Skyracy [IC]

[Elƒie]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]"Get the engines going faster. We need to dock. Now." [/background][/size][/font][/color]Before the Captain could finish his sentence, Hino had looked out at the distance and noticed the dark storm clouds, [color=#008080]"Not good.." [/color]Pulling her head through the window and rushing to the engines, she began to pull levers, enabling the engines to go into full gear. All they needed to do that was steam and that was above deck. Running up the stairs, 3 at a time, she made quick work of getting up to the deck and getting to the steam furnace. Opening the door to the fire and bracing the heat that practically erupted out, she locked the door open before she grabbed a shovel and began to shovel coals into the fire, the heat intensifying as the engines roared at the rush of steam it received.

As the winds kicked up, Hino would have been surely swept off due to her small size if she hadn't had enhanced the gravitational pull of her leg, 'This isn't good! If we don't get to island in time, we'll be doomed! I doubt the ship will make it, but if we don't get close enough, neither will we!' She gritted her teeth as determination filled her eyes. As Elico roared out for more speed, Hino already kicked up the speed of her shoveling, but with the wind, not a lot was making it into the door. Grabbing two buckets, Hino began to fill them up as she yelled out for assistance, [color=#008080]"Someone! Grab these buckets and help me-"[/color] Before Hino could finish her sentence, the tornado began to consume the ship.

With the rapid increase of the wind, her body was lifted up and slammed into the wall behind her, a yelp of pain leaving her mouth, but the noise was drowned out from the wind. Despite the strong winds pressing against her, she managed to roll herself to the right, barely avoiding a chunk of wood that would have surely impaled her. Her safety was short lived as the wood took out a good chunk of the wall she was on, causing her to get sucked into the hole that lead into the captain's quarters. Reaching out, she grabbed onto a support beam and held on for dear life. A piece of a pole, one of the sailing poles she assumed, came crashing through and took out the support beams on the room and sent her flying into the darkness of the tornado......

[hr]
Some time had passed before Hino regained her consciousness, her luck had paid out as she had some how lived through the tornado. Letting out a groan as she slowly opened her eyes, the soreness and pain her body was in started to register in her mind. She looked around a little, seeing nothing but darkness with a sliver of light working its way in from somewhere. As she fully woke, she felt the weight of wood piled on top of her. Bracing her hands and knees against the ground, she pushed back with all the might she had left and emerged from the pile with a struggle. Catching her breath, she pulled herself out of the pile and began to walk, only to fall to the ground as she tried to take a step with her left leg. Sighing, she began to examine her left leg and steam pack. After a few minutes, she came to the conclusion that her only problem was that her leg was locked up due to something within having gotten loose/damaged. Rubbing the bridged of her nose before she got up, she attempted to walk once more, having a large gimp as she slowly got used to walking with her locked up leg.

After a few minutes of walking, Hino came across the main wreckage of the ship as she let out as gasp, wondering if anyone made it through as she dropped down to her knees. A few seconds later, Elico emerged from the wreckage. [color=#008080]"E-Elico?!"[/color] Hino yelled out as she struggled to get back up on her feet, her bruised and soaked-to-the-bone body getting a small second wind after seeing someone else coming out of this ordeal alive. Before she could reach her Captain, though, a stranger emerged: a fellow Skyrate...

[Thar]

Ever since Elico left her side during introductions, Jackie had her shoulders leaning on the inner edge of the rail, slouching as though she had been sailing for weeks. A moment of casual strolling around the ship soon led her to notice a storm on the horizon.

[i]"Tornado!"[/i]

"I saw it first!" Jackie yelled, waving her hand up like a show-off first grader and jumping while still eyeing the twister brewing from a distance. At this point she was groping her collar to prevent her suit from blowing off and exposing her. She could hear the captain yelling 'More speed!' as well as seeing Hino rushing up on deck to check the steam fur-whatever but all the same was desperate to get more speed to bypass the cyclone.

Just as she had become visible from the doorway to the engine room, Jackie gasped as she saw Hino being lifted from the ship like a puppet on strings and slammed into the wall behind her, the wall that seemingly lead to the captain's quarters. Whatever the room was, it was a hard, wooden wall nonetheless and the impact looked painful from what Jackie heard from Hino's grunt. It was a hard sight for Jackie to handle, but she looked around for any possible way to prevent her from going overboard.

The thought was followed by Hino crashing through the wall into the quarters. Jackie ran towards her in attempts to grab her hand and pull her back up, but where she was holding on was too much of a risk. The support beams seemed strong enough to hold the force being applied from her pull against the wind, but with a ship like this, promises weren't much of an excuse.

Jackie climbed the ladder onto the top of the quarters and looked over the edge; not too intimidating of a swing, she thought as she took hold of one of the ropes from the back mast, but she saw a sailing pole break off and come crashing into where Hino was holding, and Jackie did not hesitate to cut off the rope and swing around the rear of the ship, catching Hino in midair while coming up around the other end to run a gut into the rail, dropping Hino on deck with the same momentum. Grunting, Jackie struggled to crawl over the rail with the wind attempting to throw her overboard, holding on for dear life while hoping Hino was doing the same.

[.:Blu:.]

"And just when I started to get along with them..." a masculine voice uttered jokingly but with a slight hint of genuine melancholy.

The voice came from a tall figure who is adorned with a brilliant blue coat albeit a tad dirtied and disheveled. He stood in front of what appears to be the wreckage site of a Sky Ship. Two lifeless bodies could be seen pinned underneath the wooden rubble, and there might even possibly be a third due to the sight of an arm protruding out from another part of the wrecked vessel; no doubt they were crushed during the violent crash landing that must've occurred. The man stood there observing the wreckage. His comment was most likely directed to the deceased crew now buried under piles upon piles of wood and metal. The metal-framed soles of his brown boots were dug firmly into the moist ground; he seemed so immovable, as if nothing can budge him from that spot besides himself. Was he apart of the crew? The answer is yes, or maybe more appropriately, was.

They were a crew of Skyrates in search of the fabled Helle'i'rokko - a legendary Sky Ship said to be lost at sea. Their venture in search of the spectacular vessel was, unfortunately, brought to an abrupt end due to an encounter with a fearsome tornado. Shockingly, the end of their quest happened mere moments ago or so it seems the case to the stoic man. One could easily lose all sense of time when they're unconscious. He hadn't expected his efforts to preserve his own life to bare such remarkable fruit. Alas that ended up being the case: his former crew is dead, and he is alive. Whether it was luck, skill, or the work of a higher force, it doesn't seem to matter much to him. He wanted to focus on the situation he is in now. "Maybe if you would've let me flown the ship then we wouldn't be in this predicament." the man said before letting out a single chuckle.

Suddenly, something wet was on his left cheek. Without hesitation, though his motion was slow, he wiped whatever it was off onto the palm of his right hand. Was he crying despite his attempts of "laughing off" the event that had transpired? No, it wasn't tears. 'Tis but a rain droplet from the stormy clouds above that had embraced his face. "I bid you farewell, comrades..." was the last thing the man said before he headed deeper into the floating rock that is Flapper Skyland. Not long after, the man stumbled upon a clearing with what seems to be an interesting and surprising scene being played out within. Further in front of him was another wreckage site, but the thing that interested him more was the fact that there were Skyrates present - live ones. "(I don't recall hallucinations happening this early to me before.)" the man joked in his head though his expression remained calm and collected.

There are three other Skyrates present; all of them were way ahead of him and so he was allowed the opportunity to observe the three before making the decision of greeting them or not. For all he knows, they could all enjoy committing the acts of stealing and murder. Not that he isn't capable of defending himself, after all he is carrying a sword, but it would be bothersome if a conflict were to happen. He approached the clearing with the utmost caution. He took cover behind the trees that were available to him as he made his way closer to the three strangers. Finally nearing them, he hid behind the closest tree to the clearing and proceeded to spy on the three of them.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#000000]As far as Casey Osceola had now come to believe, searching for the legendary "Helle'i'rokko" was a mistake. At first, she had a vivid zeal in finding this legendary Skyrate ship that was supposed to be "lost at sea" as it were, even more than the others in her crew. Finding it meant that Casey could [i]finally[/i] disband the vast majority of her crew, although she'd probably have to keep Seria Blackmoore as the mechanic, and pilot her very own Skyrate ship. She [i]knew[/i] [/color][color=#000000]what that would be like.[/color]

[color=#000000]Unfortunately, that all came to an abrupt end the minute the ship that Seria and Casey were on had ventured into Flapper Skyland, and got itself caught up in the violent storm. It may have been anchored down onto a rock, but that wasn't to stop it from being battered and bruised to submission from the hurricane winds. Far [i]from[/i] it. Some of the crew members around Casey were impaled by a rain of splinters from each blow, and others were crushed under the weight of rubble collapsing above them, but Casey was unfortunate enough to have [i]both[/i] happening to her at once, and Seria? She was nowhere to be seen, and if Casey found that her supposed "faithful mechanic" had left her to die in this god forsaken place, she was gonna [i]lose [/i]it. There was nothing she could do beyond that. Casey was pinned down by a support beam that had fallen on her right arm, and what used to be a door frame on her left leg, the latter of which had also been stabbed by a host of splinters that had run up it and all over her body. One had even slammed into the bridge of Casey's nose, in an angle worryingly close to her brain.[/color]

[color=#800080]"That [i]dumbass[/i] pilot..."[/color][color=#000000] Casey muttered hoarsely as she slowly stirred into consciousness, [/color][color=#800080]"What the hell was he [/color][i][color=#800080]thinking[/color] [/i][color=#800080]anchoring this thing to a stupid rock, for?"[/color]

[color=#000000]When she saw the situation she was in, Casey's eyes widened in shock. There was just so much death around her that she was amazed to have survived. True, she was in agonizing pain, but that was a price she would be happy to pay. But as she scanned amongst the corpses of her crew, Seria was nowhere to be seen.[/color]

[color=#800080]"Seria?!"[/color][color=#000000] Casey called in a panicked tone, hoping beyond realism that Seria could hear her, [/color][color=#800080]"SERIIIAAAAAAAAAAA??!! Aww, WHERE THE HELL [i]ARE[/i] YOU??!!"[/color]

[Kyng's Old Account]

Elico's eyes deceived him. Brief moments his eyes shut and the darkness of the sky, in his sight, enveloped his vision in bats of his eyelashes upon their descent with each and every blink. He could hear his heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump. It resonated in his head as he heard the thunder crackle in the distance. A wicked roar indeed, yet as soon as he heard his name called, his glance fell towards that direction. Though himself cut and skin tanned with dirty from the windy encounter, his tattered clothes around him, they did not hinder his walk towards the only surviving member, it seemed, of the crash. That fortunate soul was Hino Tori, the engineer, and a vital member of his crew.

Watching Hino's gaze, before he so much as spoke, his glance met that of a mysterious figure. "A fellow Skyrate..." he slowly muttered as he watched the girl walk up to him. "Yes...yes; I-" Elico was to say, before glancing to Hino, and as he let his hand point to her, he ammended his mistake as to say "-we're Skyrates..."

Elico wasn't sure whether to trust this girl, not one bit, but in all seriousness, his blade was not on his mind now. He was half contemplating whether to ally with this girl, whom based on her weapon was a Heavy Engineer, which may bring conflict with his own trust spanner in Hino; and half contemplating whether, if life on this island was unavoidable, if she'd make a decent meal if they would eventually result to cannibalism. Seria'd probably notice something peculiar based on Elico's eyes hungrily leering up and down her legs. Either perverse lust, or deciding which was juiciest, was up to her.

A quick thought came to him from a careful rustling. He heard something alright, maybe a rabbit? Whatever it was, he knew not. But Elico's thoughts were going somewhat hectic. But, a common recurring theme was one thought he openly articulated.

"What now?"

Of course, cue the scream in the distance. Elico's head turning in said direction, he quickly spoke "I assume that's you then." towards the new mechanic. Swiftly he motioned his head to Hino, and then towards the jungle, silently ordering his unit to follow him swiftly. With that, he made his move into the jungle. It was reasonable to assume Seria would make her move with them, since it was her name called out after all.

Coming into this new clearing in the jungle, littered with deceased crew members, and shattered wood and steel, Elico gasped briefly in horror of the sight, before wincing his eyes closed and sighing, a small sign of grief with all what had happened all because of a simple test flight. Regardless, in an assuring tone, he called out and bellowed "Come out! We're here to help!" in hopes the female's voice would return. No more death, not yet.

"Hino, use that leg of your's and lift some of the heavier debris." Elico ordered his subordinate, glancing to her as he smacked his gloves around. Then his eyes spotted Seria's as he ordered out "Your Wrench looks heavy enough to break timber; let's find her in of this mess."

Elico was, then, soon put to quick pace. Working hard at finding the owner of the voice, he quickly sought higher ground as he continued to act as a beacon, calling her in hopes Casey would spot them, and later group. Survival, now, was essential.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Seria, after catching the gaze that a certain skyrate helmsman was shooting her, got the feeling that maybe she just should not have come to investigate the shipwreck. A hand made its way to grip the massive firearm on her back, just in case it came to violence. She wasn't entirely certain whether that face was one born of hunger or something...baser but she was not going to go down without a fight if either of those were true. The tension of the situation was only growing, and the soft sound coming from the brush nearby had her on edge even more.

It was then that she heard her name called in a familiar voice. A voice she had not heard in a very long time, not since she'd served on a skyrate vessel other than the one whose crew she had buried months ago. As soon as she remembered the source of that voice, she was sprinting through the forest and using her sledge-wrench to great effect in smashing down trees in her way. She didn't care if those from the other wreck were following her, she had a friend that needed her help and that was all that mattered. In a few moments, she emerged onto the sight where another ship, the one she had served on with Casey, was anchored to the ground and faring horrifically against the wind.

"CASEY?!" She cried out, quickly clambering up the side of the ruined vessel and onto the deck. She looked in horror as she found a mess of bodies, broken wood, and twisted steel. She immediately began digging through the rubble in an effort to find the woman whose voice had carried so far in her attempts to get the mechanic's attention. Her hands were protected by the massive leather gauntlets she wore, but her upper arms were quickly covered in a spiderweb of cuts from any number of sources. It was then that she found her friend, pinned in two places by two separate large wooden beams which had fallen on her in what was left of a doorway.

"Casey!" She rushed over and quickly, using her Sledge-Wrench as a lever, lifted first the beam on her arm enough to get her out from under it and then the one upon her leg to do the same. She quickly pulled the girl out into a rare clear spot on the deck. "What're ya doin' here? Hold tight I'll try'n' getcha some help." Before protest could be made, the mechanic vanished into the ship in search of any sort of first aid equipment that could be found. The inner portions of the ship were, well, in every bit as much ruin as the deck and she knew it was going to take some time to find what was necessary. Whatever happened, she was not going to the girl die if she had any say in the matter.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#800080]"Wait, are those...?"[/color][color=#000000] [/color][color=#000000]Casey grimaced as she spotting something in amongst a pool of dried blood; [i]several[/i] things, in fact. What she had found were 4 shavings of her fingernails and another entire one that had been ripped clean off her right hand during the tornado, although she had yet to identify them as such. As Seria dragged her body away to a safe zone on the deck, Casey's fingernails still lay in the pool of blood, arranged identically to the position they were in while they were still resting underneath her hand at the time. Still, could be worse; at least Casey actually still had [i]use [/i]of the fingers of her right hand of she needed to.[/color]

[color=#000000]On top of that, Seria had managed to put her in a safe place, giving Casey the chance to recover her strength. She'd eventually get back up and walk everything off, but her primary concern now was getting rid of those splinters. She started off with the one in the bridge of her nose, planning to work her way down, but as she manoeuvred her right hand to try and pull it out, she screamed at the sight of it, her whole body colouring white with shock.[/color]

[color=#800080]"Oh god..."[/color][color=#000000] Casey gulped as she murmured this in despair, [/color][color=#800080]"How in the hell did I not get [i]hurt[/i] by that?"[/color]

[Elƒie]

Hino stayed quiet through most of meeting of the fellow skyrate, her mind off wondering how badly damaged her leg could be within, 'It if's too sever, I'll have to go with an ordinary prosthetic until I can get the parts.. But the pain..!' She thought about the pain involved with disconnecting and connecting automail, since it dis/connects with the nerves of the body. A shiver went up her spine from the thought of the pain, just before a scream echoed through the air. Quickly turning around (and nearly tripping from her locked up leg), Hino started making her way towards the scream as fast as she could.

The other two were able to easily out run her, since they had two fully functional legs, but that didn't deter Hino. Arriving not [i]too [/i]long after the two did at the clearing, Elico was quick on his thinking that her leg can lift heavy items. He was right on that, Hino had to often rely on her leg to pick up certain parts for machinery, but with the condition of her leg, that wasn't happening anytime soon.[color=#008080] "Uhm.. Elico.. I'm in no condition to be lifting well.. much of anything! I can only bend at the waist.. I'll still look around and holler if I hear anyone or see any kind of movement."[/color] With that, Hino started gimpin' off as she carefully surveyed the areas she walked in, looking for any sign of life. All she saw was death.

Then out of a no where, another scream was let out, not as loud as the last one. However, it still startled Hino, causing her to almost fall over like a fainting goat. After making sure her heart hasn't stopped or something, Hino quickly made her way to where the scream came from. She arrived just in time to see the one Skyrate they meet earlier go into the ship, for supplies she assumed. Not being able to climb the pile, Hino kept her feet on the earth, [color=#008080]"Hey! If you can get down here, I should be able to heal some of your wounds,"[/color] she yelled up to the newest stranger. Hino just nearly forgot about her cleric skills, due to the chaos the tornado has caused, but seeing how damaged the girl was, her cleric instincts came into action. With that said, Hino opened up her arms in case the girl tripped if she made attempts to make her way down to the ground.

[.:Blu:.]

Quietly and attentively, Quince listened to the conversation between the three Skyrates. However, it wasn't much of a conversation; just a mere exchange of a few words. It seems the man and the woman with the automail leg know each other while the other woman is a stranger to them. The fact that the other two haven't attacked the woman carrying the Sledge-Wrench, nor the other way around, may be a good indication that the three of them aren't hostiles and possibly approachable. Quince contemplated approaching the three unfamiliar Skyrates along with all the possible outcomes and consequences of it; it wasn't long before he decided it would be best to greet them considering his situation. But before Quince could come out from his hiding spot, a feminine voice rang out into the air; it seems to have emanated from within the island's jungle.

Not long after, the three Skyrates that Quince was about to approach, headed into the jungle to seek out the owner of that voice. "(It'd be troublesome if I show myself now... I'll just continue watching from afar...)" Quince thought as he watched the three Skyrates disappear into the distance. Quince swiftly followed after; making sure that he kept his distance to refrain from being discovered before he wanted them to. As he watched the three Skyrates, he noticed the woman with the automail leg walking a bit unusually. He quickly came to the conclusion that the automail leg must be damaged, but more importantly, it meant that in case they were hostile, Quince would have one less problem to worry about. By the looks of that huge Sledge-Wrench, Quince assumed the other woman must be an engineer and probably won't prove to be too much trouble for him to handle either.

The only person Quince felt like he should really be cautious of is the man with blonde hair. He must be someone with an authoritative rank if he took charge of the situation so naturally. Plus his weapon is a sword, and in Quince's eyes, those who utilize swords in combat should prove to be at least somewhat powerful. However, from what he has seen so far, there is a high chance that a conflict wouldn't arise if he were to greet them. But now he also has to factor in the female who called out from within the jungle. Only after assessing her and confirming that she won't be a threat will Quince feel a hundred percent safe to make his appearance. Finally, after some time, the three Skyrates arrived at yet another crash site, and just like his own, Quince could see nothing but death everywhere. "(It's surprising that someone may still be alive considering how messy this crash must've been, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprise. After all, I'm alive right? Right...?)" Quince thought, amusingly questioning his own existence for a brief second.

The discovery of the female pinned under some rubble eased Quince because it meant she couldn't be a hostile even if she wanted to. She seems to be bleeding, but from where Quince was hiding, it was hard to tell completely where her injuries are. It's amazing in itself that Quince can see her with that much detail considering how far away he is standing. It's clear that those eyes of his are extremely powerful despite the fact that he requires corrective lenses. "(Still not the right time to approach them...)" Quince thought as he continued his observation.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Elico had decided to try and forget his cock-up regarding Hino's leg. After all, how was he supposed to know it got loc- Never mind; right now, Elico focussed his attention on the task at hand. The ruined vessel now being climbed upon by Seria. She was scrapping right through the junk and scrap that kept her from her friend. Looks like introductions were done, for at least the three of them. Casey would need to be caught back up to speed, obviously, but that could be done at a later time.

Right now, Elico remained with Hino. Seria and Casey, the names he had established from the very loud yelling that were justified of course, seemed to have their issues under control. He could hear their voices should he need to respond, anyway. It seemed they had it handled, for now. Elico, for now, would call up to them as he asked "I take it you shipwrecked here too? Are there any others alive, at least?" A crew would be wise to reassemble, because there was profound strength in numbers, a strength Elico would not so easily surrender out of his grasp.

He was hungry, and had tasted Skyracy first hand. Even though a short while, he had tasted what it was like with a real crew with real heart and soul.

This was why, even though brief, it grieved him to think that Alexander, Jackie, and Tetna were so swiftly torn from his life. Where they were now he knew not. But knowing his father, who's words resonated in his head, Elico knew he had to "Never look back into the past until you can do so smiling." Thus, holding said words to high regard, Elico glanced to Hino and smiled, hoping to raise morale somewhat.

"Since when was I so lucky so as to have a medic-engineer hybrid on my team? No less with a very powerful leg to boot?!" He chuckled, hoping the air would lighten from the effort.

He then returned his gaze up to the mountain-esque hill of scrap as he called up to say "Seria! How bad are her wounds?!" Elico knew, for Hino's sake, it was best to get an idea on what they were dealing with, so as to, in doing so, understand what they were dealing with. Scratching his head in hopes the Mech-Leg Mechanic would be able to handle it, all Elico could do, really, was wait for both of the girls to come back down from the hill. That, and attempt to establish an air of comradeship.

"I'm Elico, and this is Hino; we're Skyrates! Do either of you two know any way off of this island?" Elico innocently called out.

Soon after this, a pronounced cawing sound resonated through the woods. Something was coming...

[Asriel Dreemurr]

It took some digging and quite a bit of throwing around the shattered remains of...essentially the entire contents of the ship's quarters, hold, and generally any space below deck, but after a few minutes Seria managed to locate a medical kit with the necessary supplies. She was paying literally no attention to the various cuts and the like that she happened to be receiving in the course of her escapade, and as such on her way back she suffered several more lacerations that probably should not have been ignored. All the same, when she emerged onto the deck she caught the skyrate woman, who now that she looked closer had an automail leg, saying that she could heal some of Casey's wounds. Without doing much thought, she tossed the medical kit down over the railing of the ship towards her.

"Medic are ya? Well that oughta help ya some. Now c'mere Casey I'll getcha down." Carefully as she could, of course having to throw her Sledge-Wrench down to the ground to have enough carrying capacity, she stooped down to scoop her buxom friend up in her powerful arms before doing everything that she could to get her down off what was left of the wreckage of the ship as safely as she could. Those laying dead from the wreck, human and machine both, could wait for their rites until the living were seen to. It was tricky getting down from the wreckage, but fortunately one of the masts had fallen over to the side so it was not as bad as it could have been. Performing a complex balancing act, Ms. Blackmoore managed to get Casey most of the way down.

When there was about a third of the left to go, the engineer's feet slid right out from under her and she wound up landing smack dab on her ass and sliding down the mast the rest of the way down. Due to the fact that she was carrying Casey, Seria wound up being underneath her and unintentionally taking a few of the splinters from her...and that massive firearm of hers was smashed nice and firmly against her back. Not about to let herself show weakness, She lifted Casey up partially and set her on the ground where Hino could get to work on her.

It was then that she caught the sound of Elico's questions, or rather remembered she'd heard them. "She's banged up but she'll be alright with a little rest and some bandages. As far as gettin' off the Island...well there might be enough of us to man it..." As she had spoken, she'd gotten to her feet battered cut and bruised though she was. And then that damned cawing sound resounded about them. Seria had her firearm readied in about half a second, and aimed in the direction that the sound had come from.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#000000]Casey hadn't been on her own two feet since the storm, and she [i]certainly[/i] wasn't about to manage it before Seria picked her up again. But Casey had a gut feeling that she should've told Seria to stuff off and let her walk by herself; and that was asserted when the poor girl slipped just before a mast, after covering two-thirds of the ground they needed to to reach Hino. And even though the splinters were hurting Seria as well, each one that was doing so was driving itself [i]deeper[/i] into Casey's skin, inflicting even more pain to the buxom girl. But Casey ignored it; if she couldn't feel the pain of her fingernails being ripped to shreds, why feel pain in general?[/color]

[color=#000000]After a little boost from Seria, although an unwanted one as far as Casey was concerned, Casey [i]finally[/i] got the chance to stand on her own two feet. Granted, it wasn't long before she felt the need to lean backwards against the wall. Her body felt unusually weak; it may have even been unable to handle the mass of her breasts. They certainly felt more as if they were made of lead rather than flesh. Still, this sense of weakness just didn't feel right.[/color]

[color=#800080]"Aww, I can't take it any more,"[/color][color=#000000] Casey groaned, [/color][color=#800080]"Someone knock me out until..."[/color]

[color=#000000]She intervened herself via throwing up, ironically at the same time as Seria mentioned she'd be fine. Casey had just stopped herself from regurgitating a second time, only to realize where [i]exactly[/i] her trial of violent sickness had led, and figured she best use an old rag to clean herself off.[/color]

[color=#800080]"Damn it, it's all over my dress!"[/color][color=#000000] she complained as she did so, [/color][color=#800080]"Some even when [i]down[/i] it too! S***!!"[/color]

[Elƒie]

"Since when was I so lucky so as to have a medic-engineer hybrid on my team? No less with a very powerful leg to boot?!" Hino would have jumped 5 feet into the air from being startled if it wasn't for her left leg. She was so focused on Casey that Elico's compliment had startled her. "I-I'm not that great at healing.. Just sufficient enough to take care of wounds ya get from being an engineer and whatnot.. I could get better, if I wanted, and learn more things,but I've never had to need to learn more than what I know no-" Hino was cut off when the thud of med-pack Seria tossed to her landed on the ground next to her. Balancing on her left leg for a moment, Hino kicked the bag up with her right leg and caught it. Zipping the pack open, she began to shift through its contents.

 

"Let's see.. The bandages and what not are all wet, so they won't do us any good.. Same for the band-aids.. The ointments and whatnot look like they're still good," Hino glanced up to look at Casey and Seria once more just in time to see Seria slip and begin sliding down the last bit of the sail post. Wincing at that little show, Hino made her way to the two girls as soon as she could. Not moments after reaching them, Casey began to puke, some of it even landing on her. With a poker face for a few moments, Hino waited to see if Casey would do anymore puking, "Right.. With that over with..."

 

Standing with her feet shoulder-with apart, she closed her eyes as white runes appeared under her feet, then Casey's, Seria's and finally Elico's feet. She figured that if she was going to take care of Casey and Seria, she might as well take care of Elico and herself as well. Lowering her head slightly as she brought her hands up and held them together in a prayer formation, the runes began to glow a light blue as they slowly started to rotate. Once they got up to speed in their rotation, there was a slight updraft from each of the four runes, just enough to make their clothes and hair flutter slightly. As the runes rotated, all splinters began to fall out, nails regrew, scratches and scabs began to heal at a much faster pace while bruises and muscle sores faded away without any pain being felt from all these minor healings. After a few moments, Hino broke from her statue-like stillness as she let out a heavy pant, some sweat rolling down her forehead. Leaning against the ship as she wiped her forehead, she chuckled shyly, "First time I ever had to do four people, at once or at a time.." Sure, all she did was some minor healing, but with her current skills and the amount of healing she did, it pushed against her against her limit.

 

Just then, a cawing was heard from the forest.

 

"F*ck.."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

His heart was pounding, and the sounds of the rampaging footsteps behind him grew louder. Connor Tempest dodged trees and vines from this jungle, just trying to escape his presuers: Scourgean Ostriders. Damn...if I wasn't just looking for supplies to get the hell out of this jungle...these idiots wouldn't be chasing me. he thought, as he kept running. He looked behind him, and didn't see his presuers...he had given them the slip...for now. Connor sighed as he slumped on the ground, laying his back on a tree to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and thought about everything that was happening.

 

My crew...dead. All killed by a tornado making our ship wreck... The greatest ship in history...and it was reduced to waste. I-If only we had a better crew...if only...

 

Suddenly, he heard the footsteps again, this time closer. Conner quickly got up and ran even more. He began to lose his breath again, as he fell out of a clearing near a group of unsuspecting people. He began huffing as he tried to catch his breath, slowly looking over at the group. "H-Heh...um if you guys...aren't with the Scourgean Ostriders...y-ya might wanna run...c-cause they're after me....."

[Kyng's Old Account]

Elico watched as the party began to ready up, that being Seria and himself. Sword out of sheath he scowled and faced the direction in which the cawing resonated from, and glancing to Seria he said "Lets move closer. We need to keep Casey and Hino protected as long as we can." in a commanding manner, not so much demeaning, more so hinted with the stress of the situation and respectful. With this he rushed ahead slightly, making use of his Sword's influence upon his gravity and leaping slightly higher over any troublesome debris. To others this feat was certainly inhuman, but all relied upon his trusty weapon.

 

Whether the lass had heard out his orders he wasn't sure. What he was sure was a newbie had stumbled into their vast clearing, more so the Airship Graveyard of Seria and Casey's vessel. With this the newbie came up and quickly articulated what would make Elico's eyes widen with slight concern. Scourgean Ostriders, land-patrolling Scourgean Mounted units, were well known for their swift nature on the battlefield. Not only this, but their dreaded accuracy with a spear could skewer even an ant from a distance.

 

Elico could tell the lad was worn out, so going to pat his back he said "You're not out of the woods yet, kiddo; we're taking these Ostriders on. Get out your guns or your blade" He glanced down over the boy looking at his gear. "'cause this is about to get messy, very quick."

 

Elico then began to explain the plan to himself and anyone available to hit these riders on. The strategy was quite simple: take out the mount, and the rider will fall. They battleground they had available was quite good for their advantage. The sharp and shattered debris of ship would easily make a fall off of a high-speed unit fatal, and would provide some cover for the ranged units. Elico, the one without range, would simply tank it our ahead and slash at any and every ostrich leg he spotted.

 

With adrenaline pumping Elico approached where the caws became more profound, and then the stomping stampede of feet could be heard.

 

Encounter - Scourgean Battle Theme: Kingdom Valley

Scourgean Ostrider Appearance

Team Skyrates (5) V/ Scourgean Ostriders (13)

 

Like a flash they bolted out. Elico, alone, managed to swing out and dismember a few Ostriches, causing them and their respective rider to plummet upon the debris and end up skewered or traumatised into death. After the third, a spear smacked Elico hard in the cheek, cutting his face and letting five more stampede into the opening. Of course, this did not stop Elico slashing. He managed to bring down a fourth rider, before knocking off a fifth and, the final two in the opening, Elico went one-on-one with the Spear User.

 

Thrusts aimed at his chest, one stabbing his shoulder, Elico soon took skyward with an aerial leap, before bringing his sword to cleave the arm off of the Spearman. A sharp roundhouse to the back of the Scourgean, Elico managed to kill him. That was six dead, but that left seven left to any of the Skyrates. Elico now took cover, and hoped the others would be fine, and would manage to kill the rest of the Scougeans, himself now heavily wounded in the shoulder.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Conner looked at the group and the man who patted his back...they were going to take these Ostriders on? This certainly surprised the young man to some degree actually. He, alone, had tried to take and lose these idiots...yet they always found him. Perhaps this man was on to something...strength in numbers did seem like a good idea. With a small nod, he slowly stood up and turned himself around. "Thanks..." Conner managed to say as he pulled out his two pistols "King's Pride and Joy", loading rounds into the chambers.

 

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYgtntBIvQo]Chrome Shelled Regios OST - Destiny Fierce Battle[/url]

 

Two shots were fired from his pistols, one hitting the Ostrider's bird in the chest while hitting him in the shoulder, causing both of them to fall. He shot twice at the Ostrider...killing him. He saw another Ostrider coming behind the man he saw first: Elico. He held up one pistol and aimed for the rider. "May want to dodge...now..." Conner said, as his hand began channeling a black lightning into the gun before a bullet coated with electricity zoomed past Elico's head...hitting the rider dead in the chest. "Bulls-eye..."

[Asriel Dreemurr]

The news of Scorgian Ostriders in the area actually relieved Seria.  She'd heard cawing in the night after all the time she'd spent on the skyland, and had never had any desire to see what the hell was causing it.  While Elico was busy getting into a position to put that sword of his to good use, the engineer settled herself in behind a large piece of rubble to use as cover.  Most Ostriders didn't carry ranged weapons, but it was much better to be safe than sorry.  The group was given a fair amount of warning just before the Ostriders entered the clearing, the sound of rapid footsteps on the ground and all.  Of course above that noise was the sound of the firing mechanism of a heavy firearm being cocked.

 

"Ear protection's optional,"  Seria said aloud more for the benefit of her acquaintances, whilst fondly remembering the same phrase having been uttered by her father as she'd enter his workshop, "O' 'course it's a good option."

 

The moment that the attackers burst through the trees, right into Elico's flashing blade, Seria was unloading heavy round after heavy round into the falling riders to ensure they were dead.  The roar of her weapon was deafening, like having ones head inside of a ship's engines.  In all likelihood, none of those present had heard a weapon that could be held and operated by a single person produce such a noise, nor one able to reduce its target so thoroughly to hunks of meat and keep on going.  Of course the newest of the new arrivals managed to take down another of the Ostriders who had shown his face after the first wave had forced Elico to retreat.  That still left six in the second wave, and they were coming fast.

 

Seria paused for a moment, taking time to carefully align the next shot on the leader of this wave.  After that moment's lining up, she pulled the trigger and unleashed the .82 caliber slug into the air.  As with all of her shots, the bullet could be traced by the bright light of the rocket propelling it through the air and the smoke trail the aforementioned rocket left behind.  This shot impacted the lead rider's ostrich in the neck, quite literally decapitating it, and passing through to smash into the rider's chest in such a way that his torso was left with a gaping hole and those behind him were sprayed with gore.  There was also the matter of having to deal with a corpse suddenly being in their way and needing to avoid it.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Ostriders. Out of all the possible enemies that could've arrived just after the storm, it just had to be them. 'Twas a bad timing as well; Casey's scythe could've been buried under the rubble of her and Seria's ship for all she knew, and there was no time to go looking for it. It was only natural, therefore, that Casey's first instinct was to turn and run, with the four remaining Ostriders giving pursuit. Luckily, Casey still had a single Moonflower left, and she was coming up to the mast that Seria had slid her way down earlier. She immediately fished the Moonflower out of her breast pocket, which was stuck inside her cleavage since the dress was inside-out somehow, and pulled the petal-shaped pin, before looking behind her for a possible opening to throw the flower-shaped instrument. It was now or never...

 

"SHOVE THIS UP YOUR AAAAAAASS!!" Casey screamed, hurling the Moonflower with all her might and managing to hit the lead ostrich in the eye. This in turn caused the respective Ostrider to veer straight into the wall. Neither the ostrich nor the rider were seriously injured, but the more important was that the Moonflower actually went off, gorging smoke into the entire area where the mast was. Casey managed to make it up the mast A-OK, but the same couldn't be said for her pursuing Ostriders, who had each only managed to get about three quarters of the way up before losing their footing, and thus falling to their untimely deaths.

 

However, Casey still kept going. True, she had slowed right down to walking pace, and she was breathing heavily from exhaustion, but her mind had just flat-out refused to stop those legs from moving. The only thing on Casey's mind was trying to recover that scythe, before an incident like that ever happened again.

[Elƒie]

As the caws resonated from the forest and the ground shook softly under the stampede of Ostriders that quickly closed in on them, a small shiver went up Hino's spine, causing goosebumps to appear on her arms. As she watched the others get into action, getting ready for the impending attack, Hino looked down to her busted left leg. Clenching her fists tightly by her side, she'd knew she'd be of no help with anything if she kept her leg on. Before she could even hesitate with taking her leg off, the enemy made their move, Elico being the first line of defense and had taken out quiet a few of the Ostriders before Seria moved in with her shooting skills, taking out any survivors from Elico's attacks with a weapon that surprised Hino not for the loudness, she was used to loud noises, but by the source of the loud noises. It was some large, powerful, harbinger of death as it easily tore its victims apart.

 

The image of men and bird alike being torn apart like they were nothing but paper bore itself into her mind, something that would give her nightmares for possibly the rest of her life. This was the life she picked, though, and she realized this. She also realized that things can, and possibly will, get much much worse for everyone in this world is the Scourge and Empire went at each other full-on. Allowing herself to shed a single tear, she wiped it away as four Ostriders finally reached Casey and herself. Quickly taking off in one direction and taking three Ostriders with her, Casey made quick use of the wreckage to her advantage.

 

Hino, on the other hand, was stuck with being a sitting goose at the moment as one of the last four Ostriders branched from the others and headed straight for Hino. Reaching behind her, Hino detached her large sledge-wrench and swung it up and over her head, letting out a rather girly battle cry as she slammed it down hard on the ground, causing a miniature fissure that forced the Ostrider to bank right. Using this time to her advantage, Hino quickly pressed four pressure points on her automail, causing it to detach from her body with a small electrical discharge as she let out a small scream of pain from the automail detaching from her nervous system. Quickly attaching her leg to her back where her sledge-wrench normally would be, Hino began to use her sledge-wrench as a hand-held crutch of sorts while making it light as a feather for her thanks to the Gravitanium it had.

 

Quickly setting aside the pain from detaching her automail, Hino barely had enough time to jump out of the way of the attacking Ostrider. Before he had a chance to turn himself around, Hino jumped high into the air, her body reaching heights not normally capable of reaching it not for her body becoming light as a feather as well thanks to her automail. For a second, as Hino's body seemed to float in the air for a moment before descending, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the crisp air as she imagined herself with wings, soaring with the birds in a carefree life. This fantasy of hers was short lived as she focused back on the task at hand. pulling out the few wrench-knives she had left from the tornado, Hino threw them down towards the Ostrider. The Ostrider, finally locating where his target went, was easily able to dodge the knives, but it was moving him to where he needed to be for Hino. Bringing her sledge-wrench around and behind her left side and back, her eyes grew fierce before she unleashed her attack. Swinging at full force and making her sledge-wrench heavy at the last minute, her weapon slammed heavily into the Ostrider and his bird as they accidentally ran into from avoiding her knives. With the loud sound of snapping bones and cries of pain from both the rider and bird, they were sent flying a few yards before impacting the ground, dead...

[Kyng's Old Account]

The conflict soon died down. With the Ostriders killed out all over the Sky-Ship Graveyard, Elico winced and staggered up to his feet with a very deep breath. He held onto his stabbed shoulder, the Scourgeans knew how to use these primitive weapons very viciously. It made him wince, both in pain and despair, as he felt his eyes heavy from the wound. It had stopped bleading out, thanks to him having covered it up. However, that didn't mean it wasn't painful at all.
 
Elico decided to bring out his optimistic side. Hey, they had killed not one, nor two, but 13 Mounted Scourgean Specialists! That was something to take pride in, even if he came off injured. So he took a deep breath and smiled, and then the smile turned into a small chuckle. The small chuckle turned into a cheerful laughter, and he even let out a happy roar with excitement. His laughter soon met the view of the others, him walking over with shoulder held tight, as he grinned.
 
"Hino, I need a medic!" he chuckled with a wave, so overjoyed they survived. Albeit, not the cleanest of victories, but it was damn impressive, and he was overjoyed. "I need a medic!!" he shouted out with a smile, staggering over to the crew. A victory for the Skyrates: what a victory indeed.
[hr]

A few days later...

[hr]
"Grand Admiral!" the aristocratic voice boomed.

"What is it...?" The Admiral rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew the members of his board, though essential experts, were ruthless and corrupt. Vultures, vicious, against the true justices the Empire saught to establish. The Admiral strived for equality and differences, justice, fairness, a single order to establish a beacon of light, a state as close to Utopianism as possible.

These vultures saught anarchy and mere tyranny over the skies. At least, that's what the Admiral thought of them.

"These Scourgean maggots 'ave been in our terri'ory; they've claimed the Bastion o' Gilferd!" the brutish voice of the Head of Infantry resonated. The broad-shouldered man, proud for his cause, stood tall for the Admiral's command.

"Eet is Gilford, imbecile." the French-accented Sovereign spoke, in charge of the civilians and the societies that the empire had built up, including the propaganda to provoke said citezens' hatred of the opposing factions. "Admiral, what will you 'ave use do?"

The Admiral turned to them and scowled. "Is it not obvious? Squash them as quickly as possible. We cannot afford the Scourge to sink that Skyland."

The Sovereign spoke again and said "Then may we-"

"No!" The Admiral swiftly barked, leering at the board. "The Gravi-ton Cannon's use will make us no better than the Scourge, and I am no hypocrite; another mention of the subject in question, and I will swiftly have the projected canceled and floored."
[hr]
On Flapper Skyland, Elico and the Skyrates hand pursued deeper into the woods. By then his shoulder was heavily bandaged, not fully healed, but enough to walk around. Furthermore, they had made many discovered during this time.

Firstly, from spotting multiple ruins on the island with a diary, they discovered that there was a ship embedded deep in the Skyland, the source of Flapper's airborne state. This ship was small enough for their crew, yet was swift, and powerful, an engine of raw prowess, which would prove very effective in due time for the Skyrates. Naturally, this made Elico grin with lust for the ship, and mutually from the potential information shared by the newer additions to the crew of Elico and Hino, the treasure hunt was on.

Secondly, they had found the very cave it was nestled within. What more, they also found the very room, and even spotted the ship. It was softly cradled in the depths of Flapper Skyland, in a deep cavern. How it got there was unknown, and logically would seem impossible. The only rational explanation would be that the ship was built in the cave, as that is what appeared to be the case; however the accounts of books told the ship was airborne too.

Thirdly, they discovered the means to free the ship. With it nestled in the bottom of the Skyland, they only needed to blow open the bottom of the island and fly through it! Having taken the wet gun-powder outside the mouth of the cave to dry potentially, Elico read through the diary that the ship was also absent on cannon balls; however, one was around the island, on the left wing, in a chest for safe-keeping.

Elico yawned from his hammock, tattered cloth rocking between two trees close to the mouth of the cave. They had set up a brief camp, and Elico was milking, absolutely milking his injury with his mischevious puppy-dog pout. Looking over to Hino he said "Hino...could you get me something to eat? I'm faaaamished...!" Of course, too, with a little drama.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Conner was relieved after the battle was over...as he kept following Elico and the group...cause apparently they didn't mind at all. He sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. Oh how long it was since he was able to actually relax from the constant running he was doing. He looked over at Elico, after he began acting like a drama kyng, and smiled softly.

 

"T-Thank you for helping me...with those Ostriders..." he said, as he sighed a bit. "They've been on me like white on rice for a while now. Before you ask why, I sorta tried to steal some supplies to see if I can fix the ship that I was on. Fastest and greatest ship out in the skies there is, but acted like a scared child in the sight of a tornado..." Conner stopped there as he sighed again. "The crew and everyone died in that tragedy...all except for me...I suppose fate had another plan for me. Maybe to fix that ship...or maybe to meet you and your group..."

 

He had ran his hands through his hair again, before realizing that he had completely forgotten to introduce himself. Usually he would've done that first, but he was chased by Ostriders, mind you. "Oh sorry about that, I start talking without introducing myself. I'm Conner Tempest..."

[Elƒie]

A few days passed since the fight with the Ostriders. By then, quiet a few discoveries had been made; a beautiful ship where Hino inspected and admired the engines for hours upon hours, a book that told them how to get the ship out, a location of a cannonball and a few other things. The first night, Hino had one of her best sleeps ever. She had never been more exhausted than she was that day! The next couple of nights, however, were filled less with sleep as Hino lost some to her working on her leg and some to dreams filled with horrors that wake her up an hour or so before the sun raises.

 

Currently, Hino sat at a makeshift table at the their camp, a few parts and tools spread about on the table as she worked busily at her automail leg. Then she heard the whine of her dramatic captain, asking her to bring her some food. "You've got two working legs.. Get some yourself," as she made her two leg comment, she pointed to him with her automail to stress her point. She then placed it back on the table, getting back to work on it, "If you're willing to wait another 10-20 minutes, I should be done and I'll get ya something then, when I get myself some food."

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

"YOU F***ING ASS-HOLE!!" Casey yelled out in the distance, particularly at Conner.

 

Of course, Casey hadn't returned to the crew immediately; she still had to grab her scythe and stock up on Moonflowers just in case they were ever attacked again. But she returned to the camp in absolute fury, and cast a look of pure venom at Conner. Anger still built inside her until...

 

"You think you can just waltz into any old Skyrate vessel, with Ostriders of all things on your ass, and expect the crew to be willing... hell, even able to stop them? HUH??!!" screamed Casey, "What the hell did we ever do to you to deserve that bad a timing, hm?! Name ONE THING!!"

 

Unfortunately for Conner, Casey wasn't there to hear his story about why the Ostriders were chasing him in the first place, so he'd likely have to repeat himself.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

"Casey shut yer arse!"  Were the first words out of Seria's mouth once Casey had gotten back in good enough shape to waste energy telling Conner off.  As soon as her friend had bothered to start shooting her mouth off, she'd remembered just how annoying her shit was to deal with and had no desire to need to.  "Tha lad went 'n stole supplies from 'em ta get 'is ship workin' again!  Not what it much matters.  I mean, I know where ta find a ship e'en better'n whatever 'e's got."

 

A trek through the jungle had the newly formed crew reaching the cavern in which the legendary vessel had been hidden, and another short trek after that had them within the very portion of the cavern which held it.  Once they were within sight of it, the engineer ran across the stony floor of the cave and proceeded to embrace the nearest exposed mechanical portion of it and begin gently petting it as one might a puppy.  Over the next few days, Seria spent time getting herself properly set up inside of the ship to work as an engineer.  She took over one of the rooms, the nearest one to the engine room she could find, and set about the process of converting it into a sort of workshop.  It only took her about a day to get everything carried from the ruined ship she'd been on previously to the new one which it seemed that she was to assist in manning.

 

On the day in question, where Elico found himself milking his injury and Hino busied herself with finishing repairs to her automail leg, Seria was with the ship deeper in the cave.  Of course she still carried her own substantial armaments, but for now she was obsessing over the largest gun on the ship.  Consequently, it was mounted topside on the prow and thus open to the elements.  Seria would never have chosen such a location for such a beautiful weapon, but she recognized it had benefits to it.  All the same, she was rubbing the weapon down with a cloth soaked in oil to polish it and, she hoped, insulate the metal from any ill effects of the weather it would soon be exposed to.

 

"Oh, they just left ya out 'ere alone didn' they?"  She cooed softly to the gun as she continued rubbing it down in a most loving way, "But ya ain't gotta worry 'bout that anymore.  Mommy's gonna take care o' ya now."

[Kyng's Old Account]

Elico, whom had obtained a prop-milkshake in his hand, slurping from the thing, before finding it to be empty, which resulted in him swiftly discarding the thing, chuckled to Conner's remarks. The guy had clearly been on a Ship before, and based on his absolutely aggressive attire he clearly sided not the Empire, nor Scourge. Based on his description of the ship he was on, Elico chuckled and closed his eyes as he rocked his hips in the hammock causing it to gently swing.

"I don't know your Ship from Adam..." he started "...but you saw what was buried deep in this place! That legendary vessel, though small, is legendary for a reason. "Cannons like volcanoes, engines like hurricanes, a spine of a mast; this vessel, mind you, was meant to last" to quote the diary of the deserted man whom found it. I don't mean to come across condescending, but no ship in the world could hold a candle to the Helle'i'rokko, aka the Sky Horse!" Elico's confidence in the vessel came across very well.

 

"It is a pleasure to meet you, mate. I'm Elico Galinford, son of Elsius, brother of Brave." He spoke this introduction as if it was told to many, and in truth it was, though Elico's success in claiming fame from his brother or father only came about with a drunken wench in the pub.

 

He pouted like a puppy to Hino and whimpered a little, but with a sigh he pouted. "Fiiiine...I'll wait; you're familiar enough with the boat, right?"

 

After a few minutes had passed, Elico sat up and gazed to Conner. "Say, we've had a vacation here long enough" this ironically coming from the laziest person upon the island "so how about you, that Casey-lass, 'n' meself go skidaddle to find that blastered cannon ball, hmm?"