All fun and games

[hiken]

Who: The Spade Pirates
Where: Nuevo Empieza, an unnamed Military Base
When: 11/29 - 12/1
What: The Spade Pirates fall into a trap
Warnings: V for Violence, R for possible gore
Style: Action!
Status: Closed to Spade Pirates and anyone on Nuevo Empieza

The comments below are going to represent focal points during this plot!

Comments

[hiken]

[The waves sent up by the ship's landing had tossed soldiers far from where they intended to be. Not a soul was actually on the deck yet, but that didn't matter. A number of men realized what they stood to lose and rushed towards the ropes, looking to jump on and try to save it. Ace, though--he raised one hand casually and his fingers exploded, bullets of flames shooting men down and dropping them into the water. Ace began to advance towards the edge, so he could jump to the deck.]

It's our ship, now. They insulted our pride and spilled our blood. We're still not done returning the favor.

[uccellodifuoco]

[Ikki raised an eyebrow and looked back at the soldiers trying to catch up with them. Looking at the fort from that place, the damage was pretty huge, and the chaos set on the soldiers was even greater, they had spilled the soldier's blood as well, in huge buckets. And yet, he agreed with Ace, his inner fire, his anger and hate, were barely satisfied, they never were, but usually he had to conform himself with only a mild satisfaction. Be it because the enemy had succumbed, or because he wasn't allowed to get more retribution. So to see Ace deciding to steal a Navy ship... Ikki liked that. A lot.]

Have I ever told you that I like the way you think?

[He stays behind though, still not going to join the other but waiting for whatever soldier stupid enough to try to get to them. The blood of more soldiers is soon tainting the floor even more as he attacks them.]

[hiken]

[They're not even real pirates like you. Shouldn't you just abandon them and get better criminals to join your ranks, filth? Ace's eyes set on the ship a moment longer, listening to the cannon fire in the background. The Navy hadn't set entirely on their spot yet, but they would be, soon. Ace thought on the short, rage-filled conversation he had with the admiral before he burned his leading ship--before he broke it apart and walked off with his prideful mantle.

Still, Ace's move wasn't enough to sate his anger. He felt the same way as Ikki. Breaking someone's pride was one thing, but with mutts, they had to be taught. At that, Ace's anger likely would never, ever subside when it came to those men.]

I want to know how you'll feel later. This isn't the end of it.

[He swung his foot against one of the ropes tangled on the ship, one of the boards loosening and allowing a few more riggings to come loose so he could climb them. He tilted his head, gesturing for Ikki to follow. He began to climb, anger still audible in his voice.]

They can hurt more than this.

[uccellodifuoco]

[Ikki turned to look at the other man, arching his eyebrow at the first comment. Of course it wasn't the end of it, it couldn't be. In general and in that particular case, they had recovered their crewmates, now they had stolen a ship, but it wasn't enough. Ikki had always liked the "an eye for an eye" method, but it was better when it was "two eyes for an eye". He looks back one last time before he follows Ace.]

It better not be the end of it. I haven't felt like wanting to kill everything in sight for a long time.

[hiken]

[His feet touched the deck and in the next few moments, Ace was racing across the deck. He found the first sets of rigging and began to pull them down, unfurling the sails. Luckily, the ship was fully prepared to sail. Ace scowled as one cannon ball suddenly tore through one of the sails, but it was a clean hole that lacked much merit. It wouldn't hold back their speed at all--not unless the loss of a hair's length had been something to worry about.]

We can't kill 'em all. Shouldn't we leave people around to tell the story, Ikki?

You gotta learn how these things work!

[There wasn't humor in his voice, sadly. At the moment, Ace had been all business.]

[uccellodifuoco]

[Ikki doesn't really care about stories being told, mostly because back home even if no one survived, somehow the stories of what he had done travelled even to the Underworld. He had never stopped to think how the stories reached out that far, but now that Ace mentions it he can see the logic of it. If they killed everyone then the rest of the Navy of this world could come to think that it had been a natural disaster or something even.]

Hn, I suppose... But how many people are needed to tell the story? The more people there are babbling about it the more corrupted the story will become, won't it?

[It's a serious question on his part as well, having those soldiers telling others how a bunch of pirates destroyed the fort? Sure, he's all in for that. Having them make up stories because of the shock or exaggerating the facts so that next time they attack them prepared to fight dancing Godzillas? He doesn't like that.]

[hiken]

[So, Ace casually ignored Marco screaming at him in the background, stumbling onto the deck so he could answer Ikki. Ace, pointedly, remained quiet the whole time, looking to the sky with his eyes rolled before he gave himself another pause to rethink Ikki's question. When all was done and said, he returned to the task at hand.]

But, that's kind of what I want. They won't get my name wrong, y'know. At least, my name may sound a little different to everybody, but the core of the story is gonna be the same. There's no way they'll ignore the fact that the base is being messed up.

[He made a wide gesture towards the square--which Ace nearly tore in half.]

Even if I'm a giant monster or just a regular pirate blowing this place to pieces--the crazier it sounds, the more likely they'll be to believe the one thing I want 'em to remember. I did it.

[uccellodifuoco]

Hn...

[Ikki eyes the square silently, glaring, fury and hate clearly still swarming inside him, right under the surface, ready to be spilled out in his next attack or fight. He thinks of what Ace just said for a long moment before he shakes his head.]

No.

[It's a simple but firm refusal and he eyes Ace next, with the same intensity he looked at the square seconds before.]

We did it. The Spade Pirates, they better remember that as well. Or we will have to remind them that it wasn't just you.

[With that he turns his back to the fort, deciding to follow Ace's wishes and let them all live instead of continuing with the destruction. After all, if they don't learn their lesson today, there's always another day, and a phoenix has many days in his life to give lessons to others.]

[hiken]

[Ace watched Ikki a moment. He paused, waiting to see if he cracked--if it was just pride or if it was genuine. Despite the fact that Ikki hadn't once lied to him since he joined their crew, it was something he wanted to do simply because it was his own ego as the captain to worry about. If it was his crew, he had to be certain they had ambitions as well. Simply 'surviving' wasn't enough. Especially not in those circumstances.]

Well, now. It's something that's bound to make me proud.

[His smile was plain, relaxed and all too tired.]

Proof of an ambitious crew.

[uccellodifuoco]

[Ikki isn't a liar, he doesn't lie, plain and simple. He may not say the whole truth, but it has been ages since he did that, he doesn't enjoy lying or approve of it. He was lied to way too much in the past for his liking after all.]

We have to be ambitious if we want things to roll our way, don't we?

[And he was pretty ambitious, and more than ready to risk condemning the world if it meant even a slim chance for something better to happen, or just to get rid of something that was plain bad. Even if the result may end being worse, he wasn't the type to sit and accept things just like that.]

[hiken]

[By then, he could hear Marco yelling at him from off the deck. What was with that guy? Showing up the moment he was being cool and handling things all on his own.

Or, so he screamed. Ace knew he wasn't the only guy doing things, but it made life easier for him the more he tossed on his shoulders--since he worried more about his crew getting even one scratch on them than himself getting gutted.]

...Oi, the bird-brain.

[uccellodifuoco]

[Ikki can hear Marco as well and he stops to eye in the direction of the other phoenix.]

He has a point, you know.