Re: Havos Mansion-Ulysses' Home

[Hannah Durante]

His reaction didn't surprise her in the last, Hannah had expected as much from everything she had seen from the man so far. As she had issued her challenge and waited for him to leap from his perch to the docks where she was, Hannah muttered a quick incantation to herself; the leviathan's call, friend to all buccaneers. It would do little in the way of turning the fight in her favor, but at the very least it would give her the ability to take even more pain than usual, for a certain amount of time. The blonde grinned as Ulysses finally decided to take action against her challenge, feeling the usual excitement of battle beginning to well up within her. This was going to be painful, for the both of them if she could help it.....but sometimes, that just made it even more fun.

She shoved the shield forward the second he was upon her, catching the first blade before it could find a spot to dig into her body. She went to move the sword in her other arm up to catch the second one before it could strike her, but he was faster this time; his sword slicing into her arm and tearing away the sleeves as if to proudly display the blow he had just landed. Blood began to leak from the wound and Hannah grimaced somewhat, though it was the only reaction she allowed herself. Before laughing, almost in amusement of what had just happened.

"So you like to play rough, Septimus? Good, so do I."

She took a rough swing at his torso from underneath the shield, lunging forward as she did so, though she kept pushing against his other sword with the shield; unwilling to give him the chance to assault her with both at once.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses' lips stretched into the grin of a maniac: she was right about this, he does like to play it rough.

Oh Kane, the sight of blood, nothing made the admiral more frenzied than blood, it stirred up battle lust inside him much like it would for Ares, the god of war.

He didn't bother to dodge the blade, as he had worn Altair's Armor over his chest, thus the blade basically bounced off though it still marred the once flawless piece of armor, and he was sure the force would leave a bruise in the very last sense...

However, he jerked his blades, both of them back, as he stepped back, only to sheath one of them and lung forward with the other, swinging it up at her.

[Hannah Durante]

The sight of his own manic grin barely registered as something to be afraid of. She had seen things like this time and time again, particularly during the Polarian war, and she had only been seventeen then. Taking duties as a henchwoman and taking on pirates had numbed her to things like this; she had seen her fair share of crazy pirates and those who merely pretended to be, so she would not be deterred by his expression alone. He would have to earn fear from her, despite his connections to those she was truly intimidated by.

She was frustrated when he barely reacted and didn't even bother to move to her blow, but internalized it. She had felt the blade connect with heavy armor, and knew she would have to go for a less well-guarded spot. Perhaps she should have seen his paranoid measures to protect himself coming, as somebody who took them herself quite often, after the attempt on his life she had witnessed. No matter, she would find some way. That was what buccaneers did- they dismantled every obstacle that stood in their way, tearing walls and defenses down until they had found the weak spot.

Her mind went on high alert when he jumped back, and out of instinct she spun to the side; fortunately just in the nick of time, avoiding the blade, while she brought the sword with her; slashing out at anything she could reach, or to provoke him into putting distance between them again. Thank the spiral her father and the Polarian war had taught her about tricks like this to look out for and save her neck.

"Hm...You must really like this weapon set." She mused to herself as she looked him over several times carefully, seeking out any sign of weakness or loose armor. "What makes this one so much more special than the numerous others in your collection?

Though it was partially a means of distracting him, Hannah truly was curious why he had suddenly become so much more hostile- perhaps even more so than he had been to the assassin that had tried to kill Kane. As much as she loved and respected weapons and could certainly appreciate his tastes, even she couldn't imagine getting so worked up over one stolen item. Perhaps he was just used to having everything he wanted, and couldn't stand the thought of some 'low class ruffian' daring to touch anything that belonged to him. It was funny, she thought, as she had a feeling he, much like herself, took these marvelous things from others as it was.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses dodged the weapon, though it still scraped his upper left arm where there was no armor to protect him: Altair's Armor only covered vital areas such as his chest, forearms, and shins.

The cut was stinging and weeping blood, but he didn't care, because he had long learned in the past to ignore pain (unless life-threatening) with the help of his extreme discipline.

"You wonder what makes this important?"His second sword returned to his hand, wrath now taking hold and morphing his voice into those like a serpent's. "I had taken them off the body of the man who slew my brethren of the Assassin Order!"

[Hannah Durante]

Hannah wasn't so sure she should believe him, and even if she did, whether there was a reason to feel remorse for the fact she had stolen such a sentimental object. After all, they were assassins...and she wasn't so convinced Ulysses or his order were as noble as he seemed to believe they were. At least she could say for herself and the other soldiers during the great war, the bloodshed they had caused had been necessary.

The buccaneer felt a twinge of smugness, even happiness, when she saw that she had landed a blow on the admiral. It was an incredibly gratifying thing to see, even a small cut like that, because now even he knew the playing field was not so grossly stacked against her that this fight was like a god versus an insect.

"Oh well in that case don't worry, I'll give them back...I would hate to make you part with something so actually sentimental" She insisted, actually sounding serious for once. There was a small part of her that felt at least the tiniest bit bad now that she knew the story behind this particular set, but for the most part she just didn't want to give the admiral a reason to hunt her down- she would be leaving his property alive, this she swore to herself. He wasn't going to forget her anytime soon after this, that was for sure, but if he got his weapons back she couldn't imagine he would want to deal with her more than was necessary.

"..But you're quite a fun challenge I must say, so I'd like to play with you at least a little bit longer before I do. Unless of course, you can make me yield in the next few minutes. In fact here, to show I can be held to my word-"

She removed the shield from around her uninjured arm, tossing it at the assassin. What he did with it she didn't care, despite the fact her mind saw fit to insist he would use it against her. At this point, she merely wanted a little more 'fun', and the chance to leave the party alive when all was said and done, even if it was with a handful of new scrapes and scars.

"You'll get the sabre back when we're done, you have my word. And if you do not believe that, believe I have no interest in giving you a reason to hunt me down and hate me more than you do right this moment."

[Ulysses Septimus]

As if sensing what she was thinking, Ulysses growled, "Doubting my words? Go to any of the worlds and ask about Altair the Assassin!" As much as he may be a masterful liar, he wasn't lying this time: back in the past, when he was still sane when he wasn't the blood lusting demon he is now, he was Altair, the white robed assassin who slew tyrants on a daily basis and battled monsters for the sake of the lower class.

For that, he was more than famous across the Spiral as the Bane of Evildoers and worshiped by many as though he was a god, which he had denied many times in the past.

Sheathing one sword, he caught the piece of armor and slung it onto his left arm: he would need his unwounded arm to wield his sword to its full potential.

Hissing, he stepped forward, not charged, and swung his sword, first in a horizontal slash...

[Hannah Durante]

"You'd have to let me live for me to do that." She reminded him, smirking slightly as energy buzzed throughout her, eager for a challenge. It had been so long, particularly against a fellow Valencian, that a great part of her was actually looking forward to the rest of this battle- no matter which one of them emerged as the victor. "But if you do, I will most certainly have to- You've made me curious."

Not impressed, however. Of course, it was hard for her to allow herself to feel that away about anybody outside of those like her who had faded into obscurity; their deeds for the good of the spiral hardly remembered, compared to a figure as grand as Kane. Bitter as it was, it was just the way things were for a lot of them- she wasn't the only veteran who felt this way, after all.

"Well then, perhaps Altair will humor me?" She questioned, offering him a broad, sweeping gesture with her now free arm. "May the best warrior win, or at least have the most fun."

She prepared herself as he caught the shield and slung it onto his left arm, ignoring the part of her mind that both triumphantly and angrily pointed out the fact it had been right. She crouched into a defensive position the second he did, awaiting his strike- which came a moment later. Hannah threw the sabre up to meet his sword, holding both arms behind it to push back against him. And she had to admit, he definitely had plenty of strength of his own; she had to keep channeling a great deal of her own into holding his attack back. A few drastic strategies immediately sprung to mind as a way to deal with this, but Hannah reserved them for later. She wouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses' eyes narrowed, "I will, not all assassins aim to kill." He quickly changed directions and now directing his blade into a downward thrust aimed for the hilt of the sabre: he had learned from Cristolbol that if he does this part right, he could easily force opponents to drop their weapons.

(Ulysses Memory: eight years ago, Templar occupied Assassin Fortress in some unknown island of Aquila)


The white garbed Assassin Mentor extended his Hookblade and practically ran up the walls, surprising the guards.

Their surprise didn't last long, however, since Ulysses drove his Hidden Blades into their skulls moments later, ending their lives within mere moments.

He didn't know who opened the gates to allow in those Templars, but what he did know was that he would not allow those greedy power lovers endanger his men, nor the innocent inhabitants of this island!

Two other Templar guards rushed at him, swords drawn.

Deadly calm, Ulysses' Hidden Blades sheathed, though now his dual swords are in his grip.

Catching one of the guards' swords with his left, he slammed the hilt of his other into the second guard's helmet, sending him tumbling over the side of the wall and down to his death.

The other guard, after witnessing his friend's demise, gave a loud shout and charged...

[Hannah Durante]

((Sorry to bury the other thread, don't mind me! ^^; Also, if you see this, welcome to the forum Sydney! I WAS going to write that on your profile wall since I don't want to disrupt the awesomeness between Ulysses and Sydney, but I'm not allowed to according to the site. xP))

----

His remark struck her as a funny notion, though Hannah chose not to say anything about it at all; grateful enough that was his stance on the matter, as she very much valued her own life no matter the fact she had started this conflict. It only made her feel that much more eager to fight and stay until one of them had won, if her life was not on the line. Though she certainly hadn't been anticipating what came next. Very few enemies she had faced had ever tried to disarm her in such a way, so she hadn't even considered the possibility of this act...and as result, Ulysses was successful at knocking the sabre from her hands and onto the ground.

Surprised, the buccaneer let loose a muffled curse and dropped herself to the ground, desperately reaching for the sabre before he could strike out at her when she was unarmed. The second her fingers closed over the hilt, she made another even more desperate move; attempting to knock Ulysses off his feet with her own legs while she was still on the ground, prepared to protect her head and throat with the sabre, should he fall for it and his reflexes be so honed he would still lash out at her even as he stumbled.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses chuckled and simply jumped to avoid getting stumbled, his foot quickly coming down to pin the sabre to the ground, with only enough force to hold it down but not damage it.

He had met enough enemies who attempted this to know what to do..

[Hannah Durante]

Damn it. Hannah clenched her teeth as the swashbuckler not only nimbly avoided the strike, but made it a point to pin the sabre to the ground as well. It was where she should have given up, the perfect opportunity to let go, roll away, and take off to spare herself any more trouble. But several eyes were glued on the fight now- attracted by the sound of the conflict, offering an additional source of pressure. Even if nobody had been watching the fight though, her pride wouldn't have allowed her to just take off, given the circumstances. Things would have been fairly different had Ulysses been a high-ranking clockwork instead of a human, but as he was just a man at the end of the day- a powerful and lucky one for sure, but one nonetheless- and his special guests had appeared to have no desire to join the rest of the party at any point...she wouldn't let it end like this. She wouldn't yield, not until she had absolutely no other choice in the matter but death if she did not.

"Should've seen that coming.." She chuckled bitterly at her own expense, as her mind raced a mile a minute. She didn't have a whole lot of other options here to act with, she hadn't brought any of her own weapons on her. Tough as buccaneers could be, the fight wouldn't last that much longer without some kind of weapon....unless she could force him to drop the blade he currently wielded and snatch that up before he could, if not that and the sabre.

Immediately, her mind went to a trick a witchdoctor she had been assisting taught her- the one spell she had actually managed to be able to produce any results for. She could only use it once in a day as she lacked the same connection to such forces those like Kestrel did, and it likely wouldn't be enough to really hurt Ulysses...but if it could surprise him, that was all she needed.

Muttering the incantation Kestrel had taught her under her breath as quickly as possible, Hannah briefly let go of the hilt of the sabre and spun around, gesturing toward the swashbuckler with the open palm of her right hand; hoping the resulting, weak mojo strike would at least be enough to startle him. She wasn't going to get a second chance.

[Ulysses Septimus]

The moment he saw her release the blade, his Assassin reflexes jumped into play: his body instinctively brought his arm up to hold his blade across his chest.

It did a good job of deflecting the Mojo Strike, though he was still slightly startled by it, making him flinch just ever so little and take one step back.

Maybe it is time for him to learn a thing or two from Bishop.

(Flashback Cont.)


The Assassin Mentor kicked the guard right on the solar plexus, then quickly drove both of his swords through the man's chest, ripping through armor like they were no more than paper.

The Templar guard groaned in pain, crumpling to the ground in a limp pile and a loud clang of his armor as Ulysses tore his swords out of his body.

Septimus stepped over his opponent's corpse, eyes narrowing at the many other guards that had emerged to rush at him.

Better clear those out before any more trouble may be caused.


Smiling in anticipation, he twirled his blades and dashed forward to meet his foes.

Slashing and hacking through their ranks, Ulysses cut through armor like they were nothing, rendering many of the guards dead within just the first three minutes.

Thrusting his sword through the neck of one, he didn't even bother to turn around to face the one that had came up behind him; he simply turned his sword, reverse gripping it so the tip of his blade faced the guard and thrust it back, hard.

He heard a crunch of metal, followed by a groan when the blade found its mark...

[Hannah Durante]

It worked, it had actually worked! Thrilled by the fact her distraction had, Hannah took advantage of the assassin's surprise, quickly snatching up the sabre the second he removed his foot, before leaping up from the ground; brandishing the sabre in his direction as she waited for his next move. The mojo strike had done absolutely no damage to him at all and he'd deflected it like it had been nothing, but she didn't care. The magic had served its intended purpose, there was still a chance this battle could end without humiliation on her end!

"You're quite something." She managed, starting to breathe the slightest bit heavier in a combination of her excitement and nerves. "....I haven't had this much fun in a while, so I'll certainly give this back once somebody yields..."

Well, maybe fun wasn't exactly every part of what this was, though it was a decent enough part of the reason, beyond pride, that she was still here, still fighting. She could have just left now, her mind saw fit to remind her...but she wanted to see where this would go- how far she could push herself. In some way it was crazy, downright suicidal, but she really couldn't help herself sometimes. Not when she had been so amped up, the thrill and lust of battle was easily able to muffle her common sense's protesting.

"Sabres aren't really my style anyway, I suppose." She continued. "..Suits you swashbucklers a little more."

[Ulysses Septimus]

Growling, Ulysses drew his second sword again, his reflexes now in full murderous assassin mode, though he still remembered how he promised he would not kill her.

Stepping forward in one graceful stride, the admiral crossed his swords into an 'x', catching her weapon in his in a powerful blade lock...

Even though he isn't as eager for battle as he is in the beginning, the sight of the sword brought back memories that propelled him just as well as anything else.

(Flashback cont.)


Ulysses didn't take long to clear out all the guards on the wall; by the time forty five minutes had gone by, all the Templar guards were cold corpses at the foot of the Assassin Mentor.

He ran down the stairs to meet his other brothers as they finally bashed through the heavy wooden gate with their battering ram.

Septimus said nothing, for assassins do not need words to convey what they wished to say: he didn't need to speak to tell the others that he had cleared out the Templars on the walls.

The Assassins marched through the now empty courtyard, toward the main sanctum where they would, with the aide of the surviving Assassins inside, wipe out the rest of the Templars and reclaim the fort.

But what they found was far beyond what they had anticipated..

Ulysses could not believe what was before him-

white robed corpses littered the ground, still fresh as blood ebbed from wounds tore into their flesh, just about all of them bearing signs that they were hurriedly executed in the last hour when the Templars realized they won't survive the siege by Ulysses' forces

Like a last resort to take revenge on the Order. 

Anger took control of the Assassin Mentor, followed quickly by sadness when he counted just how many of his brothers had been mercilessly slaughtered.

I swear, if I ever find whoever betrayed us, I will tear him to pieces with my own bare hands!


If it wasn't for that damn traitor, this would have never happened!

[Hannah Durante]

((haha sorry this took me so long only for it to be a crappy post. I just felt so awful yesterday, and my head is still sort of just blah. XD that and I hate burying other people's role playing posts when active posting is going on!))
----

The buccaneer noted that something had changed in the swashbuckler- that his fighting style had altered itself somewhat, almost in the blink of an eye. The homicidal passion he had started out with had seemed to dissipate, becoming replaced by....well, Hannah wasn't so sure what, but she had noticed it just the same. As far as she was concerned though, that was a good thing. It meant he wouldn't be going to the same lengths many swashbucklers could and did, tricks her father had always warned her to be aware of...At least, she hoped as much. She would soon find out, she supposed.

Hannah grunted as Ulysses strode forward, only to catch her one sabre in-between both of his. Knowing it was unlikely even with her buccaneer strength that she would be able to free hers without some kind of consequence, she opted to keep being impulsive and drastic through other means; attempting to kick him in the gut as best she could in the hopes it would force him to back off, even though she realized the dangerous opening it left in her own defenses.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((It's okay sis  ))

Ulysses felt thankful that he had taken the two months to train with Rooke, so he was able to take the hit on his stomach without too much effort while at the same time keeping the blade lock.

He pulled his blades back, putting enough effort into it in an attempt to pull the sabre from her grip.

[Hannah Durante]

((Aw thanks! And again...sorry it takes me so long to reply lol. So many distractions, oi vey.))
---

Unfortunately, this time her desperate strategy didn't work. Ulysses took the blow far better than she had expected him to, practically like a buccaneer himself, and not only that, he quickly, strongly pulled his blades back with enough force to take the sabre with it. She had allowed her focus to waver far too much with that last strike, and her grasp on the hilt of the weapon had loosened more dangerously than she had even realized. At least, until the sabre's master had taken in back.

"Damn it." She grumbled out loud this time as she took a few wary steps back, preparing herself for any potential onslaught that was about to come now that she was completely weaponless. To make matters worse, she could feel the leviathan's call starting to fade. Hannah prided herself on the amounts of pain she was able to take so it wasn't the worst possible thing she supposed, but still, it meant if he came at her with all those weapons at once and cut her to ribbons she would absolutely show agony much sooner than she would have with the boost.

...Looked like she was just down to her fists and physical strength, unless he was going to go for the jugular to finish this.

[Ulysses Septimus]

((Hey, I get distracted easily as well))

Ulysses simply allowed the sabre to drop to the ground by his feet before pointing both blades at her throat, "Yield."

He was in no mood for death today, even though he thought he felt like it in the beginning.

But this was his party, where he was supposed to be the likeable, social man and not the psychopathic, blade swinging Assassin Grandmaster... This was for both the sake of the Armada and for the sake of his Assassin Order, so even if he was angry, he had to bite it down and let the "Honorable Demon" inside him take over.

(Flashback, cont.)


He stepped over the corpses of his brothers, still unable to believe that this had happened.

Tears threatened to pour out of his eyes as they continued deeper in: so many Assassin lives lost, so many that they could have saved...

As they entered the Grandmaster's Throne Room, Ulysses' self control shattered: he hunched over and begun to weep, for his once glorious but now destroyed Aquilan Assassin Brotherhood, for the Grandmaster Altair I, his mentor and second father, whose corpse still sat on his throne but horribly mutilated, and for his Assassin Brothers who perished.

Behind him, the Monquistan Branch of Assassins stood in silence, respecting their leader's grief until Ulysses straightened himself again.

Which wasn't until at least 20 minutes later, because how he had found the bodies of some of his best apprentices and friends...

(flashback ends)

[Hannah Durante]

((my attention span just sucks. XD I'm glad you understand though!))

The twin blades being pressed against her throat were all the buccaneer needed to be convinced to swallow her pride. Even her body posture shifted, changing from confident and aggressive, to submissive. She stood there silently for a few seconds, fighting with the last bits of her pride, before she finally let out a sigh of defeat and nodded her head as much as she could; looking at the ground instead of the admiral, when she did finally open her eyes once more.

"..I yield."

It was all she could do really, if she didn't want to be killed right here and now, or arrested for disrupting the peace- which, the buccaneer understood she still could, if he continued to be angry enough with her actions. Hm, perhaps she should do at least something about it...not that it would have a grand effect. At least on more than her own sense of pride.

"Apologies, admiral. My....less savory nature took over, it seems. I just can't help myself around such beautiful weapons at times. As a veteran of the great war, I should have known better though... Allow me to make it up to you, somehow?"

If he angrily rejected her offer, on grounds of viewing her as untrustworthy, then she was off the hook as long as she stayed away from his bad side for a while. If he did think of something, well, then she would do it- it would go at least some way in lessening his anger at her stupidity, and he wouldn't fully be able to use this against her. She needed to rectify this somehow, or at least try to, she knew. Because all he had to do was give one bad report, and everything she had worked so hard for in her past....She couldn't bear the thought of damaging them because she had felt drunk, stupid, and incredibly impulsive thanks to her buccaneer traits.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Scowling slightly, Ulysses sheathed his swords. He said nothing but handed the weapon set to his butler with a "Take them back to where they belonged."

Septimus glowered, silent for a moment before finally speaking up again, "Apology accepted, return to the Carnevale, speak of this to no one... If you do, I will find out, and I'd hate having to turn in a sour report to my lord."

Unlike what most thought of him, Ulysses was not someone who holds a grudge over something as trivial as this.

Or unless the offender was one of his sworn enemies.

[Hannah Durante]

Hannah mostly expected the admiral to banish her from his property, to angrily tell her to get out of his sight and never step foot here again after what she had done and how riled up he had become. Something she wouldn't really have been able to fault him for, honestly. She was fairly surprised when this was not the case, and he actually accepted her apology- if not a little angrily- and told her to return to the party.

The buccaneer was actually stunned to silence as she processed what he had just said, though it diminished slightly with the threat that followed it. Briefly, she wondered if he had noticed she had been in the mansion before, overheard and seen a good portion of the chaos that had taken place in the room the clockwork elite had been gathered, but she would absolutely not remark upon it. It was something she wouldn't speak about regardless, and she felt a chill race up her spine at the very thought of the trouble Ulysses could cause for her if he really wanted. Hopefully, he wasn't the blackmailing type...though she doubted it, if he was letting her live.

"Oh, there's no need for that, I can assure you I don't want anything quite that...extreme happening."

This time, she was incredibly sincere; willing to do just about anything to avoid getting on the supreme commander's legendary bad side. Hannah even made it a point to give a more respectful bow, now that there were no longer any weapons poised to rip into her throat.

"Enjoy the rest of the Carnevale yourself, admiral."

She slowly made her way back toward the crowds, still in a defeated manner, glancing at the gash on her arm that was...quite out in the open. It was going to be interesting to explain this one to Bianca, especially when she had seen those weapons on her beforehand.

[Ulysses Septimus]

After reorganizing his Assassin Robes, Ulysses stepped out onto the balcony, as the clock had just struck midnight, "My honorable guests!"

He waited until most of the eyes in the crowd were on him before speaking again, once more wrapping his voice in his pleasant "public speaker" voice.

"I thank all of you who had been patient enough to stay here till midnight."He smiled pleasantly, "rest assured that I had not forgotten about the 'surprise' which I've promised at this time... So, lasciarlo iniziare! (Italian: Let it begin!)"

The moment he finished, eight jets of water shot from hidden spouts on the sides of the mansion, framing it under a shining water dome like a fantasy castle, as a very pleasant symphony begun to play, easily recognized by some of the guests as the best orchestra in Valencia. 

Not only that, Ulysses had also rigged some sort of equipment that projected relaxing, rainbow light as the admiral himself threw handfuls of expensive little trinkets for the crowd.

[Sponsored content]