What's a Pirate's Favorite Movie? [Group Mission]

Mission Details:

WC: 465

If there was one thing that still amazed Takumi about this new reality he had found himself in, it had to be the strange new stars that he still couldn't quite figure out. There was no Big Dipper or Small Dipper, either because this was an entirely new universe that formed similarly but very differently from Earth in his universe or because this was just on another planet in this new universe. Thankfully most of the world hasn't created as much light pollution as the cities back on Earth so he could see right up into the bright stars resting above him.

The sound of the ocean waves crashing into the beach and being swept back into the sea was the only sound he could hear as he rested alongside the soft sand, cooling down from the sun's hot rays practically baking it into a fine warm powder. Sojiro had taken point on the docks, he could still see his best friend standing there right now and Takumi was fighting the urge to mold the sand into a small snowball to nail him in the face. It would be so easy to make the sand stick together until it found resistance and he was certain he could land it on the first try. The others were a mystery to the outgoing man. It wasn't that he didn't care or couldn't remember the plan, he just had declared he would take point at the beach before taking off.

It wasn't anything personal against the group, he just wanted to be ready to defend the town and if anything did go wrong he would easily traverse through the sand toward where the trouble was coming from at an impressive speed. The fact the sand was soft and comforting while granting him a gorgeous view of the stars, the calming sound of the ocean waves and the smell of the sea compared to the quiet business of the town or the bugs hiding within the woods only played a small part in his decision to flee before they could assign him to hang out at either place.

WC: 354

It hadn't been that long, Zincarla mused, since she had met the three guys she now lived with. They weren't like brothers, and she didn't yet call them friends, at least not with sincerity. Trust was hard to earn, but they were well on their way. She trusted them enough to give living with them a shot, and it helped that sharing a large manor with a kitchenette and even a back porch was better than praying for a bed to be free at a cheap inn or hostel. The home needed plenty of work, but it was free of mold and pests, and bringing the outdated clumsily designed building up to modern standards wasn't out of the realm of possibility. When Sojiro talked about it, he made it sound like as a group they could encounter and handle anything.

And so they lived half lives, working mixed jobs while she started the process for joining a legal guild. Zincarla felt lucky that she had both good company and respected privacy among her new companions. It wouldn't be long before their bonds were tested and she might endow them with the title of friend. She had been to cautious to give up her secrets still; none of them knew of her murder conviction or her 11 years in prison. She had started her life out as a street kid and once free from the bars of her undeserving cage, society welcomed her back into the street yet again. The brown haired witch quickly decided it was not suited for her any more and began working multiple jobs to work upwards. Meeting Sojiro, Takumi and Tad had been a direct and meaningful pivot away from the constant drone of bad work and worse pay and into the arms of real missions and a full stomach each night.

Between looking for a way to test them of their worth of her trust and relying on them as a team to find better and richer jobs, Zincarla wasn't above letting Sojiro pick the job and direct them through the mission. At least, until Takumi walked off towards the beach. Zincarla had met everyone at the docks but she supposed Takumi didn't make a bad move necessarily. Pirates might be known for their seaworthiness but that didn't stop them from making good headway on land. Splitting up to keep an eye out was probably wise, and with the day workers all gone home to their families, the docks were clear enough for one person to keep a good view of the area. She waved a hand as Takumi slipped away and then turned to Sojiro. "Splitting up does make good sense. After all their bilge-sucking, those bastards are probably clomping around some tavern. I'm going to the streets for to keep an eye on things there."

Sometimes her slang grammar and foul tongue ran free from her but Zincarla never did apologize for it, regardless of any given company. She was 5'3, a slip of a woman, but unafraid to go toe to toe in the bars as her team was well aware. She had often only to say a name or reference or slang of some sort in order to get instant respect or even fear displayed in the heartiest of other wizards, fighters, hunters and fishers. Of course, that too, she never explained. The 22 year old was beautiful though, in a sort of eccentric way, her face young and expressive. She blinked a few times and yawned, stretching under the starry sky and fixing her pink corset to settle properly on her torso afterward. "I'll send you a text if I hook anything, you send one too."

Zincarla grinned and then spun on her heel taking off for the paved streets of the small town, following her nose to the cooking food and alcohol on a particularly prominent roadway, her long black skirt flowing behind her like the dark wake of a ship itself.

WC: 663

Being a mage outside of a guild was tricky. While jobs were still pretty easy to find, back up and assistance for jobs was much harder to collect. That meant a guildless mage might go on a job alone simply because they didn't have someone to take along. Naturally, that made even simple jobs more dangerous for a guildless mage. Tad had experienced this a few times, though he'd never run into a situation he couldn't handle on his own. That had changed when he met Sojiro at the beach festival.

Tad's natural attraction to the tall, bespectacled man had caused Tad to purposely spend more time with Sojiro which led to Tad's introduction to Takumi and Zincarla. While his romantic feelings towards Sojiro hadn't waned since their initial meeting, Tad was also thoroughly intrigued by Zincarla. She was more powerful than Tad could fathom (and while that was enough to inspire the lanky mage) but maybe even more important to Tad was that she utilized summoning magic. Tad had a fascination with summoning magic, likely due to his Other Worldly lineage. Takumi was also a nice guy. Now, the four of them had been working together awhile and even shared a living space. Tad didn't know how long this odd foursome would stick together but he was enjoying their time together.

Tad wasn't sure what to think of Takumi as he took off to the beach. The man felt like Tad's opposite in many ways but Tad still found himself curious about how his brain worked. Then, Tad waved to Zincarla as she headed off on her own, continuing to wave for far too long even after she wasn't even facing him any longer. After that, he turned back to Sojiro, "So handsome, now that it's just the two of us, should we make out? We do have a pretty romantic starlit setting here..." The smile plastered over his face made it clear he was joking, but both men also knew there was likely some truth to the offer. Despite his jovial nature, Tad's eyes were constantly on the sea before them. He may pretend to lack a work ethic, but he wasn't going to let his guard down: he didn't want to be caught with his pants down by some mean-spirited pirate mages.

WC: 385

WC: 777
TWC: 1,242

Takumi simply stood at the beach, his eyes wandering over the seas and the stars alike while wondering who would spot the pirate ship first between him or Sojiro and who appeared to be Tad. He didn't even notice the smaller built man beside Sojiro during his first glance around, probably not a good sign if he was supposed to be on the lookout for pirates. Still, that was a single person, these pirates would come in by giant ship or little rowboats, he was certain he'd be able to spot them before anything happened. If not, he might need glasses or an eye seeing dog for his apparent blindness that is setting in. As that thought crossed his mind, that's when the strangest thing happened. Somewhere up the beach, he managed to catch wind of a conversation between what appeared to be a group of friends making their way home after a long day of.... Exploring? Adventuring? What kind of jobs does this town offer for regular folk anyways? Either way, these poor souls looked tired and dirtied from their journey and Takumi wished he could help them somehow. Alas, there wasn't much he could do to help them nor did he want to upon hearing their words as one of them described scaring people away or killing them? Did he hear that right?

Walking confidently to the path ahead of the men to cut them off, Takumi would step out from behind a bush that hid him from their sight, a calm smile on his face as he regarded the strange dirtied men before him. The three of them quickly came to a stop before the blonde, the leader of which seemed angered at the intrusion, which Takumi could understand. If he was just a miner or something similar, he would've probably wanted to get home and sleep instead of dealing with strange men cutting off his path back home. "Hi, excuse me good sirs but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation and was woAH!" He had begun his practiced words, trying to pay the proper respect and apology for rudely interrupting them before he was greeted with a fireball narrowly scorching the right side of his face had he not moved out of the way. Yet even with his quick reaction speed, the ball of flames licked at the side of his face, singeing part of his hair before hitting the dirt ground behind him.

"Tat's justa warning shot! Bugger off pretty boy!" The one who appeared to be the leader and hurled the fireball warned him while behind the roughed up man, the other two brought forth additional fireballs. Despite himself, Takumi couldn't help but smirk. He may not have much experience in this whole magic business and everyone on the team could easily defeat him in this world's magical based combat but there was a strange gift bestowed upon him when he arrived in this realm, a gift he had believed to be his only source of magic before his control of the earth came to light.

Activating his lineage was always a bit strange for the man, it felt as if he had to dig inside himself to grab hold of a rope before pulling it outward. The first times he had activated his gift, it would require plenty of hard tugs as he effectively played tug of war with his source of power to exert it onto the outside world. Yet as he practiced and grew accustomed to this world it became far more easier, requiring only a single pull from within that could activate in only a few seconds. Enough time for the the ruffians to begin to follow through with their threat to attack and possibly kill the strange blonde who dared to cross their paths.

Yet as their second fireball flew toward him, it would clash against a seemingly negative zone like space that was quickly expanding out toward them at such an intense speed that the pirates didn't understand what had happened. One moment they hurled a fireball to put down the foolish blonde and next thing they knew their magic was suddenly cut off to them entirely. "W-What? What have you done?!" The leader demanded as he looked up toward the blonde, a mixture of fear and anger on the leader's face as Takumi only smiled in response.

"I took away your magic. You're gonna tell me what I want to know and then I'll knock you all out so the town can pass judgement on you and your sins." The truth. Such a strange concept and one that embodied him oh so well, yet it always made him appear almost insane or off-putting for those unused to the concept such as these three men as they only seemed confused about Takumi revealing his plans to them all. At least until they heard his knuckles cracking and they fully realized that they were now without their magic against a very tall, very pissed and very strong looking man. Takumi would be lying if the screams of terror from the leader didn't sound like music to his ears as he slugged him right on the nose, a sickening crunch being heard as the leader's scream came to an abrupt stop.

WC: 882
TWC: 1,236

Brawling was not that uncommon at this time of night, especially in the taverns and bars of any city. By that time of night, the people had been drinking plenty and their inhibitions had faded away. The friends with common sense had all vanished to go home to families, knowing work waited for them in the morning hours. The ones who stayed were sad, lonely, angry creatures, without the comrades nearby as voices of reason. Violence often broke out, a way to let off steam more than anything else. Zincarla would have sworn her last bit of money in saying that the people who stuck around by this point did so in order to have a fight. But the sounds of this brawl were not typical, the regular shouts, slurred smack talking, and tavern keepers demanding that they take it into the street were absent. In its place were dark demands, shuffling of bodies, and the blast of a cannon. Before even looking into the broken window of the place, Zincarla knew that she had found pirates. Only an idiot would think anything else.

The witch straightened her back and strode into the front door without fear, walking straight towards the inner bar itself. She looked at the keeper who was giving her a strange gaze, his eyes asking both if she was crazy and begging for her to run. That's right of course, pretty women shouldn't be involved in such physical escapades. She gave him a reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry about it," not specifying what she was talking about. Leaning against the bar with one arm, she turned to meet the stairs of the pirates. They were looking at each other puzzled, wondering if they were supposed to fight, insult, or what? A robust and round pirate with a tall ridiculously feather hat stared at her, his hand cannon under one arm, the weight not seeming to bother him as it would most men. "Get out of here before you get hurt," he finally demanded. The other pirates snarled agreements, shaking various weapons or fists in the air, trying to illicit fear.

Zincarla rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes with a smirk. "I'll leave. Soon as you pay the keeper for that table you broke, you nimrod." She lifted her eyes to look upon the man with the cannon, "I mean really, going after one of the favorite stops in town shoulda clued you in to it being a bad plan. Us locals don' back down without a fight and let our favorite spots get wrecked for nothin." The other drunk patrons looked at her surprised. She wasn't a local, but her words forced even the most frightened of them to stiffen up their stances. With just a single white lie, the pirates were now looking at a small crowd of angry sloshed guys, the ones who liked a good fight. She reminded the locals to stand up for themselves. Had Zincarla bothered to look behind her she would have seen a most appreciative expression on the keeper's face.

The four pirates surrounding the wreckage of the table looked uncertain, noting that while they had blades, they were still outnumbered 2 to 1 in this place. The only pirate who seemed unfazed was the idiot in the hat. He braced his cannon against his hip and pointed it at her. "Don't get cocky now, I ain't afraid to hurt a lady who's in my way." Zincarla looked him from top to bottom, his bright red coat revealing a flashy arrogant man. His wide size and the way he handled the cannon made it clear he had done this before and he really was a slimy fearless bastard of a criminal. But the drooping black feathers cascading over the sides of his hat made it hard to take him seriously.

Zincarla laughed a little, "Same here." Her insult made his face redden instantly. Despite the number of bad ass women in the world, men like this hated being called a lady. Zincarla's eyes were firm and unwavering, "I think my grandma might have a hat like that. Should introduce you two." The other pirates varied between amused expressions and hateful ones, both wanting to laugh at her jabs and wanting to stand up for a guy they followed and respected for some reason. The man in the hat grabbed a match from his pocket, sliding it across the stubble of his chin with a scowl. She supposed he might have been someone's lieutenant because a real captain couldn't be goaded this easily. As he lit the cannon up for a killing blow, one of his dirty comrades called out, "Die witch!" and another blurted, "Red'll make you dead!" How original: the lieutenant was called Red and wore a red coat.

Zincarla didn't dodge to the side. A move like that would only sacrifice the keeper in her place. The woman rushed forward and grabbed the cannon with both hands, shoving it upwards hard. Keeping the heavy weapon steady during firing made it hard to stop the woman from her intention. She felt the heat and power of the blast as a cannon shot burst through the roof of the tavern. Wood, dust, and nails rained down inside the room, choking the regular patrons. The guests in the tavern used the smokey moment to also rush the pirates, filling the air with the sound of scuffle. The intense kickback was something Red handled easily, but Zincarla wasn't at all familiar. She felt pain through her arms and let go of the thick cannon, backing up a few steps to catch her breath.

WC: 663+942 = 1605

"Thaddeus, one of these days I'm going to take you up on that offer and you won't know what to do with yourself."

Tad's smug-but-somewhat-charming grin dissipated as Sojiro rebuffed him, but he was well known for his quick response. Without missing a beat, Tad responded "Don't underestimate muscle memory, buddy." The smug-but-somewhat-charming grin returned as Tad followed Sojiro's lead and turned his attention elsewhere. Tad's smug-but-somewhat-charming grin disappeared, replaced by a genuine smile. While he enjoyed teasing and flirting with Sojiro, he was pretty sure the four eyed mage wasn't interested. It was friendly banter and likely nothing more. His eyes perused the horizon, keeping watch for ships.

"So tell me Thaddeus, do you think there are actually pirates in these parts?"

Tad turned his attention back to Sojiro, but a loud, boisterous conversation drew both of their attention towards an alley. Tad noted that the upcoming group outnumbered them, though he didn't seem too worried. They'd sent enough time together that Tad knew Sojiro could handle himself, even with multiple opponents. Tad was also pretty confident in his own ability.

"Well, well, looky 'ere mates. It seems that some little chillins got lost, why dontcha two scram before tings get nasty?"

"Nasty?!" Tad asked, feigning outrage and moving forward a couple feet as he continued speaking. "'Tings got nasty'..." Tad began, mocking the man's accent. "...the moment you lot walked up, so maybe all of you should scram." Tad's voice was higher pitched than normal and came off rather aggravated. He seemed to be trying to initiate a fight... and he succeeded.

One of the men jumped forward, his face the shade of a tomato. He clearly wasn't used to being talked to in the way Tad had spoken to him, causing his body to react on its own. Tad's heightened reflexes made it easy for the lanky mage to evade the first punch, though he made it seem as if he'd luckily stumbled out of the way. The pirate didn't stop with one though, throwing another haymaker at Tad's chin.

Once again, Tad stumbled out of the way almost colliding with Sojiro as he did so. With lightning quick speed, Tad jumped behind Sojiro as if he needed protection. "Save me!" Tad screamed so both Takumi and the group of pirates could hear him. No need to get my hands dirty with this lot, besides, maybe Sojiro likes the damsel in distress trope, Tad thought to himself as he waited for the fight before him to unfold.

WC: 420
TWC: 385+420=805

WC: 1,056
TWC: 2,298

The leader went down like a sack of potatoes, clutching his nose with a muffled groan before the two lackeys sprang into action, figuring a two on one was their best hope they tried to overwhelm him with various strikes, the first to attack had found his fist slapped away with Takumi's forearm yet the counterattack was stopped by the second's own fist landing a clean shot across the blonde's face. The second attacker, the man to Takumi's left had such a short moment of satisfaction on landing an attack only for it die an ugly death as the blonde merely ate the punch and returned the favor with a quick kick to the side of his knee, bringing the pirate down to his single knee with a scream of pain.

That one brief moment of distraction on the secondary target allowed the first pirate to plant his fist deep into Takumi's core, the air in his lungs nearly being robbed yet still staggered the blonde. Encouraged by his success, the pirate continued his assault, a hook found it's mark against the blonde's cheek which found more purchase as Takumi's defense was quickly falling. His third attack, a straight haymaker barreling right toward the blonde's nose was once more slapped away with the stronger man's left forearm while he stepped into the pirate's guard with a single punch being delivered right into the pirate's core as he had done to Takumi just moment prior. Unlike the pirate's punch, this one had robbed the air out of the victim's lungs and the pirate collapsed with both arms covering his stomach.

Without a moment to breathe, the leader leapt back into battle with a single roar as he tried to tackle the larger man, a move that wouldn't have worked normally if it wasn't for the uneven terrain betraying Takumi with a single well placed rock catching the back of his heel and letting the pirate's momentum decide where they'd end up. Being more prepared, once they both hit the ground, the pirate found himself able to slam an elbow into the face of the downed blonde, eager to repay him for the broken nose yet Takumi refused to let the attack distract him from his current goal. He knew being downed with 2 other threats wasn't going to be a winning strategy, so he quickly grabbed the pirate's elbow, his right hand placed on the bottom of elbow while his left hand grabbed the man's wrist before he shoved his right hand upwards while pulling down with his left hand.

The result was a sickening snap followed by screaming as the pirate leader rolled off the downed blonde while using his healthy arm to cradle the broken limb to his body. Takumi brought himself up to a sitting position just in time to see the boot trying to stomp in his face, the only thing the blonde could do was raise his arms and let the boot slam into his forearms and knock him back to the ground. Yet he didn't remain down and rolled away while grabbing a handful of sand, as soon as he finished rolling away he'd spring up into a kneeling position before flicking the sand into the eyes of the second pirate, the man being blinded and even getting sand in his mouth was stunned for just a moment as he tried to regain his sight. It was enough time to allow Takumi to launch himself up into a jump with his right fist raised high before the arc of his leap begun to bring him down and the blonde's fist collided with the unexpected blinded pirate who fell without a noise.

The first pirate, the one he had aired out moments before the leader tackled him had just finished gaining his breath back and had actually seemed ready to charge Takumi when he seen his friend go down. His wide eyes zoomed from his unconscious ally, to his leader with a broken arm and a blonde man who seemed to only have a little scratch on the right side of his temple. Calm lilac eyes met frightened hazel eyes before the pirate did the smartest thing Takumi had seen all night, he begun to run. Sadly, these criminals needed to face justice and so Takumi charged after the man who barely got 5 feet away before he was tackled by the former football player and pinned to the ground with an elbow threatening to crush his windpipe.

It was only after the short but brutal fighting came to an end that Takumi realized that the docks were now covered in smoke and he couldn't see either of his friends that had once stood there. "How many more are there and where are they?" He'd question the downed pirate, letting up on the pressure that had been preventing him from make any noises beyond struggled gasps for more air. "T-Twelve! 7 on the docks, 5 at the local bar and inn!" The man answered with nothing but the truth, as he knew the man would and while the pirate could've kept quiet, the man knew Takumi wasn't above hurting others as the leader with a broken arm could attest to.

"Why were you three here?" He continued his questioning, part of him worried more pirates would be arriving if the attack on the town already begun yet these three seemed to be stragglers. "We got the ships prepared to leave! Capt'n wanted us to prepare it for quick sailing, a simple hit and run! We did this plenty of times, rob the biggest bar and inn for valuables from the locals while hitting the docks for any goods being prepared to be moved!" The pirate continued, either not noticing the truth being forced from him or not caring that he was incapable of lying. It was efficient if nothing else, a lack of valuables in one location would be made up in the other location while preparing an escape route so any proper authorities wouldn't be able to react in time.

Finally the negative like zone would draw in on Takumi as he allowed the power to drop, yet before the pirate could even think about trying something Takumi rolled off him and allowed the earth to suddenly wrap around the man before it hardened and trapped him. Looking toward his allies, the same would be done to them all as Takumi rose to his feet and begun to march toward the docks. "I shall return when your friends are dealt with." He assured the pirate who could only scream curses at the blonde while struggling to break free yet the ground didn't provide much wiggle room.


WC: 1,121
TWC: 2,357

The large tavern had descended, or perhaps ascended given it really wasn't above such things has bar fights, into utter confusion. A crowd of drunks armed with a passion in their bellies and a lack of intelligence faced off with chairs and fists against the three trained pirates who had come to rob them. Smoke, dust, and splinters of wood coated a fine layer of grime on everything in sight but the opened hole in the ceiling provided a bit of extra light from the surrounding buildings. It was doubtful anyone would intervene, unless there were other mages who had somehow snuck into the mission, and the civilians who heard the racket were likely to busy in petty arguments or card games at the nearby bars. No, the people in here were on their own, and for now it was a numbers game but the bodies of drunks were literally piling up. It inconvenienced both sides in the dramatic confusion that was supposed to be a simple raid, but it was one that benefited Zincarla in her own fight. She wasn't sure if she could handle so many bodies against just her own magic. She was a bit rusty in fighting, having the experience but having spent the last month in legal work like maid cafes or traveling guards for already safe roads. Zincarla needed to focus herself on Captain Red- despite his stupid name and stupider attire- that cannon was deadly.

As she stumbled back from the kick of the weapon, she coughed heartily on the dust. The moment she regained her feet, just before raising her arms in defense, the captain's meaty backhand tossed her to the floor like a child's toy. She slid back a couple of feet until slipping in some spilled drink and landing on her rear in front of the sturdy wooden bar. Her cheek smarted, and the woman knew it was going to bruise up something fierce. The guys were going to give her a mutual hard time about it while eager to kick the ass of whoever managed the feat. But this she could deal with on her own. The captain aimed his cannon at her, just as she skidded to a stop against the counter. Zincarla's hands pressed against the floor readying her to leap back to her feet. The cannon was too large to simply dodge and with it shoved against her chest there was half a second where she actually considered that it might be her end. And what an idiotic end that would be.

Zincarla bit down on her lip and tensed, her whole body going rigid as the captain said his farewell and lit up the shot. The hefty ball shot through her chest, bursting through her back and then through the wooden counter. There was a piercing brief scream in the air as the captain guffawed and blood spilling over the floor beneath Zincarla's body. Glasses and liquor bottles exploded, raining cheap booze and sparkling shards back at the captain and over the witch herself. Zincarla grit her teeth in anger, her long hair coating against her face with both blood and alcohol. "Too easy, boys! Take 'em all down!" Red hollered, turning his back to face the stunned crowd. In the dim lighting, a soft gasp broke the abrupt silence of the room. A patron stared open mouthed at the woman who had fired them all up.

Zincarla glimmered as a pale blue version of herself lifted up from the floor. Her clothes and arms still dripping with blood, but her entire body in tact. She was alive, or appeared to be. In ghostly form, she turned around slowly, peering down at the bar man, the tavern owner who's dead form littered behind the broken counter. Limbs were detached and the gruesome bloody sight explained where the blood on her own form had come from. He must have been hiding, taking cover behind the bar while the fight kicked up into higher gear. She hadn't noticed before, but Zincarla's use of her incorporeal form to save herself from the cannon blast has come at the cost of that man's own life. She stared at the mess behind the bar, her face contorting in rage, as much at herself as at the pirate captain.

Her eyes were locked onto the broken limbs, piles of broken glass and wood like a tornado had ripped just the owner's body into pieces. It was worse than anything she had ever seen. It was even worse than the very first body she had discovered in the streets as an urchin all those years ago. It took effort to turn herself away and back towards the pirates, Captain Red and the patrons. It was around that moment that they noticed her as well. The Captain shook his head, shaking in disbelief, or perhaps fear. "Impossible, nobody takes a hit from my cannon and lives! And... and ghosts aren't real!" His face was a shade paler, but not as pale as Zincarla. The witch stood there, glancing down at her hands, soaked from the bloody floor. Her skin, her body, her clothing were all a translucent glistening shade of sapphire.

Zincarla trembled as she took the two steps forward, standing toe-to-toe with the villainous captain. She affixed her stance to the floor, ignoring all eyes now but his. She aimed a hearty punch straight through the man before her, her arm passing through his dense red jacket, his shirt, and his stomach, passing through to the other side. Still, Red flinched as expected. "I can't touch you in this form. And you can't touch me." He quaked in his boots and a nearby man, she wasn't sure if it was a lackey or a civilian cried out, "Oh gods, I can see her hand! It's on the other side, look!" Zincarla jerked her neck to the side, tossing her wet sticky hair from her face with a dark expression. "Let's change that then, shall I?"

As swiftly as before, without a word, an utterance of magic, or a thrown handful of enchanted bones, Zincarla's form solidified back into her normal self. Her pink outfit still red-marked and her skin slimed with the innocent death on her hands. The Captain let out a fiercesome scream then, her arm coming into form inside of his belly with an agonizing grip. "I had only planned on scaring you off, bad guy or whatever. But you're not worth letting go." She reached up with her free hand and snatched his hat from his head, putting it on her own, "Address me with respect, and maybe I'll let you live." Captain Red glowered at her, a crimson tinge in his mouth revealing just how much pain he had to be in.

"Of course, My apologies," He growled, glancing to his men. She blinked at him and gestured with her free hand, "Captain. Say it. Tell these people who your boss is." He shifted his weight and cried out, "All right, all right, Captain. You're the captain!" The other pirates weren't sure what they were supposed to do; they had never seen the captain in such a dire state. They had never even so much had heard him admit he was wrong about something. Hate boiled behind Red's eyes, and his hand tightened hard on the cannon he still held in his hand. Zincarla didn't need more than that to finish the job. She wasn't normally so cruel, so heartless, in any of her fights. No doubt even her own friends would think she was about to go too far here. But the woman didn't have the patience or the care about anything. When she looked Red in the face from under the brim of his own hat, she didn't even seem to really see him. Zincarla could only see the man in pieces burned into her thoughts.

With that, she jerked her arm out of the man as if withdrawing her punch, leaving a wide gap where his stomach had been and a tangle of ropey intestine left behind. Red didn't speak again, collapsing to the ground before her.

WC: 1605+1362= 2967

Through a happy side effect of his plan, Tad enjoyed feeling Sojiro's muscles through his shirt with his fingertips as he hid behind his roommate. His eyes looked over his shoulder, watching things play out. He was a little surprised when Sojiro began leaning back, into Tad's hands, but he quickly realized that Sojiro was dodging the punch. Regardless of the cause, Tad's hands could feel the muscular back even better than before.

"Well that was just simply rude."

"Agreed," Tad responded, keeping up the banter as Sojiro began to fight back. Their attacker went flying with just one magically enhanced punch from the four eyed mage and Tad was always a bit jealous seeing such a powerful blow, something he couldn't match directly. He'd long ago realized that power wasn't his forte and had accepted that fact, but sometimes, the little green monster inside him reared its head especially in moments like this.

"Put these on, you're going to need them," Sojiro commanded, handing some magically summoned goggles over his shoulder without looking.

Instinctively, Tad reached for them. As he grabbed them, he said "Doesn't really meet my aesthetic standards, but..." Tad's voice trailed off as he put the goggles on his head, over his eyes. He knew what was coming next, he'd seen Sojiro use this spell before though he'd never seen it from this vantage point.

"Shamac!" And then the world was covered in smoke, but Tad's new eyepieces allowed him to see despite the smoke. It was a neat trick and almost felt like cheating, not that Tad really worried about cheating that much. Tad wasn't surprised when Sojiro's back took off to deal with their attackers. Tad was about to move out of the way of the incoming fireballs when Sojiro's shield formed in front of him.

Aw, he really does care, Tad thought, fairly confident that Sojiro knew he could have avoided the attacks on his own if he'd wanted to. In a way, it made Tad feel special to know that his protector was looking out for him.

"I'll leave the ones on the docks for you!" Sojiro called out, though Tad still wasn't too keen on getting involved physically. Despite that, he rushed forward with white lightning forming in both palms. Tad's motivation, whether he acknowledged it or not, was wanting to live up to Sojiro's expectations. The mages that Tad were targeting were swirling fire around them, attempting to lighten the areas around them. Tad didn't care, he moved just to the left of the first guy, lightly tapping him on the right shoulder.

The lightning surged into the pirate, paralyzing him completely; his body stiffened and lost balance. It fell backwards, making a considerable thud as it landed on the wooden dock. It didn't matter to Tad though, he was already 10 feet away and sliding by the second pirate. He struck the man's right foot, sending enough white voltage through the pirate to paralyze him as well.

WC: 498
TWC: 385 + 420 + 498 = 1303

WC: 1,225
TWC: 3,523

He had only begun to make his way toward the docks in a controlled jog, an attempt to arrive quickly while ensuring he wouldn't show up exhausted and a vulnerable target for the remains of the pirates that were on the docks. The smoke did well to hide his view from the fight, it left him anxious about the fighting he knew would be happening inside, would his friends be able to hold their own against the pirates? He was certain in a straight up magic fight the three pirates he faced would've caused him major troubles and potentially start a forest fire that could spill into the town they were supposed to protect. Would they risk burning down the docks as well? He wouldn't be able to see the inferno until it spread out of the large cloud of smoke and while he knew Tad and Soji would be stronger than him, it was hard to fight when a fire would be ripping out the air from your lungs and stinging your flesh if you got too close.

Thankfully his anxiety was eased as he spotted his old friend shooting out of the smoke and taking out the two pirates that hadn't be caught in the spell and had been throwing fireballs within the smoke, either in attempt to burn them out of the cover or a vague hope to score a lucky hit on those within. Regardless, it was reassuring to the blonde that his friend felt comfortable leaving Tad somewhere in the blinding spell, to do so meant that the threats within were more than likely dealt with or soon to be dealt with by their lanky companion. That only left the lone girl of the group to deal with the remaining five at the local inn, although hopefully she would be able to handle herself until the rest of them could provide backup, he doubted the two of them knew about the 5 pirates raiding the local inn and a 5 on 1 doesn't quite sound like a fair fight regardless of magic.

Whatever other thoughts were going through Takumi's mind came to a sudden and abrupt stop as he watched before his eyes the warehouse go up flames, a large fireball rushing out pass the flying debris. Beside him, he heard a thud and saw a large amount of sand being kicked into the air, his mind moving quickly as he realized it was a cannonball before the second sound reached his ears, another quieter thud and he felt a hot liquid spray across his face. Wide lilac eyes stared down at the unmoving arm that had landed before the usually cheerful man, a small pool of blood quickly forming and crawling toward the blonde, as if reaching out to reunite with the remains that begun to slide down his face. Tearing his eyes from the arm, he'd look up to where Sojiro once stood and noticed the man's absence.

"Oh." Was all that he could muster as realization slowly dawned on him, in the back of his mind he knew he should also be looking out for the remains of Tad as well but the thought was muted, his heartbeat being the only sound he could hear as he stared at the arm that he was certain had once belonged to his friend. Funny, when did everything start to get so watery? Takumi didn't so much as sit down, as he did collapse, the earth around him shifting to catch the breathless blonde and provide him a place to rest as he simply stared at the arm. Waiting for something to happen. Maybe he'd die and reunite with his friend again? Maybe there was a magic that was only making him see this? Hell maybe there was a magic to reverse this or change it or do anything in this situation but whatever could fix this was beyond him. So he simply waited and stared at the arm, uncaring for whatever was happening around him.

WC: 669
TWC: 3,026

Zincarla shuddered once, her whole body quaking with a start. Civilians and pirates it seemed were giving her a wide berth. She would have done the same in their shoes. The level of shame, guilt and rage that she had inside of her was only comparable to the great event which had landed her in prison for over a decade of her young life. She let out a breath and stabilized herself on what was left of the bar's opposite side. Her eyes avoided the grisly scene by her feet. She grabbed a towel and wiped what she could off her arm but it was still stained and sticky with the dark grime of Red's innards. She turned to head out of the bar then, the only sound breaking the atmosphere being the scrambling men who wanted nothing to do with her. The patrons of the bar weren't sure what to do with her either and just stayed to the side as she passed them by.

Zincarla grabbed up a glass of what turned out to be rum and downed it in a single gulp. She pounded the glass on the table with a groan and dragged herself the rest of the way out. With that stupid hat still on her head and her right arm stinking by her side, Zin was sure she had dealt with the captain personally. It never even came as a thought that the name might have been a nickname or that perhaps he was just the ostentatious right hand puppet of the real deal. In her mind, the tavern keeper was dead because of her and because of Red. There wasn't anything else to do but join up with her companions and tell them the job was finished.

She made her way through the streets, the sounds pulsing in her head. No longer with any enthusiasm, the witch walked as if carrying a heavy load upon her back; she was a mule that just kept on pacing forward when she would have rathered lay down somewhere and drink herself asleep. The sound of cannon fire stopped her in her tracks for a moment. She lifted her head and heard the distant splintering of a building, a horrific crashing of wood. Zincarla didn't want to care, too disturbed by her own experience, by her own actions, but the sound had come from where she had left the guys earlier and she couldn't stop herself from bracing on a nearby wall for a mere moment. "What are you guys up to down there?" She murmured before setting off on a sprint towards the docks.

She could smell the acrid aroma of smoke and hear the roar of fire. She sharply pivoted towards the beach, choosing a side long approach to whatever disaster lay ahead. As her feet hit the sand, she could see the action not far away: a shadowy trio upon a rooftop with one wearing a hat comparable to the one on her head. A lumpy form lay on the beach as well and a glint of light off something glassy caught her magenta gaze. She plucked up a familiar pair of goggles from the ground and then knelt beside the form. She rolled it over onto its back and stared with horror into the bloodied remains of her friend Sojiro. One of the first people who could stand her rough ways and whom she was almost ready to call friend. Hell, he was a friend even if she wasn't brave enough to say so to him. With so much damage done, Zincarla wasn't sure any medic could manage anything to assist him.

Zincarla could summon a spirit to attempt to heal him, or she could hurry to the docks and see the condition of Tad and Takumi. If they were still alive, that trio would soon be sure to finish them off. She clenched her hands and growled, "Damn it all. You bastards better stay alive up there." The dark haired woman backed up, crawling against the crimson sands and then knelt again with clasped hands. She uttered some words, or some sounds, as she had no idea what they meant and had never gotten the chance to figure it out. The syllables just came to her lips until a light blue glowing beside her revealed a skinny black haired woman's spirit. She wore a long stained white nightgown and wore a swaddling cloth around her one shoulder, although the cloth was empty. Zincarla stretched out a hand to hold the hand of the spirit and spoke gently.

"Mother Mayuree, I am sorry to pull you away from your slumber but I need your help. I have called upon you for our contract and ask that you try and heal this friend of mine before me," Zincarla gestured. "You're my last hope, Mother. Please say you will try." The worn out spirit squeezed her hand, in a tangible way that only Zin could feel. In the blink of an eye, the feeling of her hand vanished and the spirit had reappeared by the side of Sojiro, her long pale hands stretched out. The sound of a crying infant floated through the air, narrating the desperation of the situation.

WC: 875+2967= 3842

Tad stood up from dispatching the second pirate within Sojiro's shadow world as the man's paralyzed body feel to the ground next to him. Tad dusted off his pants as they'd gotten a little dirty when he slid up to his last victim. He began to walk towards Sojiro as the mage had also finished dispatching his share of the pirates. The lanky lightning mage admitted that the two made a pretty good team, even if they weren't sleeping together... yet.

"Thaddeus, can you ring Zincarla for me and tell her we ran into trouble? We're going to need some he-"

Tad's hand had already begun reaching into his pocket so that he could ring Zincarla when the loud sound of cannon fire erupted. Almost instantly, new sounds of destruction could be heard as the dock and nearby building began crashing under the attack of the cannon balls. Tad was caught off guard, unaware of more pirates, but he instinctively turned towards the sound of cannon fire. His attention barely caught sight of a cannon ball as it's circumference ducked underneath the top of the dock. The ball, however, didn't stop its destruction of the dock as it continued barreling through the under portions. What once was the deck of the dock was now nothing more than shattered wooden planks which now sailed through the air towards Tad, who could do little else than turn his back and cover his head with his arms. The mage had done nothing but try to protect himself, but it quickly dawned on him that the dock itself wasn't a safe place to be if that cannon ball kept wrecking the supports that held it up.

True to form, the ball destroyed much of the docks' supports before settling in the sand beneath. With nothing supporting the deck, it began to fall inward, its weight pulling the supports that remained along the outside of the dock upwards and over. Tad, realizing that he no longer stood on solid ground, began rushing towards the dock's edge. The sand below, he hoped, would be soft enough even if it was a good distance below him. The lanky figure reached the edge of the dock as it began to fold in on itself and Tad leapt, still at a full sprint. He sailed through the air, the wind caused by his descent sent his green hair backwards wildly. Tad looked down, trying to plan a landing that wouldn't break his leg.

Hitting the sand with a considerable thud, Tad rolled forward as he'd been taught to do when jumping from high places. He rolled forward, but remained in a laying position flat on his back. To say that the landing was painless would be a gross exaggeration."Ouch, but at least I'm not on the dock..." Tad said aloud, mostly to himself. He trailed off though, realizing that he wasn't the only mage up there. He jumped to his feet and looked to where he though Sojiro had last been. He wasn't exactly acting calmly anymore. "Sojiro!" he called to his friend.

But before he could get a response, Tad realized that someone had attacked them. It wasn't some blameless natural disaster, there was some pirate somewhere that had purposely sent those cannon balls to hurt them, which meant Tad had someone to funnel all of his emotions into: the worry for his friend's well being, the anger at the pain Tad felt from his own landing, and, maybe the more serious offense, the damage done to Tad's appearance. But in all seriousness, Tad was enraged that the man he loved had been put in danger. His palms filled with lightning, but the white that he'd been using thus far was now replaced with the much more dangerous black lightning. He no longer intended to play with these pirates... now he was out for blood and their lives.

Tad was no longer concerned with completing a job or receiving payment, his rage had taken over. And while it probably would have been a better plan to find Takumi and Zincarla, and Sojiro if he was alright, Tad had no intention to do any of that. He scanned the area and saw the three lieutenants standing together. More importantly, Tad saw the smoke as it emanated from the three cannons attached to the creature that stood in the middle. In his rage, he rushed straight towards them. His speed was being used at its fullest and he closed the distance in record time, his feet left the ground as he sent himself hurtling through the air at the large creature. It was only then, as he was launched through the air like a missile that he realized there was a mage atop the golem.

He was so focused on the golem that he barely noticed the two other pirates, their parrots and whirlpools not garnering any of his attention. Unfortunately for the lightning mage, he hadn't seen the mage atop the golem and hadn't planned his trajectory to take out the mage that was likely controlling it. He wasn't too upset though, he charged his palm with black lightning and thrust his palm forward as he reached the golem's midsection, just below the chest cannon. He hoped his speed plus the lightning's natural piercing power would leave a hole the size of Fiore in the golem's stomach. Sadly, things didn't go as Tad planned.

The golem's rock-like constitution caused the lightning to dissipate, like a strike of lightning hitting the ground. That left Tad's palm strike as the only real attack that hit the golem and the lanky mage wasn't known for his strength so the golem wasn't even phased. The pirate atop the golem simply laughed, though she had been startled by Tad's attack. Tad backed away as the golem swung a large cannon-fist at him. Tad's own arm was aching considerably and he wondered if he'd broken it in his ill-advised frontal attack.

As Tad shook out his arm, a tentacle of water flew towards him from his right. Tad's anger had subsided a bit and he was more aware of his surroundings, so he continued to back up, evading the water. Tad was suddenly feeling outnumbered and terribly disadvantaged: as he realized that both the golem and the whirlpool would barely be effected by Tad's lightning. That left the mage with only one clear option, attack the mages that were controlling them, but now that Tad's element of surprise was blown, how could he manage to defeat all three pirates before him?

WC: 1096
TWC: 1096 + 385 + 420 + 498 = 2399

WC: 1,480
TWC: 5,003

Everything felt numb. Takumi was certain that there was still things happening around him, in the distance he thought he could hear shouting but it was muted underneath his own heartbeat that continued to pound and remind him that he was still alive while his bestfriend had just been blew apart before his very eyes. Cold blood was beginning to dry on his face while the remaining had clung onto the leather jacket, a small voice in his head idlily noting that it was gonna be a pain to clean it off properly.

Memories that he had kept buried inside of himself had been replaying throughout his mind as he stared blankly at the severed arm that he could've sworn was twitching and trying to reach out to him. He could still fully recall the man's pale face frozen in terror, but the part that stuck out to him the most was that the very same arm that was laying before him had been the same arm that Sojiro had used to reach out for him. His word had been broken that day, a silent vow to never allow this happen again wouldn't hold true and once more it would be broken this day as well.

Strange magics he never could fully figure out had dominated this land and despite his efforts to adapt and master the elements of this new world to avoid repeating his mistake, his efforts were for naught and his best friend had once more died before his very eyes while he could only react in horror. A morbid thought crossed his mind that much like last time, he'll likely die as well yet unlike last time, this second death will come from inaction rather than the rash decision making that made him flee from the lifeless corpse of his friend. The pirates would not be kind to a broken man who had sought to stand against them.

Despite that, he couldn't find it in him to care. The world had ceased to matter to the man who simply sat and stared at the severed arm, ignorant to the actions of those he had called allies and the pirates who had taken the reason to live from his life.

WC: 373
TWC: 3,399

As Mother Mayuree began to heal the body before her, it was obvious that no amount of physical healing would restore the dead. If the soul was gone, if the mind was gone, the body was just a body. Zincarla didn't ask what state her friend, Sojiro was in, and the spirit didn't offer an explanation. Carrying around a swaddling cloth, the ghost was no stranger to loss nor the irrational behaviors, beliefs and choices the living made around that loss. She needn't have worked for very long, however. With a surprising burst of speed, Sojiro sat up. Blood lifted from all around and returned to him, as if he were reclaiming what was rightfully his. Zincarla shielded her face with one arm and called out to him, "Sojiro? So?" Then with a pause, she uttered, "Archeron?" Blinking her magenta eyes up at him, squinting through the swirls of sand and blood, Zincarla heard him cry out for the death of all those around. She didn't know whom he meant. His face was different, his eyes were different, even his voice was not quite his somehow.

If there was nothing more for Mother Mayuree to do, there was no sense in wasting mana and putting her in the field of danger. She looked to the spirit, shocked but unharmed sitting nearby, and cried out, "Mother, I thank you and bid you farewell." The spirit nodded and vanished. As the sand settled, Zincarla lowered her arm and caught the blur of motion that was Sojiro hurtling forward towards the three pirate mages. Zincarla hadn't seen them at all before now, having followed the sound of cannon fire to Sojiro's apparent dead form. She pocketed his goggles and examined the area around her now. Wild images danced before her and yet they had to be real. Strangely, the pirates attacking this town were more organized and ruthless than their typical band of scavengers.

With quick attacks in the dark, by the glow of fires burning below, the witch watched Sojiro dispose of the massive cannon golem and its summoner. Tad was fighting a whirlpool style monster, a creature from the depths with tentacles that she had no reference for. when she caught sight of Takumi, he had collapsed dumbly where he must have been standing before. The destruction of the docks lay around him, shards of wood stabbing threateningly into the ground while other bits of flotsam lay in the shallow water. He didn't look injured and wounds of the mind would be timely to repair. She set her jaw and tried to think of how she should act next. Standing in the path of Sojiro seemed unwise, especially with her arm coated in the blood of Red and his hat on her head. Feeling disgusted at her own sanctimonious prior actions, Zincarla tossed the feathered thing to the ground. There was no honor in destroying one enemy, thinking the sight of the hat would have been enough to persuade the others to leave from her, when clearly there were more enemies still present.

Zincarla got to her feet and prepared to attack, on her own going for the shadow she saw watching the battle from above, the true captain. A twinge inside her made her groan out loud. Takumi was needed.Though 3 on 3 seemed well matched, there was no telling how far Sojiro would go now, and Tad had only barely managed to dodge the swing of the water creature. It would waste more time, but it would probably be worth it. Takumi wasn't very far from where she had been and she dashed over as quickly as her feet would carry her. There were no obstacles, other than the massive pieces of dock littering the land. "Get up, Takumi!" She ordered as she drew near.

The mage's long dark hair billowed behind her and she was still half soaked in the blood of her first enemy. It might have been a frightening sight but compared to the death of Sojiro, she doubteed it would affect Takumi much. She reached him and shouted again, slapping him across his face. "Takumi, I said get up! We need you, the fight's not over." She looked over her shoulder, unnerved by the bloodlust in Sojiro's face. Depending on what helped him revive, whatever was deep inside him, whatever dark pact he might have made... Sojiro might come after the town next, or even his allies. She had no way of knowing. His best friend was one of the only ways left to him now. "Sojiro needs you," She added, "Get up!"

WC: 768+3842= 4610

The danger Tad now found himself in caused his rage to settle slightly. As it did, the lanky mage came to the realization that he'd let his anger take control and influence his actions. If he'd been more logical and less emotional, Tad would have targeted the one controlling the golem, rather than foolishly attacking the golem itself. It had ended up being a wasted attack, given away his presence, and put him in a location that all three could attack him. That was the thoughts going through his head as Tad continued to evade the water tentacles as they slung out from the whirlpool in his direction. All three of the pirates and Tad felt a giant surge of magic drawing all four of their attention away from each other.

For the briefest of moments, Tad figured Zincarla had arrived, but he heard the voice and recognized it as Sojiro's. Despite it being Sojiro's voice, Tad was perturbed because it sounded off in some way that he couldn't place. That was the last thought Tad had before the now armor clad teammate sent himself hurtling through the air at the pirates that had just struck him. Sojiro's words and actions were markedly different than usual, causing Tad to wonder what was going on with him.

Tad's lightning flared in his palms as he realized that the odds were a little more even. He had to do something as Sojiro attacked, drawing the attention of the three pirates from him. Tad took off to his left as Sojiro's pothole spell gave the cannon golem a balance issue. The lightning mage fully utilized his enhanced speed as he circled around behind the mage who was in control of the whirlpool. His attention was still drawn to Sojiro who by now had blasted the golem's midsection with a cannonball of his own. Facing his palm forward, Tad fired off a bolt of white lightning at the summoner who wore an Eyepatch, hoping to incapacitate him while he was distracted. The thud of the loud golem hitting the ground covered the noise of crackling lightning as it flew towards its intended target, however, an oversized parrot swooped in and snatched Eyepatch by the shoulders. The bolt's target now moving at extreme speeds caused the bolt to hit the pool of water rather than its summoner.

"Tsk tsk tsk," came Scar's admonishment as his parrot saved his twin from Tad's sneak attack. While Tad's attack had failed, Sojiro had successfully removed the third summoner, evidenced by the golem's prone body dissipating into nothingness. The parrot dropped Eyepatch near his swirling water ball and headed straight at Tad, seemingly unconcerned with the armored man who'd just taken out his comrade. Tad was no slouch in the speed department and took off running, his feet beginning to flash with sparks of lightning as he moved at speeds that normally he couldn't manage. The parrot's speed wasn't lacking though and the multi-colored bird was able to nip and claw at Tad as he began taking more evasive actions.

Tad's palms lit up with lightning as he had a spell for this very purpose. He stopped quickly, causing the bird to fly past him, but make a sharp turn in an attempt to come back for the lanky mage's head. Tad dispersed his lightning outward, causing nearly one hundred tiny balls of lightning to fill the area around him. The parrot didn't have time to alter its course and ran straight into one that was the furthest out from Tad. The lightning did its job, shocking and slightly numbing the bird. The bird's extreme speed worked against it though as it was unable to regain control, hitting another tiny ball after the first. Tad watched on as the bird barreled through eight balls of lightning before slowing down and crashing into the beach below it.

Tad had been holding his breath but seeing the speedy parrot downed allowed him to relax slightly and exhale the pent up gases from his lungs. He turned back to Sojiro and the two summoners that he'd left him with. He was still worried about Sojiro's demeanor change and newly discovered armor, but he was sure he could hold his own against the whirlpool and defenseless summoner.

WC: 714
Thread Total: 16125

WC: 762
Thread Total: 16,887

Memory after memory passed by as Takumi laid against the rocks that had became his resting place, the passage of time and those around him easily forgotten as he surrendered to the despair of loss once more. The thoughts of pirates and defending the town were nothing more than distant memories from another life that held no more meaning as he was content with simply sitting and waiting for something to finally happen.

"get up Takumi!"

That voice was so distant, yet so close. So familiar, yet he never heard it before. Everything was distorted and muted, like he was stuck in a haze yet he could see the blood so clearly, it stood out against the figure who he couldn't make head or tails of. An attack that was meant for him had struck sand instead. In the moment it took for the figure to prepare to attack and to deliver the attack, the sand between them raced up to protect the grieving man. Yet the sand couldn't hold it's form completely and instead of a slap he'd be struck by small amounts of sand splashing against his face with some of it hitting his eyes.

Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth for just a moment, he'd force his eyes open to look upwards toward his attacker, an anger growing within him and the flames of revenge had begun to take form yet as quick as it came, it died as he looked up at the bloodied figure of Zincarla. A strange girl he never got much of a chance to interact with, a girl he never really bothered to learn about and as he was now realizing, someone he was willing to abandon at the first sign of trouble. She was speaking yet he couldn't find it in himself to listen, he needed to move, Sojiro would be upset if he didn't at least make sure the job was finished and his friends were safe.

As Takumi attempted to stand up once more, the rocks he had rested against began raising up to assist him, almost guiding him up to his feet. Lilac eyes met magenta eyes for just a moment before he'd gloss over the girl entirely as he looked toward where the fighting was happening. Thaddeus stood by, watching as a bird electrocuted itself in a field of lightning orbs while an unknown figure was currently absorbing the fire from one of the magicians. That left only one.

The sand underneath his feet would begun to rise and move forwards like one would expect a wave would appear out in the ocean and atop the growing tidal wave of sand was the now quiet blonde who remained perfectly still as he slowly gained more height over the battlefield. Had he not been so focused, he would've realized the captain had clear aim for him. The thin line of fire had raced quickly toward the blonde who didn't react, instead the sand itself seemed to sense the attack and quickly the wave turned on itself to cover the rider. As soon as the attack met the sand, it would expand outward in a violent fireball that engulfed the small ball that had formed around Takumi and would burn for a few seconds.

By the time the fire had dispersed, the impact site seemed almost glassed over and the sand that made up the ball was almost the perfect art project for gradients as the black scorched sand started from one side and eased up until vanishing at the opposite end. With a roar and glass shattering, the front of the sand ball would burst open as a sweating Takumi would break through and begin falling from the nearly 15 feet high sand wave that begun to collapse in on itself. His target was more than aware of what was happening by then but it didn't matter, right behind him a pothole would open up and the stunned pirate stepped into the suddenly uneven ground and with no fiction in sand, he would tumble backwards and into the ground.

A small self satisfied smirk would appear on his face as he allowed the ground to swallow the fallen pirate, creating a dome around him was risky but Takumi was gambling on the pirate to only know fire based magic, he'd cook himself alive before he broke through the sand prison Takumi built around him. The smirk was replaced almost immediately as he looked down to the waiting sand slope below. Takumi roughly smashed into it and begun rolling down the pile of sand he had built up with the intention of burying the pirate alive.

WC: 778
Thread Total: 17,665

The sound of an epic fight behind Zincarla made her wince, desperate and curious to turn around and watch. Lightning and fire crackled the air with a dense heat but she kept her eyes on Takumi. She had made up her mind after all. She slapped, thinking she would hit skin, and her fingers splashed through sand instead. Zincarla jerked back her hand in surprise and then let out a breath of relief. He might not be very responsive, but Takumi was still in there, behind his dullard expression. Before she could speak their eyes met and an understanding was made: there was still a job to do and whatever it was that drove him now, he would at least finish the fight. Zincarla watched as the sand swept him up and away, carrying him into battle.

A dead parrot summon, flickering and fading as the spell was destroyed explained that Tad had bluntly ended it with perhaps a bit of vengeance. Either that or the parrot was stronger than she thought it was when she had turned away to Takumi before. A humid layer of steam told another story, as Sojiro must have killed the other water based summon too. She watched with fascination as he used a separated arm, his arm, to dispatch the summoner with the eye patch. The three men had a strange bond and she suddenly felt like an other observing them, realizing suddenly that she had kept them by and large at a distance. Though she had lived with them these last few months, though this was not even the first big mission they completed together, she knew more about them than they knew about her. And even that was not much. Zincarla built up a protective defense in prison that even a year after she regained freedom, she had not let down any bit of that defense.

She could see it in her head, the three having a drink late at night when she came home and slipped upstairs and away. The way she coaxed the independent stealthy jobs for herself and left the action to them. Except for the first day at the beach, she had scarcely let them know more about her than what her favorite breakfast was or her favorite hang outs. Getting closer to them dictated more security, and yet by watching them fight fluidly with each other, she felt a sense of longing to be part of it. Maybe next time she heard Takumi and Sojiro climb up to their roof to talk and watch the stars, Zincarla would join them. Maybe next time they fought, she too would be in the thick of it. She flexed her hand and turned to rinse it in the shallow sea water, the dried blood slipping away in a consistent metaphor of her thoughts.

Above them all, set in the shadows with the light of fire contrasting his appearance, Zincarla lay eyes on the real Captain. His cold stature suggested he felt no camaraderie with his men, even the powerful ones who fought and died for him. So far, she had been playing quiet, almost demure, keeping the strength of her magic under wraps while the three men increased their skill. The roar that came from Sojiro's mouth was horrifying, and not his. Zincarla wondered if they would have to handle him as well. Zincarla was faster than she looked especially if there were no obstacles in her path. She cast the same spell from earlier to make herself incorporeal and ran, straight through each building, fence post, and rock in between the shore and the tall warehouse where the captain stood. She ended the spell to give herself the strength to climb up the side of the building and face the captain's back.

"Draw your weapon," she said, "I won't kill an unarmed enemy." The captain hesitated, given the rage of Sojiro not far away, but ultimately turned to face the dark haired witch. "So it has come to this. What useless men I have that can't ransack a poor town. See how they have gotten themselves killed by a bunch of young mages now." He grinned widely in the dark, his white teeth gleaming as he summoned out his huge hand cannon. "I am not--" Zincarla didn't let him finish. She was tired of the monologues and of the faulty confidence and so called power which was greater than all else. She respected power, loved it even, but she didn't need to show off. She might have even allowed Sojiro this fight only to watch him stretch out his new found strengths, but that was selfish.

Zincarla uttered a single otherworldly world, more a gurgle from a corpse than any real language in Fiore. With that invisible hands gripped the pirate captain in place with cold and sticky strength. The captain couldn't see it, but dozens of spirits had gathered and latched on to his legs, arms, and back. Paralysis didn't feel good on the best days, but this was some contorted version that he had likely never faced before. Zincarla inhaled and exhaled, readying another spell, only a few feet away from Four Fingers. "How does it feel? The hands of the dead? The hands of those you killed coming back to pull on you, a taste of what hell might be like." She narrowed her eyes, "I don't even have to do anything else now. Sojiro is coming to repay you in full."

WC: 4610+916 = 5526

After removing the parrot from the fight, Tad turned back to survey what needed to be done next. The loud bang of a gun drew Tad's attention though he couldn't place the actual gun, but was amazed as Sojiro caught what appeared to be his own arm with magic flaring from it and then jabbed it into the pirate. Even to Tad, such a thing didn't seem possible; how can he ignore the pain of a bullet essentially amputating his arm and have the wherewithal to actually catch it as it flops through the air? Then to somehow keep that magic from dissipating and stab his enemy... that shouldn't be possible. There were no words to describe how insane such an action was and Sojiro didn't seem to be taking any time to consider the feat as he turned towards the Captain who, Tad then realized, had been the one to remove Sojiro's arm so expertly from such an incredible distance.

Realizing that Sojiro was going after the Captain, Tad turned his attention towards the last summoner. At least, he was preparing to do so before the sound of breaking glass pulled Tad's attention away from the pirate in question. Tad was surprised when Takumi, riding a wave of sand, emerged from a ball of glass. Tad had never really witnessed Takumi become this serious. It did make sense to him though: The two of them are best friends, so it only makes sense seeing Sojiro go through such obviously painful experiences would do something to Takumi too. It had an effect on me, surely it would also have an effect on his best bud.

Seeing the wave coming towards the last pirate, Tad simply kept his distance. He watched as the wave rolled forward, only for the pirate to fall into a trap behind him. Tad couldn't help but smile, he'd seen Takumi's pothole spell before and thought it a rather silly thing but seeing it used in conjunction with a tsunami of sand was ever impressive to the lightning mage. The wave crashed onto the hole, easily capturing and likely suffocating, if not outright squishing, the pirate within.

It was then that Tad's magic sensory caught an activation of magic atop the building where the Captain of the pirates had been. He turned that direction, but couldn't see what was going on. He was fairly certain the magic he'd felt had been Zincarla, who Tad was sure could handle herself way more than any of the others on their team, but he wondered what sort of summoning she'd used on the Pirate Captain. He'd have to remember to ask her later.

All in all, Tad felt like the mission had been a success. Everyone was, to his knowledge, physically alright though something was clearly amiss with Sojiro who'd somehow regenerated a large portion of his body and managed to keep going seemingly stronger than when he'd started. There was definitely something that the team would have to figure out about him, but for now, the entire team was in one piece and all of the pirates were taken care of, Tad assumed. Tad couldn't imagine a situation where Zincarla needed help in a one on one and Sojiro, after this encounter, seemed particularly unbeatable considering his ability to heal from any wound near instantly. The idea that the two of them together would need assistance against a single mage just seemed like something out of a fantasy.

He turned back to the sand and Takumi, only to see his teammate rolling down the sand dome. Tad rushed over to see if Takumi was okay after taking such a tumble. He arrived just as Takumi's roll came to a stop and helped situate the man into a sitting position with his back against the dome of sand. "Dude, that was awesome! You were a total rock star, but are you alright? That looked like quite a tumble." In truth, Tad was a little relieved that the battle was over, his own forehead was littered with droplets of sweat showing that he'd worked hard during the mission.

WC: 687
Thread Total: 19268

WC: 884
TWC: 20,152