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An hour before the Spelljammer appeared on the horizon, Marcos walked out of his garage, sporting the new, cobalt nameplate for the ship. He had dubbed it Ascension, and had engraved the name in artistic, classy letters.

"Sir." Another man came to Marcos, taking the nameplate as Marcos handed it to him. "We almost forgot. What about cannons, sir? Did you manage to salvage any?" He asked Marcos. "Si, si, I did. Only a couple, though. Not enough to arm the Ascension. We'll have to look for those too, I nearly forgot." Marcos' memory was not always at its best, but he was usually lucid and he didn't forget often.

"As for the shell, she's nearly finished, sir, but we still have no engines nor cannons. Even if we did get her running, there'd be very little defense against pirates, sir." The man said. "I'm aware of that, thank you." Marcos said gravely. "We'll just have to hope we can stay in good graces with whoever's out there." He shrugged. "No use worrying about it now." He sighed.

"The only guns I managed to salvage were the rear guns and some from the ones that lined the hull. Not even enough to provide the Ascension with aft guns..." He shrugged. "Perhaps there's enough to give it some kick on someone off her bow, but..." He sighed. He wouldn't be satisfied until his ship was complete, if not in working order. But without engines, he wouldn't fly, and without cannons he wouldn't last long in the harsh skies...

A lone girl shot a green-eyed glance towards the expanding horizon on the shore of Sadal Suud. She was seated on a large, wooden crate, and surrounded by perhaps a two dozen more, each brim-filled with vegetables, fruits, dried meat, and baked breads of every sort. And in addition, nestled on the ground by her feet and cradled in her arms were several -- twenty -- large flasks filled with fresh drinking water.

She waited.

They're late.

The merchant ships had never been late, before.

A small breeze tugged lightly at the waves of her nut-brown hair, which became tinted red from the sunlight that shod her members. The hem of her tattered, royal-blue shirt rippled in the gust of breeze, she blinked, and as the breeze died, she listened to the quiet surrounding her.

Pfffft. She was in no hurry to return -- to work, that is. It was peaceful here. There were no commanding, domineering innkeepers here. Here. Where the colossal, or sometimes surprisingly small, merchant ships docked, and rejuvenated themselves by collecting necessary supplies and sustenance.

The girl, otherwise known to others as Tess Ajai, awaited one of these particular ships. Her employer, the Innkeeper -- God bless him for taking her in years passed -- had given Tess the strenuous work of delivering food and supplies to merchant ships, collecting the ample payment, and then loading the pounds of cargo onto said merchant vessels.

Sure, it was hard work packing everything, then lifting it to a cart, waiting hours on end for the ship (which was her favorite part of the job, mind you), dealing with smug merchants, and then being forced to load the supplies herself...but, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. And Tess required much do simply to feed herself and keep herself out of harm's way.

Out of harm's way...

She placed a hand where her dagger was hidden, almost out of reflex.

What was the name of that ship, again?

She traced her thoughts, rehearsing everything her master had told her.

And drew a blank.

Plumb peachy. I don't even remember the name of the ship I'm supposed to be delivering this -- she glanced at the heavy crates lying motionless around her, as if they could reveal the name of the vessel they were to be delivered to, and release her from her predicament -- stuff.

Another breeze flew viscously, causing some of her sun-kissed, auburn-brown ringlets to rest over one eye. Oh, well. It will come to me. I just need to think. Think...and wait. She inhaled with a deep breath, and then exhaled forcefully through the mouth, sending the strands back to their rightful place.

And then silence.

It echoed around her, as it always did when she sat at the docks. It was never changing, as she sat quietly, always waiting, until...

"I just need to wait, damn it."

So, she did wait. So well, in fact, and with such single-sighted fervor, that she failed to notice the small traces of a ship -- The merchant ship? Oh, how late they were! -- ebbing the horizons that she had been gazing upon for hours.

"What in the nine hells do you mean by "Your ship isn't in port?" What?! I missed it?" Zhinji raged as he slammed both of his hands on the clerk's desk. "Well send it back then!"

"I'm sorry, that would be impossible." the clerk answered cooly.

"Wh... Why's that? Damnit... you people are useless! Where the next goddamn stop?"

"Sadal Suud, sir." said the woman behind the desk in her as a matter of factly voice.

"s**t... Does anything else go there this day?"

"No sir. We do have a ship that is heading there in a month though. We would take the payment now." the ticket seller spoke as she jumped back at the man's reaction.

"BLOODY HELL! Sadal Suud? Hey Hi, looks like we'll have to fly there." In response the eyeball let out a small squeal. "s**t man, I know. I don't want to fly there."

The eyeball produced an "I was right squeal" to which the ex-pirate responded "Yeah, yeah... I know I shouldn't have stepped down from my position. Now I'm crewless and without a ship. No matter, we should make it to the ships location in a matter of hours, hopefully. Let's pray that the weather is good." As those words were spoken, the inventor extraordinaire grabbed the eyeball and dashed off behind the ticket office building.

"Ok Ji, do your thing. Include the armor as well. I want a flashy entrance. Oh, also use the illusion with the blades. Make sure to make yourself invisible."

Within five minutes time everything had been set. The winglets in place, the wings open, the armor donned and the illusion set. The illusion was that of a humanoid form with three wings, every part of the form was made out of sharp and wicked blades. "Oh, Ji, I forgot, use the voice amplifier spell thing. Errrm... use thunder one with massive echo in place."

The eyeball squealed in somewhat joyful agreement as the fake seraph tested out his new voice. "Perfect!" he boomed.

"Well then, let's make haste. Three pairs of wings should carry us far and rather quickly."

Simultaneously, all of the wings started flapping as Zhinji ascended to the sky. "To Sadal Suud." he whispered to Jikaak. So the self proclaimed "Bound One" had set out to catch this godforsaken ship. "Curse them for sailing without me!" he though. "Good thing that only one pair of my wings can get tired. Bloody hell... this will be a bore, it will."

((Aww, you make me feel so loved. Three wings baby! YEAH! I created so many RP characters in the time it took me to take a shower… in a shower… Vas was created in a shower.))

"Well look at that! They're actually slowin' down for us!" the flying man directed his voice towards his right shoulder. A happy squeal from Jikaak followed. "Now remember boy, stay unseen and stay SILENT." Naturally the eyeball fully objected the command. "Damn it! What the hell is so damn hard about staying silent? You’re just a goddamn floating ball! I don’t even know how ye make the sounds ye do." Just as he spoke those words a whole series of proud squeals. "s**t man! Will you shut up already? Please shut up..." Zhinji threw his arms in desperation. "Why the hell do I get THAT guardian?" the inventor glanced at his spirit and then a thought occurred to him. "Say Ji, are ye even a spirit? Not to mention being a guardian and all..." Squealing in full disappointment and injured pride, the spirit shifted a bit. "Oh come on now Ji! You're going to kill me before anyone else will get the chance. Aren't ye proud o' that?" the eye let out an elongated sarcastic squeal. "Well come on now, you’re still guardin' me, aren't ye? How many damned guardians can actually use the blasted magic? That's right only you Ji. Full o' surprises ye are!"

"I'm going to die" cried Zhinji on thr inside of his mind. "Why me? WHY?"

"Well then Ji" the "Bound One" put on a not so lamenting expression, as he continued the command. "Ye'd do good to use some o' those fancy tricks ye got. Not the inversion things, I mean those blasted "The world is ending, we're all going to die" things. Yep. Those illusions sure come in handy they do." The ex-pirate looked at the direction where his now invisible companion floated.

"Say Ji... don’t ye think that we should try'n take that ship for ourselves? I bet all o' them are amateur pirates, they are. Don't even think they've got any weapons on that beastie, the don't." A series of short and right to the point squeals flowed once again. "Ye think so eh? I guess I shan't be getting that ship soon then. Ye are right, ye are. Better to wait and see what kinds of people are flyin' that thing. Knowledge is a crucial thing it is."

By the time the two had finished talking they were right next to the ship. "Hey Ji, keep the illusions up and from now on try and make yourself unknown and unseen. Communicate through telepathy." Zhinji whispered quickly to the ball o' extreme roundness.

"Hail those that sail the sky!" boomed the man, cloaked with the illusion of a humanoid form consisting entirely of blades. "I am the Razor Angel!" he pronounced with his altered voice. "Allow me to settle upon your vessel for I am in need of what is for me to know."

"Bloody hell Ji, this is a pain, it is. I have to suppress my so called "talkin' habits”" I do. Bloody hell." The inventor telepathically told his guardian spirit.

Ofelia smirked at the captain, though her eyes still looked troubled. "Well, no not yet. Thats one beastly kitchen you have. Theres nothing wrong. Just a case of an upset stomach, nothing more." In the back of her mind Ofelia was positive that she had heard the voice again. It had been even quieter, barely present at all. "There was no voice! You are just making it all up in your head. It's the air. Nothing's wrong, you are just feeling a little off the weather." She told herself sternly.

The captain replied to Ofelia's question, and it did little to ease the woman. A small part of her mind began to panic. "A breach in the hull? Thats a hole!! We're going to die!!" But the majority of her mind stayed calm. A hole, her mind could handle. It was bodyless voices that freaked her out, not a a slight pull, and a longer journey.

"Sounds like we're a little down on our luck," She muttered. Ofelia wasn't really speaking to the captain, it was simply an observation.

A red-winged sailor came forward with a look of disbelief. The woman glanced down curiously at him, as he reported to Sera. A man, flying after their (or rather, Sera's) ship? It was impossible. However when Ofelia turned around, there he was. Sera was right. This man had to be insane. But there he was...and he was talking to them.

The Razor Angel? Ofelia suppressed a small smirk. It was hard to believe in such a thing. But you never did know what to encounter when sailing in the open sky. And there was no reason to doubt him, at least not yet.

"Confirmed!" the man hiding behind the illusion boomed. By gods his two normal wings were indeed tired and he wanted to eat as well. Apparently his spirit did too. Zhinji looked over the ship's crew, not changing his expression... or rather the illusion didn't change expression. The "Razor Angel" observed three things as he stood on the ship. The women, the food and any possible sign of a threat. So then, this ship housed two fine babes. Right. A plan was already emerging within his head.

"Would you look at those dames, Ji? Wow! Well I say now, your invisibility and telepathic link will indeed come in handy here... especially the fact that you're a spirit. Yeah. You know where this is going. Don't lie to yourself man, you want to see them just as much as I do. At least you have good taste. Well, first thing's first. We need a room" as the ex-pirate finished his telepathic ranting, he raised one foot and in a giant step came face to face with the Ship's captain. "This one formerly requests that he is granted a private room."

A private room was needed for multiple reasons, the most important one being that the current appearance was but an illusion. It would be most unwise to reveal the true self to these strangers. Kind as the captain seemed, trust was not exactly something that the inventor gave freely. Indeed he was quite paranoid, going as far as avoiding skin contact and always searching his food for signs of poison.

"Damn, hold on a bit longer Ji. The second they let us have a room, we're heading there for a night's rest. I know that this must be exhausting for you but try to hold on." Zhinji was already sensing his guardian's power waning. That wasn't too good.

((I did the best I could. Not much going on here.))

"I thank you for your hospitality. I would be most grateful if I could retire for the rest of the night, and I ask that no one disturb me." the false angel boomed, his voice covering the entire ship. Meanwhile Zhinji was slightly mocking the captain and waving his hand for her to speed up her chattering, luckily for him the illusion concealed all of that. He wasn't really tired, considering that the winglets did most of the work flying to the ship, the problem was that he was hungry and his guardian spirit was very much exhausted from channeling so many spells through.

The name of Diadem caught his attention. That's where he lived. Perfect, a palce to restock. The suit's chemicals were running low and the inventor did need some materials for his endless tinkering.

"Say Ji... I don't think I like that smirk on that dame's face, you know? Ye saw it too didn't ya? Bloody hell. Their speech is too damn complex. So, ya hear that? We're going ta Diadem, we'll 'ave ta restock and get some o' the contracts with us. Who knows, maybe we'll meet some o' our old buds, we will." the ex-pirate said these words, still pondering on whether he liked the sudden change of expression on the captain's face. "Say Ji, you think that she can see through this spell thing? I mean it is possible, isnit it? Can spirits see other spirits? What if the babe has one? Oh, ta hell 'ith it. On to more pointless blabbing..."

After cutting off the telepathic link with the eyeball, the "Bound One" returned to that conversation with the captain. "Work? Me?" the Razor Angel asked in mocking disbelief, putting his right hand to the heart, showing that this persona was oh too proud and godly to do anything that was asked of him. "So tell me, humor me, what do you mean by "work"? What would you want of me?" the bladed figure raised its' chin way up, to show utmost superiority.

Meanwhile Ji was resisting as hard as he could. He wanted to let out the loudest grunting squeal on this face of the planet. The mastermind was on the verge of killing the eyeball, so both of them were battling against themselves.

"Whatever you could do. You seem pretty strong," Sera said, ignoring his hautiness and turning more towards the docks, in order to assure that the new navigator was pulling in correctly. She grinned to herself momentarily, but fixed her expression before turning around to face Zhinji once more. "You plan... on staying?

"Well, whatever suits you," she continued. "The room is below deck. Sorry -- you came at a bad time, otherwise I would show you."

What should I call the guy, anyway?

Sera glanced around, noting the absence of Ofelia, but looking more at the few stunned sailors who had gathered to witness the spectacle of the Razor Angel. "Well?" she said, addressing the majority, "let's get the sails down and the ship tied!"


((Jeez. Sorry, it had to be a quickie, my brother wants on. >_>))