Hey there all you happy people in Fanfiction land!

I'm not in the best of moods today. While trying to update my website I found I'd run out of space. 50megs doesn't go as far as I'd like.
Anyway right now I'm thinking of compling it all into a yahoo group until i can find a free site which will give me more space.

On another note, I recently finished a couple of movie clips based around LoAS and TVNW. So far I've got two trailers for LoAS, and a teaser Trailer and a sort of intro sequence for TVNW. If anyoen wants a look I'd be happy to email them to you, and If you guys think they're good, I'll see if i can upload them onto my site (When i find a working one)

Until then, I give you another personal fav chapter, be prepared to see a few familiar faces!

A MEETING WITH AIR PIRATES

It had seemed like any other day when Carlos woke that morning, a month after he had been transferred from Esperanza and became the First Officer of Belleza's ship. The sky was a deep blue, the clouds were white and fluffy, and a cannon ball had just tried to smash his cabin's bulkhead to pieces.

"ALL HANDS TO YOUR STATIONS!" Belleza's Voice echoed over the intercom as Carlos sat up in shock, "WE'RE BEING ATTACKED BY NASREAN SCOUTS, I REPEAT, ALL HANDS TO YOUR STATIONS!"

Carlos shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the shroud of sleep as he pulled on his uniform and armour, before yanking his iron boots on as he stumbled out of his door and down the corridor to the bridge.

The Ship was in turmoil as Carlos ran through the corridors of the Lynx. Officers and crew ran by him as they tried to scramble to their posts Enemy shells shuddered the ship, causing the young First Officer to stumble, but eventually he reached his destination.

Belleza smirked as he entered and took his place.

"It took you long enough Carlos," she said over the din of rocketing shells.

Carlos scowled, "Well excuse me for not coming in my underwear in the middle of a crisis," He replied sarcastically, "but I think that getting here, is better then not getting here at all, wouldn't you say Ma'am?"

Belleza's smirk increased, "Hmm, seeing you in your underwear? I think I wouldn't have minded that," She smiled slightly as Carlos blushed heavily, "But now let's get serious, Get me a report, I want to know what we're up against and what damage we've sustained."

"Aye Captain," Carlos nodded as he placed a small receiver in his ear, "Reports coming in. Lookout reports we've got three Nasrean Torpedo Boats. They've taken out the starboard sub-cannons…Main Cannon two is barely functioning…Torpedo tubes one and two are dead…one puncture to the hull, Deck Five, Section Three, three wounded one critical."

Belleza slammed her fist down on the armrest of her chair, "Dammit! Torpedo Boats! The pain in the ass for all Valuan battleships. Can we hit them with our torpedoes?"

Carlos shook his head, "Negative, the boats were designed exactly for this kind of mission. Their fast, manoeuvrable, and are deadly in packs, but…" he paused for a moment as if in thought.

Belleza looked up at him expectantly, "Commander?"

He looked down at her with a sort of half smile, "Captain? Do we have one of those prototype rocket launchers on board?"

Belleza blinked, "There's one in the weapon's locker over there why?"

Carlos smiled as he opened the locker, revealing the long cylindrical object and four rockets.

"Because I think I have a plan."

"I don't get it," Belleza sighed as they climbed the ladder up to the lookout post, "How are these things going to help us?"

Carlos smiled, making another check to make sure the Rocket launcher was secure on his back.

"It's quite simple really," he said dryly, "This Rocket Launcher fires two rockets at a time filled with a payload of yellow and red moonstone dust. Very unstable stuff, highly explosive. It uses a single red moonstone to power the projectile, as well as aiding in locking on to a target," as they reached the Lookout post, Carlos gave the crewman on watch a casual salute before going to the side of the railing and getting down in a kneeling position, "In this case, our three little friends."

Belleza smirked as she handed him the rockets, loading the four into the launcher.

"We only have enough to take out two, mind," Carlos checked the launcher before heaving it onto his right shoulder between his head and the large plate, "But because Torpedo Boats are pretty weak on their own they should either surrender or retreat."

He gazed through the targeting scope on the side of the launcher, trying to find a target.

Suddenly he found it, as a torpedo boat soared past the ship, the launcher gave of a high pitched beep to signify it had a lock.

Carlos grimaced as he squeezed the trigger.

"May the Moons have mercy on your souls," he whispered.

In a blast of smoke and noise, two of the rockets soared out of the launcher, before streaming towards their target. The Nasrean vessel exploded in a storm of reds and oranges, plummeting down into the vortex of Mid-Ocean below.

Carlos smiled grimly, "That's one down two to go."

"Good shot sir!" the Lookout crewmember cried.

Carlos smiled slightly as he stood up, turning around to face get up position on the other side, "Oh stop trying to suck up to me Mr. Hawkins, cos it won't…BY THE MOONS GET DOWN!"

Belleza pulled down the stunned Crewmember as Carlos shot at a Torpedo boat as it swooped in point blank.

Unfortunately the resulting explosion threw Carlos off balance.

"CARLOS!" Belleza screamed the boat corkscrewed up into the air and exploded.

But it was too late, the explosion of the boat, combined with the backlash of the launcher had sent Carlos over the edge of the Lynx, sending him plummeting down into the skies below.

With a sickening crunch Carlos landed on a small hunk of rock, blood streaming from his mouth.

As he raised his head slightly, he saw the ever swirling Vortex below him, and a great feeling of pain throughout his body.

As he rolled onto his back he thought he saw the faint white of a sailing ship above him, before unconsciousness finally came to him.

"Do you think He'll wake up?"

"I Dunno, Erinn said that she'd done everything she could for him. He's definitely breathing, he just needs to wake up."

Carlos groaned, he had a headache the size of the Nasrean Desert and the two people talking above him weren't exactly helping.

A female voice, the first one who has spoken, gasped, "Hey, look!"
Carlos slowly opened his eyes slowly, wincing slightly from the light. When his vision finally adapted, he almost passed out again.

Staring at him, almost nose to nose were two kids, both roughly around thirteen years old, a boy and a girl.

The boy seemed to be just on the brink of puberty, his long brown bangs getting in the way of matching eyes, his right of which had was covered by Skyseer goggles, while under his left was a small half-circle of a scar.

The girl on the other hand had flame red hair that hung around her shoulders, and had the circumstances been different, he would have sworn she was from Upper City, for she had very fine and delicate features.

An uncomfortable silence echoed over the room, the only sound coming from the hum of an engine below.

"Um…if you don't mind, could you give me some space?" Carlos asked as politely as he could, "You're kind of cramping me."
The boy and girl blinked at each other, before standing up straight and allow Carlos to sit up.

"How are you feeling?" The boy asked, "Are you doing okay? Do you need some water or something?"
Carlos smirked, "In this order, Like an Arcwhale just sat on me, I'll be okay and no."

The girl giggled uncontrollably, "Well what do you know? A Valuan with a sense of humour!"

Carlos smiled slightly and ran a hand through his hair. This girl had a bit more pep then he liked.

"If I may ask," he said after a moment's silence, "Where exactly am I?"

"You're aboard our pirate ship, the Albatross," the boy replied, smiling as the colour drained from Carlos's face, "Don't worry, your not our prisoner, Blue Rogues don't take hostages, but we have taken your weapons and your armour's over there."

Carlos looked down in surprise to find that he indeed was only wearing his uniform, his armour lying on a nearby chair.

"My name's Vyse," the boy said, extending his hand to him, "What's yours?"
Carlos stared at the hand, still slightly apprehensive, seeing he was around pirates, but he took it all the same, "My name…my name is Carlos,"
"Carlos, huh?" the redhead smiled as she leaned closer to him, "That's a nice name. It's so...so manly,"
The Commander blinked, going a slight pink in the cheeks "Um…You think so?"
The girl sighed and rolled her eyes at Vyse, "Geez...you try to compliment someone...and nothing. No reaction whatsoever."
Vyse smirked and shook his head, "Aika, that wasn't much of a compliment! You have a lot to learn about men!"

Carlos smirked as Aika scowled at her friend.

"Well excuse me for trying to make conversation," She growled, "I mean how many times do we actually pick up a guy instead of treasure?"

Carlos sighed as the two teens started to bicker, he never remembered arguing with Belleza when he was that age, but come to think of it, he hadn't actually seen Belleza at that age, for the simple reason he had been commanding the Defence fleet of Esperanza.

"VYSE! AIKA!" A voice suddenly boomed into the room, causing everyone to jump, "When you're done with our guest get up to the bridge NOW!"

Aika gasped and held a hand to her mouth in shock, "Oh! I forgot about our bridge training! Vyse we gotta get up there quick!"

Vyse nodded before rushing over to the door.

"Oh, if you want to walk around for a while, feel free to go up on deck." He said quickly over his shoulder, before rushing out of the door, Aika in hot pursuit.

Carlos blinked as they departed, before sighing and putting a hand through his hair again.

This was going to be one of those days.

A few minutes later Carlos stood out on deck, decked out in his armour once more. Not surprisingly he was getting suspicious looks from the crew as they went about their duties. He knew of the relationship between the Valuan Empire and Air Pirates. In the Empire's view, the only good air pirate, be him Blue Rogue or Black Pirate, was a dead air pirate. He sighed to himself. He wished that everyone could just get along.

He lent on the edge of the railing, his eyes wondering over the sky. As he gazed, his thoughts turned to Belleza. She must be worried sick. He knew how much he meant to her, and vice versa. He knew that if he thought she was dead he would feel like he would never be happy again.

"Hey Carlos,"
The young officer looked behind him, startled, only to see Aika standing there, looking slightly shy.

He turned around and put a fist to his heart, bowing to her, "Greetings Miss Aika."
The red-head tilted her head on one side and smirked, "I take it you're feeling better?"

Carlos smiled as he stood up, "Yes, much better thank you."

"Cool,"

An uneasy silence spread between the Air Pirate and the Valuan Officer, until a familiar singsong voice floated over to them.

"Carlos and Aika Sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N…!"

Aika scowled before rushing over to the entrance to the ship.

"VYSE DYNE SHUT UP!" she screamed as she tackled him through the door, sending him sprawling.

Carlos smiled to himself as he looked out to an island they seemed to becoming close too.

Suddenly part of the Island seemed to come loose and begin to slowly drop down.

"By the Moons," Carlos whispered as the Albatross entered the cavern, "A peaceful village on top, and a pirate headquarters below."

"You there! Valuan!"

Carlos looked behind him, only to come face to face with a man with lightly greying hair and scared features.

"I have a name you know," Carlos said unemotionally.

The man grunted, "Until The Captain says otherwise, your Valuan and all Valuan's are the same: Crooked and corrupt."

"Then you have a very narrow perspective of the Empire."

The man's eyes narrowed, but he remained calm, "My name is Briggs. I have orders to bring you to the Captain's office. Now."

"And if I were…to decline?"

Briggs shrugged, "I'd like to see you stop me."

Carlos raised an eyebrow before concentrating on the ground and Briggs's feet.

Briggs didn't know what hit him. One moment he was standing, the next he had fallen on his butt, the deck below him turning to ice.

Carlos smirked at the Vice Captain.

"Don't Threaten me Briggs," he said calmly as he offered his hand to the Rogue, "Because the next time you do, I'll make sure you can't have children."

Briggs scowled, slapping the armoured hand away, before trying to stand again, only to fall on the icy deck.

Carlos smirked again and headed for the exit.

"Stop right there Valuan!" Briggs bellowed as he his crewmates rushed to help him up, "You don't even know where you're going!"

Carlos smiled over his shoulder, before indicating to the top most building in the dock, "I have a pretty good idea,"

"I've been ordered to escort you though!" Briggs fell down yet again, making a even bigger fool out of himself then he was already.

"It's alright," Carlos replied dryly as he turned back to the Vice Captain, "I think I can find two people who would be more then willing to escort me."

As if on cue, Vyse and Aika suddenly rolled by the Commander, still brawling over Vyse's joke.

With a small sigh, Carlos slowly summoned up a ball of blue magic, before levitating it over the feuding pair, and promptly dropping it on them.

In mere seconds the two young teens were drenched from head to toe in ice cold water, breaking them apart in surprise.

"Wow," a crewmember mused as he tried to help Briggs up yet again, "Maybe he should give that spell to the Captain,"

Carlos smiled as he leaned casually over the two, his hands clasped behind his back.

"What did you do that for?" Vyse spluttered.

Carlos raised an eyebrow with a shrug, "I needed your attention. I have a job for you."

"Well you could have just shouted at us like the Cap'n does," Aika moaned as she wrung out her hair.

Carlos smirked again, "Now where's the fun in that?"

The two teens scowled, before sighing dejectedly as the Valuan officer heaved them to their feet.

"Come on," he said with a smile, "I need you to escort me to the Captain's office. I need to have a few words with him."

The atmosphere in Captain Lance Dyne's Office was so thick not even the Serpent Strike could cut it.

Carlos stood in front of the large desk, Aika and Vyse standing on either side of him.

No one had said a word since Vyse had noted his father of their presence, as Captain Dyne simply sat behind his desk, his eyes going between the Valuan Commander and the Serpent Strike and pistols in front of him.

"I've heard of you," he said at last, "Carlos Nathaniel Meridian, Former Chief of Operations on Cape Victory. You helped Captain Gilder Cadoza a month or two back if what they say on the great vine is accurate."

"I believe I had the pleasure," Carlos said mildly.

Dyne raised an eyebrow before continuing.

"You are unique Commander. In the almost four years you commanded the forces at Cape Victory, you assisted anyone that came your way, save for Black Pirates. Blue Rogues have come to respect your name, for you have helped us when we get caught up in this war of yours."

Carlos gave a half smile, "Thank you sir."

"I'm not done. However, you are an Officer of Valua, and everybody knows that the Valuans hate us as much as they hate the Nasreans. Many of my men think that rescuing you from the Vortex was a bad idea. By bringing you here, we have revealed the location of our secret base to a Valuan, who could in turn reveal it's location to his superiors and…"

"Captain Dyne," Carlos sighed, "With all due respect, are you going somewhere with this?"

Dyne looked at Carlos with regret.

"We can't let you leave," he said sadly.

"WHAT!"

"You must understand we can't let you go. If we let you return to Valuan Airspace you could return with a battle fleet to capture us."

"Captain Dyne if I had any love for the Empire I would have shot those Blue Rogue ships down. I love the Empire as fare as I can throw the continent, you must understand…"

"I'm sorry Commander," Dyne grimaced, "but it either that or we throw you off the island."

"I thought Blue Rogues didn't take prisoners," Carlos gaze flickered to Vyse, who flinched under his glare.

Dyne shrugged, "We don't. You are free to have your weapons back, and to walk around the village as you please, we won't stop you. You will simply not be allowed to leave.

Carlos narrowed his eyes to slits. "Sounds a lot like imprisonment to me."

"Call it what you will," Dyne sighed as he pushed the weapons towards Carlos, "But you must see this from our point of view?"

Carlos gazed at the weapons for a moment, before picking them up and strapping them to his belt.

"Unfortunately, I do," he sighed, "We all have secrets that must be kept," His thoughts went briefly to Rin and their encounter on the deck of the Surprise, "But I will require a place to stay, and I don't think many of your villagers would be happy to put me up for the rest of my life."

Dyne was about to say something when Aika butted in.

"You can have my house,"

Carlos blinked, "I beg your pardon?"

Aika looked away, her face going a tad red, "I…my parents died when I was little…They were trying to get crew of a sinking ship during the battle of the Grand Line, but they didn't get off in time," she looked back up at Carlos, trying her hardest not to cry, "I live by myself now, but the island is so tightly knit that it doesn't feel like it. I can ask someone to put me up for a while,"

"But you want me to stay here for the rest of my life," Carlos blurted, "and I'm not exactly thinking of expiring any time soon."

"She could live with us," Vyse said, fixing his father with a "she will say with us or else," stare, "Couldn't she dad?"

Dyne sighed and shrugged with a smile, "It appears I have no choice in the matter. Very well. Aika will stay with us, and you Carlos will became a part of our little family."

"A reluctant part Captain," Carlos said with a smirk, "But I will admit that breaking away from Valua has entered my mind from time to time. This will be a new chance at life,"

"That it will Carlos," Dyne stood up and clapped the former commander round the shoulder, "That it will,"

So Wahatcha think? Good? Bad? Rocket launcher a bit too much? I needed a way fro Carlos to fall of the ship and this was the only way I could think of.
You think I've mutated the SoA Universe now, just wait til you see the Delphinus in LoAS

anyway, Read and review, as always. i might have finished the fic, but i can still add to it and such.

See you next week!