quietly. She then casted some kind of healing spell, causing the whispy shape of a cat to appear from the end of her staff and walk towards the fallen Commander.
When the healing cat was only a short distance away, it stopped and began to sniff the air. The Commander himself could faintly smell it as well - the smell of death. Now he was absolutely sure that he should have passed on by now. He wasn't completely ignorant, though - he had a gut feeling that the gem fragment was keeping him alive.
"What's wrong?" Kat whispered to the healing Kat cat.
Soon after asking that question, the magical creature yowled and scurried back to its creator. After a moment of keeping its distance, it made its way towards The Commander again, more slowly and cautiously than before.
The moment that the healing cat placed its paw on The Commander's chest, the numbness in his body quickly started to fade away, and the intense pain he had experienced earlier resurfaced. He let out a shout and crawled backwards, trying to get away from the cat.
"Get that foul thing away from me!" he snarled at Kat while breathing heavily. "I should have known you were going to torture me into giving you information!"
His voice settled down a bit, and he smiled. "You can certainly try, but you will need to get past decades of military training before I speak even a single word in your favor."
Eventually, his body went numb again to the point where he could sit up on the ground without much problem. He did so, staring distastefully into the purple mage's eyes. "I am alive, so take me. Now.”
Ikkin
"Fine," the commander said, his voice more snake-like than ever. "The sooner we get this resolved, the sooner you people will realize the errors you have made in your judgement. I can only hope you come to see the truth about that kitsune someday, before it is too late." He paused dramatically.
Ikkin stifled back a harsh laugh. Kat and Rider both already knew full well how cruel Ikkin could be when she let herself be consumed by anger; she'd convinced Rider to assassinate a barely-conscious Shino in the last Guild War, not to mention turning against the knights - and Kat - to get revenge on Kit. After that, the idea that what the commander said could change their opinion about her was rather laughable.
Of course, the question of whether he might be right was a different question entirely, but she didn't really want to think about that. She wasn't like that anymore, and this didn't prove anything to the contrary... right?
The commander cut off her thoughts with something else that almost made her laugh - though for a different reason this time. "Now... take me to your leader." He seemed to find it funny himself, chuckling at his own joke.
Kat didn't seem to find it funny, though; instead, she got right back down to business. "If we're going to take him to our leader, as he says, then we'll need him alive," she said, creating another healing spell/kitten from her wand. This kitten didn't seem very happy about what it was being asked to do - in fact, Ikkin rather thought it would prefer jumping off a cliff. It let out a painful yowl that made her feel really bad for it, but, it went over to try to heal the commander anyway, tail swishing in the way cats' tails tend to do when they're just about ready to claw you to pieces.
The commander's reaction, however, was rather unexpected - instead of getting better, he screamed out in pain and scuttled backwards, crab-style, away from the kitten.
"Get that foul thing away from me!" he snarled, breathing heavily once more. "I should have known you were going to torture me into giving you information!"
Well, that was certainly unexpected, Ikkin thought. Almost like using phoenix down on a zombie in a Final Fantasy game...
The commander didn't really seem like a zombie, though; he was still definitely conscious and able to think for himself. In fact, he calmed down surprisingly quickly after the kitten incident. "You can certainly try," he said, smirking to hide his weakness, "but you will need to get past decades of military training before I speak even a single word in your favor."
It still took him a few minutes to compose himself enough to sit up, but as soon as he did, he spoke again. "I am alive, so take me. Now."
It was about time to leave anyway, so Ikkin figured she might as well get going. She rose shakily to her feet, holding her own healing kitten against her kind of like one would hold a baby; while the worst of her injuries had been tended to, she was still rather sore and found the kitten's presence helpful.
She walked slowly over to the commander, and beckoned Sev to follow, which he did in short order. "You can pick him up for us, right, Sev?"
"Of course," Sev said with a rather nasty smirk. He knew an opening when he had one, and Ikkin had definitely given him one.
While Ikkin called over to Rider and Kat, "Just grab hold of Sev's tail and we can go," Sev flapped his wings to raise himself a few feet in the air, then flew over the commander and dropped down, making sure to land his claws right on the places where Ikkin's sword had torn through the armor of her enemy.
Ikkin grabbed onto Sev's tail, and they both waited for Rider and Kat to come over. Once they were ready to go, Sev said, "Make sure to hold on tight!" and clamped his claws down on the commander's chest as hard as he could to hold him. This wasn't entirely necessary, of course, but the commander almost certainly didn't know this, and Sev wasn't about to let him get away with hurting Ikkin as much as he did.
Then, he flew up a few feet to make sure that his enemy felt his claws, and disappeared in a flash of fire, reappearing a few feet from Huntress near the White Weewoo. He had actually managed it in such a way that Ikkin, Rider, and Kat would be standing directly on the ground, still holding his tail - which meant a hard landing for the commander, and a heavy phoenix with sharp claws (and more phoenix down than an item shop, albeit less effective since it was still connected to him) landing on top of him to boot.
Ikkin wondered whether all that was entirely necessary considering that the enemy was already wounded and probably should have been dead, but this was Sev, and it was usually better not to get in his way if what he was doing didn't have a good reason not to do it.
((Sorry for assuming that you went over and held on, Rider and Kat, but I wanted to get this thing moving ^^; And feel free to say something in the time before Sev left))
Celestial
((Spacefleet HQ))
The flames were effective, the 'Fleeters shooting at them fell back as the bright stunning flash finally eased off. Celestial looked around and felt it was too effective. The guards were hiding behind the columns and the flash drones just rumbled away. For a moment she felt triumphant until the sound of switches made her turn around to see the six guards fiddling with their guns. This wasn't a good sign. The dragon's instinct quickly took over as they created a barrier of air to deflect whatever ammunition the guards had in their guns. They fired.
In a way, she was right on time. The barrier formed but instead of deflecting the stuff they shot, it wrapped around them and stopped it just inches from Celestial's nose. She could feel it's heat but being a fire mage, she wasn't truly affected.
"Don't be fools. Nobody can lie to dragons without consequences" they all gloated aside from a conciousness at the back of her mind.
Obviously they don't know that the only thing you shouldn't tell your enemy is your weakness Celestial thought. She feared what might come next but she couldn't control so many dragons at once. It looks like her confidence has gone too far.
((Castle Kestrel))
Overlord watched the conversation and almost fell off his perch when the man in armour screamed out and shouted something about torture. It sounded strange to the Weewoo as the only thing that was touching the man was a cute kitten. More talk followed before the phoenix that Overlord recognised from the library. Everyone was gathering around him and Overlord hopped down from his perch and walked forward for a closer look. The phoenix was gathering flames and as he flew up flames erupted from him. Overlord didn't have time before he was caught in the phoenix fire and was transported with them others.
It was the demon ship that he and Celestial came here. He shuddered and quickly flew off, hiding in the rigging and hoping the ship would recognise him from before. He was there when Bluisa was hurled off.
Amneiger
"Fraze is sending his own location to Zari's shuttle," Amneiger said in response to Leoness's question. "Look, the shuttle is in the forest within walking distance and we've spent far too long here. We can talk on the way there, but we need to get moving now."
Huntress
((The Weewoo))
Huntress had just about fallen asleep when more people showed up. Lovely. More of 'em moonpeople. She gave them a sleepy, rather un-captainish grin as Fraze introduced them and then drifted off again, paying no attention to anyone else. The delegation was taking a while and she wasn't going to let that disturb her bedtime.
"Yo, capitano," Bloody Mary's voice woke her up an unknown amount of time later.
Hunty pushed herself out of the mist. It'd been a long, weird, and somewhat annoying night, and she hadn't gotten much sleep to speak of, but now the dawn was approaching fast, the ground was white with snow, and for some reason she felt good as new. Was it the adrenaline overload, or had more time passed than she'd thought?
She turned to look at the companionship who'd appeared out of thin air, or rather, Sev's flames. So that was their commander?
...that was their commander who looked very beaten up and got a rough landing and a phoenix on top of that. In front of all those moonpeople.
"Aren't you all a pretty picture," she said. "Sev, you'll make a lovely diplomat one day, get off 'im, we need him alive and conscious." She hadn't quite forgotten the phoenix's snarky response from before, and no captain lets anyone else have the last word if they can help it.
She looked down at the Commander, trying to figure out whether or not it'd help to offer him a hand, as he didn't look like he'd be able to get up anyway, then decided that captain's duties came first anyway, no matter what the circumstances, so she looked up at the three pirates. Or more specifically, Ikkin and Kat.
"Knights," she said sternly. In her mouth, the word had always rather sounded like a synonym to 'idiots'. "That's what we get from it now, eh? You run off to bicker with a bunch of intruders, outnumbered as I heard, in order to defend the castle which by now looks worse than before you went in there as I heard..."
"Though apparently they did win," Bloody Mary pointed out.
Hunty, who could only think like a pirate, not like a pirate and knight, shrugged. "And got beaten up. Whereas we out here got to sit around in the open, getting assaulted from all directions, waiting until my stealthy scouts return with a status report.. well, okay, guess this counts as a report," she looked at the Commander again, sighed, scowled, and squatted down a few feet from him.
"The commander of Spacefleet, I presume?" she asked, making sure to keep her distance. Negotiating with fallen enemies may have been somewhat honorless, but it was definitely the safest way of negotiating, and she wasn't going to take any chances. Ikkin was one of the most powerful mages in Dunburrow and she looked like she'd been through a woodchipper. "I'm Huntress. The captain of this ship, the leader of this lovely bunch-"
"...and as such, responsible for their actions..." Bloody Mary mumbled in the background.
"-and a pirate," she said. "And as such, a local. So I daresay I have all the right to ask what you and your men are doing on this land, invading castles-"
"-not that she cares about that part-" the meepit interjected.
"-and attacking my crewmembers," she continued smoothly, "and shooting at my ship, and my blarf."
"This here," Bloody Mary said helpfully, pointing at the creature he was sitting on. Some people hold a dialogue with themselves. Hunty and Bloody Mary could hold a monologue by two.
"Otherwise I wouldn't care," she said, "pillage all you want, we do that too and fair's fair. But this is our land. If we came and blew up the moon, you wouldn't like it either. So a little explanation, if you please?”
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 14:44:12 GMT -5
Kat
((Castle Kestrel, throne room))
As the kitten placed its paw on the commander's chest, a curious thing happened - definitely something Kat would never have expected. He crawled backward, gazing at her spell as though it were the harbinger of the apocalypse, or maybe worse.
"Get that foul thing away from me! I should have known you were going to torture me into giving you information!"
"I do want information, but I'm not about to use magic to torture people!" she said irritably, resisting the urge to shove her staff straight into his neck. "It's not in my blood." The kitten reacted too, with a snobbish meow. Then it vanished.
"You can certainly try, but you will need to get past decades of military training before I speak even a single word in your favor."
Raising a single eyebrow, Kat snapped back, "Well, if you really want it so bad, I do know other ways to torture you, sir. And they won't involve a single bit of magic." She sighed, rolling her eyes. It was always like this...and quarreling with him was only making her headache worse. Thankfully, the next thing the commander said was no argument, and she only returned his glare more furiously. She was only too well-known for her hot temper.
"I am alive, so take me. Now."
"Taking, taking," said Kat heavily, turning to Ikkin and Sev, who were way ahead of her.
"Just grab hold of Sev's tail and we can go." Kat did as she was told, at last pulling her staff away from the fallen commander. The blades were gone, once again replaced by metal flames, and she didn't have to be told to hold on tight. Sev clamped down on their enemy with his phoenix claws, and though she was ticked off with the commander, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him, being transported like that.
Then they were gone in a flurry of fire.
((Weewoo!))
"Sev, you'll make a lovely diplomat one day, get off 'im, we need him alive and conscious."
Though she was quite worn out from the battle and casting those healing spells, Kat couldn't help but grin crookedly. She would know that voice from anywhere, and indeed, it was Huntress staring at them as though itching to take a photo of them all.
"Knights. That's what we get from it now, eh? You run off to bicker with a bunch of intruders, outnumbered as I heard, in order to defend the castle which by now looks worse than before you went in there as I heard..."
Kat opened her mouth to object, but Bloody Mary cut her off, saying that Ikkin, Kat and Rider had triumphed anyway. What ensued was a little introduction by Huntress and Bloody Mary, and once the cap'n was done and asked for an explanation, Kat decided that she would give it.
"Yes, he definitely looks like the commander," she said wearily. "We found him in our castle. Ikkin did most of the fighting with him, but I guess you could say Rider and I helped. Well, I was backup." She let out a short laugh. "Oh, and Ikkin...I'll need that kitten back. I'm sorry..."
And with a feeble flick of her staff-hand, the healing spell disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.
Spacefleet HQ
((Spacefleet HQ - Subterranian Sector 2 - Main Hallway))
Celestial summoned a shield of air to surround herself, protecting her and Bluisa, who was hiding in her shadow, from the blaster fire of the guards.
"She's got an energy shield!" yelled one of the guards.
"Got out of the lift then, you numskulls!" shouted Haggoth.
The guards complied, and flooded out of the lift while continuing to fire their stun guns into it. Once the lift was clear (aside from, obviously, the intruders), all of the marines and the flash drones began an attack pattern. At the same time, they emerged from their hiding spots, filled the lift with several dozen plasma bullets and laser beams, and then ran back into hiding again. Yellow sparks poured out of the lift after each attack, dancing along the floor for a few seconds before vanishing into puffs of smoke.
The hallway filled with flashes and odd metallic noises as they repeated this cycle of attack over and over, not knowing if they broke through Celestial's shielding due to the smoke that had filled the inside of the lift.
((Outer Space))
The docking bay doors slowly creeped open, and the moment the opening was wide enough, a large dropship zoomed out. Like a shimmering comet, the dropship left a trail of blue smoke in its wake as it travelled smoothly towards the surface of NTWF.
Strife
((Castle Kestrel - Throne Room))
"Taking, taking," said Kat heavily to The Commander. She then turned to Ikkin and Sev, allowing them to do the honors.
"You can pick him up for us, right, Sev?" said Ikkin, turning to her phoenix companion.
"Of course," replied the fiery bird, who immediately swooped down and grabbed The Commander's chest with his talons. As this happened, The Commander's heat shield automatically flickered on, protecting him from the searing flames that were pouring out of the bird's feathers.
The bird's feet were covered in blood as its talons squeezed themselves into the opening in The Commander's chest. Despite this, however, his body was too numb for him to feel any sort of pain from it. He simply allowed himself to relax, expecting that the phoenix would fly him to his destination.
However, that wasn't exactly the case. After the terrestrials around him grabbed hold of the bird's feathers, and as the bird carried The Commander several feet into the air, he suddenly felt his surroundings warp around him. He was being teleported.
((The Demon Ship Outside the Castle))
As The Commander's new surroundings came into focus, he had little time to react before falling a short distance and landing hard in the snow. He also didn't have enough time to react to the phoenix landing hard on his chest once again. He grumbled to himself, not because of pain, but because he felt like the terrestrials were trying to humiliate him.
He began to hear voices, but he couldn't bring himself to listen, as his body was suddenly overcome with a strong sensation. It felt like a sudden burst of energy was being poured into his body, similar to the energy a person gets when drinking a tall glass of water after going days without a single drop. The sounds of the terrestrials' voices around him were suddenly shut out, and he felt as though time was slowing to a crawl.
The gem was close. Very close. He could feel its power flowing through his veins, starting from the arm his Leech was attached to. The red glow of his eyes flickered and faded away, and after a few seconds, was replaced with a brighter purple glow.
As soon as this happened, The Commander regained his focus on the sounds and sights around him. He slowly turned his head in the direction of a figure squatting down beside him. The figure was wearing some kind of pirate's uniform, and her hair was fastened in a sharp ponytail with yellow and black streaks. Behind her, a small blue creature was perched on top a much larger, more intimidating creature that resembled some kind of sea monster.
Even further behind them, he recognized the demonic ship that had floated through the sky and bombed the knights' castle in the first place. This sight confused him greatly, but he couldn't concentrate on it at the moment, as the person in front of him was in the middle of speaking.
"...mmander of Spacefleet, I presume?" said the pirate. "I'm Huntress. The captain of this ship, the leader of this lovely bunch-"
"...and as such, responsible for their actions..." mumbled the small blue creature.
"-and a pirate," she said. "And as such, a local. So I daresay I have all the right to ask what you and your men are doing on this land, invading castles-"
"-not that she cares about that part-"
"-and attacking my crewmembers, and shooting at my ship, and my blarf."
"This here," The blue creature motioned towards the monster he was sitting on.
"Otherwise I wouldn't care, pillage all you want, we do that too and fair's fair. But this is our land. If we came and blew up the moon, you wouldn't like it either. So a little explanation, if you please?"
Before he could answer, Kat stepped forward and explained how they found him in the castle. As soon as she was finished speaking, The Commander jumped in. "So... you are responsible for the terrestrials who assaulted me and my men..." The Commander chuckled. His voice sounded different somehow, as though two Commanders were speaking at the same time in different pitch levels. "Before I tell you anything, you have some explaining to do on your behalf..."
The Commander began to pull himself up and walk closer to Huntress. As he did so, however, a sudden burst of psionic energy caused him to rise to his feet and appear beside the pirate captain almost instantaneously in a blur of motion. He felt slightly dizzy from the unexpected maneuver, and quite frankly, he was relieved that he didn't knock her over on accident and cause another skirmish. He kept himself composed and stared into her eyes, examining her closely.
He knew that the gem was nearby somewhere, and he had a gut feeling that Captain Huntress was in possession of it. Just to make sure, though, he proceeded to ask her a few questions.
"First... I want to know how you gained control of a demon vessel, and why you used it to bombard a fortress that belongs to your own allies."
Rider
Oh frigate, Rider thought, he teleports like a ninja. He sounds like a ghost. He's a freakin' haunted ninja shiny.
She swallowed hard and stared defiantly at the Commander. "This is our turf, and these are our rules. Cap'n asked first. You'll answer us before we answer your questions."
Rider ran over the mental inventory. Daggers, still a couple. Sword, here and sharp as the day she was forged. Meepits, on call. Subconsciously, her eyes drifted to the pouch that held the gem. He wanted it. The blasted thing was what everyone wanted.
Ventratta scampered up Rider's leg and into her shirt pocket, where he fidgeted nervously, licking his paws like a cat.
PFA
((by the White Weewoo))
"The gem, ninja?" Huntress replied. She then went on for a while about the damage the lasers did, and then, "...in other words, no. I still need it." The pirate let out a small grin. "Stay with us, fight for us, help us get out of here in one piece, and the gem is yours."
Oh, how much irony was in that last sentence, considering PFA was just thinking about betraying the pirates and all. But before she could even say anything, the pirates and the shiny person proceeded to ignore PFA and went on with what they were doing. Which included the shiny person asking Sev to set him on fire. Which is exactly what the phoenix did, just before heading off to the castle.
...Well, this was the NTWF.
Not long later, Sev returned, bringing with him Ikkin, Kat and... a strange character that PFA had never seen before. PFA eyed the character suspiciously, not really sure what to think of him. The man was in what was once rather impressive armor, was covered in bruises and cuts, and even still had a really eerie look to him.
Huntress started talking to the man--who was apparently the commander of something called Spacefleet--demanding that he told her why he attacked her crewmembers. The man insisted to get an explanation himself before saying anything, speaking in a really ominous voice. It almost sounded like he was being... possessed, or something.
Maybe the gem's taking over him, too. The thought hit PFA in the head like a sack of bricks. The gem. If it could manipulate a whole band of pirates, then why couldn't it possess a crazed man? I have to stop the gem, before it's too late.
PFA narrowed her eyes, taking a silent step closer toward Huntress. Huntress had the gem, and wasn't going to give it up. It seems the only way left to do this is the hard way, she thought, and she kept a good eye on what was happening, waiting for the right time to make a move. Once everyone was distracted enough, PFA would try and pickpocket the gem. It wouldn't be easy, but it seemed to be what she had to do.
Strife
"This is our turf, and these are our rules." interrupted Rider. "Cap'n asked first. You'll answer us before we answer your questions."
"That's not up for you to decide," barked The Commander, turning his head towards the pirate. "I came here for answers, and the sooner I get them, the sooner I can get off this rock and leave all of you to your pointless quarrels."
Once, again, he turned to Huntress. "Now then... My questions were simple enough. Answer them, and I will answer yours."
((Mage Manor - Entrance))
"Fraze is sending his own location to Zari's shuttle," Amneiger said in response to Leoness's question. "Look, the shuttle is in the forest within walking distance and we've spent far too long here. We can talk on the way there, but we need to get moving now."
Cyclops made a sputtering noise, finding irony in the fact that Amneiger read his mind without actually reading his telepathic words.
"Yes," said Leoness, nodding her head. "Please lead us back."
At that moment, she felt a tingling sensation on her leg as Cyclops started to crawl up her body. He stopped in the center of her back, as he didn't want to get himself stuck to her hair like a giant piece of bubble gum.
My apologies, Chief Medic, said Cyclops, but I must still give the terrestrials the impression that I am your pet- He was cut off abruptly when Leoness sent him her own telepathic message. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to use it, but she figured it was best, as she didn't want the subcommander to worry about his actions.
Cyclops, if you can hear me... I just want you to know, that I won't get mad at you for covering my leg in slime.
Cyclops blinked several times in surprise. He never knew that Leoness was telepathic. Based on the way she interrupted him, though, he presumed that it was a weaker form of telepathy in which she could send signals, but not recieve them.
It was probably best not to ask. He figured that Leoness was hiding this ability for a reason.
Jina
((Mage Manor)) Jina had decided to sneak around Mage Manor before finding a Mage to ask her question to. If she had to run, she wanted to know the layout before she did. She began systematically, checking to see if anybody was around before entering. Deciding not to touch anything, seeing it was likely to be magical.
Then, having found her way around and committed it to memory she returned to the entrance.
She shouted out. "Hello? Is there anyone here?"
Zari
((Outside Mage Manor))
Zari frowned. 'I have paper. Sure. It was just...er...Illhvrenans can survive on nothing but raw fibre, so the paper was actually a last resort food supply...' she paused and began to giggle madly. 'That sounded so weird. But nevermind. Ienalle, up y' come'
((Dun worry, Zaha and AiluraZari will be back in action soon...as soon as Zari's friendy posts))
Vyt
((Deck of White Weewoo))
Cat Assassin struggled against his own body, as he fended off the idea of submitting himself to his own energy ball. The air around him was starting to get moist, giving him a harder time to breathe. Exhaustion had almost made the feline not notice his niece on the move. "I can't lie down here now! PFA needs me!" Cat Assassin thought, his mind however valiantly trying to fight off his mental fatigue.
Earlier, Cat Assassin had whispered to PFA what to do. As soon as she could get her hands on the gem, he would instantly use most of his remaining energy to pull her out of the crowd and into his ball. They would then try to escape by using what was further remained in the feline's stamina. It was a risky move on the part of Cat Assassin, but he could not jeopardize his mission simply because he was on the verge of unconsciousness.
Slowly, Cat Assassin moved his ball towards the edge of the deck, his eyes fixed on PFA who was dangerously close to a pirate. He would have to continue fighting off his exhaustion and maintain his alertness.
The plan must commence without any chance of failure.
Kat
((Weewoo!))
Everything happened so fast.
First, the commander somehow learned how to teleport, and began speaking in a voice that was most definitely not his. He had questions - or was he the one really speaking? Kat knew that there were strange magics that could make use of people as mouthpieces and puppets, but he had told her before that nothing could shake him. And yet...
"Don't you go calling our ship a demon vessel! Even if it...well..." Kat sighed, rolling her eyes. Her staff shrunk, and she stuck it back into her belt before touching a crescent moon pendant at her neck. It buzzed, and it clouded over as though it had never seen light or human hands in centuries. She gasped, opening and closing her hand and blowing on her fingers. Why didn't I think of this earlier? Oh, right...I keep forgetting that I still have it...
Turning to her comrades, Kat said, "Be careful. I don't like the looks of this any more than you do." Shifting her staff to her left hand, she drew a longsword with her right, and this she pointed at the commander yet again.
"Do anything funny, and I will show you just how good I am at torturing people.”
Huntress
((The Weewoo))
Squatting had never been much of a comfortable position for swift moving, but sometimes swift moving is essential for survival, and pirates know how to survive, so as soon as the Commander started to get up, Huntress got to her feet and took a step back. Even that one step was a step too far, so she stopped right there, part of her yelling at her to keep a straight back and take what may come, another part yelling that what is to come is a floating psycho with purple eyes, so it'd pay to at least zap him with the gem for good measure. She blocked out the latter part for now, and stood her ground. The gem was, after all, going haywire, and the less she used it, the better.
That was the problem with having a single alliance, she thought, glaring back at the Commander as he examined her. Hunty wasn't a mage, or a knight, or a ninja. Heck, even her swordfighting skills more or less meant the knowledge 'hold the blunt end and poke the other end in people' (even if it was a very useful piece of knowledge). She could shoot like a devil, yes, but since she didn't have a pistol and the crossbow worked better at long distances...
...well, a captain's best defence, offence, and otherwise backup is always her crew.
A shadow fell on her. The blarf had gotten up and plodded closer, and now sat down like a sphinx, his head held high and his ears perked, setting his furry paws on Hunty's either side. They reached up to her waist, and she patted one paw affectionately as something small and blue landed on her shoulder. She wasn't a goner yet.
"He's got the purple-eye syndrome too," Bloody Mary said, settling down on his perch.
"Contagious, innit?" Hunty agreed, then looked back at the Commander with something like a smile in her eyes. Somewhere far behind her, rumbling like an approaching subway train, there was a low vibration. The blarf was snarling under his breath.
The purple-eye syndrome had meant possession in Speck's case, and she had no reason to believe that this case was different. Just who was she talking to?
"First... I want to know how you gained control of a demon vessel, and why you used it to bombard a fortress that belongs to your own allies." The blarf's snarl got louder. He didn't like the sound of that guy's voice, and that was saying something, since the blarf himself could speak on two voices as well, though usually not simultaneously.
"Rider... Kat," Hunty said with a scowl as the two pirates gave their opinion on the matter. "May I?" She gave another look at the Commander.
"Now then... My questions were simple enough. Answer them, and I will answer yours."
"I can always recognize a gentleman when I see one," Hunty remarked, crossing her arms. "Well, since you asked, this demon-vessel was originally a low-ranked man-o-war for some army I can't quite recall at the moment, we commandeered it on the days when Rider was still the captain, and technically speaking the ship's still hers, but I became the captain after she stepped down and appointed me, simple as that." This was taunting on the highest levels, but hey, she'd always liked diplomacy, at least that particular aspect of it. Besides, she'd answered the question, had she not?
"She's not a demon-vessel, though," she added with a scowl. "That's stereotypes for you, the minute you see something black and spiky, it has to be demonic. We just gave her a makeover. As for bombarding," now her scowl severed, "the Knights are not my allies. Hell, they're the exact opposite. I couldn't care less if you'd brought this whole place down and built a merry-go-round instead. Yes, some of my crewmembers are knights, we believe in equal opportunities, but that doesn't make me a friend of them all.
Well, here are your answers." Hunty leaned against the blarf's paw. "Now, where are mine?”
Celestial
((Spacefleet HQ))
The guards filed out of the lift and Celestial could tell something was up. She kept her air shield up anticipating more shots and sure enough they came. An echoing laugh burst out of her filling the ears of each and every guard.
"For a technologically advanced guild, you aren't very smart" the dragons taunted as the shield easily took the energy out of the lasers and plasma. The swirl of colour in her eyes was now a gloating angry purple you see in a bruise. It was amusing to see them waste their energy on such futile attempts.
The dragons are handing me over on a silver platter with their taunts. Surely they will soon figure out that the dragons' strenght lies in nothing but unity. the conciousness that was Celestial thought watching with the eyes of a helpless bystander.
Strife
((The White Weewoocifer))
The Commander ignored Kat's threats completely as he listened to the pirate captain's explanation. It seemed that the demon vessel was, in fact, owned by the pirates, but that they altered the ship extensively. He didn't have to guess how, though. He knew it was the gem's doing. There was no other logical conclusion.
He was then surprised to learn that the knights were, in fact, not in any kind of alliance with the pirates. The knights he encountered just happened to have an affiliation with both factions.
"Very well... I will keep my word," he began, crossing his arms. "You already know where my fleet comes from, so I shouldn't have to explain that to you. What I can tell you is that we have been in existance for a very long time... well before the lot of you were even born."
The Commander gave Huntress his infamous smirk. "You terrestrials fall prey to stereotypes much more often than we do. You see starships falling from the sky, and you immediately assume that we are an invading force. I hate to defy your fairy tale illusions, but as a matter of fact, our primary mission is to ensure the lasting stability of this planet. For decades, we have studied and observed this world from the sky, protecting it from threats that you couldn't even imagine. That includes the storm that has swept across this region overnight.
"As I have told you before, we come for answers. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't even know that we were here... but these aren't exactly normal circumstances. The planet is at stake."
The Commander took several steps forward, being extra cautious not to trigger another burst of psionic energy. It seemed like his powers were growing so quickly because of his close proximity to the gem that he was gradually losing control of them.
"With regards to your sea monster," he looked up at the beast, smiling as though it were no more intimidating than a pet dog, "I had nothing to do with my troops attacking it, as I was too busy fending off an ambush from the knights. My men could not resist the instinct to attack the beast in panic, and they suffered the consequences accordingly. The fact that they're dead is punishment enough.
"But I won't bother to waste time by pointing fingers. You already know how much trouble those knights are." He let out a chuckle. "No wonder they're trying to accuse me for their faults."
Rider
"But I won't bother to waste time by pointing fingers. You already know how much trouble those knights are. No wonder they're trying to accuse me for their faults." "Sounds like the Knights alright, and I'm glad you're not here to take our seas, but you also didn't come down here for a tea party. So. Why don't we get to the point before we hit page 100?"
Ventratta's ears perked up. He could hear something faint... yes... it sounded like the fourth wall in the background, shattering.
"You're not here to take our seas, but there's something else you do want."
Spacefleet HQ
((Spacefleet HQ - Subterranian Sector 2 - Main Hallway))
"For a technologically advanced guild, you aren't very smart," bellowed a voice from the inside of the lift. It was a loud, powerful voice that sounded as though hundreds of creatures were speaking at once.
"I had a feeling this wouldn't work," said one of the marines. "Her shield is too strong."
As the marine spoke, Haggoth emerged from his hiding spot while unclipping a metal capsule from his belt. He twisted the top of it slightly, and a row of yellow lights on its surface started to flash on and off in a pattern. He tossed the capsule into the lift, and as it soared through the air, he pulled out his communicator and pushed a sequence of buttons on it.
The moment the capsule hit the floor of the lift, the door slammed shut. The top of the capsule flipped open, pouring a thick gas into the lift that would knock the intruders unconcious within a minute or so.
"That should buy us some time," said Haggoth.
"Did you hear that thing's voice, sir?" said one of the marines through radio. "It sounded like it was possessed or something."
"Exactly." Haggoth snorted, shooting a glob of snot onto the ground. "I think we're dealing with a parasitic lifeform here. The intruder's body is being used as a host for a larger number of creatures, so we need to cut off her connection with said creatures."
"The safest way to do that is to knock her unconcious," added one of the guards.
"I doubt that's going to be easy," said another marine. "It never is."
"Then we'll need to cut off her connection with the creatures somehow," said another guard while scratching his chin. "A distraction, perhaps?"
"Yes," replied Haggoth with a nod. "I don't know what will work yet, so we need to keep hitting her with everything we have until we strike gold."
He turned his head towards the flash drones. "Drones!"
The drones rotated their torsos to face Haggoth.
"If that lift opens again, give 'em a couple of spider bombs. Don't let them get out."
The drones beeped lightly a few times in acknowledgement.
Huntress
((The Weewoocifer. I like it xDD))
Hunty listened rather curiously as the Commander shed more light on the story. Horribly one-sided, warped light, but nonetheless.
"You terrestrials fall prey to stereotypes much more often than we do," he said. "You see starships falling from the sky, and you immediately assume that we are an invading force. I hate to defy your fairy tale illusions, but as a matter of fact, our primary mission is to ensure the lasting stability of this planet. For decades, we have studied and observed this world from the sky, protecting it from threats that you couldn't even imagine. That includes the storm that has swept across this region overnight."
"Watch that attitude, buddy," Bloody Mary suggested, his eyes narrowing, as Hunty raised an eyebrow.
"Lasting stability... never knew that this includes running around with weapons that makes blarfbacks melt and camping in castles without the owners' permission because surely they'll be very much okay with it and join you in your quest for peace and justice instead of attacking you, whatever were they thinking?"
The blarf's snarl had risen into low thundering, though he kept his mouth shut - up this close, his breath would've blacked the captain out. His ears perked even more as the Commander took a few steps closer.
"You might wanna keep your distance," said the meepit, "or you might make him too nervous, and then things might get, as it were, a little diplomatic."
"With regards to your sea monster, I had nothing to do with my troops attacking it, as I was too busy fending off an ambush from the knights. My men could not resist the instinct to attack the beast in panic, and they suffered the consequences accordingly." He was looking at the blarf as if he was planning to scratch it behind the ears. Hunty was beginning to wonder if they could actually finish those talks without everything going ballistic, starting with the blarf.
"Well, that's really reassuring," she said. "You land here to protect this planet with troops that are unable to control their instincts? Can't speak for any of the other guilds, but I for one am not really interested in this kind of protection."
"Remember that guy who attempted to sell us protection back there in Lobby Bay?" Bloody Mary asked, his mind drifting a fair distance away from what he'd always deemed boring politics. "We had the black flag in the gaff and everything and still he came with all his your-pretty-vessel-looks-so-inflammable."
Now the captain grinned. "I liked that guy. The blarf liked him too. Either way... I have to agree with Rider. We're but humble pirates, Commander, we don't like long talks. Cards on the table. What do you want? We want you to get the heck out of this land if you're unable to stick around peacefully, and so far you haven't. My ship got shot earlier today. You can't blame the knights for that, can't imagine them operating spaceships." Her eyes narrowed. "Where have I heard all this before? Ensuring stability, protecting the peace, being the self-appointed police, sticking their noses in other people's business... except that the Knights have their honor. What do you have? The ability to sneak into guilds' bases? The habit of shooting before asking questions?"
She paused, taking a breath, and the other parts of her brain caught up. She listened to them.
The purple-eye-syndrome. In Speck's case, it'd led to... and in fact, come from...
...well, that's what everything led to and come from in the end, once again, didn't it?
She looked into the Commander's purple eyes, and smiled.
"What do you want?"
Fraze
((The White Weewoo I got Ikkin's permission on the OOC thread to have the flames die away from Fraze. At least, that's how I understood it.))
Fraze saw the fire around him flicker out. "Uh, are you okay, Sir?" the Marine asked Fraze, who was somewhat surprised at the last word of the sentence. Before answering the question the marine asked, Fraze decided to answer the question he hadn't wanted to ask. "That bird that was here a while ago set me on fire," he began while picking up the weapons he had tossed aside. "My skinsuit's energy supply was running low, and I wanted to recharge it. Since it finished recharging, I didn't need the fire anymore. The bird left, but I thought it might still be able to hear me or something." He realized even before he said this, that had he not actually been on fire, and had the bird not been there when the marines came, Fraze would have appeared to have gone completely out of his mind. A few seconds after he said this, the bird reappeared with the Commander, the short red-caped Pirate, Kat, and the mage the Commander had been fighting. Oh, joy, Fraze thought in the most joyless way possible. He had known that the Pirates and the Commander would meet at some point, he just didn't realize how soon it would be. The bird that had healed Fraze seemed to go to lengths to injure the Commander, despite the fact that he already seemed, well, dead. The Pirates started asking him questions, and he--he teleported. The almost-sentient brain in Fraze's skinsuit registered this as an anomaly. Without telling it to, his suit took assorted measurements from the environment to determine what had happened. There were no signs that any teleportation device had been used--no leftover particles, no quantum fluctuations, nothing. It could have been magic, but Fraze had never seen the Commander do something like that before. It was possible, then, that he hadn't actually teleported--he had just moved really, really fast. Fraze told his suit to monitor the Commander. If this happened again, he wanted to find out why. It probably didn't matter much, but he was curious.
He listened to the dialogue. The Commander’s voice sounded like two voices. Fraze had always thought that that was just an annoying movie cliché, but hearing it in person was surprisingly eerie. "Well, here are your answers," the Pirate captain Huntress said. "Now, where are mine?" Fraze had already made contact with the pirates, and had told them what he knew. Though they didn’t exactly trust him, they probably trusted the Commander even less. And the blarf was getting more and more agitated. Due to these factors, Fraze decided this would be a good time to make an entrance, so he walked over to the group, standing a few paces behind the Commander. On a secure line, he thought a message to the Commander: Sir, do you require medical assistance?
Amneiger
"Right. It's this way." Amneiger turned and began walking into the forest. I'll ask what happened at the Manor once we're on our way to avoid wasting time.
((Yay for short posts. >>))
Keng
As Keng stood there listening to the words being juggled by the two factions she noted irritably that the land they were on wasn't actually that of the pirates, it was that of the knights, which the pirates had just showered with bombs.
Well, with that thought on her mind she watched the Commander carefully. His eyes weren't supposed to glow like that. Unless he'd gotten those new contact lenses that were all the rage among the kids these days: The latest style in eye-wear (warp blue was a best seller).
She took a few steps back to get closer to Cyborg. "His eyes don't usually glow purple. Something's up." she whispered to him quietly, hoping he would have some way to communicate this to the other Mercenaries. Her eyes never moved from The Commander.
---
Cyborg hadn't exactly not noticed this detail about the Commander. "Say... does he know not to attack us?" he whispered back to Keng, then glanced at his brother. Midknight was not at all jumping for joy to see The Commander again. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion, his lips pursed as they held back a growl. He then noticed Keng and Cyborg standing so close to eachother, and his narrowed eyes switched their concentration from Strife to the werewolf. He didn't trust any of these people, and he was worried what his brother might follow his new girlfriend (he scoffed at the word in his head) into: dragging him and the other mercenaries with him.
---
"I'm letting him know now." Keng whispered back, still not diverting her gaze as she typed out a message with her communicator, letting her fingers find the needed letters on the qwerty keyboard. The resulting message was:
The mercienaries are on out sice now. I madw a deal with them. -Cmdi Keng
Ok... so she could be better at this not watching the screen or the keyboard thing. She sent the message to Strife without checking her spelling. It was on a secure channel, and the computer would translate it into a quiet sound message for only the Commander's ears, as well as sending the written script to the commander's own communicator.
Surf
Surf waited until she was sure that the mercenaries weren't going to attack her again before she cleaned out her own small cuts. She saw Kat run to the castle, but decided to return to the ship instead.
Rather than brave the mist again, Surf pulled herself to the top of one of the nearby trees, and watched the unfolding scene before her. Kat, Sev, Ikkin, and a few others appeared by the ship not soon afterwards. Surf decided to stay in the background for now, and listened curiously.
((Just getting Surf caught up here. ^^ She'll enter back in soon, but not now.))
Bacon
Say... does he know not to attack us?"
Deri's sharp wolf-like ears picked up the whisper. He looked at the pirate that said it- no, wait, he's not a pirate... he was one of the four people they had encountered earlier, the ones Spacefleet allied itself with. He looked at Jord and Kyve; they hadn't been present when the alliance was announced. "Whatever you morons do, don't attack him, him, her, or him." He whispered, pointing at Cyborg, Midknight, Rose and Jernath in turn.
"Right." Jord hissed back, glancing quickly at Deri's do-not-call list before continuing to glare death at the pirates.
Kyve took a longer time to study the faces of the people to not attack. "Okay, got it."
Deri looked back at the commander... something was... not right about him. Either the way his skin seemed too pale, or how his eyes seemed too bright, and too angry, or just the way he seemed both fragile and incredibly powerful. Deri's sixth and seventh senses told him the Commander should be dead, and yet an incredible aura also pulsed from him, through him... into him?
Deri's senses led him to a pack the pirate leader had. A powerful aura emanated through it... a very powerful one, the same one that seemed to be keeping the Commander alive and, now that he knew what to 'smell' for, also surrounded the pirate ship in a black fog. He shuddered, something he rarely did, and looked at the pack. Trying to see through it, he asked the power source silently, ''WHO ARE YOU?”
Strife
((Thank you, Hunty. xD ))
The Commander listened as the pirate captain rambled on about not wanting to listen to his long speeches, and he grew more and more frustrated with each word that came out of her mouth. Why was it so hard to get his point across to these terrestrials? Were they really that stubborn about their beliefs?
Fine then. He was tired of playing their diplomatic games, as they clearly weren't going anywhere. If they wanted a conflict so bad, he'd give them one. The sooner he plastered their heads to the wall of his office, the sooner this whole ordeal could end.
Sir, do you require medical assistance? said Fraze to The Commander through a telepathic message.
The Commander ignored Fraze's request for the time being, and glanced down at the pouch on Hunty's belt.
"The gem..." he said in a quiet, slithery voice. "I find it amusing how such a small mineral can contain such an incredible amount of energy. What's more amusing is how badly it is controlling your primitive minds. Like moths to a fire, you gather yourselves around it wherever it goes. You people simply can't be trusted to do any good with it.
From that point, The Commander finally took notice of the message Commando Keng had sent him. Apparently, the mercenaries were willing to fight alongside Spacefleet, and this fact only served to increase his confidence at the moment.
He continued to speak, raising his voice so that everyone in the area could hear him.
"I have wasted enough energy trying to get you savages to understand the bigger picture. The gem is eating us from the inside out, and all you can do is point your small fingers in my direction and blame me for everything that has happened. That ends now.
"I won't stand by and allow you to cause the self destruction of your own world. The gem must be destroyed, and Headquarters is the safest place to do it."
The Commander glared into the eyes of the pirate captain with a look that would cause a normal person to shrink with fear. As he did so, the ground started to vibrate, and with every word that came out of his mouth, his voice grew angrier and the ground shook more violently, eventually drowning out the blarf's deep growls.
"Give me the gem, and we will destroy it and end this madness. You can either hand it over willingly, or I can pry it from your cold, lifeless fingers. I would strongly suggest that you make the right choice, not only for your own sake, but for the sake of everyone and everything that you care about. Now... hand it over.”[/size]
Jina
((Mage Manor))
There was no reply. Jina thought this to be strange, as she was sure she had heard people around earlier. She decided to look around again, and see if anybody was really here. She tried to find where the voices had come from before.
It wasn't long until she could hear they were in the next room, the main entrance which she had avoided in case of not being wanted. She just had to think of how she should approach these people, who she hoped would be mages.
She decided just to walk in and ask. Then she came on a problem. It wasn't mages, it was spacemen. Uh-oh
"Umm..." She tried to think of what to say. "You wouldn't happen to know if there are any mages around? I really need to ask something..."
Bacon
"The gem... I find it amusing how such a small mineral can contain such an incredible amount of energy. What's more amusing is how badly it is controlling your primitive minds. Like moths to a fire, you gather yourselves around it wherever it goes..."
Deri's ear pricked towards the Commander's voice as another four of his seven senses remained focused on the pouch. A gem, was it? It must be a very special one, one woven together through some dark arts or other. Demons, hadn't he heard something about demons recently? Realizing he had zoned out, Deri listened again as the Commander continued his speech.
"The gem must be destroyed, and Headquarters is the safest place to do it. Give me the gem, and we will destroy it and end this madness. You can either hand it over willingly, or I can pry it from your cold, lifeless fingers. I would strongly suggest that you make the right choice, not only for your own sake, but for the sake of everyone and everything that you care about. Now... hand it over."
Deri had mixed emotions about what he just heard. If what the Commander was saying is true, and Deri's seventh sense told him it probably is, then the gem did have to be destroyed. However, the Commander surely wouldn't destroy the one thing keeping him alive. He shuddered again. If the Commander wanted such a destructive tool under his control...
Deri sighed. He admitted to himself he's loyal to a fault, and it made the fur on the back of his neck stand on end when he decided to fight for the Commander no matter what the cost to anyone else.
Once again, he turned to Jord and Kyve. "When the fighting starts, leave the stronger enemies," He glanced at the Blarf, Ikkin and Huntress with the corner of his eye," To the Spec Ops, Commando, Commander and allies. Let's face it, we aren't exactly as strong as the former three and not as expendable as the lattermost."
The two nodded, even though Kyve understood only 88% of the words in the statement.
Feeling that war was now imminent, Deri put his hand on his Vorpal sword as he faced the crowd once more. "You better do what he says, primitives." He spat.
Jord continued to glare as he pulled his sword out of its hilt a few centimeters.
Kyve looked at all gathered parties and gulped. The pirates looked stronger than he'd have liked, but it didn't make much difference, as the Spacefleet members and their few allies looked equally strong. He tried to stare into the enemies' souls as he had often seen Jord do, but only made his fear more evident.
Ikkin
"Aren't you all a pretty picture," Huntress said as Sev landed on top of the Commander. "Sev, you'll make a lovely diplomat one day, get off 'im, we need him alive and conscious."
Sev got off, if a bit grudgingly. He still couldn't help muttering "Who needs diplomacy when you've got free resurrection?" under his breath, though.
Huntress apparently didn't hear, however, as she had already started in on berating Ikkin and Kat for their rather foolish (if successful) defense of the castle. Ikkin bristled a bit at this - it really was at least partially Hunty's fault, she thought; if the Cap'n hadn't tricked her into being part of the attack on the castle, she wouldn't have been so dead-set on proving that she was still a knight, too.
Nah, even she was having trouble believing that.
After ranting about the Knights' foolishness for a bit, the Cap'n turned to Strife and demanded an explanation for what he was doing. Well, this could be interesting, Ikkin thought.
Kat answered first, however. "Yes, he definitely looks like the commander," she explained in a tired-sounding voice. "We found him in our castle. Ikkin did most of the fighting with him, but I guess you could say Rider and I helped. Well, I was backup. Oh, and Ikkin...I'll need that kitten back. I'm sorry..."
Well, that was a good enough explanation on their side, Ikkin thought. Besides, she was too startled by the sudden disappearance of the healing kitten to add anything to it; she let out a short "Hey!" as it vanished, then looked down at the ground sadly. She'd liked that kitten.
The Commander's voice quickly startled her into paying attention, though; it sounded very odd, almost as if more than one person was talking. And to make it even stranger, he demanded answers himself before giving any, regardless of his own rather awkward position. After all, it's hard to take a threat seriously when it comes from someone who looks like something the cat (or, in this case, the phoenix) dragged in.
...though, Ikkin had to admit, the random teleportation did make a fairly good argument for why he might not be as helpless as she'd thought. In fact, the Commander's power had steadily grown ever since they'd reached the ship, despite the fact that he had never had his injuries healed.
This was definitely that gem's doing, and it rather frightened Ikkin. If the Commander was even more powerful than he was when she fought him... well, she didnt want to think about it.
That didn't mean that she didn't agree with Rider about answering the Commander, however. "This is our turf, and these are our rules. Cap'n asked first. You'll answer us before we answer your questions," Rider had said, and as far as Ikkin was concerned, she was entirely right.
The Commander, of course, just demanded his own answers again. Ikkin rather wished she could give him an answer in the form of a healing spell to the face, since they clearly didn't agree with him.
Hunty, on the other hand, seemed to have a different idea. She actually did answer the Commander's questions, albeit in a rather sarcastic way which seemed to amuse herself. And then, without giving away anything that Ikkin saw any reason to keep secret, she turned the questioning back on the Commander. "Well, here are your answers," she said. "Now where are mine?"
Of course, he couldn't give any useful answers; instead, he basically just responded in the way he'd done when Ikkin was fighting him - trying to turn his enemies against each other and themselves, probably in preparation to fight against them again.
Ikkin was very glad that Kat had used that healing spell on her before.
He said a few other things, about protecting the planet and studying the storm, but Ikkin thought that he was as likely to be there for research purposes as she was. Besides, he followed up with yet another attempt to turn the Pirates against her and Kat, which, in her opinion, made him lose any credibility he might have had.
She really did hate manipulative enemies, particularly those who talked as much as the Commander.
Fortunately, Rider demanded an explanation from the Commander once more. Ikkin wondered whether it would do any good, though; he clearly didn't seem like he was going to give up any information if he could help it.
But then, Hunty responded. It was very clear that neither she nor the blarf took all too kindly to what the Commander had said; the Cap'n responded with sarcasm, while the blarf gave out a thunderous snarl that unsettled Ikkin even though she knew he was on her side. Bloody Mary used the blarf's reaction as an opportunity to threaten the Commander, while the Cap'n just demanded once more to know what the Commander wanted.
Finally, he gave an answer that was satisfactory – "The gem..." he said with a snake's voice. "I find it amusing how such a small mineral can contain such an incredible amount of energy. What's more amusing is how badly it is controlling your primitive minds. Like moths to a fire, you gather yourselves around it wherever it goes. You people simply can't be trusted to do any good with it."
Ikkin let out a laugh. The Commander was the one with the purple eyes, and he had the audacity to say it was controlling their minds?
Every word he said dug himself deeper and deeper into the hole. He didn't just want the gem for whatever power it would give him; he appeared to be obsessed by it, using whatever arguments he could come up with to try to convince them into giving it to him.
"I won't stand by and allow you to cause the self destruction of your own world. The gem must be destroyed, and Headquarters is the safest place to do it."
Yeah. Riiiiight. That was quite possibly the worst attempt at persuasion Ikkin had ever heard... or at least, it was, until he continued speaking. "Give me the gem, and we will destroy it and end this madness. You can either hand it over willingly, or I can pry it from your cold, lifeless fingers. I would strongly suggest that you make the right choice, not only for your own sake, but for the sake of everyone and everything that you care about. Now... hand it over."
Ikkin laughed again. "So, Commander, what was that you were saying about us 'savages' and our 'primitive minds' again? That we allow ourselves to be controlled, to believe faerie tales, to attack first and ask questions later? Well, take a good look in the mirror. We're not the ones threatening to kill someone over a stupid piece of rock and making up stories about being the invisible protectors of the NTWF to cover up all our destruction.
"Frankly, I couldn't care less about that stone. But, you've proven that you are not only a threat to the safety of this entire planet, but also delusional about your position and have some kind of hero complex, which only makes you even more dangerous. So, no, I'm not about to let you have that gem, and I'm sure the Cap'n will agree with me - " she proclaimed, then added a bit hesitantly, "- if not necessarily for the same reasons.
"Now, go away, and don't come back until you actually understand what it means to defend something you care about."
Speck
Speck's snoring and sleeping abrubtly stopped when bottles of lemonade clanked against each other. She looked around her quarters, startled by what felt like an earthquake. Struggling with her hammock for a moment, she scooped up a bottle or two of her lemonade and jogged onto the deck.
The pirate was quite sure that this land didn't have this many earthquakes in a single day. Something just outside the ship must be up.
She stopped. What had happened to her vision? The world seemed slightly diminished by a dark cloud that was not the Weewoo's fog. Her head turned from one spot to the next, until she saw a red glow. It was roughly human shaped, and appeared to be sitting down. There was a larger clump of red in the left of the being's chest, and several small and intricate red pathways leading from that one spot, branching out into four limbs and a head. The clump of red would increase in size, and the branches would do the same; likewise when the clump receded. She crept up to the being, soon realizing that it was Leraye sitting on his couch.
A larger group of red-glowing bodies caught the corner of her eye. She made her way to the edge of the deck, and looked down at the group. There was, of course, the large circulatory system of the blarf... and several smaller circulatory systems below it. Speck could hardly make out who was who.
And yet, there was a stranger sight still. One being's red branches of blood were much dimmer, and its heart was hardly beating. Its eyes were glowing purple. In Speck's somewhat enhanced vision, so was something on his wrist. The purple was spread throughout the being's body, encasing it and protecting it from certain death.
Her hand went tentatively to her left cheek. That man was back again. She was sure she knew what he was here for, even if she hadn't heard his speech. Her eyes squinted at each individual being below before she spotted Captain Huntress.
"Don't!" She shouted from the deck to Hunty, "Surely Leraye is more able to deal with this than that... that man."
The Invisible Guild
((Dropship))
A volley of shots hit the ship in its belly, sending it spinning with impact.
“Back starboard engine down,” the ship’s onboard computer said chattily. “Buckled shield plating on the port side.”
“I get the idea,” Marzia snapped. Whoever thought of giving a ship AI was a complete idiot.
More shots now, but this time he managed to roll to the side in time to avoid them. The situation was getting over-complicated, and, what’s more, the damage done by his own lasers seemed to have been automatically repaired by that ominous fog. Time to get out of here.
The ship responded clumsily to his controls, and he winced, knowing he was a sitting duck out here. A sitting duck with a broken leg. Underneath a tall tree, in a lightning storm.
His best hope was to head for the tree line and the shelter it provided. Maybe his pursuers would just give up, though that seemed unlikely.
“Hey there! Having trouble flying? Take a beginner’s course at Vinny’s Shipyards!” A cheerful jingle played. “Vinny’s, your one stop starship shop!”
Whoever thought of inserting advertisements into a shipboard computer was either the stupidest person alive or the cruelest, possibly a mixture of both.
Marzia somehow managed to land the crippled ship without crushing too much vegetation. He then headed for the exit, but paused at the engine controls. A malicious smirk crept across his face.
The door slid open with a smooth ‘whir-clik’ noise, though it jammed halfway, somewhat ruining the effect.
“Pilot, you seem to have inverted the plasma flow to the engines … that will cause the ship to combust, sending shrapnel, fire and chaos everywhere in a half mile radius!”
“Yes. I’d rather counted on that.” Marzia grinned, and hopped out the door of the ship that was now a ticking time bomb.
He ran, only partly aware of the biting cold that stung at his bare feet. It was a pity about the ship, but his original plan of heading to the Spacefleet HQ would have been impossible anyway. And that computer had practically been begging for it.
He stopped when he judged he was far enough to miss the worst of the explosion. Maybe his pursuers would follow and fix the engines in time. Then they’d follow him, for sure. Or even just look for his footprints and try to pick him off from the air. Marzia heaved himself into the lower branches of a tree, just in case. He gripped his modified blaster firmly, glancing around. Not the most secure place, but it’d do. Good vantage point.
He frowned, and watched the scene that unfolded at the pirate’s ship. This was interesting. Very interesting.
Kat
((I like the Weewoocifer too. XDDDDD))
Kat opened her mouth to object, but closed it quickly, letting Huntress step in. But Kat wasn't lowering her sword just yet. Still, she listened intently to their conversation, and didn't speak up even as Rider and Ikkin added their own opinions. Frankly, all this just reminded her all over again of the previous war...and as for the gem...
"Pray tell, how are you going to end everything this gem has caused, anyway? Are you going to cock a gun at it and presto, no more bad magic like the kind that runs through your veins as of the moment? Plus, I know I speak for the Cap'n and the rest of my comrades when I say that you're only contradicting yourself and creating nothing but a flamboyant illusion of grandeur. In short, you think you're all that, but you're not. And, give us a real reason to trust you, all right?"
She wanted nothing more than to shove the entire blade down the commander's throat, but knew that it just wouldn't do. Instead, she settled for bringing the sword just a fraction of an inch closer.
In a low, wavering whisper, Kat added solemnly, "You don't know what that thing is capable of. You don't.”
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 14:46:22 GMT -5
Huntress((The Black Beekawoocifer, etcetc. I should make a list of all the variants so far x3)) Now this was more like it. Huntress smiled. It was an amiable, even compassionate smile. "The gem..." he'd said. "I find it amusing how such a small mineral can contain such an incredible amount of energy. What's more amusing is how badly it is controlling your primitive minds. Like moths to a fire, you gather yourselves around it wherever it goes. You people simply can't be trusted to do any good with it."Ikkin's comment really hit the nail on the head there, the captain admitted, as the kitsune laughed: "So, Commander, what was that you were saying about us 'savages' and our 'primitive minds' again? That we allow ourselves to be controlled, to believe faerie tales, to attack first and ask questions later? Well, take a good look in the mirror. We're not the ones threatening to kill someone over a stupid piece of rock and making up stories about being the invisible protectors of the NTWF to cover up all our destruction.""Well put. Bloody Mary, do I look possessed?" The meepit leaned forward. "Mrm, sorry, your eyes are still as grey as ever." Hunty's smile got a hint of amusement in it, as she watched the Commander finally spill the beans. "So this is what you want?" She flicked her pouch open, took the gem out, and, since she wasn't stupid, concentrated that very second. That was something she was good at. You can't operate a semi-automatic crossbow if you're unable to concentrate very fast. So by the time she'd lifted the gem up, it had already begun to omit a fiercely bright purple glow, and built a semi-transparent purple, hazy wall between her and the Commander. ...the gem didn't feel quite right with that any more, though. It was somewhat odd in Hunty's hand, as if the dimensions it had weren't entirely the same dimensions it looked like it had. Broken, Hunty thought sullenly. Getting worse with every little thing it's being used for. And even Leraye couldn't do much. And still has enough power to do whatever's asked from it. Just how much might it have in total?"Hand it over?" She turned it in her hand, using the chance to examine it again. Yep... something was moving inside, more clearly than before. "You know, Commander... we're pirates. We don't care about minerals. We care mainly about money one can get for minerals." "Um," Bloody Mary began. This didn't bode well. "So," Hunty continued, "we don't need the gem, not if you take it away and get rid of it, and if this land is left alone and peace is restored and we can return to the seas. If that's to happen, why yes, it's in my deepest interests to hand it over." " Um." " If that was to happen," said the captain, glancing at Deri with the kind of look women always reserve for spitting males. "If I was to hand the gem over to a purple-eyed, double-voiced, probably-should-be-dead maniac who came here with a bunch of, pardon my straightforwardness, primitive savages... even if you all have shiny armor and pretty weapons." She stuck the gem in her pouch again. It remained glowing even through the thick black leather, and the wall rippled merrily in front of her like water. The Commander's face showing through it looked purple, as if he was suffering from a deadly disease. All too possible. "Well, ain't planning to do that," she said, as her ears caught her crewmembers proclaiming the same and backing her up. "First off, I'm bound by a promise," she nodded at PFA, who was still standing there near the blarf, "to her. But don't you worry, we can still restore peace and justice and whatsit. If you took a hike, left this planet, and got back to observing storms, I can hand this gem over to someone who knows how to destroy it and we'd all live happily ever after." Her eyes were flashing now. Luckily not purple, though it wasn't much of a comfort, Bloody Mary thought, and edged a little towards the end of her shoulder. "So, thanks, but no thanks. We don't need your... assistance. If you want this gem, you really need to pry it from my cold, lifeless fingers, because yes, I am making the right choice. As long as I, the captain of the White Weewoo and the leader of this crew, still have a say in this, you're not getting this gem.Now. Stupid question, but needs to be asked so I don't get accused of being a savage sometime in the near future. Will you kindly leave this pretty planet and leave us to handle our own things, or will I have to do things the hard way and drive you out?" Rider((... Our poor misnamed beekashipcifer! XD)) Oh frigate, another quake. "So, thanks, but no thanks. We don't need your... assistance. If you want this gem, you really need to pry it from my cold, lifeless fingers, because yes, I am making the right choice. As long as I, the captain of the White Weewoo and the leader of this crew, still have a say in this, you're not getting this gem.
Now. Stupid question, but needs to be asked so I don't get accused of being a savage sometime in the near future. Will you kindly leave this pretty planet and leave us to handle our own things, or will I have to do things the hard way and drive you out?" Rider remembered why she had singled out Hunty to be her apprentice. She was made of fire. Violence was going to happen, and it was going to hurt. Rider called on the Meepits. A couple dozen willing soldiers, all teeth and claws and fury. Mittens (who had not yet been unsummoned) joined the orderly ranks. Five lines of five flowers each, dark petals blooming aorund the Meepits. Nalia and Offsephious in the front rows, weilding a chain whip and a spiky goth guitar respectively. Ventratta squeaked in surprise. Where had they gotten those? Nalia glared at General Ventratta. Don't ask. "Surely Leraye is more able to deal with this than that... that man." "Good call, Speckles. Leraye, where is that demon? Any help would be appreciated." Rider didn't like that the Commander was closer to her Cap'n than she was. Shew drew her sword and approached. "Your fingers'll stay warm and healthsome for a while yet, Cap'n, so no saying fool things. Mittens might help. No, you silly ball of pink fluff, not you. Gloves." "Commander, you'll find it's best to do as we say." She raised her sword so the point was an inch from the Commander's face. Ikkin"Surely Leraye is more able to deal with this than that... that man," Speck said. "Good call, Speckles," Rider replied. "Leraye, where is that demon? Any help would be appreciated."Leraye, who, in the interest of self preservation, had decided to stay on the ship and watch the proceedings rather than coming down with Huntress, realized that staying out of the way would probably no longer be possible. Then again, he still had his stone, and didn't exactly want to give up his range advantage. "I'm not sure why you insist on believing that I'd be any good in a fight," Leraye said with a sad smile. "I've never really been able to react fast enough. All I can really do is make some new weapons or cast support spells on you if you want them." He wasn't exactly lying about this; for whatever reason, the spell that allowed him to see with his eyes closed had an odd lag, rather like the one you get when watching an expensive TV with all the silly and unnecessary processing options turned on, except worse. Not only did it make him completely unable to play rhythm-based games, but it also was rather likely to get him killed if he stayed in close quarters. He could always just use his actual eyes, but... no, he didn't want to. Besides, he never had any practice fighting anyway. Rider"Support spells would be lovely!" Rider shouted, in the shortest and most irritable post ever. Bacon“Commander, you'll find it's best to do as we say."Rider raised her sword so the point was an inch from the Commander's face. Jord, Kyve and Deri took this as an act of an aggression and drew their Vorpal swords at the same second. The blades made a pulsating sound accompanied by a crackling. "You, foul pirate, will find it's best not to threaten us." Jord said with more malice in his voice than one would think possible. He lunged forward and slashed at Rider with his sword, with Kyve coming up from behind to support him. Deri drew his blaster in his free hand, ready to shoot or slash anyone and everyone that moved. Celestial((Spacefleet HQ- The Lift)) A flashing capsule landed at Celestial's feet and began releasing noxious gases as the doors closed. She could hear muffled conversations outside but she paid no attention to them as the pain of keeping the dragons unified in this small space took over her. It wasn't so bad as it was when the guards were here but still, her eyes were as black as coals from fear. Calm, calm it will be over soon. We aren't trapped, we can get out she whispered to the terrified creatures inside her in their own language hoping that they would not panic and make her gulp too much of the air. She only just managed to increase air circulation in the lift but fell down to her knees from the brief lack of power which she had to use to keep the dragons calm. For now, all Celestial could do is hope. "Lead us from fear of death to knowledge of our own immortality" she uttered to herself in comfort and to convince herself she could survive this. Celestial's suicide attack on Spacefleet truly reminded her of a scene in a film she once saw back on Earth. But that hadn't failed...in a way. She hoped that her's and Bluisa's fate wouldn't be the same. PFA((near Weewoocifier, or whatever it's bein' called these days. XD))Jernath tensed a bit when the Commander showed up, and had to remind himself that they were on the same side now. Hopefully, he added, as he still wasn't exactly ready to trust the Commander. He listened as Spacefleet and the pirates started talking. They talked about protecting the planet, and savagery, and... something. He didn't really catch it all. He did pay attention, however, when the pirate asked, "What do you want?"A... gem? Jernath blinked as he listened to the Commander's reply. The same gem that Hades mentioned, back when all this was just starting? Well, he did say that the various forces seemed to want it, and that it might get them a job... which, ironically, seemed to be what this job was about. Getting the gem. Easy enough... right? Jernath grabbed another arrow, and started watching the goings on more carefully. The next person who went for the gem who wasn't a Spacefleeter or a mercenary would get arrows in them. --- PFA didn't really know what to think when the Commander started going on about destroying the gem, which was ironically what she was planning on doing. While he seemed serious enough about destroying the gem, his glowing purple eyes told a different story to the ninja. Destroying the gem... how many people have said they'd do that, and then never did? she asked herself, narrowing her eyes. She had heard the words 'destroy the gem' several times this past day, yet no one seemed to actually be doing any destroying. Someone's gotta do it... it might as well be me.People started drawing their swords, pointing them at each other. PFA grimaced; it was now or never. So she willed up all her courage, then pulled out a kunai, wove around the blarf, and stabbed at the pouch that Huntress put the gem in, hoping to make a hole big enough for the gem to fall out. Hopefully, she would catch everyone, especially Huntress, off-guard and they wouldn't be able to react fast enough. Omni((Mage Manor, entrance)) "I have paper. Sure. It was just...er...Illhvrenans can survive on nothing but raw fibre, so the paper was actually a last resort food supply...""That's okay, I won't need much, only about five sheets, tops. I'll still need something to write with though; a pen, a pencil, a burned stick… anything really, just as long as I get to use and, and soon." He supposed he could use his dagger if he really needed to, but considering his third suggestion, he turned to Leoness. "Doctor…?" It was about then that a girl appeared in the doorway, asking if anyone knew any mages. "If you're looking for just any kind of mage, Doctor Leoness here knows fire magic. If you're looking for a resident of this manor, one of them answered the door earlier, but walked away. Sorry." He then turned to look in the direction of Amnei, who was starting to leave. "You can go ahead, I can catch up.” Rose"Wow, this will be interesting," Rose said to herself. She was going to jump down and join Keng and Cyborg, but she felt a little dizzy. So she just decided to say in the tree and rest. If they needed her she'd jump down, but she thought it be the best to rest. Rider((Yay, bloodshed! Oh frigate, it's my blood. x_o)) "You, foul pirate, will find it's best not to threaten us."Rider thought they got the point even before the sword-pointing, but hey, she didn't honestly believe that the Commander was just going to walk away when the pirates still had the gem. She swore as Jord's blade slashed across her side. A second stab followed in her back, deep and ugly. The world slipped out of focus, and her breath came in shallow gasps. No, she thought, it's Kat's job to pass out in this RP, not mine. And thus the fourth wall got a second beating. The Meepits charged, biting at the Fleeters' ankles and climbing up their clothing to look for more vulnerable area to bite. Rider took the distraction as an opportunity to get herself out of the awkward flank. She slashed at Jord's torso as she passed him. Kat((Beekaweewoocifer! I like that too. XDDD Sorry 'bout the short post, I'm off to school XD)) Kat gasped as the gem was exposed, clutching her chest. Don't make the next GWRP cliché by fainting again, c'mon... Then again, she was getting used to this sinking feeling the gem often gave her... Besides, it was time for her to be Rider's backup this time. Kat moved forward, trying to knock Deri's blaster out of his hands with her longsword. A fireball erupted from her staff, headed towards Jord. "Rider!" she called. "Need a quickie spell from yours truly?” SpeckSpeck turned her head towards Leraye and spoke, "Who says I meant that you should join the battle? You're more familiar with the workings of that gem, seeing that you're the one who made it. If we survive all this... we need you to re-assemble it. From there, I don't know. Take away its power so that nothing like this ever happens again, toss it into the sea, something of the sort." She turned back to the skirmish that was now beginning. Her hand tensed around the two bottles of lemonade she had grabbed from her quarters. Now would not be a great time to get down there and fight; she would wait to see if it stopped before she would jump into the action. Her non-magical vision was still hazy and subdued by the glowing circulatory systems below. She rubbed her eyes in the hopes to mute the magical vision, but to no avail. "Slap me thrice and hand me to my momma... Why do these magical perks have to come with these magical perks," She said to herself, continuing to rub one of her eyes. Rider"Rider! Need a quickie spell from yours truly?""Yes please." Rider groaned in the second uber-short requesting-backup post of the day. Vyt((The White Weewoo[ I'd like to retain what it is really called ] ))As soon as everyone around her was distracted by their hatred for each other, the ninja realized it was her time to move. As swift as the wind, PFA snuck behind the pirate captain and pulled out her kunai, trying to dig a hole on the side pocket of the captain. "That's suicide, PFA!"Fearing that his niece would have little success in snatching the gem, Cat Assassin quickly filled his right hand with most of his remaining energy. Even though the feline knew it'll take time for the energy to fully stabilize, he forcefully pierced it through his energy ball, aiming for the spot the ball was standing on. It gave the ball an upward boost into the air. The ball did not take the course Cat Assassin was expecting, as it simply landed beside the ship he was on, a couple of feet away from the crowd. It did, however, release an almost deafening THUMP as it collided with the moderately dry soil. "Now, PFA!" Cat Assassin screamed at the top of his lungs, the moist air trying to prevent him from doing so. Surf((Near the pirates' Demon-Shippy-of-Many-Names)) Surf, who had been watching the interrogations calmly, immediately sprang up when she saw the pirates and others begins to draw their weapons. Once one of the Spacefleeters backstabbed Rider (literally), she decided it was time to join in on the action. The young mage leapt nimbly onto the ground, ran over to Jord, without running into a sign this time! and swung her staff downwards, aiming for the his collarbone. Huntress((Where The Acshun Is, as usually)) Well, this was somewhat annoying. Hunty realized a tad too late that creating a wall only in front of her, not on the sides, was somewhat lacking as far as strategy went. Ninjas really were fast. The blarf, albeit a lot quicker than his big figure suggested, didn't move an ear before PFA was already past his paw, and Hunty, being still nicely stuck between his two front paws, didn't have much room to dodge, so the ninja's kunai hit the pouch, pierced right through it, and dragged down the leather. That's when she reacted, and since she really couldn't do much, relatively defenseless as she was, her inital reaction, one that came even before the thought of using the gem to protect itself, was to jerk away from PFA, which caused the pouch to hit the kunai's blade. The blade, having cut through the leather, hit the gem that filled the entire pouch, and its hard smooth surface redirected the hit - straight into the blarf's paw, which was, after all, only a few inches from the pouch. Blarf alliances change a lot faster than humans', because they're simpler. The barrel-sized head dropped down like a guillotine, encasing Hunty in a large furry cave. He shook his head, revealing one round shiny eye between the fur, and the glance of that eye fixed sternly on PFA. Then he snorted - that was all he could do without opening his mouth, but that snort was filled with venom. "Back, boy." The captain pushed the blarf's head up to open her fuzzy cave, in order to reveal a sight not much better than the blarf's angry eye - the pointy, acidic end of a crossbow. She'd used those few seconds behind the creature's head to load, and now pointed the dripping weapon at the ninja, eyes narrowed. "Ninjas," she said coldly. "Sneaky, filthy backstabbers. So much of trust, eh? And alliances? Do you honor anything? If I wasn't in the middle of talks with that guy on the other side of that pretty barrier, you'd be getting this bolt where it hurts. Matter of fact, I think you will get it where it hurts, and we can argue about the details later." Her eyes darted back to the Commander, whom she currently considered a far bigger threat, as her finger pulled the trigger. A somewhat blind shot, but the tip of the bolt was only some dozen inches from the ninja's shoulder.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 14:49:05 GMT -5
Strife((The Battlefield)) Just as The Commander had predicted, Huntress, Ikkin, and Kat defended themselves by pointing out the flaws in his logic. "Pray tell, how are you going to end everything this gem has caused, anyway?" argued Kat. "Are you going to cock a gun at it and presto, no more bad magic like the kind that runs through your veins as of the moment? Plus, I know I speak for the Cap'n and the rest of my comrades when I say that you're only contradicting yourself and creating nothing but a flamboyant illusion of grandeur. In short, you think you're all that, but you're not. And, give us a real reason to trust you, all right?"" How dare you insult me that way," snarled The Commander. " For the last time, stop interrupting us. The next terrestrial to barge in with their pointless comments will sorely regret it." Huntress removed the gem from her pouch and used it to upgrade the strength of her crossbow, as well as create a barrier of purple energy in front of her, before continuing to speak. "So, thanks, but no thanks. We don't need your... assistance. If you want this gem, you really need to pry it from my cold, lifeless fingers, because yes, I am making the right choice. As long as I, the captain of the White Weewoo and the leader of this crew, still have a say in this, you're not getting this gem.
Now. Stupid question, but needs to be asked so I don't get accused of being a savage sometime in the near future. Will you kindly leave this pretty planet and leave us to handle our own things, or will I have to do things the hard way and drive you out?"" Your own things?" said The Commander with a raised eyebrow. " As I told you before, this matter concerns us all. I've tr-" "Commander, you'll find it's best to do as we say," interrupted Rider with a blade pointed at his throat. Upon seeing this, some of the marines who were nearby immediately withdrew their vorpal blades and began to slash at her. She retracted her sword and focused her attention on them. Almost at the same time, one of the ninjas that Huntress had spoken of quickly stepped around the blarf and the energy barrier, cutting at the pouch on the pirate captain's belt in an attempt to make the gem fall out. While the pouch had been cut, it wasn't enough to release the gem, and it only served to aggravate Huntress and the blarf. Huntress raised her crossbow and fired a poisonous arrow in the ninja's direction, while still keeping a cautious eye on The Commander. " You terrestrials have threatened me for the last time," resolved The Commander. " Since it is clear that you people will never see the situation in the same light that we do, I have no choice but to take matters into my own hands." The Commander lowered his head, glaring at Huntress with an intense malevolence and hatred that could only mean one thing... " This means war." Without any warning whatsoever, The Commander lifted both his arms towards the sky as though he were performing a double uppercut. Immediately, a giant spire of stone rocketed out of the ground beneath Huntress, spilling snow and dirt into the air. The sheer speed at which it emerged caused the pirate captain to soar upwards as though she had been shot out of a cannon. Afterwards, The Commander himself jumped several feet into the air. At the peak of his jump, he clenched his fist as tight as he could, focusing all of his strength and psionic energy into it, and aimed it downwards. The moment his feet hit the ground, he drove his fist into it, causing a massive tremor. Shockwaves rippled out from his position and spread across the entire battlefield, and anyone who didn't jump over them would soon get a face full of snow. Jina((Mage Manor)) "If you're looking for just any kind of mage, Doctor Leoness here knows fire magic. If you're looking for a resident of this manor, one of them answered the door earlier, but walked away. Sorry." The man in front of Jina turned to someone who was leaving. "You can go ahead, I can catch up."Jina smiled. This man looked like he might just have some answers. "I'm not sure if I would need a powerful mage, or even if I need one at all. It's just that alot of strange things have been happening to me, and I wanted to know what was going on. It's okay if you don't know, I can live with it, but I'm very inquisitive at times." PFA((Near... PFA is not even sure what to call it now. Near the pirate ship, for Pete's sake))
PFA's plan had backfired rather spectacularly. First off, she had underestimated the size of the gem, which she now realized was about as big as the pouch itself. Secondly, she now had an angry pirate to deal with. One that happened to be wielding a crossbow that dripped with acid, and was pointing the weapon straight at PFA.
"Ninjas," Huntress growled. "Sneaky, filthy backstabbers. So much of trust, eh? And alliances? Do you honor anything? If I wasn't in the middle of talks with that guy on the other side of that pretty barrier, you'd be getting this bolt where it hurts. Matter of fact, I think you will get it where it hurts, and we can argue about the details later."
That last sentence especially told PFA that she really needed to get out of the way of that crossbow. Unfortunately, even with her ninja reflexes, she wasn't fast enough to dodge the shot entirely. While she had managed to move to the side, the bolt still scraped against her shoulder.
And it hurt like crazy, she realized as she stifled a yell.
"Filthy backstabbers. Interesting that I'm hearing that from a pirate," PFA said through gritted teeth. Shouting retorts at pirates came a lot more naturally to the ninja than fighting alongside them. She couldn't help but smirk a little. Looked like a good ol' pirate-ninja fight was on her hands.
...Except that there also happened to be the matter of Spacefleet and the mercenaries, which would probably attack her just as readily as they did Rider.
As if to prove her point, Jernath fired his arrow at PFA, hitting her in the other shoulder. He told himself he would fire at anyone who went for the gem who was not on his side, and he wasn't about to change his mind. He continued pulling arrows from his quiver and firing, continuing to prove points.
PFA grimaced. Things were just really not in her favor lately.
The Commander declared war, and shot Huntress into the air with a pillar of earth. He than proceeded to cause an earthquake, which knocked PFA and several other people to the ground. Seeing no better options, PFA began crawling backwards, heading closer to Uncle. Not an action that felt very pleasant, but an action nonetheless.
Realizing she was still holding her kunai, she decided to throw it vaguely in the Commander's direction. It was a very sloppy throw, however, considering she had two injured shoulders and was sitting on the ground. She would have been surprised if it even got to the Commander, much less do any significant damage.
But right then, she really didn't care. All she wanted was to get out of everyone's line of fire, so she and Uncle could come up with a new plan of action (as well as get her shoulders healed, she added with a wince). She forced herself to her feet, and began running the best she could toward Uncle, dodging most of Jernath's arrows. As long as no one else attacked her on her way there, she should be able to make it to her Uncle alright. Should. Bacon((The Black and White Weewookadoodle XD)) Deri saw Kat moving towards him, and aimed his blaster at her. He managed to fire once before her sword hit it in the power pack, causing a small explosion that rendered the weapon useless. As he swung his Vorpal around to counter Kat's sword, he saw the fireball she shot at Jord. "J.B., look out!" Wincing from the Rider's slash, Jord turned just in time to see the fireball coming at him. It was too late to dodge or duck under, so he did the only thing he could. He jumped. The fireball hit him in the solarplex, and though it stung a great deal and sent him flying backwards, it was safely away from his exposed head, hitting only environment-proof armor. He landed near Keng, Cyborg, and Midknight. Paying no attention to them, he looked at Rider and Kyve. Kyve blinked. Suddenly Jord was sent flying by a fireball, and Kyve was against Rider all by himself. "Er..." He flourished his Vorpal sword, waiting for her to make the first move. "Kyve, catch!" Jord shouted. A Vorpal sword's handle flew into Kyve's glove with ease. He turned and nodded at Jord, who extended his knuckle-blades, ready to continue fighting. __________ ((Somewhere in the sky)) Bacon noted the emergency landing the dropship made, but was travelling too fast to do anything about it. He circled around in a wide arc, and, hoping the hijacker hadn't already left, fired on the downed dropship once more. A laser blast hit the sabotaged engines, causing it to explode prematurely, but just as violently as the ship's computer predicted. "Lily, look out! It's a trap!" He shouted into the radio. Bacon easily turned his ship around before the blast hit him, but unfortunately his ship was no Millenium Falcon and quickly got hit by the blast and sent flying out of control. A beeping alarm informed him that the ship's exterior was an fire, and two more informed him of engine(specifically ion resistor coil) failure and landing gear failure. "MAYDAY!" He screamed on an open radio channel as he tried to keep the ship level. "THIS IS CADET BACON, GOING DOWN!! REPEAT, MAYDAY!" And then, the Stellar Eye quite literally hit the tree line, and twenty-three destroyed trees later, it hit the ground. The very hard ground. Surf((Near the Black Beekawhatsit)) Surf muttered under her breath since the Spacefleeter completely dodged her strike. She was about to turn to the nearest non-ally in sight, Kyve, but stopped short when he was tossed another sword. Turning to Rider, she grinned, and asked, "need some help?" Without waiting for a response, the mage swung her staff, sending a gust of wind at the 'Fleeter. IkkinTensions grew higher and higher as Kat called the Commander on his bluff, then pointed the blade of her sword at his throat, clearly itching for a reason to attack, and Hunty pulled out the gem, immediately using it to create a shield so she could "negotiate" safely. "Hand it over?" the Cap'n said, turning it over in her hand as if looking for something inside of it. "You know, Commander... we're pirates. We don't care about minerals. We care mainly about money one can get for minerals."For a moment, Ikkin was afraid that the Cap'n really would hand it over - after all, she'd only taken the gem so she could sell it in the first place. If she did that, Ikkin would have no choice but to try to destroy the gem before the Commander could use it; she didn't want to know what he could do with the whole thing. Fortunately, that wasn't an issue; Hunty was just playing with the Commander, and made it very clear that she wasn't going to hand the gem over without a fight. Inwardly, Ikkin hoped it wouldn't come to that; the Commander had been a formidable opponent on his own - she didn't want to think about what he could do now that he was leeching power off of the gem. Before the Commander could attack, however, Rider too placed her sword's tip at his throat. Before anything else could happen, though, three marines came out, each with some kind of energy swords, and attacked Rider. Ikkin was too far away to do anything before the former captain took a nasty gash in the side from one of their swords and was stabbed in the back with the other. She seemed to stay on her feet, fighting back, and her Meepits rushed in to help out, but Ikkin still wasn't about to leave her to fight alone. As she ran over, though, Kat offered to help, too, and tried to strike the blaster out of another marine's hand while shooting a fireball at the same marine that Rider had slashed at, while Surf entered the battle as well, aiming a strike from her staff at that same marine. Still not fully recovered magic-wise, Ikkin drew her sword and a dagger to join the fight, not wanting to let Rider get flanked again - especially not in the condition that she was in. Just then, she felt an odd bit of magic surround her. It didn't feel harmful, just kind of odd, and she wondered what it actually did, as well as where it came from. She couldn't think about this for long, though; she had a fight to get to. In that moment, however, the fight had continued on without her. One marine's blaster was destroyed, the second was hit in the stomach by Kat's fireball, and the third seemed unsure about what to do - but, the second through his sword to the third - who commenced fighting with Surf - and continued fighting using some kind of metal claws on his knuckles. Deciding that the third marine already had his hands full with Surf's blast of wind, she slashed out at the closest marine - the one with the broken blaster - with her dagger. Then, she stabbed out towards his chest with her sword. Hopefully, he'd react to the first and not be able to block the second; she already knew that the Fleeters' armor wasn't able to hold up all too well against punctures. *** "Support spells would be lovely!" Rider said, wasting no time.
Hmm, this was a quandry, Leraye thought. He'd offered support spells, and was definitely willing to follow through on that offer... he just didn't know what kind of support spells he could use.
That was another reason he was never good at fighting - it took him too long to come up with creative ideas for using his magic.
He pulled a small book from his pocket, filled with types and uses of magic that he found particularly interesting. Surely there would be something in there that he could use.
Ah, there it was, he thought, noticing a scribbled note written in a light blue. Reflective magic. That would probably be helpful, and also rather amusing to watch.
He pulled out his stone, and concentrated on creating reflective barriers around all of the pirates that he could see. It drained a fair amount of energy out of the stone, and would probably only work to reflect something once for each pirate, but at least they couldn't accuse him of doing nothing.
Besides, the chance to see a laser reflect off of a pirate and bounce back to the one who shot it would be worth the waste of energy.
"Who says I meant that you should join the battle?" Speck asked, explaining herself after it was already too late. "You're more familiar with the workings of that gem, seeing that you're the one who made it. If we survive all this... we need you to re-assemble it. From there, I don't know. Take away its power so that nothing like this ever happens again, toss it into the sea, something of the sort."
Hmm, that might be more of a problem, Leraye thought. After all, he rather much needed another magical gem to replace his, which was quickly running out of energy. Though, that particular one was so much trouble as it was that it would probably be easier to make a new one. But that would require him to have this one in his control, some major conflict going on in the background, and relative safety while he did the rituals.
All of which would be easier if the Pirates helped, and thought that he was just ensuring the destruction of the gem. So, sure, he could play along.
"Ah, so that's what you want," he said with a smile. "Well, I can't do that until I have both the gem and its pieces... so I probably won't be able to do much good right now.” ZariZari rummaged in her bag and pulled out sevtenteen rather crumpled sheets of blank white paper. One had bite marks. She handed Five to Ethan. 'Is this a bright idea, just an idea, Breakfast, or something else?' she inquired, scratching one of her ears. Since it was growing nearer to winter, they'd gone rather fluffy in an attempt at a winter coat. All they really did was make her look distinctly wired (not a typo!) and itch. Fraze((The Beekaweewookiedoodle of Indeterminate and Varying Color)) Once again, Fraze found himself in a quandary. Just minutes before, he had formed some uneasy truce with the pirates. And yet now the 'Fleeters and pirates were fighting. When the ninja tried to get the gem, it seemed, was when everything came to a head. Someone shot someone else, a wall and assorted magic--Fraze worked to keep it all separate in his mind. He saw the Commander shoot Huntress upward on a pillar of rock and earth. As the Commander jumped, Fraze had a hunch what he would do. Just before the Commander hit the ground, Fraze himself crouched and jumped, using his skinsuit to help propel him upward. It was a relatively short jump--six meters off the ground, but Fraze found it was both enough to miss the Commander's shockwave and to observe the scene better. His legs soon began to ache a bit from the jump--as if he had run up four flights of stairs, taking the steps two at a time without stopping. Fraze had just passed the top of his jump when he saw one of the 'Fleeters get hit by a fireball and go flying. With a silent command to his skinsuit, two microthin energy wings grew from between his shoulderblades. He couldn't fly with them, but he used them to glide to where the 'Fleeter had landed, along with Keng and the mercenaries who were, apparently, now working with Spacefleet. As he touched down, he contracted the wings once more. His legs had just stopped aching from the jump by that point. "You okay?" he asked. He decided to stay out of the battle for the time being. Kat((IT'S WAR!)) "Yes please." At Rider's request, Kat promptly waved her staff - which was hard, as she was trying to engage Deri in combat, and sent a healing spell Rider's way. After that, her staff shrunk back to its less formidable form, and she stuck it into her belt before clutching her sword with both hands. "And for the record, our comments are not pointless," she added, locking blades with Deri. Ikkin struck at him next, and Kat disengaged, stepping away and leaping into the air herself. As she sheathed her sword again, she drew her staff again, and created her flaming purple wings. Once she was airborne, Kat soared over the commander and made several rock-hard ice shards rain down on him. Rikku((Mage Manor, training room)) Rikku tossed a fireball onto the ground, and shaped it into a column. It looked almost solid, yet insubstantial at the same time; she put her hand as close to it as she could without scorching her flesh, and grinned. This was kind of fun. "Would you happen to know where Miss Kalianne Lunara is? I am in quite a hurry, and I know she hangs around here."Rikku yelped, losing her concentration. With something close to desperation, she watched the beautiful pillar collapse in on itself, and hurriedly stomped out the fire before it could spread. “I almost had it,” she whispered. “I did. Just for a second. And now it’s gone.” She rounded on the interrupter, eyes flashing. “What did you go and do that for?” she shouted, and then sighed. “Oh, whatever. You’re looking for Kat? I haven’t seen her today. Don’t know her all that well, actually – she that sparkly purple mage-knight-pirate? Maybe she’s at that ship of the pirates', or the knights’ castle. I wouldn’t know.” Rikku paused and gave the newcomer a sideways grin. “Hey, what’s with the shield?” She gestured at her pale yellow glow. “The Manor isn’t going to hurt you. Unless, of course, you’re doing something bad … but I trust you know that already.” She smirked and flounced out the door. She hadn’t tried flouncing before. It was rather enjoyable. Vyt((Afterlife)) Vyt's eyes were shut closed. He could not bear to witness his friends breaking into a major war, with everyone affiliated with each other teaming up to defeat the opposing force. Only he knew what was really happening, however. Misunderstanding and greed were the only factors that bred such a disastrous event, and each and every NTWFer had fallen for them. Slowly, Vyt's red eyes opened, ethereal tears flowing from his eyes. His slow breathing suggested his utmost disappointment on those who had engaged into war, but he could not interfere too much in the lives of the living. "... Is this the NTWF I once knew?" the former half-feline breathed out, sobbing. ((By the White Weewoo))The plan to snatch the gem away from the pirates backfired, leaving a severely injured PFA and the gem still inside the pirate captain's pouch. PFA retreated from the crowd, grimacing from arrow shots on both her shoulders. As PFA approached the energy ball Cat Assassin was in, all the cat could do was feel bad about choosing her for the job. "I'm sorry for letting you go, PFA," he breathed out slowly. "Your hits look bad. Find a safe spot and try calling Bluisa to help you. The badge might help," the feline added, almost feeling the helplessness he was in.. If it weren't for his almost-paranoid attitude, he would've not been stuck inside an energy ball he had not even fully utilized. ... Actually, Cat Assassin just realized how he could use the ball's remaining duration. Even under the constant struggle to keep himself conscious, Cat Assassin braved the risk of fainting and started to run inside the ball. With its acceleration building up, the ball started to move as well, running eventually at top speed towards the captain. "Don't... Underestimate... Us ninjas!" Cat Assassin screamed at the top of his lungs, mimicking what Vyt might say if he was in his position. NatureNature watched as little Demene stared at the cookie, her little silvery Elvish dragon-eyes glittering. Within a second, Demene took the cookie between her claws and started munching away. "Aww, isn't she cute?" Nature made a '^___^' face as she tickled Demene's belly. "She's like Seline when she hatched!" All of a sudden, Seline appeared. She looked at the Dragon in Nature's arms and suddenly gasped. "Oh my goodness, no way . . ." Seline muttered, her eyes almost bulging out from her sockets. Nature looked at her other dragon with a look of confusion on her face. "Um, Seline? Are you okay?" Seline suddenly went on a rambling spree. "Oh my goodness! I've heard that there are such things as two-element-wielding Dragons, but this is just so rare to see! I mean, only a few times in the history of ever did two Elvish dragons of different species interbreed. And now, it's happened again! Now, how did that . . ." She looked at her owner. "What elements does she posses?"Nature blinked. "Uh," she began. 'I named here Demene, which means 'Child of Lightning and Water'. Do you think--" "A child of a lightning-wielder dragon and a water-weilder dragon!" Seline started pacing back and forth. After a few seconds, she went near Demene and inspected her. Seline nodded. "It looks like her dad's the water dude and her mom's a lightning person."Nature stared wide-eyed at Seline. "Wait a second, Elvish Dragons can actually determine that?!" Seline shrugged indifferently, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, duh." PFA((Near the big ol' ship))
PFA managed to make it to her Uncle, thankfully in one piece, aside from the arrows sticking out of her and her acid-burned shoulder. Uncle told PFA he was sorry for putting her in that position, suggested calling Bluisa, and ran off in a furious rage.
Well, so much for discussing plans to get the gem, PFA thought. Then she decided to take him up on his offer of finding a safe spot, which is exactly what she did. She managed to find a place fairly far away from the general action, behind a bush, where she sat down in the cold wet snow and examined her wounds.
She had two arrows sticking out of her shoulder, and one in her side. Biting her lip, she proceeded to yank these arrows out, a gesture which caused her to put forth a lot of effort to keep from screaming in pain. Once they were out, she clutched her hands to the wounds, trying to keep herself from losing too much blood.
"Blui-- aah!" she started, trying to stay quiet, yet loud enough for the badges to hear her. "Bluis... Blui..." she found it was very hard to even speak at all, when she was gasping for breath as she was. Drat! This isn't working...
Suddenly, she got an idea. And immediately, she began concentrating on the power within her once again. She apparently had the ability to make some kind of barrier, as well as some sort of beam thing (which she had failed to do outside of her dreams, but that's beside the point), so maybe, just maybe, she had a healing ability of some sort. It was a very long shot, but she was willing to try anyway.
PFA just sat there for a while, concentrating as hard as she could possibly concentrate, hoping desperately that something would happen. Just as she was about to give up... the arrow wounds became numb, and the bleeding slowed. PFA glanced at her hands, noticing they were glowing purple and yellow, much like from her dream. But, determined not to make the same mistake she did with her barrier, she immediately started concentrating again.
After some time, she stopped concentrating, removed her hands, and looked over the wounds. They were nowhere near as pretty as they would have been if they'd been healed by an experienced healer, but it was better than nothing. Taking a deep breath, she promptly moved one hand to her acid-burned shoulder, and began concentrating once more. This one took much longer, as arrow wounds were nowhere near as bad as acid burns.
---
Jernath stopped firing at PFA once she had gone out of his line of sight. Running away. Well, at least she didn't get the gem.
He then turned to see that the Spacefleet marines were fighting against the pirates. He immediately pulled out another arrow, but this time he aimed at the purple-clad mage girl. And he fired. Then an arrow at the red caped one, one at the kitsune, and one at the one who ran into the signpost earlier.
What he didn't realize was that the alchemist had put reflective magic around the pirates. Rider((Mai Ship)) "need some help?"Rider was very grateful for people who help without having to be asked. Then the Commander's tremor caused her knees to buckle out from under her. The very earth was revolting against the pirates. The very soil and snow they called thier own. No, ours is the sea... Fury caused Rider's blood to boil... well, whatever blood wasn't frozen in the snow. A healing spell settled at Rider's wounds, dulling the pain. That old warrior instinct screamed at her to get back on her feet. She had already lost a lot of blood... That cat was annoying. She wished Shiva was here. But there was no Shiva. Shiva had run off without a word. Abandoned Rider for the second time. Rider shook the feeling in the back of her head. he must have had a reason. Just Rider and Kyve. Rider clutched the wound at her side with one hand, and with the other, she went for the Fleeter's torso. An easily blockable strike, but she wasn't thinking straight. Meanwhile, Ventratta and Nalia were climbing up the back of Kyve's pants. Because over the course of his long Meepitty life, Ventratta had realized something. Getting bit in the ankles was an inconvenience. Getting bit in the face was a son of a Zytch. Huntress((The Checkered Weewoo >>)) So this was it, then. Huntress had foreseen this for a while now, but it still didn't make her feel any better to actually hear those words, to see the Commander's glaring eyes, to take in what he meant. "This means war."And then the ground disappeared. Hunty, completely flabbergasted by the suddenness and power of the attack, could only figure that she was flying through the air, that her whole body was numb with the shock of the impact, and that she'd been lucky to have pushed the blarf's head out of the way, otherwise she probably would've knocked some of his teeth out and cracked her own head in the process. But by the time she reached the height of the ascent, she'd already recovered. The view was pretty good up there, and as she witnessed the Commander's artificial earthquake, she was even somewhat glad that she was no longer between the blarf's paws. She whistled. It was the kind of short, sharp whistle sailors use to relay messages when operating the rigging, but this one had a more distinct meaning. The blarf, who hadn't realized why his cargo suddenly disappeared, looked up. "Bloody Mary," said the captain, attaching the crossbow on her back again mid-flight. "I need a sword." The meepit, who'd been clinging to her shoulder the entire time, fighting the urge to hold on with his teeth, looked up. "A sword? You're planning to go against him with a sword?" "Better than what I currently have." "You'll die," he said matter-of-factly. "I have backup. I just want to be able to do something myself as well. Get some guys and check the hold, savvy? We have plenty of loot, there's bound to be something." Hunty herself didn't have a sword. She always operated with her crossbow and dagger, but this time she needed more. She whistled again. The blarf rolled over, all of his six chubby paws pointing at the sky. Hunty landed on his stomach, bounced up and down a couple times, and then slid off quickly. The seconds in the air had given her a good idea of the state of things in general - if you're used to aiming in seconds, you get used to spotting details in seconds. "Food, boy!" was the first thing she shouted, skidding on the snow. "Some food has toy inside, this toy has food inside!" The blarf got to his feet at once, his back now covered in snow and mud in addition to what had been there before. At that point, Bloody Mary rocketed off to the ship. He didn't bother with ladders and he didn't have to - he accelerated up the board, partly lifted by the mist. Hunty took a deep breath, shooting a quick glance at Cat Assassin who was rolling towards her, yelling "Don't... Underestimate... Us ninjas!""Yep, backstabbity all the way," she gasped more to herself, leaning her hand against the ground for support, and then focused her attention on the Commander again. The ninja was none of her concern. He was a toy with food inside, and as such, the blarf cheerily hopped in his way, prancing on his two last pairs of paws, the first two spread out like a football goalie's. His right paw blocked the ball's way as it reached him. "Blarp!" Hunty got to her feet, looking at the Commander. "There are two things we agree on," she said, her voice almost calm. "One's the fact that I hate getting interrupted as much as you do. And here's the other." She turned her head towards the ship. It was still sitting there, spiky and ominous, and althought it hadn't done anything and wasn't planning to interfere - ships don't do that - it was paying attention, as always. *** Bloody Mary had reached the hold in the meantime, accompanied by half a dozen of his kind. He was sniffing frantically, searching the familiar smell of steel and leather, the old traces of bloodscent and dried sweat, everything that collectively means the word 'sword' in animal brains, when he heard a voice outside. It was the captain's voice, Hunty's well-known voice, bearing the tone she only ever used during the fiercest storms when they were sailing between life and death and her commands could decide where they'd end up. "Hoist the flag!"Hoist the flag? The meepit nearly halted, before continuing his search. The flag was already up, the black-and-white Jolly Roger, currently the only speck of white on the whole ship, though the inside had still remained the same. Unless she meant... ...crudcrudcrud. He had to find a sword, and fast. There were plenty of swords in the hold, but as it always happens in such situations, he could find none at the moment... ...what was that glowing near the wall, right behind a few crates of clothes? He hadn't seen that glow when he came in. The meepits sneaked closer to investigate. When Bloody Mary saw what it was, he cracked a wide grin. "Hellsyeah." When the meepits got back to the deck, dragging along what they'd found, Bloody Mary jerked his head upwards. Oh yes, he'd expected that. The ship had understood the command, and the Jolly Roger was coming down from the gaff, pulled by the mist. He didn't have to look to know what went up next. The meepits hurried over the board and across the snow, as another flag rose up, high above the yards and lines. A flag still bearing a white skull and crossbones, but no longer black. This one was blood red. "Are you familiar with pirate customs, Commander?" Hunty asked, straightening her back. "No, of course you're not. Even us savages have our honor. The black flag of the pirates isn't just a symbol, it's a message. It tells the crew of the ship we're attacking that if they surrender, their lives will be spared. And that's what we always do as well. The red flag, however," and with those words the red flag reached the gaff, remaining flapping there, "means that we show no mercy to anyone." She grinned, taking the sword the meepits had brought. "And expect to be treated the same way in return. Till the very end.” IkkinBefore Ikkin could see what came of her strikes against the marine, however, she felt a rumbling in the ground and was forced to jump into the air before she was affected too badly by the shockwave. As she held herself up with her wind magic, an arrow came sailing at her from far away; she barely had time to blow it off target with a small gust of wind. One of the best parts of air magic was how easy it was to deal with projectile weapons. She shot a fireball off in the direction of the shooter just as Hunty shouted out, "Hoist the flag!" And the ship responded by raising up the red flag of war. Out of all her time with the Pirates, Ikkin had rarely ever seen the red flag raised. Pirates though they may be, none of the crew ever liked unnecessary bloodshed, and raising the flag was like throwing a gauntlet.. Show no quarter. Take no prisoners. Kill, or be killed Ikkin really wished it hadn't come to this; while she was fairly sure that the death of the Commander would probably make the world a much safer place, she wasn't so sure about all the others, who, it seemed, were basically following orders. But, if that was what the Cap'n wanted... She landed, facing her opponent once more. "Come," she said simply, taking a defensive position. Vyt((By the War Zone))
"OOMPF!"
Cat Assassin let out a very wild groan as he fell forward inside his energy ball. He looked forward to see the same large creature he had fought earlier, stopping the feline in his tracks by blocking his way. "Blarp!" chirped the humongous being.
"Keep on underestimating me, captain. You won't really expect what we can really do."
The reasonable rage accumulating inside Cat Assassin gave him power unexplainable by science or magic. The feline had already exceeded the hour-long duration of the energy ball, but he could not be put down for some reason. Exhaustion and degrading health conditions could not plant a stop sign on Cat Assassin.
"What's happening? It's as if something's filling my own stamina..."
((Afterlife))
Vyt's eyes were focused on the cat inside the ball. His hands were clamped together and placed in front of his chest.
He was praying.
"You're our only hope, wise one. Do not let the evil consume you."
((By the War Zone))
Indeed, the stamina of Cat Assassin was being refilled mysteriously. It was not a full recovery, but at least he could fight for another few minutes. The moist air surrounding the cat would then be the only inhibiting factor, but such a situation could not stop the feline from continuing.
Cat Assassin looked at Blarfie. The large creature seemed to know nothing on what to do with him; it simply extended its arms forward to block him. That gave the feline an idea.
Cat Assassin concentrated, as another batch of focused energy filled his right hand. The moisture around it gave the energy a new look, with swirling water paths slowly accumulating around. The feline frowned and closed his eyes once more.
The yellow energy in his hand suddenly turned red.
The cat then raised his head, looking towards Blarfie. "You need to go berserk, big friend!" he screamed, as he extended his right hand towards Blarfie, through the energy ball and into the creature's right paw.
Inside the creature's body, the energy made its way towards its mind. It then turned into several spikes and applied painful acupuncture on the mind of Blarfie.
Cat Assassin breathed out forcefully, trying to recover from the intensity of the ability he had just unleashed. "If Blarfie succumbs to my energy spikes, he might attack everyone in sight without even knowing... Even the captain.” Zari((The skies over Xenam)) The lights contracted in pain. Anger from the people she knew and loved as friends tore at what substance she had. With a tiny sigh, the lights descended, shaping themselves once more into human, dulling. A mortal form. She landed lightly on one roof, stepped across the guttering, and fell into an alleyway. "Ow." Ailura winced as she stood, scratching her wing. Ferdamei's house was quiet and unassuming, the sort you'd expect from a housemother and a banker. Not a two-ways informant and trained spy. She walked around to the front and knocked. No answer. She knocked again. The door vanished, sending her stumbling into another door with a loud thwap Ailura rubbed her head gingerly and waited. This was a real door, hopefully. Celestial((The...something something...? Hey I can't think of what to call it! ^^;)Overlord watched the whole conversation from the shadows, listening to the negotiations and trying to ignore the buzz in his head that kept plaguing him since he left the castle. The armoured man had began speaking in a strange voice and suddenly, he declared war on the pirate captain. She in turn, hoisted the red flag and Overlord didn't think it could be good. He slowly flew out of the mist, shrugging it off as a snake would shrug off it's own skin.
His mindlink with Celestial was broken and it was looking for a new "host" if that was the right term. Like two wires had been cut and sparks were pouring out of one and not stopping until they connected with a different wire or at least an isolator. He reached out his mind towards ones which could prove to be good hosts.
The little Weewoo flapped his stubby wings once and was up. If he could just get to the armoured man and touch him, he might be able to assimilate that mind. It emitted so much power, enough to make a temporary connection. He slowly begn to fly closer. *** Leste awoke to the sound of shouting and black mist tickling her cheek but what surprised her most was that the ship was no longer rocking on the waves. They must have come ashore or maybe even ran aground. She lept off her hammok with a cry and laced up her black boots faster than she ever had, rushing up onto the deck just in time to hear the decleration of war from the armoured man. Captain Huntress ordered the red flag to be raised and Leste's heart gave a leap of fear.
No quarter given, no prisoners taken.
Leste took out her cutlass which was sharp from infrequent use and called out to Huntress.
"What are my orders captain?" she shouted ready to attack anything and everything. It was as if something half forgotten was trying to resurface and turn her into what she once was: a shadow. But Leste wouldn't allow herself to become such a creature. She was now a human and a human she would stay. Strife((The Battlefield)) The Commander's shockwave knocked PFA and Rider to the ground, but it seemed that everyone else had either jumped over it or was too distant from the center to be thrown off-balance. Meanwhile, Kat summed a pair of purple flaming wings, which she used to fly over The Commander while raining ice shards down onto him. Using his psionic energy, The Commander dashed out of the way in the blink of an eye. His movement was so quick that faint silhouettes of himself were pasted into the air for a brief moment of time. The ice shards shattered as they hit the snow, and as soon as they were gone, he dashed back to his previous position, leaving another line of silhouettes in his wake. At that moment, he heard the pirate captain whistle from the sky. The moment she did, the blarf in front of The Commander lifted its head. A second whistle came, and the creature rolled over on its back. Huntress fell from the sky, bounced softly on the blarf's stomach, and slid down into the snow. She then shouted at the blarf to follow another one of the ninjas that was approaching her, and the creature happily did so. Once the blarf was out of the way, she focused her attention on The Commander. "There are two things we agree on," she said in an almost clam voice. "One's the fact that I hate getting interrupted as much as you do. And here's the other."
"Hoist the flag!" shouted the pirate captain while turning her head. The black flag that had been waving atop the demonic ship was slowly pulled down, and in its place, a blood red flag emerged. "Are you familiar with pirate customs, Commander?" Hunty asked, straightening her back. "No, of course you're not. Even us savages have our honor. The black flag of the pirates isn't just a symbol, it's a message. It tells the crew of the ship we're attacking that if they surrender, their lives will be spared. And that's what we always do as well. The red flag, however, means that we show no mercy to anyone."She grinned, and a trail of small blue creatures approached her and handed her a sturdy-looking sword. She grabbed it eagerly. "And expect to be treated the same way in return. Till the very end."" If it's a fight to the death you want so badly," said The Commander with a wicked smile, " Then a fight you shall have. Surely you realize, though, that I am already beyond death." The Commander chuckled, and within a few seconds, his chuckle grew into a thunderous laughter. Half of a second later, he had dashed around Hunty's barrier and thrusted his shoulder pad into her back, knocking her against the barrier's surface. Such a swift maneuver caused his head to feel like it was spinning wildly. He'd have to wait a few more seconds before dashing again, or else he would be too dizzy to focus. Huntress((The battleground)) The blarf's mind erupted in pain. It felt more or less like an electric shock, starting from his paw and ending in his head. He jumped back on all sixes, then sat down with a thump, shaking his head vigorously. It didn't get better. So he did what he always did when attacked - this time the attack was from the inside, not outside, but in the end, the pain's still only in the brain. He curled up in a tight ball with a sad muffled 'gwurp'. Having created his own little world of pain that way, he remained there, furious like a wasp. Bloody Mary saw the whole scene, and shared the blarf's fury perfectly, but he couldn't get to him just yet, because Hunty was in equally big trouble. More specifically, the Commander had just smacked her against the gem-barrier. The captain was knocked breathless and she had to grab the side of the barrier in order to stay up. "Surely you realize, though, that I am already beyond death.""Good," she hissed, turning around and leaning her back against the barrier for support. "That means that half the work is already done for me." For the first time she got a chance to take a look at what the meepits had brought her. She lifted the sword up to examine. Its tip drooped downwards with a sad 'boing'. "Bloody Mary... what the hell did you bring me?" "Don't you recognize?" he asked, sidling closer over the snow, keeping a cautious eye on the Commander. Sure she did. The sword had come with the blarf. They'd taken it from an elven guardian who wore really odd leather clothes and bore the name of Kassandra Amethyst Moonbeam, and that alone says a lot. They'd come to call the sword the Sue-Sword, which was all too apt. It was a pretty little thing, definitely, wide and double-edged and very light, given its sturdy looks, but its hilt was so richly carved and decorated that it was very uncomfortable to hold, and the blade itself was carved with so many magical runes that the sword was transparent at parts. It looked like a piece of lace, and was very nearly as flexible, since it was so thin. It was sharp, but as a weapon, icicles would be more effective. They'd only ever kept it because it looked nice. The captain glared at Bloody Mary. "Your problem is," said the meepit, now safely on the other side of the barrier, "is that you're too pragmatic. All you see in it is an impossibly flashy piece of metal that'd probably only serve its purpose if you tried to strangle that guy with it." "Which is what it is," she grumbled, waving the sword around to test. The blade wobbled up and down. "No. It's a Sue-sword. The person who wielded it kept the entire blarf race under her control - and terror, remember? Look at me, Hunty. I'm a weapon too, even if I look all fuzzy and cute. Y'see, when I went into that hold, I was looking for something that'd help against a floating zombie-whatsit. Common sense would tell you that such a thing doesn't exist, but common sense isn't what wins battles, and since I wasn't using common sense, I found this." "Too pragmatic, eh?" Hunty asked sulkily, eyeing the rune-laden blade. "Uhuh," said Bloody Mary, who was by now having the unpleasant feeling of filling the role of a Disney-esque sidekick-advisor. "You don't win a battle because you think 'hey, they've got supreme weapons and here I am with my stick, we're buggered'. No, you only ever win if you have the will to go against the people with that stick, full of determination to skin them with it and nail their intestines to the foremast. It's a daggone magical Sue-sword, and magic always comes with a trick. Think like a winner. Forget logic." Hunty blinked as those words sunk in. Then something caught her eye, and she jerked her head left. Nothing was there. But she was certain that she'd seen something... a rider, a huge rider on a sturdy chestnut horse. No, not chestnut. That's the invention of horse-breeders and other such people. That horse, even though she'd only spotted it for a millisecond, was blood red, just as red as the new flag in the gaff. And the horseman had their sword poised. Her eyes darted to the flag, then to the Commander, then back to the sword in her hand. The runes on its blade had lit up, the ground no longer showed through them. She swung it to try. This time the blade didn't wobble. A silvery glow appeared around it – thank goodness, I half expected pink, she thought - and the whole blade was now white, the runes had disappeared. Another swing, and the sword left a hazy silvery trail in the air. It looked... almost solid. She reached out to touch it. It was solid, although it disappeared almost as soon as her fingers fell on it. So... a sword relient on borderline impossibility. A blade and shield in one. Logic was its weakness - had been back on the days when they'd gotten it, simply by confusing its former owner with pragmatic thinking - but Bloody Mary was right, when have wars ever been logical? Her eyes fell on Leste, and her brow furrowed for a second, trying to remember the name. Newcomers were so hard to pin down. "What are my orders captain?""Survive. Kill enemies. And stay out of my way." Huntress looked into the Commander's purple eyes, let out a short joyless laugh, and turned the sword in her hand, leaving another silvery quick-fading trail as it moved. This new angle was better - the hilt was now comfortably sitting in her hand. "Bring it on, brighteyes." SpeckThe ground shook, and so did the ship. Speck stumbled before steadying herself on the Weewoo’s railing. She gave a quick nod to Leraye to show that she had heard him, before she heard the captain bellow from below: “ Hoist the flag!” She turned to the gaff to see the mist replace the black flag… with the red. Here we go… The pirate thought, draining one of her bottles of lemonade and tossing it aside. Needing her hands free, she tossed the other bottle to the couch. She shook herself out for a moment before jumping overboard, her decent slowed by the black mist. Without the hesitation she had felt before, she charged towards the Commander. As skilled as the Cap’n was at combat, there was no way that she could take this power-crazed maniac alone. While she ran, she took up the pickaxe that was hooked on her belt. A faint white glow surrounded the weapon. Without a word, she swung at the Commander’s leech. BaconKyve's counter-attack was interrupted when Surf blasted him with a gust of wind. He was sent flying backwards, but managed to land on his feet and jump back in to slash at Surf's stomach and Rider's back. Deri yelped in surprise as Ikkin slashed at him with a dagger while he still had blades locked with Kat. He jumped back in order to dodge the strike, when she stabbed at him. He blinked, again in surprise, as he realized the stance he was now in was impossible to dodge sideways or backwards with, and his sword was too high to effectively block. She had meant for him to dodge the first strike. This was the kill shot. He stood frozen as Ikkin's sword drew nearer and nearer, mocking his armor with its speed and sharpness. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure leaping towards him, no, not towards him, towards... the sword? Jord ran past as Kyve was sent flying backwards by Surf's attack. He could see Ikkin coming at Deri. He leaped between them as Ikkin thrust he sword forward and made an "X" shape with his knuckle blades as he reached his arms out to force the sword off course. Kat((Mage Manor and somewhere over TEH BATTLE)) "I see. And, thank you very much," said Asthielle to Rikku, retracing her steps. She sighed, rolling her eyes. There were no leads as to where Kalianne was, and there was no use hanging around a Manor that was itching to throw her out like an old moldy potato. Still, these people around where interesting...perhaps she could even make them into an army... She stepped out, and ended her spell with a sigh. There was a lot of thinking she had to do. * * * "I'm really starting to hate that gem," grumbled Kat, watching the commander dodge her attacks. Gripping her staff so tightly that it hurt, she hurled several bolts of lightning at their foe, each one crackling with energy and shining so brightly that it left purple trails in her eyes. But she didn't stop to see what would happen, as she swooped back towards the ship and darted towards Deri, kicking him in the back before landing. The wings disappeared with a fizzle. Omni((Mage Manor, guest room)) Omni blinked. "When you say 'species', don't you mean 'race'? It's just that 'species' is like dog vs. horse vs. cat, while race is like Asian and African," she said, using the first examples that came to her head. "Is there any particular significance to this? I mean, I haven't heard of dragons particularly being racist. "Also, have you ever heard of elvish dragons with three or more elements?" ---------- ((Mage Manor, front entrance)) "I'm not sure if I would need a powerful mage, or even if I need one at all. It's just that alot of strange things have been happening to me, and I wanted to know what was going on. It's okay if you don't know, I can live with it, but I'm very inquisitive at times.""What kind of strange things?" Ethan asked as Zari took out five, crumpled papers and handed them to him. "Is this a bright idea, just an idea, Breakfast, or something else?"Ethan, not entirely sure what to call it, said "I think it's a bit of each… except for the third one." Under his cloak, Ethan slung his rifle over his shoulders, then he smoothed out the papers and, in the interest of time, stacked them, held them firmly against the wall, and quickly wrote in them with his dagger, creating five identical copies of the same document. When he was finished, he wrote a different name on the back each, again, with his knife, and folded them into individual makeshift envelopes with the name on the outside. He walked to a mailbox near the front door and put the letters in. He closed the mailbox again. When nothing happened, he tried raising the flag. Seconds later, a chime sounded as the flag lowered. "Okay, now I can come." He could only hope that he assumed correctly and that the letters would somehow reach their intended recipients. Luckily, he assumed correctly. The mailbox determined the status and location of the recipients, and delivered the letter to them, either by a magic Weewoo, or by simply teleporting it to the receiver's location. Jina"What kind of strange things?"Jina recounted her story of the snake. "Do you think I might just be going crazy?" She said afterwards. "Or is there something happening?" IkkinIkkin had been too quick jumping out of the way of the shockwave to notice that her sword had been deflected, not by her opponent, but by a second marine, the one with the knuckle daggers. She landed a few feet away from him, in a defensive position. When he didn't attack immediately, however, she took the initiative and rushed him, slamming it into the crossed blades of his daggers, then trying to force them both off to the side and a bit upwards as she stabbed downwards at his right shoulder with the dagger in her left hand. She positioned her body so she wouldn't be in the way of the knuckle-daggers, then released all of the upwards force on them, instead using her sword to try to push them down and out of the way so she could have another opening for a stab. Celestial((The ship with the disputed name))"Survive. Kill enemies. And stay out of my way." the captain snapped and Leste needed no further encouragement. Her keen eyes scanned the 'Fleeters until she settled on two near Ikkin. The one with knuckle daggers was fighting her while another looked as if he had just dodged a blow. He was perfect.
Leste ran at Deri and slashed him with her cutlass. Show them no mercy for you shall recieve none!*** He was close to that mind, so close. There was nothing that would deter him now for a Weewoo seeking was a dangerous creature indeed. Slwoly, he flapped his wings and staying behind the Commander, flew in. If Overlord could touch him, it would be done. He would get into the man's mind and stay there hopefully until Celestial returned. Strife((The Battlefield)) After a discussion with her little blue companion, the pirate captain seemed to activate some kind of magical energy in the sword she was wielding. The blade, which was laughably bendy a moment ago, now stiffened itself and glowed silvery white, leaving a trail of light in the air as Huntress waved it around. She let out a quick laugh while focusing on The Commander. "Bring it on, brighteyes," she said, swinging the sword around. Before he could bring it, though, his eye caught Speck running towards him in the distance in plain sight. He chuckled. " You again... I should have killed you when I had the chance." Speck said nothing, however, as she lunged at him and aimed her glowing white pickaxe at his Leech. He easily moved out of the way without needing to dash at lightning speed. Speaking of lightning speed, Kat hurled several bolts of lightning in The Commander's direction, crackling with purple energy. Even with his psionic dashes, The Commander couldn't avoid them in time. The bolts punched him in the back almost instantaneously and knocked him to the ground, tossing chunks of snow into the air. Purple sparks of electricity danced across his body for a few seconds, but as a whole, the attack caused him neither pain nor any significant damage. The Commander knew his opponents would likely attack him in this position, so as he rose to his feet, he prepared himself for the worst.
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