[Heart Game - Ed, Maya, Roxy]

[carptricks]

[It's dark. You're trying to move forward, but it feels like your limbs are weighed down by chains and shackles. Still, you push. You push and you pull and those chains are pulled taut and strained until suddenly--]

[Something snaps]

[You tumble forward, wind blowing past your face, until you lose awareness of anything around you. . .]

((another run ran concurrent to this one here))

Comments

[fuhrinkaed]

[of course it took you until a raptor attack to get this done.]

[But I kinda remembered that so.]

[I guess now we wait in here for this box to get carted on board.]

[soulping]

[shut up it was totally romantic okok]

[it doesn't take long, and eventually Ed feels the entire crate shift as it's lifted and carried to the boat by one of the dock workers]

[don't hit your head on the crate walls as it moves, bro]

[fuhrinkaed]

[oh like I haven't dealt with constant head trauma for the entirety of my life.]

[But he does stay quiet, at least.]

[soulping]

[Eventually the crate stops moving. A few more minutes of silence pass, and then. . .]

[Your hear the blow of the whistle from the docks as Chikage calls out:]

Take sail! Have a safe journey! ♥

[and then the entire boat itself begins to move, though you can't see anything because. you're in a crate]

[fuhrinkaed]

[OK SAFE NOW. Let's bust out of this crate with AIR PRESSURE FROM WIND.]

[And then take a look around.]

[soulping]

[You escape your crate prison and step out onto the deck of the ship]

[The sails are unfurled from the mast; they catch the wind easily. The ship is already pretty far out into the water, too. . . you can barely see the docks anymore. It sure is bound for. . . wherever it's going! You can hear splashing from over the railing-- something is following you as you go]

[. . .]

[. . . you are the only person on the ship. The crates that were loaded onto the vessel earlier are strapped to the deck, so they don't shift around and move during the journey. The only area accessible other than the deck is the captain's quarters. Who is driving??]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Hard to say.]

Hey, Splashy Jr! Keep an eye out for anything that might be dangerous!

[But let's check on the captain's quarters.]

[soulping]

[There's another large splash, followed by a roar of assent, from the water. Splashy Jr is right there with you, bro]

[You enter the captain's quarters to find that it's more like a small armory, honestly. Cutlasses line the walls, and there sure is a barrel of dynamite sitting in one of the corners. The oddest weapon of them all, however, is the strange card gun hanging from a nail next to the door you just entered through. Why on Earth would a ship need so many weapons?]

[fuhrinkaed]

[It'd be weird if I didn't know Kaito. Let's touch the card gun.]

[actually let's touch everything.]

[soulping]

[every object in this armory imparts the same feeling]

[fight back fight back fight back]

[fuhrinkaed]

[...:|aaa UNSURE YET.]

[Let's go find the steering wheel.]

[soulping]

[Before you can do that. . .]

[Your explorations of the armory are suddenly interrupted by the sound of a cannon exploding outside, which is followed by the entire ship lurching, practically throwing you off balance. What was that??]

[fuhrinkaed]

[An idiot who has decided to pick a fight with a water mage on an ocean. LETS FLY OUT AND CHECK ON THAT.]

[soulping]

[You rush out of the captain's quarters to find that, although it's only been a few minutes for you, the Tiaboat is sailing on the open sea]

[It has also attracted the attention of another vessel]

[A black ship drifts in the water alongside you, a series of three ropes extending from its railing to the Tiaboat. Although there's a black jolly roger flying from the ship's mast, there. . . don't seem to be any pirates boarding your boat. You can, however, see a strange figure leaning against the helm, grinning at you sharply. It's a figure with long hair and a dress-- wait. . . short hair and glasses? No, a fedora and a mustache. No, no, a black figure with red eyes--]

[The longer you stare, the more the figure's shape seems to change and shift, unwilling to settle on a single form. But one thing is clear]

[One of the black ship's cannons is aimed right at you]

[fuhrinkaed]

[...]

[Pointing at the cannon, orange energy coalescing in his hand.]

I don't suppose we can just... talk this one out. Can we?

[soulping]

[There's a high-pitched laugh from figure, and the cannon explodes again in response]

[There is now a cannonball flying through the air right towards you]

[fuhrinkaed]

[And this is a giant fuck-off burst laser for both the cannonball and the cannon besides if possible.]

[soulping]

[It's possible! The cannonball explodes first, followed quickly by the cannon on the black ship. Some of the black ship's hull splinters with the impact; the area is filled with pieces of wood and dust and smoke. It's almost impossible to see anything]

[And then]

[A sword cuts through the cloud, the tip and blade sharp as they come, aimed right for Ed's gut]

[fuhrinkaed]

[OWFUCK.]

[That was my gut.]

[Reflexively channeling lightning through the blade to arc at whoever the hell is holding it.]

[soulping]

[The blade slices through your gut, which sends a white-hot streak of pain throughout your entire body. Blood already begins to stain the front of your clothing, and with that, comes a feeling]

[Why bother. . . why even try, when it always ends like this, when it ends in pain and suffering, why fight when you can't win. . .?]

[The smoke clears, and you see it's the mysterious figure that's wielding the weapon. It seems to have settled on Nyssa's form for now-- she holds the cutlass extended in front of her elegantly, though her body is fuzzy and glitches around her shoulders every so often]

[The lightning crackles, and Nyssa withdraws the blade before the attack can be channeled through the sword and into the owner. It does, however, arc through the sky and strike one of the ropes tethered to the Tiaboat, snapping it in half]

[With that, comes a new feeling]

[No-- don't give up yet!]

[fuhrinkaed]

So it's Nyssa today, then?

...Normal attacks don't work if it's you. [He puts a hand on his wound, grinning with a grim determination.] But you forgot one thing...

Never. Ever. [The water between the two boats fires up in a rhythmic wave, freezing into a blade as it goes up to sever the ties between boats.]

Fight a water mage on the ocean with his pet dragon right there. Gyarados! DRAGON RAGE! [HAND POINTING OUT AT THE OTHER BOAT.]

[soulping]

[The Nyssa figure laughs, shrill and unpleasant, like nails screeching down a chalk board. She leaps off of the Tiaboat and back onto the black one just as your water blade slices through the last two ropes anchoring her ship to yours. As the ropes snap in two, more determined feelings course through you]

[That's right! You've got this! You're not doing it by yourself!]

[Don't ever stop fighting!]

[Splashy Jr erupts from the water with a mighty roar and sends a powerful, flaming stream of PURE DRAGON RAGE at the black boat. It. . . does not destroy the boat at all, unfortunately. But it does push it away, out into the ocean, where it fades from view]

[. . . only a soft giggling in your ears remains. I'll be back. . .~]

[fuhrinkaed]

[And he'll reply to it with a arm pump and a wink.]

And when you come back, maybe we'll get along. But, if you still want to make things hard I'll kick your butt again! A hundred times, if I have to!

[soulping]

[The adrenaline of victory courses through you! You sure showed that ship, huh?]

[. . .]

[ah, but now you're bleeding all over the deck. . . there's a sizable pool of blood forming underneath your feet]

[fuhrinkaed]

[...oh. Right.]

[Let's. Tie the cloak around his gut to stem the flow of that. I love this stupid cloak, it's the best.]