Let's Get Down and Dance Around![Open]

[nascent]

There was a rustling amid some nearby cargo, underneath a tarp stretched out across a stack of barrels. From beneath this a familiar red-furred face emerged, looking sleepy and bleary-eyed.

"Ugh... you're a bit early, ya know?"

The lynx groaned, then yawned before pulling himself from the makeshift bed. "Oh well, guess it can't be helped. All right Meiser, follow me."

With that he began walking towards the gangplank of a nearby ship, striding casually aboard as if he owned the place. Even though day's first light had not yet broken the deckhands were busily preparing to set sail, so busy that they hardly even noticed the odd duo's arrival. A man in a large, somewhat ornate navy-blue overcoat did turn to greet them, obviously trying and failing to hide his surprise at Meiser's appearance.

"Captain, this is Meiser. The client who's selling those relics hired him aboard as protection for the cargo."

The captain looked Meiser over and nodded briefly. "Aye, good 'ta be havin' a gunhand aboard. Cap'n Syd Dawkins, master o' th' 'Jewel of the North'." The captain extended his hand while continuing to speak. "As per tradition and good faith, 'alf yer wage'll be paid up front an' th' other 'alf once we sell th' cargo. Um... if ye don' mind me askin'," He cast a sideways glance at Kassom. "Where did ye meet this fur-fletched hand? No offense'n all, but I ain't never seen his kind 'afore."

[meiser]

"Aye capitain! Good to meet you too argghhh!"
He grinned, wrapping his hand around the burly man's and shaking with roughness, just like a hand-shake. Pulling his hand away, he nodded to the requirements of being paid half, and the rest at the end. Though the end wouldn't really come, he smirked as he thought of the vile plan. Poiting a thumb back to the furred friend.

"I met him at the pound, shhhh don't tell him I told you though. He gets very offended that I met him in a cage with those 'ol puppy eyes. Couldn't turn him down, y'know? Never leave a puppeh behind!"

He wrapped his arm around the captain's neck. Laughing cosistantly and pointing to the Puppy-Boy. Stopping finally, he waved an arm dismissevly.

"Nah, I met him at the bar. He gave me free drinks! What other man would not deny that eh?! I know you, captain of sorts would obviously take this offer up and not deny it! That right boys?!"

He screamed this query to the sailors aboard, waiting to see if any of them were gals. Probably not, they all believed in some kind of "Curse" if they are. But an exciting crew was a good one!

[nascent]

(OOC: I completely lol'd at the whole 'pound' bit. )


"Ya know, I'm not a puppy..." Kassom muttered, scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "That isn't even the right species..."

"AYE!" Came the resounding response from the deckhands to Meiser's question, total agreement down to the very last man. There may have been a woman or two in the mix, but it was impossible to tell amid the unanimous response.

"Erm, so captain..." The young lynx spoke up now. "What's my assignment, sir?"

"Hmm..." The captain looked Kassom over. "Jus' how much 'perience ye got aboard a vessel?"

"... In truth, none."

"GAH! Ye've ne'er sailed 'afore? Feh... well, I hope yer good 'wit yer hands then, lad. Report ta th' Boatswain, he'll know what ta do wit ye."

"Aye, captain." Kassom gave a loose salute and walked off in search of the third mate.



Three Hours Later...



'Maybe I've bit off more than I can chew here...' Kassom thought to himself as, for the second time now, he leaned over the bow of the ship and upchucked into the rolling seas. He'd never expected himself to be the kind who got easily seasick... then again, he'd grown up in a desert, so what did he know about oceans? Not enough, apparently.

<<Geez, pull it together, kid.>> Ilaelis chimed in, interjecting his thoughts amid Kassom's own. The demonic scout who shared the young lynx's body was none too keen on weakness; even though he could feel everything Kassom was experiencing, that didn't mean he had any sympathy. <<Come on, we've been through worse than this! Just finish spilling your guts and get back to it already. Everyone thinks you're a joke!>>

It was true, the rest of the crew was having a good ol' laugh at the furry's expense. Kassom wondered briefly what Meiser was up to...

[meiser]

Meiser saluted the captain before prancing off and let Puppy-Boy get to whatever he was doing. A few hours later, while Kasson was puking his guts out, Meiser was in the lower deck. Laughing his heart out as he leaned back in his chair, looking to a man before him. They were all betting on who would collapse from all the shots they were taking. Funny thing is, Meiser was chugging down whole mugs and not just a small glass.

The man before him looked very woozy, shaking as he lifted the glass and pressing it to his lips, chugging it. Meiser wrapped his hand around the handle of his beer mug, pressing it to his own pair and letting the strong liquids slide down his throat. Placing the mug down without any trouble at all, giving out a gasp of satisafaction. Looking to the next shot, the man gripped it but turned to his side and vommited, collapsing on his own waste as many cheered for Meiser. The masked man grinned, stepping up from his seat and bowing to them all.

"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night."

Sliding through the crowd of laughing crew members, they were probably ridiculing the collapsed fellow, poor lad. Rising to the upper level, he spotted Puppy-Boy. Sneaking up to him, he bellowed in his right ear.

"HEEL!"

Watching the after-math, he chuckled evilly and pat the man on his back roughly, probably causing him to up-chuck even more.

"Sup, Puppy-Boy? Lose your bone in that mss somewhere?"

((Gotta love Meiser. XD))

[nascent]

(OOC: Sorry about the delay - big internet problems on my end.)


"Geez!" Kassom exclaimed, startled at Meiser's being able to sneak up behind him. That wasn't a good sign... he should have seen that kind of thing coming thirty feet away, but with the way he was feeling now all his senses seemed to be off. He spun around to face Meiser and his snide comment. "Was that really necessary? I'm a bit off my game at the moment."

Suddenly, the young lynx gave something akin to a slight twitch and quickly turned to starboard. The expression on his face was enough to cue Meiser in - something was happening. But what really gave it away was when a voice, distinctly unlike Kassom's in its unearthly tones, spoke through him.

"There's something coming this way... something radiating darkness." He turned back toward his masked companion; a careful observer would note that all the color had suddenly drained from Kassom's eyes, leaving behind only a steely gray hue. "It's not coming fast - maybe half an hour or so before we'll be able to see it, but fast enough that it'll catch up to this floating crate. I wonder..."

The lynx went silent for a moment, his eyes returning to normal. Then Kassom spoke again. "Ah, I haven't introduced you to him yet. You just met Ilaelis, the demon of metal who's my master. Hope that doesn't freak you out too much, Meiser."

[meiser]

The masked marvel watched with confusion as the lynx's voice grew dark and deep. Scratching the back of his head, it'd be time soon to actually jump onto the other boat. He just hoped the captain wasn't too attractive, he'd just mess around by then. Crossing his left arm over the other, leaning back onto his right heel. His voice went back to normal, and puppy-boy said it was his master, charming.

"Is that how the kiddies do it today? I remember when we just went to the trainer, then went back home. Not making yourselves a five star hotel for them!"

Meiser cackled, after his little joke he kept his eyes locked with his.

"Seriously though, he sounds like he has a hole in his throat, tell him to stop with the cancer-sticks mmmk?"

Turning around, Meiser pressed his shoulder-blades against the wooden railing. Eyes staring out into the cold and cloudy night, something was coming, and fast he had said. He believed him, the que of cloudy nights and strong winds was the cliche way to say it. He took out his pistol in his right holster, spinning it around by the trigger with his index finger.

[nascent]

Kassom chuckled at Meiser's comments. "Special arrangement... a contract, if you will. I give Ilaelis my existence, and he uses his powers to help me out. Fair trade, really."

"And what the heck is a 'cancer stick'? Sounds like some kind of diseased weapon." Ilaelis chimed in.

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

Ten Minutes Later...



"Enemy vessel off the starboard bow!" The sailor up in the crow's nest reported with a loud, worried shout. "Captain! It's a pirate ship! A RED pirate ship!"

The captain muttered a curse under his breath, then addressed the crew. "Alright, lads. We all knew this could happen... BATTLE STATIONS! Ready th' cannons an' prepare t' repel boarders. This be 'The Red Corsair', no doubt... there be no surrenderin' to 'em!" He drew his cutlass and held up in a dramatic gesture. "We stand our ground an' fight fer our lives!!"

'Jewel of the North' became awash in a frenzy of activity as sailors rushed here and there and officers handed out simple pistols and swords for defense. Kassom gave Meiser a glance and a nod. Once the fighting started they'd have to switch ships very quickly amid the confusion.

"Ready to have some fun?"

Within five minutes, the battle was begun. 'The Red Corsair' swept in without hesitation or fear, quickly closing the distance between the ships. Its silver sails gleamed in the mid-morning light, a dramatic contrast to it's malevolent black flag. Onboard, a deck full of Heartless scurried about, eager to do what pirates of their kind did best: sack, loot, and pillage the Hearts of the unprepared... at behind the helm, decked in grandiose scarlet attire, was a young woman with an exaggeratedly evil grin on her face. The moment they were in range, 'Jewel of the North' let fly with her cannons; the bone-jarring BOOM! of the big guns could be felt by all those on deck. A few of the cannonballs veered wildly and dropped into the water with an enormous splash, but most struck home... leaving mere dents in 'The Red Corsair's hull and dropping straight down into the sea.

"AHOY!!" Came an amplified voice from the other ship, seemingly that of its captain. "Surrender yerselves an' th' cargo, an' I'll make yer ends a lot less painful!"

With that declaration, what looked like a giant harpoon gun rose from the deck of the enemy ship. It took aim straight at 'Jewel of the North' and send its payload crashing straight into the ship's mid-section; down below, the harpoon split open like a grappling hook and dug itself into the hull, holding fast. Almost immediately, winged Air Pirate Heartless began to glide towards the ship and its crew, weathering pistol and rifle shots.

The battle had begun.

BATTLE MUSIC: Pirates Of The Caribbean Theme (remixed)

[meiser]

Meiser nodded to his friend, turning to look at the incoming enemy ship and listening to the bellows of his "Fellow" sailors. Meiser stumbled a bit from the sudden stab of the Harpoon, the ship tilting slightly. The masked marvel sped off, moving up the stairs and up, a heartless dived at him, bearing its claws and slicing at his head. But he cart-rolled to the side, taking two of his pistols from their holsters and firing them rapidly. Four ripped through its wings, and two pierced its head.

Falling and poofing into black smoke, he grinned and continued on his way. Knowing puppy-boy would stay on his back, he jumped off the ship and onto the rope. He nearly fell for a moment, then ran along the rope with ease. He watched as a couple more flying Heartless came at him, firing more rounds to them. One came very close to his chest, but he shot the bogey down right in the face when he came close enough. Running with swiftness, he finally arrived to the Red Corsair.

Placing his pistols into their holsters, he released his swords and dual-wielded them. A couple of simple Heartless ran up to him, but he sliced right through their little heads with little effort.

"C'mon Puppy-Boy! Stop licking your ass and kill something!"

[nascent]

Oh, Kassom intended to do just that -- just as soon as he got across the blasted tow line. He had, of course, a cat's agility and acrobatic finesse which made walking the rope line no sweat... but he was also seasick and trying not to look down at the crashing waves. NOT a good combination for any feline. Still, with his adrenaline pumping he was keeping pace for now...

... that is, until somebody on 'The Red Corsair' started taking shots at him.

"Blast ye vermin, boardin' me ship like ye own it!" A young woman in outrageously pirate-like attire shouted from behind the wheel. She leveled two pistols at Kassom and Meiser, firing as fast as her flintlocks would let her. "Cuttin' down me crew, messin' wit me operations -- I'll keelhaul ye both fer such offenses!"

She was a decently good shot; Kassom ducked and rolled away behind a mast from the initial volley while his metal over-skin took shape, then leapt from hiding with a wide shield of metal protruding from his left forearm. The pistol shots pinged off the steely skin, leaving dents which would become bruises but not doing any real damage, while his shield guarded his vitals. He made a dash towards the captain -- didn't get far, however, before a fresh wave of Heartless began pouring up from below deck and intercepted him. Forming a blade around his other hand, the iron-clad lynx pushed into the fray and cut down any Heartless that got in his way. Darkness sprayed left and right; meanwhile, the captain was pulling a trick of her own.

"So, ye wanna play it rough, eh?" Her scowl turned into a grin. "Well then, now ye see me..."

She tossed her two emptied pistols aside and reached for something on a belt around her chest... something that looked unsettlingly like a grenade. Something that, after she triggered and dropped it on the deck, went off a lot like a grenade. Except with more smoke... and the smell of something rotten!

And from the lingering smoke cloud --

"... an' now ye see TWO o' me! HAH!"

-- stepped two identical red-clad captains, each with a set of pistols in their hands. Whether real or illusory, the two immediately took to running about back and forth at the edge of the smoke, firing intermittently at Meiser before leaping back into the haze to conceal their movements.

"Ye'll never win! NEVER! HAH HAH!!"

[meiser]

Meiser examined the two images, grinning wickedly he pressed his belt button. Three images of Meiser had appeared, all clobbering each other to see who the real Meiser was. It resulted in the woman firing at illusions that all vanished once fired upon. But the real one, snuck along the walls and with slick movements came behind the left captain. Placing his pistol to her spinal cord, he bellowed a loud.

"KABOOM!"

As he fired a round, he turned and looked over to the other Captain, firing his second pistol to her. The masked marvel placed is pistols into his holsters after this, and released his blades once more. slicing through hordes of Heartless and yelling.

"'Ey, Puppy-Boy! How many kills yah got?!"

And sliced through the filthy critters, till he got to an area where he could actually breathe. Sliding his swords into sheathes, he took out his pistols once more to take steady aim to whatever came his way.

[nascent]

"You IDIOT!!" Kassom shouted, watching Meiser gun down both identical captains. "We needed her ALIVE!"

As the two captains slumped to the deck... they were reduced to mere flashes of light. Kassom paused -- just long enough for a Heartless to land a punch in his face -- stunned and then quickly realizing what had happened. Just like Meiser's two duplicates, the captains had been nothing but illusions... which meant that the real Captain was --

"HAH HAH! Nice try lads," A voice bellowed from above. "But ye won't be catchin' Captain Cordell Ribaldrous Furor the 10^th THAT easily!"

Kassom looked up, spotting Cordell high up in the rigging. How had she...? He scowled, fending off more Heartless attacks as he made his way towards one of the masts. She must have cut loose a weighted rope to pull herself up, an old pirate's trick. Kassom leapt for the peg hand-holds leading up the mast and began climbing, swatting away Air Pirates as he went.

This irritating little brat of a captain was going down, he'd see to that. Hopefully before Meiser shot the real one!

[meiser]

Meiser grunted to Kassom's screaming, he already knew that both were not real. Firing trhough heartless to get out of his path, he watched the Puppy-Boy chase asfter the Captain. She was heading down toward him, smirking he knew just what to do. Suddenly, the man's eyes turned a bright red and he fell straight onto the ground. His vitals zeroing to nothing, but his crest on his chest began to beep silently.

When the woman got close enough, he'd suddenly stand up and a loud screeching noise would fill her ears. Just as she felt the extreme pain in her ears, he'd jump forward, lunging to tackle her down. And if this succeded, his left arm wrapped around her neck and a pistol to the side of her head, with a smug for a grin.

"'Ey! Back off or I'll teach all you stupid Heartless about the brains that splatter out!"

[nascent]

Finding herself at gunpoint with no escape strategy on hand, Cordell cursed out loud. The Heartless, as if a switch had been thrown, all stopped exactly where they were... and then vanished into swirls of darkness. The same thing happened to the Air Pirates aboard 'Jewel of the North'; all the Heartless in sight had simply vanished. Poof.

The captain squirmed ever so slightly under Meiser's grip, clearly ashamed of finding herself in such a predicament. At length she relaxed somewhat, and as Kassom came striding over she decided talking to her captors might be a good idea.

"Parlay -- I invoke the right of parlay. I dun know who hired ye t' come after me, but it's a pirate's right t' confront her accusers an' offer terms. Ye cannot revoke me that!"

Kassom grinned, squatting down to look Cordell in the eye. "One problem, missy: you're not dealing with pirates here. Still... seems you get your wish. So let's talk."

"... A filthy bilge rat like YOU?!" She spat in his direction. "Ye dun look like ye could arrange a sandwich, much less'n somethin' as audacious as all this." She struggled a little bit more, to no avail. "What ye be wantin' anyways?"

The lynx lost all sense of humor in his expression. "For one thing, off this soggy rock of a world -- more specifically, a certain damaged relic that I hear is in your possession. Looks like a small statue of three snakes coiled around an egg. Remember it?"

"... So, ye be comin' after one o' me treasures, eh?" Cordell chuckled dryly. "Ye'll not be findin' it, not where ye're goin'."

"Oh?" Kassom glared at her. "And where's that, little girl?"

A broad grin swept her features. "Descend, fifty fathom!"

"Order confirmed, captain."

The strangely mechanical-sounding voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once; even as it spoke, the ship began to echo with the dull rumble of immense engines. The watery horizon quickly began to rise... the ship was literally going down, not sinking but submersing!

Kassom leveled a steely blade at the girl's forehead. "Stop this thing NOW! Do it or I'll carve my name into your skull!!"

Still under Meiser's pinning strength, Cordell laughed. "Ye were fools ta challenge me aboard me own ship, lads. The most you'll be gettin' here is a stalemate. I be givin' ye a choice: release me an' we'll talk it o'er like proper scallywags, or do as ye wish an' hope ye can swim it. Ye can't be threatenin' me -- ye need me, as only I know where t' find yer treasured relic, an' only I can make 'The Red Corsair' t' act." She grinned, a sly devilish smile of self-assured superiority.

The water was beginning to come up above the hull now, held in check by a strange bubble-like field that formed around the deck. Nobody would drown... although if the ship managed to get down to 300 feet, swimming back to the surface could prove fatal. Cordell knew this. Kassom grunted in disdain, then looked towards Meiser.