BoZV - Arc 4

[Tony]

Listening to Terra's words, Arne begins to lighten up a bit "Yeah, you're right. My magic might be a little... off. But, I'm still pretty tough, and Hien has always been a great help to me." He thinks for a little while on her question, trying to remember exactly when it all happened. It had been a long time after all "I was pretty young when my magic first started appearing. It was... a year or two after Hien hatched, so I would have been about seven or eight. And much like you, I haven't had any true formal training. Just some advice from the occasional mage I would meet every once in a while. Finding someone who could teach us might actually be a pretty good idea."

[Sorrum]

Aqua smiled. Terra was earnest to learn about this new experience, but she had to understand that all jobs were essential, even if it was something as small as delivering rations to the shipmates. When the opportunity arrives, she'd like to teach her about tying the lines and turning the rudder so the sails caught the most wind, the terms used to refer to directions of the ship, and then at night when things calmed she'd like to show her the constellations above that helped to guide the ships in the moonlight. She'd really enjoy that, she hoped, as it was something that she loved herself.

One thing that she herself excelled at was gathering fresh fish for the kitchens. Often, the crews gather what they can at the docks for the long haul, but these meals are always salted heavily to last the trip. Aqua, unfortunately, hadn't the power to create water. Something she felt she had at some point in time, but cannot remember what happened to it. Nevertheless, she'd improvised.

She approached the railing, staring down into the waters, and leapt over, diving down and into the tide below. Behind her, Sharksbane fired a hook of ice that caught and wrapped tightly to the rail, keeping the elf tethered to the boat. Below the waters, she would hunt.

Without her visor to guide her she struggled to make out any shapes for a while, wading in the waters for a short while. Eventually, she found prey in a school of tuna not far off, undisturbed by the Shepard's wake. She pointed her harpoon into the crowd, and soon after a net of ice fired forth, capturing several of the fish inside an icy prison. With that, she grinned. Jackpot.

Aqua pulled herself up with her winnings, flying over board and landing chaotically onto the ship's deck. She overshot it, but wasn't too messed up by the landing. She dragged the still squirming fish through the hallway door, headed for the kitchens.

~

After dropping off the fish, she looked around to find Terra and Arne having a conversation. She listened in for a minute, before chiming in herself, joining the two in leaning on the rail. "Both of you are really skilled for being self taught, though. Me on the other hand, I was taught by my mother, then later my father. But if it's education you seek, I know of a school in Meribia that's been led by an exceptional mage for quite some time. He's renowned for his ability to turn out some of the greatest mages for years. I'm sure you could pick up a trick or two there."

[Swim]

"Wait, you and Hien haven't been on your own since you were eight right?" Terra asked incredulously. "There were no mages in your town that could teach you before you left home on your journey?"

Terra nodded appreciatively as Frida joined the conversation to reassure Arne. "You had mentioned before that your mother was a warrior of some renown. Neither of my parents were mages, I'm sure learning from your parents was enormously beneficial for you. As soon as we've determined that the Blight mages have no power over your homeland I would certainly like to investigate this mage school." At this point Terra noticed Frida's clothes. "What happened to you while I was delivering breakfast, you're soaking wet! You didn't fall overboard did you?"

[Sorrum]

"I did some fishing, is all." she grinned. She held Sharksbane forward, presenting it to Terra and Arne. "When I'm not using this for combat, it makes for an excellent harpoon. A fisherman's dream, really. And just about anyone can use it if they're skilled enough. Hard to tell where the fish are without my visor though, so I had to get down there with them." She grabbed her cape and wrung out some of the water on it, but didn't look very worried about the rest of her armor. It'd be awful to wear this on the sea if it wasn't water proof, she thought.

[Tony]

Arne shakes his head, chuckling a little "No, no... I do have a family back home. It's just that my father had this belief of 'people should rely on their own strength over mystical nonsense'... so getting in some proper magic training was pretty difficult for me."

Arne turns his attention towards Aqua as she joins the conversation, seeming a bit excited at this idea of checking out this magic school. "Alright, sounds like a plan. Make sure ever thing is clear... then we take a look at this school."

As Aqua showed the two of them Sharksbane, he started thinking. He took the halberd off his back and started looking it over. It's a reliable weapon and served him pretty well for as long as he had it, but in the end it was still nothing but a basic weapon made of steel. Look down, his armor wasn't much better either... just simply scale mail. "I think it might be time for some upgrades..."

[Sorrum]

Time would pass on the sea as the Shepherd sailed along. The sun rose higher and with it, warm winds would blow over the ship, fighting off the morning chill. Clouds sparsely filled the sky, beams of sunlight pouring through any and all openings and filling the horizon with a shower of light. Though the party had taken on roles on the ship, they would soon be interupted by Seamus, who requested they save their strength for any would be pirates. "I've got plenty of men for them tasks, ye needn't worry," He would say.

The group splintered off eventually to roam the ship. Somehow, Aqua found herself alone now. She had climbed the lines up that she was halfway between the crows nest and the deck, hanging onto the ropes and looking out at the scenery. It was breathtaking. She felt blessed to be on this ship in this moment. Sure, she had seen this scene before, but to be a passenger as opposed to the captain was the relief of duty was a blessing itself. The wind passed through her hair and across her face, and as it did so she closed her eyes and laid back against the lines, immersing herself in the moment. She felt more at ease here than she did in the Eulene Spa. Absolutely peaceful.

That's when things began to change. The sky began to darken above them. Aqua looked up now, noticing the clouds coagulating and darkening at an unusual pace. It reminded her of rumors she'd heard before, about the sky attacking ships and eliminating their crew with no survivors. But it wasn't a rumor at all. It was an advanced tactic employed by a notorious pirate she knew of, because this pirate was a sworn enemy of The Frontier, a vile villain and scourge of the sea. Her eyes widened as her dreamscape leapt across the gradient into a nightmare.

[Sorrum]

"Calico!" Aqua gasped. The clouds above the ship plummeted down below, dropping down on the ship like a thick fog. Somewhere, she heard Seamus shouting.

"It's the cloud! Everyone, grab yer torches and sabers, watch the shadows!"

Aqua whirred into action, grabbing Sharksbane and creating sharp spears on both ends. From her vantage point, she fortunately could see the silhouette of the ship's lines, the sparking torchlights, and she was certain her comrade Terra's flames. The men ran around shouting, trying to find shelter or stick together. But Aqua knew that soon they'd be in danger. As the fog thickened, black hooks flew over the starboard side of the ship and caught it's rails, tethering the ship and yanking the vessel over. Aqua held on tight to the ropes, as the enemy ship came into view through the fog.

A ship roughly the same size as the Shepherd skidded sideways into it, bumping and scraping hulls. As it did so, pirates poured onto the shepherd, whether it was by loose lines or simply jumping the rails. However, as they landed, metallic clanks and whirs could be heard from their joints. These men wore red cloaks with metallic instruments covering their hands, wrist, faces, shoulders, knees and feet. Their eyes were red, able to cut through the fog and see the sailors on board clearly. When they moved, they moved without a word, silent if not for their robotic clunking. The first one to encounter a sailor was nearly cut by the sailors panicked swings of his saber, but the pirate was able to deftly evade the swings, before spinning around and knocking the man down with a heavy overhead punch. He stood over the man and raised his foot up to smash the man's head in, but was interrupted by Aqua, swinging in with a line of her own and kicking the cyborg back and over the railing.

Aqua landed between the men and the approaching cyborgs, flourishing Sharksbane in front of her as an icy blue glow appeared from her eyes. "You face Aqua of The Frontier! Prepare to meet your end!" She shouted. The cyborgs halted their advance for a second, looked at one another, nodded, and leapt forward at the elf.

[Sorrum]

After treating the drunkard, Vile found himself a place to rest away from any future pestering. He stared out the port window from inside the crew's barracks where he had borrowed a hammock. He knew Calico would be approaching soon, and his business arrangement with the warlord would be in an odd position if they encountered each other. He'd rather not take the risk, but..

His fear would be realized when the sky suddenly darkened. "Damn, he's here already." Vile curled his lip. He rolled out of the hammock and headed for the door and down the hallway for the deck entry, when he saw a shadow pass over one of the windows, followed by a ghastly screeching. The pirate Aqua had knocked over the rail dug into the side of the ship with it's drawn saber and was climbing back up with the help of his claws.

Heavy smashing accompanied the effort of the cyborg which climbed up to the window Vile was looking through and looked at him with glowing red eyes. It smashed through the window and rolled forward on the ground, before jumping up and running at Vile with it's claws out wide. Vile didn't hesitate however, drawing his own saber and taking a fencing stance. "Come on, then." The cyborg jumped forward and slashed, seeming cutting Vile in half.

However, Vile's image faded and he reappeared past where the pirate had jumped from, sheathing his saber. The cyborg turned and looked at him before charging forward to slash him again, but fell apart limb from limb, his cybernetics crashing heavily on the floor. Vile looked back at the pile of pirate briefly, hatching an idea. He gathered up the cyborgs clothes.

[Swim]

Arne made a good point, Terra would really appreciate the opportunity to upgrade the functionality of her armor and weapons. She'd always be proud of the plating and gauntlets that she'd crafted with her uncle, but it felt very basic compared to the gear that Frida wore. Perhaps there was something she could learn from the elven craftsmen once they'd reached The Frontier.

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

Later on when they sky began to darken and the clouds began to solidify Terra narrowed her eyes, it was too much to hope that this escort mission would go as smoothly as the ride-along with Honeyfarm. She'd never seen whether pattern like this before, it was clearly unnatural, the work of some mage. She tightened the straps on her armor and gauntlets and slung her rifle behind her back. Last of all was her helmet, there was no telling what they were in for but Terra was sure that a fight, as well as a storm, was brewing. After equipping her gear Terra raced below deck where she joined several crewmates in preparing the Shepherd's cannons. There weren't many, it was definitely a merchant vessel and not a war galleon, but she'd remembered seeing that it had some basic defenses as she'd toured the ship hours earlier delivering breakfast.

There was a heavy thud as the enemy vessel smashed into the Shepherd. They'd come out of nowhere, Terra and the crew of the Shepherd hadn't even been able to see the other ship until they were side by side. Terra and the crew fired off their first volley, but the enemy ship retaliated just as quickly. Dozens of cannon balls crashed through the side of the Shepherd, splintering the wooden walls and inflicting devastating wounds on some unlucky crew members. Terra looked on as others began to reload the cannons for another volley, but the process was agonizingly slow. Too slow. The next volley from the enemy ship would tear them apart.

Terra picked up one of the cannon balls and focused her fire magic until the ball began to glow bright red. Then she reared back and pitched it through the side of the enemy ship where the red eyed cutthroats were reloading their own cannons. It was surprisingly effective, she could throw them with almost as much force as the cannons could shoot, and without the bothersome reload time. Terra picked up two more cannon balls, one in each hand and hurled them through the side of the enemy ship before charging through the gap and leaping through the hole she'd created.

The cyborg pirates were stunned that their own ship would be boarded in such a fashion, and Terra used that moment for all it was worth. She kicked the nose of the cannon in front of her, knocking the metal barrel vertical and slamming it into the first pirate's face. The cannon went off firing directly upward the through the deck of his own ship. While he was stunned Terra seized him by the shoulders and threw him into one of his fellows, creating chaos in the firing line and preventing them from firing anything more into the Shepherd.

"I don't suppose any of you creeps want to surrender?" Terra asked as half a dozen pirates surrounded her and she charged her gauntlets with energy. "This ship isn't defenseless, you're going to wish you'd gone after easier prey. Last warning. No? Alright, don't say I didn't warn you, you've come to fight me on a floating matchbox and I'm on fire today!" With a sudden plume of flame Terra launched at the nearest pirate, driving her shoulder into his gut and flipping him over her head. Before they could pick themselves up Terra thrust her hands out in front of her and projected a wave of fire that swept through the lower decks.

[Swim]

As the dark clouds gathered Lloyd looked up from his game and hastily used the railing of the ship to put out his cigar. "We've got company," he told the crew tersely, "Better get to your stations."

Soon after the dark clouds descended and created an impenetrable fog. Black hooks would fly over the railing and tether the Shepherd together with an unknown vessel, but the glowing red eyes and metal bodies soon made their identity apparent. This was going to be an issue, their enemy had much better visibility than they did.

"Hey you!" Lloyd shouted at Arne. "You're a wind mage right? Do something about this fog will you?" Hopefully he'd rouse the little wyvern and bring him out too.

As Lloyd raced down the deck he drew out a saber and began slicing any black lines that he could see. One of them was apparently supporting a cyborg pirate, as there came a surprised shout followed by a splash. Soon enough he'd reached the bridge of the ship where Captain Waverly stood at the wheel. Another black hook was tossed over the rail near Waverly and was immediately followed by a pirate swinging over on a line. Lloyd drew a pistol from his side and shot the pirate out of the air, causing him to fall into the water with another audible splash. "Captain," he said smoothly as though discussing the weather. "I thought it might be a good idea if I stayed up here while the hired help takes care of these sea rats."

Waverly nodded, clearly thankful for the intervention. Then a loud explosion rocked the ship as the first round of cannons were fired. Lloyd hurried over to the side to inspect the damage and was surprised to see Terra leaping onto the other ship. "Bold strategy," he murmured to himself. "Seems this one is all about high risk, high reward. Let's just hope it doesn't get her killed."

[Tony]

Arne scoff at Lloyd's comment and mutters under his breath "If only it was that easy." he starts thinking for a bit, wondering what his next course of action should be. First he let out a whistle... hearing it, Hien woke up and quickly came to Arne's side. But after that... "Ship is being boarded... can't see a damn thing. Maybe... maybe if I can get to the cannons, there is something I could do. But first."

He kneels down and places his hand on the deck, and sends a small amount of electricity through it. This allowed him to sense everything close by, and plan a route below deck. However, something was starting to approach, it must have heard the whistle as well. From what he could tell, it seemed to have two different legs. One had a normal rubber soled boot or shoe, while the other was... metal. "What the? Whatever. Better take care of this before moving forward"

With a quick burst of wind, Arne charged towards what he sensed, Hien following behind him, and soon came face-to-face with some kind of horrific amalgamation of man and machine, who quickly took a swing at him. Dodging to the side, he dropped down and quickly grabbed hold of the machine pirate's leg and sends electricity through it... and the rest of their body.

After letting go, the pirate falls to the deck with a load thud. Arne gets back up, and looks around... "Ok. One down. Hopefully not too many left to go."

Once again he knelt down... and began to channel his lightning through the deck, plotting his course once more.

[Sorrum]

Crossing the deck of his galleon, Calico smiled enthusiastically as the sounds of bloodshed filled the air. "Ah. Nothing like the family business!" Smoke from the ship's port cannons wafted into the man's face as he walked, taking in a deep inhale and exhaling with ecstasy. He reveled in the moment, relaxed, then his vision cut through the fog as clear as day.

"Princess Nyharllothor of the mixed bag of escaped humans and separatist elves. Ye've come a ways away from your papa's watch and your royal navy ship's deathly harpoon guns." He said, eyeing Aqua, now in combat with several of his robotic henchmen. He pulled up the sleeve on his right arm, revealing some kind of contraption with a heavy barrel on the end, and aimed it at the furious elf. "A blast of this from here won't kill ya, but it'll hurt like it did. Just enough to put ya down so me and the minister can parley a deal." A flame ignited at the end of the piece as Calico activated the gun somehow, aiming down the sights with his blood red eye focused into a point.

An explosion below deck suddenly rocked the boat back, causing his shift to aim downward as the cannon fired. A metal ball the size of a man's fist fired out and smashed through the opposing ship's hull. Calico cursed and looked over the rail in that moment to see two more cannonballs firing with flare at his ship, then a mage jumping across the gap into his lower deck. He sneered, his eyebrows forming a furious, almost comical V. He smashed his fist down on the rail causing it to bend in sharply. He then snapped his fingers, which caused four robotic men to appear behind him.

"The fire mage got in our cannons. Cover her in the adhesive oil and she'll dare not make another spark lest she wants her own flames to consume her. Then kill the bitch when she can't move." He said, dragging a finger across his throat. The men aye'd in unison, heading over to one of the armory cases on the ship's deck and outfitting themselves with oil sprayers, which looked like nozzles connected to water tanks slung over their backs. They slid back a panel to below deck, and dropped down, aiming at the burning Terra and firing the oil.

Calico turned back now to the ongoings of the battle. Some of these men could put up a decent fight. He knew the Shepherd's wheel was in the captain's hands, so he wasn't sure why the man he selected from the seasoned crew hadn't done his job yet. He snapped is fingers at two idle pirates, directed them at the wheelhouse, and they soon jumped into action, crossing the ship and heading up. Below, he looked at the Shepherd's cannon crew now reorganizing. He smirked, and quickly swung his left arm out wide at their direction, a whip of flame shooting out and torching the men's cannons. "Feeble." He sneered as the cannonballs within began exploding, the men fleeing and abandoning their positions.

A painful grunt coming from behind him whipped his head back. The crew they'd picked up from the Landing had mobilized now. Their wounds weren't pretty and they looked and smelled like something out of a burnt dead body. They wearily looked at the captain, who's sneering, or gleeful, expression didn't change as he looked on at their morbid metallic forms.

"Well? They're over there. You boys don't need me to tell you to jump in do ya?" He bit. The men's sluggish gaze lit up with the same red glow as the other pirates, and with some newfound, foreign adrenaline they ayed loudly and jumped across the narrowed gap, swinging blades at the sailors and catching up to the mages on deck.

[Sorrum]

Aqua fended the pirates blows back with her own blows from Sharksbane, felling one and then the other, impaling the last on a spin, then kicking his limp body off. She looked around to try to see through the fog, but explosions, bloodcurdling screams, metal clashing and what else threw off the elf's senses. This would be a perfect time for her visor to still be in commission, but it wasn't here to see through this smokescreen. "Foul bastard and his tricks." she growled, slapping a pirate with a hand completely frozen and passing it off to him instantly, leaving his upturned neck frozen stiffly in position while she brought down the long end of Sharksbane down on it, beheading the man on the spot.

As the pirates kept pouring in, she gripped her spear harder. "Come, meet your deaths then!" she spat angrily, blasting a duo overboard with spears of ice jutting from the ground. Consumed by bloodlust, she continued cutting down the pirates with fervent haste. When she thins the horde, she'll launch across decks and remove Calico's head next.

[Swim]

After disrupting the enemy cannon line Terra fled deeper into the pirate ship. Her pursuers had left her alone, the ones that hadn't gotten burned were no doubt working to put out the fire she's started before it could cause any damage to the ship. Now she found herself in some sort of cargo bay, desperately searching for a staircase that would take her back topside. Instead, a panel in the ceiling opened up and four more pirates jumped down to her level. The closest one aimed a hose at her and fired some substance from his backpack. Terra rolled behind a stack of crates evading the spray. The pirates began to fan out, attempting to flank her and Terra was forced to make a move. She stuck her head out and threw a fireball, and at the same moment the nearest pirate released another spray from his hose. The fireball collided with the substance mid-air and caught fire immediately. The pirate hastily stopped spraying but it was too late for him, the fire had spread all the way back to its source and ignited his backpack. The pirate screamed in agony and flailed about wildly trying to put out the flames but the chemical they'd been spraying would not be put out so easily. His fellow pirates backed away hastily, fearful that the flames might spread to them.

For her part, Terra found herself crouched on the floor once again partially obscured from sight. Some of the chemical substance had splashed onto her left arm, and she was finding out that whatever they were spraying was sticky as well as flammable. She desperately wished for the earth beneath her feet, out here on the ocean half of her abilities were useless. And now she'd have to be careful with her fire... She tugged as hard as she could but was unsuccessful in freeing her hand from the wooden floor, instead she managed to dislodge the board itself. A crate behind her shifted as the next pirate made his way to her, Terra whirled around and bashed his face with the board with enough force to splinter it. The remaining two pirates took aim and fired their hoses at Terra, forcing her to flee once more. As she ran she would knock over crates, tip over barrels, anything that would make it harder for those pirates with their heavy backpacks to come after her.

Eventually she came to a door, slamming it behind her and barricading it with a heavy box. Terra didn't know where she was now but she didn't like the looks of it. Like a cross between some sort of medical ward and a repair garage. There were gears, wheels, blueprints, an operating table and waste bin containing what looked like human intestines... and on the far end of the room there was a cylindrical tank filled with a murky green water. Terra peered through the glass trying to see what it contained and she jumped back in shock a moment later, inside some grotesque creature floated motionless. It seemed to have a pig-like snout, but its other features were unrecognizable. It reminded Terra of some of the Blight creatures she'd encountered.

"Well well, look who's here boys," came a voice from behind her. Terra turned around to find three men in black garb standing behind her. They seemed distinct from the pirates she'd seen earlier. "How fortunate that our quarry comes right to us, saves us the trouble of having to fight through everyone on the other ship looking for her."

"Who the hell are you?" Terra growled at the intruders, raising her fists. "Were you guys out sick the day they passed out metal limbs?"

"Oh, we're not a part of Calico's crew, we've no need for such barbaric tools to deal with you." one of the mages responded, holding a flame aloft in his hand. The two at his sides formed a spinning blade with wind magic and a water whip. "Calico has been a useful fool, sending his men to distract your friends for us." Terra's eyes narrowed, realizing who these men must be. "He's so utterly fixated on that elf of yours, he's no idea that the bounty on your head is much greater."

That means... I've put her in danger again by being here...

With a roar of fury Terra threw herself at the fire mage, but the water mage was ready for her. With a flick of his wrist he lashed out with the water whip, smacking Terra out of the air and slamming her into the side of the ship with enough force to break the boards. The wind mage stepped forward, generating a gust of air which kept her pinned down. Finally the fire mage stepped up and bathed Terra in a plume of flame. The oil on her left arm caught fire, searing her flesh. Terra screamed in pain but fortunately the attack did not continue for long. These men wanted her alive, that was the only thing she had going for her. Terra tore her cloak from her body and wrapped it around her arm to smother the flames. As soon as she'd managed this she found herself beset from all sides. The wind mage came in with a spinning kick which Terra ducked under but this gave the fire mage an easy shot at her face. Terra reeled back, slamming into some sort of computer console. Somewhere behind her a metal grate creaked open, but she didn't have time to dwell on whatever that had been. She spun off the console, arms up and ready to grapple the fire mage as he charged in for another assault, but at that moment the ship buckled and Terra lost her footing. As she fell backwards she managed to sink her foot into the oncoming mage's chest and used his momentum to flip him high over her head. There was a splash as the fire mage landed, Terra turned to see he'd fallen into some sort of pool but was starting to climb out. Before his legs were clear however he screamed in pain and was pulled back under the water which was now thick with blood. The water mage cried out but his wind ally did not hesitate, hurling a spinning blade of air that Terra barely managed to dodge. The wind blade lodged itself into the side of the cylindrical tank which began to leak onto the floor. Seeing an opportunity the water mage increased the pressure, shattering the tank and spilling water all over. With much more of his element to work with he gathered it around his body and prepared to strike at Terra again with his lash.

Suddenly a thick black tentacle shot out of the water and wound itself around the mage's neck. Three more tentacles crashed out and latched themselves around his face. Then Terra heard a horrible squealing noise, it was that pig faced abomination- the tentacles were protruding from the creature's mouth like four hideous tongues and wrapping themselves around the helpless water mage. The wind mage cried out in terror and thrust out his hands, calling forth a powerful gale and hurling the water mage, Terra and the monster toward the hole in the side of the ship. Terra clung desperately to a wooden plank but it snapped off easily and she was expelled from the ship and pitched into the sea.

Terra flailed around in complete panic as she crashed into the water. She tried to scream for help but her lungs filled with salt water. She didn't know how to swim and her armor was heavy, all rational thought was pushed out and replaced with sheer terror as she quickly began to drown.

[Bloodbane]

"The cloud...?" It was clear that Rion had not heard of the tales, though judging by Aqua's reaction, she seemed to be all too familiar. "Aqua, what's going on?!" He shouted over the sounds of the ships crashing against each other, the only visible signs of their being boarded being the light of their red eyes. 'What... the hell are these...?' he wondered as he formed a blade of glowing light in his right hand, bringing his left arm in to make use of the plating and defend himself from a blow that came from one of the armored foes.

"Well, come on then!" He shouted out, using his light-based blade to fling projections of light forward, the multiple strikes knocking the enemy off balance before with a powerful clubbing blow and a burst of magic Rion launched the cyborg over the railing. When the cannon fire struck the Shepherd, Rion was forced to keep his feet wide to try and keep his balance, staggering slightly but catching sight of Terra just as she retaliated, hurling herself onto the other boat and single-handedly thwarting the second barrage. 'Can't argue with the results I suppose... but even still...' he frowned, somewhat concerned of the danger she was putting herself in. For now, however, there were bigger problems; the enemy captain was aboard judging by the way he was taunting the crew, and though he failed to fire at Aqua, there were more men with him, and even worse perhaps was the uneasy feeling Rion had as one of the reanimated minions lunged at him in a renewed frenzy, continuing to struggle even as it was wounded by Rion's blade of light. Fortunately, the other members of the crew were making their way across toward the captain, with Aqua leading the way in an especially brutal fervor as the assailant was cleaved by Sharksbane.

"These soldiers... are they even alive...?" Maybe Aqua knew the answer from whatever prior experience she had with this pirate, but the way they moved reminded him too much of the infected bodies they had faced recently. At this point, Rion wasn't even certain he would get an answer as Aqua proceeded forward. As Rion continued forward, he looked back in the direction of where Terra had dove in, seeing that there had been no further attempts to fire. With the darkness and the fog, however, it was difficult to make out what had just happened as several figures were suddenly thrown out of the side of the ship and into the depths below. However, one of those figures appeared to be Terra... and she hadn't resurfaced quickly; had something pulled her under?

"Terra?!" With no time to assess the situation further, Rion took off toward the side railing of the Shepherd, the only indication of him doing so was a glimmer of light in the fog that grew with intensity as he plunged into the water, the light of his blade dispersing only to be replaced by a quickly building glow that came from beneath the armor that encased his arm. Fortunately it seemed that light was enough, as he reached Terra in the midst of her struggling to reach the surface. There also appeared to be no sign of any of the other figures... for now.