Task:

Ilusia, quite a nice place, though Nicholas hadn't had much of an opportunity to enjoy it very much. Also the fact that the island was under constant attack by the revolutionaries also put a damper on any trip. He couldn't help but find it funny. Ilusia seemed like a nice, peaceful place. No oppression or any sort of cruelty from its government, and yet the revolutionaries wanted to overthrow it and establish their own. It made them seem like less like the righteous defenders of the common folk, and more like this whole revolution of theirs was just a power grab. What sort of government were they planning to put in place anyway? Most likely with them in charge, if Centauruea was any indication.

Though despite the difficulties it brought, this little war was exactly what made Ilusia perfect, at least in regards to why Nicholas was here. If he could find a good contact here on the island, he could get information on both the marines stationed here, AND the revolutionaries. And he had the perfect idea for one. One of the servants in the royal palace. Someone who could overhear stuff and report it in to him. It was perfect. Now to get in...

And that's where our 'hero' was, having been forced to replaced his flashy coat and stylish dress shirt and tie with a more mundane outfit. He had found a guy delivering food to the royal kitchens and had 'pursuaded' (read:beaten him up and stolen from) him to let him make the delivery. He had arrived at the back door to the kitchens, and it didn't require much acting talent to get inside. While the servants were busy unloading the foodstuffs, Nicholas slipped out of sight. Time to find the perfect contact.

The wonderful thing about castles, there were so many places for someone to hide in. The problem though was that unless you were dressed to fit in (a.k.a, looking like one of these rich bastards), you stood out like a sore thumb and were thrown out. You HAD to remain hidden. Nicholas wasn't really a fan of stealth. He liked being in the spotlight, not hiding from it. He knew though that he had to suck it up, after all he was here to get an information contact, not make a name for himself.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before he found what he was looking for. One of the servant girls. While she was kind of cute (which attracted his attention in the first place), it was the fact that he saw her gossiping with the other servants that made her ideal. Someone who got hold of plenty of gossip no doubt got hold of some good nuggets of information. Sure, he'd have to fish through some gossip to get them, but they would be there.

And so, as the serving girl broke off from the others, Nicholas prowled in the shadows towards her. Once she was out of sight, he reached out and grabbed her, quickly covering her mouth to stop her from screaming. "Excuse me," he said, a playful smile on his face, "I'd like to discuss a possible business proposition for you."


"So, you want me to tell you what I hear around here?" The girl asked, having calmed down somewhat when Nicholas explained the situation to her (which was odd considering said explanation revealed he was a PIRATE). Nicholas nodded. "That's correct." He held out a piece of paper to her, "This is the number for the Den Den Mushi. There's a white attached so we wont get tapped or anything." The girl nodded and pocketed the paper. That was a bit easier than he thought.

"Hey! You!"

Spoke too soon...

Both Nicholas and his new contact (whose name he learnt was Annabelle) both looked over to see a couple of marines approaching them. Nicholas had to think fast, or all of this would be for nothing. If they found out that Annabelle was a spy for him... "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here!" one of them called out as they approached. An idea then struck Nicholas hard. "Sorry about this," he whispered to Annabelle before suddenly shoving her aside and taking off down the hallway. The marines were caught by surprise before suddenly taking off after him. "Stop right there! Get back here!" They shouted as they chased him. Thankfully for Nicholas, he was a lot faster than they were. Unfortunately for him though, there were a lot more of them, as more started coming out of nowhere in order to join the chase. In the end, Nicholas was forced to leap out of a window. The marines all screeched to a halt, watching as the pirate fell to the courtyard below, triggering his Jet Dial at the last moment in order to stop his descent, allowing him to land harmlessly on the ground.

Nicholas laughed as he looked up at the window, seeing the marines staring down at him before turning to the front gate. With a small swagger, he pulled out his Impact Dial and swung hard at the door. With a massive burst of kinetic force, the doors burst open, allowing Nicholas to run out. With the amount of distance he had on the marines, he could easily hide and get out of dodge before they caught up to him.

Meanwhile, a couple of the marines had gone back to see if Annabelle was ok. "Are you ok Miss?" he asked as the maid pulled herself up. She dusted herself off and nodded. "I'm ok, thank you. Oh, that was an ordeal," she played the part of the dismayed woman well as the marines nodded. "Don't worry. We'll get him. You're safe now." "Oh thank you so much." As the marines left, Annabelle began walking away, the piece of paper with the number tucked firmly in her pocket.