Awwww... Now I have to get the game again! . . . Like that's a bad thing? xD Good find! I'll have to be sure and try it out sometime! (That is, if I can find a copy of the game... It's so POPULAR! D= ) - D...
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Tomatoes... By the way... [MARQUEE]I'M BACK, BEEYATCH!!![/MARQUEE] Just so you know. xD
FINAL MASTER started as a short story that I was working on in a writing class during my senior year of high-school. Then, while on a cosplay binge, I created a character named Adrian. He was Sora's older brother of five years and dual-wielded the Kingdom Key and Darkside. I saw the potential for a fan-fiction. I dug around, and found my old, hand-written first-draft of FINAL MASTER and read through it again. I felt that the story was good enough to continue and beefed it up. So, upon my joining of KH-Vids.NET, I looked around to see if anyone had come up with similar ideas for stories. Seeing none, I started to type it up, adding a chapter here and there for about half a year. I finally ended Part One with an exciting cliff-hanger. When I started Part Two, I was on a obsessive cycle of playing Chain of Memories on my emulator and playing Kingdom Hearts II on my PS2, hacking both of them with codes that I'd found, (where else?) on KHV. So, you can kinda see where the inspiration for that part came from. As it is now, I never finished the story. I was saddened to think that FINAL MASTER was dead. So, to keep things going a little bit, (and in the hopes that I would someday finish the story), I made the FINAL MASTER website, (CLICK HERE). Still far from done with this idea, I had an brainstorm -- why not re-write the story to better follow the KH Saga's storyline? Birth By Sleep is out, so there will be plenty of new material when I get the game, and I know the plotline pretty well, already. It's like trying to decide what to do with $30: buy pizza now, or save it and not buy anything... Hmmmmm... What a big decision... PIZZA! xD So, here is a re-vamped version of FINAL MASTER. Enjoy! - D... Part One Prologue: Twilight Town... What is Kingdom Hearts? When many people hear that name, they try to picture the Heart of All Worlds, and imagine the power housed within. It is nothing but a bedtime story to them. A tale to be told to young children for them to dream about, building adventures and stories out of what they hear. But we know better, don't we? We know that the Keyblade holds the answer... Keyblade? Have you not heard of the very weapon that you are meant to be carrying? The Keyblade is but an instrument of the person wielding it. There are some who believe it to be a weapon of fate. Not lightly does this legendary sword relinquish its power, they say... Some others believe that the Keyblade is but an earned treasure, nothing more. Who can say which side holds closer to the truth? It is up to you, my young protege, to find the answer that strikes true to you... Master Xehanort... Who was he? You have heard the name before I told you of him. Have you not, my Apprentice? He was my Master, once. But he is nothing more than a distant memory to me now. He has no part to play with us, does he? Him and that foolish boy... Ventus. And what about him? He was swallowed by the Darkness, his heart forever lost. Then how was it that he returned? If he was lost -- He is not important! I... I apologize, Master. I spoke rashly... Boy, you speak your mind. Ahhhhh... If you were only here to witness, for yourself, what is about to unfold... What do you mean, Master? You will know before long. Just... Watch the Twilit Sky... Excerpt from the LDT Logs, Radiant Gardens Chapter One: Destiny Islands... Countdown to the Connecting of Worlds: 21 years “Congratulations, ma'am,†the doctor said over the wailing of the baby in his arms to the woman on the hospital bed, “It's a boy!†The woman looked up as the doctor said this and a small tear came to her eye. Her long, shiny, brown hair was disheveled and her beautiful, green eyes were dulled with weariness, but she still had a joyous glow around her. Her face was now contorting with a mixture of weariness and pure, unmistakable ecstasy. She wiped her face on her hospital gown and held out her arms to her beautiful baby boy. The doctor gently placed the child in her arms and, suddenly, the baby stopped crying. The eyes that gazed back at her were green like his her's but the sparse hair on the top of his head was pure, jet black. The mother looked up at the doctor and cocked her head to one side. “Why is his hair this color? My husband's hair is blond and mine is brown... Wait. Does it have something to do with, um, what's it called...†“Recessive genes.†The doctor smiled. “That is what you mean, but I'm not sure that that's it...†“What? What do you mean?†“When he was born, I was sure that his hair was blond. Then, when he was being cleaned, it looked brown. Now, it is black! I'm not sure what that was about, but his eyes did the same thing. I looked into his eyes a while ago and they were blue. Now they are green... It's like his body can't make up it's mind on what color everything should be! It sure is a mystery...†But the woman wasn't paying attention. She was lost in the eyes of her son. Her one and only child. In fact, she had been staring into his eyes since she had asked the last question. Hmmmm, she said to herself, I feel like he knows exactly what I'm thinking, what I'm saying... There is an intelligence in his eyes that can only come with age and wisdom. What are you thinking, little one? I wish I could see into your head, my little Adrian... “Ma'am?†The doctor tried to get into her field of vision, but she was completely oblivious to him and everything around her. He smiled and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. Meanwhile, in Radiant Gardens... "Well, well, well!" Braig hopped down off of the ledge he'd been sitting on. "What have he here?" "Leave it alone, Braig!" Even scowled, getting in between Braig and the large box that was being carted into the castle. "Is it for me? C'mon! Let me see!" "No! Get back!" "Tsk tsk tsk! Y'know, that's not being very nice!" "What are you going to do? Call for help in robbing a scientist?" "As if!" Braig pulled out one of his arrowguns and twirled it around as he hopped back up onto his ledge. "I'm just curious..." "And you know what they say about curiosity...?" "Yeah, yeah, it killed the cat, and whatever... But," he said, looking down the length of his arrowgun and then holstering it, "I ain't no ordinary cat!" "Just stay out of the way! Ienzo! Go notify Master Ansem of the arrival!" "Yes, sir." The young boy ran off into the castle through the Postern's door. "Shame he's not gonna see the end of this project..." Even whipped around and glared at Braig. "How do you know about that?!" "Come on, dude! Get with it! I've known about that ol' thing since it started!" He leaned down toward Even. "I got some reliable sources!" "That 'project,' as you call it, is not any of your concern! So keep out of it!" "Fine, fine, whatever you say..." And with that, he rolled backward once and hopped up, giving Even a sarcastic salute and disappearing into the town. Even, angered at Braig's knowledge of the project, continued overseeing the movement of the box into the castle's Postern... Flashforward: 20 years later, Midgar, Sector Five Slums... "Zack?" A pretty girl with brown hair tied up in a pink ribbon called out from a patch of flowers she was working on in the middle of a church in the slums. Midgar was about 150 feet above them, its polluted stink surrounding the church and permeating the air in the slums around it. But the smell never actually got inside the church -- maybe the flowers' fragrance was just enough to drive the smell away. A young, black-haired man with a large sword on his back was sitting by the door to the church, looking around at the slums. "Y'know, Aerith," he called back to her, "I could get used to this." "What? Sitting on your bum all day, doing nothing?" They laughed, enjoying the rare time that Zack got off from work. He was a SOLDIER, 1st Class, and, thus, had little time for R&R. He liked it here, though. It was almost enough for him to lay down his sword and give up this whole fighting the army of Genisis Copies that seemed to know just how to strike... Of course, they were clones of possibly the best SOLDIER operative within Shin-Ra. Well, technically not in Shin-Ra, anymore, as he did desert about a year ago... "Zack? What's on your mind?" Zack jumped. "Oops!" Aerith laughed, sitting next to him and grabbing his hand to hold. She lay her head on his shoulder guard and sighed. "I wish you didn't have all this damn work to do..." Zack looked at her funny. "That's a new side of you... Since when has my work ever bothered you?" She pulled away and looked him straight in his intoxicating blue, mako-spiced eyes. She normally couldn't resist melting on the inside when she did this, but this time, she wanted him to know how serious she was. "Since the beginning." "Oh." He looked away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I... I never thought you had any problem with it..." "Well, I do!" She stood now, and Zack knew he was in for it. "You go out there and get on the front lines and fight fight fight! All you can think about when you're out there is which enemy is going to be the biggest threat and how you can take him down! All I can think about is if you're going to come back! Not 'when' -- 'if!' I can't stand it...!" Zack jumped up when he saw tears coming to her eyes. She turned away, not wanting to show how upset she was, but he had already seen the emotion on her face. He wrapped her up in his arms and stroked her hair, shushing her as she let loose her tears into his shoulder. "I will never abandon you, you hear me? Never." He said quietly. She shook her head. "How can you be so sure?" "Because..." He let go of her and pulled out his sword. He twirled it around and put it back on his back, winking and pointing his finger at her. "I'm SOLDIER, 1st Class, Zack Fair! And I never break a promise!" She couldn't help it. She busted up laughing. "What? Was that too much?" Zack shrugged. Aerith recovered and put a hand on his shoulder. "One tip: never do that in front of a girl that you're trying to impress!" They laughed a while, then became somber again. After a few minutes of just standing, staring out at the slums, Aerith turned to Zack again. "Zack? Can I ask you something?" Without turning, he replied, "Shoot." "What happened to you 10 years ago?" Zack turned to her, frowning. "What do you mean? I was living in Gongaga, with my family. 6 years ago, I moved to the city to become SOLDIER..." "Was it just a dream...?" Aerith turned away, hand to her chin, thinking." I remember him. 10 years ago. I saw myself as I am now... But I was hollow. Dead to the world. Then he showed up. And he got sucked into that vortex... "Aerith?" Zack shook her shoulder gently. She snapped out of her thoughts and smiled. "Let's go see if that boy is staying out of trouble." She said. Then, she went out the door into the slums. "Aerith!" Zack followed slowly. "Hey! Aerith! Wait up!" "Come on, slowpoke! I'll leave you behind if you're slow!" He ran to catch up to her and they walked to the Market. Maybe, she thought to herself as they walked, Maybe that's something for anther time... End of Chapter One...
Are you, like, serial? I, like, wanna chat it up wit' ya, but ya, like, never on when I am. Like, come ON, dude! Like, get wit' it, maybe? . ....
Totally noob question here, but... What does "DMA" mean, again? I never can get a clear response as to what DMA means or stands for... Regardless, great work! I noticed that it looked like a model/moveset mod for Mickey... Am I right? Props! - D...
I was kinda wondering the same thing, as some codes, (i.e., the Weapon Mod), work only on the Japanese version of the game. I just got the (J) version working on my emulator, (FINALLY), and want to try the Weapon/Moveset Mods on it, but also want to understand the text. So, maybe someone can do some research with me about that. I'll Google it right now, and, if I don't find anything, maybe someone else can find it...? Thanks! - D... [EDIT]: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG 100 POSTS!!! xD *dies* [EDIT:] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA63SrT4Izk&feature=related Here's a YouTube video with a link!
Wow, I completely forgot about this thread. xD I stopped working on this a while ago, but I'll start up again, if you guys are interested in helping! That is, if I can find the time... School starts soon for me. . . . )= Well, Santa-Chan, if you wouldn't mind, could I put you on Magicks and Technicks duty? I'll need to e-mail you what I have so far and give you some guidelines... If you're interested, PM me and I'll get that stuff to you! Thanks! - D...
Thanks! EDIT: I forgot that I had another custom form activated when I tested the one that you gave me! It was the Spirit of the Wind Form, (credited to TheVader74 and someone else who I am forgetting). It makes him hold his Keyblade backwards and gets rid of the left-hand one. So, disregard what I had before, if you saw it... Thanks for the help! - D... (PS: Do you have any interest in having this be a joint-project? As in, it gets posted on the first page under both our names? You would be credited for the coding and I would be credited for the idea and testing. Is that alright with you? I would have had this be MY custom form, but you did all the work! c(= So, what do you say?)
I'm guessing that most of these codes are emulator-only codes, no? From the looks of it, having a party of three Soras is kinda impossible on a NTSC U/C PS2... Is it possible to port these/convert them to CodeBreaker 8+? Thanks for the video, too! Great codes! - D...
That quote = WIN. Regarding Axel/Lea/Lia's name: I think that the spelling difference is from translations. In our version of Days, the translation from Japanese could have made the "i" an "e." So, in this JAPANESE magazine, the "i" remains because the two letters make the sames sound in Japanese, ("i = ee"), and English, ("e = ee"). Basically, the long "e" sound in Japanese can be made with an "i" whereas in English, it typically is made with an "e." Got it memorized? . . . xD Thanks for the info, Mike. My girlfriend and I freaked when we saw it. - D...
Re:CoM for me. I loved the cutscenes and how the characters were more "real," in my opinion. Sora and Riku Replica battling all the way up the different floors was cool, as each of them had the idea that they were the one Namine made the promise to. Also, Vexen's death and Marluxia's entrance. Need I say more? (Marly taking off hood = fruitilicious.) . . . Although, the only downside to CoM and Re:CoM is the battle system. GOD I HATE NOT HAVING THE RIGHT CARDS!!! c(= A close second is Days because me and my girlfriend can play together now! Yays! However, once again, the battle system sucked. having to hit X multiple times to get to the right option that you want in the Magic or Items menus was a pain. At least they made a Shortcut thing... - Ol'Sephy
Yeah, I forgot about that... Regardless, the code didn't do a darn thing. It didn't even do the Infinite Drive/Full Party During Drive part! I think I'll have to do a model mod, or something like that... Maybe Antiform with Valor's model? Something like that? Speaking of which, how would I get Antiform to be able to have the Keyblades floating behind him like Final Form? Is that a Status Mod thing? (I think it's that one, anyway...) Give Antiform Valor's model and Final's status? Also, how do I make it only work when you drive? I mean making the Floating Keyblades, Infinite Drive, and Full Party Durning Drive active only while in this form? Is that possible yet? Thanks for any help that you might give me! - Ol'Sephy
I don't know if this counts as a custom form or not, but here it is... Feral Form, (Drive into Valor Form to activate): 01CB9796 00000006 <Valor Form gets Antiform's Moveset> 21C95308 0A070764 <Drive Gauge doesn't Deplete> 201C78B8 0000102D <Full Party Durning Drive> 01CB9736 00000005 <Floating Keyblades> I'm gonna test it and edit this post with the results... - Ol'Sephy EDIT: Didn't work, at all. Not even the middle two lines! See my next post if you have any advice...
LOL, thanks! You don't got that bad a profile, yourself. *drools at 1,000 Heartless Battle pic* . . . c(=
In this little game, you have to make a smash-up-remix of two or more songs in the audio editor, Audacity, by a certain date and get scores determined by the quality of your remix. As the Lead Judge of this game, I will be posting your score after you post an audio file of your remix. You can make a video of it, too, if you have time and you think that you are done. NOTE: I HAVE NO JUDGES. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF ASKING CERTAIN PEOPLE FOR THEIR HELP ON THIS MATTER, SO DON'T PM ME OR POST HERE ASKING TO BE A JUDGE. Here are the rules... 1.) There must be two distinct songs in the remix. You can do more, if you want, but at least TWO are required. You will be given a chance to explain what two songs you used when one of he judges, (most likely me), PMs you, asking you to explain it. If you can't explain it sufficiently, you will be disqualified, unfortunately. Thus, make it VERY clear in your entry what two songs you used! 2.) You must post your submissions in THIS THREAD. No linking, unless to a YouTube video or some equivilent. Any violations of this rule will result in disqualification if you do not edit the post with correct format within 24 hours of a warning from a judge. The deadline is one week after a post by me that declares that particular round open. We can't control if you start before then or if you use an already made remix to work off of. It's on you to not break the rules. 3.) Myself and the other judges will confer via Skype/MSN for three days after the deadline. After which time, we will decide on scores for all entrants and post them here. I will update this post with the winners and the scores of each entrant. 4.) Audacity, a free-to-use program, (Google it if you don't have it already), is the ONLY program that you can use! If we ask you what effects in Audacity you use, you have to be VERY specific as to the names of those effects! Using any other program will result in INSTANT DISQUALIFICATION if it is too obvious that more advanced software was used. 5.) MP3 or WAV only, please! Any other file type will not be accepted and will asked to be resubmitted. If it is not re-posted, then it will not be accepted. If you have a legitimate excuse for not using either of these two file types, then you will be pardoned. You must do so BEFORE SIGNING UP, however, so do it as your first action here. Just try to use these extensions, if you can. Here are some tips for contestants... 1.) REPITITION and LAYERING are your friends here. TIMING is key, too. If you can layer a stuttering drum beat over string instrumenals and have them line up well, you got yourself a great smash-up! 2.) Make sure that your layers are AMPLIFIED correctly! It won't do to have a great instumental if the drums drown it out, now would it? 3.) FEEL FREE TO SING. I could not tell you how impressive it would be to the judges if you sing over an instrumental song. Take for instance singing Sanctuary's lyrics over the drums of the same song, while layered over the chorus of Destati. It would be difficult, yeah, but it could be the difference between first place and last! Original lyrics welcome, too, just don't claim someone else's for your own. 4.) RECORD YOURSELF PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT. This is another thing that could win over the judges. Original or otherwise, playing an instrument is hard! If you have talent, then use it! That's it for now! Go over the rules, maybe think about what kind of song you want to do or what tracks you want to use. Once I get my judges set up, we'll start the sign-ups! Good luck to all! - Ol'Sephy
SO. Just to clarify, these codes are in the process of being ported to an actual DS code system and NTSC, right? I tried a couple of these so-called "Weaponset mods," and they either replaced the player's character with the one that you wanted to do get the weaponset from, BSOD, or not load the game, at all. From the looks of it, we may still have a little bit to go before we get a WORKING Action Replay/NTSC weaponset mod. I just want to be sure, so could someone PLEASE clarify? Thanks, and good GOD I want this code. xD - Ol'Sephy
I gotta say, Mike, you pulled it off! I think there were more characters in this video than any of the other ones that you've done so far... And the lines had good delivery! I have to say, though, that I agree with the person who made the comment about Aqua's voice: she should sound older. More like Meg from Olympic Colosseum in KH2 is what I envisioned. Also, you should use more battle grunts and the like. Like when whoever it was who was moving really fast, (I couldn't catch who it was -- Terra or Ventus), there should have been a grunt for each movement, or darn near. Well, not EVERY movement, but you get my point. On a side note, before I give my actor-by-actor review/critique, I gotta say, and I'm going to bold this for emphasis, (hehehehehe)... DON'T FEED THE TROLLS. It's either what they're looking for, or they're just not good at expressing their opinions without insulting people. If a person insults you or the dub, do as the Admins/Mods ALWAYS tell you to: IGNORE IT. It's better that way. If they have an opinion and they tell it insultingly, then ignore the insult, maybe tell them NICELY that you were offended, (for kind of an FYI thing), and answer their opinion -- not their flaming. Okay? Okay. c(: Now... REVIEW TIME! iwuzhere9 I really liked your Aeleus (Lexeaus) VA. It induced the feeling like, "Okay, I gotta talk... Oh, well..." Well, he IS the Silent Hero... Kissy-Sensei Like I said above, I think Aqua should sound older, but you did a good job with the emotion and inflection that was needed for her character, at least how it seems in the Japanese version. Plus, your battle noises were great! Were you doing the moves while recording...? JK c(: Mike Well, Mike, you already know that I loved your Announcer voice. (lulz) Your Ven is just as good as your Roxas, (I wonder why?), but I have one complaint, (well, critique, or whatever): you seemed to over-speak. An example is at the very start, when Ven goes, "huh," or something like that, when Aqua was tossing him the charm, you made it too loud. Also, when Ven and MX's Apprentice were having their little showdown, you said, "Keyblade?" too loud. Just something to look out for... Genshie Cap. Hook made me LOL. xD He sounded like maybe you were the BETA VA, who was replaced with a different style, kinda. I totally could see Hook talking like that all the time! It's a different style of Cap. Hook! Good job! Also, Doc was right on target. Daelyn Your crying sounded very close to how I'd imagine Cinderella crying. I can't really critique this one much more, though, as it's pretty difficult to mess up crying... xD Geokeeno I don't remember Xaldin saying anything. I'll have to watch again, if I have the time, and get back to you on that one... Ryusuke I don't know who Eraqus was. Anyone want to enlighten me? Zefton - The Superior I liked your Even (Vexen). It was so like the original Vexen VA that it's sounded almost scary! Good job! Usako "Bibbity, bobbity, boo!" xD Greater_bloo Didn't see Jaq in this one. Anyone want to point him out for me? I also don't know who Vanitas is... Hlmactiii Your Mickey voice is excellent! Good job! Refi-chan Very good Maleficent! I didn't see anyone named "Queen," either. The Hallstar I lul'd like heck when I heard MX speak for the first time. No offense, but he sounded funny! Maybe a different accent, if you can. Roxiri I don't think Snow White had any lines in this one... Geezernort's Apprentice I loved your Stitch voice! It was just like the original! JetFire62 I liked your Terra. I think a little bit of work on inflection and emotion, and you are gold! Lightofhope18 Wow, I didn't think Tink would get any lines! But... "I'm gonna kick you as hard as I can!" lul. srsly. Well, that's it for now! Good job, over all! Remember, the cake is a lie! xD . . . Disregard that. - Ol'Sephy
Well, I saw this on another site and thought that I'd try it out here, (providing it hasn't been done yet)... In this game, I will post a picture of a character. It can be from a cartoon, a live-action production, a video game, a book... It doen't matter. If it's a fictitious character, then it's allowed! Anyway, I post a picture and up to ten, (10), guesses can be made as to who it is. And this means IN TOTAL. That means if Person 1 guesses five, (5), times, Person 2 guesses once, (1), and Person 3 guesses four, (4), times, then that's ten guesses and I win. I get to post another picture. And it will continue until someone guesses right. Then, they get to post a pic of any character and everyone has to guess. It's like charades, in a way. Here's an example of a couple of scenarios... Spoiler Do you know the rules? xD So, I'll start off... Spoiler Have fun! - Ol'Sephy
Need I remind you, B? Spoiler I'm already dead. Just like Sai, I have died a million times over. Thank you and good night. PS: I missed WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much funny sh!t when I wasn't posting...
Inspiration Here's my submission, entitled "Inspiration." Spoiler There are a lot of galaxies. In each galaxy, there are countless systems, which are made up of many planets. There could be anywhere from three to fifty planets in any given system. On some of these planets, there is life. This life is made possible by certain traits aligning to create hospitable conditions. Out of all the life-forms on these planets, only some are considered to be "sentient." There is a race of these sentient beings known as humans. It is the story of one of these humans that you will be hearing here today. Johnsal Jakl was an ordinary, Earthling boy. He dreamed of being a captain of a space ship. And not just any space ship. He wanted to be captain of the famed and feared pirate ship, the Inspiration. It was said that the current captain of this ship picked such a name as Inspiration due to his up-bringing by famous author, Fari-Sol of the Jupiter Landing. Fari-Sol brought The Captain, (which is what everyone calls him seeing as nobody knows his true name), to Earth when he was only fifteen years old. It was quite an experience for The Captain to go to where his parents were said to have been murdered by the Great Sahra-Andra, a space pirate from Andromeda. The Captain was afraid that he'd incounter his parents' killer while there. He was right to be afraid. Fari-Sol was killed two days after they arrived. She was killed in the same way that The Captain's parents had been killed -- an electro-bullet to the head. It was uncanny how all three deaths had been incurred by a single, electrified bullet to the same exact spot in the brain. It was as if the murders were planned. And so, having nothing left but Fari-Sol's star ship, The Captain left Earth, off to scrounge around for a living, which he found becoming the one thing that could stand up to Sahra-Andra and his crew -- a space pirate... Johnsal loved these stories. He longed to see stars zip by from the bridge of a Striker-class, modded battleship. He wanted to walk the corridors of the Inspiration and sit at the table of the famed man known as The Captain... He wanted it all! And he would get it. But not in the way that he had planned... [MARQUEE]THREE YEARS LATER...[/MARQUEE] Johnsal was seventeen now, old enough to get his Sky Skimmer license. He was excited, ready to soar through the skies on his very own Sky Skimmer... There was only one obstacle that kept getting in his way: the last test that is requred for getting a license. He kept getting incredibly close to passing, but just one or two questions would be wrong each time! It was driving him mad! He was on his way into the DFV, (Department of Flying Vehicles), when he spotted a cloak whipping around the corner into an alleyway to his left. New York's West District was being rebuilt after the recent end of World War III, and that's where the DFV was. Why would anyone besides lowlifes, aspiring flyers, and construction robots be doing here? That guy looked like... A captain of a ship... Johnsal followed the cloaked man around the corner into a long, shabby alleyway that was lined with stores. He stayed relatively far back to not draw attention to himself. He followed this man for three and a half blocks away from downtown when they got to the next main road. The man's cloak was red and gray, which rang a bell to Johnsal for some reason... The man turned into another alleyway. This time, there was no way out. I was dead end. Johnsal stayed at the entrance to the alleyway and hid at the corner. The man didn't turn as he reached into his pocket pulled out a compact communicator. He held the talk button and it crackled. He smacked it against his other hand and swore, saying something about, "...damn first mate gotta gimme this piece o' crap...." So he was a captain! Johnsal was getting excited. He was thinking of going up and talking to this captain when the captain spoke into the communicator. "Jolaj!" A crackled reply came back. "Ready the Inspiration. We depart as soon as I'm aboard. I fear that the American government is onto me." "Roger!" Johnsal froze as soon as he heard the man say "Inspiration." Is that...? Could it really be...?! A teleporter ring appeared around the man that Johnsal now knew to be The Captain. He freaked out and ran toward him, diving into the teleporter ring as it separated and took the two of them to the Inspiration, which was cloaked up in orbit... [MARQUEE]ABOARD THE INSPIRATION...[/MARQUEE] "Damn boy! Ye realize what coulda happen'd?!" The Captain screamed at Johnsal as he got up off the floor of the bridge. "I'm sorry, sir. It's just that --" Johnsal scrambled to apologize, but The Captain cut him off. "I don't give two shakes o' a tutuoiwa's tentacle! Ye coulda kilt me! Ye coulda kilt both o' us!" "Shall I trow 'im ou' th' cahgo bey?" A man said, presumably the first mate. "Aye! He be a stowaway!" Another man cried. "Nay, ya fools! He be but a child! He came 'ere o' 'is own free will!" The Captain waved his hand at the crew, who dissapated. The Captain turned to Johnsal who looked down, blushing. "Now. Boy. Tell meh yer age." "Uh..." Johnsal sputtered for a moment, making The Captain laugh. "Ye fergotten? Ye must be senile, then! Fro' th' look o' ya, Ah'd say yer abou'... Se'en an' ten, no?" "Yes, sir..." Johnsal nodded without looking up. "Ye don' need ta fear meh, boy. Ah'm no monsta. 'Tho, ye shoulda thought it ou' a li'l betta afore ya jump inta a tele-ring!" Johnsal nodded. "Now, as 'tis, ye won' be goin' back down ta Earth. If ye haven' put two an' two togetha, Ah'm on th' run. Damned government's afta me hide agin. So, 'till we can find some reason to go back, ye're stuck wit' us. Make yerself at home. Ah'll send me first mate up in a momen' to take ye to yer bunk..." And so began Johnsal's journey on the Inspiration... [MARQUEE]TEN YEARS LATER...[/MARQUEE] "Captain! Inspiration to port!" "Damn! Fire all auxillary weapons at her! Don't let her get near!" "Yes s --" *BANG* "What the hell?! What're you --" *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* "A'ight! S'all clear!" The crewman with the gun waved in the first mate and his assistant. "Ye know th' plan, Johnsal?" The first mate said as he set up a box next to the gunner's post, throwing the body out of the way. "Aye. We're setting this here freighter on a collision course with that bastard's ship." "Aye. An' remember. This mission cost us se'en o' our own. It took a lot ta get us onta th' biggest freighta in th' galaxy! So... DON' BOTCH IT!" "Got it, sir!" And Johnsal set up his box next to the navigator's post and started keying in the code to open it. When he got it open, he pulled a set of red wires out and plugged them into the side of the contol console which controlled the navigation systems. The first mate did the same with the gunner's control console. "Done!" "Aye, let's get offa this soon-ta-be junk heap!" They were about to get off when The Captain came on Johnsal's ear communicator. "Johnsal!" Johnsal answered as he keyed in the code for the tele-rings. "Aye, Cap't?" "Don' get off yet! There be a turncoat wit' ya!" Johnsal foze. The others were getting ready for teleportation. He lowered his voice. "Who? Do you know?" "Ah don'. Jus'... Kill both of 'em." "Are you sure, sir?" "Jus' do it! We don't got time! That ship's got five minutes tops afore it crashes ol' Wanna-Be Pirate's party. Just do it and get off!" "A-aye, sir..." Normally, Johnsal would've done his job with no problems. He'd killed other pirates, government officials, civilians... But never any of his own crew. And, to top it all off, his mentor was among the people he was being asked to kill! He pulled out a flash grenade. He pulled the pin and tossed it into their midst. There was a moment of sheer confusion as the other two realized that there was a grenade at their feet. The grenade went off as Johnsal hid behind the tele-ring command console, protecting him from the effects of the bomb. He stood slowly and pulled out his gun as the others stumbled around, trying to get their bearings. Johnsal's hand shook as he shot at the crewman who had shot the gunner and the captain. He missed twice, but the last bullet found its mark, hitting the crewman in the temple. The first mate, Jolaj, had jumped with every gunshot and yelled out. "Wait! Don' shoot! Who are ye?!" "I..." Johnsal leveled the gun at his mentor. "I'm sorry." *BANG* [MARQUEE]BACK ABOARD THE INSPIRATION...[/MARQUEE] Johnsal appeared on the bridge of the Inspiration and looked around. There was nobody around. He frowned. Where was The Captain? "Looking for someone?" A silky voice came from behind him. Johnsal whipped around and raised his gun at... "Sahra-Andra?!" "That's CAPTAIN Sahra-Andra, if you want to be technical..." He was wearing a light robe of a purple chainmail-like substance. He had long, shiny, black hair and the most pale skin Johnsal had ever seen. It was so pale that it looked shiny. Almost like it was... Wet. Johnsal glanced down at his gun's ammunition display. Two shots left. "You can save me the trouble and use one of those shots on your dear 'captain.'" He stepped aside to reveal The Captain lying on the ground, bleeding profusely out of gaping wounds in his arms and legs. "And then you can use another of them on yourself... However, if you don't use that first shot wisely, then you might never get the chance of using that second shot." "So... The order to kill the other two..." "Tha' be me, aye." Sahra-Andra said in a flawless impression of The Captain's voice. He grinned evilly. "Your move." Johnsal's temper got the better of him. He raised his gun again and shot both shots at Sahra-Andra's head. They bounced off, ricocheting all over before falling to the floor somewhere, the only sound in the room. "That was unwise." Suddenly, Johnsal's arms were being held by two large men in the same kind of cloak as Sahra-Andra. Sahra-Andra smiled, smugly as he said, "Turn him to face the front of the ship." They did so and Johnsal heard a few whispered words from Sahra-Andra before a loud *CRUNCH* sounded around the bridge. Johnsal winced. That didn't sound good. Sahra-Andra came around to the front of Johnsal. He now had a large sword in his hand. He whispered a few words to himself and brought the sword down. In that split second, Johnsal looked away. He looked out at the stars that were passing by as the ship's engines slipped out of warp and the stars became still. And the image that was burned into his retinas was that which he had always dreamed of seeing... Stars blurring past from the bridge of the pirate ship, Inspiration. THE END
