Jane stares hard into the box, her eyebrows coming together and raising slightly in question. She chokes on the gag and coughs, struggling for air for a moment. Inhaling shakily, she glances up at the General as he swears, glaring daggers at him.
   What if he was lying? It wouldn't surprise Jane at all to know that he would stab someone in the back if it ment that he would climb the social ladder. She pulled at the ropes tying her wrists to the chair, cursing at the General while he couldn't understand what she was saying.

  Captain Jackson growled fiercly. "If you don't honor your oath, I will haunt you for eternity."

  The General chuckled. "I don't doubt it, old friend. Worry not; after this, I will finally be rid of you."

  Jackson rattled the box again, water splashing around at his movements. "There's really no need to kill me, Ribische. This is ridiculous. I won't beg, but I'll ask you politely; release me."

  General Ribische sighed. "Sorry, I just can't. I've hated you for so long, chased you for so long, now that I've finally caught you, I can't let this oppourtunity pass."

  Anger crept into Jackson's voice. "This is rediculous! It makes no sense. Why kill me, when I'm the only one who knows the secret!?"

  "Because I'll kill these young people if you don't tell me before you die. Horribly, slowly. They'll linger for hours. Dillon is quite talented." In his corner, Dillon smirked, a thin sheen of sweat covering his shaved head.

  The water was rising up over his chest. He swallowed against the hard knot of panic and fear rising up his throat. " If you would be so kind as to lean in closer, General. The secret is..."

  The rest was delivered in a whisper, only audible to the General, whose ear was pressed to the lid of the box. The last words were gasped as the water rose up his throat; Jane could see his face pressed up to the air bubble at the little glass window. His eyes were wide and frightened, his breathing quick as the General leaned back with a satisfied smirk on his face.

  "Remember your oath, Genera-" The Captain was cut off as the water closed over his head. Thin streams of water squirted from the sides, onto the warped wooden floor below. Dillon lifted the lever; the gurgling sound of water faded away.

  The water filled box was silent, as Jackson Knight was faced with a quandry. Should he breath in the water, make it as quick as possible? Or hold in his breath for as long as he could? After a split second of consideration, he chose to fight. It was possible he had doomed everyone by telling Ribiche how to remove the necklace; but he hadn't told him everything. The General would get a nasty shock once he tried it. But if he had made things ultimately worse, in this, at least, he would fight. He would fight until the end.

  The box rattled with his panicked movements, but it didn't give any more than it had before. Be banged repeatedly at the little glass square, the only thing visible to him now, a few inches of light. It was too small and thick to break. His pounding became more frantic as his lungs began to burn.

  Outside, tears were running freely down Connors face as he witnessed his Captain struggle in vain.

  Jane was close enough to see his final moments. The crashes became weaker. She saw three of his fingers press up against the glass; they shook as they clenched into a fist. Finally, after over a minute of weak pounds, they stopped. Captain Jackson Knight used the last of his strength to pull his body up to the little window, and put his eye to the light.

  His green eye fixed on Jane with an intensity she had never before felt. There was also a desperation in that eye, as if he was drawing strength from the very sight of her. Suddenly, Jane felt something. Like another person was suddenly with them in the little room. She heard a sound like a far off, agonized wail of grief; right after that her mind was flooded with an alien presence. All thought of hers was erased, drowned out by the words screaming through her mind with a nearly incomprehensible volume and power.

"HE IS DYING FOR YOU. FOR YOU. IT IS AS IT SHOULD BE, BUT I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS, JANE LEWIN. FEAR NOT. HIS EMOTION HAS GIVEN ME STRENGTH. GET ANGRY, JANE LEWIN. YOU WILL BE MY LINK ONCE HE PASSES. FOR THIS, HE MUST DIE. BUT I CAN SAVE HIM, IF YOU FEEL. I WILL HAVE TO BREAK THE RULES. IT WILL HURT, BUT FOR HIM, IT WILL BE WORTH IT. YOU CAN GIVE ME THE POWER TO HELP HIM, JANE. FEEL. REALLY FEEL."

  Then, as quickly as it had come, the presence was gone. No one else seemed to have noticed. It had only taken a moment; Captain Jackson was still looking at her. As he did, he began to convulse; all at once, he lost the battle. He pushed away from the glass as his visible eye widened in terror and pain as he gasped water into his lungs. The little window was blocked by his long, vibrantly red hair.

  The box jittered for a moment more in his final, agonized throes, then was still. The window was dark, a single, small bubble wobbling against its clear surface. The General had rested a hand on the box throughout the whole ordeal, and as the Captain died, a cold grin spread across his face.

   Jane began to tremble, her heart began to pound like never before, and her senses jumped to a new level. Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead, and she sucked in a breath past her gag. Her eyes turned to the General, and the smile on his face added fule to the fire in her chest. Adrenaline shot through her body like a shock wave, and she screamed.

   Her chest felt like it was being torn in two, and she couldn't think of a word to describe it before the feeling was gone, and a new emotion took hold. Hate, anger, saddness, grief, loathing, revenge, hope. She let the emotions run loose, no thought for herself, only for the man in the box. He couldn't be dead, and whoever spoke to her, could bring him back. He wasn't dead, she shook her head and laughed, it only being a few seconds since his death.

   Jerking back on her bonds, Jane nearly tipped her chair over. She screamed like she had never screamed before, until it felt like her throat would rip apart. She began to yell her emotions at the General, her words muffled, tears running freely down her cheeks as she wiggled an ankle loose from the ropes. She kicked viciously at the box, determined to feel everything she could, as much as she could. The kick sent her chair skidding backward, and she leaned forward to keep from tipping over.

   Sobs wracked her body, and she nearly choked on the gag, the handkerchif wet from her tears. She hung her head, gasping for breath as her emotions turned her into a different person, and something inside her snapped.

  Connor was screaming as well, not obstructed by a gag, maddened by the drowning he had just witnessed. Tears streamed from his dark eyes. Dillon took a step towards him and struck him hard across the face, knocking him senseless, and silent. But the General motioned for him to stop when he reached for Jane, an exhultant look on his face. He drank in her sadness and grief, her muffled screams, as sweet to him as a fine wine. He threw back his head and laughed, laughed long and loud.

  When he was done laughing, he got up and went to the wall where the lever was, and lifted it up halfway. With a shudder and a deep gurgle, the water began to drain from the box. As it did, Ribische pulled a ring of keys from a pocket in his long, dark coat, and once again knelt by the box, his eyes on Jane. It seemed he meant to torment her further. He selected a key from the ring, and thrust it into a lock on his side of the box. He turned it laborously and completely around, and with a wet sucking hiss and a loud clack, the box was unsealed. Still he leered at Jane, waiting until the water was completely drained. Once the noise stopped, the General grasped the side of the box, and lowered it to the floor. It opened on the side; the hinges hadn't been visible to Jane or Conner, and the Captain thought it had opened on the top, concentrating most of his effort there. He had been wrong.

  General Ribische reached into the box, and grasped the cold arm of the man he had just murdered. Chuckling, he hauled the Captains sodden body out of the box and onto the floor, where all could see it. So sound or movement of breath came from him; his hair looked like a splash of blood, spread across the wet floor and slashing across his deathly pale face. He flopped limply as the General moved him off the lid, then closed the box. His flamboyant suit was wrinkled and clung wetly to his limbs. His striking green eyes were half open, and there was no light in them. The Captain was dead. His lips and fingertips were already turning blue, the skin under his eyes darkening almost as they watched.

  The General stood triumphant over his adversary's still body, watching Jane and Conner for their reactions. Conner sobbed softly, consumed by abject greif and misery, his eyes on the Captains dead eyes. A little drip of blood flowed from a small cut on his cheek where Dillon had hit him.

   Jane slowly fell still after her eyes fell onto the Captain's face. At first, she held back, not wanting to give the General the pleasure of knowing that seeing him dead made her feel lost, and abandoned. Then she remembered the words of the voice, and her tears began anew. Jane clenched her hands into tight fists, her nails digging into her palms painfully. Feelings roiled through her, like the feeling of being on a ship in the middle of a storm.

   Tearing her eyes from Jackson, she turned her burning gaze to the General. Feeling hatred for the man that murdered her Captain, the man who had taken them in instead of throwing them out. Hatred for the General, hope for the Captian, and the desire to see her brother again burst another fountain inside of her. She sobbed freely, struggling to breath past the gag. She wasn't too far away from the General, when he opened the box he got closer to her.

   Glaring, she screamed and lifted her free leg, kicking out at the General with all of her confused and powerful feelings. She had never felt like this before. Gone was the quite and shy Jane, aloof and peacefull. Now, she didn't know who she was, but she did not miss the shy girl from before.

                         *     *      *      *      *

     Mordecai was in the General's quarters the whole time. He had been filling his pockets with all the small and shiny things he could find. Money, mementos, rings and medals. Mordecai chuckled as he pilfered everything that wasn't nailed down. He was turning to go when he noticed one thing that he had missed. From where he was standing he could see under the General's bed. Lying hidden beneath it was a small black box. Mordecai crept over to the bed and pulled out the black box; turning it over in his hands. It was simply a small black box you might put anything in, but it had a sinister feeling to it.

     Mordecai opened the box and reached inside. There was nothing there but a key. A key that looked like it was made from human bones; Ribs and a hip bone made the small handle, while leg and arm bones ran up the neck to head,  that was made from what appeared to be skeleton hands and feet, intertwined into strange ridges and shapes. Mordecai felt like rubbing off his hands as he examined this key, holding it felt like running your hands through a thin layer of oil. Mordecai grabbed a nearby cloth and wrapped the key in it, then hid it in his pocket and stole out of the room.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:50, Mon 20 June 2011.

    Jane's kick landed solidly on the General's thigh. Nothing happened. He didn't even stagger. He regarded her briefly with a look of mild annoyance, which cleared up quickly when he returned to gloating over Captain Jackson's dead body. Still, he took a few steps away from her chair.

    General Ribisch stepped to the door, turning back to them all with a cheerful sneer. "I have to go now, kids. So sorry I can't stay, but there is an enemy ship off our port bow that needs taking. Dillon," he said, and the youth stepped forward eagerly, his hands still red with blood. "Have fun." With that, the General left, closing the door softly behind him.

    Dillon turned to face Connor and Jane, hands clasped behind his back. He regarded them with a tilted head, horridly similar to how an artist regards a blank canvas. After a while, he reached into his coat and pulled out a simple blade, short but sharp, with a bone handle. He smiled as he walked toward Jane, adjusting the knife in his hand.

   Jane was scared of Dillon, and her expression made that very clear. Using her free leg, she pushed the chair back away from him, but not fast enough. "You stay away from us!" she nearly screamed, raising her free leg to kick him.

Mordecai skulked through the passages of the ship, trying to find Jane or the Captain. He reached a door that led into another hall, and was about to open it when he heard very heavy footsteps getting closer to the door. Mordecai gasped quietly and desperately searched for somewhere to hide. There was nothing but a stark iron chandelier above his head, and he had no other choice. He jumped as high as he could and grabbed it, then pulled his torso above it and lifted his legs straight out underneath it just as the door began to open.

     He hung at an angle as he clung desperately to the chandelier, but thankfully he was high enough above the man's head that he did not see him. The man was dressed well in obviously fine but strong fabric, and a cloak hung softly behind his shoulders. He had to be the Captain of this ship, and he was going back to his quarters!
     Mordecai waited until he was clear of the man, than lighted onto the floor and ran the other way. He was just getting to a stop when he heard some muffled screaming. It was coming from a door just down the hall, and Mordecai ran to it. He placed his ear to the door to hear better, and it was Jane! He swung the door open to find Connor, Carson, and Jane tied together in chairs, Captain Jackson lying on the floor, and a man holding down Jane's leg; slowly bringing a knife to her face.
     Mordecai's eyes flared wide open with fury and he ran at the man, raising his axe behind him and lunging forward. Dillon raised his head after hearing footsteps but didn't think them hostile to him. He focused his attention back on Jane. "Back to see the show General?" CRUNCH! Mordecai cleaved his axe into the back of Dillon's skull and the whole thing nearly splattered like a watermelon. Fortunately for Jane, it didn't. Mordecai wrenched his axe back out of Dillon's head and kicked him over. He turned back to Jane hurriedly. "Jane, are you alright?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:05, Fri 01 July 2011.

   Jane nearly started crying with relief when she saw Mordecai. Both of her cheeks still stinging with blossoming bruises, "I'm fine, but Carson..." she faultered, "He needs help, we need to get out of here. Quickly!"

Mordecai looked over at Carson, tied up next to Jane, and nearly shouted at the sight of his arm. The Carson's arm was horribly mangled, bone was jutting out of wrenched flesh and the very arm seemed to limply hold together. Mordecai whipped out a knife and grimly set his jaw as he cut the ropes quickly and caught Carson as he slipped off of the chair. Mordecai gently hoisted him over his left shoulder; he was considerably strong and could still hold his axe in his right hand. He turned to Connor who was still sitting in his seat, sobbing and listless. Mordecai shook his shoulder and he jerked up with a start. "Connor, can you walk? We need to get out of here, now!"

  Connor turned tear-filled eyes on Mordecai. "I... can walk," he finally said softly, and his gaze returned to the lifeless Captain. "But what do we do... what do we do without..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:57, Sun 10 July 2011.

   Jane stood up once Mordecai cut the ropes, and walked over to Connor, "Trust me when I tell you he will come back. 'Kay?" She grabbed his arm and pulled, her own eyes filled with tears, "But we have to go now."

Mordecai adjusted Carson on his shoulder and turned to the door. "Connor, I'm sorry, he meant a lot to me too, but we have to get out of here if his sacrafice meant anything." Mordecai cast his eyes down and stepped out the door, then turned and looked both ways. Turning back to Jane he nodded. "Come on." He started walking down the right hallway.

Connor regarded Jane with wide, uncertain hazel eyes, eyes that had seen his Captain die and now refused to hold on to hope. It would be to painful if the hope was fruitless. Silently, he followed the siblings, casting one last agonizing glance back at the Captain's still body.

Mordecai continued quietly, carefully checking around every corner and door in the ship they passed. Hefting Carson once in a while for comfort. Soon, Mordecai was sure they were nearly to the deck, and that the General had discovered that his room had been ransacked by now. "Connor, is there a way we can signal the ship to help us escape? Through one of the windows here, perhaps?"

Conner looked at the windows dispiritedly, and shook his head. He pressed one hand against the thick glass. "These windows aren't made to open," he said. "The only windows made to open on air-ships are the state-windows in the captain's cabin."

   Jane kept hold of Conner's hand, and looked up at Modecai with a firm nod, "Then to the Captain's Quarters we go. We have to get off this ship fast." then she hesitated, and frowned anxiously, "But, where is it?"

"I know," said Mordecai. "But I wouldn't suggest going back there. I saw a REALLY big guy going back that way, and..." Mordecai gave his pockets a jingle, hinting at the shiny things they were loaded with.

   Jane lifted up onto her toes with a gasp, "You didn't!" she hissed, lifting a hand to slug him in the shoulder "Why did you do that? Just- No, nevermind. Show us where the room is." she whispered desperately.

Mordecai heaved a sigh and looked back the way they had come. "Ok, but this isn't gonna be good." He led them back the way he had come, back past the room where Jackson lay, and past the chandelier he had clung to. Soon they neared the Captain's Cabin, and there was loud rummaging and cursing coming from inside. Mordecai's face paled, he knew it was the General.

     "Where is it?! Bloody hell, where is it!?" The General was inside, tearing through everything looking for something. Mordecai's hand instinctively moved to the pocket where the wrapped Skeleton Key was. If this is it, and I'm captured, he would certainly find it upon searching me. Maybe, just maybe he wouldn't search someone already imprisoned. Jane seemed intent on the door, and who was inside. Connor seemed not to notice anything. Mordecai then slowly removed the Key from his pocket, and moved to gently lift Carson off of his shoulder; subtley placing the key in his pocket, while gently laying him on the floor away from the door.

Connor turned to Mordecai. "We'll have to go another w-"

His whispering was cut off as the door slammed open, a livid General Ribische suddenly revealed. The General, a trained soldier, reacted quickly to the young people outside his door. His first kick dropped Connor, who curled up on the ground, retching as he clutched at his middle. A solid backhand struck Jane across the face and she bashed into the wall of the narrow hallway, blonde hair flying. The General stepped over her prone form and advanced on Mordecai, eyes wild. "Where is it?" he asked in a frighteningly civil tone, and lashed out.

Mordecai didn't really have time to react, but luckily enough, he gently tripped backwards over Connor as the General lashed out to grab him, and he fell away from his grasp; hitting the floor. The General didn't hesitate to go after Mordecai again, and Mordecai didn't wait for the General to do so. He scampered across the floor at full speed until he was on his feet and running down the hall; not looking back for fear the furious General was the last thing he would see. Surely enough, the heavy pounding on the deck right behind him was the General, and he was catching Mordecai up. Jane, I love ya, and I hate to leave you back there, but I'm no good to you dead. Since Mordecai had been lying his whole life, he had no trouble shouting back at the General as he ran. "You will never see it again General, I threw it off of the ship first chance I got!!" Mordecai at first hadn't thought his lie through very carefully, being chased as he was. He was only concerned with keeping Jane safe, and not letting Ribische find the key on Carson's person. He thought this would discourage Ribische searching Carson for sure, but when the General let out an infuriated scream and began running harder than before, Mordecai realized it didn't matter where he went on this ship; he just needed to run MUCH faster.

  The General was intent on catching Mordecai and killing him, no matter the cost. Inflamed as he was, he didn't notice a slight flicker of movement off in one of the other hallways, in the direction of the torture chamber where Captain Jackson had been killed.

  Mordecai was so set on escaping he didn't notice either.

  General Ribische ran full speed into a devestating left hook that took his feet out from under him, landing him flat on his back in the hallway with a deep, throaty grunt as the air was driven from his lungs. Blood trickled down his chin from a split lip as his unfocused eyes rolled.

  A tall figure stepped out of the narrow side hallway and loomed over the General. When the fallen Patrolman finally focused and saw who was standing above him, his eyes widened in insane terror and he screamed.

  Captain Jackson Knight waited a moment for the high-pitched wail to peter out, staring down at his nemesis with blood-shot eyes. Dillon's thick-bladed knife was clutched in one hand. Dripping wet, he clunked heavily to one knee beside the panicked General when his breath finally ran out.

  "Guess who, you bastard. I've come back to haunt you. You lay a finger on my crew, and you die."

  General Ribische drew another breath to scream again; Jackson plunged the knife into his throat, and the scream turned into a gurgle as blood sprayed from the wound. Captain Jackson stared vehemently into the General's eyes until the light of life fled them.

  As soon as Ribische's body went slack, Jackson leaned back and fainted against the wall.

Mordecai had run nearly another minute before he heard the scream and realized the General was no longer on his heels. He stopped at a soppy trot and nearly fell over, he had never run so hard nor so long in his life. His throat burned dry, his legs felt like planks, and his sides ached. He looked back and realized the heavy set footsteps that were the generals had stopped following him a while ago. So Mordecai laimly limped and hopped back the way he came, tracing his steps to make sure he didn't make a wrong turn.

     Soon, he rounded a corner and nearly pissed himself; General Ribische lay oh the floor in a pool of his own blood, and the soggy dead Captain Jackson lay over him. Mordecai was not sure whether he was dead or not, but he didn't really take time to examine him. The thought of Captain Jackson being undead or otherwise returned to life spooked him badly after his heart-pounding chase with the General. He trotted past the two as quickly as he dared then hobbled all the way back the way he had gone; back to find Jane.