Pirate Age: The Golden Era

[Mizos]

Team Bloodlust- About to get real in the prison.
​

Luro scratched the side of his cheek as he watched the group he was with free any prisoners on the floor, none of them were the captain which started to make him think she wasn't on this floor either. He had a feeling the captain was on the top floor, it was the captain after all she should be at the top of the prison. He could have sworn he was heading that way too but one of the men informed him that they were nowhere near the top, in fact they might have actually gone down somehow. Luro crossed his arms over his chest, he had already forgotten what had happened in the last five minutes, much less ten so he wasn't a reliable source for directions, that's why Kadi did all that. Actually now that he really thought about it whenever he got lost he generally ended up stranded alone somewhere because of his horrible sense of directions.
"That's what happened," Luro said pounding a hand onto his fist. "I got lost!"
"We already know!" the pirates behind yelled behind him. "Stop standing there and help!"

He turned seeing Bannon and Hana grinning at the two before he caught what the strong man said. Luro pointed ahead before responding to the man.
"I could have sworn I heard someone say Stardusk ahead I think someone was singing so I want to go check it out. Hana use your immense bloodlust to clear the way, Bannon and I will be right behind you," Luro said looking at the young lady. "Actually where's Ray and his best friend, he's going to miss all the fun."
Luro started to walked forward but stopped seeing someone had gotten in the way, he tilted his head at the stranger who seemed to be blocking their path. A girl with cold eyes focused directly on them, he couldn't read the air around her for some reason, and that look in her eyes was fascinating, his survival instinct was screaming at him because of these two and he couldn't help but shiver in excitement. He started to talk but the girl had raised her gun, which Luro was already interested in, before she fired. Luro eyes widened at the gun but his attention went to Bannon deflecting the blow and when he spoke a toothy grin found it's way on Luro's face. She seemed to not be in the mood for talking part and he was happy to respond with violence right back. He turned towards the lady but when she vanished he blinked after slaying one of the pirates he started looking around seeing she really had vanished.
"Bannon Bannon! It's been too long since I got to fight against someone so interesting. I want the lass."
Luro clicked his rifle unlocking it, the chambers falling into place a shot loading into the chamber as his finger rested on the trigger.
"...I want to see if I can beat her with one bullet to make it interesting," Luro said. "A good old fashioned gunfight."

 

[Grothnor]

Team Sewers' "Lendro-Ceranian Dream Team" --> Floor 20
Ray and Durant vs Michael, Round 2
A collab with @Capt. Blu

Typically for the flora manipulator, finding and 'seeing' was never an issue. The three floors he maintained, 19, 20 and 21, had similar plants sprouting through the walls and along the flooring. They acted as his eyes and ears to all that went on in those areas. However, none of these prisoners were able to use their devil fruits- if they had them, so finding Ray was proving to be a little more of a nuisance than he wanted. It was an issue already that so many others managed to slip past his view, so detaining two would look a little less bad in his opinion...hopefully the warden would think so as well.

"You go on… I'm going to get that other one." Michael retraced his steps, away from the humanoid plant. "The ice tricks are new, I'll admit. But I doubt your friend has any such tricks, unless running away was the trick." While Michael spoke, his attention was focused on one particular vine that led up towards the next floor. There was a moment's pause before he tugged on the vine.

A short, but loud wailing sound echoed and dragged back into the mix was Durant. "Not fast enough unfortunately- unfortunate for you of course. Surprisingly you got as far as you did with that drug going through your system." Michael had the Ceranian upside down while he spoke. "Hopefully your friend cares enough about you to come retrieve you."

"Friend is the last thing I'd call him… And this? This is nothing! You call this a drug? I feel fine!" Durant taunted and lied in hopes whatever Ray was planning, he'd do so quickly. While Michael was distracted from the groups that had advanced to the higher floors, the two now had troubles of their own.

"Oh? Well, I don't actively advocate murdering prisoners. You two on the other hand are a far different protocol. Them," He gestured towards the cells. "Well, they'll be here for some time. It's much easier to be acceptant when their sentences end. But that is nothing you need to think about."

Just as he was about to strike, a bullet ricocheted off the stone two feet away from Michael. A blurry form melted, somewhat literally, into view as Ray shed his camouflage. Dammit, that drug's affecting me more than I thought. Taking advantage of Michael's surprise, Ray summoned more ice-pistols and launched a blistering amount of covering fire, shredding the plants holding Durant and forcing Michael to take cover. "Dammit Durant, I can't keep covering your ass."

Before Durant could fall to his face, he tumbled to a safer distance. In that same motion, he tossed one of his many daggers towards Ray. "You're doing a lousy job at it anyway!" The dagger zipped over Ray's head and stabbed the slow approaching plant-man in it's opening maw causing it to screech in pain.

"Excuse you both." Michael's tranquil facade changed to that of annoyance ever so slightly. The flowers along the cell bars turned and pointed at the two intruders. "You're ruining the one thing I like in this prison." The thorns around the pink plants wouldn't kill, but being shot by enough of them would still sting. Fortunately for the two not all of the flowers were able to attack. Some of the braver prisoners reached out and grabbed the vines in their cells, disrupting not only Michael's attack but also his "sight" on some of the prison cells.

Ray heard just what he needed. His accuracy was too poor in his drugged state to simply shoot the plants, so he did the next best thing. Shifting into his icy form, the thorns simply bounced off, unable to find purchase in flesh. He then reached out and froze as many plants as he could lay his hands on, trying to provoke and distract the overseer. His strength was flagging quickly with his rampant reliance on his powers, but he had nothing else that he could reliably use to combat Michael in his intoxicated state.

Durant didn't question how he was somehow in a much better state than Ray. He was still seeing double, which happened to be a lot better than seeing quadruple, but with all the noise it was easier to guess where the real Michael was. With every frozen plant, Michale showed more signs of his frustration. There was a visible frown that replaced his indifference and he raised his hand.

There wasn't a threat he could utter that could explain his frustration, so instead he prepared to send not only the plant monster that had long since recovered, but various other flora as well.

Ray struggled to hold his ice form, but doubted he could withstand such an overwhelming attack. He braced himself for the worst.

They all lunged for Ray, only to stop right in front of him. To many of the prisoners' surprise, Michael was the one to yell out in pain. He hadn't been paying attention to Durant, giving the Ceranian the opportune moment to throw his dagger into Michael's hand. "There's two of us, dirt-grubber!"

Michael yanked the dagger free and created a bright yellowish orange calendula flower to cover the wound. "You two are ruining everything!" His garden was ruined, the prisoners were once again roused with excitement, and there were more of the filthy rats running around the prison. He was livid.

His uninjured palm pressed to the ground causing the stone flooring to crack and shift. Unlike the rest of the flora Michael created, a grotesque venus flytrap clambered from the ground. The only 'aesthetically appealing' sight about the creature were the spots of flowers that were sprinkled on it. As it surfaced, it's head barely missed the ceiling but it didn't hesitate trying to use its vine appendages to grab everything in its vicinity.

"Lords of Lendria!" Ray ran down the corridors away from the monstrosity. He was almost out of strength to wield his powers, and the Venus Man-Trap was too fast and powerful for him to take on alone. "Durant, I hope you have a trick or two up your sleeves!"

 

[Capt. Blu]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ice, Knives, and Flowers oh my!→ Still Floor 20 [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Shit-" Was all Durant managed to utter before he had to duck out of the way of Michael's newest creation. The 'man-trap' roared and slithered it's way forward. Ray was causing the most trouble for the beast's habitat, so it attacked him first. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The only bright side of all the ducking and dodging Durant had to do was that he managed to collect some of the knives that he had already tossed. Stabbing the monster did little justice, he realized, as it still continued its path towards Ray. In Durant's peripheral vision, he noticed Michael attempting to slip away towards the stairs. "Oh no you don't." As quick as he could, Durant threw one of his knives at Michael. His aim was off though and instead of stabbing him in the arm, the knife landed in the wall right in front of him. "Even with those powers of yours, you're running off? Ha! You're more pathetic than I thought!" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Michael picked up the knife that was thrown at him and stalked towards Durant. There was a wrath in his eyes that betrayed his expression. "Know your place, scum." Michael was no stranger to fighting and that showed as the two traded blows. Despite the few hits and stabs Durant managed to get in Michael was much more skilled. He was able to sweep the man's feet from under him and press the knife against his neck. "...I'll refrain from getting your disgusting blood on me." Oddly enough, Michael let Durant go but moments after and in one swift motion, the 'man-trap' scooped him up and dumped him into its mouth. Michael rolled up his sleeves, now much more filthy than he appreciated. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Disgusting pirates… Kill the other one too." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Monster and owner prepared to end Ray's life as well only to be stopped by a sharp pain. Michael held his head while the monster began to shake theirs much more vigorously. "Wh- What!?" Michael didn't have time to whirl around when he realized something was forcefully disrupting his concentration. There was a sudden explosion inside the monster causing pieces to go flying. Out of the gunk and plant parts, Durant came flying out and punched Michael square in the jaw. The impact, surprise, and developing migraine knocked the plant-man out and instantly all of the coiled vines and garden like touches on the three floors began to fall, lifeless. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Durant was trying to wipe off as much of the disgusting goo on him as possible. "Eugh...I don't know which is worse, this or the sewer… At least I snatched one of those bombs off that crazy redhead…" He looked over to see if Ray had somehow died in the fray, but to his unpleasant fortune the Lendrian was still alive. "Well, don't just stand there, don't we need to catch up?" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]~~~~~~~~~[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Prisoners and a...Revolution?! → Floor 23 [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Revolution and Riots --> Floor 23[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kino effortlessly cut down the men in her way. Despite her stature and age, she was more skilled than most of them combined. She disappeared and reappeared, knocking out some and killing others. Even without her portal fruit, she would have been able to take these pirates down, but to minimize the hassle, there was no need to be 'nice'. Though, in that time, she had yet to fire a single shot besides the one before at Bannon. Kino didn't believe in wasting bullets so the blade protruding from the side of her gun was just enough to do the job. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She had cleared her own path through the mass but there were still too many for just one person to take on. It was in her interest to get the intruders into the cells, but once she teleported them in the cell walls and bars were made completely of sea stone so she wouldn't have been able to get back out. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]With speed on her side, she was moving abnormally quick in a short span of time. Bannon tried to catch her, but he couldn't match her speed, so he decided to use that opportunity to try and free some of the prisoners. He didn't have the key, so brute force would have to do. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Runali didn't hear a response back, but the sounds of fighting grew louder. She had to be louder than the fighting so they could hear her call. To her surprise, that was much more difficult than she realized. She didn't remember the last time she had to yell so loud but once more with all the breath she could muster, Runali cupped her hands over her mouth and repeated the song verse:[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"He's sworn his life, a [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Stardusk[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] through strife[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Here comes the scion of Lendr'a!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Cecilia watched in amazement as the one eyed pirate gained a new sense of life. In turn, she joined in, yelling "Come this way! Get us out of here!"[/BCOLOR]

 

[CrossJustX]

[BCOLOR=#ffffff][/BCOLOR]

Some while ago before the riff-raff have arrived near floor 23…


Aidan sat at his desk, he stared at a dossier, deeply focused. Kino sat in a chair against the wall, occasionally leaning back while staring off into the ceiling. The dossier that now sat on his desk… another HR report on potential candidates for his cell block, week after week he's tried to get the cleanest running guards he could but anyone here was either a runt or near psychopath… He tapped his pen against the dossier… While this man seemed strong & otherwise trustworthy, the allegations he received that caused him to be transferred here were quite disturbing & he couldn't help but feel that a man with a peculiar interests in sheep could be on this floor….. A sharp line crossed along the paper as Aidan marked him as undesirable.

All… I want… is just a quiet floor… no torture, no annoying prisoners… no sick guards… am I to be stuck in this moist prison for the next decade… for the next 2?

Aidan looked up from the next dossier, already he was tired of these dossiers & he didn't need to hear about the next man's peculiar tastes in the usage of fire. He looked at Kino, "You know, you don't have to sit here all day, I feel bad if you're bored." She continued to stare at the ceiling & shrugged, Aidan could unleash a sigh in response.

There is so many better ways she could be spending her life than this...

"Damn this… I'm going out for patrol, want to come along?" She turned towards him & slid up, her hand resting on her revolver as she nodded.

Poor girl… hell... poor me… what will it take to get a transfer?...

As the two of them emerged from the office, he could see the rest of the non-dutied guards in this station hanging about at mess tables & others preparing for patrol, weary from the extra shifts they had to take up. Not that Aidan didn't feel bad for them, but having crazies on this floor would just make more work…. Even if it took some time to make up the personal. He might as well take over for the next shift since they needed some time off. As he walked over, shouting from the lift became more prominent as a guard ran over, panting heavily as he began to speak, "Sir theres-!"

*EXPLOSIONS SFX*

Aidan raised a brow & looked around, men were scrambling for their weapons & gear as soon as the prison shook.

God no, I really don't want to have to deal with this.

"SIR! Theres been a break-in! Theres reports of fighting down in Michael's blocks!" The men began to gather in their squards & begin heading towards the main gates to lock them down as per protocol. A few stood around waiting for their commanding officer's orders.

Aidan placed his hands behind his back & looked to the guards, "As we are now in an emergency situation, you all understand protocol, lock down ALL emergency gates, only I & the warden will be able to unlock them once they come down. Doesn't matter what's going on, once the Godline is on & Donovan assess the situation, we'll capture anyone out. No one escapes one the Godline becomes active, & according to that protocol, begin flooding the stairway, they won't be moving up here."

"Sir, communications are down"

Wait… what the hell? They can't destroy the commline from downstairs…? What…?

"GET THOSE EMERGENCY GATES DOWN, NO ONE LEAVES!"

He began to rush over to the cell block as more men rushed to the central control station. As long as he held the key, everything would be fine… Donovon would hear the commotion, activate the Godline & get the prison under control... He'd be pissed… but heads were going to roll one way or another.

"Sir, we have a situation along the eastern cells!" Aidan quickly turned to Kino who was rushing alongside him as he quickly marched towards it, he turned & shouted, "Kino!- " She nodded & before he could finishe she ran straight into a portal, he stopped & blinked in amazement…

Wait… no… dammit… take me with you…ugh.

He began to sprint towards the east side as the guards took defensive positions around central station.

10 Minutes later….

Aidan ended his jog as soon in a pant as he saw bodies lying throughout the hallway, he could hear prisoners shouting from their cells as he began to march across the fallen bodies, he could hear the sounds of fighting going on at the end but even among all the noise, he could hear someone singing a tune.

"He's sworn his life, a Stardusk through strife
Here comes the scion of Lendr'a!"

He turned & glared… it was Runali again…. He frowed & stopped for a moment without saying anything before continuing onwards, reaching behind his back & drawing a pair of trench knives as he readied himself to fight.

 

[Mizos]

[BCOLOR=#000000]

[/BCOLOR]
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[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]Prelude to Gun Battle! Floor 23[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]Collab Cross and Mizos[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Luro's gaze moved around the area searching for Kino, she had disappeared again and he had to admit it was hard to keep up with her in all the chaos. The only proof he could find that she was still around was the occasional death cry of one of the pirates, but when he looked in the direction of the fallen pirate she was already gone. He could see the pirates shivering slightly around him not sure what to do against an enemy they couldn't see. Luro was also shaking as well but a wide grin decorated his face as he searched for Kino, excitement coursed through his body his heart pounding in his chest. A game of hunter versus hunter was always entertaining.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]For a brief moments, the cries of pirates ceased, the air became still as a few last moans escaped them as they hit the floor. A pair of pirates screamed & began trying to rush back the way they came, but as soon as they tried to pull the door open, a wave of water shoved them back & slammed shut once more. They cried as they fell, one of them began to turn & get off before a small glow appeared briefly to the side of the two, he turned in horror as a single bullet ripped through his throat & barreled straight into his companion's temple.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Not far down the hall in full view of the rest of the pirates stood Kino… her gun pointed sideways into a small hand-sized portal, smoking drifting off the barrel as the portal disappeared. She began to slowly walk forward as the rest of the pirates began trying to group up. A voice from far down the hall broke the tension. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Kino, hold up" A man in a red suit sporting the officer's jacket came walking in.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Who the hell are you?" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Luro kept his feet firmly planted his eyes moving in the direction of each scream as his hand tightened around his rifle as he tried to follow her movements. At this point the pirates they brought were little more than cannon fodder for the lass. Seeing a few of them run Luro focused his attention forward then, when they fell he merely shut his eyes bringing his rifle to his shoulder, retreat wasn't an option at the moment. No one gave the order to pull back so he only smiled and patiently waited for the cold eyed woman to finish. He opened his eyes as she approached his free hand forming into a fist as he started to get into a defensive stance, though when a man yelled revealing both the girl's name and his presence Luro straightened his body.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]"Ah Ray told me not to give names," Luro said rubbing the back of his head. "You asked though so it feels rude not to say something. My name is Luro Makachi carpenter of the StarDusk pirates. I've come to retrieve my captain…uh whatever her name is. Have you seen her? She has an eye patch on, wears a hat."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]"Luro he's wearing an officer's uniform," one of the pirates said pointing at the stranger.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]Luro took a good look at the man before pointing at him alongside the pirate.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]"Hey you're right he works here….anyway have you seen my captain person whose name I don't know."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Aidan didn't say a word as he contemplated something he thought about for months, something had finally happened he never would've imagined.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Someone was stupid enough to try to break into Kane Artum.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]He glared at Luro, "Stardusk…, drop your weapons & maybe I'll throw you in with your captain, he could use some company." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Luro stared at the stranger patiently waiting for information on his captain ignoring the tense air that seemed to develop from the stranger's arrival, and the dead bodies around them but that was another matter entirely. His eyes moved to the rifle in his hands at the man's request and he looked back at him giving a small shake of his head.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]"A good pirate never abandons a mistress...I think," Luro said. "If you know where the captain is just tell me, I know you're on the bad guy side but we could be friends if you wanted."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Bad guys… you have murderers & rapists in your company & you're here with the intention of freeing more of them on the world? I believe you are suffering from severe mental fluctuations if you see yourself as the hero of some story. You're a criminal, no doubt about it." Aidan burrowed his brow. This wasn't good.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]"Take out the rest Kino..." In consequence, a few of the pirates opened fire in response roaring as they tried to take her out. Portals began to sparkle in the air as space was broken & twisted, bullets flying straight back the way they came.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Luro lowered his head a toothy grin forming on his face as he listened to the interesting stranger, what he said was absolutely true, there was no real doubt to it and Luro actually agreed with him strange as that was. He raised his head at being called a criminal and laughed a little before giving a firm nod.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]"Yeah I'm a pretty bad criminal and I prefer villain to hero really, I don't really get a lot of the words you used but I think we're both the bad guys really. I'm just a little more open about it," Luro said rubbing the back of his head a little bashful at actually saying it. "That's why we can be friends. Though I suppose that's not an option huh…"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]When the portals opened Luro brought his rifle back to his shoulder and started walking forward, he hummed the shanty to himself. He paid no mind to the bullets whizzing past his head, either believing in his luck or genuinely not caring if he got hit by them or not.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#000000]"It's a shame…you remind me of an old friend. Oh well don't be mad at me when I kill you okay."[/BCOLOR]

 

[Arcadius]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A collab between Arc, Captn. Blu and Click[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Team Disguise[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Location: Floor 36 and going down[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Afraid of heights all of a sudden Saff?" Belen peered over the edge as well. "I think we could make that jump! It's too large to miss!" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Saff pulled Belen away from the edge of the stairs to keep them moving. "The jump ain't the problem. It's the landing I'm more concerned about. I'm not sure if it would hold all of us. Looks old."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Arcadius ran up to join them on the edge of the staircase. The Navigator was profusely sweating by this point, running down nearly fifteen floors. He started to reload his flintlock pistol, the round being discharged three floors up to scare away an obstinate group of prisoners, who seemed to not believe he was on their side. Not that the pistol shot helped to make them believe they were simply in disguise, but it succeeded in making them scatter and letting the Stardusk group pass.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Elise glanced down, tapping the side of her sword. "Perhaps if we jump one or two at a time?" She looked sceptical.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Eh, the elevator has to be able to hold a large group of people, by the looks of what we have seen. I'd give it a try," he retorted between panting. "Besides, can you hear it? In the last fifteen minutes, the racket around us got lot louder! The riot is getting more and more violent, but the guards will respond, and they will win. The garrison must have planned even for the worst scenario possible. When they strike, it will not be nice, and we do not want to be here for that. We have no time to lose!" He looked over the edge. Thirty-six floors beneath him, at the bottom of the elevator shaft, he'd see surface of a slowly running underground river and a waterwheel, using the flow to power the elevators running above. The closer of the two elevator platforms was maybe one floor beneath him. "I'd say we jump. Worse come worse, we'll hit the water with speed that will safely and quickly kill us. We have been in situations with worse outcomes."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"That's not the most encouraging-" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Before Saff could finish her sentence, Belen moved to the front of the group and grabbed Elise's hand. "No time for debating, let's go!" She jumped with Elise in tow, only grabbing her because she was the closest. Belen's landing wasn't the smoothest, but when she landed, she gave a thumbs up from the platform, [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"No, not at all--" Elise's response was cut off as she was pulled down by Belen, nearly taking a full tumble from how unprepared she was. Quickly enough though, she recovered to make a sloppy but safe enough landing on the lower level, balancing herself just a bit before she was able to stand up again. "More… warning next time, please," she grumbled, before stepping clear of the platform. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Saffron sighed and looked over her shoulder. "I s'pose I can't fault the cage bird for running...rampant. Alright then, Dani, Arcadius." With minor disdain, Saff pulled her goggles back down and jumped off and onto the platform. It rocked ever so slightly, but it was sturdy. As she landed, she scrambled out of the way as Dani followed suit. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Arcadius watched the rest of the team jump and seemingly safely land on the platform. Suddenly, he started to have doubts about the whole business. He never had to jump this far before in his life, and the platform, while sturdy, was basically just fenced wooden floor, running in vertical rails and suspended in the air by two cables. "Damn it all. Being a pirate was an awful idea!" he whined out, before taking few steps back, drawing a deep breath, and running towards the stair's edge. He jumped and suddenly realized how having thirty-six floors of air beneath you feels nauseating. Still, he managed to hit the platform. He cursed something peppery in some foreign language as he pulled himself up from the hard landing. "Right… let's… start this damned thing…" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I think you could've caught him miss!" Belen laughed and playfully nudged Dani. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Oh, whoops?" was the large woman's reply. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Saff waited till everyone was situated before she pulled the lever inside to send them down. Unfortunately, it didn't go as fast as she thought it would. "So much for the speedy trip down." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]They were going much slower than their run down the steps, but it did give them time to catch their breath and get themselves together. "Uh, Miss Saff. It looks like we have company." Dani pointed to the platform not too far under them as a group of soldiers piled onto it with weapons ready. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The squad numbered seven soldiers in total, wearing all-black uniforms, cuirasses with lobstered pauldrons and helmets with visors that protected and obscured their faces. Two of them carried huge shields with portholes, four were equipped with large calibre shotguns and the last one, who, due to the presence of a small constellation of stars on his epaulettes, seemed to be either a sergeant or junior officer, was armed with notably ornate sword.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"What's the chance we can completely...avoid them?" Shots were fired to answer Saff's question and when she took a quick peek, she saw the gunners aiming at them. "Well ladies- and Kadi, I suggest ya get ready to not get shot down before we get ta our destination."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Seeing the enemy squad, Elise tried to double down on their disguise. Raising her own sword of comparable quality, she shouted from above. "Watch who you're shooting! Turn your blasted men around and shoot the right targets!" [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]The riot squad beneath them showed complete disregard for Elise's orders. The soldiers split into two fireteams by three, shieldbearer and two sweepers. One set up to face and cover the entrance to the staircase they entered from, while the other team faced the Stardusk crew. The sergeant looked up at Elise, the crew's lift slowly descending to the riot squad's level. He placed his hand on the shoulder of one of the sweepers facing Elise. "Easy lads, let's not get ahead of ourselves." He pointed at Elise. "You! Officer! I don't recognize you or the insignias on your uniform! Our orders are to arrest everyone who we can't get proper identification on!" No chickenshit officer would tell his boys who to shoot at. "Your name, rank and number!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]With the slightest chance of escaping a fight, Saff nudged Belen to the back of the group and put her hands behind her back as if she was cuffed. Dani followed suit and pretended she was cuffed as well. None of them were actually sure if they had gotten that information- which they highly doubted, but that wasn't going to stop them from trying to prevent their cover from being blown. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Elise Forsythe. Commander. Number 187504533. This isn't my posting, I'm from headquarters. Look, we don't have time for this," she replied, trying to wave away his demand. Only her credentials were real, but everybody else's were sketchy at best. If it came down to it, she could offer the explanation of trying to rally a couple officers, but at the very least, they were distracted right now. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The sergeant narrowed his eyes and eyed the woman over along with her colleague and prisoners. Something about them didn't sit right in his gut, and the feeling grew each second he had his eyes trained on them. The speaker's uniform and ID were from the outside of the prison, the rest of were acting odd at best, and to top it, the whore prisoner from the water cages was with them. He had no information about her transfer, and they were going away from where she was supposed to be rotting in her damp cell. He pulled the lever on their lift, and had it start descending along the one the crew was on. "I don't think so. You're all under arrest. Stop the lift, we're taking you in. Unless you want to save my time, and take a dip below us." The two sweepers next to him cocked their weapons, trailing the guns on the pirates. The other fireteam kept covering the staircase.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Arcadius looked around. The platform provided awfully little in the manner of cover, and the large calibre of the guns pointing at them indicated that "near miss" was an acceptable result for their operators. "Hate to say it, but I don't see any way out of here, ladies," he whispered to his compatriots. "One that would not leave us more dead than a can of brined hagfish, that is." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Somewhere below them, a lonely rating ran into the staircase shaft, and blew a loud, high pitched whistle. For the first time, the riot team showed a sign of unease, a nearly unnoticeable shuffle of nervosity. "Not now," the sergeant muttered with frustration. Somewhere down under them, a hum of rushing water could be heard, slowly rising in intensity. The platforms started to descend at a more brisk pace. "Alright, they are flooding the staircase, boys, we best skedaddle soon" he stated to his squad. "Now, you have exactly five seconds to-" he said towards the other platform. The waterwheel at the bottom of the shaft started to give in, strained too much, when the gentle stream that fed it was turned to eleven. The platforms lurched and fell few meters, before the rope caught up again and the descent resumed at accelerated pace. The sudden movement made the two sweepers, who were aiming at the Stardusk crew, accidentally fire their guns well above the pirate's heads. Now was the time to strike.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Grothnor]

For whatever reason, Michael's toxin was affecting Ray badly, and he could only watch Durant masterfully duel with Michael, too dazed and tired to think of doing anything else but observe. He groaned in dismay when he saw Michael winning, and could only gape in shock, and surprisingly a little disappointment, when the Venus Man-Trap devoured the Ceranian whole. He braced for the Man-Trap, unable to dodge when suddenly Durant emerged in a gout of flame and plant viscera to almost stylishly land a punch on Michael's jaw. Ray let out a cheer, "By Tankred's Twins, nothing can withstand our combined Lendro-Ceranian might!"

Durant gave him a queer look. "Are you high, Lendy?"

Ray blinked, "Uh, yeah, actually, I suppose I am. Sorry." The poison seemed to weaken somewhat with Michael's defeat. "The spores, still seeing more than... two of ya...."

Durant nodded, smirking. "Right.... Come on, lets get out of here. We more than bought time for the rest of yer group."

"Yeah, one moment." Ray wobbled over to Michael's unconscious body and snagged the keys to the cellblock. "Here, make some noise." He tossed them towards what he thought was one of the cells.

"That's a closet. And ye missed." Durant amusedly pointed out before kicking them over to an actual cell. The inmates frantically fumbled with the keyring in an attempt to open their cell door.

"Right. Let's get outta here." The two of them returned to the staircase and began climbing. Floor 23 seemed to have quite the commotion going on, which caught the duo's attention, just as the emergency gates began to shut. Ray desperately reached out with his powers to prop the gate open with an ice block.

"Are you sure this is the floor your captain is on?" Durant asked. Ray hesitated momentarily until he heard faint strains of his song being sung by a familiar voice.

"Go!" Ray grimaced, trying to hold the ice block together with his powers. The ice block began fracturing under the weight of the gate as Durant slid under it, and shattered mere moments after Ray followed. Surrounded by a vast melee, Ray wondered how he was gonna find the Captain in all this mess.

 

[Capt. Blu]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Elevator Issues [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]One moment they were being questioned and the next, they were free falling. But only for a second. Fortunately, it was enough time for the task force to miss an easy kill shot, giving Belen the perfect opportunity to strike. With dancer's grace, she moved her way to the front lines and raised her hand. Without moment's hesitation, a fiery whip lashed out onto the group in front of them causing the platform to rock upon impact. The two shield bearers reeled back a bit before quickly regaining their balance. They kept their stronghold and stance, preparing to defend their sweepers from the oncoming attack. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Swords weren't of their advantage at the moment with gunners attempting to shoot them, but Belen's fire was able to withstand the fire. While the others began to attack, Saff looked around the small spot to find anything that could help them. "Waitaminute- this platform is wood. Take out the structure if ya can't hit them!" Saff's voice was a loud whisper, trying to have some sort of element of surprise while they attacked. The sweepers readjusted for another shot, only for Saff to pull the lever on their platform and cause them to stop a bit abruptly. Once again an easy shot was missed and instead it at their feet instead. Saff sighed in mild relief. "Yeah, this cat and mouse on these things aren't gonna last." Her travels as a pirate were daunting and sometimes a bit too "near death" and she was definitely used to it, but there were times being shot at wasn't the most fun thing she could think of. "Belen you owe me big time for this…" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Sure enough, the opposite platform began to make its ascent to level with the disguise group and take aim. "Oi, they're control box is behind the sergeant. Take that out and keep them still." She would have tried it herself, but she didn't have a gun with her, instead she only had a sword on her hip and judging by the situation, jumping onto that platform would be the worst possible situation. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Not to pester, but we should probably head back down. 23 is getting farther and farther away." Dani peered over the edge before adding. "And I don't quite know what's going on, but I believe this lockdown is going to cause us some trouble as well."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]~~~~~~~~~~[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The Clock is Ticking and the Water is Raging [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Where each floor met the stairway, a sudden door began to make its way closed. This way, the stairwell would be flooded out while each floor was put on lock down. Even the sporadic windows around the prison had sea stone gates across them. The current group was currently locked on floor 23 with no way out, save for the key. And of course, the key was in the hands of one of the overseers. There was also the emergency lock down that needed to be taken care of, but this group of misfits continued their plan of focusing on one problem at a time. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kino did as she was told and focused on getting rid of the large crowd of pirates. The ease of it all didn't last as long as she expected. In fact, she hadn't expected a man of Bannon's size to spring in her direction. When he did, he struck Kino with full force using the staff end of his spear. It was the first hit anyone could lay on her considering she was never in one spot for too long. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The hit managed to send Kino flying back, but instead of hitting the ground, she slipped into another portal to escape the shots being fired at her. "Keep your guard up! That hit may not have done much damage!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The moment Kino had disappeared, she used it to regain her composure before returning to battle. She hadn't expected to be hit as hard she was considering there hadn't been many who were able to even touch her. The blank stare turned into a narrowed gaze as she set her attention on Bannon. There were a few pirates, she could tell, that were tougher than the rest so it was best to try to take them out first- with Bannon as top priority. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]There was something about the look Kino was giving that told Bannon there was no getting through to her. This child was empty and had seen countless battles before and by the way she fought, she had obviously won many as well. But Bannon was as skilled as he was loud with years of training and experience so he was able to keep up with Kino's attacks. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The chaos only increased, but with both overseers focused on one person, the pirates still alive used that opportunity to search ways to open the cells without the keys. One spotted Ray and Durant slip through and hastily pointed. "Do you think you could make some sort of ice key?? Our numbers are thinning fast and we're trapped here!" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I haven't felt this jumpy in ages." Runali was tapping her foot as the sounds of screams echoed. There wasn't much any of the prisoners could do save for cheering the intruders on and praying to the gods that they could be freed. When Aidan glared, Runali returned it with a grin. "There's something about pissing off the navy that's so rewarding." She looked over at Cecilia before once more trying to strain and see what was going on. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Get the key!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Oi, Aidan has the key!" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The prisoners, despite seeing Kino clear some of them out, still grew rowdier as if their lives depended on it. This incident was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity and they were going to scrape up the last bit of hope they had on this moment. Some of the intruders and escapees from previous floors did manage to get past the overseers in order to peek in the cells and look for an escape route.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Mizos]

Luro started to run towards Kino the moment she popped out, but when Bannon passed him and struck first he came to a sliding stop staring at the large man as he looked where Kino had vanished then back at the man. He looked back at the pirates wondering if they saw what he just saw. Not the quick recovery of Kino but Bannon's attack on her, though he raised his guard back up since Kino clearly wasn't done fighting. All the excitement in him faded however since it seemed he was sharing this fight with the others, which meant no gun battle was happening. He was still happy at the challenge but sad at a missed opportunity.
"Bannon I told you that was my kill. I guess we can share but next time we meet someone strong I get to fight them on my own, stealing a good brawl is cheating."
Luro stood back to back with the large man resting his rifle against his shoulder, while scanning the crowd he caught sight of Ray and Durant as the pirate pointed them out. He was glad to see the two and he'd normally run over to them but he was still trying to find a good moment to get a shot off on Kino, if Bannon was going after her as well he couldn't find a reason not to try and take her out first.

While watching for Kino however he stopped as he listened to the prisoners yelling something about a key, he turned fully around as the name Aidan reached his ears. His eyes glanced around the prison for a moment as the man he had spoken to came to mind. He and Kino were the only people here dressed fancy, and the nameless man had spoken the girl's name so he knew who she was. Luro walked past Bannon patting him on the shoulder as he figured out an easy to figure out if he was that guy was Aiden. Luro would kill him and search his body, if there was a key on it then he was the right guy, if he was wrong he'd just apologize to him afterwards. He also figured he could try calling him by his name but that seemed a bit too complicated, checking his body seemed to be the best solution but he figured there was no harm in trying both.

"If you want the lass that badly Bannon she's all yours, I'm going to go after this Aidan since he has the key," Luro said.
Luro smiled at the man before walking past him leaving Kino to him and the other pirates, much as he wanted to fight Kino rescuing the captain came first and knowing where the key was made that the most important thing on his mind.
"If you want a go at me lass I'm willing but I'm going to get my captain now," Luro said raising a hand. "Just attack me if you want to join my fight with this Aidan."
Taking in a deep breath he put a hand next to his mouth and yelled.
"Aidan! Step forward and let's have a good old fashioned fight! First one to die has to give up! Show me how good of a bad guy you are! Come at me with everything you got! I'll do the same!"
​

 

[Grothnor]

Taking a moment to fully appreciate the carnage, Ray realized it was gonna be quite a slog though all the fighting to get to the cells, especially considering his condition. Fortunately, Durant was sticking close, and Ray was able to follow his lead more often than not. Once he made it to Runali's cell, he half-woozily waved, "Hey Captain."

"Come on, Lendry, make it fast!" Durant was doing his best to keep the fighting away from them. Ray bent over and squinted at the lock. One touch was all it took to confirm his fears. "It's seastone, I'm not sure I can deal with this."

"What?" One of the pirates exclaimed.

"If it were a regular lock, I'd be able to pick it easily." He began shaping an object out of ice. "The seastone messes with anything I shape inside the tumblers. Already finished objects..." He waved an ice key to illustrate the point. "...will work. However, I still don't know what key shape the lock needs to be opened." He inserted the key and twisted, only to be met with resistance. "This is gonna take a lot of trial and error. Durant, cover me."

"Like I wasn't already..." The Ceranian grumbled.

 

[Capt. Blu]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Getting the Band Back Together and Then Some[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Location: 23rd Floor [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Bannon heard Luro's comment but couldn't quite get an answer at the moment. The small girl was keeping his attention quite well but once they were back to back he was able to speak. "Ah, sorry Luro! Aaw an opportunity and took it! Instinct you know? Besides," He paused to dodge another shot from the portal jumper. "She shot me first!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It wasn't very long before the two were once again separated in battle. However, the mention of a key did make him call out. "Good plan! Let's hurry, this is getting out of hand!" The sounds of clashing metal resounded behind Luro. Bannon's spear and the blade of Kino's gun struck, causing a strong force to push away the ones too close. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]He had to figure out a way to get her into some seastone cuffs, or in anything seastone for that matter. Once she was immobilized, she would be easier to take down. Hopefully.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Oi, Runali… How do you suppose they actually plan on...I don't know. Winning?" Cecilia was earnest in her answer, albeit sarcastic. Sure they had managed to get this far...but how were they going to escape? How were they going to fight off the rest of the navy out!? Being in the prison for a short amount of time still gave her insight in just how secure the place was. She even had a valid point. Kane'Artem was the prison that no one got out of. This place was a death sentence.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Runali honestly could barely hear her over all of the fighting. Plus, the adrenaline had her heart beating louder than here cell mate's talking. "Huh- Oh, I don't… You've gotta trust them. They made it this far. Yeah..." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself towards the end. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Both women perked up when random people ran passed their cells. It was a glimmer of hope until they either kept going or some shot rang past after them. There were multiple sounds of gunfire and she wasn't sure how much of it was against the intruding party. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"This is… This is something." Runali was pacing back and forth in her cell again. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Cecilia had been sitting at this point, waiting for a miracle to happen. When another stranger strolled towards their cells, the thief raised an eyebrow. When he stopped, Cecilia stood. Runali was too wrapped up in her own mind to even realize what was going on. "Hooolyyy- she really is a captain. Hey! I think you've got...company?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Runali stopped in her tracks when Cecilia yelled at her, only for her eye to land on the person in front of her. The surprise crashed like a wave. "Ray..? Raymond!?" Of course it was Raymond! No other knew that song besides her crew! "...I'm not hallucinating am I?" She pushed her eyepatch up to rub both her eyes. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Nah, I see 'em too." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She was a bit less perceptive and a lot more excited, so she didn't quite catch Ray wasn't quite at his best- whatever that was after two whole years. Realizing Ray was trying to unlock the cell, Runali shook her head. "It's seastone, that's not going to work. Who're you? How the hell did you guys get in here? Who else is with you!?" The questions rolled off like a current but she stopped so they could answer at least one. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]While Ray tried his hand at lockpicking, Durant spoke. "Ya know, when I was told a captain… I was expecting, well? A captain." In his defense, after meeting the others of this 'StarDusk' crew he expected some sort of strong leader with battle scars and- well, his imagination may have went a little overboard. Durant gave a small salute. "You have a lot of questions missy. Most of those can be answered when we aren't under attack. But, the name's Durant." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A collab between Arc, Captn. Blu and Click[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Team Disguise[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Location: Elevator --> Floor 23[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]The shots went over their heads, but this did not stop Arcadius in dropping down onto the platform and hiding his head under his arms in a defensive gesture. The boom of the large guns in enclosed space was deafening, and the blast shock that followed made the platforms trash momentarily. Quick recount of limbs, eyes and fingers told Arc the opponent missed totally, at least as far as he was concerned in the moment. The shots produced a considerable amount of acrid smoke as well, obscuring the dynamic battlefield for the time being. Insanity, all of this. We fight over who gets to drown in the water rushing below us. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Arcadius rolled on his back, hitting legs of someone who managed keep themselves standing through the riot barrage. A light water drizzle started falling from above, and as it quickly dealt with the gunpowder smoke, he could see that all around and above him, water started flowing from the floors' entrances. At the top, the stream was weak and thin, but increased in volume and ferocity the lower one looked. They must be flushing the floors! Arcadius thought. There was no time to waste. The man stood up, noticing the riot squad was still reloading, and took as stable position as the swaying platform could offer. He pulled out his pistol, aimed at the rope holding the other elevator platform, pulled the trigger... and the wet weapon misfired, throwing sparks from the flintlock mechanism but failing to ignite the gunpowder. "Curse it all! Aim at the platform, not the people! Shoot the ropes and drop the whole thing down!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Elise instinctively ducked in response to the resumed gunfire. Honestly, she thought they were overly trigger-happy despite them not buying her (legitimate) excuses, but that was far from her mind the second a new volley was shot into their position. Of course, without a gun and simply wielding her sword, there was little she could do at range, so she was at the mercy of the gunfight happening around her between the two platforms. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"A little hard ta do when they're shooting [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]at [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]us!" Saff embedded her blade in the floorboard, taking control of their platform. At the moment, they were currently headed down straight into the water- unless they made their way to the 23rd floor before it flooded. "We're at 30! Keep them busy!" She ducked as a bullet whizzed past her head. The heat of Belen's flames followed suit, first preventing the group from shooting and then causing them to hop a bit when they realized the platform was much too hot to stand on. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"There's only five of them! Stop fooling around!" The sergeant yelled, causing the snipers to readjust their stances and aim for them once more. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"They are keeping themselves very busy already, that's for sure!" Arcadius answered to Belen as he ducked again, in reaction to the sergeant pulling out his own pistol and firing back. On the ground, he shielded the pan of his own gun from the falling water and replaced the wet gunpowder with fresh, dry load, hoping the water got just to the priming and not into the gunbarrel proper. He looked up, looking for target. One of the gunners on the opposite platform had his leg showing from behind the heavy shield. Ah, lad, what a bad moment to forget your training, Kadi through for himself as he extended his right arm, aiming. The flintlock mechanism worked flawlessly this time, and the gunner's shin exploded in a small eruption of gore and bone as the lead ball passed right through with enough energy to produce sparks when it hit the wall behind him. The man squealed in pain and fell, clutching his demolished leg. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The rest of the unit snapped into their well-drilled training, seeing that one of their own was badly incapacitated, and that this was real, deadly combat. Moments later, the fire team that covered the entrance side turned around, the second shieldbearer moving in to cover the wounded man, while the two riflemen took up their positions on the frontline.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Dani, steer us will ya?" Saff and Belen took the front lines. "Alright Belen, let's wrap this up." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Belen's grin alone was enough to make the group across from them uneasy enough to hold onto the nearest railing. Despite her many attempts to burn down the bird cage she was put into, it felt like she hadn't used her powers in years. "On my mark, I suggest you all shoot." Without another warning, Belen clapped her hands together, generating an eruption of fire that could have sent her backwards if Saff hadn't been behind her. The force caused both platforms to rock unsteadily, the one in front of team, albeit a lot more dangerously. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Behind the group, Dani shouted over the sounds of rushing water. "We've got three more floors! I suggest we get-" The sound of gunfire rang through their ears once again followed by a pained yell from Dani. She clutched her shoulder and through gritted teeth yelled for them to keep fighting and she'd be fine. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Was that the mark?!" Arcadius yelled from his position on the floor, feeling the fireball warm his back, even through the Navy coat. The shots went above him, the shockwave shaking away the water the fire could not evaporate. Reloading the flintlock turned out to be a lengthy process while under fire and trying to become one with the ground. To hell with it. Of course she can make fire. No point in being surprised. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"BELEN!" he yelled again, standing up, holding his powder box. "THINK FAST!" he continued, throwing the container full of explosive blackpowder towards the other, slightly more burning, platform. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Belen heard Arcadius, along with a string of curses from Saff as she pulled Elise and Dani lower to the platform. In that split second of the container passing, Belen made a gun motion with her fingers, causing the box to explode. It caused most of the task force to get sent flying off of the platform, while the group's own rocked far too close to the platform exits. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"We're going to have to jump." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The water level rose a considerable amount, at this point, it was a floor and a half under them. They were running out of time. Fortunately, they were right at floor 23- at least they assumed it was fortunate. By the sounds of it, most of the chaos had compacted to this floor alone. All hell had broken loose and they needed to get out of there. And to add to the worry, Alicia was still missing from their group… Hopefully she had made it to this floor before them. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Alright! No time ta panic, no time for second guessing! Once it gets close- jump!" Saff was the first to leap off the platform as it swung back to the door. She managed to be close enough to tuck and roll before jumping to her feet and watching the rest of the group follow suit. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Elise wasted no time in following suit, timing her own leap immediately after Saff, landing with a on her feet with a slight stumble from the forward momentum. Rubbing her ear from the concussive feeling of the small explosion, she retreated further in for the others to make their way. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Belen followed next, however with the extended use of her powers so suddenly, she miscalculated the jump. Her feet slipped, but before she could take a dive, Saff had grabbed her arm and pulled her on. "Keep it moving!" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The platform's swinging began to still so Dani was the next to leap off. The last thing she wanted was to drown in this prison. "Better hurry up navigator." She called out before leaping to safety as well. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Arcadius would wait for the platform to swing close to the stairwell before making his jump. Compared to his arrival to the elevator, the exit was lot more comfortable. He landed on the stone bricks, luckily finding a not yet slippery dry spot. "Well, I suppose there's no point in staying around. The water looks…" he said, looking over the edge. The whirlpool on the surface of the rising water ate the whole riot control team, leaving no traces of their existence save for some burning wooden planks from the demolished elevator platform. "...cold." He looked towards the arched doorway that led from the stairwell. The ones below their current level were already closed water tight, and this one threatened to close any second as the water surface approached them. The water poured from the walls all around them at ever increasing volume. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Dani watched as the water rose, only for it to slam shut when water began to trickle inside. "How… How exactly do we get out of here?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Good question. But let's worry about it later," commented the brown-haired officer, keeping a keen eye on the frantic movements around them.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"One thing at a time!" Saff lead the group into the chaos. Lo and behold, pirates had been scattering or struggling to open cells, while some tried to aid Luro and Bannon in their fights against the overseers. "Oh wonderful, we didn't miss the party." She was as much of a fighter as the rest of her pirate crew, however Saff never really cared for guns and swords. Nor did she really care for unnecessary fights. It just wasn't her style. Amidst the crowd of free pirates and prisoners, she searched for one in particular. It wasn't ideal, but she entrusted them with her weapon of choice until they regrouped. At times like this, she would have been glad to have it with her. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Ah, Bannon! My things please." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Welcome back! I take it you got what you were looking for?" Looped and tucked away at Bannon's side, he removed a sickle and chain. As requested, he didn't dare use her weapon but he kept it secure so it wasn't left on the ship. It was not only out of respect but also because he wasn't skilled in it. Saff's response was a simple nod when she realized someone was disappearing and reappearing around Bannon. "Careful now. We've got a jumper. She goes through portals and has been quite troublesome, even for me." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Good thing you kept up with this. Keep her steady. This'll keep her still." The weapon now swinging carefully at her side, thanks to a few of her crewmates, was created entirely out of seastone.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"...Shall we?" Without further ceremony, Elise drew her sword in turn. It was time to end it now.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The rest of the group hadn't been too far behind and with the added forces, the odds were without a doubt against the two overseers.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Mizos]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Location: Floor 23 → Escaping[/BCOLOR]
​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Aidan burrowed his brow & raised his fists, bringing his two Trench knives to bear. "Kino, hold up a moment…" Aidan glared past her to the crowd. "Just give it a moment…forget killing them. Just start start throwing them out, we'll take the talker alive." Kino turned & nodded before quickly disappearing into a portal. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]All they really needed right now was just a matter of time… the more they delayed these pirates, the sooner the situation would be locked down. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]In difference to how she struck before, Kino did not reappear… leading to many of the pirates looking back & forth, trying to track down where she had made off too. Aidan began to strafe as he marched around the group. "I don't think that really matters pirate, honestly I'm not that strong so the only thing I can do is just make the best of what I have. Unfortunately I don't have much confidence in you either." Aidan began to slowly increase his step as he rushed forward. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Now Kino! He roared & stretched out his arms as the others began to look up for Kino but she was nowhere in this room to be found. Aidan rushed straight into the crowd faster than any human should've been capable of doing so, his fist contacted straight into one man & by the domino effect, went flying straight into another half dozen of his compatriots with a inhuman momentum straight into a portal that had warped into space as Aidan made contact. Screams could be heard before quickly dying as the portal closed. He turned to the others & growled, "Have at it".[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A grin formed on Luro's face as he watched Aidan draw his blades, Bannon had gotten Kino and it seemed Aidan was willing to engage him in a formal brawl. Kino had even gotten rid of a large amount of distractions which meant he could focus more on Aidan. Luro couldn't contain his excitement at this current development. His eyes rested on Aidan seeing he really was the man from earlier, he blinked a few times at his words before chuckling a little and scratching the side of his cheek. There was no need to overcomplicate this after all.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Giving it your best is all that matters Aidan, this is a brawl not a duel. I'm okay if you don't have confidence in me but don't hold back though, I'm going to come at you with the intent of hitting you really hard with anything in range, that brick over there included, you should do the same. First one to die, surrender or pass out loses."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro grinned and spread his feet raising his fist with a small chuckle.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Let's get to it! Show me what you can do. Let's make a bond through battle Aidan!"[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Despite the group's desire to help Luro, Kino was proving to be a much more admirable foe than they cared to have faced. With Kino disappearing for longer amounts of time, the pirates had a harder time keeping up. The group's band of pirates and prisoners were growing smaller and smaller by the second, so Saff called for them to stay back to back and watch from all sides. "Keep your eyes open. Watch above as well." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It hadn't gotten terribly quiet on the cell floor, but he [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]sound of the water flushing out was loud enough to echo through the prison. The emergency shutdown had stopped short of encompassing every floor and began to retrace its path. It may have sounded like a ray of hope for the pirates, but the thunderous sound that followed silenced any sighs of relief. Belen and even Runali heard many of the rumors about the warden's wrath, and neither of them wanted to see first hand if those rumors were true. [/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent][BCOLOR=transparent]

[/BCOLOR][/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]As soon as Luro pulled his fists up, Aidan grinned & laughed. He relaxed his stance & began to walk towards him. "You're pretty cocky for someone who's trapped, go ahead & take your best shot."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro smiled seeing Aidan's relaxed state, he was either getting into it or he was confident, both things he liked to see in his opponent. Tapping his rifle on his shoulder Luro nodded and started walking towards Aidan as well, he could feel his heartbeat quicken a bit as the distance closed between them.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Can do!"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro sprinted forward at this and placing his foot down brought his rifle in a horizontal strike towards the side of Aidan's head.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Aidain stared at Luro as the butt of the rifle stopped immediately against the side of his head, he looked like he was about to speak but for a brief moment he seemed distracted.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Why… why do you smell so horrible? I have hundreds of pirates here & you are absolutely the worst smelling one I have ever met…" Aidan took a step back to put distance between himself & Luro, an utter look of revulsion aimed towards the pirate covered his face. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro blinked a few times seeing his attack had been stopped, he grinned a bit and rubbed the back of his head as Aidan commented on his smell. Turning his head he smelled under his arm arching a brow at the smell before lowering it.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Well we were the sewer team, we went through a lot of sewage and other stuff," Luro said grinning. "I think I got chunks of people on me too, I don't smell it though is it really that bad?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"You're all animals aren't you?" Aidan took a few steps back, stared at Luro like he was thinking for a moment. "Okay…. What else do you have then? Your swing is pretty weak[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Hey I'm not that bad, you should smell some of the other guys I just rolled in it a little," Luro said patting his chest with pride. "Hmm well I mostly just swing and shoot honestly, but I don't want to shoot you yet."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro pat his rifle at this before spinning it in his grip and running at Aidan again, he was curious what he could possibly do, he was a higher up which meant he was interesting. Approaching him he attacked him with a little more force than before, swinging his rifle down on him trying to smack him with the barrel, though he intended on stepping forward if it wasn't stopped to bring it back up for his chin.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Aidan raised his hand & gripped the barrel as it came to a sudden stop agaisnt his head, he twisted it & then raised his foot & kicked straight into Luro's stomach with enough force equal to 3 people. Aidan's coat opened slightly as he did so, revealing the ring on an inside pocket before the kick connected. "That's not going to work. Hit HARDER" He growled as he began to walk towards Luro once more. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro felt the wind leave his body as he slid back along the ground at the kick, he came to a stop a few feet away holding his stomach and coughing a bit as he lowered his head. Aidan hit pretty hard, though a toothy grin rested on Luro's face as he raised it to look back at Aidan. This guy really was interesting, though he wanted to fight this guy to the end, more than likely his own at this rate he was here for one reason, to free the captain. He closed his eyes knowing he couldn't be blinded by a fun fight, even if he really really wanted to keep going. His hand hit a trigger on his gun causing it to hum, but staring at Aidan he shook his head and hit the trigger again causing the gun to silent.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Nah," Luro said smiling at him. "That's boring Aidan. Afraid that's about as hard as I can hit you. Haha you're pretty good."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro straightened his body and started walking towards him, he moved his rifle back to his back and cracked his knuckles.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"I like you so I want this to go on as long as possible," Luro said.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro sprinted towards Aidan raising his fist, he was only getting up close so he could get the keys off the man, from that kick he was clearly stronger than he was, but that was okay. He had an ingenious plan that was Kadi level of brilliant, keep punching.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Moving lowering his body he brought his left arm towards him a hook, but raised his knee only using the initial attack for a feint, he just needed a small opening, that jacket to open to snatch the keys.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Aidan sighed & took a fighting stance, the brass lining on his fist slammed straight into the side of Luro's head, without seeing it, as the hit impacted him, Luro's hand had outreached straight into Aidan's jacket & snatched the keys. Luro went straight down into the floor, Aidan leaned down & gripped him by the scruff of his shirt, "If you want to see your captain so bad, then you can join her in that damn cell…. KINO!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Aidan began to turn & as a portal opened up about 30 feet away, he took a stance & spun, throwing Luro with a high velocity straight into the portal as it close, the other end leading straight into the middle of Runali's cell. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Aidan turned & looked to Bannon, but before he could say anything, a loud screech loudly echoed through the 23rd floor, he gripped his ears as he turned towards Bannon.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Warden's here, I advise you surrender" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Luro wasn't much of a thinker at times, he let the captain or crew make most of the decisions only adding his opinion where necessary. Even things involving his own life he was content with them making the decisions. The world was dizzy for a moment, he felt his vision go black, then blurry as he struggled to regain his senses from Aidan's hit. In a fight he didn't like thinking much either, winner, loser these things didn't matter to him. He had lost hundreds of fights, and won maybe dozens, it was the feeling he got from them that stayed with him more over who was still standing in the end.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]He had more bruises and scars than most due to this lifestyle, he had been taught humility by his losses, consideration from his victories and all that made a lot of what he was. He didn't catch most of what Aidan said still reeling from the hit. When he came back to reality he was in the cell with the captain. He had lost the fight, honestly he didn't stand a chance and knew it from the first hit, but there was one thing Luro learned in all the brawls he had gotten himself in.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Got ya something captain," Luro said handing the keys to Runali with a grin.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]The small victories were just as important as the big ones.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Capt. Blu]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Location: Hell on Earth → In the need of freedom[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]While Ray continued fiddling with trying to create a key, Runali examined her cuffs. Countless times in her first few months she had tried to unlock them and every time she tried, she failed. This was different though. From the sounds of it, her crew had finally showed up and they were raising hell. Failure wasn't an option when they came this far just to save her. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I don't want to be the pessimist here-" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]First, the screeching caused her to stop. A hard thud sounded right after, causing Runali to reel to the side. It landed on her blind side, so not seeing whatever it was managed to startle her enough to jump to the side. The chains didn't let her get too far, causing her to stumble and fall on her butt which wasn't the most graceful thing she had done in her life, but this had to be one of the more surprising things- at least second to near death. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Runali sat up and looked at what exactly fell from wherever in her prison to make such a loud noise. Her eyes squinted a bit as she made out a person in the dim light- it was the red hair that made her jump up in surprise. "Luro! ...Luro?" She couldn't quite comprehend what just happened and she was sure they would have time later to get proper explanations. At least, that was the ideal. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The weight of keys in her hand made her look down. "You guys are...insane!" The captain brushed off her state of shock to scramble and quickly unlock the cuffs as quick as she could. When the cuffs fell, she rubbed the scars on her wrists that formed underneath, deciding that much of her building adrenaline was going to be used to escape. The moment she was free, she hugged Luro, only to crinkle her nose in disgust. "You smell worse than I do, what have you been in- wait that's not important." She hurried over and handed the keys to Ray. "I think these will help~" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She had no idea what was going on on the outside but when she was finally free, and dragging Luro out of the cell she hugged Ray as well which only led to, "You guys and hygiene I swear-" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The entire group flinched and covered their ears when the sound echoed through the hall. Bannon steeled himself as best he could, and stepped to the front lines. "You'll have to cut me down before I surrender to you." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Saff and Belen were on either side of him, both ready to fight at his side. Typically, they would be the ones to take lead, but Bannon was quite capable. Besides, Alicia gave the man direct orders so he was bound to know what he was doing. "I have been itching to burn that smug face off him. Just say the word." Flames flickered out of Belen's hand while the group had a sudden 'stand off'. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]However, that was brought to a sudden stop as a portal appeared at Aidan's side. Kino hopped out first and quickly moved to the side as a second person slowly stepped out. It was clear by his uniform and the air around him that he was definitely the warden. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Warden Frank Donovan had one foot stepped into retirement before he was put on the job of keeping the prison orderly and frankly, it was never orderly. Most of his graying hair was thanks to the hellhole he was put in charge of. The cold look in his eye sent shivers down some of their spines, but no one dared to move just yet. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"If you want anything done right, you've got to do it yourself." The words were moreso mumbled to himself, but his gruff voice was loud enough for the ones around to hear. Only moments later, the thunderous 'BOOM' caused the entire floor to shake violently, but the sudden force sent most of the group flying backwards. Bannon managed to stab his spear into the ground long enough to keep his stronghold. "You've gotten far enough. I advise you to stand down or this place will be your grave."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Behind them, the captain, Ray, Durant, and Luro were standing a little ways away. It wasn't clear if they had been noticed yet, but it would definitely be the time to think of some sort of plan to get out.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Mizos]

Luro raised his arm and smelled himself at the captain's comment, that was the second person to comment on his smell, he just smelled like whatever was in the sewers and dead bodies it couldn't be that bad. Though the captain was at least still willing to hug him and Ray, he wasn't sure if Aidan felt the same but looks could be deceiving. Luro gave a small nod having a feeling that Aidan might be the kind of person that secretly likes hugs, if they met again he made a small note to bring it up to him. All of that was for later however as at the moment getting the captain and everyone else out was more important, though he had no idea what to do at this point, maybe they could meet up with everyone, if Kadi was here it'd be easy to navigate out of this place.
"Hahaha you should have seen the stuff Ray rolled in on the way here, it's a good thing he still has looks, you can see him from a distance upwind," Luro said with a grin.

The strong rumble caused Luro to stumble a bit, raising his hand he pressed it against the wall to steady himself, when it passed Luro looked down at this belt checking the size of the explosives on him, he wasn't sure they brought something that big inside so where did that noise come from? His instincts screamed at him however as he straightened himself, he wasn't sure how to explain it but the air almost seemed to shift on the floor, he felt a shiver run through his body a small smile resting on his face, whatever presence was nearby it was a strong one.
"Wow...I really wanna fight whoever that is. Oh right Captain awaiting your orders, if you want to jump out the window just say so I'm sure Ray will figure something out on the way down," Luro said giving his friend a small thumbs up. "Alicia handled the planning stuff with the others, I didn't pay enough attention to remember how to get out."​

 

[Arcadius]

​

The floor shook. So much Arcadius thought the newly arrived man decided that he had enough of the whole situation, and tried to rapidly deconstruct his prison around them and move it to another island, where he could rebuild it with less stinky prisoners, fewer incompetent guards, and Luro. The navigator lost his footing, as did apparently almost everyone present in the ward. His ears were ringing from the loud boom as he pulled himself to sit against a wall. His head swimming slightly from the shock. He closed his eyes and placed his palm over them, to help the world spin a little slower. This place is build by madmen and is serviced by madmen. Luro has a point. There's no value in not being drunk all the time.

Arcadius opened his eyes. The floor around was swirling mass, bodies of freed pirates and guards in various states of wholeness, mixed together by the blastwave, were trying to untangle themselves from already dead bodies or still living comrades, giving an image of some tentacled sea monster trying to account for all of its numerous limbs. In front of Arc was already expired Navy Guardman, still clutching a recently fired musket in his dead hands. A large powder-box was slung over his shoulders, which, one short frantic crawl later, proved to be mostly full of still dry gunpowder. People who say you can't perform the same trick twice are prudish fools, Arcadius concluded in his head.

It seemed everyone in the room was busy enough with the newly arrived man, and noone probably noticed the not-powerful, unassuming looking person standing in the back, doing nothing the whole time. Everyone around, sans Bannon and the man, were busy picking themselves from the floor, groaning and counting their functioning limbs. Arcadius scuttled away on all fours, until he was past the corner. "Right, then, here goes. As if this could be the worst idea I was part of today," he whispered for himself. Arcadius uncorked the powderbox and started pouring path towards the water bulkhead. While in process of it, the whole prison seemed to be filled with a sound of one, prolonged, giant water flush. "Darn, not now! They must be draining the water. No time to lose now, it seems..." He had to try to blow up the bulkhead before the waterlevel dropped beneath its level, or there won't be any distraction by sudden rush of water.​

 

[Grothnor]

Ray blinked in surprise to see Luro appear in Runali's cell. "Luro, how did... I... okay." He briefly entertained the notion that Michael's poison was affecting him worse than he thought. "And you have the key... alright then." He decided against questioning his good fortune and accepted the key, opening the cell, and received a hug and a reprimand as reward. "Well, pardon us for not stopping to shower on our way to rescue you, Captain." Ray quipped, smiling.

When he heard Luro's suggestion, Ray went into the cell to look out the small barred window. "Uhh, I suppose I could try to make a ramp, assuming we can get through this wall." Ray didn't like the plan, he wasn't sure he could make something that large with his remaining stamina, but they were really stretching for options at this point. He paused for a moment, replaying Luro's words in his head. "Wait, you guys had an escape plan and then you forgot it? Dammit, Luro!" He aimed a kick for the drunkard's shins.

 

[Capt. Blu]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Location: Hell on Earth → In need of freedom[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Orders? ….Right, right I am the captain, yeah?" It was fair to insuiate that Runali was suddenly distracted. Her thoughts were loudly screaming 'free at last' while also focusing on the sudden strong presence that appeared out of thin air. Unlike her carpenter, she was more ready to get away as far as possible. There was a time where she would have tried to take on someone that powerful. Her thoughts went back to the war in Yula Fei they barely survived, the mini war against the Hallister royals back in Waterdeep, hell even when they were attacked by the Red Pirates. Yakone made her think of Jem. It was the one person of her crew she hadn't seen or heard about yet. Maybe she'd see her later, like Alicia. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Her train wreck of thoughts ended with her instincts telling her that fighting wasn't her strong suit at the moment. While she was sure being in Kane'Artem had dulled her once curious and fiery spirit, she also wondered if she was letting all the rumors about the warden get to her head. He couldn't have been that strong and vile as they made him seem! The Stardusk crew had encountered plenty of people probably stronger than him and they still survived! This was no different, they just had to get out of there![/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]...Unfortunately, she was at an utter loss on just how to do that. The gears in the captain's brains turned. If she was one of those fancy machines in Brass Cape, there'd probably be smoke coming out of her ears. Outside the locked cell floors, there was definitely the sound of flushing drains which meant the water was going back down. And down was where they needed to be... but on the first floor there would probably be more than an army of guards waiting for them. The window was the next exit… They were on the 23rd floor though! That sounded- well actually that sounded crazy enough to work. "You might be onto something there Luro…" She slipped the key out of Ray's hand and quickly unlocked the cell Cecilia was in. "I need you to do me a favor."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Favor?! We need to get the hell outta here!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I know, I know, I know, I know- but I need you to unlock as many of these cells as you can. You're speedy right? Those are seastone so if we can get those overseers into the cells we can get outta here a little easier." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Cecilia gave a hard stare before giving a firm nod. "...I'll try to be quick." She moved to the nearest cells attempting- and doing a decent job at being as fast as she could. The loud flushing noise thankfully covered up most of the sounds of chains hitting the ground or doors creaking open.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Saff and Dani were the first to jump back up, more prepared for the next assault. It was a stand off for a few moments until the Warden made the first move. He was tired, which made him impatient.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]His movement was almost too quick to see, as if he teleported as Kino had only to reappear clashing with Bannon's spear handle. The latter dug his heels into the ground as best he could, but the loud and powerful force that followed Donovan's fist threatened to send him backwards. Being so close to the cause of the thunderous noise caused Bannon to go temporarily deaf but he carried on. His mission was to get these pirates in and out of the prison and that's what he planned to do. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Thunderous sound followed every attack the warden sent at Bannon, so Saff could barely hear Belen's call as Kino appeared behind her with gun drawn. Dani served as a well enough as support, while Saff tried to rope Kino down with her sickle and chain. She managed to snag a sword from a dead pirate and a gun from another. She holstered the gun however, not wanting to waste bullets on the houdini who kept dodging them.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A little farther back, Belen helped Elise up and looked at the chaos, noting Arcadius slipping away. "I suggest you fight. I mean, if you want to live long enough to get out of here that is." Her hand caught fire and she threw the ball of flame at Aidan. The first one missed, but she walked forward, continuing her assault of fire. "It's too bad we're on a schedule. I can't enjoy this as much as I wanted to."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The chaos wasn't too far away and with the one eye Runali did have she saw all of it. "To be quite honest, I'm more surprised you had a plan to get in." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]It wouldn't be very long before the others started to notice the increase of free prisoners escaping and looking for their way out- especially the more jubilant ones. In fact, it was less than a minute before Kino had paused mid battle as she noticed prisoners scurrying in the corner of her eye. "No time to plan, just blow up a wall- either side's fine at this point!" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Durant looked between the three in bewilderment. "You mean to tell me the first order you want to take from that 'captain' of yours is to jump off the 23rd floor of this prison?! More importantly I thought we wanted to get out of here alive!?" He was still having a hard time believing that his image of a dignified, well worn, brave captain was shattered by the likes of the...tiny girl. While Durant complained, Runali ran off saying something about being a distraction so Luro, Ray, and Durant could keep going with their plan. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]In the midst of fighting Saff and Dani, Kino's attention turned to Runali, the obvious cause of the fiasco at hand. 'Without a captain, they'd have no reason to fight.' Once again, Kino disappeared from Dani and Saff's grasps, this time causing Dani to be the victim of being wrapped in the chain. "I really... really don't like that girl... She'd be a good fit for our crew though." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Not to be rude dame Safron, but I do not think recruitment is the best idea at this present time." [/BCOLOR]

 

[Astoria]

Having finally reached the cell of the pirate crew's captain, Elise stayed out of the way. Standing just outside the cell door in the prison hall, she folded her arms as she let the group have their small reunion with their (mis)fortunate captain. For just a moment, everything seemed actually under control, and just maybe she could get out of there unscathed, with the firm knowledge of having helped in sacking perhaps the world's worst prison complex to have graced man.

Then… the ground shook. It shook so much, in fact, that the dark-haired girl was thrown off her feet from her position against the wall, sputtering forward before she finally regained her balance with Belen's help. For a moment, she thought that the prison floor was giving way beneath them and was about to resign herself to a horrid demise, but as she refocused her senses, she became acutely aware that the shock wave was man made.

Elise paused for a moment, the color from draining from her otherwise stoic face. She had never met the man, but she knew the warden that stood at the end of the hallway was a force to be feared. Almost infamous within the navy, she could count the people she knew that could parlay with him one on one… and she obviously wasn't one of them, and it was unlikely the others here were up to the task either.

Regardless… They still had to do something. "Thank you. I wouldn't suggest fighting that man in a fair fight." Once again, she drew her sword, leveling it in standard guard in the direction of the warden and any of his lackeys. "I'll help fight them off, unless you have a better idea for me to do. These plans better work."

 

[Arcadius]

He reached the bulkhead, drawing a gunpowder line behind him. The sound of flushing seemed to be coming from above him, but while at first it seemed to be coming from straight above, it point of source seemed to be drawing a half circle, slowly descending. At this point, it completed roughly a third of its path, showing Arcadius he was running out of time. He had to blow the bulkhead before the water dropped under the 23rd floor.

Behind him, the party seemed to have re-started again, the corridor leading to the prison cells carrying sounds of renewed combat. "Right, still have time, then." Combat meant people were busy not trying to count other people, and using advanced algebraic functions like substraction and addition to note one person was not with the other persons. While working on this lemma in his head, Arcadius ripped open the gunpowder bow and threw it in front of the bulkhead door. The water seemed still to be above him, the giant flush sound bouncing around the vaulted ceiling of the corridor. "Still... have... time..." he muttered to himself as he raced back, to where the gunpowder line had its start.

He skid to a halt, nearly slipping on the flat stones. "Good, good, still noone..." The whisper was devoured by the combat ruckus coming from just past the corner; weapons clashing, flames being conjured and thrown at people, and someone damning Luro. "Bullet..." the navigator muttered, shaking the lead ball from the flintlock pistol. "Good, and now..." he finished, placing the flintlock pan next to the gunpowder line on the ground, and pulling the trigger. Hopefully, the flash would lit it and complete the plan.

​

 

[Grothnor]

Now that the Captain was freed, Ray finally had the opportunity to survey the major players in the battle. He could tell even without Elise's forewarning that the Warden was not to be trifled with, and was out of his league. Entering Bannon's fight would only result with injury. This floor's Overseer also seemed out of his league, though had Ray not expended most of his strength fighting Michael earlier, he might have had a chance, which left only one other opponent.

The moment he spotted Kino, she had spotted Captain Runali and started moving to intercept her, leaving Saff and Dani quite literally tied up. Ray intervened, launching a barrage of gunfire in her direction. His accuracy still wasn't what it used to be, but he didn't need to hit her, only delay or divert her from reaching the Captain.