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The Ember Isle, a place in the sea where islands dot the waters, ports serve as the capital cities such at St. Dour. Technology boom has brought about the change of an era, where swords have been replaced with pistols and Gatling guns. Nothing to fancy but gears and engines have entirely replaced magic in this island land scape. Once the stuff of fantasy, no more blank spaces on the map can be found thanks to the Mega War and the child born from such destruction... The sea plane. Pirates travel by Zeppelins, stealing supplies and kidnapping people from cargo boats and cruise ships.

With the small Naval action in the Ember Isle being reserved to paperwork and defending the capital ports, the task of hunting these Sky Pirates has gone out to men and woman who have crafter sea planes of their own. Pilots and gunners that hunt down these theives and kidnappers and bring them to justice. But of the few Bounty Hunters in the skies, none were as legendary as Athens, and his plane... The Iron Dragon.

Our story is not only a tale of pirates and pirate hunters, the tale would grow dull if that's all it was about. And no true legend could respectfully call itself dull, residing in the storms were the last of the worlds magic known as storm demons, and in the depths of the sea were what was left of the oceans fantastical sea monsters. Both of which Sea Pilots had to encounter at one point or another, but we'll get to that a little later.

Our story begins where any great story would begin, in a storm. You had been paid to take out a storm demon in the eastern sky's not to far from St. Dour Port. The storm was tough to handle and even though you had flown through a hundred storms before you knew this one would end you, the demon finally showed itself it the wrong moment and you found yourself spiraling downward to your doom. That's when you saw it, a plane of black and gold breaking in above the storm letting in sunlight. The demon shrieked and you are given a chance to retake control of your sea plane.

But the plane a head of you doesn't stop there, the pilot then goes ahead and engages the storm demon in combat. Not a happy storm, the demon throws lightning and gusts of metal-cutting winds at the pilot. This guy looks like he is gonna be dead for sure, but as if gravity didn't apply to him he changes direction almost instantly, then again! Firing 'Blessed Bullets' down at the storm demon using the blinding sunlight as cover, sunlight that he let into this chaotic cloudy mess. Another shriek howls as the clouds disapate, sunlight blinds you and the plane is gone, leaving only the memory of the plane's design stained in your mind.

Gold and Black paint with the words "Iron Dragon" on the side.... Who was that pilot??

Viola was dumbstruck, honestly and wholeheartedly dumbstruck. She had been slightly cocky, not worrying about the huge mass of the Storm demon that was angrily battering at her plane and soon sent it shooting flames and spewing smoke. She had even believed she was to die, having made such a fatal flaw in her judgment and was now being punished by plummeting to her death. Yet there it was, the "Holy angel" here to save her from certain doom and darkness.
"Gold and Black paint with the words 'Iron Dragon' on the side...." Viola had been repeated that over and over now for at least the next two days, and it had somehow became a mantra for her. Just who exactly was flying that plane? And would she ever see the pilot again? After all Viola wasn't too fond about not being able to thank her saviour. She wasn't no damsel in distress but it was still a nice gesture....

Click !
The pieces of the new engine Viola had been working on, all clicked into place and left the humble but hardworking pilot feeling well accomplished. She was only one out of the three women that had signed up for this job near St. Dour Port and even the rest of the women had looked down upon her, all because she was the "Rookie "
"This rookie has seen a lot more action than those hags...." She mumbled, wiping the thick sweat from her brow. It was a hot evening on one of the smaller islands ports. Not many Sea pilots traveled out to the small island that Viola had chosen to rest and repair her plane but she quite liked the quiet and calmness of it all. It reminded her of her old life on the farms.

The sun was low in the sky as Viola was finishing her engine, "can I buy you a drink Viola?" Lt. York was leaning up against Viola's plane, his father had been a high ranking official before he died from a sky pirate raid. His son Ramsley, was the only sea pilot that the St. Dour naval base openly funded to hunt Sky Pirates. This got him more jobs then the rest of the bounty hunting pilots in the surrounding islands and made them very jealous, but he was good, very good. "What do you say Viola, you, me, a bottle of fine Dukonuu wine?"

York had been trying to get Viola to fall for him for the last few years. He was very impressed by not only her piloting skills but also her beauty. Apart from York and maybe one or two other pilot's residing in the Ember Isles, Viola was the best at what she did. Flying, fighting, and fixing, they way of the Sky Warrior! "And maybe tomorrow you can come over to my dock and help me work on the Angry Goat???" The Angry Goat was Lt. York's plane, it had decent armor, and a gun or two on board but it was known as the single fastest plane in the sky. That was one thing he did have on Viola, "so is it a date?"

"Fifth times the charm huh?" Viola asked him jokingly. Viola had been keeping count, a small game for her, if you will. It wasn't that she was heartless or anything, it was just a thing she had kept count of. Since she first got here, York had been trying to get Viola to fall for him. He definitely was an attractive guy and well popular, both in good and bad terms, with the rest of the bounty hunting pilots and the non. But what Viola couldn't understand was why her? She was just a simple plan Jane, farm bumpkin. There was no attractive qualities about her anywhere!

So in his attempts, Viola had rejected him four times in total. Though he never really asked her why and she was okay with that. It would better for her to let the "Perfect" date another "Perfect" than a bumpkin, like herself. But she still wanted to, oh yes, who wouldn't! All she had to do was to say yes, and possibly have an enjoyable evening with him. But still, there was doubt in her mind...

Swallowing thickly, Viola stared at her tools rather then at York.
"I suppose I could...I haven't had wine in awhile..." She muttered, collecting her slowly rusting tools and placing them in their box. Her heart beat thumped loudly in her ears and she was more than happy to have the slight shade of the sun to hide her flushed cheeks. How long had it been since Viola had been on an actual date? Six, seven months maybe?

York smiled, "sounds good, how about I pick you up around eight?" The clock ticked by as Viola worked, York however was preparing for the date. He was a known womanizer who had little to no respect for anyone but himself. And the main reason he wanted Ciola wasn't only her spunky attractiveness, but also she was one of the few women in the Eastern Isles who he hadn't bedded yet. A cocky pilot was kind of a sceeze ball if you ask any woman with a shred of common sense. But maybe Viola was going on this date for amusement, or free wine, or any number of reasons.

Eight o'clock rolled around and passed right on by, then nine came and went, and finally just before nine thirty Ramsley knocked on Viola's door. Upon opening up she would see his fine suit with a green tie that was slighlt ascu. His hair was a bit of a mess but only on one side as if someone had been pulling it. "Sorry Viola," he apologied fakely, handing her a rose. "Something urgent came up, you must understand?"

"Where the hell is he?!" Viola huffed, checking the time once again. Why had she agreed to this again? To go on some enjoyable date?!
"Though maybe he had an emergency...." She mumbled as Eight thirty passed.
Or maybe he is off with another girl.... Her thoughts echoed through her mind. Of course she had heard the rumors about Ramsley, there was a new one every day. But Viola hadn't really believed them.
"Ramsley, a womanizer? That's crazy!" She would say after hearing such a thing. Yet now Viola wasn't too sure. He could've just asked her on this "Date" to get in her pants....

Viola sighed, tapping her feet from her impatience. The time was Nine thirty and she swore Ramsley had got lost in some other women's curves or something.
"Jackass..." She swore, hearing a knock at her door. When she opened it, Viola couldn't believe it was Ramsley.
"So you finally showed up, huh?" She smiled lightly and took the rose, wanting nothing more than to slam the door in his face. Yet Viola had a terrible temper and tonight she decided she would just have to kill Ramsley with honey covered knives instead of her usual choice of attack. But once this night was over, Viola would give up on love and dating and stick with her love of flying! Business over Boys, she supposed.

"Sure, I understand. I hope everything is settled okay..." Viola said, giving him what he wanted to hear. He looked as if he had rushed to put on his clothes and one side of his hair was messy. Compared to Viola's little black dress, He was trashy.
"Let's go then," She said after locking and closing her door. Now she would be ready for this battle!

Once at the resteraunt drinks were poured, girls from across the room mossied on over to get an autograph from the best pilot this side of the Ember Isles. 'Fastest plane in St. Dour!' They'd say in a bedroom voice, and as the flirt he was he winked sighed his name and they were on their way. Looking back over to Viola he smiled, "enjoying yourself?" Acting as though nothing had even happened, he sipped his wine and turned his attention to the woman performing on the stage.

Viola nodded and forced a smile on her face; however, she was secretly seething with rage. What kind of women wanted to watch him flirt with his fans?!
"It must be nice," She finally spoke, sipping leisurely from her glass.
"Having so many fans like that. I bet they would be willing to let you do anything to them" Viola spoke her words with venom, though her face had a smile and her eyes stayed focus on the women who sang on the stage. She was making a point. Viola was NOT some fan of his, and would not let him use her. Now that she had seen his true colors, Viola was determined to never become his or any other man's, plaything.

Business over Boys....Business over Boys... She kept chanting in her head. Never again would she let this happen.

When the woman finished her singing York stood and began to clap wildly, whistling after every few claps. Maybe if he finished with Viola before midnight he could come back down and try to get the singer in bed with him too. After all Viola was already in the bag, from what he could see she was head over heels for him already. Another few glasses of wine and this date would be just about to its climax. "Isn't she good? I hear she comes from the Blade Lands to the south west," he sat back down and placed his napkin back on his lap, "that's at almost at the other side of the world way beyond the Ember Isles... But you haven't been out of these Isles have you?" He wasn't trying to make her feel bad, he just had a natural tool sounding speech pattern. The date dragged on a bit longer before the wine was finished, at least York covered the bills, "so," the skilled pilot said, "back to my room?" He looked at the clock, it was about eleven. He had time for Viola and the foreign singer if he played his cards right!

Viola was absolutely done. She had to at least bite her tongue six times to stop from saying something smart.
Wait for the right time....Wait for the right time... She kept chanting, hoping to find an opening. And now, here was her chance!
"That's cute," Viola said, in between her harsh laughter at his request. "To think you want me to sleep with you! That is truly rich!" Her eyes had lost any warmth from them and they were now cold and dead.
"I'm sorry but I don't sleep with trash like you. If I wanted someone to warm my bed, I would've slept with my plane." Viola hissed at Ramsley. He was the worse of the worse, and she couldn't understand what any of the other women he had slept with saw in him. Turning to leave him, she let the smile on her face grow.
"Thanks for the wine though, It was better than what you could ever offer me."

The cig fell from the lieutenants mouth, burning the napkin in his lap slightly before going out. He had no idea what she was talking about but as she walked out he pushed his napkin to the side and lit another cigarette and approached the beautiful singer as if nothing had happened moments earlier. "Have we met before?" He asked the foreign goddess, but it turned out that they had met another night and he just did not recognize her. A smack turned his cheek red, and his new cig flew across the room and he stumbled up the stairs of the hotel half drunk off the expensive wine, alone. Pushing his key into the key hole he laid down on the bed and slipped into unconsciousness, "stupid women..."

The next morning Viola felt great! Today she would start her rule of "Skies and not guys" by finding the nearest bounty and ignore any and all guys!
"Who needs them, when I have you?" She asked rhetorical as she shined her plane: Jimmy Warren or J.W for short. With it's newly installed engine, Viola could probably outfly anyone and instead of the Rookie, she would become legend ! It would be fantastic and definitely a good way to get her mind off of the horrible date she had last night.

"Womanizing Jerk...." Viola muttered bitterly as she checked the local bounties and job board. Her rent would need to be paid soon and so far Viola was a couple hundred short. She didn't need a huge job but then again having extra money in her pockets couldn't hurt. Besides Viola hadn't sent money her folks way in about three months. She knew that they would desperately need some for their family farm was failing. A little bit of guilt washed over Viola at the thought. Here she was, living what some would call a "fantasy" life of adventure and money while her parents couldn't even rub to coppers together.
"Maybe I should take the Four Thousand bounty then....?" She asked more to herself than anybody else around her. It seemed more logical to her that way.

From a distance York watched her take the four thousand bounty, "that's cute," he said approaching. "You take the four thousand bounty and I'll take the 17 thousand bounty!" He laughed all cocky, he dropped a news paper at her feet, the headline read; 'Rogers Recently Escaped AGAIN!' Four thousand Silvers is all you'll ever do, nothing any bigger because your slow, slow and a woman!" While he rambles on a black and gold sea-plane flies high above the hotel, off into the sunrise to the east. It wa the same pilot that saved her from the Storm Demon just two days ago! But York paid no mind to the plane, "and another thing, you are terrible at dating, no man will EVER want greasy mechanic trash like you!"

Viola sighed, clenching her hands into fists. She was getting really tired of Ramsley York.
"Listen here, you little piece of shit," Viola began, already losing her cool.
"Screw you and your-!" She stopped mid sentence, her attention being drawn by the roaring of...a black and gold sea-plane? It couldn't be, right? Viola must've been seeing things, but somehow she knew that wasn't true...
"It's heading east, I need to find something in the east..." Viola muttered, returning back to the board.

A smile fell on her face as she saw a huge bounty in the east.
"Edward Thatch, Captain of Black Beard's Pirates: Bounty- 20 Million Silvers, I'll be taking this one," She exclaimed in triumph. Turning on her heels, she stomped away. But not before stomping very very hard on Ramsley foot. To her, the asshole deserved the pain and everything else that could possibly screw with his day!

"Twenty Thousand Silvers is all I get," the greasy pirate scratched his beard. Sweat stains on his shirt were yellow and musty, like his teeth and he smiled at the plane before him. The "Black Bird" as he called it was one of the largest and most heavily armored planes in the eastern sky. His mechanics worked tirelessly and were paid badly for their excellent work on the air craft. It had once been a military plane the was abandoned, but Thatch took it in and added dozens of weapons and such.

'Eddie,' one of the mechanics called, 'I was thinking, my family is a bit short on cash so I was thinking maybe I could get a bit more..." Bang! the man now had a hole in his head and Eddie Thatch held the smoking gun. "Why does everyone want my mother freaking money!!!" The mechanics tried to ignore their friends death and continued to work. This was Eddie's Island, he owned the people, and their homes. He was the menace of the east, and Viola was gone try and Attack him... fat chance.

Within a few short hours, Viola was suited up, had done a quick tune up check and was ready to take to the skies. The weather seemed oddly perfect today and it almost made Viola nervous. Call her superstitious, but normally when she was flying out there were always big puffy clouds; it served as her good luck charm. But now, there was not a cloud in the sky. Did this spell disaster for Viola? This "Edward Thatch" did have one of the highest bounties on the board. Could Viola really handle a person of this magnitude?

Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Viola placed her flying goggles over her eyes and turned on her plane's engine. She couldn't doubt herself now, after all she had took the bounty AND really wanted to rub it in ass-hat Ramsley's face. The look on his face when she was awarded the Twenty thousand silver would be all she really needed to clear the doubt from her mind.
"St. Dour Tower, Jimmy Warren is ready for takeoff, request back-track." Viola spoke clearly into her raido, her nerves barely affecting her now.

"Back-track approved. Cleared takeoff Ms.Warren” The tower operators answered back. There was definitely no turning back now....

A bright smile appeared on Viola's face as she soared through the clear skies. Briefly her mind wandered on what or whom Ramsley was doing as she tried to remain on course towards the infamous 'Exploding Sea'. The tower had only gave her a few details on where this "Edward Thatch" was located and so far she had yet to reach the island on where her bounty would be. She also wandered to where the Black and Gold sea plane would be. It had been headed east, right? Could it be possible that Viola would finally meet up with her savior? Oh, how she certainly hoped so!!

((OOC: 20 Thousand))

Eddie heard a soaring over head, it was familiar, "Iron Dragon..." Getting in his plane he yelled at his mechanics to push off, within a few minutes Thatch was in the air, with a twenty thousand silver bounty over his head he was a usual target for Pirate hunters. Bullets began to fly but in a matter of minutes Eddie Thatch met his end, falling to his doom and crashing on a small island the bounty hunter swooped low and snapped a picture with his old gear powered camera before flying off into the clouds, leaving nothing but the roar of an engine fading away and a short glimpse of the Sea Plane as Viola flew by, the wreckage bellow was extremely relevant and she had to have know who hunted Thatch down. It was the mysterious pilot of the Iron Dragon.

((OOC: Thanks for notifying me of my mistake, I fixed it ))

Viola observed as one of the largest and most heavily armored planes, she had seen in a while, plummeted to the island ground below. She couldn't believe someone had already hunted her bounty and took him out of the sky! The plane had at least four well armored plates and two very huge guns, who could possibly take the monstrous beauty out of the sky? But Viola was rewarded with her answer soon enough, as she caught the familiar glimpses of the ever so illusive Black and Gold sea plane, Iron Dragon .

"Well isn't that something," Viola muttered, diving her plane lower so she could get a few and a picture of her own of the wreckage below. The damage to the plane was tremendous and possibly even more then what Viola would've done if she had been the one to take him down. But while having this evidence made Viola slightly disappointed, for she knew that bounty would probably go to the Iron Dragon's pilot, it also only fueled her desire to meet them. Whomever it was, Viola now had a slight bone to pick with them. Not only had they taken her bounty but now they had taken her interest and it wouldn't be rightfully hers until she achieved her secret mission.
"I'll get you next time..." Viola vowed, as she turned her plane around and headed back towards the St. Dour base.

Now the hunt was on!

"How was your hunt?" York said chuckling, he had heard about the black and gold plane that shot down Eddie Thatch. "Heard you were out hunted, "I guess that's better then having Ed shoot you down, right?" The bar was nearly packed but everyone around the two of them were blurred out, only their talk mattered. "I woulda gone after him myself if I wasn't doing some research of my own on the Rogue of the west. He laughed and put the drink in his hand down on the table, "come up to my room for an hour or so?" He smiled, "we can have some drinks, a bit of fun, and I can tell you what I know of the Iron Dragon in the morning." Slamming his empty drink down on the table making a heavy clink sound, the bar tender replaced it with two more. He took a sip of the one and offered the other to Ciola, "what do you say?"

With a really annoyed sigh, Viola grabbed the offered glass of liquor and looked Ramsley over. She didn't even remember how he had even managed to take a seat next to her without her even noticing, though she suspected it was probably from the almost endlessly supply of liquor she was drinking.
"First off," She muttered as she brought it to her lips and took a good hardy swig. It was strong, but bitterly sweet as it trickled down her throat. Drinking wasn't normally her thing but right now, the buzz was doing wonders to her growing temper with Ramsley's arrogant confidence and the loud conversations about how she was "out hunted by the Iron Dragon". It didn't make sense to her on why everyone had to keep announcing it, it wasn't like she was there or anything.....

"You're an ass," Viola finished her statement with a smug grin, setting the glass back on the bar counter. Like hell she was going to agree to go anywhere with him! He was just another pretty face that wanted to get her pants and then drop her off on the side of the road. Ugh...Men

"Second, you must really be stupid to think I'll sleep with you over some information." She replied with slight sass while watching the ice in her drink melt slowly. Viola honestly couldn't believe Ramsley right now. Hadn't she rejected him, like....Seven or eight times now? Though the first five were before she had seen his true colors.
"Though you could definitely keep buying me drinks, and then go sleep with one of fan-whores. I'm sure they would be delighted to spend the night with you," She added before picking up the glass again and finishing what was left of it.