112 replies to this topic

[SL the Pyro]

Shadow's face flushed red. "Didn't you catch what I said? If it were my choice, I'd rather the Alliance go die in a pit of hellfire!" He had taken offense to Jordan's words. "You think I'm loyal to them? Hardly. I'm not doing this just to keep the Alliance together, and I know they think I'm just some disposable weapon... but believe it or not, I care about my hometown of Ur'Almen, just as much as I care about my dorm. Hell, if it weren't Alliance-run and if I still didn't need them, I'd go and assassinate Khuffie myself!"

He took a moment to regain his composure, his face leaning towards the ground.

"I may have an appetite for adventure or destruction from time to time, but I'm not heartless. There are people I care about in the world, people who accept me knowing that I'm not being totally human, and I will protect them no matter what it takes." he continued, looking Jordan square in the eye. "And you know damn well that you would almost lay down your life for those you care about, too."

Edited by Shadow_Link, 07 November 2008 - 01:55 AM.

[Steel Samurai]

"Remember the position of Uradiel that I'm in. Aside from their latest fiasco, I know a lot of their key operations and outposts, along with their layouts. Perhaps with my help, you could take out another piece of the Alliance without much fuss."

Steel stroked his chin and shook his head slowly.
"No, no, we'd have tortured all of that information out of you anyway. You'll have to come up with something better."

The shouting match broke out between Jordan and Shadow.

"Now now, no need to fight. I think we're all agreed that the alliance is bad."

[SL the Pyro]

Shadow looked to Steel. "...Okay really, there's gotta be something I can do to clear my name... ooh. Maybe I can assassinate some big men in the Alliance? I know a lot of generals that the people certainly wouldn't miss when they're gone..."

[Steel Samurai]

Steel smacked his fist in his palm.
"Aha! I've got it. We're leaving for the mainland in a few days. Come with us and kill your supervisor, and all of his lieutenants, and your name will be clear. Oh, and we'll need all the information before mentioned."

[JRPomazon]

Great . . . more assassinations. Like he hadn't had enough of those already. This is exactly what Jordan didn't need right now.

"You two can talk turkey, I'm gonna get the monk here checked in so he isn't illegal anymore."

With that said, Ezekiel and Jordan left the scene and headed towards one of the larger buildings near the Grand Hall. Believe it or not, there was a system in place so people like Ezekiel could gain temporary immunity and stay at the fortress for extended periods of time, as long as someone vouched for them. It took about an hour or so for the paper work to be passed, but Ezekiel got a week's visit at the lovely Forsaken Fortress. If he wasn't gone by then, well he would be in a load of trouble.

"Well mister monk, there you go. Enjoy yourself. And with that, my debt is repaid. Take care."

Jordan departed from the monk and headed towards the south east tower. He made the trip in record time, using the wind to accelerate his pace. He arrived to the scene on foot. He looked up at the structure, which looked just like the first two towers he had visited before. The guards knew who he was and let him in, apparently Jordan's relation to Steel had given him some rank among the pirates. There was a rhyme to it as well:

"Strong enough to fight with Steel, Strong enough to lead the horde."

Since Jordan had proven his worth as a fighter under Steel, it seemed that Jordan was unofficially given rank by strength. He came to the tower to visit someone and a few flights of stairs later, he found his way to his destination.

"Hello again Princess." He said to the fair maiden who occupied the room. He looked at her for a moment. He later opened one of the window shades to late some of the afternoon light in to confirm it was her. He pinched her cheek to make sure she wasn't wearing a mask. He even went as far as to take a magnifying glass to inspect her face. Yup, without a doubt it was her and not some strange doppelganger.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Hmm. . . .what indeed." Jordan replied.

[SL the Pyro]

Shadow smiled at Steel. "Now you're talking."

An aggravated groan had escaped Jordan's lips. "You two can talk turkey, I'm gonna get the monk here checked in so he isn't illegal anymore," he said, and both he and the monk had left their company.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "What's his problem?" he wondered.

--------------------

For the first half of the hour that Jordan and Ezekiel had departed, Shadow and Steel had been discussing a plan of attack. He had been true to his word; in working so closely with the ones he was soon going to help eliminate, Shadow had an intricate knowledge of Uradiel's operations and outposts, right down to their secret entrances -- where applicable -- and their guard shifts. The fact that he was also working with the Uradiel Special Ops, who in spite of working for Uradiel were also getting tired of its tyranny, only sweetened the deal; it would serve as a nice Ace in the Hole.

He was sure that Steel had more than enough information to come up with a plan, though hopefully one that would keep the civilian populace of Uradiel out of harm's way; that was the only condition Shadow had set in exchange for his information.

It was a very dramatic turn in his own mission, perhaps, but this new objective was much more appealing; he was looking forward to giving Uradiel what it deserved.

Edited by Shadow_Link, 09 November 2008 - 07:16 PM.

[JRPomazon]

Jordan walked to the other side of the room, hoping to have a conversation with the princess.

"It has been some time since you showed up at Gwen's place with Steel, how have you been since then?" He asked.

"I was taken from my home against my will and watched the love of my life die before my very eyes. How do you think I feel?" She replied.

"Sheesh, sorry I asked." Jordan said, scratching the back of his head. It was a nervous tick of his.

"Why are you here Spearman?" The princess asked.

"It's Jordan actually." He replied quickly.

"I was sent to check on you, some one arrived on the fortress in order to kidnap you . . . again. He was captured by Steel personally."

"I see." She replied solemnly. It seemed that she wanted to leave this place. Very badly. A long pause followed.

"You are safe here." Jordan said, breaking the silence.

"Your home is in slowly rebuilding but most likely in much strife."

"All the more reason I should be set free from this place." She said, rebellious intent ringing from her voice.

"So you can become a political casualty?" Jordan said.

There was another long pause.

"What do you-"

"The way things are right now are not good if you don't wish to join your lover. There are men out there who would be more than happy to have you die for the sake of starting a war, seize power, the whole nine yards."

Jordan headed towards the door.

"I don't care how much you hate Steel for killing your lover, he's the reason you are alive right now. At least be grateful that you have the luxury of safety here."

"The why didn't you bring that girl from Sornaiid with you as well?" She contested.

"Doesn't she deserve the luxury of safety as well, here at the Forsaken Fortress?"

Once again, the conversation had taken turn to silence.

"I wish I could have brought her with me, that way things would suck less around here." He said, he back to the princess.

Jordan left the room, feeling worse than before.

"Well, at least her majesty is in good health." He said to himself as he began his departure from the tower.

Edited by JRPomazon, 10 November 2008 - 03:58 PM.

[SL the Pyro]

Meanwhile, at Sin Sanctuary...

The Dreadlord's soulless, evil-radiating eyes watched the purple ball in front of him intently. It displayed the dark room that Shadow and Steel were discussing their plans in. If he had a soul, he would be amused. "So, they plan to attack Uradiel next... they are going to cripple the Alliance faction after all..."

"This is not the future that I had predicted."

"You have not been able to predict the future accurately since you were last slain, I do not begrudge you for that. In fact, your prediction was close enough." Z turned from the purple ball, the image it displayed fading away. "Furthermore, this turn of events has given us an opportunity that I had not seen before..."

The Dreadlord rose from his throne and walked to the back of the room, where massive, red curtains obscured something from view. He pulled the tassle for the curtains, and they pulled apart. Behind them was a huge, glass capsule of some sort, rigged directly into the floor and ceiling right next to the window. The glass was slightly filled with a black fluid of some sort.

"The demons that we sent to the Fortress were a success after all... despite them only being prototypes and being slain so quickly, they were able to extract their host's negative energies into here. Soon, it will be filled..." he said, his voice filled with anticipation. He turned for the exit of the throne room.

"Where are you going?"

Without stopping, Z replied, "Uradiel. I have plans for the traitor Grande..."

[JRPomazon]

Jordan didn't return to Shadow Link and Steel right away. After checking on the princess, he decided it would be wise to watch the waves from the tower's roof. Too much time was spent at the fortress as it was, returning to the Alliance and giving that book to Grande was top priority. He looked over to see the ships coming in, he'd need a craft to go back on and it wasn't likely that he was going to be able to hitch a ride. What were the chances of him being able to get his own boat?

Refusing to linger on with this train of thought, Jordan rose to his feet and decided to exit the scene. Hopefully Steel could help with the arrangements he needed to take care of before departing.

[Steel Samurai]

Steel was bored. Talking with most non-pirates did that to him. He was certain he had fallen asleep at least twice. Bah. To Neptune with planning. He got up, walked to the nearest window, and jumped out. Several stories later, he was at the docks. He selected a sturdy looking ship, got on board, and sent word to the rest of the expedition that they were to leave. Immediately.

[SL the Pyro]

They'd only been talking for just over a half-hour, and Steel had fallen asleep twice. "If he dozes off again, the next wake-up call will be a hammer to the head." Shadow thought to himself with a slight snicker.

Unfortunately, Steel didn't give him the chance to satisfy his sadistic side. He simply said "To hell with planning," then shoved him aside to jump out the window.

"What the f--" Shadow nearly cursed aloud, then was dumbfounded by Steel's manuver. He looked down from the window to see Steel falling... then landing perfectly safely at the nearby dock. "...That was impressive. Even I can't do that without something to cushion the fall." he admitted, then regained his agitated attitude. "Geez, impatient much!? If that's the Commander, I'd hate to see how the Admiral works."

While Shadow didn't have the ability to land safely from this height -- he now cursed the lack of his cape, which he had ditched for the pirate disguise -- he was able to run fast. He quickly sped down to the bottom of the tower, to come face-to-face with a pirate guard. "Commander Steel wanted me to inform his expedition that you should prepare to leave. Immediately."

"Wha-- already!?" Shadow asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes, already." The guard said before resuming his duties.

Holy crap, was Steel ever impatient. Being a former thief and soon-to-be-former Uradiel Special Ops, Shadow was trained to be patient. He hoped that the pirate Commander wouldn't cramp his style in this mission... and that he at least had a plan in mind by the time they arrived in hostile territory. He sped off for the dock.

Edited by Shadow_Link, 12 December 2008 - 05:00 PM.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken mumbled and grumbled his way to the docks ever since recieveing the message from the runner. He had a finished a long, hard day of work and wanted to enjoy a good meal at the Crab's Leg. Nope.

"Stupid little..."

Ken had finally made his way to the ship, and noticed the others there who were there.

"Oh great, and I suppose you had fun today did you? Well guess what, while you were off faffing around the fortress, I've been doing real work! Who do you think keeps the fleet's weapons sharp and in order? Me, that's who! And on top of that, I had to spend half the day catagorizing and sorting the weapons we got from the Sultan! And do you know how many weapons were damaged when the tower..."

[Steel Samurai]

"Go have a cry Ken." Steel said. "Actually, you've probably got time to go bid the Princess farewell, if so you wish. Jordan's taking his sweet time." He winked a couple times and nudged Ken in the ribs. Twice. Then he set off to prepare the ship for departure

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken stood there a agape for a little, closing his mouth as he started to blush.

"Well fine then, I will."

Ken turned and walked away from the docks, his steps a bit lighter.

"... Is it that obvious?" he thought to himself.

[SL the Pyro]

" Sonic boom, sonic boom, sonic boom--" Shadow shook his head quickly as he ran. "Ugh, where did I get that from?" he wondered.

He then rounded a corner and came face-to-face with the wielder of the Wolfen.

"WHOA, hi there." he said in slight alarm as he ducked to the side in a roll -- he remembered the last time he nicked himself on that sword -- getting back to his feet in an instant and slowing to a jog as he reached the ship.

[JRPomazon]

Jordan found his way to the docks after leaving his view of the ocean. Contrary to popular belief, not all pirates had lust and greed on their minds. He passed Ken on the way to the ship, nodding to greet him and continued on his way. His leg, which had been hurt earlier in the day was still giving him trouble, but it was at a manageable level. He would change the bandages later. For now, he was content with the idea of heading off. He ran into Steel, who was near the ship.

"I took care of that thing you wanted, checking on the princess and whatnot." He said.

"I'm going to retire to the ship, call me if you need me."

With that, he left Steel's company and headed towards the ship. Once he boarded the medium sized vessel, the first thing he did was find his quarters and take off his armor (a chestplate, shoulder guard and two wrist bracers) and weapons, throwing them on the ground as he threw himself on a bed.

[SL the Pyro]

Shadow had walked onto the ship just after Jordan went to his room; not being familiar with the layout of the ship and being sure no quarters were prepared for him, he just leaned on a railing, out of the way of the pirates who were getting ready to sail.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken nodded to Shadow and Jordan as they passed. He made his walk swift, and was soon at the tower. He ascended the steps leading the princess's room with the same haste. The guards at their posts recognizing Ken allowed him past without any trouble, and soon enough there he was.

"Your highness?" the swordsman asked meekly.

"Who is--oh. It's you. Ken, was it?" the other responded.

"Yes Princess Hina."

The princess regarded Ken with a certain sharpness.

"Why are you here?"

"I uh... I wished to say goodbye, since I had the time. I'm leaving for awhile."

"Is that so?"

Ken's heart had begun to develop a fast beat.

"Aye-yes. I thought you might have wanted to know."

Hina's expression turned from sharp to curious.

"Well, I guess I will leave you alone then," Ken said as turned around, feeling a bit embaressed.

"Wait."

Ken froze for moment and turned.

"Yes?" he asked.

"The way you act... You are not like the other pirates here, not even the higher ranked ones who claim to have deciency. Why do you ally yourself with them?"

Ken was struck by the odd question, but he pulled hiself together to answer it.

"A little more than few years ago, I was on a ship that was crossing the sea. During the voyage, that ship ran into a monstrous storm, and it was torn apart in the process. I was the only one who survived it all, and due to some stroke of luck, one of the ship's dinghies had stayed mostly intact. I was lost sea in that little boat for what felt like forever with no food or freshwater. I thought I was going to die alone out there, but then..."

"... a pirate ship rescued you?" Hina finished with some obvious doubt in her voice.

"Yes. The captain of their vessal decided to help me, giving me food and good water. From that I point on, I owed my life to the Fortress."

"Surely you must have had the chance to leave..."

"Yes, but I consider it a manner of honor. I pledged my life to the Fortress becuase that is how much I owe them."

Hina took another long look.

"Ken... You may go now. Be careful."

"Yes, your highness."
________________________________________________

Ken walked down to the dock with a hand over his chest.

"Well," he thought aloud to himself as he boarded the ship, "That was that."

[JRPomazon]

Jordan tossed and turned on the bed in his quarters, a combination of bored and restless emotions.

"Ugh, somebody get this ship moving already." He said to himself as he began punching his pillow.

[Steel Samurai]

Steel looked at Jordan, puzzled.
"What the hell are you talking about? Look, there's the coast. Another hour or so and we'll be at our destination. You just slept through the entire journey."

[JRPomazon]

Jordan jumped up from the bed and looked outside the small window. Sure enough, Steel was correct.

"Wow, you're right." Jordan said, scratching his head.

He paused for a moment.

"Wait, how long were you in here?" He asked with a somewhat insecure facial expression.

[SL the Pyro]

For the majority of the trip, Shadow had spent the majority of his waking moments pranking Steel -- unsuccessfully. He needed something to alleviate his boredom throughout the long boat ride, and the seemingly unsurpassable challenge the pirate commander presented served that purpose for quite a while. Until one of his failed pranks backfired on him; the bump on his head from a fallen barrel still stung.

But now, they were close to the mainland. They were pretty much in Alliance territory now, which called for Shadow's demeanor to change from playful to serious. Now more-or-less fully focused on the impending task, he decided to raid the pantry on the ship; it was going to be a long trip to the Uradiel capital.

(OOC: So... is that it for this one? Will there be a new topic or... what?)

Edited by Shadow_Link, 25 December 2008 - 06:55 PM.

[JRPomazon]

OoC: I suppose I'll start a new story, since I have some stuff my character needs to do. We can continue everything from there.