Thoughts And Philosophies

[Sephirothsicase]

He put the hat back on his head and walked towards the door. It was locked. He sighed and began looking around the room for a key. It was easy, the only three things in the room were a hammock, a stack of drawers and a chair.

He opened the drawers, and found them to only be fakes. They were only wooden planks made to look like drawers. He growled and checked further, but then something caught his eye. It was a thin dark line between the top of the stack and the drawers. He examined this with a finger before realising.
"Sneaky captain..." He muttered as he gripped the top of the cupboard and pulled it off. It was hollow, completely. No drawers or anything, there was a hollow gap where the rest of the drawers should be, and stashed down there were a number of items, all of which Seph pocketed.

A few daggers, well balanced, a number of four flintlock pistols, Seph wondered why he needed four but then he examined closely and found out how long it would take to reload one. He put these in what seemed to be a harness around his belt for them. A large bag of golden coins, must be peices of eight, and another few bottles of rum. Might be needed for something so Seph put them in his strangely large pockets. He also finally dug up the key from right at the bottom and put this in the pocket as well.

He wondered if there would be anything else in the desk, so he tapped it. Sure enough, it was hollow underneath too. Luckily enough, it wasnt very strong, so Seph smashed the wood in with the but of a pistol and looked inside. He grinned and pulled out a large rifle-type gun from inside the stack of drawes and examined it.

It was a large flintlock musket. He examined to make sure it was loaded before he held the end in his right hand and rested the barrel on his right shoulder. He took the key out of his pocket, walked over to the door and stuck it in. He opened the door and walked into the bright sunshine.

[Sephirothsicase]

He shielded his eyes for a few moments and tried to get used to the bright light. He shook his head and looked forwards.

He was standing on the deck of a large ship, he didnt know many of the names but he knew what most of them did. He looked up, and sure enough, there was a pirate flag flowing gently in the wind. It was a strange design, it seemed to be a design of two mugs full of rum being tapped together in a "cheers!" gesture with a pair of crossed swords behind them. Seph raised an eyebrow slightly at this and looked around.

He slid the grated cargo entrance open and peered inside, they didnt appear to have much cargo. They had a lot of food, water and rum and that was about it. Nothing worth a penny, just survival goods. Seph stood up and walked down the stairs opposite the grate. The kitchen'ish was next door to the sleeping rooms, probably for easy service. Nobody was sleeping in the hammocks so he guessed he didnt have a crew yet, there would always be at least three people watching the ship.

He exited the sleeping quaters and moved up the stairs and across to the right side of the ship. He walked down the boarding stairs to the pier and looked back, the ship had "The Mug 'O War" written across it. He guessed that was the name of the ship. He smiled and laughed to himself as he walked down the pier and into town, where the sounds of fighting, gunshots and off-note singing could be heard.

[Sephirothsicase]

"This must be a pirate island... Like Tortuga or something..." Seph muttered to himself as he gazed around. There were drunks littering the streets, ladies of the night wearing ragged looking dresses coaxing men towards them, children running too and fro chasing a squealing pig. There was a lot going on to say the least.

He opened the door to what Seph would call a pub, and instantly closed it again. The smell hit him like a mallet. There were so many people crammed into one building he thought it would burst open. He took a deep breath and opened the door once more.

There were people fighting, people swearing, people playing cards, people playing dice, people arm-wrestling, people drinking and strange enough, people doing all of those at the same time. He ducked under a chair that had just been thrown at a person sitting next to the door. It smashed against his head. Seph thought he was out cold. He only turned around and shouted a cheer to the person who threw it, both men fell about laughing.

"So what are these tests, sir?" The assistant asked Max. Max smiled at him.
"Easy. Certain scenes from these movies show certain tests. In the Pitch Black movie, the tests were if he could keep command of a team, "Keep his cool" in a situation and the ability to follow orders. In POC, the tests are wether he can keep a position of command with a rebellious crew, obviously they are going to mutiny if he is too weak or too cruel, no?" Max shrugged. The assistant nodded and turned back to his monitor.

[Sephirothsicase]

"Well... This is a merry spot.." Seph sighed and walked in, climbing over drunks and people who seemed unconscious. He approached the bar and wondered what the hell he had to do.
"What'l it be?" The landlord asked. He was a big fellow who looked like he could wrestle a bull and win.
"A large whiskey please..." Seph sighed.
"Wha's whiskey? We have the fines' rum, bu' no whiskey." He stated and spat.
"I'll have a cold rum then." Seph placed a gold coin on the desk. The barman took it, tried to bend it between his few teeth before nodding his head and placing it in his pocket. He opened a metal cupboard that seemed to contain ice and pulled out a large bottle.
"Any'thin else? I reccomen' ye' look at the specials." He pointed to a large sign.
"Well I'll be..." Seph muttered as he looked. It had "THINGS TO DO:" Writting across it with numerous things.

1) Gain a crew of twenty men, the Mug O' War is a big ship.
2) Find the booty.
3) Defeat the evil hordes.
4) Get the girl.
5) Rescue the girl.
6) Return here.

FIN

Seph rubbed his eye to make sure he wasnt hallucinating, he looked back at the barman.

"I think I'll have some meat please..."

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph finished the dried meat and placed another gold coin on the table, the barman checked it again and placed it in his pocket. He returned to another client and took their order.

Seph looked around the bar. It was smelly and damp. He had no idea how he was going to find a crew. There must be SOME out of work pirates around here. He asked the barman for a peice of paper, he raised an eyebrow but brought him a small peice. He didnt ask for any money this time, so Seph quickly jotted down the to-do list with a quil he "borrowed" from a man that looked like he had been mugged. He was laying out cold on the floor. Seph put the black quill in his hat like a feather and walked out.

He looked around carefully, keeping one hand in his pocket and the grip on his rifle strong. He walked to the right of the bar and looked down the road, he was looking for the Ship-Yard. He hoped he would find a quartermaster there. Sure enough, there was one right near the smaller docks. He opened the door to where people used to buy their boats. He was quickly stopped by a man who looked slightly nervous.
"Err... You cant have guns around here sir... They might cause a fire if they are.. accidentally shot..." He stuttered. Seph looked at him for a while, sizeing him up. He seemed honest enough, he was only small, so Seph doubted he would try anything. He nodded and shoved the rifle into his chest, thankfull that he had his jacket closed on his belt of pistols and he hadnt noticed.

He walked up to the desk and tapped the large bell to his right. Nobody came, so he smashed the bell hard. Somebody eventually hurried up. He was bald, and was wearing a red and black rag as a bandana around his head, probably to keep sunburn off.
"Stop makin' seh' much noise! Ye scurvy.... Eh.. Sorry sir, I taugh' ye was a.. nevermin'... What cannae' do for ye?" He grumbled. Seph had a little trouble understanding him.
"I'm looking for a quatermaster. Do you have any idea where I might find one for my ship? I am looking for a crew." He asked, quite simply. The man waited a second and started laughing racously.
"Hahah! A pira'e wiy'at a qua'ermas'er! 'Elarious!"
Seph gave him a grim look.
"Oh... Yeh' no' kiddin'? Eh.. Thi' is a li'le troub'e here... We' a suppose I migh' find yeh one. We ge' lots o' guys stranded up 'ere wi' no money, they migh' wanna come wi'ye." Seph raised an eyebrow. "I mean yea', I can fin' ye one." He sighed. Seph understood that. He nodded. "Come back 'ere in a fe' hours, and Ie' fin' ye one. Nah go on wi' ye!" He yelled and ushered Seph out the door.

"What a strange man.." Seph sighed and walked off.

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph had taken only five steps outside when he realised that he was missing one rifle. He sighed and opened the door behind him and looked for the small man, he was nowhere to be seen.

Seph sighed once more, thinking that he may have run off with it while his back was turned, if so, he wouldnt have had chance to get very far. Seph turned back and quickly ran back into the town.

He spotted the boy easily, Seph could remember what he was wearing at the moment he handed over his rifle. That and the fact that he was holding the large rifle. Seph thought over wether he should just walk up to him and ask for it back, but that might startle him and cause him to fire. Seph didnt want to shoot a gun, even one not pointed at anyone, in a pirate island. It might prove troublesome.

So instead, Seph stayed slightly behind him and followed him. The man did not look back once, instead, he kept walking forward untill he reached a large, red house. This house was very different from the ones around it, it was painted. All others were kept in their brick or wood-worked state. The man opened the door and walked into the house.

Seph was straight open the door as it closed, he pressed his head to the door and tries to listen through it. The door was too thick, so he could not, but it appeared to be unlocked, which gave few questions to mind. A careless pirate? Not likely. A sign that they have nothing to fear? Could be. Maybe everybody in the town knows them, so they need not lock the door...

Many thoughts came to Seph's head, but they all vanished when curiousity got the better of him and he pushed the door open.

[Sephirothsicase]

It was an empty hallway, the lights were turned on and from the creaking footsteps, Seph could judge that there were people to his left and people upstairs. There were no stairs in sight, so Seph turned to the door on his left and pressed his ear against it. Seph could not hear most of the words.

"Well then young Tim... brought me today?" One man asked, he pronounced his words well, he was at least a semi-intelligent person.
"Well.. I stole 'is rifle of some'un." The man replied.
"That's good, that's good, I'll..... ... .. . for it."
"All 'dat? ............ ... sir!" The man seemed excited, Seph heard footsteps so he quickly opened the opposite door and hid inside.

He closed the door just in time, the other door opened. He let out a sigh of relief and turned around. He was in a weird room, it was nearly blank, a dusty window and a few peices of furniture, nothing too fancy. He waited untill the footsteps had stopped before opening the door again, and moving immediatly into the next door.

He opened the door, and a slightly overweight man in a dark blue coat turned around, he was wearing a black Tricorner hat with golden trimming, he might be a captain of a ship. He must have put the rifle somewhere because he wasnt holding it.
"You have something that belongs to me sir, and I would like it back."

[Sephirothsicase]

"How did you get in here?" The podgy man demanded.
"Front door. You really should lock it once in a while, you don't know who might come through." Seph replied.
"So I should, the evidence stands before me. Now, I shall ask you politely to leave."
"Not untill I get what is mine."
"And that would be?" The man asked curiously.
"That Musket that the little one passed onto you only moments ago."
"Oh.. That. Well I'm afraid to say I cannot do that."
"Why not?"
"Ever heard the saying "Take what you can, give nothing back"?"

Seph sighed, this was a movie, not actuall pirates here. Seph moved a hand into his jacket and pulled out one of the pistols.
"Give it to me now please."
"F-fine.. fine.." The man stuttered, he was obviously not used to force being used against him. "Though you are making a big mistake! I work with the Company!"
"What company would this be?"
"You dont know about the Company? Ha! Go away you silly man, and leave me be."
The podgy man takes the rifle from a cupboard and throws it towards Seph. He catches it and shoulders it like it was before. He then turns around and walks out through the front door, leaving the man cursing to himself.

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph figured that he wasnt going to get a crew today so he headed back to the ship. He walked down past the pub and a little further away, walked up the gang-plank to the Mug 'O War. He was just about to open the door to the captains cabin when he head footsteps coming from below.

He tightened the grip on his rifle before walking over to the stairs leading downwards into the crew's quaters. He looked around, there appeared to be nobody down here, so who made the noises? Might it be something knocking against the side of the ship?

He climbed the stairs and peered over both edges of the ship, there wasnt any debris or anything knocking against the ship, no barrels, boxes or bits of wood. He made another check before hearing the footsteps behind him. He spun around and pointed the rifle towards the person walking away, it was a woman with long blonde hair, all the way down to her hips. Seph could only see the back of her from her. The woman heard the click of the rifle being positioned, she froze.

[Sephirothsicase]

"Turn back so I may see the face of she who wishes to steal from me." Seph muttered.
"I don't want to steal from you fool." She turned around and looked at Seph. She had ruby red lips and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a Tricorner hat with pink trimming, long, tight leather trousers that appeared to be slightly worn and a small pink shirt that might be called an early tank-top. She folded her arms angrily.
"Like what you see?" She asked sarcastically.
"What are you doing on my ship?" Seph asked.
"Being nosey, what else? I was looking for the captain actually." She replied.
"Why?" Seph asked.
"Because he owes me something." She answered, getting slightly more angry by the minute.
"Then you have found him, but I do not remember this debt of mine. What is your name girl?" He asked.
"You should know. Shirlea." She answered and blinked twice, looking at him with shock that he forgot.
"Y-Your kidding... right?" Seph stuttered.

"Err.. Sir? What is so funny?" Max's assistant asked. Max was laughing himself breathless.
"What? Oh... Nothing.. Heheh... Nothing.." Max grinned.

"Now... I remember you... Kind of.." Seph stuttered once more, he knew that somewhere, Max was laughing himself to death.
"Good, then you remember the debt?" Shirlea asked, slightly hopefull now.
"No.. I am sorry but I do not." He sighed. Shirlea growled and drew a sword from an unseen scabbard, he guessed it was strapped across her belt behind her. She yelled something like "Dog!" before lunging with the Rapier, Seph didnt catch much of it. He swerved and threw the rifle down before drawing his own.
"N-Now calm down!" He asked.
"Calm down?! You calm down, forgetfull urchin!"

[Sephirothsicase]

Shirlea brought the blade down towards him while Seph brought his upwards to parry it away, she was on the offence at the moment while Seph was defending.

She was slamming blade upon his repeatedly, Seph had to move quickly to block the blade whenever it twisted and came at him again. Shirlea seemed to be growing more angry by the moment, all he had to do was wait untill she lost it and threw skill out the window.

It took a few moments, but she got there. Seph pushed forward, putting her off balance before moving into her once more. She raised the sword above her head in an attack, throwing skill away. Seph moved slightly to the right and grabbed her right wrist with his left hand and swept her ankles out with his foot. As she fell, she dropped her sword. It stuck into the wood of the ship and quivered for a moment. As she was falling, Seph put a hand on her chest and pushed her down also. She landed with a thud and groaned slightly.
"Going to answer my question now?" Seph asked. She was pinned to the floor as Seph crouched on one knee next to her. He had her pinned to the floor with his hand.
"S.. Sure..." Shirlea grunted.
"What debt is it that I owe you?" Seph asked.
"You promised me you would give me a hug before you left...." Shirlea looked a different way as though she had been hurt deeply. Seph was on the verge of loosing his mind. A hug?!
"What... On. Earth. Do. You. Want. A. Hug. For?" Seph asked. Taking small breaths.
"Because..." Shirlea said.
"Are you going to be constantly difficult?" He asked.
"Yes." She stated.

This was going to be a long day...

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph sighed before taking his hand off her chest and offered it to help her up. She took it and he pulled her onto her feet gently.
"Now, why do you want th-" He hadnt had time to finish before she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"You remind me of someone I know..." Seph sighed.
"Well I damn should do!" She yelled and hugged tighter.
"Crushing... Neck.." Seph stuttered.
"Oh. Sorry." Shirlea muttered manner-of-factly.
He picked up her blade and handed it back to her, sure enough, her scabbard was on her belt.

"Why are you here then?" He asked her.
"I want a place on the ship." Shirlea asked.
".... Why?" He asked.
"Because I want to be with you! Is that so hard to imagine?"
"No, my sister has drilled it into my head..." Seph muttered.
"Eh?"
"Oh, nothing. Don't worry. You wouldnt leave even If I said no, would you?" He asked.
"Nope, you know me too well."
"Fine... You can stay, but you will have to do work. I don't expect anybody on this boat to have a free trip."
"What people?" Shirlea asked and made a sweeping gesture with her hands.

......

"Point taken." Seph muttered. "Know where we can get a crew?"
"Nope." Shirlea answered, plain and simple.
"Fine... I'm going to get some sleep, you do what you want..." Seph opened the door to the captains cabin and opened the door. He took off his hat and placed it upon the table, wary that Shirlea had followed him in but insisted on ignoring her. She waved at him, trying to get his attention silently.
"No." He said.
"Awww... Why can't I sleep in here?" She asked.
"Because you are scared of lightning and other such things, you would be shivering the whole night in a sweat." He stated.
"H-how did you know that?!" She shivered.
"I'm a good guesser..." Seph muttered.

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph had finally managed to cut a deal with Shirlea, they would both sleep downstairs in the crews quaters. Night passed and went, but Seph couldnt get any sleep. He kept thinking about what was going to happen after he finished all these "tests." He had a few vague ideas on who Max was, there are a few people who Seph has run into who might want to kill him or at least bend him into a slave.

There was... The numerous so called "Slayers" that had tried to kill Seph in the days of old when he used to live in a little town. He can remember those weeks fully. They called themselves the "Lion Crusaders" although they were individually known as "Slayers." A few of them got word about Seph and figured out that he was a vampire so, naturally, they decided to kill him. The group still stands, but it's numbers are far fewer than they used to be. They rely on more modern styles of killing now that taking a sword to somebody's head.

He looked over at Shirlea, she was snoozing quite happily. She was being rocked slightly one way and another each time a wave hit the ship. He smiled and shook his head slightly, she could be such a big kid somtimes. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

End Chapter

[Sephirothsicase]

Chapter 10 - Shoot to Thrill

Seph awoke to the sound of a thump. Shirlea had fallen out of her hammock.
"Nice sleep?" He asked.
"It was untill that wave hit me...." She grumbled and stood up, rubbing her leg.
"You get used to it..." Seph yawned and hopped out of his hammock with little difficulty. He unlocked the door coming down into the crew's quarters and walks up the stairs into the bright sunlight. He hid his eyes for a few moments to let them get accustomed to the brightness.

Shirlea stood on deck and stretched her arms. She yawned and rubbed a sleepy eye afterwards.
"What are we doing?" She asked, slightly sleepily.
"We are going to look for a crew of course, we can't go travelling without a crew." He answered and looked towards the town. It was morning, so people were most likely sleeping. "But it looks like nobodys up yet.."
"True, what are we going to do?" She asked.
"I can think of something..." He smiled. "You left yourself open when you were fighting, do you always do that"
"I.. I don't know, I havn't had much chance to practice." She blushes slightly and looks at the floor.
"Well then, let's improve. Draw a sword." Seph smiles and slides his own out of the scabbard.

[Sephirothsicase]

Seph flicked forwards and once again moved through her gaurd and prodded her in the chest with the point of the sword.
"Ow! That stings!" She hissed and rubbed the spot he jabbed.
"Haha, you need to get slightly better." He smiled at her and pushed his sword into his scabbard. Shirlea did likewise before yawning slightly.

"We've been doing this for ages... Can we get some food please?" She moaned.
"Sure, we don't have anything in the hold so we have to get it from a shop or somewhere." He nodded.
"We can buy some in bulk and store it in the hold, saves money." Shirlea suggested.
"True, but I doubt I have enough money." Seph folded his arms.
"Hrrr.... True, you do need quite a bit, but not too much. Let's get some food, plain and simple before worrying about feeding mouths forever." Shirlea smiled and walked down the gangplank. Seph yawned too before following her.

Shirlea knew this place better than he did, so he stayed slightly behind her, letting her do the leading. She turned to a small house where a man was busy sleeping off the alcohol from last night outside, resting against the wall of the shop. Shirlea opened the door and walked inside with Seph following her. Inside the shop it was slightly dark, it was getting sometime into lunch now, so sunlight was coming through the windows, but there was only two windows in the room.

A slightly round man appeared from behind a counter and rested a large arm on the top.
"What'cha want?" He asked, very point blank.
"Some dried meat please, just enough for a couple days travel." Shirlea asked and took quite a few golden coins from her own pocket. Seph reached for his own but Shirlea laughed and shook her head.
"It's fine, I'll get this."
"You sure? I have enough." He protested.
"Yes, I'm sure, calm down it's not much. She grinned and nodded as the man brought a large sack from the cellar he had dissapeared into. He drops this on the counter before grabbing the coins and thrusting them into a pocket. Seph raised an eyebrow slightly, it was obvious that this man was not healthy to be around. He picked up the bag before Shirlea even put her hands on it. Shirlea giggled and opened the door for him.
"Such a gentleman..." She teased.
"Shush you."