Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

The bullet bounced off the irokai’s crest, causing Kairo to instinctively curse. Even with the wounded leg, Bazin was still able to charge at ridiculous speeds.

Kairo prepared himself, keeping his nerves calmed. He took a few steps back, getting closer to the body of the dead mercenary. As Bazin came upon him, Kairo sidestepped, paying close attention to Bazin's tail.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bazin swiped his head as though to knock Kairo down, but missed.
His large body thudded past Kairo and he snarled in frustration at having missing the small human.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo used the opportunity to back away from the raging Irokai. Bolting in the opposite direction of Bazin. As he did so, something caught his eye. He must've missed it from all the adrenaline, but the soldier he'd let in earlier had a rifle. Kairo had never understood too much about weaponry, but he figured big gun would be more effective than small gun.

Taking a quick detour, he ran over towards the shelter entrance and picked up the rifle, before turning back so that Bazin was in his view. He couldn't keep his eyes off the irokai for long.

 

[Da Doofus]

The rifle was a Forrester Auto-rifle. 48 rounds on a full clip, but the digital ammo counter only showed 23 left in the magazine.
Holding it with only one arm was cumbersome but it was still capable of firing from the hip at close range.

Bazin caught glimpse of Kairo from a distance and aimed with his left pistol.
Suddenly, the gun received a shot in the heating coil and exploded in his hand. The Irokai yowled and clutched his bloodied arm as his eyes snapped in the direction of the cliff at his new foe.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo had been prepared for the shot, but before he was forced to take any actions, someone seemed to have done that for him. Kairo was thankful for whoever had taken out the Irokai's weapon, and the slight reprieve that it gave Kairo.

He stopped himself from looking for the target who had shot down Bazin's pistol. As much as he wanted to, it would've been a waste of time. In this situation, any inefficiency could have life or death consequences. Instead, Kairo familiarized himself with the rifle. He didn't give a shit about the pain in his mangled arm and raised it weakly to support the rifle, hoping he could replicate what his saviour had done and take out the heating coil in Bazin's last remaining pistol.

It was a long shot, considering Kairo only received basic training for firearm combat, but he was willing to take the gamble.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus stood in the flickering light of a burning fire from the mortar blasts with his pistol in hand.
Next to him, Darrek struggled to get on the flat ground that the camp was built on.

Bazin spun around, ignoring Kairo, and aimed at Rufus.

 

[Chai_T3a]

This was his opportunity, eyes pierced, he lined up the crosshairs on his rifle and pulled the trigger.

 

[Da Doofus]

The weapon opened fire, and the recoil was overpowering Kairo’s injured grip. The bullets raked the ground around Bazin, but none hit.
The Irokai noticed, and fired in Rufus’s direction before taking aim at Kairo.

The smuggler rolled clear, and grunted in pain with a cursory glance at his leg. Darrek ducked at the sound of the gunshot and had to renew his climb over the ledge.

Bazin pulled the trigger, and an empty click came as response.
“GRRR-AAAAAAAAGH!” He roared in rage, and extended his bayonet further to a full sword and sprinted at Kairo with his red-hot blade ready to strike.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo stood his ground, calming his nerves as he waited for Bazin to come closer. He obviously wasn't going to get a good shot on the irokai from a distance, considering his faulty hand kept his grip unstable at best. But at a closer distance, that handicap could be negated. He waited until Bazin was about 15 feet away, before pulling the trigger again. His next move would be dictated by the outcome of this shot. If it stayed true and did damage, then Kairo could take it easier, but he was prepared to run in case the results don't favour his move.

 

[Da Doofus]

The first three rounds went in the Irokai’s stomach, and the last four went in his exposed arm and shoulder.
He grunted, and faltered for a moment. Then, in a burst of adrenaline upon reaching Kairo snatched him by the throat and held him in the air.

“Don’t . . .” He gritted as blood poured from his wounds. “Care about the bounty.”
The glowing blade inched close to Kairo’s face. Kairo would feel the heat upon his face as though he were leaning close to an open flame.
“You’re mine to kill.”
His eyes were frantic and his breath ragged. He was running on pure adrenaline and was gravely wounded, but his body hadn’t realized yet.

Before the blade could scald or cut, Bazin was grabbed from behind by a pair of silver scaled arms.
Darrek wrestled Bazin with growls from the both of them to add to the chaos surrounding them all.

Nearby, Rufus was limping toward Kairo with blood oozing from his leg wound.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Held by his throat, Kairo struggled violently in an attempt to get out of Bazin's grip. Moving even the slightest bit meant pressing his face against the scorching blade, but he was willing to take any measures he could to break free.

He was ready to die, hell, he probably deserved to, but not yet. Before that happened, he'd make sure that Bazin would be joining him in the afterlife. He glared at the irokai with eye's that screamed murder. If gazes could kill, there'd be an army lying dead on the floor.

And as if on queue, his determination would come into fruition, but not in the way he had expected. Bazin was pulled away from him, dropping Kairo onto the floor. That shade of silver, he could recognize it anywhere.

"Darrek?" Kairo mumbled, both relief and renewed terror for the young irokai washing over him. If he was here, then there was a high likelihood that a certain someone had also tagged along. Scanning the battlefield, he'd quickly find who he was looking for. "Rufus! What are you two doing here?"

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus grabbed Kairo and hauled him behind a metal shack. Stray gun fire pattered on the ground around them. The battle seemed to be turning in the Noah colonists’ favor with the enemy leader no longer coordinating the assault.

“I was coming as back up, and the kid snuck on the ride with me.” Rufus looked at his arm. “This is popped out of place.”

Both could hear Bazin’s roars and clattering as the two Irokai smashed into another building.

 

[Chai_T3a]

"And here I thought it was because you missed me." Kairo teased, a semblance of a smile crossing his face. Having his old companions back helped in grounding himself slightly, and for once during this entire battle, he found himself being able to gain his composure again. The pain and anger was still there, but just for the moment, he wanted to savour the fact that he'd get to see the two one last time.

"That's not good." Kairo mentioned the obvious as he looked down at his arm. The appendage being as painful as it was useless. "Could you pop it back in for me? I'm not done fighting yet."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Yeah, sure.” Rufus groaned at his leg, and held Kairo’s arm.
“Deep breaths.”

Whatever battlefield surgery was about to happen was interrupted by a snarl and a heavy crash against the interior of the shack the two were hiding behind.
A massive dent where an Irokai slammed another pushed the two away.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He had expected pain from the procedure, but definitely not originating from his back. Dazed, he looked at the wall the two of them had been hiding behind. Surprised to find the large dent outlining a battle between two irokai. Curious as to how the battle had turned out, he daringly peeked his head to the side as to catch a glimpse of who the victor seemed to be. Bazin was injured, so he hoped that the fight was in Darrek's side, but he could never be too sure.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bazin and Darrek were wrestling with each other over which one would have a grip on the bladed pistol. Bazin was frothing at the mouth with a wild gleam in his eyes.
Darrek stood back up and struck the older Irokai across the face, which earned another toss outside the shack.
Bazin pounced at Darrek and the two rolled across the ground, clawing and trying to bite one another.
Rufus was trying to aim with his own rifle, but couldn’t get a clear shot.

In the background, Stryx was clashing with a shielded mercenary upon the front wall section.

 

[Chai_T3a]

"Shit." Kairo seethed, watching the fight ensue. Instead of the decisive victory he had planned for, the battle between Darrek and Bazin seemed something more like a tense showdown. The strength of Bazin highlighted tenfold as he realized how damaged the older Irokai was.

Gripping the rifle, he retreated back into the relative safety of the shack. If Rufus himself couldn't get a clear shot, then there was absolutely no way he would be able to either. At the moment, any shot he took could just as likely hit Darrek as it would Bazin.

He racked his head for an idea, anything that could give them an advantage over the towering mercenary. All the options that came up involved a high likelihood of collateral damage, Kairo couldn't allow that.

Or could he?

He clenched his fist and took a deep breath, looking over at Rufus with eyes that seemed way too calm for the situation. "We aren't going to be able to get a hit on him like this. I'll head out there, hopefully, get his attention off of Darrek." A sudden pause came afterward, as if Kairo didn't want to speak of the next part of the plan. "If that happens, and Bazin end's up attacking me. Please, don't hesitate to shoot. Protecting my life isn't as important as taking him out."

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus eyed Kairo.
“WHAT?!”

Darrek was snarling now and baring teeth as the clash took the two closer to the cliff’s edge. The younger Irokai kicked Bazin away and stood up to grab the weapon in the hopes Bazin was dazed.
Unfortunately, the bandit leader had his grip firm and rolled over to swipe upward. The red-hot blade almost cut Darrek across the stomach and his evasion caused him to stumble upon the precipice.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The fight was at its tipping point, and unfortunately for them, Darrek had found himself on the wrong end of it. There wasn't much time left for Kairo to take action. Rufus wouldn't want to carry out his plan, but Kairo knew the man. In the end, Rufus was willing to do anything to achieve his goals. Whatever that may be.

He glanced back at Rufus, his friend, confidante, and the closest thing to a brother Kairo had. He gave the man what he thought was his last smile. Before charging out into the open.

Rifle in hand, he bolted as fast as he could towards the two Irokai. He considered shooting at a close distance, but even that proved to be too risky. With two moving targets, one of which he'd rather not hit, and his broken hand, there was no way he'd be able to get a good shot.

That meant only one thing, Kairo was going to have to get between the two somehow. A strategy that could work, as long as he had the element of surprise.

Running faster than he ever had in his life, he covered the distance between the shack and the two fighting irokai in less than a few seconds. People told him that in life and death situations, the perception of time would grind to a halt. What filthy liars they were. Kairo wanted more, more time with Rufus where they could belt out songs as they walked across some dingy road, more time to cause mischief with Darrek, more time to get to know Dracon, more time to live.

But he was willing to give away what he wanted. For all his comrades that had died, Kairo was going to offer one last sacrifice.

Coming from the side, Kairo rammed Darrek as hard as he could away from Bazin. Even for an Irokai of Darrek's stature, the force of the blow should've been able to at least caused him to stumble away. This was followed by a successive shot downwards at the still recovering Bazin. He hoped that an extra bullet wound from point-blank would shift Bazin's rage away from Darrek.

 

[Da Doofus]

The bullet indeed hit its mark in Bazin’s side, and the Irokai roared loudly. Loud enough for a few nearby mercenaries to notice and run to assist their fearsome leader. The Irokai stood and retreated further in the camp where battle raged.

Darrek meanwhile had regained his balance and in turn hauled Kairo away from the ledge as the mercenaries approached with swords and hand axes at the ready.
Two fell from flanking shots from Rufus, who sat against the shack with a reopened leg wound. One was about to swing at Kairo until Darrek snatched him by his hand and yank his whole body to hurtle off the cliff as though he had tossed a weighty sack.

 

[Chai_T3a]

After the shot landed, Kairo braced himself for Bazin to attack. But to his surprise, that would never come. He wasn't sure what had occurred, but that final shot must have been the nail in the coffin, as Bazin seemed to have lost interest in attacking the two of them. It was an outcome Kairo hadn't expected, but one that he would gladly take.

For the next few moments, Kairo was just about dead weight. His entire body trembling, he let Darrek drag him away from the cliff. Only coming back to his senses after the first three mercenaries had been disposed of by Darrek and Rufus.

It worked, and he wasn't dead. What did he do to deserve such an outcome?

No matter what, he decided that he'd question fate some other time. For now, there was a much bigger problem than he had to take care of. He and Darrek may have taken care of the biggest threat, but there was still some cleanup work to do.

Senses regained, Kairo aimed the Rifle at a mercenary that was in close proximity. Close enough that Kairo was confident his attack would land. Upon doing so, he pulled the trigger.

 

[Da Doofus]

The rifle clicked empty and the digital ammo counter showed 00 rounds left in the magazine.
The mercenary readied his two-handed axe for a swing but Darrek struck with a clenched fist and tumbled off of the cliff with his screams to be silenced by the impact.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Now useless, Kairo tossed the rifle away, opting for the lighter, yet less effective pistol instead.
"Thanks." He curtly said to Darrek for having his back, as he kept his eyes trained on any nearby mercenaries. Thankfully there weren't many. "Let's try and get back to Rufus, regroup and figure out what to do."

 

[Da Doofus]

Darrek sighed, and watched the battle begin to turn in favor of the Archaic.
“Yeah . . . Um. Kairo? You sure they’re ok with me?”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo first instinct was to say yes, which he had to physically stop himself from doing. Even in a situation where Bazin hadn't chosen to be hostile, Kairo wasn't sure if these people would accept someone like Darrek. And after all that? Chances were that acceptance wouldn't come for years.

"I wish." Kairo said begrudgingly. "It'd be best not to stay for long once things start to die down."