Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Da Doofus]

One of the soldiers stood at the door with his rifle in hand, and beyond him were gathered mercenaries opening the main gate to the settlement.
Blood gushed from a stab wound in his side.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo scowled, clearly not enjoying the situation they were in. How could Bazin have possibly had this many infantry? It was scary to think of, and even scarier to see in practice.

He’d have mere moment’s to get the soldier in before the camp gates would be open, and Kairo didn’t waste any time in shoving away parts of the barricade. Allowing the door to open just enough for the injured soldier to squeeze through.

 

[Da Doofus]

The soldier stumbled in and dropped his rifle as he nearly collapsed inside. His armor clanked to the floor, and Helen rushed to inspect the wound.
Kairo could hear the doors creak open as they were forced into moving.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo immediately closed the door, before shoving the barricade back into place. But he couldn’t help but feel like the blockade wouldn’t be of much use. The mercenaries would be upon them in just moments, and with the colonists already overwhelmed, there was no way they’d be able to deal with all of them. He didn’t want to admit it, but they were losing. And this time, there’d be no place to fall back on if that was the case.

Now, their only saving grace was if the Noah could send in reinforcements. He pulled out the emergency radio from his pocket, but again, his attempts were futile. Without the comms up and running, that was clearly not a possibility. He was left with nothing to do but wait for his comrade’s defeat.

 

[Da Doofus]

Elsewhere . . .

Near the base of the cliff, Bazin’s mortar team occupied a small clearing in the jungle. They were given the signal to hold fire since the main force had successfully entered the Archaic encampment.
All that was left to do was wait for Bazin to claim victory and collect.

Their moment of anticipation was shortlived as a round metal ball was tossed in their midst. None could react before it exploded, killing the nearby mercs and blowing up the munitions they possessed.

From the treeline emerged the helmeted figure of Rufus Maye. He arrived to the scene, armed with more than just his pistol. A quad-barreled black powder rifle was strapped to his back, and a small arms version of a shotgun was on his belt.
His visor detected no pulses from the charred remains so he returned to the weapons cart, courtesy of Vincent. He had already cut loose the cloven animal Tarlim gave him to haul the stache out here.

He noticed it was heavier to pull than he anticipated, but figured it was due to the vast difference in arms this time had.
When he finally returned however, he found a familiar silver Irokai climbing out from the draped over cart.

“DARREK?!” He scolded.
*********************

Back at the camp, the main gates were forced fully opened and a force of two dozen armed men stormed inside. Leading them was Bazin, armored in iron plate that was showing signs of rust. Hanging from his belt was a torn Noah jumpsuit.
His half scorched face was scowling as he scanned the battlefield.

 

[Chai_T3a]

When Bazin became visible through the window, Kairo tensed up in shock. Not from his presence, he'd expected the man to personally lead the attack, but rather by what he was holding in his hand.

The jumpsuit...that damned Noah jumpsuit.

Kairo trembled, so much so that any slight movement could have tumbled him over. He'd wanted to stay as detached as he could in this situation, that was the only way he was going to succeed. The only way he could keep his people safe. But all semblance of that was thrown out the door there and then. Kairo had reached his breaking point.

What had happened in Dakovis, what lead Dracon's crew here. Every single casualty from those two battles. That was on him.

Instead of staying put like he was supposed to, Kairo began moving the barricade ajar again. Just like last time, it was just enough for a person to slip through. Unlike last time, he wouldn't be coming back. "Close everything back up behind me." Kairo said, barely able to contain his anger. He had no regard for his life at that point, how could he? "I've got a grudge that needs to be settled."

 

[Da Doofus]

Helen was occupied removing the soldier’s armor when Kairo left.

“Kairo?” She exclaimed as the door shut. The colonists would not debate this stranger proclaiming vengeance. “KAIRO?!”
The shelter was shut in before she could intervene.
*****************

The fighting turned to close quarters combat and melee when Bazin’s main force entered.
The more primitive weapons of the mercenaries proved useful when the Archaic weaponry was out of the equation. Stryx’s volunteers and remaining troopers had sidearms and combat knives in use over the main armaments.

Bazin himself stood, pleased at the success of his plan of attack. Scanning across the settlement at his numbers holding, but he was confident the battle was his.
Then his gaze caught the familiar sight of the human that scarred him.

From a distance, their eyes met. The Irokai bared his teeth, and a rumble of distant thunder echoed beyond.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo ignored Helen's concern, too blinded in rage to even consider it. At that moment, there was only one thing in his mind. Bazin needed to be dealt with, and Kairo was willing to sacrifice everything in order to do that. His innocence, his morals, his life.

His eyes met Bazin's as the two got their rematch. This time though, Kairo wasn't afraid. He couldn't have been when he was willing to give everything away.

He scanned the irokai up and down, familiarizing himself with what he would be dealing with. Kairo still had Stryx's pistol and his crossbow, the latter of which he already knew wouldn't be dealing too much damage to the enemy. Kairo wouldn't have a chance in close-ranged combat, at least not with Bazin. So he had to rely on their distance, and yet he couldn't get too far, considering he had a limited amount of ammo. It would be a delicate balance he couldn't upset unless he wanted to face death.

He took a deep breath, it was time.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bazin wore a plate of metal armor over his chest and his bladed dual pistols at his side. They were holstered so the bayonets weren’t fully heated yet . . . Probably.

The Irokai cracked his neck, and growled.

“Glad you’re here, ape.” He spoke. “Need to pay you back for THIS.” He pointed to his skin, burnt from their first encounter and scabbed with bruises from his fight with Dracon.
“Then I’ll track that Feral down.”
A frown grew on his face. “Then I think I’ll catch up with Darrek for all the trouble.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo's blood boiled at the mention of Darrek and Dracon. As if he'd even give Bazin the chance to go for them.

"Funny you act all high and mighty now. Considering how you screamed like a bitch when I gave you those burns." Kario taunted, the pistol gripped in his functioning hand. "I'm not letting you get past me."

 

[Da Doofus]

Bazin let out a guttural laugh that was layered with bestial growls. “And you’re going to stop me?”

He drew his left pistol and aimed at Kairo, the blade glew bright red with intense heat.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Bazin could laugh now, but Kairo was willing to bet his life on that promise. He was going to win, and he knew it.

Seeing the pistol aimed at him, Kairo quickly bolted, jumping behind a crate for temporary cover. Bazin was an experienced fighter, and that wasn't something Kairo could just forget, though he was also brash and driven by the fight. If Kairo was smart, he could find himself an opening.

 

[Da Doofus]

The crate proved ineffective against the heated metal round of the Rithian made weapon.
It shredded through the crate by Kairo’s head and he would feel Bazin’s heavy footsteps draw closer as the gang leader charged.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Well, that didn't work out as he had planned. On the bright side though, the crate hid his position well enough so that Bazin couldn't exactly make out where he was. That happened to be the only thing that saved him from having a hole in his head.

Biting his lip, he took a more direct approach. Standing back up to fire 2 rounds at Bazin. He stood still to deliver these, risking attack for a more accurate shot.

 

[Da Doofus]

One round bounced off Bazin’s armor and the second chipped away a piece of his armored crest. With a snarl, he pounced toward Kairo with his right blade ready for a downward thrust.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo saw the attack as an opportunity. Kairo quickly jumped to his left, avoiding the pounce by a fraction of a second. He landed awkwardly on the ground below but quickly composed himself. If he could land a bullet at point-blank, this could very well end the battle. In great pain, as he used his crippled hand to perch himself back up, he used his other to aim a shot at the Irokai's eye.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bazin rolled out of the failed lunge and swiped at Kairo with his tail.
The attack hit Kairo’s hand and forearm.

Bazin’s jaws came wide open to Kairo’s face.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The impact of Bazin's tail came strong, and Kairo had to do everything in his power just to keep the pistol in his hand. A small relief would be had when the weapon hadn't fallen on the floor, but that was quickly dissipated as Bazin used the opportunity to snap his jaw at Kairo.

He was in a vulnerable position, with his hand, and subsequently, pistol still in whiplash from the hit. He decided to take a risk.

He'd probably get an earful from Helen about this later.

Staying in his position, he used his other arm, the one with his crippled hand as bait. Blocking his head in defense. This would hurt like hell, but if Bazin could latch on for just a moment, that would be enough time for him to have a second chance at getting a point-blank shot.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bazin’s jaw snapped over Kairo’s arm and contrary to Kairo’s plan, he snatched the human up in the air.
The arm popped slightly as muscles sprained and teeth dug into flesh.

The human was tossed away to tumble on the soaking ground with stabbing pains shooting up his arm to pump adrenaline through his body.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo could feel every tear, rip, and sprain as he was lifted up from the floor by his arm and tossed meters away onto the damp floor. The pain so unbearable that it paralyzed him for a moment. Both of his attempted attacks had landed in failure, a prospect that was beyond discouraging for him. But he wasn’t about to give up.

He got back up, albeit weakly. Using the bit of time in between to analyze his situation. He couldn’t let Bazin get close, as the irokai was a far stronger and more experienced combatant than he was, leaving his only chance to be keeping a distant. That would be tough, considering the irokai was also a much faster runner than him. But the throw gave him one advantage, he was now far away from Bazin to be free of any immediate attacks. If he could just maintain this distance, than he should be fine.

Using the opportunity, he again aimed the pistol, hoping to take out one of Bazin’s legs.

 

[Da Doofus]

The bullet zipped over the ground and hit its mark in Bazin’s thigh. His unarmored leg began to bleed and Bazin snarled in pain, but still stood.

His hateful glare returned to Kairo, and he took aim with both pistols.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The shot gave Kairo some confident that he could actually pull this off, but he wasn’t given much time to celebrate, as Bazin almost immediately aimed his two pistols right back at Kairo. There was little he could about this situation besides get up from his position and bolt, considering seeking cover was not an option at this point.

With his footing now gained, he sprinted off to the side, simultaneously focusing on both Bazin and his movements. The moment he felt any subtle movement signalling that Bazin would fire, Kairo would try and juke the irokai by veering to run left.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bazin opened fire, but was shooting a target smaller than what was intended for the firearms.
Four shots missed and hit the mudded ground in wetted dirt explosions that splattered on Kairo’s legs and lower back.

Every miss sparked an aggravated snarl or Rithian curse word, until the fifth zoomed just in front of Kairo. A loose flap of his shirt was torn and a mercenary follower of Bazin was on the receiving end of the round. His body was knocked several feet away as though he were hit by a car.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The fifth hit came way to close to Kairo, so much so that the lingering heat from shot could almost singe his shirt. He could only dodge for so long before he was hit, and judging from what had happened to the unfortunate mercenary behind him, one of those shots and he was done for.

That meant he only had one more option, standing his ground, he aimed his pistol at Bazin’s uninjured leg. If he could get both of them down, then they’d be at a much even playing field. Vision focussed on the small scope, he spent about a second aiming before pulling the trigger.

 

[Da Doofus]

As soon as he faced Bazin, he was already charging at the human. His head was low, his crest acting as a shield.