Re: World-Valencia

[Sydney Underhill]

At that exact moment, the musketeers on board the Destroyer, who were all watching the Admiral closely, fired once, in unison, and Sydney grinned, watching the toxic charges shoot through the air.

[Ulysses Septimus]

The poison's effects were almost immediate: once the shots struck them, the guards turned on each other. Some drew their swords, others simply charged at each other with their spears.

No one stopped until they were either killed, or the poison finally took hold of them.

Back on the Interceptor, Ulysses smiled, drawing his sword from its sheath by his side and waved it a few times, signalling for the ship to finally head around to the back of the fortress, and prepare for battle.

[Sydney Underhill]

Sydney waved quickly to Quintus, who was standing beside her, and he rushed off to turn the ship in the same direction as the Interceptor, following the Admiral's ship closely. The Commodore was, although excited, awfully tense. She knew that this was not like the other times, when they had the obvious upper hand.

This time, we can't mess up.

[Ulysses Septimus]

The Interceptor docked without another sound at the back of the fortress, where there was only two sleeping guards.

Ulysses jumped soundlessly from his ship, quickly slitting their throats by two deft swipes from his sword.

[Sydney Underhill]

Sydney quickly followed suit, jumping from the "Destroyer" before drawing her ornate sabre soundlessly. "I suppose it's just us two now...?"

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Yes."He gave the gate a little push, finding it locked.

Just as expected.

Taking the key from one of the dead guards, Ulysses unlocked the gate and pushed it open.

A dark hallway lays in front of them, lit by only a few torches. Another guard, also sleeping, is slumped against a wall to their right.

The Armada admiral approached the guard and kicked him hard, his hand darting out to clamp around his throat when he woke.

"Where is your master?"Ulysses growled, his sword poised to kill.

"I-in the Throne Room." He stammered, "you are Ulysses Septimus?" Every syllable he uttered virtuallly dripped with fear, "don't kill me, please..."

[Sydney Underhill]

"Enough!" Sydney hissed, driving the point of her sword directly into his heart. "We don't have time, and we can't take risks..." She seemed almost sad that she was unable to draw out his pain just like she had done to the two pirates, Adrian and Edward, but she suppressed it for now, knowing full well that the time would come.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Indeed, let's go."Ulysses agreed, leaving the dead guard. He didn't know where the Throne Room would be, however, he didn't need to anyway: his Eagle Sense allowed his eyes to see the trails where his enemies had once walked.

Venturing through the halls with Sydney behind him, the Armada admiral could still hear the faint sound of fighting outside. Good, so it seems his enemies are still occupied.

He stopped in front of a pair of ornate doors.

"This is it. "

[Sydney Underhill]

"I assume he'll put up a struggle?" Sydney questioned, turning the sabre over several times in her hand. It was light and flexible, the complete opposite of her heavy poleaxe, the weapon she was so used to fighting with.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Bracing one hand against the doors, Ulysses nodded.

"He won't yield easily, I am sure of that."He was coiled to strike, the explosive energy inside his veins bubbling like lava in a volcano. "And I must mention, he is a VERY skilled warrior as well. "

[Sydney Underhill]

"Hmm." The corners of Sydney's mouth twitched upwards in a half-smile, and she tensed into somewhat of a battle stance beside Ulysses, prepared to attack whatever would be waiting for them inside.

[Ulysses Septimus]

The Admiral held up one hand: three, two, ONE!

At "one", he kicked open the doors--just about all the guards are too busy dealing with each other outside--revealing a large chamber much like Kane's own throne room.

Except there are no clockwork elites, and the one occupying the throne is a man with slicked back black hair and sinister eyes.

"Ulysses Septimus,"he hummed and stood, "you are finally here. "

"Atticus Mercilus. "

[Sydney Underhill]

Sydney instinctively held her breath upon hearing the Admiral speak the traitor's name, setting the atmosphere ever so perfectly.

"I do believe..." Sydney said, looking directly at Mercilus with a stare of mock disinterest, "that you are going to die now."

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Oh, I see you've brought a friend, Septimus."Mercilus' hand went to the swords strapped to his sides. "I do not know who YOU are,"he looked directly at her, swords drawn, "but do realize, I won't ever submit without a fight. "

[Sydney Underhill]

"I think you've made that obvious." She said, limbs trembling in anticipation of the death-duel that was surely inevitable.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Giving a single snort, Mercilus leapt through the air toward the admiral, slashing both swords at his torso.

Ulysses, though, was ready: catching both blades with his own, he retaliated with a powerful punch delivered to the rogue assassin's jaw.

[Sydney Underhill]

The Armada Commodore took the opportunity to move behind Mercilus, quickly slashing across his back with her sword before darting out of the way as Mercilus turned around and swung one of his swords at her throat, just barely missing.

[Ulysses Septimus]

The assassin sneered like it was nothing: saying nothing either, he returned his attention to Ulysses and kicked him in the side, hearing a loud crack of bone breaking.

Ulysses grunted, doubling over for only a moment before straightening.

Mercilus jumped back. "Is that all you got?"

[Sydney Underhill]

Sydney ran at Mercilus, slamming her foot into the side of his left knee in order to throw off his balance momentarily before swinging her fist into his face, only to find that he recovered quite quickly, wiping the blood from his face before returning a punch to the Commodore's ribcage.

[Ulysses Septimus]

He had packed quite some strength into it, showing he was a advanced Assassin who had quite a few years of training under his belt.

Ulysses swept in from the side this time, dual wielding his triple hook and sword by latching onto one of his foe's blades, and catching the other with his own blade. This forced the rogue to, for that moment, ignore Sydney and face the Armada admiral.

For a moment, they kept up a blade lock, with Ulysses growling, "You will die today, dirty traitor!"

"Not like you've not told me this a few times before already, Grandmaster."Mercilus pulled his weapons free with some effort, headbutting Ulysses and sending him stumbling backward, dazed for a second. "Did you think I wasn't expecting you?"

"What?"The admiral straightened, sword and hook raised defensively, "you know I was going to be here?!"

"Exactly."

[Sydney Underhill]

Deciding that she could check for broken ribs later, Sydney quickly took advantage of the opportunity and charged at the traitor once again, dropping to the floor at the last second and throwing her right arm out, yanking one of his legs out from underneath him before flipping herself around and swinging her sword, aiming for his Achilles' tendon. "Care to tell us how? Even if you decide to keep your little secret now, we'll force it from you as you die your last of your well-deserved million deaths!"

[Ulysses Septimus]

Mercilus grimaced when the blade swept through his Achilles tendon, but that was all the reaction he allowed himself. "I know your fatal flaw, Septimus." He got back up in an instant: it seemed, like Ulysses himself, he also possesed extreme pain tolerance. "Your loyalty toward those clockworks!"

"Smart, but tell me, how do you plan to use it against me?"

Catapulting himself through the air with a backflip, and landing on his throne, Mercilus snapped his fingers, summoning a pair of guards.

Between the guards was a figure dressed from head to foot in a black cloak, a hood hiding his face, both arms enchained. He was thin, unnaturally thin.

Limping slightly, Mercilus stepped toward the chained figure and ripped off his hood.

Beneath it was the face/mask of an Armada musketeer, his entire left side covered by spider cracks, clockwork blood dripping from wounds in his frame.

Ulysses took one step back in surprise, though it soon became clear he was furious. "Albinus Crassus?! Let him go Mercilus!"

[Sydney Underhill]

Upon catching sight of the chained and damaged Armada musketeer, Sydney felt her blood turn to ice momentarily, but then felt her face heat up in still, trembling rage.  

"You lowly worm...how could you damage something so beautiful?!"

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Because I am not a psychopath in love with clockworks. "Mercilus traces the outline of the damaged Armada musketeer's throat with a dagger he had drawn from his belt, after he had discarded one of his swords. "And because they are CLOCKWORKS, foul, untrustworthy machines, like their master--that tyrant and fiend Kane-"

"Enough!"Ulysses roared, unable to contain his wrath, "Mercilus, you are playing with fire, do you not realize that?!"

Mercilus' eyes focused on the Armada admiral, hissing, "More like you are not in the position for such words, Septimus." He pressed the tip of the dagger into the musketeer's throat, with only enough strength to draw blood,"drop your weapons, Septimus, and your little friend too, or else this one dies!"

Ulysses opened his mouth to say something, an angry insult, actually, but stopped himself when he saw the outline of what he was sure an Armada trooper, looming in the shadows behind the rogue Assassin.

[Sydney Underhill]

At first, Sydney felt helpless - cornered, almost, but when she saw the faint outline of what must have been an Armada musketeer's uniform, she began to slowly lower her sword to the ground to hold Mercilus' attention, silently bidding the clockwork to act now.

((Sorry, I'm on mobile and I have no idea if my italics worked...))

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