Notebook Sketches

[Vulion]

Beuno, I have the requests.

Keris:

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Bayar:

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ME!:

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[Shades of Gray]

I did this the day after you posted it, but I didn't get around to posting it

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[Vulion]

I did this the day after you posted it, but I didn't get around to posting it

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Holy crap that is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet !

Bet those runes were a pain in the ass.

[Shades of Gray]

You bet they were

[Uncle Festy]

Everything on this page is awesome made of sauceome.
…*of course, so is everything else. Just needed to say that specifically about the last couple posts.

[Vulion]

Just a little update from me.

Recently I have gotten my hands on Fallout 3...so what I'm trying to say is that the art updates will slow down considerably up until I save the post-apocalyptic future.

Sorry.

[Fay Graydon]

Hey Vulion.
Because of the awesome work you did on the Sketches of Fayte and Diskord i was inspired to make more detailed avatars of them .

[Vulion]

SWEET!

Also, short sword and dagger!

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[Bayar]

I honestly don't know what possessed me to do this. I was just thinking about Regina's outfit and how similar it was to Ross'. Then I figured she would complain about that in her own manner.

This is the result. Read left to right. Sorry 'bout my crappy handwriting.

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Found the comic I was reminded of these:

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[Vulion]

Found the comic I was reminded of these:

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I'd love to be in that party.

Did ya like your request drawing? Sorry for asking but I'm the type of guy that needs a response like people need oxygen.

Also, two new drawings depicting characters for something I'm writing and will put up here sometime in the near future.

Up first is the latest victim pf my constant need to rework things in my head. Formerly a mage now a warrior with a falchion: Royce.

"Above all, I wanna be known as a hero."

-Royce

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"I joined the Guild's warrior division just to piss my old man off."

-Doyl

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Just one more question. Besides the incredibly boring and generic poses, what do these two characters have in common about their designs?

[Mad Mask]

They both seem to wear the same gauntlet.

Also, do you still accept requests ? If so, I would to have a sketch of this person:



The eye can be as big as you want, as long as it looks bloody. And if you want, you can put blood on his clothes.

Thank you in advance.

[Tiffanie Lirle]

Yep, definitely the gauntlet.

[memnarch]

And the necklace. (it's only visible on the bottom drawing )

[Bayar]

Wait, I didnt comment on it ? The damn forum must have eaten my post !

It is :awesome:

[Szilard]

Can you make a sketch of this character?

[Uncle Festy]

And the necklace. (it's only visible on the bottom drawing )

Heh.
And yes, the gauntlet.

[Vulion]

First and foremost!

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Ding ding ding ding ding DING!

The correct answer is: the gauntlet.

The gauntlet is an essential part of any of the warrior's of the Black Leaf Adventurer's Guild arsenal. Every sanctioned guild warrior has one, for two reasons. First the gauntlet identifies the person as a member of the guild, thus a professional, government sanctioned non-military fighter for hire. The gauntlets used by the Empire military are noticeably different in design than those used by the guild.

The other function of the gauntlet is the primary reason anyone would want one. Each gauntlet has a number of holes in the size and shape of crystals; three for the military gauntlets, four for the Guild gauntlets. In these holes you can fit a single special crystal: an elemental stone. Their effects are as follows:

Fire: Increases strength significantly. Also increases the amount of energy in the body, in other words the people with a fire stone get tired slower.

Earth: Increases defensive capabilities by hardening the skin and bones, thus making anyone using the earth stone harder to hurt.

Air: Increases speed and agility of a person, essentially with this stone you can run a mile in a minute.

Water: Increases the power of the senses and mental abilities, clears the mind and makes it easier to focus.

The amount of crystals a Guild member has denotes the rank the member has. Guild members with one stone are almost always under the care and tutelage of a more senior member. Two stones means that they are a member with experience and sanction to act without the need of a superior, though they are put into two-person cells for missions. Three stones is the the highest amount for regular members outside the leadership of the Guild. They are the elites and act independently or in two-person teams. Four stones is Guild leadership, the best of the best.

There are also two different types of stones: Synthetic and Natural. Synthetic are man-made through Alchemy, and are less powerful than their natural counterparts. Naural stones form near leylines of specific elemental energy. The difference is significant. A synthetic fire stone user would be able to throw a car, a user with a natural stone would be able to throw a bus. The natural stones are rare and thus only in the hands of the military. The Guild exclusively uses synthetic stones.

There are also Combined Element Stones, synthetic stones made from combining two of the four regular element stones, which can be either synthetic or natural. They offer the power of two stones in one, but the power is significantly deluded, only about half strong as two individual stone. They are as follows:

Lightning (Fire and Wind): Makes a person both stronger and faster.

Ice (Water and Wind): Faster and more intuitive.

Plant (Earth and Water)

Magma (Fire and Earth)

Combination's of Fire and Water and Wind and Earth stones do not exist. Alchemists tried to make them, those same alchemists are also dead do to explosions of elemental energy.

This is basically my way of giving people super awesome powers. I always liked groups of powerful individuals like Organization XIII.

[Uncle Festy]

Shweeet.
So analyzing from this, Royce and Doyl are both under someone else's tutelage. Can we see them? Also, what stones are Royce and Doyl using?

[memnarch]

Dang, no fire and water combos.


And I really, really want to see some action pictures of things like this (maybe a fight between two of them), those gauntlets sound really cool!

[Vulion]

Just to finish up the night. I give out some statistics.

Royce Galarn

Age: 22

Height: 5' 9

Eyes: Grey

Hair: Black

Weapon: Two-Handed Falchion

Element Stones: Fire (Gains Wind and Earth, respectively, during adventures)

Doyl Greytear (originally Asher)

Age: 27

Height: 6'1

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Hazel

Weapon: Trench Knives

Element Stones: Wind (Gains Water and Fire in his adventures)

Eiria Valar

Age: 26

Height: 5' 7

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Green

Weapon: Fists

Element Stones: Earth and Wind (Gains Water)

Special Note: Becomes Doyl's partner after he gains his second stone.

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The master of Royce and Doyl (respectively):

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Also, Szilard, how is this?

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[Ninja Chocobo]

Combination's of Fire and Water and Wind and Earth stones do not exist.

No Steam or Sandstorm then? Pity. Especially the former.

[Szilard]

Cool.

[Vulion]

No Steam or Sandstorm then? Pity. Especially the former.

Well, I'm kinda basing this on the fact that the Elemental powers they get are actually energies that flow from the crystal, through the gauntlet and into the body.

Since I'm making the powers derived from energies, I kept one thing in mind. Energy wavelengths. Earth and Wind element energies have opposing wavelengths, as do Fire and Water. Physically, they can't go together.

@Szilard: Thanks.

[Vulion]

This is gonna be a bit different than what I usually do.

First and foremost we have a drawing from an actually notebook.

Eiria, with a new haircut.

"Doyl, stop staring at my ass or I'll twist you backwards and shove that over sized head up yours."

-Eiria

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Also, I would like you guys, if ya have the time, to read something of mine. A story set in the universe of the original Final Fantasy Tactics. I wouldn't really call it a fanfic but then again, I may be lying to myself.

Please, I appreciate any constructive critique.

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…Dom’s Quasi-Creative Works presents…

…Another Final Fantasy Tactics story…

PART 1

******
Syn wanted to curse the very gods. Curse the world and all of the people in it. Curse the very air that she breathed, for in all her life she had never been subject to such torture. She wanted to raise her head and scream blasphemies into the sky until she was wiped from the face of existence. She wanted her suffering to end, but new she would not even be granted the mercy of a quick death.


By Ajora, she hated sea sickness.

Unceremoniously draped across the starboard deck railing of the trade
vessel Alexander, the young thief moaned in pain before letting another helping of her breakfast spill out of her mouth and into the turbulent seas below. She had never been on ship before and always wanted to sail the seas at least once in her life. What a stupid, stupid girl she had been four days prior, practically racing up the plank onto the ship. She had expected to sit up on the deck, letting the wind flow through her hair as they sailed to their destination.

Letting go of the railing and sinking to her knees as the last of her breakfast made its unpleasant journey out of her, all she could do was wish that the sea would stop moving. An impossibility, but it was nice to focus on something else than throwing up.

Long, heavy strides, different than the usual pitter patter of the nimble ship crew, approached her and it was all Syn could do to look over her shoulder. The man wore armor that was ebony in color with thick bronze lining, the only portion of his body not covered by ebon plates were his legs, upon which he sported baggy blue trousers. His head was encased in a helmet of strange design that covered everything except the eyes and even they were only visible because they glowed with some sort of strange magic, not unlike a Black Mage’s. All in all, to the thief he looked every bit a Dark Knight.

Though she could not see his face, she could tell by his eyes that he wore a sympathetic smile.

“I take it that you morning ritual is complete?” Hale asked, his voice muffled somewhat by his helm.

“Hale, right now it would be very smart for you to follow the ‘silent’ part of the whole ‘dark, silent warrior’ stereotype,” Syn started, trying to get herself to her feet. “Or else next time I puke, it’s gonna be inside your helmet.”

She could not tell if he took the threat seriously, but he silently walked over to her nonetheless and helped her to her feet. He put her arm over her shoulder and gingerly led her down below deck. All the while, Syn could feel her stomach churning and churning but thankfully she had nothing left vomit up. Slowly but surely they made it to Syn and Miyuki’s private cabin.

Practically falling into the room, the pair stumbled to Syn’s bed and Hale helped her onto the bed with minimal difficulty. Syn groaned as she felt her stomach slowly stop twisting and while she was far from being cured, the lack of movement in the middle of the ship helped at least calm her seas sickness. Removing the bandanna from her head, she wiped the sweat from her brow and looked up at her armored friend.

“Hale, who the hell suggested we take this job?” Syn demanded, her sickness wearing her patience thin.

“I think it was you.” The Dark Knight replied simply.

Syn sat silently as the memories flooded forward. She remembered walking into the bar in Riovanes with the rest of the group at her heels to see what propositions were available and out of all of them she had chosen a salvage job. Go out to sea, find a marooned ship, grab what you can, then come back and get a big payoff. An easy job that allowed her to live here dream of sailing the seas, it was almost too good to be true. Two hours into the trip her stomach decided it did not like the lunch she had eaten and the fight had spilled onto the deck floor. So it had been for the past four days.

“By Ajora, I wish this was the Plague!” Syn groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“Why the hell would you want that?” Hale asked, looking a bit perplexed at her statement. At least that was what his eyes told her.

“Because the Plague would have at least had the decency to have killed me by now…” The thief retorted rolling over to face the wall.

“Ah. Point.”

Syn grunted in recognition, kicking off her shoes.

“Lunch is going to be served soon.” She heard Hale say.

“Oh god, don’t mention food…” She whimpered, going into a fetal position.

“Good thing is that you seem to be getting finished with your vomiting around the meal bells.” Hale stated matter of fact manner.

“Whoopdi-****ing-doo.” She mumbled angrily.

“As much as you don’t want, you are going to have to replace what you lost.”

All Syn could do was whimper at the thought of giving her body more to throw up. The very idea of food in her stomach made the damn organ twist and turn as if she actually ate something.

“I’ll be back for you when the bell rings.” Hale promised and then he walked back towards the deck. Syn listened intently to his footsteps before they faded from her hearing range.

Not that she was left alone she found it nearly impossible to ignore her stomach. She tried to focus on anything but the movement of the sea, she tried to focus on the job or the creaking of the hull but nothing helped. This was indeed going to be a very long trip.

******

Hale calmly stepped on the deck, the swaying of the ship not having the effect it did on Syn. He took a quick glance around as he made his way toward the helm. Sailors ran around in a seemingly hectic manner but the Dark Knight knew this was just another day for them, scrubbing the floors, adjusting loose lines and the like. Hale envied them; they at least had something to do on this damn trip.

Making his way up the short set of stairs that lead to the helm, he spotted the rest of the party trying to keep themselves busy. Immediately to his left sat Gray, a samurai of so few words that Hale had to wonder whether or not he was cursed to only a certain number of words per day. Gray sat silently cleaning his Masamune sword, seemingly not paying attention to anything going around him. The Dark Knight however knew that his friend was indeed aware of nearly everything around him.

Movement in the corner of his eye drew Hale away from his silent but deadly companion and unto the only other female in the group. Miyuki sat in a lounge chair getting a tan in a swimsuit that match the colors of her usual dancing gown. How she was able to get a lounge chair, a two piece swimsuit and a pair of sunglasses into the medieval era was beyond the dark knight, but then again he was not complaining about the view.

Usually the presence of women on a ship caused some sort of uproar, normally about it being very bad luck to have a woman on board. Hale could guess there were other reasons that having a pair of beautiful women on board would cause problems but it was a situation that was easily avoided. The women did of course have an escort consisting of a swordsman that could call the spirit of a sword to rip his enemies asunder, a knight whose allies were the very shadows of the world and an arcane master that could bring fire, frost and lightning to bear against his foes. Hell, Gray could probably castrate a guy by glaring at him hard enough.

Speaking of the arcane master that could control the elements, Hale scanned the rest of the stern deck and found the black mage talking quietly with the navigator whilst looking at a map. He wore his usual attire that cover both his entire body and face, the only portion of his body that was visible were his eyes that glowed in the shadow. He pointed to a place on the map before looking up at the sun and adjusting the navigational equipment.

“You should sit down.” Hale heard Gray say from behind him, the most the samurai had said at one time all day.

“I can’t.” The dark knight simply retorted, crossing his rams over his chest and turning to face his friend. “All this waiting is driving me nuts.”

Gray responded by simply looking up and running his hand throw his salt and pepper hair, no emotion discernable on his face. Hale knew the look well enough. Sighing heavily the young dark knight slowly slid into a sitting position across from his friend, a scowl forming behind the security of his helmet.

“Now breathe deeply.” Gray ordered, closing his eyes.

“What?” The dark knight asked, perplexed.

“Breathe deeply.” The samurai repeated flatly.

“Why?”

“Too calm yourself down.”

“How the hell is breathing going to calm me down?”

“Just breathe.”

“Look, Gray, this isn’t gon—“

“Okay, let me put it to you this way,” Gray cut in, now looking directly into Hale’s face. “Either you stop bitching and breathe or I shove this sword so far up your ass, you’ll be lobotomized. Your choice.”

Hale was taken aback but Gray’s sudden outburst, his friend did not normally speak so much outside of a fight and usually then it was strictly information and orders. The young dark knight decided it would be a very wise idea to listen to the samurai.

Imitating the samurai’s stance, which was kind of hard to do because of all of the armor he wore, Hale slowly began to take deep breaths. Slowly but surely his anxiousness and irritation began to melt away. Without the haze of boredom and anger, the young knight could think a bit more clearly, but he knew this was going to only a temporary solution. Unless they made it to their destination and soon, he knew all the negative feelings would return the next day.

Shaking his head, his slowly opened his eyes and looked at Gray. The samurai was in the position he was at the beginning of their conversation, and it seemed he would be for the next several hours.

“Can I ask you a question?” Hale asked quietly, hoping not to disturb him too much and thus avoid being anally violated.

“What?” Gray requested, without opening his eyes.

“Why are you preparing your swords?”

“I feel like I’m gonna need them.”

Hale groaned softly, leaning his head against the stern deck railing. “Please don’t say that. This supposed to be an easy salvage job. Nothing involving me walking in on Ochu having sex or running headlong into a Chimera statue and breaking my nose, just a simple job.”

Gray looked up at Hale, finally opening his eyes. “It’s just a feeling.”

“I remember last time you had a feeling like that, you were right and I didn’t walk up until a week later.”

“Not my fault that chocobo kicked you in the head.”

“I hope that bird’s been fricasseed.”

A sudden bell ringing cut into their conversation. At first Hale though it was the bell for the midday meal, but the frequency of the rings told him otherwise.

“Land ho!” The lookout screamed.

Hale jumped to his feet and looked toward the horizon and sure enough, an island slowly came into view. Straining his eyes to discern the various shapes on the landmass, he found what he was looking for. The marooned trade vessel Delphi sat on the beach, like a giant, wooden prize just waiting to be taken.

Behind him, Gray slowly stood and replaced the swords on his belt before joining Hale at the starboard railing. He crossed his arms as he looked out over the water and Hale could have sworn he saw him narrow his eyes, something he only did truly bothered. The dark knight did not have time to pursue the issue, for the captain was already barking orders.

“All right boys, get meh two lifeboats worth o’ men. We’re gonna check it out before start grabbin’ cargo!”

Hale watched him turn towards them. “That means you too, get your people ready.”

Hale nodded and jumped onto the deck and began heading towards the lower decks. Syn would be elated to hear news of dry land.

******

Vulion watched in total surprise as Syn catapulted out of the life boat and landed flat against the sand of the beach. For a moment the black mage thought she may have hurt herself but then she began laughing loudly and rolling in the sand. Slowly wading his way through the beach water, he stepped in front of Syn and looked down at with a raised eyebrow, not that anybody would notice. Miyuki stepped up next to him.

“Land, land, sweet gyrating moogles, land!” Syn shouted happily, throwing fistfuls of sand into the air.

“I think she’s gone completely nuts…” Miyuki whispered.

All Vulion could was nod at her observation, Syn was indeed acting like a crazed person but then again he had not suffered sea sickness on during the voyage. He patiently waited for her to stop her tangent, which was gathering quite the audience amongst the sailors. When she finally began calming down, the black mage offered her a hand.

“You know, you are going to have to go back to the ship again, Syn.” Vulion said, simply stating a fact.

“Vul, if I wasn’t in such a good mood I would chop of your balls for that.” Syn said, simply stating a fact as far as Vulion could tell.

“Be that as it may, we have a job to do.”

Vulion lead the two women to marooned ship, where the sailors, including Hale and Gray, were climbing the mooring lines of the grounded ship onto the deck. With some difficulty, Vulion was able to pull himself onto the deck before unceremoniously falling on his stomach. A few of the sailors laughed as Miyuki helped him to his feet.

“All right, lads, spread out. Let’s see if we can’t find any cargo still intact.”

Seeing as his group was not given any specific instructions, Vulion figured they were to join the other men in scavenging the lower decks. Footing was tricky as the ship leaned to the port side but they managed to make it below deck without much incident.

They ship was bigger than anybody expected and it took slightly longer to search for cargo but eventually it was found. As far as the information that they received, the main cargo was wine and from the looks of it several of the crates had been smashed when the ship was marooned. Several other crates, however, were still intact and from the numbers Vulion gathered it would be enough to make the trip worthwhile.

“All right, guess we need to start gettin’ what we can on deck.” The first mate was heard saying and the sailors quickly began filing out onto the deck.

Vulion and the group were about to follow but Miyuki did not move, her hands running over a wall on the far side of the cargo hold.

“What is it Miyu?” He heard Hale ask as they moved towards her.

“This wall feels weird.” Miyuki said as pressed her ear against it.

“What do you mean?” Vulion asked as he leaned against it.

He heard the crack a second too late and before he was able to react both of them plummeted through the new hole in the wall. Vulion tumbled down what seemed to be a flight of stairs before rolling into a wall. Just when he though his pain was over, something slammed into his side and knocked the wind out of him, causing him to let out a very loud groan.

“You guys okay?!” Syn called out from above.
“
I’m fine!” Vulion called back, trying to move but being unable to. “Something heavy landed on me!”

“Well, excuse me!” He heard Miyuki exclaimed from right next to him.
Vulion suddenly became very aware of his surroundings. The ‘heavy’ thing that had fallen on him was in fact his friend Miyu. He had just called her heavy. This did not bode well for him. The weight on his side quickly disappeared and the black mage looked up to see his friend with her arms across her chest, an annoyed look on her face.

Chaffing slightly under her gaze, he slowly stood to his feet and began dusting himself off.

“Sorry.” He said to Miyuki, though not looking her in the face.

“We’re coming down!” He heard Syn from above them.

For the first time since finding the hidden room, Vulion looked around. Crates were packed tightly next to one another and held very securely, much more securely than the cargo in the main hold in fact. Hale, Gray and Syn soon joined the pair in looking around.

“What do you think is in them?” Hale asked, running his hand over the smooth wood of the crates.

There was a loud crack and Vulion turned to see Gray smashing the pommel of his sword into one of the crates, two more smashes let the contents of the crate spill forth. Small bags fell to the ground. Vulion kneeled next to one of the bags and picked it up, turning it over in his hands.

“Syn, can I have your knife?” He asked, as he removed his free hands glove with his mouth.

Syn pulled out one her long knives and handed it to the black mage; he quickly stabbed a little hole into the bag and stuck his finger inside. Pulling out his powder covered finger, he stuck it in his mouth and tasted it.
“
Opium…” He silent, tossing the bag back on the floor.

“Their transporting drugs?” Syn ask perplexed at the new revelation.

“How do you know it’s opium, Vul?” Hale asked, walking over to the discarded bag.

A sudden flurry of memories fluttered through Vulion’s mind. His time back in Gariland Magic Academy, one very crazy night involving various ‘alchemical’ concoctions, waking up naked in the town square with the words ‘Hot Daddy’ tattooed to his butt cheeks and facing various public urination charges. After that he was convinced to go on an educational expedition into the Lesalia Plateau. He still could not remember what happened that month, the only clue he had was another tattoo on his left shoulder blade of a broken sword wrapped in ivy.

Realizing he had been standing completely still looking at his boots for the last seven minutes reminiscing about his experiences with drugs, Vulion promptly cleared his throat.

“I studied Alchemy when I was in the Magic Academy, we were taught how to identify various drugs in case we ever needed to.” The black mage quickly explained.

“…Right, do you think the crew knows?” Hale asked.

“Hard to tell, but I don’t think so…” Syn replied, her hand on her chin. She slowly began pacing up and down the small room. “I think they would have left a few men down here to find it and they probably would have shuffled us out of here quickly.”

“Who do you think was doing the smuggling, the crew or the owner of the ship?” Miyuki queried.

“Maybe both.” Gray suggested.

“Damn, this is gonna be such a pain in the—“ Syn began before another voice interrupted her.

“Oi, mercs!” Yelled the first mate. “Get up here, we ‘ave problem!”

Needing no other prompting, the group quickly scrambled up onto the deck of the Delphi. As soon as they looked across the water they saw another ship approaching the Alexander. A ship with black sails; it was moving very quickly against the wind.

“Ah, sweet zombie Ajora on a god damn pogo stick!” He heard Hale exclaim beside him.

******

Miyuki watched as the other ship sailed into view at impossible speeds before abruptly slowing down.

“How are they doing that?” She asked Vulion in the seat beside her as they waited for the sailors in their lifeboats to get them back to the ship. Hale, Gray and Syn were in the boat to their right.

“My best bet? Geomancers!” She heard Vulion say over the waves crashing against the boat.

“You think they’ll attack us?” The dancer asked, hoping for a ‘no’ from her mage friend.

A burst of light drew her eye and she watched as a beautiful, nude woman soared over the Alexander, everything freezing in her wake. Her question had been answered, much to her dismay.

“God dammit, the have a summoner!” The black mage growled as he watched the ice woman disappear into the air.

For what seemed like an eternity to Miyuki, the life boats made their way to starboard side of the Alexander. Ropes were thrown down for them and the crew made quick work of them, pulling the boats up even as the sounds of battle raged above them. Another lifetime seemingly passed by as they were pulled up. Deciding it was best not to spend time just sitting around, Miyu began chanting a spell. Within a moment it was finished and clear crystals seemingly surrounded each person in the boat.

“We’re almost there!” Vulion called as they finally approached the deck railing, she watched several members of the ship’s crew jump on deck before Vulion climbed over and held out a hand to help her.

Grabbing it quickly, she pulled herself up. What she saw on the deck was pure chaos, she watched the ship’s sailors and the attackers fight each other. Already bodies littered the ground, the majority belonging to the Alexander’s crew. Stepping on the deck, she watched both Hale and Gray smash into the surprised attackers, Hale slashing one open with a brutal sword swing and Gray killing two with a release of energy from a Muramasa. They pairs efforts helped, but they were still outnumbered and more of the attacks swung in on ropes and charged in on gangplanks.

She watched as two balls, on red the other blue through the air. The red one struck a pirate on a rope and the blue hit one crossing a gangplank. Both exploded with different energy, the red erupted into flames, sending the surprised man to his watery grave, the blue froze the face of the man trying to charge on the plank and he met a similar fate as his companion.

Ice suddenly rained down from the sky, large shards of it smashed into a line of men trying to cross onto the deck, sending the men and the plank into the water. Deciding it was time to stop watching the others to do something and start contributing to the fight. She erased all other thoughts from her mind and slowly began to move. She focused strictly on the movements of her body, her arms and legs became the only things that existed in the world.

“Watch out for the summoner!” Vulion yelled but she barely heard him, all that mattered was her dance.

Then she felt it, the energy, almost a fire, well up within her, each step, each arm movement made it flare more and more. She focused on all of the attacking pirates and the energy flared even more, demanding to be realized. Then came the final step of her dance, all of the energy that had well up with in her was released and she saw the result of her craft, every pirate on the boat was suddenly slashed by an invisible force. The temporary lull in the enemy combatants helped the Alexander crew push them back and the battle on the ship’s deck was no longer so one sided.

A young man stumbled in front of her, a very nasty gash in his abdomen. Quickly running over to him, she pressed her hand to the wound and began chanting, ignoring the blood spilling onto her hands. The chant was complete; a revitalizing energy flowed from her hand and into the injured fighter. The wound began to close almost immediately, muscle and skin stitching itself together again to the point where all evidence of the injury disappeared.

The young gingerly touched the area of the injury, before grabbing both of Miyuki’s hands and smiling at her.

“Thanks, Angel.” The young fighter whispered, kissing her blood stained hands.

Miyuki was taken aback by the man’s actions. Of course she had received similar praise in the past but never had she seen such sincerity in a man’s eyes before. He wore the outfit of an archer, his blonde hair disheveled. She felt her mouth open and close several times before her voice came back to her.

“T-thank you…um…uh…” The dancer began, but the archer understood immediately.

“Me name’s Kyle, I-I’m a merc hired by the Alexanda’.” He stuttered.

A member of the ship’s crew fell between them, knocking them out of their trance. Miyuki quickly kneeled down to the injured man and Kyle readied an arrow and fired. Chanting her spell she threw all thoughts of the archer from her mind and focused on her task. This was not the time to be thinking those sorts of thoughts.

Of course, after the battle…

******

Gray blades whirled around him like an unstoppable hurricane, tearing through bone and flesh alike. He was all his training made him, brutal, fast and relentless. He fought side by side with Hale, their blades cutting down more men than half of the crew. A red, blade-like spike of energy erupted behind the samurai and he turned to see a pirate drop to the ground. He would have nodded to the dark knight in thanks, but there was still a fight to finish. Hale knew he was thankful anyway.

Slabs of ice smashed into another line of men trying to cross onto the Alexander’s deck. Vulion was casting his magic smartly, fire and lightning would have to much chance to damage the actual ships and with them so close together an fire or damage could affect the other.

A female squire threw herself at him, waving her flail wildly. Gray quickly sidestepped the clumsy attack and dispatched her with a quick slash to the neck. She dropped to the floor just as Vulion ran up to him, joined by Hale and Syn.

“What’s the situation?” Hale yelled over the sound of battle.

“We need to eliminate summoner and the geomancers, take away their magical advantage!” Vulion told them.

“We need to get find them fast!” Gray said. “They’re gonna send in their elites soon!”

“How do you know that?” Syn asked.

“Call it a feeling, this was done by professionals!”

Before the conversation could continue, pink hued bubbles surrounded them for a moment before disappearing. Gray turned to Miyuki but she was pointing at the pirate ship. Suddenly her meaning became all too clear. She had spotted the enemy summoner. Quickly turning in the direction she had indicated, he saw a giant, horned man surrounded by flames flying at them. The samurai braced himself for the pain of the searing fire, and while the flames did lick slightly as Ifrit passed by, they were nowhere near as bad as he expected them to be. Looking around he found he was one of the lucky ones.

Many members of the Alexander’s crew lay on the ground, charred black, others screamed as death was not granted to them. The pirates were unharmed and continued their vicious attack, Hale and Syn broke away from the gathering to help push them back. They could not go on like this and hope to win. Quickly scanning the deck of the pirate ship, he found the summoner couched near the helm.

“Vul, the summoner, he’s by their helm, take Miyuki and get rid of him!”

Vulion need no other prompting, he bolted over to Miyuki. Gray watched the black mage indicate to Miyu to follow him to the stern deck, the pair, along with an archer quickly ran to the Alexander’s helm. They were going to do their part, now it was time for him to do his.

A shadow suddenly flew into the sky from the pirate’s ship, the main attack was coming just as he predicted. Two others flew toward the ship on ropes, both jumped half way across the gap, a ninja flew at Syn and a monk landed in front of Hale. They both were immediately pushed back by the attacks of skilled and most importantly rested fighters.

A rush of air warned him that he had made a very grave mistake; he had lost awareness of his surroundings. He dodged to the side in time to avoid being skewered, and while he managed to escape the worst of the attack, the spear of the lancer ripped through his red armor and left a long gash in his side, spilling his blood onto the deck floor. He turned to his new opponent, a male lancer using a spear and shield.

Ripping the spear head out of the ground, Gray’s opponent quickly thrust it at his face. The samurai swatted the weapon aside with one sword and retaliated with his other arm. The wound at his side caused the swing to be half-hearted and the lancer easily blocked it with his shield, before thrusting the spear forward again. With his injury, Gray was steadily pushed back, unable to attack effectively.

Then it happened, his foot struck the body of a fallen pirate and he stumbled backwards, giving his opponent an ample opportunity to impale him on his spear. The attack however never came as the lancer was suddenly forced back by an arrow. Turning towards the direction the arrow had come from, he saw the archer Miyuki and Vulion had taken with them to the stern deck ready another arrow. Needing no other prompting, Gray whipped out a murasame sword, holding it over his head. Chanting the incantation, a green mist flowed from the blade, closing his wound and the wounds of all his fellow crew members around him.

Refreshed and no longer in pain, Gray charged forward anew, his blades no longer hampered by pain. The arrows had stopped flying, thus allowing the samurai to fight the lancer without worrying about being struck in the head. He did not know who Miyuki and Vulion’s new friend was, but he was going to have to buy him a drink. He fought cautiously at first, trying to gauge his opponent, poking at his defenses to see how he would react. The lancer definitely used the length of his weapon to his advantage; in fact he was using it a little too much.

As he swatted another thrust to the side, the samurai remembered something that Vulion had once told him. The black mage had been a lancer when Gray first met and despite his goofy manner was a very proficient warrior. He had told the samurai two weaknesses normally displayed by spear wielders; they either relied on the length of their weapon too much or they were too cautious about letting their opponents get close. From the way his opponent was using his spear, Gray guessed he was in the former category rather than the latter. That meant all he had to do was wait for the lancer to overextend and he could attack.

Then the attack came, his opponent stepped back and then thrust the spear as fast as Gray figured he could. While the attack was very fast it was also very predictable. The samurai spun, the point missing him by an inch. Using the momentum of the swing, he brought his first sword down on the shaft of the spear, cutting clean through it. Using the surprise he no doubt gain, the samurai whirled around and brought his other sword to bear, thrusting it towards the lancer’s open visor. His opponent, still dumbfounded by the turn of events, could not lift his shield in time to block the attack. Gray’s blade rammed into his eye and he watched the enemy combatant fall to the ground in a heap.

He turned to see Syn and Hale still engaged with their opponents. Whatever thoughts of helping them that had crossed his mind were dashed to the winds and four new pirates swung in and charged directly at him. While nowhere near as skilled as the man he just fought, from what he could gather from the sloppy way they held their weapons, they were still going to be hassle.

Another day, another bunch of idiots that wanted to die.

[Vulion]

I know I have a triple post, but it was neccesary for my writing.

Spoiler

Show

PART 2

******

Syn jumped back and threw a shuriken at ninja charging her. He deftly swatted it aside with one of his swords before swinging the other at her head. She threw her Zorlin Shape dagger up to block the attack and then jumped back a few more feet, trying to gain some distance but no matter what she tried she was constantly on the defensive. She had no time to think, no time to get an idea of any type of pattern the ninja had, and it was all she could do just to stay alive.

“Well, aren’t I the lucky one!” He suddenly exclaimed as he thrust his blade at her face, which she batted away with the flat end of her blade. “I get me a fighter with a great set of tits!”

Syn suddenly felt very sick and she knew it was not from the sea sickness, of all the ninja in the world, she got a mouthy pervert. Fan-****ing-tastic.

“Hey I have an idea!” He said as he blocked a pair of shuriken. “I you flash me, I’ll let you live!”

Syn could not believe she was being beaten back by a guy who fought using his **** instead of his brain. With renewed resolve, she attacked, her two daggers slashing at the ninja with renewed vigor and a bit of anger. The ninja seemingly quacked under her furious assault, falling back as his swords worked to keep her daggers at bay. The small bit of elation she let herself feel was quickly replaced with a new wave of frustration; no matter how furious her assault, she could not break the ninja’s defense. Then reality hit her, the pervert had let this happen, knowing that she could not break his defense and that such an assault would no doubt tire her.

Okay, so this guy was a clever, mouthy pervert.

“Ah, I do love the strong, silent type. They scream the most in bed.” He chuckled at his own joke.

Syn made a solemn vow that day; she swore to Ajora, that by the end of the fight she would set this man’s crotch on fire. Now it was just trying to find a method of doing so.

Ducking under the swing of one of his swords, Syn was forced to spin slightly to avoid being stabbed by the other. Standing quickly and struggling to maintain her balance, she once again tried to put some distance between them but the ninja was always close on her heels, his blades getting way too close for comfort.

“Heh, this pathetic!” She heard him say mockingly. “You just give up! You can’t beat me in a straight fight!”

The arrogant finality he used in his tone dug under her skin and she was about to scream a retort back at him but a realization hit her. He was right, she wasn’t made for straight up fighting; she was made getting in and getting out with what she wanted. A small smile played across her face and she sheathed one of her daggers and flexed the fingers of her free hand.

“What the hell are you doin’?” The ninja asked with narrowed eyes.

Perfect, she had thrown him off balance. He was used to being in control of a fight, both physically and mentally, the fact that he suddenly lost control no doubt put him on edge. She merely stood and waited with her Main Gauche in front of her. He growled and renewed his attacks, unaware of the fact that Syn had been taught extensively by both Hale and Gray in the weapon guard technique. Combined with her natural speed and dexterity, she was an impenetrable wall.

Apparently not one to be showed up, the ninja increased the speed of his attacks twofold but it was all for nothing. The first rule of being a thief is to avoid, whether it be a blade or simply being caught with your hand in someone’s pocket. The second rule, ALWAYS get what you want and from what she saw her opportunity was about to present itself. Though the ninja tried to hide it, he was getting tired.

Finally he slipped up, he made a very sloppy thrust and Syn capitalized on it. Her hand shot out and where the ninja once held a blade now all he had a hold of was empty air. He stared at his empty for a moment before he saw Syn flinging his own sword back at him, he barely dodged the attack and the action had thrown him off balance. He began to recover but by that time the thief already had a hand in her pouch, digging for a fire ball.

Time to fulfill her vow.

Whipping her hand forward, the ball flew straight and true, striking the perverted ninja in the crotch. While she guessed the initial pain was no doubt painful, from the screaming she assumed that having genitalia on fire was far worse. Syn watched the unfortunate man try to put out the fire and when he realized it was futile he made beeline for the deck railing. No doubt trying to put out the fires eating away at his loins but he never got the chance, as soon as he was within arm’s reach, her hand shot out and the dagger in her hand cut into his throat. He continued to stumble forward before hitting the deck railing and falling over into the water.

She hated to admit but that was very satisfying. Shaking her head free of such thoughts, she looked around the deck trying to gain an idea of how the battle was faring for them. A lot more crew members stood on the deck than pirates, which was good. The thief saw Gray dispatch an unfortunate knight with a deadly slash across the chest. Turning towards the stern, Syn saw Hale knocking the monk he had been fighting down to the ground and raising his sword for the fatal strike. Except the attack never came, instead she heard a gunshot and watched as Hale’s sword shattered into pieces above his head.

Her eyes bolted to the deck of the other ship and she was a mediator, reloading her gun. Straining her eyes she was that the mediator was a female and the way she handled that gun meant she was very experienced with the weapon. Then Syn saw her face and was completely overcome with shock.

“Maya…” was all that she could whisper.

******

Hale hit the floor hard as his feet were kicked out from underneath him, his opponent now at a much greater advantage with the destruction of his sword. The monk kicked him in the stomach and despite the breastplate protecting him, he felt the attack. After an entire being beaten down by Hale, the monk seemed to be reveling in the idea of beating him to a pulp and as far as the fight was going that seemed to be more and more likely what was going to happen. If only he had a chance to get up, he could make the fight a lot more even.

A yell coming from his left drew the attention of both the dark knight and his opponent. He recognized the voice as Gray and he watched the red armored samurai charge across the bloody deck, his swords held high. It was a strategy that had worked before, not many would be willing to stand in front of a screaming lunatic with a pair of swords. The distraction gave Hale the opportunity to roll to his feet, thankfully his armor was light enough to avoid hampering his task.

He was about throw a punch at the unprepared monk when another gunshot ran out and he heard shattering metal. Turning in Gray’s direction, he saw the samurai crouched behind the starboard deck railing, the broken hilt of his Murasame blade in his hand.

A punch to the side of his helmet alerted Hale that he had spent too much time dwelling on Gray’s misfortunes and not enough time on his own. The next punch came quickly, and the dark knight was barely able to block it. Thankfully he still had his monk training to fall back on, but he knew that it would not be enough to defeat his opponent.

The monk grabbed his arm as Hale tried to throw a punch and with his free arm punched him in the chest no less the six times at impossible speeds. The dark knight new the technique, Repeat Fist, he himself had used it a number of times in the past but this was the first time he had been on the receiving end. He now knew how his many enemies felt.

Another punch was thrown at his head, but he dodged this one and pulled the monk along with him. His opponent now thrown off balance, Hale sent an uppercut at his chin, the strike causing him to let go of the dark knight’s arm. Finally free of the grip, he looked around for a sword but found none on the deck close to him. Finally he spotted one at the top of a flight of stairs that lead to the stern deck, a sword that Vulion was standing next to. He watched the mage finish casting a Ice spell before calling to him.

“Hey, Vul! Throw me that sword!”

Vulion looked down at his feet and grabbed the sword with both hands, he reared back to throw the weapon but it slipped out of his hand near the end of the motion and flew backwards into the ocean. Hale stared at his friend for a moment in disbelief.

“That was worst throw ever, Vul!” Hale yelled in utter frustration, unable to comprehend what just happened.

“Sorry!” Vulion apologized over the sounds of the ever persistent battle.

“Of all time, Vul, that was the worst throw of all ****ing time!”

“Well, screw yo—watch out!”

Hale turned just in time to avoid a kick and once again he was on the defensive, unable to land a punch while the monk kept landing surprisingly powerful blows. As much as he hated to admit, he was not going to win this fight without his sword. He scanned the rest of the deck for a suitable replacement for his destroyed sword, narrowly avoiding the various kicks and punches from his opponent. Then he finally found one, sitting on the ground next to what appeared to be a transfixed Syn.

“Syn!”

The thief jumped at the mention of her name, apparently so mesmerized by something on the other ship she had blocked out everything else.

“Syn, throw me that sword!” Hale cried out, hoping she would hear him.

Syn obviously got the message; diving past a vicious knife fight, she grabbed the sword and rolled into a stand position. She reared back and threw the sword with all her might, at least that was what Hale guessed, seeing how fast the blade was whirling at him. Too fast to catch, just fast enough to run him threw. Both he and the monk jumped back slightly as blade flew between them and embedded itself in the hull of the pirate ship. They both turned to look at Syn; she in turn just scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

The sound of ice crashing onto the deck of the pirate ship broke Hale out of his surprised stupor and once again he began trading blows with the monk. He wondered just how long he could last against his opponent when a sword landed in between them. Hale looked at the Monk, the monk looked at Hale. The monk dived for the sword; Hale punched the monk in the face. Hale watched the monk stumble backwards and picked his sword.

From behind his helmet, the dark knight licked his lips. He focused on his blade, letting the dark energies welled up within flow into the blade. The monk tried to charge in an attempt to disrupt his attack, but it was far too late.

“Abyssal blade!” Hale screamed and slashed the air.

Not even a moment later, the monk was consumed by a red spike of energy. His opponent screamed his last scream and dropped to the floor while a wave of energy flowed into Hale, reinvigorating him. Letting out a deep breath, he looked around the deck. The battle on the Alexander was all but over, the pirates being beaten back toward their ship. He wondered if they should simply let the ship go and try to make a break for the sea or bring the battle to their decks.

Gray made the decision for them, swinging by and landing gracefully on the enemy ship. Hale looked at Syn and she shrugged and ran for a rope. Within moments, Hale, Syn and a dozen members of the Alexander crew were leading the charge towards the pirates.

******

Miyuki sighed in relief as she watched Hale defeated the monk, and then chuckled to herself as she watched Gray, Syn and Hale lead the charge against the pirates. Those pirates were in for it now. Turning to Vulion she gave him a thumbs up, but the wizard merely turned away.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, worried about his silence.

“I don’t want to talk about…” He abruptly said, not facing her.

“Are you hurt?”

“I don’t want to talk about…” He said a bit more loudly.

“Well, what up your…wait…” Miyuki suddenly retreated into the back of her mind as realization suddenly struck her. She had thrown the sword to Hale and did not mess it up. “Are you…angry that I threw the sword better than you?”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” He whimpered.

“Oh Vul, it doesn’t make you any less of a man.”

“Yes, it does!” She heard Hale scream from the other ship. “That was a very ****ty throw, Vul!”

How the dark knight was able to hear their conversation from across a ship with a rather large battle was beyond Miyuki but she ignored it. They needed Vulion throwing spells at the enemy summoner, not being overwhelmed by emasculating depression.

Any further thought on the subject was thrown from her mind as she was pulled away from stern deck railing she was leaning against by Kyle. She was about to question him when she saw a part of the railing twist and turn before collapsing into itself. A demi spell, the Dancer quickly thought as she scanned the enemy stern deck. The summoner stood with his arm outstretched, a snarl on his face as he watched her. The look on his face was quickly replaced by surprise as a rather large chunk of ice smashed into him.

She turned to Vulion, who stood with his back to her with both his arms outstretched. Breathing a sigh of relief, she detached herself from Kyle. Her relief became short lived as another figure on the pirate ship rushed toward the injured summoner. She shoved a bottle in his mouth and already the magician was starting to get to his feet, no doubt marking her as a chemist. Vulion was already starting to cast another spell.

Then the gunshot rang out. Miyuki saw the chemist hold her smoking gun with a grim smile and then she heard a body hit the floor. Dread welling up within her, she turned to see Vulion on the floor blood seeping on the deck from a wound on his shoulder he was clutching. In corner of her eye she saw Kyle ready an arrow when another shot was heard, striking near the archer’s feet. He was thrown off guard and off balance; he stumbled backwards and fell through the gap in the railing onto the deck below.

Cursing the chemist under her breath, Miyuki began to move toward Vulion, when a bullet struck the ground by her feet. She jumped back and turned to see the chemist standing on her ships railing, the same smile on her face aiming the gun at her. The shot never came however, as the chemist was struck by a horizontal bolt of lightning, flinging her from the ship and into the waters. If the initial hit did not kill the chemist, no doubt the water would. Miyuki let out the breath she did not know she was holding and turned to her black mage friend, who was currently chanting another spell from the ground, this one probably with the summoner as the target.

A creature appeared out of nowhere in the sky above her and for a moment the dancer thought that they were about to assaulted by another of the summoner’s monsters. The attack never came and instead of some sort of flaming monster she saw an almost cute lizard like creature with a large ruby on its head float by the summoner before disappearing. Wondering just what that summon was supposed to do, if anything, Miyuki heard Vulion complete his spell.

She watched the ice fly at the summoner, sure that this was going to be the last attack. Like everyone she was of course shocked when the attack not only stopped inched from the summoner’s face but flew back at them. Rolling to the side, she nearly fell to the deck below them as the ice smashed into the helm. Shaking her head as she got to her knees, she quickly turned to her head towards the summoner who was already in the midst of another spell. She knew she would not be able to cast her own before he completed his and she knew that Vulion would not be able to survive another attack.

She knew what she had to do.

She jumped to her feet and dashed to Vulion. She launched herself upon him just as a giant fire demon appeared again. Tucking the black mage underneath her as much as possible, Miyuki braced herself for the attack.

“Miyuki…get out of here…” Vulion yelled in a very strained voice.

“Vulion, shut the hell up and let me save you.” She screamed back, not wanting any arguments from her friend.

Then the attack came, she did not look up but felt as the monster came closer to her. The heat was unbearable at first but then it became unfathomable painful, even with shell spell she had cast earlier. She screamed as her back was seared by the flames and clutched tightly to Vulion as she began to blackout from the pain. Then the flames ceased and she let out a pain groaned, unwilling to move in order to stop the pain from surging anymore.

“You should have run…” She heard Vulion say.

“You’re welcome…” She hissed through her teeth.

“Thanks…Miyu…”

“I don’t think I’m gonna survive the next summon…”

“Me neither…”

They shared a chuckled and Miyuki closed her eyes, waiting for the next attack to come but after several excruciating seconds no attack came. Opening her eyes and turning around despite the pain, she saw the summoner on his knees, his eyes bulging as he held onto the arrow currently sticking out of his throat. He gurgled up blood and finally fell to the ground.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to her savior. Kyle slowly limped towards her, with a concerned look on his face as he kneeled down to her.

“You and your friend alright, Angel?” He asked.

“Angel?” Vulion said, muffled slightly.

Realizing that she was still on top of the black mage, she carefully slid off him for the sake of his pain as well as hers. The trio lay there for a moment before Kyle piped up.

“Don’t suppose you ‘ave any a that healin’ magic mojo left, Angel?”

Miyuki could not help but laugh at the simplistic manner in which Kyle described her magic. If only it was as easy a “healin’ magic mojo”. Slowly sitting up, she ran a hand through her hair, which she suddenly noticed was a lot short than before. The long locks that had flowed from her neck down to the small of her back were gone, though most of the hair on top of her head was relatively intact. She sighed, she wanted to try a short look anyway.

“Alright guys, let’s see if I can muster up some mojo.”

******

Gray blocked a rather sloppy blow of a pirate, before grabbing the man in the back of the neck and pushing him over the ship railing angrily. He was going to find the son of a bitch that destroyed his master’s sword and then he was going rip the unfortunate bastard limb from limb. He watched Hale, Syn and the Alexander crew make short work of the remaining pirates but he still could not find a person with a gun. While he saw a chemist with a gun get blasted off the ship earlier, but knew that was not the person he was looking for.

He did not know how he knew, he just did. It was just a feeling.
As he scoured the deck he remembered what his master told him when he was granted the Masamune sword. His master had told him that eventually he would lose the blade but in return he would gain something much greater. He wanted to trust his master’s judgment but that was also the point in his life where he called Gray, Malory and started to put his socks in the vegetable crisper. So he vowed to forever to protect the sword of the man that was the closest thing to a parent he ever had and now some pirate jackass blew it apart.

What the hell was he supposed to find that was better than the Masamune blade on ship full of guys that probably have not even seen a bar of soap for the last three years. A gunshot roared in the air and Gray whirled around to see an Alexander crew member fall to the ground with a gaping hole in his head. Then he saw her. If she had not been an enemy he would have found her to be attractive, very attractive indeed, very, very, surprisingly attractive. He shook his head free of his thoughts and look at her again just as she slipped another bullet into the guns chamber. The mediator stood on the stairs as she fired, no doubt wanting to know why the barrage of summons from her summoner had stopped.

He suddenly became very aware of how well she held herself, like an experienced, lean tigress ready to pounce at any moment and from what he gathered from the slit in her dress she had a very nice pair of legs. He blinked as he once again fought he his balls for control of his own senses. This was the bitch that destroyed his master’s sword, and she was going to pay. He charged her just as she fired again, no doubt the person at the end of her sight now lay dead. He had a sparse few seconds as she reloaded and aimed her gun again. Those seconds were all he needed to cut her down.

He closed the distance between them rather quickly, swinging his sword in a wide arc that would slice her in half, that is if she had not jumped to the steps behind her. She brought her gun to bear, but Gray used the forward momentum of his swing to grab the barrel and lift it up as she fired the gun, the bullet grazing the top of his helmet. He hissed as the heat of the barrel singed the skin on his palm, but that pain became secondary as his nose broke under the force of the mediator’s foot.

Though he fell back, he did not release the hold he had on the gun, pulling the mediator down with him. She fell right on top of his, straddling his waist. Whatever joy he got out of the position was quickly quashed as she struck his left wrist with a hard punch, making him lose his grip on the gun. She rolled off him and went about reloading her gun; Gray jumped to his feet and swung his sword at her. The blade struck the barrel of gun and dug almost all of the way through. In a rare loss of composure, he let a smirk grace his lips, feeling a certain satisfaction in defeating the woman that destroyed her master’s sword.

“Titty sprinkles!” She screamed.

Gray was taken aback by the sudden scream and the subject matter thereof, but almost immediately realized his mistake. It was elbow in the eyes that told the samurai that the scream was a well conceived distraction. By Ajora he hated how mediator’s fought sometimes.

Shaking his head quickly to remove the stars that floated in front of his eyes, he watched the mediator disappear below deck. Spitting on the ground, he growled and gave chase; she was not going to get away from him after all the crap he just went through.

Jumping down the stairs that lead below deck, he gracefully landed on the floor and looked around, large crates made a path to single door and he did not have to guess which way she went. He cautiously moved forward, his blade out in front of him. Something was wrong; he could feel it in his gut and from what Hale told him, his gut was usually right.

Then he heard it, shuffling from above him. He whirled around, swinging his sword over his head in a large vertical arc, missing the ceiling by centimeters. The blade was brought down on the barrel of a gun, this time he brought the gun down to the ground with his blade. He looked up and expected to see his opponent, unarmed and helpless only to find the barrel of a gun pointed in his face. She let go of the gun that was on his sword and slowly stepped back.

“Take your hand off the hilt…slowly.” She said, in a voice that was both commanding and vaguely flirtatious.

He complied and slowly stepped back from his weapon, his hands in the air.

“…Huh…take off your helmet.” She once again commanded, though tone was not as harsh. “Push it back off of your head.”

Once again, he complied, undoing the strap under his jaw. Slowly he pushed it back, revealing his sweat soaked hair, before it finally fell behind him. He heard her chuckle and looked into her eyes, surprised to find a trace of mirth there.

“Well aren’t you as cute one…” She cooed, her gun stilled aimed at the spot between his eyes.

Gray stood silently, gauging the situation and secretly admiring her face. From the way she handled that weapon, he doubted he would survive the next five seconds if he tried anything.

“The strong, silent type, eh?”

She let herself chuckle but her eyes never left him, though they sometimes glided to certain parts of his face.

“Well, do you mind me askin’ one little thing?”

Gray merely continued to stand in silence, but gave no overt signs of refusing her request.

“It’s simply curiosity really. Why dya come after me?” She started her smile leaving her face, replaced by a questioning look. “I mean there were plenty a crew members comin’ afta’ me but you seemed…really fixed on getting’ me. Why?”

Deciding it was better to keep the mediator talking to add sand to the hourglass of his life, he looked directly into her eyes.

“You destroyed my master’s sword.”

“Well, I can guess from your tone, this masta’ of yours was important to you…perhaps the parent you never had?”

Gray narrowed his eyes at her, which she seemed to have expected to happen.

“Gotcha.” She whispered pointing at him with her free hands index finger, her smile growing. “I can guess from the way your very straight back, you’re a guy how takes pride in his swordsmanship.”

The samurai decided in that moment he did not like people who could read him like a book, especially enemy fighters who had barely talked to. No matter how attractive they were when they smiled. Suddenly all traces of emotion left her face and Gray found it very disturbing that he could not read anything from her.

“Normally, I’d let you go on account of you being so cute, but then again you and your pals killed Higgins and the rest of my friend’s…I don’t think I can just let that go.”

The gun suddenly moved to aim at another portion of his body, specifically his right arm.

“I know guys like you, you’d ratha’ die then be maimed.” She started her eyes still blank. “Couldn’t live a life as a helpless begga’. Maybe that’s what I should do to you, make you pay for all that you’ve done to me friends.”

She took a step forward, the gun returning to aim between his eyes and the smile slowly returning to her face. He wondered if she was actually going to do what she said, but he could not for the life of him read the woman.

“But then again, you’re just so damn cute…”

A crash was heard from above and a pirate rolled down the stairs. Footsteps roared from behind him, probably Hale and the others following him down below deck. Now the only question that remained was what were they going to find here. A dead Gray or a living one with a gun in his face?

“Well, looks like it’s time we say bye, love.” She said, a bit of disappointment in her voice.

A blue light started to spring up around her as she pulled the trigger. A flash of light blinded him and the gunshot deafened him and as the samurai fell backwards he wondered if this was what dying felt like. Hitting the ground hard, he lay motionless for a moment as his senses returned to him. The first thing he felt was a burning line on his left cheek. Then his sight came back to him, his vision filled with the four most familiar faces in his life. Then his hearing returned but god he wished it had not. The cycle of people bombarded him with questions, turning the pounding headache he had into a full blown migraine.

A wave of bright green light washed over him and he began to feel a lot better. He held up his hand to silence his comrades before standing to his feet slowly.

“I’m alright…” Was all he said as he picked up his helmet. Syn stepped in front of him.

“Gray, the girl you chased here, where is she?” Syn said, perhaps a bit too forcibly for the samurai’s taste but the look in her eyes spoke volumes. Syn knew the mediator in some.

“She teleported.”

Syn narrowed her eyes and slowly stood up, letting Miyuki, who Gray noticed now sported a much shorter haircut, kneel next to him.

“Whew, lucky she missed you!” The dancer exclaimed, with a bright smile on her face. She began to chant what he recognized as a healing spell.

“She didn’t miss.” Gray stated simply, causing Miyuki stop her incantation.

“What makes you say that?” She asked. Gray just turned his head to the side.

“Just a feeling.”

******

Vulion looked up at the full moon shining overhead, letting out a deep breath before looking down at the churning sea water. He turned around to observe the rest of his party. Miyuki and her friend, Kyle stood in a darkened corner silently talking. The black mage smiled to himself, leave it Miyu to find a guy in the middle of battle. Not mention the object of her affection had an easy ride going as far as approval went, he did save both him and Miyuki.

His eyes glided over to Hale, lying on the ground with his hands behind his unusually bare brown haired head. Vulion guessed he was stargazing or simply relaxing in his own way. He did not know and as long as the dark knight was not complaining about his throwing ability, he was content.

He cast a worried look over at Syn, who sat crossed legged with her back to the deck railing opposite him. Vulion did not understand what was going on, but the encounter with pirates had sent the normally cheery thief into the back of her mind. She was struggling with something, but Vulion was willing to wait until she was ready to speak to press the issue.

To his immediate right, Gray leaned against the railing his usual blank face replaced by a scowl that symbolized intense thought in the samurai.

“Well this job certainly went to crap…” Vulion commented offhandedly, hoping to start a conversation with his dour companion.

“It’s just starting.” Gray flatly responded.

“What do you mean?” Vulion asked, an eyebrow raised at the fact he got such a fast response. Usually getting gray to respond to him was a process not unlike diving into freezing water in ones underwear: stupid, dangerous and with no real reward for the effort.

“These guys were professional’s…not just random pirates…” The samurai started, his eyes closed. “I have a feeling the port-a-potty is about to hit windmill during a hurricane.”

“That was very long, detail and disgusting analogy…but I think your right.”

“No, no, no, no!” Hale screamed as he jumped to his feet and ran to them like a man possessed. “Do not agree with him!”

“But his feelings are usually right…” Vulion said, a bit confused by the turn of events.

“Exatly!” Hale screamed pointing at him, looking half insane. “Don’t give them credibility!”

“You might want to move, Hale.” Gray suddenly said out of the blue, smiling a bit as the dark knight turned to him. “Just a feeling.”

No less the four seconds after the words left Gray’s lips, Hale’s shoulder was splattered by a white substance that Vulion guessed was bird crap. The dark knight lowered his head in defeat and walked away.

“Damn, you've got ESP or something.” The black mage said, whistling afterwards. “Ever try to gamble with these ‘feelings’?”

“Never could get a partner to do it with me, Hale obviously has apathy for them.”

“Wanna team up with me, you take sixty, I take forty?”

“Seventy-thirty and you got a deal.”

“Done.”

He pounded his fist into Gray and smiled. Things were partially back to normal.

THE END…once again, for now.

[Fay Graydon]

Draw my power ranger for no apparent reason please
and if you want a challenge.....
Have him fighting Diskord

[Tiffanie Lirle]

@Ff tactics story
Ff tactics is a great game, the original ps1 version anyways. Which I still play, alot.

But anywho

Day-am that was a long read, not bad though. I gotta say I was caught off guard when your name appeared in the story, made me do a double take.

Biggest gripe would be that during the battle there were so many different things going on I lost track and had to go back a few times to figure it out.

Ff tactics character gripes V

Spoiler

Show

No mediator is that good, ok? Mediators suck. You use them to tame monsters or raise brave / faith. That's it. No mediator is that good.

Also, I was disappointed with the lancer being so easily beaten. (Of course, lancer being my favorite job I might be somewhat biased.) But seriously, he could have whipped that pansy samurai if he had used his jumps more instead of basic attacks.

I did like how the monk fought though, except for the whole losing thing. You're killing every job that I like and letting the crap ones live. I mean Samurai? Really? Who the hell takes a samurai?!

Of course, those are just my opinions.

[Vulion]

@Ff tactics story
Ff tactics is a great game, the original ps1 version anyways. Which I still play, alot.

But anywho

Day-am that was a long read, not bad though. I gotta say I was caught off guard when your name appeared in the story, made me do a double take.

Biggest gripe would be that during the battle there were so many different things going on I lost track and had to go back a few times to figure it out.

Ff tactics character gripes V

Spoiler

Show

No mediator is that good, ok? Mediators suck. You use them to tame monsters or raise brave / faith. That's it. No mediator is that good.

Also, I was disappointed with the lancer being so easily beaten. (Of course, lancer being my favorite job I might be somewhat biased.) But seriously, he could have whipped that pansy samurai if he had used his jumps more instead of basic attacks.

I did like how the monk fought though, except for the whole losing thing. You're killing every job that I like and letting the crap ones live. I mean Samurai? Really? Who the hell takes a samurai?!

Of course, those are just my opinions.

So you're saying make my writing less clustered with actions, perhaps?

Spoiler

Show

Heh heh, well, the characters actual abilities weren't based off of their classes. I tried to portray them a bit more realistically, with the person using the skills is what matters, not the skills themselves.

Ah crap, I sound like an after school special.

I love the Lancer, Monk and Ninja too! That's why I chose them as hard enemies, not just toss three Knights and call it a day.

Mediator I chose cause I wanted a class that uses guns and I imagined the character of Maya as very smart person with a silver tongue. The statistics didn't matter to me so much as the story. Though, they do really suck.

How the fight between the theif and the ninja?

[Tiffanie Lirle]

How the fight between the theif and the ninja?

Too many things going on, her thoughts, the ninja's chatter, etc, it all takes away from the action a ninja vs thief with jp invested into the ninja job fight is supposed to have.

Speaking of action, she's is a thief, she could have just used her charm ability to convert said ninja.

Edit- Sheesh, the sites lagging pretty badly tonight.

[memnarch]

Story was interesting, if a bit long.


And the drawings from before; ARM MOVEMENT! We're an eighth of the way to an action drawing!!!!