Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

That alerted Kairo too. His eyes darted away from the statue and towards the surrounding buildings around him. Multiple signals? That couldn’t be right. The only person that could be close by was Dracon.

“Are they close?” Kairo said, one hand reaching for his crossbow.

 

[Da Doofus]

“Coming this way.” Rufus said and drew his pistol. “Down that road over there.” He pointed behind them and gestured for a nearby street corner.
Quickly, he dove behind the side of the building and gestured for Kairo to get behind him.

 

[Chai_T3a]

That quickly caught Kairo’s attention. They were that close? When Rufus had mentioned their proximity he had assumed that whoever they had been had been maybe hundreds of meters away. Right behind the corner. He definitely wasn’t expecting that.

He didn’t waste time in following Rufus. In mere moments the other man had silently made its way to cover next to Rufus. Back against the wall. He dared not to talk, instead, looking at Rufus with eyes filled with concern.

 

[Da Doofus]

Both travelers waited for whoever it was to draw closer and closer. Rufus’s tracker could be seen from his belt, and there were three blips on it steadily moving nearer and nearer to them.
Soon they were almost past the corner.

Rufus looked at him.
“Don’t fire until I say so.” He whispered to Kairo, and adjusted his grip on the pistol.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo silently waited, his heart thumping in his chest. The crossbow he held already loaded and ready to fire. He nodded as Rufus gave out his instructions, waiting for the other man to give the okay.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus exhaled quietly once the blips were just around the corner now.
He spun out of cover and readied his pistol, leaving enough room for Kairo to stand next to him.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo would quickly do just that, getting up from his position on the floor to aim his crossbow at whoever was turning the corner. He kept his fear and anxieties hidden. Still there, but this time much more manageable.

His hand on the trigger, he would shoot on a moments notice. Hopefully things wouldn’t come to that.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Both men would be aiming their weapons in the same instant together, and in return three weapons were aimed back mere feet away from them.
Two armored Republic soldiers wielding energy rifles, and in the middle their leader would be aiming a semi automatic ballistic rifle. He was wearing lighter armor over his military fatigues and had much of his right arm exposed, revealing his robotic prosthetic with pneumatic muscle.
Once the tenseness of the initial standoff faded, both parties began to recognize the other.

Rufus lowered his pistol.
“Commander Catfeld?” He said to the commanding officer.

“Rufus?” Stryx’s eyes widened, and he lowered his own weapon. “Kairo? Goddamn.” The soldiers eased and let their weapons fall to their sides as well.

 

[Chai_T3a]

After getting used to so many heated fights, Kairo had expected nothing less of another. Another hostile person they'd have to fend off against. But this? Seeing Commander Stryx in the flesh looking back at him? This was the last thing he would have predicted.

Kairo blinked a few times, trying to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him! What were the odds that this would have happened? They'd just spent so long trying to find a way back to camp, and all of a sudden, that stress was no more. Kairo felt infinitely lighter.

"Stryx" Kairo dropped the crossbow, clearly still in disbelief. "I..I'm not going mad....am I?"

 

[Da Doofus]

“Not yet.” The blonde smirked. “Damn it’s good to see you two alright.” He approached and offered a handshake to Rufus.

The soldier and the smuggler shook hands, both pleased to see the other.
“Where have you been?” Stryx asked.

“Trying not to get eaten and here now to send a signal to you guys back at the settlement.” Rufus answered and completely left out any mention of Drafisl or all the people he and Kairo met. “What’s been going on there anyway?”

“Director Bentley sent more reinforcements after you and Kairo disappeared, and we got order back once we secured the perimeter. We put out search parties but couldn’t find a trace of where you had gone.”

Rufus chuckled. “Yeah . . . I owe you guys a Cricket.” He looked at Kairo awkwardly.

 

[Chai_T3a]

"Yeaaaah sorry about that. Turns out there's some pretty killer potholes out here in the wild." Kairo added, scratching the nape of his neck.

"But enough of that. You don't know how relieved I am that camps still in order after....all that." Kairo seethed, memories of the forced exit from camp threatening to resurface. "Speaking of that. How are people taking the news about the dinosaur man."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Well . . .” Stryx seemed to be finding the proper way to word it.

“Bentley came up with a cover story to keep from admitting the truth that he knew about them?” Rufus offered an explanation for him.

The commander sighed. “Yeah. I don’t approve, but at least it worked.”

“Politics.” Rufus shrugged. “So what the hell are you doing HERE?”

“Trying to get a signal for pickup, it’s quite hard to transmit in this jungle.”

“You too? I thought I just had obsolete equipment.”

“No no, there’s this thick layer of . . . I don’t know; pollen? Anyway there’s an airborne lair of it that covers the jungle at least a mile above the ground and it blocks any radio transmission.” He pointed to the mountain. “Dr. Faolain found that this mountain stands at the thinnest part of it and stands above it, so it’s the current best place to set up a transmitter.”
He stopped to look around. “Never would have guessed there would be construction here . . . But we wouldn’t have found it if you hadn’t put a tracker on yourself. Good call that.”

Rufus’s eyes widened and he looked at Kairo, unsure how to respond to Stryx’s misinterpretation.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo seemed more then just a bit alarmed by that. Stryx and his team had followed Dracon up here? That could have led to so many problems If they hadn’t found them as soon as they did.

“Wow, uuh.” Kairo said, looking to Rufus in hope that he’d know what to say. To his dismay, the usually composed man seemed to be at a lack of words. What could he say? Almost everything seemed like it would cause them to expose more information then necessary. “what can I say. That tracker isn’t on us.” Kairo blurted out, taking a few seconds of pause to find the most appropriate answer. Right now, a lie seemed the most appropriate, and the least problematic. “Well....it was originally on us. We got in a bit of skirmish recently and lost it at the foot of the mountain. Guessing something might have picked it up.” He looked over at Rufus trying to find confirmation in the mans expression for how he played it out.

 

[Da Doofus]

“A skirmish?” Stryx inquired. “What attacked you?”

“Same things that dragged the Cricket underground. Some kind of dinosaurs. Big and with glowing feathers.
Nasty.” Rufus pieced together one truth with Kairo’s lie. “We lost em, but maybe that tracker was in my camp when it got snagged on a critter.” He shrugged.

Stryx eyed the two. “Alright then. The rest of my team is securing the guardhouse over there.” He pointed to a metal-roofed building attached to the front wall. “If you need any supplies, help yourself. I’m going up to the big house to set the transmitter up.”
He gestured to the manor with the large decorative window built out of the mountain.

“I’ll be grabbing some ammo.” Rufus said. “Kairo, you comin?”

The choice was left to accompany Stryx or stay with Rufus.

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Maybe next time man. I think there’s a bit of catching up I have to do with good’ol Stryx.” Kairo gave Rufus a quick wave as he made his way towards the intended building. “But hey, grab me a gun maybe. Whatever you think’s fitting.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Sure sure.” Rufus turned and waved Kairo off. “Hey Stryx; these stooges ain’t gonna arrest me are they?”

“You doing any more smuggling?” The commander crossed his arms.

“My lawyer advises I remain silent.” Rufus joked and kept walking to the guardhouse.

Stryx looked to the two soldiers. “You two help with the perimeter. Our left flank is weak.”

“Roger, Commander.” One of them saluted and both swiftly began a steady pace to the opposing side of the wall.

Stryx handed Kairo a tool pouch.
“You can give me a hand setting this thing up.” He said, and started moving toward the partially burnt manor.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo couldn't help but smile at Rufus's exchange with Stryx. He'd forgotten how much he'd missed this. He knew it hadn't been that long since he'd seen those two together, but the jungles of Hennasia definitely did a number on his concept of time. When everyday was spent fighting for your life, a single moment could be stretched to an eternity.

Kairo graciously took the tool pouch from Stryx as he handed it to him. Opening the thing to examine what he had to work with. His original smile only grew wider. "Sounds like a plan." He said, holding the tools between his arm. "You've got no clue how nice it feels to be able to work with techy stuff again."

 

[Da Doofus]

“I can imagine. Hard to believe you two made it this long on your own.” He glanced at Kairo. “And managed to find yourself some new clothes I see.
And a crossbow; very antiqued.” He commented, clearly implying he was aware of the pair’s attempt at misinformation.
“Doesn’t matter. You two are safe and we’ll be going back soon. We got the cloaking device almost set up so security is tighter than it was before.”

They passed a burnt down house and the faintest remnant of a table was among the ashen and dusty remains. Nearby in another destroyed room was the rusting metal frame of a bed. It was easy to forget that a people once lived here.
Families even.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He wasn't entirely surprised that Stryx figured out they weren't telling the full truth. But it wasn't something he could really disclose. Funny how much had changed since the last time they met. For a second, he'd thought he'd have to be put on the spot again. He honestly wouldn't know what to do if he was. The relief was almost physically visible when Stryx chose to brush off the subject.

"As long as I won't be dragged out of camp like that again." Kairo joked, making light of the situation. Even if it clearly wasn't something to joke about. Passing by the burnt down building, and seeing the decrepit furniture. Kairo pretty quickly realized that if something had changed just a little bit between then and now, he could have ended up just like whoever had lived here. Dead.

"I have to say though. Me and Rufus are real lucky." He said, tone tired but serious as he relayed his sentiment. "Think I've had enough adventure for a lifetime."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Well depends on what your definition of adventure is when you think about it.” He said as he pushed a piece of cracked stone out of the way with his prosthetic. “I mean; here you are in the ruins of an unknown civilization. Personally, I count that as adventure.
But that’s just me.”

A gust of wind blew through the haunting emptiness of Dakovis, making the narrow spaces between the rubble whistle softly and a set of still functioning wind chimes ring out gently.

 

[Chai_T3a]

That got a small chuckle out of Kairo. "Ehhh I guess you're right." He shrugged.

The two walked along in relative silence for a few moments as the wind blew past them. The sound of the wind chimes echoing almost eerily in the background. It brought one last thought to Kairo. One last thing he needed to know before he could truly feel comfortable again.

"By the way, Commander. Have you heard anything from red team while we were gone? I've been to their camp, and honestly it looked like someone died there."

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx sighed. “I led a team looking for you the next night after you and Rufus disappeared.

We . . . Found Hudson.” He sighed again.
“What was left of him.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo turned to look at him, eyes wide in shock. He'd done his best to convince himself that they were still alive. That against all odds, the blood in that camp wasn't actually theirs. It kept him grounded and able to cope with it all. And now with the news that Hudson hadn't made it, that foundation was threatening to fall apart.

Hudson. He'd only worked with the man once. But that one time was enough for Kairo to get acquainted with him. He remembered his wisecrack humour and his playful personality all too well. The fact that all of that was now gone proved to be devastating. Someone with such charming qualities didn't deserve to die. It didn't seem like death cared about that.

He looked away, concentrating his vision one on of the houses in front of him. Its crumbling frame and ashen surrounding didn't seem to bother him before, now it did.
"I'm not surprised." Kairo said weakly, taking a deep breathe to keep his emotions in check. "He died for a good cause. I'm sure he would have thought that too."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Don’t patronize me.” Stryx said almost harshly. “Bentley did that enough at the memorial.” He stopped and sighed.
“I’m sorry. It’s nothing against you.

He died ugly, and the rest of Red Team is still MIA. No trace.”

They were now approaching the manor after passing a collapsed gate that sectioned off the property from the rest of the town. The front of the estate looked to have once been a field of green. The vegetation had now overgrown the burnt remains of a bench by a dried up garden pool.
Kairo’s foot knocked against something half-buried in the soil. If analyzed, it would look to be a piece of something carved from wood. Nearby was another larger piece. Two burnt pieces of a handcrafted toy carved to look like an unknown four-legged dinosaur. The faintest hint of blue paint remained on the blackened plaything.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The sudden change in Stryx's demeanour caught Kairo off guard. He flinched back slightly in surprise, before relaxing again. Stryx was blaming himself for the death, that was really clear. And Kairo knew there was little he could do to stop that.
"Sorry. I didn't mean it that way." Kairo mumbled, kicking a pebble on the floor. "I believe they're probably still out there. Surviving." He added in hopes of clearing the tension slightly. He knew the chances of that were slim. But like Darrek, he needed some faith at this moment. Something to hope for in this dark, dark world.

Once they reached the gate, something hard made contact with Kairo's boot. Curious as to what it was, Kairo looked down. What he saw only served to rub in the pain even further. The rotting toy stuck in the ground got to him. That wasn't just a piece of rubble from the fire. It was something that held memory. Someone used to play with this. A kid...use to play with this. The hatred for the suffering of children seemed to be a real universal concept, as Kairo quickly realized that it didn't matter what species the toys owner was. His pain for them was the same. Raw and true.

He had to force his eyes off the toy, the deep breathes he took were beginning to be less and less effective at calming him down.