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ATEE: Partners in Crime *Me (That Guy) and Alex64*

"Mm... we are already here?" Raku mumbled, steadily rising from his bed.
Silently yawning (as cats were wont to do), Ellie rose from her bed as well, stretching herself. "It'd seem that way."
 
It would become apparent, as they emerged on deck, that the ship had docked next to a scaffold of some kind, of impressive height. The ruined island they had been promised was, indeed, levitating nearby-- not at an unreasonable distance from sea level, but still far enough that, more likely than not, falling from its edges would surely be fatal. The scaffold that had been constructed next to it looked much more modern, and much more stable, by design. Evidently, it had been placed there by some local archaeologist, or treasure-hunter, or someone of that general ilk, to provide access to the ruins without requiring the power of flight.

Midnight shrugged slowly at the sight.
"At least there are stairs..?"
 
"Thank goodness for small blessings, I suppose," Ellie assented, internally wondering if this was the Arabian Nights' counterpart to Angel Island.
Raku slowly nodded, having apparently been struck by a wave of nostalgia as he gazed upon the floating island.
 
Awe-inspiring though it was, Gates had already led the charge up the stairs of the scaffold, followed closely by Qatif, as if to serve as his bodyguard-- through from how he held his cutlass aloft as if to guide his way, that seemed less than necessary. Still, it would be fair to reason, there would be plenty of opportunity for sightseeing and reminiscing at the top.
 
***
At the top of the stairs, Ellie asked, "Raku, is something the matter?"
Raku, who'd been silent to this point, snapped to attention. "Hm? Oh, er, well, I was just reminded of my homeland, is all."
 
Midnight inclined his head as he surveyed the scenery on the floating island's surface. Ruins, as promised; an ashy off-white in colour, though it wasn't clear whether that was just the material from which they had been constructed, prior to whatever collapse had brought the structures down, or if they had simply been bleached by years of exposure to the sun. Perhaps both. Nevertheless, the place held something of a regal serenity, even in spite of-- or even perhaps aided by-- the considerable winds that would gust through at not too infrequent intervals. He bit his lower lip gently, nonplussed by the serendipity of a floating island full of ruins being so poignant to Raku's memories, especially since, he presumed, Raku would have no idea how Angel Island looked in the present day.
 
"Worst case scenario, they'll at least buy us some time." He grinned broadly, if mischievously, not displaying even an ounce of the malice his thoughts implied. "And if they're worth more credit than we've given them, they might actually end up helping us."
 
"Oh, just the same thing we do every time, largely." He admired his cutlass with an air of searing smugness. "Go wherever looks the most important, see what we can find, and, when You Know Who inevitably turns up, put that cute little self of his in his place yet again. Ah...I'm looking forward to it already~"
 
"Oh, now, shush with that~" Gates grinned, pretending to be coy. "Much as I love playing hard-to-get, male egos are just oh-so-fragile. We've got to let him think he's won at least some of the time..."
"Is this someone we need to worry about?"
"B'wuh!.." Midnight's sudden appearance on Gates's other side appeared to have caught the pirate genuinely off-guard-- at least by enough to make him recoil in surprise. "...Eavesdropping's awfully rude, honey."
"Says the pirate."
"Touché. Well, it's nothing to worry your pretty little face about, anyway. The long and short of it is, ruins like these attract all manner of unsavoury types. Exhibit A..." He winked, and made a big show of doing so. "Us!~ ...So don't be too surprised if we have to have you get your hands a little dirty while we're here. That was part of the agreement, after all."
 
"Oh, plenty, sweetie." He proceeded to count them off on one hand. "Other pirates, legendary heroes, vengeful deities of ancient civilisations..." He gestured up with his cutlass without looking, as he led the group under the remains of some ruined structure's roof. "Oh, and that."
Right on cue, a large creature that defied description swept through the valley of ruins they had just been walking through. It appeared to be something on a scale between a fossil, a manta-ray, a bird, and some kind of demon-- not to mention evidently thoroughly displeased.
 
"Just a Rukh." The pirate captain was either genuinely unfazed, or just excellent at concealing any outward response to the beast. "They used to carry these ruins on their backs. I'm not sure why that changed, but, hey, it's not my problem. ...It did piss them off something fierce, though."
"And that means they think of us as invaders of their territory?" Midnight rolled his eyes. "...You're not expecting us to try and fight it, are you?"
Gates shrugged.
"If it comes to that, you have the honour of being our meat-shields, but if we can get what I want without it coming to that, so much the better."
 
"Hey, you're the ones who invaded my ship. Or were you expecting a bunch of pirates to be hospitable?~"
Qatif cleared her throat.
"...Nevertheless, if I may..? Attempting to confront the Rukhs would be a very bad idea." She folded her arms, nodding back to the path, now that the beast had passed. "If we value our lives, we should stay clear of them. Besides, they are natural beasts of burden. It probably wouldn't be presuming too much to conclude that they are territorial, but have no specific interest in protecting whatever specific bounty we might find here."
 
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