It's just a question of ti~me [Open]
Characters: 4423 crew
Content: It's a race against time as the crew of the 4423 tries to pillage as much as it can before the ship plunges to its doom, or someone comes to ruin their fun...
Setting: Merchant ship near Kropmork
Time: Raidin' time
Warnings: none yet, but who knows.
Notes: Once again, you are free to form your own teams, but please ( Read more... )
Content: It's a race against time as the crew of the 4423 tries to pillage as much as it can before the ship plunges to its doom, or someone comes to ruin their fun...
Setting: Merchant ship near Kropmork
Time: Raidin' time
Warnings: none yet, but who knows.
Notes: Once again, you are free to form your own teams, but please ( Read more... )
As the first guy flew down the hall, away from Cloud's blade, Anko gave a shout of laughter. She didn't miss that he'd intended to injure and not kill--but it was fun nonetheless.
Until, from a side corridor, a man leaped out at them with a yell, armed solely with a wrench and half-mad from fear. Anko reacted reflexively, turning to stop and slash out with the blade. It hit true, and the man fell, a fine spray of arterial blood across her hands and knife.
Shaking it off, the wrench had reminded her, uncomfortably, of someone else, she continued the mad dash down the corridor. Perhaps other crewmen would avoid them now, with his sword, and blood glinting dully from her blade. She would spare the man a prayer later. For now, it was just another part of the job; he had attacked, she had defended.
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Coming to a crossroads, several hallways intersecting in four different ways, Cloud stopped in the center and stared intently into his own thoughts. The way back was instantly eliminated; to the left and right likely only lead to more hallways, cabins, offices, and rooms that did not interest them. No, straight ahead was the way to go, made evident as Cloud lay eyes on a large door at the very end of the hall, decorated much less modestly than the others they had passed by.
"There!" he declared sharply, dashing forward. "That has to be the captain's room, and I bet we'll find a private vault inside."
CLICK
He instantly knew that that sound was: a pistol cocking. A figure appeared from the opening at the hall's end, holding a gun straight out in front of him, and with a burst of sound, a single shot came whirling towards them.
There was nothing to panic about, though. Cloud, level-headed and focused, simply held out his large sword and let the long, flat edge harmlessly deflect the bullet with a soft clink. Hidden behind its surface for a moment, Cloud then moved the blade aside and glared at their attacker for a moment. He, in turn, dropped the gun, all the color drained from his face, and ran off without a word of protest.
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The Vaizard quickly dashed into the ship, expertly dodging attacks and panicked crowds; leaping off walls and bounding like a hyperactive rabbit along the corridors as he searched for a party to join in. Dimo seemed to have his hands full, and Maxim sure seemed like he had everything under control. He had heard there was a team deeper into the ship; Kensei quickly hastened his pace, flying with a strong kick to propel him forward around the corner before he reached where Anko and Cloud were.
He arrived just in time as a man fled from the scene, Cloud lowering that giant sword of his. Kensei finally made a stop in his mad dash, landing onto the metal floor with a hollow thud before straightening himself and looking at the duo with a slight smirk on his face. "Hope you don't mind me joining the party."
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Anko felt herself tense at the click. It was an almost visceral reaction to the sound--she hadn't yet been shot by a gun and had no real desire to try something new and different in the way of pain, today at least. A little relieved sigh at the giant sword being good for something was the only sign she gave she'd been nervous about anything.
At the thud, Anko spun, grinning at the newcomer. "Glad you could join us." Looking back at Cloud, she spun the knife once into a slightly different grip. "Think there're any more in there?"
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Kensei appeared shortly thereafter. He was an unknown to Cloud, but based solely on his un-panicked mannerisms, not to mention the smirk he wore, he had to have been part of their crew, rather than the merchants. Cloud nodded smartly to him. "Right. It'll be easier with more muscle on our side," he said.
Stepping forward, Cloud eyed the door to the captain's chambers ahead. The area looked clear, but there could easily be more men waiting around the far corners, or even behind the door itself, ready and waiting to pounce. It would be best if they eliminated that possibility. Tightening his grip on his sword, Cloud steadied himself, taking the hilt in both hands, then swung the enormous heft of the blade up and over his head, bringing it down in a straight, cutting line through the air, bisecting the air with a horrible rushing sound.
"Break!" he exclaimed, and as the end of the sword collided with the floor ahead of his feet, a burst of energy came rushing out in the form of a glowing blue wave. Like a roll of the ocean tide, it skimmed along the ground, leaving a charred trail behind it, then slammed angrily into the doorway, utterly demolishing the entrance. The door flew from its hinges violently, and the frame surrounding it was bent apart to an unrecognizable shape.
Nothing stood behind the door, and anyone hiding to the sides would have been blown away by the impact. From their safe position down the hall, Cloud, Anko, and Kensei would be able to see the lavish decorations of the merchant captain's room.
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Shifting that thought aside, the Vaizard looked as Cloud utterly decimated all obstacles before them with a swing of his giant sword and could help but look impressed. Damn, that sure was one heck of an attack... all he could do with his own sword was to shoot out some spheres of energy, really. Unlike the blond and his Break move.
The silver-haired man squinted a little through the fading cloud of smoke and dust in the aftermath of that attack, seeing the blasted open door and their clear path to the captain's quarters now, decorated rather lavishly if he could say for himself. "Well, that's sure one heck of a decoration in there."
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Confidently, Anko strode into the now wide-open cabin, quickly identifying good targets for looting. A dresser and two chests, along with a desk, a chart weighed down by an inkwell and some other improvised paperweights, as well as a plush bed occupied the cabin.
Other than that--it seemed the man with the gun had been the captain, or else someone else was hiding in the room's lush appointments. Heading for the smaller locked chest, Anko did a sweep with her arm under the bed. Dust-bunnies, a few stray papers and, "Aha," she purred, flipping open the simple wooden box there and pulling out a bottle half-full of some amber liquid. "The captain's sanity."
This she set aside to be carried back later. A few crumpled Ivonian bills in the bottom went into her pocket before she turned her attentions to the chest to decide the quickest way to unlock it.
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"Let's grab as much as we can before this thing goes down," he said aloud; there was no time to stand and idly admire the captain's collection. "We probably don't have time for a second trip."
Slinging his weapon to his back, he latched it securely within its small, strapless harness between his shoulders, then began to pick up and pocket anything with the slightest gleam or glint, from a pure-gold quadrant tool and astrolabe to several decorative medals and a few small, hinged boxes, pocketing them all in a satchel hanging at his side without even pausing to examine them.
The chest was next. Quickly stooping down beside it, he glanced at the lock for a moment, then shook his head. "No time," he said plainly, then wrapped his hands around its cornered sides and lifted it up against his chest. They could take it back to the safey of their own ship, then open it.
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He looked around as well just as Cloud and Anko did, grabbing a few trinkets and bits of spare cash at wherever he could find, and after a moment of mental debate opened the cabinet as well to find a box of... well, something sitting at the top shelf. It had to be important, at the very least, since it was placed in such a place. Without further ado, the Vaizard grabbed the contained and lugged it with him as well. Cloud and Anko had looked over most of the other areas in the room, so that had to be pretty much it.
The man turned around, wanting to say something when he paused slightly at Cloud heaving the huge chest over him. Well... that... sure was one heck of a muscle he had built up. Kensei stared for a few moments in surprise before shaking his head and gathering back his wits, holding his zanpaktou firmly in hand before speaking. "Well, let's get going then. We've got someways to go and the ship isn't going to hold up much longer." At least, judging from the way the place was rumbling and crackling.
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"If that's it then?" She gave the room one last quick scan. It was indeed beginning to shake ominously, reminding her her of the last ship other than the 4423 she'd been on--that wreck. Hopefully the others had found more than this on their expeditions onto the ship.
Not wasting breath repeating what'd been said, Anko stepped out into the corridor, peering down the hallways to be certain there wasn't anyone waiting to attack them as soon as they left. There was the retreating back of someone, but they were obviously going the other direction. Hopefully they weren't going to get reinforcements or anything to try and overwhelm the small group. "Come on."
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The quivering state of the ship didn't seem to bother him, nor did the few panicked crew members all likely fleeing towards any lifeboats left available to them. Cloud watched some of them run by down the far end of the hallway, seeing their frightened expressions as they scurried to safety. The feelings stirred up by such a sight drew a soft sigh out of him, but nothing else.
While Anko led the way, Cloud followed closely behind, the weight of the chest failing to slow him in the least.
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He was silent as he watched the people scrambling to get away from the breaking ship, a part of him hoping that they would get away in time. Even though he was a pirate now he really hated to kill if it came to that. He had enough of killing back when he served Ivona... he would kill if it came to that, but he'd still regret it unless the asshole deserved it.
It wasn't the time to think about this though. Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, Kensei hurried behind the two as he fell slightly behind them, more than eager to leave this ship behind and get back on board the 4423.
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Unconsciously, she was retracing their steps from before, going for the hole Cloud had smashed in the side. It might have worked too, if she hadn't turned the corner and immediately had to stop.
Apparently one of their gunners or a pilot's bomb had taken out this corridor, the hall completely blocked with wreckage. They couldn't afford to waste time trying to shift this lot, but she didn't know where to go to get out the quickest. She knew the 4423 like the back of her hand by now, but that didn't help in a ship of unfamiliar build.
Turning back, she looked at the other two for guidance as they came up behind her.
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"Not what I was expecting..." he mused, actually containing some humor to his tone of voice.
The first thing that entered his mind was another use of his sword. He could smash his way through with another Breaker, or just act more directly with another technique to break and blow his way through, but before he could even reach for the sword, the ship was jolted violently by a powerful explosion, one that immediately filled the air with an unmistkable burning scent. No, he couldn't risk mindlessly smashing through things, not when the rickety merchant vessel was more likely to fall completely apart against his strength.
"Alright...mmmn..." he began, thinking out loud. "I saw a set of stairs back down the last left. We need to run, get to the deck of this ship, and find an easy place to jump back."
Turning back to lead the way, Cloud shot forward suddenly, carrying himself with surprising speed back down the way they came, then diverging off towards the path he had recommended. Halfway down the narrow hall, a small flight of dull, metal stairs led upwards for several flights, leading all the way to the open air. He quickly began to climb, his boots sounding off of the surface of each one.
Another explosion shook their surrounding world, and Cloud nearly lost his balance, thrown to the side against the stairwell wall with the thick of his arm.
"We need to go!" he shouted.
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To be honest, Allen wasn't particularly attached to the ship or the crew, but he did rather value his life and those of innocents aboard the ship, which is why he was heading towards the wreckage rather than away from it. The vain hope of being able to save enough crew to keep the ship flying was vanishing swiftly as the ship shuddered and rocked again. It was likely that the ship was going to go down, crew or no crew.
The sounds of fighting and violence filled the air. Allen grit his teeth, feeling stupid for not realising sooner. It was a raid. This was confirmed when a pale frightened looking man ran down the corridor, pushing Allen out the way, saying something about pirates and very large swords. Hurriedly the young man ducked into a room so he wouldn't be seen, ungloved his blackened left hand and concentrated on the activation of the mana crystal. It took no more than half a minute for the arm to twist and reshape itself into a weapon.
As Allen stepped out of the room he glanced the way the man had come from. He wasn't one to back out of a fight, but whoever was there would obviously rather plunder than kill since the man was alive. Instead he headed the other way, towards the deck looking for people he could help (and preferably a way off of the Ship before it went down). He was halfway up the stairs before he heard people coming up after him - he softened his steps so as not to draw attention to himself then peered down. He caught a glimpse but no more as the ship shook and lurched, sending the white haired man toppling backwards. He managed to grab the railing before he fell all the way down, but smacked his head on a step, causing him to let out a sharp curse.
Allen scrabbled up, still a bit wobbly as he tried to race up the last flight of stairs to get to the deck - He didn't fancy fighting in a stairwell, but he could be ready for them up there.
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He followed quickly behind, more than eager to get out of this place before it crashed.
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