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Post by CJ on Jun 2, 2014 0:11:39 GMT -5
Sam was incredible. In only the few short moments Joe had known her, she proved more than worthy of admiration. He was familiar with the history of Celestial Dragons and their markings so he grimaced when he saw the hoof print tattoo, knowing fully what it meant. He really would have to keep it hidden for her and his sake. To him though, it was as honorable as it was damning. It meant that Sam had gotten out of a hellish life under tyrany. He wondered if that was the reason for her scars or only one of her hands being webbed. Even with her undoubtedly horrible past, she could still do such amazing feats. It inspired him, making the prospect of recusing Solaine seem all the more real.
Holding a fallen tooth in his hand, he thought back to marine life textbooks he had borrowed years ago when he was learning to read. He recalled that sharks shed their teeth over the course of their life. He assumed then that Sam was some kind of shark fishman, though he dared not ask outright. There was already so much she had to reveal to him, a complete stranger. He didn't want to invade her privacy even more than he had, but he hoped that she had some kind of regenerating factor. For all he knew, her shakiness was her body healing her.
For a moment, he wondered why he didn't know Sam's name intially. The first thing he remembered when Nathan obtained him was that he knew his name. He figured it was because he wasn't actually Sam's, but still Nathan's. Since he had lost Nathan's image, he hadn't heard anything from him. For the first time in years, he felt truly alone, even with Sam there with him.
Joe felt guilty to admit it, but it was relieving. He was free, at least for this time in Vengeance. He had to wonder how his brother was doing though. If Joe had merely killed himself and returned to him, Nathan would have been bedridden for a week or so. So what would this "vacation" do to him?
He had to find Solaine and make sure whatever happened was worth it.
"You want to get inside the tower?" he asked, placing his hand to his mouth in worry. "Was that why you were in the courtyard before? I was just in there at a party my friend was invited to. I think she got scared because she recognized someone. They attacked us when we tried to leave.
"Why did those people hurt her and you like that? What's so important to them to resort to violence like that?"
Pausing for a moment, he blinked rapidly at Sam.
"Wait, birds? I mean, I like parrots and parakeets, but what do birds have to do with all this?"
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Post by Kyubey on Jun 2, 2014 18:07:10 GMT -5
Morrison made an irritated mewling noise, to show his displeasure at Huxley's rather imprecise translation, but left it at that. As tedious as paper was, when he had time to write down his thoughts he could always make sure he said exactly what he wanted to.
"As much as I would like to stay and talk some more," he said, , "The current situation does require an urgent report. The World Government would be rather concerned about the way their nobles are being treated, and I do wish to keep my job. This has been a most informative visit."
He nodded his head, and turned away. "Oh, one last thing," he said, almost like an afterthought, but much more deliberate. "I will return after I am through with my official matters. If you think that I don't intend to learn why it is that the people here are not free to talk about my friend, then you have horribly misunderstood me."
With that, he began walking away from Jack, as silently and purposefully as one would expect from any normal housecat. He did not look to see if Huxley was following him or not, but by this point, he was expecting her to.
"You want me to go back to my ship, right?"
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Jun 5, 2014 0:51:24 GMT -5
Joe must have missed her question, or didn't want to answer, so Sam let it go. Grabbing onto the door handles, she began to turn them with some effort, the door creaking up a terrible racket. It seemed this door was not originally part of the station, but that didn't matter because immediately upon the door opening, a giant bird jumped out and pounced onto Joe. The weight was probably significant enough to knock him over, but the bird also did it's best attempt of consuming his head.
"Off, off! Look, friend, see?"
With Sam's pushing, she managed to get the bird off, and with gestures including covering her eyes with a hand and then removing it she managed to get the attack to stop. It seemed the bird was able to tell them apart, but thankfully it didn't seem to bear any further hostility towards Joe. With a hand, she offered to help Joe to his feet, after which she entered the room. The bird followed closely after, nudging at and fawning over her, to which she acknowledged but didn't let stop her from what she needed to do.
"Your friend must be important then, if you all were invited inside. We've been watching the tower for awhile now, among other places, since most of the important stuff going on in this land happen there. I just saw you two in trouble and decided to act."
---
"He said he has to leave to report on the situation here, because the Government wouldn't like how we're treating the nobles."
"Ha! Has he seen how we treat our own Princess?"
"He also said he'll be back to figure out what happened to Sam."
Right, well, he had to leave at some point. Jack didn't think the cat to be such a puppet though, that seeing what he just saw would be what caused him to leave. Either way, this was almost convenient to his needs. He didn't mind having the cat around, but somehow the news needed to get out.
"Go then, tell your masters what it is we're doing here. Make sure you tell them that we have these hostages and are treating them as well possible, they are still our guests after all. We will release all of them in due time, and not a moment before, so don't bother trying to negotiate. If the Government though, or the Marines take any action against us or make any incursions before this time, I'll start sending them Celestial Dragon heads. Tell them they can test us if they like, I've got plenty to spare. If we're going to have a messenger give them our terms, it may as well be a Warlord."
Jack seemed set in his stance, not stumbling over his words. It seemed apparent that he had at least planned all of this for some time, if not having had rehearsed it before. Whatever his game was, as risky as it might have been, he at least believed he could win.
"If you can get into Vengeance after that, after they probably blockade this country to hell and back, come and find me."
With that Jack waved goodbye for real this time, and made his way wholly down the steps to help mop up the situation with the gala. The guide meanwhile, as expected, followed after the cat.
"I want you to do what you want, My Lord. If you want to leave, then I'll show you the way back. You don't have to leave though, you don't have to do anything."
---
The place was pretty run down and dirty, grimy even. This must have been some service access in the station at one point, what with the lack of decoration or ergonomic features, and all the surfaces were grimy old metal. Despite all that, Sam seemed to have turned it into a living space, with the basic amenities. Of course it didn't help that she always lived messily, so the place was not only grimy but also cluttered. Containers, stacks of papers, worn down textiles and clothes, anything really. Assumedly since trips to the surface were infrequent, hoarding was a necessity down here. Of particular note, that on one of the walls which was lined with switching boards, there had been pinned a rough map of the country and this region of the ocean. On this were various attached bits of information, including even bounty posters of certain personages.
"You might not remember, but they weren't trying to hurt her, that only happened because you wouldn't give her up. Notice they didn't hurt you, or anyone else either. We ran through the streets, it was pretty crowded with all the celebrations, but I was the only one who was hit. There's a reason for that..."
Walking over to the cot that was serving as her bed, Sam set about the task of patching herself up. Reaching for some old linens, she tore with her teeth, lengths to serve as makeshift bandages. Gingerly removing her bloody jacket and shirt to have better access to her wounds, she left on her brassiere for Joe's sake, though honestly depending on how long he was here for he would probably end up seeing anyway even if it was only seeing his own borrowed body. If he cared to look or help though, he would get a chance at a better look at Sam since the light here was better than the service tunnels. She looked rather frail and was shaking despite it being warm, her skin looked rather pallid and unhealthy, and her body had no shortage of scars. Not just the slave branding, or the fresh wounds from the laser shots above, but sword slashes and stabs, and even gunshot wounds (two very prominent ones on her back). Apart from those even, were injuries from which not much could be discerned, since she was already bandaged up in several places from recent troubles before Joe arrived in Vengeance no doubt. She looked like she had seen her fair share of fighting, but it was unclear if her past injuries were the reason for her sickly nature, or if there was some other cause. Probably the strangest thing though that Joe would be able to see in this light, was that the blood staining her clothes and seeping from her wounds a bit, was black. The same shade of black, as the stuff she hacked up during her frequent coughing fits.
Either way, she seemed to be having some trouble bandaging herself up, but nothing she couldn't handle on her own if given enough time. It was just taking awhile given the awkward location of her injuries and trying to reach around to her back. The big bird would have helped and certainly looked like it wanted to, standing close and trying to angle it's head to see her injuries, but with only beak it was unable to offer much useful assistance beyond just holding the makeshift bandages in said beak.
"So you said earlier that you followed the orders, took on the nature of whatever your creator said, or wanted for you? Your twin brother, what's he like? How did you guys live, back wherever you came from? Maybe talking about your life, remembering it, could help?"
Something else Joe might notice, on Sam's (and if he looked, his own) left upper arm was a tattoo of a bleeding heart encircled with thorns. A mark which, to some extent, resembled the same emblem on the pirate crew flag which hung over her bed clear to see.
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Post by CJ on Jun 6, 2014 1:17:54 GMT -5
"Bird!" Joe shouted. "That's a big bird!"
He was paralyzed with fear as the creature quite nearly devoured him. Thankfully, Sam was able to stop the attack. Joe smiled nervously. Of course it would only make sense a person like Sam would have such a dangerous pet.
Upon taking her hand, Joe felt strange. He didn't feel for her what he did for Solaine, but simply someone else holding his hand besides Nathan or Solaine was unexpected. The way she took care of him without expecting anything in return reminded him of the only motherly figure he ever knew. And for all he did know, she hated him now. He could only hope he could help Sam, Solaine and others, so even if she never did accept him again, he could at least be secure knowing he wasn't a total monster.
Trying not to move or alter Sam's unconventional living space, he found a place to sit on the floor. He grimaced when she mentioned that Solaine was only hurt because he refused to let them take her. It was something he had been thinking about since leaving that place. Her screams were still fresh in his mind.
He tried not to look too long at Sam, but managed to see the scars and wounds she had accumulated. He moved his suit sleeve up to look at some on her arm, but quickly brought it back in an attempt to respect her privacy. He went to reach for where the tattoo on her arm was on his body, but stopped just before touching the sleeve above it. He wasn't sure why, but something told him not to touch it.
For a moment, he wondered why he wasn't coughing up the black substance as well. Did those beams hurt people in some specific way or was Sam always like this? He lamented not latching onto someone else's form. Sam was an amazing person, but it was hard to respect the fishwoman's privacy when there was so much he had to know just to be her.
Blushing fiercely, Joe asked Sam if she wanted help with the bandages. He was no expert at these sorts of things, but figured he should at least ask. Regardless if she said yes or no, he would attempt to pet the large bird first, then begin to answer her question.
"I don't know if that will help but... Nathan is kind, almost too kind. He acts tough but you can get him to do whatever you want if you prod him hard enough. When we're not working, he likes to read comics and dabbles in woodworking. He's had a rough history growing up on Gomorrah Island. I'd been told that the reason we came together in the first place was because he stole me from someone else. It was a kill or be killed world, you know? Since then, he's become better. We've been living with older friends of his for as long as I can remember. We followed them out of Gomorrah and work as servers in their restaurant in Water 7. He's still there, working overtime in my place until I get back. The last I felt connected to him was back at the tower."
Whatever he was doing, he stopped. He closed his eyes and sat straight. He let out an audibel sigh.
"Wait... I'm still connected to him, but I don't think he's conscious. He's... dreaming."
He opened his eyes again. They were the texture of the mirror substance again, looking like two marble sitting in Sam's eye sockets. Upon looking at her again, the substance pooled away under his eyelids, as though reflecting her image.
"I hope he's OK," he continued, as though nothing had happened. "We're never been separated this long or this distance. Every time I have to be recreated, he's bedridden for days. I can't imagine what's happened to him now."
It might have been odd for Sam to see herself get emotional over something she personally wasn't experiencing. If the fishwoman could produce tears, Joe would shed an awful amount.
"I'm sorry. This is nothing compared to what you're going through. I'm really pathetic, aren't I? If you think saving me was a mistake, I agree with you."
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Post by Kyubey on Jun 8, 2014 4:42:39 GMT -5
Morrison did not turn around when Jack began talking, but he was listening. Jack was clearly a madman, or at least the sort of person an honest cat like Morrison wouldn't normally want to be friends with. And though he was in the middle of something huge, that didn't mean he had to like it.
"I just hope you're aware," Morrison mewled, loud enough for Jack to hear although he would not be able to understand, "Exactly what the consequence is for even laying a finger on a Celestial Dragon. I have pity for those who trust you, Jack Merrick."
He continued walking away, happy to get out of the unpleasant conversation. He walked in the general direction of where the docks were, having gained a rather good sense of location during his time on the island, but in truth he had no intention of leaving just yet. The important thing was, Jack thought he was going. That was one person he didn't need to worry about trailing him. One more to go.
"Of course I don't have to leave," he said, "And in truth, I do not wish to. My masters will find out about this whether it comes from me or not, and I see no need to rush it. If I'm predicting correctly, the outcome of this debacle will be a tragedy on par with that of Ohara or Regala, and I have no wish to have my name on such an event again. It saddens me that I must go now, but there's nothing here left for me to do... not with eyes on me."
He tried using a different tactic with Huxley, a much riskier one, but it was as much a test as it was a means of being alone. He glanced up to look Huxley in the eye, waiting to see what she would do.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Jun 14, 2014 3:55:38 GMT -5
"You work at a restaurant in Water 7? I used to live there a couple of years ago, nice place, great for a person with gills. I gotta say though, every Friday after work I used to go and eat at this one place, Happy Happy was the name. I'm sorry, but I went all over that town, and never found a restaurant better than that."
She thanked Joe after he had been successfully patched up, both for the help in bandaging, and also for him telling his story. So maybe it didn't help with the mirroring situation, but made the atmosphere seem more comfortable as far as she was concerned, since their minds weren't here in this hole in the ground but back in Water 7. It seemed though that perhaps all this remembering might be unhelpful to Joe, whom she saw the glistening effect take hold of. One bit of interest though, that it seemed he still had some sort of connection to his twin, whatever that meant. She had a feeling it could come in handy at some point, and was wondering herself, if they could also communicate over long distances.
"Don't worry about me, this is normal for me. I came here knowing what to expect, but you were caught of guard, none of this is your fault. I didn't make a mistake when I helped you, we're going to start by getting your friend back, and then we'll see about getting you back to your brother. Alright?"
Sam displayed a genuine concern for Joe and his problems, though her words were less conciliatory and more stern, determined. She was serious, and she meant for Joe to harden up. If he could not find strength on his own, then maybe he could from her. Time was, she would have given him a hug, but now she gripped him by the shoulders and held him straight. Maybe it was just because she didn't like seeing herself acting like that, but it seemed in the time away from her former crew, she had really grown up.
Tiki meanwhile was not as hard, and though he could tell the difference between Sam and Joe, he still nestled his big feathered head against the latter in an attempt to make him feel better as it usually did with Sam.
---
"He said you don't understand what you're doing, and feels sorry for the people who work for you!"
The guide called out since there was a need as Jack had near left the hall, but he heard and laughed when he did, waving goodbye whether or not they saw him. After that she just followed or led the way diligently, though of course, Morrison was in for a sore surprise if he thought he'd be out of this tower in any short amount of time let alone reach the harbor. By the time he started talking again, they had only reached the elevators, and even when they made it to the street, it would probably take a good number of hours to reach the coast if they went by foot. They were at the epicenter of a massive metropolis, with countless buildings and hundreds of thousands of people living there, so it wasn't going to be some short trip down the sidewalk to the harbor.
"You have such a way with words though, we'd appreciate you delivering the news to them much more than if they were to find out on their own. After all, we wouldn't want another Ohara or Regala, now would we?"
The called elevator arrived, and a number of citizens poured out, greeting her and the cat before heading their own ways. If it wasn't already apparent, the place was in a state of chaos for various, obvious reasons. Perhaps the most obvious, being the huge window at the end of the hall of elevators all smashed open and giving way to the howling winds and clouds outside. The guide all the while, didn't really seem to notice or mind, and got into the elevator. She knew where they were headed and which button to be pressed, and although she was better suited than Morrison to press it, she still had some difficulty given her arms were bound.
"You really don't have to worry about that though. If you can believe anything you've heard from any of us, believe me when I say you're not being followed or watched. I mean I'm following you or watching you, but that's just to help, if you wanted me to I would leave. After all, I do have a life, better things to do... er, what I mean is, Jack perceives you as so little of a threat that he feels it would be a waste of time and effort to have you watched. I'm just here out of hospitality to our eminent visiting warlord, but I suppose he's right."
Morrison could look her in the eyes all he wanted, he wouldn't be able to discern anything given the full confinement mask she had on.
"It's not like there's anything you could do that would make things harder for us. If you haven't noticed by now, Jack doesn't keep any secrets since he has nothing to hide, even from you... well, almost nothing."
Stumbling over her words, she at least sounded rather eager to change the subject. Even if he couldn't look her in the eye, she still turned away from his gaze, and tried to focus instead on the blipping lights of the floors as they made their descent.
"At any rate, you're in no danger here, since you're no danger yourself."
---
"What's all the commo- oh you're ba- oh you brought someone wi- oh what the hell?"
"You're hurt, what happened?!"
The door to the room was opened as young woman and a younger man entered, the former holding a baby. They must have heard something of what was going on and entered, but were thoroughly shocked, at least enough to shout about it. The one seemed concerned about the stranger that looked like Sam, while the other seemed more concerned that she was injured. The baby was woken up by all that was going on and started crying to add to the mix.
"What is this, some new Inferion?!" said the woman as she approached, in an attempt to pull Joe away and look at his imitated form.
"You got shot?! You let them see you?!" said the man as he approached, in an attempt to pull Sam away and look at her injuries.
"No no, it's alright! I just-" said Sam as she tried to prevent all of that from happening. Thankfully Tiki physically intervened with a raised wing and there wasn't much they could do.
It was all pretty hectic but either way all the shouting brought a third person to the room, an older fellow. It didn't take long for him to look over the situation and make an assessment. As he spoke, the shouting died down till only the crying remained.
"Terrel, take Sam to the lower wing, help her with her injuries properly."
Nodding in agreement, the younger fellow grabbed a new shirt for Sam later, and helped her to her feet. Before he went though, the woman stopped him.
"Here, take Amelia. She might be hungry, get her something if so."
"Righto, shush shush, it's alright now. Look, Miss Samantha is back!"
Taking the baby, he continued to help Sam while attempting to quieten the baby, clearly more empathetic than the woman. Before actually leaving, Sam cleared the water a little, so her new friend wasn't just abandoned.
"She's actually a he by the way, at least in personality. He looks like me because of a devil power, nothing else. His name's Joe, and he's a friend, so be nice."
Before long Joe was alone with the remaining two, although Tiki remained, and wasn't about to let them do anything untoward to the person Sam brought back. The woman though, even if she couldn't just start throttling him, could let loose a verbal barrage.
"So what's your game?! Why did you come here with her, why'd you choose her to look like?! Are you alone here, or are you working with others?!"
It didn't seem that she particularly cared how Joe was the way he was, or even really why. She trusted Sam enough that she didn't care so much about his stolen form, or why he was brought here. It was obvious now, but she wouldn't have just brought one of Jack's minions down here. What she did care about though, was if there was something Sam might have overlooked. For example, how was it that Joe, looking as he was now, managed to make it ten feet through Vengeance without having a squad hunting him down.
While she could have kept shouting at Joe all night long however, the older fellow finally opted to speak up.
"Tell us Joe, what was going on before she brought you here? Based on what you're wearing... or what's left of it, you came from the tower, didn't you?"
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Post by CJ on Jun 29, 2014 0:56:16 GMT -5
Joe smiled when Sam mentioned the Happy Happy Restaurant. He was about to comment and say it was the very place he worked, but he held off. Already, he had given out so much information. If Sam ever gave away Nathan's location to someone with ill intentions, he could be in danger. They were always advised to keep their nature a secret. After all, the Mira- Mira- no Mi was an incredible weapon in powerful hands. Joe couldn't imagine the value it might have brought in markets around the world.
He felt awful. He knew so much about Sam, but he couldn't even share with this information with her. He was pathetic.
Her words set him thinking of other issues again. Was it really possible to save Solaine? Maybe if Sam could outwit those guards, she could outwit the rest her captors too.
He grinned, mirroring her razor sharp teeth back at her.
"Yeah."
---
Joe frowned when two more people came in. He peered at the baby and thought of the Andersons for a moment, but was brought back to the current situation when they started prodding him for questions.
"I... uh... I'm sorry..."
Thankfully, an old man entered and suggested Sam should be treated. He sighed in relief, mostly for Sam but partially because he thought foolishly that people might ignore his appearance. He was entirely wrong.
The woman started spewing questions at him, making him feel dizzy under the verbal pressure. He could only answer after the elder voiced his inquiries.
"Like Sam said, I have Devil Fruit powers," he said somewhat vaguely. "I have to take on someone else's appearance and abilities. I don't have a shape of my own. I've been using my brother's attributes for a while, but I separated from him when I went on this vacation. I didn't think I would ever be forced to use my powers."
He then explained most of what had happened up to that point. He said his friend invited him as a guest. Everything seemed normal until she recognized someone at the gathering and tried to flee with him. Everything past that was a blur. She managed to escape through an open window, but ended up hurting herself. He tried to save Solaine with his powers but ended up only making things worse. Then Sam saved him.
"I think I took on her form back in the sewers. She was holding my hand when we were escaping so I must have latched onto her image. I could use someone else's appearance here if it's a dire issue.
"I'm so sorry. I've already caused enough confusion as it is and I have nothing to show for it. I'm only hindering you all. I just want Solaine back so we can go home and forget this place. Why did those people have to be so cruel?"
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Post by Kyubey on Jul 2, 2014 1:08:09 GMT -5
Morrison glanced forward, then glanced back up at Huxley. He didn't expect that she would be able to challenge him, and now he found that he severely underestimated her. It was something that would normally anger him, but at the moment, he was simply entertained, and in a sense, fascinated.
"You're rather good with words yourself, Huxley," he mewled. "It's not hard to guess why you were chosen to be my escort. Very well then, I'll play my part in all this. However, I hope you humans don't think that I'm willing to do it at your pace. I intend to make the most of this visit, and I trust your hostages aren't going anywhere. Besides, I'm still required to stay in this nation for a while longer. I couldn't leave if I wanted to."
Huxley said there were no secrets, and assured the cat that he wasn't any sort of threat. Morrison did not believe her for a moment, but that was no reason he wouldn't test her statements. The "almost" in her wording was not lost to Morrison, and he was not willing to let it go so quickly.
"Come to think of it," he said, as naturally and casually as he could manage, "Even though I've been assigned to watch over this country, I've still only seen a very small piece of it. I'm sure there's more I have yet to see for myself. You know, Sam must have cared a great deal for this place. If there are any landmarks she loved, or places that she frequented, I would be very grateful if you would show me... even if only for sentiment's sake."
He did the best cat equivalent of a smile that he could think of, but how convincing it was was anyone's guess. It was a good thing that Jack and Huxley didn't perceive Morrison as a threat, if indeed they didn't. As long as there was no suspicion on him, the better he could do his usual work. If there was one advantage he had over humans, besides his near invulnerability to their attacks, it was that they never really learned to consider him a worthy enemy, until it was too late.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Jul 22, 2014 15:43:41 GMT -5
"You're damn right you will, and be quick about it! You're going to end up getting hurt if you look like tha-"
"Linesk. Go easy on him, none of this is his doing."
While she was obviously quite angry, for whatever her reasons were, the older fellow was able to at least stop her from shouting at Joe. She still looked rather displeased though, and it was probably only because he said not to, that she wasn't interrogating Joe further.
"If you are able to, we won't force you to change your appearance. It should be made clear though, if Samantha hadn't already, that taking her appearance is a great personal risk. We can got topside most of the time and walk around fairly unhindered, if some care is taken. There are orders though to detain her on sight, kill her if possible, and everyone in this country knows who she is and what she looks like."
They didn't hold it against Joe, or at least he didn't. Already it sounded like he had an issue about controlling how he appeared, and furthermore, it's not like he could have known the situation pertaining to Sam here. They'd both be surprised if during his stay, he had seen or heard any mention of her to begin with, the people in charge of this place tried so hard to remove any trace of her.
There was truth in his words though, and by remaining under Sam's appearance, he might have to get used to living down here in a hole in the ground. Otherwise, his fate would not be so kind. This was of course, spoke without knowing the full detail of his powers. They were both under the assumption that Joe getting hurt or killed was as dire for him as it was for anyone else.
---
"I don't think being good with words has much of anything to do with it. It's just, no one else could speak cat. Though when I said he wanted you to leave, I don't believe he meant for good. You're always welcome here, he just wants his terms delivered properly to the right people. I guess he trusts that you're the best individual to do so."
Huxley now had a creeping suspicion and worry, that Morrison was beginning to think something of her. It was only her job to act as a tour guide basically, as she said, they only picked her for the job to begin with because she could actually converse with Morrison. Jack's master plan was far beyond her scope, and she didn't like the idea that she might have to become involved, if only to explain it. She was a messenger of sorts, but she didn't want to be his messenger.
"Sentimental? What, you mean like, her ship?" she spoke without thinking first, then quickly turned to look at Morrison to speak, rather than looking where they were going. If her arms weren't bound, she would have waved it off, but she collided with a stop sign. "Oof- uh, there were lots of places she was involved in, she was always on the forefront of the fighting. The Red Promenade, Rubble Town, Crater Way, the Laughing Hill... all those places, I mean the list goes on. Not as many left now as there used to be, what with all the reconstruction. I didn't really know her well enough to say if they were sentimental to her though, as much as depressing. She watched a lot of people die you know, lost a lot of friends."
---
By now Linesk had moved to sit down across the room, though the older fellow remained standing. Tiki just perched on the bed next to Joe, currently preening.
"He can stay for as long as he needs to, we're obliged to help him out in any way we can. Besides, he's already helped us a great deal."
"What? How so?"
"Look at him. He's healthy, young, looks alive."
"Oh right, the opposite of Sam."
They had been arguing about the feasibility of Joe staying with them. The older fellow clearly had no problem with it, though Linesk merely want to help him to leave this place. He would only cause trouble, even if she did actually trust him. She agreed though, that Joe's form was an eye-opener. They hadn't known Sam before her health started taking a downward spiral, and looking at Joe they guessed that this was what she had once looked like. Compared to how she looked now though, they knew that she was not alright, health-wise. Before they could only guess, but here was literal physical proof sitting in front of them, that the fishwoman was seriously ill and getting worse. Now if only they could understand why.
"You have to admit it's rather suspicious though. They've been trying to find us for ages now, never worked out for them before. Didn't even stop us from watching them. Then instead, they drew into the tower and cut all contact with the outside. Now? They open the doors to the country, Joe here walks out of the tower looking like public enemy number one, Sam nearly gets killed helping him and here he is our hideout. It's almost like we gave them everything they wanted."
Linesk was always skeptical, just personality-wise. Things had relatively calmed down now so she wasn't shouting anymore, she got a grip on her anger, and worry. She still felt compelled to voice her concerns though, which were themselves viable enough.
"Fair point, but if Joe were working for them and he found his way here, wouldn't they be on top of us already? The important thing is, Joe," he turned to look at him as he spoke directly to him now, "how would you like to proceed from here? You can stay as long as you need to, as long as you like, Sam will agree. You said though your... friend? Selene you said, my guess is she's still in the tower. We have a need to find out what is happening in there, Jack's been keeping things secret too long."
"Vengeance is a cruel place now. We can help you, we can help her, and we can help you both escape this land. It will be very dangerous though, especially if we are also trying to help your friend. Especially if you are involved."
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Post by CJ on Jul 25, 2014 23:18:20 GMT -5
Joe sat on the floor as the others spoke over him. He couldn't help but think on their comments on him looking like a younger, healthier Sam. It didn't make sense. He mirrored everything. If she was deceased or injured, it should have shown up on him too. The only thing that could have made them any different was if something was living inside her, like a parasite. His stomach felt heavy. Was it a topic he should bring up? In a place like this, would they even have the resources to determine such a diagnosis.
Hearing the closest thing to his friend's name, he became attentive again.
"Solaine is her name," he corrected, taking a stand. "And it's not dangerous... at least for me."
He reached into his mouth and yanked out one of Sam's teeth. He yelped, actually cutting his pointer finger on it and shook his hand so that the tooth fell to the floor. Instead of blood (or in Sam's case, black substance) silver metal could be seen in the wound. It pooled upward and bubbled, slowly bringing the finger back to its original form. The tooth became the same texture and melted into nothing.
"I can't die. If I'm destroyed or come in contact with seastone or a pool of water, I'll reappear in another place in this world. To leave this place that way would be terrifying for me, not only because of how painful it'd be, but because I'd leave Solaine behind too. I can't abandon her to those horrible people."
Joe looked at the older fellow, Linesk and even Tiki, hoping that they'd understand his ambition. He was scared out of his mind, but he knew these people were his best chance at saving Solaine from the consequences of their ill fated vacation.
"I can look like anyone. So long as I'm in the same room as them, I can take on their appearance and power. If that's something you guys think would be useful to your cause, I'll do whatever I can. Otherwise, I'll take on that bird's appearance so you guys can remain anonymous and try to save Solaine on my own."
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Post by Kyubey on Jul 28, 2014 5:08:43 GMT -5
"I doubt I'm the best person for this job," Morrison said flatly. "Considering I am not, let's just say, Jack's biggest supporter. He must be gravely mistaken, if he thinks I would do exactly as he plans, or that I have that ability to begin with. It's not as if my employers at the World Government respect my word that much. Warlord or no, not many people take information seriously if they learn it from a cat. But, I will see what I can do."
Jack may have been ambitious, perhaps a little mad, even, but he was not foolish. Which is why Morrison wondered why he left someone outside his sphere of influence with such a vital step in his plans, assuming he was actually plotting something. If Morrison was the one to deliver the news to the World Government, he could potentially push for strong government action against Vengeance, and prevent the plan from going any further. With the right wording, Morrison could even make all other nations cut their ties with Vengeance, effectively isolating it, or going further, make it the enemy of all WG-affiliated nations. Unless, that was all part of the scheme. Maybe Jack was hoping for an outside enemy to materialize. It could also be that he just needed Morrison himself away from the island for a while. It made more logical sense than the apparent sudden moment of stupidity that was on the surface. Whether he wanted to or not, the Warlord was dragged into whatever game Jack was playing, and, not knowing even what the objective was, found himself at an extreme disadvantage. Before he took any irreversible action, he would need to fix this, and soon. But first, there were bigger priorities.
"Her ship?" Morrison asked, sounding more mewling and actually catlike than before. He paused, in part to let Huxley recover after getting hit by the sign, but also to take in new information. Assuming that the ship she was referring to was the Elton Johnson, Morrison didn't think he would ever get to see that boat again. Part of him assumed Kusu had taken it, or it was destroyed. He reverted to his normal tone, sounding perfectly casual. "Yes, that is of some interest to me. With any luck, I'll be able to learn more from that than I could have from any humans I've spoken to today. Take me to our... excuse me, her ship, please."
He noted that Huxley mentioned "friends," but Morrison did not pay too much attention to that, at least not as much as he did to all the other new details he was picking up. If Sam had any other friends, he would have known of it, surely. And if they didn't save her, then they weren't very good friends at all. It was nothing he should concern himself with.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Aug 11, 2014 14:01:02 GMT -5
"Well we don't want to force you to do anything, but it might be better for your own safety at least. Though we wouldn't impress upon you to take the form of a bird, Terrel is probably a better match anyway."
"Yes, if he- wait hold on! Brivard, he can't just..."
Linesk seemed in agreement at first, but maybe she wasn't fully paying attention. When it registered with her what the older fellow was insinuating, she spoke up in protest, but realized he was serious. It was not an idea that she liked at all, in fact she probably would have preferred if Joe remained under the guise of Sam rather than what Brivard was suggesting. It was the most logical solution though, assuming Joe was as he said. Terrel was probably the closest to what she believed Joe might have been like before changing forms, at least physically, a young human male. Brivard had thought the same thing, she just wished it wasn't the case.
"We will have to ask him first of course, and probably Sam too."
"He'll say yes, I know he will. Actually so will she."
---
"Maybe he just likes your handwriting?"
It seemed the cat had his mind set on where he wanted to go, so Huxley wasn't about to try to dissuade him. Partly because she didn't want to get into a conflict with a cat, just herd one, but mostly because she actually preferred to avoid the crowded places and the bright lights and noise of the city. If Morrison wanted to go see the ship in storage, she had no major objections.
It was no short trip however. It required a delving into the service ways beneath the city. The active service ways, mind, those closer to the surface and still in use. These were not the ruins of old Myrysaea where Sam had found solace, deep underground, where Huxley led the lighting was active and there were plenty of workers about. It was still a cramped network of tunnels and maintenance spaces, especially trying to squeeze past said workers, but Morrison probably shouldn't have had a problem. Even so, the general humidity and red lights might have been a bit bothersome over a long period of time. And a long period it was, as effectively they had to travel near to the main harbor. At some point, she eventually led them away from the active service ways, down into the dark passages that were no longer used.
"This place used to be the port for old Myrysaea, but like the rest of the city they just paved over it and kept building on top, after the revolution."
It resembled almost an submarine hanger, in that it was a large open cavern with a roof over it. A keen eye might notice though, that back in the day this was probably a dry dock of sorts that had been flooded given how the bottom half of the interior was underwater. It seemed though just as she said, while this at one point might have merely been a dock, overtime it had just been build upon and paved over given the ceiling. Some years ago this was probably an open-air location with direct access to the sea, but now it had the makings of an oversized indoor pool. If one were to tunnel directly upwards, for example, eventually they would probably hit the sewers beneath the streets, or even the basement of one of the skyscrapers.
"Watch where you walk, no one comes down this far to perform upkeep anymore... and you wouldn't want to get stranded down here."
Huxley and Morrison emerged upon a catwalk of sorts that hugged the one side of the hangar wall high above the water. Likewise, an identical one also ran the length of the opposite wall far away, though it would be very hard to see given how dark it was in this place. There was obviously no natural light, and not even maintenance lights went this far down, so it was near pitch black save for some cracks in the walls and ceilings through which the faintest slivers of light trickled from unknown sources above. Morrison might be able to fare well enough with his feline senses, but surprisingly enough Huxley had no problem whatsoever maneuvering in the darkness. If nothing else, there was the solid of the walkway to follow, as well as the guide herself (footsteps, breathing, etc...) and the faint sound of the water below. As they went along the walkway though, nearing the back wall where the two catwalks crossed to join, one might be able to make out a looming dark mass in the water below. Sitting on it, resting, it was a fairly large shape and unchanging in form, so likely inanimate.
It was when the guide found her way to a loading ramp though, that they could make their descent towards the water, and the shape could be seen more and more clearly for what it truly was; the Elton Johnson.
"There it is then, let me see if I can get a board across or something, the gangplank looks to have collapsed. Rotted away maybe..."
Huxley looked about the dockside for something to function as a means to cross over the water on board, but the distance was short enough that Morrison or anyone really could just jump. While she struggled with only being able to use her feet though, at this distance he would probably be able to see how the ship had fallen into great disrepair overtime in this secluded environment. Much of the external wood was rotten and apt to give way to the touch, and there were large portions of boat that had collapsed, either inwards or into the water. The ship was also listing to one side, most likely due to water taken on overtime. It could be in fact, that the only reason it was afloat, was because of the taut mooring holding it to the dock. At any rate it wasn't going anywhere like this; the sails and even the old flag of the Phantom Hawks were in tatters, as if the overall structure wasn't bad enough.
"I think the original plan was to just scuttle it, maybe salvage it even? I don't know exactly, I wasn't really involved in the reconstruction effort after the revolution. My best guess is because the old port was ruined in the fighting, they needed to get a new, better one made right away. So they probably just build over this, and scheduled the ship for a later date. Either way, I guess everyone just forgot about it eventually, I don't even think Jack remembers it anymore."
On board, one might have to take care where they stepped so as not to fall through any holes, or make any new ones as the wood creaked and deformed underfoot. Aside of the general state of disrepair though, for the most part the ship was almost exactly as it had once been. Eerily so, if Morrison cared to go looking, as the rooms would not seem disturbed at all. Almost as if caught in a moment in time, scaling back water and mold damage, it might have seemed the very Phantom Hawks had been living her not a day prior. Such was the care and meticulousness that Sam had always had towards keeping things the same. If Morrison had a sharp memory, then it would almost be like stepping into his own past.
Really the only things that may have seemed out of place were the various colorful doodles across the deck, faded with water and rot and time. As well, the cargo hold had been emptied of all those barrels that Mr. Dark had once kept below. And of course finally, Sam's room though still a mess as always, was distinctly missing the flag of her old crew that she always had hanging over her bed.
---
"Ok so we can get into the tower the same way we have before, they still don't know about the old station exit underneath."
"Right, and once inside, we should be able to make our way upwards as a maintenance crew. Even if we have to use the stairs, it shouldn't be too difficult."
Some time later, Terrel had returned with Amelia and Sam, the former seemingly content and the latter properly seen to with medical care. After that, everyone moved to what had probably once been a break room for employees but had now been converted into a general living area for the group, and although it was no palace it was certainly cleaner than the mess of Sam's room. Apart from a kitchen and various furniture and other assorted items situated about, there was a large central table over which a large, worn map of the city was laid out. It was resplendent with all sorts of colorful routes drawn in and paths labeled, as well as points of interest picked out with multi-colored pins. It was a real clutter of information, but the group seemed more than used to it. In particular, at the moment they were around the table focusing on the biggest singular segment of the map, the tower and rising supports around it.
"Finding the information we need, mostly the assembly line should be pretty straightforward, but the real problem is where to find Joe's friend. What we're looking for is part of the building, it can't move. If they're taking guests as hostages though, we have to hope there's some way of finding them once we get inside."
The others were going over the plan, at least how they intended it to go. They seemed fairly confident, and perhaps well so, since this was not the first time they would be going into the tower. It was always a very risky business, to be traipsing around Jack's home turf, but in the past it had tended to work in their favor simply because the tower was so big that there was no way currently to have it properly patrolled or staffed. Indeed they had built the tower with size in mind first, the imposing sight and monument of it, and functionality second. Even so, they tried to limit actually approaching it to as little as possible.
Things were different this time though, and they might even need to go to the upper levels to help Joe. While the others conversed between themselves, Sam looked to speak to him personally.
"Joe, do you know anything about what was going on up there? Do you remember anything? Anything at all, about what they might have done with your friend, could be a big help."
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Post by Kyubey on Aug 15, 2014 6:16:58 GMT -5
Morrison was glad to be going away from the crowded areas. He was accustomed to cities ever since he was a kitten, but that didn't mean he wasn't still bothered by the cluster of noise and smells that had been assaulting him. And ever since he had trained his latent Observation Haki, his difficulty with populated places grew even worse. Any reprieve from that was, to the cat, more refreshing than he could express. While at the time he doubted that he was truly going to the Elton Johnson, it seemed he had the right idea anyway. The only downside to this new location was the dark, and even that was no issue at all, due to his naturally sharp night vision.
When they came to the dock, the Warlord had expected to find a mere imitation of his old home, a bright, pristine, picturesque copy, designed to fool inquisitive visitors. He didn't think he would see the real thing, though he had hoped he would. As soon as he saw the Johnson's broken, worn-out appearance, he knew he wasn't being lied to, at least not about the boat itself. Nobody who intended to build a mere facade would let it become so decrepit, or tuck it so far away. There was something that still bothered him, and he first noticed it during the long walk over, but grew still more prevalent in his mind as he saw the boat with his own eyes.
"Excuse me. I need a moment to myself."
Before Huxley could even finish talking, Morrison had already started walking, nearly running, to the ship he once sailed on. With one good jump, he landed on the deck he had once put behind him, and at once took to wandering around. From the way he moved, and his silence, it may have been assumed by an outsider that he was just a normal cat, exploring a new place as a cat will do. But those who knew who he was, and who knew the ship, would see right away what he was doing. Every place he stopped by, he had walked to with a purpose, and while he was treading very carefully, as to not break the floorboards under his weight, he treated the place like it was his own. At one time, it really was, but not anymore.
If he had still thought that Jack and Huxley were trying to deceive him with an imitation, he would have been proven wrong upon actually setting foot on the ship. All the little things that couldn't have been replicated, from the feel and appearance of the wooden planks, to the sound it made as it creaked in the waves, to all the obscured spaces, nooks and crannies, hiding places, and tiny design quirks that only a cat would truly know, were all there, like he had remembered, though time had changed them all. He even remembered the smells of his old friends, though they were all mostly gone by then, covered up by the years and the new invasive smell of rot. There were other scents he didn't recognize as well (in more than one place, he noted the distinct smell of octopus, but figured he must have been mistaken), but that was to be expected, considering how long he had been away. In one room, he found his favorite resting place, in another, the markings he made when he rubbed his metal body against a wall. There were too many memories there for it to have been fabricated, and still, it felt too cold and empty for it to have been a dream.
As for all the parts that had broken, or rotted away, or had been submerged entirely, he did not dwell on too much. Whenever he thought about the things that had been lost forever, he couldn't stop himself from thinking of what may have been different, if he didn't leave. He knew that nothing much would have changed in the long run. He was too weak to protect anyone when he had lived on that boat. The memories were happy ones, but only out of selfishness. He probably couldn't have saved Sam to begin with, and he couldn't have stopped Kusu from betraying them all, but that didn't stop him from dwelling on the possibility that maybe, if he had stayed, it may have been different.
He noticed especially the little details in the condition of the rooms. Not only was the ship itself the same, but everything in it was like he remembered as well. At first, this pleased him. While his feelings towards his old crewmates had changed over the years, his memories of the journeys he spent with them never stopped being precious to him, though he would never reveal that to anyone. Even the reminders of his old captain stirred as much nostalgia as they did bitterness. He could barely bring himself to go inside Sam's room, and even got a few steps in, but whenever he tried to go further he was just as quickly right back at the door again. He wanted to be close, he wanted to remember, but there was such a thing as too much, even for him. It was better to leave the memories as they were, and let the last images of the room stay the same as when he was still a Phantom Hawk.
He had spent so much time reliving times that were now past, it took him a while to realize how strange it was, that everything was so perfectly kept in its proper place. He still didn't know the exact circumstances of the crew splitting up, and he didn't know what had transpired in the time between his own departure and the crew's formal disbanding, but it seemed strange that everything had stayed as it was. It couldn't have been the people of Vengeance that were responsible for this. If they had cared about keeping the boat as it was in its glory days, it wouldn't have been in such poor condition. He knew that Sam was the last Phantom Hawk to use the ship. She was the one who docked it in Vengeance, and none of the stories he had heard about her or the revolution mentioned any of the other crewmembers, so she must have reached the island alone. From when Kusu and the others had left Sam behind, to the point when she reached Vengeance and left the ship, she must have changed things around, even if only a little? Preserving everything like so would have been insane, and there was no reason for her to do such a thing as...
"Oh."
Morrison was used to harsh pangs of regret by that point, but this hit him particularly hard. Sam missed her old crew, that much was already known, but he had no idea that it was to the point where she kept even the ship as it had been. What had she been feeling, left alone like that? How much had it hurt, to have been left to tend the ship on her own? At what point did she fall into such an obsession? And how much was it Morrison's fault? Even though they all, captain and cat alike, went their own ways, Sam had believed in the Phantom Hawks enough to sail in a carefully maintained shell of a ship, and wanted them back together enough to risk her life at the War of the Best, taking the Elton Johnson to the greatest conflict of the modern era, just to...
"Damn."
At once, the detail he had missed before, that had crept in the smallest parts of his mind, that he couldn't quite reach, came to him with a sudden clarity. Sam was at the War of the Best. As far as he knew, she went there alone. And there was only one boat she might have used for the voyage there, and Morrison was standing on it. According to what he had been told, Sam died at Marineford. And yet, the Elton Johnson was in Vengeance. It never made sense to begin with. In the many records, documents, and reports that came from Marineford after the war, there were mentions of Sam appearing there, but out of all the accounts that referenced her, there was nothing that suggested that she died. She didn't even appear on a list of casualties. Morrison had obsessively searched through nearly every available document on the war, particularly the ones that included her involvement, and never found out that his best and only friend had died there until Jack mentioned it at a meeting. That the boat survived and made it back to port, while Sam didn't, was like a joke.
And by that point, Morrison already knew that Jack was a liar.
He raced up to the deck, or wherever Huxley was, as fast as he could without shattering the planks beneath him. His heart was beating faster than normal, and he was filled with an intense excitement. The one thing he thought he knew, the circumstances surrounding Sam's death, may not have been true. The only things he could rely on with certainty was what was right before him. Anything was possible. And he was not going to cease, until he knew the truth.
"If Sam was at Marineford, she must have taken this ship there. Therefore, she must also have taken it back," he said, "And she would not have left it behind. I have a right to the truth, Huxley. What happened to Sam after your revolution?"
In writing, his tone may have been vague, but from the sharp, pointedness of his tone, it would not have been hard for Huxley to guess exactly what he meant, and how serious he was about getting his answers.
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Post by CJ on Aug 15, 2014 20:12:17 GMT -5
"I could... well, if he agreed to that... I could do that..."
Joe felt horribly selfish. For some reason, he didn't feel like altering his appearance into Terrel at all. He didn't know Terrel like he did Nathan. How could he wear someone else's skin when he didn't know them at all?
Then again, he didn't know Sam, not like these people did at least. But he had already seen her bravery and courage in the face of the awful people back at the tower. Despite only being with her for this short time, he felt like she was someone to admire and started to feel more comfortable looking like her.
In this situation though, he couldn't bother with such petty thoughts. He'd try to mimic Terrel if he agreed to it.
He gripped onto his arm and listened to the others. His eyes darted this way and that as he tried to make sense of the crowded information below him. He shook and nearly jumped when Sam directly addressed him.
"Yeah... I remember Solaine was invited to this banquet and she brought me along as a guest. They toted it as some kind of cultural celebration. It was huge, full of people from all around the world. There were even Celestial Dragons there.
"This guy went to speak to the crowd. I didn't get a good look at him, but Solaine recognized him. She said he was dangerous and that we had to go. That's how we ended up in that courtyard. That's why she..."
Joe stopped speaking and held his head low. He brushed his fingers through his hair, Sam's duplicated hair, in worry and frustration. He could feel the tears swelling up in his eyes again as his face became hot.
Solaine's screams were still fresh in his mind. Someone long ago warned Nathan that if he didn't control Joe, people would be hurt. He understood it now. Back then, in that state of mind, his want to get Solaine out of the situation overrode everything. He couldn't understand that he was hurting her. It was only later that her cries meant anything.
From what these people were saying, Joe could only assume that the people who had her now wouldn't treat her any better. Who knew what awful torture Solaine was going through?
If Nathan were there, he'd tell him that worrying wouldn't do much, he figured. He'd tell him to act now and cry about it later. He breathed in and out, trying to quell away his fears and focus.
"I think that they've gathered a lot of really important people. For what reason, I don't know, but if they're to use such violent means, they probably aren't afraid to make a very big statement. With Celestial Dragons involved, I bet even the World Government would know about it very soon. Do you guys know what kind of people are behind Vengeance? Why would they want to do something like that?"
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Aug 26, 2014 1:12:09 GMT -5
"Right, then Terrel can hang back to look after Amelia and run communications, and Joe goes in looking like him. It could get a bit confusing operating with two of the same person."
"Sounds good then, we can set about that before parting ways!"
Linesk grumbled to herself as Brivard cleared the confusion about the duplicate identities and how they would proceed, though she raised no actual words of complaint. Although it was much against her personal preference, she knew it was probably the best idea, if for no one else than Joe's sake should things go awry. The thing she disliked the most however, was how Terrel seemed completely fine with it. Two of her friend in Sam was one thing, but two of her significant other was something else. Either way there were more important matters than infringements on her personal life.
"If someone was there talking in front of everyone, it was Jack. Not sure where your friend would know him from though, but she was right to want to get away. If he's taking hostages from all over... and World Nobles, then he wants all over to know about it."
"Well we can try to get to the bottom of what it is he's after, once we get inside. Solaine is most likely going to be with the other guests, so finding her should help to answer a lot of questions we could have."
Although Joe obviously wanted to know more, or at least voice as much, Sam made an effort to suggest he remain quiet for now with the appropriate gestures and such. All subtle of course, and Brivard sought to change the subject to their departure.
"Right then, we'll head out in ten minutes. Gather whatever you need everyone, and plan for an extended engagement. The tower is beyond big, and we don't know how long we'll have to be inside."
---
"...and so the real question is why claim all those settlements on other islands for Vengeance, all the way to the Red Line, and he says-"
Huxley was still struggling to move a board she found to act as a gangplank, confined to the use of her feet. Either she hadn't notice Morrison go on ahead or she just wasn't paying much attention, but she froze when he returned.
"If Sam was at Marineford, she must have taken this ship there. Therefore, she must also have taken it back, and she would not have left it behind. I have a right to the truth, Huxley. What happened to Sam after your revolution?"
As always it was impossible to tell her expression from behind the mask, she just stared at the cat for a bit.
"I think that's enough digging up the past for one night, I feel plenty dirty already. Besides, the important thing is-" mid-sentence she cut herself off and kicked the board into the water, which might have seemed kind of pointless since it wasn't even the proper length across. Either way she took off into a run, along the dock towards the scaffolding which in turn led up to the walkways along the walls they came in on.
It might have seemed a bit humorous to the cat though, since without the use of her arms she couldn't run properly and wasn't even that fast. It was a desperate ploy if nothing else, though she couldn't really believe that she could get away?
If he chose to chase after her though, before actually leaving the ship, he might sense the presence of another person there. Or maybe rather than person, another entity there on the ship with him, up by the wheel. He might even have seen it too, though since he had to give chase it would probably only be for a moment.
It was distinct though, and decidedly inhuman, almost like a spectral imitation of some creature resembling the cross between a bear and a squirrel though only vaguely at best. It wasn't big, but it looked happy to see him, in a way that even could be felt if the cat could sense it. It almost reached out to him after it waved, something like nostalgia, like the feeling of waking up from wonderful dream and trying to remember all the details before they slipped away for good.
Not more than a moment though, a glimpse, and it was gone if Morrison cared to look back upon making the jump to the docks. All that remained was the faint sound of a cry, a longing plea, so quiet you could miss it over the sounds of the sloshing water below.
But it was there.
---
Once again a trek was made through the drainage ways and sewers beneath the great metropolis. The nearer they made it to the surface, the louder the sounds of celebration became, fireworks and music and singing and cheering. As well, the ambient light increased overtime, more and more spilling through street drains and runoff ducts. It was a wonder how far and how deep down this underground system went, but one could probably get lost just thinking it, and never again see the light of day.
Thankfully, Brivard led the way alongside Linesk and Terrel, whom all knew the way like the backs of their hands. They talked as they went, conversing more and more about the plan set out, and any possible changes or risks that might crop up. They seemed to be so familiar with this kind of thing, though not particularly serious about it, almost like it was a common thing for them to go into life-risking situations. They were almost as oblivious to the actual impending danger as Tiki was, hopping along to bring up the rear, and only Sam seemed serious as she paced with Joe.
"What you asked before, it's kind of a difficult subject for the others. The person Solaine was afraid of, was Jack Merrick. He's... taken a lot from all of them." she brought it up again as they went, since there wasn't much else to do. "He made the country what it is today, but not what the revolution was supposed to be for. Even before he started it all, he had some sort of plan for Myrysaea... what it used to be called, and I think everything till now has gone the way he's wanted it to. Whatever it is, it has something to do with the tower and the observatory at the top, but I think he's almost finished with it all. I don't know why he invited all those people here only to take them prisoner, but I honestly don't believe he intends to hurt them, everything he does he does for a reason. I guess if we're successful here, we'll finally know for sure..."
She responded plainly, and tried to clear as much up for Joe, with as little speculation as she could. They had all been in this country for a much longer time than Joe had, but a fair amount of that time had been spent underground in hiding. It was only since then that Jack started working on what was believed to be his master plan, so even Sam and the others who kept regular lookout, weren't all that informed about the situation. Thus, why they were so eager to get inside, they had wanted to for months now but Joe gave them the final push they needed.
Of note that as she spoke, she tried to keep any attention from herself, at best just focusing on her friends. Her own history with Jack was much different, more important than theirs, and all the more painful but she didn't feel like dumping that on Joe before they went topside.
"Right, this is about as far as we can go freely. From here on, we'll need to act in the interest of infiltration."
Eventually the drainage system gave way to a vast circular chasm, easily big enough to fit even the bottom, widest portion of the tower in the center with room to spare. That was because it looked like the tower was indeed running through it, merely continuing underground where it met with the surface above. This was probably part of the support system, but both it and the tower went down into the earth deeper than the eye allowed to be seen, and the rest was obscured by darkness. It was assumedly much deeper still though, given the significant and constant updraft, such that standing near the edge could cause one to be blown back a bit. It went without saying, that falling over the edge here, was not a good idea. Apart from down though, everything else was fairly well lighted, and even the opposing wall at the other side of the circle could be seen despite being so far away. The tower base too, was well lit enough to see upwards to where it joined with the ceiling, which could be assumed here to be the same thing as the surface above.
"I've never checked, but at least according to the maps, if you were to go all the way to the bottom you'd find the capital castle of old Myrysaea."
It seemed the only way to cross the circular chasm to the tower base in the center was across the many narrow (but railed) walkways, probably intended for no more than two people at a time to cross. They were at varying points and heights around the outer edge of the chasm, running in a straight line to all reach the tower base, but fortunately there was one close to where they emerged.
The daunting sight was not so impressive to the others though, and they readied themselves for the task at hand. Brivard went ahead to check the walkway as Tiki took off in flight to eventually reach the point where said walkway met the tower base. Sam checking over one of the maps one last time (perhaps to reconfirm to herself that the old castle really was below them), and Terrel and Linesk hugged and kissed one another goodby, Linesk taking the time to do the same with Amelia as well though the baby was asleep at this point.
"Well then, I guess we part ways here. Keep your comms turned on, I'll be sure to let you know if anything external happens." Eventually saying his final goodbyes to Linesk and taking Amelia from her, he made his way over to Joe. As he spoke, he handed him a small box with a flexible stick protruding from the top, which contemporary individuals might recognize as some sort of walkie-talkie. With a simple demonstration of his hands he showed Joe how to work the device, and in turn held his hand out to shake, since he assumed that was how he adopted new forms. "Good luck up there, your friend should be fine if you hurry up and get in, get out without any trouble. Now, this isn't going to hurt, is it?"
There was a small look of worry in his smile, but otherwise he was confident in their success.
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