BoZV - Arc 4

[Sorrum]

Aqua cut down more and more pirates, blood and oil from the fallen foes forming puddles behind her and splashing her armor black and crimson. The effort began to wear on her now, as she breathed heavily between bouts. She heard her teammates calling to her, but in her bloodlust she did not respond, fixated on slaying these pirates. These monsters who'd called themselves members of the Calico Pirates. She remembered the first time she ever heard of him, that devil.

~

12 years ago..

In Nyharllothor Manor, Itham stared with red ringed eyes at a report that had sat on his desk all morning. On his desk was a picture of himself and a young man with bright green eyes with vertical black slits in them, a silver jacket with green sleeves and black pants, with orange and black hair slicked back tight. The two were shaking hands and smiling for a photograph in front of an impressive stone castle overlooking a city built around rivers in an otherwise arid and unforgiving desert. He clutched the picture, staring at the man's features and back at the report. "The prince's royal vessel was suspected to be attacked by the flagship of the pirate Calico. Captain Iceberg's search party had cooperated with the Berserian rescue team led by General Isshen and tracked down the sea pirate to his base of operations, a cove on the westernmost island of the archipelago north referred to as The Northern Wastes."

"When engaged, the pirate activated a device that caused the clouds above the ships to fall and cover the ships of coalition's forces, blocking their sight of the cove and Calico. Following this, pirates boarded the ships from the water and engaged the forces in combat. Metallic upgrades applied to the men through unknown means gave them an edge over the knights of the Berserian League, but their elven reinforcements were able to repel them until further interference. The knights dropped their weapons when the crew that was on board the prince's ship appeared as monstrous mutations that, while lucid, could not control themselves and attacked knight and elf alike, all the while asking to be killed. Following this attack, Calico ordered the ships to be bombarded. Mortars fell on the ships and heavily damaged the warships, forcing them to flee in utter defeat. As one last send off, the mutations began to explode aboard the rescue team's ship, damaging the ship and covering it in the remains of the dead they had sent out to rescue. Prince Frederick of Berseria was not counted among the casualties, nor the sighted mutations. It is, at this time, unknown what the pirate has done with the prince as no ransom has been received, but efforts to rally another rescue force with the same decoration and mettle as Iceberg and Isshen is thought to be, at this point, impossible."

Itham crumpled the paper in his fists. In the doorway of his office, a small girl clutched the doorway, worry on her face. "Did they find uncle Freddy?" Frida asked her father. Itham looked back at his daughter, feeling a ball form in his throat. The young man in the picture, her Uncle Freddy, was certainly suffering some horrific fate under the black heart pirate and it was beyond his power to help. He got up from his desk, took the young girl's hand, and lead her away to try to explain, but she would end up sneaking into his office later and reading the report herself, interpreting that the prince was likely turned into some monstrosity. A pain that grew inside her and festered for years, into a fine hatred for Calico.

~

Aqua slashed another pirate, spun Sharksbane, and plunged it's blade into the pirate, stabbing right through his heart. In the corner of her eye, more men appeared to attack her through the cloud. She drew Sharksbane up to defend herself, then backed away. The man groaned, wincing with his movements which were slow and messy. She stared at them for a second, before realizing they were the men from the crew that had attacked her and her friends at the bar in Shiners, but now with metallic appendages and masks, the trademark feature among Calico pirates. She raised her spear high, poised to strike, when the man suddenly fell forward onto his knees.

"H-hurts.." he groaned, pulling on the metal pieces embedded in his skin. For a second, Aqua's mind cooled and she looked at him.

"Wh..what?"

"I-it hurts! This.. this..!" He pulled at the pieces again, they yanked and tore at the muscles and skin on his arm painfully, gushing blood and some black substance along with it. He ripped the piece clear, and began screaming immediately. It pulled with it chunks of flesh, the man fell over and began clutching at his body. Around her, she could hear similar screams. She was suddenly surrounded by the quivering figures on the ground, all members of the gang they'd defeated before.

Whatever intention to attack her they had was gone. The quick surgery left the men with altered physical appearances they couldn't deal with on top of the pain. The painkillers they'd been given were the lowest strength, hardly enough to cover a headache. As the men wailed, Aqua stood stoically. "You fools really sought revenge on us so much that you'd undergo Calico's torment?" She asked.

"H-he.. promised us power.." One of the quivering piles asked.

"You were nothing but a good time to him.." she said apathetically. She stepped over and away from the group, staring over at Calico's ship. "..but it is disgusting to think that I drank in the same place as he. I'll stab him once for you, in exchange, STAY OUT OF MY SIGHT!" The elf suddenly shouted, her rage taking control again. She pointed Sharksbane over toward Calico's ship and aimed for the main mast, and soon flew over to the pirate's ship.

[Tony]

Being able to plot a safe course, Arne and Hien quickly made their way down to the gun deck, just in time to witness a wave of fire strike the cannons, igniting the powder within them. While they weren't close enough to get hurt, the blast still shakes the two of them greatly. Hien falls from the sky, and Arne picks him up... walking forward a bit wobbly while his ears ring and the remaining crew begins to panic.

He shoves his way through the panicking crowd, and as soon as they clear... he looks for any cannon that is still mostly in one piece. Shaking off the dizziness he ends up finding one... a bit scorched and banged up, but it should be able to work. He let's go of Hien, who shakily takes flight, and he grabs hold of the cannon "Alright... now of the really hard part. I was able to toss Yung... I should be able to do this." With a groan he lifts the cannon up and starts to lug it back above deck. "This... probably... isn't one of... my best ideas." Hien chirps with concern, watching Arne try and carry this cannon on his own. "Don't... don't worry pal... I got this."

Arne barely makes it half way before he starts to feel tired and out of breath. Just before he's about to collapse, he suddenly feel the load lighten significantly. Two crew members had appeared and started helping him carry it. "We don't know what you want with this, but if it'll help we'll get this anywhere you want it." Arne to a quick moment to catch his breath, then spoke up. "I need to get this up top. With it, I think I'll be able to clear away the fog."

"Alright! You got it!" and with that, the three quickly carried the load above deck. Cheered on by a small wyvern.

As soon as they did, they dropped the cannon and Arne propped it up... aiming it directly upwards. "So, what exactly is this plan of yours?"

"Just watch and see. I have no idea if this will work, but it's worth a shot." Arne began to channel his wind magic into the cannon... as much of it as he possibly could. A torrent of wind start rising from the cannon, pushing away the fog. Arne starts laughing "YEAH! There we go!" and then starts moving the cannon around, clearing out the fog.

[Swim]

Terra fell down and down, deeper into darkness. Her lungs were burning, arms growing heavy from lack of oxygen. After a time her brain switched off and she began to just drift away. There were faces in the water now. They were all around her. Some unknown faces, other faces that she'd seen but struggled to recall, and the very familiar faces of her family- her brothers, father, uncle. They smiled and reached out, beckoning her to join them. Terra tried to extend her hand but her whole body felt limp, somehow both heavy and weightless at the same time.

Suddenly there was a great disturbance behind her, it seemed to have dropped from high above and was emitting a blinding light. Terra averted her eyes, turning back to face her family but the light was twisting their forms. Their faces became pale and gaunt, their features sickly. Terra's father reached out to take her hand, and as he did Terra felt something slithering, winding around her arm. The sensation would have made her scream if she'd had the wits about her to react coherently. She drifted limply toward her father but before reaching him she was seized from behind and pulled back. This time a human arm had wrapped itself around her midsection and was pulling her away from her family. Terra had no strength left in her to resist one way or the other, but the thing wound around her arm did not want to let go, only retreating as the light fell on it once more. Her father's face warped again becoming skeletal, as Terra was rapidly spirited away.

[Swim]

Calico's men continued to press their assault but the wheelhouse remained untouched. Lloyd guarded the stairs, emerging from behind the door frame every so often to fire off a shot or two from his pistol. Across the way another two pirates grasped lines and began to swing over the gap toward the bridge, but halfway across they appeared to slam into some sort of wall. One of the pirates lost his grip and tumbled into the sea. The other managed to hang on, but his lack of momentum made it easy for Lloyd to take him out with his next shot.

Lloyd looked over the side to survey the damage to their ships. The battle was still raging across the decks of both ships, the elf girl and a few sailors had actually crossed over onto Calico's vessel. That was good, maybe they'd be able to back up the fire mage that had crossed earlier... never-mind, there she was flailing around in the sea. Lloyd hastily peeled off his overcoat and prepared to jump in after her, but before he could act the light mage did it instead. "How chivalrous," Lloyd commented, clearly amused. In her panic the girl thrashed around, nearly dragging down the light mage as he attempted to rescue her! Rather than take any chances Lloyd decided to assist. He withdrew a small polished stone from his coat pocket and tossed it into the water between the two mages. That would make the light mage's job a little easier. Once Rion had gotten hold of Terra, Lloyd cast a line down to the light mage who was able to grasp it with his free hand. Then he and Captain Waverly worked together to pull the pair out of the water.

"She's not breathing," Lloyd observed as they lay Terra down on the floor. "Take the wheel Lloyd, just keep her steady!" Waverly ordered as he knelt down beside Terra. After feeling for a pulse and finding none the captain began a series of compressions on her chest. Several tense minutes passed but eventually the captain's efforts were successful. Terra's body convulsed and she began to belch up sea water. Waverly expertly rolled her over onto her side to make sure she wouldn't choke as she continued to expel everything in her stomach, down to the bagel she'd consumed that morning.

[Swim]

Terra's breath was ragged and uneven as she regained consciousness. She could dimly hear the sounds of battle close by, but the clash of blades, even the crash of cannons sounded muffled, as if coming from a world away. She rolled over on her knees and promptly threw up again. When she finished she wiped the hair from her face, still gasping for air. She looked up to the concerned faces of Rion, Lloyd and Waverly, all watching her carefully. She took a deep breath and composed herself, then began to rise to her feet. "Thank you, all of you. You've saved my life."

"Rest easy," Waverly told her. "You've had quite the close call, you shouldn't push yourself."

"I'm alright," Terra said, trying to sound a bit more confident than she actually felt. "I'm needed out there, there's still a battle to fight. You hired me to protect your ship remember? I can't very well do that while sitting in here."

He's so utterly fixated on that elf of yours

Terra felt a rage well up inside her. It wasn't an unwelcome feeling, certainly felt better than despair. "Rion? Let's move out. I can rest easy once all these pirates are dead."

[Bloodbane]

Once Rion reached Terra, it was clear this was going to be a more difficult trial than he anticipated. As soon as he started to try and swim upward, he felt something pull back; something was wrapped around Terra's limp arm... 'What even is that!?' His first instinct was to try and continue pulling, though it quickly became clear that if he delayed too long then he was risking himself every bit as much as Terra. '... I can't let this beast trouble us any further.'

Fortunately, a stone was thrown into the water with enough force to stagger the beast, but no sooner had it moved to try once more that Rion's own spell had completed, sending a sharp crystal through the water and burying itself into the creature's head like a harpoon, causing it to scream and flail about as he took hold of the line that had been drifting close by. He took a sharp breath once he was finally pulled above the surface, coughing briefly but keeping a hold of Terra as they were pulled back aboard by Lloyd and Waverly, the captain wasting no time in working to revive Terra while Rion was left watching in concern, still regaining his own breath until Terra finally woke up, at which point he sighed in relief. He pulled himself back to his feet, watching as Terra did the same.

When she spoke up to him, Rion looked back to her and nodded. "If you feel up to it, then let's get going..." As light began to condense in his palm, extending outward to the familiar sword-like shape, Terra and the others would see the building light from underneath Rion's armor glowing with a brighter intensity, before he clenched his armored hand around the handle of the blade, at which point a sound like a high hum could be heard, one that Terra would likely recognize as being similar to the resonance of the crystals she would have heard when recovering in Eulene. When the sound finally died down, the blade had fully crystallized, and seemed to have more weight akin to a typical sword.

"Let's finish this." he said quietly, feeling a similar feeling of anger well up within him, though he could only really place it in relation to what he felt when he was nearly defeated in an absurd fashion by Yung Fueg. He turned his head, looking out of the corner of his eye to Lloyd and Waverly with a confident nod. "We'll be back soon." he stated as he made his way toward the wheelhouse door.

It wouldn't take long to confirm that something was indeed different about the power Rion was now making use of, as one of the pirates who was still attempting to fight on would soon find as they moved to attack, only for their swing to be parried and the crystal blade driven into them, at which point Rion suddenly twisted the sword, the crystal breaking off sharply as he pushed his foot forward and sent the pirate tumbling back to the deck, the embedded crystal beginning to resonate as they tried to claw at the wound, crying out in fear as the crystal appeared to spread out from the initial wound and across their body.

Meanwhile, the sword in Rion's hands would continue to draw light toward it until it returned to its original length as he proceeded forward, intent on reaching where the others had made their way across to Calico's ship.

[Sorrum]

Calico had climbed the lines of his ship to get a better view of the ongoing battle. The fog had seemed to do it's job; the Shepherd couldn't prepare for a surprise attack in time, most of it's sailors were outnumbered in battle and it's cannons were toasted. If the important cargo weren't a high price elf he'd be sending over terms of surrender. Only thing left to deal with was the other mages, sink this ship and make demands of Chancellor Itham.

His ears twitched at the sound of heavy winds. The fog around them had slowly began to clear. His right eye's corona spun, and jutted out in smaller segments, focusing on the deck of the Shepherd. He could see Arne, spinning and turning a cannon that spat wind through it, clearing the fog over head. It was a simple solution to clear up his fog, and for a moment was slightly worried. "A gust like that is enough to brush off the cloud before it sets. Can't let that one go or else it's trouble for one o' my best stratagems.." He took aim again, lifting his cannonball launching mechanism at Arne and his cannon and fired, smashing the cannon to bits. "Well, I'll be surprised if he goes for that again." He chuckled, before hearing shrieks from down below.

Aqua had landed on the deck below and was engaging every pirate that came her way. Icicles cut through the pirates who rushed her like paper. Calico grunted, before he let go of the line and dropped down below. He landed heavily, causing the men around him to stop in their tracks and the elf to pause.

"Ah. Princess Friday! Aren't you outside your district?" Calico smiled wide and spread his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Nevertheless, it's good to see you live up to Queen Nyharllothor's reputation as her daughter; a literal death sentence to any and all naval threats." he said, gesturing the pools of blood forming from slain pirates surrounding Aqua.

Aqua spun her spear around until it was centered in her grasp in front of her. She snapped a button in the center, causing the spear to bisect at it's center, which she spun both ends and wielded the ends independently, blades of ice in both hands. She took a battle stance, and pointed the saber in her left hand at Calico. "I am Captain Aqua of The Frontier's Royal Navy, Captain of The Blue Fang and leader of the Naval Defense Unit 23 of Meribia. I'm also the daughter of Alya and Itham Nyharllothor, but I am no princess."

Calico smirked. "You're as valuable as one, Friday." Aqua's already angered expression twitched when he played with her name, but her expression soon changed from one of anger to calmness, then a slow laughter began to come out of the girls mouth, which unnerved the pirate captain. "Something funny?" He asked.

"It's funny. I've come back early from my journey of world-seeing to find one of the reasons I wanted to stay in the first place." She wiped some of the blood off her face with the back of her gauntlet, and looked back at Calico with fury in her eyes. "You remember Prince Frederick of Berseria, yes?"

"The Crimson Tiger of the Arena. Yes." Calico responded. He knew where the girl was going, but thought to let her have her moment as a message from Sarah reached his ears. "Speak quickly," he whispered into his coat's lapel.

"I may not be royalty per se but I am still recognized by the leaders of Berseria as such. But Frederick was much more than just an ally, he was like family to us." Aqua continued as Calico's expression didn't change. "You took him away from us and he was never heard of again! No deals were struck and our rescue attempts failed, and there was no word what had happened to him! What did you do with him!?" Aqua demanded, but Calico remained silent.

"Answer me!" She shouted, blasting the pirate and his lackeys with shards of ice from a wide spread glyph she made instantly. Calico brought his saber up and cut the icicles down as his saber burned with a streak of flame. His lackeys defended themselves as best they could with less effective results. Calico sneered, then whispered back into his coat's lapel to the communication device stuck inside.

"I'll just buy time for now then. Men!" He shouted as all the pirates on board both ships stopped what they were doing and heard their captain call out. "The elf's crossed over to our ship! Whoever captures her gets half the ransom!" The pirates began to cheer, diving off the Shepherd and back to Calico's galleon, all raising their swords and zoning in on Aqua. Aqua closed herself off from the oncoming attacks as cannonballs and bullets and arrows and slings and swords made her their target by forming a dome of ice around herself, only for a whip like flame to cut it down to size around her.

"Unlike your mother you can't seem to control the waves, only make snowmen huh. This will be easier than I thought!" He shouted with glee as he swung the whip again at Aqua, striking her back and knocking her away. The bloodlust Aqua felt previously rushed back as Calico refused to answer her question and struck her. She swung the blades with renewed hatred and cut through the whip, which Calico simply reformed with more of his flame magic and attacked again, swinging the whip around him in a flourish, cutting down any pirate stupid enough to be in his range. Aqua fended the attacks as best she could, but found herself on the defensive with more enemies soon to be upon her.

[Swim]

With Rion by her side Terra fought her way through the swath of pirates and crossed over the gangplank connecting the two vessels. She could see the signs of battle, bloody corpses from both sides lay strewn across the deck. 'And yet there were always more to fight' Terra reflected grimly as she and Rion rounded a corner and found themselves surrounded by a dozen more of Calico's men. Something felt strange about these particular cyborgs though. It was hard to tell exactly what with the persistent fog cloud and the face masks some of them wore, but as Terra sized up her foes it suddenly came to her.

"Wow, are you the losers from Icarus’ Landing?" Terra asked in amazement. Then her mocking smile fell away. Her hands curled into fists as she was filled with outrage. "I can’t believe I stopped my friends from wiping the floor with you back there, I really thought I was doing the right thing trying to make peace! Did you really turn yourselves into misshapen freaks just to take another shot at me? You boys must have felt awfully inadequate, I had no idea I’d left such a strong impression on you."

One of the thugs stumbled forward to grab at her. Terra lashed out, leaving a strong impression on his face. She sidestepped around his next blow and kicked out the back of his knee causing him to stumble, then rolled over his back and smashed his face into the deck.

"I didn’t want it to go like this," Terra growled, malice dripping from her voice. "But I guess some lessons are only learned the hard way. I warned you. Messing with my friends is the last mistake you’ll ever make."

Terra lunged at the nearest man and delivered a jaw breaking punch, then seized him by his shoulders and hurled him into a rope ladder. When he bounced back toward Terra she used the momentum to close-line him with a hammer fist. This triggered a flurry of movement from the other thugs. Terra turned around in time to see a pirate rushing at her with sword in hand. She used the side of her gauntlet to block his blow, then seized his hand and twisted around him. Once he was doubled over she drove her elbow into his back and shattered his spinal cord. A metal fist crashed into the side of her face as the next pirate was on her. It hurt like hell but after that brush with death she'd just experienced in the water Terra needed a bit of pain, it was a welcome reminder that she wasn't dead yet. She may as well savor the sensation while it lasted, before her skin hardened and she became numb again.

Terra spat out a mouthful of blood and glared daggers at her assailant. She jabbed at the arteries on the side of his neck, ducked under his follow up swing and hit him in the chest with a two handed punch that made him stagger. Before the man could recover Terra was already flying at him, slamming him against the wall and repeatedly smashing his face until it turned to jelly. By this point one of the other pirates had seized her from behind. Terra placed her feet on the wall in front of her and pushed off as hard as she could, driving the man backward until he slammed into a crate. His grip weakened enough for Terra to break free, and she clamped down on several fingers hard enough to break them. Them she leaned back and pulled the pirate's head close enough to kick him under the chin, knocking off his face mask and breathing respirator. While he was stunned Terra slammed him into the floor and seized him by the back of his head. Flames spurted from all four of her limbs, the putrid smell of burnt hair and flesh filled the air as she began to sprint down the deck, dragging the poor man and needling his exposed neck and chest with wooden splinters. When there was nowhere further to run Terra impaled his face on a broken piece of metal railing.

She turned around and looked back at the trail of blood that she'd smeared all the way down the deck. A few pirates remained where they were groaning in pain. Terra's eyes narrowed as she relentlessly stalked back down the deck, hands still alight with flame. "You think you're in agony now? You think you know misery?" she shouted, extending her hands and bathing several pirates in fire. As they wailed she seated herself on the last pirate's chest and began ripping the metal plates out of his body. When he was finally still Terra got to her feet, covered in blood. Her fists were balled up and shook involuntarily. "All of this could’ve been avoided if you’d just left me alone..."

[Vic Alriikerson]

Alriik would appreciate the gift given by Vile. "Thanks, man... You seem a good guy..." He would take it, holding his stomach once more before downing it. "Hey, I saw you back at the bar... Did you like the bottle shock-it? I'm thinking of adding it to my normal repertoire..." He would notice Rion's approach. "Better... Just, got a lot to talk about. Trying to, uh... Find the words, y'know."

--

The hours would pass, Alriik watching the others zip around and talk to each other from the top between keeping his eyes on the ocean. He quietly mumbled to himself as he started to get the proper words. "So, it was kind of like a sacrifice, but also it was, like, making a weapon... Or-" the skies darkened. The clouds gathered. Alriik drew his greatsword, and braced himself. If the enemy attacked, he could leap from here, and use a stream of air or water to board them before they had a chance to approach, do some early damage before-

He didn't even see the other ship approach as it bumped into the Shepherd. He braced for impact, one of his hands releasing it's sword grip before grabbing the handrail hard. Alriik began to shout out to the crew, but wasn't able to get more than a shout out before a cannonball clipped the mast, shaking him from him grip and sending him careening downward. As he fell towards the deck, he quickly drew his katana, and unleashed a gust of wind sideways, sending him careening back and into the ocean. "DAMNIT, DA-" He struck the water hard, skipping against it once before descending into the cold depths.

As he sank, the heavy metal on his back pulling him into the blackness under him. The air exited his lungs, one last bubble of life. He released his grip on Shirosame, his precious katana. His veins began to glow silver, and the water around him began to warm. His eyes became bloodshot, and silver, coloring his vision, and it almost felt like...

... He was in the lake again...

--

The boy named Alriik stood alongside 9 other red haired elven children. He was somewhat taller than them, his complexion less fair. As they looked upon the silver lake, bubbling and ready for the next set of children, a man in a brilliant red cloak walked beside them, reminding them of the honor they were to be bestowed. They were going to be great warriors, protectors of the realm, a shield against a blight. They were heroes, they were worthy. Alriik wasn't sure about that. All he knew was the pain of the surgery the night before, and that when ten children went under the water, well... Only one ever came up. The man spoke again, telling them their god was waiting, and to remember themselves as they went into the argent water.

Alvon remembered his speed, Aljon remembered his strength, Alona remembered her endurance.

Aluna remembered her intelligence, Alvic remembered his wits, Alna remembered her cunning.

Alran remembered his skill, Alyx remembered her friends, Alina remembered her family.

As the man in the beautiful robes had finished the others, he approached Alriiik. All he remembered was his pain. He felt the hand force him forward, the crash against the heavy liquid.

The descent.

They always said to keep your eyes closed as you fell. Alriik refused. He was going to die, but he was going to see it coming. As they fell deeper, he made out vague, dark shapes against the silver. At first, they were human shaped, but soon they would become vague masses, pouring into him. As his friends filled his veins, he felt his blood, his magic, his fire, his poison, being pushed out, replaced by... Them.

As he reached the bottom, he saw a single shape, vaguely like a woman, reach to him. He felt her burning touch, and realized... He was staring into the eyes of God. And she was crying. " Mercy." She begged. "Please, it's been so long..."

When he awoke, he was like this. Silver haired, unsure if he really was the one who came out of the argent. Infertile. He was only good for causing pain. He should have never came up. Prehaps it was fate the water took him... Prehaps--

"Mercy." He heard her again. "Return to me and grant me mercy. Return and claim your sword."

He felt sorry for her, but he was done. There was nothing left in him, it was over-

Yet you promised to protect them.

... Yet I promised to protect them.

--

Alriik's eyes shot open as a jet of water from Shirosame returned the sword to his grasp. He returned the blade to the harness on his back, and their combined streams rocketed him back towards the surface, and back towards the ships. He would land on the Shepherd with a loud thud, his silver veins bulging, his eyes silver, steam covering his body.

He would draw his great sword with one hand, it igniting as he pulled it from his sheath. "I once stood over Death, y'know. He lay there, soulless, while I walked away." He would cleave through three pirates with a single swing, immolating their bodies. "I've outlasted legends, I've outskilled masters..." He would rest the burning blade on his shoulder, his free hand drawing his longsword, a purple fluid dripping from it. "I am Alriik of Altiim. Face me and add to my legend." A pirate would dart at him, with Alriik simply stepping to the side, giving the man a slight cut on the side. The pirate would almost immediately seize up, and foam from the mouth. As he approach the battle between Calico and Aqua, he cut a swath in the pirates, a storm of fire and poison. As he got nearer, however, he noticed something... And would shout to his captain "Aqua! Their captain.. That guy is the Pink Guy's drinking buddy!"

[Tony]

Arne heartily chuckles as moves the cannon around, slowly but surely lifting the fog... visibility starting improve with each passing second. Next thing he knows, he feels some strike... him? No... it hit the canon he was holding, but with enough force to knock him over and send him tumbling into the deck's railings. Hien quickly scampers over, chirping with concern. With a groan, Arne manages to get back up to his feet, and looks over to where he was... noticing the only thing that remains of the cannon are a few pieces of scrap.

"I really should have expected that to happen. Of course standing out the open would make you an easy target." He draws his halberd and starts running towards the other ship while there was still some visibility left, Hien following closely behind. "Time for plan B!" He leaped into high into the air with one thought on his mind... if he couldn't take care of the fog like that, then he'll find the source and stop it that way. This meant fighting through whatever the hell was on that ship. Spotting some fighting that's already happening, and recognizing one of the figures involved, he figured that was a good place to start.

Bringing the axe head of his halberd down, he slams into one of the pirate approaching Aqua. Meanwhile, Hien swooped by, unleashing a wave of fire... igniting a few more.

"Sorry it took me so long to get into the action, Aqua. But I'm here to help now! How about I handle these pests while you take care of that big guy?"

He pulls his weapon from the now dead pirate's body... the blade covered in blood and oil. "Alright you freaks... you want to get to her..." Hien hovers next to Arne... exhaling a small flame onto the halberd, igniting the oil. Arne then channels lightning into he weapon... causing flame and electricity to dance across the blade. "You're gonna have to get through the two of us, first!"

Arne jammed his halberd in yet another pirtate... their body quickly consumed by fire and sparks.

[Sorrum]

Aqua was being overwhelmed by the pirates attacks, using both of her new blades to deflect attacks and keep Calico at bay, until her friends intervened and cleared her from attack.

She panted heavily, and nodded her thanks, but what Alriik had said caught her attention. "The.. pink guy? You mean Vile?" But before she could get anymore answers, Calico drilled his whip forward and slapped Aqua back, knocking the distracted elf off her feet and onto her back.

"Quick, the nets!" Calico shouted, but Aqua slashed away at the oncoming nets, avoiding capture. Calico's brow deepend, and he swung the whip again, only this time Aqua side stepped the attack, pointed her saber back at the dread pirate, and, with a push of a button, fired the saber at Calico, catching him off guard and cutting deep into his right arm.

"Gah!" He cried as his whip diffused, clutching the wound. His hand burned red over the cut, trying to immediately close up the wound. He waved his hand, and a few pirates jumped between he and the rest of the mages.

Aqua spun the blades in her hands again, but slammed the hilts together, reforming Sharksbane's spear mode. She shouted "Get him, he's weakened!" To her friends, then rushed ahead, cutting down each pirate in her way.

[Sorrum]

Calico reeled back angrily. "Lucky little bitch." He grumbled and winced. He did not expect her magitek spear to retain it's launch function when split in half, but it won't happen again he thought. The cut dug deep, scratching the metal beneath his muscle. The attack could have lobbed his arm off if not for that.

Things had taken a sudden down turn for him, he realized. He reassessed his situation. These mages hadn't taken more than a few scrapes but they were downing his men left and right despite their enhancements. Sure, they were just his footmen and not his real crew, but this power difference was obvious. Was he really going to succeed taking the princess with this motley bunch?

Before long his arm stopped bleeding from him cauterizing the wound, but it'd leave a nasty scar. Calico's worry began to boil into a rage. He pulled on his coat to rip it off, ready to use his cyborg enhancements to put these mages down for good, until his moment was interrupted suddenly.

[Sorrum]

A pirate made his way past Calico and his defensive line, wielding a saber that must have been used by one of the sailors on board the Shepherd. Calicos eyebrow shot up and he asked him, "Whats happened to your claws?"

Vile, masking his voice on top of appearance, replied in a gravely voice, "lost em across the gap. Better with a sword anyway." He walked with confidence, and for a second Calico swore he saw lightning in the man's eyes.

Calico wondered where this guy had been hiding on his ship, before he heard another beep from his coat. He hastily grabbed it, contacting Sarah.

"It's ready sir, but I'll need your fire magic to help start it," she said.

Calico grinned. Victory was in their grasps. He looked over at the disguised Vile. "Hold them back, I'm getting our trump card." He said, before jumping down a trapdoor on the deck and heading for Sarah's lab. He couldn't help but smell cooked pork and wondered if Sarah had made time to kill one of her playthings. He noticed the hole in the wall right after, and assumed not.

[Sorrum]

Aqua inhaled sharply, having gained a moment away from Calico's constant barrage of whip strikes. "We need to stop him, if we take him out the rest of this entourage will fall apart. It, it doesn't feel like this is his main force either, so we should hurry up before he gets any reinforcements.." She said to the others, before noticing Calico retreating below deck.

"Damn, he's getting away!" She shouted angrily and charged ahead toward the door, only to be stopped by the newcomer pirate. "Out of my way!" She shouted, stabbing at Vile's chest. However, in the blink of an eye, Vile seemed to jump just above the tip of the spear, and stood on it, somehow not dropping down.

Aqua stared wide-eyed at what happened, but before she could move, Vile's boot knocked the top of her helmet and jarred her senses, followed by another heavy kick to her chest sending her tumbling back. When she looked back, the cloaked pirate was now holding her spear, somehow in the commotion he had even stolen her weapon. "W..What the hell?" Her rage faded now as the confusion had set in. This was no ordinary pirate, that was sure. The other pirates had seemed to notice this too, and now fell back to watch the fights. Enough of them had been slain by these mages now that their morale was getting slim.

Next thing she knew, Sharksbane had come back to her, charged with lightning and struck into the floorboards between her legs, scaring the hell out of her. Vile looked down at her, before walking away and facing the next opponent.

Aqua steadily rose to her feet, gripping Sharksbane again, but feeling a lasting shock run through the pole. She was glad her armor was at least insulated against these electrical attacks but wondered if she could fight with it like this, or even hit the blindingly fast opponent. Nevertheless, she braced herself and waited for an opening.

[Vic Alriikerson]

As he continued to thin the herd, Alriik's foggy mind had a moment to think. His body acted on instinct and did what it needed to with hardly even a thought. With his adrenaline running, with him heated up like this, he didn't need to think. These were bandits, not warriors, and with the Argent burning in his veins, his swords felt lighter, his movement faster, his magic holding more might. The fact that he had almost drowned meant until his body realized it wasn't dying, he was stronger. But his head was fuzzy. Metallic blood began to drip from his nose, his eyes still that argent bloodshot. He needed to get it together. Until he had a focus... He was going to be a mess.

He brought down his father's flaming great sword, Angelheart, down upon the head one of the half-man machines, cleaving through him. He quickly attempted to glance around the area, counting his allies. Axala's Rose, his now poisoned longsword, would find the neck of a woman leaping at him from behind. He counted their heads, they were still alive, and at least for the moment, none seemed down. Angelheart would swing through two of the enemy crewmen, their halved bodies still aflame. Arne and Hien seemed to be thinning the ranks as well, and doing well. The Rose would meet an enemy's sword-hand, cutting it and disarming them. Rion had his stuff together, and Terra was... She was on the offensive, at least. He would help, but... It would have to wait. After the battle, after the eventual passing out and waking up, then he'd talk to her. Angelheart would decapitate another with a back-swing. He, notably, didn't see Calico's drinking buddy.

The disarmed pirate would arm some sort of arm cannon at Alriik's back as he advanced. The Captains were dueling, and he felt compelled to let them at it. The Rose would pierce an oncoming warrior's heart. The disarmed pirate would focus on the back of Alriik's head. Suddenly, their Captain would flee, the coward. The disarmed pirate would begin to drool, his eyes rolling upward. Alriik would let Aqua pursue... He was much more interested in finding the Pink Man. Angelheart would pierce through a man's sternum, and soon, the hilt would press against the cyborg's chest. The disarmed pirate would begin to shake, as the drool began to bubble.

Another warrior entered the stage and quickly went after his captain. Within moments he had taken the advantage, leaping upon Sharksbane and kicking Aqua to the ground.

As Aqua took to her feet, a flaming great sword would land between her and Vile. The poisoned warrior's shakes would get worse, muttering dully through the foam as he felt to the ground. Alriik would step forward, his dipping purple sword pointed towards the masked man. "Maybe we should let the captains fight and the sword guys fight." The man before Vile was... Well, he was no longer steaming, at least. But his veins seem to still be somewhat bulging silver, his nose still dripping silver. His green eyes obscured by silver. This... This looked somewhat like the man before... But also somewhat like a monster.

"So... Good news for you. I'm probably gonna pass out soon, already feel it. Bad news is, I'mma pull out every dirty trick in my book until that happens." The shaking pirate would... Stop. At that moment Alriik would quickly draw his katana, and... Reflect the light off of the flaming great sword at Vile's eyes, before leaping at the presumably stunned enemy with a slash with his poisoned blade!