piratejournal | [voice] unless you're a Hazmat then c'mere

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[voice] unless you're a Hazmat then c'mere

Heh. So how's the race goin'? It's been pretty quiet, hope the rest o'ya haven't been sunk halfway through. Thought I mighta heard some news by now, but I guess if other crews' tokens have been as hard to find as ours, I shouldn't be surprised.

As for us, we're keepin' up. We ain't last. And we won't be last to Port Chance, lemme tell ya. What news on your ends, pirate crews?

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[There's an abrupt surge of waves, but nothing that would endanger the ship by way of capsizing. However, not long after, there is also the sound of a heavy thud, somewhere on deck.

Further investigation might reveal a figure clothed in a rather dark palette of colors, armored lightly but where it counts. The figure is crouched on deck, wet as though he'd been recently doused by the sea- or perhaps had pulled himself out of it- a sword on his back, an odd, fox-like mask strapped over a shoulder apparently to serve as a guard, a helmet with strange tendrils dangling from the back, paired with a faceplate that covered most of his face.]

[Captain is sprawled on the mid-deck, basking in what's left of the sun before the storms move in, when he hears the thunk of boots. He sets aside the journal and moves to sit up and see who's around, but the figure is not at all recognizable. Nobody from his crew, and he's not sure if it's one of the Shepherds or...

Nope, definitely intruder, so Gan Ning sits up even more sharply and then launches himself onto his feet, pulling River Master swiftly]

Oi! Who goes there?

[That helmeted head lifts, even before Gan Ning speaks up, having heard the sound of someone else's feet against the wood planks to signal that he isn't the only one here. Instinctively a hand goes for the hilt of the sword behind him, and seeing as how the other man is armed, there's no hesitance in drawing it forth from its sheath.

A slow breath is all that's released within that mask. He needs to calm himself down, gather his thoughts. An eerie red glow seems to emanate subtly from the darkly clad figure like a sickly aura.]

[Gan Ning is still for a moment, studying the intruder to verify that it isn't anyone he knows, and not feeling too good about that aura. Red is the color of one of their current foes, but he hasn't seen anyone on the Red Eyes ship dressed like that, either. Another sword is drawn, so if the guy isn't going to answer, he has no choice. He springs from his place, bells jingling as he races to meet the challenge.]

Better open your mouth before I shut it permanently for you!

-!

[It's the sound that strikes him as familiar, but when a guy is moving like that towards you, staying rooted to the deck isn't what you do.

He leaps to the side, using his free hand to vault himself into a rolling half-flip, his blade still out and at the ready to fend off any strike that might be attempted. The man shouting at him didn't sound Ylissean, but then the accent didn't sound Valmese either. None of this is making sense, and yet there's some nagging feeling that he's missing something important here.]

-well excuse me for being on the wrong ship!

[Muffled and behind a layer of metal, there might be something familiar about that voice. Maybe?]

[being the sort of guy who swings first and asks questions later, Gan Ning swipes the scimitar in a wide arc, missing as the intruder flips out of the way. He doesn't stop there, even as something at the back of his mind nags that it might not be a stranger after all.]

You didn't answer me! The hell are you doin' on our ship? How'd you get here?

[he swings a couple more times and then shoots a glance at the Nav. Someone would have to know where they're going to use it to invade, so it couldn't be that...]

[The guy's got a pretty good swing, but the dread fighter maintains a firm grip and command of his own weapon as metal clashes.]

That's something I'd like to know, myself!

[He sees that brief waver of the man's attention and fully exploits it, pushing forward with his blade to try throwing Gan Ning off balance before jerking a knee towards the man's torso.]

[a smarter man would have stopped there and tried to figure this out. Not Gan Ning. There's a fight and by god he's going to fight it. The intruder isn't too bad, pretty skilled with that thing. He braces himself right before the blow connects, taking it hard in the flank with a grunt.

And then grins widely. Like a dumbass.]

You're gonna have to hit me harder than that!

[he uses his blade to block and parry the other sword out of his way so his free hand can come up and grip the mask, very obviously threatening to rip it off. Masks can be such a hazard in battle, can't they?]

[Crivens, this guy's crazy! Having not expected the man to just stand there, the dread fighter's caught a bit flat-footed when all Gan Ning does is grin and knock back his blade. He knows he won't be able to pull it back and around in time for another attack, and his free arm doesn't come up fast enough to swipe at the pirate's other hand.

Gan Ning grasps that faceplate rather firmly, and it detaches with a crisp metal ring as the darkly clad fighter pushes himself back to try and put some distance between them again, hand bracing against the deck for balance as he grips his blade behind him.

Well hey, that face sure should look familiar now.]

[damn right it does, making Gan Ning pause in mid-spring before he can give chase]

....Gaius?

[holy shit the guy's alive. He didn't drown. Or if he did, he's back...

Xingba lowers his blade, letting the curved edge rest on the deck.]

No way. No way!

Wha..?

[Apprehension is replaced with confusion, but while it doesn't make him relinquish his sword, he does stay his hand from further attacks for the moment.]

...do...I know you?

[He has a feeling he should, like it's something from a dream he'd until now forgotten the details.]

What're you talkin' about, of course you do! It's me! Gan Ning! Captain of the ship and stuff!

[now that he has a moment, his free hand slides briefly over his side. Damn, he did get hit pretty hard, there.]

Gan Ning....

[Captain?

Gaius watches his movements, slowly easing out of the defensive stance he'd taken. He tugs off his helmet, letting it land unceremoniously on the deck so he can run a hand through his hair and massage his temple.

Taking a couple of steps back, he lets his eyes scan the ship, gaze drifting up towards the crows nest and then towards the back before slowly moving back towards Gan Ning.]

...Jingles..?

[The bells, the loud captain, the ship with its weird jolly roger...it was slowly coming back to him, but then it's also been a long time. For him.]

[of all the nicknames he's been given around here, that one he doesn't mind. Gan Ning breaks out in a huge grin]

Yeah! What happened, where'd you go? We thought we'd lost you!

I...I was back home.

[He frowns, flipping the sword about to slide back into its sheath.]

...didn't even realize I'd been here before, at first. Weird...

[Gaius shakes his head, then points.]

Sorry about that- you all right there?

Yeah, yeah. Just a scratch.

[he stows River Master away and rubs his side again with a chuckle]

Damn, you pack quick a punch. Nah, it's fine, I've had worse, don't worry. Good, though...that you were back home. We had no idea, we could only guess. I seriously thought you were dead, man.

[He kind of figured that would be Gan Ning's response, but he had to ask anyway.]

So that's how this place is... Yeah, I vaguely remember it.

...crivens, so just how long was I gone?

Let's see...that was sometime last month, so...eh, month and a half or so? There's a little bit to catch up on. We're in the middle of a race against pretty much every crew in the world.

Heh, a little bit, he says. You're going to have to bear with me.

[A month or so... Times were strange in this place, he kind of recalled that as well. Gaius leaned over to pick up his helmet.]

A race, huh? Sounds exciting, but I guess it beats being stuck in another battle between lands.

Oh? Yeah, war sucks, don't it? Sorry to hear about that. But it's good to see you alive and well. Cynthia's gonna lose her head when she sees you're okay.

C'mon, sit, catch your breath. I'll catch ya up on things.

[He smiles crookedly, nodding.]

Sweets is still here too? Who all else?

[It's slowly coming back to him, fond memories that he didn't even know he had from two years past.]

Sounds good to me.

[They hadn't gone at it for long, but he could still do for catching his breath and calm himself down in general.]

Sweets? [hahahahahaha oh god now he's going to call her that. And probably piss her off.] Hah! Well, the kid and his dragon, Raph and Leo...although Mikey and Donnie went home, we think. Mikey disappeared around the time you did. Lea and Roxas, and...dunno, were Wan and Lisa already with us by then?

Somebody was askin' me the other day about lettin' new people on, too.

[Tilting his head back as he sits, he nods a little as Gan Ning goes down the list.]

...sounds about right. Yeah, I think I remember a Wan, and I'm pretty sure I've talked to the green girl.

Busy as ever around here, huh?

Eh, guess you can say that. [as he thumps down to a seat on the deck, folding his legs] The big thing right now is this race, we've been all over the map. Just came from a creepy sort of island that didn't look like too much fun, now we're lookin' for another cloud island.

Just how many of these cloud islands are there around here?

[Thinking about it, he's pretty sure he's never taken part in any races of any sort himself, before.]

So what do we get if we win?

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[voice] unless you're a Hazmat then c'mere

[Action forev] Incoming confused Dread Fighter in 3...2....

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