The Phantom Of Berseria

by Terraspace81

When a traitor to the Legendary Pokemon is revived by the actions of one man. Arceus prepares to send Pokemon to the man world to stop him. But Giratina has a different idea. Giratina takes a man from Hisui and turns him into the first person with Legendary power. With this power, this man will bring calamity to this world, along with the help of a certain woman.

4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone, sorry for the long wait, a lot of things have been changing for me and school is back on, and I was getting ready to move into my new apartment. I was hoping to have this chapter done a long time ago, but what can you do, there's only so many hours in the day. Now for chapter 4.

Chapter 4

A Boy, A Pirate, and Dragons

After escaping Hellawes, and a while at sea, everyone was finally relaxing. "Well, that turned out better than I expected. Though we wound up with a little extra." Rokurou said to everyone, as they looked at Velvet, who was still holding hands with Number Two. "Extra?" Velvet asked everyone. "Did you forget already? I mean you're holding his hand?" Zane asked Velvet, making her notice she was still holding Number Two hand.

Number Two just looked at everyone with a blank look. "He looks like he'd be a scrumptious midday snack for you!" Magilou said to Velvet, making Velvet look away. "A snack?" Number Two asked. "She's just teasing." Rokurou said to Number Two. "No. If that's an order, I accept it." Number Two said to Rokurou. "No you shouldn't." Zane said to Number Two.

"Should we really be taking this kid along?" Rokurou asked everyone. "His artes will be useful to us. And we can always get rid of him." Velvet said to everyone. "You mean after Magilou right?" Zane asked Velvet. "Hey. What have I done?" Magilou asked Zane. "Nothing. And that's it. You have done nothing to help us, instead you have gotten arrested by the exorcists and were the reason for all that time wasting." Zane said to Magilou.

"Anyway, Malakhim are tools. Use 'em and ditch 'em! Isn't that right Number Two." Magilou asked Number Two. "Yes." Number Two said to everyone, making Velvet upset a little. "Well if he's coming with us. He needs a name. Number Two is too long to say in battle." Zane said to everyone.

"Don't give him a name. You'll just end up getting attached to him." Velvet said to Zane. "Fine. How about N2 then. It is just his name shortened?" Zane asked Velvet. "Fine." Velvet said to Zane, before everyone scattered on the boat.

But N2 just stayed where he stood and looked at the sea, and Velvet watched him. Zane noticed it. "What are you thinking about?" Zane asked Velvet, moving to her side. But before Velvet could answer, Rokurou yelled at her. "Velvet! How's our heading?" Rokurou asked Velvet. Velvet pulled out the sea compass, but she didn't know how to use it.

"Uh… this is so hard to read." Velvet said to everyone. "Actually… You're holding it wrong." N2 said to Velvet, making Velvet and Zane noticed N2 looking at them. "It's built to function even if the ship is rolling." N2 said to Velvet, pointing to the base of the compass.

Velvet moved her hands to the base of the compass, and it was stable. "Velvet!" Rokurou yelled and asked Velvet, making Velvet and Zane look at the compass. "The heading's fine!" Velvet yelled to Rokurou. "Yeah, we're still heading south-east." Zane said to Rokurou.

"Kid. What's your name?" Velvet asked N2. "Number Two." N2 said to Velvet. "Not that. Your real name. Surely you have one." Velvet asked N2. "N2." N2 said to Velvet. "I'll take that as a no." Zane said to Velvet. Velvet thought to herself for a moment. "Want to hold it?" Velvet asked N2.

N2 reached for it, but stopped and retracted his arms. "If that's an order." N2 asked Velvet. "I'm asking you what you want." Velvet said to N2. "So you're… ordering me to answer?" N2 asked Velvet. Velvet looked away and sighed. "Right, right… you malakhim would destroy yourselves as long as it was an order, wouldn't you?" Velvet asked N2, with a caring smile.

"That is our purpose." N2 said to Velvet. "You really are tools. In that case, keep your mouth shut." Velvet said to N2, turning away from him. N2 said nothing and nodded his head. "Aren't you being a little hard on the kid? It's not his fault he doesn't know how to express himself." Zane said to Velvet. "He's just a malakhim." Velvet said to Zane. "He's still a living creature." Zane said to Velvet.

But before Velvet could agree back, cannon fire hit the water around them, shaking the ship, and making Velvet drop the compass. "Cannon fire astern! Pirates!" Rokurou said to everyone, as they noticed a massive ship bending them, and getting close. "That flag… it's got to be Aifread's pirate crew!" Dyle said to everyone.

"They've got a bead on us, folks. And in case you hadn't noticed, we aren't really equipped for sea combat!" Magilou said to everyone. "NO KIDDING!" Zane yelled at Magilou, as a cannon shot hit some of the stuff on the ship. Zane then teleported to the crows nest of the ship, and saw a landmasse nearby. "LAND HO! WE CAN MAKE IT!" Zane yelled to everyone. "To land then! We can fight them there!" Velvet said to everyone, as Dyle moved the ship to the land.

They made it to land, but the cannon fire damaged their ship, and it started to sink. As they got off it, the pirate ship landed next to them, and its crew got off, surrounding them.

With the crew, a large group of small orange humanoid creatures that where about 2 feet tall, their bodies was tan colored with a red chest, arms with clover like fingers on the end, the legs were hidden in a baggy pair of orange pants that have left a tail with the leftovers of the pants, small oval feet, a big round head with everyone above the jaw line orange and below the jaw tan, big round eyes, mouth open showing three teeth, and a small red hair on the top of their heads.

"These pirates have a lot of Scraggy with them." Ludo said to everyone. "Scraggy?" Magilou asked Ludo. "Scraggy are The Shedding Pokemon. A Fighting and Dark Type. They may look silly, but their skulls are studied, and their baggy lower half are good at defending." Ludo said to Magilou.

Then out of the group, a young man with white tan skin, messy long blond hair, grey eyes, no shirt but a red sailor jacket on, white bag pants held up by a big leather belt, a big telescope on the back of his telescope, and slippers with the right one broken showing his twoes.

On the man's head, in his hat was a black crow creature, with a large beck, white whites with red irises, and bushy tail attached to the body by a red strap, and the feathers on top of its head was in the shape of a hat with three bumps.

"Huh! Well look at that Oozy. They really are a buncha daemons. That works in our favor." The man said to the crow. "Yes, lady luck is smiling on us today, Benwick." Oozy said to the man, with a male voice.

"What would a Murkrow know about luck?" Eshu asked Oozy. "How dare you. Just because, me, A Murkrow, the Darkness Pokemon, is a Dark and Flying Type, doesn't mean I can't have some luck." Oozy said to Eshu. "Considering you knowingly picked fights with a daemons, I can't tell if your stuid or have a death wish. You're in trouble now that we're on land!" Rokurou said to the pirates.

"Yeah, we're not an easy target." Zane said to the pirates. "Wipe them out, N2. That's an order." Velvet said to N2. N2 said nothing and nodded his head. "Whoa there! We're not the one you'll be fighting." Benwick said to everyone.

That's when a tall built man, with pale skin, blond hair that long enough to cover the sides of his head, but short enough in the front so it won't block his eyes, his eyes where light blue, and dressed in black rough clothes, with an overcoat and gloves on.

Next to the man was small creature with a dark blue body, standing on four legs, a stomp for a tail, a long neck, a large black fur that started at the chest went up the neck and covered most of its head, showing it's moth, and a black hairy point on the back on its head.

"It'll be us." The man said to everyone. N2 then fired paper cards at the man and creature, but the man glowed orange, and rocks appeared in front of them, blocking the cards. "A malak?!" Velvet asked. "A free and strong one compared to the other ones we have faced." Zane said to everyone.

"I'm not a malak. I'm the reaper." the man said to everyone. "And I'm Duncan, a Deino, a Dark and Dragon Type, leader of these Dark Types and I can be irating when I want to be." The creature said to everyone, with a male voice, as he and the man started to attack Zane, Velvet, Rokurou, N2, and their Pokemon.

"Eshu use Swift." Zane said, as he fired a couple arrows at the man. "Right." Eshu said, as he fired yellow stars at the man and Duncan. "Work up and Dragon Breath." Duncan said, as he glowed red, and he fired a steam of teal energy from his mouth, breaking the stars apart.

The man then dodged the arrows and hit Dyle in the gut, sending him flying into the rock wall. "Headbutt." Duncan said, as he rammed his head into Shellder and sent him flying into the rock wall next to Dyle. "What is this guy? Liz use Ember." Velvet asked and said to Liz, as she tried to slash the man with her wrist blade. "Sure." Liz said, as she fired a burst of fire at the man, at the same time N2 fired paper cards at the man.

But the man dodged the attacks, and made a rock wall to block the fire blast, and stopped the paper cards. "Bite." Duncan said, as he jumped and bit into Liz. Then he threw Liz into Eshu.

"A malak pirate?! Saber use Metal Sound." Rokurou said to everyone. "Right." Saber said, as he skraping his edge on his sheath, making a sound wave. But the soundwave didn't affect the man or Duncan that much, and they punched

"A sword, twin blades, A bow with blade, and paper… no pendulum that I can see." the man said to everyone. "Their Pokemon aren't too bad as well, flames, steel, and tricks. Not a bad little team they got here." Duncan said to the man. Then the man slammed his fist into the ground, causing a little shake. But everyone was able to stay on their feet.

"That's enough." The man said, as he and Duncan stopped attacking. "You pass the test. Join us." The man said to everyone, as Dyle and Shellder moved back to the others. "Well, aren't you the impudent one." Velvet said to the man. "Yeah, you fired cannonballs at us, then fought us, and now you want us to work with you." Zane said to the man. "Says the daemons who torched Hellawes." The man said to everyone.

"You knew about that?" Velvet asked the man. "I'm curious how? We did that a few hours ago." Zane asked the man. "I hope you two realize we're doing you two a favor. If you stayed on that course, you wouldn't smashed right up against the Gate of Vortigern." The man said to everyone.

"You're headed for Midgand, aren't you? That means you're gonna have to go through the narrows up ahead. But the kingdom has a massive fortress there built to defend them… with a tremendous gate." Benwick said to everyone. "A fortress…" Velvet said to everyone. "If this is true, we're in your debt." Rokurou said to the pirates. "Don't say that. Chances are, they stop us, to use us, so they can get through this fortress." Zane said to everyone.

"The wing daemon is smart. We desire to pass through as well, but we lack the strength. I propose we form a partnership." The man said to everyone. "I'd be a fool to blindly trust the words of a pirate." Velvet said to the man. "Especially after his plan is to let us do the dangerous part, and leave his men and Pokemon out of it." Zane said to the man.

"Do you two really want to see the gate for yourself? We won't stop you two. We'll even throw you two a nice funeral, if you two like." The man said to Zane and Velvet. "But it might be a close casket funeral." Duncan said to Zane and Velvet, as he and the man walked through the group.

"So what? We're allowed to refuse?" Magilou asked the man. "Your business is your business, and ours is ours. There's nothing more to say." the man said to everyone, as Benwick moved around everyone to the man and Duncan. "But First Mate! Y-You and Duncan can't go alone! We'll all come with you!" Benwick said to the man. "Right count us in." Oozy said to the man.

"You'd two only get in the way. Stick to the plan and focus on your duties aboard the van Eltia." the man said to Benwick and Oozy, before he and Duncan walked into a nearby cave. "And what are you folks planning, anyway?" Velvet asked Benwick. "Like I said, we're getting through that gate. If you're not helping us, then the conversation's over." Benwick said to Velvet.

"Is it possible to get through?" Velvet asked Benwick. "If the first mate says he'll do it, he'll do it. And Duncan will gladly help." Benwick said to everyone. "You sure put a lot of faith in him. He's a malak, isn't he?" Rokurou asked Benwick. "That doesn't matter. He;s got the captain's blessing, and that's enough for us." Benwick said to Rokurou.

"Couldn't you ignore the narrows and just sail around?" Velvet asked Benwick. "Not now. We lost both our compass and several of our crew in an earlier attack." Benwick said to everyone. "Sorry, but you made us lose our compass in that attack of yours." Zane said to Benwick, with Velvet and N2 thinking.

"But in the end, we're pirates. If someone blocks our way, we can't just fall back!" Benwick said to everyone. "And that's what makes a pirate, huh?" Velvet said to Banwick.

"So what will we do?" Liz asked everyone. "Tragically, your favorite witch is neither a sailor nor a warrior. All she can really do is look on." Magilou said to everyone. "That or be a meat shield." Zane said to Magilou. "No argument there." Velvet said to everyone. "Meanies." Magilou said to Zane and Velvet.

"Is the gate of Vortigern really something that impressive, Dyle?" Rokurou asked Dyle. "They've got a fortress and a patrolling fleet, but the gate is the real show. Even a battleship couldn't blast its way through that thing." Dyle said to everyone. "And you're telling us about this now?!" Zane asked Dyle. "Is there no sea route that avoids the narrows?" Velvet asked Dyle.

"There is, so to speak, but it's a long way out into the open sea. We'd just end up shipwrecked." Dyle said to Velvet. "The pirates share our goal. I don't think we have any choice but to band together." Velvet said to everyone. "And our ship sinking means we didn't have a choice to start with." Zane said to everyone.

"True enough! If forward lies destruction, and backward lies doom, sideways is your only option!" Magilou said to everyone. "And yet you don't feel like helping out." Velvet said to Magilou. "I sure don't!" Magilou said to Velvet. "Fine, then stay with the pirates, with Ludo, Dyle, and Shellder. The rest of us will go with that malak and Duncan." Zane asid to everyone.

"That malak isn't all he seems. Who knows what's up his sleeves?" Rokurou asked everyone. "He's right. We have no idea what powers this guy got." Eshu said to everyone. "The kid's a malak, too. Hey boy, you sense anything?" Magilou asked N2. N2 said nothing. "We both have ulterior motives. In any case, let's go after him." Velvet said to everyone, as she, N2, Zane, Rokurou, Liz, Eshu, and Saber entered the cave, going after the man and Duncan.

After a bit, they found the man and Duncan, after they killed a scorpion monster. "So, you've chosen to trust a pirate?" the man asked everyone. "Not for a second. But if you're prepared to lend us the use of your ship and crew until we reach the capital, we'll help you." Velvet said to the man. "I'll agree to those terms. But there's something I should tell you first." the man said to them.

"Your name?" Eshu asked the man. But the man pulled out a coin and flipped it. The coin had two heads. One of the reapers, and the other of the lady. Then the man caught the coin. "I bring ill fortune to all those around me. The "Reaper's Curse". I could flip this coin a thousand times and still land on tails. Trying to get through the fort cost the lives of five good sailors. If you join up with me, I can't guarantee your safety." the man said to everyone, showing the reaper side of the coin.

"Why would you go out of your way to warn us?" Velvet asked the man. "Even daemons don't want to meet an unfair death, right?" The man asked Velvet, tossing her the coin. Velvet caught it. "If you still want to come with me, just know the risks." The man said to Velvet. Works for me. I landed on tails, I'll flip it to head on my own." Velvet said to the man, tossing the coin back to him, and it landed on the lady, surprising the man. "The girl got some guts." Duncan said to the man,

"Now that we're going to work together we should know everyone's name. I'm Zane, this is Eshu and N2." Zane said to everyone, his arm gesturing out to Eshu and N2, making the man look at N2. "Velvet. This is Liz." Velvet said, pointing to Liz. "I'm Rokurou, and the living blade is Saber. A pleasure." Rokurou said to the man. "Eizen. And you know Duncan." The man said to everyone.

"You've got a plan of attack, I'm sure. Let's hear it." Velvet asked Eizen. "To put it bluntly, Vortigern is impregnable. It won't fall to an attack whether by sea or by land." Eizen said to everyone. "So, no plan?!" Rokurou asked Eizen. "Or are we just going to wing it, and hope your "Reaper Curse" takes down Vortigern?" Zane asked Eizen.

"Wait. What about both at once?" Velvet asked Eizen. "Exactly. First we wedn in the Van Eltia to draw their fleet out of the narrows. Then we slip inside and open the sea gate ourselves. The Van Eltia will then break away and rush back into the channel. We'll climb aboard and push through." Eizen said to everyone.

"One slip and we're all as good as dead." Rokurou said to everyone. "Then don't slip, and we're not dead." Velvet said to Rokurou. "You do know we're with a person that has a "Reaper Curse" right?" Zane asked Velvet. "I'm aware." Velvet said to Zane. "Walking with the reaper, eh?" Rokurou said to everyone. "The plan is already in motion. Let's move. This cave leads to the fortress." Eizen said to everyone, as they started to move.

After a bit, N2 started to lag behind. "The kid's awfully quiet. You think maybe there's something wrong with him?" Rokurou asked everyone. "N2's always that way." Velvet said to Rokurou. "Stop that. Calling him N2 is cruel." Rokurou said to everyone. "Any crueler than how Teresa treated him or called him Number Two. At least N2 is something." Zane said to Rokurou.

"What does Rokurou and Zane mean?" Velvet asked Rokurou and Zane. "Well, "Son Number Six," technically…" Rokurou said to Velvet. "Same thing, then." velvet said to"And Zane mean "God's Gracious Gift". It kind of works, conserving my powers from a god." Zane said to Velvet, not noticing N2 stop and noticed something in a small pond next to the wall, eating some leaves.

N2 moved to the pond, in that pond was a small blob creature, with the upper part being lilac and the the lower half being mauve, green oval cheeks, four entinay with the font two benign small then the back two, and two dot black eyes.

The blob noticed N2. "Uh hello?" the blob asked N2, with a female voice. N2 said nothing. "Uh you got a name. I'm Goomy, The Soft Tissue Pokemon, and I know I don't look like it but I'm a fierce Dragon Type, so don't mess with me." The blob said to N2. N2 said nothing. "What's with you?" Goomy asked N2.

Then they heard rattling. "Do you hear that?" Goomy asked N2. That's when they noticed a scorpion monster charging at them. "Not one of those things again." Goomy said to everyone. But before Goomy hid in the pond, she noticed N2 covering his mouth stopping him from screaming. "Why isn't he screaming? Dragon Breath." Goomy asked, as she fired a burst of teal energy from his mouth, forcing the scorpion monster back, but didn't kill it.

It got back to charging at N2 and Goomy. But before it got to them, Zane appeared and slammed his blade into its head. It screamed as Zane twisted his blade, killing it. "You all right, Kid?!" Rokurou asked N2, as the rest of them came running up to him. "Why didn't you say something?! If Eizen hadn't noticed in time, you'd be bead!" Velvet said to N2.

N2 said nothing. "Wait a minute. N2 you can talk now." Zane said to N2, kneeling to N2's eye level, and putting his hands on N2's shoulders. "Okay." N2 said to Zane. "So why didn't you say anything?" Zane asked N2. "She ordered me to keep my mouth shut…" N2 said to Zane, making Velvet twitch a little, and her mouth hanging open. Velvet knocked Zane over and grabbed N2's shoulder.

"That's not what I meant! Why? Why would you do that?" Velvet asked N2, shaking him. "Velvet, cool it." Zane said to Velvet, getting her arms off N2, with his hands. but Velvet tried to break free of Zane's hands. "Whoa, take it easy, Velvet." Rokurou said to Velvet. This made Velvet calm down and move her hands down, so that she and Zane were holding hands.

"Let me guess, kid. You were bound by an exorcist?" Eizen asked N2. N2 nodded yes. "I thought as much. The boy's will have been sealed away. Malakhim have individual personalities, just like humans. But exorcists have developed methods to seal those personalities away… so they can use malakhim as uncomplaining tools. And they've been doing this to Pokemon as well." Eizen said to everyone.

"Will he always be like this?" Velvet asked Eizen. "Can't say. I've never seen one escape the exorcists before." Eizen said to velvet, making Velvet look at the boy with a sad look in her eyes.

"Maybe I can help?" Goomy asked, making everyone notice her. "And you are?" Velvet asked Goomy. "My Name is Goomy." Goomy said to Velvet. "That's a terrible name. You're more like a Slug to me." Velvet said to Goomy. "Slug… Sa… Saa… Saara. Saara." N2 said to Goomey. "Saara. I like it. I'll stick with this kid and help him out. Maybe I can show him how to live a little." Goomy said, as she moved up and onto N2's head.

"What can a pile of goo know about living? And we're going into danger" Velvet asked Saara. "I'm tougher than I look." Saara said to Velvet. "She may not look like it, but she is a dragon. And I've seen their kind have gental lives. So maybe she can teach N2 something." Zane said to Velvet. "Fine she can stay." Velvet said to everyone.

"If you two love birds are done holding hands, we should get going." Duncan said to Zane and Velvet, making them realize they were still holding hands. They blushed a little, and pulled their hands apart. Then they started to move.

"Listen kid, if you ever get in trouble, speak up, OK?" Rokurou asked N2, as they walked. "If I'm in… trouble?" N2 asked. "He means if you see anything scary let us know." Zane said to N2. N2 nodded and understood.

"You said exorcists bind mlakhim's free will?" Rokurou asked Eizen. "Yeah. We've lived in this land a long time, and we're our own folk, just like humans. Only a small portion of humans- those with strong resonance, like the exorcists- were able to perceive our existence." Eizen said to Rokurou. "But the Advent changed that." Rokurou said to Eizen.

"Now malakhim can be seen by ordinary people. We're being robbed of our free will and made into obedient tools. Humans praise Artorius for providing a miraculous new weapon against daemon, but malakhim aren't mere objects." Eizen said to everyone. "Malakhim aren't things…" N2 asked. "They are." Velvet said to everyone, making Eizen look at Velvet. "Velvet. What do you have to mean?" Saara asked Velvet.

"As far as Artorius is concerned, malakhim, daemons, Pokemon, and humans are all nothing more than tools, everything in service to his utopia of reason. That's all anyone is to him… Even my brother…" Velvet said to Saara, with a sad face. Zane noticed this, and put a hand on her right shoulder.

"Velvet. I promise you, Atrorius will watch his utopia come crashing down around him, right before we kill him. If that's what you want." Zane said to Velvet, making Velvet blush a little. "You sure know how to charm a lady." Velvet said to Zane, before she moved to the head of the group.

While walking, Eizen flipped his coin, and it kept landing on the reaper side, much to Eizan's ann. "Looks like Aifread's first mate has a strange superstation." Velvet said to everyone. "If you saw what I've seen. You be superstis as well." Duncan said to Velvet. "It's just a habit. Only comes up with tails anyway." Eizen said to Velvet.

"What land did that coin come from? I've never seen a coin with a goddess on one side and the reaper on the other." Rokurou asked Eizen. "Strictly speaking, that's not the reaper on the back. It's an image of the demon king, Dhaos." Eizen said to Rokurou. "Where have I heard that name before?" Rokurou asked everyone.

"Martel, the goddess… and Dhaos, the demon king. The book of Ragnarok, chapter 765: "The Battle of Yggdrasill"." N2 said to everyone, making everyone look at him with a small surprised look. "Oho! You're awfully well read." Eizen said to N2.

"The coin was dug up from some ancient ruins in another land. They called the place Kharlan long ago. It's made from soft, ordinary gold, but they had some process to harden the metal and make it resistant to scratches." Eizen said to everyone. "Wow. That's a rather rare find, then." Rokurou said to Eizen. "Probably with more than a normal coin." Saber said to everyone.

"Do you like to read books?" Velvet asked N2. "Teresa's chamber was full of them, so I spent a lot of time reading. Ragnarok is a record of battle from the age of myth. I've read it several times now." N2 said to everyone. "I guess you've been in that room for a long time." Saara said to N2, making Velvet look at N2.

"Anyway, coins like that are hard to come by. Where did you get it?" Velvet asked N2. "It's a long story." Eizen said to N2. "Never mind, then." Velvet said to Eizen. "So, were you deciding something with that coin toss?" Rokurou asked Eizen. "Not anything I can talk about yet." Eizen said to everyone. "Oh. I'm sorry for prying." Rokurou said to Eizen. "Let's try and stay focused on our dangerous mission." Duncan said to everyone.

Some time later, they made their way to the large gate in the side of a cliff. They all hid behind a large rock. "There's no guards. Do we just go in?" Rokurou asked Eizen. "Wait. This isn't what I expected." Eizen said to everyone. "Yeah, something's wrong? They won't leave a fortress gate unguarded." Zane said to everyone, as he pulled out some grass and flapped his wings. Blowing the grass to the gate.

The grass flew to the gate, and was destroyed into nothing as they reached it. "Knew it." Zane said. "There's a barrier over it?" Rokurou asked everyone. "They changed the security." Eizen said to everyone. "You weren't kidding, were you? That scorpion and this barrier, all part of your curse." Velvet said to Eizen. "Trust me, I've seen worse." Duncan said to Velvet.

"He's right. You'll be lucky if that's the worst of it." Eizen said to Velvet. "A direct assault would be a bad idea. What's the plan?" Rokurou asked Eizen. "I could teleport past it. But without knowing the barrier range or effect, I probably end up getting zapped." Zane said to everyone. "Any other ideas?" Saara asked everyone.

"Down the cliff there should be an entrance used during the fortress's construction. We'll check that." Eizen said to everyone. "Chances are, it's not that heavily guarded like this one." Duncan said to everyone. "You two did your research." Velvet said to Eizen and Duncan. "We had to, didn't we?" Eizen asked Velvet. "Yeah, knowing his luck, this was going to happen anyway." Duncan said to Velvet, as they started to move.

A few minutes later they found a smaller gate, with two guards and supplies outside it. "Is that the way in?" Velvet asked Eizen and Duncan. "Yeap." Duncan said to Velvet. "This one's actually guarded." Rokurou said to everyone. "Which means there's no barrier. Let's move, everyone." Velvet said to everyone. "Before you run out there, and blow our cover. A quick one two and where in." Zane said to Velvet, as he pulled out some arrows.

"Wait… those guards are-!" N2 said Zane, as the guards started to glow black. "Careful! They're not what they seem!" Eizen said to Zane, as the guards turned into lizards. "Good thing we don't run out there." Liz said to everyone.

"They've transformed into daemons!" Rokurou said to everyone. "What kind of curse is this, Eizen?" Velvet asked Eizen. "I warned you, didn't I?" Eizen asked Velvet. "Whatever, it doesn't change my plan." Zane said, as he fired his two arrows at the lizard guards, hitting them in the head, and killing them. "See, one two and where in." Zane said to everyone.

Then everyone moved to the dead lizard guards. "You wouldn't expect these guards to carry the daemonblight. Is this your curse again?" Rokurou asked Ezien, kicking one of the dead lizard guards. "Probably." Eizen said to Rokurou.

"If I'd charged in, that might have turned ugly. Thank you for stopping me." Velvet said to Zane. "I'm sure you could have won even without me firing an arrow. Besides, I think we owe N2 here a thank you. He noticed before anyone else." Zane said to Velvet, as everyone looked at N2.

"IN that case, we'll be counting on you to keep watch. After all, we've got a reaper with us. Who knows what else we'll find." Velvet said to N2, before walking to the small gate. "Huh?" N2 asked, tilting his head a little. "She means watch their backs. And try not to move your head too much. Remember I'm up here." Saara said to N2.

"She's also saying it's all right to talk." Rokurou said to N2. "Understood. Keeping watch." N2 said to everyone. "Just let us know when you see something strange." Eshu said to N2, as they moved into the fortress.

Inside they say daemons running around, and dead guards laying around. "Hmm… looks like there are daemons inside as well. Don't tell me, Eizen. You're the source of daemonblight?" Rokurou asked Eizen, with a smirk on his face. "Nope. It's just our bad luck to be around when it spread. This is what it means to walk with the reaper. You've only yourselves to blame." Eizen said to everyone.

"Bad luck you say. I say opportunity. With these daemons running around, the army here will have their hands full. So moving through this place will be easier." Zane said to everyone. "Zane's right. It works in our favor. The enemy won't be capable of an organized response." Velvet said to everyone. "And we're a small-ish group. Our mobility will be an advantage." Rokurou said to everyone, making Eizen think.

"So, Eizen, how do we open the sea gate?" Velvet asked Eizen. "The controls ought to be located in the upper part of the gate. We'll activate them and then send a signal." Eizen said to Velvet. "Got it. To the top of the gate, then." Velvet said to everyone. "Let's make this quick." Zane said, as he fired arrows at the deamon guards, taking them out and clearing the way from them.

To get to the top of the fortress, they moved outside, and saw a ship outside. "Hey, not all the ships left." Rokurou said to everyone, as they stopped moving. "We can see that." Zane said to Rokurou. "A battleship. Not good." Eizen said to everyone. "A fortress with a sea gate that blocks the entire straight… It's crazy what the Abbey can build." Eizen said to everyone.

"Until recently I might not have believed it possible." Velvet said to everyone. "It's no sweat, if you're using malakhim as tools." Eizen said to everyone. "It's another way the Abbey and the kingdom show their dominance to the people. It says, "Do not resist. Submit"." Velvet said to everyone. "It's disgusting, is what it is." Eizen said to everyone.

"I couldn't agree more. Forcing this kid and creatures like him to work as slave. How disgusting." Saara said to everyone. "Disgusting…" N2 said. "It means something that's really gross or nasty. But we can talk more about this later. We should get back to moving." Saara said to everyone.

After a while, they climbed up a ladder and into an armory. There a man in fancy armor came running at them, not looking for a fight, but running out of fear of all the daemons running around. He didn't even care about everyone, he just wanted to run past them, but Eizen punched him in the face, and sent him crashing to the floor, making the man roll across the floor, and knocking him out.

Then Eizen noticed a fancy door and walked to it. "This door should lead to the gate, but it looks like they got it locked up tight." Eizen said to everyone, as they walked to him. Velvet burst out her Deamon claw. "Whoa! What the?!" Saara asked, startled by the claw. Eizen realized what she was thinking, and moved to the side, giving Velvet an opening to strike it. But it did nothing.

"Well, brute force is out." Velvet said to everyone. "Allow me." Zane said, as he disappeared. A few seconds later he reapered. "Yeah, there's no way to open this door from the other side. We need to find its key." Zane said to everyone. "Intruders! How dare you set foot in our domain!" the man said, as he got up. "Where's the key?" Velvet asked the man.

"I am a proud knight of Midgand! I'm not about to yield to the likes of petty daemons and beasts!" The man said to everyone. "Say the man who was running for his life before he got knocked out with a single punch." Eshu said to the man. Then Eizen stepped forward, making the man step back.

"There's nothing I hate more than someone else trying to control the direction of my life. My wheel is mine to hold. If I'm not the one steering the ship, then I'm not truly alive." Eizen said to the man, walking to the man, making the man take steps away. "The one steering…" N2 said.

"I-Indeed! And my entire life is devoted to the defense of this fortress!" The man said to Eizen, with a fake strong voice. "What's wrong? Are you scared?" Duncan asked the man. "Then you'd better be ready to accept all that happens to you in the line of duty." Eizen said to the man, getting right up into that man's personal space. Eizen then slapped the man, making the man turn around, and Eizen then forced the man into the wall, a grip on the man's right arm.

"Maybe it's time we found out just how deep your devotion truly goes." Eizen said to the man, before breaking one of the man's fingers. This freaked the man out. "Take it easy. There's nine more fingers to go." Eizen said to the man. W-wait! The key is in the control room! Through there!" The man said to Eizen, banging on the door, Eizen pind him on

"One more question. Which way to the battleship?" Eizen asked the man. "Straight ahead! Up the stairs!" The man said to Eizen, pointing his free hand to the hallway he came running out from. "Got it." Eizen said to the man, letting him go, turning the man around, and punching the man in the face, knocking him out, surprising N2. "I'm starting to like this guy." Zane said to everyone, as Eizen walked to them.

"Well, thank you for handling that." Velvet said to Eizen. "It just comes naturally. We need that key, but we also need to take out the battleship before it sails against the van Eltia." Eizen said to everyone. "He's right. The control room or the docks. Which will it be?" Rokurou asked everyone. "Let's take care of the key first. For all we know, we could find something that can help us with that battleship in the control room." Zane said to everyone, as he moved to the door.

"You know, you're pretty good with your fists, Eizen." Rokurou said to Eizen. "Not as good as you are with your swords. Or Zane with his bow and arrows." Eizen said to Rokurou, as they went through the door. "I feel like I've seen a lot of your crew with swords… you really never use them yourself?" Rokurou asked Eizen.

"No, not with the Reaper's Curse, I don't. It likes to rear its head at the worst times. I've broken blades just by unsheathing them, and once, just as I was about to deliver a finishing blow, my blade separated from the hilt and went flying. That sort of thing. A sword isn't something I can rely upon when my life is at stake. I fight using only my own body: that's one less thing that can go wrong." Eizen said to Rokurou.

"It's too bad you're not a swordsman. I bet we could have had a hell of a fight." Rokurou said to Eizen. "I wouldn't need a sword to make it interesting. What do you say, want to try your sword against my curse?" Eizen asked Rokurou. "If you're going to fight, count me in." Duncan said to everyone. "Me as well." Saber said to everyone. "Sounds like we got a party going on. Should we fight?" Eizen asked Rokurou.

"Sure, if the right time comes. Just don't whine when we end up winning." Rokurou said to Eizen. "You took the words right out of my mouth." Eizen said to Rokurou. "Can you guys focus? I need you all to stay alert for enemy forces." Zane said to them. "Well, here's where the real show starts. Do we have a plan, First Mate?" Rokurou asked Eizen.

"The fortress guards are almost all ordinary soldiers. Just a handful of exorcists to deal with." Eizen said to everyone. "They went to the trouble to build this huge gate. You'd think they'd keep it better defended." Rokurou said to everyone. "You don't need an army of exorcists to keep a bunch of disorganized pirates under control, do you?" Velvet asked everyone.

"As long as they're fighting ordinary humans, the royal army would suffice." Eizen said to everyone. "So a few exorcists as officers is all they need." Rokurou said to everyone. "It was built as a symbol of the empire, but it seems Artorius is the one really giving the orders. The Abbey directs security and defense, and imperial soldiers are under exorcist command." Eizen said to everyone.

"We aim for the exorcists, then. The harder they are, the more fun it'll be." Rokurou said to everyone. "Ready to bust some heads?" Rokurou asked everyone. "I'd rather cut them, actually." Rokurou said to Eizen, making N2 think. "Don't let their violent words get to you." Saara said to N2.

"Let's try and stay stealthy. Remember the place already has a daemon plague spreading around. Chances are they're dealing with that, so we have free range of the fortress. Let's just sink that battleship, and open the gates and then smash the gate controls." Zane said to everyone. Everyone nodded in agreement and started to move.

After walking around a little bit, and killing daemons that were moving around, These daemons looked like a slim monster that broke out of a wall. They made it to an office building, but it was locked with a thick door.

"It won't open… It's locked from inside." Velvet said to everyone. "One second." Zane said, as he disappeared. Zane then reappeared. "Once again, a thick lock. We need the key." Zane said to everyone. "That's a really thick door, too. This must be the control room, right?" Rokurou asked everyone. "That's my guess. We need another way in…" Velvet said to everyone. "You mean like these vines over here?" Liz asked Velvet.

"Maybe. Let's find out." Zane said, as they climbed the dreams. And while the roof had no opening, they found some more vines and went down, that's when they found a window with some broken bars and moved into the room.

"This seems to be the place. Let's split up and look for the key." Velvet said to everyone. "We'll search the other room." Eizen said, as he, Rokurou, Saber and Duncan moved into an office, and everyone else looked around this large room.

While they looked around, N2 noticed a sea compass on top of a bookshelf. N2 jumped up to try and grab it. Uh N2 this isn't a good idea." Saara said to N2, with only N2 hearing her. "Aha! Found it." Velvet said to everyone, before they all heard something fall.

They all looked over to see, the sea compass on the ground, N2 kneeling, and Saara on the floor like a stain. "What happened?" Zane asked, as they all moved to N2 and Saara. Then Velvet picked up the sea compass. "You okay?" Eshu asked Saara. "We're fine, luckily I'm a little gooey. But it still hurts." Saara said to everyone. "Don't get so worked up over a little thing like that. It's proof you're alive." Velvet said to Saara.

"The pain is?" N2 asked Velvet. "Yes." Velvet said to N2. "She's right. It's something all we can feel." Zane said to N2. "But… But I'm… scared of pain." N2 said to Velvet and Zane. "Well. Kid, who isn't?" Velvet asked N2. "Yeah, everyone is scared of feeling pain, it's not something anyone wants to feel." Zane said to N2. "Even you two?" N2 asked them.

They smiled at him. "Yes, even us. But like Velvet said, sometimes it's the only proof you're alive." Zane said to N2. "Anyway, boys sure are fascinated by the weirdest things." Velvet said, looking at the sea compass. "Fascinated?" N2 asked Velvet. "I mean something you're interested in. For example Velvet fascinates me." Zane said to N2, getting a slap from Velvet, into the back of his head. "Still interested." Zane said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You like this right?" Velvet asked N2, handing him the sea compass. N2 took the sea compass. "I… I don't really know." N2 said to Velvet. "That's okay. You can think about it." Zane said to N2. "But after I saw one in a book. I got a little curious about it… and I felt…" N2 said to everyone. "You felt excited, didn't you?" Velvet asked N2. "yeah… I guess so." N2 said to Velvet. "Didn't expect a fire guy like you to be a sea guy." Zane said to N2.

"Do you know why the needle points north? Who figured out how to make it work? I thought that if I had one of these, maybe I could go on adventures. It's exciting." N2 said to them. "Well, this isn't the nicest adventure, but now you're on one." Zane said to N2. "When you feel that way, you should talk about it. And what you like and dislike, if you're happy or scared. After all, you're alive." Velvet said to N2.

"I'm… alive." N2 said to Velvet. "That's just our opinion, though. Not an order. Got that?" Velvet asked N2. "understood." N2 said to Velvet. Then the rest of the group walked into the room. We got the key." Eshu said to them. "And N2 found a compass." Liz said to everyone. "You found it? Now we can get that gate open." Rokurou said to everyone. "We need a compass, too. Nice wok." Eizen said to N2.

"Thank you." N2 said to Eizen, with a lively look on his face. "Well someone's looking a little more alive." Duncan said to N2, as N2 looked at the sea compass, and Saara claimed onto his head. "You're awfully fond of that, aren't you? Still, you should keep it in your bag for now." Rokurou said to N2. "I'll put it in my bag." N2 said, as he moved the compass beheading him, and put it in his large bag that was attached to the back of his hips.

"Good. You know, that's a nice bag. It looks made to last." Rokurou said to N2. "It's Maurits silk." N2 said "I've never heard of Maurits silk." Rokurou asked N2. "It's a fine fabric woven from the threads of a dandarantula spider. It's got a delicate sheen, it's soft as a baby's skin, it's light and stretchable, it breathes, and it's quite durable. But that's not all, its most fantastic quality is how it absorbs impact-" Eizen said, but stopped when Zane interrupted him.

"How do you know that?" Zane asked Eizen. "You're quite the scholar." Rokurou said to Eizen. "Knowledge and experience help you sniff out the best treasure. If you go and stuff every single scrap of plunder you find into your ship, she'll keel over." Eizen said to everyone. "That does make sense." Rokurou said to Eizen. "What I'm getting at is, your bag is the best place for you to keep that compass stored." Ezien said to everyone.

"Keep that thing safe. We need it, all right?" Velvet asked N2. "All right." N2 said to everyone. "Saara, you're in charge of protecting N2 and the compass." Liz said to Saara. "Already on that." Saara said to everyone, as they left the room.

A few minutes later, with the key, they opened the door and walked to the battleship, killing a few wall daemons and guards along the way. "How do you plan to stop the battleship?" Rokurou asked Ezien. "It's equipped with large annones. The plan is to use their gunpowder against them." Eizen said to everyone. "Good thing we have a Fire type then. Liz can light a fire and blast it from a distance." Eshu said to everyone. "Why did you volunteer me for this?" Liz asked Eshu.

A few minutes later, they found an Exorcist Praetor. Next to him was a floating small teal creature with small arms and legs with a green, red, and yellow balls on its hands and a head that was the same size as its body with two indents on the side of its head, and a black Y that was in the middle of two other black lines, and a seal on his head.

"An Exorcist Preator?!" Velvet asked everyone. "And an Elgyem. Careful they're the Cerebral Pokemon and a Psychic Type. plus they're very wired." Duncan said to everyone. "The docks are up ahead. Like it or not, we're coming through." Eizen said to the exorcist.

"Hey, wait. Are you intruders? I suppose it doesn't matter. I will cut down any who consort with daemons. Face the fury of the Ragetsu sword style!" The Exorcist said to everyone, pulling out his sword, getting Rokurou's attention. "Rangetsu sword style?" Zane asked, looking at Rokurou.

"Stand aside, Eizen." Rokurou said to Eizen. "No. You stay back. I'll take care of this one." Eizen said to Rokurou. "Sorry, this prey is mine." Rokurou said to Ezien, moving to the front of the group, and pulled out his daggers. "I guess I'll take the Elgyem." Saber said, as he moved forward to the Rokurou side. "Let them. This sounds like something personal." Zane said to everyone, as he moved and leaned against the wall.

Then Rokurou and the Exorcist started to get into sword fight. During the fight Elgyem's eyes glowed teal and a teal outline appeared on Rokurou's weapons. This caused Rokurou's weapons to go flying out of his hands. But Saber hit them, and sent them flying back to Rokurou.

This motion gave Rokurou an opening, and he was able to get a hit on the Exorcist. "Shadow Sneak." Saber said as he sank into a shadow. Saber reappeared from a shadow and hit Elgyem in the back, sending Elgyem flying into the Exorcist's gut.

Rokurou then charged at the Exorcist. Elgyem noticed this, and teleported away. This made the Exorcist take the full force of Rokurou's attack. Then the Elgyem appeared and charged at Rokurou, aiming to ram its head into Rokurou's gut.

"Metal Sound." Saber said, as he scraped his sheath against his blade, making a nasty metal sound, making the Exorcist and Elgyem cover their ears, or the spot where ears would be for Elgyem.

"Slash." Saber said, as he and Rokurou charged at the Exorcist, slamming their blades into them. These attacks forced the Exorcist into the corner, and Elgyem into the wall. "Hmm? I wonder? Zane asked, as he moved to Elgyem. Zane consitarted black finger into his right index finger. Zane placed his right index finger on the seal, breaking it. A few seconds later Elgyem's mind came back to him. That's when he noticed Zane. "Ah!" Elgyem said, before teleporting away in fear. "At least that worked." Zane said.

Then the Exorcist got onto his knees, and tried to stand. "We're running out of time. You folks handle the ship." Rokurou said to everyone. "Careful, Rokurou. He's-." Velvet said to Rokurou, but Rokurou interrupted him. "I know. He's holding back." Rokurou said to Velvet. "Well, now he doesn't have the Elgyem. So it should be easier for you. You should be fine." Zane said to Rokurou. "Let's go." Eizen said to everyone, as everyone but Rokurou and Saber ran to throw the door.

Once the door closed and everyone was outside, the Exorcist stood up. "Where did you learn the Rangetsu style?" Rokurou asked the Exorcist. "I studied directly under the legate Shigure of the Abbey." The Exorcist said to Rokurou. "Lies. he'd never take on a student. Let me guess. He taught you a few things one time when he was super-bord, and then crushed you with them." Rokurou said to the Exorcist.

"Sounds like this Shigure, is an interesting man, and this guy in front of us was just something for him to psat the time, nothing more." Saber said to everyone. This made the Exorcist mad, and he charged at them, and they got back to fighting.

Back with the others, they reached the battleship, and killed the daemons on the ship. With the daemons dead, they had no trouble setting the thing up to blow. "Is it done, Eizen?" Velvet asked Eizen, as everyone gathered in the middle of the upper deck. "We're set. It also serves as a good signal for the Van Eltia." Eizen said to everyone. "Then let's light things up." Zane said to everyone. They nodded yes, and Liz set a fuse on fire. Then they started to run, and get back inside.

When they moved inside, they saw Rokurou and Saber put their blades away. "Yo! The Abbey's my goal now, too. Now I can do what I have to do and repay my debt at the same time." Rokurou said to everyone. "Good for you." Eshu said to Rokurou, before Saara lete out a yelp, and everyone noticed she was covering N2's eyes. They followed Saara's eyes to see the Exorcist dead on the floor, with his head not attached to the body.

"Is that your doing?" Velvet asked Rokurou. "What, is there a problem?" Rokurou asked everyone. "Yes. We have a kid here." Saara said to Rokurou. "Ignore her." Velvet said to Rokurou. "A fine companion for the reaper." Eizen said to Rokurou. Then the ship blew up. "Well, we better get a move on." Zane said to everyone, as they started to walk.

After a bit of walking, they found themselves back in the room with the locked door, and used the key to unlock it. "All right. It's open!" Rokurou said to everyone. Then they heard cannon fire, putting everyone on edge. "What was that?" Velvet asked everyone.

"It's the Van Eltia telling us they're approaching. Hurry!" Eizen said to everyone. "All right. We'll pop the gate open for her. Quickly!" Velvet said to everyone. "All right! Quickly!" N2 said. "Don't copy what she's saying." Liz said to N2, as they started to run.

After a bit, they found a room with a large lever. "So, this opens the gate." Eizen asked everyone. "One side, yes. The gate has two giant doors, side-by-side, with matching levers to open each." Eizen said to everyone. "Makes sense." Rokurou said to Eizen, as Velvet flipped the lever. Then Zane broke the lever, keeping it in the open position.

Then they went up and onto the roof, and walked across it to reach the other side of the large gate they were next to. They went down and flipped the switch, with Zane breaking it. This made the gate open, and with the leavers broken, it will stay open. "And it's open." Velvet said to everyone. "Let's meet up with the Van Eltia. Back to the docks." Ezien said to everyone, as they made their way to the roof.

On the roof, they ran into the man Ezien punched, and he was glowing purple. "I can't let you do that… this is my… this is my…" The man said, as N2 focused on the sea compass, not noticing the man acting weird. "Ah N2?" Saara said, getting worried a little about how the man was asking.

"This is my fortreeeess!" the man said, before turning into a daemon. His daemon form was one of those wall slug monsters, with his wall having carvings one it so it looked fancy, his arms looked like fancy knee caps with a stone base, and his face was a terrifying metal monster mask.

That's when N2 noticed the daemon. The daemon charged at N2. "Protect!" Saara said, as she formed a green bubble around her and N2. blocking the attack, and stopping the daemon. Then the bubble faded away. That's when the daemon charged again, but Velvet pulled them out of the way, making N2 drop the sea compass and the daemon ended up scooping up the sea compass.

"Let's make this quick." Zane said to everyone, as they pulled out their weapons, and the daemon turned to them, roaring. "Liz use Poison Gas." Velvet said to Liz. "Right." Liz said, as she fired a purple cloud at the daemon. But the daemon charged right threw the purple cloud, unaffected by it.

Then everyone scattered, dodging the daemon. "Eshu use Swift." Zane said, as he fired a few arrows at the daemon. "Right." Eshu said, as he fired yellow stars at the daemon. But the daemon turned his back to them, and his wall took the hit of the attacks.

"Saber use Slash." Rokurou said as they charged at the daemon. "Right." Saber said, as he charged at the daemon. But the daemon charged at them, making them jump out of the way, and stop their attacks.

"Duncan, jump onto his back and use Bite." Eizen said to Duncan. "Right." Duncan said, as he ran and jumped onto the daemon's back, and bit a little into his shoulder. The daemon roared in pain, and tried to get Duncan off his back. Then Ezien took this chance to charge, punching the daemon in the face. That's when Duncan jumped off the daemon's back, and Eizen made a rock slam into the daemon chest, before jumping back.

"Liz use Dragon Rage." Velvet said to Liz. "Okay." Liz said, as she fired a burst of blue flames at the daemon. The flames hit the daemon, and caused it to roar in pain. When the flames faded away, Velvet was right in the daemon's face, slashed her wrist blade into the daemon's shoulder, and slashed her shoe blade with a kick to the face, before jumping back, but the slashes weren't that deep.

"Saber/ Eshu use Shadow Sneak." Rokurou and Zane said to them, as they charged at the daemon. "You got it." Saber and Eshu said, as they shank into the shadows. Then they burst out of the shadow under the daemon, ramming into their arms, making the daemon lose his balance, giving Rokurou and Zane an opening to slash their blades into the daemon's neck.

But before they could cut the head off, the daemon regained his balance, and swing arms at them. But Zane, Rokurou, Eshu, and Saber jumped back dodging the daemon's attack

"Duncan use Dragon Breath." Eizen said to Duncan, as he threw rocks at the daemon. "Right." Duncan said, as he fired a burst of teal energy from his mouth. The rocks and energy hit the daemon in the face, making a large dust cloud. But the daemon walked out of the dust cloud and roared, ready to keep fighting. "This is taking too long." Zane said, as N2 got an idea.

"Saara, I have an idea. Use Water Pulse." N2 said to Saara, as he charged up a fireball, and fired it. "Okay." Saara said, as she fired a ball of water. The fireball hit the daemon in the face, heating up the metal. Then the water ball hit the daemon's metal face, cooling it down, and making the daemon scream in pain.

This caused cracks to appear on the metal face, and it dropped to the floor. "Nice work N2 and Saara." Zane said to them, patting N2 on the back, knocking Saara off N2's head. "Thanks." Saara said, as she climbed back onto N2's head, and everyone put their weapons away.

Then everyone but N2 and Saara, who was looking for the compass, moved to the edge of the gate's roof, and saw the daemons swarming the place. "The docks are swarming with daemons. The Van Eltia will be overrun." Rokurou said to everyone. Then they heard cannon fire. "Rats. We don't have long." Rokurou said to everyone. Then Velvet had an idea.

"Eizen, can you signal for them to go through without stopping?" Velvet asked Eizen. "That'd keep them safe. But what about us?" Rokurou asked Velvet. "We'll jump down onto it as it goes past." Velvet said, surprising everyone, everyone but Eizen and Duncan tht is. "From this height, we'll crash into the water or the Van Eltia decks like stones." Liz said to Velvet.

"Is there another option?" Velvet asked Liz, making Liz sigh. "No." Liz said to Velvet. Eizen, give some kind of sign-" Velvet said to Eizen, but Eizen interrupted her. "There's no need. The Van Eltia will sail through." Eizen said to Velvet. "Without an order?" Velvet asked Eizen. "It was part of my plan." Eizen said to Velvet. "Yeah, we know this place would be in ruins one way or another." Duncan said to everyone. "Welcome to the Aifread way." Eizen said to everyone, cracking a smile. "I'm starting to like this guy." Zane said to everyone, as the Van Eltia came into sight.

"It's coming at full speed!" Rokurou said to everyone. "Let's get a move on then." Velvet said to everyone, as everyone, but N2 and Saara got ready to jump off the roof, on the outside side of the gate. "Will this really work?" Rokurou asked Eizen. "Do you want the reaper's reassurance?" Eizen asked Rokurou. "Would it matter?" Zane asked Eizen, cracking a smile, meaning that he was joking.

Then the ship started to go through the gate. "N2, Saara, we're about to…" Zane said to them, as he turned around, and somehow stepped on a rake, making it hit him in the face, and making Zane stumble back and fall off the roof. "Where did that rake come from? It was not there a minute ago." Eshu asked everyone. "Reapers Curse maybe?" Duncan said to Eshu.

Then everyone but Velvet jumped off the roof. And the reason Velvet didn't jump was because she noticed N2 and Saara not paying attention. But then they noticed the sea compass by the daemon, and N2 ran to it. "Wiat! What are you-?!" Velvet asked them, as they grabbed the sea compass, and she noticed the daemon getting up.

The daemon tried to smash N2 and Saara, but they dodged and were sent flying, with N2 holding onto the sea compass with his left hand. Velvet ran to get them, realizing that they were going over the edge of the inner part of the gate, and ignoring the daemon charged at her. While rushing to save them, the memory of that scarlet night flashed in her head. "LAPHICET!" Velvet yelled, as she reached a hand out for N2's right hand.

Then as the daemon was about to hit Velvet, a cannonball hit him, and chased him to shatter into pieces. Then Velvet jumped over the edge, right before N2 fell too far away, and used her left arm to hold onto the edge. "Don't scare me like that!" Velvet said to N2. "I'm sorry!" N2 said to Velvet, making Velvet smile at him. "Can you please pull us up? I'm slipping here?" Saara asked Velvet, as she tried to hold onto N2. Velvet then pulled them up.

ON the ship, Magilou and Ludi were celibatarian. "Yes! Naaaailed it!" Magilou said, as she jumped up and down, and Ludo moved up and down. As they did that everyone landed on the sails and used them to jump down onto the deck. Everyone but Zane, who just fell straight down. Luckily he stopped himself before hitting the deck. "Ahahaha, you're lucky Magilou and Ludo's around! Hahah!" Magilou said to everyone. "And the great Ludo as well." Ludo said to everyone.

Velvet led N2 and Saara to the outer side of the roof. "Let's go." Velvet said to them, as she pulled them over the edge, and they fell off the roof. This made N2 and Saara scream, a little. The three of them landed on the back sails, and Saara ended up bouncing off N2's head.

And as N2 and Velvet slid down the sail, Saara fell off and landed on Magilou's head. "Ew! Some kind of goo landed on my head." Magilou said, as she freaked out a little. "I'm a Goomy, not some kind of goo." Saara said to magilou. "Aha! Living goo!" Magilou said, as she grabbed Saara, and threw her onto the deck floor, making her splat like a stain. "Why did I even come?" Saara asked herself, as she pulled herself together.

That's when N2 and Velvet can fall down onto the deck, with N2 landed on Saara, making her look like a splat again, and Velvet landing in Zane's arms. "Oh right. This kid." Saara said, as she moved out from under N2. "Well Velvet. I knew you would fall for me sooner or later. I just didn't know it would be this soon." Zane said to Velvet.

Velvet blushed, and punched and slammed a knee into Zane's face, making Zane fall backwards and onto the deck, with her in his arms. "Looks like someone is getting flustered." Magilou said. But went quiet, when she saw Velvet's mean look

Then as Velvet and N2 got up, everyone moved to them, with Benwick and Oozy joining them. "Nicely done!" Benwick said to everyone. "Everything went smoothly." Oozy said to everyone. "Define Smoothly." Zane said, as he got up. "You're not going to thank your savior for her crafty cannonballing?" Magilou asked everyone. "Or my great aim?" Ludo asked everyone.

"Are you nuts? I told you two to stay away from the cannons, not bag on them!" Benwick said to Magilou and Ludo. "But it was fun! And everything worked out, right?" Magilou asked Benwick. "Yeah, it's not like we hit the ship." Ludo said to Benwick, as everyone looked at him and Magilou.

The N2 got Velvet's attention. "I'm sorry." N2 said to Velvet, with the compass in his hands and Saara back on his head. Velvet just shook her head and kneeled down to N2. "If it's that important to you, keep it safe. You wouldn't want to lose it again." Velvet said to N2.

Eizen then walked up to N2. "Give it. I need to set a course." Eizen asked N2, holding out a hand for the sea compass. But N2 wouldn't hand it over. And instead of getting upset about it, Eizen cracked a smile. "Fine. You read it for me, then." Eizen said to N2. This made N2 crack a big smile. "Yeah!" N2 said to Eizen. "Now that's what we want to see N2." Zane said to everyone.

"But listen, Kid. Give me one false reading, and you're shark bait." Eizen said to N2, making him gasp. "Do you really have to say that to a Kid?" Saara asked Eizen. "Well, he is a pirate." Duncan said to Saara.

"Better work hard." Velvet said to N2. "Um… What's "Laphicet"?" N2 asked Velvet, making Zane look at Velvet, and surprising Velvet. "It's a name. Your name." Velvet said to N2. "My… My name? Laphicet." N2 said.

"It's a fine name." Rokurou said to Laphicet. "A gentle name for a gentle soul." Saber said to everyone. "Well, it's no Magilou." Magilou said to everyone. "Or Ludo." Ludo said to Laphicet. "Laphicet is a fine name for him. We'll keep Ludo and Magilou reverive for the two of you." Duncan said to Magilou and Ludo. "But it does sound like a silly name." Liz said to everyone. "Says the one named Liz." Eshu said to Liz. "He's got you there." Saara said to Liz.

"We're through the channel. Give us a course, Laphicet!" Eizen asked Laphicet. "Aye-aye, sir! We're headed straight for Loegres!" Laphicet said, pointing the way. "Velvet, can I talk to you in private?" Zane asked Velvet, quietly. Velvet said nothing, and the two of them moved to the back of the ship.

"What is it?" Velvet asked Zane. "Are you sure you want to give him your dead brother's name?" Zane asked Velvet, making Velvet flinch a little. But then that flinch turned into anger. "How do you know that?" Velvet asked Zane, with a soft angry tune in her voice. "I know a lot of things. But for now all you need to know is that I saw your last day with your brother and what happened that night. So are you sure you want to call N2, Laphicet?" Zane asked Velvet.

"Like it matters. It's his name now." Velvet said to Zane. "Oh I think it matters more than you think. You told me not to give him a name, so I won't get attached to him. I wonder how attached you'll be now that you gave him your brother's name." Zane asked Velvet. "I won't get attached to him." Velvet said to Zane, before walking away.

"Why don't I believe you. But tell me, how long will it be before you start treating him like your dead brother?" Zane asked Velvet, making Velvet stop. Velvet said nothing and walked back to the others. "That's what I thought." Zane said, before walking to the others.

Hello everyone, I hope you like this chapter. Please follow or review if you like this story. Got it done right before moving, I'm glad I don't have to worry about this chapter any more while moving.