Re: World-Marleybone

[Hannah Durante]

((I so agree!  Hey I can’t shut up either, EVERRR so you’re in great company here!  OHO WE WILL SEEEE.  And oh phew, I was worried it wasn’t enough of anything for you to go off of.  And no, what you have is perfect as usual.  ^^  I just hope this will be enough to go off of, urf today was so crazy and hectic I was having a lot of trouble getting my fingers and brain to cooperate with me for this post.  xP  As always, I’m happy to edit anything out or in if you need me to))

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They were getting close, so much closer to obtaining victory.   Hannah paused in her own, violent rounds as she surveyed the field, feeling a smile of both pride and relief tugging at the corners of her mouth when she saw just how few of their enemies were left in comparison to the horde they’d been confronted with upon disembarking the ship.  It was enough to give her an additional surge of energy, her second wind kicking into overdrive at the very idea all of this madness would be over shortly.  

Behind her she could hear Albinus, who had returned to his post with a thankfully normal reaction to her words, issue a command to the musketeers followed by the sounds of intense gunfire and several bodies dropping, along with screams of definite pain.  Good, that was very good, the remainder of the pirates were starting to drop like flies.  It wouldn’t be long now before the rest surrendered and they could secure this fortress for the Valencian powers.  With that sobering thought in mind, the buccaneer charged forward at anybody left she could find who hadn’t already given up or been too wounded to bother fighting back, setting her sights on two more pirates to finish her efforts in this campaign off with.

The first of the two was a buccaneer like herself, possessed with a similar streak of stubbornness and unwillingness to give in despite how obviously tired he was by this point.   Hannah almost had it in her to both admire and pity him; impressed by the pirate’s tenacity, especially with the bruises and lacerations she could see all over his body.  The man had obviously been through hell and back here, likely one of the more capable or just luckier enemies to have lasted this long while still obtaining wounds.   Unfortunately for him his torment wasn’t over yet.   It might have been at least here, had he been willing to throw down his weapons and surrender, but the moment their gazes met Hannah knew he was the sort of man who would refuse that option and continue fighting until his very last breath.  

She could see all of that in his eyes, the way he looked at her.   The Valencian only needed a few seconds to understand what he would do, and in turn force her to.   The remainder of that negative energy was quickly dwindling away with the mounting high of victory, so Hannah couldn’t feel as if ending her fellow buccaneer’s life was honestly going to be as great as it had been with the other pirates she had terminated.  His eyes and demeanor also told her that he was a respectable warrior- or at least could have been, were it not for the side he had chosen. It was a shame really, that he had found himself in this despicable line of work in the first place, much less insisted on clinging so ‘honorably’ to it until the bitter end.    She would make it quick though, at least as quick as she could.

The man let out as much of a mighty battle cry as he could as he came bearing down on her; clutching tightly to a large, imposing-looking sword, channeling everything he had left into an a last-ditch effort to take her down with him.   Hannah had to imagine the man realized this was a losing battle, that he would die here since giving up didn’t seem to be an option he would consider for even a second, and he was just determined to take as many of them with him as possible before his life was extinguished.  Too bad for him he was more worn out than he wanted to acknowledge, and she could see those signs of fatigue in his body language from a mile away.  It wasn’t too surprising to see him attempting to push through, she had done the same thing numerous times in the past herself, but it certainly wasn’t going to help him.   Despite the energy she had drained here, compared to what she could read from his posture, she might as well have just stepped off the ship ready and raring to go.   She wouldn’t complain though, as it made her job here that much easier.

In true buccaneer fashion, or at least her own, Hannah stood her ground, allowing the pirate to come at her with everything he had.   In the few seconds it took him to reach her however, she was muttering another incantation under her breath, this time channeling an extra dose of strength to further allow her to finish things off on her side of the fight as quickly as humanly possible.   Just as it went into effect the man reached her, and took an aggressive, desperate swing; aiming for a diagonal strike across as much of her body as his weapon could reach.  A decent enough strategy she had to say, though she was able to counter it in time with the shield she had borrowed.  

He kept pushing against her shield with all of his might for a moment, trying in vain to overpower and knock her around so that he could come in for a better strike, before finally realizing he would have to adopt another tactic if he wanted to leave any lasting damage on her at all.  There was a glimmer of panic in his eyes Hannah caught sight of, the other buccaneer finally allowing himself to realize just how much of his strength had already been expended and how swiftly the rest was following.   His expression, which had been nothing but determined up until this very moment, suddenly turned desperate and she knew he was going to pull away and try something else, anything to make his final stand.

Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully at this and she reacted impulsively, delivering a powerful kick to the pirate’s gut, before he had a chance to settle on a new course of action.   He grunted in both pain and surprise, stumbling back, and Hannah was even quicker to slip away from the sword and ram into his side forcefully.  That did the trick, knocking the already exhausted and weakened buccaneer to the ground, a feat that, while not impossible, would have taken a bit longer to accomplish had he not already run himself ragged.   The blonde forced herself to shut off any thought about how she was kicking this particular man while he was already down, stepping onto the arm holding his sword so that she could ensure she would not make the mistake of ignoring it and allowing him the chance to gut her, then crouched down; pressing her left hand’s knuckles into the area of his chest directly above his heart, the switchblade hidden within its bracer for the moment.

“A shame…”  She began, giving him a look that was almost pity.   He was still a pirate after all, who followed a man who had done terrible things to his own countrymen.    “You really should have surrendered.   But at least, this might end quickly.”

With that she curled the finger the bracer’s ring was on, and the switchblade sprung forward, immediately plunging itself into his heart.   Hannah actually looked away as her prey gurgled, not having quite the instantaneous death that would have served him better.   But he would die from that wound, and so satisfied with that, she twitched her finger again after pulling the blade out to conceal it once more…turning her attention to the other pirate that had been in this immediate area.

This one was a swashbuckler by the looks of his weapons, but he proved himself far less stubborn than the buccaneer.   His eyes widened in alarm as she stood up, and it was clear she intended on coming after him.   The man, weary as well from the way he was breathing, gave taking her on only a moment of thought before he did the smart thing and threw his weapons down to the ground; waving his free hands in a gesture of surrender.   Hannah blinked, at first surprised and suspicious of this action…but a few minutes and the closer she got showed her that his surrender was sincere.  

“P-please, please don’t kill me, I surrender! I won’t fight you guys anymore, especially not him.”

Almost as if sensing the doubt that had initially been on her mind, the man pleaded his case.  She looked him over carefully, noting that he was very young compared to some of the other pirates she had faced here- she had to have been at least eight years his senior, if not more.   It begged the question in her mind of what sort of magic Atticus had managed to work on these followers, though she was grateful at least one of them she’d come across had the sense enough to not get himself killed for a pointless struggle.   She smirked slightly as she saw the dread in his expression growing as he looked over to where Ulysses was.   She didn’t have to look to know who he was talking about despite the fact she did.

“A wise choice.  You know what they say about him, after all.  Every last word of it is true..”

If at all possible the pirate looked even more horrified at that, the color draining from his face as the both of them watched the Admiral dispatch the first of the two, burly men that had decided to attempt and kill him.   He obviously believed her from what he was witnessing alone, even though that was not Kane out there.   Septimus was capable enough though, Hannah felt, so the pirates should have respected the damage he could cause even if they had known who he was.  The same applied to her as well in her own mind, even though she realized that she would have to gain respect from those who had no idea who she was or her past.   That, unfortunately, was a lot of people- she didn’t have the same sort of connections to elite societies like Ulysses did.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get to plead your case to him as well- and who knows, he may feel merciful toward you, depending on how you approach it and what you’re willing to share?”  Hannah continued as she motioned for the pirate to move forward with her halberd, in such a way she made it clear she would shove him along and hurt him if she had to.   The young swashbuckler didn’t need to be told twice and nodded submissively, starting to walk where she directed him, though she caught him throwing glances toward the Admiral and her every few minutes.   She had started to grow suspicious about why he was looking back at her so many times, before the pirate opened his mouth to speak- evidently deciding to make his confusion clear.

“Why are you helping…them?”  He whispered, with a mixture of emotion.  “You-“

A cold glare from her as well as suggestive tap on the back from the tip of her halberd silenced him, before he could finish that train of thought.   She didn’t want to get into all of her motivations, the full story with a pirate.  It was something that could possibly be used against her, and besides that an incredibly emotionally conflicted affair that she didn’t like to dwell on and think too deeply about when it wasn’t necessary.  

“Because of people like you and your master.”  Was all she was willing to give him, grateful when they came upon the dragoons and marines who were already guarding other prisoners, as it meant she didn’t even have time to elaborate.    “I hope you and your friends here won’t feel too protective of him….seeing as it doesn’t appear he cares to help any of you.  At least they do.”

Well, somewhat.  Caring was probably too strong of a word to use for the clockwork soldiers, but her point remained.  Even if Albinus had unintentionally made her feel slighted by his words, he’d still jumped in to help when he could have just as easily allowed that pirate to have slit her throat.   That was far more than she could say for Atticus.  True, she didn’t know much of anything about the man beyond what Cristobal and Ulysses had told her, but Hannah also knew if he had been part of this battle, she would have known.   It would have been obvious from their commander alone.   The traitor assassin was every inch the coward Septimus had told her he was, though it did leave a disquieting notion rattling about her skull.   Maybe he had just turned tail and fled, but then again maybe he was planning some of kind of secondary, surprise assault on all of them.

The Admiral joined them only a few minutes later, after he had finished killing the rest of the hostile pirates around the area.   Hannah would have felt incredibly relieved by all of this and allowed herself to relax for real, if it hadn’t been for the question Ulysses immediately demanded to know the answer to; a serious matter that she had to listen to, before any premature hope took over.  

The buccaneer remained silent as one of his officers strode forward upon being addressed, feeling her spirits sinking somewhat with each answer the Marine gave.  So, those concerns and noticing the apparent disappearance of one of the clockworks had not been nonsense after all…She shuddered to think of what might have happened to the officer by now- if he had been taken as Ulysses seemed to believe, and she could not deny, his captor had unfortunately had ample time to do whatever he wanted with Decimus.    And that included making a getaway.

Hannah was compelled to direct a sympathetic expression Ulysses’s way, but not wanting to make a bad situation that much worse, kept her gaze away from him for the time being.   It seemed to be a good idea, when he ordered for one of the prisoners to be brought forward, and two of the other clockworks complied; dragging forward one of the pirates who already looked fairly worse for the wear, perhaps to save the Admiral time.  If he beat the prisoner for any reason, the process would certainly go faster on one who had already sustained a decent amount of injuries beforehand, even if he did insist on putting up any resistance.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((this is perfect, yet again  and I understand, feelings and being tired could really affect you, so don't worry!))
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"Where is your master?"Ulysses demanded at the prisoner, his razor sharp rapier back into his grip. The Armada admiral could sense his fear, from reading his body language, and the obvious look within his eyes. He took one step toward the pirate, sword poised in preparation to strike, his shadow looming over him much like how Kane had done several times in his throne room. The pirate shrunk back almost instinctively, stuttering:

"I-I saw his ship leave, with that officer you are looking for."Ulysses swore he could only see red at that moment, red all around him like the color of blood. That...vile...son of a cursed Templar, and serpent! He was truly ready to tear him apart with his bare hands, well, more like he's ready to tear apart everything that dares to get in his way that is alive/breathing/twitching. Ulysses swore to himself that he would make sure Mercilus know the definition of real pain, if anything was to happen to Decimus... That traitor would wish that he was never born.

"Sir?"The human admiral was snapped back into reality by the voice of his lieutenant, "what are your orders, shall we give chase?" Septimus took no more than two seconds to make the whole decision, so fast that it was almost like a clockwork's. He scowled behind his mask at the group of pirates and traitor Assassins, before finally speaking with the ice cold monotone of the mask's vocalizer. "Throw the prisoners in the dungeons of this fortress: Dragoon squadron captain Militus Tessius, I want you to watch over this fortress with your team, as well as Squadron 6... Captain Optimus, collect the bodies of our Assassins, ensure they get the proper respects when we return to Valencia... The rest, return to the ship, we are going to get Decimus back, no matter what."

He emphasized the very last word, making sure he was clear about the fact that no one who stands between them and his 'son', and anyone who was foolish enough to try would immediately be faced with the full scale of Septimus' wrath as well as the prowess of his whole mini army. The Admiral glanced around him, half pleased to note that the clockworks were already at work, escorting them into the dungeons beneath the fortress. He pivoted sharply on his heels, sauntering out the way he and his troops had entered, which was back out of the gate, to the docks, managing to catch one glimpse of the familiar flag bearing both his emblem and the Armada cogwheel insignia being flown instead of the one bearing Mercilus' mark...

Stepping on the Interceptor, Ulysses settled into his throne, taking the glowing, golden sphere that was the Apple of Eden from a rather deep coat pocket as Sentus Optimus stepped behind the wheel, while everyone else settled into their appropriate posts and positions. It was at that moment, the Apple glowed a shade brighter gold, before projecting what appeared to be a map of Mooshu's skyways, with a blue triangle marking the position of Ulysses' ship, and a red circle that was all the way off in the far end of Subata skyway, thankfully, unmoving.

"That was rather foolish."Septimus said darkly to himself, then called out, "captain Optimus! Has everyone boarded?" When he received his confirmation, the admiral snapped off his second command, "Raise anchor, head full speed to Subata Skyway... Be prepared for trouble." He sensed that his rival would not give up so easily, especially considering how Ulysses had almost completely wiped out his entire force of rebels and Assassins back at that fortress. Yet, Septimus was sort of looking forward to that as well, since it would be a more than perfect excuse to be even more murderous in his ways of battle once he meets his rival face-to-face again.

The Imperial Interceptor lurched smoothly into the skyways heading to Subata, her black sails completly unfurled while the flag flew proudly in the morning mist of Mooshu. Ulysses fidgeted slightly in his seat, until he finally decided to stand up, and enter his cabin, coming back out dressed in his Helmschmeid Drachen armor, his new sword that Cristobal had provided him when they were still in Marleybone strapped to his side, and having swapped out his left Hidden Blade for the wrist bow (explaining the pouches on his belt now): knowing his nemesis, Ulysses was fairly certain that Mercilus would be anticipating his fighting style, hence, eliminating the need for him to play fair in any shape or form.

"This is damaged pretty bad,"Cristobal looked over Hannah's damaged, original shield, "but not unrepairable: I can make this even better if you so wish." He snapped his fingers, summoning over an Assassino with his tool case; laying the shield down on his workdesk, the Royal Engineer snapped open the box, showing some rather complex looking tools inside that included a few cans of touch up paint, a small bunsun burner sized cauldron he used to smelt gold and other precious metals with, screwdrivers, a hammer, and several other things. 

The Engineer first got to work mending the cracks, using an insulated canister of melted Valencian alloy by injecting it into the cracks via a syringe, the melted metal immediately hardening, binding with the surrounding metal of the shield so flawlessly that it would have looked like it healed by itself, if it wasn't for that the alloy was silver instead of red. He fired up the cauldron, the gold inside instantly bubbling. Withdrawing some and dropping them onto a plate, Cristobal picked them up a second later with a pair of tweezers, then carefully added them to the rose in the center, using a mallet the size of his little finger to firm it down, smoothing out the edges with a long needle that looked like it was made for dissecting. This process he repeated until the design looked as good as new, only then did he turn to focus on the rest...

By the time he was done, the Engineer could proudly say that it is even more durable than the one carried by Grand Marshal Rooke...

[Hannah Durante]

((Oh, thank you for being so understanding my dear! :')  You are just made of awesome.   i just wish this post was, gosh SO MANY BUSY DAYS.))

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Fortunately, the prisoner that the clockworks had drug forward didn't need much convincing in order to talk.   Though he had been silent at first, almost defiant of the situation at hand, all it took was Ulysses stalking forward toward him with one of those deadly rapiers of his to give him a reason to blurt out everything he knew.   Unfortunately however, what she assumed to the the Admiral's worst fear was only confirmed.   This time, Hannah couldn't control the impulse to look at Septimus in order to gauge his reaction, gleaming what she could from his body language.    She could tell he was barely restraining himself from exploding, see his posture stiffen and all the tell-tale signs of the aggressive rage she was certain was tearing through him right at this second.  Nothing she could blame him for at all, she would have felt the much same, only more obviously so, in his shoes.

The buccaneer narrowed her eyes at the very idea of what she was hearing.  While there was certainly nothing wrong with retreating when you were at a disadvantage to regroup and come back later, the way Atticus had done it was just...she wondered now more than ever why anybody felt compelled to follow him.   The man seemed to have absolutely no honor whatsoever, unwilling to stand by his followers, many of whom had died to keep him safe, instead kidnapping one of Septimus's officers and taking off with him.   He had to be stopped and put in his place, there was no telling what a man like that would do when granted too much freedom.

Much like Ulysses, her attention shifted to his lieutenant as he spoke, truly curious herself as to what they would be doing.  The Admiral wasted no time in answering him, indicating they damn well would be giving chase and doing whatever it took to punish the traitorous assassin as well as retrieve their missing officer.   Hannah only hoped that they wouldn't be too late....

As Ulysses shot off orders for the lot of them, Hannah wandered over to where she had left her damaged shield the second she understood that she would be accompanying the group that gave chase to this viper.  Good, she wanted to see that man get exactly what he deserved and help out in any way she could.   Though, if the coward had holed himself up somewhere alone, she would of course stand back to let Septimus take care of business, seeing as this was an incredibly personal matter for him that she didn't want to get in the way of.   Much like if she ever found those pirates who had tortured and crippled her father, she wouldn't want too many people getting in her way, so she was more than willing to grant others that kind of courtesy.    She would do whatever she could to assist, but let him handle this apparent nemesis of his.

She wasn't going to do it using a borrowed pirate's shield, though, that was for sure.   Thankfully her battered one was easier to find once the clockworks that had been tasked with staying behind to watch over the fortress and prisoners had started moving their captives, and she quickly swapped them out- leaving the other one behind while holding her own to her chest protectively once more.   Before she took notice of the fact Ulysses was already heading back toward the ship, and hurried after him and the others following suit.   There would be time to worry about what she was going to do with her shield later, for now she just wanted to ensure she was at whatever post was needed of her and alert.   Hannah stopped only once and briefly at that before boarding the Interceptor, long enough to see and admire the new flags that were being raised over the fortress.   It was just like old times, except for Septimus's icon and the fact that this time, the gear didn't have a rose at its center.

The buccaneer didn't allow herself to reflect upon that reality for very long, worried where her mind would go if she did, so she promptly tore her gaze away from the flags and boarded the ship; finding a suitable enough spot to plop herself down so that she could both rest until the next conflict and examine her shield out of everybody else's way, to determine whether it would be worth dragging along when they finally caught up to Atticus or not.   She was distracted momentarily by the apple's power as Septimus pulled it out of his pocket and the magical object projected what seemed to be a map of some sort, hopefully an indication of where their prey had run off to.   Hannah didn't dare ask with the dark cloud that hung over Ulysses's head, but she didn't need to.   The answer was evident, when he gave his next order.     The apple had indeed pointed him in the right direction, all the more reason to be in awe of its power.

The ship lurched forward not long after Septimus had given the command, and she could feel anticipation welling up inside of her for what was to come.  She was anxious to see what waited for them, what this man had done to his hostage, and to see him fall so they could all return home before the next, grand task was asked of them.   But she did her best not to show this, especially after watching the Admiral fidget in his seat for a while until he could stand his own apprehension no longer and retreated to his cabin.  Another pang of sympathy rocketed through her at this, and she prayed his creation had not been completely dismantled, that there was something left to save.   The man had lost enough of his own already, she didn't wish to see him have to go through it again.  

When he finally reemerged from his personal quarters, she could see that same sort of thoughts were on his mind from the new armor and weapons he bore.   Though, his new choices were, in her mind, smart.  Septimus looked prepared for anything that might be launched their way with this new ensemble, and unfortunately he would probably need to be against this particular adversary.   Whom she realized she really did need to find out more about, if she wanted to be as helpful as she could.   The buccaneer had been about to stand up and approach Ulysses and attempt to ask for anything she might have needed to know before going in, but didn't quite make it that far before Cristobal had earned her utmost attention.

She craned her neck to look at him as he mentioned the status of her shield, briefly glancing over the damage again herself, before she turned back to face him.   She had to think about his offer for a moment, whether she wanted him to do anything to it or not.   There was a small part of her that, however wounded to see it like this, thought maybe it was a bad idea for it to be 'improved', with everything that was associated to its original status.    However silly and emotional that feeling seemed.    The greater part of her insisted she take the Royal Engineer up on this offer, that it would serve her well to have a more advanced shield and only be polite to accept whatever those who were technically her superiors were offering.   It was the greater that won out, in the end, no matter how difficult it felt for her to let go of the golden past in any form.

"If you would be so kind as to help, I would be eternally grateful."

It was hard to let him take the shield from her, but Hannah forced herself to loosen her grasp so that it would easily slip out of her hands, standing and watching intensively as Cristobal went to work.   Her expression turned remorseful as the old, red alloy was replaced with silver,  but she quickly shook that away so it wouldn't be questioned and the Engineer would not think she was being ungrateful.   It was just another reminder to her of how things had not worked out how she had always dreamed they would, of her father....She supposed she could not cling to the better parts of her and her family's past forever, but she wasn't entirely ready to just let everything go and sweep over it without getting emotional just yet either.

He almost seemed to sense her discomfort, or the motivation behind it, as his next move was to fix the golden rose at the center of the cogwheel.  Hannah was both surprised and incredibly relieved by this action, barely restraining the impulse to hug the older man for seeming to understand the fact certain things were still very important to her.  She had half-expected him to get rid of the rose so that only the cogwheel that the Armada used for its own insignia remained, and had been preparing to brace herself to deal with it.  This was....the best possible thing she could have asked for, especially as he was not only leaving the rose where it was, but improving upon it as well.  It was a wonderful gesture, even if Cristobal didn't know the full reason why, that her father had secured this wonderful shield for her back during the war....while he'd still been able to serve, that it was a reminder of the proud, noble warrior he had always been until that one gang of pirates had ruined everything for them.

It was...almost a sign of hope now to her, and she couldn't help but think of her father, the apple, the agreements that had been made.  Hopefully once she had fulfilled her end of the deal, her father would be able to be repaired as well, and come out as good as new while still being himself.   Much like the shield did.

Hannah was floored by what the finished product looked like when Cristobal was done, compelled to reach out and touch it, though she knew she would have to wait until the molten metal cooled to dare doing such a thing.   She stared at it in reverence for a long minute, before she looked back up at him; touched by what he had done, the symbol he had left in and fixed, likewise barely able to prevent her eyes from tearing up at the gesture.  Fortunately though she was able, though she was certain all the emotion she felt was evident in her eyes and expression as she finally looked back at Cristobal.

"It's...better than I could have imagined, beautiful.    Thank you for all of this, and especially for leaving the rose.  As silly as it must seem to anybody else...it means a lot to me.  It really does.."

She had a feeling Cristobal would understand, that probably even Ulysses would.  

"How much do I owe you and everybody else by now?" Hannah weakly chuckled, though she truly wondered what the count was at by this point.   "It seems I really can't thank you all enough.  I just hope I will be able to help with....that villain.   And that Septimus's other creation hasn't been too roughed up yet."

[Ulysses Septimus]

((No problem  <3 *hug* and hey, that post was not horrible, really!))
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Cristobal smiled, cheerfully and gently, as he applied some touch up paint over the silver alloy so it would look like its surrounding. "No problem... Least I can do for a good friend." Once he was done touching it up, he gave the shield back to Hannah, drawing his own sword and laying it on his desk in the process. Under the light, its razor sharp blade glinting wickedly in the light, wiped clean of blood and sharpened to a point... The engineer immediately got to work after, tightening parts and picking out particles from places, polishing it to a point of shining, if it was even possible.

Ulysses held out his spyglass, peering into the mist that was surrounding them, slowly lowering it when he found the sails of the ship belonging to his nemesis. "He's here."The admiral mumbled to himself, putting the golden instrument back into one of the pouches on his belt. Pivoting around sharply, he commanded in a quiet voice, "Approach slowly, be prepared for trouble." He drew the new rapier from its sheath at his side, with the Harlequin minmicking his move with his own dual wield blades, as Captain Sentus Optimus slowly steered the Armada frigate up to the Skull Island galleon: from what Septimus had seen, they are facing only a crew of 10 men, all of them traitor Assassins under the command of his foe.

He glanced back, offering Hannah a grateful look that said he was thankful that she had decided to come and help, before turning back as the Interceptor approached their destination. Ulysses could feel his entire body tense when he was close enough to see the dark figure standing near the main mast, well more like two figures, one of them being Atticus Mercilus himself, the other Servus Decimus. Anger shot through his head when he saw just how bad of a condition Decimus was in; there was no doubt that the traitor Assassin had savagely beaten him when he was in his greasy hands. Lacerations riddled his sides, dripping drops of clockwork blood, there were dents in the armor over his torso, as well as bruises on his neck.

It didn't help either to see Decimus forced to his knees, with Mercilus' weapon, the Falix, poised over his throat, ready to rip into his flesh at any given second. All of this only served to allow Septimus justify just how brutal he would be later toward this serpent who had betrayed his Order to the Templars; had he not done this, Ulysses might have just been merciful and ended his life with one well-aimed strike of his Hidden Blade. Now he was virtually asking to be tortured, torn apart without a bit of mercy from the Armada admiral.

"You've came at last, Septimus." Ulysses' lips thinned into a displeased scowl, for the oily traitor's voice was nothing but like...like the face of that Tartarus damned son of a kriffing batacuda Adrian Devereaux: it made him sick to the guts, as well as aflame with anger. Resisting the urge to shout out profanities in Latin, Ulysses shot back-

"More like I've found you: coward, if you want me dead so much, why don't you come out and face me in battle?!" This was just like that last time, when Atticus Mercilus attacked him with his back turned, then dragged him down to that dungeon in his old lair, in an attempt to murder Ulysses, who was fortunately able to escape, at the price of having his left hand amputated, replaced by a mechanical limb crafted by the genius Cristobal Auditore de la Faiz. "Release Captain Decimus, this is between you and me alone!"

Mercilus snorted, like he was not amused, which was likely the exact reason behind it. "You are in no place to give orders, Ulysses Septimus, especially not when this prized little puppet soldier of yours is in my hands... Can't you not see that?" He made it clear it was a taunt, right to Ulysses himself, at his weakest spots, because truthfully speaking, Ulysses Septimus cared too much about his family to let them be in harm's way. The traitor Assassin's fingers sunk into his hostage's shoulder, continuing, "I want you to surrender the throne of the Grand Master, and kneel down to me, Septimus, or else this one... Dies."

This was nothing less of a brazen challenge right at his sovereignty as the leader of the Assassin Order, as well as Ulysses' honor, something that Septimus would rather not lose to a traitor like Mercilus. Yet, does he have any other choice? Decimus' function was at hand, and Ulysses could not bear to lose another one whom he held dear... Just as Septimus started to reply, Ulysses caught a glimpse of a lithe figure moving to the other ship, via a cable that he somehow stretched between them.

It was Cahin, but equipped with his daggers, moving like a shadow in the night. Ulysses' eyes darted back to his rival. Perhaps, just perhaps, Cahin could take care of this; the Harlequin is, still, an Assassin trained in the art of stealth, after all. Now if he could drag this out, and give Cahin time to take care of the men under Mercilus' command, and distract the traitor long enough for Ulysses to board...

Cahin snuck up behind a man, throwing one arm around his neck to cover his mouth, then brutally drove his dagger, which was held in his right hand, at least seven times into his back. Once his target fell silent, the Harlequin soundlessly allowed his dead body to fall onto the deck, then moved toward the second man, one down, nine more to go. He did virtually the same, only that he used his knife to slit his throat, and kept the thrashing man close to his thin chest until he stopped struggling. It was by those fashions he dispatched 4 out of the ten, in less than a matter of 2 minutes, a truly amazing feat that only a demented Assassin like the Harlequin is capable of.

Creeping up behind Mercilus, Cahin drove his daggers with all his strength into the traitor Assassin's arms, prompting a pained yell as Mercilus was forced to release Decimus (whose limp form fell forward onto the deck, unmoving) as well as drop his weapon as he spun to face the demented Harlequin.

Ulysses didn't hesitate then. "Board!" Optimus understood immediately, bringing the Interceptor up to the galleon...

[Hannah Durante]

((YOU ARE JUST TOO NICE. <3))
-----

Cristobal's response was just as touching as the painstaking efforts he was making for her, perhaps even more so with his choice of words. Part of her mind reigned her in from getting too overly emotional about it, reminding her that he was talking about her father here...but even that left her feeling still emotional enough. It didn't really matter if he was referring to her father, honestly. What he had done and just said still warmed her heart even if that was the case. Viktor would have been so pleased and grateful himself, had he known about all of this or been in any frame of mind to process it. Once the apple had helped him, if it could- which she clung onto desperately that it would- she would be sure to tell him all about what his old friend had done for the both of them.

The buccaneer took the shield back, gingerly running her fingers over the improved golden rose and every fix the Royal Engineer had applied. It was so smooth, not a trace of damage on it anymore; it even felt stronger as she waved it about experimentally. Better yet, even though the majority of it was a different color than it had started out as...it reminded her of the very first time she had gotten her shield. Delivered to her by another man she very much respected, no less. The best possible one to fix it for her, with his connection to her father...

Hannah watched as Cristobal continued to work, moving on to one of his own weapons, tireless as always. She was highly impressed as she stood there taking in his work in respectful silence, especially how painstakingly he approached everything. No wonder Ulysses always had the best possible equipment and their weapons were top notch, with the care the Engineer applied to every task he appointed to himself. She was mesmerized watching him examine and polish his sword, having never seen a man or any other living creature work as hard and well as this man did, when it came to this sort of thing.

Before she knew it, time had flown by, and she was pulled from her observations when she noticed many of the other soldiers on deck were moving around far more, as if in preparation for something. Sure enough, when she set her sights on Septimus, it was clear they had finally caught up with and found their target. He and Cahin both were drawing their weapons, which could have only meant that, especially from the grim, determined turn the Admiral's expression had taken. In preparation, she slid her new and improved shield over her left arm, and gripped the handle of her halberd tightly. It wouldn't be long now she knew, not long at all...

Hannah found herself flattered when Septimus actually made it a point to look her way, his expression shifting long enough to show actual gratitude to her. In return she gave a knowing but respectful smile, and bow of her head; a way of expressing her own gratitude, as well as showing him she was happy, honored to help out. She wished the circumstances had been a bit different, but just the same wanted to acknowledge she was in this for better or worse now. True it wasn't like she had much of a choice in the matter, but by now she honestly did not mind taking orders from or doing things for the Admiral- he had proven himself a decent enough ally, and for now she felt she could trust him. So she certainly wanted him not only to know, but to feel he could trust her back as well.

Her body likewise tensed up as she could finally see the other ship through the swirling mist that surrounded this part of Mooshu's skyways, and though it had been a long day already, she could feel herself brimming with energy; eager to help put an end to this man's madness, especially as he had far less followers here with him and the Admiral had something, no somebody, to lose. It was more tense than the siege they had just waged with that in mind, and the buccaneer reminded herself not to be too impulsive unless she had to be or the proper opening presented itself. Otherwise, if Decimus was still functioning, any of them being too quick to act might seal his doom.

She felt pity for the clockwork officer as they finally pulled close enough to get a good look at the figures on the other side of the ship. The musketeer looked awful, quite obviously the recipient of some very harsh treatment while they had been busy and on their way, and to add insult to injury he was left at the lowest position he could be at...at their enemy's feet. Hannah could almost feel the anger radiating off of Ulysses as they all got a good look at this delicate situation, and she found herself hoping that he would get the chance he so desired to put this man through the same sort of hell. She kept her eyes trained on Decimus's limp, battered form for a few minutes longer than the others as she tried to determine what the best course of action in this situation was....only to snap her head up to meet the speaker of that horrible voice that was quick to get smug with Septimus.

The more the other man spoke, the more she grew to despise him. There was little doubt in her mind, and likely everybody else's, that he had planned this from the start in order to put Ulysses in this kind of emotional chokehold. She had not once seen him on the battlefield after all, and she had a very strong hunch now that was because he'd never been present. Decimus had seemed to vanish into thin air very early on as well, so this coward must have been hiding in the shadows the entire time, kidnapping the poor officer when he had been without backup and the rest of them too busy to have even noticed his absence until it had already been too late. Some leader....

She had a burning urge to start screaming at the man and throw out whatever scathing insults she could after he had named his terms and made his threats, but bit her tongue. This was Septimus's nemesis, and besides that if Atticus didn't like how any of them conducted themselves, he would very likely terminate Decimus right then and there and place the blame squarely on the shoulders of whoever had pissed him off. Whether they liked it or not he had the upper hand here, and if they wanted to save Septimus's officer, well.....they had to be cautious, unless a miracle came to pass in their favor.

The fates, it seemed, heard all of their mental pleading and wished for at least some form of justice to prevail. Moments after Ulysses had noticed their ace in the sleeve, Hannah too had caught movement in the distance; drawn to it, and feeling a glimmer of hope at what she saw. Cahin had somehow managed to get aboard the enemy vessel, and was quietly dispatching enemies left and right. Not wanting to blow his cover she quickly looked back at Atticus, restraining the smug little grin she wanted to direct toward him for how deeply oblivious an egomaniac like him was to what was going on behind him.

Thankfully she didn't have to wait for long, before Cahin had struck the villain himself, forcing him into dropping Decimus to the ground as well as his weapon. When he spun around to face his attacker, Hannah knew their moment of opportunity had come. Ulysses did too, from the command he shouted next. The second the two ships were close enough to one another, Hannah wasted no time leaping over to the traitor's ship; making sure that she positioned herself close by the fallen clockwork. At least one, if not more of their enemies would be looking to destroy him as revenge for the sneak attack and to attempt and claim victory for their master, so she would not let them do such a thing. She would keep his body safe, until one of the others had dragged him back over to the Interceptor and out of harm's way.

Hannah had briefly toyed with the idea of retrieving the officer herself, so that Ulysses and his first wave of followers would be able to take on the enemies that were more personal to them than her, but she didn't want to overstep her boundaries. If the Admiral himself thought that was the way it should be handled and indicated this she would be happy to do it and make sure none of their foes made it to him if they jumped to his ship, but if he preferred to save his creation himself or have Albinus do it, she would not interfere.

After all, she was perfectly content to keep the vultures away.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((BECAUSE YOU ARE MY TWIN))
---

Equipped with his sword, Cristobal apparently had also decided to join the fray. As he passed Hannah to zero in on a traitor Assassin, he said to her, "Albinus is on his way here: he will take Decimus back to the Interceptor." He didn't get a chance to say more, since he had focused on using his sword to decapitate the traitor, then turning to use it to cut the leg off of another that was trying to sneak up on him. Even though he was a man near the age of 50, the old Assassin still had the energy and strength of a 30 year old.

Septimus, meanwhile, had took it upon himself to face off Atticus. "This one is mine!" They circled each other like a pair of mountain lions, each prepared to rip the other one apart. Since his arms were hurt, Mercilus was in obviously no shape to lift the Falix to attack him, hence he had drawn his own pair of sword and pistol out, Ulysses himself with a similar pair of weapons. He fired once at Ulysses, managing to catch him on the stomach, though, thanks to the thick plating of the Helmschmeid Drachen armor, the bullet bounced off with nearly no effect on Ulysses.

The Armada admiral lunged at that moment, sword and dagger poised to kill. He would have gotten the traitor Assassin, but Mercilus blocked him in the last moment, even managing to knock away both of Septimus' weapons somehow. Hissing like a angered serpent, Ulysses aimed his Wrist Bow at Atticus' leg, catching him with a explosive bolt that immediately set the long cloak he wore on fire. Atticus howled in pain, discarding the cloak in favor of fighting, that alone was enough for the Assassin Grand Master, however, to recover his blades and pounce again at the traitor, ripping a long gash near the base of his spine.

Faintly, Ulysses was aware that his followers had long picked off the other one's crew, and surrounded them to both form a circular berth for them to fight in, as well as respectfully leaving his fate in his hands. Good, just as how he liked. He winced, feeling one of Mercilus' shots striking one of the weaker points in his full arm gauntlet, but not breaking the plating thanks to the durable Valencian alloy used in its creation. Advancing, Ulysses blocked Atticus' swipe with his own sword, bringing his dagger up in a try to stab him in the leg, an attack that went off the course and only managing to open a small gash in the flesh. Not that he minded: any amount of pain is worth suffering if it meant he would be able to crush this snake.

Memories flooded Ulysses' mind as he fought, memories of the time before Mercilus had betrayed them, and sent everything to hell. He remember his sparring matches with Ezio, as well as himself walking through the newly constructed base of the Aquilan Assassin Branch when it was first established. Vividly, voices of his past apprentices, those ones who failed to survive the slaughter caused by Atticus Mercilus, as well as several of his old friends, comrades that fell in the same bloodbath. Those memories all came back with the ferocity of a flood, almost succeeding in forcing tears out of his eyes.

Those were reminders, he told himself, of just how happy his life could have been had this serpent had not turned on them and bit them in the heel: he had a sense, that if his branch of Assassins and friends had not perished, he would have been able to deal with the loss of his family much better, instead of losing his mind (though it was also quite ironic, Ulysses realized, because had this slaughter not happened, he might not have gained the power he now holds by harnessing his carefully controlled insanity). This brought a angered scowl from the Assassin Grand Master, prompting him to put even more effort forward into combating his nemesis number 1.

Atticus' eyes widened slightly under his black hood, caught by definite surprise at the strength Ulysses was putting into his attacks. He brought his sword out to his left, trying to catch Septimus' rapier, coming a second late and receiving a nasty cut through his side that quickly started bleeding a delightfully large waterfall of blood. Ulysses felt a shudder go through his body at the sight, the familiar blood lust taking its place within his mind. Giving a shout, he drove the dagger in his hand into Atticus' gun arm, the pistol clattering to the decks only to be kicked away by Ulysses, skittering off the side and falling into the skyways.

All of this felt satisfying, it felt good, but it was only fitting so... Since he was facing the one who ruined his life, one of the two who ruined his life. Ulysses stepped close, then headbutted the traitor Assassin, the impact sending Mercilus staggering back several steps, stunned. But a few seconds was all that Ulysses needed: he kicked Mercilus in the gut, watching as he fell onto his back. Septimus, his breathing a rattle in his chest, quickly ran toward his fallen opponent, stomping down hard on the Assassin's sword arm, feeling the bone crack under his feet, and a howl of pain tearing itself out of the other man. Just for good measure, Septimus did it again, relishing the euphoria that swam through his body... And again, then stopped. 

Don't get him wrong, though, this wasn't the end of what he was going to make this traitor suffer, definitely not. Ulysses took him by the collar of his cloak, shoving him against the main mast, "Feeling the pain already? Well this is only the beginning!" He punched Atticus in the stomach, right on where Ezio suffered the wound that sealed his fate, with enough strength to knock the wind out of the other man. Tossing his body to the side, he allowed Atticus to fall on his damaged arm, chuckling as he cried out in pain, before stepping over to deliver a kick into his ribs, over and over he did so, until he was sure he had broken at least a good few ribs. 

Ulysses hoisted to him to his feet again. He stared into his eyes with a hate more fiery than the fires of hell itself... Sending another punch into Mercilus' face that effectively broken his nose with a chilling crack of bone. "Pathetic traitor!"

[Hannah Durante]

((D'AWW, TWIN POWER UNITE! Also I wasn't sure if you wanted to have Albinus show up in your next post to grab Decimus and since I was doing this early I just went ahead and posted this and assumed he came in the middle of everything. If you actually wanted him to show up in post in a way mine makes it difficult to do though, just give me a ring over on skype and I'll be happy to fix my post so you can. ))
---------

She only barely turned as Cristobal passed her, glad to see the older man was joining in the fray this time around. These enemies were incredibly personal to him as well, and though she had yet to see him in battle, the buccaneer knew he was capable enough to hold his own. He had taught Ulysses many of the things he now knew after all, and even if she hadn't known that, there were all those wonderful toys and weapons he created and improved upon to consider. His age wasn't something she looked at as a problem in this case, expecting him to be just as good at fighting as the rest of them.

Hannah nodded as he spoke, hearing and understanding what he was telling her about Albinus, though she insisted on standing her ground until the battered officer's brother showed up regardless. No matter how capable Albinus was, she still didn't trust any of these rogue assassins not to take advantage of whatever they could. The officer would be at a severe disadvantage the second he showed up to grab his brother, unable to wield his rifle as efficiently if at all, so she still believed they needed some amount of cover. Especially as many of the others lost themselves to this new wave of aggression, Septimus especially.

The buccaneer looked up as Ulysses immediately went after his nemesis, snarling that Atticus was his. The meaning for such an exclamation was just as obvious as this matchup, that nobody[i], human [i]or clockwork, was to interfere with that battle unless the Admiral himself specifically gave an order for anybody to. She understood his feelings on the matter, silently promising she wouldn't lift a finger against the other assassin, perfectly content to allow Ulysses to take care of him when so much history and emotion had come into play. Settling for any of his followers that got in the way would suit her just fine.

She got the chance for an opponent anyway, as Decimus's twin finally showed up; catching sight of one of the men Cahin hadn't killed directing a suggestively violent gaze toward not only the fallen officer, but the one who had come to rescue him as well. He was inching his way closer toward them, being smarter about this than some of his associates, but it only took a few moments of carefully observing him out of the corner of her eye for her to assume exactly what he was doing. Which, meant it was time for her to move. Somewhere near her Cristobal had just finished dealing with another rogue assassin, so she trusted him to be able to watch the clockwork's backs if they needed it.

Scowling, Hannah waited only long enough for the man to get close enough to decide it was safe to charge before sharply pivoting her body and rushing at him to prevent him from getting very far. The man was surprised by this if the look on his face was any indication, alarmed she had done such a thing which only served to make her feel proud about how oblivious to his presence she had pretended to be. But, he didn't falter more than that, perfectly willing to take a swing at her first and attempt to cut her down if that was what he had to do. As his own, deadly-looking weapon lashed out at her, Hannah flung her left arm forward, putting her shield and Cristobal's improvements to the test.

They didn't disappoint. The sword clanged loudly against the shield as the two objects met, but seemed to take no damage from the blade at all despite how sharp it clearly was. It also felt...almost easier to hold the blade back compared to how the shield had been originally, impressing her with its new found durability. The shield had not been weak before, but it had never been able to compare to the more extravagant, tougher ones those in the higher ends of Valencian society were able to afford. This seemed closer to those, to a luxury she had never seen herself being able to wield before.

Behind the shield Hannah smirked at the knowledge, and the frustrated grunts that slipped out of her adversary's mouth as he pulled his weapon back and kept coming at her, only to find himself countered by the shield after every strike. He wasn't even making a dent in it! She toyed with him for a moment or two longer, relishing his irritation and what the Engineer had done for her, before finally deciding to end it; dodging his final strike instead of catching it again, then driving the switchblade deeply into his chest. Just for good measure she kicked his body to the ground once she had pulled the blade out, raised her halberd, then brought it down onto his head.

Once that was finished, she glanced around, relieved to notice that it seemed every last one of Atticus's followers on the ship had been dealt with, so she no longer had to worry about Albinus being able to make it back to the Interceptor without any trouble. The leader of this rogue band of assassins was still unfortunately alive and kicking though, but she didn't imagine he would be for much longer if Septimus had his way. Hannah was quick to join the rest of the Admiral's followers, becoming part of the circle that surrounded them so as not to let Atticus escape, but maintained a respectful enough distance so they didn't find themselves forced to steal his glory either.

The fight was every bit as intense as she imagined it would be, enough to let her feel a contact wave of adrenaline just by her proximity to the raging battle. There was really not much doubt in her mind as to who would emerge the victor here, but even that wasn't enough to convince the energy flowing through her to quiet down. It would not settle down, no, not until this fight was over. But, that was fine by her as she didn't think Atticus had a chance in hell at actually winning here. She would enjoy watching him defeated and battered around, for now and be able to relax later, once the Admiral had finally managed to obtain his revenge.

His foe certainly was slippery though, Hannah would give him that much. He lasted a lot longer than she had initially given him credit for, insisting on being a stubborn, persistent thorn in Ulysses's side, even managing several good strikes...before he finally slipped, something the buccaneer mentally marked as the beginning of the end for him. Once Septimus had landed the nasty blow to the other man's side, it was all over in her mind, even if her fellow Valencian drug it out to watch him suffer. This was only confirmed when he knocked the firearm out of Atticus's hands, and kicked it off the ship itself so it would no longer be something his nemesis could use.

It all exploded after that, and Hannah couldn't help but feel like justice was being served here as Ulysses knocked the snake to the ground, breaking his arm and eliciting a howl of agony from his foe, before pressing his boots hard to the tender area a couple of more times. Then, he dragged the man up and slammed him against the mast, his anger and threats clear and audible to every single one of them. Atticus was going to suffer dearly for what he had done, Hannah could see that much. She watched, as stonefaced as she could, as Ulysses continued to brutalize his enemy, even going so far as to likely break a few ribs before pulling him up again just to break his nose and continue to insult him.

She wondered how far he would go with this man, how much longer the torture would prove satisfying to him before he landed the killing blow. Also if he would do so here, or send the man to his ship's dungeon to torture all the way back to Valencia, and execute him there instead.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((HECK YEAH, CHAOS TWINS FOREVER! And that post is perfectly okay  just enough for me to go off of XD))
----

Indeed, in the middle of the fray, Albinus had been able to make it back to the ship with the battered frame of his twin brother Decimus: his rifle slung over his shoulder, one arm around Decimus' torso and draping the other clockwork's over his own shoulder, the marksman hurried back to the Interceptor...

Atticus snorted, spitting a mouthful of blood into Ulysses' face, "As if you've not told me this before, Grand Master." Septimus' lips twitched, his right hand moving to clamp down around his nemesis' neck, while his other went up to wipe the blood from his face. Harshly, he used his left to backhand the rogue Assassin, earning a grunt of pain from his opponent. "You will regret ever challenging me, Mercilus."Ulysses growled, his eyes full of hate, hate as sharp as daggers. "You will regret everything you've ever done, I swear in the name of most high Lord Kane."

He aimed the bolt nocked in his Wrist Bow at the face of his opponent, a glowing bolt that shone with a eerie blue, showing it was very likely poisoned. Ulysses didn't fire the arrow though, he merely grazed the tip of the bolt along the face of the rogue Assassin, enjoying the way Mercilus' eyes followed the razor sharp tip of the bolt in fear... Before pulling back. "I won't kill you, not here, vile serpent." A long, sharp whistle rang from between his lips, summoning forth the Marine captain Sentus, "Restrain him, Captain Optimus, then throw him into the dungeons: the gallows in Valencia awaits."

Stepping back to give his lieutenant some space, Ulysses watched as the 'Rooke' of his court looped a length of chains around the traitor, all while the rogue fought feebly and with the baseless hope of escape. At last, at last he had gotten the revenge he had so desired... With that pleasant thought in mind, Septimus mulled over the list of crimes committed by the traitor worthy of a death sentence in the gallows: 'Assaulting an Armada officer, high treason against the Valencian Assassin Order, selling of highly confidential military information to the rebels, murder... Those should be enough.'

Letting most of his troops and Assassini to pass him and get back onto the large Armada frigate, Ulysses drew the poisoned bolt from his Wrist Bow, sliding it into a pouch by his side while taking an incinerating bolt and loading it. He looked around, noticing a good few barrels of gun powder lining the deck, as if the fates knew what he had in mind; taking aim, the admiral fired it into one of them, quickly turning and jumping the distance as the Interceptor sailed away from the exploding vessel. He dusted off his robes and armor, feeling as though a weigh had been lifted from his shoulders.

After so many years of pursuing his nemesis, the one who had sold them out to the vile Templars, he had at least gotten his revenge. Ulysses would not deny it, but revenge felt sweet, gratifying, and he liked it, a lot, even more than blood, maybe. "Thank you."The admiral snapped up from his trance-like state, dead sure he had just heard his brother Ezio's voice, but that couldn't be, could it? Ezio was dead for so many years, his body buried in the Inner Sanctums underneath the base of the Valencian Assassin Order! Yet...yet, it couldn't have been the wind, it was so clear... Ulysses finally shook it off, sure it was just his own mind playing tricks on him.

Ordering for some of his living soldiers to prepare a banquet for the humans who participated in this mission, Ulysses settled into his seat near the main mast, only turning his attention away when Cahin the Harlequin approached him. They didn't need words to communicate between themselves, the silence speaks for them. Despite how many believed that Cahin's mind was far too unhinged to perceive anything more than brutal ways to dispatch his enemies, Septimus had long learned that his intelligence too, was beyond those of a normal mind's eye, intelligence that gave him the ability to read body language just as well as any sane Assassino.

Getting to his knees next to the Assassin Grand Master, Cahin placed one gloved hand on Ulysses right arm with a nod. His way of asking his father if everything was alright. Septimus returned with a reassuring squeeze and a small smile of his own, a rather forced one, because even though, to speak the unfortunate truth, he had captured one of his nemesis whom he hated with all his heart and spent many years pursuing, there was still one more of them at large, the one who pushed Ulysses' mind off the edge and turned him from the noble Altair into the bloodthirsty avenger warrior he was today.

Adrian Devereaux, the pirate captain who rose from that rank to those of a pirate lord (Horace Avery is the Pirate King, or Kaizoku-Oh, while the Pirate Lords are only one rank below them, serving as his council of advisers)... The dirty Tartarus damned, honorless evil son of a batacuda who robbed him of everything he held dear. It made Ulysses angry to acknowledge, but he. is. still. out. there!

Cahin, obviously sensing something wrong with Ulysses, decided to speak up. "Daddy... Is it about that dirty pirate Devereaux?"

[Hannah Durante]

((AW YISS I AGREE SO HARD. >D And oh goood, I'm glad to hear that. :'D))
---------

Hannah cringed in disgust as Atticus was brazen enough to spit blood into Ulysses's face, despite the incredibly compromising position he was in. Some men really didn't have any shame whatsoever, though she supposed given the severity of the situation perhaps it was more like the other assassin simply didn't care about this sort of thing anymore. If he knew he was going to be beaten that much more and ultimately killed, then really, what did he have to lose? Still, it was a disgusting, highly disrespectful gesture just the same. Not that it was shocking coming from a man like him, but she certainly hoped he was going to be made to pay for that before his life was no doubt violently extinguished.

Sure enough, Septimus was just as disrespectful back; backhanding the other man across the face while his gloved fingers clenched tightly around Atticus's neck. For a split second the buccaneer thought Ulysses was going to choke him to death if not break his neck for such insults, before his grasp seemed to loosen only enough to not kill the man right then and there and he settled on a different course of action entirely- grazing the tip of one of his wrist bow's arrows against his adversary's face. A scare tactic Hannah reasoned, as she saw Atticus's eyes follow the unusually-glowing weapon in fear. Though, she wouldn't have been too disappointed had the Admiral decided to shoot him between his eyes right then and there she had to say.

Fortunately for the viper of a man, Septimus had decided to be gracious for now. After a another moment or so of toying around with his prey he pulled the weapon back, letting loose a sharp whistle before barking out an order for Sentus to restrain Atticus and throw him into the dungeons for the duration of their trip back. The man would die sometime when they returned home, she knew that much, as she had also heard the Admiral's remark about the gallows. A fitting end, for sure, one that would be highly dishonorable for a man like this one. Not to mention the fact if it was a public execution, there would be that much more shame as well as it would serve an example if any of his followers were still alive and roaming freely in Valencia.

Atticus put up a vain, pathetic struggle as the Marine captain returned with a length of chains to bind him in, not getting anywhere with his attempts to escape the fate that waited for him back in Valencia. Hannah stood stiffly at attention as she watched him flail about as long as he was able, before he was finally bound too tightly to move much at all and Sentus dragged him off to the depths of the Interceptor. The struggle against this man finally seemed to be over...

Feeling relieved herself at the thought of returning home, though her mind saw fit to remind her she was going to need to trouble somebody for a ride to the main city of Cadiz once they had returned to the fortress, Hannah joined the others in moving back over to Septimus's ship. Once aboard she smiled while shutting her eyes slightly, feeling a great sense of relief wash over her in that moment. Ulysses had gotten the chance to claim his revenge, this would hopefully be something she could use to show just what a 'good' Valencian she was, and they'd managed to rescue Decimus as well! Though, she truly wondered how the poor officer was doing after sustaining the injuries they had all seen on him. Hopefully they wouldn't be too major in the grand scheme of things, but she had no way of knowing just yet...

The human woman spun around as the ship began to lurch away from the enemy vessel, followed by a loud, decent-sized explosion. She was startled by it at first, until she took notice of Ulysses's posture, realizing that he had decided to decimate his enemy's ship, likely as a precaution. Excessive, but smart. Sheathing the bloody switchblade into its bracer, Hannah placed as much of her left hand on her hip as she could while also juggling the shield, half-tempted to make a more light-hearted remark about how he had finished things off here. Though thought better of it before any words had escaped her lips, especially as she got a better look of the almost trance-like expression on his face. Now wasn't the time, and he was probably lost in a maelstrom of varying emotions about all of this, so she would leave him alone for now.

Though she was still curious about the fate of the hostage they had saved, she didn't think the time was right to ask, that it was too soon after all this madness to go there. Instead she was content to allow herself to return to as much of her normalcy as she could, incredibly grateful when the Admiral had another feast prepared for the lot of them later into the evening. After a mission like the ones they had just gone on, they all needed something like this to relax as much as they could and keep themselves refreshed as well as their strength up.

She only allowed herself to fully relax halfway into the meal, when it truly seemed like things were taking a turn for the better for most of them. Hannah couldn't help but take notice of how stiff Ulysses seemed, how bothered he still was, as Cahin's closeness to him drew her attention the more physical he became with his 'father'...almost like something was very wrong here. She couldn't hear what they were talking about from her position though, which made it difficult to determine what exactly was going on. Even so though, the buccaneer kept sparing glances their way every so often, between listening to the other conversations going on around her and mulling over several things herself.

..Maybe something was still left to attend to and Septimus simply hadn't delivered that news to the rest of them yet?

[Ulysses Septimus]

((And anyone who dares can be faced with the big boom >DDD and if this one need to be changed so you can have more to go off of, feel free to tell me!))
----

"That's him."Ulysses nodded in grime confirmation, "he is still out there: it bothers me, to speak the truth, to know such." Cahin rested his left hand on one of the daggers at his belt: he knew exactly who Ulysses was talking about. Oh how much he hated that man, that bloody, evil tyrant who had robbed his dear daddy of so many things he had treasured, he hated him with all his guts: to kill him would be far too merciful of a gesture even. The Harlequin wanted to see him scream in pain, beg for death but denied of the black oblivion, only to have it brought upon him when he feared it...

"Daddy, it's getting late."Cahin finally spoke again, "you should eat and keep your energy up." Ulysses smiled, nodding then rose from his golden throne, heading to the table to join the rest of the humans. Once the feast is finished, Ulysses waved his hand for three of his Assassini to clean away the plates, standing from his chair at the head of the table. He cleared his throat:

"My friends, brothers, and comrades, I thank you all for participating in this: the Armada will be grateful for the efforts all of you have offered today, as well as I myself personally..." Pausing to collect his thoughts, Ulysses continued, "I thank you all, again, for willing to join in this expedition. It is dangerous, much more so than missions most of you are used to, yet you all stepped up even when knowing so. For this, our brothers of the Assassin Order who perished today in battle shall not be forgotten, may their souls find peace in whatever afterlife there is... Requiescat in pace, our lost brothers." 

"Requiescat in pace."His words were echoed by the members of the Assassin Order. They all silenced once more when Ulysses held up his hand, indicating that he wished to speak, "For the very same reason, all of you currently present, what you've contributed today will be recorded as a great virtue by all three parts, the Order, myself, and the Armada. Just on this, as well as your continued loyalty to both myself and almighty Lord Kane, will ensure a position for each and every single one in the upcoming Golden Age: may we at last have peace then, when the pirates are finally exterminated... But for now, please allow a moment of silence for our fallen comrades."

For about two minutes, the Assassini, Ulysses himself included, bowed their heads in respect. Afterwards, most of the Assassins retreated to their respective quarters, even Cahin (back into Ulysses' cabin), though Septimus himself remained on the deck, leaving it almost ghostly empty except for his presence, the clockworks, and Cristobal himself, who was finishing a blueprint by the light of an anchor lamp.

"How many years has it been, mentor?"Ulysses gazed off into the distance, resting his hands on the railings of the Interceptor as the frigate traversed the skyways of Mooshu, keen on heading home back to Valencia. "How many years have passed since that...?" The old Assassin lifted his goggles, pushing it up to his forehead and revealing blue green eyes underneath.

"Four years, four long years since the Massacre of Monteroggioni."Cristobal sighed, burying his face in his left hand and rubbing his eyes like he was finally feeling tired, which was likely true, in a different way. "Four years since Ezio and everyone left us for the nether worlds." Ulysses drew in a shaking breath.

"That traitor is able to evade our grasp for so long?"His shoulders slowly rested, going from its tensed position to a much more relaxed one, but that obviously didn't match his inner malestrom of emotions. "I...At least justice is done, right?" Ulysses wanted to believe, he wanted to believe that he had at least done some justice, even with his second nemesis still at large. "At least, that traitor will pay for all the blood he helped to spill, right?"

Cristobal nodded in quiet agreement, "Yes... The spirits of our brothers and sisters we lost can find peace at last, now that their killer is brought to justice." After the bloodbath at the Assassin fortress, Septimus had set out by himself to take care of all the Templar officers responsible at the siege, taking them down one by one with his own sword and skills, without the help of not another Assassin or even Cahin the Harlequin (who had survived the slaughter because he was out on a mission that day, truly fortunate).

The Armada admiral allowed a small smile to curve his lips, thought it was one that was forced, still pained. He settled into his throne, leaning back with a loud sigh.

[Hannah Durante]

((bwahah exactly. Nobody messes with us and gets away with it. And nope I don't think I need anything changed! ^^ If you need anything on mine here, lemme know!))
----

Cahin, it seemed, had managed to ease at least some of the situation, whatever it entailed. Because the next time her eyes drifted over to the assassin duo, Ulysses was wearing a faint smile on his face and had risen from his throne; joining them at the long, extravagant table that had been set up only a moment later. Apparently the crisis had been averted for now, as Septimus settled in to the banquet quite normally, as if nothing heavy had been on his mind at all. Though that was certainly preferable to the alternative, for all of them. He needed his strength just as much as the rest of them, hell more with how draining this entire affair must have been to endure. Composed and focused as he could be, Hannah didn't believe for a second he hadn't drudged up painful old memories when they had come face to face with that monster Atticus.

Dinner went by quickly after the Admiral had joined them, filled with snippets of casual conversation here and there. Everybody seemed to be acclimating fairly well now that everything had gone as well as it possibly could against their enemies, and they were steadily making their way back home. She wondered how the rest of the day would play out as they made the long trek to Valencia, and her question was at least partially answered once the plates had been cleared away from the grand table and Septimus rose with purpose; clearing his throat in indication he had something to say. Probably either new orders, if not a speech regarding all that chaos they had just wrought.

It was the latter she found, when Ulysses began a heartfelt speech, expressing his gratitude for each and every one of them that had taken up the call to arms here today. Her expression twisted in regret as he mentioned the men they had lost, not even having realized they had initially until she had seen the clockworks gathering some of their dead bodies on the way back to the ship before they had taken after Atticus. While it had been a good thing very few of them had perished in the assault, the loss of any brothers and sisters in arms always took a toll, and she could feel a small, dark cloud hanging over all of their heads at the unfortunate truth they'd lost any of their soldiers here today at all.

She dipped her head in the same, respectful and solemn gesture everybody else did, as Ulysses indicated he wished for a moment of silence to honor those who had fallen. It was the least she could do, and it wasn't something she would refuse to just because she didn't know much about his assassin society. This was the same sort of honor that was extended to fallen soldiers, so she felt...honestly more connected to the others around her than she had before in this moment, though she wished that could have come about through less grim and saddening means. Once the moment of silence had passed and everybody began heading back to their personal quarters for the evening, Hannah allowed her mind to think about the rest of what Ulysses had mentioned-how their actions would be recorded as a great virtue and honored in themselves.

She couldn't have asked for anything more, feeling far more eager to return to Valencia with all of that in mind. It would be a wonderful mark on her record, proof she was still the same, loyal soldier she had always been, no matter the doubts she held. And at least somebody in a position of power would respect her efforts, for which she was grateful. Ulysses as the next Supreme Commander of their homeland wasn't looking too bad after all, the buccaneer had to say.

Hannah hoped he was right too, that there would finally be peace once they had landed the blows Kane was preparing. That the clockwork would finally be satisfied and no longer hold their empire and her people hostage in some excessive effort to satisfy both his base programming's instructions and his own ego. Only time would tell on that one, though.

The human woman was torn from her own thoughts as she noticed that most of the others had retreated into their cabins by now, prompting her to feel like she should probably do the same. Gathering the weapons she had left sitting on the deck out of the way while they had all been eating, Hannah slowly made her way toward the room she had been granted; stopping only a few feet away from the door, when she came to the realization that she actually wasn't the only one out here. Cristobal and Ulysses were too. It felt somewhat like a bad idea to eavesdrop in on whatever of their conversation she could hear, but she couldn't help herself as she leaned up close to the door to her cabin, straining to listen to anything she could.

Mostly, she wanted to know if everything really was alright or getting there, and if there was anything else coming up it would be good to prepare herself for. What she heard was a fairly emotional exchange between the two men, that she felt bad about snooping in on...but couldn't convince herself to stop listening to until it was over either. Her heart went out to the two the more she listened, and she was happier than ever now that at least some form of justice had been served here. She wanted the same for her father as well, so she certainly could understand where they were coming from.

Hannah lingered for a brief moment even after their talk had finished and Ulysses had returned to his throne, shooting a sympathetic look their way. They probably weren't paying attention enough to see it, but she felt compelled to do it just the same. Before finally deciding it was wise to turn in herself for the night, and entering the cabin, not bothering to lock it as she set her weapons down on the table and sat down on the bed staring up at the ceiling. She wasn't sure she was going to get much rest initially, with everything that was currently going through her mind.

Hopefully though, both Cristobal and Ulysses would.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((I shall remember that XD and crappy post up LOL can't believe I took so long and only so much came out!))
----

Dressed in his elaborate Armada admiral's dress uniform, Ulysses adjusted his hat, his mask in a pocket of his coat, and smooths out a crease in his shirt. He settled into his throne, the Harlequin Cahin close by, with Cahin himself adjusting the collars of his tunic as well as his belt so it fit better over his thin frame. "How long till we reach Valencia, Captain Optimus?" He raised his ruby eyes to his lieutenant, who had left the helm to the hands of the marksman Albinus Crassus. The Marine captain saluted him, replying in a respectful tone.

"In 4 hours if this speed is kept, Lord Ulysses."Septimus nodded, satisfied with his answer. He gave another command for his Assassins to prepare a small nutritious meal for the humans onboard, least he could do for all they had done for him. Once every human was awake, the table was set up once more, with a plate set with a meal consisting of a fish fillet, slices of fruit, some cheese covered cauliflower, and a bowl of clam chowder. Beside each plate was set a cup, filled to the brim with yum. Septimus never left his throne--he had his own meal before in his own quarters--so he chose to focus on conversing with the Harlequin instead. 

"Tu me fuerit ignorando."Cahin pouted behind his mask, "quia ultima tantum fringilla Vestibulum paterculi." This prompted an instant mental facepalm from Ulysses, as well as a

"Et quoniam tu esurientem?"The admiral muttered with a sigh, "puteum ... secundum revertamur ad Valentiam, forte..." Fortunately for them, though, they arrived in Valencia soon, the time flying by faster than Ulysses could guess; as the Interceptor docked into Cadiz, the Assassini disembarked first, boarding a ship bearing the mark of the Assassin Order which was bound for the main city, to the base of the Order, except for the Royal Engineer, Ulysses' clockworks, Septimus himself, and Cahin. 

"I thank you for all the help you've given, mentor."Ulysses dipped his head respectfully, "and I thank you too, Hannah, for helping me crush the head of the serpent." He turned his attention to the clockworks, snapping off an order to have the serpent Atticus Mercilus being dragged from the dungeon, still bound in chains, "now if both of you would excuse me, I have some private matter to tend to." Before he left, however, Ulysses craned his neck to look over his shoulders at her, "the execution is today afternoon, in the city square if you want to watch."

He turned back after finishing his sentence, marching with Cahin by his side, Captain Optimus behind him with three Marines escorting the traitor Assassin. They stopped at the entrance of the throne room, only long enough for the two Royal Guards to fling the doors open and allow them in. Ulysses, the Harlequin having stayed behind at the entrance, got down to one knee and placed his hand over his heart as a sign of respect. "Hail, Lord Kane, ruler of Valencia, Supreme Commander of the Armada, and future ruler of the Spiral."

"Raise, Royal High Admiral."The Armada admiral rose slowly, not daring to look into the void-like eyes of the Supreme Commander, "I see that you've succeeded in your mission."

"Yes my lord."Septimus replied with a nod, "this traitor, as you may see, is now in our hands... What shall we do with him, mighty one?" He, even though knew the answer deep down, still wished to hear of what Kane would like to say as a sign of respect... Sure enough, Kane ordered in his nearly human voice:

"You know what to do, Admiral Septimus, like how we have planned: public execution by the gallows."Ulysses mentally smirked, good this is just the way he wanted...

[Hannah Durante]

((Hey, that's still plenty as far as I'm concerned! And Skype is a heck of a distraction, you saw me being super distracted last night. XD And that's not a crappy post THIIIISS is a crappy post. So i can change anything you'd like!))
-----

"Ugh..."

Though she had slept, it hadn't exactly been as well as she would have liked. Hannah groaned as she sat up in the small bed, lightly massaging the sides of her forehead as she allowed herself to wake up the rest of the way and banish at least some of the thoughts that had been weighing heavily on her mind the night before. While she was happy to be returning to Valencia, there were also some things about home that were difficult to swallow and take with a positive light- her father, for instance. She tried to keep the reward she had been promised regarding him in mind, assuring herself everything would be worth that alone in the end...but left to her own thoughts, she hadn't been able to help but paranoidly wonder if the circumstances she had agreed to would ever come to pass. Or, if she ran the risk of her father being used as emotional blackmail against her, until that side of her will that still resisted some of the things the Armada was doing as morally right was completely worn down and shattered and whatever promises they had made her no longer mattered.

"Enough already, this is hardly the time." She croaked at herself while still half-awake, heaving in exasperation as she willed the paranoid thoughts away for the time being. She didn't want to deal with them right now, they were detrimental to everything...and even if Kane was unpredictable, able to wear masks more than just the one that had been built into him, and she no longer knew whether he was trustworthy or not, surely she could trust Ulysses? He seemed to still believe in the original mission, the betterment of Valencia and her people, of the entire spiral. The Admiral had given her no reason to trust him, only reasons to believe he would see to it the deal was fulfilled. It wasn't fair to hold the changes of the clockworks against him- it wasn't Septimus's fault they had decided becoming overly excessive and closing Valencia off from the rest of the spiral was the way to go.

He wouldn't do something like that, Hannah convinced herself. Not the man she had seen give such a touching, bittersweet speech regarding the help they had all given and the soldiers they had lost. She could trust him, and once the seats of power had changed, everything would get better. and that included her father. Shaking her head to chide herself for being so anxious about such things, Hannah finally decided to head to the main deck where everybody else was, already feeling better when she took notice of yet another wonderful table of food spread out for them. How could she doubt a man willing to be so generous?

Those nagging thoughts at the back of her mind attempted to gain power again as they tried to remind her the Armada was generous as well, but she silenced it. Just because the clockworks had gone overboard on their intended purpose didn't mean Ulysses was the same way, and once this promised golden age had come, surely the Armada would settle down as well and an age of peace and prosperity would emerge not only for Valencia, but the rest of the spiral as well. She had to believe that....They all did. Forcing herself to be content with that thought, Hannah joined the rest of the humans at the table. Maybe food and drink would go a long way here, and just being tired was giving those obnoxious, anxious thoughts too much power.

She was able to feel more comforted after the meal had ended and the hours flew by, distracting herself with whatever she could while burying those previous concerns as deeply within herself as possible; a measure that proved effective once she had regained some energy, as they didn't come back when the ship arrived back home. The arrival was still as bittersweet as ever because of what waited for her when she would choose to visit her parents, but she was also relieved to be back as well. It did feel good to be home, especially on better terms this time around.

The buccaneer leaned against the railing of the ship as she looked out onto the familiar, emerald skyways and a storm off into the distance. She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring every bit of home that she had always enjoyed ever since she was a little girl, the feel of the storm's powerful wind against her skin. The Interceptor docked only a moment later, and the human woman joined everybody else in disembarking onto the docks so that Septimus could bottle his ship if he so desired. Many of the other humans save for the three she knew better immediately headed off to another ship, while the clockworks diverted their attentions- some of them dragging the prisoner off of the ship while the others either stood at attention or returned to whatever post they were designated to when not on a mission.

Hannah found herself thinking about that Decimus again, wondering what had become of him. She had not seen the officer or heard anything about him ever since they had rescued him, and it struck her as an odd, worrisome thing. Maybe he was fine and the reality was nobody wished to dwell on what had happened to him, but maybe he had sustained more damage than they had thought and to keep morale up as well as Septimus from exploding with even more rage, had kept his status under wraps. She truly wondered though, hoping he was alright...Just because she was terrified of and some times doubtful of Kane didn't mean she necessarily had to feel the same way about every clockwork. Especially the models that bore resemblance to the one that had saved her life and never manipulated her nor anyone else.

But she wouldn't ask, if nobody had brought up news there was a reason for that, and she would have to respect it and just hope for the best. She turned her attention to Ulysses anyway, when he made it a point to thank her, feeling somewhat touched that he was even bothering to take a moment to do that much anyway.

See? she told herself, smiling in gratitude at the remark. You have nothing to worry about from this man, he's been nothing but trustworthy, following that little act of deception...and even that had a purpose.

"It was my honor and pleasure to assist you, Admiral." She finally replied, mimicking the gesture he had shown Cristobal. "A man like that is an enemy to Valencia as a whole for one, and for another...well, I owed you. The very least I could do is help you obtain justice on a man who deserves nothing less than what you will be giving him."

She nodded as he indicated when the execution would be, wondering if she should attend or not. While Atticus was one of the people who actually deserved such a fate, she still wasn't sure she would get as much satisfaction out of that sort of thing as Ulysses would. Still, it might have been expected, only right that she attend to help see the conclusion of all of this. It probably would be best to go, the more she thought about it.

"I will be sure to attend, to see justice finally be served for you, and your assassin brethren."

As he turned to leave, the one thing she had told herself over and over to remember shot through her brain- naturally when it was too late to do anything about it. Eyes widening, Hannah actually reached out an arm, as if the Admiral would somehow sense the gesture and stop to see what it was she needed.

"W-wait!" She called out for good measure, but by the time she had it was pointless. Ulysses and Cahin had gone too far to hear her now, especially amidst all the clanking and other noise the clockworks and their ships and devices called, before they disappeared into the fortress where Kane and his elite often stayed.

"Damn it." The buccaneer muttered, wanting to slap herself on the forehead for having been so distracted she had forgotten this important little detail. "....How am I supposed to get home?"

The ship her parents had granted her was still off in Marleybone somewhere, as it had been ever since that fake arrest. It made her uncomfortable to know that, to think of what might have happened to it by now- but there was no way to go and check. She sort of needed a ship for that, not to mention the fact she highly doubted the clockworks would let her past any of the blockades if she wasn't accompanied by somebody like Ulysses.

Part of the problem with her growing fear of Kane's methods as going too far, when she had been just as quick to hail him and all the clockworks as the most perfect heroes Valencia had ever seen for years, was that it made them not trust her quite as much either. She suspected the more sentient of them that knew anything about her fears or could simply read it in her body language would tread carefully- probably thinking the rest of the spiral would be a bad influence, much like the resistance's propaganda was to many Valencians, and therefore not believe she had the 'proper' will to resist what they would insist were seditious rumors and lies spread and created by their enemies. That it was really for her own good, like most of Valencia's population, she forget all about the other sides of the spiral unless given orders to join in a battle in the outside reaches, and allow the Armada to take care of everything for their homeland.

..It sure didn't make retrieving her ship any easier. Hannah sighed at the thought, feeling terrible that she hadn't bottled her father's old ship up before everything had gone wrong and insisted they use Tomas's instead. It had been a gift when he had upgraded to a better Valencian galleon during the war, and now? Now she'd gone and likely lost it for good, which hurt a lot more than she wanted to let on to anybody else. Some loyal daughter she was, and she had promised to take good care of it!

"Way to go, Durante." She snorted at herself, only barely restraining the urge to punch herself in the face. "Way to go."

[Ulysses Septimus]

((Aw thanks XD and haha I do remember, but hey, that is okay, my sister ;D also, that post is not crappy at all! It was just enough for me to go off of. Also, LOL, sorry for having took so long, I couldn't shut up! Oh and lurkers, there will be a lot of implications in here, along with some butchered French and Latin that is the courtesy of Google Translate that you might not want to know what they mean ))
-----

"You need a ride, Hannah?"Cristobal raised an eyebrow in concern, "I can take you to the main city if you want."The Assassin engineer reached into the satchel at his side, pulling out a small bottle that was filled by the miniature body of a very well made Valencian galleon. The ship sprung into shape once he unbottled it, letting it appear into the docks: it was, indeed, a finely made Valencian galleon, with thick, military grade armor plating the hulls. Its sails were black and gold, but bearing no particular marking on them, it was only upon close inspection would they see the cogwheel marking, and the A shaped symbol in the middle of it, embroidered so finely that it would take either very close inspection or the eyes of a clockwork to see it. At least 28 guns armed the ship, 28 powerful looking 15-pounders.

The old Assassin made a sweeping gesture to the ship, "Ladies first?" Only after Hannah stepped on, did he follow, positioning himself behind the wheel. The anchor raised with a low groan, lurching out of the fortress' docking bay, heading toward the city.

That afternoon, Septimus, dressed in the garbs of the Assassin Grand Master--the set of armor known to most as the Armor of Altair--stepped up to the gallows, where the traitor Assassin Atticus Mercilus had been set up to be hanged: two Dragoons stood near the steps leading up to the metal execution frame, their weapons ready to be drawn in case of any trouble. At the top, their uniforms shining as though new, loomed the twins Servus Decimus Optimus and Albinus Crassus Militus, the bayonets on their rifles unfolded and at the ready. But those weren't the only precautions Ulysses took, as three Marines and a Battle Angel stood respectively in both front and back of the gallows, guarding both ways with vigilance.

Even Ulysses himself was followed by the Harlequin Cahin, his daggers in their sheathes on his belt.

Drawing the scroll Deacon had given him beforehand, he scanned the crowd who had came to watch the execution, and unscrolled it. "In the name of the most high lord Kane, Supreme Commander of the Armada and ruler of Valencia,"he begun solemnly, reading with a grim tone, "for the crime of high treason against the Valencian Assassin Order, murder, and assault of an Armada officer, Atticus Mercilus-"Ulysses shot his foe a triumphant look, "is sentenced to death by hanging. May this serve as an example."

He rolled the scroll up again, walking slowly, tauntingly, to the lever the at would open the trapdoor underneath his enemy's feet that would drop him to his death. "Any last words, Atticus?"Ulysses asked calmly, each word dripping with poison and triumph, his gloved fingers wrapping around the lever, not pushing it down however, "or perhaps you have a last wish?" He snorted quietly when he received a rather angry glare from the captured Assassin. He glared back smugly, a little grin curving the corner of his lips.

"Te ipsum, et adoraverunt clockwork improba."Ulysses gave another dismissive snort at the insult, which was rather...colorful, if Septimus had to say so himself, but said nothing to the traitor Assassin. "Je sais votre secret sale, vous adorez lui comme un chien malade d'amour, à genoux à ses pieds et de répondre à chaque appel, offrant même votre propre corps!"The human Armada admiral could feel his own feature darken as the traitor blurted out his darkest secret in the language of the Polarians, and not just that, in the most degrading way possible too. Just what did this vile serpent thought he could accomplish in telling all of this?

"Is that all you would like to say?"Ulysses asked, forcing his voice to stay calm and even as he prepared himself to push the lever. Again, just as he expected, Mercilus spat again at his feet, continuing to blabber: "Vos lèvres se prosternent devant lui comme s'il était un dieu, quand il n'est rien, mais un tas de ferraille et de fils en vertu de ce joli minois! Non seulement cela, vous vous penchez sur ce bouffon et le baiser comme une pute tous les soirs." Now this was a little overboard, well, overboard would be an understatement, a major understatement, this was making Ulysses rather angry.

The Admiral replied coldly, "Your time, is up." Slowly, tauntingly, the Assassin Grand Master pushed the lever to the release position, opening the trapdoor underneath Mercilus' feet. With a snap of cable, dragged by the weigh of the Assassin traitor's body, Mercilus fell through the trapdoor, snapping the cable tight. All this time, Septimus had not allowed his eyes to wonder away from his foe's, just like how he had promised to Mercilus when he was locked in the serpent's lair, that he would look into his eyes when he kill him. He watched as the cable shook for a few seconds, before death stepped in, claiming the life of the serpent. This...was all too satisfying for Ulysses, for at last he had gotten the revenge he so desired.

Pivoting around sharply, Ulysses walked off the gallows, followed by his three 'sons'. Now they would head back to the Havos Estate, and be there until Kane summons him for another mission... What they had not seen was the faces of the men in the crowd, five in total, cringe in fear and regret when they saw the rather unpleasant end of the Assassin traitor; one of them turned their face away from the gallows, hiding in fear from the wrath of the Grand Master. Another one wondered if their choice of following the serpent was correct...

Ulysses pulled his hood back down, letting his silver locks brush his shoulder and his skin. He stretched, wincing as he felt a particularly tense muscle in his back tremble. Stepping through the metal gates that would lead him to the grounds of the Havos Estate, Ulysses nodded politely at his butler: it had been a rather long amount of time since he had returned here, perhaps 6 months. But even then, the titanic estate remained the way he remembered, except... well for the clockwork warriors patrolling the area (the reason why they are here always brought a smile to Ulysses' face: Kane had insisted to install a good few squadron of warriors to protect his favorite little human warrior... Septimus didn't want to boast, but he felt as though Kane had held him a certain degree of importance, otherwise he wouldn't do something like this would he?).

As he approached the two double doors, the Marines who had been standing at attention thrown the doors open. Revealing a lavish living room lined with comfy, expensive leather couches, surrounding an elegant table of gold, silver, and glass. Making his way to one of them, he settled into one of the long couches, letting Decimus and Albinus stand guard at the door. Ulysses gazed up at the ceiling, chuckling, this was relieving, very much so for the Assassin Grand Master. He was about to drift to sleep, until he felt a familiar weight slither onto his armored frame with the grace of a serpent. The admiral didn't bother to open his eyes, instead, he allowed a grin to creep onto his face, "Famelici semper sunt?"

[Hannah Durante]

((You are welcome, and haha thank you for being understanding! WELL I’M GLAD IT WAS, and I totally know what you wrote in here bwhahah. You can’t hide implications and stuff from me. >D AND THAT’S OKAY, I have that problem myself often. I always like seeing it from people other than myself though, so no need to worry. ^^))
-----

Her mind had been swarming with thoughts of what to do, when Cristobal’s voice tore her away from any sense of panic she might have found herself fighting otherwise. It took her a second to register his words, having been fairly distracted, but once they sunk in her body posture relaxed considerably. And not only that, her face brightened a little bit as well. At least, as much as it could, with how she still felt about what she’d let happen to her personal vessel.

“Until my boat can be retrieved from Marleybone…I’m afraid I do.” Hannah admitted sheepishly, not even daring to suggest that she needed to get a new one just yet. The buccaneer had a feeling that unfortunately it would ultimately come down to replacing the old ship, but she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to admit to that just yet; still burning up with shame and remorse on the inside for how careless she had been with it in the first place. So a replacement was really the last thing she wanted to think about, right about now.

“That would be wonderful[i/].” She continued, beaming at the Royal Engineer as much as she felt she could, which was still plenty. “I’m just sorry that you have to keep doing [i]so much for me.”

Honestly, she meant that. While she appreciated each and every thing Cristobal had done or offered to for her, Hannah couldn’t help but also feel a little bit guilty about that as well. The Engineer had other things to do, people to help, so she couldn’t keep monopolizing his time like this when he was likely needed elsewhere. At least not without repaying as many of the favors he’d done for her as she could, so at least then she would feel they were equal when it came to helping each other out.
She was impressed by the galleon that he soon unbottled, taking in the gorgeous piece of fine, Valencian craftsmanship for everything it was worth.

It reminded her a fair amount of the one her father had been upgraded to, when he had been given the honor of becoming Lieutenant to one of the highest unicorn officers during the Polarian Wars. It was more elegant and extravagant than his true, but it was similar enough in its make she couldn’t help but wonder how long the Engineer had had it, if the two men had gained their ships around the same time.

Her smile deepened at his gentlemanly behavior, and she made it a point to show him the sort of respectful bow that most Valencians these days seemed to reserve solely for the clockworks; a sign of her gratitude and respect, as well as that she held him in fairly high regard for everything he had done and told her. Yes, she would most definitely have to repay this man for his kindness, as well as Septimus and at least one of those mesmerizing officers of his…among others she had owed for a long time now and was only just now finally started to repay her debts toward.

“You are a true gentleman, Cristobal. I can see why you and my father were such good friends in your pasts.” She chuckled as she took his gesture happily and boarded the ship first, feeling her anxieties ebb away. Getting to Atticus’s execution wouldn’t be a problem as she could walk to it, so fortunately she only had to impose upon the older man here. There was still the matter of getting back here whenever she was needed again, but Hannah assumed if they would not send somebody to retrieve her, they would at least send a notice of the next mission long enough for her to set up a ride back to these docks. It was something she’d worry about later, when the time came.

“Remind me to make a list of all the favors I owe you and half the Armada now. I certainly don’t want to forget anything that must be repaid.”

No, she most certainly did not. She meant to repay everything she could, any way that would be asked of her. Until those moments arrived however, she would relax as much as she could now, which she did all the way back to the main city; certain to shower Cristobal in several more verbal expressions of her gratitude when they had finally docked, before heading off toward home to rest up until the spectacle would be occurring.

Not long before the execution was due to happen, Hannah had arrived, settling herself near the back of the crowd. Even though she highly believed Atticus deserved this kind of fate along with the humiliation it would bring, she didn’t have any need to witness this up close and personal. Watching and hearing his neck snap wouldn’t do the same thing for her it would Ulysses, so she was content to see justice done from back here. She also took notice of the fact the officer he had kidnapped, Decimus, was present for the ‘festivities’ as well, standing alongside his brother as part of the security to ensure the prisoner did not escape alive as well as that nobody attempted to stage a daring rescue.

So he was fine after all, he practically looked brand new compared to the damage she had briefly witnessed earlier. It was good though, Hannah felt both pleased and relieved by this knowledge, that the rogue assassin had not managed to run the risk of putting the musketeer out of commission for any length of time at all. It was a bit of a smug thought too, and she felt having Decimus standing anywhere near his captor was another heaping dose of revenge- so that Atticus could see his failure up close and personal before he died. So that he could realize the painful truth that, had he not taken the clockwork hostage, he might have actually been able to escape and lay low for a while. She was glad he hadn’t been smart about it though, and knew Septimus certainly was. Justice would be served…at last.

She stiffened slightly as the charges and sentence were read, a force of habit tracing back to ‘the old days’ when she and numerous other soldiers had been the ones standing at attention and guarding the gallows and other forms of public punishment. Though there were Valencians near her which stiffened as well, but she didn’t think too much of it right then- most people found several aspects of public executions fairly hard to watch, no matter how evil the one being terminated might have been.

Atticus was not a quiet victim though, that was for sure. She didn’t know what she had been expecting when she had seen Ulysses taunting him before he cared to pull the lever, but it hadn’t been quite the eruption the Admiral’s nemesis launched in. He was so angry, so spiteful, hissing in and flipping between Latin and the Polarian native tongue, neither of which she could follow as well as she would have liked…though probably for the best, the buccaneer reasoned. From the ugly expression on Atticus’s face and the glimmer of what appeared to be rage in Septimus’s eyes, Hannah could tell it was nothing good, probably highly insulting. Ulysses kept himself composed very well though she had to say- if she had not been paying attention to his eyes, which were so much harder to dull than the rest of one’s self, she would have thought he didn’t care in the least about what the other assassin was hatefully spewing at him.

It didn’t last for much longer though before Ulysses had obviously had enough, and felt he’d let Atticus go on for far too long. With that babbling to serve as his very last words, Septimus finally indicated the time had come; slowly utilizing the lever that would drop the floor out from underneath his victim, before the moment finally came. A couple of gasps came from some of the Valencians in the crowd who had clearly either never been to one of these or still found it hard to adjust to them, but there were cheers as well, and Atticus perished soon after the fact, struggling only momentarily before his life had been extinguished.

At least this much was finally over for Ulysses she told herself, as everybody started dispersing once things were over, heading for home or work. She lingered for a moment, her eyes drifting over to a man who seemed to be taking this entire thing much harder than anybody else. He must have been new to this, she felt sorry for him if that was the case, nearly having the urge to go over and try to assure him everything was okay and the charges were indeed truthful…but before she could determine whether she wanted to do that or not, he was already slipping away back into the crowd; moving swiftly the second Ulysses and his soldiers stepped down from the gallows and began making their way back to their posts as well.

“I’d better head back myself.” Hannah spoke to no one in particular, feeling exhaustion from everything that had happened in such a short span of time catching up with her. She really needed the rest if she was to be useful and prepared for anything else, and just because she really wanted the chance to catch her breath and be somewhere quiet and peaceful for a change. Giving one last look to the body hanging from the gallows, Hannah turned and began heading home, at a relaxed pace. She couldn’t wait to get back to her own humble abode- the second she plopped herself down on her bed and her face hit the pillow, she was going to be out like a light. And that, she was actually looking forward to- perhaps her dreams would be pleasant, rejuvenating even.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((Always glad to be of any help to my dear twin  LOL I know I can't hide, cuz you are my twin after all! >D and thanks!))
----

Two weeks had passed in peace, much to Ulysses' surprise, after the death of Atticus Mercilus (whose body was later taken down and cremated). Thus, the admiral allowed himself to relax a bit, trusting his fellow elites to deal with the pirate threat for at least a while. Looking back, Ulysses thought as he wondered the titanic estate, dressed in his Master Assassin's robes and a set of regular issue plate armor, his swords and Hidden Blades all strapped to their proper positions, he was almost relieved to see that things are finally starting to look up for him. Who couldn't say it isn't? They are getting close to crushing the pirates at Skull Island, as Marleybone had surrendered barely two days ago.

Perhaps it is time for a little celebration.

Chuckling, Ulysses made his way up to his study in the second floor of the mansion--a lavish room with a large desk of fine mahogany and gold plating the edges, a high backed leather chair behind it, lit by a chandelier of pure crystal and large bookshelves of gilded wood--and settled behind his desk. He pulled a drewer open, removing a sheet of parchment paper, a bottle of ink and a quill, then slid the drewer shut. Ulysses placed the paper down on the desk and begun to write, his handwriting elegant and straight, much like how Kane's own looked on official documents yet just human enough to tell the difference.

Once he finished writing it, Ulysses folded up the paper and placed it into an envelope. Letting the envelope sit for now, he took a stick of wax and passed it through the candle on his desk a few times, dripping the wax down onto the flap to form the first stages of a wax seal. He, after putting the wax away and blowing out the candle, waited about two more seconds, then pressed the signet ring he wore on his right hand down, imprinting an ornate letter 'S' into the wax seal. 

"Cahin!"The Harlequin, who had been standing outside the study, stepped in at the sound of his 'father''s voice, "call your brother Decimus, I need him here." As demented as he was, Cahin understood his father's request, and quickly stepped down to the first floor, where the Armada sniper was on guard duty.

"You called me, padre?"Ulysses nodded, beckoning the sniper to come closer before handing him the envelope, "who am I to deliver this to?" The admiral leaned in, muttering a few things in Latin to the sniper and stepped back, asking, "Understand?" Servus Decimus saluted him with a mechanical nod, showing he knows just what he needed to do. "As how you command, padre."Marching down the stairs in the usual near human grace that had been long identified with him and his twin Albinus, Decimus stepped out the door and boarded an Armada skiff...

Landing in the main city of Valencia, the Armada sniper immediately headed to the location Septimus had provided him with (who got it thanks to Spymaster Deacon, having kept a profile of many of the past soldiers). Once he found the door of the house, he raised his hand and knocked, then stepped back, his rifle for once just laying against his shoulder and not in the stiff, offense position they used in battle.

[Hannah Durante]

((bwhaha you cannot hide that stuff from me! >D  And you're welcome!  Also dang that is a sexy looking seal, me gusta Seppy!))
---------

Much to Hannah's surprise, two whole weeks had flown by without event.   Not once had she heard anything out of the ordinary, or any news whatsoever regarding the Armada's movements against the resistance, pirates, or even Marleybone.   There had still been heavy clockwork presence around the majority of the city, but that was just normal and had been for quite some time now; nothing she hadn't grown accustomed to during the Great war and the decade or so from then to now.   Things had been surprisingly peaceful, relaxing even, save for when she had made her trips out to her parent's home deeper in the city to help tend to her ailing father as usual.   But, depressing as that was, even that was more 'normal' than everything she had been doing for the weeks she had spent outside of Valencia.

The buccaneer had wondered how those friends of hers had been doing, feeling guilty that she was here safe at home while they were probably worried sick and truly believed she had been arrested by the Armada.   With the lies she had fed to them that they had eaten up, she knew they probably envisioned her battered and rotting in a cell somewhere, while the ones more hateful of the clockworks likely believed she was dead.    The temptation to try and send some kind of message to them, just to let them know she was alive and pretend she was in jail or had escaped somewhere had been strong...but she didn't even know what she would tell them, and there was no way she was getting that kind of letter out of Valencia- nor would she even try.  

No, it was best they remained ignorant to what was really going on, where her loyalties had always lain.   This way, they didn't get hurt as much...though Hannah held out little hope she could disguise the truth from them forever, or that any of them would listen to reason and be compliant with the Armada when they came knocking on their doorsteps.

Speaking of that...It appeared she had a visitor.   Hannah whirled around, instantly leaving those thoughts and focusing on the here and now when she heard a knock at her door.  At first she thought perhaps it was her mother, maybe one of her friends...but there had only been one knock.   One that had been oddly deliberate and professional.   Most of her visitors tended to knock several times, or in the case of a few Valencians here or there, until she had opened the door just to be mischievous and childish for old time's sake.

"Coming!"  the blonde shouted as she stalked all the way from almost the other end of the house toward the door, hoping whoever her visitor was they would be patient.   Thank goodness she could hear the knocking all the way from the rooms furthest away from the door, and move at least fast enough to get there before any potential guests grew impatient and disinterested and decided to leave.  

"Oh...Hello!"

Hannah was honestly surprised when she opened the door, only to reveal the officer Decimus standing right on her doorstop.  Puzzled to see him here alone, the buccaneer actually looked around for Ulysses, Cristobal, anybody else who might have come with him...only to see none of them.   Interesting...Maybe this was the message she had been waiting for.   She'd known that the peace wouldn't have lasted forever and eventually would be disrupted by another mission, heck she was surprised it had lasted as long as it had.

"To what do I owe this honor, Officer Decimus?"  She finally asked as cordially as she could, making sure to give a light dip of her head in acknowledgement of his rank.    She looked over him quickly as she waited for his answer, noting that he definitely seemed to be in good shape now.    His only answer was to hand her a letter with a large, red seal on it; one she arched a light brow at curiously, when she noted it was not the official seal of the Armada.   She had a hunch of who it might have been from thanks to the letter in the center of the seal, but just to be sure opened and skimmed the note several times over.

So, Ulysses was inviting her to a celebration at his estate?  She almost chuckled at that, bringing up embarrassing memories of the last time she'd been there, what she'd done while feeling a little tipsy.   He was truly being generous here inviting her after that, but then...they'd at least come to some understanding, so this was probably a peace offering of some kind- or a means of showing her that she could trust him and not have to feel guarded and on edge when working with the lot of them.    Hannah had to say, a party sounded very good right about now, the perfect way to take her mind off of her troubles and this time behave the way a Valencian lady was supposed to.    At least more than she had before.

"I would love to attend," The buccaneer admitted as she glanced back up at the musketeer, delicately folding the message he had brought her.   "There is just one little problem...I'm not sure how I would make it to his estate without my ship, and I feel I should not trouble his Engineer with anything more.  Perhaps...is there some sort of ferry I can take that would be allowed to dock at his mansion? Something?"

She really did want to go, hoping the clockwork would know some way she could get there.   It would be highly disappointing if there wasn't, since this was a marvelous chance to correct past mistakes.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((*holds hands up in surrender* XD you caught me, my twin and haha Seppy says thank you LOL))
---

Servus Decimus nodded, "Yes, my personal vessel is here: we can take that if you so wish." He stepped out of the way, and stood there waiting patiently as Hannah tidied up for the little party. Once she came back out, the Armada sniper lead the way up to where his brother Albinus Crassus had docked the Armada skiff: there was no other one onboard, except for the marksman himself, who was standing behind the wheel when Decimus arrived.

"Ready to leave, mio fratello?" The marksman asked in his rich voice that was much more human than the usual monotone of the clockworks; only a select few had heard this since he and Decimus both had learned to conceal things and put up masks when it's needed. Decimus replied with a single nod, since he had always been the quiet one of the twins. He made a sweeping gesture to the gangplank leading up to the skiff, "Ladies first?" Now that he had taken his mask off, Servus Decimus sounded very much like Deacon himself, not in voice though his was just as much dark and smooth as the current Royal Spymaster's, but in the way he spoke.

After Hannah boarded the ship, Decimus gave his twin another nod. The anchor hoisted with a low creak, as the skiff pulled out of the dock of the main city. Sailing out of the fortress Cadiz, the skiff sailed toward a large island that was rather isolated in the skyway, but not far enough from the fortress to make getting there difficult. Even at this distance, it was possible to see the titanic manor built upon the island, it was only upon approaching did everyone see the squadrons of clockworks patrolling the grounds around the manor, ranging from Battle Angels down to Royal Guards.

The twins' skiff pulled into the dock in front of the manor, anchor releasing with a clank of chains and the gangplank dropping with a thud. Albinus stepped from his position behind the wheel to stand beside his brother, stepping off only after Hannah did. Decimus approached one of the two Brutes guarding the metal gate, commanding in Latin that prompted them both to open the wrought iron gate. Passing through the gate and walking up the cobblestone path leading up to the manor, the sniper simply nodded at the two marines who stood at the door to make them open it, revealing a path into the elaborately furnished living room.

Ulysses, still dressed in his Master Assassin's robes, sat on one of the long leather couches, his white hood drawn back to show his thin face and silver locks. He was just conversing with the Assassin Engineer Cristobal Auditore when Decimus and his twin stepped in, with Cahin on the couch next to him and dozing off, even though he was wearing the Harlequin mask so it wasn't really obvious. He stopped when he found them entering, raising from the couch, "Welcome, Hannah, have a seat." Ulysses made a sweeping gesture toward the couches.

[Hannah Durante]

((Bwhaha that's okay, you catch me at stuff too. AND HE IS VERY WELCOME.))
----------

Well now, she certainly hadn't expected that offer. Hannah stood there for a moment, baffled by what she had just heard, as she mulled over whether or not she should accept. It didn't take long for her to make a choice on that one, feeling it would be in her best interest to accept, no matter how guilty she felt about continuing to impose on everybody else. There was still the matter of getting back home once the party was over, but the buccaneer decided she wouldn't address that yet and worry about it later. She needed a chance to enjoy herself in a non-hostile situation, and so promised herself that little detail wouldn't be allowed to bother her until that moment came up.

"Th-thank you!" She quickly sputtered, nodding her head again once in gratitude. "That is most gracious of you, and I can't thank you enough for being willing to help. I...I'll go get ready now, as quickly as I can. You can uh, come in if you want? Or stay out here, whatever you prefer."

It was simply the polite thing to do to invite a guest into one's home, even if she wasn't sure that was something the clockworks beyond the elites would care too much about if they weren't invited. Hannah pushed her door open all the way and left it so just in case he felt like waiting in the main room for her, trusting it would be harmless if he did not and that he would shut the door himself if he did. She wasn't expecting him to take the offer, though, and wouldn't be offended if he didn't. They were just programmed stiffly, and even if Ulysses had made him and his brother, she couldn't imagine he would make them so different in personality and functioning than the other clockworks.

Trying not to take up too much of Decimus's time, Hannah jogged to her room, tearing through her various clothing ensembles in search of what she should be wearing. The note had indicated the affair was going to be a small gathering, which meant wearing Valencian carnival fashions would probably bit a bit too much this time around. But, wearing the most casual things she owned might make the wrong impression as well....She had to find something in the middle, or at least something that particular crowd would be more at ease with.

Finally, her eyes settled on what she had worn during the Polarian wars, a fancy enough uniform that bore some resemblance to what the battle angels wore, save for some of the buttons and icons here and there, and the fact she had a black pair of pants to go with it rather than a beige. Gingerly, Hannah pulled the ensemble out, looking over it carefully. It was just as pristine as the day she had gotten it when she had signed up to fight for Valencia and the spiral as a whole, something she took great care of for the positive memories that were attached to it...no longer the negative ones that were as well. It was perfect for a gathering of clockworks and a man high up in their ranks, if any crowd could appreciate this they could. She just wondered if any of them would recognize where exactly this outfit was from.

She changed into it, forsaking the traditional boots that had come with it for a fancier pair her mother had granted her for her birthday, black with gold trim all over them, one of the the most elegant things she owned. The tarleton, which she still had as well, was also forsaken as she decided to put her hair in a traditional updo often seen at Valencian parties, another thing she had to thank her mother for helping her figure out. A light bit of makeup was applied and the necklace her father had granted her displayed proudly out in the open. Once done applying the makeup she hurried back to the front of her home, smiling in amusement as she saw Decimus still standing outside.

Clockworks.....Sometimes they were a bit too professional for their own good, she thought in amusement to herself. But, she would hardly poke fun at him for that one. Whatever made him more comfortable she was fine with, and if that meant standing outside then she would easily deal with that.

"Thank you again for your hospitality." Hannah began as she shut and locked the door to her home. "You, your brother, your father, and his mentor have been far too kind to me."

She followed him to the ship, feeling flattered at the clockwork's gentlemanly demeanor, then finding herself surprised when it was only him and Albinus- not another clockwork or even human in sight. This wasn't something she was used to seeing and so Hannah blinked in confusion at first, as she tried to wrap her mind around this. It was very strange...but then maybe they were extended special honors much like their father. That was the logic she settled on as they raised anchor and headed off toward the Havos estate, riding on in silence most of the time as those two were professional to a fault and the buccaneer wasn't sure how to break up the silence. It might have been rude to, so she was content to admiring their surroundings for the duration of the trip. Valencia really was one of the most beautiful places in the entire spiral if not the most majestic, in her opinion.

The decadent homes of the elite were further proof of that, and Ulysses's was no exception. His magnificent mansion was easily spotted the closer they got to his island, and Hannah was just as impressed seeing it again as she had been the second time, especially since once they were right on top of the private island she could see it was positively swarming with clockworks. Either Kane was here as well, a thought that made her swallow hard an remind herself to be on her very best behavior, or Septimus was just that precious to the Armada they wished to keep him safe in case any foolish followers of Atticus still out there attempted to gain vengeance for the execution earlier today.

She would find out soon enough though, as the skiff docked and dropped anchor, as they finally arrived at their destination. Hannah hesitated at first, assuming the clockwork twins would be the ones to disembark first. It took a minute or so of them standing there side by side at attention for her to realize that she was supposed to get off first, an honor not often extended to a lower soldier like herself. Sputtering out a soft, embarrassed apology for how she'd been holding them up, Hannah turned and walked down the gangplank to the docks, waiting for the twins to disembark as she was positive they would at least wish to be the first ones to approach their creator's gates. Such manners from these two though, she was grateful to Septimus for creating them in such a way.

She acknowledged them both as Valencian law dictated while they passed, silently standing on the docks until the gates had been opening, following them only to repeat this process when they arrived at the main entrance of the mansion. Steeling herself, Hannah took a deep breath as the marines guarding the door opened it, then stepped inside. She didn't have too much to worry about though, considering the fact this time she'd been invited to come inside.

Her eyes explored the main room as she wandered in, taking in every, rich detail that surrounded her. The interior of his home was just as impressive as the outside, particularly now that the lights were on and she could actually see everything the mansion had to offer. Her wandering eye only lasted for a short while though, before she directed her attention to her host; directing a polite and respectful bow of her head at both Septimus and Cristobal, her nerves easing when she saw they were the only ones in the room.

"Thank you for inviting me, Admiral. It is a high honor for somebody of my...far lower position to even be considered a guest at an affair like this. You are truly a generous man, indeed."

She meant it this time, every bit of it. He really was, all things considered. When he gestured toward one of the couches she looked between them for a moment, finally settling on sitting at the edge of one further away from everybody else. It was only right that she let those with higher status, more respect, sit together. That was the way things had worked in their homeland for so long, it was just ingrained into her.

"And this is quite an occasion to party I must say. I was glad to see you, all of you, obtain some closure this afternoon."

[Ulysses Septimus]

((LOL haha well true, but hey, still, remember we have THAT OTHER PLACE? >D shameless crack stuff allowed over there... LOL IF THAT EVEN MADE SENSE and shortbus again with like nothing happening LOL a moment of peace before the storm!))
---

"Wisely spoken and you do not have to thank me,"Ulysses remarked, casting a sideways glance to Cahin, who was still sleeping soundly in his corner of the living room, "though it would have been much better if the pirate threat is gone... But let's steer clear of this subject for now, shall we?" He glanced at his mentor, who chuckled, bringing to attention the bottle he had set on the table by his side of the couch; inside was a Valencian galleon, one of the standard issue for most of the Assassin Masters in the Order. Cristobal slid the bottle across the table to her.

"This is for you,"the old Assassin explained, "I heard that you lost your ship in Marleybone: so here you go." He smiled, "Oh and for your information, this ship is marked, which means it basically could go through any places occupied by Assassins unscathed; it will even call them to your aide if you get stuck in a particularly hard naval battle, if any is nearby. Further more, it will be able to leave Valencia, provided the right documents are obtained from His Imperial Majesty, which I sadly don't have right now." The ship was built to be a heavy hitter, as well as being able to take a good few hits judging from the heavy military grade plating on the hulls.

Ulysses, while his mentor spoke, snapped his fingers to call over the crab warrior Paguras Menaeus his butler, who carried on one claw a large plate bearing three glasses and a bottle of Chalay, one of the most expensive and best kinds of chilled yum, as well as a plate of various pastry that looked like they cost more than a couple thousand pieces of gold. The large crab placed one glass before each of the humans, pouring the yum into them and setting the plate on the table, then backed off with a respectful bow to his master.

Both Assassins reached out, picking up the glasses and sipping on the yum, with Ulysses speaking first, "Try some, just imported them in from Marleybone thanks to an old friend Haythem."

[Hannah Durante]

((WE DO, I know exactly what you're talking about. ;D I loooove itttt. IT MADE PERFECT SENSE AND OH COME NOW THAT'S NOT SHORT AT ALL. ohoh the storm . >]))
----------

"Admiral, I like the way you think- you're absolutely right."

There was no way she was going to argue with that sentiment, for how many heavy feelings pirates tended to weigh her down with. Besides this was a celebration, not a time to mull over topics that would just work all of them up and leave them angry about the injustices that still went unpunished. Her attention was sufficiently diverted anyway, when Cristobal drew her attention to a ship bottle that contained what looked to be a magnificent vessel on the inside. At first she wasn't sure what they wanted to draw her attention to it for, short of just sharing it with anybody....before the Engineer explained why he had brought it out in the first place.

It was a very good thing they had not been served refreshments yet, because if they had, the buccaneer might have choked on any food or drink when she heard what the older man had to say. Her astonishment was clear as day though, from the expression on her face to the way she looked from the bottle to Cristobal several times almost as if asking him if this was some kind of joke before accepting it as truth. This was...supremely generous. To the point it actually made her a little uncomfortable, because Hannah wasn't sure how she would ever be able to repay them now. There was also the fact of the matter it was a replacement, a sign she was never going to get the old galleon back. All those memories, cherished personal items she still had on the ship...This only made her feel like they truly were gone forever.

But, she didn't want to see ungrateful and understood Cristobal was not aware of all of that; that he didn't realize that she was the sort of person who would have preferred getting her old ship back to a new one. It wasn't his fault, that was the way the elite tended to live, and to many people who could afford multiple vessels, a ship was just a ship, with no emotional attachment whatsoever. He was trying to do something nice for her, something incredibly thoughtful, so no matter any of her discomfort Hannah didn't feel it was right to make Cristobal feel like he had done anything wrong either. After all the trouble he'd probably gone to, the least she could do is accept the gift with all the gratitude she could muster.

"Are you...serious?" She questioned breathlessly, still in awe as she reached out and gently took the bottle, examining the ship from all angles. Even though the details escaped her and would until she had seen the thing in all its glory, she could tell it was a very well-made ship indeed. It would serve her well, and she truly was grateful for him for thinking of her like this.

"All of that, it is...so very generous. But I still have not repaid any of my debts to you, please, if there's anything, name it!"

The rest of what he was saying was almost too good to be true, but she knew that it was. She truly wanted to find a way to repay these men however, so that at the very least she could take a step in the right direction as to making them more balanced, to help make herself more comfortable with some of these gestures. Though, there was one more thing she had to ask, even before she could...

"That is fine, you have done more than enough for me, you've been...a saint, honestly. If you tell me what I must do to obtain the papers, I would happily go through the ropes myself."

Hopefully the process would not be completely nerve-wracking, something she could do, and would work out well enough. Cristobal would be able to answer that much for her though, and she knew that he would. As she waited for his answer, Ulysses summoned his butler, a crab who carried the most exquisite looking drink and food Hannah had seen in a long time. The Admiral spared no expenses when it came to treating his guests, that was for sure.

She thanked the butler as he made his way to her after serving the others first, laying a glass full of what she imagined was fairly expensive yum before her, then left the room. A flicker of guilt ran through her as Ulysses mentioned where he had gotten it from, and her mind briefly drifted back to Tomas and Bailey...before she remembered herself, where she was, and took the glass; raising it to her lips and taking a sip.

It was strong yum, enough to make her cringe a little at its aftertaste, but she couldn't say she didn't like it- the initial flavor had been quite something indeed. She took another sip, savoring it more this time, before smiling somewhat.

"You have excellent tastes, Admiral. All of you, really. Might I propose a toast? To Valencia, and the Armada."

It would be a mistake to not include the Armada in there, and she hoped by proposing such a toast she would not seem so stiff among all of them.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((LOL and that was a short peace if I have to say so myself, since the battle starts like now >D))
---

"From what I know,"the engineer tapped on his chin, "His Majesty will only grant the papers to a certain few other than the elites, primarily Royal High Admiral here and a few Assassin Masters of the Order... Though I believe Lord Ulysses can pull enough strings to get you them."....

"For Valencia and the glory of the Armada."Ulysses and his mentor echoed, raising their glass before sipping from them again. They sat there in silence for a moment, until Cristobal spoke up again, breaking the silence, "I know that many people in the Spiral like to think of us Assassins as merely bloodthirsty killers who loomed in the background, stabbing those who opposed us in the throat then disappearing like ghosts in the night, keeping no emotions... All of those are rather offending stereotypes, really, I say."

The Armada admiral chuckled at his mentor's remark, adding, "I can tell quite a few amusing stories of some of the other recruits I've seen: like that one time when Aspus Crosias got locked out of the barracks by Archus." He still remembered that night, oh it was amusing, truly, even for the usually stern faced Ulysses: it happened back when he was only a Assassin Knight, after one of the solo missions he had done.

"That night, apparently Archus thought it was rather funny to lock the barracks before Aspus returned." He recalled fondly, "I saw it all happening too, remembered each curse he spewed as he banged on the door, wanting to get in and to the comfort of his bed. Haha, I didn't know he was so colorful in cursing before that: not only did he call Archus a few names, Aspus made a good amount of threats that I would rather not repeat--he didn't carry it out of course-"

Just as he was about to continue, the battered figure of Octavian stumbled through the door, causing Septimus to instinctively jump up, "What happened, Captain Caesarus?!" He was alert, very much so, really, because Octavian was a Royal Guard, one of the most advanced kind of clockworks ever created (he himself being the one who drawn up the blueprint) as well as one of the most powerful kinds too. Basically, it would take either a very strong opponent, or a large scale war to batter him to this point: clockwork blood seeped from a large gash torn through his chestplate, while half of his mask was smashed in, leaving his left 'eye socket' completely destroyed and useless. His left arm, where he usually bore his shield, was a mangled mess, almost unable to tell it was a limb.

"Cadiz..."He wheezed, his entire torso heaving in pain and effort he put into just to speak, "under...attack...pirates." The Royal Guard wasn't able to say any more, judging from the way his body was shaking. Ulysses didn't need anything more, however: he simply snapped his fingers, summoning two of his Dragoons, "Escort the captian to Seraffo: make sure he lives." He snapped around to face Hannah and Cristobal, "You two might want to arm yourselves, post haste! If those pirates are brazen enough to launch such an attack, they have to be prepared!" His eyes, despite the commanding tone in his voice, was...pleading when he looked at Hannah, asking without words if she would be helping.

The Assassin engineer nodded, gesturing for her to follow him back up to where the Armory of the mansion was and pointed out a halberd and shield set held by one of the many suits of Brute Assassin armor in the room, he himself grabbing a large sparquebus from the wall and a long sword that was still attached to a sword belt, slipping it on himself. Once they've armed themselves, Cristobal hurried downstairs to meet Ulysses once he made sure Hannah was following; making their way down to the docks, Septimus virtually ran up the gangplank of his ship, hood drawn over his head and having replaced his armor with the Seusenhofer gear. 

Once everyone was onboard, the Interceptor immediately left the docks, her sails completely unfurled to ensure maximum speed (her crew and the ones guarding his mansion are two entirely separate groups). They didn't need to get close to see that everything was down to absolute hell: pirate ships surrounded the fortress, numbering up to at least 70 or 80 ships in total, from what Ulysses could see. "Mentor!"Septimus turned around, facing the older Assassin, "have you sent the orders for backups from the Order?"

Cristobal simply nodded, "They should be arriving soon." The reply prompted a nearly relieved sigh from the Assassin Grand Master, allowing him to focus on Hannah next. "Sorry to have drawn you into this mess again."He apologized sincerely, "damn pirates..."

Once they approached the fortress, the pirate vessels obviously marked it as a greater threat, since about three of them immediately turned their attention to them. "Merde."Ulysses growled through clenched teeth, and snapped off another command, "prepare the cannons!" All around him, his clockworks got to work, readying the guns and firing them once the enemy was within range. The entire ship jolted with the force of 27 of its 54 guns going off together, filling the air with the sound of flying cannon balls. Septimus didn't just stand there, however, and ran toward one of the smaller, swivel guns which was much like a slightly larger, more powerful version of the hand cannons used by the Dragoons, using it to pick off crews from the other ship.

This way, the Interceptor was successful in decimating one of the three ships, but there were still two left! Cursing the pirates in all the languages he know, Ulysses knew it would only be a matter of time, if both of them decided to focus fire on his ship, before they were blasted out of the skyways... At least, that was what he thought until he saw the other ship, his flagship, the Malevolence, to be more exact. His heart soared at the sight of the titanic Armada galleon flying toward their battle, still looking fresh despite the number of skirmishes Ulysses was sure it must have gone through.

Working together, with the Malevolence covering the Interceptor, the two Armada ships were more than successful in blasting the two pirate vessels out of the air. They forced their way through the hail of cannon balls, until they came into the docking bay, where most of the battle was currently going on: everywhere, pirates clashed with clockworks, but thankfully with the clockworks winning in most of the battles they could see...

[Hannah Durante]

((CURSE YOU PIRATES, RUINING PARTIES. >[ You will all now be totally beat up!))
--------------

Her spirits began to sink somewhat at Cristobal's response considering the papers she would need to move through any of Valencia's blockade. So, she couldn't obtain them on their own after all, a fairly disheartening thought indeed. In hindsight, Hannah wasn't sure why she was so surprised to hear that, given all of her experience and those paranoid thoughts. There was a part of her that had feared that answer, but she'd tried to hold out hope. It took every ounce of self restraint she had to force herself into not making her displeasure with that reality unknown. It wasn't fair at all in her mind, and she paranoidly felt this was yet another of the Armada's manipulative measure to ensure they had complete control over Valencia and her people.

But, this was hardly the sort of audience for those sort of thoughts. She would just have to deal with it, and hope the Admiral felt generous enough at some point in time to secure the papers she needed. He seemed far less inclined to make people run themselves as ragged as the Supreme Commander did, so at the very least there was somebody trustworthy on that roster. As much as she didn't like the thought of having to go through so many other people, as if her old rights no longer mattered, it was the only way now...so it was the route she would unfortunately have to take.

The toast proved to be a good idea to distract them all from that topic, especially as it compelled the two skilled assassins to begin sharing more light-hearted stories from their past. That bitter side of her flared momentarily, but she choked it back immediately; helped along by another, long swig of the chilled yum. It wasn't their fault men like themselves seemed to be encourage to share tales, while living veterans of the great war were more often shushed, told to stop living in the past, and pushed aside no matter what they had done for the spiral alongside the clockworks years ago. It bothered her more than she wanted to admit at times what other living citizens of Valencia seemed to think, that people like her, her brothers and sisters in arms, her father, were treated as unimportant, as if they had simply stood back the entire time watching Kane and his legions handle everything. It was both insulting and depressing, and something she still had not gotten over- she had nearly brought this up when Cristobal had mentioned the stereotypes about assassins that had offended him.

But, she had chosen to hold herself back. She did not want anybody to think she blamed the Supreme Commander for that, as that was a topic she did not hold him responsible for. It was other living Valencians at fault for those bitter feelings, not the clockworks. It seemed too heavy of a sentiment to bring up to the men before her however, after everything they had recently gone through and the fact the conversation turned light; she might have killed the mood of the entire room had she made that bitter comment, so it was truly for the best she bit her tongue. It wasn't like this wasn't something she was slowly becoming used to, no matter how much it made her blood boil to think she and the other veterans had to get used to such a disrespectful thing in the first place. The assassins could understand she was sure from the stereotypes she knew to be associated with them as well, but she didn't want to kill the jovial atmosphere the party was starting to gain. It helped her as much as it did them.

The stories were almost comforting in some way too, bittersweet reminders of the hijinks she and many other younger soldiers had gotten into on whatever breaks they could obtain, as well as proof she, Ulysses, Cristobal, they weren't so different after all- they had a lot of similarities in experiences and feelings on certain things in fact. It helped a lot to only further confirm that, and make her feel more comfortable in both of the men's presence even if there were things she still disliked about her situation and had a hard time letting go of. She smiled as she listened to his story and finished off the rest of her glass of yum, associating the men he was talking about with soldiers she had known who did similar things. Honestly curious to see where this story would go, the buccaneer was equally as startled when a battered-looking clockwork officer stumbled into the mansion, actually standing up as well as she saw him after she put the glass onto the table; a force of habit from her training as a soldier, that made her ready for almost anything.

Hannah grimaced at the damage she could see the clockwork had taken, feeling her stomach clench with anxiety. Though she did not have the same intimate knowledge as Ulysses, her thought process rang along the same as his, that something truly terrible must have happened to push an officer of this make to this point. She just gawked at him as Septimus asked the obvious question, likewise waiting with bated breath for the answer. It wasn't going to be anything good she could tell that much, but she couldn't immediately figure out what was going on regardless.

Her eyes widened in that much more shock when the officer finally answered, with a scenario that most certainly wasn't good for the Armada at all. She was stunned to silence momentarily as she absorbed what Octavian was saying, the sheer gall and stupidity of pirates who actually thought attacking Cadiz was a smart plan, as well as the utter surprise she felt that they had actually gotten through and made any dent whatsoever. Clearly, these pirates were skilled and had been planning something like this for quite some time. There was no way untrained, sloppy, disorganized pirates would have ever gotten through any of the blockades much less to Cadiz. She had a fair amount to say on this subject, but just as she had opened her mouth to speak Ulysses whirled around, insisting they arm themselves as soon as possible. She sure couldn't argue with him there....especially not the way he looked at her- unlike the commanding tone he issued, more pleading.

"O-of course, Admiral." She returned with a deep nod, not needing to be asked twice for that sort of thing. So much for a party....stupid pirates. "We can't let them get away with such a bold crime."

The buccaneer quickly turned to Cristobal as he knew better where to obtain the weapons from, following closely behind as the royal engineer led her to the mansion's armory. He even pointed out the absolute best he could- a halberd and shield set a rather intimidating set of armor was holding onto. Perfect. Hannah plucked the weapons immediately, strapping the shield to her back for now as she held onto the shaft of the large weapon tightly in her right hand. Hannah followed him out of the house and onto the docks, sure to move as quickly as possible. Now she actually regretted not bringing the tarleton, as it would have come in handy for all of this. Oh well, she'd fought without a helmet plenty of times- she could manage it just fine again this time.

She braced herself as the ship tore away from the island, moving at full speed toward Cadiz. It would be bad she knew, and she had to expect a grim sight...which was proven the closer they got. Enemy ships were everywhere, enough to almost make her mouth drop open at what she was seeing. It was like the Polarian war all over again, she had not seen so many ships together in one skyway since that great conflict. Only this time, they were mostly enemies...almost as if all of Skull island had come calling for clockwork blood. She was relieved to hear that Septimus was calling for backup from his order, along with the fact the clockworks were so numerous, but still. The pirates were mad!

Her gaze flicked to Cristobal as he spoke, apologizing for how she had been drug into this mess. She gave a faint smile at that, shrugging her shoulders.

"Don't be. I am a soldier who swore to defend my homeland until my last breath...This is what I was trained for, to help against. I wish their kind would do the entire spiral a favor and just go elsewhere, but...it is nice to have a sense of duty, purpose. To not be ignored and treated like some dusty, useless old relic of a past long gone."

As much as the idea of a normal, civilian life appealed to her, Hannah did not necessarily want it at the cost of her past- the sacrifices she, her father, and others had made. Respect and some level of recognition was really all she wanted, maybe it was selfish but she craved it. If the only way was to keep serving as a soldier, than so be it- it was her sworn duty to return to arms any time there was a great conflict and Valencia was in need of warriors anyway. At least until she grew too old and weak to be dependable anymore.

Her focus shifted once more to the pirates as their ship drew closer, immediately eliciting the attention of several of their enemies. The tiny hairs on the back of Hannah's neck stood on edge as they inched closer and she braced herself for whatever was to come. Truth be told, naval battles were one of her least favorite types of warfare there were. She preferred to fight on the ground, where she had more control over her own fate and could trust the terrain she was fight on not to fall apart underneath her. These kinds of battles just made her nervous, when they were surrounded by enemy ships on practically every side.

Even the destruction of one enemy ship did not soothe her nerves here. There were still many, too many for one ship, however impressive, to take on by its lonesome. If the pirates decided to gang up on them from every side, which she would not put past them, it would all be over for them. No manner of skill and determination would save them from being obliterated out of the skyway. Ulysses seemed to understand that too, if the way he was swearing was any indication. She certainly didn't blame him there, as she could feel cold beads of sweat rolling down her face the more this battle drug on. Oooh, why couldn't those stupid pirates have chosen a land battle?!

Fortunately, just in the nick of time it seemed, another large ship pulled in to their aid. She felt relieved when she noted the flags it was flying, marking it as an ally. They would need more, but this was a start! Hannah let out a light sight of relief as she saw it, hoping with more reinforcements they could obliterate the pirates instead or force them into a boarded or land battle where they could sweep in and completely decimate them. As if the fates had heard her silent prayers, the ships soon forced their way through the nosy skies to the docking area, and Hannah couldn't have felt more relieved to realize they were joining the portion of the land battle.

Good.

Hannah was fidgeting in place, anxious to get off the ship and start smashing her way through a wave of pirates, but she would wait for the command to disembark first. No sense in being insubordinate, even accidentally.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((Not to mention Adrian being completely stupid. >) ))
---

"To battle!"Ulysses shouted, "for Valencia and for the glory of the Armada!" His crew echoed his call, charging off the ship to join in the fray. Septimus drew his sword, the blade of the intimidating weapon shining eerily in the light, before he himself joined the fray, followed by his mentor who had drawn his sword. Ulysses drove his rapier through the chest of the first pirate who thought charging at him was a smart idea, then ripped it out as soon as his opponent had stopped twitching. His heart was racing at least 300 miles per second in his chest, going worse the more he realized what was going on: their enemy was everywhere, despite the sheer number of the Armada clockworks. They would need the other Assassins here if they were to think of winning his battle.

This wasn't the least of his worries, however, he was thinking of the Supreme Commander. For many good reasons too: if the pirates were so brazen as to do something like this, then that can only mean that his nemesis Adrian Devereaux and his First Mate Edward Teach is here, and knowing Adrian's fighting style, Ulysses knew the Pirate Lord would not hesitate to use the numbers to their advantage if it meant they would have a chance at defeating the first of the clockworks. True, Kane was faster, stronger, and smarter than any living being, but from Ulysses' own experience, even the strongest can be overwhelmed by numbers, thanks to him witnessing Siafu ants devouring a whole panther when he was in the world of Zafaria.

Dodging the swing of an enemy buccaneer's axe, Septimus retaliated with full force via his Hidden Blade, driving the long stiletto-like blade up the flesh between the throat and jaw, the length of the blade itself helping by puncturing his foe's brain. The Armada admiral immediately ripped his blade back out when he was sure the pirate was dead, then continued to force his way toward the throne room, only failing to notice Cristobal pointing at him with a silent question of if she would be able to watch the Admiral's back, since the Engineer shared Ulysses view on how the pirates would not hesitate to use their numbers to their advantage; skilled as he was as an Assassin, if the numbers got large enough, Ulysses can still be defeated. He was just a human man in nature still, after all.

The Assassin Grand Master sheathed his sword, and flexed his right hand's wrist as well. His other Hidden Blade immediately jumped out of its sheath. With the dual blades, Ulysses drove them into the nearest pair of throats he could reach, leaving his enemies clenching the fatally bleeding wounds in their necks as he stepped over their bodies to get into the throne room. 

Once he got close, he felt a pang of anger clench his heart. Both of the Royal Guards who were supposed to be guarding the doors to the throne room was dead, killed by the stab wounds in their chests. This only confirmed Ulysses' worst fear, that Adrian was here, and the Supreme Commander was facing him alone. He ran past the bodies, charging into the large throne room. It was just as bad as the Admiral thought: the Supreme Commander was standing in the middle of the room, facing three pirates alone. Where hell is Rooke and his giant halberd when you need him!? Growling profanities in Latin, Ulysses charged forward, locking on Adrian, the brunette and hazel eyed swashbuckler dressed in blood red, his signature color. "Adrian you dirty maggot! Come and face me, coward!"

Adrian, however, was unfazed, despite his notorious hot blooded personality. Now that made Ulysses even angrier, but before he could make a move, his sword was blocked by the large, Aquilan styled shield carried by Edward Teach. "Your opponent, is me today, Ulysses."The grey eyed privateer stated calmly, poising his hoplite's sword in preparation to meet the Assassin Grand Master's strike. Had Teach been any other occupation than a pirate, Septimus might have respected him for being so calm in face of him, whose bloodthirsty reputation as an Armada officer long preceded him. "Very well."Ulysses hissed, "but you will see nothing, other than the face of Thanatos himself!" He jerked his sword free, and stabbed at Teach's side: it was well know that Aquilan armor is weak around the rib cage area, hence the reason why most who wore such armor chose either a sword and shield combo, or sword and dagger. Full defense, or full on offense.

The privateer brought his shield up to meet Septimus strike, failing to notice Ulysses' Hidden Blade coming in from the other. He managed to block the rapier, only to receive the full power and sharpness of the Hidden Blade in his right trapezius muscle. Teach's knees slackened, causing him to fall to a kneeling position before the Armada admiral. "Die, pirate scum."Ulysses raised his sword in preparation to bring down the killing strike... Only to stop in midair when he realized Adrian was aiming a crossbow at Kane's back as the clockwork emperor was focusing on dealing with the buccaneer. "No!" He temporarily forgot about Teach: charging forward, the admiral threw himself between the pirate and the clockwork just as Adrian fired the weapon.

It all happened so fast, Ulysses didn't even feel the bolt burying itself 6 inches into his flesh, having found a weak point in both his armor and rib cage...

Kane, however, saw all of that happen, just as he finished off the buccaneer with a well aimed strike to his throat with his own rapier. The clockwork looked from the prone but still breathing body of his lieutenant at the pirate, "Ulysses!" Oh he was angry now, to the point where he just want to rip the pirate apart with his own bare hands, something he was more than capable of...

[Hannah Durante]

((Oh Adrian, you're the jerk everybody loves to hate!))
------------

Her blood began boiling with the thrill and anxiety of battle the second Ulysses shouted his command, relieved to get off the boat to the ground where she could actually do something enough to help make even the slightest difference in the tide of the fight. Caught up in the moment herself, reliving all those battles she had fought a decade ago, Hannah was one of the soldiers who joined in the call; proudly crying out for Valencia's honor, and the Armada's as well. The latter was more of a force of habit, but she didn't feel bitter at all about it right now- in these conditions, it felt right.

The buccaneer charged down the gangplank and to the mess that waited for them with the rest of the crew, not bothering to wait for Septimus since he had both given a command and nobody else seemed worried about allowing him to draw the first blood between the lot of them. She kept her halberd close, careful to ensure she would not accidentally wound one of her fellow Valencians in their mad dash off the ship and toward the pirates who dared invade their homeland. Finally though the crowd parted enough for her to feel comfortable swinging the massive weapon around, when most of the others went off to terminate their fist victims, nobody wasting any time on an honorable or fair fight; instead mowing down and exterminating pirates left and right however they could wherever the opportunity presented itself..

They were going to need that kind of mentality honestly, with the swarm of criminals that she could see all around them. Fair fighting would be a mistake here honestly, and only potentially cost them time and soldiers. Hannah could feel her heart drop somewhat at the sheer number of pirates there were, knowing all-too-well from personal experience how numbers could greatly stack the odds in one's favor. They were going to need backup here too, and she could only hope that Septimus's assassin brethren and allies could get here before it was too late.

Swallowing hard at the very thought, Hannah shook her head and pushed herself forward, over the bodies of pirate and clockworks alike, looking for the perfect opening. She found it only a moment later, when she caught a buccaneer cornering an fairly damaged-looking clockwork musketeer, moving in for the kill. Narrowing her eyes, Hannah quickly channeled the best strength-increasing buccaneer spell that she could, rushing toward the man as fast as she could. She thought about alerting him to her presence, if only to spare the musketeer the brunt of his attention, but she wanted to do this fast so that she could save the clockwork, then jump right back into helping the others. So, she came up behind him without a word, jabbing the brute halberd into the back of his chest as hard as she could; feeling it crash through flesh, muscle tissue, and bone, before it finally came out the other side.

The man gurgled in pain, choking on his own blood as she violently ripped the halberd out of him, before his body went limp and fell, landing next to the musketeer he had brutalized. Hannah winced a little, quick to apologize to the battered officer for how close that had been. In hindsight, perhaps she should have gotten his attention and drawn him away from the musketeer so that he hadn't almost fallen directly on top of him. At least he was okay, or she hoped he was going to be. Just to make sure Hannah lingered around him for a while, until two dragoons came by to pick up the slack, and she trusted they would be able to defend him just fine as well as continue sniping and fending off pirates from this position.

Content to let them handle that, Hannah slipped back into the fray, just in time to bear witness to the brutal way Ulysses dispatched another enemy buccaneer, before he forced his way toward the hallway she knew to lead to the throne room. Her eyes drifted to Cristobal next, drawn by the silent gesture he was making, that she had a feeling was directed toward her. She studied it for a second, trying to figure out what it was he wanted, before it dawned on her- he wanted her to help watch Ulysses's back against this almost overwhelming horde of pirates. Hannah nodded in response, curious as to why the engineer wasn't following, though perhaps it had something to do with helping all the clockworks out here.

She wouldn't question Cristobal's logic or his request, and right after she had acknowledged that she could and would, Hannah trailed after the Admiral; following the trail of bodies he was leaving. She felt less useful as there were few pirates in the halls to dispatch following Ulysses's wrath, at least those who were in any position to put up a fight, but this was more important- there was no telling what was waiting in the throne room, or when the pirates would send more this way. If things were as bad as they seemed, she would get the chance to help out...a lot of it, because Septimus would require the backup.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she finally made it down the end of the hallway, for once not thinking too anxiously about whose throne room that was. She felt horrified as she saw the royal guards, or what was left of them, laying dead on the floor. Just what kind of pirates were these that they were dealing with? It had to be the elite among them, to have gotten this far and done this much damage. ...Like the pirates who had harmed her father. Hannah felt like bile was rising into her throat at the very thought, but was suddenly distracted when she heard a voice. But it wasn't Ulysses as the voice was shouting his name. It hit her a second later that the voice was Kane's, angered, to a level she had rarely heard from the clockworks. Which must have meant.

Oh no.

Hannah's eyes widened in horror as she felt like she had failed Cristobal, failed to watch the Admiral's back as she had indicated she would. Her own heart hammering against her ribcage in dread, the human woman rushed into the throne room; actually giving a loud gasp at what she saw. Ulysses's body was lying there on the floor, and from the entrance of the room she couldn't tell that he was still breathing. What she could see was his position, and a crossbow bolt embedded into his body. Panic flooded her at the very sight, her entire body felt warm, like fire was coursing through it, and a sudden, intense sense of dizziness consumed her right on the spot. But only for a moment, before she had regained her composure, seeing that Kane was still in a good position to fight. They would need to get Septimus the medical help he needed, to safety, but they would need to deal with the pirate scum who had done this to him in the first place.

It dawned on Hannah then that she had been taught a privateer healing spell during the war, by one of their own privateer unicorn officers. It was always hit or miss, and it wouldn't be the Godsend it would be from an actual privateer, but if she could get to him and use it...maybe just maybe this would be one of those lucky times it was a total hit and patched up at least enough of his wounds for him to be safely taken back to a real medic. The bunccaeer cast a wild look Kane's way, hoping he remembered that, she had used it a couple of times on the field, at least once or twice where he could have seen it if he was paying attention. If Septimus needed it, hopefully he would help her gain the opening she needed to be able to utilize it. And maybe if he knew a healing spell as well, her weaker one would allow him enough energy to utilize his own?

"Supreme commander!" She bellowed out, without a trace of her usual fear, as if this truly was another scene from the Polarian war. "What are your orders?!"

The obvious answer was to rush forward and attack the remaining pirates in the room, but Kane had been known to single out enemies only he was allowed to fight. She didn't want to rush toward an enemy he would yell at her to stay away from, and wanted to do this the proper way. All while hoping he had understand what that desperate look of hers had meant...

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