[b]Alexandria, Isaurian Egypt, Green Sahara, 1245 AD[/b] The two pirates shuffled themselves around, tension growing in the air as they stared down the official seated before them. Hirutila sat more or less still, his eyes closed and only making the occasional movement to keep the shackles around his wrists from falling into the cuts they had previously made. However, his partner, Rago, was fidgeting every second, as if he was to die if he sat still for more than a second. His body undulated with each deep breath that he took as he burned a hole through the Egyptian official with his gaze. Perhaps if he could have done some real damage with that, he and Hirutila would be walking free. But for now, their lives rested in the hands of this civil servant, who perused through a small document detailing the nature of the two men he was tasked with judging. "I'm sure you men know that the nature of your crimes is severe," the man spoke, peaking over the parchment to gaze upon Rago and Hirutila. "The confiscated stolen wealth on your ship, in addition to the verifiable deaths attributed to your actions, and the resistance of your crew and yourselves to your arrest all constitute very harsh sentencing." Rago simply spit into the official's face as he eyed him, prompting one of the soldiers in the room to smack him over the head with a club. Hirutila opened his eyes at the sound of his partner being beaten but refused to say anything. The official rested the papers onto the table before him, and spoke in a soft voice, though the attempts at affability fell flat immediately. "The Pharaoh is willing to extend an offer to you men. Under normal circumstances, you would simply be sentenced to life in prison. However, your pasts are of interest to our Emperor, and he is offering a stay of your imprisonment in exchange for a lifetime enlistment into the Imperial Army." Rago and Hirutila stared once more at the man, Rago's face locked in a devious smile, while Hirutila seemed to let off a pained grimace. "You're letting us walk away from prison to go kill?" Rago inquired incredulously, pointing a look at the official as if he expected the man to retract the offer as some kind of joke, though a few passing seconds of silence only caused the pirate's smile to grow as he nodded furiously. "I can't see what the punishment is supposed to be." Though Rago was so willing to sign his life away, he didn't pick up on the official's sinister gaze upon those words. Hirutila, however, remained uninterested. Rago glared over at his partner as he refused to join in the same path. "What? You're just going to let them throw you in some cage, Hiru?" Hirutila sighed as he spoke, "I'm tired of the death, Rago. If you wish to revel in it further, then go ahead. But I'm done with it. This was always about going back home. And if that will never be, then I don't want to fight any longer." Rago looked over at the man with a confused, and infuriated look, as the soldiers went to escort them away. The last look Hirutila got of his former partner was when he was marched out the oak door behind them. Hirutila let out a sigh of relief to watch Rago leave, like a weight removed from his chest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Bethlehem, Israel, Green Sahara, 1250 AD[/b] [@Tenma Tendo] Rago's eyes were fixed upon Capella, his body swaying in its movements like some kind of depraved dance. The man walked a semi-circle around her as the grin on his face continued to twist grotesquely. The serrated sword in his hand quivered as he anticipated the first attack, planning out just where to lunge to get her. Lost in the grizzly fantasies that played out, he seemed unaware of the magic around Capella, like he couldn't see anything but the visions of blood and gore in his mind. With that Rago lunged forward, but as soon as it had begun, the battle was over. The fireballs made a clear impact, as the silk robe ignited, to the horror of the swordsman, who in the brief moment that the flames stung his skin, he was pulled back into reality, only to be met with impact from Halcyon. The force from the fireballs sent the man flying through the air, the chared robe striking against the beige walls of the guest house, and destroyed hat flung from his body to land before Capella's feet, still smoldering from the spell. Rago's body was flung through the open window, falling some distance away. Rago lay there lifeless, the smell of burnt flesh and silk wafting from his broken form. At the moment of Rago's demise, the Heartless seemed to begin their retreat from Bethlehem, as if in a panic as they swarmed away with the defeat of their commander. Though the pirate's body was simply left to smolder and burn in the dirt, as the heartless didn't even bother with what little life was left in the vessel as they singlemindedly fled from the town. The young woman, the mother of the boy Yeshua, sat stunned for a brief moment, before suddenly throwing herself upon the keyblader in a fit of joy and tears, clinging to her tightly in a fit of emotional studdering, as she showered Capella in thank yous and sobbing, as the baby at her side began to whimper from the commotion. As the woman began to compose herself, she expained the situation, "I'm sorry miss, my...my name is Maryam, I had just given birth to my son, and then the village was attacked. My husband and I took refuge in this guesthouse, but the found us none the less. But you...you saved us!" Maryam seemed overwhelmed with joy once again, however her emotions were quickly refocused when the man who had accompanied her managed to get himself back to his feet. "Josef! Oh, you're alright! Oh this woman saved us from that pirate. That man, he was after Yeshua...but why? Could they..." The man shook his head in confusion, "All I know is it's not safe here anymore. We should leave as soon as we can. We can go to my home town, in Galilee, far from here." Josef then turned his attention to Capella. "But you, you saved not only my wife and son, but this whole village. You have come as a hero, and so we will give you a hero's celebration." Josef took Capella by the hand and pulled her into the street outside, proclaiming her as the savior of Bethlehem. Though not much was left of the village, the survivors cheered at the sight of the young woman. The people immediately saw to it to provide what little they could to give a hero's welcome to Capella. In the commotion of it all, no eyes would spy as a hooded figure dragged the burned body of Rago away from the guest house, far beyond the limits of the village. Rago let out only a few moans in pain, until he felt a sharp electric shock radiate through his body, to gaze upon the sight of a figure, clad in a blue tunic covered with a dark mantle, hood over his face, though it was little surprise to Rago who this was. "Have you come to kill me for failure?" Rago said, the defiant smile creeping onto his face once more. "No," the hooded man spoke, kneeling down into the dirt next to Rago. "On the contrary, you have not failed me at all. You've done just what I wanted." Rago looked at the man in confusion. "You actually though you stood a chance, Rago? You had no idea what you were up against, even now as you lay there like a roast pig you don't understand. A common man has no chance against keyblade wielders." The figure reached into the pocket inside the mantle, pulling out a small crystal, [url=https://cdn.instructables.com/F34/41LT/IL2C8TB9/F3441LTIL2C8TB9.LARGE.jpg]green and hexagonally patterned, with a small red core[/url], barely bigger than a coin. "I can imagine you want to salvage what's left of your dignity, and prove I got more than just a rat for testing out of the Egyptian Army." Rago looked at the crystal, and then back at the figure. "What are you suggesting?" "Did you ever wonder where the power that the messiah bestowed upon us came from, Rago?" the figure spoke as he took Rago's sword into his hand, and plunged it deep into the pirate's hand, pulling it out to create a deep wound. "I received them from him, and he from an angel. But the Angel left a few breadcrumbs, and I followed them until I found this," he spoke, waving the crystal in front of Rago's face. "Or rather, I managed to put the pieces together to recreate what Emmanuel has yet to figure out isn't godly magic. I call it magicite, and with it, Rago, you'll have power beyond what you ever thought possible, maybe just enough to deal with our little keyblader there." With that, the hooded man slid the small crystal deep into the wound. As he let go, the laceration began to radiate with a sickly green glow, as the crystal burst, and shards began burrowing into Rago's flesh. The pirate screamed out in agony, as he twisted and convulsed, the man's green eyes slowly changing color from their normal green, into the same sickly, ghostly color as the magicite. Rago continued to scream in pain as the magicite dispersed throughout his body. Before long, he had slipped back into unconsciousness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Palace Grounds, Constantinople, Renovation[/b] Hirutila jolted up with a gasp of fear and surprise as he took a look around. The palace was left in great disrepair, the aftermath of the battle being apparent with the scattering of machine parts all over. However, Hirutila had little time to take anything in, as he immediately was being herded off by Felix to the hangar. Seemed like finally, the party was off to go do this whole save the world thing. Hirutila groaned as he got back up, and walked alongside the others. He couldn't help but take note of a few new faces. At least he thought they were new. Perhaps he was just not paying enough attention before. Most disturbing of all to him, however, was the sudden change in demeanor of their Nobody companion. Hirutila had clearly missed out on something massive in his catatonia, better that he try and discuss it with someone while they make their way to the next world. Time cramped on a ship with this motley crew should be interesting. Hirutila chimed up a bit, "Out of the cell, right back onto a ship. I never can escape this life," chuckling a little at his own observation. He only hoped the crew would be a little less murderous this time around. Not that that would be too particularly difficult. . But Hirutila was uneasy. There was no telling what was ahead. But the promise of getting back to life with Dammania was enough for him.