[Npc](Open ) A tale of the would be hero ( M )

[Centurion]

Callium peeked around the wall and caught a glimpse of at least eleven men dashing their way. He checked the mag on his rifle and turned to his team.

"I do not expect you people to necessarily understand or be willing to help solve my situation at this point, but I will not leave until every damned bandit within these walls stops breathing, or I do."

He turns back around the wall, rifle drawn, and fires off a volley of precision shots, taking out two of the oncoming raiders.

[Marcus Wright]

Blair frowned "I'll go with it. "

The pilot grabbed onto a bigger weapon from the stash that Leiko, Mia and Callium had stocked.

This was going to be one hell of a fight.

Blair would cover from the back and start to shoot some of the Bandits as they began to rush the group. She moved between the walls and kept shooting until she had to reload.

[Eda]

Typhone had their back , he covered the approach from a distance . He did not care for things to be up close and personal , he had little talent for that . The little girl looking tag along however seemed to take the earlier words and disregard them , she was content to bust as many skulls as she possibly could . 

Now that every bandit in the building seemed to be awake and alert , she was more than happy to put them back to sleep . She too had a hope while she was here , tearing doors down in the hopes of finding just one thing . Her silent hope that whoever took her real body was here , that she could get it back . Though she feared she might be out of luck , she could not let that get to her .

[Ebony]

Leiko still wanted to smite the stupid girl who had ruined their plan, but didn't, choosing instead to focus her rage on those who were trying to kill them, using her speed to her advantage, and doing her best to use her advanced senses to the party's advantage as well, though what she saw had her sighing with resignation. "Hana, be prepared to use that ability on all of us", she said with a sigh. "We will probably need it".

[Centurion]

Callium's heart swelled to see his companions stand with him, but he remained unnaturally nervous as Mia charged into the midst of battle. Shaking way distracting thoughts about her uncanny similarities to his daughter, the warrior refocused on the battle at hand, seamlessly reloading his rifle and maintaining a systemic field of fire.

Noting more troops coming from the other side of the camp, he swiveled his positioning to aim at the new enemies.

"Incoming from our flank! We're surrounded!"

[Marcus Wright]

Blair frowned, there was more and more bandits around and things began getting really out of control fast. Her teammates just kept fighting and so would she, but there had to be a way to clear bandits without the risk of them getting killed.

[Eda]

Typhone had an idea , he set up a shot that would not be easy to make , aiming to take out a few that were approaching in the back . He knew it might not work , but if it did it would make it seem like they had back-up behind them and distract them for just a few moments . He skillfully drained a whole clip in this attempt , however there were simply too many of them . They also were decidedly not falling for such a simple trick .

" Well shit we are boned , any last words before the some odd two hundred guys here drop us "

Mia had other ideas in mind though , she outright giggled when they were surrounded . her hand raised into the air before striking the ground with full force , shaking it just enough to make the approachers stumble. She followed this up with another , then another , her small body starting to pulse and flare . Suffering from the strain of pushing it so hard , knowing she could not keep such an attack up . However so long as she was standing she would not give in . 

" I have an idea , but this body is not going to hold out for much longer. "


Her ears were ringing and eyes bleeding clenching her hand once more , her muscles were burning . She did not care though , this whole ordeal had been her fault so she was going to be the one to fix it . She swore that on the next strike she issued , this shock-wave one so intense that it caused the ground to raise up . She was coughing up blood from the attempt , however she would not let up . Using this form of attack again , and one last time . Her entire body quitting after the last one , the blood from a broken arm dripping on the stone . In the end she had only managed to knock down the approaching force long enough to buy them time to escape .

One of the bandits that was still standing ended her heroic moment though , before she could do any more damage a single bullet ripped through the little girls head . Causing her to fall flat to the ground , the sound of the shot and bullet it self all seeming to play out in slow motion . As if fate itself demanded this moment to simply be more dramatic .

" Sorry guys .. this is going to be this cowgirls last rodeo " 

Typhone could not take it , his anger boiling over . Quickly reloading his rifle , he decided to use the chance the little kid looking girl had bought them . His all out rampage was swift and rage fueled dropping as many of the bandits as he could , this was unacceptable . He would not allow anyone else here to die , he simply would not let it happen . His rifle trained on the bandits as they stood up , putting as many down as quickly as he could .

He was not going to lose anyone else , he knew he could not save the young girl . This fact driving him even more , the wide eyed male seeming to outrun the bandits who were shooting at him . However he too was taking damage quickly , his body seeming to draw from the adrenaline fueling it.
He knew they might all die here however he refused to accept that fact , not daring to even think such a thing might be possible . His breathing was heavy , his entire body shook with hate . He despised such feelings , however in his current state he was barely cognitive enough to realize he too was hurt . 

It was going to be one hell of a day.

Mia has died 

[Centurion]

"NOOOOOO!!"

He couldn't take it. He had lost his daughter once. To see her clone lay there, lifeless once more, drove Calling over the edge. He sprinted headlong into the incoming fire, unloading his mag into every bandit within range. When that ran out, he switched to his pistol, firing until a bullet ripped through the light hide armor of his left shoulder, forcing him to drop the gun and roll behind a small wall. He drew his long knife, fully intent in carving the bastards to pieces. He grabbed a nearby corpse and held it in front of him like a shield. The body absorbed most bullets, but one slammed into his leg, throwing him off balance and leaving him scrambling for cover.

"GAH, Damn it!"

This was his mistake. He had failed to protect his daughter... twice. He had failed to defend his village. He would not fail in avenging them. Ta king a deep breath, he gathered enough strength to stand. He could hear shouts from both sides, but his blood luster and rage refused to let him listen. He regripped his knife and readied himself for death.

[Ebony]

Leiko sighed, seeing her and her friends were going to die if something was not done. "Run", she yelled at Blair, while dashing at Typhone,grabbing and picking him up, then dashing to Callium, where they were met by Hana, whose regeneration was standing her in good stead. She touched all three of them, then in a blink of an eye, were outside the bandit's camp. "Go, run while I fetch the last one", she said, prepping another teleport as she ran back towards Blair, hoping she had listened and began to run. "Leiko, keep these two idiots from being stupid, please", she said with a determined look on her face. "This one will obey", Leiko said, taking position in front of them. "These ones will have to take Leiko down if they wish to return, as one's cat has ordered this one to keep these ones here", she said quietly.

[Marcus Wright]

Blair started to run, and didn't look back. She saw the heroic Mia give her life for the group but she couldn't look back. She had felt a pit in her stomach. This new group she had come with had been her first experience of the Omniverse and she planned to continue it for a while.

[Eda]

Typhone was too injured to continue fighting anyways , his voice low and his weapons all spent of ammunition .

" I could not help her , I could do nothing in the end " 

He looked away shaking his head softly , his eyes narrowing . He was all out of tears , he had run out of them a long time ago . 

[Centurion]

Deaspair. Rage. Sadness. Pain. Callium was lost in an empty world. He had no energy to fight, but he had no other passions. He had lost the few things in life that made it worth living. He had lived for family, until they were slaughtered. He had lived for vengeance, until he saw its emptiness. So he lived for Mia and the little girl he used to know all too well. Then she died, and Callium was left with nothing but war. All he could do was fight. In seconds, every bastion of hope, every glimmering flame of purpose had been snuffed out. He was alone. He felt everything. He felt nothing.
He didn't notice being whisked away. he didn't notice his bleeding wounds. He didn't notice Typhone's grief. If he had, perhaps he would have been more forgiving.

"You..." The warrior growled, struggling to his feet. "You brought a child into battle. You dragged her into a warzone she had not plae in, you killed her! You murdered her with your own indifference!"

Callium limped angrily closer to Typhone, coming close enough for the other man to see tears glistening behind Callium's visor.

"You killed my little girl! This is your fault! I trusted you with one thing, and not only failed spectacularly in that, but you then went on to kill the only thing in the world that made me live for tomorrow! Damn you, you heartless bastard! DAMN YOU!!"

Callium fell over, partially from his wounds and partially from the overwhelming amount of pain, frustration, and emotion. He lay there, tears intermingling with his blood, staining the sand crimson. He no longer had anything to live for, but death.

[Ebony]

Hana dashed towards the running Blair, then as they passed, grabbed her , teleporting them back to where the others were waiting. She dropped down beside Callium, healing him yet again. "Do try to be more careful", she said with a sigh. "This is the second time I have healed you of gunshot wounds, and it is getting a bit old. Try to be a bit more careful next time, so I don't have to do it a third time, if you would please".

[Marcus Wright]

Blair wiped the sweat off her forehead and nodded "Thanks for the quick save there, Hana." She eyed Callium and wanted to silently say something for Mia that died.

[Eda]

Typhone kept his voice low , his eyes not meeting the soldier who was blaming him for a crime long past . One he was not a part of , he did not know what to say . However words would find his lips , and they would likely come off as harsh or cold ones .

" That kid insisted on rushing the line , there were too many of them for us to take . We were all dead if she did not clear us a path , that was what she was thinking . She could not have known that the mouse could teleport , she wanted to insure we made it out safe . She knew her body would not hold out for long too "

" I don't really know for sure but she was smiling , it was like she knew what was going to happen "

He slowly rose to his feet looking the soldier who was raving at him in the eye .

" I can not die yet , not while the man who killed my father lives . Fact of the matter is I bet it's the same guy , the man who killed my dad and your daughter . He leads a large group of thieves and marauders round here , and is known for things like that " 

" Now another name gets added to that list of those who need avenging , if you will excuse me "

Typhone took his knife and pulled his shirt off , two names already engraved in his body . Scarred for all of time to remind him of his past failures . One more name added to that growing list , with the cold steel he slowly wrote three simple letters . Glaring at the medic as he tattooed himself with the name of the girl who gave her life so they might survive . 

[Centurion]

Typhone's actions would result in two distinct possibilities. Wither Callium would be crushed further by the futility and lackluster of his ravings, or he would be catalyzed by Typhone's words. The warrior stood to his feet, removed his visor, and wiped his tears dry. He replaced the mask and sighed heavily.

"You're correct, Typhone."

Callium looks up, returning Tyohone's burning glare.

"Vengeance lives on through us. Carved into our flesh and our hearts. Onward then. If we find the leader of this roving band, we may yet avenge our loved ones."

[Marcus Wright]

Blair simply bent down and looked at Callium and Typhone and closed her eyes for what seemed like a second. She quickly found two wood pieces and created them into a cross and shook her head sadly as she put them together and scratched Mia's name into it, the hero that saved their lives from certain death.

She tied a red piece of cloth onto the cross as it blew against the wind.

"This is what we did whenever someone died in the Resistance."

[Centurion]

"A noble gesture." Callium said.

He glanced around at his other companions. They were tired, battleworn. No less then he was. But he saw the fire of determination in their eyes. Gripping his rifle tightly with his gloved hand, he addressed them.

"We have lost one of our own. For some she was a companion. For others, an annoyance. For others... a dim hope. In our quest for vengeance, she fell. She sacrificed herself either for personal glory or for friendship. In either case, our fire only burns brighter, renewed by the catalyst of her demise."

Callium's voice wavered slightly, heavy with emotion. He held back the tears for the daughter he had lost twice and push forward. For her.

"So let us swear our fealty to a quest of justice. There is a bandit warlord that owns these dunes. He is connected with the vile tribesmen and cultists of the sands on which we stand and has used these connections to burn homes, kill families, and wage war on the innocent. No more! Come my friends, there are dead to be avenged, innocent to be defended, and justice to be perpetrated!"

Callium knew his eloquent speech was more than likely pathetic in his allies' eyes. Here he was, bloody and tired, trying to summon some sort of courage for a mission none but Typhone had need to pursue. However, he would not allow this inner apprehension to impede him. If he went on alone, so be it. If he went on among friends, so be it. He would not waver from his quest, no matter his friend's choices.

[Ebony]

"Well, a noble gesture all around, but this time perhaps we should be a bit smarter and do it quietly this time", Leiko said with a grim face. "While I agree that it is a sad thing that Mia has passed on, it was primarily because of her not knowing how to do the quiet thing, and instead doing things that doomed our infiltration and assassination effort from the very start. This time, when we go in, we need to do it quietly, or else we will have another fiasco like last time. Sorry to be so blunt and seemingly uncaring, but it is the simple truth of the matter. It was only because of Mia's sacrifice, and Hana's abilities that we managed to escape as it was".

[Eda]

Typhone seemed more frustrated then anything else , low on ammunition and looking down at the sheer number patrolling the area . He judged any approach on it to be impossible for the time being , unless she had a plan way better then just one at a time picking them off . They would notice that too quickly , and it was easy to know there were attackers who fled prior . 

" Unless we can pull them off of our location they are heading right for us too , so I do not see your plans working out this time . We need something big here , couln't tell you what though "