Under the sea's depths, the sea snake had been rushing towards the crewman, prepared to chomp him just like the last, but suddenly a new body entered the water, prompting the sea snake to slow down as it studied what was going on. When only one was left, it began rushing again, headed for the new body, only this time with a different objective in mind. It seemed like it was going to ram Ryuu, but suddenly shifted and veered to the left and began circling Ryuu, preparing to wrap around him and drag him down as Rain performed her rescue.



"Shit..." She muttered as she watched the two men fall in, raising a brow as one of them almost comically propelled the other out of the water. These were definitely interesting people. The actions of the heroic man put a rather curious idea into her head. Maybe... Just maybe...

She sighed and shook the thought from her mind. Focus, just focus. Her eyes narrowed as she watched everything unfold. She surveyed it all, looking for a possible opening. Deciding to prepare herself, Kail began chanting in Aquian, reciting a spell she'd learned, one for purifying. She didn't know if it would work, but if she could shoot the spell in the direction of the tail, she might be able to severe the connection.

I doubt it'll work but... I have to try, right?



He'd planned to say something in regards to her statement about the house after listening to her but her next sentence stopped him. He listened intently, a blank expression on his face.

"I'll take the trip." He spoke quickly and without much thought. He didn't have to. More time meant more time away from Marcus and more time escaping from that hell hole. He wasn't running away, just... taking a break. "So... What will we be doing on this trip, ma'am?" He asked, smiling at her. "I am at your service." He added, bowing with a flashy hand gesture.

Ryuu caught the rope. Huzzah! Now he would live!

Or not.

Because even though he did catch the rope, the damn tides were just making it hard for him to move at all. He spat out a mouthful of salt water. Though his eyes were able to handle salt water pretty well due to his experience of getting dumped into a beach by his "friends" countless of times, no human was able to consume salt water without risking death through errors that occur within his or her organs.

"Take your time!" Ryuu initially shouted before turning.

He saw the sea snake moving towards him.

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The sea snake did not eat him, but it... surrounded him. And it was circling him pretty freaking quickly.

What the hell?! What's it doing?!

The dark-haired man who no longer had his sunglasses with him grit his teeth as he held the rope tighter. Whatever that happened depended on several factors from what he could tell: the blue-haired woman (who was hot), the merwoman (who was also hot), the boat (which had some hot peeps), and the sea snake (which was definitely not hot no matter how you looked at it). The otaku held his breath and hoped that Rain did something, considering how the snake was now blocking his way. He raised his hand as high as he could.

- Andromeda -

she saw the snake circling Ryuu "Crap" she looked at the gun in her hand then at the snake "well, if i don't try..." she sighed heavily and shot forward, leaning on the railing and looking at the snake. her own snakes could tell what she was going to do and were hissing in annoyance, they never liked it when she interacted with other snakes. she could just try stoning it but she'd feel bad and the woman was saying not to kill it. so she whistled, it was a low quiet sound but her snake magnetism was magic and should get the sea snake's attention at the least, give Ryuu some time. she stared intently at it through her veil, honestly wanting to tear the piece of fabric off but she also didn't want to kill anyone so she just whistled again and waited to see how the creature would react.

Of all choices, Jonathan chose to go to the trip. Which is excellent, by the way, since it yields more benefit. Of course, she's obligated to explain where they will be going and what they'll get. Leaving him derived of answers would raise suspicion and cause him to leave during the journey out of fear that she'll take him to a cliff and kick him to Sparta, or take him to a creepy place. Well, the latter's slightly true, but Artav knows that place, and she's been there many times thousands of years ago. Literally.

"A bit far from here, probably within the woods, is an ancient palace. Though because the empire that owned it is never heard of today, it's likely in ruins. Or converted into a museum. I hope that's not the case, because there'll be security to hinder us, but there's not a single mention of it in the history books, so it's ruins indeed. We'll be getting something from there, and you'll watch out if there's beasts or robbers about to come after us. Any complaints? Questions? Suggestions?"

Rain felt her eyebrow twitch as Ryuu casually called out for her to take her time, then around about the same time that she noticed the sea serpent effortlessly cut through the waves in front of her, the otaku seemed to vocally change his mind. It cost her two precious moments to realise what the sea serpent was up to and another to curse at it and realise that unless she did something fast she was going to collide with the muscular coil. Her ears twitched as the hot merwoman began to chant something in a language she couldn't even begin to understand I can tell now that this is not going to end well... withdrawing her hand she clung to the rope tightly as she arched towards the wall of slimy looking muscle between her and Ryuu.

Despite her rather bleak outlook on the situation Rain was nothing if not resourceful, finding herself literally seconds away from slamming into Maruki's side. Forcing a little more adrenaline into her system and tempting her wolf to come out, in a remarkably smooth and fast motion Rain shifted one of her hands up the rope to pull herself up just a little higher whilst leaning back, before swinging her feet up towards her head and past it by a foot similar to how a trapeze artist might move though Rain was lacking a solid bar to even her weight out. She managed to catch the rope with her feet, and hunch herself up enough that she would have skimmed the top of Maruki's scales when she reached him. With little less than a second before this would happen Rain painfully twisted her leg around the tense rope, she didn't have enough time to really make sure it would hold her weight so she was kind of hoping for the best as she passed over Maruki she caught sight of Ryuu's extended hand.

Releasing the rope she threw herself backwards and reached for him, for a tense moment she thought she was going to miss him completely and that they'd lose him to the waves below. Luckily for the otaku and much to Rain's relief her hand clapped loudly into his, as soon as the chill of his hand crossed her heated palm she coiled her fingers around his hand. "Gotcha!" Rain stated matter of factly as she prepared to haul him up and out of the water, by mundane standards this move should have been difficult for a woman of her build to perform however by Lavanya standards the physics behind it were thrown out of the window. Added with what little momentum the swinging rope had Ryuu was about to fly out of the water so fast that if he didn't hold onto his pants they were likely to stay in the damn water.

As small of a success as this was, Rain was aware that she was now in an extremely precarious situation, if Maruki managed to finish his death coil she was now attached to Ryuu which meant the swing would be cut short and her leg was likely to fracture if not break under the pressure...which wasn't as bad as it sounded but was a nuisance she couldn't be bothered to deal with. Alongside that if the snake dove under the water she knew for a fact the pulley system above wouldn't be able to stand the stress of it, if that happened she was sure the pair of them were destined for Davy Jones locker. If the sea serpent wrapped itself around Ryuu and stayed on the surface, she wasn't convinced she'd be able to tug him loose without first injuring the beast. Tensing her entire body she prepared to haul Ryuu out of Maruki's reach as the rope lagged slightly with the added weight but continued to drive forward.

As the snake coiled it's way around Ryuu, it felt another presence 'enter' its mind, one other than the malicious one. It stopped what it was doing, having now realized what it was doing. The break had been just enough to give the snake the time it needed to realize that Marcus had been controlling it. The snake, stopped near Ryuu looked around for a few seconds, its eyes turned a clear shade of blue whereas before it had been a dark purple. However it quickly returned to purple, and glared back down at Ryuu. Seconds later, its eyes were blue again, and it repeated this process while Andromeda continued to try and distract it.



He heard everything she'd said but at the mention of protecting her, his body stiffened and his eyes got wide. "I'm not really one for fighting ma'am... But... I'll do my best to protect you. I'm quite adept at barriers and the like. It's actually my magic of choice." He explained, smiling awkwardly. It was true. His best magic was his barrier magic, something he's practiced quite often. He never liked offensive skills. His father had often shown him many a graphic scenes using his own offensive magic. It was just something he couldn't shake.



She waited. Waited for the perfect moment. Rain had managed to grab Ryuu and someone on the bought was doing something to disrupt the magic holding Maruki. Her magic was nearly ready and she held on to the last syllable just long enough for her to see Maruki's blue eyes turn that sinister dark shade of purple. A smirk grew on her lips as she hoped that this worked, hoped to whatever god was willing to listen. She released the spell, it's white energy shot out at Maruki, pieces of it shooting out at those on the boat as well, those that had any sort of dark affinity. The light shot down into the water and swirled arounnd Maruki's tail. Maruki hissed violently and began racing towards Kailani, but she was frozen in place due to the spell. She had to concentrate or she'd die right then.

As Maruki got closer to her, he stopped, just before her, his nose nearly touching her forehead. She let out a sigh of relief as Maruki sinked into the water, his head still remaining. "Kailni... Why do you look so afraid? IS something after you?" He asked in Aquain.

Kail sighed and smiled at the snake god. "Not anymore."

-Andromeda-

Trying to get through to the snake was exhausting, but she kept trying, trying to force her mind's power to force out Marcus but it wasn't working, it was however distracting it and gave Rain the time to pull Ryuu out. but she kept trying, throwing herself at it mentally. she sunks to her knees against the railing but kept trying, if she could help at all she would. then the light hit her in the chest. pain blossomed out from it, it wasn't too bad but it was enough that she couldn't concentrate on the snake anymore and she doubled over with a hand on her chest. she gasped and grabbed the railing for support. what the hell was happening?! she looked up to see the snake heading for someone else, she tried to reach out with her mind but couldn't, and then the snake stopped.

Mizuki looked at the shapeshifter with an expression that was a combination of disbelief and thinly vieled annoyance.

"No," she replied, staring at the man. "I don't. And somehow I don't think I want whatever it is you have."

Yet, the group somehow managed to leave the facility and reach the harbor without any catastrophic breakdowns in relations between the kitsune and Prometheus or Crash. Further still, upon learning that they would be travelling to London (a very long way away) by boat exclusively, Mizuki only caused enough damage to warrant one fire truck responder.

Of course, there was a very good reason why they had to travel by boat, which was that travel by sea was the only way to get out of the continent unnoticed to the outside world. If an airliner suddenly appeared out of thin air, lots of questions would be raised. Within minutes of leaving the harbor, the vessel whose passenger list was nobody but the Athalia trio passed through the dimensional gate without incident and found itself in the outside world. The trio now had a long, multi-day voyage ahead of them, which Mizuki was none too fond of and relegated herself almost immediately to brooding on deck.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the other multi-day voyage...



"C'MON YOU SON OF A-"

Vikki was having a difficult time piloting the fishing trawler. While it was better outfitted than a non-Oasarian trawler, it was still a trawler and heaving the heavy ship around was no easy task. As Vikki threw the wheel back and forth, she mentally cursed the ship's captain for both being nowhere to be found and for not being able to do what she was even if he had been. She had been watching the action off the port side of the boat over her shoulder, making quick adjustments to the ship's heading and speed (nearly stopped) to try to make Rain's job as easy as possible.

As she watched the action unfold, she locked the ship into a heading once Rain connected with Ryuu's hands, and ran out to the roof of the ship. She drew her two Persian Long Luger pistols, preparing to fire at the snake's crystal, when the beast suddenly stopped right in front of the aqua woman. "Everyone cease fire!" she yelled, in case anyone on the deck below was still planning on shooting at the snake. While she couldn't be sure, it seemed that whatever went on had worked and the snake was no longer malicious, at least for now. She held her pistols vertically, in a tenuous position ready to fire at a moment's notice. For now, though, the only audible sound was the waves.

Ryuu

All that was in Ryuu's mind was to survive.

And boobs.

The otaku slapped himself in the face as he kept his grip on the rope. Dammit, fool! He thought to himself angrily. This might be your last time ever seeing that shit in both real life AND through the television! Focus on getting out!

Using the sea snake's distracted condition as an advantage, the sunglasses-wearing suddenly pulled himself out of the water with the help of Rain. He grit his teeth until the very moment he got back on the boat, rolling over with a blurry vision.

The damn light that shot out of nowhere hurt his eyes. He squinted as he attempted to get up, only to succeed after about three hasty tries.

"Guh."

The dark-haired man stumbled back on board and checked to see if the man he threw was alright. He was unable to let out a sigh of relief due to his own exhaustion, so he simply hung his head low when he saw the person he tried to rescue onboard. He limped away from the edge of the boat as he turned around, walking backwards so that he could keep his eyes on the snake. Everything looked like a blur to him, so he had no idea as to what was going on. His vision seemed to be recovering ever-so-slowly...

Caelus looked into the sky from his hidey-hole near the bottom of the boat, finding him slightly soaked from the sea-spray that came in every so often, but considering where he was going, he could handle a few splashes of water 'til he was ready to reveal himself. This is the first lucky break I've had in a while. . . let's hope it lasts me to Europe, though, cause I'd be in a pretty bad spot if they decided to show up right now. He was, of course, referring to the choir of angels that had been hunting him down for as long as he could remember. He could always feel when they were coming, as it caused the Hellfire inside of him to rumble and writhe in hungry anticipation for a meal of charred angel flesh and divine magic.

Letting out a sigh, he quickly regretted that as a mouthful of saltwater got into his mouth. He coughed and sputter for a bit, spitting out the window as he did so(which was situated underneath Mizuki, as it so happens) and rubbing his mouth to try and get the taste out of his mouth. Before long, he was back to being as silent as a mouse. He planned on waiting a day or so before he revealed himself, sure they'd be far enough along that it wouldn't be worth it to turn around. And if they decided to throw him over board, he'd threaten to burn the whole damn burn to a crisp. He needed to get out of the country and this was the first chance he'd had in a while. He wasn't going to let these guy's fuck him over on that.

Shaking the though from his head, he reached into his pocket to pullout a piece of fruit he'd nicked from their provisions, along with some other pieces of food to tide him over for now, and began to take slow, stealthy bites so as to avoid making too much more noise than he already had. Hopefully his little outburst hadn't drawn any attention to him.

@Driving Park

Once the werewolf had Ryuu in her grip and was able to pull him up and free of the sea snakes grip with Ryuu's help they were able to increase their momentum enough that they were able to swing straight over the rails of the boat. Releasing Ryuu, Rain curled up and freed her leg from the rope as it went to swing back out over the treacherous sea. Turning herself upright she hooked her foot under one of the boats railing, halting her swing and enabling her to come to stand atop the railing with the rope in her hand just as the merwoman released her spell. Rain lifted a hand to shield her eyes as beams of light shot out over the boat, she hadn't expected them to hit anyone least of all herself so as a beam connected with her chest she uttered a growl and grit her teeth together as the burning light sought out the darkness festering within her soul. Apart from the growl she kept herself upright and brushed the assault aside as if it hadn't happened.

Keeping her gaze on the snake throughout the whole thing, Rain looked on with pity as it suddenly turned and rushed at the merwoman. There was nothing she could do to save her...as harsh as it was there was nothing she was prepared to do to save her, she was pushing herself to imagine everyone on the small boat as a part of the pack, adding another person whom she hadn't even spoke to was too much. Her eyes opened slightly wider in surprise as the snake suddenly sunk into the water in front of the merwoman and spoke to her in the same peculiar language or sound she had been chanting before hand. As the waves calmed and Vikki ran back out onto the deck, Rain turned her gaze briefly to the other woman as she yelled. Before noticing Andromeda leaning against the railing clearly in pain, careful to keep the sea snake and merwoman in her peripheral vision Rain lowered herself into a crouch and softly asked the snake haired woman "You okay there?" there was genuine concern in her voice despite the sharp edge to her expression and purple eyes.

Whilst waiting for Andromeda to reply Rain glanced back up at Vikki before turning to look at the two aquatic creatures, she ground her teeth together in the silence that seemed to follow Maruki's cleansing. Part of her didn't want to jinx the uneasy peace they now found themselves in but another part of her demanded she questioned what had happened. Though she waited patiently for Andromeda for a few moments if nobody spoke up then she couldn't hold it in any longer and impatiently called out to the merwoman "What next?"

- Andromeda -

she breathed out a sigh of relief as the snake stopped and glanced around to make sure Rain and Ryuu had gotten on the boat alright. her snakes were letting out a slow hiss that was comforting to her and was supposed to be threatening to everyone else but she mentally shushed them as Rain dropped beside her and asked if she was ok. Andro took deep breath and pushed herself away from the railing, the pain was starting to ebb "yeah, i think so, whatever spell she cast hit me too, it fell like it was trying to rip me apart" she took another deep breath "and i'm exhausted, but i'll be alright, thanks" she looked the woman over "what about you?"

The serpent shifted his glance around, looking for anything that could have been after Kail when his eyes hit the boat and he stopped, glaring.

"No, Maruki. It was you." Kail explained, spending the next 15 minutes explaining everything to the snake. How he'd suddenly gone postal this morning with that weird crystal on his tail and how the guardians were missing.

"The guardians are missing?" Maruki screeched, his snake eyes wide with surprise. His expression sobered as he apparently went into deep thought.

Kail decided to take this moment to get closer to those on the boat that had helped her, though probably unwillingly. She made a soft humming sound with made Maruki look up with a soft, pained smile. He nodded slowly and closed his eyes. A blue, shimmering glow surrounded Kail as she was lifted up to the boat. When she was on the boat, the shimmer dissipated, revealing a clothed... legged Kailani.

"You all probably have a lot of questions..." She began, sending the group an awkward smile. "My name is Kailani of New Atlantis. I am one of the priestesses of the Maruki Covenant, a church built on the foundations of our celestial guardian, Maruki." As if on cue, everyone on the boat turned to look at Maruki, who, at this time, was using his mouth in a futile attempt to get the now clear crystal off of his tail. When he realized everyone was looking at him, he turned and set an awkward smile similar to Kail's.

Kail coughed. "Anyway... Recently Maruki woke from his slumber, sensing an odd danger. That was... one year ago?" At Maruki's nod, she continued, "Roughly 1 week ago, the guardians, the male merpeople charged with protecting Maruki and the Covenant, went missing. The Head Priest, the only male allowed in the church, then decided to look everyone up in the basement of the church. But Maruki and myself had slipped away before he could seal the door and only a priestess and Maruki can open that door once again." She explained.

"I would hate to ask this of you all after you just risked your lives for the sake of Maruki, but could you help us a bit more?" She asked, sending a pleading glance their way. "Down the way a bit is what is left of our old city after the split. When the continent was moved from the regular plane of existence, our home did not come out unscathed but that is another story for another time. If you all are willing, would you come with us to this ruined temple? Maruki believes the evil to be originating from there and it may also be where the guardians are." She explained, feeling out of breath.

"And don't worry about not being merfolk, Maruki still has enough magic to transform us all. But... I must warn you. If we don't save the guardians or if anything happens to Maruki, the magic could run out very quickly and you'll all go back to the way you were." Kail added reluctantly. "Think it over... I'll go sit over here for anyone who would like to speak with me." She added, walking over to the front of the boat to sit down.

Ryuu

So now he had to help a (hot) merwoman who came out of nowhere with some giant snake. Good stuff. Now she wants him and these people around him to jump into a ruined temple. Transform into merpeople, she says. Saving guardians, she says. Maruki, she says.

Magic, she says.

Transfor-f---ing-mation, she says.

"...What."

Ryuu remained still, his mind blanking out. At this point, he knew he had the right to be surprised, but he just could not help but feel his brain deteriorating at all the new information rushing into his brain at once. This merwoman was too trusting of people.

But then again, if you're that hot, I bet there's not much you could fear, Ryuu thought with a mix of grumpiness and sincerity.

Needless to say, he remained silent while keeping his gaze on the skies. He did not want to suddenly exhibit his ability to blast off like a blood-fueled rocket just by looking at something pretty.

Rain watched the woman beside her as she shushed the hissing snakes that were her hair and appeared to recover from whatever had ailed her. A frown briefly crossed Rain's face as she listened to Andromeda talk about the spell, she made a mental note to question the mermaid about that particular spell. "We'll have to ask what it was she cast, especially if it hurt you that much" the werewolf said rather matter of factly as Andro took a deep breath before answering her question fully. Rain dipped her head in acknowledgement for the thanks and was clearly relieved to hear that Andromeda was holding up okay, the werewolf couldn't smell any injuries on her but she was also smart enough to know pain was an easy thing to hide if the wound wasn't physical. Feeling Andromeda's eyes look her over Rain straightened up a little and raised a curious eyebrow at the other woman when she returned her question. She had to admit she was a little...surprised by it, though in a way it made a nice change "No long term damage, I'm fine. Thank you" she replied politely, her shoulder ached a little but overall her body hadn't suffered much damage at all during the move style rescue of Ryuu.

Whilst Rain was talking to Andromeda her ears twitched every so often as she also caught snippets of Maruki and Kailani's conversation...not that she could understand any of it which frustrated her to no end. Catching sight of the shimmering glow coming from the pair, Rain's entire body tensed and she turned to watch as what little she could see of Kailani was lifted up onto the boat. The werewolf turned so that she could keep both the sea snake and mermaid in her sights, right up until the point that the blue shimmer dissipated tor reveal Kailani. Rain's eyebrows lifted in surprise and her full attention turned to their aquatic guest ...check your jaw Rain with the thought Rain subtly lifted a hand up to her chin to make sure she hadn't gone slack jawed, though her lips had parted slightly she hadn't thankfully.

A frown edged into her expression as Kailani gave them an awkward smile and went on to introduce herself and Maruki, her eyebrow hitched up as she turned to see the sea snake gnawing on his own tail. Though she realised he was trying to remove the crystal, watching him for a few moments even after Kailani coughed and continued to speak, the werewolf narrowed her eyes at the crystal on the snakes tail and lifted her hand away from the rail purposefully causing her claws to slide up from the tips of her fingers she glanced down at them in wonderment until Kail's question caught her attention. The werewolf turned back to look at her at the wrong time catching sight of the pleading glance, she grit her teeth together and huffed. Say what? Down there? Rain glanced over the side of the ship at the watery tomb below them and felt her stomach turn, she'd never had positive relations with the water.



Transform us? Nothing is ever simple... Rain thought bitterly as she watched the mermaid...if she could still be called that walk over to the front of the boat and make herself comfortable. The werewolf hopped down off of the railing and finally released the rope, she lifted her hands up to run her fingers through her damp hair and pushed it back from her face as she thought over all of the information they had been given Think about the bigger picture...helping them will ultimately help this cause, but it will cause us to deviate from our prime mission...helping them means putting people at risk and looking after the serpent that has just tried to kill us all. Helping them puts me at risk especially. Is this logical or heroic? Whilst she pondered the werewolf felt her eyes wander to Kailani, she couldn't help it despite the blue eyes Kailani physically reminded her of someone she used to know. Biting her lip Rain turned to look for Vikki, once she caught sight of her she turned to Andromeda "I need to talk to Vikki, take it easy but stay alert" she murmured with a quick wink before she walked around the other woman and headed towards the top deck where their armed leader stood.

Instead of climbing the ladder however Rain crouched low to the ground before agilely leaping up into the air, landing with a soft clang on the railing, with ease she walked along the railing until she could lean back against the side of the ship, though she kept Vikki in her sights she was obviously watching Kailani and Maruki perhaps the former a little more than the latter. "Not sure about you, but I didn't see that coming" she stated "I'm not used to asking this but what's your plan of action here?" Rain added, looking towards Vikki as their situation wasn't as obviously desperate as before the werewolf had clearly calmed down and forced herself back into check so to speak. Whilst she waited for Vikki's answer her eyes instinctively roamed the deck checking over her 'pack' members as they steadily recovered from Maruki's assault and kept tags on the newcomers.

It took awhile for Vikki to finally lower her weapon from its vertically-held attention. The bounty hunter listened intently to the sea woman speak, looking at her and the snake with an expression of tentative distrust, but not enough to make her immediately rule out what Kailani was saying. She became more intrigued as the mermaid went on, but then immediately filled with apprehension when transforming into mermaids was mentioned. Not because that sounded impossible...this was Lavanya, after all...but rather because This kind of thing never ends well. Also, there was the practical problem of her not knowing how to fight as a mermaid or use her weapons effectively underwater.

However, the prospect of helping the Atlantian had its good points, which she articulated when the blue-haired woman walked up to her and asked her for her plan of action. (This was something Vikki met with relief, knowing that the werewolf still knew where she resided in the current chain of leadership.)

"As much as I'm wary of missions involving transformation, and knowing that we're still on the clock, this detour does still have relevance," she began as she looked back and forth between Rain and the two Atlantians. "The temple being the source of the evil may mean it contains valuable intel about Marcus. In addition, if we paid it forward and helped out the Atlantians, it's likely they would return the favor and fight with us against Marcus. After all, it's probably the same source, and we'll need all the help we can get. They could be a valuable ally," she explained. "But based on the prospect of being mermaid-ified and losing valuable time I could go either way." The bounty hunter paced back and forth. "This is a new one," she admitted. "But I think possible intel and future help is too good to pass up," she finished, turning to the rest of the group and the two Atlantians.

"Alright, here's the deal. I'm going down to check out this temple - there could be valuable intel to help us against Marcus. Anyone who doesn't want to go down and get mermified can stay on the boat and go on ahead to Elaniel. Everyone else will join the Atlantians and me," she announced. Turning specifically to Kailani and Maruki, she added, "We're on a schedule, but we - or at least I - will help you in any way we can. It might end up beneficial to the both of us."



Mizuki walked around the boat, passing the time by performing the impressive multitask of moving her legs and brooding. An equally impressive feat would be doing anything else and brooding, but her current accommodations meant that there was nothing to do except look at the water and walk around. It was times like these that made Mizuki consider buying a smartphone. The only trouble was that every smartphone she had ever owned was incinerated, smashed, or otherwise turned into an expensive paperweight almost immediately after she began using it, so she tended to ignore the idea. After all, with nothing to distract her mind she could spend more mental energy devising new ways to brood.

In this case her thoughts focused mostly on where it was she was going. She was following a robotic man and a shapeshifter to Europe, in hopes of (apparently) finding a weapon in a museum. The amount of times she wanted to yell "why?" when everything was being explained was literally more than three.

Before she could continue her happy thoughts, however, she simultaneously heard a sputter and felt something wet hit her from below. She instinctively whipped around on one heel, to only find she was the only one in sight. "WHAAAAAAAAAAT...?!" she roared, whipping her head around a few more times before she looked up...and then down. And then took a step back and looked down again.

".........!!!" was all she could say, before adding "You have five seconds to explain exactly who you are and why you're down there before I alert everyone else on the ship."

"Or just burn it all down," she added after a short period of thought.

Caelus cursed in his head as he heard someone exclaim from the deck, pressing himself down in an attempt to avoid detection. However, it was a failed effort as he looked up to give a nervous grin to the Kitsune woman who addressed him, any confidence he had disappearing as she took his own threat away from him. Okay, threatening the ship won't work in this instance, do that only leaves me with one option. . .

Caelus bolted from his hiding place, making a bullrush through the confines if the ship, causing a wall of ethereal black and blue flames behind him with a step to halt the chase of his pursuer, only for it to die down after 5 seconds. In that time, he would make it to and lock himself in one of the restrooms on the boat. As he held the door closed, he began to think of how this was certainly not one of his smartest moves, but what could he say, he was panicking and this seemed like the best option. It's not like he could just tell them what he was after, as they could be looking for the very same thing for all he knew.

Okay, just gotta keep then out of the bathroom until we arrive or get close enough for me to fly there myself. Should be easy enough. . . right?

@Driving Park

She chuckled, raising a brow as those on the ship scattered about, doing what they do. She smiled at the apparent leader spoke, telling her and the rest of her crew of her action plan. She could feel her heart tightening. The feelings she had now, she could not express to them. Fear mixed with hope and a little hatred. For them? No, she didn't think so. Why would she hate them? She had no reason to. Still, Atlantians had a long history of being enslaved and put into strange tanks by these people and they could only afford a part of their crew? She sighed, realizing her smile had turned into a bit of a frown. She shouldn't think that way. She was lucky to be receiving what they were willing to give.

"Thank you very much. Solaen." She spoke, standing to bow to them, her hair creating a curtain over her face. She straightened up a slowly, a soft smile plastered on her face. "If we do this and it goes well, Maruki may very well be able to speed you along to your destination. We will not let debts go unpaid." she added, sending a smirk to the leader. "Just signal to us when you're all ready. I'm going to head back into the water." And with that, she dove back into the water and her clothes dissolved. She closed her eyes and smiled as the salt water washed over her face, one of the best feelings in the world after being on a land for a spell.



"GOD DAMMIT!" He bellowed and not long after a silver tray flew past the butler's stoic face.

"Sire, has something happened?" He asked in a monotone voice.

"Shut up, Gregory." He barked, waving his hand. As he did so, the butler vanished in a puff of black smoke, back to non-existence. Marcus stood where he was for a few minutes, his hand still poised from dispelling his butler. He fumed, breathing deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Those GOD DAMN smug brats!" He breathed, his brows furrowed angrily.

"If you keep doing that, love, your face will freeze that way." a short haired blonde woman entered, the silver armor she worn covered in blood.

Marcus spun on his heels to look at his wife. "Lauren..." He spoke simply, his rage almost simply dispelled. Her brow raised and a small chuckle escaped her lips. She walked over to his desk and picked up the bottle of scotch.

"Pray tell, what happened, dear?" She asked, a smug look on her face. "Don't tell me, your little plan didn't work? I guess I don't need to tell you s-" Her voice cut silent as his hand shot out to point at her. She could barely see the black haze around her neck. Her expression turned from one of surprise to a gaze of utter hatred.

"I advise you to hold your tongue woman." He barked, his eyes turning odd shades of crimson like the drying blood on her armor. Her eyes narrowed at him, but she knew better than to talk back when he was using this ancient black magic. He was doing his best to not let it touch her, lest it kill her instantly. "Good. Both you and I know, patronizing me won't do you any good, Lauren. It's bad enough I my father decided I needed a magicless wife but he gave me a head strong one as well."

Lauren grinned, and made a small mocking bow to her husband. "And I am at your service, Marcus." She told him.

"I don't need to remind you of your situation, do I?"

"Certainly not. I am completely aware of the things you and your father have done to me. I am fully aware of the terrors I see at night and the face of those I've killed. I am aware that I am no longer Lauren Elizabeth Alexander but simply Lauren Cross. I am well aware of what you have taken from me. I need no reminders."

"Good. Now, get that merman you captured for me a while back. I have plans for him."

"Yes, love." Her words came out in a mocking tone. Every dear, every love was charged with electricity, the hatred she felt for the man she was forced to serve and the hatred for herself at the true love she felt for him. She couldn't explain it. She probably never would...

- Andromeda -

she watched the exchange between the merwoman and the others in contemplative silence. she trusted Vicki, but she wasn't entirely sure she trusted the merwoman. she adjusted her veil slightly, would it still work under-water? she'd probably have to replace it with her sunglasses, which would be a pain, but she wanted to help, if what the woman said was true. she ruffled the snakes while she thought, but they were as absorbed in her thoughts as she was and didn't even react.
when Vicki mentioned either staying or going, Andromeda spoke up "i'm not sure how much use i'd be but i'd really like to help in anyway i can" she smiled slightly at the merwoman "so you can count me in" she wanted to talk to the Merwoman herself, there was still a tiny pain in her chest but it was almost gone, she wanted to ask about the spell but figured now wouldn't be the time, so she just stopped there.

Crash hadn't been entirely sure how to respond to Mizuki's response to his offer shy of a small shrug and simple acceptance of her refusal. He'd kept himself out of the kitsunes way on the journey to the harbour though by the time they'd reached the boat, the shapeshifter had developed a whole new opinion of the bad tempered woman whom was accompanying Prometheus and himself. Even though Mizuki had caused only a small amount of damage after finding out they were travelling to London, Crash hadn't seen anything quite as impressive or utterly terrifying in a long time.

Pulling himself out of his memories he turned his attention to the tap in front of him and turned it on so he could splash his face with water and think over the predicament he was now in. He was on a boat sailing towards the mundane world, the very place he had escaped from the day before. With a sigh Crash leant on the basin in front of him and looked at himself in the mirror, droplets of cool water gathered at the tips of his fringe and trailed down his cheeks to gather at his chin. As he stared at his pale complexion he found himself focusing on the patch covering his right eye though his thoughts were elsewhere I didn't even get a chance to ask...I still don't know what happened to everyone. Carmen is alive, Ryuu...is not himself, Maria is doing okay...I think. But what about Zivon? Or Lily? Are they okay? he thought to himself feeling his forehead crinkle as he frowned. He lifted his hand up to his face and self consciously touched the patch covering his eye What about Kathy? it was a long shot considering she had left the academy a while before it had been destroyed...still he couldn't help but wonder. Crash turned his head slightly as Mizuki's roar travelled through the ship, the shapeshifter instantly pitied whomever it was that had angered her...he expected they'd very shortly be running past him with their pants on fire or something.

Luckily the shapeshifter was torn from his depressive thoughts when someone burst into the restroom and slammed the door shut behind them. Crash turned his head to look at the stranger in mild surprise, one of his eyebrows hitched up and an easy smile crossed his face. Unless the guy was actually facing him as he held the door shut the shapeshifter doubted he'd even noticed him...and considering the fact the guy hadn't moved fro the door Crash somewhat doubted this man was desperate to use the facilities, if anything the whole situation reminded him of the 'hide in the loo' situation in movies. Crash was quiet for a few moments wondering whether to say anything when something clicked in his mind causing him to go rigid. Aww fiddlesticks... "Please tell me you were not the one she just shouted at...because if you were I'm telling you now that door isn't going to save you" Crash finally spoke up, running his hand down his face to wipe away any excess water before he ran his fingers through his fringe and looked at the guy in front of him with a curious look. "...or me for that matter" he added, realising that the chances of Mizuki leaving him out of whatever was going on here was probably slim.

---

Rain was having a hard time keeping her eyes off of Kailani as she waited for Vikki to answer her question, her gaze flickered to the large sea serpent every so often but it remained there very briefly. When Vikki spoke the werewolf turned her head to look at the other woman noting how she was also keeping tabs on the Atlantians, she lifted a hand to her head to rub her temple as she listened, feeling inwardly relieved that the other woman was on a similar wave length to her. "For what its worth I agree, we can't afford to turn them away in times like these" Rain murmured before Vikki addressed the rest of the group, despite knowing it was a logical decision the blue haired woman felt her stomach muscles tighten as apprehension flooded through her.

She didn't like the idea of going underwater at all, travelling across it had been difficult enough. The werewolf turned her gaze back to Kailani as Vikki addressed the rest of the group, offering them the option of staying on the boat if they didn't want to be changed. It was a very tempting offer...but unfortunately it wasn't an option for the werewolf. In order to change the stigma that surrounded her people she needed to take action and prove it to be wrong...helping Maria's cause had been a large step towards this goal but helping the Atlantians would be a welcome push in the right direction. As Rain quizzed this over in her mind, she momentarily zoned out of the conversation happening around her and was only brought back again when Kailani suddenly spoke. Feeling her ears twitch as the unfamiliar voice reached her ears, Rain pushed herself upright and hopped down off of the railings, watching the blonde mermaid as she bowed. Don't give us that butter wouldn't melt smile...or cute little smirk...damn it The werewolf ran her hand into her hair pulling the damp strands away from her face as she came to stand by the side of the ship near to Andromeda. She could still keep an eye on Maruki here as well as Kailani once she had abandoned ship.

"Your willingness to help despite your doubts speaks highly of you. And lets be honest its debatable how much use any of us will be under the sea at first..." Rain said to Andromeda addressing what the other woman had said earlier, the werewolf leant over the side of the boat watching small waves lap at the hull "I'm sure you're abilities will prove invalid when it comes down to it" she finished with, attempting to boost Andromeda's confidence though she found it slightly difficult considering she wasn't entirely sure what the other woman was actually capable of yet. "I'm ready to take the plunge whenever everyone else is" The werewolf announced, she felt the knot in her stomach tighten as she verbally committed herself to the under water mission, it was truly unescapable now.

Moving further down the railing towards the Atlantians, Rain came to rest in front of them as she waited for the rest of the group to decide what they were going to do. She rested her forearms on the boats railings and inspected Maruki for a long moment before speaking "So when we...change, how much do we change?" She asked glancing at Kailani briefly, as her eyes started to turn purple she looked away hoping the merwoman hadn't seen the change in color "...I didn't ask that very well..." she murmured after a moment, irritated with her tongue for tying itself in knots. "What I mean is...am I still going to be able to use the majority of my abilities underwater, or are you going to change us completely" She tried instead, as if to explain what she meant she lifted her hand as long claws appeared at the ends of her fingertips and a small sphere of lunar energy rose from her palm. Despite being genuinely curious about how the transformation would change them, Rain was also searching for ways to keep her nerves under wraps.