It's just a question of ti~me [Open]

[tidesnpc]

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

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[seventh_hero]

Watching as the merchant ship, purely poor in good fortune and gaining in smoke and smoldering fire, lurched and shuddered as it lost altitude, Cloud's eyes scanned the surface of their opponent, now his enemy, watching for something; something like a weakness, something like an opening, or something like an opportunity. His eyes were no longer quiet and thoughtful now as they usually were, but instead looked as sharp as the edge the weapon he now had resting heavily against his right shoulder, one hand gripping the hilt. At first, he stood tall on the open deck of the 4423, but as the scene proceeded, he lowered his shoulders, tensed his legs, then shot forward into a quick dash, running down the length of their own ship as it passed adjacent to the enemy's

[thesnakecharm]

Anko was not one to wait for planks and ropes either. Their height above the ground didn't faze her in the slightest either. A little drop wasn't gonna kill her, after all.

Not one to sit still when there was action to be had, Anko had been practically bouncing from foot to foot, a knife twirling around her finger in a metallic blur.

A metallic blur rather like the one that flew by her one the railing. She grinned fiercely; looked like Cloud had decided to show up after all. Flying into action, Anko followed him, along the deck for a few steps, up onto the rail for people avoidance, and then into empty air. Landing with agile grace behind Cloud, she grinned up at him, flipping the knife again. "Hope you don't mind me tagging along," she said cheerily.

"Let's go!"

[seventh_hero]

The faint and swift movement behind him caught him by surprise; with no indication that anyone was following him, he wondered for a moment if the merchant crew had somehow managed to get behind him! Cloud's head spun towards the source, finding Anko there instead - much to his relief

[thesnakecharm]

She would have stayed, whether or not he'd been happy to have her, but it made things less awkward, to be sure. Licking her lips as she sprang into action right behind him, the grin on her face growing. Cloud seemed to actually know where he was going, as opposed to aimless wandering

[theschmotone]

Not one to wait for some silly thing like actually getting close to the other ship, Dimo grabbed onto one of the ropes that he and his small group had secured to the rigging earlier. Tugging on it experimentally, he found that the knots were holding tight, as they should be. Oh yes, this would be a good venture, indeed. He was armed to the teeth, literally, and ready to tear into the merchant ship's crew.

"Now," he shouted over the wind, "Who's vith me?"

[rose_beyond]

This whole "pirate" thing hadn't really seemed real to Utena since she joined up, but she was very quickly being pushed to come to terms with it. Given the state the 4423's finances appeared to be in, she guessed she could almost justify it as taking from the rich to give to the poor... Well, it would do for now. Anyway, their orders didn't seem too unreasonable, as far as pirating went. None of that "no quarter, slaughter them all" stuff, which made the whole venture a lot more...palatable.

Utena had had to borrow a sword just for the occasion--once she got paid, she'd look into getting her own, or maybe she could find one while they were on the merchant ship. It was strange not to just...have a weapon appear when it was needed, but she was sure the one she'd borrowed would do just fine. She'd come out of fights victorious with less.

As unsure as she was about their motivations, Utena wasn't worried about their ability to win in the slightest. She smiled up at Dimo. "Ready to go," she replied.

[pharaohking]

"Then what're y'ladies waitin' for?" came a voice from behind, turning out to belong to Shinji as he appeared at Dimo's right, slim hand secured around one of the ropes. He made a note to check out the pink-haired woman for one fleeting second, wondering how he'd missed the joining of a new crew member, but he said nothing on it, instead directing his gaze on the merchant ship. It came closer and closer, and now the blond watched the few passengers aboard the deck scamper away like frightened animals.

There was a spare moment spent to ensure his zanpakutou was secured tightly at his hip, and once he was satisfied, he tightened his grip, amber eyes sidling to Dimo, and then Utena.

[theschmotone]

"Just hyu, it looks like!" Dimo replied with a dangerous grin. Without pausing to ask whether or not either of the other people knew how to swing across, he took off across the way to the merchant vessel. From his vantage point in mid-air, he admired the speed with which Maxim was herding the passengers and crew down to the hold. While it meant that it was far less likely that he'd be able to tear a few of them apart, he consoled himself with the thought that he'd actually be getting paid soon after this.

Landing securely on the deck of the prey vessel, he secured the rope to the railing so that he'd be able to get back to the 4423. Once done, he waited eagerly for his crewmates to join him for the fun.

[holdon2yourhat]

Once the merchant ship was in range Maxim quickly wrapped a secured rope around his arm and leapt from the railing of the 4423, swinging across dropping onto the deck of the other ship. He'd find the passengers and force them down into whatever sort of brig or cellar the vessel was equipped with, and he had to do it quickly. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem for him.

Dimo was with the other raiders so things were in good hands. Maxim climbed over the fallen mast and drew his rapier, flashing a bright, fangy grin at the few people that hadn't run for cover. "Hokay, pipple, hyu know de drill. Ve's goink to visit de hold und ve's gonna go qvickly und qvietly if ve vants to kip our heads."

With several frightened stares and even a few defiant ones, they all gradually turned and headed for the hatch leading below deck. "Hy said QVICKLY! MOOF!" They all quickened their pace immediately, a few of them stumbling over each other to get to the door.

[coyotealpha]

Pip wasted no time in joining Maxim, knowing that he'd need a hand one way or another - as powerful as the Jagers were even people like them needed some help from time to time. After settling down the guns and equipping himself with the necessary things, the mercenary swung down to the merchant ship as well in order to aid the Jager with the people.

He arrived just in time as Maxim's voice bellowed across the open deck, wincing a little at the volume. Man, these Jagers sure had loud voices. Pip stifled a sigh as he helped out by ensuring that the people went down below deck in order and not go trampling on each other anytime soon. That'd be bad then. "'urry up now if y'don't wanna die," the long-haired man muttered with something of a dark smirk as he ushered the last of the people down the hatch.

[penurium]

Greed wasn't far behind them and in a flashy sort of jump, landed not far from Pip. He grinned at the rush and panic of the crew and passengers of the ship and found himself taking a long deep breath.

"It's been a bit too long since I had some real fun, hm?"

He slipped his hands in his pockets and trailed after the others, occasionally snapping at a passenger or two in that way that always scared the crew members. Something to be said for Greed enjoying his job as much as he did.

[holdon2yourhat]

Oh yes, this was what Maxim was made for. He could sense the fear and panic and it gave him a sort of adrenaline rush. It was the same rush all Jägers felt at times like this. It tended to make them stupid and mindless but it also made them stronger, faster, nearly invincible

[fuhenteki]

Deciding to stray away from the other groups, Kambei took in some satisfaction in being able to work alone as he leaps upon the ship. Snatching his blade free from it's sheath, the samurai made a dash towards the chambers below the deck. A few guards instantly greeted him but they didn't last for long. Using his blade to cut through the men, Kambei didn't even blink an eye once the steel of his katana hacked through the flesh and bone. With brutal precision, Kambei killed every single guard that tried to hinder his path not sparing even one who saw him. Once the corridors were cleared, the samurai began his search for the cargo hold.

"Hm..." Coming to a halt once he heard the footsteps of more guards approaching, Kambei got into stance and waited for them to come. Time is precious during this raid and the more time he wasted with these officers, the less time he has to find the necessary cargo and goods.

Perhaps working alone isn't such a good idea.

[imadoushin]

Katsushiro stumbled slightly as he landed on the deck of the other ship, catching himself quickly and whipping his sword from its sheath, slashing at the crewmembers already closing on him.

Catching sight of Kambei disappearing into the inside of the ship, he ran after him. There were two good reasons clear in his mind - one, Kambei probably knew what he was doing better than Katsushiro did, and two, working alone against a whole crew didn't seem like a good idea, certainly not for him and maybe not even for Kambei.

A guard came running out of a side corridor, heading in the same direction as Katsushiro, who engaged him quickly, managing to dispatch him with efficiency, if not panache. Grimacing and wiping a splash of blood from his face, he rounded the next corner and came upon Kambei.

"Sensei!"

[omgwtfwrench]

Winry had been on board for a while now. It was very rare for the First Mate to join in on the raids. Part of it was because she typically remained by Isako's side, and on the ship, but another part was simply because she liked to keep her distance from much of the violence that went on during these raids. She had long ago seen violence, and accepted it as part of life and her job, but that didn't mean she had to like it

[fuhenteki]

Glancing over his shoulder once he heard Katsushiro's voice, Kambei nodded at him before slicing his blade through the body of yet another guard. Even if blood now drenched his katana, not an ounce of it stained his coat or gloves. Much like the time when the seven samurai battled the bandits at Kanna, Kambei's superb swordsmanship remained the same. Despite not drawing his blade for bloodshed in a full complete year, Kambei is still literally a one-man army.

"Katsushiro!" He called to him. "Search for the storage rooms, we cannot afford to linger here any lon--" Cut off once he heard the scream further up the hallway, the old samurai was pleasantly surprised to see Winry emerge from around the corner.

"Hm..." A faint smirk appeared upon his lips. "Not bad."