[PP-F5] Start of an Arc <<The Traveler>> (Teion and Ryo)

[Teion 0]

Before Teion had received a plan of action--or any kind of response--the tension spilled over. Two of the bandits immediately ganged up on Spencer while the other two turned their attention on Ryo, on after the other. The woman was left alone, standing with her muscles rigid as she watched the scene unfold. What was this, some kind of desert bar fight?

The violette straightened up, a scowl resting on her face. "F*cking annoying." She muttered. The heavily-accented man's dagger fell into the sand in front of her, and she watched as he rubbed desperately at his eyes. His friend drew Ryo's attention, and Teion could only roll her eyes as she reached her right hand behind her to grip the handle of her battle axe. She pulled the tri-colored weapon forward, spinning the polearm in her hands before the head of her axe came crashing down in the sands. Just as the fallen bandit was scrambling for his weapon, Teion's curved blade slammed down into the base of the dagger's steel. The knife snapped under the pressure, breaking in two before the item flickered and shattered into nothingness.

"Normally I hate scrapping a finished product," She hoisted her weapon back up, resting the handle of her axe against her shoulder while casually shifting her weight. The bandit glared up at her, meeting a cold gaze as her chin lifted half an inch. "but much like its owner, that flimsy thing didn't look worth the materials it was made from."

[Spencer 0]

Spencer gritted his teeth and felt the foot connect with his body. His eyes closed for a moment and thought of a way to escape out of his hold, then the thought came to him. "Wow, seems pretty weird that two bandits who hate gay people want to be so close to one, even putting a certain appendage of their body," He sent a rebuttal kick back into the other bandit's body, causing the man to groan and hit the ground. Spencer then went limp, the man holding on to his arms was not expecting the man to fall, so he fell with him. "Come here often?" He winked and head butted him, dragging himself out from under the bandit <<Bandit Yellow>>.

Spencer stood up and brushed the sand off of him, and looked over at Teion, who was just taking her sweet time and broke a dagger. He smiled at her for a moment, he was glad that she hated them as well. The smile turned to a frown as the <<Bandit Blue>> got off from the ground and basically growled at Spencer, but Spencer's anger was at an all time high at this point. "[censored]. Off." He spit back and picked up his umbrella, hooking his arm with the curved end of it, dragging the arm down and sending him back down to the ground. Spencer turned the umbrella around and slammed down the top tip of the umbrella right on to the man's spine. He walked forward, but the other <<Bandit Orange I think>> Grabbed his foot, he fell to the sand in a big puff of sand.

ID: 95134 CD: 7

[Ryo 0]

The bandit wasn't expecting to be met with a pair of feet as he stepped forward. He lurched and was tossed back into the sand. "Hey fa-" The other bandit began to say before he was promptly shut up by his nose breaking from the back of Spencer's skull. The first bandit punched the sand, before standing up, ready to attack Spencer again. The bandit didn't expect him to use an umbrella and swing him around before grabbing his leg and making him eat sand again.

Ryo exchanged jabs with the bandit in front of him. He knew this man, and how he brawled. He was apparently a junior boxer so he treated every fist fight as though it was such. Ryo smirked at his opponent overextended. Ryo hooked the man's arm, wrapping his arm around it before yanking as hard as he could. The man's arm dislocated and was tossed to the ground. Ryo turned to see the other bandit scrambling for his dagger only to have it destroyed by Teion. Ryo placed a boot on the back of the last bandits head and shoved it back into the sand.

That was all of the bandits on the ground, either broken physically or had their egos bruised. Ryo stood, panting as the bandits scurried away. "Yeah, go on! Get." Ryo said, spitting onto the ground. "Everyone here okay?" he asked as he turned around.

ID: 95138 CD: 2

[Teion 0]

Teion gripped the handle of her axe with one hand, the heavy blade hanging over her shoulder while she held her weight on one side. She didn't have to get involved any further, it seemed, watching as Ryo's boot planted itself against the back of the man's head.

Minutes later, and the small group of bandits were running across the desert sands, their backs turned to the trio. Teion's frown persisted with lids half-closed, still glowering at the players before they were out of sight. She finally let out a sigh, bringing her weapon back to rest behind her. She looked over to her traveling companions, a bit roughed up, but neither of them seeming to have taken any blows to be concerned about. The violette walked past the pair, taking the lead to continue them on their journey through the desert.

"Well that was exciting." She started with more than a hint of sarcasm, turning her chin towards her shoulder. Before she continued, Teion held her tongue. The ones who deserved any harsh words were gone now, and giving the purple-haired man would only serve to rub salt in the wounds. She turned to face forward. The sooner they found that lost cargo, the sooner they could be done with this whole thing.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer pulled out his mace, and was ready to continue to fight the bastards, but they were already running away. He smiled bitterly at the sight of the homophobic assholes running away. He was pissed that he wasn't able to hurt them anymore, but he was also kind of glad it was over, the sun was starting to set and the three of them really needed to get going and get some shelter. "Okay.... I think we are done here, lets head into a cave? I think I remember one of you two talking about some sort of cave." He looked at the two of them, hopeful that something will actually happen and this quest will get moving faster. The bandits basically pissed him off, and he was blinded by his anger, so his depression was no longer there, for a the moment. A small sand storm was kicking up close to Spencer, and it sent sand into his face. Spencer gasped and coughed for over a minute, his health going down a little bit. "y-yes please lets go."

ID: 95210 CD: 1

Spencer HP: 310/320

[Ryo 0]

Ryo brought his arm to cover his face as a gust of wind blew at him. "Yes, I couldn't agree more. Let's find that cave before the storm comes." He said, his hair breaking free from its tie and blowing freely. The wind began to pick, as well as the sand and dust. The storm was getting closer, which meant that they had to be going the right direction. "Teion, do you remember where the cave is?" Ryo asked aloud. He had never done the quest before, but from his experience with games, he knew the tropes to an extent. They would find the cart of missing supplies, touch it to activate the quest, see the cave, and then the storm would hit forcing the players to seek refuge in the cave until the storm had passed. It was a normal trope that taught players that, like the real world, outside sucked.

Ryo pushed forward through the wind, his head leaning back as his hair was caught in the strong gale. "Oh, hey! I see it!" He said, looking down the dune into a sandy valley. In the crevice of it all, there was a cart filled with bags and other travel goods. And just as he had predicted, there was a cave not to far by. Ryo slid down the hill, his feet pulling sand into the air as he did. When he reached the bottom, he first checked the cave, to see if any of their bandit friends had arrived. "Cave is clear." He said, stepping out of it. "I can get a fire going for the night. Just gotta get the quest continuing." He said walking over and tapping the button prompt that appeared on the cart.

"Teion, get into the cave. Spencer and I will block the entrance with the cart." Ryo said, grabbing one end of the cart. Together the two easily moved it across the sand and into place. And almost as if on cue, the wind picked up rocking the cart back and forth with its force. The sand was picked up and flung every which way, making it impossible to see more than a few feet. "There we go." Ryo said, patting his hands clean. "That should keep anything nasty out." He said, thinking of mobs or those bandits again.

ID:95216 CD:6

[Teion 0]

Teion shrugged, practically digging her thumbs into the leather straps hanging beside her. When she did the quest for the first time ages ago, the party she traveled with took shelter in one of who knows how many caves littered the desert floor, but it's not like she wrote the coordinates on the back of her hand. Before the violette had the chance to grow any more irritable, Ryo called out with the sight of cart that held the lost supplies.

As the instruction was given to her to take shelter while the boys worked to move the cart as a barricade, Teion glared at the jagged rock wall that she passed before sitting herself down. Pulling her knees to her chest, the woman crossed her arms over the top and lowered her head so that the lower half of her scowl was hidden away.

Dusk crept over the fifth floor, and the winds holwed outside of their small shelter. With the three players allowed a bit of reprieve from the arid environment and wild sandstorms, Teion's mood was improving, albeit very slowly.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer looked over, a cave was protruding out, the darkness was deep into the mountain. Spencer looked at the other two, shrugged, and went for it. He yawned a bit, the night was starting to come so he was starting to get tired, but he wasn't going to sleep until they got a fire going and everyone was in their places, he wanted to help set everything up.

For a moment he was okay, but only for a moment. He looked up at the two of them, and he felt his heart kind of mess up. It wasn't Ryo's fault, it wasn't Teion's fault... But he couldn't get rid of the idea that he didn't like them, and he wasn't okay with it. He hung his head ever so slightly, and walked towards the cave. He helped Ryo push the cart in front of the entrance, and he went to curl up on to the cave floor.

Spencer brought out the two cloaks he had. The one was from Jomei for Christmas, and the other one he started with. He took off his scarf and made it as a pillow, but he wasn't going to lay down just yet. He had this nightly routine for himself, where he would practice his Sign Language. It was weird for him, especially because it was something that he did in private, but he didn't want to let go of his ability to Sign, a secret interest of his. Spencer didn't think much of it as he started to sign some random words to himself, completely focused on it, his emotions were else-where.

ID: 95249 CD: 3

[Ryo 0]

Ryo started the fire with ease, his cooking skill allowing him to make one. Ryo pulled out his cooking ware and began to cook. The temperature was dropping steadily as Ryo could feel it on his back. He produced a meal that could serve all of them adequately. Spaghetti. A more Italian meal than the other times he would normally make, but it was good none the less. "Here, eat up. You've earned a good meal." Ryo said smiling as he handed Spencer a plate. He stepped over to Teion and handed her a plate as well. The three ate their food in silence, Ryo finishing first. He cleaned up his mess, as well as putting away the utensils he used for cooking.

Ryo picked a nice spot across from the mouth of the cave, placing the fire between them. He crossed his arms behind his head and lied down his leather jacket serving as a sort of pad between him and the earthen floor. Ryo lied in silence, trying to sleep, but something nagged at his mind that kept him awake. It was like he had forgotten to do something, or he knew something was coming. Whatever it was, he had a bad feeling about it. He sat up and jumped to his feet when he had noticed that the cart had been moved. Ryo moved over to Spencer's side of the cave and nudged him awake. "Hey, did you move the cart?" He asked him. When Spencer replied with his no, Ryo asked the same of Teion.

"Alright, wait here. It could be those bandit asshats again." Ryo said, moving up to the mouth of the cave. As he stepped outside he took a slow and steady peek. He turned around, ready to ask for Spencer to help him move the cart again, only to have his voice get cut short as large hands grabbed the side of his head and shoulder. "Wh-whoa! Hey!" He said as he was brought up above the cave. He felt the oxygen leave his body as a heavy fist lurched into his stomach. A bag was thrown over his head, as his arms were forced behind him. "Look, would you just?" Ryo said, trying to force out his words. But the blow to his stomach knocked the air out of him. He was forced to the ground, and he felt to cold sand against his skin. "This is her." Ryo could hear a voice through the sack. "I recognize that hair anywhere. But, wasn't her chest bigger though?" Ryo gritted his teeth. They were talking about Teion! He didn't want to guess about what they wanted to do with her, but he had to do something.

ID: 95620 CD: 9

[Teion 0]

The angry ball that was Teion was interrupted from her brooding when a plate was handed to her. Ryo had offered her a portion of spaghetti, and the violette stared at it a moment before she gave up any notion of refusing it. Minutes after they had finished eating, when the three of them seemed to have settled down in an attempt to get some sleep during the night, Teion's eyes fell on Spencer. They followed the movements of his hands for a while with interest. She couldn't understand a bit of it, but she recognized the motions as sign language. The woman considered opening her mouth to ask in a small voice what exactly he was signing. But she was too tired, and her mood still too rotten to force normal conversation. Maybe she'd ask in the morning.

Teion wasn't sure when or for how long she had nodded off, but she stirred when Ryo had nudged her awake. With narrowed brows and a thick fog of sleep still clinging to her mind, she watched with confusion as the man moved towards the mouth of the cave. She perked to attention, rubbing at the corner of her eye, when Ryo seemed to vanish from her view. The woman didn't even think to look towards the third member of their party before she pushed herself to her feet, hurrying towards the entrance.

No sooner had she whipped her head to the side in search of the violet-haired man when the sound of more than one set of boots landing against the shifting sands sounded on her other side. A strong arm suddenly wrapped itself around Teion's shoulder, jerking her backwards and causing her to wince at the pressure applied to her throat. She let out a tiny choke before her hands instinctively pulled up to the arm that held her, feeling her shoulderblades crashing into the chest of the player that stood behind her. "Heyy, she's got a twin!" A feminine voice chirped, causing Teion to force her eyes back open to meet a pair of bright sapphires that were looking her over. "Yo, idiot!" The girl, sporting short auburn hair that poked out from underneath the dark hood of her half-cloak, snapped towards the head of the cave. "Double-check yours. I think we got our prize right here." Her eyes turned back onto Teion with a sadistic grin before her attention was drawn by the third player. "Ey, Patsu!" She hurriedly called a name, as if instructing someone else to keep Spencer out of her way.

"What--the hell, do you want?!" Teion managed through the force of the man's grip on her, her struggling getting her nowhere fast. The question caught the hooded girl's attention, and she brought herself directly in front of the violette, raising her chin to hold her face a few inches from Teion's. "Oh, well, it looked like somebody got rid of the last guys I sent out here. I can't have them dying on me all the time, so here I am, getting the job done myself." She huffed with irritation before her brows narrowed and her gaze grew sharp. "So first off, satisfy my curiosity. Who killed 'em? You? Or that PK-hunting bastard?"

[Spencer 0]

Spencer looked down at the plate he was given, and smiled at the contents of the food. He loved Italian food, it was something that he could eat for ever and not get tired of it, so he was happy that Ryo had made some. "Thank you, I love pasta." He laughed and smiled a bit, his mood wasn't good, but wasn't bad... he was feeling okay at the moment. He went through these phases, and he didn't know why. One second he would be okay, but the next he would be upset and wanting to cry, he couldn't even out.

Spencer woke to Ryo nudging him, which Spencer replied with a closing of his eyes a rolling over, he was not a person that wakes up easily. He kept his eyes closed for a moment, the bright fire painting his face, and making his eyes hurt. He opened his eyes to move into another position, but Ryo was gone. He went to turn but Teion was being held down. His heart quickened, and his hands turned to fists, he had no idea what was going on.

There were two bandits holding Teion down, and one of them let go to go towards Spencer, not realizing his eyes were partially open. [censored] [censored] [censored], what do I do?! I don't have my mace next to me, it's over on the other side of the fire.. wait the fire. He thought for a moment and shot his hand forward, grabbing a log from the fire, the cloak still draped over his hand. His arm came up and smacked the attacker in the face. She screamed and fell to the floor, her hair caught on fire for a moment.

Spencer stood up in a groggy state and pointed the burning log at the man holding Teion back. "Who the [censored] are you?" He said and took a small step forward.

ID: 95668 CD: 5

[Ryo 0]

The bag over Ryo's head made breathing difficult, as did the blow to his gut and being forced onto the sand. "Sunova-" Ryo began, trying to wriggle his way out of his captor's grip. Ryo was picked back up and slammed back onto the sand, his captor trying to get the fight out of him. "Hua hua~" The bandit laugh grabbing him. "She's got fire, I like that in a woman." The bandit holding him down whispered in his ear. Ryo's fleshed tense as he felt a stray hand pet his hair, and trace his back. No, no no no. The hand moved onto his buttocks, giving it a firm squeeze. No no no, Ryo's mind screamed as he squirmed unable to free himself. The hand moved to his thigh, then jerked back up as if it was shocked by something. The grip on him was removed and Ryo was free to stand. "Gah! What the hell kind of woman are you?" The bandit cried out. Ryo fumbled with the bag, removing it from his face. "That's because I'm [censored] not!" He cried out.

He turned to see Teion being held by another bandit. Ryo took a step forward and was grappled by the bandit again. "The hell is going on here?" Ryo questioned, trying to piece together what was going on. Spencer had come up now. What could Ryo do in this situation, what would Lowenthal do in this situation? Ryo's mind searched for a solution to what he could do. If he could break free from this brute, then he could. Get Teion killed. Get Spencer killed. He gritted his teeth, unsure of what to do.

[Teion 0]

As the sound of a woman's scream filled the air, the girl staring Teion down rolled her bright blue eyes. "Hold that thought." She turned to face the mouth of the cave, a sour expression on her otherwise plain features as she looked to the member of her group writhing on the sandstone floor, then up to Spencer. Letting out a sigh, she took a step and a half to bend down and grab the dark-haired woman by the scruff of her leather armor and yank her upwards.

"Do I have to do everything myself?" The girl huffed, reaching behind her back to draw the long shaft of a lance. In a single motion she brought the flat of the triangular blade across to collide with the piece of firewood that Spencer wielded, knocking the item to the ground for it to dissolve in a burst of pixels. "Now, can you make yourself useful?" Holding the sandy-blonde at spear point, her chin turned to the other mysterious woman who hurried forward to take her place.

Grasping the hilt of a dagger at her belt, the girl turned back to Teion and twirled the weapon's handle between her fingers before waving it in the violette's face. "Okay! Now, back to business. Those were some of my top guys, so I'll go ahead and assume that the 'Demon King'," The title rolled off her tongue with an obvious, exaggerated sarcasm, "was the one who offed 'em." Her eyes turned up at the sound of a commotion atop the cave, and she scowled lightly before turning her chin to her shoulder. "Yo, quit fussing!" She called, the words perhaps directed to both of the other green players. Another sigh, and her eyes snapped back to Teion before flickering up to the face of the man that held the violette in a chokehold. "Fine, no time for fun, then. Let's go." She commanded, twirling the hilt of her dagger once more.

Teion felt an increased pressure at her throat as she was jerked backwards, causing the woman to wince again. Her mind was left blank, having only just pieced things together. Those men that died in the desert that night, they were using her to get to Max. And this was just a repeat of that terrifying night, just with more bad guys and more of her innocent friends caught in the mix. If she told Spencer and Ryo not to get involved, would they even listen? Despite the arm wrapped around her neck, Teion grit her teeth and pulled forward, fighting against the man's hold in a futile attempt to free herself.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer gripped the torch harder and took another step forward, wanting to try to scare the woman that was holding Teion. But, in a quick motion, the woman holding Teion knocked the wood out of Spencer's hand, and the other girl was replaced at holding Spencer at spear point. Spencer gulped shallow-like and looked over at Teion. She seemed to know what was going on.. loosely, so he was hoping she was going to find a way out of it.

Spencer could hear some more commotion from outside, and saw Ryo and another bandit near him. It seemed like they were ambushed, but by who? They were completely different than the bandits they had seen earlier, definitely seemed a little less homophobic. But he had it up to HERE with all of this bull [censored] with bandits and kidnappers, he was really ready to just go all out and fight like crazy.

Spencer stared the girl that was in front of him in the eyes, not breaking eye contact. Messing with a guy that was depressed and angry was not something you did lightly. Spencer was about to dive at the girl, but he saw Teion starting to get dragged away, and he was not in the mood to have that happen. Welp, Might as well put myself in harms way, get Teion out of her grasp. Spencer sighed and ran forward, taking the hit by the spear. He groaned softly and saw his health dip a bit, but he kept moving. The sudden movement caused the woman to not be pushing the spear, his chance was open. He ran forward, but the woman holding Teion lunged at Spencer, knocking him directly to the ground. He groaned softly and saw the woman with the dagger standing over him, ready to strike. "Why do you have to make this so difficult, you're barely even dangerous."

ID: 95669 CD: 1 (310/320)

[Ryo 0]

Ryo gritted his teeth as Spencer made his valiant attempt to rescue Teion. Instead of knocking the man to the ground, he was knocked to the ground, and pinned by the leader. What would Ryo do? What should he do? His chest became tight, as his mind searched for what to do. The world moved in slow motion around him, the sound faded from the world. Teion was still held taught, still struggling. Spencer now pinned. Someone needed to do something, someone had to do something. The world faded to black, leaving only him and his thoughts. Ryo snapped back to reality as he heard a voice.

"What are you waiting for!?"

Ryo's head moved on its own as he snapped it back slamming it into the face of the bandit holding him. The man gripped his face, releasing Ryo from his hold. In a swift movement, Ryo drew his katana and spun around, using his stun sword art to stop that bandit in place for the time being. What was he doing? He was only placing his friends in danger. But if he waited, they would just kill them all. Use teion to get to Aereth. Probably kill Spencer from how agitated he was being. Ryo assumed a battle stance, his katana pointing at the woman who was calling the shots. The dagger user looked at him and motioned for the spear user to come over and hold Spencer in her stead. She stepped over to Ryo, sizing him up. "Wow, to think that someone so small had such bravado." She said, mocking his height. Ryo smirked, he'd heard that one before. She readied her dagger. "If killing you will send a message to the other two, then I'll oblige." She said, licking the blade of her dagger, and dropping to the ground as she rushed at Ryo.

Ryo stepped back, rotating his body trying to deal with the woman's speed. The blades clashed, releasing a bright spark in the night illuminating the area around them. The bandit leader was on the other side of him and was already moving again. Ryo's back was sliced as the woman moved with cat-like agility and dance around him. Ryo dashed back, to get some distance between him and the bandit woman. His health had dipped by a quarter from that single attack. He readied his katana again. Ryo closed his eyes, concentrating. This time, this time he had her. He had to. For Lowenthal. For himself. For Spencer. For her. Ryo opened his eyes, more determined than ever. "This time, I'll finish you!" The bandit woman cried out, rushing Ryo. Ryo spun to the opposite side, not falling for the woman's fient and brought his katana upwards. His blade met hers and her dagger was thrown from her hand. Ryo's foot was brought up, placing it on her abdomen and launched her backward onto the sand. The point of his katana reached her exposed clavicle, hovering only just slightly above it.

[Teion 0]

Teion's struggling ceased for a moment as she caught sight of Spencer rushing into the tip of the woman's spear. She felt her chest tighten as the girl between them was quick to react, bringing the taller man to the ground with well-practiced movements. The violette clenched her jaw yet again, scowling with disgust at the difference in power between the two groups.

The sound of steel against a sheathe caused her eyes to dart to the side where she spotted Ryo, freed from his own captor, and staring down the girl acting as the group's leader. Teion's eyes went wide as the tension between the two players grew more thick by the second. "No," She choked out as the spear-wielder once again took the leader's place to hold Spencer against the desert floor. "St-stop it, don't fight them!" She shouted in a strained voice, still wincing at force of the grip around her neck.

"At least one of you idiots knows when to give up!" The girl sneered as their blades clashed. Teion's heart began to pump faster, seeing the drop in Ryo's health bar. She glanced back to Spencer, who was already injured from his earlier scuffle with the spear-wielder. The scene progressed in her mind--a fantasy playing out that resulted in both of the men disappearing. Dying in front of her for simply being 'obstacles' in these assassins' plans. "Please, just go!" Her cry was desperate and her struggles gradually subsided.

Before Teion had registered the result of the battle, the ground beneath them began to tremble. A foreboding groan, deep and rumbling, rolled through the cold desert air. Seconds later, the sands beside Ryo and the group's leader shifted violently as the head of a massive wyrm emerged. Though the creature didn't appear to have eyes, the tip of its curved head swiveled as if it was taking in each of the players. It bore several sets of jagged teeth, mouth stretching wide as it let out a guttural roar that pierced the silence. The woman with the spear seemed to be the assassin most unnerved by the boss' appearance, staring at it with wide eyes.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer bit his lip, the woman with a dagger was standing over him and keeping him to the ground, and looking like she was going to end it all for him. Somewhere, deep in his mind.... it said for her to do it. It said for her to stab him and take the rest of his HP away from him, make it so he didn't have to live anymore. He felt a small tear leave his eye, but luckily the woman holding him down didn't see him.

Before the thoughts could continue, Ryo moved without a second glance, and the woman with the singed hair and the spear was standing over him, she was not happy with him. Spencer stared right into her eyes, almost like a dare for her to hurt him, to kill him. He had no idea where these emotions were coming from, but they wouldn't stop. Spencer turned back at the sound of fighting and saw one bandit paralyzed, and the other one was being beaten by Ryo. Spencer smirked a bit, but the woman with the spear wasn't moving.

She wasn't moving until the worm came. Spencer's eyes went wide at the movement, not knowing exactly what was going on. But of course, the worm didn't hide underground for too long. It burst forth through the sand, making a horrible noise, causing all the bandits to look in shock, same with the three adventurers. This gave Spencer and idea for 'round two' sort of say. Spencer kicked the woman's legs out while she was too busy looking at the worm, and she fell, back into the fire. She screamed again as her hair once again caught on fire, which caused enough distraction for Spencer to grab on to Teion's arm, trying to pull her away from the man.

ID: 95670 CD: 6

[Ryo 0]

Ryo held the katana as still as he could. He had bested her, and she knew it. She gritted her teeth unable to think of a way to get around the violet hair man. He was about to turn his head and make demands, but the ground shook violently. "What? An earthquake?" The woman below him stammered. The ground exploded as a great sand wyrm appeared. Sand and rubble dripped from the massive monster that towered above. "Holy. [censored]." Ryo said, taking a few steps back, somewhat admiring the beast. The monster let out a guttural roar that shook the bones inside Ryo. His free hand gripped an ear, trying to muffle the sound of it. Ryo sheathed his katana and turned to the Bandit holding teion. "Everyone run, I'll distract it!" Ryo said, sheathing his blade and grabbing a few stones from the ground. "You, grab him and go!" Ryo said grabbing the dagger wielder by her collar and shoving her over to the stunned man.

Ryo slid down the sand dune, sand, and dust flying behind him as he quickly made his way to the monster. He threw the stone as hard as he could, it leaving a violet streak of light behind it as it flew in the night sky. The rock cracked against the wyrm, and it bellowed with a reaction. It's open toothed maw looking at Ryo. "Perfect. Got it's attention, now what?" Ryo asked himself, reaching the bottom of the dune. At the bottom, he broke into a dead sprint, running as fast he could. The beat's maw came hurdling towards Ryo, faster than he had anticipated. Ryo leaped into a roll, as the wyrm crashed into the ground behind him. Sand, dust, and stone erupted from the spot, pelting Ryo. The wyrm had missed and was now stuck in the ground slightly. Ryo dashed in, striking it with a weak sword art, hoping to stun it. The beast's body convulsed slightly, then hung still. "Holy, that worked?" Ryo said to himself in amazement before starting to run again.

~

The bandit grabbed her stunned comrade and threw his arm over her shoulder. "C'mon! If the idiot wants to die, leave him! We've got better things to do than die here!" She said, dragging her comrade away. Her steely gaze shot to Teion. "You'll be getting this one pass, this one time only. Next time though. You and he are mine." She said glaring at the woman, not wanting to admit that she was embarrassed that she was beaten so easily. "Grab her, we're taking them back to the city." She stepped past Spencer and her comrade who was on fire. "Either die with him or escape with us. I don't care which." She said, kicking sand onto her friend to put the fire out. "C'mon, we ain't got all night! Move it!" She barked. The rest of the bandits followed orders, the one holding Teion, throwing her over his shoulder to carry her easier.

The beast roared again, it's face turning. The damn brat actually got its attention, the woman thought to herself, her legs still moving. She stopped running to look back, the beast lunged forward and slammed into the ground, shaking the earth beneath her feet. Was it done? Was that all that was needed? The beat then convulsed and stopped moving. Her eyes grew wide, at the realization of it all. Is he actually fighting it? She stopped moving, her arms fell to her side in disbelief. There he was fighting that monster, and what was she doing? Playing babysitter and running away. He would pay for this. She swore he would. The city was just in the distance now. "Come on! Let's keep moving!" She barked at her men as they moved.

~

Reaching the city the woman dropped off the woman known to her as Teion. "There. I did my part of it all." She said, crossing her arms, and looking out into the desert. Her men stood at the ready, waiting for their leaders next orders. The woman felt a ting of, something inside her. What was it though? Sadness, guilt, or something of the two. She thought back to the violet-haired man standing over her, that victorious look in his eyes. She blushed slightly at the thought of it. Not once had she been defeated like that. She snapped back to her senses and looked back at Teion. "You've got quite the man on your hands there." She said, her tone more mocking than anything. "But he bested me in combat and spared me when he could've ended me. So I'm doing him a favor." She said, shrugged her shoulders. "Now tell me though. What's his name?" She asked, wanting to know the name of the man who had bested her. She scoffed after she got her answer, and snapped her fingers. "Alright boys, let's get out of here before the NPC's show up." She said, stepping out of the gates and back into the desert.

[Teion 0]

"What?" Teion stared up at the massive creature until Ryo's words reached her ears. 'Oh no he's not...' The only thought to cross her mind was one of disbelief, but when she saw the two assassins working their way towards them and Ryo running off in the opposite direction, Teion let out an audible growl. "Ryo! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" She screamed as loudly as she could manage.

Begrudgingly, her attention was drawn to the shorter girl as she was shot a harsh glare. Teion simply stared back at their leader, a mixed expression of fury and distrust in her features. "Like hell I'll believe a thing you s-AY!" Her last word was cut off into a short, alarmed squeal as she was lifted, an arm wrapping around the back of her legs just above the knee to hold her in place over the man's shoulder. Teion fell into a short coughing fit after being released from the chokehold, but was quick to recover as her hands balled into fists and crashed against the shoulderblades of the bandit that held onto her. "Let--GO of me!" She shouted between short breaths.

She continued to struggle for most of the journey back to Fortaleza, until the man carrying her shrugged his shoulder to finally toss the uncooperative girl to the ground in front of him. She hit the hard sandstone with a dusty 'thud', pushing herself up to her feet seconds later with a seemingly permanent scowl on her features. Her gaze was once again locked on the girl who deemed herself in charge, eyes only widening as she continued to speak. With a step and a half Teion's hand shot out to grab a fistful of her collar. "'Favor', my ass," She started, seething with anger as her knuckles went white. "I'm not telling any of you a damn thing. You're lucky he's a lot nicer than I a--" No sooner had the violette brought back her right fist, the man who had carried her along through the desert wrapped his palm around her curled fingers and promptly jerked her hand backwards, causing Teion to wince with discomfort and release her grasp on the girl in front of her.

She let out another low growl as the group turned to leave back into the desert sands. What were they doing? They had her--they had exactly what they wanted right in front of them, and they were letting her go? Teion gave a few steps through the city's gate, throwing her hands out to her sides. "F*cking take me, then!" She shouted after them, her strained voice falling on deaf ears. "I don't care anymore! Just leave them out of it!" As her voice broke and a slight sting signaled the onset of tears, Teion's jaw tightened the same as her chest. Her hands fell back to her sides before her fingers curled into fists once again. Her chin fell, and her volume dropped to a low mutter. "I swear, if you're not okay I'm gonna kill you myself." Without a second thought to the assassins disappearing in the distance, or even to Spencer nearby, Teion began to walk at a hurried pace back into the desert.

[Spencer 0]

Everything happened so fast to Spencer. Ryo, as strong as he is, went off to drag the worm away from them. That was the dumbest thing he had ever seen someone do, but at the point he was just wanting to leave the cave. With the woman being on fire, the other guy holding Teion, the dagger woman grabbing the paralyzed man, it was kind of a rush around. Spencer gave the woman on fire a death glare, a look that said If you could burn more, trust me you would already have been crispy. He ran out of the building with his cloak wrapped around him, the ground shaking as he did.

Spencer got out of the place, and watched as the bandits started to take Teion back to the city. Spencer followed along with a close eye, his hand on his mace the entire time. He gritted his teeth as they got close to the city, but luckily they did leave her alone. She went to go punch one of them, but he was not having it. He watched Teion yell at them as they walked away, and he waved petty-like to the woman he set on fire... twice. "Bye Dear- Oh wait! You might want to fix your hair, it looks a bit frayed." He gave a wink and ran to Teion, who was already running back in the direction of Ryo. Jesus Christ no one can catch a break today.

"Teion! Wait up!" He yelled and ran to woman. He huffed lightly from trying to catch up to her, but luckily he did. He walked/ran with her. "Teion, what was all that about? I'm all for lighting a woman's hair on fire twice, but I want to know why I exactly I had to do that... twice." He tried to laugh it off, but it seemed like she was not in the mood for it. "Okay Teion stop." He grabbed her arm. "Going into seeing him all pissed off will not do anything good, please just talk to me to get everything off your chest, okay?" He didn't know the girl too well, and didn't really like that well also, but he wanted to make sure she was okay, it just was who he was.

ID: 95671 CD: 11