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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 16:52:09 GMT -5
HuntressAs Hunty descended, a long row of signal flags rose up the schooner's flag halyard. They were bleached and tattered and as she realized, rather hard to read as some of the meanings seemed to have changed over the time, but obviously the other ships would understand. The meaning seemed to be close enough to 'all officers of all ships to this vessel', at least. As the surrounding ships broke into bustling and shouting as it so always happens when there's something important to arrange, the captain landed on the deck and popped down on the couch next to Leraye. "I should just slit your throat," she said without any intros. "Except I should probably get in line for that." She gave the demon a sideways glance as Bloody Mary gave her a sideways glance, trying to figure out how much extra diplomacy this would take from his side. "But we need you," Hunty continued. She somehow even managed to keep her eyes from looking at the gem. "And your knowledge. Not to mention, the minute you leave the ship, we cease to be useful and we'd all get crushed." "Instead she plans to run away and risk getting crushed," Bloody Mary piped in. "With the element of surprise," Hunty said calmly, then her eyes narrowed. "And if you try anything funny, note that you'd get not only that army," she nodded at the ships behind the rigging and the layer of mist, "but also us on your tail. And Huntress is not just a pretty nickname." She sat back, watching as men began to move between ships towards the big schooner. Some were able to fly, some jumped like grasshoppers. A nice bunch to be up against. But it was good to at least more or less know who they were up against. "And I'm betraying a rather nice pirate captain for you, so you'd better appreciate it," she said glumly. Revive the Golden Age of pirates. Rule the seas. By turning everyone into their enemies, she'd shatter it all. Then again, were they not? Technically, the one single person she could trust was Rane himself; the rest owed her nothing. Besides their freedom and such, but surrounding them didn't show much trust in them either way. If Leraye was that dangerous, backup wouldn't help them, and if he wasn't, they could handle him without backup. "They're keeping an eye on us rather than him," she said quietly, more to herself than to anyone else. Then she sighed, got up, and looked at Leraye. "Come along, demon. If we're to get out of this, you'll have to do exactly as I say and play along as well as you can, savvy?" As if on a cue, a voice sounded from the deck above: "The court has been summoned. Bring forth Leraye the demon!" "Yeah, those were the good old times of dramatic timing," said the captain, grabbing a rope to climb up the rigging again, and only stopping to look at Ikkin. "Listen up... when I call you, you tell the ship to hoist each and every sail and give 'em a nice little boost of wind, preferably while pushing the other ships back. You're the boatswain, she'll listen to you. And then we'll see how much spiky bowsprits are worth. We won't have more than ten seconds before they get over the initial surprise, so the faster we act, the better. And the kraken had better be ready." At the same time, the kraken had other things in mind. Like that thing swimming around the ship. He drifted closer. A shark? It'd been a while since he last ate. No, not a shark, too small for one. The blarf was a mammal, even if able to hold his breath for a long time thanks to his elongated chest and the extra-large lungs in it. Therefore his hearing and eyesight was no better in the water than an average human's. And now the whatever-it-was pulled itself out of the water and out of sight. He followed and stuck his nose out, snorting water. Lo and behold, this was no shark but, as his newly-regained senses instantly told him, the very same one who'd first trapped him in a suffocating cage and then made his head hurt. With furious splashes, the tentacles whizzed out of the water and forward. "Blarf!" VytThe still water below Cat Assassin began to tremble violently, instinctively alerting the feline. He looked at the waves below him and convinced himself that there was something coming. As the waves grew bigger, splashes became prevalent. "Blarf!" Without even turning around to greet the kraken, Cat Assassin pulled his Ashiko away from the plank it was lodged on and swung himself around to avoid the tentacles, using Vyt's dagger as a pivot. Cat Assassin could not call PFA and Bluisa for help in fear of catching too much attention, so he had to rely on his own. He only had less of a second to turn around and see where the blarf was, but it was good enough for him to be able to plan out his attack. He could still remember the enchantment Vyt's dagger had when it was created: it could give more damage to a relatively large opponent than it could to a normal-sized one. In mid-air, Cat Assassin pulled out the dagger from the ship's side and threw it as if it was a kunai, straight towards the blarf. If it would somehow avoid the dagger, the feline's landing would definitely do the same damage, what with the powerful weapon as a hidden feet claw approaching the kraken and all. RiderMeanwhile, another demon was in just as much trouble as Leraye. The army was spreading, devouring the forest. Shiva stood at the doorway of the stables, snapping and kicking at any who came close. They didn't seem to know what to make of this horse, but they sensed the demon in him. They had been wronged by a demon once. "Give us Leraye!" shouted a merc in the front. "What the heck does Leraye have to do with this?" Shiva shouted. "Get away from my wife!" "You're hiding Leraye in there!" the merc stepped forward. Shiva did something very not-nice to his left leg. "Sora, when your king comes, where will you go? How will i find you again?" Meanwhile, the phoenix presumably healed Cele and did all the things we've been trying to get him to do for several pages now. ^_^ RLY. The Golden Age of Piracy was over. Rider knew that. Thankfully a world like the NTWF could be neither fully civilized nor fully mapped, but all the same. Things aren't the way they were before. Leraye... had he really put all those people in the gem? How? Alchemy was capable of many things, but to make a stone of ultimate power out of people? ... Waiiiiiit... OK, if any smart-alecks try to paint a cross-thing on the red cape and/or do anything to my right arm and left leg, remember that all I have to do is clap. CelestialCelestial fell back onto the deck as soon as the kind voice of the pirate reached her ears. "Don't bother with the phoenix, I am not injured physically. The weakness all comes from my mind. Give me time" she spoke as loudly as possible, trying to get up once again. She winced as the pain ran up her stiff muslces but it wasn't as bad as before. She tried to heal one of the minor sratches on her arm. A lone blue spark flew from her finger and wrapped itself around the wound, healing it. The power was returning just as the pain was diminishing. "What is happening? Why am I here?" Celestial asked anybody who would listen, hoping to get some answers on how she ended back on the ship. The last memory of hers was back in the headquarters of Spacefleet and that deceptive gem... PFA((near sea)) "Well, that was faster than I was expecting," Jernath commented when Midknight held up the daggers. Jernath took them back gratefully, taking a moment to look them over. As far as he could tell, they were indeed his. They even still had traces of Kat's blood on them from his fight with her earlier. So either someone made really detailed duplicates, or these were indeed the right ones. Not that it mattered, of course. Daggers were daggers, and even if they were fakes, they would get the job done. Jernath gave them a quick twirl before putting them into their sheathes. "Now that that's over-with, what's our plan?" he asked the other mercenaries. "Find Spacefleet?” KatKat sighed, staring at the door of her quarters below deck. There was nothing special; after all, the ship had already ejected the ninjas and the mercs, which meant there was no one to keep in the brig, as far as she knew. Plus, everyone else was either above deck or somewhere around, since more and more people were becoming members of more than just one guild. Leaning on her staff and sitting down on a bench in front of her quarters, she felt her energy slowly returning to her, which began to gradually accelerate the healing process. The constant throbbing of her back was reduced to a dull ache, a mere shadow of the pain that she felt when she had felt that dagger almost tear her apart - quite literally. It still hurt a bit though. Hearing some commotion above her, she decided that maybe she should just check it out. Kat stood up and walked back up the way she came, telling herself that walking down and up the stairs again would be good for her. "What is happening? Why am I here?"Celestial was the first one Kat saw upon emerging onto the deck again. "As much as I'd like to answer your questions, I'm afraid I don't know either, but it's nice to see you again." Cyborg" Yes shall we keep to the trees or take the land? I would say Midknight, the squirrels, Shado and I take to trees following you and Rose on the ground. If any fight breaks out we'll be right here." Cyborg stated. " I agree with that plan, but it's up to the lovebirds here them." Midknight added. PFA((near sea)) Jernath shrugged. "Fine with me. And I think it would be easier on Rose, what with the ankle and all," he glanced at Rose, preparing to help her down the tree. "...Unless, of course, you'd rather stay up here.” Rose"I think I'll be fine walking," Rose said as she got down from the tree. "My ankle dosen't hurt as much anymore, it'll be okay to walk on it. Are you guys okay though,"she asked. Cyborg" I'll be fine for now, but Midknight and you will need healed, as well as Shado." Cyborg said to Rose as he, the squirrels, Shado and Midknight began jumping from tree to tree. " Have fun you two, but no kissing." Midknight teased.
The Horsemen The Horsemen had stopped high above the bay, looking down at the cluster of old ships and the small misty brigantine in the middle. War's sword was sheathed as there was no battle going on at the moment, and Death had sat back, leaning on the saddle, knowing that diplomacy meant, even among pirates, more flesh wounds and less actual fatalities. Famine, however, was fumbling in her small purse, muttering to herself. "You haven't lost it, have you?" War asked grimly. "Wouldn't think it possible to lose anything in that purse anyway." "Like, shut up, it's YSL," Famine snapped, turning the purse upside down. A hairbrush and a handful of cosmetics fell on the saddle, followed by small silver scales. The girl gave a quiet satisfied shout and threw everything else back in, then picked the scales up. CUSTOM-MADE? Death asked with disapproval in his voice. The scales were ridden with diamonds, sparkling so brightly that it made his eye sockets ache. "Oh, that's like Tiffany's, they're totally trustworthy," Famine said, raising the scales and squinting at them. "They do confidential orders all the time, like, I remember this one time..." Her voice trailed off and she apparently forgot what she was going to say as she focused on the scales. The other two Horsemen looked at her, scowling, though they were actually rather impressed. Reading sand and blood patterns is easy, because they move. Famine, however, had refused to use the age-old system of reading grains on the scales like the previous Famine had done ('because they like get all over my purse all the time and it's totally annoying, you know?') Instead she'd learned to read the patterns of diamond glitter, which was as accurate as grains but infinitely more difficult. The three remained silent for a few minutes, then the scales went 'twang' and tilted right. "It's like... gathering," Famine said, straightening her back. "Their hunger's getting worse. Taking them over. If anything happens to spur it even more, like... tip the scales, y'know, it's gonna go global." The other two knew very well. There always were deaths, and battles, or at least bar brawls and black eyes, and people living on a shoestring, but there was a difference between a shoestring and global famine effect. The latter was the kind of famine that called out the Horseman. Or at least the Horsewoman who was always late because she could never decide what to wear. The NTWF had never quite realized just how bad a deal they'd gotten on the ethereal level - and all the better that way. And now there was this army gathering, yearning for war and revenge which had called out the three Horsemen of the Apocalypse, doing their duty and, since they were familiar with the way the universe worked, being afraid to look behind their backs because they knew who was going to show up soon, completing the picture. WROOMThe three winced in unison. That sound hadn't been just a sound. It'd ripped through the fabric of the space and time, making it lag for a second. It predicted doom. As a general rule, Death had always been above the other three Horsemen, but not in this case. The fourth Horseman had become more powerful than even him a while ago, having found a foolproof way for it, and had thus become so arrogant that the other three avoided him whenever possible. But now he'd been called forth by rules higher than the riders, so the other three could do nothing but bear it. WROOOOOooommm-bop-bop-bop and the sound stopped in the air behind their backs. None of the three had still turned around. Their horses were struggling on the reins, irked at the noise. "Long time no see, girls," a voice said behind them. PFA((near crowd)) "Alright, but you still might want to be careful," Jernath responded to Rose, as he climbed down the tree himself. "Have fun you two, but no kissing," Midknight called to Rose and Jernath from the tree. "What?!" was Jernath's response. Why would Midknight suggest that kind of thing? Rose is my friend, but we're not in love...It was at that moment that Jernath remembered how Rose blushed when he held her hand, helping her to walk. ...[/i]Um.[/i] "...Ignore him, he's just being Midknight again," Jernath promptly said, supposedly to Rose but perhaps a little to himself as well. He then started walking toward the crowd, seeing if he could find any Spacefleeters. He knew that Rose would follow, with the Kougra brothers closely behind them. He tried to ignore the fact that his face felt warmer than usual. Fraze((The Dropship?)) Fraze caught his breath from the run, trying not to sound winded when he spoke. He knew from experience that this just made it harder to speak, but he didn't want to pant while speaking. "What--who is this army, anyway?" Turning upward to Zari, who seemed to be flying--who, he knew, had empathic abilities. He asked, "Can you tell?" He felt a now recognizable buzz at his side. His flechette gun was vibrating again. But it seemed as though it was buzzing in response to the gem, and it let loose and stopped when the gem broke. It could have been that the gem wasn't all destroyed. No, he thought. That phoenix flame was upwards of solar corona temperatures. Even my suit couldn't stay in that for more than a few seconds.((For reference, our sun's corona--the outermost region of the sun, the part you see in a solar eclipse--is about 2-3 million degrees Celcius/3.6-5.4 million Farenheit. The surface of the sun, on the other hand, is a balmy 6,000 C.)) Is there more than one gem? Well, could be, he thought. But this was just wild speculation, he didn't want to say anything yet. RiderKienne was an impatient queen. Swift Justice was the motto of her ancient knights, swift enough to outrun pirate ships and teleporting ninja and lawless mercenaries. "Your Highness, that lousy Captain is summoning us." "That mouse of a man?" The queen sighed. "Fool. If I see him, I'll shoot him myself for all the pillaging he has done." "Your Majesty, it's regarding Leraye, the demon." Queen Kienne's eyes flashed jade fire. "Leraye? If I see him, heaven knows I'll squeeze the life from him with these very hands! It is only just after what he has done to us and ours!" "Yes, of course my lady," the young page stammered, shrinking back from the raging queen. "And truly your most excellent and noble sense of justice will be necessary on board Rane's The Golden Mast when the demon is put to trial." "A trial? We all know he is guilty. But, if the other guilds believe it is necessary." She paused, a sharp and deadly pause. "The wrong, all the wrong that happened all those years ago. Boy, fetch my guard. I want to be escorted onto The Golden Mast in style. Tell them to be armed to the teeth." "Yes Your Highness," the boy said, quivering. "And... fetch the Kite." "... Your Highness?" "You heard me. The raptor-bird, the elven sharpshooter. The quickest Justice that we have at our disposal. Bring her to me." "... Your Highness, of course." "Good boy." ((On The Golden Mast)) The leaders from every guild had assembled. They glared daggers at each other, the wounds of a thousand years ago still fresh in thier hearts. The gem had physically released them, but their hearts were entrapped within it still. The boy-page cried out in his most regal voice, "The court has been summoned. Bring forth Leraye the demon!"The queen twirled her rust-red hair on one finger, mumbling to herself in anticipation. Finally, after all these centuries, justice. The page's eyes kept subconciously looking up to the rigging, where a Kite flew in circles. At a slight, scarcely noticable nod from the Queen, the Kite landed in the vacant crow's nest and transformed. Claws became feet, wings became hands, and where a raptor had stood, now a brown-skinned elf crouched in waiting. He pulled his ash-grey cloak around him tightly. His sharp electric-blue eyes focused on his first target. Cap'n Rane. A scarcely-audible twang, and an arrow was speeding toward's Rane's throat like the wrath of an ancient god. VytSplashes. Huge splashes. Through the cat ears of Bluisa, she could hear the violent trembling of water nearby. It was just a moment when Cat Assassin decided to go first, and already she could smell trouble. Bluisa's hand began to shake, but she tried her best to calm herself down. She wouldn't want to cause any trouble herself. The mage tapped PFA on the shoulders. "I... think we... should go too..." she stuttered. Huntress((In the Weewoo's rigging)) When Hunty rose above the schooner's deck level the second time, the scenery had changed quite a bit. A sea of grim faces, ancient and noble, was looking back at her. These weren't rugged and sweaty warriors in torn chainmail and leather. This was the elite, the faces that had launched those ships, the leaders who'd already used the time to wash or change, even both in some cases. It was like an old painting come to life. And they were all looking at Hunty with faces that said not so much 'wow, good job' but 'good girl, here's a bone, now stay out of the way'. Rane was standing in the middle of the crowd, dark eyes full of concern. He could tell that this was likely to go very ugly very fast. Why had this crazy captain suggested summoning everyone? It was fair, yes, and probably prevented ill feelings... but there were plenty of ill feelings to spare anyway. When Hunty appeared over the railing but Leraye, being below her, was nowhere in sight, the sea of officers, already seething restlessly upon the hope of finally confronting the demon who caused all their troubles, only endured a couple seconds before rushing forward in attempts of looking down over the railing. Rane jerked forward in a semi-instinctive attempt to hold them back, and that saved his life. The Kite's arrow hit his shoulder with a dull 'thud', and since he didn't weigh much to start with, the force of the impact sent him flying into a higher mage standing nearby. The results were instant. "Cap'n!" the schooner's crew roared in unison. "Rane!" other pirate ships' officers yelled at the same time. "You insolent!" yelled the mage whom Rane had bumped into, and other mages supported that at once. Hunty grinned like the devil. Better than expected. She didn't even have to do anything. Someone was on her side there. At that point at sea level, the blarf's righteous fury met a kunai thrown at him. It bounced against one of his steel plates and skidded sideways into the skin from there. It was hardly serious for a creature the size of a blarf, but it stung nevertheless. A cold shiver ran up his body, making him jerk forward and straight into the side of the Weewoo. Since he was nearly the size of the ship itself, it was a considerable push. The brigantine bounced against the schooner's side, using the mist to cushion itself and the wide pointy yards which would otherwise have broken or pierced the other ship, or both. It was like hitting a wall; the Golden Mast was too big to be pushed aside. But it was noticeable. The argument died down as heads turned, trying to figure out what this was all about. Hunty's grin faded, but only by a little. She sat back on the yard. "Tell me, guys," she asked, "with all these self-important faces around... which one of you gets the privilege of catching Leraye?" She patted the misty yard. " Go!" The brigantine was getting increasingly better at improvising, she had to admit. Instead of hoisting all the sails, it shifted the mist and pushed it against the schooner's side with such force that it bounced in the opposite direction like a cork. A row of pirate ships was waiting for them there, but the Weewoo pushed itself off them as well, on towards the roadblock ahead. The long spiky jib-boom wedged itself between the two ships in front of them, then the mist ran down it and generated another push both ways, shoving the other two ships aside into the ships next to them. There was a third sloop still ahead, directly on the Weewoo's path, and Hunty, holding on for dear life in the rigging, could only watch as her ship's spiky keel dug into the sloop with an ugly crunch. The the mist kicked into action again, pried the brigantine free, and struggled fiercely on towards free water. Element of surprise. A pirate's best friend. But it only works for so long, so the outermost ship was prepared. Three of its cannons barked at the same time, and due to most of the mist being busy with the maneuvering, two of them managed to crash through the railing. "Nice, now they're blowing holes in my ship," Hunty muttered, climbing down with neckbreaking speed. The ship's sails were dropping already. Free water was ahead and it no longer had anything to push off from. Come on, wind, wind... And the canvases caught wind. From the side, but she needed that direction anyway. Hunty grabbed the wheel. Freedom. For now. VytThe ship began to move. That wouldn't go well for Bluisa and PFA, who were still near the ship. It began to sail towards them, whoever steering the ship completely oblivious of the two people underneath. Nearby, Cat Assassin just missed landing on the blarf and headed straight back into water. As the ship moved, the first concern that came into his mind was the safety of Bluisa and PFA. He hissed at the moment, feeling the helplessness surrounding him and his inexperience as a swimmer. " Pirates... Always making so many moves..." It was too late for Bluisa to order her breeze and move around to avoid the incoming hull of the ship, but she could do something else. Around her and PFA, she began to wave her arms towards the ship. To PFA, it looked plain silly, but for Bluisa, she was trying to keep the ship from going towards them by channeling her mana into the water nearby, attempting to push the ship back. Though she was not able to completely stop the ship, she could see the slowing effect of her spell on the ship's speed. "PFA, swim away!" she exclaimed. "I'll have to stop this ship myself, and I wouldn't want you to get caught inbetween!" KatWith a simple spell, Kat cleaned up her robes as she watched Celestial, wondering where she had been and how she got back here. Besides, bloodstains weren't exactly all the rage. "I assume we're...under attack," she said for lack of anything better and less obvious to say, looking around. "And Cap'n, I'm good for your next command. I can start shooting fireballs, just say the word!” ZariZari angled her flight so she could hear Fraze, then nodded, looking slightly queasy. "It'll be uncomfortable, but I'll do it." She gained altitude, gripping her staff tightly, then extended her magic towards the army. Thoughts, emotions, memories, all swirled through her mind, until she found someone who had the aura of a leader. Sighing, she began, systematically, to search their mind. Nothing escaped her notice. Childhood memories she left alone, focusing instead on the recent past. Leraye Trust Break No Out Not Right Mind Stranger Leraye Gem Gem Two Hurt Prison Hurt Blood Dizzy NO!Zari put a hand to her head, wincing. The woman she'd "spoken" to was incoherent with rage and only able to give impressions of what had happened and was happening. What's more, she'd almost immediately known there was an intruder and attempted to fight her out. She tried again with a different person. This one was coherent, winged, and, like her, a longlife, one who lived millenia, but not Illhvrenan. She made hersewlf known by intrerjecting with a thought of her own: What's going on? Give me a straight answer...everyone's incoherent. Uhm, wing-brother. Zari added the title used for someone winged who was not of her race and waitied for a reply. Leraye, over there, trapped us all in that gem he's holding. there were two of them. They make me feel sick, him and his gems. It hurts my head. I sympathise, I really do. So this Leraye guy trapped you all in a gem and now you lust for his blood? That's pretty much it...Be careful, wing-sister: Demons about. Thank y...Hey, how'd you know I was a girl? Your mind stinks of female. Now, I've got to go help those dimwit shortlives before they stab them selves with their own weapons. Excuse me.Zari stopped flying and let herself drop, nearly landing on one of her little mad group, then fell back to speak to Fraze. "Some headcase called Leraye who's actually a demon trapped these crazy a-fightin' nutjobs in a gem, an' now they're baying for his head to be removed forcibly from th' rest of him, and he's got another of the beasties with him. So. What's the plan, Fraze?" she stopped talking abruptly and stretched her wings slightly, pondering the head working of this Leraye person. Wolf(STILL catching up...hope this still fits. =| )Wolf’s decision was clear and his path was set as he wound his way down the spiraling stairs. He walked to the massive doors and turned to look for Naft Ali; she was still seated in the room as before, but as she caught sight of him, she rose and rushed over.
“I’m leaving,” he said.
“No.” Her voice was decidedly firm. “You cannot leave so—”
Wolf shook his head. “You wished me to leave. Now that I aim to, you stop me? Time is wasting away as we dally here—”
“No. Time won’t be the only one wasted if you leave now.” Naft Ali’s nostrils flared, but with a breath, she had calmed her face once more. “You must hear me out, my King; the tale I must tell is not yet complete.”
Wolf felt the firmness of his own face begin to falter. “But you said…”
“What I said has no bearing if you fail to hear what I still must say. King Wolf, you rushed off before I could finish.”
Wolf blinked his eyes, almost feeling ashamed. “With what you told me, how could I have sat idly and listened…?”
“I do not blame you for your actions,” Naft Ali whispered, “anyone betrayed would do the same, but thus is no reason to rush ignorantly into battle. Especially into a battle you are not prepared to enter.”
Wolf scoffed, his hardened demeanor returning. “I am prepared to confront my knights, if you’re trying to suggest otherwise.”
“No, I’m afraid, you are not.”
Wolf’s fist trembled. “I am the King here, Naft Ali—if I am ready, I’m ready!”
“No, no, no!” Naft Ali shook her head. “Why do you not listen to me? Your knights are dead!”
Wolf’s façade cracked, and then it shattered entirely. “W-what? You…you speak lies…”
“No,” Naft Ali said as tears gathered around her eyes, “I speak only the truth.” She took a breath before continuing. “Sir Kit was betrayed by one of his demons, and in rushing to his aid, Lady Shade was stricken with a Ninja’s sword and fell beside him. Lady Tamia aided the fallen and was poisoned for such; she died alone in the castle, crying out in pain.”
Wolf sunk to his knees, doubling over as warm tears flooded from his eyes as his stomach wretched within him. “B-but how…?”
Naft Ali shook her head. “You weren’t there to lead them.”
The words were like a sword driven through his heart. Wolf reared back, howling in anguish as he slammed his head back into the heavy doors. He slumped back against it, broken and defeated. He heaved a long, heavy breath and forced himself to look upwards at Naft Ali. She was blurred by his tears, but there was one more thing he had to know, one final thing he had to ask.
“What of the others?” What of Pyro and Zari, Emma, Tirilia, Jason, and Trilly? What of Kat and Ikkin, Fortune and Fen? Bacon and Ringo, Crystal, SILE, and Shino—his brother, his lover, his twin? What of all the others who had come to the castle but never stayed long enough for him to know them? What of his kingdom, his people? What of himself?
Naft Ali knelt down before him, held her eyes to his. “The others are all missing or unaccounted for.”
And that was it, all he could take. Wolf closed his eyes, breathless sobs ripping the air from inside him. He crumpled over into a heap, slamming his fisted hands to his head as he wallowed in the guilt of abandoning his people in the midst of war, in the very moments when they needed his most. He raised his fists once more, aiming for the final blow—and then his hands hung suspended in the air.
“There is still hope,” a voice whispered to him. “That is why I have come, to give you hope.”
Wolf’s hand fell, struck the floor drained of all energy. Gentle hands gripped him and lifted him back against the wall, and he stared brokenhearted at Naft Ali standing before him. Her face was stolid and dry, but somewhere in her fair skin, he found a smile, a light, a reason to keep going on.
“You must listen to me, O King. Can you do this?”
He choked back tears, but finally managed to nod.
“Good, good,” she said. “Do you recall when you asked me what had become of the gem, and I told you it was a story for another time?”
Again, he nodded.
Naft Ali smiled, finally showing a genuine emotion other than sorrow and sadness before him. “Now is that time, King Wolf. And you must listen well, for this is what will decide your destiny.”
Wolf nodded a third time and swallowed uncertainly. His throat was sticky and sore and he felt like spitting, but at the same time, his mouth was dry and he knew his only focus had to be upon her words.
“The demon,” she began, “who created the gem—the most records have ever called him is “Ler”—stole the gem after it had been activated the first time. He studied his work, drew conclusions, made more plans. Some centuries passed, and he passed the gem unsuspectingly onto a Kougra who merely thought he had stumbled across a rare find. However, the Kougra did not know of the gem’s power, and it quickly corrupted him.
“As news of this mysterious gem circulated the world, it drew the attention of the NTWF’s four major guilds—the ones you are familiar with now, the Mages and Knights, Pirate and Ninjas. They each sought the gem, but for various reasons. The Mages were eager to divine it and learn the arcane knowledge that had created it, while the Knights—then as corrupt as the Kougra himself—had wished to usurp the kingdom and obtain global rule through the gem’s power. Perhaps their intentions were noble, but far from honorable. The Pirates aimed to steal the gem and barter it back for a world of wealth, but the Ninjas sought only to steal the gem and destroy it. The Knight’s kingdom crumbled in time and the Mages held no lasting grudge against them, but the feud between the Pirates and Ninjas has never ended since then. Few know the truth of their animosity—hundreds of reasons exist to which each side claims to be the cause of their warring—but all anger can be traced back to this one event alone.”
By now, Wolf had wiped his face free of tears and was intently listening.
“No matter how much—or how little, as it turned out to be—the guilds spoke rationally with one another, their conflicting ends led to a single means: that of war. The parties converged upon a battleplane, bloodshed ferocious and unmerciful. The Pirates, seeking fervently the gem and willing to do anything to retrieve it, swarmed the land and fought unified for the only time in all of their history. And yet, they did not win.”
“Then the Mages did?” It had to have been the Mages—the Ninjas sought to destroy it, but if it was still a threat today, they had lost—unless the Knights had won it, thus claiming their own downfall.
“No,” Naft Ali said, “the Mages did not win it, nor did the Knights, and most certainly not the Ninjas. Instead, as the Kougra himself descended into battle to destroy the legions who had risen against him, the demon called Ler stuck again and a plume of white light enveloped the battleplane. When it subsided, the warring armies, the Kougra, and even the gem itself were all gone.”
Wolf shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
Naft Ali nodded. “It is easy not to, and for many years, no one at all knew why the demon had taken all of them. However, as word in the underworld spread of what had happened, noble demonologists of the Winter—of the kingdom of Dunburrow reported why Ler had done such: In his study, he had learned that the power of the gem was proportionately related to the souls trapped inside it, so to emblazon the stone with infinite power, he seeded a war and then stole those who fought it. The warring armies, no doubt, live on inside the gem, no side ever able to win over the others. The king of the day was pleased with his demonologists’ work, and aiming to keep this valuable information to himself, he ordered the slaughter of every demonologist in Dunburrow. Up until the day you took reign and let this doctrine fall by the wayside, it has been ruthlessly upheld.”
Wolf’s jaw was trembling. The slaughter of every demonologist in Dunburrow? Kit was a demonologist—how long had he fought to survive? Was this…was this why he had turned against the kingdom, because of everything it had done in the past? But it did not matter anymore: Something inside him reminded him that Kit was dead. Yet, knowing he had not betrayed Wolf, knowing instead that he had betrayed the Dunburrow that once had been and was no longer, somehow comforted Wolf in his mourning.
Naft Ali’s eyes met his and asked permission to speak. He nodded.
“The demon, however, had made one dire miscalculation: The more souls in which the gem held, the more unstable it became, and the more unstable it became, the harder it was to control and the more unpredictable its actions were. To remedy this, he split the stone in two, one of the warring armies and one of the philosophers from centuries before, and in doing this, he discovered the second miscalculation he had made: Whenever the stone was broken, the souls inside it could escape. In fact, if not for this, the founding members of the Invisible Guild that walks our world today would still be bound inside the gem. For all our sakes, I could only have wished that that were the case.
“You see, my king, the demon Ler hid the second gem—that of the endless warring, for it was more volatile and quite nearly unusable, it was so unstable—and kept the calmed gem for himself. In time, it is said, this jewel became so infused with his own power that it turned as red as blood. But whether or not that stands to be true does not matter; what is true and does matter is this: The Invisible Guild knew precisely where Ler had hidden the gem, and they stole it, thus bringing to us the Invisible Guild’s present plot of destroying the other guilds in revenge for its members being outcast and forgotten. This all began when they forced Spacefleet into the open by placing the gem in their hands. But all of this I told you before, King Wolf, everything from Kat’s taking the gem to Kit’s proposition and, of course, his untimely death….”
Naft Ali paused, and when it was certain Wolf would not react as he had before, she let out her breath and continued. “You see, my King, the fate of the world rests upon your destroying this gem. Rather,” she stood up and helped Wolf to his feet, “rather, that is, upon your proper destruction of the gem. If done incorrectly, every soul inside the gem could be released upon the world.”
Wolf narrowed his eyes. “But isn’t that what we want, to free them?”
“No.” Naft Ali slowly shook her head, eyes as grave as ever. “The souls inside the gem are no longer human. They are monsters, war machines fighting for centuries on end. War and fighting is all they know. They must be destroyed with the gem, never allowed to be set free.”
Wolf swallowed uneasily, but nodded. He had trusted Naft Ali thus far, and not even once this entire time had she sounded any more serious than she had sounded just now.
“Good,” Naft Ali said again, “then you must take this.” She withdrew a folded piece of parchment from her pocket, and when she handed it to Wolf, he began to unfold it. “Do not read it,” she said, “until you are ready to destroy the gem. It is too precious to keep otherwise. Store it safely, and when the time comes, you will know.”
Wolf nodded and slid the parchment into one of his own pockets. “If that is all,” he said quietly, “then I should leave.”
Naft Ali’s lips curled slightly to the side. “No, there is one last thing. A letter. One sent magically. The barrier surrounding the Keep kept it from getting here, but I took it to hand deliver it.” Pulling her hand from her pocket once more, she handed a tattered piece of paper to the king.
He took it, and felt his blood run thick a moment as he stared at his name, finely printed on the paper. No one in this land should know his whole name, and yet…did this mean…? No, it had been sent magically, like Naft Ali had said. This was only the workings of a spell.
He finally unfolded the letter, and his heart sunk. The paper was blank inside, merely torn and cut in every direction. He feared now the slightest move of his fingers would be enough to tear it apart. And yet, as he stared at it, the missing bits of paper seemed to line up in his mind, seemed almost to form letters….
“Come,” he said and rushed into a nearby room. “Draw the curtains, grab a lantern, shut the door.”
“But what are you…?”
“Just do it.” Wolf nodded and walked up to a large table where he began flattening out the letter as gently as he could. A moment later, the only light in the room was that of the torch in Naft Ali’s hand.
“Hold it high,” Wolf instructed, “and be careful not to let it drop.” As she lifted the torch far above them, he held up the paper and pulled the edges taut: Before them, the letters fell upon the table in firelight. Wolf quickly read them, grinning at such an elaborate scheme just to enlist his aid in this battle, in this war. He folded the paper and pocketed it as well, deciding that if he should find this magician named Ethan, he would have to hand him the letter to ensure that it had come from him and no one else.
In the meantime, however, he walked back to the entryway and turned to face Naft Ali. “What are your plans after I leave?”
Naft Ali shrugged. “I may stay here a while, I may choose to leave sooner. I cannot honestly be idle, though, lest the nothingness may consume me and I become as Invisible as my brethren…. If such becomes of us, I may never find my sister again.”
Wolf felt his head sink only slightly. “How…how am I supposed to save your sister?”
Naft Ali smiled wistfully. “With the gem properly destroyed, the Invisible Guild should lose the power that’s allowing them to remain unseen and hidden. Then, I should be able to find them and liberate my sister. Countless others may still find themselves entangled in the nothingness they have created in our world, but if I can save at least one of them, my life will be able to end in peace.”
Wolf smiled and placed his hand on Naft Ali’s shoulder. “I wish you the best of fortune in finding your sister. Will we meet again?”
Naft Ali smiled as well. “No, I am afraid we will not.” She sighed and then shook the solemnity away. “I thank you for your blessing, King Wolf, and I pray only for your wellbeing and success. If I learn anything more, I will ensure that word reaches you.”
Wolf nodded once more and took his hand from her shoulder. “Thank you…for believing in me, and helping me.”
Naft Ali smiled but said nothing as she drew open the doors; outside, the snow had stopped falling, yet the purple—and in some places, now green—storm clouds still seemed prosperous and dense upon the horizon, as if the storm were slowly spreading itself across the entire earth.
Wolf looked once more to Naft Ali and then made to stop outside, but he paused, observing the strange look that had fallen upon the woman’s face.
“I brought you your horse,” she said, “she should be grazing nearby. She has beautiful wings.”
Wings? Wolf laughed. “My horse doesn’t have wings.”
Naft Ali shrugged. “Then mazel tov, my king.” And with that, she swung the door shut behind him.(And the next time I post here, I'll be active again! ...I hope.) FrazeZari, though methods Fraze neither understood nor tried to understand, tried to make contact with some of the warriors. After some time, she landed and spoke. "Some headcase called Leraye who's actually a demon trapped these crazy a-fightin' nutjobs in a gem, an' now they're baying for his head to be removed forcibly from th' rest of him, and he's got another of the beasties with him. So. What's the plan, Fraze?"Fraze blinked slightly, as Zari seemed to give the entire speech without stopping for breath. Another gem? "All right. This is gonna sound crazy--" he paused, realizing that everything that had happened these past few days had been crazy, "--but I think this other gem may be affecting my flechette gun. It's been acting weird ever since I got it out of that bag with the first gem. It started buzzing and glowing sometimes, especially when the gem broke. It stopped for a while, but it's doing it again now. It seems to act up when the gem is being used, or when someone is using it." He thought of the Commander flinging rocks everywhere, but didn't say anything. "Can you find out where this Leraye is? I think at least one of us should try to find him. If he trapped the armies, he may be able to stop them. Also, we should assume that our primary mission is still to contact the demons." PFA((near Weewoo))The ninja wasn't exactly sure what Bluisa was doing, but when PFA was commanded to swim away, she promptly obeyed. She dove into the water, coughed and sputtered for a moment, then looked around for Uncle. She decided she'd swim toward him; since she was trying to swim away anyway, it only made sense that she'd do something useful and help him while she was at it. "Uncle!" she called, when she started getting close. She was pretty sure that all the shouting from the gem armies would've drowned out her voice to the people on the Weewoo, but she wasn't sure they wouldn't also drown it out to Uncle. Hopefully his cat ears would help. --- ((gem army crowd))For a while, the mercenaries managed to push past the crowd pretty much unnoticed, but one particularly angry ninja did not appreciate the stranger that was Jernath trying to shove past him. "Stay away, stranger!" the ninja shouted, swinging his katana at Jernath. Jernath instinctively pulled out his daggers, using one to block the katana and the other to stab at the ninja's shoulder. The ninja, not being as good a fighter as one would expect from one so brave, crumpled to the ground in pain, clutching his injured shoulder. Unfortunately for Jernath, while his retaliation got the ninja out of the way, it had also attracted the attention of the armies nearby. It didn't matter to the armies who was fighting, all that mattered was that they noticed a fight, and since they had been itching for a fight for so long, they decided they would join it. And so Jernath now had a pirate, a knight, and another ninja charging at him all at once, while several others of the armies burst into fights amongst themselves. "Drat," Jernath grimaced, stabbing at the pirate and trying to back away from the other two. They didn't have time for this; they needed to find Spacefleet. ((...hey, we mercs needed something to do, besides just 'trying to find Spacefleet.' >_> ) VytCat Assassin looked at PFA who had just plunged into the water and was now swimming towards him. For some reason, he envied his own niece for her ability to swim, but he shook the rather random thought out of his mind. "Uncle!" she shouted amidst the noise surrounding them. "What's going on?" he asked, that particular question rather rare for an observant person like him to say. "Why is Bluisa still there?" Far away, Bluisa was glad that PFA was out of the way. She could now freely use her spells without harming the ninjas. "I'll have to stop this ship, even if it means destroying it in the process!" the mage thought. " They've gone so far, I can't let their effort go to waste!"
Heed my call, Nature my mother Spike against my enemy, no more than smoother Place your wrath on them like no other!Huge spikes blasted their way through the sea bed and way upward, making a formidable wall to block the ship's path. The spell would've exhausted Bluisa much had PFA not lent her power to regain her strength. "You're not getting away this time."Cat Assassin looked at Bluisa's rock spikes with utmost surprise. He had never seen the mage cast such a powerful spell, and he had already seen her shadow cage back when they were on the ship. She was becoming more like Subila, minus the angst and malice. Bacon"Can you find out where this Leraye is? I think at least one of us should try to find him. If he trapped the armies, he may be able to stop them. Also, we should assume that our primary mission is still to contact the demons.""Why? So we can explore the inside of a gem for a couple millenia until another phoenix rescues us?" Bacon scoffed, "I think we should just stay out of their way and avoid this Lair-ay-yee guy at all costs.” PFA((near Weewoo))"What's going on? Why is Bluisa still there?""I... think she's trying to stop the ship or something!" PFA responded, turning around just in time to see a wall of spikes rise from the sea and attempt to block the ship's path. Did Bluisa do that...?Before she could see the outcome of Bluisa's spike wall, she turned once again to Uncle. "So are we still going to try and board the Weewoo? I don't know about you, but I think it's going to get ugly here in a moment..." Rider“GYARG! Breaksbreaksbreaksbreaks, where are the breaks on this ship!"Ventratta rolled his eyes as if to say, "I swear, at one point, you used to be cap'n." She patted the side of the ship. "C'mon, c'mon, you know what to do." The mist shunted to the side of the ship, cushioning its impact on the rocks. "Good, now get us out of here!" The mist evened out between the two sides and took on the appearance of great feathery wings. the mist left the deck clear as day. With an almightly whump, the ship rose abour two yards in the air. The Kite saw his chance to get Leraye, as commanded. In the blink of an eye, he was in his raptor form and in the crow's nest of the Weewoo. He drew his bow a second time, aiming for Leraye's heart. The head of a cap'n and the heart of a demon. That's what his leige lady had requested. A head and a heart. He let the arrow fly. Meanwhile, Shiva scrolled up and down the wall of text that Wolf had written and managed to get out of it: "Sora's not in the barn right now, leave a message after the tone. Beep." He sighed and raced off towards the sea. that would be the direction that Rider would be in. He took a jagged route, flying too fast for the gem-people to leave anything worse than scratches. He reached the cliffside and jumped onto the deck of the Golden Mast, where war was breaking out. Wounds left to fester became wounds imparted on others. "Oh freakin'... wrong ship!" Cyborg( I hope there's no problem with me controlling some gem army peoplez.) " Nice Jernath, I thoght it was Cyborg that always had to start fights." Midknight said jokingly as he and Cyborg jumped down from their hiding spots. " Shado, you and the squirrels stay there." " Hey I don't always start the fights, ... ok well I do, but at least I finish them." Cyborg replied. The pirate ran at Cyborg, " You want a fight mate? Well ya got one." the pirates said as he swung his cutlass at Cyborg's ribs. Meanwhile, the knight grabbed his sword and slashed at Midknight's legs. " This will be too easy." Cyborg laughed as he parried the sword and slashed at both of the pirates arms. The slashes hit as the pirates shirt was stained red with blood. The pirate fell to the ground clutching his injured arms. Midknight dodged the attack and sent a shadow ball at the knight, who was knocked off of his feet and sent flying into a tree, knocking him unconcious. This grabbed the attention of a mage. She ran at Jernath. Her emerald robes flowing in the wind as she ran. She grabbed her double ended spear and slashed at the archer, then sent a branch flying at them with a little telekinesis. HuntressHunty's knuckles were white again, gripping the wheel. Sailing a ship was easy once you got the hang of it. Sailing a ship that had a mass of mist and the ability to trim its sails whenever it deemed necessary was like driving a car on ice. You more or less knew what to expect and you had most of the control but you still couldn't tell what could happen the next minute and where you might end up as a result. "Well, that was bloody stupid," she muttered, spinning the wheel. It remained unclear what she meant. Maybe Bluisa's spell. Maybe Rider's commands. Maybe the ship's reaction. Maybe all of the above. She herself wasn't sure, but she knew that the result was bloody stupid either way. "And Cap'n, I'm good for your next command. I can start shooting fireballs, just say the word!" Kat said. "Word," Hunty grunted, gnawing her lip. "All the words you wish. Just get me the head of whoever's messing around out there... and kill everyone who nears the ship while you're at it. That's an order. And you, shoebox, get down!" The ship, somewhat confused about its orders, since according to its logic it still had two captains on board, obeyed. The wings wrapped up, discovered the Kite, flung him straight across the sky, and then spent a hectic minute trimming the sails. Hunty's lower lip was bleeding now. She had no time to keep an eye on Leraye for the time being, she had no clue whether the demon was hit and whether the injury was bad and whether Sev could heal demons. But she knew that out of everyone on board, they had to protect Leraye. He was their only real protection, their safety belt. Sure, if he died, the army would be happy - as soon as she comes up with a good explanation for their escape - but then they'd still be at the army's mercy. Not to mention a good explanation was now unlikely. They were way too deeply in it already. And if Leraye died now, they'd be against the entire army with no gem. Crud. The ship turned sideways and straightened up again. Hunty would much rather have kept the wings and flown off, but it was obvious that besides the ancient fleet which currently consisted of a bunch of aimlessly drifting ships bumping into each other anyway, there was something else at large. Something swift and dangerous, and close to them. Double crud. The ship's mist had gotten back to improvising and grabbed the jagged spikes next to it. As long as it had something solid to lean on, it could generate a push, and that's what it did, like amateur skaters by the wall of a rink. Hunty eyed the cliff that stretched towards the horizon as the Golden Mast's ornate stern slid past. Perhaps they'd even have an advantage sailing like this. For the time being they had an advantage anyway, since chaos reigned on every black and green deck, especially on the big schooner's. The sailors would all have set out by then, but none of them had a single officer on board. Even the boatswains had all gone to the Mast. Nobody who had any significance had wanted to miss that. And now they were all engaged in a bitter quarrel.* In the meantime, the blarf was torn between two choices. Common sense told him to follow the ship. Instincts told him to track down the prey and have revenge, not to mention food. The ship was still well in sight, so he chose revenge and sunk under the waves, sliding away from the fleet and towards the ninjas as a big grim shadow. *Which, apparently, consisted of arguments about who's the more important leader, whether or not they should ever have trusted those bloody pirates, whether or not Rane was an insolent jackal, who had ordered the assassination attempt, whether or not they should go after the Weewoo, and an assorted number of pre-gemification issues that had spurred the war in the first place. The ancient NTWF had in fact had a Lawyers' Guild but it got wiped out as soon as people realized that settling things by fighting each other was much cheaper, didn't last as long, and was great anger management. Unfortunately - and luckily for the Weewoo's crew - it only didn't last long in the judicial sense. PFA((gem army crowd))"How was I supposed to know they'd attack?!" Jernath said in response to Midknight, stabbing the ninja while the Kougra brothers took care of the pirate and knight. The stab was enough to make the ninja back off, and promptly get jumped by a couple of random pirates who were itching for a fight. But before Jernath could calm down, a mage came running at him, swinging her staff at him. He managed to block the staff with his daggers, but wasn't as fortunate when a branch went flying toward his head, knocking him backwards and causing him to stumble a little. He regained his balance soon enough, though, and gave the mage a glare, moving into a defensive stance. "If you want to fight, then bring it on," he taunted. VytBluisa hissed as the ship took off above the cliff. "Why won't they stay put?!" she gasped, completely angry at the mist that was enveloping the entire ship. For so many times, it had single-handedly saved the ship from harm without any help from the people inside it. Wait. So it's the mist that was doing all the work. If someone could think of an idea to somehow remove the mist, the flying bump-proof ship would be degraded to... well, just another ship. Her breeze still holding her up, Bluisa moved away from the ship and flew towards Cat Assassin and PFA. She then started to grab hold of their arms to pull them up back above the breeze. "It's the mist! It's the only thing making the ship invulnerable," Bluisa noted the two. "If only we can put the mist away..." Cat Assassin stared at the ship flying away for a short moment. "... I've seen the mist sacrifice a part of itself to form my own prison cell inside the ship," he told them. "... If my assumptions are correct, it'll replace whatever the captain wishes to make inside the ship with its own." His eyes then widened in discovery. "That means, we'll have to damage the ship long enough for the mist to eventually cease to exist," he concluded. The feline turned towards PFA. "We need Vyt's shuriken back. Summon it and target the ship itself." He began to show a smile on his face. "The ship's a large moving object... It'll be the main priority of the shuriken." As Bluisa finished placing the two back in her breeze, she ordered the wind to take off. In a matter of seconds, they were near the ship once more. "I'll keep firing with my spells," she suggested. "Do whatever you need to do... Probably we can confuse the mist off." Cat Assassin let out a small grin on a side of his mouth. "Great idea," he commented. With that, Bluisa aimed her staff towards the hull of the ship and began firing a barrage of shadow fireballs. PFA((near Weewoo))PFA gave her Uncle a firm nod, and promptly reached her arm out to the side, being sure she wasn't holding it too close to Uncle or Bluisa. And then she started summoning the shuriken for the third (fourth?) time that day. Soon enough, the clump of mist on the deck of the Weewoo no longer had a shuriken in the middle. The shuriken was now in PFA's hands, getting ready to be thrown. And with some quick aiming and a sharp throw, the shuriken was whirling its way toward the Weewoo's hull.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 16:54:50 GMT -5
Smithy((*coughcough* Newcomer approaching...)) Clip clop...clip clop.The sound of horse hooves echoed as a black and white horse walked up a smoothly worn road. On his back was a tall girl, looking forward at the Manor looming ahead. Perched on her shoulder was a Whoot. Upon reaching the large front gate, Smithy held up her right hand, and pointed her finger at the gate. A thin but accurate stream of dark magic hit it, letting off a loud 'BONG". Smithy leaned forward and stroked Qamr. "I can't believe we finally arrived. I just hope that there's someone here." Cyborg( Umm just so you guys know it's not a staff which I know seems unusual for a mage, but it's one of those double ended spears. It looks like this : www.911buycostume.com/Pages/Armor/15004.jpg The only differences are it's bar is longer ,the ends are a bit larger as well and it's not fake it's made of adamantium. Wolverine LOL) " Ok I will accept your challenge." the mage stated as she sent some rocks and boulders flying at Jernath as well as a large tree branch. " Dodge that." she said with a grin, as she swung her spear at the girl merc this time. KatAsthielle sighed. She was in a crowd of people who didn't seem to hear her call to chase after Kalianne Triss and instead, seemed to drag her along for the ride. Then again, what did you expect from a bunch who have been locked up in a gem for a while? "Where are we going?" she asked, prodding a pirate in the back. He turned around, raised his bushy eyebrows, and shrugged. But before Asthielle could vent her anger or attempt to wheedle information out of everyone else, she felt magic in the air. Someone was casting a spell - an earth spell, to be exact. There was a mage sending boulders and a branch at someone. I know this is none of my business, but I'll need all the allies I can get if I want to find that girl. Whoever he is, he will owe me, and at the very least, he can tell me where Kalianne is.Still concealed by the crowd, she pointed up at the sky and created a swirling tornado that swept everything away from the mage's target. Crackling with yellow lightning, it spat the rocks out into the sea, the tree branch not too far behind. * * * "Right, Cap'n," said Kat, running over to the side of the ship and looking around. She thought she saw something move from the corner of her eye, and shifted her position to get a good look. "The Return of the Shuriken. That would be one interesting movie title if it wasn't going to blow a hole in our ship." Raising her staff, she created a gust of wind that blew downward, intercepting the shuriken and whisking it off course. "Look, can you sink another ship instead?" VytVyt's shuriken began to take off, only to be deflected back away by someone from the deck. Cat Assassin was able to notice the shuriken's change of direction and quickly turned towards Bluisa. "Get me near the shuriken, now!" he ordered. The mage quickly nodded and momentarily stopped attacking the ship to move her breeze right below the shuriken. She watched in awe as the cat jumped right towards it and gave it a swift kick to redirect it back towards the ship. "... We'll have to separate. Bluisa and PFA, go back to attacking the ship. I'll play this soccer game with Vyt's shuriken." With a quick nod, Bluisa waved her hand and splitted the breeze for the three of them, each being controlled by the passenger's line of thought. Cat Assassin stood by as she went on to continue her barrage of fireballs. PFA((gem army crowd))"Dodge that," the mage taunted as she sent some boulders and a branch at Jernath. But as it turned out, he didn't have to, as a tornado from somewhere grabbed the boulders and branch from midair and dumped them into the ocean. Jernath blinked in confusion. Who did that? And why are they helping me?But regardless of where the tornado came from, it still had gotten rid of the boulders and branch for him. Taking advantage of this fact, he charged at the weird mage girl with the double-ended spear, attempting to give her a dagger in each shoulder. --- ((near Weewoo))Bluisa split the group up, giving them each their own little breeze bubble. Before doing anything else, PFA practiced moving the breeze around with her thoughts, amazed at how easy it was. This is SO cool, she couldn't help but think. Once she had gotten the hang of it, she remembered what Uncle said. To attack the ship. Well, she didn't know of any decent offensive spells that she had (besides that beam thing, but she still had yet to actually pull that one off), so this was a bit of a tall order. But she was going to do it anyway. PFA pulled out her katana--mentally noting that this one seemed to be a bit lighter than she was used to--and looked up at the Weewoo. This probably was far from the best of methods, but it would have to do. She flew toward the ship at full speed, and attempted to drive her katana into its hull. If nothing else, it would at least be a bit of a distraction. Celestial(( Oh wow, I haven't posted here in a while. Sorry! ^_^ ) Celestial swayed from side to side with the ship, finally getting her wits back. Even after so long, her mind and body weren't used to discharing power so quickly especially with dragon minds. She knew full well she should be dead. I guess I wasn't ready for it she grinned. At least her power was coming back as the pain drifted away. Besides, Celestial never lost her wings. She looked at the ships closing in all around the Weewoo. She couldn't stop the feeling of helplessness that overcame her. She was close, Overlord could feel it. A glorious feeling of joy overcame him: she was back. He swooped down from the rigging where he hid throughout the whole fiasco. It was good that she was finally here.Celestial felt the little bird flop onto her shoulder. She smiled and reached out a hand to stroke his silky feathers. At least she was not alone. Sitting down in a corner, she hid until her power came back. Without it, she was useless. CyborgCyborg saw the girl mage " she's strong, I suggest we not attack, Midknight you talk to her, but all stay on the defensive, just incase." he said as he created a wall of rock between Jernath and the mage. Then destroyed it. He also did the same between Rose and the spear. Midknight walked over to the mage casually. " So who are you and why are you attacking us?" he asked. " I am a telekinetic mage, named Esmeralda Escarlatta, I am from Spain, and I am attacking because your pretty boy archer over there attacked someone in my army. " the mage replied. RoseRose was shocked for a moment, out of nowhere this mage girl comes and attacks her. Of course she understood the whole reason for the fight, but she was simply following behind Jernath when this occurred. Once Rose saw the girl she seemed like a high ranked mage, Rose was really impressed the mage girl seemed normal enough. "You must be very strong if you're a part of this army!" Rose said friendly as she walked closer, very intrigued by the mage girl. Cyborg( My, my my Esmeralda can be very flirty.) " Oh god ya, you have to be strong, only the strong survive. I don't want to harm anyone," Esmeralda stated," I hate having to beat up guys, cause after they say they let you win, stupid isn't it." she added with a laugh to Rose. " But anyways I have been trying to leave this army. " I have to tell you, Midknight, Jernath and I admit when we've been beat by women, they are just as dangerous as the men, sometimes more so, right Rose" Cyborg said with a smirk to his friend who had held her own against many strong male foes. " Well I don't know about Cyborg, Jernath and Rose, but if you want you could join us mercenaries, that's up to you though." Midknight added. "I say ya, she seems kinda friendly, and very powerful and dangerous, I like her already." Cyborg stated. Meanwhile the squirrels and Shado jumped down from their hiding spots. " We say yes, yes, yes." the squirrels chirped in unison. Shado walked over to Esmeralda and began to nuzzle her hand, she seemed very nice. Of course Rose was still his favourite. " I see Shado likes you." Midknight said with a smirk. " Well I accept if the cute archer over there says yes." Esmeralda said as her face flushed bright red, redder than her hair. " Oh I'd like to introduce my friend Gryff." she added as a reddish orange, lion sized griffin landed next to her. " Pleasure to meet you all." Gryff said politely his feathers shining brilliantly in the sun. " More talking animals, ..... great." Cyborg said jokingly. PFA((gem army crowd))Jernath was about to protest when Cyborg put the wall between him and the mage, but reluctantly stood down when the Kougras began talking. Again. So apparently the mage's name was Esmeralda Escarlatta, and that Jernath— Did she just call me a 'pretty boy'? Jernath thought silently--attacked someone from her army. And she was apparently a strong telekinetic mage. Well, since Jernath was the one that got hit in the face with the branch, he could attest to that. "Well, I don't know about Cyborg, Jernath and Rose, but if you want, you could join us mercenaries; that's up to you though," Midknight said to Esmeralda. "Well, I accept, if the cute archer over there says yes," Esmeralda said, her face turning bright red. Jernath blinked, cast a glance at Rose, and then looked back at Esmeralda. What was it with women and blushing over him lately? "Um, sure, I guess you can come with us if you want to," Jernath said after a while. "Though if you want to actually join the mercenaries, we'd have to talk to Elycien... she's the one in charge of that kind of stuff. ZariZari's jaw dropped. "You think it's crazy when your flechette gun has gone bonkers? You should trying rolling out of bed and finding your sleeping surface is bloody, becasue it's your birthday and your wings have arrived by spine-and-pain-mail, then you get scratched by the brainchild of 50 years of practically nonstop work, then Two millenia on you get scratched again by said brainchild's biological cub, immediately followed by Someone trying to recruit you for a job that sounds pretty lazy, until you get sent on a suicide mission or five. That's only in the Three-and-a-bit Millienia between ten-and-and-half and fourteen, and normal. Not completely freaky as the last two or so days have been." Suprisingly, she didn't sound too hystercial. Just slight sarcastic and more than a little amused. After some thought, she replied to Bacon's staement."Bacon, that's probably the best course of action, but for the sake of the roleplay I think another suicide mission is in order." Zari said, smiling grimly. She'd expected Spacefleet to be more exciting than Illhvren, but not this crazy. At least here she was paid to faff around in a lab creating clone food. ((xDDDDDD The women are throwing themselves at poor Jernath. Quick, kiddo, pick one and run! Before you ask, Zari's definition of Normal involves getting attacked by a toaster and flying telephone directories as the more mundane features. Poor fourth wall. We abuse it so. *gives the fourth wall a hug*)) Kat“Oh, great," sighed Kat, as the shuriken whizzed back towards their ship. "Nothing like getting the job undone." She created a stronger burst of wind that would blow it right into the next ship that was unlucky enough to be that close - hopefully. At first, she thought that it would be the end of her job and that she could maybe sit down and have a cup of tea. Of course, when there was a war, there was almost no time for tea. There was, however, time to knock flying ninjas out of the air, which Kat proceeded to do with several purple fireballs. "A little help here, guys?" SmithyAfter waiting for about 5 minutes, Smithy frowned, and losing her short patience, flung the Manor doors open wide, and marched into the grounds. She looked around suspiciously. "Where is everyone?" The place seemed deserted. Dismounting, Smithy tied Qamr loosely to an iron ring, and walked indoors. There was no one there. Striding through the halls, Smithy searched and searched, to no avail. Finally she went to the library. "If I remember correctly, there was some kind of Mage recordings in here. I just hope that they left something about where they were going, eh, Archimedes?" Her Whoot nodded in response. Finding the huge book on a podium, Smithy flipped it open, and silently began reading. There has been much trouble...we are heading towards the gem army today.Shutting it, Smithy went straight out of the Manor again. Untying Qamr, she grumbled, "What was the point of coming all the way here then? They'll only be a short way away, hopefully, the mages move slowly when they're not thinking straight." Cyborg" Basically you officially unofficially joined." Cyborg said with a smirk. " Umm just so you know, we are looking for some allies. Umm they look somewhat like walking toasters, have you seen any?" " Yay I joined, that means I get to spend more time with you!" Esmeralda said fangirlishly as she went over and bear hugged Jernath. " I think so, the army and I attacked some, but I think they would have left where the battle was." she added in a normal tone letting go of Jernath. " Hey where ever you are get your toaster butts over here Fleet!" Cyborg yelled jokingly. PFA((near Weewoo))Before PFA could get to the Weewoo, there were purple fireballs flying at her. She tried to dodge them, but was still hit a couple times, as she couldn't quite dodge fast enough. Realizing this wasn't exactly going very well, PFA took one hand off her katana and used it to pull out a kunai, which she threw in Kat's general direction. Though, seeing as these kunai were a little different in weight than the ones she was used to, the throw was a little weak. PFA just hoped it was a good enough throw that it would reach Kat, or at least get close. --- ((gem army crowd))"Yay, I joined, that means I get to spend more time with you!" Esmeralda grinned as she ran up and glomped Jernath. Jernath couldn't think of a proper reaction, and thus just stood there in shock, his face warming up again. "Yeah, um, we'd better go find Spacefleet," Jernath said after Esmeralda let him go. To Esmeralda, he added, "And the name's Jernath, by the way, in case you didn't know by now." And then he started looking around, trying to see if he could find Spacefleet. Though in actuality, he had other things on his mind. Namely, that if this mage girl was going to be joining the mercenaries, things would start getting a lot more interesting for him at the Merc. HQ... VytCat Assassin looked at the fireballs blazing towards him. Easily, he dodged them all, what with having nothing to do but stand by and all. However, his attention was still focused on the shuriken, which was now going towards the wrong direction. His melee range would not let him repeat the same kick that would direct it back. "Shoot!" he exclaimed. Cat Assassin began to shake his arms, seemingly trying to remove something from his sleeves. It revealed a kunai with a rope attached to it from each arm. Letting the kunai loose, he swung them towards the shuriken. With good accuracy, he was able to hit the blades, causing it to spin around, albeit in a dangerous way. Nevertheless, the weapon itself had started to "think" why it had been disturbed, and remained in mid-air in an instant. "PFA, throw the shuriken again!" he exclaimed. Too caught up with her attack, Bluisa failed to notice the fireballs aimed at her. One whizzed near her shoulder, and in a matter of seconds her cloak went on fire. Panicking, the mage proceeded to take the clothing that was covering most of her off whilst trying her best to avoid the remaining fireballs. Without the cloak, Bluisa looked quite like Subila, donning a red long-sleeved shirt and gray shorts. "Clueless mage, do you even know why you are fighting?" Bluisa shouted. Still, her passive personality would not let her hurt anyone else without any good reason. She simply moved to the other side of the ship and continued her barrage of fireballs. Without the mist to help it, the ship was on fire. Huntress...except the mist was there to help it, for the simple reason that it covers the entire ship, or actually the black casing of the ship. "Yeah, do continue," Hunty muttered to herself, the fervent grip on the wheel now loosening a little. She wasn't particularly worried. If the mist had been able to redirect Asthielle's lightning bolts, fire wasn't much of a question. She straightened her back, looking around. The wind was still blowing from the coast but as long as the ship could use the mist to pull itself forward, sailing wasn't an issue. As it was now, the line of jagged rocks stood parallel with the cliff that created the coast. The ancient fleet was already left behind a good two miles, though when she looked back, she noticed some of the ships setting sail and displaying general signs of orderliness. Mainly the multisided, weird-looking ones. "Mage ships," Bloody Mary said gruffly. "Mages never were that dependent on leaders, you know that." "Yeah, was expecting that. What're those ninjas doing?" "Taking advantage of their alliance, not gonna say whose fault that is," the meepit said gruffly, jumping on the railing and patrolling down it. At that point Bluisa's fireballs hit the deck. The mist thickened around the flames and suffocated them, then spread out again. Hunty raised an eyebrow, too busy with steering and keeping an eye on the wind to even be surprised. "I'd have thought that she won't let a single flame through after this fire yesterday." Yesterday... that seemed like centuries ago. And when was the last time she ate anything? "S'what I'm saying." Bloody Mary had stopped on the railing and was leaning forward, trying to keep an eye on everything at once. "Ninjas are allies. She's not stopping their attacks - stupid nutshell," he added, whacking a nearby line. "She's healing any damage but isn't preventing it." The captain craned her neck. "Isn't that the mage-girl whom the ship spat out? Why'd her attacks be considered as ally fire?" "Your ship, not mine, don't ask me how she thinks," the meepit grunted. "Where's the map?" Hunty was keeping an eye on the map anyway. It was spread out on the helm in front of her, weights on each corner. Bloody Mary jumped on it and sat down on Dunburrow. "Ssso," he said. "You're planning to sail along the border of the country until this archipelago here, turn north there, pass the Rocky Gates, and hope to shake off anyone that follows along the way?" "Yep." The captain wasn't entirely sure how far the archipelago was. This frantic escape left little room to actual navigating. "You might wanna rely more on speed and less on tactics here," said the meepit. "Why?" "Look aft." Hunty looked, and swore. The mage ships still weren't ready to leave - actually they operated largely on magic and after a milennium of slumber it was incredibly hard to get them working again - but there was one ship that had by now left the general cluster and was turning to chase them. A black ship with light grey sails, the kind of sails that once started out as black but then, due to forces of nature, bleached over time. Ninjas. "And then they wonder why pirates hate ninjas," Hunty hissed, casting a quick look around, then turning back to look at the ship. "Wait - wasn't that a clipper?" It was. One of the fastest ships ever invented ((in the 19th century, but shush)), with great maneuvering, a low sleek hull, and huge sail plan. Good for stealth and speed. Good pirate ships. "Now that's what I call sacrilege," Bloody Mary remarked as Hunty gnawed on her lip, thinking fast. "Hoist all sails," she then barked. "Get her on- eh, get on starboard tack, and see if you can use any of the mist to get extra sails. We need all the speed we can get. Guys!" This was directed at the crew. Having a self-relient ship was getting increasingly more convenient. "Try to parry as many attacks as you can. Focus on defence rather than offence." "Worried about the mist?" the meepit asked. "Not really, but the less it has to do on the ship, the more use it'll be as extra sails." The Weewoo now looked like an overloaded donkey with black sails not only above deck but also on either side. And still she wasn't sure how much that'd help. Brigantines don't outrun clippers. But then again, maybe they didn't have to. Cyborg( I LOVE having such a flirtatious character, it's interesting. LOL Jernath keep it PG though, young man.) "I suggest we just look in the forest without any gem jerks attacking, no offense Esmeralda." Cyborg added at the end quickly. "None taken and just call me Esme" Esme replied with a smile. " I agree with that plan, though I don't really know the walking, talking toasters, or their toaster butts." she added jokingly. " Hahaha, Miss Smarty Pants aren't we?" Cyborg said rhetorically. " Yes we are." she joked back. " Hey Jernath , get over here cutey, I need a big strong man to protect me." she added flirtatiously as she walked over to Jernath. " Hey can you two stop flirting for like two seconds please." Midknight said. " And strong, why are you asking Jernath then?" he added jokingly. Omni((Mass of Gemarians)) Omni managed to cast a spell that created two small water spheres, one at the base of each ear, acting as very effective ear plugs, and work on the vines again. She continued making a path in the crowd with the vines, this time also making the outsides of the vines harden into rocky shell-like things (albeit fairly thin ones). It split her concentration, but she figured it should help to keep the path clear. She made a gesture with her tail for Drakhé to follow. She really didn't pay any attention to who she knocked around. --- ((Zari's ship)) "Hey Fraze, maybe you could take a quick look from above, looking for particularly interesting things? …Although it would probably help if Zari could find this Leraye guy beforehand, save us some time. PFA((near Weewoo))"PFA, throw the shuriken again!"PFA didn't get a chance to see whether or not her kunai had hit its intended target when she heard that cry from Uncle. She looked over at the weapon, which was currently suspended in midair, trying to decide what to do. She quickly dashed over to the shuriken before it could make up its mind. "Yon-po hiden!" she called out when she got close, just to make sure it wouldn't attack her. The shuriken started falling toward the sea, but PFA caught it before it could fall in. And then she heaved the shuriken, throwing it toward the Weewoo once again. And suddenly she was reminded of those dark guys in the Zelda games, where you deflect their attacks back and forth until it hits someone. Those things were awesome.--- ((well Cyborg, this is rated T... >_> *slap'd* ...Srslytho, I wasn't trying to imply anything dirty. XDDD; ) ((gem army crowd))"Hey Jernath, get over here, cutey, I need a big strong man to protect me," Esme said, walking over to Jernath. "Um," was Jernath's reply. He didn't really know how to react to this new girl's... friendliness. It was really... different. "Hey, can you two stop flirting for like two seconds, please?" Midknight asked. Jernath made a silent gesture to the Kougra as an attempt of saying ' she's the one doing all the flirting!' but he didn't know how well it came across. " And strong, why are you asking Jernath then?" Midknight added jokingly. "Hey!" Jernath gave the Kougra a glare, and was about to continue, when suddenly some vines shoved their way through the crowd, putting the Kougra brothers and Rose on one side of the vines... ...And Esme and Jernath on the other. UM, was Jernath's only thought. CelestialLeste sailed across the spirit sea, heavy with loot from the latest raid. Those merchants didn't stand a chance. However, she felt as if something was missing, some part of her longed for something she didn't understand. The pirate sighed. That mercenary she fought haunted her dreams even though she swore she had no feelings for him. Curiousity drove her on to see if he was alright at least.
She dropped her cargo off at the nearest pirate port. Silently, she willed herself back to the mortal world. Closing her eyes, she imagined the mercenary boy's face as clearly as if he stood before her
Leste opened her eyes to the chaos. There was the mercenary but some mage was all around him. The pirate drew her cutlass out of rage she did not understand. One part of her didn't know why she raged but the other, the human side, knew exactly why.
She loved him.
Of course, such a notion was too much for a free-sprited pirate to consider but what if...nevertheless, she would do him a favour anyway by chasing away all the "fangirls". Being a ghost had it's perks.
Her cutlass was semi-solid thankfully but she could make it unseen. Without warning, she slammed the flat part right into the mage girl's cheek.((The Weewoo, somewhere near PFA))Purple fireballs streaked past Celestial. She turned around to see Kat shooting them at something, something on the hull. While she had no magic, Celestial's wings were strong. Plus she could always try turning into a dragon since that was not a magical process even though it looked like one. Ignoring the pain, Celestial climbed on the railings surrounding the ship. She could clearly see PFA climbing on. The dragon mage fell, trying to glide as much as she could. "PFA! What are you doing, turn back!" she shouted, a glimmer of hope in her heart praying that the ninja would follow her advice. Bluisa was also firing at the ship but thankfully the mist made sure the ship wasn't too badly affected. Cyborg" Oww that hurt, well take this." Esme said as she swung the flat side of her spear at where the attack had come from. Cyborg made the vines disappear he walked over to Jernath. " What's with you and the ladies? You have Rose, Esme and that creepy shadowy pirate chick like fangirling you." he asked jokingly. Shado, and the squirrels surrounded Rose, now there was another person attacking, and they didn't know how much of a fight Rose could put up right now. Midknight walked to Jernath as well. " Hey it was a joke." he smirked as he said it. Fraze((Zari's ship)) "Why? Bacon asked Fraze, sarcasm obvious in his voice. "So we can explore the inside of a gem for a couple millenia until another phoenix rescues us? I think we should just stay out of their way and avoid this Lair-ay-yee guy at all costs."Fraze did something he hardly ever does: he lost his temper. He took several quick, long strides toward Bacon, completely ready to grab him and throw him over the nearby cliff. The sensible part of his mind kicked the angered part, and he stopped. He hadn't eaten in a day and a half, and he knew from experience he got mad when hungry. He had only caught a brief nap during the flight back to Spacefleet, and hadn't slept since then. And he was still self-conscious of the fact that, somehow, it was largely his fault that Spacefleet was now known to the other guilds. "Sorry, stress," he said in regards to his previous action. "I'm not asking anyone to go with me. It might be better if I go alone." He paused, realizing that his speech was about to get a bit over-the-top, and tried to shift away from melodrama. "Something is going to happen, and soon. We probably should get reinforcements if we're going to come back here--and given that this army could easily destroy a greater part of this planet, I think we should. But at the very least, you'll need at least one person to stay behind to give updates on what's happening planetside. And if we knew where Leraye was, it'd just be killing two stoners with one bird. If we knew where--" He stopped. He now remembered overhearing something about, and possibly seeing someone named Leraye. "I think he's on the Pirates' ship. Zari, can you take us--or maybe just me--up? Cloaked, if possible. Omni((Mid-Gemarians)) Omni couldn't help but notice when some of her vines shrank back into the ground; not only did she see them disappear, she felt them retract. She noticed a change in the feel of the vines' aura as the energy she was in combination with her own using seemed to grow stronger. "Cyborg?!" she shouted, making some more vines to keep from getting swarmed and making those ones grow a stone skin as well. PFA((gem army crowd))Suddenly, Esme got smacked in the face with something invisible. And then she started trying to fight the invisible thing. Before Jernath could figure out what exactly was going on, the vines disappeared, and Cyborg came over. "What's with you and the ladies? You have Rose, Esme and that creepy shadowy pirate chick, like, fangirling you," the Kougra said with a grin. "Uhhh..." was Jernath's reply. Words came too slow to his mind for him to form a response out of them. Wait, shadowy pirate? came a thought. ... Leste? Wasn't that her name?
"Cyborg?!" came a shout, distracting Jernath from his thoughts. He glanced in the direction the shout came from, and he saw some winged Zafara, sending more vines through the crowd. Though this time, Rose was separated from the other mercenaries. "Is... that someone you know, Cyborg?" Jernath asked, gesturing to the Zafara. ZariZari blinked. "Uhm. Iono, Illhvrenans weigh about half as much as humans, but I can try to lift you all up, but I hope you don't fear heights, because if you start squirming I will drop you. Falling 40 feet is not a nice experience." she warned, before shaking out her wings and taking off. Latiere and Senali both sat- They were the two Clones with Telekinesis. Aeloan sat between them, one hand on each's shoulder. For a moment all four flickered with a russet light, flecked with yellow and green. Then the whole spacefleet group found themselves in various stages of off-the-ground. While Latiere and Senali supplied the energy, Zari concentrated on making sure her friends didn't become tree-bones- easier said than done. Then, eyes closed, she noted the eneregy Latiere and Senali were using was smaller now. The Illhvrenan opened her eyes and said, blearily, "Did I kill anyone? No-one tree bones, air-bones, telepathy-bones or carbonised bones? Good. That'd be dreaful inconvinient. Fraze, can you see this Lee-rei guy anywhere? Since my visions a bit off-f-f-fohsisterIshouldahadthateyeexammmmmm…” SmithySmithy opened the gates of Mage Manor, and decided to simply find out where one of the other mages was, and get them there through a portal. So who did she know closely? Celestial!Impatiently slamming the gates back in place, Smithy focused upon the memory of the dragon girl's face. It slowly came into focus...then the fingersmith realized just what was going on. Ignoring the pain, Celestial climbed on the railings surrounding the ship. She could clearly see PFA climbing on. The dragon mage fell, trying to glide as much as she could."Archimedes, come! She's in serious trouble! I don't know what the mages have gotten themselves into, but we've got to be there!" The Whoot perched on his owner's shoulder, and watched as she conjured up a dark portal. "There's no alternative - I have to do this." Screwing up her eyes in concentration, Smithy led Qamr through the portal... ...and landed in the midst of the battle. Vyt"PFA!" A very familiar voice echoed from the deck of the White Weewoo, making its way through Bluisa's cat ears. She had totally forgotten about someone, and that certain someone was inside the ship. "Celestial?!" Bluisa put her attacks on hold and quickly made her way towards Celestial. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she bursted out into tears. "I've completely forgotten about you!" She quickly turned towards Cat Assassin, obviously worried about Celestial. "Celestial's on board! We might hurt her!" she exclaimed. Cat Assassin was taken by surprise. Their mission to take the ship down made him too focused that he had forgotten about the dragoness they had left behind. He could not blame Vyt and Subila for not getting her away from the ship, since neither of them knew about her all along. Justice was telling him to go after the suspicious ship that was the White Weewoo, but concern was forcing him not to harm anyone along the way. He could not decide so easily on what to do. "... PFA, Bluisa, give them way." Cat Assassin almost hissed, but he could do nothing. His "no-kill" principle had eventually taken over his mind, stopping him from further ordering the attack towards the ship. Had he slipped his way from following his own principle? Not even he himself know, but he would not definitely forgive himself if he had. Bluisa could see the annoyed but concerned look on his face, and was not able to stop herself from thinking. " The pirates would do anything to get their goal, and poor Cat Assassin could not stop them without inflicting harm." With a sad look on her face, she began to fly back towards Cat Assassin. The feline wasn't happy about what was happening. He was still suspicious of the pirate captain's goal, and he needed to know her true intentions, but how he could do that without hurting others in the process was a farfetched plan. Cyborg" Who the zafara, ya I knew her from the mage guild. I had a stint with them. I was the annoying earth mage." Cyborg said with a snicker s bar. " Yo Omni what are you doing here!?" Cyborg yelled. Esme was getting mad, the invisible thing wasn't being fair. " Why are you attacking me, invisible creep!?" she yelled angrily. KatAsthielle tried to look over the shoulders of the gathering crowd, grumbling as she lost the person she had only recently saved. Wait...it would seem that he was surrounded by others. Were they comrades of his? Something nudged her in the ribs, and to her surprise, she accidentally set off a bolt of yellow lightning that exploded in the sky above her, marking her spot. "Watch where you're going!" she snapped. * * * "Oh, snap." Kat froze the kunai in midair before it reached her, and it shattered. Plus, the shuriken was headed their way again. Clutching her staff, she stepped forward and twirled it like a baton, creating an even stronger windstorm that would hopefully blow the shuriken as far away from their ship as possible and buy Kat some time to figure out a much better plan to evade it.
The Horsemen At the same time above the ancient fleet, the Apocalypse was closing in, according to all rules. The three Horsemen had never quite understood why the Apocalypse was allowed to close in after the arrival of someone who rode a tuned, pimped, and otherwise horribly zombified Harley Chopper. They didn't want to turn around, but they still had. Getting the fourth horseman - or biker - into focus was hard, always had been. The world lagged slightly when you tried to look at him, as if your glance slowed down in his presence. That affected even the otherwise outside-all-dimensions Horsemen, and that's what irked them so much. That was something You Didn't Do. None of them ever died, or went hungry, or felt like chopping someone's head off. But the biker never excluded them. He played around with everyone. Everyone was in his world. The troubles started back when Pestilence, similarly to Famine, retired soon after the mages of the NTWF had mastered most of the healing spells. While Famine was something that was still needed in the human psyche field, Pestilence was completely off the picture (though he still kept a cheap and very dirty fast food bar by the main road to Dunburrow, just so that he wouldn't go completely rusty, as he put it). But somehow, outside the Horsemen's understanding, the remaining gap got one day filled with this guy, about whom Pestilence himself had once said 'Wow, this bugger puts me to shame'. "Nice bike," War said somewhat stiffly. It was. The base color was bright white but there wasn't much of it - any surface that could be chromed was chromed. The rider looked like one of those guys who spend their Sundays terrorizing people at the mall. Except he terrorized the entire land. TMC leaned forward on the handlebar with a wide grin on his face. "You still ride these manure-factories?" he asked. "Seriously, I know keeping up with the times never was your forte, but I'd have thought that hanging around with humans would teach you at least something..." YOU'RE HERE FOR A REASON, Death said, cutting him off. His voice always sounded heavy but now there was something metallic in it. WE HAVE WORK TO DO, A-A-A... War and Famine watched with a mixture of disdain and horror as Death lapsed into slow motion at a lazy sweep with the fourth Horseman's hand. You didn't mess with Death. Ever. You could deceive him, bargain with him, negotiate with him and kill his accounting with phoenixes, but you never messed with himself. "I come when I want," said TMC, "and work when I want." He let Death out of the lag. The reaper's eye sockets flashed red for a second, but he didn't finish his sentence. Instead he gathered up the reins of his pale horse who was apparently looking at the fourth rider's bike with its nostrils. WELL, SINCE YOU DELAYED SO LONG, he said, YOU MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY. THEY'RE BREAKING UP. Indeed, the fleet below them had finally decided upon something. Officers were getting off the Golden Mast, many of them with bruises, black eyes, and various magical burns, yelling commands to their respective ships. The White Weewoo now had the advantage of several miles, but whether it was enough was still questionable. One after another, sails were being hoisted. Famine raised her eyebrows at War in a silent question. "The Apocalypse," War whispered, "can only take place with many people in one place. Like with you, one hungry family is common but an entire famine that consumes the whole land is a catastrophe. Now that we're all together, the time has come, but the final move is up to those people down there." Famine grimaced. "But... like, I don't want the apocalypse. We'd be out of work again if this land was destroyed." War winced. The girl had worded the main loophole in their existence. Sure, there'd be other lands and other Apocalypses but they'd all come to like Dunburrow and the general vicinity. Commuting wasn't for them. You got things rolling nicely, regular little brawls and hunger, then came this little hyena on his shiny bike and poof, move elsewhere and start all over again. They peered at TMC who sat back in the saddle. His grin had cracked somewhat but he was still full of confidence. "They'll come together again," he said. "They always do." He didn't care about starting over. His work was personal fun, not work. It didn't make people value life or think about gathering food for winter or developing better relations with their neighbors. It was just a nuisance. The higher-ups had allowed him to be a Horseman simply because it was a nuisance, but the other three had never quite seen it as right, like old potters look at factory-made plastic bowls. There was the purpose, but no feeling, no personal connection in it. As if on a cue, the three horses cantered forward. The Harley came to life with a slightly lagging roar behind them and followed at a distance, roughly in the direction where the small pirate ship and the fleet was going. War and Famine peered at Death, expecting him to be seething with rage. Instead, he looked thoughtful and somewhat worried, as much as a skull can. RiderShiva was never more aware of his demonic aura than when he was surrounded by people who hated demons. a hasty retreat from the ship would be best. "Here goes nothing. GERONIMO!" He plummetted from The Golden Mast and swam as only a demon-horse can swim. Mighty legs churned the water, but still he wasn't going fast enough. A ninja ship gaining on the Weewoo. He hoped the fire-chicken or someone was on board to teleport him up, because he doubted they had time to stop and physically haul him up. Meanwhile, Rider had noticed the ninja ship as well. "Oh frigate." Ventratta squeaked that actually, it was a clipper. "It's a generic swearword." Beyond the clipper, but gaining ground, was another dark object. With a sickening jolt, she realized it was probably her horse. The mist wouldn't go that far from the ship. She wondered for a moment whether there were any rowboats strong enough to hold Shiva. The crew had never built one. Since he was a demon-horse, he could run or swim for days without tiring. he still wouldn't be fast enough. He was out of his element. Shiva realized the same thing. He could see Rider's cape flapping even from this far away. Bright red was hard to miss. Time to play the racism and manipulation card. "Ancient Ninjas!" he shouted up to the ninja ship. You can sense my demonic aura, can you not? I worked for Leraye before I knew about the horrible things he did to you. Now I'm willing to give information about him. i want to help you in your quest for revenge!" Meanwhile, Leraye took down the makeshift shield that he had made to protect him from the Kite's arrow. The assassin had turned into a bird and fled before the mist could register him as an enemy and forcibly eject him. Heaven only knew where he was now. The demon pried the arrow from the wood of the Weewoo with a smile. Futile efforts. He fiddled with his other gem in the other hand. Its power had almost run out. It was almost time to get a replacement. "Captain Huntress," he said with an oddly jovial formality, "I want to think you in advance for what you're going to do for me." Omni((Gemarian crowd, near Cyborg)) Omni could tell that, by now, Cyborg had noticed her. He seemed to be saying something to her. "Sorry, can't hear you," she shouted, pointing to the globes of water around her ears. "Can't read lips either." She made a few more vines to be sure she wouldn't get snuck up on. "What are you doing here? …And why aren't they attacking you?!" PFA((near Weewoo))"PFA! What are you doing, turn back!" came a voice. One that PFA happened to recognize. "Celestial?" PFA blinked, watching as Bluisa went up to her and apologized. The catgirl then flew over to Uncle and said something to him. Soon enough, Uncle spoke up. "... PFA, Bluisa, give them way."PFA, though a bit surprised by Uncle's command, obeyed it anyway. Looking over to the shuriken that Kat had just deflected, she called out, "Yon-po hiden!" And the shuriken fell into the water. PFA then flew over to Uncle, still holding her katana, just in case. "But... if we're not attacking the Weewoo, what are we supposed to do?" --- ((gem army crowd))"So she's a mage then?" Jernath blinked, looking over at Omni. Well, considering the fact that she's throwing vines everywhere, I guess it should be pretty obvious, huh? he added silently. "Yo, Omni, what are you doing here!?" Cyborg yelled. "Sorry, can't hear you! Can't read lips either," Omni shouted back, gesturing to the water that was surrounding her ears somehow. "What are you doing here? ...And why aren't they attacking you?!"
...Well, if she can't hear us, why is she asking us questions? Jernath thought, but decided not to say anything. Instead, he started looking around, trying to figure out just why they weren't being attacked. He figured it must have had something to do with Esme ; maybe they were getting creeped out by the Esme/Jernath. And also there was the fact that a good deal of the crowd was too busy fighting amongst themselves to notice anyone else. "Cyborg, maybe you should go find a way to talk to her," Jernath said with a shrug, gesturing to Omni again. "Maybe she can help us find Spacefleet or something." CyborgCyborg walked to Omni. " They aren't attacking us, I guess because Esme was one of them. Want some help?" he offered. " Hey where are you, you invisible jerk?!?" Esme yelled at the invisible thing that attacked her. Omni((Gamarian crowd)) Even when Cyborg was right in front of her, she couldn't make out much of his voice. This isn't working… she decided, deciding to pay more attention to his mouth movements and body language. Omni made a face. She considered using what little sign language she knew, but the first two sentences she considered both had something she couldn't remember as the second letter. So she decided to largely use gestures and facial expressions, hoping Cyborg would get the idea. She pointed to the mage lady… held up her hand, her index finger the only one up… then made a gesture toward the angry crowd. Paused. Pointed to Cyborg… then held her hand to her head, pointing to it and making circular motions. Paused again. Pointed to herself with her thumb, her pinky also up… tapped her head with her index finger… gestured to the crowd again… made a short series of chopping motions with her hands… pointed to herself with her thumb… made the sign language letters A-N/T (it's hard to tell which with her four-fingered handpaws)-D… pointed over her shoulder in Drakhé's general direction… then pretended to grab something with both hands and drive it through her chest, hanging her head back, her mouth open, and her tongue out. KatAt least this time, the shuriken fell into the water, and Kat let out a sigh of relief. "So, does this mean I can bomb the hell out of the other ships now?" * * * Meanwhile, Asthielle decided to just squeeze her way through the crowd and towards the one she had saved not too long ago. But it was hard, especially when all the gem-people insisted on going in one direction, and she in another. Telling herself that they too may become valuable allies in the future, she kept her magic to herself - and bumped into someone. "Hey where are you, you invisible jerk?!?""Who're you calling an invisible jerk?" Asthielle demanded of the one she had collided with. Cyborg" Ok Omni I have no clue what you just signed at me, other than I saw you pointing, and someone was stabbed?" Cyborg said confuzzled. " Just take off the water thingies, then we can talk normally." He yelled so Omni could hear. " Not you some ... thing that's invisible, just hit me with what felt like the flat side of a weapon." Esme replied angrily, trying to find the attacker. VytCat Assassin was rather irritated by what was happening; a type of mood he usually would not engage in. His mind was filled with questions no one would be able to give an answer, and PFA's persistent questioning was not helping him relax. The cat began to grumble. "We're not attacking the ship, but that does not mean we're letting it go and do whatever it wants to," he said. He shot a glance at Celestial and noticed her weakened form. "As much as she's inside the pirate ship, there's nothing we can do to put it down without hurting her. Rider“So, does this mean I can bomb the hell out of the other ships now?""As much as a lose patience with you always asking permission for things, my horse is in that ship," Rider said, still perplexed at Shiva's decision to board. the ship appeared to be stopping for a brief moment, presumably to let Shiva on board. "There has to be some means of communication with the other ship." Meanwhile, Shiva was getting the royal treatment from the gem-army. By which I mean, owchies. A young male ninja with sandy hair cracked a whip in front of Shiva's face. "You worked for that slimeball demon? And you're a demon yourself. Can't trust a word from a demon's mouth." "I can help you," Shiva spat, still shaken by the cracking whip. "I hate what he has done to you." About then, Shiva realized that nowhere in the continuity had he ever learned what Leraye had done to them. Blast. Well, he'd keep bluffing until they told him what Leraye had done. "Just keep following that black ship. Leraye's weakness... it's silver. Stab him in the heart with a blade of purest silver and he'll die like any other man. It has to be a close-range stab, so you have to bring us right up to that ship." He was fairly sure that he was thinking about werewolves or something, not demons, and was for the first time very grateful that Keng wasn't on the ship anymore. "How can we know this is true, horse?" "My name is Shiva, and you'll only have to test it for yourself." "My name is Ryou. You have been most helpful to us. You are our welcome guest aboard this ship, but know that we are ninja. If you betray a ninja once, you never betray him a second time." He pulled out his kunai to emphasize the point. "... Great, wonderful, threats. Hey, I'm hungry. got any cat on board?" CelestialLeste watches the girl's pathetic attempts to hit her but of course, it was next to impossible to hurt a spirit. Leste drifted around the mage, trying to keep close to Jernath.
"I could be here...but I also could be somewhere else. You can't see and you can't hit me. I on the other hand can hit you, hun" she taunted. There was something so satisfying about making the girl angry but Leste herself couldn't tell why she was doing this. Jealousy perhaps? How could I be jealous? the pirate thought but the answer was very clear. It is impossible, I hate him!!! she screamed silently.
However, that didn't stop her from trusting the spectral cutlass right through the mage's heart. Since the cutlass was spirit like herself, it wouldn't be fatal but by golly would it hurt if it hit it's mark."You don't have to attack them! The gem no longer exists but the ones trapped inside the gem are now turning on us! The NTWF will end if we don't unite!" Celestial shouted, her wings quivering. "The pirate captain is not a threat to you, please stand down. Don't you see the ships gathering? If you are so blind as to think only of killing her, surely it is better to let them do your dirty work?" she kept screaming at them. However, her thoughts began ticking now that the pain was gone. Was there no way to trap the people of the gem somewhere where they will not cause any trouble? Vyt"... Who said we were planning to kill her?" Cat Assassin's eyes met the eyes of Celestial once more, this time his mind was getting clearer. Thoughts of the captain's suspicious actions still lingered around his head, but the cat was trying his best not to focus too much on them. He had already made that same mistake; he would definitely learn from it. "The captain has, in many times, put all of us in life-threatening situations. She has placed a bounty on our heads, and everyone has been chasing us ever since. These and more have sparked many wicks of confusion in our minds..." Cat Assassin shook his head before continuing. "... And all we want is some explanation. Too bad they're not answering," he breathed out. Anticipating the captain's ignorance, the feline began to turn away. "... Unity is but a very hard thing to do, especially when you have to cooperate with someone who can stab us relentlessly on our backs," he said, albeit very reluctantly. "Yes, we all want to save NTWF from whatever threatens its safety, but let me ask you: should I help someone who can also endanger the NTWF's presence as well?" "Cat Assassin!" Bluisa began to voice out. "What are you doing?! She might be telling the truth: we need each other to survive and-" "Ask yourself, Bluisa," Cat Assassin interrupted. "... Who are the only ones being chased around by everyone? Aren't they the pirates themselves? I say, whatever they are keeping inside the ship is causing all this trouble. I do not know if we should be too concerned about that, because the pirates sure have something to do with whatever they are keeping. We ninjas have nothing to do about it; they're the ones who should move." HuntressHunty leaned on the wheel, whistling a quiet tune and keeping an eye on the deadwater - in order to keep the right course - as well as the ship behind them. Her heart wasn't as heavy any more. The fleet had fallen behind, the ninja ship was now the only considerable threat, and the sails were full of wind. It was still early, but she could already tell that the day would be sunny. Of course, where they were headed, sunny meant bitter cold... Her thread of thoughts was cut off by Leraye. She gave him a weary smile. "Just watch your back, demon. Watch all of our backs. We don't do charity, we just help each other. We're helping you because you're one of us, since you joined the crew. But we're expecting you to help us as well, any way you can." She glanced at the compass, then looked at Kat. "So, does this mean I can bomb the hell out of the other ships now?" "At this point the ninjas are the only considerable threat." The captain eyed the clipper behind them. Was it really gaining on them? The Weewoo had long broken all of her speed records and was doing a steady thirteen knots, but that wasn't enough. Clippers are faster by definition. It was advancing slowly. "Problem is," Hunty continued, her voice dull and absent as usual when she was busy steering, "they're right behind us. We won't be able to damage anything crucial. Not to mention I'd rather not have you waste your magic, what with you getting almost killed back there." "We've got cannons," Bloody Mary said. That was true. Right under the bridge, in a small room accessible through lids on the bridge, stood two cannons. Hunty knew that there was maximal ammo since the cannons hadn't been used after the last restock, but she still scowled. "They're long nines. A nine-pound cannonball ain't enough to stop a clipper. We'd maybe pierce some of their sails if we aim right and if we use chain shots or bar shots, they'd lose a bunch of sails under this angle and..." Her voice trailed off. Bloody Mary grinned back at her. "And they'd slow down," he said. "Worth a shot," Hunty agreed, then raised her voice. "Get down there, the lot of ye! Enough fighting like mages. It's time to fight like pirates. As soon as they get in range, aim for their sails." Shots were already being fired at the distance. Now that the ancient fleet was moving, old grudges were back on track and many ships used the chance, mostly without the officers' orders, to bite a little out of the other ships' sides. But they were all still saving the ammo. They had bigger issues to pursue.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 16:56:17 GMT -5
Cyborg
This time Esme was prepared. She moved towards Jernath. Whatever was attacking her seemed to care for her (Esme's) cutie. " I don't want to do this handsome, but I have to. Leave me alone or I kill him quicker than you can say, ' I lost my number, can I have yours?' " Esme said to the thing attacking her as she held the sharp edge of the spear at Jernath's throat. " Just play along, ok." She added in a whisper to Jernath.
Celestial
Leste might have missed but what the mage girl did next made her laugh so hard that she appeared, translucent but still clad in black. The laugh was full of triumph, mockery and plain simpleamusement at how stupid the girl's action was.
"Go ahead, kill him, see if I care. If you kill him, it will be better for me because then I can have him all to myself" she grinned, sheathing her cutlass. Leste was one happy ghost now
"By the dragon spirits cat, this is not the time for the cliche fighting!! Listen to Bluisa! Unless you put aside your fued we will all die! Your rage is clouding your vision and that is never good in the middle of a war!" she screamed, oblivious to the fighting going on.
"Please, at least consider what I said for all of us"
PFA
((near Weewoo))
(('persistent questioning,' Vyt? XDDD;; She only asked once! But it doesn't matter...))
PFA frowned as she listened to Celestial and Uncle's arguing. She may have known and trusted her Uncle more, but Celestial was making some very good points.
"Um... maybe you should listen to her," PFA muttered nervously to Uncle. She wasn't really anticipating his reaction, but she figured she had to say something.
---
((gem army crowd))
Cyborg had run off to talk to Omni. This left Jernath alone with the... um, fighting girls.
Before he could fully figure out what was going on, Esme came up and held her spear to his throat. "I don't want to do this, handsome, but I have to. Leave me alone or I kill him quicker than you can say, 'I lost my number, can I have yours?'" Following this, she whispered to Jernath, "Just play along, okay?"
But before he could even say anything, he heard the laughter of Leste. "Go ahead, kill him, see if I care. If you kill him, it will be better for me because then I can have him all to myself."
"...Erm," was all Jernath could say. This probably would have been a bad time to mention the fact that Meria was also a ghost. So he just stood there, pretending to be worried about Esme's spear being pointed at his throat. But in actuality, he was more worried about how this fight would end.
Kat
"See, Rider? I'd shoot a fireball at the nearest ship, but I could accidentally burn Shiva. That's why I was asking," said Kat, shrugging. "Besides, I wasted quite a bit of magic back there trying to keep the shuriken away."
"Get down there, the lot of ye! Enough fighting like mages. It's time to fight like pirates. As soon as they get in range, aim for their sails."
Kat grinned crookedly. "But technically, I'm a mage. I'm supposed to fight like one. Ah, well, I miss actually firing a cannon. Aye, cap'n, one of those cannons has my name on it!" She headed towards the bridge and jumped down through one of the lids. Nearly losing her balance, she strode towards the nearest cannon and placed her finger next to the fuse, ready to light it.
The clippers were still out of range.
"C'mon...c'mon...just a little more..."
* * *
Before Asthielle knew it, the mage whom she thought had called her invisible was pointing a spear at the one saved by the magical tornado.
"Hey - what's going on?!" she said, watching the spear. Asthielle created a glowing yellow dagger and pointed it at the mage with the spear. She wasn't about to let someone undo what she had done.
Fraze
((Zari's ship I'm assuming it's a ship because Zari hasn't said otherwise yet.)) "I hope you don't fear heights, because if you start squirming I will drop you. Falling 40 feet is not a nice experience." Fraze suddenly laughed, so hard that he nearly doubled over. "You know how I got planetside? I fell through fifty kilometers of atmosphere at high speed and parachuted the rest of the way. I love heights."
Fraze scrounged around through the ship's compartments, eventually finding and taking two ration packs. Normally he would think twice about eating something associated with Zari, but he was too hungry to care. "When we're done with this, I'll buy you lunch to pay you back." He opened the first pack, somehow devouring it in five or six enormous bites. As he did so, he looked out the window, toward the fleet of sailing ships in the bay. With a little searching, he found a smallish one shrouded in black fog. Magnifying his vision, he studied the people aboard. Some he knew or had seen...those ninjas were still there? There was one face, though, that he had never seen before. Someone who didn't seem to fit in the group. He looked more like a history professor than a guilder. "I think I found this Leraye guy. He's at the Pirates' ship, the one with all the black fog. It seems to be the center of attention--jeez, there are a lot of ships out there--so observing it should give us more information. Can you cloak and bring us near to the ship, around the level of the rigging?" With that, he opened up the second ration pack and started on it, finishing it only slightly more slowly than the first.
Vyt
((PFA - Well, you've been asking all throughout GW2...))
Cat Assassin spoke no more for a moment. He just kept staring at Celestial's eyes as if tranced by something inside them. The voices around him began to mute out; he could hear nothing but the strong pressure of the wind around him. He too was oblivious to the sudden blasts being released by the ships, letting his long coat float harshly against the wind without any care.
Bluisa looked at the stunned expression on Cat Assassin's face. "This isn't good," she noted everyone. "He's not doing anything..."
"Celestial, I'm willing to lend a hand in this," she said, not minding if Cat Assassin would react rudely to her. It was time she should do something meaningful. "You've saved my life once, and I shall pay that debt.
Cyborg
" I knew it you love him too! Why are you attacking me, I did nothing to you. Your just mad because your dead and I'm alive."Esme yelled at Leste. "What's your problem mage." she added as she dodged the daggers. Esme sent a boulder the size of Gryff at the mage. Meanwhile Gryff stood in front of Esme and Jernath trying to find out where the dead girl was.
" Why do you always get the crazies, no offense meant to Rose or Esme." Midknight said with a smirk. " Sure Cyborg's in love with a werewolf, but you have a crazy dead pirate obsessed with you. That takes the cake." he laughed. " So Leste, why are you attacking someone that did nothing to you in the first place? Jealousy? Anger? Fun? Depression? You realize you need to accept the fact that your dead and move on." Midknight said sounding quite logical.
Sure Cyborg's in love with a werewolf, but you have a crazy dead pirate obsessed with you. That takes the cake.
"Hey I heard that and Keng's not just a werewolf." Cyborg said as he remembered the kiss alliance formation. " So... can tyou here me now?" Cyborg added jokingly to Omni.
PFA
((near Weewoo))
((Vyt- ...Oh right. XDDD;; Haha. Silly me forgetting about PFA's constant question-asking))
PFA listened to Bluisa, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm... I'm getting tired of fighting people, quite honestly..."
With that, she started looking over Uncle, trying to see if he was okay. Maybe she could try and heal him if she needed to.
---
((gem army crowd))
Jernath glanced over as a blonde mage girl joined the fight for his love came over and questioned Esme over what was going on, making some daggers from ice magic. It looked like that one mage girl he had seen briefly earlier, near that tree... he didn't know her name though.
"Why do you always get the crazies? No offense meant to Rose or Esme," Midknight asked jokingly. "Sure, Cyborg's in love with a werewolf, but you have a crazy dead pirate obsessed with you. That takes the cake."
"Umm..." Jernath really wished Midknight would stop asking him questions like that. He could never think of a proper response.
Heck, there wasn't really a proper response for this situation in general. So he just stood there, and silently hoped that they'd be able to get back to searching for Spacefleet soon.
Zari
Zari didn't seem worried by Fraze taking the ration packs, although she raised an eyebrow. "I dun mind. They're easy to come by. Lucky you managed to grab the Spacefleet-issue rations rather than the Illhvrenan, then you'd be rolling on the floor trying to find water. And they're better cooked, y'know." she commented, torching one with a quich blast of flame, before tearing it open and scarfing the content. Then she got about 4 more and began to eat those, before pulling a whole box out of a cabinet and pushing them towards the other members of spacefleet with one foot while she continiued rummaging through the cupboards. a shocking-pink vegetable peeleer fell off a shelf, closely followed by an Illhvrenan-to-english dictionary and a plastic vial of what looked suspiciously like Zari's blood ((amber, glowing, and flammable. Do not touch.)). Zari fell back from the disorganized cupboard with a satisfied noise. "Aha! Score. Chewing gum, extra dart ammo, and this stuff. Whatever it is. Smells good. But I have absolutely no idea what it is." she dropped the first two items and inspected the third. "What is this stuff? Brown, smells good, red packet, breaks when I hit myself with it. Any idea's?" she put the packet down and began to pace. "If anyone needs explosives, a distraction, weaponry, or someone to determine what time it is to run, I'm your girl, but really I've got no idea's beyond that. Besides, I've got to take care of Ailur- Hey, where the heck has she gone?" "She said she needed a litter tray stop." "Oh, bloody fishpaste...She's escaped. Whoo."
--
The clones were stupider than she thought. When she'd mentioned a full bladder, they'd immediately pointed at a bush. Zari smirked and kept running, away from the trees, towards Castle Kestrel.
A powerful down stroke had Zari up in the air, the wind singing behind her. Despite her affinities with Fire, earth and shadows, the wind felt natural. Like she was born flying. Which'd be impossible, but whatever. She was till flying away from the creepy metal bird, flying away from the people who were also spotted cats, and, best of all, flying away from ZariKrahia Ailden. She had no idea why she hadn't tried to run away before now. It was mildly disturbing that the younger girl had somehow acquired some power over her.
On that note, Zari teleported, only a short way away from Zaha and Ferdamei, and collapsed on the ground, groaning unhappily. The she got hit my a bundle of rocks, which hurt tremendously. Rolling over, she opened an eyeball and exclaimed irritably. "I shoulda known you two'd be here, fretting. I'm all right. Now stand back, or I won't be all right!" she spat, annoyed. Ferdamei's lip quivered. Zaha meowed, also irritable. "We didn't want to have to tell King Wolf you were offmap. He'd probably blow his gasket and those Knights still alive would have to clean up the mess." "Oh. Uh, right."
Omni
((Zari's ship))
Zari seemed to have a habit of leaving Fraze's questions unanswered today, probably unintentionally, due to hunger or some such thing. Now she was offering weaponry and wondering where her double was.
"If you have anything with a wide angle or an area of effect, I'd like one of those. One with a 'not lethal' option would be preferred.
"And is there any real reason to look for her, other than you know her and she looks like you? We really just met her, and she seems to be able to take care of herself. Though if you're really worried, we could send one of the clones to look for her; their heightened sense of smell could really help to track her down. I'd offer to have Siber track her, but I'm not sure I trust him on his own yet, particularly with tracking. As for me going with him… well, I'm itching to get into some action, besides just running and trying to get away that is. At any rate, I agree that we should observe that ship Fraze mentioned."
Siber sniffed at the ration packs, wondering if there was something he could eat.
------
((Gemarian crowd))
Again, Cyborg tried to talk to her, mostly using his voice. The thing about water is, while it's better at carrying sound than air, it's really not very good at picking up sound from air, which was the main reason why she liked them for earplugs in the first place.
"Sorry, still can't read lips. I'd take these thing out if it weren't for Drakhé. Didn't you hear that roar?! I have no idea when or if he's going to again, and I'd rather not risk my ears getting blown out like that again.”
Zari
"The ship had started up, and was making noises that sounded like speech. "Yes, yes, I know your somethingorrather circuits are sorta overloaded. Aikran's driving. Happy?" The ship made more noises. "Wide angle? I'm not sure if I've got anything Non-lethal with a wide angle, unless you want a minor acid spray or some deodrant. Seriously, never get that stuff in your eyes." she replied, contemplating the purple packet again.
At the mention of Ailura, she halted. "We're sort of the same person. There's more than one me...It's a bit scary in some ways, because I'll never know when one'll pop up and get malicious. I know the whereabouts of a few and have two I'm on friendly terms with." the side of her mouth quirked at this. "But Ailura...Vaiderayle is the one I'm sort of closest to in personality. We can affect each other's thoughts, sort of. She's not nasty by nature, but she's been under stress lately and even the best friends go bad sometimes..." she paused, then flopped down in a chair. After a moments paused she stood up again. "And If she snaps, it's likely I will too, and all the other's who share...well, are somehow a part of me. I'd rather not do that to them."
Aikran, human once agin, wandered over to the cockpit and sat down in the seat usually occupied by Zari. "Over the mist-ship, Aikran. Cloak, also, please. Don't want the terrans to get heart attacks." Zari called after him. "No, I'm not driving this time. We don't need to go too far...so I suppose unless you have terrible balance, that you don't need to sit down. Aikran's a better driver than me." she grinned weakly and returned to rummaging through the cupboards, which were supiciously crammed full of paraphenalia from her three millienia of attemption to pass the time between projects.
Vyt
The image of Celestial in Cat Assassin's eyes began to blur as well as everything around her. His mind tried to refocus itself to what it was trying to picture out, but to no avail. As soon as his line of sight started to kick in however, it revealed quite a different picture for Cat Assassin.
It was a worried SILE, mouthing out something similar to what Celestial had just said.
And once again, he fell into a flashback.
---
"... Stand up, Cyborg. I don't have all day."
Cat Assassin's eyes were as cold as ever, as he pointed his handgun in front of the cyborg rabbit. The cat's prey was quite helpless, having been removed of all his limbs. All that was left of him were his disembodied body and head, and with a bullet drilling through the latter it would certainly mean the second death of the rabbit. He could only squirm in desperation.
"... Stop!"
From the garbage bin in the alley appeared a pink catgirl clad in nothing else but a dirty blanket. She was the same girl Cat Assassin helped escaping a day earlier, even having the fresh scars from the barrage of gunshots around her body to prove her identity.
"Young man, I know you have saved me from that horrible place yesterday, but must you take away another life just to keep me away from it?" she asked, her eyes starting to fill with tears. "I've had enough seeing another lifeless corpse fall down..." she added.
"But SILE, he's from that same place you were in!" Cat Assassin exclaimed. "I need to kill him: he might be a spy!"
The tears in her eyes had started to fall down, as the pink catgirl that was SILE shook her head in disagreement. "No, I can see it clearly in your mind. That action you are taking is not being done out of concern for me... That is pure anger accumulating inside of you! Your rage is clouding your vision!"
Cat Assassin had no choice but to lower down his handgun and stare at the garbage-filled ground below him in shame.
----
Cat Assassin fell on his knees when his sight returned to reality. His eyes were starting to water, as he began to sob. "SILE... Until now, I still need your guidance... I'm worthless without you!" he exclaimed before breaking down into a hysterical cry.
Bluisa had no choice but to come near the cat and comfort him with her warm embrace. She, too, was starting to sob. She had never seen such a mental breakdown from someone so cold, but she would never let him stay down like that.
Kat
Raising an eyebrow and raising a hand, Asthielle snapped. The boulder instantly disappeared before it reached her.
"I would just like to know," she said slowly but steadily, "what's wrong with you all. Instead of standing around here arguing your heads off, you could always be doing something more worthwhile. The army will move on with or without us. There seems to be a war out at sea...or so I think."
The blonde gazed out at sea and sighed. Asking about Kalianne Triss's whereabouts had not given her any luck. Perhaps if she were less direct...she would be more fruitful in her plans.
* * *
"There's one, and I'm taking it down!"
Kat lit the cannon fuse and fired at the nearest clipper. Unfortunately, it was way off the mark and plopped into the sea.
"...okay, I'm still going to take it down!”
Celestial
Leste grinned at the studpidy of their questions. The answers were too obvious, you only had to look carefully.
"Honey, I think you answered your own question on why I am attacking you: Jernath" she smiled at her as sweetly as possible "I am alive in everything but body but that doesn't matter. Death is not the end. Now please, either stab him already or if you don't have the guts I will do so myself" he spoke softly, letting the quiet screech of her cutlass speak for itself.
"Thank you Bluisa. I'm glad somebody sees sense" the dragon mage smiled, keeping an eye on Cat Assassin. He seemed to be going into a trance, which Celestial found unnerving. She put her hand on his head, seeing what the problem was, a fresh spasm of pain filling her arm. Maybe using magic so soon was not wise...
"Who was she, this SILE?" she asked carefully once he had come out the trance. Her expressionless face registered no surprise at the sudden show of emotion from such an unexpected source. She had seen a lot worse.
Cyborg
" Ah, but see I am no longer in the army, I am a merc now. We're arguing because some invisble chick, just attacked me and she's obsessed with my cutie!" Esme said to the mage.
" I didn't heard a roar, but please take those things off, so we can talk normally now." Cyborg said.
PFA
((near Weewoo))
As PFA was examining Uncle, he suddenly fell to his knees, crying out for someone named SILE. PFA just watched in a mix of emotions as Bluisa walked up to Uncle, giving him a hug.
"I... are you alright, Uncle?" PFA asked, not exactly sure what else to say.
---
((gem army crowd))
"Now please," said Leste, drawing her cutlass, "either stab him already or, if you don't have the guts, I will do so myself."
Jernath's eyes widened. Now was definitely the time to think of something to say besides 'um.'
"Whoa, um... look, Leste," he started awkwardly. "The, um, thought is nice, but I'd really rather... stay alive for a while, alright?"
((>_> Sorry if this isn't done very well, it was rushed...))
Vyt
Cat Assassin was in no condition to answer any questions: he would rather cry himself to calm him down for the moment. Flashbacks after flashbacks have severely fatigued him mentally, and no healing magic could ever regain his mental strength. Combined with his persistent fighting against everyone who stood against them, it was a miracle that he had kept himself from breaking down until now.
Bluisa, being the only one around the cat who knew who he was talking about, slowly turned her head towards Celestial. It was her connection with Subila that gave her the knowledge about the girl Cat Assassin was crying about. "SILE... She was the reason why Cat Assassin never wanted to kill anyone anymore. It's ironic that he saved SILE, only to be eventually protected by her all throughout their journey together," she told them.
"It's easy for you to say that we should kill those who are threatening the safety of this world," the mage continued. "Cat Assassin, on the other hand, had been living the rest of his life trying not to. SILE had taught him that there is another way to resolve anything rather than taking away lives, and his deep relationship with her kept him motivated to follow that principle..."
Bluisa shot a glance at the White Weewoo, which was starting to fire back before continuing. "He wanted to follow that principle, primarily because he wanted to be forgiven for the deaths he had placed upon many lives... Yet SILE had somehow found her way through his life and her mere presence had been his guidance and inspiration to keep continuing his goal."
"I mean, look at his power," she wiped the tears off her face before continuing. "Strong as it might look, it lacks the ability to kill anyone. At most, it can only knock someone unconscious. He voluntarily chose that type of power over the lethal type because of that catgirl... That same catgirl he kept protecting all his life."
((Emo Cat Assassin says: Please play "emo dialogue" with me.))
Rose
Rose had to giggle when Esme was flirting with Jernath, but at the same time she was a little jealous. Esme was so straight forward, but the next thing she knew Esme was fighting with a ghost pirate she believed the name was Leste. They seemed to be fighting over Jernath. Rose decided not to get involved sure she kind of had a little crush on Jernath but she was happy just being friends. Then she heard Esme threaten, and then Leste saying to stab him. "Are you really going to fight over him, no offensive Jernath," Rose said loud enough for them to hear and a little scared on Jernath's sake. “Or even worse kill him I think he'd be rather angry at you!" Rose stated.
Huntress
((Kat, there's only one clipper. The rest of the fleet is behind several miles and way out of range.))
"You missed?" Bloody Mary was bouncing up and down the railing above the cannon room. "That thing's practically a sniper cannon, you can't miss with that!"
"They're still on the verge of range," Hunty said, her head still half-turned. At that point the clipper's cannons barked as well. Two cannonballs hit the deadwater some yards before reaching the hull of the Weewoo.
The captain grinned. "Impatient. Good. Long nines?"
"Long nines," said Bloody Mary. Everyone used long nines as prow and stern chasers. It was by far the most optimal cannon type to use there.
"Save ammo," Hunty shouted down, "but try to keep 'em busy. Aim for the rigging! We need to take down at least the foremast if we're to have any impact on their speed. I know for a fact that we have a few chain-linked cannonballs down there."
She cast a look forward. The line of spiky rocks was almost over. After that came free water and, as she knew, the Rocky Gates somewhere out there. It was a fair distance away, but their only chance as of now.
The ninja ship fired again. The cannonballs flew right past the stern.
"They're catching up fast," Hunty murmured, turning the wheel. "Means they're well in range... Fire all!”
Rider
“Just watch your back, demon. Watch all of our backs. We don't do charity, we just help each other. We're helping you because you're one of us, since you joined the crew. But we're expecting you to help us as well, any way you can."
"I give my personal guarantee that everyone on this ship will still be alive when this is over," Leraye said with a smile. "You're the power that will keep me safe, so I'll preserve you from even time and death itself."
"See, Rider? I'd shoot a fireball at the nearest ship, but I could accidentally burn Shiva. That's why I was asking,"
"Shiva's magic-resistant, Kat. he is not, however, a very fast swimmer. But hey, you're supposed to be recovering anyway. In any case, I think they want Leraye alive for whatever reason. They might not shoot us with their cannons immediately."
BAM!
"Never mind."
"Fire all!"
Rider held her breath and shot at the rigging, hoping against hope that her horse would be safe.
((Ninja Ship))
"Ryou-sama, they're shooting at us!"
"I can see that, you daft fool!" Ryou turned to his hired hands. "Dodge the cannonballs as best you can. They'll not sink us here!"
Shiva couldn't help but smile.
"Horse, what are you smiling at?"
"They're just little 9-pounders. It'd be a lucky shot that would pierce your hull."
"You're familiar with that ship and thier weaponry?"
"A little. I had the misfortune of being a prisoner on that ship before I worked for Leraye. They're not a heavy-armed ship, particularly on a venture where they're not expecting trouble. The captain knows this, so she's probably only shooting at you to slow you down. Don't let her do so. Reach her as quickly as you can."
"Horse, you know this captain as well?"
"Not well. She's a ruthless one with a warped sense of justice."
BAM! A cannonball hit a mast. Wood rained from the sky.
"Might you know where she is headed?"
"No idea."
"Thank you, there will be grain for you in the brig. Okay men, you heard the pony! As fast as you can! Keep firing!"
"B-but grain?"
"Hop to it, boys, we don't have all day!"
"Grain?"
Cyborg
" Hey Leste, how about if you kill him, he'll hate you and you would have ruined his life/death. Maybe he already has a lover *coughRosecough*. I suggest you back off, the guy doesn't like you. Your creppier than Micheal Jackson in a dark alley! So leave Jernath and the rest of the mercenaries alone, you stalker!." Midknight yelled getting ticked at his friend's stalker.
" Leave him alone creep! Nobody wants you here!" Esme yelled. " You mind helping more here Rose!"
" Just wait Omni I'll be back." Cyborg said walking back to the mercs. " Leste leave NOW!!!! We don't want to start another life threatening fight!!!!!!!!! Go find some other people to stalk, none of us wants you here!!" he yelled. Cyborg walked back to Omni. Sorry 'bout that."
Bacon
Bacon sniffed at Siber, wondering if it was something he could eat. >_> I didn't say anything, why are you looking at me?
Bacon wondered why a voice in his head just said 'I didn't say anything, why are you looking at me?', and figured it was probably a lack of nutrition. The pears he had eaten during the dropship pursuit were the only food he had had in days, and they weren't much. He saw Siber sniffing the ration packs.
Bacon sniffed at Siber, wonde-*brick'd* Don't brick me. T_T AHEM. Bacon picked up one of the ration packs, and read its incredibly informative if not helpful label, before ripping it open and looking at the contents. "Well... that thing looks like meat, and that thing looks like meat, and that third thing's got to be a baby squid or something. Funny, I thought these rations had steak, some bread and a veggie."
He shrugged and started eating one of the meats, which turned out to not be the meat. Nor was it the bread. The grey-ish brown, factory processed, somewhat juicy slab had a very distinct brocolli and celery flavor once he had taken a bite. He spat out the bizarre mouthful, and tossed the rest of the veggie-slab on the ground in front of Siber.
He looked at the second slab and the squid-thing still in the tray. "I hate military food. I wonder which one of these is the bread?" He asked himself.
Omni
((Gemarian Crown))
By now, Omni had told Cyborg multiple times that she couldn't tell what he was saying, and yet he continued to try to communicate with just his mouth.
She opened her mouth to say something when she noticed, behind Cyborg, the mage lady was threatening to kill somebody. Forgetting about trying to get two-way communication, she walked around Cyborg to get a better look. Feeling she had to do something, but that anything too hasty wouldn't work, she used a small amount of earth energy, and small, subtle movements, to wrap vines around the mage, starting with her feet, hoping that she'd at least distract her.
Smithy
Smithy looked openmouthed at the scene around her. She shook a fist. "Wrong ship!"
She could see Celestial swooping around on another ship nearby. But this one...
"There's one, and I'm taking it down!"
Kat lit the cannon fuse and fired at the nearest clipper. Unfortunately, it was way off the mark and plopped into the sea.
"...okay, I'm still going to take it down!"
"A mage! No wonder then, the portal must have been distracted to the nearest magic being used."
Just then, cannon firing rocked the ship again. Smithy hurriedly walked up to Kat.
"Kat, I'm sorry, I know that this is the worst time to be here, but what the heck is going on this second, how can I help, and where can I stick Qamr?”
Fraze
((Zari's ship)) Fraze finished the second ration pack and, still finding himself hungry, tore open a third.
Fraze saw Bacon sniffing at Siber, so he went over and sniffed as well. "Might be good in a stew." "I hate military food. I wonder which one of these is the bread?" Bacon muttered. Fraze looked at the stuff that could almost be called food. "I think you got one of the vegetarian ones. I'll trade ya," he said, holding out his own newly opened tray. "If the two I just had are any indication, the one that looks like a slab of meat is salad, the one that looks like bread is steak, the one that looks like juice is bread, and the one that looks like horribly mangled, wilted spinach is orange juice." He caught a flash out of the corner of his eye, and looked out the ship's window. "Cannon fire! Apparently there's some fighting breaking out among those ships. If possible, I would like to go down there cloaked to investigate. Zari, can you take us a bit away from the mast of the fogship?" he asked, hoping she would realize he was speaking to her now.
Kat
((Right. Okay then, we focus on one clipper...))
"All right, aiming for the rigging!" said Kat, lighting the fuse again. But as the cannonball was shot out, she surrounded it with her signature violet fire. She did this a second time before asking, "Did I get it this time?"
She heard a distant explosion and saw a purple glow from the corner of her eye.
"Well, that was definitely better than my first shot."
"Kat, I'm sorry, I know that this is the worst time to be here, but what the heck is going on this second, how can I help, and where can I stick Qamr?"
"For one thing...you're on our ship. The Pirate Guild of the NTWF. Yes, I do have more than one guild. Anyhow, we're firing at these crazy ships hoping to take them down, because if we don't, they'll take us down instead. I guess...that's pretty much it."
* * *
"Don't you have better things to do than shed blood for the most mundane of reasons?" Asthielle sighed, and decided to try and use her locket to see what invisible thing the mage had been talking about.
Unfortunately, she forgot that she had lost it.
"Okay, whoever and wherever you are, why the death threats?" She paused, and finally said, "Did any of you see a mage all in purple run by here?"
Huntress
((Aboard the Weewoo))
Hunty spun around at Smithy's appearance, nearly bringing the ship off course with it. "Whatthe...?"
Then it clicked. She turned back, though still keeping an eye on what was going on behind her. "A mage, eh? Be glad the ship has an alliance with your lot, else she'd probably have thrown you into these rocks or on that ship as we speak."
'That ship' wasn't much of a place to be on at that moment as Kat's fire-cannonball smashed into the fore topgallants. It didn't do much else than tear off half of the sail, but the rest of it caught fire at once.
"Nice," Hunty grinned. "How'dyou like them apples?" The foresails of the clipper began to flap. With the rigging catching fire and the mast already missing a chunk since the previous round, it tilted sideways, now mainly supported by the flaming rigging.
The ninjas weren't about to give up, however. Cannons were still firing, and now that they were catching up even despite the crippled foremast, the Weewoo had to retract her mist-sails in order to mobilize the mist to defending itself. With dull thumps cannonballs hit the stern. These were still nine-pound balls, unable to do too much damage, but the bigger threat was still ahead, now that the clipper's crew was getting somewhat desperate.
"Chain shot!" Bloody Mary warned. The mist shifted to catch two cannonballs joined with a long chain, rocketing towards the rigging like a bola. It got cushioned but still tangled in the rigging for a few moments.
"She's slower than I expected," Hunty said with concern in her voice, craning her neck. The end of the rock-line was straight ahead.
"S'like ballistic gel," Bloody Mary said, his voice sounding rather similar. "It can stop just about anything but it needs time to react and that seems to depend on the speed and weight and suchlike of the object. Especially weight," he added, remembering Asthielle's lightning bolts. "I could put Justice on the case if you want more precise info."
"You do that. Jibe ho!"
"Do you ever just say 'watch your heads?" the meepit asked as the brigantine took the curve around the end of the rocks. So far they'd been sailing along the coast, catching the coastal wind under a rather sharp angle, but now the ship turned its stern towards the wind, and jibed. The stern moved through the wind and as it so happens with that maneuver, the mainsail boom flew over the bridge to the other side, catching wind under the new angle.
And it was a good angle. The wind was now almost straight from behind. The canvases stretched to the max as the Weewoo accelerated. Moments later, the clipper with a still-flaming foremast followed.
"And as soon as they catch wind..." Bloody Mary said sulkily. Even the two latter masts of a clipper have a bigger sail plan than an entire brigantine.
"As soon as they catch wind, we're either dead or get away clean," Hunty muttered. "S'a bit of a question of luck..."
The sails of the clipper caught wind with a loud series of twangs. And then it ambled sideways.
"Clipper speed is a disadvantage," Hunty said with vague relief. Everything that's conducive to speed in a clipper can work against it. The long narrow hull, the huge sail plan, and the bow that's heavily raked forward all strive for greater speed. But take away the foremast and it gets the same effect as using the front brakes on a bicycle.
The clipper toppled forward and dug into the waves with its prow, sails flapping furiously as they lost all the wind. The pillar of water extinguished the fire but the force of the impact made the foremast fall even more askew. The clipper bounced up in a minute, careening sadly as the crew ran back and forth to trim the sails again.
By the time they got that far, the Weewoo already had a mile's advantage.
"Coulda stayed to fight," Bloody Mary muttered. He had a number of bones to pick with ninjas already.
"We only have this much ammo," Hunty said grimly. "And they might still catch up, so don't jinx it.”
Rider
A gust of wind, and the clipper was catching up. Meanwhile, the foremast was dangerously close to breaking and most of the rigging was on fire.
Shiva knew when to abandon ship.
"Well, you pajama-wearing frauds, it was nice working with you. Arigato." And with that, the stallion jumped overboard just as the ship hit the brakes.
He reveled in his victory as he swam towards the Weewoo. Shuriken pierced the water on either side of him for a while, but soon he was out of range.
Ryou-sama was furious, but there was no use chasing him. He was a demon, he could swim for days. You see, a dishonest demon you could always trust to be dishonest.
Shiva swam as fast as he could, knowing that if he could alert the Weewoo of his presence now, he wouldn't have to hold out for days. The mist scooped him out of the water and hefted him on board, then re-formed the sails.
FLUFFY HUG REUINION TIME!
"Ladies, gentlemen, horses and phoenixes and dragons, the battle has not been won, only delayed. We're going north to beat these people on our terms. Break out the parkas, mates."
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 16:59:00 GMT -5
ZariZari ...'d. "Why is everyone sniffing the dog?" she demanded crossly, folding her arms. However whateven reply made was cut off, since The ship lifted off, accompanied by a "whee!" from Aikran in the cockpit. The ship manuvered itself out from the clearing and towards the Weewoo, cloaking as it did so. The journey was relatively short, since they Aikran didn't worry about passing birds. Zari winced as the ship halted suddenly about 40 feet above the Weewoo "Aikran, you can do much smoother stops than that..." she muttered. "We're well away from the mast...Hey! AI-KRAHN! A BIT CLOSER KAY THANKS?" she roared suddenly, causing Dretne to fall of the chair he was standing on and Senali to blink owlishly. The ship's atitude lowered considerably, until about 6 feet more and the lowest tailfin on the ship would brush the mast. "This close enough? Since they're firing cannons, I'd rather not go any closer, and neither would Aikran.” Smithy"For one thing...you're on our ship. The Pirate Guild of the NTWF. Yes, I do have more than one guild. Anyhow, we're firing at these crazy ships hoping to take them down, because if we don't, they'll take us down instead. I guess...that's pretty much it.""Thanks, Kat. I'll just help, shall I?" Hunty spun around at Smithy's appearance, nearly bringing the ship off course with it. "Whatthe...?"
Then it clicked. She turned back, though still keeping an eye on what was going on behind her. "A mage, eh? Be glad the ship has an alliance with your lot, else she'd probably have thrown you into these rocks or on that ship as we speak."Smithy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that. But I'm ready to keep up this alliance if it's between the pirates and mages." She quickly led her horse below deck, tying Qamr, then putting a protective purple orb around him. "Sorry, Qamr, can't risk you up there." Dashing back up, Smithy stood near Kat. "I think that I can hit the mast, but it'll take magic. Ready?" Smithy concentrated, and began the quick but laborious act of "quickening" the water cycle. In a few minutes, a dark cloud began forming above the nearby clipper, crackling omniously. "Ready whenever you say so, captain." CelestialLeste appeared, her arms crossed over her chest. They didn't love Jernath otherwise they would understand what she felt. The screech of spectral metal echoed out across the entire party as the pirate drew her cutlass. As for the Kougra, he was getting a bit annoying, too annoying for her to handle much longer.
"No, you leave" she snarled and swung her cutlass in a figure of eight, assuming the position of a trained swordmaster. "I'll do it. If I have to I will every one of you. Unlike you girls, I'm in love" the pirate glared at Rose and Esme.
"Death is just an extension of life unlike some people believe"Celestial sighed loudly as she listened to Cat Assasin's story. While she agreed with what SILE told him, he was limited in how power. It was perhaps for the best but Celestial, a half-dragon, hated the thought of limits. The well-being of her and those bound to her always came first. "That is such a tearjerker but maybe we should move out of here? I don't feel safe being near cannon balls." she spoke without emotion. "Cat Assasin, after you had your emo moment, tell me what do you think?” PFA((near Weewoo))PFA just silently listened as Bluisa told the story of the one called SILE. She didn't know how exactly to respond to it. This was like a side of her Uncle which she had never seen before. "That is such a tearjerker, but maybe we should move out of here?" Celestial said, snapping PFA from her thoughts. "I don't feel safe being near cannon balls."PFA was quiet for a moment, but nodded. "Yeah, it would probably be best if we got somewhere safe... it'd be best if we didn't end up getting hit by cannonballs while we're sitting here reminiscing," she chuckled weakly. Now was probably not the best time to be telling jokes, but she couldn't think of a better way to say it. And maybe it could help cheer Uncle up a bit. Maybe. --- ((gem army crowd))Jernath couldn't help but feel a little strange when he heard the other mercenaries shouting at Leste, "the guy doesn't like you!" "Nobody wants you here!" ...as if they knew the inner workings of Jernath's mind. Which they didn't. In actuality, he wasn't sure if we wanted Leste to leave, per se... he knew he didn't want her to kill him, but having her leave them alone for good was perhaps a bit harsh. The pirate was nice enough, if a bit crazy at the time. You might even say that somewhere in the back of his mind, Jernath kinda ((*stab'd before she can finish that sentence* x_o ...fine then)) But even with the mercenaries' shoutings, Leste refused to back down. "Death is just an extension of life, unlike some people believe," she said as she was preparing to do the job. "Whoa whoa whoa!" Jernath yelped, really starting to get worried now. "Um... yeah, sure death's not the end, but... there's still things I'd rather get done here... while... alive. Like... um..." he pointed to the blonde mage, who was still shouting things at them, "...like the war! She said something about a war at sea, right?" Speaking of the blonde, she was just asking, "Did any of you see a mage all in purple run by here?"Jernath paused for a moment as he tried to figure out the answer to that question. Suddenly, something in his brain clicked. That mage girl he stabbed earlier. Could that be the girl she was looking for? "Um, there was a purple mage on the... pirate ship," he told the blonde. "The one with all the... spikes, and mist. I don't know if she's the mage you're looking for, though." He then turned back to Leste. "Um, yeah... so, I've kind of got some things I'd like to do in the... world of the living, first. Um. But... but maybe... you could come back later?" Why, he asked himself, oh why, did I just suggest killing me later? He frowned. This was going to be a long day. Cyborg" Omni stop interfering, and leave them alone!" Cyborg yelled as once again he made the vines disappear. " Ok Leste, you are obsessed with him just leave us all alone, move on and let us get on with our lives." Cyborg stated to Leste. " Hey Leste I do love Jernath, and Rose probably does too! So leave us all alone, you may still love, him, but I don't know if he'll love you if you kill him." Esme said angrily to the ghost pirate. Omni((Among the crowd)) "Hey!" Omni shouted as Cyborg made her vines disappear, again. She couldn't leave the archer guy helpless, and it seemed like she wasn't going to get much help. There had to be some thing she could do… An idea popped into her head, which she soon dismissed as something that wouldn't work. Another idea came to mind, slightly more risky, but she felt she had to give it a try. She placed her hands in front of her, together, focussed on what she wanted, and drew her hand to her hips. A large rock suddenly appeared, just above the mage-girl's head. She tried to make it big enough to knock her out, but not big enough to kill her. ((Zari's ship)) "It doesn't need to have a non-fatal version, or option, it just would be preferred. A way to break through very large crowds, like the one we ran into down there, is really what I'm looking for." Siber sniffed at the 'food' before deciding he didn't want it. Ethan watched Siber with his peripheral vision. Kat"Don't worry; if we run out of ammo, there's always me," said Kat, shrugging. "I could probably set those sails on fire again, but I'll let 'em catch up first. If they still can - " "Ladies, gentlemen, horses and phoenixes and dragons, the battle has not been won, only delayed. We're going north to beat these people on our terms. Break out the parkas, mates.""Shiva! Good to see you're all right. I was afraid I accidentally fried you, but Rider reminded me that it would take a lot more magic to fry you up like a steak. And...why north, of all places?" * * * "Um, there was a purple mage on the... pirate ship. The one with all the... spikes, and mist. I don't know if she's the mage you're looking for, though."Squinting out into the distance, Asthielle could make out quite a few ships. But she didn't have to start picking one out, as the image of the temperamental ship was as sharp in her mind as ever. "I see. So none of you are going to join me in this war and continue your little love squabble? Suit yourselves." VytBluisa agreed at Celestial's suggestion, seeing how violent the place had begun to be. Though the tone of the dragoness seemed to lack sympathy, ranting about it would only further delay their move. "C'mon, Cat Assassin. Let's go away from here," she said, albeit doubtful that the cat would quickly follow. To her surprise, Cat Assassin nodded amidst his sobs of longing. He might have noticed by then that he was holding everyone around him down for the moment. He had to regain his composure back later on, if not now. Still a bit shaken from letting out his emotions in an instant, Cat Assassin shivered as they moved away from the ships. The cold breeze around him was only provoking him to feel weak. He was still mumbling the name of his beloved catgirl repeatedly, but somehow he had regained his sense of awareness back. "... I envy you all," the cat suddenly broke his own silence. Though he was speaking to everyone around him, he was staring particularly at PFA. "You can show your emotions without any concern for the world. I, on the other hand, have to suck them all back in my own system and pretend.” Cyborg" Omni stop!!!!!! NOW!!!" Cyborg yelled as he destroyed the boulder. " I don't care what the rest of you say I'm going with this mage, it seems she's against the pirates, and I am as well. So the question is are you guys coming or not?!?" " Gryff and I will join you." Esme said cooly. " We will too." Chirped the squirrels. " Shado and I will go as well." Midknight answered. " So that leaves Rose and Jernath. What's your choice?" Cyborg asked. Omni((Lost on the crowd)) Either Cyborg has insanely-fast reflexes, or he was messing with the space-time continuum again. (Or maybe it was the gem's fault.) "CYBORG!!" Omni shouted, then waited for everyone else's mouths to stop moving. "I have no idea what you guys are saying, but it doesn't seem to be working, and actions speak louder than words, especially when talking to someone who's effectively deaf!" She pointed to her ears at that last bit. "I'm just trying to get that knife away from that guy's throat with as little fatalities as possible, and I don't think I'm going to manage that by wrestling it away myself.” PFA((not-so-near Weewoo))PFA was glad to be moving away from the ships. Being around when all the cannonballs were being fired was not only dangerous, but potentially deafening. "... I envy you all," Uncle spoke up, casting a glance at PFA. "You can show your emotions without any concern for the world. I, on the other hand, have to suck them all back in my own system and pretend."PFA blinked, not exactly sure what to say. Eventually, she decided on, "Emo is fun, baby!" "Uncle... you don't have to hide your emotions. Emotions are what make us... what make us human. Or, um, somewhat human," she added, noting that she was the only true human there. Which was admittedly odd, considering her parents, but nonetheless. --- ((gem army crowd))"I see. So none of you are going to join me in this war and continue your little love squabble? Suit yourselves.""Um," Jernath started, but was interrupted when Cyborg started screaming at Omni about something. "I don't care what the rest of you say, I'm going with this mage; it seems she's against the pirates, and I am as well. So the question is, are you guys coming or not?!" Cyborg exclaimed. After Esme, the squirrels, and Midknight said they'd help, Cyborg added, "So that leaves Rose and Jernath. What's your choice?""Well..." Jernath started, but once again, we was interrupted before he could finish. This time by Omni. "I have no idea what you guys are saying, but it doesn't seem to be working, and actions speak louder than words, especially when talking to someone who's effectively deaf!" the Zafara gestured to her water bubble earplugs. "I'm just trying to get that knife away from that guy's throat with as little fatalities as possible, and I don't think I'm going to manage that by wrestling it away myself!""Uhh..." Jernath blinked. By 'that guy' she meant him. And by 'knife,' she probably meant the pointy part of Esme's spear. Or maybe Leste's cutlass. He wasn't sure. Regardless, he needed to tell her somehow that she should stop attacking. And since talking obviously wasn't working, he'd have to settle for the next best thing. He waved at Omni, just to make sure he had her attention. He then pointed to himself, paused, and then did a thumbs up, accompanied by a weak grin. Which was his attempt at letting her know that "I'm okay." He just hoped it came across alright. Finally, he turned to Cyborg. "Um, sure, I could come. If... um... I can, that is," he cast a glance at Leste. Celestial((The Gem Army))Leste listened to the plans of the mercenaries. So they were going to attack the pirates...while she didn't understand the reason why, her loyalties no longer bound her to anything or anybody. Shrugging, she put the cutlass back into its hilt, enjoying the sound it made.
"You can go but...I am following all of you" she smirked. "That is if you don't mind having a ghost tagging along" she added, turning invisible.
"Don't think I am gone though" Leste spoke, her voice falsely sweet like honey.((Somewhere near the Weewoo))"You don't have to hide your emotions Cat Assasin, that isn't what the world expects. You are not a machine" Celestial smiled at him. She walked backwards, away from both of them and began falling towards the ground, shapeshifting into a dragon. "Climb on. We best get out of here and quickly" Rose"So were going to fight the pirates again," Rose said out loud to herself. Cyborg's going to get us killed one of these days, but this will be ineteresting, Rose thought to herself. "Sure I'm game,"Rose said with a smile. " I hope we do better than last time," she said to Cyborg, as she walked over to stand beside Esme. " You okay?" She asked Jernath with a little giggle, it was a little funny seeing Esme and Leste fight over him untill they were about to kill him. Cyborg" Ok good, so Leste I have a question. Would you be willing to help us fight the pirates?" Cyborg asked, if she said yes he could reveal his plan. Omni((Gem crowd)) Omni furrowed her brow as she made out what Jernath said. She then pointed to herself with her thumb, her pinky also extended, tapped her head (near her temple), then shook her head. After a pause, she held out her index finger and pretended to run it along her throat, her teeth clenched. PFA((gem army crowd))"You can go but... I am following all of you," Leste said with a smirk. "That is, if you don't mind having a ghost tagging along.""Um... alright," Jernath replied awkwardly. So now Leste was going to be following them. This would be interesting. "You okay?" Rose asked Jernath, giggling a little. But before he could answer, he noticed that Omni was signing something to him. "Yeah..." he told Rose, as he tried to figure out what Omni was trying to say. He wasn't exactly sure why the Zafara was signing when she was the only one who couldn't hear, but he decided not to dwell on it, and just to try and figure out what Omni was saying. ...And think of a way to answer. Cue charades. He pointed to Esme, then shook his head. Then he pretend-slit his throat, and then pointed to himself. A pause. He pointed to Esme again... then paused awkwardly before continuing on to make a heart shape with his hands. Then he pointed to himself, shrugging awkwardly. He hoped he made sense enough. He really didn't want to have to continue with that explanation. Omni((Somewhere among the crowd)) Omni made another expression. [image] She started signing single letters. 'O-D-D-(three fingers spread out, she hoped this was 'W')-A-Y-2-S-A-Y-I-T/N' *pause* 'L-O-V-E-O-W-Y-E-S' She tried to make an expression that noted she was asking a question. PFA((gem army crowd))In response to Omni's question, Jernath made a confused face and shrugged. He tried to figure it out, he really did, but he just wasn't sure what she was trying to ask him. ((...and thus we have a short post.)) Zari"Then you might want a pulse of some sor-WOAH!" Zari staggered backwards as the ship swerved suddenly and shot upwards, accompanied by a rather un-manly shreik from the pilots area. Staggering around with wings half-extended, Zari made her way to the cockpit and threw aside the screen keeping Aikran from view aside. "Ral tzymal nasgrekai?!" she screeched at the unfortunate catclone. "Sehy Einorece!" Aikran yelled back. Zari calmed down visibly. "Tza, rii fatao ayy." she uprighted the screen, which she'd knocked over in her semi-panic (although she'd never admit it was a panic) and turned back to the other inhabitants of the shuttle. "It seems the ships below us are all deciding to throw themselves about." she commented. "Not to worry, Aikran is skilled in the art of making sure people dun get hurt. ((Rough translation of Illhvrenan, in order- "What are you doing, curse you?" "Those're missiles!" "Yes, we figured that.")) PFA((not-so-near Weewoo))Celestial shapeshifted into a dragon, flying up to the ninjas once again. "Climb on. We best get out of here, and quickly."PFA nodded, then started floating toward Celestial. "Come on, Uncle, Bluisa." Bluisa looked over at PFA, then at Cat Assassin with a slightly worried expression. Cat Assassin nodded slowly, as a way of saying that he'd be alright, then started floating toward Celestial. Bluisa, though glad to see that the catboy was doing better, stayed close to him, just to be sure he was alright. Once the ninjas were floating just above Celestial, Bluisa made a quick gesture with her hand, and the breeze bubbles they were floating in vanished, letting them fall safely to Celestial's back. PFA took a moment to adjust herself so she was comfortable, and then nodded to Celestial. "Let's get out of here," she said to the dragon. KatAsthielle shrugged. "The more, the merrier. I couldn't care less who or what any of you are, so long as we're a lot and we can take those pirates down. Can we quit with the love talk already? Save it for later, when we celebrate our victory." She paused before adding, "Kill anyone you have to, but leave the purple mage to me. Keep her alive, capture her, and let me kill her myself. And, are sign language and charades really necessary? Maybe we could just use these." A quill and a scroll of parchment appeared in her right hand. "The quill needs no ink. I must say, it writes in the most divine shade of blue.” Huntress((Aboard the Weewoo)) Hunty was feeling increasingly better. The Weewoo was running downwind, taking everything it possibly could from all sails, the ninja-clipper was falling behind since the broken mast was throwing it off balance and was becoming harder to operate, and the rest of the fleet was too far to be considered any kind of threat. "Ready whenever you say so, captain." Apparently Smithy had decided to zap the ninjas. Intitiative. Good. Saves ammo. "Fire at will," she said somewhat absently, focusing on steering again, not that the ship needed much at this pace. "I doubt they'll be able to catch us at this rate unless a miracle happens but I don't like risks either. So have fun with 'em. The sooner we lose them entirely, the better, what with Shiva now being aboard. Speaking of which, do we have rats in the bilges?" "Nah," said Bloody Mary. The Weewoo rarely had rats since the meepits weren't picky about what they ate, and ever since the demonification even the remaining patriots had decided to abandon ship. "Too bad." Hunty paused. "Well, I'll have the blarf catch you a couple sharks when we get a moment of free time. Where is he anyway?" The blarf was, in fact, currently clinging to the rudder of the ninja-clipper. He couldn't swim particularly fast and he hadn't been able to catch up with the pirates, so he'd figured that another ship going in the same direction is just as good a taxi. The helmsman had been peering nervously at the dark shadow under the foam behind the stern for a while now. "And...why north, of all places?" Kat asked. "Icebergs," Hunty said with an odd kind of cheerfulness. "Lots and lots of icebergs and frosty little fjords and caverns for hiding. We have a ship that can push itself off things and is otherwise nice and small and maneuverable. We'd have a huge advantage there." She began to whistle a tune. Yes, this wasn't looking so bad. Enemies were falling behind, freedom was straight ahead, they had Leraye and the gem, the crew and the ship were comparatively safe, and the rest of that gang could fight their own war as far as she was concerned. *** ((Aboard the Golden Mast)) Rane didn't see things that way. After quite a bit of yelling, punching, arguing, and other generally barbaric actions most parliaments are familiar with, the other officers had left his ship and he finally had some time to make some decisions. Which basically meant that he limped over the deck, barking orders left and right. His sailors, most of them nearly twice as wide as he was and at least a foot taller, cringed when he passed and tried to look invisible. The captain was in a lousy mood. No wonder too. "That wretch," Rane snarled mostly to himself as he climbed on the captain's bridge, feeling angry, bitter, and sulky all at the same time. He should've known that this stripey-haired pirate had been up to something, but this had just been low. He also had to admit that had that wretch handed Leraye over, there wouldn't have been much of a future for her and her ship. The Golden Mast was protected by its impressive rows of cannons as well as its huge size, not to mention Rane's authority among other pirates. Had it not been there, he wouldn't have come out of this quarrel alive. Pirates didn't get along well in general. Take what you can, give nothing back. Hunty had backstabbed him without a blink, and from her crew's point of view it'd been a smart thing to do. That didn't improve his bitter mood either. Rane slumped into the chair he had right by the edge of the bridge, in a good position for looking over the entire deck. It was a huge armchair, nailed on the deck, and he was well aware that his skinny figure nearly disappeared in it, making him look even more ridiculous than he already was. Had he been a big oaf like old Oak – wonder whatever happened to him? he thought briefly - he would've looked majestic. Now he just looked like a kid in daddy's favorite chair. One could almost wonder when the daddy would show up and drive him off. All that made him increasingly sulky, that lanky, young guy on a huge well-armed pirate flagship and with a strong obedient crew. Rane had always been a Nice Guy; not just a generally nice guy but one of those people who are hellbent on believing that the world is, all in all, a nice place and everyone living in it is inherently friendly. He still wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up on that huge flagship with its rugged crew. He always felt out of place. Gods play cruel games with human lives. And now he was oozing bitterness from every pore. The helmsman eyed him nervously, or at least the back of his chair. What Rane had never quite understood was that he'd gotten his power over his crew via the fact that he never punished them. When he got angry, he always came off as someone who's about to explode at you but is still thinking what kind of a cruel and horrible punishment to inflict on you. So the crew was always on their toes when Rane was sulky, just in case they make a wrong move or comment and that skinny boy in his pompous attire would snap something like 'thrice around the keel and then the cat'. They were certain that the captain wouldn't even bother with something lesser; after all, he never did. "Where to, Cap?" the helmsman asked as loudly as he dared. "After that brigantine," came a quiet, nearly calm voice from the armchair. That was even worse than a snap. "What'd you think? We need to catch that demon... and that crew." "Yessah," squeaked the helmsman. Like a black swan between mallards, the Golden Mast sailed off along the coast. It wasn't particularly fast but the crew knew that their captain was more into tactics. Once he decided to go after something, he'd track it down like a bloodhound. CelestialLeste noted Jernath expression, smirking a little to herself. He was clearly not used to being loved. She twitched as Rose moved but calmed, seeing as she was only moving closer to Esme. The pirate needed to be careful with the two mercenary girls, they could mean trouble.
"Help you fight the pirates? No, I won't fight them but I won't try and stop you in any way so secret plans are safe" Leste spoke to Cyborg, crossing her arms over in a stubborn gesture. Pirates had honour after all and some things just didn't stop after you died.((Still near the ship- not for long though))Celestial watched in amazement and slight wonder as the ninjas and Bluisa floated up into the air without any effort and barely any disturbance that would usually be associated with beginner's leviatation. Each one landed on her back without any large bump and though she did buckle slightly under the sudden weight, it was amazingly skilled. "Whoa, I didn't know ninjas could do that" she laughed, a deep throaty laugh that dragons usually make. Some knights mistook it for aggresive roaring with disasterous consequences. However, there were few knights in the area with dragon-killing urges, thankfully. Celestial tried to wipe the smirk off her face as she took off. "Where do you guys want to go?" she shouted towards her passangers, hoping they had somewhere reasonable in mind. ((PFA, you three lucked out that you didn't land on the row of really sharp spines running down Dragon!Celestial's back. XDD)) Cyborg" Ok, but I kill Hunty. I swore revenge for Keng and I will get it. Midknight you take down Rider. Shado, Gryff, and the squirrels will take on the meepits and possibly the blarf. Jernath, Rose and Esme I will need you to fight Ikkin the kitsune and any of the pirate allies. So no Leste then. Hmm then Gryff you fly Midknight over to the ship.Shado will teleport us to the ship and we attack. " Cyborg stated his plan. PFA((gem army crowd))"...are sign language and charades really necessary? Maybe we could just use these," the blonde mage suggested, making some kind of magical quill and paper appear in her hands. "The quill needs no ink. I must say, it writes in the most divine shade of blue.""That... might work," Jernath replied, taking the paper and quill. He started writing a message for Omni, as the others continued speaking. "Jernath, Rose and Esme, I will need you to fight Ikkin the kitsune and any of the pirate allies," Cyborg said at some point. Jernath raised an eyebrow. The kitsune... the one that shot a fireball at him, he assumed. So she was a mage. He didn't like having to fight all these mages, but it seemed he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "Alright, the kitsune then," Jernath replied, as he finished writing. He handed the finished message to Omni. 'As I said, that girl's name is Esmeralda and she wasn't actually going to kill me. Hey, maybe you could help us out? We're trying to find this group called Spacefleet. Or maybe we're going to go attack the pirates. I'm not sure I know anymore,' it read. "Wait a minute," Jernath added to Cyborg as an afterthought, "what about the ship's mist? Won't it kick us off again?" --- ((on Celestial))"Where do you guys want to go?" Celestial asked. "Um... land, I guess," was PFA's response. "Somewhere safe... somewhere where we won't get attacked." PFA grinned sheepishly. She admittedly wasn't sure where they were planning on going. Omni((Gemarrian crowd)) "As I said, that girl's name is Esmeralda and she wasn't actually going to kill me. Hey, maybe you could help us out? We're trying to find this group called Spacefleet. Or maybe we're going to go attack the pirates. I'm not sure I know anymore."Omni took the pen and started writing as well as she could with her short, stubby fingers. 'Are you sure? She sure looked like she was threatening your life to me. 'Name doesn't sound familiar. Maybe I can still help you find them though. What are they like? 'I'd rather not fight the pirates, I know at least other mages in my guild are pirates, too.' She handed the paper back to the red-headed archer. Cyborg" I've thought about that. Shado and Midknight will be able to keep us on with their tendrils, if someone goes flying. Or we could steal a ship, sail to the Weewoo, shoot cannonballs at it, which the make the ship use up mist to fix. Therefore less mist less problem, we hop aboard and attack. So that's my other plan." Cyborg said to the group. " So what shall we do, use teleportation, or take a ship out to sea?" Fraze((Just so I can stop holding up the 'Fleeters, a short post. I think we're all allowed one every once in a while.)) "Yeah, I'd better get off now," Fraze said. "Wish me luck, I'll be keeping a constant data stream going to you all to tell you what's going on. With that, he cloaked, opened the shuttle door just enough to get out, and took a flying leap onto the rigging of the black-misted ship. I'm not your enemy, he thought with all his strength to the ship. Remember? Your captain and I made an alliance. I am not your enemy, you do not need to throw me off.” RiderAnd surely enough, the ship didn't throw him off. It just sort of poked at him a little and receded. "Well, I'll have the blarf catch you a couple sharks when we get a moment of free time. Where is he anyway?""Of course I came back, they were trying to feed me grain over there! And I didn't see the blarf when I was swimming over here," Shiva said. "Pity, he would have been a great help. In the meantime, hmm... there's the kitsune and then there's the Kat-who-is-not-a-cat. Who to nibble on until the blarf gets back?" "SHIVA!" "Kidding, kidding... probably..." Meanwhile... "Ryou-sama, there seems to be something stuck to the ship." "What's this?" The helmsman cleared his throat nervously. "It's unusually large, sir, and it seems to be hindering our movement." Ryou-sama glared at the shadow in the water. "Then get it off. What do I pay you for?" "Um, just to steer the ship, sir." "... Right. I'll get my ninja, then. All ninja on deck! A sea monster is attacking the back of the ship!" "I never said it was attacking sir, just that it's hindering-" Ryou-sama continued shouting over the helmsman. "I want all able-bodied swimmers to pry this beast off our rudder immediately!" Now, ninja being ninja, there weren't a lot of expert swimmers. But the half-dozen or so who did brave the deeps were armed to the teeth. They poked at the blarf with katana, searching for his weakest point. Kat"I like the way you think, Cap'n," said Kat, nodding. "And, ice magic is just up my alley. That's good." * * * "Just beware of that purple mage, she always intervenes in any fight you'll start," Asthielle warned. "I'll take her on, but if any of you can, keep her busy." ((Short post is very short, yes?)) Cyborg" Oh good ol Kat I take it. What's your problem with her anyways?" Cyborg asked. " I agree with the boat plan, so Shado can save energy." Midknight stated. " Me too, but so Gryff doesn't need to fly anyone yet." Esme added. Huntress((Out at sea, heading north)) The blarf, albeit relatively vulnerable to sharp objects, wasn't bothered much by the katanas. Except for the fact that they tickled. He wiggled around a bit, snorting bubbles, then let go of the rudder and pushed himself forward under the ship. That, in turn, pushed the ship aside a little, since the blarf used it as the base to push himself off from. The clipper's cannons weren't firing any more as they had too much trouble keeping the Weewoo in target range, so Hunty was squinting ahead at the horizon. It was clear and blue as always; however, she knew that in a few hours the Rocky Gates would be showing. The Gates were so big that they appeared on the horizon hours before the ship reached them, and most vessels used them as a signpost: if you could see them, you were too close. When you got past the Gates, it was only a few hours to the cold, silent, icy world of the northern regions, and you had to be a very good sailor - and a very desperate one - to survive sailing there. "Blarf!" "Everything okay, boy?" Hunty shouted without turning her head. "Blarf." That was to say that why yes, everything's pretty much fine unless you count the fact that the Weewoo's speed was making swimming increasingly hard for a poor blarf. And there weren't even any sharks around. He paused for a second. Why were the sharks gone? Something pierced his not-exactly primitive mind, something similar to the feeling that drives rats off a sinking ship and makes dogs hide before earthquakes. Something ominous. Something right on the edge of his senses, something that sounded like - had he known to make that connection - like a tuned Harley Chopper. Somewhere high above them, someone was reading data on a bike's indicators. Obviously they weren't showing speed and oil pressure. They showed far more interesting things. He was grinning.
The Calm Ones Meanwhile, a gathering appeared to be in place. Those that had gathered resembled medieval villagers, with the exception of animal appendages on a large percent of the people. A few even had fur covering their whole bodies. The crowd was quiet, the air was tense… the land was tinted red… They were gathered around a young woman. She appeared to be meditating, her eyes closed, her breathing steady. They appeared to be waiting on her, fidgeting nervously.
Some time passed, the girl slowly began to open her eyes… her eyes, which seemed more hollow than most, and yet, they seemed to stare right into you, reading your every thought, as well as much more.
Some of the crowd leaned forward expectantly, and she spoke. Her face bore no expression, her voice showed little more.
"It is as we feared."
Gasping ensued, as well as some sobbing. A man who stood at the with those at the front of the crowd took a half-step forward. "Can you warn them?" he asked.
She remained expressionless. "I will try," and she closed her eyes again. With her mind, she reached out, and spoke a message. Only those with compatible abilities would be able to pick it up, and of those, only the more sensitive would be able to hear spoken words.
Animal kingdom Many species, many clans Running ever free
Peaceful relations Some trades, some alliances And yet each their own
A dark entity Enters kingdom, offers gift Unmeasurable
Quietly studied Very desirable Later discovered
Each clan wants the gift But the gift is only one Gift becomes a prize
Struggle for the prize Constantly grows more intense Vicious slaughtering
Fight reaches zenith Dark One returns, reclaims gift Prize becomes a cage
The more vicious clans Attempt escape, straining selves The bars do not give
Pointless to resist Yet they continue trying Growing ever fiercer
The more gentle clans Ask the Captor for release Permission denied
Fierce Ones pent up rage Cage rattles, calm ones injured Separate cage made
Time ever flies on The clans remain as they are Longing for freedom
Some were not captured Free Ones flourish over time Ever unaware
Fierce' cage discovered Free Ones try to claim the prize Chaos soon ensues
Prize misunderstood Free Ones try to control it Dark One emerges
Fierce Ones try to speak Tell the Free Ones of their plight Awaiting escape
Calm Ones stay silent Watching how things outside turn Seeing ev'rything
Fierce Ones cage destroyed They reek havoc on the world Out to get revenge
Dark One hides away Escaping with Sailing Clan Proceeding to plot
Perfect cage readied Free Ones are free… for how long? Their fate in their hands PFA((gem army crowd))"Yeah, the ship would probably be better," Jernath commented to Cyborg, as he read across Omni's response. "It would be best if we could have Shado and Gryff fighting with us, rather than focusing on keeping us on-board." Soon enough, he started writing a response of his own to Omni. When he was done, he handed the paper back to the Zafara. 'She told me to play along. So she was faking it,' it read. 'Spacefleet... they're basically people in fancy space armor with laser guns. If that means anything to you. And I think we're about to go fight the pirates. I guess you won't be coming with us?' --- ((on Celestial))Before Celestial could say anything to PFA, the ninja had a weird poem going through her head. But... it wasn't a poem she had ever heard before. And she had never been able to make up poems on the fly. The poem didn't make a lot of sense, either. Something about animals fighting over a prize. And... a cage. Which breaks. And... havoc. Wait. Why was this suddenly sounding familiar? Like... the gem? PFA didn't really know what to make of this poem, but there must have been some reason for it. They mentioned something about a sailing clan... the Weewoo? "Um, maybe we should follow the Weewoo?" PFA spoke up again. As an afterthought, she tacked on, "Just... to make sure they don't, um, crash or something...?" Cyborg" I agree, I would like to rip some rabid rodents to bits." Gryff said with a smirk on his face. " So it's settled, we steal a ship, so let's find the closest harbour, commendeer us a ship and get going. I suggest maybe working in groups, Esme, you and the mage, what's your name again, go find some cannonballs in a nearby town or at the harbour. Midknight and the squirrels will join you. Jernath, Shado, Rose, Gryff and I will go find us a strong seaworthy ship." Cyborg stated to the group. " Everyone fine with that?" " I'm fine, but one thing, now Omni over there knows we're after the pirates, what if she tries to stop us?" Midknight asked. " Gryff and I are fine with that." Esme added. " All right boss!" the squirrels declared in unison. " I'll talk or should I say write to her about that." Cyborg took the paper and began to write: Omni are you going to stop us from the attacking the pirates? If so have fun, I won't attack you, but I can't say anything about the others, so please make it easy and don't try and stop us. he gave the paper to Omni. ZariZari wondered idly why the humans were all throwing their weights around so much. Not just spacefleet. The other guilds seemed just as intent on causing trouble and keeping the irate Illhvrenan away from the things she did best- mainly, messing around with chemicals, fire, hard materials, and different types of DNA. And taking care of her clones. Don't forget the catclones. Oh, and the RP was slowing down. What a mess. These humans have no attention spans. I wonder if we gave one a lifespan of an Illhvrenan it'd ever accomplish much...Hell, what I am Idoing! Thinking all slow and tepid-blood like a human! Gods, call yourself an Illhvrenan... Zari, slumped in her chair, straightened and said, loudly, "What the Seveth Demigod am I doing? For shame...I've been spending too much time around shortlives." The Ocelot-Fae lurched to her feet, took a step forward, and tripped over a pile of papers, falling flat on her face. "I'm awful at this. But, guys, we've been dawding around getting hardly much done. Motivation! Determination! Uhm...what else ends with 'ayshun'? Er...Self-preservation! No, that can't be right..." Zari somehow managed to get herself into a kneeling position, and waved her arms around in an attempt to get her point across. "Acoz seriously, are we gonna take up knitting or something? Learn the violin? Let's all find some constructive way of amusing ourselves...I'm going to make a distraction. Not to use now, but maybe later. Got explosives, anyone?" She stood, and, trying to avoid the stacks of paper and boxes full of who knew what, made her way to a desk and sat down, grabbing a few shiny bits and pieces, some explosives, and some other stuff and began putting together a "distraction". ((As you should be able to tell, Illhvrenans as a race are incredibly, annoyingly energetic and always have to be doing something. twiddling thumbs doesn't hold with them at all.)) Smithy"Fire at will,"Smithy grinned. She moved her arms outwards, suddenly apart, then clapped them near each other again. The cloud seemed to imitate her movements. It swelled, divided, and they crashed together. The fingersmith smirked as she pulled her arms down several times. Lightning rained down upon the clipper, and fire began licking at the floating fuelstore. "Hmm, not bad for being out of practise, if I say so myself." Smithy repeated the actions several times. "I never like those creepy ninjas anyhow.” Kat"Oh good ol Kat I take it. What's your problem with her anyways?""Wouldn't you like to know," said Asthielle, narrowing her eyes at Cyborg. "And, with me around, you won't be needing cannonballs, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. So...Esme, is it? Where is the nearest store, anyway?" Celestial((The Skies Above the Weewoo))"Somewhere safe? I know just the place" Celestial shouted over the roar of the wing and angled her wings for a turn. Something brushed against her mind as if trying to establish contact. Not now Overlord, I need to focus on flying she snapped through the mindlink at the Weewoo sitting just in front of her crest. I didn't say anything he replied in a confused manner.Then what... Celestial began but the thought trailed off as the touch returned and took over her mind. She didn't hear PFA, she only heard the poem echoing in her ears. Nobody could fly blind and Celestial stopped, hovering just above the sea, listening. Her telepathic connections with the dragons and Overlord alike allowed her to see what the poem said. Even though it was cryptic, she knew exactly what it meant. The pirates were sailing into a trap set by somebody who they trust. I can try and stop them she thought and once again, her wings flapped but this time, she was climbing into the clouds. If the pirates saw her following them, a few cannon balls would surely be sent the dragon's way. "Hang on" Celestial shouted back to PFA, Bluisa and Cat Assasin and began the steep climb into the cloud cover. As soon as they began discussing plans, Leste moved aside but she still kept a wary eye on Jernath, Rose and Esme. While it wasn't polite to listen to other's secret plans, she knew the rule of keeping your enemies close.
"Are you done over there?" the pirate shouted at the discussing mercenaries. Patience was not her strong point. Cyborg" Great Jernath, why did you get stuck with the impatient stalker ghost. Yes I would like to know, seeing as I want the pirates dead too, though I do like the blarf." Cyborg replied. Esme, Midknight and the squirrels all gathered near the mage (that wants to kill Kat). " Umm I think it's about a 20 minute walk in that direction, she pointed to where she saw the top of a tall church bell tower. " Ok once you have the cannonballs meet my group at the harbour in town, where we will commendeer us a ship. Oh and yes it is good to be prepared, because even though I can use earth magic against the ship, I prefer to save my magic." Cyborg stated. " So once I get a reply from Omni we move out." he added, as Shado, Gryff and himself gathered near Jernath and Rose. Omni((Lost in the crowd)) Omni took the pen again. 'Sounds like Virtupets. I don't think I've seen anyone like that recently.' She thought a little bit about the pirates… she didn't want to fight them. Cyborg and his gang were going to cause trouble for them, she didn't want that either. Even if she were to fight them, she'd be outnumbered. She also wasn't sure she could to much when surrounded by that army… plus there was that nagging feeling she had… 'I will not fight against the pirates, but I will go with you.' She handed the pen and parchment back to the red-head. --- ((Zari's ship)) "What do you have?" Ethan asked Zari around when Fraze left the ship. He also waited for Fraze to start telling them what was going on. Any moment now… CyborgMidknight walked over and took the pen and parchment Fine, but I swear if you betray us, it'll be the last thing you do. and gave Omni the parchment and went back to his group. Rose"Okay, I'm fine with this, ready to go when you guys are," Rose said with a little smile. This is defintely going to be interesting she thought to herself. Bacon((Zari's ship)) "Shortlives? Hey, I'm stressed enough here without being reminded of my own mortality." Bacon said. He was starting to feel tense, and as always when he felt tense he also felt ready to start perfoming rocket surgery. Just a biopsy in this case, since he really didn't want to break the engines right now. 'Cause that'd be bad. "I don't suppose I could take a look at the ship's electrical systems, could I?" He asked, really unsure of what kind of answer he'd get. VytBluisa followed Celestial's orders and clung on to the dragoness with her life. Cat Assassin promptly followed. "What's going on, Celestial?" she quickly asked, sensing something troubling the dragoness. "Is there any problem at all?" ((... Short post. Still anticipating some random internet disconnection and thus can't make a long post in fear of losing it.)) Huntress((Out at sea)) And so, after many hours of sailing and completely against the GW's current timeline continuity conventions, the Rocky Gates were towering above the black brigantine. It'd been a long and somewhat eventless journey. Smithy's attacks had incapacitated the ninja ship, Hunty's general opinion of mages had improved somewhat, the ancient fleet was visible on the horizon but still far behind since they spent quite a bit of time attacking each other while sailing, and even though the sun was still shining, the captain could feel her mood drop. It was, of course, because of the Gates. The Rocky Gates looked rather like a very high triumphal arch jutting out of the water, reaching to some three hundred yards. It was a dark grey, somewhat shapeless megalith that had been standing there for as long as anyone could remember. In fact, had Rane been there, he would've been surprised at the shape the megalith was in. He, as well as the rest of the army, knew it as The Guardians, and remembered it as a carved statue of two giants with their hands spread out to form the archway. But the centuries and the multiple storms this area constantly got had rendered the statues nearly shapeless. It was, however, still standing. "Any specific reason why we have to sail through here as opposed to, say, a little to the left or right?" Bloody Mary asked sulkily. The archway looked eerie, as if it was about to swallow them whole. "Currents," Hunty said. "The Gates mark the gap between two strong currents. Invisible to the eye from this point but if you get caught in one, it'll drag you along for some two hundred miles until it calms down somewhere around," she waved her hand absently, "the archipelago down east. And then you'll still be lucky not to have sailed into a vortex along the way." A shadow fell on them - the ship was sailing through the gateway. The sea was deceptively calm here. Bloody Mary cast a glance at Leraye. The demon had been quiet lately. "And all that... because of him?" "Because of us," Hunty said. She didn't like to admit it but they were pretty much cornered at that point. Chased like prey. The northern regions could save them but they could just as well drag them down. She squinted at the sky showing on the other side of the Gates, and scowled. Above all else, these old regions could get annoyingly magical. You'd never know whether the stars were the right stars. "Get me the maps, will you?" SmithySmithy gazed up at the Gates looming ahead. She'd heard many a tale of them, but had only really half-believed that they were real. The fingersmith-cum-mage sucked in her breath in anticipation. Quickly Smithy calmed herself down. There was no point in tempting fate by starting to release vast amounts of dark energy in an old and probably magic-sensitive area. The stars were out, at least, although not in their normal order. She scanned the skies for Sagitarius, and found him. ((OOC; if that's a mistake, forgive and forget, I don't really know much about the constellations.)) "Bah. Why do I always end up liking dangerous risks?" RiderBefore the ship, the Gates rose like stone monoliths, guardians of the ice since the dawn of time. Behind the ship, more sails were appearing on the horizon like ghosts. "They'll freeze," Rider said, more to reassure herself than because she actually thought it was true. "They know they'll freeze. They'll turn around." "They won't," Shiva said. "Hey, yu've got my blanket down there, right?" Wordlessly, Rider retrieved Shiva's blanket from his stall. When she emerged, the sails were even closer. She looked up. "Hey, is Leo supposed to be beside Saggitarius?" "No, Leo's in Mage Manor, being inactive." "No, no, no, the constellation you silly horse." "Probably not, but rest assured, we're not lost up here." "I never said we were!" "You were thinking it. Just relax, Rider. Hunty and Leraye have it all under control." Rider looked to where Hunty was barking orders at a bunch of anarchists and Leraye was napping on a floral-print couch. "Reassuring. Hey, a Knight ship has pulled ahead of the ninja! Permission to fire?" As soon as she said this, she realized how low the ammo was running. "Or I could, y'know, sit here and be a decoration. Oh look, an undead penguin!" PFA((>_> Hope no one minds my timeskipishness...)) ((on Celestial))Celestial had been flying the ninjas through the cloud cover for a while now, but finally the Weewoo was coming into sight. It seemed to be approaching some kind of giant gate, made entirely of stone. Just looking at it made PFA grow tense. "Where do you think they're going?" PFA asked, though inwardly, she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. If that poem held any speck of truth, then this wasn't going to be pleasant. --- ((merc. boat))It wasn't as easy as one would have hoped, but the mercenaries had managed to commandeer a ship. It surely wasn't the best ship in the world, but it would have to do. "Now we have to figure out where they are..." Jernath commented, looking around at all the various ships of varying shapes and sizes. There certainly were a lot of them... but so far, there was no Weewoo in sight. "They were heading north, weren't they?" he asked whoever was listening. Cyborg" Yes they were going far north I believe. So care to explain your fued with Kat, mage?" Cyborg asked as he steered the piratey ship. " So what are we gonna call this thing? The Golden Gallion?" Midknight asked. It wasn't too large, but was a good size, about 2/3s the size of the Weewoo/Beekadoodle, but was still a useful ship. With about five to seven connons on each side of the deck and three on each side below deck. The ship was fairly well equipped. It had the head of a gallion looking creature on the front, which combined with the golden colouration, gave Midknight the name. AmneigerAmneiger looked up from where he had been trying to get some sleep while waiting for something to happen (in the field you never knew when your next chance for some safe rest was) and saw Zari building some bizarre object and Bacon trying to get into the engines while they were running ohlordthey'regoingtobreaktheshipwhilewe'reinitijustknowstopthem"Hey, um, look! What's that big stone arch thing over there? And, uh, that's a lot of ships down there isn't it?" ((I'm assuming that we've been following the Pirates this whole time. >_>)) Zari"Uhm...Ethan, Get Ienalle to get you a can of acid deodrant. Or one of those shmancy spray bullet guns. Or a water pistol. ...Bacon, Feel free, just don't break anything or I'll find a way to use your life force to keep this tin can running. I'm busy making a distraction." Zari grabbed a spanner and whacked the "distraction" with the tool, sending a puff of purple smoke and a few sparks into the air. "Is stress relief. Soon she make bang and dust and all be okay." Ienalle said wisely, attempting to extract a file labelled with a few runes and three english numbers from a stack of them. Fraze((On the Weewoo)) The ship seemed to let Fraze on. At the very least, it didn't try to throw him off. He began a continuous data stream to Zari's ship. "I'm on," he sent. "I think they're going somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Probably out of here, since they seem to be the center of attention, and not in a good way." He looked around some more, from his perch on the rigging. Soon, he found the person he thought was Leraye. "They seem to be protecting the demon. I'd hazard a guess that he's of some use to them."
((Leeeet's doooo the tiiime waaarrrrp agaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin! *Mauled*)) Nothing had happened for a while, it seemed. Fraze had continued to send data to Zari's shuttle, and had continued to stay cloaked. He knew this would drain his skinsuit battery. It was already down to 90% of maximum power--not much to worry about, but he still would have preferred more. He hadn't seemed to be noticed yet, though there were a few close calls with people scurrying around on the rigging. "Err, you can probably already see this, but we're coming up on some stone archway," he sent. He looked down, straining to hear what the captain was saying. "I couldn't catch much, but from what it sounds like, they have to sail through this arch. I'm going to be on guard, because I heard something about currents." Smithy"They'll freeze," Rider said, more to reassure herself than because she actually thought it was true. "They know they'll freeze. They'll turn around."
"They won't," Shiva said. Smithy turned to the two. "Even if they don't, they can be helped on their way, can't they? Ice likes breaking ships. Just let's be past these gates first." She squinted at the sky for a moment. "So, if I'm thinking on the right terms, this has been a longish battle. We're probably low on ammo. I could conjure up ice balls for you, but I'm not sure whether they'll melt or not."
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:01:47 GMT -5
Kat"Never thought I'd live to see the day," whispered Kat as the Gates came into view. She knew that there were such things, thanks to her old master, but never knew that she would actually get to see them for herself. She flicked her wrist and a sheaf of star charts and maps appeared in her staff-free hand. "Here, Cap'n, rumor has it that the stars can shift and move when you least expect it, and unfortunately, I can't predict when they'll start moving next. If it helps...there are some stars that barely twitch at all. Of course, nobody knows if they'll stay that way for a while." * * * "I don't care what you name this thing, as long as it moves," said Asthielle, shrugging and pulling a spyglass out of thin air. Squinting through it, she added, "That ship of theirs...well, I can't see it. At least, from here." Putting down her spyglass, she turned to Cyborg, her blond hair whipping around her. "Kalianne was responsible for the death of my old mentor." Cyborg( I think I'm having too much fun using Esme as a character)"I see, I though have different reasons for finding them. They almost marooned me, while I was unconcious, the captain Hunty banned rum, and they kicked my friend off the ship, because she was attacked from behind." Cyborg said. " Don't worry I was joking about killing them over rum. Yes Midknight I guess the Golden Gallion will be fine." Meanwhile Esme was flirting with Jernath. " So, do you like sailing? I do it's very romantic." she said smiling as she leaned in closer. Midknight seeing this walked over. *clears throat* " You two having fun?" " Sorry." Esme said as she backed away from Jernath. " Esme go below deck and get Gryff, we have a job for him. Jernath you go get Rose. Tell her we are loading the cannon balls into the cannon, like we should have done earlier. When Esme comes back tell her the same, and yes I will be helping." Midknight stated. (( A few minutes later)) " You have a job for me?" Gryff asked Cyborg with intrest. " Yes, I need you to fly up and look into the distant north and tell me what you see. Though fly about 50 km north as well. Ok?" Cyborg asked as he steered the Golden Gallion. Esme ran over to Jernath. " So what you wanna do?" she asked. PFA((Golden Gallion))"The name's fine with me," Jernath said in response to Midknight. Though really, he didn't care much about the name. So pretty much anything would have been fine with him. "So, do you like sailing?" Esme asked, smiling and leaning closer to Jernath. "I do; it's very romantic.""...Um," was Jernath's response, as usual. Thankfully, Midknight interrupted them, so he didn't need to answer the question anyway. "Esme, go below deck and get Gryff; we have a job for him. Jernath, you go get Rose. Tell her we are loading the cannon balls into the cannon, like we should have done earlier. When Esme comes back, tell her the same, and yes I will be helping," Midknight said. Jernath promptly nodded and went off in search of Rose. When he found her, he waved to her. "Hey Rose, we're going to be loading the cannonballs into the cannons now, if you... want to help. I think Cyborg and Midknight want you to, at least." Not waiting for a response, Jernath went back over to the deck, where the Kougra brothers were talking with Gryff. While they were distracted, Esme again came up to Jernath. "So, what you wanna do?""Um... we should go load the cannonballs," Jernath said to her, a hint of nervousness making it into his voice. "...Into the cannons. So... we can shoot at the Weewoo when we see it." He then promptly walked over to the cannonballs, and started lugging them over into the cannons. Because that was what Midknight wanted him to do. Yep. Huntress((At the Rocky Gates)) Hunty's knuckles were white again. Sailing through the Gates wasn't harder than sailing anywhere else but it put a lot of mental pressure on you. There was this looming, ancient, ominous feeling as though you'd just stepped on the doorway to Davy Jones' Locker and the gatekeeper had told you, "Turn back, today's not the day. But we're keeping an eye on you." ...and here was the other side. ...Somewhere above them and far, far away, Death's horse stepped off the arch of the Gates and into the air.
LUCKILY IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN, Death said somewhat apologetically to War and Famine who were waiting patiently a few yards away. Death is required to be present when a king dies, and Death is also required to be present when someone sails through the Rocky Gates.
"Whatever for?" Famine had asked when War explained that. The Horseman had grimaced.
"The higher-ups thought that it added to the feeling."
"But there's already enough feeling!"
That was true. Even the Horsemen could feel the pressure of the lands behind the Gates. The air tasted different here. The wind sounded different. The clouds ahead were lagging as they moved, though that was TMC's fault. The fourth de-jure-Horseman had moved ahead and descended a little, and his silver-white bike was now flying next to the Weewoo.
Oh yes, this would be fun...Hunty took a deep breath. The actual land of ice and snow wouldn't come in a while but there was already winter in the air. This sharp, clear smell of snow... once you've smelled it, you'll always remember what it's like. "Hey, a Knight ship has pulled ahead of the ninja! Permission to fire?"Rider's voice brought her back to her senses. She shot a glance back over her shoulder. "We're better off saving ammo, so fire as soon as they fire. I'm not entirely sure if we're even in the range." She squinted. You could never tell what the Gates did to your depth perception. A decomposing penguin stuck its head out of the water. "Wark!" Or sanity, for that matter. "Do penguins move in herds?" Hunty asked gruffly. "To my knowledge, yes." Bloody Mary sat down on the railing, wrapping himself in a random cloth. "Good." At that point a huge dark shadow appeared under the penguin. A muffled 'blarf', a protesting squeak, and then a row of muffled protesting squeaks as the blarf sunk back under the waves. Hunty discovered that she was staring at that patch of water in a kind of horrified fascination, and turned back to the wheel, listening to Smithy. "So, if I'm thinking on the right terms, this has been a longish battle. We're probably low on ammo. I could conjure up ice balls for you, but I'm not sure whether they'll melt or not.""If you conjure them at the last moment, they won't. Not much point in loading the ship with ice right now, it'd only slow us down." Being low on ammo was a problem, but being a ship chased by ships that had ammo and were therefore heavier wasn't a problem. "Get down there and give me a full record of what we have, will you? All ammo in all holds, prow and aft and inbetween." She took Kat's maps and spread them on the rudder post behind the wheel. "Well then, what're we facing?" There were few maps in circulation about the area behind the Gates, and this wasn't the first time Hunty was thankful to have a mage as her first mate. The map with the gateway on it had the currents marked in red. They started shortly before the gates and moved on for miles, two wide stretches of water with a narrow gap inbetween. "If we're careful, the force generated by the two currents on either side will push us forward without much effort," she said, stretching her back, "but by careful, I mean making sure that we don't drift too much right or left, or the current will grab us and take us along." Her nail tapped at the point on the map where the currents spread out and turned back. "Or we get thrown right in the face of our chasers." She looked back at the archway. "As long as that thing's straight behind us, we have a good landmark to navigate from, though." "Can that be trusted more than the stars?" Bloody Mary asked grimly. Cyborg" Ok let's start." Midknight said as he loaded a cannonball into a nearby cannon. Esme lugged a cannon ball and shoved it into the cannon. " How long do you think it will take to reach the pirates?" she asked. " I don't know I'm waiting to hear back from Gryff." Cyborg said as he watched the horizon. (( 5 minutes later)) " That's the last of the cannons." Midknight said walking onto the deck. "Good." Esme said," Oh look there's Gryff." " So what's the report?" Cyborg asked Gryff. " There is a large group of gem army ships, and beyond that are some rock gate things." Gryff replied. RoseRose was just gazing out at the sea when Jernath came over to her, saying they were about to load the cannons and then left. After a while she walked to where they were just finishing loading the cannons. " Hey," she greeted. Then she quickly realized they were done."Oops sorry I'm too late to help," she said. "Is there anything else to do that I could help with?" she asked. Omni((Zari's shuttle)) "Spray bullet? Like scattershot? Sounds good." He turned to Ienalle, and said her name with a question mark. Ethan listened to Fraze's message. I say we keep following. Info on what's beyond the arch would be useful, though.--- ((The ship Cyborg took)) Omni, who had long since removed the water balls from her ears, leaned on the rigging. "I still think if we had a smaller, lighter ship, we'd be faster. Maybe we could still find some unnecessary stuff to throw overboard." "There is a large group of gem army ships, and beyond that are some rock gate things.""Did you see the Weewoo?" Omni asked. Celestial((Dragon, follow that ship!!))Celestial flew beneath the clouds, keeping just out of range of the cannons. The air around her grew colder until she was forced to beat her wings harder in order to stay warm enough to sustain flight. If the poem was correct, they were close. Here between the forzen seas and icy peaks would the fate of the NTWF would be decided. There was no way she could sustain this altitude, not in such cold. Celestial began decending, keeping well away from the Weewoo. There was a gate and the ship was going to going to go right through it. "I don't know but it is not going to be pretty" she shouted back to PFA, keeping her wings from cramping. Cold weather was not good for reptiles, even if they were warm-blooded dragons. The Gates didn't hold much of a view for her, a creature which had flown through valleys carved out by glaciers only yesterday. Celestial's wings rose in a steady motion as they came closer and closer. Climbing to the top of the mast, Leste savoured the wind passing around her, just like when she was alive. Death was not too bad but life...there was no salty cold wind in the afterlife. For a moment she forgot Jernath as her memories filled with thoughts of living.
Esme, why did that girl have to jerk Leste out of her dreams? Floating down upon the ground, she coughed loudly.
"Don't you think we should be focusing on catching the pirates if you and your friends are so desperate for whatever you want" she said calmly, letting the girl get the hint. Nobody flirts with Jernath while I am around
Thankfully the cannons called and everyone went off. Leste climbed into the rigging once more, lost in her own thoughts. RiderShiva had never had penguin before, particularly not the already-frozen-meat kind, but the blarf was making him feel hungry. He sniffed the air cautiously. Wait a minute. There was a scent that didn't belong to any of the pirates. A particularly male scent. "Hey Rider, do you smell that?" "... I smell rotting penguin. Ew! Shiva, you didn't..." "Not yet I didn't, but I will if no one feeds me around this joint. No, that's not what I'm talking about. It's faint enough..." "I don't have a horse's nose. What do you smell?" "More like a who, I think." He looked around. "OK, whoever's trying to hide yourself on a ship full of animals..." "You'd better only be referring to yourself, the Meepits and the Blarf." "Oh yeah, that's right, dinner." And so, the easily-distracted horse ran to the port side and yelled out at the blarf. "Hey, Blarf-face! Yeah you, you silly oaf of a beast! I want you to catch me some food! The fresh stuff, not the rotting crud you're eating! Hey, hey, why're you swimming away? I'm talking to you, you pickle-brained son of a meatloaf!" Rider sighed and wondered how her horse had even survived the demon realms. If the mystery scent was so easily forgotten, it might not be anything but a figment of Shiva's imagination, but it was still unsettling. She leaned against one of the cannons, her eyes fixed on the approaching Knight ship. Leraye had his face buried in an alchemy book. He was muttering to himself, deep in thought. Something about the energy generated by the human body. Something else about freezing time in a small area. It was a welcome background noise in the bone-biting silence of the north. A rhythm as constant and soothing as the waves. VytBy the time Celestial had taken them to some bizarre icy place, Cat Assassin was finally able to regain his lost composure, albeit much longer than he did before. He had already stopped himself from succumbing to his past, his repeating utter of SILE's name completely gone at least for now. The cat had convinced himself to move on once more when the last flashback hit his confused mind and gave him the strength to continue. Yes, you can counter a barrage of flashbacks with one flashback. Now shut up and be hypnotized by the fade-in scene.---------------------- SILE and the others were forced to face again the dreaded Fritz and his company who were constantly stalking them ever since they came. The last time their opponents struck, their rodent leader had successfully isolated Cat Assassin from them, even knocking him unconscious and leaving him adrift by the strong river to his supposed death while the others watched helplessly from a distance.
This time, the former hitman was absent, and SILE must think of something that would at least give them a chance against their stronger enemies.
However, before the two groups even were able to meet each other on the future battlefield, a small meteor was heading its way towards them, forcing SILE's group to stand back. Despite Fritz's cohorts following suit to seek cover, the rodent watched the meteor with a very surprised look on his face.
The meteor fell down right in front of him, revealing a very refreshed Cat Assassin.
"I'll never let you hurt my loved ones again, Fritz..." he breathed out as he stood to face his childhood rival. "Never again."
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"Yes, I've said that once," Cat Assassin thought. " ... And I'll say it again. I will never let anyone hurt my loved ones. Ever," he added, his cold serious expression making its way back in his face. Cyborg" Speed is useful, but I think power is needed to take down the pirates, which I know your against Omni. I think maybe we could get rid of the empty barrels down below deck. There's about 6 of them, but makie sure not to chuck, the supplies, like the barrels of food and the canteens Esme stole. Rose how about you, Omni, Esme, Jernath, Midknight and out mage friend go grab a barrel each, and then chuck 'em" Cyborg said trying to concentrate on steering the ship. " I saw another ship ahead of the gem army, it looked like the ship had a good head start, I think it was the Weewoo." Gryff said as he rested on the deck. " Ok I'll go get a barrel." Midknight said as he went below deck and grabbed a barrel, making sure it was empty. " Hey, Leste, it doesn't matter whether or not you like the fact that I flirt with him, and I don't even think you should be on this ship. You're just a stalker." Esme said fuming, as she followed Midknight and grabbed an empty barrel. The two returned and chucked the two barrels overboard. Kat"She cannot be trusted," Asthielle told Cyborg grimly. "And by the way, you can just call me Ielle - short for Asthielle. It wasn't always my name, you see. After my master died, I changed it, but unfortunately, Kalianne managed to figure out that I started using an alias." The spyglass she was holding disappeared in a puff of yellow smoke. She followed Midknight and Esme below deck to get a barrel, which she pushed after their barrels overboard. "Well, nobody seems to want to attack us; that's a good thing." * * * Kat drew her robes more tightly around herself. "If I'm not mistaken, the Gates are constant, more constant than the stars here. They're a lot more reliable. Still, it won't hurt to watch for any other landmarks we can use...if any." She glanced at the knight ship and for a fleeting moment, wondered if the other Knights - the non-gem Knights, obviously - were all right. "They don't seem to be much of a threat...at least, right now," she remarked, a stray wind lifting her hair. "Of course, we can never be too sure." ZariZari's computer recieved the data stream and played it. Zari listened to it, then went back to her demented object, which was getting more and more ominous looking my the minute, primarily due to the fact it had 7 fuses and 4 timers stuck onto it at random intervals. Ienalle dropped the file and turned to blink at Ethan. "Lotsa bullets bang-stick is very shiny...too dangerous for Nalay to use, but human know which way to point bang-stick. First time Nalay use bang-stick, is make very shiny hurts and big noise. Hurt ears...and break things, and Zari get very mad. Never use killling bang-stick anymore, since it breaks things." Ienalle chattered, while unlocking the weapons safe. She let the boxscan her retina and thumbprint, then opened the safe. "Nalay use needle gun, liquid inside, not break things. Hurt terrible when shot though..." She grabbed a slightly larger gun than the others. checked the inside, grabbed a few packets of rounds, and gave the whole package to Ethan. "Makes even bigger bang, stick does, with many shiny metal things." she said happily. Smithy“Get down there and give me a full record of what we have, will you? All ammo in all holds, prow and aft and inbetween."Assuming that the captain had adressed her, Smithy went below deck, grinning at herself. "And when did you ever know anything about ships, Smithy?" She searched the place, high and low, and got a shock. The battle must have been on for far more time than she had expected. There was barely any ammunition left. Remembering Qamr, Smithy found him and released the indignant horse from the protective orb. She slapped him gently on the rump. "Get on with you, there's another horse above decks. Don't know if he knows horse, but you'll understand Shiva well enough. He's apparently a demon, if I remember, which I probably do." Apparently surprised, the Arabian stallion went unsteadily up to the deck, followed by his mistress. Qamr walked up to the other black horse, and nosed him curiously. Smithy walked to Huntress. "Bad news, cap'n, you're running far lower on ammo than I expected. About a score of cannonballs is all. But I guess you can count Kat and I as ammo in a way, too.” RiderHorse was not Shiva's native language, but he had managed to pick up on some key words and phrases from the horses that he had roomed with when Rider was renting out the barn. "Hello," he said to Qamr. "How you is? Look lovely today you do. You horse of shiny magic, I demon but not bad." The finer points of grammar had escaped him.
The Horsemen Somewhere nearby and infinitely far away, a Harley landed on the deck of the Weewoo. The other three Horsemen hadn't in fact planned to follow the brigantine but now they forced their horses closer in order to see better. "What's he doing?" War asked. MEDDLING, Death said. For a seven-foot skeleton he managed to sound a surprising lot like he was talking about an annoying mother-in-law. "Like, he's gonna mess something up," Famine grunted. "I just know it." HE WANTS THE APOCALYPSE TO COME, said the reaper. HE ACTS IN OUR INTERESTS. The other two gave him an unconvinced glance. This was one of those politically correct utterances. Famine sighed. War fiddled nervously with the reins. "Well, we'd better stick around," he said. "When all Four are riding together, they cannot part until the duty is fulfilled." Famine raised her head. "What?" WE'RE STUCK WITH THE SELF-CENTERED DONKEY UNTIL THE WORLD BLOWS UP, said Death. "Ah." TMC walked across the deck at the same time, invisible to everyone but the other riders, and scanned the surroundings. Had anyone seen him, it would've been hard to imagine someone more out of place on a pirate ship. He could, of course, look like anything he wanted, but for the last few centuries he'd stuck with the good fixed image that came with worn jeans, a leather jacket, dark messy hair, and sunglasses. Not that the latter meant much. You couldn't look into his eyes, glasses or not. Your look simply didn't reach them, or slid right over his face without seeing the eyes. They were there, but even the fellow Horsemen couldn't see them - another fact that irked them a lot. He stopped in front of Leraye's couch and looked at him for a thoughtful moment, then, without any warning or preparations, the demon could see him. "You," he said. "Come on over to the prow. I want a word with you, and I don't want any of them see you talking to thin air. I have a little... proposition, and I know you'll like it." RiderLeraye smiled and set down his book. "You know, I rather preferred Pestilence. He stood by the more traditional garb." He went to the prow. "Now, your proposition. And please, if you would turn off that noisy engine? It makes concentrating very hard indeed." In reality, it wasn't the engine that made it hard to concentrate, but the haze around TMC that made it all too clear that time was relative. That fading in and out of the past few seconds. Leraye hypothosized that this was the case, but hey. The engine was annoying too. HuntressHunty gave Kat a sideways glance, which wasn't easy if you're trying to keep an eye on a landmark that's straight behind you. "If I'm not mistaken, the Gates are constant, more constant than the stars here. They're a lot more reliable. Still, it won't hurt to watch for any other landmarks we can use...if any.""Doubt there will be any. Unless you count icebergs, and they move." She looked ahead again, then bowed over to shoot a glance at the map. "This region mostly consists of open water. There are a few islands farther ahead but nobody really knows whether they're islands or just very big and heavy icebergs that don't move much... so we'll have to rely on our lucky stars more than everything." She looked at the horses with a thoughtful scowl. Common sense told her that having a demon horse aboard with possible upcoming lack of food rations wasn't, well, much of a common sense. And then again, Shiva was one of their own. They would never leave one of their own. Smithy interrupted that train of thought. "Bad news, cap'n, you're running far lower on ammo than I expected. About a score of cannonballs is all. But I guess you can count Kat and I as ammo in a way, too." "We're that low?" Hunty bit her lip. "How'd we get that low? Mrmh. Well, you two aren't everlasting and our ship can only do so much in a battle. At least we still have Leraye." He was the reason they'd ran off in the first place, after all. "Eh, we've been through worse," Bloody Mary said, jumping off the railing. "I'll go get the privy, yes?" "...The what?" "Well, after all this mess and demonification and fire and invaders nobody's really had the time to empty the bucket," the meepit said with a grin, "and why waste good ammo? I'll go check the cutlery while I'm at it." The pirates had, in the best PotC traditions, come to favor improvised projectiles, since everyone can expect a cannonball but nobody really expects a flying fork. Hunty looked at the fleet behind them. None had reached the Gates yet, whereas they had come a couple miles already, but it was clear that they were drawing nearer. "Well then. The lot of ye, go fetch and prepare anything that might be able to conjure damage when fired from a cannon. We might not need it, but it won't hurt to be prepared." *** TMC saw things the same way. He would've been able to push things around, a full-time chronomancer that he was in essence, but humans were unpredictable. Not to mention creative. Using tools was infinitely easier. He scowled when Leraye commented on his bike, but still jerked his hand at it and it turned itself off. That demon was far too... polite. He was standing there, smiling back at the Horseman like an amiable schoolteacher. This was a demon? He'd seen demons. Fangs and spikes and fiery breath and the whole shabang. TMC eyed Leraye, and then, the way Horsemen do, took a closer look, a look into the demon's being and soul... Wow, he thought. There were no fangs or claws or fire. There was something... nearly human. Something smart and cold. Something deep and heavy and somehow reminding of a mental abyss capable of sucking you in. That wouldn't, of course, have worked on TMC, but... For a millisecond he was glad that the demon couldn't see his eyes. He had a reputation to keep. The biker leaned back against the railing with a lazy grin. "Well then, I'll make it short and sweet. You have a gem, don't you? A weak one. And I know that if you got all of them together, the sheep and the wolves, you'd get a strong gem. But you won't be able to get them together, because they," he nodded at the pirates on the bridge, "are running away, and, here's the good part, they're relying on you and your gem as part of the getaway. You tell them that you're too weak to help them, plop," he snapped his fingers, "you cease to be useful to them and are promptly gotten rid of." He watched those words sink in. Granted, it was hard to tell; TMC was used to humans and demons were more difficult to look into. But nonetheless. "Now, I could spice up your gem so that you wouldn't need a new one," he continued. "You'd get to keep your new friends, useful allies, I'd think, and watch them blow up the chasers, and have the time of your life. But," the Horseman's grin got wider, "what would I get from it? Nothing. But," he raised his finger, "let's say we're to do things the old-fashioned way. Let's say we're to get all of them together. Let's say you're gonna go tell them that you know a nice place to hide in these waters, and let's say someone leads the chasers to the same spot... how do they say again – savvy?” RiderWatching TMC try to behave like a pirate was excruciating. Leraye had seen real pirates, saltier than Hunty and more obnoxious than Rider and cleverer than Rane and more dangerous than Kat. The very essence of pirate. TMC wasn't the essence of enything, except maybe frustration. But Leraye kept smiling, that quiet, dangerous smile unique to the more scholarly breed of warlords. Just as TMC was shocked that Leraye was a demon, Leraye was surprised that TMC was a Horseman. He didn't have the style or subtle finesse of the others. More than anything, he didn't have the patience. Leraye felt he could outwait this punk Horseman a thousand years. Pestilence may have been a disgusting creature to behold at work, but at least he understood Horsemanship. He would never come directly to a demon. "Savvy. Just let me know of this place. You'll have your destruction, Hungry One." Leraye stared right at the reflective sunglasses for a moment, wishing he could see the eyes beneath. He had known the previous Horsemen before Famine and Pestilence had been replaced. 'Known' being a relative term. They were, after all, only anthropomorthic personifications. It had been what, a thousand years now? How much had changed in such a short time. "Oh, and give Death my regards," he said, figuring that TMC would be on bad terms with the more traditional Horseman. Omni((On the ship Cyborg took)) "I'm not sure how much good throwing out empty barrels will do, but I'll still help. Hey, maybe I'll find something heavier to throw out." Omni turned and headed below deck, looking through the storage containers. She found several crates, all of which held bottles filled with a liquid with a rather strong, pungent odor that she recognized: alcohol. Deciding to just grin and bear it ('it' being the odor, and the grin being more of a grimace), she lifted with her legs and hefted a crate to the deck, promptly chucking it overboard. PFA((on Celestial))"I don't know, but it is not going to be pretty," was Celestial's response. PFA grimaced. She thought not. "Well... guess there's nothing much to do but keep going," PFA said, keeping an eye on the Weewoo. She tried to see if she could spot the Dark One that was mentioned in the poem... but who was she supposed to look for? ((Golden Gallion))Jernath, trying to ignore the arguing girls, quickly went below deck, scooped up one of the empty barrels and brought it up to the deck. He then chucked it overboard, watching as it splashed into the water, then started floating off into the distance. "Nice meeting you, Ielle," he added to the blonde mage, who had just introduced herself. "And, well... if you haven't figured it out by now, my name's Jernath." SmithySmithy hid laughter at the sight of Shiva trying to speak horse. "Hello," he said to Qamr. "How you is? Look lovely today you do. You horse of shiny magic, I demon but not bad."Qamr nickered, looking amazingly like he was laughing, then turned to the fingersmith and neighed. "Shiva, he says that he can understand human talk, just can't speak it. Talk normally, I'll translate. If you're lucky you might understand him, demon or no demon." "Well then. The lot of ye, go fetch and prepare anything that might be able to conjure damage when fired from a cannon. We might not need it, but it won't hurt to be prepared."The fingersmith went below deck again. She muttered, counting on her fingers. "Ice, dark, can reverse water, no, that'd affect the ship. Damage? Lightning...yes, that'd help too." Smithy immediately walked to Shiva's stall. "Gotta be some horse stuff here. I have spare items on me, I'll replace them later." KatSuddenly, Kat felt shivers crawl up her spine. There was something wrong...something strange on the ship. Had she been more superstitious, she would have called it a presence of some sort. But when she glanced around, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and sighed. Maybe all this was starting to get to her and she really was just becoming more paranoid. At least it didn't make her collapse. "Anything fired from a cannon would definitely deal some damage," Kat agreed. "It's all about the projectile motion and velocity and all that physics stuff. I know, I know, I sound like a hypocrite right now 'cause I've been defying the laws of physics...well, ever since I came to the NTWF. You can make me read those star charts, but just don't make me draw angles of flying forks." * * * Asthielle winced. "Alcohol. My Master...he always said that alcohol was nothing but trouble. Besides, I highly doubt we'll need that..." "And, well... if you haven't figured it out by now, my name's Jernath.""It's nice meeting you too, Jernath. And yes, I sort of figured it out, listening to everyone else. That's how I picked up all your names." She shrugged and smiled crookedly, tucking a strand of her blond hair behind her left ear. "Master always said that I never did make a lot of friends." Cyborg" It pains me to say this, but chuck the rum as well." Cyborg said with a laugh, " So Ielle, what can you do? See we have Jernath the archer, Rose is our healer, plus she is pretty good at slamming a bo staff into the opponent, Midknight and Shado control the shadows, I control earth, the squirrels have strength in numbers, Gryff's a griffin, so powerful, Esme's telekinetic, Leste has amazing staker abilities, and Omni I forget what magic she has." he added. PFA((Golden Gallion))Upon Cyborg's mention of 'Jernath the archer,' the said person started thinking aloud, "Speaking of which, I wonder if there are any arrows below deck? I didn't get a chance to see if there were any fletchers in town..." With that, Jernath once again went below deck and started looking through the crates, seeing if there was anything that resembled arrows. He wasn't really expecting there to be, but it didn't hurt to look. "Why do we even have all this rum, anyway?" Jernath wondered as he opened up a crate full of the said beverage. Considering that Cyborg had actually said to chuck the rum, he figured he might as well get rid of this batch as well. So he hefted up the crate, brought it to the deck, and tossed it overboard without a second thought. "Hey, maybe we should look for some more stuff to chuck overboard while we're at it," Jernath said to the other mercenaries, as he went back below deck to continue searching through the crates. Cyborg" That should be all there is to chuck, unless you suggest we chuck you," Cyborg said with a chuckle. It seemed they were starting to catch up to the gem army, as he could see a mass of ships in the distance. " I personally, don't trust the pirate friendly mage, let's chuck her." Esme said to Cyborg in a whisper. Omni((Zari's ship)) Ethan took the ammo, and the gun. He nodded, said "This , is, my, BOOM-STICK!! will do," and hid it along with the other types of guns/ammo he was borrowing from Zari, resisting the urge to smile like a kid who loved the-feel-he-got-when-he-fired-a-gun and who just received a big one. ---- (([Sorta] Cyborg's ship)) Omni came out of storage and tossed another crate of rum overboard. She then looked around a bit, seeing if she could spot any ships that looked like the Weewoo. Then she turned to go get another crate. Fraze((In the rigging)) The thermometer in Fraze's skinsuit told him that the temperature had dropped significantly, but he didn't notice through the perfectly insulative material. He did, however, notice when Leraye, whom he had maneuvered himself to keep an eye on, began talking to the air. He switched to sending a video-audio stream to Zari's ship. He wanted to record this as much as possible.
Fraze soon realized there was something...a sensation he had experienced many times before, but never in a context anything like this. It was a sensation of slowness. A sensation of frustration and some form of anxiousness. A sensation that made one want to press ctrl-alt-delete, then do a hard reboot. "It seems like whatever he's talking to is messing with the space around here. Everything seems to be, well, slower," he sent to the 'Fleeters.
Leraye's last words to the air nearly made him fall off of his perch. "Savvy. Just let me know of this place. You'll have your destruction, Hungry One." This really ddin't sound good..."You got that, right?" Fraze asked the 'Fleeters. "I suggest exercising extreme caution. This could get interesting." What he didn't want to say, and hoped would not come across through the message, was that underneath his suit, he was grinning. SmithyArchimedes watched the fingersmith as she scurried around, newly busy; as usual, forgetting him. He swooped off his perch, and flew up to the crow’s nest. If these people were short of ammunition and probably food, he wasn’t going to serve himself up, nosirree he wasn’t. *** “Got it!” Smithy sprang up to the deck, looking as triumphant as she felt. She headed to Kat. “Kat, if it’s not too much trouble on you, can you handle fire magic? I can’t, but I’ve found a sack full of horseshoes. I don’t know why they’re there if Shiva doesn’t where them, but they’ll melt down to make cannonballs, as I can shape and cool them quickly. Only a few, but better than nothing.” “And captain, I’ve got more, look.” The girl muttered a few words under her breath, and a shimmering purple ball, that looked as though it was made of some metal, appeared in her hand. “They’re nearly weightless, but are still like cannonballs, except they can explode upon contact with another ship. I can last long enough to create about twoscore of them.” “There’s another, more risky, and very doubtful. If, and only if, there are any whales around, I can go underwater in an air bubble, and convince them to attack the other ships. But they can get killed anyhow.” Huntress((Aboard the Weewoo)) "You can make me read those star charts, but just don't make me draw angles of flying forks."Hunty could barely hold back a chuckle. "Taking wind speed and fork material and other such things into account? It'd be infinitely easier to just stick to what we do. Load and shoot and improvise." She eyed the fleet behind them. The first ships were coming through the Gates, apparently slowing down. It took some guts to pass that archway, especially if you were from an era of dark superstition, and they'd only ever come through so easily because they were being chased and didn't have the time to think twice. She looked ahead, then blinked, then looked again. First icebergs were now appearing, but they seemed kinda... jerky. Or was that the air? Something wasn't quite right with the air. "Bloody magic," she mumbled to herself. This was, however, a good sign. The icebergs were outside the range of the currents, otherwise they wouldn't have been drifting there. Smithy got back up with a sack of horseshoes and showed Hunty her cannonball-tricks. “They’re nearly weightless, but are still like cannonballs, except they can explode upon contact with another ship. I can last long enough to create about twoscore of them.”"Nice." The captain grinned. "As long as they don't explode upon contact with the cannons and blow our own ship up. As for whales, I'd rather not mix them in our bloodshed, always was fond of them... where's the blarf, by the by?" "Blaaarf." The kraken had finally found an easy way to keep up with the ship. He was drifting in the current next to the ship, facing the Gates, and swam forward every once in a while so that the current wouldn't carry him past the ship. Hunty stared at him. "Well, that works. Can you at least get out of there?" "Blarf." The blarf splashed a little sideways, exiting the current and slowing down at once, then edging back in. The waves he created with that made the ship sway. "Well, have fun with it. And stick around, we might need you." "Blarp." *** At the same time TMC's grin was getting somewhat glassy. But no matter. Things were still going according to plan, even if it meant bending over backwards in some aspects. "Oh, and give Death my regards." The Horseman's smile nearly faltered. Was that demon messing with him? At that point Death appared on the deck, or rather in the air above it, still on his pale horse, on the other side of the ship a few dozen yards away. He gave Leraye a curt nod. He wasn't much fond of the demon who had, after all, messed his accounting up big time twice, but he was still giving TMC a hard time, probably the first time in millennia. Besides, as someone who was rarely welcomed despite always doing his job incredibly well, Death could appreciate politeness. "Well then," TMC said somewhat gruffly, though still with a grin. "See that iceberg over there?" That iceberg was, frankly, hard to miss. It was actually charted as an island, as it was huge and didn't drift much, but it was still an iceberg. A big, pointy, somewhat snow-cone-like mass of greenish, chilly silence. "There's an entrance on the north-west side of it, big enough for a ship like this," said the biker. "And it's hollow inside, well, hollow enough, at least. Good hideout." He chuckled. "As long as anyone won't know to look for you in there, at least, which I daresay won't be the case. Tell 'em to turn left after the entrance, there's a semi-hidden pathway with a cove there. Don't mess it up and you'll get your fight... and your gem." His bike came to life with a roar and he got on without further comments, unwilling to admit that he simply didn't want to stick around the demon any longer. Horsemen weren't meant to deal with demons, and he'd always thought of that rule as some stupid mumbo-jumbo... but now he could see the reason behind it. "Come on, stooges," he grunted, turning towards the Gates. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Death asked, his voice even grimmer than usually. TMC rolled his eyes at him. "He's meddling," War said; he'd been right next to Death though invisible to Leraye. "He's pushing things around. Which we very much aren't supposed to d-d-d-d-" "I'm bringing the Apocalypse," TMC snapped, pushing War into a particularly strong time-lag. "Which is ultimately our job." NO, said Death. THE APOCALYPSE IS HUMAN BUSINESS. WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO MEDDLE. WE JUST HAVE TO RIDE OUT WHEN IT HAPPENS. "Says who?" THE RULES. TMC gave a 'pfft' and rode off towards the fleet. The other three, bound by the duty, followed him. ZariZari listened to Fraze's Audio, stream then said, mildly, "So this is the demon we're looking for? He's certainly up to something...I'd give half the assorted explosives I own, and that's a heftly lot, to know what it is. Seriously, can't these people stay out of trou-ARGH!" Zari jumped and fell off her chair. "owwwwwwwwwww, that hurt. Dun worry, the ship isn't gonna explode..." The world spun. "This is a fine time to start getting dizzy, Zazee. I'm gonna sit up now...or not." -- "Hey! Lemmego! I'm not supposed to have visions right now! We're in the friggin middle of a war right now, I can't afford to leave them to their own devic-You guys. I shoulda known."
At that moment, a rather confused Ailura also appeared. "Ferdamei, this is not fu-Waiiiiiiiitasecond. You lot. And you. I thought I'd escaped, too."
The girl next to Ailura cuffed her over the head. "Quiet. We're all here for a reason, y'know. One of our number-" she glanced at Zari "-seems to be completely unaware of the peril she's in. Idiot girl, why did you join the space-walkers?" "Because I thought I'd have more use there than I did in Illhvren. Anyway, Aiyuka, why'd you join your little posse?" Zari yawned, pretending to be more relaxed than she was. Aiyuka was the unofficial leader of their group, the other hers. And the him. The Others.
Another girl cut across Zari's thought with a questioning look. "If she is in danger, should it not be her bother to fish herself out of this charming mess she appears to be in? I know that being around mortals gives one a headache...Maybe you should return to Illhvren, or just do your best in making sure you don't get killed out there? I hate to say it, but mortals, for such short-lived people, are undercautious." Ailee Fonate wanted to know, frowning under her scarf. Aiyuka sighed. "All in favour of restraining ZariKrahia?"
No hands went up.
Another sigh. "Alright. Off you go, and don't get yourself killed." Zari nodded, already vanishing. Everything faded except for Aiyuka's icy-blue eyes, then they faded too.-- "Argh." Zari sat up and rubbed her forehead. "I hate it when the Others go all protective. Just because I'm physically younger...fweh." She got back onto her chair. "How long was I out?" she inquired. <Latiere> About 3 seconds.> <Salricio> It looked pretty funny, you falling off your chair and then just freezing up, then getting straight back up as if nothing has happened.> "Phew." The other fleeters looked occupied- hopefully they hadn't noticed. Zari poked her "distraction" wearily. It let out a few sparks and a puff of soke. She stuck it in her pocket. ((There is a lot of potential in that distraction.)) RiderLeraye smiled, rolling the gem over in his palm. This was going to be too easy. These humans were practically glowing with energy, all these little rats scurring on wheels towards a cheese they would never reach... or something like that. No one ever accused alchemists of being good with metaphors. He cleared his throat, put on a thoughtful air and approached Hunty. "Pardon me, Captain, not to intrude, but I believe I know this area. Yes, I studied fields of magical irregularity here in my boyhood. As I recall, that island over there is a fairly stationary iceberg. My professor hollowed it out. There's a hidden pathway with a cove at the end where we set up camp. This would be the perfect place to hide from our pursuers." "It looks like all the other icebergs," Rider said cautiously. "Are you sure that's the one?" "A demon's memory is better than a human's, Rider. it comes with a longer lifespan." "Really? 'cause I don't think Shiva can remember when my birthday is." Kat"Fire is definitely up my alley," said Kat to Smithy, nodding. "And I can imagine that both fire and ice magic are going to come in handy in a place like this. Although...this place somehow makes me feel extremely magical, like I've got an overload of mana points, if you get what I mean." * * * "I guess you could say I'm your all-purpose offensive mage," Ielle answered, gazing out into the horizon. "Lightning, gale-force winds, rocks, deadly waves - the entire arsenal, I could do that. Hey - maybe we should keep some of the rum around. We could burn it, find alternative uses and such. But what the heck, I'm just rambling here. "And Jernath, I can make magical arrows in case we don't have any." Cyborg" Magic arrows would be useful. Hey keep one or two barrels of rum, we gonna be setting some fires on that ship, kay. We take out the pirates with flame and fist!" Cyborg said as he steered closer and closer to the gem army. PFA((Golden Gallion))Jernath was just coming back up from the storage room with another crate of rum when Ielle suggested that they keep some of the rum. He glanced at the crate, shrugged, and set it down near Cyborg. Though that might not have been such a good idea, as Cyborg would've probably been tempted to drink the rum ((*cutlass'd* x_o)) "Magical arrows? Yeah, that would probably work," Jernath said in response to Ielle. He silently wondered whether the said arrows would explode upon impact or something, considering they were magic and he knew magic to do all kinds of weird things, but he decided not to ask. Instead he just went back to seeing if there were any real arrows below deck. Smithy"Nice." The captain grinned. "As long as they don't explode upon contact with the cannons and blow our own ship up. As for whales, I'd rather not mix them in our bloodshed, always was fond of them... "Smithy muttered again, and the ball took on a more metallic look. "There, that'll make it safer. And good thing about the whales. I don't like going underwater anyhow." "Fire is definitely up my alley," said Kat to Smithy, nodding. "And I can imagine that both fire and ice magic are going to come in handy in a place like this. Although...this place somehow makes me feel extremely magical, like I've got an overload of mana points, if you get what I mean."Smithy stared up at the stars again. "I know exactly what you mean. It's like I can nearly see the air itself shimmering with magic. Not somewhere I'd like to have to reload on energy." Suddenly, a sharp pain came across Smithy, and she clutched her chest. After a few seconds, the fingersmith straightened up and looked at Kat. "I have to warn you about this, as you're the only other mage on this ship. If I start convulsing, or look radically different, don't feel sympathetic. Tie me up immediately unless you want my dark energies to take me over. A sharp shock will bring me back. It would happen quickly, so we have to be on guard." There, that was out of the way. Qamr walked over to his mistress, and nickered at her. She stroked his head. "Nothing at all, Qamr. Just being careful." AmneigerAmneiger listened to Fraze's message and frowned. Someone talking to something that causes disturbaces in space/time...Sounds like some sort of localized effect with a source. "Fraze, what kind of sensors do you have? Infrared, sonar, anything like that. Zari, what about the shuttle, what does it have?" Omni((Gallion Ranch)) Omni tossed another crate. "I'm a bit of this-and-that, pretty much whatever I've learned how to use. My specialty is fire." She paused, looking at the sails. "Say… Ella, was it? You said you can make winds. Do you think you could use them to give us a speed boost?" Zari"Uh...I'm pretty sure it's got sonar. But any of those down below with animal senses'd be able to hear it...Though I think they wouldn't really think to check above 'em. Why?" Zari left her desk and sat down on the floor, tapping her forehead with one finger. "Is there something bothering you? There's definetely something fishy ((mmm, fish.)) about that datastream of Fraze's- Sounds like the Leraye guy's talking to himself. And not in a good, off-your-rocker sort of way." Cyborg" We're getting nearer. I can see a lot of gem army ships. Ielle could you try that, it would give us a considerable boost. Omni, we'll need your fire magic to set this rum on fire to throw at the pirates." Cyborg said as he drank all of the rumsteered towards the gem army. Kat"I have to warn you about this, as you're the only other mage on this ship. If I start convulsing, or look radically different, don't feel sympathetic. Tie me up immediately unless you want my dark energies to take me over. A sharp shock will bring me back. It would happen quickly, so we have to be on guard.""Shocking magic is up my alley too, like fire, air and ice," said Kat, nodding. "You can count on me, and I'll assume you'll need more than just regular ordinary rope." She gazed out at the stars again. A comet burned a white streak that stained her vision for a moment. In truth, she never really believed that shooting stars could grant wishes, but sometimes it didn't hurt to try. * * * "Say… Ella, was it? You said you can make winds. Do you think you could use them to give us a speed boost?"Asthielle smiled. "Call me Ielle, short for Asthielle. And yes, that would be no problem." She stretched out her arm and gestured to the sails, creating a burst of wind that sent them gliding forward smoothly. As they accelerated, she said, "This speed all right? We can't go too fast, or else my wind will end up ripping our sails, and we don't want that." Amneiger"I was thinking that Leraye might be talking to somebody, and if we couldn't see them with ordinary vision we might be able to with other sensors...but it looks like they're gone now since Leraye isn't talking anymore." Vyt"Umm, Cat Assassin?" The worried voice of Bluisa broke the inactivity of the ninja silence around the ninja away, as she went on to let out something she had been keeping inside her all along. "Vyt told you that he'll return to this world once everyone knows why he chose to stay behind in the first place, right?" the mage asked out of concern. Having recovered from his emotional breakdown, Cat Assassin was able to give out a clear nod of agreement. "... Why does he have to let us venture out, then? Why can't he return here to tell us the reason?" Bluisa began to question, her face full of confusion and worry. "Isn't our determination to bring him back enough reason for him to return? Why does he have to let everyone know?" she continued bombarding him. "... I know Vyt: he won't do anything without any reason whatsoever," answered Cat Assassin after a short pause. "I've got a feeling that there's something important he wants not only us, but everyone to know. He's a much more persistent guy than anyone around him... Maybe he wants us to realize something before this world comes contact with chaos itself," he added. " Oh, Vyt. Whatever it is you're thinking, I hope it'll be the answer to this mystery all of us are trying to unravel," the cat thought. Huntress"Pardon me, Captain, not to intrude, but I believe I know this area. Yes, I studied fields of magical irregularity here in my boyhood. As I recall, that island over there is a fairly stationary iceberg. My professor hollowed it out. There's a hidden pathway with a cove at the end where we set up camp. This would be the perfect place to hide from our pursuers."Hunty stared at the demon. " Now he tells us. Good to know, though." She eyed the iceberg that was growing on the distance. "Blaaarf!" The captain turned her head to notice the blarf struggling frantically against the flow which was apparently now carrying him away from the ship. Had he been the size he originally was when he joined the pirates, the current would probably have carried him off, but being a ship-sized creature, he was strong enough to overcome the current and eventually splashed into the Weewoo's deadwater, snorting to himself. "I take it that the currents have turned away?" Bloody Mary asked, having shown up again at some point Hunty could never really determine. The meepits came and went however they pleased, and seemed to be creepily good at being in the right place at the right time. "Oh yes." Now it was really getting cold. Hunty wrapped herself in her coat and cast another look over her shoulder. The fleet was slowing down - they were coming through the gates, one after another, but since the gap between the currents was so narrow, it created a bottleneck effect. Some ships, the more eager ones, had sailed into the currents. They were moving in faster, but the captain knew that once they'd come to this point, the currents would drag them off and they'd be of no further threat. "You know," she said to the universe in general, "if we managed to push them all into the currents, we'd be rid of them without a blink." At that point, according to all narrative rules, the Golden Mast appeared behind the ships. All of its sails were reefed - it was so big that its boards actually touched the currents which carried it along. "...Except it's hardly a good idea to stick around." Hunty spun the wheel. The brigantine slid past a smaller iceberg that marked the beginning of these frosty lands, and disappeared behind it. Time to play hide and seek. Rane saw that. He was still sitting in his armchair, eyes fixed on the foggy black spot farther ahead. "We'll see," he muttered.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:03:14 GMT -5
Rider"Pardon me again, Captain, but this place hasn't changed much in the past thousand years, or the past ten thousand years to be honest with you. And these are no novice sailors we're dealing with. The mages will certainly make it past the currents. They can manipulate the enviroment. The ninja I have my doubts about, but their hired hands are capable and they may have mages on board as well. The mercs are a bit ragtag, I have my doubts about them. The knights will almost certainly make it through because a lot of mages are also knights. The pirates, well, do I even have to say? They're pirates from the Golden Age." Leraye's whisper had a certain urgency to it. An approaching mage ship rose and floated above a nearby iceberg. It set itself down in the water as gently as a feather. "If I were a pirate, even one as clever as Captain Rane, I'd never think of looking inside an iceberg, Captain." The mage ship rose again, spotted the black fog, and started flying towards it. "And if you don't mind me saying, we stick out in these waters like a sore thumb." Fraze((On the Weewoo)) "Fraze, what kind of sensors do you have? Infrared, sonar, anything like that." Amneiger asked over the comm. "I've got sonar, radar, and infrared. That's about it. I'll see what I can do with those." Having used a cloak extensively over the past seven or eight years for numerous missions of various sorts, Fraze had learned many tricks to detect cloaks. His own suit wasn't particularly well-equipped, so he went with the most low-tech method he knew of: passive 2-dimensional sonar. Any cloak that was any good at all could shield against normal radar and sonar: if a photon or sound wave is absorbed, it is re-emitted at the proper wavelength, frequency, and direction. However, this becomes a problem in surfaces. A sound wave travels through the floor, up through the feet, bounces around the body, and is eventually re-emitted: it is much more difficult to control this kind of re-emission than it is to control re-emission in air.
Fraze leaned forward and reached down, until his palm lay flat against the deck of the ship. Ambient sound waves--from people talking, footsteps, waves against the ship, and so forth--traveled up his hand and were read by the suit computer. Judging their direction, amplitude, and rate of dispersion, his suit created a "map" of objects directly in contact with the floor, particularly in the vicinity of Leraye. He sent these readings to Zari's ship, along with his own interpretation. "Yup, something's definitely there. A pair of feet, a few miscellaneous marks, and two tracks I can't quite figure out. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were tire tracks." He had barely managed to get the reading, when it was gone. "Whatever it was went away. Anyway, Leraye told the Pirate captain something about a stationary iceberg to be used as a hiding spot. Sounds like they're going to try to--well, so that strategem is out the window. They were going to try to hide from the fleet, but the flagship found 'em." Kat"And if you don't mind me saying, we stick out in these waters like a sore thumb."Kat stared down at her staff. "I could cloak us, but cloaking a ship, especially this one, will drain me till I'm colder than that iceberg." She eyed the mage ship warily. "Okay. So it's us...against that entire fleet of mages. Captain, do we still have time to hide? If we do, I can cast a lightning storm into the sky, and they won't know it was my work. Trust me, I know when to nix the purple from my magic. Or, I could make the winds work in our favor...and against theirs." Taking a deep breath, she added, "If only I knew how to work water. Unfortunately, I'm as dangerous with water as a two-year-old with my staff." Smithy"Pardon me, Captain, not to intrude, but I believe I know this area. Yes, I studied fields of magical irregularity here in my boyhood. As I recall, that island over there is a fairly stationary iceberg. My professor hollowed it out. There's a hidden pathway with a cove at the end where we set up camp. This would be the perfect place to hide from our pursuers."
Hunty stared at the demon. "Now he tells us. Good to know, though." She eyed the iceberg that was growing on the distance.
Kat stared down at her staff. "I could cloak us, but cloaking a ship, especially this one, will drain me till I'm colder than that iceberg." She eyed the mage ship warily. "Okay. So it's us...against that entire fleet of mages. Captain, do we still have time to hide? If we do, I can cast a lightning storm into the sky, and they won't know it was my work. Trust me, I know when to nix the purple from my magic. Or, I could make the winds work in our favor...and against theirs."
Taking a deep breath, she added, "If only I knew how to work water. Unfortunately, I'm as dangerous with water as a two-year-old with my staff."Smithy cast a long look at Leraye, then turned away. Could he be trusted? The ships were quickly approaching now, and they needed a way out. "I can handle water, but I have a sort of magical allergy to fire. Rather ridiculous, really. But I could help with that lightnng storm and wind. Or we could have a strong storm follow them around to slow them down." She leaned on the railing. "So they're the mages over there. And whatever alliance that's around is not to be trusted." Archimedes finally flew down from the crow's nest to perch on Smithy's arm. The fingersmith turned to the others and grinned. "To heck with alliances, I'm with you." HuntressHunty gave Leraye a stern, don't-tell-me-things-I-can-see-for-myself-perfectly-well glance as the ship pushed its mist against the iceberg. She evaluated the distance between the ship and the big mountain of ice. Not so bad. Not so far. "Captain, do we still have time to hide? If we do, I can cast a lightning storm into the sky, and they won't know it was my work. Trust me, I know when to nix the purple from my magic. Or, I could make the winds work in our favor...and against theirs."Hunty gnawed on her lip, thinking fast. "At this point there's only this one mage-ship..." "...though the others are catching up fast," Bloody Mary added. The captain scowled. "So I'd rather not play with fire just when stealth might be our best chance - wait a minute." She looked at the mages and a faint grin spread over her face. "Smithy, you say you can handle water? And Kat, you do fire? Get to work, both of you. I want fog. A nice thick cloud of the best fog you can come up with. Or clouds. Anything of the sort." "Which'll make us get lost just as well as them," said her small blue voice of reason. "Not if the fog's right behind us; besides, we have a demon who claims to know these waters. You hear that, Leraye? I hope for your own good that you'll be able to lead us to that iceberg in the fog, else you'll be the one who suffers from the consequences." She turned the wheel. "Get crackin', people." RiderLeraye just kept smiling. "No need for threats, Captain. The iceberg is there." He pointed to a monolith rising from the water a couple hundred yards away. "Sail around the back and you'll find that it is hollow inside." Silently, he hoped that TMC was telling the truth. The laggy Horseman was still an unknown factor, unlike his more traditional brethren. Death and War wouldn't feed anyone to the wolves by their own hands. TMC very well might. For now, all he could do was sit on his couch and wait. SmithyShe looked at the mages and a faint grin spread over her face. "Smithy, you say you can handle water? And Kat, you do fire? Get to work, both of you. I want fog. A nice thick cloud of the best fog you can come up with. Or clouds. Anything of the sort."Inspecting her red wand, Smithy nodded. "It's been some time since I handled clouds or fog. Be good practise. And maybe we could do some smog." Muttering a few words under her breath, she pulled her arms slowly apart. At the back of the ship, a huge orb of water grew into the air. Not moving at all, she spoke to the other mage. "Here's your turn, Kat." Kat"Fire was the first element I mastered, if I'm not mistaken," said Kat, walking to the stern of the ship. Raising her staff, she created a huge ribbon of fire that blazed towards the orb of water. But instead of colliding head-on, the flames encircled the orb again and again and steam began to rise. "Do you want us to keep going, or will this be enough for now, Captain?" Huntress"Do you want us to keep going, or will this be enough for now, Captain?""I don't have eyes behind my back," Hunty mumbled, though with a smile in her voice, turning the ship abruptly. "The more, the better. You be the judge. If you can't see any of the ships any more, chances are, they won't be able to see us either. And spread it out as much as you can... there." The ship rocketed off over the waves, having generated a push off the iceberg. Before Hunty could even realize what was happening, the mountain of ice was looming high above them. This wasn't a snowcone. This was a glacier, hard and solid like a rock, with a somewhat greenish tint to it. The mist brushed along its side, trying to get a good grasp. *** Rane stood up, or rather jumped up. "What?" "Um, it's fog, sir," said the helmsman. "Like hell it is," grumbled the captain, sinking back into the chair and rubbing his forehead. "They're good. Better than I expected. It won't give them that much of an advantage, though... they can't escape far." *** Not that they had to. The brigantine slid along the side of the iceberg, exercising more stealth than Hunty would ever have thought possible. The blarf, having realized that this was an undercover operation, followed by its side as a huge dark shadow under the waves. There was a quiet bopbopbop sound somewhere in the fog. The mage ship was hovering nearby. She didn't know how near was nearby, but it was probably closer than she would've liked. Hunty cast a stern glance at Leraye, mainly for anger management. And there it was. The ship's mist-shroud poked around the edges of the passageway and then stopped in front of it. Hunty opened her mouth, closed it again, and cast another stern glance at Leraye. The entrance was there, all right, but it was barely as high as the ship's bowsprit. They would've fit in easily if they'd left all the masts out. "Well," Bloody Mary said into the foggy silence, "at least they'll never think we went in there." The ship turned itself a little, now facing the entrance head-on. The blarf stuck his head out of the water. "Blrp?" Whether or not there was any interaction between the ship and the blarf or whether the latter simply made use of his common sense, Hunty could never tell in retrospect. But the kraken did sink under the waves again and swim into the hole. A minute later he was out again, eyed the ship, and then wailed from the depths of his body, "Rooooooom." "Bugger," said Bloody Mary, who always clicked faster than anyone else - probably because his brain was so close to everything else in his body, distance-wise. The mist fixed itself around the edges of the entrance and pulled the ship under the water, into the hole. Rider"Oh frigate." Rider held her breath in anticipation as the mist submerged the ship. However, the mist formed a protective bubble around the ship, creating the bizarre sensation of being in the complete opposite of a fishtank. Silently, Rider vowed that she would never own a fish again. The dome wasn't perfect. There were leaks here and there, much to Shiva's dismay. A leak poured freezing sea water on his rump and he swore as well as any sailor. But for the most part, the crew stayed relatively warm and dry. "I apologize, Captain," Leraye said. "I guess my boat was a lot smaller than this fine craft." And before long, they were inside the mountain of ice. Where the ice was thinnest, the sun shone in, distorted by the ice like a dazzling dream. Where the ice was thickest, the sun could not get through at all. Parts of the cave were hidden in shadow. The Weewoo gently bumped against ice. "And this is where we park," Leraye said. Rider, taking this as her cue, jumped from the ship onto the ice. The mist cushioned her fall as always. "This is a good hideout," Rider said. "There is a tunnel hidden in that shadow. It leads to the cove that I spoke of," Leraye said. "The tunnel is also small, but everyone should be able to get through... Everyone except the horse and the blarf." There was an awkward silence. "Hey, hey, you're not gonna leave me alone with fish-breath here, are you?" Shiva asked a bit more shrilly than he had planned. "Are you?" "If we're as well hidden as Leraye says, there should be no need to," Rider said. Her eyes sent a silent plea to Cap'n Hunty. Cyborg" Yes we're gaining on the army considerably, so Ielle, how would you make Jernath's arrows magic, and what effect would each have?" Cyborg said as the Gallion sped closer and closer to the gem army. Fraze((On the Weewoo)) Fraze watched as two mages--one of whom he recognized as being Kat, the other he didn't--created a thick layer of fog, in order to hide from the enemy ships. The comm link wouldn't be disrupted by this fog, but he turned on his suit's homing beacon so the other 'Fleeters could track him. After some time in silence, Fraze made out a--it wasn't an iceberg, it was a glacier. After several more minutes, they came to a hole. "It looks like they're going in this hole, but they'll be underwater. Assuming they surface, it'll break our cover if Zari's ship has to surface as well and starts pouring off water. Unless it can fit in this air space, you should probably stay behind. The comm should work through this ice just fine." Fraze wondered if they would all be submerged temporarily. He would do just fine using his suit's rebreather, but the pirates would be hypothermic in a matter of seconds. The ship seemed to realize this, and used the fog surrounding it to create a bubble around itself, keeping everyone within mostly dry. Fraze knew that a sopping wet patch of air would look rather susupicious, so he did his best to stay out of the way of the leaks. This worked for the most part, and he was able to get rid of most of the water that had fallen on him--which wasn't much--when the other passengers were consulting with each other. "They're talking about whether they should stay here or keep going deeper. The passage looks not much bigger than a crawlspace. I'll go through with them if they decide to move on." SmithySmithy carefully floated out onto the dry ice. "Well, there was a trick you don't see every day." Archimedes hooted in agreement. "Hey, hey, you're not gonna leave me alone with fish-breath here, are you?" Shiva asked a bit more shrilly than he had planned. "Are you?"
"If we're as well hidden as Leraye says, there should be no need to," Rider said. Her eyes sent a silent plea to Cap'n Hunty. Qamr immediately came over to side of the ship and nickered at his owner. Smithy smiled at him comfortingly. "Don't worry, both of you. A protective orb could keep you safe while we go ahead." She looked at Shiva winningly. "Of course, we don't want two such fine horses as you two to be injured in any way. Let your guardians go ahead, won't you? I know that we can depend on you here." Zari"Thassakay. My ship can't go fully submerged anyway." Zari's mouth quirked in a dry smile. "We'll watch, and Ienalle'll take up knitting, and I will teach the others to play clarinet, and Aikran will read a Millenia-old newspaper. Sound good? We'll save you some popcorn 'n' crap. Have a good time, and if you stay out late playing with the neighbours I will ground you." She laughed, then turned to eye Amneiger and Ethan apprehensively. "You know, that's not such a bad idea." After musing on the subject, Zari proceeded to tinker with what looked like a shocking-pink fishslice. Amneiger"Grounding Fraze? What would that do? Or maybe I just misunderstood that." Huntress"Ain't leaving my ship behind," Hunty said gruffly, having gotten over her initial shock because of the submerge. "If they find us, hiding won't be of any use because if they see the ship, they'll know that we're here anyway, and then we're better off fighting on board than stuck in some cove. Someone should go ahead and explore the tunnel, though. Volunteers? I'm sending a few meepits along." "And you have authority to do that be-caaause?" Bloody Mary snapped as the captain leaned against the railing, looking around. There was plenty of room, all right. It was like a cold cathedral, frozen in time and space, with a black smooth floor that now rippled due to the splash the ship had created, but in farther areas it still looked like a tar pit. Cold, bottomless, ruthless. It was greenish where the sun shone on it, but that didn't make it look any better. "And keep it down," she said, lowering her voice as the echo carried off in this cold hard world. "They'll be here soon." ((Anyone, feel free to control the chasers. It feels sorta weird to do that myself, since controlling both the escape and chase is getting too rigid for my creativity. Don't wanna prescribe the entire plot and revert to plain storytelling.)) PFA((on Celestial))PFA listened as Uncle and Bluisa discussed Father's reason of not coming back. Something he wanted everyone to realize? Like what? But before she could think of an answer, she noticed Kat and another mage on the Weewoo were making a cloud of fog, which made it much harder to see the pirate ship. PFA squinted through the cloud, trying to see if she could still see the ship. She could for a while, but at some point, it faded out of her sight, and all she could see now was fog. "Celestial, can you still follow it?" PFA asked, vaguely certain that dragons had better eyes than humans did. Celestial((Winging it))Celestial didn't hear the exchange between the two ninjas as the wind usually snatched away all words so they did not reach her ears. Instead she focused on the ship. Two mages were down there, creating fog around it which was slowly encasing the ship in a protective sphere. That would never work out for anything following them including her and her passangers. "Hold onto your hats or whatever" the dragon screeched over the wind and swooped down at speed clawing a small piece out of the mist before it could fully form. Flapping her wings harder, Celestial managed to tear away from the dome with some of it in her claws. Stopping, she settled into a hover. Overlord, I have a job for youThe little Weewoo swooped down carefully, picking up a little bit of the mist with his claws. He flew back up, staying close to Celestial so the merciless wind wouldn't carry him away. When he finally got onto his usual perch, the mist had formed into a tiny ball. Picking it up with his wing, Overlord put it up to his gem, letting all his power flow into the ball of mist. At first nothing but it began to uncurl then to grow tendrils until at last it began dancing like a snake in water.
Overlord latched onto the mist with his beak. No sooner did he do so that it shot off in the direction of the ship as if wanting to become one with the main dome.
We have our course he announced triumphantly.Celestial grinned, turning towards the direction that Overlord said the mist was wanting to go. While she could not cast spells as a dragon, the Weewoo had his gem and the three golden feathers. A tracking/reuniting spell was too easy. Where there is mist, there is a ship. VytCat Assassin was surprised when Celestial warned them to cling tightly to her. He knew what she was up to. "Wait, we might be heading for a trap-" But before the cat could even finish his statement, the dragoness swiftly soared through the air at a very fast speed. Both he and Bluisa could only hold their breath as they faced severe air turbulence. No longer than a moment later, Celestial stopped and swerved almost strategically, looking like she knew where the ship hid itself from the massive mist that was forming around. Cat Assassin felt like he had to trust her at this moment and quickly turned towards Bluisa. "Assist her, Bluisa! Blow that part of mist away!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the direction Celestial was looking at. The mage quickly obeyed and waved her hand in a circular motion. The mist in front of them began to clear out, albeit at a slow manner. "There appears to be a cove of some sort there," Bluisa noted everyone. "The ship might've entered in it." "Well then. Prepare yourselves; we don't know what's in there yet, but we'd better be ready," Cat Assassin told PFA and Bluisa. Smithy"Ain't leaving my ship behind," Hunty said gruffly, having gotten over her initial shock because of the submerge. "If they find us, hiding won't be of any use because if they see the ship, they'll know that we're here anyway, and then we're better off fighting on board than stuck in some cove. Someone should go ahead and explore the tunnel, though. Volunteers? I'm sending a few meepits along."Smithy glanced at the others, and replied. "I'll go forward to see what's in there." She held up a crackling bright purple orb, and headed to the mouth of the first tunnel. Archimeded swooped silently after her, and Qamr neighed after them. The tunnel was dark, cold, and smooth. Smithy tied her cloak tightly around her, and began trailing the dark magic behind her to help find her way. KatSomehow, Kat expected the tricks the mist had up its sleeve - if it had one. The first thing that told her they were inside the iceberg was the cold. But she didn't get off just yet. "I'll be on guard duty, Captain, if you don't mind," she said. "Just in case." * * * "Yes we're gaining on the army considerably, so Ielle, how would you make Jernath's arrows magic, and what effect would each have?"Asthielle shrugged. "Fire arrows, arrows made entirely out of my magic, or lightning...you name it, I can probably do it," she said proudly. "Of course, I can't make too many at once, it'll drain my power reserve." ZariZari gritted her teeth. "It's a joke, a'right? He's off to probably antagonise everyone and be a nosy parker for all I know, so If he stays out late playing with the pirates he gets grounded. Ess-arr-ess-lee...Maybe if you grew up in Illhvren with all the warring factions and enemies and allies and your worst rival livin' right next door you'd get it. Sometimes I wonder if my upbringing really was sheltered...Possibly not." Zari continiued to ramble on, changing subject often. "...And then there was this owl, and it wouldn't say anything except Oh Really, and it liked biscuits...alot..." ((SUGARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR *r key breaks* :'D That's my...keyboard. *happysob* This commercial was bought to you by hungry Zari-chansaw-fishy-chan. *spacefleet teleport poof*)) Omni((Zari's ship… does it have a name?)) The others couldn't see it, but Ethan, out of a lack of having much else to do, had started a game of computer solitaire. One of the upsides to being Ethan was that he had a personal computer wherever he went. Normally, his built-in computer communicated pretty much everything to and from his natural brain. Games such as this were one of the few exceptions. Ethan placed a Jack of Spades on a Queen of Diamonds as he listened to Zari ramble and watched Siber chase his tail. ---- ((The ship that Cyborg *cough* acquired *cough*)) Omni watched as Ielle created a gust of wind and the boat started speeding along. Now all we have to do is wait until we get close, she thought. Deciding to do something at least semi-productive, she headed below deck, where the winds wouldn't interfere, took out her silver coin, and continued applying the silver to the edge of her dagger. Never know when it might come in handy. Amneiger"Uh...okay. Never mind." Amneiger stood there for a few minutes staring at the iceberg and feeling slightly awkward. "Can you scan the iceberg, see if you can get a map of the passages inside of it? We could sent it to Fraze, and if we need to help him we know which walls to shoot down to let the shuttle in." Zari((Since Omni wondered: Nau Illvren (Not Zari's country! It's pronounced differently..) Ayine. Literal translation- "Ayine's Daylight", named for one of Zari's clones, that died. [Pronounced- Nah-oh Eell-vren Ah-yee-nay for the curious] It's named for Ayine because Ayine standing on the keyboard developed the program code for the computer)) "Uh...Imma on it." Zari brought up a computer screen, typed in a few words, then cursed and tried again, muttering. A few blips issued from the computer at seeming random intervals as she typed. "Much as I love this thing, it's so petulant at times...Oh, don't be stupid. I said SONAR, not SOMNAR! Argh...That's more like it." Zari thumped her desk hapily and leaned back in her chair, content to have something to occupy herself with. Meanwhile, a series of tiny, high sonar blips emanted from the ship, bouncing off things and mapping the area. A small map came up on Zari's screen, growing more accurate by the second. "Drat. That thing's a labyrinth! Even if it were big enough for the shuttle to navigate in, we'd probably get lost if we didn't have the sonar map. I'll send it to Fraze." Zari began typing again, rambling apparently abandoned temporarily. ((Zari's rambles! Out now on DVD! XDDDDDD Performing on stage for two nights only!)) HuntressHunty sat down on the railing. There was plenty of room inside the iceberg, but the glassy walls made her feel somewhat claustrophobic. It was like sitting inside a grave. A big, spacy one, but still a grave. "Justice, go along with Smithy," she said quietly. "Just in case." "Mrm," did the female meepit, putting her book down, eyed the tunnel critically, then turned to look at the deck. "You there, and you, you, and you, you're coming along." "Don't think that'll be necessary," Hunty said in surprise. Justice gave her a sharp glance, something meepits are very good at. "We're inside a secret iceberg hidden far north beyond the Gates, and now you're sending me down a mysterious tunnel. I'd be surprised if we didn't find anything interesting - anything, really, and I like my backup." They bounced over the railing, one after another, landed far below on the greenish ice, and skidded off after Smithy into the passageway. "And now?" Bloody Mary asked, currently on guard-duty and sitting on the wheel. "We play sitting ducks and wait and hope?" "Pretty much, yes." The echo carried off over the waves and the blarf's jagged, spike-ridden back. The kraken was drifting by the edge of the ice and right next to the ship, feeling vaguely worried, as much as his his brain could work with the concept. He heaved his nose over the edge and peered into the tunnel, ears perking. ...these sounds... His nostrils twitched. This was familiar. He was very used to something like this when he still lived in... He began to snarl quietly. *** "Cap'n, the Seawolf says that they're all out of ammo." Rane stifled a sigh. "Because they wasted it all on battling that knight vessel on our way here?" "Um, yes." The sailor looked somewhat nervous. "But the knight vessel is out of ammo too." "Both still floating?" "Yes?" "Then what'd they get from the fighting?" Rane asked in this scarily absent tone. "Sir?" The sailor looked even more nervous. "Go bother someone else." The sailor cringed and edged away, still not quite daring to leave, as Rane squinted at the fog ahead. He was too busy to deal with the pirate fleet's problems. There was this mage-fog. Well, fine. Fog happens at sea. But where the heck was that ship?Were they going to play hide and seek between icebergs? He knew that the demon brigantine was a small and fast ship capable of many things, but how could she get that far in such a short time? His glance darted to the top of the icebergs. Yeah, probably not. The black ship would stick out like a cockroach on top of a wedding cake. Underwater then? He didn't put it past them. "Reef all sails from the mizzenmast back," he said in a voice that made it sound like he was talking to himself. "Sir?" the same sailor asked hesitatingly. "You heard me." "We'll slow down that way." "Yes," Rane said patiently. "That's the idea." "Then how will we pursue?" the pirate asked desperately. "Carefully," said the captain. "Now do as told." TMC eyed him from the railing, one eyebrow raised. Interesting. Would this pass even without him having to interfere? SmithyThe purple light flickered off the glassy walls of the smoothly-worn passage. Smithy's footsteps echoed as she walked quickly, breathing her appreciation for the beautiful ice. Deadly, but so breath-taking all the same. She whirled around at the sound of skidding footsteps behind her, and the purple orb in her hands grew high. Archimedes flapped his wings, his taloned arms extended. Seeing the Meepits, led by Justice coming along behind them, both the girl and her Whoot relaxed. "Good to see you here too." Smithy turned and began walking forward again. Archimedes decided to swoop ahead after his mistress's nod. He swiftly became a brown dot in the distance. Suddenly, a loud squawking was heard. With a short gasp, the fingersmith-mage rose up into the air and shot forward like an arrow. She wasn't expecting to see her Whoot hopelessly wrangling with the strangest things imaginable. With help from a blast of water from Smithy's hand, he struggled free, and flew straight to his owner's arm. Staring at the suspicous creatures, Smithy whistled. "Are you the types to live here or what?" The proud ice-snakes reared up, looking surprised at the fact that they could understand the girl. Fraze((The Weewoo)) "Have a good time, and if you stay out late playing with the neighbours I will ground you," came Zari's voice. "Aww, mooooooom!" Fraze responded jokingly, putting as much whine into his thoughts as he could manage.
Hearing about sonar, he said, "Sounds good. But some of the beasties onboard may be able to hear that high, so be careful." After several moments, he recieved the map Zari had made. He called it up, and a framework of an irregular, globular shape appeared in his vision. The shape was crisscrossed with lines of varying thicknesses, showing the myriad passageways within the ice. "There seem to be a number of other entrances to the inside of the glacier. The vast majority wouldn't even allow a meepit to pass through, about five could allow people to swim or crawl in. The biggest one could just barely allow a ship the size of the Pirates' in without needing to go underwater. It's at about 4 o'clock relative to my position on the glacier. There's a tunnel leading from there to here, it looks like, big enough for people to walk through single file while bent over." Huntress"Good to see you here too.""Don't read into this," Justice said, sliding across the ice. "We're no heroes. The most you can expect from us is advice." Then the ice worms appeared. "Like 'get the heck out of here'." The meepits, however, remained where they were for the time being, keeping a cautious eye on the worms. *** The blarf had swam to the side of the ship, partly keeping to its shade and partly edging between it and the ice as if protecting it. He was still snarling but shut up at once when everything suddenly went dark. A shadow moved past the entrance in the iceberg. The black, seaweed-ridden side of a big ship. Then it stopped. There was no way of knowing what was going on outside. Hunty sneaked across the deck to the prow to see better. "You know," Bloody Mary breathed into her ear, "they have no reason not to investigate the hole in the iceberg, just in case." That was a point. Hunty scowled, squatted down next to the prow cannon and beckoned the others to do the same. If they were going to be discovered, might as well be prepared. Cyborg" No only a few will be needed otherwise we resort to offensive and defensive magic, our weapons, and eachother." Cyborg stated to the group. " We all need to trust eachother, though Leste is excluded in this. So anyone have any issues they have with anyone on the ship?" " Nope, not other than Leste." Midknight, the squirrels, Esme and Gryff all said in unison, while Shado nodded in agreement. SmithyCompletely ignoring Justice's advice, Smithy got closer up to the largest of the snakes, which had a large crest of icicles. "What are you? What are you doing here?" she asked. They slithered towards her in amazement, and began quickly hissing. Smithy nodded. Turning her head to face the Meepits, she informed them, "They say that they can't understand me properly when I speak like this, so I'll just speak to them in their language." Turning back, the fingersmith began speaking in short, low hisses back to the snakes. After a short while, she nodded, and began speaking normally again. "They call themselves the Talj clan. Apparently they've lived here for as long as they can remember. They have a few stories of humans, but old; none can really remember them properly. I told them what’s happening, and they’d be glad to help us as long as they’re respected.” She smiled at the Meepits. “And they’re not carnivores. Apparently they only drink water. Strange enough, but true.” Smithy got up, brushing some ice off of her cloak. “So we should get back with them now.” PFA((on Celestial))PFA pulled out a kunai when Uncle told them to be ready. She kept an eye out for any sort of suspicious movement, as they flew through the fog. ((...hmm, short. >_>)) --- ((Golden Gallion))Jernath raised an eyebrow at the others' mention of Leste. What was their big deal with her? I mean, she was kind of creepy perhaps, but they were acting like she was a wanted criminal or something... "...No, no issues with anyone," Jernath said in response to Cyborg's question. He stressed the last part a bit, but otherwise stayed silent on the matter. Celestial((The Golden Gallion))"I heard that Midnight!" Leste shouted from the rigging. She took a few steps onto the mast and jumped off, appearing just before she landed.
"First of all, why? And secondly, just because I am dead does not mean I don't feel anything" she spoke calmly, keeping her hand on the cutlass. Mercenaries... Kat"No issues...the one I have to settle a score with is not on this ship," said Asthielle smoothly. "Since those magical arrows don't take too long to make, I'll just whip them up when we need them, is that all right with you?" * * * Kat drew her robes closer to her. She wasn't too used to the cold, but she would rather take her chances inside an iceberg than outside, where the rest of the gem army would tail them. She stayed on the deck, waiting for anyone to call for help or give a command. As her staff shrunk back to its wand form, she sat down on a nearby crate. * * * The ship behind Rane's was gaining quickly. This, unlike many of the ships, was devoid of seaworthy pirates. All they had were a handful of mercenaries, a smattering of ninjas, and more than enough mages. Actually, there used to be a pirate captain, until Damson shoved her overboard. He couldn't stand her constantly bossing him and the rest of the mages around, so they rose up against her. The mercs and ninjas objected, of course, but the sheer number of mages kept them silent. Plus, it was the captain who gave Damson his nickname and gave new meaning to the phrase, "plum crazy". But at least "Damson" was a lot less embarrassing than his real name. Damson's next target was Rane. Okay, not exactly, but Damson wasn't very fond of him much. "Who does he think he is, Captain Jack Sparrow?" sighed the master mage and directing this particular question to a younger wizard steering the ship. "Is he still tailing that black ship with the spikes and such?" "No, sir, they seem to have lost the ship." "Hah. Too bad for them." "But then that means we also lost them, sir." "Oh, shut up." Zari"Sounds suspiciously convinient." Zari remarked cheerfully. "Where's the deathtraps? The automatic lazer turrets? The guard dogs? What's the plan? You heard that, guys. Ideas? Complaints? Powdered orange chicken on a stick?" she fingered the "distraction" in her pocket. "If you need a kaboom, a explosion, a distraction, I'm your Illhvrenan, but there's not much else I can do other than point, shoot, look stupid, look scary, and sic my clones on people. Not much else, frankly. Unless my lab equipment drops from the sky." She spun around in her chair idly, pondering the next course of action. Cyborg" Sounds good, now Leste, I suggest you step away from my brother." Cynorg said as he saw the Wewoo in the distance.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:05:19 GMT -5
RiderLeraye was getting nervous. Not seriously concerned, but just slightly edgy. He kept his face perfectly serene, but he fingered his gem just in case. Come on, TMC. Lead them in. Please.He realized for a moment how realiant he was on that punk kid who called himself a Horseman and felt momentary disgust. The crack was so small compared to Rane's ship. Perhaps some of the smaller pirate vessels or the mage ships could squeeze in, and that was a maybe. He felt a slight lag in the universe, a haze enveloping the crack in the ice. Was this how TMC was going to lure them in? It wouldn't work. People's eyes normally averted during lags like these. Wait a moment, that haze wasn't lag. It was heat. Someone or something was trying to melt thier way in. Fraze((The Weewoo)) "No deathtraps showed up on the sonar scan. At least, not as far as I can see. I'm sorry to disappoint you. And I'll tell you if I need saving."
It is one of the oddities of the universe that very nearly anything at all can happen, given enough time. Consider rope as an example. Humans, humanoids, and beings acquainted with humans have been aware of rope for some ten to twenty thousand years. The leading experts in ropology currently estimate that if all the rope ever produced by the above three groups were linked end to end, it would be enough to circle the galaxy three times and still have enough left over for Indy to swing across a canyon infested by giant man-eating crocodiles and sharks. Never, in all of history, has a ten-centimeter section of rope suddenly vaporized for approximately three seconds, then re-condensed as it just was a moment before.
Until now.
As if this mind-boggling quantum occurrence was not already mind-boggling enough, a human wrapped in a currently invisible semi-sentient semi-organism just so happened to be holding onto this very same ten-centimeter section of rope at the instant that the rope chose to defy all ropely conventions and vaporize itself for several seconds. (The rope is currently seeing a psychiatrist about its decision, but this does not concern us.)
Fraze lost his grip, and fell to the deck of the Weewoo. It hurt. Or would have, but his suit absorbed most of the impact. The thud echoed across the cavern. "Uhh...I think I may need saving soon," Fraze sent. He chose not to decloak yet, there was still a chance that he hadn't been noticed. The thud was still echoing. A very, very, small chance. Zari"Well that's just grea- WHAT?" Zari thumped her computer angrily, followed by a headdesk, cutting off Ienalle flat rendition of "On top of Old Cheesy". The clone shook her head. "She act more like human every day." she said regretfully, before standing to shake Zari, who seemed to have knocked herself out. "Did you lot hear that? More stinkworm farts. Looks like Fraze had possibly got himself into trouble. A lot of trouble. So. Anyone got capes, chemical X, whatever you humans use to acquire the staus of save-er? Do we get to explode our way in? Make alot of noise? I'm in! ...not like I've got a choice. Seriously, I'm staying away from the NTWF from now on..." Zari appeared to have restated rambling, ending each sentence by pounding her desk. Amneiger"I was counting on blasting our way in using heavy weapons...does your shuttle have weapons on it? Anybody carrying a flamethrower or missile pod? Fraze, where are you? Can you get away from wherever you are now?" Rider"I knew there was someone else on here," Shiva said matter-of-factly. Rider swore under her breath, wishing she had the good sense to carry a gun. I mean, pirates had guns. She could get away with it, but noooo, she wanted to make her persona highly specialized... One of her throwing knives would have to do. She tossed one threateningly in one hand. "Whoever you are, reveal yourself! And don't try anything funny." She whispered to Shiva, "Just one of them?" "Just one of them." "OK, you're outnumbered!" Even in her head it sounded lame, and some piece of her mind that was still superstitious was saying that this was most likely a rogue ghost. Of all the days to be haunted... HuntressHunty, fully ready to fire the long nine at that point, spun around at the invisible thud. Consequently, that saved the lives of three sailors who'd appeared in the entrance in a small boat. "Um," a voice cut into the echoes in the cavern. "Hello?" Hello? Hello? When you've been sailing between icebergs for a while, entering a dark space isn't much of a situation where you can rely on your eyes. "Shut it, you idiot," another voice hissed, "we're a perfect target like this as it-" Whump, and the boat disappeared under the waves. Had the blarf been able to grin, he would have. Food. It'd been a while since he last ate, and he wasn't easy to fill. At that point the captain was trying to divide her attention between the entrance and the commotion on the deck. Luckily her attention was easily divided - Bloody Mary was already bouncing forward. Actually he had a pretty good idea about what the deal was, and when he got to the innocently empty spot on the deck, he wasn't surprised. "You again," he said. "Getting a tad stalkerish here, dontcha think?" Hunty hadn't moved, her attention still mostly on the entrance, but the look in her eyes predicted fire and flames in the near future. "And I hope you're good at coming up with plausible explanations," the meepit continued in a conversational tone, "because you need one right now." *** “So we should get back with them now.”"Pfft," did Justice, sidling on along the side of the tunnel. "I'm not about to trust any lifeforms who live where lifeforms shouldn't live." "I'd be more worried about things that aren't lifeforms," said Boom. "Right before we left, Nova said that she was feeling dizzy." Justice stared at him, then cursed. Nova was a narrowly specialized, semi-gifted necromancer. When she started to feel odd, things were bound to be messed up on the space-time level. Of course, in this land things were messed up in general and you could find the souls of the dead just about anywhere, but that didn't make the possible finding feel any better. "We should still find out what's at the end of this tunnel," she said grimly, not sounding too fascinated with the idea. *** An argument was breaking out aboard the Golden Mast at that point. Everyone had seen what had happened to the boat and now nobody felt like becoming Exploration Team Number 2. "They might not even be in there. Look how small the hole is!" "But if they are, they're sitting like rats in a trap," Rane said patiently. "And if they're not, we still know for a fact that there's something dangerous in there," his first mate said just as patiently. "Just break down the wall and let some light in, then we'll see," said a voice that sounded familiar to everyone but nobody could quite figure out who it belonged to. Not that they cared much. "Then we might let the beast out, and we don't know how big or strong it is," said the first mate. TMC gritted his teeth. Humans were a pain to work with. But he didn't have Horseman ears for nothing. "Listen," he said. He also didn't have Horseman skills for nothing. Everyone, Rane included, listened without questioning his authority. Not that he had authority, they just didn't think of questioning it. "Don't hear anything," Rane muttered. TMC very nearly smacked his forehead. Who in their right mind builds a ship that's so big that you can't hear anything that's going on on water level? "I'm positive that I heard voices," he said, now rather sulkily. "Ask a smaller ship to go near and listen." As signalling flags flew up, the biker tried to remain calm. Even with his arrogance, it's not easy when you know for a fact that Death is grinning at you a couple feet away. And this time he didn't grin only because he had no choice. Fraze((The Weewoo I don't know why I keep doing these location things, hardly anyone else does them anymore)) "I don't need saving just yet," Fraze sent to Zari's ship. "I'm going to try to negotiate. So if you do any exploding, make sure it's quiet. Amneiger, I'll start sending out my location to you again. I could swim out if worst comes to worst, but I don't know if that'd be safe, since the blarf is still here and would likely notice a Fraze-shaped void in the water."
"Whoever you are, reveal yourself! And don't try anything funny." the red caped pirate yelled. Soon thereafter, she added, "OK, you're outnumbered!" Fraze had to smirk--she was clearly nervous. When he realized she held a dagger in her hand, Fraze had to stifle the urge to laugh. A familiar voice, paradoxically deep and small at the same time, spoke to him. "You again," the blue meepit croaked. "Getting a tad stalkerish here, dontcha think? And I hope you're good at coming up with plausible explanations, because you need one right now." "Well, you know how it is," Fraze whispered back. "I just missed you guys so much that I wanted to tag along. Plus, I heard that the Great Northern Lights Ballet was coming up, and I decided to join in." He paused. "All right, I know you'll want the truth. I've been following that demon of yours. There's something about him you should know. Either he's schizophrenic, or he's plotting with an invisible person. And no," he added before the meepit had a chance to get a wisecrack in, "I don't mean me." SmithySmithy crossed her arms and grinned down at the Meepit, showing teeth that looked a little pointier than teeth should be. "Really, Justice, you're the pack of rabid Meepits that live on a pirate ship in harmony with some humans, and you're accusing them of being where they shouldn't be?" Exchanging a few hisses with the leader of the snakes again, she said, "It's fine to explore their little cavern here. They're quite in the times-far more ahead than most animals." Turning yet again, Smithy walked right through the crowd of ice snakes. Nothing happened. "Stay back there if you like, then." The mage pushed off into the air, and floated in the direction of the burrows. *** EDIT: Back on the ship, Qamr sharply looked up at the direction of the thud, and shook his head in annoyance. Qamr spoke to Shiva carefully in Horse. "Why doesn't it show itself if it is found? Is it afraid?" Rider((Silly Fraze, it's a throwing knife. Weighted differently, more likely to go into you pointy-end first.)) Shiva said in Horse, "Caution, wise. If is what I believe, few reasons to fear us." In English, he said to Smithy, "Hey, hey, you obviously don't know these rodents. The ship belongs more to them than any of us bigger, more sensible folk." Meanwhile, something like a page and a half overdue, a tiny little mage vessel was trying to melt their way in. The entire vessel was six inches in diameter and hovered just below the surface of the water. Inside, three bug-like people chirruped instructions back and forth rapidly. At the center of the round ship, a glowing piece of amber held the channelled energy of the three Goro people inside. The Goro are a very proud race and a very small race. This makes for tensions between them and the other mages. They have a tendancy to forget how small they actually are. No way were the other mages getting to Leraye before them. They'd blast this whole iceberg to bits before they'd let that happen. Zari"It's got a flamethrower. If you need us to crash in, just say the word and we shall do so. With a distraction, no less. Yay." Zari examined her fingernails (getting a bit ragged), seemingly bored. "Or quietly. Or with a humungous boom. I can do that too. Or a custom made. Or with acid, or by Senali shifting the rocks, ir by vapourizing them..." On and on and on she rambled, describing different methods of getting into the cave with renewed cheerfullness. Ienalle made a face. Latiere paused from her one-sided chess game to go over and kick Zari. "Ears to bleed. They need for battle. Talk till jaw come off later." she advised. Zari shut up. No one argued with Latiere. KatKat perked up. She heard a thud...but the first person she saw was Rider, who was in perfectly good condition. "Who's there?" Kat asked, her wand growing back into a staff. As the rest of the crew started talking to whoever was there, she whispered a revealing spell. Countless thin ribbons of purple magic flowed out from the tip of her staff, surrounding and illuminating their mysterious guest for everyone to see. "Nothing gets past me, Kalianne Triss Lunara, First Mate of the Weewoo!" She looked around. "What? I was bored." * * * "You say the crew disappeared into that iceberg?" "Yes, Master Damson." "And another mage ship is trying to melt its way in, am I right?" "Certainly, Master Damson. Look through this 'ere spyglass, I ain't lyin'." The senior mage snatched it from his young apprentice's hands and peered into it. "Aha. Well, melting their way in will take a while, considering the average temperatures around here. We take a more...offensive approach. Ready the cannons, and load them with the special cannonballs!" Their cannonballs, for one thing, weren't black. Heck, they changed color depending on the mage's power and capacity. Red ones showed that the mage still had a long way to go; blindingly pink balls indicated superiority. But once they were airborne, they became invisible to all except the mage that launched them until impact. Damson supervised them all as they aimed their cannons, while the mercenaries and ninja kept watch, ready to defend the ship - and more importantly, the mages on it. Huntress((Aboard the Weewoo)) "I've been following that demon of yours. There's something about him you should know. Either he's schizophrenic, or he's plotting with an invisible person."Bloody Mary's face wasn't designed for expressions. All things considered, it was probably designed by someone who thought pseudo-evil-yet-cute-looking shaved hamsters were just the thing a virtual petsite needs, but somehow he still managed to convey a thoughtful, worried scowl. He cast a glance at Hunty. The captain wasn't paying attention or simply hadn't heard, standing there in the prow with her eyes narrowing, as the echoes of the crew's voices carried off and reflected on the cold walls farther away. "Next person," she said in a low voice that was about as sweet as cyanide, "next person to make a redundant sound will be nailed upside down under the bowsprit, understood?" "Yah, that'd be a stealthy punishment," Bloody Mary muttered to himself and sat down next to Fraze's ear. Hunty still didn't come closer. Halfway between the cannons and the crew seemed an optimal position at that point. Leraye got a much shorter, curious glance from the beady eyes before the meepit spoke again. "Either he's schitzopheric, or you are. What else can you tell?" ((Aboard the Golden Mast)) TMC was about to say 'told you so' but reminded himself on the last minute that he was playing a complicated and fragile game. "With all due respect," he said instead, "I would advise that the attack be not delayed any longer, captain." Rane was leaning on the railing, staring down with blank, thoughtful eyes. The flagline of the schooner had caused a chain reaction. The entire fleet had gathered around the side of the iceberg by now, all of them staying well clear of the entrance because of what had happened to the boat, but everyone was keeping a keen eye on it like hunters around a lion's cave. Now that the Mast had asked a nearby pirate ship to sail near and see if anyone hears voices inside, all old black ships down there were suddenly overflowing with colors. All flaglines were full of flags. Yes, they'd heard voices. Someone, or something, was inside that mountain. It had resulted in a quick, linguistically somewhat curbed but very clear conversation between the ships, carried out in signal flags. Rane had asked for second confirmation. It was given on a dozen ships, accompanied by the sailors' shouts. Why hasn't anyone entered yet? the schooner's flagline transcribed. There were multiple answers. No room. The entrance is guarded. We need your cannons, Rane. The ice is thick."If it's them," said TMC, "then your mysterious guardian has to be their sea-monster. You saw it, captain. It's dangerous, but no match for the Mast." That was true. Rane cast another glance over the multicolored flaglines, then gave another message to be hoisted. This time the flag halyard remained empty but the black flag came down from the gaff. And was replaced by a red one. "If that's the game they want to play, then fine by me," he said with no emotion in his voice, and then added something so quiet that the officers on the bridge stepped closer: "Sir?" "I said ready all starboard cannons." ((Inside the iceberg tunnel)) "Really, Justice, you're the pack of rabid Meepits that live on a pirate ship in harmony with some humans, and you're accusing them of being where they shouldn't be?"The meepit replied with a weary scowl. "I expect to find life on a pirate ship. But I don't expect to find life in a godforsaken land of eternal ice in minus fifty degrees. Unless you count those penguins but those were hardly living." She shrugged. "Come along, boys. No turning back now." "Just you watch it," said one of her little companions. Justice was considered the leader as long as the circumstances were good for coordinated action, but as soon as obeying rules would turn out to be dangerous, they'd drop all rules and act each for their own good. That was set in stone so firmly that it was a rule in itself. The meepits wandered off after Smithy. Omni((In a ship, out of the wind)) The thing about Omni's attention is that, more often than not, when she focuses on something, it's to the exclusion of everything else. For example, now as she was adding a layer of silver to her dagger, making it as fine as she could, the only other thing she was really aware of was the ship rocking. No one had walked in front of her, and to her sound was essentially reduced to background noise. She didn't hear the conversation outside. --- ((Onboard NIA)) "Say Zari, when we first met, you said you turned into fire. Maybe you could do something similar now? No explosions, so no ice shrapnel, maybe some more control, plus it wouldn't look like fire was shooting out of nowhere." Zari"Oh right. I completely forgot about that. We can break in that way~!" She got up to speak breifly to Aikran, who nodded, and sent the shuttle towards the iceberg. Zari sighed and opened a cupboard, grabbing a mug and a bag of brown grains, then filled the cup with water. "Drocorr is the secret to that. You need very resistant insides and possibly outsides if you have more than a teaspoon. Consume enough and bang, fire." On that enthusiastic note, she proceeded to measure about four tablespoons of the stuff into the mug, then stirred, humming (since she can't whistle) what sounded supiciously like her wristcomps ringtone. The clones exchanged relieved looks- she seemed to have finished rambling- and went back to their various activities. Fraze((The Center of AttentionWeewoo)) Once again, Fraze's sense of irony kicked in at the worst possible time. I get noticed the most when I'm invisible, he thought. He found himself covered in glowing magical tendrils that looked like they would have tickled. "Nothing gets past me, Kalianne Triss Lunara, First Mate of the Weewoo!" a familiar voice called. Fraze took the diplomatic route, deciding not to fire off one of a number of comments that came to mind.
"Either he's schitzopheric, or you are," Bloody Mary said, perched on Fraze's invisible but glowing shoulder. "What else can you tell?" Fraze decloaked and tried to brush off the glowing magic tendrils. No need to waste power if everyone knew he was there now. "Sorry, I'll be with you shortly," he said to the crew with a friendly grin. "I can do more than tell, I can show you if you want," he muttered back. "But I'll need to cover your eyes with my hand. To Zari's ship, he sent, "Can you send me the recording of Leraye talking to the air? Sound and video both, please. I didn't save it myself and I'm trying to tell the Pirates what we saw about the demon." BaconThe term "bang, fire" grabbed Bacon's attention as he inspected the "internal organs" of Zari's ship, especially since he was now looking at what appeared to be a fuel line. Covering the access panel back up, he stood upright, and asked Zari, "Wait, what was that? Fire?! This isn't going to be too dangerous, now, is it?" Omni((NIA)) "A recording of what Leraye said and did?" Ethan transmitted. "No problem! That's what my computer memory is for… I think.
"So do you want me to just send the file, or would you like a hologram? I can't do that. Although if we have hologram equipment that can project through the ice, I can stream it through that." ZariZari turned to stare at Bacon with a look of total innocence on her face. "I'm going to set myself on fire and melt through the ice. Roger that, Fraze. Dretne, you're good with Computers, send the recording to him. It's in the "Spacefleet" folder, under "Misc Crap" in "Audio"." She rapped out another order in Illhvrenan, then crouched, staring at a particularly fascinating spot of wall. It was rather fascinating. There was a nice big stain that looked of the coffee variety, what was probably a burn, and a technical drawing, somewhat defaced by doodles of a fire breathing bunny, a shopping list, and a detail drawing A Calculator in a tutu. Zari glared at the Narrator for pointing out this fact and began to drum her nails on the floor, obviously her temper being strained. ((I'd like to know who did that and how, kthx.)) ((Ow! The tenth wall just broke!)) RiderAnd just as the tenth wall broke, so did the wall of the iceberg. The explosion rocked the freezing water and sent shards of ice flying. "Frigate!" Rider swore, shielding her face. Ventratta retreated to the dark recesses of Rider's pocket. She turned to Leraye. "You said they'd never find us here. Frigate... If we survive this, I swear, I'll remove your liver and feed it to you." "I'm sorry you feel that way." Leraye just kept up that irritating smile. The hole was now big enough for the Weewoo to fit through. Granted, the Golden Mast couldn't fit, but it didn't have to. it just had to be able to shoot through the holes and send its smaller ships in. Through the smoke, Rider could see a flag being raised. Red as the morning sky before storm. No surrender. Revenge or death. "If it's cannons they want, it's cannons they'll get," Rider promised. The red flag was still below deck. So was most of the stuff they could use for lack of cannon balls. Well, it wasn't a rag soaked in anyone's blood, but it would have to do. Rider lowered the traditional black flag and removed her cape. "Kat, how're we feeling?" she asked as she hoisted her impromptu symbol of blood-fury. "Ready to feed them fire?" There was no dramatic wind inside an iceberg. For a moment, Rider considered asking Ikkin for one, but the theatrics department was still napping belowdeck. Or maybe Rider was just creating a plothole for the kitsune. Who knows? Meanwhile, Ventratta scurried out of Rider's pocket and searched for impromptu ammo. The Gem army had them trapped. Running, running, and now fighting to be free. Huntress((Aboard the Weewoo)) Bloody Mary gave Fraze a sideways glance. "I can do more than tell, I can show you if you want. But I'll need to cover your eyes with my hand.""Don't try anything funny," the meepit warned, but stayed where he was. This was getting interesting and the rest of the ship looked like it was doing fine without him for the time being. Which was a relative term, as they were now obviously discovered. Ice rained from the freshly blown hole as daylight poured in, and the black brigantine grabbed the ice next to it, shrinking back like a cornered animal. The mist was seething, however, ready to block. And the first ships were already looming as black shadows against the bright daylight on the other side of the hole. Hunty knew that word had already spread. That was the end of all stealth. She looked up, where Rider's red cape was rising to the gaff, and raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember ordering the removal of the red flag earlier. Or authorizing the hoisting of this one, for that matter. Do I have to start sending people the same way Cyborg went?" "You could postpone that until after the battle, we're gonna need all the manpower," Bloody Mary remarked from his somewhat-low perch. The gap in the wall was getting rather filled by now. Hunty eyed it critically. One ship. Not much ammo. Not much manpower. Not much anything, unless you counted things like bravery and willingness to stand for everything that's black and crossboned on the seven seas, but experience had shown her that in the long run, the people with more weapons tend to win. And to top that off, the wall exploded. Rane's cannons had had their say. It came with a low rumble, a distant shockwave that made the dark water inside the iceberg boil with froth, and then there was all of a sudden a blizzard in front of them. As the dust - or ice particles - had settled, nearly half the wall had come down. The captain bit her lip. Now that there was no wall of ice between them and the cannons, it'd take one good hit, one single broadside from the schooner, to bring them down entirely, no matter what their defenses. ...wait just a minute. "Leraye." The word snapped like a gunshot, and since the acoustics were good in that hollow mountain, the distant shouts and rumbling on the other side of the wall silenced at once as the sailors perked their ears. "We're doing this for you and because of you, since we need that gem of yours. Now it's now or never. Help us. If you can't, we have no reason to protect you. Handing you over could still save us, after all." Rider"I don't remember ordering the removal of the red flag earlier. Or authorizing the hoisting of this one, for that matter. Do I have to start sending people the same way Cyborg went?""Well excuse me for trying to further the plot on my own for once. In any case, we were trying to be stealthy earlier. Red is not stealthy. I know." ... "However, if the time warp isn't too distracting, can I have my cape back?" More ice wall shattered. More fourth wall shattered. Rider sized herself up. +4 stealth right before a battle where stealth would do no good. Oh well, she wasn't a ninja anyway. Pity. Plan B would have been interesting. Meanwhile, Leraye kept that irritating smile up. "I'm running low on power, but I'll do the best I can." the gem in his hands flickered as he half-froze the surface of the water into a gelatinous substance with ice shards running through it like a web, strengthing it. With the slightest gesture of his delicate pianists' fingers, he erected the gel so it covered part of the hole in the wall. The gem was rapidly dimming. Not too much longer now. SmithySmithy looked down at the snakes peering up at her, and found nothing really suspicious about them. That is, until she saw the end of the cavern, which was officially the end of the tunnel. Her mouth dropped open. "What on earth is that?" The crested snake made a series of complicated hisses to Smithy. Her face slowly and sickeningly blanched, as she stared up at the enormous ice carving of a huge ice snake. Whipping around, Smithy sped back to the entrance. "Holy random maple trees, that carving is life size! They've got a huge snake living in the water below the ship! We need to stop it attacking us!" Archimedes rolled his eyes, and swooped alongside his owner as Smithy flew through the tunnel, only slowing down slightly for the meepits to catch up. What a sight met her eyes when she got to the tunnel entrance. The iceberg had a huge hole in it, quite large enough for the Weewoo to get through. But Leraye was apparently slowly mending it. Cursing, Smithy pushed herself up to the deck. "Captain, this place is an absolute manhole! We've got a bunch of mildly peaceful ice snakes at the end of the tunnel, but they have a kind of monster size worm living in the water!" Smithy made herself calm down when she realized the desperation in her voice. How would they get out? But..."I thought you had studied this place, Leraye. If nobody else gets you first, I'm going to wipe that smile off your face the hard way." Fraze((The Weewoo)) "So do you want me to just send the file, or would you like a hologram?" Ethan asked. "I can't do that. Although if we have hologram equipment that can project through the ice, I can stream it through that." "I just got the file from Zari," Fraze replied. "But if you can find a way to project a hologram through the ice, it'd be good to have it on standby."
"Don't try anything funny," Bloody Mary told Fraze. "Don't worry, I won't." With that, he placed his hand over the meepit's eyes. He could easily cover the creature's entire face with his palm, so he only used a few fingers. It was enough. As his suit was amorphous, any part of it could perform any function. As it had the capacity to relay video to his eyes, it could do so at any place. In this case, the images and sounds of the recording--of Leraye apparently speaking to an invisible person--were relayed through his fingers directly to Bloody Mary's eyes and ears. The whole recording lasted some twenty seconds. In that time, some fighting seemed to have begun, so Fraze did his best to shield both of them. While the movie was playing, Fraze sent another message to Zari's ship. "The pirates have been discovered and are under attack. We need them on our side if we want to get Leraye, so I'm going to do what I can to help them fight."When it was done, he removed his hand from Bloody Mary's face. "I hope that was informative. But it looks like you're going to need to protect this ship of yours. I'd like to help in what ways I can." He realized that the pirates always seemed to prefer frankness, so he elaborated. "I can't very well run away after coming this far. And I'm outnumbered, so it wouldn't be in my best interest to fight against you." With that, Fraze made ready his Table and flechette gun, trying to make sure the pirates realized he wasn't threatening. He shuffled through the music recorded in his suit. If he was going to fight, it might as well be to some good music. Amneiger"I hear you," Amneiger said in reply to Fraze's message. He turned and looked out the windows of the shuttle. They were still cloaked, so they had the advantage of both surprising their opponents and having enough time to think of a strategy. Unfortunately, he didn't recognize any of the insignias on the flags. "Does anybody here know which of the ships belong to the gem mages? They're the ones with the most firepower, so we should try to get rid of them before they can react." HuntressHunty was quiet. Very quiet. But her mind was racing madly. So what did they have, by the end of the day? A bunch of valiant fighters, a sentient ship, Leraye's gem, and that was about it. She eyed the ice wall that was now being mended, and smiled vaguely. Well, this was still better than nothing. Had Rane been there, he would have told her that better than nothing isn't usually much. "Fire all!" The schooner's cannons roared again, and the freshly mended wall shattered, even more easily than the first wall had come down. Hunty's smile faltered. "Bloody Mary?" The meepit, who'd been staring at Fraze and Leraye, trying to wrap his mind around what he just saw, came back to his senses. "Yah?" Hunty glanced at him. Usually the meepit just responded with his comment. If he said something as plain as 'yah?', he wasn't paying attention. "Something on your mind?" There was, indeed. Bloody Mary could still see and hear the demon talking to thin air in the recording, and would've recognized a fake; in fact, he somewhat remembered Leraye wandering around the prow earlier that day. "You'll have your destruction, Hungry One." What the heck? He jumped on Hunty's shoulder, and almost missed, craning his neck mid-jump to watch the demon. Leraye was still smiling. Terribly confident for someone who's basically the first prize in the entire battle, and horribly outnumbered at that. "He's up to something, cap," he said. "And it's not good." Hunty frowned, looking at him. "Not good for us, or not good for them." The meepit opened his mouth - and paused. What had Leraye said? Something about a noisy engine, then "Savvy. Just let me know of this place. You'll have your destruction, Hungry One." And then gave death his regards. Had it been anyone else, Bloody Mary would've deemed him insane, but that didn't seem to fit this guy. Someone had told Leraye to go to a place, that much was clear. And that someone wanted destruction. And that someone was real. And if they'd been on their side, why approach Leraye only? "Not good for anyone, I think." The meepit jerked his paw at Fraze. "But on the bright side, he's on our side." Hunty looked over her shoulder at Fraze while the cannonballs kicked up pillars of foam and water a few feet from the still moving ship. She gave a somewhat bitter smile. "Willing to die with us? Looks like there's more in you than meets the eye." "Yeah, more stupidity," Bloody Mary remarked, shuffling around on her shoulder for a better position. "Though we'll probably all go down in history, if there'll be anyone left to write the chronicles." "There are always chronicles, we'll just be made the bad guys." Hunty picked her crossbow up. Ranged weaponry would be the only way to go at this point, since ships had already begun to move in through the hole. Without a sentient mist, it wasn't an easy maneuver, so she used the chance to take down some of the sailors at the prows. The ships responded with cannonfire, some of which bit into the Weewoo's rigging. "Oh look, ammo," said the captain, jumping aside as the mist began to repair the damage and dropped the cannonballs on the deck. "Come again?" That was directed at Smithy who returned with the meepits. ""Captain, this place is an absolute manhole! We've got a bunch of mildly peaceful ice snakes at the end of the tunnel, but they have a kind of monster size worm living in the water!"Hunty gave a low snarl as her look was drawn to the ripples in water where the cannonballs were sinking. "Wonderful. Anyone else got good news for me today?" TMC chose that moment to materialize next to Leraye. He could've let himself be seen by everyone at this point, but this was a crucial moment and he didn't feel like getting shot at right now. Not that it would've done anything to him, but human reactions were always a nuisance to deal with. "Looks like you need a better gem," he said with a grin. RiderLeraye's keen demon ears picked up Hunty's anger from where he was seated. It wasn't the usual frustration. It wasn't more intense, but it had the distinct flavor of one who had been been betrayed. Leraye's cover had been blown. A slight wind rippled the water in the otherwise-windless ice cave. The ripples were slightly ovular, thanks in part to the bending of space and time around TMC. "There will always be chronicles. What a foolish girl," he said, taking care to keep his voice down. "There were no chronicles last time, and there will be none tonight." Leraye stood, cradling his rapidly-dimming gem in his hands like a baby. He closed his eyes. Alchemical formulae raced through his mind. He was aware of a thousand beating hearts, a thousandraised voices. Pirate, Ninja, Mercernary, Knight, Mage or Spacefleet, friend or foe, he could not discern which was which. It ceased to matter. "I am ready, Hungry One." Omni((In NIA… I'm assuming Fraze is still streaming, I can edit if needed.)) Ethan sat in Zari's ship, fidgetting, listening to Fraze's transmission, as well as some other stuff going on in the ship. "Does anybody here know which of the ships belong to the gem mages? They're the ones with the most firepower, so we should try to get rid of them before they can react.""Anything hat looks like it has magic symbols would probably be a good bet," he said. Soon after, as he was twiddling his thumbs, he heard something in the transmission. That doesn't sound good.… Gah! I can't take it anymore!He grabbed his Ultrek rifle and stood as if at attention. "Requesting permission to shoot at Leraye." Before anyone could ask why, he added "If he really is up to something, then it would be better to take him out sooner rather than later, and besides that, I am sick and tired of just sitting here with nothing to do. All you'd have to do is fly a little closer to the hole, face away from it, and open the back hatch. Just give me a shot at him!" Amneiger"Good point, nothing he's said so far seems right. Zari, can you move the shuttle so that Ethan can get a shot at Leraye?" Wait, the pirates might not take that too well, and if we open the hatch they'll be able to see inside and will know who did it. "Fraze, did you record what Leraye just said about a 'hungry one?' We're going to have to explain this to the pirates somehow." PFA((... *coughs* Well, I guess someone's gotta get the mercs and ninjas back in here before the ending climax happens without us. XD;; Cyborg's given me permission to godmode his characters, so...)) ((Golden Gallion - nearing Weewoo))
"There it is," Cyborg said, gesturing to the ship ahead of them, "the White Weewoo."
Jernath walked over to the railing, looking in the direction that Cyborg was pointing. Sure enough, there were the black sails of the Weewoo, rising out of the... iceberg? They were trying to hide in an iceberg? Regardless, it didn't seem to have worked, as the iceberg in question was now being surrounded by gem army ships.
"Looks like we're not the only ones here trying to kill the pirates," Jernath noted, taking the time to notice just how big some of these ships were.
"Get to the cannons, guys!" Cyborg called out as he turned the ship to dodge an ice chunk. "We're getting close to firing range!"
The mercenaries nodded in response, and they each went and picked a cannon to fire. Esme, of course, purposefully picked the one next to the one Jernath picked. Jernath made no indication that he had noticed.
"Alright, on my mark!" Cyborg continued barking orders. "Ready... aim... FIRE!"
And the mercs started firing. And were probably missing their intended target by a long shot. But they were firing nonetheless.
---
((on Celestial - also nearing Weewoo))
Finally, the ninjas were out of the fog. Just in time to see ships blasting away at an iceberg, which the Weewoo was hiding out in.
PFA couldn't tell what exactly, but she was pretty sure she could see something going on onboard the Weewoo. And if PFA's predictions were accurate, whatever it was wasn't good.
"Celestial, we've got to do something!" the ninja shouted over the sound of cannons firing.
...Of course, She wasn't at all sure what this something even was--protect the Weewoo? Start a fight? Sneak onboard?--but she felt she had to stop whatever impending doom was upon them. So whatever it took, she supposed, was what they should do.
"Can you get us on the Weewoo?" PFA asked Celestial, as a bit of an afterthought. That was where the 'Dark One' supposedly was, after all. And she was pretty sure the mist still considered them as allies, so wouldn't kick them off... she sure hoped it wouldn't, at least. ZariZari grinned. "Commence Operation Getting into the Iceberg!" she said merrily. The ship swerved, the door banged open, and Zari flung herself onto the iceberg with a suprising amount of force, taking her mug with her. She swallowed the contents, stood there looking small and defiant for a second or two, then promptly burst into flames, melting a fourteen-thousand-and-a-few-hundred-years-old-plus-wings size hole in the iceberg. She nearly dropped through, taking off just in time. Zari stared at her work, turned towards the shuttle and grinned. "Shoot him all you like, Ethan." the conflagrating girl yelled, taking aim herself. A narrowed eye, finger on the trigger, the hiss of dart through air... The dart thudded into the deck of the Weewoo on a 74 degree angle. Zari cursed and began to aim again. Fraze((The Weewoo)) "Willing to die with us?" Huntress asked. "Looks like there's more in you than meets the eye."Ignoring Bloody Mary's sarcastic response, Fraze responded. "When on a pirate ship, do as the pirates do. It's presently in my best interests to ally myself with you. That and I'm still holding to our little truce." The attacks were becoming fiercer now. Fraze realized that some of the cannonballs were coming...well, actually quite close to him, in a general sense. Still, his primary concern was to get Leraye and his gem. So it did not escape his notice when Leraye said yet another cryptic message to the air: "I am ready, Hungry One."Over the comm, Fraze heard Ethan asking for permission to shoot Leraye. "Sounds good," Fraze answered. In response to Amneiger's question, he responded: "Yup, I've got the video and saved it."The messages took only a few seconds to send off, but Fraze could not remain still while doing so. He needed to maneuver so that he was keeping himself both safe and close to Leraye--who either had not noticed him, or chose not to acknowledge his presence. Either way, it was what he wanted. Fraze felt as though he was watching someone else, as he cloaked and ran toward Leraye. As he ran, he had his suit remove the Universal Box from his shoulder, so quickly that it was nearly ripped out of his flesh. He was too focused on observing his own actions to notice the pain. As soon as it was ejected, he opened it and clutched it in his left hand. It would be invisible as long as he held it while cloaked. Something deep and intrinsic in Fraze told him that he had to take this second gem, to destroy it. He had no choice in the matter. With his right hand, he made a grab for the gem, which Leraye was now holding gently. Subconsciously, he told his suit to put all of its effort into this single action. His suit responded, and the sudden flash of strength it caused would have been enough to rip this ship's main mast from the deck and hurl it overboard in a single motion. Had he been thinking of anything else, he would have realized that this would deplete his suit's energy reserves significantly, and render his right arm useless for several minutes due to the exertion. But he was not thinking of this or anything else: he was completely focused on grabbing that gem and hiding it in the best place he knew of. SmithySmithy took another look at the desperate situation. "You know, sometimes there's nothing like the direct approach. I'm not ready to die, and I'm sure I won't today, at least." Holding up her arms again, she made circular motions in the air, and then mimed throwing. EDITED: There's nothing like the sight of a huge ice ball wreck most of an enemy's ship. Archimedes hooted his delight, and beckoning to Qamr, swooped down on Leraye, attempting to knock the gem out of his hands. Understanding immediately, the black stallion charged Leraye full speed. Smithy grinned suddenly. Aren't animals understanding?
The Horsemen The Horsemen, at least the remaining three, had front row seats a couple dozen yards away and a few yards higher from the Weewoo's deck. The silent watchers. Even if there would be no witnesses after what was going to happen, these three would still know. They knew everything. "Like... what's he up to?" Famine asked. Well, nearly everything. IF ONLY I KNEW, said Death, something in his voice saying that if he did, there'd be trouble coming someone's way. "Ahoy, guys!" The plane of the Horsemen is a very narrow one. They are only seen by those they want to be able to see them, so for the most part, the plane only includes the four Horsemen (and their horses, obviously). There simply wasn't anyone left to address them, so the three paused for a minute before turning their heads, wondering whether they'd heard right. There are many things that look terribly out of place inside a hollow mountain of ice in a cold empty land far north. Even so, a well-fed bay drafthorse in front of a simple wooden wagon is firmly near the top of that list. The wagon was loaded with a few crates, a big keg, and a roughly twelve-year-old girl sitting next to that keg, bearing the kind of absentminded, somewhat bored look kids get on a long journey. The fact that she was inside an iceberg and a few yards above water didn't seem to bother her much. The man leading the horse was waving frantically at the Horsemen. He was one of those tall, sturdy men who look like they've spent their entire lives in fresh air. With his wide grin, cheerful eyes and a fast tongue, he was a well-known and beloved face in Dunburrow. But he hadn't always looked like that, obviously. "Pestilence, man!" War forced his charger forward to hi-five with the newcomer. "Haven't seen you in a while. I thought they'd closed you down for good, there was word on the streets about that health inspection." "Eh, don't remind me," said Pestilence, sitting back and beaming. "Health inspection's everywhere these days - s'been a while, bonehead, and you're lookin' good today, babe! - always with their raids and use-dishwashing-liquid and get-rid-of-the-rats. I like rats. Whatcha got against rats? They're smarter than most people you see at my bar after 11." "You're not like, closing down?" Famine asked. Pestilence's fast food bar near the capital of Dunburrow was a cheap and cosy den that always drew in a lot of people. Most of them even remained healthy after eating there - the former Horseman always said that there's no point in going overboard after retirement and the regulars paid good money, not to mention they'd developed a kind of immunity after eating a certain amount of Pestilence's grub. The Horsemen liked to gather there every once in a while - except for TMC, of course - to catch up on the news and loosen up in general. "Nah, dontcha worry about that." Pestilence laughed. "I just modernized the place a little. Dirt's all 14th century anyway, but nobody, even the health inspection, can spot a little tuberculosis in the soup. The mages get it all healed anyway, keeps the money in circulation and everything. So what's the little jackal-face up to now?" The four turned to look at the ship where TMC had fixed his glance on Leraye's stone. The space around him looked even more warped than usually. He was concentrating. And then realization dawned. "He's totally gonna even out the odds," whispered Famine. "He's gonna give this ship the power to fight back. Two equal sides." "Well, this is a war," War said grimly. "All's fair in war and gathering taxes." "It's against the rules," Pestilence hissed, all the joviality gone from his voice. "You can't get involved in human business!" IT'D BRING ON THE APOCALYPSE, Death said. HAD THERE BEEN A SMALL GROUP WITH NO CHANCES OF WINNING, THERE WOULD'VE BEEN NO BATTLE TO SPEAK OF. BUT NOW... "Isn't that what you guys want?" Pestilence asked. "The ultimate goal of a Horseman?" He didn't sound very convinced. He liked his little bar and retirement. No NTWF meant no Dunburrow, and no bar, and he'd have to move elsewhere and start all over again. Just like the others. NOT THIS WAY. Somewhere very near and very far at the same time, a pale horse dashed forward. Planes switched and opened. TMC. These weren't just three simple syllables. They sounded like gong strikes crashing against the gates of Hell, echoing all around the hollow iceberg, all around the mortal brains without bothering to use the ears as an entrance. They were real, and they were heard by everyone. TMC, who'd just turned his semi-nervous and annoyed attention to Fraze with the firm intent of messing up his personal time-space and making all of his body parts move at different speeds - which usually had very messy results - found that his view was blocked by something thin, bright blue, and sharp as daylight. Death's scythe turned a little, keeping itself in a convenient position between all parties. The Horsemen knew that the reaper kept both sides of his scythe sharp (to get that extra edge, just in case). Two empty eyesockets turned to look at Fraze. COMMENDABLE, he said, BUT IT'S ALWAYS BEST TO KNOW WHO EXACTLY YOU'RE UP AGAINST BEFORE TAKING ACTION. TMC, who'd been trying hard not to explode in rage - that was one of the few things that would've gotten him in trouble with the higher-ups - suddenly discovered that he was in the mortal world. As in, visible for all. But... you didn't do that! Not to another Horseman. You could make yourself visible to humans, but you never did that to another rider. Then a small part reminded him that he really wasn't the one to talk there. Death had simply given him a taste of his own medicine. He cast a fiery look around behind his sunglasses, at that semi-dark iceberg and the ensuing battle that was lapsing into confusion on the deck as Death kept any random attacks away from his immediate vicinity. This was going way wrong.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:07:23 GMT -5
Rider
"Frigate... who let the Harley on board?"
Shiva's cry of shock directed everyone's attention in Leraye's general direction. Things happened in quick succession after that. Something blocked Fraze like blue lightning. Leraye had been prepared for the horse, so he managed to sidestep that. The bird... no one ever expects the bird. Leraye gave a rare scowl as the gem fell to his feet and rolled away. The gel wall over the entrance to the iceberg melted away.
Thankfully, everyone had forgotten about Leraye's wings since the battle at the castle. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Rider imagined little Clara calling him an angel. Leraye flew until he almost brushed the icy ceiling of the iceberg. As he flew, he drew almost all of the mist from the Weewoo and enshrouded himself in it. It was, after all, made from the energy of one of his gems. He would be able to draw alchemical energy from it.
"Well," he said from his cloud, "You seem perturbed, Horseman. I see that unlike myself, you have no Plan B. Nor, Captain, have you come prepared for this singularly unusual chain of events. I knew another captain like that. Young, intelligent, with a temperment not unlike your own. I wonder where he has been the past 1000 years."
"Frigate, I wish I could throw a knife that high," Rider muttered.
"Now, Hungry One, we don't have to have an apocolypse tonight."
A deep growl sounded from below.
"Another Hungry One seems to agree with me. Now these people," He made a grand sweeping gesture that seemed insincere, almost mocking, "Will either belong to myself or the wyrm, but I regret to inform you and your brethren that they do not belong to you."
Fraze
((The Weewoo)) Fraze watched a bird and a horse attack Leraye just as he did, but did not perceive what happened until it had already transpired. Something blocked his grab. He felt himself bounce off of a invisible shield and hit the floor. Still, the artificially enhanced force he had put into the swing caused his arm to go completely numb. He watched the gem tumble out of Leraye's hands and onto the ground. COMMENDABLE, a not-quite-human voice said, BUT IT'S ALWAYS BEST TO KNOW WHO EXACTLY YOU'RE UP AGAINST BEFORE TAKING ACTION. Fraze's complete focus on the gem broke, and he looked up. He thought for a moment that his cloak was malfunctioning--no one should have been able to see him. He saw a...biker? And a grim reaper figure. Fraze wondered if he had somehow stumbled into some bizarre sketch comedy routine. His right arm was regaining some sensation. Seconds ago, it felt as if it had fallen off. Now it prickled as circulation returned--except this felt less like pins and needles and more like ice picks and daggers--and he almost wished it had fallen off. He still couldn't lift it, and would be unable to do so for a few more minutes.
But he still had the Universal Box in his left hand. Everyone's attention now seemed focused on Leraye and the two new figures that were not only anachronous but counter-thematic, both in regards to each other and their surroundings. They could see him, apparently. But he hoped that no one else could. There was the gem, forgotten on the deck of the ship. As fast as he could manage, he slammed the Universal Box over it; though the box was smaller than the gem on the outside, the inside of the opening to the box was rather larger than the gem. The sound echoed through the cavern. Gravity rearranged itself inside the tiny ring box, and the gem fell into the massive space contained inside. Fraze shut the lid.
He wondered if the new figures would kill him for doing that. Maybe they would. But if they did, they would never get the gem back. Or so he thought--so he hoped. He had seen some very, very strange things over the last few days.
He pressed the box against his shoulder, but could not move his right hand enough to do so. He tried to use his left, though it was awkward. Only now did he realize just how badly his shoulder hurt.
Wanting to save energy and knowing that invisibility would do nothing for him now, he decloaked once more.
Omni
((NIA))
Ethan was thrown around a bit as Zari made the ship swerve. He headed toward the door as soon as he could, and perched himself just inside it.
"Shoot him all you like, Ethan."
With pleasure, he thought, positioning his rifle and taking aim.
And watching as someone, and a motorbike, presumably belonging to that someone, appeared out of nowhere.
Who is that? he thought, but decided to ignore him for the moment as Leraye surrounded himself in dark mist and flew into the air. Ethan focussed again, and took aim, taking a moment to pinpoint the best place to fire if he wanted to hit Leraye's head. This computer precision has yet to fail me…
He pulled the trigger.
Before checking to see the effect of his shot, he decided to hinder the strange person who appeared out of nowhere, and used a couple of Zari's darts to shoot each of his tires.
---
((The ship Cyborg's gang is on))
Omni may have zoned out while she focused, but that didn't prevent her from hearing the on-board cannons firing. We must've arrived. She sheathed the dagger and put away the somewhat-coin-shaped piece of silver. Getting back on deck, she saw an iceberg, and through a hole in the iceberg, a black ship. Judging from the fact that Cyborg was having the Mercs shoot at it, she presumed it was the Weewoo.
Well… here goes.
Spreading her wings, and using another diagonal jump, and took off, flying parallel to the row of cannons. She made a small fireball, and flung it at the crates of rum that were on deck. She flew above and away from what Cyborg dubbed the 'Gallion', making a turn toward the iceberg. She did her best to avoid getting hit be crossfire, which was more difficult than she was expecting, considering the number of ships around, and more than once her shield came in handy. She made her way through the hole of the iceberg, and landed, ungracefully, onto the deck of the Weewoo, shaky after all those cannonballs, but alright.
"Seems you already have trouble," she said, getting herself up, not noticing much about her surroundings other than that there were familiar Pirate faces onboard. "Though I think you should still know: the Mercs are coming to attack you."
Smithy
The gem flew out of Leraye's hands, and Archimedes the Whoot began looking a trifle smug. That look immediately flew off of his face when Leraye flew up and removed the mist with him. So he flapped over the gem with a glower.
Smithy sucked in her breath and let out a stream of curses. "Frigate, I wish I could throw a knife that high," Rider muttered.
“Doesn’t this just remind you of the scene where the villain always tells us his final plans, laughs, and is always, no matter what, finished off? I like that.”
She sized Rider up. “Quick, Rider, want to take the quick way up with me?”
Vyt
Cat Assassin paused for a long time. Something indeed was happening onboard the pirate ship, but this time he felt he could do nothing to stop whatever it was. It was then that he remembered something that the pirates were keeping away from everyone else and could not help but associate it with what was going on the ship then.
He gulped nervously. He could feel fear standing in front of him for the first time.
"Celestial, we need to come closer to the Weewoo," he almost stuttered.
Celestial
((Dragon Airlines- Ninja Class))
The ship was back, she could see it now. However it seemed...wrong. Something big was going on down there and whatever it was, it could not be good for anybody. Some muffled sounds reached her from her back but she could not tell what they were. Celestial didn't need to know what they were. If the ninjas on her back shared her sentiments, they needed to get close to the Weewoo.
"Hang on to whatever you last ate!!" she shouted over the wind. Folding her wings with the grace of a falcon, Celestial dived out of the clouds and stopped short of the surface of the sea, her wings just skimming the waves. She flew fast and hard, the ship coming closer and closer. It seemed a crash was inevitable.
It wasn't. Celestial braked with her wings at the last moment, settling into a tense hover just out of reach of the Weewoo's cannons.
"Any closer and we all risk being blown to smithereens! Are you sure you want to risk it?"
PFA
((on Celestial - next to Weewoo))
PFA clutched her stomach as Celestial did her fancy maneuvering, but thankfully she didn't feel anything coming up. Though maybe that was because she hadn't eaten for a while, and thus there wasn't anything to come up. But she set those thoughts aside, once she had gotten close enough to see who was on the Weewoo.
First off, that guy who she saw on the couch earlier was now flying in the air, the mist shrouding around him. The thought came flying at her like a sack of bricks, Could he be the Dark One that poem was talking about? He certainly seemed to fit the description, what with the way he was acting. And that smile... there was something about it that just disturbed PFA.
Before she could continue on that train of thought, her eyes came upon something that seemed very... unfitting for the setting. A guy on a motorcycle? What in the NTWF was he doing on a pirate ship? And how did he even get there, for that matter?
"Any closer and we all risk being blown to smithereens!" Celestial's voice snapped PFA out of her thoughts. "Are you sure you want to risk it?"
"No... I don't want to risk it," was PFA's reply, as she watched the chaos that was starting on the pirate ship. "...But I don't think we really have a choice. We have to get on that ship!"
The ninja's voice was filled with determination, more than even she thought she had. Whatever was going on, PFA had the overwhelming feeling that she had to stop it.
Perhaps this is what her Father was talking about when he mentioned changing the fate of the NTWF.
Kat
"I assume now is the time to fire, Cap'n?" asked Kat, seeing the gaping hole in the iceberg. Swearing under her breath, she fired several purple fireballs with the cannons, melting the ice further. She quickly drew her wand, flipped it once in the air, and it landed neatly in her hand as its full staff form.
Too busy staring at the melting ice and getting ready to cast another spell, she asked without turning around, "What the heck is going on here? I'm feeling some really uncomfortable vibes. Like...some powerful beings have suddenly landed on our ship and are now messing around with things."
Vyt
Cat Assassin could feel the determination brewing from PFA. He could see that the girl was undergoing a lot of thinking in her own head, and that she came into something that sparked her to push danger aside. It was then that he remembered Vyt and Subila's parting words before they went to follow the pirate ship once more, and felt that it was also inspiring PFA to continue.
"You heard her, Celestial!" he smiled, his only way of telling her that he was stepping aside for someone who knew all along what was going on. "Bluisa, give me some support. We're going to deflect anything that blocks our way into the ship," he added before letting his hands fill itself with energy.
Somehow, PFA's bravery was giving him another reason to push himself back to the limit.
Bluisa could only response with a energetic nod. Subila's parting words for her finally came across her head by then; she wanted the remnant to help PFA fulfill her long lost destiny. She pulled out her staff with much bravado and stood beside Cat Assassin.
Even if no further words were uttered, both of them understood that they must help PFA in any way possible.
The Horsemen
TMC shrunk back against the railing, glaring at Fraze. He knew that the game was lost, but with Death present he couldn't do anything. Granted, strictly speaking he could've done quite a bit, but something in the reaper's deep eyesockets told him that nothing along those lines would be a good idea.
Death moved himself a little, raising the scythe. As an instant result, the battle, the warcries from the approaching ancient ships, and the whizzing of the cannonballs died down. Sure, everyone knows that when you run into battle, you have to be prepared to meet your death. And everyone on those ships had long accepted that. But accepting it is one thing, actually seeing a robed skeleton holding a gleaming bright scythe that's casting blue light on the deck of the ship you're about to attack is completely another.
"Really, Death." TMC's voice, still bearing that arrogant note, now had a little despair in it. "Isn't this what we all want? Our job? It's not your place to get in the way."
IT WASN'T YOUR PLACE TO INTERFERE WITH THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS. Death's hollow voice echoed back from the walls of the cavern.
"What is natural order?" TMC demanded with so much heat in his voice that his face rippled in a time-space lag for a moment. "Don't they interfere? Don't they push things around in this world any way they like? Don't they attack each other, and destroy fertile soil so that their own crops fail, and think that only a good smell keeps the evil demons of sickness away?"
"Hey, I always liked that attitude," Pestilence said from his wagon.
"We're created by humans, Death." The biker gazed at the reaper. "So you can't blame us for doing what humans do. It's our purpose."
Death seemed to ponder that for a moment. There was still somewhat halfhearted fighting going on, something with the gem, something with the demon and people delivering messages, but he didn't see a reason to pay attention to any of that.
YES, he finally said. BUT YOU FORGOT SOMETHING.
TMC blinked, which showed as the momentuous clearing of the lag around him. "What?"
HUMANS PAY A PRICE FOR WHAT THEY DO.
The scythe drew a clear, beautiful arc in the air, something the Weewoo's mist would've been proud of. When it reached TMC, it slowed down for a second, lapsed into a lag - but nothing, absolutely nothing stops Death.
"Son of a-!"
And those were his last words.
The reaper brought his scythe up again, never really stopping the motion all the way through, looked thoughtful for a moment, and then apparently remembered something. He pulled an hourglass out of nowhere. It was a huge and obviously heavy one, and looked like it was made of crystal. The entire hourglass, some parts of the glass included, was covered with a swirling pattern.
THE DEMON PROBABLY ISN'T YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM AT THIS POINT, he prompted, mounting his horse. I'LL BE... STICKING AROUND.
Celestial
((Close to the Weewoo))
Celestial shivered a little as PFA's determination made itself felt even to her. They had no choice and if the poem was right, everything depended on the actions of individuals. It was better to risk being hit by a cannonball than facing whatever the Dark One had in store for them. She looked behind her and made sure that everyone was tightly packed. It was time for a transformation she rarely used.
Celestial's entire body began to shrink and he scales became as green as jade. The crest on her head disappeared as if retracted and the dragon's tail became short and slender. She had become a lot smaller and more agile so if any cannon was fired, they would have a chance to dodge the incoming shot. However, something was on the ship, something that made every single one of her instincts scream out in fear. However, mages were not made out of instinct.
"Brace yourselves!!" she shouted against the wind and let out a burst of speed that propelled them right into the cannon's range.
Rider
"I'm feeling some really uncomfortable vibes. Like...some powerful beings have suddenly landed on our ship and are now messing around with things."
Rider debated about whether to tell Katkat about the very-uncomfortably-visible reaper standing right behind her. Probably not. Poor girl might faint.
"Though I think you should still know: the Mercs are coming to attack you."
"I'll add that to the list of reasons why this is the best day of my life," Rider said bitterly. Stress made her bitter. Motorcycles and Grim Reapers materializing on her deck made her stressed.
“Quick, Rider, want to take the quick way up with me?”
She gestured for Smithy to stay back. "He's still dangerous. We shouldn't get close. Got anything you can shoot at him from down here?"
Ventratta's paws waved in a variety of shooting motions and parabolas. His meaning was clear. If he was cloaked in ship-mist, nothing would be able to penetrate. As if to prove his point, the mist grew thick around Leraye's face and seemed to snatch Ethan's bullet out of midair. It then thinned into a hazy globe 7 feet in diameter, ready to concentrate wherever it was needed at a moment's notice.
Leraye watched TMC's destruction with, at most, mild amusement. So now even the power of Hell was open for any demonic alchemist. He extracted a piece as big as his fist. He compressed it so tightly that it seemed to be solid. Many authors have tried to express this color, so black that it was more than just an extremely dark brown or grey or purple. The absolute blackness that you get when you can't even imagine color.
He extracted another piece of mist and murmured some words in an ancient language. He thought about the chaos that made TMC. He focused his entire being on the disorder, the randomness, the fact that even the constant flow of time can be dammed or stretched or sundered.
The energy flowing from the ruined Horseman was like a stream sweeping along thousands of shards of broken glass. Reflections were distorted, light sent of crazy patterns. Time fragmented in places, and as Rider looked through it, it seemed as though Kat had several sets of feet all in one place. It hurt her head to look at it too long.
It all rushed to Leraye's concentrated mist just as a river or a gull or a pirate are bound to rush to the sea. the mist glowed white-hot. The essence, the very soul of TMC formed a glistening, rough coating over the concentrated mist. Leraye drew some more mist close and formed a smooth black shell over TMC's soul.
The new Gem shone as black as midnight. A gem forged from the power of a Horseman.
The approach of the wyrm was evident now. The seas and ice all shook as though they too were afraid.
"I would love to stay for dinner," Leraye said, "Particularly to reclaim the useless trinket that your invisible friend has taken from me, but this is neither my time nor my place to die. Our Reaper knows this well."
And, without so much as a dramatic flash, Leraye teleported out of the NTWF.
Cyborg
(I'm back. Thanks PFA for posting for me) " Traitor, Omni you shall die with them!" Cyborg hollared as he and Midknight tossed a barrel at the Weewoo!
Esme meanwhile had a barrel as well, using telekinesis.
Zari
The fire entirely gone, Zari fired again, this time narrowly missing Leraye. She frowned. She had excellent aim. She'd trained herself to be that way, first with Tevara, then with the Undercircle, and at spacefleet. How come she was missing now? The air was all funny, too. Like looking through water. Distortion. Why's that happening...?
-FLASHBACK-
"Very Good, Fo- Uh, Ailden." Adrianna corrected herself, using Zari's chosen surname. The twelve-year-old stared critically at her target. "They're not all in the centre yet. I've got a way to go before I can shoot like you do." she mused. "If it's any comfort, I miss the target altogether sometimes."
-END FLASHBACK-
--
Aiyuka turned to face her second target- Ailura. "As for you...You idiot! You revealed yourself at the worst possible time, girl, the worst! If you'd waited until now, your opposition wouldn't know your powers! You're..." Aiyuka stormed, pale-blue eyes blazing. Ailura/Zari snorted. "And what for your case?" she replied sharply. "You did some stupid things in your time. Your sister? What about her? I did stupid things that hurt me. You did them that hurt others." She folded her arms. "You've no rigt to keep me here for near enough an hour. Zaha and Ferdamei are depending on me." The silence was long and awkward. Aiyuka blank, Zari-Ailura mutinous, and the rest ranging between amused, thoughtful, and suprised. "Fine. Go Back."
--
"Uuuuuuuggh!" "Zari? You all right? You've been out just over an hour!" Zaha pulledher friend to her feet. "Dear Aiyuka wanted a chat. She kept me waiting." the Fae replied, interacing her fingers and yawning. Ferdamei looked distinctly nonplussed. "Who's Aiyuka? Are you talking in code?" Zaha and Zari turned towards her, looked at each other, then began to laugh. "Code! Aha-ha-haa-ah, you are funny, Miss Ferdamei." Zaha giggled. Zari snorted. "I suppose we were...of a sort. Nevermind. Where to now?"
Blank silence.
"Oh, pur-lease."
Huntress
Hunty hadn't done much in that battle, apart from the occasional clear shot at a sailor on the enemy's ships. She was standing under the foremast, looking as events unravelled around her, and there sure was a lot to watch. Bloody Mary, firmly on her shoulder as always, was filling in any blanks the captain might have missed.
"So that's who Leraye was plotting with?" she asked, watcing as TMC's lifeless and now also soulless body started to fade. It was nothing fancy, dramatic, or even gross; it just looked as though his body, created from something far more basic than humans, was dissolving into those basics again.
"Apparently," said the meepit. He was scowling. In the commotion and general shock around the appearance of TMC and Death, nobody had really noticed what happened to the demon's old gem, though Leraye's last words before departure cleared things up for him. "And now? We've lost Leraye, we've lost the gem, we've lost the mist of the ship, and those guys are still hungry for revenge."
That was true; while the ancient fleeters were still hesitant to attack the brigantine where the Grim Reaper was currently mounting his horse, they had well seen and heard everything Leraye did and said, and now that he disappeared, their rage returned in one swift surge. For centuries they'd been trapped in the gem, fighting for no real reason, they'd chased this guy all the way north, and now he got away, just like that.
"Leraye!"
"LERAYE!"
"Traitor!!"
The shouts, however, were overshadowed by the sound of something deep, low, and prehistoric rising from below. The silk-smooth water began to form waves and turned lighter. Something bright white was coming up from the depths.
Hunty used the chance to step up to Fraze and put her hand on his shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure what the guy had done, but it was obvious that he had something to do with the gem and, more importantly, that his arm wasn't doing so well. "Need a medic?" That sounded more like an order than a question.
"We dun have a medic," said Bloody Mary, eyes darting around. The increasing sound of an incoming subway train was making him nervous. "We have Boom, and he's more suited in the inquisition than at a hospital."
"He does good work, and is the only thing we have." She was interrupted by Omni: "Seems you already have trouble. Though I think you should still know: the Mercs are coming to attack you." As if to affirm that, the mercs tossed barrels at the ship. They broke against the smooth surface of the hull.
"Bad timing as always," Hunty groaned, casting a glance around. Upcoming giant ice worm, angry fleet of ancient warriors plus a bunch of other assorted people attacking them, and while they still had a number of valiant fighters, things were starting to look a little...
"Bloody Mary?"
"Make the right choice," said the meepit. They exchanged a glance, then a determined frown spread over the captain's face and she dashed across the deck, heels clattering like machinegunfire.
Death's horse threw its head up in fear when a hand suddenly grabbed its reins, and the Horseman stared down at the captain in surprise.
"The grim reaper?" Hunty asked, gasping for air.
YES?
The captain pointed at the rump of the horse with her other hand. "Whazzat?"
The Horseman turned back to look, then sighed. His horse was a real horse, after all. I'LL CLEAN IT UP AT ONCE.
"I'll clean it myself," now Hunty had to raise her voice to be heard over the incoming rumble, "if you do me a favor. Your voice carries better than mine."
A few instructions later Death's deep, hollow voice boomed over the cavern, over the incoming rumble and the quiet tingle of the icicles, to each and every brain on each and every ship, without really using the ears to enter.
PARTY!
In the ensuing, very surprised silence (minus the rumbling), there was a sound as if someone had knocked over a bowling pin.
OW. COME AGAIN? ...OH. IS IT SOME KIND OF A SAILOR WORD? ...WELL, I'M THE REAPER, NOT A PIRATE, YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO KNOW EVERYTHING. FINE THEN. PARLEY!
Kat
"Someone cover me, there's something up ahead," said Kat, who was about to turn around and see what the commotion was about, but was interrupted by a flying barrel. Raising her staff, she blasted it before it could even hit any part of their ship. "And I heard someone asking for a medic. I'm not the best one, but if we don't have anyone better, I'll hold my attack."
Another barrel came for them, and she could feel the magical aura around it - she knew that this one was propelled by magic. This one Kat was about to deflect, if it hadn't been for that loud, unnerving voice echoing through her head.
She screamed once, and finally whipped around, staff held high as something that looked like a small purple phoenix the size of a chicken appeared over her head. The bird let out a jet of violet flames at the first person it saw.
Smithy
She gestured for Smithy to stay back. "He's still dangerous. We shouldn't get close. Got anything you can shoot at him from down here?"
“I certainly can-“
No poof. No zap. Just disappearance. Smithy huffed. “He could at least play by the bad guy rules for all our trouble.” She managed to keep her last meal in after noticing TMC.
"And I heard someone asking for a medic. I'm not the best one, but if we don't have anyone better, I'll hold my attack."
Smithy walked over to Fraze. “Nah, keep your energy, Kat, healing’s mine.” Just some energy from her wand was needed. “That should be okay. How does it feel?”
For a moment the fingersmith leaned against the railing, Qamr and Archimedes with her, so that she could just sort everything out. Ice snake could be persuaded if she went underwater and explained. Explanations early on were better than fighting at the last second. At least, in most situations. Ancient fleet that were angry and uncooperative. Not so good.
And then Death. Smithy didn’t like dealing with Death. She made sure to keep away from him in normal situations. But Qamr apparently liked the horse. Oh well.
Amneiger
Amneiger stared at both TMC dissolving and Death shouting about a party. Um, parley.
"O...kay. Well, Leraye's gone and nobody seems to be looking at us right now. Everybody stop firing, there's no reason to antagonize the pirates further." Amneiger turned around and found the radio. "Fraze, can you pick up the gem Leraye dropped and bring it to the shuttle?"
Rider
PARLEY!
The word, foolish from the mouth of any other, rang from Death like a command. Queen Kienne felt a chill go up her spine that had nothing to do with the weather.
"Blasted pirates, thinking they can order us around. Arrogant enough to even order Death. What do you make of that, Kite?"
The Kite's face remained as stoic as ever. "M'lady, they have overstepped thier bounds."
"They overstepped their bounds a long time ago." said the Queen. "I'll bet they even have something to do with that infernal rumbling. I'll send one of my Knights over, but you keep your bow pointed at that Captain, do you uderstand me? The second anything goes wrong..." She let her voice trail off and the silence was full of promises of unpleasantries.
"Yes, m'leige."
Meanwhile, the ninja were being a lot more reasonable... or at least as reasonable as ninjas ever get.
"I'm teleporting over to the Weewoo, Ryou said. "I want an escort of at least five of you hidden somewhere. And as tempting as it may be to put a blowdart in the demon-horse, don't do it unless I give the word."
"Sensei," said one of the escorts, "What is that rumble? What exactly are we dealing with?"
"Something that has taken a full thousand years to blossom," Ryou said. "Have you ever heard of Operation: Living Ice?"
The escort shook his head. "No, sensei."
"It was a project that the Mages and Ninja allied themselves to work on during the war. They thought they had the bigger hand in it as they were the ones tinkering with the technical aspects, but the design, the information and the materials all belonged to the Ninja Guild. We were planning on stealing it from them as soon as it hatched, and I've no doubt in my mind that they were planning to do the same."
"Excuse me, sensei... hatched?"
"Living Ice was to be a superweapon, a wyvern made of unbreakable, unmeltable ice and set loose upon the pirate ships, as well as whatever other enemies it could devour. We meant for it to be used within 5 years of its hatching. it would be large, but not too large nor too powerful to control."
"Sensei... this seems too large..."
"It has had a thousand years to mature, several tons of icy armor to grow, and a dozen lifetimes of wisdom to direct it true in battle. it has had no human contact since it hatched, so it knows not the sound of our voices."
The escort swore loudly in Japanese.
"My thoughts exactly," Ryou said as he teleported in a puff of (highly cliched) smoke.
Fraze
((The Weewoo)) Fraze looked around suddenly, as he felt a hand against his shoulder. The one with the gaping wound. Now that his brain was allowing him to realize just how much it hurt, it took a conscious effort not to yelp. He wondered how the wound was visible through the suit, until he looked at it and realized that the suit was not covering the wound. It must have retracted so that he could get the Box, but didn't re-cover the area. "Need a medic?" Huntress asked. The tone in her voice made Fraze think it would be better for him not to say no--even though he had half of the tube of dermal regen gel left. He nodded. Kat offered her skills, but another mage came forward and, without being asked, healed Fraze's wound. More magic, he thought. “That should be okay," said the unrecognized mage. "How does it feel?” Fraze looked at the arm. The Box--which had not returned completely to its diffused state--now did so, seeming to melt under the surface of his newly healed skin. "Much better, thank you."
Something unprecedented in the history of mankind now happened. The Grim Reaper, Master of Death and Harvester of Souls, announced a party. Not even realizing it might have been a mistake, Fraze began shuffling through his music library, picking out some good dance music. He was about to play one track through his skinsuit--a particularly hyperactive song that sounded like an electric guitar version of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on steroids. But then Death corrected himself (herself? itself?), and announced a call for parley.
Fraze changed his mind and played the Pirates of the Caribbean theme instead. The sound echoed throughout the cavern.
Huntress had bustled off to take care of business elsewhere--particularly, slapping Death around. Fraze turned to the person who had healed him (Smithy, though he didn't know the name), and said, "Well, I'd best get going. Give your Captain my best, I'm sure we'll meet again."
He sent another message to the 'Fleeters in (and now around) Zari's ship. "I have the gem. It's in my Universal Box. Lot of good it did us, the demon got away. Still, it might be useful to have around now. I'll be waiting at the stern of the pirate ship for you."
Kat
The little phoenix hovering over Kat fired too little, too late. The fire didn't burn anything - which was good and not so good at the same time. She sighed, and her temporary familiar disappeared in another clichéd puff of smoke.
Obviously this was what she got for being out of the loop for too long.
"Well, I'd best get going. Give your Captain my best, I'm sure we'll meet again."
"Where are you going now?" she asked Fraze.
* * *
"We can't just hurl barrels at them," said Asthielle to her crew-mates. "We need something...bigger, if we want to finish them off. And if they're filled with rum, we should throw them and then set them on fire. I'll take care of the fire bit."
Cyborg
" Good, Esme get on Gryff and attack the traitor Omni, if and when we board squirrels attack the meepits, Ielle you get Kat, Shado, Jernath and Rose fight any remaining pirates, meanwhile Midknight, you and I will go after Hunty and Rider." Cyborg said to his crew.
Smithy
"Well, I'd best get going. Give your Captain my best, I'm sure we'll meet again."
Smithy returned to the ship with a snap after closely gazing at the ancient fleet, and nodded to the guy that she had healed. “Y’mean their captain, I was just portal’d onto the ship accidentally and put myself on their side for obvious reasons. Anyways, yes, I do tend to remember people that I’ve healed. See ya.” Then, remembering, “My name’s Smithy, traveling fingersmith-cum-mage. Just a little useful info.”
Hands in her deep pockets, Smithy grinned at Qamr, who was in a deep and happy conversation with Death’s horse. “Trust you to make friends with Death’s mount.” Turning to the other horse, she asked amiably, “So what’s your name?”
The white steed nickered, looking as close to embarrassed as a horse can get, and an incredulous look spread over the teen mage’s face. “He calls you Sugarcube? And you only just stopped him calling you Diddlums? Whatthe-”
Smithy looked at the scythe-wielding robed skeleton with a sly smile that threatened to turn into a laugh.
Still smiling, she walked to Huntress. “Y’know, if I get a few names and a little more background info, I think that I can sidle that Queen on the ship out of a battle.” Putting on a serious look, she added, “Don’t worry, when I feel like it I know how to charm adults without magic. How do you think I’m in this profession without knowing?”
Huntress
Rane stepped forward, eyes widening. The Golden Mast had finally broken through the wall in its entirety, mainly with the help of some fire mages, and he'd just gotten a clear chance to see what was going on. For a very brief moment he thought that he hadn't heard right, but you don't think twice about what Death says. When he said it, it felt like the words were being chiselled into your brain.
"What?"
Hunty had already jumped into the Weewoo's rigging. Without the mist, it felt odd to climb up these black ropes, though she had to admit that the PotC themesong fit her ascent nicely. "Parley!"
"Shut it, shut it, you idiots, I can't hear," Rane hissed at his officers, leaning forward on the railing. The black brigantine was a good two cables away. "Name your terms!"
The giant ice worm, who'd been ascending long enough just to comply with the narrative rules and let everyone talk things out, chose that moment to rise out of the water with a low, earsplitting roar. Both captains waited patiently until it faded away, using the chance to observe the worm.
It didn't look that bad, all things considered. The monster had a somewhat skeletal appearance - ice doesn't bend, so in order to maintain any flexibility, it had been created a series of thick glassy joints linked together. Hunty spotted two rows of long jagged fangs and a row of backspikes before she turned her attention back to Rane. They had to act fast now.
"We take care of this thing first, together, and can continue our fight after it's dead!"
Rane had to admit that he rather liked that idea. "Deal! But I can't speak for other guilds' leaders."
"If the other guilds' leaders aren't bloody idiots," Hunty's voice echoed across the cavern, "I'm sure they'll agree with this idea."
"Nice phrasing," Bloody Mary said, clinging to her shoulder. "Does parley apply to pirates only or any seafaring vessel?"
"It applies to anyone and everyone," said the captain, sliding down on the ropes and casting a look around to judge the situation. Death, she noticed, was gone together with his horse, but she was sure that the Horseman hadn't left the area, as he'd said. "That's why it's parley. Discussing terms of truce."
"What if you break it?"
Hunty gave him a blank stare. "You don't."
"Too bad," said the meepit, "cos it looks like the mercs are planning to attack us and as long as we're under parley with them, we can't very well attack back."
The captain used the chance to smack her forehead against the yard she was currently climbing past. "That skull of a donkey. Do they honor anything?"
"S'kinda like with ninjas," the meepit said glumly, trying not to look at the worm who was apparently having trouble adjusting to the light - the inside of the cave was even brighter than it would otherwise be, due to the huge hole in the wall. "Can't trust ninjas, no matter how honorable. Some of 'em think that honor doesn't apply when dealing with pirates."
Hunty landed on the deck again, muttering something about pots and kettles, and was confronted by Smithy at that point (because floating/rearrangeable timelines are oh-so-convenient).
“Y’know, if I get a few names and a little more background info, I think that I can sidle that Queen on the ship out of a battle... Don’t worry, when I feel like it I know how to charm adults without magic. How do you think I’m in this profession without knowing?”
"What names, now?" Hunty asked a shade gruffly, dragging her heavyweight-crossbow out again. "I'd be more interested in getting more people in the battle. That's one big worm."
"That Queen," Bloody Mary remembered, "the one who looks like she has something very stinky stuck under her nose? Good luck charming her. Though," he shuffled around for a better position, "we need someone to parley with them either way."
Hunty, only half-listening now, was loading the crossbow at record speed. She whistled sharply. "All hands! Ready for battle."
Similar commands were echoing all around them on the black ships by that time.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:09:41 GMT -5
RiderRyou, a scowl gouged into his face, teleported over to Damson's vessel. He didn't know how high-ranking the nutjob had been during the war. Maybe he had even worked on the project. In any case, he needed to know. "Damson, when you mages said you made this thing unmeltable, exactly how unmeltable do you mean? Oh, and also, did you give this thing the ability to reproduce? Asexually, I mean. To carve clones of itself out of the ice. They call themsels the Talj clan..." Meanwhile, the ninja were busy spreading all the information they had. Even though it was unmeltable, it still didn't like heat. Its tongue and its eyes were the weak points. It didn't like loud noises, which battles honestly couldn't help but make. Try to take advantage of cracks in its tight, icy shell. Don't sail your ship directly in front of it. Don't stay still long enough for it to charge you. And moreover, don't die. We just got our blasted lives back after a thousand years and we're not losing them now to our own superweapon. Rider tied oily rags around some large semi-precious stones that they had pillaged from some village near Tabloid Town, mentally making a note to find out if aquamarine explodes and whether it would be salvagable by any willing mages when the battle was done. The silverware was making itself scarce, and in any case, flaming forks were perhaps a bit too predictable. No one expects to be attacked by thier birthstone. "Ventratta, are your brethren ready?" Ventratta squeaked. Meepits against an ice wyrm? it didn't seem like a fair battle. "Not the wyrm, 'tratta. The mercs are going to attack, the honorless dogs. Personally, I'll be willing to bet that the wyrm gets them before they get us. We need you and your fellows to act as a distraction. Geurilla tactics. And keep those blasted squirrels occupied. This boat is not a floating zoo, and those squirrels are animals." Ventratta nodded. Rider held her hand out, palm flat against an invisible wall like a mime in a box. The Meepits teleported in orderly rows, easily three dozen. At thier head was the proud Nalia, bearing her whip, and just behind her was her loyal Offsephious, strumming his spiky goth guitar. "There will always be chronicles and you will be remembered as heroes among Meepits," Rider promised. "Remember, geurilla tactics. Keep them on thier toes. I'm manning this cannon. Do not let them distract me. The sooner this wyrm goes down, the better." "Shiva, I want you to stay belowdeck." "WHAT? Rider!" "You've been resisting the cold well enough. I don't know if you'd resist as well if wet, but if the Weewoo should go down, you will jump ship and get out of here. You're useless in a battle against the wyrm, and I don't want Sora suffering for our foolish mistake." "I can fight. Rider, I can fight the mercs if you'll let me." "... Are you sure this is what you want to do?" "The Weewoo will not fall. Sora would never let me hear the end of it. Besides, they look tasty." "Don't do anything stupid." She turned to the Captain. "Cap'n, permission to use the rest of our lamp oil to roast this snake?" Kat"With pleasure," said Asthielle, smiling grimly as though she had already killed her target. A bow and arrow appeared in her hands, yellower than the sun. She took aim, and fired at the speck of purple lingering on the ship. Unfortunately, she missed, and hit the ice worm instead, and swore aloud. "What the hell is that thing?!" * * * "Ready for battle, as always, Cap'n," said Kat. "I've been ready for a long, long time. I'll provide the fire. Someone provide the grill." * * * Damson gasped and whipped around so quickly that he nearly bumped into his loyal apprentice, who was busy reading out a large star chart. "Wait! Where's Crux a - oh, it's you." He jabbed his sidekick in the shoulder. "Take control of the ship. Gather up every last able fighter on the deck. Scratch that, get someone to gather all able fighters on deck. I need you to stay on the wheel." The young man saluted sagely, a big grin on his face as he grabbed the wheel and yelled, "All hands on deck!" Damson faced Ryou. "Oh, great, so the nickname's spreading too? Anyway, if I'm not mistaken, simple fire can't melt it, but if you concentrate enough magical fire on a weak spot, like one of its joints, or its eyes - yes, aim for the eyes..." "Damson-dono, the tongue too!" "The eyes are weaker," he corrected the ninja, who bowed and disappeared. "Remind me to get myself a new alias. As I was saying, it's usually best if you get multiple mages, thus different kinds of fire and more power. I don't know exactly how many and how long it would take to disable the wyrm, but that's how it goes. "Reproduction? Keep it away from sources of ice. I don't know the real process exactly, but that's what they told me. No ice for the wyrm unless you want an entire army of them. It has to be ice. Not water, not even snow. Loud noises can accelerate the reproduction, so whatever you do, don't put those two together. Of course, if you want to annoy the hell out of it, make a real racket. Oh, that would be nice." Damson sighed. "The places where the ice cracks - on the wyrm, I mean - are also quite vulnerable. But start with the eyes. It's easier that way. Nothing like poking its eyes out." Cyborg" I've heard of this thing, it's an ice wrym, unmeltable, it may attack, so be wary." Esme stated. " Great, we need to make allies of the gem army." Cyborg declared Omni((NIA)) Ethan let out a grunt of frustration as Leraye's mist simply… grabbed his shot, and again when Leraye vanished. About as he was wondering what kind of condition the bike was in, he saw the ice snake emerge. The big, solid-looking, and definitely very cold ice snake. He only watched, stunned (for lack of a better word, as far as I can think of), for a moment, as it roared in all it's shiny glory. "Uh… Zari? I don't suppose your fire will last to do something to that ice snake? Or that you have other weapons that might do something to it? Perhaps missiles filled with sodium chloride?"---- ((Weewoo)) "Bad timing as always."
"I'll add that to the list of reasons why this is the best day of my life.""You're welcome," Omni said, not feeling particularly relaxed herself. When the ice serpent emerged, Omni pretty much instinctively created a foot-in-diameter fireball and flung it at said serpent. When the fireball seemed to be pretty much ineffective against it, she had to remind herself not to panic. She managed to remain calm to some extent. "Kat, can you teach me any lightning spells real fast?" The stress in her voice wasn't too hard to detect. ((In case anyone's wondering, sodium chloride is the scientific term for salt.)) Kat((I remember an experiment I did with ice cubes and NaCl (or salt, I just wanted to sound scientific XD). You place string on the ice, add salt, wait for the ice to partially melt and refreeze around the string, and presto! You can lift the cube. XD Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water when you add it - it's freezing point depression, one of the colligative properties - okay, okay, no more chem terms XDDDDDDD)) "Of course it may attack, the look in its eyes tells me that much," said Asthielle sarcastically. "And if it's unmeltable, what do we do? Bury it till it doesn't know which way's up? Nothing's unmeltable. Maybe it just takes a while to bring it down with fire." She cracked her knuckles and a flaming arrow appeared in her bow. Taking aim, she pulled the string and let go. * * * "Kat, can you teach me any lightning spells real fast?""I make a better mage than a teacher!" Kat said, shaking her head and clutching her staff. "But can we try firing together? Maybe that'll crack this thing!" She waved her weapon once and created a blazing purple fireball crackling with energy. "On the count of three...one, two, THREE!" It flew through the air, and any witness's vision would be cut by a single amethyst streak. Omni((Weewoo)) "I make a better mage than a teacher!" Kat said, shaking her head and clutching her staff. "But can we try firing together? Maybe that'll crack this thing!""Maybe, I still think we should try lightning, though." Besides, I still don't know any lightning or air spells, she added mentally. Omni formed another fireball just after Kat created her own. "On the count of three...one, two, THREE!"Fraternal twin fireballs soared through the air, heading for their, rather big, target. Smithy"What names, now?" Hunty asked a shade gruffly, dragging her heavyweight-crossbow out again. "I'd be more interested in getting more people in the battle. That's one big worm."
"That Queen," Bloody Mary remembered, "the one who looks like she has something very stinky stuck under her nose? Good luck charming her. Though," he shuffled around for a better position, "we need someone to parley with them either way."
Hunty, only half-listening now, was loading the crossbow at record speed. She whistled sharply. "All hands! Ready for battle."With a short huff, Smithy pushed off into the air, shortly telling her horse, “Qamr, lay off the nice conversation with your friend. Stick yourself below decks. No, I don’t care what you can do right now. You can’t exactly do anything but get in the way in this situation.” Archimedes looked smugly at the black stallion, who hopped down the stairs with an angry whisk of his tail. The Whoot swooped up to his mistress. “Oh no. Oh just plain no.” Smithy immediately stumbled back onto the deck when the other mages began throwing fireballs, and she walked to the other side of the deck, electricity spitting from her fingers. And Smithy sneezed. KA-BOOM. Smoke trailed from her fingers where the zap of lightning had left. Luckily enough it had struck the ice snake. “Darn allergies. Who ever heard of being allergic to fire?” The wyrm turned, and spit a huge icicle at the Weewoo. “HARIKA!” The icicle turned just in time. “Too close.” With renewed energy, Smithy began attacking the wyrm properly with electricity. Vyt"Brace yourselves!" shouted Celestial as she shrunk herself to a more agile form. It gave everyone on her less space to cling on, but no one was having any intention to lose their grip. The dragoness then dove right towards the range of the ship. Before, the chilly fog around the White Weewoo was hindering them from seeing what else was holding the ship in place. It was only until then that Bluisa could see some sort of shadow through the fog. A big one. "It's a worm!" she screamed. "Wyrm, Bluisa," Cat Assassin corrected her. "An ice wyrm." Promptly, the two ignored the aggressive wyrm. They would have to get back onboard first before they could shed some worry towards the monstrocity attacking the ship.
The Horsemen "Sandwich?" The three Horsemen gave Pestilence a sideways glance. They had all backed off to reasonable distance and were now looking at the battle below, each on their own horse. Pestilence on the other hand had crawled to the end of the wagon and opened a crate that contained small packages. His daughter was already eating, sitting on the edge of the wagon and dangling her legs above the deep, cold, frothing water below. She seemed to be humming a little tune. The three eyed the sandwiches. They looked tasty. Pestilence's food always looked tasty ever since he'd retired. He'd caught up on the idea of market economy very fast. "I'm on a diet," Famine said. That was true. She hadn't eaten anything for the last few decades. "Gives me gas," said War. Death said nothing. A seven-foot skeleton doesn't have much to say when it comes to food. "Fuit youfelves." The man looked down at the huge ice wyrm who was currently roaring in righeous fury as the attacks hit it. "Mmf- gfak," there was a swallowing sound, "pickles. She knows that I don't like pickles." "Gimme," said his daughter, making a sound for the first time. She turned to look at the Horsemen as her dad dropped the pickles on her sandwich with a clearly relieved look on his face. "Why're you still here? With TMC gone, there are no four Horsemen any more, and the Apocalypse can't happen." The three knew Pestilence's daughter well - too well, even. She was twelve, but she'd been twelve for some two thousand years by now. She'd never felt like growing up. As such, she was remarkably smart, and exactly because of that she tended to keep away from Horseman-business, and in fact her father had only ever made use of her once.* But this time her question was warranted. The Apocalypse was clearly cancelled. "There's still a war," said War. "And there'll be deaths. And hunger for revenge." "But like, no apocalypse?" Famine asked, trying to hide the apparent relief in her voice. "Well, there has to be Four for a real Apocalypse." Pestilence stared glumly at an anchovis on his sandwich and then threw it in the water. "At this point we're only looking at a, hm, well." He eyed the wyrm. "They'll probably attack it from all sides, yep, like that, and it'll roar and wiggle around, but the attacks don't leave a considerable mark, and then there'll be more attacking, and then they'll try to take down the weak points, well, there'll probably be a few heroic yet pointless deaths here or there, and a final heroic death that brings down the beast, and there we have another myth that's bitten its own tail and followed the ancient rules of narration. But not an apocalypse, there's a clear difference." YOU FORGOT A TRAGIC LOVE STORY, said Death. "S'kinda optional these days," War said grimly. "All raaawr and big armies charging into each other, very little chance to get to know the person you just stabbed and find out whether or not he's a beautiful maiden in disguise. Those days are over." "Ffn-unno," Pestilence muttered with his mouth full and swallowed, "there's quite a bit of sparkling feelings down there. Unspoken, unrequited, what have you." The other riders stared at him. "You can tell?" "My personal expertise," Pestilence said with the grin of a happy family man who can appreciate fine irony. "Say, War, is there a time limit to these battles? As of now, it's looking a tad dull and I promised the better half that I'd be home for dinner." "For the most part you just load everything you got into the beastie until it drops dead," said War, thus summarizing the point of most FPS games in one sentence. "Unless there's, of course, a twist." The wyrm chose that moment to sink under the water in the sizzle of various fire and electric attacks surrounding it. "Like 'wait until the beastie surfaces again and hope it won't happen under your feet?" Pestilence asked. "Yep." An earthquake - or rather, an icebeargquake - shook the entire cavern at that point. Ships bobbed up and down on waves that crashed together between the walls. Icicles the size of stalactites fell from the ceiling. AN OLD WYRM, Death said stoically, IS A SMART WYRM. "Eh, it'll surface again," said Pestilence, filling a tin mug from the keg. "It'll want to check whether its tactics worked. S'that thing with evolution - when they get smarter, they eventually start thinking like humans. You sure you don't want any?" * Which happened back when Pestilence was still called Local Plague and would've had to fill in twenty trees' worth of paperwork in order to get promoted. Instead he'd given her daughter a box and asked her to go to the higher-ups, nick all the troubles and evils from them, and release them on the human world (up until then the higher-ups had used the troubles to play around with individual human lives). Since adorable little girls tend to be better at sneaking into forbidden places and stealing things from there than James Bond, she succeeded. When the higher-ups found out, they promoted Pestilence on the grounds of 'he's been a serious pest, alright' and promptly devised the myth of a beautiful woman with all the gifts of the gods destined to torment the race of men, because no higher-up ever wants to admit that they let a little girl steal their personal belongings. Fraze((Where do you think?)) Zari's ship didn't come. And it didn't come. And still, it didn't come. And then a giant ice worm started attacking. "Where are you going now?" Kat asked Fraze. "Change of plans," he replied. "I'm staying here. This thing will be too much fun to pass up." Fraze unloaded several plasma rounds into the worm. He saw craters left where they hit--but they were small, far too small. "This water is high in sodium chloride already--it's seawater," Fraze sent back to Ethan, though his opinion was not asked for. "I doubt whether that would make much of a difference."But then...how to kill this thing? Fraze realized that a more important question was, how to keep from being killed by this thing? The worm was fighting back, and several times he narrowly avoided getting thwacked.He became aware once more of a buzzing at his side--his flechette gun had started up again. This time, it was vibrating so quickly as to be in the audible range for humans. Fraze wondered... He took the gun from its holster and started to fire--but the worm dipped below the water. Far below. There came a rumbling, and Fraze was reminded of some video game or another. Were this a video game, they would have to wait for this thing to come back above the water. Frankly, he didn't particularly feel like waiting. He dove in. The suit protected him from the cold. He sent out sonar, which carried easily through the water. The ship behind him, the blarf at some distance away--he could still trigger the kineticomp if all else failed--and the worm some thirty meters down. The gun was glowing. The flechette pack was waterproof and should go straight forward. He aimed for the creature's head, and fired. He had fired a flechette gun plenty of times before. In air, they made a sound often likened to the buzzing of bees. He had never fired one underwater, but he had fired one into the water. There was usually a large splash going a good ten feet up, and a multitude of bubbles. Not much surprising. This was surprising. For one thing, it glowed--no, it didn't glow, it shone a deep purple color, the same color as the gem. The color stayed in the water after the multitude of needles had already passed, as though they were trailing luminescent ink behind them. For another thing, the recoil of the gun was more like a small cannon than a shotgun. It propelled Fraze up, out of the water, and he slammed into the hull of the Weewoo. But before he did so, he saw the flechette cloud hit its mark. It seemed as though the cloud had bitten halfway through the worm's neck. It seemed the gem's power had somehow rubbed off on his gun, from back when they were in that sack together what seemed like 150 pages ago. Now he had a new gem in his possession that seemed to be working to amplify it. Well, if you've got a good thing, don't waste it. He slapped another round into the gun, aimed, and fired. He was at the surface of the water now, having fallen back into the water after hitting the hull. In an ironic reversal of past events, the recoil now gave him a parabolic path up out of the water and onto the deck of the Weewoo. He wasn't able to see the effect of that round. "I think I may be able to help you," he said, knowing it was probably obvious now. Zari"I think we are supposed to go down there, too." Ienalle said suddenly, raising her head and shaking her head of slightly frizzy light-brown hair (I betcha didn't know Ienalle's hair colour, hmm?) away from her face. "Parley means everyone, and we are probably a part of that err...the word is 'collective', I think. Fraze has blown our cover to the third wind now, we might as well join the fun. What that you used to say in the undercircle? Arra zohu Aienalry? Have faith in me, something like that." The rest of the clones made noises of assent, ranging from a "mhmmm" from Aikran, to an emphatic thumping of the hilt of a kitchen cleaver against Zari's desk orginating from Latiere. Said Illhvrenan sighed. "I reckon Ienalle has a point there. We might as well join the 'party', since what with our dear Commander and Fraze have completely blown our measly cover to bits and pices, burned the remains, then fed them to Amnei's Iskale, who I believe eats anything and everything...I think I could affect it somewhat, but not drive it off completely." Zari tapped her temple with one finger, ears back. The cat part of her didn't like the smells in that place. "...Besides," she added after a moments thought, "I'd need to be fairly close. I'm sure it would appreciate annoying flying fire-spouting fleas like arra very much indeed." Amneiger"In that case," Amneiger said, leaning carefully out the door to look at the ice wyrm, "could you leave the shuttle hovering over this hole in the ice cavern so that we can keep firing at it? And is everbody - wait. Fraze, do you have any heavy weapons you can distribute to us? Rocket launchers, autocannons, things like that." Bacon"Or at least a handgun? I don't even really have that." Bacon said, continuing Amneiger's train of thought as he crawled out from the insides of Zari's ship. "So, what did I miss?" Kat"Aw, man, this thing probably has a frozen brain somewhere in that giant head," groaned Kat, trying to keep her balance as the ship swayed. She spun around once and created a purple shield around herself that melted any falling icicles upon contact. "And I was about to fire another round, too! You get back up here, you great big coward!" she taunted. At that moment, the ship teetered again, and she fell over the edge. Everyone else was probably waiting for a splash. Which never came. Summoning her flaming purple wings again, Kat soared, remaining perfectly dry as she landed on the deck again. The wings disappeared as soon as her feet touched the Weewoo. "All right then, Fraze, what do you propose? I've got fire and light. What about you?" Zari"We're about to join a parley-slash-party with all the rabid enthusiasm we can possibly generate. Or that's just me." Zari wandered over to the weapons safe, killed the lock, and riffled around in it. "Heavy weaponry, heavy weaponry, no, that only weighs 2 kilograms, that's not heavy enough...Ah-hah! Flamethrower!" She hefted the large weapon with both hands, studied it, then rattled off a list of stats. "Yep. That's heavy all right. 4 kilograms, 100 metre range at highest power, charges off body heat, 320ch flame at low power, comes in four colours, easily found through most black markets but very expensive due to power, favoured by the North-east of Illhvren due to the amount of Ice towers there, Class Four military-issue weapon according to the Illhvren government. If Fraze isn't in a position to hand out cannons and such, I have two of these and three light-ish-er versions somewhere in the NorthEast Origin section in here." Ienalle looked inside the safe, then said. "I find it hard to see any pattern here." Zari snorted. "No, not to the trained eye there isn't. It looks like a clone's breakfast to anyone who's used to filing by the alphabet." "He-ee-ey!" Fraze"All right then, Fraze, what do you propose?" Kat asked. "I've got fire and light. What about you?""I've got enough high explosives to destroy this glacier five times over," Fraze said both to Kat and the other 'Fleeters. "And that's just standard weaponry, which is all I'd want to use here. I've also apparently got a gun that has unexpectedly been magicked with." To the 'Fleeters, he added, "Come down here and feel free to take any weaponry you want. I'll get it ready. Any requests in the way of explosives?"Once more--rolling his eyes at how much he had done this--he removed the Universal Box from its place on his arm. He pressed the lock, and it clicked open. Not bothering to explain, he set one foot on the top of the box, and stepped in--it appeared as if his leg had been amputated below the hip, he was balancing on the small box. He fit his other leg into the top of the box, and dropped down. He was in a pure-white and strangely glowing room. Near the entrance, the ceiling of the room was low since the only way out of the box was through the hatch at the top of the ceiling. Several meters beyond that, the ceiling soared upward to several hundred feet. It was impossible to tell simply using one's eyes, since the ceiling was uniformly the same glowing white, but the sense of distance caused by the much higher ceiling was there nonetheless. The gem was on the floor below the opening. Hmm, should probably find a better place for that. He found a stasis box for holding plasma grenades and put it there. Safe for now. He went back to the entrance, climbed up the ladder, and stuck his head out of the hatch. Not caring how it would look seeing a disembodied head sticking out of a ring box on the deck of a pirate ship, he said, "Can anyone help me bring up boxes of ammo? Someone who can levitate things would be very helpful. Thanks." Not waiting for a response, he went back into the enormous room. First, he decided to get a rack of standard plasma rifles for the other 'Fleeters, along with a box of extra cartridges. He found several unsealed boxes of explode-on-impact plasma grenades, and stacked them with the rifle rack, preparing to carry them to the entrance. He thought about bringing one of the smaller ship-mounted torpedoes. The regular-sized ones could take off half of the glacier and would probably require the better part of the pirates' crew to lift, but the smaller ones could almost be lifted by one person and would only destroy half of the chamber they were in. Probably. He grinned, found one on the ground, and rolled it over to his pile of 'splodey goodness. Last, he found a dozen more flechette clips--might as well milk this strange going-on with his gun for all it was worth, right?--and clipped them to his belt before carrying the other ammunition to the entrance of the box. Kat"Magicked? How?" asked Kat. Then she thought of what had happened at least a hundred and fifty pages back, when they first met. It was in a farm, and someone had found... "Never mind. That's a stupid question. But...could I see it?" Before she could get an answer, Fraze had a box open on the deck, and stepped into it. She couldn't explain how or why, but he disappeared, as though it was much, much more than a box. Then again, these days, anything was possible. "Can anyone help me bring up boxes of ammo? Someone who can levitate things would be very helpful. Thanks."Kat screamed as his head popped out of the box - just his head. "What the - don't scare me like that!" She sighed. "All right, I can do some good levitating, but how do I get in there?" Omni((NIA)) "Sweeeeeeeeet," Ethan said, after Zari listed off the flamethrowers' specs. "Maximum possible duration? Does it have to cool down at all?" Having been watching the battle, somewhat, he added "At any rate, continuous flame would likely be more effective than a couple fireballs. May I use one of those?" ((Weewoo)) Omni deflected any stalac-ice that came near her with her shield, doing her best to aim them toward the water. What could hurt it? she thought. Fire didn't seem to do anything. She would still like to try lightning, which would be easier if she knew how. Light would probably just cast rainbows. She didn't really know much about dark magic. Even if she knew any air or decent water spells, she doubted they would be much help. There was a chance that ice would just make it stronger… Earth, maybe earth magic would do the trick. "Hey Kat, what kinds of things can you do with earth spells?" she shouted, already considering possible uses for different kinds of spells. Kat"Hey Kat, what kinds of things can you do with earth spells?"Kat straightened up and turned to Omni. "Nada. I cause disaster when I try to control earth, trust me. What could it do to the wyrm, anyway? Are we going to break - " She paused, thinking for a moment. "Hmmm...maybe you've got a point. But really, I'm better off sending projectiles than creating them, trust me." Omni((Weewoo)) "Well, that could work to… maybe we can do both." Omni clapped her hand in front of herself and reached into her crystal for some of Cyborg's energy… and felt a familiar, chaotic energy mixed in with it. Oh great, it's corrupted. Oh well, she decided, I guess corrupted spell energy is better than none at all.She pulled out a bit of the energy, focussed, and drew her hands back to her hips. A three-foot long cone of rock, with a very sharp tip, appeared. It was tinted the same shade of purple as the gem. "It'll have to do," she said, preparing to make another one and also keeping an eye out for the ice serpent. Zari((Nau Illhvren Ayine)) Zari put down the Flamethrower and went to the shuttle door. "Ai-KRAN! Keep the shuttle here. Don't set off anything. Keep away from the S.O.S signal. Kay? Thanks." She thought breify of her armour, lying damaged somewhere in her room at spacefleet, then shoved the distraction out of her head and dropped out of the shuttle, Ienalle following (shape-shifted into a bird) with an air of "Finally, some fun that was!". ((The White Weewoo)) Zari flitted through the hole in the iceberg, just in time to see Fraze stick his head out from the Box thing. Head-on-a-box, the new variation on head-on-a-stick and head-on-a-platter. Snickering, she extended her wings fully- There was, thankfully, enough space for her to move freely in there. She presumed the ship Leraye had been on was the Weewoo, so she headed towards that one. I hope they don't shoot me, that'd hurt... she thought idly, semi-folding her wings and dropping six feet to the deck of the White Weewoo. "I heard something about a parley and I thought I'd better drop in quickly, since parley means everyone and everyone means us, we being the same guild Fraze belongs to. ZariKrahia Ailden at your service. Not the same person as Zari ret Xenam." she said sleepily, crouching beside the Universal Box. "Pax. I'm not in the mood to gut anyone with a chainsaw today." Fraze"What the - don't scare me like that!" Kat called, clearly shocked by Fraze's strange appearance. "All right, I can do some good levitating, but how do I get in there?""Step into it, just like you would step into a trapdoor," Fraze called from inside the box. "It's a little bit of a drop to the floor, so be ready." He heard Zari's voice, and called to her. "Good to see--err, hear you here. I trust the others are coming too?" He thought about telling Kat that most of the 'Fleeters were more normal than he and Zari, but realized that would have been a lie. ((Yay for short posts!)) Amneiger"Hey! Can I get - " but Zari was already gone. And somehow I don't think rummaging about in the safe for another flamethrower would be very healthy. Oh well. Cyborg" Great now she's using my energy, why did I teach her some earth spells?" Cyborg asked as he saw what Omni was trying. " Rose, Jernath drop anchor! Ielle, you an Midknight come with me, and bring Shado." he shouted. " Okay here we are." Midknight stated as he and Shado walked over. " Good, Midknight, Shado I want you two combined, to make a wyrm shadow clone, and get it to attack the original. Ielle I want you to hit the ice wyrm with lightning or fire. I'll use earth." Cyborg said. " Okay that'll be a little harder, never cloned something this big, but we're up to task." Midknight stated. " Esme I want Gryff to fly him and you over to the pirate ship, tell them we need to work together for now." Cyborg declared. " Okay, let's go Gryff." Esme stated. ZariLatiere sighed at Zari's sudden disappearance and hefted the flamethrower. "Roughly ten minutes." she answered Ethan's question. "But I would not recommend eating them, they are not sweet or in any way food." she added. She gave the first one to Ethan, then clambered over the pile of weapons to grab another flamethrower. "Rrrf...ha!" The clone picked up the weapon and offered it to Amneiger. "Heavy. Don't drop." she warned. ((Latiere is the sanest clone, and when it comes to weapon-handing-out, If Zari, Aikran or Ienalle isn't around it's her job to do so, therefore she has reasonably good english. The clone who has the worst is Senali.)) Celestial((Same place))As they began swooping closer, Celestial saw the shape moving beneath the waters. She backwinged as quickly as she could, just avoiding the giant worm that emerged out of the icy water. She gasped but there was no time as they had to retreat quickly in case the worm decided to have a light snack. Forcing herself into a burst of speed, she came ever closer to the Weewoo. Thankfully everybody was too busy with the worm even if it had dived beneath the waves again to notice the dragon and her two passangers. Celestial was finally close enough to the Weewoo for the two ninjas to get onto it with the help of a few levitation spells. She didn't like the ship, it stank of Death and lag. Not that the smell was unpleasant, it was just...unnatural. "I believe this is your stop. Either way, you need to get off. I'm going to try and placate that creature or at least help fight it" she shouted to them over the pounding of her wings. They had to get off, she had to be light on her feet if she wanted to face the worm. As the water became darker and darker, indicating the rising worm, Celestial grew more and more worried. "Quick!" VytCat Assassin and Bluisa braced once more as Celestial dove with enough speed to take away the former's fur, had he not been careful enough. The wyrm must've noticed them by now, judging by the way it just splashed itself right in front of them earlier. Either that, or the dragoness was having trouble seeing. After a long flight, Celestial was finally near the White Weewoo. Everyone around could feel the dragoness shiver by the presence of something aboard the ship. "I believe this is your stop. Either way, you need to get off. I'm going to try and placate that creature or at least help fight it," she spoke. By the time Celestial finished speaking, Cat Assassin had already filled his hand with his own energy. He then tapped the dragoness and sent a part of his stamina throughout her body. Though it might not be able to completely regain the energy she spent just flying around, it should be enough for her to take on another battle. "Thanks," he smiled. Bluisa was also beginning to take action much faster than before, as she had already commanded the breeze around them to take the ninjas towards the ship. Gently but quickly, the mage sent the ninjas floating, away from the dragoness. They both failed to realize the impending danger they just barely escaped. Amneiger"Oh, thanks." Amneiger lay down on his stomach, wrapped his feet around one of the shuttle's seats, and carefully looked down from the door of the shuttle. He held the flamethrower with one hand holding up up and another hand wrapped around the handgraip, aimed, and pulled the trigger. Amneiger felt a wave of heat as the flame shot out towards where the rising shadow would eventually break out of the water. RiderThe wyrm felt the heat of the flame from under the surface and tried to change its course. However, its massive bulk couldn't move very nimbly. The flame caught it at an angle, evoking a deep, grating roar from the beast. The wyrm turned its attention on the shuttle, circling it and preparing to charge when the flame wasn't on it. "I heard something about a parley and I thought I'd better drop in quickly... Pax. I'm not in the mood to gut anyone with a chainsaw today.""Um... thanks. Neither are we," Rider said awkwardly. "So, you're more of the invisible space-men. Well, welcome to the NTWF. Just to forewarm you, we're expecting a shipment of unhappy mercs. On the rocks." It was a bad drinking pun, but Rider thought Cyborg warranted it. She fired another flaming load of rocks at the wyrm. It narrowly missed. "So, does your buddy usually float around bodiless like this?" CyborgEsme climbed on Gryff and they took off towards the pirates' ship. Meanwhile Midknight and Shado began working on the huge clone, and after several minutes of work, their master piece came to life. "RAAAWR!!!" The shadow wyrm bellowed, as it began to snake towards it's frosty counterpart. Celestial((Before the Wyrm))Celestial closed her eyes for a brief second as the energy coursed through her, easing the beginnings of pain in her muscles. It would be useful for when the wyrm and her confronted each other. She hoped it was civilised enough to speak at least some Draconic. However she did not have long for thought as the party on her back was on the ship. Celestial took a deep breath. It was time to fly. Pulling away from the ship towards the sky, she once again transformed only this time the dragon was as blue as the sky and giant. Size was critical with this wyrm. Swooping down until she skimmed the surface of the sea with her wings, Celestial flew towards the enraged creature that was already roaring and snapping at something small flying around it. "Great Wyrm of the icy abyss! Hear me, Celestial Tien, Dragon Mage of the Draconis Order!" she shouted to it in Draconic. Celestial just hoped that it could hear her. Parley is always worth it even with deraged creatures of ice. HuntressHunty really missed the Weewoo's mist by now. It had only been there for a day, but she'd already gotten used to it. It'd acted like a good convenient shield and now that it was gone, she felt much more vulnerable than usually. The fact that her best weapon was a big crossbow that compared to their enemy might as well have been a kid's slingshot didn't make her feel better either. Since she didn't have much to do because of that, she'd just kept an eye on things. Better to know what's going on than shoot with no impact - and she'd never believed in heroic deaths. But as Fraze pulled out an entire arsenal of weapons from a little box, her eyes lit up. "Huuuunty," Bloody Mary hissed, able to predict the upcoming reaction well enough. Hunty didn't show a single sign of having heard that as she slid over to the box and nodded absently at Zari as she landed. "Pax. I'm not in the mood to gut anyone with a chainsaw today.""I know I am. Ahoy, down there." She nearly fell over as another wave made the ship sway. "Got anything that's forbidden by thirty governments and the United Nations?" "That'd be me," Bloody Mary said sulkily. "I can't very well fire you at that worm." KatAsthielle stared at the shadow clone. "Is there anything at all you want me to add? Special attacks, secret weapons, anything?" * * * Kat pointed her staff towards the wyrm, and instantly sent Omni's cone-shaped projectile hurtling towards the wyrm, buoyed by a blaze of violet fire. Then she turned back toward Fraze, gazing at the box as though it would eat her alive. "I swear, this is crazy, but what the heck." Gripping her staff with both hands, she placed one foot into the box, and dropped, landing on her feet a lot less neatly as she had planned. But she wasn't prepared at all for the room that spread out all around her. There was no magic; she would have sensed anything if there was. "How'd you..." Her voice trailed off. There were more important matters, anyway, than asking Fraze how he stuffed an entire room into a box. Without magic. PFA((Golden Gallion))"Rose, Jernath, drop anchor!" Cyborg called out. Jernath sighed. Cyborg didn't seem to have noticed that Jernath had never been on a ship before. He had only managed to work the cannons from watching the others do it, and he still wasn't sure he was entirely doing it right (perhaps that's part of why they missed so bad). He just hoped Rose knew more about anchor dropping than he did, as the others were already busy doing whatever it was they were doing. "C'mon, Rose," he beckoned, as he went off to find the anchor. At least he knew what anchors looked like, so hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to find... --- ((getting off Celestial and onto the Weewoo))"Good luck!" PFA called out to Celestial as Bluisa started taking the ninjas to the pirate ship. PFA then turned around, not noticing when Celestial turned into a giant blue dragon. She had other thoughts on her mind. Namely about the one she thought was the Dark One. Who didn't even seem to be there anymore. Well, now that he was gone, what were they supposed to do? Fight the wyrm maybe? Or, well, there was something going on about a parley. Maybe that would include the ninjas. Maybe. "Be ready, guys," PFA said to Uncle and Bluisa, tightening her grip on her kunai. "I have the feeling the pirates won't exactly be happy to see us." Zari((The shuttle is actually outside the iceberg thingermagigwhatsit. If that ice wyrm wants to get it's head stuck in a 10-foot x 6-foot hole, it can go right ahead. XD The White Weewoo)) "Space-women, oi. I'm female. Really? Should I help take care of them? I know we formed a somewhat-alliance with them but that was with Keng and Bacon, not with me, Frazefraze, Amnei, and Ethan, so we can legally slip around that. Sort of." Zari straightened and tapped her temple, thinking (and trying to recall her lawyer's cellphone number, which was completely unnecessary as Latiere is her lawyer) on Huntress's question. "Well, the paralysis poison in some of my rounds is black-market goods in south Illhvren, Ioharion, Illakue, Arenth and all ten-odd of it's moons, and most major terran-settled planets, so I guess that'd count, but you'd need a lot to affect that monster." she said at last, watching Ienalle (who had appeared out of nowhere, held up her hands breifly in surrender, then sat down beside the Universal Box) out of the corner of her eye. "Unless you tried to fire me. Because, er...nevermind. The cloning ban might have been lifted sometime in the last millenia. I'm a bad projectile anyway." If this had been a cartoon, there would have been a large sweatdrop inching its way down the back of her head. A XXXXXXXL size sweatdrop. Get yours today, stocks are limited. "No lethal projectiles...just fireproof metal tube and possibly poison dart..." Ienalle put in. "Not death poison, just sleepy poison." SmithyBy this time in the fight, Smithy was beginning to snarl. "Stinking, stupid...Now there's two wyrms." Seeing Celestial try to shout to the wyrm, things finally clicked into place. Flying to the head level of the ice wyrm, Smithy struggled to put a calm look on her face, and clearly said, "Great wyrm, it would be appreciated if you stopped trying to obliterate us. This is mostly a fight between...peoples with differences, and believe me, you're not making it any easier." Her body was tense, ready to zoom away at any sign of a moving jaw. Vyt"... Bluisa, are you ready?" was all Cat Assassin had to say for the mage to nod sagely. The two of them somehow had been able to link themselves with more coordinated plans, and the mage was starting to catch up with Cat Assassin's highly-choreographed moves. When the three landed on the White Weewoo, Cat Assassin tried to find a spot where he was on the center of everyone aboard. Bluisa, on the other hand, found hers way farther from the feline, positioning herself from the far end facing the wyrm. Cat Assassin began filling his hands with energy, and the yellow rays from his hands began to accumulate in size rather exponentially. "PFA, I need your help! Focus and bring out your own energy! We're making a huge shield for this so-called ship!" he shouted. RikkuThe Dark Realms had pizza. This seemed rather strange, but Rikku wasn’t complaining.
“Anchovies? Oh, come on. This is the afterlife. Where do you even get anchovies?”
Well, maybe just a bit.
Her Spirit Guide gave her an impatient look, which was difficult to pull off properly, considering that his face could only be described as ‘faceted’. “It’s the Dark Realms, kid. Hawaiian wouldn’t really fit with the mood.”
Rikku sat down. There wasn’t actually anything to sit down on, but by sheer stubbornness, she managed it. She gnawed on pizza, which tasted of sawdust or porridge or possibly both. “And another thing. I get that I’m shaping this landscape and whatnot, but you, you’re my spirit guide, you reflect my personality, right?”
“That’s the idea. Unfortunately.”
“So why is it that you’re a great demon-like creature made of diamond, formed out of a thousand screaming tormented souls, wearing a sombrero?”
“Your subconscious! Not mine!” The Guide paused. “Actually, more like … metaconscious. Multiconscious. Supermegametakilouberconscious …”
Rikku set the pizza down. (It turned into a cockroach and scuttled away. She didn’t particularly want to think about any symbolism there.) “I want to go back.”
“Oh, now, that’s … difficult to arrange.”
“I’m a necromancer.” Rikku stood again. She wanted a nice, dramatic wind, but didn’t quite manage it and got a gentle, summer breeze instead. Close enough. “There’ll be loopholes. Paperwork. To me, death is an open door. Right?”
“I wouldn’t say door exactly. More like … um. You know the Space/Time Continuum?”
“No …”
The Guide continued cheerfully. “And you know how, when you poke at a cloth enough, it gets a hole in it?”
“Yes,” Rikku said, without much more certainty. She wasn’t really the type to spend time poking at cloths when they would look so much better on fire.
“Like that. Except a kazillion times bigger.” The Spirit Guide made an inarticulate gesture, vaguely reminiscent of fishermen’s ‘the one that got away’. He paused. “There is this one thing. But I don’t think you’d like it.”
“Why not?” She scrunched up her face. “Doesn’t involve radishes, does it?”
“No.”
“Good. Can’t stand radishes.”
The Guide sighed. “I can send you back, but it won’t be to your body. You’re a necromancer, fairly important death-wise, so you’d probably get a mythic creature of some sort.”
“Dragon? Phoenix?” Rikku blinked, and blushed, just a little. “… Shapeshifter? That wouldn’t be too bad, I suppose.”
“And you might be able to get your normal shape back, too,” the Guide said, with the cheerful tones that mothers normally use to cajole small children. “Provided you fulfill the conditions.”
Rikku just blinked at him, and swung an imaginary frying pan from one hand. It looked more like some kind of squashed eggbeater, but the thought was still there.
“You just have to be nice. Don’t set a foot wrong, or you’ll be back here, for good. In the Really Dark Realms, too. Down there we call these ones the Moderately Dim Realms. Trust me. You really don’t want to go to the Realm Of Perpetual Moderate Discomfort, either. Not pleasant.”
Rikku, bored with her rather dull afterlife, switched back to real life. Well. Moderately Real Life.
She woke curled on a familiarly rough surface. Her carpet.
“Not too bad, then,” she said. Her voice came out rather squeakier than usual. She clacked her mouth shut. “New teeth. Feels weird,” she muttered, and got to her paws, or tried to.
After a few minutes, she managed to balance properly, and toddled over to the mirror.
“Maybe I’m a dragon, or a valkyrie, or a faun, or a … good grief.”
A griffin stared back at her, one with ruffled black fur streaked with green here and there. She had a tufted tail, too. Which would have been all right if she hadn’t been less than half knee height.
“I’m a small, fluffy animal,” she muttered despairingly, then shrugged birdlike, and stumbled over her body.
It smelled a bit unpleasant. Rikku peered at it, vaguely aware that her eyesight was sharper than it had been. “Huh. Strange. Guess I’ll have to deal with that later, can’t let corpses pile up on me …” She, after thinking it through, tugged at her multi-purpose necromancer’s concoction, the mix of blood, wine and ashes, and fastened it onto her back with a strip of her cloak. Her best focus, the new bone wand, was too big for her to carry, as was her frying pan. She’d have to make do.
Rikku glanced around, and hopped out the door into the Manor, where she spent a pleasant few minutes learning to fly, amassing several new bruises and discovering that there was a bubble-wrap room, before drifting into the kitchens.
Fred was sitting at a table. He was eating a sandwich.
Rikku jumped onto the table and cocked her head at him. “But you can’t eat.”
“Oh, hello, Master,” Fred said respectfully, half-saluting. “You’re looking alive today.”
“But you can’t eat.”
Fred chewed slowly and thoughtfully. “Remember how you once got annoyed and told me that you didn’t always need all the details of everything I do?”
Rikku nodded, looking skeptically at the sandwich. She could have sworn it was moving.
“This is like that time, minus the flamingos.”
“I see.” Rikku twitched her ears. Her new feathers felt itchy. “Um. Well. I suppose I’d better figure out what’s going on, then.”
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:11:08 GMT -5
Fraze
((The Universal Box)) Ahoy, down there," Fraze heard Hunty call. "Got anything that's forbidden by thirty governments and the United Nations?" "Oh, plenty of things," he called back up. "Dirty weapons of all kinds! But you wouldn't want them used at close range. However..." He paused, jogged over to a nearby row, and took several frag grenades from a box. Probably shouldn't be giving out weaponry to the less technologically inclined guilds, but desperate times. Besides, they apparently already knew how to use bombs. These had a simple AI in them, that judged whether it was safe to go boom. Fraze linked these AIs to his skinsuit and confirmed his identity. He didn't think he would have any problems with where the pirates threw these, but if he did, he could deactivate them remotely. "Here ya go," he said, reaching his hand out of the box and dropping the grenades at Hunty's feet. "Press and hold the button until it lights up red, throw it and run like heck. You can take a rifle once they come up."
Fraze moved out of the way as Kat dropped into the box and stared around her. "How'd you..." she began, before apparently deciding not to ask. Fraze laughed amiably and began passing her the various weaponry he had chosen. While he did, he explained as best he could. "Our scientists--I don't mean Spacefleet scientists, but the scientists from where I come from--managed to create a miniature universe from scratch. To keep it from expanding indefinitely, they contained it in some sort of super-advanced stasis field. The stasis field is so powerful that this universe is, for all intents and purposes, completely removed from the space around it. Then, they put it in the Box to keep it protected. I don't quite understand how they did it, but that's the explanation I was given." He paused for a moment. That explanation wasn't very good, so he decided to try a different one. "Imagine you have a balloon. Now say that you inflate this balloon, but only on the inside. On the outside, it stays deflated. You wrap the balloon in bubble wrap so that its contents won't move around if you shake the balloon, and then you put it in a lockable box to keep the whole setup safe. It's something like that." He realized that explanation was even worse. No big deal.
Cyborg
Esme and Gryff landed on the Weewoo, and Esme slid off, looking around. " Hey pirates, I've got a message."
Rose got up and walked over to the anchor, and began to drop it, slowly, but still drop it. "Actually I think a little lightning would be great Ielle, I can try to transfer some earth magic to it." Cyborg said as he concentrated on the shadow wyrm and sent some earth magic to it.
Smithy
The Ice wyrm glared at the other small figure before him, who had only seconds before been tickling him with electric bolts. He didn't like being tickled.
"What do you mean?"
His voice was a mix of a hunting bird's scream, a snake's hiss, and the traditional nails-scraping-across-a-blackboard, Smithy finally decided. "Well, you've seen humans before. Don't deny it, there've been ships in this iceberg before us. And we little puny beings have big fights to get on with. Plainly, I'm asking you to please go back to your underwater lair and stop bothering us, 'kay?"
The skeletal being swished his tail to stop a few more attacks. "You amuse me with your talk, small one. Why should I not destroy you and be done with it?"
She looked down at him in that special way that humans learn. "The answer's obvious. What do you need with matchwood and metal scrap bunging up your water, not to mention stinking corpses? If you'd just let us squeeze out of here everything'll just be perfectly hunky-dory for all, see? Now that you've attacked, we have that other clone to deal with. He won't listen to you or me, oh no he won't. Believe me, clones are very obstinate beings."
It lowered itself into the water, with only it's head sticking out. "I see your 'point', small one. Now show me how you will get yourself out of this muddle." And the wyrm dived underwater with a crash.
Smithy immediately flew out of the way of the crash of icy water, and onto the ship, facing the one apparently communicating with the shadow clone. "Look, you, the other guy's done with. Call off Mister big bad and black." A huge orb of water suddenly sprang up out of her fingers, hovering dangerously over the guy. "Or believe me, it'll be all the worse for you."
Huntress
Hunty picked up the grenades, something very manic glinting in her eyes. Bloody Mary gave her a sideways stare, then turned to watch as the wyrm backed off, and was quite relieved for more than one reason.
"Eh, those'll still come in handy if we're to come out of this alive," said the captain, turning to look at another freeloader - her ship seemed to be increasingly popular among non-pirates these days - who'd just showed up on a griffin.
"Hey pirates, I've got a message."
Hunty shot a glance at the merc ship Esme had come from, then did a doubletake. "Yeah, and I've got a question. Why the heck are you lowering the anchor in the middle of a battle?"
"Their funeral," Bloody Mary reminded her on her shoulder.
"Well, we're on the same side for the time being," Hunty said a tad grimly, stuffing her pockets with the grenades, vaguely wondering if it would be safe.
"As soon as the wyrm is defeated," the beast disappeared at that point, backing up the meepit's words, "the parley is off."
Hunty's eyes lit up again and she beamed at Esme as she fumbled to pick up the crossbow while still keeping a few grenades in her hands. "Good point. Nevermind me. You were saying?"
Vyt
But before Cat Assassin could initiate his plan, the wyrm crashed underwater. "Someone must've calmed him down," he thought. Slowly, the energy from his hands began to dissipate and return to his whole system. His stamina would have to conserve more energy.
Bluisa stood there, motionless for a moment. The wyrm was cooperative enough to stop attacking the ship. Maybe "too cooperative".
"Cat Assassin, do you think the wyrm really stopped?" she asked him, puzzled by the monster's actions.
"I don't know, and I won't know because I'm not diving underwater to do so," the feline gasped. He was starting to shiver from the coldness of his surrounding. Maybe he should've worn more than just a coat; he could feel his fur standing out from the chilly wind that breezily passed through.
"Good point. Nevermind me. You were saying?"
Cat Assassin shot a glance at the owner of that voice, and saw the pirate captain facing the mercenaries. He needed to keep his distance for now, for butting in wouldn't do any good for the ninjas.
Kat
"...right," said Kat, nodding. Fraze probably knew as well as she did that his explanation wasn't exactly the best one in the world. Then again, there were more pressing matters than figuring out this strange box she was somehow standing in.
So she decided to just concentrate on levitating the things he had passed to her, lifting them over her head and back onto the ship.
* * *
Asthielle did as she was told, and sent her own yellow lightning.
"What's with the sudden anchor drop?"
Cyborg
" I have an idea, if we can break the anchor and toss the anchor at the wyrm, it'll do a little damage." Cyborg explained.
(( On the Weewoo))
" We need, to work together, but once the wyrm is defeated we are once again enemies, like you stated." Esme said before climbing onto Gryff once more and taking off towards the Gallion.
Smithy
" I have an idea, if we can break the anchor and toss the anchor at the wyrm, it'll do a little damage."
Smithy rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Yup. Let's go lose the anchor at mid-ocean. For one thing it won't do any good. The only way that wyrm will leave us alone is with respect. So destroy that stupid clone already."
PFA
((White Weewoo))
PFA was just getting ready to see if she could really make a barrier that big, when apparently the wyrm stopped attacking. For now, at least.
"Uncle, what are you planning to do?" PFA whispered, when she noticed the said cat looking in the direction of Huntress, the pirate captain. She silently wondered if he still wanted to go through with the plan to capture her.
---
((Golden Gallion))
Jernath was annoyed. First they wanted him to lower the anchor, then they didn't want him to lower the anchor, then they were going to throw the anchor at the wyrm, then they wanted to have a nice chat with the wyrm over tea and biscuits. Well, that was an exaggeration, but Jernath was too annoyed to care.
"So what the heck do you want me to do?!" Jernath couldn't help but question. He didn't want to bother pulling the anchor back up if they wanted it lowered, and he didn't want to bother lowering it if they wanted it pulled back up. But he couldn't just stand there keeping it partially underwater all day.
Cyborg
" I want you to stop sounding like a whiney brat, get over here and help us figure out how to kill this wyrm." Cyborg yelled.
Huntress
The blarf was, in the meantime, growing hungry. In order to maintain its body in the cold region, it needed comparatively more energy, and there wasn't much wildlife in this cold dark bay. The big ice wyrm had, however, freaked him out, so he'd retreated to the small underwater caves on the other side of the lake. Now that the wyrm backed off, he swam out again and took his usual position by the side of the Weewoo.
"Fooooood?" his low wail carried across the cavern, echoing back from the walls. It was pretty good timing, as some of the nearer ships of the fleet, having seen the wyrm retreat, had already begun to aim at the pirates. Now they dropped the idea at once.
"Can't help you," Hunty shouted back, leaning against the railing to keep an eye on Smithy on enemy territory. "Find your own food."
Two black beady eyes turned to gaze at her under a wet pile of black fur. "Blarf?"
"I said find your own food."
The blarf, a tad sulky by now, sunk under the surface again, and then spotted the anchor.
Anchors are, by definition, things that help a ship stand still on the ever-moving surface of the sea. As such, they won't be of much use when the bottom is too far for the anchor to reach and grip, but the blarf didn't really wonder about that. He knew that anchors are something that are attached to a ship by one end. And ships were something that, by the broadest of definitions, always carried food. That was all he really needed to know, so he slid to the mercenary ship, fastened his jaws around the anchor that was so conveniently hanging right in front of his nose, and tugged.
The blarf was nearly ship-sized, and weighed about as much minus the rigging, and due to the qualities of water, the ship had no real weight to speak of anyway, so as a predictable result, the ship careened down and starboard, nearly into the water with the prow before the anchor winch, which wasn't meant for such use, gave in. The blarf whimpered as the ship bobbed back up, rolling out more anchor chain and leaving him with the anchor between his jaws.
Hunty had spent that time making bets with Bloody Mary. It hadn't been of much use, since at this distance neither of them was able to say which part of the anchor mechanism had given in. Now they both turned to look at Esme.
" We need, to work together, but once the wyrm is defeated we are once again enemies, like you stated."
"Isn't that what I said some fifteen minutes ago?" Hunty asked, mainly to recap since the mage was already flying away and probably wasn't listening.
"Strictly speaking, the wyrm is already defeated," Bloody Mary said in a voice that had 'come on, target practise' written all over it as he eyed Esme's back.
"I'd like Smithy's word on that and she's a little hard to reach at this point." Hunty's voice had a hint of concern in it. The blarf tended to be persistent in his search for food.
Cyborg
" Oh it's Blarfy, let me guess, Hunty won't get you food, so you came over here." Cyborg said. " I know, Midknight caught these about a half an hour back, here ya go." Cyborg said as he tossed some fish to the Blarf.
Smithy
Suddenly Smithy’s temper snapped, and she flicked out her wand. "Idrib!”
The orb of water got a lot smaller. And harder. And began drubbing the merc relentlessly.
“Maybe that’ll get you to listen? There’s no hope for you against the ice wyrm, but it’ll go if it sees that we can gerrout and have our fight without disturbing it too much. That shadow clone is doing nothing but getting in the way. I’ll give that blarf something to eat in a moment. It happens to be you unless you darn well destroy that clone.”
PFA
((Golden Gallion))
Jernath thought bitter thoughts about the whiny brat comment, but decided not to say anything about it. "But what do you want me to do with the anchor?"
It was at that very moment that the blarf grabbed the anchor with his teeth, and started pulling on it, seemingly trying to bring the ship down. Jernath had grabbed onto the railing to keep himself from falling off, though thankfully he didn't have to worry about it too much as the winch had given in before the ship could sink. Jernath watched blankly as the blarf held the anchor in its teeth, whimpering.
"...I guess we don't have to worry about that then," he blinked. With a shrug, he turned around, just in time to watch Cyborg get beaten over the head with an orb of water.
"I’ll give that blarf something to eat in a moment. It happens to be you unless you darn well destroy that clone," the mage girl hissed.
"Hey, you should probably listen to her!" Jernath called out to the Kougra. "If we don't have to fight the wyrm, we won't have to waste our energy before fighting the pirates, right?"
Cyborg
" Hey ya new blood pirate, I suggest you stop ticking me off, maybe I was also thinking of usig the clone for communication." Cyborg said before conjuring and tossing a bouder at the annoying mage. " Leave the anchor for now."
Omni
((NIA))
Ethan had another flamethrower ready, should Amnei's run out. Soon after, almost too soon after, the ice snake seemed to calm down and returned to the water, this time, not so it could strike from beneath, or even just retreat.
Ethan, still high on adrenaline, let out a grunt of frustration, but said nothing regarding it. Instead, he just stayed squatted down by the shuttle hatch, watching how things turned out.
Siber, seeming to share the feeling, lay down next to Ethan, in a sort of pouty way.
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((Weewoo))
Just as people were really starting to get into the fight, the ice serpent, dived… almost peacefully back into the water. Omni got the oddest sense of anti-climactic-ism.
Unable to forget what happened when she headed for the Weewoo, she said "The ice-snake is gone… I think we should turn our attention back to the other ships!"
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:16:47 GMT -5
RikkuRikku jumped sleekly to the floor, walked sleekly along, and then fell over. Sleekly.
She got to her paws again. “Dratted griffin anatomy. Ugh,” she grunted, and pattered along the ground. Her fur was too rough to pull of the ‘sleek’ look, anyway, so she had to settle for ‘caffeinated fuzzball’ and hope for the best.
“What I need to do,” she said conversationally, grimacing at the floor – it was incredible how much dirt you could see at this level, “is ask someone what’s happened, or how I can help. Considering I have to be a goody two shoes now and all.” She flicked her tail. Whether it was in disgust, or to dust off a chunk of centuries-old turnip that had become lodged in her fur, it was difficult to tell. “You know how it is. ‘When in doubt, call your friendly neighborhood Mage!’”
“I see,” Fred said cheerfully. His eye dangled a bit, and he pushed it back in. It went ‘sploich’.
“How to contact someone is the problem, but I figure, hey, this is a great big building whose very rock … and dust. Er. At least I really hope that’s dust … Um, who’s very rock is imbued with ancient forces of magic and sorcery. So there’s bound to be a two-way mirror or sound-carrier or scrying glass or …” She stared up at the kitchen cupboards. Quite a way up. “Fred, a light bulb lighting up would be appropriate for this moment.”
“There aren’t any light bulbs. Just … lamps.” He pushed his head up to look at them, then got stuck in that position and had to pull it down by his hair. “Romantic lamps,” he added, fluttering his eyelashes. Something dislodged.
“It’s a figure of speech,” Rikku said absently. “Give me a hand here.” She paused. “Not literally,” she amended hastily.
Fred, looking a little disappointed, held his hand down, and Rikku scurried up onto his shoulder, and from there to the kitchen counter.
“Open the cupboard doors, will you?” she asked, and peered inside as Fred did so. “We’re looking for some smooth liquid. Like spring water mixed with diamond, or smooth white wine … very smooth red wine, if it’s there, that’s quite good … or, um, soup. Soup? Soup. All right then.” Rikku gave a resigned sigh and scuttled back to make room for the soup. It was the only thing on the otherwise barren shelves. The Manor had a strange sense of humour.
It was warm, too. Rikku blew on it, and propped herself up on the edge so she could look down into the bowl.
“I, um, I need a Mage. Someone who’s … where there’s a lot of people, or something important happening. A fairly important Mage, preferably. From this Manor,” she added, not wanting the less than conventional scrying bowl to fetch the image of some otherworld mage. “Um.” The surface of the thick glutinous stuff remained opaque and slightly greasy. “Please?” Rikku hazarded, and the soup cleared enough to make out a purple-looking Mage, somewhere where there was a lot of white and a lot of ships. It looked cold.
“Kat?” Rikku said, and stifled a yelp as her voice echoed in her own ears. It sounded echoingly loud, impossibly loud, but normal at the same time. Presumably that was so it would carry to the … person being scryed. Rikku wondered whether only the … scryee would hear her voice, or whether everyone in the vicinity would. Only one way to find out, she supposed. “I’d, um, like a word.” Kat"Well, that was a stellar idea," Asthielle couldn't help commenting as she held onto the rails with Jernath. "And now it's gone again. Oh, and did we mention that those other ships behind us are gaining?" * * * "What the heck is going on?!" Damson demanded, snatching back his spyglass from his young and hapless apprentice. "The ice wyrm just dived, sir," was the quick reply. "I'm not talking about that!" the mage retorted, zeroing in on the ships surrounding the place where the wyrm had been a few moments ago. "I'm talking about THOSE!" "Fire at will, my liege?" Damson shook his head and shoved the spyglass back towards his apprentice. "Not just yet. Let's not waste ammo. They could be valuable pawns later on. Perhaps more than just pawns." * * * Kat nearly dropped everything she was levitating onto the deck of the ship, but managed to set everything down safely. "Anything else?" she called to Fraze before focusing on the voice that was speaking to her - and only to her, it seemed. The magical aura was unmistakable. Rikku? Is that you? Well, fire away. Smithy" Hey ya new blood pirate, I suggest you stop ticking me off, maybe I was also thinking of using the clone for communication." Cyborg said before conjuring and tossing a boulder at the annoying mage. " Leave the anchor for now."Smithy contemptuously let the boulder nearly hit her before pointing with her wand, and hovering it. “Ticking you off? Look, merc, I can do more than hit you with a water orb. And don’t think that you’re going to make me think that you were using that thing for ‘communication’.” She let her concentration on the hard water orb drop, and the water splattered over the Kougra. “I happen to have this cute little ability to make myself understood to any creature. You happen to be the thickest skulled one yet. The wyrm is going to get impatient. It wants us to move that clone out, and have this battle without getting too much in its way.” Looking sharply back at the pirate ship, Smithy rose up into the air, with the last word. “I’ll see you soon enough, and we can settle this.” Her cloak flapping, the girl flew back to the Weewoo. Still floating in the air, she talked to the crew on the ship. “Mr. Ice Wyrm is a lot more easier to convince than I thought he would be. But we have terms. First, that shadow clone’s gotta be cleared out. Second, we have to prove to him that we can do this battle already, preferably outside of the iceberg. Two pretty hard things, as those mercenaries – faugh.” Smithy groaned at the sight of the curious ice snakes on the shore, eagerly hissing to her. Yet again, she flew off to talk, forgetting just how out in the open to any attack she was. ZariZari, lacking things to do, took out her "distraction" and weighed it in her palm. It fit exactly, being just under two inches cubed, and was (this was a estimate) around 500.4g. The surface was smooth and gray, with occasional patches of brick red and brown. It looked innocent enough, but it's creator knew different. If thrown hard enough, it would explode in a puff of sulphur, a loud "bang", and let off some fireworks and light shows, just for kicks. She'd stopped making these "distractions" a while back, when she left Illhvren, since in Spacefleet she'd only have a room, and Spacefleet's inhabitants were much more unflappable than the average middle-class working Illhvrenan. In fact, they were downright skittish. Like Ytrisan on bath day. Zari smiled an the thought. That seemed very, very far away now. Almost literally, since the bath, showerhead, and soap she used to wash the clones were somewhere up there in the sky. HuntressThe blarf caught the fish more or less gratefully; it was food, and any food was commendable, although it was much smaller than he would've liked. He let the anchor go, swallowed the fish, and then hooked his first pair of paws to the railing of the merc ship, drawing it into a heavy careen. "Foooood?" Hunty watched his antics with the absentminded look common among dogowners who are convinced that their big fierce bloodhound is really a big sweet soppy and wouldn't hurt a fly. Actually she was more interested in the anchor that now splashed into the water again, covered in fangmarks and dangling on a semi-useless chain. She assumed that a ship that big had another anchor in the other board, but even so the other ship was at quite a disadvantage. Cyborg had very blatantly played a clear flaw in her hands. She straightened her back and shot a glance at Smithy. "The good part is, as long as the snakes - both of them, I'd assume - pose a threat, the parley stands." The ancient fleet was at that point keeping its distance, confused but alert, keeping a stern eye on things. And they were still blocking their way out. Hunty leaned on the railing, toying with a frag grenade. The ship of the mercenaries was frankly just a toss away, but that really wouldn't be smart. Yet. "Ahoy, mercenaries," she shouted over the black waters. "You seemed like a real reasonable bunch to me back there. Tell me, why'dyou let this kougra boss you around? He's reckless, he's impulsive, he doesn't think ahead, he doesn't care about the ship you're all on, a ship on ice-cold water, mind you, and he's all too likely to drag you to your deaths sometime soon." PFA((Golden Gallion))"Just leave the anchor," Cyborg said. Seemed like a smart enough idea, as the anchor was kind of in the blarf's mouth. "Oh, and did we mention that those other ships behind us are gaining?" Ielle added ever-so-optimistically. And then the blarf came back, expecting more food. This wasn't exactly going well, Jernath decided. "Ahoy, mercenaries," came a shout from the pirate captain. "You seemed like a real reasonable bunch to me back there. Tell me, why'dyou let this kougra boss you around?"Jernath tried to come with a reasonable answer, but there really wasn't much coming to him. Why was Cyborg being the leader now? And why were they even listening to him? This was the former traitor they were talking about, after all... "Why? Do you have an alternative in mind?" Jernath shouted back. Well, pirates were supposed to have a lot of money... Cyborg" Yes I realised that, we may need to form an alliance with said ships, the pirates are coniving little punks." Cyborg said shaking water off of his fur. " What, you thinking of leaving, us and turning traitor? Huh Jernath, was that your plan. If so I hope you fall overboard and freeze to death." Rose stated with great anger and depression in her voice as she ran below deck. " I can't believe you would even think of that." Esme said as she and Gryff landed on deck, and she pushed past Jernath, and ran down to Rose. " See what ya did kid, nice job." Midknight said, disappointment in his voice. " Fine Jernath, leave see if I care, I hope you have fun on Satan's ship." Cyborg said as he flung another fish this time past the blarf in an attempt to get him away from the ship. The shadow wyrm slithered towards the Weewoo with a look of hunger and power. PFA((Golden Gallion))Jernath was a bit surprised at Rose and Esme. All he said is one little sentence and they were suddenly yelling at him. Overreacting, perhaps? Or maybe girls were just weird and emotional that way. He changed his mind when Midknight and Cyborg started down-talking him, too. He narrowed his eyes. "Funny you should be the one to complain about traitors, Cyborg," Jernath noted bitterly. "Look, there isn't a nice way to say this, so I'm going to be blunt. I'd rather be on a ship with a captain who knows things about sailing than one with a self-proclaimed leader who doesn't even realize that the blarf just yanked off our anchor!" he gestured furiously at anchor, which was now sinking into the sea. He paused, then lowered his voice and added, "Look, I don't want to betray you guys. I really don't. Let me on that ship and I can show you." He then stood up a little straighter, and added, loud enough for those on the Weewoo to hear, "Do you hear me, Cyborg?! I want off this doomed ship before it sinks to the bottom of the sea!" VytCat Assassin began approaching the pirate captain, albeit at a very slow manner. "... Parley?" he began to speak. "You mean you're actually negotiating with these jerks?" he pointed towards the mercenaries. The feline started to look around. Former hostilities were still surrounding the ninjas, and he wouldn't want to provoke them while Celestial was far away. It would definitely sound a death row coming towards them. He sighed heavily before continuing. "I don't know anything about moving a ship, but I definitely do know that parleys like these mean we have to stick together, at least for the time being," he spoke with his usual serious tone. "You had something that started this whole thing, and sadly we have to cooperate for this thing to end nicely." " Do you hear me, Cyborg?! I want off this doomed ship before it sinks to the bottom of the sea!"
"Jernath," Cat Assassin quickly thought. He knew the archer was up to something. Rider"Oh look, someone else who's tired of the mercenaries' foolishness," Rider said. "Well, at least the Blarf's getting fed." She called over to the merc ship. "Archer, you'll adhere to the terms of parley? Cyborg, if it's any consolation, ice floats." To the presumably-alive Cat Assassin, she said, "If they break the terms of parley, we both outnumber and outgun them." To the merc ship, "The Weewoo welcomes deserters of fools. You will, however, not walk around our ship so armed. You'll leave your weapons with the mercenaries. The pirates will provide you with armaments if the need should arise." They were tough terms. Jernath would never accept them unless he was sincere, Rider thought. HuntressHunty raised an eyebrow. This was definitely getting interesting in a way. "Parley, yes," she said to Cat Assassin, even if somewhat coldly and curtly. "We do have our honor, as you may or may not know. And we'd all rather like to get out of this alive. Which means that why yes, I can negotiate with these jerks if it has the chance of improving the situation." "Except that metal-skull kougra doesn't usually listen," Bloody Mary said in his usual gruff coarse tone he used when things were starting to look tight. "Hunty, there's a big shadow snake thing..." "I know." Hunty shot a glance at Jernath. "We're pirates, buddy. Meaning that we always welcome outlaws, deserters, anyone who's running from any kind of authority... that's our Code, after all." "'cept they have no place here unless they agree to heed to the authority of the captain," the meepit interjected. "Yeah, ironic, isn't it?" Hunty's head jerked sideways a little when she listened to Rider. "You think it's smart to have him around unarmed? We need all the help we can get." "You think it's smart to have him around armed?" Bloody Mary countered. The captain, figuring that her shouldermeepit and predecessor had things more or less covered, turned her attention to Cat Assassin. Who was, after all, a dirty ninja. "Cooperate, eh? - not a step closer, hon, I'm not stupid - do stay where you are, if you don't mind, lest I'll have you meepit'd. What do you propose, exactly?" Cyborg" Fine Jernath, leave, I hope you can swim. Get off this ship now!!!" Cyborg yelled at the archer. " What's the plan?'' he added in a whisper. " I hope you go die at sea. I hope you know kid, you lost two of your only friends, Rose and Esme. " Midknight belowed angrily. Smithy"...No, I thank you very much. But this is just a battle between enemies. The ice wyrm is not here to end all time. Nor is the shadow one. I think it would be safer in your cave for you guys. Have a nice day." The Talj clan cast one last bewildered look at the scene, and left, shaking their heads at the weirdness of the creatures invading their iceberg. Smithy pushed off into the air, and once again returned to the ship to witness the shouting session between ships. Archimedes perched on her shoulder, cooing at her. Smithy was obviously annoyed by the mercenaries, and heedless to her Whoot's warnings, she leaned over the railings, and clearly said to the one they were calling Jernath, "Don't jump, you don't want to be in that water. I can see why you're leaving those boulder-heads over there. Stay still, and I can bring you over on an air cushion." Below decks, Qamr paced restlessly, still full of energy. To heck with what Smithy had said. The stallion hopped up on deck again to find that interesting Shiva character. But Qamr immediately trotted over to Smithy upon seeing how worn out she looked. Exchanging a few worried words with Archimedes, the worst was confirmed. Qamr sharply nudged the mage-girl, warning her of over-exerting herself. Qamr was met by an irritated look and a shove. PFA((Golden Gallion))"Well, if they'll let me..." Jernath whispered to Cyborg, but was interrupted by Rider's shout. "The Weewoo welcomes deserters of fools. You will, however, not walk around our ship so armed. You'll leave your weapons with the mercenaries. The pirates will provide you with armaments if the need should arise."Hmm. Well, that made things more complicated. But... he had fought unarmed before, he could probably do it again if he had to. But anyway. Back to dramatic shouting. "Fine! I'll go have fun with the pirates, alive, while you all drown from your own stupidity!" He then turned around, looking over at the pirates. "If you really want me to leave my weapons here..." he hesitated for a brief moment, but continued, "...then I will. Whatever it takes! I cannot stand to be around these idiots any longer!" The last sentence may have been just a little too dramatic, but he supposed it didn't matter. Well, he hoped it didn't, anyway. VytThe background sound that was Jernath's screams was not exactly a good ambience to start with, but Cat Assassin tried not to get distracted by the rogue archer. He had to get some connections with the pirate captain despite the... rocky start they had. "You already have what I want to propose, pirate lass," Cat Assassin coldly replied. "... But I guess I'll have to confirm that. The ninjas and pirates need to cooperate for the time being. You have the transportation, we have additional fighting capabilities. And since we're already inside your ship and rendered void of our only way back towards land, we have no choice but to join you." Of course, Cat Assassin was bluffing about transportation. Bluisa can take them wherever they may go. "You've already stolen from us our only armaments, so you can safely assure yourselves that we won't be able to do harm, at least for now," confirmed the feline, still remembering the time Rider took him and PFA into custody. He really needed to get the remote control she confiscated from him back. ZariZari took one look at the mercenary ship and Jernath, then addressed Huntress. "Does it not bother you, then, that we of spacefleet are all armed enough to blow this whole ship up, but you have not asked us to remove our weapons? Eiya...Not that I can remove all mine...Not without some wire clippers, some sodium, and some boiling water...Maybe a nail file...uh, nevermind! Is it safe for the other members of Spacefleet to come down here, or no? Since I think I might have just let two of them loose with flamethrowers." ((What Zari needs wire clippers to remove is a plate at the top of her mouth containing some confusion powder. The sodium apparently stops the powder from affecting anything if she throws it out, and the boiling water is for the dart-pistol cartriges at the bottom of her shoe. Eiya= Uhm)) KatAsthielle glanced at Jernath and sighed. "I will join you pirates on only one condition. Bind Kalianne Triss up, no matter how or what it takes, and give her to me. Or better yet, sacrifice her to the ice wyrm. Maybe that will save us all." She eyed the Weewoo warily and created a gust of wind that made her soar and hover over the ship that so hated her. "You don't know what you've been getting yourselves into, letting her run loose for too long." Omni((Weewoo)) Omni, who didn't have much anything else to do, walked over near the railing closest to the other ship. "I will join you pirates on only one condition. Bind Kalianne Triss up, no matter how or what it takes, and give her to me. Or better yet, sacrifice her to the ice wyrm. Maybe that will save us all.
"You don't know what you've been getting yourselves into, letting her run loose for too long.""What in the world are you talking about?" she questioned. "I've been with Kat for awhile now, and I have noticed NUH-THEEN to indicate anything suspicious." Omni noticed that the cat-man - she recognized him as a ninja PFA was with - nearby seemed to be low on energy. Quietly moving near him, she took a little bit of some of her stored energy, her own energy, and transferred it into him. Fraze((The Universal Box)) "Anything else?" Kat asked Fraze. "Nope, that's all of it," he said as she jumped out. He thought he heard something about a second wyrm, this one made of shadow. He thought back to the battle with those mercenaries, and remembered Keng's strategy. With this in mind, he found several flashbangs and strapped them to his belt before he himself climbed out of the box, shutting it behind him. Rather than putting it back into his shoulder, he left it in his pocket. "Those look good on you," he said to Huntress regarding the frag grenades that she was eyeing with a hungry expression. There seemed to be some drama on the Merc ship. To Hunty, he said, "Are they being serious? I've done a lot of amateur stage acting in the past, and they sound like poorly-trained actors rehearsing their lines." Rider"I will join you pirates on only one condition. Bind Kalianne Triss up, no matter how or what it takes, and give her to me. Or better yet, sacrifice her to the ice wyrm. Maybe that will save us all.""Better idea - You stay with the mercs and freeze in Hell," Rider shouted to Ielle. "My goodness, Kat, who inserted the wand up her... nose?" she hastily corrected herself. "Are they being serious? I've done a lot of amateur stage acting in the past, and they sound like poorly-trained actors rehearsing their lines.""It's always possible, in which case, I find a suitable cannon to blow him off the ship with. He'll be unarmed." Shiva approached Rider and blew in her ear to get her attention. "So, you want to let another suspicious character on board? That makes about four now, and you only got two eyes." "Which is why you and the Meepits will be my eyes as well, Shiva," Rider promised. "I'm not letting them back into the Meepit Realms until this foolishness is over. Besides, they seem to have taken a liking to the peanut butter in Hunty's quarters." Smithy"You don't know what you've been getting yourselves into, letting her run loose for too long."A smile spread across Smithy's lips. A strangely pleasant one. Archimedes began fluttering and hooting urgently at her, and Qamr whinnied frantically, but to no avail. "I think that you've got the wrong mage completely. If you're looking for a girl with terrible dark powers who can lose control and destroy crazily, she's standing right here. Kat certainly isn't your dark type." Kat"Look, Asthielle, can we do this later on? I've got a call," said Kat, pointing her staff at the other mage. "Besides, really, why chase me?" "None of your business!" the blonde cried out, and her last syllable was punctuated by a sudden bolt of lightning that blazed towards Kat. She dived aside, but wasn't quick enough. The bolt singed the shoulder of her robes. Asthielle then sent more lightning towards Smithy, Rider and Omni. "I work alone if I have to! I do not rely on alliances or groups or partnerships! Because in this world, the only one you can trust is yourself!" "Trust this!" Kat sprang forward, briefly forgetting that Rikku was telepathically communicating with her, and created a shield around Asthielle's targets. As more lightning strained against the shimmering violet walls, Kat kept the shield up...till she could keep it up no more. After it absorbed the last of Asthielle's spell, it disappeared, and Kat staggered, still on her feet but considerably drained of magical power. VytCat Assassin turned around to see one of the mage go near him and heal his stamina. He looked quite familiar at the start; that is, he fought against a shadow version of that mage way back from the Mage Manor months ago. He paused for awhile before giving away his gratitude in the form of a nod. Cat Assassin was quick to notice the ongoing commotion between Kat and some blonde mage, and the second it became a dangerous fight, he felt he had to break this one peacefully. "Now, if you excuse me, your... mates... are fighting," he sighed as he started walking off and towards the blonde mage, even leisurely for that matter. "Stop it," Cat Assassin warned the mage that just fired barrages of bolt lightning towards everyone. "... Or you might hurt yourself," he grimly added. For precautionary measures, the cat filled both his hands with energy. Omni((Weewoo)) When Omni noticed the blonde mage casting the spell, she actually jumped close to Rider and the other mage. ((Or whoever is closest. Ah well, not like it makes much difference.)) She did this so she could absorb the damage with her shield, and maybe some of the magic energy as well. She wasn't expecting a shield from Kat to protect them, instead. "Kat!" Omni shouted (with some worry, but with more… irritation) as Kat uneasily stayed on her feet. Omni ran over to her, took some of her stored energy from Kat, and a bit of her own, and gave it back. "You didn't have to do that, y'know." Cyborg" Midknight, Shado, attack, and send the wyrm at the Weewoo!" Cyborg yelled as he sent three boulders, one at Rider, one at Omni, and one at Kat, towards the Weewoo. Shado and Midknight sent shadow energy balls at the pirates, and sent the wyrm (shadow) at the pirates as well. RikkuRikku stared, her tail flicking occasionally. “Ooh … that’s exciting. Get ‘em! Oh … oh darn. Hey, is that lookout picking his nose?” She paused. “Er, wait. What was I doing …? Oh yeah! Sorry Kat, but this is better than … non-moving pictures.” The griffin cocked her head to one side. “Though right now you’re obscured by a chunk of noodle. Hang on.” She dipped her paw in the soup, fishing out the offensive lump. “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if my paw went through all gigantically and fished up that worm? I mean wyrm. Because of course they’re very different.” Rikku nodded to herself. Fred, bored, returned to his sandwich. It had begun inching along the table, and now gave a pitiful moan as the zombie picked it up. “Quiet, pretty food,” Fred ordered cheerfully. Rikku gave him a quizzical look. “You’re flirting with your food now?” she queried, exasperated, then shook her head. “Never mind.” The necromancer turned her attention back to the scrying soup. “If you could just fill me in on anything that’s happened, that would be nice. And any way that I can help, though I’m not sure if I could get to wherever you all are. Looks like some whoppin’ great ice cube … Not sure I’d actually want to get to wherever you all are, on second thoughts.” Rikku paused. “First question – why is that mage trying to kill you? Not really a nice, friendly, mage-like thing to do. There’s a reason why the phrase ‘I scratch your back, you toss fireballs at me’ never caught on.” She realized she was blabbering and slammed her beak shut. “Guess that’s what being dead does to you … oh. Right. Quiet. Yes.” She slid back a little, scrabbled back up to see, and slid forward into the bowl. “Chicken and potato,” she said glutinously, and pulled herself out again. Fraze((The Weewoo)) "It's always possible, in which case, I find a suitable cannon to blow him off the ship with. He'll be unarmed.""Works for me," Fraze said. "But--aughlookout." Fraze saw the various attacks sent toward the pirates by the Mercs. By reflex, he pulled out his plasma rifle and fired three shots in quick succession, one at each boulder. He didn't want to waste ammunition on some energy or other since he didn't know what it would do, but he knew very well the effect a ball of plasma radiating in the near-ultraviolet would have on a boulder. ((Something that glows violet or near-ultraviolet has a temperature of roughly 7000 Celcius/12500 Farenheit.)) "Careful," was all he could say. "I trust your mages can deal with those black swirlies." SmithySmithy looked on, horrified, as Kat slumped down, nearly totally drained of energy. Holding up her wand, she muttered long low words, and waved it slightly. For split seconds you could see what looked like a tornado rushing into the wand. Then Smithy laid the wand on Kat. using the gathered air to restore the purple mage's energy. Then Smithy turned again. But this wasn't Smithy. The rich red and gold she wore was creeping into black. The brown eyes suddenly glowed deep purple, and an icy smile spread across her face. Archimedes hooted fearfully, and Qamr backed, neighing to Shiva. "Get away! She's possessed! Warn them!" Nearly silently, the dark mage rose up in the air, and shot forward to the shadow wyrm. When Smithy spoke, her voice was deep and different. "I call upon the depths! I call upon the night, the cold, and fear! I call the darkness!" Suddenly, purple-black flames shot up around her. The glowing eyes accompanied a grin. And with an almighty crash, what looked like a huge wave of dark magic swept from her, and obliterated the clone. The boulders weren't any kind of problem. ((Because evil transformations are oh-so-cool)) Kat"I had to! If I weren't here, Asthielle wouldn't be chas - " Kat paused and gasped, feeling a sudden jolt of energy as both Omni and Smithy helped her recover. Magic poured into her, and she instantly straightened up again - just in time to see boulders and shadowy balls hurtling towards them. Rikku. We're being attacked. I'm on the pirates' ship. Even I don't know why Asthielle's after me. I'll send you this map in my back pocket.She briefly touched the rolled parchment in her robe pocket, and it vanished instantly. While Fraze covered the boulders, and Smithy took care of the duplicate wyrm, Kat focused on several balls of shadow magic headed her way, and created a cat-sized, shimmering purple dragon that shot out of her staff. It opened its mouth and devoured two balls before disappearing with a faint pop that was lost in the noise of battle, leaving Kat to make a gust of wind that would redirect Shado and Midknight's spells back to them. Meanwhile, Asthielle faced Cat Assassin. She had seen him before, but didn't know his name or anything else besides the fact that he had probably been around Kat. "Don't make me laugh," she said coldly. "But unfortunately, all of you have interfered for too long!" With a swift wave of her hand, the blonde mage summoned two large rocks, encrusted with ice, and sent these towards Smithy, the nearest of Kat's allies. VytCat Assassin's eyes widened at the sight of two ice-covered boulders launched by the blonde mage towards more of his "cohorts". It was a good thing that he had long ago removed his training weights; his speed was more than twice as faster than he started. Immediately, Cat Assassin placed his feet on the move, aiming the energy in both hands at the mage's boulders. "I..." He swiftly swung his right arm towards the one closer to him, his body even following through that single movement. Gusts of wind surrounded his fist as it reached a certain speed fast enough to break the boulder apart into harmless little ice cubes. "... said..." Cat Assassin then jumped towards the last boulder, his feet aligned in parallel direction. He channelled more of his energy into the soles of his feet, blasting its way through the rock. "... ENOUGH!" The scream warning the mage to stop made Cat Assassin's current actions loud and clear. After landing back on his feet, the cat began charging towards the blonde mage, the energy in his left hand still present. Bluisa looked at the shadow wyrm in half-amazement. "Oh drat! Another wyrm!" she shouted as she began firing gusts of wind towards it. Amneiger((Hmm, I wonder what this will do.)) This had gone too far. The Mercenaries and Pirates had taken the news about Spacefleet relatively peacefully, but their interactions with the gem army had involved shouting followed by gunfire. In the long run, it would easier if the former groups lived through the coming conflict. And the Mercenaries had been hired by Spacefleet once, right? And he was fairly certain that the people with the cyborg Kougra were all Mercenaries. Amneiger put down the flamethrower and pushed it back further into the shuttle so that it wouldn't fall out. "Ethan, cover me." He stood up, gripped the side of the hatch, and leaned out. "Mercenaries! Pirates! Have you forgotten that there's a large, angry, and possibly completely psychotic army outside? You might want to think about dealing with them before going and fighting among yourselves!" Amneiger wasn't really certain that would work, but the only other plan he could think of was to immediately pay the Mercenaries to stop attacking the Pirates; attempting to solve things by talking first was probably not going to make Spacefleet look quite that desperate. Cyborg(What`s with the wyrm hatin, he only wants to eat you.) The wyrm was tickled by the wind and unfazed by the dark fire ( dark magic does barely anything to these shadow clones, Midknight/Shado create). He continued forward and launched himself at the Weewoo. " Hey Fraze, you walking toaster, I thought the Fleet was on our side!" Cyborg yelled as he sent more boulders at the Weewoo. PFA((Golden Gallion))"I thought the 'Fleet was on our side!" Cyborg shouted, sending boulders at the Weewoo. "I thought we were on their side!" Jernath yelped in response. Realizing that his plan to board the Weewoo probably wouldn't have worked very well at this point, he pulled out his bow and an arrow. One of his last three arrows, he silently noted. He wondered if Ielle was too busy blasting Kat to make him any magical arrows now. At any rate, he'd have to think of a good person to shoot. Which side was he even supposed to be on now? Everyone moreorless believed that he was on the pirates' side, but he didn't exactly want to hurt any mercs... but if he hurt any pirates, he wouldn't be able to carry out his plan, whether it was really possible at this point or not. So, picking one of the most neutral targets he could think of, he fired the arrow at Bluisa. --- ((White Weewoo))PFA, noticing that the other ninjas were starting to attack now, decided that this was a good time to do something. Though what exactly, she wasn't sure. Thinking fast, she ran closer to the Weewoo's railings and tossed the kunai she was holding vaguely in Cyborg's direction. Or maybe Midknight's. Her aim wasn't so exact on that throw. But it didn't matter. Whichever one it would hit, she wouldn't complain. HuntressHunty listened to Cat Assassin thoughtfully, scowling at the 'pirate lass' bit, but then shrugged. "You were the ones who backstabbed us in the first place. Quite frankly I still want your head for that, but we seem to have a common enemy for the time being, so that can wait for convenience's sake. So have fun." "Does it not bother you, then, that we of spacefleet are all armed enough to blow this whole ship up, but you have not asked us to remove our weapons?"The pirate gave Zari a sharp look. "Yes, it does bother me, but I'm not about to ask that exactly because you're armed enough to blow this ship up. 'Sides, we have a truce, and a company that's so heavily armed has no reason for sneaky tactics when dealing with howdyour Commander put it again... primitive creatures." At that point Fraze showed up again and complimented her on her grenades. This, she had to admit, was a new one. "One can never be too careful around those mercs," she said with an expression that tried to be a frown but was really more along the lines of an amused grin. "Funny bunch. One'd think that the minute you show them a coin, they follow you around like a dog. But these guys seem to be after us because of some random vendetta." Now she really scowled. "Well, Cyborg's vendetta. What the others are fighting for is beyo- what was that about my peanut butter?" At that point the fight broke out. Despite the parley, Hunty had always encouraged spontaneous and creative action in battles, as opposed to shouting orders - in fact, her most common order was 'have fun and don't do anything... stupid' - so she had no room to complain. Or time, for that matter. So she just hurled the frag grenade at the ship of the mercenaries and backed away from the railing for a better position for the crossbow. "Did you activate it?" Bloody Mary's portable-daily-planner habits were functioning as always. "Don't insult me." The grenade exploded at that point. "So I guess this means the parley is off?" Interestingly, that question belonged to Bloody Mary as well as Rane's first officer at that specific point in time. The pirate lord had good overview from his huge ship and up until now he'd given no orders. That was what had kept the fleet out of battle. Neither the pirates nor the mercs nor anyone else involved had really seemed to notice, but there was a lot of tension on those old black ships. The fleet-pirates were looking at Rane, awaiting orders. The ninjas were looking at them, seeing what they would do. The mages were watching them and the pirates, and the knights were watching everyone, and basically everything was very questionable. Dozens of spies from different ships had hidden themselves on the bridge of the schooner so that they could give firsthand info. The waiting had taken so long that by now they were passing around a cigarette. Then Rane's quiet voice replied, "Yes, the parley is off. Fire all." "At who?" There was a moment of more tension and leaning forward, during which a spy of the mages quickly hid the cigarette that'd just reached him. Which side would Rane take? Both sides were enemies, but the first cannonball could decide a lot. "Mercenaries." For a bit of a surprise, a big commotion didn't occur. There was a lot of sharp breathing in, quick thinking, adjusting plans, processing info, and the exchange of coins between those spies who'd predicted that and those who hadn't. "Why?" the officer hazarded. Rane stifled a sigh. He valued brains over brawls so he tended to promote sailors for intellectual values rather than blind order-following, but that always meant that he answered to his officers. It was useful, of course, that way he didn't make any big stupid glaringly obvious mistakes, but explaining always took precious time in the heat of a battle... "The pirates might be able to contact Leraye since they appeared to know him and besides that, I need a word with their captain about that incident back at the cliff. Killing her won't take us anywhere. People are more useful alive." "Understood," said the officer, and all of a sudden, as a result of complicated communiation systems, the schooner's cannons fired. Not that it had much impact, since its cannons were too high for hull damage, but they fired. As an instant result, other ships' cannons fired as well. Some at the Weewoo. Some at the Mast. Some at those who fired at the Weewoo and the Mast. Some at anyone in the range. Tensions had built up for so long that there wasn't even much of a battlesound, just one loud salvo that smashed into one's ears almost physically, sent a big black cloud of gunpowder smoke drifting above the ships, and proclaimed the beginning of yet another battle in this long war. VytBluisa was too busy fending the shadow wyrm off the White Weewoo to notice Jernath aiming his weapon at her. Piercing through the air, the arrow whizzed past through the shadow wyrm and, despite all the chaos brought by the hovering of cannonballs, hit its mark. Bluisa screamed, but her voice was already being drowned by the deafening sounds of cannon blasts. She fell down from the force of the arrow that dug itself deep into her shoulder. "Uwaaaaaaaa!" Slowly standing up from being taken down by Jernath's arrow, Bluisa began walking towards anyone in sight. She tried holding on to her wound, but it would either hurt her more or make her want to yank it off. "Help me! Cat Assassin! PFA!" Bluisa's eyes were starting to fill with tears. Tears that the challenger to the throne of the Alternate World never showed. Tears that the remnant of her had been hiding for years and years and years. Tears only an innocent child would shed for the world to see. By the time Bluisa got to PFA, the nearest one of her cohorts, she collapsed on the floor. Black blood continued oozing from the wound on her shoulder. She was still breathing, but needed serious help. PFA((White Weewoo))"BLUISA!" PFA yelped, though even that was almost inaudible over all the cannon fire. She kneeled over the catgirl, examining her bleeding wound. An arrow, embedded deep in her shoulder. A strangely familiar arrow. Where had PFA seen that kind of arrow before? ...Jernath. It was one of Jernath's arrows. Crud. "Hold on, Bluisa, I'll see if I can help!" PFA shouted, reaching for the arrow. She paused. As soon as she pulled the arrow out, Bluisa was going to start bleeding even more. A lot more. She held her other hand over the wound, getting ready to heal as soon as the arrow was out. "Uhhh... brace yourself!" PFA added with a grimace. "This is going to hurt... a lot." She gripped the arrow tightly, took a deep breath, and then yanked. Not the most painless treatment in the world, no. In fact, far from. "Sorry, sorry!" PFA apologized frantically, immediately tossing the arrow aside and beginning to heal the wound with her magic. She was sure using it a lot today, and she had just barely discovered she had it. "This should numb the pain a little. Don't worry, everything's going to--" Cannon fire drowned out the last bit of PFA's sentence. The ninja thought nasty thoughts about how she was going to lose her hearing by the end of this war, but remained silent. Not like talking would have done any good, anyway. --- ((Golden Gallion))There were cannons being fired in the mercs' general direction. Very noisy ones. Jernath promptly decided that he hated being out at sea. Especially when there was freezing ice water between him and his opponents, and he was running out of arrows. "Some of those magic arrows would be handy right about now!" Jernath shouted over the sound of cannon fire, not even sure if Ielle could hear him or not. He then started looking around, trying to see if he could figure out where the majority of the cannonballs were coming from. Maybe he could take out the ones firing the cannons with arrows. Preferably magic arrows, if Ielle wasn't too busy. Maybe the magic arrows would be guided... Kat"Fire all?" asked the ever-innocent unnamed apprentice. "Fire all," Damson sighed. "There's nothing else we can do. Besides, we spent ages creating that ice wyrm, I'm not having anyone destroy one of our finest creations! Bring out the special cannonballs and set them on a one-way course towards the mercenaries' ship. On second thought, fire at those two rogue ships. Yes, those. I'll mark them." "But isn't one of them a pirate ship?" "Ignore the technicalities!" For the first time since appearing in the GWRP, Damson raised his hand to the skies and spoke a word so powerful it would have burnt his throat had he been less than worthy to say it. Sparkling, painfully perky pink flares appeared in his hands, and these he hurled into the air. As they exploded, they added to the cacophony, marking the positions of the Weewoo and the Gallion. But no one was hurt. Yet. * * * Kat was rocked by the sudden chaos of another beginning epic battle. She held onto the railing and squinted at all the ships surrounding them. "Oh, great. What did we do THIS time?" She focused on the ships that had just fired at the Weewoo and fired her own salvo - a barrage of purple fireballs that collided with hurtling cannonballs, creating a chain of explosions that set one ship on colored fire. "Maybe we should have someone deal with the wyrm," she commented, levitating a large icicle and directing this towards another ship. "Like me. Though I'll need backup." * * * Asthielle glanced down at Jernath. "I did say I work alone...but I make exceptions." She threw down at his feet an entire quiver of glowing yellow arrows. "They direct themselves to the nearest target and rely on your thoughts, so whoever you think ill of will instantly be targeted, or whoever you consider your enemy. They cannot easily be used against you. And, these really, really hurt." And with that, she landed beside him. "I'll deal with those mages." Cyborg" Who's firing at us now?!" Cyborg yelled as he sent giant boulders at the attacking ship, and smaller ones at the cannon balls, " Jernath try to take out as many as possible, Ielle, take out Kat, Rose fire cannon balls at the Weewoo, Esme send some of the attacking ship's cannon balls back at them, Midknight and Shado send some shadow attacks at them, and send the clone at them as well. Gryff fly above and attack the crew on the gem army ship." Esme concentrated and sent a few of the cannon balls back at the new ship. Rose ran to the cannons and set them off sending numerous cannon balls at the Weewoo. Midknight and Shado sent shadow ball after shadow ball at the ship and sent the clone at the ship as well. Gryff flew high above and towards the ship then swooped down towards one of the crew and clawed at him. PFA((Golden Gallion))Jernath scooped up the quiver of magical arrows, examining them. Well, they sure looked like arrows, aside from the whole glowing-yellow-ness. He gave Ielle a nod in appreciation, then set the almost-empty quiver of normal arrows on the ground, and slung the quiver of magical arrows over his shoulder. Would be a lot easier that way. "Jernath, try to take out as many as possible!" came Cyborg's usual barking of orders. "Already on it," Jernath replied, taking out one of the glowing arrows and taking aim. The arrow felt kind of... weird and magic-y, he noticed. If he had been a mage, he would have said it was giving off an aura similar to Ielle's. But Jernath was far from being a mage, and knew nothing of magical auras, so all he could say was he got kind of a weird, tingly feeling when he held it. He hoped that was normal--which it was, but he didn't know that--and started aiming at one of the cannons. Alright... so these things supposedly guide themselves to whoever you think is your enemy, he thought to himself. So... the person manning that cannon shall taste weird magic arrow!And the arrow flew, straight and true. Except for when it suddenly swerved through the air, so it could lodge itself right in the shoulder of whoever was at the cannon Jernath aimed at. A screech of pain came from that direction. Well, that was interesting, Jernath blinked, as he grabbed another magic arrow and aimed at the next cannon. CandyAs Twizzlers came out onto the decks of the Mercs ship, she cried,"Cannonballs!" The pink koala with purple eyes was new, and didnt really know what the ships name was. She suddenly dropped, hit with something her eyes did not see, as Twizzlers had been knocked out. DoodyDoody's sleep on the ground was rather long. It had already lasted around 57 pages, and had survived a move from Zari's ship to the cold, hard earth. His dream had involved kittens, screwdrivers, and giant cottonbuds, and since he feared that it was about to get a tad more sane, he decided to wake up. The problem, now, was that he had no idea where he was, or where the ship he had been in earlier now was. He also began wondering what was happening to his 'Fleeter friends. After all, he was kicked out of Mage Manor just a few days ago due to an accident involving the third-floor toilet and a rather strangely shaped peacock. After pondering all of this for a few minutes, Doody got up and began a spell which would create the Tele-port-a-loo, a teleport enabled potty which would take him nearly anywhere he wanted. And right now, he really wanted to talk with his 'friends'. When the spell, in front of him appeared a metallic bowl with a hole that led to Droplet-only-knows. So, he jumped in, thought of Zari's ship, and away he went. Little did he know, however, that he was actually thinking of Huntress' hair for some reason, and thus appeared right on top of Huntress. Gravity took care of the rest. Cyborg" Twizzlers, great now she's unconcious." Cyborg said with a sigh. " Good, Jernath just keep hitting your targets, but don't hit Gryff." he added as the earth started to quake all around the ships. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gryff attacked the same man again, this time hitting his mark as he clawed at the man's eyes, then tackled him overboard. " Good show Jernath, good show." Gryff declared. AmneigerI told you so. Not that Cyborg seemed especially inclined to listen to whatever he had been saying. Oh well. Spacefleet probably still had the advantage of surprise against the gem army; judging from the fact that the attackers had failed to mark the shuttle their cloak was still keeping them from being noticed. Amneiger picked up the radio. "Zari, can you get back up to the shuttle and fire some rockets or something at the attacking ships? See if you can get the ship that just shot off the pink sparkles. Fraze, would you rather stay with the pirates or get into the shuttle?" VytBluisa's sight was blurred at the moment - her mind was concentrating itself on registering pain - but she could see the image of PFA kneeling down in her aid. The mage felt her hand wrap around the arrow, sending a painful tingling sensation through her shoulder. What made it mentally worse, however, was the sudden pull of the arrow out of Bluisa's shoulder. "Yaaaaaaaaaaah!" she screamed helplessly, more tears forcibly flowing from her eyes. Ever since releasing herself from Subila's mentality, Bluisa could not bear more pain than even an average teenage girl could. Bluisa would've tossed herself around had PFA not fixed a good grip on her. Moments later, the mage felt PFA's magic working on her, using her light energy to heal her wound. Wait a minute. Light energy wasn't supposed to work on her. It should've even made her hurt more. Was she really a remnant of Subila? As Bluisa started pondering, she felt like she couldn't get up. Though the pain was gone, her body couldn't register properly the status of her wound. She continued lying there, wondering. HuntressIt was Hunty's luck that she was currently galloping across the deck doublechecking the positions when something appeared above her head out of thin air. As such, she closely escaped getting knocked unconscious thanks to Newton's law of gravitation, but could still feel something drop right past the back of her head - and what was that smell?She skidded along the deck, coming to a halt, and then turned around to stare. "Who or what is that?" "More freeloaders," Bloody Mary said flatly. "I'll just go tell the guys to start selling tickets while we still can, yes?" At that point cannonballs bit into the Weewoo's hull. It sounded oddly different from the usual woodcracking, splinter-ridden, crunchy sound cannonballs give when hitting a ship's hull. These sounds were more like muffled thumps, and while they were followed by cracking sounds, it wasn't the sound of cracking wood. Hunty turned slowly to look aside, at the long sharp spike that was rising above the railing in the prow of the ship. Since the brigantine's new demonic rigging was so stupidly wide, it was using two spikes in its hull as foresail booms - the sail had to be attached farther away from the hull. Black, smooth hull, and black, jagged sails, and thick black ropes. She was an idiot for not having thought of this before. Moments later, Bloody Mary landed on Kat's shoulder, or rather almost in her face. "Captain calls," he said, panting. "Says it's important and that you gotta come now and no excuses." In fact, the captain had said more along the lines of 'if she gives you one single 'but', bite her,' but the meepit had written that off as stress. After all, she had lots to do at that point. For the time being, though, she was glaring down at Doody, the crossbow poised. One thing at a time. "And you are?" Rider((Movable timeline. Also, typed on a lack of sleep.)) "FRIGATE!" Rider, being only human, had taken her five-millionth trip under the Weewoo's deck. "I think we're out of anything that could be remotely called ammo." Shiva smiled. "Then load the rum." "I did." "... So," Shiva said to the bruised and battered fourth wall, "Is it too late to call those Horsemen back?" "I've got an idea. There's only one way a girl like me can keep up with all you fancy mage-types. Using my access to the Meepit Realms." Ventratta poked his head out of Hunty's room, his face covered in a thick, brown, nutty substance. "Ventratta, remind me, what are the terms of our agreement? How can I open portals, say, on other ships?" Ventratta squeaked. If there were Meepits on the other ships, there would be a seam to open the portal to the Meepit realms. Whether the other Meepits would open or not was an entirely different question. After all, few people would want to see thier homes sink. "... I think Nalia knows how to handle this situation. Shiva, get above deck and let Hunty know that we're doing some interdimensional thieving." -------- The Meepit Realms were like the rough sketch of a world, drawn by an artist who had been shown quick slides of other worlds and then told to lump them together by memory. It was nestled like a delicate egg between the NTWF, Neopia and Earth. Meepits had come like refugees from abandoned homes and alleys or swanky petpet shops in Neopia and settled there. Many failed to realize the fragility of their world, that even the slightest upset in the balance of the other three could shatter the Meepit Realms. And so the Meepit Army had formed to travel to other realms and keep the peace. Nalia and Offsephious moved through the dense trees like shadows. Ahead was a slight distortion in the light. A rift in the worlds. Nalia's rough, unladylike paws ripped it open. Through what seemed like interdimensioal gauze, she could see another Meepit inside Rane's ammo closet. Male. Perfect. She gave her best cat whistle. The message was clear. Open up, big boy. The other Meepit pulled the gauze away, curiosity and admiration in his young eyes. Sephi hit him over the head with his goth-guitar. Like a bad anime. Nalia kissed him on the cheek and whistled. The army followed and proceeded to raid Rane's ship for all it was worth. ------ "Get away! She's possessed! Warn them!"Shiva's whinny came out like a scream. "Rider! Kat, Hunty, someone! Complications!" She took out the shadow clone like nothing. Shiva held his breath, unwilling to approach the dark mage. DoodyDoody got up and shook some dirt off himself. "I'm Doody, Master Poopomancer. Well, actually, I'm the ONLY Poopomancer. I tried to recruit people, but... yeah, it didn't work. Anyway, you don't look much like Zari. Who are YOU?"
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:23:03 GMT -5
Fraze
((The Weewoo)) Cyborg yelled something to Fraze about being a walking toaster. Strangely enough, this was not the first time he had been called that. He saw fit not to respond to whatever the taunt was. "Fraze, would you rather stay with the pirates or get into the shuttle?" Amneiger asked. "Take me up with you," Fraze replied. "I'd still prefer to help the pirates in this, but I--or we--can do it better in Zari's ship. I've got a few smaller missiles that we can fire from the ship that are still very effective." Very, very effective, he thought. Though he had to know who to aim at... "Huntress!" he yelled in the direction of the captain. She was having a rather harshly inquisitive conversation with someone Fraze didn't recognize, but decided to speak up nonetheless. "Can you get one of your mages to mark all the ships you're battling against? I'll be disembarking soon. I'm willing to lend air support, if I can get the rest of my teammates behind it. But the collateral will be pretty big, so I don't want to contribute much to friendly fire."
Omni
((NIA))
Now Ethan was the only one doing something left in the ship. Great. He wanted to get into the action. Though it really wouldn't be a good idea to leave the ship. He'd move it closer, but he really had no way of knowing the gas from the brake from the self-destruct button.
There had to be something he could do from the ship. The flamethrower would be too noticeable, might not even hit… He rummaged through one of Zari's weapon crates. Most of her stuff he couldn't tell what it was for, although he did recognize one as a phaser for cutting through metal, or at least something that resembled one. This could be useful, he thought.
Heading back to the shuttle door and crouched by it. He decided to focus on some of the ships outside the iceberg, closest to him. He took the phaser, and aimed at a mast of one of the closer ships. Thankfully, it turned out to be what it seemed. The phaser was designed to cut using intense heat, more than enough to spark a fire. He smirked, and aimed at flammable areas on ships, here and there, including a stack of gunpowder barrels. He then aimed at the shadow snake, and fired a quick shot at the side of it's head that was closest to the other ships. He then took the tranquilizer dart gun Zari gave him earlier, and fired at several crewmembers; those manning canons, those putting out fires, and one standing near what appeared to be the captain of one ship. That ought to cause some confusion.
He paused for awhile, keeping an eye out for other ways to cause general chaos.
---
((Weewoo))
Omni couldn't help but notice the strange energy of the marking spell. It didn't feel like it came from anybody she knew. It felt harmless, but she felt she didn't want to take chances with unfamiliar casters. She drew the energy from the spell up through her feet, storing it in her crystal. She could get back to other things when she was finished. Or when something was an emergency, whichever came first.
((Zari, I hope you don't mind me godmodding the phaser.))
Rikku
There was a shimmering. Rikku tensed, her feathers standing on end.
People theorized that the Universe was made out of thousands of pieces of string, spread out, and that things happened as cause and effect, the strings manipulating how things happened. According to this theory, people and events randomly affected the strings – or, if not randomly, then, at least, with no pattern that a mere mortal mind could comprehend. Mages, though, could twist the strings to their will, with a bit of practice and some elbow grease.
Rikku wasn’t sure she bought into this theory, and she was pretty sure that she had the wrong idea of what it was. Nevertheless, she could almost imagine the twanging of strings now, as the basic stuff that made the Universe was irreparably changed.
And a rolled-up map appeared in her soup.
The pyro-necromancer blinked at it, then fished it out. It had not suffered too much damage, in that it still looked, vaguely, like a map, if you hadn’t seen a map before, and were looking at it from some distance away, and were possibly wearing a blindfold. She could make out something about the Gates of Death, or some such pretentious thing like that. There was something marked on it that might be an island or might be an iceberg or might be an inkblot but was probably caused by a chunk of unidentifiable gristly stuff that had become stubbornly lodged on it. She sighed.
Fred wandered past. “Do you need anything, Master?” he said politely, taking up the bowl of soup. There was a loud, painful sound, like many cannons going off at once, and Rikku started. Her first instinct was to ask what in the seven realms Fred had done, before something incoherent about the soup having too many radishes in it, and then at last an actual useful thought, which was that the sound must have come through the scrying link. Rikku hopped forward, just avoiding tipping beak-first again into the thick liquid, and saw that the sound like several cannons going off at once had, in fact, been caused by several cannons going off at once.
“Oh. The situation there is bad, then. Um.” Rikku backed away, fell down, spread her wings and hopped back onto the bench, swaggering a little in a way that said she had planned to do that all along and any zombie daring to suggest otherwise would receive a clip on the ears. “Very bad. I mean, it’s not like I’d really be able to help much. One little griffin, and who knows if my magic even works right now? I can barely fly. I’d be much better off staying here, and … gathering intelligence! Yes. Because you can never have too much intelligence...” She switched her tail miserably. “I had better go there, huh. See if I can help.”
“How on earth would I know? I’m a zombie,” Fred said, sounding uncharacteristically sensible. “And if you don’t need anything …” He made a flourishing gesture with the bowl, and something that may or may not have originated from the soup flew off and glopped wetly against the wall. “I need to take Marzia-wahzia his soup,” he sing-songed.
“Marzia-wahzia?” Rikku couldn’t stop herself from asking, before shaking herself. “This is one of those ‘I don’t need all the details’ things, yes?”
“Very likely.”
“All right then. Break a leg. Not literally.” Rikku fluffed up her wings, and looked around with narrowed eyes as Fred walked, whistling, outside.
She picked up a small, sopping wet noodle, the one that she had fished out of the soup earlier. She looked at it.
“Just like a focus, really,” Rikku said doubtfully. “A link.” She picked up the noodle, trying to imagine, somehow, that it was, rather than a noodle, a long, probably glowing string that made up the basic matter of the Universe, and that she could bend it to her will.
Then she stepped on it.
There was a flash of incredibly un-blinding normal-level-of-light, and she found herself standing on a deck, on a ship, in an iceberg, in a place past somewhere called the Gates of Death, or something pretentious like that.
Rikku stood, quietly, and quivered a bit.
“Surely that cannot possibly have worked.”
That was why she had tried it. She hadn’t thought it would actually work.
Hence why she was now somewhere a few points north of the middle of nowhere, standing on a ship that looked remarkably demonic.
“I really need to think things through better.”
Kat
Asthielle smiled grimly. "No problem." She began creating blindingly yellow fireballs and sending them Kat's way, but she didn't spare the rest of the crew either. Unfortunately, she was not expecting the other mage to create another strong gust of wind that would throw everything back at her.
As she tried to get rid of all the fireballs, the last one turned into a mass of tendrils that bound Asthielle from head to foot in glowing rope.
* * *
Kat didn't even spare a moment to see if her spell had worked. Besides, there were more dangers than just that silly blonde. But before she could think of her next move, Bloody Mary briefly obscured her vision.
"Captain calls," he said, panting. "Says it's important and that you gotta come now and no excuses."
But before Kat could take one step towards her captain, she heard Shiva next and turned to face the demon horse.
"Smithy warned me about this," she said with a sigh. "This'll take just a sec. She warned me to bind her once she became possessed, and I guess now is the time."
Ribbons of dazzling amethyst light sprouted from her staff, encircling Smithy and slowly binding the dark mage. Unlike with Asthielle, this would be tight, but wouldn't hurt a bit or leave any marks. This was purely for the sake of keeping Smithy - and everyone else - safe. With that done, Kat headed over to Huntress.
"You called?"
* * *
"They've got mages!"
Damson face-palmed. "Of course they've got mages, you idiot ninja! Look at how everyone's trying to do something about the cannonballs coming back at us, and those boulders..." He groaned and pointed at each of them, and the rocks exploded into countless little pebbles, all plopping into the ocean.
"Playing defense won't get us anywhere!" he bellowed, his face turning a rich shade of plum, which befitted his name quite well. "Spell the ammo! Bewitch as many cannonballs and whatever we can throw at them as you can!"
"Yes, sir!" chorused several mages, who all began firing bright pink cannonballs pulsing with energy at the Gallion.
Vyt
Seeing another batch of fireballs thrown at him, Cat Assassin blasted them off-course with sudden bursts of energy coming from his hands. It did not affect his stamina one bit; he was already used to letting out small amounts of energy in rapid succession.
More of the fireballs were flying towards him, but a strong gust of wind coming from Kat sent them all back towards the blonde mage. That sounded a sigh of relief coming from the feline, since he was starting to get annoyed at the aggressive mage's persistence.
"Yaaaaaaaaah!"
Only then did Cat Assassin hear the agonizing cry of Bluisa. Quickly, he ran towards the fallen mage and gasped at the blood surrounding her.
He glanced at PFA, who was holding the same arrow that put Bluisa out. The peculiar but familiar design on the arrow gave him a dead giveaway of its shooter. "Jernath," he gritted his teeth in anger.
"PFA, I know this is crazy, but you'll have to think of ways to send these cannonballs back towards every ship in sight," he ordered her as the cat started filling his hands with energy once more. "There's too many of them. This ship won't last long if this continues," he noted her.
Cyborg
(Umm Rider why is Shiva attacking my clone, that's over at Ramson's ship?)
" Jernath fire two arrows at the pirates, one at Hunty, one at Kat. I`ll get working on W.W.`s glowing lasso here, and everyone else focus on destroying those glowing cannonballs." Cyborg yelled.
Rose ran to the cannons on the opposite side of the ship and sent canonballs at the other ship. Esme sent a couple of the cannonballs back at the attacking ship, the rest were slowed enough to plummet to the sea below. Midknight and Shado sent more shadow balls and the clone at the opposing ship. The clone lunged once more this time at the gem army ship. Gryff after attacking one of the army, went after Ramson and dived at the captain, with great speed.
Huntress
"I'm Doody, Master Poopomancer. Well, actually, I'm the ONLY Poopomancer. I tried to recruit people, but... yeah, it didn't work. Anyway, you don't look much like Zari. Who are YOU?"
Hunty could feel a headache coming along. Then she remembered that she, in fact, had something good against headaches and she hadn't eaten in a while anyway, so she lifted the crossbow to rest of her right arm and took a flask from her belt with the left. The tip of the crossbow bolt drew patterns in the air. Drops of acid fell on the sooty deck.
"Huntress," she said grimly and, after a pause used to take a swig from the flask, added, "Captain of this ship. Zari was around here somewhere, but on this vessel I have the highest authority and whatsit." She took another swig. Lukewarm, but seemed to work. At least her head was now clearer. "Since you're already here, you might as well join us. Not like you have a choice."
Someone called her name and caught her attention. Fraze, wasn't it? She turned around.
"Can you get one of your mages to mark all the ships you're battling against? I'll be disembarking soon. I'm willing to lend air support, if I can get the rest of my teammates behind it. But the collateral will be pretty big, so I don't want to contribute much to friendly fire."
"Copy that," she shouted back. "Will see about it." There were a few mages around but Smithy seemed to be temporarily off the records, Kat was needed for another thing she had in mind, and... Omni, was it not? Hunty didn't usually trust people who weren't her crewmembers with such crucial tasks, there was too much at stake. But she didn't have a choice.
"Omni!" she shouted. "Didya get that, perchance? Think there's anything you can do?" The captain had, in fact, very little idea who exactly was attacking them in this mess, but she assumed that mages would be better at these things.
Thankfully, Kat showed up at that point. Bloody Mary was clinging to her shoulder, scanning the surroundings in his usual manner. "You called?"
"Yeah." Hunty lowered the crossbow and looked at her. "I need a catalyst."
She thought back on last night, the demonification of the Weewoo and the effect Leraye's gem had given. She knew that the ship itself hadn't changed. It had gotten a casing, with dramatic spikes and a pool of mist, but the gem hadn't changed the actual ship. The brigantine had taken the gem's power and made use of it at its own will. That's why it had exercised its own judgment on strangers, and supported its crew. What it only really had needed was an opportunity to do so.
"What I need you to do," she said slowly, trying to word her thoughts as coherently as possible, "is to connect with the ship. You're the first mate, she knows you. All she really needs is energy, you know, something to use as leverage in order to manipulate the material the gem gave her back there because she's inanimate and doesn't have any energy of her own. Try to somehow... open up your magical energy for her to use. Catch what I'm saying? She'll take care of the rest."
Bloody Mary, who didn't like being near magical events - it made his nose itch - leaped back to Hunty's shoulder. "Unless the gem also gave the Weewoo it's sentience and it disappeared with the mist."
"Why should it, if the casing is still here? Worth a try either way."
***
Rane was getting nervous. Well, he'd been nervous for a while now, because he really didn't want to be there, and he'd never liked battles, and the only reason why he hadn't thrown up or filled his pants yet was that he hadn't eaten in a while, but the battle was closing in around the Mast and while it was huge and even armored to an extent at sea level, it was still just a wooden ship.
"Current situation?" he asked, leaning forward to look down.
"Leak in the starboard side, not too bad," said one of his officers. "And it's not looking good for the Valhalla. They're having a one-on-one with a knight vessel and we're losing on defence that way."
Rane bit his lip. The Valhalla was one of the pirates' bigger and more heavily armed ships that could easily protect itself as well as any other ship's blind spots at the same time, and the pirate lord had often used it as backup, but when it was kept busy, their performance was weakening. He trotted across the bridge to the other board to look at the battle.
He had good timing.
"Blarp!"
The blarf had decided that the mercenaries' nutshell was a bad food-source since it was nearly impossible to get on it without making it tip over, and that way getting food was hard since they'd fall in the water and freeze too fast. But the knights liked to use good strong vessels with big, roomy decks for any possible ceremonial purposes, and it carried a blarf pretty well.
"I'll be..." Rane muttered in amazement, watching as the blarf filled his empty stomach with food that literally ran into his mouth. Granted, he didn't like knights, since they used sharp weapons which the blarf was vulnerable to, but whenever the kraken had a choice between two ships, he picked the one that didn't have a black flag in the pole.
"Blu-buuurf." The ship began to sink as the foremast fell over with a splash.
PFA
((White Weewoo))
"It's alright; stay calm," PFA assured Bluisa, just as Uncle came running up.
"PFA, I know this is crazy, but you'll have to think of ways to send these cannonballs back towards every ship in sight," Uncle exclaimed.
"Uhh..." PFA blinked. Did she even have anything that could do that? "I could try putting a barrier around the ship, but I don't know how long I could keep that up... or if I could even make a barrier that big..." she chuckled sheepishly. "Or... do you think Father's shuriken can deflect them?"
---
((Golden Gallion))
"Don't worry, I won't," Jernath said in response to Cyborg's order to not hit Gryff. I don't know if these arrows will even let me hit Gryff... he added silently to himself.
The next arrow flew, striking the next target in the arm. That should stop him from firing the cannons.
"Jernath, fire two arrows at the pirates; one at Hunty, one at Kat," Cyborg called out, just as some glowing cannonballs started heading their way.
"Wait, what?" Well, there went Jernath's 'alliance' with the pirates. Oh well, it was probably too late for that to work, anyway.
So he turned toward the Weewoo, doing just as Cyborg had commanded. One arrow went flying toward Hunty, while the other went toward Kat. Though Jernath wouldn't have been surprised if the latter found a way to send the arrows off-course. This was Ielle's magic, after all, and Kat seemed to be used to deflecting Ielle's magic.
Omni
((Weewoo))
Omni had moved more of her focus to absorbing the strange energy. She had a little trouble removing the last little bits in areas where she had removed all but a little, which led her to move to other areas where it was still strong, but she found that, with some effort, it could come off… or out, or whatever.
"Omni!"
If there was anything that caught Omni's attention, it was being called by name.
"Didya get that, perchance? Think there's anything you can do?"
Get what? She started searching her mind backwards for general things she may have heard, and sorting through what phonetics she could. "Marking targets?" She paused, thinking. "I can certainly try!"
At that, she crouched, spreading her wings, and made her third leaping take-off since she last slept. She flew out of the iceberg, climbing as steeply as she could, turning to get a good view. Figuring a glowing light would make a good marker, she took some of Salah's light energy, and mixed it with some of the strange energy… maybe it would make the light 'stick'. Even if it didn't, she could always use water orbs.
She kept an eye out for ships that were shooting at the Weewoo, marking those at the highest point she could see of each ship. After that, she watched which ships were fighting and used 'enemy of my enemy' logic to determine which ones to mark. One by one, she continued marking ships. The Gemarians probably wouldn't know what they were for, but if she heard correctly, then those who needed the markers would.
Amneiger
Amneiger could scarcely believe what he was seeing. The Pirates were the closest things the Mercenaries had to friends at the moment (due to their being shot at by the same people), and they still insisted on attacking them.
From what Amneiger had heard this wasn't all of the Mercenaries, and he couldn't imagine the other ones not considering these idiots liabilities. The Pirates would make much better allies; they seemed sensible, had better leadership, and alienated less people. Fine. Ditch the Mercs.
"Ethan, shoot down those arrows the archer just fired. Then get redy to drop the Cyborg kougra; he's been stirring up too much trouble. If you can come up with a nonlethal method within the next few seconds you can use it, but otherwise just shoot him." Amneiger went back to his prone position at the hatch and pulled out a grenade.
Vyt
"It's too risky to use Vyt's shuriken here," Cat Assassin simply told PFA. "It might be able to deflect some cannonballs away, but it's certain that it'll cause some major friendly fire. We wouldn't want that, right?" he grimly joked.
There must be something new to PFA's powers that was anything offensive, the cat thought.. Right now, all he had seen from her were healing and barrier abilities. Sure, they were fancy enough to hold out most attacks, but seeing that the White Weewoo was also on its offensive, he could not put out any good reason to use one of them.
"PFA, there must be a new ability you inherited that you haven't discovered yet," Cat Assassin noted her. "We're getting more and more prone to sinkage by the second!"
Omni
((NIA))
"Ethan, shoot down those arrows the archer just fired. Then get redy to drop the Cyborg kougra; he's been stirring up too much trouble. If you can come up with a nonlethal method within the next few seconds you can use it, but otherwise just shoot him."
There really must have been something messed-up about the space-time continuum, as Ethan would never have expected someone to be able to use even four words between the time the arrow was fired and the time it landed otherwise. He still had the tranquilizer gun in hand, so he used that, aiming to hit either the head or the tail end, the Captain's first.
P-fwip! P-fwip!
After firing at the arrows, Ethan turned to the cyborg kougra, aiming for the leg that wasn't metallic.
Knowing Zari, those darts were probably pretty potent. ((Say that five times fast.))
Doody
By the time Huntress looked back at Doody, he had already began roaming the corridors of the ship. He was particularly interested in finding a canteen or whatnot, as he was particularly hungry. This mission, failed, however, as he soon found himself in the Captain's Quarters.
"Rather strange for my tastes... guess it'll have to."
With that, he began decorating the room and left off to thank Huntress for her generosity.
(((OOC: Yes, it isn't actually his room, he just thinks it is)))
Cyborg
Cyborg had been busy "directing traffic" and hadn't seen the tranquilizer dart heading towards, him and hit him in the neck. With that he fell to the ground with a thud.
Midknight saw this and ran to his brother and took out the dart, though his brother was unconcious. " No they got him, he's only unconcious, but still."
Midknight and Shado aimed shadow energy attacks at the Fleet.
Amneiger
Amneiger pulled back into the shuttle to avoid the shadow rays. "Good. I'm going to throw a grenade. If they dodge it, take advantage of their being distracted to dart them." Amneiger set the grenade for 5 seconds, armed it, and threw it towards a spot on the Mercenaries's ship next to Midknight. That would probably keep them busy for a bit longer, so he leaned back and began looking through Zari's weapons locker for some kind of machine gun.
Cyborg
" Watch out!" Esme yelled as she telepathically sent the grenade back at the Fleet.
" Thanks for the save." Midknight said as he and Shado continued attacking the Fleet.
Omni
((NIA))
Ethan did a quickdraw with the phaser and made sure the grenade went off prematurely, then held it in one hand and the dart pistol in the other. "I think we need a driver. I could make another distraction, though."
Not even waiting for a response, figuring they'd need it asap, Ethan did as he had been earlier and shot at an exposed crate to start a small fire.
How'd they even spot us, anyway?
Kat
"A little help here?!" whined Asthielle. All her efforts to break free from the magical rope were futile. "It'll probably wear off after a bit, but I'd really rather not wait that long!"
But her arrows did much better. The magic of the two arrows cut through the darts and shattered them. Unfortunately, it used up quite a bit of power, and the yellow glow began to fade.
* * *
Several gem-mages began pooling their power together to create a dark amethyst shield around their ship, which would deflect anything deflected back at them, and keep the shadow clone of the wyrm at bay. Either way, their clash with the Gallion wasn't going anywhere.
"We're not going anywhere!" cried Damson. Several ninja and mages wanted to state that he was stating the obvious, but thought better of it and chose to clam up. "We should - AGH!"
He paused to step aside and blast Gryff with a blazing jet of magic that perfectly matched their shield. This was definitely not his day.
"Master, look! Look!" His faithful apprentice pointed to the kraken. "Evasive action, sir?"
"Tactical retreat. But not too far; we still need to keep firing. Just far enough, and when it even dares to take a bite out of us, focus on the kraken first; the shield will keep cannonballs away for a while." Damson reached into his overlarge sleeve and drew a long, wooden staff, which was gnarled at the top.
Within the twist of wood was a glowing purple shard.
* * *
"I understand," said Kat. She heard something being fired, and turned around in time to see two arrows headed for her and Huntress after breaking through the darts. A single powerful word burned both and turned them into useless ashes. "But you will need someone to cover me, and when my shield begins to flicker, please send someone to fix it. When I begin channeling my magic, I can't be disturbed. Seriously."
She closed her eyes and swayed once, twice, but didn't fall to the deck. In fact, her body began emanating a soft purple light that grew stronger and stronger until she was literally a glowing beacon that dramatically illuminated the situation on the ship. Flares began pulling away from her, absorbed by the ship as she assumed her role as the catalyst. A sparkling shield formed around her, just enough to protect her.
Kat opened her eyes and sat down, cross-legged, on the floor of the deck. Her shield sank around her, reshaping itself to create a protective dome.
Her eyes were no longer their usual brown shade, but glowed a fervent amethyst as she held her staff tight. More magic slipped away from her, and every last bit was imbibed by the Weewoo, which did recognize her as the first mate - and a valuable source of power.
Smithy
((*grumbles* This is my reward for staying away for three pages.))
The air around Smithy fairly crackled magic. The smile didn't falter one instant when she saw that the wyrm was barely hurt. Instead, she began crooning to it. "Wyrm, why do you attack me? I am of your kind, remember? Why be angry with darkness, with cold, so similar to your own?"
But at that moment, binding amethyst light wound itself around the mage. With a scream, she struggled to free herself.
Archimedes looked fearfully at his owner, and flew up, forgetting his smugness for a moment, and nibbled Smithy's ear.
The purple light in her eyes flickered; and then faded away completely. With a last, defiant snap, the dark flames were extinguished. Looking faintly surpised at the familiar act of the Whoot, Smithy fell into the water with a splash. Gasping, she rose to the surface, for once completely soaked. Qamr, looking over the railings, nickered in relief.
Slowly, she floated out of the water, and dried herself using wind. Then she returned to the ship, still bound, swayed slightly, and then stood firm, just in time to watch Kat begin channeling magic.
Smithy watched wide eyed. Channeling wasn't something she could do herself, and was extremely high level magic. She spoke to Huntress, careful not to come too near with the magical cords. "I remembered something after I got dunked in the water. Wasn't there some kind of alliance you mentioned, between the pirates and mages? I bet that there are a lot of alliances that you could mention, if possible, to your advantage right now."
Amneiger
Amneiger heard the grenade detonating much closer than it should have and realized that the Mercenaries had some way of stopping slow-moving projectiles. Well, then it was just going to be that much more important to locate something with fast projectiles and a high rate of fire. Autopistol, submachine gun ... nothing else. Submachine gun, then.
Amneiger loaded a magazine, placed two boxes of ammunition against the wall next to him and reached for the radio. "Zari? Fraze? Respond, please." He waited for a shadow ray to fly past and began firing at the Mercenaries. It would be good if he got some hits in, but what he was depending on was their trying to seek cover. If they didn't stop their attacks and focus on defense, the gun's high rate of fire would mean that they would inevitably be hit.
PFA
((>_> PFA post comes sometime later. For now, I have to deal with the mercs being shot at...))
((Golden Gallion))
Of all the things Jernath was expecting to happen to the arrows, he didn't expect shots to come down from the sky and hit them. They remained airborne, though, up until Kat blasted them with fire.
Then Cyborg fell over, unconscious. And Asthielle was busy trying to escape from the magic ropes. And there were grenades falling from the sky. And crates catching fire.
Well, this was going well.
"I can try to cut you free, but since those ropes are magic, I can't guarantee anything," Jernath said to Ielle, pulling out a dagger. He knew his daggers could cut regular ropes, but he wasn't sure if they could cut magic ones. He figured it was probably worth trying, though.
But before he could do anything, there were more shots coming from the sky. This time, very fast and continuous shots. Oh, this was really going well.
"Cover! We need cover!" Jernath exclaimed. It would probably be safe (or slightly safer, at least) below deck, but what about Ielle? Could she run when she was tied up like that? Would he be able to cut her free without getting shot? Would he be able to cut her free at all?
Crud. Crudcrudcrudsupercrud.
Making a split-second decision, Jernath ran over to Ielle and attempted to cut the magic rope with his dagger. He hoped it would work, but he wasn't expecting it to. He was also expecting that he was going to get shot very soon...
Fraze
Though a series of circumstances that shall be explained retroactively and do not violate causality, Fraze came aboard Zari's ship. Removing his Universal Box from his pocket, he opened it. "I've got plenty of smaller ship-mounted ammo for you to use against the ships in this gem army. Feel free to take your pick."
((Sorry about this post, but I'm going to be out of town for several days and I'm in a hurry to leave.))
Huntress
"But you will need someone to cover me, and when my shield begins to flicker, please send someone to fix it. When I begin channeling my magic, I can't be disturbed. Seriously."
"Who do you think I am?" Hunty patted her still-loaded crossbow with a vague grin. "I'll cover you myself."
Admittedly, she was worried. The mages had always been their best defence and in such a crossfire, her bolts wouldn't be able to do much, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?
"I remembered something after I got dunked in the water." The captain turned around to look at Smithy. For a split second, her eyes narrowed and the tip of the crossbow twitched, but the mage seemed to be back to normal.
"Wasn't there some kind of alliance you mentioned, between the pirates and mages? I bet that there are a lot of alliances that you could mention, if possible, to your advantage right now."
"The pirate-mage alliance can't really be helped," she said, "'cos some of my highest officers are also some of the strongest mages in the guild. Other than that, there's usually nothing. Allying is knight tactics, we prefer not to do that."
"She hates knights," Bloody Mary explained in his usual cheery manner, curling up on Hunty's shoulder. "Though if you dun mind me saying, those tactics can be pretty useful."
Had the White Weewoo been capable of reasoned thinking, it would've agreed. It had been a pirate ship for years, and a battleship before that. For a short time magic had given it the chance of actually doing something in a battle, getting involved... then it was taken away again. Ships don't sulk or feel disappointment, but at the very least this fact had caused what might be called a negative reaction from the brigantine. And with the loss of the mist, the ship had actually lost quite a bit of its capabilities due to its new wide rigging that threw it off balance. Without the mist, the rigging was of no use. Without the rigging but with the mist, the ship would still be able to operate. It hadn't been hard to realize.
And all of a sudden, there was energy. Warm, familiar energy. There'd been energy all over the place the entire time, but from a ship's point of view it was passive energy. This was active energy, part of the ship, something it'd missed until then.
The reaction was nearly instant.
The material around the Weewoo was, in the broadest of senses, the same material. It was hard and smooth in the hull, and soft and thick in the sails, but the difference was the difference between charcoal and diamond. Different qualities, same basics.
The ship didn't even need much. Just a leverage. Just a little energy placed in the right spot, just enough to push matter from one state to another.
The visual result looked like a slow and controlled explosion. At one moment, the Weewoo was standing there in its overdramatically demonic and spiky glory; at the second the black spikes broke into millions of little pieces with, oddly enough, exactly the kind of sound one usually hears in animes whenever something dissolves into millions of little pieces.
Hunty bit her lip, looking up. There she was again, the old White Weewoo, with her sooty deck, scorched masts, and the occasional black rope dangling from the yards. All sails and most of the lines had burned. Some of the yards, those that'd been blown off and replaced during the last few days, were missing again. After the dramatic demon-mode, it looked so incredibly sad and pathetic...
...except it's very hard to sulk when your own ship is currently making clear that it's very happy to see you.
The mist was back. It was seething and twirling around Hunty's feet, reminding of an overly cheerful puppy; it was piling on Kat so that the mage was barely visible, it was bubbling around everyone else's feet, pirates and non-pirates alike, with no parabolic motions in sight. It turned out to be more of an initial reaction, though - in a few moments the mist settled down again.
"You think it was an improvement?" Bloody Mary asked, looking up at the now scorched masts as well. They appeared greyish through the fog.
Hunty shrugged with a grin. "You win some, you lose some."
Doody
Doody walked up behind Huntress.
"Hey, thanks for the room! It looked like some girl was just living there, so I threw her stuff into the corridor. Well, all of it I could lift, that is."
Zari
Zari got bored, to put it simply. She'd started catnapping behind a conviniently placed coil of rope when she recieved Amnei's message. "I'm right on it. It's cramped down here anyway, and cold too. See you in approximately thirty-two seconds." She unfolded her wings, ran at the railing and jumped over it, downstroking hard. It was good to be back in the sky, even if was for less that a minute. She flew towards Nau Ilhvren Ayine, staff back in hand. as soon as the ship was within sight, she shut her eyes and concentrated on an image of the inside. Amber light obscured her for an instant, and than Zari crashed into the floor of the shuttle.
"Well then, guys, rockets? I can get Aikran to fire those at...the mercenaries, since you asked nicely, and because that Kougra has the manners of Illakue's government, and let me tell you, those guys had severe attitude problems. Aikran, can you fire a rocket at that ship, honey? Thanks."
The shuttle lurched around and fired two rockets at the mercenary ship. The whistle they emitted made Zari and the clones (with their sensitive cat hearing) attempt to cover their ears, with varied success.
Rider
It was good to feel the Mist on her face again. It was protection. "Hey girl. You're amazing." Rider wondered if the Weewoo could understand her. Spend enough time with non-rabid Meepits and you'll start to understand that just because something can't speak back, that doesn't mean it doesn't understand you.
Rider opened a portal to the Meepit Realms at her feet and almost immediately, ammo came rolling out of it. "Thanks, guys," Rider said as she started loading the cannon. "Now, let's give the mercs a taste of lead that they won't forget."
Rider aimed the cannon at the merc ship while the Sandy of the Magus Sisters lit the fuse. Cindy and Mindy provided support fire.
The shooting didn't show any signs of stopping. The mist was thier protection now, but even it was not invulnerable and the ship had taken her share of damage before the mist had returned.
All she wanted was to survive. It doesn't matter how wars start, sooner or later everyone fights just to survive. That, or for some bull-crud revenge.
Rider heard screams as one of the gem knight ships started to take more water than she could rightly hold. Knights were rushing to get to lifeboats. Some panicked and started to climb the rigging. They would need to be rescued in about three minutes. A flying mage ship started shooting blue-flame bullets at the lifeboats. It was sickening to watch, so Rider focused on shooting the mercs.
Towards the back of the battle, a pirate ship and a merc ship had the good sense to turn tail and flee. And they were shot at by thier own.
But Rider just kept shooting at the mercs, 'cause this was what war was all about. This is what being an ancient hero is.
Being the stuff of epic poetry just meant that you never rose the white flag.
One of the lifeboats was completely ablaze. Rider couldn't hear the pleas for help over the constant roar of the cannons.
---------
Being a modern hero was a lot more tricky, Shiva decided. It required brains. It required empathy. It required a lot of things that he didn't have.
All he had was a lot of willpower and a strong desire to get out of this hellhole so he could see Sora again.
"So, you could theoretically get to any ship through the Meepit Realms."
Ventratta was very wary of where this was going. He let Shiva know through a Look.
"Hey, hey, I know demons get a bad wrap, but I'm not one of them. That's not called being a demon, that's called godmode."
Ventratta narrowed his naturally-wide eyes. The effect was disconcerting.
"Look, 'tratta, if this hunk of wood goes to the bottom, you have a place to retreat to, but I don't and you know sure as your pink tail that Rider doesn't. No Rider means no Meepit Army. Yeah, you remember the pact now?"
Ventratta paused. Shiva was right.
"I know it'll be hard for you to accept a demon into your haven, your sacred space between worlds. But you and I have been taking care of that silly pirate for so long now that I thought we were kin. We both have our own selfish reasons for doing it. We both have our unselfish reasons as well. And understand that this is born of unselfish reasons. Now, I want you to send little Mittens and the younger Meepits off to look for those rabid anarchists. They could do their version of the plan in some of these other ships. You, Nalia, Sephi, and the warriors will escort me into the hull of the merc ship."
Ventratta sighed.
"I know, I know it's dangerous. but there aren't a lot of them left, and their most powerful is restrained. Our biggest worry should be friendly fire. Now, let's go."
---------------
The merc ship was in bad condition. Any more of this, and she'd sink like a rock.
Through smashed rooms and around burning wood, Shiva led the Meepits to the deck. The merc flag was flapping in the wind, as proud as could be.
"We have the element of surprise. Do you have the flag?"
Offsephious held up a piece of white cloth with holes running down one side.
"Ventratta, you're sure of your sailor's knots?"
Ventratta nodded. He was a Meepit of many talents, and being a shiprat for so many months had paid off.
"Good. Now, don't forget the most important part of the plan - don't get shot."
"Hey Midknight, heads up!"
The demon-horse kicked a piece of debris in the Kougra's direction while the Meepits lowered the Merc flag. Time to end the madness, once and for all.
Amneiger
"Zari? There you are." Now that everybody was safe inside the shuttle and the hatch was no longer facing the Mercenary ship, Amneiger closed the hatch; he'd open it again once they started attacking the gem army. "Be careful with those rockets; the Mercenaries stopped one of my grenades, so they may be able to stop rockets. Once you're done - hey, wait, what's - Zari, hold your fire! Some of the Pirates just got onto that ship! ... What are they doing?"
Zari
"Eeeeeep!" Zari noted the pirates and flung out a hand. The rockets stopped in mid air and dropped into the sea. Flapping her hand (which was burning from the sudden magic use) to cool it off, she turned towards Amneiger. "A bit of a waste, but they're waterproof- I can retrieve them later...If the pirates on there might get hurt, who do we attack? Since I'm gonna need to use my magic soon, since I don't want a leakage..." Zari drummed her fingers on her desk, frowning.
((Illhvrenan magic (tied into their blood) is constantly replenishing itself- The younger the Illhvrenan, the faster the magic restores (even if no restoration is needed), and the more likely a "leakage" is to occur. Leakages are raw magic that escapes the owners hold and floats off, often to (in Zari's case) cause fires, make peoples thoughts public, and mess with emotions in the general area.))
PFA
((White Weewoo))
"PFA, there must be a new ability you inherited that you haven't discovered yet. We're getting more and more prone to sinkage by the second!"
"Umm..." was PFA's reply. She stood up, watched as cannonballs flew through the air, and pondered. If she had an ability that could deflect those cannonballs, what would it be? And how would she find out what it was?
She started making weird, random gestures, vaguely aimed in the direction of some stray cannonballs. Maybe she'd be able to discover something that way, just as she had with her barrier. Unfortunately, there was no amazing deflection happenings, and she doubted there would be any anytime soon. (Though she DID notice that some of the magic-tinted cannonballs got mildly dimmer when she waved her arm in their direction... she made a mental note to work on that one later)
Drat! If only there were some way to teleport them off into the ocean or something... PFA thought with a grimace.
...Then, suddenly, an idea came to her.
"It's not exactly new, but maybe I can try modifying the spell I use to summon Father's shuriken a little?" PFA offered. "Like... instead of summoning the shuriken, I summon the cannonballs and then drop them in the ocean? I don't know if I'd be able to do it very well, but it's probably worth..."
Her voice trailed off when suddenly the whole ship started changing. The demonic look was lost, in exchange for that ever-familiar defense that liked to give people flying lessons.
The mist.
PFA couldn't help but smile a little, especially considering that she wasn't being kicked off the ship. "Well, the mist should be able to block the cannonballs, though I don't know for how long..." She looked over at a barrel, concentrating on it. She figured she should start practicing on summoning things other than the shuriken, just in case, and the barrel would be a good thing to practice on.
---
((Golden Gallion))
"What the heck?!" The yelp was directed at Shiva and the meepits, who had somehow made their way onto the Gallion. What were they doing there? And what were they doing to the flag? ((Actually, I wasn't aware that the mercs even HAD a flag, but it sounds cool, so hey. >_>))
Jernath's mind started racing about how they were going to deal with the horse and meepits, but then it suddenly occurred to him that the shots aimed in their general direction had lessened, thanks to the presence of the pirates' animal companions, or whatever you'd call them. Since the intruders were with the pirates, anyone allied with the pirates were ceasing fire.
Jernath figured this was a good thing, or at least for the time being. He went back to seeing if he could cut the magical ropes binding Ielle. He would decide what to do with the intruders once he was done.
Huntress
"Hey, thanks for the room! It looked like some girl was just living there, so I threw her stuff into the corridor. Well, all of it I could lift, that is."
Hunty didn't even move. Bloody Mary turned around on her shoulder, gave Doody a compassionate look and then dragged his paw across his throat.
"Bloody Mary?"
"Yes, cap?" The meepit shot a quick glance at the ship of the mercenaries, where things seemed to be getting interesting.
"Remind me again where we are?" Hunty asked. There was something metallic in her voice.
"On a pirate ship in the middle of a battle," Bloody Mary said, ears twitching. He was being reduced to the good cop again. Or at least to the slightly less bad cop. He didn't usually mind, though, as that gave him a chance to act as buffering.
"So what's wrong with this situation here?" Hunty's voice was still calm and somewhat metallic.
"I'll take care of it," the meepit said grimly. To someone whose basic duty is to take care of things, those are magic words, so Hunty brushed the entire situation aside right that minute while Bloody Mary rocketed through the air and landed on Doody's shoulder.
"Ahoy," he said conversationally. "Aaand now we're gonna turn around on spot and walk right back to the room in question and put everything back to where it was and I really, really hope that this room didn't belong to any of the officers, moving a little faster now, hup-hup-hup, before she... bugger."
Hunty had raised the crossbow and, still without turning around, had sent a bolt backwards into the deck in front of Doody's feet. Then she trotted off to the prow to get a better overview on cannonfire.
"She always leaves explaining the rules on board to me," the meepit grumbled, sitting down. "Look, kid, we're pirates, not a hotel. Unless you actually become a pirate, they wouldn't even give you a bundle of ropes to sleep on in the hold. Even so, if I was to join a potentially hostile party in a battle, I'd try to establish my position by actively allying with them first... not invade a random room and unpack. Just, y'know, saying."
"Worse than that," said a voice from deck level. It was Justice. "You're not gonna like this."
Bloody Mary listened. Then he blinked. Then he put two and two together, and looked at Doody.
"You're dead meat," he said matter-of-factly. "Move it then, you're making me miss the show."
The show did, indeed, look like it wouldn't last much longer. It was hard to tell who was winning in the ancient army, since everyone was shooting everyone, but Rane's ship was already careening slightly. Admittedly, it wasn't easy to sink. Rane had once spent very tedious and nerve-wrecking hours explaining to the woodsmiths of his ship why exactly he wanted several waterproof walls and doors all throughout the schooner.
fzp fzp fzp. Hunty's crossbow was singing its song of death, or at least short verses of burning pain, as she trotted across the deck and squatted down next to Rider. All sorts of projectiles slowed down in the air around them as the mist sizzled furiously. Turning tables.
"Rider." She had to raise her voice to be heard over the roar of the cannons that constantly echoed back in the hollow cavern. "Rider! What's the plan?"
Vyt
Cat Assassin watched as PFA tried to lift a random barrel using her summoning magic. Even he did not know PFA possessed something other than conveniently calling Vyt's shuriken to her aid, but there she was making good use of it.
"I'll go deflect some myself," the cat told his niece. "... And get some revenge from Jernath."
Seeing another cannonball hover right over him, Cat Assassin took note of what ship was firing it. Supposedly, it wouldn't be able to make drastic changes to its projectile trajectory once it fires another cannonball, and he was going to make a good use of that vital information.
Another cannonball was launched, and Cat Assassin added more energy to his feet to jump high and find himself on its trajectory path. Using how much energy was already built up in his hands, the cat swung himself in mid-air with his arms extended, hoping the extra force would be enough to do the trick.
"DING!"
It did. The thunderous echo of metal iron being hit surrounded Cat Assassin, as the cannonball's path changed its course. It was now heading towards the ship's mercenaries, specifically towards Jernath.
Rikku
“Er.”
Rikku looked around. This ship was busy, that was easy to tell. Probably the whole being in the middle of what seemed to be rapidly heading from ‘skirmish’ into ‘full-fledged war, complete with giant worms – sorry, giant wyrms, lots of sharp pointy things, and pink cannon balls’. She was worried, and she wasn’t sure what she could do, or even what she should do. Fight enemies or defend the ship? Risk her life or try to take the lives of other people? It was a complicated moral decision, requiring much thought.
“Eenie meenie minie moe … Augh! Squid! What is this stuff, sentient mist?”
It did seem to be. It curled around the ankles of most of the people on board. Rikku was lucky enough to have it curl around her head. She sneezed, feeling thankful as the mist detracted a little.
“I hate being small,” she said miserably, tail drooping. At that point a small string quartet started playing a mournful tune.
It is an often observed fact that dramatic moments are accompanied by suitably dramatic accompaniment, in the form of a flash of lightning, a wildly careening drum, or, in one memorable incident, the murder and prompt resurrection of everyone named ‘Bob’ and the entire population of a small town called Smalltownsville in Townshire, Meridell. (Rikku often insisted, with a guilty look, that she had nothing to do with this incident, really, and would you like a cup of this suspiciously coloured wine?) This is not due to the fact that the Universe has a sense of humor. It is due to the fact that the Universe knows a moneymaking machine when it sees one. Small, fast-response teams of assorted accompaniments are situated all over the worlds, ready to leap into action, bows or drumsticks in hand, at the appropriate moment, for only a nominal fee that probably won’t cripple the bank accounts of anyone involved.
This quartet, however, only played for a few seconds before a large stuffed vulture dropped from the sky for absolutely no reason and knocked them off the ship, the NTWF promptly deciding that such things had no place here. Such is life.
Rikku didn’t notice, and set to scheming as a small, desolate lump of rosin rolled past.
“Alright then,” she muttered, backing up a little. Her hindquarters bumped into something, and she turned around.
“A great big lump of wood. Why in Neopia do they have that right in everyone’s way? Oh. Right. Mast.” She flicked her tail and stared up. It was very tall.
A light bulb burned.
A few moments later, Rikku was standing on a jutting out piece of wood that she had no idea of the technical name for, and staring out, without a dramatic flash of lightning or sudden down pouring of rain, over the ships clustered in the ice cube. She could see everything from here, and, if she did eventually decide to head to one of the other ships for the purpose of destruction, she would have an easy glide instead of an exhausting flapping torture.
“Easy as algebra,” she said happily, and settled down to watch.
Kat
"Take care of things while I'm gone," Damson growled at his apprentice, who saluted as his master turned around and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. But when their leader was gone, the apprentice gazed hopefully at a ninja who was busy twirling a shuriken idly.
"Umm...can you help me take care of things?"
Meanwhile, Damson reappeared in a bigger cloud of sparkling smoke in front of Rane's nose.
"All right, I've got a shipful of mages, myself included. I'm willing to work with you," he said, which was Damson-speak for "I'm sinking. That's the only reason why I'm asking you for help." The mage rapped the deck with his staff for emphasis.
* * *
The ropes binding Asthielle were beginning to lose their magic, which made it much easier for Jernath to cut them.
"What's going on?" she whispered.
* * *
And after all this time, Kat remained seated on the deck, backed up by her shield and Huntress, continuing to channel her energy. The mist seemed to add extra protection as it swirled around her, keeping her out of sight.
But eventually, her magic would run out.
PFA
((Golden Gallion))
The ropes, as Jernath predicted, weren't cutting easily. Up until the point where they finally started fading, and suddenly became much easier to cut. Jernath smiled, and began cutting through the ropes, careful not to cut Ielle in the process.
"I'm not sure," he whispered in response to her question. "Those meepits are doing something with the flag for some reason, but at least we're not being attacked..."
Almost as soon as he had said that, there was a loud sound, kind of like... a cannonball being deflected. Jernath soon realized that it WAS a cannonball being deflected. What was once hurtling toward the Weewoo was now hurtling toward the mercs.
"Oh crud. MOVE!" Jernath shouted, grabbing Ielle (who was still mostly wrapped up in ropes at that point) and scrambling out of the way of the cannonball. But what about Cyborg, who was unconscious? (And maybe Midknight, who may have possibly been knocked out by Shiva's surprise attack but Cyborg hasn't posted yet so I don't know?) He just hoped Rose and/or Esme was strong enough to carry a Kougra...
Rider
((All ships have a flag, PFA. it's how we know you're the bad guys.))
"Rider! What's the plan?"
"If I had the foggiest idea, do you think my horse would be on that ship?" Rider asked. "That isn't all my meepits, though. Even from all the way back here, I can tell that."
Mittens approached Rider and explained the situation to her with the excitement of a child on Christmas. He seemed to have no inkling of the concept that his uncle was fighting ruthless mercenaries dozens of times his size.
"What could they possibly hope to accomplish?"
Mittens's answer was just a happy, high-pitched squeal.
Rider swore and thought faster than she ever thoguht before.
"Hunty, they're going to switch out the merc flag for a white flag. They're a bunch of morons. I need to lower a raft. I'm going after them. Yegads, I need to sprout wings and fly."
She paused. "The plan is this: We get closer to the mercs and board. The ship can take care of herself and look at them, they're not going to stop until they're dead, or we're dead, or everyone is dead. The Gem Army is trying to get a thousand years of shooting crud out of their systems. That water would turn us all into freeze-pops. The sooner this ends, the fewer lives have to be wasted.
"There's no guarantee they'll stop shooting at the sign of a white flag, but it's our best bet. If that doesn't work, well, better a clean death in Davy Jones' Locker than an eternity stuck in a rock."
----------------
Shiva began his non-lethal assault of the merc ship by kicking Midknight. He was kind of aiming for the kidneys, but he wasn't gonna get picky. A ton of demon horse landing anywhere on you is gonna sting in the morning.
The Meepits swarmed to the flagpole and started lowering the rope.
Doody
Doody looked from the bolt which was inches from his toes, to Huntress, and then to the rather gruff-looking meepit on his left shoulder. "Would it help if I said I was never a big fan of Ninjas?"
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:27:15 GMT -5
Cyborg
" Hey Shiva, you missed." Midknight taunted as he rolled out of the way. Midknight then sent shadow tendrils at the meepits and Shiva, while Esme deflected the cannonball.
Esme and Rose ran at the meepits and attacked the rodents with their respective weapons. The squirrels joined and swarmed Shiva and the meepits, biting all enemies. Even Shado joined, but sent shadow balls at the horse.
Gryff flew off the ship, and when he reached the merc's ship, dive bombed the demon horse.
Amneiger
Amneiger looked at what the Mercenaries and Pirates were doing.
"Right. Zari, turn the shuttle around until the hatch is facing the Mercenaries again. Ethan, once we're turned around open the hatch and start firing at the Mercs." Amneiger put his submachine gun down; there was too much of a chance that he would hit one of the Pirates. It looked like there was only room for one of the minitanks here. "Unit 4, get over here by the hatch. When the hatch opens, fire at anything on that ship that isn't a black horse, a Meepit - " Amneiger glanced out the window " - or a girl with black hair and a red cape." He stood back to let the minitank get as close to the edge as it could.
Candy
Twizzlers jumped up, full of confusion, and looked at the merc ship. "EEK!"she screamed, noticing that she was in grave danger of something worse than fighting. Twizzlers couldnt tell ANYONE what happened, and now, it was back. She screamed silenly, than ran.
Rider
Trivia: Demons are resistant to shadow magic. The Meepits retreated a short distance and scurried behind Shiva as he dissolved the tendrils with a stomp of his hooves. The Meepits dodged Esme and Rose's attacks, as they are small, quick rodents.
Shado's shadow balls had little effect on the horse. They dissolved as soon as they touched his flank, leaving only slightly singed fur. Shiva ran to avoid Gryff's attack, but even with his demon-speed, his rump was still grazed.
Shiva got closer to the flag pole. "I'll provide cover from the mages. Hurry, please! I kinda forgot about the griffin."
The flag was 1/2 of the way down the pole.
Cyborg
Seeing his shadows uneffective, Midknight attacked Shiva with oth cutlasses, while Esme sent random debris flying at the meepits. She then ran at Shiva and stabbed at the horse, while Rose attacked with her staff. Shado and Gryff turned their attention to the meepits and manuevered around the horse and tried to claw, bite, peck, pick up.
Smithy
Smithy lurked around, being generally useless in total battle situations after coming out of a dark-trance, due to extreme caution not to let it happen again.
She watched Doody amusedly, and spoke. "Most everyone on this ship isn't very friendly to ninjas. You wouldn't really be allowed here if you were, except this is apparently a forgivable situation. Knowing Huntress, I think you're lucky not to be pinned to the deck by that bolt now. Best thing would be to get everything in that room back in order."
PFA
((Golden Gallion))
Turned out Esme had a much better method of getting out of the way of the cannonball, and that was making the cannonball get out of the way. Jernath sighed. They were rid of the cannonball threat for now, but he didn't expect it to be the last one.
"Ahem. Well, better safe than sorry, right?" he chuckled sheepishly, setting Ielle back down. He wondered if she would smack him for grabbing her like that. Erm. Awkwardness.
He then proceeded to cut the rest of the ropes off. When he figured they were cut enough for Ielle to wriggle her way free, he turned around, noticing the other mercs fighting the intruders. Figuring he should do something to help, he ran over and attempted to stab at Shiva.
Zari
"Right-oh, Professor Amneiger!" Zari rapped out an order to Aikran, who swung the shuttle around until the hatch was in the right direction. "Hatch facing mercenaries! Fire at will! she sang out cheerfully, leaning on her staff. At that moment her wristcompi went off. "Yes? Umbra? Oh yes, hey. We're interfereing in a war. Half the fighters are intent on doing nothing but shoot at one another, the rest are all shooting the mercenaries. Whopee. I'm not sure if we need backup, we're not injured or anything. I'll ask Amneiger. Hey, AMNEI! Progress report! Apparently they're concerned back at the station, although they're in no condition to send backup at the moment..."
Fraze
((Zari's ship)) Fraze hopped into his Universal Box, and began searching. The warehouse-sized room was quite well organized. Artillery, grenades, and such were in the rows directly in front and to the left of the entrance (situated at the right wall from where one enters), and took up roughly half of the space. The larger ship-mounted weapons were at the farther half of the room. Both stretched back in long rows, all the way to the back. Fraze ran past the rows and shelves of plasma rifles, grenades, flechette guns, and more exotic weapons, til he came to the nearest row of missiles and ship-mounted machine gun bullets. The smallest missiles were stumpy things the size of a person's upper leg, and wouldn't do a tremendous amount of damage. Perfect. Fraze lifted a rack of these--ten missiles--and jogged back with them. Had he not been wearing his skinsuit, he could barely have lifted two of them; but with short-term strength enhancement, he managed it. Not by much, though. He made it to the entrance of the Box and was able to hoist the rack out of the hatch and onto Zari's ship before his arms gave out. Stopping occasionally for breath, he said, "Should be able to load these onto this ship. Fire at whomever you wish. They don't...make...a very big boom, but should be enough. Also, one of the pirates...marked the ships attacking them. The pirates are the closest that we have to...allies, so I'd suggest providing cover fire. May I?"
Kat
"Ahem. Well, better safe than sorry, right?"
Asthielle couldn't complain. Jernath DID save her, after all, and was continuing to set her free. At last, when the ropes were loose enough for her to shake them off and completely devoid of magic, she stood up.
"Thanks. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I owe you one." Lightning bolts shot out of her fingers, headed for the Meepits, and with her other hand she bewitched Jernath's dagger. Now its blade glowed with energy, even more dangerous.
Payback time, in a good way.
Huntress
"Would it help if I said I was never a big fan of Ninjas?"
"No," Bloody Mary said flatly. "Because I've been having a long day and this is a war and I should in fact be keeping an eye on things back there. And I've been feeling like biting someone for the last two days now. You don't wanna be the one I end up biting. I have rabies."
Hunty had, in the meantime, other things to worry about. Like Rider's plan.
"The plan is this: We get closer to the mercs and board. The ship can take care of herself and look at them, they're not going to stop until they're dead, or we're dead, or everyone is dead. The Gem Army is trying to get a thousand years of shooting crud out of their systems. That water would turn us all into freeze-pops. The sooner this ends, the fewer lives have to be wasted."
"Well, I won't be having you swim off to them on some raft," she said grimly. "You'll freeze or get shot before you can cover six yards. We could have the mist throw you over, it's good at that," the mist sizzled at that, "but I agree that it's better to settle this face-to-face, if we're running out of ammo anyway. Where's my sword?"
It was back on the bridge, leaned against the compass pole and having lost its bright white shine in the meantime. The captain stretched her back, looking at it.
"Fine then. All hands!" She strode off over the deck. "Prepare for close combat! Kat, enough napping! Smithy, I need a word with you. And you, girl, get over there."
The Weewoo had been expecting that. From a ship's purely materialistic point of view, ranged battles meant holes in the hull and rigging, whereas a close battle didn't damage the ship and was over faster. Tendrils of mist reached out and smashed into the water, pushing the brigantine sideways, as other tendrils wrapped themselves around the merc ship's rigging and pulled.
Hunty flew to the bridge and grabbed the sword just as the boards of the two ships crashed into each other. The blade lit up at once. She swung it around to test it, or perhaps just to create one of those dramatic moments. Possibly both. The silvery trail glittered in the dimness.
"Ahkay," she said, jumping on the railing of the bridge. Her voice wasn't even loud, but the iceberg had pretty good acoustics. "Let's finish this."
***
At about that time Rane missed the dramatic bits because he got a puff of smoke in his eyes.
"All right, I've got a shipful of mages, myself included. I'm willing to work with you."
Rane, remembering his position, remained tactful and didn't cough. "Damson," he said hoarsely after having gone through his brain's mental rolodex. "Well, that's good to hear. Would you be able to bring all the other mage vessels into the alliance? Those things need to be talked out clearly to avoid stupid mistakes, lest we get friendly fire."
"Alliance?" word started to spread on the schooner, and soon also on other ships. As a result, the battle died down a little, with everyone being unsure who was allying with whom and what it would mean for them.
Amneiger
"We're currently in Zari's shuttle above an artic area. There's currently a battle going on between an army that came out of that gem we were supposed to be looking for (they came out when the Pirates' phoenix broke the gem) and now they're attacking the Pirates and a small group of Mercenaries. The Pirate ship seems to have some kind of intelligent mist around it that can defend the ship and repel attacks and intruders. The Mercenaries are mostly ignoring the gem army in favor of attacking the Pirates. I've decided that the Pirates would make much better allies than these particular Mercenaries (who are ignoring the fact that they can ally with the Pirates to repel the gem army) and am now trying to help the Pirates fight the Mercenaries."
With that done, Amneiger reached out and opened the hatch. "Unit 4, attack the blonde mage, the one throwing lightning bolts. Ethan, the other kougra and the archer are in melee combat with the black horse; take them out." Amneiger opened the laptop he had left on his seat.
>> 4: Acquiring target. Allies in close combat nearby, switching to bullets.
The minitank aimed at the middle of Asthielle's chest and fired a short burst.
Smithy
"Fine then. All hands!" She strode off over the deck. "Prepare for close combat! Kat, enough napping! Smithy, I need a word with you. And you, girl, get over there."
It wasn't like Smithy to be nervous. So when Qamr began impatiently pawing at the deck, and Archimedes scraping at his already-sharp claws and talons, the offending feeling was brushed aside, she finally broke the light cords, and she braced herself for the ship collision.
Quickly, she drew an air shield around herself, and held her wand, which was spluttering electricity already, and the mage let a a calm mix of anger rise up in her. Just a little necessary fuel for the battle.
Leaping over the railings, Smithy wondered why she had never learned sound magic. It would have been useful to have a little background battle music. Oh well. With one arm raised, Smithy began raining lightning at Cyborg from all sides.
Archimedes hovered next to her, ready to hoot at any close danger, and Qamr immediately ran to help Shiva. An extra ton or two of horseflesh is always helpful.
Rider
Shiva regretted not yoinking some armor from his knight-allied wifey when he had the chance. Swords hurt. She had shied back enough so the cuts wouldn't be too deep, but they still stung.
He closed his mind to the pain, as he had a thousand times in the Demon Realms.
The Meepits that weren't on the flagpole scurried away from Esme's flying debris. The ones on the flagpole had nowhere to run. Two fell off, stunned, and had to be dragged back to the Meepit Realms by thier brothers-in-arms. Mindy and Cindy of the Magus Sisters gave Shado and Gryff a face full of fire.
Rose was approaching him from behind. Bad thing to do to a horse. Shiva kicked the healer-merc with hooves as hard as diamonds.
Nalia was doing a number on Esme's ankles with her whip. A solid half-dozen cutting lashes. Then she grabbed a hole of Esme's pants and started climbing. Sephi followed suit, his goth-guitar slung over one shoulder.
Esme and Jernath were approaching Shiva while Midknight still blocked him on one side. Behind him, the ocean churned like a deceptive puddle of death and freeziness.
Well, somehow he hadn't expected his death to involve a cat. it was ironic, when your food played with you.
Like a bolt from the blue, something red flew in on a rope, PotC-style, and landed beside the demon-horse.
"Looks like we arrived just in time. Sandy, what does that make us?"
The Meepit squeaked out something that could have been, "Big d*** heroes, sir."
"Ain't we just?"
Sandy gave Jernath a face full of fire while Rider engaged Midknight in battle by swinging a cutlass at his shoulder. "I know you don't see it, idiot mercs, but your ship is sinking. Surrender or die."
Vyt
Ignoring some random talks against ninjas, Cat Assassin looked at the rather large gash on his left arm. Making harsh contact with something speeding at probably a hundred miles per hour could really leave a mark, even when the force countering it was added with some kind of extra power. Gladly, the feline was already used to feeling pain, and shrugged it off like a scar.
"All hands! Prepare for close combat!"
After hearing one side of the White Weewoo clash with another ship, Cat Assassin smirked a little. Close combat was his kind of thing. No one in NTWF could outsmart and outfight him in melee combat, even when his opponent is armed. Constant struggling to survive in a bitter world inside his clan headquarters already gave him more than enough experience.
The feline quickly jumped off and rushed towards Jernath, both his elbows cocked near his waist. That stance was his favorite, since he could move and attack freely without any stress whatsoever on any part of his body.
Kat
Kat instantly snapped out of it at the sound of Huntress's command. The shield surrounding her disappeared, her eyes were no longer purple, and she jumped to her feet. Staff in hand, she said, "All right, Cap'n, I'm still good for your orders. Offense? Defense? Infiltration? Anything but galley duty, you know how I burn the food."
* * *
"That I can do. Just watch me," said Damson proudly. But in the deepest recesses of his mind, he grumbled, I need a new nickname. SERIOUSLY.
But before he could disappear again, he paused and stared at Rane. "Wait a sec - since when did we have an alliance - I mean, before now? Traitors in our fold? Would you like us to call back that ice wyrm?"
* * *
Moving at the sound of something being fired, Asthielle created a shield in time to stop the bullets heading her way, and they ricocheted off to zoom back towards the one who had fired them. It was too close - if she had moved one second later, she would have been history.
But for now, there were bigger fish to fry - or in this case, cats.
She stepped between Cat Assassin and Jernath and sent a yellow fireball towards the former.
PFA
((White Weewoo))
PFA had been busy practicing her summoning magic on the barrel, when the pirate ship and the merc ship suddenly came side-to-side. Most of the pirates flooded to the merc ship, which looked like it was going to sink soon, and the weight of all the people on it probably wouldn't help. (Probably. PFA didn't know a lot about ships.)
The ninja considered going over and helping fight, but instead she decided to stay behind and keep Bluisa company. And continue practicing with the barrel, in case the cannonballs started breaking through the mist anytime soon.
---
((Golden Gallion))
Ielle had put some kind of spell on Jernath's dagger, though he wasn't sure what it did. He figured he'd probably find out. Probably soon.
He was about to see what it did on Shiva, but was interrupted by a meepit shooting fire in his face. He didn't get the chance to dodge, unfortunately for him, and now had some burns on his face. Angry, he stabbed his dagger at the meepit, hoping he could land a hit. Though he doubted it, with how small a target the meepit was.
They were outnumbered, and their temporary leader was unconscious. This wasn't looking good.
Omni
((NIA))
"Ethan, the other kougra and the archer are in melee combat with the black horse; take them out."
Ethan, still holding the tranq-dart pistol in one hand, held it out as he aimed. He figured the kougra was probably more of a threat, so he shot that one first. The archer he fired at immediately after.
----------
((Out and about))
Although she was better at flying than she was in the previous guilds' war, she still had only practiced so much, and tired after awhile. Deciding she needed a quick rest, she perched, almost precariously, on one of the higher points of one of the ships, one that she wasn't going to mark, taking deep breaths, having a sort of conversation in her head.
This is a rather brave thing you're doing.
Yeah, I'm glad for the Crystal. Even if I could hold a lot of energy without it, I don't think I would've without its shield.
It was almost as if there was a nod. Even so, it has its limits. Every blow it deflects uses a piece of its stored energy.
Yeah, it's been used a lot today. Hopefully it won't run out, especially if I'm careful, with the cannonballs and such…
There was a pause.
Does it seem quiet to you?
It was around then that Omni noticed there were nowhere near as many cannon blasts going off as before.
Yeah, I wonder why? She looked down to where the crew of the ship was, and thought, maybe if she got closer, she could hear why. I can't mark the ships very well without it, anyway.
Using her claws, she climbed down slowly, trying to stay hidden among the sails, but using some light magic to hide herself. Just in case.
Zari
Umbra's voice issued from the wristcompi. "It's good to see that you are all rain-right for now. Like Professor Ailden said-" Zari flinched. She hated the formal 'Professor Ailden' title- Umbra and The Commander were the only ones that used it as far as she knew- and pretty much everyone knew it. "-we aren't in a position to send backup currently. I know you can cope- good luck, er, interfering." The wristcompi beep, signalling that Umbra had stopped the call.
Zari grabbed some of the missiles and, with a grateful smile at Fraze, headed towards the cockpit. She removed a panel in the floor, muttered a calculation, then stuck the missiles into it. No ceremony required. "Don't shoot now." she cautioned Aikran, who was known to be very trigger-happy at times. "If I tell you." she added after some thought. Aikran nodded.
Cyborg
Midknight slashed furiously at Rider, after blocking her blows. Esme shook off the meepits, and barely dodged the fire, as did Rose, until she felt the mule kick, and doubled over in pain. Esme sent the tranquilizer dart sent at Midknight at Rider, and then began slashing at Shiva once more. Shado jumped away from the fire and ran at the meepits, followed by the squirrels. Gryff flew above the fire, and toward Cyborg, grabbed him and flew from the lightning.
"As you can see I don`t plan on dieing or surrenderring, especially to the likes of you." Midknight stated, sending tendrils at Rider, and the clone wyrm at Smithy.
Vyt
Cat Assassin was quick to notice the blonde mage back and now getting on his way, and did not hesitate to stop and move out of her fireball. Not avoiding her attack would be stupid, anyway.
Instead of immediately changing his target from Jernath to the blonde mage, Cat Assassin took his time to examine her from afar. She was not a familiar face to begin with, and by being able to look at her attack the pirates just earlier, he thought he could use some sort of vital information from her.
Of course, what better way to know your opponent more than engaging in battle itself?
Cat Assassin cocked his elbows back and charged towards the mage, but his eyes kept rolling around her for anything that might give him any advantage at all.
Huntress
"All right, Cap'n, I'm still good for your orders. Offense? Defense? Infiltration? Anything but galley duty, you know how I burn the food."
"All that and more," Hunty shouted back, still standing on the Weewoo's railing - the bridge railing gave a nice broad overview. She was starting to get Bloody Mary's habits. "Including galley duty. Burn as much as you can! Except, well, no friendly fire, if you please. But focus on offense - that goes to the lot of ye, the ship can handle defense."
She paused. This was the perfect moment for a battlecry, but she'd never been good at those. Mostly she just let everyone handle themselves.
...something shifted in dimensions...
"You know, anything can be a battlecry if you put your heart into it," said a voice next to her. Hunty turned to stare at a blonde viking mounted on a blood-red horse that was standing in thin air. War was generally pretty good at catching battlecry-moments.
"Really now?" she asked.
"Oh yes. I've heard all sorts of stuff from 'tonight we nom in Hell' to 'Nac Mac Feegle', whatever the latter might mean."
Hunty raised her crossbow, then turned her head a little. "Tonight we nom in Hell?"
"Worst catfight I ever saw, no jokes there," War said sternly. "Well? We both have a job to do."
"No battlecries," Hunty said just as sternly, and aimed at Gryff. "Isn't it bad form for you to show up in person?"
War shrugged. "Just trying to help. Aim a little more to the left." The dimensions shifted again, and he was gone. In a sense, at least. Hunty was all too certain that he was still very present.
Her arm moved in a clear arc as she did her mental equivalent of locking the target, then she emptied the entire magazine of acidic bolts at Gryff, left the crossbow there on the deck and leaped aboard the ship of the mercenaries.
"Smithy!"
She stopped next to the mage, her sword sizzling and casting odd, ghastly light on her clothes. "Lis'n. You got along with that little ice snake. What'd be the odds of you being able to convince it to help us? At least attack that shadow wyrm, if nothing else?"
***
"Wait a sec - since when did we have an alliance - I mean, before now? Traitors in our fold? Would you like us to call back that ice wyrm?"
Rane stared back at Damson. "I'm not sure if the pirates have ever allied with anyone up until now. Though I have to admit, there's a thousand-year blank in our knowledge," he nodded at the Weewoo, which showed very clearly from their high position, "and they seem to have no problems allying with people. Must be the modern times." He bit his lip, forgetting himself for a moment and looking more like a scared teenager than a pirate lord now. "I'd rather the ice wyrm stay peaceful, yes. We have enough trouble without it, and honestly, after all this time, I'd much rather just end this war once and for all. Leraye's gone either way."
Rider
Midknight's blows came too frenzied, too ameteur. Rider blocked them easily, then stabbed at the merc's gut while he was occupied manipulating shadows.
"If dying were something plannable, things around here would be a lot easier," Rider said, thinking of Leste.
Shiva stomped to dispel the shadow tendrils that were heading toward Rider.
Rider felt the breeze of the dart rush by her ear. The natural movement of battle had made her a hard target to hit. While Esme was occupied redirecting the dart, Shiva kicked at her, hoping he'd break a bone or soemthing.
All three Magus Sisters turned to Shado, sending fire, lightning and ice at him.
Nalia, completely ignored, bit and clawed her way up Esme's leg. Offsephious followed suit.
The Meepits who weren't lowering the flag charged the squirrels. Fur flew.
The flag was down. Ventratta gnawed through the fabric as fast as his tiny teeth could gnaw. They would have to replace it quickly, before all hell broke loose.
Rikku
There was a nasty crunching sound, rather like a mix between nails on a chalkboard and vertebrae creaking. Rikku was inclined to go with the later, particularly as the collision of the two ships dislodged her from her perch. She hung upside down for a few moments, claws digging in, before the Laws of Physics kicked in and she plummeted.
“There’s mist. Nice, soft mist. That’ll stop me from hitting too hard.”
There was a jarring, disorienting jerk as she was entangled in something that felt an awful lot like ropes. Rikku looked around, a difficult thing to do when your back legs are caught above your head. It was ropes.
“Darned ships, what do they need rope for?” She wriggled, clawed, and generally got more entangled. “Oh what tangled webs we weave,” the griffin bemoaned, and pondered using pyromancy. No. She couldn’t bear the disappointment if it failed, if she was helpless. Instead she started to swing back and forth, back and forth, like a pendulum. This made her dizzy, and she cracked her head against the big wooden th – mast.
“Ow,” she croaked, and coughed wetly. “Oh dear. Err, I could use a little help here?”
Bold rescuer, being rescued, a snide voice in her head said.
Shut up, head. I’ve never needed you before, not about to start now.
Smithy
"Smithy!"
She stopped next to the mage, her sword sizzling and casting odd, ghastly light on her clothes. "Lis'n. You got along with that little ice snake. What'd be the odds of you being able to convince it to help us? At least attack that shadow wyrm, if nothing else?"
Smithy didn’t need to do any thinking about that. “The shadow wyrm. It wanted that shadow wyrm out. One ice wyrm, coming up.”
The girl mage managed to dodge through some of the battle, and back onto the other side of the Weewoo. Clearing her throat, she called, “Ice wyrm! Come to the surface if you hear!”
A surprisingly quick crash of water, and the huge snake was glaring at Smithy again. “What goes on within the lake? You said that the battle would be quick.”
With a grin, Smithy said, “Rule number one when dealing with humans; don’t trust us too much. I think that actually, we’ll need your help on this one. It’s pretty easy to spot the trouble, is it not?”
Narrowing his eyes, the huge wyrm hissed, “It is the imposter.” With an ear-splitting scream that was obviously some kind of war cry, it slithered around the ship, and caught the other wyrm in an immensely tight grapple, and began squeezing, and spitting icicles at its eyes.
Archimedes hooted appreciatively, and Smithy rejoined the fray of the battle, breaking through with Qamr to Rider and Shiva. Qamr, used to battle, immediately began striking out with his hooves at Esme.
Smithy nodded at Rider, throwing handfuls of electricity at Midknight.
Doody
Doody appeared to Huntress' side.
"Look, I've got nothing else to do, so I might as well help you win this war. Besides, I'll finally be able to use my battlecry."
Kat
Asthielle saw Cat Assassin charge towards her. It worked - he was now headed for her instead of Jernath. She quickly created a spiraling jet of blinding yellow light that blazed towards Cat Assassin's chest, waiting for his retaliation.
"Jernath," she called out, "where's Cyborg?"
* * *
"I'll focus on the mercs' ship first, it could go down any minute," said Kat, sending purple fireballs towards said target, aiming for the hull. "Unfortunately, the only thing I can do is sink it and hope that whoever's on our side can escape."
* * *
"I could speak telepathically to the ice wyrm - it knows me, and basically any of the higher-ranking mages around here. Don't you have any mage on board who can do that?" Damson paused. "All right, you've got yourself an alliance. Let me just get everyone who can hear me and hope they can send the message."
He closed his eyes and held his staff so tightly that it hurt, and the gem set upon it began to glow with an eerie amethyst light. Damson could feel the auras of the closest mages, and sent them a mental message.
Ally yourselves with the pirates for this battle. Send word to the other mages. This is a direct order from Charles Gilbert Maurice the Fifth.
The mage flinched as he remembered his real name. Maybe Damson wasn't such a bad alias after all.
Yes, I'm the one they call Damson, all right?
Meanwhile, on the ship he had left, his apprentice drew two purple flags out of thin air and signaled the mage ship just beside them.
"And who said learning semaphore was a stupid idea?" he said to another mage who just stared at the swishing flags.
Vyt
Just as suspected, Cat Assassin thought. Like any mages, as long as Asthielle was far enough from the cat, she would stop at nothing to rain her spells on him. A melee virtuoso like him would never stand a chance if he could not get the distance between them to shrink.
Reminded of the time he took off his training weights, Cat Assassin bent his knees a bit lower than before and looked as if he was positioned to jump out of harm's way. However, his image slowly, if not immediately, vanished into nothing.
Behind the blonde mage, Cat Assassin reappeared, his whole body already spinning around while his left foot was extended. A roundhouse kick would certainly put the arrogant mage to her place.
PFA
((Golden Gallion))
Jernath, seeing that the meepit was flying off in favor of a different fight, sighed. He put his bow away--he had kept it out figuring he would need it again soon, but now that they were in close combat, he decided better of it--and pulled out his other dagger. Because it was easier fighting with two daggers.
"Jernath," Ielle shouted, "where's Cyborg?"
"I'm not sure; I think he's still lying unconscious somewhere," was Jernath's response.
And then, as if on cue, space-time was bent again (I blame leftover gem aura) Jernath felt a sudden and sharp pain. Before he could determine what it was, there was... haziness.
Aw crud, came one final thought, before Jernath fell over unconscious. Ethan had good aim.
Amneiger
The bullets flew back towards the minitank and bounced off the minitank's front armor, leaving some nicks and scratches and pushing it back slightly.
Interesting. Well, perhaps the mage would surrender if the other mercenaries were taken out. It looked like the reaction times of the various mercenaries were pretty good; there was no time to create silencers or anything like that.
Well, Amneiger had been worrying about fitting all their firepower through this small hatch anyway.
"Zari, bring us towards the Mercenary ship; I'm going to offload two of the minitanks. Anybody else who wants to help fight the Mercenaries is free to go with them; otherwise, we'll be going to deal with the gem ships. Fraze, if you want to fire on the gem ships wait until we're headed towards them and can use the hatch."
Omni
((Some random ship))
Sitting there, uncomfortably, Omni listened to the crew below, and wondered if she heard correctly.
An alliance?
Do you think it's sincere?
Not sure. I guess we'll have to see.
Deciding that she'd marked enough ships for now (at least until they started fighting again, assuming they did), she climbed back up, and flew back toward the iceberg, deciding she'd like to hear from the pirates she knew.
----------
((NIA))
Ethan looked at the mercs and their ship, burning, breaking, sinking.
"We shouldn't leave them to drown," Ethan told his fellow 'Fleeters, keeping the weapons he had ready. "One of them needs medical attention, two of the animals as well. Maybe they can give us some information, like why they suddenly turned on the others."
Siber gave Ethan a look, then made a motion that resembled a shrug.
Cyborg
CRACK! Esme fell to the ground in immense pain from the Shiva hoof, which cracked one of her ribs. Gryff swerved around the bullets, but in an attempt to dodge them flew head first into the mast, causing him to fall to the ground and drop Cyborg. The squirrels lay in an unconcious pile, while Shado fell victim to an electric shock renderring him unconcious. Midknight still slashed at Rider, as he watched his friends and family, fall all around him.
Meanwhile the shadow wyrm was easily crushed by it's counterpart and disappeared.
Huntress
The Weewoo, albeit having dented a number of board planks in the impact, was still going strong. It'd gone through more action during those last two days than the previous two years had had to offer. But now the cannonfire had pretty much ceased and the action had shifted to the other ship, so all it had to do was remain alert.
The mist twirled around the Rikku-griffin in its hazily intelligent way. It had pinned Rikku down as a mage, thus an ally, and had therefore paid no more attention to her, but now that she was messing up the rigging and seemed to be generally in trouble, the mist wedged itself between the ropes and lifted Rikku right down on the deck, or rather, let her sink through it.
Admittedly, even the action on the merc ship was now dying down. Hunty was standing there in the middle of the deck, using her sword as a convenient source of light, and kept an eye on things, as per usual, when Doody showed up again.
"Look, I've got nothing else to do, so I might as well help you win this war. Besides, I'll finally be able to use my battlecry."
Hunty shot a glance at him. "I take it that you got done what you had to get done on my ship, then?"
"Would you still be looking at all of his limbs if he hadn't?" asked Bloody Mary, who'd spent the last minutes giving Doody his naturally-good meepit glare and keeping an eye on him tidying things up. He leaped through the air and landed on his usual perch on Hunty's shoulder. "What'd I miss?"
"Pretty much everything."
"So I thought," the meepit said glumly. "Although I don't expect it to be over that easily. We still have that fleet to deal with. So no getting reckless."
The captain, turning to look at the battle again, had to admit that she felt quite a bit more vulnerable without Bloody Mary and his advice around, however obvious that advice may have been. It was like having eyes at the back of her head. And on all sides.
The battle had pretty much turned into a couple one-on-one fights anyway. Hunty, assuming that the remaining mercs were being kept busy, edged off along the railing and skidded under the mizzenmast where the meepits had brought down the flag. The captain suspected that it had come with the ship and wasn't in fact the mercenaries' own flag, but that doesn't really count in a battle. It was a ship, and the ship's flag, and now it was down.
"Lemme," she muttered, squatting down, and sliced through the flag. "Where's that napkin of yours?"
Rider
The other mercs had fallen. Inwardly, Rider breathed a sigh of relief. Ventratta, seeing that this was his cue, ushered his brethren back to the Meepit Realms to lick their wounds. The squirrels had done a number on them.
"This doesn't have to go any further," Rider said as Hunty and Ventratta raised the white flag above the Golden Gallion. "Midknight, we're putting this fool flag up for everyone's safety, but if the mercenaries surrender for real, then we will make sure your wounded get medical treatment. We'll give you enough time to collect your most precious valuables from your sinking ship and we'll keep you as our prisoners of war. You will be tried when you get back to land. It'll be pretty quick, as we've got a lot of cleanup to do. While I think your leader deserves to freeze in this hellhole, my opinion is not the majority."
The sound of cannon fire faded, allowing the entire merc ship to hear Rider's terms. Midknight's silouette against the setting sun was striking, for even in defeat he was still proud. The knights' and the ninjas' cannons slowed and stopped as well, as they slowly realized that they were fighting for a cause a thousand years forgotten.
"Revenge is the path of fools. Look at where it took them, a thousand years ago. Look at where it took your brother. You can have your revenge, and let us all sink, or you can see the path of reason and work towards a lasting peace. It's not your brother's decision. It's yours."
Cyborg
" You know what, Rider, even though I dislike you greatly, I have to agree, I would prefer peace, and this fighting to end. I will surrender as long as you come through with your end of the deal." Midknight declared. He ran down and collected all of the merc's valuable items and returned on deck. " So I take it I will have some help moving them."
Zari
"Aikran...?"
The clone appeared to have acted of his own volition, as the shuttle swerved around, shot through the hole in the iceberg, and stopped above the mercenary ship. Zari stuck her head out the hatch. "Hey! Is there a temporary truce or do we go back to shooting the problem with one of my tranquilizer pistols? Ethan got one of the Mercs, I think- D'you want us to stick him in our holding cell onboard? This is Ayine, by the way. Nau Ilhvren Ayine. She's my shuttle." Zari smiled. "Yes, we spacefleet types do pilot shiny silver things named after dead cat-clones. Well, I do. I'm not sure if Fraze or Bacon do...meh. Can we be useful, or just sit here while you interreogate the mercs?"
Huntress
"While I think your leader deserves to freeze in this hellhole, my opinion is not the majority."
"We have democracy now?" Hunty asked, coming closer over the deck, the glowing sword lifted on her shoulder. "But, well, we're looking at lots of peace talks anyway. We're still up against a nice big army back there, and if you remember, we took a hike from them not so long ago. This'll take a while to get settled."
She paused. "Bit of a problem, though. We can't take the mercenaries along. The mist, remember? It won't let them in."
"So we'll keep them in the mist outside the ship, no sweat," said Bloody Mary, sitting up on her shoulder and looking around. Throughout the entire war, he hadn't gotten a scratch. "And we might want to hurry. This old coffin has more holes in it than an alchemist's ceiling. I'll give her ten, maybe fifteen minutes."
"Huntress!" a voice carried across the bay. It came from the big schooner. Hunty turned and raised the sword to indicate that she'd heard and was paying attention.
"We need to talk!" Now she recognized Rane's voice. "Come aboard."
"Treaty?" Hunty shouted back.
"Yes!" That one word was accompanied by cheerful shouts from most ships. Most of them were tired of fighting by then, and most of the ammo had been wasted anyway. Not to mention a pirate-mage alliance had instantly made things look glum for the ninjas (who only had one vessel) and knights (who had suffered the most damage due to lack of naval battle skills).
"Also known as court martial," Hunty said gruffly, waving the sword around to signal affirmation. "That army is blocking our way out so the only way to ever get back to above-zero temperature is to talk our way out of this. I sure as heck ain't going alone. Who's coming with me? Some will have to remain on the Weewoo to guard, but she's mostly able to take care of herself."
At that point the Golden Mast's flag halyard was already filling up. Same message as earlier that day: all leaders of all ships to the schooner to negotiate.
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:31:56 GMT -5
RikkuThe mist was soft, if cold. Rikku sank into it, suppressing the urge to squawk in alarm, and sighed in relief as her claws touched solid ground again. Not really solid ground, though. Just wood. A thin shell of wood between her and that frigid-looking water. She had been very high up, and now the vertigo was catching up to her. Rikku rushed to the side of the ship, her stomach feeling unsettled, and paused. “Hang on. Why is there a dead vulture just sitting on deck?” Rikku blinked. “O … kay. That’s what we call convenient, that is.” She gave a birdlike shrug, all wings. “Mind, I’m not about to complain.” She pattered over to where the slowly decomposing bird sprawled. It had knocked out a group of impromptu violinists, and now it would be put to a more noble cause. Noble, if not dignified. Rikku unfastened her flask from her back and sprinkled a few drops of it on the bird’s plumage. She put a paw on the flask, closed her eyes and concentrated, chanting nonsense words to focus her power. “This old man, he did moan, he played knick-knack on my gravestone …” she hummed absent-mindedly, before something occurred to her. Her power. Her necromancy. Her magic. Could she still use it? Griffins were supposed to be noble creatures, unable to lie. Necromancy didn’t seem up their street, somehow. Before she could think about it, the vulture gave a wretched squawk. Rikku’s face split into a huge, disbelieving grin, and she hugged it, ignoring the smell. The vulture wasn’t all that bad off, as zombies go; its feathers were peeling here and there, but its neck was naked in the first place. It could almost be taken as a fashion statement. Rikku shouldered her flask again, and perked up her ears at the sound of shouts. “Treaty? That is most wonderful news!” She danced a little jig. The vulture stared at her, its flesh sagging a bit. “Your name is, ah, Britney,” Rikku said hurriedly, and scampered after the stripy-haired, crossbowslinging girl who seemed to be the Captain. Britney followed at a shambling walk, muttering something in Vulture about how he could at least be called a decent name like Fangdeath or Decompositor. Rider"I'm behind you like butter on toast," Rider said. "Shiva, could you alert the man in the insane box that we need him to do something about these mercs? Namely, medical attention and a secure holding cell?" "Can you send me to that weird-as-all-loving-crud Meepit world so i don't have to swing over?" Rider sighed and opened a blooming portal of darkness at the stallion's feet. "I'm amazed they let you in," "Really, Rider, I'm not that dangerous. So... when do i get to eat that shadow merc?" Rider just about kicked Shiva into the portal and closed it behind him. ----------- "Yo, space-boy, got any room in that box of candy tricks for a med team and a bunch of silly mercs?" he wasn't looking for a positive reception. Mostly he was just looking for food. ---------- Queen Kienne was furious. Her Knights had spent the day getting shot at, chasing a shadow on the water, being out of their element, freezing in their tin cans, and watching their brothers-in-arms getting sunk and eaten by a sea monster. They were a hair's breadth away from mutiny. When the call came, she had no choice but to respond. Ryou had teleported onto the pirate ship with little fuss. Kienne insisted on going with twice her normal escort, and the Kite watching from the shadows. Amneiger"Fraze, how safe would it be to keep the Mercenaries in there with all the munitions? If we need to, we can put most of the loose weapons in Zari's ship into the box and hold the Mercenarines in her shuttle." Amneiger looked out the window at all the people heading towards the Golden Mast. "Has the gem army seen us yet? Probably not. Well, we shot at some of their people earlier today, so that technically makes us at war; any volunteers who want to go to the big ship and attend the discussions? I don't think we need reparations or anything like that, although I suppose we can ask for details about the war and themselves." Fraze((Zari's ship, looking out)) One of the most dangerous parts of a war seemed to be happening--a Truce had Been Declared. Fraze heard a question called through the hatch of Zari's ship. "Yo, space-boy, got any room in that box of candy tricks for a med team and a bunch of silly mercs?" He realized that the questioner was a demonic-looking horse. Well, he had seen stranger things and knew when not to show surprise. To the horse's question Amneiger added, "If we need to, we can put most of the loose weapons in Zari's ship into the box and hold the Mercenarines in her shuttle."Fraze considered. The Box would certainly be the most secure holding cell, but there was the slight problem of the rather large warehouse of weaponry. Still, if worst came to worst, he knew all the munitions in the Box far better than anyone else who would be traveling in it. And the most important cargo was nigh unto impossible to access. "You can hold them in the Box," Fraze called back, "But I'll have to be there. Preferably with a few other people standing guard, too. There are also emergency medical supplies it, so I can deal with any serious injuries." KatDamson opened his eyes. "Rane, all mage ships are headed your way. The message has been sent. Is there anything else you want me to - " And beside their schooner, the large ice wyrm reared its chilly head, facing the mage. It emitted something that sounded strangely like a loud, throaty purr that blasted him with cold air. "Good boy," said Damson, nodding. "Stay with me and keep us safe, all right?" * * * Asthielle was too late. She was knocked off balance and fell to the mercy of Cat Assassin, sprawled at his feet - paws - whatever. Glancing to one side, she saw Jernath, unconscious. "Jernath," she whispered, trying to reach out for him. "Are you..." "So I take it I will have some help moving them.""What's going on?" Asthielle called to Midknight. "What..." * * * Kat raised her hand. "I'll come with you as the first mate and as backup." She clutched her staff and stared at Rane and his crew and whispered to Huntress, "Are you sure they're not pulling our legs?" Amneiger"I can give you a minitank," Amneiger said in response to Fraze's answer. "Anyone else want to help?" Cyborg" Ielle I had to make the best decision, for the group," Midknight said to the mage, " We'll get medical attention for to wounded and protection from the gem army, which as you can see we need. You don`t need to go with us, but it will be safer for you to." VytCat Assassin could not help but look at the blonde mage as she questioned Midknight's new course of actions. After adjusting his balance from his kick earlier, he slowly knelt down to meet the blonde mage's line of sight. "Lass, I don't know what is hindering you from cooperating," the cat sighed. "... But whatever problems you are having with..." he took a moment to remember what was the name he was looking for. "... Kat must be set aside for a much bigger problem. We're facing possible extinction, and we really need all the help we can." Cat Assassin would've already carried the blonde mage had he not received enough damage from deflecting one cannonball with only his arms. Instead, he waited for her response. He needed a clear answer from her. Huntress"She's going down," Bloody Mary warned. The deck of the merc ship had been careening for a while now and it was hard to tell whether or not it had gotten worse lately, so Hunty raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm a rodent," the meepit said grimly. "Trust me, I know." The Weewoo appeared to have noticed something as well - tendrils of mist reached out to the deck of the other ship to swirl protectively around Hunty's feet as well as a few other pirates. The captain leaped on the railing of the Gallion and from there back to the old brigantine. "Move it, gentlemen... no, boy, no food here." The latter was directed at the blarf who'd drifted closer, floppy ears perking. "Shiva's got dibs on all the food already." "Blarp," said the kraken, not sounding particularly disappointed - his stomach was pretty full by that point. He could sense the sinking of the ship in the water currents, so he swam closer and nudged it a little, like a whale would nudge its wounded kin. "I'll come with you as the first mate and as backup." That brought Hunty back to more pressing matters. She gave Kat and Rider a smile. "Was hoping you would." Kat's next question made her frown. "It may or may not be a trap... those ancient guilds valued honor highly, but we've fooled them and used them quite a bit so I wouldn't really be able to blame them. Nevertheless, we have no choice. Our only way out of this is to talk to them. If we turned against them, they'd all turn against us, one ship with little ammo, and they seem to have control over the wyrm. So all we can really do is keep our backs straight and take what may come." She paused. "We won't go unarmed, though. 'Cos I'm not an idiot." "Um," said Bloody Mary. There are many different kinds of 'um's. Had this been the 'I beg to differ' kind of um, the meepit would've earned a whack, but this was very much more like a 'you should see this' kind of um, so Hunty turned around, only to notice... a small griffin and a very unhealthy-looking vulture heading her way? Granted, the mist was letting them both pass, but the mist worked strange ways, so Hunty's glowy sword rose at once into a defensive stance. *** Deep inside, Rane was thankful that he often looked unsure and worried, and that others were used to seeing him that way. Because he'd seen his share of krakens in his time, coming from the absolute beacon of the Golden Age, but the mages' pet wyrm was giving him the creeps. More so when it was tame. Somehow huge vicious beasts always look scarier when they're tame - when they're attacking you, you at least expect them to be doing that. A tame beastie always leaves that unnerving possibility that it might be saving you for later. He nodded almost meekly at Damson. "Thank you. I just wanted to say that, well... you remember what happened at the cliff back there. As leaders of our guilds, we should make sure it won't happen again." He slumped into his huge armchair on the deck with a heavy sigh. "I want the war to end, and it won't happen if everyone bickers like children over tiny things. We need to make sure that the things stay civil this time." He very nearly would've added "I'd just like to get out of here, go back home to my old mom and perhaps finally get the guts to talk to Sally who works at the baker's, except they've both probably been dead for the last thousand years, which really ain't making me feel better about it" but that was something you don't easily say under the sharp eye of a mage leader. So he sat back instead, remaining staring blankly at the greenish wall of ice on the other side of the tavern. He was tired, not physically but mentally, and had to somehow get the strength to sit through the incoming treaty talks. ZariZari pulled her head back inside the shuttle. "I've got a holding cell in here somewhere." she yawned. "It comfortably holds three, has a toilet, and containes no sharp edges." The last sentence had a decidedly chirpy note, since the immediate war threat appeared to have passed on. That was good. Zari hated stressful situations. Ienalle sat cross-legged on the floor "It was over almost as soon as it had begun. Life is silly that way." she commented. Zari glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "It's a mortal thing, all these two-day wars. It's like a giant sandbox." "Sandbox?!" "Never-mind..." Zari tore open a ration pack and chewed on the contents happily. "I hope thins sort themselves out- I haven't showered in ages and we're all probably starting to whiff a bit." Kat"... But whatever problems you are having with... Kat must be set aside for a much bigger problem. We're facing possible extinction, and we really need all the help we can.""I can't," whispered Asthielle. She tried to sit up and felt the base of her neck, only to remember that she had already lost her locket. "Kalianne...she killed my master. He taught me so much about magic...and then I heard she killed him. I don't know how or why..." She bit her lip, suddenly feeling helpless, but held back her tears. The cat did have a point. "But if I go down, at least she goes down with me..." Asthielle considered this statement for a second and then shook her head quickly, her eyes truly fearful for the first time in a long while. * * * "I know you're not an idiot, and neither am I," said Kat. "I'm not about to be caught dead without my staff. And talking's a lot less trouble than war." She pondered this for a moment and added, "I hope." * * * "I want the war to end, and it won't happen if everyone bickers like children over tiny things. We need to make sure that the things stay civil this time."Damson nodded. "Well, I guess this is the time for me to say that I agree with you...Captain." He squinted into the distance, watching the mage ships approach. Leading them was his own ship - he could see his apprentice on the bow with the semaphore flags. The young man was deep in conversation with a female ninja, and he suddenly turned away from her, nervously scratching his head. The master mage stifled a chuckle and reached up to touch the ice wyrm's frigid chin as the creature suddenly focused on the looming fleet. "Friends are coming, don't worry." At this, the wyrm tried to put its head as close as it could to the ship without crushing anything - least of all Damson - and it purred even more as he received some patting on the head, engulfing almost everything briefly in a cloud of cold mist. DoodyDoody readied his staff into an attacking staff, before using it to shoot a beam of poop at the oncoming gryffin. VytCat Assassin wasn't too sure, but he was hoping the mage had finally settled for a much easier pathway by cooperating with everyone else. The last thing everyone in NTWF needed was someone who was reluctant to help. Fortunately but sadly, no hostility was left in the ship of the mercenaries, as most of them were rendered asleep by someone far away. Sighing, Cat Assassin stepped back inside the White Weewoo. The mist reacted a bit by slowly creeping below him, but soon dissipated away. "That's weird," he thought. The feline rushed back towards PFA, noticing that Bluisa was still down. "PFA, what's happening to Bluisa? She hasn't moved since I left her," he worriedly asked. RikkuThe Captain had a glowing sword. Rikku stared at it, frozen – it was very shiny – before realizing something, which was that the Captain had a glowing sword. She immediately took a defensive stance, crouching a little. If she had teeth, she would have bared them. And that wouldn’t have been a good idea, considering the strange little mammal perched on sword-girl’s shoulder. Rikku opened her beak to say something along the lines of ‘I’m a friend’, and said, “That must cut down on lighting bills.” It took a few seconds for her brain to register what her mouth had said, at which point her brain slunk into one corner of her mind, muttering something to itself about not putting up with these conditions. Rikku never paid much attention to her brain anyway – it wasn’t really all that useful, and it got so easily confused. She was glad, in this case, because she didn’t have to think too much about what the … probably person, but the word that came to mind was ‘thing’ … about what the thing pointing the staff at her was. The griffin stared. “Um. Britney,” she managed to say. The Decomposinator stared at her. Rikku stared back at him, and rolled her eyes in the direction of the thing, pointedly. It was raising a nasty looking staff. The Decomposinator, squawking under his breath about the deep dark depths of his existence, sort of waddled in front of his master, prepared to take any … projectile … that happened to come their way. That dealt with, Rikku looked back at glowy-sword-girl. “I’m Rikku Dianthe, I’m here to help, I’m not entirely sure how to do that, and I really don’t know why there was a dead Vulture lying on the deck of your bo – ship. Really.” She twitched her ear impatiently. The captain looked busy, she’d probably switched her attention to something more important by now anyway. PFA((White Weewoo))PFA was busy practicing her summoning magic on the barrel (she was getting pretty good at it now, she thought), when suddenly she was distracted by Uncle's voice. "PFA, what's happening to Bluisa? She hasn't moved since I left her," he asked, the worry noticeable in his tone. PFA blinked. "I thought she was just resting..." Suddenly prompted to think otherwise, PFA ran over to Bluisa and shook her gently, attempting to wake her up. "Bluisa, are you alright?" she asked, hopeful that Bluisa could hear her. VytBluisa woke up the instant PFA nudged her, shaking her head to show her confusion. "Sorry for making you so worried, guys..." she cried, her eyes looking down and not meeting any contact at all. "It's just that... I'm supposed to be a part of an Alternate... and Light-type magics should hurt me still..." Bluisa was stuttering the whole time, but was able to fix herself right back up when she said "... Yet PFA's magic didn't hurt me. It healed me instead." "That's true Light magic, Bluisa," Cat Assassin uttered despite the fact that he knew only little about anything magical. "I believe that the element of Light was not supposed to be the opposite of the element of Dark, and must work hard so it can complement all the other elements, including yours. It's imitating the real path of justice: considering others without any biases at all," he elucidated whilst tending to his wound on his arm. Bluisa began to ponder once more. Was PFA's magic a new breed of element? Only time could tell. Huntress“That must cut down on lighting bills.”That line may easily have saved Rikku's life, as Hunty, unable to make anything of that so quickly, remained listening, and thus got to hear the rest. "Rikku Dianthe?" The name rang a bell. She lowered her sword, not so much because the name rang a bell, but because she could feel Bloody Mary loosen up and drop his defensive stance. "She's a mage," he said. "We got a file on her." Hunty loosened up as well. The pirates were on the road most of the time, but it was crucial for their lives to know the people in the lands they visited, especially Dunburrow, which was the home of many of the crewmembers. As such, she kept files on the more crucial figures of the land, mainly knights and mages, as those were the people they had trouble with most often. They weren't thorough files, but still served as a kind of brief Who's Who as far as names, occupations, and skills were concerned. The two paused to think back. Rikku's file, they remembered, had a question mark in the Skills slot. It didn't stand for 'skills unknown' - that was noted by an empty slot - but 'total capabilities and specifics unknown' which was a heckuvalot worse. But then again, she did say that she was there to help. Before Hunty could answer, Doody fired. Well, 'fired' was not the most accurate, but definitely the safest word. The ship's mist didn't usually get involved in on-board battles, but this wasn't an on-board battle. This attack was, due to the nature of the projectile, directed against the ship itself. Decks are scrubbed on a daily basis. As such, the Weewoo strongly preferred being clean - it was considered an inherent natural state. So the mist thickened around the beam, stopped it, and squished it together into a ball which remained floating above the deck. "I hope for your own good that you were planning to clean it up afterwards," Hunty snarled, patting the railing absently. "Let's go, girl. To that schooner." The sails and lines were gone, but the mist was there and so the ship hooked black tendrils into the ice and pushed them against the waves, cracking free from the sinking Gallion and sliding towards the ancient fleet that was clearly expecting them. Men had lined up behind the railings, grim and weary, all bearing the signs of the recent battle. As the schooner's side cast a shadow over the little brigantine and a rather big rope ladder hanging down its side became clearly visible, Hunty turned back to Rikku. "If you're here to help, then here's your chance. In fact," now she raised her voice a little, "you mages, and ninjas, and whoever else we have around here... these are treaty talks. I'm a pirate, so I'm only going to be representing pirate interests. If any of you want an influence in there, you'll have to come along." She paused to wonder briefly if Spacefleet wanted to get involved. They didn't really need to discuss territory issues or the conditions of not getting shot at in the future. But you'll never know. Either way, her voice had probably carried to them anyway. *** As the fleet was clustered together, everyone else was already present. Tensions had already mounted - the leaders and their escorts were all keeping their distance with the other escorts, shooting nervous glances at the wyrm and glaring daggers at the recent enemies. Rane was sitting on the back of his chair - he couldn't sit in the chair as it had its back turned to the bridge and was nailed to the deck, so he was perched a good six feet above the others instead. He looked grumpy. That was one of the main things besides the wyrm that kept the assembly at bay - they were all used to Rane being quiet, unsure, and rather harmless. Now he reminded of a thundercloud. In a guy who commands a huge fleet of pirates, that's unnerving. "Make sure they don't delay," he snapped to the nearby officers as the Weewoo closed in. For the present guilds the war had lasted for three days. But for Rane and his contemporaries it had started a millennium ago and had lasted for way too long. Cyborg"Are the mercenaries going to be represented in any way?" Midknight asked to no one in particular. KatTrailing behind Midknight, Asthielle said, "I could...but..." She caught sight of Kat with Huntress, and the blonde quickly summoned her glowing bow and arrow, preparing to take aim. * * * "You know I'm coming with you, Cap'n," said Kat, following close behind. Her staff shrank back into a wand she could carry more easily. "I represent not only the pirate interests...but the mage and knight interests as well. There are other mages around...but I don't know about the rest of the knights." She sighed. * * * Damson watched as the mage ships lowered their anchors beside Rane's schooner, nodding as he gripped his staff. "What of the other leaders?" he asked. "Shall I send word?" Cyborg"Ielle, don`t shoot, I.." Midknight stated. " Will stay here with Ielle and try to get as many of our friends up and walking." Cyborg said as he got up. " But,.. how?" Midknight asked. " The robotic parts in my head worked to get rid of the fluid." Cyborg answered, " Rider can you get me over to the meeting?" Midknight was able to help Rose, and Gryff who helped Esme up. Midknight carried Shado over his shoulder. " Hey Fleet can you come pick us up, like we were told you would?" he shouted. DoodyDoody saw that Huntress didn't really like having him, around, so he decided to jump, with his staff shooting behind and below him to support the jump, to the Griffon. SmithySmithy looked very grumpily around at the things going on, and without warning, stomped below decks with a shout of, "Going to curl up wherever I can, wake me up next battle." ((Sorry, but might have a bout of inactivity as my mother's back and eyeing us all whenever we go near the lappy.)) RikkuThe facts that her life seemed to have been spared and that the ship could move under its own mistical power were wasted on Rikku. “Ah. That’s … that’s good, right? Treaties are good?” Rikku said it more to herself than to the pirate captain, her tail twitching nervously. She, to put it mildly, was not much of a diplomat. The Decomposinator stared at her, the contemptuous effect only slightly diminished by a small maggot who wriggled out of his ear and went ‘^_^’. The Vulture shook his head, a rather dangerous action when you think about it, which Rikku tried not to, and made a squawking sound that rather made it sound as though his throat was tying itself in knots and perhaps neat little bows for the look of the thing. It may, she thought, have been laughter. “You are so naïve? You are so naïve!” He tried to grin, but beaks don’t do grinning very well. “Yes, right, naïve, got that.” Rikku tried to give him an imposing look. Beaks don’t do imposing very well, either. “Come on, Britney. Surely peace talks are good?” “Surely … peace talks … oh, this is too classic.” The maggot made an inquisitive noise. “Master. You think that that skirmish back there was bad? With the cannons blazing, and the ice wyrm roaring, and everyone being not very civil?” She nodded, her eyes wide. “Peace talks are like that, except generally around a table, and with veiled threats and carefully judged politeness in place of open warfare.” The griffin seemed to droop. “Oh, squid,” she whispered. “And canapés. There’s often canapés.” “We’re doomed!” She set herself up for a really good wail, but was pulled short as she glimpsed the hovering ball of … the hovering ball out of the corner of her eye. She did not try to look closer at it. “Oh. Right.” Rikku scuttled closer to the rope ladder, peering down it. “Well, I’m coming, sure.” No need to waste an opportunity to make a fool out of herself. Most people didn’t exactly view necromancers as trustworthy. Kat"Ielle, don`t shoot, I..""Why not?" But Asthielle didn't sound demanding, not at all. The bow and arrow disappeared from her hands as she watched Kat follow Huntress. The blonde wanted to shoot...but Midknight sounded like he had a good reason for not wanting her to fire. She paused and turned to Midknight. "Maybe I can help revive them." PFA((White Weewoo))PFA smiled when Bluisa woke up, glad to see she was okay. She didn't comment, however, on Uncle's mention of True Light magic. After all, she wasn't sure herself what exactly her magic was, and all that she could think of to say would have been redundant. So she simply nodded. "You mages, and ninjas, and whoever else we have around here..." came Huntress' voice, "these are treaty talks. I'm a pirate, so I'm only going to be representing pirate interests. If any of you want an influence in there, you'll have to come along."PFA sighed, standing up. "I should probably go, to represent the ninjas," she said. "You know, considering that I'm kind of the only real ninja here." She chuckled weakly. "But you guys can come with me if you want." In fact, I'd prefer if you did, she added mentally. She didn't expect these treaties to be exactly like a walk in the park. Things might go ugly. Rider"Welcome aboard, Rikku," Rider said with a slightly distracted air. "And welcome to your rotting friend here too. Doody, please remember that 'poopdeck' is not a literal term." She turned to Cyborg. "Can you walk? I mean, you're too heavy to carry over there. Here, I'm kinda unsure about where everyone is right now, but assuming you're off the sinking Gallion but still within hearing range of the Weewoo, I'll ask the Spacefleet to pick you up and bring you over to Rane's ship. Unarmed. You are still a war criminal after all." "What'd you charge him with, again?" Shiva asked. Rider paused a moment. "What's the max sentance for being stubborn and neurotic?" "... Dunno, but I think you and your pink rats earned it. Let him on with a knife at least." "OK, you can go on with a knife," Rider shouted. To Fraze, she asked, "Can your buddies in airships drop Cyborg off on the big honkin' pirate ship? Thanks." -------------- As Hunty's escort, Rider boarded the Golden Mast and stared. While the Gem Army had seemed bigger while they were shooting, they didn't look like anyone's definition of small when they weren't. "This is our world," Rider murmured to Hunty. "But look at them, they're going to try to intimidate us into giving it up." Ventratta scrambled onto Rider's head for a bird's-eye view of the Gem Army. ... Then he scrambled back down and climbed onto Hunty's head for a slightly better bird's-eye view of the Gem Army. The tension could be cut with a knife. For lack of a better cliche. Cyborg" I will take both of my cutlasses, I've learned not to trust any of you pirates. I will however keep them on my belt." Cyborg stated." Remember to pick up the rest of my mercs as well fleet." Omni((NIA)) Ethan didn't take his gaze off of Cyborg. "I don't have any training or anything for diplomacy. I'd recommend Fraze, or Amnei, or Bacon. However, I could come to keep an eye on him," Ethan pointed to Cyborg with a pistol at the word 'him'. "There's enough room in here for the mercs, and plenty of medical supplies." ---------- ((In the crow's nest of the sinking ship)) Omni had recently reached familiar ships, and familiar faces, staying nearby to hear what was going on, and a little surprised to see that there was a truce. "If you ask me, Cyborg has plenty of weapons in the form of his magic," Omni said, leaning against the lip of the nest (or whatever it's called). "I'm not a diplomat, but maybe I can still help." She paused, looking around. "Do you think the Weewoo needs repairs, or may I come with? …Or is there anything else that needs to be done?" VytCat Assassin nodded upon PFA's request of being assisted in the treaty talks, though he was doubting if she could really understand anything the other parties might say. It was too risky for an inexperienced person to undergo intense negotiations, and right then the fate of everyone was hanging in balance. Seeing that PFA was unbiased in her code of honor, however, Cat Assassin trusted her to do everything she can. Bluisa stood up and glanced around. The first thing that caught her attention was a cyborg Kougra conversing with Rider. She'd best be on the lookout for anyone that plans to ruin the peace talks, so she watched the Kougra with focus and determination. Huntress“Peace talks are like that, except generally around a table, and with veiled threats and carefully judged politeness in place of open warfare.”Hunty turned to look up the schooner's side. "Well, we're pirates," she said, trying to ignore the rational part of her brain that desperately tried to point out that she was talking to a dead vulture. "We're a tad more straightforward than that. Heck, politicians are practically our natural enemies... and at least politics don't lead to bloodshed." She paused. "Often, anyway." She'd just been begun to ponder whether to use the ladder or the mist when something caught her ear. Knives? Heck, two cutlasses? Hunty spun around like an avenging angel, making the mist around her feet ripple. "Rider," she said in a voice with snow on it, "who in their right mind lets their prisoner come along to peace talks in the first place, let alone an armed one?" "Technic'ly-" Bloody Mary began, and earned a glare that made him zip it and pretend he was deaf and mute. "No cutlasses," the captain said. "He's a bloody earth mage anyway, so there can't be a word about rendering him helpless. Leave 'em or don't come at all. And that's me being generous, because I wasn't planning on letting you come." She herself left the crossbow behind but took the Sue-sword, not so much for safety but because she was a captain and a sword was just as ceremonial there as crowns are for kings. When they showed up on the deck, they were greeted with a sea of grim faces. Rane, still perched on the back of his bleached and lopsided throne, probably looked the most grim of them. He was replying to Damson at that point. "All leaders who want to get involved are to get involved. Otherwise we'll get complaints and we-never-got-the-note type stuff later on." His sword was unsheated and leaned across his knees. Pirates were generally of the attitude that people attending peace talks were going to bring concealed weapons anyway, so to prevent the situation where you had no clue what to expect from your neighbor and thus spent half your time wondering whether he had a knife or a strangling wire, they just had the custom to bring weapons openly. Rider used the moment to whisper, "This is our world. But look at them, they're going to try to intimidate us into giving it up.""Our world as well as theirs," Hunty muttered back. "It wasn't their fault that Leraye messed with it. But we're not going to give it up. We're going to rent pieces of it out to them, with interest." She could feel Rane's dark eyes fall on her - a sharp, intense, accusing look. For a reason, most likely. "Gather round." His voice was quiet. There wasn't really much to gather round to, the schooner's bridge was vast and empty apart from the current crowd, but that crowd formed a more or less circle. Rane's chair formed one point on that circle. His officers had gathered around it. In the middle of that circle, on the blackish deckboards, was a yellow scroll, spread out as much as it could without weights. It was a map of the land. There was no real necessity of having it there, but the situation looked like it could use something nice and ceremonial, and the middle of the circle would've looked a tad empty without it. As of now, it served the purpose of reminding everyone what they were there for. "Anyone else coming?" Rane asked, raising his head to cast a look over all the newcomers. "Possibly," Hunty said. "Five more minutes," said the pirate lord, and seemed to fall back into his grumpy lethargy at that. Tensions were still high, but the wyrm's presence reminded everyone that making the first provocative step would be a very bad idea. PFA((Golden Mast))PFA stepped onto the Mast, tensing upon noticing the various leaders of the other guilds, giving each other some pretty creepy glares. Especially tensing when they glanced at her. These people seemed so important, so proud, so... big. In comparison, PFA felt rather small and insignificant. She squeezed into the circle somewhere near Captain Huntress and the other pirates, if just because she knew them better than she knew these other people. And because they were moreorless on the same side at the time. PFA looked around, waiting for whoever else was coming. She silently hoped this wouldn't take too long; she didn't like this tense atmosphere one bit. DoodyDoody landed on the Griffin's face, as the staff had run out of poop-magic, and was trying to find something to hole on to. It was probably not a good idea to try and hold onto the beak, but he wasn't a very smart mage. He peered into the bird-lion-flying-thing's eyes. "So, uh... Hi. I'm Doody." Fraze((Zari's ship)) "I can give you a minitank," Amneiger told Fraze. "Thanks, that would be great. Any other help would be appreciated, but it looks like we're going to leave soon." "I don't have any training or anything for diplomacy," Ethan said. I'd recommend Fraze, or Amnei, or Bacon.""I'd be willing to help with the negotiations once we get there. It definitely isn't my area of expertise, but I've been along on diplomatic missions before." Fraze held out his hand to help the mercs aboard the ship. "Welcome to Spacefleet Airlines. Please leave all luggage in the overhead containers located outside of the Universal Box. This is a short flight, so we will only be serving drinks." He stopped when he realized people were staring. Taking the Box out of his pocket once more, he pressed his thumb against the lock and opened it. "Just step in, and be prepared for a short drop to the bottom." With that, he led, putting first one leg then the other into the small box before dropping down. "Amneiger! Can you send down one of your minitanks now?" VytSensing the tension rising from just standing around probably highly-experienced people, Cat Assassin took his time calming PFA down. He started to hold on her shoulders, reminding her silently through his nod that she should relax and only do her thing naturally. Giving her complex decisions might only complicate the entire situation. "PFA, Vyt and Subila trusted you as their only child that you already know what's right from wrong," Cat Assassin spoke to her in a tone much different from his cold expression, being nice enough to calm her nerves. "I trust you along with them. I'm too scarred by my childhood years to be able to give out a reasonable judgment, and you're still young..." "... Just do whatever you think is right, and don't restrict yourself by intimidation," he smiled. KatThe wyrm reared slowly, letting out something that sounded like a deep whimper. "Behave yourself," said Damson, and he put a finger on his lips to calm the icy creature down, which leaned over again so that the mage could give it another pat on the head. After that, he turned and squeezed himself among Rane's officers. But that didn't stop the wyrm from still watching everyone, as though any one of them would attack Damson at any moment. Meanwhile, he waved his staff once over the map, and a gentle gust of wind spread out the scroll as though he had placed weights on all corners - and sides, even. * * * "Gathering, gathering," muttered Kat, standing beside Hunty and looking around. She looked down at the map, but when some wind flattened it out perfectly, she followed the magical aura and saw a rather imposing mage standing among the pirates, clutching a gnarled wooden staff. At the top of the staff was a purple gem. * * * Asthielle created a spyglass and watched the gathering on the other ship. "Looks like they've already started," she said, and the spyglass disappeared in a puff of yellow smoke. Amneiger"You've more experience than me, then," Amneiger said in response to Fraze. "Sending the minitank now. You might want to get out of the way." He turned to one of the minitanks. "Unit 6, go into the box." Unit 6 obediently rolled up to the box ... and then sat there. "Oh, wait. Unit 6, move forward." Unit 6 moved forward, seemed to pitch a bit, and then disappeared. Amneiger stuck his head in the box; fortunately the minitank had landed upright. Rider"Rider, who in their right mind lets their prisoner come along to peace talks in the first place, let alone an armed one?"That tone of voice hadn't worked on Rider. That was the voice grumpy apprentice!Hunty had used to scare away the neighborhood kids. "I'm not letting him on with the cutlasses, and he comes not as a criminal, but as the leader of the mercenaries. Not everyone in the guild is an unreasonable nutjob, and they deserve some representation. If he causes trouble, just shoot him." Ventratta raised an eyebrow. "Politely. this is a peace talk, after all." In reality, Rider was letting him come because she wanted to add to the numbers of present-day guild leaders. A show of strength before an enormous foe. A pufferfish complex. MOVEABLE TIMELINE! -------------- "We're going to rent pieces of it out to them, with interest."Of course the infamous buisnesswoman of Tabloid Town would say something like that. Rider doubted this would end well. they didn't seem like the sort of people who understood (or chose to understand) loans and down payments and the like. they understood steel. They understood steel very well. The map on the table suddenly looked very small. The green parts looked even smaller. She wondered how small it must look to the Spacefleet, who saw everything from a sky so high it was no longer blue. There were very few unexplored regions of the NTWF, and most of those were, like the Gates, completely incapable of supporting life. The rifts to places like the Underdeep were indicated by small purple squiggles. Cyborg" Thanks," Midknight said as he got into the Box and put Shado's unconcious body on the ground. Rose and Esme climbed in after, carrying the unconcious Jernath, placing his body on the ground aswell. Their luggage had been placed where directed, and Cyborg had left his cutlasses with the rest of the weapons. " I suggest no one touches my cutlasses, if there's a scratch on em, you'll pay." Cyborg said as he snuck one of Jernaths daggars into his pocket. I was allowed one knife after all. he thought to himself. He would have to tell the archer later anyways. " Now could you drop me off at the Mast?" Cyborg asked. " I have a treaty to go to." KatAsthielle peeked into the Box. "Take me with you!" she called out. ((...what a short post.)) Fraze((The Universal Box)) Fraze stepped away as the minitank fell in to the box. It looked flustered, at least as much as a minitank could look flustered. The mercs followed it in once it rolled out of the way. "Take me with you!" came a familiar voice. Fraze couldn't pin it at first, but soon realized it belonged to Asthielle. "Certainly, come in," Fraze called back. Once Asthielle was in, he yelled to the other 'Fleeters: "Everyone is in! I think we can start going now." To the whole group, he added, "I've got medical supplies for anyone who needs injuries to be tended to. Who will need them?" Cyborg" Well we all have some cuts and scrapes I believe, but I think I have a broken rib, and Shado and Jernath are unconcious." Esme said to Fraze. (short post) Fraze((The Universal Box)) "Well we all have some cuts and scrapes I believe, but I think I have a broken rib, and Shado and Jernath are unconcious," a Merc Fraze didn't recognize told Fraze. Fraze took the used tube of dermal regen gel out of his pocket, and handed it to Esme. "This will heal your cuts, scrapes, burns, and so on. For minor ones it should just take fifteen seconds or so, but for larger cuts it might take a few minutes to work. Don't use it near your eyes or eat it. I don't know why you'd even think about eating it, but that's what it says on the warning label. And it burns when you use it, so be ready. As for the broken rib...hold on." Fraze dug around in the small pack he had taken with him on this insane journey. He flipped through the contents: a thin spare shirt, a few snack bars (why hadn't he eaten those by now?), several loose matches, a Best of Caetano Veloso CD...jeez, it was a small pack, how could there be so much stuff in it? Oh, right, it was in an outside pocket. He unzipped the pocket, and pulled out a strange device that looked like it would get him sued by Gene Roddenberry from beyond the grave. "Hold this side flat against your rib and press the blue button. It shouldn't hurt, but if it does, it will probably be exquisitely painful, so you may want to get someone to hold it for you. As for your unconscious friends...Zari!" he yelled the last word out of the hatch of the Box. "Do you have some antidote to those tranquilizer darts?" Huntress"Not everyone is an unreasonable nutjob, and yet you let the most unreasonable nutjob to do the mercenaries' treaty talking," Hunty said grimly, then shrugged. "Not that it's my business. Like I said, I only care about the pirates' interests. I just don't want a clear enemy show up armed to his teeth. It'll cause questions." "They do have a peacekeeper," Bloody Mary pointed out. The skeletal ice pillar rising to the heights next to the Weewoo, radiating coolness like an open freezer, was hard to miss. "True." Hunty turned around, stifling a sigh. She wouldn't be caught dead admitting this, but she was pretty darn nervous at this point. This treaty would be harder to pull through than the preceding war. And here they were now. Five minutes had passed. The warriors of these old times had no real clocks, but exactly due to that they were pretty good at estimating the time. Without any warnings, Rane straightened his back and said, "Warriors of the NTWF, pirates, mages, knights, ninjas," he shot a glance at the gang that came from the Weewoo and, to be on the safe side, added, "and everyone else. We have called you here to bring an end to a war that started a thousand years ago. How many of you are here for the same reason?" He lifted his sword and let it fall down, in front of his chair. That was followed, with a very short delay and over the span of a few seconds, by the cacophony of falling swords, staffs, knives, kunais, pistols, any other weapon that had been brought. Hunty, unfamiliar with these old laws, remained hesitant for a few seconds, then got a whack on her ear by Bloody Mary, and let the Sue-sword fall in front of her feet. It gave a muffled sound like silver wrapped in silk, and the white glow faded. She edged closer to a pirate who was standing near Rane's chair but in a separate cluster - apparently a crewmember of another pirate ship. "Ahoy, you. How's this ceremony gonna go?" The pirate turned to look down at her. He was tall and very sturdy, with a partly healed wound on his right cheek. He seemed to recongnize Hunty as one of those 'new pirates' and curiosity flashed in his eyes. "Well, now everyone says why they're here, then there'll be a couple speeches, then Rane sums stuff up based on what the leaders said, and after he's figured out what most people want, the rest is the question of hammering out the details." Hunty nodded, gnawing on her lip. "Everyone says why they're here?" "Careful with that bit," the pirate warned. "Takes good wording. That bloody ice worm is keeping an eye on everything, see? Don't say anything that turns against you." This was trickier than Hunty would've expected from this old era. She pulled back and spread the word among those who'd come with her. It had to spread quickly as Rane had already moved on to the next step. "I want," he said, "to end the fight between the guilds and to be accepted as a pirate in this new world with my crew." As he said that, his eyes fell on Hunty again. It was like facing a cobra. Hunty made a conscious effort to not turn her head away. "Same reason," said the pirate captain in the next cluster. "Same reason, and to negotiate the terms of active piracy," said another. There was a murmur in the crowd. While the talks were dominated by ancient warriors, they had to bear in mind that they were dealing with a new world, and thus it was a considerable point. The presence of many leaders of the same guild filled in blanks in the speeches one leader would have left in. As captains spoke, the eyes of the crowd followed along the circle, and suddenly Hunty found herself in the scorching gaze of everyone present. "I want," she said, "to end this war, to represent the pirates of this era, and as such, to discuss the best ways all pirates present here can coexist in this land." That seemed to pass. The scorching gaze of dozens of people moved on. RikkuRikku scrambled aboard the Golden Mast. It was kind of difficult to climb a rope ladder with stubby paws and backwards knees, but she managed it, somehow. The Decomposinator lumbered after her. “You’ll probably be fine, Brit. We’re allowed weapons, and, really, a necromancer’s weapons is in the creatures they create …” She leaped onboard, her fur standing up. “I could have chosen a better weapon, come to think of it. Probably bunches of dead soldiers. Why on earth did I choose a Vulture?” “My charming wit and personality?” the Decomposinator hazarded, without much hope. “Let’s go with that.” She pattered over to somewhere near the Captain and the caped girl who’d spoken to her, namely because being amongst familiar faces might stop her from staring nervously at the big ice beastie. Something fell on her. Rikku was squashed. She was also extremely glad that beaks don’t allow much of a sense of smell. “Get. Off. Me,” she grated, struggling to stand under Doody’s weight. A half-knee-height griffin can’t really deal with something that big. “I warn you, peace talks or no, the only thing right now between you and a blast of flame that would slough your flesh from your bones is my patience, and it is worn very thin right now.” The Decomposinator, being a helpful kind of person, pushed Doody off Rikku. Rikku stood up, coughing a bit, before becoming aware that the talks had apparently started already. “Erm,” she floundered. “I … want … to stop this …” A word came to mind. “Conflict … and to be a human again … and for the Mages to be granted an active alliance with the Pirates, in which neither side attacks the other.” The last bit came out grating and harsh, and it took a while for her to register what she'd said. “That may not have been a good idea.” “I realize that, Britney.” CandyTwizzlers went to where the injured lay, and made magic healing bubbles around all of them. That should helpshe thought, and ran off to help. ((Short post.... ) KatInside the Box with the mercs, Asthielle raised her hands, sparkling with yellow energy. "Maybe I can take care of those who got hit by the tranquilizer darts. Who are they? And...Cyborg, I'm coming with you." * * * Kat glanced down at the wand stuck in her belt. With a sigh, she drew it and let it fall at her feet, where it instantly grew back into its full staff form. The mage among the gem-pirates had let his staff fall along with their weapons, but somehow she couldn't shake the feeling that he would still be a formidable fighter without his weapon. "I, Archmage Charles Gilbert Maurice the Fifth, echo the sentiments of the pirates," the mage spoke, stepping forward so he was more visible. "Representing the mages, I would also like to say that we would like to be accepted as equals. We are willing to help in any way in order to fulfill our dream of living peacefully with you all. "War begets war. Hatred begets hatred. We only hope that we can end this vicious cycle." * * * After his speech, Damson nudged an officer who had snickered when the former had mentioned his full name. The ice wyrm twitched when it saw this, but Damson shook his head. "It was just my name, it's all right," he said. Cyborg(I was totally fighting the urge to have Rose kiss Jernath in this post.) "Fine Ielle, but don't attack Kat in any way, shape, or form unless I give you the go ahead. Midknight, Rose, Esme, Gryff, and squirrels, be careful I don't trust these fleeters anymore." Cyborg said. " No offense, but you did back-stab us." he added to Fraze. " Okay, Rose go put this stuff on Jernath's face, he has some bad looking burns." Esme said, tossing Rose the gel stuff. Rose caught it, " Okay, hopefully he'll wake up soon." Rose said as she applied the gel to Jernath's burns. " Can someone help with this thing?" Esme asked pointing to the machine thingy Fraze had given her for her ribs. " I will," Midknight stated as he went over and held the machine to Esme's ribs. Fraze((The Universal Box)) "No offense, but you did back-stab us," Cyborg told Fraze. "None taken. Paranoia's the name of the game," Fraze replied. With that, Fraze poked his head out of the Box. "Aaaand I think we're here. Thank you for flying on Spacefleet Airlines, we hope you enjoyed your flight. Please wait until the shuttle has come to a complete stop--oh, wait, it has--before exiting the Universal Box. Don't forget to claim your carry-on baggage. Be careful, as baggage may have shifted during the flight since Zari flies like a madwoman." He waited for the Mercs and Asthielle to finish healing their wounds before helping them out of the Box, one by one. When they were all gone, Fraze took the leftover medical supplies and put them either in his pack or pocket. Peace negotiations could become dangerous all too easily, so it would help to have med supplies. Fraze turned to the minitank, waiting patiently in the corner. "Umm...can you get out on your own?" he asked it. "I don't think you can. I could probably lift you with help from my skinsuit, but I couldn't lift you out of the Box." His train of thought hit a rock and jumped to another, parallel track. "Zari!" he called out of the box. "Do you have a winch or something in here? We need to get Amnei's minitank out of here. I'll leave the Box here, I think I may be a bit late to the negotiations. But if you could bring it to me, that'd be great." With that, he climbed up the ladder out of the Box. ((The Golden Mast)) As it turned out, they arrived just in time for the negotiations. Fraze had wondered what sort of proceedings there would be. He had only been to negotiations such as these in a guard capacity, but he had an interest in acting, and thus had observed the representatives in other such peace negotiations quite a bit. He knew more or less what was expected of him. What worried him, though, was that the negotiations would likely start off with some sort of ritual. With a shudder, he remembered one particular peace negotiation where the entire proceedings were done in the nude, to be sure that no one would be able to smuggle in weapons. With another shudder, he remembered that the effort had not been entirely successful. Fraze jumped off of Zari's ship onto the Golden mask, just in time to hear the speaker's words: "How many of you are here for the same reason?"There was a thunderous noise as all present lifted their weapons and dropped them on the ground. Fraze followed suit, dropping his Table--gently, so as not to hurt the deck--then his plasma rifle and still-humming flechette gun, after enabling the safeties on both, and finally the grenades strapped to his belt. One by one, the leaders spoke their part, why they wished to partake in these negotiations. This gave Fraze some time to think. At last, the floor was turned over to him. The gazes of the whole massive gathering shifted to each leader in turn, but Fraze knew they were looking at him somewhat differently. Hardly anyone on the NTWF had known of the 'Fleet just a few days ago, and likely none of the gem army knew of them now. To make himself seem more human, he slid the skinsuit down from his head. He spoke loudly and clearly, as a semi-trained thespian. "Spacefleet's leader is not here now," he began, "so I speak on behalf of him and of my comrades. Our wishes are the same as those of everyone else here--peace. However, we also wish to continue our role as protectors of the NTWF, and--if possible--to seek further means of friendly cooperation between Spacefleet and the other guilds of the NTWF." ((Sorry for moving this so quickly, I wanted to get to the negotiations NAO!)) Cyborg" All of you other than Ielle and I will stay here, but if need be I will send a signal for help. Ielle no attacking unless I say so," Cyborg said before heading to the treaty. Cyborg walked into where the other guild representatives were. " I am here to represent the mercenaries. We would also like to achieve peace between the guild, even though we have had great issues with some guilds," he said sending a glare at both Hunty and Fraze, " we are willing to bury the hachet." He then remembered something. " Sorry forgot this." he said as he placed the dagger on the ground. Omni((Golden Mast, right?)) While Omni wasn't particularly comfortable in the large crowd, she didn't really think there was much she could do about it, especially not now. She took off her knife-sheath-belt-thingy (do those things have a name?) and set it down. Not like it was her greatest weapon, anyway. She considered saying she wanted something like 'a pony' or 'a bacon cheeseburger with a side of large fries', but decided against it. The gem people probably wouldn't get the reference anyway. At one point when it was particularly quiet again, she spoke up. "I would also like to end this. Get back, have a good night sleep…" Her voice started trailing off after the first sentence and she shivered as a cold breeze blew through. "Under warm blankets…" ---------- ((Same place)) While Ethan wasn't fond of the idea of dropping his weapons, he decided it was the best thing to do for the peace talks. He placed his knife, rifle, and the two pistols at his feet, not necessarily in that order. He listened to the others as they stated things they'd generally like to accomplish as a result of the meeting, pondering what to say himself. "I am also with Spacefleet, and I would like to be sure that no one tries to, oh, disrupt the meeting." "Waf! Waf!" Siber barked, as if in agreement with Ethan, wagging his tail. Siber also noticed the small gryphon and the… was that a zombie crow? not to far away. {Finally,} he thought, {someone I can see eye-to-eye with.} He quietly inched closer to them, and them made some quiet barks in their direction. {So are you two here on your own, or did you come just because someone else came?}
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Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:34:08 GMT -5
PFA
((Golden Mast))
Watching as the others dropped their weapons, PFA decided to do the same. She took off her belt, which was there for the sole purpose of carrying her kunai and shuriken pouches. After setting the belt down, she also took her katana sheath (with the katana still in it, of course) and set it next to the belt.
And then they started going around the circle, asking everyone what they wanted out of this treaty. And as comforting as her Uncle's words were, they didn't stop the incredibly tense feeling PFA got when it came to her turn. Nonetheless, she cleared her throat and began to speak.
"I'm... here to represent the current era ninjas," PFA started cautiously. "I want..." She paused briefly. What exactly DID she want? After pondering for a few seconds, she decided to just go with whatever her heart told her. "...I want this war to end. I want all of our various disputes to be settled--preferably peacefully--and for us to all be able to work things out with, uh, living arrangements without stepping on each other's toes."
The ninja grinned sheepishly. She probably sounded like a peacemaker. But then, she probably was.
((one attempt at speaking for the gem-ninjas, coming up. >_> Sorry if it's not that good))
"I want," Ryou said when it came to his turn, "this war to finally end. And for the guilds to be able to co-exist peacefully with these... modern guilds." PFA shrunk a little when the gem-ninja glanced at her. "And for us to be able to continue the traditions that the modern guilds may have forgotten."
PFA couldn't help but wonder what kind of ancient traditions would have been forgotten. Specifically if there were any forgotten ninja traditions. The thought crept into her mind that the gem-ninjas might not have thought of the modern ninjas as true ninjas. But she decided not to dwell on that.
Vyt
Cat Assassin tried not to add to the tension brewing on PFA when it was her time to speak, but he feared that everyone else did not mind to stare at her with such perversion.
She began to speak, nervously at first judging by her way of talking. Cat Assassin looked around, glancing at everyone else's faces. "Why do I get this feeling that we're not actually talking about peace here," he thought. Reminding him about the times even PFA commented on his paranoia, the cat remained mum. He would not want himself to upset the flow of the conversation, he considered.
Rider
Queen Kienne had to keep focusing on a spot on the Golden Mast's not-so-golden mast in order to keep the "I'm sucking lemons" look off her face.
"I want..." she bit back the urge to say 'to throw you all back in that Gem and go home', "to reach an understanding with the other guilds, both past and present. I want to gain some of my land and honor back, but not at the expense of this precious peace."
Doody
Doody got off the Gryphon and began to pat her.
"Heh, you're kinda cute. What's your name?"
He had no idea why he thought it could talk, in fact he was fairly sure it couldn't. I guess that's what you get from staying around so much dung.
Kat
Asthielle narrowed her eyes at Cyborg as she followed, but obeyed. As he dropped his weapons, she instead opened her hands, showing that she was unarmed - with the exception of her magic, of course, but they got the idea.
She didn't say anything herself, but kept quiet as Cyborg spoke, watching for anything suspicious.
Actually, Kalianne being in the circle was suspicious already, but she was under orders not to attack.
Stupid orders.
* * *
Kat glanced down at her staff, quiescent at her feet. She glanced around and scratched her head.
"I guess...I speak for the Pirates, Mages and Knights when I say I want the war to end. I want our peace back. Maybe things won't be perfect and will not always be peaceful, but I want us to work together again for the betterment of everyone, because I know we can all help each other out. It's much better than biting each other's heads off. You could say I'm just repeating what everyone said, but that's what I want. And I'm sure...my guild-mates, my parents, and my Master would have wanted it too."
She caught Asthielle's eye and almost saw a vein throb in the blonde's temple. Kat was not surprised at what happened next.
"You killed Master Meridian, you liar!" she shouted. Thankfully, she made no move to cast a spell or anything worse than screaming her head off.
"No, I didn't!" Kat answered hotly. Looking around, she explained, "Master Meridian was my mentor - and hers, too. She was his apprentice long before I was. Master adopted me after my parents' death, but he died soon after. He was getting on in years..."
Asthielle interrupted, "But I thought...you killed..."
"Who told you I killed him? Why would I kill the man who took me under his wing?"
"I don't know..." This time, the blonde mage sounded uncertain. "Someone told me..."
"I didn't kill him," Kat repeated. "But there is one thing I do know - it was the Gem that caused his death, besides the fact that he was getting old. He was involved with it when he wasn't teaching me. That is all."
Asthielle opened her mouth to say something, but simply scowled and retreated behind Cyborg.
Smithy
((And ze re-entrance is here))
Smithy came on deck again, a happy look on her face. "Well, that's better, I don't feel any...more...dark..."
Her voice faltered at the sight of the meeting. Qamr and Archimedes sourly stared at the mage-fingersmith. With a false smile and a wave, Smithy sidled away a little, just enough to still hear and watch and be called 'present for no reason at all'.
Rikku
“Britney. The dog is barking at me.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
“The dog is barking at me.” Rikku stared at the Decomposinator with pleading eyes.
The Vulture sighed. “Fine.” He looked at the dog … or at least, it looked like a dog. Kind of. “Er … bark bark bark. Woof, bark bark growl. Spleen. Bark woof bark.”
Rikku twitched an ear in his direction. “You … don’t speak Dog, do you.”
“Different dialects,” the Decomposinator said, haughtily.
She spun around and stared as she caught a word. “Spacefleet? There’s Spacefleet here?” She clacked her beak anxiously. “That can’t be good. But … maybe they’re okay. I might have been too quick to judge … I don’t know. Can’t do anything about it now, anyway … GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU BALL OF SLIME!”
The staff-carrying person was back again. Rikku glared at him, then closed her eyes, and concentrated.
Fire.
Fire rolled out from her in a scorching wave, stronger than anything she’d tried before.
She gave the beaky equivalent of a broad grin. “Awesome!”
Then she remembered where she was, and her eyes widened. The fire sank bank down into nothingness.
“ …Oops.”
Huntress
Rane had been sitting silently as the guildspeople spoke, one after another. His face hadn't expressed any real feelings to speak of, but when Kat spoke, a smile slid across his face.
"Yes," he said. "You're repeating what everyone else said... which speaks for itself. We're all here for peace."
At that point, since some rules or irony apply in all situations, Asthielle interrupted him. The pirate lord attempted to cut into the argument, but despite being the speaker of the meeting, his personality simply didn't carry the authority to be heard. Not that he tried too hard. Being a pirate, strict following of the rules was rather optional for him. Besides, the shouting didn't last long.
"So we're all here for peace," he continued, shooting a frown at both Kat and Asthielle as things calmed down again. "And we, the warriors who were imprisoned in the gem, wish to be accepted in this new world. You, the warriors of the new era, are willing to cooperate with us."
"Though we do have a couple bones to pi-" a voice began from the cluster of Rane's officers and promptly ended with "Uffgh... ow! Sorry. Ne'ermind."
"So we could start," Rane continued, shooting another glare, "with discussing the possible terms of piracy for us in this new world."
He'd been trying to ignore the sideshow that was going on between Rikku, Britney, Doody, and Siber, but at that point Rikku exploded. Or at least turned into a flamethrower.
Silence ensued. Everyone stared down at the little griffin.
"No terms," Hunty said into the silence. "The seas are free. Pirate all you want. Don't touch any treasure you find that ain't buried by you and we won't ask you for more."
That created a kind of cross-wave between the angry murmur of non-pirates - who didn't care about this part of the meeting and were glaring at Rikku - and the happy, disbelieving murmur of pirates, who were staring at Hunty. Free seas? No fierce rivalry between pirates? No divided territories?
Hunty blinked back at them in the ensuing rumble of voices. "You didn't have free seas?"
"No weapons!" Rane thundered over the mass of warriors. Hands that had already begun to reach down towards pointy things came up again. But the faces were still scowling.
"I don't need no swords to squish this little rat under me boot," announced a tall man in Queen Kienne's company. He was probably a knight - considering that he came from the time where the ability to crack coconuts with one's head was about as vital for successful knighthood than the ability to recite poetry about daisies.
"She's a mage," Bloody Mary's hoarse voice bit into the murmur. "Mages are allied with knights in this world."
That made the grumbling knights hesitant, so Rane used the chance to give Hunty another confirming glance.
"Free seas?"
"Free seas!" Hunty shouted back, followed by general pirate-y cheering.
Rider
Rider cheered along with the pirates when free seas were announced. of course, freedom in theory was a lot different than freedom in practice. But it was reassuring to be able to shoot at anyone who started getting tetchy about village-pillage.
Also, this meant that the crew of the Weewoo couldn't get what Rider thought was thier fair share of the seas.
Meanwhile, some knight creep was threatening Rikku. 'tratta liked Rikku. Moreover, he liked her dead bird.
He scrambled off Rider, (who, due to layers of clothing, could barely feel the Meepit's exit) and opened a portal to the Meepit Realms. Sephi was practically at the door waiting for him.
For some bizarre reason, he was wearing a dreadlock wig and he was swaggering. He strummed a long note on his goth-guitar.
Ventratta indicated that he was not Angie and Sephi is not Keith Richards/Jack Sparrow's dad.
Sephi shedded the dreads, sprouted a wing made of godmodish comedy and strummed the guitar again. from the still-open portal, the disembodied voices of the Magus sisters started chanting in Latin.
Ventratta indicated that despite thier sharing a nickname, Offsephious was also not Sephiroth.
Sephi grumbled a bit, told 'tratta not to be so picky, and hit the offending knight in the ankles with a spiky goth guitar.
Smithy
Smithy was listening interestedly to all the talking and arguing, not being too familiar with peace talks, when Rikku suddenly began playing around with fire.
"Oh no, not agai-"
Quickly Smithy clenched her fists and only sneezed twice. Blinking, she smiled at Rikku. "Hey, what do you know? I didn't spit electricity! Wonders will never cease!"
And when everyone began cheering, the teen mage cheered with them, for no real reason but that Smithy wanted to make some noise, and that the entire silly battle was apparently over.
The Ice wyrm looked on with a half-approving, half-annoyed look. It hissed a little, and Smithy translated. "Um, the wyrm says that this is all very well, but he wants the ships out of the iceberg now."
Zari
((NIA/ Peace talks hurray))
"Antidote? Uhm...right. I'm warning you, this stuff burns. Find the puncture wound and apply it there, or take it orally...Winch. Right." Zari took a heavy bundle off a shelf and set it up quickly, humming cheerily. "Winch!" she yelled cheerily, jumping off the ship, taking flight breifly, and taking several wrong turns until she found Fraze. "Ooooh. Peace talks." she murmured. "I has winch, if you need it." she added. Then she stopped. "Er. Sorry to interrupt the peace talks...but can I say something?"
Mentally, Zari cringed. The last time she'd been in a room with this many leaders, she'd yelled at them, knocked over several objects, tripped, and then told them to hold onto their shoes. Hey. She'd only been twelve then. She scolded herself for turning into a shy fourteen-year-old in such a bad place to do so. "Methinks we all want the same thing...That being fr everyone to agree on something, stop hurling nasty stuff at each other, and just get along. We of Spacefleet have enough troublesome stuff- I only narrowly avoided being kidnapped and sold only, how many months ago? Six or so? I can't remember." Zari tugged on one of her ears, trying to think. "But it'll be a good thing if we could all at least try not to kill each other. I think you all may know this already, but killing is nasty and doesn't do anyone any good in the long run. Besides, war is a waste of time and resource. In short, can we all agree on something please? No compromising? Arguing? Please?"
Zari glanced across at Fraze and Ethan, then attempted a smile. They (them being the leaders of the guilds) probably wouldn't listen- Very few did listen to people who looked barely out of childhood. It was something she'd learnt in the Undercircle- no matter what she said or how much logic was behind it, people just didn't listen. Maybe humans were more sensible? Probably not...
Doody
The flame had scorched Doody from head to toe, and he wasn't very happy about it. He shut his eyes, concentrated, and began mumbling The Sacred Poopospell:
"I'm brown, daboo dee daboo dye, daboo dee daboo dye..."
And suddenly he glowed in a brown aura, and rose a few inches off the ground.
"Daboo dee daboo DIE!"
Suddenly he pointed his hands at the gryphon and a powerful stream of poop flew. As soon as it was covering parts of it, the goo hardened. Easy to break off, but not easy to wash off.
He then fell to the ground, semi-concious, the spell having weakened his already burnt body.
Kat
"Free seas!" Kat cheered along with the other pirates. Then she paused and said, "I mean, seriously, who owns the seas, anyway?"
* * *
"That's it?" asked Damson, discreetly nudging Rane. "Then again, this is what we want - no more war, no more lies...et cetera..."
Rider
Ryou noted the griffin and poopmancer who seemed to be locked in an epic, messy duel.
"Not during peace negotiations," he said with the patient air of a parent. "I'll have to remove you two from the talks. My ninjas will escort you out." A heron-like ninja and a elf came at his beckoning.
---
Kienne siulked. Happy pirates. if there was one thing she hated, it was happy pirates.
Ruling was so complicated. it involved stuff like accounts and orders and Keeping the Peace, usually by non-peaceful means. It involved a first husband and a line of tiresome suitors who didn't even claim to love her. Whatever happened to, whatshisface, well it was over a thousand years ago after all. Randorph. The peasant boy who hadn't known she was a king's betrothed. He had a smile like the sun on the sea. She had lied to him, hid under a pseudonym. He was open with her, wholly innocent and pure. Even under such a dorky name. He was clever, but uneducated. He had more good sense than all these pretentious knights combined.
It didn;t matter. He was a thousand years dead, just like all of those foolish suitors and Kienne's whole family and Kienne's entire world.
The war a millenium ago had changed Kienne beyond recognition. It had taken her first husband, the king, (not that she really minded, he had been a cold-hearted fish) and left her with a massive debt and the royal cousins vying for her favors, as she had no heirs. Suitors had come from everywhere, looking only at her huge tracts of land and not her as a person. She had become obsessed with upholding Law and Peace in the realm, when Peace was nowhere to be found in her life.
If the pirates were going to rule the seas, there would be no end to the pillaging. no peace to be had on any coastal town.
She marched up to Rane to demand some sort or order be kept in the seas. in the back of her mind, she could hear her escort loudly protesting, and a mage saying, "She's gonna get us all killed."
She tapped Rane on the shoulder to look him in the eyes for the first time since this war began.
They were eyes like the sun on the sea.
her heart just about leapt out her mouth. The knights, seeing thier queen go pale and weak, rushed to her side (out of duty if nothing else.) They waited for an order. To attack, to run, anything.
The words came out of her mouth in a slow whisper. "How?"
Huntress
"I mean, seriously, who owns the seas, anyway?"
"We do," Hunty said with a manic grin. "'We' meaning all the pirates. The seas have always been fair game. The coasts probably belong to the rulers of the land, but when have their laws ever..." she realized that this wasn't a smart thing to say in the presence of knights. "Well, the sea is a symbolic thing like that. It means freedom, plain and pure. It should never be divided or bent under a ruler by definition."
She peered at Kienne and her company to see if her somewhat reckless words had had an unwanted impact, but nobody farther away was paying attention. The mage showdown was causing ruckus and the bossy queen appeared to be dumbstruck for whatever reason.
Rane didn't, in fact, look much better. The peace talks were starting to grow over his head with some mages violating the rules, and he knew that he, as the speaker of the meeting, would have to make sure everything was going smoothly. And even though the rules asked for any violators of the armistice rule be taken care of first, the arrogant queen of the knights chose the worst moment to march up to him and demand his attention. Rane had heard plenty about Queen Kienne to know that she was nearly impossible to negotiate with, so it was really a relief to hear Ryou take matters in his own hands. He turned with an inwards sigh to face Kienne, and to his surprise saw the woman go white as a sail.
"How?"
Rane stared back at her in confusion, his brain in fierce denial. This was... but....
A mind doesn't stay in denial for long when a part of it has never stopped hoping. The officers watched in confusion as Rane suddenly went just as pale as the queen, staring back at her, unable to say a word.
"...oh gods," he finally managed, frozen where he stood. "You?"
The reluctant murmur on the bridge died down. Heads turned. Dozens of eyes watched as Rane hesitantly raised his hand towards Kienne's, then pulled it back.
"But you're not... you're the Queen?" This was denial as much as hope.
Rider
"I always have been," Kienne said, aware of how stupid this must sound. "Well, rather, I was heir before I met you. I was so scared that you'd find out... you were just supposed to be an interesting detour on my way to a royal marriage, but..."
It had been a long time since Kienne had thought of herself as "Sally," but now she felt as insecure and fragile as the flower-picking maiden she had played as a role so many centuries ago.
"I must say, Randorph, I like your new name better." She laughed, a forced, choked laugh. "You know, I never stopped believing that you, with all your farmboy cleverness, would figure it out. And here it is, a thousand years too late."
Even amid the noisy guilds, there was an awkward silence.
"By too late, I mean... Well, obviously you'd forgotten all about me... You couldn't still feel... We were at war, Rane!" The last part was a sudden, violent outburst. Not the angry sort of outburst one would expect from the tempramental queen, but an outburst that could only come from absolute despair.
On the side, the snarky Rider turned to Ryou. "Okay, have you got any stunning revelations? A secret name? I swear, you're the only one left, might as well spit it out now."
Rikku
Rikku watched the ensuing chaos with a disinterested, if nervous, eye. Okay. A Knight wanted to squish her, just about everyone hated her, but a couple of Meepits had leaped gallantly to her and the Decomposinator’s defense. Alrighty then. She could deal with that.
Then the wretched thing tried to attack her again, but since he should have been only so much charred ashes at that point, the Laws of Physics came to Rikku’s aid, seeming a bit surprised about it, and nothing happened. The griffin ran a claw through her unruly fur, feeling grateful, before a ninja told her they had to leave.
“I’m perfectly fine to stay without fighting,” she said quietly. “If that’s all right. I’d rather see what happens. I’d prefer it if that … person was kept away from me, though, if at all possible. It’s messy.”
“Being polite?” the Decomposinator said out of the corner of his beak. “That’s a new one for you. And ‘messy’? Isn’t that about the definition of your trade?”
“No,” Rikku said shortly, switching her tail in irritation. “Shut up, Britney. I want to see what happens.”
She looked around, in time to see the soul-searching moment between the Pirate and the Knight Queen.
“ … Then again, on second thoughts, perhaps I don’t.”
Smithy
Smithy took one look at the mess created by both the other mages, and held up a shimmering ball of mist. "If you don't mind, Rikku, I can clean that up." A swish, a swoosh, and the ashes and dung dissapeared. A lot of deck-swabbing is saved when you have a water mage on board.
And it finished just in time for her to watch the moment between the Rane and Queen Kienne, storing it all up interestedly. But there wasn't enough time to get into the long-lost reunion, before the Weewoo rocked precariously from a light whack that the ice wyrm had issued. "Sorry to break this up, really, but I'm telling you, the Ice Wyrm wants us out. It's wanted that from the beginning. And I don't know about the rest of you, but night vision or no night vision, it's too dark in here."
Kat
Damson face-palmed.
"Well, now, isn't this interesting. Excuse me while I hurl over on the starboard side."
But the leader of the mages didn't actually do that, and simply added, "I am a legal minister, by the way. It's part of being an archmage."
"Sorry to break this up, really, but I'm telling you, the Ice Wyrm wants us out. It's wanted that from the beginning. And I don't know about the rest of you, but night vision or no night vision, it's too dark in here."
"Does he, really?" asked Damson, reaching up to touch the wyrm's chin. Its smile looked like a wide crack. "Yes, yes...well then, we'll try to finish up as much as possible. We'll be out of here in no time, I promise." He directed the last two words to the great icy creature that was purring again, engulfing the mage in a cloud of cold air.
"You know, I could always make you a mate who can stay with you when we mages can't."
He drew his robes tightly around himself and braced himself for another purr.
"Maybe I should have created an ice cat instead. Just kidding."
* * *
Kat grinned. "I could be the bridesmaid."
* * *
No one saw Asthielle silently leave the crowd, walking off by herself at the side of the ship. She looked up, and then took one last glance at the gem-people and the NTWF people. Twirling a lock of her blond hair, she stared over the edge and at her blurry reflection in the water.
So Kalianne didn't kill anyone after all?
It seemed so hard to believe...and yet...there was this truth in her voice that Asthielle could not deny. Maybe it came from being together for so many years, under the tutelage of Master Meridian, one of the original masters of the Gem.
Whenever two people meet, they instantly form a bond between them. It strengthens when they see each other more often, and it just continues to grow and grow...
She frowned, remembering his words and continuing to gaze down at her double in the sea.
Huntress
Rane had always been painfully aware of the people around him. He was one of those people who are constantly worried about leaving a bad impression - apart from his sulky thundercloud-moments, at least - and who always lean on people around them. That's why he relied on his officers so much, and that's why he'd stayed the fleet's lord - he took other captains' opinions into account, to the point of self-denial.
Yet here he was standing now, in the middle of a circle of restless, curious, intently staring fighters, and had no awareness of them even being there. All he could see was the woman in front of her, and even that was a hazy figure clouded by old memories, still vivid and colorful even after those centuries in the vague oblivion inside the gem, passing in front of his eyes as he listened to what he still recognized as Sally's voice, although it had changed in time.
He smiled bitterly, nearly wincing at 'Randorph' and tried not to look at Damson.
"I like the current name better too," he admitted, and attempted a smile, an equally forced smile. But when Kienne's strong facade broke at the end of her words, leaving her no longer a proud queen, but simply a desperate woman, Rane committed treason by stepping forward and taking her both hands.
"Yes, we were at war," he said so quietly that the entire crowd fell silent, perking their ears in order not to miss a word, "but this wasn't our war. We were both dragged in like leaves in the wind. This was a war created by murderers and traitors, cunning manipulators, and that bloody demon above all. It wasn't your fault, or mine. Although... had I only known..."
He paused, then said, "Kienne - Sally - our world is dead and gone, my family is gone, everyone I ever knew and talked to in my childhood is gone... except for you. I had long accepted that I'd lost you... hell, I accepted it back when I went to the sea and there was just a tiny little chance that I'd ever come back home and settle down. The sea does that to people, it swallows you whole. And even so, I never really stopped hoping. We were at war... but it's over, isn't it?"
"I am a legal minister, by the way. It's part of being an archmage."
That seemed to bring Rane back into matters at hand. He blinked, then promptly let Kienne's hands go as his face developed an interestingly rose-pink hue.
"Really now...!"
"You're not getting cold feet now, are you?" Hunty asked into the silence that was now getting filled by benevolent chuckling and a lot of nudging the next person.
Cyborg
" So now we're having a wedding? I have to admit never saw this coming. So you, Smithy I believe, can you tell the wyrm we need a bit more time?" Cyborg asked.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
" Should we try and wake him up?" Midknight asked, " Oh remind me when Cyborg gets back I need to talk to you guys about something."
" Umm, what is it Midknight?" Rose asked, " I think we should try."
" Jernath, wake up." Esme said as she shook Jernath lightly, in an atempt to wake the archer.
PFA
((Golden Mast))
PFA, despite how nervous she was earlier, couldn't help but stifle a giggle at the happy couple. Happy couples were always full of squee.
"If we're having a wedding, I'll be the flower girl!" she offered. It occurred to her how weird it probably was that a ninja was being a flower girl. She shoved that thought away.
---
((Universal Box))
"Jernath, wake up."
The first words Jernath was aware of since falling unconscious. Thoughts were finally coming back to him. What happened? Where was he?
He stirred a little in response to Esme's request, indicating that he had heard her. After a moment, he opened his eyes, and slowly sat up.
His thoughts repeated themselves when he started taking in his surroundings. "What... happened? Where am I?"
Smithy
" So now we're having a wedding? I have to admit never saw this coming. So you, Smithy I believe, can you tell the wyrm we need a bit more time?" Cyborg asked.
Shrugging, Smithy turned to the wyrm. "All right, wyrm. So we can't get out of your iceberg yet. We need a lot more time, as our peacemaking is suddenly about to be sealed with a wedding, I believe." A lot more sniggering came from the crowd of mages and pirates, and the wyrm purred even more loudly.
A devilish grin began playing about Smithy's lips as she turned to watch the reunion scene. "You'll save yourself a lot of embarrasment if you declare a wedding quickly. I mean, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose from it."
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