Vash IDK

3 of them came charging at her. Katrina drew her sword and stood ready. "Go find Heero, Vey!! Tell him and Jericho to get up here quickly!!" Vey nodded and ran down the way. She needed to find Heero.. The rebels came toward her, swords ready. She charged at one of them and fought him to the side of the ship. One came behind her and she pulled out her dagger and stabbed him in the leg as she continued battling the other. 4 more came on ship, and she sliced the arm off of one, and gutted the next. She held her own for as long as she could, but soon the ship was overtaken by rebels. 10 of them surrounded her, but she never dropped her sword. "It's over girl. The Devil's Rose is ours. And everything with it." he said as he smiled. "Put the sword down." Katrina raised her sword and glared at the man. "Not as long as I'm alive." "Well, that can be arranged. Would have preferred it that you would have been more cooperative. But no matter." 4 men came up behind her and grabbed her. She struggled for a while and clutched her dagger. She gutted the one directly behind her, and the other 3 backed off as quickly as the man fell. "The little-" "Not another word." she said as she held the dagger and pulled out a second one. "Get her!" he yelled. 5 of the rebels came at her and she used her daggers to stab each one. The blood spilled on the deck, and the ship started rocking to and fro. She turned around to see what was happening, and a sword stuck her in her stomach. She screamed in pain as she fell to the floor. The Rebel who had spoken to her knelt over her and brushed the hair from her eye. "Such a waste." he took her blade from her hand and put it against her neck. "But this is what you chose." "I'll see you in hell then." she said, the anger burning in her eyes. "Foolish girl... this is hell." He started slitting her throat when she moved back, causing the sword to stick into her even more so, and flew the second dagger into his chest. The man in front of her collapsed. The rebel in back of her suddenly pulled the sword out from her stomach causing her to scream in pain again, and she fell to the floor as the other rebels started falling around her. Vey had found Jericho and Heero. Jericho ran to Katrina after the rest had been dealt with. "She's hurt Heero!" he screamed. Heero ran over to her and looked at the wounds. "CLIFF!!" Heero yelled. Just then, they heard Vey scream. Jericho ran to figure out what happened, and he found Vey staring down over a fallen Cliff. He had been stabbed, and was bleeding heavily. "Cliff!!!" Jericho leaned over the man and felt his vital signs. He was alive, but barely. "Tell Heero that Cliff is dying." Jericho told Vey. Vey nodded and ran outside. Heero was kneeling over Katrina trying to stop the bleeding. He knew something was wrong with Cliff when Vey came running. "What happened???" he said "Cliff, he's bleeding badly, Heero.." Vey said as she tried to hold back the tears. Heero's eyes went wide. "No..." he said softly. He looked down at Katrina and held her as the life was leaving her too. He bent his head down and closed his eyes. The tears streamed as he held her. "NO!!!!!!" he screamed.

"Are you alright Sage?" "Geez Jean, you could have at least warned me that he had powers like that before I decided to be myself around him." Sage said as she coughed and stood up and her head was bleeding. She looked around. "The bastard. Did you hear what he called me??" Jean laughed, "Well Sage, you do bring that upon yourself." "Well excuse me for not being trusting. The guy is a psycho, Jean. How do you expect him to be in this kind of enviornment and not hurt anyone??" "If I'm not mistaken, you were the little hostile yourself in the beginning of your years here at the acadamy." she said with a smile. "I was a lot younger, and I didn't know half the things about my powers as he does about his." she coughed again and straigtened herself. She used her healing powers to stop the bleeding on her head and to mend the bruises he had caused. "Well one thing is for sure, he's not the friendly type." "What are you talking about? He's just as friendly as you are, Sage!" Jean said as she smiled wickedly. "Alright, you've made your point. I guess it wouldn't be a good idea if I tried to give him a piece of my mind." "No, I think it would be better if you let things cool down a bit." Sage smiled a little and walked down the hallway. MEANWHILE: Soulin was fuming in the lounge. [i]She deserved it!! Why did Jean yell at me??[/i] he thought. Rogue looked at him and decided it was best if she said nothing. Soulin finally spoke. "Was I wrong? Was it wrong Rogue?" Rogue looked down. "You have to control your anger sometimes, Soulin. You have gifts, and those gifts shouldn't be used to cause people pain. No matter how much we think they deserve it." Soulin was quiet. He felt guilty, and justified at the same time. "But I can't say that I wouldn't have felt like doing the same." she said and smiled. Soulin looked at her and smiled too. But he was expecting to hear the Third degree from Jean.

Sage passed by the hallway. Two girls passed her and started pointing and whispering at her. They started laughing at her when she passed. Sage was silent for a moment and then stopped. "Is there a problem?" The girls looked at her and rolled their eyes as they walked on. Sage too walked on, but in a different direction. She teleported outside and ran to the clearing she had always enjoyed going to. She looked out the window and noticed the commotion. She saw Rogue and Jean talking with someone she had never seen before. She watched as they took him and walked away. "Odd.." she thought. She followed for a while trying to avoid being seen. But she shoul have known better. Jean had sensed her thoughts. "It's alright Sage, you can come out. He's new here. He's not a threat."Jean said looking toward her direction. Sage walked out from where she had tried to hide. "I really didn't think he was much of a threat, Jean. Just curious." Sage said. Rogue rolled her eyes, "And here comes the defense barriers." "They're not defense barriers. I just stated a fact." Sage looked at the boy and shrugged her shoulders. "He doesn't even seem that interesting." Soulin stared at her, and a flicker of irritation ran across his gaze. Sage just stared back and shook her head. "Doesn't talk much?" "A lot like you, if I might add." said Rogue with a smile. "Maybe, well I'll be going. I just came out here to see who the newcomer was." Jean smiled. "Well, we hope he's a newcomer at least. That will be up to him to decide." she smiled at Soulin and nodded at Sage. "Have a good day Sage." "You too." she said and they walked away. Sage teleported back to the institute. She gathered her books on the way and went to her next class. She looked forward to the lesson. Just loathed the coming company.

"Are you okay, Heero?" Katrina asked looking at him. He looked back over to her and tried to smile. But he couldn't. "What's wrong?" "Everything." he said softly. Katrina laughed a little. "Again, being a little too general. A bit of details would be nice." Heero looked at her and shook his head. "I just went through the same thing my father went through Katrina. But what he went through was worse." She was silent for a while. "It's not easy thinking about the pain someone you loved has gone through. Especially-" "When you have only felt a fraction of the pain they experienced.." Heero finished. Katrina frowned. "Heero, your father was known not only for his skills and his victories, but he was also known for his nobility, and his kindness. People talk about him to this day." Heero looked at her. "You've heard stories about my father?" She laughed. "Heard them? He was the man my Captain strived to be like. There were countless stories about your father. I finally had the privledge to meet him when we both docked at the same village." Heero smiled. "You met him?" "Yes, and but all he could find to talk about was your mother. He clearly loved her very much. I asked him about her, and that's when he told me she had died. This was all maybe a year or two ago. I had just started my career as a pirate." "You never told me how you became a pirate." he said Katrina laughed. "Well by accident, that's for sure. The pirates had invaded our passing boat. The captain of the ship I was on asked me, knowing I had skills with a sword, to protect his ship while he sent reinforcements. So I agreed and defended the ship to the best of my abilities. I killed nearly 10 pirates, and no one had come. I found out later that the captain had left me on my own. Being Royally PO'd, I decided to just hack it. So I charged at the Pirates, thinking I was going to die, and decided to just go for it. The captain, Jorach, had seen me in action, and I don't know, felt pity? Maybe pity. Anyway, he wanted me to become a part of his crew. I agreed, mainly because I had nothing else to do. But it became a way of life for me. I strived to learn as much as I could in every department." "And the fellow shipmates didn't mind there was a girl on board." "I'm sure some did have a problem, but none of them were man enough to ask me about it." she smiled and Heero laughed. "Well, that's one interesting story. Probably be hearing stories like that about you someday." "Nah, I'd rather keep to being a part of the crew. Too much responsibility. Only certain people can master a ship." Heero stared out into the ocean. "Am I fit? Am I fit to be Captain just because my father was a Captain?" Katrina went silent again. She smiled. "Ask her." she said as she patted the boat. Heero looked at the boat and smiled. "Well, I guess that's my answer then."

Katrina had finished cleaning Vey's wounds when she heard a large fall from the otherside of the hall. She set Vey's head down on the pillow and ran to the other room. When she got there, she saw a bandaged Heero over a knocked out Jericho. "Crap, what did you do now Heero!" Katrina said as she rolled her eyes and went over to Jericho. "Reflexes. It's a bad habit." he said as he knelt down as well. "Reflexes? That's a new one." she laughed. She lifted Jericho's head up and looked at the poor man. "Refreshments all around please miss." he said before he passed out again. She laughed again. "Help me get him onto the cot will ya Heero." Heero lifted Jericho up onto the bed while Katrina tucked him in. "He should sleep soundly tonight thanks to your quick reflexes." Heero smiled and sat down. The bandaging job was done poorly. "Who's handy work is that?" she asked looking at Heero. "Mine." "Well, you can sure use a lesson." "That's what Jericho said before reflexes took over." Katrina smiled. "Well there are some things even wise Jericho can't handle." She repositioned some of the bandages so they were on more securely. "Just a readjustment." she smiled "How's Vey?" Heero asked. "She's fine considering what she went through." Katrina frowned again. "I never gave you my answer Heero. I want to stay here. I know my duty now. And having a sense of duty gives me the purpose I strive for each day." "I wouldn't want it any other way." he smiled. "You're a good pirate, and a reliable one at that." "Thank you." she said again. She was walking out when she saw the medallion covered with Vey's blood. She picked it up and cleaned off the stains with her shirt. "Here." she tossed it to Heero. "Some things are more valuable than life itself. Take better care of this next time. It's rare that those you lose can leave you something to remember them by." and she walked out of the room.

Katrina leant against the side of the ship. She had been down there for a good three hours. She couldn't understand what really was bothering her. Something kept eating away at her. It wasn't the memories. While as horrible as they were, she never seemed to be haunted by them before. She sat down on the ground and stared at her hands. She was so annoyed. She walked back up to the upper deck and sat back down. She didn't want to sleep. She needed to figure this out. She didn't know why all of this was bothering her now. Why didn't it before? She saw Heero at the wheel. She didn't espect him to be up either. She frowned a little. She was grateful for what he did. But she also knew that he was causing her to doubt herself, and that wasn't something she enjoyed. She was about to walk back when something caught her eye. She looked over the water and saw a large ship. It was a sunken ship, but she recognized it's body. It was the Callesteria Ghost, She went over to the side and tried to get a better look. It was completely torn to shreads. If Revonair did escape that, then where in the world could he have gone to. Heero walked down to her and nodded. "Callesteria. The only ship men would fear. And now there's this one. The Devil's Rose." "Heero, where is he?" she said as she stared at the ship. Heero didn't say a word. He knew it looked impossible, but to ignore the posibility of his escape would prove disasterous. That much he knew. "I don't know. But we'll find him. Or he will find us. And we have to be ready for that." Katrina just stared at the ocean. She nodded in her professional way, but no longer felt her sense of duty. She wanted to feel like she had a duty again. Thigs were so much easier back then.

Katrina returned to her room to see a pouting Vey sitting on her bed. She rolled her eyes as she gathered her clothes. She put her sweater on and layered her self when out of nowhere, Vey spoke. "I'm not some kid you can scold whenever you feel like it." "I don't want to scold you. I simply tell you when your playful habits get out of line." "See, that's what I'm talking about. What's wrong with having fun?" "Nothing. As long as you're not annoying those around you." "So what was your problem earlier." "You were drunk. And I don't find that appropriate." "You mean, un-professional." "Maybe." Vey shook her head. "We're on a ship, yes, but this is also a place where people will live, and people will be around each other. And if we're going to tolerate one another, we have to ease up a little." Katrina was silent as she pulled her hair back, and then stopped and let if fall. She looked down at the drawer in front of her. She knew she needed to ease up. But she didn't want to. She wasn't the kind of person who wanted to have fun. She needed a purpose. And work gave her that. "I'll try Vey, but you also need to ease up on the jokes. I know it's all in good fun, but stuff like that, it's just not appropriate. Especially since we are all living together." Vey was shocked. She didn't expect Katrina to back down like that. "I um.... okay. I'll try as well." she smiled. She walked up to Katrina, but Katrina was still staring at the drawer and was leaning in front of it. She was silent. "We better get to the Kitchen. Those guys might eat all our food." "I'm not really hungry." "Come on, you gotta eat." Vey said. "No, just tell them I went to bed early. I'm not hungry, Vey." Vey was silent. "Did I say something mate?" She smiled a little. "No, I'm just tired." Vey nodded and turned and left. "Get some rest." Vey left the quarters and walked to the Kitchen. Katrina closed her eyes. She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. She had never been scared in her life. Not even when her Captain was killed in front of her. She still felt a sense of purpose even then. But she had this lost feeling, knowing that she wasn't needed. She couldn't take care of Vey that night with the cannons. She couldn't even take care of herself. She walked out of her quarters and walked to the storage room below. She walked to the port hole and stared outside. She just wanted to be alone.

Katrina shook her head and started walking back to the ship. Getting Drunk was the lowest of lows in her book. Vey looked at Katrina as she walked off. "What's her problem?" she asked aloud Jericho laughed "She's always got something up her-" "That's enough out of the both of you. Let's get going. Pronto." said Heero, he motioned to Cliff and Cliff followed him out. They all reached the ship and set sail. Katrina leaned over the ledge and stared out at the ocean. "What was wrong with you earlier?" Vey asked as she walked up to her. Katrina looked at her and then returned her gaze at the sea. "Nothing. I just don't feel like talking much today." "Well you looked angry mate. What was with the cold stare?" "I don't waste words on people who probably wouldn't understand them." "Say what?" Vey looked at her angrily. "You were drunk. Why talk to a drunken idiot if they won't understand what you say anyways?" Vey got angry. "I was no drunk Katrina, I had a few, but I wasn't drunk. It was that boyfriend of yours that got himself drunk. Have some bloody respect!" "And the same goes to you, Vey. Knock off the jokes, and I'm sure we can reach a mutual understanding of one another. I don't find that humor funny in the least, and it looks as if Jericho feels the same." Vey was fuming. She wanted to pund Katrina, but she decided just to turn around and leave. She didn't want to take this anymore. She turned towards her quarters and left. Katrina kept staring out over the sea. She knew she was harsh, but she really didn't care anymore. She wasn't caring about much these days.

Katrina stared at the ground as they made their way through town. She felt guilty for what had happened in the store. She knew she could have prevented it if she didn't let her temper get away with her in the first place. But she reacted in her normal way and almost died because of it. She almost died. She didn't know the man pulled a gun on her until she heard Heero. If he didn't come, she would have been dead. She looked at Heero at the corner of her eye. He was serious. She didn't know if what had happened phased him or not. If he was still thinking about it like her. Or if it was just something he didn't even give a second thought to. "It doesn't do any good to think about what you should have or should not have done, Katrina. It's in the past. You've got to move forward." he said aloud. Katrina looked up. She couldn't understand how he knew her so well. "If I'm to learn from my mistakes, I need to find out where I did wrong." Heero was silent for a second. "True, but you did nothing wrong." he said as he looked over at her. She was still staring ahead, not looking at him. "Maybe." she said. If that was truly the case, she owed this man her life. "Thank you Heero. I would have died if it wasn't for you." "Don't mention it." he said with a smile as he patted her back, and they walked forward and saw Vey.

Katrina walked into a shop where a young man was handling the store. "Anything I can do for you?" he said looking at Katrina. "We need some supplies for our ship." she handed him a slip of paper. "Just get everything on this list. I'll be back over here with payment." "Certainly ma'am." he walked away with the list as she walked down and started looking at the ropes. She didn't notice a man coming up right behind her. "Well, what do we have here? A little lady in a man's store." "Is there some policy against that?" she said without looking up. "Policy? No, just an observation." he said with a smile "Well, I'm not interested in your daily observations. So if you'll leave me to my work, that would be greatly appreciated." she hunched down to look for the ropes she was after when all of a sudden, the man grabbed her wrist. "I don't think I can do that. At least let me buy you a drink." "I don't make it a habit to drink with idiots." she said releasing her wrist. "Come on girl, don't be so hostile." he said as he tried to grab her wrist again. Katrina acted swiftly as she twisted his arm behind him and held him in a lock. "Sorry, being hostile is my way of life. Now, will you be so kind to leave me and my hostility to my lonesome?" He winced as she kicked him to the ground, and started walking away. "Why you-" he pulled out his gun and pointed it at Katrina. Just then, a gun was pointed straight at his head. "Put it down, or your DNA will be scattered all over this floor." he said

They arrived at Duego earlier the next morning. Katrina took her satchel filled with gold pieces so she could buy what she knew they'd need for the ship. As she passed Vey, Vey smiled toward Jericho and Jericho got angry. He patted his gun, and Vey immediately went quiet. "Heero, how is our supply on coals and food?" "Cliff is taking care of the food expenses." he said as he jumped down from the wheel. "We're pretty okay on coal, but we can always use more." "If you don't mind Heero, I'm getting myself some pain killers. This ear is giving me nothin but bloody pain." "Alright, the money you all have is yours. I only ask that you pay for things you know the ship needs. And no stealing, Got it?" "Got it." Vey said as she jumped off the side of the boat onto the docks. Jericho shook his head. "Show off." he said as he followed suit and jumped down as well. Katrina looked around a bit more before she left with the others. She wanted to make sure she got everything they needed before they headed out. "Well little lady, don't you think it's time you get going?" Cliff asked with a smile. "Just checking our inventory. Gotta use this money to the fullest." she said as she checked the oil for all the lamps. "Katrina, use your money for yourself. We're all pitching in together to buy the things around the ship." said Heero as he tied the wheel down. "I don't need anything for myself. It's not needed. And besides, it never hurts to stock up on items we might run out of." she smiled as they all left the Devil's Rose and walked into town.

Thanks ;) For me, I was a little bugged with the pciture quality of it all. I tried as best as I could to sharpen it so it wouldn't look so blurry. lol, as for the blending, it was just something I felt like adding :) This pic, (not sure if non anime pics are allowed or not) is something I recently finished. It's called Savage Hunter. A friend of mine is a really great artist, and she drew this pic. I colored and experimented with textures a bit on this one. The end result was far better than I had expected. Criticism also encouraged :) Also, I didn't want to start another thread or anything to post more work. Please let me know if this is allowed or not. :)

Hope you like :)

YAY, an X-Men RPG. This sounds great ;) Name: Sarah Mutant Name: Sage Mutant Ability: Teleporter, Speed, Healing, and the ability to create electrical charges Age: 17 Gender: Female Appearance: Attachment Below :) Personality: Not the easiest person to get close to. She doesn?t have friends, but those who do know her, and have gotten to know her, find her to be a very trustworthy. She?s very blunt and rather gets to the point then have a small chat. Not a social person, but speaks her mind when the time calls for it. Doesn?t let people walk all over her, and sticks up for those she sees is being treated unfairly Biography: Sarah got her name because of her Sage green eyes. Her father was a mutant as well, but was killed by the neighbors out of fear. Her mother tried to conceal the fact that her daughter was a mutant, but the neighbors figured since the father was, the child must be as well. The mother was killed trying to protect Sage, when Sage was 13 years old. She teleported out of the house as soon as they came for her. While wandering on her own, Members of Xavier?s Institute came and observed her as she teleported from one place to another. They took her under her wing, and she soon discovered their names were Logan and Jean. They were the only people she trusted and wanted to be around. When she arrived at the school, she took a liking to it very quickly. She didn?t talk to many people because she didn?t want friends. She didn?t want people to feel as if they needed to protect her. Because her parents had both died trying to protect her. So she chose to be alone. She?s very serious, and hardly ever smiles. But when she does, it?s only for a brief moment. When she first heard about Stephanie, it shocked her that any of the students there could be in danger. It angered her to think someone would hurt another person. She got information about her by overhearing conversations that went around the school. And she was determined to help her in any way she can.

Katrina stood up against the waves as she picked up Vey. She untied Vey and ran to the bottom deck where everyone else had gathered. She got inside and Vey started coughing out water. Jericho looked at the both of them. "Who saved who?" he laughed. "Shut up Inblade." Katrina said as she patted Vey's back. She looked at Vey and smiled. "Thanks Vey." "Aye, do mention it, mate. Just return the favor when due." she winked at Katrina and Katrina laughed. "Man, I'm starved!!" said Jericho "You just ate!!" Katrina said "So? Is it so unusual to be hungry after a small plate of breakfast?" Katrina shook her head. Heero was sitting in the corner near the light with the book in hand. "Whatcha reading there Heero?" Vey asked with a smile as she bent near to see the book. "That the Devil's Rose journal or Revonairs?" Katrina asked trying to dry herself off. "The Devil's Rose by the looks of it mate." Vey said as she sat next to him. "It doesn't make sense." he said as he stood up. He slammed the book down and stared up at the ceiling of the lower deck. "How could he still be alive? There was no where for him to go! There were no land south of Duego. And there were no row boats on his ship!!" "I hate to say it, but I think this Revonair is craftier than we all gave him credit for.." said Cliff. His voice trailed off. "What is it Cliff?" Katrina asked "Nothing... nothing. Heero, I need to speak with you alone." Heero looked at Cliff puzzled as they walked into the hallway. "What is it old timer?" "The Pirates that took your fathers life." "What? What are you-" "Just listen, did you get a good look at em?" "No, I was gone after they killed him." the thought made him angry. "Could he already have a ship and crew lad?" "Who-" and then Heero understood where he was getting at. "I don't know... " Heero looked over at the crew. He knew things were about to get worse.

Hope you like them! You can choose from any of these three. The only difference is the backgrounds. :D

Heero came right up in front of Jericho. "What?" Jericho asked in a somewhat annoyed tone. "Apologize before I have you thrown overboard." "What? You're crazy! You're all Crazy!!" he yelled at Heero "If you're going to act like a child, I'll treat you like a child. Now apologize Inblade." Jericho scowled at his captain. He hated being told what to do. He sighed as he turned around to a rather shocked Katrina. He stopped as he looked at her. "Do I have to?" he said as he turned toward Heero. "Katrina didn't deserve that. She wasn't the one who pissed you off." He said as he folded his arms. Vey chuckled as an angry Jericho looked her way. She closed her mouth completely and smiled. "I'm sorry." he mumbled "Louder, Inblade, or this is about to become your cemetary plot." "FINE!! I'm sorry okay? Happy now?" he walked past Katrina again as Katrina watched him storm off. She looked at Heero and he smiled at her. She frowned and walked up to him. "May I have a word with you?" she asked urgently. "What seems to be the problem?" Heero asked "There's something wrong with the records. While it's true, that Captain Ravern was the one who struck down Revonair with the Devils Rose, it looks as if Revonair was never found." "What? What are you talking about?" "I mean he's alive. In the back of Revonair's book here, I noticed a page was missing. When I looked again, he had written a message, well more like a threat. He swore to Ravern that he would be coming back for revenge." "Well what has that got to do with us?" Katrina looked at hm. She knew he already had the answer. He frowned. "He's got the last piece to the treasure map." "And he's looking for the Devil's Rose. We're a target, Heero. He's waiting for us."

Well, I created another wallpaper :rolleyes: I don't usually show it on here because all my file sizes are too big for this site. Even though I guess I [i]could[/i] just make them smaller.... hmm.... Anyway, this is a Rahxephon pic. It was fun doing it, but I can't say it's my best work. Comments welcomed :D

Hope you like Newbie :D

Animation Character: Mulan. I'm not the kind of girl to sit back and wait for a husband to come along so I can serve him all day. lol, I'm a take charge sort of person, and I would rather fight with a sword any day over learning how to pour tea ;) lol Anime Character: BT from Dot Hack. Like I've said in posts before, BT's personality is almost exactly like mine. If not perfectly like mine. I'm not the easiest person to get along with and the only people who understand me are the ones I know or have known for a long time :) Character from a real life movie, well this one is a toughy :) I would have to say Grace Hart from Miss Congeniality. lol, just the entire part made me laugh. It was so much like me. lol, down to the walk and everything. :D People at home used to say I had this walk that looks as if I'm on a mission, lol. And I would much rather be a burly policeman over a pageant winner anyday ;)

?Just keep your mind on what you?re doing. Take your mind off of this for a second and we?re all dead. And I?ll be damned if I?m going to die all because a little girl felt like goofing around!? she yelled over the cannon fire. ?FIRE!!? Heero yelled. Katrina lit the cannon and covered her ears. The cannon shot back in a flurry. She tried to see if they had the advantage or not when she noticed Vey was looking distant and hitting the side of her head. ?Vey? VEY!!!? Katrina screamed. ?I- I can?t hear a thing!!!? she screamed. ?FIRE!!? Heero yelled a second time Katrina looked at Vey and put Vey?s hands to her ears as she threw her back. She lit both the cannons and covered her ears as they both kicked back from the shots and hit her with so much force, she was knocked to the back of the room. She looked at Vey, and her left ear was bleeding. She got up, despite the pain she felt in her stomach and checked her other ear. The ear was okay. ?Vey? Vey do you hear me?? Vey smiled. ?I hear you mate. It?s this other ear that seems to be lost.? Katrina knelt down to her and looked at the girl. She seemed sad, sadder than she had ever seen her. She would be permanently deaf in that ear. There was no way back from it. ?FIRE!!!? Heero yelled Katrina looked at Vey, and Vey nodded. She got up and lit her cannon as Katrina did the same. But this time, Katrina walked over to Vey and put her hands on her ears to make sure they wouldn?t be further damaged. The blow of the cannons kicked back and Katrina was able to quickly catch them. ?REPORT!? Heero yelled to the bottom deck. ?Cannons are good, Heero, but Vey?s been injured.? Heero?s eyes went wide ?What? How? What happened? What?s wrong?? he yelled. Katrina tried to hold the tears back as she looked at a sad Vey. ?She?s deaf in one ear, Heero. She didn?t cover them quick enough, and the blast was too much for her.? ?Damn!? Heero yelled. ?Cease fire, they?re ruined. Raise the sails, Jericho.? He jumped down to the bottom deck and went over to Vey. He snapped his fingers in her left ear and noticed the blood. He looked back at Katrina who tried to stay strong and professional with her hands behind her back. But the tears were clearly there. ?Vey?? ?I hear ya fine Captain. It?s this bloody ear.? She said as she turned and wiped her tears away. Heero looked down at that moment. He then stood up and hugged the young girl. Vey cried a little as she held her ear. Katrina had seen enough. She couldn?t take it anymore. She walked up to the top deck and walked slowly toward her quarters. ?What happened down there, Katrina??? Jericho asked. But Katrina didn?t answer, She didn?t even glance back. She just walked to her quarters. Later that night, Katrina had gone up to the top of the mast. She leaned against the frame and stared out into the sea. She didn?t know why it affected her so much. Part of her blamed herself for what had happened. Vey lost her hearing because Katrina failed to make sure she was taken care of. ?There wasn?t anything you could have done.? Heero said from behind. Katrina looked back at her captain and turned back around. ?There was plenty I could have done. I could have been more focused on the work at hand. Instead of ridiculing her on her lack of focus.? Heero stood there for a while and said nothing. ?Katrina, she wasn?t focused on her duties. She KNEW what she had to do. She wasn?t thinking. You can?t be responsible for the actions of every single person on this ship. I?m afraid that falls on the Captain?s shoulders.? Katrina looked back again at him and met his gaze. ?How could it have been your fault?? she asked in disbelief. ?Katrina, taking command of a ship makes me responsible for the actions of each person who comes aboard. I should have given the job to someone more experienced in that area. Vey needed to keep her mind on the work she was given. And she forgot one of the steps. I should have taken the possibility into consideration before I sent her down there with you. But I can?t do anything about it now. While it?s a loss for the crew, I don?t know how else we can take care of this situation.? Katrina stared at him for a while. ?She can?t hear the way she used to, Heero. It?s not something I can just overlook.? She stared back at the ocean. Heero put his hand on her shoulder. ?It?s not your fault. And I don?t think Vey would want you blaming yourself either. You need some rest.? ?I?ll get some when I?m ready to go to sleep. Right now I need this time to think.? Heero nodded and pat her shoulder as he walked back. Katrina didn?t like feeling as if she failed. And no matter what her captain told her, she couldn?t find rest knowing that a young girl is partially deaf. And she did blame herself.

I have so many horrible experiences with doctors. But I'm only going to share one. And the worst. It doesn't end happy. My Aunt was overweight, and lately, she had been having these pains in her stomach. She went to the doctor for help, and he told her she needed to put herself on a better diet. Well, knowing she was overweight, she knew he was probably right. So she did everything right. She ate better, she walked more, but the pain wasn't going away. In fact, it was getting worse. She returned to the doctor, but she was told that there was nothing he could do for her because she was so fat. Well, she wasn't the aggressive type, so she didn't complain anymore. But we found out later she was still in pain. We finally made her go to a gynocologist, (hope I spelled that right ;) ) where she found she had Ovarian cancer, and it had spread everywhere. She said that if the first doctor had run some tests earlier, they would have caught it sooner. Her cancer spread, and when they brought her in for surgery, they found that she had lost so much weight on the diet. the weight she had was because of the cancer filling her with fluids. They had JARS full about 4 I believe filled with fluid. And when we saw her, she was 110 lbs. She went in for chemo, but we were too late to save her. She died fighting for her life. And we could hav saved her if we brought her to a gynocologist sooner. She died at home because she was sick of doctors. And that was the worst night in the world. I still remember holding her hand as she tried to talk to me. But she didn't have the strength to speak. My mother woke up later that night to her dead, and blood was spilled everywhere. She had bled after she died. It was the worst thing to see. And I can't say I can ever trust doctors again. At least without getting a second person's opinion.

"Because you DO owe me money." she said as she walked by him. "Yeah, since when sister?" "Since you had to pay off Mr. Grant when you shot his windows." "Oh that, well that was a while ago." Katrina laughed and rolled her eyes. She wanted to make sure he paid so no one would get word that she let someone rip her off. But now it didn't matter. She woul just enjoy having this over his head. "Heero, I'm not sure what to gather from this. It seems that their last stop was Duego, to gather supplies, but he was very vague as to where they were headed afterwards." "Did he say anything about the weather?" "A little, he said the weather seemed to be very cold that year. Some of his crew died of pneumonia." "Well, since it was cold, we can assume it was winter time right?" said Heero as he glanced at Katrina. "I would guess so..." Katrina was a little lost as to what he was getting at. "Let me see that," Heero held the wheel with one hand as he leaned over to look at the book. On the bottom corner of each page, he had faintly written a date. "So, it was in the Summer. That's odd." Katrina said stil looking at the book. "Summer. Well, that could only mean they went south of Duego. Duego is near the equator, so it would be relatively warm, don't you think?" Heero asked with a smile Katrina just stared at Heero. She was a little embarrassed that she missed that. She thought she went through the book inside and out. "So South it is, but we're still lost as to where they found the treasure." "Hmm, I have a feeling you'll figure it out. In the captains quarters, I have a map. You can use that and see where they could have docked." "What good would that do?" "Well, you can figure out his habits, and whether or not he liked danger, and see which course he would have taken. Study his behaviors. Here," Heero got the other book with The Devil's Rose logs in it. "Use this. See where they found Revonairs ship. I'm sure it may have been around that area where they found the treasure." Katrina took the book. "I'll see what I can find." she said in her most professional voice. She was beginning to admire her captain. But she didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. He reminded her of her old captain. Respectful, and caring about the crew. She knew then she wouldn't mind working for him. Heero had her respect.

Katrina sat in the quarters in the chair closest to the lamp. "How long are you going to read that?" Vey asked as she looked down at Katrina. "Until I find some info worth finding." she said never looking up from her book. Vey looked up at the ceiling. "UGH! I can't sleep with that light on mate!" she said "Well, now you know how I feel whenever you sing your songs at night." she said as she smiled wickedly at Vey. "You're cruel sister, but I'm relentless. I need my sleep. And so do you." "Alright, Alright." Katrina picked up her books and walked to the door. "Hey, where are you going?" she asked "I'm going to go and read outside. There's bound to be a little light out there. I'll go sit under the lamps." "It's 3 in the morning, katrina. You'll be dog tired for tomorrow." "You underestimate my sleeping habits, Vey. I don't get much sleep." Katrina smiled. "Good night little one." "Hey!!" screamed Vey, but Katrina quickly closed the door before she could finish.

They had all retired to their quarters that night. Vey had to sing herself to sleep which made Katrina even more restless that night. She was still thinking about the journal they found, and what Cliff had told them all. "She chooses her captains?" she thought to herself. It didn't seem real. The Rose had only been a legend. Until now. Katrina had just found a bit of sleep when she heard Jericho yell from the main deck. "THERE'S A STORM AHEAD!! MAN THE DECKS!!!!" Katrina got up as soon as she heard the call. Vey was awake as well, and had this serious demeanor that she found most unusual. "Do you know the nature of the storm?" she called to Jericho. "I can't tell yet, no lighting as far as I can see. A pretty nasty winds a blowing from the direction where headed to." Heero was up steering the ship. "WATCH THE SAILS!!" he called as he tried to ease the ships passage through the storm. Katrina ran up to the masts and started tying the ropes down to keep the sails from flying up. Vey ran to the otherside and followed suit. Jericho was on top the masts trying to keep it down, but the ropes threw themselves free. At this, Heero stopped steering. "Cliff, take over for me, and whatever you do, don't leave the wheel." he ran to mast and grabbed a rope as he proceeded to climb up it and shifted his weight to land where Jericho was tying. Heero walked over to the otherside and held the rope down as well. The ship suddenly hit a wave, causing Heero to lose his balance and fall into the water. "HEERO!!!" Katrina screamed. Heero hit the side of the ship as he fell into the water. Jericho jumped down to the bottom and called to Cliff. "MAN OVERBOARD!! HEERO'S FALLEN!!" Cliff tried to keep the boat from moving too much so not to hit Heero wherever he lay. Then Jericho felt something wrap around his waist, the rope was tying itself to him. Without a seconds hesitation he ran past Katrina and Vey and jumped off the side. Without thinking, Katrina started taking charge. "Vey, grab the rope. We'll give him slack when he needs it, and when he finds Heero, we pull him in. Cliff, keep the ship heading north, we don't need to lose two sailors today." she looked out and saw Jericho, who had found Heero. "PULL!" she yelled. She and Vey pulled the ropes as hard as they could until both Heero and Jericho were aboard. Heero wasn't breathing. "Dang it, Vey, when I tell you to, you blow air into him." Katrina pumped his stomach 3 times over until Heero finally came around. The storm had died down, and he coughed out water. "Eww, gross..." Vey said as she backed away. Jericho looked on his waist, and the rope was gone. He looked at Heero dumbfounded. "You NEVER... risk the life of another ... to save a down man, Katrina." Heero said as he looked at her angrily. Jericho bent down and helped Heero to his feet. "It didn't look like we had a choice in the matter Heero." he said with a smile. Heero looked at him sharply. "The Devils Rose wants you alive." Heero looked at him puzzled. "She made me go, Heero. She won't let you die. This is no ordinary ship." Heero stared at him and looked at the rest. His eyes stopped at Katrina. She was angry for being yelled at. "I'm sorry." he said "You better be." she said and she walked back to her quarters.