[IC] Vampirates

[Midorimacchi]

While Jecht was busy worrying about the lack of people on the streets, Trixxtal was too busy overthinking about how he should act when his brother opened the door. They had been writing each other for some time now, but they hadn't seen each other face to face since Trixxtal left France over a hundred years ago. And although his brother never seemed to resent him for leaving so abruptly, Trixxtal knew that he did. What if they got there and Alexandre slammed the door in their faces? What if he refused to let him see his son? And even worse, what if he told Jecht that Trixxtal wasn't even his real name?!!?!

All these thoughts were rushing through his head as they walked, so he paid no mind to the nature around them or the emptiness of the streets. Trixxtal could even feel himself slowing down when they got closer and closer to his brother's house.

When they stopped at the door, Trixxtal took a deep, relaxing breath. Okay. He could do this. He moved his hand to knock on the door, but stopped halfway, only hearing the last bit of Jecht's sentence. " Huh?" He turned to him, breaking out of his worrying thoughts and lowered his arm. " Oh, no, he and I were changed at the same time." Trixxtal lowered his gaze to the floor, the palms of his hands growing clammy. What a strange human gesture of him to do. " But when I left France, he went to go see our parents...or whatever was left of them. I think Alexandre said that our mother was still alive, but she died a couple years later. Then he left France too, met his wife, and then moved to Italy. She's is from here, so I guess that's why Protettore's name is in Italian..." He smiled to himself and looked back up at the door. He wasn't going to back down! He wanted to meet his nephew! He was just going to have to face his brother, whether he liked it or not!!

With confidence flowing through his body, Trixxtal knocked on the door!

And then knocked again!

And again!

And again?

After a minute passed and a few more knocks, Trixxtal completely deflated, his shoulders drooping. " I knew it. He hates me." He whispered, his hair covering his face in the most depressing way imaginable.

[Azalea]

Jecht frowned and placed his hand on Trixxtal's drooping shoulder. "Maybe they aren't home?"he comforted. "Let's just wait inside."

Not at all feeling bad about breaking into a house Jecht took his free hand and reached for the doorknob. To his surprise, it opened with ease. "Oh, the door isn't locked. Let's go inside."he suggested, dragging his first mate inside his brother's home.

Jecht couldn't believe what he found inside.

"Everything is...destroyed."he whispered, looking at the remains of the house. The outside looked perfectly find without any signs of damage but...it was like a tornado attacked the inside. Chairs were flipped upside down, a table was broken in half, glass was scattered everywhere, blood was stained on the carpet, and there was so much that Jecht could see wrong with this picture.

Giving his dear Trixxy a sad look, he knew that they couldn't just continue staring at the damaged house. "I'm so sorry..."he muttered sadly. As a leader he understood that during hard times, it was best not to show any inner feelings of panic or anxiety. "I'm going to search the house and see if I find anybody or any clues to what happened."

With a lot of hesistation, he left Trixxtal's side and began to inspect another room. Jecht didn't find anything special in the first room, but when he went to check a second room...

"Trixxtal...!"he called out urgently, amazed at what he found. There, sleeping on a bed, Jecht saw a young boy.

[Midorimacchi]

As soon as Jecht opened the door, Trixxtal's heart dropped. Just like Jecht had said, everything was destroyed. But it wasn't the shattered glass or the broken chairs that he was fretting about. It was the blood. What could've happened here? Both his brother and his wife were vampires and were perfectly capable of taking down a mob of humans if needed. That only left....no, Trixxtal wouldn't think about that...at least not now. If another group of vampirates raided this town, that meant that his brother was either dead, or badly injured.

Trixxtal was too engaged in his own thoughts to hear Jecht's words. He didn't even realize that Jecht left his side to inspect the house. His body felt frozen, but somehow, he managed to make his way over to the largest pool of blood in the room and sank to his knees. He could smell it. It was his brother's all right. Trixxtal could feel his stomach twist and turn and for the first time since turning into a vampire, he felt like throwing up. He covered his mouth with his hand and wrapped his other around his stomach, holding it tight, his eyes never leaving the blood puddle in front of him.

From the other side of the room, he could smell the blood of his brother's wife, but he didn't dare turn his head to look at it, just incase that sent his stomach over the edge. But....but wait a minute...He could smell Alexandre's blood and his wife, but that was it. He had never met Protettore before so he wouldn't know how he smelt, but even then, he would've smelt his different scented blood if he had been hurt.
...then maybe, just maybe, there was ho-

"Trixxtal...!"

Without a second thought, Trixxtal jumped to his feet and ran over to where Jecht's surprised voice was coming from. " What? What is it?" He asked, his eyes darting around. He didn't notice it at first, but soon enough, he saw the small boy sleeping soundly in the bed.

Trixxtal was confused. Who was this boy? Was it possible that he was a homeless orphan who just happened to find the empty house of his brother? Or maybe...maybe he was the one who did this! Even though it was a simple thought, Trixxtal's blood started to boil and he could feel his hands ball into fists. If this boy had done it, he'd pay!!

No.

That was silly.

There was no way the boy could take down his brother and his wife; it was rediculous to even consider it. But still....who was he? " What is he doing here?" He asked Jecht in a low tone as if he knew.

Just then, the scent of his brother floated across his nose. Snapping his head back towards the boy, Trixxtal moved without thinking until he was right beside the sleeping boy, his eyes widening. " He smells...just like my brother!" He told Jecht. Again, the thought of the boy killing his only remaining family flashed through his mind and he ripped the bedcovers off the boy and shook him awake.

The boy, probably around six or seven, awoke immediately, his eyes snapping open to stare at Trixxtal, his mouth dropping into a confused frown. Fear started to creep it's way into his gaze, but Trixxtal could tell that he was trying not to let it show, " W-what are you..? Who are you?!" He asked, his voice cracking only slightly.

Trixxtal grabbed the boy by the shoudlers and started to shake him violently, " Who are you and what have you done with my brother?!?!"

[Azalea]

As Trixxtal burst into the room, Jecht could see that his friend felt just as confused as he did just by looking at the expression on his face.

"What is he doing here?"questioned Trixxtal but Jecht did not have time to answer him. "He smells...just like my brother!"continued the blond, and in a flash Jecht observed as Trixxtal violently awoke the boy and stared him down. "How? There's no blood on him..."he commented, but a frightened voice interrupted him. Apparently the child woke up and Jecht could feel the fury radiating off of Trixxtal.

"W-what are you..? Who are you?!"asked the panicked child. When Trixxtal started to shake him by the shoulders did Jecht finally decide to intervene. He didn't care that the child could get hurt: he was nothing to Jecht except being their only lead to finding Trixxtal's family. But they were going to be there all night if the first mate continued this behaviour. And they didn't have all night, they needed to figure out what happened as soon as possible. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?!?!"

"Trixxtal."he interjected, calmly walking over to the two of them. "Let me help you."

He placed his hands on Trixxtal's hands and gently removed them from the boy's shoulders. With a warm smile he released his grip on Trixxtal and reached into his pocket, pulling out a hidden blade. Like the ruthless vampire pirate captain he was, he suddenly grabbed the boy's neck and turned him to where he could see Jecht staring directly into his eyes. As he looked into the boys eyes, he couldn't shake the feeling that they looked familiar, but now was not the time to wonder about trivial information. Pressing the knife against the bare skin of the boy's neck, he spoke threateningly, "I'll feel no guilt in killing you should I discover any lies in your words. Got it, kid? Now, tell us, what's your name? And why are you here?"

[Midorimacchi]

Protettore knew this wasn't going to be a good day when he was violently awoken from his sleep. He had been dreaming of nice things; puppies, flowers, rainbows and most importantly, his parents. He was wrapped up in his parent's arms, sandwiched between their bodies with a soft, happy puppy in his arms. Nothing could ever be as good as this~! Protettore thought happily to himself. His parent's loving arms left him momentarily, but as Protettore looked up, he saw them approach him, with the biggest cup of blood he had ever seen. Since he was such a kindhearted boy, Protettore never had the balls to suck the blood directly from a human before, so his parents, mainly his father, spoiled him and put the fresh blood into a cup for him to drink.

" Here you go son~" His father smiled, his golden hair shielding his eyes.

" We love you~" His mother cooed, her hair hiding her face just like his father.

But still, a smile of complete happiness spread across Protettore's face and he could feel tears well up in his eyes. " Momma! Poppa!" He dropped the puppy without thinking, stretching out his arms to hug his parents. But before he was able to reach them, he was shaken out of his dream, his parent's happy faces fading in a instant, only to be replaced with a face of a furious stranger.

" W-what are you..? Who are you?!" Somewhere, deep down, Protettore felt like he knew this stranger from somewhere.....but from exactly where, he didn't know. He tried shrinking his shoulders and started to back away from the man, but his hold held him firmly in place. He couldn't hear the man's next question because of how violently the man was shaking him, and all Protettore could think about was how to escape. He didn't even know there was another man in the room until he moved the blond one away to take his place. When the hand wrapped around his neck, all the small boy could think was, "OhGodOhGodThey'reReallyGoingToKillMe!!!Momma!Poppa !Someone!SaveME!!" and when he was forced to look into the other's eyes, he almost wet his pants. Never before had he seen such.....such unrestrained evil before. If that blond guy wasn't going to kill him, this man certainly was.

" P-Pleas-" He was cut off when a knife was pressed to his throat. "OHGODTHISISIT!GOODBYELIFE!" He silently cried to himself, tears falling down his cheeks. He was so busy freaking out that he didn't hear most of what the man with the knife had to say. He did catch the last bit though. " P-Please don't kill meeee!" He cried, a pitiful hiccup leaving his throat, " I-I live here!! P-Pleaseeee! Don't kill meeeee!!" No longer could he hold back the tears and they were now freely flowing down his cheeks, snot and whatever else running from his nose. It was a real wonder how Protettore had the ability to cry like that with a hand wrapped around his neck.

"P-P-P-Please!!! M-m-m-m-my name's P-Protettore!!!! Don't kill me!!"

☆ trixxtal ☆

Trixxtal's eyes widened at the sound of the name. " Jecht, let go!" He shooed him away, removing the knife at the kid's neck. He was still skeptical, but this kid knew his nephew's name, so even if he was lying about it being his name, maybe he knew where his brother was. " How old are you?" He ordered coldly, his eyes staring straight into the little kid's.

" ....Eight..."

" And you live here? For how long? What did you do to the people who lived here?" The Protettore he knew was only a baby, not an eight year old kid. But Protettore wasn't a popular name and Trixxtal was pretty sure only one as bold as his brother would give his son such an obscure name in all of Italy.

" ...M-My parents....were taken away...." The little boy replied, hesitantly reaching to the nightstand by the bed to pick up a picture. Trixxtal's eyes followed his hand and he snatched it up before the kid could grab it. He scrolled over the picture and to his surprise, he saw his brother and his wife.

" Look!" Trixxtal turned to Jecht, pointing to the smiling brunette in the picture. Next to him was his wife, with an equally large smile, and between them was a small boy. Trixxtal looked up from the picture to look at the boy, and then back to the picture frame. Though the picture looked old, probably from a year or two ago, he could tell that the boy in the picture was the boy in bed.

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

[Azalea]

Satisfied that his tactics worked, he let Trixxtal once again speak to the boy they now knew was named Protettore. He carefully eyed the Protettore, watching him shake with fear while he stepped towards a nightstand. The child reached out for a photograph but Trixxtal grabbed it first. As he scanned the contents of the picture, his eyes widened with suprised, and the blond brought it before Jecht. Jecht's face showed an equally shocked expression when he gazed into the image of a family that looked almost idental to Trixxtal's brother's. The only difference was that there was no baby; he was replaced by the older boy in the room with them.

"It can't be a coincidence that his name is Protettore and that his parents look exactly like your brother and sister-in-law. The only thing that doesn't match is his age, but our pirate ship is very difficult to find out on sea, so you could have received the photo and letter a long time after it was sent. I think this kid is your nephew."he reasoned calmly, returning his attention to the frightened boy.

Snot ran down Protettore's nose because of his crying from earlier. This made Jecht wonder how in the world this kid was a vampire, but then he remembered that he is Jecht. Of course he'd be scared of a badass like him!

"Anyways, Protettore, how long have you been here by yourself?"he interrogated, though this time from a distance and without a knife. If the boy's parents were only taken recently, then perhaps there was hope that they could rescue Trixxtal's brother and sister-in-law. On the other hand, if it was awhile ago, then hope was slim. "And do you know who took your parents away?"

[Midorimacchi]

Protettore's gaze fell to the floor and he fumbled nervously with his fingers. " Um......" He tried to think. It had felt like weeks since his parents were taken, but Protettore knew this wasn't so, it was just his mind playing tricks on him. " It's been.....twelve days. They were taken....by pirates!" Suddenly, his eyes gre cold as he dragged his gaze to look up at the two men infront of him, " Pirates like you!"

☆ trixxtal ☆

The small boy was trying his best to look stern and intimidating, but after living with Jecht for x amount of time, Trixxtal had become immune to any piercing glare that wasn't Jecht's. Instead, a smile spread across his lips. Dropping the picture on the bed, Trixxtal wrapped his arms around the boy's small frame and hugged him tight, nuzzeling his cheek on Protettore's head. " Oh! I've waited so long to meet you!!" Happiness overwhelmed him, even after just hearing that his brother and sister-in-law had been captured. Atleast they weren't dead and rather than meeting a little baby, Trixxtal had a child as a nephew!

Pulling away and allowing the boy to breathe, Trixxtal smiled fondly at him, " I'm your uncle! Oh! You can't imagine how much I wanted to meet you! Oh! This Jecht," He jestured over to the man behind him, not bothering to go into any more detail about their relationship, " And don't worry. I'll do everything in my power to save your parents! Afterall, I can't abandon my brother like that!"

Turning around, Trixxtal looked over at Jecht, " We are going to save them, right?"

[Azalea]

The way Protettore stared at them was like a chihuahua trying to bark and scare two pitbulls. Jecht looked at himself in the mirror everyday, so the the ugly look Protettore had on his face didn't affect him much. However...

Slightly impressed by how the frightened boy dared to glare at him and Trixxtal, Jecht wondered how much potential Protettore had at becoming a powerful vampire. Unlike himself or Trixxtal, the child was a pureblood, which meant that with proper training and enough time Protettore could grow into a stronger vampire than the two adult vampirates in the room.

Because Jecht was caught up in his own thoughts, he only heard the last bit of Trixxtal's lovely speech. "Of course, if that's you wish, Trixxtal."he agreed, wondering how in the world he was supposed to find them. He couldn't just ask another captain, "LOL SUP BRO, DID YOU KIDNAP MY LOVER'S BROTHER AND HIS BROTHER'S WIFE?" and expect to rescue them that way. He would have to fight and defeat the enemy crew and then search for Protettore's missing parents. And he couldn't completely annihilate the ship either, so he wouldn't accidently kill them. Pirate ships usually attacked each other first and asked questions later, so Jecht had a feeling that it would take awhile.

"By the way, Protettore, you're coming with us on our ship and staying with us until we rescue your parents."he declared, not giving him a chance to refuse. Jecht suddenly gave a warm smile towards Trixxtal and Protettore, though there was still something terrifying about the way he spoke. "And I'm going to train you to become strong, so that if your parents are ever in danger again, you can save and protect them yourself. And more importantly, destroy those who have hurt you and your family. Sound good? Alright, glad you and Trixxtal agree, start packing your things. We need to hurry if we want to save your parents."

Then the captain looked at Trixxtal. "I'll go into the town and search for clues so I know where to sail the ship. Help Protettore with his things and then meet me at the FlyingDeath when you're done with things here..."he instructed, acting like his usual bossy self. He gave a small wave farewell at the two vampires before he left.

[Midorimacchi]

( *whispers* ollllldddd wrrrriiiittttiiinnnggg)

" B-b-b-b-b-b-b-but...!" Protettore tried to tell Jecht that there was no way that he was going to step foot on a pirate ship, but the man's face alone was enough to make him remain silent. He could only watch as Trixxtal, his "uncle" nodded to the scary pirate's words and blew him a kiss goodbye.

" See ya later honeybunny~!"

But as soon as the door closed behind Jecht, Trixxtal dropped onto the bed, making Protettore dive out of the way if he wanted his life to be spared. From the bed, he could hear sobbing and loud moaning. Suddenly, little Protettore was confused. " U-um...a-are you....are you okay?" He tried to reach out to touch his uncle's shoulder, but before he could, Trixxtal shot up into a sitting position, hugging a pillow to his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks.

" No! I'm not okay! My dear older brother, my precious Alexandre was taken and there isn't anything I can do about it now! I just have to wait for Jecht to find something out, and who knows if that will even work!"

Still confused about the sudden personality change, Protettore reached out and gently petted his uncle's arm for comfort, " I'm sure he'll find something..." He felt like he was supposed to the be one crying like a child, not his full grown uncle!

And just like that, Trixxtal sniffed once, twice, and then his sobbing stopped completely, tears and all. " Thanks. I don't like for Jecht to see me crying like that." The blond haied pirate sighed and stood up, moving Protettore out of the way, and flipping his hair out of his face, " Now, I'll help you pack! Ooo. Kkkk. Aaa. Yyy~?" He smiled sweetly.

This was the first hint Protettore got about how his life would be like on the FlyingDeath. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be excited, or terribly horrified.

Thirty minutes later, Trixxtal had all of Protettore's clothes, personal items and any other valuable items all packed away into two rucksacks. The pirates who had invaded the house before had taken mostly everything, but Protettore managed to keep some valuable things, like this parents wedding rings, a couple family pictures and other things like that. He silently said his goodbyes to the house and followed Trixxtal outside to the abandoned streets. He explained that their ship wasn't docked too far away and that the walk would be short. On the way there, Protettore asked Trixxtal a few things about his life, such as:

" How do you drink blood on a pirate ship?"

" Do you get into any pirate battles?"

" How long have you known the guy with the scary face?"

" Can I have a dog on board?"

By the time they reached the ship and Trixxtal helped him on it, he knew everything there was to know about being a pirate! Well, as much as an eight year old needed to know.

[Azalea]

Six long hours passed before Jecht jumped onto the ship with rainbow colored sails. A scowl on the vampirate's face, he walked across the deck with a huge bag in his arms. He found a random crew member and immeadiately walked over to him.

"Welcome back captain!"greeted the vampire, only for Jecht to shove the bag into his arms. "I've gathered some food for the humans, make sure this gets stored properly and keep everything from spoiling for as long as possible. Don't forget that what the humans eat is what us vampires eat. It spoils, you will pay."explained Jecht, glaring into the eyes of the lower ranked vampirate. "Y-yes Captain..."he muttered, fearful for his life.

"Hurry up and get to it!"commanded Jecht, on the verge of yelling. The vampire scurried off like a rat to fulfill the captain's orders, bumping into another crew member due to his panicked frenzy. "Arrggh watch where yer goin!"scolded the other vampire, raising his fist in the air at the one with the bag. Jecht frowned at the scene and slightly parted his lips, glaring into the soul of the second vampire. "Don't just stand around while other crew members are working! If you have time to yell at those doing their job then make yourself useful and mop the deck."the captain threated. Jecht held out his arm and, like one of those wizards from Harry Potter summoning brooms, a mop emmerged from a cuboard and levitated at Jecht's whim. The vampire that pissed off Jecht soon felt the mop in his hands and he sighed, hanging his head in shame as he went to go clean. Jecht's mood was becoming worse and he shook his head, continuing his walk on the deck and speaking to a female vampirate.

"Alert the crew that we will be setting sail in one hour. We are heading for Never Island."he informed the woman, knowing that she was a reliable crew member."Aye aye Captain!"she responded.

Jecht, now that he took care of the small business, walked towards Trixxtal's room.

It had been a tedious task searching for clues in a nearly deserted town but he managed to track down a vampire that was hiding out in a human home. The house belonged to a young human couple who had offered to hide the vampire from the pirates that raided the town twelve days ago in exchange for protection.

"If you don't want more pirates destroying what's left of this town, then tell me what you know."threatened Jecht. The vampire, wanting to keep his promise to the human couple and protect them, felt he had no choice but to obey Jecht's command. "There's a group of vampirates that hunts down both vampires and humans. Sometimes they kill and sometimes they kidnap...I don't know what their goal is, but they're infamous."

Then the vampire described the pirate ship and Jecht nodded, satisfied with the vampire's answer, and left the house without harming them. It made sense to him that he had no knowledge of an infamous group since news travelled slow on the seas. He spent a few more hours tracking down clues to where he could find the pirate ship's destination and he ended up finding a wizard in a bar. After getting him drunk by buying him drinks, Jecht tricked him into giving him a magical item that would help track down the ship he was looking for.

And that item was now in his pocket, a golden hook that guide Jecht when steering the FlyingDeath."Place it on your -hiccup!- hand and it -hiccup!-will take you to -hiccup!- Never Island~"the wizard had explained. "They hide -hiccup- there..."

Jecht was unsure whether he could trust the information he received from the drunken wizard, but he had no other leads. After he received the golden hook, he spent an hour stealing food from empty houses to stock up for the journey. The only reason he returned to the ship in a bad mood was the realization that he and Trixxtal wouldn't be able to dine on some delicious Italian pasta...

Pasta still plagued his mind even when he arrived at Trixxtal's cabin. Like always, Jecht barged into the first mate's room without knocking after his flashback was over by kicking the door. His hands were busy tying his beautiful, flowing hair back into it's normal ponytail so he had no choice but to use his feet. "Trixy, I've found some leads..."he announced as he entered the room, prepared to explain what he found.

[Midorimacchi]

While Jecht was out looking for infomation in the town, Trixxtal got the oppertunity to connect with his young nephew, trying to catch up on all the years he missed. Protettore spoke of his mother and his father and all the activities they did together while living thier life amoungest the humans. Sometimes he would bust out in tears at the thought of his missing parents, and in turn, Trixxtal did the same. It was an emotional rollarcoaster and by the time Jecht stepped back on deck, Trixxtal was tired out. Protettore was passed out on Trixxtal's bed with the blond sitting next to him, staring at a picture of his brother and sister-in-law in angst. He could hear talking from the deck above and he could only guess that Jecht was finally back, hopefully with some infomation.

The door swung open and Jecht entered, explaining that he had some leads. Trixxtal, though he was happy that he was back, frowned and pressed and finger to his lips, " Shhhh, he's sleeping." He quickly got off the bed and grabbed Jecht by the shoulders, leading him out the room as fast as he could before Protettore woke up. When the door closed quietly behind them, he removed his hands from Jecht's shoulders and looked up at him with sparkling hopeful eyes, " You know where my brother is?!"

[Azalea]

"Well...A vampire spoke of a band of vampirates famous for these types of raids, and their base is Never Island. A drunk-I mean...a dependable looking wizard instructed me on how to find the island...its just that the island constantly disappears and changes location, so finding it may take some time because I'll have to constantly adjust the ship's course."he explained, placing his hand on Trixxtal's shoulder. "But don't worry, we'll...um, find your family. Definitely."

Jecht attempted to comfort Trixxtal with those words, but for a vampire who grew up without family, he didn't exactly know how to make him feel better. He just couldn't relate. He gave an awkward smile and removed his hand from his first mate. He didn't know what to say anymore and quickly thought up an excuse to leave. "Well, uh, Trixxtal I'm going to steer the ship now. The sooner we depart, the faster we find them."he said, nodding his head with approval of his plan and turning away. However, as he was about to leave the area, Jecht stopped and looked back to Trixxtal. "Oh...the boy is sleeping in your bed, right? If you wish, you may spend tonight in the captain's quarters."he offered.

[Midorimacchi]

" Thank you," Trixxtal smiled, finding comfort in the warmth of Jecht's hand on his shoulder. While finding a magical island that changed location repeatedly sounded impossible, he had faith in Jecht and his crew and if anyone could get to Never Island, it was Jecht. It looked like the road ahead of them would be a long and treacherous one, but he was ready. And he was prepared to wait as long as it took to reunite Protettore with his parents.

" I really mean it Jecht, thank you so much," He patted the hand on his shoulder before it retreated and nodded, " Yeah, I'll see you soon," He was ready to return to his room until Jecht's voice brought him back. " Oh really?" He smiled mischievously, " I might have to take you up on th-"

" CAPTAIN!!!" Footsteps raced towards them and a generic crew member appeared on the top of the stairs, " WE HAVE A SITUATION!"

" What?" Trixxtal snapped before Jecht could speak, pissed that he had gotten cockblocked. " What could possibly be so important that you interrupted us?"

The crew member was shaking and his face was pale, " Y-y-you have to come see!"

Still annoyed, Trixxtal roughly pushed past Jecht and stormed up the stairs, " The deck had better be on fire, I swear to god,"

When he arrived on deck, he saw what the guy had been talking about. The unconscious bodies of the crew members littered the floor, spread out across the deck that made it look like they had all gone down at the same time. In the center stood a thin shadow, the darkness of night hiding any distinguishing features. The man who had alerted them rested at the shadow's feet, freshly unconscious and snoring deeply. Trixxtal felt his shoulders tense and his fists curl as the shadow stepped closer, the moonlight now revealing his face.

" Sup?" The blond nodded, two dark circular pieces of glass shielding his eyes, " 'M lookin' for someone. Y'seen 'em?"

[Azalea]

"What the hell?"muttered the captain, arriving at last to see his crew unconscious. The intruder was standing in the moonlight, a strange type of helmet on top of his head and what looked like to be black steel covering where his eyes should be. Jecht's own eyes narrowed, puzzled at the situation; an intruder with strange armor and clothing and magic powers to subdue his feared vampire crew, and all on his own, had randomly made his way onto his ship.

His current feelings were definitely foreign to him; the vampirate felt a bit intimidated. Jecht scowled, angered that in front of him was a being probably stronger than he was, and stepped in front of Trixxtal. The wizard was searching for someone, hopefully he was not seeking the sleeping child they had just rescued.

The golden hook shining in the moonlight, Jecht growled at the stranger, "Leave this ship at once, wizard! Obviously, the one you seek is not present."

[Midorimacchi]

♫ You a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe
You a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe
You a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe
You a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe ♫

Valerio's head nodded to the beat playing through his headphones, silently taking in his new surroundings. From the movement of the floor beneath him, it would be safe to assume that he was on a boat of some kind. And based off the clothes of the bodies surrounding him, they were probably pirates. You see, the thing about dimension hopping was that you never knew where you were going to land, or when. But this exact moment in time was where his glasses had sent him, so Valente must be around somewhere. Bringing his attention back to the guy he had asked the question to, he was surprised to find that an extra person had arrived. Like the blond, this dude was stronger than the lackeys he had taken down when he first arrived. He wasn't powerful enough to be a wizard like himself, but he wasn't a pushover either. Not to mention his glare was scary as hell and it actually made him inwardly want to back off, but nothing showed outwardly, keeping the best pokerface he could manage.

The sweet voice of Nicki Minaj drowned out whatever reply the new stranger bit out, but luckily for him, Valerio could read lips, even in the darkness behind his shades, " Hmmm, yeah, no, can't do that." He said nonchalantly, pushing his shades further up his nose. Valente's magic was definitely around here somewhere and he wouldn't leave without inspecting it thoroughly. Just to make sure, he pressed the button resting on the rim of the glasses and did another scan. He did not want to pick a fight with these guys if it wasn't necessary. The black lenses lit up, revealing a LED screen and the glasses beeped once, zeroing in on....a hook? Just to make sure, he ran another one, but the results were the same. The golden hook the glaring pirate held was definitely one of his brother's toys, but why did he have it? And where was Valente?

Trixxtal, like Jecht, was perplexed by the clothing and style of the unknown person standing in the middle of their ship. He was like nothing he had ever seen before, with his skin tight trousers and his plastic shoes. The black circles covering his eyes was unsettling, just like the contraption covering his ears. He could also feel the power radiating off of him, just like he could feel Jecht's when they stood side by side, but this man's was different. It was obvious he was a wizard, that much was for sure, but there was just something...different about him. A whole 'other wordly' aura and it was making him uncomfortable.

When he refused Jecht's order, Trixxtal narrowed his eyes, " Hey, you heard him, leave now!" He shouted from behind Jecht's shoulder.

Valerio was vaguely aware that one of the pirates were talking to him but with a flick of his wrist, the blond pirate dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, joining the rest of the crew on the floor. He pushed his headphones down and the sick beats faintly filled the night's silence. " You have something I need." He spoke calmly, taking a step closer. Whether he wasn't paying attention before or he hadn't been close enough, Valerio could tell what the man was now. Vampire. They all were. But the one standing before him was the most powerful, so he was most likely the captain. " The hook, give it to me." He held his hand out expectantly.

[Azalea]

Jecht helplessly watched as Trixxtal fell onto the ground and without thinking the vampire kneeled and tried to shake him awake. "Hey! Trixxtal...!"he growled, worried about his friend. He was alive though, just like the rest of the crew, and that only made the captain feel a bit better. His crew wasn't dead, but they weren't awake to help him fend off the enemy. And right now, the enemy standing before him was a powerful wizard with abilities no vampires would ever be capable of attaining. The wizard stepped closer and demanded the hook from him. He certainly didn't expect him to ask for that, but he couldn't give it to him. Trixxtal's nephew finding his family was important, of course, but what truly mattered was that Jecht spent a long fucking time trying to find a lead on the damn kidnappers and the hook was his only clue. Jecht looked at Trixxtal before standing up and facing the wizard. "Not a chance, wizard. I worked too hard searching for this thing so I'm not giving this thing up easily. Plus, your little spell on my crew will not be forgiven." He stared directly into the wizard's strange eye armor, and then clenched his fist.

Raising his fist into the air, dark clouds began to form and he could hear the thunder he created. Jecht, if he was thinking clearly, would have realized how dangerous a confrontation was, but he was not thinking clearly. And if the wizard was able to see past his strange eye shield, then in Jecht's eyes he would only see one emotion: rage.

"Caw Caw!"

OUT OF NOWHERE, A PARROT WAS IN FRONT OF THE WIZARD'S FACE. IT STARTED TO PECK AT THE HEAD PHONES, ATTEMPTING TO BREAK IT. IT DID NOT LIKE NICKI MINAJ, BUT OF COURSE JECHT DID NOT KNOW THAT BECAUSE JECHT DOES NOT KNOW THE BIRD OR NICKI MINAJ!

Jecht didn't know where that bird came from, but it seemed to want to break the wizard's armor. What a brave creature! Jecht took advantage at the parrot's sudden interference to summon a lighting bolt from the sky. He smirked as he willed it to his hand and then redirected the electricity straight towards the wizard. "You won't get the hook, but you can get this."

[Midorimacchi]

" Whoa, what," Valerio jumped when a parrot appeared randomly and picked at his headphones. Of course there would be a parrot, these were pirates afterall. " What the fuck are you doing, get away from me," he tried swatting the multicolored bird away but it just continued flapping around his face, being annoying as hell. And as much as he wanted it to stop, he couldn't use his magic to stop it. Long ago, when he was a child, he made a vow to himself that no matter what, he would never use his magic to harm or endanger animals of any species. Sure, he had been younger and much more naive, but a promise was a promise and no matter how much the situation called for it, he wouldn't harm an animal. " Gah, fuckin' bird!"

The parrot was obviously doing its job of distracting Valerio because he had no idea of what Jecht was doing. He didn't even notice the storm cloud collecting overhead and the electricity collecting in the pirates hand until it was coming straight for him, too fast for him to deflect it. The lightening strike hit him on his right side and he cried out in pain. Since when could vampires summon lightening? What kind of shit was this?

His back hit the wooden deck below him and another grunt left his lips. His vision was blurry and his body was tingling, but he wobbly got up on his feet. His glasses were calculating numbers and running equations and it was clear that they wouldn't be of any use in this battle; the thunder had messed with their programming. He turned them off with a shaky hand and the lit screen faded and his glasses turned back into simple shades, " Ok, if that's how you wanna play, fine by me." He pushed the pain in his side to the back of his mind and raised his fists.

Who would've thought I'd be caught in this life?
Let's celebrate with a toast and get lost in tonight and make it all light up
Wait until the sun goes down, we gon' make this bitch light up

As the lyrics tumbled from his mouth, his hands lit up, flames wrapping around his fists. While his brother relied on visual magic for big spells, Valerio used audio, mostly using 21st century rap lyrics to create his spells. WIth his fists completely consumed in flames, Valerio charged towards the vampire, making a swing towards his pretty face.

[Azalea]

Lightning circulating around him as a barrier, Jecht took up his fighting stance. What nonsense is that wizard blabbing... he wondered, but after the strange stanza was completed, fire sparked around the wizard's fists. That was a spell?! he thought, baffled. Jecht had never seen a wizard cast spells like this one! He crossed his arms together to prepare for a block, confident that his electricfying barrier would stop the approaching flaming fists.

The wizard swung at his face and was blocked, but the lightning began to spiral out of control, beginning to shoot out at different directions. They struck at different parts of the ship so Jecht, knowing he couldn't risk damaging the ship or his crew, frowned and let down the lightning shield. With the lightning no longer protecting him, the wizard's fiery fist easily punched Jecht in the face. The vampire felt an intense burn on his cheek as he soared through the air, knocked so hard by the wizard that he was sent flying. "D-damn..."he cursed, panic filling him as he crashed into the bowsprit then falling into the ocean. The burning in his cheek didn't vanish despite the captain being submerged in the water. Damn magic... he thought, swimming frantically back to the surface.

Not realizing that he dropped the golden hook into the ocean, Jecht summoned lightning towards the water. Because of the water the lightning shocked his entire body as he came into contact with it, but he merely shook off the feeling. He onto lightning like a vine. "I'll kill you...!"he growled, unsheathing the sword that he had with him the entire time, and channeling lightning through it to make it some sort of electric sword. His weapon in hand, Jecht jumped off the lightning bolt and headed straight for the wizard, his lightning sword prepared to strike his neck.

[Midorimacchi]

Valerio didn't allow himself to get cocky after the vampire went flying. He might not have a lot of experience with their kind, but he knew they were stronger than they looked and one simple punch to the face wouldn't be enough to take one down. While the vampire was busy in the water, Valerio turned his glasses back on. With some luck, the short powerdown was enough for the system to re-calibrate and come back online. The two screens lit up, fuzzy at first but after a second, they evened out to a clear black loading screen with a simple record symbol in the middle, a bar on the bottom starting from 1%. The wizard smiled to himself and backed away from the edge of the ship, putting even more space between him and the vampire. He could feel the electricity in the air and could tell that the vampire was preparing for an attack. All he needed was for this glasses to start running again and- Aha! The glasses lit up and his welcoming message ran across his screen. Wasting no time, he ran another scan. triple checking that the vampire had what he needed and that is was infact his brother's magic.

Before the scan was complete, the vampire appeared again, this time with an electrical sword and Valerio gulped, tapping the band around his wrist and shielded his face with it. A split second before the sword could make contact with his wrist, a shield appeared, composed completely of hard light energy so while it appeared transparent, it was srong enough to block an attack. Sparks shot against the shield and Valerio was glad his eyes were protected by the shades. But since his shield was made of energy, it couldn't withstand the electrical sword for long. With a quick jab of his forearm, Valerio pushed the vampire backwards and jumped back far enough that he was on the other edge of the ship. His next spell was on the tip of his tongue when his glasses beeped his his attention was drawn to the bottom of the ship, to the bottom of the sea. Like a heat sensor, he could see the golden hook sitting in the sand where it must have dropped after the vampire dropped into the ocean. Without saying a word, he got up into the wooden ledge and slipped his headphones over his ears, pressing a light blue button on the edge of the left speaker. Like all of his other equipment, his headphones weren't simply for listening to music but also served multiple purposes, most of them being helmets. It just so happened that there was a deep sea scuba diving option for cases just like this. The headphones transformed around his face, and the helmet safely secured around his neck. It was uncomfortably tight, but he would much rather prefer that than drowning. Sadly though, the helmet only protected his face and there was no hope for his suit. Damn, and he liked this one too.

He jumped into the water and immediately made his way to the bottom. He didn't want to stay down here for long, especially with a pissed off vampire above who could control lightening no less. The hook was seated nicely in the sand and as soon as Valerio touched it, he could feel the remnants of Valente's magic on it. He grasped it firmly and swam back to the surface. The helmet retracted once he was able to breathe again and he looked the hook over. It was a questionable item for his brother to use his magic on, but atleast he had it and all he needed to do now was find out why that vampire had it and what he was going to use it for. A small wind spell got him back onto the dock and he was ready to attack before his feet even touched the ground.

And yes I call the shots, I am the umpire
I sprinkle holy water upon the vampire

It wasn't necessarily holy water that hit the captain, but it was something that could take a vampire down, momentarily paralyzing him. Using this chance, Valerio jumped on the vampire and held the hook before his face, " Where did you get this? Why do you have it? What does it do?"

[Azalea]

Hm?

A sharp jolt to his head. He came to an instant stop, unable to move any part of his body.

He's paralyzed me. he concluded, a scowl ever present on the vampire's face.

Jecht felt the energy in his palms diminishing, the lightning sword faded by the time the wizard approached. The man held the golden hook in front of Jecht's face and his eyes narrowed. Oh? Rubbing his apparent victory in my face, it seems...he thought, unable to move his lips. He could not move at all; the captain briefly wondered why the paralysis spell did not kill him.

However, the moment the wizard demanded answers, Jecht felt a liberating sensation in his lips. "Ah..."he quietly mused. So he can choose which parts of my body are affected by the spell, perhaps my vital organs have been spared from the magic's effects. he figured, cautious of the wizard's abilities. "That is why I hate your kind; wizards are the most annoying enemies to have."he answered, ignoring the questions.

Jecht smirked.

"Is your species not the most powerful of beings? Maybe your intelligence does not reach the heights of your power, you should know full well that a vampire such as myself will not willingly reveal information that easily. You'll have to force me a bit more, are you capable of torture?"he taunted, inviting the wizard to attack him again.